Health

Water is the foundation of the lean lifestyle, and here are 10 reasons why:

1. Life itself can’t exist without water - Humans can go for weeks without food, but only three days without water.
2. About 70% of your body is water - Water makes up nearly 85 percent of your brain, 80 percent of your blood, and 70 percent of your lean muscle. You must constantly add water to your body to keep it properly hydrated.
3. Water plays a vital role in nearly every bodily function - Water is essential for digestion, nutrient absorption, chemical reactions, circulation, waste elimination, and temperature regulation.
4. Lack of water is the #1 trigger of daytime fatigue - When your body is hydrated, your blood oxygen levels increase and you have more energy. Dehydration can lead to decreased motor skills, concentration, and memory.
5. When you’re dehydrated, you tend to eat more - Water naturally suppresses the appetite and helps the body metabolize stored fat. Recent studies indicate that nearly 40% of Americans suffer daily from a false sense of hunger due to moderate levels of dehydration.
6. Water can be a miracle cure for headaches, joint pain, and other ailments -Dehydration can lead to increased back and joint pain in up to 80% of people suffering from these symptoms.

Have you seen an advertisement for a soft drink lately? It probably made you feel that it’s a great source of energy, fun, and happiness!

Don’t be tempted — soft drinks are among THE WORST things you can put into your body. Here are some reasons why:

• Soft drinks steal water from the body - You need to drink 8–12 glasses of water just to replace the water needed to process a can of soda!
• Soft drinks leach vital minerals from your body
• Sugary soft drinks cause sudden insulin production, which can lead to a "sugar crash" - This is particularly disruptive to growing children and can lead to life-long health problems.

Being a mother is ALL about giving. Although my nine-year-old daughter is somewhat independent, my one-year-old and almost three-year-old require far more individual attention. Since deciding to run a small licensed child care from my home, I have even less time for myself during the day. Reluctantly, I must admit there are nights that I am so exhausted, so completely drained, I sometimes questions whether I have anything left to give. But each morning I realize that I do. But I’ve come to the realization that I can only do this if I take care of myself FIRST! One of the biggest challenges after having three children and running a household was finding the time to exercise.

Over the years I have kept many different types of schedules: work, school, children’s activity, church schedule, etc. At any given time, a mother juggles at least half a dozen activities simultaneously, and that’s not including the other half dozen activities dwelling on her mind for the day! With so many obligations, I’ve struggled to find the RIGHT time to exercise that works for my life. For the past fifteen years I’ve been active, not always consistent, but somehow managed to exercise at every possible hour of the day imaginable. Early on in my marriage I can recall heading to the gym at 4:30 in the morning! It was 1998 and at the time we only had one vehicle so the best time for me to exercise was immediately after dropping off my husband at work and before I headed to class. Years later, I was working on a morning news show and headed to the gym after my graveyard shift ended at 8am. I’ll never forget the zombie-like feeling state my body was in while trying to run on the treadmill. But I knew myself well enough to know that trying to sleep first, then head to the gym, would be harder to do since my motherly duties started as soon as I woke from my five-hour sleep. Life changes, schedules change, so finding the right time to exercise (a time that fits well with your lifestyle) is critical.

Walking is one of the most primal movement patterns known to man. Because walking was essential to our survival during our developmental years, our bodies have developed so that walking and movement are essential to health; as it has been said, form follows function.

Walking requires the integrated use of our arms, legs, and torso. Hundreds of calorie-burning muscles are utilized simply by walking. Walking briskly on a daily basis not only results in calorie burning, it increases enzyme and metabolic activity that may result in increased calorie burning for up to 12 hours after walking as little as 2 miles. The more conditioned you are, the greater the metabolic effect of walking.

Many studies show that having a workout partner will increase your chances to see results, but it’s very important that you find the right one!

I’ve personally trained hundreds of people and also quietly observed thousands more as they find their way throughout fitness facilities. Some are obviously there to get in shape while others obviously there for other reasons…socialization.

Both are great reasons to join a fitness facility, but if you can coordinate both efforts you may be better off in the end. One of the many reasons people hire personal trainers is for the “accountability” factor and motivation.

Oftentimes, people know exactly what to do, but aren’t motivated enough to do it on their own, so they either hire a trainer, or look for a training partner. There are pro’s and con’s to hooking up with someone in the gym, so let’s explore some of the reasons why you would want a partner and some of the reasons you wouldn’t.

Pros-

1. Accountability- Studies have shown that training with a workout partner can increase results substantially, so working out with a partner can drastically improve your chances of getting fit. If you know you need to meet someone at a certain time chances are you won’t stand them up as easily as you would hit the snooze button if you were on your own.

Ahhh, Summer Vacation! Sometimes it feels like we are waiting for this wonderful and elusive time all year. But don’t let two weeks at the beach cause you to throw away all the hard work you have put into your New Year’s Resolutions (you’re still keeping up with them right?). If you follow a few simple guidelines on your next trip, you can maintain all the improvements you have made, and maybe even make a few more. But most of all, you will have a wonderful, relaxing, memorable trip shared with your loved ones.

• Keep Eating - One of my favorite things about traveling is all the eating that I get to do. I love to experience the different foods and flavors, whether I am in a different country or one hour from home. You can eat at a chain restaurant like Chili’s, California Pizza Kitchen, or McDonald’s right where you live so take a food adventure on your vacation. I travel to Hawaii usually twice a year and I love to explore the farmer’s markets.
  

Tacos:

• 2 cups of shredded skinless chicken breast
• 8 Garden of Eatin’ yellow corn taco shells
• 1 cup shredded Romaine lettuce
• 1 ripe avocado

Salsa:

• 1 can organic black beans
• 1 cup frozen pineapple
• ½ cup chopped cilantro
• 3 green onions
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 serrano chile seeded (optional)
• juice of 1/2 lime

In taco shell, layer ¼ cup shredded chicken, 2 tbsp of salsa, and ¼ cup shredded lettuce. Top with 2 thin avocado slices.

I’ve been in this fitness game a long, long time. I counseled hundreds of people and have been fortunate enough to help many of them achieve the body they have always wanted. I’ve learned many things along the way and if I were to distill all of that down to one simple lesson, it would be this: you need to take responsibility for yourself. There, I said it.

I was just having a conversation this morning with a client who is very close to me, and I realized something. That person is always looking for some outside influence to help them FINALLY get in shape. I had to tell them the hard truth, “You’ve made every excuse in the world why you can’t get in shape. You’ve purchased every gadget, gimmick, had plastic surgery and none of that has helped you one iota. When are you going to take responsibility for yourself?”

It must have been rough hearing that, I know, but I saw a light come on in their head realizing that what I was saying was the truth. The bottom line is, this site can’t do squat for you, your spouse can’t do squat for you, liposuction can’t do squat for you if you are looking for those things to be the answer to your problem.

You need to “man up” and CHOOSE to do something about the way you look and feel, today. If you don’t, ten years will fly by and where will you be then? I told you when you came onto this site that I promised to tell you the truth and this is it: nobody can do anything for you but you!!!

Although I was born and raised in the South, the California summers are something I can never seem to get used to. I find myself saying, ‘I can’t believe how hot it is!‘ every day, all day. With my ‘Get out of the Gym & Get into Shape’ philosophy, I’ve gotten creative with ways to exercise and eat right in spite of the oppressive summertime heat.

Don't just sit by the pool...GET IN IT!

Put down that magazine and get in the pool! Here are 5 terrific cardio exercises you can do AND stay cool.

1. Tread water: get in the deep end and start treading. Get your heart rate up by using just your legs and then just your arms.
2. Pool Walks: in waist deep water, walk from one end of the pool to the other. Mix it up by taking long strides and then short ones.
3. Kicks: at camp we work on 'little swimmers', here's your chance to do it for real! Grab the side of the pool with your arms extended, tummy down and start flutter kicking.
4. Swimming: really swim. I'm not talking about the American Crawl or the Butterfly, but really swimming the Breast Stroke or my mom's favorite, the Side Stroke, is great for your arms.
5. Playing with your kids: no matter how old your kids are they would love it if you got in the pool. Little kids love to jump off the side and tweens & teens love to throw the football or play water volleyball. Enjoy them this summer!

Now that you are ready to get in shape, I want to give you several keys to help you set and achieve your goals in health. The first thing you should do is set a goal that is realistic. Having a goal that is impossible to reach will only lead to disappointment. I like to use the analogy of being in a forest. We have been given an axe and our job is to cut down all the trees. If we keep our focus on the forest we will become overwhelmed. The key is to focus on one tree at a time and make each chop of the axe count. When we focus on what we see in the mirror, the same thing happens. We become overwhelmed, we see everything we aren't: overweight, out of shape, unattractive, etc. The focus should be one quality meal at a time, one balanced workout at a time.