Well... what can I say... I'm human! Today... no cocktail. Woke up in a rush. Had a little less than half a stack of caramel pancakes, 1 egg, almost a whole slice of bacon and about half a cup of black coffee for breakfast at IHOP. Blah!!! Then lunch was 2 taquitos from the freezer. Blah #2!!! snacked on an avocado and had 1 water bottle.

No run or work out today but got my new glasses for the massive head aches that I've been having for the last week. Let's hope it helps!!

But it's FRIDAY!!! So everything will be better because if I'm lucky... I'll be blessed with another day tomorrow to make it a better one!

Have a great and safe weekend bloggers and enjoy the following. Give it a go and see how it works for you!

Seated Dumbbell Rows

A strong upper back improves your posture--and looks great too!

Courtesy of the spark.com emails-

Had my cocktail in the morning and a pear, fruit and nut bar and water for breakfast. Lunch was more water with HalF a grilled chicken sandwich with few hash browns and half a pickle on the side. Oh, and some coffee... tried to get rid of my headache with the coffee... NO GO! :/

Dinner menu is probably going to be my other half of the sandwich with the hash browns and pickle.... Hopefully we won't need a snack today but if I do, I'm having my protein shake with the complete greens! Funny how we start craving what's good for you, just because it's what we've gotten our body used to... =D

Now, did you know...?

Yoga Helps Find Your Body Bliss

A new study published by the University of California at Berkeley shows that women who practice yoga have better body images and less disordered eating patterns than women who take part in traditional aerobic exercises. Study participants filled out surveys about the type of exercise they performed, how often, and their feelings about their bodies.

Action Sparked: This particular study didn't put women into different exercise groups, so researchers can't be sure whether women who already felt good about their bodies tended to steer towards yoga, or if the yoga itself helped improve body image. However, yoga, a mind-body exercise, allows practitioners to tune into their bodies, emphasizing their strengths and abilities, not their size or appearance.

This focused practice is also a great stress-reliever. Yoga could help many individuals (not exclusively women) focus on the positives of their bodies, thus improving how you feel about your body, while helping improve flexibility, strength, and mental focus in the process.

Exercise Extra: Yoga is a great addition to a well-rounded fitness program. Yoga can help increase flexibility, reduce stress, and build endurance

Taken from Spark.com (12/09) ...just tweeked the title a little. ;)

Had my Isotonix cocktail first thing...

Breakfast were two egg whites and 1/2 a sweet potato with my water...

Lunch was 2 tiny grilled chicken breasts w/a small bowl of past and a sizable serving of steamed asparagus...

After the run that I WILL go on, late this afternoon, when I have sitters home from school, and before I take #5 to her first softball practice... I will have a protein shake with my complete greens supplement as well...

And dinner will be what ever I have a chance to make... SMALL portion will be key!!

Now, before I set you all up with the following health and wellness tid bit... I just have to thank you all for taking the time to log on and choosing to make your day a better one with the choices that this blog may inspire. Remember that NO change is too small... because they all lead to your goal!! Find a way to make today an amazing day lived!!

15 Ways to Boost Calcium Intake Calcium plays an important role in strengthening bones and teeth, but it also helps muscles and nerves function properly. How much do you and your kids need? Kids (up to age 11): 700-900 mg daily Pre-teens & Teenagers: 1,000-1,200 mg daily Adults (ages 18-50): 1,000 mg daily Adults (51 and older): 1,200 mg daily There are many easy ways to boost your calcium intake by sneaking these foods into your family's diet: 1. Add beans to soups, chili, and pasta dishes. 2. Grate low-fat cheese over soups and salads. 3. Enjoy a smoothie made with yogurt. 4. Use milk instead of water in soups, breads, sauces, or salad dressings. 5. Add milk to tea or coffee in the morning. 6. Try plain yogurt as a vegetable dip. 7. Stir some nuts into a yogurt cup as a snack. 8. Include leafy vegetables in baked casseroles such as lasagna. 9. Buy juices and cereals fortified with calcium. 10. Drink skim milk instead of soda at lunch. 11. Eat hot oatmeal made with milk for breakfast. 12. Snack on crunchy broccoli instead of potato chips. 13. Substitute plain low-fat yogurt for recipes that call for sour cream. 14. Treat yourself to pudding made with skim milk for dessert. 15. Take a daily supplement, available in capsules or chewable tablets. From spark.com email... Hope it's helpful... =)

Isotonix cocktail (check)

Small bowl of whole grain cereal w/little skim milk (check)

1st Full bottle of water (check)

Half a tuna salad sandwich w/half a bag of sea salt chips for lunch (check)

Quality time with a dear friend and my GabiDoll (check)

2 hour training for ChangeForLifeShoppe, to be at it's fullest potential faster (check)

Catching up on fb with what is an amazing group of people while finishing up laundry and dishes (check)

Marketed what I know will make a difference in people's lives (check)

Now... let's pick up kids from school/practices figure out dinner and try to get a 3/4 mile run in!!

Thank you GoD for allowing me to make MY Monday the best that it could be... Amen

Something good to keep in mind folks:

Soda and Stroke Risk

Author: Sean Wells

The research correlated soda consumption along with the occurrence of stroke in a total sampling of 127,456 individuals—consisting of 43,371 men who participated in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study between 1986 and 2008 and 84,085 women who participated in the Nurses’ Health Study between 1980 and 2008. During that time a total of 2,938 strokes were documented in women while 1,416 strokes were documented in men.Sugar-sweetened beverage consumption has increased in the United States over the past three decades, and its impact on our health has risen in response. Past research has linked regular consumption with weight gain and diabetes, along with high blood pressure and coronary artery disease. Now a study has found another unfavorable link: consumption of soda appears to increase the risk of stroke.

In a direct comparison with one serving of soda—interestingly, this was the case with both regular and diet soda—one serving of decaffeinated coffee was associated with a 10 percent lower risk of stroke, while regular coffee was associated with a 9 percent decrease in risk.

It is unclear precisely why diet soda might pose any such risk, and some researchers are of the opinion that this is a coincidental relationship branching off from some deeper cause. In the case of sweetened soda, it is well-known that excess sugar load can lead to rapid increases in blood glucose and insulin. Over time, glucose intolerance, insulin resistance, and inflammation result. These physiologic changes influence atherosclerosis, the accumulation of arterial plaque and coronary thrombosis — all of which are risk factors for stroke.

In comparison, coffee contains chlorogenic acids, lignans and magnesium, all of which act as antioxidents. These unique compounds are known to be anti-inflammatory, which correspondingly may help to reduce stroke risk.

“Soda remains the largest source of added sugar in the diet,” said Adam Bernstein, MD, ScD, study author and Research Director at Cleveland Clinic’s Wellness Institute. “What we’re beginning to understand is that regular intake of these beverages sets off a chain reaction in the body that can potentially lead to many diseases — including stroke.”

Already took my Isotonix cocktail and ate a big pear along with the parfait Gabi had left from Panera, for breakfast... Started on my first water bottle of the day and don't really know if a workout is in store for me today. I've been busy with my UnFranchise training this morning!! And I still have some work to do.

Weigh in was a delight today!!! Actually at 1?6 lbs!!!! Just 6 more to go and I'll stop wanting to lose more. (This time I promise that I'll be happy!!) I need to concentrate on becoming stronger and increasing my cardio for the half marathon in June...

So for today and tomorrow... I hope that you like this new tid bit of motivation!

Simplest Way to Get Smarter

Forget the puzzles, games, and mental exercises. There's an easier way to boost your brain power

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Sure, exercise is good for your health. We all know that. But exercise is also a scientifically proven way to make yourself smarter.

According to Gretchen Reynolds, author of the soon to be released The First 20 Minutes, a book about the science of exercise, recent research shows that exercise can help your brain resist physical shrinkage and improve cognitive flexibility.

"Exercise," she writes in this New York Timesarticle, "...does more to bolster thinking than thinking does."

Here's why. Your brain is a tissue and so like any other tissue, abuse, lack of use, and especially age causes its performance to decline. Sometime in our late twenties the hippocampus, the portion of our brains devoted to learning and memory, loses about a percent per year in total volume. So it's no surprise that as we get older we naturally lose some of our memory and learning capacity.

But what is surprising is that, just like with your muscles, exercise can slow or even reverse the physical decay of your brain.

While you may have been told (most likely by parents referencing the "This is your brain... and this is your brain on drugs" public service announcements) that once you lose brain cells you can never get them back, new brain cells can be created—and exercise helps trigger that process. By exercising you not only build muscle. You build a bigger brain.

Exercise also makes those new brain cells more effective. According to Reynolds,

Brain cells can improve intellect only if they join the existing neural network, and many do not, instead rattling aimlessly around in the brain for a while before dying.

One way to pull neurons into the network, however, is to learn something. In a 2007 study, new brain cells in mice became looped into the animals' neural networks if the mice learned to navigate a water maze, a task that is cognitively but not physically taxing. But these brain cells were very limited in what they could do. When the researchers studied brain activity afterward, they found that the newly wired cells fired only when the animals navigated the maze again, not when they practiced other cognitive tasks. The learning encoded in those cells did not transfer to other types of rodent thinking

Exercise, on the other hand, seems to make neurons nimble. When researchers in a separate study had mice run, the animals' brains readily wired many new neurons into the neural network. But those neurons didn't fire later only during running. They also lighted up when the animals practiced cognitive skills, like exploring unfamiliar environments. In the mice, running, unlike learning, had created brain cells that could multitask.

So how much exercise is enough to build a better brain? Most studies have focused on aerobic activities like running or swimming. But even walking can make a difference.One study showed that older people who walked for just 40 minutes three days a week took two years off the "age" of their hippocampus—and improved their memory function.

So don't take a walk at lunch just to clear your head.

Take that walk to get smarter, too.

OWNERS' MANUAL | Jeff Haden

Apr 19, 2012