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National Women’s Week: May 13-19, “It’s Your Time” To Prioritize Your Health Now!

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National Women’s Week is May 13-19 and now is the time to begin prioritizing your health ladies! “It’s Your Time” is this year’s theme and women are encouraged to consider their health by eating better, exercising more, reducing stress, and getting checkups and preventative screenings so we can all feel great and be our best.

May 14 is the 10th annual National Women’s Checkup Day, click here to learn more about early detection, disease prevention, and other steps to better health. Take action today to begin improving your health so you can lead a healthy and productive life. Women spend so much time caring for others, but when we take the time to better our own health, we are better able to be there for the ones we love.

There are several local events this month, check out the one in your neighborhood:

Sign up for the free events and in the meantime, take steps to better health by eating better and exercising more. Add more fruits and vegetables to your diet to get essential nutrients that women need, including Calcium, Vitamin D, Iron, B12, Folate, and Vitamin E. Potassium, Phosphorus, and Magnesium are also key nutrients for women which help keep up energy levels, reduce stress, and lower blood pressure and cholesterol. Here are a few easy ways to add more produce to your diet:

  • add potassium rich banana or berries to your morning cereal or yogurt
  • stir fresh spinach or grated zucchini into your favorite pasta sauce
  • use spaghetti squash instead of regular pasta noodles
  • roast broccoli, cauliflower, and garlic to serve with grilled chicken or burgers
  • enjoy crunchy carrots with hummus for a satisfying afternoon snack
  • add sliced cucumber, tomato, and sprouts to sandwiches
  • substitute lettuce or steamed collard green leaves for wraps made with flour

Are ready now and believe, “It’s Your Time”, but don’t know where to start? Working with a Health Coach who can customize an eating, exercise, and life plan can give you the support you need to succeed and hold you accountable so you will reach your goals.

Where do you struggle when it comes to prioritizing yourself?

Youfit Now Open At Boca Town Center

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There’s a new gym in town and it’s called, Youfit! The concept is that everyone ‘fits in’, this is a no judgment zone and they try to make working out as approachable and fun as possible. Let’s start with walking thru the door and being warmly welcomed. We took a gym tour and learned so much, there is more than meets the eye. Their second concept besides fitness for You is, ‘Green is our color’. Green happens to be my favorite color too! What they mean is they are committed to the health of our environment just as much as they are committed to helping people get more healthy, happy, lean, and inspired. The floors are made of recycled tires, they recycle all plastic bottles from the club, they use high-powered yet efficient hand dryers that work very well instead of paper towels in the locker rooms, plus energy efficient lighting just to name a few.

The Boca location at Town Center is above Blue Martini and Pinon Grill, you park on the second floor of the parking garage and walk over to Youfit. They have a sign on the opposite side of the parking garage that faces the Terrace at Boca Town Center, we mistakenly thought the entrance was next to The Gap. There were signs to guide us to the right place as we walked up to The Gap, so even if you head the wrong direction, you will be able to find it.

The gym has a ton of cardio machines placed around the perimeter of its 17,000 sq. ft. space. Each machine has its own 15” screen for watching t.v. and includes an apple adapter so you can plug in your ipod, shuffle or other apple device. Cardio machines include treadmills, arc trainer (a cross between an elliptical and a stair climber), and stationary bikes. There is a stretch area called Youstretch which includes mats, exercise balls, bosu balls, assorted medicine balls, along with incline ab benches. The middle of the gym is filled with weight machines and they have a great color code system: purple for upper body and green for lower body. Each machine also has water bottle holder, a nice feature. Members are expected to bring a towel and must wipe off the equipment after using. There are also paper towels and cleaning spray to use for disinfecting equipment available.

If you want to use a workout machine but aren’t quite sure how to make adjustments or use it properly, you can ask any of the staff at Youfit, they are all exercise 101 certified. All staff are trained and will help you out for free. They do not have exercise classes at this gym, that’s part of how they keep the cost down. However, they do have a 30-minute Youfit Express Circuit training area that is led by a Youfit Coach 6 days a week. You can also use this training area any time on your own. There are instructions on the wall and there is a red light/green light to indicate when you are to switch from one exercise to the next. This is great if you want to have a great workout in 30 minutes but aren’t sure where to start.

The back left quadrant of the gym is the free weight area. There is a big rack of dumbbells along with weight plates, smith machines, benches, bars, dip machine, curling station, cable machine. This location does not have squat racks, there are only smith machines since the facility is above Blue Martini and Pinon Grill. They don’t want the sounds of weights dropping to entertain the diners below.

If you want to work with a personal trainer, they have Youfit Coaches on staff.

Gym hours are Monday – Thursday 5am – Midnight; Friday 5am – 10pm; Saturday – Sunday 8am – 8pm.

Phone: 561.367.2326

E-mail: Towncenter@youfithealthclubs.com

Powering Through a Workout

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This morning I needed to complete a training run and was not really in the mood for a workout. I wanted to plan out meals for the week and head to the grocery store. But, I knew that not working out in the morning would significantly decrease the chance that my workout would happen today. So what did I do? Read more →

Healthy Holiday Shopping Guide

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It’s holiday shopping time and what better way to show your love than give gifts that will create better health. Here’s my list of best bets for health wise gifts to give this year.

1. A series of fitness or yoga classes or even a massage from Groupon or Living Social!!

2. A gift certificate for home delivered Organic produce, teas, beans, herbs/spices, nuts, whole grains, gourmet salts, coffee, and sprouts. Healthy World Organics is my favorite local home delivered organics.

3. Work out gear, a great functional gift and very motivating. Who doesn’t love working out in gear that looks great and makes you feel great too!!

4. Stainless steel water bottles, Nathan is my very favorite! We have several in our home and are great for staying hydrated when you’re on-the-go!

5. Foam roller is great for working soreness out of tight muscles. These are all the rage now, a great way to give yourself a massage or use for doing core strengthening Pilates moves.

6. The gift of laughter is one of the best gifts for greater health! Make someone smile with a Happy Dancing Solar Flower!

7. Give the gift of health with Health Coaching Sessions! Give my $99 Healthy Holiday Coaching Special to yourself or someone you love!!

8. Thinking positive is one of the best ways to improve your health and how much joy you get out of life. I Can Do It 2012 Calendar by Louise Hay provides daily positive affirmations and words of wisdom to bring more good into your life.

9. A great cook book filled with healthy meals that taste great and are great for you! The Healthiest Meals on Earth, Eat, Drink, and Weigh Less, Greens Glorious Greens, Feeding the Whole Family, Clean Food, Peas and Thank You. I have most of these books except 2 and they are on my wish list this year!

10. For a splurge, here’s some great gadgets: Garmin 305, Vitamix, Breville Juicer, BOSU Balance Trainer.

Top 5 Tips: Having A Happy, Savory Thanksgiving Day!

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1) Eat a good breakfast Thanksgiving morning. Don’t make the mistake of ‘starving yourself out’, which will ensure you overeat and then some for the Thanksgiving meal.

2) Squeeze in a workout first thing in the morning, even if you’re heading out to travel or straight into the kitchen to prepare the festive meal. Plank poses, push ups, wall sits, reverse crunches. Finish off with Dr. Douillard’s 1-minute meditation. I use this daily and it’s literally 1-minute, repeat as needed!

3) Focus on a non-food tradition or create new ones. Teach traditions or have a fun activity for kids in your family or new guests.

4) If you plan to drink alcohol during the day, start with a big glass of water before you do, add fresh lemon and cucumber for a refreshing twist. Alternate water with your adult beverages and limit to 2.

5) Eat small portions of your favorite holiday dishes – the first two bites always taste the best. Stick with this method so you can sample each and not over-do it.

Remember the true intention of this holiday is to give thanks for all the blessings in your life. Focus on the traditions and the people in your life that you love and share with them why you are grateful to have them in your life.

I wish you all a wonderful, safe, and savory Thanksgiving this year and always.