The Mister and I had a great workout this morning, focusing mostly on cardio — we went for more than 45 minutes on the elliptical – I’m sure my legs will be sore tomorrow morning! – good thing it’s an off day
For today’s ‘Work it’ Wednesday feature, we all have the privilege of learning from one of the professionals, Marci Lall.
Marci has extensive experience in personal training and:
was a host on the number one breakfast show in Toronto
writes numerous popular and informative fitness-related articles
has been used as a professional source on fitness and health in top magazines
contributes to dozens of health and fitness websites
continues to provide exceptional personal training services throughout Toronto.
I’m so thrilled to be able to share Marci’s guest post and video he put together JUST FOR ALL OF YOU! How fantastic is that?
Thank you so much Marci, for sharing your expertise with The Daily Balance!
First and foremost my name is Marci Lall and I’m a weight loss and body sculpting specialist in Toronto Ontario, Canada and I’ve been active in the fitness industry for about 8 years.
Now that you know a little bit about me. Lets get right in to what I wanted to share with you today. Which is the Top 3 Ways to Kick-Start Your Metabolism Instantly.
But first let me simplify what your metabolism is how your body makes energy, and uses it for daily activities. Some reasons why you’d want to speed up your metabolism would be to:
1. Burn more fat.
2. Increase your lean muscle mass
3. Burn more calories at rest.
1. Don’t Skip Meals
One of the biggest mistakes people make is skipping meals. They think if they skip a meal they’ll decrease the of calories they put into their bodies and lose weight that way. This is totally wrong because once you skip meals your body goes into starvation mode and takes energy from your lean muscle. Lean muscle burns fat so if your body is getting energy from your muscles your metabolism will eventually slow down because your decreasing your lean muscle.
2. Use Weights.
Many experts agree that resistance training is the most effective way to increase your metabolism. Each pound of muscle can increase your resting metabolic rate up to 15 calories a day.
3. Do Interval Training.
If you want to increase your metabolism with cardio, then high intensity interval training (HIIT) might be your best bet. By doing short bursts of sprints you’ll increase your heart rate significantly and burn the most calories. But the effects won’t last long and your metabolism will probably go back to it’s resting level after several hours.
Those are your top 3 ways to kick-start your metabolism but there’s still one more question that is still unanswered. And that is “How do you know if your metabolism is speeding up?”
Your metabolic rate is directly related to your muscle. If you increase your lean muscle your metabolism will increase. In order to figure out if you’ve increased your lean muscle you’d have to do a simple body fat test to compare your lean muscle and fat mass within your body.
You can also get a test done in which a machine plots out your information and lets you know what your RMR is.
Thank you, Marci! I’d say that I do a pretty good job making sure that I don’t skip meals and the Mister and I always get in solid weight training workouts, but I could pump up my interval training a bit. Does anyone have some good interval training workouts to share? What about you? How do you measure up to Marci’s tips?
So I’ve seen PURE bars around the blogosphere and have not been able to find them anywhere! Surprisingly, I found them at Giant Eagle of all places! After not being able to find them at Whole Foods! Strange, no? They only had two flavors available, Chocolate Brownie and Cherry Cashew. I bought two of each, so I wouldn’t have to worry about the Mister’s habit of snatching from my ‘special stash’
After hearing a glowing review from the Mister yesterday, I knew I had to have the Cherry Cashew bar as my morning snackie.
Our Cherry Cashew Bar contains dried, unsweetened, organic tart cherries. Cherries are undoubtedly one of the most antioxidant-rich foods, with powerful phytonutrients and a good dose of Vitamin C, to promote healthy aging and a strong immune system. We choose extremely high quality tart Oregon cherries with excellent flavor that are not sugar-infused (like many), but are carefully dried in their natural state!
Check out the fantabulous ingredient list:
INGREDIENTS:
Organic Dates, Organic Cherries, Organic Walnuts, Organic Agave Nectar, Organic Almonds, Organic Cashews, Organic Brown Rice Protein. “And that’s all! (unless you count the 15 essential vitamins and minerals, antioxidants from cherries, and healthy Omega 3 fats in every bite). Nothing cooked. Nothing processed. Completely Pure.”
I can see why several bloggers have compared these bars to LARA, as they were quite similar in texture!
The wrapper- sorry, I was so excited that I forgot to snap a pic before opening
Cherry Cashew PURE Bar
I really liked this bar! The flavor of real cherries was extremely refreshing but not overpowering, as I had feared. I normally stray from fruity bars because I often find the taste extremely artificial. But the cherries tasted just like… cherries, and looking at the ingredients (and the name of the bar, duh!) that is no surprise! My favorite part of this bar was the nutty taste of the cashews– almost buttery tasting and such a great complement to the tartness of the cherries! It’s hard to say if I like PURE bars better than LARAs, at this point — I don’t know if anything can top coconut cream pie or peanut butter cookie! But, I plan on trying the Chocolate Brownie bar tomorrow and will let you know what I think.
I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned it before on the site, but about 3 years ago I had vascular surgery on my leg. Due to who knows what, several veins in my leg collapsed. It caused an unbearable throbbing pain, not to mention a disgusting display of ‘blood blockage’ — i.e. I looked like I had the veins of an 80-year-old, or as my mother so eloquently puts it, cauliflower veins –SEXY!
I had eight of my veins removed and now visit my surgeon regularly for injections in order to prevent further damage. Relax, I’m fine. Aside from the occasional ache or tenderness, due to scarring and poor circulation, it doesn’t affect me. at all. The scars aren’t even that bad - if you squint
One of the best things I can do however, is WALK! Lucky for me, I LOVE walking. It’s my favorite form of exercise. I especially enjoy going on walking dates with my mom. Whether we walk outside or in the mall (DORK ALERT!), we always have a good time and she makes the time fly!
Due to my circulatory issues, it was suggested that I look for a walking shoe that helped increase blood flow to the legs. After a bit of research and trial-and-error, I not only found the best shoes for my circulation, but for my posture and muscles, as well! And the best thing about them? ANYONE can benefit. These shoes are not just for people with poor circulation –HARDLY! Improved circulation is merely one of the many benefits of wearing them.
MBT shoes, coined as “the world’s smallest gym,” have been around for at least 5 years, but have just started picking up publicity – probably since celebrities have started adding them to their shoe collections. MBT shoes increase muscle activity, strengthening and toning the legs, buttocks, stomach and back muscles.
In addition, many have made the claim that the shoes’ unique design helps walkers smooth cellulite.
While you won’t find those claims on the shoe manufacturer’s Web site, MBT shoes have been used in training by Olympic medalists and other top athletes.
According to Swiss Masai Inc., the shoe manufacturer, other benefits of the shoes include:
Activates neglected muscles
Improves posture and gait
Tones and shapes the body
Can help with back, hip, leg and foot problems
Can help with joint, muscle, ligament and tendon injuries
Reduces stress on knee and hip joints
As well as relief of:
Muscular Tension
Joint Problems
Back Problems
Leg & Feet Problems
Let me start by saying these shoes do not look like your average Nike or adidas kicks. No, they are a bit more ‘bulky’ (to put it nicely!). The first thing you’ll notice is the thick and curved sole. Setting the shoes on the floor, you’ll see that the sole curves upward at the heel and toe. Yes, it looks a bit odd, but not as odd as the feeling you’ll receive when you first put them on — a sense you might fall backwards – I’m surprised I didn’t! Don’t be alarmed, this is just the shoes’ technology at work! By curving the soles in the front and back, the shoes force you to stand upright directly over your center of gravity. Take a look at this diagram for a detailed explanation.
I wear these shoes for about an hour to an hour and a half at least 3 times a week. When walking was my primary form of exercise, I would wear them for an hour every day. When I first started wearing the shoes a few years ago, my posture immediately improved and my legs started looking like I was spending hours at the gym. Since I’ve continued to wear the shoes, my posture has improved, my legs have gotten stronger and I have far less pain due to circulatory issues.
I only use these shoes for walking. In fact, I don’t think it is recommended that you run in these shoes –I imagine it would be quite easy to break an ankle (for me, the klutz, anyway)!
Sure, I get a few raised eyebrows and interesting looks, but it seems that more people are interested than turned off by the young professional channeling her inner granny! In all seriousness, the company started to create more ‘cute’ and ‘fashionable’ styles. My pair are white and grey with a pink stripe! All I know is that I’ll be staying away from the ‘professional’ styles. Because any tennis shoe made “workplace friendly” is just a fashion crime waiting to happen.
Classic MBT shoes (image credit: www.mbtshoes.tv)
A cuter version (image credit: media.merchantcircle.com)
Have you seen/tried MBTs? What shoes do you swear by?
