Congrats to the Pat's Finally Fit Challenge Winner

Belated Congrats to Andy who won the Pat's Finally Fit Challenge for April. Andy did a great job on sticking to her plan for the month of April. She even found a couple of news items to add to her diet to make it fun. Ask her about her Veggie Sandwich and all natural protein bars.

I have to say Congrats to Deb who also did a great job sticking to her plan for the month she lost weight and gained some strength in the process. She no longer has a weak arm and her Ab pullovers are looking great.

Way to go Andy and Deb

Centurion Workout

This work out is based on doing sets of 100 reps. Choose a weight that you can press at least 7 times Use the same bell for all reps.

You must do a complete warm up. Don't forget joint mobility for your neck and ankles.

Shoot for 7 or more sets, but use you head safety first, the Bells are always waiting.

Centurion

1 KB Row 5 reps each side
1 KB Lying Chest Press 5 reps each side
1 KB Sumo Deadlift 10 reps
1 KB Shoulder Press 5 reps each side
1 KB 1 hand Swing 10 reps each side
1 KB Cleans 10 reps each side
1 KB High Pull 10 reps each side

Try not to take any breaks until you complete the list. Keep the rest under a minute.

ROCK THE BELLS

A bread less day?

I hope everyone had a great weekend. Sometimes a change in routine can really throw you off your eating plan, but I know many of us planned well and stuck to the program. So great job to all of you who hung in there!

One way to give your weight lost a boost is to have a bread less day. Bread eater or those of you who rely a little heavily on starchy carbs like bread, rice and potato's to name a few of the heavy carb may benefit from controlling your carb in take and making different carbohydrate choices. This does not mean a low carb diet. I have many bread less, rice less, etc. days and still have a good amount of carbs. There are 27 carbs in a apple, about 19 in a 1/2 cp of grapes. So give it a try and let me know how it works for you.

Here's a couple of pictures of breakfast(1 whole egg 3 egg whites, spinach, etc) and lunch (Turkey Burger w/peppers & Broccoli) on a bread less day. The snack was an apple and almond butter. Dinner was fish with 2 veggies, and Greek yogurt for a snack

Planning

This is a busy week for many of us and in order to stick to our eating plan, planning is a must. You must think ahead a day or two if possible. Having a couple of chicken breast and or pot of bean/lentil soups can come in very handy. Personally making a big salad and having tuna and chicken around works for me. If I'm in a hurry I chop up the salad and chicken in small pieces and roll it in a Whole wheat wrap, throw an oz of nuts and raisins in a baggy and I'm set for a few hours.

So if you are eating from the Super Foods list I provided, I'm sure you have already come up with several ways to make good choices even when you are away from home and in a hurry.

Check in and let me know what you're eating.

Plan for success or expect to fail!

Pat

The Get Fit Challenge is under way

Don't forget your goal is to increase your amount of exercise this week and stay compliant with your eating plan.

Great class last night ladies!!!

Rock the bells

A few tips to get you started

The 5 Key Rules for a Better Body

If you are deciding on what eating plan to use keep the following in mind:
Is the eating plan?
1. Simple. Are the rules easy to follow?
2. Science-based. Are the rules based on sound scientific principles?
3. Successful. Have the rules produced success in others like you? (no matter how good it looks on paper if it's not working then it's Not working for you)

A system based on those three things is absolutely critical.

5 Key Rules for a Better Body

Here they are:
1. Eat every 2-3 hours.
Now, you don’t need to eat a full meal every 2-3 hours – some of them can be smaller snacks. But every few hours you should be getting a dose of good food that follows the other rules below.
That may seem like a lot, but understand a) that each meal will be smaller than the ones most people eat, and b) that eating this way can drastically reduce your body’s inclination to store the calories you eat as body fat.

2. Include lean protein in each meal and snack.
Complete, lean protein generally is food that, well, was an animal or comes from an animal. Things like chicken, beef, fish, dairy, and the like.
“Lean” means low fat. So you want food high in protein but low in fat (e.g., leaner cuts of meat, low fat dairy, etc.).
Are you getting protein in each meal? If not, make the change.
Note: If you’re a vegetarian, this rule still applies

3. Include vegetables in each meal or snack.
One of the best and easiest things you can do to improve your health is to include veggies in each meal or snack you eat – every 2-3 hours, right?
Psychologically, that’s a big change for most people. But it makes such a difference physically that it’s well worth it. To show you that eating veggies isn’t the frightening proposition it used to be, most of the meals contained in Precision Nutrition use veggies in their preparation – and we show you how to make them taste good!

4. Save carb-heavy meals for after exercise.
This includes things like things rice, pasta, potatoes, etc. You can eat them all – but wait until after you’ve exercised. Plenty of research shows that the body is better able to process carbohydrates in the 3 hour period following a bout of intense exercise.
It’s true that starches, grains and sugars are dietary staples in North America, but remember that heart disease, diabetes and cancer are medical staples in North America – and there’s a relationship between the two!

To stop heading down the heart disease highway, reward yourself for a good workout with a good carbohydrate meal right after. For the rest of the day, stick to lean protein and a delicious selection of fruits and veggies.

5. Include a good balance of healthy fat in your diet.
For a long time, dietary fat was vilified in the media. The truth is that dietary fat is absolutely essential! There are 3 types of fat: saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated. Eating all three kinds in a healthy balance can dramatically improve your health, and actually help you lose fat.
Your saturated fat will probably already be covered. Most foods containing lean protein also contain some saturated fat, and that’s okay. You can even toss in some butter or coconut oil for cooking.
Your monounsaturated fat should come from mixed nuts, olives, and olive oil.
Your polyunsaturated fat should from flax seed oil, fish oil, and mixed nuts.
Working healthy fat into your meals is easy.

Summary
The 5 rules above alone will have you eating better – and looking better – than 85-90% of the population.

This information is courtesy of By Dr. John M. Berardi, PhD, CSCS and it has worked for me!

Get Fit Challenge Starts April 1st, 2009