Archives April 2015

Nobody wants to eat dirty. It just sounds gross. But if you’re not eating clean, that’s what’s going on. So you may be wondering what it takes to take the dirt out of your diet and wash it off so you can dine on the clean diet you deserve. Well, wonder no more.

Below, you’ll find out what exactly clean eating is and what you can do to make your diet a little bit cleaner.

Keeping It Clean

First things first. What is it? If clean eating is completely foreign to you or you’ve only heard about it in passing or seen it on the cover of a magazine, here is a quick rundown of what clean eating is all about.

Clean eating is nothing more than knowing where your food comes from. Well, that’s where it starts at least. Because if all you do is know what factory your food is made in, you’re not eating clean. The heart of clean eating is knowing where your food comes from, how it gets to you, and taking the necessary steps to only eat those things that are in their most natural and therefore healthy state.

In other words, eating clean means you’ll be eating a lot of whole foods, a.k.a. “real foods,” which are either not processed at all or have undergone very little processing. Thanks to the desire to prolong shelf life of foods, many foods are so crammed with preservatives and are so processed they barely resemble their original state. Clean eating doesn’t allow such foods in your system.

What It Isn’t

While clean eating is great, there are some things it is not. To begin, clean eating is not easy. A century ago, it was much easier. However, with advances in food preservation, food processing became more and more common. Today, finding enough unprocessed food to live off of is no easy task. Heading to your local farmers’ market is a great way to start making it happen, and now that the warm weather is upon is, it makes that task much easier.

It’s also not about going raw. Cooking your food is fine if you’re eating clean. All you’ve got to do is make sure the food you cook is as close to its original state as possible. As long as you’re not prepping your food in a way that will keep it edible for decades to come, you’re still eating clean.

Finally, it’s not about cutting certain food groups from your diet. While eating clean will help you lose weight and feel better, you won’t get the perks by cutting out fats or desserts. You’ll get the perks by simply eating clean.

How to Do It

If you want to become part of the clean eating movement, here’s some good news: it’s delicious.

With clean eating, you’ll be eating the good stuff: fats, protein, and carbohydrates. You’ll also probably be eating more often than the traditional three meals each day. Instead, you’ll enjoy five or six smaller meals.

As you eat, you’ll want to avoid some fats. Namely, you’ll want to keep away from saturated fats. You also want to prevent yourself from overdoing it on salt. Instead, train your pallet to appreciate the flavor of food without all the added salt and sugar that is so common in processed foods.

Eating clean, coupled with challenging exercise, is the formula for a toned, lean body — so guarantee your results by teaming up with me.

Watch a documentary about people who lift weights and you’ll likely be watching some of the world’s elite body builders hone their physique to abnormal largeness. Take a peek into your local gym and you’ll see something quite different. Sure, there may be a handful of body builders there, but they’re lifting right next to an accountant, a store clerk, and a retiree. That’s because all these people realize one thing: lifting weights is for everyone.

But is weight lifting really for you? Here are nine reasons the answer is ‘Yes!’

#1: You Get Happy

Yes, exercise of any kind gets the happy chemicals running through your body, but lifting weights seems to have an advantage on your happy level. Why? Lots of reasons that are listed below.

#2: You’re More Useful

You were born with a great affinity to do something. You may be gifted to argue cases in court, cook an amazing meal, or keep cool while caring for a dozen 5-year-olds. Lifting weights helps you do each of them better. On top of that, it gives you the capacity to lend a helping hand when someone is struggling to lift a heavy box or open a stuck door.

Suddenly, you’re not stuck waiting for help when a demanding task is put in front of you. Instead, you bend at the knees and get to work.

#3: You Get Focused

If you’ve ever struggled with trying to figure out what to do at the gym, I’m here to help. That includes lifting weights. As your strength and the amount of weight you lift increase, intense focus is required to avoid injury. This focus in the gym—if you let it—will carry over into your non-gym activities.

#4: Your Body

Lifting weights does so much for your physique. Push yourself hard enough and your body will amaze you constantly. But your physique isn’t the only beneficiary of weight lifting. It also helps your body fend off illnesses and injury by helping you shed unwanted pounds, lowering your blood pressure, improving your heart function, and more.

#5: You Do the Impossible

When you start lifting weights, you can’t imagine lifting any more than you do in your first session. Three weeks later, you’ve already passed the impossible mark. By doing this over and over, you pick up a mental toughness and confidence that will aid you in all areas of life.

#6: You Eat Better

Have you been struggling to keep your daily calorie count down? Nothing helps you stay in line better than working out. Your regular weight-lifting routine makes you more aware of what you put in your body, making it easier to say “No” to those temptations that are always around the corner.

#7: Your Bones Get Stronger

While the first thing you may notice after lifting weights is stronger muscles, your bones are also secretly gaining strength at the same time. Since the risk of osteoporosis and broken bones only increases as you age, guarding against them with weight lifting only makes sense!

#8: Your Balance Improves

Staying on your feet may not be an issue today, but as you age, it will become one of your top priorities. This is especially true considering how often elderly people lose their balance and wind up with life-altering broken bones. Lifting weights at any age will give you a balance boost that will last throughout your life.

#9: Your Brain Function Increases

Research has proven that lifting weights actually has the power to improve your brain’s ability to do its job.

Reach your fitness potential faster by coupling your good diet with a challenging exercise program. I’m here to motivate, instruct and encourage you to reach your goal.

Call or email today to get started on a fitness program that will truly improve your quality of life.