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Fit Moms, Runners, Cardio Does Not Work!
Bodybuilders don’t run, and nor do obese people. But I’m not a bodybuilder, or an obese person. I’m a fitness chick, a fit mom, and a fitness personality. My goals are obviously different from a bodybuilder’s goals, and definitely, I have a different lifestyle choice than a person whose main goals involve constant fulfillment of my taste-bud compulsions.
At this stage in my life, my goal is always to become truly fit and achieve prime longevity. As one point in my career as a fitness competitor, I was running a lot and lifting weights with an extremely high carb, high protein diet, and only then I was starting to resemble a bodybuilder. People who didn’t know better thought I was one.
But you know what kind of fit physique athletes have a lot of muscle, and are really lean, with Olympic level stamina and power? Women’s Fitness competitors.
They run. They run a lot. They do weekly sprints, middle-distance, plyometrics anything that will get their heart to the bursting point.
And if these women can carry body-toned muscle around, while running and with the power and stamina to do our fitness routines—well they are worth at least probing into the minds of. Where I learned about my own fitness interval training from was from my ex-husband, who was basically my trainer before I met my trainer of 13 years, Tim Sparkes, at Die Hard Gym in Arizona. My ex-husband was a former track and football star in high school and college.
What I learned from my ex-husband is that I was doing my running all wrong. First of all, I jogged, and I did so very lazily. I loathed the cardio work, so I dragged myself through it. It didn’t matter that I was a fit mom, a fit chick, or a fitness athlete in training. I was thinking about my cardio conditioning the wrong way, as most of us do for the first few years of our fitness quests.
Just about every fitness center has some serious runners as members. These “fitness” people log 20 to 40 miles a week and are in great cardio vascular condition—but most of them look remarkably average. They do not have much muscle and many of them are skinny fat. Sure they have strong hearts, but some of them store more body fat and subcutaneous water than the person who is walking into a gym for the first time. These runners are not in poor health, but their shape is generally not of the optimal fitness aesthetic grade considering the fitness workload they are undergoing. I believe in running, I do. I also like working out smarter, and distance running for fitness is definitely the harder path, if you’re trying to look better and even feel better.
The best explanation for this phenomena may be controversial, but the facts are right in front of us. Cardiovascular exercise DOES NOT WORK to lose body fat long term, period!!
Why is this? Let’s take a hypothetical individual: Female, 30 years old, 145 pounds, sedentary. She decides she wants to be fit and “get toned” (keep in mind, everyone has a different idea of this word, so it’s subjective). So she takes up running on the treadmill for an hour a day 5 days/week. Nothing else in her life changes, her diet and lifestyle remain the same. In the first week she loses 5 pounds. If she maintained her consistency 5 days a week, would she lose 250 pounds this year? Of course not, and why is this?
Firstly cardiovascular activity is very efficient at chewing up muscle tissue, the steps are as follows:
1. Conversion from fast twitch muscle fiber to slow twitch muscle fiber, by
acquiring mitochondria and relinquishing contractile protein. Smaller fiber, less
RMR.
2. Excessive Cortisol released in response to the damage to the fiber as a result of the exercise. Cortisol acts as a natural analgesic, but severely hampers protein synthesis and muscle repair. It also damages the immune system, and ultimately will contribute to all of our deaths – so I’m not sure why anyone would do anything that would accelerate this process.
3. It has been shown that high volume cardiovascular exercise can completely deplete satellite cells in muscle fiber, which means no new fiber can grow or existing fiber be repaired, and as we age, we have a natural propensity to lose muscle as well as bone density. Muscle helps our metabolism and enhances bone density.
4. Growth Hormone levels decline with high volume cardiovascular exercise, which also hampers the repair process. Low growth hormone also accelerates aging.
5. To sum it up, you can’t train all day, and you can’t stop eating, but you can always build a bit more muscle, so quit the cardio and concentrate on the weight lifting.
Secondly, after all these details about how cardio fitness training eats up muscle, you must know that the first week of ANY fitness program, and likely the first month even, you will lose weight with rapid results. That’s water weight dropping off because you are actually getting off of your butt. That’s not the “weight” you are losing, it’s the water. You are not really getting more fit, but your body is filtering out a bit so that it can set a better foundation for you to start getting fit.
Your weight-loss will look more like 8-12 pounds monthly if you’re doing it right and if you expect it to stay off. If you’re an athlete or you’re training for an athletic event, your body requires more training than average, and more extreme dieting than average, but that’s not average for a person who is just trying to lose weight and just starting to get fit.
That was a very strong argument for not doing cardio. But I need to be able to keep up with kids, work, training clients, caring for my household, and still having stamina in the gym. Cardio conditioning is a must for me. Plus, I need strength and power.
The solution was to train like a professional female fitness athlete—specifically, one that always wins the fitness routine portion of the contest. And what does the fitness athlete woman do? Sprints.
For women who run, but they want a great physique:
With high-intensity interval training you “sprint” on any cardio exercise for short bursts that go for less than two minutes, and then you slow to moderate, and sometimes even low-intensity pace for a short burst. You want to go high intensity to kick your heart rate way up, and then you drop the intensity to less your body rest, while not giving your heart rate enough time to drop out beneath a fat-burning zone. If you do this for short bursts of time, you don’t give your heart rate a chance to drop severely, and therein, you are able to keep your body burning fat, burning calories, and staying hard at work, even though you won’t feel like you’re working hard while your body recovers during your lower-paced durations.
Like cardio, this too can strengthen your heart, and keep you from feeling sluggish. On the other hand, in comparison to cardio, interval training burns fat for longer periods of time. You will burn fat for up to 13 hours post-workout with intervals, whereas with cardio at a constant moderate rate will only burn fat efficiently for up to 2 hours post workout. So, why would you spend more time and burn less fat, much less want to gamble the possibility of kicking out cortisol? This is why many fitness professionals who know what they are doing will not recommend long dull high, low or medium-intensity periods of cardio.
The best way to gain cardio conditioning and maintain muscle is to do what all fat-burning physique athletes does—sprints.
As sprinting becomes the core of your cardio conditioning program and distance running becomes the ‘functional’ training, so you do it for form, awareness, and monitoring. It’s a means for measurement when needed, but it’s not necessary for the actual progress.
When I started doing sprints in the morning for my cardio, my strength gains in the gym accelerated a little bit and I started to get leaner without really trying, and my husband noticed an extreme difference in how my body was responsive to my diet and weight training. My lines and cuts in my muscles showed up and they never had before I started sprinting. My workouts were more exhilarating and I could produce more within them because my fitness level and stamina was increased through sprinting.
Now I was able to get more in my fitness routines, I could run with my daughter in her stroller for better bursts so I wasn’t gasping for air. I was stronger than I would ever need to be on the fitness stage or in the gym. I had burst speed and explosiveness and I had the stamina and endurance to keep up with any of the guys at the gym.
So, I am not advising the novice to average fitness person to sprint, but I am encouraging those of you who run– just try this for 6 weeks and see how rapidly and extremely your fitness levels, your energy, your stamina, and your physique changes. See how lean you get and watch a sculpted physique appear that you never knew you had.
As for the fitness enthusiast who is new to the world of fitness and fit physique training, try intervals, we have more blogs on the Fat Burning Workouts categories to your left here in the blog at nitasworld.com. Check it out. Be well, Be You, BE PHENOMENAL! You are worth the work!
-Nita Lee Marquez
America’s Hottest Fit Mom ™
Fitness Empowerment Author
Miss National Fitness
Proud Mother of Three
Fit Moms!! Save Me from Christmas Junk Food Cravings!
The past few holidays have been fairly easy to get through as we have been living in Los Angeles away from the family, since it’s just me and the kiddos out here. That being the case, we are usually traveling during the season of giving. The hustle and bustle doesn’t seem to support fitness goals, so a few years ago, I started some holiday habits that have helped me to stay prepared for fitness among chaotic times like these.
These tips have helped me to learn more about fitness every season, and even get leaner some seasons. There is no gift greater to me than my health and longevity, so I strive to make choices that help me to still enjoy my time, but have more of it in the long run to enjoy!
From fatloss during the holidays, to having more energy, these few little tips have helped me to emphasize that age-old adage that having an “attitude of gratitude” adds to all the joys of the holiday, and not to mention, that eases up the tension that tends to build at this time of year when I do have to go to the malls.
1) Every day is a gift, not an obligation, so on weekends when we have Christmas prep to do, I wake up in the mornings and go out for a walk or I run beside my kiddos while they ride their bikes. Fitness Energizes Everything, but also, it keeps our spirits up! Enjoy the holiday, kick it off with a little workout with the family!
2) Drink water, it will keep your system cleansed, heighten your energy levels, help your mood, and curb your cravings!
I carry a 1-liter bottle of water at all times (BPA-FREE, OF COURSE), and I just refill it throughout the day to keep up the effects of feeling fit and empowered. Fit moms usually have some kind of items on hand for the kids to stay fed, why not carry around a bottle to keep yourself prepared?
3) There is nothing I won’t do to avoid those sweets in the holiday season, but I keep them to a minimum and stay fit by keeping protein around the house at all times.
No matter where we travel, I can always walk to the store (although, I’ll drive if it’s too cold!), and get some eggs to boil. I personally love tabasco on mine, but paprika and Himalayan salt is also very good for stimulating the metabolism on your eggs.
4) I keep deli cold cuts rolled up and in the fridge or around the house for the little ones (I don’t eat poultry, but they love it!), and that keeps those little fit kids super fit with protein-enriched snacks instead of cookies and pies everywhere.
I can’t control the other environments’ provisions of food, but where we are sleeping and waking and working out, I always keep protein around for all of us!
5) My favorite way to start a holiday morning: the Peppermint Chocolate Protein Breakfast Shake! Yummy!!!
2 scoops of MRM Dutch Chocolate Protein Powder
1/3 cup coconut milk
2/3 cup reverse osmosis water (I use alkaline water)
1/8 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup oats (dry)
3 drops of peppermint extract
a tad of ice
Instructions for Nita’s Favorite Fitness Shake:
combine ingredients in a blender and blend medium to puree for 45 seconds. If you want more consistency, add ice. For more liquidy consistency, add water. lastly, DRINK UP AND ENJOY your fitness protein power packed with deliciousness!
Fit Moms! At Christmas time, use that fit mind for family first fitness tools as well as for sprinting through the mall to shop for everyone! Sometimes, the best gifts come through the things we give up. So make this Christmas a protein-packed power Holiday for you and your fit family and love the joys of the holidays in strength, while giving up some of the sweets. (I didn’t say all of the sweets had to go, just cut back a bit, and work out a little more 
) America’s Hottest Fit Moms, YOU ARE WORTH THE WORK! BE PHENOMENAL!
Healthy is the new Skinny & Strong is the new Sexy! We’re up Fit Moms!
To all of America’s Hottest Fit Moms: What a delight I find today in celebrating our culture’s fashion industry magazine Glamour for it’s PHENOMENAL layout of the beautiful Lizzie Miller, a 20-year-old healthy, beautiful, real and believe it or not, FIT woman. See all fit moms realize that fitness is a lifestyle, not a dress size, and Hot Fit Moms are Hot because they actually like themselves! The Fittest Moms in the world are the ones who work to stay active to produce for their family and set good examples, not necessarily working to fit into that size 6 dress for the high school reunion. Fitness is a set of choices that yields an energy produced by nothing else in this world. The fit mom energy is beautiful and hot because it is Vivacious and confident. The hot fit mom reads, and she reads to her kids, and she loves her family more than she loves the mirror, and yea, she’s pretty easy on the eyes too! 
fit moms celebrate being real and enjoying life by making fit choices!! www.nitasworld.com
There is nothing in the world more beautiful and radiant and powerful than a woman who works out and stays active AND she’s a fit mom who cares for family first and above everything. As a fit mom, you have the physical capacity to keep up with your kids and live a long life that assures you will run around after those grand-babies with vigor yourself! Fit Moms are women with confidence, not just cardio endurance 
There is a lot to be said for Glamour for being so authentic and for featuring this astonishing reality of what beauty stands for. I believe honestly that fitness in general is an industry that tends to push the envelope of vanity just as much as the fashion industry does. No doubt, you get what you sign up for, but being mothers who love fitness doesn’t mean we have to be consumed by what a panel of judges would think of us at all times. Sure, when I compete, I compete to win, so I want to hit that stage looking my best. That was for a competition, and I always felt like it would be lame to get that caught up in the illusion all year round. The reality is that the stages of competitions are meant for us to present the best illusion of our own best physique. You hold that perfection for about two hours though. The rest of the year, I wanted to be fit still, but I didn’t want to spend every ounce of my good energy struggling to fit into that mold that people put me into because of how I looked on stage. I wanted to live fit but I wanted to put my family first. After all, that was why I got into the sport of fitness to begin with.
It’s still important to work out even when we are not training for fitness competitions, but at the same time, the sacrifice of fitness does not have to be at my children’s expense. As well, th fitness lifestyle of today’s fit moms do not have to entail sacrificing time away from our family. Sure, it’s nice to make my time at the gym a time to pay attention to myself, but I can also spend my fitness-devoted time with my kiddos if I want to!
It’s important to us as mothers to keep our children integrated into the routine of our fitness lifestyle. They learn by what we do in their presence, not just what we say to teach them. Why not make some of our fitness time For instance, instead of cardio at the gym all the time, I would go to the track and the children would run around and play while I did my run. When their father and I were still married, we all went to the gym and the track together, and made family time out of my workouts when I was training for a competition.
My trainer would let the kids work out at his gym too, and we always had a blast with that. It’s great because the children are absolutely inundated with fitness lifestyle choices that our family has lived out over the years.
America's Hottest Fit Mom Fit Kids
Another great option is hiking. Fit Moms have Fit Kids, right? My kids and I love hiking almost every weekend. When we lived in Arizona, we hiked Squaw Peak, and here in California, it’s Runyon Canyon or Fryman Canyon. I love doing Fit Moms Phenomenal Fitness Boot Camps at Fryman. It’s no joke out there, it’s still a challenge in the way I train the fit moms, but at the same time, we can take the kids with us.
The point is that fitness is EMPOWERING! It does not have to be a habit formed for pressure of society’s view of what you should look like. I mean, just look at Lizzie Miller’s smile in the picture above. That glow, that laughter, THAT IS THE ESSENCE OF FITNESS. That’s what we are really striving for. Fitness is the delight of energy and loving yourself, and yes, that makes you a bad-ass in my opinion It’s just about loving your body! If you love your body, care for it in the most fitness-oriented ways, but if you love yourself, maintain balance. You are WORTH THE WORK!!
I would love to hear from women, whether you’re a fit mom or a not a mom at all, please comment and share your thoughts on this blog, on the Glamour photo shoot of the Lovely Lizzie Miller! Remember to sign up for your free newsletter!
Nitasworld.com is the official website of America’s Hottest Fit Mom, the brand that means FITNESS EMPOWERMENT FOR EVERYONE!
Diabetes Awareness 2011: AMERICA’S HOTTEST FIT MOM’S TIPS for laying off the sugar
America’s Hottest Fit Mom(TM) is the brand trusted for Fitness Empowerment for Everyone! As the brand’s creator, a lot of people would not think that I struggle with diabetes. Few people are aware that I am a fit mom who has a little boy who is diabetic.
America's Hottest Fit Mom Nita Marquez, with Fitness Kids Bricia, Baby boy Quinn, Acacia at Harley Davidson photo shoot
Baby Quinn Marquez, son of Fit Mom Fitness Empowerment Author, Nita Marquez with sisters, Fitness Kids, Bricia & Acacia Marquez
When my son was born in 2002, they had to remove his pancreas, consequently leaving our little boy diabetic at the tender age of only 8 days. JDRF has been a wonderful resource for us, and so has Phoenix Children’s Hospital and UCLA when it comes to junior diabetes. As we had many diet adjustments that needed to be made in our family, the good news was that since I was a fitness competitor and a fitness personal trainer and nutritionist, I was well-versed in health and nutrition. Learning how to care for a diabetic child however was still a curve ball for me as a mother, no matter how educated I was in fitness and nutrition.
Fitness Empowerment for Everyone! Fit Moms have Fit Kids! www.nitasworld.com
It didn’t run in my family, so diabetes was something new for me as a fitness personality, and of course with my little baby boy, I was extra nervous. Over the years however, we as a fitness oriented family have really become educated and experienced with the medications and regimens and dieting balances of having a diabetic in our life, especially with him being the youngest of three children. My daughters, each along with their father and I were immediately educated on the facts about dieting (carbohydrate and protein ratios) realities and how insulin needed to be administered and how blood sugar needed to be checked regularly in order to keep my son healthy. As I always tell my children about all aspects of our life and the learning curves within it, it’s always an adventure! So it had been with my boy, and he is a healthy nine-year-old now who is at the top of every subject from school to sports. He does capoeira and gymnastics and he just loves to dance! Overall, diabetes has become a regular part of our daily life, and we live with it just fine. We’re as normal as it gets for any family, and fitness is still at the center of it all.
America's Hottest Fit Mom Kids Bricia, Acacia & Quinn Marquez. Children of fit mom Nita Marquez, Fitness Empowerment Author
This is yet another reason why I started America’s Hottest Fit Mom. I know there are other mothers out there who care about the fitness of their whole family, but they may have a health challenge in the family or one may arise, so it’s important as a fit mom to not just keep ourselves fit, but also to learn how fitness can either prevent or help us manage health challenges that may arise, whether it’s our children, our parents, grandparents, or our spouses we have to care for. Fitness is not just about going to the gym and dieting to look good, it’s a lifestyle, and in this day and age of video games, the internet, and processed foods, we as fit moms have to be that much more on top of our health and education and lifestyle game when it comes to our families, so we can raise our children to be prepared and fit to live long and strong. I’m really hoping that more mothers who are fitness oriented will send in stories and ideas and tips (click HERE to join America’s Hottest Fit Moms Group on Facebook), so we can help one another. Fitness for mothers is important, but fitness for our families is everything!
Today, as a way of bringing more awareness to diabetes for a November diabetes awareness call, I wanted to give everyone a few tips we use with my boy here at home that helps the whole family stay supportive to him, and also helps us all get more healthy every day too.
When we grocery shop, we read the labels together. Here’s why:
- We have to know what the amount of carbohydrates in each food is.
The amount of carbohydrates my son should be having per meal is not more 24 grams at one sitting, as the amount of carbohydrates raises his blood sugar levels. It’s important to watch the carbohydrate ratio in each serving because diabetes is instituted by a body’s incapability to manufacture the amounts of insulin required to balance out blood sugar levels per the amount of carbohydrates that are being consumed. For my son, we try to keep his blood sugar levels between 80 and 150 (and 150 is on a high end, 120 blood sugar is better, but 150 would be at the high end of a “safe” zone for my son’s particular case).
- We can tell which foods have corn syrup (all corn syrup is bad for you, no matter what you hear)
- We can talk about which foods have hydrogenated oils (hydrogenated oils are very unnatural and have been proven to eventually cause heart problems as they clog arteries over consistent consumption for long periods of time)
- We can see which foods have protein
We try to keep a high protein diet intake to help counter the processing of the carbohydrates and avoid sugar crashes. When protein is balanced with carbohydrates, it can have a positive impact on the way carbohydrates are used within the body (as they are also taken into the glycogen stores of the muscles).
Hydration vs. Dehydration can mean Life or Death: Top 10 REASONS TO HYDRATE
Even if you’re not a fitness enthusiast, a fit mom, or even fitness curious, this article is a must read, as it will change your life forever should you heed it’s advice, and your life will be longer as well if you follow this one rule. This article will give you power in all aspects of your health and wellness. Read on to hear not only facts, research, and fitness tips, but you must read this because it could literally save your life, or someone close to you. While this is a blog specific to America’s Hottest Fit Moms(tm), fitness enthusiasts and the fitness curious, I do not limit the material to diet and exercise. There are sometimes life or death matters that will affect how you live forever as well as how long that life is. Today’s topic could have literally saved someone’s life at an event I attended yesterday.
When thinking about fitness, most women (and men) think of the way they look, or they think fitness is all about working out and dieting. Yes, certainly there is merit to all ideas of fitness that women and men concede to. What many fitness enthusiasts do not realize is that there is one necessary component to fitness that matters in women’s health and wellness that is neither diet or exercise. Hydration is the heart of any fitness program. Water detoxes, replenishes, cleans our insides making them efficient for digestion and continued energy for working out, even if you’re just walking. There is no substitute for the importance of water. Water is fundamental to your life, at all times. Today, I had two conversations with fitness clients about the importance of hydration for ALL of life’s functionality, from our physical to even our psychological efficiency. In making such a statement about dehydration, I have noted some cases below that are real scenarios that I have actually been witness to that prove the statement to be inpenetrably true. Yes, while water is an absolute necessity in your fitness goals, I also wanted to address the absolute need for complete hydration as it pertains to your other bodily functions, longevity, digestion, energy levels, and so on.
Cases in point:
1. Injured Muscles: For me, as an IFBB Pro Fitness Athlete I have had only one injury and it was a few years into my athletic career. When preparing to go on stage to perform my fitness routine, I was severely dehydrated, as many athletes tend to be, which is normal for the day of the event. You see, we athletes in the competitive physique world often have to dyhydrate in an effort to get our cuts in our bodies to show up on the stage. The lighting tends to smooth out your look, and back then, well, the more cut you were, the higher you were scored in your physique round. The overall judgement on our presentation for the fitness shows was contingent to your body round combined with the fitness routine’s athleticism (flexibility, explosiveness, endurance, entertainment).
Fitness Competitor America
I always came in really lean, but at one particular show I had gotten so dehydrated and because I wanted to come on stage looking exceptionally ripped. I dehydrated to look more ripped than usual to a physical point of appearance that we call “dry” in the competitive fitness world, I actually ripped my calve muscle on my right leg, and when I collapsed (just twenty minutes before the fitness show was set to raise curtain), I was then attended to by paramedics. The diagnosis was that severe dehydration had impacted my muscles to the point that my calve literally just ripped during a step. Had I not been so dehydrated, I would have succeeded in my career without any injuries, as this was my only time of ever getting hurt in all these years of being a competitive fitness athlete.
2. Digestion and Gastrointestinal Health Dangers: Another extreme case comes to mind from my industry (bodybuilding and fitness), but I want to share that one with you last, as I wrote this blog today knowing that someone literally died from dehydration, but first, let me give you a normal scenario regarding someone I know who is not in the fitness industry.
hydration helps metabolize fat and shed cellulite and aides in the body's functions
My aunt went to the doctor recently, as she was having extreme conditions of pain due to gastrointestinal issues. The cause: dehydration. She drinks nothing but coffee and diet soda all day. She could not recount the last time that she had more than one or two cups of water (if any) throughout the day. The doctors said that her conditions were “extreme” because she had likely been dehydrated for months. Thus, it’s fair to conclude that you are having an extremely negative impact on your body’s ability to digest. Other results of dehydration and insufficient digestion are lowered metabolism, toxic buildup (which to more issues in other areas of the body), and sleeplessness.
3. Muscle-cramps: There are a lot of people who I know that don’t work out like a “fit mom” or like an extreme athlete. Some people just don’t exercise much. In such cases, even dehydration with minimal activity have caused major issues like back and muscle spasms, and extreme foot cramps.
4. Halitosis: EEW! Bad breath’s number one cause is ongoing dehydration. If you don’t mind offending everyone with bad breath, be my guest. If you’re not drinking enough water, it causes the worst odor inside your mouth, and the longer you go, the farther your bad breath will travel. Yes, dehydration causes stinky breath. If you don’t want to drink water, if bad breath doesn’t offend you, well, then go ahead and pass gas in a crowded room and fog it up. When you have a conversation with bad breath, that’s basically what you’re doing.
5. Energy Levels: My neighbor recently started getting into drinking more water. He went out and bought four stainless steel BPA-free water bottles to refill every day, and at the tender age of only 28, he said that he has never had more energy in his life, than since he started drinking four liters of water every day. He goes to a place that sells reverse osmosis water, alkaline water, and mineralized structured water. Water has literally given him a better quality of life. He now has more energy to go for bike rides occasionally (on a bike that’s really expensive and used to just sit on his patio and collect dust!). His work ethic has revved up, according to him, too, and he feels more creative with his art as well. That’s a great testimonial.
I have another male client that said the same thing when he started training with me recently. He said that not only did he feel weight coming off, but he also felt very energetic. He said he literally crapped the toxins out for about two weeks after increasing his water intake and starting to work out. After that, he noticed a major rush to his energy throughout the days and especially at work. Again, water cannot be disputed as increasing energy and quality of life.
6. Cellulite: Taking in more water can help release toxins and clean out garbage that is stored in the fat cells that comprise your cellulite. More water equals less cellulite.
7. Skin: You can literally anti-age because water increases the retention of youth through maintaining certain functionality in your body that shows up on your skin.
More water = Less wrinkles
8. Fatloss: Your body is will be less likely to hold toxins, slow metabolism, and store fat with increased water intake.
9. Headaches: There have only been two times in my life that I have ever had a headache. Once was during a case I suffered of Viral Meningitis. The second time was when I was dehydrated because I had gotten sick from a flu. Even for a week after I overcame the flu bug and was able to go back to the office (I worked at a marketing firm), I had a horrible headache because my body had gotten so dehydrated during the spell of illness.
10. The extreme case- Death: A man who was competing in a bodybuilding show here in Los Angeles yesterday died of a heart attack, and doctors attributed his heart failure to severe dehydration. Sadly, I would agree that there are a lot of things that could have contributed to this man’s heart failure, but the reality was that the dehydration was the hair that pulled the trigger.
Dehydration can kill you, literally. While there is no doubt you can get away with drinking only sodas and juices for many years, eventually, the lack of water wears on your system. Or, if you are not in perfect health already, then not drinking enough water can be the straw that breaks the camel’s back, so to speak. Your health, wellness, vibrance, fitness, metabolism, appearance, and your life literally depends on consistent water intake.
I recommend at least 1/2 gallon a day for women to start, but eventually, 1 gallon should be your regular intake ladies. Women’s fitness has come so far, and we can look so much more intensely fit than we used to be able to because of technologies and updated information about fitness and exercise and diet (especially on a higher protein diet, a woman’s body looks so much better).
For men, I recommend 1-2 gallons daily, depending on your size and your fitness goals. At minimum though, any man should be taking in a gallon of water daily.
As for how to take it in, many people do what I do, which is to always have a BPA-free gallon jug of water filled and on my person at all times. Other suggestions for maintaining a healthy water intake for overall life fitness and wellness are that you can carry around a 1-liter BPA-free container filled with water and continue to refill it with alkaline or reverse osmosis water throughout the day, at least 3 times. That’s what I do when I cannot carry my big jug, but either way, water is a life source, and not having it can be death. Please fit moms, know that this is a heartfelt push for life from America’s Hottest Fit Mom products and services. All the products and services and fitness knowledge in the world helps nothing when you are not taking in enough water. Mothers, impact yourself, your children and your whole life by hydrating highly. Be well, Be you, BE PHENOMENAL!
No More Cellulite!
There is one obvious fact I have found over the past 21 years of learning to live fit, and that is that no matter what, cellulite is part of nature. Can you filter the appearance of cellulite off of your body though? Yes, you can literally get rid of cellulite. The thing that causes cellulite to bunch up and give that ugly cottage-cheese pocketed look to our skin is that there is subcutaneous water and toxins stored up in that pocket which give it that gross puckered look that we all loathe to see in that overhead light in the mirror.
Cellulite is the dimpled orange-peel-like appearance of skin that has weakened connective tissue that stores toxic/fat/subcutaneous water in pockets just under the skin. Unfortunately, yes, cellulite is genetic, but fortunately, it can be dispelled. There are four different solutions that, when combined, have helped me to avoid the appearance of cellulite even after having children.
When you don’t hydrate enough, your body holds onto that much more water to be sure that it maintains proper hydration storage in the event that you don’t take in enough water again for an extended length of time. So, the answer to that is to drink more water. If you’re only drinking a couple of glasses per day, then increase it to 3/4 gallon. I’m 4’10 and I take in one to two gallons daily. I don’t hold excess water when I’m doing this, and no one thinks I have cellulite. Well, when I’m not drinking enough water, I notice it creeping back up on my upper outer thighs. Since my mother has it really badly, I’m a prime candidate. In other words, the way your connective tissue aligns with your muscle with your skin and overall elasticity wherein the toxins and water and fat can be stored, well, that’s just genetic. So drinking enough water can help you evolve your body, but note that once it’s gone, you still have to hydrate, because your appearance of cellulite may go, but your body’s propensity toward holding it will still be there. So hydrate consistently and ongoingly to eliminate cellulite from appearance.
Couple dehydration with excessive salt intake, such as that taken in from soups, canned foods, frozen processed foods, fast food, and all sauces & dressings. Well, salt will cause water retention to. Excessive sodium occurs in just about everyone’s diet in America. We love our processed junk, the stuff with salt added, and we just can’t leave the dressing and sauce alone! Sodium can be avoided, though. There are a lot of dry rub seasonings, as well as Himalayan salt, which can help you bring down and minimize your sodium intake & lessen your water retention, which will reduce cellulite buildup in those cellulite-concentrated areas of your body.
On top of that, once your body is in a really toxic state, if you give it more toxins, those will target the cellulite-prone areas of a woman’s body. For women, cellulite buildup is generally in the thighs, the backs of the legs and butt, and sometimes, in the stomach. So, hydrate, take in less sodium, and do your best to clean up the food intake. I’m not saying you have to be perfect, but take baby steps in eliminating daily intakes of crap like processed boxed or frozen foods. Stay away from canned foods and fast foods, and if you’re going to cheat, just do it once a week. The less toxic intake, the less your body has a chance to store.
Finally, the fourth step to avoiding cellulite on your legs, butt, thighs and stomach is to work out! Circulation causes the bloodflow needed to cause the toxins and excess water to dissipate and eventually, with consistency, those toxins, fats, and water excesses, will filter their way out of your body. As your fat pockets can not go, the garbage that’s in them can be forced out of the body to eliminate the nasty gauged look of cellulite. Love yourself, You are Worth the Work! BE PHENOMENAL!! 
Holiday Diet Tips
On the holidays, it’s easy to get carried away and fill up on food. One simple and fast way to avoid stuffing ourselves on the holiday feast foods is to stay incredibly hydrated. When we are dehydrated, we tend to have the illusion of more hunger, so our appetites can become more ravenous in a dehydrated state. Also, if you stay hydrated, your cravings for sugar are not generally as strong. I don’t know that there’s a scientific reason behind that, but we are busy mommies during these days, so who has time for anything but simplicity? I’m a firm believer as a trainer that sticking to simplistic reasoning when starting out makes it much easier to form healthy habits. On top of the two formerly mentioned benefits of hydration in food bingeing prevention, the third tip I have about hydration is that if you fill up on water before you eat, you’re likely to give your mind the illusion that you are already more full because you “stuffed” yourself on water, which is healthy and calorie-free! Try this before entering any feast and see how well it works for you! I have done it for years, and it’s been my little calorie-saving trick for staying fit during the holidays every year for the past 15 years of holiday season feasts! Happy Holidays Everyone! BE PHENOMENAL!!!