Kick Menopause to the Curb!

Menopause! 

The ugly word, the stage in life that women seem to dread! Menopause can be an easy transition if you change your diet and everyday habits to be a more fit and healthy way of life. Simple changes can really help at this stage in a woman's life. Every week I receive yet another call from an amazing fit woman, a woman who has been working out most of her life, being fit is just a way of life for her, she is a woman that is hitting the "female" fitness road block called MENOPAUSE! She is frustrated and upset that the workouts that she has been doing just do not seem to be working any longer!

Ladies I have said this time and time again, you cannot stay toned and fit by spinning, yoga and running alone. Yes these are a great component of an overall fitness routine and I totally recommend them all, but they are not the ones that will keep your body toned and help your bones at this stage in your life. Too many women are taking cardio based fitness classes and not strength training too. Estrogen levels drop at this stage in your life, your muscles get weaker and muscle loss is inevitable if you do not strength train. An ideal strength training program is three 30-60 minute strength training workouts per week.

Simple facts ladies! Just a few of the many benefits of strength training:
Strengthens muscles
Builds healthy bones
Burns more fat that cardio
Boosts your energy
Keeps your heart healthy and fit

Let us help you kick Peri-Menopause and Menopause to the curb! 

fithealthyandfabulous.com

Watermelon Season!

Yes, it is that time of the year again! Watermelon Season! Sweet, juicy and packed with healthy benefits. My favorite fruit!

The health benefits of watermelon are plenty, it packs a punch of vitamins A and C and has a good amount of vitamin B6, potassium and magnesium just to name a few.

Vitamin A – for optimal healthy eyes, it boosts your immune system by enhancing the infection-fighting actions of white blood cells called lymphocytes.

Vitamin B6 – helps your immune system produce antibodies, these antibodies are needed to fight off many diseases. Vitamin B6 helps maintain normal nerve function and form red blood cells.

Vitamin C – helps to boost your immune system’s defenses against infections and viruses, and protects your body from harmful free radicals that can accelerate aging and eye conditions such as cataracts. Vitamin C helps keep your skin young, hydrated and healthy too!

Just two cups of watermelon is a great source of potassium, potassium is a mineral necessary for water balance and is found inside every cell in your body. People that have low potassium levels often experience muscle cramps. Ever get those leg cramps that wake you up at night? Try eating watermelon or a banana daily!

My favorite way to eat watermelon, is to put it in the blender and make a watermelon water, just cube it and blend, it is healthy, refreshing and filling too.

Pick the ripest and sweetest watermelon with these tips:

*Look for a firm, symmetrical watermelon that is free from bruises, cuts or dents.
*The watermelon should be a bit heavy for it’s size, watermelon is 92% water and most of that weight is water.
*The bottom of the watermelon should have a beige/yellow colored spot from where it grew on the ground and ripened in the sunshine.
Have a great summer and be sure to go to the local farmer’s markets in your area and enjoy all the fresh produce of the season!

www.fithealthyandfabulous.com

Choose Happiness!

Choose Happiness! 

Happy people live better lives and they live longer too!

Listen to YOU...That's right LISTEN! Listen to what you complain about every day, write it down, make a plan to eliminate or deal with what you cannot change, try looking at it from a different angle. Many times, we react in the moment, step back and think before reacting to a situation. Did you know that complaining about the same issues over and over again can make those issues a lot bigger than they actually are? That is right, when you keep hearing it over and over again in your subconscious it can really make your perceived problems seem so much worse. Next time you find yourself complaining, stop and think about how it makes you feel, make an effort to stop going over the same things time and time again. Think of all the great things you actually do have and be grateful.

Exercise! A good workout session has been proven time and time again to boost endorphins and put you in a good mood. Make a workout session and YOU a priority. You can always find small blocks of time for exercise. I do not want to hear this excuse from people any longer! It seems to be yet "another" complaint that people repeat over and over, the time that you take on the phone or texting you can be working out. You only need to take 15 minutes a day to walk or 30 minutes every other day to do a quick workout in your home or go to the gym, just cut out the time that you can allow to get it done. The benefits of exercise are worth every minute. It will increase your mood, benefit your health, give you more energy and redirect your mood to a more positive mindset and place.

Listen to the conversations around you. Are the relationships, commitments or groups that you are involved with draining you? If you answered yes, it is time to move on. There is such a thing as "bowing out gracefully" from toxic people. Toxic relationships are deadly ones in my opinion and can cause great damage to one's health. It is one thing to listen and be empathetic, but when someone is repeating the same patterns and complaints over and over again they need to seek the professional help that is needed to deal with their own situation and stop dumping their personal trash in other people's back yard, so to speak. These very same people are often the people that call you to complain about all the negative things in their lives and then you see them posting pictures on social media whooping it up like a "Good Time Charlie" with others! Do not be their dumping ground! Set your boundaries and watch how much more positive and happy you feel after making these positve changes in YOUR life. If these people do not like your boundaries perhaps it really is time to close that door.

Here's to Choosing Happiness!

www.fithealthyandfabulous.com

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