My Top Health Tips

Whether you have been into fitness and health for a long time or are just starting out, there are a few things I have found worked for me to be successful and stay on track.
If you can develop a consistent routine your chances improve greatly!

1. Start your day with a warm glass of lemon water to improve digestion and wake your body up. It's an easy thing to do with amazing benefits! Read this article for more information:Warm Lemon Water
2. Schedule your workouts, and have a fitness game plan in mind. It always helps to have a goal set with a measurable time to reach it and to put it on your calendar each day. You can track your progress and see how far you've come.

3. Plan out your meals for the week. Even if it's only dinner, you then won't have the struggle of worrying about what to eat. You can shop for your food on the weekend and even prepare things ahead of time for busy days.
4. Love your body! You are unique and made the way you are for a reason. Don't try and be like you think you should be, strive to be the healthiest person you can be for yourself.
5. Have a coach or accountability partner. Having someone to check in with is huge for motivation! You can share your struggles and triumphs and get guidance. Connect with me here for coaching!
I hope this helps get you started or helps get you back in the game. You are worth it and deserve to be healthy and happy!

Tips For Those Late Night Munchies

How many times do you work hard all day, eat right, and then lose your willpower late at night? Don't sabotage your hard work! Before you open the fridge or pantry door to hunt for your late-night snack, take a minute to think about how much happier you'll feel in the morning if you don't indulge.

Here are 4 ways to help crush your late-night cravings:
1. Herbal tea
It's warm, satisfying, will help you sleep, and has zero calories!

2. Relaxation
Take a couple of minutes to sit, breathe, and quiet your mind. You might be surprised to find your cravings melt away.

3. Stretching
This not only helps your body unwind from the day, but it also puts you in tune with what your body really needs. After stretching, your body feels relaxed and connected, and usually the last thing it wants in this state is food.

4. Healthy Food
If you truly are hungry, try an apple and some thick cut oatmeal with cinnamon. The apple is sweet and crunchy and the oatmeal is warm and relaxing.

If you'd like to learn more about healthy eating you can fill out my form here so that I can get to know you and help you achieve success!!
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5 Ways To Break A Weight Loss Plateau

You're tracking calories, working out each day, then bam! For a week or two, the scale refuses to budge...and you realize you've hit a dreaded weight loss plateau. Now what?

Even though it's completely normal to hit a snag in your fitness journey, a perceived setback like this can send even the most dedicated dieter off course, away from healthy eating and toward cookies, cake, and pizza. But you can be strong and start getting back on the weight-loss track again. Try at least one of the following techniques, and there's a good chance you'll burst through your plateau in no time. Here is an article I really wanted to share from Justine Holberg at Beachbody.

Here are five important things to know about hydration and exercise:
1. Zigzag your daily calorie intake.
In theory, you've got to eat less to lose more, but this isn't always the case. Sometimes you just have to shake things up. Here's one way to do it: If your average daily intake is 1,400 calories, try dropping to 1,200 one day, going up to 1,800 the next day, and then dropping back to 1,400. The idea is to keep your metabolism guessing. There's no magic number that works for everyone, so you'll have to experiment until you find the right calorie levels for you.
According to Beachbody Director of Results Steve Edwards, what happens when you zigzag is that you force your body to choose how many calories it needs to recover from the rigors of your exercise program. "Most people who hit a plateau are undereating. If you are indeed undereating, adding calories for a few days, then lowering them again, will help you force your body into a hormonal response that will not only help you break out of a plateau, but—as you learn to recognize the signals—will teach you how much food you should be eating."

2. Switch up your exercise routine.
If you do the same workout each day, eventually it can start to become less challenging, and (unfortunately) less effective. If you push yourself to new levels of strength or exhaustion, you'll almost certainly see a shift. Here are some ways you can challenge your body:

• Swap your jog for a bike ride.
• Try weights with your cardio routine. (ChaLEAN Extreme® or RevAbs® can help you do this.)
• Add intervals of high intensity to really make you sweat. (INSANITY® is a great workout for this.)
• Drop to the floor for 10 push-ups right now!

The idea is to try something different. According to Edwards, "The better you get at something, the easier it becomes. That's why we're always telling you to add more weight as you get stronger, and to move faster and jump higher as our programs progress. But it's also why all of our programs have phases of training. As your body adapts to stimulus, you need to change that stimulus in order to keep results happening."

3. Eat some almonds.
Almonds are a great snack, plus there's some research that indicates that they can help you burn fat. That's because they contain fiber and fatty acids—the good kind of fat that helps you lose weight. A study published in the International Journal of Obesity compared two groups of people who ate a 1,000-calorie-a-day diet. As part of their daily diet, one group ate 3 ounces of almonds every day. The other group ate a mix of complex carbs. What happened? The group that ate the almonds lost more weight.

So next time you grab a snack, try a small handful of almonds, or as Edwards says, "Any nut, really. While almonds are one of the better nuts, all of them have a similar nutritional profile and make excellent snacks. That research probably would have turned out similarly if they'd used walnuts or filberts or whatever."

4. Get more sleep.
This may seem like the opposite of number 2, but the truth is is that you could be training too hard, which is about the quickest way to hit a weight loss plateau, because an over-trained body holds on to weight as if it were starving to death. There's no better way to test this than to try and sleep more. The reason is that your body recovers much more quickly from exercise while it's asleep, and if you're burning the midnight oil while trying to do INSANITY, you could easily plateau from lack of recovery time.

In a recent study at the University of Chicago Medical School, researchers found that during a period when study participants were deprived of sleep, they metabolized glucose less effectively. Additionally, they had higher levels of the hormone cortisol, which has been shown to impair memory, increase insulin resistance, and slow recovery in athletes. "There's a good reason why five-time Tour de France winner Eddy Merckx said, 'The Tour is won in bed,'" says Edwards. Your body's recovery response during deep sleep is only rivaled by performance-enhancing drugs. When you're on the borderline of overtraining, getting more sleep is the first thing anyone should try."

5. Relax.
Believe it or not, the one big thing besides diet and exercise that can cause you to plateau is stress. When you're stressed, your body sends out higher levels of the hormone cortisol that, as stated in number 4, can encourage your body to hang on to fat. "Cortisol is actually a performance-enhancing hormone," says Edwards. "But it's gotten a bad rap because we've begun living our lives at too high a volume. Cortisol is released at times when the body is in an emergency state. It increases performance, but only over a short period of time. When cortisol is released and forced into action at regular intervals, it causes your body to wear down and switch to more drastic means of survival, like holding on to excess amounts of body fat. Your life shouldn't feel like one big emergency. As a society, we need to learn to be more tranquilo, as the Spanish say."

We get stressed for many reasons, almost all of which are influenced by the society around us. One of the best ways to combat stress is to get some alone time to chill. If you're the type who can't let go, try some forced relaxation techniques, of which yoga seems to be one of the most effective. There's something special about the mind/body interaction of yoga that forces a relaxed state even from the most stressed of us.

If you feel you need a lot of help, dig into an intense course, like P90X Yoga X. For others, something lighter, like Yoga Booty Ballet® Pure and Simple Yoga, will do the trick. If you're not into yoga, then consider at least adding some stretching into your schedule. Most of Beachbody's programs have at least one stretching session. TurboFire® even has two!

Tips To Drink More Water

Water!! So you've heard the benefits, you know it's crucial for your health, but are you still finding it hard to make drinking water a habit?
Here are a few fun tips that may just get you going.

1. Use a straw
2.Buy a pretty bottle
3.Set an alarm every hour to remind you
4. Add fruit or cucumber
5. Have 1 cup before each meal

6. Have 1 cup every time you go to the bathroom
7. Have 2 cups before bed
8. Compete with a friend
9. Fill a 64 oz bottle and finish it every day
10. For every non-water beverage you have, drink 2 glasses

I hope this helps you! Sometimes just changing up our normal routine and adding something fun and different is all it takes. Drink away!! If you'd like help with this as well as healthy eating choices or fitness, fill out my support group application here:
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Top Picks For Your Grocery List

Remember, if you don't have junk around the house, you're less likely to eat junk!  If all you have is healthy nutritious foods around the house, you're forced to make smart choices. Basically, it all starts with making smart choices and avoiding temptations when you make your grocery store trip. Now these are just some of my personal preferences, but perhaps they will give you some good ideas that you'll enjoy.

Some of these will be obvious healthy choices, such as fruits and veggies... however, others on this page I think will surprise you!

Alright, so let's start with the fridge. Each week, I try to make sure I'm loaded up with lots of varieties of fresh vegetables. Most of the time, I make sure I have plenty of vegetables like onions, zucchini,  spinach, fresh mushrooms, peppers, broccoli, etc.  

Eggs are a great way to use your veggies in a scramble.

 Always remember that the yolk is the most nutritious and nutrient dense part of the egg, so only eating egg whites is like throwing away the best part... and no, it's NOT bad for you because of the cholesterol... whole eggs actually raise your GOOD cholesterol.  Try to get free range organic eggs for the best quality.

Coconut milk is another staple in my fridge. I like to use it to mix in with smoothies or oatmeal for a rich, creamy taste. Not only does coconut milk add a rich, creamy taste to lots of dishes, but it's also full of healthy saturated fats. Yes, you heard me right... I said healthy saturated fats!  ...Healthy saturated fats such as medium chain triglycerides (MCTs), specifically an MCT called lauric acid, which is vitally important for your immune system.

Back to the fridge, some other staples:

• Walnuts, pecans, almonds - delicious and great sources of healthy fats.  Try to get raw nuts if possible as the roasting process can oxidize some of the polyunsaturated fats in some types of nuts making those damaged fats slightly more inflammatory.  Overall, nuts are still healthy even if they are roasted, but raw nuts are optimal. 
• Cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, and yogurt (grass-fed and organic if possible) 
• Chia seeds and/or hemp seeds - I add these highly nutritious seeds to smoothies, or salads for a great nutty taste and loads of omega-3 fatty acids and vitamins and minerals. Don't use pre-ground versions of these seeds as the omega-3 polyunsaturated fats are highly unstable and prone to oxidation, creating high levels of free radicals if you use pre-ground seeds.  No grinding is necessary to properly digest these seeds. 
• Whole eggs - one of natures richest sources of nutrients (and remember, they increase your GOOD cholesterol so stop fearing them).
• Salsa - I try to get creative and try some of the exotic varieties of salsas.
• Avocados - love them...plus a great source of healthy fats, fiber, and other nutrients. Try adding them to wraps, salads, or sandwiches.
• Butter - don't believe the naysayers; butter adds great flavor to anything and CAN be part of a healthy diet... just keep the quantity small because it is calorie dense... and NEVER use margarine, unless you want to assure yourself a heart attack.  Most important -- choose organic butter only, since pesticides and other harmful chemicals accumulate in the fat of the milk which is used for butter, so choosing organic helps avoid this problem.  Also, choose grass-fed (pastured) butter if you can find it as it will contain higher levels of healthful omega-3 fats and the fat-burning conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). 
• Nut butters - Plain old peanut butter has gotten a little old for me, so I get creative and mix together almond butter with pecan butter, or even cashew butter with macadamia butter...delicious and unbeatable nutrition!  Using a variety of nut butters gives you a broader range of vitamins and minerals and other micronutrients, and gives you variety instead of boring old peanut butter all the time.
• Leaf lettuce and spinach along with shredded carrots - for salads with dinner.
• Home-made salad dressing - using balsamic vinegar, spices, extra virgin olive oil, and Udo's Choice oil blend. This is much better than store bought salad dressing which mostly use highly refined canola or soybean oil (canola and soybean oil are both very inflammatory in the body).
• Sprouted grain bread for occasional use, quinoa and brown rice.

Some of the staples in the freezer:

• Frozen berries - during the local growing season, I only get fresh berries, but during the other 10 months of the year, I always keep a supply of frozen blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, cherries, etc. to add to high fiber cereal, oatmeal, cottage cheese, yogurt, or smoothies.
• Frozen fish - I like to try a couple different kinds of fish each week. There are so many varieties out there, you never have to get bored. Just make sure to ALWAYS choose wild fish instead of farmed versions, as the omega-3 to omega-6 balance is MUCH healthier in wild fish. 
• Frozen chicken breasts - very convenient for a quick addition to wraps or chicken sandwiches for quick meals.
• Grass-fed steaks, burgers, and ground beef:  Grass-fed meats have been shown to have as high as, or even higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids than salmon (without the mercury)..
• Frozen veggies - again, when you can no longer get local fresh produce, frozen veggies are the best option, since they often have higher nutrient contents compared to the fresh produce that has been shipped thousands of miles, sitting around for weeks before making it to your dinner table.

Alright, now the staples in my cabinets:

• Various antioxidant-rich teas - green, oolong, white, rooibos (red tea) are some of the healthiest.  One of my newest favorite teas is yerba mate, which is a south american tea that is loaded with antioxidants and other nutrients. I've found some delicious yerba mate mixes such as chocolate yerba mate, mint mate, raspberry mate, etc.
• Oat bran and steel cut oats - higher fiber than those little packs of instant oats, which are typically loaded with sugar. 
• The only healthy oils I have in my cabinets are virgin coconut oil and extra virgin olive oil. Macadamia oil may also be a reasonable choice as long as it's not "refined".  But other than that, all "vegetable oils" (which is usually soy and corn oil) are total junk and very inflammatory. Never use soy or corn oils!
• Cans of coconut milk (loaded with healthy saturated MCT fats) - to be transferred to a container in the fridge after opening.
• Brown rice and other higher fiber rice.
• Tomato sauces - delicious, and as I'm sure you've heard a million times, they are a great source of lycopene. Just watch out for the brands that are loaded with nasty high fructose corn syrup.  You also want to make sure that the tomato sauce is made with olive oil instead of unhealthy soybean oil or canola oils. Also get tomato sauces in glass jars instead of cans, as canned tomatoes are notoriously high in the dangerous chemical, bisphenol-A (BPA) due to the acidic leaching of BPA from the can lining
• Raw honey - better than processed honey... higher quantities of beneficial nutrients and enzymes. Honey has even been proven in studies to improve glucose metabolism (your efficiency in processing carbohydrates).  I use a small teaspoon every morning in my teas.  Yes, I know that even honey is pure sugar, but at least it has some nutritional benefits!
• Organic REAL maple syrup - none of that high fructose corn syrup Aunt Jemima ...only real maple syrup can be considered real food.
• Organic unsweetened cocoa powder - I like to mix this into my smoothies for an extra jolt of antioxidants or make my own low-sugar hot cocoa by mixing cocoa powder into hot milk with stevia and a couple melted dark chocolate chunks (delicious!).
• Cans of black or kidney beans - I like to add a couple scoops to my Mexican dishes for the fiber and high nutrition content. Also, beans are surprisingly one of the best sources of youth enhancing antioxidants!  Did you know that black beans and kidney beans have more antioxidants than blueberries...it's true!
• Dark chocolate (as dark as possible - ideally more than 70-75% cocoa content) - This is one of my treats that satisfies my sweet tooth, plus provides loads of antioxidants at the same time. It's still calorie dense, so I keep it to just 1-2 small squares after a meal... but that is enough to do the trick.

Lastly, another thing that's hard to go wrong with is a good variety of fresh fruits and berries. The staples such as bananas, apples, oranges, pears, peaches are good, but I like to also be a little more adventurous and include things like yellow (aka - mexican or champagne) mangoes, pomegranates, kumquats, papaya, star fruit, pineapples, and others. Also, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, black raspberries (the highest fiber berry) and cherries are some of the most nutrient and antioxidant-dense fruits you can eat.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this special look into great foods to keep on hand and how I stock my cabinets and fridge. Your tastes are probably quite different than mine, but hopefully this gave you some good ideas you can use next time you're at the grocery store looking to stock up a healthy and delicious pile of groceries.

How To Start An Exercise Program

Healthy living isn't easy. For some, it comes naturally, but for others it's tough to get started. A lot of the activities that other people just pick up without trying are either impossible or feel like death. High Intensity Interval Training? Hot yoga? Insanity? Crossfit? Even jogging? You've got to be kidding. It's not those workouts don't work. It's just that doing them when you're a beginner, can be a ticket to hating and giving up early, and feeling ashamed for ever having bothered to try. 

Before You Begin: Cut Yourself Some Slack

This may perhaps be the single most important tip to ensure your success:Approach everything you do from a place of self-compassion.

Popular weight loss stories on TV almost always start with someone "fed up" with their looks or health problems. While those things can be triggers, they're never motivators that stand the test of time. Dismiss the people who'll tell you to "just go to the gym," or "just put down the fork," or that it all boils down to "eat less and move more." Soundbites don't keep you motivated. Focusing on your clothes size, waistline, reflection in the mirror, and so on are all short-term motivators that don't adapt with you. Relying on them guarantees any stumbles you have along the way will make you feel horrible about yourself and set you back to square one. Instead, concentrate on the long term benefits. In short, make your fitness plans because you love yourself and want to be the best, most healthy possible you that you can be—whatever size or shape that involves.

Healthy Living Is a Skill You Improve At, Not a Thing You Just "Do"The next thing someone to remember is that a healthy lifestyle is a skill you work and get better at—not a thing you just get up and start doing one day. If you expect to just hop on a stationary bike, start lifting, or turn your diet upside down without challenges or setbacks, you're setting yourself up for trouble. Approach your health and fitness goals like you would any other skill that you're learning.

Most people don't expect to be able to do difficult things without training, whether it's a new job, playing the piano, or learning a language. There's no reason to expect that when it comes to exercise, diet, nutrition, or any other element of healthy living. Remember, the goal is to make positive changes that stand the test of time. Short term weight loss plans, bursts of exercise, and fad diets have been proven over and over again to be ineffective.

Find Something You Enjoy Doing, and Start From There

Getting into the right mindset is only half the battle. The rest, obviously, is actually putting your plans into motion. If you're already struggling with your weight, or if you have no idea where to start, this can be one of the biggest hurdles to get over. What kind of exercise should you do, and how much? How can you tell if it's working? How can you get the biggest bang for your diet and exercise buck, as it were? P

Frankly, the best response to all of these questions is to ignore them. If you focus on results out of the gate, or think in terms of optimal benefit instead of building habits, you're already on the wrong track. I've known people who took up running or spinning because they thought that's what they had to do. They hated it, but kept going until something happened and they missed a day. It may have been the holidays, a late meeting, or illness, but whatever it was, that was all it took to get them off the horse. Instead, seek out exercise that rewards you mentally and emotionally as well as physically. Find things you enjoy doing, at any activity level. Don't get caught up in the "all or nothing" mindset, where you think you have to buckle down and do an hour of cardio or strength training every other day for the rest of your life—start slow with something you know you can do, even if it's once a week. It's more important, especially when you're getting started, to focus on what you can do and step up from there.

Don't Do It Alone: Track Your Progress, and Get Others to Help

Finally, whatever you do, don't do it on your own. You'll have much greater success if you work out with the help or support of friends or loved ones. There's something to be said for keeping your goals private so you don't feel bad when you have setbacks (and don't have to announce your setbacks publicly), but having a support network around you is extremely beneficial. Enroll a personal cheerleading squad, whether it's online or in person, and start tracking your activities. Don't use tracking as a way to obsess over results though. 

This is where I can come alongside and help you with that much needed support!! I'd love to hear about you and your goals and struggles. Please fill out my application below and let's work together to get you started on the right path!

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Eat More Fat

Now, most people don't think of guacamole as a fat-burning snack because it's very high in fat, but avocados are actually one of the healthiest, fat blasting foods around.  In fact, the notion that eating fat makes you fat couldn't be more wrong, as eating fat, and lots of it, is a critical part of achieving the

optimal health you want. Nuts, oily fish, coconut oil, and olive oil all fit the bill

Why?  Here are 8 great reasons:

1.  When added to a meal, fat slows gastric emptying and helps to stabilize blood sugar levels in response to a meal. 

2.  Like protein, fats keep you feeling full and satiated much longer than carbs do.

3.  Due to the above fact, eating fat also helps you avoid carb cravings (which is the real contributor to increased body fat levels).  

4.  Fat helps to optimize your hormone levels as fat is a major player in your endocrine (hormone) system.

5.  Fat,  contributes to healthier skin, hair, and a more youthful appearance.

6.  Fat also plays a critical role in your nervous system, giving you energy and keeping you alert.   If you want a healthy brain, make sure you're getting plenty of healthy fats every day.

7.  Given the same calorie intake, by introducing more fat into your diet you'll automatically reduce your carb intake. 

8.  There are even certain types of fats, like CLA found in grass fed beef and organic dairy products, that have been shown to boost metabolism.

When it comes to LOSING fat, EATING fat is king!

Principles of Clean Eating

Clean Eating 101
This is such a huge passion of mine! It has literally saved my health and given me a new way to think about food and how it works in our bodies.
What does a typical day of eating look like?
7:00 meal #1 or breakfast
10:00 Meal #2 or mid morning snack
1:00 Meal #3 or lunch
4:00 Meal #4 or mid afternoon snack
7:00 meal #5 or dinner
10:00 meal #6 or snack
These times will vary depending on your own life schedule, but it's a glimpse. If you are hungry you may want to eat every 2 1/2 hours as opposed to 3. Our bodies are all different and so are our activity levels.

Principles:
1. Eat more! Six small meals
Sounds crazy huh? Starving yourself will only slow your metabolism! You need to keep the "fire" burning by fueling your body every few hours. This also prevents you from getting too hungry and making bad choices.

2. Eat breakfast within an hour of rising
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day! So often said but so very true. It revs up your metabolism and has been proven to keep you from over eating the rest of the day. It also improves brain function. If you are going to work out in the morning, eat 1/2 your breakfast before and 1/2 after. Such as Shakeology and oatmeal with fruit and nuts.

3. Make your last meal 3 hours before bed, unless you are truly hungry then have meal #6.
It doesn't really matter when you eat but night eating has been a problem for many and often is mindless snacking in front of the tv on junk.

4. Eat lean protein and complex carbohydrates at each meal
Timing of meals is important but what you pair together is key. Nutrient dense foods keep you satisfied, and you keep your blood sugar level even by combining these. Proteins such as fish, chicken, and lean beef and carbs such as fruits, veggies and whole grains and starches will feed your body right.

5. Eat healthy fats each day
Fat does not make you fat, sugar does! Our bodies need these fats for brain function and energy. You will notice better skin and less belly fat also. Nuts, seeds, avocados and oily fish will do the trick. Bad fats are trans, saturated and man-made such as margarine.

6. Drink 2 to 3 liters of water every day
Water should be your drink of choice. Our bodies are actually 75% water! Your brain, organ, joints and digestion depend on water. People often mistske hunger for thirst so reach for a glass before grabbing food!

7. Carry a cooler packed with clean food everywhere
This requires planning ahead, but once it's a habit you will be so glad you did it. You no longer will have to fret about what to grab when you're out. You will know you are armed and ready.

8. Depend on fruits and vegetables for fiber, nutrients and enzymes
Eating clean is not just about losing weight, it's also how you will gain a powerhouse of nutrition in your daily diet. These keep you full and prevents many health ailments.

9. Adhere to portion sizes
Protein should be roughly the size of your palm. Starches should be the size of your hand cupped, and fruits the size of two hands cupped. A fat serving is 1 tablespoon. Vegetables are unlimited.

10. Stick to foods that have not been processed
In other words, whole foods that know where they came from. A banana is a banana, not something made in a factory. Real foods give you a huge bang for your buck.

The bulk of it? 80% of your results come from the food you put in your body while 20% com from exercise!