*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Welcome to all our new subscribers, and I extend my appreciation to everyone who forwards this newsletter to friends. One friend telling another is how we grow, and I deeply appreciate your support. If you know anyone who might like it, please forward this newsletter to them or send them this link: http://www.FitnessMovtivatorNewsletter.com.

Due to a new way AOL is handling newsletters, all AOL members need to make a selection in their e-mail preference in order to receive our newsletter. If you have signed up, but haven't received our newsletter, please be sure you have checked the appropriate box in order to receive newsletters.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

IN THIS ISSUE:

1. Greetings from the Editor
2. Article—Winter Exercise Tips
3. Article—Beating the Post Holiday Blues—What you can do to feel GREAT!
4. Article—To Lose Weight, Insulin Control Is Crucial
5. Inspirational Quotes
6.Articles & Web Sites Worth A Look

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Dear Fitness Friends,

When I think of February, I think of Valentine's Day. And when I think of Valentine's Day, I think about my heart. Why not use the month of February to think about your heart health? Many already do.

Our body depends on our heart to keep it going. It is up to us to to chose the lifestyle that will keep our heart healthy. Proper nutrition and regular exercise will help your heart to do the job it needs to do.

Do you have fitness goals for the next couple of months? Large goals can seem daunting to achieve. If you haven't already, make a list of small more attainable goals. As you reach each smaller goal, you will build confidence and momentum--each goal will bring you closer to your larger goal.

Wishing you a happy and healthy February.

Back to Table Of Contents

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"You must do the thing you think you cannot do."

~~Eleanor Roosevelt

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Click here to read my review.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

With the temperatures plummeting this time of year, many of us tend to hibernate inside our homes. But, hibernating is for bears. As humans it’s important to stay active through all four seasons. Yet, a poll of 5,000 people found that 30 percent get no exercise at all during the Winter months.

Just because it is cold outside doesn’t make it open season for an excuse not to exercise. There are multiple exercise options one can choose to participate in regardless of what the outdoor thermometer reads. Depending on your location and likes, you can choose to workout inside or outside.

All that is required for Winter-time workouts is some planning and employing all safety precautions. If you prefer to workout outside, keep the following tips in mind.

· Get warm first. A proper warm-up is critical. Cold temperatures can make your muscles tight and therefore they are more prone to injuries. So, it’s important to get them warmed-up prior to engaging in intense physical activity.

· Insulate your body. The best approach to dressing for outdoor exercise is with layers. Layering provides the most effective heating method, plus it allows you to remove the top layer if you get too hot. The layer closest to your skin should allow moisture to be wicked away. The top layer should be both wind and water resistant.

· No sweat. Don’t assume that you have to sweat in order to get a good workout. You should avoid sweating that causes the clothing layer closest to your skin to get wet and cause you to be chilled. Instead monitor your intensity through a heart rate monitor or the Rating of Perceived Exertion.

· Don’t strip when you get inside. While you may be tempted to immediately remove your layers when returning inside, give your body time to adjust. Post exercise hypothermia is possible. This happens when your body rapidly loses its heating stores.

· Drink up. It’s just as important to stay hydrated when exercising in Winter as it is in Summer, even though you might not feel as thirsty.

· Lighten up. If possible, it’s best to exercise outdoors during daylight areas. But, with shorten days that can be difficult to do. If you exercise outdoors when it is dark, wear reflective materials to ensure that you can be seen.

If the thought of getting outside to exercise makes you dive under the covers, instead choose one of the many indoor workout options. Below are just a few of the many choices.

· Walk at an indoor location, like a mall. If you need extra motivation to get yourself to the mall, join a walking group. This will help you stay accountable to someone other than yourself.

· Join a health club. This will allow you a large variety of physical activities to choose from every week.

· Create a home gym. This doesn’t have to be expensive. You can easily set-up a great workout routine with just a set of dumbbells, an exercise ball and a jump rope. Get all of this for around $50.

· If you have stairs where you live or close by, spend as little as 20 minutes at a time climbing up and down the stairs for a very intense and efficient workout.

· Get wet. Find a local indoor pool you can use. Try swimming, water aerobics, or even just walking or running laps in the water.

· Visit a library. Usually local libraries offer exercise videos you can check-out for free. Pick-up a new one to try out every time you return the previous video.

By staying fit during Winter you’ll be able to avoid gaining weight, have a head start on swimsuit season, and avoid losing strength and stamina caused from inactivity. Just as tulips need Winter nourishment from the Earth to strongly bloom in Spring, humans need to continue to nourish their bodies during Winter so they too can bloom come Spring.

About the author: Lynn Bode is a certified personal trainer specializing in Internet-based fitness programs. She founded Workouts For You, which provides affordable online exercise programs that are custom designed for each individual. Visit: http://www.workoutsforyou.com for a free sample workout and to sign-up for their monthly fitness newsletter. Fitness professionals improve your business, visit: http://www.trainerforce.com.

Copyright 2004 © Lynn Bode

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Don't let the fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of your doing it. The time will pass anyway; we might just as well put that passing time to the best possible use."

~~Earl Nightingale

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Beating the Post Holiday Blues
What you can do to feel GREAT!

By Susan Creal, M.S, PPC

Finally, the hustling and bustling of the holidays are over! No more shopping for others, preparing food, hosting parties, or going to celebrations. What a relief, right??

Surprisingly enough the end of the holiday season can have a negative effect for many people! The “high” of rushing, planning , celebrating is gone and the reality of life, going back to work, dealing with issues that were put of until “after the holidays” have just been put at the forefront.

The disorder many face during the winter months and following the holiday season is referred to as Seasonal Affective Disorder(SAD).

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is classified as a type a major depression. According to Mark Gorkin, MSW, LICSW, (SAD) affects one in 20 American adults while 75% of those affected are women.

How do you know that you might be going through SAD?

· Do you suffer from a loss of energy?

· Are you more short tempered or are less patient with others?

· Do suffer from frequent headaches?

· Are you overeating, especially eating high-carbohydrate foods?

· Do you wake up in the morning with a lack of desire to go to work?

· Have you lost a lot of your self-esteem?

· Have you been avoiding social contact?

· Has a sense of boredom taken over you?

· Do you feel the need for some extra motivation and guidance?

If these symptoms pertain to you, you could be suffering from SAD, or Post-Holiday Depression.
What can you do to help yourself?

· Eat more protein

· Limit sugar and alcohol

· Schedule exercise in your day like you would a Dr’s appt.

· Make sure your work environment is well lit.

· Investigate “Light Therapy”

· Try a new class like yoga, take on an art project, learn how to meditate

· Practice daily “POSITVE” affirmations

· During lunch breaks, go OUTSIDE and take a deep breath, see the sunlight, take a walk

· Make the New Year a time for accomplishing one or two of the projects you have been putting off.

· Join a group that has the same interests and goals as you.

· Volunteer in a school, hospital or church

· Make time for yourself…treat yourself to a message, manicure or schedule at time to take a long bath once week

· Hire a coach to help you regain focus and to get extra support for creating permanent, positive change in your life

Just remember, how you feel and how you react to a situation is completely up you . Do you view the cup as half full or half empty? The sky partly sunny or mostly cloudy?

Make today the day you take your feeling into your own hands. Do what ever it takes to make you feel the best you possibly can. Life is too short to be unhappy. Scheduling a bath, taking a walk, hire a coach., whatever it is, take action today and follow through with your plan. YOU are in control of how you want to feel!

Susan is a life and licensed wellness coach for women. To sign-up for a complimentary coaching session and to learn more about Susan, go to www.peak-performance-coaching.com

Copyright 2004 © Susan Creal

Back to Table Of Contents

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"The best way to predict your future is to create it."

~~Unknown

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

To Lose Weight, Insulin Control Is Crucial

Insulin is a "fat storage" hormone. Insulin helps your body store fat and prevents your body from burning stored body fat for energy. So how does insulin have such a profound affect on fat storage?

Insulin stimulates an enzyme called lipoprotein lipase. Lipoprotein lipase is responsible for transporting fatty acids into your fat cells and keeping them there which is wonderful if you want to gain fat but disastrous if you want to lose it.

To make matters worse insulin inhibits another enzyme called hormone-sensitive lipase. Hormone sensitive lipase releases fat from the fat cells into the blood so they can burned for energy. Less hormone-sensitive lipase due to excess insulin means less fat burning.

So how do you control insulin and stop this fat storage cycle?

Your body releases insulin to help blood sugar or blood glucose move from your bloodstream into your cells. So insulin is released primarily when you eat foods that convert to blood sugar and especially when you eat carbohydrates.

So choosing carbohydrates that convert into blood glucose more slowly is essential to control insulin. I suggest you eat mainly carbohydrates low on the glycemic index. The glycemic index is a list of foods given a rating based on how quickly they convert to blood glucose in the body. A food that has a low rating on the glycemic index will convert more slowly to blood glucose in your body. The slower blood glucose is released into your body the less insulin will be released. And lower levels of insulin should mean better health, less fat storage and more fat burning.

The other essential factor in controlling insulin is releasing insulin's opposing hormone glucagon. Glucagon has the opposite functions in the body as insulin, inhibiting the fat storage enzyme lipoprotein lipase and stimulating the fat burning enzyme hormone-sensitive lipase. Glucagon is released when you eat protein so having protein with every meal can help to control insulin and burn fat. For health reasons it's best to choose low fat sources of protein like fish, turkey breast, chicken breast, tofu or crossflow microfiltered whey protein isolate.

You should have about twice the volume of fruit and vegetables as protein. Getting the protein/carbohydrate ratio in your diet right is probably the most important weight loss skill you could learn because this is the key to keeping insulin under control. Remember insulin is the fat storage hormone, so keeping insulin under control is crucial to your weight loss program.

The correct ration of protein to carbohydrate for insulin control is probably around twice the volume of carbohydrate to protein. So if you have, say, chicken breast around the size and thickness of the palm of your hand for protein you should have fruit and vegetables around twice that volume or around the volume of your clenched fist.

So to control insulin, eat low fat protein with every meal and eat fruit and vegetables low on the glycemic index as your main source of carbohydrates. And eat around twice the volume of carbohydrates as protein.

Andrew Cavanagh is a professional health writer and speaker and a member of the Australasian Medical Writer's Association. He is the author of One hour to glorious health and permanent weight loss and the groundbreaking From depression to glorious health. Both books can be downloaded free at www.geocities.com/glorioushealth.

Copyright 2004 © Andrew Cavanagh

Back to Table Of Contents

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Articles & Web Sites Worth a Look

Back to Table Of Contents

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"We are much better than we know."

~~Lance Armstrong

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

If you need more motivation and some group support, feel free to subscribe to the Exercise Your Willpower mailing list. We have a great group of people who help motivate each other. To get more information, visit our website at: http://www.exerciseyourwillpower.com

Check out the many online fitness and health tools.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Disclaimer