We have all been there, you just poured your heart into that workout and now all you want to do is get in that shower or head to food counter for a nice post workout snack. On the way to the lockers you walk past the mats and see people stretching, you know its the right thing to do but you keep walking thinking next time I’ll stretch, next time. I always tell my patients that not stretching after a workout is very similar to eating a snickers bar right after. You don’t want all your hard work to backfired by not taking the extra 5-10mins to stretch. We all know stretching reduces risk of injury, but there is more to it than that. Reduces risk for pain and injury. When the muscles are tight and constricted they are easier to tear or injure. Take the analogy of a rubber band; a tight rubber band that has not been stretched out will snap quickly under stress, but a band that has been stretched will have more give when put under stress. Promotes the long and lean muscles When you are working out, your muscles contract and by the end are left tight and shortened.

To improve the back’s flexibility and prevent muscle strain, stretching is an important aspect of maintaining a healthy back. These exercises should be performed every day to achieve the optimal goal. Hip Stretch Stand with feet shoulder-width apart. Then, take a half-step back with the right foot, bend the left knee and shift weight back to the right hip. While keeping the right leg straight, bend forward and reach down the right leg until a stretch in the outer hip is felt. This stretch maintains the flexibility of the spine. Super Man Stretch Lying on your stomach your arms straight ahead of you and you legs straight behind you, as if you were making a big letter I. Then lift your feet off the ground and so your legs are parallel, but off the ground and lift up with your chest and arms off the ground. Look out head of you as if you were flying like superman. Knee to Chest Stretch While lying on the back with the knees bent and both heels on the floor, place both hands behind one knee and bring it to the chest. Piriformis Muscle Stretch Lie on the back and cross one leg over the other and gently pull the other knee toward the chest until a stretch is felt in the buttock area.

Step 1) The first step in starting a new weight loss plan should always be consulting a medical provider and/or nutritionist. Why see a medical physician before starting new diet Identify if you have a medical condition that requires a specific diet Rule out food allergies Identify if you have any nutrient deficiencies that can be affected by diet Gain a better understanding of what a healthy diet looks like Identify exercise that is safe for you Identify hormone imbalances Step 2)  Take a look at current diet. After you have consulted with your medical provider/ nutritionist, take a look at what you are currently eating. Many providers will suggest keeping a food diary in order to gain a deeper understanding of what and how much you are eating per day. All those little snacks can start to add up if you are not paying attentions. Calorie awareness, as well as fat and carbohydrate intake, are an important part of most diets. Websites like myfitnesspal.com and caloriecount.com offer the calories in various portion sizes of most foods. When eating out it is helpful to use these site as well, meals at restaurants often contain lots of hidden fats and calories. Step 3)  Cut out the empty calories.

Rapid Weight Loss It is defined as the loss of more than 2lbs per week and is typically achieved with some combination of low calorie and/or low calorie and/or low-carbohydrate or low-fat foods in the diet, coupled with exercise. There are several different kinds of rapid weight loss plans, but some of the most popular are listed below. Low-calorie diets such as Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig Very low-calorie diets such as juice fasts, cabbage soup plan, and the 1 bite diet Low carbohydrate diets such as South Beach Diet and Atkins Intermittent fasting Rapid weight loss is appealing in that you can lose weight faster than more conservative plans. Many people who start a rapid weight loss plan have an event such as a wedding coming up that they want to look good for. It is important to recognize that rapid weight loss diets, if not cleared by a medical provider can lead to medical emergencies such as heart attacks, hormone imbalances, and even death. Slow Weight Loss: the alternative to rapid weight loss is a slow and steady weight loss plan which is defined as 1lb per week.  Plans typically instruct dieters to take your maintenance calorie intake and subtract 250-300 calories from that.

Being able to calculate the calories and grams in food is an important aspect of many diets. Many diets tell you to eat 40% protein or 15% fat, but what does that mean in terms of real food? Below is a guide to help you figure how many calories and grams of each food groups you should be eating. Recommended Read:  Recommended Meal Plan for Daily Calorie Intake (Women 50 – 55) How To Calculate Calories Based On Grams If a 5’9 healthy female is eating 1600 calories and following the paleo diet with 60 % of daily calorie intake from fats, 30 % of daily intake from protein, and 10% daily intake of carbs. 1 gram of fat = 9 calories 1 gram of protein= 4 calories 1 gram carbs= 4 calories Take the daily calories (1600) divided by 100= and you get 16 To find the amount of calories needed from fat 16x 60 (the amount of fat per day) = 960 calories To find the amount of calories needed from protein 16x 30 (the amount of protein per day)= 480 calories To find the amount of calories needed from carbs 16x 10 (the amount of carbs per day)= 160 calories How To Calculate The Number Of Grams Needed For The Same Person Take the number of calories needed from fat (960) and divide that by the number of calories 1 gram of fat totals (9) 960 divided by 9 =106 grams of fat per day Take the number of calories needed from protein (480) and divide that by the number of calories 1 gram of protein totals (4) 480 divided by 4 =120 grams of protein per day Take the number of calories needed from carbs (160) and divide that by the number of calories 1 gram of carbs totals (4) 160 divided by 9 =40 grams of carbs per day