Workout Tip Wednesday

Here are some more helpful work out tips:

* Replace your sneakers often. At least after every 250 - 500 miles of walking/running.

* Stair climbing is a low-impact alternative to running.

* Choose exercises that you enjoy doing. You'll be more inclined to stick with a fitness regimen when it includes things you like to do.

* Change your fitness routine every 4-6 weeks to prevent a workout plateau.

* Strive to include total body workouts. These include: cardiovascular exercises, strength training (both upper and lower body), core training and stretching/flexibility.

* Measure your exercise intensity. There are several methods: heart rate, rating of perceived exertion, talk test.

* Whenever possible, take the stairs instead of an elevator.

* Stretching and flexiblity are very important aspects of good physical fitness, so don't overlook them. Ideally, you should stretch before each workout (both cardio and resistance exercises) and after each workout. If you can't do both, then make the after stretching a priority.

* When stretching before a workout, it's best to stretch after you've gotten warmed-up for about 5 minutes (your muscles will be looser).

* When working out on cardio equipment (e.g. elliptical trainers), don't lean heavily on the handrails. This will reduce the amount of calories you burn.

* GET OFF THE COUCH AND GET GOING!!! :)

12 Step Tuesday

12 Step Tuesday

Step 2 - Hope
Key Principle: Come to believe that the power of God can restore you to complete spiritual health!!

Diet after diet and a life time of struggle with my weight led me to realize my powerless over my food addiction, which stripped me of all hope! I had a strong belief in God (whom I lovingly refer to as my Heavenly Father), but I had no idea that he had any interest in my weight. Nor did I have any idea how he could help my lose the weight. Yes I had prayed many times (if you call pathetic pleading with Him to just "do it for me" a prayer). Finally I was so humbled that when I was introduced to this program I had hit "Rock Bottom". Which actually is a beautiful place to be!!! All the literature that I came upon for this program stated that in order for someone to have success with this and follow through with all the steps that is EXACTLY where they need to be...... "Rock Bottom". So if you feel frustrated and like you are there - REJOICE! That's right where the Lord needs you to be to work a miracle in your life. I witnessed those who had lost tons of weight on this program, but not the traditional way of hitting the gym for 3 hours per day and "fighting" the weight! They were happy! I was so grateful to learn that if I would just turn to the Lord, there would be "no habit, or addiction" that He couldn't take care of. I've witnessed the miracle of going from a "White knuckle approach to weight loss" to the Lord removing the desire for the movie popcorn, candy, ice cream and my favorite Loft house cookies.... you know the ones, with ALL the frosting... love em!! As my relationship with Lord improved the pounds fell off!! It was different this time... I felt safe like the weight wasn't going to come back. If wasn't a diet, it was a miracle!! My eating became all about fueling my body with "The Best".... not just having a party in my mouth!! Isagenix was like checking myself into "DAY SPRING". For 2 meals of the day I would whip up a healthy shake that is loaded with over 240 essential nutrients, all my amino acids, minerals, calcium, vitamins, digestive enzymes! All while cleansing out the harmful toxins and impurities!! It just made perfect sense!! And I felt (and feel) AMAZING!!!!

I realized that I had an illness as serious as diabetes or cancer or any other serious disease that can take your life, if you're not focused on the cure. Well I found my "cure" and there are a few simple tools that keep me on my road to recovery living a life that I could only dream of before. I found that with the grace of Jesus Christ I maintain my abstinence "One Day at a Time"!! I realized that my weight loss recovery must be spiritual! How weird that seemed to me.... I always thought it was about calories in vs. calories out and how hard I could work out every day. This was defying all my Nutrtion & Fitness background!! But What if you CAN'T control the calories in vs. the calories out. Meaning you were falling off the wagon every single weekend, or party, or sporting event or baby or bridal shower. Then there is no way you could ever reach you "Target Weight" you need to rely on a "Power Greater than Your Self". I found that power..... it lies in the atonement of Jesus Christ!!

This program is worth every effort! You must embrace these 3 words.... HONESTY, OPENMINDEDNESS AND WILLINGNESS!!! You must be Honest with yourself that if you have spent a lifetime batteling the weight then get honest and admitt that what you are doing ISN'T working!! You have to Open your mind and see that there is another way!! Then you must become Willing to submitt to the program and follow it as though your life depended on it! Because for some of you it does.... it may just be the quality of your life that depends on it!! Do you miss events because of your weight? What about swimming with your kids or going to places you might see old friends? Really ask yourself if you are living your highest quality of life with the body that God has blessed you with!! It's time!!

Action Steps for Step 2
Pray, Read and Meditate on the Scriptures!!

As you let go of pride and begin to consider bringing God back into your life, you will start to think in more prayerful terms. You will feel you have reopened a conversation with someone who will always answer you, not always with a yes but always with love. This desire to communicate with God will lead you to study the words of modern and ancient prophets. Make sure that you get a recovery journal and record (or we call it capture) those precious things that the Lord will reveal to you during this study time. Putting God first in my day every day has totally changed my life!! And it will yours to.... just remember the word HOPE. If that's all you can start with is a tiny ray of HOPE then start and you will witness His love for you and His power in your life!!

Love & Light,

Re-Cap of Last Thursday's Meeting

9-24-09 Mind Body Spirit

(thanks to Julie for emailing the notes from the meeting)

Our Biggest Loser was--------Shane Brown!!! Way to go Shane!!!

MIND

Everything on the planet is energy. If you want to get jazzed about that, then study Quantum Physics. Start recognizing everyone’s energy. People who drain you are what Raquett calls energy suckers; they always talk about what is wrong in their world.

Our body vibrates at a lower frequency than our brain. Jack Canfield says “1 hour of visualization is equal to 7 hours of work.

By God and the Law of Attraction and by action you receive it (what you ask for). If you think negative you will attract negative. Monitor your feelings and change your thoughts. Change your state of mind. Rate your state of mind on a scale of 1-10, do I feel euphoric, good, depressed etc. What can you do to bring yourself up from a 5 or below? You can do this by asking yourself and empowering question, to shift your state of mind. Such as: Why am I feeling so great? Why are my kids so awesome? Why am I lean and fit? Make a list of empowering questions that pertain to you that you can use for yourself.

When you focus on a big goal you need to see your face in the future. That is the power of visualization, do 15 min. of meditation and visualization 3 times a day, (morning, noon, night). Keep a timer close by wherever you choose to sit and meditate.

Sometimes we try so hard to visualize what we want our life to be like, we forget what we already have. We need to remember and be grateful for what we have received.

Whatever we put our attention on appears. We have 60,000-70,000 thoughts a day.

BODY

No time to get to the gym? What can you do for exercise? Walk, go to the park, and use a medicine ball and 5, 8, 10 pound weights. As women age, 30 and up she loses about 1 pound of lean tissue mass a year. Sit on a body ball while watching TV and using hand weights at the same time. You want to do cardio every day, upper body, pecks; lower body should be done no more than every other day. Some things that are good for the upper body include: bicep curls and military press, lower body: lunges and squats, when doing squats do not allow your knees to cover your toes, you want to be able to see your toes. Butterfly is good for your pecks. If you want to work our upper and lower body together a good thing is to do bicep curls while doing squats. Abs are more resilient and can be worked daily, crunches are best including where you rest one ankle on the opposite knee and while doing your crunch twist to move the opposite shoulder toward the knee that is now in the air. Use these types of exercises at home when you are unable to get to the gym.

Raquett says she has a list of exercises to do with the medicine ball and will email them out.

12 STEP PROGRAM

We will be starting on step one on Oct. 8th.

Step 12 is Service---Find 2 people who are struggling with weight or body image and help them.

Motivational Monday

How many times in the journey of weight loss do we forget the power within us? How many times do we give in to the temptations around us? How many times do we fail to realize that this doesn't just have to be something that we want but it is something that we can each have?

Going through the motions of every day and not realizing the greatness within each of us puts a cap so to speak on the level of achievement that we can each obtain. I've thought about this a lot this weekend. Positive mindset, knowing that weight loss is obtainable, surrounding yourself with positive things and ridding yourself of the negative make that difference between being the best and being great.

Trying to come up with a motivational post every Monday can sometimes prove to be a little difficult because sometimes you just want to give in. Sometimes you want to just be mediocre because its too hard to be great. Some days it's enough for you to just climb out of bed and make it to work. On those days, the motivation is what is going to make the difference. On those days we must change the way we think, the way we act, the way we are in that moment and remember that none of us were born to fail. We were each born to succeed and help others succeed.

On this Motivational Monday it is my hope that we will each take a few minutes after watching this video clip and write down 10 great things about ourselves, to remind us that we are GREAT, not just mediocre beings having a human experience.

Spotlight Saturday!!

"In the final analysis we are the product of the things we have DONE with our time, not the things we INTENDED to do. Wanting to be a different person is not enough. Believing in your heart that you're a different person than your actions and behavior would indicate is also not enough. Do things differently and you become that different person. Behave and take action in alignment with your vision of who you desire to be and you will fulfill that vision and become that person."

As I have thought about this weeks spotlight my heart has been turned over and over again to one special person. It is a member of our team who has made this quote a reality. She has embraced this quote and become it. The spotlight Saturday this week goes to our fearless leader RaQuett. She is a woman of great strength, amazing will-power and endless love for others. She doesn't get paid to coach, hold group meetings, encourage others.... she does it because she cares.

Thank you for all that you do for our team to strive to make us better people, encourage us to step into the un-known, take risks that bring great rewards, and showing us that we are each individuals with our own story.

Funny Friday!!

Work Out Wednesday!!

The end of summer can be traumatic for some people, but fall isn't that bad when you think about crisp mornings, cozy nights and the sweet smell of falling leaves. With kids back to school and holidays on the way, it may seem impossible to find time to exercise, especially when there's not as much daylight and the weather gets chilly. But, this is the best time of year to get outside and enjoy the fresh air without the heat and humidity. Here are three great ways to enjoy the fall weather and get your exercise in at the same time!

Walking

Walking is one of the easiest forms of exercise. All you really need is a good pair of shoes and, perhaps, some fall weather gear. The key to making it enjoyable is to make it a daily thing. Plan on after dinner walks with the family or before work and school. You can also plan family activities that involve walking like apple-picking adventures.

Hiking

Fall is a great time to go hiking--cool weather, no bugs and, of course, magnificent views. Plus, hiking burns mega-calories as you increase your elevation and really work those legs.

Running

Fall is probably the best time of year for running outdoors. It's not too hot, not too cold and watching the leaves change colors each time you head outside can make each workout a new adventure.

12 Step TUESDAY!

Step 1: Honesty

Key Principle: Admit that you, of yourself, are powerless to overcome your food addiction and that your life has become unmanageable.

Whatever our motive for starting to "use" food for reasons other than fueling our bodies, we soon discovered that the food relieved more than just physical pain. It provided stimulation or numbed out painful feelings or moods. We eat because of worry, loneliness, discouragement, regret or boredom. Food is such a socially acceptable drug of choice!! But it is still that if you are abusing it...... a drug!

Rarely do people caught in addictive behaviors admit to being addicted. To deny the seriousness of our condition and to avoid detection and the consequences of our choices, we tried to minimize or hide our behaviors. Food seems like such a socially acceptable addiction. It's fun, it's at every party and it has become such a huge problem, with most of Americans over weight. Research has shown that sugar is more addictive than heroin. White, refined flour is taking over our nation... these processed foods are killing people a little at a time!!

I have been to tons of "Personal Power" seminars that taught me how amazing I am and how powerful I am! SO this first step was very difficult for me to take. To truly admit that I had become powerless over food. How could me..... a nutrtionist, an intelligent person be powerless over food. Well the countless diets I had tried with little or no success actually opened my mind that maybe I was powerless over food. I finally had to get honest with myself and admitt that my life could definately be managed a little better.

Action Steps:

Nothing begins without an individual's will to make it begin. Freedom from addiction with a tiny flicker of will. Choose what you are going to abstain from. or life will degeneratively get worse. I chose to abstain from the most highly addictive foods such as sugar and white flour.

Let go of pride and seek humility. "Pride is essentially competitive in nature. We pit our will against God's. When we direct our pride toward God it is in the spirit of "my will and not thine be done"

Motivational Monday!!

Spotlight Saturday!!

Sorry I'm a little bit behind on things due to being out of town this past weekend. The spotlight for last week goes to.....





Julie Knight!!!





Julie is an AMAZING asset and part of our team. She acts as the secretary for the team. Along with that Julie has helped Glain see a loss of more than 100 pounds. We all know the importance of a good solid support while losing and struggling with the journey and I can only imagine how amazing of a supportive wife Julie has been for Glain. She is constantly texting, emailing, or facebook messaging other team members to check in on them and see how they are doing, lending advice and support and being a strong shoulder to lean upon. Julie has also done a remarkable job with her own weight loss journey and says that the product has changed her life and the way she feels. She truly has been a beacon of light to many in the group, always willing to lend a helping hand at a moment's notice and we feel so grateful to have her as part of our ISA Family.

I wish I had a picture to post of Julie but I couldn't find one anywhere.... however, I found this one and thought it was only fitting. I know its "cartoon looking" but when I saw this I thought of Julie, always willing to help others who feel like they are drowning and need someone to grab a hold of. So, here's to you Julie Knight, our spotlight of the week!!

Funny Friday

Happy Friday!!! I just LOVE THESE LITTLE KIDS!!! Children have a way of always making you laugh it seems. Make sure you take a few minutes and watch these short but funny videos and make time today to remember to laugh!

Work Out Wednesday!!

Dance Workouts

Switch it up! Take a cue from square dancing caller and do-si-do and switch partners when it comes to your body building workout routines.

Varying your routines and programs will make your workout routine more exciting and will keep you from reaching a plateau. Try these tips on how to spice up your workout:

• Vary your pumping iron workout plan and target different areas of your body on different days
• Sign up for some swing or salsa dancing lessons
• Try alternating your dance and dumbbell workout with stretching (such as yoga or Pilates)
• Mix in a little tai chi for grace and swimming for cardiorespiratory fitness

Who says workout routines have to be routine?

12 Step Tuesday

If you feel like the reason that you are struggling with your weight is because just maybe you are "addicted to food", meaning you are using it for reasons other than fueling your body. Then this weekly guide can be a blessing in your life. I have seen the power of the Savior turn my food addiction into a spiritual victory. I once lived with depression, anxiety, fear, and anger, not to mention excess pounds.... now I experience joy peace and my ideal weight! I have witnessed a miracle in my life and I am excited to share this program with anyone who struggles with the same thing I did. Having had a spiritual awakening I strive every day to improve my relationship with my Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. I invite you with empathy and love to join me in a glorious life of freedom and safety, encircled in the arms of Jesus Christ our Redeemer.

If you suspect you are addicted to food and if you feel even the smallest desire to break free, I invite you to join me in studying and applying these principles. As you apply each of these 12 steps that will follow in the upcoming weeks every Tuesday, the Savior will strengthen you and you will come to "know the truth, and the truth shall make you free".

Light & Love,

MOTIVATIONAL MONDAY!!!

Watch this video and remember: YOU CAN DO ANYTHING!!! How many times have you been bullied or made fun of or told that you can't lose the weight? YOU CAN!!! Watching this video is truly an inspiration and a reminder to carry on regardless of what others think or may say to you. YOU WERE BORN TO WIN AND SUCCEED AND WILL!!!

**remember to pause the music to the left of this post before hitting play**

YAY!!! The blog is fixed!!! There was a major kink in the settings so nothing was pulling up on the right hand side, but NOT to worry I was able to fix it with the help of one of my genius techy friends! Check up later for updates, measurement trackers, 100 calorie lists, and MORE!