All Blog Posts (48)

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…

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…

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…

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.…

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…

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!…

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…

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…

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!…

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.…

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…

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,…

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…

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…

Who says your Thanksgiving meal can’t be a healthy one?!

So many people stress this time of year about sticking to a healthy eating plan  because they’re not only faced with the temptations of rich, decadent foods, but also because of the pressure from friends and family to eat them. 

I’d be willing to bet that you have people in your life who encourage you to “cheat” around the holidays by saying “oh, just one piece pie won’t hurt you.”  Or, “come on, it’s…

Four moves and 15 minutes.  That’s all it takes to fire up your metabolism, burn your fat and build lean muscle!

By performing these exercises back to back in a “circuit” with no rest in between you not only burn a lot of calories and tone up your body, you also increase your heart and lung capacity.…

Halloween marks the start of the holidays where your weight and health can take a serious turn for the worst, but with these tricks up your sleeve you can indulge without the bulge and still enjoy your treats!

Trick #1. Trick Your Belly and Treat Yourself

The…

There’s a science to training your abs so that you not only get results, but more importantly, that you don't get hurt in the process.  It’s very important that you follow a safe progression of exercises that are appropriate for your needs.   

Last month I wrote a post sharing tips on how to train your abdominals safely and effectively, and I introduced the first of three phases of abdominal exercises.

If you’ve already assessed your core, and you’ve…

The Rule: Quit Snacking in Between Meals.

The Friend Your Body Strategy: Many women think they have to stick to the “three-meal-a-day” plan and that eating in between meals is a nutritional sin.  But if you’re eating breakfast at 6:30am and you’re not taking a lunch break until noon, that’s way too long to go without eating!  When you skip meals, your blood sugar levels drop, your stress hormones increase and your body increases its release of fat storing…

Before bolting out the door for work, pop one of these healthy snacks in your bag to help you avoid grabbing the not-so-healthy-nibbles that call your name from the employee lounge vending machine!

1.  Trail Mix

Trail mix is a really simple and easy snack to bring with you to work.  It packs really easily and you don't have to keep it…