Posted by Natalie Deangelo on Fri, Feb 26, 2010 @ 10:29 AM
Happy Friday, Fighters! Congratulations on another healthy week!
How many of 
you have tried everything when it comes to losing weight? Well, you are not alone! I had to laugh at Glamour Magazine's recent article "Seven Decades of Wacky Diet Trends". Think everything from the Cabbage Diet, taking up smoking, using prayer, to the Master Cleanse...we have been looking for the magic pill for weight loss since 1930!
Here's a thought: Let's live a little more like our earlier ancestors...pre- 1930! Let's focus on eating MORE fruits and vegetables and moving more. Let's do MORE of the good things, rather than focusing on less of the "bad". Let's life a fuller, healthier life, where we focus on what "to do" rather than deprivation or silly miracles...now there's a diet trend that will stick!
Posted by Monica Bautista on Wed, Feb 24, 2010 @ 01:24 PM
Happy Wednesday to all! I hope that you have been scheduling in time for your physical activity this week. Remember, it takes energy to make energy! The more you put in, the more you will get out!
Today, I want to talk about the importance of setting goals for your physical activity and fitness, especially if you are new to exercise or have just become bored with your current routine. There is no reason why physical activity should ever be boring - it's just too much fun!
Here at Full Life, we work with our clients to set realistic, measurable short and long-term goals to achieve a healthier lifestyle. And, because we know how important it is to practice what we preach, we, too, set goals for ourselves. Here are our fitness goals:
Whether or not you decide to train for an athletic event or if you just want to increase your physical activity and get more fit, the important thing is to have a goal. Here are some tips to get started:
- Establish your goal. Be specific.
- Write down your ultimate goal. Make it realistic and measurable.
- Break down your ultimate goal into smaller, achievable mini-goals.
- Determine how to achieve your mini-goals. Make a plan.
- Monitor your progress. Use a training diary or download Full life's Monthly Planning Calendar.
- Be flexible. Life happens...it's important to be able to adjust your plans and goals as needed.
- Focus on the positives! Celebrate your achievements, no matter how small they may seem!
If you want some extra support or accountability to get started or stay motivated, call us! We are here to help you get healthier!
Posted by Alicia Leeds on Mon, Feb 22, 2010 @ 11:39 AM
Spring is just around the corner - but you may be feeling like a little spring break in February - so... Whip up this yummy Pina Colada, garnish with a maraschino cherry or a fancy paper umbrella and grab your sun block!
You Will Need:
2 Scoops HMR 120 Vanilla Shake
1 Can Crushed Pineapple or 1 Cup Fresh Pineapple
Coconut Extract
Rum Extract
Water and Ice
Start by putting about 1/2 cup water in the blender and adding pineapple, shake mix and extracts (just a couple of drops at a time!). Blend until smooth. Add water and ice to desired flavor and consistency.
Make this shake whenever you need a touch of the tropics (it will help you get bikini ready, too!)
Bon Apetit!
Posted by Natalie Deangelo on Fri, Feb 19, 2010 @ 08:01 AM
Happy Friday, fighters! Congratulations on another healthy week!
I don't know about many of you, but I've been really inspired watching the Olympics this week. These athletes have amazing bodies, mental and physical stamina of steel and animal like speed! But speaking of moving FAST, the thing that really irks me is the Olympic Games are sponsored by McDonalds. Honestly, do you really think these athletes fuel their bodies with fast food? Do you really think their coaches recommend fries and a coke to go the distance..to win the gold? No way.
With that in mind, check out Men's Health latest article: 4 Shocking Secrets About Fast Food. Sadly, today's foods are not crafted in kitchens, but made in labs with thickening agents, chemicals and more. The worst? Wendy's Frosty contains an ingredient that's used as a filler in electronic cigarettes!
So whether you're a star athlete, or just a regular Full Life fighter who wants to fuel up, live longer and be stronger...Fast Food will never be an ingredient for success!
Posted by Monica Bautista on Wed, Feb 17, 2010 @ 01:21 PM
I was so happy to see the recent launch of Michelle Obama's Let's Move! campaign aimed at tackling childhood obesity. To fully understand the magnitude of childhood obesity in our country, please take a moment to read these startling statistics:
- One in five preschoolers are obese. Not just overweight, but obese!
- Blood pressure and diabetes drug prescriptions rose 15% and 23%, respectively, for children in just a 3-year period.
- Elevated BMI in childhood associated with $14.1 billion in additional prescription drug, emergency room and outpatient visit costs annually.
- Children who are overweight lose arterial elasticity, putting them at risk for heart disease.
- A decline in fitness from childhood to adulthood is associated with obesity and insulin resistance in adulthood.
- One third of people born in the year 2000 or later will suffer from diabetes and others will face obesity-related problems, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer and asthma.
For the first time ever, this generation of children may not outlive their parents!
Let's Move! is a community-oriented campaign that will include strategies to address the factors that lead to childhood obesity. Leaders in government, medicine & science, education, business, athletics, community organizations, etc. will come together to encourage and support healthy lifestyles. Their focus will be on:
- Helping parents make healthy lifestyle choices.
- Serving healthier food in schools.
- Making healthy food more accessible and affordable.
- Increasing physical activity.
It is our responsibility to be good role models for our children, to provide them with nutritious food and plenty of opportunities to get regular physical activity. As a parent, I know that this can be challenging at times. But, I also know that it's time to stand up and help bring about a positive change for future generations. Here are some ideas to help you get started:
- Eliminate junk food from the house. If you don't want to eat it because it's not good for you, why should your children be eating it?
- Take time to prepare meals with plenty of fruits and vegetables. If you don't have time during the week, spend time on the weekends making and freezing healthy meals.
- Pack healthy snacks - cut up fruits, veggies, whole wheat wraps with natural almond or peanut butter, yogurt, low-fat cottage cheese, low-fat cheese sticks.
- Eliminate soda and other sugary drinks. Squeeze a lemon or lime into water for a refreshing drink!
- Make family time active - go outside and play catch, go to the park for a game of tag, take a walk after dinner, go for a family bike ride...the possibilities are endless!
- Limit screen time - computer, tv, video games.
- Visit the Let's Move! website and sign up for email updates.
Children are natural born movers - unfortunately, they learn not to move! We have the opportunity and the responsibility to turn that around in our own families and our communities. The future of our children and our children's children depends on it!
If you have great ideas or things that you have done to create a healthier lifestyle for yourself and your family, I would love to hear them! The more information we can share with each other, the better off we will all be!
Now, get out there and Get Moving!
Posted by Alicia Leeds on Mon, Feb 15, 2010 @ 10:58 AM
There's just one word for this week's shake of the week.
YUM!!
The key to making this shake deliciously different is saving 1/2 of the berries to fold into the ice cream rather than blending up the whole batch. You will be amazed at what changing the texture of a shake can do to add variety. Freeze this shake for 30 minutes before serving to thicken it up.
This is a great recipe to have on hand when everyone else is indulging in dessert. (Remember that most gourmet ice cream comes in around 300 calories per 1/2 cup!) With recipes like this you can have treats you love without busting your calorie budget.
You will need:
- 1 C Strawberries (fresh or frozen) - chopped
- 4-5 drops strawberry extract
- 1T Fat Free Sugar Free Vanilla Pudding
- 1 cup crushed ice or ice cubes
Directions:
Put water, 1 level scoop of HMR 120 vanilla, 1/2 C strawberries, strawberry extract and pudding mix into the blender. Blend on medium speed as you gradually add ice. Continue blending until desired ice cream consistency is reached. Fold in other 1/2 C chopped strawberries.
Bon Apetit!
Posted by Natalie Deangelo on Fri, Feb 12, 2010 @ 08:42 AM
Good morning, fighters, and happy Friday! Earlier in the week, we heard Michelle Obama speak about the new Let's Move Campaign, to fight against and prevent childhood obesity. Today, a third of our country's children are overweight or obese. Another alarming fact? People who are overweight or obese spend and EXTRA $1400/year on medical bills. As the first lady spoke, she mentioned that although weight is a sensitive issue among our children, it's not about size or the scale, it's about helping our children FEEL healthy and strong.
That's why it kills me to see restaurants popping up like the Heart Attack Grill, a real place in Chandler, Arizona that boasts foods like the Quadruple Bypass Burger. We blogged about this place before, watch the video here, where the owner admits, "Hey this is bad for you, and it's gonna kill you."
But NOW, the grill's newest special? People over 350lbs eat FREE. WHAT?! What kind of reward is this? Perhaps the Heart Attack Grill is thinking of saving you a few dollars to put towards your $1400 medical bill at the end of the year.
How can we continue to teach our children healthy behaviors when our country continues to reward obesity? As we go into the weekend, fighters, I encourage you to be healthy role models for your children. Have fun with fruits and vegetables. Get up and move. Reward them with extra activites like playtime, not food. Because if you don't, who will?
And, as the Let's Move campaign unfolds, remember the motto for your own family's activities this weekend.."Let's Move!"
Posted by Monica Bautista on Wed, Feb 10, 2010 @ 08:37 AM
Happy Wednesday to all! As you may have read in my post last week, I spent the end of the week at the HMR training in Southern California. It was a great opportunity to reconnect with so many others throughout the country who are helping their clients lose weight and live healthier lifestyles. There was also some very powerful data presented that I want to share with you today regarding how a healthy, active lifestyle protects against mental decline.
We have known the benefits for our bodies that result from regular physical activity - it helps to combat chronic diseases, improves mood, helps with weight loss & weight management, boosts energy level, promotes better sleep...
More and more research is now being conducted about how regular physical activity affects our brain. Here are some highlights:
- Physical activity slows the process of myelin breakdow (myelin is the "insulation" around nerve fibers in the brain).
- Exercise stimulates the production of neurotransmitters and the formation of new synapses.
- Physical activity guards white blood cells from aging by preserving telomere length (telomeres are the tips of chromosomes that protect the cell from aging).
- Aerobic exercise immediately improves short term memory.
- In a study of over 3,000 twin pairs, fitness far outweighed genes in determining higher intelligence.
- Remaining physically, mentally, and socially active has a substantial impact on whether older adults experience declines in memory and cognition, which includes our ability to learn and solve problems...with the benefits of aerobic exercise being the most impressive.
For more information about the studies that produced these findings, please email me at HMRatHome@earthlink.net.
Do your body and your brain good...get out there and Get Moving! Have a great week!
Posted by Alicia Leeds on Mon, Feb 08, 2010 @ 10:17 AM
More is Better when it comes to weight loss and weight loss maintenance. More physical activity, of course, more fruits and vegetables, and more HMR shakes to add structure and volume. Most people find it easy to develop and stay in the habit of morning shakes - but our busy days can take us away from the rest of our best made plans.
This week's shake of the week is both a recipe and a strategy - an easy way to have your shakes available whenever you need them.
Start by making your morning shake and give a quick rinse to your blender, if needed. Immediately prepare the following pudding recipe:
You Will Need:
4 Packets HMR 70+ Chocolate Shake
1 1/2 C Cold Water
Cinnamon and Nutmeg (optional)
Pour 1C water in blender. Add HMR shake mix and spices. Blend, adding water until thick and creamy. Refrigerate 4 to 24 hours.
Later on, you can simply place your blender on its base and re-blend to whip up a delicious snack or dessert - and use whatever is left over to make tomorrow morning's shake by adding a little more water, a banana, and ice.
70+ puddings will get thicker and more delicious the longer they stay in the fridge (up to 24 hours) - just be sure to reblend before use to get a velvety consistency. Be creative.
Make it easier to achieve your weight management goals by practicing More is Better with time saving, delicious strategies like this one.
Bon Apetit!
Posted by Natalie Deangelo on Fri, Feb 05, 2010 @ 12:21 PM
Happy Friday Fighters! I hope all of you are wearing your red today! Today is National Wear Red Day, to raise awareness about the #1 killer in women- heart disease. Here's a quote from the American Heart Association about heart health and heart disease prevention:
The more thoughtfully you protect your heart, starting as early as your 20s, the less likely you'll face the life-threatening challenges posed by cardiovascular disease. No matter what your age or where you feel you are in your life, the best time to take action and get healthy is always right now.
From jogging with your friends, to swapping healthy recipes, to keeping up with loved ones and learning your family history, your heart health depends on a life-long commitment. As always, the first way for you, as a woman, to Go Red is to take good care of yourself every day. Because when you do, your life can be as beautiful as you are yourself.
We couldn't have said it better ourselves..
Check out this site for details: http://www.goredforwomen.org/national_wear_red_day.aspx
So fighters, if you have not broken out your favorite red sweater or tshirt..it's not too late. Do it and inspire others to raise awareness for heart health too! And yes, red just happens to be my color =)
Have a heart healthy weekend!
Posted by Monica Bautista on Wed, Feb 03, 2010 @ 07:24 AM
I'm leaving today to go to Southern California for HMR's annual training. I've got my bag packed and ready to go...
- Outfits, check!
- Shoes, check!
- Jacket & sweater, check! (it's always cold in hotel conference rooms!)
- Toothbrush, toiletries, check!
- Running shoes, check!
- Workout clothes, check!
- Resistance bands, jump rope, food journal and workout log, and IPod, check!
The first four items are things that everyone brings when traveling (or has to buy when they get there!). The last three may not be the most common items to pack when traveling, but they are an easy way to keep up with your physical activity while away from home.
Here are some other ideas:
- Do your research...choose a hotel with a fitness center and/or a hotel that offers exercise programs on the television. If you go to the fitness center, I suggest arriving before 6:00 a.m. or after 7:00 a.m. - this hour seems to be prime time for many business travelers.
- Fit in exercise at the airport. Don't just sit as you wait for your connecting flight. Walk 10 - 15 minutes away from your gate and 10 - 15 minutes back (more or less, depending on when your flight leaves). Use the stairs instead of the escalator - they are always a lot less crowded!
- Walk, walk, walk, and walk some more. Especially if you are in business meetings all day, you need to get up and get your body moving when you can. Even if you can only fit in a 10 minute walk during the lunch break, do it! And then try to fit in another at the end of the day.
- Stay active! Don't just lounge by the pool...get in and splash around! Rent a bike! Go for a walk and sightsee!
- And, finally, don't use your traveling as an excuse to "eat whatever you want". Pack healthy snacks and water for the plane. Bring your HMR meal replacements and hand-held blender with you (or call the hotel ahead of time to see if they will have a blender available for you). HMR shakes, puddings, and entrees are portable and great for traveling. Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables - at least 5 servings per day. Make wise choices when you go out to eat, like grilled chicken or fish, steamed veggies, salad (without cheese & dressing), or a baked potato with salsa!
Remember, the next time you travel, make a plan for how you will fit in physical activity on your trip, go prepared, and keep moving! It will be that much easier to resume your workout routine when you get back home!
Happy Travels!
Posted by Alicia Leeds on Mon, Feb 01, 2010 @ 09:44 AM
When I was a kid, bananas made their way into my diet as the most delicious banana bread you can imagine.
Now, while I would love to convince myself that banana bread (and cherry pie and blueberry muffins) offers my required serving of fruit - you know and I know that's a stretch of the imagination that's sure to bust any calorie budget.
Here's a recipe for a thick, rich HMR shake that has all the flavor of fresh baked banana bread AND is packed with protein to keep you going all morning long.
You will need:
16 oz. cold water
1 scoop HMR 120 Vanilla Shake
1 Packet HMR 70+ Chocolate
1 banana
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
Nutmeg
Ice, cubes or crushed
Directions:
Pour water in blender, add HMR 120 Vanilla Shake, HMR 70+ Chocolate Shake, banana, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, pinch nutmeg and blend. Add ice and continue to blend to desired consistency.
You can use any combination of HMR Chocolate and HMR Vanilla shakes for this one - but I think the V120 and C70+ has just the right amount of sweetness and richness to balance the full flavors of the banana and spices.
Bon Apetit!