5 Simple Easy Work-Out-in-No-Time Tips!

1. Spend a lot of time cooking in the kitchen?

Hold two 14-ounce cans, one in each hand, palms down. Raise your arms straight out in front of you until they are parallel to the floor. Pause, then slowly return to the starting position. Repeat 15 times.

Benefit: Strengthens your shoulder muscles and your grip.

2. Spend a lot of time in chairs?

Do chair squats.

Stand in front of a sturdy chair as if you’re going to sit down; raise your arms straight in front of you. Bend your knees and slowly lower yourself onto the chair; lightly touch down and then stand back up. Repeat 10-15 times.

Benefit: Strengthens thighs and glutes.

3. Spend time at counters or in front of the sink?

Hamstring kicks are fun.

Stand facing a counter (hold on for balance). Shift your weight to one leg, and bring your other heel up toward your buttocks. Hold and squeeze for a few seconds. Return your leg to the starting position, then lift it straight out to the side, and again back down. Repeat 15 times with each leg.

Benefit: Works hamstrings and outer-thigh muscles.

4. Waiting in line at the mall?

Try calf lifts.

Rise up on your toes and hold for 3 seconds. Lower; repeat 15 times.

Benefit: Tones and strengthens calf muscles.

Also try a balance challenge. Shift your weight to one foot and raise the opposite foot (hold on to something for balance if you need to). See how long you can keep your balance. Repeat with the other leg.

Benefit: Strengthens the supporting leg and improves balance.

5. Find yourself standing at the buffet table or in line to order food?

Tighten your abdominal muscles as if preparing to take a punch. Hold and squeeze for 5 to 10 seconds. Release and repeat 10 times.

Benefit: Strengthens abdominal and core muscles.

Try these and let me know what you thin. And always remember to have fun!

shelli

Let’s look at 4 Bone Myths!

1. “Milk builds bones.” False

Women with the highest calcium consumption from dairy products have more fractures than those who drink less milk. The fracture rates are much lower in countries that consume little dairy.

Fact: Mild exercise reduces the rate of falls and fractures by 25%

2. “HRT (hormone replacement therapy) protects you from osteoporosis.” False

While low levels of estrogen are associated with the loss of bone density, it is bone QUALITY that determines the likelihood of fracture. HRT has failed to live up to its promise of building better quality bones.

3. “You have osteoporosis.” Often false.

Under the old standard, fracturing a bone after it experienced just slight stress was the best indication, but not any longer. New diagnostic techniques of bone imaging make it easier to detect osteoporosis. Don’t be bullied into taking unnecessary drugs with long term risks for a disease you don’t have.

Fact: Best protection is to get a bone density test and then use nutrition and physical activity to support your bone structure.

4. “Calcium supplements do the job.” False.

Not antacids, candy supplements or breakfast cereals that say “added calcium for strong bones.” None of them do the job. First, calcium is hard to absorb and needs to be combined with vitamin D. It also needs to be in a specific form to be effective (calcium citrate for example). Second, calcium is just one of many vitamins and minerals your bones need for health.

Fact: For healthy bones you need to have a diet rich in vitamins and minerals and then PERHAPS a supplement that includes minerals such as boron, silicon and zinc.

shelli

I’m going to talk about sex  because I get many questions from women who notice their sex drive isn’t what it used to be as they begin experiencing hormonal changes.

Even if you’re not in menopause yet, keep reading because as the old saying goes, “nothing is guaranteed but death, taxes and menopause.”

OK, so menopause wasn’t mentioned, but if it weren’t such a taboo subject it would have been!!

I read in a recent poll that 40% of women stated they had not had sex in over 6 months and that 75% of women polled said they weren’t having enough sex.

Getting healthy is the best way to supercharge your sex life and start feeling sexy again.

Getting healthier will reverse aging and bring your sex life back on track.

And when I talk about getting healthier, I’m referring to getting your hormones balanced again. You see, one of the main reasons you age prematurely and lose your sex drive is an imbalance in your hormones.

This can be caused by many different factors but the most common are eating junk food and general lack of good nutrition, eating too much meat and milk, stress, lack of exercise, and living in a toxic body.

A hormone imbalance can also contribute to depression, anxiety, fatigue, endometriosis, hair loss, facial hair growth, and osteoporosis.

So if not feeling like you’re in the mood for sex isn’t much of a motivator for getting those hormones balanced, maybe one of these other potential outcomes of hormone imbalance will motivate you!

Having more sex will also help you live longer, look younger, feel better and experience a happier mood state.

I wish I made all that up because it sounds so good, but in fact a recent study at Scotland’s Royal Edinburgh Hospital concluded that more sex slows the aging process. Many other studies also show through the use of CT scans that during orgasm, the areas of the brain that involve fear, anxiety, depression and other “negative” emotions are deactivated. I interpret this to mean that sex and orgasms really relax you and help you to let yourself go.

Three herbs in particular are popular when going the herbal route to balancing hormones for increased sex drive. They are Dong Quai Root, Chaste Tree Berry and Wild Yam Root.

These three powerful herbs are thought to affect the pituitary and hypothalamus in the brain, which both control the manufacture and release of hormones from the ovaries through the release of metabolic chemicals.

Licorice Root and Hops Flowers have also been used to treat hormonal imbalances. They also give you the sense of well being.

Of course it is important to get healthy and stay FIT.

So here are three simple steps to improving your sex life based on what I’ve covered.

1. RELAX. Do not be afraid to discuss how you’re feeling with your sex partner. How can you expect to enjoy sex without any communication with your partner? Talk and share what’s going on.

2. Herbs can be used as sexual stimulants. They both increase circulation to the sexual organs and boost up the hormones. Herbal formulas are one option for firing up your sex drive.

3. Get HEALTHY! When you are healthy and fit you naturally feel sexy and want to have more sex. A healthy lifestyle that includes nutrition, exercise and stress management (and the kinds of things we talk about each week in this blog) is the key to balancing hormones and experiencing a fulfilling sex life.

Vitality and passion are yours for the taking, so take good care of yourself (and your hormones) and the rest will follow!

shelli

Menopause is usually thought of in a few different ways.

Sometimes it feels like a curse, sometimes like the hell of old age, and sometimes like a beautiful natural change of life.

Kind of depends on which side of the bed you wake up on that morning, huh?

This can be the best part of life, not the worst.

It can be a time of contemplation, deeper spiritual awareness, and helping to educate and influence others around us with our wisdom and experience.

As for what actually causes menopause, the ovaries slow down and eventually stop functioning. This is marked by a reduction in the female hormone levels of estrogen and progesterone. In some women, this hormone drop is barely noticed. Most women do notice something and for many it’s debilitating.

The most common symptoms are hot flashes or lushes caused by vasodilator instability. Other symptoms are nervousness, fatigue, mental depression, crying episodes, insomnia and headaches.

It is very similar to PMS, which is also caused by hormone levels dropping. But, it does not stop in 5 or 10 days and can continue indefinitely. In some cases, menopause can lead to bone loss, osteoporosis and artery disease.

For some women menses just stops one day.

For others it gradually reduces over months, until it finally stops.

For some women the length of the menstrual cycle gets longer and then eventually ends.

Women who smoke cigarettes go into menopause on the average of one to two years earlier than non-smoking women. That statistic alone makes me glad I stopped smoking during college!

There are 4 things I find that make the hormonal changes and fluctuations easier for most women.

Step 1: Hormonal support and balance.

There are many natural options for bringing your hormones back into balance. That’s why I wrote Navigating Hormone Health. It’s a great guide to assess what’s OUT OF BALANCE and then understand what to do to get that balance back.

Without proper understanding of your hormones and an intelligent approach to balance, you really are missing the link to feeling well and performing at your best during the changes of your middle years and beyond.

Step 2: Improve your nutrition.

Any time your body is being challenged and is changing, as it is during menopause, it’s a good idea to make sure your nutrition is top notch because of the levels of both physical and emotional stress.

Fatigue and low energy are often chief complaints of women during menopause and optimal nutrition really will restore your energy.

I can’t say enough about the importance of a good healthy food program during this time of change. Junk food, too much salt, artificial anything, and overly acidic foods all contribute to increasing the symptoms of menopause.

Step 3: Keep your channels of elimination healthy.

The physical location of the uterus between the colon, rectum and bladder, makes keeping a clean colon important. If you have bowel issues, see that you get these handled.

Same goes for your kidneys. You want to keep your urinary tract clean, disease-free and functional. Keeping your elimination systems clean and working properly takes physical stress off the female reproductive organs and eases the transition through menopause.

Step 4: Get enough exercise and increase circulation.

Maintaining a routine exercise program during menopause is NOT AN OPTION, it’s a must.

It helps with everything from circulatory disturbances to bone loss.

Not walking? Start walking 45 minutes to an hour 4-5 times a week. Hot flashes are the biggest menopausal symptom and exercise which benefits the circulatory system works wonders for flushes.

Even if you’re not in menopause yet, it’s coming down the pike.

If you’re over 40 and notice the effects of aging like a loss of energy and stamina and a general slowing down, NOW is the time to make what could very well be some of the most important decisions you’ll ever make involving your self care program.

EVERY woman needs these 4 steps in place so that we age well, protect our health, and have the peace of mind to live a vibrant and happy life!

shelli

A sedentary lifestyle can lead to costly chronic diseases……and has many other costs as well.

Do you feel like you’re getting enough exercise?

When I see surveys that look at different states in the U.S., across the board the answer is no.

Generally about half the adult population does not meet physical activity recommendations.

Many people cite that it costs too much money or takes up too much time, however I’m convinced that being unhealthy can cost both more time and more money in the long run.

Inactivity, along with an unhealthy diet (and they are often linked) adds up to gaining more pounds, putting you at risk for chronic diseases that are very costly to treat.

When departments of health or the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention looks at the statistics and adds up the costs, the numbers are staggering.

In Hawaii, for instance, if all adults were physically active, about $140 million could be saved on hospital costs related to heart disease, stroke and diabetes.

In the U.S. as a whole, health care costs associated with physical inactivity topped $76 billion in 2000.

If only 10% of adults started a regular walking program, $5.6 billion spent to treat heart disease could be saved. Please read that again because that number is staggering.

A 10% weight loss can reduce an overweight person’s lifetime medical costs by $2,200 to $5,300 by lowering costs associated with high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke and high cholesterol.

Just how much physical activity is beneficial to your health?

Studies show that 30 minutes of mode

After exercise, Yoga can give you a leg up on recovery!

Whether you’ve been out for a long run, long walk, bike ride, or gone skiing, hiking, or golfing, your legs have taken quite a large portion of the brunt of the workout.

Try this Legs Up the Wall pose.

It’ll give your legs, feet and mind a break after your exercise efforts.

It also speeds recovery by draining fluids from the legs, stretches the hamstrings, and relieves tired legs and feet. Stay in this pose for 10 minutes and feel the difference!

1. Sitting on the floor, slide one hip as close as you can to a wall.

2. Swing both legs up the wall and shimmy your rear end as close to the wall as possible (you’ll be lying on your back). If this hurts your hamstrings, slide a few inches away from the wall.

3. Rest your arms on your belly, or stretch them away from you in a T, W, or V position.

4. When you are done, bend your knees, roll to one side, and rest there, taking a few breaths before getting up.

Try Legs Up the Wall Pose and let me know how it feels for you!

shelli

I’ve been using this OH WELL technique with my students and clients so I wanted to share it with you, too.

When I start working with a private client, I ask them a bunch of questions.

Questions like:

What do you want from your training and nutrition program?
What type of health do you want?
What type of physique do you want?

I also ask them how consistent they are with their good health and fitness routines.

And I often notice a real struggle with compliance.

In other words, we all struggle at times with consistency and fall off the healthy habit bandwagon.

I picked up this technique I’m going to tell you about from Dr. Judith Beck.

If you apply it, you’ll succeed at a higher rate of compliance than you ever thought possible with all your healthy habits.

Why?

Well, it’s because people have a tendency to waffle back and forth in their nutritional decision making. Indecision sets in, rationalization sets in, and we become tense and opt for poor choices.

Have you ever had this experience?

You’re in a store and you head over to buy something that’s not really in your best nutritional interest. You talk yourself out of getting it and start to walk away.

Then you talk yourself back into buying it and you head in that direction again.

I swear, this happened to me one time and I must have walked a mile of indecisive steps!

It was like I was at the end of a fishing pole and someone kept casting me out and reeling me in…….over and over and over again.

I’m hoping I’m not the only one who’s gone through something like that!?

OK–where was I? Oh yes, the oh well technique!

So whatever thought you use to rationalize your poor choice, you faced a moment of weakness and the weakness won you over.

But because you’re an aware and self correcting model of good self esteem, you see the err of your ways and don’t want to repeat them.

That’s where the oh well technique comes into play.

Here’s what you do.

Each time you’re presented with a food choice that’s not on your plan, instead of debating the merits of the food or justifying “just one bite”, instead of talking yourself into making a poor decision, simply repeat the phrase:

“Oh Well, it’s not on my plan.”

Then shrug your shoulders and move on and get busy doing something else like making better food choices, reading a book, talking with a friend, that sort of thing.

Yes, it’s a simple phrase but it won’t be easy in the beginning.

However, it is a powerful way to take back your power over your decision making.

One of my clients is a diabetic and needs to avoid high sugar foods. She’s having great success with this technique.

Another client entered a fat loss contest at work and she’s using the Oh Well technique to work her way towards the $1000 prize.

When you practice the Oh Well technique long enough, it becomes automatic and you won’t think twice about it. It’ll happen silently and you get to be in control.

Do remember to shrug the shoulders and act it out. Shrugging the shoulders helps release the tension that comes with making decisions.

If you’re someone who trades what you want most (like abundant health, or a fit and trim body) for what you want at the moment, try this technique.

If this phrase doesn’t work for you then pick one of your own like thanks anyway, or no thank you.

The idea is to turn your nutritional decision making into a “no big deal” proposition so that you come out on top and get the results you want!

PLEASE…….I can’t wait to hear about all the fun you have with this idea. Do email and let me know how it works. I’ll post a blog piece with real life stories from you all, so do give it a try!

shelli

No matter how you label yourself, raw vegan to heavy meat eater, here’s a super duper smoothie recipe that is abundantly healthy and delicious too.

A daily shake or smoothie is an easy way to incorporate more plant-based whole foods in your diet.

It’s easy to pack nutrients into a smoothie.

Liquid drinks make it easier absorb the nutrients and require less energy to digest.

The right shake can be used to support your activity level and recovery.

I have a smoothie every day.

Ideally, a shake should contain all the elements of a compete meal: protein, carbohydrate, and fat.

Here are the four main ingredients in this shake: Hemp protein, ground whole flax seeds, chlorella and maca.

1. Hemp protein is a raw whole food source. It’s a complete protein. It has gained popularity and hemp is now being used not just for food but for all sorts of ordinary items as well (clothes, bags, etc). Hemp protein is alkaline, easy to digest, and full of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, enzymes, and fiber.

2. Whole flax seeds (avoid flax meal that has had most of its health-promoting oils removed) are the richest source of Omega-3 fatty acids in the plant kingdom and a great source of soluble and insoluble fiber. Buy whole flax seeds, grind them yourself in a coffee grinder, and then store them in the fridge.

3. Maca is a South American root vegetable that acts as a powerful adrenal tonic. During times of high stress, maca is highly recommended. It’s high in sterols which help you gain strength, so maca is an important food for athletes.

4. Chlorella is another food good for stress reduction. It’s a freshwater algae with a protein content exceeding 65%. Chlorella is one of the most nutrient-dense superfoods on earth. It’s highly alkalizing and contains the highest concentration of chlorophyll found in nature.

After putting the four ingredients in your blender, you can mix in a banana. Use berries too because they are rich in antioxidants. You can try blending in raw pumpkin seeds for iron and ground sesame seeds for calcium, or raw carob powder for additional flavor and variety.

There are so many benefits to plant-based whole foods.

Just starting off your day with a shake like this goes a long way towards improving your health and well being. Try it and let me know what you think!

shelli

Got ankle pain, or do you perceive that you have weak ankles?

One of the many things I do as a coach is helping my clients recover from injuries and help them regain mobility and strength. I use a system called Z Health Performance Solutions.

Lately I’ve been noticing that many active people are asking me questions about recurring ankle sprains, so here’s some important information and a balancing exercise for you to practice.

The discomfort from an ankle sprain does subside, but there still can be issues with the ligament’s neural receptors.

These receptors convey ankle and foot positioning to your brain. When a sprain impairs receptor function, the brain’s sense of body positioning is thrown off. Your sense of balance is impaired, leaving you unstable and prone to injury.

Once your ankle pain has abated, try this exercise. It can help speed the repair of neural receptors to ensure a complete recovery.

Exercise: Grasp a chair for support. Keeping good posture the whole time, stand on the leg with the injured ankle and balance for 60 seconds. Repeat three times a day for four weeks. As this gets easier, try doing it without holding onto a chair and with your arms folded across your chest.

When you have areas in your body that are getting chronically injured, please have them checked out. There are solutions!

And while we’re on the topic of feet, I recently read a startling statistic.

The soles of shoes carry an average of 421,000 germs, some of which can be very virulent. So, to decrease your risk of contaminating your floors and body by 61%, take off your footwear at the front door!

I’ve been doing this since 1980 when I made my first trip to Japan. I loved the Japanese custom of switching to slippers when they enter a house. I prefer to go barefoot, but whatever your choice, do leave those shoes at the door!

shelli

Are you reaching your goals?

You have all these things you want to accomplish, right?

Lose weight.

Quit smoking.

Eat better or exercise more.

Do something about all the stress you feel.

You have so many things on the list that you can’t start them ALL right away.

So you decide to wait until next month to really take action.

Then something comes up and you put it off
until next month.

You know how it goes.

So at the end of the year you have not accomplished
your goals.

Are you ready to change that?

Are you ready to actually ACHIEVE your goals this time?

Here’s what I’d like you to do:

1) Start a new Word document on your computer.

2) Title it “Goals for the (month, year, week, whatever……you fill in the blank!)

3) Write down your top 10 goals.

4) Then reorder them according to importance.

5) Then take the last 8 off the list.

6) Then write a list of EXACTLY what you need to do to
achieve each of those TWO goals.

7) Write down EXACTLY how much time per week you
are willing to commit to achieving your goal.

Write down EXACTLY how much money per month
you are willing to invest to achieve your goal.

Include both the money you are willing to invest materially, meaning to
actually do the goal, and the money you are willing to invest
in training.

For example, if your goal is to lose 50 pounds, you probably can’t do it all by yourself. You’ll likely need a coach or a support group. So write down the money you
are willing to invest per month for a coach or a support group.

9) Write down EXACTLY what it will mean for you personally if
you achieve this goal.

Staying with the previous example of losing 50 pounds, what will that really mean if you lose the 50 pounds? Would it mean you’d fit into your clothes better,
be more attractive, feel better about yourself?

10) Then write a list of anything you don’t know how to do
or what you think is holding you back from achieving that goal.

11) Then commit to begin NOW, starting today to focus on your goal.

12) If you have completed #11 and are ready to start focusing NOW, send your Word document to me. I will probably get about 100 or more, so it may take me a few days to comment on them, but comment I will!

I look forward to hearing from you……so get started on step #1 RIGHT NOW!

shelli