helping my friends and co-workers find their way to health and happiness.
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| My Last Step Backward - an inspirational personal story of resilience and triumph over tragedy. |
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| If this is what your grocery list looks like you may need to re-evaluate that liquid lunch.Retrieved from http://itsthelist.wordpress.com/tag/grocery-list/
This weekend I challenge you to evaluate your grocery list. Take a look to see if what's on your list are good food choices. The more processed your food, the worse it is for you. We eat a lot that has very little nutrient value. Think about your "must haves", are they healthy choices? Think about the snack foods you buy. If you have a cookie in your house, eventually you'll want to eat it.
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| If you don't have them in your house, you can't snack on them in a moment of weakness. Choose healthy snacks to have on hand.
Don't know where to start? The list below is just a sample of "healthy kitchen must haves", a framework for you to get your start. Don't buy what you won't eat, you're just wasting money. Avoid unhealthy snacks, build a pantry with good, whole foods and phase out processed foods. If it's in the house, you'll snack on it. It takes planning, but eating healthy has benefits way beyond the money you can save. Think about the true cost of bad eating habits and obesity.
There are 2 things you don't want to leave to chance, your food and your exercise. Plan both and you are well on your way to being ready to get that New Year's Resolution to lose weight to finally be your reality. Plan your weekly menu and grocery shop once weekly, avoid going when you're hungry and utilize a list...then stick to it.
A Sample Grocery List of Staples:
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| Grace, Gold and Glory: My Leap of Faith is the story of Gabrielle Douglas, the little Olympian who stole America's heart at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
In the 2012 London Olympics, US gymnast Gabrielle Douglas stole hearts and flew high as the All-Around Gold Medal winner, as well as acting as a critical member of the US gold-medal-winning women gymnastics team. In this personal autobiography, Gabrielle tells her story of faith, perseverance, and determination, demonstrating you can reach your dreams if you let yourself soar.
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Go Get Grace, Gold & Glory: My Leap of Faith Here.About the Author
Gabrielle Douglas is a two-time Olympic gold medalist. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, she made history, becoming the first US gymnast to take home a team and an individual gold medal in the same Olympics. Gabrielle began her training at age six, and became the Virginia State Champion only two years later. When she was fourteen, she left her family in Virginia Beach to train with coach Liang Chow in Des Moines, Iowa. Under Chow's guidance, and with tremendous faith in God's plan for her, Gabrielle competed in the Olympic Trials and walked away with the only guaranteed spot on the team. Since her Olympic triumph, Gabrielle has used her platform to inspire millions with a powerful message: With hard work and persistence, any dream is possible. Visit her online at www.gabrielledouglas.com
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| Tony Horton of P90X fame faces off with the clown; American lives are at stake, Obesity must be defeated! |
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| How much activity do you have to take on to burn off that large fry? You can find out with a free membership at MyFitnessPal.com! |
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| Eating out offers challenges to your dietary goals, no matter the restaurant. Planning ahead and making informed decisions will help, regardless of the chain. For this weekend, avoid them all together! Can you? |
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| Connect with me at the fitter Fitter on facebook for motivation, support and interaction. |
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| Shakeology Chocolate Christmas Bark - how's that for festive? |
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| Connect with me on facebook for more information at the fitter Fitter |
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You'll dip into this one time and time again: Whatcha Gonna Do with That Duck?: And Other Provocations, 2006-2012 |
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| Weekend Challenge: the Wall Sit. How long can you hold it? |
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| Want Todd Durkin's book? Go get The Impact! Body Plan |
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| Retrieved from Muffintop less via facebook |
Source: muffintop less
"I often get asked by girls who have never eaten healthy or worked out before.. where to start! I totally get how overwhelming it can be! Here are some basic tips I have for those JUST starting out on a health and fitness journey! =)
Get rid of the junk food! This includes (but not limited to): regular and diet soda, cookies, chips, crackers, candy, white breads and pastas, fruit juice, sugary cereal, condiments like ketchup, mayo, ranch and other fattening/sugary dressings and marinades, fast food, frozen dinners and most packaged goods. Start making your own meals from wholesome lean proteins, veggies, fruit and healthy fats. Basically, eat as close to natural as possible!
Cut out the alcohol. It shuts down your metabolism, promotes fat storage and breaks down muscle tissue. It’s basically treated by the body as a toxin… If you’re serious about getting in shape, not drinking won’t be a problem.
Start exercising! The trick is to find something you enjoy so that you will actually DO IT. There are SO MANY options, some of which include: weight lifting, pilates, yoga, cross fit, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, powerlifting, olympic lifting, jogging, cycling, spin, zumba, interval training, jazzercise, jumping rope, dancing, running, hiking, mountain climbing, swimming… the list goes on!!
Develop patience and a positive attitude if you don’t already have them! You WILL have set-backs and losing weight/getting fit WILL take time. You will occasionally cheat on your diet, you will miss a workout, you will stumble, you will make mistakes… you’re human! Nothing worth having ever comes easily… if it WERE that easy, everyone would be in shape! Know that you are only a failure if you QUIT. So don’t quit! You will regret it in the long run!
Surround yourself with people who support you. There is nothing worse than having negative and/or jealous people around when you are trying to make a healthy, positive change to your life. There WILL be people you THOUGHT were your friends try to drag you back to your old, unhealthy ways. They might tease, taunt or grill you for your new habits. Some people can’t handle change. If you find that your healthy habits are being mocked or demeaned by those around you … ask yourself why your ‘friends’ would want you to go back to being unhealthy. Do they not understand the sudden change? If so, explain to them why you’re doing it… Or, are those friends just jealous? If so, CUT THEM OUT OF YOUR LIFE!
Plan ahead! If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Prepare your meals and workouts in advance. Always keep workout clothes, a water bottle and protein powder with a shaker cup in your car so you never have an excuse not to hit the gym. Always carry an apple, a serving of almonds in a ziploc baggy and a packet of tuna with you.. that way you never have an excuse to hit the vending machines or burger joint!
Set realistic goals and track your progress! Keep a journal log of your workouts, your food intake and your stats each week so you can track your progress easily! 1-2 pounds of weight loss per week is a reasonable and healthy goal (depending on your current weight). The scale is not always a good indication of your progress though! Numerous factors can affect the number that are unrelated to fat gain/loss. The mirror, pictures, the way your clothes fit and your measurements are better ways of tracking progress!
You can do anything you set your mind to. Believe in yourself, don’t give up and you will get there ♥
Want to lose weight the healthy way? Follow this fitblr then!"
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| Retrieved from http://urbanposer.blogspot.com/2012/03/raw-carrot-cake-balls-giveaway-upgrade.html
RAW Carrot Cake Balls (Dipped in RAW chocolate)
Grain Free/Gluten Free/Dairy Free/Vegan/RAW
2 Large carrots, peeled (about 1/2 a pound)
1 large tart apple, peeled and cored
1 1/4 cups dried shredded coconut
1/2 cup chopped up raisins or currants (chopping raisins can be sticky business)
3/4 cups finely chopped (with a few larger chunks) pecans or walnuts
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger (or fresh grated ginger to taste)
1/4 tsp nutmeg
pinch of salt
*3 Tbls RAW honey (palm sugar or agave for vegan)
*3 Tbls RAW nut butter (almond, pecan, walnut, cashew)
Juice from half a lime
Raw cocoa nibs for decoration
*Note: Depending on your pulp, you may need to use more or less honey/nut butter to get the desired texture. Go by feel.
1/4 cup coconut oil
2 Tbls raw honey
1/2 tsp vanilla
7 Tbls of raw cocoa (add another half Tbls for making a drizzle)
Directions:
Finely grate the carrots and apple, by hand or w/a food processor. Then press out as much juice as possible by using a fine sieve or strainer. Alternately, you can use a nut milk bag or cheese cloth to squeeze out the juice. Originally, I used my juicer for this recipe and they turned out pretty great. However, I have found that there is MUCH more flavor to the cake ball when I make the pulp by hand.
Add the rest of the ingredients, except the cocoa nibs to the carrot/apple pulp. Mix well.
Roll the dough into balls (about 1 Tbls worth of dough)
Chill the cake balls in the freezer for about 30 min.
While the cake balls are chilling prepare the chocolate...
Start with room temperature unrefined coconut oil (it's liquid point is around 76 degrees). In a small bowl, combine the liquefied coconut oil, vanilla, honey and cocoa. Whisk together until the chocolate is well combined, with no lumps. I like to let the chocolate rest for about 15 min or so to let the cocoa absorb well into the oil. Depending on the size of your cake balls and the amount you end up with in the end, you may need to double the dipping chocolate recipe. This amount is usually enough for about one dozen 2 inch round cake balls. Be sure to let the excess drip off before removing from the skewer.
Using a wood skewer or dipping fork, dip the frozen cake balls into the chocolate. Let some of the chocolate drip off than allow the chocolate to harden while you hold the stick (it will harden pretty fast), sprinkle a few cocoa nibs or nuts on the top of the cake ball before the top hardens. If you don't take the time to let some of the chocolate drip off you may not have enough chocolate to finish all the cake balls. They still taste great with a thick coating, but you will have to make extra chocolate sauce. It takes some practice to make your chocolate go far. If practice isn't your thing just make extra chocolate sauce.
Tip: it's common for the chocolate to crack slightly as it hardens. This can be reduced if you leave some space at the bottom of the cake ball without chocolate. That is often where the crack starts. However, if a crack does happen, it is VERY easy to cover it up when you drizzle the chocolate over it later. So don't stress out about that. Can't have chocolate? Don't worry. Just roll the cakes balls in shredded dried coconut or crushed nuts before chilling them.
The dipping chocolate I use for these cake balls is made out of three simple ingredients: coconut oil, raw cocoa and raw honey (and maybe a splash of vanilla). This makes it not only completely raw, but full of good healthy fats and antioxidants, as well as being free of refined sugars. For vegan friendly sweeteners try raw coconut nectar, raw yacon syrup or raw agave.
Also, instead of using a 'juicer' to make the pulp for this recipe (as I did in the old version), I made the juice pulp by hand. The result was MUCH more flavorful with a wonderful texture to boot! However, if you do decide to use your juicer, I recommend adding about 1/2 TBLS or so of the juice back into the pulp when making the cake balls.
For the chocolate drizzle, make the same chocolate recipe as above, but add 1/2-1 Tbls more of raw cocoa. This will make it a bit thicker. Using a spoon or a 'candy making' squeeze bottle (get it at any craft store) drizzle the chocolate in thin lines over the cake ball.
Cake balls should be kept in the freezer for best results. Take them out about 5 min before serving. They should be fine for up to 15 min before starting to soften too much. At that point, the coconut oil will become liquid (at around 76 degrees) and the chocolate will begin to melt.
I have also kept them in the fridge, producing a much softer cake ball. They taste great this way, the only downside is they DO melt in your hand as well as in your mouth.
Please visit The Urban Poser to view the original post and to check out her other recipes!
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| Go get "What to Say When You Talk to Your Self" |
