Day 20: Spa Day for Reducing Under Eye Puffiness & LAST DAY for 30% off my Workout DVD!

Posted on October 25, 2009 by Brendita

Good Morning, New Leaves! YIPPEE!!!! It’s the twentieth day of our 30 Day Fitness Challenge!! I lifted weights yesterday (I worked on my chest and triceps) and today, both areas are super sore (in a good way).

Please remember: TODAY IS THE LAST DAY THAT YOU CAN PURCHASE MY 45 MINUTE WORKOUT DVD FOR 30% OFF!!! The discount code 30DayChallenge expires at midnight, EST tonight!

As I mentioned in an earlier blog entry, I workout with free weights six days a week: I do exercises for two body parts each day, followed by abdominal exercises, cardio (on my elliptical or stationary bike) and then stretches. When the challenge is over, I will give you more details about exercising with free weights. You can workout with free weights without a lot of equipment. All you really need to get started is a flat bench, a barbell with weights and adjustable dumbbells. It’s even possible to do a free weight workout without the barbell and bench, but the number of exercises will be limited. Again, when the challenge is over, I will spend more time discussing free weights and strength training.

Tomorrow, I would like for EVERYONE to drink AT LEAST 2 quarts of water. Not all at once, of course, but throughout the day, I’d like for you to chug down as much water as you can. The benefits of drinking water are SO numerous; I will make a separate blog entry about them. I will do so on either Wednesday or Thursday this week. Remember, I want you to refrain from drinking ANY diet soda or diet drink (aka Crystal Light, etc) during the challenge. To quench your thirst, drink WATER!! It is my hope that when the challenge is over, you will not go back to drinking diet sodas. Also, remember, during (and hopefuly after) the 30 Day Fitness Challenge, do not drink water (or anything) with your meal: Drink your water AFTER your meal. I explained the reasons for this in a blog entry entitled Some Information on Eating and Preperation for the 30 Day Challenge.

Beginning tomorrow and for the rest of the week, I am going to prepare hot cereal for breakfast. My favorite hot cereal is oatmeal, so I am going to make Avena Caliente. If you read the recipe I posted you’ll see that it does contain sugar. I believe eating a little bit of sugar is fine. I am NOT a fan of artificial sweeteners of any kind. The meal plan for our Turn Over A New Leaf 30 Day Fitness Challenge does not encourage pre-packaged foods. The reason for this is the amount of high fructose corn syrup used in SO many foods. Frozen dinners such as Lean Cuisine and Weight Watchers don’t have a lot of HFCS, so I’ve listed those as options for those of you who don’t have the time or desire to cook. In that regard, eating a little bit of sugar is perfectly all right. I don’t want too eat or serve Cas the same breakfast every day, so I will make hot oat bran cereal on alternate days. We will also have a hard boiled egg with breakfast. Yup. The whole egg, yolk and all. The reason for this is we’re going to eat relatively fat free lunches all week, so the small amount of fat in the yolk will keep hunger pangs at bay. We will be having fish and vegan dinners this week and I am going to look for at least three veggies (to steam and serve with dinner) that I have never tried before. I’ll let post our dinners every night. Please, share your recipes/meals with us as well!

Some lunch options you might want to consider are: Sushi, Asian Noodles with veggies, Campbell or Progresso salt and sugar free canned soups. If you’re going to eat “Cup O’ Noodles”, PLEASE check the ingredients before you buy them! There are quite a few brands that make dry noodle cups (the kind you add boiling water to) that are pretty healthy and satisfying. Some, however, are LOADED with fat, salt and MSG… so read your labels!

Now, for today’s spa day, I would like for you to steam your pores (as described in Day 6’s Blog Entry), apply a masque and place one tea bag over each of closed eye. The tannins and caffeine in tea constricts the blood vessels in the eye area which helps flush out excess fluid from the eye area. You may want to keep a few tea bags in the fridge for use during the week… just don’t keep store them for too long.. 8 days maximum.

Some teas now come in round tea bags: These are PERFECT when used as eye treatments. Give it a try and let me know how it works out for you!

I hope you have a spectacular weekend! Until next time… HOLLER!

Day 19: Preparation for tomorrow’s SPA Day & A New Exercise for Inner & Outer Thighs

Posted on October 24, 2009 by Brendita

Good Morning and HAPPY SATURDAY, New Leaves! We have 11 days left in our Turn Over A New Leaf 30 Day Fitness Challenge. For those of you who have been with us from Day One: Congratulations! If you’ve been sticking to the guidelines I gave you, you should be feeling pretty comfortable with your routine by now. By the end of the challenge, you will be well on your way to incorporating your new workout techniques into your every day lives.

For those of you who are just joining the challenge: WELCOME ABOARD! You have some “homework” to do! I would like for you to read ALL of my blog entries for the 30 Day Challenge: Any and all questions you may have will most likely be answered in one of the entries I have made. If after reading everything, you are still confused, post your question here and I will do my best to find an answer for you.

Your next strength/cardio combination workout will be on Monday. If you are using my 45 Minute Workout DVD AND you have been using it since the beginning of the challenge, it’s time to start using dumbbells! If you are just joining the challenge and you don’t have a workout regimen, you can order my DVD: Use discount code 30DayChallenge through midnight EST TOMORROW, 25 October 2009 to receive 30% off the regular price of the DVD. I will mail it out to you on Monday, so you’ll be ready to workout next week!

Your workout schedule should look like this:

Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays:

Cardio (20 minutes MINIMUM) and Strength Workout, followed by stretching OR my DVD

Tuesdays and Thursdays:

Exercises from “Day 8” PLUS Inner Thigh “Scissors” with your leg raises. To do these, after EACH leg raise, when your legs are straight up in the air, with the soles of your feet facing the ceiling, open your legs as wide as you can. Hold them in that position of 2 seconds and then bring them almost together (don’t let them touch one another). Once your legs are together, go ahead and do another leg raise, as demonstrated in my video clip. This addition to the leg raise will work your abductors and adductors (inner and outer thighs).

Next week, I’ll ask Cas to film me doing this exercise with a slight modification and then we’ll add it to your Tuesday and Thursday workouts for the remainder of the challenge.

As far as your eating plan goes, please continue to follow the guidelines I gave you at the beginning of the challenge. Remember, you can (and should!) have a small dessert after dinner every night. This way, you won’t feel so deprived and you’ll be less likely to go on a sweet/junk food binge. When the challenge ends, I will continue to blog about “strategic” grocery list planning & shopping, cooking, preparing meals, exercising, etc. I promise, I won’t just leave you to fend for yourselves!

Tomorrow, I will post a DIY spa routine that will use those tea bags you have in your refrigerator… you did save them, right? I hope so! If you didn’t save them or if you’re just joining us, please brew a cup of black tea (Lipton is fine) using two tea bags. Don’t let the bags steep for too long. Once the tea has cooled, remove the tea bags, put them in a Ziploc bag and put them in the refrigerator. I will tell you what’s next tomorrow!

Have a GREAT Saturday! And, please… give me a shout out and let me know what’s up! Holler back!!

Day 18: Just DO IT!

Posted on October 23, 2009 by Brendita

Happy FRIDAY New Leaves! I don’t have much to say today, I just want to tell you to HANG IN THERE! You’re doing GREAT! If you’ve just joined the challenge: WELCOME! Please read all the previous posts (Days 1 through 17) for information.

This is not a fad diet or a quick fix. You won’t find any recipes for fat burning cabbage soups, magical cleansing cayenne pepper drinks, etc. The goal of the 30 Day Fitness Challenge’s is to give you the tools you need to make a brand new start; learn the proper way to exercise or get back into your abandoned or not -so- regular-any-more exercise routine; learn how to eat in a healthful manner without feeling deprived; give yourself permission to take time out for YOURSELF: When you’re fit, well nourished and healthy, you’ll have extra energy to spend on & care for the people who count on you.

It’s time to Turn Over a New Leaf!

I was watching Oprah yesterday and this segment made me smile. I called my husband up to watch it and it made HIM smile, too. Please watch and enjoy: I hope it makes you smile, too! Have a GLORIOUS FRIDAY!

HOLLER, ya’ll!!!! Please: Holler back!

Day 17: The Not So Obvious Rewards of Exercising & Eating Healthy Foods

Posted on October 22, 2009 by Brendita

Good Day, New Leaves! I am in a REALLY, SUPER, FABULOUSLY GREAT mood today!! It’s just one of those days where I find myself feeling lucky to be… well, to just be.

I’ve been reading your posts on various forums about the 30 Day Challenge, so I want to take this opportunity to give you a virtual pat on the back. The intent of the Challenge is to think about healthful food and regular exercise as a part of your lives. You cannot “fail” at it: It is an opportunity to think about how eating properly and exercising regularly will enrich your lives.

I am NOT an exercise fanatic. Honestly and truly. It took me about 3 months to get used to waking up early in the mornings to work out. I do it because I have no choice: I have had numerous injuries to my back and one very serious injury to my head. As a result, I live with chronic pain on a daily basis and if I don’t exercise regularly, the pain can (and usually does) reach a point where it is often times unbearable to do something as simple as bend over to pull my socks on or get up from a chair that doesn’t have arms on it.

When my husband and I launched Brendita’s Body Works in 2007, we both had to rework our schedules in order to make the company successful. I had to find time to make and pack my skin & hair products as well as find time to exercise, cook, etc. We both still work full time jobs outside of BBW. Waking up early is the only way I can get everything done. If you picture me energetically bounding out of bed… singing & skipping through my house in anticipation of my work out, your image couldn’t be further from reality. Let’s just say, you would NOT want to meet up with me when I wake up at 4:15 in the morning. Luckily, my cats know enough to just stay out of my way until I get warmed up.

I guess the point I’m trying to make is this: Exercise is its own reward. Injuries aside, when you strengthen your muscles (including your heart) the effects spill over into every other aspect of your life. You will have more energy, you will sleep better, you’ll look better: the increase & improvement of blood circulation makes your skin look better. Your posture will improve due to stronger back and abdominal muscles. The decrease in body fat that results from regular aerobic exercise means your strong muscles will be more visible. It’s a win-win proposition. So, do what ever it takes to get yourself to where ever it is that you workout and know that the rewards will be well worth the time.

I have not spent much time addressing “good” and” bad” foods. I believe that every one knows what a healthy meal or snack should be. I also know that tasty food (which is often times not the healthiest) is one of the things that make life enjoyable. If you are exercising regularly and the majority of your meals are healthy, I believe you SHOULD take pleasure in some rich, decadent food… IN MODERATION. For the Turn Over A New Leaf Challenge, however, I do ask that you keep the “bad” foods to a bear minimum: A small portion of dessert after dinner is fine.

Well, that’s my rant for the day. Please share your thoughts… PLEASE!

Day 16: Keeping Our Fitness and Health Goals In Sight.

Posted on October 21, 2009 by Brendita

Good Morning, New Leaves! We have completed the first half of the Turn Over A New Leaf 30 Day Fitness Challenge! For those of you just joining us, or thinking about joining, PLEASE DO SO!!! You can “jump in” at any point you’d like. The goal of the challenge is to change your way of thinking regarding exercise and healthy eating.

We are not eating any “special” fat burning foods or doing any “secret” fat burning exercises. Why? Because there is NO SUCH THING! There are NO FOODS in existence that will cause your body to burn fat at a faster rate. The “rapid weight loss” that occurs during any and all of the fad diets that you have ever heard of happens because your body is ridding itself of excess water. As soon as you resume eating ANYTHING, your body will replenish its water supply and the “lost weight’ will return. I used the quotation marks around the word lost because you hadn’t really lost any weight at all.

If weight loss is your goal, you must remember, you didn’t gain the excess weight over night, so you can’t realistically expect to lose it (and keep it off long term) over night.

I must reiterate something from an earlier blog: YOU CAN NOT SPOT REDUCE ANY AREA IN YOUR BODY. Performing 500 sit ups in perfect form, everyday will have NO effect on burning fat in that area of the body. What would happen in this hypothetical situation is that you would make these muscles very strong and firm, but you will not cause any fat to “burn” from that area. Your individual genetic makeup predetermines how your body will burn excess fat, ideally through a combination of caloric reduction and aerobic activity.

Despite claims made by various exercises programs, machines and gadgets it is physiologically impossible to “spot reduce”. You CAN firm, strengthen and build specific muscle groups by performing exercises that target the desired muscle(s). However, as mentioned above, you must reduce the amount of body fat that covers the muscle(s) in order to see your results.

If you have been doing the challenge from Day One, you should be able to do the 45 Minute Workout DVD in its entirety. We will add some more exercises to your “off days” (Tuesdays and Thursdays) next week: I will describe the exercises and post video clips if the description alone is not adequate.

Please tell me how the mini fast worked for you yesterday! What did you eat? How do you feel today?

Day 15: Raw Vegetable, Fresh Fruit, Fruit Juice & Water Fast

Posted on October 20, 2009 by Brendita

Good Morning, New Leaves! We are smack dab in the middle of our 30 Day Fitness Challenge! I hope you’re all feeling VERY energetic and excited. If you’ve been following the challenge, but haven’t joined in yet, this is a GREAT time to join! My workout DVD is still on sale for 30% off: Use Code 30DayChallenge when you check out and I will get it shipped out to you ASAP! You don’t need the DVD to participate in the challenge. I posted demos of exercises, so you can use those to build your own routine, if you’d like. The goal of the challenge is to get STARTED on a regular fitness routine, healthy eating habits and then to STICK WITH IT!

Today, for those of you participating in the “mini” fast, I want you to eat as many fresh fruits and you’d like. I also want you to drink lots and lots of water. You may also eat plenty of raw vegetables and drink (preferably) freshly made juice. If you don’t have a juicer, you can drink bottled juice, as long as it’s 100%, no sugar added juice.

Tomorrow, I would LOVE to hear how the fast went for everyone, so please be sure to post your results. Have a super, fabulous day!

Day 14: Concerns About Increase In Muscle Size

Posted on October 19, 2009 by Brendita

Good Morning, New Leaves! I hope you all had a great weekend and gave yourself a spa day.

We are nearing the half way point in our Turn Over A New Leaf 30 Day Fitness Challenge. If you have been participating in the challenge from day 1 and doing my 45 Minute Workout DVD, it’s time to add some resistance! If you have 1 pound dumbbells, now is the time to start using them.

When performed properly, resistance exercises provide the safest and most efficient way to achieve firm, toned and strong muscles. If you’re concerned that adding dumbbells to your workout will cause you to muscles to grow larger, please don’t worry about that: It will not happen. In order to make a muscle grow in size, you must use what is called “The Overload Principle”. Simply stated, you must repeatedly force a muscle to work harder than it is used to working. In order to do this you must use weights that are so heavy, you can only do a maximum of 10 repetitions per exercise. If you are able to do any more than that, you are not overloading the muscle and therefore, are in no “danger” of creating increased muscle mass.

So, get yourself some dumbbells OR fill up two 16 ounce bottles with water and use them for your next workout. Tomorrow, we will be doing a mini fast: We will eat only raw fruits & vegetables and drink lots of water and juice (freshly made or store bought 100% no sugar added juice). Go grocery shopping tonight, if you need to. Until then, be well!

Day 14: DIY Recipe for relaxation

Posted on October 18, 2009 by Brendita

Good Morning, New Leaves! I hope that you all had a wonderful Saturday! Today, I have plans to do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! Well, I am going to give myself a pedicure and watch TV with my husband… but that’s it for me.

I hope that you, too, will give yourself a day off: You’ve been working hard all week, exercising, planning and eating well balanced nourishing foods. I hope that the most work you do today will be treating yourself to a spa day.

Here’s what you can do:

Before you begin anything, boil enough water for one cup of tea. Brew two tea bags in the water and let them remain there.

Cleanse your face as you normally do: Don’t pat the water dry after you’ve rinsed your cleanser off. Instead, place a big spoonful of baking soda into your palm and sprinkle a few drops of water into it (enough to make a paste). Close your eyes and use your fingertips and very little pressure to scrub your face, avoiding your eye area. Don’t forget to scrub near and under your jaw. Rinse well.

Next place about 1/2 a cup of plain unflavored yogurt into a clean glass bowl. Add a tablespoon of honey to the yogurt and mix well with a fork (as though you were beating eggs).

Fill a basin (large enough for you to soak your feet in) with warm water. Add 1 cup of whole milk and tea (without the tea bags) to the water. Put those tea bags in a Ziploc bag and store them in the refrigerator (we’ll be using them next week). The tannins in the tea help neutralize foot odor. The lactic in the milk will help soften the skin on your feet and ankles.

Slice two fairly thin slices of cucumber. Apply your honey/yogurt masque to your face, avoiding your eye area. The yogurt is loaded with skin nourishing nutrients, including zinc and lactic acid. The honey is antibacterial, antimicrobial and extremely moisturizing.

Bring your cucumbers with you, get comfortable and soak your feet. Lean back, close your eyes and place one slice of cucumber on each eye. Cucumbers are WONDERFUL for the eyes: They reduce puffiness and provide lots of moisture to the area of the face that needs it most.

I hope you all have a WONDERFUL day! Don’t forget, we’re doing a mini-fast in a few days, so get ready to rumble!

Day 13: Post Workout soreness

Posted on October 17, 2009 by Brendita

Good MORNING, New Leaves!!!! How is everyone feeling? I hope that you are all doing well. I am VERY anxious to hear about everyone’s progress: We are almost at the half way point in our 30 Day Fitness Challenge!

I wanted to address something I neglected to mention earlier: Post workout soreness. You already know what it is: the day after, or in some cases two days after, a workout, your muscles will feel achy, tight and/or sore. When you challenge your muscles with strength building exercises, you cause microscopic tears in the muscle fibers. There is no need for alarm! These tears are necessary and the goal of a strength building workout. Your heart pumps nutrient rich blood to the muscles to repair the microscopic tears, which heal quite rapidly (within 48 hours). This is the reason you need to wait an entire day in between workouts, to give your muscles time to heal: 48 hours will have elapsed when you workout at, say 9:00 am on Monday and then again at 9:00 am on Wednesday.

As the muscle heals, it also gets firmer and over time, denser. The result is a hard, strong body! Lactic acid also builds up in the muscles as you workout. This is another reason for post workout soreness. The lactic acid buildup passes through the length of the muscles as you stretch, reducing post workout soreness greatly, which is one of the reasons why you should always stretch after a workout.

Having said that, I must point out that you will not be sore all the time. A lack of post workout soreness does not mean that you have wasted your time: It simply means that your muscles are healing at a faster pace. If, however, you don’t at least feel a little tired at the end of a workout, it means you need to increase the amount of resistance you are using. You can do this by adding dumbbells or increasing the poundage of dumbbells you are already using.

If you are doing an exercise that will not allow you to use dumbbells, you will need to perform more repetitions or perhaps use ankle weights. I will address ways to make your workouts more challenging over the remainder of the 30 Day Challenge.

I must bid you all farewell: Please, share your progress with us and have a GREAT DAY!!

Day 12: Preperation for One Day Mini Fast for the END of the 1st Half of our Turn Over A New Leaf 30 Day Challenge

Posted on October 16, 2009 by Brendita

Good Day, New Leaves. Happy FRIDAY! I hope that the first eleven days of the 30 day Challenge have been exciting for you all. Here is what I HOPE your workout routine looks like:

Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays: My 45 Minute Workout DVD OR 20 minutes (minimum) of aerobic exercise, strength/resistance exercises for all major muscle groups (inner, outer, front & rear thighs, calves, buttocks, waistline, upper and lower abs, chest, upper and lower back, shoulders, biceps and triceps) and stretching exercises.

Tuesdays and Thursdays: Full (not bent knee) Pushups, Leg Raises, FULL “Twisting” Sit Ups (not crunches), and Lunges (All movements are demonstrated in my Day 8 Blog Entry)

Your basic meal plan will remain the same, with the addition of more water. I would like for you to drink as much water in between meals as you can. Don’t drink too close to meal time, though.

On Tuesday, 20 October 2009, I would like for everyone to go on a mini fast: Eat as many fruits as you’d like: The more the better. You may also eat as much raw veggies as you’d like and, of course, drink as much water as you’d like. If you make your own juice, I would also like for you to drink as much freshly made juice as you desire. If you’d like, you can drink pre-made juice (Juicy Juice, for example). Just be sure that you’re drinking 100% juice and not a juice cocktail or a juice drink. These are loaded with chemicals and high fructose corn syrup. This is not a cleansing diet and consuming these foods and juices will have no magical or mystical powers. I would just like for everyone to give their digestive systems a good flush, as we mark the middle of our 30 Day Challenge.

So, you have 4 days to get your supplies. I have found Debbie May’s Green Bags to be ENORMOUSLY helpful at keeping fruit and vegetables fresh for a REALLY long time. I get mine at the supermarket. The “secret” is the produce needs to be as dry as possible when it goes in, then, you MUST push all of the air out of the bag, twist it tightly and secure with a twist tie. A head of lettuce lasts TWO WEEKS in the fridge when I put it in one of my green bags.

Some of you are able to go grocery shopping multiple times a week. Alas, my schedule does not allow for this: My husband and I only have time to go to the supermarket once a week. Remember, you can and should buy frozen vegetables if you’re unable to get fresh produce. Vegetables are frozen very soon after they’re harvested and they are a wonderful way to eat a variety of vegetables that you otherwise would not have access to. During the one day fast, though, I will ask that you only consume “live”, uncooked fruits and veggies.

During the second half of our 30 day Challenge, I am also going to ask that you increase your Tuesday and Thursday exercises. Last week, you were doing all exercises one time. Next week, you will be doing each exercise 2 times (2 sets of each exercise).

When we near the end of our Challenge, I will give you all a “maintenance” workout schedule. It is my sincere hope that this 30 day Challenge marks the beginning of regular exercise and god eating habits for everyone.

On Sunday, set side time for another “spa” day! I will give you ideas and recipes for some relaxing beauty rituals you can do with things you probably have in your pantry, cabinets or refrigerator. If you want to plan ahead, please get some apple cider vinegar, half a pint of whole milk, 2 tea bags (regular tea, such as Lipton) 1 cucumber and an 8 ounce container of full fat, plain yogurt.

Please, let me know how you’re doing!

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