Health&Fitness Tips

Apple Cider Vinegar has many benefits and I found a new way to drink it! This is especially good for those who can't stand the taste of vinegar. There are several different flavors and they are all delicious!

By far the easiest way to prep chicken for the week! Nic (my husband) grills chicken breasts on Sunday for us  to have throughout the week and I shred some for salads. This week I decided to buy extra chicken, throw it in the crockpot and shred it for my salads throughout the week. The chicken tastes great and it was so easy to shred. Thank you meal prep Sundays!

Quick Tip: My favorite salad dressing at the moment. Calories in this dressing are a little higher than some other vinaigrettes but moderation is always key.

Quick Tip:
With my thyroid disorder, I eat 1-2 Brazil nuts daily. Although they are higher in calories they have a lot of nutrients that are great for your body, one of which is selenium. Adequate selenium nutrition supports efficient thyroid hormones and metabolism. There are other food sources that support this but I like Brazil nuts because it is an easy grab and go thing.

Quick Tip:
They may be small but they are mighty. Chia seeds are one of the most nutritious foods out there! They are full of fiber, protein, omega-3 acids, some micronutrients, have few calories and are loaded with antioxidants. Not sure how to use them? It's pretty simple. Put some in your coffee, tea, water, oatmeal, protein bites, soup etc. Chia seeds really don't have a lot of flavor and the consistency changes but they are great for you to eat.

Quick Tip:
What is your motivation for staying on track for the weekend? It can be hard and the weekend brings a lot of temptations. I make myself think about eating a cheat meal for 15 minutes. If I absolutely have to have it after those 15 minutes, I will but often times I realize I don't really want it after the 15 minutes. Give your mind time to settle. If food is an issue for you, your initial thoughts are that you HAVE to have something. Let your mind settle, listen to your body and really think about it. I hope this little 15 minute tip helps!

Tip of the Day: The benefits of having a foam roller: -It's like your very own deep tissue massage-Increases blood flow to your muscles -helps with muscle and tissue health -Helps with tight or sore muscles -Inexpensive and easy to use I love mine and try to use it as often as I can. I ordered it on Amazon but they are available at a variety of stores and places online. Check it out if you're interested!

 Here you will find health&fitness tips that I have learned throughout my journey. Tips that I have found helpful, practical and can easily be fit into your lifestyle. I have made a lot of these a part of my daily routine which has helped me maintain my health and fitness goals. I hope they are helpful to you! PLEASE contact me if you would like to discuss any of these in further detail, I love to chat :).
I will continue to add more tips throughout my journey!




 1. Be PATIENT! Appreciate the process and remember that it takes TIME to see progress no matter what your goals are. Never compare your journey to someone else's because you may on be on chapter 5 but they are on chapter 25!

2. Be CONSISTENT! I cannot express how important this tip is. In order to see REAL results, you have to be consistent with your fitness and eating clean foods.









3. Create daily routines and STICK to them! Make a list of your top priorities you want to complete every day NO MATTER WHAT. For example:

My Top Priorities I do EVERY DAY:

-Devotion: 30 minutes

-Personal Development: 30 minutes

-Workout

-Drink Shakeology

-Read a Book: 10-15 pages

-Reach out to someone

-Spend time with family

-Teacher time: 10 minutes

4. Make goals for yourself. These will be personalized to you and what you want to accomplish on your health/fitness journey. It feels great to make a goal and celebrate once you have reached it. I highly recommend starting a goals journal!

5. Understand and embrace that we are all human and we are going to have our "off days". There are going to be days when we don't want to eat super healthy, working out it a struggle or you do not feel motivated to get anything done. These days are okay but make sure they DON'T become a habit, try to overcome them and get back on track!

6. Healthy eating is a lifestyle NOT a diet. I used to be so terrible with my eating habits and the sad thing about it, I thought I was eating "pretty healthy". It wasn't until the 21 Day Fix Extreme that I really began to understand what eating healthy means. First of all, it's not a diet, its a way of life. You should be getting the right amount of proteins, carbs, veggies, fruits, oils and healthy fats that your body needs. Eating about 5-6 smaller meals a day allows your body to stay full without getting those hunger cravings. And remember, we all have our cheat meals but don't let it turn into a cheat day, week, month etc. I have a cheat meal about once every two weeks but sometimes that slips to about once a week. The point is to stay consistent with your clean eating. I follow the 90/10 rule by Autumn Calabrese (creator of 21 Day Fix). If you are eating healthy and staying on track 90% of the time, the 10% allows you to have a cheat meal, glass of wine or the occasional chocolate bar. Just stick to the 90/10 rule and you will be safe. 

7. Exercise makes you happy! To quote Elle Woods from Legally Blonde, "Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people don't shoot their husbands. They just don't." Although this subject is a love-hate relationship for a lot of us, we have to admit that exercise is good for you! I honestly used to be the worst at exercising consistently and I was the queen of excuses. Until I found my "soulmate workout". The workout that you enjoy doing, that you don't dread and that you feel great about. So far I have two soulmate workout programs, Insanity and 21 Day Fix Extreme. These two programs really showed me a LOVE for working out AND they taught me how to eat healthy. Find a workout that fits you and that you love. Whether you are working out at the gym, outside or at home, find something that fits you.

8. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate! You should be drinking half your body weight in ounces of water every day. Water helps with so many parts of your body, it's one of the very few 0 calorie drinks, many countries walk miles and miles to get a small bucket of it yet we take it for granted and it's always right at our fingertips. Water helps with your hydration, blood cell count, immune system, digestion, headaches, skin/hair/nails, energy levels and it helps release sweat and toxins from your body. DRINK IT! There are ways you can "pretty" your water to make it more appealing. Add lemon, raspberries, lime, strawberries, cucumbers, blueberries or watermelon to your water. Drink up, buttercups!

9. Coconut oil is a magical thing. There are unlimited uses for coconut oil and they are all good for you. Here is a picture link to 107 every day uses for coconut oil (to name a few). 

10. Coffee, it's not terrible if you don't make it terrible! Adding creams, sugars and syrups to your coffee does not make it good. If you are a coffee drinker, try just drinking it black. If you don't like the taste of black coffee then maybe you shouldn't drink coffee. Coffee is meant to be enjoyed by those that REALLY love the taste. I let myself slip into the "cream coma" when I had never needed cream in my coffee before. I quickly broke that nasty habit and now I drink about 2-3 cups of black coffee every day.

11. Here are some awesome noodles that we tried this week. They have ZERO calories. I repeat, ZERO calories. They don't have a lot of flavor but we added in green pepper and mushroom pasta sauce with turkey burger and broccoli as a side and they were really good! We ordered them online but they are at the grocery store or health food store as well. They are called shirataki noodles.