Fit 223: Shoulder Training, End Procrastination and Carb Cravings!

Are you doing the shoulder press correctly? Need some help to rid yourself of procrastination or carb cravings! Learn how in this episode!

NEW! Fitness Motivation Jewelry at the ProShop Check out the “remodeled” FitnessMakeover.com site!

TRAINING

Dumbbell Shoulder Press: Anatomy of a rep: a step by step description of what you should do and feel to get the most from the shoulder dumbbell press. Listen and learn!

Key points:

Posture: Abs tight, shoulders back and down. If standing, knees slightly bent.
Full range of motion: Press until the arms are straight with elbows slightly bent and most importantly, bring the dumbbells back to the top of the shoulders. You should have your shoulder blades pinched, ie back and down before you begin a rep!
Activate your back muscles! When doing the full range of motion, be sure to squeeze your back muscles! Your back muscles help to keep the shoulders in the right anatomical position and help your shoulders avoid injury.
Full details in this episode!

NUTRITION

Eliminate Carb cravings! These solutions fit into two categories: Supplements that can help take the edge off of carb cravings and lifestyle changes to improve hormonal and metabolic imbalances for better control of cravings!

First and foremost, the right foods eliminate all carb cravings! If you are eating the Fitness Makeover way, or have followed any of my nutrition plans, you don’t have cravings! Your meals are balanced and on time so your body functions better and doesn’t have the drops in blood sugar levels that cause carb cravings.

If you still need extra help, these are a few of the supplements that could be of use: (remember to always check with your physician before adding or making changes to supplements)

Glutamine:

A superior nutrient on many levels!
Aids in recovery and muscle building
Helps eliminate carb cravings
Helps combat the desire for carbs associated with low blood sugar, bad mood or addiction to sweets
Glutamine is used as an energy source in the brain
Effective for calming compulsive feelings
Recommendations: take 1 to 2 grams of glutamine in water before meals to reduce overall carb intake.

Acetyl-L-Carnitine:

Improve Fat Burning
Low carnitine levels can keep you from burning body fat.
Carnitine is an amino acid that is responsible for the transport of fats into the cells to be used for energy in the body.
Without adequate carnitine, your body will be slow to burn fat and energy levels will drop.
Beef has the highest content of carnitine—4-ounces of ground beef supplies about 90 mg.
A cup of whole milk supplies 8 mg of carnitine, whereas chicken and fish provide even less.
Research shows that to experience a measurable increase in carnitine stores
Recommendations: you need 500 to 2,000 mg/day, indicating a supplement is warranted.

Magnesium

the nutrient of insulin sensitivity
poor insulin health triggers intense and repeated carb cravings.
A higher dietary Magnesium intake is repeatedly associated with lower risk of developing diabetes and lower body fat.
Sports scientists suggest athletes take up to 500 mg because magnesium is depleted during intense muscle contractions.
High-quality Magnesium is bound to
- ororate
- fumarate
- taurate
- succinate
Cheap magnesium is bound to
- glycinate
- oxide
- citrate
- carbonate
- and should be avoided

B-Vitamins, in Particular, Biotin(B7) and Riboflavin (B2)
Biotin

Is easily depleted by medications, antibiotics, stress, and poor gut health (a healthy gut actually produces biotin)
Biotin (B7) can help the body convert carbs into glucose and metabolize fat and protein.
Biotin is found in
- cooked eggs (raw egg whites contain a protein called Avidin that interferes with the body’s absorption of biotin)
- sardines
- nuts such as almonds, peanuts, pecans, walnuts
- most beans
- cauliflower
- bananas
- mushrooms

Riboflavin (B2)

Used to make enzymes that are necessary for fat metabolism in the mitochondria (the part of the cell that produces energy).
Lack of Riboflavin can lead to sluggish fat burning.
Food sources of riboflavin include
- asparagus
- bananas
- okra
- chard
- dairy
- meat
- eggs
- fish
- green beans
- tomatoes
- mushrooms
- almonds

Both Biotin(B7) and Riboflavin (B2) can be gotten in a B vitamin complex.

Chromium

- Low Chromium leads to carb cravings due to blood sugar problems
- Low Chromium causes elevated cholesterol, increased risk of heart disease, and metabolic syndrome.
- 90 percent of American diets have low chromium.
- People at risk for low chromium levels:
  - Elderly people
  - People who engage in a lot of strenuous exercise
  - people who eat high-carb foods
  - pregnant women

Food sources of Chromium include meat, cheese, and some spices. Most people need a little help with chromium. Often, it is already included in your multi-vitamin.

If you supplement Chromium, studies have found benefits from doses of 200 mcg Chromium, 1 to 3 times a day. As with any changes to your exercise, eating or supplement plan, check with your doctor first!

Next week part two the food and metabolism related ways to cut cravings!

MOTIVATION

Simple Steps to Rid yourself of Procrastination!

Face it, we all procrastinate at one time or another! The key is to do it as little as possible! Procrastination isn’t something you’re born with, it’s a habit that has developed over the years. Lucky for you, the procrastination habit can be cured! Well, at least for most of the time ;).

The key to overcoming any habit, good or bad is to focus on a positive change rather than a negative. What that means is that you reshape your thoughts with positive , present tense statements, rather than saying you “won’t” do something anymore.

This means that instead of telling yourself you are going to stop procrastinating, you replace that with a positive action and phrase. One that works well is to retrain you brain to say “I do things now,” rather than “I don’t procrastinate.”

How it works:

You’ll be setting time in the day to do work and time to do play such as internet “research” (ie-surfing) or blog checking. Rather than getting distracted and procrastinating what you should be doing, your mind will recognize that you can get to that stuff later, at a certain time and won’t be missing out on any of the fun!

Focus on your new “Do it now” habit and apply these three steps:

Three steps to squash procrastination!

1. Commit
2. Monitor
3. Practice (perfect practice only!)

Let’s get into a little more detail on each.

Commit

This one is key and has some simple steps to help!

Step 1: Change your thoughts. Of course, the first step in change is to commit yourself. Believe in yourself and retrain your thought patterns! Rather than using phrases like “I think I’ll work on this” or “I really should stop procrastinating,” use positive, present tense sentences such as, “I get things done!” “I have a Do It Now habit!”
Step 2: Write your phrase on paper!! Physically writing words has a powerful effect on your brain! Make and write down a deadline, it can be a goal time frame at least. Also write down a plan to create this your habit that is replacing the former “bad” habit.
Step 3: Commit to repeating these phrases and focusing on this plan for 30 days. Remember, 21-days to form a habit. (link to retrain the brain product) It takes at least 21- 30 days of focused energy, to keep on track, but after that, it should be much easier to maintain your new habit.
Step 4: Make a public commitment. Tell your family, friends, post it at work and at home, the more places the better! You will be motivated to stay on track if you know others expect your new habit!

Monitor and track your progress.

Before you begin your plan, become aware of your current habits. Awareness is half the battle! You can’t change if you are not aware what is happening. Habits are things we do automatically.

For example, instead of working on a report, you may check your email and then move to your favorite blog, and before you know it you are completely off track! Become aware of these habits monitor yourself. How do you do this? Just keep a piece of paper or small notebook and when you get the urge to slip into a bad habit, record it! You’ll then be able to see your patterns and make changes.

Practice-but not any practice- it must be PERFECT practice. Practice doesn’t make perfect….

PERFECT PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT!

You can practice the same thing repeatedly, and if you are doing it wrong you won’t magically begin doing it right! Repetition creates the habit! Practice your “Do It Now” habit, daily for 21-30 days. You’ll probably slip up a few times, so don’t beat yourself up! Just get back on track asap.

Extra tips:

Track your progress. Just like your workouts or your meals, keep track of your efforts!
Use a calendar and rate your daily accomplishments.
Use a 1-5 or 1-10 to evaluate each day.
When you can track your progress, you’ll be motivated to continue. Put the words “DO IT NOW” wherever you can: your bathroom, bedroom, mirror, work any place you can!

Once you are aware of your “bad” habit, make a plan to beat it! Be prepared for obstacles and have a plan to overcome them! Include in your plan helpful ways to fight your urges to get off track— such as deep breathing, self massage, and drinking water.

Visualize!
Every night before bed, close your eyes and see yourself going through the next day with your new habit.