ChaLEAN Extreme is $30 off for the next 2 weeks!

 I’ve done P90X, Power 90, Slim in 6, Turbo Fire..lots of Beachbody programs, I believe in them. And this one delivered just as promised!  I loved lifting heavy and I didn’t bulk up however you could see the leaner build and I felt stronger all over. Through January 31st, this program is $30 off for customers. Club members get an additional 10% off and coaches..if you are wanting this program, now’s the time! Almost half off for you! Did you look in your store and see the price? Amazing! It's TIME!  If you have any questions about this program, just ask!

I am a Team Beachbody coach. My coaching is always free. Sign up for your free account or a club membership where you get to use the online meal planner and other tools and get a 10% discount! Or join as a coach and let me help you at least cover your cost of nutritionals and workout programs!

JANUARY IS 1/2 GONE - How's your commitment to health going???
You can't stop time from passing, but you can make the BEST of the time you have left!

No matter what program you do, get started TODAY making healthier choices. Make exercise and eating better a priority.  Look around you, look to your older relatives - how's their health?  what could they have done to help their ailments that you can do NOW and avoid the same fate?  Don’t wait until you have heart problems or cancer threats or worn down joints from too much weight and not enough exercise. Don’t wait.  Don't just join the crowd who thinks that aging means getting fat and disabled by health problems. Be the person who makes a plan now and finds the tools and support to make 2011 your healthiest year!  Join me!

Biggest Loser's new trainer Brett Hoebel ! Who is Brett Hoebel?

Brett has create some phenomenal bodies across the country but he's based out of New York City. His programs taught in gyms, have spread across the country because of the results he gets: sculpted abs and strong bodies that are super lean and gorgeous - he uses traditional moves and then throws in some capoeira to keep it interesting and keep your body in the game.  He's got a body to prove that his method works, and the brains to tell you why (pre-med/science background).

When Beachbody heard of Brett a few years ago, they created REV ABS  and people started getting amazing results right in their own living room.  You can too. RevAbs is fast paced, FAST PACED and demanding.  If you order it, be ready to WORK!

You'll see results you didn't think your body could produce. 

This season of Biggest Loser, Brett Hoebel is joining as one of the two "new trainers on the block."  On the one hand I want him to be exclusively OURS but I also know that this will show people that are so stuck on "I NEED BOB, I NEED JILLIAN" that they just need a plan.  They need to get serious about their health and take steps in control what goes into their health, what goes into their fitness, what goes into their mouths.  It's a combination of all of those things. YES, the contestants on Biggest Loser will  be dropping weight like crazy week after week. It's their JOB when they get on that show, it's ALL they will be doing.  If you've seen any of the interviews with past contestants, you know: It's 6 hours of working out a day on that ranch.  Your food is portioned and provided. While there are tough parts about it (being away from their loved ones is the toughest) it's also a time that they can take and JUST THINK OF THEMSELVES FIRST.  They're away from work and appointments and not having to run around the house or work putting out fires.

With this "new trainer" thing...they'll get to see that it will work (after getting the whiney thoughts about not getting Bob & Jillian as trainers) with hard work, dedication & focus.  You need a plan.  They will get a whoopin' with Brett, I know, I've worked out with him LIVE.  He'll be a great addition to the mix and I'm excited to see him on the telly week after week.  He's not bad to look at. :)

All of our (Beachbody) programs come with several workouts, calendars, relevant nutrition guides. We have online support and you get a free coach, (that would be me!)  And, if you want to later, you can become a coach yourself and help others get fit. Do you need to be an expert? Nope, you're just a guide to point them to the tools, like Brett Hoebel's RevAbs.  You'll see...

Go local, go fresh, make the connection

The obvious connection to your local growers is the nearest farmer's market.  But it might not be all the near so while it might take a little work to find local foods, you might find that either your favorite foods are produced by a local grower or that a locally grown item is in a great grocery item!

For example, I LOVE Martinelli's Sparkling Apple Cider.  It's 100% apples and it's from the town I grew up in, my parents even worked in the orchards for a time.  They have lots of products now but I like the classics. We have the straight juice less of the time, usually going for the sparkling apple cider to fancy up a meal and the holiday celebrations. (I say that I buy a ton for all the kids but I just want to make sure there'll be some leftover!)

http://www.lundberg.com/

Or, another example: nearby there's a company that I've bought products from for years called Lundberg Family Farms. They're really growing and keeping up with all the sustainable practices and it makes me proud that they're from NorCal. I buy their brown rice in large bags from Costco which is great.  Last year I found a product called Sunshine Burger (a patty, really, not quite a burger) that has some really purist ingredient (Certified Non-GMO) practices and they USE Lundberg Family Farms rice!  What a great discovery that was!  I contacted the Sunshine Burger company and made friends with the rep, had breakfast with him and his colleague when they were coming through town. 

And so the obvious fruits, veggies and grocery items might be easy to find but meats might be harder to locate. If you have been paying attentions to the headlines, you can get a little worried about all the recalls on meat products. If you start asking around you might find that local colleges and universities might have the names of local agricultural extensions and groups that will provide you can with names of local meat producers who will proudly tell you about their sustainable farms, grass-fed, free-range, etc.  If you've seen the video Food, Inc.  (available through Amazon.com or check your local libraries) then you probably have a hankering to know where your meat is coming from.

If you're curious, put out feelers and see what's going on in your neck of the woods. In bigger cities it might not be so obvious but there are surrounding rural areas providing their goods. If nothing else, it's a good way to explore your area and make some great new friends.

Vegan for 4 weeks? Doable! (PCRMs 21-Day Vegan Kickstart)

Today is the first day of the kickstart offered online by PCRM, it's free and a great informational tool. There are no vegan police if you slip and it's on you and only you if you skip a meal or quit.

The first time I did this in August I did it completely vegan, even went for a vegan protein shake to replace my usual one.

I'm not going completely vegan because my morning chocolate health shake - well I'm not going to give it up this time because it makes me feel great and I haven't found anything even close to all the premium ingredients it has for the money. (Plus the company is working on a vegan version so I'll wait.) It's 140 cals by itself but I usually add a banana to it and so it's about 240 cals for my wonderful chocolate treat in the morning.   It's supposed to help you stop having cravings EXCEPT for that I crave the shake. Mmmm...so good. 

So the Kickstart is something you can sign up for and get the emails and just ... peek into it.  No police to say "DO IT!"   There's a daily message, video clips, all sorts of cool little tips and tricks they share. 

The meal plan is cool, goes out every Saturday so you can plan the week. Plenty of recipes that are tasty and not very complicated. 

Again, this is just a cool guideline to have, great recipes that help you use leftovers, etc. If you find something you really like, then make it over and over again, substitute whatever you need to - you don't have to follow the menu exactly.  Go easy on yourself, if you do an "all or nothing" you might quit at your first frustration. This is all about easing into this interesting world of healthy food.   There are often 2 or 3 opportunities to do a kickstart (they don't ONLY do this in January) so peeking in on this one could be a good way to start some good habits.  

List of Health Books I've Read...

I usually find book titles in the library, referenced in a health magazine, maybe a radio show. I try to follow the credible trail. These are in rough order, starting a few years ago as I began adding this health track to my life. I have a ton of new vegan/vegetarian cookbooks, I’ll add them later.

Reversing Heart Disease (Dean Ornish)

Eat More, Weigh Less (Dean Ornish)

Dr. Neal Barnard’s Program for Reversing Diabetes

Fast Food Nation (Eric Schlosser)

What to Eat (Marion Nestle)

Sugar Busters (H. Leighton)

The Eat Clean Diet (Tosca Reno)

The China Study (Thomas M. Campbell II)

Omnivore’s Dilemma (Michael Pollan)

Quantum Wellness (Kathy Freston)

The End of Overeating (David Kessler)

Eat to Live (Joel Fuhrman)

In Defense of Food (Michael Pollan)

Get Healthy Go Vegan (Neal Barnard)

Skinny Bitch (Rory Friedman)

The Kind Life (Alicia Silverstone)

Thrive (Brendan Brazier)
Eating Animals (Jonathan Safran Foer)

DVD’s

Food, Inc. (good introductory documentary on all aspects on food & food production)

Earthlings (warning: this is NOT for the faint of heart, it will change you)

The Cove (what goes on in another country, brought to light by some courageous people)

Not a vegan, Not a vegetarian...but I'm leaning that way

TofuXpress

That's been my response when people ask me why I’ve been talking about trying different foods (spelt tortillas, beets)and kitchen gadgets and recipes. ("I GOT A TOFU XPRESS!!")  

To be clear, I do not call myself a vegetarian or a vegan, although I have leanings toward the food aspects and I’ve been considering the consumerism of it (production, suffering, etc.)  When I meet a vegan who says they are a vegan for compassionate reasons, they have my full respect (especially when they take in & use absolutley no items made from animal, from leather jackets to silk to... everything).  That kind of level of commitment is admirable. But, I'm not there yet. If anyone calls me a "bleeding heart" or whatever, that's their issue. I'm not going to be one who judges so I hope people on either side can take my clunky journey into this new world. I'm just learning here.  

Food-wise, I'm lucky that I've liked fruits & veggies since childhood. But of course, along the way, I learned to love crap too. Fatty, sugary, salty crap.  Yummmm, right?  Yeah, I know.  The pull is there.

I've been eating healthily enough for a while to know that your taste buds change and ...taste again. You can go back in time and, after eating healthy for a while, you'll find that fatty foods coat your tongue and leave a residue, that sugary foods are far too sweet and you just don't need much salt anymore. It takes time and the where-with-all to find the foods you love, fix them and eat them regularly enough for the transformation to happen.  Learning where to find proteins and B vitamins and all that...it's a process!

Confessions of a Book Fiend

by Grant Snider

I have been reading A LOT.  I have always loved to read and I use reading up on a subject as a foundation for the next action step. Like many people who love to read, there often isn’t enough time to read all the books you want, but more books keep getting added to the list (am I right?).  Well, as you may have read in a previous post, I was laid up for a several weeks while I healed from ear surgery. That meant not a lot of physical activity and some issues with balance and dizziness.  BUT I COULD READ!!   

I took advantage of reading the books I was piling up in my Kindle and had stacked on my bookshelf.  Since I was curious about the health ones, I read those first.

My interest in health is not just a hobby; it’s helpful in my business as a Team Beachbody Coach. By NO means do you have to be any sort of expert to be a coach and I am NOT, not even pretending to be, but I like to read and I like to share what I learn and it’s helpful with customers and coaches alike. I try to get information from the best sources I can find and I’m always looking.

I have my own issues with lactose intolerance and I seem to have a sensitivity to wheat or gluten or something so it’s not like I’m new to working around regular foods and trying to find good replacements. 

I know people who say “OH! I would DIE if I couldn’t eat cheese!!!”  Well, I do without dairy because the consequences are gross and I’m just not going to deal with it. I've found lots of substitutions and replacements over the years and vegans have a LOT of the BEST stuff!  I know they're not keeping secrets but I feel like I'm really discovering stuff here.  I guess I should save my "finds" for another post; keeping the focus on certain aspects of this journey at a time so you can pick what you want to know about and what you can shelve.

I’m going to list for you the books I have read regarding health that have turned me towards a more vegetarian/vegan path.  I also bought a ton of vegan cookbooks, I’ll list those too, I guess. I’ll keep adding to the list so I'll make a separate post. You can find that list here.   Until then, consider your food choices...just consider where you learned them, what they were as a child, etc.  Just for fun.