How much water should I drink?

Alright, quiz time!

What percentage of your body is made up of water?

Don't know? Go ask a fifth grader and see if they know. ;)

Or just scroll down. 













60-70% of your body is made out of water. I don't think you need your fifth grader to tell you: 

that's a large percentage!

This being so, it's very important to make sure that you drink enough water. However, the thing about enough is that is changes due to many different factors. These factors include your weight, at what altitude you are, if you're pregnant or breastfeeding, and how much you work out a day, among other things. 

However, a simple rule of thumb is to take your weight, divide that by two, and then that's how many ounces of water you should be drinking. According to the National Center of Health Statistics the average weight of an American woman is 163 pounds, while a man weighs around 190 pounds. That means that the average American woman should be drinking about 80 oz of water, and the average man should drink 95 ounces of water.

That's a lot of water!

Well, here's something that might ease your mind a bit:

If you eat a healthy diet (that means you eat your fruits and veggies, too!) then about 20% of your water comes from your food.

That brings it down to 64 oz for the average American woman and 76 oz for the average American man, which is much more manageable. Also, make sure you add 8 oz per every 20 minutes that you workout.

Okay, you lost me. So how do I figure out how much I should be drinking?

Here's the equation:

Your weight       x      .4
                   (times)

Wow, didn't all that math make you thirsty? ;)

What does my metabolism have to do with me?

“I keep hearing the word metabolism when it comes to working out and dieting...

But what does it mean?”

According to dictionary.com, it means,

“The sum of the physical and chemical processes in an organism by which its material substance is produced, maintained, and destroyed, and by which energy is made available.”

But what does that mean?

Basically, it means that the metabolism is what maintains your body weight. It is the equation of the number of calories you burn vs the number of calories you take in.

So why does that matter?

Simply put, it matters because it affects how much weight you lose. What it all comes down to is your level of body fat vs. your level of muscle.

Muscle burns fat.

If you've done any workouts by Chalene Johnson, you've no doubt heard this a couple million times. But it is so true. The hard truth is that the reason that the diets of so many people are so ineffective isn't because of the diet, it's because of the people.

Why does muscle burn more fat?

Muscle burns more fat because it requires more calories to maintain. It takes all these extra calories out of your system just to keep itself living. This is why exercising is so important.

Exercising builds that muscle that you need to burn fat. If you only diet, you're only going to burn as many calories as your fat needs to maintain itself, and then you're still stuck with however many calories are left over. These calories are what keep you from losing weight.

Okay, so how do I build muscle?

Resistance training!

This can be done with free weights (in other words your 1, 3, 5, etc lb set) or with resistance bands like the ones found in Turbofire. However, this is important:

You cannot do strength training every single day.

If you do that, you're going to tear your muscles by overworking them. You do strength training one day, then you need to give your muscles a day of rest. Following that day of rest, you may work them out again.

So, only do strength training every other day.

Also, don't neglect your cardio workouts. These are still important because they burn even more calories. As a general rule, I do cardio workouts three days a week, and strength training two. That puts me at 5 days a week, with every other day strength training and vice versa.

How Much Protein Do I Need?

Protein, protein, protein. You have to have it in your diet.

In fact, according to dietaryfiberfood.com, "Protein intake is an indispensable requirement for the growth and maintenance of any living creature."

In other words, you can't just forget about it.

But what's the point?

Taking once again from dietaryfiberfood.com, the positives of getting enough protein are pretty impressive.

• Body development (if you're working to develop muscle, then this is particularly helpful!)
• Replenishment of lost blood
• Healing of wounds and scars
• Hair and nail growth

Cool, huh? But now on to the real question. How much do I need?

Well, thanks to about.com, we have a nifty formula to figure that out:

"How to Calculate Your Protein Needs: 

1. Weight in pounds divided by 2.2 = weight in kg
2. Weight in kg x 0.8-1.8 gm/kg = protein gm.
Use a lower number if you are in good health and are sedentary (i.e., 0.8). Use a higher number (between 1 and 1.8) if you are under stress, are pregnant, are recovering from an illness, or if you are involved in consistent and intense weight or endurance training.
Example: 154 lb male who is a regular exerciser and lifts weights
154 lbs/2.2 = 70kg
70kg x 1.5 = 105 gm protein/day"

 Alright, so, now I know that I need [fill in the blank] gm of protein a day.....

How do I get that many grams?

By eating healthy foods that are high in protein, of course!

These foods include:

• Beans
• Cheeses 
• Eggs
• Milk
• Yogurt
• Tuna
• Oatmeal
• Plain popcorn
• Rye
• Bananas
• Whole wheat bread
• Chicken
• Turkey
• Fish
• Shakeology

Just remember, too much of  a good thing is always a bad thing.

Is Coffee Bad for Your Health?

In order to answer this question, first we need to look at what coffee actually is. According  to coffeecupnews.org, "Coffee actually comes from a cherry that grows on a bush or tree. That cherry has seed inside of it or “bean” which is then cleaned, dried, roasted (cooked), ground and then brewed." So, it starts out as a fruit, and then we use the seed, or bean to make coffee. That doesn't sound so bad, right? You say that everyone is always getting onto you about how bad coffee is for you, but it's actually a fruit! Also, according to WebMD, coffee drinkers are less likely to have type 2 diabetes, Parkinson's disease, and dementia and have fewer cases of certain cancers, heart rhythm problems, and strokes.

So then where is the problem?

The problem is when you start adding calorie and sugar packed creamers and flavors to your coffee. For example, my favorite Starbucks coffee is the Java Chip Frappucino. That drink alone has 200 calories with 35 from fat. Now that doesn't seem so bad, until you realize that plain coffee is calorie free. If you need to add some flavor, add some skim milk or stevia. You can even buy "skinny" creamers such as this awesome White Chocolate Mocha creamer from International Delights, that I use.
Answer: Calories so empty that you don't even remember to count them.
So, in conclusion, if you're a coffee drinker, you don't have to stop. Just adjust.

• Don't drink coffee filled with empty calories
• Be wise about what you add to your coffee 
• Don't drink coffee in place of water; a healthy dose of coffee is one cup a day

5 Day Inferno

Finally! The wedding and summer are over and everything is back in full swing. Hopefully along with my blogging and facebook!

Okay, so, I started this new work out program called

Turbofire.


The workouts are fun, the music is AMAZING, and the calories it burns are ridiculous. The workouts consist mainly of dancing and kickboxing, with a stretch/yoga workout to increase flexibility and a high intensity interval training workout every other day.

• What is HIIT?
• Why is flexibility important?

By just following the 5 day eating and work out plan I lost 2 inches, both in places that could stand to lose an inch. I know an inch in my hips and an inch in my chest (right below the arms and around) don't look like it's much of a difference, but my clothes sure fit differently!

Okay, so here's how you do it:

• Sign up for a free Beachbody account where you can log your workouts and get free coaching (from me!)
• Sign up for free now!
• Get your copy of Turbofire. Which, by the way, includes workouts as short as 15 minutes and as effective as any longer cardio (if not more!).
• Purchase it by clicking here!
• Order some Shakeology from your coach (me!) But why? Well, because your eating plan includes a Shakeology a day! Shakeology is essentially a protein shake, but it is much yummier and has many more nutrients than just protein. Use it for a meal substitute a day and increase your results.
• Find out more about Shakeology!
• Take before pictures and measurements.
• Start your eating plan. Make sure you eat enough by following the calories to add chart in the 5 day inferno guidebook.
• Start your work outs! Log your workouts into Beachbody each day and stick to doing them.
• Stick to the eating plan!
• After the 5 days, take after pictures and measurements.
• Let me know your results!

Make sure you talk to your doctor if you're not sure that you're in physical condition to do such an intense work out.

Before

After

Before

After

Yummy Shakeology

I love the chocolate shakeology. =] This is my favorite way to make it.

One banana
One cup milk
One tablespoon natural peanut butter
One packet chocolate shakeology

Shake it up, and hello, deliciousness. =]

Rest Day

I love Sundays! I get to go to church and then spend the day with my boyfriend. =] Sundays are also my one day of the week that I take off of exercise, so I don't even have to worry about that. My Sundays really are the definition of a lazy Sunday. =] Don't forget how important it is to take at least one day off. Your body needs a chance to recover from all of the strenuous work. Without it, you run the risk of seriously injuring yourself. However, just because you are not working out does not give you the right to forget all about healthiness. You still need to make sure that you're eating enough and that you're eating healthy. Don't blow your efforts by vegging out on your day off.
Let me know how it's going!
Coach Icee