According to Wansink, overeating can be greatly reduced simply by removing the cues in your environment that cause you to overeat. He goes on to explain some of the top Diet Danger Zones and below offers a solution on how to stabilize your eating habits.  Below I have summarized them and added one of my own (see #6), as I think we can ALL identify with one or another, right??!!

Which one are you?  A little of each?  More of one over the other?

1.            The Meal Stuffer: At mealtime you really stuff yourself. You clean everything off your plate, eat quickly and often go back for seconds. You consider yourself to have a “healthy appetite” an often feel uncomfortably full after eating.

• Use the Half-Plate Rule: fill half of your plate with vegetables and the other half with protein and starch.
• Use smaller plates and wait 20 minutes before deciding if you want seconds.
• Eat slower so your appetite can catch up with what you’ve already eaten.  (Mom’s, sound familiar? I’m lucky if I can get through my breakfast while it’s HOT!)
• Don’t place serving dishes on the table. Pre-plate your food and then put the rest out of reach.

2.            The Snack Grazer: You eat whatever food is within reach, and snack at least three times  throughout the day. You can’t walk past a candy dish without dipping in. Your snacking is rarely done out of hunger.

• Chew gum throughout your day to avoid mindless munching.
• Keep tempting snack foods out of sight and out of mind.
• Never eat directly from a package. Portion out your snack into a dish.
• Don’t purchase tempting snack foods for future snacking. Keep a wide variety of fruits and vegetables on hand instead.

3.            The Party Binger: Whenever you attend a social event where the main attraction is food, you eat without stopping. With all the distraction you quickly lose track of how much you’ve consumed and often stop only when it’s time to leave.

• Stay more than an arm’s length away from the buffet or snack bowls.
• Put only two food items on your plate during each trip to the table.
• Make yourself feel full by eating (and drinking water) the big healthy stuff first, like broccoli and carrots.
• Remind yourself why you are at the party: first to socialize or to conduct business and secondarily to eat.
• Eat before you go to the party.  You’ll likely have less temptation to overeat if you are already full.

4.            The Restaurant Indulger: You eat out at least three times a week and enjoy every minute of it.  You love appetizers, large entrees and rich desserts. When you leave the table you are always stuffed.

• Ask your waiter to remove the bread basket from the table.
• Before you eat, ask your waiter to box half of your entrée to take home.
• Decide to either share an appetizer or a dessert, never have both.
• Skip the appetizer menu and instead start your meal with a side salad.

5.            The Desktop (or Dashboard) Diner: You like to multi-task by eating at your desk or on the go.     Your lightning-quick meals aregrabbed on-the-go from fast food joints, vending machines and convenience stores. You don’t plan your meals ahead of time and end up eating whatever you    can quickly find.

• Pack a healthy lunch and bring it with you.
• Stock your work area with healthy protein-filled snacks.
• Drink plenty of water throughout the day.
• Turn off the computer or pull your car over while you eat.

6.            The “Grab n’ Go” Traveler: You travel often for business or pleasure and find with early or later flights, the options for food are minimal or less than stellar.  This may often lead you to grab that greasy breakfast sandwich at the airport McDonald’s (or any “grab n’ go” restaurant   option), operate just on 20 ounces of coffee, be forced to purchase nasty airline food, or worse, NOTHING.  So, plan ahead.

• While packing for your flight, also pack a snack bag to take in your carry-on (which means, allow enough room to pack it!).
• Allow for time to eat a meal before you leave for the airport.
• Find a grocery store at your destination and stock your room full of healthy meal options ( i.e.: oatmeal, raw nuts, fruit, vegetables, almond butter and/or protein nutrition bars.
• Stay hydrated while traveling.
• Keep active.  Don’t let your vacation or business trip get the better of you.  Staying on track with your nutrition and fitness will sustain optimal energy, thus creating less opportunity to make poor decisions.

By making these healthy changes when it comes to your food decisions you will put yourself back on course and moving in the direction of healthy weight loss.

As nutrition is a vital part to any successful and organic weight loss, coupling it with a challenging and progressive fitness program is equally as key.

If you’d like additional suggestions and/or recommendations on how to stick with your nutritional plan or maintain your fitness while on the go, drop me an email or phone call.

Your partner in health & fitness.

Shakeology continues to evolve, and as it does, more and more lives will be impacted from it’s great many health benefits.  I am just touched by some of the stories I’ve read and heard, first hand, from people that have experienced a change in their total wellness.

Well, to top that, Carl and his buddies wanted to seek feedback from a population of experts, that many of turn to when our health takes a turn for the worst – our Doctors.  Here is a great video that shares THEIR personal experience with Shakeology and how they feel it’s a stand up product and recommend it to their patients – and NO, they are not being paid to endorse it, strictly voluntary.

Want further validation, take the ingredients list to YOUR doctor and have them see it for themselves.  Or, better yet, walk into your next appointment with a sample, so they can experience it first hand, and give you their honest impression.  I can help you with those sample packets.

But, trusting the 30-day bottom of the bag guarantee, maybe you just experience it yourself.  If you’d like to get on board and try out Shakeology, send me an email: taryn@choose2befit.com or visit: http://shake4wellness.com and check it out for yourself.

Your partner in health & fitness.

*This was recently discussed in last week’s “3-Day Shakeology Explained”, webinar, and since so many missed it or had questions, I wanted to post this written explanation by Steve Edwards, one of the masterminds behind this amazing cleanse.  For more information or to view my experience, visit my website and check out My Blog.

I like to call the Shakeology 3-Day Cleanse a “performance cleanse.” This is because it was designed to be done with a workout program. Let’s take a look at how this differs from other cleanses, how to tailor it to your needs, and what to expect if you or your customers decide to try it.

First of all, it’s not a true cleanse. It’s a calorie-restricted and nutrient-dense diet plan. Traditional cleanses contain very few calories and nutrients. Compared to the much more popular Master Cleanse, it’s like an all-you-can-eat buffet. Traditional cleansing diets are done to rid your system of toxins and bring it into homeostasis. They also contain a spiritual aspect. This process can take a long time, which is why you may have seen coworkers walking around the office in a zombie-like state for weeks on end—swilling a strange concoction of lemons and maple syrup.

The Shakeology cleanse is nothing like that. Depending on how you decide to do it, you’ll be eating frequently and consuming between 800 and 1,200 calories per day, and it could be even more should you feel the need. The point of this cleanse is not calorie restriction, per se—it’s nutrient efficiency. The aim is to get the most nutrients possible into the fewest number of calories. The goal is to put all of these calories to use as a part of your exercise program, to rid your body of undigested foods and toxins, and to bring your hydration levels into homeostasis. The result you’re after is not weight loss—though it will likely occur—but for your body to be running more efficiently. This should make you feel lighter and more energetic, even though you’re doing an exercise program.

How It Works
Your eating structure doesn’t change. You still eat every few hours while you’re awake. Each meal should have a balance of proteins, carbohydrates, fats, and fiber. And while you’re not eating as much food as you’d normally eat, your calorie-to-nutrient ratio is extremely high. This means that you shouldn’t restrict the actual nutrients you’re getting by too much, so activity can continue as normal.

We recommend you try to keep your shakes to just Shakeology. Adding fruits of any kind, or seeds (for fat and fiber), or the Shakeology Fiber supplement, can and should be done as you see fit.

Ditto for your one solid meal—a salad. As we all know from any salad bar, the definition of salad can be varied. The goal of the salad in the plan is to keep your calories coming from natural sources (no artificial ingredients should be added, including artificial salad dressing). Aside from that, you can add ingredients as necessary. Keep your meat intake to four ounces or less, but add veggies, seeds, nuts, fruits, and legumes in quantities to satiate you.

The goal of the Shakeology 3-Day Cleanse is to optimize your performance. You want to eat enough to fuel your day AND your workout. The foods you’re eating are so high in fiber and nutrients that it’s virtually impossible to overeat. You’ll be consuming so much fiber, along with enzymes and digestive aids, that your body’s ability to flush excess foods quickly will be at its peak.

What to Drink
Water, of course, is recommended in quantity. This is vital to any cleanse, because one of your goals is to bring your hydration into homeostasis. When your electrolytes are out of balance—the main problem we have is salt—you often retain water outside of your cells. This situation, which we refer to as retaining water, is cured by drinking more water. As the excess salts are diffused, your body begins to hydrate your cells (using sodium as it should be used) and flush the water held outside the cells. So, oddly enough, you drink water to eliminate water retention.

Sodas, alcohols, juices, etc., should be eliminated entirely during a cleanse. Coffee and tea, which are diuretics, should be minimized at the very least and eliminated if possible. Again, performance is the key, so if you need a cup of Joe as a pick-me-up, go ahead. Just use only as needed, and don’t use additives. Eliminating sugar and chemicals is vital. However, do not use energy drinks or soda for this purpose, including the ones with artificial sweeteners. Coffee drinkers may find that switching to black tea during a cleanse will give you the energy you’re looking for with less upset. Coffee’s acidic nature can heighten the effects in a negative way during your cleanse.

Why You Won’t Lose Weight
I should say why you might not lose weight, but I wanted to get your attention. Most people will lose some weight during a cleanse, but that is not the goal. Those with a lot of undigested gunk in their systems will lose weight as it’s flushed out. Those of you who are properly hydrated and already eat well are less likely to lose. For those of you who need to lose weight, take heart: you are setting up your system to use nutrients more efficiently and improving your ability to lose weight through structured diet and exercise. So while you may not lose much on the cleanse, you’ll be more prepared to lose weight later.

Another reason why we don’t always lose weight on cleanses is due to a stress hormone called cortisol. Restricting calories is stressful to the body, and it reacts by releasing cortisol. Cortisol is performance-enhancing in the short term, but if you somehow keep your body stressed for long periods, it creates havoc in your system and can cause you to doggedly hang onto weight in a type of survival mode. We don’t want this to occur, which is one reason the Shakeology 3-Day Cleanse is short. It’s important not to remain in a highly calorie-deficient state for long periods of time, especially when you are trying to exercise hard.

View the entire Shakeology 3-Day Cleanse regimen here >>

If you want to get going on the 3-Day cleanse yourself, check out my website and kick start your metabolism.  *Free shipping on all Home Direct (HD) orders!!!

Your partner in health & fitness.

I’ve had so many great questions, as of late, about Shakeology®, so I figured I’d post them here to hopefully help others that may have the same inquires.  This is Part 2, so be sure to check out the original post – Shakeology ® – Frequently Asked Questions….ANSWERED.

Q:  (Part 1) If I have one Shakeology a day, as suggested for my meal replacement, do I need to continue to take my multi-vitamin?

A:  It depends.  If you are fairly active, meaning doing a high intensity program such as P90X, Insanity or ChaLEAN Extreme, your body is using up far more vitamins and nutrients, than a daily serving found in Shakeology.  So, in that case, you should continue with your daily Activit or multi-vitamin, although strongly suggested to take it at the same time you enjoy your Shakeology.  If you are doing a lower impact fitness regime, Shakeology should suffice with your daily vitamin  intake.  If you have further questions, always a good idea to consult your physician.

Q:  (Part 2) If I take Activit (or any daily multi) each day, when is the best time to take that?  Before or after Shakeology?

A:  During.  It’s strongly recommended to take your multi-vitamin with you Shakeology, as the digestive enzymes found in Shakeology, will aid your body in absorbing all of those nutrients, quicker, than if taken alone.  (NOTE: never a good idea to take a multi-vitamin on an empty stomach).

Q:  Can I really get free shipping?

A:  YES!  Free shipping is available on all Home Direct (HD) orders for any of the Shakeology package options (Bulk bag or Individual Take N’ Go packets).  In addition to free shipping, on your first HD order, Beachbody will include 2 Free Shakeology Workouts – The 30 and The 50) and one more FREE gift!  BONUS!!

Q:  I heard I could save some money by being a Coach.  What if I’m interested in saving the money, but not necessarily being a Coach?

A:  No problem.  There are many Shakeology addicts (and I say that as a GOOD thing), that chose to become Coaches, strictly for the discount (25% discount).  Now, I’d be lying if I said they didn’t spread the word a bit here and there and make a few extra bucks themselves, by sharing their experience with Shakeology.  But, you certainly don’t have to be a “Coach” to be a “Coach” and get the discount.  Here’s how you could save $15/month as a Coach:

Direct Customer Price: $119.95*

Coach Price (25% discount): $89.96*

(Home Direct Orders = Free Shipping)

Initial Savings: $29.99

Monthly Coach fee: ($14.95)

Overall SAVINGS: $15.04

(*excludes tax, as applicable per state)

So aside from the initial Coach set up fee of $39.95 (which could be waived if they were to purchase a Shakeology Starter Kit), you are still money ahead each month, with a savings of $15.04 per month.

Not to mention, as your friends/family start seeing a difference in your overall health, you will likely share what has aided in your new journey (just like you’d share a great new movie you saw, or restaurant you ate at) and can, in turn, earn a 25% commission by having your family/friends purchase Shakeology from YOU.  That’s close to $30 off one retail order!!

Q:  What if I want to sample it.  Does Beachbody offer that?

A:  Beachbody does not offer samples, although if you check with your Coach, they may offer a sample for you.  Personally, I offer all my customers and those interested in trying it, a 4-day Trial offer.  Click HERE to learn more and get your own.

Q:  How can I find out more about the ingredients and what’s in it?

A:  Go to my Shakeology website and it will offer you all the ingredients, recipes (for both flavors) and testimonials to provide you with the confidence to try it yourself.

Q:  What if I don’t like it?

A:  It’s rare that people don’t LOVE it, but if it doesn’t agree with you or you simply don’t care for it– NO PROBLEM!!  Beachbody offers a 30-Day Bottom of the bag money back guarantee.  Which basically means, return it for a full refund (minus shipping, if you ordered one time only).  100% risk free!

Although Shakeology aids in weight loss, lowering cholesterol/blood pressure, digestive issues, etc., there are some that it may not agree with!  As with any new nutritional product, if you have prior health issues, please consult with your physician.

Interested in kick starting your new fitness journey?  Need to get rid of that excess bloat?  Or just “clean” up your insights?  Try the Shakeology 3-Day Cleanse.

Your partner in health & fitness.

Shakeology is a meal replacement shake designed to be enjoyed every day, one meal a day. But for this cleanse, it will be used three times a day for three days. (Click here to learn more about Shakeology).

The Shakeology Cleanse is meant to jump start you in your fitness, break a plateau or shred pounds fast & effectively in a healthy way. The key is caloric efficiency; getting the most nutrients possible out of the fewest number of calories.

This can help you become healthier from the inside out. Internal health is the foundation to external beauty.

People are getting fantastic results ~ Lose weight, feel great!

The basics are as follows:

3 SHAKEOLOGY Shakes a day (blended with water and ice)
2 Cups of Green Tea a Day (Triple Leaf Detox Tea is good choice)
1 piece of fruit a day (Apple, pear, orange, banana, mango, etc)
1 salad for dinner (lettuce, veggies, lean protein)
– 4 oz lean protein in salad (WHITE poultry or fish)
– Only Low Fat Dressings.

NO: Dairy (no almond, soy, or rice milk) or extra sugars. If it’s not on the list, don’t eat it!

Sample Menu (Repeat all three days):

1 cup of green tea

BREAKFAST:
Shakeology – 1 scoop, blended with ice & 8-10 oz of water
Optional: ½ cup of fruit (only for the super conditioned – not the weight challenged)

SNACK:
1 piece of fruit

LUNCH:
Shakeology – 1 scoop, blended with ice & 8-10 oz of water

1 cup of green tea

SNACK:
Shakeology – 1 scoop, blended with ice & 8-10 oz of water
(This snack can be before or after dinner)

DINNER:
Salad 
– Lettuce/veggies
– 4 oz lean protein (WHITE fish or poultry)
– Light Dressing

________________________________________________

Information about Shakeology:
– Shakeology Breakthrough (video) &  Website ~ Click here
– Save 25% by becoming a Coach! Get started here ~ www.choose2befit.com

Contact me if you have any questions and/or if you want to get started!

Taryn Perry

Independent Beachbody Coach

taryn@choose2befit.com

Unlike other “cleanses” and “fasts” they tend to strip the body of vital nutrients leaving opportunity to completely sabotage your body’s metabolism and energy, causing one to “bonk” and/or have massive fatigue.  Shakeology is packed with over 70 vital vitamins and nutrients that will keep your energy charged and immune system strong, all while providing a three day jump-start to looking and feeling better.  This is not a lifestyle option, as it’s too restrictive in calorie consumption, but after the 3-Day cleanse, you can incorporate Shakeology into your nutrition by substituting one full meal a day with it. ENJOY!

Knowing the four basics listed below will help you to have successful results. Don’t just know them… DO THEM!

By: David Gluhareff

Resistance training
Cardiovascular training
Nutrition/supplements
Rest/recuperation

Resistance Training Exercises

These are anaerobic (without oxygen) exercises that help build muscle. Resistance training can be performed with free-weights, rubber bands, plate-loaded machines, weight stack machines, or by using your own body for resistance such as a push-up or walking lunge. The muscle your body builds will aid in continuous fat burning twenty-four hours per day.

You can work multiple muscles at once by doing exercises such as bench presses (works pecs, front shoulders, forearms, and some triceps), squats (works quadriceps, hamstrings, buns, and inner/outer thighs), and dead lifts (works traps, rhomboids, forearms, low back, buns, inner/outer thighs, quads, hams, and some calves). By doing compound movements such as these your body will work more muscles at once which will really stoke the fat-burning furnace.

Keep variety in your resistance training always! Never keep doing the same exercises week after week. You will only bore your body and progress will be stagnant. Resistance training not only helps burn fat, it helps keep your blood pressure and cholesterol at normal levels, helps strengthen bones, and also helps relieve stress. Always study and learn different exercises, which use different equipment.

Most importantly learn proper form to prevent injuring yourself when performing an exercise. To be on the safe side always look like a chicken when performing an exercise. Keep your chest forward, butt back, and lower back in. Always stretch each muscle after you work it. This will increase your flexibility and decrease post workout muscle soreness.

Cardiovascular Training Exercises

These are aerobic (with oxygen) exercises. These train the most important muscle in the body, the HEART. Aerobic or cardiovascular training, helps burn fat, keep blood pressure and cholesterol in normal ranges, relieve stress, strengthen heart, lungs, and the rest of the cardiovascular system, and also promotes perspiration to help your body sweat out any excess water it does not need.

Examples of aerobic activities are: walking, biking, roller blading, rowing, using elliptical machines, stair stepping, Ultimate Frisbee, soccer, basketball, jogging, hiking, and aerobics classes at fitness facilities. Always remember to do a light warm-up for five to ten minutes before really getting into the exercise, and remember to do a five to ten minute cool-down after you do the exercise. Do not forget to stretch the muscles you worked after exercising.

Nutrition and Supplementation

When you workout you expend energy, which eats up your body’s nutrients. You need to replenish those nutrients as soon as you workout. Within forty-five minutes after a workout consisting of weight training and cardiovascular training you need to eat a meal.

This meal should be a small serving (one handful) of simple sugars (banana, grapes, 12-16 oz. sports drink, or post workout carb drink), a medium serving (two handfuls) of complex carbs (brown or wild rice, sweet or red potatoes, veggie pasta, whole grain bread, or oatmeal), and a large serving (three handfuls) of proteins (lean red meat, deer meat, chicken breasts, turkey breasts, buffalo, egg whites, whey protein powder, soy protein powder, cottage cheese, or tuna) and of two tablespoons of a monounsaturated fat (extra virgin olive oil or canola oil).

That meal was just post workout, which should make you a little full. Your whole day should consist of five to six small meals that should never make you full, but keep your metabolism in high gear. Each small meal, except post workout, should contain a small serving (one handful) complex carbs (brown or wild rice, sweet or red potatoes, veggie pasta, whole grain bread, or oatmeal), a medium serving (two handfuls) of proteins (lean red meat, deer meat, chicken breasts, turkey breasts, buffalo, egg whites, whey protein powder, soy protein powder, cottage cheese, or tuna), and a medium serving (two handfuls) of green vegetables.

With every meal and throughout the day always drink water. Even with all this healthy food your body will not get certain nutrients or enough of them. This is where supplements come in. Taking a daily multi-vitamin/mineral supplement will help give your body important vitamins and minerals it may be missing. Sometimes you may not be able to cook or prepare all of your food on time. This is where meal replacement bars and powders can come into your daily diet routine.

Rest and Recuperation

You can workout hard and eat right for ten years, but never see lean muscle appear or see your body take shape if you do not get enough rest and recuperation. By rest I mean you need to get at least nine hours of sleep at night or eight at night and an hour nap after your workout. Sleep is important because this is when your body is producing its greatest amount of growth hormone which aids in repair and growth of your body.

You can have the best workout of your life and get no growth from it if you go out and party all night and get no sleep. By recuperation I mean not over-training. Do not as a beginner do a total body workout everyday with the weights. If you do you will not ever progress. Your muscles will constantly get beaten up every day and never have time to recuperate and repair themselves. As a beginner give yourself at least a day to two days rest between resistance training exercises. If you are still sore two days later, then do not work that area until the soreness has passed.

Your partner in health & fitness.

Shakeology® – The Breakthrough

Why you need Shakeology® – NOW!

Shakeology can help you:

• Lose weight
• Reduce cravings
• Increase energy and stamina
• Promote healthy digestion and regularity
• Lower cholesterol¹

Tastes delicious, too.

The Healthiest Meal of the Day

Get your Shakeology®:

• The Shakeology Convenience Pack contains 24 single-serving packets you can take anywhere.

  

  
  

• Choose the 30-day supply in a bag to keep in your kitchen.

  

  
  

• NEW 4 PACK TRIAL*!
  (2 Chocolate & 2 Greenberry)

  

  
  

  
  

  
  
  

  Shakeology 4-Pack Trial Offer

  YES! I want a FREE TBB Account $15.99 No, thank you, just the 4-Pack $19.99

  

   

  FREE gifts when you sign up for Home Direct, the monthly autoship program

  
  

  • FREE shipping every month†
  • 2 FREE Workout DVDs in your first shipment†
  • FREE Shakeology Shaker Cup in your second shipment

   

  30-Day Money Back Guarantee
  If you don’t start to see and feel the benefits of Shakeology within the first month of using it, or if you’re not 100% satisfied for any reason, just return it within 30 days for a full refund of the purchase price, less s&h—guaranteed. That’s our promise to you.

  
  

  
  

  
  

Naturally, we progressed into talking about eating, when and what to eat and how the P90X® Results & Recovery Formula could do a body good, especially as a compliment to the P90X® workout.  In Malika’s case, she’s doing the Doubles version – definitely NEED that P90X® Results and Recovery Drink!!

Check out our 2 part interview (only because we got cut off mid-way).

Shakegology Q & A – Part 1

Shakegology Q & A – Part 2

Hope you enjoy and if you’d like to try your very own sample of either Greenberry or Chocolate Shakeology® or the P90X Results & Recovery Formula, please don’t hesitate to send me a message.

To your health & fitness!

But as busy parents or busy people, no one has time or energy to have their days halted by a pesky cold or sore throat.  I’ve had plenty in my past to last me a lifetime.  I’m sure I’m not alone on this one.

After much aggravation of these over the counter medications not working for me, I resorted to searching for something else.  Something more natural that I knew could be found in our kitchen cupboards.  Something that could ward off that sore throat you can just feel “itching” to make its appearance and usually accompanied by its best pal, congestion.

While I was pregnant with my 2^nd, my daughter was in a little school, therefore brought EVERYTHING home and I felt like I was sick all the time.  Well, I was!  So as most know, being pregnant, there isn’t a whole lot one can take, not to mention, if I can avoid taking over the counter medication, I will avoid it to all costs.  Never feel like it works anyway!!

I did a Google search for “natural remedies for sore throat”.  The fabulous site of Earth Clinic was the first to pop up, so naturally (no pun intended J), I clicked on it.  I will preface this with, many other sites popped up that all had Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) in the website description.  Hmm…were they on to something?  I mean, I knew I had Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar in my cupboard.  What was the remedy?  If it was to down the whole bottle, I was willing to do it, at that point.

So after reading through countless great testimonials on how ACV, with some other kitchen cupboard ingredients (cayenne pepper, honey, etc) helped cure a sore throat, strep throat the sniffles, I figured, what do I have to lose?  NOTHING!  Can’t do any more harm, than good, right?

I went for it.  Here’s the concoction I dabbled with to gargle for immediate relief:

3 TBSP of Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar

1 tsp of cayenne pepper

4 oz of warm water

Take small sips, gargle for about 5-10 secs and spit.  Repeat until glass is empty.

Now, to keep up with the ACV theme, I read there was a “tea” that others have made the helped relieve too.  I knew you couldn’t really over do it with the ACV.  So after a bit of a break from the gargling, I would make some tea.  Here’s what was in it:

3 TBSP of Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar

1 tsp of Pure Honey (not the generic table honey – the GOOD stuff)

1 tsp of cayenne pepper

4-6 oz of hot water

I would just sip away, until it was gone.  It took a bit of getting used to, but you know what??  I came to enjoy it.  It had a little bit of sweet and a little bit of a bite.  I was starting to feel the tingle getting worked on and could feel it absorbing that bacteria and taking it away.

I knew after just hours of my sore throat and congestion dissipating, that this new ACV concoction was going to be my new BFF come Fall and Winter months.

I hope this recipe will help others that are sick of masking it with those over the counter meds.  This WORKS and works FAST!

Who doesn’t want more energy?

I’m afraid people feel like they need to settle with the lack of energy, because they are killing themselves with a workout.  NOT TRUE!!!  Take care of your body, as you need that energy to successful burn the unwanted fat and build that much needed muscle.  Why?  Because MUSCLE BURNS FAT!!  Sound familiar?

So, are you finding that you are bonking mid-day?  Having a hard time getting up in the morning after a workout the evening before?  Chances are, it’s due to your diet and lack of nutrients.

Not only is your diet a key variable in any successful workout regime, but also the proper supplementation.  We can get an abundant of your energy stimulation from the foods we eat, but chances are – are you really eating the right things?

For those of you that I’ve advised with particular Beachbody at home workout systems or helped guide with proper nutrition*, you know that I will always default to the nutrition guide that came with your workout system, whether it be P90X®, ChaLEAN Extreme®, Insanity™ or Slim in 6®.  These nutrition guides were developed specifically for these programs, so do yourself a favor – and FOLLOW, USE AND ENJOY THEM!!!  The recipes are good and fairly easy, even I can make them!

If you don’t follow a specific workout regime or a nutrition plan, then this could very well be your problem.  If my experience, as a self-professed gym rat, prior to P90X, Insanity and all my new Beachbody favorites, I was at an all time low in the energy department, and I DIDN’T HAVE KIDS AT THE TIME!  Now I have kids and I have MORE energy than I ever have.  Why?  I eat appropriately, according to my workout regime and I have a workout regime that keeps changing.

As many of you may know, I’m in the midst of training for my 2^nd marathon, all while doing the newest Insanity™ workout system.  Well, if Insanity isn’t enough, trying to keep up with my energy to get training runs in each week, I have to be very careful and very particular about what I eat, so I don’t bonk.

Yeah, yeah, many of you are shaking your head saying “Shoot, if you workout that much, you can eat what you want”!  In my case, and the bulk of American’s, not so much.  If I were to eat what I wanted, I surely wouldn’t have the appropriate protein/fat/carbohydrate ratio to properly refuel before and after each workout.   So I need a balance.  That’s where my diet is key here.  This should go for everyone and anyone that is looking for results, good energy and success with their selected workout plan.

Now, as I say diet is the key to most any results, whether it be weight loss or muscle gain, so is proper supplementation.  Do you take a multi-vitamin?  Do you take a Joint Support supplement?  What about your daily nutrients, minerals, antioxidants, etc., etc.?  These are all essential compliments to your diet, in order to sustain good energy to keep you going through the day.

Many know that I’m a big fan of Beachbody’s latest supplement creation, Shakeology®, and won’t go a day without consuming it as either a meal replacement or as a snack.  It’s A) DELICIOUS (check out the recipes) and B)  provides you with over 70 vital vitamins, nutrients, minerals, phytonutrients, prebiotics and a list of other words and terms we would otherwise NEVER use in our vocabulary.  But these are what provide your body with the fuel to keep and stay energized throughout the day, as it fulfills what the body lacks, as we work hard through our fitness program and just day-to-day life.

So, to make a long post even longer, the moral to the story here is proper diet and supplementation (as it’s next to impossible – although not entirely – to get it all from diet) is essential to deliver results and sustain proper energy to avoid that mid-day BONK!

As always, if I can help guide you in a direction towards good health, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me!

To your health & fitness!

* I am not a certified nutritionist or dietitian.  If ever in doubt or have questions about your health and diet, please consult your doctor or a licensed professional.  My advice is based off personal experience and self education and research.  I am also not a certified Personal Trainer…..yet.