I DON'T TAKE SUPPLEMENTS OR BELIEVE IN MAGIC

What I mean by supplements are those products that promise to create a fit and healthy body by popping or drinking whatever is in the bottle.  I guess that is where I do not believe in magic either.  I am a hard nut to crack when it comes to endorsing or promoting "enhancement" type supplements or drinks.  Those that promise to burn fat faster, create bulging muscles, and guarantee the ability to leap over buildings in a single bound.  In addition, they can come with harmful side effects I personally am not willing to chance. The next time you pick up a bottle of magic, take a close look at the label that will typically read "results obtained when combined with a healthy diet and regular exercise program."  BAM ... what is the point of wasting money?  Once a healthy diet and exercise program are implemented results will follow and that is without taking whatever is in that bottle.  Also, all supplements are not regulated and many not clinically studied, and fall under the category of food and not medicine.  

Of course any supplementation is a personal choice, and I am not a downer on all

things that may assist with improved health and wellness, and in some instances may be necessary for some people.  I do indulge in the occasional protein shake, take multi-vitamins fairly regularly, and my body seems to respond well to glucosamine for reduced pain in my joints.  This is more a maintenance body insurance program for me and I am not looking to enhance the way I look by taking anything that I have listed.  I do not believe drinking a protein shake is going to define my muscles but do benefit from a boost of vitamin C if I feel the symptoms of a cold.  

The primary source of my nutrients come from the healthy food I eat daily and not from dietary supplements. Because I eat a wide variety of food coming from lean proteins, good carbohydrates, and healthy fats  I feel very confident that all of my nutrient daily allowances are being met.  I fuel my workouts with healthy carbs, recover my body with lean proteins, and protect my cellular function with healthy fats.  

I lift weights as part of my exercise program, but do not feel I need an over abundance of protein to make my muscles larger and leaner.  I do not sit around eating loads of chicken breast and drinking several protein shakes per day.  That is just crazy and would do nothing but tax my organs and create a constipation issue.  The demands I place on my body through exercise do require more calories of ALL of the food groups and I just focus on eating healthy several times per day to satisfy those needs.  There is nothing magic about that and in fact maintaining a healthy body is pretty simple and will only require eating right and exercise.  

Read my article  "Are Supplements Really Necessary"
 for even more valuable information on the subject.

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Stay Healthy! Darla 

MAKE IT HAPPEN

How simple that sounds but it really is a choice.  The weekend is upon us and all the excitement of what that means to each of us: a break from work, social drinking, parties, indulgence in unhealthy foods, and plain slacking off from our goals of living a healthy lifestyle.  It is almost as if the weekend turns us into different people ... the "Jekyll and Hyde" of fitness and health exposed.







I admit to letting my hair down a bit on the weekend, and especially a little more this Sunday and Monday to celebrate Mother's Day and my Fabulous 51 Birthday.  However, I do not agree with plunging completely into the dark side of forgetfulness of living a healthy life, and not being able to exemplify what that means not only to me but those I teach and motivate on the daily. Moderation is knowing how to moderate.  A treat day does not need to turn into a cheat weekend because I guarantee that guilt and feeling like crap will come knocking at the door.

It is really OK to enjoy indulgences in life and that is called living and being realistic.  It is a wise healthy person that knows how to do so in moderation, without guilt, and getting right back on healthy track the next meal, or next day. Studies have actually shown that mixing up the nutrition and throwing in an occasional quality splurge day can benefit the body similar to muscle confusion when the exercise program is changed.  If you have been hardcore depleting your body of much needed nutrients and your muscles are screaming for some glycogen or blood sugar, a cheat meal or day can benefit both physiologically and psychologically. When you shock your system with a high influx of calories at one time, the body's metabolism will show an increase and you'll kick start your 'furnace' into high gear once again.

Wherever you are in your fitness program and especially with eating healthy, learning how to moderate splurges will make or break the success of reaching goals.  How you think about what you are eating is important because eating healthy should be a lifestyle and not looked upon as a punishment or burden. This type of thinking will lead to resentment of adopting a healthy lifestyle and the rebel within will eventually revolt and return to those foods that created the state of un-health in the first place.

YOUR CHOICE

Healthy foods not only taste good but are great for you.  Gravitate towards foods in their rawest forms, especially produce.  Enjoy the textures and tastes of vegetables, fruits, and raw nuts.  Indulge in lean proteins on the grill like salmon and chicken breast.  Stay away from processed junk, soda and basically those foods that do not support a healthy lifestyle.  Alcohol should be kept to a minimum or eliminated altogether.  Drink water over soda or sugared processed juices. Don't allow this fast paced society and marketing of "fake foods" pull you down a road of illness and obesity.  Enjoy those things minimally and in moderation and get back on track with what eating is really supposed to be ... HEALTHY!

MAKE IT HAPPEN AND STAY HEALTHY!

I dedicate this Blog to my beautiful Mother and friend.  Thank you Mom for blessing me with your love and support.  I love you dearly and wish you a very Happy Mother's Day.

Every Day is Mother's Day

Darla Leal, Fitness Expert and Fit at 50

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LOSE 12 POUNDS IN 6 WEEKS

Losing 12 pounds is not only a realistic goal, but can be done before summer begins.  I am not talking about anything “fad” or unhealthy, but straight up implementation of consistent healthy eating, exercise, water, limited alcohol intake, and plenty of rest.  Application of a healthy lifestyle in all aspects will allow for approximately 1 ½ pounds on the lower end and up to 3 pounds on the higher end of weight loss per week.  Working successfully with clients who are implementing the healthy eating guidelines that are supplied with their workout routines are losing in the middle range of 2 pounds per week. 

Think about what this means in terms of time and the realization that this is only six weeks of sticking to a consistent fitness program that promotes no diet but eating lots of fabulous healthy food, exercising that body at least four to five times per week for a minimum of thirty minutes, eliminating the sodas and keeping alcohol to not more than two nights per week and two drinks maximum, preferably red wine, and lots of water.  Sometimes it just takes the motivation of bikini or board short season to motivate a person to make it happen.  A consistent program will guarantee fat loss, lean mass gain and the beginning of a lifestyle of health. 

This sounds not only doable but exciting and realistic.  This can almost fit into the have it now plan that everyone seems to be looking for, except doing it the healthy way provides knowledge of what and how to eat, how to exercise, and how to live this lifestyle happily for life.  It becomes a habit and natural way to live each day and maintains all the positive results gained within the six weeks of consistent application.  It is time that we stop over-complicating weight loss and start implementing the simplicity of eating healthy and exercise.  We make things harder than they are, want all the results, but do not want to give up a current unhealthy lifestyle.  Now therein lays the issue.  If we want to see the changes, we need to make the changes and giving something 100% effort for at least six weeks should provide the personal feedback needed to continue to make the right decisions.

I will give an example of what I may eat in a day to maintain me as a 5’6”, 125lb female at 50 years young:

1 cup coffee with natural vanilla creamer

Meal 1: Organic morning round with 1tbsp peanut butter

Meal 2: Green shake: 1 cutie, ½-cup chopped pineapple and lots of power greens, water and blend until combined. 1 slice organic seeded toast topped with soft cooked organic egg, or slice of organic sharp cheddar cheese

Meal 3: ¼ cup fresh blueberries, ½ cup Fage yogurt, ¼ cup organic ground flax meal, handful raw mixed nuts (stir it up and eat)

Meal 4: Grilled Salmon or Chicken with large side roasted vegetable like Brussel sprouts and cauliflower (drizzle olive oil on veggies, and large tbsp. basil pesto, mix well, roast)

Meal 5: Kind bar, or 1oz square of dark chocolate with 1tbsp peanut butter

I exercise five times per week and for 30 to no more than 60 minutes total.  I am a believer of being focused and getting my workout done in that amount of time.  I also listen to my body and if I require more rest, I may only exercise in a structured fashion four times in that week.  I am an active person, so on other days I am enjoying the outdoors at the dog park with my husband, going on long walks, hikes or swimming. 

Losing one to three pounds per week studies have shown provides healthy, long term sustainable weight loss, unlike the “fad” counterpart diets that may shed weight quickly but it appears plus more once the program is over.  Summer is around the corner and now is the right time to implement a six-week fitness challenge makeover and begin with the short-term goal of shedding 12 pounds.  Start right where you are, begin a fitness journal and track your food intake and exercise, do your best, and have fun with the journey. I would love to hear from you sharing your start and finish stories so that we can encourage and support each other along the way.  

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EAT LIKE A BABY TO LOSE WEIGHT AND GET HEALTHY

Babies use food for body building fuel and nourishment to develop a healthy growing body.  They have a built in alarm clock every two to  three hours that cries out to be fed, and they also will pull away from food when they are full, eliminating the need to count calories.  As adults, we can learn much from our precious infants.  Also, their nutrients are usually always quality coming straight from Mom’s milk, or formulas containing everything a growing body needs to be healthy.  If we grab onto this philosophy and implement that strategy into our own daily nutrition, we would be on our way to adopting a healthy lifestyle.

Eating is no longer about growing a strong healthy body with quality nutrients and everything about filling our precious system with crap that does nothing but take us further from being healthy people.  We no longer pay attention to our full barometer, intake too large of portions, and fill our stomachs with foods that lack in nutritional value that cause inflammation in our blood streams, the root cause of most disease of the human body.  Food is not only our fuel, but our medicine, and can truly keep our body top notch and healthy, with minimal visits to the doctor if we consistently intake quality healthy “real” foods.  We have come full circle into a fight against healthy food and are so caught up in being mad about what we eat and why we should not eat it when it comes to healthy food.  The reason for this unfortunate issue comes straight from what sits on our grocery shelves and the marketing ploys that we all face each day through sources of media and advertisement.  Studies have shown and there are plenty of documentaries to support that the major food producers are making us fat.  But it does take team work because we can choose to say no to processed, GMO (genetically modified organisms) products, and non-organic pseudo foods that do nothing but provide a momentary good flavor and add fat stores to our bodies.  Consider that anything in a box, bag, or wrapper with ingredients unable to be understood and further stating low fat, low-sugar, and low-calorie are nothing but chemical shit storms in a package. There will be some food items packaged and part of the organic and Non-GMO certified programs and I will applaud those food producers that do understand the importance of supplying that information to consumers.  Off that soap box and getting back to eating like a baby.

Back to the basics, simplicity, and stress free healthy eating just like when we were babies is the key to mastering our daily nutrition.  It is time to stop over-thinking, over-complicating, and to start making the focus about eating healthy.  Forget about the chemical shit storms and reach for the real foods: lean organic proteins, fresh vegetables and fruits, raw nuts and nut butters, organic eggs, plain Greek yogurts, healthy fats in olive oil and avocado are just a sampling of the many healthy foods just waiting for our purchase and consumption.  Change out the sodas for water and start getting excited about the vast amount of selections of healthy food.  Personally, my hunger alarm clock goes off just the same as a baby close to the three hour mark, and I grab something healthy and satisfy that natural feeling.  I do not count calories or even worry about that because what is important is the healthy food that I feed my body and eating just until I feel satisfied, never to the point of overfull.  My body knows how much it needs because I listen to when I should stop eating.  I will say that no one ever got fat eating Kale, so even if I did eat two pounds of greens, I still would not worry about that, but would most likely not enjoy my frequent bathroom visits as a result.   Life was simpler when we were babies and the decisions made for us as we naturally cried out when we felt hungry and satisfied within 20 minutes with a boob or bottle full of nutrients, but as adults we can create a similar life by having healthy foods in our homes and eating when we feel hungry, not because we are bored or trying to squash some emotional feelings through unhealthy processed stuff.  It is a simple perspective but gives us something to think about in regards to our “mental game” surrounding nutrition. 

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Stay Healthy ~ Darla 

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FITNESS IS ABOUT TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES

How many of us stand in the truth of our life or live in denial and non-acceptance of the actions that clearly rebel against a healthy lifestyle?  I wish I could see a show of hands and have a world-wide workshop to discuss this issue.  Standing in our truth has everything to do with being able to become a healthy person, and can be applied to all areas of our life: relationships, careers, fitness, and overall health which represent a moderate list that encompasses our existence as a human being.

Being honest with our self is the first step to being able to change those things that are weighing us down physically and emotionally.  If we are unable to be honest with ourselves, then being honest with others will not happen.  When lying to ourselves is at the forefront of or life, behaviors are usually exhibited through bitterness, anger, blame of others, argumentative reasoning, defensiveness, unhappiness, and a clear nonacceptance of responsibility. On the other side of that come acceptance of our truth and realizing that we can be healthier, happier people if changes are implemented each day to begin the process of adopting a healthy lifestyle.

Our responsibility is to stand in our truth and make the choice to go one way or the other.  Do we want to be healthy or not, do we want to continue in self-destructive behaviors or not, do we want to be happy or not, do we want to be an honest person or not?  Standing in our truth opens the door to trust of self and that can eventually be shared with others as we become examples of how to live a healthy life.  We can only live in the path of not standing in our truth for so long before serious consequences begin happening in the form of illness, depression, broken relationships, loss of friends, and even disengagement of family members.  A healthy person exhibits a happy outlook on life and is willing to share their experiences freely and with an open heart to sincerely help others because they know first- hand the work it took to stand in their truth.  The person that remains in denial continues to show a negative view of life, self, and people around them, and generally repel any meaningful relationships. 

The consequences to not standing in our truth to adopt a healthy lifestyle are harsh.  Lying to self and others remain on the top of the ugly list when it comes to life in general.  Living a healthy life will take the action of standing in our truth, acceptance of that truth and the follow-through with daily choices and actions to move our bodies and minds in a healthy direction. 

Thanks for stopping by my Blog, hope you enjoy the content, and if you have not become a follower yet, I would love to see your face on my friend's list, or if you want to receive my free updates, use the button below to select your feed preference. I look forward to responding to your comments and appreciate your shares. 

Stay Healthy ~ Darla

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Stay Healthy from my family to yours

FIX YOUR FITNESS

We do not need anyone to tell us that we are unhealthy or that we need to fix our fitness, right?  If you are unhappy with yourself, feeling like crap, have been told by the doctor to change your lifestyle, or have had your friends and family kindly give you hints, then guess what, you already know that you need to fix your fitness. Fitness goes beyond the physical and includes emotional and spiritual well-being as well.  Don’t think we can walk around in physically pretty bodies and be all messed up emotionally, stressed out, overwhelmed and feeling like life is too big to handle.  Fixing our fitness requires looking at our complete picture and making the choice to clean up our act. 

It is not rocket science and requires nothing magic to fix our fitness, just our will, determination and follow-through to become healthy.  The media would like us to believe that we need a bunch of expensive things, products, pills, and potions to obtain the body that we are looking for, but the truth of the matter is that we all possess the ability to create our fitness.  The first step is admitting the areas we are unhealthy and putting forth a plan of action to get the process of adopting a fit lifestyle started.  If being overweight and struggling with painful joints, lack of energy, low self-esteem, and frequent illness is the issue, a great start would be to look at daily nutritional intake and exercise. If emotional problems such as anger, high stress on the daily, inability to relax, and tension that sends your shoulders to the ears is a constant, a great start would be to look into what is causing these feelings through possibly a counselor or clergy member. 

The important thing is to get on board with fixing your fitness.  Procrastinating on this very important subject does nothing but waste what could be a healthier happier life.  Being in denial about being unhealthy is also a thief of health and fitness.  Changing our mental game and looking at ourselves with rose colored glasses off to expose all the unhealthy parts is what it will take to implement the changes needed to fix our fitness.  It is a brave step in the right direction and today is always the right day to get to work.  

Darla Leal, Fit at 50

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NO ONE BUT YOU CAN MAKE HEALTH HAPPEN

In this world of comparison and getting pissed off at her or him for seeming to accomplish everything, and then spewing “what’s your excuse” in our faces, it’s no wonder women and men alike are throwing up their arms in frustration and happily giving a bird salute attitude at achieving fitness goals.  

Put on the brakes here and look at what has happened.  Letting others control what is best for our health and fitness is out right wrong, and does nothing for us.  That being said, why are we allowing people or media so much control over our decision making to create a healthy, happy life when they have little to no concern or care for us?  Why so pissed about it?  What it comes down to is that no one but you can make health happen.  You know that saying that goes, “whether you do or you do not, you are right.”  Well, that is true and the choice to get healthy lies squarely on your shoulders.  There is no amount of jealousy, blaming others, or putting up defensive posture because others are doing what you are not willing, that will get you closer to your health and fitness goals. 

It does not matter how busy you are, I am, he or she is, because we all can say that we are too busy to carve out that very important exercise hour, and plan and prep healthy food time.  The “what’s your excuse” phrase does hit hard and can ruffle the feathers, especially when it comes from family and friends.  When it comes from the media, it is easier to be judgmental and hide behind our computers commenting on how cushy her or his life is and how they have the time to get it done.  I say bullshit to that and start accepting responsibility for our actions, stop comparing to others, and who gives a crap what anybody’s excuse is.  What is important are the excuses that we are making and why.  It is time to tune into self and let go of insignificant negative drama that weighs down our positive minds.  No one but you can make the choices to move past the excuses and the feelings that keep you from getting healthy. 

Darla Leal, Fit at 50

Thanks for stopping by my Blog, hope you enjoy the content, and if you have not become a follower yet, I would love to see your face on my friend's list, or if you want to receive my free updates, use the button below to select your feed preference. I look forward to responding to your comments and appreciate your shares.

Stay Healthy!

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