Your Questions Answered!

Hi Everyone!

It's me FitHappyandHealthy from Instagram and as my first post I'm answering the questions you all asked me about fitness and nutrition! Hopefully this will be the beginning of a thriving blog where I can help everyone out :)

Questions

1. What is your best suggestion for losing weight?
     My biggest suggestion is honestly developing a self-awareness of what you're eating. Your diet makes up so much more of the physical results than exercising does. Be frank with yourself, think about what you're eating before you put it in your mouth. Be conscious of the nutrients in certain foods as well as the toxins in other foods. What you eat is what you'll end up working off later on! Make things easier for yourself and nip it in the bud!

2. What is your best suggestion for toning legs?
    I think that running has been the best attribute to my legs thinning and the stair master has been the best with toning. You have to first figure out if you really need thinning or toning. Sometimes it doesn't hurt to do both! The stair master is a great way to get your heart rate going as well as tone up your legs!

3. How do jumping jacks/sit-ups/gymnastics help?
    Jumping jacks are great for weight loss as well as overall fitness because not only is it a) free and easily accessible (all you need is your own body, and a little space of course!) but also it is b) a great way to get your heart rate up! You won't need to go anywhere, just stay in place and your heart rate skyrockets. Increasing your heart rate helps with weight loss and overall fitness and health for your body. Sit-ups don't necessarily increase your heart rate but they really burn your abs! It strengthens your core and can increase your heart rate if you do them quickly enough. Gymnastics requires so much energy that it is in fact ideal for weight loss. In addition to healthy eating, gymnastics is a great step toward a healthy body!

4. Best things to do to help your core?
    I would say sit-ups of every kind! I do regular sit-ups, one-legged sit-ups, side sit-ups, sit-ups with a medicine ball, etc. You can do almost any combination! Then there are leg lifts that help a ton with your lower ab region. I've also found, surprisingly, that dancing helps with your core. Dancing, in your room or even in a group at the YMCA, is a great form of cardio and strengthens your core (especially belly dancing :P)

5. How often do you workout?
    Personally, I have certain days that allow me more time to go to the gym and execute a formal workout. However, everyday I make sure to do something to stay fit, even if small! I take the stairs instead of the elevator whenever possible. I do tons of walking all around campus and even jog sometimes (like when I'm late for class!) Like I said in the previous question, pulling out your speakers and doing some home-made dance moves helps as well. When I have the time to hit the gym, usually three to four times a week, I'll workout for 90 minutes to 2 hours. Usually an hour or so of cardio and the rest in strengthening my core!

6. What's a good way to fit cardio into your day during a blizzard?
    I'm first off upset I missed the storm, all my family at home got two and a half feet of snow! But back to your questions, a dance party IN YOUR ROOM. Amazing right? It is. If not that, roll a towel onto your bedroom floor and bust out some sit-ups, as many as you want! That goes for push-ups and crunches. Another great way to workout indoors is Pilates! (And Squats!)

7. How do you stay fit/be healthy during times when you can't exercise (like wide awake in the middle of the night)?
    This is a good question! Sometimes I miss a workout in a day and am itching to get in exercise but it's either too late, I'm too tired, or busy. A good way to stay fit during times like these are by paying attention to the small things. If, for example, you have too much reading to do for school to workout then do some squats while reading! Trust me that'll be a great workout. If you're awake in the middle of the night and want to do SOMETHING to be fit, I suggest squats as well as plies, grand plies, and maybe even a plank while you scroll through your twitter TL :)

8. What leg exercises do you do and how often do you do them?
    I consider my cardio to be leg exercises as they are using my legs the most: the stair master, the bicycle, treadmill, regular running, or the elliptical. I do that four times a week. My other exercises are leg pilates, squats, and plies which I try to do three times a week!

9. I know you said you do the stair master and said it's helped to thin your legs, but many people say the stair master will only make your legs bigger. What do you believe?
   This is a great question! Many who want to become slimmer or thinner stray from exercises in general in the fear of bulking up or becoming to muscley. The thing is, you just need to be informed on which exercises bulk you up and which ones trim you down and just tone your body. The stair master can very easily bulk you up, just like running, or the bicycle; however, on a low resistance they are great for trimming and toning your legs and general body. The stair master on level twenty, high resistance bike, or sprints on the treadmill will bulk you up. Whereas the stair master on level one or four, low resistance bike, and long distance running will trim you down!

10. How many calories a day did you eat to lose weight?
    Honestly, it changed quite a bit from day one to now! Before, I was very self-conscious about losing weight and eating very little. But really what you should focus on is counting nutrients. Make sure you aren't having too much sodium, too many carbs, too much cholesterol or fats. Make sure you're having the right amount of protein, enough fiber, enough vitamins! I don't count calories anymore because it makes dieting a little neurotic. Instead of attributing numbers to foods, count the good things in foods and the bad things!

11. What's your opinion on eating dairy products? (milk, eggs, yogurt, cottage cheese)
    My opinion? They're great! Dairy is a whole food group. It's necessary! I choose skim milk over whole and skim cheese as well. I also don't have cheese much at all! I prefer to get my dairy from nonfat yogurt or skim milk :) Cheeses can be very dangerous, as in high in the bad fats and cholesterol.

I hope this was helpful guys and thanks for the questions, it was a great way to startup my blog!

Chevahn
FitHappyandHealthy