Squat Challenge for a Better Booty

We all want a better booty. There is only one way to get that better booty, lost of hard work, good nutrition, getting off your butt and moving, and specific exercises to target the glutes. One of those exercises is squats. With summer around the corner, how about a squat challenge to begin building the booty?!

What will this entail:
30 Days of 50 Squats a day
This is 50 extra squats a day, if you already exercise.
You can do any type of squats you would like, try different variations, standard squats, goblet, jumping squats, wide stance, narrow stance, single leg, squat jumps up stairs. They can be body weight, weighted, a combination, use this time to challenge yourself.

Is a 30 day squat challenge going to give you that summer booty, body you are wanting? No. Be honest with yourself. But, it can set you up to begin achieving that healthy body you are wanting. To really build glutes and a healthy body, it takes months and years of dedication, hard work and spot on nutrition. We need a starting point. We need a push to take things to the next level.

What will doing 30 days of squats do for you:
Begin building your posterior chain, your back side, back, glutes, ham strings. This helps to keep you up right and will help improve your over all health.
Get you up off your butte. This is very important if you want to build your glutes, sitting for so long is disengaging your glutes and making them weak.
Already an exerciser, great! This will give you some extra work. If not, this can be the push you need to find your exercise passion.

Have not squatted or just starting out, no problem. You can do your squats to a chair or other object until you gain the strength and stability to squat on your own. We have to start somewhere. Do not allow this to be the reason you do not join this challenge. You will never get where you want until you take the plunge and go for it!

Think 50 is too many? It is a large number, but you do not have to do all 50 at once. Really, I would prefer you break them up into sets and do sets throughout the day. Remember the moving more? Sets of 5, no problem. Sets of 10, awesome. Even if you have to start with three sets of five, which would give you 15 squats a day, this is an awesome place to start. You can make it your goal to finish all 50 squats by the end of the challenge, at least once.

We will begin May 23rd through June 21st.
No charge to join.
Post your videos and photos on social media using the #30daysummerglutes

Lets build those booties!
Saving the world one stick of butter at a time.
God bless,
Jenn

3 Powerful Changes to Make for Your Health

Don't fear change. 

If you want anything to be different in your life, you have to change.

So many of us want to find health, but just do not know where to begin. There are many different theories and ideas, some very complicated and strict others are a little crazy. But hey, it is all in the name of weight lose, unfortunately some will do anything to lose weight. If you do not know where to begin to find your health, change your life, here are three powerful places to start. These three changes could be just what you need to get you on the right path and push you forward in your health journey.

Three changes to make:

1. Cut sugar

2. Eliminate processed oils, vegetable oils, hydrogenated oils

3. Work on forgiveness, emotional healing

Reasons to eliminate sugar:

Causes heart disease

Sugar is linked to cancer, causing it and feeds cancer tumors.

Increases inflammation in the body

Causes insulin spikes, which leads to weight gain and disease

Leads to diabetes

The World Health Organization is recommending you eat no more than six teaspoons a day due to the harm of sugar.

Do we really need any more reasons to eliminate sugar?

Are there sugars that can be healthy? Yes, natural sugar from fruits, veggies, honey, real maple syrup, molasses, and natural sugars from real food. Even though these can be healthier options for sugar, it does not mean you can go hog wild eating them. It is still sugar and can cause insulin spikes and all the other troubles of sugar. These are just better options, some with great health benefits like honey and fruit. What you want to eliminate is the processed food sugars, sugary drinks, artificial sugars and sweeteners. Limit the others.

Why to give up processed vegetable oils:

Can leads to heart disease

Can causes inflammation, which is a part of all disease, the more you can eliminate inflammation, the healthier the body will be.

Can leads to cancer

Cause free radical damage

Can lead to liver and immune dysfunction and skin aging

Damages the DNA/RNA in cells

Can lead to plaque build-up in the arteries

These are all reasons enough for me to avoid them.

Forgiveness:

This might be an odd one, but forgiving, letting go, moving forward, could possibly be one of the best things you do for your health. We are connected beings. Not taking care of your whole person will have a dramatic impact on your body. Not finding the health you are looking for, forgiveness might be what you are needing. You could be eating a perfect diet, exercising right for you, but your health is still failing, working on your emotional health, forgiving or dealing with past struggles might just be what you need to find your health.

These are simple changes, which tend to be the hardest to make, but so worth it in the end. Take the plunge and begin with one of them.

Saving the world one stick of butter at a time.

God bless,

Jenn

Making the Change

So appropriate from Dr. Laura 

Now that you have identified the one change you are going to begin making. what are one to three practical steps you can begin using to implement this change?

Choosing one thing to change in your diet is only the first step. You then need to actually make this change. For that, you need a game plan. Just saying, I need to make a change, does not count, those are only words. You need actionable steps to help you make the change and stick to your plan.

So, let's say your goal is to cut down on your sugar intake.
Three steps you can take:

1. Purge your pantry of sugary foods. Get them out! If it is not in your house, you cannot eat it. Restock with healthy foods, nuts, seeds, dark chocolate, dried fruit, jerky.
2. When you stop for gas, do not go in and buy the sugary drinks and foods. Have some water, tea, coffee and snacks from above in your car with you. Prepare. Set yourself up for success.
3. Add in sweet veggies, root vegetables, carrots, beets, sweet potatoes, some in season fruit and honey along with other natural sweeteners. 

There you go, three steps to take to help eliminate sugar from your diet. 

What three steps are you going to implement to help you reach your nutrition goal?

Saving the world one stick of butter at a time.

God bless,

Jenn

One Change for Health

Far to often I hear and see people thinking they need to change everything in their diet at once, which many gurus and nutrition expert taut this, change it all at once or there is no reason to make any changes. All or nothing? I do not see it this way. For most of us, this is not realistic and we do not make any changes. We continue down the same path of ill health and bad nutrition, because it won't make any difference. I am not changing everything. 

Let's change this way of thinking. One small change can make an enormous impact on your health. This change can also give you the motivation, the encouragement to make more changes. You were successful, so you have edge to move forward with one more change. Feeling healthier will give you the motivation to keep making changes and you have the energy to do.

What is one small change you can begin making today, for better health and nutrition? 

It does not need to be over whelming, large or mostly un-realistic. Keep it simple. Choose something you can do, make that change. Then, add one more when you are ready. Before you know it, you will have changed your eating habits, found your health and did it all without overwhelming yourself.

Saving the world one stick of butter at a time.

God bless,

Jenn

How to Fuel Your Workout

Have you ever stepped back and really thought about how to fuel your workouts? The importance of preparing the body with the proper food to give you the energy you need to train at your peak?
Here are some basics tips to get you started down the right path:

• Eat whole, nutrient, dense rich foods, if it grew on a plant, breathed, walked, swam, flew, grew, something you could eat if you did not have a grocery store, that is likely to be real food.
• Retrain the body to burn fat for fuel, having fat as your main energy source. This will entail eating high levels of fat and moderate carb and protein. This will give you a long lasting clean burning energy source.
• Eat enough carbs to have the energy your body needs to perform. Carbs are your friend with hard training. The key is to have enough, but not so much that you begin storing the excess as fat. Signs you need more carbs: tired, not sleeping well, not having the energy you need to workout, brain fog, among others. Good carb sources, any type of potatoes, sweet, finger ling, new potatoes, white rice, winter squash, quinoa, figs.
• Consume enough protein to build and maintain muscle and recover, but not be in excesses that it turns to fat and is stored. Go somewhere between 0.5 to 1.5 grams per pound of lean body mass. 
• Have your electrolyte stores up before your workout. You need all those minerals for your nerves and muscles to be able to fire properly for your workout. Then when you deplete them during training, you are not as far gone in your electrolytes stores. This will help with recovery. Things like sprinkling sea salt into your water, coconut water, bone broths, pickle juice, these are all great things to drink before, during and after a workout. 
• Recovery begins before the workout even starts and preparing for the next workout begins with recovery. They are one in the same.
• Make sure you are sleeping. Sleep! Strive for 7-10 hours most nights. During sleep, the body, recovers, builds, repairs, and so many more important things. Sleep is your friend.

Begin implementing a few of these at a time, see what works best for your body, what helps you train and feel your best. Everyone is a little different in the amounts of what they need. 

Go forth and train hard.

Saving the world one stick of butter at a time.

God bless,

Jenn