Day 22 of our Paleo Challenge

Today is Day 22 = January 25th of our 30 day Paleo Challenge. Today you will post your success from Sunday 1/24/16.

Since we are almost near the end - please share with us how you feel? Are you meeting your goals that you set for yourself?

Under the E = points please share with us what you  have been doing to earn the 2 points.

Fitness Challenge Begins Today.

You will perform As many Up-Up-Down-Down Planks as possible today. For every 10 completed up-up-down-down  you will record 1 point. 10=1 Record and Report your scores tonight before midnight. Try and stay as consistent as possible with this task. 

Along with this challenge you will perform  Wall Sits. You will hold the wall sit as long as possible and rest when you need to. When you are resting the clock stops...and restarts when you get back down into your wall sit. For every 5 minutes of wall sitting you will record 1 point. 5=1 Report your scores tonight before midnight. 

You are all Winners!

Paleo Challenge Points Jan 2016

Day 18 of our Paleo Challenge

Welcome to Day 18 of your 30 day Paleo Challenge. Today January 21st you will record your points from 1/20/16 by Midnight. (As a reminder I will not except posts after Midnight) 

Tell us how many ounces of water you drank yesterday.

15 reasons to start your day with lemon water READ ON

If you are eating Lara Bars - skip them....give these a try? Raw Coconut, Orange and Date Bars with Pink Himalayan Salt - by Healing Family Eats

SQUATS!!! Today you will squat 1000 times. For every 2 squats = 1 point. You will squat a 1000 times for a total of 500 points. Be sure to post your scores by midnight tonight! GOOD LUCK!

Hiring a Trainer

Did my first competition and it was a doozy. 

I cannot thank my family and friends for all of their support during this time - it was a life learning process and I am ever so grateful for the love and encouragement I received. I am overflowing with gratitude.

If you receive The Independent News then you have seen my Fitness Corner. I have been writing for our local paper for a long time. Here is my November article.

Hiring a Trainer

Hiring a personal trainer is serious business; at least I think it is. You are going to show yourself on your first date and many more dates after that. This is who you will tell when you get engaged, get a raise…or get fired.  This is the person who will see you in all of your glory so chose wisely this is your new trainer.

Do your homework. Ask around there are a lot of trainers out there. Do you want a man or a woman? That might depend on your comfort level.  If looks matters to you get someone with a look you can trust. Go ahead and conduct a fairly formal, interview. Use specific, preplanned questions. Ask yourself whether this particular trainer would motivate you to get the results you want. Would you feel encouraged by him/her? Do they have that certain charm necessary to help you reach your goals? If you answer no to any of these questions, keep searching.

Are credentials important? “Certified” means the trainer learned a lot and was able to pass the exam. According to Gunnar Peterson, CSC, CPT “having a certification doesn’t make them a good or bad trainer, there are plenty of certified trainers I would not train with.” Do you want someone who has their on-line certification framed on the wall, or someone who has roamed the weight room since the dawn of time? There is no right or wrong answer; these are questions you need to ask yourself before hiring your personal trainer. Gunner says, “There are also time tested trainers who learned the field before certifications even existed, and I would be honored to train with them”.

The age of your trainer might be important to you. The appearance of your trainer might have something to do with your choices. Bottom line this is about you and your comfort level. Find someone who makes you show up and drives you to work hard once you get there.

original source

Day 19 of our Paleo Challenge

Today September 19th you will post your points from Thursday 9/18.

OKay Challengers I have had several of you post Ham and Jerky on your menu. We have yet to find jerky with out sugar unless you are making it from scratch - the same with Ham. There are only a few options with bacon and no sugar.  So I am wondering if you are reading your labels? Sure those are generally a very clean healthy food choice but for this challenge any sugar of any kind is a no-no. So be kind and read your labels and share with us what brand of jerky or ham you are eating and let us know. Remember the all or nothing rule applies.

To Salt or Not to Salt

Recently one of my family members suffered a heart attack. He is recovering well, but has modified his diet, specifically his salt intake. The drastic reduction of sodium can be just as harmful as consuming large amounts of it. Too little can cause spasms, irregular heart rhythms, sudden death and even increase the risk of heart attack in hypertensive patients. Understanding the role sodium plays in the body, and the difference between "good" and "bad" sources of sodium, will help you get the bad salt out of your diet while still satisfying your body’s need for a source of high quality sodium.

The FDA recommends 2500 mg. The Institute of Medicine recommends 1500 mg per day.  of However according the CDC Americans from the age of 2 on up consumes more than 3000 mg per day of sodium.

There is no question however that our bodies need salt. Salt is necessary to retain hydration, carry babies to term, regulate blood sugar, contributes to a healthy thyroid, acts like an antihistamine, and helps with sleep.

Understanding the different kinds of salt is worth exploring.

1. Table salt is only sodium and chloride usually mined from rock salt or seawater. It then has the other naturally occurring minerals stripped from it which are often sold to vitamin companies at a premium price. This refining results in a bitter taste, which is one reason for the fillers, including dextrose (good old corn sugar).
2. Sea Salt is again sodium chloride and ultimately came from a sea at some point, all salt is sea salt. The label “sea salt” is a marketing strategy to convince you to pay higher price for health food. White Sea salt is no healthier than table salt.
3. Unrefined Sea Salt such as Himalayan Salt, Celtic Sea Salt, and Real Salt have 84 different minerals in it, instead of TWO. Unrefined Sea Salt will be colorful, shades of pink, brown, or grey depending upon the source. We cannot deny that unrefined sea salt provides a natural balance of minerals that keeps us healthy instead of making us sick.

Give your body what it craves, and don’t be afraid to use salt when cooking. If you are eating real food (food that doesn’t require a label) you are probably not getting enough salt in your diet to begin with.

Original Source Can Be Found Here at The Independent News

I Love Burpees

I love Burpees If you have little to no time to exercise – I have your answer, Do Burpees! It is the one exercise that rules them all. There is a reason why football teams. CrossFit practitioners, and elite military forces all use the burpee in their workouts. This one movement tests both your strength and aerobic capacity. In fact Burpee was one of the exercises listed as the top 10 fitness trends of 2014. You can read that list here

The benefits of a burpee are as follows:

Strength. The burpee is a full body strength training exercise. Each repetition will work your arms, chest, shoulders, biceps, triceps, legs, and abs.

Fat Burning. Studies have shown that high intensity movements, like the burpee, burn up to 50% more fat than conventional exercises. Burpees will speed up your metabolism and help you burn more calories. Get off the dreadmill and start doing some burpees.

Free. There are no fancy gizmos, classes or gym memberships required to perform a burpee. All you need is your body, and a floor space.

Portable. You can do this exercise anywhere. Hotel room, in a park, rest stop, and at your in-laws.

To perform a basic burpee, follow these steps:

• Begin in a squat position, feet are flat on the floor, and your hands on the floor just in front of you.
• Kick your feet back to a pushup position.
• Do a full push-up.
• Immediately return your feet to the squat position.
• Jump up as high as possible from the squat position.

Perform the burpee in a quick succession to get the full benefits they are famous for.

Simple Burpee workouts:

• As many Burpees as possible in 2 minutes. 5 minutes. Dare attempt 7 minutes.
• Tabata Style Burpees. 20 seconds of Burpees, 10 seconds of rest until you have done 8 rounds.
• The Burpee Ladder. Start with 10 burpees, rest 60 seconds. 9 burpees, rest 60 seconds, and so on until you have reached 1 burpee
• Get the hubby and kids involved. See how many burpees you can perform during the commercials of your favorite television show.

Get off the couch and perform some burpees. Let me know how you did.

Original Sited Article can be found in The Independent Newspaper

Scale Weight

 

“HELP!” the scale won’t budge!

I hear this often from clients, and first I want to acknowledge that scale weight can be disappointing. You work so hard day after day, and then you step onto the scale only to discover no progress. My question to you is this: “Have you really made the small changes required to your weight loss success plan?” Here are a few things that I would recommend that you do:

1. Drink more water. Your muscles are made up of mostly protein and water. Water is a natural source your body craves. Water will help you lose weight.
2. Eliminate Diary. Dairy can cause inflammation in the gut.  Inflammation causes bloating, gas, and water retention. Switch over to almond milk or coconut milk both has natural healing properties.
3. Eat more Veggies. Vegetables have healing properties our body’s desire.  Try having a salad for lunch and dinner. Add veggies to your eggs or to your breakfast shake.
4. Eat breakfast. Eat it every day. Your metabolism is a furnace. A balance of protein and carbohydrates will keep it burning hot all day long.
5. Cut back on the caffeine. Mix ½ caffeine and ½ decaf to your cup. I am the first to admit that I am caffeine junky, but caffeine can cause insulin spikes and blood sugar crashes. All of which can lead to eating poorly and added weight gain.
6. Speed up your workouts. Get off the ‘Dread-Mill’. Try interval, or Tabata training.
7. Hire a Personal Trainer. They can help you with short and long term goals, re-motivate you, and bring new ideas to your training program.
8. Skip the cold cereal. Enjoy eggs, sausage, bacon, or a protein smoothie.
9. Skip alcohol. You will sleep better and have more energy in the morning.
10. Leave the breads, pastas, rice, crackers, and chips behind. Processed carbohydrates cause insulin spikes, leaving you with a tired-sluggish feeling.
11. Eat more fruit. Fruit is a natural energy source and packed with vitamins. Shoot for 3 cups a day.
12. Skip Starbucks. Your body and pocket book will thank you.
13. Write it all down. Truth lies in the words written.
14. Throw away the SCALE! Measure progress with inches lost and body mass index testing. As always I give free group personal training to anyone who wants to come in and turn in their scale.

Abs Are Made in the Kitchen

You may have heard that slogan,but what does it actually mean? I see so many people work out long hours every day, hours of cardio, a hundred crunches, and for what – to obtain that 6-pack stomach. Maybe you are saying to yourself, ‘hey that’s me and I don’t have a six-pack’. It is simple – you cannot out train a bad diet. Seventy percent of fat burning success comes from the kitchen. So what type of diet should you follow if you are looking to maximize your results? I am going write out a daily diet plan aimed at maximum fat loss; a diet that will produce fat loss from the WHOLE body including the abdominal region.

Breakfast: Option 1: 3 whole eggs combined with veggies Option 2: Lean meats combined with a serving of fruit or veggies like my egg-less scramble. Option 3: Protein Smoothie

Snack: ¼ cup of nuts combined with 1 cup of fruit or veggies Lunch: 4 - 6 ounces of lean meats along with 3 - 4 cups of veggies Snack: Repeat your early morning snack Dinner: 4 - 6 ounces of lean meats along with 3 - 4 cups of veggies as well as a serving of fruit Optional Snack: Berries and Nuts, or a scoop of whey before bed. Drink several liters of water a day, ingest a good fish oil, keep the protein high, and ingest carbohydrates mostly from veggies. Fats and Fruits are to be eaten in moderation and refined sugars on occasion.

Focus on compound movements in the gym (spot reducing doesn't work!) Give yourself 2 full rest days and be sure your body gets 7 or more hours a sleep a day. Now get off the couch and get into the kitchen.

Original Source

Read Steve O's Success Story

Consistency

I continue to pursue my passion of health and nutrition, I am a fitness nut – and in the last 15 years health and nutrition really has not changed all that much. Of course there are new fades, new modalities, and new designer names….but what health and nutrition boils down to is consistency. “You are not going to be successful if you are inconsistent.” apply it to any goal you seek in life – short or long term.  So I can hear you saying to me “but it is hard!” I can’t agree more –when you want to achieve something bad enough, when you want to beat the statistics, when you are ready to change your behaviors and become consistent you will be successful.

For example, the number #1 question that I am asked consistently, “how do I lose weight?” I think about this all the time. Bottom line, it is not easy. Several tasks must be taken; each task must be done routinely and consistently. You must be willing to change your physical behaviors, willingness to devote time, change your conversation, and work hard. Here are a few tasks to get you started.

Consistency = Success

• Journal every day! This is probably the most daunting of all tasks – however this is a task that does not have to be done forever. Every bite counts!
• Weight and Measure your food for a couple of weeks. This will guide you to an understanding of portions and what a serving actually looks like.
• Buy fresh as often as possible.
• Get moving. Squats, Lunges, Sit-ups, Push-ups, Walk, Run or Slog up a SWEAT!
• Water. It is what our bodies are mostly made of – therefore our bodies require large amounts of water every day.
• Find a balance between life and YOU!

Emotions in Check

Have you ever wanted something so badly that you would do anything and everything to accomplish it? For those of us who have children; as parents we support, encourage, and push our children to do their best and perform optimal in hopes they finish with a high score/grade. As a parent I hope my children want that for themselves as well.

So how would this be any different for yourself?

By now your telling yourself "I stop at nothing to make it (what ever it is) happen"

So with that said; You must be ready - EMOTIONALLY - you must want to stop at nothing to change a habit, to change your behaviors.

So how bad do you want it?