RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

We're currently in the season of overindulging on drinks & food. Here's a simple chart to show you what it will take to burn off those glasses of wine or slices of pizza. Remember, gaining/losing body fat is about calories burned vs calories consumed. Most people gain anywhere from 10-20lbs during this season, don't let it be you! You can have the holiday treats you enjoy, just in SMALL portions; AND you must stay active during the holidays.

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

Now that Thanksgiving is over, we need to stop the overeating to avoid the 10-20lb holiday weight gain. Here's three simple ways to feel full in a healthy way.

1) Make sure every meal has a lean protein (white meat, fish, unsalted/raw nuts, eggs, beans) in it. Nuts like almonds, especially are a superpower to feeling full without overeating; because they're loaded with protein, fiber, and the healthy unsaturated fat that makes you feel full.

2) Removing all the fat from your diet will actually make you fatter. Your body needs unsaturated (a.k.a. “good”) fats to function properly and stay energized as well as absorb certain vitamins. Unsaturated fat found in avocados and olive oil is converted into a compound that curbs your hunger. Just be careful not to overdo it. Make sure that only 30% of your daily calories come from fat.

3) Drink more water. The average person needs at least 80oz daily. If you exercise, 80-120oz daily. That hungry feeling we get isn't always our bodies telling us we need food, it's saying we're dehydrated. When you get the feeling, drink a glass/bottle of water.

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

There's a 1000 excuses not to exercise, but for every excuse there's a solution. Here's three of the most common excuses and how to overcome them. Find yours.

1) "I can't, I have kids." Make them a part of your routine by taking them to the park & running around with them. Or put on an exercise DVD, and make it like a video game where they have to do the movements on the TV with you.

2) "There's no time because of work/school/etc." When you wake up, do 10mins of 30sec pushup/rest intervals. At Lunch, find some stairs, and walk up & down for 10mins. If several floors of stairs, go up three floors & then back down three for 10mins. Before bed, do 10mins of core (side/lower/upper abdominals & lower back.) That's 30mins spread throughout the day and you've done total body exercise.

3) "I'm too tired to do it." Go to bed at a reasonable hour so you can wake up a little earlier and exercise. By waiting til the end of your day to exercise, makes your whole day revolve around when you do it = less likely to do it. Getting it done as soon as you wake up is the best time to burn the most body fat, because your body will use fat (stored calories/energy) as its primary fuel source.

**There's always going to be something going on in your life that will be an obstacle to you staying active & healthy, that's life. You just have to deal with it by making adjustments which aren't always comfortable AT FIRST; but soon enough you'll be back on track.**

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

Do you often feel/look bloated? Do you pay attention to how much sodium you're consuming daily? Start reading the nutrition facts on what you eat/drink; because the more sodium you consume the more water you retain. Limit your sodium intake to 1200mg/day. Once you start paying attention, you'll be surprised how quickly 1200 adds up. Also, start eating high potassium foods which help lower sodium levels in the body.

List of high potassium foods: http://www.vaughns-1-pagers.com/food/potassium-foods.htm

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

Countless products out there guaranteeing perfect abs, but often underdeliver. Here's some tips to really get nice abdominals.

1) If your body fat % is not low, you will NOT see a "six-pack." To get it low, you need to do cardio properly to burn fat not energy/muscle which means high/low inten...sity intervals every 60sec for just 25mins. You need to stay within your daily calorie limit, avoid high saturated fat foods, eat high glycemic carbs (bread/pasta/rice/oats) ONLY after exercise, and avoid/limit alcohol consumption.

2) Do NOT exercise you abs every day. Your abs are muscles like any other so they need time to recover & rebuild. Give them at least 48hrs rest. So if you did it on a Monday, next day would be Thursday.

3) Train your entire core: Side (twisting/side bends), lower (knee ins/straight leg raises), upper abdominals (crunch movement) and lower back.

4) Breathing is important, because if you're not breathing properly you're constricting the muscle at the wrong time. Always exhale at the contraction (going up into the crunch) and inhale at the extension (going down from the crunch).

5) You must tighten the abs every time you exhale in order to have a flat midsection. If you don't tighten you're training your abs to stick out.

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

Have you taken a "mental health day" lately? Mental health is just as important as physical fitness; especially since the more stressed you are, the more the body fat producing hormone cortisol will increase. Whether it's a full day off, half day off, or 15mins each day, take time to breathe & relax.

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

Losing body fat is about consuming less calories than you are burning daily. Here's four simple ways you can cut 150cal daily.

1) Sit on the floor and stretch for one hour during your favorite TV show.

2) Use mustard instead of mayo on sandwiches.

3) Avoid soda and drink water or unsweetened/uncaffeinated tea.

4) Skip the grande Caramel Macchiato at Starbucks for a small cappuccino with skim milk.

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

Do you enjoy going out for sushi? Next time try the seaweed salad instead of edamame/miso soup. Seaweed salad is packed with iodine, a chemical that helps maintain sufficient levels of the thyroid hormone which regulates weight gain/loss, energy level, and mood. Adults should get 150mcg of iodine daily. Other food sources include fish and yogurt.

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

Have you ever thought of helping your older loved ones (parents, grandparents, etc) be fit/eat healthier? The older you are, the less bone density you have, the quicker you lose muscle tissue, and the more at risk you are for heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer. Talk to them about getting healthier together; even if it's just going for a walk/cooking healthy dinners with them several nights a week.

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

If you want help to be eating healthier you have to start using this FREE website. All you have to is sign up for a FREE account, then begin tracking what foods/drinks you're consuming throughout the day. Keeping a daily log of what you're consuming is critical to being successful in reaching your health & fitness goals, because body fat loss = calories consumed vs calories burned. LiveStrong helps you track if you're eating too much/not enough, if you're overeating at high stress times, what nutrients you're too little/too much of, and how to find the balance. Using LiveStrong will make a huge difference for you, so USE IT! By the way, did we mention, it's FREE!

http://www.livestrong.com/myplate/

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

If you have a personal trainer, there's some things you should be aware of to make sure you're getting the most for your money.

1) A trick some trainers will use to make the session go by faster is to move all around the gym. That way it appears you've done so much, cause you've moved around a lot.

2) Another trick is to get you talking. That way you spend most of the session talking, and like #1 not doing much exercise.

3) Is your trainer leaning against/sitting down on something while you exercise? If so, how are they monitoring your form from every angle, thus preventing you from injury?

4) Does your trainer have you use weight machines often/always? Unless you are coming back from a major injury or are over 80yrs old, you should NOT be using machines. It shows your trainer has no idea on designing specific programs for individuals, and more than likely trains everybody the same no matter age, gender, goal, etc.

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

How many meals/snacks a day are you eating? How often are you eating? Eating 1-2 times or having huge gaps in time between, you are slowing down your metabolism (how fast you burn cal); when you finally do eat your body stores it as fat for an energy reserve. Eat a combo of 5-6 SMALL meals(350cal max)/snacks(150cal max) every 2.5-3 hours. This keeps your metabolism fast & insulin levels from spiking.

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

The key to healthy eating is knowing exactly what you're putting into your body. Reading the nutrition facts on the label is the first step. There are tricky words you need to watch out for:

1) "WHOLE WHEAT" can mean it's just the skin of grain. Unless it says 100% whole grain it's not whole grain.

2) "NATURAL." The U.S. FDA does not define nor regulate this term. If the food does not contain added color, artificial flavors or synthetic substances it may be labeled natural. Synthetic substances have been linked with hyperactivity in children and cancer.

3) "ORGANIC" means a farm must have been pesticide/herbicide free for at least three years. An organic label indicates 95% of the product is organic. A food with at least 70% organic ingredients can be labeled “made with organic ingredients.” Organic does not guarantee that it was produced on a small farm, is healthy, or that animals were treated humanely.