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Fitness: Beyond Your Gym Attendance
Have you heard that saying, “you can stand in the garage, but that doesn’t make you a car? Well the same applies to fitness.
Going to the gym doesn’t make you fit. Even doing an occasional intense workout doesn’t necessarily get you fit either. Your body needs a lot more than just regular gym attendance – it needs a healthy lifestyle. Being fit requires eating for fuel, giving your body the nutrients it needs to grow and repair. It requires discipline. You may need to say “No’ next time you are asked to go out when you know your body desperately needs rest. Your body needs ample fluids for healthy hydration and to help flush toxins. Your body needs good posture to relieve joints and to prevent injury. Sadly, there are a lot of people working hard in the gym to get fit, who are destroying their bodies as soon as they walk out the door.
Whether it’s eating junk food, smoking, drinking, not getting rest, allowing too much stress in your life or being in an unhealthy relationship, unhealthy choices can trump any good workout if you are not careful.
Sure, you might get stronger if you lift weights regularly, but you could still die of lung cancer if you smoke. You could still be at risk of diabetes and obesity related illness even if you do regular cardio, if you continue to eat healthy. Even if you workout, you can still be at risk for injury due to poor posture or tight muscles.
The bottom line is you can’t expect to pick and choose what you are willing to do to be fit and healthy. Being fit is something you work toward all day long. Decide to strive for the full package – healthy inside and out. Look healthy because you ARE healthy!
- Be STRONG: Lift weights regularly
- Be FIT: Challenge your cardiovascular system with regular cardio
- Be HEALTHY: Eat healthy food – you really are what you eat!
- Be FLEXIBLE: Remember to stretch tight muscles to prevent poor posture and injury.
- Be CALM: Meditate, pray and rest. Your body and mind needs quiet time too.
Why You Can’t Work Off Your Weight
I’m going to tell you something that could save you hours in the gym and weeks of wasted work for little to no results? Ready? OK, here it goes: you can’t exercise the weight off. (allowing a pause here for every woman to shriek in pure horror and disappointment)
Don’t get me wrong. There are SOME people who start exercising and lose weight, but normally they are also trying to eat better too. OR, maybe they were extremely overweight and sedentary so their new active lifestyle was a very drastic change for them. Whatever the case, it’s rare and exercise can only get you so far when it comes to weight loss. Weight loss requires cutting back on the calories taken in, unless you want to run 5-10 miles a day to get in the 500-1000 calorie deficit that is required for weight loss.
Unfortunately, many people join a gym and hire a trainer in hopes of losing weight and rely on those 3 workouts a week to do all the work. I only WISH this worked! Being a trainer would be awesome, everyone would get results and the world would be a happy fit and trim place. But it just doesn’t work like that.
Think about it. Do you really expect a one hour workout to erase all the poor choices you make for the rest of the 23 hours in your day? Does that even make sense? However, many people are doing just that. They expect their 3-5 hours in the gym each week to erase all the extra calories they eat over the 168 hours a week. Do the math! 5 hours vs 168 hours. If we were gambling, I’m pretty sure we’d all bet on the 168 hours winning the fight.
“You can’t compete with what you eat”
Think of it this way. If 30 minutes on the treadmill only burns 300 calories, but you can eat a 300-calorie pastry in 5 minutes, can you see how that math will never work? (PS: 1 blueberry scone at Starbucks is 460 CALORIES!!) So for every 5 minutes of pastry-eating, you’d need to work 30 minutes on the treadmill? Yeah, that ain’t happening.
It doesn’t have to be poor choices either. Most people just eat too much. They may eat healthy, but they eat a LOT of healthy food. And, the more they workout, the more they mentally think they can afford to eat.
Of course I’m just using these examples to help you grasp the whole exercise vs diet concept, do don’t get freaked out. This is also written for people who need to lose weight. Maintenance mode is totally different. When you are maintenance mode you aren’t trying to be in a caloric deficit so you can eat more. I can order fries if I want to and I probably won’t gain weight because I’m in maintenance. Now, if I did it every day, that’s another thing! However, I keep my calories low throughout the day so I CAN cheat here and there and not gain weight. I may also do an extra cardio here or there to make up for any extra calories, but I never can be completely irresponsible for several days straight or I will blow up quick. ;)
Sadly, most people don’t want to give up their simple little pleasures – even for a much BIGGER and GREATER reward, like a fit and trim body. They feel like they “must have chocolate” or “can’t give up wine”. Maybe their goal is too far away that they don’t truly realize what that glass of wine or nightly ice cream is costing them. They don’t realize how fast they’d reach their goal if they just stuck to both diet and exercise.
So, to make themselves feel better they decide to exercise. Working out is awesome and you can absolutely get in better shape. You can have a firmer body, stronger muscles, better stamina and more energy BUT you may not lose one pound if you are burning as many calories as you are eating. Diet is required for weight loss.
The same way you can’t eat a bunch of protein and magically grow muscle, you have to make sure you are doing what is required to reach your goal. If you want to lose body fat and lose weight, you have to diet. If you want to get fit, you have to exercise. If you want a better health report, you probably need to do both. If you want to look fit, you need to do both.
Most people act as if they are in maintenance mode – exercising and eating whatever they want. However, most people need to be in weight loss mode, which is dieting and exercising. The sooner you do it right, the sooner you can be in maintenance mode – but just a thinner fitter you in maintenance mode!
TIP: The longer you put off dieting, the longer you put off results. Go ahead and start today! You can lose 8-12lbs in one month with a great low-cal diet and exercise program. Do the math! How much do you need to lose? Isn’t it worth a few weeks of discipline!? I think it is!! You’ll be SO glad you did! Otherwise, 5 years may fly by and you are still the same weight because you weren’t willing to work as hard in the kitchen as you were in the gym.
7 Ways to Redefine Yourself
I can’t tell you how often I hear people make decisions based on past experience. “Last time I tried that, I got hurt”, “I joined a gym once and I never used it”, “I’ve always been overweight and I always will”, “I’ve never been able to do that”, “I’ve never been able to control myself”.
These are all past-tense statements that are currently affecting the present. So what if you’ve never been able to control yourself. So what if you’ve failed 100 times? It doesn’t mean you will fail this time.
Take all your past experiences and learn what you can from them and then start NEW. Make NEW decisions, not based on who you’ve BEEN but who you desire to BECOME.
Weak people get strong. Out of shape people get fit. People fall, and they learn to get back up and secure their footing. I’ve known SO many people who have joined every gym in town and finally started to learn how to use the gym and become a success. I’ve know people overweight alllll their life (fully convinced they just inherited fatness) get fit – and even get shredded with physiques that belong in fitness magazines!
For every person out there who has a darn good excuse why they are depressed, overweight, unhealthy, tired or has failed, there is a person in the same exact situation with the same exact past who is succeeding.
You can be whoever you want to be despite who you’ve been. Redefine yourself. Start today.
Here are 7 Tips to Redefining Yourself
1. Learn to Move Ahead: Decide to accept responsibility for where you are if it’s your fault, and decide to forgive someone else for what you’ve been through if it’s someone else’s fault (poor childhood, abuse, etc). You can’t move forward if you are still holding on to the past.
2. Look for Lessons: What have you learned from your mistakes? Is it possible you didn’t follow the last diet like you were supposed to? What did you do wrong last time you tried to reach a goal? Was the goal too high, or did you just not give it 100% effort? Be honest, search hard, reach deep, find answers.
3. Promise to Improve: Write the list of mistakes you need to avoid and promise to improve. Promise yourself you will not repeat the past. When you want to repeat a mistake, claim the new you saying “that was the OLD me!”, reminding yourself of who you are NOW and who you are BECOMING!
4. Try New Things: Many people don’t experience the fullness of life because they are afraid to try something new. They cling to what they know, even if what they know isn’t good for them. Step out of your comfort zone and decide to try things that you know will grow you, strengthen you and improve you. (This is something I struggle with. I am working on stepping out of my comfortable safe box. It’s scary, but I know it will be rewarding.)
5. Train Your Brain: As Joyce Meyer says “where your mind goes, your body follows“. As SOOOON as you think a negative thought, you have to stop that thought and replace it with a positive one (or at least replace it with a truth you can hold on to). You have control of your thoughts – and if you don’t, they will control you. How we think is practiced, so we must practice right thinking. Take charge of your thought life and you will take control of your life. As soon as your mind says “I’m too tired to workout”, remind yourself “I always feel better after a workout”. If you think “I feel so weak”, remind yourself “but I am doing everything I can to get stronger”. Tell yourself “that was the OLD me, the new ME doesn’t think like that anymore”.
If you focus on your goals, you lose sight of your limitations. If you focus on your limitations, you lose sight of your goals.
6. Take Your Mind Off Yourself: The more we think about our own issues, flaws, shortcomings, problems, limitations, etc., the bigger obstacles they seem. There is a reason we say “focus on your goals” and “keep focused”, because we (trainers) know that when you focus on something, everything else gets out of focus, they grow dim, they blur out. If you focus on your goals, you lose sight of your limitations. If you focus on your limitations, you lose sight of your goals. However, when you look at your goal, and look at other people reaching their goals, you realize how little excuse you have. When I see one of our members rolling her wheelchair through the gym, or a overweight member hitting the elliptical for 45 minutes, all my lame excuses to skip cardio pale in comparison.
7. Rely on Science, not Hopes: Fitness isn’t like the lottery, where you play in hopes of winning. No, fitness is science. It works – period. Science doesn’t just work for one person and not another. If you aren’t getting results, there’s a reason. You have part of the equation off. Don’t keep doing the same thing hoping to get a better result. Find people who are getting results and do exactly what they are doing. I don’t know how often someone asks me what I do to stay fit and as soon as I talk about diet, they tune me out. They were hoping I told them about a new exercise or a magical piece of equipment. However, if they wanted to eat what I eat and do what I’m doing, they’d get the same exact results. It’s just science. Celebrate it! Learn more about it. You are your own science project – keep experimenting until you get the result you want!
Bottom line is this: It doesn’t matter what road you have traveled, what matters is what road you are on now. Get on the path to success!
Motivation: Are You Failing?
No Limits - The human body can do amazing things …with practice. This video proves that. It’s easy to look at a lot of these guys and girls and think they just have great genetics or they are just plain crazy (which, I admit they are!), but they all started out in diapers just like you and me. As they grew up, they began dreaming and acting on those dreams. They all started small before moving on to bigger tricks and bigger dreams. As they grew, their dreams grew – and they just never stopped dreaming and trying to accomplish those dreams
Fail your way to success - One thing they all have in common is this: None of them are afraid to fail. They can’t be afraid to fail because failure is required to succeed. Every one of those people had to fall – and probably fall a LOT of times. Some of the falls might have even been huge set backs with broken bones, twisted ankles, blown knees or just plain blow egos. Some of the falls might have even caused them to want to quit, or to be too afraid to try again.
I challenge you today to embrace failure. To plan for it and realize that is a required part of the process to reach your goals and grow in life. We can’t build a muscle without a certain level of muscle failure, where they muscle is struggling to finish that last rep. It’s in the failure that our body strengthened. So, failure is not just OK, it’s actually required. Celebrate!
Here are 4 tips to handling failure better so you can fail your way to success!
1. Plan to practice a lot. This means, make a promise to yourself that you will stay committed to practicing weight loss and getting fit for a long period of time. Just like you can’t expect to learn some crazy trick overnight, you can’t learn how to get fit overnight either. It takes practice. Commit to practicing the fitness lifestyle regularly. Practice makes perfect.
2. Get a good coach or mentor. Many of the people in this video probably had a teacher or a best friend who had similar dreams and passions. The same way you would hire a good coach if you wanted to go to the Olympics, you may need to hire a good trainer if you want the best results possible. While a trainer isn’t required, they can absolutely help catapult you ahead. Successful people rarely spend a lot of time with people who are not on the same page. Spend the majority of your time with people who will help you, and support you, to reach your goals. Those are the people who will remind you that you can do it, and encourage you to try and try again – when other people would love to see you fail.
3. Prepare for failure. As you pursue your dreams and your fitness and weight loss goals, be prepared for failure. That’s why people where knee pads, helmets and protective clothing when doing tricks – they know that failure is very possible. It’s not a matter of “IF” but “WHEN”. So the key to success is to be prepared to fall. These guys don’t pick up a skate board and hit a ramp, thinking falling will never happen. They are realistic and we need to be realistic too. Put your protective mental gear on so you are prepared for the blows. Decide BEFORE you fall, how you plan to learn from your failure and bounce back as fast as possible.
4. Remember your body amazing. So many of us put limits on what our body can do. We are not limited by our body, we are more limited by our mind. Our body is capable of SO much more. However, how often do we quit an exercise too short because our legs are burning, when it’s not like they couldn’t do 5 more reps – we just didn’t want to feel the burn for 5 more reps. Our body is strong, it’s tough, it’s truly amazing – so remember that! Don’t put limits on what you can or cannot do. Put your body to the test daily and surprise yourself!! I can’t believe how many people say “I can’t do that” and they haven’t even TRIED! If that is you, you are missing out!! Let your body show off! What’s the worse that can happen? You fail? It’s not like you’ll die trying. You won’t DIE if you don’t have your nighttime snacks. You won’t DIE without chocolate. You might not think you can get as lean as someone else, but if you don’t try, you’ll never know how lean you can get – or how strong you can get, how flexible you can get, how much endurance you can gain. All of this requires testing your body over and over again. I promise you will shock yourself.
Today is the day you quit putting limits on yourself. You are not too old, too out of shape, too heavy, too broken, too poor, too busy, too far gone or too whatever! No, you are a human body that was created by an amazing God who designed your body to heal, get stronger and get better when put to the test. Go make him proud and take care of the body He gave you and wants you to have!
“You are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” 1 Corinthians 6:20
Today’s motivational mantra pic:
Strength for the Weary Woman
[strengkth, strength, strenth] noun
Are you ready to get STRONG?
If you are struggling, remember what strength is. It’s not the weight you lift in the gym (definition #1: muscular power), it’s the being the woman you were called to be. It’s sticking to your goals and seeing them through no matter what (definition #3: firmness). It’s focusing on being a blessing to others (definition #3: moral power) – and you surely can’t do that if you are neglecting yourself. Blessings are very powerful – they strengthen both the giver and the receiver.
Strength is LIFTING others up. Weak people try to expose other people’s weaknesses so they APPEAR stronger. Strong people realize other people’s strengths and allow it to inspire them to improve. It’s creating support groups (even if it’s just a workout partner and yourself) for more accountability and strength in numbers (definition #5: strength in numbers) so you can be your absolute best. As you choose your circle of friends, you are choosing your area of influence, whether good or bad. This is why you must choose friends wisely, choosing people who can help strengthen your faith, strengthen your body and support you on your journey (definition #4: power of reason by influence).
Strength is having victory over the fork and power over the mind (definition #2: mental power). It’s practicing inner AND outer strength. Strength starts in your mind, flows out in actions. As Joyce Meyer always says, “where the mind goes, the body follows”.
Do you want to be strong? Truly strong? You CAN be as strong as you decide to try to be. Strength isn’t based on genetics or your personal upbringing. Strength is a DAILY DECISION to do things and think on things that strengthen you.
Here are 12 scriptures and promises that strengthen me when I get weary:
I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13- Two are better than one (reminding me of the need for support & fellowship when I’m tempted to go it alone), because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Ecclesiastes 4:9-10
- For the Lord your God is he who goes with you to fight (you don’t have to fight battles alone) for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.’ Deuteronomy 20:4
- God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability (if you are facing it, He knows you can handle it), but with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. 1 Corinthians 10:13
- But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength (a reminder that strength can be renewed); they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint (a reminder that it is still work). Isaiah 40:31
- But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness (a reminder that it’s in the weak times that we remember our need for the Lord’s strength, and it’s in OUR weakness he can show himself to you and others).” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10
- Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10
- And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up (motivation to keep going). Galatians 6:9
- Be strong and courageous (notice it’s a command, meaning you have the option and the ability to do it). Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6
- Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Ephesians 6:10
- And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good (reminding us that nothing is wasted. He can use all of our struggles and weaknesses for good), for those who are called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28
- So I do not run aimlessly (a reminder to live with purpose); I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control (and a reminder that God wants us to be disciplined and not let our body boss us around), lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified. 1 Corinthians 9: 26-27
Weakness Is Required
I’ve spoken to so many people who apologize for being weak. They say stuff like “I knew I was weak, but I didn’t realize just how out of shape I really was” or “I’m so sorry I am unable to keep up“. Or they say stuff like “I can’t” because they believe they are not supposed to experience such weakness. The truth is “THEY CAN”, but it’s going to be hard. Unfortunately, people often walk away with their head hanging, discouraged at their bodies difficulty to perform the way they had hoped – feeling like a failure, instead of realizing their need for weakness.
PICK YOUR CHIN UP! If you are doing what you are supposed to, you should feel weakness. You HAVE to feel weakness in order to get stronger.
If I bang out 12 overhead presses with ease, I am not getting stronger. I am only demonstrating my EXISTING strength. That’s when I know I need to add weight. When I do 12 reps, but the last 4-5 are really challenging to finish (and maybe the last 1 or 2 seem nearly impossible), THAT’s when I’m changing my body.
This principle applies in many ways. For example, you don’t become a better musician by continuing to play music you have already mastered. You get better by trying more difficult pieces. If you can finish the piece without a mistake, you are not challenging yourself enough. If you are not challenging yourself, you are not improving. You are simply performing. You MUST fail before you succeed. Sadly, no one likes to fail. So, as a result, many people avoid failure (or experiencing any kind of weakness) at all cost – and only do what they are currently good at and currently strong enough to handle.
I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed. Michael Jordan
I don’t like extreme cardio. I do Kickboxing and LiveXFit because I know I need it. Feel free to take a class with me, or follow me online at LiveExercise to see for yourself – I can GUARANTEE you will see me reach failure (and it ain’t pretty!). However, I do it because I know it will make me stronger, better and healthier. I’d prefer to run, but I can already run. I’d prefer to rest more between exercises, but that won’t improve my cardio and conditioning. So I huff and puff my way through each workout, just hoping I can make it through.
Do I enjoy failing? Do I enjoy feeling weak? NO! I hate it, BUT I realize it’s a requirement for getting stronger. If I want to get stronger, I have to experience those weak moments.
So, celebrate your weakness. Celebrate reaching failure as long as you don’t give up! It’s in that weakness you are made stronger. :)
31 Days of Motivation: The Impossible Starts with the Possible
Does someone become an olympic athlete by practicing the most difficult trick? No. A gymnist will start with a forward roll on the ground before they advance to cartwheels, round-offs and flips. They have to do what they CAN do first. Then they advance, onc small challenge at a time.
This is how our workouts are. If someone can’t do a military push up, they start on their knees. They may not even complete the movement in full range, but they do what they can, going deeper and deeper (with better and better form) each time they “practice it”.
If I had a dime for every boot camper, or member, who said they never DREAMED they’d be doing what they are doing now – I’d be filthy stinkin’ RICH! Sadly, many people don’t even begin to try because they don’t see what’s possible. All they see is the impossible.
Be encouraged! Don’t think about all the things you CAN do, just do what you can – and eventually, over time, you will be doing things you never thought possible!!
Happy 2014 everyone!! I hope you enjoyed my 31 Days of Motivation. More motivation to come!
31 Days of Motivation: Beware of Short Cuts
Bring Your Gym Bag, Your Muscles AND Your Brain
When I show someone an exercise, I believe it’s important to tell that person what we are working, why that exercise is working that muscle group, and how they can make the most of that particular exercise to get the results they want. Not only will they understand the importance of that exercise, and know how to do it correctly, they will be more motivated to do it when they understand what it will do for them.
Sure, I could easily just point to a machine and have them go through the motions. Shoot, if I did that, they’d HAVE to keep coming back to me for help. Maybe other people consider that good job security. Some trainers have the mentality of, “don’t teach them anything, or they might go off and do it themselves”. But, if I just told people what to do, although it may change their body, it won’t change their mind.
Here’s my philosophy. People need a mind make-over. People need more than guidance, they need education. They need to make better decisions when no one is around to tell them what to do. The more a trainer empowers people with knowledge, the more lives they can change. The more success stories, the better their reputation will be – that THEY were the one that helped so many people reach their goals.
Sadly, some people just don’t want to learn. Often times people resort to short cuts or programs that tell you what to do because they don’t want to think for themselves. While joining a program that directs you is a good thing, beware of spending hours being told what to do without learning anything. Don’t be afraid to think, to try to understand, to invest time and energy in learning.
We are supposed to LEARN from our hard work. Dedication and discipline is supposed to challenge us, grow us and teach us how to persevere and overcome obstacles. Don’t look for short cuts, look for the right path – no matter how long or hard it looks. The right path is where you will learn the most, and you’ll learn how to stay on track once you get there!
Don’t look for shortcuts, sometimes the hardest routes teach us the most!
14 Quotes to Motivate You to Work Hard in ’14!
- The reason a lot of people do not recognize opportunity is because it usually goes around wearing overalls looking like hard work. Thomas A. Edison
- Plans are only good intentions unless they immediately degenerate into hard work. Peter Drucker
- Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did. Newt Gingrich
- Enjoy your sweat because hard work doesn’t guarantee success, but without it you don’t have a chance. Alex Rodriguez
- Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves, some turn up their noses, and some don’t turn up at all. Sam Ewing
- Talent in cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work. Stephen King
- Young people are threatened… by the evil use of advertising techniques that stimulate the natural inclination to avoid hard work by promising the immediate satisfaction of every desire. Pope John Paul II
- For every two minutes of glamour, there are eight hours of hard work. Jessica Savitch
- All the problems of the world could be settled easily if men were only willing to think. The trouble is that men very often resort to all sorts of devices in order not to think, because thinking is such hard work. Thomas J. Watson
- You can’t get there by bus, only by hard work and risk and by not quite knowing what you’re doing. What you’ll discover will be wonderful. What you’ll discover will be yourself. Alan Alda
- Temporary success can be achieved in spite of lack of other fundamental qualities, but no advancements can be maintained without hard work. William Feather
- No great achiever – even those who made it seem easy – ever succeeded without hard work. Jonathan Sacks
- Opportunity looks a lot like hard work. Ashton Kutcher
- A dream doesn’t become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work. Colin Powell
31 Days of Motivation: Feel as Good As You Eat
Something I heard once that stuck with me was when my sister said “I never realized how bad unhealthy felt until I discovered how good it felt to be healthy”. This is something I had never thought of at the time, and her insight opened my eyes. She wasn’t talking about feeling good because she looked good, she was talking about feeling even after only a couple of weeks of eating healthy. She basically immediately started having more energy and feeling as healthy as she was eating – way before the weight started coming off.
Not only does unhealthy food not fuel you properly but it weighs you down – literally. Overweight bodies are tired from the weight alone. Then couple that with being tired from the lack of energy from eating foods that lack nutrition, and you’ve got one tired, sluggish, heavy, unmotivated person. Yet, as soon as you start eating healthy, you immediately start benefiting from the nutrients you are putting into your body. People go from having no energy at all, to having TONS of energy when they begin to FUEL their body instead of just feed it.
Nowadays, when I have a period of time where I’ve been cheating or eating poorly (like over the holidays), I truly crave healthy eating because of how it makes me feel. I miss the way my body feels on a higher quality foods.
I challenge you to not just think of healthy eating as “dieting”, but choosing foods that will energize you, and give you the fuel you need to feel your absolute best! You’ll be SO surprised of the difference good fuel makes!!
Hale the Kale Salad
Thank you Offerdahl’s for the inspiration! Loving this salad!!!!
1/4 cup cooked quinoa (I cooked with a splash of lemon juice, salt & garlic powder)
2 cups chopped kale
4oz diced chicken breast
1 heaping tablespoon of chick peas
1 tablespoon chopped sweet onion
1/2 tablespoon low-sugar Craisins
1/2 tablespoon goat cheese crumbles
Squirt of lemon
1 tablespoon Honey Roasted Almond Accents
Dressing Options:
Honey Lime or Lemon Vinaigrette
Light Honey Dijon dressing (I used Publix brand, but I also make my own)
Toss all the ingredients together with the dressing and top with the roasted almond slices. YUM!!
CLICK HERE for 10 delicious Kale Recipes!!
31 Days of Motivation: No Regrets
We’ve all done it – those moments we realize we coulda, woulda, shoulda. So, how can we improve? Next time we make a decision, we ask ourself “Could I? Would I? Should I?”
Making NO Decision is Still Making A Decision
I think many of us are not making bad decisions as much as we are making NO decisions. If we stop to think about what we are doing, we typically know the right thing to do. However, most of the time, we rush into things or live on the fly, without stopping to ask ourself if we are making the best decision. Every time I ask myself “could I, would I, should I?”, I make MUCH better decisions – purposeful decisions, instead of impulse decisions.
Even the smallest decisions are decisions we can regret. From whether we should run or not (Spoiler Alert: The answer is almost always yes) or we should eat “this or that”, sometimes we just need to stop and really think about what we are doing. If we are honest with ourselves. We’ll make more decisions we can be proud of – and less decisions we regret.
