Breakfast Idea for YOU!

Referral Contest! Watch 3 minute video to learn how to win1 full year!

Hello past and present Ahwatukee Adventure Boot Campers and friends! If you haven’t already, watch this 3 minute video below and learn how YOU can WIN 1 full year of bootcamp OR get credit towards a future camp! If you are not a present or past boot camper you can still contact me to get a $100 gift card toward your first boot camp.

Click on the link below to watch the video and learn how YOU can be a big winner! Have a great day!

Thoughts on LIFE…How do YOU handle challenges?

That statement we have all heard before is really true, isn’t it? “When it rains, it pours.” I mean, how much can one person take right? Whenever I am getting piled on with one thing after another I take it as a test. I ask myself what I’m supposed to learn from this new challenge in my life? You find out alot about your character when life throws you a curve ball, especially more than one curve ball at a time.

The other day I got something in the mail and what was my first reaction? I laughed! I was like REALLY? REALLY THOUGH? COME ON, REALLY?

Just know that if you are having challenges in your life right now, you are not alone. It is true that when life starts to get the best of you is all about how you react. How you handle it, what you do when you take steps to get around or walk through life’s challenges. We all face them, all the time, every day. Keep your head up, walk through it and you will be suprised how much you will grow from the experience. And know that there is always highs and lows in life…when you have a low it makes you appreciate the highs! That is FOR SURE!

I will share some of the ways that I handle life’s challenges and I’d love to get some feedback from YOU. You can post your thoughts right on this blog below. Who knows, you may help someone else get through a challenge by suggesting a way you handle some of life’s challenges.

One of the things I like to do is call my dad. A man that graduated I ‘think’ 8th grade he jokes….back in West Virginia. A man who joined the Navy and went “AWOL” just so he could travel to New York because as he said, “I always wanted to go to New York”. A man who then moved to Michigan, married a young lady named Peggy Sue from Arkansas and proceded to have 4 beautiful children….a boy, a girl and the twin girls. He got a job with General Motors and lived a typical middle class life. This “typical middle class man” is not typical at all. He could have been a great philosoper, his words are amazing. His feedback when I talk to him is golden and I have charished every talk we have ever had. This typical man is my rock. His cure for all things challenging is laughter and knowing that it will always work out, it always does.

I recently called my dad about some challenges in my life and he always knows what to say to me. “It will all work out, Dawn. And I want you to know that I am very proud of you…I’m proud of all my kids.” Even though I am well over 20 years old now:), it always helps to know and to hear that my dad is proud of me.

The other thing I do when life gets challenging is workout, of course. I even run and I don’t like to run. It’s amazing what exercise does for the mind, body and soul. I have litereally slipped on my shoes in times of stress and just ran…..with the line “Run Forest, run!” going through my head. Sometimes I run like that scene Tom Cruise was in with his movie “Mission Impossible”….I run like THAT!

The other thing I do is LAUGH! Laughter IS good medicine. When things just start piling on, like I can’t POSSIBLY take ONE MORE THING or I’ll break, I just LAUGH!!!! I laugh so hard i cry! It’s so funny!!!

I also go and see a comedy at the movies. Nothing like a good comedy to get rid of stress!!!

Those are some of the things I do…because you know what? You only live once right? YOu may as find a way to be happy!!! We all have our ups and downs, my wish for you is that your ups WAY out weight your downs.
I’d love to hear what YOU do during times of stress or when there are challenges in your life. Please share below:)

5 Tips to Stay Fit and Fabulous this Summer

Five Tips to Stay Fabulous and Fit this Summer

1. Cook your food in bulk on Sundays and Wednesdays, then keep all the extra food in the refrigerator or freezer. Now you have healthy foods readily availabe. Then pack your food the night before each work day. Most places of work have refrigerators and microwaves available. It’s all about setting yourself up for success with eating; if you plan ahead and make it convenient for yourself, you will be able to eat right even when you are rushed at work. On Sunday, cook up or prepare enough food to last you until Wednesday. Then on Wednesday, cook up enough food to last you until Sunday. This type of convenience is a lot better than the fast food or restaurant option. We tend to get so busy at work (or at home if you are a stay at home mommy) that our gut reaction is to “run out and grab something.” Also, get a stop watch, cell phone or other timer and have it go off every 3 to 4 hours. This way won’t get so caught up in work that you forget to eat. How does anyone forget to eat? It happens when you get busy, it has even happened to me and I’m a trainer!

2. Schedule your workouts and treat it like an appointment. Women in particular would NEVER cancel their hair or nail appointment. Ladies, treat your workout like a hair or nail appointment. Men can do the same, just think of something you would never cancel.

3. Drink lots of water! Two good rules of thumb: Drink at least eight 8oz glasses of water a day or half your body weight in ounces. Realize that when it is hot out or when you are working out you will need more water. Your body can not release fat when you are dehydrated. Keeping your cells hydrated helps with digestion, flushing out fat, clearing skin and regulating all cellular functions. Thirst is not a good indicator of hydration. If you are thirsty, you are already well on your way to being dehydrated. Drink water throughout the dayrather than drinking your daily allowance all at once. Do you want to lose weight? Drink water.

4. Increase your fiber intake. Soluble fiber — found in beans, fruits, and more — aids in satiety (helping you feel full). Insoluble fiber — found in wheat bran, whole grains, nuts, vegetables, and other foods — helps keep your digestive system regular.

5 . Get real with yourself. Working out and eating right is not rocket science. If you are looking to lose weight or begin to live a more healthy lifestyle you don’t have to eat like a bird, you just have to make healthier choices. For example, before you eat that 1200 calorie slice of cheese cake ask your self if that is the most healthy choice you can make today? Before you order that 1200 calorie fast food meal deal, could you have made a turker burger with 100% whole wheat bread instead? It’s all about making healthy choices. You can do it!

Congratulations June 1st Campers! You did it!

Congrats to the June 1st campers! You did a great job this past 4 weeks and I am proud of each of you. Feel free to post below any goals you reached or any accomplishments. Or any feedback you want to share. See you next camp! Here is your group picture, enjoy.

Mindful Eating – a few tips for you!

Have you ever heard THIS come out of your mouth, “I’m so busy I forgot to eat all day!” Yes, you got up and grabbed maybe a coffee on your way to work and then at noon you went out and grabbed some lunch. Then you got busy at work or with the kids at home and forgot to eat. You threw together a quick dinner and barely ate because you had to get the laundry done and get the kids to bed.

It happens….and it happens whether you are married, single, have kids or don’t have kids. You get caught up in your busy day and you don’t really ‘think’ about eating. Planning your meals ahead of time helps and using a food log is also powerful. With a food log you write down what you eat during the day, when you ate it and the basic portions you took in at that meal.

Then there is the flip side where you eat all day and just shovel in food whenever you get the itch. Many people eat when they really aren’t hungry. You eat out of boredom, stress, not paying attention. Have you ever finished a whole bag of chips by yourself while watching a movie? You go to reach for another chip and they are all gone? Opps! Check out the calorie count on a small bag of Doritos…ouch. That’s enough calories for one whole meal. You could have made healthier choices and actually eaten more food than that 1 bag of chips.

I came across a great article about this topic of Mindful Eating and thought I would share it with you. These tips are from Susan Albers, PsyD, author of Eat, Drink, and Be Mindful. She uses the following exercises or ‘tips’ with her clients to help them develop minidful eating:
1. As you eat, pay close attention to all your senses. Use your tongue to feel the texture of the food. Gauge its temperature. Take a whiff of the aroma. Ask yourself, “How does this really taste? Is this something I really want? Does it satisfy my taste buds?”
2. Change how you eat; slow down and bring the meal to life. For example, use chopsticks, eat in a new location or include new foods in your diet. Put down your fork intentionally at least three times during a meal to give yourself a moment to pause.
3. When you eat, just eat. It’s tempting to eat as you work, talk on the phone or answer e-mail. Try turning off the TV while you eat and avoiding other distractions to keep you focused on your food. Even if it is just for a few moments, put down whatever you’re doing and foucs on your snack.
4. Get to know your hunger. Pay attention to the cues your body is sending. How does it let you know you are hungry? With a rumbling stomach? Or low energy? Before you take a bite, ask yourself, “How hungry am I on a scale of 1-10?”
5. When you have the urge to eat, ask yourself if you are physically or emotionally hungry. If you are emotionally hungry, set a timer for 2 minutes and find an activity to distract you, or another way to soothe yourself. At the end of the 2 minutes, ask yourself again. This will help you slow down the rush to eat in order to fix your feelings.

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I hope that was helpful…..now get out there and eat “mindfully”, if you don’t mind:)
Take care, DAWN

The “No DirectTV saga…continues…

Where am I at? Week 3 without my direct TV? I can’t remember. It’s wierd looking at my lonly TV…nice one too, Flat Screen HD and all that jazz. Pretty nice size…just sitting there staring at me with no heart and soul…just there. I think it’s staring at me like, “Ok, what is my purpose NOW?” Poor thing.

What I noticed the first few weeks is that I felt like I had more time and I felt less bogged down by negativity. Too much exposure to the news can really grate on you. That I don’t miss…at all. And your friends, family and the internet will keep you updated on what’s going on in the world anyway.

After the first few weeks though, I started to replace the TV with my computer and BlackBerry. I started working way too much AND spending too much time just surfing the internet. I went from one time waister to another!

So, now I’m monitoring how much time I spend on my computer and my blackberry. You can spend HOURS on the internet, facebook, texting people. It’s crazy!

Lesson to learn here from my little experiment: Life is short people! Get out and ride a bike, walk the dog, spend time with friends. Because, I will tell you what….your TV, your computer and your BlackBerry will not come to your rescue in a time of need. They will not listen when you just need a friend and they certainly will not bring you the kind of joy that your loved ones can bring to you and you can bring to them in return.

I hope you enjoy reading my blog….but after you are done here, why not call a friend and just say “HI”.

DAWN

About 2 weeks now with NO TV!

Well, it’s been about 2 weeks since I decided to get rid of my DirectTV and TV in general. A few days ago I finally packed up my directTV receivers and mailed them back. YIKES! So, the experiment begins…

The first few days were found with some extra time which was nice. I actually got to bed a little earlier too and I got a LOT done. I have to say that I love not watching the news, which is 90% negative most of the time. You may think that I would be out of the “know” or current worldly or local events. Nope, trust me, friends and relatives will keep you informed, ‘Did you you hear?”…also there is the internet, yahoo updates and such. For the most part living in oblivion is nice too! The weight of the negative stuff put in the news isn’t put on my shoulders. Very nice, very nice indeed.

Side effect: After the first week i started to replace TV time with computer and BlackBerry time and even naps! LOL! The computer thing was bad for a few days and my thumbs started to kill me from working the blackberry. So now I’m working on time management with those two items. If it isn’t one thing, it’s another.

I recommend this little experiment to anyone looking to free yourself of all the clutter that enters our brains from the television. See how much free time you acquire. I have to say that my daily productivity has definitely went up.

If you are a current boot camper of mine, try this out for a week. You may find you have more time for your kids, you get to bed earlier and you feel more positive!

I’ll keep you all posted as I head into week 3….

Also, some of my future posts will contain ab exercise ideas…a request from one of my campers, Michaela. Any other ideas anyone wants me to write about just let me know!

Ok, off to bed I go….TV FREE!

My little experiment with NO tv, won’t you join me?

So I’ve decided to experiment with the idea of living wiithout TV. What would drive me to such a CRAZY act (it get disconnected tonight at midnigh:) you say? Well… I want to see how much TIME I gain and how much my attitiude changes. TV does a great job of taking away precious time that you could be doing something productive. It also can expose you to alot of negativety, check out the next newscast you watch. Now THAT should put a spring in your step!

Also, there are some personal training programs (certifications) I’ve been wanting to take and I needed to find funds for these programs. I will save about $80 a month once the TV is disconnected. I cringe when I say this, but I’ve also taken out my $4 a day Starbucks habit and will save about $100 a month. After about 4 weeks I will allow myself 1 starbucks (or Hillside Cafe…love that place) a day. That is a savings of $180.

How can this little experiment apply to YOU? If you are trying to fit a fitness program into your budget during these hard times, try what I’m trying above. Maybe you simply cannot live without TV, but think of things that you CAN live without and would probably be good to cut out as it’s a little unhealthy anyway. Sometimes I hear this with potential cllients, “I just don’t have the money right now”…but IF you really want to make a change in your life, especially a lifestyle change, you CAN rearrange WHAT you are spending the money on and you will be suprised what you find. You can workout on your own but many people need the extra push of a trainer. This is just one example as it’s in my field. But you can apply the same idea to a trip you want to take Or that outfit you are dying to buy for your high school reunion or WHATEVER it is….

So join me on this journey and I will report back from time to time and let you know how it’s going. I may go crazy after about 1 week but I know this is going to have a PROFOUND affect on me. If you do the same I hope whatever you do has a profound affect on you too!!!

Good LUCK!

A workout for YOU!

I have to say that my boot camp ladies are tough! And just so you all know, my boot camp is for everyone. It’s really up to you to push yourself to watever your 100 percent effort is….i have ladies that have been with me for over 2 years and ladies that have just started with me. Ladies that workout all the time and are highly conditioned to ladies who have just started working out again. It’s accessible to EVERYONE. YOU can do it! Next camp starts Monday, March 22nd, register at www.AhwatukeeBootcamp.com

Hey, check out THIS workout we did the last week of our last camp:

30 jump jacks
30 hi knees
30 butt kicks
30 jump rope rotations
Repeat 2x’s

20 standing side crunches with weights (each side)
20 straight leg wood chops (each side)
1x

20 incline pushus
20 tricep dips
20 incline mountain climbers
20 deep squats (butt down, hands touch ground)
20 split squats (or reverse lunges)..alternate legs
Repeat 3x’s

REPEAT ABS again 1x

THEN BACK TO THE TOP AND REPEAT ALL OF THE ABOVE AGAIN

YOU’RE WELCOME!!! Enjoy your day of fitness! dawn

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