Friday, July 10, 2009

Take Control NOW!!

TAKE CONTROL NOW!! What do I mean by this?

Here is one example that will just confirm why you should be exercising now and not waiting until later.

My grandpa will be 87-years old in November. He started battling the effects of heart disease about 25 years ago. After numerous procedures, a pacemaker, angioplasty & stents, he is STILL battling it.

He has made so many postitive changes with his diet and exercise plan since his first problems started and he definitely has benefited from the rewards of that. I'm certain these changes are what has allowed him to live this long. When you think of a an 87-year old man, you think of someone who is frail and just shuffles around. Not so with him. You would never believe he is that old.



Even though he has made these changes, unfortunately, a lot of the damage is irreversible. He's still dealing with it every couple of months. He talks so much about how he wishes he had started this lifestyle earlier.

So, don't wait until the damage done to your body is irreversible. Do something NOW!! It doesn't have to be drastic. Just start incorporating small changes every day and before you know it, you will have changed a lot. If you don't eat any fruit or vegetables, start eating one each day. If you don't exercise at all, just get up and take a little walk. You will be amazed how quickly you will feel the benefits of it.

For those of you who have made the committment to change your lives, BE PROUD OF YOURSELVES!! This is such an important step to living a healthy life. Don't EVER GIVE UP!!

Monday, July 6, 2009

Track Your Nutrition!!

Ok, I made a mistake yesterday. I didn't log my food intake from yesterday into FitDay until today. I realized I was too low in my calories, but today is too late to change yesterday. So, I'm going to be better today.

Logging your nutrition into a program like FitDay really does make you aware not only of WHAT you are eating, but HOW MUCH you are eating too. I ended up coming in under my target calories, but I've also had days where I've come in too high. As you are going through your day, just plug in what you are eating and you can figure out if you need to adjust from there. It's actually very simple and it will help you with your fat loss goals so much! There are no surprises then.

Here's my diet from yesterday:

Breakfast:
1/2 c. oatmeal mixed with 1/2 c. skim milk & 1/2 c. raw blueberries
1 cup lemon green tea
1000 mg Flaxseed oil
1200 mg Omega-3 Fish oil

A.M. Snack:
1/2 c. lowfat cottage cheese with sliced up raw nectarine

Lunch:
Egg salad on a whole wheat bun
1/2 c. bing cherries
1 c. skim milk

P.M. Snack:
1/2 c. lowfat cottage cheese

Dinner (breakfast for dinner...was running errands so I didn't plan very well):
1/2 c. oatmeal with 1/2 c. skim milk & 1/2 c. fresh blueberries
1 c. sugar snap peas, raw
1000 mg Flaxseed oil
1200 mg Omega-3 Fish oil

Snack:
1 Strawberry organic yogurt

Calories: 1074
Fat: 20g (16%)
Carbohydrates: 158g (53%)
Fiber: 16g
Protein: 76g (28%)

Even though dinner wasn't planned, I still made a good choice for what I was going to eat. I do have to add in some more vegetables, so today I will have more.

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Hitting the books!

My NASM study materials have finally arrived! Now, it's time to hit the books and get this certification checked off my list of things to get done!

I have carved out about 3 hours a day to dedicate to studying. Wow...my mom and dad would be proud (and shocked) to hear this. Hopefully my study habits will be better now that I'm a grown up :)

I will post updates on how my studying progress is coming along and of course, when I am certified.

In the meantime, I'm ready for our summer temperatures to return. Last week we enjoyed some truly beautiful summer weather....upper 80's and sunny. This week, we must have made Mother Nature mad because we're back down to the low 60's for a high! Yikes! We better do some kissing up to her so we have some nice weather for this weekend's 4th of July! Actually, the 4th looks like it will be 80 and sunny again...hope that doesn't change!

Have a great day!!

Saturday, June 27, 2009

I'm feeling sexy!!!

You want to know why I'm feeling so sexy? I showed up at BJ Gaddour's "Get Sexy" bootcamp this morning in Bay View...and whew! That was a killer workout!

A bootcamp workout is exactly what it is! We were sweating buckets in a gritty room with no air conditioning, but you know what? It was awesome! BJ's got a kickin program going on there and it worked every ounce of energy out of me, but in a great way. I feel so good now and it's going to keep me on track with great eating choices as well.

I worked WAY too hard to screw it all up with poor nutrition choices.

This will work for you too. If you can get your workouts done early in the morning, you will be amazed how easy it becomes to keep your nutrition in line as well. You are going to feel the workout all day as a reminder to cut out the junk!

Have a great day everyone...I know I am having one!

Thursday, June 25, 2009

The Big Gig!

Today is the opening day of the largest music festival in the world (and it's right here in Milwaukee)...SUMMERFEST!! We're not going today, but it is always exciting just to know it's officially kicked off.

The last few days have been unbelievably hot in Wisconsin. Yesterday was 95 and humid (felt more like 105). I still managed to get my workout in, so that was good. Luckily for me, my basement stays nice & cool. I also had a fun workout partner as my 7-year old son, Jonah, decided to join me for my bodyweight workout! He did great!!!

I'm walking a fine line here trying not to complain about the heat since I was just mouthing off about the cold weather last week, but just hoping for a little bit of a break today. I'll still take it!

On a different note, I ordered the study materials for my NASM certification on Tuesday. Should arrive sometime next week, which will be very exciting! I'm ready to get this going and that will be the first official step of getting my certification in place. It's going to bring me back to my school days of buckling down and studying hard...yikes! I'm actually looking forward to it though, as strange as that sounds (just ask my mom & dad)! I'm so curious to know everything I possibly can so I can start applying it to the people I'm currently training now.

Have a great day everyone!

Erin

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Thursday, May 28, 2009

New Career on the horizon for me!

Personal Training...yep! I've made the decision to pursue this career! It's something I've always wanted to do, so I'll be working on my certification this summer. I'm still trying to decide between ACE and NASM. Hopefully I'll make a decision by the end of the week. I'm so excited to just get it all going!

I will keep you posted on that. In the meantime, I am currently training 4 lovely ladies in my home for a 12 week challenge! I'm going to whip them into shape (safely, of course!) They are all almost done with their 2nd full week with me and they have ALL lost pounds and inches! I'm so proud of them and how hard they are working at it. I can't wait to see what the next few weeks bring them too!

I just had my "Trainer Jim" kick my butt with a workout! I'm still sweating buckets and in my recovery mode, but I feel so good! We took a walk to the park with the kids and dog after dinner. The weather was beautiful and sunny. It felt good to get out!

I'll be posting more success stories about my trainees in the next couple of weeks, so check back and see how they are all doing!!

Have a good night everyone!!