I mean, I still can bang out 15 weighted burpees no problem and my personal workout program has been described as “brutal,” but it feels way more brutal than it used to.

And then this morning I saw this study from the Journal of Eating Disorders – I’m not just fat, I’m old: has the study of body image overlooked “old talk”? — and I decided to shut up about feeling, um, not as young as I once did.

It seems that all our lives, we women talk about feeling “fat.” And then as we age we talk about feeling “old” — both types of talk are seen as evidence of body dissatisfaction, according to the researchers. From the study itself: “Research indicates that body dissatisfaction is correlated with and often predictive of both physical and mental health problems.”

Ick! Who wants THAT?

I’ve been thinking lately — as I listen to clients and same-aged friends, and sometimes even myself — that part of being a woman is to mentally beat on oneself for not measuring up to the thin/young ideal. We need to stop that, because it’s making our feelings about our bodies worse. The more we talk to ourselves about it, the more we buy into those negative feelings.

This is the first real study into “old” talk, as researchers had previously focused on what they called “fat” talk. This study, conducted by researchers from Trinity University and University of the West of England, surveyed nearly 1,000 women ranging in age from 18 to 87.

They found that while both types of negative talk (about being fat or old) occurred throughout women’s lives, not surprisingly, “fat talk” appeared to be a younger woman’s topic and became less frequent with age, while “old talk” increased.

According to this study, “‘old’ talk was significantly correlated with body image disturbance and eating disorder pathology.”

My takeaway: Aging is part of life, if we’re lucky. There’s nothing we can do about it. Things change, things fall away, and that’s the natural order of life. I’m thinking there are lots of lessons ahead, and let’s vow to learn them with grace, yes?

Of course, we’ll be learning these lessons while still — when our body wants to — running laps (either mentally or physically) around the whippersnappers, right?

Maxwell being a good boy on the stability ball

Somehow along the way I have managed to bring two rescue dogs into my life. They have become my posse, following me everywhere I go, even when I’m at work. They watch people lifting weights, running on the treadmill, and they even lie next to the stage when I’m teaching Zumba. They’re no strangers to the workout scene.

But one of these pups is getting old — Maxwell is going to be 11 in March, and although he’s healthy, he is also noticeably aging. In addition to his graying boxer mug, he has developed degenerative myelopathy, an incurable progressive disease of his spinal cord. He’s basically losing control of his back end, a slow process, but it’s getting markedly worse, and he’s lost a lot of muscle in his rear legs and hips. To top if off, he has pretty serious arthritis in his “good” (i.e., less affected by the disease) hip.

But even so, there’s still a lot of life in the old boy: Maxwell loves to ride in the car, cuddle, and flirt with women (he’s a ladies’ dog, through and through).

After a lot of prodding from one of my personal training clients (thank you!), I ended up taking Max to the vet for rehab. I was wary and worried that it was a waste of time and money, but I’m no longer. It’s kind of strange how skeptical I was about this whole business, especially since I spend my days helping people build muscle and get stronger and fitter.

Since working on building his stamina and muscles, Max’s quality of life is much improved. It’s true his disease will continue to progress, something I witness weekly, but since working with Heather at Veazie Veterinary’s rehab and wellness center, he’s a happier dog.

During his workouts, he walks on the underwater treadmill, which allows his body to be more buoyant so there’s not so much pressure on his joints, but also provides resistance to build leg, hip and core muscles. He uses the wobble board, walks the agility ladder, and even gets on the dreaded stability ball (which isn’t a ball, really, but more like a giant inflated peanut). He sits down and gets up (squats!) over and over again. And he gets to eat lots and lots of bits and pieces of treats in the process, slobbering his boxer slobber all over the place.

And the other thing is, it’s always fun to go there, to see him get better at his skills, and to see his thought processes at work. I’m not going to have him forever, and it’s good to know there’s a way to make the most of the time that’s left. Look at him having fun and feeling proud of himself!

Researchers from three collaborating universities conducted the study, which involved 420 overweight participants who followed a 20-week weight-loss treatment program in Spain. The study participants self-selected the timing of their main meal of the day, either before or after 3 p.m. They ate 40 percent of their total daily calories at this meal.

Those who ate their big meal after 3 p.m. lost significantly less weight than those who ate earlier in the day, plus they lost that weight more slowly and had lower estimated insulin sensitivity, which is a risk factor for diabetes.

The timing of their other, smaller meals didn’t seem to play a role in weight loss, according to researchers, but late eaters were more likely to skip breakfast or eat fewer calories at their first meal. For a fuller explanation, check out this article.

Takeaway: eat most of your calories earlier in the day! Although we don’t know the exact mechanisms at work here (researchers also looked at sleep, total calorie intake, and the hunger hormones ghrelin and leptin — but none of them seemed to play a role), it kind of makes sense: if you eat your calories early in the day you have more chance of burning them off during the day.

What’s the old saying? Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, supper like a pauper. Sounds like great advice!

Bear in mind that this study was conducted on a small group — 12 physically active men.

The men did a treadmill workout at 10 a.m., either after they had eaten breakfast or without eating since the night before. After the workout, they were given a chocolate milkshake recovery drink. Later, they were provided a pasta lunch and were told to eat until they felt comfortable full. Researchers then assessed their consumption of energy and fat, including the amount of energy and fat burned during exercise.

Not only did the fasted group burn 20 percent more fat during exercise, they didn’t eat any extra calories to make up the shortfall — and they didn’t experience increased appetite.

So it seems there’s more evidence that fasted cardio can give a boost toward fat loss. However, here’s a catch: some studies show that women can experience increased appetite as a result of exercise and can subconsciously eat extra calories without realizing it, which offsets any weight loss they might experience.

My practical non-laboratory/real-world takeaway? If you like to do your cardio in fasted state first thing in the morning, go for it! But if fat (or weight) loss is a goal, still be aware of your calorie intake because unless you create a calorie deficit, that scale isn’t going to budge.

A study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research showed that when football players were told to focus on specific muscle groups when lifting weights, those muscles showed up to 26 percent more activity, depending how heavy the weights were.

The researchers, from the University of South Carolina Upstate in Spartanburg, S.C., found that during moderate lifts (at 50 percent of a person’s maximum one-repetition strength), the response was more significant than during heavier lifts (at 80 percent of their one-repetition max).

As a trainer, I find this fascinating because so many of my new clients need to be specifically instructed about what muscles to use when they are first start working out. Once they make the mind-body connection, they get stronger (and fitter) much faster. I’m sure there are lots of other things at play here, including nervous system response, as the body learns new movements, but it’s cool to see that the mind-body connection really exists.

So next time you hit the bench for chest day (bench press was one of the exercises included in the study), put your mind into those pec muscles and you’ll really ignite them.

It’s the time of year when we hereby resolve to do something: lose weight, change careers, make more money, learn a language. That’s cool, because part of life is moving forward and improving ourselves.

Forward momentum gives us confidence and what psychologists call “self-efficacy,” or our belief in our own ability to do things — basically, to kick butt and take names. I find that self-efficacy has a snowball effect — the more you accomplish, the more you believe you can accomplish. I see it all the time with my training clients.

It isn’t cool when we give up on our goals and resolutions and get down on ourselves for being failures, yet again. That’s like the opposite of self-efficacy, when you look at everyone else’s fabulous life and start to believe you don’t deserve fabulousness. You do. You just have to teach yourself some new tricks to make it happen.

One of those tricks is to be specific about what you’re moving toward and — importantly — making it something you actually have control over. For instance, say your resolution is “start exercising” or “go to the gym.”

What does that mean, exactly? Those statements are kind of vague, aren’t they?

We need to nail those resolutions down so that they are quantifiable.

For illustration, here’s one of my 2013 resolutions. The reality is, I want to build up my shoulders and tighten my lower body for my upcoming competition season. But I really can’t measure that and assure that it will happen. Instead, I have resolved to complete at least 200 workouts during the year. For me, that’s an achievable goal, as it entails just under 4 workouts a week for 50 weeks (two weeks off!). Given the wacky nature of my vocation, which occasionally calls for unplanned workouts, that’s a realistic number.

What’s important to note is that this is a quantifiable, measurable goal — it’s based on some action that I specifically am going to take and, barring illness or injury, I am in full control of achieving.

Say you want to lose weight, and decide that you’re going to lose 10 pounds by Valentine’s Day. On paper, this looks pretty realistic. However, this kind of weight-loss goal can be tricky because you don’t necessarily have control over the scale. What you can control is your behavior — what you eat and how much exercise you get.

To lose 10 pounds in 8 weeks, you need to create a 625 calorie deficit per day (burn 625 calories more than you eat). (Here’s the math: 10 pounds equals 35,000 calories. Divide those calories into 8 weeks, and it comes down to 4,375 calories a week, or 625 a day.) So instead of trying to resolve what the scale is going to do, instead choose to use an online diet calculator like myfitnesspal.com to help create that deficit and voila! you’re making that resolution happen, whether the scale agrees or not.

I’m also cooking up some resolutions that have to do with writing (my book is coming out next month! yay!) and having fun.

What are you hoping to accomplish in 2013? What steps are you planning to take?

Modified single-leg squats: Stand on a bench or platform (optional — you also can do this from the floor, but it’s a little more challenging), with one foot on the platform. Bend supporting knee into a squat position, lifting and lowering. I tell my clients to pretend they’re standing on a dock at a lake at the end of May, dipping their toe in the water to see if it’s cold — you don’t want to fall in! Do 8 to 12 repetitions on each side.

Twisting planks: Get into a plank position on the floor, your hands directly below shoulders. From here, lift your right arm toward the ceiling, twisting your entire torso, your eye gaze following your hand. Repeat on the other side, alternating sides for a total of 10 repetitions each.

Resistance band walk: Stand in the middle of a resistance band, holding ends firmly at your hips. Step out to the right, being careful to keep foot pointed straight ahead (or better yet, toe in slightly). Step your left foot toward your right foot. Continue in this manner for 15 to 20 steps to the right, and then repeat toward the left.

Jump squats: Stand with feet a little wider than shoulder-distance apart. Squat down and then jump up, landing back on the floor with soft knees — the jumps should be spring-like and deliberate. Repeat for 10 to 15 repetitions.

In fact, when I tell my small group training clients, “You don’t need any equipment today,” they groan, because they know they have a sweaty workout ahead of them. (Of course, when I add phrases like: “You will be using your own body as a weapon against yourself,” it doesn’t help. Heh.)

Exercises using only your body weight are the latest “old-is-new” trend, according to the American Council on Sports Medicine. Back in the day, these exercises were called “calisthenics.” The word itself, calisthenic, denotes what you can gain from this kind of workout. The word originates from the Greek, kalli-, beautiful (from kallos, or beauty), and sthenos, or strength.

What are some examples of body weight exercises? Pushups, lunges, burpees, prisoner squats, planks, ab bicycles, triceps dips, mountain climbers, wall sits … there’s a seemingly endless list.

Here’s a quickie body weight workout specifically designed to get the most bang for your workout buck, torching calories and building strength and stamina. The only equipment you need is an iPod to play motivating music.

Warm up with a brisk 5-minute walk and then hit the following routine with intention …

Walking lunges, 15 each side
Pushups, 10
Ab bicycles (lie on back, bring knee to opposite elbow), 25 each side
Bodyweight squat, 20
Mountain climbers, 20 each side
Plank, 30 to 60 seconds
Side lunges, 10 each side
Plank with foot tap (from plank position, hold body steady as you tap your left foot to the side and return it to center, and alternate sides), 10 each side
Burpees, 10
Brisk walk, 60 seconds
Rest
Repeat 3 times through, and then cool down with another 5 minute walk.

Yes, muscle does burn more calories over the course of a day than fat. But no one really knows for sure — yet — how many, and studies are showing the numbers aren’t as high as we originally thought. In fact, dating as far back as 2006 (which is eons ago, in the ever-changing world of fitness and nutrition!), one key study showed that muscle (at rest) burned only about 7 to 10 calories per pound per day, compared to the 2 or 3 calories per pound of day for fat.

I spent a good amount of time looking for the most recent studies into these numbers and they were all over the place. When in doubt, I always look to the experts, and the best article I could find was this one, which is where the above numbers come from.

But know this: if you lift weights with intensity in a well-designed program (not stopping to gab with friends or frequently check yourself out in the mirror), you can burn upwards of 300 calories in a 45-minute weight-training workout. I burn that many, even at my relatively petite size. Remember — the bigger you are, the more calories you burn just sitting there. And beyond the immediate calorie burn, you’re doing some amazing things for your health:

• building metabolically active tissue that can help improve your body’s sensitivity to glucose (a great thing for long-term health!),
• improving bone density,
• reducing the signs and symptoms of chronic conditions including arthritis, back pain, depression, diabetes, obesity and osteoporosis,
• boosting balance, agility, and mobility,
• gaining strength, and
• aesthetically, muscle takes up less room than fat — which means at the same weight but carrying more muscle, you can fit into smaller jeans.

So please join me in the weight room — but don’t be led to believe that suddenly you’ll pack on 5 pounds of muscle and burn the equivalent of a glazed donut every day.

For years experts have been preaching the merits of “fasted” cardio — workouts done first thing in the morning, before breakfast — for blasting fat. The basic theory behind the no-food-before-exercising rule went as follows: your body is already running a bit of a calorie deficit when you wake up in the morning since it’s been so long since you last ate, so any exercise you do would require dipping into fat stores for fuel. And when you think about it, that sort of makes sense.

Except that’s not the case. According to a study published in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, people who eat breakfast actually burn more calories both 12 and 24 hours after their morning cardio workouts, which means more fat calories, too.

This news comes as something of a relief and, selfishly, I hope it stops people from hitting the gym before they eat something. Over the years I’ve had to rescue several clients and gym members who felt dizzy and sick when their blood sugar plummeted after working out on an empty stomach. Not the greatest way for them to start their day, and it was kind of scary for me, too, until I figured out I just needed to give them something to eat.

My dog Max naps nearby while I spend some time on a cardio machine.

Here are the study details: Researchers in Italy measured oxygen consumption in people who either exercised before eating (fasted) or after eating (fed) a standard Mediterranean breakfast. Oxygen consumption is a measure of energy expenditure — basically, the more oxygen being consumed the greater the macronutrients that are being used, which means a higher caloric burn. During both time frames, the fed group showed higher oxygen consumption, and, therefore, higher calorie burns.

So, eat before you work out! But what should you eat? Anything you can easily digest and that won’t weigh you down. That could mean a protein shake, a bowl of cereal, or maybe a banana smeared with peanut butter. Experiment and see what works best for you — when I teach a double-header of group exercise classes first thing in the morning, I find that either a protein shake with added fruit or a light “regular” meal (say, a couple ounces of turkey breast with some sweet potatoes) holds me best and doesn’t upset my stomach. Yogurt (for me and many of my clients) tends to be a no-no before a vigorous workout. But your mileage may vary.

A well-fueled workout is a results-getting workout — just remember that if you’re trying to lose weight, those pre-workout calories still count!