MOVE IT TO LOSE IT

Do you know someone who is getting amazing results from an insanely low-calorie diet? It may be tempting to severely restrict your calories in hopes of a drastic weight loss, but don't even think about it!! Truth is, very few people can maintain one of those crazy kinds of diets for more than a couple weeks. And to make things worse, most people on near-starvation diets gain back all the weight (and more) just a few months later.

In weight-loss terms, fat is energy and the best way to lose it is to use it. You have to do it with diet and exercise. If you diet without exercise, the majority of your weight loss will be from muscle. The minute you stray from your diet, the weight will come right back on.

The only way to lose it for good is to get moving! Exercise not only helps you burn calories, it also helps build, strengthen, and maintain lean muscle. Exercise has another benefit called after-burn. A great cardio routine keeps burning fat not just during your workout but for hours afterward.

The rule of the game is increasing your intensity. The exercise after-burn is also referred to as "excess post-exercise oxygen consumption." It represents the calories used up to return the body back to its pre-exercise state, or resting level, which can take anywhere from 15 minutes to 48 hours, depending on the intensity and duration of the workout. What's more, if you do a training workout in the morning and try one our Group X Classes in the evening you will reap the benefits of a twice-a - day after-burn without over training your muscles.

Doing any type of physical activity is healthier than sitting on the couch downing a bag of chips. And activities like bowling and golf do burn calories - but not enough. To see dramatic weight loss, you must do heart-pumping cardio. Cardio is any activity that is rhythmic, continuous, requires the movement of large muscles and raises your heart rate. Try my Group X Class, Rock UR Skinnies on Wednesdays @ 7pm or Jacki's Extreme CardioFlex on Thursday's @6:30 or Heavy Bag Bootcamp on Saturday's @9am or try one of our many Spin Classes.

You all are working so hard! Keep it up - oh and your heart rate too!