Check out the Hottest P90X available today!

Check out my new Team Beachbody website!

Hello All! Well, I'm at it again and I have some exciting news for you. I am always looking for new ways to help my family and friends feel good about themselves and live a healthier fit lifestyle. I know some of my vegetarian and raw food lifestyles are not for everyone, but I try. If that way of life just seems too much for you right now, you can still live healthily and be fit with a better diet and frequent exercise.

I have found something new to me that I feel strongly about and I'd like to share it with you. Most of you know that I am not fond of the typical gym scene and prefer to workout at home. While talking with some friends about pursuing my Personal Fitness Coaching career, they mentioned Team Beachbody. I had never heard of it, so I checked it out. Well, I was immediately impressed with the products featuring workout programs we've all heard of like P90X and Slim in 6 and many more. They also have a membership section that resembles the popular social networking sites where you can meet people who share a passion for fitness. You can plan virtual workout dates with other individuals and groups and then join a chat room afterwards to share your thoughts and progress with others. There is also a section to plan your fitness goals and record your progress.

I just started my membership and immediately became a Team Beachbody Coach over the weekend, so my page is not quite finished yet, but I was so excited to share this with everyone, I just had to blog about it. I hope you have the same reaction I did and you find that you can plan your health and fitness goals a bit easier in the coming new year with these programs. Please contact me either here at my blog or through my new TEAM BEACHBODY website. I am looking forward to coaching you online through Team Beachbody or answering any other health and fitness and nutritional questions you may have .


In great health, Raindrop

What Foods are You Addicted To?

Hello Again and Happy Holidays!

I am Addicted to Sugar!!!! I have been trying to break my sugar addiction for quite some time now. Some weeks I do really well controlling my cravings and not giving in to it. Then there are other times when I have such strong cravings that I give in and then I can't seem to get enough. What is up with that?

Some sugar is actually good for your body and brain function. BUT, there is so much sugar in almost all processed food that we don't need to add any more into our diets. Logically and intellectually, I know this. So how come I can't seem to get enough lately?

Eating a raw food diet and following a juice fast has been awesome and fun. And there is quite a bit of natural sugar in fruits and veggies, so I really shouldn't be craving any additional sugar. Lately, the real problem is that I am craving processed sugar. Sugar in candy like sour patch kids and hot tamales and frosted flakes. These are foods that I haven't eaten in years! Although recently, i went to the movies with the kids, and I had some candy, and now I can't seem to forget about it. Even at the time I consumed these toxic goodies, I was asking myself, "Why are you eating this? You know this is so not good for you." and I remember thinking, 'oh, you have done so well not eating these things in so long that a few won't kill you, so go for it.' Now I am regretting it and feel like I am back to square one. Oh, and I was really sick to my stomach the next day.

Do any of you have a food craving that you cannot control? Have you been wanting to give up a food habit for quite a while and haven't done it yet? Well you are not alone. We all have food addictions to some degree and of some sort. Admitting to it is the first step in solving it. So with that in mind, let's think about what it is that we can comfortably give up this coming holiday and for the new year to keep us healthy, wealthy and wise. I am going to stop beating myself up for "falling off my sugar wagon" and go forward, strong and with a clear path.

This holiday, I vow to do my best in controlling my sugar cravings, being very choosy about what types of sugar I consume and really thinking about how it will affect my body, mind and spirit. What will you do?

With visions of sugar plums, Happy Holidays!
Raindrop

Holiday Green Juice Feast Starts Today!!

Don't miss out on the HOLIDAY GREEN JUICE FEAST which starts today, Dec 1 through Dec 21. Don't worry if you start late, or can't do all three weeks. The fact that you do it at all is progress intelligently started.

My friend Jingee  is starting a Green Juice Feast to cleanse, rejuvenate, and regenerate vibrant health abundantly for the coming year, and she asked me to join her! Now that we are all getting over our Thanksgiving feasts and I am ready to plunge into this green juice feast day after tomorrow, on December 1st, for 21 days, until December 21st, the Winter Solstice. Are you ready? Who's with me?

Please join us in this adventure, for fun and support, log on to the Holiday Green Juice Feast site and join the Green Juice Feasting Community. You can join Jingee's forum, all free, here at  Holiday Green Juice Feast where you can get hints and tips on what to juice, how to juice, when to juice, recipes for juice and smoothies and all the info and health benefits that come with juicing.

One of my favorite Green Smoothie Recipes:
Large bunch of Kale or Parsley
3-4 Stalks Celery
1-2 Large Carrots
Two cups Water
1" Ginger
One lemon - juice and pulp - no skin
1 apple
1 banana
(add some cayenne pepper if you are feeling a cold or flu coming on)
Blend all the ingredients until smooth - Drink and enjoy til gone
Makes about four cups
You can strain the mixture through a nutmilk bag to remove the pulp to get pure juice
Or put it all through a juicer

I like smoothies better than pure juice when I am doing a Juice Feast because I use the smoothies as meal replacements. There are many people who just use pure juice, through a juicer, when on the juice feasts. I still feel hungry with just juice, so I prefer to keep the pulp and do smoothies, so I feel fuller, longer.

And just so you all know, and for those of you who have never Juice Feasted, there are no real rules here. Any pure green food such as Kale, Bok Choy, Swiss Chard, Romaine Lettuce, Spinach, Celery, Cucumber, or any green leafy vegetable will work for your main ingredient. All the other ingredients I mentioned above will just add more nutrition and flavor to your smoothie. You just need to know what you like, and then work with your proportions. You need to make this fun and interesting at the same time to help keep you going for the whole 21 day feast. And the more organic or locally grown food you can use, depending on your budget and location of course, the better for your body.

Don't worry if you don't juice all day or skip a day. It has to feel right for you for your time and budget. Just do what you can. Keep in mind that the more you do, the more you will want to do it and the better you will feel. Have the kids join in and see what they like as well. You will be surprised at what you can do!!

Well, I am going to make my smoothie right now. I still have kale and parsley growing in my garden that I am going to go pick - even in New England on December 1st!!! Who'da thought . . . anyway, Good Luck to all of you who try this Juice Feast.

Any help you need staying on track or any questions you have, please send them to me here or at Jingee's Forum Holiday Green Juice Feast. We are here to give you support and make it fun. I am a great motivator and Jingee leads a fabulous raw lifestyle that I aspire to all the time. She has gotten me where I am today!

In Good Health, Have Fun and Enjoy,
Raindrop