Rest

Rest. Sometimes, it can be as simple as that. The American lifestyle holds being busy in high regard. We must be involved with this and that and striving to continually reach such and such goals, climb the corporate ladder etc. Let's face it. As a culture we like being busy. It makes us feel important.

This is something I have struggled with myself. In the end it has left me run down and unhealthy. I used to avoid taking naps at all cost because I thought if I was asleep I would miss something exciting. Let me tell you, this is not the best way to live.

I struggle with an overachiever complex. I don't just want to DO everything but I want to be the BEST at everything. There have been too many days when I wished there were more than 24 hours in a day. Or I go to bed thinking that I didn't get half of the things done that I needed to. Thankfully, my perspective have changed a lot on this lately. 

Living a life of rest sometimes means not completing the "to do" list today. There is always tomorrow. It is easy to let little things in life (usually they seem big at the time) get the best of us causing unneeded stresses and anxiety. When in the end, it always works out. Maybe not exactly how we planned but it does.

I want to fully enjoy my life today. For me that means making sleep a priority. I am a much better/nicer/happier person when I've had a good nights sleep. ;) I also need to make people a priority. At the end of the day when I am old and laying on my death bed, all my projects, work, etc. wont be what is with me, but the people I chose to invest in.

Living a life of rest also has a TON of health benefits. Your gut is where your whole immune system comes from. When you are stressed you inadvertently put stress on your gut, leaving you susceptible to all sorts of sickness. It is also very harmful for you brain. Did you know that your brain only functions at 50% when you are under high stress? That is a scary thought..... 

We can't expect to be healthy if we aren't willing to live a lifestyle that makes rest a priority. So don't forget, there is always tomorrow. Make sure to put truly important things first and leave margin in your life. You wont regret it. 

Until Next Time,

Hope

xoxo

P.S

Disclaimer: 

I know that this does not apply to everyone. Some of us need to get off our butts and get to work. This doesn't apply to you. ;) 

Cheers!

Getting Healthy For Dummies #1

For starters, I hope no one finds the title of this post offensive. I spoke on the phone with a dear friend and she expressed her desire to get healthy but didn't know where to start. She has a personality much like mine where you either do something all or nothing. There are some great things about this, but also some drawbacks. She told me I need to make a "Getting Healthy For Dummies" guide. Welp, here it is. 

When it comes to "getting healthy" many people make a New Year's resolution, stick with it for awhile and then go back to their normal way of living. What my friend wants is to get healthy and STAY healthy. She wants to change her lifestyle. I don't know about you, but most people are not able to change habit patterns, that have been with them the majority of their life, over night. That just doesn't happen. An all or nothing approach to changing a lifestyle habit no matter what it is, is usually not going to change over night. So why should we treat our "get healthy" mission otherwise?

After this talk with my friend I have decided to make a series, Getting Healthy For Dummies, for people who have no idea where to start and feel totally overwhelmed by all the information out in cyberspace.

Let's make this super simple.

Here is how we are going to do this. I will give you 2 maybe 3 things to work on. I want you to try and apply these things to your life for at least 6 weeks before trying to implement the next step. Comprendo? 

Here are 3 things to work on these next 6 weeks:

1. On either Saturday or Sunday PLAN. Try to have an idea of what you are going to eat for the week and go grocery shopping. You might think this seems super simple. It is. However, if you plan or even have some ideas as to what you are going to eat you will eliminate your fast food or should I say fake food intake. This also has a ton of other benefits but we will get to that later. 
2. No fast food. ^^^ If you must pick something up on the fly you can get a great salad bar at Lund's or Byerly's. Cub even has a salad bar although I prefer the first two.
3. Eat before you go grocery shopping. I ALWAYS buy things I shouldn't when I go grocery shopping on an empty stomach. EVERYTHING looks good. By taking your illogical, hungry brain out of the equation we can make better food choices at the grocery store. This will set us up to win. 

I may or may not post #2 before the next 6 weeks is up. BUT REMEMBER! You must complete 6 weeks of step #1 before moving on to step #2. This is about building a foundation for living a healthy lifestyle. It doesn't and it wont start over night. Give yourself time. Be patient, and don't let yourself live in condemnation. That won't get you anywhere.

Happy 6 weeks! Let me know how it goes! Leave a comment below or comment on our Facebook page!

Until Next Time,

Hope

xoxo

P.S. Helpful hints:

Try to do a little cooking at the beginning of the week or whenever you have time. It gives you a head start. Have salad on hand with some cooked chicken, dried fruit, sunflower seeds, carrots and such so you can whip up a tasty salad on the spot. I also love crockpot recipes. They are typically quick and delicious. Also, if you make some extra food, rather than having leftovers for a week, freeze some of the leftovers and have them ready for the future. 

The Abs You Always Wanted

As a personal trainer I am always asked, "How do I get nice abs?" Or, "How do I get rid of this belly fat?" I think most people are looking for a magical answer that doesn't exist. We can slave away in the gym for hours doing thousands of crunches but the truth is....

Abs Are Made In The Kitchen!

Yes, it is important to have strong core muscles but if you want to see abs like the ones in fitness magazines and on Pinterest, we have to take a closer look at what we are eating.

The truth is, our body fat percentage has a lot to do with our ability to see our abs. You can't target one part of your body, do a ton of exercises and expect to see results. The key to having nice abs is to have a low body fat percentage. For the average woman you need to be at about 14% body fat to really be able to see your abs like the girls on Pinterest... but who wants to look like the girls on Pinterest!?!? ;) However, you will have a nice flat stomach if you are around 20% body fat. (These percentages are all generally speaking.)

There are also two other components to having "the abs you always wanted" that I think are grossly overlooked. These being SLEEP and STRESS.

Both your sleep schedule and your stress levels have a large part in controlling your cortisol hormones. When you live under extreme stress and get little sleep (usually these things go hand-in-hand) your bodies cortisol gets WAY out of wack. Leaving you with excess cortisol hanging out in your body which in turn stores in your belly fat. That is a super simplified, nonscientific way of putting it. :)

To get The Abs You Always Wanted you need to mainly do these three things:

1. Eat clean i.e. Limited carbs, dairy, sugar and processed garbage. Increase protein, vegetables, and healthy fats. Eat the right, and just enough.
2. Get at least 8 hours of sleep every night.
3. Live a stress free life (you might think this is impossible.... but it's not... More on that later)

There is no magic exercise that will get you the abs you want. Abs are the result of living a disciplined life. Unless, you are one of those people who have a ridiculously high metabolism... which in that case.... I don't want to talk to you. ;) (I'm totally just kidding with that last part.)

Until Next Time,

Hope

xoxo