Does Easter = Chocolate?

Like most holidays, the one we are about to experience on Sunday, is typically loaded with a large meal accompanied by candy, pies, desserts, you name it. So before you decide to indulge on a huge feast topped off with your favorite chocolate bunny,Cadbury egg or marshmallow chick just take into consideration all of the hard work you have put in at the gym, planning meals, taking the time to work hard and get the results you want - and think twice. I'm not saying don't eat with your family and enjoy your holiday. What I am saying is think about what you are choosing to eat before you eat it, moderate your portion size, and limit your intake of sweets. Do Easter smart and don't feel bad about it the next day. :)

Another quick tip that may help you keep success while celebrating Easter with your loved ones - make sure to drink LOTS of water! This will help you feel fuller and keep you hydrated. Also, educate your loved ones about your health journey. Enlighten and share with them how it's made you feel and why you are adapting new strategies in your life to fulfill it with health, happiness, and longevity. It's always nice to have more people supporting you and they may even want to join in! 

Have a wonderful Easter! 

Did you take your vitamins today?

Since we were all kids and had our parents begging us to take these little suckers every morning, do you still remember to take your vitamins on a daily basis? And do you know just how important popping these nutrient dense tabs in the morning can help you reach your goals? Vitamins are essential for proper body functions and the body can only get these nutrients through diet - our bodies cannot make them.

Most of us do not know how much of our diet is supplementing our bodies needs for different nutrients. Not only is this the case, but if your body is 'hungry' for a specific nutrient it will make your appetite increase and may be counteractive towards your meal plan. So taking a MULTIVITAMIN is extremely important.

What is the craze with FISH OIL you may ask, and how may it benefit you? Well fish oil is an omega-3 fatty acid (the good kind!) and will help reduce over all inflammation in the body. Fish oil also aides in keeping the body's heart healthy, as well as has been shown to decrease levels of anxiety and depression. With that being said, who wouldn't want to take the anti-inflammatory, heart-healthy happy pill?

I don't know about you, but with experiencing the change of seasons my allergies are flaring. Something I have noticed with taking more VITAMIN C, is that my symptoms are more subdued and it's easier to breathe and feel more at ease. Vitamin C has been proven to be one of the safest and more effective nutrients that may not cure allergies or the common cold; however, it has been linked to protect against immune deficiencies, cardiovascular disease, prenatal health problems, and even skin wrinkling. It is suggested that 500 mg a day is a healthy dose to take it.

Find a vitamin that is a higher quality pill (or chew-able if you opt for that) and just make sure to get your daily dosage that will boost your immune system and help your body feel and work to it's potential. <3

Personal Growth

This is a little off normal helpful hints/tricks/tips for optimum fitness health success that I usually write about but I was thinking to myself today... why do I blog? Welp, I like to write to aid in other's successes and motivate the world to be a healthier, happier, and live a life booming in confidence. Personally, I also like to learn, grow and become the person I was meant to be (healthy, happy, successful, confident, etc). Not only that but the person I WANT to be! Plus, my biggest passion is Health & Fitness.

As a part of my personal quest for knowledge and growth, I have jumped headfirst into a great many projects. I am busier than I have been, with a huge agenda, and I LOVE IT! Keeping busy is a great thing for me because it forces me to balance my schedule, plan, and make time for the things I need to. It forces me to make a choice - and (hopefully) make the right one at that. Not only that but I sleep better at night after a big day of all the days tasks. What I've also found extremely helpful in keeping my agenda organized, is I make a list in the morning of the big things that need to be accomplished that day (and the little things too, but they are noted differently on my list) and I check them off as the day goes.

So today, I want to ask you, what are you doing for your health and fitness? What are you doing to reach your goals? If you need more help or some more insight on what to do, where to go, etc. Find someone and ask (PS you can always ask me, I'm more than eager to help and I love meeting new people)

Step outside of your comfort zone today. Learn something new, do something you never thought you would have dreamed (no matter how big or small the task may be) it will help you grow as a person.

If you are interested in an at home approach you can always check out this website. It is full of fitness programs, meal replacement ideas, and knowledge that may assist you in accomplishing your fitness dreams. CLICK HERE
I'm not saying that this link is the only way. It's just many different routes one could choose. *Cheers* to your health!

If You Think You Can, You Will

How many times have you caught yourself bombarded by your own negative thinking? It's sad, but true to say that you are the one who got yourself there and your negative thinking may be what is keeping you from a life of happiness and hitting your goals. YOU choose your own destiny and YOU make the choice to be happy.

So rather than talking down to yourself, and getting caught up in a slump. Talk yourself up! I am a big fan of mantras and positive self talk. When those nasty little negative thoughts begin to creep in your mind, counterattack them with some positive thinking. The biggest battle is going to be a mental one through your fitness journey. Life is wayyy too short to be mean to ourselves, and it makes a much nicer world to be more positive.

Remember, today you get to choose your attitude and what kind of day it is going to be. Life does happen and situations may come up that are out of our control, but you get to decide how you are going to handle them.

P.S. Don't forget to smile. :)

To Stretch or Not to Stretch?

We all know that those few extra minutes spent at the gym stretching are oh so tedious especially if you are rushing to beat traffic and get home to slurp down a protein shake for muscle recovery.... right? Well these few extra minutes are not only going to enhance your flexibility, but assist in your athletic performance and help prevent injury. Who wouldn't want to stretch?

Overall flexibility is key to improving your athletic performance in different activities. It aids joints to move through their full range of motion which will decrease your risk of injury. Stretching also increases blood flow to your muscles. Ideally, it would be best to include stretching before and after working out to make sure your body is working at top performance and preventing injury.

If you are all out of ideas for stretching or think it's a little too tedious at first, try a yoga or pilates class. Not only will you be switching up your workout a bit, but you will stretching them while you work!

Why Your Sweet-tooth May be Harmful to Your Health

Why is Sugar the culprit you may ask? Not only does sugary sweets and drinks cost you a lot of calories without creating that full-feeling, which may lead to weight-gain, but sugar may be your enemy as far as overall health is concerned.

* Sugar negatively effects your immune system. After having a sugar craving and eating those oh-so dangerous Girl Scout cookies, your favorite soda or a candy bar, your immune system is temporarily bogged down and is unable to respond to challenges. This can last up to a few hours, so if you are constantly reaching into the cookie jar, you might want to think again if you do not want your immune system to be struggling to keep up with your bod.


* Sugar promotes inflammation. Inflammation is an immune response, and not always a bad thing; however, consuming sugar in excess may lead to unnecessary inflammation that will endorse aging as well as disease.

* Sugar weighs down the release of the human growth hormone. The human growth hormone (HGH) is a peptide hormone that stimulates growth, reproduction, and cell generation in humans and animals. Our bodies make it naturally and if you want to slow down the aging process, you will want as much naturally produced HGH as your body is willing to make! Avoiding foods that are high in sugar will keep you looking young (of course accompanied with a great workout routine and meal plan!)

* Sugar raises insulin levels. After indulging in sugars, your blood sugar will go up, this will result in your insulin levels spiking which will make your pancreas produce a bunch of insulin to help clear out all the sugar from the cells in your blood. As the blood sugar goes down, your insulin levels will go down to normal again. If you do this far too many times and over-work your pancreas by flooding your body with sugary treats, eventually your pancreas will shut down and you will become an insulin dependent diabetic.  I'm just saying it can happen.

I highly suggest reading all of your nutrition labels prior to purchasing food at the store. It is extremely important to be aware of everything you are putting into your body. The cleaner the better! Eating foods in their natural form (unprocessed, no chemicals or additives, preservatives, etc) is going to be much better to achieve success as far as your fitness goals are concerned. You will also feel more energized and balanced throughout the day with of those 'crashing' feelings.

Water.... Our Body's Need for H2O

I understand that water may be super boring to drink compared to some sugary-high-caloric tasty beverage one may find at the grocery store. (I was looking at a regular fruit punch flavored Powerade the other day with 2 servings in the bottle it had 32 GRAMS of SUGAR per serving = 64 GRAMS/ 5 TABLESPOONS of sugar if one were to consume the whole beverage in one serving.) When eagerly attempting to be healthy, or if you are trying to lose weight, this will become a problem...

Water is vital to the body because our bodies are 70% water. We need to replenish and maintain our balance of bodily fluids. So, if you are killing it in the gym and have a serious sweat going, you my friend will need to drink even more water to keep your body hydrated.

Water also can aid in calorie control. If you are properly hydrated and keep drinking water, your body will feel more full and lessen your desire to snack between meals or eat something that may not be on your meal plan. Also, substituting water for those high calorie drinks will also aid in cutting back on some calories.

Water also helps energize your muscles. Therefore, if you are dehydrated and slacking in the water department, you will feel weak. Cells that do not maintain their balance in electrolytes tend to shrivel, and will lead to muscle fatigue. This will definitely become a problem when you are hitting the gym!

Water will also keep your skin beautiful. Our skin is the largest organ of our body. Why wouldn't we want it to look beautiful and take care of it?! Drinking more water will approve the appearance of our skin. Dehydration will cause skin to appear more wrinkled and dry.

Water aids your kidneys in transporting waste out of the body. Our kidneys help cleanse our body of waste and toxins through urine as long as it has the fluids to help them out!

Typically someone should drink 3-4 Liters of water a day. If you think that you drink plenty of water, but aren't aware of how much you are taking in.... count! I have a half gallon water bottle that I carry around with me all day, and I make sure to fill it up twice!

*If you get bored of drinking water, you can always mix it up! I like to squeeze some fresh limes into my water jug, throw in some mint leaves, some thinly sliced cucumbers and have myself a tasty refreshing glass of h2O.