Burn Major Calories While Doing Chores

Can doing things that I do every single day keep me physically fit? It is shocking how many calories your body burns doing housekeeping chores, like shopping, sweeping, moping, dusting, or chasing after children. Plus some activities save the earth as well! Bonus! Burn calories, tone muscles and lose weight in your everyday life.

In addition to the household chores mentioned above, yard work burns a heck of alot of calories and you don't have to set foot inside a gym. For example: instead of a gas mower use a manual mower. Don't blow your leaves, rake them. Doing these things are good for the environment as well.

So just doing housework can burn an average of 250 calories per hour for a 150 lb. woman. Try to make extra trips up and down the stairs. It's good for your ticker and your legs.  When picking up small things off the floor, do it with a lunge. Do a full squat when lifting the laundry basket or groceries. To reach high places use the ladder. Make every opportunity to move more, lift more and carry more.

Live a SUGAR FREE life? Yes, it is possible!

Living without sugar was always one of my goals, but I thought that this wouldn’t ever happen. I try to eat healthy all the time and I do enough research to know what sugar does to my body. Even so, sometimes I can not avoid it. It is in so many of the products that I find in the store that I have to spend hours to find healthy, sugar-free alternatives. Besides, it’s tasty and like anyone else, I crave something sweet every once in a while.

Well, all this until I participated in the Sugar Free Academy. I met people who were so dedicated to living a healthy lifestyle that they were ready to make major changes in their life. This inspired me to want more for myself, to learn how to overcome any obstacle and to put the excuses aside; in the end, it is possible to live without sugar.

Every day I woke up and I learned something new from Brittany, one of the most kind and nurturing people I have ever met. She showed us how we can make small adjustments in our life and how these changes can have a giant impact on the long term. I don’t have to change my life completely to eliminate sugar; I just have to know how to control my diet better and what kind of foods to eat.

Seeing what my life could be was one of the greatest things, and now I am more empowered than ever to maintain my body and my mind healthy.

I’ve got great news! A brand new Sugar Free Academy is starting June 27. I highly suggest you do this.

Back Pain? Here's some relief.

Just because you don't see it in the mirror doesn't mean you should ignore it. Too many of us have back pain and that is because the if spine-supporting muscles in the back and stomach have become weak from injury or inactivity. Every time you work your abs don't forget to give your back a workout too. I've listed 3 things you can do to get your back in shape. These exercises will help you maintain a healthy weight, too -- another great way to take stress off your back. Sounds simple, right? Remember, if you suffer from back pain talk to your doctor first before doing these exercises.

Walking and swimming:    I love these options because they both offer cardio benefits without stress to the joints. Plus they are super easy to include in your life.  

Band workouts: What is not to love about the large rubber bands? They are easy to travel with and can help build strength and flexibility while minimizing the risk of overdoing it with heavy weights.

Tai chi, chi-gong and yoga: All three of these exercises focus on flexibility and balance and that means a healthy back.  Do your research to find a yoga style that's easy on the back.

Meal Replacement vs Whole Food

My life is busy and sometimes I can get lazy so when it comes to nutrition a meal replacement is the easiest answer. I know they are effective weight loss tools because you can just grab and go! I got into the bars because they are designed to be nutritionally complete – replacing all meals; or only partially complete, replacing one or two meals in a day. And they taste delightful. I looked forward to having a bar every few hours.  I was basically eating a candy bar. These bars were ladened with sugar.  No wonder I liked them so much. My underlying habits around eating and taste remained the same. I wasn’t learning to change my lifestyle and my eating habits. And many meal replacements do not attempt to alter our desire for the sweet stuff. I understand why companies make bars that are tasty. We as a whole want sweet and ooey gooey yumminess. So when you are ‘dieting’ by consuming less food you feel like a ‘treat’ is on the menu. It feels good to eat a “health bar.”

When I started eating whole, delicious, nutrient dense foods everything changed.  When you eat low glycemic, high fiber fruits and non-starchy vegetables weight loss will happen. Eating plant based foods are so good for your health and well being. I cut the sugar (mainly the bars) and replaced them with fruit and whole veggies and I found out I could eat MORE and still lose weight.

The take away from this post is: when it comes to what you put in your mouth, just eat real food.