Smart secrets for easy weight loss

By Kay Wagner, LMP,CPT | Mar 14, 2012


Why is it so easy to put on weight? One reason is that to two hours after we eat, our intestines decide what to do with the food.

If we are active within an hour or two after a meal the body burns food as energy. If we’re still melted into the couch, the intestines order the body to store the calories as fat!

Even healthy foods like whole grains and proteins can be stored as fat if we don’t use our muscles within one to two hours after eating!

And skipping meals also alerts our body to store fat!

This simple 10 minute circuit can help your body turn food into energy, not fat. It’s good to do with your kids and will help them get through their homework faster. Turn off the TV and cell phones and turn up the tunes!

It’s easy. Just one minute for each exercise!

1. Skip and do leg kicks while you punch, reach and circle arms to warm up.

2. Pick up light hand weights and do overhead reaches while standing on one leg. Change legs at 30 seconds.

3. Bicep curls while marching in place.

4. Stand wide with knees bent over toes, weights above your head, and arms lined up with your ears, bend and straighten elbows for triceps.

5. Stand on one leg, holding weights with palms turned out. Circle shoulders up, back and down. Switch legs at 30 seconds.

6. Onto the floor for your minute of ab crunches.

7. Bicycle legs in the air.

8. Now stretch out really long, then bend knees, feet on floor and lift buttocks into a bridge, navel drawn in.

9. Hips on floor, knees bent, lift one leg, holding back of thigh to stretch hamstrings. Switch sides, then with both feet on the floor, sway your knees side to side.

10. Pick up your weights for bench presses and flys. Repeat the circuit as many times as desired.

This simple circuit will improve your posture and balance, build muscle and increase flexibility. Breathe deeply, maintain a long spine, keep your shoulders wide and navel pulled in and up at all times.

An average woman may use 3-5 pound dumb bells, a man, 8-15 pounds. LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. If something hurts, don’t do it. This is a gentle routine, which should feel good, warm you up and slightly raise your heart rate.

Afraid you’ll miss your favorite sit-com? Do this routine during commercials!

I gave my grandson his first hand weights when he was 2. Two-pound weights were fun for him to use for bicep curls, bench presses and overhead reaches. When he was five I offered him a dime for every rep. At 125 reps I decided he needed heavier weights!

At 3 years old my granddaughter curled her pink three-pound weights proudly.

I thought hand weights for the kids were cute and fun, Now I realize that lifting light weights can give them a tool for life long healthy weight.

Traveling? Use full water bottles for weights. A can of soup weighs about two pounds and works like a charm. So it’s easy to make these calorie burning strategies a habit.

You will look and feel terrific this spring!

Do you have a tendency to skip meals and then wolf down your food because you feel half starved? That’s my eating style which has made it hard for me to lose weight.

Experts advise eating more often but that didn’t make sense to me. So I asked Master fitness trainer Kelvin Thomas to shed light on eating more often for vitality and weight loss.

“Every three hours eat things like apple and cheese, yogurt with almonds, a half sandwich, a salad or a cup of soup. Aim for around 65 percent protein, 30 percent carbs and 5 percent fats,” Kelvin says.

“Not a full steak dinner every three hours,” Kelvin says, with a laugh. “About 300 calories if you are not exerting physically.

“I like to use the camp fire analogy. Imagine a smoldering campfire. The coals and ash are burning very slowly,” Kelvin explains. “This represents your metabolism when you are hungry.”

“Like your body is holding on to calories to keep the fire alive?” I ask.

“Yes. Then if you put a big green log on the fire it’s going to smother the fire. The same thing happens when your metabolism slows. You’re hungry. Then you eat a big meal and, boom, it suppresses your metabolism. Now your body has to use all its energy to metabolize the food to get you going again. So it slows you down,” Kelvin says.

“Giving your body nourishment every three hours is like putting dry kindling on a campfire. Makes the fire burn hotter and hotter. Your body burns calories faster because it knows it’s going to get food (fuel) every three hours.”

Some people eat three meals day. Kelvin recommends taking those three meals and spreading them out to five.

“Eat a little less for breakfast; add a healthy snack in between breakfast and lunch. Then have a snack mid-afternoon and have a sensible dinner (not too late). You’ll find that with the same amount of food you’ll lose weight. Because your body’s burning a lot more efficiently.”

I keep beef jerky, dried fruit and energy bars in my car and studio so I can eat healthy snacks. My energy stays even and I don’t feel hungry.

Do you want to look and feel lighter and more alive for spring? Warm up your muscles one to two hours after eating to turn fuel into energy. Fire your metabolism and maintain steady energy levels by eating smaller amounts more often. These tried-and-true calorie burning secrets will work for you too!

Kay Wagner LMP & NASM Certified Personal Trainer, leads Seniors Strength Training, Yoga & Pilates at Rosehill CC. Kay offers PERSONAL TRAINING & SPA FACIAL MASSAGE in her studio overlooking the mountains and water, at 828 2nd St. in Mukilteo. Call 425-353-4545. Visit her on Face book at Kay Wagner Wellness. Learn more at

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