Everyone’s body is unique. Everyone has a different body type, different metabolic rate, and genetics. On top of that, everyone has a different body ideal. Some people are looking to slim down, while others are looking to bulk up. So, everyone’s fitness goals are going to be different. Your personal fitness goals can be a point of inspiration, however, if they are unrealistic they can be demotivating. That is why it is important that when you set goals, you consider your unique body and your lifestyle. Here are a few tips to help you develop fitness goals you can actually meet.

1. Speak With An Expert

When you are setting fitness goals, you really need expertise. A personal trainer at everlasting changes can help. We’ll assess your body type, fitness level, and your personal lifestyle. Then we’ll measure them against your ideal. From there we’ll help you determine fitness goals you are comfortable with, as well as a plan to achieve them on a realistic timeline.

2. Develop Both Short And Long Term Goals

One of the tips we find extremely helpful is developing both short and long-term goals. The short-term goals will be milestones on your way to your dream body. Achieving these milestones will help you stay motivated to continue your journey. Short-term fitness goals include things like “do 10 burpees” or “cut out sugar for a week” or “lose 10 pounds this month.”

3. Record Your Activities And Results

Reaching your fitness goals requires a smart strategy. Recording your dietary changes, exercise routines, and how they have helped you progress is a great way to understand what works for your unique body. This will also help you understand what you enjoy. For example, if you’ve made a really tasty low carb dinner or found an exercise that was fun, it’s great to write it down so you can remember that it is something that works for you.

These tips may seem simple, but they can make a huge difference. The biggest thing to remember about setting goals is that you need to know your own body. These tips will help you understand your body. They will also give you the flexibility you need to adapt your goals to your body. If you are looking for expert guidance, the personal trainers at Everlasting Changes can help. We’ll review your goals and set a program that will help you achieve them!

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Sometimes I feel like a broken record.

You’re constantly hearing from me how important exercise is to your health and how so many of your health problems will improve or even disappear as the result of a consistent exercise program.

Why do I continue to give you the same lecture?

Because I’ve seen exercise change lives. I’ve even seen exercise save lives.

Here are the Top 4 Health Improvement Factors that come as a result of challenging, consistent exercise:

1. Your energy levels boost and you feel great.

I have noticed that most people don’t realize how bad they feel. They get used to feeling bad. Then when they start exercising they feel so much better. Your energy levels soar and you feel excited about life again.

2. Your muscles and joints feel better than ever.

You’ll notice a reduction in aches and pains once you’ve been sticking with an exercise program for a few weeks. That chronic muscle and joint pain that you’ve lived with for years may begin to fade. For some, joint replacement surgery is postponed. For others, arthritis pain is reduced.

3. Your risk of heart attack or stroke is reduced.

I like to remind my clients of this one, since it’s not something they can physically feel, but it’s the one that saves lives! Exercise has the power to remove two of the major risk factors that lead to heart disease: 1) physical inactivity and 2) obesity. Exercise also increases your good cholesterol (HDL) and lowers your blood pressure.

4. Your blood sugar levels are better controlled.

Clients of mine with type 2 diabetes see substantial benefits from exercise. Exercise improves the body’s use of insulin, and the related weight loss improves insulin sensitivity. For many, exercise becomes the natural, permanent antidote to their type 2 diabetes.

There are SO MANY benefits to exercise, why would anyone avoid doing it?! Typically it comes down to excuses.

If you’re tired…exercise gives you energy.
If you’re in pain…exercise alleviates your muscle and joint pain.
If you’d rather stay in bed…exercise makes your sleep more restful.
If you’re pressed for time…exercise improves your efficiency and extends your life.
If you don’t know where to start…that’s where I come in.

Call or email me today and I’ll show you the fastest and safest way to reap all of the benefits of exercise.

It’s time you start enjoying all the benefits of exercise. Let’s do this!

Your Best You

Take a moment and imagine your ‘best you’.

What does the ‘best you’ look like? How does the ‘best you’ spend their time? Who would the ‘best you’ spend time with? What would the ‘best you’ accomplish?

The distance between you and your ‘best you’ is created by laziness.

When faced with decisions, big or small, do what your ‘best you’ would do, rather than taking the easy way out. (I’m pretty sure that your ‘best you’ is a client of mine!)

Chicken Spaghetti Skillet

Here’s a skillet dinner recipe that combines spaghetti squash and marinara with tender chicken breast. It feels like you’re enjoying a traditional spaghetti dinner, but you’re really eating veggies and protein. It’s comforting and craveable without any guilt. Enjoy!

Courtesy of RealHealthyRecipes.com

What you need

Serves 4

1 spaghetti Squash
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1 yellow onion, chopped
3 zucchini, chopped
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 (25 oz) jar marinara sauce
2 cups roasted, chopped chicken breast
¼ cup fresh basil, chopped

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil.

2. Cut the spaghetti squash in half, lengthwise, and scrape out and discard the seeds. Spray the cut side with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place the cut side down on the foil lined baking sheet and place in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until tender. Once cooled, scoop the tender noodles out of the skins and set aside in a bowl.

3. Meanwhile, place a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil, garlic and onion. Sauté for 5 minutes, until the onion is tender.

4. Add the chopped zucchini and Italian seasoning and continue to cook for another 3 minutes, until the zucchini is tender.

5. Add the marinara sauce, roasted chicken and tender spaghetti squash. Mix well and cook until for 4 minutes.

6. Remove from heat and garnish with basil. Serve and enjoy!

Nutrition

One serving equals 371 calories, 12g fat, 34g carbohydrate, 7g fiber, and 27g protein.

Spring is a great time to start working toward your fitness goals. One of the best things you can do to jumpstart a healthier lifestyle is to spring clean your pantry. Getting rid of the tempting junk food and replacing it with healthy items can easily keep you on track to your goals. Our nutritional coach has some tips to help get you started.

Get Rid Of The Junk!

Start cleaning by dumping the junk. The first thing you want to do is throw away anything that’s expired. One area to pay extra attention is your spice rack and cooking oils and vinegars. Most of these are relatively non-perishable, but they lose their nutrients and flavors over time. Once you’ve cleared out the expired foods, grab a box to load up with unhealthy foods to donate to a food pantry. Items to put in this box include:

● Anything that contains trans fats (also labeled as partially hydrogenated in the ingredients panel)
● Foods with high sugar or sodium content
● Packaged snack foods like chips, cookies, and pretzels
● Anything heavily processed like premade meal mixes and soups
● Refined grain like white flour, white rice, and white wheat pasta

Stock Up On Clean Foods

Once you’ve gotten rid of all the junk, you’ll want to stock up on some healthy replacement items. Here are some items to consider:

● Health whole grain foods like high fiber cereal, brown rice, and whole wheat pasta
● Canned or dried beans
● Nuts and seeds
● Package proteins like tuna packets or sardines
● Healthy treats like dried fruit and raw dark chocolate

Make sure to replace the spices, oils, and vinegars that you may use again. Also, grab some new ones that seem interesting so you can experiment with new flavors. Make have a game plan for how you are going to cook all your new foods. Often times people will buy something adzuki beans or quinoa because they know it’s healthy, but it sits in their pantry because they don’t know what to do with it. Do a little research online and have a strategy for all these great new items.

Organize For Success

Once you are all stocked up on healthy items, organize your pantry so everything is really accessible. Understanding what you have in your pantry will help you from feeling like you have “nothing to eat.” Get containers and labels to help track when you are running low of necessities.

Once you’ve gone through your pantry, you can do your refrigerator and freezer. Follow the exact same rules to dump the junk. Then replace the items with fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, and low-fat, healthier condiments like mustard, tamari, and Braggs amino acids. Once you’ve cleared out the old foods, you can make way for the new you!

If you’d like more tips on how to make the transition to healthy eating, our nutritional coaches are always here. When you sign up for personal or group training session, you also receive nutritional coaching. It’s a complete package to help you transition to a healthier lifestyle!
Call Now for 3 Risk Free, Complimentary Sessions. We include a 30 day guarantee on all of our packages

An authentic surge of motivation will change your life immediately.

The best part of my day is seeing clients just like you achieve amazing results. Whether you drop a few sizes, lose the baby weight, get off your blood pressure meds, or shrink your waist, the excitement is always contagious.

It’s hard to describe that euphoria that settles in once you’ve achieved your fitness goal. It’s one of those things that you have to experience to understand.

Every single one of my clients who have achieved massive results have ONE THING IN COMMON…

They are all highly motivated.

I am in a unique position. I know how to get you (or anyone else who walks through my door) into great shape. I can coach you through a 50-pound weight loss. I can guide you to a healthier body. I can even train you into a toned athlete.

But there is one catch.

You’ll need to be motivated.

Just saying, or even just thinking, that you want to get into great shape isn’t enough. You need motivation—and that’s just half of the equation. The other part (and the most important) is ACTION.

Nothing happens until you take action.

You can want it, think about it, mull it over, ponder it, plan it, and then re-plan it. But nothing happens until you take action.

While I may not know your story—it’s probably safe to assume that you want to drop fat and tone up. You want to look better, to have more energy, to experience fewer aches and pains, and to enjoy sweet satisfaction as you achieve your goals once and for all.

I know that all of my successful clients were once in your shoes. They wanted to change their bodies. They felt urgency. And then they did what most fail to do. They took action and contacted me.

But there is more to it than that. They then committed to a program, put in the exercise, stuck to their diet and met their goals. There’s nothing more gratifying than getting back into those jeans that now sit in the back of your closet.

People who take massive action get massive rewards. And those that simply talk about losing weight will continue to put weight on, pound after pound. I hate to put it that way, but it’s the truth.

So what do you want?

To drop 40 pounds
To feel younger
To look better in your birthday suit
To become healthier

How bad do you want it? How much motivation do you have? Enough to take MASSIVE ACTION?

The rewards are great IF you do.

Your first step is to call or email me now to get started! Let’s do this.

Degrees Of Change

True change happens in degrees, not in one fell swoop. This is a relief when you realize that you have miles to go on your goals. There is no need to attempt all of the change at once – simply nudge yourself in the right direction each and every day and maintain the small changes as you go.

Did you eat a big bowl of spaghetti noodles with your favorite sauce for dinner last night? Tonight eat a smaller bowl. Next week eat zucchini noodles and your favorite sauce. The following week eat zucchini noodles with the protein-filled sauce recipe below.

Small changes in the right direction, maintained over time, will make all of the difference as you strive toward the body and lifestyle that you desire.

Beef Ragu and Zucchini Noodles

Yes, it is possible to enjoy Spaghetti night while living a fit and lean lifestyle. This is accomplished with noodles made from fresh zucchini and a sauce that is simply made and packed with protein. Feel free to sub in ground beef for the minced beef if desired.

Courtesy of RealHealthyRecipes.com

What you need

Serves 6

2 lbs minced, grass-fed beef
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
8 oz can of tomato sauce
1 Tablespoon chili sauce
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
½ teaspoon sea salt
4 zucchini
¼ cup fresh parsley

Instructions

1. In a large skillet, brown the beef over medium-high heat. Drain the skillet and turn down to medium heat.

2. Add in the tomato paste, tomato sauce, chili, cherry tomatoes and sea salt. Mix to combine. Sauté until the cherry tomatoes are soft, about 5 minutes.

3. Peel the green skins from the zucchini, the run through a spiral slicer to create long, thin spaghetti noodles.

4. Plate a handful of zucchini noodles topped with the beef sauce and a sprinkle of parsley.

Nutrition

One serving equals 255 calories, 7g fat, 9g carbohydrate, 2g fiber, and 33g protein.

Do you keep up with new trends in the world of fitness? There always seems to be a headline proclaiming the latest and greatest trend, each promising to be the solution that you’ve always needed.

Of course, these trends pass with the seasons, quickly being replaced with something newer and more popular.

Today I’d like you to consider the only trend that really matters to your health and fitness progress: the trend of your own behavior.

Here’s what I mean: Have you ever noticed how easy it is to do the same thing today as you did yesterday? This applies to both your activity level and your diet.

If you got up at 5am yesterday to get in a workout, then getting up at 5am again today is going to be pretty easy. However, if you slept in until 7am yesterday then getting up at 5am today is going to be much more difficult.
If you ate pizza and beer for dinner last night, then eating pizza and beer (or a burger and fries) is going to feel pretty natural. However, if you ate grilled chicken and broccoli for dinner last night, then eating a salad and grilled fish for dinner is going to feel easy.

Remember learning about inertia in school? Inertia is the resistance of any physical object to any change in its state of motion. This has incredible application to your fitness journey.

The longer you can maintain a healthy fitness trend in your own behavior, the easier it will become to maintain that trend. Isn’t that great?!

This simple concept, of maintaining your own daily fitness trend, is the way to continue towards your goal, to avoid setbacks, and to maintain your forward momentum.

So the next time that you see a flashy headline about the latest fitness trend, simply smile to yourself and focus on keeping your own daily fitness progress on track.

Want accountability? I’d love to help you! Give me a call or shoot me an email and let’s get you on track to shed some major fat before summer!

Let’s do this together.

The People You Surround Yourself With

You can improve your ability to maintain your own healthy fitness trend by surrounding yourself with likeminded people. The people with whom you surround yourself have a huge impact on how you take care of yourself through fitness and healthy eating.

Let’s face it, you want to bond with and fit in with the important people in your life. This means sharing similar behavior patterns, such as what you eat and how active you are.

Build healthy habits into your important relationships by sharing fitness meals and workouts together.

Mediterranean Turkey Roulade

A roulade is a dish that’s been rolled with a filling, and in this case we are rolling turkey breast and filling it with a spinach and garbanzo bean mixture. Super healthy, super tasty and super impressive!

Serve this Mediterranean Turkey Roulade up with roasted veggies and salad for a lovely meal. Enjoy!

Courtesy of RealHealthyRecipes.com

What you need

Serves 6

For The Sauce

3 roma tomatoes, chopped
¾ cup pimento-stuffed green olives, chopped
1 fennel bulb, halved and sliced
2 tablespoons fresh garlic, minced
1 tablespoon capers
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon fresh oregano, minced
black pepper, to taste


For the Stuffing

2 cups frozen spinach, chopped
2 teaspoons lemon zest
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
sea salt and black pepper
1 can (15 oz) garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed, roughly chopped
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon fresh oregano, minced

For the Turkey

5 pounds boneless turkey breast, butterflied and flattened

For the Basting Ingredients

¼ cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9”x13” casserole pan with olive oil.

2. For the Sauce: In a medium bowl, combine the sauce ingredients together. Spread over the bottom of the prepared casserole pan.

3. For the Stuffing: In a medium sized skillet, sauté the spinach, lemon zest and red pepper flakes for 3 minutes. Use a paper towel to squeeze out any remaining liquid. Transfer to a bowl and mix in the remaining stuffing ingredients.

4. For the Turkey: Lay the turkey breast flat and season with salt and pepper. Spread the stuffing in an even layer, then tightly roll the turkey. Tie the roll with kitchen twine, spaced about every 4 inches. Place the roulade in the casserole pan, on top of the sauce.

5. For the Basting Vinaigrette: In a small bowl whisk the vinaigrette ingredients together.

6. Roast the roulade in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, basting with vinaigrette every 10 minutes. The turkey is done with an instant read thermometer inserted into the center registers at 165 degrees F.

7. Let the roulade rest for 10 minutes, then slice and serve with the sauce. Enjoy!

Nutrition

One serving equals 374 calories, 12g fat, 19g carbohydrate, 976mg sodium, 5g fiber, and 51g protein.