NO MORE EXCUSES!!!

No one ever said losing weight would be easy.  It takes a lot of hard work, dedication, and commitment, but it IS possible at any age.

Too many people use too many excuses why getting healthier just isn't a priority for them right now.

Here are some of the top excuses:

(1) I'M TOO BUSY--
Yes, we are ALL busy, but with a little planning, you can eat healthy and find time for exercise. Plan your meals and snacks in advance.  Many people do batch-cooking where they cook once a week and freeze the meals.  When you get bags of foods, go ahead as soon as you get home from the store and divide the food up into correct portion sizes.  Keep healthy foods, such as fruits, on hand for quick snacks.  For exercise, you have to SCHEDULE  it.  Put it on your calendar like you would any other appointment and stick to it, even if it means getting up a little earlier or staying up a little later at night.  YOU are worth it.  Exercise helps you to handle tasks and stress better.  During your exercise time, really focus on what you are doing.  Make the time count.  This is YOUR time to for self-improvement.

(2) HEALTHY FOOD IS TOO EXPENSIVE--
All food has gotten pricey.  It's just a matter of priority.  Buy frozen fruits and vegetables.  Usually these are cheaper and you don't have to worry about them going bad.  Check out your local farmer's market for seasonal items.  Use coupons to save you money.  Add Shakeology into your diet.  At $3-$4 a serving, you can't find a cheaper meal that has all your daily servings of fruits, vegetables, vitamins, and minerals.  It's the way to go.

(3) DIETS MAKE ME HUNGRY-- 
If your diet is making you hungry, it's probably not a good diet. Cutting calories the healthy way--trimming portions from meals, skipping caloric beverages, and putting the brakes on mindless eating--should not leave your belly rumbling. Learn to listen to your body's hunger signals to determine if you really need to eat or are just bored. Eat approximately every 2 1/2-3 hours. This keeps you from being starved and overeating and also keeps your metabolism revved up.

(4) I DON'T HAVE TIME TO COOK --
You don't have time not to cook. . Twenty minutes of cooking healthy meals will save you excess calories you'd be taking in from oversized restaurant portions and time on the treadmill working that off.

Studies show that people who cook meals at home tend to eat more healthfully and weigh less than those who don't. Use these healthy packaged foods to cut down on kitchen time and arm yourself with the proper resources, such as a healthy cookbook for fast meals or easy recipes from your favorite Web site.  There are tons of sites and recipes out there for fast, healthy meals you can prepare to eat.

(5) EXERCISE MAKES ME TOO TIRED--
That is totally FALSE!! Exercise creates ENERGY!!! The more energy you have, the more you'll be able to get done every day.  Actually, the more you exercise, the more you WANT to exercise!! Squeeze in some kind of movement whenever you can throughout the day to give your body that energy boost.
You recharge your body through food, sleep, and exercise. Movement creates energy. It gets your heart pumping, blood pumping, cleans out toxins, and gets your engine started. It also gets confidence levels up so you feel better about yourself.

(6) I ALWAYS GAIN THE WEIGHT BACK--
You can't diet.  It has to be a lifestyle change.  When you diet, you will gain the weight back as soon as your diet is over. Make changes in your diet, you can stick with. Keep track of what you are putting in your body. Allow yourself the occasional "cheat meal" not a "cheat day." Never skip breakfast. Be consistent with your strongest healthy habits.  Be prepared for your weaknesses by having healthy snacks on-hand.


No more excuses!  Decide to make the changes you know you need to make, Commit to a plan of action.  You will succeed if you stick to it. 

Please let me know how I can help you.  Feel free to contact me at nataliewelch@cebridge.net or on My Facebook Page

Cut Your Risk for Developing Cancer

Even though, cancer can simply be contributed to genetics.  Environmental factors may trigger cancerous cells to form.  It's important that we live the healthiest lifestyle possible in order to prevent illnesses, especially cancer. The American Cancer Society recommends a diet high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean protein.

Here are small lifestyle changes you can make today that may help lower your risk of developing cancer in the future:

• Limit or avoid fried foods.
• Choose whole grains over refined-flour products.
• Cut down on sweets.
• Avoid fatty meats and poultry with the skin on.
• Eat a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids from such foods as salmon and other-cold water fish and olive oil.
• Limit consumption of alcoholic beverages to no more than one drink a day if you’re a woman or two if you’re a man.
• Quit smoking.
• Exercise regularly to maintain a healthy weight.

Healthy Living Tip #2

Add Fish and Omega-3 Fatty Acids to Your Diet

The AHA recommends a serving of fish two times per week.


Besides being a good source of protein and a food relatively low in the bad type of dietary fat called saturated fat, fish has omega-3 fatty acids -- which have been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease.

Fatty fish such as mackerel, lake trout, herring, sardines, albacore tuna, and salmon, are rich in two kinds of omega-3 fatty acids: eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).

Foods such as tofu, soybeans, canola, walnuts, flaxseed, and their oils contain alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), which convert to omega-3 in the body. Even though the benefits of ALA are controversial, the AHA still recommends foods containing it as part of a healthy diet.

In addition to their heart-health benefits, there is some evidence that omega-3 fatty acids may also soothe an overactive immune system.  Even though this benefit is still being studied, she says there appears to be a link between getting more omega-3s in your diet and reducing allergies, asthma, eczema, and autoimmune disorders.

Tips taken from http://www.webmd.com/

Healthy Living Tip #1

 Eat Breakfast Every Morning

Breakfast eaters are champions of good health. Research shows people who have a morning meal tend to take in more vitamins and minerals, and less fat and cholesterol. The result is often a leaner body, lower cholesterol count, and less chance of overeating.

"That one act [of eating breakfast] seems to make a difference in people's overall weight," says Melinda Johnson, RD, a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association (ADA). She says breakfast can hold off hunger pangs until lunchtime and make high-calorie vending machine options less enticing.

Not only that, researchers at the 2003 American Heart Association conference reported that breakfast eaters are significantly less likely to be obese and get diabetes compared with nonbreakfast eaters.

Another study in the International Journal of Food Science and Nutrition showed that people who consumed breakfast cereal every day reported feeling better both physically and mentally than those who rarely ate cereal in the morning.

For kids, breakfast appears to enhance alertness, attention, and performance on standardized achievement tests, reports the ADA.

To get the full benefits of breakfast, the Mayo Clinic recommends a meal with carbohydrates, protein, and a small amount of fat. They say that because no single food gives you all of the nutrients you need, eating a variety of foods is essential to good health.

Yet, even with so much scientific support that breakfast does the body good; many people still make excuses not to eat in the morning. They include not having enough time and not feeling hungry. For these people, Johnson suggests tailoring breakfast to the day.

**Tips taken from http://www.webmd.com/**

So how do you make time for breakfast?  PLAN AHEAD 
I normally eat an egg and slice of cheese on a sandwich round or bagel thin along with some fruit.  This is very filling.  I have found that cereals do not keep me full.  Sometimes, I will just have some Shakeology for breakfast instead of lunch.

SO WHAT DO YOU EAT FOR BREAKFAST? 

Metabolism Boosters

These 5 foods will keep your metabolism revved up.  (found in Shape magazine March 2011)

1.  TUNA-It has omega 3-fatty acides, which stimulate the production of leptin, a hormone that increasese feelings of fullness.

2.  GRAPEFRUIT- It contains naringenin, an antioxidant that helps your body use insulin more efficiently, keeping your blood sugar in check and improving calorie burn. (It's too bad I don't like grapefruit!)

3.  ROLLED OATS-The whole grains take more energy to digest so your body burns more callories when you eat them.

4.  GREEN TEA-It contains epigallocatechin which stimulates the nervous system without elevating your heart rate.  Reports show that people who drank green tea and exercised regularly burned more calories than those who sweated but didn't drink green tea.

5.  HOT PEPPERS-They contain capsaicin which ups your calorie burn.  A spicy meal can increase your metabolism by up to 25% for 3 hours after you've eaten it.

Chalean Extreme

I am recommitting to doing another round of Chalean Extreme beginning tomorrow, Jan. 31.

Chalean Extreme is a strength building program that is based on a 90 day rotation.  There is the Burn Phase, the Push Phase, and the Lean Phase.  Each phase is 30 days. There are cardio workouts included to do on days you won't be using the weights. Here is a copy of the  Workout Calendar.  I've done this workout before and lost lots of inches.  I'm going to do this program again with the hopes of not only toning and strengthening, but to get up to using some heavier weights. If you don't have weights to use, you can use the resistance bands and still get a lot of benefits.  The bands are not easy!  The whole philosophy behind this program is that in order to burn fat, you must build muscle! 

Here is a breakdown of the schedule for each workout. ..


ChaLEAN Extreme Workouts:
(times are rounded up or down by a few seconds...)

Burn Circuit 1 - 36:00 min.
Burn Circuit 2 - 38:00 min.
Burn Circuit 3 - 32:30 min.

Push Circuit 1 - 33:00 min.
Push Circuit 2 - 35:00 min.
Push Circuit 3 - 35:00 min.

Lean Circuit 1 - 44:00 min.
Lean Circuit 2 - 40:00 min.
Lean Circuit 3 - 39:00 min.

Burn it Off - 27:00 min.
Recharge - 21:00 min.
Burn Intervals - 46:00 min.
Ab Burner - 10:30 min.
Extreme Abs - 16:30 min.

YOU CAN SEE THAT THESE WORKOUTS DON'T REQUIRE AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF TIME!

Here is a preview of Chalene Extreme...



If you are interested in trying it out, you can order from My Beachbody Website

I will be blogging each week about how it is going, so stay tuned.  I would love for others to join me and let's do this together.

~Natalie

My Favorite Shakeology Recipe

Just thought I would share my all-time favorite Shakeology recipe.  I absolutely love this stuff and find myself craving it!!

So here it goes...

• 1 scoop chocolate Shakeology
• 1-1 1/2 c of water
• 3/4 c almond milk
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp peanut butter (optional)
• 1 banana (optional)
• ice

I mix all this up in the blender then I add ice and mix it again until it's the consistency of a thick milk shake.  It makes a whole blender full and fills you up. 

What are the Benefits?

• increased energy
• reduced cravings
• controlled appetite
• improved digestive system
• lose weight
• improved skin, hair, nails
• lowers cholesterol

What Do the Doctors Say about Shakeology?








Check out My Shakeology Website to see success stories and to find out more about Shakeology.

Feel free to ask me questions or for more information about ordering.

A Balanced Diet

                                                The Basics of a Balanced Diet


You’ve heard the term before and know how important it is. But what exactly makes a diet balanced? For starters, a balanced diet means regularly eating a wide variety of nutritious foods, such as lean protein, whole grains, fruits, vegetables, beans and legumes, low-fat dairy, and healthy, unsaturated fats. Eating a balanced diet not only helps improve your overall health, but it can also help you lose weight faster and keep it off. Here’s a breakdown of foods and nutrients you should enjoy for a balanced diet.


Lean Protein: Lean protein is necessary for building strong muscles and regulating your metabolism. It also slows the speed of digestion, helping you to feel fuller longer. You can get lean protein from a variety of sources, including beans and legumes, eggs and soy products, low-fat dairy products, poultry, seafood, and lean cuts of meat.

Low-Fat Dairy: Low-fat dairy products contain calcium, vitamins A, D, B12, and riboflavin. Choose reduced-fat and fat-free dairy, such as milk and yogurt, and avoiding the full-fat varieties.

Fats: Fats often get a bad rap when it comes to dieting, but not all fats are bad for you. “Good” fats, also known as monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, have been shown to help prevent heart disease and lower cholesterol levels when substituted for saturated fats in the diet. Excellent sources of “good” fats are extra-virgin olive oil, canola oil, avocado, nuts, and omega-3-rich fish and shellfish.

Whole Grains: Whole grains contain important nutrients like fiber, which helps slow down digestion, stabilize blood-sugar levels, and ward off hunger and cravings. Studies show that eating whole grains instead of refined grains can help to lower total cholesterol, LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, and dangerously high triglyceride and insulin levels. Be sure to check that the label says "100% whole wheat" or "whole grain" and choose products that contain 3 grams of sugar or less per serving and have no trans fats.

 Vegetables: Packed with a wealth of nutrients, including vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, vegetables have been shown to help prevent cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. Enjoy vegetables of all colors, such as tomatoes, eggplant, squash, and kale.

Fruits: Fruits are just as healthy as they are delicious. Like vegetables, fruits are chock-full of health-boosting nutrients, including vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber. Blueberries, blackberries plums, oranges, and red grapes are some examples of antioxidant-rich fruits to include in your diet.

Fiber: There are two types of fiber — soluble and insoluble. Soluble fiber helps slow the rate of digestion and may also help lower cholesterol. Insoluble fiber improves bowel function and may help protect against intestinal disease. Moreover, fiber can help you feel fuller and more satisfied for a longer period of time. Good sources of fiber include whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and beans and legumes.

Credit given to The South Beach Diet: Daily Dish

If you have any questions or need any help with your diet, nutrition, or exercise needs, please contact me at nataliewelch@cebridge.net or my Facebook page at www.facebook.com/natalierwelch