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

A Fat-Loss Lifestyle

I finished work at about 8pm and was hungry. Not hungry enough for a meal, but a snack. I walked to Lunds across the street. Nothing in the prepared food section is grabbing my attention.... so I continue wondering. I end up in front of this.... of course...

It would be really easy to justify getting a pastry. I had a great workout this morning, I haven't overeaten today, it's hot outside.... etc. BUT I recently read a great write up by my mentor Jen Sinkler talking about sustainable fat-loss and the problem with dieting. It's all about living a lifestyle that encourages fat-loss. The great part about lifestyle change is that it never ends. There is no end of the program, just tomorrow, the next day and the next. So I asked myself, does this fit into my fat loss lifestyle? The answer--NO. On top of that my gluten allergy would make this for a painfully sweet experience (pun intended). ;)

I continue walking--the thought of something sweet still on my mind. I end up in the produce section and decide to treat myself to a peach AND a plum. I grab some raw almonds on my way to the checkout line and am on my way.

I will have to say, that peach was one of the best I've had in a long time! I at my two pieces of fruit with no regret and I feel good. Had I eaten one of those beautiful pastries I would have regretted it. My stomach would have hurt and I would have felt lethargic the rest of the night.

I don't think the fat loss lifestyle means never having something tasty and sweet. However, what it does mean is that you have to pick and choose. I was able to curb my craving for something sweet with a piece of fruit that didn't wreak havoc on my blood sugar. I also grabbed some raw almonds to give me sustained nourishment (protein).

Life is about the little choices. A sustained lifestyle of fat-loss is about the little choices. I can't change the food choices I made yesterday but I have control of today. :)

Until Next Time,

Hope

xoxo

If Granny Can Do It... Deadlift

Sandra Foli, mother of three and 73 years of life under her belt just went on to score a powerlifting recorded. She completed a clean deadlift of 181.5 pounds. WOW!

(Sandra Foli, 73 years old)

Foli started exercising just 5 years ago after suffering from septic shock and look what has happened! I listed to an interview she did and something she said struck me. She said many people her age are beginning to lose their mobility, having to use walkers and wheelchairs. She said she doesn't want that to be the case in her situation. If she continues what she's do I'm sure it wont!

Here are three points I would like to make:

1. It's never to late to start Deadlifting--or lifting heavy weights in general
2. What you do know will determine where you end up later (walker, wheelchair, nursing home)
3. The benefits of deadlifting

Foli was 68 when she started lifting. The article wasn't very specific but I'm pretty sure she had never lifted weights like that before. If a 68 year old woman can pick up weightlifting in her spare time, I think it's safe to say just about anyone can. No matter your age, gender, or athletic ability--you can and you probably should start lifting. It could be what keeps you moving and healthy in your later years.

Turning around your lifestyle NOW is better than later. If you are young in years you can potentially save yourself from experiencing an illness like Foli did. If you are farther along in years the great news is it is never too late. There are so many health benefits to lighting weights which include increased muscle mass and bone density, decrease in stored fat and improved cardiovascular function. The lists go on and on and on....

Lastly, but definitely not the least, why should you deadlift? Deadlifting is a great lift to make you strong, and who doesn't want to be strong? You can lift heavy things around the house and yard and not have to worry about not being able to lift it and getting hurt. Being strong is convenient. Deadlifts predominately strengthen your hamstrings, glutes, and lower back. I don't think I've ever met anyone who didn't want a strong, firm backside, men and women both.

Increased strength in these three areas will not only increase athletic performance but will also help prevent back and knee injuries such as ACL tears, patello-femoral pain, and patellar tendinosis to name a few. 

So, if you want to look good, move well and keep yourself from injury... start deadlifting. 

Until Next Time,

Hope

xoxo

P.S. Here is a great article by Mike Robertson giving you all the information you need to start deadlifting like a champ! Check it out!

http://robertsontrainingsystems.com/blog/deadlift/

Juicing Vs. Blending

Here are my thoughts

In theory, juicing sounds like a great idea. You can get all the fruits and vegetables you need in just one drink! Here is the problem with this:

1. When you go out and buy all that beautiful, organic, expensive produce and put it through the juicer you will realize that you just wasted a ton of it. This translates over to lost $$$. Who wants that?
2. When fruit is juiced, it takes out all the fiber and just leaves the natural sugars. If you were to eat a whole apple, you blood sugar levels would stay even, when you eat a juiced apple your body doesn't get the fiber needed to blunt the sugar, leaving you with elevated blood sugar levels. This is not good.

(My dad is a master at making delicious Vitamix smoothies)

What then is a better solution? My answer.... a Vitamix! A Vitamix is a high powered blender that will mix up anything (excluding rocks). You can make smoothies, add nuts, lettuce leaves, fruits, vegetables and not have to worry about your drink coming out chunky. You will get all the nutrients from the vegetables, and you wont waste anything! These drinks will also be much more filling if you are going to have one as a meal replacement. And of course, all the fiber in these drinks will also help with your bowl function. :)

So rather than giving into the juicing fad that's going around, go buy a Vitamix or a high powered blender to make your drinks. You wont regret it! 

Until Next Time,

Hope

xoxo

P.S. You can even make your own nut butters and hummus in the Vitamix!

A Girl & Her Ice Cream

A few years ago, or even a year ago, I would have never imagined that I would be writing a blog. It’s just never been something I’ve done. I can’t even manage to write in a diary/journal. What I have found is that I need to write when I am inspired. The only problem with this is that I typically get inspired at very odd times. Like now for instance. It’s currently Friday night at 11:30pm. I just got done sitting on the couch for a couple hours doing a whole bunch of nothing. Obviously, I live a very exciting life that you should be very jealous of. Anyways, to my point. I am inspired. Very inspired… to write about ice cream. Yes, ice cream.

Confession… I really really really like ice cream. And I need to apologize to all my past, present, and future roommates. If you have ice cream sitting in the freezer… Welp… I probably have, did and will help myself to a little bit of it, in a very common moment of weakness. I am truly sorry.

I know many women can relate... and probably men too.. but I don't know about it because I'm not a man... There are just those times when you need something sweet. For me, ice cream hits the spot every time. BUT recently, I have gotten on this kick of reading food labels… and has been devastating! I found that a high percentage of the ice cream on the shelves have high fructose corn syrup in them. This, I cannot stand for.

With a heavy heart, I decided to go on a mission, a mission to find my favorite flavors of ice cream… without high fructose corn syrup.

Thank God for Ben & Jerry’s ice cream! They have my FAVORITE ice cream and it doesn't have high fructose corn syrup in it! God is good! 

I hope this post has made you chuckle or even smile a little bit. The main point that I would like to share with you is this. I think it is very important to make sure that you are giving your body the nutrients it needs to function at its best. However, we are all human (me especially), and just want something sweet sometimes. I don’t think it’s wrong indulging once in a while BUT with these indulgences why not choose the ice cream without high fructose corn syrup versus the one with it? Do your body that little favor while you enjoy your treat.

These are the thoughts of a 23 year old, on a Friday night, sitting at home. I am now going to go to sleep because I just spelled "cherry" wrong. Good night!

Until Next Time,
Hope
xoxo

P.S. I never buy the half gallon of ice cream because it will be gone within 24 hours. They've recently come out with these super small ice cream containers! Perfect for your little indulgence! :)