Jul
23
2010
Just when I thought common sense was finally taking hold, another ridiculous diet from the past rears its ugly head to ruin the metabolisms and break down the bodies of a new generation.
It seems the hCG diet, from the infamous and laughable research done in the 1950s by Dr. A.T.W. Simeon on young boys with underdeveloped gonads, is making the rounds in men and women eager to subject their bodies to anything in hopes of losing weight quickly. Dr. Simeon believed that the use of the hCG hormone was causing these underdeveloped boys to lose weight, so he decided to switch his focus from injecting young boys with a foreign substance to help them develop genitalia to injecting overweight people with a foreign substance to see if they could lose weight.
Jul
13
2010
I know Jessica “Lil J” rocked boot camp before the 4th of July with a simple but amazingly effective workout. She called it the Firecracker Workout, not just to stick with the spirit of the season, but also because she combined a ballistic move with three other related (and still butt-kicking) exercises. Fun Girl boot campers raved about the workout, how they loved the fat that dripped off of them, and how they wanted to duplicate it on their own.
So, BANG…here you go!
Jun
29
2010
Hey Fun Girls! I know many of you are on the move this summer, and if you can scrounge up a bit of untainted, un-BPed sand and water, like I found in Florida, this is a quick and effective fat-burning workout! It uses the sand and water as resistance and instability (to recruit some of those smaller muscles you don’t even feel!) to keep you looking Fun Girl Fine while you’re on your adventure! I used a beach chair to keep your hands out of the sand, and to add even more ab work. Anyway, check it out…
No-Sweat Beach Workout
Jun
16
2010
Hi Fun Girls! If you’re a hot mama in the ever popular 6:30 a.m. Fun Girl Fitness boot camp, you heard Jae talking about Jan’s (her mom and fellow boot camper) awesome recipe for Energy Balls. Everyone was dying for the recipe. It’s simple and requires no baking… woohoo! As it is always my honor to comply with your requests, here is Jan’s secret recipe (maybe this is the reason Jan looks so fabulous!!)
Jan’s Energy Balls
1/2 CUP PEANUT BUTTER
1/2 CUP SUNFLOWER SEEDS
1 TBLS AGAVE NECTAR
1/2 CUP ROLLED OATS
1 CUP RAISINS
1 TBS FLAX SEED MEAL
MIX ALL INGREDIENTS TOGETHER. MAKE INTO BALLS AND REFRIGERATE FOR AT LEAST 30 MIN!
I’m headed to Florida next week for some R&R beachside with some incredible friends. So watch for the next Fun Girl post to come from the hopefully-not-too-oily Santa Rosa beach!
Rock on, Fun Girls!
Jun
7
2010
Who said a swimming pool is just for swimming? We did a kick ass workout with our Fun Girl boot campers on Friday – in the pool – that left them worked over, breathless, and surprisingly refreshed.
As per their request, here’s that workout.. for your own enjoyment in your backyard, neighborhood, or neighbor’s pool (make sure you make that friendly neighbor do the workout with you!)
May
21
2010
Sara is one of those that infuses a room with light the instant she walks in. I don’t know if it’s her genuine smile, the wave (because everybody there knows her name), or the fact that she’s an real-life angel in a white sweater and workout pants. Maybe a combination of all three.
Beyond the fact that you don’t normally see many 80-year-old women in a serious training facility, Sara is different in a way that’s tough to put a finger on. Yes, she’s willing to tackle a tough exercise program – the first regular program in her life – when most women are making their way to the rocking chair. Yes, she’s magnetic and personable. But I think truly makes Sara extraordinary is the sense of courage, survival, and love that she wears like a familiar perfume.
Sara says she began training with me two years ago because of osteoporosis and diminishing strength. I believe, however, that she also wanted something in her life… after 78 years… that was totally her own. Sara is naturally thin, so weight was not an issue. But like many women who don’t exercise, she had a high level of body fat on that thin frame. We took measurements so we could track her progress as she shed the body fat (her granddaughter called the flab on the backside of her arm “fluffery”) and regained some muscle.
Sara eventually performed bent over rows, planks, and dips like women a quarter of her age. And we watched her body fat drop and her lean muscle grow. Her balance improved immensely and she had more energy than ever.
And then one day her weight began to drop unexpectedly. Every time we weighed in, she had lost more than I felt she could afford. And she was tired.
Sara was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a bone marrow cancer, but told very few people. She told her doctor that she wanted to pursue aggressive treatment only when necessary. She continued her workouts and regular life. Eventually the doctor recommended chemotherapy. The cancer had gotten worse.
Sara complied, envisioning the radiation killing off the cancer and making her stronger with every treatment.
During her chemo, Sara made almost all of her workouts. She was more tired than normal, and would have to rest between sets, but she stayed her course, knowing she couldn’t neglect her body at a time she needed it’s powers the most.
And Sara won.
This week we celebrated Sara’s news of the remission of her cancer. She had long admired two of my clients’ 1931 Model A Ford that she had seen before one of her workouts. Ray and Jane, owners of this most awesome car, said that one day we’d all go for a ride.
After toasts of mimosas to Sara’s great health, Ray and Jane took Sara and I on that ride through our historic town square last Wednesday. Sara’s beautiful white hair blew in the wind as wound our way through wildflower pastures and over the lake… all with the top down. She looked like a queen.
The sun shone gently on this perfect day… as if to say, “This is for you, Sara, and the light you bring to this world.”
To the ultimate Fun Girl… beautiful, healthy, radiant, and tackling an challenge with an uncommon courage. Thank you for your inspiration, Ms. Sara!
May
13
2010
Shelby talks about planting her Mother’s Day garden, and the importance of good food!
May
6
2010
I’m working from my home office – as I do in the afternoons so that I can be here when my kids get home from school – and I just whipped up the Green Goodness snack below that I stole from my friend, nutritionist Dr. Chris Mohr’s blog.
It is the absolute perfect way to curb those afternoon munchies, and man was it good! I used a big, ripe avocado that we got from a local produce shop, which tastes waaaaayyyy better than anything you can get from a typical grocery store, and I added half a can of tuna (just because I didn’t have any salmon), along with the rest of the ingredients.
Since I had a half a can of tuna left, I went ahead and pre-made another batch of the mixture, that I can use on the second half of the avocado for tomorrow’s afternoon delight! I paired it with a tall, cool glass of fresh brewed ice tea, and I’m totally charged up to finish my day!
The presentation of the stuffed avocado was beautiful (and I’m all about making my food pretty!), so I can totally see someone using the Green Goodness recipe as an appetizer as well!
If you’re at an office during your afternoon snack time, just pre-make these snacks in the morning, or the night before, pack them in easy-travel containers, and pop them open around the 3 o’clock hungries! I guarantee your co-workers will be slobbering all over themselves when they see you munching on your gourmet, and totally healthy, snacks!
Adobe Roasted Chick Peas
Open a can of chick peas (AKA garbanzo beans)
Drain and rinse beans, dry with a paper towel.
Add about 1 TBS of olive oil to a pan and heat over medium heat.
Add beans, sprinkle with salt, pepper, and adobe chili powder (or regular chili powder if you’d prefer).
Saute about 15 minutes, tossing every few minutes, until somewhat browned.
Almond Butter and “Jelly” Sans Bread
1 cup mixed berries, lightly mashed
1 TBS almond butter (works better than peanut butter)
1 TBS unsweetened coconut flakes
Toss all together in a bowl and enjoy.
Green Goodness
Split an avocado in half, remove nut
Mix ½ can of canned salmon in a bowl with Dijon mustard, cracked black pepper, and parsley
Add to center of avocado and enjoy
Oh yeah, and if you want to check out Dr. Chris and Dr. Kara Mohr’s awesome nutrition blog (which I highly recommend), go to http://www.mohrresults.com/.
Rock on, Fun Girls!
Apr
30
2010
A potential client shared with me this morning some of her weight loss beliefs and even though I hear similar notions all the time, I will never get used to them. When these common misbeliefs once again infiltrate my hard-built walls of common sense, I want to simultaneously scream at the media, and all those who never take the time to educate themselves about nutrition and just repeat what they’re told, and cry for those (like the potential client) who unknowingly buy into such ridiculousness at their own expense.
As we were discussing her diet, she told me that she loves bananas but won’t eat them anymore since a Jenny Craig “counselor” told her that they were “bad for her.” Realize that Jenny Craig counselors are most often women who are paid about six bucks an hour and have had only a-day-and-a-half of training… none of which was nutrition-based and all of which was sales-based. Basically, the chicks at Jenny Craig don’t know any more about nutrition than your dweebie, never-had-a-date gym teacher knew about sex ed. But, in this upside-down society, they’re the ones dispensing the advice!
Apr
23
2010
I’m shocked at how often women begin an exercise and nutrition program and complain because they’re eating too much. They fear that by eating (by healthy standards) reasonable amounts of good, clean food makes them feel bloated. They worry that eating “too much” will make them fat.
Now Fun Girls know that healthy bodies get hungry. That when you have a body that never feels hungry it’s because your metabolism is as slow as Grandma driving home from church. And slow metabolisms are NOT good. In fact, the problem isn’t eating too much. The problem is a broken metabolism.
Tags: appetite, diet, eat right, eating, exercise, metabolism, nutrition, nutrition in mid-life, Weight Loss | 
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