Sugar Free 1st week

I have a facebook page for a Sugar Free January, so if you want to jump in and become a fan, you can start now to "Take Control of your health". There are many articles and reasons why it is a very good choice to take sugar out of your diet. My reason was because I am a sweets girl, I love anything sweet, and because of December and all the TREATS around, I allowed myself to have more. We all know we start to get to a point where we FEEL like we need something with sugar in it EVERY DAY.
I personally can not image my life without sugar, but I also know that we can form better habits, and by taking sugar out for 30 days, we can form a habit. By forming new habits, we will be able to re focus, and eat sugar in moderation like we should. We will start making better decisions about how sugar makes us feel, and we will be able to make better choices. I believe we are just making a step in shaping our bodies and feeling better about our appearance. Here are some things that have helped me stay off of sugar this week:

* protein smoothies-- add blueberries, natural sweetners, strawberries, bananas, spinach, kale, kiwi, ect. Each day I have one an hour before and/or after my workouts.

*a hearty breakfast- cut up as many veggies as you can and add it with 1 egg, and 1 egg white. If you want something sweet for breakfast, cook up 1 egg, and 1 egg white, and add in some oatmeal, sprinkle some cinnamon. Top it with apple butter, or applesauce. A great hearty bowl of oatmeal with berries is delicious also. Do NOT skip on Breakfast!

*FRUIT- a perfect crunchy, and cold apple is perfect to tame those sugar cravings

*Water- Don't forget to drink lots of it!

*Modify- If you need to eat sweets, make one of your favorite recipes and add truvia all natural sweetner instead of the sugar. It's more expensive than sugar, but I believe we are all saving money by going sugar free.

*chocolate covered strawberries- use dark chocolate. Dark chocolate actually contains anti- oxidants which help us to fight off sickness.

Bring on 2010

Did you eat too much yesterday? So did I..... it was Christmas Day. It's the day after Christmas, and maybe some of you are thinking, "I'll start after the New Year." I have to admit, that thought came in to my mind also, but it's not ok to think that way, so keep telling yourself that you will start today!! Today is your day, drink your water, and start becoming accountable for your calories that you put into your mouth (write them down if you need to) We're going to get right back on track:

Give yourself a break, don't expect yourself to run back to the gym and sweat it out for a couple of hours (but more power to you if you do:)) This is a day to remind yourself that your HEALTH is a priority! Don't beat yourself up if you don't have a perfect workout, but because you are making it a priority, you will see results, and you will begin to start taking Control of your health!

Here are some ways you can stay active when at home:
* Get up and start moving, take a walk, or play with your kids.
* Do some pushups, situps, and jump rope in between
* run up and down your stairs in between cleaning to get your heart rate up.
* write down your food that you eat today just to start getting yourself to refocus.

Let's get motivated together to bring in 2010!

The power of the mind

I have been thinking about this for a long time, and want to share some of my thoughts that have not only been about fitness, and health, but also about joy and happiness.

We are continually thinking daily, and daily we have thoughts both negative, and positive. Each day we may have thoughts of abundance, of poverty, of wealth, of health, of sickness, of being fat, of being slender, of being safe, of being unsafe, of being a victim, of being in charge, of being afraid, of being brave, of lack of self worth, of having self worth, of being happy, of being sad, of our faith, of our trials, of our joys, and the list could go on and on.

Each day we are faced with our thoughts, and we have to decide whether we want to keep them, or do we want to change them to something that will enhance our life in a positive way? It is these daily conscious thoughts that will become that which we see and experience in our own life. This is where our responsibility comes in. What do we want our mind to receive and act upon? How many times have we looked at a bad situation in our life and think it to be true when in reality, the only real truth about it is that we have allowed ourselves to be influenced by the thoughts of others.

The mind is like the earth and will grow whatever is planted in it. Do you want to plant seeds of beautiful flowers, and/or delicious fruits and vegetables, or do you want to plant seeds of a poisonous plant like poison oak?
It is up to you to responsibly plant the seeds for the harvest you wish to enjoy and experience.

My favorite analogy that I have found was used with a piano, but I changed it to a violin, because I think the violin when played with the heart can make the most beautiful music. You are the violinist. Your mind is the violin. The strings are your thoughts. How beautiful and creative will the composition of your life be? I grew up playing the violin, my mother taught the violin, and I have heard some awful screeches coming from the violin, and yet I have also heard the most amazing masterpieces-- These masterpieces are what I want to rehearse in my life, and I will practice every day until they become like the sound from an accomplished violinist.

I only hope that we each can be motivated to change the way we think about our life, our daily choices, our daily nagging, our daily complaining, and then take baby steps to switch those thought as we learn the power of a positive thought!