Beachbody Workout programs are awesome because they all come with a nutritional guide, recopies, and MORE! Turbo Jam also came with a GREAT 10 day guide to kick start your weight loss! The plan will cleanse your body and change your daily habits which will enhance your results and have a lifelong effect on your overall wellness. It consist of 10 disciplined days of “clean” eating combined with a daily turbo jam work out. This short-term weight loss program will rev up your metabolism to burn big-time fat and calories!!!

I wanted to share it with all of you!

But before we get to what you need to eat each day here are a few other things to consider

What Can I drink?

• WATER!!! 8 to 10 glasses (64oz) per day!
• Coffee and Tea- you can drink these no calorie beverages, but keep the stuff you add to em to a minimum.
• And, of course, all those Caramel-Vanilla-Mocha drinks from your local coffee bar are COMPLETELY OFF!

What Can’t I drink?

• Sports Drinks
• energy drinks
• alcohol
• soft drinks (including diet)
• juices

Ouch!!! I know this may be a toughie, but you’ve got to hold firm here! While some of these items aren’t bad for you, they all have calories (sometimes more calories than you need in a meal) and you should cut them out when striving for serious results. Calorie- and sugar- filled soft drinks, in particular, have no value in your diet, short term or long term. Get rid of them —this goes for DIET soft drinks too!

Foods you may not know…But Should!

As you’ll see in the plan, smoothies are great for snacks and meals. We recommend using Beachbody’s Meal Replacement Shake: Shakeology.  It has over 70 all natural ingredients! There are other products on the market you could use, however, with Beachbody products, you can be assured you’re getting superior quality, so it’s a smart move to go with them.

Can I stick with this plan longer than 10 days?

We don’t recommend it. If you feel great and have plenty of energy you may be able to stay on your diet as is. But a balanced diet contains more variety and more complex carbohydrates and fruits. These are energy foods and as your body becomes leaner and you burn more calories, you will need more of them. If you get into the habit of adding carbs to your diet when you need more energy then you are on the right turbo track to health and fitness.

Calories to add for individuals with lower body fat:

“this diet is created for women over 20% body fat or Men over 15% body fat, if you have LESS Body fat then this you will need to add calories to this meal plan here is how to figure out how much. If you don’t eat enough your body will start to store fat instead of burn it off, so it is important to eat enough Calories! So if you are lower body fat here is how many calories you should add…

If you are…

Under 140 lbs —add 100 cals per day

141-150 lbs —add 200 cals per day

151-160 lbs —add 300 cals per day

161-170 lbs —add 400 cals per day

171-180 lbs —add 500 cals per day

181-190 lbs —add 600 cals per day

191-200 lbs —add 700 cals per day

200 + lbs —add 700 cals plus another 100 cals for each 10 lbs over 200

Now…for the food!

#1 “I don’t have time to exercise”

We have all heard and used this one at some point in time.  Most people have more free time than they realize.  In fact, in might be embarrassing if someone added up all the time we had here and there.  Want to know something awesome?  You don’t have to have one hour blocked off to get the workout in, but if you can do a few 15 minute activities here and there, you will be on the right path.  Exercise is probably the best thing you can do for your health on a daily basis.  You will make time for things that are important to you.  Is your health important?

#2  “I’m too tired to exercise”

I bet you are tired because you are not exercising!  Regular physical exercise and activity gives you more energy.  More often then we think, fatigue is more mental than physical.  Your fatigue may also be related to stress.  But you are in luck…physical activity helps with that as well.  Go for a brisk walk, play with your kids outside, or go for a bike ride.  You will find it energizing and stress reducing.

#3  “Resolutions never work, so why bother?”

Do you remember teachers saying that if it is ‘always’ or ‘never’ then it is not a correct statement.  It is too absolute.  I think that is a powerful statement.  No one can tell you that you can or can’t achieve your goals.  But, you CAN do everything within your control to set yourself up for success.  Will you be perfect?  Of course not.  Just jump back on track when you get derailed.  You can’t expect perfection, but you can plan for success.  You can do it and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

#4 “I don’t have money for a gym membership, home workout DVD’s or other exercise equipment.”

Well, you do have something….and that is your body weight.  And moving around that body weight takes energy and burns calories.  Get moving.  That is free!  Do is often.  Do more today than you did yesterday.  Several resistance exercise exist that involve only using your body weight.  No equipment needed.  If you have a chair in your home or even some stairs then you have even better exercise potential in front of you.  If you have the desire, you can get the workout done.  If you need ideas, drop me an email and I would be happy to help!

So there you have it, stop the excuses and just do something.  With the time you spent debating going for a walk, you could have been done already.  And I don’t hear people say that they regret having done a workout.  You only regret NOT doing it.  So…start your year with no regrets.  Go for it and tell me all about it!  I can’t wait to hear your success stories.

Happy New Year!

1.  Put it on the calender. When putting it on the calender keep in mind that you need to be SPECIFIC.  Not just Tuesday or “in the afternoon”, but right down the EXACT time you plan on getting in your workout.  Schedule the workout like you would a doctor’s appt or coffee with your best friend.  Those things are priorities in your life, so make your workout a priority as well.

2.  Communicate your workout with your family and friends. By saying “I plan on working out Mondays and Thursdays between 2-3pm, I would really appreciate your support.”  If you can’t get away by yourself then encourage family or friends to put on their shoes and join you.  When you communicate your goal, you are sharing the importance of that goal while also getting accountability.

3.  Evaluate your priorities. We all know that we make time for things that we either have to or want to get done.  When things are important to you, you WILL make time.  So, if your workout is not happening, you may need to be honest with yourself by saying that your health is NOT a priority right now.  After you are honest, you can figure out why it is not a priority and slowly make changes to set yourself up for success.

1.  Muscle ways more and is smaller in size than its equal in fat.  A good way to visualize this:  5 lbs of fat is similar to a loaf of bread.  But 5lbs of muscle is more like 2 lbs of ground beef.  Muscles takes up much less space in your body than fat.  Circumference measurements help me know if you are are actually changing in size.  MANY times clients are frustrated because they haven’t lost much weight, but when we get the tape measure out, it shows they have lost multiple inches.  That is AWESOME!  It really helps keep motivational levels high when the scale tells you all your work isn’t paying off.

2.  Body fat calipers of all kinds help us determine your general body fat percentage.  This is a great tool because it helps determine how much of your body is fat vs. muscle, bone, tissue.  The latter is what we refer to as Lean Tissue.  The former is Fat tissue.  Based on height, weight, age, and activity level, there are recommended body fat percentages for each person.  Let’s say a client comes in and they are excited that they have lost 15 lbs.  After being happy for them, I say, “let do a body fat test.”  If what I find is that they have indeed lost 15 lbs, they have lost 10 inches, but that their body fat percentage is the same (if not higher), this is BAD NEWS.  This means that they have either not been eating enough food or the types of foods they have been eating are not enough to support their muscular system.  This person would have been using their muscles (that they worked so hard to get during their workouts) for fuel.  By losing that muscle tissue, the body’s metabolism also drops.  So even though there was a weigh loss (society says “yeah!”), it was in a very inefficient and undesirable way (I say “OH NO!).  This person now has to work at raising their metabolism through appropriate eating and resistance training so they don’t battle with this problem long term.

3.  Along the lines of body fat, I also do tape measurements to help me determine if a client has been eating too many carbohydrates or high sugar foods.  How can you tell?  When someone is working towards improving their appearance and lowering their fat mass, they should be eating an appropriate balance of carbs, proteins and fats.   Sugars tend to be carried at the waistline and abdomen (belly button line).  If someones waistline/abdomen tape measurements are not changing much, then I know we need to look at their nutrition logs and figure out some changes to be made.

Either way you look at it, measurements are ALWAYS a good idea.  Don’t worry about the scale.  If your clothes are fitting  better, than that is a great way to know you are likely moving  in a positive direction.  The scale is not ridiculous, but it needs to be used together with other tools such as the tape measure and a body fat caliper.

1/2 head green cabbage
1/2 head purple cabbage
1 large carrot, grated
1 large red pepper, sliced thinly
1/4 c finely diced red onion
1/2 c cider vinegar
1/4 c white sugar
1 t salt
1/2 t mustard powder
1/4 t hot smoked paprika
1/4 t black pepper
a few dashes of hot sauce

Slice cabbage thinly and then cross cut it a bit so there aren’t long strings of cabbage, cuz that’s just not cool. Dump the cabbage into a large bowl, preferably one with a lid. Add in the grated carrot, sliced red pepper and diced onion. Give it all a giant toss and set aside.

In a small saucepan, bring the vinegar and sugar to a boil. Be careful to not inhale – this is strong stuff. Remove from heat and stir in the remaining ingredients until dissolved. Pour hot liquid over slaw and toss until well mixed. Add a few dashes of hot sauce, if desired. Place lid on bowl or cover with plastic wrap or a plate and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Or refrigerate for 6 hours if you can wait that long and serve. Lasts for a couple of days in the fridge (as if).

Approximate Nutrition Facts per serving (six servings total):
Calories: 84
Fat: 2 grams
Carbohydrates: 18 grams
Fiber: 3 grams
Protein:  1.5 grams

I’ve heard several clients just brush if off and say, “I have never had good balance” or my ultimate favorite, “I’m just getting old.”  Balance  involves your nerves communicating to your muscles and then your muscles responding to that communication.  That communication may be slow, sluggish, or just imbalanced.  But this is my favorite thing: our bodies are amazing.  You can train your body’s response to balance.  Micro-progression is the key (this is just a fancy word for “baby steps”).   Teach your body new skills and then slowly change the difficultly upon your successful completion of the movement.

Examples of balance training:

1.  For those who are new to balance training:  try standing on your left foot but hanging onto something with your right arm.  Once you can do that for 30 seconds, try standing on your left foot and use your left arm to hang onto something.  Upon completion, try letting go of the wall, or just holding on with a few fingers.  Get the idea.

2.  Another example is to try standing on one foot while doing typical “two foot” exersices.  For example, while doing a bicep curl or shoulder press, try standing on one foot or use your other foot to just barely touch the floor for a little bit of support.  NOTE:  When you take away 1/2 of your support base, you will not be as strong as you would be with your full support base.  For this reason, use as lighter form of resistance so that you can still complete the exercise in good form.

It is important to incorporate balance training into your exercise routine no matter your age or activity level.  This will keep you “healthy” overall and active for a lifetime.

Do you have questions about balance?  Drop me a note!

Vitamin D is found in dietary sources such as: Fish, Eggs, Fortified Milk, and Cod Liver Oil.  It is also provides the body enough to overcome some deficiency by as little as 10 minutes of sunshine exposure a day.

There are several different forms of Vitamin D, but two are of particular importance to the body.  D2 is synthesized by plants and D3 which is synthesized by humans when exposed to UVB rays from the sun.

Vitamin D3 (Sunshine Vitamin) is a nutrient that is also being referred to as a hormone.  One of its roles in the body is to help the body develop immature cells into mature cells.  For those of us fortunate enough to live north of northern Florida (yeah for Indiana), the sun’s rays are not at the right angle to allow us to synthesize enough vitamin D3 from October all the way to March!  And now you wonder why you get so cranky???

Recent research has showed that most healthy adults need at least 2,000 IU of vitamin D3 daily.  This can be a challenge with just food.  This is why supplements can help.  (Learn more reasons why you might need supplementation here).

Here are some reasons that can INCREASE your risk of becoming deficient or having poor blood levels of D3:

1.  Location: anywhere north of northern Florida
2.  Lack of sun exposure:  staying indoors or always covering skin
3.  Skin pigment:  darker skin = more time to make Vitamin D3 from the sun
4.  Obesity:  fat tissue absorbs vitamin D3 and make is unavailable to use.  The heavier we get, our need for more D3 increases.
5.  Age: we make less D3 as we age
6.  Pregnant/Breastfeeding mothers: may need more vitamin D3 to keep their own blood levels withing the ideal range.

Having a low blood level of Vitamin D3 has been link with:

1.  Cancer Rates & Reoccurance
2.  Autoimmune Diseases:  Diabetes, MS, Lupus, Celiac Disease, Arthritis
3.  Heart Disease & Congestive Heart Failure
4.  Depression & Seasonal Affective Disorder
5.  Crohn’s Disease/Ulcerative Colititis
6.  High Blood Pressure, Heart Attack & Stroke
7.  Pain/Weakness (Muscle, Fibromyalgia)
8.   Impaired Immune Function
9.  Risk of Bone Fracture from falls
10.  Osteoporosis & Rickets

So, how much should you have?  Most health adults need at least 2,000 IU of vitamin D3 daily.  Some many need more based on your health.  Talk to your family doctor to get your blood level checked to see if you are deficient. There are some conditions where your doctor may NOT want you to take Vitamin D (some forms of cancer and kidney stones).   Ask your doctor if you have questions or if you would like to get your level of D3 tested.

Click here if you are looking for a pharmaceutical grade Vitamin D supplement.

My short and sweet answer is:  Yes.   Our nutrition is lacking, not only because of the choices we make, but also because the foods we eat are dropping in quality because of production/feeding methods.   The BEST source of these necessary micro-nutrients (vitamins and minerals) are in a wide variety of nutrient rich foods.   The nutrient foods are found particularly in plant-based foods such as:  fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts, seeds, and even teas.

I have read that only 3-4% of Americans follow all of the Dietary Guideline Allowances (DGA).  That is not very many.  I doubt that even the healthy readers of this blog will successfully get their 2-3 cups of vegetables and 2 cups of fruits a day on a regular basis.  I know it is a challenge for me to eat these amounts on a regular basis (You can read more about recommended amounts from www.mypyramid.org).  With the obesity epidemic in our country it is obvious that the majority of American’s are meeting and often exceeding their energy requirements (calories), yet so few are getting the right amount of micronutrients (vitamins and minerals).  What does this tell you about our food choices and the need for supplementation?

You can find many articles about the decreased quality of our foods.  I will not go into great detail here, but in summary:  mass production, along with the types and quality of feed, have affected the quality of our foods.  A veggie grown in your backyard from organic seeds will have a higher quality of nutrients than once mass produced and sent to your local grocery from who knows where.   This is why I love to visit my local farmer’s markets for my produce when possible.  This subject can make up an entirely different blog in the future.

So, in short, I do feel supplementation is necessary for a healthy lifestyle that prevents disease.  In light of this,  here are few things to keep in mind.

1.  All supplements can have interactions with your current medications.  You need to tell your doctor and pharmacist ALL that you are taking on a regular basis.  The last thing you want is to have a negative reaction from something you are doing to be “healthy.”

2.  Talk to a your doctor and registered dietitian about which micronutrients you might be lacking.  You can get a lab test done on your levels of various vitamins and minerals.  This is the best way to know if you are taking too much or not enough.  Certain levels of supplements can be toxic, which is why there are Recommended Daily Allowances (RDA’s) and Upper Limits (UL) established.  The RDA’s and UL might be different for you.  Those guidelines are established on the average “healthy” individual.  If you are malnourished, have a specific health condition, or if you are taking medication that alters your nutrient requirements, then your amount of needed supplementation may be different.  Thus, talk to your doctor.

3.  Not all supplementation is what it says it is.  The Dietary Supplement Health & Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA) defines and sets safety/labeling requirements for all dietary supplements.  The labels can have health claims.  These claims along with the nutrient content must be pre-approved by the FDA.  BUT, it is the manufacturer’s responsibility to ensure that the claims are truthful.   Thus, you will find the disclaimer on supplementation “claims has not been evaluated by the FDA.”  There are some companies out there that do testing on supplements to determine if a products has ALL that it claims.  It is an expensive service and for that reason, most companies don’t pay to have this testing done.  I have chosen to use supplementation from a company called USANA Health Sciences.  Unlike most supplement companies, their products are “laboratory tested, quality guaranteed and they meet USP [United States Pharmacopia] specifications for potency, uniformity, and disintegration.”  You can even visit their manufacturing plant in Utah if desired.

If you want to do more reading on the subject of nutritional supplementation, you can read the  ADA on Nutrient Supplementation.  For more info about USANA Health Sciences supplements, drop me a note!

Wishing you health and wellness!

• 1   9-oz package of frozen chopped cooked chicken, thawed (I get mine from Owen’s/Kroger)
• 3/4 cup loose-pack frozen peas, thawed
• 2/3 cup chopped tomato (1 medium)
• 1/4 cup Athenos reduced fat crumbled feta cheese (1 oz)
• 1/3 cup Chobani light plain greek yogurt (you can use regular plain yogurt, but it will have higher sugar, lower protein)
• 1/4 cup sliced green onions (2)
• 1 teaspoon dried dill
• Optional:  Add torn mixed salad greens to the bottom of your plate or in your sandwich/wrap

Directions are easy enough…add all ingredients together in a large bowl and toss.  You can eat this plain or you can try it on whole wheat bread, pita, or flat out (flatbread).  Yum!

Nutrition Facts (without bread) for 4 servings:

Calories: 138.7
Total Fat: 3.5 grams
Total Carbohydrate:  6.6 grams
Dietary Fiber: 1.5 grams
Sugars: 2.9 grams
Protein:  20 grams

Born in the U.S. Navy SEALS and developed by Fitness Anywhere®, Suspension Training® is a revolutionary method of leveraged body-weight exercise. Easily set up the portable TRX® Suspension Trainer™ and you’re in control. Safely perform hundreds of exercises that build power, strength, flexibility, balance, mobility, and prevent injuries, all at the intensity you choose

For the TRX Push up, position yourself at an angle with your feet behind you and your hands in front of your shoulders. Slowly bend your arms at the elbows creating a 90 degree angle. While you are in this movement, you need to keep your core (abdominal and low back muscles) tight. I usually give the cue “be ready for someone to poke you in the stomach.” If your core is not tight, you might do some damage.

The benefit of doing a TRX push-up vs a standard push-up is that your offer more instability which means your shoulders (shoulder girdle) and your core are working much hard to maintain control. This is also a great way to teach a push-up because of the ability to control the difficulty. The more upright you are, the easier the movement. The more you move your feet behind you, the steeper the angle and the movement will be more challenging. I have also included images of the advance version, which involves picking up one leg. If you are doing two sets, alternate the leg you use on each set.