Healthy Body Healthy Lifers,
HBHL is still expanding. Starting in December I will offer a second hot yoga class on Thurs at 6AM. Per the HBHL program you can attend one hot yoga class per week for free. If you'd like to take two classes per week, your second class will only be $9! Two hot yoga classes per week for only $9 is a steal.
Weekly Workout:
Remember: 2 HBHL instructor supervised workouts per week, and 3 on your own. To really feel the effects of the program, I'd like you all to get 5 workouts per week (remember PB workouts are quick!) but at least make time for 4 workouts per week. You are worth it!!!
Workouts:
Powerbodyz x2
2 mile minimum walk/jog/run
1 hour of yoga
Personal choice: 2 mile minimum walk/jog/run, 1 hour workout video/aerobics class of your choice, or an elliptical/bike/treadmill workout (make it count though!!!)
Fitness/Wellness Lesson:
ELLIPTICAL INTERVAL WORKOUT: I've given you a few different ways to up your training on the treadmill. But, what about the elliptical machine? I don't advise relying on an elliptical machine to get the bulk of your weekly workouts, but sometimes it's necessary to use it. Sometimes the elliptical is the most accessible in the winter when an outside run may not be feasible for you, or if you only have a few minutes to hit the gym. When you work out, don't you want to maximize your time and effort? As a busy working mom, I know I do! Don't waste your time spending 45-60 minutes at a steady state on the elliptical machine. Try the workouts at the link below. These interval workouts will help you burn more calories by alternating high intensity intervals with low intensity recovery periods. You can get a challenging and beneficial workout in 40 minutes or less!
Nutrition Lesson:
RAW FOOD- Did you successfully meet last week's challenge by ensuring 25% of your daily food intake was raw? I hope so! Ideally, you want 50% of your daily calories from raw food. You might ask, why is eating raw food so important? The cooking process (over 118 degrees) strips enzymes, vitamins, and minerals out of your food, basically depleting it of it's natural healing properties. Cooked foods that are stripped of these vital nutrients are harder to digest because it requires your body to make the missing enzymes during the digestion process. Raw foods already contain all the necessary digestive enzymes helping your body digest and cleanse quickly and naturally.
Eating raw foods is beneficial to your health because they are easy to digest, boost your metabolism and facilitate the natural detoxification process of your body. Other raw food benefits include weight loss, more energy, and extra hydration for anti-aging. Also, I believe that the majority of raw foods can heal your body. Yes, food is medicine and you might find that by eating more raw food you won't have to rely on unnecessary medications. There is an ancient Chinese Proverb that says, "He that takes medicine and neglects diet, wastes the skills of the physician." * Note: I'm not saying you should not take medications prescribed to you by your doctor. What I am saying is that when adopting a 50% raw food diet, you might find you get sick less often and require less over the counter drugs to feel better.
The good news? 75% dark organic chocolate is raw and sweet- perfect for an after meal dessert that dos not interfere with the natural detoxification process! Please don't be intimidated by raw foods. It doesn't mean that you eat massive amounts of kale or spinach, there are lots of different raw foods out there -- fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds, superfoods, sprouts, seaweed, kimchi -- the first step is educating yourself on the different ways you can incorporate raw foods into your lifestyle. Another alternative, if you are adverse to the taste of some of these healthy raw foods, is to put them in soups or smoothies. Not only is blended food easier to digest- ultimately, leaving your body more energy for other things- but you can easily "hide" nutrient rich raw foods into your daily food intake. If you already do morning smoothies, try adding goji berries, spinach or kale to your drink. You don't have to do it all at one time, but slowly start adding some of these super foods and see if you notice a difference!
And by the way.... I'm not telling you to adopt a 100% raw food diet. My mantra is always moderation, so with that in mind- a 50% raw food goal is ideal. Personally, I always have a raw food breakfast (in the form of a smoothie) and then at least 50% of my lunch, dinner, and snacks are raw. A previous lesson described the benefits of steaming broccoli... some foods are actually better when they are slightly cooked- which is why a 50% raw food goal is optimal because it's reasonable to adopt individually, and it allows the incorporation of certain foods that actually benefit from the cooking process- broccoli being one of those foods :)
To sum up: Focus on eating a 50% raw food (fresh, water & fiber rich fruits and vegetables) every day. The less energy your body has to use during the digestion process, the more energy you will have for detoxing, healing and your overall vitality! Check out this raw food information blog, by Dr Junger- the author of the cleanse we are doing in January:
PUMPKIN/SQUASH- Ahhh... fall is here. The trees have definitely changed, we "fell back" with the time change, and leaves are falling to the ground. However, last year we did a Turkey Trot in our shorts on Thanksgiving, so the warm weather might not have completely disappeared yet! I do love the fall for one thing- besides Decaf Pumpkin Spice Soy Latte's at Starbucks- warm soups, and recipes with pumpkin and squash. Pumpkin and squash are chock full of essential nutrients: Vitamin A, carotenoids, vitamins C, K, and E, plus magnesium, potassium, folic acid, niacin, and iron. This week I'm included 2 that I recently discovered- Vegan pumpkin bread and Butternut Squash Veggie side dish.
Weekly challenges... so we've introduced meatless mondays, 5 servings of fruits/veggies per day, and 25% raw food. Now, let's try for that 50% raw food each day. Try it and see how it makes you feel!!!
Have a wonderful week! As always, feel free to email me with any questions :)
Namaste,
Jannell
Jannell MacAulay, BS Biology, MS Kinesiology
Certified yoga and fitness instructor
healthybodylife@me.com
www.myhealthybodyhealthylife.blogspot.com
healthybodylife@me.com
www.myhealthybodyhealthylife.blogspot.com
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