Thursday, January 31, 2013

Journey To My Summer Six Pack

Day1- Solid Hour Work Out, Eating Was Super Clean
Day 1
Day 2

Day2-Had a super BUSY day and fell off the wagon. Definitely blaming the spouse.


Day 3
Day3- Decided To get SERIOUS started recording food intake and brought out the A game.
Yogurt 170 Cal banana 2celery sticks 2 hard boiled egg whites cutie apple 2 celery sticks chicken breast. Avacado dip and wheat thins ( I got carried away with this and it became my dinner)................. andtwobitesof myhubby'scocopuffscereal

I worked out each day for about 45 min to an hour.
I will keep you updated until I have my bikini bod!


Tuesday, January 29, 2013

HEALTH & FITNESS DREAMS



What “fitness feat” have you always wanted to accomplish? I think we all have something in mind, a seemingly insurmountable task that we just wish, for whatever reason, we could do. You see other people accomplish it with ease, and you secretly wish that you were them—even just for a minute—to know what it feels like.


Writer Richard Bach says, “You’re never given a wish without also being given the power to make it true. You may have to work for it, however.”




Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”
-The world’s movers and shakers are those who believed in their dreams and persevered until they manifested what they have dreamt about.
-Envision your dream and see by your heart’s eyes how it can change the world and have a huge impact on so many lives.
“If you take responsibility for yourself you will develop a hunger to accomplish your dreams.” -Les Brown
-Nothing will feed your hunger for making a difference more than pursuing (Fill in the Blank)
-It will add meaning to your life and make your efforts worthwhile. It will make you wake up every morning with exhilaration and enthusiasm.
As Les Brown says, “You gotta be HUNGRY”



Sunday, January 27, 2013

Yoga Undressed (Adult) O Ya!

I was recently enlightened with information about a yoga series........ http://www.yogaundressed.com/. Yoga Undressed is AMAZING!!! I bought it!! Despite the strategic camera angles, all that kept running through mind was the Seinfeld episode where Jerry explained the difference between good naked and bad naked. The instructor was nothing but inspiring.

Photo credit: Yoga Undressed
The videos are well instructed, beautifully shot and tastefully executed. As the narrator said, yoga in the nude should make you feel like the bold goddess you really are, giving you permission to feel at home in your own skin. I agree with this concept wholeheartedly. If you are on a mission to build self-esteem and enhance your body image, I highly recommend this series as an excellent starting point.

Naked yoga not only assists in developing a strong body and peace of mind, it inspires self love. It helps people create a healthier, more balanced feeling about themselves, resolving the internal conflict that arises from poor body image and low self-esteem, facilitating the integration of all aspects of the self in a harmonious way. For this reason and so many more, naked yoga is a powerful vehicle for self-improvement, heightened consciousness and spiritual fulfillment.






Naked Yoga - Nude Hatha and Kundalini BeginnerIntegrated wellness, fitness and lifestyle expert Jennifer Kries is credited with being the first to bring Pilates to a mass audience. Her award-winning videos, DVDs, and TV show revolutionized the fitness community and started the explosive wave of enthusiasm for Pilates and mind/body exercise. In addition to Yoga Undressed, she is the creator and producer of several other original DVD Series and modalities including Waking Energy, The Hot Body Cool Mind Series, and The Pilates Method Master Trainer Series. Jennifer has inspired countless readers, practitioners, graduates of her programs, and viewers alike to embrace her all-encompassing philosophy of movement, art, health, life and energy. yogaundressed.com






















* Bonus Men LOVE anything naked! Especially Yoga! 


Make a Morning Routine Stick


Simply Genius...........
I lay workout clothes every night before going to bed. 

Weird?
Eh. What’s a girl to do when I wake up with limited time to get ready (shower, brush my teeth, make the bed, feed the most gorgeous dog in the world, check e-mails, blah, blah, blah)? There’s way too much to do in a day, so this trick makes life a little less stressful. Plus!!! It provides an extra push to get my ass to the gym
Fun fact ( I dieeee over this! ): Kim Kardashian has admitted that she sleeps in her gym clothes. I love when she tweeted this: “Is it weird if I sleep in my workout clothes so I can get up early at 6am and work out? It will force me to and save time!”. I mean, that’s real dedication. There really is no excuse with Kim’s trick.
And although I’m not telling anyone to sleep in their Lulu’s, it certainly doesn’t kill you to be prepared.
Trust me…this lil trick works like a charm. Lay some workout swag out tonight so there’s no excuse not to sweat in the AM.





How To Find Fitness Inspiration


Some days I feel totally uninspired, as if the innovation and passion has been sucked out of me.

Do you ever feel like that?

Being in that frame of mind can be such a trap when you are trying to consistently live a healthy lifestyle — motivation seems to vanish into thin air.

And, it’s usually those times when we slip up, and fall back into old ways.

Perhaps you feel like that right now — do you need a kindly nudge in the right direction?

Maybe you’ve already had a great idea — you want to become a runner, or lose weight for summer — but you need to be moved to put that idea into action, otherwise it’s just random thoughts on an imaginary piece of paper.












Here’s what works for me…

I believe inspiration to change can be found in lots of places, things and people… if you look for it.

Don’t make the mistake of getting so caught up in other things, you’re too busy to notice.

Tips for finding inspiration…

1. Books and health magazine — are a good starting point. Increasing knowledge helps you move through barriers, and opens your mind to new possibilities.

2. Blogs  — where you can learn from experts, or those who are learning-by-doing. This is a great way to share in the experiences of others, and hopefully their enthusiasm will rub off.

3. Social media — following on from above, if you subscribe to your favorite health sites, logging onto their profiles on Twitter or Facebook can be a great way to get little snipets of info, or timely encouragement to spur you on.

I clicked onto my Twitter account just now and typed in “inspiration,” Leo from Zen Habits popped up first. Here’s what he said: “If you want to learn, teach. If you need inspiration, inspire others. If you’re sad, cheer someone up.”



Very timely advice, at the click of a mouse!

4. Friends and family — the people around you can be extremely influential.

If you know someone who has been really successful in something (even if it’s unrelated to your goal), don’t be afraid to ask them about it. They’ll love to share their story with you, and it’s one of the best ways to find inspiration yourself.


5. Exercise — I find exercise helps to clear my head. It allows me to take a step back from my work and other things, and refocus again on my goals.

Moving, breathing fresh air, getting some sunshine — it’s sure to inspire.

6. Music — an amazing source of motivation for many people. Perhaps you can’t workout without it, or maybe you find certain music lifts your spirits when feeling down.

Whatever the case, crank up your iPod with your favourites, and get moving.

7. Dream — about what you want to achieve, where you are heading, how you’re going to get there. Perhaps you’d love to run a marathon — why not? With the right mindset, anything is possible. 

It’s good to dream, just make it BIG!

How to stay inspired

Okay, so you’ve sussed out a few sources of inspiration. But, you’ll need to keep topping it up. So, how can you manage to stay inspired?

Make friends – whether it’s a friend who is ultra energetic, someone who eats really well, or even an online support group of people with the same goals as you, being friends with the right people will help you reach your goals.

Read daily – books, blogs, magazines (even podcasts, or videos), whatever works for you.

Go outside regularly — nothing kills your spirit more than being cooped up indoors all day long. If you can, exercise outdoors for a double whammy.

Do something different — break out of your routine every now and then. This will help you see things from a new perspective, gain insight, get inspired.

Be silent — sit in silence at some point throughout the day, in quiet contemplation or prayer. The act of switching off the TV, radio, or laptop, and allowing your mind to actually think is powerful.

I’d love to hear from you — what is your inspiration in life? What has helped you change bad habits?




http://www.dietriffic.com/2010/05/12/find-inspiration/


NEW YEAR 2-7 DAY DETOX


The start of the year is, of course, the perfect time to do a clean up. It may be that your eating over the festive period was so off-beam that you need a few days to ease back into healthy eating, or it may be that you are ready for something a little more radical. I am personally going to do this because I am moving across country. As hard as I will try to eat clean (avoid junk), it will be very challenging on the road. As soon as I arrive in my new state I will start  my detox to flush out all the garbage. In the past I have noticed a detox is great for killing your cravings for all the sugary and salty demons! WOO-HOO !!

Here follows some info about how to do a 2 day or a 5-7 day detox. Choose what feels right and then give it your all. Ready?

The best 2 day detox is to follow the classic “eat as many fresh fruits and vegetables as possible” routine, but we must also take care that these are organic. Pesticides are hardly non-toxic! So we want the food to be clean, whole and untainted – also “live” (raw) foods as these still have the enzymes, oxygen, naturally distilled water and precious health-promoting plant hormones (that help us feel happier) as part of them.

As two days is really no time at all, it’s best to just go for it and give it 100%, so set two days aside where you don’t have to be out and about socialising, where there is no pressure to eat “normally” and when you can easily prepare your own foods.

Even though this will be largely fruits and vegetables, that doesn’t mean it has to be boring – far from it! And you’ll be glowing afterwards.


----------------Here’s your plan:--------------------




Drinks – ideally the only drinks you should be consuming throughout your detox are pure water, caffeine-free herbal teas, freshly made fruit and vegetable juices and freshly made smoothies. 
Aim to drink a gallon a day!
Day 1

Morning: As much fresh fruit as you desire – any sort – and/or a smoothie (eat always according to your appetite).

Mid-morning snack: A different type of fruit – as much as you desire – eat until satiated.

Lunch: A large salad made using any or all of the following ingredients:

Lettuce (any kind or mixed), watercress, grated carrot, grated raw beetroot, fresh corn shaved off the cob, chopped tomatoes, chopped red bell pepper, any sprouted beans or seeds (such as alfalfa, sprouted sunflower seeds, sprouted broccoli, sprouted mung beans, etc.). Make your dressing by blending half a large avocado with the juice from 2 oranges and blend. Add water to reach your desired consistency if it’s too thick and creamy for you. Then pour over your salad, toss, throw in the remaining half an avocado if you wish, and enjoy! (Tip: Make sure this salad is big enough so that you are not starving 30 minutes later. Make more than you think you’ll want and you can dip into it up to an hour before dinner).

Dinner: Fresh juice made from 3 large carrots, 2 apples, small piece of ginger (optional), small piece of lemon, 3 oranges.

A large fruit salad made with as many fruits as you desire (banana is good for filling you up!) served in a large bowl. Make a sauce by blending a handful of raw macadamia nuts with the juice of half an orange (or a whole one depending on juiciness), 2-4 large Medjool dates (or 4-8 smaller soaked ones) plus and optional small piece of vanilla bean and pour on top.

Day 2

Repeat as for day one, but feel free to eat the salad meal in the evening and add in some slightly heavier raw foods – like some raw unsalted nuts and seeds, some olives and/or some more avocado.

As long as you are eating enough, enjoy every mouthful (i.e. don’t use ingredients you don’t like, swap them for something else of the same food group that you do like), and take care with your drinks then you should feel noticeably lighter and happier when you wake up on day 3, at which point you can either go back to normal or try something slightly longer…

Day 3

As per days one and two, ideally you want at least one juice and one smoothie in there (a green smoothie is the healthiest one of all), one main meal salad and one large helping of fresh fruit. Avoid eating fruit AFTER meals as this will cause gas and bloating in most people due to fermentation. So keep your fruit meals or drinks separate, or at least before a main meal.

Add in steamed veggies today to your main meal if you desire, but remember, they need to be organic!

Days 4-7

As per day three, but you can add in one or two other cooked items to your main meal salad which can be any of these:

Cooked potatoes swirled in olive oil, garlic, lemon juice and fresh basil
Cooked beans or pulses
Cooked veggies
Wholegrain rice
Any organic rice or rice crackers
Non-wheat breads
Oatcakes

At the end of this week you should feel very different, and probably a lot happier - as well as having lost a few pounds if you need to.

This can give you a feel for what is possible for you when you choose to not only lighten your toxic load food-wise, but also start to let go of stored toxins, which may have been lurking there in your cells and tissues for weeks or months! 

IMPORTANT-
On any detox you will completely cut out all nicotine, alcohol and caffeine. Doing this may lead to withdrawal symptoms, but these withdrawal symptoms should not be confused as side effects of the detox. You are, actually, detoxing from the harmful substance to which you are addicted and that is a good thing.

While generally, you should feel good during a healthy detox and you should end up feeling healthier than when you started, there are some cases where a person may not feel too great throughout the detox. These situations can come up for anyone when the toxic load is releasing quicker than your body’s elimination system can keep up.   Which brings us to an important subject, it’s very important that your bowels are moving regularly during any detox diet, and that means at the very least once per day, preferably two or three times.

Another important component to any detox plan is rest.  Your body is doing extra work during the cleanse so it is important to help out by resting and conserving your energy for detoxifying.

As you can see, choosing a healthy detox diet is a matter of being smart. You do not want to deprive your body during the process, so choose a detox diet that includes good food choices that give you the nutrients that you need, and ensure that it is for a reasonable period of time. In the end, you should have no problem finding a healthy detox diet if you follow these guidelines.

Of course before embarking on any kind of detox or diet change you should consult with your personal health care provider.


Keep me posted on how this works for you! If you have any questions or need help I am here to help! Good LUCK!!!! YOU CAN DO IT!!!!!!

© 2012 Karen Knowler WOULD YOU LIKE TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR ON YOUR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Karen Knowler, The Raw Food Coach publishes "Successfully Raw" - a free weekly eZine for raw food lovers everywhere. If you're ready to look good, feel great and create a raw life you love get your FREE tips, tools and recipes now at www.TheRawFoodCoach.com. http://www.raw-foods-diet-center.com/healthy-detox-diet.html