Belly Fat Loss

Raise hand if you have belly fat. I do! It can be tough to lose it too. Here's some good advice I found. Click on the link and Check it out.

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Aerobic Exercise Workouts: Top Reasons to Do Them!

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Do you know the 15 reasons to do Aerobic Exercise? I didn't until I read this article. Wow! So many benefits. 

Regardless of age, weight or athletic ability, Aerobic Exercise Workouts are good for you. Regular aerobic activity can help you live longer and healthier. Need motivation? See how aerobic exercise affects your heart, lungs and blood flow. Then get moving and start reaping the rewards.

HOW DOES YOUR BODY RESPONDS TO AEROBIC EXERCISE WORKOUTS?

During aerobic activity, you repeatedly move large muscle groups in your arms, legs and hips. When you do this you will breathe faster and more deeply. This maximizes the amount of oxygen in your blood. Your heart will beat faster, which increases blood flow to your muscles and back to your lungs. Small blood vessels (capillaries) also widen to deliver more oxygen to your muscles and carry away waste products, such as carbon dioxide and lactic acid. As this is all happening your body will begin to release endorphins, natural painkillers that promote and increase the sense of well-being. What are you waiting for, it is time to get moving!

AEROBIC EXERCISE WORKOUTS: TOP REASONS TO DO THEM!

Aerobic Exercise Workouts are needed by everybody. It may be a bit more difficult at first, but once you get going your body will adapt and you will get stronger and more fit.

Consider the following to see how Aerobic Exercise Workouts can help you feel better and enjoy life to the fullest.

AEROBIC EXERCISE WORKOUTS CAN HELP YOU:

• Keep excess pounds at bay
• Combined with a healthy nutrition plan, aerobic exercise helps you lose weight and keep it off.
• Increase your stamina
• Boost your mood
• Aerobic exercise may make you tired in the short term, but over the long term, you’ll enjoy increased stamina and reduced fatigue.
• Ward off viral illnesses
• May activate your immune system. This may leave you less susceptible to minor viral illnesses, such as colds and flu.
• Reduces the risk of many conditions, including obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, stroke, certain types of cancer, and more.
• Boosts your high-density lipoprotein (HDL), the “good,” cholesterol, and lowers your low-density lipoprotein (LDL), the “bad,” cholesterol. This may result in less buildup of plaque in your arteries.
• May help strengthen your heart, keep arteries clear, and control blood sugar. If you have coronary artery disease, aerobic exercise may help you manage your condition.
• It can help ease the gloominess of depression, reduce the tension associated with anxiety, and promote relaxation.
• Helps keep your muscles strong, which can help you maintain mobility as you get older.
• Keeps your mind sharp.
• Increase your longevity

Ready to get more active? How can you not be with all those benefits that Aerobic Exercise Workouts provide?

Start smart with small steps if you’ve been inactive for a long time or if you have a chronic health condition. When you’re ready to begin exercising, start slowly.  Walking in the morning and evening is a good way to begin. After a few weeks you can step it up to brisk walking or jogging. Those types of Aerobic Exercise have their benefits, but you also want to combine Aerobic Exercise Workouts that provide exercises that move you in multiple directions. This allows your heart rate to gradually increase while training your body to move in many directions. It also strengthens tissues around your joints, which gives them more stability.

Beachbody On-Demand offers a varied selection of Aerobic Exercise Workouts. What’s great about Beachbody On-Demand is there are programs for every fitness level and the programs progress properly. Gradual workout progression can keep you motivated, keep you from boredom, and help prevent injury.

So grab all the benefits of Aerobic Exercise Workouts with the best programs on the market through Beachbody On-Demand!

Fitness Exercises For Men At Home with Busy Schedules

How many of you would agree that when you strike up a conversation with someone and ask how their day is going the response is "busy"? If you're too busy to stay healthy and fit, there are programs designed for busy people. I'm living proof that these programs work in my busy life. Check out these few starter tips.

http://www.gettingfittogether.com/fitness-exercises-for-men-at-home-with-busy-schedules/#!102

Signs Your Workout Program is Working

How many of you workout? You can tell if your workout program is working just by these three signs. If you can guess what these three signs are before reading the article, write them in a comment and whoever guesses correctly will win a FREE bag of the most nutrient dense whole food shake on the planet!

http://www.gettingfittogether.com/signs-your-workout-program-is-working/#!102

Music May Help Your Exercise Results

All I know is that when I listen to Music when I run and workout it motivates me to workout harder to get better results. Do you listen to music when you exercise?

http://www.gettingfittogether.com/music-may-help-your-exercise-results/#!102 

Should Artificial Sweeteners Be a Concern for My Digestion?

What is your diet like? Does it contain any artificial ingredients such as artificial sweeteners? Ever since I stopped using any kind of artificial sweeteners years ago my body has thrived! PLUS, I try to stay away from processed refined sugars. Great article.

http://www.gettingfittogether.com/should-artificial-sweeteners-be-a-concern-for-my-digestion/#!102

Food Safety Tips You Want to Know

Did you know that you shouldn't wash or rinse poultry in the sink? How about Milk should be stored on the shelf and not in a door bin? Some interesting facts about food safety that I wanted to share with everyone.

http://www.gettingfittogether.com/food-safety-tips-you-want-to-know/#!102

Carbs Before a Workout: Can It Help?

Why do carbs get a bad rap? The right carbs are good for you, especially before working out. Know the facts. 

http://www.gettingfittogether.com/carbs-before-a-workout-can-it-help/#!102

How Much Weight Should I Lift?

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How Much Weight Should I Lift? It’s a perfectly good question, but the answer is going to vary. In fact, there are a number of variables that should be taken into account. When you take these variables into account it will allow you to customize your training program to ensure you’re using the right weight every time. For those of you not interested in details of How Much Weight Should I lift... here’s the short answer: You should always lift as much weight as you can for the number of repetitions targeted by an exercise without compromising form but that creates a burn for the last 4-5 reps or 10-15 seconds if timed. If you aren’t doing this, you’re only getting a fraction of your workout’s potential.

So let’s get into the answer of How Much Weight Should I Lift? Ultimately the independent variable isn’t the weight you are lifting, it is about the reps or time you are doing the exercise. So how do you figure out how much weight to lift, for the time or reps to get the best results? In exercise we know that failure is not an option, but with figuring out How Much Weight Should I Lift, failure can actually be good. This means if you never fail during a set, you never know how much weight you should lift when doing an exercise. So when you first start out and at least every 30 days it is good to create failure on an exercise. This lets you know what weights to use, and that you’re pushing to your limits. This is important to achieve your results whether your goal is to lose or gain weight.

HOW MUCH WEIGHT SHOULD I LIFT?

Now let’s take a look at how the failure set is the answer to How Much Weight Should I Lift. This should be done with a few rules in mind so you don’t injure yourself. To begin you want to start with enough weight to barely reach the targeted repetitions or time. If you can just finish with maintaining form, then you found your weight. If you cannot, then you need to adjust it back just a bit. Repeat this process through every exercise in your workout.

Whether your goal is to gain mass, lose weight, or just get strong or ripped, taking a deeper look at How Much Weight I Should Lift will allow you to have the knowledge for the greatest results.

Most weight training exercises target a certain number of repetitions for each set or a certain amount of time. If you are using reps, the number might stay constant over the course of a workout or change depending on the exercise. If you are using time, the reps will vary based on the exercise. Either way, having an understanding of why this is being asked of you will help you get the most out of your workout program and determine the weight you should be lifting.

Here is a brief physiology lesson. This will help you understand how doing a failure test every 4-6 weeks will help as you train your body differently. It will help you understand why you will constantly need to change the amount of weight you’re using to get the most out of each workout.

A quick rundown of Weight Training Physiology to understand the question ofHow Much Weight Should I Lift:

• Hypertrophy Workouts: These workouts rev up the metabolism and are the quickest means to change your ratio of muscle and fat. Whether your goal is to lose or gain weight, beginning with a workout program that focuses on hypertrophy will change your metabolism, which in turn is body transformation. This will create a fat burn and added lean muscle with strength, which accelerates fat loss.

• Muscle Mass Workouts: This style of workout is going to combine low reps (or little time) with very high weights. This will produce larger muscles, which in turn increases the capacity for strength. The catch is, the strength does not come with size. To create the strength the larger muscles have to be trained to be efficient. This is done with programs that provide eccentric (negative) forces, and plyometric (explosive) forces.

• Muscular Endurance Workouts: This is exercise that lasts longer than a minute or over 15 repetitions. Endurance workouts target the glycolytic energy system, where both glycogen and oxygen are used when doing the exercise. This creates muscular endurance, which means you are increasing the muscle’s ability to perform for a longer duration. This style of training is best done when it is in conjunction with hypertrophy training.

So the questions about How Much Weight Should I Lift will have a different answers depending on what style of workouts you are doing. With that said, keep in mind that the best exercise programs for overall health, weight loss or maintenance, and muscular gains utilize all styles of exercise within one program. This will create the greatest results and benefits from your exercise.

When you start a new program be sure to go through the entire exercise program and do a failure test on each exercise to know where you need to start. This will help you get the greatest benefits from the weight you are lifting and the workouts you are doing.

No matter which of the above styles you’re targeting during your workout, it’s only effective if you have run the failure tests and are pushing your body to those limits. If the last few reps or seconds  are difficult while still maintaining proper form, you are good. If not, simply adjust. Of course you will have days that failure happens when you are working out. That is okay, you are still on track. When this happens you may need to evaluate whether you adjusted your weights too high, or perhaps you need to add some supplements to help your body perform and recover better.

Knowing the answer to the question of How Much Weight Should I Lift, ultimately will bring you greater results.

Best Supplements for Muscle Gain

How many of you are challenged with muscle gain from working out? At 45, I've noticed it can be more challenging. Most of us know the "basic" supplements but did you know there are "other" supplements that can help you gain muscle?

http://www.gettingfittogether.com/best-supplements-for-muscle-gain/#!102

Are Carbohydrates Bad?

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Are Carbohydrates Bad? They make you fat right? Come on it must be true, you read articles about it all the time. So they must make you fat…right?

Here is the deal. There is one small problem, carbohydrates are very important. In fact, carbohydrates (especially the right kind) are essential to your body. They aid in muscle growth, providing energy, as well as providing your body many other benefits. So, Are Carbohydrates Bad? The answer is NO!

Now let’s be real. Lumping all carbs together into one category is like saying all quarterbacks who play in the NFL will be just like Joe Montana. It would be absurd to call all carbs bad when vegetables and fruits are also carbohydrates. With that said, I would have a hard time believing that you would think that a nutrition plan attempting to completely purge carbohydrates would be a good idea. I have a feeling you are a pretty smart cookie (oh, that would be a bad carb). So to suggest that all carbs are evil, is just plain nonsense.

Let’s take a step back and take a hard look at reality, compared to personal preference. I need to ask you a question. Are you willing to wipe the slate clean and start fresh with the truth about carbohydrates? I am going to assume you said yes, either way I am going to give you the facts.

Are Carbohydrates Bad?

 Are Carbohydrates Bad? Will bread and grains make you fat? Uh, NO! Blanket statements just don’t work. The “don’t eat carbs” or “Carbohydrates are Bad” statements are just that, Blanket Statements. Statements like these just confuse the general public. The reason people get confused, is that most don’t have a nutrition background or truly understand what qualifies as a carbohydrate. 95% of us look at food as simply that, FOOD. All blanket statements have done is cause people to adjust their diets in a way that keeps their bodies from functioning properly. This is why many people have been going out of their way to avoid certain foods, like bread, rice or potatoes. When in fact, these foods can have a place in a balanced nutrition plan and can play a role in helping you lose weight or gain lean muscle.

Now you know that carbs as a whole are not bad, BUT there are certain types of carbs that are not good for your body. Generally, these types of carbs will make you feel bloated and tired. These types of carbs often contain processed sugars, corn syrup, or are white flour based foods, and the list can go one with all the other processed crap available. If you cannot grow it, or it doesn’t come from minimally processed whole grains, it is not good. Yep, simple as that.

It comes down to the food manufactures like to confuse people. If they can get the general public to buy into what they are saying about a particular food, macronutrient, or diet, they make money and lots of it.

So back to the question at hand… Are Carbohydrates Bad?

NO, but all of us could gain a better understanding to guide our eating habits. Eating vegetables and fruit, as well as high quality, high fiber grains are an important part of healthy nutrition. If you truly want a balanced healthy nutrition plan that will aid in weight loss or muscle gains you really need to have at least 100 to 200 grams per day depending on your daily level of physical activity and exercise.

The overall message is, you cannot consume bucket-loads of refined low quality carbohydrates and chase them down with and extra-large soda and say, “well they said carbs aren’t bad”. I know you are smarter than the average bear and understand that you need to choose your carbohydrates wisely to have a healthy nutrition plan. It is about eating more good foods such as lean proteins, colorful vegetables, a variety of fruits, high-fiber grains, healthy fats, and cutting out the highly processed garbage such as candy, soda, sugar-loaded foods, poor quality breads, and boatloads of pasta.

Another important factor is choosing the correct portions of the carbs you consume. This can be as important as the kind of carbs you choose to eat. Grain and fruit carbohydrates should be smaller portions than vegetable carbs. If you need assistance with nutrition, portion sizes, and proper balance of carbs, proteins, and fats you may want to check out the 21 Day Fix on Beachbody On Demand. It has an amazing nutrition plan that creates the perfect balance of nutrients and portions. If you struggle with cutting out the crap, you definitely want to take a look at adding a total nutrition shake like Shakeology.

When it’s all said and done, if you are eating healthy and choosing wisely 85-90 percent of the time your body will be happy, you will have energy, and you will lose weight, gain muscle or maintain depending on your goals. You now know the truth to the question “Are Carbohydrates Bad?”

Daily Protein Requirements for Men and Women

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What are the Daily Protein Requirements for Men and Women? The average man in the United States consumes about 100 grams of protein per day, while the average woman takes in approximately 70 grams, according to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The amount of protein you need daily really is dependent on your gender and activity level, as well as your goals because this determines your total caloric intake which has an effect on the amount of protein you need to consume.

Daily Protein Requirements for Men and Women

The Institute of Health and Nutrition finding is that for general health, men should get around 56 grams of protein per day and that women should get around 46 grams. It is also important to know that the human body cannot properly utilize more than 20 grams of protein in one consumption. Therefore the grams should be spread out throughout the day in smaller doses. When consuming protein it needs to be of higher quality to ensure that you are getting the nine essential amino acids that are needed but your body cannot produce on its own. Meat, fish and poultry provide all of the amino acids, but if you are a vegetarian, you can combine foods, such as rice and beans, or whole-grain bread and peanut butter, to get a complete array of amino acids.Shakeology which is a total nutrition shake, will also provide all the nutrients you need from the protein to the amino acids. Including this shake in your daily nutrition will help you reach your protein needs without overloading the body with hard to digest animal proteins.

It is also recommended that 10 to 30 percent of your total calories comes from protein. This guideline is general and is dependent on goals. Example: 1,800 calories per day, 180 to 540 of those calories should be from protein. Each gram of protein is 4 calories. This would put your consumption at 45 to 135 grams of protein. This proves why it is dependent on gender, activity level, and personal goals.

Most People Get Too Much Protein
To avoid weight gain, water retention and extra wear and tear on your digestive system, do not take in more protein than recommended. Your body will only use the protein it needs and can process at one time. If you are consuming more than your body needs you will either store it as excess fat or eliminate it. Therefore consuming too much at one time is bad for your body and a waste of money.

Eating large amounts of meat and animal protein each day can be especially unhealthy and hard on the body. Animal products should be eaten in moderation. Plant-based proteins, such as beans, whole grains and legumes are choices that keep the protein levels where you want them and provide a lot of other nutrients. Of course eating a variety of protein sources ensures your body balanced nutrition with all the essential amino acids and prevents it from being bogged down when there is too much of one food item.

Best Result with Your Protein Consumption
Most people don’t realize this, but the muscle gains and recovery do not come from just protein. You need to have a balanced proportion of proteins with complex carbohydrates for your body to actually assimilate the protein for muscle gains and recovery. Therefore you need to consume protein in small amounts, keeping the total grams in one sitting to no more than 20, and include carbohydrates that will optimize protein utilization. This is why we mention plant-based protein sources, as they provide both protein and carbohydrates.

If you are looking at supplements for help getting good protein and carbohydrates you want to use something that is natural and does not have additives or artificial sugars and ingredients. Two of the best sources of high quality supplements are the superfood shake Shakeology, and Beachbody’s Recharge and Recover Protein from their Performance Nutrition Line. These products are clean, high quality protein sources that are perfectly balanced with carbohydrates for optimal assimilation of the protein and super nutrient dense carbohydrates to aid in the process of muscle gain and recovery. When you are providing your body the proper macronutrient quantities, you will get the greatest results. Too much or too little will keep you from having the gains and results you are looking to obtain.

With the knowledge of protein requirements and overall balanced nutrition, great things will happen for you.

Health Effects of Caffeine

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Caffeine has its perks, but it can pose problems as well. The best thing you can do is to find out how much is too much for you, as well as the overall health effects of caffeine. Once you know the health effects of caffeine you can properly determine whether you need to curb your consumption.

Do you rely on caffeine to wake you up and keep you going? Well you aren’t alone. Caffeine is used by millions of people every day to increase wakefulness, alleviate fatigue, and improve concentration and focus. This can be a problem.

Health Effects of Caffeine

Caffeine is a powerful stimulant, and it can be used to improve physical strength and endurance if used properly, but it can also have some very bad side effects on your health if over used and over consumed.

Where can caffeine be found and is there a difference?

 Caffeine is found in Coffee, Green Teas, Energy Drinks, soda, and in a pill form. Caffeine that you find in soda, pill form, or in the majority of energy drinks are synthetic versions of caffeine which is not a form of caffeine you want to be consuming. Then add the sugar levels that are in soda and most energy drinks, and you are on the road to weight gain and an unhealthy body. If you are going to consume caffeine it should only come from coffee, green tea, or if you are using an energy drink you need to verify that it is coming from green tea or other natural herbs that have been found safe for consumption. The cleanest most natural energy drink on the market isEnergize by Beachbody. This product can found in their top selling Performance Nutrition Line.

How much is too much and what are the health effects of caffeine?

Some science says that up to 400 milligrams (mg) of caffeine a day appears to be safe for most healthy adults. The key word here is “Appears”. The newest science has shown that low doses of caffeine may have beneficial effects on the body, where high doses can hinder how the body operates.

Caffeine dosages really should be tailored to each individual. If you are new to caffeine or supplements that contain caffeine, keeping consumption at 100 mg or lower per dose would be a good idea. Typically, 200 mg or less of caffeine has shown to have fat-burning and performance improvement properties. Heavy caffeine use can cause unpleasant side effects, and caffeine may not be a good choice for people who are highly sensitive to its effects or who take certain medications.

Heavy daily caffeine use that is more than 400 mg a day may cause side effects such as: Insomnia, Nervousness, Restlessness, Irritability, Digestion issues and Bloating, Fast Heart Rate, Muscle Tremors, and Weight gain just to name a few.

High doses have been found to not improve performance or aid in fat burning because it causes sedation and relaxation effects by triggering those receptors in the brain. It also creates an inhibition of serotonin levels, acetylcholine, and your adrenaline system. When this happens to these systems you will see slowing in performance, and fat burning abilities.

Of course you only want the health effects of caffeine that are good. So you may need to take a look at your consumption and see how you can curb your caffeine habit to bring your consumption to the levels that will have a positive benefit.

Depending on your consumption, cutting back on caffeine can be challenging. An abrupt decrease in caffeine may cause withdrawal symptoms, such as headaches, fatigue, irritability and nervousness. Fortunately, these symptoms are usually mild and resolve after a few days.

To have health effects of caffeine that will benefit you, try these tips to get your consumption in line:

• Keep tabs. Start paying attention to how much caffeine you’re getting from foods and beverages. It may be more than you think. Read labels carefully. Even then, your estimate may be a little low because not all foods or drinks list caffeine.
• Cut back. Remember to do it gradually. Decrease the amount by a few ounces each day. Avoid drinking caffeinated beverages late in the day. This will help your body get used to the lower levels of caffeine and lessen potential withdrawal effects.
• Go decaf. Most decaffeinated beverages look and taste the same as their caffeinated counterparts.
• Shorten the brew time or go herbal. When making tea, brew it for less time. This cuts down on its caffeine content. Choose herbal teas that don’t have caffeine.
• Check the bottle. Some over-the-counter pain relievers contain caffeine, and can be as much as 130 mg of caffeine in one dose. Look for caffeine-free pain relievers instead.

The bottom line is that caffeine can be a part of your daily routine if consumed at doses that benefit your health versus hinder it. When done this way, most of the time it doesn’t pose a health problem. Be mindful of those situations in which you need to curtail your caffeine habit. If you plan on using nutritional supplements that have caffeine make sure that is a high quality product that uses naturally low doses of caffeine, such as the Energize from the Beachbody Performance Line. Also keep in mind that when consuming these products you may have to keep your other caffeine beverages to lower levels.

When taking these things into consideration it will provide you the positive health effects of caffeine versus negative effects.

Exercise for Depression and Anxiety

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Has anyone had depression or anxiety? I have in the past and absolutely know without a doubt that exercise has helped me get rid of my depression and anxiety. It can be tough in the beginning but when you get your blood pumping to your brain you release endorphins that make you feel better. I found a great article to share with you.

Depression and anxiety symptoms often improve with exercise. When you have anxiety or depression, exercise often seems like the last thing you want to do, but once you get motivated, exercise can make a big difference. So, how do you Exercise for Depression and Anxiety?

First you need to have a greater understanding on how exercise can make a difference in depression and anxiety symptoms. The links between anxiety, depression and exercise are not entirely clear, but working out and other forms of physical activity have shown that it can definitely ease symptoms of anxiety or depression and make you feel better. Exercise has also been shown to help keep anxiety and depression from coming back once you are feeling better and symptoms have subsided.

How does exercise help depression and anxiety?

Regular exercise for depression and anxiety may help ease symptoms in a number of ways, which may include:

• Releasing feel-good brain chemicals that may ease depression (neurotransmitters, endorphins and endocannabinoids)
• Reducing immune system chemicals that can worsen depression
• Increasing body temperature, which may have calming effects

Regular exercise has many other psychological and emotional benefits, as well. It can help you:

• Gain confidence. Meeting exercise goals or challenges, even small ones, can boost your self-confidence. Getting in shape can also make you feel better about your appearance.
• Take your mind off worries. Exercise is a distraction that can get you away from the cycle of negative thoughts that feed anxiety and depression.
• Cope in a healthy way. Doing something positive to manage anxiety or depression is a healthy coping strategy. Trying to feel better by drinking alcohol, dwelling on how badly you feel, or hoping anxiety or depression will go away on its own can lead to worsening symptoms.

Now that you have an understanding of how it can help, what can you do to Exercise for Depression and Anxiety? Research has shown that physical activity such as regular walking, gardening or other forms of physical activity may help improve mood. Keep in mind that Physical activity and exercise are not the same thing, but both are beneficial to your health. The same research has shown that those who used exercise that incorporated progressive resistance training, and cardiovascular training showed a greater improvement and maintenance of depression and anxiety.

Exercise for Depression and Anxiety

With that said, many people don’t seek out exercise because they don’t want to go to a gym or fitness facility due to their depression and anxiety. So what is the answer?

The answer is to utilize at-home fitness and exercise programs such as Beachbody’s 21 Day Fix, P90X, TurboFire, Insanity, and others that provide resistance and cardiovascular training in a planned and structured format. This progressive exercise combined with a structured plan, and where you don’t have to leave your home is great way to create that improvement or maintain that Exercise for Depression and Anxiety can bring to a person.

One of the other things that many people don’t have with going to the gym to exercise for depression and anxiety is support. With a Beachbody Club Membership, each person gets aFREE Coach to support him or her. This can be a great benefit to those who have to exercise for depression and anxiety. If you start with a Beachbody Premium Membership, you’re first 30 days is FREE, and it gives you access to Beachbody On-Demand, an amazing meal planner, and much more! After your free trial ends, you’ll continue to stream world-class programs, such as P90X®, P90X2®, P90X3®, INSANITY®, and more from our massive Beachbody Member Library.

So take advantage of exercise to provide benefits to your overall health, and to improve or manage depression and anxiety.

How to Eat Healthy While Traveling

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By Mel Batterman

Eating healthy while traveling can be intimidating. Potential weight gain and feeling sluggish doesn’t have to be a part of your travel plans. As we all know, eating healthy on the road can be a challenge. It is easy to load up on the food that is easily accessible, and most of your meals will come from restaurants. Which all can lead to potential weight gain, sluggishness, and detriment to our bodies. So ultimately it will take a bit of pre-travel preparation on your part to make things a bit easier, which is absolutely worth it.

Here are a few suggestions. It truly starts with planning! If you are prepared you won’t be at the mercy of airplane meals or roadside food services. Packing a variety of snacks that easily transport can be as easy as packing all of your other belongings.

1. Handmade individual trail mixes. You can custom make trail mix blends based on what nutrients your body needs.
2. Pre-packaged trail mixes (choose clean, whole organic ingredients).
3. Nuts and Dried fruits
4. Healthy Meal Replacement Shake
5. Raw food bars or good nutritious bars with clean ingredients
6. Bananas, oranges, nectarines, and fruits that have an outer layer that protects the inner food.

Check out and download our book with other tips for eating healthy while traveling. 

SOME ADDITIONAL TIPS:

1. It is always good to eat a healthy filling meal like a salad with lots of vegetables and some protein, or a vegetable burrito prior to your travel, so it can carry you for a bit longer of time frame.
2. When eating at restaurants be sure to look for a health conscious salads and other grilled meats and vegetable options at mealtimes.
3. Be sure to drink plenty of clean water while traveling. Your body needs the additional fluids to stay hydrated and properly digest the foods when it is out of your ordinary nutrition consumption.

How to Eat Healthy While Traveling

Even with all of these preparations, eating healthy on the road while traveling can be difficult. You may find that eating less while traveling is helpful, in fact you can use traveling time as opportunity to fast a bit, and/or eat a vegetarian diet. It is a good way to give your digestive system a break for a few days. Though it can be challenging to find healthy foods outside of the home, do not be discouraged. There certainly are a number of products that can carry you through your travels.

Need help finding your way? How about an on-line meal planner, nutrition guide, health and nutrition coach, and 150 of Beachbody’s Top Rated Fitness Programs Streaming to your cell phone, pad device, or laptop for $2.99 per week, and you’re first month is FREE!

Strength Training Exercises: Without a Gym Membership

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With your busy schedule, you don’t always have time to get to the gym. Whether you’re working full time outside the home, working from home, or a stay-at-home spouse or parent, your schedule is packed with things that you need to get done. That is understandable but that shouldn’t prevent you from being healthy and having the body you’ve always wanted. Strength Training Exercises can be accomplished right in your living room, or any other room in your house. No fancy gym equipment needed, and Without a Gym Membership!

Simply pick a Beachbody On-Demand program that works for you. With Beachbody On-Demand you can fit your workout in no matter what time of day it is, and you can do it anywhere. One of the best things about the Beachbody On-Demand programs, is there is something for every fitness level. Each program as a modifier for each exercise and will show you how to perform the exercises correctly to avoid injury. No matter what your fitness level, beginner to super experienced there is a Beachbody On-Demand program that will work for you.

Strength Training Exercises: Without a Gym Membership

Ideally, you want a program that will challenge you without pushing you too hard. Most of the at-home strength training programs progress at the level that is needed to give you that push. Of course you can always use the modifier if necessary to fit your current activity level. You can choose body weight exercises, or try a workout that uses weights, bands, or other basic tools that you might already have sitting in your home. Of course if you are just getting started and don’t want to commit to buying equipment you can always use canned food or water bottles for hand weights.

If it’s been a while since you last engaged in regular exercise, it’s probably unrealistic to expect yourself to dive in to exercising five or more days per week. If this is the case it would be suggested to start with a basic exercise program that allows you to get in some strength training two or three days per week. It is would also be recommended that you follow the calendar for the program to help keep you on track. Be sure to give yourself small rewards for staying on track. Maybe there’s a movie that you’ve been desperate to see or a book that you’ve been waiting to read. Promise yourself that if you stay on track with your strength training program for an entire week, you’ll allow yourself that treat.

Mix it up! With the huge library offered by Beachbody On-Demand, you can easily access different programs and workouts that will keep your routine fresh and interesting. Having a steady regimen for 3-4 weeks and then changing it up is always a good thing. This can help create greater results.

Workouts and strength training through Beachbody On-Demand is an easy way to get in shape from the comfort of your own home. You don’t have to go anywhere and it will save you some money by not having a gym membership or driving to the gym. All you need is a television, tablet, or computer and a commitment to getting in better shape. What more could you ask for?

“P90X Held my Hand Every Step of the Way”

http://www.teambeachbody.com/teambeachbodyblog/success-stories/p90x-held-my-hand-every-step-of-the-way?ICID=CT_BLOG_BBC_071452015

Here's my story:

Meet Rich F. He gained 4 lbs in 90 days with P90X. He entered his results into The Beachbody Challenge®, and won the $500 Daily Prize for July 14th!

Tell us about your life before you started the program. How did you feel about yourself and your body?
I’ve always been a guy into health and fitness. After seeing family dying of poor health, it was my mission to keep healthy for life! I would go to the gym and mostly do free weights and some cardio. This routine went on for years. I saw some results from lifting weights, but never really saw my mid section improving. I always had this “pudge” around my waist which would bug me a lot. This same routine wasn’t giving me the results I wanted and my body never changed. I felt I had the “skinny-fat man syndrome” where every part of my body was improving except my mid-section. I looked in-shape, but still felt fat because of this forever “pudge”.

What inspired you to change your life and begin your transformation journey?
When I first heard about P90X, I thought “Why would someone do a home fitness program? There is no motivation at home and too many distractions.” I really thought the only way to get healthy and fit was to go to the gym. But in September of 2007, I was introduced to the Team Beachbody Opportunity. After seeing so many success stories with P90X where you can literally get “ripped”, I knew that this business was for me. I didn’t start the program right away, but finally decided to give it a try. I realized what bugged me the most wasn’t not have a “six pack” my entire life; getting “ripped” was what I have always wanted. If the gym can’t give me the results I want, I’m sure P90X can!

What is the greatest challenge you faced before beginning the program? How did the program and Beachbody® help you overcome that challenge?
The greatest challenge was definitely changing my diet. I knew diet played a crucial role in getting that six-pack I always wanted. I would try to eat healthy everyday but never followed a nutrition guide. Thus, my diet was sometimes healthy, sometimes not. For the first time in my life, I had to follow a nutrition guide. P90X held my hand every step of the way. Plus, having Shakeology was probably the best thing about the diet. I knew I was getting a healthy meal every time! Incorporating Shakeology into my daily diet plan helped me in more ways than one!

What in particular did you like about the program you chose?
Doing the same routine at the gym was monotonous. But P90X had the variety of exercises which mixed up the workouts and made it fun. Everyday is different with P90X and this difference is what gave me results!

Describe the results you achieved with your Beachbody program. Which achievements are you proud of?
For the first time in my life, I have a “six pack”! I went from 18% body fat to %11. I finally got rid of the “pudge” which has given me grief for a long time. I also gained 4lbs of lean muscle. 1 goal of mine was to have the body of a 21 year old at my age of 42. I can say I definitely achieved it!

How has your life changed since completing your Beachbody program?
After posting my before and after pics on Facebook, I received so many “likes and great comments”! My transformation has inspired others to take action and get healthy and fit. It feels good to inspire others to achieve their goals. I can now lead by example, inspire, and motivate. This is not only helping me gain customers, but potential coaches too!

How did participating in a Challenge Group help you reach your goals? How did your group support you and keep you accountable?
I didn’t participate in a Challenge Group. It was tough doing it on my own, but I did it! Next time I will definitely join a Challenge Group to make my journey easier.

How did your Team Beachbody® Coach support you on your journey?
Sue was always cheering my on! Whenever I posted my workouts on Facebook, she always had a supportive comment. She helped me stay focused on my journey.

How did a Beachbody Supplement or Nutritional Product or Program (such as Shakeology® or Beachbody Ultimate Reset®) support your transformation? What are the greatest benefits you gained? Did you see benefits to your energy, sleep, mood/mental clarity, digestion/regularity?
Shakeology is absolutely the best! Nothing compares to it. Nothing! During my journey on the program I used it as a snack or a meal replacement. It has greatly boosted my immune system, helped me keep calories down, and given me the foods my body needs everyday!

You can change your life, too. Take the Beachbody Challenge for the tools you need to Decide, Commit, and Succeed! Complete any Beachbody program, and enter your results for a free gift and a chance to win cash and prizes.

How Often Should I Eat?

http://www.gettingfittogether.com/how-often-should-i-eat-food/#!102

How Often Should I Eat? Let’s face it, since the dawn of man the rule for consumption of food was simply to eat to survive. Well our modern society and lifestyle has changed and flipped that simple process.

Obesity rates continue to grow and will be affecting more than two-thirds of Americans in the next 5-10 years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. So you can see the simple rule has flipped and it appears that humans survive so they can eat.

Through the years we have seen nutrition and diet science, and programs change their design about what foods best suit our needs as a society, but you don’t hear about when to eat. The question that seem to arise most often is “How Often Should I Eat?”

The most popular approach to the question of How Often Should I Eat for general health and weight maintenance has been to spread calories throughout the day by consuming 5-6 smaller meals. The concept of doing this method is that you are most likely to feel less hungry at any particular time, and in turn you will not be apt to over indulge or eat in excess.

A study found in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, shows data on this approach. It states that people who were of their ideal weight and able to maintain their weight reported eating more often than individuals who were overweight and obese.

How Often Should I Eat?

The overall hypothesis is eat small meals and snacks spread out every 3- 3 ½ hours from the time of breakfast. This proves to keep you sustained which avoids greater levels of hunger, and will limit overeating. Therefore control of caloric intake and, ultimately control of body weight.

Though we know that eating throughout the day with 5-6 smaller meals can benefit for weight maintenance, how does is measure up for weight loss.

According to a study done by Circadian Biologist Ph.D. Amandine Chaix, consuming meals 5-6 times throughout the day can aid in weight loss, but it needs to be meals that are healthy and portioned appropriately. It was found that if the foods were high-fat, sugar or highly processed that the individuals still became obese. The complete findings found that those fed in the 9-12 hour window with 5-6 smaller meals that were portioned and low in processed, high fat, and high sugar were leaner. “So, already being obese and switching to time-restricted feeding with healthier foods and portions, does create weight loss. That is powerful.” Chaix said.

The research of meal timing shows further benefits in addition to those who want to lose weight and maintain their weight, especially as it relates to the consumption of protein.

When spreading the protein consumption throughout the day in smaller doses the body is able to assimilate and use the protein for greater gains and recovery of the muscle tissue. This can help maintain muscle loss during weight loss, and through the aging process.

How Often Should I Eat?

The answer is 5-6 smaller meals per day. Spaced out every 3-3 ½ hours after the consumption of breakfast. Though you must also keep in mind that for weight loss and maintenance the number of calories at each meal and throughout the day still plays a very large role in this process.

If you are trying to lose weight, you need to consume smaller meals spread throughout the day, create a calorie deficit through portioned meals, and exercising appropriately 5-6 times per week. If you need assistance in implementing a meal plan and exercise regimen that will keep you eating throughout the day and exercising appropriately, Beachbody’s 21 Day Fix combines all of this in one package and you get a FREE Coach to help keep you on track and motivated.

3 Day Detox Cleanse: A Healthy One

http://www.gettingfittogether.com/3-day-detox-cleanse-a-healthy-one/#!102

Little do we know that there are toxins in our bodies from the air we breath to the processed foods we eat. Many don't realize or just don't care. But, if you do care, here's a simple 3 day detox that I found to be amazing!

A 3 Day Detox Cleanse is the latest hype for kicking off a healthy lifestyle. The question is…are they really good and are they healthy.

Everyone wants to see results fast! Kick starting the weight loss process can help you feel better about yourself and where the process is going go. Unfortunately, many so-called cleanses are not that healthy and leave you feeling sluggish, slow, and deprived. Juice fasts and liquid cleanses tax your body. They’re hard on your organs and create a rebound effect when you return to normal eating. In general, the weight lost from these types of cleanses are really just water weight. Sure, it works to get you into a special dress for a party or your skinny jeans for a special date, but you want long-term results that will keep your body healthy and make you look and feel better than ever.

3 Day Detox Cleanse: A Healthy One

Well you no longer have to feel that way or have those issues when doing a detox cleanse. The 3 Day Refresh is a healthy cleanse that may help flatten your belly and fit into your clothes better while still giving your body the vital nutrients it needs in order to function.

Here’s how it works:

The 3 Day Refresh is simple. You start off your day with a serving of Shakeology and a fruit for breakfast. Shakeology comes in six different flavors, so not only will you be able to find one that you’ll love, there are over 101 recipes that you can create!. Mid-morning you will use the Fiber Sweep Drink. No worries, it is not one of those run to the bathroom drinks. Then for lunch you will enjoy a variety of vegetables, a healthy fat, a fruit and drink the Vanilla Fresh Protein Shake which is packed full of nutrients and protein that your body needs. In the afternoon you will have an afternoon snack of vegetables and a choice off the healthy fats list. You will then finish out the day with dinner. Dinner will include a selection from one of the many amazing meal recipes and a second Vanilla Fresh shake. This program is designed to help naturally remove waste and toxins from your body. You feel full, satisfied, and ready to take on your day with more energy and enthusiasm than ever before.

Can it be done more than once?

The 3 Day Refresh is a fantastic program that is designed to rid your body of impurities. It’s not designed as a long-term solution, and therefore should not be repeated over and over again. Though you may do the 3 Day Refresh quarterly or even on a monthly basis to kick off each month. It has been reported that people who have used it more than once find themselves losing more weight and finding more energy each time.