But I don’t usually find that people are dehydrated because they worked out too hard — sure sometimes — but not usually. And really I am not talking about that odd day where you feel a bit tired or dehydrated from your workout (or this time of year from your cold medicine)

I am talking about that fog that surrounds you regularly if you fail to hydrate. Those small headaches you might get, that rundown feeling, that need for a sugar boost or caffeine boost in the middle of the afternoon.

On the medical questionnaire for my personal training clients here in Douglasville, I ask about alcohol and caffeine consumption as well as medication and all the other host of medical questions. Some people drink WAY TOO MUCH CAFFEINE. Now, I love a couple of cups of coffee in the morning too but I am talking about chronic overconsumption. Reaching for a Red Bull or a Coke or even a coffee when you really should be downing some water not only does not hydrate you, it does the opposite.

As does alcohol. Both alcohol and caffeine have been found in studies to have beneficial uses in our life. But seriously, you know the studies were not assuming you drank 3 cups of coffee in the morning and then a few cokes and then a few beers. There are MANY people that go not only the entire day BUT DAYS without drinking pure water.

This week, take a couple of days and write down what you drink. EVERYTHING you drink. Juices, smoothies, juice drinks — these can all be packing on a lot of calories that are “hidden”. Beer, wine and coke can also be a lot of hidden calories and are dehydrating. So spend 2 days writing everything down. Get honest and see if you really drink 8 glasses of water or if it is more like 2. Want to get really honest? Record your food too and see the connection between lack of water consumption and overeating.

I hope this helps you to realize the importance of water on the basic functions of your body (one of those being metabolism)

I got a great cartoon from one of my new favorite clients yesterday and it was a doctor talking to a patient and he said “Which is better for you, one hour of fitness a day or 24 hours of death” OH MY — it was delivered in a funny format but the message is true. You can certainly afford an hour of exercise every day over dying way before your time. Or living in pain and not having the quality of life that you could have.

The same client also told me that while she is doing her strength, cardio and eating plan, she is struggling with certain aspects (such as sticking to the eating plan on the weekends). I loved the honesty. Changing your life is hard work and I always worry when people tell me everything is great (or everything is awful) but then I get no details on what they are doing. I understand that it is hard to sneak in a workout. Sometimes I go several days without turning on the TV and I often find myself sneaking in a quick workout over my lunch break or breaking up my cardio and strength training so I can get one of them in before work (which is usually around 4 in the morning) So I understand!!

There are some ways you can make it easier — some of these are going to sound like advice that your Mom told you years ago — but it is still good advice.

- Pack you lunch for work the night before. Ensure you have healthy snacks and a healthy lunch. Brown bagging it to work may seem boring but it is a good way to guarantee that you eat healthy.

- Prepare for the week on the weekend — chop vegetables and put them in the fridge, wash fruit and put it in a nice bowl by the door, section a grapefruit to have in the morning, do your grocery shopping, make a “big batch” meal such as turkey or vegetarian chili or homemade soup or roast a chicken — this will help keep lunches from getting boring and will help you get healthy dinners prepared quickly when you get home. There truly is nothing better than coming home from a long workday to dinner already being prepared so try to get as close as you can to that.

So what I am saying here is that getting fit, living healthy — these are not things that turn on like a switch. So just work the plan. Some day will be better than others. Some days you will not get to your group fitness class, some days you will not feel like strength training.(but you still should) Some days you will not get the ideal amount of cardio, some days your eating will not be perfect — but by continuing to work your plan every day, you will get healthier and stronger. And eventually (there will still be no perfect days) you will get to a point where you are enjoying a whole new healthier way of living.

Don’t drop your fitness routine and your healthy eating habits because of the holidays. Fitness and good healthy living is not something that you turn on and off.

Try modifying your routine in order to fit it into your time constraints. And hey, you could always try working out a bit harder. Maybe add some intervals to cut back on your time or in order to burn up some more calories.

As far as your eating goes, it can be obvious what to eat sometimes and sometimes not. Finger food such as celery, crudites, endive, chicken satays — those are all usually low in fat and good choices. But other party foods can be a diet nightmare. Pecan pie will set you back DAYS of working out. A small piece of pumpkin pie is forgivable at less than 300 calories. Get where I am going here?? Preplan your eating when you go to a party and respect your body enough to put good food into it.

I wish you the happiest, healthiest Christmas!!!!

Dave

Changing how your body looks requires THREE THINGS:
- strength training with heavy weights
- regular cardio training
- healthy eating

If you skip on the eating part and the strength training part, you will get mediocre results. And that right there is what many people do. While I applaud you for showing up to your fitness class or hopping on the elliptical a few times a week, I ask you to answer ONE QUESTION about your body….. are you happy with your body?

By that I mean HAPPY, like it performs the way you want, you have enough energy, you are the size and shape you want, and you are proud when you look in the mirror.

So if you are not happy, then let’s look at where you are going wrong. As far as healthy eating, that is pretty easy. Print 2 copies of the food diary on this site under LINKS. Write down everything that goes in your mouth for the next weeks. That includes all food, all drink, gum, candy, beer, EVERYTHING!! This will give you an idea on your caloric intake and where you make adjustments. Like maybe you change your lunch from a Chik-fil-A sandwich with fries and a coke to a grilled chicken sandwich with a salad and a water. See, POOF — tons of fat, sugar and calories gone with still lots of taste.

Now as far as your gym time, write down how long you come to the gym and how much of that is workout time. BE HONEST. If you come to the gym 5 hours a week, there is NO REASON you are not SUPER FIT. Because with 4 sessions of 45 minutes of cardio, you still have 2 hours left for strength training which is more than enough. So make the MOST of your time in the gym.