How to NOT Put on that Holiday Weight...

Let's be real, nobody wants to go on a 'diet' during the holidays.  And although it's be wonderful if you've already created a lifestyle that focuses on healthy and nutritious food choices, this is the time of the year where even the most health-conscious person enjoy a few treats.  But according to wiki.answers.com ---"the average weight gain between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day (approximately forty days) is three to seven pounds. The already-overweight individual risks a higher weight gain amount during the Holidays than a normal weight person."

But using these simple tips may help you deal with keeping that typical holiday gain in check.


Don't Go to a Party Hungry - there's nothing wrong with having a small snack before heading out to the festivities.  Enjoy a handful of nuts and raisins, maybe some cheese and crackers, something that gives you some protein and good carbs can help you from overeating since you're not ravenous when you show up.

Don't Skip Meals. "Saving" calories doesn't work.  It also will leave you feeling hungry and cause you to potentially overeat when finally given the opportunity.

Out of Sight, Out of Mind - There is no need to have a cookie jar full of Grandma's homemade chocolate chip cookies on the counter.  Using the excuse of "but my children (or husband, or roommate...) like them" is nonsense.  If it's not good for you, it's not good for them... Period, the end!

Don't Drink Your Calories - I love the holiday beverages as much as everyone else, but in moderation.  Eggnog, + wine, + hot apple cider with whipped cream and caramel + (you get the message) can really add up! 

Sleep - Our bodies need sleep to reboot.  Don't use the holidays as an excuse to overextend yourself.  his will just leave you rundown.  Make time for sleep, try aiming for 7-8 hours a night.

Exercise, Exercise, Exercise - You can't out exercise a bad diet, but it can make you more aware.  Remember, it can take a lot more time to burn off calories then consume them.  But exercise makes you not only feel better, but makes you conscious of what you are eating throughout the day since you put in that extra effort!

Looking for a new workout program to help keep your waistline in check this holiday season?  Let me help you find the right Beachbody Workout for you!

Until Next Time...

Why is it Important to Stay Fit Anyway?

There are number of reasons that force you to think about your fitness. On one hand doctors advise fitness, on the other hand society demands fitness. Today fitness has been set as a standard of beauty. You are fit, you are beautiful and attracting. Society accepts only fit people. Fitness not only labels you as beautiful but also benefits you in many other ways. The benefits have been largely categorized into two groups: one, medical importance of fitness; second, psychological importance of fitness. For fitness, both of these categories are of equal importance. Let’s elaborate aforementioned categories of fitness in detail.

Medical Importance of Fitness:
Proponents of fitness say that fitness helps in keeping a man medically sound. It reduces cholesterol level, blood pressure, back pain, risks of injury, risk of heart injury and aches and pains. Moreover it prevents certain cancers, hidden fats and Alzheimer’s. Furthermore it increases metabolic rates, range of motion, functional strength, insulin sensitivity, balance and coordination, weight control, fat utilization, immune system, strength of bones. In short it is right to say that fitness prolongs life.
Psychological Importance of Fitness:
Proponents of fitness claim that fitness helps in keeping a person emotionally sound.  Fitness gives confidence. Better shape automatically improves confidence. It helps you to reach the best of your potential. Moreover it improves self esteem. Fitness not only reduces anxiety and depression but it also helps in improving focus. Notwithstanding the added benefit of fitness for improving sex drive.

That's the beauty of the Beachbody workout programs.  These programs are even better to help you achieve health fitness when combined in a Challenge Pack of a fitness program and Shakeology.  And it can all be done within the privacy of your own home!!!

E-mail me for more details - Kimmie0270@gmail.com!

Until Next Time...

Can Exercise Stop Aging?

Can exercise stop aging?

Certainly not! But it can surely slow down the process.
The clock ticks for all men, and with each tick comes change. For men who manage to avoid major medical problems, the changes are slow and gradual, but they do add up. Here are some things that aging can do to you — if you give up and let Father Time take his toll.

Clock never stops. It ticks for everyone and with each tick it brings physical changes to everyone. Those, who somehow manage to avoid medical problems, also become victim of time.
The effects of time start appearing physically in middle age. High blood pressure and stiffening of blood vessels are its early signs. Blood itself starts changing. At times it becomes thick and sticks. Hence it becomes tough for the heart to pump the blood.  Number of RBC (red blood cells) also declines. Hence amount of oxygen carried for cells also reduces. Situation continues becoming the worst with every tick of time.

Regular exercise can do miracle in stopping this process of aging.  Studies have shown that exercise provide security to telomeres—the DNA that protects the body from the effects of time. This way exercise fixes biological clock and slows down the aging process.

Physicians advise to do physical work and regular exercise to stay young for a long period of time. Everyday exercise is the only tool that can successfully fight the ‘tick tick’ of time.

Until Next Time...

Book Review - Postnatal Fitness for a New Mom

Recently I received a Facebook message from author Mara Kimowitz, author of Lil' Bootie Guide: Postnatal Fitness for a New Mom.  She asked me if I'd be willing to take a look at her book and give her some feedback on it.  Being a literary nerd, as well as a fitness junkie, how could I refuse?  (Although I did convince her that when she sent me a copy, that she should sign it first...). 

I have to say, this is an amazing book for a mom who just gave birth.  Not only does it give a realistic approach to trying to regain your body back - but it stresses the fact that it takes time to get our "pre-baby" bodies back.  After all, didn't we just have another human growing inside of us for 9+ months?

The quote she starts with really draws you in, "The moment a child is born, the mother is also born.  She never existed before.  The woman existed, but the mother, never.  A mother is something absolutely new."  ~Rajneesh

I don't know about you, but nobody told me of the "bad mommy moments" that take place.  Those confusing moments where you wish you could take your life back but can't imagine your life without your little darlings (or minions in my case) at the same time.  The feelings of guilt for wanting time just for yourself in a society that still looks at that as something taboo!  I'll be the first to admit it - I NEED Kimmie time.  I'm not doing anything crazy at the time - it's not clubs and partying for me.  Rather, I need that time to workout, for me that's how I decompress and refocus on the day.  Without that time for myself, I can't parent the way I know I can.  And she points out something in the opening of her book that is important and so often forgotten - children mimic what they see us do.  If they see us always sitting on the couch, watching TV - well that's what they are going to want to do... and if we eat healthy and exercise they'll want to do that too!  Want proof?  My boys do parts of my morning workout with me everyday! 

The book then goes on with 4 levels of exercises to help you start to get your body back into shape in a gentle way for the brand new Momma, complete with cute stick figure illustrations and a chunk of pages in the back to track your progress!

Overall, I think this is a great book for the brand new momma, not ready for an intense workout, but ready to get the ball rolling for the sake of her health, and in return her child's as well!

Until Next Time...