What does working out do for you except make you stronger?

Hey Hey Diva friends!!! 

I love bringing information YOU WANT so thank you to everyone who has recently taken the survey I posted. IF you haven't yet, you can click the link below....it gives me feedback so I can bring you the best content! It also allows for you to ask me a questions and today I'm going to answer one that I received...

What does working out do for you

except make you stronger?

Great question! Do we really NEED to workout? What if we don't want to get "bulky" or have bigger muscles? Is there really a need?!

Well yes....and no....By now, I think you know my first answer is always that it depends on your body. In special circumstances (like when you're in the exhaustive phases of HPA axis dysregulation, or, adrenal fatigue) working out can act as a negative stressor to your body and should be avoided. Gentle and healing movements like walking, jumping on a trampoline and light yoga should then be the focus....

But for everyone else that is healthy and in a position to work out, what are the benefits? First of all, I'm going to answer this in the context of strength training (using weights) because I think anyone that is healthy enough to do so, SHOULD! Secondly, when I talk about strength training it applies to anyone lifting any sort of weight whether you use heavy weights with low repetition or light weights with lots of repetition....your body, your goals!

I always like to take the future view. Sure working out helps you look better NOW, but what does it do for your future? Well, it helps your bones, your heart, your muscles, and helps you avoid disease for starters!

Strength Training Helps Your Bones

While nutrition plays a huge roll in bone health (hello soda SUCKING the caffeine and minerals right outta your bones!) so does lifting weights.

In an article titled "The effects of progressive resistance training on bone density", it was shown that: "Physical activity, particularly weight-bearing exercise, is thought to provide the mechanical stimuli or "loading" important for the maintenance and improvement of bone health, whereas physical inactivity has been implicated in bone loss and its associated health costs."

Whether it be soup cans, or 30lb dumbbells it's important to lift things on a regular basis to not only maintain, but improve your bone health!!!! Wanna avoid breaking that hip when you're older? Lift some weights my friend!

Strength Training Helps Your Heart

We all know that cardio helps our....cardiovascular system DUH! But did you know that strength training, also known as cross training, helps your heart, circulation, and lymph systems too? Getting in some strength training ( even if it's only 20-30 minutes 3x a week) can still get your heart rate up at the same time that you are improving your strength. This works double time at improving your endurance!

This is why it's so important for anyone wanting to run a marathon (or just a 5k like me) to diversify their training routines and include some strength training as well. It helps balance your muscles, and improves your overall results! I'm partial to strength training because it improves my ability to run a 5k without me having to run all the time to prepare for it! The stronger I have gotten in the gym, the easier it is for me to pop out and run a 5k without "practicing".....

Strength Training Helps Your Muscles

Well, OBVIOUSLY.....but why is this important? Because the more muscle mass you have when you are younger = less muscle loss as you age. Again, if you want to get in and out of that recliner when you're 90 without it being a mechanic assist, you need more muscle mass in your younger years and you need to maintain movement and activity throughout your life. 

We have all seen 90 year olds that look 65 and 45 year olds that look 90. Only a teeny tiny percent of that is genetics. The rest is based on how you eat, how you think, and how you live your life! Move now, so you can move later.

Hello, World!

Strength Training Helps Avoid Chronic Disease

Mayo Clinic shares some benefits of strength training in managing or preventing chronic disease:

• Heart disease. Regular exercise can help improve your heart health. Recent studies have shown that interval training is often tolerated well in people with heart disease, and it can produce significant benefits.
• Diabetes. Regular exercise can help insulin more effectively lower your blood sugar level. Physical activity also can help you control your weight and boost your energy.
• Asthma. Often, exercise can help control the frequency and severity of asthma attacks.
• Back pain. Regular low-impact aerobic activities can increase strength and endurance in your back and improve muscle function. Abdominal and back muscle exercises (core-strengthening exercises) may help reduce symptoms by strengthening the muscles around your spine.
• Arthritis. Exercise can reduce pain, help maintain muscle strength in affected joints and reduce joint stiffness.

Again, nutrition plays a huge part in this .... but nutrition and movement both play equal parts because they help you feel motivated to do the other. If you just worked out, you're not gonna wanna eat that piece of cake....and if you are fueling your body with healthy fats, veggies, and real food then you will have more energy to go out and get some exercise in!

Remember, everyone is different and you don't have to be a bodybuilder to see these results! Keep your joints, muscles, heart, and bones healthy be taking walks every single day - 10,000 tips is a basic goal that everyone can commit to! Get some strength training in 2-3 times a week for 20-30 minutes. Your age, fitness level and goals determine how intense those sessions may or may not be. When it comes to health (not vanity) even the lightest weights can be beneficial.

What benefits have you noticed from working out?

Share below!!!

 

 

Supplements you should consider....

Hey there Diva friends!

It's so easy when you are trying to be healthy to get overwhelmed by all the supplements available! I need this for my joint pain, this for my brain health, this one for my skin and this one for my belly!!! Trust me, I understand. As someone who is working on balancing my own hormones and recovering from years of damaged gut health from NSAID use and poor eating habits, I pop a handful of supplements every day and don't bat an eye! 

But for the average person who is just looking to improve their overall health and doesn't struggle with any chronic or serious conditions, a handful of supplements multiple times a day is not appealing....and the question may arise, "can't I just get what I need from food?"

Yes. And no. Getting nutrition from food is optimal of course and any supplements you take should be of the highest quality and derived from whole food sources whenever possible! My first response to that question however, is that 99% of the American population is not eating a diet healthy enough to come even remotely CLOSE to providing the nutrition they need. Full of homogenized, oxidized vegetable oils, starchy/processed carbs, and sugar, a typical American diet can actually cause malabsorption of the nutrients you DO try to get in. But for arguments sake let's say you've hopped onto the Whole30 or Paleo/Primal bandwagon with me and your daily fare consists of grass-fed meats, pasture raised chicken eggs, fresh veggies, organic fruits, and high quality healthy fats....even THEN it's tough to get what you need for 2 reasons:

Why Take Supplements?

1) You simply don't get enough variety. Let's face it, we are creatures of habit! Unless you are the rare healthy unicorn that tries something new every time you go to the supermarket and you also love to cook creatively (bless you - can you come to my house?!), we typically pick up the same rotation of our favorite vegetables. For example, I eat kale, brussel sprouts, carrots, onions and peppers on the regular....but I hardly ever have rutabaga, parsnips, cassava, swiss chard, or spinach! This can be compounded if you have picky family members or kiddos to consider....So even as healthy as my family tries to be - it's flat out hard to get nutritional variety  - at least on the level that you need daily.

2) We aren't just building our health, we are repairing it! Consider that even if you are the model of health in your nutrition choices now, for the first 20-30 years of your life you probably weren't. Most of us were raised (at no fault of our parents) on cereal, PB&J, commercial dairy products, and processed meats.....not to mention the fast food treat (even if it WAS only once a week!). Because of those foods (all processed!) we have given our systems a great load to bear. (For more information on how these foods have affected our overall health and our gut health specifically see my previous post HERE). 

For that reason we spend the second half of our lives reversing symptoms, building up our health, healing our guts, and strengthening our brains, organs, skin, guts, and overall wellness. Essentially...catching up! Thankfully our bodies are survival machines that do the best with the building blocks they are given....so why not give them the strongest stone possible to build a wall of health instead of foam bricks or worse...nothing at all?

 

 

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For those two main reasons I recommend that everyone take at least 3 supplements daily.

Which supplements are best?

1) Probiotics. Probiotics are KEY! Raise your hand if you have ever been on a round of antibiotics? You need a probiotic. Raise your hand if you have ever taken tylenol, ibuprofen, and NSAID of any kind? You need a probiotic. Raise your hand if you have ever experienced food poisoning, acid reflux, burping, belching, constipation? You need a probiotic. Raise your hand if you have ever taken Tums, or pepto bismol? You need a probiotic!*

* There area few instances where a probiotic could exacerbate an underlying health condition - while less common, if you bloat out after taking a probiotic or eating a fermented food like sauerkraut you may need further testing to rule out some bacterial overgrowth.

                        Have you ever thought about this before???

WHY? Because all of those things point to an imbalance in your gut microbiome. Your gut is like your second brain - lots of what happens externally or symptomatically in your body starts with your gut! (See my post on gut health here). Taking all those OTC medications can damage your gut lining and if you've ever taken an antibiotic....well....your gut microbiome is NEVER the same. Dramatic? Yes. True? Sadly. Antibiotics wipe out not ONLY the bad bacteria but also the good....and its tough for your body to recover from that. Like I said, it's a survival machine but have you ever come back from antibiotics and experienced side effects like constipation? Now you know why! If and when you need to take antibiotics it's ALWAYS beneficial to take a probiotic at the same time to replenish the good stuff! You can listen to a GREAT podcast on gut microbiome HERE.

For more info on how probiotics work and why you need them read this article here.

2) Digestive Enzymes. Along the same lines as probiotics, digestive enzymes help you have a healthy gut. Enzymes help you break down your food and digest it properly. It makes it easier on your small intestines to then absorb the nutrients properly without causing inflamation and damage to your gut as discussed in my previous blog post! The right digestive enzyme can also help you avoid acid reflux and stomach upset. This is of course assuming you aren't using an enzyme to excuse poor eating habits! 

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3) Remember how earlier we mentioned how hard it is to get all the good nutrition in that we need even when we are health nuts? Thats why I recommend everyone have a multivitamin. Preferably one derived from whole foods! A multivitamin is a great tool to cover your bases, make sure you are getting some vitamins in your system daily, even if you happen to get busy and eat the same thing every day in a row for the week ha! Who hasn't been there before?!

Where can I get these supplements?

Well, I could give you a list of highly recommended brands and individual supplements to take in pill form, OR, I could simply recommend Shakeology! Did you know that Shakeology includes probiotics, prebiotics (fiber that supports your probiotics so they can do their job), digestive enzymes AND tons of vitamins and minerals BECAUSE it's made from whole foods?! While kale may be in my diet, yacon root, bilberry juice, and moringa certainly are not! (except that they are because I drink Shakeology every day hehehe)

I'll be honest - as someone who was already on the path of eating whole, real, health conscious foods, a shake didn't appeal to me. But when I did my research I discovered that Shakeology is made from high quality whole food ingredients from around the world. The ingredients are wonderful, and the taste....well....I always say they must be hiding the fairy dust in the ingredient list because it's DELICIOUS. Chocolate vegan is my favorite!

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Many people tell me that at $130/month for Shakeology seems pricey. I would say the quality of your supplements matter. If you purchase 3 high quality supplements you are getting close to the cost of Shakeology without the additional benefits of getting a tasty snack AND dose of quality protein. Health is always an investment - you can pay now for something to improve your health, or you can pay later when you are popping the RXs and hitting the docotors office weekly.  Ask me how you can get a monthly discount on Shakeology to make it more affordable!

So to wrap up - if you're looking for better digestion, a healthier gut, and something tasty to get lots of vitamins in your day without chugging a kale smoothie....you DEFINITELY need to try Shakeology. If you have any questions, message me or comment below - but before you leave, I have to mention one more thing!

For $30 above the cost of Shakeology you can ALSO get a full year of streaming access to ALL the Beachbody at home workouts. You heard me - a full year! Click here for all the details. With ANY purchase comes access to my monthly challenges that include meal plans, encouragement, tips, live videos where you can ask me questions, and FUN!!!! We see results -are you ready to jump in yet?!

Order Shakeology ($130) HERE

Order the All Access Pack ($160) here

I love to hear from you! Comment below with questions, takeaways or topics you'd like covered in the future! :)

Bye for now! :) Here's to your health...

Top reasons people fail at achieving their health goals (part 2)

Yesterday we learned that one of the top struggles people deal with is TIME....

Today I want to talk about having a PLAN. To be successful, it's very important to have a plan both for fitness AND nutrition. Those two things are intimately connected and while nutrition can sometimes stand alone, fitness should never be separated from nutrition!

When it comes to time spent at the gym, most people simply don't know what to do. I know for a long time I didn't either! You may go the gym with every good intention, excitement even! The you look around, feel very overwhelmed, and possibly embarrassed, because you aren't sure how to use the equipment or even know what muscles to focus on, what weights to use, or how many reps to do to be effective....so you may try some free weight exercises that you learned in high school just to get it in, or you hop on the cardio machines and sweat away for hours at a time.....but still you are constantly frustrated because you aren't seeing the results you want!

This is nothing to be ashamed about, but it IS something that can change. The number 1 thing I would encourage you to do is learn about free weights and begin to lessen your cardio efforts. If you learn how to do circuit training with free weights you will be killing two birds (or 3) with one stone as you:

• increase your bone density, balance, coordination (benefits of weight training)
• AND improve your cardiovascular abilities  (benefits of circuit training)
• Cut your workout time in half!

Most gyms have trainers available and if you choose to workout at a gym I would encourage you to use one! Proper form, timing, and a planned program are important to your success and injury prevention.

Or, you have another option. Allow me help you find your perfect at home workout program! With clear, guided instructions, access to me for any questions you have and a pre-planned results driven program all laid out, I know you will reach your goals faster than before! You may wonder why as a certified personal trainer I still do at home Beachbody workouts myself....#1 because they are effective -plain and simple! But #2, they save me TIME and PLANNING! I don't want to sit down and create my OWN program, that's like a doctor coming up with their own protocol. Possible, but no fun. I know that I see results from these programs and all I have to do is push play and show up! That works for me, and I know it can work for you too! :)

Similarly, like we mentioned yesterday, consistency is key in nutrition...and I believe that nutrition is 90% of achieving your overall health goals as well as a goal number on the scale. That 90% cannot be achieved without a plan!

I know firsthand how difficult transitioning to a healthy diet can be! It's takes TIME, it takes PLANNING, it takes RESEARCH it takes commitment....who has energy for THAT when you are trying to get everything else done?!

That's why I focus a lot on nutrition in my monthly challenge groups. I have spent the past 5 years gathering information for myself, implementing it, trying different things, and finding out what WORKS. In the past year I have worked with my challengers and even individual clients to help them reach their goals and learn how to make healthy living a lifestyle! In my challenge groups I share:

• how I eat and why
• how I broke free from the yo-yo diet mentality
• how I can eat whatever I want whenever I want because I now know what ingredients to use.
• how to get relief from a restrictive mindset, enjoy your food, and make it work FOR you not against you!

I do all of this to save you the time, energy, and effort that it took me! I provide meal plans, tips, encouragement and recipes to make it easy for you. You will be provided with all the tools and resources you need to be successful longterm!

So who is ready to come up with a PLAN?! I have a new challenge group opening March 6th ( that's THIS MONDAY!) You can message me for details, ask for a video chat consultation, or just let me know you're ready to jump in and we can GET STARTED TODAY! 

Top reasons people fail at achieving their health goals (part 1)

According to Bodybuilding.com, 73% of people who set a new years resolution give up on it before they have reached their goal. Within that number, 36% said that it's difficult to find the time to workout consistently.

We all know that in order to reach our goals consistency is key! One bite of broccoli isn't going to counteract years of eating pop tarts. But consistently choosing vegetables over packaged treats WILL make a difference long term. Similarly, one time at the gym every couple of weeks will have no effect, but finding time in your day regularly and showing up as a habit WILL.

I totally get it, making time for working out is tough - by the time you motivate yourself to get moving, get dressed, go outside in the cold to drive to the gym, get to the gym and workout by yourself, then drive home and shower you've probably used up about 2 hours of your precious time! 

When you have spouse, kids, and work obligations 2 hours is giving up a lot of time that could be spent planning your day, eating breakfast with your family, sleeping in, or otherwise being productive!

That's why I LOVE Beachbody at home workouts. I used to have every good intention of getting to the gym on a regular basis and forcing myself to workout for an hour every time. But honestly, I would make excuses like it's too cold out or flat out say "I don't want to today". But when I started using my at home workout programs that all changed. When I know that all I have to do is get my body down in my basement and push play then I truly eliminate all my excuses! With most workouts timing in at 30 minutes or less, I began to see BETTER results in LESS time than I ever had before!

*Less time
*Better results
*Don't have to spend time figuring out my own workout
*Just push play
*100s of workouts at my disposal

If you haven't checked out the Beachbody on Demand ALL ACCESS pack yet, you NEED TO NOW! This provides you with access to EVERY Beachbody at home workout for a full year - PLUS the new workouts that will be launched in 2017. This means you can choose from cardio, bodybuilding, yoga, strength training, dance, and more... you'll never get bored AND you won't run out of new challenges and variety to keep it interesting. 

I am more than happy to chat about your goals so that we can come up with an effective and doable plan for you to achieve them! This is just part 1. Stay tuned for more tips on achieving your goals in the next few days!

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