The 30 Day Youtube Workout Calendar

April 17, 2013 by 3 Comments

Youtube Workout

Hey all of you lovely people! Today I’ve got a great new fitness plan for you, and it’s called the Youtube Workout Calendar.

Not only are all of these workouts free to you on Youtube (just click on the links embedded in each day of the workout calendar, or check out my youtube playlist here!) but they’re also fun and challenging. This workout schedule is not just for those of you who sent me questions asking about what workouts to do to lose weight and tone up for summer, but this is also a great way to build a fitness foundation so you can stay fit and healthy for life!

I also have an additional list of easier and more difficult workouts so you guys can customize the intensity of the program.

Even if you miss the start date, you can always visit this tag on my blog to see all the posts and you can join me whenever you have the chance :)

The Benefits of the 30 Day Youtube Workout Program

1. It’s totally free!

You can work out in your own home for free. No gym membership required!

2. Effective workouts in less time

This workout calendar uses several different types of workouts proven to speed up your metabolism and turn on your fat burning capacities. Here they are:

  • Circuit and interval training 3x/week. If you want to lose fat, interval and circuit training are the way to go. Both circuit and interval training keep burning calories even after the initial workout is over, and they’re the best fat burners.
  • Strength training twice a week. Read my article about why strength training is critical not just for fitness but also for weight loss.
  • Flexibility training once a week. Get long, lean muscles, and protect yourself from injury. Near the end of the program, these flexibility workouts will add in a strength component to help you tone up.

3. Increase in intensity

If you don’t train hard, you won’t see results. That’s why I designed this program to increase the intensity of the workouts as the weeks went on.

4. Moral support

You guys, I’ll be doing this with you. I’ll be sweating and pushing myself and working through each day alongside you like the Jiminy Cricket of personal trainers but on Tumblr. I’ll be sharing recipes and swapping lame metaphors and awkward jokes with you as we work through this program together.I’ve gotten a lot of questions of people looking to lose weight and tone up not just for summer, but for the rest of their life, and I designed this workout plan to help with that.

Tips and Tricks for Each Day

Week One:

Day One: HIIT Fat Loss

Day Two: Drive By Inner Thighs

Day Three: Jump Rope Training Circuit

 Day Four: Strength Training for Fat Loss

 Day Five: Weight Loss Yoga with Tara Stiles

 Day Six: Little Black Bootcamp

Day Seven: REST!

Week Two:

Day Eight: Victoria’s Secret Ab Workout from Blogilates

Day Nine: 5 Minutes to Slim with Fitness Blender

Day Ten: Weight Loss Yoga with Tara Stiles

Day Eleven: Better Booty Lower Body with Fitness Blender

Day Twelve: Blogilates Want You Back Arms Challenge

 

The Calendar

Click the link to download!

If you like the program, please share it with others using the links at the bottom of this post!

Youtube Workout Calendar by Amy Suto

Customize Your Intensity

Need to swap out a workout? Check out this list of easier and harder workouts!

Youtube Workout Alternative Intensities by Amy Suto

 

 

 

Filed Under: Featured -- Healthy, Free Stuff!, Reality of Healthy, Top Article Tagged With: , , , , , ,

7 Best Foods for Beautiful Skin and Hair

March 27, 2013 by 1 Comment

eat healthy get beautiful hair shiny hair great foods

 

Have you noticed that when you don’t get enough sunlight, your nails become brittle? Well that’s because sunlight contains vitamin D, and vitamin D makes your nails strong enough to leap buildings in a single bound. (Ok, maybe not that strong, but you get the point!)

The best beauty solutions come from eating the right foods. When you eat healthy, your hair becomes shinier, and your skin glows.

Here’s my list of the 10 best foods for beautiful skin and hair!

1. Salmon

Salmon is a superstar because it has omega-3 fatty acids, and these do wonders for your health. They also are responsible for keeping your hair and scalp hydrated, so eat more salmon if your want shinier, healthier hair!

2. Walnuts

Walnuts also contain omega-3 fatty acids as well as vitamin E and biotin, which protect your cells from DNA damage. Walnuts keep your hair color rick and lustrous because they also contain copper.

3. Dark Chocolate

The antioxidants in dark chocolate protect your skin from sun damage!

4. Spinach

The good folks over at the International Journal of Cancer found that people who ate spinach developed half as many skin tumors over an 11-year period than those who didn’t.

5. Greek Yogurt

Besides consistently being the best thing in my fridge, Greek Yogurt has vitamin B5 (which you’ll find in many hair products!) and hair-friendly protein. If you’re a vegetarian, you need all the protein you can get to keep your hair healthy!

6. Blueberries

Blueberries are a superfood because they contain so much vitamin C, which is critical to stopping hair breakage and just improving circulation. I like throwing these babies into my Greek Yogurt parfaits in the morning! (And by adding walnuts to that parfait, I’ve hit a beauty food home run!)

7. Canned Tuna

Tuna has selenium, which helps to keep your skin smooth. Don’t eat tuna every day, however, because it does contain trace amounts of mercury. The benefits of tuna make it great for occasional meals, but try to limit it to once or twice a week.

 

 

Have a great day, you beautiful people!

-Amy

 

Photo by LyndaSanchez

Filed Under: Featured -- Healthy, Reality of Healthy, Top Article

Gym-Friendly Makeup

February 16, 2013 by Leave a Comment

When it comes to wearing makeup to the gym, the best idea is usually not to wear any. Heavy foundations can clog pores, and mascara and eyeliner can smudge during an intense workout.

I don’t wear any makeup at all when I go running, but when it comes to ballroom dancing or yoga, I do like to wear some sweat-friendly choices.

Here are my top picks!

If you’re interested in buying any of these, you can use the links below. They’re affiliate links, which means I’ll get a percentage of the advertising fees, which is very much appreciated :)  You can also find most of these things at your local drug stores, with the exception of the foundation, which I had to get at Sephora. [Read more...]

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Fit Student: 5 Dorm Essentials

January 15, 2013 by 1 Comment

I’ve lost ten pounds since coming to college. For me, the Freshman 10 turned out to be the Freshman -10!

But it didn’t just happen that way. I had to stay hydrated, work out at least three times a week, and keep healthy snacks available in my dorm – all on a student’s budget.

Going into this semester, I’m making a list of things that will help you lose weight, stay healthy, and lead a more fit life while in college!

Remember, these are just tools to help you reach your goals. They’re what helped me, and that’s why I’m recommending them! These things are here to help supplement your brand new fit lifestyle. Hard work and dedication always comes first!

Here’s the list:

1. Britta Filter [Read more...]

Filed Under: Featured -- Healthy, Reality of Healthy, Top Article, Weight Loss

Are Introverts at a Disadvantage in Today’s Society?

April 2, 2012 by 2 Comments

There are three types of people in this world: introverts, extroverts, and those crazy folk who are a little bit of both. (Like me!)

But in terms of job success and overall happiness, are introverts at a disadvantage? In schools and office cubicles, to best fit in and be eligible for the major promotions, you must socialize and be an outgoing, approachable person. Introverts can be that person — but not all the time.

 

An introvert in the wild

 

WHAT IT MEANS TO BE AN INTROVERT

As a writer, I treasure my alone time. Sure, I spend my days and occasional nights out with friends and socializing with my peers, but I need to balance out that time with just being by myself.

Introverts aren’t shy and they don’t hate people. They prefer fewer socially stimulating activities, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Writers, painters, and artists do tend to be more introverted than, say, actors and public speakers. We need these people to be our deep thinkers, our meditators, our authors, our geniuses.

That’s not to say that we don’t need extroverts to be our charismatic public speakers, our entertainers and actors and leaders and politicians. We need both types of people, but in today’s society, the skills of introverts seem to be undervalued and overshadowed by the glowing extroverts.

As somebody who scored right in between introvert and extrovert on the big five personality test, I can vouch for both sides. My chatty, outgoing side always garners better results compared to my introspective, thoughtful side. Even as a screenwriter, I can see that introverts would have a tough time surviving in Hollywood with all the pitching, lunches, and meetings that are part of the job description. Is this what we want? Some of my best friends are introverts, and they have a way with words unlike anyone else. Should they be elbowed out of jobs because they’re not naturally adept at winning over a roomful of people in a high stress situation?

 

ROOM FOR DEBATE

Is introspection being protected in today’s environment? Is the public school system forcing introverts to act against their nature? What does that do to their happiness? Their self-esteem? Why can’t we tailor learning and work environments to suit the strengths of each individual, both introverts and extroverts?

 

A CALL TO ACTION

It’s no secret that I love TED talks. This is one of my favorites. Check it out and let me know what you think about this debate.

Filed Under: Reality of Happy, Slider, Top Article Tagged With: , ,

Self-Love = A Better You

March 23, 2012 by 1 Comment

“Research has found that girls who feel good about themselves and respect their bodies – regardless of what they look like - are more likely to be physically active and eat healthy. They are less likely to gain unnecessary weight and they make healthy lifestyle choices far into the future. How we think about our bodies and our beauty has everything to do with how we treat ourselves.” Source.

THE PROBLEM

A few of my female acquaintances have gotten into the habit of talking badly about their bodies, but it’s doing them more harm than good. They are no longer the happy, down-to-earth people they used to be. Instead, they’re idolizing “thinspo” — pictures of photoshopped, itsy bitsy women — and getting caught up in the vicious yo-yo diet cycle. They’re unhappy and not happy about their bodies.

 

WHO IS TO BLAME?

Sure, we can point fingers at the media. But the media is only a representation of our cultures’ views. The media uses our idealism in order to move merchandise. And the ideal the media represents is this: we need makeup, a “hot body” (whatever that is), and perfect hair to be anybody. Does the media come up with that idea on our own? Or do we as a society perpetuate that idea?

 

HOW TO FIX THE SELF-IMAGE CRISIS

Health, happiness, weight loss, self-actualization, success…. everything starts with the right attitude. If you look into the mirror and say, “I can’t wear a tank top today because my arms look fat” then you’re putting yourself down. Your arms look fat? Who told you that? Why are you letting that stop you? Are you going to wear a sweater to the pool because you’re afraid of criticism? HELL NO.

So what’s the right attitude? I’ll break it down for you…

THE ATTITUDE

  • Wear whatever YOU want to wear. Skinny jeans? Do it. Bikini? Abso-freaking-lutely. A summer dress? YES.
  • Eat healthy and respect your body. McDonalds six times a day? Nah, gurl, you’re too good for that. Fat-free no-carb zero calorie cardboard for ever meal? Hell no. Eat fruits, veggies, lean protein and drink lots of water. It’s simple!
  • Show the haters to the door with a smile and a wave. Poise, my friends, is the best weapon in your arsenal. (Next to those killer jab-cross-uppercut combos you’re learning in your kickboxing class– muggers beware). You’ve got your own thing going on. If people feel like criticizing your weight/height/breast size/preference of books (What do you mean “WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE” isn’t on the list of acceptable reading for AP language?!) you can kindly kick them out of your party. Keep calm and come up with a cool comeback for bonus points.
  • Surround yourself with positive influences. Instead of gossiping with your friends about how much you weigh, how about brag about how many miles you can run, or how you’re DEFINITELY going to be the next candidate on Survivor? Instead of aspiring to be like the images of Photoshopped celebrities and models you see, how about you find real life role models? Like your coach or your Varsity track runner/best friend? The longer you hang around a group of people, the more you begin to reflect their mannerisms. YOU ARE WHO YOU HANG OUT WITH.

 

Fix your attitude, fix your life!

Filed Under: Reality of Happy, Top Article Tagged With: , , , , ,

5 Reasons to Go Vegan for Weight Loss

March 10, 2012 by 4 Comments

I’m going vegan for two weeks, and one thought is on my mind: cheese is everywhere! In frozen food, in sandwiches, sprinkled on salads…

You never realize how much cheese you’re eating until you stop eating animal products altogether. And for my fellow pear shapes out there, cheese is the worst food for us because it really does go straight to our thighs due to its high fat and sodium content.

Which leads me to: going vegan may be the answer to your weight loss woes.

WHY YOU SHOULD GO VEGAN

  1. You’ll break your plateau. How do you break weight loss plateaus? By changing what you’re doing now. Going vegan is definitely a change, and it is a common solution for those wishing to lose more weight.
  2. You won’t have to count calories. As long as you don’t make chips and soda your main food groups, you won’t have to count calories. Think about it: no dairy, eggs, or cheese means you can’t eat brownies, chocolate, cake, pudding, ice cream, movie popcorn, cookies… etc. etc. Your junk food options become severely limited, and you will be forced to healthy options such as soy milk smoothies, minestrone soup, and other great vegan combinations. The weight will practically come off by itself now all those fatty/sugary foods are off limits.
  3. You will be able to resist temptation. Why? Because now you have a cause. A challenge. “I can’t eat that cheesy garlic bread because I’m a vegan” is much more effective than “…because I’m eating healthy.” I am so concerned about not breaking my vegan streak (four days and counting!!) that resisting the pudding/fatty cheese/fudge in my fridge is easy. Being able to say, “I’m vegan” represents such a huge accomplishment, it’s as if we’re wearing badges of honor. We want to earn that title the healthy way.
  4. You’ll feel better. Since I started this vegan adventure, my energy level is through the roof! I feel refreshed and recharged and just… lighter. Silly? Maybe. But my morning coffee wore off hours ago, and I’m still going like the energizer bunny! (As if my incessant use of exclamation marks didn’t tip you off already.) Forget fasting and cleansing, just go vegan for two weeks!
  5. You get more creative with your meals. Apple salads. Whey protein shakes. Homemade oatmeal with cinnamon and banana slices. I’ve never been more motivated to find tasty, healthy alternatives than now.

HOW TO GO VEGAN

FacePlantProject.com is my other vegan/vegetarian/plant based diet blog. All your questions can be answered there! Here’s some resources to get your started:

 

Filed Under: Featured -- Healthy, Reality of Healthy, Top Article, Weight Loss Tagged With: , , , ,

4 Reasons You’re Not Losing Weight

February 27, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Weight loss is not easy. But if you’ve been working for months with no noticeable gain, there is a reason why. Find the reason, and fix it!

  1. Our culture is sabotaging your efforts. Fast food on every corner. Cheap, available junk food at every turn. We live in a zero impulse control society, and eating healthy must be a conscious, active choice in such a tough environment. How to fix it: surround yourself with a different kind of culture. Find communities on LoseIt.com, Prevention.com, and Tumblr.com to immerse yourself in. Try to get those in your household to adopt healthy lifestyles as well, and find a workout buddy. A healthy lifestyle requires support, so find some!
  2. You keep losing motivation. If you’re a victim of the start-and-stop yo-yo diet, you could be damaging your metabolism. So pick a goal, and achieve it for good this time by staying motivated! How to fix this: Print out your favorite Reality Checks and hang them on your wall, where you’ll see them each day. Write down your monthly fitness goals, and see if you’ve achieved them by the end of the month!
  3. You keep giving in to cravings. You gave up soda last week, but this week you’re guzzling root beer. How to fix this: Each day you eat healthy, put a star on your calendar. Set a goal each month on how many gold stars you want to reach. Start low (maybe four, or five) and build up. Once you reach a certain number, reward yourself with a non-food related item, like new running shoes! Also, check out 6 tips to banish cravings.
  4. You need more intense workouts. Sure, walking is good exercise. But if you’re spending three hours at the gym walking on a treadmill on no incline, you are wasting your time. 30 minute interval workouts or circuit training that is high intensity burns calories even after the initial workout, and provides a much needed metabolism boost. When you cut calories, your metabolism naturally slows down as a defense mechanism, and in order to lose weight you need to make your workouts more difficult to keep dropping pounds!
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Featured Workout: Total Body Sculpt, Weight Loss Edition

February 23, 2012 by 10 Comments

The workouts and stuff I recommend on here are things that have helped me lose weight. I refuse to recommend anything I haven’t tried for myself and actually seen results.

WHY I LOVE GILAD

Two reasons. One: he has an awesome Italian accent, and two: He does not waste your time. No, “all right, kiddos! First, pick up your weights. Watch me. See?” It’s “BURN ALL OF ZE FAT!” from minute 1. This is like a 22 minute version of P90x: it’s intense, you’ll feel sore afterwards, but it is so worth it.

WHY HE WILL HELP YOU LOSE WEIGHT

Gilad’s total body sculpt also utilizes some of the weight loss techniques that are vital to seeing results, like circuit training. In circuit training, you’re going from one exercise to another so quickly that time flies. None of this “let’s do 100,000 reps!” I see so often in celebrity workout videos. You do five of Gilad’s lunges, and you feel the burn right away. Because cardio is paired with strength training, your calorie burn is through the roof. You also continue to burn calories after the workout ends– isn’t circuit training great?

WHY HE WON’T BREAK YOUR BANK

You can pick and choose which episodes you want from Amazon at around a $2. Sometimes they play re-runs of his workouts on Fit TV (which got renamed to like Discovery Health or something lame like that) but Amazon has a pretty awesome selection, and my favorite episode is the one I’ve linked to on here. I’m an Amazon Affiliate, which means if you click on the link to buy Gilad’s, I get part of the profit, and at no extra cost to you.

It’s a great workout, one of my favorites, and I’d recommend it to everyone who doesn’t have much time to exercise!

From Amazon.com: “Gilad weaves the best of strength training, circuit training, cardio bursts, kickboxing and martial arts into a one-of-a-kind routine that works your whole body. Circuit training using light to medium hand weights and buttocks exercises are featured.”

Filed Under: Featured -- Healthy, Featured Workout, Reality of Healthy, Slider, Top Article, Weight Loss Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

The Ultimate Guide to Body Shapes

February 21, 2012 by 2 Comments

Step one:identify your body shape.

I know. You’re probably all like, “silly internet health blogger! I’m human-shaped!”

True. Very true. But I’m talking about the kind of body shapes that is inexplicably named after fruit.

If you are a pear, you “tend to have fat storage on their hips and legs but close to none at their chest, arm and stomach area”. (Check out this cool article detailing more about the pear shape).

If you are an apple, you store fat around your midsection.

If you are a tomato, don’t kid yourself. Tomato is not a real fruit. It also should be noted that Pluto would still be considered a planet if everything was fair in the world.

If you are an hourglass, you tend to store fat around your hips and your chest area.

Step Two: Use your shape to devise a workout routine.

If you are a pear:

  • You will get bulky leg muscles more easily, so do squats without weights. Focus on your upper body!
  • You have to lift weights like a man in order to get any muscles in your upper body. That means heavy weights and less reps, people!
  • And most important: do LOTS of cardio in order to limit your body fat percentage and make your legs slimmer. A low carb diet is also helpful for pear shapes.
  • Try and avoid cheese and salty foods.
  • Pear-zone fat is more difficult to remove, but it’s also less detrimental to your health than belly fat.
  • Building muscles in the shoulders and arms is important in order to make your waist look smaller

If you are an apple:

  • Mix cardio with core toning moves. Best workout idea for apples? Pilates!
  • There are some great 7-day workout plans for all body shapes here.
  • The good news: belly fat tends to be easier to burn than other types of fat. With some core training and cardio, you can burn it off in a jiffy!
  • Bad news: belly fat is more detrimental to your health because of the strain it puts on various vital organs.

If you are an hourglass:

  • Here is a great workout guide from Women’s Health for Hourglass shapes.
  • Basically, you want to focus on increasing all over muscle tone by utilizing full-body sculpting moves.

 

An Important Note About Body Shapes:

You can’t change your body shape. If you’re a pear shape and you lose twenty pounds, you will be a smaller pear. This is where loving your own body comes in! People who are apples might envy the pears, and the pears might call the apples fat because they’re insecure about their own shape.

Fruit wars are not a laughing matter. Neither is our own self-esteem. We can’t change our shape, but we can gain muscle mass and become fit and healthy and work to help inspire positive body images in ourselves and others as well! It makes no sense to compare your body to Beyoncé or Scarlett Johannson (both Hourglass shapes) if your body isn’t genetically built like theirs. Love how you look: not how you look in comparison to somebody else.

We all need to be more like the fruit from the Fruit of the Loom commercials and get along and feel good about ourselves while singing catchy jingles to men in their underwear.

Because we are beautiful. All of us.

And who can resist a catchy jingle?

There you go kiddos. Go hit the gym!

photocredit

Filed Under: Featured -- Healthy, Reality of Healthy, Slider, Top Article Tagged With: , , ,
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