SHUT UP AND LISTEN!!!

SHUT UP!  Seriously SHUT UP!

Don't Say Nothing and Listen!

YOU ARE WHERE YOU ARE!  Your body and mind is where it is but that is not where it is going to be because you will change.  Things will get better or worse but they will NOT stay the same. Good News is that it is YOUR CHOICE! You can do nothing and things get worse you you can do something and improve your Life!  2016 CROSSROADS!

YOU CAN DO BETTER!  I don't care where you are or what you have been doing, you can do better.  You can pursue perfection, you can get to the Next Level.  But you have to Shut Up and Do It!

REASONS WHY YOU CANT! - There are many reasons you can use to not do it- But you will Shut Up and Listen to ME not YOU!  Now it is time to Listen!  You are going to commit to making changes in your life in order to get stronger and healthier - YOU ARE IN CONTROL!

GUESS WHAT - IF YOU DO NOTHING - IT GETS WORSE.  At this point you may not listen and you will sit and do nothing but It will get worse. You will get weaker and Fatter - sorry that is life but you don't have to live that life, you choose to live that life!  If you want more, it is right there for you but you have to SHUT UP AND LISTEN!    Don't worry I am in the same boat, in 2016 I am following my own advice to SHUT UP AND LISTEN! I have my own coaches and mentors to SHUT UP and LISTEN TO!

PLUG INTO THE FIT LIFE!

  "It does not matter where you are, the only thing that matter is where you are going?"  

FIT LIFE  SURVIVOR

By: Kim Broussard

1.      When you were diagnosed with Breast Cancer, at which stage, and how long have you been in remission?  I was 51 years old when I was diagnosed with Stage II Breast Cancer and I have been in remission for 2 years.

2.      How has Fit Life aided in your journey to recovery? Fit Life has helped me to push forward and not look back.  I was working out at Fit Life and received a lot of support from my friends and Coach Brian.  The evening before my 11 hour double mastectomy, I received a video from Coach Brian and my friends from Fit Life encouraging me and telling me that they knew I was going to get through it.  I also received my biggest flower arrangement from Coach Brian while I was in recovery!

3.       What was your level of fitness prior to your diagnosis and how did it either empower you or hinder you during the treatment and recovery phase?  I was in really good shape when I was diagnosed.  I had been doing Brian’s Boot-camp for 3 years.  I recovered easily from an 11 hour surgery

4.      What was your biggest fear of a breast cancer diagnosis and how did you cope with it?  The biggest fear that I had was of the unknown.  How bad was it?  Could I be cured?  How would I handle the 4 surgeries and 8 rounds of chemo?  I tried to stay positive and I prayed a lot.

5.       Biggest blessings that you received throughout your journey with breast cancer and who was your biggest supporter?  My biggest blessings were a deeper faith in God and the tremendous amount of love and support I got from my friends and family.  They carried me through it.

6.      What is the most positive, healthy change you have made in your life since your diagnosis? Well, I don’t take being healthy and feeling good for granted.  I try to exercise as much as I can and eat healthy.

5 Tips for Beginning a Running Program:

“Nothing will work unless you do.” ~ Maya Angelou

1.      Set goals – As with any fitness program that you begin, goal setting is priority.  It gives you something to work towards and keeps your eye on the “prize!”  Are you running for fat loss?  Are you running to prepare for a race?  Are you running to gain cardiovascular endurance?  Once you decide what exactly what YOUR goal is, this will lead you to the second step. 

2.       Choose your program – There are so many programs online and so many apps that you can find to help you reach your goal.  Hal Higdon’s training programs are one of the most popular downloaded programs because he gives you beginner, intermediate and advanced programs to choose from.  Also, the popular Couch to 5K app on your smart phones give you programs and verbal ques during your runs to assist you and motivate you.  Running is just as much a mental challenge as it is a physical challenge.  When you have a program telling you what you need to do and how far you need to go; mentally, you can prepare yourself for the distance. 

3.      The Right Gear - Now that you have determined your goal and obtained the program that will guide you throughout the process, you will need to purchase the right gear.  Appropriate running shoes can MAKE or BREAK your success.  It is advised for you to go to your local running stores and let them evaluate the way that you walk and run so that they can guide you to the shoe that is best designed for your foot.  Running can be hard on your body, especially in the beginning stages.  Injuries will be your biggest setback.  When you have the right shoe, this drastically helps to reduce your risk for injury.  Running shoes should be replaced every 300-500 miles.  *Bonus –if you purchase your shoes at the Lafayette Running Store on Johnston Street and tell them that your trainer sent you, they will give you a discount on your purchase. 

4.      Accountability – It is a proven fact, most people tend to stick to fitness programs when they have a group or a friend that they enjoy being with helping to get them there.  There will be days that you are not going to be motivated, a partner will be extremely beneficial on these days.  Truth is, some days, the hardest part is just putting those running shoes on and getting out of the house.  Once you are there, the run is the easy part.  GET A PARTNER!!!!!!  Sharing your accomplishments with good friends makes your success so much sweeter. 

5.      JUST DO IT! - Design your running schedule and STICK WITH IT.  When you have your runs planned out, you can mentally prepare yourself and physically fuel yourself in order for you to make your runs as enjoyable as possible.   Running at the same times and same days, will promote HABITS….good habits.  You will quickly learn that CONSISTENCY is KEY for progress to be made and for your newfound habit to become easier and more enjoyable.  

Finishing a Race is not about the Race, the accomplishment is that you completed the training process!  If you train correctly, the Race is Successful.

“With self discipline, all things are possible.”  ~ Theodore Roosevelt

Kelli Montgomery: Fit Life Fitness Coach

Kelli has been helping people achieve their fitness goals for over three years and as a wife and mother of 3 she realizes the society obstacles of living the Fit Life.  Kelli also finds strength through Faith and has had a specific calling from the Lord to lead others to him through fitness.

SNACKS is that Spark to Rev your Metabolism!

Snack – A small amount of food eaten between meals!!!!

Most of us love snack time…..it probably sticks with us from our younger school years when snack time meant cookies and juice and a little bit of down time from our school time.   Snack time should always remain a special part of your day, even as we get older an

d become even busier in our lives.  Snack time is an opportunity for us to unwind for a few minutes and enjoy the fulfillment of nourishing our bodies in order to be able to keep pressing them along the rest of the day. 

Unfortunately, snacks have a tendency to be unhealthy.  The “snack” aisle at your local grocery store is filled with all of the processed, high sugar items that do not actually fuel and nourish your bodies, nor give them the energy they need to keep pressing them on.  In return, these types of snacks lead you to unhealthy cravings, overeating, and weight gain (especially as we age). 

I believe it is time for us to shed some light on the beauty of snacking and begin flooding our bodies and our children’s bodies with the kinds of snacks that will sustain our appetites, fuel our energy levels and keep our minds intact throughout your day.  Healthy snacks also help to keep your sugar levels steady, which ward off irritability and impatience, and increases your metabolism, as a result, burning more FAT! 

So, here’s the dilemma.  Snacking adds an extra step to our already overbooked lives.  Convenience has become the mantra to our daily lives.  Picking up a pre-packaged bag of snacks seems so much easier than planning ahead and preparing snacks.  Even worse, some people are so busy that they go an entire day without nourishing or fueling their bodies at all. 

What are we lacking????  KNOWLEDGE!  What ARE those healthy, convenient snacks that you will love????  That’s where The Fit Life Coaches come in.  We dedicate our time and our energy to researching these things so that we can give YOU the knowledge you need to EMPOWER you so that you can live the Fit Life.

To get the biggest bang for your buck, your snacks should be a good balance of Protein and carbs.  The right amount of protein will keep you feeling full and the appropriate amount of carbs will help to sustain your blood sugar.   Here is your list of Fit Life approved snacks recommended by your very own Fit Life coaches:

Protein Bars   - The benefits of protein bars is the simplicity and convenience, it doesn’t take any preparation.   The downside of protein bars is they can be costly.  Having said that, here are some of our favorite protein bars. 

·        Quest Protein Bars (so many different flavors to choose from)

·        Advo Bar (Advocare)

·        Pure Protein Bars

·        Think Thin

Protein Powder –

·        Advocare Meal Relacement Shakes

·        Advocare Muscle Gain Protein Shake

·        Trutein Protein Powder

·        Bod-e

·        Quest Protein Powder

High Protein Snack Choices:

·        Cottage Cheese/Fruit

·        Beef or Turkey Jerkey

·        Mixed nuts or trail mix

·        Hard boiled eggs

·        Deli Roll up (low fat or weight watchers cheese stick with ham or turkey wrapped around)

·        Hummus and carrots

·        Brown rice cakes or slice of whole wheat toast with 2 tbs. of your favorite nut butter

·        Greek yogurt

·        Edamame

From time to time, we find ourselves having some extra time and wanting to be creative!  Here are a few extra healthy snacks that take moderate preparation:

Fiesta Turkey Mini Tostados (Biggest Loser Family Cookbook) :

40 Bakes Tostitos Scoops

Olive Oil Spray

1 pound extra lean ground turkey breast

Ground black pepper

1 cup medium or hot salsa

Place a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  When hot, lightly coat with olive oil and add turkey, season.  Cook, breaking turkey into bite sized chunks until no longer pink.  Stir in the salsa, divide evenly among the scoops.

Hummus – Tuna English Muffins

1 16 oz can chunk light tuna in water, drained

¼ c roasted red pepper flavored hummus

2 whole wheat English muffins

4 slices red onions

Mix the tuna with the hummus and spoon evenly on the muffin halves and top each with a slice of red onion.

In conclusion, 2 snacks per day, ranging between 150-200 calories per snack is a very important part of living the Fit Life, even if weight loss is your goal.  

Kelli Montgomery: Fit Life Fitness Coach

Kelli has been helping people achieve their fitness goals for over three years and as a wife and mother of 3 she realizes the society obstacles of living the Fit Life.  Kelli also finds strength through Faith and has had a specific calling from the Lord to lead others to him through fitness.

5 ways to Relieve Muscle Soreness

5 ways to Relieve Exercise induced Soreness

First and foremost, I am excited that you started your journey to Fit Life.  I am very proud of all of you for starting and giving such a great effort.  Now for the Aftermath, good News: First time soreness is always the worst, meaning you will only feel this sore one time. After this, your soreness is considerable less. 

What is Muscle Soreness?

The smooth muscle tissue is located in the walls of your blood vessels, the stomach, intestines, and the bladder. If you overstretch your muscle fibers repeatedly, this triggers the onset of microtears, small tears that can occur within in the muscle fibers. When the muscle fibers tear, the muscle releases several substances that provoke an inflammatory response in the body. The inflammatory response yields aching symptoms that are thought to be one of the contributing factors to muscle soreness.  Great News is that after tearing down muscle fibers, your body automatically repairs them and builds that muscle Stronger.

Ways to relieve Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness?

1. Consider taking your favorite NSAID (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) anti-inflammatory (ibuprofen, naproxyn, and acetaminophen) before you begin exercising and after exercising.

2. Ice the affected area to slightly reduce the affected area’s temperature to relieve any inflammation or swelling. This icing can be done with an ice pack, a bag of frozen vegetables, or even a full water bottle. Ice the area for 20 minutes with the ice on for 20 minutes off for 20 minutes for appx. an hour to an hour and a half. After icing is complete, be sure to rewarm the area with some gentle massage and light movement.

3. Be sure to remember to stretch. This allows the exercised muscles to return to their length before you constricted them. You are not to try to force them to reach any particular distance.

4. If your movement is compromised, consider applying some compression. Use a neoprene wrap or support for the area. Remember that this approach will primarily serve to remind you specifically where the "injury" is so that you remember not to overuse the area when you resume exercising it.

5. Rest the affected area. Take a short break from performing the same movements, drills or exercises that induced the soreness. Start with 1-2 days and move to 1-2 weeks until pain subsides.

6. After the first day, if it feels better change from icing the area to applying heat. Again, remember that you do not need to cook the area, you are simply restoring normal blood flow. You can apply your heating pad or a commercial rub or cream.

Again I am excited that you started and this is the first step to GREATNESS!  Please let me know if you have any Questions or Concerns:

YOUR COACH,

Coach Brian Broussard  337-296-2960