NAFC NewsBlast - July 2017 | Ed 2
12 Ways to Attain Your Beach Body, Part 2
Written by: Tammy LeBoss, The FitPro Foodie
Contributing Writer: Stacy McCarthey | www.yoganamastacy.com
Copyright: maridav / 123RF Stock Photo
Beach Body Ready
Stress Less and Enjoy More
Stress can cause bloating in the belly, so use strategies to stress less and to enjoy more. The state of our body's nervous system determines how well we digest our food. If we're in a constant state of the "fight or flight" mode, our bodies are preparing for danger. Digestion slows down or can even stop altogether.
Being regularly stressed depletes our energy and directly affects your digestion and how well we're able to absorb nutrients. To encourage better nutrient absorption, we need to learn to consciously activate the ‘relax and digest' response. To encourage a better beach body, make a commitment to relaxation—whether it's through walking, yoga, and meditation, or laughing with friends. (NAFC Yoga200™).
Reduce Eating Out
Reduce eating out to avoid bloat, and learn to become a lover of cooking. Understand that if eating out all the time, chances are we're getting more than double the recommended daily allowance of 2,400 mg. of sodium. Watch out for soups and other canned food items, and remember all processed foods, especially fast foods contain extravagant amounts of sodium. If you enjoy eating out, cut back to once a week. Your healthier, leaner body will thank you for it and so will your pocket book.
Reduce the Booze
Even in moderation, alcohol can get in the way of your goals or personalized health plan. If looking to lose or maintain a healthy weight, alcohol must be omitted, if not significantly reduced. Alcoholic beverages have very little, if any, nutritional value but contain significant amounts of empty calories. Drinking alcohol on a consistent basis is an easy way to sabotage any weight loss or beach body plan. Depending on your specific beach body plan and goals, you'll need to either reduce the booze or leave it out completely.
Proper diet and nutrition accounts for 80% of the results. The other 20% is the exercise.
Get Posture Confident
Our posture can speak a world of information to the world around us. Posture conveys our attitude, our outlook on life, and our current level of confidence. How we carry ourselves through our gait affects our stature, shape and confidence level. Pay attention to your posture and make corrections to increase that beach body confidence level. Start with a ‘calm yet focused' attention in your anatomical position, and then properly align your body from the ground up with: feet in parallel, pelvic bowl in neutral, a lengthened tailbone, abdominals drawing in and up the spine, ribs over your core, collarbones are wide, neck is centered between your shoulders, head centered over the body in space, and go out and play! But wait, avoid trying too hard—a relaxed yet confident posture can also be very attractive.
Written by: Tammy LeBoss, The FitPro Foodie
Contributing Writer: Stacy McCarthey | www.yoganamastacy.com
Sources/Credits, NAFC's: Nutrition Coach; Sports Performance; Yoga200™; and Mat Pilates courses.
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