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For many years women (and men) have been sucked into this preconceived notion that if you eat less that you'll lose weight. To start off with the basics technically speaking, yes. If you eat less you will lose weight. But eating less meals means you aren't replenishing your body and giving it the nutrients that it needs. So in fact this could have a worse effect then we sometimes realize. There are thousands of different diets out there that limit certain food groups or all food all together. If you've tried one or fifteen and feel like "this just isn't for me" then 1 you are not alone and 2 you are right! Many "fad diets" are based off the beliefs that limiting certain food groups or food all together is the answer. Have you ever started a diet and by the end of week one you are starving, cranky, don't look or feel any different and end up binging? You are not alone here either! That's actually pretty normal. When you begin to deprive your body of things that it wants and needs you will eventually give in. For women over the years we've been told that 1200 calories is the number to stand by. Not taking into account a females weight, height, activity levels and so much more. There are some women where 1200 calories is the perfect guide for them and for others it just isn't possible. That's the beauty of humans, we're all created differently. So going back to the title "Less isn't always more when it comes to eating" it isn't. It's just not. When you eat less food through out the day you are putting your body into starvation mode. You are telling your body that since no more food is coming in we need to go into protection mode. Almost like how bears eat like crazy so they can sleep for the winter months and have enough fat to keep them alive, you are in a sense creating the same thing. When you don't nourish your body, your body begins to store what food it does have in it as fast to protect your vital organs and essentially keep you alive. How amazing are our bodies, right? But as amazing as they are, we still need to cherish them. Over time you may lose weight in this sense but in the long run you may actually begin to gain weight or completely plateau. There is a solution though! Eat! You don't need to starve yourself to lose weight. In fact if you haven't taken anything away from what I just said, understand this. To lose weight properly and keep it off, you need to eat. Eat and you will lose. How? Your body lives for healthy carbs and fats, proteins, fruits and vegetables. So give your body what it wants! This obviously doesn't mean go binge on McDonald's everyday even if it fits in your calories. But allow yourself to eat. Food is a form of self love. When we respond to our bodies needs with beautiful foods it will reward us. Remember, the most important relationship you will ever have is with yourself, so cherish it! Give yourself the promise to eat. Allocate meals every day for breakfast, lunch and dinner along with a couple of snacks in between your meals. You will keep your metabolism boosted and keep your body from crashing. Plus who really likes to deprive themselves? I'll answer that one- no one! Reward your body and nourish it with the healthy food it deserves and it will reward you in return! 
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 My early years of college was when I first became interested in the health and wellness scene. Social media had just become the craze between Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. We were now introduced to a new way of staying connected to other people. My second year of college I got my first gym job at age 19. I absolutely loved it. I loved the people I worked with, I loved the environment and I loved that I was learning so much about a particular industry I didn't know much about.
From working with other trainers I got inspired to get certified as well. Around this same time an opportunity came to me that I felt could be too good to be true. It was called Vemma. For those who aren't familiar Vemma is a health and nutrition company based off of their main product a liquid antioxidant. Vemma stands for Vitamins, essential minerals, mangosteen and aloe vera. At first I kind of thought the whole thing was a hoax. But I liked the fact that a bunch of young adults my age were packed into a restaurant at night, at least interested in hearing what the speakers had to say. As time went on I became an affiliate and brought some friends along to join the team. Many people will have their opinions on the company as to what it really was (pyramid scheme or not), if they had good ethics or morals. But for me, it was way more then just a part time gig I did with some friends. It became this globalized social vehicle that allowed me to reshape the way I thought and ultimately who I was as a person. In fact we could've been selling elephant shit. The product itself didn't matter. And don't get me wrong having a great product was the cherry on top, but it was so much more than that. If you knew me at this time I had probably talked about it or tried pitching one of the products to you. I had this gleam in my eye when it came to sharing something I was excited about. I had felt true motivation and passion for something, for the first time in my life. At a young age we were learning about personal growth. I was reading more books than I ever had in all of my school years combined. I was being introduced to great leaders/thinkers like Bob Proctor, Les Brown and Tony Robbins. I was talking to more people and creating new connections. I was educating myself on health and wellness. I was learning to come out of my shell and not just be the shy, quiet girl. I was making friends that started to become a second family. We were all now a part of the #YPR the Young People Revolution. We were changing the world. In fact, looking back on my Vemma experience there is very little negativity I have to say about it. Other than maybe the fact that I never got a Vemma BMW (company rank perk) but I survived. I got to travel to different states (New Jersey, Ohio, Las Vegas to name a few) with my friends and talk to other young people about a great opportunity. I made connections with people in different countries through social media interaction and was able to build up my own team. I mean if you had someone like Alex Morton show up to your house for an event, or even get to speak to him on a person phone call you felt like you "made it" in the Vemma world. A few years after leaving the company I felt like I lost my vision. I had a clear vision at one time of what I wanted out of my life. I knew what I deserved and I wouldn't have it any other way. I had been so inspired to have my own business with life coaching and personal training. I had the mindset that I didn't want to work for anyone else. But as the years progressed the vision got smaller. I wasn't as excited about other job opportunities or as motivated. I had gotten into the mode of just making money to pay my bills and not so much follow my passion. Why was I so motivated and inspired by other people to grow a business that wasn't even my own? I was pushing to make someone else's dream come to life but I couldn't do that for myself. So, I went back to the basics. I pulled out the books. I opened the old documents and watched the old videos. This time though, it wasn't about Vemma. I watched everything else in the videos. How everyone was so excited, speaking with such passion and educating others. I read the books that spoke about business and sales, personal growth and mental health. I read the documents of step by step tutorials on how to grow your branch. Then it all made sense. It wasn't the product. It wasn't even the company. It was the people. It was the growth. It was the challenge to learn something new. It was the drive to set a goal and hit it. It was being my own "boss" and learning how to become an entrepreneur. It was creating that environment that made you want to jump out of bed in the morning and tell everyone you knew. It was exactly what I wanted out of a career. It was exactly what I wanted to create for myself. And fast forward almost six years now, I have it. I'm building my own company with my list of clients growing by the days. I'm creating a life that I am truly passionate about. And best of all, finally living out what truly fulfills me. So I guess thanks, Vemma. Thanks for starting my journey off to the rest of my life. Have you heard about that new cold treatment? You know the one where you're basically freezing yourself, almost to death? Cryotherapy. One of the newest up and coming holistic treatments to help with muscle recovery, inflammation, fatigue and soreness. A three minute treatment in the cryotherapy chamber is equivalent to an hour in an ice bath. Ouch! But really does it work? Well I tried it out to be the test dummy. What to expect: To be really freaking cold. You go into the machine in socks, your under garments and gloves. For three minutes the technician will talk you through the process and hopefully it goes quick! What to know before you go: Your skin cannot be wet. The machine is below freezing temperature of liquid nitrogen so any wetness is a no go. Certain health risks like cardiovascular problems or open wounds will also be a no. Check the list on the companies website or call before your appointment to make sure. (It's always best to check with your own doctor before going). Benefits: The cryotherapy treatment has a bunch of great benefits. For all types of people with all types of problems varying from just being sore from a workout to having serious pain problems. It reduces inflammation, gives you a natural energy boost, burns up to 800 calories in one session (yes, this is the best part), promotes cologne production, reduces cellulite, great for any skin problems like acne, psoriasis, eczema, wrinkles, and dark spots. It improves your sleep and is great for people who struggle with depression and anxiety. The list goes on and on. My results: I went in for my first treatment super sore from a workout. I was also extremely tired from lack of sleep. Post treatment I felt ready to go. I was barely sore at all and had an energy boost for the rest of the day.
Have you ever felt overwhelmed with all the things going on in your life? If you say no, you're straight up lying. It feels like on a daily basis I'm creating new "to do" lists to get on top of all my errands. Sometimes it feels like an entire week will come and go and I've barely gotten anything done. I recently came across this article that talked about massive focus. If you could just put all your focus in one area for one hour, you could have massive success. Of course that line drew me in. When it comes to business, financially, personal stuff, I can easily be all over the place. So I looked into this hour of focus. I like to call it power hour. And no it isn't the power hour of pregaming. It's the power hour that can set your entire week up for success. If you think about it, an hour a day isn't that much time. That's 7 hours a week. But imagine if for those 7 hours you put your entire focus on that one area. One hour each day was a different focus. Whether it be errands one day, business another, health appointments, laundry, I mean anything! For one hour a day at any time of the day, put the time aside and focus. For me, I need an hour for errands and an hour for my personal business. Sometimes I need more and I put more time asides, but sometimes I can't and hour is the cut off. Since a lot of my business is primarily online an hour in front of my laptop is what I need. For basic errands around town an hour is just the right amount of time to catch up with life. Power hour, massive success? I know it might sound silly, but truly think about it. Giving yourself one hour a day of absolutely no interruptions is huge! Even if you aren't a business owner, we all have so many things going on in our lives that are pulling us into differently directions. So if you're a busy mom and have limited time before the kids come back home, this could be your perfect fix! Or if you're a busy college student trying to keep your grades and social life a float, this is for you too. For me, I love to plan. I like to have my calendar in place and know what is going on for the up coming week. I usually try to put my power hour either in the middle of the day when I have the most amount of energy (usually around 1pm) or I'll plan it for the evening before I finish my day. It's amazing what happens when you start to put yourself first. When you are no longer putting off doctors appointments or catching up on emails, you will find that you actually have more time through out your day to do things you love. My power hour isn't always filled with things I like. For example calling the phone company, I mean who enjoys that? But it still needs to get done! When you start to prioritize yourself and what needs to get done, life for you can really take a turn for the better. An act of self love is doing for yourself, no matter how much you might find it a drag. So make the to do list, cross it off line by line and give yourself the luxury with power hour!  I've never been much of a sweets girl. Usually I'll go for the salty snacks, like goldfish (my fav). But lately I've been dreaming of oreos and all things chocolate. Without trying to eat my body weight in desserts I've been looking for some healthy alternatives to fill my cravings. I came across Miss K's website that has me so excited to eat healthy and still get some yummy desserts in. Fan favorite is always funfetti, so I attempted to make her funfetti pronuts. Check out the recipe below! INGREDIENTS DONUT
http://www.misskkitchencreations.com/skinny-funfetti-pronuts/  I have a thing for just about any food that has bread crumbs. Chicken cutlets, mac and cheese with the crust, you name it, I'm in. I'm always looking for new healthy recipes to make for dinner thats quick, easy and not loads of calories. I discovered cauliflower rice first which has become a staple in my meals. Cauliflower is the perfect substitute for any grain like product. You can turn it into rice, into a mash or even into a pizza crust. The skype is the limit when it comes to cauliflower. My cauliflower mash is so simple and best of all, so delicious. You can make so many different variations to it too! The ingredients I typically use are as follows; -1 head of cauliflower -Whole wheat bread crumbs -Parmesan cheese -Non-fat plain greek yogurt -Pepper -Garlic Other variations: -Add milk instead of yogurt -Add sour cream instead of yogurt -Add in one egg -Use a different type of cheese -Add in chopped spinach I like to keep it simple. The last time I made this bad boy I didn't have any yogurt, milk or sour cream so I got a little bit creative. First I chopped the cauliflower as small as possible. Then put it all in a skillet with pepper and garlic. I let that cook for about 10-15 minutes on the stove top. Following this step I put half of the cauliflower into a baking dish and sprinkled the top with bread crumbs and parmesan cheese. I then added the rest of the cauliflower now layering the top with parmesan cheese and bread crumbs again. Put it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 30-40 minutes, or until top is golden brown! This is the perfect dinner to make quick, throw in the oven and get some other chores around the house done while its baking away. A perfect side dish for to go with chicken or steak, as I made chicken cutlets this time. Remember, bread crumbs doesn't always have to be bad! My chicken cutlets aren't crazy coated and are still delicious. Chicken cutlets: -2 packs of chicken cutlets -1 egg -Whole wheat bread crumbs -Coconut oil I'm not crazy about eating straight grilled chicken every day. I get sick of it and bored, really quick. So I spice it up. Some people think bread crumbs and oil and want to run for the hills. But carbs and healthy fats are still okay. Use a nonstick pan so you don't need much oil to begin with. Coat the chicken with the egg and then whole wheat bread crumbs, which eliminates using flour as well. You can add in any spices you'd like to the bread crumbs too! Get them crispy in the pan and then pop those babies into the oven for about 17 minutes at 350 degrees. Easily both dishes done in under 45 minutes! My kitchen was clean and dinner was served all before the hour was up! Comment your favorite dinner recipes below!
I think that for the most part, we're all in the same uphill battle. Knowing we have an occasion coming up where we want our bodies to looking rocking yet it's just not there yet. So we kick ourselves into high gear. We start to eat clean, workout often and change all of our habits just in time before the big event. Sound familiar? I call this vacation motivation. Vacation motivation can be defined as when you get motivated/inspired to change your body for the better, in a small amount of time for an upcoming event. Now vacation motivation isn't always in reference to an actual vacation. It could be knowing you have a wedding coming up, or high school reunion. It is an event that is coming rather quickly, that makes you buckle down and get serious. I love and hate these goals, as a personal trainer. It's awesome that you are super motivated but not always great in a small time period. For some people it's not realistic or healthy to drop a certain amount of weight in the time period allotted. It''s also tough because once the event comes and goes, are you going to stick with your new lifestyle? Thinking in a clients perspective I totally get it. "Let's do this. I'm all in. I'll do whatever it takes to look good in that bikini". Also sound familiar? We get ourselves motivated for this short period of time mainly because we trick ourselves. We tell our bodies and minds that if you cooperate with me for the next few weeks while I deprive you, I promise it'll be worth it. It'll be worth it to look great, and then we can go back to normal. WRONG! This is exactly what we call a fad diet. Even if you are following a new lifestyle plan that is coached by a fitness and nutrition specialist its nothing more than a fad if it becomes short term. But can it become a new lifestyle instead of just a fad? Of course, and I'm here to show you how. So let's go with the story that you have a destination wedding coming up. Not only do you have to look great at the wedding in your cocktail dress, but now you have to like bikini ready in front of all your family members and friends. You have about 4-6 weeks to get it together, what's your first move? Maybe hire a specialist to coach you through it? Find a gym buddy to help keep you motivated? Eat salad all day long? Here's a few suggestions; 1. It takes 21 days to form a new habit, so make some. Decide to make some new habits like drinking a gallon of water a day to stay hydrated. 2. Get to bed earlier. Sleep is a huge part of living a healthy lifestyle. Your body needs it to recover. 3. Speak to a specialist to get a work out guide or meal plan (if you aren't already working with one or have proper knowledge) 4. Switch items out. Find items that you consume daily that isn't great for you and find their healthier alternative. For example whole wheat bread for white, coconut milk instead of creamer, a homemade breakfast instead of a protein bar and so on. 5. Walk. It sounds pretty simple but you'd be surprised how many people opt out when there's an option not to. Take the stairs instead of the elevator, park a little further in the parking lot or simply walk to the store instead of driving. 6. Find something that motivates you beyond your event. The wedding will come and go and you will be back to a regular routine in not time. Find something that is going to keep motivating you after all the excitement wares down. 7. Plan ahead. Make sure to have food around that is already prepped for the go or fresh and ready to cook when you're hungry. Remember, failing to plan is planning to fail. Check out my Meal prepping 101 for some ideas. 8. Get support. If you are starting this journey based on an up coming event, chances are someone else you know would want to partake in it. Find a workout buddy, or a food buddy that will help keep you on your game. 9. Clear out the bad habits. If you have bad eating habits try to change at least one thing a week. Clear out all the snacks in your cabinet. Take a different route home from work to avoid fast food stops. Limit yourself to eating after a certain time to avoid late night binging. 10. Keep progress. Track yourself with taking weekly measurements and pictures of your body to see how it's changing. I avoid the scale at all costs because weight is just a number that can often be incorrect. I like to measure with how certain clothes fit or with a tape measurer to be precise.  |
