Have you ever wondered if those minutes you spend in the gym are burning fat or just time?
Unfortunately if you are like 80% of gym-goers, time is the primary thing you’re burning. I find it shocking that so many well-meaning folks are still exercising with such outdated notions of what constitutes an effective workout.
I don’t want that to be you.
[Read more…]
It’s the start of the weekend and if you’ve got plans, I know you really want to look good when are out and about. I mean let’s be honest, that’s one of the main reasons you endeavor to live a healthy fit lifestyle right? But what can you do to look better tomorrow?
While I will never be the one to promote quick fixes and fad methods when it comes to your fitness and fat loss problems, there are a few legitimate reasons that your tummy may be bigger than you like and some action steps you can take to resolve the issue.
Now I’m not talking about fat loss here, I’m taking about other factors that bloat your belly and make you feel less confident in clothes.
Here are a few reasons you may be carrying around an extra inch or two and simple ways to nix those inches fast (yes, even as fast as tomorrow). [Read more…]
We’re are smack dab in the middle of our 5th Annual Skinny Jeans Transformation Challenge and the ladies are doing great!
One of the reasons is because the food they get to eat this year is actually REALLY good! The whole family is loving this so called “diet” food.
My stick-to-it strategy this year included making sure that the food on the weekends was “fun” yet still fat burning since there is only one splurge day a week.
Well this recipe for Chipotle Chicken Sweet Potato Skins was a HUGE hit so I had to share. [Read more…]
Have you ever completely totally just NOT felt like working out?
You think: I’m too tired, I’m too sore, too this, too that. But it’s also one of those days that way
deep down you know you’re just kinda making excuses…..
It happened to me yesterday. For some reason even though I’ve been LOVING my workouts
lately I woke up, did my normal routine of walking my girl Zoe and when I got back in the house
I just did not want to go workout.
But I have two rules I live by when it comes to deciding to skip a workout and I want to share them with you. [Read more…]
Truth: One bad meal won’t make you fat.
Equally True: One “healthy” meal or good workout won’t make you lean.
Ultimate truth: Time passes the same for us all no matter what we do. And the passing of time will multiply the choices you make day in and day out. There is no way around it.
Here’s how it all adds up: if you keep eating crappy food day in and day out time WILL multiply your efforts and you’ll end up wearing all that food on your body, as in the wiggle, jiggle and BULGE. [Read more…]
In yesterdays newsletter I talked about getting flat abs and how it has a LOT to do with your overall eating habits as well as the form of cardio you engage in most often.
And while I stand behind the fact that spot training will not give you your dream flat abs, working your abs does have a place. But don’t waste your time with boring crunches. I made a few follow along videos a couple of months back and I’m going to share them with you starting with this one:
You can actually follow right along with me. But warning, I do a lot of moaning and groaning, LOL. It burns!
BTW- My friends at Prograde have this product called Metabolism and they just completed a double blind clinical trial that proved that users of their Metabolism product experienced 8 X great abdominal area fat loss compared to a placebo! That’s pretty durn good! Here is the info on the study and it’s on sale right now for 13% off when you enter code SKINNY13 at checkout
Alright enjoy the video. I’ll share another next week so try to get this one done 2-4 times before then.
I just got back from a fantastic family trip to the Grand Canyon. The hiking there is so beautiful.
Here is a picture at one of our rest points.
Now I wouldn’t say I’m afraid of heights in the strictest sense, but if given the choice I’d rather not hang out too close to cliffs, so getting past that and just enjoying the challenge of the hikes, the company I had and the beautiful scenery took a couple of deep breaths and focus (to start anyway, once I got going my fears were the furthest thing from my mind).
As I was thinking about all that I would have missed had I let my fears get the better of me I realized that today of all days would be the best day to write about it because today is: National Dare Day (you didn’t know?!)
Usually the word “Dare” makes us think of being challenged to eat worms, kiss a stranger, moon somebody or spontaneously yell out something silly in a crowd; that kind of thing. But today I want to dare you to do something that’ll help make you healthier, more fit or more focused.
Take your pick. I DARE YOU TO:
– Not a runner? I dare you to go run a mile right now and see how fast you can get it done (run/walk is fine just do it!)
– Post your before picture on facebook and announce to your fb community that you are starting your fitness journey now! (tag me if you do!)
– Try a new workout: Boot Camp, Dance Cardio (even if you don’t have rhythm!) and Power Yoga are all good options if you’ve never done them. We offer all at BBC and you can try one or all of them as my guest. Call me and I’ll put you on the guest list(s) 916-57-BOOTY.
– Sign-up for Tough Mudder! You can be on the BBC team. Sunday September 23 (email me if you’re interested)
– Sign-up for an event like a run or cycle event and pick a level higher than your norm or a level that scares you to think about (for instance, always run a 5k? Register and run the 10K!)
– Strip down to your undies, stare at yourself in the mirror and out loud say all the things that you like about your body without saying one single negative thing, meaning you can’t say I have great ___except…. Doesn’t matter how small the likes are: I like my wrists, my collar bones are quite lovely, I’ve got fantastic fingernails! You’re laughing but some of you have been verbally abusing yourselves for so long you may have to start with those fingernails….
– Avoid for one full weekend (Friday, Saturday, Sunday) one thing that you SWEAR you’d shrivel up and die without eating/drinking.
– Eat something that’s considered healthy you’ve never tried ’cause it looks or sounds “weird”
But most of all I DARE YOU TO:
– Actually achieve the goals you’re always talking about achieving.
– I dare you to put the work in
– Make the sacrifices
– Feel the burn
– Drip the sweat
– I dare you to stop making: exceptions, justifications and excuses for why you can’t possibly do ___ or give up___ or make time for ____.
I DOUBLE DARE YOU TO: FINALLY SUCCEED!
Happy Dare Day!
A plateau is when you feel like you’re doing everything right but you’re not seeing the changes you expect to see on the scale or in your clothes. Basically you’re not progressing.
Sometimes it really is a matter of your body holding on to those last few pounds and you needing to pull out some tricks to get your body to let go of them. However in my experience working with lots and lots (hundreds!) of women I find that really there are just some things you need to buckle down on and clean up (usually in the diet) to get back on track and get over this “plateau”.
So since it’s now officially spring let’s do some spring cleaning of your weight-loss habits.
These are the top 3 areas that most of us aren’t really being as diligent as we can: [Read more…]
A couple of weeks ago I had a few clients in a row ask me for some good smoothie recipes so I compiled my top 10 and shared it with all my clients. There are some really tasty recipes in that little booklet like Chocolate covered cherries, Chocolate Peanut Butter, and even a Green smoothie that is delish. They are hearty and nutrient packed so these are actually meals in a glass.
I really enjoy smoothies for breakfast because I can cram greens, flax and chia seeds in there and start my morning off feeling great.
But today I was going into my website to pull down the recipe booklet and I thought of you all; my faithful readers and I decided to share it with you too.
So here it is: [Read more…]
Yesterday I hosted the first of what will soon be a BBC regular; a Nutrition Brunch & Learn.
It was a nice morning, I led a special 9am Booty Boot Camp workout and then we did a quick setup and all sat down to a simple yet delicious brunch while I threw out some facts and tips and answered questions about nutrition and fat loss. I already can’t wait for the next one! [Read more…]