Cross Training & Healthy Diet to get ready for the Holiday Season!

After a busy summer of travel, visitors and lots of good food and wine... I decided I needed to make a change before the holiday season hit full force.

A good friend of mine is training for a full 26 mile marathon in December and while I am not quite that ambitious (yet) I thought getting out the running shoes might be a good idea. I asked her to set me up with a easy training schedule to follow to help me get on track with a running routine. She obliged by giving me a 5 week course to follow that really helped me "ease" into the running, or in my case "jogging" routine again.

As I followed her schedule for "training for a 5k run", I continued to cross train with my spin classes, three days a week and my swim workouts twice a week, along with longer workouts on my road bike two or three times a week. I noticed that not only was I less "bored" with my workouts now, but I was seeing results again. My muscles were being a challenged again as I added diversity to my routine.

Cross training is a great way to condition different muscle groups, develop a new set of skills, and reduce boredom that creeps in after months of the same exercise routines. Cross training also allows you the ability to vary the stress placed on specific muscles or even your cardiovascular system. After months of the same movements your body becomes extremely efficient performing those movements, and while that is great for competition, it limits the amount of overall fitness you possess and reduces the actual conditioning you get while training; rather than continuing to improve, you simply maintain a certain level of fitness. In addition, Cross training can reduce the risk of injury from repetitive strain or overuse.

The next element of my plan was to find an easy to follow diet to get ready for the holiday season and the yummy foods that will surely added unwanted inches to my waist. I have tried a few different diet shake plans, and have had various results, when I came across the Usana Reset kit. The meal-replacement shakes are low glycemic, meaning that the ingredients are formulated to produce only small fluctuations in blood glucose levels for sustained energy to keep you satisfied longer, and the plan is only five days long and very easy to follow. You get your 3 meals a day via your shakes, in a variety of flavors: chocolate, vanilla and strawberry. You also get 10 nutrition bars, 5 peanut butter and 5 oatmeal raisin (2 a day for your snacks), and 5 days worth of the "healthy pack" vitamins. The DVD that comes in the pack helps to educate and inspire you to do what you need to do to stay on track. The Reset kit boasts a 5 pound lose in 5 days, with no starvation. So far, I'm on day 3 and it is working great. I recommend drinking plenty of water to flush your system. I also incorporated the Usana  Rev3 surge pack drink mix in one water a day, to give me an added boost of energy.

I am now getting psyched to do a triathalon. Part of the motivation for me to continue to train, I have added a long term goal. I am planning on participating in the sprint tri in Santa Barbara next summer. But for now, I will be fitting into the cute party dresses for the holidays and loving it!

Eating the "Right" Kind of Protein Can Help You Lose Weight

In my endless search for ways to be healthy, stay young, and maintain my youthful vitality, I came across an article on how eating high quality protein will actually curb your appetite, improve cardiovascular health and more. It's reminiscent of my Low Carb diet days, but now researchers have determined that there is validity to this way of eating. What research says is that to net the health-promoting benefits of protein, experts recommend lean, high quality choices: fish, skinless poultry, lean meat, egg whites, low fat dairy, and legumes. These newer findings simply suggest the impact of protein on health is more far reaching than health experts first realized, and that perhaps protein is a key player in keeping the heart healthy, the blood sugar level, and appetite and weight all under control. If weight loss is your goal, plan on incorporating a little more of the high quality protein into your meals. Click here to read more.

Eat Healthy and Pay Less

In this time of economic crisis, everyone is trying to find ways to save a buck. Me too, though I don't want to sacrifice good healthy foods to do it. I would like to pass on some helpful tips on how you can spend less and still enjoy organic produce and free-range meats.

"The secret to eating well on a budget is not to give up the high quality foods you love, but to buy only what you need, and then be sure to use everything that you buy." says Mollie Katzen, author of The Vegetable Dishes I Can't Live Without

The following expert tips will help you discover how you can eat healthy for less.

• Know your budget: "Before you can start spending less, you have to know what your budget is." ~ says Katzen. Save all your food related receipts - grocery store, farmers' market and restaurants for a month to determine what you're really spending. Save $ by cutting out non essentials like take-out foods and coffee to go.
  
• Plan a weeks worth of menus: Start with two or three dishes, then come up with others that utilize similar food items that are not used up in another recipe, this way nothing gets wasted.
  
• Shop around: Comparison shopping is critical, but it's not just comparing one store's prices to another, also look for conveniences, like precooked foods, for bargains. Save up to $2 per item if you buy loose greens instead of pre-washed and whole veggies instead of pre-sliced ones.
• Find coupons on-line: These days you don't have to be a coupon clipper, you can find a multitude of organic companies offering coupons on-line - just a click away. Check out mambosprouts.com to download coupons.
• High Nutrients: "To really get your money's worth, buy foods that are high in nutrients," says Katzen. Broccoli and celery are priced the same, but every dollar you spend on broccoli buys you much more vitamin C, iron and fiber.
• Cut down on meat: Even the cheapest cuts of meat are expensive these days. Build your meal around other proteins such as beans. Replace meat with protein-rich barley, and pinto, kidney and black beans in soups ans stews. A pound of beef costs nearly $4 while a pound of dried beans is $1.50.
• Seasonal produce: Buying what's in season at your local farmers' market will give you the freshest choices and the most nutrients for less. You can even buy extra strawberries, peaches, or other fruits or vegetables, and freeze them to use during off season times when the prices generally double.
  
• Buy in bulk: When buying dried beans, grains and spices in bulk, you can get the exact quantity you need, and reduce wasting your foods. You will also save money and get a fresher product.
  
• Join Warehouse store: You can find organic foods at Costco and Sam's Club now, and get an even greater bargain. This may be time to plan several meals around the foods as you will be buying a larger quantity than from a grocery store.
• Grow your own food: You don't need a big back yard to grow your own produce. Any spot in the sun will do. Plan fresh herbs, tomatoes, even zucchini in pots. You can even "can" your own tomatoes and use them in the winter for additional savings.
  

The Road to Aging Healthy

This is the beginning of a journey I hope will inspire all, especially those of a certain age, shall I say "baby boomers", you know who you are! I am excited at the prospect of learning as much as I am able to share. In this blog I hope to excite and enlighten those individuals who want to live a full youthful life as they aspire to age healthy and well. Staying young in body and mind is not only a dream, it is a reality if only we learn healthy habits.
Join me as we travel the road to healthy aging together. Share your stories, your battles, your triumphs with other baby boomers as we navigate the road to staying young together.

Stay tuned for Tons of Great Inspiration and Information!!

I intend to share all my tips for staying young:

• Eating healthy delicious foods
• Sharing Easy Healthy Recipes
  
• Simple Menu Plans
• Diet Plans and Helpful hhints
  
• Exercise ideas that are easy to stick with
• How to keep it all together while traveling
• Medical back-up on Why it's so important to stay healthy
• Loads of other helpful tid-bits