after 7.

ok so you know that advice that you hear from.. well.. EVERYWHERE? 
this is one of those "little tid-bits" that I am going to say may not be the BEST advice to follow.
DON'T EAT AFTER 7PM!
ok let me paint you a picture. 

you have been at school since 9am.. you didn't want to spend $7,000 on food at school you come in at 8pm(exhausted of course..AND HUNGRY) but.. tisk tisk.. don't eat after 7. so you go to bed hungry. 

now. lets break down what has happened in your body.
without food (energy) your body can't perform cell functions, store energy, perform transport..(and all that other fun biology stuff).
something maybe more relatable would be.. 

YOUR METABOLISM SLOOOOWWWS DOWN. (which is why it is best to try to eat 4-6 smallish meals to keep your metabolism going.. side note)

here is some NEW advice to go in place of the OLD advice.
listen to your body.  are you hungry? are you full? have you eaten enough today? (yes sometimes we don't eat enough) does your body feel satisfied? 


take a look at this hunger scale... you wanna start eating at around 4 and stop around 7.  rule of 7's.. before a 7 after 7pm?... eat a little something. it won't kill ya!


sincerely,
Aubri who's gonna go eat oatmeal at 11pm 

diets.

"A desire for a quick solution for weight loss has led to the mystification of exercise and diet and an environment ripe for promoters of quick weight-loss methods and fad diets."
--NASM Personal Fitness Training Manual


Ok.. so you have all heard it all. Diets from "Special K Diet" to "Atkins" to (the one that horrifies me maybe the most) "HCG".  one thing they all have in common? THEY MAKE YOU LOSE WEIGHT. and that is normally what people think about when starting these.  They are severely missing the underlying things such as "this weight loss won't last without lifestyle change" and "this could have negative effects on your body".  


it is a KNOWN fact that your body needs a little of everything to function properly.  proteins, carbs, fat.  


ok here is a big one that has lasted a long time "low-carb" or "no-carb" (can't believe that last one) "fat burns in a carbohydrate flame"  to utilize a max amount of fat one needs sufficient carbs to continue krebs cycle (this cycle helps make atp.. that is boring biology stuff).granted you can't eat all carbs. everything is a balance!   


bottom line..... 
95% of diets fail and most will regain their lost weight in 1-5 years
Source: Statistics on Weight Discrimination: A Waste of Talent, The Council on Size and Weight Discrimination

• 75% of American women surveyed endorse unhealthy thoughts, feelings or behaviors related to food or their bodies
Source: Three Out Of Four American Women Have Disordered Eating, Survey Suggests, Science News, from (www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080422202514.htm) 
• 91% of women recently surveyed on a college campus had attempted to control their weight through dieting, 22% dieted “often” or “always”
Source: Information obtained from the National Association of Eating Disorders, from (www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/index.php) 
• Almost half of American children between 1st– 3rd grade want to be thinner and half of 9 - 10 year old girls are dieting
Source: Rate of Eating Disorders in Kids Keeps Rising, US Department of Health and Human Services

don't subtract.just add.

everywhere you go you hear people saying.. 
"I'm giving up soda". "I'm not eating fried foods anymore". "I am quitting carbs".  
ok... so of people that say that? how often do they stick with it? 
well I don't have some fancy statistic to prove my point but you know what I'm saying.
so next time you want to re-evaluate your diet and make some improvements. don't cut things out.
just add things. (yes it can be this simple)
add water (I can't emphasize that enough... ADD WATER))
add raw, whole foods (fruits and veggies)
add diversity to your meals (carbs, fats, and proteins)
by doing these things, some of your "not as favorable" habits will naturally become lessened.
               i.e. if you are drinking more water then your thirst will be quenched more often and you won't have as large of a desire to drink soda. 
so ADD ADD ADD :) 
p.s. don't ever punish yourself or make yourself feel guilty for eating a so called "bad" food.  more to come on that later.

who i am :)

so I thought before I started blogging out about fitness and health that I should tell you who I am.
my name is Aubri. I am studying fitness leadership at the University of Utah and I am minoring in nutrition.
I have also recently been certified as a personal fitness trainer through the National Academy of Sports Medicine.  


I am the first to admit.. I obviously don't know it all! What I do know, however, I would like to share :) so I hope that at some point you will find SOMETHING on this blog somewhat motivating. 


stand more than sit - aubri

I'm Number 1029.

remember your ability.

my legs burning. sweat dripping.  I can feel the fans blowing around me and on this 10 minute climb I am ready to GIVE UP.  but then... the instructor says something.


"for the rest of this climb...climb for someone who can't do what you're doing right now.  Someone who would give anything to have your legs for just these 60 seconds.  If you gave your legs to someone that needed them, I guarantee they would not lay, sit, or give up"

next time you are doing something with your body that is "hard" or "strenuous"-disassociate yourself from the situation.  think of someone who is jealous of what you get to do... and then do it for them.  surprise yourself.