Accountability is key!

For many people, eating right or exercising can be very difficult to stick with in the beginning. Once it becomes a habit, it is much easier. But to get through those first few weeks, sometimes we need a little extra push to stick with it. That's where accountability comes in. If you know someone it literally waiting on  you to go running with them, you're much more likely to go on and meet them and run. You don't want to leave them hanging or let them down. Same goes for eating right. If your spouse is going to see what you eat and they want you to succeed at eating well, it can be very helpful since you don't want to let them down either.

The 21 day challenge that I'm leading started yesterday - and already folks are loving the fact that they're sending me their food log and workout log for the previous day. It helps them feel accountable knowing that I'll be looking at it and giving feedback on both. And writing it down helps you feel more accountable to yourself too. Give it a try. Find an accountability partner. I'm a fitness coach of course, so feel free to sign up for free to have me as YOUR coach and I'll be that accountability partner for you. It just may make the difference you've been looking for :) Sign up anytime @ www.TurboRomero.com click JOIN and select the free option. The paid option includes a personalized meal planner though...so if you've been looking for that, you may like to peruse that option too :)

~To Your Health~

Pushed for time?

We all get pushed for time some days. It's easy to put off the things that are crucial to your success though. Have you ever put off school, training classes, or even workouts because you were just 'too busy'? I have. But once I stopped making excuses and started finding solutions to the time crunch, my life was 100 times better.

Now I've got my priorities straight. Family, Health & Fitness, Financial Security and Helping Others. Period. If I'm wondering if I have 'time' for something...I run it through my 'priorities filter'. If it doesn't fit with one of my listed priorities, then the answer is possibly no. Unless I just randomly have time for it. Otherwise, my time goes strictly to those priorities. Setting it in your mind like that makes these things non-negotiable. So if a neighbor wants to go grab a drink, but I only have an hour of time, I would much rather get my workout in than go and get a drink. Making friends with neighbors isn't a priority for me, but health and fitness is. Would it be fun to go have a drink? Maybe. Maybe not. If I had a ton of extra time that day, I'd probably go for it. But since I was crunched for time, I chose something that would help me meet my goals and make me happy.

So my lesson today is to figure out your priorities. List them on a sheet of paper. You may only have 1. You may have 3 or 4 like me. Now think on what tasks or events will help you achieve any goals related to those priorities. Keep these in mind when things come up. Schedule your time in advance - related strictly to your priorities. If you do this, you'll be happier and you'll feel more accomplished.

And on that note... speaking of working out - if you're short on time, but want to KILL a good workout, make sure you're trying some HIITs....second to none with it comes to effectiveness in a short period of time!

I'm happy to help with workout plans, diet planning, whatever you need...sign up for free to have me as your coach. Go to www.turboromero.com and click on 'join'. Select the free option, and *poof* you have a new health and fitness coach! :)

~To Your Health~

21 Day Challenge, starting soon!

I'm leading a 21 day health & fitness challenge - starting 8/29/11

I picked 21 days for the length because that's the amount of time it takes to form new habits (or break old ones).The challenge I created will be a group of people who commit to 21 days of working out, eating healthier - and keeping a food diary, replacing 1 meal a day with Shakeology (Have you heard of Shakeology before? Soooo good and ridiculously healthy, email me at fithappy@yahoo.com and I'll send you info if you want to know more!). And on top of committing to it all, each participant will send me their food diary and exercise log every morning for the day prior. I'll check them out and return any comments or suggestions I may have for improvements or motivation, etc. 

We'll also have a group page on FB where all participants can chat throughout and keep the accountability high - and I'll be on the page every day checking in and answering questions and providing suggestions.

Finally, the best part - everyone will send me their weight and waist measurements at the beginning...along with a "before" photo. They will be confidential, no one will see them unless the participant WANTS to share with other participants. Every few days I'll send an email with tips, motivation, ideas, whatever may help. And every 7 days everyone will send in current weight & waist measurements. At the end of 21 days- final reporting of weight and waist and an "after" photo...and new habits will have been formed; most people will have lost weight and inches...and whoever lost the most PERCENTAGE of weight will win a prize--- your choice of Hip Hop Abs Extreme DVD OR Turbo Fire Greatest HIITS DVD. 

So exciting! This type of challenge is very successful for those who commit to it - getting a boost through a plateau, forming those new habits, and seeing success is a great motivator to continue those good habits.

If you're interested, let me know! The Shakeology can be bought right through my retail site and it comes in several options. It comes in a bag which is actually 30 servings, or a box of packets which is 24 servings. It's about $4/serving (which of course is likely cheaper than whatever meal you're replacing it with or a Starbucks!) You'd only need 21 for the challenge, but the shake is SO good and so ridiculously healthy, most people don't mind having a few left over to use afterward. I drink it every single day for breakfast because I love it SO much and I've had such great success with it. Best part, it has a bottom of the bag guarantee, so if you don't love it, they'll refund your money even if you used it all

As for the workout commitment, I recommend a program, simply because of the structure and motivation it can bring to the table, but if there's something else you prefer (I.E. running, walking) that will work too, it just may be harder for you to really push yourself for the best results.

Sorry for the longness of this post, it's just a lot to explain  Let me know if you want in. We're starting on 8/29, so order your Shakeology today or tomorrow so you get it in time! I also recommend selecting the 'auto ship' option when checking out. It makes the shipping free and if you don't want to continue using it after the first bag, you can just cancel the auto ship. You can order here:  Order Shakeology

Excited to get started! 

~To your health~

Rest days. To rest, or not to rest?

Sometimes we can get so gung-ho about our new routines that it's actually hard to take a rest day. Here's the skinny, as I see it...

Yes, you need rest days. Especially after strength training. To build muscle, you actually do NEED that recover time afterward. No kidding. So if you do strength training for your lower body on Monday, you should not do strength training on your lower body again until about Thursday preferably. Now, there's no need to completely take those next couple of days completely off. You could do resistance training for your upper body one day. You could do cardio, HIIT, or even yoga or a swim. It should be noted, these rest days after strength training are unnecessary if you are not using weights that are heavy enough. If you do your resistance training and weren't struggling to get those last few reps out, your weights are TOO light for building muscle. In this case, you wouldn't really need to rest those muscles the next couple of days - because they weren't broken down.

So the secondary lesson for the day. If you want to build muscle (and you SHOULD! That's what increases metabolism and makes you stronger and fitter), you need to use weights that are heavy enough. It should be pretty difficult to get the last few reps out. If you do 12 bicep curls, and you feel like you could keep going, pick a heavier weight for your next set. Trust me, you'll be sore if you do it right, and that's exactly what you want if you're trying to build that lean muscle!!

So get those weights (or bands) and get after it. Work it HARD and then take your rest day to recover and build that muscle. You'll be so glad you did!

~To your health~

Work it!

So, I keep seeing and hearing things that concern me a little...about viewpoints on fitness and how to lose weight.

Yes, it's true that if you move more, and eat less, you will lose weight. (Calories in versus calories out IS the reason you lose or gain weight, afterall). But what I'm worried about is that this mindset allows us a mentality of 'bare minimum'. And of course, for some, that's fine. But shouldn't we strive for greatness? Not just in health and fitness, but in life? If you were looking for a job and you really thought you deserved a salary of $50,000 - and you went to the first place and they offered you $25,000. Would you accept it because "it's better than nothing"? Or would you fight for what you deserved?

To me, it's the same with health and fitness. So maybe going for a 1 mile walk every other day is enough to help you drop a few pounds. Well that's great! And it's a wonderful start. But are you content to 'drop a few pounds?' Or would you love to get into great shape? Would you love to raise your metabolism, feel great every day, increase energy and get to your ideal weight and muscle tone? Maybe it sounds impossible. I'm here to tell you it's not. But it does take more than the occasional stroll. You don't have to workout for hours every day though, either. It's all about choices. Set your goals. Make them big, that's the best part of life, sometimes.

As always, I'm happy to help - if you want help identifying goals; or would like help reaching them, please reach out to me. I help folks just like you with motivation, direction, accountability and diet & workout advice. You can sign up for free to have me as your fitness coach. Just go to www.TurboRomero.com and click "join". Select the free option (unless you read through and prefer the paid option benefits!)

Remember, it's all about YOU when it comes to health and fitness. Decide what you REALLY want...I'll help you get there if you're ready!

~To your health~