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6 Tips to Stay Healthy Every Day

May 20, 2013 in Calories, Food, Info, Intervals and Circuit Training, Organic, Recipes, Running, vegetarian burger, Weight, workouts with 0 Comments

This week I was asked to guest post on a friends website. These ladies created Coast to Coast Challenge, an organization that focuses on helping women feel beautiful and feel confident. The ladies at Coast to Coast Central have recently initiated fitness challenges through their organization, and I feel honored that they asked me to write about how being healthy can go from temporary to permanent.
Today I want to share the blog I wrote for these ladies. I hope you enjoy.

6 TIPS TO STAY HEALTHY EVERY DAY

My name is Nicole Covarelli. I am a wife, elementary school teacher, and self-taught health enthusiast. Let me give you a little background on how I got started down the healthy lifestyle road because I have not always been fit and healthy.

From spring of 2010 to fall of 2011, I went from close to 200 pounds down to 150 pounds (yes, it took 18 months to lose all the weight I wanted), and at 5’ 9”, I am proud to still weigh 150 pounds.

How did I do it? I became an avid exerciser and began counting calories, which turned into a passion for reading about health and consuming foods that my body needs and loves. I have fallen in love with being healthy every day and hope you will too.

Today I want to share 6 tips that I live by every single day. These tips will help you live a healthy lifestyle and stay fit while still allowing you to eat foods you love and enjoy your life.

How do you make healthy living permanent?

Think forever- the word “diet” is not in your vocabulary.
The moment you tell yourself that you are on a “diet,” you have just told yourself this is not permanent. Thinking short term leads to more extreme eating habits that are not sustainable. Don’t eat healthy foods that make you gag. Who wants to gag when they eat? Find healthy foods you love and eat those often.

Find your “niche” in healthy living.
While some people only eat organic, others are vegetarian or vegan. We all have our “thing” when it comes to staying healthy. My thing is being an avid calorie counter because it helps me keep my food intake in perspective.
Find what works for you and stick to it. It’s okay if your “niche” is different than your friend’s.

Make time to exercise- it won’t just happen.
If you don’t make time in your day to exercise, it won’t happen. It just won’t. Pick the days each week you will exercise and stick to it! People often ask when the best time of day is to exercise. Guess what… it’s the time YOU DO IT. And you should do it 4-5 times a week.
Exercise hard. I mean really hard. Your body will reflect the amount of effort you invest in it.

Find a few healthy recipes you love and cook them often.
When you become confident cooking healthy recipes, you will cook them again and again. Don’t stress about a huge variety of healthy meals. Find a few you love and cook them. In my house, my husband and I regularly eat homemade pizza, black bean burgers, pan seared fish, and sweet potato chips. (All of these recipes are on my blog). Find recipes you love and cook them!

Measure the crap out of your food.
If you have never used measuring cups when serving yourself food, you are doing your body a major disservice. You have to learn to recognize portions, and the easiest way to do this is to actually measure. When the serving size is ½ cup, get out your ½ cup measurement.
You will find a serving size of ice cream or cereal is much smaller than you were pretending it was. Measure and measure and measure some more!

Splurge at one meal each week.
When I say splurge, I mean it. ONCE a week at ONE meal, eat the food you want. Make the food worth it so that you feel satisfied after your splurge meal. If you love pizza, eat pizza. If you love ice cream, eat that too. When you only blow it one meal during the entire week, your body gets rid of what it doesn’t need rather than storing it.
Pick the meal you will splurge on during the week, and it gives you something to look forward to all week, a glorious prize for all of your hard work!

In closing, a few tips and encouragement:

Health should be in moderation but consistent.
Don’t be too extreme. It’s not sustainable.
Don’t look to other individuals to tell you how you should look. We are all different.
Don’t let fear of failure keep you from trying. Not trying is failure.
You are beautiful. Start with believing that and the rest will fall into place.

7 Reasons to Exercise Outside Rather than Inside

May 6, 2013 in Calories, Intervals and Circuit Training, Running, Weight, workout in heat, workouts with 0 Comments

As spring is filling the air and the weather is absolutely fantastic, I am exercising outside as much as possible. Exercising outside not only feels wonderful this time of year, but it has some wonderful health benefits that exercising indoors cannot always fulfill.

Women’s Health Magazine can take credit for these great tips. You can find the link to the article HERE and a link to their full website in my recommend websites on my blog.

7 REASONS TO EXERCISE OUTSIDE

1. You’ll go for longer.

When you change up the scenery, you usually spend more time exercising. Run a new route, find a great hiking park that requires you to hike a few miles in and then a few miles back out. Try something new so you end up exercising longer.

2. You blast more calories.

Changing up your routine outdoors helps you blast calories because you surprises your muscles by doing new exercises. Plus exercising outside usually means a varied terrain, so you’re climbing hills rather than running flat on a treadmill.

3. You’ll save money.

Gyms are expensive. I do not own a gym membership and still find plenty of ways to get in the exercise I need through outdoor running and circuit training. Exercising outside is free! Who doesn’t love free?

4. You will feel happier.

Studies show that people who spend time outside more often tend to have a happier demeanor. The fresh air coupled with doing something good for your body can’t help but make you feel great! Exercising gives you energy and helps clear your head, which causes a more positive outlook.

5. You will fight germs.

Know why people get sick more in the winter? It’s because the germs get cooped up in the locked buildings with the windows shut. Being outside gives you fresh air! Gyms also contain germs, bacteria, and according to Women’s Health, MRSA (a strand of staph). If exercising at the gym, always use gym manners and disinfect your machines.

6. You will think clearly.

Pick your favorite playlist, audio book, or sermon. (I love to catch up sermons on my runs because it’s easy to pay attention.) Exercising outside in any capacity can help you clear your head and lessen stress.

7. You will workout whenever you want.

I love this reason because as Women’s Health puts it, “The outdoors is always ready to go. No class schedules, no waiting in line for machines. You can fit fitness in whenever you have a chance.”
Exercising outdoors leaves little room for excuses- it’s always right there!

I encourage you- get outside and exercise!

Activities:
Ride bikes
Job a new route
Walk a new neighborhood
Play sports with your kids or a group of friends
Hike a nature park near your home
Do yoga on the porch

What are your favorite outdoor activities?
How will you get active this spring and summer?

How I Lost Weight After a Half Marathon

April 8, 2013 in Abs, Intervals and Circuit Training, Jillian Michaels, upper and lower body, Workout DVD, workout in the winter, workouts with 2 Comments

As most of you know, I ran my first half marathon February 24th. The training was so intense at times that I would run for 2 hours straight! You think to yourself: she must have been the skinniest she’s ever been. Think again!

Since finishing my half-marathon training, I have gotten back in touch with my favorite fitness guru: Jillian Michaels. I’ve actually LOST WEIGHT since running a half marathon.
The beautiful part? I don’t have to do any 2 hour workouts during the week!

HOW DID I LOSE WEIGHT?

1. Jillian Michaels DVDS

Jillian is a fat blasting master. I love her workouts.
You want to see results? Cardio alone won’t do it. You HAVE to build muscle through weight training and circuit training, and Jillian is your girl!

Here are my FAVORITE Jillian DVD’s right now. I cycle them throughout the week.

YOGA MELTDOWN
2 levels of fat blasting yoga, all while relaxing your mind and body after a long day. Each level is about 30 minutes long.

6 WEEK 6 PACK
2 levels of intense core and ab work. This may just be my favorite DVD of hers. Each level is 35 minutes long. Occasionally I’ll do half of a level and then go for a run.

KILLER BUNS AND THIGHS
This was a Christmas present from my wonderful husband. Three crazy levels, each one about 40 minutes long. This workout has serious muscle consequences, but it hurts so good.

2. I got really strict with my eating again.
During my half marathon training, I still ate extremely healthy, but I allowed one or two extra splurge meals.

Now that life is back to normal, my week is much stricter now with the food I eat. I have cut out as much unnecessary bread as possible, I eat many veggie based dinners, and have fallen in love with kettle corn as my “dessert” rather than splurging on ice cream. To lose weight, I have to consume less than 2000 calories a day, with intense workouts included.

All this to say, I’m confident you can lose the weight you want and feel great. Eat strictly and go buy Jillian Michaels DVDs. I promise you will be so sore. I also promise you will look so good!

1 Thing The Olympics Has Taught Me About “Healthy”

August 6, 2012 in Intervals and Circuit Training, Running, upper and lower body, Weight, workouts with 1 Comment

We have probably all spent way too many hours in front of the TV since last Friday- watching the Olympics and critiquing sports we really know nothing about. Since I started watching, one thing has really stuck with me about all these athletes.

“Healthy” looks different on everyone.

I love that each Olympic sport contains incredibly skilled athletes. I also love that all of these athletes are built differently than competitors in other sports. And I love even more that none of these athletes look like the stick thin, no-muscle movie stars society calls beautiful.

- Gymnasts are built like a V with broad muscular shoulders and a tiny, tight core.
- Runners are extremely lean but also incredibly ripped.
- Volleyball players are long and lean, not so much muscle bulk.
- Swimmers are lean and muscular but not overly bulky.
- Water polo players seems to vary in size from tiny to plus size.
- And then Serena Williams is no small woman but has so much muscle while maintaining curve.

All this to say:
You getting healthy may not look like your friend getting healthy. We are all built differently- some curvier, some leaner, some naturally muscular, some tall, some short.

Just because you don’t look like a friend, athlete, or movie star, doesn’t determine how healthy you are. Embrace your natural body shape while also being willing to put in the extra work it takes to develop your body into the shape you want it to be.

Why You Can’t See Your Abs Yet

July 26, 2012 in Abs, Intervals and Circuit Training, Running, Uncategorized, upper and lower body, workouts with 0 Comments

So often when I would work out in years past, I would think to myself, why can I not see the muscles I’m toning!?

Here’s a secret: you can’t zone in on your fat burning.

In simple terms, only doing crunches will not burn the fat on your stomach. And only doing pushups does not guarantee your arm flab will vanish into thin air.

How Do You Reveal the Muscle You Want to See Most?

YOU HAVE TO COMBINE CARDIO WITH STRENGTH TRAINING!
You can’t only do ab exercises to get a six pack. You must do intense cardio in between strength exercises to burn the fat off of the muscles you so desperately want to see.

You cannot zone the fat burning to one specific muscle group. Every person’s body burns fat differently. You may notice that you lose fat in your waist quickly, but your butt and hips are the last place it disappears. Honestly, the only way to beat this problem is to keep pushing through and switching up your workouts until your body starts to burn fat in that area.

On the plus side–if you keep doing strength and toning exercises, as the fat burns, the muscles you have been toning will shine right through.

When I was losing weight, I lost about 20 pounds before my pants size changed. I could not get out of my jeans even though my arms, face, legs, and waist were trimming quickly. After 20 pounds, my pants size dropped quickly- I just had to reach the stage of fat burning that targeted my butt and hips.

Keep on, keepin’ on, my friends. The fat will come off eventually. Stay constant.

2 Great Workout DVD Recommendations

April 12, 2012 in Intervals and Circuit Training, Jillian Michaels, Running, Workout DVD, workouts with 0 Comments

While cardio is great and necessary to keep your heart healthy and your body lean, you should be doing some type of weight workout during the week. I am the first to admit that strength training is never my go to workout, but I will also admit that it tones the muscles and trims the areas that running just can’t tone and trim.

I know we all know her, but Jillian Michaels makes the BEST workout DVD’s. It doesn’t matter if you’re a man or a woman, her exercises will burn fat and make you healthier. If I go through a season not doing her DVD’s, I am always sore when I come back to them. I could be running 6 miles at a time and still be miserably sore after one of her circuit/strength training sessions. You better believe with my wedding coming up, I have worked these DVD’s back into my routine, and it is paying off!

My Top 2 Recommendations:

1. 30 Day Shred

30 Day Shred was what truly jumpstarted my weight loss 2 years ago. This DVD contains 3 workout at Level 1, 2, and 3. don’t be fooled, Level 1 will still kick your rear. All you need is 2 handweights- I use 5 pounders. Each workout is under 25 minutes longs and contains 3 circuits. Each circuit contains 3 minutes of strength, 2 minutes of cardio, and 1 minute of abs, and you repeat each exercise twice in a single circuit. Circuit training burns fat and tones like nothing else can!

2. 6 Week 6 Pack

How many of us have abdominal muscles we really love to show off? Anyone? This DVD contains 2 workouts- Level 1 and Level 2, which of course will both kick your rear into gear. You only need one handweight for this DVD- I still use a 5 pounder. Jillian uses cardio, body weight, hand weights, and static ab work to cut your abs and burn fat off of the muscles you are so desperately trying to find. Each workout is 34 minutes, where you go through an entire 17 minute circuit and then repeat it. I HIGHLY recommend this one.

If you’re like me, you may truly love cardio. However, if I go through a season without doing these workouts and then start back up, I notice instant muscle definition gain. I could have been running every day, but I would never gain the muscle tone these DVD’s give. I like to do half of a DVD and then go run just to change it up.

Your Homework:
Go buy one of these DVD’s and try it! Let me know how it goes. If you’re stuck in a workout rut, this will either help you keep losing weight or tone the muscles that are still hiding.

Intervals: A Workout that Burns Fat Fast

April 5, 2012 in Info, Intervals and Circuit Training, Running, Tools, Weight, workouts with 2 Comments

Nothing gets your metabolism revved like doing interval training during your workout.

I am a runner- I love to run pretty much anytime and anywhere. However, my downfall comes in that I tend to run the same pace throughout my entire run. And while running at the same pace is WAY better than not running at all, adding intervals adds an extra kick, calorie burn, and muscle tone.

An interval just means changing your pace, the effort you exert, and can even mean changing activities intermittently throughout the course of your workout.

Types of Intervals:

1. Walking, Running, Walking and Running
Whether you’re a walker, a runner, or trying to do both at the same time, intervals will work for you.
-Try to walk at a comfortable pace, and then power walk your heart out off and on throughout your workout.
-For something more intense try alternating running with walking. Changing your heart rate is efficient at fat burning!
-For very intense, try running intervals. I like to do 1 min of sprinting followed by 2 minutes of jogging, and then I repeat this for whatever distance I am running that day. This keeps your heart rate high the whole time, just don’t push too hard.

2. Timed intervals
During your intervals, set a timer! Knowing I only have to push really hard for 1 minute of sprinting and then get to jog for 2 makes it much more bearable before it all starts over again. There is no perfect timing on the intervals, do what you are comfortable with. Beginning runners, do 1 or 2 minutes of running followed by 4 minutes of walking. You decide!

3. Cardio combined with Circuit Training
This is one of my favorite and least favorite workouts. Combining a run with muscle strengthening will kick your butt and leave you firmer and more toned than just a single cardio activity. I like to do Jillian Michael’s 6 Week 6 Pack for 20 minutes and then go run a couple miles.

Whatever your interval of choice is, just make it a regular occurence in your workout. You will notice significant difference in your tone and stamina when you add intervals to your regular cardio routine.

Your Homework:
Do intervals this week! Try them in whatever capacity you feel comfortable. They may be the best activity for muscle toning, heart health, and endurance building.