Inspire Me✿ Bring Sexy Back...Workout !!!

Skinny has taken a back seat to being fit and healthy. Women all over are bring sexy back and working out and becoming in charge of their own bodies. Taking charge of your own body and creating what you want it to be and not just starving yourself in hopes to be skinny or to be like the women you see in the magazines. Become one of those women in the magazines and more than that become that person you want to be. Work for the body you want to have and train hard for it. Be proud, be fit and healthy and bring sexy back to your life! #Workout 

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Inspire me✿ "Forever Strong"

Go Green and Drink Yourself Thin and Healthy

If coffee gives you the caffeine jitters, it’s time you discovered a better morning brew. With less caffeine and more health benefits, green tea is a healthy way to jump-start your day, especially if you’re sensitive to caffeine. Green tea has long been known to posses numerous disease-fighting qualities. Rich in antioxidants, this tea is a lean, green, disease-fighting machine. And disease isn’t the only thing it battles – it fights fat too. Green tea is rich in an antioxidant known as ECGC, which has been proven to boost metabolism and stimulate weight loss. Just swapping your daily cup of coffee with green tea could help you lose more weight. That’s a simple change anyone can make, so ditch that cup ‘o joe and go green instead. Just remember to keep the cream and sugar out of your mug, and you could be drinking to a slimmer, healthier you in less time than it takes to brew a pot of coffee. 
 I try drink a cup or two of green tea everyday, not because I don't like coffee or coffee gives me the jitters but because green tea is so good for you and does have so much health benefits. I do love coffee but only drink on a rare occasion. My family has been in the coffee business for over 25 years in Hawaii and it's very easy for me to get the best coffee ever, but I would prefer to start my mornings with some green goodness for my body. Go green and drink yourself fit and healthy.   ✿

Feeling Down? Get Up and Get Moving!

Exercise is probably the last thing on your mind when you’re feeling like it’s you against the world. But just 30 minutes of it could help lift your gray mood better than popping some Prozac and downing a carton of ice cream. Why does exercise make you feel so much better about yourself? At the most basic level, exercising stimulates healthy blood circulation to your entire body, delivering fresh oxygen and nutrients throughout your cells and providing energy to all your body’s tissues, including your brain.

Exercise also reduces stress levels by giving you an outlet to release your frustrations and pent-up anxiety. It can help you overcome sleep problems, which are thought to be a trigger for depression. On a psychological level, exercise increases self-esteem and provides a sense of mastery that can make your troubles feel like they aren’t that overwhelming after all. Overweight people who lose weight through exercise have the added advantage of actually being able to see their progress, which can be a powerful catalyst for change in other areas of their life.

So the next time you’re feeling blue or feeling like your world is spinning out of control, leave the ice cream in the freezer and strap on your gym shoes instead.

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"Picture Perfect"

Many women hang up pictures of supermodels for extra motivation to exercise. But instead of striving to obtain an unrealistic weight or turn your pear-shaped frame into a stick, use your own body as your guiding light. First, find a past picture of yourself when you were happy with your weight. If you’ve put on a lot of pounds over the years, seeing a photo of yourself at your slimmer size will motivate you to take control of your life and get your body back. One word of caution: Be realistic. Choose a picture from within the last five years or so!

Once you have your inspiration, start tracking your progress. Twice a month, take a picture of yourself. Heidi Klum took nude photos of herself when she was losing her post-pregnancy weight. If you’re too shy to do that, then wear a bathing suit instead. Store the photos in a special picture album, and if you’re modest, keep it under lock and key.

As you progress in your fitness program, you’ll start to see subtle changes the scale won’t necessarily reflect. You may notice your triceps are more defined or you’ve added a 1/2 inch of muscle to your rear. Keeping an eye on your progress will help you see how well your exercise program is working, and it will also let you know when you need to take your workouts up a notch.

After a few months of exercising, compare your latest photo to the one you took in the beginning of the program. Even if you still have more work to do, you’ll be amazed at how far you’ve come and how much you’ve accomplished. How’s that’s for a photo finish? =)

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Do the Numbers on Your Gym Equipment Lie?

Do you ever wonder if those 200 calories your elliptical machine says you’ve burned in 30 minutes is truly accurate? If you’re trying to lose weight, it’s important to know whether or not the amount of calories the cardio equipment at the gym says you burned is really proportional to how much energy you expended.Some cardio machines can overestimate how many calories you burn by up to 15%.

Three factors determine how many calories you’ll burn: your weight, the gym equipment and your level of intensity during a set duration. First, if a machine doesn’t ask you how much you weigh, it probably assumes you weigh 150-160 pounds. But remember, the more you weigh, the more calories you burn, and the less you weigh, the less calories you burn. 

If you’re looking to lose weight, treadmills and elliptical machines tend to burn the most calories, but again, you have to consider the previous factors as well as the time you spend on each machine. Finally, the more intense your workout, the more calories you’ll burn in less time. Increase the resistance on your bike and peddle faster, or set the incline of your treadmill to 5%-10% to challenge your body to work harder. Also, try choosing your workout setting on something other than manual, such as random or hill, and if you’re on a machine with handles, don’t lean on them.

All of these tips will help you to get the most out of your workout, but if you’re still worried about getting an accurate calorie burn, I would suggest investing in a heart rate monitor, which will personalize your calorie burn better than anything else.I personally own a Polar brand monitor that I love. It tracks my heart rate, training time,calories burned, etc.Plus it keeps my weekly workout summary stored which is great so I can go back and up date my training journal with my workout information for that week. Nike also has a great one called "Fuel Band" which I have heard great things about too. If you decide to purchase a personal monitor to have more accuracy then the gym equipment might have, you should research a little and find the best one for your own training. It's a great investment in your fitness training.

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"Break the Workout Plateau" #9 Tips for getting in better shape!

It’s easy to start an exercise program. But if you’re serious about getting in shape this year, you have to find a way to keep going after the initial excitement and results wear off. Adding variety and expert motivational tools will get you through those early plateaus and make fitness a way of life. Here are 9 trainers’ tips… 
You start an exercise program full of drive and determination: This summer, I will wear a two-piece on the beach! But soon, you stop seeing results and start making excuses to skip exercising. Workout plateaus are normal, but they can quickly derail your exercise plan. They’re also one of the reasons more than half of people who start an exercise program quit within 3-6 months, according to the American College of Sports Medicine.If you give up then, you’ll miss out – just when you’re likely to start seeing results.Understanding why plateaus occur and finding ways to prevent or overcome them will help you stick with your program. Read on for 9 ways to stay motivated – and keep seeing results – while getting in shape.

Plateau breaker #1: Change up your routine. Variety is the key to success in an exercise program.If you do the same workout at the same time, place and intensity, your body is going to adjust to it.You’ll still be experiencing benefits and getting fit, but you won’t see the same level of improvement you did in the beginning.The burn-out can be psychological too. Not only will you get bored with the same old moves, you’ll experience less of a boost from the “feel-good” chemicals – serotonin and endorphins.It’s like seeing your favorite movie over and over again. After a while, it loses its appeal.To stay motivated, change your workout routine, the time of day and place you exercise – any variables you can control. If you’ve been working out alone, try a class, or find new exercise routines on DVDs or YouTube.

Plateau breaker #2: Move with the seasons. Changing your workout plan according to the weather can help you with getting in shape. It keeps your routine from getting stale and kick-starts your results too.Alter your program every 8-12 weeks, or when weather conditions change.Ski in the winter, hike in the spring, bike in the summer – or find other seasonal activities you enjoy. If you walk or run on a treadmill, go outside and get a whole new workout.But give your body 2-4 weeks to adapt.Running on a treadmill, which absorbs more shock when you land, is vastly different from running on the ground.To avoid sore or strained muscles when switching gears, start off by doing half your usual workout, and increase reps and times from there.

Plateau breaker #3: Make routines playful. To avoid boredom when getting in shape, try workouts that make you react to other people or objects – like a competitive sport or exercise class. They stimulate more motor development than regular exercise.

Plateau breaker #4: Add random intervals. Interval training – alternating strenuous exercise with more moderate rest periods – has been shown to burn more fat, build more muscle and boost metabolism more than other types of exercise.You can get even better results with a method called fartlek training (fartlek is Swedish for “speed play”), in which you vary your walking, running or cycling routine at random. If you’re walking by yourself or with a partner, pick out an object like a mailbox and jog or run to it, then return to your regular pace. Repeat this by targeting various objects along your route. When biking or running, race up a hill or sprint to an intersection or stop sign. If you’re with a partner, take turns shouting out the next interval to maintain an element of surprise.Your body will have a hard time adjusting to the unpredictable activity, so you’ll gain endurance and power more quickly.

Plateau breaker #5: Learn a new skill.  Local colleges, activity clubs and sporting-goods stores frequently offer instruction on activities you may not have tried, like rock climbing and kayaking. These give you mental stimulation and new goals while getting fit. Plus, these group activities offer social interaction and an opportunity to be around other active people.By adding elements of adventure and discovery, you can make exercise about more than just getting in shape 

Plateau breaker #6: Slow down. It may sound counterproductive, but lowering the intensity of an exercise program can give you a jump-start when results start to slow. If you have an established routine, take a “taper week” – cut the distance or duration of your workout by half.When you return to your full workout, you’ll see results again.This works particularly well if you’ve been training too hard.The longer you’ve been working out, the more important the recovery time.

Plateau breaker #7: Set multiple goals. Create different objectives for each part of your fitness plan to avoid total routine burn-out. In other words, set separate goals for nutrition, diet, flexibility and strength. Flexibility goals could include stretching for 10 minutes after each workout.Strength goals might mean doing a certain number of push-ups or weight-lifting reps with a certain amount of weight. A dietary goal might be replacing junk food with five servings of fresh veggies or fruits a day. Even if your progress wanes in one area, your success in others will keep you from getting discouraged by the slowdown.But make sure your goals are attainable – or break up your ultimate dream into smaller, more reachable steps. For example, instead of saying, “I’ll run a marathon in six months,” focus on running a few blocks, then a mile, then five miles.

Plateau breaker #8: Adjust your thinking. An optimistic attitude toward fitness is just as important as the details of an exercise program.If you feel it’s too inconvenient, expensive or time-consuming, you won’t stick with it.Instead, focus on the positive aspects of getting fit – what you want and can reasonably expect to achieve: I want more energy or I want to look good for bathing-suit season.This aligns your attitude and behavior, making it less likely you’ll fall off the wagon.

Plateau breaker #9: Bribe yourself. Eventually, getting in shape will become its own reward – but until then, it may help to treat yourself in other ways.Motivate yourself with rewards – or have someone else reward you – for good behavior. You could buy yourself a new book when you lose 5 pounds, or go see a movie when you’ve worked out three times a week for two weeks.A new pair of shoes or workout outfit if you've worked out four to five times a week for straight month.Pretty soon – when you notice new strength and stamina, the pounds start disappearing and you begin to enjoy a more active lifestyle – you’ll have all the benefits you need.

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The 15-Minuet Fat-Burning Workout

Interval-training workouts give you better results in less time – no wonder they’re popular in gyms around the country. But they don’t just help you burn fat fast. They build stamina, boost cardiovascular fitness and can be done just about anywhere. What exactly are they? Read on to find out how to incorporate intervals into your fat-burning workout...

When time is scarce, exercise is often the first thing to go from the to-do list. For busy women, it can be difficult to manage even 30 minutes a day, the minimum recommended by research organizations like the American College of Sports Medicine. But what if you could squeeze in a fat-burning workout in half that time? Instead of spending 30-60 minutes plodding along on a treadmill, you can get the same benefits from 15 minutes of interval training, researchers have found. “Regardless of your fitness background, intervals are more efficient,  Interval training alternates strenuous exercise with moderate rest periods every few minutes or less. Because your body has a hard time adjusting to the unpredictable activity, you gain endurance and power more quickly, studies show. 

In a 2010 study at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, participants sprinted on a stationary bike for 10 one-minute periods with 75 seconds of rest in between, three times a week. They experienced the same improvements in fitness as those who performed hours of conventional biking at an easy pace.In a 2009 study, participants did 4-6 intervals, alternating 30 seconds of high-intensity cycling with four minutes of easy cycling. They raised their metabolism, making their bodies more efficient at using glucose, after doing just six of these workouts over the course of two weeks, according to researchers at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Interval-training workouts widen the network of blood vessels that supply muscles and boost the number of mitochondria (structures that produce energy within the body’s cells), thereby increasing endurance.But, fair warning: You do have to work hard during the high-intensity periods to make this a fat-burning workout – maybe harder than you’re used to. I prefer interval training just for the fact that it pushes me harder and takes me to a place that not many people really want to go, it's uncomfortable and hard but in the end makes you feel so f--king good! Try it!  ✿

Inspire Me✿ "Be a Hill Seeker"

It's not secret that I love climbing hills when I run.. There is something about climbing the steepest hills I can find, it gives me a sense of great accomplishment and also makes my body stronger. Make yourself stronger and start climbing those hills you see around you instead of going the easy flat route. I promise it feels so much better climbing then staying flat! Challenge Yourself!

Inspire me✿ "Be a Champion"

Written by: Me

Motivational Note✿ "Feeling Sorry For Yourself?"

Written by... Me =)

Fantasy Island or Gilligan's Island?

If you were an island, what island would you be? Today I am going to offer you two choices from TV’s past. First, you have “Fantasy Island.” This is the island of choice and the destination of all who are working on creating healthier lives. Fantasy Island is the island of wise choices, healthy food, exercise, and positive thinking. This island represents the lifestyle of your dreams and the life you want to lead. On this island, you live in a magnificent health resort.On the other hand, your other choice is an island of no exercise, negative thinking and foolish nutritional choices called “Gilligan’s Island.” This is the island that many of you, unfortunately, presently inhabit. This is the direct opposite of Fantasy Island. This is not a health resort; it’s a comedy of health errors full of junk food, no exercise and poor nutritional choices.

Even though you want to do the healthy things necessary to get to and stay on Fantasy Island, you most likely find yourself constantly drifting over to Gilligan’s Island. Just consider every slip you make as a trip to Gilligan’s Island. Since I’m a great believer in the power of mental imagery, I think this image may provide you with the mental focus you need to get back on track when you slip.From a behavioral point of view, the initial goal is to shorten your stays on Gilligan’s Island. For those of you who are not at the stage where you can stay on track consistently, shortening your occasional trips away from the healthy lifestyle you seek is a great beginning.

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"Why Isn't the Weight Coming off?"

You've gone to the gym regularly for the past month and have been watching what you eat. You’ve been trying harder than you’ve ever tried before, so why isn’t the extra weight budging? It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking you’re working hard enough to lose weight solely based on the fact that you’re giving it your all. But if you kept track of your workouts and food intake, you just might be surprised at how much room for improvement there really is.

When it’s in black and white, it’s much more difficult to “forget” about that workout you skipped last week, or those cupcakes you baked and ate twice daily for a week. The solution? Make yourself a training log so you won’t have this problem again. Use a calendar and write down your daily workouts in detail. Include the duration and intensity of effort you gave that day and how you were feeling (mood, emotions) before and after working out. This will help you recognize why you may have had a weak or particularly high-energy workout for no particular reason.

To pump up the volume on your weight loss even more, keep a food diary. Pour a lot of detail into your records and you’ll identify the many reasons why your diet could be sabotaging your efforts in the gym. Whether it’s exercise, diet, or both, chart your progress and you’ll know without a doubt why the weight isn’t coming off.

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Motivational Note✿ "Be Stronger"

Sometimes life can be so hard and painful it can strip you of who you really are deep down inside.. This is when you have to dig extra deep and get back up and fight back. You have only two choices... To lay there and wallow in self pity or dig down deeper than ever before and "Get up" and keep  fighting. Get up and "Be Stronger" Be stronger than the hard times, the pain, the difficulty life dishes out, because it will always be there and it's up to you to rise above it and fight for you life! Be  Strong... Make yourself stronger everyday! ✿

"Ditch Your Diet Obsession"

There comes a point in every hard-core dieter's life when she must ask herself, "Have I become so obsessed with weight loss that I'm actually compromising my health? Dieting serves two purposes – looking better and feeling better. But when dieters become more concerned with being skinny than with being healthy, they hand over control of their life to food. This paves the way for eating disorders like anorexia nervosa, bulimia and binge eating.
Coming from having a eating disorder myself, anorexia nervosa for a good 5-6 years I know what it's like to look in the mirror and not see what everyone else sees. I also know what it took to pull myself out of the disease and become something better, more healthy and far more attractive than what I thought was me striving to be perfect as I thought I had to be to be accepted. My sole mission was just being skinny and I trained as a swimmer back then and would exercise half of the day with only a apple and a glass of milk some days. I see so many girls/women today just trying to be skinny and starving themselves on what they call dieting? Their goal is just being skinny no matter what the cost to their health. What these girls/women don't realize is in striving to be thin and beautiful they are clearly robbing their beauty to become thin, skinny because they feel that's what being beautiful is. There is nothing beautiful about a starving, malnourished body! Nothing beautiful at all... It's decay and death not a diet.

Surprisingly, an obsession with calories, the scale and fad diets can backfire, causing you to gain weight. Here are some classic symptoms of an obsessed dieter:
1. You ignore your body's hunger pains
2. You no longer enjoy eating food
3. You constantly deprive yourself of indulgent food
4. You rely too heavily on designating "bad" foods from "good" foods, ignoring the concept of portion control.
5.You avoid social situations where food is a centerpiece out of fear of temptation or feeling self-conscious for eating.
6. You fixate on achieving a nearly impossible standard of beauty.

Stop dieting and live a healthy, fit life style and once you do this you will see how much more in control you are about how you look and feel. It's not just about your body being skinny, it's about how you feel inside as well as outside. You can workout, eat clean and see you're true beauty blossom before you like never before. This is NO diet, it called Fit4Life!   ✿

"Can Being Fit Lead To Better Sex?"

So what’s the greatest advantage to being fit? Dropping a few pounds will directly increase your confidence. And when you feel confident, you immediately have an advantage in life. Having healthy self-esteem will dramatically impact your relationships in both your personal and professional life. Feeling good in your own skin will most definitely affect your sex life in positive ways. You're not worried if the lights or on or off, or if your partner can see the parts you the you're trying so desperately to hide. That alone adds stress to your sex life and how can anyone feel free or confident if they are always worried about hiding parts of themselves during sex. It can be down right  exhausting and very sad to have to feel this way during something that suppose to be so amazing. So, that alone should give you the motivation and incentive to change your body and start feeling good about yourself while doing something that's so amazing and so natural with the person you love. So, it's a big yes to being fit can lead to a much better, healthier sex life. And even more good news: Good fitness positively affects your sex life. A University of Minnesota study explored the effect of body image on a woman’s sexual behavior. The researchers discovered that women who were more satisfied with their body were more likely to initiate relationships on an intimate level. They also enjoyed sex more and felt more comfortable when they were naked than those who were dissatisfied with their bodies. Now, this doesn’t mean that being fit is all about sex – it can mean you’re more comfortable approaching someone you think is  attractive at a grocery store or even just wearing a cute swimsuit to the beach. It’s all about creating strong self-esteem that you exude everywhere you go.  ✿  

"Cheat Meals vs. Cheat Days"

Many people are embracing “cheat meals” instead of “cheat days” as a way to save calories when they indulge. Single-meal-cheaters think they are doing their body a favor by only indulging in one calorie-filled meal in a cheat day, but this type of cheating isn’t sufficient when it comes to weight loss. Research has repeatedly shown that it takes anywhere from 8-12 hours of increased calories for the anti-starvation hormone leptin to respond adequately. A single cheat meal simply won’t get it done. So next time you are thinking about having just one cheat meal, or perhaps even skipping your cheat day altogether, remember today’s tip. Yes, it takes a leap of faith, but when you see your measurements continue to drop week after week, you’ll never trade in your full day of dietary cheating again.

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"Balance Cardio With Strength Training"

I’m sure you’ve learned by now that skiing on the elliptical machine or jogging on the treadmill isn’t producing the dramatic results you’ve been hoping for. As wonderful as cardio is for your heart, it isn’t the most efficient or effective way to sculpt your body. An entire hour of moderately-paced walking only burns about 150 calories. Since there are about 3,500 calories in one pound, you can imagine all the walking you would have to do to burn the equivalent of one pound. The other problem with solely doing cardio is that once you stop exercising, your body’s calorie-burning ability slows dramatically. Strength training, on the other hand, allows you take advantage of your body’s natural ability to maintain an “after-burn,” known as Excess Post- Oxygen Consumption (EPOC). The after-burn is the extra calories your body burns after you complete a workout. Your metabolism will stay elevated for anywhere from 15 minutes to 48 hours, depending on the intensity and duration of your workout. So aim for just 30 minutes of cardio three times a week, and spend more time strength training. Add the iron to your workout and make it a intense strength training workout for at least 30-45 min. You shouldn't have to spend more than a hour strength training at one given time. Just be sure that in that 45 min. you're focused, training with intensity, then 45 min - 60 min. is all you need. If you double up on your workouts to excel your weight-loss then make sure to space your strength training workouts at least 3-4 hours apart. Push yourself hard during your strength training workouts and your metabolism will have a nice long after burn and you'll be burning some extra calories for hours after you're all done. ✿

Motivation ~ "Just Do it"

It's a brand new month and a fresh start for you to make it happen... So let's "Just Do it"

"Become a Better Lover...At the Gym"

If you’re really dragging your feet at the thought of all the hard work it’s going to take to get in shape, kick up your heels at this thought: Getting fit could make you a better lover. That’s right – hitting the gym can get your heart pumping for a number of delicious reasons, not just for better health.           

  
One of the most wonderful side effects of regular exercise is it boosts your confidence, which can be a big help in the bedroom. In fact, in an endless number of surveys, men and   women alike say that confidence is one of the sexiest qualities a partner can possess. How can regular exercise boost your  ego in the bedroom? Seeing your body transform itself from   flab to fab is an obvious confidence booster, but that’s not the only reason exercise makes you feel good about yourself. Feeling good about yourself not only inside but on the outside can do wonders for your confidence in every aspect of your life. Feeling confidant with your honey in the bedroom is a  huge plus and one that just might be a #1 motivator for many  of you. So, get to it and start shredding the fat and shaping your gorgeous body today as the payoffs are BIG! ✿