Fighting the Cellulite Battle…

First and foremost…please keep in mind that during the course of this article, I will not be speaking about how to get rid of cellulite, rather I will be talking about how to diminish its appearance.

Secondly, please keep in mind that cellulite doesn’t only happen to “bigger” people, cellulite can develop on the thinnest of thin people.

That being said, let’s move on to the topic at hand shall we?..

Cellulite has been called many names, cottage cheese, stubborn ugly stuff, and orange peel to name a few. But here’s the thing, cellulite doesn’t need to be your ugly friend. You can fight this battle…but only if you’re willing to of course. The following are some tips that have worked for some women (and men) that I have worked with in the past, and so I’m passing the tips and tricks on to you, right here on TRIMM.

1) Drink tons of water (8-10 glasses)

The more water you drink, the more you have to go to the bathroom. The more you go the bathroom, the more toxins and fats you rid your body of, which is what we’re trying to aim for:)

2) Exercise

I have a certain saying when it comes to losing fat, “the more it jiggles, the better”. If you’re running and you don’t like the way your butt jiggles, it’s okay, because remember, the more it jiggles, the less cellulite you’ll see at the end of the day.

3) Lift weights

Cellulite usually forms in areas where there is lack of muscle development. So if you have cellulite in your arms, you may want to consider lifting heavier weights (higher reps for you women out there that aren’t looking to bulk up), if you have cellulite in the backs of your thighs, try doing deadlifts or various hamstring exercises.

4) Rub/massage your problem spots.

This works very well for those of you that lather up after a shower. Alot of treatments that treat cellulite out there nowadays use a massage technique that simply does the same thing you can do at home. By massaging, you are breaking apart the clustered fat cells in your problem areas. And combined with drinking water and exercising, your making it that much easier for that fat to exit your body:)

Remember if you ever have any questions or comments, any concerns, you can always visit me at www.myspace.com/sonya_gill, or email myself at sonya@gettrimm.com.

Cheers!

10 ‘Rules’ of thumb

Yes, that’s right, not one rule of thumb, but 10 of them.

When it comes to dieting (although I have to say I hate using that word, as you will come to see) and working out, and just pretty much trying to maintain a balanced and healthy lifestyle, let’s face it, in today’s world its hard to keep up with it all.

Don’t eat this, don’t work out like that, make sure to do this and incorporate that…see it all gets confusing right? Well after sifting and sorting through numerous pages on the world wide web, and through personal experiences, I have for you the following ‘rules of thumb’. Hope you enjoy.

1) When “dieting”, do it in accordance with the season.

Just like bears hibernate during the winter, we as humans also have an internal clock that tells us, “no, please dont wake up right now, I’m not ready just yet”. So here’s my advice…as much as I like to drill the fact that its great to start your days off nice and early, wake up in accordance with natural sunlight hours (unless of course you have a job that demands you wake up before the sun rises). So wake up earlier in the summer and later in the winter, trust me, your body will love you.

2) Dont eat late at night, or dont eat too early in the morning.

The latter makes sense, dont eat before going to bed. You’re last meal of the day should be at least 3 hours before going to bed. Your body begins to prepare for sleep as the day progresses into the evening, so as a general rule, dinner time should be at 7, and should be digested just before you hit the hay.

When waking up on the other hand, for the avid fitness individual, we usually wake up starving right? This is  because overnight your body repairs itself while sleeping, and your body naturally burns fat when its resting, especially during sleep. So one thing to keep in mind is when you wake up first thing in the morning, dont go rushing to the fridge or the cupboard to hoard down your high fibre cereal or your cottage cheese with fruit, why you ask? Well because you’re body is just waking up, and is not just ready to function just yet. So give your body time to wake up before you start putting food into your system.

It’s kind of like starting a car during a cold winter’s day. You wouldn’t just drive off without warming up your car first right? So why do it when it comes to your body;)

3) Always stay hydrated – enough said.

4) Shake things up – always.

If you’ve hit a plateau, this is the best time to switch things up, with your diet and your everyday fitness routine. People who constantly eat the same thing over and over again, are just going to keep seeing the same results, so just like you would change up your fitness routine to break through a plateau, you need to do the same with your diet. Don’t restrict more calories, just find new kinds of foods to replace the older version of your diet.

5) Stay off the scale!

If you’re weighing yourself all day, everyday…step away from the scale. Now.

It’s completely counterproductive to your diet. Because you have to keep in mind your body composition is made up of water, muscle, fat, salts, and so on and so forth. So if your just adapting to a new lifestyle and starting to eat healthier and workout more, I can guarantee you that the numbers on your scale probably wont budge for a good week. So do yourself a favor and only weigh yourself once or twice a week, first thing in the morning, on an empty stomach. And then, put the scale away before you become discouraged with the fact that the numbers aren’t budging – cause trust me, they have!

6) Cut down on alcohol.

I dont care if your drinking gin and tonics, or red wine, or vodka waters. Drinking alcohol is drinking alcohol is drinking alcohol. You’re still drinking calories. And for those of you that sometimes head straight to happy hour without having a proper meal, well you’re doing more harm to your body then if you were to eat a meal from McDonalds. Honestly. If you drink on an empty stomach your decreasing the seratonin levels in your brain, and when you do this, the decreased seratonin levels send fat directly into your stomach, which is why some of you out there may see a layer of fat creep up on your stomach after years of drinking on an empty stomach – so note to self – DONT DO IT!

7) Do not yo-yo diet.

Not only is this bad for your health, but this is so bad for your skin and for women, this is what causes cellulite, and a lot of it.

Dont deprive yourself of your favorite foods. Pick one day a week that you allow yourself to eat that one meal you were craving all week long, this way you wont cave one day and eat everything in site. Keep your diet balanced, keep your life balanced, and you’ll learn to naturally adjust to change:)

8) Eat Nuts!

I cannot emphasize how important this rule is. A handful of almonds or pistachios offer an amazing dose of antioxidants, essential fats and are cholesterol free. What more could you ask for. Usually try to aim for two small handfuls a day. And as a bonus, they fill you up!

9) Cut back on salt

Steer clear of adding salt to your meals when your either eating out or cooking. You don’t need all that salt. Not only is it really bad for your health and heart and arteries, but salt retains ALOT of water, and that is something a successful dieter doesn’t want.

And Finally…

10) Banish the “D” word!!!

DIET.

You are not on a diet. You are simply changing your eating habits, your fitness habits and your overall lifestyle. Everytime you use the word diet, you automatically think about when the diet will be over. As soon as you begin to think this way, well you may as well quit now, because chances are, you’ll probably gain all those pounds that you worked off with such dedication…back. So do yourself a favor and start changing your vocabulary as well as the way you view this new, healthier and improved YOU:)

Remember if you ever have any questions you can always email myself at sonya@gettrimm.com or you can always tune into my show daily at www.worldbandmedia.com

Cheers!

New Running Shoes

Alright everyone, its the beginning of the year. Well not really the beginning, but its only february, who’s counting?!

The beginning of the year is when individuals make huge commitments to themselves, and set aside massive resolves in the hopes that THIS will be there year to be better, look better, live better. However, my rule of thumb has always been, take little baby steps everyday of your life, and you’ll never miss a day to “be” better.

So speaking of baby steps, this article is for those of you that have resolved to run more this year. And whether its on the treadmill or outside, I wanted to bring up a very important topic that is often overlooked when it comes to running. Running Shoes. Enough said.

If you, like myself, are an avid runner, you need to make sure you are changing your running shoes after at least, 300-400 miles. So put it this way, if your running 3-4 miles 3 days a week, well you’re going to need to change up your running shoes every 6-8 months.

However, buying running shoes, especially the right type of running shoe can often run up a nice bill. So here are a few tips and tricks on how to keep your running shoes in the best possible shape:

1) Buy two pairs of running shoes that you alternate.

This will allow for you to keep your running shoes for a longer period of time.

2) Air dry your running shoes after a run outdoors

If you dry your running shoes by directly putting them over heat, you will ruin the material and leather of your shoe. So this is a BIG faux pas – Dont Do It!

3) Never, EVER wash your running shoes.

You may as well take your running shoes and give them to your dog as a toy.

And finally..

4) Buy cleaning products if you must for your shoes, just to keep up the maintenance on them and just so your treating them well:)

If you ever have any questions, dont hesitate to email myself at sonya@gettrimm.com OR you can visit me at  www.myspace.com/sonya_gill

Stay fit:)