Fitness

Is Keto As Good As People Say?

Published by admin on July 25, 2024

If you’ve heard about the Keto diet and wondered if it was a fad devoid of benefits that might even harm the body or if it was a good weight loss option, you’re not alone. Many people want to know how it works and whether it offers the advantages others profess. You first need to know what a keto diet is. Keto is a quicker way of saying ketogenic. A ketogenic diet isn’t new. Doctors used it in the 1920s to help people with epilepsy. They found that fasting aided in controlling seizures, but you could only fast for so long before you starved. More research indicated that cutting back on carbohydrates and increasing calories from protein had the same effect, and it helped lose weight. Bodybuilders rediscovered the diet in the 1980s and its ability to help shed pounds by burning fat.

The body uses carbs for energy,

Carbohydrates convert to glucose, which cells use as energy. If carbs aren’t available, the body breaks down fat into ketones for energy. That helps lower insulin levels and the inflammation that occurs when insulin is high. That is one benefit of a keto diet. Substituting protein and fat calories for those from carbs keeps you feeling fuller longer.

The types of carbs you eat also affect how healthy the diet is.

There are three types of carbs: starches, sugars, and fiber. The type of carb you choose makes a difference. Vegetables are carbohydrates. So are fruit, cereal, candy, and pasta. You probably already know that candy and cake aren’t in the healthy carb group. People on a keto diet limit their carbs to above-ground vegetables with few root vegetables like potatoes. The diet breaks down the calorie intake by macronutrients. 70-80% of calories come from fat, 5-10% from carbohydrates, and 20-25% from protein. On a 2000-calorie diet, you could eat 10 to 15 grams of carbs daily, about 15 grapes, or a fist-sized serving of carrots.

Issues surrounding the keto diet should concern you.

Before you start any diet, always talk to your healthcare professional first. It’s especially true if you have health issues like diabetes or kidney issues. If you have liver disease, a thyroid condition, pancreas, or gall bladder problems, avoid the keto diet. Keto diets can cause lower blood pressure, nutritional deficiencies, kidney stones, and constipation. It can create “the keto flu” while your body transitions from glucose to ketones for energy.

The fat in the keto diet should be healthy. It can come from nuts, coconut products, healthy oil, avocado, or cheese.
One longer-lasting benefit of the keto diet is that it reduces your urge for sugar. Since carbs are low, so is natural and added sugar. The less sugar you eat, the less you crave it.
A keto diet takes planning to maintain, especially for people on the go. Plan meals and make them all in one day. They’ll be ready to heat and eat, cutting temptation.
The limited fiber in the keto diet can slow digestion and leave you feeling stuffy and bloated. Choose carbs wisely and eat the ones with the highest fiber count.

For more information, contact us today at Hawaii Fit Camp!

Posted in Fitness, Nutrition

How To Bike In The Heat

Published by admin on July 15, 2024

You may ride a bicycle for enjoyment or as an inexpensive way to move about that has health benefits. You might even ride as part of a weight loss program. That wonderful feeling of freedom you get when you ride can disappear if you don’t take precautions when you bike in the heat. Exercise is vital. It should help the body, not harm it. Biking in hot weather without taking precautions is a risk to your health.

Check the weather forecast, especially if you’re taking a long ride.

You have to plan for the bike trip. That means you also need to plan for the weather, too. Dress appropriately. If it’s cool in the morning, dress in layers, which you can remove as the temperature increases or when you get warmer the more you pedal your bike. Be prepared with rain gear in case it’s more than a sprinkle. Always check for extreme weather, especially during hurricane season when inclement weather and flash floods occur.

Never leave home without extra water.

The weather might be balmy, but that doesn’t mean you won’t sweat or need to rehydrate. Carry a bottle or bottles of water. You never know when you might need to hydrate. You can carry frozen water with you spending the whole day. Pour off about an inch or two of water before you freeze them. Calculate what you need, then add one more bottle.

Choose your path and when you ride with care.

Always carry your cell phone if you’re riding alone and either allow someone to track your phone with an app like Find My, Life 360, and Family Locator or let someone know where you plan to ride. If there’s an emergency and you can’t make it home, they’ll have an idea where to look. When the weather is hot, avoid riding in the hottest part of the day. If you ride during the workday, choose roads with fewer traffic hazards. If you’re riding later in the day, early morning, or late at night, wear reflective clothing and have reflectors and lights on your bike.

Wear sunscreen and reapply it throughout the day. Wearing sunglasses and a hat with a brim can help protect your eyes. Scientists found a link between eye exposure to the sun and cataracts or other eye diseases.
Be aware of road surfaces where you ride and adjust your ride to them. If it’s rainy or the surface is wet and slick, it can cause an accident. Find the safest route to travel.
Know bike laws. Always have a light on your bike if you plan to ride 30 minutes before sunrise or 30 minutes after sunset. It must meet the specifications of your area. Have four red reflectors mounted in the rear.
Prepare your body to ride. Don’t expect to go miles in your first few rides. Instead, give your body a chance to build up to longer rides. Always remember to include the ride home in your calculations.

For more information, contact us today at Hawaii Fit Camp!

Posted in Fitness, Nutrition

Which Workouts Trigger The Afterburn Effect?

Published by admin on July 5, 2024

At Egan’s Fitness in Honolulu, HI, we use all the latest scientific knowledge to help you lose weight, get fitter, and feel better. Some of the workouts used in that process trigger the afterburn effect. The afterburn effect, known to scientists as EPOC— excess post-exercise oxygen consumption, is the body’s attempt to return to the pre-workout state. It’s replacing the oxygen burned during exercise.

You fuel your body during exercise in two ways.

There are stored energy sources used during exercise and energy produced by the body using oxygen. Stored energy doesn’t require extra oxygen to be fuel. If you do specific types of exercises like HIIT— high intensity interval training—it uses more of the second type of energy the body makes with oxygen. HIIT workouts are short bursts of intensity followed by short recovery periods. While steady-state workouts require some, it’s not nearly as much as HIIT.

It’s called afterburn for a reason.

Getting back to the body’s normal oxygen levels requires energy. It occurs with all types of exercise but is higher the more intense the workout. Afterburn increases the calories you burn by a percentage of total calories burned. The range is between 6% to approximately 15%. If you’re walking fast or jogging, you’ll burn on the low end of the range with a HIIT workout or intense weight lifting the percentage increases to the high end. If you burned 500 calories during the workout during a steady-state jog, the extra calories you burned would be about 30, but for a HIIT or other intense workout, they’d be about 75.

Other factors determine the afterburn effect.

Your weight plays a role in the amount of calories used during afterburn. Your fitness level and muscle mass also do. Afterburn lasts between 24 and 72 hours after your workout. Most of the calories burn in the first 24 hours. The more muscle mass you have and the more fit you are, the better your body becomes at burning fat. Fit people also experience a more dramatic afterburn effect. Muscle requires more calories to maintain than fat does. They tend to burn calories at the high end of the scale.

Almost all exercises experience afterburn. It’s the calories necessary to replenish the oxygen used, replenish oxygen and ATP, repair muscle tissue, and remove lactic acid.
You can make almost any workout a HIIT workout. Just alternate the intensity of your workout between high intensity and an equal or longer recovery intensity. Even walking can become a HIIT workout.
Keep it simple. Jumping rope can boost EPOC. Weight lifting can also but only if you push yourself and use heavier weights to work toward failure or do more repetitions to failure.
The longer you exercise and the fitter you are, the easier it becomes to burn calories. You’ll have more muscle tissue and experience more afterburn with each workout.

For more information, contact us today at Hawaii Fit Camp!

Posted in Fitness, Nutrition

Does Your Mood Need A Lift?

Published by admin on June 25, 2024

Everyone has had those days when that smile turned upside down and they needed a mood lift. These are stressful days when nothing seems to go right. How do you shake that negative mood? You can do it with relaxation techniques or exercise. Both can bring multiple benefits to help you in other areas. Relaxation techniques, like deep breathing and meditation, not only help you relax, but they can also help lower your blood pressure and lift your spirits. Exercise boosts your circulation, helps build muscles, keeps bones strong, lifts your spirits, and much more. Exercise is so good at fighting depression and anxiety that mental health specialists use it as adjuvant therapy that works as well as some medications and all side effects are beneficial.

Getting relief from stress makes a difference.

The fight-or-flight was beneficial for cavemen. It changed the body so man could run faster or fight better when danger was present. Stress triggered the flow of hormones that made the changes. The running or fighting burned off stress hormones. Today, stressors include things like traffic jams and angry customers. Running and fighting aren’t appropriate responses. Exercise helps burn off stress hormones. Meditation and relaxation techniques help prevent stress from building and dissipate any felt.

That movement also triggers natural painkillers that also make you feel good.

Relaxation techniques can make you feel good by calming your mind and relaxing your body. Besides burning off stress hormones, exercise causes the body to create feel-good hormones. Hormones like dopamine and endorphins are natural painkillers. They reduce the pain caused by fighting or exhaustion from running. They provide a feeling of well-being and put you into a happier state.

Regularly exercising, using relaxation techniques, or doing both helps prevent bad moods.

You’ll be armed with resilience when you exercise regularly and can relax your body and mind quickly. While both improve your mood, exercise can help you in other ways. It can help you build strength, endurance, and confidence. You’ll walk taller and feel better. When you feel good it’s easier to stay happier. You’ll have more energy and can deal with problems constructively instead of getting upset.

Whether you learn relaxation techniques or exercise, you’re taking charge of your life. Most sour moods come from feeling like you don’t have control. Both prevent that from happening.
Working out can change your focus from your problem to your workout. The less you think about a problem, the more distant it seems and the more likely you are to find a solution.
You’ll sleep better when you exercise. Adequate quality sleep can prevent mood shifts from occurring. It doesn’t mean you’ll always be happy but it does mean you’ll handle problems better.
Always check with your healthcare professional before you start a program of exercise. They’ll probably be pleased that you chose to start one.

For more information, contact us today at Hawaii Fit Camp!

Posted in Fitness, Nutrition

Find Your Confidence

Published by admin on June 15, 2024

Some people in Honolulu, HI, don’t have the confidence to go out in public and feel uncomfortable if people see them in a swimsuit. Some don’t exercise because they worry that they can’t keep up. If you believe those things, throw those beliefs aside and join us. We offer a plan that’s perfect for you. We have private training, small group sessions, and large group training to help you live healthier. You’ll start feeling more confident as you get fitter and stronger.

Building confidence and a healthy body starts with a plan.

Create a realistic goal. It should be specific or you won’t know if you’ve achieved it. It also should be time-related, or you may not get started. Instead of saying you want to lose weight, your goal should be more specific, like “I want to lose 20 pounds in ten weeks,” It’s realistic, precise, and time specific. Ten weeks is a long time to wait to celebrate so break your goal down into smaller ones, like losing two pounds a week. You’ll feel more confident and in charge after achieving weight loss in the first week.

You’ll improve your posture and feel stronger.

That builds confidence. When you walk tall, you exude confidence for everyone you see. People treat you as if you are more confident, building your self-esteem even more. Exercise helps improve your posture. That also makes an internal difference. Look in the mirror with your shoulders forward and your head hanging like you’re ashamed. Notice how you feel inside. Next, stand tall with your head held high and shoulders back. Notice how you feel. You probably feel the shift in confidence. The same is true when you build strength. The stronger you feel, the more capable you feel.

There’s nothing better than looking and feeling good.

Having the energy to participate fully in life gives you a fantastic feeling. Looking your best is also a great feeling. Getting fit is all about becoming the best version of yourself. You’ll have a different internal dialogue and be more in the present instead of worrying about how you look. You’ll feel comfortable in your own skin and enjoy participating in life again.

If you join our group sessions, you’ll love the encouragement and camaraderie from the group. They also hold you accountable to put in your best effort and miss you if you skip a session.
When you feel stronger, you feel more in control and won’t shrink into the background. Exercise also lifts your spirits and helps relieve anxiety. A healthy diet also helps. You’ll burn stress hormones when you exercise.
Exercise helps boost your cognitive functioning. Whether you exercise, ride bikes, or dance, all physical activity builds new neural pathways and brain cells. The increased blood circulation also boosts oxygen to the brain.
Choose the best type of class for your needs. Whether private sessions, small group sessions, or large group classes are best for you, they’re available.

For more information, contact us today at Hawaii Fit Camp!

Posted in Fitness, Nutrition

Lower Your Blood Pressure With Exercise

Published by admin on June 5, 2024

If you face the potential of taking blood pressure medication in the future because your numbers keep rising, there are ways to lower your blood pressure using natural means. Changing your diet, losing weight, and starting an exercise program are three ways to help those numbers drop. By making lifestyle changes, you may be able to live life without medication or reduce the meds you already take. You’ll also boost your energy, improve your mood, and feel great again. Always check with your healthcare professional before starting a program of exercise and never quit medication without their okay.

You’ll boost your nitric oxide when you exercise regularly.

Nitric oxide keeps your blood vessels healthy. It keeps the endothelium cells functioning properly and produces nitric oxide. Nitric oxide is a vasodilator that causes blood vessels to relax and expand so it lowers blood pressure. Exercise boosts the production of nitric oxide. Studies show that regular exercise increases endothelial vasodilation. That makes vessels wider and lowers blood pressure.

Some exercises are better than others.

Isometric exercises work best for lowering upper or systolic numbers. Isometrics include planks and wall squats. Aerobic exercises work best for diastolic or lower blood pressure numbers. It’s all about engaging large muscle groups. Increasing nitric oxide also helps. Dr. Zachary Bush created the four-minute nitric oxide dump focusing on four exercises that work large muscles. You do three sets of ten each of squats, alternating arm swings, jumping jacks without the jumping, and shoulder presses. Do them periodically throughout the day.

You’ll lose weight when you exercise regularly.

Weighing more than you should can send blood pressure rising. It can increase your blood pressure even when you’re sleeping. Sleep apnea causes it. Studies show that dropping 2.2 pounds can lower the mercury by one millimeter. Losing 22 pounds causes a drop of ten. You’ll look and feel better as you get closer to your ideal weight.

Your heart will function better when you workout regularly. It takes less effort to do simple tasks when your heart is strong. Your heart doesn’t pump as hard. That lowers your blood pressure.
Exercise helps reduce stress. That helps lower your blood pressure. It burns off the stress hormones and replaces them with hormones that make you feel good.
Exercise can help you lose visceral fat. That’s belly fat that’s around your waist. It’s the most dangerous type of fat. It’s deep inside and crowds your organs so they don’t function properly.
You also need to eat healthy if weight loss is your goal. You can’t out-exercise a bad diet. Some foods, such as celery and spinach, provide the nutrients to lower blood pressure and help you lose weight.

For more information, contact us today at Hawaii Fit Camp!

Posted in Fitness, Nutrition

Being Healthy Can Wipe Out Disease

Published by admin on May 25, 2024

We are seeing more and more people in Honolulu, HI, make lifestyle changes to improve their health and handle issues that have already started. Others are waking up and want to prevent disease before it destroys their body and lives. You may not be able to stop all illnesses or chronic conditions, but you can help your body fight them and increase your chances of a healthier life by making changes. Lifestyle changes help boost good health and prevent many diseases and conditions.

Exercising can lower blood pressure.

Exercise increases blood vessel flexibility and how the vessels function. It reduces inflammation, strengthens the heart, increases insulin sensitivity, and reduces stress. Exercise causes the large muscles to produce nitric oxide—a vasodilator. Vasodilators expand the veins and cause blood pressure to drop. Exercising helps you lose weight. Studies show that blood pressure drops by 1 millimeter of mercury (mm Hg) for every 2.2 pounds of weight you lose. Increases blood vessel flexibility and function.

Eating healthier prevents many diseases.

When you eat healthier, you make smarter decisions about your food selection. You don’t eat food with added sugar. A diet high in sugar increases chronic inflammation that can lead to diabetes, arthritis, allergies, COPD, psoriasis, and cardiovascular disease. The added sugar also reduces the effectiveness of other nutrients. Your cells require vitamin C to be healthy. Sugar competes with vitamin C for entry into the cells. Unfortunately, the cell receptors prefer glucose to vitamin C. If you’re eating highly processed food, you’re getting more calories but fewer nutrients. It causes both obesity and malnutrition, a lethal duo.

Healthy lifestyles include getting adequate sleep.

If you’re overweight, you may not sleep as well. Sleep apnea may be a problem. Losing weight through a healthy diet and exercise can improve your sleep. Weight loss helps deal with sleep apnea. Exercise helps you fall asleep quicker and sleep more soundly. When you sleep, your brain reorganizes and cleans house. Your body does the repairs necessary to keep you healthy. Getting adequate quality sleep is heart healthy. Getting the right amount of sleep can help you lose weight. When you lack sleep, your body creates more ghrelin, the hunger hormone, and less leptin, the satiety hormone. There’s a link between lack of sleep and inflammation, a poor immune system, and type 2 diabetes.

Losing weight reduces the pressure on joints, besides lowering the risk for stroke, osteoarthritis, low quality of life, and other chronic conditions already noted.
What you drink makes a difference, too. Steer clear of soft drinks, including diet soft drinks. Non-diet soft drinks are loaded with sugar and calories. New studies show diet soft drinks may cause weight gain on the belly.
It’s important to stay hydrated. Even mild dehydration can cause exhaustion and mental confusion. In seniors, it can resemble dementia. Carry water with you and sip on it frequently.
We can help you learn how to eat healthier. Eating healthy isn’t dieting. It’s all about making smarter decisions when you eat. Our coaches can help with nutritional counseling and an exercise program designed for you.

For more information, contact us today at Hawaii Fit Camp!

Posted in Fitness, Nutrition

Stay Healthy Starting Today

Published by admin on May 15, 2024

You may be overweight or never did anything more active than hunt for the remote control. That doesn’t mean you need to continue an unhealthy lifestyle. If your unhealthy habits haven’t affected your health, they will someday and even harder to change. You can change those habits and stay healthy. You can prevent many conditions by changing habits. Losing weight, eating healthier, getting adequate relaxation, and plenty of fluids can reduce pain, improve your immunity, and provide more energy.

Identify your bad habits and how you’re going to change them.

If you’re overweight, you might think dieting is the right way to shed those extra pounds. Dieting doesn’t work. It always ends. It ends either in success or failure. A better solution is to practice healthier eating. It’s not restrictive and you’ll love how healthy food tastes. You can do it for the rest of your life. You should also increase the number of calories you burn. That starts by becoming more active. You can use a traditional exercise program, just walk more, or do both for the best results.

Start today.

If you want more energy, expend more calories and build your body until you have that energy. That means you need to move more. You can start right now, this second. If you’re sitting down reading this, stand up and march in place or do chair push-ups. If you want to shed extra pounds but don’t want to make big changes, give up soft drinks or food with added sugar. New studies show that even diet soft drinks can add inches to your middle.

Get organized.

Marching in place, walking more, and eating food without added sugar is a great start, but it doesn’t address all types of fitness. You need cardio, strength, flexibility, and balance workouts. Our bootcamps can provide the knowledge you need and an organized exercise program to follow. It makes achieving your fitness goals easier. It’s also a lot more fun than marching in place at the local Starbucks or walking by yourself. There’s plenty of camaraderie.

Make it easier on yourself by getting adequate sleep. Lack of sleep slows you down. It also increases the hunger hormones your body produces and diminishes the production of satiety hormones. When you lack sleep, it makes you hungry and exhausted.
Drink more water. If you need a quicker-picker-upper, have a bottle of water. It’s calorie-free and rehydrates you quickly. Mild dehydration can make you feel hungry and slow you down. Drinking a bottle of water a half hour before eating causes you to eat less.
Devote 30 days to a program of good health. Don’t skip a day or sneak extra food. See how you feel at the end of the thirty days and decide whether to continue or quit. Most people love how they feel and continue.
We’ll help you with a body composition analysis so we can track the loss of fat and increase of muscles. We’ll create a custom exercise and dietary program for you while providing resources and accountability.

For more information, contact us today at Hawaii Fit Camp!

Posted in Fitness, Nutrition

Get Rid Of Cellulite Before Summer

Published by admin on May 5, 2024

If your thighs, bottom, arms, or other body parts have that lumpy, bumpy, cottage cheese appearance, you have cellulite. Cellulite causes dimpling of the skin and occurs in people of all weights. It’s caused by fat under the connective tissue pushing its way to the surface. The fat pushes through unevenly and creates that puckery appearance. It’s harmless but looks horrible. How do you eliminate it? You don’t, but you can make it less noticeable. Diet, hormonal influences, thinner outer layers of skin, genetics, and muscle tone affect it.

Change your diet to reduce cellulite.

Cellulite can occur in any body no matter how heavy or thin the person is. One way to make it less noticeable is cutting back on food with added sugar. Eating food with added sugar causes insulin spikes. Insulin spikes contribute to inflammation and inflammation increases cellulite. Eating healthy food with fiber reduces blood sugar spikes and spikes in insulin. Sugar also decreases the production of collagen. The less collagen you have, the more you’re prone to cellulite. Increasing water intake and eliminating soft drinks helps, too.

Exercise can help reduce the appearance of cellulite.

Exercise increases circulation which can help reduce cellulite. Excess fluid can build up in the area of cellulite. That makes the uneven surface more noticeable. It makes the muscles stronger which helps keep the surface looking more even. Strength training is the best type of exercise for burning fat and replacing the fat with muscle that appears smoother. When you build your muscles and burn fat, your cellulite will be less noticeable.

You can get treatments for cellulite.

Probably the least invasive type of treatment is massage therapy. Like exercise, it increases circulation and reduces the build-up of fluid. Lipomassage or endermologie is a suction machine to knead the skin and break up the connective tissue causing dimples. It has drawbacks. It doesn’t last long and may cause the skin to lose elasticity and look droopy. Cryolipolysis freezes and kills the fat cells. It takes four months to see results. Laser therapy liquifies fat and boosts an increase of collagen. It takes six months to get results and lasts about a year. Shockwave therapy takes 12 treatments over six weeks or longer to get results lasting two to six months.

Do self-massage with special creams. These creams contain ingredients that help break down fat, like caffeine, or help build the skin so it doesn’t show the underlying fat, like retinol.
Many treatments work best when combined with others. If you use massage, add a healthy diet and scheduled exercise to your cellulite treatments, especially if you’re overweight.
Smoking can contribute to the creation of cellulite. Smoking interferes with collagen production, leaving the skin more likely to develop cellulite. Smoking affects circulation by narrowing blood vessels.
Changing your lifestyle is the key to looking better. It can address cellulite, help you lose weight, and look years younger. You’ll put pep in your step. Your skin will be healthier, and you’ll develop an attractive glow.

For more information, contact us today at Hawaii Fit Camp!

Posted in Fitness, Nutrition