Slow Cardio = Fat Burn

Now that I am all growns up, and have had access to many new types of fitness fads and phenomenoms, the last thing I want to do to burn fat is aimlessly mill away on the treadmill or elliptical. But I will attest to those Monday's when you know it is your best interest to start the week with a strong workout but all you really want to do is go home, sit on the couch and lust over your weekend past.

Enter In: Long, slow cardio.

When I first started (actively) engaging in post-collegiate exercise workouts I was doing what every woman, man, boy and girl do when they have not been to the gym in FOREVER...I convince myself that I will ease myself back into a workout. Do a little cardio Monday and Wednesday and Friday for a week and then when I get comfortable with the gym and the people, maybe I will take on the fitness floor...lift some weights..and pretend no one is looking at how bad my form is.

I was the queen of long, slow cardio and cannot say I was doing any better or less in the battle royal with the scale. So what was I doing wrong?

I spoke with Judy Gettner, a Tier 3 trainer at Equinox Franklin Street, when we were in our session today to get the scoop. Judy confirmed it is indeed a FACT: Long, slow cardio burns fat.

So why if so many of us, gym rats and novices alike, are banging away on treadmills, elliptical, or bikes do not see any real, tangible results? That we are being told intervals are the best way to burn fat? WHAT'S THE DEAL?!

1.) Check your nutrition (this is a blog for another day). Exercise is 20% and Nutrition is 80%. If you are eating like a IFBB fitness pro during the week and blowing calories on booze and fried food on the weekends **NEWSFLASH** you are not going to to lose weight (that was really a note to myself) and will probably maintain the size of your fat cells. Gotta check your portions and what type of ingredients/ sauces/ etc you are putting on your food too.

2.) Long, slow cardio only activates fat burning when your heart rate is in the Fat Burning Zone. Typically it is tough to monitor that. Whether that has to do with inaccurate equipment or just your own miscalculations. Read this article here: http://beta.active.com/articles/calculate-your-training-heart-rate-zones or I was recommended this handy little device (if you are willing to make the investment): FT60

If you keep your heart rate in that zone for at least 30 minutes, and you do this 2-3 times per week combined with interval workouts, classes, and strength training, you will definitely see results. If you decide this is the best thing since sliced bread and butter, GREAT! But do not do this every day if you are trying to tone up or increase muscle or lose weight. Your body will plateau and you will end up on Dead End Street.

*Disclaimer - I work with a lot of educated fitness professionals that provide me this enlightening information on a daily basis. I am not a personal trainer and by no means should my advice be relied on as end all. Each persons body is different. Consult a health professional before taking extreme fitness matters into your own hands!

Muesli- A Heart Healthy Breakfast!

Whatchyouknowabout Muesli? Other than it sounds like a Russian dictator...Probably not a lot. And why would you. Most of the time we make recipes from healthy mags or cookbooks and other than looking up certain unpronouncable ingredients, the typical cook won't delve into the origins.

Growing up you were probably told good pasta comes from Italy and stink-yummy cheese from France. But little did you know in the Swiss Alps a physcian was served up a breakfast dish that eventually became what we know today as Muesli. Pronounced: Mew-slee er like this: YouTube

Although I don't typically like to pull any factual information from Wikipedia, because anyone can edit the content, I am going to go out on a limb and hope that no one is fudging around with the story of Muesli. 

History

Muesli was introduced around 1900 by the Swiss physician Maximilian Bircher-Benner for patients in his hospital,^[1] where a diet rich in fresh fruit and vegetables was an essential part of therapy. It was inspired by a similar "strange dish" that he and his wife had been served on a hike in the Swiss Alps. Bircher-Benner himself referred to the dish simply as "d'Spys" (Swiss German for "the dish", inGerman "die Speise"). Muesli in its modern form became popular in western countries starting in the 1960s as part of increased interest in health food and vegetarian diets.Traditional muesli was eaten with orange juice and not milk.

Wikipedia goes on to tell us how there is the dry prepackaged version and the fresh version. Which is the reason I am tittlating you with all these Muesli facts! Today I made my own version of Muesli from a receipe I saved from the April 2011 issue of Oxygen Magazine.

Let me start by saying that you are supposed to prepare this recipe and allow for it to settle overnight in the refridgerator. I completely skipped this part and dove straight in. I am sure it may taste better given that overnight experience, so do what you like. 

What I like about this particular recipe is that it is NOT like the traditional Muesli Dr. Bircher-Benner was noshing on.

Ingredients:

1 Cup Fresh Mixed Berries
1 Cup Gluten-Free Extra Thick Rolled Oats
1 Tbsp Blue Agave
1 Cup Low-fat Cottage Cheese or Greek Yogurt
1 Tbsp Crushed Almonds
1 Tsp Cinnamon

I did not take a picture of all the ingredients because I am slacking...I made it and then ate it! It was that good. Yum.

I was so excited about it, I forgot to plate it like the picture!
By the way- it makes 2 servings.