Exercise Basics: Beyond Weight Loss 

How Exercise Benefits Your Body

One of the most important aspects of motivating yourself to get moving is to understand how exercise benefits your body and your life. Aside from the benefit of burning calories to help you lose weight, exercise can make a vast difference in the condition of your body and your organs, which can make the requirements of everyday life easier and less likely to cause fatigue or pain.

First, consider how regular exercise can benefit heart health. Just getting regular, moderate exercise can reduce your risk of developing heart disease, plus, exercise makes the heart itself stronger, and more efficient. Here's how:

Your heart pumps blood through your vascular system (veins and arteries). Your lungs extract oxygen from air and send it to your blood where it is distributed throughout your entire body. The stronger your heart is, the more easily it pumps more blood throughout your entire body. If your heart is weak, it has to work harder to provide you with fresh blood and oxygen.

To improve the strength of your heart, you need to do aerobic exercise. Since aerobic exercise makes you breathe more heavily than you normally do, it trains your heart to pump blood more efficiently throughout your entire body. You breathe more heavily during aerobic exercise because your body is moving faster than usual and therefore, using oxygen more rapidly, and in greater amounts. The oxygen is then delivered more deeply in the body.

Any activity is considered aerobic if it has the following characteristics: You are required to move your limbs at the same time, you use your larger muscle groups, such as those in your legs, and you perform the activity for at least 20 continuous minutes. Aerobic activity must also be performed at an intensity level that causes your heart and lungs to work harder than usual and is typically rhythmic and/or repetitive. So, for example, splashing in a pool is not an aerobic activity, but swimming in a multiple-lap race is.

Other ways that your body is improved with exercise include:

Muscle strength (how much weight your muscle can lift) and muscle endurance (how long a muscle can work) are directly related to your activity level. Strength training (or, as it is also known, resistance training) is ideal for significantly increasing muscle strength. It can improve many aspects of your life. Consider something as simple as going to the supermarket: Carrying groceries into your apartment is an example of muscle strength and endurance. When you lift a few heavy bags into your backseat, you are using muscle strength. When you are able to pick up the remaining, less heavy bags and make trips to carry them from your car to your apartment, that's endurance.

Bone health can also be improved with strength training since muscles are attached to bones. Stronger bones can pay off now and in the future -- you are less likely to get injured when your bones are strong and increasing bone strength can help prevent osteoporosis as you age. Good bone health also leads to deeper breathing and improved posture. According to the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, some of the best exercises for bone health include lifting weights, walking, hiking, jogging, climbing stairs, and tennis.

Flexibility is the ability to move joints effectively and can be improved with stretching exercises. While stretching does not increase your endurance or strength, it is an important part of reducing injury risk and soreness that results from activity. If your flexibility is limited, you will find movement more difficult. Exercises that improve your flexibility feature moves that stretch your muscles, tendons, and ligaments such as yoga or Tai Chi. 

Remember, you should talk to your doctor before beginning exercise if you are over 40 or have any health problems.

Weekly Goal Time

Happy Monday! Time to rewrite those goals!!!

I got up at my typical 4am wake up time, and felt back in the game after a little bit of P90X! I stuck to my points for Weight Watchers, and overall had a great day! I'm back!!!

Here are my new goals for 2011:
1. Achieve 4-star diamond rank
2. Loose 25 pounds, tone, and build muscle
3. Bring my Beachbody salary up to $1,000/week
4. Start teaching a fitness class two days per week
5. Build a team of leaders
6. Success Club 5 for ten months
7. Eat healthy and keep counting Weight Watchers points
8. Pay off all credit card debt
9. Start saving in Jake's college fund
10. "fire" my boss

Nutrion Newsletter - low carb pizza

This week's Nutrition Newsletter - Low Carb Pizza!

Pizza -- it's one of the most popular foods, at least in the U.S. Can we have our pizza and our waistlines too? How about healthy levels of blood glucose? Well, think about it. Most pizza toppings aren't high in carbohydrates. So what we need to do is to find different vehicles for those toppings. Here are some ideas, and several recipes, for low carb pizza. Before we turn to the crust, though, let's learn a bit about toppings.

The Sauce
Most pizza sauce has sugar in it. Yep, you heard right -- just look at the label. Furthermore, most (but not all) red pasta sauce has sugar as well. I find that sugar-free pasta sauce works very well for pizza, and most grocery stores have one or two brands that work. Look for sauce with no ingredients masquerading as sugar in it - usually these sauces have about 6 to 7 grams of effective carbohydrate per ¼ cup serving.

The Cheese
Whole milk mozzarella cheese has about 2.5 grams of carbohydrate per cup, and partial skim has slightly more. Most other mild cheeses have similar carb counts. Parmesan cheese has about a gram of carbohydrate per ounce (about 5 tablespoons of grated cheese).

Other Pizza Toppings
Most meats only have scant amounts of carbs, although some sausages have some added carb. Most vegetables typically used on pizza are low in carbs, including mushrooms (1.5 grams per cup, sliced), green peppers (2 grams per ½ cup, chopped), olives (1 gram per 4 large olives), or other low-carb vegetables.

Non-Crust Alternatives
If you don't want to take the time to make your own pizza crust, try these ideas for having that combination of flavors we all know and love:
1. Just Eat the Toppings
I call this the "when all else fails" technique. It's the most flexible, although messy, way to go. When your friends or family are ordering pizza, just don't eat the crust (and get a salad on the side).
2. Low-Carb Tortillas
The only trouble with this method is that you can't spread much on the tortilla, or it will tear. But you can smear a little sauce, cheese, and toppings, and then heat in the oven or microwave. As an alternative, try a "pizza burrito" by wrapping pizza sauce and toppings in the tortilla.
3. Portobello Mushrooms
Scrape the gills out of a large Portobello mushroom and bake or grill it to get some of the moisture out. Fill with toppings, then broil or bake.
4. Pizza Burgers
Make a thin hamburger, then cover with pizza toppings and cook in the microwave for a couple of minutes.
5. Pizza Omelet or Frittata
Make an omelet, mixing in your favorite pizza toppings, and use the sauce as a condiment.

Here is an amazing low-carb pizza crust:

I know this egg-based crust is going to sound strange, but I urge you to trust me and try this. I've tried a whole lot of low-carb pizza crusts over the years, and this is really the best one. No, it isn't like regular, but it's really good. I got the recipe on which this is based from the Protein Power Forum, and have altered it somewhat.


Based on some of the comments, I'm now realizing that some people are expecting a crisp crust, or a thin crust. This crust is neither crisp nor thin. However, you can make it thinner by using fewer eggs and less cream cheese.
Ingredients:

• 6 eggs
• 6 oz cream cheese (3/4 package) at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1½ teaspoon oregano or other Italian seasoning
• ½ teaspoon salt
• pinches of black and/or cayenne pepper
• 1 cup (or a little more) shredded Italian cheeses, at least half of which is a hard cheese (Parmesan, Assagio)

Preparation:
Heat the oven to 350° F.
1) Be sure the cream cheese is at about room temperature. Using a regular blender, food processor, or (my preferred) stick blender, mix the egg and cream cheese until well blended. Add the salt and spices and blend again.
2) Spread cheese in bottom of well-buttered 9X13 pan. I often use an Italian blend such as Trader Joe's Quattro Formaggio. Pour egg mixture over the cheese, and bake for 22-25 minutes, or until the top is browning.
3) Remove from oven, add pizza toppings, and bake until done - about another 10-15 minutes.
Makes 8 servings.

Nutritional Information: Each serving has 1.5 grams effective carbohydrate plus 11 grams protein, and 179 calories.

Honestly...how do you stay motivated?

Today I'm going to talk about motivation. I'm typically really motivated to get things accomplished, but these past few days I've had a serious lack of motivation. I've been working the Game Plan for my Beachbody business, but I haven't been seeing as good of results as I was hoping for. Also, being out of town really messed with my workout routine. I brought along workout clothes to do cardio but only did it one out of three days. My eating was also a mess. I only had Shakeology once, and ate out for every meal. My biggest question to myself is...how do I get myself back on track? Well, here is the action steps I've thought through for this week in three areas, business, fitness, and diet:

1. I'm going to continue telling myself that you don't see success overnight. I continuously tell my coaches that a home business takes time to build. Sometimes there are lulls in the business, so you just gotta start something new. I'm going to continue trying new ways tobmake contacts, and make exposures to people that I've never tried...school, doctors, chiropractors, dietitians, nutritionists, and people that don't already use Beachbody products. I'm going to be patient, follow the Game Plan, and work hard on my own personal development.

2. I'm going to start back up with P90X Monday morning. I missed four workouts this week...Plyometrics, Kenpo X, Yoga X, and Legs and Back. Next week is my recovery week, so I'm going ti stick these four workouts into my Recovery Week to catch up. Whenever I want to get off track on my workouts I'm going to think about all the hard work I've put in already, and talk to my accountability partners.

3. I'm also getting back on track with my diet on Monday. I'm going to go back to counting points for Weight Watchers, have my Shakeology every morning, cut out caffeine, and limiting my sugar intake.

I WILL be a 4-Star Diamond Beachbody Coach, loose 20 pounds, live a healthy lifestyle, help others become healthy, and obtain muscle tone all in 2011! I am motivated, and ready to "end the trend" of obesity!!!

Low Carb Diet Mistakes

No big surprise - we all make mistakes. From the newest newbie, to the person who has been low carbing for years, we all encounter bumps in the road, or our experiments don't turn out well. Here are 10 of the most common mistakes in low carb eating.

1) Getting Off on the Wrong Foot
You don't have to take a college class to understand low carb eating. But if you think it means you should just eat meat all day (or other low carb myths) or if you don't know where the carbs are lurking, you're setting yourself up for a fall. You do need to have some basic knowledge about how cutting carbohydrates works, what foods have carbohydrates, and how to eat a balanced low carb diet.

2) Giving Up Too Quickly
There are lots of approaches to low carb eating, and there are often missteps at first, as you try to find one that works for you, or to modify an existing one. There is a tendency to over-react a bit when everything doesn't go perfectly, and give up. A prime example of this is eating too little carbohydrate at first, suffering carb crash, and deciding low carb isn't for you. This is a shame, when a simple adjustment can usually get you through the first week comfortably, to the great rewards at the end of it.

3) Not Enough Vegetables
Time and time again, people tell me they don't feel good eating low carb, and it turns out they are eating almost no vegetables or fruit. This will not work in the long run. My low carb pyramid has vegetables at the base - in other words, you should be eating more of them than any other food! Fruit, too, especially fruit low in sugar, has its place in a complete low carb diet.

4) Not Enough Fiber
Eating enough vegetables and fruit go a long way towards insuring you are getting enough fiber in your diet. There are other low carb sources of fiber as well, and it's good to learn about them.

5) Eating Too Much
It's true that you don't have to count calories on a low carb diet. But that doesn't mean calories don't count! The great thing about low carb eating is that our appetites "turn down," allowing us to eat fewer calories without getting hungry. Some people make the mistake, though, of thinking they can just keep eating and eating and still lose weight as long as the food is low carb. Let your appetite be your guide - eat when you are hungry, and stop when you are comfortable.

6) Lack of Planning
When you are first on a new way of eating, you'll run into old habits that need to be changed to new healthier ones. No longer can you mindlessly hit the vending machine or drive-thru. This is a good thing: Pausing to re-consider our habits is a constructive step towards making improvements in our lives. But in the case of eating, it's important to plan ahead for awhile, until our new habits come naturally. Nothing will sabotage your goals more quickly than realizing that you're hungry but you don't know what to eat.

7) Getting into a Rut
There are people who eat the same things day after day, and like it that way. But frankly, most of us like variety, and will get bored very quickly if that is not built into the way we eat. There is no reason for not eating a wide variety of foods, and in fact, a varied diet is likely to be better for us nutritionally. Every cuisine on the planet has low carb options - you just need to skip the starch and sugar. Also, most dishes can be "de-carbed." If you want to figure out a way to have your favorite flavors, ask in our Forum - we love to talk about what we're eating.

8) Problem Ingredients in "Low Carb" Packaged Foods
Be wary of meal replacement bars, ice cream, and other "treats" labeled low carb or sugar-free. They often contain ingredients such as maltitol (the worst offender) which are just as bad as sugar in a lot of bodies. In general, products that talk about their "net carbs" or "impact carbs" deserve close scrutiny of the ingredients, and careful experimentation.

9) Carb Creep
You're eating low carb. You're feeling great, and the weight dropping off as if by magic. You're not hungry between meals! You have energy! You can concentrate better! Wheee! You think you'll have a piece of toast! It doesn't matter! You still feel great! You think you'll have some ice cream! Hey! You're still losing weight! A little sugar in the coffee can't hurt, can it? Maybe not, but...uh oh. Something has sent you over your own personal limit. Suddenly, you're having carb cravings, you're gaining weight, and you're in a vicious circle that's hard to break of eating carbs, being hungrier, eating more carbs...ugh.
Sometimes it happens more subtly, but it's common to let more and more carbs creep in, sometimes unawares. If that happens, it's time to take stock and probably start over, at least for a few days, to break that cycle.

10) No Exercise
There is a temptation to leave exercise out when talking about low carb diets, because often people can be successful at first while staying sedentary. However, there are several reasons for talking about exercise in any diet discussion (Atkins called it "non-negotiable"). One is that exercise lowers insulin resistance - this is probably partly why exercise alone will tend to help many people lose a few pounds. The second is that exercise is good for our bodies in so many ways. And the third is that while we can lose weight by diet alone, at least to some extent, we are very unlikely to be able to maintain a significant weight loss without exercise.

New Goals

It's about that time again...new week...new goals! I've said a couple of times that I plan on writing out ten new yearly goals every single Monday. Happy Monday!!!

Here they are...
1. I will reach 4-Star Diamond Status.
2. I will "fire" my boss to work for myself.
3. I will pay off all my debts.
4. I will manage my money better, and only purchase things that I need.
5. I will loose 15 pounds, and build muscle.
6. I will work on myself through personal development, always putting myself first.
7. I will organize myself in a way that I can follow through on all my commitments, and still give me time for my family and friends.
8. I will immerse myself fully in my relationship with my son and my boyfriend.
9. I will go to All-Star Presenter Camp, and become a better instructor.
10. I will work in fitness full-time as a Beachbody Coach, fitness instructor, and personal trainer.

Watch this...and win!!!

Motivating and Inspiring Those That Matter Most!

I am very proud of myself this week. I wrote out my newest ten goals for the year, been keeping up with my “to do” list, and putting a lot of time and effort into Beachbody. I know I don’t usually talk about my personal life on my blog, but today I am going to go against the norm and talk about how I have personally changed these past six months into someone that has impacted my family and close friends. These changes that I have found through Beachbody have made me eternally grateful to this wonderful company. I tend to get a lot of phone calls, emails, and text messages from people telling me how much I changed their lives. Today, I am going to share some of those messages with you!
 

• “Thanks to you I have quit smoking and lost 15 pounds. I feel great, and I have you to thank for inspiring me.”

• “I put your business card on my fridge, and think about what you would say every time I want to eat something bad for me.”

• “Keep up with these posts! They inspire and motive me.”

• “You inspire me to be a better person.”

• “Since meeting you I have become a completely different person.”

• “You are so positive that I can’t help but strive to do better.”

I have also received referrals for customers and even coaches from people that I have helped. My fitness challenges on Facebook have been very successful, with people loosing tons of weight and starting to live healthy life styles. Every “thank you” that I get makes me feel amazing. I do love the monetary benefit that I am starting to get from Beachbody, but to me that’s not what this business is about. It is about changing lives, motivating people to get healthy, and inspiring people to do something for themselves. I never imagined that I would be successful in this business and help so many people, but I have. In the short six months that I have been a Beachbody coach, I have inspired and help change the lives of over 200 people. This is amazing to me, and I want to do more!!!

As a final thought, I figured I would get really personal so people will understand how much this business is affecting the people around me. I didn’t ask these two people if I could talk about our conversations, but I figured it would be really beneficial to mention them. The first person is my Dad. Not everyone knows this, but both of my parents are coaches on my team. They never imagined doing the business, but now do very well selling P90X Recovery Formula…well enough to pay for their own recovery formula. My dad is a man of many words…many sarcastic words, but the other day we had a discussion about my success with Beachbody. He talked about how he could really see this business supporting my family, and was impressed by how well I’ve done. He recognized how hard I’ve been working, which includes the large chunk of time I’m away from my family. Stating, “it will be worth it!” To hear that someone that matters so much to me is seeing how much I am sacrificing to make this business successful means the world to me.

The second person I want to mention is my boyfriend. Yes, it’s true…I NEVER talk about my significant other in my fitness blogs, but something he said yesterday hit home for me. He told me that I am such a positive and motivating person that I help him to see things more positively. I was also told that I’m the most positive person he knows, and that I’m starting to motivate him to set goals and dream big for himself. Who doesn’t want to do that for someone…especially someone that means the world to them? By helping him, I’m helping myself in the long run because I’m getting more and more positive people in my life. Who doesn’t want their boyfriend to set goals and be inspired by you? The fact that I can inspire those closest to me is the best feeling in the world.

I hear constantly, day after day, that I’m a positive motivating person but I just don’t think I ever really saw it. Now it is crystal clear to me that I need to slide my focus to helping my customers and coaches reach their goals. Helping people, especially those closest to us, should be our focus! Yeah, it’s great to sell Shakeology and sign coaches, but we need to help these people to be successful themselves. Then the success will come back to us plus so much more. Good karma is what I’m looking for. If you need health, fitness, or business advice, let me know. I am here to help you…150%!!!

Coach Erin Effenheim

Independent Diamond Beachbody Coach

http://beachbodycoach.com/eringettingfit

http://myshakeoogy.com/eringettingfit

erin.effenheim@gmail.com

262.745.0789

My 10 Goals...as of January 11th 2011

I said at the beginning of the year that I was going to write ten yearly goals every single week. Here are my new goals for 2011...

1. Obtain 4-Star Diamond Rank
2. Have a Beachbody salary of $2,000/week
3. "Fire" my boss and work in fitness full-time
4. Complete my Piyo and Hustle certifications
5. Qualify for Success Club 5 for four months and Success Club 10 for eight months, so I can go on the 2012 trip for Beachbody
6. Talk to nutritionists and doctors to get more Shakeology sales
7. Loose 25 pounds, and keep it off
8. Start a healthy life style that includes eating healthy every single day
9. Cut out all dairy, gluten, processed foods, sugar, coffee, and alcohol from my diet
10. Purchase tickets for my family to go on a cruise in 2012

I have been keeping a daily to do list, and working the Game Plan each and every day. I am seeing all of goals as complete by the end of the year, and I am excited to obtain financial freedom. I want to be able to go to all of my kids activities, and love what I'm doing each and every day. Working a full-time job that includes a two hour commute each day is very hard on me. My top priority still remains my family, and obtaining financial freedom with Beachbody will help to erase that commute and allow me to be home...where I want to be! I'm ready to BRING IT in 2011!!!

More Specific Goals and My Daily To Do List for my Business

Okay...I'll be honest with everyone! I sent my ten goals to my upline sponsor, Barbie, and she said that I should be more specific with my goals...maybe add some monetary goals on there. So, that's what I'm going to do!!! Here's my second attempt at my ten goals for 2011, and don't forget, I'll be redoing my goals every Monday:

1. Achieve 4-Star Diamond by following the Game Plan each and every day.
2. Keep a daily to do list in my phone that has the Game Plan on it.
3. Exercise 5-6 days per week with the following programs, in this order:
• P90X 
• P90X +
• INSANITY
• Brazil Butt Lift
• TurboFire/ChaLEAN Extreme hybrid
4. Loose 25 pounds and keep it off by working out and eating clean (Shakeology will be used for breakfast daily).
5. "Fire" my boss, so I can work as a Beachbody Coach and Fitness Instructor full-time. I will do this by following the Game Plan and going to All-Star Presenter Camp with my mentor, Chalene Johnson.
6. Obtain the following certifications:
• Piyo
• Hustle
7. Achieve the following income levels with Beachbody:
• March 31st - $250/week
• June 30th - $500/week
• September 30th - $1,000/week
• December 31st - $2,500/week
8. Pay off all my credit card debt.
9. Keep myself organized so that I can spend more time with my son. I vow to spend at least two nights a week with him, away from my computer and my phone for business purposes.
10. Spend more time with my friends and significant other. I vow to save one night a week for myself, so I can be with those that are important to me apart from my immediate family.

Daily To Do List for my Beachbody Business:

• Make two new contacts
• Make two new exposures
• Make two follow-ups
• Read ten pages of a good book
• Listen to fifteen minutes of audio
• Every week I will:
• sign a new coach
• sign up a new club member
• sell at least one retail products 

Priorities and Goals

Okay guys! It's time for me take that leap, and list my top three priorities and ten goals for 2011. Now all the world (well, everyone that reads my blog...lol) will be able to keep me accountable for the things I really want, and DESERVE out of life!

Priorities: (in order)
1. My family and friends
2. Financial freedom
3. My own health and fitness

Goals: (in no particular order)
- obtain 4-star diamond rank
- pay off all my debts
- go to Disney World
- obtain my Piyo and Hustle certifications
- go to All-Star Presenter Camp
- work in fitness full-time
- "fire" my boss
- "unplug" from my business in Sundays
- loose 20 pounds
- take better care of myself