Fitness Blog

Feeling stressed? You’re not alone.

Stress is an inevitable part of our modern existence. Whether you’re the CEO of a large company, a Kindergarten teacher or a construction worker, you have stress to deal with. We all have bills to pay, relationships to maintain and challenges to get through.

But you don’t have to let it get the best of you. How can you turn your stress-filled life on its head?

With one of the best weapons against stress: exercise.

When stress is getting you down, you need something to kick you out of your funk. You need something that makes you feel good.

Every time you exercise, you increase your body’s production of endorphins.

In case you have forgotten, endorphins are responsible for those good moods you get in after a race or the euphoria you feel while chomping down on a piece of chocolate.

However, before you grab a piece of chocolate and skip the gym, remember the end result of each and choose which one will help you battle stress in the long run. (Hint: It’s not the chocolate.)

Any and all exercise you perform helps you fend off the effects of stress. So whether you enjoy jogging, lifting weights, playing basketball, practicing ballet, swimming, yoga, rowing, or boxing, simply getting involved in your exercise of choice is sure to help reduce your stress.

Through the Brick Wall: If you are working out every day and not getting the stress relief you want then it’s time to do things a little different. If all you do is lift weights five days a week, you should add in tennis or racquetball a couple days a week. And if you’re all cardio all the time, it may be time to get off the treadmill and grab a dumbbell or two.

Still not working? Keep a diary of your progression. Write down how long and hard you exercise, the various weights you lift, and the steps you make toward whatever health goal you set for yourself. Take pictures along the way as well. Then look back over your journal on occasion. Seeing the progression when you feel you’re not making progress may give you the confidence you need to put stress in its place and move on.

My mission is to get each and every one of my clients the body that they desire and along with that a low stress lifestyle.

Take the stress out of planning your own workouts by joining one of my high-energy, fat-blasting exercise programs.

Call or email today to get the body and stress level that you deserve.

Never Give Up

Don’t allow past failures get you down. It can be frustrating waiting for results, but by a combination of cardio exercises, a healthy diet, and the right resistance workouts, you will reach your goal. Never. Give. Up.

Bacon & Mustard Spiked Green Beans

Here’s a tasty way to serve up garden fresh green beans this summer. Smokey bacon and tangy mustard give these tender-crisp green beans memorable flavor. This side dish pairs perfectly with steak or chicken on the grill or alongside a lettuce wrapped burger. Enjoy!

Here’s what you need…
2 lbs green beans, trimmed
6 slices bacon
½ cup yellow onion, sliced
2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 Tablespoons whole grain mustard
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add the green beans and cook for 5 minutes. Drain the beans into a colander and place under cold water for 20 seconds.
2. In a large skillet, cook the bacon until crispy over medium-high heat. Remove the bacon from the skillet, leaving the bacon drippings, and chop into 1-inch pieces.
3. Return the skillet to medium-high heat and cook the onions in the bacon drippings for 5 minutes, or until tender. 4. Reduce the heat to low and add the vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper, stirring until fully combined. Add the green beans and the bacon pieces and mix well. Serve and enjoy!

Nutritional Analysis: One serving equals: 158 calories, 8g fat, 12g carbohydrate, 6g fiber, and 10g protein.

One of the most frequent questions that I’m asked is, “How can I get great abs?”

You may have pondered this question at some time or another.

Many people are frustrated by their stomachs, to the point of giving up after doing dozens of crunches with zero improvement.

Thus, it’s time to forget everything you’ve heard about how to sculpt your abs.

Quite simply, crunches alone won’t give you a six pack.

Moreover, doing crunches with the hope that it will transform your abs from flabby to muscular is to believe in one of the most widely held fitness myths. I’m talking about the spot reduction myth.

Training one area of your body will not specifically burn fat from that spot.

Are you training as if spot reduction worked? Doing dozens of crunches in the hopes that as a result layers of fat will disappear?

Because sit-ups, crunches and planks will not flatten your abs.

But a drop in overall body fat will do that for you.

So you want the secret to great abs?

The secret is a winning combination of fat burning cardio, resistance training and clean eating.

Therefore it is fully possible for you to dramatically shape up your waistline.

Yes, Y-O-U.

My clients routinely lose weight and transform their bodies. You can do it too.

Answer the following questions to see how your current routine measures up:

How often do you exercise? If your answer was anything less than 4 times a week, then that’s the first thing getting between you and flat abs.

How do you define a fat burning workout? A routine including intense cardiovascular training coupled with effective resistance training. Do you do this?

I’m sorry to be the one to break this to you, but walking on the treadmill for 30 minutes isn’t a fat blasting routine. Neither is a leisurely 20 minutes on the elliptical machine. The truth is that you can dramatically increase your results while investing less time when you exercise right.

Cardio exercise is all about maintaining an effective level of intensity. But this doesn’t mean that you should be out of breath or gasping for air. It does mean that you need to push yourself.

Resistance training is the second key part of a fat burning workout. This means working your major muscle groups against resistance in a way that stimulates your metabolism. Hence the key here again is to find the right intensity and to keep each muscle group guessing.

Do you eat a clean diet? Diet is a big stumbling block for most people especially as it relates to their midsection. Here’s a fact: If your diet is out of control then your abs will be too. You can’t trim your waist without trimming the junk out of your diet, regardless of how hard you exercise.

Keep calories in check. Do you know how many calories you eat? The best way to find out is to record everything you eat for a few days. Tally the number of calories that you eat each day and do an evaluation—feel free to recruit me to help out with this part. Together we’ll chart improvements for your diet and adjust your calories for maximum results.

Just say “No” to junk food. While this may seem obvious, your definition of “junk food” may need an alteration. Refined sugar is one of the biggest culprits in the junk food world—it is found in soft drinks, blended coffee drinks, cookies, cakes, packaged snacks, and other sinfully sweet treats. Processed fat is another monster. Thus, as a rule of thumb you can safely view all processed or refined items as junk food.

Eat more frequently. The key here is to never let your metabolism “crash” by going hours without eating. One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to skip breakfast—as this is the meal that ‘breaks the fast’ that your body goes into each night. Stick with eating small meals every few hours and always avoid stuffing yourself.

You should now understand why you are better off not wasting time on crunches—while it is important to exercise your abs a couple of times a week, you won’t expect fat to fall of that area after 100’s of crunches.

Do you want to flatten and sculpt your waist once and for all? Simply decide that you really want it and commit to yourself—you deserve it.

See me for fat-blasting workouts that deliver results. Together we will get you on a program that will melt the fat off your abs, exposing shape and definition.

Call or email me today to get started.

Time to Exercise

Don’t allow past failures get you down. It can be frustrating waiting for results, but by a combination of cardio exercises, a healthy diet, and the right resistance workouts, you will reach your goal. Never. Give. Up.

Greek Omelet Waffles

Here’s a fun way to eat your eggs – cooked in a waffle maker! In this recipe the subtle flavors of Greek omelet are served up in a convenient waffle shape – complete with Kalamata olives, feta cheese, roasted red bell peppers, chicken sausage and broccoli. Hence, this is the perfect recipe to enjoy for brunch or to make on the weekend and portion out for a week of quick on-the-go breakfasts to grab and enjoy on your way to work.

Servings: 4

Here’s what you need…
Olive oil spray
6 eggs
¼ cup milk
¼ cup feta cheese, crumbled
½ cup roasted red bell pepper, thinly sliced
¼ cup Kalamata olives, seeded and chopped
¼ cup fresh broccoli, chopped
2 links chicken sausage, chopped
¼ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper

1. Preheat your waffle griddle on medium-low heat. Spray generously with olive oil.
2. In a large bowl combine the eggs, milk, feta, bell pepper, olives, broccoli, sea salt, black pepper and chicken sausage. Mix well until fully combined.
3. Transfer ½ cup of the omelet batter into the waffle iron, close, and cook until golden and cooked through. Transfer to a plate and continue cooking the remaining batter in ½ cup scoops. Enjoy!

Nutritional Analysis: One serving equals: 279 calories, 18g fat, 6g carbohydrate, 1g fiber, and 18g protein.

Do you wish you could change something about your life right now?

I’m here to argue that change can happen in an instant.

I know this goes against popular thought. Most people believe that change has to be worked at for months or even years. We expect to try and fail numerous times before we ultimately give up or succeed.

How many people do you know who struggle with their weight? They want to make a healthy change by getting in shape, but the change never seems to take hold.

Is there something in your life that you want to change? Do you have weight to lose? Do you have high blood pressure? Or do you have a pair of pants that you wish you could fit into?

What is keeping you from making a positive change in your life?

According to professional speaker and author, Tony Robbins, it’s the getting ready to change that takes time. In the end there’s a single instant when the change occurs. Robbins goes on to outline three specific beliefs that you must have in order to instantly create a lasting change.

Belief #1: Something must change.

Do you sort of want to get into shape, or do you absolutely have to lose the weight? Does dropping a few pounds sound nice, or is living another day in your current body unbearable? In order to make a lasting change you must be convinced that the time has come.

Belief #2: I must change it.

It is vital that you take full responsibility in making the change. Sure, others may assist you, but in the end you are the one who is going to make it happen. You have to need this change enough to make it your personal mission—no one else will do it for you.

Belief #3: I can change it.

Don’t let past failures get in your way. The truth is that you do amazing things when you put your mind to it. Believe that you are capable of losing weight or making any other positive change in your life.

Why do most people fail to make lasting change? They leave it up to willpower. This works for awhile, but you’ll always revert back to what’s comfortable. The solution?

Change what you’re comfortable with.

You’ve probably heard that humans are motivated by two things: 1) to avoid pain and 2) to gain pleasure. When you want to change a behavior pattern the key is to associate pain with the behavior that you don’t want and pleasure with the behavior that you do want.

You know that you want to lose weight and that to do so you need to quit eating comfort food late at night. You also know that you need to start exercising on a regular basis. Up until this point your brain is trained to associate pleasure with eating comfort food late at night and to associate pain with exercise.

It’s time to retrain your brain to feel good about exercise and to feel bad about eating late at night. Think about all of the negative things about being overweight and connect these unpleasant thoughts to your late night snack.

Now think about all of the wonderful things about being in shape and connect these pleasant thoughts to exercise.

You are capable of making a big change in your life. Start by calling or emailing me for your no obligation fitness consultation.

Remember, change can happen in an instant.

Break these Habits

The following 3 habits will result in weight gain faster than you can say ‘anti-fitness habits.’ Break these habits quickly.

Drinking Calories. Soda pop, coffee drinks, smoothies and fruit juices are filled with calories. Since liquids won’t give you a ‘full’ feeling, these drinks slide by without notice of how many extra calories you’re getting. Stick with water to avoid extra calories.

Not Exercising. Skipping the gym day after day, week after week, and month after month will lead to muscle loss and a reduced metabolism. Exercise 3-5 days per week to keep your muscles strong and metabolism high.

Eating a Heavy Dinner. Eating a large heavy dinner sets you up for weight gain. Instead of eating the majority of your calories late in the day, spread it out over the entire day.

Homemade Burrito

Here’s a healthy burrito recipe to sink your teeth into. Whole grains, lean protein and crunchy veggies make this a recipe that you’ll come back to time and again. Serve with a side of your favorite salsa.

Servings: 1

Here’s what you need…
1 sprouted grain, flourless tortilla
1 Tablespoon hummus
⅓ cup cooked brown rice
¼ cup cooked black beans
½ cup cooked chicken, chopped (or baked tofu)
2 Tablespoons fresh corn kernels
2 Tablespoons chopped cucumber
¼ cup shredded arugula
3 cherry tomatoes, chopped

Warm the tortilla in a dry skillet. Spread the hummus evenly over the tortilla.

Top the tortilla with rice, beans, chicken and veggies.

Fold the two sides of the tortilla in over the filling, then flip up the bottom edge and roll tightly.

Nutritional Analysis: One serving equals: 380 calories, 8g fat, 45g carbohydrate, 7g fiber, and 31g protein.

Every parent wants good things for their children: a positive outlook on life, a healthy respect for authority, a strong sense of self, a disease-free body…a healthy body weight.

Despite our best intentions, a recent report suggests that for the first time in two centuries, the current generation of children may have a shorter life expectancy than their parents.

With all the advances in medicine, how could this possibly be true? The blame falls squarely on today’s toxic food environment.

In short, your kids are eating too much junk.

And who can blame them? Junk food tastes great.

The good news is that healthy food also tastes great. Take these simple tips and transform your child’s diet into one that is packed with good health.

1) Add Color

Adding bright and colorful fruits and veggies to your child’s plate will get their diet on the fast track to health. Fresh fruits and veggies are filled with fiber, vitamins and minerals that are essential to good health.

If your kids are resistant then make it fun. Serve veggies with salad dressing as a dip. Cut fresh fruit in the colors of the rainbow and place them on a skewer. Serve a color themed meal – all green, all red or all orange. Use your imagination and you’ll come up with an endless number of ways to make fruits and veggies fun to eat.

2) Think Whole Foods

Processed foods are the biggest problem with our modern diet. Packaged and refined food products are devitalized and filled with empty calories that quickly lead to weight gain. Unfortunately, processed foods make up a large portion of the diet of many children.

Train your kids to opt for whole foods, rather than packaged ones. Whole foods are foods that are in their natural state. An apple. A piece of sprouted grain bread spread with natural peanut butter. A piece of hormone-free chicken. A bowl of beans. You get the idea.

3) Use Wholesome Sweeteners

Refined sugar and corn syrup are packed into many of the foods that your kids love. But wait, there are more wholesome sweeteners available – sweeteners that add vitamins and minerals rather than empty calories. Use the following rather than white sugar or corn syrup:

Sucanat: This pure, dried sugar can juice retains its molasses content. Use it to replace white sugar in baking.
Pure Maple Syrup: Forget the “fake” syrups containing corn syrup. Pure maple syrup contains potassium, calcium and some amino acids.

Brown Rice Syrup: Use this dark syrupy sweetener instead of corn syrup. It takes longer to digest and won’t spike your blood sugar like refined sugar.

Dates: Throw a few seeded dates into your blender to sweeten your smoothie rather than adding white sugar.

4) Make Smart Substitutions

Kids love pizza and pasta and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and that’s not going to change any time soon. Rather than fight your kids on their favorites, try making smart substitutions to make their favorites more nutritious.

Pizza: Up the nutritional content of your pizza by opting for wheat crust over white, adding veggies to the toppings and sticking with lean meat toppings.

Pasta: Use sprouted grain or whole grain pasta rather than traditional white pasta. Add veggies to your pasta sauce. Stick with red sauce, since white sauce is so high in fat.

PB&J: A PB&J, made with white bread using sugar-filled peanut butter and corn syrup-filled jelly, is fairly void of any real nutritional value. Make it healthier by using sprouted grain bread, natural peanut butter and fruit-only jam or sliced berries.

5) Ban Sugary Drinks

One of the best things that you can do for your child’s good health is to instill in them a love for water rather than sugary drinks. Soda pop and juices are filled with empty calories that encourage weight gain.

The easiest way to do this is to stock your house with lots of pure, filtered water. Don’t have fruit drinks or soda pop readily available so that they grow accustom to drinking only water.

While I presented these tips as improvements to be made to your child’s diets, these tips will also do wonders for your diet. Try these 5 tips out for 30 days and I guarantee you’ll look and feel better.

Parents all want good things for their children. Now how about doing something good for yourself as well? You are your child’s biggest role model on how to live, for better or worse.

Treat yourself right by calling or emailing today to get started on an exercise program that will change your life for the best.

The Healthy Food Trap

Do you eat healthy, exercise regularly and yet haven’t been able to achieve your goal weight? You’re not alone.

You’ve fallen into the healthy food trap. This is the faulty belief that as long as the food you’re eating is healthy then you don’t have to worry about portion size.

Weight loss always has and always will be a numbers game. If you eat more calories than you burn, you’ll gain weight – even if those calories are healthy.

Reduce the size of your portions and watch as the weight falls off.

Salmon and Broccoli Scramble

Salmon, broccoli and egg whites combine for the perfect protein-packed breakfast. Add a side of avocado for healthy fats and a serving of fruit for a delicious start to your day.

Servings: 2

Here’s what you need…
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 cup fresh broccoli, cut into small pieces
5 egg whites
8oz grilled or smoked salmon, separated into small pieces
dash of salt and pepper

In a skillet warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add the broccoli, cover and cook for about 5 minutes until tender.

In a small bowl combine the egg whites, salmon, salt and pepper. Mix well. Add to the skillet.
Cook until egg whites are set, flipping at least once.

Nutritional Analysis: One serving equals: 225 calories, 7g fat, 557mg sodium, 6.5g carbohydrate, 1g fiber, and 33g protein.