It’s so easy to exercise in the same way, day in and day out, but not feel a modicum of inspiration. Ever happen to you?

That’s been me of late, as I wrote about a few days ago in a post.  I’ve had a hard time staying on the exercise wagon lately which all started when I injured my knee.  Add on having the shingles and finding out my gym was closing, and you can see why I’ve gotten into a serious gym funk.  Motivation? Out the window. And with all our rain lately, even walking outside seems less than compelling in the midst of a downpour!

But getting back on track is all about taking a new approach to shake things up. The easiest thing I could do would be to just sign up for another gym and quietly go through the motions again.  Hello?! Why in the world would I do that? I want change, not more of the same. And since summer is a time of new beginnings for me, I’m all about looking at exercise from a different perspective.

So I thought it fortuitous when I saw my friend Steve the other day at a party. Steve just got certified as a yoga instructor and when I asked about where and when he was teaching he mentioned that he has a Tuesday evening class at a yoga studio minutes from my house. He said that it’s a beginners class, and even though I’ve done a fair amount of yoga, it struck me that taking his class would serve me well — I’m the queen of overdoing it and easing back into yoga with the basics immediately resonated with me.  Besides, I’m going easy on my knee and the last thing I want is to make it worse.

I’m leaving for vacation for a week tomorrow, but when I’m back, I’m committed to kick starting a new exercise routine with a healthy dose of yoga from one of my favorite people.  And then we’ll see about the gym situation and what makes the most sense.  In the end, it’s about taking small baby steps to get back on track and that’s my plan. 

When it comes to exercise, when was the last time you really shook things up and tried something different?

Filed under: Exercise, General, Motivation, Walking, Yoga | 1 Comment

Never a good sign when you’ve been on “hiatus” from your gym and you return to find out it’s closing!

But that’s exactly what happened recently when I headed over to Bally’s last week just to find a sign posted that they’d be closing in a week.

Funny thing is, I used to be devoted to exercise — a nice combination of weight training, cardio and yoga. I was so into it that I actually met my husband at the gym four years ago when we both used to workout out at 5:30 in the morning before heading to work. And if I missed a day of my routine you would almost think the world was coming to an end.

But shoot, things sure do change sometimes, don’t they? That’s before I started running a business, juggling multiple priorities and trying to make it all work with limited time.  You know that feeling you get when you don’t go one day and swear you’ll go the next?  But when the next one comes around, there’s a compelling reason why it won’t quite work either. That’s what started to happen to me of late. And then throw in the fact that I injured my knee in Step class several months ago and got the shingles, and you can see how a girl can get in an exercise funk.

So now that the gym is officially closed, it does beg the question about what I’m going to do to get back on track and get my gym mojo back. First on the list, my overdue physical therapy for my knee.  I’m going to couple that with some low impact walking at least three days a week. And we’ve even been contemplating getting Bruce a bike so we can ride together.

Bottom line: we can all fall off the wagon sometimes but it’s all really about the small, baby steps we can take to get back on track. I’m keeping my plan simple and doable.

What about you? What do you do to get back on track when your exercise routine falls by the wayside?

Filed under: Exercise, Motivation, Walking | 1 Comment

I’m a big fan of finding inspiration in the kitchen to keep us coming back and making healthy meals. What’s worse than feeling like cooking and eating healthfully has to be a burden? The truth is, with a little effort, we all have the potential to make healthy changes that can stick. A few more greens here and more whole grains there and next thing you know, you have boundless energy!

But isn’t it easy to get in a cooking rut sometimes? To look at your myriad of cookbooks and still be out of good ideas? That’s why I’m such a big fan of mixing it up and trying new things to keep it interesting.

I’ve gathered together a few of my favorite resources — cookbooks and reference tools that I think you’ll like and enjoy. Two of them are perfect for this time of year with all our warm weather — a focus on raw foods that are so good and energizing.

Check them out in this week’s video and then let us know what you plan to do differently to bring some excitement to the kitchen and your summer meals.

Filed under: Cooking, Food preparation, Healthy Meals, Meal Planning | 1 Comment

Given that so many of my clients are trying to lose weight in addition to eating more healthfully, I’m always inspired when I hear stories about women that kick some weight loss butt!

That’s what I love about my friend Leah Segedie who has lost over 100 pounds the slow and healthy way, not the I’m-on-the-latest-fad-diet way.  Leah has been working at it for awhile after two babies, and she got so inspired that she now helps other women get inspired to get fit and feel good in their bodies too. She’s the chief mom over at bookieboo.com, a hub for moms, women and a healthy lifestyle.

And you know what’s really cool? She’s kicking off her new BlogTalk radio show this Friday — called Mom Active. You’ve got to check it out and share the love. How many other moms do you know that are itching to get healthy and more active but they need a spark of inspiration? Well she’s your woman, and she’s super fun too! You can get all the exciting details about the show by clicking here.

Oh and check out her MomActive Twitter party this Thursday night, another super cool event.

Come on moms, let’s get active and inspired!

Filed under: Exercise, Weight loss | 1 Comment

No one can deny that it’s a whole lot easier to prevent disease then to recover from it.

So when my doctor called me a few days ago and left me a message about discussing the results of my recent blood work I was little apprehensive. Was I going to have good news or not? Would she uncover some kind of chronic disease like a thyroid problem or would I find myself in great health?

Much to my relief when we connected on the phone today, I got the great news that all was good with the exception of a slight Vitamin D deficiency. But the best news of all — my cholesterol was only 129 with both my good cholesterol (HDL) and bad cholesterol (LDL) in the optimal ranges. 

That news made my day and with good reason. The time, energy and care I put into consistently preparing healthy and tasty meals has been paying off.  Lots of fruits and veggies, low fat beans and legumes, and ample amounts of whole grains make a BIG difference with our health.  It’s a powerful reminder that when we make our health a priority, build time in for meal planning and healthy food prep, any of us can reap the benefits with our health. Seriously, if I can do it, you can too!

What about you? What’s the last happy health news you’ve received and what efforts are you making to get and stay healthy?

Filed under: Greens, Healthy Meals, Healthy lifestyle, Heart Health, Meal Planning, Prevention | No Comments

One of my biggest incentives to stay healthy is to prevent disease. It just seems to me that once you get a disease it’s so much harder to rebound then if you had just been preventative in the first place and really took care of yourself.

So If you’re serious about increasing your energy, preventing chronic disease and learning about simple ways to make that happen through meal planning, you won’t want to miss this information-rich call hosted by Jim Schibly.

Here’s a sampling of what I’ll be sharing:

- How to tune into your own body to improve your health and help prevent disease
- How to create “super health” meals in just minutes that will make you feel like an 18 year old again
- How to eliminate stress, boost energy and lose weight with this secret meal planning process
- 7 proven techniques to help you eat healthier and lose unwanted pounds effortlessly
- Step-by-step details on how to effectively meal plan and stick to it with ease
 
And Much, Much, Much More!!!

All you have to do to register is go to: http://www.expertadvicecentral.com/gethealthy.html.
 
We’ll send you all the call-in details for this awesome call. And even if you can’t be there live, sign up and we’ll send you the
recording.

What better a way to get inspired and into action with your health?!

Remember, sign up by going to: http://www.expertadvicecentral.com/gethealthy.html

Filed under: Healthy lifestyle, Optimal Health, Prevention | No Comments

I’ll be the first to admit that my belly that used to be so flat definitely has a layer of fat, albeit a small one.

So I’m always encouraged when I get a dose of inspiration from one of my favorite fitness experts, Angie Schumacher.  Angie shares her fitness expertise on my blog and I think you’ll love today’s post about trimming off that stubborn belly fat. Good news? It doesn’t have to be so hard if you follow a few simple steps.

Summertime is just around the corner and if you are like most people, the chances of you wearing some form of swim suit is pretty good. You are going to want to have that waistline looking fabulous and sexy, am I right?

Most people think that the best way to burn off belly fat or get rid of that “spare tire” is by doing abdominal  work and I hate to be the one to break it to you, but they are so wrong! While abdominal work is great for helping you to create a strong, solid core and for building up those core muscles, that is all that it will do. You will be building up the muscle UNDERNEATH that layer of belly fat. I am sure there are lots of people walking around with some great looking abs underneath their bellies, but the one way that you are going to trim off that fat is by doing cardio.

Now when I say cardio, I do not mean jumping on the treadmill for 60 minutes every day or going on a 10 mile bike ride. I mean adding intervals OR bodyweight circuits to your fitness routine.

Intervals are periods of high intensity training followed by an active recovery period.  For example:

Start off on a treadmill at 3.0 mph for 2 minutes to get warmed up. Then increase the speed to 5.0mph for 1 minute, followed by a drop back down to 3.0 for 1 minute (or longer if needed). Repeat this 4-8 times and you have a great belly fat burning cardio session. You can do the same thing on a bike or walking. The main goal is to increase your heart rate and then bring it back down, making your body work harder than it would have to if you were doing the same form of exercise at a steady rate of speed.

By incorporating 15-30 minutes of intervals into your fitness routine at least 4-6x each week, you will have no problem burning off that belly fat and start seeing those muscles that you build up by doing your core or abdominal work.

You can learn more about Angie at her website: www.fatburningtips4women.com. Check out all the exciting things she’s up to!

Filed under: Exercise, Fat-burning | 2 Comments

For the longest time I subscribed to the belief that traveling and staying in a hotel meant you ate whatever was put in front of you and any semblance of healthy eating went straight out the window. Wrong!

Of course that’s only true if you choose to make poor decisions and lose sight of your bigger goal — healthy eating most of the time. But if you start with the intention of making better choices and bringing along a few simple tools to support your healthy endeavors, it doesn’t have to be hard at all.

Case in point, I’m away for 9 days staying in a hotel in Florida. Before I even packed up my bags, I started creating an intention about eating healthy, energizing foods while I was away. And then I mapped out exactly what I needed to bring with me to make that a reality.

In a perfect world, I would have brought my Vitamix blender with me so I could happily blend my morning superfood smoothie. But the Vitamix is heavy to lug around and I didn’t imagine I would be able to get the container that has the blade through security. But I did bring my very compact hand blender with me which has been a lifesaver. And not only that, I brought along a handful of superfoods — blue green algae, cacao and maca to add to it. And because I had already scoped out a grocery store across the street from the hotel, ever few days I get a supply of fresh fruit.

The result is that I’m starting off my mornings in the healthiest of ways even while I’m away from home. I’m eating energizing foods that support my health as I spend 12 hour days learning at my conference. I’m focused and alert and my body is getting what it needs. Not bad! And with that great start for the morning, I’ve then been having a healthy salad for lunch at a local restaurant I found.

Which all goes to prove my point that we can be away from home and still nourish our body in healthy ways that don’t have to include, “I decided to let things go just for this one week.”

What do you do to insure that you eat healthy foods when you’re on the road? What’s your secret to success?

Filed under: Eating Less, Healthy Meals, Traveling | No Comments