How is your Quality of Life?

Hope 2011 is going great!

I just came back from a 'mini vacation' to Northern California ( also known as 'the Bay'). I live in Southern California so its about a 50 minute plane ride. My friends live out there so thats my excuse to go up there from time to time.

As soon as I got off the plane I went to one of my best friends basketball practice. Well actually I was stranded at Starbucks for 2 and half  hours but who's counting and  thats a story for another time.

 My friend is the Head Womens basketball coach at a local college in the area. I was talked into playing with them at practice. ( Actually I asked and they graciously said ok) they probably wished they didnt because I ran circles around those yourng girls. I had more energy than a 3 year old with cotton candy LOL! The secret is that I love and respect the game of basketball so much that I cant help but show my passion...we had a good time!!

Anywho after a sweaty practice. We went to my friends house and had a fish fry. For those wondering what that is ...we went to her house and fried fish LOL! Yep what can I say I was on vacation and I just probably burned 1,000 calories at basketball practice and I had a salad...so dont judge me okay..

The next day was Game Day. My friends team had a big game. Needless to say they didnt do very well and lost. But it was fun to see my friend coaching her team anyway.  Afterward we went to get some food to eat and then went to karoke. No I dont make it a habit to go to karoke...and if you do more power to ya!
 I cant sing but I can dance, so we did that.

Side note: I was stretching before I was about to dance( dont judge) and some other girl decided to follow suit and ripped her jeans!!! It was hilarious wish I had a picture of that. But this one should do!  



The next day we went to the hills of Berkeley its called something but cant remember ( I'm a nature lover- I cant help it) We took pictures at the lake, overlooking the hillside and climbed a huge rock and watched the sunset. It was beautiful!! Yes  all photos were taken by me- maybe ill take up photography;)

 

Then we met up with an old college teamate for dinner and laughs. Its always a blast shout out to P.K., T.T, and Mi Mi we all have nicknames mine is C.C ( I never had a nickname growing up and now I do!) Oh and missing is Sabrina- Brittany! LOL

I capped the weekend off at Brunch in San Francisco. This was a restaurant with a D.J. good food and people dancing in the aisles. I guess thats why it was an hour an half wait? After our bellies were full we walked it off  for a few hours, we watched the playoffs and I hopped on a flight back to Southern Cali.

So why am I sharing my excursions with you? Just thought I would and  I was thinking how blessed I am to have my health and ability to do all the things I like.  I work hard and I always balance it out with a little R&R.

When is the last time you got away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life? And more importantly is your body in the shape you want it to be in, so you can play with your kids,  climb a rock, dance all night, walk up a flight of stairs or walk for 2 straight hours? Some people can't walk, have limited use of there limbs or are too sick to move. So if you do have all your facilities you need to be sure to take care of them.

See your health is more than just the outside and looking good..its about being healthy feeding your body the right foods and being  able to do daily tasks, and more ,with ease and enjoyment!
Thats what  we are all about at Lean Body Fit  Camp!

You cant' do anything about the length of your life,
but you can do something about its width and depth
-Shira Tehrani

Would love to hear what you do for R&R!! And how you can improve your quality of life<

Finish strong!!

Chelsea C. http://www.lbfitcamp.com/

UnHappy People & how to be Happy

As some of you may already know, fitness legend, guru and pioneer Jack LaLanne passed away yesterday at the age of 96 and we lost a great, great man.


Jack was just so golden in everything he did. If this is your first time hearing about him...where have you been?Just kidding... He basically started fitness when no one was doing it and they thought he was crazy.

But nothing captures the essence of Jack like this 3-minute video:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEboAJf9UVc



It's a very special message that Jack left at the end of one his shows back in the day and I just think it may be the most important advice any of us could ever strive to follow:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEboAJf9UVc



I  hope that I can even have a small fraction of the impact that this man has had on the world's fitness and peoples lives. And I'm very appreciative of the path he paved to allow me to do what I love every day... helping YOU find happiness through fitness ;)

Thanks Jack for all you have done and will continue to do...
Finish Strong!!!

5 Simple Steps to a Leaner you in the New Year!

Hey there,
Hope the second week of the Year is treating you well. I just came back from celebrating my moms birthday! We had a blast and I made her a cake and I actually surprised myself it was pretty good.Chocolate marble fudge im not a baker but I did it for my mom...gosh I love that woman! Any how on to the 5 simple steps....  


Keep an open mind, read them all the way through, and ask yourself honestly: “how many of these am I actually doing?” If you really want to lose fat, then at the end, I suggest you pick one lesson and start using it right away.

1. Measure what you want to improve.                                                      

At Lean Body Fit Camp we keep data on everything clients want to improve. Wanna lose weight? Step on the scale. Wanna be more precise and lose fat? Get out the calipers and measure body fat. Wanna fit into your skinny clothes? Try them on once in a while. Wanna feel better? Then every few weeks, actually ask yourself how you’re feeling, write it down, and review it every few months.

Basic stuff right? Not really. I have worked with professional athletes and teams, I consult with major gym chains on their personal training practices I work one-on-one with clients from all walks of life from all over the world. And believe me: practically no one does this. In fact, sometimes I feel like we’re the only ones who really do this stuff, and the reason is because it works! There’s an old saying you’d be wise to follow: “What gets measured gets done.”

2. Do something every day.

One of my colleagues once put it best: if something is important, do it every day; if it’s not important, don’t do it at all.

Change happens only when you slowly tear down old habits and build new ones in their place. That has to be daily, in my experience. In fact, that’s one of the reasons exercise alone doesn’t work — doing something 3 times a week isn’t enough to build a new habit. I want you to do have something every day. A workout to do, a lesson to read, a habit to practice, fellow clients and coaches to chat with. If you want to get in the best shape of your life, ask yourself, “What’s one thing I could start doing every day?”

3. Make it easy.

To do something every day, you have to make that “something” easy enough that you’re 100% confident you could do it every day for 30 days. That often means scaling your ambitious plans way back.

Unfortunately, most people when they start a program try to do too much. They commit to working out an hour a day, eating four healthy meals, cutting out chocolate, running a marathon, cooking more, waking up earlier — nothing less than a complete overhaul of their lives. Maybe they’re able to do it all for 3 days, a week, some people even a little longer perhaps. But inevitably, they miss a day, then two . . . then it all falls apart. They lose confidence, feel guilty, beat themselves up, and go back to doing exactly what they were doing before: nothing. All or nothing.

Instead, make it easy on yourself, way easier than you think at first. Instead of eating 4 healthy meals a day, eat 1 healthy meal a day and give yourself permission to leave everything else the same. Can’t commit to that for 30 days? eat an apple a day. Or take fish oil each day. Or switch from your morning latte to a green tea, or water. Instead of working out an hour a day, how ’bout a 10-minute walk? Is that too much? What about a 5-minute walk?

“Chelsea, don’t be ridiculous, that’s not going to do anything,” you might think. But that’s just your ego talking: you don’t want to look foolish or admit that something so easy might be all you can muster right now. All I can say is: stop that. That kind of thinking will keep you stuck exactly where you are. Let go of your ego, look at where you are accept it, and commit only to something so easy that you could do it without thinking for at least 30 days straight.

We stay away from “all or nothing” thinking. Instead, we commit to “always something” — no matter how small at first.

4. Practice only one habit at a time.

I want you to work on just ONE habit at a time. You may find this frustrating at first, because you probably expect to be able to do everything, right away. But that’s just ego-driven impatience, and unfortunately change doesn’t work that way.

Numerous studies show that people are typically quite successful when they limit their change to one behavior at a time, for say 3-4 weeks before introducing a new one. BUT: introduce even 2 new behaviors at once, and the failure rate is nearly 100%.

Again, put your ego aside, and change your expectation: people can only change one behavior at a time. So pick one — anything positive will do — and give yourself permission to leave everything else in your life as-is, at least for now. There will be plenty of time for the rest, trust me. People overestimate how hard change will be, and underestimate how long it will take. Stick to one habit at a

5. Be accountable to someone.

As much as you need to be picked up when you’re down, as much as you need be helped and supported from time to time, as much as you need some positivity in your life . . . you also need someone to get you back into gear when you’re slacking, and help you snap out of the simple laziness that we all fall into from time to time.

At lean Body Fit Camp, that person is your coach, whose job it is to stay on top of you as much as it is to support you. If you miss a day, okay, fine; miss two, and we’re on you. If there’s a legitimate problem, we’ll help find a solution; if there’s just an excuse, we’ll call you on it and get you back to being honest with yourself again.

Everyone needs someone to hold them accountable, especially in the beginning of a new process that they’re unfamiliar with. So who is that person in your life right now? Who challenges your excuses? Who helps you get back on track?                                                  

Who are you accountable to?

Pick one, and put it to use today, because that’s what it really takes to change. leave a comment and let me know which one you will start doing today.

"There is no time like the present and the present is a gift... unwrap it"
For more information go to www.lbfitcamp.com

Start Fast. Finish Strong!!

Chelsea C

The New Year is 5 days old and I hope you are staying focused on your goals. My good friend and nutritionist Chris Mohr, put a challenge up for the New Year to his clients , now my clients are being put to the same challenge. Keep reading to find out what Chris and I are doing and join in.

Its the time of year when everyone has lists, lists of what they need to accomplish in 2011. Lists of what will be accomplished in 2011.

Usually on top of the "resolution" list is to lose weight.   
But rather than just tell yourself you want to lose weight, we have a REAL Challenge for you.

Losing weight is the endpoint goal.

Rather than looking at the endpoint, though, what about the process it takes to get there?


We call them "Process Goals."

And I'm putting out a process goal challenge for you — not just to lose weight, but completely change your life by giving you more energy,  feeling better, decreasing how often you get sick, allowing you to focus more,  and your skin will improve and much, much more.

Seriously.

It’s not a magic pill or potion.

It’s eating REAL FOODS. Crazy, right? 

What does that mean?

Eliminating packaged junk.

Going through your kitchen and tossing out processed food coloring that is sold as "food" (think chips, candy, etc)

Not drinking liquid sugar, more commonly called soda (or any other sugary drink loaded with calories).

Instead of those, Real Foods are:

Foods that fuel your body

Foods that have very few ingredients and are ones that you can actually pronounce

Foods that make the cuts include nuts (all types), veggies and fruit, wild seafood, beans, grains like quinoa, free range eggs and chicken, grass fed beef. Ideally a lot of these will come from a local farmers market — everyone may not be able to get to a farmers market- but you would be surprised to see how many farmers markets have popped up lately. But the more local, the higher the nutrients, so aim to take advantage of Farmer’s Markets when possible.

Does this mean you’ll have to cook some? Sure does.

Does this mean the drive thru won’t be a regular stop for lunch or on the way home anymore? Yup

Does this mean you’ll save a TON of money because eating out is expensive? For sure.

And you know what else — you’ll feel like you’ve never felt before.

It has nothing to do with what the scale says — yes, that may move in the direction you want it as a results of eating REAL FOODS — but it’s not the goal of doing this.

Taking action is how you will achieve whatever it is you want.


Until then, success will be a struggle.

 
Thanks Chris, I am excited to take on this challenge myself and can't wait to post the great results that all my clients will be getting.
 
Fitnish Strong!
 
Dedicated to your Health and Fitness,
 
Chelsea C.