Quick, Everyone Just Act (Eat) Natural!

Why do so many of us struggle with our health and fitness??? 

1.We eat unnaturally. 

In order to achieve optimal digestion, we must:

RELAX! Take the time to eat in a peaceful setting and a positive state of mind. Stop rushing around and leaving your meal as nothing but an afterthought, or worse, a source of stress due to time constraints. To put it simply, if you don't have time to eat, DON'T EAT! Wait until you are calm, relaxed, and ready to give your meal and its digestion the attention that they deserve. If you have feelings of guilt about what you are putting in your mouth, change what you are eating. Negativity has no place in the kitchen. Your food should sustain you, not be a cause of anxiety. Constipation, gas, bloating, fatigue, and/or nausea are not normal. They are your body's way of saying HELP! We can help you make eating FUN again, regardless of your personal preferences.

DON'T MIX THAT! Have you ever eaten a meal that you knew didn't mix properly? Gas, bloating, indigestion, and constipation aren't natural by-products of your food breaking down and it's nutrients being assimilated. They are your body's way of telling you that the food in your gut is putrefying aka rotting aka NOT DIGESTING! Gross, I know. Luckily, there is no reason for you to deal with the discomforts of poor digestion. We will provide simple rules to follow in order to prevent these uncomfortable side-effects of improper eating/food combining.

2.We consume unnatural food/drink.

YOU ATE WHAT?! Processed. Genetically modified. Pasteurized. Deep fried. Homogenized. Enriched. Reduced fat. No fat. Good fat. Bad fat. Fast food. Microwave dinners. Microwave breakfasts. High fructose corn syrup. GMO Soy derivatives. Low sugar. Reduced sugar. No sugar. Artificially sweetened. Low carb. Zero carb. Added preservatives. Nitrates. Binding agents. Factory farmed. Added antibiotics. Added hormones. Dietary supplements. Chlorine. Fluoride. Protein powders. Protein bars. Protein pudding. Pesticides. Frankenfood.

...DEEP BREATH...

Okay...so by now, regardless of what we are choosing to eat, we at least know the difference between right and wrong, right? WRONG! Maybe you know all about the dangers of eating a SAD (standard American diet) diet. Maybe you don't. Maybe you've been scammed and duped into thinking you were making healthy choices. Well, let's get informed. We will make it REAL SIMPLE. If you want to be fat, sick, and lethargic, by all means, eat from the aforementioned list. It is YOUR CHOICE. YOUR HEALTH IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY and no one else's. If you want to be VIBRANT and VITAL and feel WHOLE again, then you must eat vibrant and vital foods. The problem is, most of us are very uninformed about what fresh, whole food has to offer us. When most people think of healthy food, what comes mind? An apple? Celery sticks? A salad? Some dull iceberg lettuce with a couple lifeless tomatoes and maybe a carrot thrown in there for good measure? We will help you discover new joys in finding, preparing, eating and sharing DELICIOUS FOOD that will leave you saying, "Why didn't I do this years ago?!"

3.We remain in unnatural positions for long periods of time.

I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS SIT! The human body is an amazing piece of bio-machinery. We can stand up straight. We can jump. We can run. We can squat. We can bend. We can lift objects. We can throw. Wait a second...what do you mean most people can't do any of these basic functional movements?! Unfortunately, our current way of living, at least in the Western world, has caused us to forget the basics. We have a sort of "POSTURAL AMNESIA," so to speak. Most of us have spent so much time in unnatural positions, i.e., sitting, that we simply can't remember how to move through our environment in a safe, effortless, and healthy manner. Most Americans spend more time sitting than they do sleeping. That is pretty scary! In the car. In the office. At school. At work. On the couch. It all adds up to one thing: compromised health. Without proper posture, we have decreased circulation and enzymatic activity, poor digestion, higher rates of cardiovascular disease and obesity, back pain, headaches, etc., etc., etc.

GET UP, STAND UP. STAND UP FOR YOUR...LIFE? Can you touch your toes? How about raising both arms above your head perpendicular to the floor? Are your shoulders slumped forward? How about your hips? Are they tucked in? Are they pushed out like a duck? Is there any rounding forward in your mid back? If we were to draw a line from the top of your head to through the heel of your foot, how much of your spinal column would be stacked correctly? Do you sit on your tail-bone? For those who have less than perfect posture, don't worry. There is hope! Through a proper regiment of corrective stretching, you can reclaim your natural birthright. Let us help you re-learn how to move through your world with confidence, balance, and ease!


So relax and relearn the basics with us! Talk to you soon,


Tommy Trotter



















Picture Credits: http://us.123rf.com/400wm/400/400/marcelmooij/marcelmooij0611/marcelmooij061100017/600426-kid-eating-a-juicy-apple-while-relaxing.jpg, http://www.alittlenourishment.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Good-Food-Bad-Food.jpg, http://www.gadibody.com/images/headers/articles/computer-posture-evolution.jpg

Staying Fit, Focused and Energetic on Vacation

For many of us, going away on vacation is awesome because we get to escape from reality and do, eat, and drink anything under the sun. Often this means bad (yet tasty) choices that bloat our waist lines and leave us feeling sluggish and lazy.

I won't tell you to not eat something tasty or have a cold beer or a glass of wine while you're doing what you have waited all year to do. However, If you want to minimize your post-vacation blues and weight gain, consider the following:


1 - Find time to Exercise!

If you exercise just 20-25 minutes a day while on your vacation, you will have MORE energy while you're sight-seeing, laying on the beach, or traveling.

No, you don't have to walk with a shark on your back to get a good workout. But how about these suggestions:

- Run/Powerwalk
- Ride a bike
- Swim
- Play a sport
- Go hiking

For healthy, medically cleared individuals who have no reason to NOT exercise, 20-25 minutes is generally considered a good length of time to exercise. And remember, if the activity is not at least moderately difficult, do it harder, or for longer!

Why?

By exercising while you are on vacation, you are keeping yourself accountable to your health.  While vacation is a great time to escape from the daily grind, escaping from your exercise regimen will only make it harder to resume after you have returned, increasing your likelihood of losing momentum, and possibly increasing levels of anxiety and depression.

Working out will also increase your bodies metabolism, which will help reduce weight gain and keep you trim!

2 -Take Time to Reflect

The opportunity to take a step back from life is a privilege that many don't have. One of the biggest benefits can be the opportunity for self reflection without the pressures of life bearing down on you. While you are on vacation enjoying fine food, drinks and sights, take a moment or two to think:

- What about my life is good?
- What are my strengths?
- What are some positive changes I can make to make myself even better?

We can all be grateful for something, and for most of us, life is not all that bad!  So take a moment on vacation to infect yourself (and others) with some positive thinking and acting!  It works. I do it all the time

Until next time, make good choices and move a little bit!

-Matt Yeager

Picture Credits:

https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR6PJaIA24SCILzeA8v04zotbpATXGmPOXkjeOGIGAJrZvzw7gC
http://thenotquiteitgirls.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/beach-workout.jpg

  

Enjoying the Journey: The True Secret to a Toned and Healthy Body that Lasts!

Let me start things off by stating what I have observed to be true with myself, my clients, and die-hard gym-goers:

Losing weight is Simple!

but this doesn't mean that it can't be a very difficult process. When I talk to individuals about losing weight, the number one reason people give me as to why they fail is:

"I love food too much to eat healthy"

Well, I guess that means that because I stick to healthy foods most of the time, that I must hate food. WRONG!  I love it!  And yes, I have a soft spot in my heart for greasy hamburgers and fries just like the rest of you health seekers.

As long as you continue to associate eating healthy with bland, tasteless dribble, you will have a hard time changing for the long term.  So what can you do?

Make your healthy food taste good, REALLY good!

If you are not enjoying the food that you are eating, you are already at a severe disadvantage.  We can all be disciplined for a period of time, but what about when you have those moments of weakness, when you just want some food to satisfy the soul? It is during those moments that you can derail your healthy mindset, so you really need to be able to work with this to ensure it does not get the best of you. 
If you know how to prepare healthy food that tastes amazing, you will have a much easier time warding off junk food cravings, and you might even learn to crave certain health foods instead.

This blog will serve many purposes, from sharing the recipes of myself and others, to discussing all things fitness related.  I invite you to join me and my team, as we explore these topics in detail, and have fun along the way.

Stay tuned for upcoming content, when we really get into the thick of it.  Until then, Enjoy life and get creative with your cooking!

-Matt