Recommitted With My Man!

Now that I am almost over the chest cold that has been plaguing me for about a month..I am ready to hit the fitness trail once again. I've kept my eating under control and my weight down, but I've gotten "soft" and am ready to TONE IT UP! After all..tank top & shorts season is right around the corner. I really don't want flabby arms and legs popping out all over the place! I want to be toned and fit! Don't we all??

I've committed to start a 4-week intense round of Slim Series THIS Monday! Its the next step from Slim in 6, where I started my journey at over a year ago. I apologize that the video is no longer there. I can't find a new one..but when I do I'll post it.

My husband is joining me in getting fit for summer..for LIFE..and this time he's taking on his first Beachbody program, rather than doing something on his own.

P90X...BABY!!!




If you would like to join us..visit my WEBSITE to sign up to have me as your Coach(remember it's free!), and order your program, TODAY! If you join the Beachbody Club..you'll get 10% off of every order! There is so much to choose from..you will definitely find something that meets your needs.

Tomorrow..a little talk about supplements!

Worth The Read!

CAFFEINE EXPERTS AT JOHNS HOPKINS CALL FOR WARNING LABELS FOR ENERGY DRINKS

Johns Hopkins Medicine
Media Relations and Public Affairs
Media Contacts: Eric Vohr
410-955-8665; evohr1@jhmi.edu
Sept. 24, 2008

- Caffeinated energy drinks may present health risks

Johns Hopkins scientists who have spent decades researching the effects of caffeine report that a slew of caffeinated energy drinks now on the market should carry prominent labels that note caffeine doses and warn of potential health risks for consumers.

"The caffeine content of energy drinks varies over a 10-fold range, with some containing the equivalent of 14 cans of Coca-Cola, yet the caffeine amounts are often unlabeled and few include warnings about the potential health risks of caffeine intoxication," says Roland Griffiths, Ph.D., one of the authors of the article that appears in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence this month.

The market for these drinks stands at an estimated $5.4 billion in the United States and is expanding at a rate of 55 percent annually. Advertising campaigns, which principally target teens and young adults, promote the performance-enhancing and stimulant effects of energy drinks and appear to glorify drug use.

Without adequate, prominent labeling; consumers most likely won't realize whether they are getting a little or a lot of caffeine. "It's like drinking a serving of an alcoholic beverage and not knowing if its beer or scotch," says Griffiths.

Caffeine intoxication, a recognized clinical syndrome included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and the World Health Organization's International Classification of Diseases, is marked by nervousness, anxiety, restlessness, insomnia, gastrointestinal upset, tremors, rapid heartbeats (tachycardia), psychomotor agitation (restlessness and pacing) and in rare cases, death.

Reports to U.S. poison control centers of caffeine abuse showed bad reactions to the energy drinks. In a 2007 survey of 496 college students, 51 percent reported consuming at least one energy drink during the last month. Of these energy drink users, 29 percent reported "weekly jolt and crash episodes," and 19 percent reported heart palpitations from drinking energy drinks. This same survey revealed that 27 percent of the students surveyed said they mixed energy drinks and alcohol at least once in the past month. "Alcohol adds another level of danger," says Griffiths, "because caffeine in high doses can give users a false sense of alertness that provides incentive to drive a car or in other ways put themselves in danger."

A regular 12-ounce cola drink has about 35 milligrams of caffeine, and a 6-ounce cup of brewed coffee has 80 to 150 milligrams of caffeine. Because many energy drinks are marketed as "dietary supplements," the limit that the Food and Drug Administration requires on the caffeine content of soft drinks (71 milligrams per 12-ounce can) does not apply. The caffeine content of energy drinks varies from 50 to more than 500 milligrams.

"It's notable that over-the-counter caffeine-containing products require warning labels, yet energy drinks do not," says Chad Reissig, Ph.D., one of the study's authors.

Griffiths notes that most of the drinks advertise their products as performance enhancers and stimulants - a marketing strategy that may put young people at risk for abusing even stronger stimulants such as the prescription drugs amphetamine and methylphenidate (Ritalin). A 2008 study of 1,253 college students found that energy drink consumption significantly predicted subsequent non-medical prescription stimulant use, raising the concern that energy drinks might serve as "gateway" products to more serious drugs of abuse. Potentially feeding that "transition" market, Griffiths says, are other energy drinks with alluring names such as the powdered energy drink additive "Blow" (which is sold in "vials" and resembles cocaine powder) and the "Cocaine" energy drink. Both of these products use the language of the illegal drug trade.

Griffiths and colleagues are currently collecting case reports of intoxication from energy drinks in children and adolescents. If readers are interested in learning more, go to http://www.bpru.org/energydrinks/ .

Eric C Strain, M.D., from Johns Hopkins also contributed to this study.

Green Coupons

I don't know about you, but I love coupons! I have a fairly large family, and if you include the extended family that comes over at least every other week, I spend quite a hefty portion of our budget on groceries.

Something else that I love...is cooking & eating as healthy as I can. This includes incorporating natural, organic products into our meal plan.

I really thought I had emails & mailings coming from almost every free coupon site out there...until I found THIS!

Mambo Sprouts is a FREE coupon company that targets healthy, natural & organic products. They have savings for brands like Kashi, Stonyfield Farm, and Clif.

I'm SO excited about this site..they even have a recipe & kid section! You just HAVE to check it out...go now!

Their Fate Rests In Your Hands

Yesterday was my Cheat Day, and I had been craving my favorite Southwestern Chicken Taquitos out of the frozen food aisle. I decided to pick some up for lunch while I was out grocery shopping yesterday morning. I did my whole week worth of shopping and had my cart full of veggies, whole-wheat this, whole-wheat that, lean meats, Kashi cereal, mixed berries for my protein shakes; lots of good foods. So when I hit the frozen foods aisle, first I grabbed a couple of boxes of chopped spinach and then turned towards the frozen meal/snack aisle to grab my cheat food.

I don't pay much attention to that section of the store so I was sort of oblivious to all of the frozen snacks that have popped up over the last few months. Needless to say, I was shocked. But because I am focused on eating right, I wasn't tempted to load up my cart, nor have I ever been. I know the benefits of cooking meals from scratch. I have always fed my family homemade meals, not packaged junk. Even when I wasn't cooking very calorie-conscience meals, I at least knew better than to go the deep-fried/frozen route.

Unfortunately, not everyone does. There was a family shopping in the same aisle, and with the exception of the cookies, blocks of Velveeta, and cans of ravioli, they were filling up their cart with Hungry Man meals, and Pizza Rolls. Their daughter who was very noticeably overweight, and could not have been over 8, was running up and down the aisle looking at every option as though she could not get enough.

"Can we get these 4-cheese Hot Pockets? What about THIS? This looks SO good!", she shouted as she pulled out a arm-load of frozen burritos.

I was appalled and just wanted to shake the mother and father. What was wrong with these people? THIS was what they were going to feed their daughter for the week? This is what they fed her everyday?

Unfortunately, this is not a rare thing in this country. We are so "blessed" with abundance of food choices, many do not know how to make the correct decisions. And if you are a parent, it is YOUR obligation to feed your children food that will fuel their bodies, not kill them. That's right I said it. If you are allowing your children to eat unhealthily every single meal, and not teaching them proper nutrition, you are setting them up for a life of obesity, many health problems, and ultimately death at a younger age. This is a form of child abuse and it makes me so sad to know that it happens more than we could ever imagine.

What are YOUR thoughts on this issue? I'd love to hear about it.

For information on how to fuel your children's bodies, visit the USDA's Food Pyramid website for kids.

Peanut Butter Recalls

Unless you have not watched even 5 minutes of any news program over the last month, you are fully aware that there is another round of peanut butter recalls due to salmonella. Fortunately, this time my family did not have any of the contaminated items in our pantry, unlike in 2007 when we had a nice full jar of peanut butter that was on the list!

If you haven't already looked over the list of contaminated items you can go to the FDA's website to read all about the recalls and items that are being taken off the shelves. If you have pets, make sure you check the pet food section too!

That being said. Let me assure you that if you use or are thinking of using any Beachbody products...they are safe! Here is the statement released on the 23rd by the company:

Understandably there is concern about the recent peanut butter-related salmonella outbreak. Rest assured that all raw materials used in the manufacturing of our P90X® Peak Performance Protein Bars: Chocolate Peanut Butter flavor—and all of our nutritional products—have been microbiologically tested and certified free of salmonella. So enjoy these delicious bars worry-free.

Fans of the Clif bar, which was most definitely recalled, you may want to consider contacting me so I can help you with ordering some of Beachbody's Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein bars. They also come in other flavors as well!


Now that I got the serious out of the way, let me take a moment to thank Nikki, from Becoming Ms. Health Nut. She awarded me with the Honest Scrap award! I am a few days late in thanking her, but let me assure you I am very happy about it! My first blog award, yey!

An Important Accessory!

There are times during your workouts that you may overdo it. (Yes, there IS such a thing as working out too hard!) You may experience nausea, vomiting, dizziness, and/or become lightheaded. This has only happened to me once, and I can guarantee you it will never happen again! It was very uncomfortable and scary.

There is a very easy way to prevent this. Get a heart monitor to wear during every single workout! It looks just like a wristwatch and you can check your heart rate throughout your workout.

The key is finding out what your target heart rate range is. Once you know this number, if you are below you will know to "kick it up a notch", if you're above, take a few minutes to slow down. Walk around the room a few times until the number has dropped. Don't just stop and sit down, ease it back into the target range.

Some models will even show you how many calories you've burned during your workout! How cool is that!?

For help with figuring out what YOUR target heart rate is, please leave a comment and I will help you!

COMING TOMORROW: I'll introduce you to the program that changed my life!