What is Better?

realistic?  yes, all it takes is the development of new habits.

Intensity or moderation.  Longer or shorter duration.  More protein less carbs.  Less protein more carbs.  No fat.  No sugar.  No dairy.  No meat.  No life.

Regarding shorter vs. longer workouts, I am of the mind to say any workout is better than none.  Efficient programming is better than duration.  If you are pinched for time, do a harder, quicker workout targeting the major muscle groups (chest, lats, glutes, hamstrings, quads and abs) is great.  When you need to be a bit more careful due to injuries or limitations, go a bit longer and moderate your movement.

Regarding carbs, proteins and fats:  be careful not to delude yourself into thinking one type of diet is the answer to your weight issues.  ("I'm going to eat vegan now because I hear it is the best for you and I want to lose weight.")  The key is to eat as organic, natural and whole as possible and to eat LESS than you are eating now.  Most everyone I train says, "I really don't eat that much."  Well, they are eating more than their body needs if they are overweight.  If you want to weigh less, you must eat less even if you exercise regularly.  Even if you exercise a whole lot!  If you are overweight, it doesn't matter what else you do, you have to eat less.  I have now said that three times, so I hope it sinks in.  I have to repeat this to myself for about a month before I truly get it.

I realize there are some conditions that make it very difficult to metabolize calories correctly and one can still be over weight while consuming minimal calories.  But those cases are not common and most likely you do not have a medical condition that makes you gain weight even though you hardly eat.  (If you truly think you have a medical condition, consult with your physician to get the correct tests.)

Once again, the tried and true habits that work:

WRITE IT ALL DOWN
NO EXCUSES:  WORKOUT!

I want to get into great shape!

I have been challenged to get off my butt and write!  A person close to me called and said, "please tell me what to do!  I want to get into really good shape, but I have a busy schedule and feel overwhelmed at all of the diet and exercise advice.  Where do I start?  What should I do?"

Let me make this easy on you and me.  If I allow myself to simply write without worrying about grammar and typos, I will be most inclined to stay on track and give you regular posts.  Huh?  This sounds a bit like getting in shape.  It is the small and doable tasks that keep us moving forward.  Trying to be perfect is no good when it comes to making changes!  Let's start with the basics:

1.  Stop eating junk!  Start with fast foods and sugar filled drinks.  Limit alcohol to one (tops two if your a guy) drinks per day.  Avoid deserts and candy as much as possible.

2.  Get moving!  When in doubt, do one of my videos http://youtu.be/C_nY10yaHeo.

I will be adding some new exercises after I teach my class this morning.  I need to get moving.  See you soon!

Imagine That

Now I had thought about her before I left to Nashville.  "We live in this darling little town just out of Nashville.  My neighbors are such and such and so and so (not their real names) country music stars.  I am now running my own business, can you believe it?"

Annette, a beautiful stay-at-home mom, had been a training client and a friend for close to ten years before she, her husband and four kids moved away a few years ago.  I had heard through the grapevine that she had opened a business and "Sweet Ce Ce's" was doing gangbusters.

You might imagine how blown away I was when I happened upon "Sweet Ce Ce's" practically next door to the John Lennon art show in the little town of Franklin.  "Is Annette, I mean Ce Ce here?"  I asked the impeccable employee behind the immaculate counter of one of the most comprehensive self serve yogurt and goodies shop I have ever seen!

Julie, the employee, texted Ce Ce and within a few minutes I received a call.  "Where the *@#* are you?"  Small world we live in, really.

Yes, this is how Ce Ce looks after staying up all night  with her daughter's prom friends for an over-nighter!

The show was crazy as we were the main attraction for an annual street fair that weekend.  We had a mob within our walls and a mob waiting outside for twelve hours straight.  Finally on Sunday it rained and when we opened our doors, we had just a roomful of John Lennon fans.  Ce Ce (aka Annette) came in early and we hugged and poured out as much catch-up as we could in fifteen minutes.

When Ce Ce used to train with me she was pretty convinced that her best talents and strengths resided in her dedication to her family via the domestic route.  Her ambition was to raise healthy children and take care of her home while her husband brought home the bacon.  But, as the recession loomed over their heads, California became too much a financial burden.  Her choice to open a "Sweet Ce Ce's" had much more to do with her love for sweets and a mission to create financial freedom.

After only a year in business, Ce Ce had been written up in People and other national tabloids.  Just take a look at what this amazing woman accomplished in a few short years!  www.sweetceces.com

Oh, and by the way, such and such and so and so are regulars at "Sweet Ce Ce's".   Now they have sold franchises and there are twenty-six stores with another twenty in the works.  I have no doubt that most of you will find yourself in a Ce Ce's one day.

The crowds came in spite of the rain.  After all, some of these folks came from neighboring Alabama as their home was leveled by the tornadoes last week and they were in need of some "Instant Karma" and a little positive energy.   I think it is safe to say that survivors believe that when the sh*t hits the fan, you turn the fan off and get moving in a new direction.

What can you accomplish with a new attitude and a lot of hard work?  What is your passion?  What is holding you back from moving forward?

To Take Drugs or Not to Take Drugs

I flew to Franklin, TN last Thursday for another John Lennon art show. Convinced my homeopathic and naturuapathic remedies would have me in the pink by the time my flight took off, I blew off LS's suggestion to have my doctor prescribe antibiotics just in case I got a respiratory infection  from this hateful bug. "I'll be fine!". I laughed with certainty.

Ha ha.  My laugh sounded like an emphysema victim on her last leg.  Do sinus infections spread to your lungs?

There is nothing worse than blowing copious amounts of yuck from your nose in a packed airplane.  People look at you like you're a Leper.

 "Allergies", I mumbled to the woman on my left as the man on my right pulled his intrusive elbow away from the armrest. Dozens of wadded cocktail napkins later I contorted my body to rummage through my smaller carry on under the seat in front of me to retrieve a capsule of Advil Cold and Sinus and a few snorts of Nostrella.

What do you do when you have no choice but to ignore a raging respiratory infection and work a room packed with people from ten in the morning until ten at night?  You decide to deal with it later, that's what.  And you take drugs to abate symptoms long enough to finally collapse upon the hotel bed only to suffocate from nasal congestion in the middle of the night.

On my drive back from the airport yesterday I stopped at Walgreen's to buy more Advil cold and sinus and then called my doctor for a Z Pack.  I had Randy pick it up so that by the time I was home, I could start my dosage.  I'm not there yet, but I am beginning to feel like I may live to see another day.

How do people deal with repeated sinus infections?  I am telling you I will never ever let myself get this close to an infection again.  If I even think I am coming close to a sinus anything, I am calling my doctor and taking whatever I am prescribed.  Maybe sinus infections are like poison oak, once you get a really bad one, you become immune.

On  happier note, something really fantastic happened while at this show.  I will tell you, it is a small world.  You won't believe who I saw.... (next post)

13 days later...

I am still alive!  Wow, I used to brag how I rarely got sick, but when I did, I would be the first getting over it.  Not this time.  I have been humbled!

Now on my second week with an awful head cold, I am due to leave to Nashville for another John Lennon art show.  It will be held at the Franklin Art Fair and we are the featured main event.  I would love to travel with a clear head, but I guess I have been really lucky all these years and this time is an exception to the rule!

OK, I must confess:  I have been completely alcohol free for a month.  Yes a month and I want to say, I do not miss it.

Do not get me wrong! I have never been the kind of person to think drinking alcohol was "bad" for you and, in fact, have a reputation as a trainer to be very lenient with alcohol.  Well, I kind of had to be, after all, I would be a hypocrite to suggest to a client to give up something I wouldn't.

This is the fuel source now.  It's just water!

All the power just seemed to fizzle from my nightly glass of wine or vodka/ soda with a squeeze one day.  I had just gotten back from Sarasota, Florida and I became obsessed with trying to lighten up our monthly expenses.  (Those boys in college, you know!)  My husband and I decided to turn our pool into a self-sustaining pond, complete with fish and lily pads.  Then the sun came out and my energy escalated and the next thing we knew our vegetable garden was planted.  Without my even realizing it, I had not had my nightly fix!  Was it because my stress level went down?  Was it because my husband decided he didn't want to drink anymore?

Whatever my reasons doesn't matter much to me.  I have had my share and if I should want to have a drink in the future, so what?  But for now, this feels really good!  Oh, and I don't have that monkey on my back saying, "Well, you drank alcohol and it depletes your vitamin C, so that is why you got this cold so intensely!"

No, I just got a bad cold.  So what?

"Purge, Organize, Beautify"

That is my mantra when I am stuck in some area of my life.  It is a simple formula for moving forward and making progress, but in the case of this being about making fitness (and lets face facts, appearance) changes, this mantra is especially effective!  Don't believe me?  Just try it!  All you have to do is repeat the mantra when you are feeling like you are not making progress.  Then actually do as you say!

First word is purge and it is one of the most important of the three, really.  The word has gotten some bad rap lately, but the truth is, in order to bring in something "new" in your life, you must make room for it.  Because of the very nature of weight loss, losing those energy blocking piles of stuff we accumulate over time, is powerful medicine!

To purge the piles of dated offers, correspondence and magazines, whose presence only seems to stress you, not comfort you, is cathartic and transformational!  Finish preparing or paying bills that have sat unopened on your desk.  Get rid of those things around you that only take up valuable space and feel your energy flow!  Start slow, but continue throughout your life to make room for the new!  (I could write an entire book on this subject.  And will continue to touch on it throughout my life as a blogger, but for now I am just going to outline this strategy for body changing success.)

Second word is organize and for those that know me know I use this word a lot when discussing strategies for weight loss and fitness increases.  You are your best when you have organized even the most basic areas of your life.  So, after purging, organize the valuable and important stuff left in your domain.  You don't have to be Suzy Secretary, just give it your best shot and leave it alone!

The areas that most affect our moods when we are working on body changes is:  the kitchen, office, bedroom, closet, bathroom and car.  Get these areas updated and easy to maneuver around and within them and you will be more empowered to persevere and stay the course.

The third word is beautify and let me tell you, life is about beauty so you have no choice but to create it whenever you can.  Revamp your bookcase and store the extra books, placing one or two interesting objects in the open space.  Hang your art in new locations.  Indulge in new bedding or candles for a softer more relaxed bedroom.

But nothing beats what happens to you when you beautify YOU!  Taking the time for your appearance is by and large the single most powerful strategy of all.  To take care to put yourself together, even if it just clean skin and a pony tail with jeans and a t-shirt, you can take the extra time to be polished and feel your value and confidence exude!

It was time to beautify!  Help, Karen!!  I need to feel young and fresh again.  Can yo help me?

I needed a little pick-me-up last week and saw my Esthetician friend and owner of Hello Beautiful Skin Clinic, who thought I'd be a good candidate for an Opulence Infusion treatment.  all I can say is I am hooked!  After the first treatment my husband said immediately after seeing me, "OMG! Your skin looks amazing!"  Seriously, he said this, like that.  That is my before photo of my face.  Next week you will get the after and let me know what you think!

Stay tuned!!

"I Am Afraid I'll Fail"

"Fear is the dungeon of the mind into which it runs and hides and seeks seclusion.  Fear brings on superstition and superstition is the dagger with which hypocrisy assassinates the soul."  -Philosopher

Out in front of my house, Helen was willing to play as a part of her workout.  She said, "What the heck!" as neighbors walked by.  Here she is balancing on one leg as she bends to pick her "marker".  (No fear.)

The only man (woman) who makes no mistakes is the man who never does anything.  Don't be afraid of mistakes, providing you don't make the same one twice."  -Theodore Roosevelt


"Perfection is the scariest of all flaws."  - Debra Devincenzi

Helen said she was never able to keep a hula hoop going, but tried it several times until she got it!

Yes, I came up with that one!  I love it and it is so true.  If we have nothing else, we have hope, right?  If you believe you can make health improvements, you will.

Jumping rope can burn more calories than running....so can hula hoop!  Try it!

Just, get away from your computer for a few minutes right now.  Go for a fast walk, bound up stairs, do some yoga, whip out some well performed push-ups or crunches.

Or go play!