Category Archives: Blog

It’s 3 days after Christmas, and it’s almost the end of the holiday season. Christmas was filled with family, friends, fun and of course, food.

It seems like every holiday is centered around food, unfortunately. But completely abstaining from holiday events and food can make you feel like a martyr and feel miserable. Now, even though you have goals you are aspiring to, it doesn’t mean that you have to completely abstain. A few bites of treats here and there WON’T kill you or set you back terribly. In fact, it can help you reach your goals easier and faster as it allows you to have a small taste of freedom and prevents you from falling off the wagon completely.

BUT, in the case that you do fall off the wagon, it’s OK!! Life is meant to be enjoyed and if you enjoy just a little too much around the holidays, that’s ok!! You have to forgive yourself and move on with it. Don’t let this become a bad habit or lifestyle, because that’s not healthy. But learn to forgive yourself from the mistakes you’ve made and learn from the experience. Move on, don’t dwell on the mistake, learn from it, embrace it and change it. What can you do better next time?

I used to beat myself up for making mistakes, so I know that you HAVE to learn to forgive yourself. We are constantly learning new things. So I let these mistakes be a learning opportunity for myself.

Forgive yourself. Love yourself. Love your body. Love health.

 

Here’s to a healthy and happy 2016!!

 

It’s only TEN days until Christmas? Are you ready? I can’t wait to spend time with family and loved ones and enjoy the season the way that it should.

I just got back from vacation and I am sooooo excited to introduce to you my latest program!! It’s the 8×8 Challenge!! I decided I wanted to design an at-home workout program that would give women results fast, and was efficient and affordable.

This is what the program includes:

• 8 Weeks of fat-blasting workouts! ($350 Value)
• 8 Week Nutrition plan to give you the BEST results! ($199 Value)
• Live online support
• Access to a private and personal accountability group to help you stay on track and reach your goals.
• Workout schedule for optimal fat loss! ($50)
• Guide to Foods that promote fat loss ($89)

All of what is included in the 8×8 Challenge is valued at over $689, and if you sign up before the New Year, the 8×8 challenge is only $34.97!!! After the January 1st, the price for 8×8 will be $50.

Don’t delay!! Get fit and sign up today!!

October 27th, 2015.

By Katie Guinn

This weekend is Halloween. This weekend officially marks the start of what I call, “Candy Season”. From now until Valentine’s Day, you will be bombarded with candies, treats, parties and many unhealthy foods and meals.

Did you know that the average American GAINS 10- 15lbs during the holiday season?

What if you LOST 10-15lbs? You’d be ahead by 30lbs!!

Instead of waiting to set a New Year’s Resolution, set your goals NOW and get FIT by January 1st.

To kick off getting “Fit for the Holidays”, I have a new program I want to introduce to you. It has the same name and this is what it includes:

– 2 Months of Workouts for November and December

– 2 Months of a Food Guide and Meal Plan with multiple options to help you reach your goals.

– Online support and accountability group to help you stay on track.

– Proven workouts that will increase your metabolism and help you BURN FAT FASTER!

– Workouts that you can do AT HOME! No fancy gym membership or equipment required!

– Short, effective workouts that are only 30 minutes!

– Access to your fat loss coach (that’s me!) to help troubleshoot and solve any problems you may encounter.

– A $199 value for only $34.97!!!

 

Don’t wait! Get Fit for the Holidays today!!!

Someone asked me the other day, “how do I choose the healthiest meal when dining at a restaurant?” This person also asked me, “what’s better to choose; fat or carbs?”

Carbs can have a positive or negative impact on your body hormonally; carbs will increase your insulin response. Insulin does 2 things; build muscle or store fat. After a workout consuming a carb will help build muscle as your muscles are insulin sensitive. BUT, when your muscles are not insulin sensitive these carbs will be stored as fat/adipose tissue on your body.

Fat is hormonally neutral on your body, as long as it’s not consumed with a carb.

So, the main takeaway is to watch your carb intake. Watching your carbs and limiting them will help you make the best choice. Always go low-carb.

Here’s some ideas of what you can do to make your dining options fat loss friendly:

– Skip the bread basket, ask the waiter to omit it

– Toss the bun of your sandwich or burger

– Chicken breast or lean steak filet with a side of veggies

– Skip the chips and tortillas at a Mexican restaurant, order fajitas or taco salad, 1-3 bites of beans

– Breakfast options: plain oatmeal, egg whites, turkey bacon

– Grilled chicken salad with lots of veggies and choose a low carb dressing like; ranch, italian, any of the vinegarettes or red wine vinegar.

 

Here’s another tip: I always have stevia with me in my purse. I use the liquid bottle version to sweeten my oatmeal, iced tea, coffee and anything else. This helps me eliminate the extra calories and carbs that table sugar brings.

As a former gymnast myself, I love watching gymnastics whenever it airs on TV. The 2015 National Championships was on TV this weekend and I was excited, no doubt.

If you’re a fan of gymnastics, you’ll notice that the 10.0 system is long gone and now gymnasts receive scores like 15.750, 16.000 and so forth. This is because gymnasts are judged on their execution and difficulty of routine, and that’s how they get such an odd ball number….. Anyway, this has caused gymnasts to keep pushing the limits on difficulty and throwing harder and more difficult tricks. Which increases the chances for falling and making mistakes.

 

 

So, what does this have to do with nutrition and fitness?

When you decided to live a healthy lifestyle, you are walking the straight and narrow and it’s difficult, kinda like the balance beam. And there is little room for error as well. You have to “be on”, if you’re not on, then bam! you’re off the beam and there’s a deduction.

It’s a setback for sure, but one thing I noticed was this; when these incredible athletes took a tumble off the beam or another apparatus, they kept pressing on. They salvaged what they could. They didn’t have the attitude of “the heck with it, I’m not perfect so I might as well quit now”.

 

Just because you fall off, doesn’t mean to quit right then and there. Falls happen, and it’s ok, you’re human. Some may even think that “my day is ruined nutrition-wise, so I might as well finish off that carton of ice cream in the freezer”. No. Pick yourself back up and KEEP GOING!! Salvage what you can, don’t take any more deductions in addition to the fall you’ve already had. Take each meal, moment and movement as a challenge to do your very best.

Falls WILL happen, it’s how you deal with it that shows if you have the heart of a champion

 

Any one else having a LONG and HOT summer? Seriously, when the temperatures reach the triple digits here, it gets a little miserable…..  :/

But a little heat is a GOOD thing!!

Let’s talk about the B’s and the H’s!!

There’s 4 things you want to accomplish when it comes to a fat loss workout:

• Breathless- You want to increase your heart rate so that you’re working hard and becoming short of breath is a clear indicator of that.
• Burning- You want your muscles to burn, without a burning sensation your muscles aren’t working hard to start fat loss
• Heavy- Lifting heavy weights taxes your muscles. When muscles are taxed by heavy weights, they are stretched and broken down. When they are built back up, these muscles use the fat around them to rebuild, thus fat loss!!
• Heat- Generation of heat is an indication that your body is working hard and increased blood flow. This blood flow helps burn visceral (deep) fat, like your love handles and thighs. Heat is also an indication of fat loss!!

As you can see, a little heat is a good thing!

So, bring on the heat!! 😉

Anyone else not a fan of running? Lol. If you’re a runner, kudos to you. But let me give you my 3 reasons why I personally hate running:

1. It’s not an efficient use of your time. I could run for 2 hours or get a better workout in, in just 30 minutes!!!

2. It doesn’t tone your muscles. Look at the difference in sprinters and marathon runners. Who’s more toned and tight? And who’s just skinny? Or skinny/fat?

Ladies! Don’t be afraid to lift heavy! Lifting heavy taxes your muscles more so that you build more muscle and burn fat!! So toss those little pink and purple weights and grab a heavy! I used a 35lb today for my sumo squat finisher! Dripping sweat and got a great workout in this morning!

If you ever go to the gym, take notice of the people there and what they are doing: cardio? Weights? Plyometrics? Who looks to be the most fit? Who would you aspire to be like?

Definitely the people who lift weights! They are tighter and toned and overall look more FIT.

I’ve increased my weights the past few months and I’ve noticed a HUGE CHANGE!!! I am stronger than ever, can do more repetitions than ever, lift heavier and check this out: I CAN DO PUSHUPS ALL THE WAY DOWN!!

When I do Burpees, I OWN them. Full body all the way to the ground in the pushup portion. I’ve NEVER been able to do that.

I know it’s because of my heavy weight lifting.

Muscles are sexy. Strong is sexy.

Let’s be strong ladies! 🙂

 

Time is precious, let’s face it. There never seems like enough hours in the day; work, home, kids and other commitments can leave you strapped for time.

So why spend HOURS at the gym when you really ONLY need 30 minutes?

Yep! That’s right JUST 30 minutes 3x a week is all you need to achieve your fat loss goals.

How does this work?

It’s called reaching “EPOC”.

What is EPOC?

EPOC is an acronym for Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption.  Exercise research has shown that you can burn fat and calories for up to 48 HOURS after your workout when reach EPOC.

 Here’s the scoop:

1. During your workouts, your body uses oxygen to fuel your muscles.  You start breathing harder…
2. The more intense your workout, you start to breathe harder and use up more oxygen.
3. When you use up oxygen, you create a deficit that needs to be restored. Your body likes to be balanced and to balance it back, your body will burn fat and calories after your workout.

What’s really important is to do is to make sure your body is burning fat after the workout. Certain things need to be in place to make sure fat burning is at an optimal level.

Compared to traditional cardio workouts, HIIT or Aspiring Fitness Workouts will create a longer afterburn of fat!! Check out the graph below!

 

Photo courtesy of Metabolic Effect

So, the secret to burning fat in the most efficient way is short bursts of exercise that taxes your muscles and increases your heart rate. This is my heart rate AFTER a recent Aspiring Fitness workout:

Increasing my heart rate up to 134 (about double my resting rate) will burn fat for 48 hours after my workout and give me the quick and efficient workout that I need!

 

So, how do you burn fat? By being more efficient with your workouts! The Aspiring Fitness workouts I’ve designed through my certification with Metabolic Effect, combines cardio with weight training to give you more fat burning for your workout buck!

People are SO surprised when I tell them that they only need to workout for 30 minutes 3x/week.

How does this work?

It’s called reaching “EPOC”.

What is EPOC?

EPOC is an acronym for Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption.  Exercise research has shown that you can burn fat and calories for up to 48 HOURS after your workout when reach EPOC.

 Here’s the scoop:

1. During your workouts, your body uses oxygen to fuel your muscles.  You start breathing harder…
2. The more intense your workout, you start to breathe harder and use up more oxygen.
3. When you use up oxygen, you create a deficit that needs to be restored. Your body likes to be balanced and to balance it back, your body will burn fat and calories after your workout.

What’s really important is to do is to make sure your body is burning fat after the workout. Certain things need to be in place to make sure fat burning is at an optimal level.

Compared to traditional cardio workouts, HIIT or Aspiring Fitness Workouts will create a longer afterburn of fat!! Check out the graph below!

 Photo courtesy of Metabolic Effect

• Replace muscle glycogen.  With these types of workouts, your body will use muscle glycogen as a primary source of fuel.  Your body will be insulin sensitive as a result and you will need to eat a starchy carb and protein source as a snack to replenish and build muscle. My favorite Post-Workout Snack? 1 cup of Reese’s Puff Cereal and a chocolate whey protein shake!!
• Relax.  When your workout is over, you will probably feel hot, sweaty and increased heart beat. Your heart is working hard to supply blood, nutrients and energy to your muscles and the rest of your body, so your heart rate will increase.  It may take awhile to have your heart return to it’s normal pulse, and this helps increase fat burning.
• Muscle Repair.  When you’re weight training, your muscles are being torn down and built back up. Remember that increased muscle leads to increased metabolic potential. So increased muscle will help keep that fat off and help burn it off as well!!

These body functions all require oxygen and fuel. AND, the fuel is uses is FAT!! Aside from calories, fat is used as an energy source! Which is what we want to reshape and tone our bodies!!