You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him find it within himself. — Galileo

Here I am 9 weeks out from my show. This is where I really need to dial it in and get focused. To do that I take weekly pictures of myself so I can make corrections as well as look at myself and see progression. This also helps me face the brutal facts!
My workout today:
[5:30] AM StairMill 30 Min (love this machine)
Lifting
Benchpress
Shoulder Press
JumpSquats
Hanging Knees Raises
Back Extensions
Bent Over Rows

I get this question all the time.

The textbook definition is: Body Mass Index (BMI) a measure used to evaluate body weight relative to a person’s height.  BMI replaced the height and weight charts insurance companies used.

Here is the issue that some exercise physiologist and personal trainers have with it.  If  you are someone with a lot of muscle you will have a high BMI. Here’s what I mean. Back in the Arnold Schwarzenegger BMI would have been off the charts. Was he unhealthy or just muscular’

Don’t get caught up in the numbers, see how you feel. Do your clothes fit. Do you have energy. If so then the numbers don’t matter.

Most of you work in a compnay that may have multiple floors. So, instead of using the elevators try using the stairs. (Provided for security measures haven’t closed them) You will burn about calories per trip up the stairs. Hold on.. before you say SO WHAT! If you took the elevator how many calories would you burn’ If you had to go up and down the stairs 5 times you would burn 100 calories! Now image if you did this everyday Monday – Friday you’d burn 500 calories in 1 work week!  Now that’s something. Try this for a week and let me know how you make out.

Not sure where you are but here in Boston we had the first taste of winter this week. Were you ready to come out from under ALL those winter clothes’ I got tell I wasn’t I tried on a pair of pants and OOOps, not what I was expecting, So, if you are like me you’re feeling that Memorial Day is less than a month away.  Every day for the next 30 days, I will be giving you a small simple healthy tip you can easily incorporate into life. If you have any tips you would like to share, please let me know

Add 1 Fruit and 1 Vegetable to your every meal. Please keep the fruit fresh or canned without heavy syrup of added sugars.  Dried fruit may be tasty, but doesn’t count

Here are the list of Fruits and Vegetables that are currently in season:

May
Vegetables

• okra
• zucchini
• rhubarb
• artichokes
• asparagus
• spring peas
• broccoli
• lettuce

Fruit

• cherries
• pineapples
• apricots

You seen them on infomercials or maybe at the gym.  It called a kettlebell and it has been around since the 1800s and now the great training program is getting a major resurgence.  Okay enough history, what does it do for me’ Well the kettlebell combines FAT BURNING and STRENGTH training.  You heard me.  Cardio and lifting in one!!!!

There is a little bit of a learning curve and you can do it at home!!

For a quick workout, I do 10 rounds of:

• 10 double handed swings
• 10 single handed swings
• Jump rope for 1 min

Take a 30 second break

Craig Ballantyne, Men’s Health Magazine Expert, Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist created this amazing bodyweight workout that help you get bootylious. Through his Turbulence Training program, you’ll discover that strength training and interval training you will burn fat, and build muscle. To learn more Click Here!

When you view your health as nonnegotiable, your priorities naturally shift.

I have a number clients whom I work with who each and every session tell me that they are tried, or stressed out, skipping meals and basically paying attention to everyone but themselves.

You have to make yourself a priority.  If you don’t take care of yourself who is.  I know that this practice is easier said then done, but we must take baby steps to taking care of ourselves.

Here are 3 basic tips.

1. Establish a bed time — this is non-negotiable. You need 8 hours, so if you need to be up for 7am, then lights out 11pm.  This means you winding down by 10pm, I suggest being in bed or doing something relaxing such as reading, meditation, writing in your journal or spending quality time with your partner. Did you notice, there was nothing about TV, emails or web surfing’  This your shut down and unwind time.
2. Bring your lunch — when you bring your own lunch there is no excuse for saying you didn’t have time to run out, plus you are less likely to be tempted to ravage the vending machine or worse go without.
3. Exercise — I would love to see you work out 3 times/week, but I understand that may be a little difficult, but I recommend that you put it in your calendar, get up a little earlier and workout in the morning, schedule yourself a meeting and sneak out at lunch.

I hope that you are able to implement some of these tips.  I just want you to know that I can so relate to and let you that these are the steps that I took to reclaim my life.

I use to fly 100,000/year, the thought of leaving the office before 7pm didn’t occur to me, lunch consisted of M&Ms and Coke and dinner was all take out.  The people at Mary Chung’s really LOVED me and my husband. I used to have perpetual heartburn, migraines, acne and was in a constant state of tiredness.  I went to my doctor seeking a quick fix,  a prescription. Well, my doctor gave me a prescription, in the form of a book called “Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff” Well I read and it really opened my eyes, I was only 25 and stress to the hilt and said I didn’t want to live my life like this.  Now I didn’t start implementing everything, I took baby steps and over time I had all 3 suggestions implemented.

Good luck to you, please let me know how you’ve implemented these tips or if you have any other suggestions.

“I never regret it when I do it, but I always regret it when I don’t.”
— Devin McDonald Vinson, 37, Portland, OR (Women’s Health Magazine)

I felt this today. I am 4 months away from the greatest fitness challenge of my life. Today was the day I started to train.  I needed to sit and develop a plan for myself to get into the shape of my life.

I’ll admit it I wasn’t looking forward to my workout, but it felt amazing!! Can’t wait to hit it again tomorrow.

Tell me how you feel about your workouts.

The controversial icon turns 50!!! Is she still a controversy or have kids of today moved away from her because she’s not compatible with the Wii or PlayStation. As a young kid who didn’t play with Barbies, my sister and I whole closet devoted to the random assortment of Barbie clothes including the corvette, the townhouse and the RV.  I can’t tell you how many variations of Barbie had — scuba barbie, skipper, pj, and course it Ken and his variations. I even I had a Ken doll that you changed his beard, gotta love the 70s.

As an adult I started to hear rumbling of people saying that Barbie gives young girls a warped sense of self.  Really, I don’t remember thinking I was going to have bullet boobs or a size 2 waist.  I just enjoyed all the little adventures that my sister and I as well as all of our friends would come up with for our Barbies.  It was healthy imaginative play. What are your thoughts on Barbie’

Raise your hands if had to grocery shop. It’s okay do, but I have gotten it down to science and can get in out of the store in 30 minutes. Yep, 30 minutes. I can go faster at a Stop and Shop that has the self scanner, wear I scan and pack my groceries while I shop only stopping at the checkout to pay. HOLLA, that is the best invention for me.

So here is how I get in and out of the store with ease.

1. Shop the perimeter — I know you’ve heard this time time and time again, but its true the freshest foods and non-processed foods are placed on the perimeter of the store
2. Make list — I keep my list on the fridge, I put down items we run out of as well as items that we are running low on, plus there always staples that I keep stocked in my fridge, before I leave for the store I run thought the staple list and highlight the items that I need.
3. Go a full stomach — another one you’ve heard, but trust me, when you shop hungry. You fall pray to the tastings that they have the store, the candy aisle looks amazing, as well as the strategically placed sale junk items
4. Buy whole grains— Whole grains keep you satisfied longer.  Now don’t be fooled it manufacturers have started to put this information on the front of the box. It’s not the front of the box the really count, you MUST look at the ingredients on the back to truly understand what’s inside.
5. It’s okay to eat frozen food — in fact when you can’t get fresh veggies or fish, frozen makes a great alternative.
6. Add some color — mix up your produce choice by adding all colors of the rainbow, this will ensure that you are getting all your nutrients.
7. Save money by buying fresh vegetables in season — when possible shop a farmer’s markets and buy local when possible
8. Packaged prepared foods are okay, but again make sure you look at the ingredients, if you need a chemistry degree to understand what’s in it put it back on the shelf.
9. Choose real foods over processed foods, again check the back of the label you want to read the back of the label does it contain more than 5 ingredients and can you pronounce the ingredients.
10. Use coupons wisely, when you need to purchase 3 of something to save a few cents, ask yourself do you really need 3 or are you sucked into deal mode.

Hip lifts with 2 variations.

1. Old school Jane Fonda, feet flat hip width apart where you are lifting, squeezing at the top and lowering down. Repeat 10 times.
2. Hip Lifts with Stability Ball, place feet on the stability and lift and lower your just as described in the previous exercise. By introducing the stability ball, you are engaging your core and getting a more effective workout.

images courtesty of: http://www.activefitnessworld.com and fitnessmagazine.com

After all, computers crash, people die, relationships fall apart. The best we can do is breath and reboot. — Sarah Jessica Parker (Carrie, Sex and The City)
I live in the Northeast and we just another dumping of snow and I got to tell you its been a long hard snowy winter and I am ready for relief.  It’s time for me to reboot.
Spring is just weeks away and I need to focus and get my head into the game here are 5 things that I am doing to reboot.

1. To relax — I am listening to FUN non-work related audiobooks, and as someone who takes public transportation it makes it so much more fun. Right now I am listening to the Shopaholic Series and boy is it entertaining.
2. New workout music — I just download a ton of new music to keep me moving during my workouts. Oh yeah, I hit the 1000 song mark on my nano!  Seriously, when I bought the thing I was like 1000 songs, that SO many song, I’ll never fill it. Oh well.  Never say never as my Mother says.
3. Food log — when I am training I track everything I eat. Now that I don’t have a show tracking my food has gone by the way side.  I will start to track my food.  The online food diary is fitday.  It tracks, your macro-nutrients, calories and exercise
4. Put it in your calendar.  I am putting all my workout in my calendar so that I will keep on track and not say that I will do it later.
5. Get organized — I am a clutter bug and I am making strides to de-clutter my home.

Here’s a bonus, I have 12 months to complete my well coaches certification and I am going to not take the full 12 months, I will take the written test in 6 months, and complete the second and third step with 3 months.
image source: http://www.bytemark.co.uk/media_file/image/40/base/reboot-type.png’1206018409