Posted by Alicia Leeds on Tue, Aug 17, 2010 @ 04:45 PM
Most personal trainers recommend a protein blast within a half an hour after a workout. Here are the top ten reasons I choose HMR 800 as my perfect post workout shake!
1- 16 grams of high quality protein
2- It tastes great
3- It's portable
4- Mixes right in your water bottle
5- Cost less than $2 per shake
6- You can leave packets in your gym bag
7- 2 delicious flavors
8- Part of your "in the box" weight loss strategy
9- Refreshing
10- Fast and easy
Posted by Monica Bautista on Wed, May 05, 2010 @ 05:08 PM
As a follow up to my earlier post today, I wanted to share this excerpt from an email that I received from Exercise is Medicine this afternoon:
Bob Sallis blogs for Exercise is Medicine:
"I've been a physician for more than twenty years and I've seen a lot of patients. I can tell you first-hand, people who exercise are healthier. They are less prone to illness, less affected by stress and generally do seem to be happier.
We all know exercise is not a magic bullet. It doesn't guarantee you won't get cancer or have high blood pressure. But research clearly shows exercise helps treat and prevent many chronic diseases including diabetes, heart disease, cancer and hypertension.
Today, too much focus is on obesity and finding ways to get patients to lose weight. Instead, we should focus on exercise for overall, life-long health. Other benefits such as weight loss, better circulation, increased strength and improved agility will certainly follow. I know, I have seen it in my patients and in myself.
I assess my patients exercise habits at every appointment and treat it like a "vital sign". There is no better indicator of a patient's health and longevity than how many minutes per week they exercise. When necessary, I write prescriptions for physical activity for my patients. I recommend a minimum of 30 minutes of moderate physical activity, 5 days a week. And if a patient needs to be monitored, I refer them to a certified fitness professional.
Of all the measures that can be taken to prevent illness and disease, exercise is, by far, the most worthwhile. Whether you're sick or healthy, young or old, fit or not, exercise makes you feel better almost immediately! The trick is to sustain a fitness regime. Help is out there. Support is available. Whatever it takes, just get moving!"
Robert E Sallis, MD, FACSM, ACSM is chair of Exercise is Medicine
For more information about Exercise is Medicine and access to valuable resources, click here.
Posted by Monica Bautista on Thu, Apr 01, 2010 @ 10:20 PM
Happy Friday to all! I hope you have had a great week full of healthy eating and lots of moving!
Today, I want to share some personal insights about working with an expert to achieve your health and fitness goals. As many of you may know from a previous post, I am currently training for my first sprint triathlon with the hopes of completing longer distance triathlons and, maybe someday, working up to an Ironman. That's off in the distance...a long-term goal!
My passion is physical fitness. I am always reading and trying to learn as much as I can about improving physical fitness and reaching new levels of performance. This passion led me to complete a Personal Training Certification a few months ago and, although I feel like I have a good base of knowledge in the field, I have come to realize that I need an expert to really help guide me to the next level with my training. I need someone to plan my workouts and then hold me accountable to them. I need an expert to tell me what to do and how to do it so that I can achieve my goals of being a better swimmer, faster runner, more efficient cyclist and, ultimately, complete long distance endurance events.
As I was going through this process, I was thinking that it is exactly the same thing that we encourage our clients to do when it comes to achieving their goals of making better choices, increasing physical activity, and, ultimately, living a healthier lifestyle...work with an expert. It's not simply of question of knowing the "right" things to do ~ eating more fruits and vegetables, creating variety with HMR meal replacements, and getting more exercise. Many of us know the "right" things to do. What becomes difficult is holding ourselves accountable, addressing challenging situations, and building the momentum to create a healthier lifestyle. Those are just some of the things that the Full Life Personal Coaches will help you do...they are truly experts in the field of weight management and healthy living.
I made the call today and will be working with a triathlon coach by this weekend. I encourage you to make the call, too...download our FREE Weight Loss Planning Guide and receive a complimentary 15 minute coaching session...see how our experts can help you.
Don't forget to download our April calendar full of healthy tips and ideas!
Posted by Alicia Leeds on Thu, Jul 30, 2009 @ 01:21 PM
Bradley is the substitute yoga teacher this morning. He is incredibly energetic. Bradley is excited by the practice of yoga, bringing together the body and spirit, and the "rad" concept that each of us, being entirely unique, is perfectly beautiful in our very own way. Yoga, he says, is a way to get inside yourself, to be in the moment, and appreciate your body for what it is right now.
"It's amazing, isn't it, I mean, so rad, to realize that you can only leave one set of footprints that are uniquely yours in this lifetime. You are perfect just as you are in this moment! Like think about the people in your life who find you beautiful, your partners who have loved your body just as it is and your friends who love you because they see the unique beauty you have. I mean, it's rad, you are this being inside this body, just sparks and energy behind those eyes, you have this body, this perfect body to be in and play with so play! No one has hands like yours - that's so beautiful, and this practice of yoga can teach us to be fully in appreciation of where we are in this moment. You look at the magazine covers - who says that her combination of cells defines what beauty is - you are all perfect! Alicia, just be the most Alicia that you can be - why would you want to look like or be like anyone else when you can be truly unique and yourself!"
I am paraphrasing - but you get the idea.
So I started to think about all the things we wait to do until we reach the "perfect weight". All the "if onlys" and "when I ams". What are the hopes and dreams we put on hold until we see the magical on the number on the scale - when our bodies, finally, will be perfect enough to...what? ... go swimming in the ocean with your granddaughter? Ask that woman out to dinner? Join the dance class? ... Like who we are or the way we look?
Why can't we start doing those things right now?
Weight loss can create new opportunitues to live more fully. Weight loss gives some people more energy, more self confidence, and a better sense of control over their lives. But what I am suggesting is that if we can take Bradley's rad perspective and practice believing we are perfect right now - it might make the task of taking better care of ourselves easier. After all, when you love and appreciate someone - you do right by them.
Too often we punish ourselves for the way we are right now. And then feel we have to deprive ourselves to be better. It's a cycle of negativity that's counterproductive.
So the next time we feel discouraged about our weight we could practice identifying something about ourselves that is unique and beautiful. We could practice telling ourselves that we are perfect just as we are - and it might be easier to make healthy choices. Instead of saying "I can't have this (pizza) because I have been bad and I am awful" let's try "I will choose this (delightful salad) because I am beautiful and my body deserves nutritious food.
Our lifelong well being depends on being good (kind, gentle, appreciative, grateful, nurturing) to ourselves in this moment - no matter what the scale says or what we look like. Hmmm, we are perfect exactly the way we are. Rad.