Back To The Basics

A whole month has passed since my last blog...shame on me!  To be honest though, so much stuff rattles around in my head on a daily basis that I tend to dismiss most of it as unimportant.  My husband always tells me that the stuff that I tell him about weight/fat loss, nutrition, clean eating, health, and fitness are important...I just assume that everyone else already knows the stuff I know.  So, I've decided to take some of the topics back to the basics, and if I get questions about them, then I'll use a future blog to expand on them.

So let's talk about exercise:

Why do we do it, and what are the benefits?

Well, simply put, motion is lotion for your body.  Movement does several important things:

• It keeps your joints from getting stiff
• It burns calories
• It releases endorphins to improve your mood
• It has been proven to be as effective as taking an anti-depressant
• It keeps your body flexible as you age, so you won't be dependent on someone else to care for you
• It keeps your heart strong (cardiac endurance) so you can actively participate in your own life
• It promotes balance which assists in daily activities as we age
• It builds attractive, lean muscle which gives your body an overall toned look

Now on to our eating habits:

Our modern diet is so filled with processed junk!  If you read a nutrition label on food packaging, the vast majority of the ingredients you can't even pronounce!  We eat what's fast...we eat what tastes good...we eat what's convenient.  We have been programmed by food manufacturers, who by the way, have scientists working for them to create foods that will cause you to crave more of them...just so they can sell more of them!  We have a food supply that is laden with antibiotics, chemicals, pesticides, and toxins...yet we just continue to fill our bodies with them...AND EXPECT THEM TO BE HEALTHY AND NOT GET SICK!  Am I the only one who thinks this is CRAZY!

YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT...Period.

If you want to be healthy...eat healthy.  If you want energy...eat nature's energy.  If you want to feel good...eat good.  It's not rocket science.  The vast majority of food that you consume on a daily basis is, to be quite blunt, a chemical shit storm!  I know that may sound harsh, but if I can wake just one person up, to see the light, then my words haven't fallen on deaf ears.  If you don't want to change your eating habits, go ahead and put the junk in your body and make your body sick, but for cryin' out loud, don't your children deserve better????

We ALL have a choice to eat healthy, or not.  The foods you eat will be directly reflected in the way your body looks and feels.  If you're obese or over-weight, don't tell me you eat healthy!  Your body tells the story about exactly what is put into it...

Here's what I'm suggesting if you want to start eating healthier (don't try to change everything at once - you'll be miserable, and you're family will revolt)

• If you can't pronounce it...don't put it in your mouth
• Cut back on your sugar consumption (it's the largest toxin that we consume on a daily basis)
• Absolutely eliminate artificial sweeteners (I could go on all day about the side effects)
• Buy organic for the "Dirty Dozen" (this will reduce the amounts of pesticides that you ingest from vegetables and fruits)
• Buy meats, eggs, and dairy that are organic (this will cut down on the amount of antibiotics and hormones that you ingest) 
• Cut back on the amount of wheat, corn, and soy (largely GMO's and have been found to be upsetting to most digestive tracts)
• Avoid fast food (one of the worst calorie culprits...and it's the cheapest of cheap products, only animal food is of lower quality)
• Avoid calorie dense, nutrient deficient, processed, packaged sweets (candy, pastries, cookies, pies, cakes, etc.)
• Increase your water consumption
• Increase your high-quality protein and produce consumption

So...long and short of it is, you need BOTH a clean diet and exercise to lose weight and be healthy.  My goal is not to help people get skinny, but to help people become more healthy and fit.  I want to help people make the rest of their lives, the best of their life...I want people to feel sexy in their own skin...I want people to achieve a fitness level that will allow them to actively participate in their own life, and not sit on the side lines and watch.

I just started a new Online Personal Trainer program, and if you need additional guidance, motivation, education, I can help. *** FOR LESS THAN $20 A WEEK, I will design a workout program SPECIFICALLY for you...for your fitness level...for your fitness goals, and we will talk weekly about your eating habits, successes, and challenges.***  You are worth the investment of $20 a week...heck, you waste that much (or more) a week on junk food!

If you have any questions about any of the topics covered today, leave a comment...let's get some dialog going, other people may have the same questions/concerns.

Be well!  Be blessed!  Be fit!