Lose 9 in ’09

It’s that time of year when we come out of the holidays falling off the resolution wagon. I too am guilty and have gained the dreaded “Winter 5”. I have been hiding this fact by wearing my trademark leggings and newly adopted baggy sweaters. Well no more! I have decided to trade in my winter uniform (because leggings lie) for my skinny jeans and body conscious dresses. In order to make my vision a reality, I have asked my good friend Latham Thomas of Tender Shoots Wellness to give me some tips for how to retain my pre-winter body and get back in shape . Below please find Latham’s advice on how to get fit and stay healthy in 09.

How to Lose 9 in ’09

It’s time for change, a change in your waist line. Ready to drop 9 pounds in 2009, just read below for 9 savvy tips to tip the scale back in your favor.

By: Latham Thomas
www.tendershootswellness.com

1. Fall in L.O.V.E (live organic vegan experience) Go raw!- The best jump start to establishing a healthy and happy 2009 is a cleanse to kick off the new year. Just ask Gwyneth Paltrow and Miguel Forbes who flock to Organic Avenue for their healthy raw vegan fare. Organic Avenue organizes 5 day Juice cleanses that run from Monday- Friday. You can do a combination of food and juices or hardcore raw- just juices. A cleanse can help bring clarity to your head and allow your organs some rest from the work of digestion. Not to mention the beautiful glow it brings to your skin, nails, and hair. Visit- www.organicavenue.com, for more info.

2. Get your green on- Eat more salads, leafy greens,  drink wheatgrass (if it appeals to you). Remember when you put green inside you are clean inside. Upward reaching leafy veggies are blood builders and cleansing for the liver. Experience your greens in a variety of ways, interesting salads, sauteed, steamed, juiced. Have at least two salads daily. Greens help to regulate your blood sugar and will likely curb any cravings for sweets.

3. Get your lean on- Eat lean proteins and lean portions. So if you’re going to drop the 9 in 09 you are going to have to be mindful of what you’re eating and how much. When consuming protein cut back a bit and allow yourself 3-4 ounces a couple times a week. Our bodies aren’t designed to eat animal protein in gratuitous amounts on a daily basis. Too much protein will through off your ph balance releasing ammonia into your blood stream, to regain balance the body leaches phosphorus from the bones to bring the ph back to normal. Don’t give your body more work than it is already doing- eat protein a few times per week and get adequate sources of plant protein to supplement your diet. Some sources include: legumes, quinoa, barley, millet, brown rice, artichokes, beets, brussel sprouts, nuts and seeds.

4. Cut back on “white carbs”- Stop skipping the salad bar and eating bread instead of real food. Bread turns into sugar within 15 minutes of entering your blood stream. It spikes your sugar then it sends you spiraling down and craving salty and fatty foods. Other culprits are white sugar, white potatoes, white pasta, and other products containing white flour. These are empty calories and cause cravings for equally unhealthy foods. Instead of these foods eat more whole foods- foods that come intact with mother nature’s goodness.

5. Speed it Up- Bikini season is just around the corner and in order to get the crazy body you want, you’ll have to work for it. The key to fat burning is using interval training workouts- training that alternates high-intensity levels with lower-intensity effort. This formula keeps your body burning calories long after you’ve stopped working out. Interval training mimics sports- start-and-stop motions with periods of sprinting or close-to-sprinting speeds followed by light jogging or rest. The best thing is that these workouts don’t have to be very long- under 30 minutes! Check out NYC based fitness trainer Brett Hoebel’s ITC program to bring clearance to your inner thighs. Visit www.hoebel.com  and see why super model Karolina Kurkova is so excited about Brett’s training programs. A program of interval training stimulates the thyroid which signals a release of testosterone into the blood stream which then tells the body to burn fat! What’s better than that.

6. Just Jump- If you don’t want to run in the cold, and you are sick and tired of treadmills and the elliptical machine why not try something new. Jump rope, yeah you know that elementary form of exercise you engaged in back in second grade. Don’t laugh, just ask former middle weight world champ boxer, Michael Oliajide JR, co-owner of Aerospace. Michael leads “AeroJump” classes that last between 30-60 minutes, using house music and various jump rope choreography- you will sweat! Victoria’s Secret Super model Doutzen Kroes swears by this workout. AeroJump can burn up to 1200 calories in a 45 minute session. Now that’s something to write home about. Visit www.aerospacenyc.com

7. Sober socializing- I already know what you’re thinking- she’s nuts! I don’t mean have zero drinks when you go out, but cut back to one drink or two glasses of wine and decide how many nights you can do that, maybe one or two nights per week. Drinks pack on the pounds-pure alcohol contains about 7 calories per gram, which makes it nearly twice as fattening as carbohydrates or protein (both contain about 4 calories per gram) and only just under the caloric value for fat (9 calories per gram). Translation, if you want to lose weight and reduce “ring around he waistline”, alcohol is not a good choice. Your body processes alcohol first, before fat, protein, or carbs. Thus drinking slows down the burning of fat. So limit your cosmo consumption and sip on a water with squeezed lemon.

8. Kick Trans-fats and Synthetic Sugars- So here is “Processed food for Dummies” in a nutshell- If you can’t pronounce it, don’t eat it, if it has more than 5 ingredients- don’t eat it, if it says “sugar free” don’t eat it. If it contains high fructose corn syrup, splenda, nutrisweet or any other synthetic sweetener- don’t eat it. These chemically-concocted products do not occur in nature; there are no Splenda trees or NutraSweet plants. In many cases, taking in sugar substitutes may actually increase your levels of hunger. Also since the body doesn’t recognize these sugars rather than use the calorie as energy, it stores them as fat. You are better off using small amounts of natural sweeters- like honey, agave, or maple syrup. Foods high in Trans-fats include: spreads, packaged foods, fast foods, commercial baked goods, chips. When you eliminate these foods you will see a tremendous difference when you step on the scale.

9. Drink More Water- So simple, yet so difficult. Yes we carry our hip stainless steel super chic eco-friendly water bottles around town, but are we actually drinking any water? Dehydration is so common and most of us have no idea we are dehydrated.  If you’re not drinking enough water, your body will let you know, but by the time it does- you are well past being thirsty. Sometimes we confuse thirst for hunger. If you don’t stay  hydrated, your body won’t perform at peak levels. We are mostly composed of water. If you’re worried about excess “water weight,” remember you’re likely to retain more water when you’re not drinking adequate water in the first place.
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Latham Thomas is a graduate of Columbia University, and the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. Latham mixes her passions of plant physiology, botany, holistic nutrition, fitness, yoga, and organic green cuisine into a lifestyle program that supports the various needs of her clients. She is the founder of Tender Shoots Wellness, a boutique lifestyle company that supports women during childbearing years. You can learn more about Latham’s work at www.tendershootswellness.com