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!

Keep your Monday In Motion!

Mondays can be such a drag. People are back at work and you are back to their grinding schedule. They can get so caught up with everything that they forget about themself. Here is one of my favorite exercises and it is great for Mondays when you "just don't feel like it". This is an exercise that works the whole body. I love it, it's great, and it makes you feel accomplished when finished. It can be a little challenging so I am posting pics at all different levels of fitness. This exercise is call knee tuck push ups or push ups with knee tuck. It is a whole body workout because you are in a plank position the entire time.

So start in plank position with arms fully extended, do a push up, tuck one knee in then back to plank, then the same with the next knee, and start all over again. Give it a try and see if you like them as much as I do (you may not at first and you may just develop a love/hate relationship with them, lol. Either way try it).

2)This option is the one I described above. She is
bringing her knee to her elbow but I bring it up
to my chest. It's up to you.  

     

1)This option is for beginners. If doing a tuck
with your foot off the ground is too hard
then tap your foot and bring it back.

4)If you are wanting to take it up a notch this will do it.
Find an elevated object. I often use my couch. Do the
same exercise just keep your feet on the object. 

3)This is the one I usually do the most.
When bringing her leg up she takes it
across her body. Really targets the obliques.

5) This is the mother of all push up knee tucks. Haha!
This one will require balance which will increase the
intensity of the exercise! I love this because
it's a challenge. Give it a try but don't get hurt.

So there you have it, 5 different options when doing this exercise. It doesn't show them doing a push up in every picture but you are suppose to. These pictures are many to show the different ways to do the tuck part of the exercise. If you are a beginner start with #1 and work your way to #5. It doesn't have to happen over night, so master one at a time and move on. If you want make it your Monday routine then start the first Monday of the month. Each Monday take the time to master one option of this exercise. The next month do the next step up. That's only 4 days out of the month and it will be a series of goals. Each month you have a goal of mastering the next level of this exercise and the duration of the long term goal is 5 months. Always have a goal, small and big goals, the world of fitness is never ending and full of challenges. As soon as you complete one goal there is always another to be met. 

More to come,

     Stay Fabulous!

Get that body moving!!

   It's so easy to get comfortable in a routine that doesn't involve doing much of anything. It's easy to get home from work and sit down in front of the computer or t.v. and not move for hours. It's a double whammy if you have a desk job where you sit all day then come home and sit at home the rest of the night. Every day we need to try to do something! Running, jumping, playing with the kids outside, yoga, spin class, Zumba, boot camps, hiking, and the list goes on.

Both of these pics give many suggestions on fun things to do. If you have never done some of these please give them a try. Get out of that comfort zone and see what your missing! You never know it might be your new favorite thing!

  

 It's also easy to get that way in life. Where we do the same things over and over and don't take any risks. We are so afraid of change that we just don't do it. We are afraid to put ourselves out there and see what happens. We are worried about what people think or what they might say about us. None of that should matter but sadly it does. We are so concerned about having other people's approval that we don't allow ourselves to do something we might end up loving! We need to start focusing on us and what we want in life and what we want to accomplish no matter anyone says. Not care if people are looking at us, not care if they laugh, not care if they have smart remarks, or stare at us. We need to find ourselves and what we love and get out of our comfort zones. Never give up and never let anyone talk you out of anything. 

More to come,

     Stay Fabulous!

Short on time? That's no excuse!

I don't always have time for a full workout. Like today I only had about 15 min to get my workout in. So I made the best of it. Made sure my heart was pumping and I got sweaty. I made sure to hit every body part so I wouldn't feel cheated.

Here's what I did:

60 sec. jumping jacks
60 sec. burpees
60 sec. bear crawls
60 sec jump squats
30 sec. right side plank dip
30 sec left side plank dip
repeat 2x 

Then for fun I did a 3 min. plank.

If you aren't sure what side plank dips are here is a pic to help out with that:

Start in a regular side plank position. Next lower your hip down to the ground but remember keep everything in proper form. Next you will lift your hip back up to starting position. Done. Now repeat until time is up. When people start getting tired they seem to start leaning forward, DON'T DO THAT!! Also make sure your shoulder stays over  your elbow to keep proper form. This exercise targets your obliques (love handles, muffin top, spare tire).






More to come,
    Stay Fabulous!