Tonya Robbins Didn’t Allow Age to Get in the Way of Her Goals!

I want to introduce you to my friend, Tonya Robbins.  She is a spunky gal who transformed her body in a couple of short years after feeling disgusted with the way she looked.  She felt “fat and ugly.”  Tonya didn’t allow that feeling to continue to get her down though.  She was determined to do something about it.

Three years ago at the age of 41, Tonya weighed in at 155 lbs. at 5′ 5″ tall and 28 percent body fat.  She was traveling a lot and therefore gave in to the convenience of fast food 3-4 times per day.  She also drank sodas all day long.

Tonya was so embarrassed by the way she looked that she didn’t even want to go to the grocery store.  She would often say, “I’ll start my diet on Monday.”  Each Monday, she would begin her diet only to lose the battle and give in to unhealthy foods halfway through the day.

Finally, Tonya had had enough!  She was tired of feeling embarrassed about the way she looked, and she set her sights on a fat loss goal and started on her journey to transform her body.  So, how did Tonya get her start into a beautiful transformation?  Well, she first joined a diet center.  This was a huge change for Tonya.  Moving from constant fast foods and sodas to healthier eating was shocking to her body and habits, but she continued on this path.  The path led her into the right direction as she began dropping fat on a weekly basis.  More importantly, Tonya was feeling better and better in health.

Seeing positive results greatly encouraged Tonya.  The motivation was enough to take the next step in her transformation journey:  to join a gym!  Though she had always admired and dreamed about looking like the gals in fitness magazines, Tonya was scared to death to workout at the gym.  For the first few weeks, she would just enter in and hop on a treadmill.  This way, she could see everything and watch what everyone else was doing.  Because Tonya dreamed about having muscular arms, she would watch those who were weightlifting.  Just maybe she would pick up some tips on just how to get that definition in her arms.  One day, she approached and made an appointment to train with a female trainer at the gym who had great looking arms.  She did this for about a year before she went out on her own to train.

Tonya is now 44 years old, and she weighs in at 125 lbs. and has chiseled her body to a fit 16 percent body fat.  She continues to workout hard and eat clean.  She still dreams and plans to enter her first figure competition.  She is currently working on her obtaining her personal training certification and works at her local YMCA part-time.  She is a great motivation to any woman but especially to those over 40!  In her words, she encourages you:

“You need to plan your meals.  I spend 2 days a week cooking and preparing food.  If I can make these changes in my 40s, anyone can!  Get your mind right and quit making excuses.  The results are worth it!”

So, you heard it, Ladies!  QUIT MAKING EXCUSES – THE RESULTS ARE WORTH IT! Let Tonya be your inspiration… especially for all you ladies who are giving in to the old adage of “I’m getting older so this is the way it’s got to be.”  I’m here to tell you that you are only as old as you allow yourself to be.  There are too many great examples that show you what a 40+ year old woman can do.  You can still look and feel like you’re in your 20s!

Making Goals for the New Year!

Starting January 1, 2010, we get a “fresh” start, my friends!  We’ll have a new chance and 365 days to make up for 2009.  Woohoo!  Many will waste the new year and make it a repeat of the previous.  Sad, but true!  BUT, we know better?  Right?  Let’s make it the single B~E~S~T year of our lives to date!  Do you want to be one of the few to make is a success?  Do the 7 steps listed below to ensure that you have the most incredible 2010. 

STEP 1:  Evaluate 2009.  Do a written story recording what went well this past year and, even more importantly, what areas you could improve on.  Also list all your wins and as many high points as you can recall. Get a clear picture of how you showed up.

STEP 2:  Set Your Theme. Come up with a theme for 2010. It may be “The Year of Financial Freedom” or “The Year of Work Excellence” or “The Year of Health.”  But get a theme into a document you can start reviewing every week.

STEP 3: Create a Mission.  The next step is to develop a one paragraph mission statement and put it into this document.  Clarity precedes mastery so the more clear your ultimate mountaintop for 2010 is, the greater your focus will be.  And the most positive results you’ll see.

STEP 4: List Your Big 5.  OK, now ask yourself this powerful self-coaching question:   “What 5 things need to happen between now and December 31, 2010, for this to have been the single most successful year of my life to date?”  Write down those five goals as simply and clearly as possible into this document.

STEP 5: Sequence Your Big 5.  Now break your Big 5 down into quarterly goals.  Set 5 core goals for the first, second, third, and fourth quarters of 2010, to ensure you nail your Big 5.  Review these every week.  Reflect on them everyday if you really want to win.  Make these strategic objectives the sole focus of your life.

STEP 6: Refocus Every Morning.  Life’s job is to distract you.  Your job is to stay staggeringly focused on what’s most important.  Take 15 minutes during your morning resetting period to reflect on your goals, to envision your best moves, and to track out a day that’s productive, passionate, and fun.

STEP 7: Get Devoted to Learning.  The #1 skill of super successful people is that they are relentless learners.  While others are wasting time on low-value websites or watching mindless reality tv shows, they are listening to audio programs, studying books on leadership and success, and basically creating a rich, beautiful, and meaningful life.  As you journey through each day of 2010, make the time to fuel your brain with ideas on excellence and creating your absolute best.  Nothing’s more important than that.  And, please remember that all it takes is a single idea to transform the way you lead and how you live.

Hopefully, these seven steps will help you have the most successful year yet!

Green Tea: More Health Benefits & Not Just Fat Loss

You’ve probably heard from one person or advertisement how wonderful green tea is.  Then you’ve gone to try it and think, “This stuff tastes awful!”  LOL!  I know because I’ve been there.  I’d prefer the sweet taste of vanilla-chamomile myself.    However, do you know why there is all the hype about green tea?  Though it has gained a reputation to help with weight loss, it actually has many other wonderful benefits for your health.

So, what are the benefits of green tea?

• increases beneficial intestinal flora.
• increases anti-oxidant levels which keeps inflammation and disease down.
• increases metabolism and promotes fat loss as it is a fat loss agent.
• reduces the risk of heart disease and heart attacks by reducing the risk of thrombosis.
• inhibits cancer growth cells.
• reduces cholesterol levels… increasing the ratio of good to bad levels.
• kills bad bacteria that causes plaque so it may decrease tooth decay.

To get the maximal health benefits of green tea, you want to choose one that is as fresh as possible.  You may have to try several green teas before finding one of high quality.  If you can smell the tea leaves, make sure they have a  sweet or grassy aroma in nature.  Another indicator of quality is the color of the tea.  It should be light green.  Lower quality green tea is usually gold or brown in color.  (However, some people prefer the taste of these.)  As for taste, higher quality green teas will usually have a grassy green undertone and astringent qualities.  That doesn’t sound too appetizing to me, but the tea should not be bitter at all.  It should taste light and clear.  If you really don’t like the taste but want the benefits, try adding a packet of the all natural sweetening herb “stevia.”  That may just be the kicker for you to enjoy it. 

When buying green tea, buy it in small quantities.  The shelf life is short – about 6 months.  After opening the package, the shelf life is even shorter at 3 months.  You will most likely find the higher quality green teas in natural food stores or even Asian markets.  They will most likely be loose rather than pre-made with bags.  Just add some fresh loose green tea leaves into a tea steeper and steep for about 10 minutes.

So, try to add some high quality green tea to your daily menu.  Try replacing some of your other beverages such as coffee or black tea with two to three cups of green tea.  You will be giving your body some love with this wonderful addition. 

Additional Benefits of Creatine ~ Not Just Used For Athletic Performance But May Cure Disease!

Without getting too technical, creatine is a natural occuring amino acid (protein building block) found mainly in our muscles… 95% of it is stored in skeletal muscles while the remaining 5% is stored in the brain, heart, and testes.  (Well, not for us ladies on the testes part… lol.)

Fifty percent of creatine in our bodies is ingested through the foods we eat while the other 50% is made in the liver, kidney, and pancreas.  From foods, wild game is considered to be the richest source of creatine, but lean red meat and fish (particularly herring, salmon, and tuna) are also good sources. It can also be taken in a supplement form (such as a powder or pill) in which many bodybuilders and athletes have been doing for several years.

So, what are the benefits of creatine? Mostly, bodybuilders and athletes have been taking it to help improve performance and increase growth hormone.  However, there have been some new studies that have come out recently that it may do the following:

• help with diseases effecting the neuro muscular system such as muscular dystrophy.
• reduce homocysteine levels which are responsible for heart disease.
• reduce cholesterol by up to 15 percent.
• improve energy levels of those suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia.
• have therapeutic applications in aging populations, wasting syndromes, muscle atrophy, fatigue, myopathies, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, and other mitochondrial cytopathies.
• correct certain inborn errors of metabolism, such as people born without the enzyme(s) responsible for making creatine.

Even with all the great benefits, there are still studies being done on what seem to be this special supplement.  Currently, it has been suggested that creatine not be taken on a regular basis.  Most athletes will take it for a duration of 2 to 16 weeks.  Then they will cycle off and on.  On top of that, each person’s need is different for the quantity.  So, if you plan to take the supplement, make sure you do some research to find out what level is the best for you.

Margarine vs. Butter – Which is Better for You?

With regards to margarine and butter, there has been a long debate on which is better.  For many years, the idea was that margarine was better because butter contained saturated fats which could cause heart disease.

However, in recent years, it was found that it isn’t saturated fats that caused heart disease.  It was “trans” fats which margarine contained.  Since then, manufacturers of margarine have gone to great lengths to remove the “trans” fats, and those who are margarine advocates still promote that margarine is “healthy.”  However, just because trans fats may be removed from margarine does NOT make it healthy.

We have to look at the way it is made as it is highly processed:

• Typically, margarine is made from cheap, poor quality oils that have already turned rancid – because the oils had been extracted from oil seeds using high temperature, and high temperature damages oil, causing rancidity.
• Some of the oils used in making margarine, such as cottonseed oil, are not suitable for human consumption in the first place because they contain naturally toxic substances.
• At the end of the hydrogenation process, the resulting MARGARINE IS GREY AND SMELLY! It needs to be bleached and deodorized, artificially flavored and dyed yellow (with a natural dye, as synthetic coloring is not allowed) before humans would eat it. Yet rats and cockroaches still would not touch margarine. Only humans do.

So, how is butter processed:

• Butter is made from the cream that rises to the top if milk is allowed to sit for a time.  Butter is made by churning cream.  This causes a chemical reaction that causes the cream to harden slightly, giving it the buttery consistency.

• Certified raw butter is a fabulous fat that contains a number of natural fatty acids that are excellent for the body.  Butter is an excellent source of fat-soluble vitamins such as vitamin A, D, E, and K.  These are not found to any degree in margarine.  The vitamin content of butter varies seasonally, depending on the diet of the animals from which it is derived.

• Also, butter does not contain trans-fatty acids or toxic metals, hopefully, such as nickel and cadmium. Butter contains some milk solids, giving it a whitish color.  Ghee or clarified butter does not contain the milk solids.

• Butter is essential for proper growth and development of the bone structure.

• Although many people are sensitive to cow’s milk dairy products, often butter is well-tolerated.  It does not contain many of the allergens found in other milk products.  For example, it does not contain milk protein (casein) or milk sugar (lactose).  These are two highly allergenic components of some dairy products.

I know that some of you are concerned about your cholesterol levels.  Please don’t be.  A balanced body chemistry is the key to normalizing cholesterol.  When you are on a diet that is sensible, high levels of cholesterol will drop and will steady to a good normal level when the oxidations are re-established to normal.  Normal oxidations refers to the efficient burning of food and the generation of adequate energy from food. 

Of course, keep the butter in moderation.  One serving is 1-1/4 teaspoons, and most women with a weight of 150 pounds should have no more than 7-10 servings of fat per day depending of the macronutrients of their diet plan.  Some of those servings will come from meat, poultry, and fish.  The majority should come from better fats such as EVOO (extra virgin olive oil), walnuts, almonds, and flax seed.  But, having a little butter is not harmful.  So, no more fretting!