Female Fitness Blog

Submitted by Fit and Female Blog

Exercising is a “good thing” and so is being lean, but there is a point at which (like anything else in life) you can have too much of a good thing…

I received a letter today from a young woman who read my book, Fit + Female.  She has written me before, but today she wrote and told me about the fact that she has not had her period — in two and half years!   

Given her very active lifestyle and relatively low body weight, I am guessing that she may be suffering from athletic amenorrhea.  But, I’m not a doctor, so I strongly let her know that I think she needs to see a good OB/GYN and a good registered dietitian (RD) immediately to find out what’s going on and remedy the situation ASAP.

So in the interest of educating anyone else out there who might be facing a similar situation, I thought I would explain a bit about what athletic amenorrhea is, it’s causes and risks.

What is it?

“Amenorrhea” is defined as not getting your period for 3-6 months in a row.  “Athletic amenorrhea” is prevalent in female athletes who engage in rigorous or excessive exercise — and do not eat enough to fuel their active lifestyles.  This results in a drop in body fat to levels that are too low for that individual (usually somewhere below 16% depending on the person).  Once the body fat is too low, the ovaries (which need a certain amount of body fat in order to function properly) stop producing estrogen and menstruation ceases.

Why is that dangerous?

When estrogen is too low, it reduces bone mineral density.  This can lead to osteopenia and then osteoporosis where bones are at serious risk of fracturing easily.  Left untreated athletic amenorrhea has been linked to: psychological issues and reduced athletic performance, fertility problems, even heart disease and cancer.

How is it treated?

A complete physical is necessary to rule out other medical problems.  Birth control pills may be prescribed to increase estrogen levels and restore hormone balance.  Food intake will need to be increased (and activity levels decreased) to facilitate an appropriate and healthy body fat level at which the ovaries will again begin to work properly.  Calcium supplementation of at least 1500 mg per day is also important to improve bone mineral density and reduce the risk of osteopenia/osteoporosis.

Next steps?

If you or someone you care about are very active, very lean and not having regular menstrual periods PLEASE see your doctor immediately and begin taking steps to resolve this situation.  The long term consequences to your health can be devastating if not taken seriously!

Geralyn Coopersmith, MA, CSCS is an exercise physiologist, certified personal trainer and the creator of The Best Me Ever, a comprehensive weight loss and wellness system just for women

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Submitted by Louis Moore’s Build a Better Body Blog

Come join the fun this summer at the two water fitness classes I have scheduled to teach this summer!

The class takes an athletic approach to water fitness training with sports-specific drills, intense cardiovascular work, intervals, and plyometrics.  It’s a great way to improve your cardiovascular conditioning and muscular strength and endurance with minimal stress on your joints. Also recommended as a great form of cross training.

Alief Community Center, 10645 Hammerly, Houston, TX 77043; Tuesday & Thursday 8:00 a.m. - 8:45 a.m. (June 17 - August 14, 2008)

Westbury Pool, 10605 Mullins, Houston, TX 77096; Wednesday & Friday 8:00 a.m. - 8:45 a.m. (June 18 - August 15, 2008)

For those of you who attended last year at Sharpstown Community Center, shoot me an email indicating if you’re planning on attending this summer.

Classes

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Submitted by Fit and Female Blog

Top 5 Things I Learned About Health & Fitness — The Hard Way

They say there’s no teacher like experience.  Ain’t that the truth?!  I’ve been working out for 26 years (and a fitness professional for 17 of them) and I’ve learned as much from my mistakes as I have from my good choices. 

Some of them I learned by trial and error, some I learned by education.  Some I learned easily — and some I fought tooth and nail despite all evidence to the contrary. 

So here are my top five…

Lesson 1: You Are What You Is!  Your body is different from anyone else’s and the sooner you come to a loving self-acceptance of how G-d made you the happier you will be!  Stop wishing you were Giselle (or whomever).  She’s a freak of nature anyway — that’s why she’s making the big bucks — because she is UNUSUALLY beautiful, tall and skinny.  (Besides, I bet that Tom Brady is in a  really pissy mood these days).  Remember that your body is unique and  that “fit” is going to look different on you than it does on a cover model, your naturally-skinny cousin or even the woman next door.

Lesson 2: Stop Beating Yourself Up For Not Being Perfect!!  The road to health and fitness is not about being 100% perfect all of the time.  You might have a week where you are really consistent and a week or two when you are far less so.  Just pledge to do your level best MOST of the time given your time constraints.  Aim to eat healthy and workout MOST days of the week.  Don’t let a string of bad days — or months…get back on the wagon and expects the normal bumps in the road to wellness.

Lesson 3: A Day Without Chocolate Is Like A Day Without Sunshine!  I’m a chocoholic, have been for years.  I’m not apologizing it and have absolutely no interest in being cured.  Now I don’t eat all of Hershey Pennsylvania on a daily basis, but I do have at least a piece(or two) of a little something chocolaty — everyday.  The point is, daily deprivation doesn’t work, small daily indulgences do.  They prevent you from feeling like your health and wellness program is a form of punishment, whatever it is for you allow yourself to enjoy it in moderation.  Besides chocolate is an anti-oxidant (yup, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it!!)   

Lesson 4:  Give In To Sleep When You Are Tired.  Okay, truth be told — I forget this one a lot.  I’m like a lot of women that I know, in that I typically try to pack a 72-hour “to do” list into a 24-hour day.  I can motor through sleep-deprivation pretty well, or so I think.  Then finally one day I realize my thinking is a little muddled, I’m a bit cranky, my coping skills are down….hmmm.  Then I remember, ah hah… I’m tired.  And I give into it.  I start going to bed really early for a few days, sleep 10-12 hours (I swear!) for a day or two, take some killer naps — and generally give into it.  Within a few days I feel this veil of negativity lift and I feel like myself again.

Lesson 5:  If It Hurts — Don’t Do It.  Some mild discomfort or the occasional soreness are a normal part of an active lifestyle.  Feeling continually beat up by your fitness program isn’t!!  The more you ignore those nagging aches and pains the worse they typically become, until you eventually get side-lined by an injury.   Common culprits which make exercise painful are: 1) over-training (i.e. doing too much, too soon and/or too often)  and 2) too much impact –activities like running and jumping need to be done sparingly (if at all) for most of us.   High-impact activities are frequently associated with inflammation and damage to joints, bones and soft tissues.  Work-up to them gradually and reduce (or eliminate them entirely) when pain flares up.

Hopefully, learning from some of my mistakes might prevent you from having to make the same one’s yourself…but ..probably not ;-)  Because human nature being what it is, we usually have to figure these things out for ourselves in order to believe them.

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Submitted by Louis Moore’s Build a Better Body Blog

It’s not enough to avoid fast food restaurants and reducing junk food.  You must be conscious of healthy foods while at the grocery store and carefully select foods that are going to benefit you with nutritional value, and not just empty calories.

One such product is Nayonaise by Nasoya.  It is an all natural soy-based sandwich spread that tastes very similar to real mayonaise, but without all of the saturated fat and other junk.   I’ve been using it for years on my potato salads, pasta salads, sandwiches and fish.  The only place I’ve ever seen it at is Whole Foods Market, but I’m sure it exists at other grocers.

Check it out.  You’ll be pleasantly surprised and know you are eating healthy.

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Submitted by Fit and Female Blog

I’ve been traveling a lot for business lately.  I’ve taken three trips in the last month (FL, CA, FL) — with plenty more on the horizon.  So I’ve inadvertently become my own case study on how to eat right and stay in shape on the road.  It isn’t always easy, but it is do-able.  Here are some of my “research findings”:

• Plan your airplane meals ahead of time.  Many airlines don’t serve meals anymore, however given the types of foods that airlines typically serve that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.  That said, if you don’t do a little advanced planning (particularly on longer flights) you’ll find yourself eating “Doritos Munchie Mix” for dinner.  Pack a salad with some lean protein (dressing on the side or it will be nasty, soggy mess), some fruit and some soy crisps.  And don’t forget the plastic forks (many airlines don’t have them).  One note:  if you want to bring low-fat yogurt — you’ll need to buy that after you clear the terminal.  It’s considered a liquid (like water) so you can’t go through security with that.  Food is fine, though.
• Wear your gear and sneakers on board.  I usually do carry-on and sneakers can take up a lot of room, unlike heels or sandals.  Wear your sneaks, instead.  They are great for running all over the airport.  Also there is nothing more comfy than workout clothes when you are sitting for long periods of time.  Best of all you will be geared up and ready to go to workout for a bit when you get to where your going.  Which leads me to my next point…
• Workout when you arrive — if at all possible.  Nothing feels better after hours of sitting on your duff than getting up and getting moving.  If safe and feasible, try doing something that lets you take in the sights while you workout (I went for a jog when I got to California this week, amazing sunset views of the Pacific Ocean while I worked up a great sweat).  Or check out the hotel fitness room (in FL there were fewer options, I wasn’t comfortable running around in that area so I used the elliptical and bike in the hotel fitness room — small but clean with equipment in good working order)
• Workout before you go — if at all possible.  When I flew back from California I wanted to have a good workout before getting on the plane to burn off some of my natural hyperactivity and let me take a little cat nap.  I got up early and did a 45 minute circuit workout.  I’m a big fan of circuit training that alternates high-intensity cardio for 5 minutes and resistance exercise.  I wore my heart rate monitor and it said that I burned almost 500 calories in just 45-minutes.
• Stretch, stretch, stretch… Stretch as much as you can before you get on a plane, as much as you can when you are on a plane (limited possibilities and a separate blog for sure) and ABSOLUTELY in your hotel room when you get to where you are going.
• Consider bringing a workout DVD with you and playing it on your laptop.  I had this in mind when I designed the four workouts in my The Best Me Ever Weight Loss and Wellness Program.  They do not require anything more than a band or tubing (both of which comes with the product) .  Bands and tubing are great because they can be packed easily (and believe me I do!) in a bag.  The Best Me Ever lets you do as little as 10 minutes to over 2 hours of working out, depending on your time and needs.
• Remember — all calories count!!  It is easy to develop “airplane eating amnesia” and fool yourself into believing that calories eaten while traveling don’t count.  Yes they do!!!  Junk food is junk food, no matter where or when you eat it.  Make your choices wisely.  If you choose to eat something crappy be sure to make a adjustments by eating healthier (and less) for the rest of the day.

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Submitted by Louis Moore’s Build a Better Body Blog

Want to listen to some cool, sexy Brazilian music?  I just set up this eclectic playlist of 45 songs from Brazil.  Some might be familiar.  Some for sure not.  But definitely good stuff with Jorge Ben, Gilbert Gil, Maria Bethania, Daniela Mercury and Caetano Veloso.  There’s even a few songs by the legendary American progressive rocker, David Byrne.

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Submitted by Fit and Female Blog

I hope you’ll check out the Metabolism Makeover story that I did with writer Alyssa Shaffer (and my friend and colleague, Alex Zimmerman) for the March issue of Fitness.  On newstands now!

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Submitted by Louis Moore’s Build a Better Body Blog

The Build A Better Body Exercise Library is finally ready!

There are over 300 exercise pictures and images on this private site with Flickr to provide you with lots of variety to design your fitness workouts. Remember, variety is the principle that will help you always gain progressive results and not hit the dreaded “plateau.”

You’ll see various sets to the right of the web page tagged according to the 9 major muscle groups. If you like an image, right-click it, copy, and then paste on your workout sheet document.

If you are one of my clients and/or you’ve purchased my “Build A Better Body e-book,” you should be receiving an invitation email within 1 day to have access to this private site.

Check this site often to get ideas. New images will be added periodically.

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Submitted by Fit and Female Blog

Many people eat diets that have way too much fat or too much protein or tons of the wrong kinds of carbohydrates.  But if good health and sustained energy is your goal (and it should be!) you want to be conscious of the way you combine foods at every meal.  A balanced meal contains a combination of all three “macro-nutrients”: carbohydrates, fats and proteins.  You want to try to eat:

• healthy carbs (whole grains, fresh fruits and veggies - high in fiber, nutrients and anti-oxidants)
• lean proteins (such as skinless chicken breast, fish, lean beef or pork, low fat or fat-free dairy - essential for tissue repair and digested in the stomach which provides for greater satiety)
• heart-friendly fats (like those found in olive or canola oil - improves blood lipid profiles and again, digested in the stomach for greater satiety)

at every meal, whenever possible.

Some examples of this could include:

• Salad with a grilled chicken breast and some balsamic vinaigrette with a multi-grain roll
• An egg white omelet with low-fat mozzarella, tomato, fresh basil and mushrooms
• A stir-fry of shrimp, mixed veggies tossed in canola oil over brown rice

Making sure that you have carbs, fats and proteins allows for: 1) the best chance at balanced nutrition, 2) a greater feeling of satiety and 3) more stable blood sugar levels.

Get nutrient savvy by reading labels and seeing which foods are high in fat, protein and carbohydrate…always looking for the most natural, least processed choice whenever in doubt.

For more specifics on what to eat to lose weight AND feel satisfied check out my new weight loss and toning product The Best Me Ever at www.thebestmeever.com.

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Submitted by Louis Moore’s Build A Better Body Blog

I’m not much into fastfood restaurants. In fact, I purposely avoid them and haven’t been to one in many years. However, today I was pleasantly surprised with Burger King.

Despite the fact that every item on the menu at Burger King is not healthy, I noticed one that is and tastes great — The BK Veggie Burger. I ordered 2 of them since there wasn’t anything else worth ordering and thought they were pretty good. They use the Morningstar brand (which is very good) and are reasonably priced at $2.50 (less than the Whoppers). I had mine prepared with tomatoes, pickles, lettuce and onions. My only complaint was the cheap quality white bread (simple carb) for the bun. And, make sure you tell the customer service rep not to add mayonnaise. They will automatically include it if you don’t say anything.

What’s weird is that Burger King doesn’t even promote their Veggie Burger (at least not at the restaurant I visited). Not one large size poster of the Veggie Burger was displayed in the restaurant, whereas the various Whoppers and Chicken sandwiches had many posters displayed.

The other thing I noticed about Burger King was the atmosphere. It was kinda like a Starbucks with cool lights, modern furniture, upbeat music, and a wi-fi area. It made the experience much more relaxing.

Now I know there’s at least one healthy item that I can order when I’m in a rush and hungry. The BK Veggie Burger.

Has anyone kept up with Burger King’s new strategy or marketing concept? Are they trying to do what Starbucks does by creating “leisure experiences” at their coffee shops? Let me know if you’ve heard something. I think Burger King is on to something . . . they just need to promote it better and get a few more healther items.

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Submitted by Fit and Female Blog

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually who are you NOT to be?

Years ago I went to a women’s workshop where we did a very interesting exercise. We were paired off with another woman whom we did not know. The exercise was to sit face-to-face with your partner — and pay her one sincere compliment after another until the instructor said, “time”.

And as if that weren’t difficult enough…we weren’t allowed to break eye contact, we weren’t allowed to disagree (verbally or otherwise)…in fact, we weren’t allowed to say ANYTHING at all in response but, “thank you…it’s true”.

The exercise was easy when you were “the giver”…you didn’t know the person personally, so you just went by what you saw and complimented it. But when you were on the “receiving end” — geez it seemed to last f-o-r-e-v-e-r.

I can remember sitting there as this stranger paid me one compliment after another. “You have pretty eyes”, “you have a nice smile”, “you have great skin” etc. Let me tell you — it was brutal. I was breaking into a cold sweat and squirming in my seat. There was a giant lump developing in my throat as I croaked out each successive “thank you…it’s true”. Geez, why didn’t I just go to that bamboo shoots under the fingernails workshop, instead?

Which begs the question, how well do you take a compliment? How do you answer somebody when he or she pays you a compliment?

Do you launch into a series of “oh, that’s not trues…” or “you’ve got to be kiddings…”?

Or do you stand there, smile, let it sink in and say a simple (and heart-felt)”thank you”?

If you’re like most of us, probably not.

Continue reading “Thank You! It’s True!” »

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Submitted by Fit and Female Blog

Each and every morning millions of women across America perform a secret masochistic tribal ritual. We approach The Oracle — and we ask that the truth be revealed.

We spend the rest of the day performing the sacred acts of mental self-flagellation.

“I am a big fat pig, I am a big fat pig, I am a big fat pig…”

In other words, we step on the bathroom scale — and then we terrorize ourselves for the rest of the day by the numbers we see there.

Why is it that so many of us feel compelled to get on the scale each and every morning?

Moreover, why do we beat ourselves up when the numbers on the dial don’t match the numbers that we have in our heads? Especially when the numbers that we have in our heads are usually numbers that appeared once on our wedding day, when we were a nervous wreck from the all the stress and coming off of a four-day bout with a stomach flu.

Usually they are numbers that we haven’t actually seen in years, they aren’t “real numbers” — yet some part of us still expects them to be there. Fat chance of that.

Continue reading “Here’s The Skinny On The Scale” »

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Submitted by Fit and Female Blog

Hi, welcome to The Fit Female Blog!

My name is Geralyn Coopersmith. I’m the author of Fit + Female, an exercise physiologist and a certified personal trainer.

I’m also the creator of a complete weight loss system, The Best Me Ever. I’ve been helping women get in the best shape of their lives for the past seventeen years. So I know what works — and what doesn’t.

One thing that I’ve learned is that most women (most people in general, for that matter) have the same issues that prevent them from getting fit.

They are fed up with workout programs that are boring — or painful
They don’t have any (or enough) time to exercise
They find it difficult (if not impossible) to get to the gym on a regular basis
They aren’t motivated to workout at home
They can’t find a “diet” that really works in the real world — with real food!

This blog, and The Best Me Ever are all about breaking down all the barriers that keep us from getting in shape and staying that way. Ultimately, it boils down to three critical factors. You have to change:

The Way You Think - This can mean everything from having realistic expectations about what YOUR body is supposed to look like at its most fit — to making your fitness a daily priority.
The Way You Move - You need to exercise almost every day. But you don’t need to beat yourself up. The secret is balanced, time-efficient exercises that give you some muscle toning, some fat-burning cardio and some flexibility.
The Way You Eat - Healthy food, is for the most part, non-fattening food. You can eat a heck of a lot of fruits, veggies and lean proteins without gaining weight. Sure portion control definitely plays a role, but learning to focus on nutrient-rich, high fiber foods makes daily weight loss very easy!

If you continue to read this blog you’ll see that these are on-going themes that I like to address.

With The Best Me Ever, I’ve developed a step-by-step system that teaches you how to workout to get the best gains in the shortest period of time, what to eat to lose weight and keep it off and how to think about the importance of fitness in your life. The beauty of it is the simplicity…if you follow this system, it works — plain and simple. In fact, I’m so proud of it — and so convinced that it will work for anyone, that I back it up with a 90-day full money-back guarantee!!

I was recently interviewed by celebrated fitness podcast host, Anthony Renna of The Better Golf With Fitness Podcast and The Strength Coach Podcast. He ask about some of my training philosophies, female fitness myths and misconceptions and the reasons that I developed The Best Me Ever.

Click here to listen to this interview or download it to your MP3 Player

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