Designing a Healthy Vegetarian Diet.

To be honest I am not sure I would cut out meat, but here is some great information to take a look at by Diana Rodriguez on http://www.everydayhealth.com

You've given up meat, but that doesn't necessarily mean that you're eating a healthy vegetarian diet — in fact, you may need to get even more creative with cooking to ensure you're getting the nutrients you need.

A healthy vegetarian diet is much more than simply meatless. Vegetarians need to make up for key nutrients and possibly some of the calories that protein from meat, poultry, or fish can provide by eating the right foods cooked in the right ways … and that means without adding unwanted carbs and fats.

Nutritious Vegetarian Choices

If you're a vegetarian, you can't live on pasta or rice alone. Make sure that you get the daily recommended amounts from each food group by being a little more creative about your selections. Try these sources to replace the nutrients you’re no longer getting from meat and animal products:

Protein. Non-meat protein choices that offer variety include:

• Nuts and seeds
• Eggs (limit yolks because of their cholesterol content)
• Dried beans
• Tofu and other soy products
• Peanut butter
• Cheese

Calcium. Three daily servings of dairy foods are a great way to get plenty of calcium along with protein, but these foods can be high in fat. Opt for low-fat or fat-free milk, yogurt, and cheeses. Look for choices that also contain vitamin D. Eat plenty of green, leafy vegetables like spinach and kale, legumes, and soybean-based foods in addition to low-fat dairy.

Vitamin D. If you think you’re not getting enough vitamin D through dairy foods, ask your doctor if you would benefit from a supplement (possibly in combination with calcium) or if it’s safe for you to get a few minutes of unprotected sunlight every day.

Iron. Good sources of iron include:

• Spinach
• Dried fruits like raisins
• Fortified cereals
• Whole-grain foods
• Cooked peas, lentils, and beans

Vitamin B-12. Add fortified cereals and soy drinks to your diet, and ask your doctor if you would benefit from a vitamin B-12 supplement.

Zinc. You’ll get this mineral from whole grains, legumes, shellfish, and nuts, plus a possible supplement.

Fiber. Keep in mind that whole-grain products are not only healthier for you, but they're also more filling, thanks to their fiber. Choose whole-grain pastas, breads, cereals, and brown rice.

To keep up your energy level, make sure you’re getting the total number of calories needed for your gender, age, weight, and your goal of either weight loss or weight maintenance. Keep track of your nutrient and calorie intake, especially if high-fiber foods make you feel full quickly and result in you not eating enough food to get the calories you need.

Creative Vegetarian Cooking

You can do more with vegetarian recipes than just adding tofu — take advantage of new and different ingredients. Some vegetarian-friendly, healthy options to consider are:

• Quinoa, a very nutritious and filling grain
• Barley, another whole grain
• Eggplant — slice it lengthwise as a substitute for chicken in a parmesan dish or cut into cubes for a stirfry
• Spaghetti squash — you can make a tasty low-carb recipe with this low-calorie pasta substitute

Most dishes can be turned into healthy vegetarian recipes with some creative substitutions. Make grilled oversized Portobello mushrooms instead of steak, or try veggie burgers, spinach lasagna, or marinated tofu. Put together a homemade veggie pizza with a fresh tomato sauce and whole-wheat crust, or bean burritos on whole-wheat tortillas. For specific low-carb recipes to add your recipe box, check out Everyday Health’s vegetarian recipes, where you’ll find choices like feta-stuff mini peppers, cilantro three-bean salad, and more.

You don’t need to rely on pasta and bread as dietary staples. Branch out to new foods, making sure that you get as much diversity and as many nutrients as possible in your vegetarian diet.

Southern Colorado Womens Chamber Commerce

I attended the SCWCC meeting this morning, we are growing, many new faces today and of course some of the staples of the group were there.
Some of the new women i met were Sara Keller of Chick Crawl (wouldn't that be an awesome name for a fitness class, well i thought so;) actually sounds very interesting she runs groups of women through old colorado city and manitou on shopping excursions, i'm not much of a shopper but I am going to participate.
Linda Kilpela of Oils of Health, she is putting on a Natural Cleaning Class i am interesting in attending.
Lilian Critchlow of Noa's Art Photography
Patrice Christian, sorry can't recall her business and not listed on the card.
Linda Jacob of Integrity Bank
Talked with Sharon Engle about hiking, biking and the incline (no i haven't done it yet will this year , she is a nutritionist Nutrition on Request
Chris Race of Pakmail She says they will mail anything as long as its not illegal.
Robin McPeek of Duraclean Master Cleaners
Jane Aiell of Mr Biggs I am calling her for a tour and go cart ride.

I look forward to seeing all you again.

Thyroid Awareness Month

The thyroid is a small butterfly-shaped gland in the neck, located just above the collarbone and in front of the trachea (windpipe). It produces 2 hormones that regulate the body's metabolism, controlling how the body breaks down food for energy use now or stored for later use. These hormones tell organs how fast or slow they should work, and also regulate the consumption of oxygen and the production of heat.

I am listing some of the common thyroid disorders including symptoms; please if you suspect any get it checked out. One of my clients back in Illinois just didn't feel right and she had previous thyroid issues, she went to her doctor but he basically told her what she was feeling was in her head, luckily she knew her body pretty well and exercised regularly with me, so she decided to get a second opinion.

It turned out to be pretty advanced thyroid cancer, imagine had she waited and not listened to her body. She had it removed and all is well now, so listen to your body when it tells you something just isn't right.

According to the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, an estimated 27 million Americans are experiencing a thyroid disorder with more than 1/2 of those undiagnosed.

Hyperthyroidism results from an overactive thyroid gland producing too much thyroid hormone, which speeds up one's metabolism. Symptoms can include excessive sweating, nervousness, rapid heart rate, weight loss, decreased concentration, fatigue and hot temperature intolerance.
This hormone imbalance occurs in about 1% of all women, who get hyperthyroidism more often than men. Radioactive iodine is the most widely recommended permanent treatment.

Hypothyroidism results from an under active thyroid gland producing too little thyroid hormone. The body's metabolism slows, consumes less oxygen and produces less body heat. Symptoms can include weight gain, hair loss, irritability, muscle cramps, memory loss and cold temperature intolerance.
It is more common in women than men, and its incidence increases with age. Treatment most often involves thyroid hormone replacement medications.

Thyroid nodules are small lumps in the thyroid gland. These are common; almost half of the population will have tiny thyroid nodules at some point in their lives. Most nodules are not cancerous, but people who have them should seek medical attention to rule out cancer.

If you need more information go to www.aace.com.

I'm usually pretty humble but i really wanted to share this with everyone.

Some People Deserve Awards - Congratz Wanda!

by Patti Serrano on Sunday, January 2, 2011 at 7:56am

Wanda McCormick, a lady that came into a new town (Colorado Springs) in February 2010, has literally made friends with hundreds of people. Her networking trail spans many organizations. Wanda McCormick, a Personal Trainer and owner of Perfect Fit Personal Training has received the Business Loft's most coveted award "The Most Forward Moving Entrepreneur of 2010"

A house fire that sent her to a hotel for months, didn't stop her quest to develop her business in a new town. She learned sales techniques, blogging, podcasting, video classroom, skype conferencing and now has a series of training DVD's ready to launch in 2011.

When asked, how she felt about all this new learning. she replied, "I had in my mind I wanted to accomplish all of the new technology, but, I never thought I would get most of it done in one year."

Wanda recently became a featured fitness expert on http://www.SpringsOver40.com/ an online magazine for Colorado Springs, the brainchild of Cheri Colburn.

Watch out for Wanda, she is an entrepreneur on the move...literally!

You're smart. How do i know? Because you are reading this ;)

My bet is you know better than to make some sort of silly New Year Resolutions about losing your handles or trying to get those 6 pack abs using some funky new piece of infomercial. But you may not be thinking about this strategy. Instead of weight or fat loss, let's take a look at aging. Sure, your body is going to be a heck of a lot better off without excess body fat, but how is your body holding up over time?

Over the past century life expectancy has grown tremendously, to nearly 80 years of age. This increase has led to a surge in interest on the best methods to maintain our youth, and age as gracefully and healthfully as possible. This is probably due to the fact that we now die less from infectious disease, and more from chronic, degenerative diseases that if we were to make healthier choices we die less from these means.

How many times have you said or heard someone say, i don't want to get old. Well as I always say there is only one alternative and I can't wait to get older. I definitely age like wine. People don’t want to live longer with a poor quality of life; we want to live longer while maintaining a high level of functional capacity and high quality of life. I want to enjoy my age and I am doing so everyday by fueling myself to make it through the day and to have the stamina. This is where eating a balanced diet rich in real, whole, minimally processed foods, exercising regularly, minimizing stress and supplementing appropriately comes into play.

There is an absolute boatload of information out there on how to maximize your nutrition, exercise to improve your health and steps you can take to minimize stress. You can read until you can't see straight, you have to take action.

If your ready to take action or know of someone that didn't join that gym but said once again they were going to. If you are looking for a comfortable, non judgmental and accountability is high on the list, then do something now.

Work with me privately or in a group setting. Sign up on my blog.

Get Fit Challenge-Lets do it together!

This is an invitation and strong recommendation to join me in getting fit and feeling energetic as we kick off the New Year.

I've seen a distinct correlation between my energy, focus and fitness level over the last five years, since I changed careers. As many of you know, it's made all the difference in the world in my passion for helping others in a big way and having the stamina to continue toward making my business everything it has become and to work toward the millionaire status I know I will reach as an entrepreneur.

Do you think that feeling sluggish in the mid afternoon is normal and that gaining a few pounds every year just comes with age? Well it does if you don't do something about warding it off.
I found personally that it doesn't have to be that way. In fact, I dare to say that I am at my personal best right now, at 50 than I have ever been at the younger years.

Maybe you drank a few too many eggnog's, ate a box too many chocolate truffles, or are just feeling sluggish from the constant parade of cold dark days. So what, that was last year, make a commitment to yourself and do it differently this year.

I know I'm ready to a do a little internal "housecleaning" (because I know that when I'm taking good care of my body I do better work). Wouldn't it be cool if we all took it on together. Imagine the impact we could have collectively!

Get Fit Camp Challenge starts January 10th, join now and you get 24 sessions with me a certified personal trainer for $177 that's for 12 weeks. Do you need to be accountable? Sign up now on my blog that is where the special pricing is. If your interested in the educational portion you can sign up for 12 weeks, email to find out how.

Do you need help to refuel your body and soul?

I am the president of my body, my finances, my life and my choices. What I do here at Perfect Fit is create a customized exercise plan focusing on measurable results. My goal is to strengthen and restore the body to the most efficient functioning level for you to live everyday life with energy and stamina to make it through your day.

Are you...
unmotivated?
tired?
yo yo dieting?
do not exercise regularly?
uncomfortable in gym atmosphere?
has a health issue?
a caregiver?
tired of being tired?
wants to be challenged?
wants to be helped?

Call me and lets talk 719-640-3182