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Showing posts with label nutrition. Show all posts

I DON'T TAKE SUPPLEMENTS OR BELIEVE IN MAGIC

What I mean by supplements are those products that promise to create a fit and healthy body by popping or drinking whatever is in the bottle. I guess that is where I do not believe in magic either. I am a hard nut to crack when it comes to endorsing or promoting "enhancement" type supplements or drinks. Those that promise to burn fat faster, create bulging muscles, and guarantee the ability to leap over buildings in a single bound. In addition, they can come with harmful side effects I personally am not willing to chance. The next time you pick up a bottle of magic, take a close look at the label that will typically read "results obtained when combined with a healthy diet and regular exercise program." BAM ... what is the point of wasting money? Once a healthy diet and exercise program are implemented results will follow and that is without taking whatever is in that bottle. Also, all supplements are not regulated and many not clinically studied, and fall under the category of food and not medicine.

Of course any supplementation is a personal choice, and I am not a downer on all

things that may assist with improved health and wellness, and in some instances may be necessary for some people. I do indulge in the occasional protein shake, take multi-vitamins fairly regularly, and my body seems to respond well to glucosamine for reduced pain in my joints. This is more a maintenance body insurance program for me and I am not looking to enhance the way I look by taking anything that I have listed. I do not believe drinking a protein shake is going to define my muscles but do benefit from a boost of vitamin C if I feel the symptoms of a cold.

The primary source of my nutrients come from the healthy food I eat daily and not from dietary supplements. Because I eat a wide variety of food coming from lean proteins, good carbohydrates, and healthy fats I feel very confident that all of my nutrient daily allowances are being met. I fuel my workouts with healthy carbs, recover my body with lean proteins, and protect my cellular function with healthy fats.

I lift weights as part of my exercise program, but do not feel I need an over abundance of protein to make my muscles larger and leaner. I do not sit around eating loads of chicken breast and drinking several protein shakes per day. That is just crazy and would do nothing but tax my organs and create a constipation issue. The demands I place on my body through exercise do require more calories of ALL of the food groups and I just focus on eating healthy several times per day to satisfy those needs. There is nothing magic about that and in fact maintaining a healthy body is pretty simple and will only require eating right and exercise.

Read my article "Are Supplements Really Necessary"
for even more valuable information on the subject.

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Stay Healthy! Darla

HEALTHY AND FIT IS NOT ROCKET SCIENCE

When it comes to getting a healthy fit body, it is not about making it complicated, extreme, and it is far from a science project. There are so many confusing messages hitting us square in the face about the “right” diet and the “right” fitness fad exercise program to create what we so long to become. Even further, people rush in droves overspending on pills, powders, gimmicks, videos, extreme fitness programs, and anything that promises a smoking hot body in two weeks or less. Sadder still, there is no consideration of the negative effects on the body when such choices are made. It is the dive blind and hope for the best philosophy and that would scare the crap out of me.

Think about the word health and what that means to you personally. I live a life of health and fitness and teach it as a lifestyle of quality that includes eating healthy foods, exercise and stretch on a regular basis. It is also important to reduce pain in our bodies, and stress in our lives overall. Lastly, I touch on the areas of emotional and spiritual health and wrap health up in a balanced package of physical, nutritional, emotional and spiritual well-being. There is nothing blind about the correct approach to adopting a healthy lifestyle and achieving that smoking hot body.

We all have the potential to create our best healthy body, but fall short when we slip through the cracks of empty promises and seek out the quick fixes that are never guaranteed. What is guaranteed and will provide the results of good health and fitness are our individual choices to live a healthy life each day. This process is not rocket science but getting back to the basics of simple living. Eating healthy has become such a complicated subject of what to eat, when to eat, why to eat and the same is true with exercise as everyone preaches the “my way is the only way” agendas.

Let’s consider how to make healthy simple and work for each of us. I like to start by writing down healthy foods that I enjoy eating: lean chicken, fish, peaches, plums, raw nuts, fresh vegetables, yogurts, and chocolate for example. I do the same thing with my exercise programs: ARC trainer, HIIT programs, dancing, stretching, and weight training to name a few. I keep my cooking simple and healthy using olive and coconut oils, lots of spices, and herbs. I exercise for no more than an hour 4 to 5 times per week, and make it a goal to get plenty of rest. There is nothing magic about what works for me and I create my healthy lifestyle around what I enjoy. If the focus is on simple, healthy, and fun, the results of that lifestyle will be seen on the outside as well as the inside.

Adopting a physical healthy lifestyle is not extreme, is not meant to hurt our bodies but a gift of moving our bodies in a way to challenge and build a stronger self. There has been some trial and error as I have walked through the types of exercises that work best for my body, that continue to challenge me, but eliminate or greatly reduce risk of injury. I may try something and feel aggravation and not that good sore that occurs from a great workout, and that is my body’s way of telling me not to do that move. I simply remove what does not work for me, and keep what does. My workouts will not be your workouts, and I do not buy into that philosophy of there is only one right way. Life and health does not work like that and I say run from any fitness professional who preaches that agenda.

The same goes with adopting a healthy eating routine. There is never a “one-size-fit” all program, we all have different tastes, and I hope we are all steering clear of foods that upset our systems. Our bodies are wonderful machines that know exactly what to do with the food we consume, and honestly, we are all adults with common sense enough to know that if we continue to eat like crap, we will feel like crap, and our bodies will be wearing the consequences. There are no pills, potions, or exercise programs that will take away the results of poor eating habits. It is important to realize that although science is at work in our bodies every day, when it comes to adopting a healthy lifestyle, let’s leave the rocket science where it belongs and get real with keeping it simple.

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FIT AT 50!

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YOU CAN DO IT, BUT WILL YOU?

What our health and happiness come down are choices. I make a choice each day to eat healthy, exercise, and respond to life the best way I can as a Christian woman. I am not perfect, do not claim to be, and my goals in life are about progress and never the “P” for perfection word. I struggle with things just like you do, have had my share of crap in this journey of life, emotionally and physically, and I have come out the other side learning and growing in a positive direction.

I will always be a work in progress, and we are all that in this life. I enjoy writing which is why I Blog and what better way to provide motivation than to share me with you. You will either like me or not, and that is a choice as well. Reading my Blog gives you a small glimpse of me, although I try to be thorough, it is not the same as developing a close “friend” relationship chatting up a topic of conversation. As an internet personality, I have had and do get my share of “haters” as the net likes to call them, but also a great number of supporters, but through this process, my goal and intention is to reach out and get people thinking about their health, making CHOICES to change and adapt healthier ways of living, and ultimately a healthy lifestyle.

I am a trainer and coach who is passionate about helping people, and I do walk the talk of my mission. I do not accept excuses or reasons why health is not made a priority and that is not called being unreasonable, it is being truthful. I am not talking about reasons such as an upcoming surgery, injury, or illness that has unfortunately put a person in a position of inability to exercise. I have suffered that journey and understand the frustrations, and emotions of dealing with such a crisis. I am addressing the everyday person walking around with so much created busyness that they “think” that they just can’t fit in an hour of exercise at least 3 days per week, or prepare healthy meals.

YOU CAN DO IT….BUT WILL YOU? That is the question of the Blog and each of us has a conscience controlled decision to make when it comes to taking care of our health in all aspects. We choose to exercise, eat healthy, be happy, and let go of pointless drama that is out of our control. We choose how we spend the precious minutes gifted to each of us daily, and how we respond to the situations of this life. I motivate YOU with “YOU CAN DO IT” because you can, and this coming from one busy business woman, wife, mother, grandmother, who is basically fifty and experiencing the throws of menopausal symptoms and existing injuries. There are times that I feel like I can’t do it, and that is the honest truth. It is in those moments, that I have to dig deep inside me and pull out the strong, and hope that the motivation kicks in mid workout. YES, I am just like you, but the choice of “WILL YOU” is always mine and yours.

This is not about comparison of me to you, but a straight up calling you out on the carpet and asking “WILL YOU start a healthy lifestyle?” and if not, WHY? I will tell you that YOU CAN DO IT, but it will take the action of YOU to make it happen. If you feel this is coming on strong, then I have accomplished a goal of getting you to think, maybe even creating some feelings that have been stuffed inside yourself too long and it is time to cleanse that body emotionally and physically. Are you angry, bitter, frustrated, unhappy, and using the “too busy” title or other reasons to not address those things. If that is the case, time for some internal cleaning of house, and time to get healthy. YOU CAN DO IT…BUT WILL YOU?

Stay Healthy!

Darla

GOOD HEALTH DOES NOT CARE ABOUT BUSY

Society really needs to stop the glorification of busy, and I am not one who is going to listen and accept all the excuses of not having enough time to care about making health a priority in life. Let me rephrase that, I may listen to the laundry list, but I will definitely provide the tough questions in response and offer that better time management choices and priorities need to be addressed. So many people create too much “busy” in life that every second of every hour is consumed by work, overtime, functions, social, social, social, volunteer work, more work, more functions and the “YES” list goes on and on. How can anyone pull themselves out of such a drowning pool of stuff, and many times all those so called important things consuming every minute are not even necessary. Further, many of the things that fill those precious seconds are ways to avoid or hide from just “being”. What is wrong with society to feel guilty sitting still for an hour alone in a contemplative state, relaxing, meditating, or exercising. Has it got so bad that avoidance of looking at ourselves is too scary, disappointing, and living in denial has become the “norm”?

I am convinced that people think it is impressive to be over busy and brag about it ad nauseam like some sort of “busy” award should be given. I hope this ruffles a few feathers and causes people to think about their “busy” in the whole big scheme of life. I mean what is this so “busy” mentality that good health is kicked to the curb and illness is accepted, and further taking pharmaceuticals to take care of the illness and stress caused by the “busy” and that being accepted. Can you tell I am on a “soap box” on this subject? I have worked in the health industry for over 30 years, and am strongly stating that the tiresome laundry list of busy needs a good washing out. I am not talking about busy that may come from handling a temporary crisis, but years of putting off a healthy lifestyle all for the glorification of meaningless busy.

The hard truth is that good health does not care about busy, and all those things that are cluttering up our time, creating stress, and keeping us from a healthy lifestyle WILL bring the consequence of illness. Maybe not today or even tomorrow, but all that procrastination of not taking care of YOU will rear its’ ugly head in the form of illness, obesity, heart disease, cancer, diabetes, joint and spinal issues, depression, and that list can go on and on as well. It is the blow of illness that can rattle a person and finally cause a wake-up call to adapt a healthy lifestyle. Sadly, and many times at this point, permanent damage to body processes have already taken place, and the person that once was can never be again, to the extent of 100% recovery anyway. It is at that point that the “things” in life become unimportant as the struggle to become healthy, and the regret of not taking care of oneself surfaces to the forefront of one’s life.

We are all at a point of being able to prevent or greatly reduce illness, and I am and always will be a very candid health professional with you, my family, and all of my clients. I can write all this to you and hope that you listen, but this is your journey and your decision. I fear for those who choose to let this go in one ear and out the other, and if I have reached and shaken the limbs of others to start now to live a healthy lifestyle, then I have accomplished the goal I set out to with this write.

StayHealthy!

Darla

The Positive Power of Corporate Health and Wellness

Studies have shown the positive benefits of implementing corporate wellness programs, and Pacific Power Renewables in Auburn California has jumped on the band wagon of health for their employees in a BIG way! When CEO, Dan Powell contacted me to run the kick-off fitness challenge for Pacific Power, I was more than happy to oblige and over-the-top excited to be a part of bringing health into their work place in a fun, interactive way. This was not going to be about anything generic, but I wanted to reach out to each individual employee and provide realistic goals and ideas on how to adapt a healthy lifestyle. The PPR Ten-Week Fitness Challenge was going to run right through the holiday season…now talk about being serious…I was all in and motivated to MOTIVATE them! Check out what Dan Powell, CEO Pacific Power Renewables had to say:

“When we first considered this fitness challenge, it was meant to be a general health improvement program. It wasn’t about insurance premiums or anything else, we just care about our little family here and wanted them to be healthier. We hoped a residual benefit would be some team building and bonding. We originally expected about a 50% participation level and about a 50% attrition rate from there. We were surprised that we originally had over 95% participation and only two people have dropped out. On the flip side of that, we’ve had people from related companies, family members, etc. who’ve wanted to take part after we started.

Now not even halfway through it, we have noticed a significant improvement in energy levels. People seem happier, healthier, and are working together as a team to plan meals, exercise, even just daily walks. We’ve all been having a lot of fun with it. It’s a competition but a friendly one.

Our program was designed to have individual prizes for the greatest weight loss as well as group prizes for aggregate weight loss. As well, we wanted to keep people motivated, so we offered individual awards for each significant milestone; running shoes, water bottles, exercise balls etc.

Only partway through our 10 week “fitness challenge”, we are declaring it an enormous success. I attribute that to the following key factors:

1) We hired a professional trainer in Darla Leal. She assessed each person, set realistic goals and supported them throughout in uniquely individual ways.

2) People here were on the verge of making these kind of life changes, they just lacked the motivation.

3) We went into this full bore, big prizes, professional trainer constant attention and motivation.

I have heard some touching stories come out of this. People have made significant changes to their lives and we’re so glad we started this. We’re having Darla give us a healthy cooking workshop in a couple weeks and people are really psyched about that. Thank you for all your hard work Darla. This has been fun!” Dan Powell (CEO Pacific Power Renewables Inc.)

Corporate wellness incentive plans are a great way to get employees started in a corporate health and wellness program. Pacific Power has covered all bases with individual, group, and recognition awards throughout the program and the employees are definitely motivated. I have seen excitement build over the weeks of working with each employee as weight has been lost, inches reduced, and overall health improved, but more than that, I have observed an improved mental outlook and happier person.

“I had been working out and eating somewhat healthy for months, but not losing the weight like I used to. Darla offered lots of ways to make small changes that have really made a difference. I’m finally on my journey in the right direction again!” Jennifer Goodwin

Most people spend more hours at work than anywhere else in addition to the time they spend commuting each day. Taking that into consideration, it is easy to see why maintaining a healthy work and life balance has become increasingly important. It is the caring employer that recognizes a corporate wellness program as an important tool to establish this balance. The common goal of a workplace wellness program is to promote the well-being of the employees, employers and organization in general. It is within such positive work environment that the morale is boosted overall, productivity is increased, and absenteeism is reduced as only a few benefits of a corporate wellness program.

“Darla is a very energetic, encouraging REAL trainer. She listens to what your needs are and helps you find ways of success for your lifestyle. Your encouragement and guidance got me started on the road to better health. I am excited about losing weight and becoming healthier. I am finding inner strength that I didn't realize I had and am now learning to control my weight instead of my weight controlling me.”Sarah Modgling

The bottom line is that Pacific Power Renewables has taken advantage of the benefits of corporate

wellness and has made it a goal to implement a program sooner than later, and not waiting until employees are stressed, sick or applying to other jobs. I am touched each week by the care of the management and the response of the employees and have had the privilege to be a part of something very special within Pacific Power. They have definitely set the bar high for other companies to follow suit in implementing a health and wellness program. They realize that a healthy employee is a happy employee.

“I have really enjoyed this opportunity to work with Darla, and learn how to incorporate better, healthier choices into my life. Being accountable to another person has made it easier to stick to the program and keep up with my daily journal. Her enthusiasm is contagious and keeps me motivated to take my fitness to the next level.”

“Thank you so much for the nutrition work shop on Friday - it was a blast! The camaraderie that has developed from this program is really awesome!!” Gina Herum

Stay Healthy Nutrition Workshop

Healthy Pizza Workshop

Another important and visible element of a corporate wellness program is setting up a fitness facility where employees can work-out. Pacific Power Renewables has also answered that call and I have had the pleasure to conduct an interactive group exercise class as an intro to their new workout area. This is definitely an added perk, free of cost, convenient and an investment that this company is willing to make for the health of their employees. In addition to the fitness facility, Pacific Power has provided a Nutrition Workshop where I was able to teach not only the importance of eating healthy, but gave them a hands-on experience of cooking and tasting healthy foods. When an organization invests in the health of their employees, the benefit is truly for the employer and employee as the quality of the workplace and the work through productivity and satisfaction are greatly improved in addition to overall health benefits for all. Hats off to Pacific Power Renewables for making corporate health a priority!

It is time for all companies, large or small, to invest in the importance of health within their corporate environment. I would be happy to consult with you to make this happen and I look forward to hearing from you. Starting with a “Fun Fitness Challenge” to motivate and get people fired up for the program is a great start. Give me a call today and StayHealthy!

Me with CEO Dan Powell and wife Karen

Stay Healthy~

Darla