Category: Weight Loss

Summer Ready: Simple Tips to Look and Feel Your Best

With springtime inspiration in the air, now is a wonderful time to start preparing for summer. With less than 8 weeks until the beginning of June and less than 12 weeks until the official solstice on June 20, summer is just around the corner. While the spring weather is nice and the possibility of getting out more after a year of restrictions, now is the perfect time to enjoy the outdoors and prepare for summer activities and perhaps festivities. So here are a few tips to help you shed some pounds and reinvigorate your body and mind.

Movement

In addition to your Pilates practice, daily movement yields great benefits. Simply going for a walk or putting on some tunes and dancing – whatever gets you moving. It doesn’t have to be for an hour. Just 10 minutes makes a difference. Even count your chores – if you are gardening or tending to something that requires some movement then factor that in. Keep in mind if you are trying to lose weight, cardio is going to play an even more important role. 

Nutrition

As you already know, nutrition is key. A nourishing diet has both health and weight loss benefits. If finding the right approach for you with so many diet fads out there seems overwhelming, then just take baby steps. 
Maybe try drinking more water as it will help both hydration and satiation so you feel fuller. Or try eating a light and early dinner. Digestion is one of the most energy draining activities the body does (which is why you feel tired after you eat). Eating early will give a head start to that digestion process and then the body can focus more energy to clean out and repairs overnight.Pick one thing – eating early or drinking more water or whatever you feel you need. Then just focus on that for a few weeks. As you gain confidence and a new healthy habit, then add on and take another step.

Sleep

This one may sound counterintuitive. Rest so you can lose weight? But getting proper sleep is important for health overall and can have benefits in losing weight. If the body doesn’t have a chance to do it’s overnight maintenance and repairs, then there’s less energy going to weight loss as your body tries to make up for lost rest. You are not only less likely to want to move and exercise but also internally your body will be doing the same, focusing on maintaining rather than extra exertion.


Several years ago, I had a colleague, who wanted to lose some weight. Now keep in mind she made adjustments to her nutrition and was exercising but there wasn’t progress. Then after a few weeks when she started to get more sleep immediately she began dropping pounds. 

Specific Training

In the past, I’ve mentioned how specific training is important. There are a couple of caveats to consider. One is to train specifically for a sport or activity. For example, if you will be traveling this summer and plan on hiking or rowing, then obviously you will want to build up your walking and endurance for hiking or upper body for rowing. The second thing to consider is the area you want to specifically train. Perhaps you don’t have any sports or activities planned, but you want to tone up your arms or abs. Then target that specific area for training. Again, keep it simple and pick one area to focus on and develop a daily practice for it. A regular practice of 5-10 minutes everyday is going to bring noticeable changes.

I hope this inspired you to move and to enjoy the outdoors while the weather is fair. Maybe you were also reminded of some simple lifestyle habits that you want to get back to doing and this newsletter gave you that encouragement to practice good self-care. Hope this helps you feel your best and be Summer Ready!

Happy Spring!


Shannon

Summer Shape Up

Get ready for a sleeveless summer!

Resuming and wrapping up our muscle groups theme for the school year, this edition of the newsletter ties it all together. Since September we have covered five major areas – hamstrings, hip flexors, abdominals, gluteals  and arms.  For those of you who have been following this newsletter, you are already “armed” with some foundational information to help you tackle some of the main areas to be in summer shape! 


If you have a regular Pilates practice, what else can you do to be in the best shape for summer? This edition of the newsletter is going to explore things to boost not only your practice but also your fitness and physique. 


The first and most important thing you can do besides exercise to get in shape is supporting your well being through nutrition. There is a popular saying in fitness that “abs are made in the kitchen”. Even though Pilates focuses on the core, that quote is so very true. 


It’s unrealistic to have a consistently unhealthy diet and expect to be svelte, even if you are exercising regularly. Beyond superficial appearances, a good diet will support you in not only looking good but also feeling good! It’s amazing when students change to a more nourishing diet how their bodies improve internally (joints not so stiff and achy etc…). 


Secondly, in terms of exercise, there are multiple things you can do to tone up. Assuming your Pilates routine is already in place, you could consider adding cardio to your wellness practice. Even simply walking will yield benefits. For those with osteopenia or osteoporosis, walking will be especially helpful. 


Last but not least, consider training your body specifically now for what you plan on doing. If you want to hike outdoors, swim, play golf or tennis, you can start to work on building strength and endurance to build up the areas you will need for your sport or adventure.


As the school year closes, we wrap up our muscle groups theme. You have not only learned in detail about some of the main muscles but also how to bring it together combining your Pilates practice with nutrition, cardio and specific training when needed. May you not only be in shape for the summer but stay healthy and in shape the whole year through.

How To Look Thinner Instantly!


This may sound too good to be true, but this edition of the newsletter is going to tackle how to pose to the most optimal advantage in photos. Whether for summertime vacation or for a family or school reunion, there are a few things you can do to help present your best self when those special moments are captured for years to come. 


It probably won’t surprise you to learn, especially as this a Pilates newsletter, that one of the most basic things you can do to look thinner instantly is to stand up straight! Posture is key. If the spine and upper back are rounded and hunched forward, it’s not only bad posture but that posture can also makes the abdominals stick out! As soon as the spine is lengthened upward, there is more space for the internal organs and the tummy starts to come in.  


With slumped posture, there is often a forward head. In Pilates and in Physical Therapy, a common exercise is to retract the head back. Since the head is usually so far forward, this exercise exaggerates in pulling the head back the other way into retraction. While this may be a good exercise to help correct posture, it is probably not a position you want to be in for pictures as it usually creates a double chin!  


For good posture, focus on the length of the spine upward through the crown of the head, rather than thrusting the shoulders back into a rigid military posture or jamming the head back into a double chin. 
In addition to good upright posture, there is something else you can do to position yourself to appear slimmer in pictures. This comes from the dance world but if you pay attention, you will notice that models and actresses on the red carpet do something similar as well. 


You may be familiar with the positions of the feet in ballet and perhaps the arms, but you may not realize there are eight positions of the body as well. Of the ballet body positions, there is one in particular we are going to focus on as it relates to our topic of how to strike a pose for pictures. The position is croisé devant (krwah-ZAY duh-VANH). It is French for “crossed in front.” The dancer rather than facing straight front or side is slightly angled to one corner and one leg (the leg closest to the audience) is stretched out or crossed in front. 


This position has a slimming effect as the body is angled rather than straight forward. It’s not uncommon to see stars posing with their lower body slightly angled and bending the front knee a little (as seen in the photo at the top of the newsletter). This angled position slims the appearance of the hips. In addition, models frequently turn their torso straight toward the camera, so there lower body is at angle but not their upper body. This has the added effect of also slimming the waistline. 


So next time you are at a special event, occasion or gathering and it’s time to take a picture, remember to stand tall, turn the lower body on a slight angle but the upper body square toward the camera to have the most flattering angle. Most of all, if you are feeling good both from the special occasion as well as because you have been caring for yourself through proper exercise and nutrition, your sense of well being and personal special essence is going to shine through.