Friday, December 27, 2013

Say Goodbye to Santa's Sweet Tooth in 6 Steps



SAY GOODBYE TO THE SUGAR

  1. Cut down Gradually 
    • Ever tried cutting something out cold turkey? Its not an easy feat. 
    • Reduce your holiday sugar gradually: for example if you snacked on cookies throughout the day try to have only 3 cookies one day, then 2 the following, then one. 
    • If you reduce your sugar intake slowly you will be less likely to have massive cravings for it later on. 
  2. Switch from Simple Carbs to Complex Carbohydrates
    • Cookies, Cakes, and sweets contain simple carbohydrates. These can also be found in white bread and other refined flour products. 
    • The problem with simple carbs is they do not keep you full for a long period of time. You are also more likely to get a high and crash hard. 
    • Switch to complex carbs these will keep you full for longer periods of time and won't let you crash. 
    • Some examples of complex carbs are: Oatmeal, Sweet Potatoes, Squash, Brown rice, Quinoa.
  3. Be prepared
    • Set yourself up for success, not failure!
    • When your out shopping or making those holiday returns, pack healthy snacks with you like apples, almonds, or healthy homemade granola (Check out how to make my healthy granola right here!). 
    • This will help you stay full while shopping so you don't have to chose an unhealthy food court option. 
  4. Stay away from artificial sweeteners
    • You may think that your making a healthy choice by reaching for that diet soda, however, you could be really hurting yourself up in the long run. 
    • The body does not intrepret these sweetners as calories, so it will therefore crave actual calories to replace it. 
    • This means that you will reach for those cookies or a bag of chips to replenish those cravings. 
  5. Drink Water 
    • Many times we interpret thirst as hunger. So next time your hungry, try drinking a glass of water, you may not be as hungry as you think. 
  6. Get out of the kitchen 
    • Many times we open the fridge because we are B-O-R-E-D. 
    • Avoid the temptation by getting out of the kitchen. 
    • Go for a walk with your pets and family outside. Sometimes the fresh cool air is just the thing to make you feel full. 
Stopping her Sugar cravings! 
You can tell I had a lot of fun taking these pictures! 





















Till Next Time....
-Kate 

Sunday, December 22, 2013

Homemade Healthy Granola

Hey Everyone! 

This homemade granola recipe speaks for itself. It is not only an extremely healthy treat, its also simple to make! Hope you enjoy this recipe and share it with the ones you love this holiday! 

Mama Cody's Healthy Homemade Granola Recipe 

  • WET INGREDIENTS: 
  • 1/4 cup oil (Olive Oil, Coconut oil, or Canola oil)
  • 3/4 cup honey or Agave 
  • 3.5 tsp vanilla

  • DRY INGREDIENTS: 
  • 8 cups Whole Oats 
  • 2 tsp Cinnamon 
  • 1/2 tsp salt 
  • 1/2 cup sesame seeds or flax seeds
  • 1/2 cup wheat germ 

  • OPTIONAL: 
  • Apricots, Rasins, Coconut flakes, Banana chips 


  • DIRECTIONS:

  1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees 
  2. In a saucepan, heat the wet ingredients and stir over a low heat until fully combined 
  3. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl 
  4. Pour wet mixture over the dry mixture, making sure to coat it evenly
  5. Pour the mixture over two baking sheets. 
  6. Place both trays in oven and set the timer for 10 minutes. 
  7. Once the 10 minutes is up, stir both mixtures and switch the bottom pan with the top. 
  8. Place in oven for the last 10 minutes. 
  9. Remove trays and let them cool. 
  10. Once granola is fully cooled off, add your favorite fixes. I suggest slices of apricot and raisins, however my mom has added banana chips, chocolate chips, and even baked coconut slices. 

Check out the finished product!! 

This granola is a great morning treat and goes amazing with yogurt or even just some simple milk! 

We love hearing from you all so be sure to send us your granola creations, by adding #nateandkatefitness to your pictures on instagram!  

And enjoy the christmas season, Nate and Kate fitness style!!!

Till next time.....
-Kate 

Sunday, December 1, 2013

Beginner Full Upper Body Workout

Hey everyone!

I have been getting a lot of comments recently for a basic full upper body workout.
This is for anyone who is looking for a simple workout that will focus strictly on the upper body.
Give it a try and let us know what you think!


  • This entire workout should take approx. 1 hour. 
  • Complete 3 sets per exercise before moving onto the next exercise 
  • Stick with 10-12 reps per set. 
    • If your not sure what is an approperiate weight, the key is the last 2 reps of the set should be challenging. For example: If we are doing lat pull downs with 70 lbs and we are aiming for 12 reps, if at 10 reps it is easy, then by all means increase the weight for the next set.
  • Take 1 min break between sets, and 2 min break between exercises 
  • Ps DB stands for dumb bell 

Warm up: 

  • 10 min stairclimber (moderate speed) 

Back 

  • Wide grip lat pull downs 
  • DB rows 

Chest 

  • DB Incline Bench 
  • Machine flys 

Shoulders

  • Machine Military Press
  • DB Side Laterals 

Biceps 

  • Straight bar curls 
  • Seated DB Hammer curls (alternating sides) 

Triceps 

  • Bench Dips 
  • Cable Straight bar tricep extensions
Cool down: 

  • 5 min walk on low incline treadmill 
  • Foam roll 
Click on this if you want a clear demonstration of the exercises


Or let me know if you would like to see a full video of me demonstrating this workout!

Till Next time....

-Kate

This weeks motivation