Habit 4 Health Holiday News!

Happy Holidays to you all!

There's a lot of you traveling the country, getting ready for a house full of friends and family, and wondering just how much you're going to go off your diet!

The best advice we can give you is DO NOT go all day saving your calories for that big meal at the end of the day. Savour each bite and eat moderate portions throughout the day. Stick close to the relish tray but be sure to grab one of those sugar cookies that your mom or grandma only makes once a year!

Know you will work off those cookies at our 'Kick Start Healthy Habits' Fitness Boot Camp starting January 11, 2010 at 6:10AM at the North Liberty Recreation Center.

BIG HABIT 4 HEALTH NEWS!!
A new evening 'Kick Start Healthy Habits' is now available. It's 5:30-6:30 PM beginning January 11, 2010 at the North Liberty Recreation Center.

AND

if you enroll in either the morning or evening class by December 31, 2009 you get 2 FREE workouts! If you and a friend enroll by December 31, 2009 you each get 5 FREE workouts!

Happy Holidays to you all!

Better You in 2010!

Randi and I recently attended a Go Red for Women event with the American Heart Association (AHA). We both have the same goal of helping others to create healthy lifestyles in order to prevent heart disease, a top five cause of death in the United States. We'll be doing a lot of partnership work with the AHA in the future so be sure to check back often because we'll pass educational information on to you!

BETTER YOU IN 2010 Quick Tips:

1. Think lifestyle, not solely diet. The small choices you make each day make a HUGE difference!

2. Write your physical activity time on a calendar. make an appointment with yourself - and DON'T break it!

3. Check food labels for the number of servings per container as well as calories.

4. Help someone else develop healthy habits. It will make you feel good and help you stick to your own plan. Enroll yourself and a friend by December 31, 2009 in our 'Kick Start Healthy Habits' at the North Liberty Recreation Center and get each get 5 FREE workouts!

5. Set a realistic weight loss goal: 1-2 pounds per week.

6. Don't let your mood control your food. Figure out why you want to eat before you snack.

See you in class and safe travels over this holiday season!


Brooke and Randi

Schedule Fitness Success!!

Exercising in the middle of the day keeps your adrenaline pumping so you're alert until the day's end. But what if you find it hard to start moving in the first place? Tiny timing tips can make all the difference.

• Set an appointment to exercise. It's easier to stick to a workout if it's slotted into your day like any other to-do item. And Prepare a backup time to deal with any exercise barrier that may arise.
• Power up with a snack 60 minutes before exercising. A 200-calorie nibble that's high in complex carbs-such as whole-wheat crackers with peanut butter- will provide a steady source of energy so you zip through a workout.

Cold Weather Casseroles

Most casseroles take time-time to prepare, time to cook, and time to eat! So what better time for casseroles than those days when you cannot get the car out of the garage because of the 5 foot high snow drift!

Casseroles, stews, and soups: These are all good ways in cool weather to sneak more nutrition into your eating plan.

Dried beans and peas like navy, kidney, black or split, provide fiber, protein, iron, folic acid, calcium, magnesium, potassium, carbohydrates and other B vitamins. In addition, dried beans and peas are low in fat and cholesterol-free.

Plan ahead! Soak dried beans overnight, drain and add fresh water, then cook for two to three hours or until tender. Add rice or pasta, vegetables and lean meat for increased flavor and nutrition. If you use canned beans in soups, add less salt.

You can also experiment with different spices to change the character of your entree.

Enjoy your winter casseroles, soups, and stews!

Fitness Tip of the Week: Are You Changing Your Cardio Workouts?

How often do you change your cardio workouts? Every other workout? Every week maybe? Once a year? Here are a couple of great tips on how to change up the cardio routines you do to get the greatest benefit for your body.

Cardio machines take up a lot of space in most gyms due to their popularity and since they generally are easy to use, they are a simple way to get your heart rate up, burn some calories, and work on your lung capacity and endurance. Cardio machines are great but Habit 4 Health's 'Kick Start Healthy Habits' Fitness Boot Camp can do all this with no machines! We are a great way to mix up your cardio workout!

Remember though, each form of stimulus has both positive effects on the body as well as negatives. Look at the recumbent bike for example. What are the positive outcomes of using one for 20 to 40 minutes a few times a week? Well, it gets your heart rate up and burns calories. From a muscular standpoint, however, there can be some negative effects on your body if you never change up this one repetitive stimulus. For one, the constant seated position is like putting a cast on t he muscles of the hips. yes, the quads are getting lots of stimulus, and it gets your heart rate up, but as you may know, we cannot enough emphasize the importance of balancing the muscular system. Getting out of the seated position and giving your muscles a variety of stimulus will improve your overall fitness.

Change up your cardio routines often to give your muscular system new and different forms of stimulus. There are all sorts of ways to get different forms of cardio training. Treadmills, row machines, elliptical machines, running stairs, going out for a run, getting on the bike, jump-roping, swimming. Try not to to choose the most comfortable one and do it over and over again. CHALLENGE yourself and change up your routine.

Habit 4 Health's 'Kick Start Healthy Habits' Fitness Boot Camp focuses on cardio two days of a five day boot camp. In this class you will learn a variety of cardio exercises that you can do just about anywhere because the only requirements are your body, your mind, and self-determination! Enroll now through our Contact Us form at http://www.habit4health.com/ and you'll experience exactly what this fitness tip recommends!!