Time to come clean about how we did in August! In case you just joined us, our heatlh goal for August was to eat out less than 3 times a week. I successfully completed this mission!! Although there were a couple of times I really wanted sushi over a homemade sandwich, I stuck it out. However, my personal health goal didn't go as well. I tried really hard to stick to the 2 diet cokes a week rule, but I totally blew it one week. I'll admit it: old habits die hard. Even though I didn't completely meet my goal, I am definitely decreasing my diet coke consumption.

Now, on to September's Health Goals. I am constantly asked by people, especially girls, if they should do cardio or weights to slim down. The answer is...... you should do both! However, a lot of girls will skip over the weights and head straight to the elliptical because they think it will help them burn more calories and therefore lose more weight. This is simply not true. Resistance training helps you build lean muscle mass, which increases your resting metabolic rate (or how many calories you burn just hanging out). You will see results faster if you include both cardiovascular and resistance training.

Benefits of Strength Training:

• Increases bone density.
• Helps you control your weight. It is a proven fact that muscle burns more calories at rest than fat. 
• Reduces your risk of injury by protecting joints and improving balance.
• Boosts your stamina (aka gives you more energy). 
• Can help you manage chronic diseases such as lower back pain, arthritis, depression, diabetes, obesity, and osteoporosis.  
• Improves the physical appearance of your muscles. Also known as that "toned" look. (you know you've said at some point in your life..."I just want to look toned.")
• Increase athletic performance.

Ladies, don't worry you won't get big and bulky just by lifting weights. We do not have enough testosterone in our bodies to build too much muscle. Strength training is an integral part of every fitness routine, and is often times overlooked. Your challenge for September, if you so choose to accept, is to do some form of resistance training 3 days a week. You can go to a strength training class at your local gym, lift weights by yourself or with a friend, or even just do body weight exercises such as push-ups, squats, lunges and crunches at your house. To help us work towards our goal, I will periodically publish posts specifically pertaining to strength training. I hope you will join me!

My personal health goal for September will definitely be a challenge. With our new move, and my new job I have been one big stress case lately. My health goal for September is to take at least 5 minutes everyday to do nothing but breathe. I know 5 minutes doesn't seem like long, but it sounds like an eternity to me! We will see how it goes!

Food for thought:
Will you join me in our health goal for September?
Do you currently strength train 3+ times a week? If so, do you have any tips you would like to share?
What is your personal health goal for this month?

Yours truly,

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