From Fit by Sara: “It’s a great idea to make use of a few minutes of time to do what I call “two minute toners”. A great two minute toner is what I call “Squat Kicks”.  See below for instructions on how to do Squat Kicks. Set the timer for two minutes and go! You’ll tone your thighs plus your heart rate will go up and you’ll burn calories and lose body fat.” -Sara Holliday MFT, CPT

To do Squat Kicks:
*Begin with your feet shoulder width apart
*Sit back like you’re sitting in a chair, keeping your weight on your heels
*As you come to stand kick your right leg forward
*Repeat the exercise, squat then kick with your left leg
*Alternate squat kicks for 2 minutes

From Fit by Sara: “My point is there shouldn’t be a time that you feel you need to eat. Start tuning in to when you ARE hungry.  Learn the signs of hunger in your body such as your tummy rumbling, low energy, irritability, or thinking about food a lot. Once you understand what it feels like in your body you should eat (instead of waiting). So if you’re not hungry for breakfast at the “normal time” wait and eat when you ARE hungry. Same thing goes for lunch.  Most people notice that when they learn to abide by their bodies hunger cues, they eat more often but their portions are smaller, their cravings go down, their energy goes up, and they lose weight.” -Sara Holliday MFT, CPT

“You probably need a change of routine. An example of a great workout is interval training. What you do is you sprint for 1 min. then lift weights for 2 min., then power walk for 5 min. Repeat the sequence for 30-45 min.. Another great cardio workout is kickboxing because the kicks and punches tone the waist, thighs, buttocks, upper arms, shoulders and back. Also, look at your portion sizes make sure your meats are no larger than your fist. Keep refined carbohydrates like cookies, muffins, and chips to a minimum, as well as high sodium foods like packaged meats and soups. Instead choose whole grain pastas and breads, lean proteins, veggies, and fruit. Once you lose body fat through an increase in your cardio combined with healthy eating you will start seeing flattening of your stomach.” -Sara Holliday MFT, CPT

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

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

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

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

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