To Sara of Fit by Sara: “My legs got so big with my pregnancy and I’ve lost most of the weight, but now I have saddlebags on my thighs. Any suggestions for getting rid of them?”

From Fit by Sara: “Good job for losing most of your baby weight! Excess body fat can accumulate in different areas in our bodies. For women, the most common places are the thighs and buttocks. I would highly recommend assessing your diet. Keep a journal and write as much detail as you can to see your eating patterns. Often we eat out of boredom or stress, and you may be doing this but not noticing. Through keeping a journal you will see areas where you can make changes without feeling deprived, such as eating smaller portions, or less processed foods (such as packaged meats, or refined sugars (such as cookies, chips, or crackers). Changes in your diet will result in less calories consumed which equals less body fat. If you want even quicker results, combine a healthy diet along with exercising a minimum of 3-5 times per week for 30-50 min. you will burn even more calories which equals an even greater reduction in body fat which equals shrinking your saddlebags!” -Sara Holliday MFT, CPT

To Sara of Fit by Sara: “I know I need to eat more fruit and veggies but I’m not a big fan of either. What about if I drink fruit or vegetable juice instead? Would it still benefit me?”

From Fit by Sara: “The best bet is to eat fresh veggies and fruit because when you eat fresh you will intake more essential vitamins and minerals. Also juice is much higher in calories than eating a whole fruit or mulitple veggies. For example, have you ever made fresh squeezed orange juice? It takes about 5 oranges to make anything worth serving! So you can only imagine how much fruit had to be used to make multiple servings. Since you’re not a big fan of fruit or veggies how about puree your veggies and put them in other things such as tomato sauce? Tomato sauce can have a good serving of veggies and you can eat it over whole grain pasta for a meal.  As for fruit, I recommend trying different types.  There so many, you’ve got to find at least one that you like! Right now stawberries, mango, and watermelon are delicious. Just remember to eat fresh as much as possible and take a multi-vitamin to make sure you get what your body is missing.” -Sara Holliday MFT, CPT

To Sara of Fit by Sara: “I’m so frustrated, I’ve been working out regularly and can’t seem to lose weight. I eat pretty healthy and drink lots of water.  I feel sluggish and tired all the time. Any suggestions?”

From Fit by Sara: “I don’t enough information about how often you’ve been working out and I don’t know what you typically eat. If you’ve been working out 3-5 x per week for 30-45 min. for a month you should have some toning and or loss of body fat in measurements and or weight. Also If you’ve changed your eating habits to include more fresh veggies, fruit, lean meats and whole grains plus 8-10 cups of water per day, you should see results within a month. If you have made positive changes in your exercise and eating habits and it’s been more than a month it’s possible it could be a medical condition, and since you state that you’re “tired all the time”, it’s definitely something to rule out.

I recommend consulting with your doctor prior to starting any new exercise and nutrition program. Ask that your doctor take a full blood planel. Many women have hypothyrodism (I have it too), it’s a condition where the thyroid works slow and causes problems with metabolism which can mean weight gain. In addition to weight gain, symptoms can include feeling extremely tired, feeling cold, having brittle hair and nails, and depression. Hypothydrodism can be easily treated with medication taken daily.” -Sara Holliday MFT, CPT

One of the easiest ways to lose weight is to learn to listen to your body and eat when you’re hungry.  We are so conditioned to eat at certain times of the day, that we wait until say noon to eat.  When we wait to eat we get really hungry and will often overeat, and or chose foods that are filled with fat and empty calories. If instead we eat when we fill the first twinges of hunger, we’ll eat smaller portions that are typically healthy. I highly recommend having healthy snacks handy. Great snack choices include nuts (almonds and walnuts preferrably), nutrition bars, carrot sticks, peanut butter & apples or celery, and whole grain cereal.  Eat when you’re hungry and I gaurantee you will feel more energy and you’ll lose weight without even trying. -Sara Holliday MFT, CPT

To Sara of Fit by Sara: “What is the best yoga move to get toned arms?”

From Fit by Sara: “Many of the postures in yoga work the muscles of the arms and shoulders.  My personal favorite for muscle definition is “chatarunga”. Yogis joke that they can tell when people practice yoga regularly because they have “chatarunga arms”.
To do chatarunga:
1. Begin in a push up position
2. Bend your elbows so your arms touch your rib cage (unlike a push where the elbows go out to the side)
3. Maintain a flat back with your head in line w/ your shoulders and your buttocks down
4. Lower your body, like a board all the way to the floor
5. To modify do “chatarunga” with your knees on the mat. Be sure to keep your buttocks down
6. As you get stronger hold your body flat as a board one inch above the ground before lowering all the way down to your belly.
7. Enjoy the compliments you get from your “chatarunga arms”! -Sara Holliday MFT, CPT

To Sara of Fit by Sara: “I’ve tried everything to lose weight including cutting out all desserts.  Why isn’t the fat going away? What am I doing wrong?”

From Fit by Sara: “Since I don’t have a lot of information it’s hard for me to tell. What I’m guessing is you’re depriving your body so your body is going into starvation mode and holding on to fat. I highly recommend that you learn to listen to your body and eat when you are hungry.  Chose foods that fuel your body such as whole grain breads, pastas, cereal, veggies, fruit, nuts, and lean meats. Also allow yourself to enjoy dessert in moderation. Implement cardio 3-5 x per week for 30-45 min. along with weight training to boost your metabolism and burn fat.  Most of all allow yourself simple pleasures, stop depriving yourself and surprisingly the fat will come off.” -Sara Holliday MFT, CPT

To Sara of Fit by Sara: “Do I need to cut out all sweets in order to keep off the weight I’ve lost?  I just love chocolate, but I know it’s not good for me.  Do you eat any sweets?”

From Fit by Sara: “You don’t need to cut out everything you enjoy in order to lose weight and or maintain a healthy weight.  Yes, I eat sweets and LOVE chocolate.  In fact I incorporate chocolate into one of my snacks- a handful almonds and dark chocolate chips.  Dark chocolate is an antioxidant and in moderation has health benefits. The key is MODERATION. You can eat sweets even daily as long as the portion is small.  The best way to keep weight off is to continue to eat healthy and avoid depriving yourself of the things you love to eat.” -Sara Holliday MFT, CPT

To Sara of Fit by Sara: “I’ve lost the baby weight but feel so weak and flabby on my upper body.  What exercise do you recommend to tone my chest and shoulders?”

From Fit by Sara: “Congrats on losing the baby weight. One of the best exercises you can do to tone the chest and shoulders is the old school push-up. You can modify the push up by doing it on your knees. Just be sure your bottom is down so your body makes a  diagonal line from your shoulders down to your knees. Work up to 2-3 sets of 10-15 reps. As you get stronger add pulses. Eventually come off your knees and come onto the balls of your feet for a full push up.”- Sara Holliday MFT, CPT

*Got a question for me? Leave a comment here or email me at info@fitbysara.com.

Did you know that if you eat when you are hungry versus by the number on the clock that you will lose weight quicker than if you dieted?  Most of us wait until a certain time to eat even if we are hungry before that time.  For example you may be hungry at 10 a.m., but wait to eat till noon. When you wait to eat you will be more likely to overeat or eat junk food to curb your hunger. This leads to consuming food which is full of unwanted calories and fat.  Instead, listen to your body and eat when you’re hungry.  When you eat when you are hungry you’ll eat more often but the portions you eat will be smaller and healthier.  This will lead to healthy weight loss without dieting.