7 Reasons To Drink More Water

2. WATER, WATER, And MORE WATER! Growing up in Arizona it was practically branded in our heads to drink lots of water. Especially when exercising outside. The risk for heat stroke and exhaustion was HUGE. But I know I still didn't drink enough water growing up. And often nowadays, too many people are not drinking enough water. Think about your day. Do you start your day off first thing with a glass of water, or coffee? (right when you wake up, drink 12 oz of water to get your system hydrated and waking up!) 
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2. So here are 7 reason why to add at least half your body weight in ounces of water a day to your daily life. 
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2. 1) Weight loss- Water is one of the best tools for weight loss, first of all because it often replaces high-calorie drinks like soda and juice and alcohol with a drink that doesn’t have any calories. But it’s also a great appetite suppressant, and often when we think we’re hungry, we’re actually just thirsty. Water has no fat, no calories, no carbs, no sugar. Drink plenty to help your weight-loss regimen. 

• 2) Heart healthy- Drinking a good amount of water could lower your risks of a heart attack. A six-year study published in the May 1, 2002 American Journal of Epidemiology found that those who drink more than 5 glasses of water a day were 41% less likely to die from a heart attack during the study period than those who drank less than two glasses.

• 3) Energy- Being dehydrated can sap your energy and make you feel tired — even mild dehydration of as little as 1 or 2 percent of your body weight. If you’re thirsty, you’re already dehydrated — and this can lead to fatigue, muscle weakness, dizziness and other symptoms.

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• 4) Headache cure- Another symptom of dehydration is headaches. In fact, often when we have headaches it’s simply a matter of not drinking enough water. There are lots of other causes of headaches of course, but dehydration is a common one.

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• 5) Healthy skin- Drinking water can clear up your skin and people often report a healthy glow after drinking water. It won’t happen overnight, of course, but just a week of drinking a healthy amount of water can have good effects on your skin. And I notice that my lips aren't as chapped when I am drinking water regularly. 

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• 6) Digestive problems- Our digestive systems need a good amount of water to digest food properly. Often water can help cure stomach acid problems, and water along with fiber can cure constipation (often a result of dehydration).

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• 7) Cleansing- Water is used by the body to help flush out toxins and waste products from the body. Add a little fresh squeeze lemon in your water to help. 

And I hear all the time, "I don't like the taste of water. It is too bland. Too boring." Well, then add some fresh or frozen fruit to it and let it sit for a couple of hours or over night. It will help NATURALLY flavor water. No squeeze bottles, or powder to flavor water, Even though those only have 5 calories, they sure have a lot of extra "stuff" you don't need in your body. Stick with natural whole foods! 

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How Do You Know If You Have A Gluten Allergy

Well, I think my battle with gluten is finally over. This past weekend I went out with some gals. I had a great weekend and ate out. I thought I made some smart choices. Didn't get anything too crazy, (like I would have years ago) but I am day 2 into tummy troubles, and bloating. It is not fun.

Here is what I ate:

Saturday lunch- Jerk Chicken quesadillas with mango salsa, I ate 2 of the 4 slices.
Saturday Dinner-Club Pita with side of grilled veggies- had ham in it and that might be where most of my problem is combined with the gluten.
Sunday Breakfast-vegan cinnamon rolls
Sunday Lunch-Chicken Kabobs, salad, rice, and 1.5 slices of Naan. (I ate the whole thing. It was amazing!)

My problem,  I ate some sort of gluten at every meal. And it was just too much for my body to handle and be able to process. I think I got the message body! Ease up on the gluten. And save it, if I really have to have it, for special occasions. But not on a regular basis. :( So sad. But it will be a good thing in the end for my body because I just function better when I reduce the amount of gluten I eat on a daily basis.

How do you know if you have a gluten intolerance? 

First step, you can talk to your doctor about getting tested. But there are some signs to watch out for and if you feel like you have these signs you can talk with your doctor.

• Digestive issues such as gas, bloating, diarrhea and even constipation.
• Fatigue, brain fog or feeling tired after eating a meal that contains gluten.
• Inflammation or swelling in your joins, fingers, knees and hips
• dizziness or a feeling of being off balance
• Bumps or "Chicken skin" on the back of your arms

Gluten is in so many things these days even down to being in some extracts. It is so hard to completely eliminate it from your every day life, unless you have Celiacs Disease where you HAVE TO CUT IT OUT. One of the best ways to help figure out if you do have a gluten allergy is to eliminate as much gluten from your diet as possible. Don't eat processed foods, boxed foods, pre-packaged meals, freezer meals. And eat whole fruits and grains. Oatmeal, over toast in the morning. Quinoa, rice or zoodles instead of pasta. Eating plenty of veggies and fruits that have fiber in them to help your body be regular. 

Want more daily motivation and inspiration? Click here to join my private online community where you get info, tips, support and encouragement + a free gift with tips to help you get started with the right mindset for healthier nutrition choices TODAY!

December AB Challenge Variation

Want to change it up again with more ab workouts for this month! Check out this workout routine! Lose those love handles or upper muffin as I call it!

Celebrate The Little Victories

Celebrate the little victories which are leading you to HUGE RESULTS! This is why it is so important to take a monthly picture and measurements because the scale is a BIG FAT LIAR! The other day I went into Kohl's because I needed jeans. BADLY! I have been wearing my maternity jeans because, well, they weren't worn in the inner thigh. They still fit, but the pair I have left have been falling off my hips and hanging too low and most of my shirts weren't long enough to cover the nude colored belly elastic thingy that covers your whole belly (do you know what I'm talking about?)

Anyhew, I am going out this weekend for a girls weekend and didn't want to sport maternity jeans. I automatically went to plus sized area. And grabbed a curvy bootcut. Totally thought I picked up an 18 because there is no way I can fit in a 16. I put them on and it was tight. I ain't gonna lie. And I had muffin top from my upper belly area, above my belly button. I hate that area by the way! I sat in the dressing room freaking out, because a) I have been working my rear end off to get fit. Even Matt said my butt was literally smaller! b) I didn't want to still be pushing out of an 18. 

After a few minutes of wallowing in my sadness I looked at the tag and it said 16! WHAT! My sadness went to AMAZEMENT! I not only was able to pull up a 16 past my thighs, I was able to zip and button them without much difficulty. Just my upper bell hanging out a bit. I can not believe it! 

At some point in your journey you will have a killer awesome moment just like that, that makes all the sweat, tears and squashing those pesky excuses totally worth it! 

Are you following me on Facebook or Pinterest yet? WHY NOT! Head on over and get daily motivation! 

My Next Adventure!

I am a researcher. I try to find as much info about something before I decide to do it. From everything I have read: "workouts are easy to follow, modifier, well thought" out all those things are great but, well, I found this momma of 3 who was part of the test group for the exact same workout program I want to do next month. 20 pounds, SHE LOST 20 pounds!!! Yeah, I'm doing it.

Easy workout schedule to follow, nutrition help, daily dose of nutrition, included with the program, daily motivation and support straight from me. I have 3 slots available to join me and start the new year right. January 4 and this goes down, along with my weight and inches! 

Are you in? Send me an email or CLICK HERE and fill out the form to let me know you are interested! 

Standing Ab Workout

Since December is Ab month I wanted to share this awesome STANDING AB ROUTINE! Not all abs are defined doing crunches on the floor. Actually one of my favorite core routines I have ever done is in PiYo and almost all the moves are standing positions! And boy howdy does it work your body!

Check out these workouts to try and add a variation to your December challenge!

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Why To Eat Your Breakfast

Eat your breakfast every single day. Do not skip a good breakfast! It is too important to skip. So the word breakfast means to break your fast. You have been sleeping all night (hopefully) and haven't had any water or food and your last meal might have been around 6pm the night before. First things first, drink some water right upon waking up. Just have a cup of water right next to you and get it into your system. Then after you take care of your morning business get downstairs and have a good breakfast!

 What happens when you SKIP BREAKFAST:

It keeps your blood sugar low. When you eat breakfast it helps to regulate your insulin levels and keeps you from storing excess fat because your body goes into starvation mode and starts to hold on to all the food you eat!

It slows your metabolism. Your body is waiting for food to wake it up to get working. Skipping breakfast makes your body sluggish in waking up and getting started.

More prone to stress or feeling stressed in the day.

More likely to make up the missed meal with fast foods or binge eating. Your body is craving those calories that you miss. And you are more likely to just splurge later in the day because you are so much more hungry!

Drink your Shakeology for breakfast. It is a great way to start your day! I get a little jolt of energy after I have mine personally. Or if you save your Shakeology for later in the day, have a couple eggs and/or oatmeal or a healthy breakfast. If I am saving my Shakeology for lunch then I personally love having an egg scramble. 2 eggs with onion and bell peppers. With a side of gluten free toast or 1/4 cup of oatmeal with flaxseed and half an apple. Super easy and super delicious! 

Comment below what you had for breakfast TODAY!

Chocolate Dipped Pear Bites - EASY Holiday Tasty Treats

Who says you can't enjoy the holidays just a little. I know I didn't! I would be a hypocrite if I said that. 80/20 peeps! live your life in 80/20. 80% of the time I am eating clean. 20% of the time I allow myself to indulge just a little. You know what that does, it keeps me from binge eating like I used to do during a diet. I would say, "no, No, NO!" too long to myself on a treat or sweet and then one day I would just SNAP and I would binge eat. I would feel terrible and put myself down. I felt like a failure. (Can you relate?)

Now I don't feel like that at all. I am still losing weight even though I am eating a sweet treat during the week. Not everyday but in moderation! So for today's I found this killer dessert over at The Gracious Pantry! Make sure you check out their site for even more clean eating recipes! Check it out! Oh and this would be a fun and healthy option to your next Cookie Exchange!

Chocolate Dipped Pear Bites

Ingredients: 

Water 
2 tsp. lemon juice 
3/4 cup chocolate chips
3 pears 
1/2 cup walnuts, ground into crumbs 
candy canes or sprinkles would be great too (optional)
1 box toothpicks

Directions: 

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and have your toothpicks handy. 

Set out a small to medium bowl of water with the lemon juice in it. 

Melt the chocolate chips in a small slow cooker or microwave them, 1 minute at a time, stirring between each minute until fully melted.

Using a melon baller, scoop the balls out of your ripe pairs. Put the balls in the lemon water temporarily to keep them from browning. 

When you are ready to dip them in chocolate, place them on a paper towel to remove most of the water first.  

Using a toothpick, pick up one ball, roll in the chocolate and then sprinkle some crushed walnuts over the chocolate while it's still warm. 

Set the ball on a parchment lined cookie sheet, leaving the toothpick in the ball. 
After dipping all of the pear balls, place the entire cookie sheet in the fridge until the chocolate is hard and you are ready to serve them (at least an hour). 

December Book Club

It's the first Wednesday of the month and you know what that brings...MONTHLY BOOK CLUB! YEA! I am so excited for these books. Just going to say, do not, judge a book by it's cover or title. Seriously! Read through the description, then decide if it is something you want to read but I choose book #2 for a reason! Stick with me!

Book 1: Jen Sincero  - YOU ARE A BADASS!  How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life

I seriously love this book. I am reading it AGAIN because sometime I just need that inner "umph" to get me to feel like I really am a badass and to just stop making excuses for myself or letting other people get me down! 

In this refreshingly entertaining how-to guide, bestselling author and world-traveling success coach, Jen Sincero, serves up 27 bitesized chapters full of hilariously inspiring stories, sage advice, easy exercises, and the occasional swear word, helping you to: Identify and change the self-sabotaging beliefs and behaviors that stop you from getting what you want, Create a life you totally love. And create it NOW, Make some damn money already. The kind you’ve never made before.

By the end of You Are a Badass, you’ll understand why you are how you are, how to love what you can’t change, how to change what you don’t love, and how to use The Force to kick some serious ass.

Book 2: Brian Tracy - Eat That Frog: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time. (Hello, we all need this right! What a great book to read BEFORE the New Year to help you get the new year started right!) 

Using "eat that frog" as a metaphor for tackling the day's most challenging task, Tracy shows readers how to zero in on these critical tasks and organize their time. He details 21 practical, doable steps to stop the procrastination treadmill and get more of the important tasks done.

Know Your Why

Why do you want to lose weight? Why do you want to feel better? Why do you want to start exercising? Why do you want to run that race? WHY! Why is the driving force to why we do things. It is also that annoying question that our kids tend to give us when we explain they can't do or they need to do something. Why? Why? Why? Why? They ask 1000 times! Well, why does a kid ask you why 1000 times? Because they aren't satisfied with the answer you are giving them. They want to know the deep dark reason why they can't have that candy. "Because I said so," just doesn't cut it for them.

And you know what? You need to be just like your kid and ask yourself why until you are so raw, emotional, crying and feeling it all the way deep down into your bones.

Why do I want to lose weight? Because I am terrified to get pregnant again at a heavy weight. I'm not saying my weight last time is what made me miscarriage but I started out my last pregnancy at my heaviest weight which made physical exercise difficult and hard. I want to be healthy. I do want to blame myself again for losing the pregnancy had I had been weighing less...I don't want to endanger my life or the life of my child because of my weight. I want to exercise. I want to eat right. I don't want to feel limited by my weight while I am pregnant. I want to be here for my family. I want to run at the park and not feel winded. I want to enjoy life to the fullest! I am determined. I am persistant. I am worth it and I know I am worth it!

You have to really dig deep for your why on why you want to do whatever it is you want to do. If you don't then those pesky excuses are just going to rear their ugly heads and sooner or later you might give into those excuses. Your why has to be stronger than your excuses.

Need help finding your why? Ask yourself these questions:

1) What makes you come alive? What gives you drive to want to do something. Your kids. Your family. Your future family. What is going to give you that push to push harder.

2) What strengths do you already have? Look at what you already have going for you. Use these strengths to help you realize that you can do what you are wanting to accomplish!

3) How will your life change if you succeed? Think about the outcome of what you want to accomplish. How much different could your life be when you succeed? How amazing will you feel?

When you figure out your why I want you to write it down and post it in a place that you see everyday. On your bathroom mirror. On your computer. On your fridge. In your car. Wherever you can look at it daily, or when you are having a bad time. So that you can read your why and find that drive to keep going! You have this. You are so worth it!

Want more daily motivation and inspiration? Click here get free advice, support and encouragement + a free copy of my Clean Eating guide to help you get started on your health and fitness journey! Don't forget to follow me on INSTAGRAM and FACEBOOK!