What you eat and how you feel

It occurs to me that what we eat has such an important bearing on how we feel...both mentally and physically. It seems the more we travel down the path of fitness and healthier lifestyle/nutrition, the more aware we become of how we react to the food we put into ourselves! Fitness expert Chalene Johnson, creater of Chalean Extreme, points out in her Chalean Extreme video that food is fuel. She urges us to regard food in this way so as to regain control over it.

If we give our bodies good fuel, we can go further, longer with less. If we give ourselves leaded fuel, we're going to weigh ourselves down....literally!! The more aware I become of my fuel, the more I can see the results of putting the wrong fuel into my system. Let me give you an example....yesterday, I took a car load of girls to watch a high school hockey game. We stopped for lunch at a Subway restaurant. After half of a 6 inch Turkey and Veggie sandwich, I was primed! I felt really, really good!! Fast forward three hours, riding high on a hockey victory, we drove through the golden arches and everyone got a Shamrock Shake. For the next 6 hours, I felt weighed down and "blah". My stomach hurt, the energy spiked and then dipped really low. It is sooooo important to be aware of what we're eating so we can see how we're feeling physically. There is a HUGE connection between the two!!!

Write down EVERYTHING you eat! Carry a journal with you. Even easier, register with an online tracking. fitday.com and caloriecount.com are two good resources to track your food. It is so much easier to keep track of the connection when you're writing down what you eat! Sometimes the act of writing down your food can stop you from eating the french fries, whopper or cinammon roll. When you reach that point, then you're REALLY starting to take control and owning your fitness journey!!

The psychological benefits of exercise

So I've been on this soapbox lately about the connection between mental health and physical health, and what should I happen to see....the video posted below! Take a couple of minutes to watch it!! When we exercise we are increasing the seratonin, dopamine and norepinephrine produced in the brain. These are the "happy" neurotransmitters. Exercise also releases endorphins...and who doesn't need an extra dose of those!!! Now, exercise is not a cure for depression but it IS one of the healthiest things we can do to improve our outlook on life! Keep pushing play everyone!!

Oh Canada!

This was posted on the Beachbody website...but bears repeating here!! If you live out of the country please read!!!

Though our Canadian neighbors love our products, their Customs agents don't allow products to enter their country if the packaging slip does not show the value of the shipment. In fact, they dislike them so much that they will return the product to our warehouse without notifying you. Gads! Unless you diligently follow up, you may never know if your customer received the goods you sent.

But there's good news! You can avoid any unnecessary returns with one teensy, weensy step.

If you are sending product anywhere beyond the Continental U.S., Alaska, and Hawaii, please do not check the "Check to hide price on receipt" button (located in the top box of Your Shopping Cart).

Checking this box suppresses the value on the packaging slip and your poor package will make a fast round-trip back to the warehouse.
So simple it's hardly even worth numbering, eh?

Wait, there's more. This applies to ALL INTERNATIONAL shipments, including Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Dominican Republic, Guam, North Pole, Siberia (also the metaphorical Siberia), and, well, you get the picture. So remember: do not check that little box if you want your shipment to reach beyond our borders.

Mental Health-Physical Health Connection

I posted this on the Beachbody forums but thought it was worth posting on this site as well. This is really, really a big piece of the puzzle! We really, really have to "in your gut" GET this concept of how important it is to be physically active! I've been having a huge AHA over the last couple of days. In the workout yesterday, Chalene said something about the connection between mental health and physical health (working out). When she said that something *sort of* clicked in my brain. I say *sort of* because I didn't hear the angels singing and see streams of light on this AHA moment. What DID happen is Chalene's words stewed and rattled around in my brain for awhile. As I drove my goalie girl to her hockey game (which they won btw!!), I popped in the motivation CD that comes with Chalene Extreme and she talked about the mental health/physical health connection again. That's when I looked back to the times in the past, and more specifically on this journey I've started, to really get a handle on when I've felt down. The really great thing about WOWY is that you can actually see when you've worked out and when you've missed.And, of course, when I looked over my last 8 months, the periods of time when I've been low have ALWAYS been when I slacked on the workouts!! So without trying to pontificate, I'd like to offer a recommendation to anyone on this journey...and I'm talking from brand new 'I just started working out' to those of you who are veteran hard bods....start a journal!!! That was the way I could look back on these months to see where I was mentally. I took the time to compare it to the WOWY calendar to see the trends. (I'm going to add a one line summary of my workout to my journal entries to make this easier) So this continues to rattle in brain....and my thoughts go in lots of different directions on this but they really do center on the FACT that we are happier people when we are working out!! Does anyone see the angels singing and the lights coming down from heaven?!!??!!?

Chalean Extreme

Beachbody Products

Protein is SO important

Well, once again, we see how important it is to make sure we're getting enough protein in our diets. I think we're all past the Atkins diet where we saw people scooping cheese off their pizza and talking about their health....come on, you know what I'm talkin' about!!

We can see that adding protein and the RIGHT carbs (whole grains, veggies, fruits) and cutting down on the BAD carbs (processed sugar, HFCS, white flour) makes a difference. The exciting thing in the video is that we now have the studies to back up how the use of the protein meal replacement can actually enhance your weight-loss. How cool is that!!

Sheryl Crow is a P90X fan!!

Another celebrity has discovered the power of the "X." From David Akers, kicker for the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles, to Jason Scheff, one of our very own Coaches and lead singer of Chicago, to rocker Sheryl Crow, this program is hotter than ever. Click here to read the latest scoop, or watch the interview caught on the red carpet at last night's Grammys. Could it be P90X's popularity is growing throughout the high-profile sports and entertainment industries? All we can say to that is, Bring It!

Mixing it up!

Well I tried something new and different...for me, that is! I mixed workouts. I did the p90x AND Turbo Jam. *Gasp* I tend to be somewhat concrete sequential...okay, I'll admit it...I'm pretty anal retentive. If the directions say "stir 4 times" that is what you need to do! If the workout directions say "Legs and Back/Ab Ripper X"....well you get the picture!

So this morning, I got done with Legs and Back. I was about to put in the Ab Ripper when it occurred to me that I was in a jazzy, funky mood. So I decided to put AbJam instead. I certainly felt like I got a good ab workout. But even more importantly....I feel like I hit a breakthrough on my fitness. I can recognize what I need from a workout and substitute where needed!

Now, having said this, I absolutlely believe that these programs work. And anyone who is starting out on a program can absolutely go with what they write and tell us to do...TRUST THE SYSTEM. It will work!! And it does.

But how nice to be able to indulge my funky jazzy mood!!

Let's get the party started! (Part 1)

Well, here goes....my first blog. How did I end up here...a Beachbody coach?!!?

In June of 2008 I found myself standing in front of a mirror looking at myself critically. A couple of things happened around the same time to bring there. First, my oldest child graduated from high school. After 18 years of a being Momma Bird, the first was getting ready to fly! There's something about children reaching milestones that make us examine our own selves.

Second, a friend asked me to run with her. I couldn't even make it 1/4 mile. I sat down and literally cried.

Third, the results of the annual trip to the doctor came back. I was told that that "signs of aging" were creeping up on me. My blood pressure was higher than normal. My cholesteral was over 200. The bad cholesteral was high. My glucose was higher than normal too. All things "to be watched". And all things completely and totally preventable!

Sometimes God just has to knock me over the head to get my attention. If the above hadn't done a good enough job, I found myself watching an infomercial for Turbo Jam. It looked fun! I ordered it and, the rest, as they say is history!!

I write more about this crazy journey as we go, but this was the place....the crossroads, so to speak, where I began my journey.

It was the first step!!! We all have them. Remember them and yes, even celebrate the start of the journey!