Denise's Daily Dozen (56 page)

1.
Eat slowly. Chow down too fast and you can swallow too much air along with your food.

2.
Drink lots of water. It sounds contradictory, but drinking water actually helps flush extra fluid from your body. (This is especially helpful during that time of the month.)

3.
Steer clear of sugar substitutes. Though it’s not exactly clear why these may inflate your belly, avoid them if you can. Not only to keep your stomach flat but also because some studies show that eating low-cal artificial sweeteners actually makes people
gain
weight. Go figure!

4.
Don’t chew gum. It’s believed that you take in too much air when you chew gum, and that can fill your tummy. Also, some gums contain artificial sweeteners that are believed to puff you up.

5.
Go easy on the salt. This may sound easy, but even if you don’t reach for the saltshaker, lots of foods have hidden sodium in them. Make sure to read the Nutrition Label to see how much is lurking in your food. The American Heart Association recommends less than twenty-three hundred milligrams (one teaspoon) per day.

6.
Don’t sip from a straw. As with eating too fast and chomping on gum, you may gulp too much air when you sip from a straw.

7.
Avoid too many carbonated beverages. All the bubbles in your glass make their way inside your tummy.

8.
Drink mint or ginger teas. These spices are both reputed to help calm a too-full belly (as well as nausea).

9.
Sip hot water with a few squeezes of lemon. The hot water and citrus are thought to soothe your stomach.

10.
Take a brisk walk or do some other form of cardio exercise. Sometimes just getting physical gets things moving inside your tummy.

11.
Try some yoga poses. Like cardio workouts, yoga increases circulation, which can relieve the fluid buildup that causes bloating. One that’s believed to help: Lie on your back with your legs extended all the way up a wall.

12.
Eat foods that naturally flush water from the body, such as asparagus and grapefruit.

Elizabeth Clark,

37, housewife and aerobics instructor, Olive Branch, Mississippi

POUNDS LOST: 58

W
hen I decided that I wanted to lose weight, I bought Denise’s
Hit the Spot: Thighs, Arms,
and
Abs
videos. I had a lot of success with these tapes, but I needed more. So I started taping and doing her
Fit & Lite
and
Daily Workout
shows every day. After finding Denise’s website—and gaining the friendship, encouragement, and support from all the wonderful people there—I was encouraged to follow one of Denise’s three-week programs. I followed it to the letter and lost ten pounds. But even better were the inspirational Deniseologies and the positive energy that I gained every day. I learned that I am worth the time and effort to make myself a better person on the inside as well as the outside.

“Changing my eating habits from soda, fast food, and processed meals doesn’t mean I’m ‘giving up the good stuff’ and depriving myself. I eat what I want, but what I want has now changed. I choose healthier foods and I feel
great
—I’m energetic and satisfied, not tired and stuffed. I don’t miss all the junk. Because I feel so good, I’m out there enjoying life, instead of sitting in front of the television and feeling blah. Each month I set goals for myself, and, as a reward for reaching those goals, I buy a new Denise Austin video. I am up to around twenty-five videos so far, and love every one of them. Each one offers a new and different workout. I set a routine each Sunday night for three days of cardio and two days of strength training, with weekends being ‘whatever I feel like’ days. All of Denise’s books give me information in a plain and simple way that I—an everyday mother of three—can understand.

“I recently received my group instructor certificate to teach aerobics and am planning on getting my personal trainer’s certificate. My life has changed 180 degrees since I started with Denise Austin. The highlight was when I actually met Denise in person! She is truly as bubbly, sweet, happy, and caring in person as she comes across in her videos, books, and TV shows.”

If you recline, you decline. If you sit, you quit. If you don’t use it, you will lose it. And we need all the metabolism-boosting muscle we can get.

Saturday

W
elcome to the weekend! You deserve to feel good about the work you’ve put in on this plan so far. Keep it up this weekend and you’ll be thrilled at the results you see in the days to come. I know that every little bit of success will help spur you on and motivate you to keep going. It’s true that weekends can be tricky when it comes to healthy eating and exercise, because many of us want to relax a bit and our lives are less structured. Rather than work and school, outings may include parties, barbecues, or other food-centered get-togethers. But that’s the great thing about the Daily Dozen Plan. It’s made to work
with
your life and blend in seamlessly. You don’t have to rearrange your schedule to get in your twelve minutes of exercise. Just squeeze it in, do it, and move on. The good thing about this workout is that besides blasting fat and toning you up, it’ll give you the energy to enjoy your weekend even more. (Which is one reason I love to do it on a Saturday morning to help jump-start my day!)

SOOTHING SERENITY!

Stay mindful during your workout. Try not to allow yourself to think about any of your daily responsibilities—be these work, kids, or the laundry you need to deal with. Your exercise time is your time to just be. Focus on your breathing, your muscles, and your body. Let exercise do the work of meditation and soothe away any stress or tension. Celebrate your body and carry the calmness with you all day long!

MAKE IT SOCIAL!

Involving your family or friends in your exercise routine helps you to multitask. Invite your girlfriends to work out or meet them for a walk. And think of fun ways to get some cardio in while spending time with your family. I love playing tag with my daughters because it really gets my heart rate up, as does taking our Portuguese water dog, Madonna, on nightly walks after dinner.

Today you’ll be doing a really fun Athletic Kettlebell-Inspired Workout. Kettlebells are cast-iron weights that originated in Russia. They look sort of like a bowling ball with a handle and have been popular workout tools among serious athletes for decades. However, they’ve recently made their way into the hands of regular exercisers like you and me. Exercising with kettlebells can boost your endurance, strength, agility, and balance while also giving you an aerobic workout. I’ve thus taken some of the best moves from a kettlebell workout and tweaked them so that you can do them with the same hand weights that you’ve been using all along. For this workout, you’ll need five-pound weights, or eight pounds if you’re more advanced. This is a great introduction to kettlebells and perfect for the beginning or intermediate exerciser. (As you advance, you can always get yourself a pair of kettlebells if you’d like.)

O
nce you get in shape, you’ll be amazed at how many other goals you’ll want to achieve in your life. Fitness breeds enthusiasm!

The moves you’ll do today strengthen your muscles using controlled momentum. Because of the unique way that you’re holding and moving the weights, you’re challenging the muscles in a new way. For example, in the double-arm swing you’re holding a weight straight out in front of you at chest height and swinging it down and up using controlled momentum. When using kettlebells or your weights, the fulcrum (or pivot point) is different compared with other types of exercise tools, so you’re targeting—and challenging—your muscles in a new way. The swinging action also puts traction on the bones and muscles, which is a wonderful way to make them healthy and strong. Not only is this type of movement fun (when else do you actually get to swing weights around?), but you also get a cardio workout along with one that will tone you up. You’re strengthening the muscles surrounding your joints with low-impact movements that are neither jumping nor jarring.

Just like the Body Boot Camp Workout you did yesterday, this athletic kettlebell-inspired routine blends bouts of cardio movement with toning moves so you reap the benefits of interval training. Because you keep moving, it boosts your heart rate up to burn fat and calories, and sculpts and tones all the muscles from head to toe. It’s also a form of functional training, which means that you’re exercising your body and muscles the way you use them in real life. This makes it easier to do daily activities where you’re lifting, carrying, pushing, and pulling, and helps prevent injuries from these movements in your day-to-day life. Just do the best that you can each time you try this fun, athletic workout, and I promise you’ll see changes in your body and your life. You’ll see success whether it’s pounds shed, lower dress size, muscles sculpted, or all of the above! You’ll look awesome! I always say that when you finish a workout, you don’t simply feel better. You feel better about yourself. Today’s workout is proof positive of that. I promise!

THINK BIG PICTURE