“There are times when low G.I. foods provide an advantage and times when high G.I. foods are better. For best performance a serious athlete needs to learn about which foods have high and low G.I. factors and when to eat them.

The carbohydrate we eat is stored in the body in the form of Glycogen in the muscles and in the liver.. A small amount circulates as glucose in the blood. When exercising at high intensities the main fuels are blood glucose and muscle glycogen. The body also can use fats at low intensities but loses this ability when high intensity is required. The bigger your stores of glucose and glycogen, the longer an athlete can exercise before fatigue sets in. Maintaining high glycogen stores is the key to maintaining quality training performance on a daily basis.

The beneficial effects of low G.I. foods for Athletes
Low G.I. foods are digested slowly and can remain in the small intestine for hours after consumption. The benefit of this is a slow and sustained release of glucose that occurs even during exercise.”

The only thing that I consume before my long runs is Shakeology and that is because it has a glycemic index of 24 and gives the energy that I need for my entire run.

To learn more about GI, read the article, “Everything You Need to Know About the Glycemic Index“. To read it, please click here.

If your OB/GYN or midwife gives you the green light to workout while pregnant, definitely go for it.  I can tell you that it makes a big difference in how you feel, how much weight you gain and how quickly you bounce back into shape.  It also makes a big impact in delivering your baby.

In your first trimester, you can usuallyy keep up with the same workout you were already doing before you got pregnant. But a lot of times you can be too tired or feeling too queasy to want to workout. This is a good time to give Yoga a try.  It can be relaxing and help prep your body for labor later on.

During your second and third trimesters, you need to rethink your workouts.  You want to make sure what you’re doing is not going to challenge your balance too much or put too much stress on your rectus abdominal muscles (this can cause a more severe diastasis recti – separation of the abdominal wall).  You also want to make sure you do exercises that won’t keep you flat on your back for a long period of time. Spending a minute or two on your back shouldn’t be harmful, but any longer than that your uterus presses on the vein that returns blood from your lower body to your heart. Lying on your back for an extended period of time could interfere with the flow of blood and nutrients to the placenta and your developing baby. This is potentially unsafe, particularly if you have a condition like high blood pressure that affects how much oxygen and nutrients the baby is getting.  But again, for most pregnant women, a minute or two here and there shouldn’t be harmful.

So what kinds of exercises did I do when pregnant? Well, I did a lot of walking on the treadmill and outdoors. This included inclines and hill climbs.  I danced and even taught a fitness ballet class and a pole dancing class. I also did some weight lifting (nothing too heavy that would cause me to strain). And of course I did Pilates and Yoga. I found myself leaning more towards Yoga at the end of my pregnancy.  Perhaps it was because it was relaxing, helped ease aches and pains and it just felt good.  Plus the breathing of Yoga is very useful when in the delivery room. Learning to calm yourself with your breath really helps.

Below is a video clip of YBB Baby on the Way. It incorporates dance, weight training, and yoga into a cool workout that’s designed to keep mom and baby safe.  You can only get this program through Beachbody or a Team Beachbody Coach like me. 

I’d love to hear your feedback and questions. You can leave a comment here or send me an email at fitwithjessica@live.com.

YBB Baby on the Way

Its hard to believe that some of my fellow GenXer’s are even grandparents!  Shocking!  I guess I find that one hard to grasp because I am still in the middle of changing diapers on my own 2 year old while humming Alice in Chains or Metallica tunes.  But as hard as it is to admit, Gen X is getting older. 

This “sad but true fact” (cool Metallica song), brings to mind how its so important for Gen Xer’s to continue being physcially active or start now. Physical activity is one of the best ways you can help your body and mind stay healthy. 

Did you know as a rule, muscle mass declines with age, starting in the 40s and picking up speed after about age 50? Then the typical rate of muscle loss really begins to outpace the rate of muscle gain, so that there’s an increasing net deficit, says Robert Wolfe, a professor of geriatrics and director of the Center for Translational Research in Aging and Longevity at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. How dangerous that is depends how much muscle you start out with. The kind of decline that makes a lifelong runner go from a very fast 10k time to a slightly slower one in his 60s is not a big concern (except for the frustrated runner). The kind of decline in muscle mass that weakens an already frail elderly person so much that he or she is more prone to falls and can’t lift a small bag of groceries onto the counter is something to worry about.

The tool that everyone agrees works to shore up muscles: exercise, at every age. Ideally, that would include both a basic, progressive strength-training program as well as an aerobic fitness routine (like a brisk 30-minute walk every day). “Healthy muscle is not only about being stronger and bigger,” says Miriam Nelson, director of the John Hancock Center for Physical Activity and Nutrition at Tufts University.

Even my younger Gen X  or older Gen Y friends need ot be concerned with exercise and proper nutrition.  The younger you are when you start taking care of your body with proper nutrition and physical activity, the better your chances are for not losing so much muscle by the time you reach 40.

Insufficient protein intake as well as an unbalanced diet can also lead to a rapid loss of muscle at any age.  So again, it very important for our generation (and those before and behind us) to star looking at what we’re eating and make some positive changes.

Its not too late. Even if you spent most of your life sitting on the couch playing Sega and then XBox 360, you can start making positive changes now and reverse some of the “damage” done.

So why not start now improving your chances on not having to take high blood pressure meds, insulin, heart meds, more pain relievers, erectile dysfuntion meds, cholesterol meds and all the others you see advertised on TV that are not just aimed at the Baby Boomers, but the older Gen Xer’s? All you have to do is make the decision tocommit to be fit. 

You don’t need to have the goal of entering a fitness pagent or bodybuilding show.  You don’t need to enter a marathon or even a 5K for that matter.  All you have to do is exercise and eat right to keep you healthy and moving and grooving without the need of prescription help.

So let’s make Gen X the generation who took back its health, and let’s show those Baby Boomers that they’re not the only ones who are aging differntly than their parents.  Let’s set a good example for Gen Y and the other generations, that you don’t need to take a bunch of medications to age gracefully, all you need is some good heart pumping exercise and a good diet.

Listen, I know its very hard to make a change.  You don’t have to do it all cold-turkey or hit the gorund running.  You can take baby steps and gradually make better choices day by day.  And if you need help, you have this lover of all things grunge and metal to help you along the way.

If you need or want help, send me an email to fitwithjessica@live.com.

Have a great day:-)

Friday night and Saturday were so challenging to me that I turned to an unplanned fast. I had no appetite at all yesterday morning and I decided to simply not eat. I then decided that a hike would be in order to clear my mind. What evolved was a spiritual journey that guided me to do a 2 hour hike in the Sandia Mountains on the Fawlty Trail just north of Tijeras, NM and a virtually all day fast.

Dinner Friday night was a vegan meal consisting of a portabello mushroom sandwich at the Annapurna World Vegetarian Cafe and I didn’t eat again until Saturday mid afternoon when I had a Chocolate Shakeology made with plain low fat yogurt, bananas and almond milk. I followed that with a dinner of another Chocolate Shakeology, this time making it the same way as in the afternoon but adding a large scoop of peanut butter.

The result of my fast? I actually felt stronger and my prayers were answered. I experienced extraordinary blessings and my faith was strengthened.

For more on fasting, I suggest turning to this article by Steve Edwards entitled, 10 Reasons to Fast. It starts by saying, “Fasting isn’t a trend. It’s one of the oldest therapies in medicine and its recorded practice dates back thousands of years. But these days, it’s hard to peruse the magazines at your local market without being provided a myriad of “trendy” fasting options promising greater health, spiritual enlightenment, and most of all, weight loss. It’s also pretty easy to find literature warning of the dangers of fasting. So let’s have a look at fasting, its history, benefits, and whether or not you might want to make it part of your lifestyle.”

To read the rest of the article, please click here

But we are also working toward financial independence as our reward for changing people’s lives in a positive way.  This article is a good way to help us on that path and help you, if you decide to join us as a coach.

“There are two great principles for achieving financial success. The first Principle is what we call the law of attraction. The law of attraction says that you are a living magnet. It says that your thoughts create a force field of energy that radiates out from you and attracts back into your life people and circumstances in harmony with them. Any thought you have, combined with an emotion, positive or negative, radiates out from you and attracts back into your life the people, circumstances, ideas and opportunities consistent with it.”

How to Attract the Success You Desire

“Many people feel that this is perhaps the most important of all mental laws. It says that if you have a very clear idea in your mind of your desired goal, to become wealthy, and you can hold that idea in your mind on a continuing basis, you will inevitably draw into your life the resources that you need in order to achieve it. Every person who has become wealthy or successful has become wealthy and successful as a result of holding the idea of wealth and success in their mind long enough and hard enough, until they drew into their lives the resources they needed to accomplish it.”

Your World Reflects Your Thoughts

“The second principle is called the law of correspondence. This mental law is very powerful. It says, “as within, so without.” It says that your outer world is like a mirror that reflects back to you what is going on in your inner world. And this law of correspondence says that everything that happens outside of you corresponds to something that’s going on inside of you. When we say that your outer world is a reflection of your inner world, we mean both at a conscious and at a subconscious level. ”

Visualize Your Goals Clearly

“If you consciously believe that you have the ability to achieve your goals and you can hold a picture of those goals clearly in your mind long enough and hard enough, eventually your outer world will correspond with it.”

Three Reflections of Success

“There are three places where we see this law of correspondence. First of all, your outer world of people will correspond exactly with your own attitude. You will always see your attitude reflected back to you in the faces and the behaviors of the people around you. If you have a positive, optimistic attitude, people will respond to you almost immediately, even before you open your mouth, in a positive and cheerful way.”

Relationships Show You Who You Are

The second area where we see the law of correspondence is in your relationships. Your relationships will always mirror back to you exactly the kind of a person you are. When you are happy and optimistic and at peace, your relationships will be happy and harmonious and loving. But when your thinking is disrupted or negative for any reason, consciously or unconsciously, this will be immediately reflected in your relationships.

Inner and Outer Wealth

“The third place you see the law of correspondence is with regard to your wealth. Your external world of wealth and financial accomplishment will be a mirror image of your inner world of preparation. The only part of the equation that you can control is your conscious thoughts, and if you can keep your conscious thoughts on what you want, on your images of wealth and affluence, eventually your external world of reality and experiences will reflect it back to you.”

Action Exercises

“Here are two things you can do to apply these principles in your financial life:”

First, guard your thoughts carefully. Whatever you think about, combined with the emotions of desire or fear, you will attract into your life. Be sure that you are attracting what you want by continuing to think only about what you want.

Second, keep feeding your mind with new information, ideas and pictures of the person you want to be and the life you want to live. By creating this inner attitude of mind, you change the outer aspects of your reality.

“What makes the difference between ordinary and extraordinary, between average and excellent, mediocre and superb? Is it family background? Are achievers born into wealth? Is it better opportunities for certain people? Opportunity is a strange thing because two people with similar gifts, talents and resources can look at a situation and one person will see tremendous opportunity while the other is negative and skeptical. One man’s junk is another man’s jewel. Opportunity is like beauty. It’s in the eye of the beholder.”

“Is achievement gained because of hardship or because of lack of hardship? Is it high morals or how about a great education? Perhaps here is the great secret. Well, I believe it is none of these items. The bottom line that separates those who achieve from those who don’t is different perceptions and responses to what many people consider failure. Nothing else has such a dramatic impact on people’s ability to achieve and to accomplish whatever they set out to accomplish. There are literally thousands of ways to become a winner and the sure way I know of to stay average is to fail and not investigate what you gained from the apparent failure. Through trial and error, I eventually taught myself how to view, what most people say is failure, differently. I taught myself that everything happens for a reason. ”

“When a situation or a circumstance happens and it doesn’t appear favorably for me at that moment, I have learned to detach, pull back, instead of over-reacting to the circumstances. By detaching, I’m talking about the thought process I now take now rather than the ones I used to take before. There are many situations you cannot change but you can definitely change how you view them, especially related to what most people perceive to be failure. I ask people all the time who say they’ve failed, I say, ‘Have you really? Did you really fail?’ Then I ask them the next question – ‘What did you gain, who did you meet, how did it develop character, what happened because of the situation?’”

“I thoroughly believe that for every door that closes, a new window opens. Let’s look at networking, direct sales and entrepreneurship. Now this industry has the potential to completely set you free provided you learn the thoughts, actions and simple disciplines applied or required for you to become successful. I have seen many average people who have never had success in any other endeavors have fantastic success in direct sales, networking or in any kind of small business. I have also seen many people who have success in a corporate environment fail miserably as an entrepreneur. To a large extent, the reason the failure rate is so high in free enterprise is that we as a society are not prepared and not mentally conditioned to deal with the inevitable emotional roller coaster of entrepreneurship. We are taught through education, training, college, other schooling and on the job training to become good employees. We end up learning job skills, not the free thinking skills that lead to success as an entrepreneur. Most of all we are not taught how to look at our mistakes and failures properly. Once again, I believe there is no such thing as failure. Every blade of grass we walk upon brings us to this moment which is officially called now, the present, or officially now o’clock.”

“I have personally attended hundreds of seminars, rallies and conventions over the last several years and have heard the stories and testimonies of people who have succeeded. It often looks easy from the audience perspective to make a $10,000 per month check or have a $100,000 per year. I remember in my early career, seeing these people and saying to myself, that if they can do it, so can I. They are no different. That was true, except the difference between them and me was a few key points that I had to learn in the journey. Skills such as developing a belief, understanding how to market myself, how to be consistent, how to be self-motivated over time to create what is called compounding. Internal compounding is going to be the difference between average and exceptional. Internal compounding really begins with you becoming comfortable with yourself – becoming the person you deserve to be, really having a belief in yourself, a sense of certainty that no matter what obstacles, what roadblocks, what challenges, what hurdles arrive in your way, you begin to turn roadblocks into building blocks.”

“You’re going to learn a different perception of challenges and overcoming them right now. Most important, with simple disciplines, learned, acquired and then diligently and consistently applied over a period of time, you start to release yourself from the attachment of what most people consider to be failure. Personal growth coupled with a plan of action. Diligent and consistent action to produce results not only in yourself, but with others, too. The heart of a champion, developing heart rather than just relying on your talent.”

“Do not compare yourself to others. You never know the price someone has paid to get to their promised land, and they did pay it at one time or another. Even the statement, “paying the price” is unusual. A good friend and motivational speaker once said to me, “Jeff, it’s not a price, it’s a privilege.” Indeed, my friends that is a whole different perspective. Are you really paying a price or is it a privilege to be going through the process that you are going through? Most importantly, it is imperative that you start to view your past failures differently and change how you view challenges and obstacles that face you today and in the future.”

“One of the most common problems I see in free enterprise and entrepreneurship is that people quit too soon. Not only to do they quit too soon, they never even start and they often quit too easily and too often. They then go back to what already wasn’t working for them, usually a job, and give up on their dreams. I have found that if you don’t have dreams, you end up working for people who do. In a job, typically, you’re creating someone else’s dream and that’s not to say that jobs are bad, but will you ever get your promised land, producing results for someone else in their dream? That is an interesting question. Success isn’t always easy is it? And definitely not a sprint, it’s a marathon. Most people quit in free enterprise in their first 90 days, six months or one year. This is a usual pattern for most people; they don’t stay in the game long enough to learn the survival skills required to win the game of their life. They dabble, they give it a shot, they try, they wish, they hope, they’d like to, they think about it, they take little action, get their feelings hurt, test the water and, most of all, treat it like a hobby, then it costs them enough money, so they quit and say, “It didn’t work for me” or ‘I got burned.’”

“Free enterprise is about going through mind shifts, evolutions of new consciousness, getting out of the box, off the sidelines, in the game, playing offense rather than defense, learning life skills so that you can get paid what you are worth. It is the opportunity to win the game of life on your terms, in your time frame. Quitters never win and winners never quit. Winners learn how to fail more intelligently. Isn’t it time you learned how to treat failure differently? Isn’t it time you changed how you’ve been changing?”

Our daughter Grace is starting kindergarten and Christy will be home with our younger daughter Carly so that I can focus on building my Team Beachbody coaching business and help her build her coaching business at the same time.

We have placed all of our faith in the Team Beachbody opportunity and our mission as coaches and mentors.  Christy told her principal today that she won’t be coming back, so hold us in your prayers if you can and expect to hear a whole lot more from us as we change more and more people’s lives!

If you would like to join us and support us, you can become Christy’s member by clicking here or join her coaching team by clicking here.

If you would like to become Rich’s member, click here or if you would like to join Rich’s coaching team, click here

Shakeology^® was recently tested and measured for its Glycemic Index (GI) and received the amazing score of 24 by Glycemic Index Laboratories.  GI is a way to measure how carbohydrates react in your blood. When you eat carbs, your blood sugar level rises anywhere from a little to a lot. The GI uses a scale of 1 to 100, with higher numbers given to foods that cause the most rapid rise in blood sugar. These foods give a quick energy boost, often followed by a crash as your blood sugar drops rapidly, leaving you feeling sluggish, tired and even irritated.

The body needs carbs for fuel, but you need to feed it the right kind of carbs – ideally, foods found with a low rating on the Glycemic Index. Included on this list are whole grains, nuts, fruits, vegetables and, now confirmed… Shakeology.

Foods with a GI score of 55 or less are considered low on the Glycemic Index.   That’s why Shakeology’s rating of 24 on the Glycemic Index is so impressive. It is considered very low on the Index – lower, in fact than most fruits, some vegetables and virtually every processed food ever made. It’s even lower on the GI than an apple!  The Shakeology low GI score means it’s also okay for diabetics.

There are a lot of impressive numbers associated with this revolutionary product – 140 (the number of calories per serving), 70 (the number of healthy ingredients) and the price, which is about $3.50 or less a serving.

To learn more about Shakeology and to try it risk free, please click here.

We have a great new article on our website that explains and you can read an excerpt from it here.  “Essentially, the entire TurboFire program has a singular focus: that getting fit can be fun, and that eating healthy doesn’t need to be a complex task. And while there’s a lot of science behind what you’ll see as you follow along, our goal was to make it as simple as the original Beachbody^® tagline: Just Push Play.

Whenever you have one successful workout program, it’s always hard to decide what to do next. When you have three, like Turbo Jam^®, Turbo Kick^®, and ChaLEAN Extreme^® creator Chalene Johnson does, it can seem like an especially daunting task. But when Johnson’s Fat Blaster workout (part of the Turbo Jam^® Fat Burning Elite program) became a serendipitous hit, we knew it was time for Chalene to take things to the next level. That’s how the idea for TurboFire^® was born. The goal was to create a next-level fitness program that could be done by anyone and was easy to follow.”

To read the rest of the article, please click here.