healthy and beautiful

Fitness needs to stop being a dream we think about and become an action we put into practice. There are so many factors getting in our way. Negative thoughts and self-defeat are high on the list. Using "too busy" as an excuse is another fitness barrier. Frustration with the lack of results can cause us to think it will never happen. Fitness requires us to live beyond our dreams. We all have the potential to achieve success. Remaining positive in a negative world will be first on the agenda. No more downing yourself before even trying. "Busy" is a word used for people who really don't want it bad enough. Lastly, there is no such thing as instant results. Daily progress should become the focus. The action needed to get fit is a daily choice. Start by making a plan and sticking to it. It will be important to schedule your workouts and spend time meal prepping. Avoid processed convenience foods and replace those with healthy nutrient dense foods. Start hanging aro...

If you’re someone who takes medicine daily, any medicine, it’s important to step back and consider whether you still need to be taking it. I’d also brush up on the side effects. While I’d love doctors to focus on getting patients off unnecessary meds, let’s face it medicine is a business.  But if you, or someone close to you, are one of the 15 million Americans who take a certain type of acid blockers, there are some serious side effects. There is a class of acid blocking (“heartburn”) meds called PPIs. Examples of PPI’s are Prevacid, Nexium and Prilosec. The c oncerns about taking these meds long-term have been out there; however, almost daily I have a client in my office who feels they’re totally safe. Whenever I see one of these meds in a new client’s chart I ask a few questions. How long have you been taking this medication? Have you tried going off of it? What modifications do you make in your diet for your reflux or heartburn? The answers are quite similar. Most clients hav...

Change is necessary, can be a challenge, and inevitable. Sometimes we have no control over change as with the aging process or certain illness. What we can control are changes making us healthier people. That means taking an honest look at our lifestyle. What are we eating and are we exercising?  How do we implement all this change?   Change is a big part of this journey of life. None of us are exempt from the constant changes needed to make our situation better. Did you know our bodies change at every level each day without our knowledge?   Personally, I have undergone a lot of change in this life as an athlete. My healthy lifestyle enabled me to face many physical challenges. One of the toughest physical changes was rehabilitation from injury. It required perseverance not to give up, and acceptance of not being able to perform athletically as before.  The inevitable change often difficult for me presently are the changes occurring with the aging process. No amoun...

Getting fit and healthy is not just for the twenty-somethings. It's never too late, circumstances never too bad, and we're never too old to become our best healthy self. Our minds can play negative tricks on us. We often believe our goals are unattainable. That simply isn't the truth. We need to change the thoughts about our life and body to begin the process of kicking out the mental clutter. Beginning each day with a positive focus is essential. It will be a daily choice not to continue unhealthy patterns, believe past doubts and fears, or give in to self sabotage . This will be a time of inner strength development and purging all the crap that held you down for so long. It will be an emptying of the old self into the trash and an awakening of the new stronger you ready to make things happen. Each day is a new opportunity to change. We possess the awesome ability to make decisions bringing us closer to our fitness goals. It's important to remain realistic and I reco...

Achieving a lean and healthy body is possible for all of us. We have the ability to do what it takes to make it happen. It doesn't cost lots of money, require anything special, not even a gym membership. We can achieve a lean body naturally by choosing a healthy lifestyle. The choices we make each day determine what our body will look and feel like. Consistency with eating right, exercise, plenty of rest, water and decreased stress will help create the body we want. It starts with our grocery lists and foods we buy to maintain our physique. If we're buying processed sugar filled food products then we will create an unhealthy body . It really is that simple but many of us refuse to change this basic part of living. The same goes for   exercise . I f you're not taking care of your body with a regular fitness program, it will let you know through injury or stiffness. We can lean up naturally by purchasing healthy foods and eating at home most of the time. Our hard earned ...

We can all get stuck in a rut, feel funky, or backslide on our health and fitness programs .  Burnout and frustration are top reasons for giving up and returning to unhealthy habits. Rebelling to changes required for a healthy body and lifestyle is also a common behavior.  We're all walking a different fitness path but with the same goals of being fit . We want the look and feel of good health but really aren't putting forth a change to experience change. That is the truth with all things in life: change requires change. If we're unhappy with our health, body, or life in general, a deliberate choice to change needs to happen.   Sometimes it's a difficult process to implement necessary changes to better our health and life. Our rebel self can surface and try to sabotage our attempts to do something great which happens more often than not. Getting mad about it doesn't bring about what needs to happen. Making a promise to ourselves to change and following thr...

Let's face it, we don't need anyone to tell us we're overweight or unhealthy . We are adults and know when we need to fix our fitness. When our body isn't healthy, we usually are unhappy, not feeling our best, and may have been told by the doctor to change our lifestyle. Our friends and family may also be giving us kind hints to take better care of ourselves. If all the above is happening, then guess what, you already know something should be started to fix your fitness . Fitness goes beyond the physical and includes emotional and spiritual well-being as well. Fixing our fitness requires looking at our complete picture and making the choice to clean up our act.  It's not rocket science and requires nothing magic to fix our fitness. We only need our will, determination, and follow-through to become healthy. The media would like us to believe we need a bunch of expensive things, products, pills, and potions to obtain a fit and healthy body . The truth is we all posses...

All of us wish and want for a fit and healthy body . Sadly, not all of us follow through with the doing to make it happen. All too often something gets in the way of doing what needs to be done to make the wish a reality. It doesn't matter how much web surfing, article reading, or fit people watching is happening. If what you're doing isn't motivating you to take action, it's nothing but wasted time. In fact, all that time surfing the web could be time used to complete a workout or meal prep. I even have to catch myself and implement a certain amount of time for social media work. My life requires excellent time management to run my personal training business, writing obligations and maintain a healthy lifestyle . That means shutting down my computer and making the choice to exercise and prepare healthy meals for the week.  It's fun to dream about reaching our fitness goals . I am the first to applaud and be motivated by a fit physique because I know the effort it ...