What’s Your Body Fat Percentage? Use These Photos as Your Guide

Fitness Blog, Fitness Motivation, For Women | by Sue Carlucci

how to measure body fat percentage Trying to convince a woman not to obsess over the number on the scale is like pulling teeth. Thanks to the media, it’s far too ingrained in our psyches. It’s the way we’ve been taught to judge ourselves, our figures and progress in our weight loss efforts. Even BMI measurement, the medical hallmark for whether we’re overweight or not, is based on weight.

We women tend use this number on the scale to doubt ourselves and our progress. And when we don’t like the number we see, it’s often enough to make us feel depressed and demotivated…and it can even cause us to pick ourselves apart.

The truth is scale weight is totally flawed when it comes to judging fitness and progress! It can’t tell you anything about how much of your weight is muscle vs. body fat or even water. Worse yet, our scale weight changes on a daily and even hourly basis based on what we’ve eaten or drank (or as we all have experienced, the time of the month!)

Nov 2013

5 Extreme Celebrity Diets We Don’t Recommend!

Fitness Blog, For Women, Nutrition | by Sue Carlucci

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Many of our favorite celebrities have unbelievable figures, but we just can't write them off to 'good genetics.' The truth is that these stars work hard to stay lean - both in terms of exercise and diet. Thankfully, these days it seems that the celebrity trend is toward 'healthy' rather than extreme diets. While some celebrities are full carnivores and others are vegetarian or vegan, most health conscious stars follow the basic principles of lots of veggies and fruits, lean protein sources and whole grains.

However, there are a few celebs that follow pretty restrictive diets. Read More

Aug 2013

7 Healthy Dark Chocolate Recipes: Your Secret Weight Loss Weapon!

Fitness Blog, For Women, Nutrition | by Sue Carlucci

Could dark chocolate be your secret weapon for weight loss? It might be! Dark chocolate as a treat can help support your weight loss efforts in a few ways. First of all, it’s very low on the glycemic index, which means that it won’t cause sugar spikes. Keeping insulin levels steady is very important to weight loss.

Dark chocolate can also be helpful for women who have difficulties with emotional eating or food addiction. It can help satisfy cravings for both sweet and fatty foods, and contains a feel-good compound called PEA which may also help improve mood. Because of its rich flavor and low level of sugar, it’s difficult to eat too much, especially at percentages higher than 80%.

Aug 2013

10 Healthy Foods That Help You Feel Full

Fitness Blog, For Women, Nutrition | by Sue Carlucci

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Do you frequently feel hungry before it’s time for your next meal or snack? Or does it just feel like you’re ALWAYS hungry?

There are a variety of reasons for persistent hunger. For one, it could simply be that you’re restricting calories too much. Eating too little will actually SLOW your metabolism and cause your weight loss to slow as well. Skipping meals or eating too infrequently has the same metabolism-slowing effect, and it will leave you feeling hungrier throughout the day, too.

Another part of the hunger equation could be WHAT you eat. Surviving on a lot of sugar or carbs and not eating enough protein, fat and fiber will definitely leave you feeling famished. This is because sugar and white carbs cause a spike in blood sugar that then plummets shortly thereafter, causing you to crave more of the same!

To stay satiated throughout the day, it’s important to eat frequently and to get a mix of proteins, fibrous and starchy carbs and healthy fats in each meal and snack.

Jul 2013

7 Healthy Recipes for COLD Summer Treats! Ice Cream, Popsicles, Shakes and More!

Fitness Blog, For Women, Nutrition | by Sue Carlucci

healthy dairy free ice cream recipe Ladies, it’s mid-summer and it’s HOT out there! The warm weather makes us crave cold, fruity, icy treats. Things that have a fresh flavor, a tropical twist or just help cool us down.

Especially after a workout, it feels great to drink or eat something cold that will help replenish our body’s carbohydrate stores and bring down our body temperature. The best post-workout snack will also contain a good portion of protein to help jumpstart the muscle rebuilding process.

On those scorching hot days, doesn’t a shake, popsicle or ice cream sound appetizing? You may think that these treats are off the menu if you’re looking to eat healthy….but that doesn’t have to be the case! It’s totally possible to make healthy versions of these delicious summer treats at home.