Life is too short NOT to be healthy!!!

Exercise is hard work!  Lots of things are hard work!  Exercise though is imperative to good health and longevity!  The bright side... exercise can be fun!  You just need to find the exercise that you enjoy!
Anything that moves your body, offers some resistance, raises your heart rate... work a little harder and longer at it and you can register it as a workout! Gardening, mowing, dancing, even dog walks!  Calorie burning is calorie burning!  Some people do fancy workouts at the gym, some use DVDs, some play their Wii... you just need to find something, or a combo of things that work for you and DO IT!!!!

The other important detail is calories!  Life is too short NOT to enjoy that cupcake and that glass of wine... yes and no!  Totally depriving yourself can be a pathway to disaster and uncontrollable splurging!  BUT moderation, limiting and setting yourself up for success is vital to making any forward progress!  If you don't say no to the occasional treat or the daily glass of wine at times, chances are you are never going to burn more calories than you take in and you won't see any changes on that scale!  I bet you don't even know how many calories you eat on a daily basis!  and I bet it is more than you would guess!!!

My favorite tools for losing a few pounds:

• Get an accountability buddy!  If you have someone, or a group of people, who you workout with, talk about your workouts with or just keep up with on FB, you are setting yourself up for success!  You are less likely to give up if you have a friend rooting for you or even better... depending on you :)
• Food journaling.  If you write down every bite you put into your mouth, you are going to rethink that little candy bar from the Halloween bucket and that half of a PB&J sandwich your kid didn't finish!  Just the idea of writing it down can be a diet assistant ;)
• Set yourself up for success! If there is a food that you just cannot pass up... don't go near it!  Do NOT buy it for your kids and plan to not have any... we all have our weak moments so why risk the temptation. Surely your kids like some things that you aren't crazy about... so get those instead!
• Eat breakfast!  Studies show that people who eat a healthy meal early in the day set themselves up for success.  You are less likely to grab something unhealthy on the run or at the coffee shop and you will have more energy!
• Schedule your workouts so they are non negotiable!  Just like a doctor or dentist appointment!!!  Also, if you plan them for first thing in the morning you are less likely to get too busy!!!
• Find workouts that you enjoy!  If you like to Dance, try Hip Hop Abs, Turbo Jam or TurboFire; if you are hard core you will LOVE Insanity; if you want to get ripped, how about P90X or P90X2; limited for time, try 10 Minute Trainer; if you are just starting out and want to work your way in, try Slim in 6, Power 90, ChaLEAN Extreme plus many more!

I have a Fitness Challenge under way with workouts, Shakeology and meal planning.  I also have an accountability group so you can benefit from the momentum of others and share your own story!  I would love to help you reach your fitness goals... you just need to take the first step and decide to go for it!!!

Learn more about the Challenge here:

Shakeology 3 day Jumpstart/Cleanse - RESULTS!!!

So let me tell you about my Shakeology cleanse results, why I did this and why it worked so well for me!

Upon my weigh in this morning I had lost 6.5 pounds in 3 days!

My details: I am 5'11 1/2" and went from 172 to 165.5 pounds from Monday morning to Thursday morning.  Funnily enough, I weighed 165 pounds in January so I have fixed my 3 months of weight gain.  I eat healthy food.  Lots of fruit and vegetables, whole grains, no soda or added sugars for the most part.  My downfall is portions and snacking but mostly snacking.  It is easy to get in your head that you aren't full so you need to have something else or that you ate a healthy lunch so surely you can squeeze in an extra cookie (or two) or the kids are snacking so you will just have a bite (or 4 or 5).  It is so easy to throw extra calories in without really giving it a second thought and for me, that led to 7 extra pounds in a mere 3 months!  Stopping the snacking can be hard too.  Putting it off until tomorrow, until I'm not sick, until the weather improves... you know what I mean.  You need to get your head in the right place and be ready!

I don't usually have this much trouble getting back on track, but I tried to cut out sugar, dairy, fruit, most carbs and really decrease my calories for 2 weeks at the end of January and it put me into a tailspin.  Apparently my body needs something in there... and I'm thinking it was the fruit and the carbs as I love my cardio and I needed the quick energy.  So it was time to dive into the Shakeology cleanse!!!

Monday I started the day with a Chocolate Shakeology with 1/4 cup of frozen blueberries, water and ice at 7:30, a cup of black coffee at 8, Chocolate Shakeology with 1/4 frozen strawberries, water and ice at 11:30, 1 pear at 2pm, 1/4 serving of Shakeology left from my kid's breakfast at 3:30, green salad with baked homemade chicken strips, cucumber, green peas and balsamic vinaigrette at 6:30.  I needed my third Shakeology but I wasn't really hungry (crazy I know), but I mixed with water, ice and almond extract.  My workout was TurboFire during the day but not much due to lack of time!

Tuesday-Chocolate Shakeology with 1/4 frozen strawberries at 7:30, black coffee, Chocolate Shakeology with 1/2 cup cherry berry mix at 11:30, I had my salad at 3:30 today knowing I would be out at dinner time!  Then had my third Shakeology at 5:15 as I wouldn't be home until late and I didn't want to be starving.  Ate a pear at 8pm as I drove home from Fit Club.  My workouts were some low intensity TurboFire and a full intensity P90X One on One 110-30-20 workout at Fit Club (every Tuesday at 6pm at the Bakersfield Marriott).

Wednesday-Scale already had me down 5 pounds!  I knew I would need to add a few calories today as I teach TK at 6pm and need lots of energy!  Mixed 1/2 banana and 1/4 cup strawberries into my Shakeology for breakfast.  Pear in morning.  Shakeology at 10:45am with water, ice and almond extract.  Coffee with cream at 11.  1/2 cup almonds in the afternoon and my salad with 1 egg + 1 egg white, and 2 slices of low sodium turkey breast sandwich meat.  1/2 cup oatmeal squares cereal at 5pm to ensure enough energy for class.  1 scoop results and recovery formula after class.  Chocolate Shakeology with mint extract for dinner at 7:30 followed by tea and willpower for dessert :)
My energy has been good, I haven't been overly hungry, just found myself thinking about food a few times...but I could tell it was out of habit not hunger!  NO CRAVINGS!!!  I got my chocolate fix from the Shakeology and obviously had no nutrition deficits with all of that extra nutrition :)

Thursday morning - 6.5 pounds less on the scale and I feel great!!!
The big question is... will those pounds stay off!  I will weigh in again next Thursday and let you know what the number is!  If I control my snacking along with sticking with a solid fitness routine (RevAbs, I am diving back in) I am confident it will stay off!
I started my day with a strawberry banana chocolate Shakeology today.  I then had a slice of sprouted wheat toast with natural peanut butter and banana with my coffee!  I need to get my body balanced again so I will make healthy food choices, I don't want to starve  myself so I will be back up to 1800-2000 calories a day, and I will indulge on occasion but I will be sensible about it!  My health and feeling good about myself is important to me... more important than ice cream for dessert every night, and crunching on crackers or dry cereal while I get my work done, or even that slice of pizza at the Costco concession as I walk by at lunch time!  It is all about choices and they are ours to make!  What is your choice going to be?

If you would like help getting on track with your nutrition, finding a fitness program that will work for your or just motivation to get rolling and stay on track, I would love to help.  Sign up for FREE or for the club membership with great nutrition planning tools at www.GetFitWithNicola.com and let me know how I can help!
Check out this past post about Shakeology (from over a year ago and I am still loving it) and how you can make the price fit your budget a little better!

got good nutrition?

So I was just running a little test on how much of an influence food makes on weight loss results! (actually I was just really hungry and out of whack and couldn't stop eating for 3 weeks straight)!!!  I have been exercising 6-7 days a week for 30-120 minutes a day (most days were 30-50 minutes) at a medium to high intensity (still following my RevAbs plan plus Turbo Kick and PUMP).  I have been eating good food (very little processed food, minimal added fats or sugars) just LOTS of it!  I have been constantly hungry and I was finding myself searching through the freezer, fridge and pantry for snacks.  I found nuts (unsalted), cookies (whole wheat), low fat vanilla and plain yogurt, cereal, P90X protein bars, fruit!  My saving grace has been that I don't have a plethora of unhealthy foods in my home.  I have been drinking my Shakeology plus having salads and lots of veggies too.
What has eating large volumes of even healthy food for 3 weeks done to me? 

• I have gained back the 4 pounds I lost in the first week of RevAbs plus an extra 3 pounds (and I think it is all on my belly)!
• I have felt tired and lethargic (yet when I force myself to exercise I have plenty of energy to get it done), I just don't FEEL my usual energetic self.
• I have been moody and grumpy (although that could have something to do with my daughter being very temperamental lately).
• It has set me back from where I want to be!

People see me as a fit person who eats well, exercises and has no challenges to be that way!  The truth is, I have many challenges!  I love cupcakes, I love chocolate, I love pizza, but do you know what I love more?  I LOVE my clothes fitting nicely without being tight around my belly, I LOVE wearing a dress without control top pantyhose underneath,  I LOVE being proud of showing my arms in a sleeveless dress or shirt...and most of all I LOVE feeling strong, healthy and powerful!  I love how I feel after a good workout because I have found workouts that I truly enjoy! 
So yes!  I make sacrifices to be and feel healthy, and writing this has actually inspired me to refocus back on my nutrition because dang, my pants were snug this morning and I HATE that! 
Please read my posts, join me on Facebook and on my Get Fit With Nicola page on FB!  I will be following some nutrition plans on the Beachbody site which you can find by joining as a club member, or you can just join for FREE and contact me through the site and I would love to help you too!  I will also be posting some of my favorite meals I uncover in the nutrition guides from some of the Beachbody programs I have at home!  March is well under way and summer is right around the corner!  I am ready to bring it, will you join me?

Your kids ARE watching what you eat and do!!!

This morning my daughter requested oatmeal for breakfast...with milk.  No sugar, no sprinkles.  Then when I put ground flax seed on mine she got upset that I hadn't put any on hers!  She didn't even want the blueberries I put in mine in hers!  Go figure.
Yesterday on the way home from the gym we watched a family heading into Burger King for dinner.  My son suggested that when he can drive he will go there every day, I could tell my daughter was tempted to agree but then responded, "I would rather be healthy".  Do I deprive my kids of fast food so they want it more?  Maybe.  But we make hamburgers at home, I bake oven fries, we have Dreyer's slow churned ice cream a few days a week.  We also have veggies at every meal and fruit before we have sweets after dinner to balance it out.
Last Friday after school I needed to get my workout done so I put in my DVD in and my daughter joined in!  After I finished RevAbs, she asked me to put in Tony and the Kids so she could keep working out.  This was after both of my children were running around the backyard wrestling with the dogs and each other and trying out my new pull up bar!

I try to get a workout in every day, I try to eat lots of veggies, fruits, lean proteins and whole grains and avoid processed foods.  Do I do this every day, not quite.  I also love cookies, chocolate, pizza, cheese, wine... I just consume these in a more controlled manner now and don't have them sitting on my counter tempting me!!!   My children are learning about choices and how to make good ones.  I want them to understand how important their health is so they can make their own choices accordingly!  It is never too late to start and I would love to help!  Beachbody has a great Meal Planner section if you join as a Club member .  It is comparable to Weight Watcher's online or Biggest Loser online, but more reasonably priced and you get a real person to contact with any questions...ME :)
www.GetFitWithNicola.com

20 Little Ways to Drop Pounds

I get regular emails from RealSimple.com and I LOVE this one so I had to share. Thank you to By Joe Mullich for his Smart tips for how to take the pounds off―and keep them off.

Bad news: The average person gains one to two pounds a year.

Good news: Consuming just 100 fewer calories each day is enough to avert that weight gain.

If you’re finding this out a little too late―and you want to actually lose some of that weight―you have to downsize by 500 calories a day. But you don’t have to slash them all from your plate.

“You can eat 250 calories less and then burn 250 by walking for 30 to 45 minutes. Over a week, that will produce about a pound of weight loss,” says Holly Wyatt, MD, a clinical researcher at the Center for Human Nutrition in Denver. You won’t see dramatic changes immediately, but small tweaks like those that follow will pay off over time.

Tweak Your Diet

1. Start with salad...and eat less during the rest of the meal, says a study from Pennsylvania State University. When salads were topped with low-fat mozzarella and low-calorie Italian dressing instead of high-fat alternatives, women ate 10 percent fewer calories over the course of the day.

2. Stick a fork in it. If you prefer your salad dressing on the side, dip your fork into it before stabbing your greens. That little maneuver could cut hundreds of calories.

3. Order two appetizers. According to a study at the University of North Carolina, the average hamburger is 23 percent larger today than it was in 1977. Choose a pasta dish and salad or soup from the appetizer column, instead.

4. Visit the vending machine. Nibbling on single servings is better than digging your way to the bottom of a megabag of chips. 

Get Moving

5. Walk and talk. When your cell phone rings, slip on your walking shoes and stroll the halls at work or hoof it outside. If you did this for 10 minutes every workday at a moderate 3 mph pace, you’d burn about 1,000 calories a month and lose 3 pounds a year.

6. Watch coffee calories. The fancy concoctions that are now the javas of choice for many people can contain as many calories as an entire lunch.

7. Crack a nut. Dieters in a Harvard University study who ate a handful of peanuts or mixed nuts daily were more likely to keep weight off than a group whose regimen didn’t include the high-fat snacks.

8. Don’t just sit there. The average person burns 100 calories per hour sitting and 140 per hour standing. Get on your feet 2 hours a day while you work, and you could drop an extra 6 pounds over the year. 

Adjust Your Habits

9. Sleep well, lose more. Insufficient shut-eye appears to increase production of the stress hormone cortisol, which regulates appetite. High levels seem to worsen bingeing and hunger; moreover, too little sleep could keep your body from burning carbohydrates, which translates to more stored body fat.

10. Double your protein. The high-protein, low-carb approach may help keep you from losing muscle along with fat, according to a study published in The Journal of Nutrition. According to study author Donald K. Layman, PhD, of the University of Illinois, the amino acid leucine―found in beef, dairy, poultry, fish, and eggs―may help preserve muscle tissue.

11. Keep an exercise journal. Writing down your fitness achievements is a great way to track your progress, give yourself positive feedback, and maintain focus on your goals.

12. Eat dairy daily. A piece of cheese or a cup of milk or yogurt can rev up your metabolism, a University of Tennessee study found. People who cut 500 calories a day from their diets while eating yogurt three times a day lost 13 pounds over 12 weeks, more weight and more body fat than a control group who only cut calories.

Start Drinking

13. Drink water. Your body often mistakes thirst for hunger, so staying hydrated means you’ll probably also stay satiated.

14. Be wary of white foods. That’s the color of most high-calorie carbs―bagels, potatoes, breads, rice, creamed corn, and the like.

15. Have an apple before dinner. How did 346 people in small-town Washington State lose an average of 17 pounds each in 3 months? With regular exercise, balanced eating, and an apple with every meal. The typical apple has 5 grams of fiber, which makes you feel fuller.

16. Act like a kid. Expand your definition of physical activity to include shaking your booty with your kids. It’s a welcome break from the StairMaster and can burn just as many calories (about 120 every 20 minutes). 

Breakfast Like a Champion

17. Eat breakfast. A Harvard study found that people who did so every day cut their chances of becoming obese and developing diabetes by 35 to 50 percent, compared with those who ate breakfast only twice a week.

18. Be picky about bread. Select loaves with whole grain listed as the first ingredient, and make sure each slice contains at least 2 grams of fiber.

19. Munch a handful of M&M’s. Just under half a pack of plain candies adds only 100 calories to your daily tally and can satisfy a sweet tooth.

20. Brush your teeth after every meal. It doesn’t just fight cavities: Brushing serves as a physical and psychological cue to stop eating. When you’re on the go, a few Altoids or a breath strip can have the same effect. 

Did you pick up any great ideas?  Just add one or two in and progress over time!  Remember, you are a role model for someone...whether it's your kids, your family, your siblings...help yourself and help others at the same time!!!  If you are looking for some help to get rolling or to stay motivated I would love to help you as your FREE coach!  Sign up at www.GetFitWithNicola.com