Manifest the Best

My daily favorites, my healthy choices, the good food I live on and love are just as nice and way better on the belly. 

Here are five and why, from the folks at PN.

1. Lean red meat, like sirloin steak. 

I had this on a yummy salad tonight with lots of veggies, a little bleu cheese and some vinagarette. Lean meat can be purchased at the meat section at most stores. They may be a bit more expensive but with time and tenderness can make a great meal. In Portland we are blessed with great local butchers and farmers markets. I suggest you search there first.

2. Boneless chicken breast.

Again, you can find the leanest cuts at any store. Buy free-rage whenever possible, but do what you can be sure to include lots of protein in your daily menus.

3.Feta Cheese. 

Once made from sheep or goat milk, it's not mostly from cow's milk. Feta is perfect crumbled on salads or mixed in sauteed greens. A lot goes a long way so you get a better cheesy bang for your buck, and calorie. 

4. Apples.

I love them anyway, chopped, cooked, pied, whatever! Try a few varieties and colors. The more color in your diet the better. Cut apples for salads or daily snacks, eat with cheese, or cook up to cover pork chops or stir in oatmeal. Fiber rich and so yummy.

5. Spinach. 

Instead of using lettuce for salads, switch to spinach as often as you can - its so good for you! Steam it, bake it, toss it in soup, do whatever you need to do to get more in your life. Eat your greens!

A few more next time. I'd love to hear yours!!!

Eat well, play hard and rest up!

The different ways to pump up your heart are endless. Your task is to find one you enjoy, enough, to do routinely. 

The benefits of cardiovascular activity are GREAT. Here are a few things cardio can do for you...

-strengthen your heart and lungs and build your endurance.

-help burn calories and make losing weight happen faster.

-lift your mood and you help deal better with stress and anxiety.

-sharpen your brain power and memory.

-give you more energy all day.

-makes you feel good, go endorphins! 

Cardiovascular exercise (cardio) is any physical activity that gets your heart pumping, between 50%-90% of your hearts max capacity. Find out your level here.  There are a variety of different ways to do this, but the point is to find a way that you can sustain for at least 20 minutes on a daily basis. 

Being more active is what it's all about; move more now and you'll keep moving longer. Taking the stairs, walking after dinner, biking to work are all great ways to easily add cardio into you life. 

Todays Real Results class was all about cardio. I strapped up the ladies with heart rate monitors, rolled in a spin bike and put them to work! (Well done, DC, you were a champ!) 

Using a heart rate monitor and comparing the data to your rate of percieved exersion (RPE) will help you pick the right activity and the the level for you. Let me know if you'd like a session to go over this personally.

Here are few different types of cardio and intensity levels. All of these give you the benefits listed above, but each gives the body different challenges and will help you reach a variety of goals. 

Low intensity, long duration. This includes lots of daily activity, plus walking, riding a bike, swimming at about 60% of your heart rate max. This is great for beginners,as warm up for more intense workouts, or for fun. Try to keep your heart pumping at this level for 30-40 mins if possible.

Moderate intensity, moderate duration. These sessions should range between 20 and 45 mins and get your heart rate up to about 70% of its max. Great for intermediate, regular exercisers and folks on a mission for weight loss who want to up their calorie burn. This is a workout that should have breathing heavy, breaking a sweat but still able to talk to your buddy.

High intensity, short duration. This is a lot of work, which is why it's done in short bursts like sprinting, spinning or racing. These workouts push the limits and your comfort zones. Expect to be breathing heavy, sweating buckets and really not interested in talking to anyone. (Don't worry that grimace will be replaced by a smile just a fast!)

Circuit/Strength Training. This is one of my favorite ways to get fit faster. I love integrating cardio "bursts" into my training sessions. Imagine performing 4-8 weight lifting exercises with just a little rest in between so your heart rate goes up and stays strong the whole time or adding a minute of jump rope in between a set of exercises. 

Whatever you do, have fun and push yourself a little bit. You'll be surprised by what you can do. 

----Personal sessions to come up with YOUR own zones take about 30 minutes and can dramatically change the way you exercise and how quickly you reach you goals. 

Always here to help. 

Remy

Happy Thursday Everyone!

We are two and half weeks into the new year and things seem to just be ramping up in my world.  This is a super busy time of year -- and I love that. Do you find the busier you are sometimes the more you get done?  It must be momentum. 

Whether you set specific goals or resolutions this year or not, we could all stand a little reflection once in a while. This weekend I taught a seminar called Behavior Change and Weight Loss. Losing weight is so often about breaking bad habits and making new healthy ones. Now, this we all know is easier said than done! First you have to recognize the bad habits (we may not even know when we sabotage ourselves), stop them in their tracks and then rewrite the course. And there's that -- The Course. Which path are you on?? 

Go through the steps below to get clear about your goals, discover the path you are on, set your sights on where you want to go and then GO for it!

These questions can relate to your work life, personal life, or health and fitness. After you look through the steps put together your own answers on paper. This will give you a better idea of what YOU need to do to achieve YOUR goals. Let me know what comes out of this process. Want to get in a little deeper, make a plan of action? Email me and I'll be happy to help you MANIFEST THE BEST! 

#1 Set yourself up for SUCCESS: Ask yourself a few questions to get focused and steer your life in the right direction…

What am I aiming for right now?

Where do I want to end up?

What can I do to be sure I get there and faster?

How am I doing? Is my plan working?

What do I need to do differently if I‘m of course?

“Life isn’t about finding yourself, life is about creating yourself.” George Bernard Shaw

 

#2 ATTITUDE and Outlook: Check in everyday and find a way to boost yourself up. Think about it…self-esteem and self-worth make all the difference.

What would make me happy today?

What can I do to make sure I feel really good?

How can I make other people feel good so I can too?

How do I get in touch with the parts of me that make me feel really great?

 “How you judge your self-esteem is how high you are likely to rise.  The reputation you have with yourself is the single most important factor for a fulfilling life.”

“Every achiever I have ever met says, ‘My life turned around when I began to believe in me.” Dr. Robert Schuller

 

#3 Get CLEAR about what is IMPORTANT: Here you will find the keys to your success. 

What do you really want out of life? (Success, recognition, love, money, family...)

What is most important to you?

In general, what motivates you?

What do you value most in life? 

“People with goals succeed because they know were they are going.”

“There are two great days in a person’s life – the day we are born and the day we discover why.” William Barclay

  

#4 Watch your WORDS: Remember…

Language shapes our reality.

Language represents thought.

We use language to process our experiences.

We believe what we say in our minds.

Changing our words, changes our thoughts, which changes our reality.

 “We become what we thing about all day long.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

#5 Break Bad HABITS and make new ones: Take a look at your day, week, year? Notice what happens again and again.

Write it down.

Change a negative behavior at the front end.

Do something different. Anything.

Hook onto a new habit and go for it.

”Definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results.” Albert Einstein.

“It’s not what we do once in a while; it’s what you do day in and day out that makes the difference.” Jenny Craig

#6 Get SMART:

S – SPECIFIC (I will lose weight v. I will lose 3 pounds this month)

M – MEASURABLE (I will exercise more v. I will hit the gym 3x/week)

A – ATTAINABLE (I will lose 15 lbs this month/ I will lose 3 pounds this month)

R – REALISTIC (I will workout every day/ I will workout at the gym 2x this week and add 500 steps to my day.)

T – TIME BASED (Have an end date in sight to stay on track. Don’t put it off.)

 

“It is the moments of choice that continually shape our lives, so choose wisely!” JJ Satangelo

 

#7 Take ACTION: Take a few minutes to think about this.

Are you ready? Really ready?

Are you ready and willing to change, to act?

Will you do whatever it takes?

 

“If one advances confidently in the directions of his dreams and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined he will meet a success unexpected in common hours!” Henry David Thoreau

 

#8 Stick to it. Be PERSISTANT and CONSISTENT: How are you going to make sure this happens?

 “I will block out ________ minutes a day/OR week, to work diligently on my tasks and goals.”

 “Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not, nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not. Unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education with not, the world is full of educated derelicts.  Persistence and determination are omnipotent!” Calvin Coolidge 13^th President.

 

#9 Put it in the POSITIVE:

Reframe your beliefs and attitudes and give them an optimistic, confident spin.

Read NYTIMES Article Take it Easy! 

“Excuses are the tools of the incompetent.” – Unknown.

 “A negative attitude wipes out discipline.” Toni Robbins.

 

Do it NOW:-) Do it ALWAYS.

Your friend,

Remy

 

Dearest Readers,

This week the focus of my Real Results healthy eating class was Nutrition 101. We learned all about Macronutrients, the Big Three, and the role they play in a healthy diet. Protein, Carbohydrates and Fat make up the majority of our food intake. Our bodies require vitamins and minerals to stay in tip top shape, but in much smaller amounts. All three of the macronutrients are needed in our diets and each perform vital functions in the body.

If you get a handle on how these major players impact your body you'll set yourself up for success as an athlete, or at weight loss, as well as overall health. 

Protein 

Protein is my favorite macronutrient. I try to make sure that all of my meals contain a healthy portion of lean protein and advice all of my clients to do the same. Protein is the bodies building block. Without protein we can't build muscle or repair the daily break down of cells in our body. If you are on a mission to get stronger and fitter - you won't get anywhere with protein.

Lean protein sources primarily come from animal sources, like beef, chicken, eggs and fish. But there are good veggie sources too, like nuts, seeds, dairy and beans.  

Try to consume one serving of protein at each meal and snack. 

Carbohydrates