Holiday Health Tips for Weight Loss and Wellness

We’ve all heard the statement… the average weight gain between Thanksgiving and the New Year is 10 lbs. I’m here to tell you that it doesn’t have to happen to you!

 In a year that feels out of control, your health is one thing that you have 100% control over. Every bite you take and every minute spent moving your body is entirely up to you.

Holiday time is an especially busy time for all of us. Let’s make a game plan for staying fit! It absolutely can be done and I guarantee if you plan out your health, you will feel so much better come January 1 than if didn’t!

Using holiday as an acronym is a great way to remember what to do! Here we go…

 Have a daily plan. Literally, put your workout in your calendar like any other appointment. You are not allowed to cancel on yourself. The same goes for your meals, plan out the week to take the daily decision of what to eat off your plate(pun intended)!

Overwhelming is a holiday word. Take a break and go for a walk or use a meditation app for a quick way to calm down.

 Look to your long-term goals. Many decisions we regret are made in the spur of the moment. How do you want to feel in the morning? Next week? Starting off the year? That answer may get you to put that cookie down!

Include strength training/core work into your day every day! Adding in a quick plank when you need a break, or doing 20 counter push ups and 20 squats  every time you go into the kitchen will add up and keep your muscles active during the day.

Don’t restrict yourself. This leads to binge eating every single time. Decide ahead of time what is special and really worth eating. There’s a lot of excess food around this time of year. That doesn't mean you have to indulge in everything. Store-bought cookies are a pass, family recipe cookies are a do! Make every bite worth it to you!

 Always add veggies into your day! It’s a carbtastic time of year but our bodies need the fiber from veggies to stay running smoothly. Roasted veggies, homemade veggie soup, raw veggies for snacks are just a few ways to get them into your day.

 You ARE worth the time it takes to do all of these things! It’s empowering to own your health, your goals, not gaining weight, and staying fit. Seeing people feeling like they don’t have time is just an excuse.

 The choice is yours?  Come January 1, how do you want to feel?

Successful Weight Loss Stories from The Perfect Balance Tribe

In my career as a trainer/coach, I've seen more of my clients fail than succeed. By a lot. Yup, it's the truth.

 Why? I can give my clients all the info they need to be successful. If they don't put it into action, they will not succeed. It comes down to this..you've got to put the work in to see change. Your health is not the Secret where you put it out in the Universe and it magically changes.

 Lately, I've had more success with my clients (Tribe members) than ever before! They are doing the work and seeing success! Let me say this. if you work the plan, the plan works. It's so gratifying to see so much success that I felt compelled to share!

 As women (sorry, guys we are a different breed), we can get super emotional about our weight, our food, our bodies. It's just the way it is. Throw in some hormones and stress = recipe for letting go of any rational thoughts/actions in regards to our health!

 The best tool I tell my clients to use is myfitnesspal, a scale, and a measuring tape. You have to be accountable to yourself if you want to see change happen. Oftentimes, we don't want to face reality with ourselves. I've certainly been there myself.

About 8 years ago I was not in a good place. My dad had just passed, it was a rough 3 years of taking care of him, I had an injury and I wore a lot of baggy clothes. The last thing I wanted to do was get on the scale. But...after his funeral, I had had enough. I felt awful in my own skin. So I gingerly stepped on the scale(come on now, no one hops on the scale?), saw the number, cringed and thought ok, game on. It's time to get the weight off. 

The next day I started logging on myfitnesspal. I weighed in once a week with about a one lb loss on average. I took measurements as well. It's not glamorous, sexy or quick. But it did add up, week after week.

Whatever your goals are, I'm here to tell you that you CAN reach them. Whether it's doing one full body push up, adding 10 minutes of strength training into your day, drinking more water, or losing weight. It takes time, consistency, and dedication to yourself and your health!

The Power of Compoud Interest, Investing in Health for Weight Loss

My husband gets emails called A Learning a Day. He forwarded this along to the rest of us.

 It made a big impact on me and I had to share this with you...

I love every reminder I can get about the story of Ronald Read.

Ronald Read worked as a gas station attendant and janitor at JC Penney’s. He was known to be a frugal man. After losing his wife at 50, he lived alone for the rest of his life and enjoyed chopping wood.

 After his death, folks in his community realized he had left two million dollars to his stepchildren and an additional six million dollars to the local library and hospital.

 How? He consistently invested his savings in (an eventual portfolio of 95) blue-chip companies whose businesses he understood and held their stock for most of the rest of his life.

There are many fascinating lessons from his story – making a life by what we give vs. get, the importance of savings rate, time in the market vs. timing the market, etc.

 But, to me, one that always stands out is the transformative power compound interest can have in our life. Small consistent investments in all important areas of our life—health, money, learning, relationships—compound in magical ways over time.

 Here’s to making one such investment today…

Invest in yourself and your health every single day!

 If you have trouble doing this, join my Tribe! I'll motivate you daily to take better care of your health.

Or subscribe to my YouTube channel here. I have workout videos, stretching videos, recipes, straight talk, one minute of peace and so much more!

 P.S. A follow up to my high school friend who made a plan and stuck with it. 4-1/2 months later she reached her goal weight. She made a plan and stuck to it. Weight loss is never a quick fix. But changing habits will pay off over time!

Being Thankful for Health, Home, and Family

It's been a hell of a year. A tumultuous 9 months with uncertainty about if/when things will ever get back to normal. Well, our new normal.

 It's easy to focus on the bad. All the things that we have lost.

Today and this week, I want to focus on the top 3  things we can all be thankful for... 

1- Your Health. Obviously, this is my #1. We have more time than ever to take care of our health. By taking care of your physical health, you are also taking care of your mental health. Not motivated? Adult up(another way of saying man up!)

It's your responsibility to take care of your health. No one else can do it for you!

2-Your home. Driving through downtown Sacramento and seeing so many homeless is beyond awful. If you've got a roof over your head, be thankful for it.

 3-Family. I heard from many they have had it up to HERE with so much family time. I have a feeling we'll look back at this time and be thankful we got to spend so much time together. Kids grow up and leave the house. Any extra time spent together is great.

Belly Fat and the Menopause Middle: Why You Should Lose the Weight

I get together with 2 of my besties from high school every summer. We met running cross country in high school. Luckily fate put us all in the same carpool. Between all the runs, the sweat and all the time driving to meets/home we  bonded for life.

This past July we got together and one of my friends was saying she's got extra weight around her belly—like the menopause middle. The discussion following that was about why she gained and what she could do about it. Obviously, I was more than thrilled to help her out!

She decided she wanted to do a challenge starting in August after her birthday. No wine for a month. Along with logging her calories daily and adding in consistent movement and using some of my YouTube videos for strength.

First month she's down 5 lbs. She was excited and motivated to keep going. She added biking to her week along with her other goals. To date, she's down 17 lbs. That's 3-1/2 bags of sugar!!! Not only that, she's adding years to her life. Belly fat is the most dangerous fat you can have. Here's why...

Visceral fat coats some of your internal organs and hangs down like an apron from your large intestine,” says gastroenterologist Samuel Klein, chief of the Division of Geriatrics and Nutritional Science at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. “It's associated with an increased risk of metabolic diseases, including insulin resistance, high blood pressure, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and fatty liver disease.”

Not only is she changing her own life, she just told me today how many people she's inspired to lose weight...her husband, her business partner, her stepbrother and his wife, and her dad and his wife!

This absolutely made my morning! Music to my ears! Something we talked about in July is having such an awesome impact on her family!

If you need extra encouragement and motivation, join my Tribe! I'm here to help!

Change Your Health and Lose Weight: Do's & Don'ts

Over my years in the fitness industry, I've seen people really overcomplicate their health and wellness journey, from super-specific foods to cook and eat at certain times, to detailed workout routines that were too extreme to maintain long term.

Here's a shortlist of Do's and Dont's to help you on your own wellness path...

 1-If you don't like it, don't do it.

Aside from when I was a kid, I've never liked cycling. But I got certified as an instructor because it was the hot thing. I hated it, every single second of it. My body doesn't like to cycle. I'd rather put a bike on my shoulder and run up a hill than cycle up a hill. No biking for me = check!

 2-If you aren't where you want to be- do something about it!

7 years ago I was 20 lbs heavier than I am now and felt AWFUL in my own skin. I had had enough. I faced the scale and was dedicated to logging on myfitnesspal until I lost the weight. Taking action is the only way something is going to change, complaining about it doesn't ever change a thing.

3-Try something different.

I can't tell you how many clients have said over the years, xyz used to work for weight loss and it doesn't anymore.

This could go towards movement or your food. There are endless videos you can try on YouTube- zumba, yoga, bodyweight workouts, walking at home, dance and the list goes on and on. Point is, our bodies are meant to move- find something that brings a smile to your face and do it daily for 10 minutes. Start there and see what happens.

You CAN change your health by changing things up! How you want to feel in your body day in and day out is 100% up to you. It's a daily decision. I'd LOVE to know if this inspires you to try something new!

Live Like Shampy! Daily Lessons on Better Health and Weight Loss

Who is Shampy? She's a 13-year-old half Maltese/half Shitzu blonde bundle of love who is on our camera roll more than any human in our family.

As I was walking her today, I thought....hmmm I wish more people lived like Shampy does. They would benefit from her daily lessons.

1-Walk often. She gets a minimum 3 walks a day plus several more off-leash just down a few houses on our street. Our bodies are meant to move, not sit all day. Imagine what you'd feel like if you took 5-6 walks a day. Even short ones like 10 minutes!

2-Rest when you are tired. So often we eat, drink coffee or energy drinks instead of actually resting. Shampy takes many naps a day including sun naps when it's nice! Most of us are deficient in Vitamin D and could use a sun nap now and then!

3-Be happy every single day. She wakes up wagging her tail and is happy all day every day. Life doesn't get her down. She misses her brother and sister who are don't live at home anymore, but she's living her best life daily.

 4-Go to bed early and get a good night's sleep. She often puts herself down before we head to bed. She knows when it's time for her to shut it down for the day. Get more sleep is the bottom line. It's THE most important thing you can do for yourself and your health!

If you need inspiration and motivation on your health journey, I'd love you to join my Tribe! I want you to feel better in your own skin, move more, eat better and live longer!

Chef Art Smith: Losing Weight with Better Food and Exercise

In a recent AARP magazine (yup I get it every month), there was an article on Art Smith. I had heard of him before as I watch a lot of cooking shows, but wasn't too familiar with him.

Last February he weighed 330 lbs and had type 2 diabetes. He took responsibility for that saying-"Who could I blame? The food I'm know for is Southern comfort food. I already knew how to lose weight. I'd lost 100 lbs. 10 years ago, but I hadn't kept it all off."

Art was lucky, he had a friend who was a trainer quarantine with him and his family. Not only didn't he gain the Corona 15, but he also lost 80 lbs! How'd he do it?

In his words ... "I don't have a diet; I'm just specific about what I eat. Tons of fruits and vegetables. I take temptation out of the kitchen and substitute lighter ingredients when I can. And exercise is crucial. You can't take health shortcuts, especially as you age."

There is SO much we cannot control right now. Our world is insane right now with fires all around us in CA, the presidential election coming up, and so much more.

 We CAN control how we treat our bodies. This is something we can all do every day. Eat more veggies. Drink more water, get up and walk more, take temptation out of your kitchen and do some push-ups while you are there!

If you need inspiration and ideas on how better to manage your health, join my Tribe! I want you to feel amazing in your own skin and have loads of ideas on how to help you get there!

Success Story: Weight Loss, 19 Pounds Later

Do you like success stories?

I LOVE them! I love seeing them in magazines, on social media, in real life and especially from people that I coach!!!

Let me brag a little on a HUGE success one of my clients has had in 3 months of working with me. When we first started working together, she didn't give food much thought. She grabbed what she could (unfortunately she works by a Dairy Queen and a lot of fast food). She's a former runner—completing a few half marathons but currently was not running. Water??? What's that? Veggies were pretty much non-existent. Stress eating was a constant.

3 months later, she's down 19 lbs!!!!! Let's just call that 4 bags of sugar shall we? 4 BAGS OF SUGAR gone off her body! She is drinking enough water. She discovered she LOVES veggies, especially BAS(big ass salads), and is feeling pretty damn great in her own skin!

 What changed? Well, she's following my advice/plan! Instead of stress eating, she's using a meditation app when she's stressed (insight timer) and or doing karaoke on YouTube! She loves to sing and found a way to do this and enjoy herself! She's actually thinking about food and we've made a daily game plan for her. She just told me yesterday that although she CANNOT believe it, she's not having any sugar cravings anymore!

If I could sing like her, I'd burst out in song right now for all of you reading this! She's following the plan we made, she's making progress, she's changing some bad habits into good ones, and feels GREAT!!!

It's NEVER too late to change! To do this, you've got to change some habits. Find ways to deal with your emotions besides eating. Like singing, going for a walk, calling a friend, getting some fuzz therapy, reading a book, having a good cry, screaming into a pillow, working out and the list goes on and on and on!!!

You CAN become a success story. You are the actor, director, and producer of your own movie!

Losing Weight Should Not Be Complicated

I used to get every single women's health magazine looking for the key to weight loss. Each one had monthly articles about how many calories you should eat or the latest fad diet. After too many years of not really liking much of anything I was reading, I canceled all my subscriptions. Bye-bye to fitness, hello to People (guilty pleasure), Oprah, and Real Simple.

Until I picked up an issue of Men's Health. I love this magazine. No BS, great articles and workout advice! This month's edition has an article about a Hollywood actor who lost over half his body weight.

I was not shocked to read this guy tried all the diets before deciding on a healthful approach to eating. After a lifetime of losing/gaining, he was ready to lose and feel good.

 What he found out ... foods that were nutritious—dark leafy greens, chicken, salmon also tended to be lower in calories than any fast food meal out there. As he became calorie-conscious, he started to turn his eating habits around. It occurred to him that it was simple.  "I couldn't blame GMO's, carbs, sugar, red foods, white foods, non-organic foods, dairy or animal products on my weight, it was simple math. I was eating too much."

 Our health should not be complicated. All diets work until you go off of them. Eating for health, for long-term vitality and wellness is not hard. Eat mostly food grown from the ground. Drink water. Avoid fast food. When you want a snack, grab an apple.

 This is his conclusion to the article...

"The biggest gift through all this has been learning that I can have whatever sort of body I want. All it takes is understanding how—and then trusting myself to follow through."

 We all have the ability to change, if we want to. It's a daily decision. You CAN change by changing your daily habits one at a time!

If you need inspiration and motivation, I'd LOVE you to join my Tribe! The success that the members are having is amazing! It's a supportive group of people who are making changes in their lives and as a result are losing weight, feeling better, and are all there to cheer each other on!

Tips on How to Move More During the Day to Promote Weight Loss and Better Health

A friend of mine asked me to write a newsletter about what someone CAN do from home without really working out. She was asking for a friend :).

Seems like most people work from home these days and are hunched over a computer or a phone for hours at a time.

In the past, I've advised people to set their alarm for every 60-90 minutes to get up and move for a few minutes. Well, that worked for exactly no one!

I've got a few new ideas to help you (or loved ones) move during the day.

Every time you go to the kitchen, do some counter push ups. Doesn't matter how many, as Nike says...Just Do It!

Every time you go to the bathroom (and you should be using the bathroom at least every 2 hours or so...at the longest), close the lid and do some squats.That means touch your butt to the lid. Again, I'm not giving you a number, just do them.

BTW-I've had LOADS of conversations about how much water to drink... here's my super scientific advice- By the time you eat lunch, your urine should look like light lemonade. If it's clear you are over hydrated. Stop drinking so much! If it's dark like apple juice or darker, start drinking more water STAT!!!!

Every time you get up and get something to eat, take a 3-5 minute (non-negotiable) walk around the house, or around your house. Your body needs to move. If you haven't read lately, the health experts are calling sitting the new smoking!

Lastly, let's talk posture. I see so many young and old hunched over. Let's work on that right now. Every time you drive, make sure the back of your head hits the head rest.  That is perfect posture. At home, go and stand back against the wall and walk away, that's perfect posture. Let's keep you upright and looking straight ahead instead of down! Your future self thanks you!!

If you haven't subscribed to my YouTube Channel The Perfect Balance- you can do so here. I have loads of videos there for you. From 1 minute of deep breathing playlist, to a how to playlist, to a stretching playlist!

What Would Your Future Self Say To You Today?

Do you ever find yourself saying ... if I could go back in time, I'd do it differently?

Part of growing up is making mistakes along the way and learning from them. That makes us who we are today!

But today, I want to talk about your health and what your future self would say to you right now!

Would your future self say, well you did ok, but because of your decisions from the last 3, 6, or 9 months—I don't feel great. In fact, I wish you had made different decsions!

We all have daily decisions that we make that all add up to how we feel inside our Ferrari (our body) every single day. If you don't like something about your physical health/self, it's up to you to start making small changes today. So that in a month, you can feel better!

My A-HA moment with this was after my accident, my sports guru told me, "Pam, had you not taken such excellent care of yourself/your health, your injuries would have been far worse." Yes, that is in quotations as I remember it clear as the day he said it. How I took care of myself made a huge difference in what could have been a horrific situation.

It's not just about weight loss. It's about what goes on inside our bodies. A lot of the disease that is killing many Americans(heart disease) can be traced back to what goes in the pie hole. 

Mindset is Everything in Life, Health, and Losing Weight

My old coach said, how you anything is how you do everything!

Do you get all fired up over small things? Do you wonder why things don't go your way? Or do you roll with the punches and stay positive?

I'm definitely in the last group. My whole life. When sh*t hit the fan, I usually went for a run to cope and de-stress. The situation never changed but my mindset/mental health was always so much better.

Same goes for my accident. I took it one step at a time. One day at a time. I got through it by staying positive. After all, it was better than being dead! BTW- this is not a statement made casually, it was my mantra during the entire ordeal. So much so, my family got me a pillow that says Better Than Dead as a gift!

Today, I got my first flat tire. I had just picked up a dear friend, and we had picked up lunch to be eaten back at her house. We pulled into a parking lot when the car felt funny. Yup, flat tire. I called AAA and we laughed and had a car picnic!

Now, 20 minutes prior, I was on a freeway in the middle lane. That would have been an entirely different situation. But getting a flat in a place where I could pull over safely and eat a yummy BAS and catch up with my friend= awesome!

Mindset is everything, my friends! If you find yourself being negative Nelly, turn that around. One day at a time!

To Lose Weight and Be Healthier, No One Else Can Do It For You

Recently I was talking to a friend who had a family member undergo gastric bypass surgery. The family member was so excited to have the surgery and finally feel good in their skin.

 Uggghhhh. I've personally known 6 people who have had that surgery and 5 put most of the weight back on. It's not a quick fix. It's not a lifelong solution either.

 It seems in our country, people are more focused on taking pills, getting surgery or other avenues to take care(or not) of their health instead of moderate steps in order to prevent obesity/disease.

 Your health is the ONLY thing you can't hire anyone to take care of for you. YOU have to do the work- both by what goes in the pie hole and how you move. If you don't like how you feel, it's up to you to change!

 Hopefully, I've taught you anything by my weekly emails, I hope it's to take better care of yourself day in and day out. We only have one body to go through life in, why not fuel it with top-notch fuel, rest, and keep moving it so it keeps moving!

 It's my hope you go through each day thinking about yourself and your health. That you put yourself on your calendar every single day to move your body, go for a walk and not put junk in the pie hole. You are a Ferrari after all, NOT the Delorean from Back to the Future that ran on garbage!

Fight Obesity and Lose the Weight

My tagline your health is your wealth rings true now more than ever. So many people are dying from COVID. The risk factors of getting COVID include: people that are over 60 years, people who have underlying medical conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, respiratory disease, or hypertension are among those who are at greater risk. Nothing you haven't already read I'm sure.

Today in my local paper, there was an article on obesity. It talked about a chief medical examiner who lost weight because of his work in the morgue tracking covid cases. He said, "obesity is a factor in a lot of cases. It motivated me to lose 18 lbs and I'm not overweight to start with," this from Dr Craig Mallak.

 "The dominant message so far in the pandemic is that older people are the most at risk. Doctors are also finding obesity is making it harder for people to fight off the virus REGARDLESS of age."

 That's a scary statement for the United States. We have one of the highest rates of obesity in the world. The article further discussed two doctors talking about if it will get as bad as Italy her in the U.S. One doctor said, "it's going to be worse because we have high rates of obesity."

It's not just a few extra COVID lbs that are the problem. Obesity makes it harder for your body to fight off infection. It seems people are always looking for a shortcut to losing weight rather than changing lifestyle habits. Making your health a priority every single day can literally save your life.

If you need help, there are 2 ways I can help. By joining the Perfect Balance Tribe. And/or- I do private food coaching. Losing weight will always be about what goes in the pie hole. I can help you lose weight by keeping you accountable for what you eat! If you are interested please contact us!

The Best Habits to Help Lose Weight

As most of you know, I am a big believer in creating new habits into your day to develop a healthy lifestyle.

Add a BAS (big ass salad) most days of the week in the spring and summer.

Frontload your day with water. Yes, yes, yes, coffee is a food group but your body(especially your organs ) needs water.

Add movement into your life and keep moving forever.

Recently, I was getting my teeth cleaned and my hygenist asked if I was using my Sonicare toothbrush. I told her not as much as I should because by the end of the night I am wayyyyy too tired to spend two minutes brushing. Sad but true.

Now, you may be thinking...PPPAAAAMMMMMM you should be taking better care of your beautiful new teeth!!! Agreed! I felt like an idiot hearing my own excuse.

Then the ding, ding, ding went off. This is just like the hundreds of excuses I've heard from people over the years about why they couldn't change their eating/workout habits.

Because I really value my teeth (spending months with no front teeth will make you do that), I knew I needed to create a new habit. Now, I brush around 7:30-8 pm when I am wide awake! This means I am using the Sonicare every single night! I feel pretty proud of myself because my dental health is super important to me!

 If you are struggling with any aspect of your health, tackle one habit at a time. Because when you overcome your own excuses and objections and follow-through, you will feel great!

Not Losing Weight? It's Time to Change Up Your Toolbox

There's been many people over the years who have told me ... I used to do this to lose weight or this always works for me.  Hmmmmm if you have to do it over and over, I don't think it's working.

 If the tools in your toolbox(insert any diet/ plan you've done in the past) are not working for you, it's time to get a new set of tools!

It's so easy to say, well, this worked before so I'll do it again. But, if it didn't work long term, then I guess it didn't really work—did it?

I know a gal who lost 40 lbs on a super strict diet. When I talked to her she had put back on 20 and kept saying, I just need to get back to my diet and I'll drop the weight. But she never did and now is up even more.

There is no magic bullet, no one thing that works. But rather a lot of little things day in and day out that will get and keep you heatlhy and drop weight if that's what you are looking for!

Getting a new set of tools when you want to accomplish your health goals is never a bad idea. Learning more about what keeps you full, what movement you really enjoy, making more time to get up and move around, adding veggies into your day are all great tools for everyone's toolbox.

If you have goals(and I hope you do), and want to reach them. Look at your toolbox. What is in there right now?

Old stuff you've been doing over and over and not getting results?

Time to step it up and get shiny new tools to inspire you and get you closer to your goals.

Healthy Weight Loss Using Curiosity Over Negativity

The last time you fell down ... not literally but ate too much, drank too much, took too much time off of exercise, etc, how did you talk to yourself?

I'm guessing you beat yourself up. So much negative self-talk. I know I used to do this for hours over a previous night's food/drink. I was flat-out awful to myself.

Can you relate?

If you do this to yourself, I'd love you to look at it a different way! Instead of negativity, ask yourself why you did that. Why did you overeat? Why did you have that last drink?

When I look back, I know that if I had more than one beer, I'd eat too much—95% of the time. And who just wants one beer? Not me. But I literally couldn't control what I put in the piehole! Which led to food regret for far too long the next day. It happened a lot.

If this happens to you, look at why. See if you can change your behavior to feel better the next day. I know I spent far too many hours hating myself for my actions. Life is too short for anything except loving yourself. You are stronger than you know. You CAN change!

How to Live to 100+: Lose Weight, Eat Less, Exercise & More

Do you think about getting older? Wonder how you'll feel? Worry about how you'll feel?

My Sunday paper had a layout with an amazing 105-year-old woman (Ida Keeling-who I've written about here before) with sculpted arms who is a sprinter and says "I'm running from old age."

It's hard to think about aging...there are so many who don't take care of themselves or their health and bear the brunt of that as they get older.

 There were so many gems in that article, I had to share!

 "It's a myth that the older you get, the sicker you get. It's more like, the older you get, the healthier you've been," says Thomas Perls, M.D. who's tracked thousands of 100 plussers in his New England Centenarian Study.

Until you’re in your late 80's or 90's, genes get only a 1/4 of the credit. The rest is down to simple health behaviors.

These include:

Eating less: Just enough to maintain healthy body weight. (I can just hear some of you saying, Pam!!!!! that's no fun! Remember, this is not coming from me but doctors who studied people who lived 100+ years!)

Be Cheerful: being outgoing, optimistic, and easy-going. The good news—if you're not born this way you can develop these characteristics!

Stimulate your brain: Crosswords, sudoku, or other puzzles are great ways to stimulate your brain. Or learn a language! With free apps, it's accessible for everyone!

Exercise 45 minutes a day: It doesn't have to be all at once! Two or three shorter sessions that add up to that works! Experts say that lifelong movement from climbing stairs to walks to weight lifting is the longevity aid ranked #1!

Eat a mostly plant-based diet: Focus on protein (but NOT much red meat … yes I'm directly talking to certain someone who is reading this right now), healthy fats and complex carbs (veggies other food grown from the ground like sweet potatoes).

 IF you are not doing any of those, pick one and master it! Then add another one in until you've got that down. Success comes from taking baby steps, mastering them, and moving on!

When It Comes to Losing Weight, Don't Be a Victim

Recently a friend was telling me she just can't get her health together. Her job was crazy, her kids kept her busy, she was overloaded …

That same week another friend in a similar situation said almost the same thing but told me she makes sure to schedule time to workout daily because it helps. Both with her mental clarity and she starts the day off right. She also packed her food for the day so she wouldn't be tempted by the crap at the office. She walked at lunchtime just to be out in the fresh air and all these things led her to feel great.

Some people just can't get out of their own way.  Life happens to them. I want you all to be in control of your health daily.

Regarding your health, do you make excuses as to why you aren't taking the best care of yourself possible? Or do you take steps needed to take care of yourself?

 I'm not talking about hours of exercise or extreme eating friends. I'm talking about making time for yourself and your health every day. We only get one body to go through life in ... I want you to take such great care of yourself that you feel amazing in your own skin every single day!

If you are a victim ... great news! You CAN totally change! Starting today, plan 15 minutes of movement and add some veggies to your plate. Keep doing that for a few days and see how you feel.

 There is no better feeling out there than taking excellent care of yourself! You are never too busy to put your health at the top of your to-do list. Or on your daily calendar. You ARE worth it my friends!