Heaven Is Really Just About Wearing a New Pair of Glasses

Do you ever wake up after a good work out the day before and suddenly feel it could very well be your 90th birthday? Aches, pains and soreness everywhere! Not just a good, normal sore that you actually enjoy having after a workout, but the kind of soreness that no longer feels quite right and leaves you wondering whatever happened to the idea that working out was suppose to make you feel better, infused with life, refreshed, more functional in daily life and not like a rickety and feeble 90 year old. 

I recently felt this way a few weeks back. Plopping down to re-group for my next client one day I found new questions beginning to pester me...  "Why am I so incredibly sore?... It's not like I've made drastic changes in my workout routine? Maybe it's old age setting in? Is there ever a point one gets too old to workout?"

I fumble around with these thoughts along with interesting feelings of anger, and denial and I notice my attempts to replace the thoughts and distract myself with busy work.  What is it with me and getting older?  I do admit it's not something I want to experience, but he big question know I need to ask myself is WHY??? And so I do.

I thought of the obvious reasons... wrinkles, gray hair, the possibility of being less active and gaining weight, loss of memory and brain function, etc.. etc... Those reasons really do stink and so I gave myself permission to say so. Then in an attempt to settle my mind on something better I remembered some insight I recently read about this inevitable fate of us all... 

The author of the book I am presently reading paints a picture of herself at a beach (she's my age and she too can hardly bring herself to admit she's knee deep in her middle age).  She candidly talks about a mild case she has... what she calls "Butt Mind"... It's when she goes through periods, especially now that she is in middle age, of comparing her butt to everyone else's butt and that she especially agonizes and struggles over it when she finds herself at tropical beaches because she almost always comes up with a "worse than" kind of butt than everyone else in her never ending comparisons.

She shares how it all started on one occasion. She found herself in heavy "Butt Mind" while on the plane to another tropical beach destination.  Teenage girls were everywhere on this flight with their tiny shorts, youthful glow and stunning physical appearance. She caught herself going there but then tries to quickly remind herself of what she believes at a deeper level... "that a person being herself is beautiful-- that contentment and acceptance and freedom are beautiful and that heaven is really just about wearing a new pair of glasses".  She tried to remind herself to spend less time thinking about what she sees and more time thinking about why she sees it that way.  When she arrives at her destination she determines to live this kind of freedom out loud and decides not to wear a coverup over her swimsuit as she ventured out to the beach one day. In her book she quotes... "I had decided I was going to take my thighs and butt with me proudly wherever I went."

She shares about the first girls she saw on the beach.  "They were young, nine or ten years old, enjoying splashing and playing... fearless, unself-conscious and lovely!  Not yet affected by the obsession of what they don't have and forgetting what they do have. They played freely without a thought about their flaws, not yet measuring or comparing and still able to get caught up and lost in everything around them with awe and innocence."

The second group of girls (like dogs from hell, she said... lol)... were four teenagers who ended up waiting for the same bus as she. As she found herself in their company she immediately felt less than, and the fact that they looked at her, and then at each other with amusement... well let's just say her initial thought wasn't very nice... But then her heart softened she says... "I felt deep compassion for them: I wanted to tell them the good news-- that at some point you give up on ever looking much better than you do. Somehow you get a little older, a little fatter and you end up going a little easier on yourself. Or a lot easier... Ugliness is creeping around in fear. Beauty is simply being loyal to yourself."

So that's it!  The insight that I think has set me free from the ugliness of the fear of middle age creeping around me is the idea of being loyal to myself!  Being happy with who I am.. not that I haven't been happy with me but I guess I haven't been happy with who I may become...THE UNKNOWN!!!  I have feared who I may become in middle age and old age. Instead, I determine when I see who I am becoming that I will not judge my aging body so harshly and torture myself by playing the "Mind Butt" game (c'mon, you all know you do it too!) but instead to be gentle with myself and my new changes... to be like the nine and ten year old girls who aren't so self aware and who get lost in moments and the wonder surrounding them... and also to cherish and spoil myself as I age as if it's something to celebrate... maybe getting caught up in slathering myself with a new divine smelling lotion or enjoying wearing a new T-shirt that makes me "feel sexy and free"(LOL) or maybe trying a new shade of lipstick... you know-- a kind of honoring myself and the new season that approaches and the changes that come. Not doing all this because I'm ashamed and trying to cover up or in an attempt to numb some kind of pain, but doing little celebratory things because who I am in every season is worthy of love and joy and celebration... and pampering!!!  No harsh judging, comparing, or belittling because I recognize that it's a beautiful process. 

"Sometimes (author of my book says)... you tend to your spirit through your body... you start with the outside and you get it right."

Number One Ingredient for Success!

My first response is usually frustration when my children don't measure up to my expectations. But this morning when my son missed the bus AGAIN something inside me, almost like an invisible shield stopped me in my tracks warning me of the terrible mistake I'd make and great opportunity I'd miss if I chose to have a knee jerk response. I took a deep breath and  wondered how things were going for him in general. I knew he had had a couple rough days recently and that with busy schedules I hadn't had much connecting time with him. So with a sincere desire to simply connect with him I decided not to lecture and nag but to calmly let him know I would be happy to take him to school.

Our conversation on the way to school revealed he has been struggling in his first hour chemistry class. We talked about his patterns of the past and his tendency to shut down when overwhelmed. It was a great opportunity to bring up and offer him some ideas I have been using which I've found to be extremely helpful in just about any area of life... 

Watching my son grow up one thing that I know, that I know, that I know about him is he has incredible potential! The way this kid can focus and get determined is amazing. His problem like most of the rest of us is buried deep in his "mental models". Mental models shape every aspect of our lives. Most of us don't think big enough.... our mental models of the world stop us. 

I tried to share with my son that he needs to move beyond his limited thinking that chemistry is just too hard. "Don't you remember".... I reminded him, "when you first started driving how nervous you were and how you kept telling yourself... 'I can't do it'. When I told you it was all in your head and instead to begin believing in yourself by being convinced that driving was no biggie and of course it's something you can do... it was then that you were able to relax about it and start to improve! Look at you now.... confidently driving by yourself all because you dismissed negative thoughts and replaced them with a successful vision of yourself driving and a mental model that ushered you into a better place."

Let's think it through. Isn't the key to attaining what you want mostly about desire. For my son... I asked him do you really want to pass chemistry? He does...cool. The next step is developing the confidence and the will to get it done. Get the right mental model about it... Feeding a negative thought process is what limits us, brings failure and frustration. There's an energy, I believe, that we emit though our thoughts and feelings that will attract corresponding circumstances. If my son resorts to believing he isn't smart enough for chemistry chances are he'll fail. I encouraged him to change that thought and envision himself confident about mastering the concepts and doing whatever it takes to ensure his own success. Not only to envision it but imagine and allow himself to feel the emotions that accompany his ability to succeed. 

Doesn't the Bible admonish us to THINK about everything that is good, right, excellent, and true and urges us to believe and have faith? Why? Because that is where life is lived. In our thoughts and our beliefs about the way it is.... What we think, we will be... It seems pretty simple to me. 

Have you ever been around a negative, faith-less person? Can you feel the negative toxicity all around them... Don't they almost emit a bad energy that is almost contagious? Pretty soon you begin complaining along with them. Most of the negative things they moan about end up manifesting in their lives because that is what they choose to focus on, what they choose to expend energy on. They allow their fear to guide their lives... But find yourself in the company of a positive, humble, peaceful and faith-filled person and the energy you feel from them immediately fills you with life, hope and desire to get after life with the same peace, humility and faith.

I shared a story with my son... I was faced with a challenging class in college... English Literature. I had never read such high level books before and was really struggling wrapping my brain around the language. I failed the first exam, as the teacher passed back the exams he shared his concerns and reminded everyone of the option of dropping the class before it was too late. I knew he was talking to me and I found myself after class in a bathroom stall crying because I did not want to give up. I determined on my walk back to my dorm room I would not give up and all I needed to do was to change my thinking... I could not waste time on negative self-defeating thoughts but filled my mind with confident, believing determination. I can grasp the ideas in this book and I will finish strong! I worked harder in that class than probably any other class in my four years of college an ended up with a "C"... a "C" I was very proud of!!  I believe the professor passed me mainly because he sensed my determination and tenacity to not give up and rewarded me for it. Or maybe he just felt sorry for me... ha! ha! But hey, there's no denying I pushed through because of right thinking and I passed!!! I envisioned future success and made it happen.  

Do you believe the circumstances in your life right now are a direct result of the way you think? Change your mind and change your world. The direction we are headed can be 
altered. What do you want to do or be or have? Can we attract those realities in life by developing the right mental model? 

In the Bible Jesus says some peculiar things...  In Mark 11:22 he says... "Listen to me! You can pray for anything , and if you believe, you will have it." He also says if we have faith as small as a mustard seed we can say to a mountain throw yourself in the sea and it will obey.  It seems a little impossible right?  The emphasis I think he's trying to get across is "faith"... When we pray we have taken the time to bring to mind what we desire/need and then we present it to God in prayer... but it can't stop there. We have to believe in what we desire and have faith and determination that what we ask for is already ours. (Jesus words, not mine!) Our lack of faith and negative thought process will only delay life circumstances from lining up according to our desire/need. When we are unbelieving and full of fear and negativity that's what we attract into our lives because that's what we expend energy on! WHY?? Seems ridiculous.  Jesus also said over 300 times DO NOT FEAR!!! Why not expend energy on what is true, right, noble, excellent and praise worthy and attract those things into our life instead?  It just makes sense!  What we think is what we are... Romans 12:1 says "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world but be TRANSFORMED BY THE RENEWING OF YOUR MIND". Think right and live right!  Change your thoughts and change your world!  

Do Carbs Make You Fat???

Everyone knows that eating carbohydrates makes you fat.  Right?  Is this really true?  What if you could stop thinking so much about the amount of carbs you eat and could still manage not to get fat?  Is it possible?

When we eat carbs we release a hormone called insulin.  Insulin is released to help keep the body's blood sugar at bay.  What we want to happen is for our body to be able to clear the sugar quickly from the blood stream and shuttle it to be stored in muscle tissue to be used as energy instead of being stored as fat.  Unfortunately the exact opposite happens for many, many people.

WHY?

Because so many people eat a horrible diet consisting of PROCESSED carbs.  Eating processed carbs (most anything packaged or white) leads a person to becoming very insensitive to insulin, resulting in the body's inability to clear away sugar in the bloodstream quickly so that it can become stored in muscle tissue and used as energy. When the body becomes insensitive to insulin it will most likely lead to a health derailing nightmare.  

Insulin resistance is a condition that causes the body to no longer effectively remove sugar from blood which leads to a huge reduction in the body's ability to burn fat and a huge increase in the body's ability to store fat and ultimately to develop type 2 diabetes. The body has a hard time burning fat in the presence of insulin so the less insulin in the bloodstream the better.  You want your body to secrete a minimum amount of insulin, to be highly sensitive to insulin so that only small amounts are needed to clear sugar after eating carb meals.  When your body stores carbs in muscles to be used as energy and not to be stored as fat it's called maximum glycogen uptake. 

So your body's ability to tolerate carbohydrates comes down to your insulin sensitivity and your body's ability to quickly and efficiently shuttle carbs to lean tissue and not to fat stores.  When it is shuttled to muscle it will be used as energy, when shuttled to fat store areas it makes your body mushy, icky, flabby and horrifically unhealthy!

HOW DOES ONE INCREASE INSULIN SENSITIVITY?

 One way is to lower your carb intake for a good amount of time (6 months to a year or even 2 years) to repair your insulin receptors.  Eat a GOOD SOURCE of carbs (spelt bread, oatmeal, brown rice, any veggie) with a protein in the morning for breakfast and do some physical activity within one hour after eating your breakfast. Your body will use the carbs you have eaten for energy when you strategically plan to workout after eating.  Then have a few more good sources of carbs after your workout.  (If your body fat is over 25% eliminate the carbs after the workout until you reduce your body fat to 20%).  At lunch and dinner eat only protein sources and vegetables!!! 

Also cutout fructose from your diet... I do not believe that pure starch (carbs) is the sole cause of insulin resistance. If that were the case then wouldn't Japanese people be the most obese people in the world?... Every meal they eat includes pure starch... RICE!  What is missing in their diet is SUGAR!  It's the inordinate amount of sugar we eat with our crappy carbs in the U.S that causes insulin resistance... not carbs. 

Please get rid of high fructose corn syrup, sweetners, sugar, dried fruit, smoothies, and even fruit juice. Limit your actual fruit intake to 1-2 pieces a day in the morning!

Eliminate all trans-fats and hydrogenated oils!  It causes you to store belly fat and is also a huge culprit to developing insulin resistance.  

Improve your omega 6:3 balance... Eat wild fish, avacados, eggs, and don't use oils high in omega 6 like corn oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil and fried foods. 

Drink Green TEA and use CINNAMON!!!  Helps divert carbs towards muscle cells and away from fat cells.

When your body fat reduces to less than 20%, and you will get there if you follow the above combined with an effective strength training and cardio conditioning program, that's when you can and should increase your carb intake making it a consistent part of your diet. It's at this point your body will become more efficient at using carbs as energy and it becomes safer and smarter to consume them.  Keep a high amount of protein combined with a moderate level of carbs and ALWAYS ALWAYS stay away from processed carbs and eliminate sugar from your diet because we want to create a bodily environment that will use insulin as a huge asset to our transformation goals and not as something that will derail our goals.  You can do it!  Start today!   

Want Great Fitness Results? Avoid this Common Mistake!

Have you ever felt lost, overwhelmed or lacking confidence when you workout or maybe finding yourself a little bored?  Have you ever started a program and before finishing it for the full prescribed amount of time you find yourself wandering to try something new? You start with a specific strength program but then suddenly jump to try the latest fat-loss program?  When you get back to doing the strength program you realize you've lost your previous level of strength because instead of progressing through your workouts and clearly understanding how to layer and combine them you make a big mistake that prevents you from getting the absolute best results! What's the big mistake?

It's called program hopping! <---- #1 mistake!!!

We all have done it haven't we? Instead of developing and sticking with using a more effective progressive program we hop from program to program because "oh... this looks cool", or "wow... that guy or girl is getting some great results... I wanna do what they are doing."   

Choosing to do "just any random workout program" is better than not doing anything, however, one should consider how each workout program chosen might benefit subsequent workout programs.  The order you do your workout programs is an important factor when choosing which workout program to do. 

Paying attention to the order of workout progression is called PERIODIZATION 

It means setting up training into periods of time with each period focusing on specific fitness outcomes so the outcomes you develop will build upon each another.  Progressive programming ensures each training period becomes more effective because of the ones that came before.  I heard it explained once like this... "progressive programming perpetuates progress". (I love that).

Why is paying attention to periodization so important? Because you want to be sure you are setting yourself up to keep progressing.

I'm not going to pretend I am a wellspring of knowledge and have the best ideas about how to set up a well thought out periodized program.  There are a lot of programs out there you could buy to help you do that and I would highly recommend you do.  What I wanted to do was to get you thinking about it and to give you some ideas about how you might start to set up a program. 

Here's just one example of using periodization in setting up a workout program... 

Start with strength workouts...  (4weeks)
The basics are the BEST!!!  You might do 6 reps for 6 sets of each of the following... Be sure to use a heavy weight... (find your one rep max and perform with 80% of that weight).
Squats or Leg Presses
Bent Over Rows or Reverse Flys
Alternating Reverse Lunges
Overhead Press or Lateral Raises
Dead Lifts or Leg Curls
Chest Press or Chest Flys
Finish with a metabolic set (anaerobic energy system training)... 10 rounds of jump-rope, working each round at maximum all out effort for 30 seconds and resting for 10 seconds. Repeat 10 times...  Do this workout 3-4 days a week on non-consecutive days.

After 4 weeks you would progress to strength endurance training and fat loss workouts. (4 weeks).
Density Training is a great way to accomplish this goal. Density training is working with a set amount of work in a set amount of time, then for the second round doing more work than the first round in the same amount of time.
Choose a combination of 3-5 different exercises. Start with using a lighter weight and perform reps at the normal speed you would go doing as many as you can for 30 seconds of each exercise. The second time around you would increase your weight significantly and try to do more reps than the first round in the same 30 second time period.  
So you might choose...
Overhead Press, Sumo Squats and Chest Flys for your first block. Do each exercise keeping a record of the number reps you do for each exercise in 30 seconds working at a normal pace. Then start over with each exercise, still working for 30 seconds each but this time trying to beat the number of reps you did the first time.  If you did 20 overhead presses with 10 pounds the first time, the second time you would lift 12-15 pounds and shoot for at least 21 or more reps for the same 30 seconds. Record results!  Then choose 3 more exercises and repeat the whole process.  Be sure to do at least 5 blocks of 3 exercises and cover your whole body.
Do this workout 3-4 times a week on non-consecutive days. Also for this phase do cardio on off days... jog at a good aerobic pace for 30 minutes during this phase... During the last phase you were working more on anaerobic energy system conditioning (jump-rope) this month it's aerobic energy system conditioning. You need both!  

Lastly, you would move into a muscle gain phase where you would combine phases one and two... 
Mix it up into strength sets and density sets along with getting cardio in on the days you are not doing either of these...  So the last phase might look like this.... 
Week 1... strength train on MWF, anaerobic cardio T, Th., Sat.
Week 2. density train MWF, aerobic cardio T, Th, Sat.
Week 3... same as week 1
Week 4... same as week 2   

Don't go to the gym without a plan to progress.  

Instead periodize your program and be sure each phase you do builds on the next giving you an ideal way to progressively program your workouts to ensure progress. Choose a combo of periodization techniques that focus on strength, endurance and energy system training and see what new goals you can accomplish in your fitness pursuit!      

9 Easy Ways To Blast Ab Flab Now!

Let's just get straight to the point... 

You need these tips now so you can start blasting away the ab flab 

begin enjoying the way you look and feel and 

increase your chances of living an energetic, disease free life! 

Let's get you started! 

What are they? 

 **Eat an apple a day! An apple is a slow digesting carb source with loads of antioxidants! Apple polyphenols boost muscle strength and endurance and promote fat loss around the middle. It increases your body's ability to burn fat and limits fat production and storage. When's the last time you had an apple? Don't go another day without one! 

**Go green! Without going into scientific detail all you need to know is that green tea keeps your metabolic rate up by preventing the breakdown of nerepinephrine which helps keep the metabloic rate up. So preventing its breakdown is what you need... Green tea kicks butt at getting the job done! 

**Get back in black! Oolong tea... Also enhances the metabolic rate by reducing levels of cortisol... A stress hormone that encourages fat storage around the belly. 

 **Ice, Ice, Baby! Drink ice cold water that is. It increases the metabolic rate by 30%. Do it first thing in the morning before you do anything else.... Then do 10 of each as fast as you can... Burpees, pushups, squats, mountain climbers and jumping jacks. Just make it your everyday morning ritual... Its an easy thing to do. You won't be sorry. 

**Be nutty! Eat nuts for snacks, on salads, in desserts (healthy recipes only)... Enough said! 

**Slow it down! Choose slow digesting carbs... They will keep your insulin levels down and will keep them steady. Insulin levels spike with refined carbs like white bread, white rice and anything processed. Get far, far away from that unless you want sure fire way to create a bodily environment ripe for fat storage... Choose sprouted whole grain sources instead... Like Ezekiel breads and cereals. Brown rice and oatmeal are also rockin choices. 

**Got grapefruit? Want to lose up to 4 pounds in 12 weeks without changing your diet? Try adding grapefruit to a couple meals a day. Grapefruit also lowers insulin levels! 

**Omega 3's promote fat loss faster than eating a diet low in fats. Olive oil, peanut butter, walnuts, salmon, trout! Eat some everyday! 

 **Protein with every meal! Protein promotes hypertrophy and enhances fat loss...They also boost peptide levels which decrease hunger levels! 

These are 9 easy things you absolutely must begin to do now! I've been practicing these tips for about a year now and I have some pretty darn flat abs! Not trying to brag about that... I just knew others had done it and I wanted to do it too... Not sure if you know this, but I'm a 45 year old mother of 4. If I can do it you can too. All it takes is a determination to adopt habits and be consistent for the long haul. Think where you can be in a couple years! Consistency will pay off and you will see a more beautiful you emerge regardless of your age or stage in life... 

Do it today! 

Because better health, more energy and a more beautiful you is what you really want isn't it?

Not just a detox... but a total life reset!

Have you ever flown into a big city and as you descend you literally watch the sky turn from a pure, crystal-clear blue into an ugly, yellowish-brown haze?  It's kinda scary to see the kind of air we were meant to be living in compared to the air we actually do live in.  It's like a toxic soup we absorb into our bodies all our lives, not to mention the air we breathe, the food we eat and and water we drink. 

How do we find a way to get those toxins out of our bodies?  Can we? Or is it a hopeless situation?  Why would we want to be concerned about it? 

I sometimes wonder if some of us have so much toxin built up inside that it prevents us from losing weight, causes excessive bloating and digestion issues and in the long run causes more serious complications. We workout consistently but seem to still struggle.

The good news is that our bodies are very resilient machines, able to neutralize the chemical onslaught. The bad news is that even our bodies can be pushed to the limit! We feel the effects in the form of lower energy, weight gain and weakened immune system.  We end up struggling to do what we used to do much more easily.  Again I ask is there anything we can do since we can't really change the environment we live in... 

I think so... It starts with looking inside... If we are serious about being healthy, it's just as important to take a look on the inside of our bodies as much as we do on the outside of our bodies. We can eat good and healthy, but do we ever take time to flush out our system with say a detox/cleansing process or even just fasting for a 24 hour period? 

I have been looking into the idea for myself.  I love the idea of change!  You can't always do the same thing and expect to get different results... I love trying new things to see what happens, how my body responds, how I feel not only physically, but emotionally, and spiritually.  The cleanse I'm looking into encourages you to look at it as a not just a cleanse but a total life reset.  You are encouraged to do it during a time in your life when you won't be especially distracted or stressed by events, at a time when you'll be able to focus completely on the task.  It is also best not to do any strenuous exercise during the duration of the cleanse (3 weeks) because it will be giving your body a serious internal workout, so it's important to allow you nervous system to remain in a relaxed state and to refrain from asking your body to repair muscle tissue at the same time it is cleansing and releasing toxins.  

I will have a hard time with the idea of not exercising for 3 weeks, but I love the idea which makes so much sense, that during the cleanse you are creating an internal system that works more efficiently than it previously did and a muscular system that's been allowed to rest, recuperate and recharge! We so often want to work our bodies hard because we know that in order to see change we have to push our bodies past the limit to get stronger and have more endurance, but we also need to consider balancing that out time and again with recuperating and recharging in more restful/internal ways.

It's also encouraged to journal about the process, noting how your body feels each day, how it responds, how you experience anything emotionally or spiritually.  I love the idea that it can be experienced almost like it's a personal retreat if we take it seriously enough and really carve out the time to let go of the rest of life for a while!  

In a few weeks the Wagner's are retreating it to the mountains!  I think that will be the opportune time to try out my own detox/cleanse!  I look forward to sharing my experiences with you.

Want to join me?  Check out this link for more info... and then inbox me on facebook to let me know!  I would love to share the experience with YOU!

www.beachbodycoach.com/donnakwagner  Click on "ultimate reset"

  

"Life is not merely to be alive, but to be well!"  

~Marcus Valerius Martial (Roman Poet)    

What's it Worth?

I recently read somewhere that the best investment we can make in life is in personal development. Why? Because that is the one investment that can't be stolen or taken away from you.  

Even if it costs you more than you want to spend or even what you can afford to spend it's a wise investment because the return on the investment is HUGE.  It's true... whether it's your health you're investing in, your skill set for a job, or relational skills the return is 100X the investment in regards to the ultimate quality of your life.  

Instead 98% of people spend and waste money on dumb things that give no return (like overpriced shoes, handbags, or starbucks). Why do we think we can afford to spend here and there on such pointless stuff and ignore the more important areas of personal development... why not take an inventory of everything we waste our money on and instead funnel it toward what will give us a greater return?  It's because our society produces consumer mind-sets that only think about how to spend money on worthless things rather than on how to save or to have an investor's mindset... We spend on worthless stuff and ignore important areas.There are many important areas we could consider that would give us a return on our personal development investment... but since we need a focal point in this post and since I'm a fitness professional let's talk about health..YAY!. What if we chose to invest in that area over worthless areas?  What returns would we get on that investment? 

More energy, strength and endurance to live our lives to the fullest!
More fulfillment and confidence when we actually like how we look!
Huge financial savings because we avoid heart disease, stroke and diabetes in our future (top 3 preventable killers)!
Pain free, strong bodies that carry us into our older season of life still able to have fun and be adventurous!


I don't know about you but that sounds totally worth it to me! Think about the alternative... being lethargic and lifeless, having no confidence or drive to go for our dreams, forking out thousands of dollars for health care and drugs because we are sickly and feeble as we age, being stuck in our rocking chairs longing for someone to visit us because we can't get out and take initiative to enjoy life... wow, that's gloomy.

 I was recently feeling burdened by what I invest in my personal health... but then was reminded of these principles and knew right away what I needed to do was change my thinking to line up with the idea of it being an investment!!!  It's worth what I pay for my gym membership, worth what I pay for my health food and supplements, worth what I pay for anything I need to help me workout effectively, worth it to be involved with a community of others who will help me press on, worth what I pay to get up a little earlier to complete my workout... and the list goes on... 


You were designed with all the right parts to succeed in many areas of life... what you might still lack is the skill... If it's worth the investment and will give you a return, get the skill, the help and support you need to grow and develop in profitable areas and don't get sucked into the mold of society... spending on worthless things and having nothing left to invest in what really matters and in what can't be taken away.

If you need some help to take your first steps toward investing in your health and in ensuring better quality of life as you age, I'd love to have you be part of my health and wellness support group!  We get the tools we need to workout effectively, we challenge each other in various ways to stay after it until we see the results, we have a great meal plan we follow, and we invite others we know who want to be part of a caring committed community!  For more information find me on facebook and inbox me!!  The best part is you don't even have to live near me to be part of this group!!!  

I'll be waiting to hear from you!!!  
Donna 

Find me on FB... mention my blog in your friend request so I don't scratch my head wondering who you are and whether I should befriend you!!!   
My FB name is "Donna Clark Wagner"

Daily Choices Add Up!

Most days I get up super early to get myself off to work. What a beautiful day it was today!  I don't enjoy getting up early, however, when the sunlight is peeking it's way through my window and I just know it's going to be a beautiful day... it makes it alright to be up so early.

On mornings like that I love to sit a few extra minutes in my sun room and sip my morning green tea with my oatmeal, blueberries and a fried egg or two... to be alone in the quiet is a great stress reliever not to mention a great way to start the day, to acknowledge God and read from His great Book for wisdom and insight to guide my life and lift and feed my soul... the deeper and more real part of who I am.

I'm blessed when I get to work because not only do I get to see a bunch of wonderful people that I sincerely like being with but we get to workout together and I get paid for working out... I just love that!  Today we focused on core stability and metabolic fat burning cardio bursts. After such a workout I love to refuel with a power-packed recovery drink.. not only does it quench my thirst effectively but also helps gives my hard worked muscles what they need to recover and get stronger. A must for my day!

By mid-morning I'm famished and take a few minutes break between meeting with clients to enjoy a whole, natural snack... almonds, apples and extra water. Now I'm energized for the rest of the morning.

A great part of my day is seeing my clients come in each day... I always feel a sense of joy when I see them coming to faithfully get in the trenches with me to move and give their body new life as they condition their muscles and cardiovascular system for long-term preventative self-care. I'm grateful I get to do what I love!

After my morning appointments I love stopping by Naturally Yours Grocery Store to pick up more real food!  Blueberries, broccoli, peppers, spinach, cherries, apples, bananas, avacados, almond butter, gluten free bread, eggs and a rotisserie chicken! For lunch I'll have some of the chicken with a big green salad and a big bowl of bananas and cottage cheese and a few cherries for dessert.

As I pick up the gluten free bread I remember what I heard... that wheat is really not as good for you as we once thought... I hate when the "experts" change their mind, however, when new suggestions arise I check them out and give their recommendations a try just to see if I get results... So I hear wheat causes the belly to bulge!  Whoa!  If that's true then wheat is gone for me.  I did try the gluten and wheat free bread and gotta tell you that my belly is less bloated!  Wooo hooo! Try it and see what you think.  It doesn't taste the best but if it delivers greater health and wellness I'm sold and will force my taste buds to adjust!  They do that ya know!  Interesting, since I eliminated processed sugar from my diet I no longer crave it and when I do have it... well, I feel a little ill. So just a bite or two is all I can handle and I'm better for it.

Think about your day too... what are your daily habits?  The little things we do each day add up over the years either for our good or for our detriment.  Stopping long enough to examine our days and evaluate what we're doing or not doing will go a long way to helping us get on our way to better health and wellness! 

Have a healthy day!!!
Donna

Weight Loss or Fat Loss?

Most people who begin training with me state that their goals are to lose weight and tone up... Probably 9 out of 10 people list this as their main goal and reason for wanting a trainer and then they go on to tell me about their problem areas and ask which specific exercises they should be doing to work on specific areas of their bodies.  

What most people don't realize is that a better goal is not to focus on weight loss but on fat loss... who cares how much you weigh. If we're honest what we are really after is seeing our body composition line up the way we want it to. That has nothing to do with weight loss and everything to do with fat loss.  You can weigh 100 pounds but have poor body composition.  I'd rather weigh 150 and have my body composition lining up nicely than I would weigh 95 and be what the fitness industry calls "skinny fat".

Developing a rocking body composition results from doing the hard work to get strong and condition our muscular and cardio vascular system through weight training and high intensity interval training.  But it's not exercise alone... we also work hard to focus on our diet!!!!  Diet is priority number one!  You cannot out train a bad diet!  Focus on these two things consistently and you will get results!  Just don't give up too fast... It takes time.  It took years of sedentary lifestyle habits to get out of shape. Think about how many years you have been sedentary and maybe eating mindlessly.  You have to be patient as your body begins to respond to your new habits and begins to repair and rebuild itself. Decide it's just part of your new lifestyle, include it everyday the way you include breathing and sleeping and keep learning about it for the rest of your life... Don't get stressed out or disappointed because you aren't seeing instant results. It takes time and is soooo worth it.  Fill your mind with everything good you know is happening when you exercise and eat clean.  It will give you so much life knowing you are empowering your body through good habits.

So if Fat Loss is the goal how do I do that you ask???      Let me count the ways... don't get overwhelmed  with this list and begin trying everything tomorrow... just start to add a few ideas at a time.  Keep adding new ideas when you feel ready... pretty soon you'll be on your way to a healthier fat burning lifestyle! 

1. When you workout... WORK HARD!  It's best to give yourself a limited amount of time and push yourself like crazy in that amount of time... Try 30 minutes and make your body work hard!!! At the end of every set you should feel wiped!!!  If not, use heavier weights or increase your range of motion!!! 

2. Avoid isolation single joint lifts... Do exercises that involve more than one joint movement. Replace bicep curls with bicep curls and squats... or bicep curls and overhead press.  Make you body do more work.

3.  Change the tempo of your reps... don't always do single counts... try 4 counts up to one count down or 2 counts up to 2 counts down. 

4. Use short rest periods... It cracks me up when people do a set and then rest for 5 minutes talking to friends or reading a newspaper when they workout... Really?  That's not working hard!!! If friends distract you from working hard, work out alone.

5. Try to create an anabolic response which will increase your growth hormone.  Choose exercises that really spike your heart rate and create a burn in larger muscle groups.  Jump Squats!!!  Any jumping exercise or plyometric move will torch the fat!

6. When you strength train use HEAVY LOADS!  You won't bulk up ladies, but you will burn fat and continue to create a stronger body which is what you need to build a balanced beautiful body composition!  

7. Do higher intensity sprint intervals for conditioning.  Try six ALL OUT 30 second running sprints with 1 minute rest between sets.  Ditch slow-go cardio!

8. Be active in everyday life... move more!  Take stairs, park far away, do yard work, brisk walks after dinner!

9. Eliminate ALL, I'm talking ALL processed foods!  PLEASE! THEY ARE SOOOOOO HORRIBLE!  

10.  Eliminate all trans-fats! A MUST! Margarine, shortening.

11. Don't avoid fat though-- smart fat that is!  Research shows that people with 30-50% coming from smart fats have lower body fat!  (omega 3 fats that come from fish, olive oil, grape seed oil, coconut oil).

12. Take fish oil to boost your omega 3 fats and to ensure your omega 3 to omega 6 fat intake is balanced.

13.  Eat a diet with high quality protein organic meats.  Eating a diet with 15-20% of diet coming from protein raises resting metabolic rate (amount of calories your body burns at rest). 

14. Eliminate wheat and grains in favor of veggies! (try gluten/wheat free bread and pasta).

15. DRINK WATER! 3 liters a day for detox... flush out your system. Avoid alcohol, juice, soda, and sport drinks.

16. Eat an antioxidant rich diet to prevent inflammation which leads to fat gain.  (kale, broccoli, cauliflower, berries, cherries)

17.  Eliminate high glycemic carbohydrates. (never eat pastries, cake, processed carbs... oh so bad!).  Eat low glycemic veggies... peppers, eggplant, garlic, onions, mushrooms, spaghetti squash, water chestnuts.

16.   Take probiotic to improve gut health. (low fat yogurt)

17. Make sure magnesium level is 500mg/day.

18.  Zinc!

19. B vitamins... especially with a high protein diet. (helps with detox).

20. Green tea also helps detox body and elevate fat burning.

21. Drink caffeine before your workout to increase fat burning and work capacity. It gives you more energy to work hard!

22. Take time to find outlets for stress... when we are stressed the body releases cortisol which is known to cause the body to store fat.  Take amino acid taurine to help lower this stress hormone. 

23.  Eliminate sugar.

24. Get enough sleep. Early to bed and early to rise has been shown to improve  body composition. 

25. Know you have complete control over what you put in your  mouth and decide to take control. 

Pick 3 things you can start doing today and keep adding things every week as you feel ready.  If you want help designing  a workout program please contact me... I would LOVE to help you get a jump start! Or check out my beachbody website for some great resources for workout programs and supplements!

www.beachbodycoach.com/donnakwagner

  

I think I'll go have some green tea, yogurt and blueberries for my evening snack then go for a brisk walk!  Wish you were here with me!  Have a healthy day!

Donna   

Beach Body Challenge!

I was recently looking for a new way to shake up my workout routine and stumbled upon Beach Body resources. I knew of several friends who had raved about the P90X program so I decided to give it a try! I'm now approaching day 30 and I have already seen a half an inch disappear from my waist line!!! Yeah baby!

What I love about the program is that not only does it deliver an incredibly challenging workout program but it also provides a wonderful eating plan that I have fallen in love with! Easy nutritious meal planning which lays out what to eat for every meal and gives easy recipes to follow. Great for someone like me who absolutely despises everything about meal planning, cooking, shopping etc... Every meal and snack I've had has been simple to prepare AND is tasty and satisfying! And I've lost inches with it!!! Can't beat that! Anyone who has been serious about their health and wellness understands that diet is 80% of everything that you do to achieve your goals. You must eat clean... you can't out train a bad diet.

I've loved this program so much I have invited others to consider doing the challenge with me... and so we begin together as a team April 1st (I'll be a little ahead of the game, but that's ok)!!! Can't wait to see and share the results we all come up with!

As a trainer it can be frustrating when people don't have all the tools they need to achieve success! A well balanced program includes Fitness, Nutrition and Support! We will workout 6 days a week, we will follow an excellent well balanced nutrition plan along with taking a daily power packed nutrition supplement called "shakeology"(watch video below for more information) and we will support each other on our own private Facebook group.

Are you frustrated with not seeing the results you are looking for? Then it's time to try something new! If you are looking to shake up your fitness routine and get serious about your diet and be part of a fun, like-minded community consider joining us! I plan to start new 90 day challenges every month so there's plenty of time to look over the information I've post below and think it over!!! Only serious goal-setters need inquire! I would love to help you reach your fitness goals! It's exciting that it's now possible to help coach people not only in person but now also online thanks to Beach Body Programs!

Check it out...

www.beachbodycoach.com/donnakwagner

www.myshakeology.com/donnakwagner

The Furnace of Transformation

Extended periods of quiet reflection, centering down, paying attention to what's going on in the heart, meditiating on what's most excellent, what gives hope, what has the ability to touch my hurt, my longing, my confusion... Stopping to consider such things, I find, can go a long way in determinig the trajectory of my life.
HOWEVER....
Life is distracting. Especially in today's day and age... I have so much around me that demands my attention and it's funny how easily I give my attention so willingly. I am guilty of spending hours looking at the meaningless and boring status updates of people on Facebook, some I hardly know... or as I log in to check email how many times I do I venture off and read goofy news headlines and spend 30 additional minutes on the computer than I had originally planned to. I'm not trying to knock Facebook or email. I love these avenues for connecting and even meeting new people but for me they can be a source of major distraction to my spending time on more noble and important pursuits and I sometimes find I am miserably out of balance.

I recently taught a 2 week series in our church adult catalyst class on slowing down for the purpose of silence and solitude. As an introvert, I am naturally drawn to being alone to enjoy reflection and contemplation as my spiritual pathway to God. For most I know the idea of solitude for the purpose of meditiation and quieting down can be overwhelming and foreign. (to me that's so mind boggling... who wouldn't want to spend 3 hours alone to think and just be???? ahhh... I salivate just thinking about it). In the same breath I admit, that due to busyness, I don't do it often enough. I was challenged as I prepared for this class... I poured over different resources and found that getting quiet to allow for time and space to reflect is a key way for christians to grow in their faith and character and can even determine the future trajectory of life itself.

I like Romans 12:1.... "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind... then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is... his good perfect and pleasing will." I read about the desert fathers in some of the resources I looked over and they were convinced that if one took the call to be transformed seriously that solitude was a must. They said... "Solitude is the furnace in which transformation takes place". So according to this verse and the wisdom of the desert fathers we need to be renewed in our thinking in order to be transformed and the conduit of being transformed is solitude.

I was further challenged by thoughts I have already shared regarding distraction. I read in one resource called "The Way of the Heart" by Henry Nowen... " We move through life in a very distracted way... never taking the time to wonder if what we do, think and say are worth it."

The Bible talks about us taking off the old and putting on the new. I believe that the new self is the true self, the person God sees us as... the false self is what we naturally default to when we move through life in a distracted way, never taking time to think if what we do, think and say are worth it... Henry Nowen went on to say..."Our false self is fabricated by social compulsions... we spend a lot of time fearing for our identity. We all live this way... depending on the responses of others, needing ongoing and increasing affirmation. What matters to us most is how we are perceieved by the world. If busyness is good, I must look busy. If having money is a sign of real freedom I must claim more... If knowing people proves I'm important, then I must make more contacts. It's our continual lurking fear of failure that tends to drive everthing we do. Without solitude we remain victims of our society and continue to be entangled in the illusions of the false self... going with the flow without thoughts of what it means to take off the old and put on the new."

It seems again that to prevent us from becoming entangeld too deeply in the illusions of the false self, solitude might help.... What is solitude? Why would anyone seek solitude? Most define it as a time and place for ourselves, privacy, recharging, restoring, a place where we gather new strength to keep competing in life according to the false self... However, I was challenged to think it more a place of conversion where we have a chance to let go of the false self that chases after compulsion and instead emerge from solitude with new perspective... discovering our true selves, the self that resembles what God sees and created us to be. A place of surrender and letting go of the continual struggle to live up to the demands of the false self and instead to rest in truth that says I am loved and valued no matter what.
Of course, surrendering and discovery are a process... sometimes a long process, that I am convinced simply begins with a decision to say yes to being open to the possibilities that would come into a life characterized by silent awareness to our inner world... the longings, the fears and the wonder of the heart... a process that would lead us to discover new directions, goals, perspecitves and dreams that more closely line up with the way God designed us to experience life.

In my consideration to include solitude more regularly I plan to use the following questions to help guide my thoughts... (from Phillip Yancey's book... "Prayer")

1. How can I slow down?
2. How can I simplify things?
3. How can I bring silence into my life?
4. How can I savor this moment?
5. How can I speak up? (tell the truth)
6. How can I settle in? (establish roots and rituals)
7. How can I shed my armor and masks?
8. How can I serve the community?

Asking and answering these questions for the purpose of centering down I pray help bring me closer to God who is already near! Nothing better than knowing and being fully assured God is already present in our lives... and all around us... Solitude offers us the chance to attend and respond to that presence for the purpose of deep transformation, renewed perspective and maybe even a new direction altogether!!!

Easy Transformation Tips for 2012

Let 2012 be your year for greater transformation as you consider the following EASY ways to get lean and healthy!

Over time if you practice these habits you will begin to notice fat loss and a leaner healthier you...go for it! In 2011 I began to make these kinds of changes and have seen the most results of any year in my fitness pursuit... IT WORKS!!!

1. Begin this morning ritual...
Drink 2 cups of ice cold water first thing upon waking along with 1 g of vitamin C.
Eat a high protein, high fiber breakfast... like eggs and oatmeal with spinach or a protein shake made of berries, spinach or kale, oatmeal, almond milk and protein powder.
Do a quick metabolic jump start activity like a set of burpees, squats and planks... 3 sets of 60 seconds each for each exercise... I would do this right after drinking my cold ice water before I eat breakfast... should only take 10 minutes max.
Have a high protein snack mid-morning... like banana with 2 tblsp of peanut butter or a handful of nuts.
If morning is the best time for your workout... do your extended more intesnse workout then. Be sure your are doing metabolic resistance training with intervals... (see more detail below).

2. Mid-day ritual...
Drink green tea before lunch.
Eat a carb and protein combo for lunch... (NO FAT SOURCE)

Have another high protein snack mid-afternoon... like cottage cheese and apples or yogurt with nuts.

3. For dinner have high protein and veggies with a good fat source (olive oil, coconut oil or grapeseed oil)... NO CARBS ALLOWED AFTER LUNCH!

4. Get support! If you have a good friend who can keep you accountable, encourage you and take an interest in your health pursuits you have a much greater chance at being successful! Check in with each other daily! Keep each other going and make that committment!

5. Track your body composition.... Take measurements at your waist, upper arm, mid thigh and hips... Seeing inches come off is a much better measurement to how you are doing than is checking the scale... don't become obsessed with the scale... our weight fluctuates based on salt and water intake and our hormonal cycles... It's just not reliable and who really cares how much you weigh as long as you are losing FAT and gaining muscle!!! Put more emphasis on the way your clothes fit and on measuring body comp! Ditch the scale!

6. Take a before photo... this too will give you the motivation you need as you see the transfomation take place before your eyes.

7. When you workout... PLEASE ditch the slo-go cardio workout! Slo-go cardio will not give you the results you are looking for... Instead do a 20 minute high intensity cardio followed by metabolic resistance training! (See my post entitled... "HIIT", or High Intensity Interval Training for more detail). For resistance choose exercises that will not only challenge your muscles but will also increase your heart rate... Think... how can I make my workout really work my body? You want your workout to be as challenging as possible so that your body will keep woking hard to burn calories and fat all day and into the night!

Try jump squats, burpees, push-ups, pull-ups, bent over rows and deadlifts! Look these exercies up online and you will find all you need to learn how to do these exercises... or call me to set up a few personal training sessions and I can help you get started and design a workout especially for you and your current fitness level. Just remember you need both cardio and resistance training to burn the most fat during a workout! Be sure to make your workout intense and you WILL see results! If you have access to TRX straps check out a recent video I posted for some ideas... http://youtu.be/lRvlDrTEFB4 (keep in mind this was a video I recorded for ideas for other trainers)

I can't wait to begin my workout plan for 2012... I rested up this past week and my body is screaming to get back into the gym...
If you workout at Four Seasons in Bloomington check out our new R.I.P.P.E.D class! It incorporates everthing I mentioned above for a highly effective fat-burning workout! Come join me Wednesday nights at Four Seasons 2 at 6:30 in the Strong Studio! See you there! Would love to help encourage and keep you accountable to go for it in 2012!