A. Hi, L. I’m sorry you’re feeling so badly about yourself. It sounds like you’re a wonderful mother who mistakenly thought your job was to give 100 percent to your family and zero percent to yourself. Although that sounds like the perfect equation for perfect parenting, you found out the hard way that it’s not. Having said that, three years is a short period of time in the scheme of your life. There’s no reason you can’t undo what you’ve done and get your life and body back on track. Let’s get started!

The first thing I want you to do is realize that taking care of yourself will ensure that your children get to keep their Mommy around for a very long time. Healthy mothers are more energetic, patient and productive. You owe it to your kids to prioritize your health and get in shape.

The next piece of the puzzle is creating and executing a plan for exercise. I implore you to start slowly. This will allow you to increase your time and effort with fewer setbacks. Walking and swimming are ideal for beginners. You might even want to join a gym that offers long-lasting guidance for the use of strength training equipment. The gym I attend, Gainesville Health & Fitness Center, literally does absolutely everything for their members outside of blowing their noses. It’s awesome for people who are not so savvy with exercise, and you’d be quite comfortable at a facility like this. The guidance is incredible!

Once you’re moving, you’ll need to address your eating habits. I recommend a one-time appointment with a licensed dietitian or nutritionist. This person will guide you towards the foods you should choose: Lean meat, lean dairy, whole grains, lots of produce and tons of water. She’ll also teach you what to avoid: Sugars, white flour, candy, soda, alcohol, oil, butter and so on. And you’ll learn to count calories and understand your eating parameters. My book “The Everything Flat Belly Cookbook” is a great tool; it’s not a diet (because I don’t believe in diets), but it offers a ton of healthy recipes, which are low in calories and fat. You could go cold turkey on crap food, but you’re more likely to be successful if you slowly wean yourself away. Go from Coke to Diet Coke to water. Cake to sugar-free Jello to berries. Gradual transitions seem to allow great habits to stick.

Leann, your road back to feeling fabulous may take a while, but I promise it will be well worth the effort. Wake up each day with a plan to better yourself, and do what it takes to succeed. In a week, you’ll feel more energetic. In two weeks, you’ll be a bit lighter. In three weeks, your exercise will last longer. In three months, you might just run a race! Stay the course, and the results will come. I’m so excited for your future Leann — you should be too. Have fun with it, take pride in your efforts and get to work!

Punches & Kicks,
Fitz
Fitzness.com

Have fitness questions? Fitz has your answers. Our Active Health Network’s fitness expert and celebrity trainer is now your own virtual personal trainer. Fitz will help you get fit, increase your overall health and do it in a fun way. Post your questions here in the Comments section below, DM us on Twitter (ActiveHealth) or send them to us from our Contact page. Learn more about Fitz here.

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All material and content provided in the Ask Fitz column/blog (and this entire site) is provided for informational or educational purposes only. It should not be viewed as medical advice or substitute for professional medical care. Consult a physician regarding the applicability of any opinions or recommendations with respect to your symptoms or medical condition

Ask Fitz: How do I Get Fit after 3 years and a 60 pound weight gain is a post from: Sports Health Exercise

Fitz when she was a Pro Kickboxer

Q. Hi Fitz, I have a question for you if you don’t mind.  I was wondering….in your opinion, which is better for you? Running on a treadmill or spinning. I used to run all of the time, then I went back to spinning and I love it. I was wondering if it was a better choice for toning and calorie loss.  Thanks. Liz
A. Hi Liz! Great question. I think they’re both fantastic forms of exercise which provide cardiovascular benefits, a great calorie burn and a super workout for your muscles. The benefit running has over spinning is that it’s high impact which is great for your bones (allthough too much of it could be bad for your bones – weird huh?) My suggestion? Do both! Either way, you can’t lose anything except for pounds! Hope that helps – now get to work!

Punches & Kicks,
Fitz
Fitzness.com

Have fitness questions? Fitz has your answers. Our Active Health Network’s fitness expert and celebrity trainer is now your own virtual personal trainer. Fitz will help you get fit, increase your overall health and do it in a fun way. Post your questions here in the Comments section below, DM us on Twitter (ActiveHealth) or send them to us from our Contact page. Learn more about Fitz here.

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All material and content provided in the Ask Fitz column/blog (and this entire site) is provided for informational or educational purposes only. It should not be viewed as medical advice or substitute for professional medical care. Consult a physician regarding the applicability of any opinions or recommendations with respect to your symptoms or medical condition

Ask Fitz: Running or Spining for Weight Loss and Toning is a post from: Sports Health Exercise

A. Hey Shirley. You didn’t provide me with a ton of information about yourself, but since you said you have a flat-ish tummy…..I’m guessing you don’t have a ton of weight to lose. However, the part of our bodies most people get really frustrated with is usually the last place we lose it.

Obviously body type has a huge amount to do with our specific shapes, but if you simply have fat gathered on both sides of your belly….you , most likely, need to lose some more weight.  An exercise to make fat disappear from a specific place, sadly does not exist. To get rid of fat…..you’ll need to lose weight. It could be those last five pounds that make all the difference.

Spot reduction is not a reality outside of plastic surgery. You can’t crunch those love handles away, and you should ignore going under the knife.  This sounds like something you can do on your own. Consume fewer calories and burn a bunch with frequent workouts and an active lifestyle. Dig in and improve your overall fitness. A tapered waist requires awesome effort, but it’s well worth it. You’ll love it when you have it. Keep us posted on your success!

Punches & Kicks,

Fitz

Fitzness.com

Have fitness questions? Fitz has your answers. Our Active Health Network’s fitness expert and celebrity trainer is now your own virtual personal trainer. Fitz will help you get fit, increase your overall health and do it in a fun way. Post your questions here in the Comments section below, DM us on Twitter (ActiveHealth) or send them to us from our Contact page. Learn more about Fitz here.

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All material and content provided in the Ask Fitz column/blog (and this entire site) is provided for informational or educational purposes only. It should not be viewed as medical advice or substitute for professional medical care. Consult a physician regarding the applicability of any opinions or recommendations with respect to your symptoms or medical condition

Ask Fitz: How can I Lose My Love Handles? is a post from: Sports Health Exercise

Fitz - Your Virtual Personal Trainer

Q. Dear Fitz, I love the summer weather, and really want to use the large outdoor pool at my gym. I do water walking and swim a couple of laps, but then I get so bored! Swimming 20 laps in a row is not fun for me. I’m pretty sure swimming burns a lot of calories, which is my goal. Help! Deanna

A. Hi Deanna, I’m so excited to help you, because I too love the benefits of training in the water. We always hear that it’s a terrific workout for those who want to avoid trauma from high impact activities. It also happens to be a fantastic workout for those who want to burn a massive amount of calories!

Quick personal story. About eight years ago, while in the midst of a competitive kickboxing career, I tore my right hamstring. This made it impossible for me to do almost any sort of activity that involved any sort of impact. After swimming most nights for three weeks I actually lost three pounds. I was sold! Swimming is awesome exercise!

So back to your question. Yes, swimming lap after lap can be boring. The fix is quick and easy though. A pool workout jammed with a variety of activities and strokes will keep you huffing, puffing and happy. Give this workout a try and then get back to me. This workout should take you about 20 minutes to complete. If you want to make the workout harder or easier, just remove one repetition or add one to each exercise. If you’re really ambitious, go through the entire workout twice!

Fitz’s Calorie Torching Pool Workout
• 4 laps Freestyle swimming
• 4 laps running
• 20 Dips. Put your hands on the edge of the wall while your body is facing the center of the pool. With bent elbows, lift your body out of the water onto straight arms.
• 50 jumping jacks
• 4 laps Freestyle swimming
• 20 Pool Push-ups. Put your hands on the ledge of the pool with feet behind you. Bring your chest towards the ledge and then push away.
• 2 laps Bunny Jumps (jump across the pool like a bunny)
• 4 laps using kick-board
• 20 Dips
• 4 laps running backward
• 50 jumping jacks
• 4 laps using kick-board
• 20 Pool Push-ups.

Don’t forget about doing a warm up and cool down to round out this fun, fit workout.

**This workout is designed for a lap pool, which does not go very deep. If you are using a regular pool do your runs and jumps in the shallow end.

All material and content provided in the Ask Fitz column/blog (and this entire site) is provided for informational or educational purposes only. It should not be viewed as medical advice or substitute for professional medical care. Consult a physician regarding the applicability of any opinions or recommendations with respect to your symptoms or medical condition.

Ask Fitz – Now on Sports Health Exercise is a post from: Sports Health Exercise