You ask. We Answer. What about nutrition?

Q: How important is nutrition for weight loss?

A: Very, very important. Some say 80% of weight loss can be attributed to diet while only 20% can be attributed to exercise. So if you are working hard to be active and exercise be mindful of what you are eating.  

Overall, in order to lose weight you must burn more calories than you eat/drink. Going to the gym will help you lose weight if you create a calorie deficit within your body. 

For example, according to the Harris-Benedict formula I require approximately 1400 calories per day to maintain my current body weight. If I eat 2400 calories in a day and go to the gym and work off 500 of those calories, I still have a surplus of 500 calories which will be converted into fat and stored. 

2400 calories consumed - (1400 calories required + 500 extra calories burned at the gym) = 500 calorie surplus   

However, if I eat 1800 calories and go to the gym and work off 500 of those calories, I will have a deficit of 100 calories which my body will have to find from within. Burning some of the excess fat I have stored within my body.

1800 calories consumed - (1400 calories required + 500 extra calories burned at the gym) = 100 calorie deficit 

So if you are looking to lose fat, its a good idea to get an understanding of how many calories you need and how many you are eating/drinking. 

A great tool for this is FITDAY.COM which calculates and tracks your calories based on the food you eat and your activity levels. Use it for a few days or use it long term. At the very least you will gain some insight into how many (or how few) calories you are ingesting and at the most you will gain a useful tool for tracking your progress and weight loss.  

Look for the answers to the following questions in upcoming posts: 

Q: Does it matter WHAT I eat or just how many calories I eat? 

Q: How can people target __________ fat (insert: belly/thigh/arm)?  

If you have any questions we'd love to hear them, if we don't know the answer we will find it! 

Thinking about health on vacation

Thoughtful words at Yoga Soleil
in my new CrossFit Sumner shirt 

Andrew and I are currently on a mini vacation...well we are in Sumner, Washington. I am vacationing while Andrew completes his CrossFit certification (Go Andrew! He's gonna be a kick-ass coach, look out for him!). 

With all this time on my hands I got to thinking about holidays. We all have vacations where we come home feeling like we need another - exhausted, bloated, and maybe slightly guilty for how we have treated our body.  I am determined to come home from this mini-vacay feeling rested, healthy and positive! 

So instead of sleeping until noon and spending FULL days lazing about I checked out CrossFit Sumner and Yoga Soleil...THEN spent guilt-free days in savasana (yogi for laying on my back), reading at the beach, and pampering myself! 

Andrew and I have also stocked our mini fridge so we can keep up our Paleo/clean eating for breakfast and lunch which, similarly allows us to have delicious guilt-free dinners (and desserts!). 

So take the time to do something active on your vacation, get it done in the morning before the temptation of the afternoon siesta derails you and remember your post vacation self will thank you for your new holiday habits!   

NO Newlywed 10: Tip #2

Work out together. Work harder. Challenge one another.

Andrew and I have been training separately for the Super Spartan Race. I created a plan and some kick-ass work outs to get my body prepared for the race (check out My Favourite below). I was really pushing myself to my edge, my limits, my body’s capacity – well that’s what I thought until I invited Andrew to join me one evening.

The work out that we did that night (My Favourite) was generally taking me 1 hour and 10 minutes to complete. When I did it chasing Andrew’s long legs and explosive movements it took 53 minutes! Partner rivalry is a fun and easy way to push through your limits and reach new goals! Add a post work out meal and you’ve fit in a date night too ;)

My Favourite: Training for the Super Spartan

Measure 800m from your home base (use google maps), you want to find somewhere that you can perform lunges, push-ups, squats, pull ups and burpees (a park is ideal).

The Work Out:

Round 1

Run to your 800m mark - do 20 lunges (10 on each leg) - run back to your home base (option: if your home base is home and you have access to stairs run up and down them once) 

Round 2

Run to your 800m mark - do 20 lunges and 20 push-ups - run back to your home base  (option: stairs)

Round 3

Run to your 800m mark - do 20 lunges, 20 push-ups and 20 squats- run back to your home base (option: stairs)

Round 4

Run to your 800m mark - do 20 lunges, 20 push-ups, 20 squats and 20 pull ups - run back to your home base (option: stairs)

Round 5

Run to your 800m mark - do 20 lunges, 20 push-ups, 20 squats, 20 pull ups and 10 burpees - run back to your home base (option: stairs)

Walk to cool down and then stretch.

Congratulations you just completed a 5 mile run (8km), 100 lunges, 80 push-ups, 60 squats, 40 pull ups and 10 burpees!

To build on this add more rounds and more exercises – I’m going to work my way up to 8 rounds/miles! 

Photo Courtesy of: amy leigh PHOTOGRAPHY

Kelly Back Again with No Newlywed 10: Tip #1

We all want to look great on our wedding day...OK we all want to look better than great on our wedding day, we want to look fit, happy, healthy, and beautiful. This is great motivation for us to skip the dessert and fit in the gym. However, once the big day is over many people start to fit in the dessert and skip the gym.

Without my and Andrew's wedding day looming to give us extra motivation we decided to plan something new to motivate us! We signed up for the Super Spartan Race, an 8+ mile obstacle race in September 2012! We are training and preparing to kick butt in this race.

So chat with your partner about what WILL MOTIVATE YOU (as a couple) and make it happen! Maybe it's a 10k run? Triathlon? Beach trip? Kayaking or Hiking Adventure? and start training! 

Report your progress to each other, train together, encourage, support, and HOLD ONE ANOTHER ACCOUNTABLE! Start some good habits together that will last a lifetime! 

Picture courtesy of amy leigh PHOTOGRAPHY 

photomomentsbyamy@gmail.com

A Post Wedding Commitment

Allow me to introduce myself, Kelly...Ebbers, formally Kelly Davies, Kelly D. or KD! I am a youth worker, fitness instructor/enthusiast and as of June 9, 2012, Andrew's wife! 


Andrew and I started this blog so we could share our post-wedding-fitness tips...How can you avoid the "Newly Wed Ten" (when a newly-married person gains 10 lbs soon after the wedding, often not working out and eating too much, similar to the term "freshman 15" for first year college students, Urban Dictionary).

We'll be posting pics shortly and are making a public commitment that this is what we will look and feel like (if not better!) on our one year anniversary. We are committed to creating a shared identity as husband and wife that is healthy, active and balanced.

I look forward to sharing our tips for the "No Newlywed 10" (when a newly-married person gains ZERO lbs soon after the wedding and throughout their married life!) and I would love to hear how you've supported one another too!