The Truth About Toning!

SO many people, I mean so, so many people (mainly women), say they want to tone.

“I just want to tone up.”

“If I could just tone my abs I’d be happy.”

“I wish my arms were more tone.”

Little do these people know that they actually have the same goals as most women in the lifting room at the gym.

“Toning” refers to being able to see some muscle definition. It doesn’t matter if you mean a large muscle or a small muscle, women want to see a little skin on muscle. They want to feel and appear tight and toned.

Before I tell you how to achieve it, I will tell you what WON’T work:

• Long, drawn out sessions of cardio
• Lifting light weights for many repetitions
• Restricting your eating

These habits described above may lead to fat loss (keyword - MAY) but they will not get you the desired tone look you are looking for. And even MORE importantly, the attitude leading towards these habits is NOT sustainable or mentally healthy (and that shit’s IMPORTANT).

So now that I’ve told you what won’t work, let me tell you what WILL:

Step 1) Accept and love yourself as you are

I know this does not sound like what you want to hear but it’s important. You can LOVE yourself and APPRECIATE your body and be PROUD of who you are on the inside and the outside while still wanting to change it. I believe this because I live this currently. It took me awhile to get here, and insecurities still pop up (don’t they with everyone though?). It is quite a delicate balance, a walk on a tightrope if you will, but it is possible and doable and sustainable. I promise.

Step 2) Take control of your nutrition

In order for ANY change to happen physically, you must take a look at your diet first. Your body needs a solid blend of macro and micro nutrients in order to function properly and do what you want it to do. Start big and then narrow down. Make sure you are eating a ton of veggies, lean proteins, healthy fats and whole grains. Then, consider getting a professional to do an accurate calorie/macronutrient breakdown for you so you can be sure you’re getting in everything you need without going overboard. Your body can not change if you don't properly fuel it. Eating less and less and less will not work - it will simply slow your metabolism to the point where any fat loss is practically unnoticeable and you eventually give up, eat a ton, and the cycle starts all over.

Step 3) Lift some heavy stuff 2-4 times a week

Women: you will not get bulky. Let me repeat: YOU WILL NOT GET BULKY. Well ok, you will if you eat at an insane surplus and take steroids. My guess is you aren’t going to be doing that. Women are built differently. We don’t pack on muscle as easily as men do. We don’t have the testosterone for it. The reality is lifting weights leads to muscle breakdown and regrowth. You need to eat enough of the right stuff in order to fuel your body for muscle repair. This process naturally speeds up your metabolism, and not just an hour after your workout. 24/7. Like an engine, leading to long-term weight management. It’s AWESOME.

So when you are lifting, shoot for somewhere in the 8-12 rep range per set. And this doesn’t mean that by 12 you stop regardless of how fatigued you are - it means the weight should be heavy enough that doing a 13th rep with proper form just isn’t happening. Yes, you need to lift heavy. Light weight will not cut it - it’s a MYTH that light weight and high reps will “tone”. Your muscles need to be stressed and fatigued in order to grow and change. And by heavy I mean what I just stated above. Its different for everyone - for some, 25lb dumbell bicep curls might get them to 11 MAYBE 12 reps with good form. For others, it might be 10 lbs. It depends on you!

Speaking of bicep curls, sure, do them - but the focus should be on compound movements during your workouts. Compound movements are exercises that work more than one or two muscle groups in your body. Think squats, deadlifts, bench press. Again, consider hiring a professional to walk you through these movements with proper form. I happen to know a few good ones ;)

Another tip: try shortening the time between sets, or even doing an active rest of jumping jacks or kettle bell swings, in between sets to keep your heart rate pumping and calorie burn high. You can hit two birds with one stone using this method (though I don’t recommend it long-term).

Step 4) Get active

This can be intentional cardio a couple times a week - a jog or time on the elliptical. But it doesn’t have to be. If you already have an active lifestyle then there is no need to stress yourself by adding more. You heard me: you don’t need cardio in order to “tone”. Strength training and diet control will give you everything you need. Of course, moving and breathing heavy and sweating is just plain good for your heart health and longevity, and it burns extra calories, so try to find ways to be more active in your daily life. Take your bike to the grocery store, go for a long walk after dinner, stand at your desk while at work, take the stairs...it all adds up.

So that’s it folks! With a healthy mind-set, solid diet, proper strength training utilizing progressive overload (slowly increasing the weight and/or reps over time) and just a little more activity built into your life, you can both build muscle and lose fat to show the muscle you’ve worked hard to build.

Go get strong. And look like a bad-ass while doing it. :)

3 going on 30...

 

  Yesterday our baby girl turned 3. We celebrated exactly how she wanted - papi took off work, pancakes, eggs and sausage for breakfast, extra TV, lots of snuggles, a trip to the pool, and a small dress up tea party at our house with only her cousins and neighbors in attendance (we gave her options of where to have her party - the pool, bowling ally, Rambazamba...she wanted home, with only a few people). We ended by letting her sleep in our bed.

 

 

 

 

 

And now its over, its Saturday and she's three and life is the same but I am still in awe of this little human we created, and the person she is becoming. She is so unique, and I know she will grow and change but it is so fun and amazing to watch.

 

I feel like as much as we want to say we see personality traits in our babies, many times TRUE personality doesn't start showing itself until around age 2, when they show preference for colors and start talking and expressing themselves more. So I feel like this last year, from 2 to 3, has been such a Camila-discovery year. Before I had a daughter I always imagined a little me, but darker skin and hair like Donovan. She could NOT be any more different. She looks nothing like me (some expressions here and there and her lightness but seriously, thats it, she's all Donovan). I assumed a daughter of mine would be extroverted, tomboyish, flighty, distracted, attention-seeking... Camila is none of those things. Many of the traits she's showing are very similar to Donovan. And, well, she's just...HER. I guess that's how it goes, doesn't it?

 

When she was 12 months, I remember so vividly pushing her stroller into a packed elevator and her smiling and waving to everyone and saying, "HI! Hi! Hi!" We laughed with pride of course, but now she couldn't be more different. She's slow to warm up (but when she does let you in, she loves HARD), a little introverted, and very attached to her mami and papi. She doesn't like attention to be on her, prefers small groups and being home many times (though often when we are out and about she asks "Where are we going next?! I don't want to go home yet!") She loves to swing and swim, loves her cousins and her family, loves the colors pink and yellow and sometimes blue because Elsa wears blue. She loves to read and hates going to bed and loves her brother so much she wants to hold him like a baby even though he hates that. She loves to wear dresses and hates ponytails and loves to sing but hates when people look at her. She loves to paint her nails ALL BY HERSELF and loves to snuggle on the couch and watch TV and loves to play soccer but really doesn't like it when we try to get her to practice her balance bike. She's very dramatic when she falls and gets the tiniest scrape but doesn't want anyone to touch it or look at it or react to it in any way. She loves strawberry flavored everything, pasta, fruit, fish and olives and playing with her dolls and hiding from papi when he comes home from work. She has the biggest most intense imagination and she talks and talks and talks and asks why and why and why and we are absolutely obsessed with her.

 

 

 

Here's to going on 4 baby girl... we can't wait to discover who you will be by then, and every year onward.

 

7 Habits of Highly Ineffective Diets

How do you know if you're considering an ineffective diet?

Not all diets are created equal - look out for these 7 clues that a diet will not get you the long-term results you are looking for.

7) It has the word "diet" in the title
As a general rule, anything with the word "diet" in the title is not going to be effective long-term. When you see the word "diet" think "short-term", "drastic" or "buy me". Don't get me wrong, not all "diets" are BAD. Some can be great for short-term jump starts, such as the South Beach Diet or even Keto for a small population of people -  But many are simply dangerous, will crash your metabolism, and a money scam, which brings me to my next point...

6) Anything claiming to cleanse
Did you know that your body is a powerhouse?! EVERYTHING needed to digest, extract nutrients, and yes, CLEANSE, is already contained within the walls of your muscles and bones. The body has been a well-oiled machine for much longer that you or I have been on this planet. Yes, a poor diet can make you sluggish, slow your digestive system, cause you to retain water and make you feel like you need a cleanse. But the best cure for this feeling is to simply clean up your diet. Eat more nutrient-dense foods, drink tons of water, exercise, all that healthy stuff, and I promise your body will take care of you.
Oh but your friend did a cleanse and lost 5 lbs in a week? That's all water weight, not fat loss. It is impossible to lose 5 lbs of fat in that short a time. So yes a cleanse might give you an immediate weight drop, but as soon as you start eating normally again, it will come right back. 

5) Claims to give you results without knowing anything about you
We are all different, We have different body types, metabolisms, heights, weights, exercise intensities and lifestyles, likes and dislikes, mental and emotional battles...this must all be taken into account when making a dietary lifestyle change. Yep, I said it, dietary lifestyle change.

4) Promises desired results in an unreasonably short amount of time
I often see advertisements for diets use before and after pictures that depict the .01% of people who's bodies responded immediately. Or, they use pictures of people that didn't actually do the diet at all and so its a lie. Or, they promise your dream results in a time period of weeks. Guys, it doesn't happen this way. It just doesn't. 

3) Restricts an entire food group
This one is simple - unless you have a medical condition or ethical reason keeping you from eating a certain food group (think: celiac disease, or vegans/vegetarians, in which case you may need to supplement - message me if you need guidance on this) you should steer clear of any diet that restricts an entire food group, such as carbohydrates, which are needed in the body to create energy. Or fats, which the body also uses for energy and hormone regulation. Just...no. You will find yourself vitamin deficient, sluggish and unhappy really fast. If you find yourself feeling like you have to cook separate meals for yourself and your family to accommodate your new diet, something's off. 

2) Restricts or demonizes "bad" foods
Do you have a weakness for ice-cream? Chips? Popcorn? Whatever it is, EAT IT! Mental health is just as important as physical health, and I can guarantee you, labeling foods as "bad" and never eating them is a one-way path to obsession, binging, and self-hate. Don't do it. Of course I'm not telling you to eat those things all day every day - in general many of those fun foods we crave are not nutrient dense and are high calorie. So work them into your diet in small amounts. I like to follow the 80/20 rule - 80% of the food I eat in a day is nutrient dense and fuel for my workouts and my life. 20% is simply fun and enjoyable, like an ice cream bar or a giant soft pretzel.  It'll keep you sane. And agin, this bring me to my most important habit of an ineffective diet...

1) It effects you mentally
This is the most important one, the most raw one. If you are following a new diet and find yourself depressed, obsessing, binging, or in any way feeling messed up mentally, stop. This diet is definitely not for you and most likely, you need to work on eating intuitively before making any physical-results-based changes to  your dietary lifestyle. Like I said, mental and emotional health are just as important as physical health, and I would even say they all tie in and affect each other. 

So there you have it. Pretty simple. Does it seem like I just eliminated any diet you've ever heard of? I probably did. That's because my belief is that your diet (your diet, not a diet) should support and enhance your lifestyle. There are ways to manipulate your food intake to get you physical results without prescribing to many of the fad diets that are out there. Start by eating body-appropriate portions and getting in more greens. 

Stay strong!!!