Water Retention...sigh

Wow... Water retention sucks...It makes you feel like a big puffy cheese curl and you end up gaining 1.5kg over night and you cant squeeze into your jeans or your shoes!

Water retention and I are big friends...I happen to suffer from it a lot so now I have done some homework and found a few ways to get rid of it when it does happen to again so if you suffer from being turned into a sponge often here are a few tricks to try.


Drink More Water...Yes you did just read that! Apparently this actually helps relieve the bloating and if you don't actually drink water your body will just grab onto its fluid and keep it there.

Drop the salt - If your body is sensitive to sodium you will retain more after eating salt.

Drink/eat diuretics - Diuretics increase your rate of urination which is what you want... you want to get rid of that water. So here are your options; cranberry juice,
                                                  teas like green tea, rooibos tea and chamomile tea
                                                  asparagus
                                                  horseradish
                                                  watermelon and celery

Have less Carbs - Carbs are stored in your body as glycogen which has a higher water content which then adds to retaining more water. Protein on the other hand is a way better option because your body fluids are used in the breaking down process of protein.
BUT do note that i did say less carbs and not cut carbs out.

Limit your alcohol intake - We all know alcohol as something that dehydrates you but after consuming quite a bit it actually causes your body to retain water and causing you to bloat. An interesting fact about alcohol and why it causes you to bloat is that alcohol causes the secretion of an acid known as hydrochloric acid that erodes your stomach lining which causes the bloating because it makes your stomach vulnerable to digestive juices.

Eat warm foods - Cooked foods are easier to digest where cold foods aren't too easy.

Exercise - What exercise does is increases your circulation and moving the fluid around to your kidneys which then turns it into urine

Then there is always going for a good massage and acupuncture if you have time to.

I will be trying these out next time!!
                                                

Trying to eat fat free and light? Try some fish...it is a great form of low fat protein and omega 3, a fatty acid that is essential for brain and for eye development. It is recommended we have 1-2 serves of fish a week.

Are you Obsessed??

I just had a conversation with someone who is worried about their friend who has suddenly become so obsessed with eating healthy and training that it has basically taken over their lives and I thought about it and there are actually so many people with this issue they just don't realize it so here are a few things I believe are signs that you are a tad bit too obsessed.


You exercise so hard to the point of pain and still push the the pain. BAD!!!! If you are feeling pain it is your body telling you it is going to get hurt so rather stop and give it a break!

You train for longer than 60 minutes... and yes intense exercise not low intensity with a lot of chatting. This is actually not good for your body because your stress hormones actually start increasing and your muscle building testosterone levels start dropping so you aren't actually getting any benefit from that extra hour after your first hour.

You put off important events to get to your workout.

You exercise while you are sick. EXTRA BAD!!! You can damage your heart for life if you train while you are sick!! Your heart goes under so much strain that you could actually get carried out the gym in a body bag if you push yourself while you are sick.

You actually don't enjoy your food you just eat what you have to to ensure that you have had enough kj to get back into the gym and try burn off double the amount you ate.

You count every single kj that you consume and if you just go a few numbers over your daily limit you feel guilty and push yourself way past your limits in the gym for that extra 2 or 4 kj's you consumed. Also another BAD thing... If you starve your body it will actually start storing those kj's that you actually do consume because it goes into a starving mode!

You Replace your food with gum or water... Same as above...You are sending your body into starvation mode!!!

So the point of this is.... Don't get obsessed and go overboard! There is a saying that moderation is the key to everything and if the few things listed above do apply to you...slow your swing down and enjoy the ride...being fit and healthy shouldn't be controlling your life and be a must do and a punishment for your body...it should be fun and enjoyable!!!


Look after your body... It is after all the only one you have.

Some of my studios equipment

Mat work and equipment work are both great fun and I always share mat work exercises but never really any machine work so here are some pictures of what can be done on my reformer and wunda chair :)

 This is my FAVOURITE!!!! Its a great hammie stretch.

Triceps!!!

Abs! Abs! ABS!

Damn it is super hard to work your lower abs and your upper abs at the same time but I have just the exercise for you!! I love doing it and it is even nice to do after doing a set of chest lifts because then you really feel the burn in your upper abs.

Starting Position:

Start with your hands behind your head and your head, neck and shoulders in a chest lift keeping your shoulder blades off the ground and then your legs extended out to 45 degrees. If your back does arch in this position take your legs up higher and closer to 90 degrees instead of lower to the ground.


Movement:

Inhale: Prepare
Exhale: Increase your crunch and curl your legs in to table top or into your chest.
Inhale: Extend back to starting position by slowly curling your back down on the mat and legs to 45 degrees on the height you feel  comfortable with.

Repeat 15 to 20 times.

Important!!

If you have a very arched back concentrate really hard on not arching your back and keeping your legs closer to 90 degrees than lower to avoid a back injury!

Hint:

If you curl your tail bone up nice and high when you pull your legs to table top the more your lower abs will work.

Interesting Fact

Studies have linked a high fibre diet to a longer lifespan, reduced risk of breast cancer and many other health benefits.

Fun Fact

26 grams of fat in some of the larger sized popcorn boxes of oil popped popcorn at the cinemas. This adds up to as many kilojuoles as a Mcdonalds Cheeseburger and Medium chips. Ouch...Im staying away from oil popped popcorn for a while ;)