12 Ways To A Better Diet ~ #8 "Have Fun"

8. Have fun - Eating right takes dedication, commitment and sacrifice. Don’t stress yourself out over small bumps in the road. You have the power to change any negative into a positive, and you have the choice to have a positive outlook regarding any situation you find yourself in. You control exactly what you want to do, so why not have fun with your training and look forward to it rather then dreading it. Find fun ways to keep yourself motivated and inspired. Get friends and family involved. Set challenges at home, with friends, or at work to start eating healthier. Take the time to cook and try new and interesting recipes. You are making change for the better, so why not make it enjoyable.  #HaveFun  

✿

12 Ways To A Better Diet ~ #7 Stick 2 Your Plan

7. Stick with your plan - It takes time to develop healthy behaviors. After about a month of eating better consistently, you will have developed a habit. It is said that it takes at least 4 weeks, 30 days to develop a habit and to show progress in whatever you are setting out to do. This is where consistency is key in keeping with your set plan in play. Keeping to your plan without feeling discouraged or wanting progress too soon and just giving up. This happens in many cases as most want instant results and gratification with minimal work or being earned. You must put in the time, the work and be dedicated to your plan day in and day out to earn the the results you want.  Being consistent, patient and committed to your plan will bring you to the place you so desire and need to be. You will find that everything you initially may have had a hard time doing becomes more effortless and be a normal part of your day to day life.

✿

12 Way To A Better Diet ~ #6 "Don't be so hard on yourself"

6. Don’t be so hard on yourself - Nobody is perfect all the time. If you mess up, miss a few meals, or even have a bad couple of days, just pick yourself up and get back on track. Don't just give up because of one bad day or few days. You’re doing this for you, and the added stress of not living up to your own expectations can lead to a total diet derailment. Feeling bad and defeated about having a few bad days going off your scheduled diet plan can lead to more self doubt. Doubt may lead you in to self sabotage adding more bad days which can easily become bad weeks if you let it. Being healthy and eating healthy does not mean you can’t enjoy foods not on your meal plan. So don’t be so hard on yourself. Allow yourself a bad day or even two without feeling defeated or bad about yourself. Just realize it for what it is and know your in control and get yourself back on that right track again. YOU CAN DO IT!   

✿

12 Ways To A Better Diet ~ #5 "Be Flexible"

5. Be flexible - Of course, even the best plans fall short at times. Life can sometimes get the best of all of us. Sometimes your eating routines need to change to fit changes in your day. When you can, try to plan ahead for these events and have items on hand you can take with you when you’re in a rush or are eating out. Example might be... A bag of almonds, protein bars and shakes, fresh fruit, cut veggies. Also educate yourself on nutrition  through the internet, books, and magazines. You can use this knowledge to help you improvise and find foods that are compatible with your diet, for example if you are out with friends or stuck with no time to cook or  running late and haven't prepared food for the day. Find items that are less time consuming that you can take with you in a pinch. Keeping healthy foods and snacks on hand that need no preparation and easy to just grab and go. Being flexible in a crunch will allow you to stay on the fit and healthy path when life throws you a curve ball that changes your day. Being flexible and ready for any changes will keep your healthy eating schedule on track not matter what happens planned or not so planned. 

✿

Motivational Note✿ "Fighting 4 it"

Everything worth having is worth fighting for.. Your health, your body and your self worth is all worth the fight. Nothing good in life comes easy and if it did we all would have it. Obtaining that amazing feeling you get from being fit, strong and healthy comes from committing to it daily and keeping up the fight for it without ever giving up. If you're a true fighter and a winner in this life you'll never stop fighting for what you want or ever give it up. #Fight2BeFit  ✿

12 Ways To A Better Diet ~ #4 "Consistency is Key"

4. Consistency is key - Most people respond well to consistency. Make a plan and stick to it. Try to eat at around the same times daily and keep to the same portion size and caloric intake.. Your body will recognize this pattern and in turn keep your metabolism burning and your energy levels will stay high. You will feel better, and get in a healthy routine. It is easy to sabotage yourself by grabbing nasty snacks to meet uncontrolled cravings. If you do find yourself in that predicament of not preparing enough food to last throughout your day don't reach for the junk. There are better choices even in some fast food places so it's important that you keep your consistency on track and choose wisely. Don't go without food either because that's just as detrimental to you're system as eating poorly is. The time you spend on planning and consistency is a true investment that will benefit you for the rest of your life.

LoveYourBody♡

12 Ways To A Better Diet ~ #3 "Be Proactive"

3. Be Proactive - Make a list of healthy foods you enjoy, and what foods you can take with you to work, in the car, school, gym etc. You can create entire menus revolving around where you will be at what time of the day. Never give yourself an excuse to not have something available for you to eat, no matter where you are when you are supposed to have a meal. Always keep healthy foods ready to eat on hand. If you don’t you will probably eat whatever is available at the time whether it be fast food, office treats, etc. We all know that when in a crunch to find food we will go right for the fast food. It always seems to be easier to find unhealthy food choices then healthy ones.  Another really bad choice is not eating at all. This can throw off all the hard work you've put in, your diet plan and get you in the habit of making bad food choices and eat whatever is fast, easy and convenient. Know where you will be at what time of the day, when you are open to cook, to eat, to shop for groceries, and plan accordingly. When you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

✿

12 Ways To A Better Diet ~ #2 "Expectations"

2. Have Realistic expectations- Any diet plan needs to work with you and not against you. You need to be realistic when setting up the parameters of your new diet. Your plan needs to work for you and your situation. It needs to fit your schedule and your budget. If you don’t follow your budget, your cooking costs will get too high and you will have to withdraw from the diet you set up. If you don’t cook for your schedule and your eating times you will find yourself without food and scrambling to find a healthy choice.This is what leads to us to making bad food choices when we don't prepare our food ahead for our daily schedule. Poor food choices are all around us and always seem to be much easier, quicker for us to get in a scramble to eat on the go during our busy day. So be realistic with time, and give yourself extra time to prepare food, or have food pre-packed. Also know that obstacles can and will come into your path from time to time to derail you and your progress, so don’t think that everything will be easy and will just happen. This takes work and a commitment to yourself and your body. Just like training your body feeding your body a good, clean diet with consistency will show over time in amazing results you will be able to see in your body.

 ✿

12 Ways To A Better Diet ~ #1"Set Goals"

1. Set goals - It starts by having clear and realistic goals. Write a list of things you want to change about your diet. Also incorporate goals that you may have regarding your body and plan your diet around those goals. I recommend setting present goals, short term, and long term goals. If you try and do everything all at once you can be overwhelmed and want to quit. Take it one goal at a time if need be, and one day at a time, this isn’t a race. You may also want to write reasons why you want to make a change in your eating habits. You might share your goals with others who will help you meet them. You can put your goals where others can see them “on the fridge, at work” to motivate you to work harder. This will also get others behind you and involved in your new routine. As you achieve your goals, check them off. This will give you a sense of accomplishment and add excitement leading to your next goal. Keep yourself motivated at much as you possible can!  

 ✿

Exercise of the Week♡ "Shrugs"

Dumbbell Shrugs

The dumbbell shrug is a great exercise to strengthen and develop the trapezius muscle. The trapezius muscle is that triangular looking muscle on the upper back that gives body builders that powerful posture.

This is a pretty simple exercise to do. Simply pick up a couple of dumbbells and shrug your shoulders up and down. However, this exercise still has to be done right in order for it to be effective.

You can perform this exercise with dumbbells, barbells, or a universal machine. It's a pretty versatile exercise.When preforming shrugs with a barbell you will grab barbell hands shoulder with apart and raise barbell upwards towards the ears, pausing then lowering weight just as you do if you are using dumbbells.

I really love this exercise and I always enjoy using heavy dumbbells when doing dumbbell shrugs. To me the heavier I go the better it feels. I will go a bit lighter when doing barbell shrugs. I love feeling and seeing all my muscles tighten as I lifted upward holding, squeezing the weight before releasing. For the women out there that think this is only a man's exercise? It's not. It is for us women as well and needed if you want your overall symmetry to be balanced. The taps tie into the upper back and shoulders, and with out the development and strengthening of your trapezoid muscle it will look unbalanced. Symmetry and balance is key to creating the perfect physic. Example: You wouldn't just work out your biceps and not workout your triceps, or your quads and not your hamstrings..would you? Same goes for your traps. All your muscles tie into each other to create beautiful balance.

1. Stand straight with your feet planted firmly with a shoulder width stance. Your knees should be slightly bent.

2. Grasp two dumbbells with your hands spaced shoulder length apart. Keep the weight held at straight arms length with a slight bend in your arms.

Execution of the shrug

1. Raise the dumbbells upwards toward the ears, pause, and lower the weight. Repeat. This exercise can also be performed with a barbell or a universal machine bench press.  
✿

Inspire Me✿ "Lift Your Life"

Use your pain as fuel to remind you of your strength. Lift your life up as high as you can and live it exactly how you've always wanted and dreamed of living it. Live your life fit, strong, healthy and happy!

#Liftyourlife♡  

No Pain, No Gain?

Do you stick to the old adage “no pain, no gain?” You could be dead wrong. If you’re experiencing pain while you exercise, something isn’t right – period. Contrary to the popular saying, pain doesn’t always give way to fitness gains, and can in fact hamper your ability to perform exercises and lead to injury. You need to know the difference between good pain and this type of bad pain that could be warning you that something seriously wrong.

Pain indicates that an injury is occurring, whether it’s a minimal strain to a muscle or tendon, or a more serious tear. Even when you’re stretching, you should only be feeling mild tension and perhaps a small degree of discomfort, but never pain. Stretches should be held to the point of mild discomfort, not pain, and held for 20-30 seconds.

If you experience a sharp pain while exercising, or if the pain persists, talk to your doctor or at least a personal trainer at your gym who can help you. If you’re from the “no pain, no gain” era, you should also consider consulting with a qualified personal trainer to learn more about why pain is a bad thing and to learn how to exercise properly.  I am all for the No Pain, No Gain, but we need to be careful and learn to listen to our bodies and know when they're telling us when we feel bad pain. It can mean a big difference if a injury is caught early on and prevent more damage that could hinder you from training all together.  #LoveYourBody♡

Fitspiration♡ "Love Your Body"

Committing to both exercise and nutrition is a part of the total package for being fit for a lifetime. There's just no quick fix to loosing weight or creating that fit, beautiful body we all dream of and aspire for. No matter how many hours your spend exercising or working out in the gym you can never change the dynamics of there's just no way to out exercise, out train, out run a bad diet. Committing to the total package of  eating clean and healthy combined with a regular exercise program as a part of your daily life is the only way to obtain the fit, healthy body for a life time. 

#Loveyourbody♡

Inspire Me✿ What Hurts You....

What hurts you makes you... #Stronger a #Fighter !!!

Kids Follow Their Parent's Lead

You’re bummed that your kid decided not to try out for the soccer team. Instead, he's sitting on the couch watching TV and eating cookies or playing video games. Are your kids just lazy? Think again. You may actually be the one to blame for their inactivity. We as parents need to be that great example in everything for our children and being fit is no different. It can make a big difference in their lives if they are shown how to take care of their bodies the right way.

According to a studies, young girls age 8-10 years old choose their activities based on the interests of their parents. Yes, that means that since you’re in the habit of sitting your lazy butt down on the couch after work, your kid may be falling into the same unhealthy routine too. Young girls it's especially crucial for parents show them a better way to obtain that thin body they so strive for at a early age. We need to show them that their is a right way to get there and teach them how to take care of their bodies by exercising and eating right. If more parents did this and took an active role in their children being fit it could lower the amount of young girls falling in to bad habits which seems to always develop in to a eat disorder. I was adamant that this not happen to my daughter and I always made sure she felt confident about her body image and know she had total control of it and always would. Our children learn this from us as parents and we need to take it more seriously and not let them down in this very important area.

 

According to the same study, gender also plays a significant role in which activities your child is going to engage in. In other words, girls are more likely to engage in sports if their mother also does, rather than if their father was involved. However, that doesn’t get you dads off the hook. Girls were more likely to continue their involvement if their father was interested in the activity too. When I was young even before my teens my dad would take me to the high school track in the afternoons to run with him. It was not only fun to be with my dad it was how I started to enjoy running and making exercise a part of my life for long term even at such a young age. It was such a good feeling I was always chasing that great feeling I got from working out. It came to my attention much later when I found out I was chasing those wonderful endorphins.

Now all grown with kids of my own I passed on what my dad did for me at a young age and I got my daughter to start running in her early teens with me. She was addicted to it as well and she even got good enough to almost run faster than her mom some days. I rarely let her finish ahead of me because I wanted her to push hard and wake up that competitiveness inside her. Some days she really pushed me without knowing she did. I loved seeing her want to be fit and love making exercise part of her daily routine. She grew up in the gym and at bodybuilding, fitness shows so I had no doubt that she would want to make being fit a part of her life as I do.

My son I waited till he was old enough to lift weights without hurting his growth and around 14 we started to train together. He too was raised in the weight room and remembers all to well waiting for his mom to finish lifting while he played in the kids room or waiting area. He loved when he was old enough to sit in the front waiting area so he could watch me lift and see all the gym action. Now his 17 and has three years of lifting in him and he loves it. I started collecting gym equipment early on so he could have a weight room in our home to lift when ever he wanted. We have added a lot to the weight room since he started lifting with me and he has been consistently committed to working out with me and even on his own. I am proud to see him commit to his training and find the motivation within himself to push and keep training with or without me pushing him.

In helping our children at a young age the importance of being fit and taking care of their body we give them a life time gift.Being role models ourselves so they can see we take it seriously too.Pushing and motivation our children in being fit also in turn pushes and motivations us to keep going for our own fitness as well as theirs. Inspire and have fun in challenging your children and let them challenge you too. Challenge them to be more than just normal. Help and guide them to be "Great" the best they can be.

 ✿

Workout of the Day✿ "Friday"

Workout of the day... Everyone needs to start somewhere and here is the perfect beginners workout to get you going on that fit4life path. Make a choice to wake your body up today and give your body a chance to change! 

✿

Fitspiration✿ "One Beautiful Focus"

Focusing on being skinny seems to be the #1 motivator for exercise in most women and some men today. The most important motivator should be being healthy and feeling good. If you take the focus off this one huge want (Being Skinny) that seems to be consuming so many women today, and put that focus and time into being healthy NOT just skinny. Only wanting to just be skinny only leads to unhealthy choices, then that leads to unhealthy bodies and our body image in the long run. Just put your main focus on your diet, eating right, be consistent in exercising regularly. Keep this one focus and you will see what a beautiful out come that one focus can make inside you and outside of you. You will see and be proud of that beautiful focus every time you look in mirror. #Loveyourbody♡

Workout of the Day✿ "Thursday"

Workout of the day... Everyone needs to start somewhere and here is the perfect beginners workout to get you going on that fit4life path. Make a choice to wake your body up today and give your body a chance to change! 

✿

Don't Give Up On ... "You"

Having trouble staying motivated and sticking to your fitness goals? Here’s my solution: Reflect on your good qualities every day. First, start with what you do well. Are you a good friend, mother, father or co-worker? Do your actions positively affect others in your life? Try to remember the good acts you’ve done throughout your life in detail. Sometimes we get so down on ourselves and we loose sight of all the goodness we have deep inside of us. If you aren't feeling good about who you are inside or out you will not be able to keep up the motivation and dedication it takes to keep striving towards not only your fitness goals but your life time goals. We all need to start loving ourselves and finding happiness within before we can achieve happiness outside.

You might remember the birth of your child or a good deed you did for someone in need. Recall a time when you were instrumental in making someone else happy. Recall every detail of that memory. For the next few moments, continue to dwell on details in your past when you lived up to your expectations for yourself. Realize that you have done more good than bad in this world. Allow yourself to feel grateful for all you’ve accomplished and allow yourself to really feeling it and be proud of it. Tell yourself.. I am worth the extra effort, and I deserve to take the added time it takes to improve my health and body today!

Today's the day to start digging deep within the depth of your body and soul and find  out what it is you need, what makes you happy and start pulling it all out of you. Empower yourself with all that goodness you start finding deep within yourself. Just keep pulling all that goodness out and allow yourself to shine bright. Keep that daily motivation alive no matter what is happening around you and stay on your path in making all those goals and dreams for yourself come true. Be good to yourself because you do deserve it. #Loveyourself  ✿

Workout of the day✿ "Wednesday"

Workout of the day... Everyone needs to start somewhere and here is the perfect beginners workout to get you going on that fit4life path. Make a choice to wake your body up today and give your body a chance to change! 

✿