RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

We can always be focused on the body, but when was the last time you exercised your mind? Start doing simple things different for your normal routine to challenge and keep your mind fresh. For example, tonight brush your teeth with the opposite hand than you're used to, and tomorrow go to school/work a different way than you ever have.

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

Do you not get enough sleep during the week? Now that the weekend is here try to catch up on rest, because lack of sleep: causes the body fat producing hormone cortisol to increase, decreases growth hormones that help us recover from exercise & our day, increases the cravings/appetite hormone ghrelin, and decreases levels of leptin which suppresses appetite.

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

If we consistently, eat only 1-2/day or go more than four hours between eating or consume under 1200cal/day, our body's go into STARVATION MODE and FOUR awful things are happening internally in our body.

1) The body holds onto the fat (stored energy) we already have, as a future energy source.

2) When we finally do consume something, the body automatically stores it as fat, because it thinks it doesn't know when it's next energy source is coming.

3) If a daily habit, the body will begin to eat (catabolize) our muscles to use as a fuel source. Muscle helps us to burn more cal all day long, so if we're burning muscle we're going to be burning cal at a slower rate = gaining more body fat.

4) Our insulin (blood sugars) plummet, then when we eat something then soar. This up & down causes our body to increase levels of the body fat producing hormone cortisol.

Try to consume a SMALL meal/snack every 2.5-3hrs to keep our metabolism (rate of which we burn cal) fast & insulin levels stable. Example: a 1300cal/day limit = 3 meals at 300cal and 3 snacks of 100cal in between those meals.

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

Since it's Wednesday and we have time to plan for this weekend, this weekend grab some loved ones and have a healthy dinner party. Have everybody bring a healthy dish containing a lean protein, fresh veggies, fresh fruit, 100% whole grains. Have everybody bring the recipe for their dish on index cards so that people can take home their favorite recipe. Eating healthy is not a 4-12wk diet that we eventually stop, it's a lifestyle change that we must live every day. That lifestyle change is made easier when we have others to share the change with us.

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

Whether you've had it for a while, or just bought a gym membership, if you don't go, you're paying what gym sales people call the "Fat Tax." If looking and feeling better is not motivation enough to go, think about how much money daily you waste by not going.

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

Exercise should be fun, challenging, and something you enjoy doing. Challenge yourself with exercise with something you've never done before. A 5K race for example. Grab some friends/family, sign up for one, and make a training schedule for you & the group. There are many 5Ks that also raise money for a charity. To see a list of upcoming races in Chicago click this link http://chicago5k.com/

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

Another couple of inches of snow today. Take advantage of it this weekend by being a kid again and going SLEDDING! One hour of sledding can burn up to 476cal! Bundle up well, grab some loved ones, and go have a blast! For find some awesome sledding hills around Chicago near you click this Yahoo article http://news.yahoo.com/four-great-sledding-hills-chicago-area-224817932.html?bouchon=602,il

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

To help prevent overeating SLOW IT DOWN. Takes the stomach 20mins to signal to the brain it's full; so by taking our time while we eat/drink we'll be less likely to overconsume. For example, a recent study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition to help those who overeat by having people eat unsalted/raw nuts that still had the shell on them & others eat those that were de-shelled. It was found that those who had to de-shell only consumed 86cal, whereas the group already without a shell consumed 211cal.

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

Not all protein foods are the same. Many can be high in protein, but high in "bad" saturated fat too. That's why we need LEAN sources of protein (white meat, fish, eggs, unsalted/raw nuts, unsalted beans, plain Greek yogurt). Don't be afraid to try non-traditional sources of lean protein either, like bison & ostrich. Broil/grill a bison/ostrich burger that you seasoned with pepper & garlic and enjoy it over a veggie salad. Top the salad with a drizzle of olive oil for a perfect post-exercise meal.

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

Eating healthier is made easier when we're better prepared & preplan our meals & snacks ahead of time. This weekend go to the grocery store and buy "sEE-food." Not seAfood as in fish, but healthy snacks that you can have with you throughout the week that you can sEE, so that you're not starving and searching for unhealthy items. When we surround ourselves with healthy choices, we're less likely to make bad choices & overeat. Great sEE-food choices: fresh fruit & veggies that you enjoy, plain Greek yogurt and mix in fresh fruit, hummus and use fresh raw veggies to dip in it like carrots/celery/cauliflower/brocoli/peppers, unsalted/raw nuts, unsalted beans like lentils that make for a great Winter warmup soup, tuna or salmon in a pouch that's packed in water/olive oil, Quinoa which is protein loaded grain that's a better sub for rice/potatoes, and almond butter which a better sub for peanut butter because it's less toxic and allergenic than peanut butter.

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

This winter take advantage of the snow, and get outside and shovel! Just 30mins of shoveling can burn up to 200cal! Don't have an area around your house that needs shoveling? Go find an elderly family member/friend/neighbor that could use the help doing it! Get fit and feel good helping others!

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

Next time you go buy groceries, only shop on the outer edges of the store. This is where all the healthy choices are: fresh fruits/veggies, lean proteins (white meat, fish, unsalted nuts/beans, eggs), low calorie/fat dairy or healthier dairy substitutes like almond & coconut. It's when we start going down the aisles in the middle of the store that we find all the garbage processed foods & drinks that are loaded with calories/fat/unhealthy carbs/sugar/sodium.

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

With a resolution to get in shape for 2012, you might be looking for healthy options to consume. Now you're seeing things like "whole wheat," "natural," "organic," and think they're healthier; but what do those buzz words that companies use to sell more product really mean?

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

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.

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

Do you know how many calories/fat/carbs/sugar/sodium/protein/etc you consume on a daily basis? For FREE go to www.livestrong.com/myplate/ and just put in what you had yesterday and so far today. You may be surprised at how much or how little you're consuming that's keeping you from being as in shape/healthy as you want to be. Nutrition is 60% of reaching any fitness goal, so if we don't know what we're putting inside our bodies, we can't expect quick, long lasting results.