Recipe of Week – Breakfast Quiche

I will be attending the Perform Better Summit this Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Chicago.  I need to have some snacks handy for in between seminars. 

The recipe I’m sharing today is cheap to make, loaded with protein and veggies.  I’ve used whatever is already handy in my fridge.  My kids love these so I have to hide them in the back of the fridge where they won’t find them. Watch this video and see how easy it is. Read more

Bust That Plateau

Monday evening, I had the pleasure of speaking on the Ultimate Homeschool Expo show. If you missed it, you can still purchase tickets to the expo and hear over 100 speakers. Much more affordable than a regular conference and you can wear your pajamas! Woot!

During the call, I had an interesting question asked by Cindy Rushton. She asked, “What do you do when someone hits a plateau?” It’s an important question because plateaus are common and can be rather de-motivating for someone trying to lose weight.

Before I tell you what I do for clients that hit a plateau, let me explain what it is. Our bodies are so wonderfully made that it works hard at keeping the amount of energy consumed in balance with the amount of energy we use. So, our bodies do not like to lose weight. Read more

Run a 5K

 

I DID IT!

I ran my first 5K on Saturday morning.  It was exhilirating.  I found out about this 5K from the youth group at my church.

I knew I could run it.  I just finished a 12 week conditioning program so a 5K would be nothing compared to what I had put myself through.

My oldest daughter and I ran it together.  We started off slow and steady at about a 5 mph pace.  After the first mile, her ankle started bothering her (too much tumbling) and we had to really slow down.  She would walk a while then catch up to me.  By the 2nd mile, she was really hurting and told me to keep going.  So, I sped up a bit to a little faster pace and set my breathing to automatic.  Read more

Dieting Spells Disaster – Part I

Most women believe that in order to lose weight the first thing they need to do is eat less and move more. In a way this is true, but there really is more science behind that. What typically happens is women eat maybe 1 or 2 meals a day, drastically reducing their caloric intake and then adding a walk in for exercise. They may see the scale move but what are they really losing? I bet you’ll be surprised. Read on…

Your body’s metabolism is the key to losing unwanted body fat. When working with women, I am not concerned about their weight as much as the level of body fat they are carrying around. A healthy bodyfat level to be at is between 19-25%. Most women who have dieted for years will find themselves at 30% or more. Those are dangerous levels that invite disease into their bodies. Although they may have lost 50 lbs. of body weight, they may still be at 30% body fat and at risk for heart disease, Type II diabetes and other ailments.

How can they be at risk when they wear a size 8 dress pant? Because they never lost bodyfat while dieting. They lost body water and precious lean muscle mass.

Lean muscle mass is the main manipulator of your metabolism. The more lean muscle mass you have the more calories you burn at rest. When your metabolism is humming along at a strong rate, it does not need to use bodyfat for energy. It’s alive and functioning at optimum levels. Fat that is stored on your body for energy is not needed and your body lets it go. You continue to build strong, lean muscles and your metabolism gets stronger and faster, you indeed get leaner, stronger, toned and full of energy. This is the picture of health and vitality.

Now take the woman who is dieting. She is eating 3 meals a day and not focused on the right type of exercises. She’ll go for a walk around the block. It works for about 1 month. She’s dropped 5 pounds. She’s excited!

Month 2 rolls around and the scale has stopped moving, she cuts her 3 meals into smaller portions and adds another block to her walk. The scale finally drops again. She’s excited!

Month 3 rolls around and the scale has not moved or has gone up. Yikes! She drops to 2 meals a day, adds another block to her walk and an exercise video.

Month 4 comes too quickly. She sees the scale move again so she cuts calories even more and increases her walk for a full 2 hours every day. She’s tired, frustrated and wondering why this is not working?

I could go on, but I think you get the picture. The only way for her to keep the scale moving is to continue to decrease calories and increase the amount of time spent on low, steady state exercise. Is she really losing fat? No, she is losing water and precious metabolic boosting muscle that is why she has to continue decreasing calories to see change. If she continues on this path, she will lower her metabolic rate to such a level that her body will go into panic mode and begin conserving every morsel of food that enters as bodyfat so it will have the energy just to function.

The result is a cranky, tired, moody, flabby, and frustrated woman. I know, I’ve been there.

Ladies, I want you to know the truth. The scale is not your friend. You have been lied to for years. There’s even a tv show dedicated to keeping these lies alive (Biggest Loser Challenge) where your worth is determined by a number on the scale! How have we as a society allowed this to happen? Satan has been at work!

God made you in His image. You are a beautiful, strong, and vibrant woman. Don’t allow Satan to get a foothold in your mind. Oh how I wish I could give you all hugs right now!

Here is the picture of a woman on the right path:

She determines why she wants to accomplish this goal of being healthy and full of energy.

She enlists the help of her husband and children.

She puts together a plan of action including how to deal with obstacles that will be thrown her way. Her plan does include strength and interval training as the core of the program.

She also determines her caloric intake and creates meal plans for the week.

She cleans out her cupboard of all manmade, adulterated foods and buys food in their original God created package.

She gets connected with other women who are doing the same steps (this site of course!) and stays accountable no matter what happens to try and bump her off course.

All her workouts are scheduled in for each week just like math and english class. She sticks to her workouts because she is full of determination.

Each week she discovers how much better she feels. Her clothes are getting loser, she is getting more flexible and full of energy. She finds herself hungry more often because her metabolism is on fire. She has more lean mass so she can eat more food, quite the opposite of the dieting woman. She does not suffer from mood swings, turbulent hormone levels or bloating due to eating whole foods.

Does she know how much she weighs? Does it really matter if she is feeling this strong and vibrant?

This is what I want for you. I will elaborate more on how to stop dieting for life in another post. This one ended up way longer than I intended.

Hugs~~

Weird Reason Breakfast is Boring

This morning I was sitting in front of my computer struggling to come up with a catchy title for this. I was thinking – yet again – about stressing the importance of breakfast to you.

So as I sat there trying to be clever I mumbled out loud, “Breakfast is boring.”

And there you have it. That’s exactly how I came up with this title. But do NOT take this message lightly.

You see, I know you’re heard it a million times before. “You have to eat breakfast.” And I know it’s not a super sexy message. But do you have any idea how many people I meet as a fitness professional that DO NOT eat breakfast? A lot. And do you have any idea how many of those people that don’t eat breakfast are overweight? Pretty much all of them.

Look, I’m not crazy. I know you don’t have much time in the morning. And I know many of you just aren’t all that hungry right after you wake up.

So let’s look at this another way. You get up each morning and go to work every day because you want a roof over your head and food on the table, right? Day after day after day you go to work because you want the RESULT of that effort.

Well, IF you want to burn fat, feel better and have more energy you WILL eat breakfast every morning. Period. End of discussion.

Some things are boring. Some things just have to be done to get the result you want. For those of you that want to burn fat all day long, breakfast is just one of those things.

Prograde Lean http://inspirationfitness.getprograde.com/lean is a DELICIOUS chocolate meal replacement shake that I recommend to all my clients. It’s the perfect solution to breakfast.

Win the Battle Against Fat Cells

As a fitness expert, you know I’ll never promise you a pill is going to be the answer to that “jiggle in your wiggle.” If you want six pack abs you’re going to have to work for them.

BUT…

There is some very promising research out there in regards to a dietary supplement you’ve probably been hearing a lot about.

Yes, I’m talking about Essential Fatty Acids. You probably have heard them called something like Fish Oil pills.

How’s this for good news?!

*University of Georgia researchers have found something pretty amazing about Essential Fatty Acid supplements containing DHA. Get this: The actually help STOP the conversion of pre-fat cells into fat cells by causing them to die out before they can mature.

Once a pre-fat cell becomes a fat cell, well, there’s no turning back. You’ve got that fat cell for life. Imagine, actually decreasing the accumulation of fat by taking an Essential Fatty Acid supplement containing DHA!

Now let me do my best infomercial voice for you…

But wait, there’s more!

Seriously, that’s not the only benefit of Essential Fatty Acid supplements containing DHA.

According to studies** done at the University of South Australia people that combined exercise with Essential Fatty Acid supplements containing DHA saw greater fat loss than the test group that only exercised and did not take the supplement.

How can you not be excited by these research studies??

Now, personally, I don’t like Fish Oil pills because they cause you to burp like crazy. If you’ve ever taken them you know exactly what I mean. And they aren’t always the highest quality.

I prefer EFA Icon from Prograde Nutrition because they use Krill Oil. It’s been found to be a superior source of Essential Fatty Acids containing DHA. Plus, with EFA Icon there are NO fish burps. And I haven’t even mentioned all the amazing health benefits from this dietary supplement.

If you’re looking to accelerate your fat loss results than I really recommend you go with Prograde Nutrition’s EFA Icon. You can get it here: http:/inspirationfitness.getprograde.com/icon

Remember, EFA Icon is NOT a miracle solution. You will need sound nutrition and exercise. BUT the research is there. It’s definitely a supplement with powerful fat loss properties. http:/inspirationfitness.getprograde.com/icon

* Journal of Nutrition, Vol. 136:2965-2969** American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 85:1267-1274

Creating Healthy Habits

I am currently in Stamford, CT enjoying the Ryan Lee Boot Camp and learning sooooo much.  It has been wonderful meeting some of the top fitness professionals in our nation. 

I had quite an adventure trying to get to the hotel.  I just assumed I could find a taxi at the airport that would take me from New York to Connecticut with no problem.  Wrong!  Not one taxi driver was willing to take me unless I paid close to $200.  Yikes!  I did eventually find a shuttle service and got to my hotel safely.  Whew!

This conference has really opened some doors for me and I’ved learned so much.  I enjoy learning.  My goal in life is to try and learn something new every day.  I’ve learned so much information today that I am now in overload. 

There was one thing that I heard today has stuck in my head and created a stir in my heart.  One of the speakers mentioned a quote by Paul Taylor, author of Meeting of the Minds.  “Thoughts do not create things of tangibility.” 

You must converse your thoughts into habits.  Day by day, little by little and step by step you must create habits.  A healthy lifestyle is just like that.  You must first believe that you will lose that unwanted weight but then take action.  You take action by changing something day by day and little by little until that small thing becomes a habit. 

Many fitness gurus are big on using language such as “Drop 30 pounds in 30 days!”  I believe you can reach your goals and make them permanent if you work on them slowly by creating healthy habits.  Losing 30 pounds in a month would be nice, but trying to maintain the low caloric deficit you are in for a long period of time is tough.  That is why so many people are stuck on the yo yo diet rollercoaster. 

Learning how to nourish your body correctly and incorporate the right type of exercises for fat loss is much more valuable than starving yourself to lose 30 pounds.  The habits that you learn will transform not only your body but your life as well.  How many times have you read about the empowerment people experience from their transformations?  It’s amazing how much changing bad habits into good can have on your entire outlook on life.

Creating healthy habits is much more valuable in the long run. 

HIIT – The Smarter Cardio

Most women believe that in order to lose fat they must do long aerobic sessions. The truth is there is a much more effective way to lose fat that requires less time – which is a precious commodity for working or stay at home mothers. High intensity interval training (HIIT) can be done in only 20 minutes and will have a greater effect on your overall fat loss goals. HIIT is short bursts of intensity followed by short rest periods. HIIT cardio will help you lose 9 times more fat than those who train the traditional way of doing low – moderate intensity for 20-60 minutes.

Here are 5 reasons you should use HIIT’s in your weight loss program:

1. Longer Fat Burning Effect (After burn)

There have been many scientific case studies that show that using high intensity short intervals for training results in EPOC (Excess Post Oxygen Consumption) levels remaining at a high level for several hours longer than regular low intensity aerobic activity. A higher EPOC level means you keep burning calories at an increased rate after a workout.

Regular low intensity cardio sessions only burn fat while you are doing the exercise. After you stop calorie burning stops. Steady state cardio just allows you to become more and more efficient at burning calories so you burn less and less each time for the same effort.

This is not going to be very effective in the long run because your body will adapt to this amount of physical activity very quickly. You will end up needing to increase the amount of time you are doing these sessions to continue to see results. This is not a very efficient means of weight loss.

2. No Loss of Hard Earned Muscle

Low intensity intervals for weight loss is synonomous with muscle loss. During high intensity exercise muscle is spared at the expense of other tissues if there is a need for it because it offers the stimulus necessary to tell the body it requires muscle. This is the bodies way to protect itself against stress, and exercise is a stressor.

When a muscle is taken to failure, an alarm goes off, telling the body it’s in danger and it must do something to protect itself. Therefore, muscle will be protected at the expense of fat.

Low intensity intervals may cause weight loss. However, in addition to fat, muscle can be lost. The alarm system that signals the body to spare muscle is not present. Your resistance is often not intense enough to trigger the body’s protective alarm.

Look at the bodies of marathon runners versus sprinters. Marathoners look almost
emaciated while sprinters are lean and muscular. Which would you prefer to look like?

Losing muscle is the complete opposite of what you want to do to lose weight. Your focus should be on gaining more muscle because muscle will burn fat during our resting periods.

3. Less Chance of Injury

Doing long continuous cardio sessions day after day puts a lot of stress on our joints. Over time, you will find many people have problems with overuse injuries in their knees, ankles and backs. Continuous loss of muscle will also cause an increase in the risk of osteoporosis.

4. Takes Less Time – More Bang For Your Buck.

HIIT sessions take only 20 minutes. This is great for the time crunched person who needs to get in and out of the gym quickly. With all the benefits of high interval training, why would you waste your most valuable commodity – your precious time?

5. Can Be Done With a Variety of Equipment

High intensity intervals can be done on elliptical trainers, recumbent bikes, treadmills, stair climbers or even outside jogging and walking (for the very beginner). You can also use kettle bells, body weight squats, body weight lunges or jump ropes. You are limited only by your imagination.

Save wear and tear on your body and increase your fat loss engines with high intensity interval training. Not only will you begin to see significant changes in your body, you will have more time to spend with your family.

Sample HIIT Workout using your choice of exercise equipment:

5 minute warm-up at about 40% intensity level.

Follow with 3 rounds of the following:
1 min. at 70-80% intensity level
2 min. at 50% intensity level

Finish with 5 minute cool down at a leisurely pace.

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