Fit Forever with Kathy!

7 Tricks to Bust Out of a Weight-Loss Plateau

by Kathy Smith

Far too many of us have thrown ourselves into a diet and exercise program, only to burn out and lose our motivation all too quickly. After a week or two of noticeable changes, those exciting results seem to have slowed down – and with them, our motivation. The problem? Plateaus. A plateau, simply put, is “a state of little or no change after a time of activity or progress.” Not exactly what we had in mind when we starting setting those new fitness and weight loss goals.

Here’s the great thing about plateaus: With the right game-plan, they can be overcome. plateaus aren’t a brick walls – they’re really just hurdles. And here are 6 simple steps to make sure you can glide right over them.

Expect Plateaus

Plateaus are a normal part of any health journey. Your body adapts to training and learns to meet the challenges you’ve provided in your workouts. That requires you to work harder, or differently, to accomplish the results you’ve experienced in the past.

Plateaus happen. Your job is to be ready for them. The better you understand the way your body works, the better you can bust through the plateau, and achieve the ultimate level of fitness you crave.

Why Do We Plateau?

So, why do we face the frustration of plateaus? What’s going on anyway?

The human body is constantly fighting to adapt. The harder you workout, the harder your body works to change. Let’s say, just for an easy example, that you’ve been walking one mile every day. At first, it’s hard to make it a mile. You get breathless. Your legs are sore. After a month or so, you’re fine. You may be a bit tired, but not exhausted. You’re not as sore as you once were.

Over those four weeks of daily walking, your body has undergone a gradual transformation. It has successfully adapted to the daily routine. Each day, your muscle fiber responded to the motion, your blood vessels strengthened, your oxygen uptake increased, and even your bone density improved. What’s even more amazing is that your neural pathways have adjusted to the daily walk, too. Everything about you — cells, bones, blood vessels, neurons, lungs, muscles —has changed to adapt to your healthy habit.

Your body is doing what it’s supposed to do. This process is known as homeostasis. Basically, your body is trying to find stability or equilibrium. When a daily walk becomes the norm, your body adapts to the new normal. This new normal, homeostasis, is a healthier you. If you keep at it, doing the same thing day after day, you’ll stay healthy, but you won’t keep progressing like you were previously. Your body has achieved equilibrium. In other words, you’ve hit the plateau.

Plateaus are a natural response of the body. You don’t need to blame yourself for the slowdown. Instead, you can use your knowledge of the human body to overcome its tendency to settle down and get comfortable. Here are some solid methods, backed by science, which will help you kick through the plateau phase, and gain major progress. As you fight through it, stay positive. A plateau isn’t the end of a healthy body; it’s the beginning of a healthier one.

If you’re starting a new weight-loss plan and want to steer clear of getting stuck in a rut—or you’re in a plateau right now and are looking for a way out, try these 7  strategies for moving the needle the right direction again.

1. Introduce Variety and Increase Intensity

The core idea to breaking through the plateau is a simple one: Variety and intensity. Since muscles adapt, they need constant variety in order to change. So in order to keep losing weight, you can change up your routine by introducing some variety or increasing your intensity levels.

2. Interval training

The concept of interval or “burst” training is simple. During a workout, particularly aerobic workouts, you ramp up the intensity of your workout in a short aggressive burst. Doing this several times during the course of a workout, in intervals, will improve your results. For example, if you’re performing a jump rope exercise, you can start with a steady build for 30 seconds, followed by a 30-second burst, where you’re moving at a much higher intensity, really challenging yourself. This is a more effective approach to exercise than steady state training alone – not to mention it’s a great way to break up the monotony.

3. Turn your schedule upside down

Another way to break the plateau is to shake up your schedule. Circadian rhythms — the time of day you do certain things — and workout plateaus are close friends. You can shock the plateau away by changing the time, frequency, or regularity of your workout. If you’re accustomed to a Monday-Wednesday-Friday routine, try a Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday schedule instead. If you’re a right-after-work exerciser, go for a morning routine and watch the plateau disappear..

4. Try a new workout

Since your body has hit equilibrium, it’s up to you to introduce disequilibrium, to throw your body into a new phase of adaptation, training, and improvement. You need new, you need different, you need variety. Once you’ve followed the same workout calendar for a few weeks, try substituting your workouts for something new. Maybe you can join the yoga class you’ve always wanted, start training for the 5K, pick up a new sport, explore TRX Training, try Pilates, or learn kickboxing. Change doesn’t need to be huge; it just needs to be change.

And variety in your workouts isn’t just about breaking through plateaus. Variety also keeps the mind fresh, opening up new neural pathways and creating a natural mental buzz. Plus, variety improves motivation. Giving your body something different to do heightens the anticipation and excitement of your routine. Exercising can be fun again. 

5. Remember to keep looking at the big picture

It’s easy to get hung up on the little things — looking at life in terms of calories consumed, ounces gained, and minutes spent on our workout. Rather than this micro view, adopt a macro perspective. Rather than freak out over a down week, look over your shoulder at the landscape behind you. You’ve made some progress, right? Be encouraged.

6. Keep consistent

Change is great, but neglect isn’t. Maintain your workouts, and you’ll develop the consistency that leads to results for the long haul.

7. Have fun!

If working out becomes the bogeyman of your life, you know something has gone wrong. Try to introduce fun into the equation, whether it’s by rewarding yourself with some healthy treats, getting some rest, recruiting an exercise buddy, or joining a new class. Keep your workout appealing and you’ll keep overcoming those plateaus, long after you've completed this program.

Kathy

Simple 3-Step Flat-Belly Plan (Yes, Please!)

by Kathy Smith

 Two-piece. Cutouts. Bring it on!

The truth is, no matter what article of clothing you’re aiming to sport this summer, every woman wants to look and feel confident. And when it comes to our midsections, women tend to get shy. In fact, a recent study showed that 72% of women listed their belly as the part of their body they’re most uncomfortable with.

When it comes to abs, it all simmers down to this: the stuff you can pinch (fat) and the stuff you can cinch (muscle) and you can tackle both!

Even if you’re spending time in the gym, using this simple approach will ensure that the fat stores in your waistline will shrink.

The end result? You’ll be on your way to abs you LOVE!

Step 1: To Know Your Abs Is To Love Them

Let’s start with the rectus abdomonis. These muscles flow from your ribcage to your pelvis, and those are your crunching muscles (what gives you those 6-pack abs!).The first step to flaunt-able, flat abs is to train the muscles. Your abdominals are made up of three different sets of muscles: the rectus abodminis, obliques, and transverse abdominis.

Then, we have obliques (internal and external). Whenever you do twisting motions, you’re using your obliques!

The last set of muscles is your transverse abdominis. The transverse abdomonis are your posture muscles, and they run across your body. Think of them as your built-in Spanx! Properly trained transverse muscles keeps your belly tightened inward. You use these muscles when you have to squeeze in your tightest pair of jeans without getting pinched!

Look what happens when I’m not engaging my transverse muscles (see photo on right). If I just let my muscles hang out, I get a little belly! Being in this position puts pressure on my lower back, and notice how my poor posture makes me look older and thicker! The trick is to engage your transverse muscles…even when you’re standing! You don’t have to be doing exercises on the floor to be working your abdominals and engaging your transverse muscles gives you an instant confidence boost!

Step 2. Burn off the fat!

We all have two types of fat – subcutaneous, which is underneath your skin, and visceral fat, which is marbled through your organs and muscles. The best way to get rid of both kinds is to do HIIT workouts.

High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is a simple concept. After warming up, you push yourself with bursts of high intensity, then pull back the intensity to a steady state. Burst…then pull back, and repeat. This type of training will help burn the fat on your body, including your belly, in time for summer fashions.

Step 3. Hello, Abs!

The only way to burn off belly fat is to get moving! Adding a simple core workout, like the one above, will shrink your waistline and take your workout up a notch!

Incorporating this workout into your daily routine will help you achieve a trimmer waistline to look amazing and feel confident in your summer clothes.

Here’s to your health!

Kathy

Lift Weights To Lose Weight (seriously!)

by Kathy Smith

As the years go by, life seems to be a little sweeter, doesn’t it? There’s the true joy you feel as you watch your children take tentative steps on their own paths and then develop the confidence to fly. And with each new day, you begin to appreciate the chirping birds and the sound of the rain on the roof. As wonderful as this time of life is, we all seem to be realizing that the more birthday candles you blow out, the more difficult it is to lose weight.

Here’s what happens…In your youth, estrogen surges and your body naturally stores protective fat around your hips and buns to prepare for pregnancy. Then as you reach your 40s and 50s, that fat moves up your body, settling around your midsection. The dreaded middle age spread.

It’s time to forget the idea that those pesky pounds are stuck right where they are. The good news is that even though shedding unwanted weight may seem difficult as you age, lifting weights can help you lose inches in record time. It may sound like an oxymoron, but when you strength train you not only tone your tush and tighten your tummy, you also shed pounds. Strength training helps you create a lean, mean metabolism-boosting machine, so you burn more fat, more easily, in less time.

So if you have any misconceptions about strength training that are preventing you from reaping all these benefits, let’s nip that in the bud right now. Time to bust a few myths of strength training….

MYTH 1. You must have weights

Dumbbells are the classic weights that are used in weight loss strength training and you’ll see me use them in my workouts, but you have plenty of other options, too. Kettlebells and tubing can both be part of a fabulous weight-loss workout. But the really great news is that your body weight is all you need for some of the most effective strength training moves there are, like pushups, planks, or wall sits. By supporting your own body weight, you create natural resistance, which forces your muscles to engage deeper and the result is a firm, toned body that burns fuel more efficiently.

MYTH 2. Concentrate on one move at a time

For more effective results, it’s better to work multiple muscle groups simultaneously, sometimes called functional movements. Working with kettlebells, for example, allows you to incorporate full-body moves that not only save time and burn calories more efficiently, but they also tone the shoulders, arms, abs, buns, and legs….at the same time! Functional movements also help you keep your heart rate up during a strength training workout to burn fat while you tone.

MYTH 3. It’s all about lifting

Actually, that’s only half the battle. Strength training involves BOTH lifting (the concentric movement that happens when muscles shorten and contract) AND lowering (the eccentric movement that happens when muscles lengthen). When done properly, it’s the lowering motion that provides resistance training. So on your next set of bicep curls, don’t cheat yourself by putting all the effort in the curl up and then dropping the weights back down; slowly lower back to the starting position, so that you feel the tension throughout the entire movement.

MYTH 4. You’re going to get big and bulky

No worries here. Women just don’t have enough testosterone to develop a bodybuilder’s physique. Most of the bulked up folks you see at the gym are spending hours lifting heavy weights and following a specific regimen of supplements. For the rest of us, strength training with moderate weights has a very different effect – strong, lean muscles that give us the sculpted, toned look we all want.

MYTH 5. Muscles grow while you’re working out

Have you heard of “tear and repair”? Believe it or not, muscle change takes place after exercising. During a workout you’re trying to push your muscles to the point that actual microscopic tears occur (don’t worry – your body appreciates the process, I promise!). When your body repairs the tears, the muscle is stronger than before. That’s why it’s important to limit strength training to every other day and to provide your body with nutritious fuel, so it has everything it needs for healthy recovery.

MYTH 6. Strength training is only for the young

Who said there’s an age limit to improving muscle tone? We lose muscle mass as we age, so staying strong becomes even MORE important with every single year. In addition, strong muscles also support and protect aging bones and help you maintain good balance.

Sure, a sculpted upper body looks great in short sleeves or a bathing suit, but don’t forget those muscles do more than look good. They also help with everyday activities, like carrying groceries, twisting lids off jars, and picking up little ones. And the benefits don’t stop there; strength training also can burn fat, lower blood pressure, reduce stress, and prevent osteoporosis and bone fractures.

You deserve a strong and lean body that makes you feel empowered, confident, and energized…So start lifting weights to lose weight today!

Purchase Lift Weights to Lose Weight by clicking HERE

Kathy

Three Meditations To Recharge Your Batteries

by Kathy Smith

 The meditation retreat I’m at Bali has truly been a once in a lifetime experience. Every morning, the itinerary calls for a little personal quiet time—time to breathe, to daydream, to listen to nature, and feel your batteries recharging.

Meditation is far from the stereotype of sitting motionless in lotus position. In reality, meditation is all about living your life to the fullest, moment by mindful moment. Although there are countless techniques and outlets for finding tranquility and boosting energy, meditation is particularly appealing because you can access it throughout the day during stressful situations, no matter where you are.

Meditation need not be part of a religious or philosophical practice. It can simply be a discipline of refocusing the mind. Actually, we do a lot of meditation in our daily life without realizing it. Trouble is, we tend to meditate on the negative, more commonly known as worrying. Like a bad DJ playing the same song over and over, our inner soundtrack of negative ideas can circulate endlessly in our heads, with thoughts like, “I’m not a good enough person” or “I’m not doing anything amazing with my life.”

In the simplest sense, meditation can help banish negative thoughts by clearing your mind entirely.One popular meditation technique is to focus on a positive idea or happy moment. As soon as a negative thought bubbles to the happy, calm surface you created, think of it as a duck that is paddling away from you and return your focus to happier thoughts. It’s not always easy to erase negative thought patterns, but meditation can at least help you become more conscious of them, and that’s the first step.

As if happier thoughts aren’t enough of a benefit, research is showing that meditation can help restructure the brain in ways that lead to more enhanced concentration, boosted immunity, and increased compassion. Even the most basic attempts at meditation have been shown to have immediate positive results.

If you haven’t begun a meditation practice, or are looking to take your practice to the next level, then stay tuned. Today, I’ll guide you through three meditation styles to enhance your life and recharge your batteries.

1. Nature Meditation

One of my favorite ways to change my mental state is to meditate deeply on a part of nature. Take five minutes to look closely at a flower. Study the details of its texture and the structure. When you do this, you develop a sense of reverence. The flower becomes a little miracle. You begin to see how complete and fully alive the natural world is at all levels. Meditating on nature can be calming, fascinating, and inspiring all at once.

2. Gratitude Meditation

I like to do this first thing in the morning, to get my day moving on a positive track. Simply spend a few minutes meditating on all the things in your life that you’re thankful for.

3. Breathing Meditation

Slow, deep breathing is one of the best stress busters there is. Focus your attention on the breath entering your body, your breath flowing out, and the spaces in between. Several minutes of this can lower your pulse, reduce your blood pressure, and relax much of the muscular tension in your body.

This breathing meditation is very popular and it’s one of the easiest and most effective forms for newbies to attempt. Try it during stressful situations throughout your day and you’ll quickly see how it helps you stay present in the moment, but separated from the situation that created stress in the first place.

Remember, as you work through these three meditations negative messages may surface. It’s o.k. (and very common) if they do. They’ll help you develop your meditation muscles as you notice them and turn your focus back to nature, what you’re grateful for, or your breath. Like anything new, practice helps you improve form and get better results.

Here’s to your health and happiness!

Kathy

4 Tricks To Lose Up to 55 Lbs By Walking

by Kathy Smith

Walking seems to be a wonder drug with virtually no side effects. It’s incredibly simple, astonishingly powerful, and study after study proves that by tying up your laces for even just a few minutes a day can transform your body, mind and health. I’ve had thousands of women and men tell me how my walking programs and techniques have transformed their bodies and changed their lives. Take a minute to watch this short video of some incredible success stories:

But walking is about more than losing weight, it’s about saying HEALTHY for the rest of your life. Listen to these shocking facts:

• Two hours of walking each week can reduce your risk of stroke by 30%
• Brisk walking for 75 minutes a week can add almost two years to your life
• A one-hour walk daily can cut your risk of obesity in half!

Whether you’re super fit, overweight, or somewhere in between, you can improve your health with walking…the easiest, most natural exercise in the world. Even if like Ellen in the video above, you have 55 lbs to lose, walking can help you reach your goals, but only if you follow the 4 tricks below.

But before we begin, let’s talk about speed. Weight loss walking is about increasing speed by taking more smaller steps per minute, not by taking bigger steps But moving your legs that quickly in a walk takes an enormous amount of effort. In fact, at 5 mph, it’s much more efficient to run — and cover more ground with each stride — than it is to walk. So you actually use more energy, and burn more calories walking a 12-minute mile than running a 12-minute mile.  

Here are 4 tips to help you crank up your speed and increase your caloric burn:

1. Speed up the arm swing

Swing those arms as if you’re the grand marshal in a parade! You can really add to your forward momentum — and get some significant upper-body exercise — by pumping your arms more quickly. As you start to go a little faster, your arms will swing across your body slightly, and that’s okay. Just focus on the joy of the movement and the extra fuel you’re burning!

2. Walk the line

To increase your walking speed, try to make your feet land one in front of another (rather than walking with them parallel), so you’re walking in a straight line. Now you’ll need to add imagination into the mix. If you were walking on an actual line, just the inside of your foot (the instep) would touch the line: Your feet shouldn’t cross over. Check yourself by walking an actual line: a painted lane line on a track or a crack in the pavement, for example. Feel the rhythm you’re creating? “Walking the line” forces you to rotate your pelvis and extend your hips slightly, which lengthens your stride a little. At faster speeds, you’ll get some front-to-back rotation in your pelvis. Don’t consciously try to waggle your hips or exaggerate the motion, let your body move naturally. Just align your footsteps, leading with your heels, and stay loose in your pelvis as your hips follow where your legs lead.  

A note to men: Since you have less hip swivel in your normal walking gait than women do, this technique can be more difficult for you. Make a conscious effort to stay loose in your hips and let your pelvis rotate.

3. Squeeze your glutes

Your gluteals are the muscles in your butt, just above your hamstrings. At the end of each stride, as you’re pushing off with your toes, squeeze the gluteals in the same leg. This helps draw the leg back, which increases your speed and develops the muscles that will help reverse a drooping backside.

4. Interval training

The best way to learn to walk this fast is to practice for short stretches, with reset periods at a slower pace in-between. This is called “interval training” and it has some really fantastic benefits of its own. By alternating intervals of high-intensity effort with recovery periods, your heart, lungs,, and muscles can work harder for shorter spurts than they could work continuously. Start with 30-second intervals of high-intensity walking, with 30 seconds of recovery in between. These high-intensity intervals can dramatically improve your overall stamina. Eventually, you’ll be able to maintain that high-intensity pace for longer and longer periods of time. Here’s a sample fat-blasting interval walking workout:

30-Minute Fat-Burning Walk

Purchase Fat Burning Walking Workout by clicking HERE

Kathy ❤

The No-Excuse Backyard Workout

by Kathy Smith

This weekend, skip the gym. (Seriously!) Most of us focus on trying to find time for a 30-minute workout, and yet, moving throughout the day is just as important. Don’t get me wrong…the last thing I want to do is discourage anyone from devoting time to exercise.

But what if I told you that you can slim your thighs and cinch your tummy with just a few quick moves in your backyard without any dumbbells? Today, I’ll show you 4 gym-free moves to try next time you step outside.

1. The Daily Warrior

 Move:

1. Facing a wall, place your hands at hip level.
2. Walk your feet back until your body forms a right angle, with the hips directly over the feet, arms straight.
3. Separate your feet hip-width apart, with the heels directly under each sitting bone.
4. Separate the hands shoulder-distance apart and plant your knuckles evenly into the wall, pointing the middle finger toward the sky. Firm the outer upper arms and elongate the sides of your body and hips away from the wall. Keep your ears in line with your upper arms. As you reach the sternum forward, take the shoulder blades into the body.
5. Keep the feet parallel and lift the inner thighs from the inner knees up toward the pelvis. Strongly engage thighs.
6. Take the tops of the thighs away from the wall to elongate the sides of the body and spine. For stability, firm the sides of the hips to your midline.
7. Keep your weight even in both hands and lift the right leg a few inches. Flex the foot to connect with the back of the leg.
8. To make the move more difficult, lift your fingers off the wall.

 2. Wall Turbocharger

Before you even step outside, get a jumpstart on your morning routine by incorporating the Wall Turbocharger into your beauty routine. Instead of leaning on the sink while you brush your teeth, do a turbocharger, and hold it there for 15-60 seconds. Suddenly your morning brush isn’t just about your teeth and gums – now it’s a great leg and glute strengthener, too.

Move:

• Place your back against a sturdy and flat wall
• Drop down so that your legs make a 90 degree angle.
• Slowly lift your right leg straight out so that it is parallel with the floor and hold it there.
• Hold for 15 seconds

3. Dynamic Pushup

Don’t under-rate this move…it may be a classic, but the Huffington Post recently rated it “The World’s Greatest Exercise.” You don’t need to “drop down and give me 30!” but simply adding pushups into your exercise routine can improve everything from your posture to your balance to your arm, chest, and core strength.

Move:

1. Pressing your hands against a wall or ledge, place your hands under your shoulders, tucking your toes underneath you.
2. Push up into a plank. Keep your abdominal muscles lifted up toward your spine. Have your hands pointed slightly inward.
3. Lower yourself toward the wall, trying to achieve about a 90 degree bend in the elbows.
4. Exhale as you press back up.
5. Repeat with the left leg lifted.

Repetitions: 12 on each side

4. Power-Ups

Whether you’re inside or out, this move can go with you anywhere! Next time you’re doing the dishes, try some calf raises while you wash, and shoulder blade retractions while you dry. This Power-Up move works the calf muscle, including the soleus, also known as the “second heart,” which is located in the back part of the calf, running down from the knee to the heel. It is used for standing and walking, and is an important muscle in heart health. Recent studies show that people with heart issues rely more on their ankle than their hip when walking, and that they should focus on exercising their calf muscle, targeting the soleus.

Move:

1. Stand tall with feet together, holding onto a wall or ledge for balance.
2. Lift up onto your toes
3. Slowly lower yourself from your toes to a standing position.

Repetitions: 12 to 15.

Tips:

• Keep your shoulders back and chest up. Always work on your posture before performing the move.
• Calf raises can be performed on a stair for more intensity.

Kathy

4 Ways Exercise Knocks Years Off Your Looks

by Kathy Smith

There’s no doubt about it… looking young is more desirable then ever. From beauty products to healthy diets, people have always wondered what they can do to defy aging. . I get asked all the time….can exercise keep you young?

Here’s the short answer…maintaining a regular exercise program is fountain of youth. Being physically active as you age makes your body function in the INSIDE more like a younger person’s. Regular exercise improves almost every system in our bodies from lengthening telomeres, to increasing endurance, reaction time and balance. And of course, it strengthens the heart and sharpens the mind.

Today, let’s take a deeper look at 4 ways that exercise helps keep you young.

1. MUSCLE

As we age, we all experience a scary little process I call “The Great Decline”: Every decade, we lose muscle mass, and as we age, the percentage of loss just keeps accelerating. By age 60, the average person will have lost one-third of his/her muscle mass. The good news: you can reverse it with strength training. There’s no age limit on our ability to add muscle and stop The Great Decline.

Muscle is more than the triceps, biceps, and abdominals that immediately come to mind. Muscle is about preventing disease. It is about coordination, balance, agility, and staying active. In short, muscle is about all those qualities we equate with youth such as endurance, energy, and relatively easy weight management.

2. BRAIN

The hippocampus is the area of our brain where memories are stored – and its also a major target for stress hormones. Chronic stress damages this area – and severe depression can even shrink it – and when you mess with the hippocampus, you start to impact memory and learning. So that forgotten anniversary or forgotten coffee cup may not just be a sign of absent-mindedness – it could be a sign that stress is affecting your brain on a cellular level.

So what are the best ways to battle those negative effects on our brains? Cardio. Regular aerobic exercise will make you smarter, faster, happier, and make your brain function like a younger persons. Plus, it’ll make you look years younger.

As a matter of fact, Edward Hallowell, a psychiatrist from Harvard, says that cardio is one of the best treatments for ADD and poor mental focus, as well as anxiety.

3. HEART

Cardiovascular exercise is a double-winner, because not only does it help your brain, but it is also literally “training your heart.” According to the Mayo Clinic, as little as 30 minutes of daily exercise can help reduce the risk of heart disease because when you are active, you can have more control over your weight. And as you know, extra pounds can increase one’s chances for high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and diabetes, all of which contribute to the aging process.

And that’s not all: regular exercise lowers your blood pressure. Activities like walking increases and maintains a steady arterial pressure during the exercise, it’s an excellent way to keep your circulation (and the rest of your bood) in tip-top shape and help turn back the clock.

4. SKIN

Exercise not only appears to keep skin younger, it may also even reverse skin aging in people who start exercising late in life, according to surprising new research.

As many of us know from woeful experience, our skin changes as the years advance, resulting in wrinkles, crow’s feet and sagging. This occurs because of changes within our layers of skin. As time goes by, the layer of skin beneath the epidermis, the dermis, begins to thin. It loses cells and elasticity, giving the skin a more translucent and often saggier appearance.

These changes are independent of any skin damage from the sun. They are solely the result of the passage of time.

But, researchers found that after age 40, the men and women who exercised frequently had markedly thinner, healthier thicker dermis layers. And, their skin was much closer in composition to that of the 20- and 30-year-olds than to that of others of their age, even if they were past age 65.

Exercise absolutely makes you look healthy, fit and glowing with positive energy, which radiates a younger-looking you.

When you look good, you feel good and when you feel good, you radiate a confidence which is beautiful, and perfect for anyone, regardless of the age. It’s astonishing to consider all of the intricate ways in which exercise changes our bodies.

Here’s to your health!

Kathy Smith, New York Times bestselling author, has stood at the forefront of the fitness and health industries for over 30 years. The numbers speak for themselves: Kathy has sold more than 20 million exercise DVDs - landing her in the Video Hall of Fame - and $500 million in Kathy Smith products. With her revolutionary approach to fitness, Smith has touched millions of people, inspiring them to move, live, and love.

Good Posture Keeps Your Body Young!

by Kathy Smith

Slouching Makes You Sad…

I get a lot of compliments on my posture, and it makes me realize what a strong impression posture makes. When you stand and sit with good posture, you’re less likely to injure yourself in daily activity. Your internal organs have room to breathe. You radiate confidence and command respect. Your clothes fit better, and you get through the day with less fatigue.

Best of all, improving your posture makes you instantly look slimmer.

You only have to look around you to see the effect that aging can have on our bodies. I’m always shocked by the appearance of people who, after years of bone loss and poor posture, seem to stand in a permanent cringe. That’s why I urge you to start putting effort into your posture now.

It takes only a few minutes a week. The 2 quick moves below are specifically designed help you build strength for better posture. Don’t let gravity have the last word!

1. Midback Strengthener

Targets: Upper back postural strength and flexibility of the front of the shoulder.

Setup: Stand with your back to a wall, touching heels, buttocks, upper back, and head. Bend your elbows 90 degrees and lift them to your sides at shoulder height. Press your elbows and hands against the wall. If you have tight shoulders, you may not be able to touch the wall with your hands, elbows, or both—focus on your effort.

Move: Widen your clavicles, funnel your ribs down toward your waist, and press your navel toward your spine. Keeping your elbows and hands against the wall, if possible, slide your arms overhead. Continuing to maintain pressure and effort, slide back down to shoulder level. Repeat six to eight times.

Focus: Maintain a neutral spine (your low back is not pressing against the wall, but your abdominals are engaged, pulling your navel toward your spine).

Comments: The effort in the postural muscles in your upper back will help stretch the front of your shoulders, enabling you to have the flexibility and strength to maintain or improve your posture.

2. Superman

Targets: Low back (erector spinae, quadratus lumborum), buttocks (gluteals), and hamstrings.

Setup: Lie prone, with your neck in a neutral position. Pull your navel toward your spine

Move: With your arms stretched overhead, lift your arms/shoulders and feet/legs. Hold for a count of five, then release down. Do eight to twelve repetitions.

Focus: Focus on lengthening rather than lifting high. Try to keep your navel lifted off the floor.

Comments: If the exercise is too difficult, you could also break it into two exercise by lifting your arms and shoulders only—keeping your feet and legs on the floor—then doing the second set by keeping your arms and shoulders on the floor, lifting just your legs.

Kathy

1 Trick for Losing Weight And Keeping It Off

by Kathy Smith

Here’s shocking news — a recent study shows that it’s especially tough to avoid added calories on the weekends. Susan B. Racette, PhD at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis found that not being mindful of your weekend eating patterns adds an additional 9 pounds a year to your waistline! After tracking 48 women, she found that participants naturally ate a few hundred additional calories a day (100-300) on the weekends, comprised of foods higher in fat.

So imagine you are sitting on the couch with your kids watching television this weekend when a bag of salted chips comes your way. You ask yourself, “should I have one?” You know that each chip is only about 10 calories, and that isn’t much. This is when you need to recall previous times you were in the same situation.

Did you eat just one? If you didn’t—and you ate half a bag, which is 600 calories—then the best decision today is to pass the bag to someone else.

I advise anyone who is trying to lose weight (and keep it off) to identify her own eating patterns. Tune in to the foods and eating situations that often trigger overeating or binges. Everyone is different when it comes to trigger foods.

I used to have a problem with chocolate. If it was in my kitchen it didn’t last long. One bite led to two, then three and four. At one point I banished it from my house because there was no chance I could eat it in moderation.

I have learned that it is usually easier to simply say “no” to even one chip or candy. It is much harder to stop a binge when it is in progress. So this weekend, it’s important to consider your past habits.

Rely on your food and fitness tracker

Our bodies and our fitness levels are created by old habits and old patterns. That is why tracking your food intake and exercise activities  is so helpful. Whether it’s digitally through a fitness tracker (like MyFitnessPal, Jawbone or FitBit), or keeping notes in a food journal, staying aware helps you become more in-tune with your habits and patterns.

High-tech gadgets, like Fitbit, that have hit the market in recent years take the guesswork out of your calorie burn and caloric intake, and they allow you to gauge your food-fitness relationship.  From smart phone apps to wristbands devices, and other handy interactive tools, tracking your caloric expenditure, activity levels, and fitness goals is easier than ever. I like trackers because they clearly show how effective an exercise is and often motivate you to take your workout to the next level.

In the hum of daily life, we’re often unaware of how our behavior falls into patterns and how we repeat the same mistakes until we see it recorded. In reviewing my own journal, for instance, I discovered that I have a habit of eating trail mix right from the bag. That can lead me to eat multiple servings. I didn’t realize until I did the math how many calories I was mindlessly consuming. Now I remind myself to measure out one portion so I don’t overeat.

Kathy

Skip The Gym With These 10 Gym-Free Ways To Burn Calories

by Kathy Smith

This weekend, skip the gym. (Seriously!) Most of us focus on trying to find time for a 30-minute workout, and yet, moving throughout the day is just as important. Don’t get me wrong…the last thing I want to do is discourage anyone from devoting time to exercise. But what if I told you that you can burn calories around the clock without hitting the treadmill? Today, I’ll show you 10 gym-free ways to burn calories all weekend long!

First things first…It’s important to understand that doctors, research journals, even the World Health Organization agree: A sedentary lifestyle may be to blame for a host of illnesses, from fatty liver disease to diabetes, even for people who work out regularly but spend too much time sitting. Sure, we live in a computer-based world, and we can’t always jump up from our desks for a quick jog. But we can do a little more multitasking, and add more physical activity to our schedules on the weekends or when we’re not working. For adding activity to your day, it’s the little stuff that counts.

Try these 10 ways to burn more calories throughout your day without a treadmill:

1. Fidget! According to a study from the Mayo Clinic, simply tapping your foot during your favorite songs throughout the day can help you burn up to 350 calories.

2. Stand tall! If you want to slim down and boost your confidence, good posture is the first step. Standing tall projects to the world that you feel good about yourself, and it will help you burn extra calories and can even make you look 10 pounds thinner…not to mention a few years younger!

3. Go to comedy night! Laughing for 10-15 minutes a day burns an additional 50 calories. It may not sound like a lot, but if you do it every day, that’s 350 calories a week by simply enjoying a good joke.

4. Clean up! Move your trashcan away from your desk, so instead of a reach-and-toss, you’ve got to go for a short walk to throw things away.

5. Sit & brush! Instead of leaning on the sink while you brush your teeth, do a wall sit: Standing with your back a couple feet from the wall, bend your knees and lower into a 90-degree angle squat position, and hold it there for 15-60 seconds. Suddenly your morning brush isn’t just about your teeth and gums – now it’s a great leg and glute strengthener, too.

6. Make showtime your fitness time. When you’re watching TV, make the commercial break your fitness break, alternating lower-body-firming plies with core-strengthening planks.

7. Visit a friend. Instead of calling a friend or your next door neighbor, take a stroll outside to say “hello” in person.

8. Aim for 10,000. Set a goal of 10,000 steps a day (it takes around 2,000 steps to walk a mile). Treat yourself to an activity monitor as a fun way to stay on track. I’m eager to trest out Apple Watch’s fitness tracker coming next year, but in the meantime, I’m enjoying trackers like my Fitbit. If you wear a tracker throughout the day, you’ll get an easy read on indicators such as number of steps taken, distance traveled, even calories burned. When you see how close you are to your goal, you’ll be amazed what a great motivator it is to get out for that after-dinner walk.

9. Go for the incline! Learn to love the stairs, or at least, the calorie burn. A person climbing stairs uses around 10 calories per minute, or 360 calories in just 20 mins.

10. Walk & talk! For those long-distance loved ones who love to catch up by phone, head out for some fresh air with your cell, and walk and talk. Isn’t it about time we put the “mobile” back into “mobile phone”?

You can tone up and burn calories in a way that’s convenient for you. It just takes a little bit of creativity. You don’t have to dramatically reschedule your day. All you have to do is find new ways to add movement throughout it. Start with these tips, and get creative with your own!

Kathy