Here's another reason some women may want to hit the gym and watch what they eat.

A new study says even moderate weight loss could help reduce breast cancer risks.

Researchers in Seattle used data from sedentary post-menopausal women who were overweight or obese. They say even a 5% weight loss can reduce the levels of circulating estrogen which is known to be a risk factor for breast cancer.

The women dived into four groups: a diet-only group, an exercise-only group, a diet and exercise group and a no-intervention group.

“The biggest effect was through diet plus exercise”, Anne McTiernan, the study's author, said in a statement.

The results of the studied showed that the groups with the most weight loss were the diet and exercise group with women in those groups losing an average of 10 percent of their starting weight, according to the study.

Additionally, the women in the diet only and diet and exercise groups also experienced the largest drop in estrogen and other hormones linked to breast cancer.

Researchers say a healthy diet and exercise is key, and that it's never too late to make lifestyle changes.

The study results suggest that weight loss of just 5% or more could cut the risk for the most common, estrogen-sensitive breast cancers by a quarter to a half.

To begin a weight loss and exercise program, contact Answer is Fitness.

KKTV News and Christian Post

Most people understand that you need help with getting and staying motivated in order to exercise and lose weight. You also need to keep it fun and mix it up. As the weather turn nicer, we all want and many of us need to lose weight.

Exercising with people you enjoy is a perfect way to stay motivated. Get a group of friends together who have similar schedules and can work out when you can. It has long been proven that exercising with friends is a great way to get healthy and lose weight.

Signing on with a personal trainer works well for people too. When you spend money on a personal training program you are more inclined to keep your appointments. Many find that the motivating nature of personal trainers help keep them motivating and working hard.

If personal trainers are not what you are looking for, many trainers encourage those who want to lose weight to join a gym. The social and community aspect of belonging to a gym is a great motivator for many. Being greeted as you enter, seeing friends, taking exercise classes that you enjoy can keep you coming back to the gym getting healthy.

Of course, as the saying goes, “misery loves company” so taking that really challenging group power or spinning class with friends actually makes that hard class fun.

For information on our Summer special at Answer is Fitness, contact us.

If you are looking for a fun and different type of exercise to help you lose weight, look at learning kettlebells. As you know by now, building muscle is the best way to lose weight. But cardio is essential to your health.

Kettlebell workouts combine aerobic and anaerobic exercise that help you lose weight faster than cardio or weights alone. In fact, a 20-minute kettlebell workout is worth about an hour on the treadmill!

The kettlebell is used to perform ballistic exercises. Ballistic exercises are a combination of  cardiovascular, strength and flexibility exercises. Kettlebell workouts use several muscle groups at once.

In order to lose weight, most personal trainers recommend interval training. Kettlebell exercises  are more  aerobic and similar to high-intensity interval training. This makes kettlebells perfect for weight loss.

In one study, people who worked out with kettlebells for 20 minute burned an average, 13.6 calories/minute aerobically and 6.6 calories/minute anaerobically during the entire workout. This is equivalent to running a 6-minute mile.

For more information on working out with Kettlebells, contact Answer is Fitness.  

Everyone is wondering how to lose weight. There are no quick fix solutions, but there are ways. First and foremost, boost your metabolism. Here's how:

Pump iron

Weight training is the best way to boost your resting metabolic rate. As you get older, your resting metabolic rate drops, but weight training can increase it again: A pound of muscle burns up to nine times the calories a pound of fat does. In fact, a woman who weighs 130 pounds and is muscular burns more calories than a sedentary 120-pound woman of the same height. Regular strength training can increase your resting metabolic rate anywhere from 6.8 to 7.8 percent.

Rev up your workouts

Adding interval training, or bursts of high-intensity moves to your workout is a great metabolism booster. Studies have shown that people who do interval training twice a week in addition to cardio exercise lose twice as much weight as those who do just a regular cardio workout. You can easily incorporate interval training into your workout by inserting a 30-second sprint into your jog every five minutes or by adding a one-minute incline walk to your treadmill workout.

Break up your exercise routine

Whenever possible, slice each of your workouts into two smaller sessions. For example, do a 15-minute weight-lifting session in the morning, then do your 30-minute walk on your lunch hour or at night. You'll burn an extra 100 to 200 calories that day,

Get some sleep

Not getting enough sleep can upset your metabolism. Studies show that people who got four hours of sleep or less a night had more difficulty processing carbohydrates. When you're exhausted, your body lacks the energy to do its normal day-to-day functions, which include burning calories. Your metabolism is automatically lowered.

Original article RedBook

With so many people trying to lose weight and being unsuccessful with fad diets it is no surprise that in the latest study, fad diets don't work. Eating a healthy diet and regularly exercising helps overweight Americans lose more weight than those who turn to diet fads and pills.

Researchers from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical Center analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, conducted by the CDC. The data came from more than 4,000 individuals aged 20 years and older.

The study found that the people who were most successful in losing weight exercised more and ate less fat than those who did not. Those who joined weight-loss programs appeared to have the most success.  

On the other hand, those who reported going on liquid diets, weight loss pills and eating diet foods and products did not see a successful weight loss.

Weight loss exercise programs give people accountability because it is something they have invested in themselves.  While the fads and supplements and low-fat foods have created a large market for themselves, the authors of the study said it’s encouraging that the most successful ways of losing weight are accessible and affordable.

“This study, though observational in design, supports weight loss through proper eating and activity — a fact that is often challenged in today’s quick-fix world,” said Connie Diekman, director of university nutrition at Washington University in St. Louis.

Diet and exercise are reflecting a commitment to weight loss and changed lifestyle. Without a commitment, there will be no success. With commitment to gradual changes, you keep your eye on the bigger picture and are able to accept that quick fixes are never the answer. With commitment, not only do you lose weight, you keep the weight off.

Habits are shared and passed along as well. Liquid diets and weight loss pills are not shared with your family, but healthy eating habits and a healthy lifestyle will be.

Interested in a weight loss exercise plan or program? Contact Answer is Fitness.

ABC News

Through the winter it is hard to remain focused on eating healthy, exercising, and losing weight. By the time March rolls around, many people feel like they have tons of weight to lose.

Here are a couple of ideas on how to stay focused and stay motivated for weight loss so you can be ready for the warmer weather in a couple of months.

Make a commitment to a charity – When you join an athletic fund raising event, you have no choice. Get yourself on a Relay for Life team or some other walk for a benefit.  You are not going to let down those who sponsored you and you’ll burn calories while preparing.

Lift the amount of weight you have lost – Using free weights, work out with the same amount of weight you have dropped. This makes it easy to remember how much you have lost. It is motivating to see how much you are struggling to lift that 10-pound weight. You can't possibly forget how far you've come when you're sweating doing three sets. You used to be carrying around that weight!

Make a great play list -A recent study on women's fitness found that women are more likely to stick to an exercise program if they listen to music while working out.

Do not wear baggy, loose clothes – Don’t make yourself comfortable in your gained weight. Put on the tight jeans, or leave out your bathing suit. Give yourself a visual reminder of the goal you want to accomplish.

Work out with others- Many studies have proven that support from other people can keep you motivated to lose weight. So get some friends to work out with you. Get yourself a personal trainer, who can help you, create an exercise program for you, keep you company, and keep you accountable.

Group exercise classes - Join a group exercise class and make friends with the other regulars. Seeing them will inspire you to attend even when you feel like not going. Guilt is motivating. When you don’t go to your exercise class, everyone knows.

Have you noticed that some people burn fat faster than others? Or, that some people seem to be able to eat whatever they want and they still stay thin? Well this has to do with a person’s metabolism; how fast it works.

Because of genetics, some people do burn fat faster than others. However, age, weight, diet, and exercise habits also have an effect on your metabolism rate. As you age, your metabolism slows down, mainly because, beginning as early as your 20’s you can lose 5-6 pounds of muscle every 10 years. The less muscle mass you have, the slower your metabolism works. This means, you are burning less calories every day as you age. But, you can speed up your metabolism!

Of course you can cut calories, especially extra ones. But, don’t dramatically cut calories from your diet. Your body is programmed to maintain your weight, so if you cut too many calories, like 1000, your metabolism will actually slow down.

Add interval training to your cardio workouts. Doing interval training just 2 times/ week burns more calories than standard cardio workouts. In fact, studies show that when you add interval training you actually lose 2 times as much weight.

If possible, break your workout into two shorter sessions. Walk or run on your lunch break and do 15 minutes of weight training after work. You could burn an extra 100 to 200 calories in a day. Run up the stairs at work, even small bursts of activity can get your metabolism going.

You have heard it before, but eat breakfast! Those who eat breakfast lose more weight than those who don’t. Your metabolism slows down as you sleep and only speeds back up when you eat again.  Start up and speed up your metabolism  by eating a 300 calorie breakfast.

Eating extra protein can cause you to burn and extra 150 -200 calories/day. It is harder for your body to burn protein so your metabolism works harder to break it down.

5 to 7 smaller meals is much better than 3 larger meals. If you eat healthy and small all day, your metabolism works fast all day every day.

Start working out with weights. Weight training is the best way to speed up your resting metabolic rate. As we’ve said, as you age, your metabolic rate slows. Weight training can speed it up again: A pound of muscle burns up to nine times the calories a pound of fat burns.

Need help losing weight or sticking with your fitness routine? Contact Answer is Fitness.

You are eating the same and exercising the same, but you have noticed that it is harder to lose weight, or perhaps you are even gaining weight. Nothing has changed, except… you are over 40. Actually, something has changed; your body.

As we age, we burn less calories because our metabolism slows down. There is no set age where this happens, but most people tend to notice between 40 and 50. So, the secret to weight loss over 40 remains the same as it was before 40: burn more calories than you take in.

So, since you burn fewer calories in a day as you age, you either need to eat less, or exercise more in order to lose weight. But sticking to the same routine as your younger years will have no effect on your weight loss or maintenance goals. You need to have a calorie defecit.

Our metabolism, (basal metabolic rate) accounts for 60 to 70% of the total number of calories we burn in a day. So when this slows, we need to adjust for our slower metabolism. There is where most of us drop the ball.
 
As we age, we begin to lose muscle mass which accounts for our slowing metabolism. The more muscle mass we have, the more calories our body burns at rest. So as we age, exercise is very important. There are many benefits to exercise, but for people over 40 the benefits of exercise are even greater.  As we age we begin to lose muscle mass.  The more muscle mass we have the higher our basal metabolic rate.  Regular exercise and activity will not only help build and strengthen muscles but will speed up your metabolism thus burn more calories.

For a free 30 day pass, or for help in setting up an exercise and nutrition plan for weight loss over 40, contact Answer is Fitness.

It is the perfect gift… the gift of health. Help yourself or a special person in your life stay healthy and lose weight, give the gift of personal training this holiday season.

You have been looking for a meaningful gift, you certainly cannot get a more meaningful gift than 3 personal training sessions. Personal training is the perfect way to help someone begin their journey into health and fitness, or it is the perfect way to invigorate exercise routine of someone who works out regularly.

Personal Training can help anyone who is trying to lose weight by creating a fitness routine that helps build lean muscle. But, even better, personal training sessions help you stay motivated and boost your confidence. When you know what you are doing with machines and equipment, when you have weight loss goals established for yourself it is easier to be excited about going to the gym. When you are being held accountable because you have an appointment, it is not easy to make excuses.

Contact Answer is Fitness in your area for more information on personal training for you or as a gift.