Stick to love.

Too many people criticize and judge more than they should. Rarely do people take the time anymore to make sure what they are doing or saying is out of love. Love is a powerful thing, more powerful than some people realize. Self love, love for others, love of the job, love for your country, love for God, and so many other forms of love shape our lives and we don't even recognize it as love most of the time. 

Often times when we get hurt from a result of love we shut ourselves off from the idea. Loving someone or having someone love us becomes scary. Sometimes we even stop loving ourselves because we feel such rejection. I know from personal experience I'm very stand offish(when it comes to love) and don't put myself in situations where "love can happen". I have that hand stretched so far out that no one can get close enough to love(hurt) me again. Maybe one day someone will come into my life and hold that stretched out hand until I fell safe enough to put it down but until then the hand is out. Just because I was hurt by someone I thought loved me as much as I loved them doesn't mean my love for myself ever changed. I found this quote about self love “Encourage yourself, believe in yourself, and love yourself. Never doubt who you are.”  - Stephanie Lahart.  I think that is such a true statement and everyone should live by it. No matter what happens or who hurts you be your own cheerleader and own motivator and always believe and love yourself enough to keep going. Once you have that self love you can conquer the world! Nothing will stand in your way and down the road when you are healed from the "pain of love" you will give it another try. It doesn't have to be from relationship with a husband/wife or girlfriend/boyfriend, it could have been a friend or family member. Could be someone at school always trying to tear you down and make you not feel loved.  Just remember the person that hurt you with love is probably suffering from not feeling love as well. 

Seeing  this post was all about love I figure I'll give you a workout to get rid of those love handle!

30 sec. Russian twist

30 sec. mountain climbers

Standing oblique side crunch (add weights if needed)-15 each side

Side plank dips- 12 each side

30 bicycles

30 sec jump planks

repeat 3x

More to come,

       Stay Fabulous!

Buddy System.

When we are in elementary school we are on a buddy system so we do not get lost in our daily activities and for safety reasons. (Not sure what safety another elementary student can provide if something happens but that's why the system is in place). Same should apply when working out. You should have someone that has the same passion and drive as you to help keep you motivated and keep your workouts fun. It also gives you someone to talk when it comes to fitness and nutrition. You can always tell the difference when talking to people who understand what you are talking about and the ones that are just hearing what you say. I like to surround myself with like minded people. I can talk about new fitness or nutritional information I have just learned about or simply give my input about something brought up. Makes me feel good and listened to. On the same note I really do enjoy talking with people that truly are interested in learning. So make sure you find a workout partner or buddy or even a personal trainer. Those are the people that will help you through this journey you are on. The never ending journey of living a healthy and fit life.

I work at a fitness and nutritional store in MI right now. It's crossfit and Paleo based but offers other fitness and nutritional needs. I love it because it keeps me surrounded with like minded people. I left there today feeling so happy. It really is a mood booster to keep yourself in the circle of your interest. Another way to do that is to join a group close to where you live. All you have to do is look up whatever interest you and you will find it! Don't wait start now, go find a group to join and see how your life changes.


Today I'm going to throw you a challenge. I'll do this from time to time so be on the look out.
Challenge: 100 burpees, 100 push ups. I don't care how you do them. you can break them up throughout the day or do them all at once (if you can do 100 all at once I will have mad respect).

More to come,
      Stay Fabulous!

Stretch It Out

Stretching is very important. Most people either forget to or just don't want to. It's a must if you want to prevent injury. When you stretch out before your workout you are warming up the muscles and getting them ready for what you are about to do. Just like when you are cooking you are suppose to preheat the oven. Same thing, you need to preheat your body before exercise! It also increases flexibility, give your body a recharge, and relaxes the mind.

 Stretching after a workout is important as well. You want to get those muscles that are tight to loosen up. To perform properly you need to be well stretched. Another reason for after workout stretches is to elevate soreness. That good pain after your workout can get pretty intense at times and stretching will help. It may hurt so bad that you think it's doing more harm than good but I promise it is helping!! So make sure you are stretching and if you need some ideas for what stretches to do for certain body parts you can ask here or just type pre-workout  stretches in your search engine and it will bring them up for you! I have posted a few good stretches here so make sure to do them too.

More to come,
     Stay Fabulous!
   

Pump Up the Protein!

I often have people ask me what other foods besides meats can give them protein. I will list many but not all. There are so many ways to get the nutrients that you need. You want to make sure to always have a balanced diet. You want to break it up into percentages. Example would be 50% Carbs, 35% Protein, 15% Fats. Now that's just an example, you can adjust those numbers to meet your nutritional needs. To figure out your exact protein needs take your weight_______ X 0.38 = _______g Protein Per Day.

(Example of percentages)

A lot of times people just think protein means the meat portion of their meal and that just isn't true. Using the example above they would think they needed to have 35% of their meal to be just meat. Not true. In this list you will see options other than meat that can get you to whatever percentage is needed for your protein needs. The items I jotted down before starting this post are just items I eat on a regular bases. There are many more options out there so please don't think it's limited to these items only. 

                                                    

PROTEIN OTHER THAN MEAT:

quinoa, avocados, broccoli, kale, spinach, nuts (pistachios, cashews, pecans, peanuts, almonds), nut butters (peanut, almond ), chickpeas some people refer to them as garbanzo beans, lentils, mushrooms, black berries, oatmeal, asparagus, brown rice, sprouts, chia seeds, peas, and coconuts.

That's a lot of options! Between meats and the list I just gave I'm sure you can do a lot with that! Many times I am told "I feel so restricted by eating healthy/clean" but I never truly understand when people say that. They are trying to use that as an excuse but that doesn't work with me. No matter what the excuse I can show you how you CAN do it or make it happen. I had one client that said "I'm going to stop telling you my struggles because you always come back with a way to get around it". I told that person I was glad to hear that because as long as they gave excuses I would give ways to make it happen. The phrase no excuses is really true. Excuses make me laugh honestly. I hope this list helps you and you are able to incorporate the right amount of protein in several different ways. 

More to come, 

      Stay Fabulous!

Never Ever EVER Give Up!

No matter what don't give up. You can change your goal never ever EVER give up. Once you give up you give up hope. There will always be people who try to bring you down but allow them to give you strength to do better. To prove them wrong. To show everyone you CAN do what you set out to do! Have hope and keep going. You may end up going down a different path once you get started but stay with it and always finish!

More to come,
     Stay Fabulous!

Water Water Everywhere!

Personally I drink water all day long. Besides coffee(and even that is made from water) its the only thing I drink. I drink it for many reasons. It makes my thirst go away, it's refreshing, cleans out waste, doesn't make me feel bloated, helps with my skin, my digestion, and many more. I do not add those packets to give my water flavor because just about every one of them has aspartame. THAT STUFF IS HORRIBLE, avoid it at all cost. If you are wondering what I would suggest as a healthy flavor add in I would say fresh fruit. Cut it up freeze it and use it as ice in your water and it give great taste. Even with bottled water. Cut the pieces small enough to fit in the top. Another option would be lemon or lime juice.

 Here is a silly picture of some of the benefits of water. 

These aren't all the benefits of water for your body but they give you a good idea of why you should drink more. I will add links at the bottom to a site that goes much further into detail about the benefits of water.

Links to read more about benefits of water to the human body:

http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Water_a_vital_nutrient

http://www.ivy-rose.co.uk/HumanBiology/Nutrition/health-benefits-of-drinking-water.php

http://www.dorchesterhealth.org/water.htm

I like all three of these links. They are very informative about this subject, so read and drink up!

More to come,

    Stay Fabulous!

Push your self!

Today was one of those days I just wasn't in the mood for a full hard core workout. I have a lot going on right now and it wouldn't have been a good workout. Yes, I know you are probably thinking any workout is better than no work and you are absolutely correct so this is what I did today.

Any time I had a few min to spare I did one of three things. I either did 25 push ups, 25 jumping jacks, or 10 burpees. I have done it all day long so I am not really sure how many I have done in total and that's ok. Workouts and fitness do not have to be strict and cookie cutter. Matter of fact you want it to changeable and different from time to time. That way you are giving your body muscle confusion which helps with not plateauing. It's always the worst feeling when you have been doing so well with your workouts and eating habits and then you stop noticing changes. That is because your body is getting use to your routine and it need a change here and there to give it a little kick start. So from time to time try to change things up a bit and see what happens

How to do push-ups!

How to do jumping jacks!

How to do burpees!

More to come,
      Stay Fabulous!