More is Not Always Better to Achieve Your Fitness Goals

When it comes to fitness more isn't always better. Sometimes more exercise, supplementing more, and eating more protein can adversely affect our body. More is not better, better is better.

Getting fit and maintaining a healthy body is a simple process. It really doesn't require more fitness foods or grueling workouts to reach our goals. All it takes is a consistent effort of eating right and exercise. Quality over quantity.

Focused workouts utilizing differing energy systems of the body throughout the week is sufficient. What this means is mixing up cardio, weight training, core work and flexibility for a well-balanced program. Exercising at least 4-times per week is shown to maintain a healthy body according to research.

Active rest days are a great way to have fun when not performing a structured workout. Enjoy being active and healthy is the point.

Thinking about nutrition in a healthy way is also important. Eating more than is required of any macronutrient can backfire our good fitness intentions. Food is our fuel and muscle building tools. As long as we're keeping it healthy and eating lots of veggies, lean proteins and good fats we are on the right track. Eating more protein doesn't create more muscle. It is the symphony of eating healthy plus working our muscle stimulating lean mass gains.

We require a certain amount of each macronutrient and over-consumption of one can actually have adverse health effects, just as eliminating healthy foods can cause nutrient deficiencies. More is not better, better is better. Also, quality over quantity.

Spending hours in the gym thinking this is beneficial to your fitness is inaccurate. This is a perfect example of how many think more is better. Overtraining can have adverse effects on our body. No wonder a rapid state of burn-out is happening.

Over-use of joints and even muscle breakdown can occur when the body is overtrained. Overtraining syndrome is actually a thing and breaks down our immunities, prevents muscle growth, and puts unwanted stress on our body. Also, exercise addiction may occur for those feeling guilty eating off track and psychologically beating themselves up in the gym. Effective workouts are focused and effective taking no more than an hour to complete.

   

What it comes down to is being fitness smart and stop believing more is better. Embrace you are doing enough and enjoy the process of getting healthy.

Often times, basic, simple but challenging workouts provide the best results. We are able to maintain our bodies without overworking them to the point of burnout or injury.

Stay away from exercise gimmicks, fads, and nutrition myths. If it's too good to be true, it is. The only proven scientific claims to successful fitness are eating right and exercise. Fads and gimmicks are big money makers in the fitness industry. Do your homework.

The takeaway is simply to eat right, exercise consistently and enjoy a balanced life. This is true fitness and nothing more to it. More is not better, better is better.

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Getting Fit Requires Breaking the Cycle of Bad Habits

If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always got. Henry Ford 

Getting fit requires breaking the cycle of bad habits that created an unhealthy body. That means taking responsibility for our fitness and doing what it takes to get healthy.

Changing our habits can be tough because fitness doesn't magically happen. Ready for some hard work?

Bad habits keep us trapped in a life of emotional stress, unhealthiness and unable to move forward with self improvement. Repeating unhealthy behaviors is not loving or respecting our body. In order to create good habits, ending the cycle of what you have always done will be the start of great things for you.

Bad habit cycles can include poor eating habits, sedentary lifestyle, living unhealthy in general and being in denial about it. Many turn to alcohol, drugs, smoking, binge eating or not eating to cope with life. These choices have created unhealthy people.

Being in denial about bad habit cycles is a form of nonacceptance. It is refusing to face what needs to be changed.

Repeating bad habits makes us feel unhealthy, stressed and unhappy. Unfortunatley, many of us consider this way of life normal. Why has being unhealthy become an acceptable way to live? It has become a way of existence but not really living life to it's potential.

Many of us are over fat, sick and angry but refuse to look at ourselves as the cause of the problem. Instead we choose to continue repeating bad habits keeping us in an unhealthy lifestyle.

Well, isn't it time we take our heads out of the unhealthy sand? We are our problem but we are also our solution. When we start making the necessary choices to change our health, our health will be changed. That means discontinuing bad habits and implementing a new healthy lifestyle.

Health and fitness is a process of self improvement including physical and emotional health. It will require making changes and removing bad habits. It will take mental strength to remain true to healthy choices. Reaching your goals will require giving 100% effort.

The journey will not be easy. We aren't promised easy in this life. We do have a choice on how we are going to live this life however. As long as our focus is on personal progress and becoming healthier versions of ourselves, we are good.

I believe all of us want a better, healthy life. Right? Each one of us have the responsibility and choice to make that happen by breaking the cycle of bad habits. Your life, your body and your choice. What do you say?

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Be well and Stay Healthy

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Keep Going When Fitness Feels Hard

We all have hard stuff in life and days we just want to keep our heads tucked under the pillow.

The thing about life is being able to navigate through everything with our best healthy responses, attitudes, and choices. I'm not immune to feeling the tough in life and even in my workouts.

There are days I struggle with lack of motivation and would appreciate a hard push from a trainer to get me through. Not every day goes as planned and nutrition can get off track.

Sometimes, I am just tired, burned and have to take a step back and away from the gym. These are the days sitting in an Epsom salt bath takes priority. These feelings are absolutely normal and not a reason to quit but to grow in a positive way.

Life will have challenges and success comes from how we handle the discomfort. Building muscle is an uncomfortable process but we persevere to achieve a positive result.

Goals are achieved through planning and action. I have put in years of hard work to get the results I wear in the form of muscle. Tired or not, giving up was never an option. It's important to keep going when fitness feels hard. It will never be easy but we do get stronger.

As long as we give our best no matter what that looks like, it's good enough. Today, my best came through taking an Epsom salt bath and right now my sore muscles are saying thank you.

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Follow Your Own Fitness Path for Life Long Results

My daughter's 1st-grade teacher informed me she would always be a leader and not a follower. This still holds true 25-years later and such great advice. I think about her statement often and how it applies to health and fitness.

We all need to be leaders and not followers when it comes to our fitness and health. Following the path of someone else with differing goals just doesn't make sense. We are all unique in body, mind, and spirit. My goal isn't to be you and I hope this is true on your end.

I am a  skeptic when it comes to fitness miracles regardless of who is sharing the information. I refuse to follow the beliefs of others just because they heard it was the next best thing to sliced bread. Do you really think it's healthy to lose 20lbs in 5 days? That's craziness.

I feel the same way about exercise programs. I review fitness trends before agreeing with advertised claims of it being the newest and best workout ever.

What does impress me is solid research and leading myself with what works best for me nutritionally and physically. Everything else is just fluff until proven quality. Sure it takes work when you're a leader, but it's worth the time and effort. Don't you want to apply sound principles to your health and fitness program? There is so much crap out there that can actually hurt you and to not be aware of this fact is negligent.

Leaders also do not feel the need to compare. They are confident moving forward, regardless of how slow, with a tried and true fitness program.

Followers are more apt to give up and jump to the next new fitness trend hoping to achieve something from empty promises.

Leaders stand firm with dedication while followers get lost in the shuffle. Leaders will get lifelong results and followers will yo-yo through and typically end up right where they started or worse.

Science has already proven consistent healthy eating and regular exercise is the answer to good health. Leaders understand and accept this fact. Followers continue to struggle. They want fast and easy and desire the results worn by the leaders but are often unwilling to do the work.

It is so important to understand being a leader will be the success of your overall health and fitness. We all have differing things going on genetically, medically, and even emotionally. Accurate and successful fitness programs take specific and personal needs into consideration. This requires us not to compare our fitness to others and start directing our own path. Personal focus allows us to discover what works best for us.

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Too Busy for Fitness is Not an Option

If we don't make time to workout and let the day get away from us, it's easier to say forget it. Other things become a priority and we tend to use being busy as an excuse to skip it. If we're high energy in the morning and missed that window to exercise, we can dread doing it in the afternoon.

I just so happen to prefer working out in the morning and understand the feeling of pushing through later. It sucks but doesn't mean to skip the workout. Discipline means doing what you need to do even when you don't feel like doing it. So, it's important to not let ourselves down and make it happen. We can only blame ourselves and will suffer the consequences of not taking care of our fitness business.

There will be times missing a workout can't be helped and that's acceptable. Honestly, this is a rare occasion. When busy things seem to take over our entire day leaving us without a sweat session is the norm. Fitness takes good planning, making time and not skipping a workout no matter what. Without a plan, it's just a wish, right? Without making the time, it's not going to happen, right?

We go through life making so many excuses on how we don't have time. Really?  I love that quote "someone busier than you is working out right now" and it's the truth.

We must start owning our excuses and admit when fitness is something we don't want to do. Now that's the beginning of a revelation.

We should ask ourselves why we procrastinate or refuse to take care of our health?  What's so burdensome about moving your body for a few minutes each day and eating healthy?

It's not about time at all, but your feelings toward working out and eating right. Honesty is always the best way to create change.

The truth of the matter is if something is important to you, it gets done. Everyone has time to hit up social functions, watch hours of TV and surf the web. When it comes to one hour of exercise, the busy button somehow gets turned on. Give the offer of meeting for a drink, and suddenly a burst of energy occurs.

Unfortunately an unhealthy epidemic is happening because too many people are refusing to take the time for health and fitness. Those who exercise and eat right on a consistent basis are in the minority. This really needs to change. Agreed?

If we continue to not make time for exercise, we will eventually be making time for illness. The same applies to eating right because we are what we eat. What we eat in private, we wear in public and our body certainly shows how we're living. This has become a horrible fact. Straight talk, but we need to start making the time!

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Maintenance is the Fitness Goal

Reaching fitness goals is a great accomplishment to be praised. Are you maintaining them is the question?

Fitness is not meant to be a temporary fix but a lifestyle of health and wellness. Sure, you may rock that suit and look good in those pictures but is that all fitness means?


True fitness success is when you live it daily. Eating healthy foods consistently and exercise is part of your normal routine. In fact, getting off track for too long doesn't feel right when living a healthy lifestyle. Fitness becomes a priority and excuses no longer get in the way. You refuse to return to being overweight, sick and nearly dead. You get the point.

I've seen too many people succeed at reaching goal weights, reduced body fat, and improved health and throw it all away. The belief system we can get away with returning to a few old habits snowballs. The purpose of dumping old ways is to learn and keep new and healthier methods. This is lacking and maintaining our health is suffering.

We need to focus not only on reaching our fitness goals but keeping them for life. Life is the event we are getting in shape for not bikini season. Forget the clothes and stand naked in front of your mirror. This will let you know if you're doing a great job of maintaining your fitness. I'm not talking about body and skin changes naturally occurring with aging. We all know the difference and also if we're not living a healthy life.




We show outwardly how we live inwardly. Your body keeps the most accurate record of what you're eating and drinking regardless of what you write down. Reaching fitness goals is possible because you have done it and maybe more than once. Instead of having to repeat getting back and shape, why not just stay in shape. Real talk all in fitness love.

Be well and Stay Healthy

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Sorta Kinda Fitness Doesn't Work

We want to be fit, feel good and look great. You may be trolling the net right now for the newest fad diet or quick fix to fitness. We struggle with giving 100 percent to getting in shape the right way. We are stuck in sorta kinda fitness.

Sound familiar? We want results but just can't commit to a fit lifestyle. We blame others and ourselves for eating off track and make excuses for missing workouts. When we give a small percentage to doing it right expect small rewards in return.

We are wasting too much time and missing too many opportunities to get healthy. Why is that? What is going on in our lives where we stop making ourselves a priority? Instead of looking into the issue, we accept it as our normal. This is an unfortunate truth.

We have great intentions and even put in some effort to eat right and exercise. This is awesome and to be applauded. Something happens to halt the process. Our mind plays negative games, we may hear a hurtful comment, or not seeing results causes frustration.

Sorta kinda fitness also involves partying too much with friends or at home. Eating crappy food half the time and managing only one or two workouts per week. We can even be in denial about these behaviors. We believe living this way is fitness.

Resentment can be a problem with sorta-kinda fitness. We don't understand why we're not losing fat or not seeing muscle. More self-doubt and what's the use mentality creeps into our thoughts. It's time to take off the rose-colored fitness glasses.

Living a half-way fitness life is not giving your all to the program. Being in denial and pissed off about it doesn't help or change things.When we start taking responsibility for our health is when fitness happens. Fitness is a lifestyle and sorta kinda just doesn't work. Straight talk all in fitness love. Stay Healthy!

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Why Do We Complicate Fitness?

The only hard thing about fitness is negative thoughts about the process. We convince ourselves a boring diet is needed and endless hours of exercise are required. We go as far as considering it a burden and a cramp in our lifestyle. Instead of turning our nose up at the very thought of getting healthy, maybe rethinking the process is all that's needed.

Do you think people decades ago farming for a living to survive working from sunrise to sunset worried about a diet? They may have spent hours doing physical labor, but it was a lifestyle and eating healthy was part of it. Nothing complicated, just some sweat, and eating home cooking straight from the garden. Their bodies represented how they lived. Unfortunately, this has been replaced by couch potato channel surfing, stuffing our faces with processed food and diets that don't work.

Getting fit doesn't take a miracle diet and certainly isn't a secret to accomplishing the goal. The problem is within our thoughts and unrealistic expectations. You want to lose 20 pounds in a week and look like a fitness model. Not going to happen. We also want the process to be an easy quick fix requiring no workouts and drinking magic shakes while remaining on our sofas. Wake up America!

Being fit and healthy is really simple. Eat greens, grains, lean meats, healthy fats, drink lots of water and exercise at least 3 times per week. Nothing hard about it and it's not a diet. Why is this process considered boring, tasteless, and the end of fun in life? Society and marketing have done a great job brainwashing people to believe a load of crap.

Eating a fresh organic crisp apple or perfectly grilled chicken breast are not what I call horrible. Are you kidding me?  Remember eating celery stuffed with peanut butter? Now that's a healthy treat full of flavor and fun. Being fit will take tossing the food myths and getting real with your thoughts about health. It will also require you to move your butt off the couch and into the gym. Exercise is what you enjoy. Love basketball? Start playing. Enjoy dancing?  Look into a Zumba class. I like to use the jungle gyms at parks and play around on those doing pull-ups, step-ups, and triceps dips for example. No more excuses or belief that fitness is complicated. It's time we all embrace the simplicity of the process and have fun on the journey.

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Why Wait for New Year to Make a Change?

I enjoy the excitement and celebration of New Year but not really a big fan of the resolutions. Largely due to seeing so many people not follow through after a few weeks, or even days. The fireworks of new healthy promises are typically replaced by old habits. The new healthy lifestyle fizzles back into the norm of unhealthy choices. Sad but true.

Why wait for New Year’s to make a positive decision to change your life and become healthier people?  Today is always the best day to make a change. Never put off until tomorrow what can be accomplished today.

New Year has been a holiday used as a crutch to continue living unhealthy lives. Why? Because we put off until the New Year what we should be doing now and abuse the days leading up to the event. We create an excuse to consume large amounts of unhealthy food and avoid starting an exercise program until the so-called magical perfect time. 

The reality is no perfect time exists and life doesn't wait for our decisions. It goes on whether we join in the positive decision making process or not. Procrastination is the thief of health and fitness. Not taking care of ourselves eventually leads to poor lab results, obesity, heart issues, diabetes, hypertension, increased stress and the list goes on.

Wouldn’t it be better going into the New Year with a healthy lifestyle already in place? 

I'm not trying to be a Darla Downer for the upcoming New Year. I simply want you to consider the reason for waiting to become a healthy person. Celebrating is awesome and decisions made on any day are worth raising a glass in cheers. I applaud all efforts to adopt a healthy lifestyle and the awesome thing is it doesn't have to wait until January 1^st.

But what about all the holiday food and fun? I agree there is a bounty of savory and sweet treats during the holidays. There is nothing wrong with enjoying a little of this and that. This is called living life and balance. However, including your healthy foods and exercise should also be part of your holiday season.

Let’s not use the holiday as an excuse to not take care of ourselves. We have promoted a hall pass to a month of junk food for long enough. When the so-called fun is said and done, we are left with expanded guts and butts. Why cause frustration knowing it will be that much longer and harder to undo what has been done? Think on that.  

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Happy Stay Healthy New Year

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How Fitness Helps Slow Down the Aging Process

Fitness actually is shown to slow down the aging process. I heard this today and was immediately excited and inspired. Think about how you feel when health and fitness aren't part of your life. Stressed, sluggish, ill and feeling old, right? When you start stopping is when you start getting older. Fitness works on the cellular, emotional and physical level. The better we care for our health and fitness, the better our body will be.

Fitness is the fountain of youth. If we don't make time for it, we will eventually be making time for illness. Our body ages daily, but there are things we can do to slow this process. Studies link eating healthy and exercise to longevity. I don't know about you, but I want to maintain the best body for life.

When we start stopping is the same as giving up. We get so caught up in believing fitness is a difficult process. We also become frustrated without instant results and begin shutting down. The negatives seem to outweigh the positives in our minds and ultimately lead to unhealthy choices.

Colin Cook, Shark Attack Survivor

You may believe the inability to lose 3lbs this week is a tragedy but how does that compare to someone who has lost a leg and still pushing?  We all need to fight for our fitness. This comes in different ways for each of us, but stopping is not an option. As long as we are taking positive steps toward our health goals, changes are happening. Have faith in the unseen and hold onto daily progress. Strength comes from the inside out. Don't start getting old and crumpled, feeling sorry for yourself because you decided to quit.

Age is just a number but we also create how we feel at every age and circumstance. Stop and suffer the consequences of aging more rapidly or continue and enjoy the vitality of youth. Life is full of choices and we are ultimately responsible for the outcome that is within our control.

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Enjoy a magical and Merry Christmas holiday season. Be well and Stay Healthy!

  

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Keeping Fitness Real is an Important Part of the Lifestyle

Have you struggled with starting a fitness program, illness or even setbacks? It's during these times our bodies will dictate our abilities and limitations. 

Personally, when illness hits me hard, I have to take a break and put my favorite HIIT routines on hold. This is all part of realistic expectations. I may want something right now, but it's just not going to happen. 

Similarly, there is no such thing as here today and gone tomorrow. Patience is very important on our journey to health and fitness. It may feel frustrating and I will even validate this emotion. The key is not letting negative thinking consume us to the point of giving up. We must remain realistic. 

Realistic workouts start with what you can do right where you are. Allow yourself to be a beginner. If returning to fitness from injury or illness, take it slow. The work is always about progress and not perfection. It's so important to pay attention to what the body is saying. Being in tune allows you to do exercise at your best and in great form.   

Realistic expectations involve creating plans that are reasonable and obtainable. Going into our fitness program with the wrong mindset and expectation will cause feelings of discouragement. When we think beyond our current fitness level it can cause us to give up before seeing any positive progress.  

All effort toward weight loss and muscle gain is progress. It doesn't matter how long it takes as long as you stay consistent. Results happen when healthy eating and consistent exercise is a lifestyle. There is no magic pill or gimmick that will make you fit. Healthy bodies are made by real work and being patient through the process. We all want things to happen quicker than they do. Being realistic is what will provide life long results done the right way. 

Rushing into a seemingly healthier body using unhealthy means is not realistic. It only scratches a temporary itch without lifelong results. Unhealthy fitness choices are typical yo-yo attempts. They lead to diet frustration and gaining back even more weight. It also sets us up for discouragement and unhappiness. 

I have this saying “nothing good happens fast” when it comes to our health and fitness. It really can be applied to many things in life. Taking care of ourselves is about a healthy lifestyle. The choices we make each day are what keep us progressing in a healthy direction. We all possess the ability to get healthy and become our best self at any age. Keeping our realistic expectations front and center will help make it all happen.   

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Live Verywell and Stay Healthy

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Being Fit Involves How We Respond to Life

Life is not always easy. I'm no different than many of you: woman, wife, mother, daughter, a friend. I do walk the walk of fitness with my occupation as a personal trainer and writer. This doesn't change the fact I sometimes have up and down days emotionally and physically. I also experience burnout with my workouts.

One of my favorite life quotes is “life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you respond to it”. I came across this quote from a school project my son made in junior high and it has really stuck with me. My son is almost 30 now. 

I have realized through my journey of life and fitness we are limited in what we can control. The only thing we can control is how we think, feel, and respond to life’s circumstances. We simply need to learn to let go of the rest. This can be a hard task but a necessary one. Also, we are definitely in control of the choices we make for ourselves to become healthy, fit people.

Getting fit and healthy involves both our physical and emotional self. Many of us struggle with self-acceptance and not feeling good enough. Fixing our mindset is so important to be able to get physically fit. There is no such thing as perfection but progressing each day as a better and healthier person.

One of my clients just shared this quote: "You do not have to get an A every day!” This was a revelation I took to heart as an overachiever. It also brings us back to life and health not being about perfect, but simply doing our best. This is important stuff when it comes to fitness.

Attitude is huge in life and really determines how we respond to our day. We can choose to be bitter or positive. We can either refuse to grow or open our door of potential to become better people from every circumstance in life. This is where life and health can feel hard. We need to be able to wake up and be happy and healthy on purpose. 

If my attitude and response were unhealthy, I would be unable to help people. I wouldn't be a good trainer choice to see for a healthy lifestyle. Would you want to entrust your health to a person who was unhealthy in any sense of the word? Sadly, many people walk around emotionally unhealthy without anyone knowing. 

Getting back to why this is important. My attitude and how I respond to life is what lifts me up, motivates me, and keeps me moving in a positive direction. It enables me to put forth my best self each day with nutrition and fitness. I choose not to give up in despair but to persevere through life. 

Life will bring challenges for all of us. I have faced many and will continue to do so. How I choose to respond will be the key to my healthy self. None of us are immune to the struggles of life, injuries, finances, illness, or family crisis. What remains important is how we respond. I can tell you this, it may be hard to get to the gym on a down day, but after I get going, it becomes easier. After a few minutes, a whole different attitude kicks in and I start using this time to think through things. I accomplish great healing during a hard sweat session. Nothing feels better than a finished workout. 

The takeaway: life is about balance. Health includes the emotional as well as the physical. When one is out of sync, the machine will not work properly. I began today on a downer and after some prayer time, writing this Blog and soon to workout, I feel energized. Nothing will ever be perfect but life and health can always be good. 

Motivation of the Day: Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you respond to it

Be well and Stay Healthy

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