5 Ways to Actually Accomplish Your Resolution

The end of 2014 is coming, and the endless possibilities of 2015 await. Have you ever actually accomplished a New Year’s resolution? It’s time to nail your resolution and change your life. I’ve got 5 easy ways to make sure your resolution is a perfect fit for you. Grab a pen and paper because writing out your resolution will increase the likelihood of you making this shit happen!

1. Be Specific. The more you describe in detail your goal, the more exact the outcome will be. Because you will picture it in your pretty little head, and know what you are working towards. Write it out. Who? What? When? Where? Why? What’s holding me back/ standing in the way?

2. How will you know when you accomplish it? Specifically. When I feel better, doesn’t count. How will you know when you are feeling better? Make a list of all the steps you have to take, to measure your progress. Getting clear on each step of your plan is like making a road map to follow on your journey to being awesome.

3. Ask yourself, “Does this align with my authentic self, and future desires?” Is this really what you want? No judgement, it’s your resolution, do whatever your little heart desires.

4. Be Committed. Goals take work, plain and simple. When you are challenged enough by something you truly want, you should feel inspired and motivated. Your resolution should be pulling you forward, not making you want to hide in your bed and sleep forever. Just saying.

5. Stay on track. Give yourself realistic due dates in your planner, so you don’t fall behind on your resolution. Schedule it in, when you see your due date approaching, it may just be the extra push you need to get your shit together.

So now you are more prepared than last year, you have a secret little weapon called knowledge, on your side. I can’t wait for you to make 2015 the year you actually accomplished a resolution. Let us know in the comments below what your resolution is for 2015.

Workout BREAKTHROUGH

Smoothies are delicious and incredibly nutritious, but have you ever wondered what makes them good for your workout? It is the quality of vitamins and minerals in whole, raw, fruits and vegetables that improve our endurance, strength, metabolic processes, hydrate us, and repairs tissues.

Here are the vitamins and minerals that will create your workout breakthrough:

CALCIUM: prevents muscle cramps and helps strengthen bones

Where? There is more calcium in 1 cup of dark leafy greens than 1 cup of milk.

IRON: common deficiency among athletes

Where? apricot, pomegranate, currants, swiss chard, cilantro, parsley (excellent source)

MAGNESIUM: present in more than 300 human processes, helping many metabolic processes

Where? almonds, flax seeds, sunflower seeds, spinach, cilantro, beet greens, collard greens, dates

POTASSIUM: helps to maintain a healthy blood pressure, mineral balance, and regulate fluids

Where? Bananas, avocados, beet greens, spinach, cilantro, apricots, cantaloupes, figs, nectarines, pears

SELENIUM: critical to antioxidant production

Where? brazil nuts, sunflower seeds, spinach, seaweed

SODIUM: retains water in cells, preventing dehydration

Where? all fruits and vegetables contain sodium, the whole, natural form is much better for you

ZINC: directly related to endurance and tissue repair

Where? pumpkin (squash) seeds, peanuts, bee pollen, sweet peppers, spinach, parsley, seaweed

Sport drink and shake companies commonly advertise their products have the same list of benefits; they are trying to create a processed product to rival the real nutrients found in green smoothies. Skip the chemicals, preservatives, fillers, dyes, and unpronounceable names the easy way. With foods that don’t need ingredient labels.  

Would you like support learning what kinds of foods are best for your unique body? Curious about how health coaching can help you make your own healthy changes? Let’s talk! Schedule an initial complimentary consultation with me today——or pass this offer on to someone you care about!

BLEND AWAY THAT MUFFIN TOP

Losing weight can leave you feeling restricted in the foods you can eat, and lacking the time needed to prepare them. Green smoothies are such a simple trick to include in our weight loss journey, they are so quick and your options of flavours are endless.

Green smoothies will melt the pounds away because they:

• jump start your digestion
• help to burn excess fat
• provide more energy since your body doesn’t have to breakdown the food
• rid your body of toxins
• hydrate you
• decrease your cravings for processed foods
• Some fruits and vegetables have a circulation boosting effect which gives you a warm, attractive glow, so they even make you sexier!

My Expert Tips:

• blend your greens first with the liquid then add the fruit after to create a nice smooth texture
• short on time? Pre-make smoothies 24-36 hours before and store in airtight container in fridge. Add lemon juice to preserve the colour. Nutrients are slowly decreasing but you are still reaping all the benefits
• you can also pre-make smoothies for the week and freeze them. Just take one out the night before and re-blend in the morning to mix it up
• always wash blender immediately after it saves so much time, or soak in water if in a hurry

Green smoothies will trick you into being even healthier to drop those extra pounds for good. Adding something positive and healthy on purpose into your life will make you feel better about yourself, and increase the chance of other healthy habits happening. So blend that muffin top away!

Would you like help learning how to create delicous green smoothies? Curious about how health coaching can help you make your own healthy changes? Let’s talk! Schedule an initial complimentary consultation with me today——or pass this offer on to someone you care about!

28 Truths on my 28th Birthday

I turned 28 this weekend. I had been thinking a lot about how different my life has become in just the last year. Looking to the future, I have so many exciting plans in the works, that I’m sure this year will be completely transformational to my life and business. I thought I would share with you 28 truths that I live by right now.

1. Be grateful. Life is good, and being grateful is the first step to happiness. Do it everyday, be grateful, your life will just keep getting better.

2. Feel fear and do it anyway. We all feel fear, you will probably keep feeling fear too. Beyond fear is opportunity and success, so just push through. Feel the fear, and just do it anyway.

3. Positivity thinking. We have about 70,000 thoughts everyday. Positive thoughts actually boost your mood, spirit, and attract more positivity into your life.

4. Dance as much as possible.

5. Listen to your heart, even when it’s scary and inconvenient.

6. My friends have my heart and my back. There aren’t too many rules to being a friend, I have no time for drama and pain.

PS To all my friends that are far away, I miss you, but I’m so glad that when we are together it’s like no time has passed.

7. Find work you love. I love health coaching and supporting transformations in my beautiful clients. It draws me in, and truly doesn’t feel like work. I am present and it nourishes me everyday.

8. Love yourself unconditionally. If you don’t, it will be very difficult for someone else too.

9. Breathe. Take time to bring yourself back to the moment, a few deep breathes can save your ass.

10. Forgiveness isn’t about being right or wrong, it’s about removing the judgement. What happened to you was wrong, forgiving someone doesn’t make it right, it’s still wrong. Remove the judgement because you have no idea what that person was thinking/feeling/going through.

11. You are what you eat. Eating real, vibrant, whole foods will lead to a real, vibrant life. Eating fake processed foods will lead to a fake, processed life.

12. We are not here to be perfect. Thank God, because we are doing a terrible job at being perfect. Everyone fails, just learn the lesson and keep moving forward.

13. Love is free. It’s true, doesn’t cost anything. Spread it around.

14. Laugh as much as you can, everyday.

15. Eye contact is important to feel heard, create connection, and show confidence.

16. Feeling sexy is essential to building confidence, little overlooked fact.

17. Know what you want, in all areas of life and let people know what you want and how you can be satisfied, in love, business, family life, and of course the bedroom.

18. Plants really do make your life better. *Check it out*

19. Judgement is within, if you are getting harshly judged, trust me it’s them, not you. Same goes for you when you are judging, look within.

20. Like minded positive people will build you up, negative Nancy’s will bring negativity into your life. Surround yourself with people you want to be like, and who are into the same things.

21. Say yes more often.

22. Think about the future, I like to call this a rough outline. Having goals keeps me on track, helps me to move forward, and inspires me everyday.

23. Follow through on your plans. Being dependable will actually make you trust your self more, and LOVE yourself more. Truth. Bomb.

24. Never go to party empty handed. Random, but had to make it on the list.

25. Write. Start small, but let the inside out. Write about whatever you want, but practice making your thoughts a real physical thing, it’s amazing.

26. The world is abundant, there is enough to go around. Be generous, don’t stress about not having enough money, you have exactly enough money for what you need, right now.

27. Your mindset towards money directly influences the money that you have.

28. You are enough right now to deserve love.

Thanks to all my followers who read my blog, I would love to hear from you about what is true for you right now. Let us know in the comments below!!

How is Inflammation Effecting You?

Inflammation is our body’s response to injury or attack on the immune system, which is totally normal and healthy. Inflammation on the surface of the body is commonly seen as heat, redness, swelling, and pain. Chronic, low-level inflammation at the cellular level – known as the “silent killer” – develops without pain and can lead to obesity, diabetes, cancer, and heart disease.

Inflammation is caused by:

Diet – Trans fat, too much Omega 6 fatty acids, refined sugar, casein, gluten, refined grains, alcohol, food additives, red meat, and dairy

Environmental Factors: smoking including second hand, pollution, pesticides and herbicides, heavy metals, chemicals and airborne irritants

Stress: career, relationships, personal, psychological

Physical Injury: trauma, infections, fractures, cuts

Illness: excess weight, obesity, heart disease, lupus, arthritis, chron’s disease, celiac disease

If you are noticing inflammation, or are being exposed to a lot of things on this list, exercising 3-5 days a week for just 30 minutes will drastically reduce the risk. Plus, incorporating more anti-inflammatory foods into your diet will have amazing results.

• turmeric
• blueberries
• dark chocolate
• green tea
• wild caught salmon
• ginger
• extra virgin olive oil
• dark, leafy greens
• sweet potatoes
• kelp

Chopsticks and Weight Loss??

Chopsticks are such an amazing weight loss tool, so often over looked.

Using chopsticks forces you to slow down and enjoy your food, instead of shoveling it in. I recommend anyone suffering with emotional eating to try using chopsticks at your next meal. Slowing down while you are eating gives your stomach time to tell you brain you are full, which results in feeling satisfied by eating less.

Try it out for a week, and pay attention to how you feel. Often eating smaller portions, with smaller mouthfuls of food will be easier on your digestive system.

How often do you use chopsticks? I’d love to hear from you, post below!

I am Grateful

I double dog dare you.

Right Now…for to be grateful for 10 things.

To be grateful to anyone or anything, lessons you have learned, or what you have, friends, family, anything.

I’ll wait…

I promise the rest of your day will go smoother, you will feel happier.

Being grateful helps to think positively, appreciate others, stay grounded, reminds you what’s important, and turn negative thoughts into good ones, attracts more positive energy!

Repeat as often as you can. I really love to say “I appreciate you” instead of “Thank-You”, which here in Canada, we say a lot. It really catches people off guard; spread the love around its way better than keeping it for yourself.

Journey of Healing

I have been on an amazing journey of healing through taking my glorious program at Integrated Nutrition. I have had ups and downs and grown so much. I can truly say I know myself at such a deeper level now. I listen to my body, and respect what it is teaching me.

One of the biggest A-HA moments I’ve had was realizing the health is a vehicle, not a destination. I always thought, when I…*insert health goal here* I will be happy and at peace. IIN has taught me that through health I will achieve my goals, and I am on a journey, this is a process. There is supposed to be ups and downs and challenges, wins, and losses. It is all part of the journey. That means no mistakes, no guilty feelings, just lessons to learn from everyday.

A journey to healing yourself be it physically, emotionally, or spiritually, is the greatest thing you can do with your life. You are the only one that has to live with you all the time, no vacations, it’s time to make yourself happy.

If you are ready to embark on your own personal health journey, I would be honored to support and guide you to reach your goals. Schedule a complimentary consultation today, and let today be day one of your new life.

BEST Weight Loss Trick

The BEST weight loss trick, water. Drink water.

So many times people are eating because they are misreading their thirst. What’s the big deal anyway?

-proper hydration can reduce muscle pain and stiffness

– Dehydration slows down the fat burning process

– Water flushes toxins out of our bodies

– Water maintains muscle tone

– drinking an adequate amount of water with any meal will help you to feel full sooner

– reduce or prevent hangovers!

I think the standard 8 cups for every adult is outrageous. Just like everyone needs different foods to thrive, the same is with water. I recommend drinking half your body weight in ounces everyday as a guideline, but listen to your body.

I trained myself to drink enough water, because believe me, it was training, I was so dehydrated and didn’t even know it! I found the best thing to do was to use a big mason jar that holds 4 cups, but any sort of measuring will work. This will help you to make sure you are getting enough water to thrive, not just survive.

Lean on Me

Having support when losing weight is one of the top indicators for success. Weight loss can stir up an array of different emotions and a memory, having someone there to truly listen to you is essential to keeping the pounds off.

Having a buddy to share recipes, go to workouts, try new foods together, to hold you each accountable to each other, will dramatically improve your results, plus build a bond with someone that is unbreakable.

A group can have even more benefits and really help to improve your social life. If you are thinking, that doesn’t exist where I live, perfect! This is the perfect opportunity for you to start one, shine up your organizing skills too. Start with one person, and keep recruiting. Building your own positive circle of like minded individuals will be so amazing it will spill over into all areas of your life. Meet once or twice a month, even every week, be consistent.

Listening is a huge part of healing. Giving your buddy time to talk and share, be present, and don’t give advice. Take turns so everyone has a chance to be heard and listen.

This won’t cost you anything, and can help an unlimited amount of people to lose weight and reclaim their lives.

If you would like more information about my group coaching programs please email me at agreenthumb1@gmail.com