Get Fit & Stay Fit for Life

Renew your body, mind, and spirit.

With basic physical fitness and a balanced diet, you can 'get fit for life'!

Regular physical activity is one of the most important things you can do for your health. Being physically active can improve your brain health, help manage weight, reduce the risk of disease, strengthen bones and muscles, and improve your ability to do everyday activities.

Adults who sit less and do any amount of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity gain health benefits. Only a few lifestyle choices have as large an impact on your health as physical activity.

Learn How

Strengh Tranining for long-term health, not just aesthetics.

Benefits of High Intensity Interval Training and more...

Your Body Fitness

Reach your fitness goals in 6 steps.

1.) KNOW YOUR LONG-TERM GOALS

What do you want to accomplish? Do you want to lose 40 pounds over the next 12 months? Writing it down helps hold you responsible and accountable for reaching that goal. Putting it down on paper is like creating a covenant you have to stick to. Put that paper on a refrigerator or mirror—anywhere you look on a daily basis as a constant reminder of the pact you made with yourself to reach your goal.

2.) SET YOUR SHORT-TERM GOALS

Writing long-term goals is a great start but achieving them requires detailing a number of steps to help get you there. After all, losing 40 pounds doesn't just happen because you write it down. Create monthly or weekly goals. For instance, you can reasonably lose 1-2 pounds per week in a healthy way. (Yes, you can lose weight faster, but 1-2 pounds per week is considered healthy for most people.) You can then create a monthly or weekly weight-loss goal of possibly 6-8 pounds.

3.) MAKE YOUR GOALS MEASURABLE

Measuring the results? This is crucial to ensure you're on the right path. It's easy with weight because you can simply jump on the scale, your goals must be measurable. Whether it’s losing weight or building muscle. Doing weekly or monthly comparisons ensures you stay on track with your short-term and ultimately your long-term goals. Something as simple as taking a look at your diet and making some minor changes or maybe adding a little bit more cardio or adding more weights to your exercise regimen may be the answer to staying on track.

4.) MAKE YOUR GOALS ATTAINABLE

Unrealistic goals set the stage for failure. You'll quickly get frustrated, and you may ultimately abandon your long-term goal. Setting an aggressive long-term goal can be counterproductive; you'll have a better chance of success of actually reaching your ultimate goal if you give yourself the time you need. Don’t sabotage yourself trying to get there overnight, no matter how badly you want it to happen. It takes patience and persistence, and that has to be your approach to reach your fitness goal.

5.) FOLLOW THROUGH WITH SPECIFIC PLANS

Next, you'll need to create an action plan for your short-term goals. Following with our example, put in place a workout and nutrition plan that allows you to lose 1-2 pounds per week. The plan should fit your schedule and allow you to work out a certain number of days a week for a given period of time.

Be specific about your training plans, detailing how many days and how many hours per day you can commit to. In terms of your nutrition, start by referencing a few nutrition plans that fit your specific dietary needs (losing weight, building muscle, etc.). Don’t forget to record calories, macros and proteins.

6.) FIND YOUR INTRINSIC MOTIVATION

A huge factor in this entire goal is called intrinsic motivation. That is, is your long-term goal something you really, truly want, or is it for someone else?

It turns out that if you're working toward a goal for any other reason than yourself, you're far less likely to succeed. It's that simple. Oftentimes you'll fall short because you don't have that fire in the belly. Don't set goals if your personal interests and heart aren't into it. If this is truly your goal, you can definitely achieve it!

It's a great idea to reward yourself for achieving goals. This can be as simple as buying a new workout shirt or a pair of shoes. Enjoying the process of reaching your goals and looking back on what you have accomplished is one of the best feelings you can ever experience.

The time and effort you put into something you personally wanted to accomplish and the feeling you get when you achieve it is something no one can ever take away from you.

Make it happen and never lose sight of your goals. This process is a journey, and may possibly be a long one, and that's okay. Celebrate each milestone reached. Find activities you enjoy, and that will help you reach your short and long-term goals.

Celebrate you, your journey and the process...everyday!

Slimming Down:
How to Overcome Weight Loss
Challenges

At its core, weight loss is about energy balance. The amount of weight we gain or lose is closely related to the relationship between the energy we take in as food and the energy we expend through daily activities and exercise. When we consume more energy than we burn, the body stores the excess as fat. When we burn more energy than we consume, the body begins to use stored fat for fuel.

However, the process is not always as simple as it sounds. Many modern diets contain high levels of processed ingredients, added sugars, and refined carbohydrates. Over time, these foods can affect how the body regulates hunger, energy, and metabolism. In addition, exposure to certain chemicals and highly processed foods may contribute to feelings of fatigue and make healthy changes feel more difficult.

Withdrawal symptoms are felt in many cases, here's why...

When the body is exposed to toxins it can get rid of a certain amount through body function, if that body is relatively healthy. However, the body can only 'offload' a certain amount so in order to protect itself, excess toxins are coated with fat and deposited in the fatty tissue.

Toxins from processed foods such as diet sodas and packaged, non-whole foods will need to be expelled before health is restored and extra pounds begin to come off.

When you start losing weight, the body starts detoxifying - the toxins locked up in the fatty tissue are released back into the bloodstream.

For some people this can be very uncomfortable. That's when many give up the weight loss decision.

But now is not the time to give up, it’s important to complete the detox and withdrawal transition. Consider this process unavoidable.

But each workout completed, each healthier meal chosen, and each step forward is part of a larger transformation. Starting the journey may be easy, but staying committed is where true change happens. And with persistence, the effort you invest today can lead to a healthier, stronger version of yourself tomorrow.

When you start to lose weight your body starts detoxifying - the toxins locked up in the fatty tissue are released back into the bloodstream.

For some people this can be very uncomfortable. That's when many give up the weight loss decision.

But now is not the time to give up, it's important to complete the detox and withdrawl transition. Consider this process unavoidable.

How to achieve weight loss for good without quitting:

With proper minerals, exercise and a diet rich in whole foods,

not processed, success can be gained, and goals can be reached.

Maintaining levels of minerals is important in the detoxification process for weight loss and recovery from exercise. Minerals are found in high amounts in the following foods and will generally help in the dieting detox process:

Calcium: dairy, leafy vegetables, legumes, and canned fish.
Zinc: leafy vegetables, legumes, meat, and dark chocolate.
Magnesium: dark chocolate, avocados, nuts, leafy vegetables, and legumes.

We usually kick-start our daily healthy eating pattern with breakfast. It’s the first food activating the digestive system after the overnight hours when nothing was eaten for a while. So, it actually doesn’t matter WHEN you eat breakfast, you can even break your fast after noon.

*It’s really what you eat that is important, which brings us to sugar...

3 High Sugar Content Food Choices That Can
Sabotage Your Heath, Immune System and Weight Loss!

Cereal Bars - The premiere cereal bar found prominently displayed in our grocery store aisles, list ‘Sugar’ as the number one ingredient. Most major brand cereal bars list between four and five different forms of fat causing sweeteners in their ingredients (white sugar, corn syrup, sugar cane fiber, fructose, fructose corn syrup. brown sugar syrup). This is a recipe for major weight gain among other health issues. Read the label.

Yogurt - Most major brands contain an extraordinary amount of sugar. Beware of any yogurt with added sugars or high fructose corn syrup.

Medical professionals have long since linked high fructose corn syrup to the epidemic of obesity in the United States.

Wheat Bread - We’ve all heard that brown bread is better for you than white bread and while that is true, again the number one ingredient found moreover in brown bread is the number one high fat forming ingredient, high fructose corn syrup.

* Yogurt, wheat bread and cereal bars can be very healthy additions to your everyday diet, the key is to be aware of the ingredients.

Always read the label, whether you are on a diet or not, multiple sugars (or sweeteners) in a single food product is never the best choice.

10 Quick Reminders To Help You On Your Weight Loss Journey

1.) Do not eat after 7:00 pm.

Reducing the amount of calories dramatically prevents weight gain (40% of the calories consumed are after 7:00 pm).

2.) Eat at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables per day.

3.) Use oils rich in monounsaturated fat such as olive, canola, and peanut oil instead of hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated vegetable oils and butter to lower cholesterol and triglycerides.

4.) Change your eating habits by eating only when your body is hungry, not when you are stressed, anxious, or bored.

5.) Eat in a calm environment, while sitting down and away from distractions, such as watching television, or working at the computer. When you are distracted, you tend to eat continuously and more quickly.

6.) Eat slowly, savoring each bite. It takes 20 minutes for your stomach to signal your brain that your appetite is satiated; if you eat quickly, you have a tendency of overeating.

7.) Set your weight loss goals and use a journal to chart your progress.

8.) Use the "fork dip" method to decrease the fat and sugar intake of salad dressing. Here’s how: Put salad dressing on the side, dip the fork into the salad dressing, then gather salad on the fork.

9.) Get at least 20 minutes of exercise every day. This will boost your metabolism and help you burn fat.

10.) Remember: No matter what your size, love you for you! Always...

Unleash Your Best Life

״Just breathe. You are strong enough to cope with your challenges, wise enough to find a solution to your problems and capable enough to do whatever needs to be done. Let's go!״

- Skye Reed

What Can We Do to Stop Bloating?

When we reduce bloating, we not only reduce abdominal pain, your body also instantly looks more streamlined. But what can we do to stop bloating in the first place?

The answer lies in discovering the actual cause of bloating which isn't always as simple as you might think.

The problem is that there are several factors that can contribute to stomach bloating. And as a sufferer, any one or more of these factors could be responsible.

Let's examine some of the more common causes that can contribute to stomach bloating.

Fluid Retention

This is a common cause of stomach bloating and is often hormone related or due to excessively warm conditions. This type of bloating is frequently accompanied by swollen ankles and puffy eyes. A quick way to test for yourself if you suspect you may be suffering from fluid retention is to press your thumb onto your lower leg for a couple of seconds. When you release the pressure gently feel to see if the skin has sprung back or if you have been left with an indentation. If you can feel a dent this may be a sign of fluid retention. You can help to reduce stomach bloating due to fluid retention in several ways.

Diuretics obtainable either over the counter from pharmacies or you may prefer to modify your diet. Try cutting down on your salt and alcohol intake. Add a diet rich in fruit and vegetables to your routine and steer clear of processed foods as much as possible.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome

IBS is a very common condition and stomach bloating is one of the many symptoms. If you suffer from IBS you will more than likely have additional problems including stomach cramps, diarrhea or constipation and excess flatulence.

To help reduce stomach bloating and other symptoms you can try over the counter medication from your pharmacy specially formulated for IBS. You should also consider drinking peppermint tea which will help with bloating and cramps.

Food Intolerance

An extremely common cause of stomach bloating is food intolerance. The number of possible culprits are endless and includes milk, wheat, gluten and certain fruits, vegetables and food additives.

To help reduce stomach bloating due to food intolerance you should consider keeping a food diary and following an elimination diet. Basically this involves eating simple meals consisting of only plain, bland foods for a few days until symptoms subside.

After that time you should begin to reintroduce regular food choices and note any reaction you may have. With a little time and patience you should soon identify your personal 'bloat triggers' which will enable you to reduce stomach bloating.

If You're Bloated, Stress May Also Be A Major Factor

Stress is a common cause of digestive discomfort. From a simple case of 'butterflies', to ulcers, many people are aware of the relationship between nervousness, anxiety and the stomach.

Any upset in the digestive system can cause bloating so stress has to be taken seriously as a contributing factor. To reduce bloating due to excessive stress, start by trying to take time with your meals.

Stress is a major factor and contributes to many diseases in our bodies that are very destructive.

Stress kills, don't hesitate to seek the opinion of a medical professional if you feel overwhelmed and need help. You are not alone.