Winter blues?

Hi Everyone! Here is a short and sweat tip for you to help "light up" your winter blues. Believe it or not I had a tough time with depression when I lived in Phoenix. Sounds odd, I know, but believe it or not I didn't get enough sunlight. I opened a gym at 5 am and was inside all day, then when I got home, I staying inside, napped, and avoided the heat. I ended up with a big case of the blaas other wise known as SAD, Seasonal Affective Depression. I switched out my light bulbs, got more sunlight, and snapped out of it a few months. I thought this would be a good time of year to give you all a tip to help cure your blaas!
There is a direct link between sunlight exposure and hormone production. If you are inside a lot you are missing the essential benefits from the sun. Aim for 30-60 minutes of sun every day to get your fill of Vitamin D and an added bonus, UV light makes the adrenal gland to release more androgen, a sex hormone responsible for sexual arousal. Can’t get outside? Go to your local hardware store and pick up a 120 watt “full spectrum” light bulb for your home or office. These bulbs closely mimic the sun’s rays and have been shown to provide the same great benefites as getting direct sunlight.
Do you guys get enough sunlight? Anyone else out there got the blaas?

Think like a trainer!

I traveled to Phoenix and back yesterday to do a guest appearance for TV webisode on Sheknows.com. I couldn't help but laugh at the thoughts that went through my head at the airport. How funny would it be if people could hear my thoughts?

It drives me nuts how lazy people are in the airport. It's a world of escalators and people movers. On top of it all, people get on them and don't even walk! Then they look at me like I'm nuts when I actually pick up my suitcase and take the stairs or walk next to the moving walkway! It's like people are programed to be lazy. Without even thinking, they just jump on and stand there.

As I boarded the plane a lady was struggling with getting her suitcase so I offered to help. I tossed it up in the overhead compartment and she said "Wow, Thank you. You are so strong!" Truth is, the suitcase was so light. I guess I shouldn't take my strength for granted and a went on to my seat feeling good that I could help.

I packed some snacks for the trip, even though it was a short flight, I always like to nibble! I snacked on my toasted pumpkin and sunflower seeds on the short flight and the flight attendants handed out the little packs of snack mix. I got one assuming it was peanuts but it was a processed pack of salty stuff! Blaa!

I got water, my standard travel drink, and the lady next to me got tomato juice and ate two packs of the processed "stuff". I wanted to say, hey, do you know that you have almost a thousand mg of sodium in that snack? I guarantee she wasn't even thinking about it, and that's the worst part. Ekks! I was torn between wanting to pop into my superhero trainer mode and save this lady from her nightmare snack and trying to mind my own business!! I opted to just sit quietly, but it wasn't easy!!!

My day was pretty long and they only had big subway sandwiches for food so again I opted for the rest of my seeds and a light string cheese. All I could think about was the poor quality nitrate filled lunch meat in fluffy white flour bread. Again, do I tell them the 101 better options, well yes, I did! I couldn't help it, but to my defense, they asked and I confessed that I prefer not to eat processed white bread, only whole or sprouted grain and that I simply don't eat nitrates! I'm pretty sure I ruined their lunch! Opps!!

I headed back to the airport and by now was pretty hungry. After passing all the fast food places I found a bakery and decide to get some chicken soup. At this point the sodium the the least of my worries! I looked down for 2 seconds to grab some money and just as I looked up I saw the guy behind the counter drop a huge handful of chips in my soup! It was like slow motion...NOOO!!! Anyhow, he read my face and was happy to give me a new soup without chips!

It was like a mini battle field out there!! So I encourage you all to follow this advice when traveling:
1. Always pack snacks. Nuts, seeds, fruit, string cheese, and whole grain crackers are great
2. Think of the airport as a chance to get some exercise before you sit on the flight. Avoid escalators and people movers!
3. Drink plenty of water and avoid soda and high sodium drinks.

Travel Fit, Feel Good!

PS anyone have good travel tips?

Super unique shake ingredient

I've always been creative, but this one is on my top ten strange but great list (that's a new list, just made it up, but I like it!) So here is how the story goes. As you know, I'm a new mama and perhaps I'm just dilerious, but I have to share this tip with you because I think it's awesome!
I've been at a conference for the last 4 days and Gunter ate pretty much everything in the kitchen, so breakfast was a a total a challenge this morning. I was in one of my creative moods and so I got nutty with the blender. You won't believe the secret ingredient!
I was sure that it was going to be gross, but I'm a full up trainer and so I was looking for healthy over yummy. So, here's the mix I came up with, it was crazy good. You're going to have to try it when you see how strange it is, but I'm really serious, it's beyond health and no kidding, and tastes great! The measurements are a bit of a guess, I didn't measure it when I made it!

Kim's Crazy Healthy Shake!
1 1/2 cup unsweetened Vanilla Almond milk
1 Huge handful of fresh spinach
1 wedge of cantaloupe (it was frozen, I keep it in the freezer for shakes)
1/2 TBSP Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
1/2 cup Fage Greek yogurt
1/2 Tbsp Agave syrup

and the secret ingredient...BABY FOOD! Yep, so check it out. It's Plum Baby Organics, 100% natural, no sugar added, unsalted. Totally organic, only 70 calories, 3 grams fiber, 16 grams carbs, and a great mix of fruit. The ingredients are pears, carrots, blueberries, purple carrot and lemon juice. Just squeeze on pack in and bend it all up.

*Beware! It looks a bit scary! It comes out green!

It's a great mix of protein, fruits and veggies too! I did the nutrition profile for you!
Calories 290 Protein 10 Carbs 40 Fat 9 Fiber 6



Let me know what you think!

Improve your sex life this Valentine's Day!

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY EVERYONE! And I don’t want anyone pouting about not having a Valentine’s Date!!

It’s a perfect day to reflect on EVERYTHING you love in life, not just that one someone. Remember back in the day when you handed out cards to everyone in your class and then there were cupcakes and cookies done up with the red, white, and pink frosting and sparkles. It was one of my favorite holiday’s and still is!

Gunter and I aren’t getting into the mushy stuff this year; we’ve opted for a quiet night at home and a nice dinner out later in the week. I’m breaking the mold today and Gunter and I are bringing you our 5 favorite reasons to workout with your significant other.

1. It’s a great way to spend Quality Time together! Get your buns off the couch and go get active.

2. It’s a perfect time to really open up a communicate about goals and insecurities. I have a rule that you can’t complain about something until you are actively doing something about it! It’s important that your other half understands how and why you feel the way you do and what you dream about.

3. It’s pure chemistry. Exercise produces chemicals in the brain that evoke feelings of happiness, reduce stress, and also increase arousal and libido. Studies show that men and women who exercise regularly report better (and more frequent) sex with their partners.

4. It’s a built-in workout buddy! Stay Motivated as you cheer and support each other.

5. It gets you out of your box and adds variety to your routine. Take turns choosing the workout, be open minded, and have fun with each others workouts

One more tip...Instead of sending a box of chocolates send an Edible Arrangement. www.EdibleArrangement.com Super unique, fun, and healthy.

Stop trying!

When it comes to getting in shape the toughest part is staying motivated. Every now and again I realize I have a different drive then many people. When I want to lose a few pounds, tone up, or put on a little muscle, I do. It's not that it's easy for me, but I set my mind to it and I just do it.

My biggest pet peeve is when people tell me they are "trying" to get in shape. Really people, don't "try", DO! I mean what the heck is "trying"?! Seriously! Stop messing around and, as Nike would say, "Just Do It"! Such a simple little slogan but boy do I wish I'd have thought of it before they did!

It's like when people say they are going to "try" to make it to an event or party, you know they aren't going to be there! It's a strange way of not committing and not feeling guilty about it. I have to giggle a little, but if you really think about it we've all done it!

When people tell me they are trying to lose weight and I ask them what trying means, I get some odd looks but no real good answers. So next time you say you are trying to do something, I want you to laugh a bit and correct yourself to "I AM DOING IT"! You'll be surprised how effective it is!

So that's my random thought for the day:) On a side note, I had a great weekend with Gunter and Jake. We went for a long walk on the beach, out for lunch, and to a fun Super Bowl party! How cute are we in our jerseys! What do you guys do last weekend? I'm trying to come up with something fun to surprise Gunter with for Valentine's Day, any ideas?

Naps, bargains, and balance!

As most of you know, I'm a new mom and that means no more sleeping in! In fact I often get up crazy early just to get a bit of work done before little Jake wakes up. The funny thing is that this morning I laid in bed and bargained with myself for a good 15 mins. "If I get up now, I can take a nap later...I have a little break at 1 and at 4, so I can lay down then." Some how that little bargain makes it all OK to get up. I always feel great once I'm up, and let's get real, I never really get to take a nap as that time always gets filled up with one of the 5 thousand projects I'm working on, but somehow that little deal I make with myself seems to get my buns out from under the cosy covers!

Then I found myself doing the same little trick to get myself to the gym. "If I get there and I'm still not in the mood to workout, I'll just stretch and do some ab work, then I'll hit it hard tomorrow." But with out fail, once I'm in the gym and I get my blood flowing I feel so good and always get a great workout.

All and all, this is just my way of not letting my laziness or my excuses over power what I know is important. At the end of the day, nothing feels better then knowing I got my work done, took time to get my workout done, and I take some time to relax. It's a tough balance to find, much harder then it seems, but when you find the balance and learn to prioritize things it makes all the difference in the world. It's a life long process to perfect this balance, but it's worth it!!

Is it just me, or do you all have funny little bargains that you do with your daily routines?

Are you eating pigs feet and cattle hide...gross!

One word describes what Americans want from their diet these days: CONVENIENCE. I wish it were “Healthy,” but these days it seems convenient wins. As a new mom and a gal always on the go, trust me, I’m all about convenience, but it has to be healthy too! When it comes to the $700 million dollar industry of energy bars, I’m not on board! Those bars claim to fight fatigue, fuel muscle growth, or help you lose weight when in fact they may be doing just the opposite.

Today I’m going to help you cut through the hype and flashy packaging so you can choose the right bars. Believe me, it takes some work to find the good ones! Many bars are nothing more than protein-containing candy bars in disguise.

First the bad:

The first thing you want to be aware of is the sugar content. Many bars contain high fructose corn syrup, which quickly raises blood sugar and cancels out any of the potential benefits you might otherwise get from healthy ingredients like oats. Take Health Valley Low Fat Chocolate Chip Granola Bars, for example. The main ingredient is brown rice syrup—DON’T be fooled by the word brown rice. Brown rice syrup is sugar.

On the flip side, making it even more confusing, you also must be aware of the reduced sugar and sugar-free bars. They do have little impact on blood sugar, which is good—but not without a price.

Sugar alcohols like maltitol and sorbitol can cause uncomfortable side effects such as gas, bloating, and…well…you get the point. You also want to keep in mind that, “reduced sugar” does not necessarily mean reduced calorie—at least, not reduced enough to matter. Maltitol, for example, has 75 percent the calories of sugar, and since it’s not as sweet as the real sugar, more is added to make it sweet so the calorie count is the same.

You also really need to be aware of the sneaky wording for some pretty gross ingredients. You won’t find pig’s feet or cattle hide listed in the fine print, but that’s because they’re hidden behind names like gelatin, hydrolyzed collagen, or hydrolyzed gelatin. This can add grams to the protein count, but both collagen and gelatin lack an essential amino acid required to make them a complete protein.

Now for the good news!

There are a few good bars in there and I don’t want to scare you away from bars all together, but I do want to scare you into really looking hard at the labels, so let’s talk about what to look for.

You want to look for a bar that lists whey or casein protein—or a blend of both—as the first or second ingredient. These milk proteins contain all the essential amino acids your muscles need.

First look for labels with no more than five ingredients. The longer the list and the more unpronounceable the words are, the farther it is from real food and I’m pretty sure it’s nothing that’s going to help you get to your fat loss goals.

Look for bars that have quality protein, natural carbs from grains and fruit which will also add to the fiber content, and be sure that they are low in saturated fats. If they are high in fat be sure that it’s healthy fats from nuts or seeds. You’ll also want to be aware of the size and calorie content. A ton of calories can be packed into those bars, and that’s why it’s important to know the serving size and know you can always eat a half a bar or nibble on it throughout the day.

Here are a few of my favorite brands that made the cut!

• Lara Bar’s
• Kind Bar
• GNU Foods Bar

Another option is to make your own bars. That way you know exactly what’s in them. Here’s one of my many recipes for homemade bars:

Chewy Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Bars

• 1 cup oat flour
• 1 ½ cups whey protein powder ( Protein Freeze works great)
• ¼ cup raw organic cocoa powder
• ½ cup nonfat dry milk powder
• ¼ cup stevia blend
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 egg whites
• ¼ cup creamy peanut butter
• ¼ – 1/3 cup water

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a 9”x9” baking pan with wax paper.
2. Combine all dry ingredients in blender — Process on high speed 2 minutes. In a bowl, beat eggs, and peanut butter. Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture. With an electric mixer, slowly add the water until dough becomes a “gooey play-dough” consistency. Pour batter in lined pan, spreading, or pressing dough to an even thickness.
3. Bake for about 15 minutes. Remove from pan and allow to cool slightly. Remove wax paper and allow to cool completely. Cut into 8 bars

Calories: 250 Protein: 24g Carbs: 24 Fats: 7 g

Enjoy!

PS: If you want to see my video about this check out my youtube channel and follow me on twitter so you can get updates on new fun videos like this!