Fitness & Wellness

Eating healthy is extremely important, especially if your goal is weight loss. At UpFit Training Academy, not only do we train hard, but we also focus on the lifestyle changes that are necessary to achieve all fitness goals. This includes exercise, nutrition, proper sleep, hydration, and much more. With rising prices, especially living in New York City, it can get expensive to only consume fresh, organic fruit and vegetables. As a result, our clients, especially the busy ones, often ask; are frozen foods bad for weight loss?

Frozen fruits and vegetables are often cheaper and easier to prepared than fresh ones

Wondering whether or not frozen foods are good or bad for your health completely makes sense. In a city where time and money are occasionally in short supply, wanting to use frozen foods to save on both of those is valid. So, can they be used when trying to lose weight? The answer is that it depends. Will frozen pre-made meals and pizza rolls help you achieve your weight loss goal? Probably not, given that they are highly processed, provide little nutrition, and probably won’t satiate you. This may lead to cravings or eating more food later in the day. However, if you are using frozen fruits to put into your smoothies, or frozen vegetables to make home-cooked meals, then frozen produce can definitely be the way to go.

Most frozen fruits and vegetables are vine-ripened and immediately processed

Most fresh produce you purchase in the store is not as fresh as you may believe. It’s often picked before it ripens so that by the time it gets to you it is in consumable condition; not to mention the processing and shipping it goes through before reaching your store.

On the other hand, some research has shown that frozen fruit and vegetables have similar nutritional content and that some frozen food actually retains an even higher amount of nutrients due to it being picked at peak ripeness before it is frozen.

So, can frozen produce be used in order to aid weight loss?

Definitely! As with many things regarding nutrition, there are some things to be aware of in order to get the most out of your frozen fruits and vegetables.

• Make sure you read the ingredients label on the back of the frozen package.  Some products contain hidden calories or added sugar that are unnecessary, empty calories. Look for companies that sell only the fruit or vegetable without excess ingredients.
• Based on the nutritional guidance we provide here at UpFit Training Academy, you can create your own meals and freeze them for later in the week to save on time for when you might have a busier day.
• If using frozen fruits or vegetables helps you get them in and makes it easier for you to cook at home, then use them! Frozen fruits and vegetables are better than none, and potentially even better than fresh ones.

For more information contact us today at Upfit Training Academy

Do you, like many others, hold the self-limiting belief that you can’t lose weight, get that raise or learn a new skill? This is a good opportunity to practice self-awareness and ask yourself why. Is it because you tried to lose weight before and didn’t succeed the way you wanted to? Maybe you have asked for a raise before and were shut down. Or maybe you have actually succeeded at your desired goal before, but something unexpected happened in your journey causing you to stop progressing. Whatever it is, your past experiences do not have to define your future when pursuing a goal. Building confidence and belief in ourselves takes practice, but we can always go back to those skills if we ever fail at a weight loss program or get rejected from a job and pick ourselves right back up.

Success breeds success

Exercise has a strong association with difficulty. As a result, when people start a new exercise program, they can tend to do too much, too fast. This can be difficult for our confidence because if we set our expectations too high, we may not be able to stick with that original plan. When first starting an exercise program, it’s important to be realistic so that we can build upon our small wins. At UpFit Training Academy, we sit down with our clients to come up with clear and manageable goals so that their confidence can be built in the early stages of training with us. Small successes early on lead to bigger successes down the line as our confidence increases, motivating us to do more.

Confidence is Built Through Action

On the other hand, some people underestimate what may be necessary to achieve their fitness goals. Without the required action to achieve our goal, it may be very difficult to build confidence as there is nothing to feel confident about. If we don’t push ourselves we will always be stuck in the same place. This is why our trainers heavily rely on progression and overload to not only improve and reach our client’s goals but to also build confidence week to week when clients see their numbers improve.

Final Confidence Building Tips

• Eating healthily can build our confidence by making us feel good about ourselves and our body, on top of increased energy levels. Check out this blog post for more information.
• Sometimes faking it till you make it can build confidence. Speak confidently, walk confidently, and have a confident posture. Even if you don’t feel it immediately, you are starting to understand what it’s like to act like a confident person.
• Set up small wins for yourself. Setting realistic expectations in your life is important; make sure they are challenging yet attainable. If it’s too easy, you won’t build your confidence because you already knew you’d be able to achieve it.

Exercise is one of the best tools to build confidence because it inherently boosts our mood via endorphins, making us feel better about ourselves. To learn more about how we approach training, visit UpFit Academy. 

If you can’t make it into UpFit Academy or don’t live in New York City, at-home exercises are a great alternative to ensure you stay fit. Our online options allow both the benefit of having a trainer as well as being in the comfort of your own home or having a trainer when traveling. You don’t need any equipment, either. If you have a body, you can do a workout! Here’s a sample of some great bodyweight exercises to get started.

Bodyweight exercises don’t require equipment

Strength training can be done without weights! You have weights with you everywhere you go when you do bodyweight exercises. One of the best bodyweight core exercises is the plank. It’s simple but if done right, not easy. Starting laying down, extend your body. With your forearms on the floor right underneath your shoulders, push yourself off the ground. The only points of your body touching the floor should be your forearms and your toes. You should be able to place a wooden stick along your back without it falling off or sitting at an angle. Engage your core, drawing your belly button to your spine. Start slow, and try and work up to a minute or two.

Work larger muscle groups with squats

When you train large muscle groups, your body releases nitric oxide which widens blood vessels to lower blood pressure. One of my favorites is the squat. Your feet should be firmly planted shoulder-width apart and pointed slightly outward. Your back should be straight. Lower your body by shifting your hips back and bending your knees as though you were sitting down in a chair. Your chest should be proud, whilst your abs should be engaged to control the movement. Go down as far as you can without lifting your heels off the ground. Once at that point, push up and slowly rise.

Walking lunges can be done anywhere

Lunges work one leg at a time and you can do walking lunges anywhere. It’s a functional fitness exercise, since it mimics the actions of walking. It not only builds strength, but it also builds flexibility. Start with your feet hip-width apart. Take a big step forward. Lower your hips, keeping most of the weight on your foot in front. Your back heel will lift, but your front foot should be flat. Both knees should bend 90 degrees, with your back knee almost touching the floor on the way down. Your hips should mimic an elevator, going straight up and down.

Final tips for working out at home

• Consistency is the key to success no matter where you workout. If you’re working out virtually or on your own, schedule a specific time to workout and stick with your schedule. Make it a priority.
• Form is important and should be your top priority when you’re learning a new exercise. You’re better off doing fewer repetitions and getting your form correct than pushing yourself and sacrificing form, which can lead to injury.
• There are a number of variations of the basic bodyweight exercises that you can use to work the muscles different ways. The walking lunge is one example. Instead of stepping backward with the foot in front, you step forward with the one in back.
• You need all types of exercises, endurance, strength, flexibility and balance in your workout. You also need a warm up and cool down. That’s why our virtual option can be great help, as you’ll have proper guidance. The routine will be personalised just for you!

For more information on training options, contact us today at UpFit Academy

If you’ve not exercised in years, you probably won’t be able to train a week and be ready to enter the Iron Man Competition. We know that at UpFit Academy in New York, NY, and help you to create the perfect path to reach those lofty goals. It all starts when you make small goals and not just achieve them, but surpass them beyond your wildest expectations and then move on to the next. Before you know it, you’re an entirely different person, with a different look and more energy than you dreamed possible.

A goal that’s too big can be overwhelming.

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have an exciting vision of your ultimate goal, but don’t let that be the only way to measure your success along the way. Think of how you learned everything in your life. In first grade, you probably didn’t read Plato or Socrates, but instead focused on the basics. If you had to wait to receive acknowledgment of success for 12 years, 16 years or longer, you’d get pretty discouraged. Getting fit means setting smaller goal to reach a larger one, just like education. The achievement of the small goals along the way keep you motivated and help you understand how well you’re doing, adding to your motivation to achieve the next goal.

Each goal needs to be specific, with a time frame and plan to achieve it.

One method of making and tracking goals is the SMART method. Smart stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time bound. That big goal is broken down to smaller, more achievable goals. If you want to lose 50-pounds, you break it down to smaller goals, creating a time frame for each. The new smaller goals should be relevant, measurable, attainable and have a time frame. For instance, I will lose two pounds a week by exercising three days a week and following a healthy diet.

Your smaller goals should still be exciting.

While you normally think of goals as weight loss or loss of inches, it could be other things, too. Do you wear out after one push-up? Make a smaller goal to achieve five in a row within two weeks. If that’s too easy, make it harder. Make it exciting. If losing two pounds a week doesn’t thrill you, make it a monthly goal of losing ten pounds or change your goal to clothing size, where you can try on new clothes to see if you’ve achieved your goal. Your goal should make you look forward to going to the gym and eating healthy to see the progress you’ve made.

• Sometimes, setting goals that are easy to reach can be helpful in the beginning. It gives you success and you can crush those goals, setting your sights on doing that every week or month.
• Always note where your starting point is. Take measurements, weigh yourself, see how long your endurance is and how much you can lift. You need to know your starting point to see if you made progress.
• Expect to feel awkward the first few weeks and to make mistakes. Everyone does. It’s only by trying that you learn and if you’re pushing forward, you’re bound to make a mistake or two.
• A personal trainer at UpFit Academy will help you make goals and adjust them as you proceed. Make them difficult enough to put fire in your belly, but still within your grasp.

For more information, contact us today at UpFit Academy

If you’re a person that thinks lack of sleep means you’re doing the honorable thing—as in working longer hours—or having more fun, think again. It may be why you’re having problems with weight loss and not getting the results you want. Most people make this mistake, especially in the US, where longer hours are almost worn like a medal. Lack of sleep can almost make weight loss more difficult. In fact, you’ll burn calories while you sleep and you can even boost the number of calories you burn.

There’s a hormonal imbalance that can affect your weight loss if you get too little sleep.

When you have the proper hours and type of rest, your body is energized and ready to go. You’ll be hungry, but won’t crave sugary treats and will find sticking to a pattern of healthy eating far easier. That’s because too little sleep can cause a disruption in the production of hormones that control your hunger. It causes the body to make too much ghrelin—the hunger hormone, and too little leptin—the one that makes you feel full. That makes losing weight even harder.

Adequate sleep boosts your metabolism.

That’s right. Sleep is important to the health of all parts of the body. It helps you keep your energy flowing throughout the day. Lack of sleep can slow you down and make weight loss even tougher. One review showed that lack of sleep increased the potential for obesity in adults by 55 % and 89% in children. You’ll have more energy during your workout when you get adequate sleep and that continues throughout the day.

Increase the amount of calories you burn while you sleep by eating some protein.

If you’re looking for a bedtime snack that can help you burn more calories, try some cottage cheese. The casein protein in it boosts the number of calories you burn while you sleep. Protein takes time to digest, about seven hours, so your metabolism will be on high throughout the night into the early morning. That can help you workout harder when you first get up and provides the protein at night for muscle repair.

• Not only does more sleep help you lose weight, the temperature of your room can help you lose belly fat. Keeping the temperature in the room at 66 degrees doubled the amount of belly fat lost compared to those who slept in 75 and 81 degree rooms according to one study.
• When you don’t get enough sleep, you often find yourself reaching for something sweet to give you that little energy boost. What goes up, must come down and that’s true of your blood sugar, which means you’ll need another boost just a few hours later.
• If you want the best rest and the type that can help you lose weight easier, don’t set the clock for earlier and hit the snooze. Set it for the time you need to get up and then do it. It provides more uninterrupted sleep to help you lose more weight.
• If you want the maximum benefits from your sleep, make sure you get a deep sleep, where you burn the most calories. You can do that by establishing a sleep/wake-up schedule and sticking with it.

For more information, contact us today at  UpFit Training Academy