San Diego Boot Camp

Many of my clients have confessed to me that they do really well on their diet and fitness plan during the week - but then the weekend comes...

Let's face it; weekends can be really hard for dieters. With holidays like Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day; not to mention all the weekend barbecues, weekends at the beach and other perks of living in San diego and you can see just how it can be a struggle to maintain your diet. So, what are some great ways to stay on your diet during the weekend madness?

Relax on the weekend - After a long, stressful week of work, soccer games, play dates and errunds, you deserve some down time. Give yourself some unapologetic time to breathe and relax. It will do wonders for your stress levels which will lessen any food cravings and anxious feelings to eat.

Eat a healthy breakfast - So you sleep in later, that's ok, but don't skip breakfast. Starting your day with a delicious high-protein, high fiber breakfast will give you the nutrients your body needs to feel satisfied until it's time for your next meal.

Have a brunch date - Do you have a tradition of doing brunch on the weekends? No need to cancel on your friends. Instead, go to brunch and show your friends that you can enjoy their company and an egg white omelet full of fresh veggies with a small side of oatmeal. Eggs are the superfood packed with protein (all 9 essential amino acids). You can pair your eggs with great vegetables like spinach and onions, and add a little bit of cheese for variety. Fruits are always a good addition to begin your mornings as well. Whole wheat toast with a teaspoon of peanut butter is a delicious and healthy way to top off your breakfast.

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Many clients that start with Bootique Fitness are familiar with one or two types of cardio fat loss training techniques:

Long, slower, steady-state endurance cardio - where the heart rate stays in a small range 'fat burning zone' for an extended period of time.

Interval training cardio - a technique that alternates periods of intense bursts of intensity with more moderate recovery periods to challenge the body and burn more fat.

Both of these methods of cardio have numerous benefits that we've talked about before. Today, I want to explain how you can add other types of cardio training into your fat loss program.

Substituting different cardio workouts can be beneficial to your regular exercise routine to increase your metabolic ability to burn fat at an increased rate. I'd like to let you in on some of the "cardio secrets" I give my clients to maximize their overall cardio effectiveness.

My 5 favorite cardio secrets for increased fat burning

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Picture this: You come home after a long day's work... You've already eaten a balanced breakfast, a healthy snack and a satisfying lunch. You even said no to the muffins a client brought in as a thank-you to the office. Now, when you think you are safe at home, something weird happens.

You prepare a delicious healthy dinner, sit down and eat it, and then - have dessert and even help yourself to a midnight snack. You thought all your hard work during the day would stave off the evening cravings, but it didn't. What gives?

Should you eat at night?

Rest assured that there isn't a metabolic reason not to past a point on the clock. If you work a non-traditional shift at work, then eating at night is certainly something you should do. Eating at night isn't inherently bad. It's poor planning and under-eating that will wreck havoc on your all your hard work during the day.

Of course, skipping meals is the number one cause of overeating at night. Studies show that skipping breakfast can lead to an 24% increase in binging later in the day. Planning to eat three balanced meals a day plus healthy snacks can help you eat less at night. Also, be conscious of mindless eating whenever you are in front of the television, reading, or just relaxing once you get home.

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Burning calories doesn't have to involve grueling, monotonous workouts that are lacking fun. In fact, there are more than a few ways to burn calories that don't involve extended periods of time in the gym. Specifically, using up 200 calories from your diet on a daily basis can be as simple as doing some of the following activities.

Play around

The Micheal Jackson Experience for Wii or any dancing game will get you moving for sure. While you're having a blast, you might be happy to note that you will effortlessly burn 200 calories after almost an hour's worth of fun. Do this five times a week and you'll have burned an extra 1000. Not bad!

Jump around

Jumping rope isn't child's play. Just 10-15 minutes per day of jumping rope can burn 200 calories. With so much return on your time investment, you could do this twice a day and burn twice as many calories. After a few (3) days of jumping rope, you could eliminate between 600 to 1200 calories per week. That would go a long way toward reaching or maintaining your fitness goals.

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How to record your food journal to accelerate your fat loss.

It has been proven time and time again that keeping a food journal is an incredible tool for making healthy changes to your eating habits and losing the weight you desire to lose.

It's really easy to do with myfitnesspal.com. You can even access myfitnesspal.com from your smartphones so that you can record what you eat right away. This is the only way to guarantee accuracy.

How to use myfitnesspal.com to share your food log with our nutrition specialist.

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Usually, over the winter, it's normal for people to put on a few pounds. Of course, as the days get longer and warmer, everyone wants to shed that winter weight overnight. It was easier when you were younger, wasn't it? No... don't blame your age! Next likely culprit - your metabolism!

Simplifying your mysterious metabolism

When you think of the word 'metabolism,' does it sound like something complicated and mysterious? It's not really. Your metabolism is less complicated than you think. Simply put, your metabolism is the amount of calories (or energy) that you need daily. Most of those calories, about 70%, are used for everyday functions such as breathing, blinking, blood circulation and more. Only 20% acts as fuel for our physical activities. That 20% physical activity isn't found in exercise alone; walking, fidgeting and simply standing upright are all activities that require a portion of our metabolism. Finally, 10% aids in the digestion of what we eat. Eating can burn calories, indeed. However, when you consume more than you burn, you're headed for trouble.

Why is your metabolism slow?

If you're looking for someone to blame for your metabolism, look to your parents for this one. Family genes can greatly contribute to your metabolism. Some people are blessed with a high metabolism that has been passed down to them through their genes. Others have to work a little harder but anyone can maximize their metabolic burn.

Ever heard the phrase life isn't fair (it was one of my mom's favorite...)? Men not only have an easier time building lean muscle that burns fat, they also naturally have a higher metabolism. The average man has a metabolism that is 10-15% higher than that of a woman's. Men have more muscle mass than women, which accounts for why they burn more calories. Also, our bodies are designed to hold onto fat for things like pregnancy. So, what's a girl to do?

Great news! You can make your metabolism faster, even with the factors just mentioned. Here are ten metabolism-boosting secrets.

10 ways to make your metabolism faster

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Your body can be a fat burning machine!

But... it probably isn't right now. Don't worry, most people are not currently using their body as a fat burning machine. A lifetime of less than perfect decisions may have led you down a weight gaining road. You may be surprised to hear that dieting is the the magic exit you're looking for. Start by changing your unhealthy behaviors, pay attention to what you eat and record it in a food journal and get moving. These are all great ways to turn around and build your body back to a fat burning machine.

Here are the best 6 tips to burn more fat for weight loss

1. Eat more protein. Proper levels of protein intake is essential to helping anyone build a body that is a fat burning machine. A key benefit of eating more protein is that it can help you feel fuller longer. Foods such as peanut butter, fish, nuts and poultry are great sources of protein. Also, muscles need protein to help repair after a long and intense workout. Adding more protein to your diet is a great way to build muscle and burn more fat.

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You've been really great this season - making modifications to your diet and consciously enjoying your favorite holiday treats in moderation. However, you're facing something that you never though you'd face this holiday season: the dreaded slip-up.

The slip up may just be the dozen chocolate chip cookies you ate last night or it could be an entire day of eating poorly. No matter what happened, your primary concern is to fix it. Don't worry! Here are a few pointers on how make the most of your holiday slip-ups.

So you overindulged in alcohol at the party last night...

Damage control: Oh the hangover! If you drank too much you can bet your hangover and headache is due to dehydration. Since your body had a lack of water to flush the alcohol, that hangover is your body's way of releasing the toxins you consumed. Fun, huh? Also, alcohol also raises the secretions of acid in the stomach; which irritates the lining of the stomach lining. That might be why you crave greasy food to settle your stomach during a hangover. One quick way to relieve your pain is to eat a piece of toast covered with honey. Anything that is spicy, greasy or otherwise highly (artificially) flavored will cause your stomach to be overextended; which will create more stomach acid secretions, which will keep the cycle spinning round and round (kind of like the room when you're hungover). If you're wondering why honey is helpful for a hangover, it is because honey is an great source of fructose, a sugar that can help your body rid itself of toxins more quickly. Be sure to rehydrate in order to restore balance.

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Watch the Biggest Loser and you might come to believe it's normal to lose 15 lbs or even 30 lbs in a week. But, is it? And... do these contestants actually keep the weight off? Have you ever followed up on them? The Today Show did. What they found was that most of the contestants gained most of the weight back. But - more importantly, the one's who kept off the weight admit they are very committed to their workout programs.

How much can you really lose in 1 week?

In cases of extreme obesity, very low calorie diets may be necessary to ensure weight loss in preparation of surgery such as gastric bypass. However, this type of extreme dieting is under close medical supervision and very short term. You should also recognize that these patients are not just trying to lose fat to look good in a bikini. They are taking drastic measures to reduce their risk for even greater medical issues like type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome and heart disease. Rather than focusing on losing body fat to make their bodies more tone and fit, these patients' first priority is to get the weight off - period.

What's your priority?

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As you may have noticed, the focus of many of the blogs on our Bootique Fitness website are focused on helping you get and stay in shape for a lifetime. That doesn't change for the holiday season. We know it gets harder during the holidays with more great looking food all around and colorful drinks flowing everywhere. It's normal for your resolve to make healthy choices weaken. However, it doesn't have to be that way. Keep reading to find out how you can maintain your resolve and still enjoy the festivities of the holiday season.

You always have control over one thing!

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