Austin Fat

“The best way to predict your future is to create it” – Abraham Lincoln

Luckily, avoiding the dreaded muffin top has become easier in recent years. High-waisted pants with their retro appeal are back, hopefully for good! Unlike their predecessor, low-rise skinny jeans make every woman look short and fat! While they are in fact ‘out’ of style, I still see the occasional female with bulging flesh spilling out of her pants…no one wants a muffin top, or to see one for that matter!

Ways to Avoid the Muffin Top:

1. Switch to mid or high-waisted pants. They accentuate the female waist giving you an hourglass shape, while exaggerating the length of our legs and flattening out your stomach.

2. Cardio. Engage in 20-30 minutes of cardiovascular activity most days of the week to get rid of excess body fat around the midsection.

3. Strength Train. Start with 2 sets, of 8-12 exercises that target all the major muscle groups (2-3 days a week). Increasing your lean body mass will rev up your metabolism, making you burn more calories throughout the day.

4. Clean Eating. Try and find alternatives to high fat, calorie dense, nutrient devoid foods. Here is an example of swapping out an unhealthy ‘muffin top’ enhancer for an easy to make alternative…

Skip the Starbucks Banana Nut Muffin:

Nutrition Summary:

Calories 440!!!
Fat 16g
Carbs 67g
Protein 7 g
Saturated Fat 2.5 g

Make some Muscle Muffins:

Click here for the recipe.

Nutritional Summary:

Calories 86
Fat 1.9 g
Carbs 15 g
Protein 3g
Saturated Fat 0g

On Saturday I collaborated in the kitchen with my dear friend Jenny. She is known for being a connoisseur of confectionaries and her latest cake ball creation did not disappoint! Being in the health field myself, I thought our evening eats needed a nutritional boost and decided on a brown rice veggie bowl for the main dish.

NAUGHTY

NICE

{Chopped kale, green onions & garlic}

{Brown rice, steamed kale, sautéd with garlic and green onions}

August Fitness & Food related events:

FIT

I’ve signed up for this Bunz on the Barre workout series, it is every Monday starting August 15.
(More Information)

Deep Eddy Splash Party, August 6
(More Information)

FOOD

Ice Cream Festival, August 13
(More information)

Hot Sauce Festival, August 28

Weekend workouts are easy to bypass, especially for those of us with hectic weekday schedules involving work, school, motherhood (not me!), and daily exercise. We (and by we, I mean me) tend to rationalize our way out of it by recalling all of those sweat sessions we recently endured. While we definitely need to rest in order for our muscles to recover & repair, I do believe it’s important for us to break a sweat everyday. That’s why I just try to do a little something….

This can include a walk or easy jog at the park, yard work, a low impact fitness dvd, etc. Basically anything that gets your body moving before your first mimosa!

Today I choose to do some light toning exercises designed by celebrity trainer Tracy Anderson. I definitely do not think her method is an all encompassing exercise program, as I strongly promote progressive resistance training (the heavier I lift, the leaner I get). However, for a Saturday workout her routines hit the spot and her dance cardio dvd is a great cardio alternative!

My client & I did this butt/leg series together this morning…

Meet my mom, she is a cook. She is also the reason that I grew up with a great appreciation for fresh, good-quality food. She wouldn’t settle for chicken nuggets and pizza and neither should you!

We decided to make some chicken tacos with homemade tomatillo sauce. Tacos can be healthy, delicious and super easy to prepare. But if you’re not careful a taco meal can be loaded with grease and salt – more like fast-food than homemade. We bought a rotisserie chicken breast and removed the fatty skin and the tomatillo sauce adds loads of flavor without the calories. These juicy chicken tacos were perfectly spicy, a tasty tuesday indeed…

Shredded Chicken & Tomatillo Tacos with Queso Fresco
(Click here for the complete recipe)

{Mixing the ingredients with olive oil, salt & pepper before sauteing}

{Blending the tomatillo mixture}

{Baker loves tacos too}

These tacos were so delicious, that I forgot to take an after photo! The good news is that I was able to use the leftover tomatillo sauce at a taco party a few nights later…

Grilled Fish Tacos are another tasty, healthy meal and a wonderful alternative to beef tacos. The grilled corn really complemented the fish, and looks as good as it tastes!

{Create your taco with a variety of fixins’}

Keeping your workout routine fresh by incorporating different movements, weights, and rep/set variations is the way to get the high & tight body we all covet. One way to mix up your training and to continue to see results is by taking a new fitness class. So come & try out one of my classes, I teach Cardio Sculpt (T & Thu @ 9:30 am) and Target Toning (Friday @ 7am) at Castle Hill Fitness. Click here for more information.

Yesterday, I got up early and completed 4.5 miles, fartlek stlye on Town Lake Trail. It was only 80 degrees at that point, so I could compete with myself and not the intense heat. After I trained a few clients, I took a Pilates class which was half mat and half equipment based. It was just what I needed, as the mind/body connection associated with yoga also plays an integral part in Pilates.

If you are more into sports conditioning and heavy lifting then I strongly urge you to try out a Pilates class because they are very intense if you perform the exercises correctly. The extremely precise nature of the practice and the focus on quality repetitions rather than quantity promotes athleticism, balance and of course a beautifully sculpted physique. (Click Here for more info on Pilates @ Castle Hill)

By using a variety of exercises and changing them frequently, you can keep your body from stagnating and will continue to see results. So, change IS good! Coming soon, I will post a total body strength training routine that can be modified to fit all fitness levels.

I love to live a healthy lifestyle, but I’m certainly not about to (or advise you to) adhere to a strict diet that leaves no room for fun. On leisurely weekend afternoons, I can often be found scouring foodie blogs for new recipes or crafting gourmet plates whilst drinking champagne! Going out to eat with friends and perhaps indulging in some midday debauchery is another treat that I enjoy without guilt. However, come Monday it’s time to focus on supplying my body with the nutrients it needs to perform on the job and during my daily workouts. This means I focus on utilitarian meals that are easy and nutritious. It’s a give and take really, so sometimes you have to ramp up the workouts and reign in the appetite.

I typically buy organic chicken tenders and toss them with olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Bake for about 20 minutes at 425, then you can toss them into a salad, make various sandwiches, tacos, etc….the endless possibilities are practical and healthy.

[I also keep salad fixings, like sliced almonds, pine nuts, and currants in jars. That way I'm always ready to spruce up a salad]

I have been increasingly succumbing to my sweet tooth in recent months, but the dreaded sugar rush and subsequent energy zapping effects led me to search for lower glycemic goodies. Then I found Babycakes, a vegan and organic bakery in NYC, that happens to also publish a cookbook and this banana bread recipe, my favorite delicious and ‘healthy’ find thus far. This recipe proved to me that vegan baked goods are absolutely as delectable as their calorie dense and preservative enriched counterparts. The bread contains sugar but it is made with natural, slow-digesting carbohydrates that do not excessively elevate blood sugar level, protecting you from that energy crash. Give this recipe a go next time you have the urge to splurge…

Workout Tip:

Exercising first thing in the morning on an empty stomach can improve glucose tolerance. According to The Journal of Physiology, improved tolerance to glucose encourages your body to use fat as fuel. So get up and get moving early in the day and save the sweets for after supper.