No need to get a membership at the gym to fulfill your goal to get fit!  With this workout all you need is a BOSU ball and some dumbbells.  And if you don’t have a BOSU, don’t worry about it—you can do all of these exercises without one—but I highly recommend that you get one because there are so many different exercises that you can do with it to improve your strength, core and balance. 

I want to warn you: this is a very challenging workout routine!  If you don’t have strong stability on a BOSU, it’s best that you start just by performing these exercises on the floor and gradually increase the level of difficulty by incorporating the BOSU.  Always listen to your body to determine which exercises and the level of intensity that are right for you.

Perform these exercises in a circuit (back to back) with 60-90 seconds of rest in between.  Build up to 3-4 circuits total.

Here are the variables for each exercise:

Elevated BOSU Squat with Dumbbell Press:  12-15 reps

Elevated BOSU Lunge with Dumbbell Bicep Curls: 12-15 reps

BOSU Mountain Climber: 30 seconds

Bent Over Dumbbell Triceps Extension: 12-15 reps

BOSU Shuffle: 30 seconds

BOSU Plank: As long as you can hold it with perfect form

Please share this no-gym workout routine with your friends and family by clicking the “like” button.

To getting slim without the gym,

Melissa  Koerner

It’s no wonder people are so confused about how to eat right these days!  I recently found this meal plan in a “health” magazine that was created by a dietician.  While the meal plan isn’t completely atrocious, it’s not exactly as healthy as you might think.  So, I decided to take this so-called “healthy food plan” and revamp it to show you what a healthy daily food plan should really look like!

a.m. Meals and Snacks

7a.m. Health Magazine Meal:

1 whole egg and two egg whites scrambled with onions, green peppers and tomatoes; 1 slice whole grain toast

Melissa’s Tips:

Eggs

This business about eating just the egg whites is nonsense—eat the whole eggs!  Whole eggs that come from a healthy source contain a healthy balance of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids.  They are also a great source of protein.  In fact, the proteins found in eggs have shown to help lower blood pressure (The Sunny Side of Eggs,Mercola.com.)

And what about the cholesterol? Cholesterol is not the bad substance it’s made out to be—it’s actually a healing substance that’s produced in your body and is present in every cell.  Cholesterol is essential for growth and development, and it is needed to produce various steroids that protect against cancer, heart disease and mental illness (Nourishing Traditions,Sally Fallon.)  Eating eggs does not increase your “bad” cholesterol nor does it increase your chances of heart disease. 

Just be sure to eat free-range, organic eggs to ensure that you’re feeding your body the good stuff!

Bread

The grains used to make bread flour are highly refined, which means it’s basically like eating sugar.  Therefore, bread…

When all you feel like doing is channel surfing, try these tricks to perk up your enthusiasm to exercise.   They are sure to get you off the couch!

Ditch the All or Nothing Mindset

Does this scenario sound familiar:  You set the goal to exercise three days per week. You do great for two weeks—never missing a session, then by week three “life gets in the way,” and you have to miss your first session.  By your next session, you’ve already started to lose some momentum, so you skip yet another session.  By your third session you say to yourself, well, I’ve already missed two sessions, so why not just take the week off.  And before you know it, one missed session turns into three missed sessions, and finally you tell yourself we'll, I’ve already blown it so why keep going?!  This is where you make a BIG mistake! 

Once you’ve gotten into a routine, missing an exercise session can feel like a major setback, which can only make it harder to get back on track.  But this all or nothing thinking about exercise makes it impossible to make exercise truly part of your lifestyle.  In an ideal world, we would all have everything in our lives perfectly scheduled with no interruptions, but this is NOT reality.  The fact is, there are going to be days when getting your planned exercise session in is not doable and trying to fit it in your schedule is only an added stress.

The only way to make exercise part of your lifestyle is to learn to be flexible with your exercise plan.  For example, if you don't have the time one day to do your usual exercises at the gym, do a shorter, less intense session at home or wherever you have the space.  I do this all the time.  Every week I set a plan to follow specific strength training routines at the gym on specific…

So it’s the New Year, and I’m sure you’ve set a laundry list of resolutions for yourself for 2012—you’re going stick to your new daily exercise routine; you’re going to eat super clean, cutting out all sugar, white flour, caffeine and alcohol; and you’re finally going to lose those extra 15 pounds.

But before you go gung ho and set weight loss and fitness goals that even Jack Lalanne couldn't keep, start 2012 with a reality check, and DO NOT let this year be a repeat of setting yourself up to fail like years past! 

The key to achieving your resolutions is to set small and specific action steps that are realistic and achievable—the smaller and more specific your action steps are the greater the chance you have of actually following through with them. 

To help you kick off this New Year on the right foot, try these 7 simple and realistic healthy resolutions that are sure to help to achieve a fitter, happier, healthier new you and lasting results!

I resolve to…  try different exercises until I find something I enjoy.

We all know that we should exercise on a regular basis, but most of us would prefer to ride the couch than the elliptical machine.  The most effective way to find the motivation to move and make exercise part of your lifestyle is to find something that you enjoy doing.  You don’t have to go to the gym to exercise.  There are so many things that you can do outside of the weight room to stay active—you can walk, bike, swim; do yoga or Pilates; take a spinning class; play racquetball, tennis or golf.  You can even go bowling if that’s your thing!  You just need to get your body moving on a regular basis and feel good about it!  Whatever exercise you choose make sure that it’s safe for your fitness…

Now that Christmas is over, and you’ve had your fun feasting, it’s time to burn the fat and get your body moving with this simple and quick exercise routine.

All you need is a stability ball, some dumbbells, a medicine ball and 15 minutes!

Here are some modification ideas:

Instead of doing plank push-ups with rotations…

1. Try doing the push ups on your knees.
2. If those are still too hard, try doing push ups against the edge of your kitchen counter top (without the rotation.)  You could even use the edge of your tub—I had a client use this inventive move to get her quick workouts in at home without using any equipment:)

Instead of doing front lunges with medicine ball twists…

1. Eliminate the medicine ball and use your body weight only.
2. If those are still too hard, eliminate the twist and just do the front lunge.  Feel free to hold onto a stable object like a chair or table for some added stability.

Share this 15 minute fit body workout with your friends and family by clicking the “like” button.

To getting fit in 15,

Melissa Koerner

If you’re going to indulge in desserts this holiday, why not make something of a healthier variety?

When it comes to desserts, I much prefer to make something homemade that way I can choose quality ingredients to include in my sweet creation.  Most store-bought products are loaded with preservatives, colorings and hydrogenated oils, so when you make your own sweet treats from scratch you can avoid these harmful and fattening ingredients.

Below are five dessert recipes that you can make to celebrate with your family this holiday.  With these recipes you can give yourself a little sweet reward without the guilt because they’re made with healthier ingredients. 

For each of these recipes I recommend using organic ingredients as much as possible.

Bon appetite!

Raspberry Tart

Sally Fallon, Nourishing Traditions

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

1 flaky pie crust  (see recipe below)

baked as a 12-inch French-style tart or as individual tarts

2 cups naturally sweetened raspberry jam

½ cup pear or raspberry liqueur

3-4 cups fresh raspberries

Directions:

1. Heat raspberry jam with liqueur and boil gently about 10 minutes.

2. Brush pastry with melted jam.

3. Arrange berries on top and drizzle remaining jam mixture over berries.

Flaky Pie Crust

Makes a 9-inch pie shell with enough for lattice design.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups sifted bulgur flour (sprouted wheat flour) or gluten free baking flour

pinch of sea salt

pinch of stevia

½ cup butter, frozen

2 egg yolks

3…

Looking for some healthy gift ideas for your friends and family?  Instead of just giving something impersonal like a gift card to some large chain store or a check or wad of cash, give something that you not only put some thought into, but also benefits the health of the person receiving your gift. 

Here are my top 10 ten healthy gift ideas—there’s something for everyone!

#1.  For the on-the-Go Water Drinker

Help your loved one stay hydrated and save some money on bottled water with a stainless steel, Klean Kanteen water bottle.  I have three different sizes, and I LOVE them all! I literally take one with my everywhere I go; whether it be to go for a hike, to go out shopping or to workout at the gym, I always have my water-filled Klean Kanteen with me! 

#2.  For the Tea Lover

Creating an organic tea basket is a simple and affordable gift, and you can make it personable by adding a few of your own touches.  You can be creative by selecting a variety of different types of tea then adding a small container of raw honey, some cinnamon sticks and a fun mug.  You could even add some yummy organic cookies to munch on with the tea.  If you have the time, knock yourself out and make some cookies from scratch!

#3.  For the Self-Educating Health and Fitness Fanatic

The best gift you can give someone is the gift of knowledge.  For the person who likes to learn about health and fitness, a great get fit guide is one of my favorite books How to Eat, Move and Be Healthy, by Paul Chek.  This is a book for anyone who wants to look and feel their best from the inside out!  To order this educational and empowering book, go to our store: …

From Halloween to New Year’s, so many people stress about food and weight gain, and quickly lose focus on their goals to get fit.  

As a fitness and nutrition coach, I often hear that it’s best to “wait until after the holidays” to focus on health and fitness goals.  I understand that we have added stressors this time of year, but casting aside your health and fitness goals throughout the holidays means that you’re neglecting to take care of yourself, and during that time, while your stress starts to increase, so does your waistline! 

When you take a “break” from your healthy eating and exercise plan, you only make it harder for yourself to get started again.  This all or nothing mind-set never leads to lasting results, and unfortunately, this is the typical thinking of the perpetual dieter. 

Instead of waiting until after New Year’s to set some healthy resolutions, dodge the diet and exercise pitfalls by taking control of your figure NOW with this healthy holiday eating and fitness plan.  With these clean-eating and practical exercise strategies you can still feast and stay fit! 

Strategy #1: Be Strategic with Your Treats

It seems like we are constantly faced with the temptation to eat sweets because the opportunity to eat unhealthy food is as hard to avoid as holiday traffic!  You go to work, and there are cookies, candy and cakes calling your name when you enter the break room.  You go to the store, and all of the holiday goodies are staring you in the face when you go to the checkout aisle.  And every time you go to a holiday party you have fattening, decadent foods at arms reach.  But the reality is, not every day needs to be a celebration with treats!

You can certainly…

One of the most common questions I get asked from my clients is “how do I get a flat tummy?!”

Most women I know have that dreaded paunch belly and they would love to get rid of it once and for all!

Over the past couple of months I have been sharing my top abdominal exercises to help you tighten up your tummy and increase your core strength.

Your abdominal training, much like any other training, should follow a safe and effective progression of exercises.  If you’ve been following my posts, you know that so far I have shown you how to test your core, and I’ve given you the first two phases of my top abdominal flattening exercises.  If you haven’t seen the first two phases of these ab exercises, click here to check out the videos:

Top 3 Ab Exercises: Phase One

Top 3 Ab Exercises: Phase Two

If you’ve already assessed your core, and you’ve been following the phase one and phase two exercises, you may be ready to move on to phase three!

In the video below are my top three advanced level abdominal exercises.  All you need is a stability ball (sized right for your height) and a medicine ball or weight.  Make sure that you use a high quality stability ball to ensure safety.  To order an affordable, professional grade, burst-resistant stability ball, click here: Friend Your Body Shop.  We offer FREE shipping anywhere in the US!

 Before you perform any abdominal exercises, you MUST assess your core…

I don’t know about you, but every year I always have a ton of turkey leftover from Thanksgiving!  While I don’t mind having some left overs the next day, I get tired of eating the same thing. 

Here are my top 5 recipes to make use of what’s left of your bird after your holiday feast.  These are super easy to make and full of healthy, wholesome goodness! 

Whenever possible use organic ingredients.

Enjoy!

5. Turkey, Cranberry Club Sandwich

Ingredients:

2 slices of gluten-free bread (I like Abigail’s, which is made in Weare, NH)

Cranberry sauce

Stuffing

Sliced turkey

Romaine lettuce

2 pieces of bacon

Directions:

1. Spread cranberry sauce on each piece of bread (toast if you prefer.)
2. Then add lettuce, turkey, bacon and stuffing on top of one slice.
3. Top your post-Thanksgiving mound with your other slice of bread.

4. Turkey and Sweet Potato Hummus Sandwich

I stumbled upon this yummy recipe while reading a “health” magazine, but I changed some of the ingredients to healthier options.

Sandwich Ingredients:

2 slices of gluten-free bread

Sweet potato hummus (see recipe below)

Sliced turkey

Sprouts

Spinach leaves

Hummus Ingredients:

1 cup leftover mashed potatoes

1 cup chickpeas, cooked

¼ cup tahini

1-2 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic, diced

1 tbsp raw honey

1 tbsp sage

½ tsp paprika

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:…