Holiday Gift Idea #3 (for healthy living and finess)

Yoga Studio Membership 

(or 1-2 months on you) 

No better way to unwind after  the crazy holiday season! In addition to relaxation, this is a great way to stretch the muscles, reduce stress, and strengthen muscles. Yoga has been known to aid in joint mobility, fibromyalgia, chronic pain, injuries, arthritis, and a whole gamut of other aliments. 

If you are local  (Tacoma WA) I encourage you to try

 Expand Yoga  This is a hot yoga studio which gives an awesome hot vinyasa class!! 

And they have a great view!!!

 

 

Holiday Gift Idea #2 (for fitness and healthy living)

2. Gymboss Interval timer
If I was stranded on an island and could only have one piece of workout equipment, this would be it!!

No gym needed here folks!! This is my favorite way to get my cardio!! 

HIIT!!! (High Intensity Interval Training) 

Set this baby up for several rounds of 45 seconds max effort and 15 seconds rest. You can mix and match lots of different exercises (jacks, burpees, push-ups, ect.) and challenge yourself by keeping track of your reps, and seeing if you can beat your own score.

This is great for body weight workouts or using a variety of equipment. You can even take it out side for a run or cycle and add intervals to your workout!!

Order these online for $19.95 at  GYMBOSS.COM


   

Holiday Gift Idea #1 (for fitness and healthy living)

 

1. The Eat Clean Diet book by: Tosca Reno

(((( My Hero!!)))

This is number one for a reason!! It all begins and ends here folks....This is the number one reason I am now healthy and have a healthy relationship now with myself and food. Doesn't matter what you do in the gym if you are not feeding your body right... And let's understand, that doesn't mean low fat, low carb, diet food. REAL FOOD and LOTS of it!!  This book taught me how to eat for health....weight loss was a bi-product of that. 

INSTRUCTOR'S LOG:Give the class you hate another chance....YOU MIGHT FIND YOU LOVE IT!

Do you love group fitness? Have you ever taken a class you just hated?! Did you go back?

 I love step!!! Really!! LOVE STEP!! LOVE Choreography!! LOVE lots of combos strung together!! I will never teach it, but I love to take it.

Step seems to be dying in my area. It's really hard to find evening classes to go to.  Last Fall I tried a new step class. I HATED IT!! The instructor called everything by different names, break downs were frustrating and not nearly long enough for me to get. As an instructor myself, I HATED standing next to my step looking like a lost pup in the woods!! I swore I'd NEVER go back!! (Note all the caps here. I was passionate about hating this class)

I have only taken a handful of step classes since (from other instructors). I still LOVE step, but as an instructor with a full time day job and family, plus classes of my own to teach, I rarely have time to take a class.

Tonight was Hot yoga night. I love hot yoga, but tonight I was hyper and needed to play! STEP!!! I searched for a class at all the clubs! I would have paid at a club I don't belong to just to take a step class. The only class on any surrounding area schedule was.....you guessed it... The one I swore I'd NEVER go back to. Crap!!! What to do?? I swallowed my pride and went....knowing I'd HATE it and would probably stand there again  trying to figure the moves.....

I LOVED IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Looking back, I'm pretty sure I hated the class because I was having an off night. Yes, it is a tough class. But this time it clicked..I got it, and had a blast.

As an instructor, I urge you to go back to those classes you hated.  Sometimes the ones you hate the most, turn out too be the most challenging and most rewarding.

Now I know not every class is for every person. I'm not a personal fan of Zumba, or Cycle, but I have been several times just to be sure. You just never know the fun you might be missing out in if you don't give it more than one chance. =]  

THE GIRL WHO LOVES FAT!!

I’m a girl who LOVES fat! Let me tell you why….

First who doesn’t love breaking the rules?!?! If you tell me I can’t have it, chances are I will find a way! It’s been my mission since adolescence!! And fat is the diet industry's #1 no no!!  

Here are some of my faves!

  Eggs: I eat them religiously every morning!! Even the yolk! I have an egg scramble with 1 whole and 3 whites. My scramble gives me 17.1 grams of protein, 8 essential amino acids, 5 grams healthy fats!! So why do I eat just one whole with 3 whites, you ask…..

Avocado: My favorite fat!! I eat ¼ avocado in my egg scramble every morning!! Avocados have 18 essential amino acids, necessary for the body to form a complete protein. Unlike the protein in steak (love steak!), which is difficult for most people to digest, avocado protein is readily absorbed by the body because avocados also contain fiber. At 7.25 grams of good fats (per ¼ avocado) they help boost HDL (good cholesterol), protect against heart disease, and provide and excellent source of energy as well as keep you fuller, longer!

Many people now take supplements (and ya’ll know how I feel about supplements) in order to consume more omega-3 fatty acids to lower their risk of heart disease. Avocados are rich in omega-3, delivering 160 milligrams per cup of alpha-linolenic acid.

 Ah Nuts!! Raw pecans go in every bowl of my daily oatmeal I consume! Raw almonds, walnuts, or almond butter, get paired with my fruit, and sunflower or pumpkin seeds top my salads! I’m nuts about nuts!! I am always amazed at how 10-12 little raw almonds can keep me satisfied till my next meal!! Nuts in general have many health benefits and properties making it a known super food!! They provide good fats that have the ability to lower your LDL cholesterol levels and lower your risk of cardiovascular diseases or stroke. Moreover, many nuts provide a great source of vitamin E, each ounce providing about 7.4 mg or the equivalent 50 percent of the daily value.

 Fish: Salmon is my favorite!! I try to eat it at least once to twice a week! Great for your hair and skin, as well as a brilliant source of easy to digest proteins, omega 3 fatty acids, and vitamins E and D. Salmon is also known to improve moods, cognitive function, and memory. 

 Oils: Olive, avocado, coconut, or nut and seed oils all contain a wide variety of health benefits! According to Tosca Reno (my hero), not only do clean oils protect against high cholesterol and heart disease, but they also help reduce inflammation and infection, plus they slow aging process! Who doesn’t like that?!

This is just to list a few; there are many more foods I use to avoid due to fat content.

Fats were the missing pieces to my weight loss puzzle. I truly believe that adding good fats into my daily diet is what not only helped with weight loss, but also helped me keep it off all of these years! Back in the 90’s when I tried to maintain 20 grams of fat, I was always hungry, causing me to binge and develop a love hate relationship with food and myself.  With healthy fats, I’m not hungry, I don’t obsess with numbers, I don’t resent my body because of what I can’t have…. I eat fat.
For more details on my struggle and journey with fat, check out my first post on fat:  "But They Told Me Fat Was Bad!" 

BUT ‘THEY’ TOLD ME FAT WAS BAD!!

Each decade has its own diet fad that leaves it’s footprint on our beliefs and relationships with food.  Low fat, low carbs, low calories, all fruit, no fruit, no sugar, Atkins, South Beach, and now the sacred Paleo.....

I remember back in the mid 90’s watching Oprah and being introduced to Bob Green! Watching Oprah’s transformation was inspiring and I was ready to jump on board!! She had a Spring Challenge show that inspired me to begin my journey. I knew very little about weight loss. I knew I needed to exercise, and watch my calories, but what were the rules to being successful? I was on board and ready to be educated…..or so I though.

As with any eager dieter, I was ready to hear, what I was ready to hear! Hard facts…. The formula…. Give me the cheat sheet please! And they did…at least that’s what I heard .

The magic formula was in the numbers! 1200 calories and 20 grams of fat! WaLa!! There it was! I could do this. Just count!

Fat!!

Fat was the dirty little secret that kept us all fat in the 90’s!

Eat fat = Get fat!

Eat non-fat or fat free = get skinny

Cool! Simple, concise rules to follow!

 Even though the 90’s have long passed, “Fat is bad!” still echoes in our rule books. Even in the 90’s I questioned this authoritative rule (even though I followed it religiously).  Really? Fat is bad? I can see the fat in ice cream, cookies, or mac-n-cheese, but even nuts, avocado, salmon, and healthy oils?? Yup!! Eat very sparingly, they told me….. Logic told me that was quacky advice since these foods were put here by nature to sustain us. But, what did I know? They  were the experts! 

Oh the trust we put in others while ignoring our own common sense and wisdom!..... 

Grocery Item of the Week: Flax Seed Meal

Anytime I can add nutrients to a meal I jump at the chance! Flax has many great benefits! 

According to Livestrong, although flax seed contains all sorts of healthy components, it owes its healthy reputation primarily to three ingredients:

• Omega-3 essential fatty acids: "good" fats that have been shown to have heart-healthy effects. Each tablespoon of ground flax seed contains about 1.8 grams of plant omega-3s.                                                          
• Lignans: which have both plant estrogen and antioxidant qualities. Flax seed contains 75-800 times more lignans than other plant foods.
• Fiber: Flax seed contains both the soluble and insoluble types.

Flax seed is known to, lower risk of heart disease, prevent some cancers, help manage diabetes, and assist with,  arthritis, psoriasis and lupus, as well as add fiber to your diet, allowing you to feel fuller longer.

Flax seed meal can be added to almost anything, including bread, muffins, meat loaves, pasta dish, salad, yogurt, breakfast cereals, oatmeal, and smoothies. It is best to buy the meal or grind your seeds for optimal absorption of all the nutrients. Store ground meal in the refrigerator or freezer to prevent spoilage and odors. 

Flax seed meal can be found in your grocery store, in the health food, baking, or cereal isle.