It’s time to cast aside the Cheerios, instant oatmeal and pre-packaged breakfast bars, and start your day with REAL food!

If you want to be bursting with vitality and look and feel your absolute best, you MUST fuel your body with wholesome foods, especially at the start of your day. 

When you start your day with a balanced breakfast, consisting of healthy proteins, fats and carbs, you stoke your metabolism and boost your energy!

Below is my top 7 breakfasts.   They are all simple and easy to make, and more importantly, they contain healthy, wholesome ingredients. 

Try one (or all) of these yummy, healthy breakfasts to help you kick start your day!

Mango Bango Smoothie

Instead of drinking store-bought, processed protein powder that is loaded with sugar and chemicals that are hard to pronounce, use whole, organic yogurt as your protein source and add some fruit to create a balanced meal. 

Here's all you need:

8-10 oz. plain organic yogurt

1/2 cup frozen mango chunks

1/2 cup frozen pineapple chunks

1 ripe banana

2 tbsp raw honey

Directions:

1.  Put yogurt in blender then fruit and honey.

2.  Blend until desired consistency.

3.  Enjoy!

My secret smoothie weapon:  the Vitamix.  This amazing machine takes your smoothie experience to a whole other level!  

Coconut Breakfast Bars

These are great substitute for the pre-packaged, processed breakfast bars.  You can make a big batch to last you a few…

I recently read a book called Begin with Yes, by Paul S. Boynton.  After reading the book, I felt so uplifted and inspired, that I wanted to share with you some of the key points that resonated with me.  But before I get to that, I just want to give you some backstory as to how I came upon this book.

My boyfriend, Chris, actually met Paul a few months go through his work and when Chris learned that Paul was going to be the keynote speaker at a recent awards benefit, he invited me to the event to meet Paul.  After hearing Paul speak I was very intrigued and wanted to learn more about his Begin with Yes approach, so I was delighted when I found out that evening that Paul was giving away copies of his new book to all of the attendees.

I read Begin with Yes while I was travelling earlier this month for a business trip.  Paul’s book is very simple and easy to read, and eloquently written.  His writing style is very warm and engaging.  Begin with Yes is written as an inviting conversation with fun, personal anecdotes, so you feel like you’re talking with an old friend and before you know it you’ve finished the book! Don’t you just love books like that? 

I encourage you to read the book for yourself, but in the meantime here are some Begin with Yes principles to wet your appetite and inspire you to start making positive changes in your life!

1. Begin--The Best Time to Start is Now.

Paul opens his book with a Chinese adage that says: “When is the best time to plant a tree?”  The answer is “20 years ago, but the next best time is right now.”

It’s so easy to let “life get in the way” and put your needs on the back burner.  But the time to…

There’s a big misconception that stretching is only for people who workout or people who are athletes.  And many people who do workout, don’t see the benefits of stretching. 

If you think that stretching is a waste of your time, I encourage you to keep reading because EVERONE benefits from stretching, whether you’re sitting at home or an office all day or you’re an athlete!

Why You Need to Stretch

While you don’t need to have the flexibility of an advanced yoga instructor, you do need some degree of flexibility to prevent injury from both recreational and day-to-day activities. 

If your muscles are tight and you want to participate in a sport or leisurely activity, or maybe you simply want to be able to bend over and tie your shoes without pain, improving your flexibility will help reduce your risk of getting injured.

When you sit for extended periods of time without stretching and moving your body, over time your flexibility decreases, which leads to muscle imbalances and poor posture.  And before you know it squatting down to pick up a bag of groceries is a challenge!

When your muscles become imbalanced (some muscles become short and tight, and others become long and weak due to misuse), you may develop poor posture.  Poor posture leads to weight being unevenly distributed on your joints, which puts tremendous stress on your muscles and tendons, thereby setting the stage for injury and pain.

It is very important to address muscles imbalances BEFORE your engage in an exercise program.  When you exercise on top of pre-existing muscle imbalances the imbalances only get worse, and you risk getting seriously hurt. 

It’s like attempting to build a beautiful home on a crooked and unstable foundation; you don’t focus on putting up siding, shudders and a roof until you’ve built a strong and steady foundation.  As you’re building…

Do you know what triggers your snack attacks?  Answer these 5 questions to discover what kind of snacker you are.  Then learn some smart, simple, snacking  strategies to eliminate food cravings.

1.  You are most likely to have the desire to snack…

A.  When you are working in front of your computer.

B.  Within an hour or two after lunch.

C.  Whenever there’s food around you. 

2. Your typical go-to snack is…

A.  Something sweet (i.e. candy or cookies) or salty (i.e. chips or pretzels.)

B.  A cup of coffee or can of soda.

C.  Whatever’s available in the break room vending machine or in your cupboards.

3. Even if you’re not really hungry, you’ll snack when…

A.  You are worrying about everything that you need to get done.

B.  You need a boost in the afternoon to get you through the rest of the day.

C.  Your co-worker offers you some candy, chips or crackers.

4.  Your cravings for sweets kick into high gear when…

A. Your demands at work/and or home seem overwhelming.

B.  It’s past your bedtime, but you have work to get done by the next morning. 

C. You know you have goodies available for the taking in your cupboards and/or desk at work.

5.  Your desire for ”comfort foods” increases…

A. When you have a disagreement with someone.

B. When you don’t get enough sleep.

C. Every time you see them!    

So, what kind of snacker are you?

Mostly A’s = Stress Snacker

When you experience stress, your body releases the stress hormone cortisol, which triggers food cravings especially for sweets.  While it’s normal and healthy to…

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…