Atlanta Fitness Coach: A Blog about Weight-Loss, Nutrition and the T-Tapp Workout

Relax into Your Flow!

Personal "ah ha's" can come at the oddest times.  The key is to be mindful of what is going on in your mind and body during your day.  "Being in the NOW" is the same concept.  Eckhart Tolle coined this phrase and it's quoted all over the place.  I find so many of us read his books and we love the concept.  Putting it into practice is a whole other thing.

Last Sunday in Atlanta was gorgeous and everyone was outside taking in the sunshine.  My Sweetie and I decided to go hit tennis balls.  He is an excellent tennis player and has taught many people how to play.  I haven't played tennis in a long time and I was never very good.  Get the picture?

He started hitting balls to me and everytime I hit a bad shot, I'd swear.  Yes...little me would blurt out nasty words.  After a while, he told me to just relax and have a good time instead of worrying about hitting the perfect shot.  I immediately felt my body tense up.  I wanted to make him wrong.  But of course he was right.  And once I stopped resisting what was right there in my face to see, I relaxed.

I did start to hit the ball better and have a good time.  But while I was in the midst of this, I realized how this is a pattern I play out in my life.  I insist on trying to be perfect at what I'm doing and when I "TRY" to do something perfectly, my body tightens up and I stop the flow in my life.

When I'm able to stay present (in the NOW) and recognize when I'm doing this,I can relax into what is happening. The flow is now able to come through and my life is so much sweeter and easier. 

If you are feeling a lot of tension and tightness in your body, you might want to stop and get clear about what that tension is trying to tell you.  For me, it's to relax and allow life to flow through me. When I do this, everything works beautifully.

Here's to your effortless flow!

Get a Killer Lean Body in Just Minutes a Day!!!

You know I am a rabid T-Tapper. I've been doing T-Tapp for 9 years now and in that time I've seen people achieve the most amazing physical and emotional transformations.

Yet I'm always researching and keeping up with the newest studies so I can bring you cutting edge new products and services all designed to enhance your life. My research has led me to a Physician named Al Sears,MD. Dr. Sears has credentials as long as my arm. He is a true humanitarian who walks his talk. His nutritionals are second to none. More on that in another post.

What I wanted to share today is his PACE Workout. PACE stands for Progressive Accelerating Cardio-pulmonary Exertion. YIKES!!! Fancy way of saying interval training. But there is a little more to it than that.

I've been incorporating many of his principles into our T-Tapp routine and the results are evident. Many of us are wearing heart rate monitors and are finding that, by making sure to do two sets of hoe downs throughout the workout we are able to get our heart rate into the super zone. This is allowing us to get the muscle sculpting, lymph pumping benefits of t-tapp with the heart rate training and subsequent fat blasting of the PACE.

What do I mean by "results are evident"? Well, in two weeks of incorporating more PACE into my T-Tapp, I've lost an additional 1.5% body fat!!!   And I haven't changed anything else. The Tappers in class are telling me they are getting stronger and their pants are getting looser!!!

Gotta love it. Remember the Doublemint Twins?? Two Two Two workout in ONE!!! With triple the results. If you'd like more info on PACE, click HERE.

Balance For Health!

Fifteen years ago I started my business and the name I gave it was Balance For Health. I really can't remember why I named it that at the time.  I actually think it named itself.  Because now the name is so relevant to where I am in both my personal and professional life.

Let's start with nutrition.  We know the body works optimally when you feed it 6 small, BALANCED meals a day.  Learning how to BALANCE your protein/carbs and fat is key to controlling blood sugar and reducing insulin and dousing internal inflammation.  This is a foundation to good health.

T-Tapp is all about balance.  Learning how to get your body into proper alignment (and BALANCE) in order to have it function at it's highest level.  We even have a specific BALANCE sequence designed to teach you how to strengthen your CORE in order to create good BALANCE!

Energy therapy approaches are designed to create a BALANCE in the body's energy system in order for our energy pathways to be open and working properly.  Again...it's all about balancing energy.

Now I am a Master Balance Walking Coach!  This program teaches how to create a BALANCED lifestyle by incorporating this effective 15 minute walking program into your life.  Balanced Walking is an awesome walking program that incorporates Nordic Walking poles to help you BALANCE your upper body and your lower body during your walks.  The shoes Teresa Tapp has been raving about, Chung Shi's are used too to give you the most BALANCED muscle activation while you walk. 

I hope you'll join me for a walking clinic where I'll be sharing this new walking program.  Click here to find out more.

Are you seeing a theme here?  I know I am.  I'm in awe!  When an idea's time is right, it will use any method to make itself known. 

Vitamin D3! The Miracle Nutrient!

Last week when Teresa Tapp was in Atlanta, she spoke at the Regional convention of Head Start.  She was sharing the results a group of employees got with just 8 T-Tapp sessions.  Of course the results were remarkable.

Teresa was able to get a brilliant healer and Cardiothoracic Surgeon, Dr. Rob Carlson, to do blood work on these employees so changes (blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose and Vitamin D levels) could be tracked.  I don't have the specifics on the results of this work.  I'm sure it will be made available at some point.

I encourage all of you to visit Dr. Carlson's site at www.andlos.com for more information about this great Doctor.  After years of research, Dr. Carlson became a huge proponent of the use of supplemental Vitamin D3 when deficiencies were found through blood tests.  

Dr. Rob also spoke at the convention with Teresa.  I've posted several short video clips of his talk on Youtube. 

Instead of me paraphrasing his words, I've copied a page I found on his website with the results of one study he references.  Please pay attention to this information because it is powerful!

Journal of the Methodist Debakey Heart and Vascular Center

Volume 4, Number 3  Page 21-25

Vitamin D: Cardiovascular Effects and Beyond

Olivero JJ, Nguyen PT, and Olivero JJ.

The amazing sunshine Vitamin D

Many recent studies have identified the Vitamin D level in most people is adequate to

fight Ricketts (severe vitamin D deficiency with bone loss), but is grossly inadequate to

treat the major killers of heart disease and cancer. Yes you heard me correctly, that

Vitamin D can reduce cancer by 77% over a four-year period and lessen heart disease by

58%. The sad part about this is that Vitamin D is so inexpensive (5¢ a day), that none of

the pharmaceutical companies can make money on it, so they immediately start the

vitamin D bashing barrage. Unfortunate for them, and fortunate for us, the data defining

its incredible benefits is pouring in so fast that they can't stop all the discussions which

are occurring in the medical field. No Vitamin has had more recent scientific studies

published than the amazing sunshine vitamin, Vitamin D.

Numerous studies have recently identified the advantages of appropriate Vitamin D

therapy in marked decline of cancer, cardiovascular disease and preservation of Bone

structure. I say appropriate because the previous RDA recommendation for vitamin D of

400 IU is grossly inadequate. Also other investigators say that we get plenty of Vitamin

D from sun exposure. Than I ask you why did the 600 women in the study in Nebraska,

who took 1000 IU have a 77% drop in all cancers over a 4-year period. You heard that

right. A 77 % reduction, and the women who received only the placebo sugar pill, and

who had the

same sun exposure, saw no improvement in the incidence of cancers. Don't

just depend on the sun for adequate vitamin D supplementation. Besides, $1.63/month,

how can you lose?

Dr. Garland et al, combined data from 29 observational studies in his review. He

determined that in North America, a projected 50% decrease in the incidence of colon

cancer, would require 2,000 IU/day of vitamin D3. A similar reduction in breast cancer

would require approximately 3500 IU/day. By the way, the previously subscribed archaic

daily requirement of Vitamin D is 400 IU/day. Just not enough!

So how does vitamin D protect my heart? Vitamin D stops the inflammation that occurs

within the arteries. By stopping inflammation, blocking the growth of smooth muscle

inside the vessel wall which results in narrowed arteries, and controlling enzymes that

cause the rupture of cholesterol plaques inside the arteries, Vitamin D protects our blood

vessels. Protecting our arteries that supply critical blood flow to our heart will keep your

heart healthy.

Vitamin D will reduce blood pressure by the same mechanism used in expensive blood

pressure medications. With lowering of blood pressure, reduction of the dangerous

thickening of heart muscle occurs. In patients with low levels of vitamin D, there is an

increased incidence of heart failure and thickened heart muscle wall.

 

Teresa Tapp In Atlanta! What a Week!!!

My head is still spinning!  Teresa Tapp was in Atlanta this last week.  Hopefully some of you saw her on Good Morning Atlanta on Thursday.  Yes!  That was me in the red T-Tapp Bling shirt. 

Where do I begin?  How about with the results the awesome ladies at Head Start in Pinellas County who worked with Teresa for just a few short weeks and (of course) got fantastic results!  While we all love hearing about inch loss results (and there were great inch loss stories), I was especially blown away with the positive changes in blood work from just 15 minutes a day for about 4 weeks.

I don't know if the results are confidential and I don't have all the specifics so I don't want to post anything that isn't accurate, but you get the picture.  The results blew everyone away.  Even ME!  And I have come to expect amazing results with T-Tapp.

Now for those of you techie newbies you will appreciate this.  I have a Flip video and I brought it to the Head Start presentation all prepared to video tape Teresa's presentation and let you all see it.  I've carried the Flip in my purse for months just waiting for the right "Photo opp".  The time was finally here.  I pulled out my flip and prepared to tape.  And (I know you are already guessing what happened) the Low Battery light went on and shut off the player.

I was so deflated.  Then I remembered I had just gotten a G1 Android phone with a video recorder.  So I whipped out my new phone and proceeded to video tape.  It would only let me tape 1 minute segments at a time so that is what I got.  Lot's of one minute segments.

I have already uploaded 2 of these onto You tube.  They automatically post the update to my Facebook and Twitter accounts.  The first one updated sideways.  I hope the rest won't but I just don't know. 

Still worth listening to if you have the time. 

So much more to say.  Will post again later.

Here's the Secret!!!! Are You Ready???

NOW YOU KNOW!!!  I hope you share it with everyone you care about!!!

Get a Killer Lean Body in Just Minutes a Day!!!

You know I am a rabid T-Tapper. I've been doing T-Tapp for 9 years now and in that time I've seen people achieve the most amazing physical and emotional transformations.

Yet I'm always researching and keeping up with the newest studies so I can bring you cutting edge new products and services all designed to enhance your life. My research has led me to a Physician named Al Sears,MD. Dr. Sears has credentials as long as my arm. He is a true humanitarian who walks his talk. His nutritionals are second to none. More on that in another post.

What I wanted to share today is his PACE Workout. PACE stands for Progressive Accelerating Cardio-pulmonary Exertion. YIKES!!! Fancy way of saying interval training. But there is a little more to it than that.

I've been incorporating many of his principles into our T-Tapp routine and the results are evident. Many of us are wearing heart rate monitors and are finding that, by making sure to do two sets of hoe downs throughout the workout we are able to get our heart rate into the super zone. This is allowing us to get the muscle sculpting, lymph pumping benefits of t-tapp with the heart rate training and subsequent fat blasting of the PACE.

What do I mean by "results are evident"? Well, in two weeks of incorporating more PACE into my T-Tapp, I've lost an additional 1.5% body fat!!!   And I haven't changed anything else. The Tappers in class are telling me they are getting stronger and their pants are getting looser!!!

Gotta love it. Remember the Doublemint Twins?? Two Two Two workout in ONE!!! With triple the results. If you'd like more info on PACE, click HERE.

How to Maintain Your Motivation.

We tend to yo-yo when we begin a program in a negative emotional state and we want to reduce the anxiety that we are feeling because of it.  We believe we are in a crisis and we want to improve that situation.  For example, maybe you went to your Doctor and they told you your blood pressure is out of control or you got on the scale and you came face to face with that number.

You got upset and vowed to take back control.  But the focus is on relieving that crisis.  So you begin a new program of diet and exercise.  A few weeks later your blood pressure is coming down and/or your pants are feeling a little looser.  The anxiety is being relieved.  So you stop being as vigilant.  "A glass of wine every night isn't going to hurt anything." we say to ourselves.

And before you know it, we're right back to where we started. 

If you are ready for lasting change, the first thing that must change is your focus! 

What is it you really want?  If you aren't clear about what you want, do not begin a program.  It's like going on a road trip without having any destination in mind.  Do you leave your house with the intention of not going to Los Angeles?  This is what happens when you start a program with the intention of not having a blood pressure problem or not having to face that scale again.

Instead...focus on what you want.  Make that your constant focus.  When you keep that in mind, all the choices you are presented with each day become much easier to make because you know where you are going!

It's the second week of January! I did all the workouts last week I had committed to in writing. And my derriere was kind of sore by saturday night!



I got out my Tempo Lower Body DVD and did the full 60 minutes. Oh my gosh! That workout kicked my butt! I love that it doesn't matter how much you've been doing T-Tapp, if you go to your max you continue to get amazing results.



For this week, I've commited to wearing my heart rate monitor. I want to see how high my heart rate goes during a workout. This morning we did an advanced T-Tapp workout in class. I got it up to 136 during hoe downs. I've been adding alot more hoe downs during the workout to keep it more like interval training.



The latest sutdies are proving interval training to be the very best way to get heart and lung healthy, as well as to burn more fat.



More on that soon!



Happy Monday!

We're BACK!!!

January bootie call Audio!  Click HERE!

It seems like everyone I've talked to over the last couple of weeks made a conscious decision to throw caution to the wind and just eat and drink themselves through December.  Maybe the stress of the year had something to do with it.  Or maybe we all needed to prove to ourselves that excess truly does make us feel crappy.

So I sent out a challenge in my newsletter to anyone who wanted to join me in a January Bootie Call!!! 

I started mine yesterday by being brave and hopping on my tanita body fat analyzer and finding out exactly where my weight and body fat % was.  I then took measurements around my "areas of concern".  I wrote down my results and then also wrote down my goals.  From there, I broke down my goal into daily action steps.  

I had decided to do the Take Shape For Life 5 & 1 nutrition program for at least a week.  And yesterday I stuck to the program.  I had decided to do my T-Tapp 4 days in a row.  I know...easy for me because I'm teaching it 4 days in a row. We did a great workout yesterday.  I drank my water and took all my supplements.

Here are a few things I found interesting about getting back on track. 

1. I REALLY didn't want to get on my scale.  I didn't want to know.  How often do we allow ourselves to be in denial about our current state of health.  Monitoring is a huge tool to long-term weight management.  And I can see why. 
2. Today I feel good about myself.  I feel like I have taken control back over my health and that is translating into how I'm showing up in the rest of my life.
3. I realized how grateful I am to have these effective tools to go back to when I need to recommit to my health.  Remember when it was the beginning of January and you really wanted to feel good again but didn't have a clue what to do?  So we just decided to stop eating or "cut back".  That always lasted until around 4:00 in the afternoon and we got so hungry we ran into the kitchen and ate whatever we could find. 
4. I realized I was excited about getting back into my health routine.  I wanted to get back to my healthy food and consistent exercise.  I was ready!
5. It's all a mind set.  When I make a decision and then put that decision into a written game plan, I  stick to it.  If I just say I'm going to lose a few pounds and don't put together a written plan, it doesn't happen.

I hope you'll join me and write down your own January Bootie Call. 

WARNING!!!!  Only do it if you are ready to do what it takes to achieve your goals.  If you aren't ready and the idea of it leaves you feeling stressed out (and NOT excited) please don't do it.  Wait until you really are ready.  Otherwise you will reinforce your failure programming and use it as one more thing that didn't work.