Life is uncertain. It's easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the Holidays and forget how important it is to just slow down. This weekend I am challenging all of you to unplug. Slow down, step outside of yourself and look around. Think about what you truly need and what you can live without. Your list of needs will probably include family, friends, shelter, food and faith. Do you have your health on that list? Too often we underestimate how important our own health and wellness is and it becomes less of a priority. For some reason, it feels selfish to spend time "working" on improving our own health. But in reality, the opposite is true. If you love your family and want to give them the best life possible, you need to keep your own health and wellness at the top of that list.

Chances are, if you're under the age of 40, you haven't given much thought what life would be like for your family and friends if you suddenly became ill. Chronic illness can strike anyone at any age. And suddenly you may find yourself dependent on others for care. This weekend, I challenge you to think about how important YOU really are to everyone around you. Make your health and wellness a priority now, before a crisis happens.

Fitness and food are the best preventative medicine

Even the healthiest of people can become sick. There's no guarantee that exercising and eating healthy will prevent us from ever becoming ill. But it really is your best defense. Studies show that you can fight and manage most chronic conditions like heart disease, diabetes, chronic inflammation and autoimmune disease in part through regular fitness and modifying your diet.

Don't wait for a health crisis to happen to make changes...act now!

What's your plan? Even the busiest of people can adapt to a healthy lifestyle, it just takes a little bit of planning.

• Decide how much time you have to workout? You can get a very effective workout in as little as 30 minutes a day. When you stop and think about it, a small sacrifice like getting up a half hour earlier or spending less time on social media can allow you to fit a simple workout in.
• Schedule fitness like it's your job! Make a meeting with yourself and remind yourself that your half hour workout is as important as a meeting with your boss. Get it done.
• Be mindful of your eating. Learn about clean eating and start replacing bad eating habits with healthy choices. For example, start by limiting or eliminating sugar. Replace soda with water or unsweetened ice tea.
• Eat 3 meals and 3 snacks every day. Plan meals and prepare them ahead of time. It helps to save time and money. Keep healthy snacks on hand at work and in your car to prevent temptation to eat processed, junk and fast foods.
• Don't skip breakfast. Breakfast sets the tone for the entire day. Skip it and you will find yourself craving food (usually carbs and sugar) all day long. A good breakfast is a combination of protein and complex carbs like oatmeal and berries; eggs, whole grain English muffin and fruit; or a granola bar, banana and milk.
• Make your family and friends aware that you are trying to improve your health. If they are aware of how important it is to you they will support you.
• Join a an online challenge group or start your own. Online challenges are a fun and convenient way to stay accountable. Challenge groups make getting fit easy because the group follows a step-by-step fitness and nutrition plan. No guesswork, just follow the plan each and every day and before you know it, clean eating and fitness will become automatic,

$30 Cash Back
This weekend only!

This offer is valid only for my new and existing customer! Email me for more information:
brendalajay@gmail.com

Did you over do it a little lately? Need to get back on track? Join an online fitness and nutrition challenge group and let's rein it in together. Fill out the application below or email me brendalajay@gmail.com

There are tons of Wufoo features to help make your forms awesome.

Brenda

This Simple Tip Could Help You Lose Weight

from the Beachbody blog

Think back to your last meal. Was it pleasant and leisurely? Or were you rushing to wolf it down before hitting the morning commute? How often have you found yourself racing through meals on-the-go, or watching TV while mindlessly shoveling forkfuls of food into your mouth? Simply putting your fork down between bites could help you eat less and enjoy your meals more.

The common sense advice, to slow down eating by placing your fork on the plate between bites is actually a very useful tactic for reaching your weight-loss goals. Slowing down can be good not only for your digestion and your table manners, it can help prevent overeating. It forces you to relax and pay attention to chewing the food you already have, and allows you to notice more easily when you begin to feel full.

How long do you usually take to finish a meal? If it’s 10 minutes or less, you could be eating twice as much as your body needs without even knowing it! The body takes 20 minutes before it alerts the brain that it has had enough.That’s because it’s not your stomach reaching capacity that tells your brain to stop, it’s food reaching your intestines that triggers the signal to put down the fork. Eating quickly can cause you to eat dozens of extra mouthfuls of food before your brain gets that important message.

A study published in The Journal of the American Dietetic Association reported that slower eaters ate 10 percent fewer calories and felt more full. They also drank more water during meals. Another study published in The British Medical Journal, reported that eating quickly and eating until full was consistent with being overweight, and the combination of both of these habits tripled the risk of being overweight.

It sounds like a no-brainer, but have you ever actually tried putting your fork down between every bite, chewing your food, and not picking up your fork again until you’ve swallowed the previous bite? Try it today and pay attention to how it feels. If you’re eating food with your hands, like a wrap or a slice of pizza, put the food on the plate while you chew. Think about how many calories you could potentially save at every meal just by using this technique.

Brenda