Simple Tips for JuiceAholics!

Most people know that Juicing is great for you. If you haven’t tried it you’re missing out on many delicious and nutritious recipes that you could make in your own home. However, the challenge comes in when trying to follow a specific juicing regimen on a long term basis. Cost and time are factors to consider for most avid juicers. Here are some simple tips to extract all the benefits from your juicing program. First, try to find bargain produce. Organic produce is supposedly good and pesticide free. However you could find some great bargains by shopping around at different markets in your area. Don’t get tempted to do all your produce shopping at once. Look for out for the quality items and if needed compare prices using a list. Once you buy your selected items, you want to determine what could be done to store them for the longer term. I normally try to extract enough juice to fill one whole container and then use a small portion daily. I then dilute that portion, blend it with water and add some frozen fruits to make an excellent tasting smoothie. Freezing bananas and other fruits will enhance your juice by giving them better texture and taste. The Freezing method is especially cost effective if you’re buying high quality items by the bunch. You will need some plastic bags or some air tight containers to store your produce and prevent freezer burn. That’s basically it. By following these two tips you will save time by juicing more efficiently and save money by knowing which items could be stored for longer term. I will post a short video of how I prepare my daily smoothies which save me time and money.

Simple Snacking Tips: Decision Making for a Better Body

One of the many challenges for dieters is snacking. I’ve noticed that snacking was a main contributor to my weight gain due to the lack of calorie control. I snacked excessively and many times without control. I found that controlling the consumption and selection of my snacks has played a significant role in my weight loss goals. In order to achieve success, one needs to take control of the quantity and quality of the snacks consumed. Here are some tips on how to make better snacking decisions.

Simple Snack Packs

Everyone knows that calorie control is essential to any weight loss program. Certain snacks are loaded with calories and fats. Knowing that I was unable to eliminate my favorite sweet snacks from my diet, I decided to lower the quantities of the snacks that I consumed. I began to divide each favorite sweet snack into moderate portions. My favorite tool was using small plastic food bags. I would divide up the snacks into small portions that I would use daily. Only one bag regardless of how I felt would be used daily. The effects were immediate and dramatic. I noticed that by restricting myself to smaller quantities, I spent less money on snack items and enjoyed them more. I began with a gradual decrease in quantity. Since I was capable of eating a box of cookies daily, I divided that box into a week’s worth of portions. I then divided each new box into smaller portions. I also put all the bagged snacks into a plastic container that had an air tight seal lock. This added measure forced me to open the container for that one snack bag daily. I noticed that by taking the time to bag the snacks it helped increase my awareness of what I was consuming.

The second successful snacking tip is controlling the quality. While I was bagging the snacks, I became more aware of what I was eating. This motivated me to make some healthier snack choices. I began by adding some better quality snacks like dried fruits, nuts and seeds. Then I found myself replacing some old favorites for new lower calorie snack alternatives. By making these changes, I noticed a significant increase in my energy levels and craved less of the empty calorie snacks. 

The third snacking tip is to record your snacking using a food journal. Below is a link to a free food tracking tool. I simply used a small notebook to record the time and selection of my daily snacks. This helped me increase my snack craving awareness by identifing any patterns that were associated with my cravings. 

So that’s it in a nutshell. The steps that I took above were not too difficult and helped me use snacking to my advantage. I feel and look better simply by making better snacking decisions.

Food Tracking Tool

Strap Yourself Up for a Better Body

Changing your workout routine and looking for something new is a convenient way to advance your fitness training regimen. Suspension training is a practical alternative which might be worth giving a try. Suspension training is a complete body conditioning tool used by many fitness professionals. Suspension training straps allow a person to perform a variety of body weight exercises. These body weight exercises are not old fashioned push – pull exercises which most people perform incorrectly. The training straps allow users to reach new areas of difficulty and muscle failure. After taking my first suspension training class, I felt the burn for days. Anyone looking to improve overall fitness conditioning should look into this method of training.

ALL NATURAL ANTIOXIDANT SMOOTHIE

Check out the latest All Natural Antioxidant Smoothie video. This super Smoothie is made with all natural ingredients.
One cup of cooked Quinoa,
Half a cup of Frozen blueberries and rasberries
Two tablespoons of honey
One Cup of Water

Give this Smoothie a try and Antioxidize youself today.

This Protein Shake is Out of this WORLD

This Protein Shake is a delicious treat anytime of the day. Made with the following all natural ingredients: Quinoa, Banana, Egg Whites, Chocolate, and low fat Milk.

Is Cushioning Really Everything?

I started testing this next to barefoot method of running and was quite impressed. Till now I've been avoiding running due to the soreness that I normally experience. To test this method I decided to use a pair of dust collected Body Glove water shoes which I had purhased a while back. This sock type of shoe which is made of Neoprene fabric fit comfortably and was light weight. I tried these out by running a mile on a soft grasslike surface. I immediately noticed that my shins weren't bothering me during the run. The run was smooth and comfortable. I was impressed with this and will try these out on other surfaces and longer distances as I continue with my workout routine.

Walked off 40 pounds: Is it time to start running

During the past seven months of walking an average of 4 times a week, I've managed to loose and keep off a total of 40 pounds. This has encouraged me to keep making healthy lifestyle changes to lead me to my overall fitness goal. The walking has helped me strengthen my muscles and feel more healthy. A pedometer and good pair of padded sneakers have been my tools so far. The pedometer has helped monitor my progress and set new goals for myself. I'm encouraged to start jogging and explore how much more progress could be made by using this alternative exercise. I have noticed many fitness minded people mentioning running in minmalist type of running shoes that resemble barefoot running. I'm definately interested in exploring this fitness tool.

Please feel free to leave any comments or suggestions.