DRINK WATER!!

Why you should do Yoga?

The short answer is that yoga makes you feel better. Practicing the postures, breathing exercises and meditation makes you healthier in body, mind and spirit. Yoga lets you tune in, chill out, shape up — all at the same time.

For many people, that’s enough of an answer. But there’s more if you’re interested.

For starters, yoga is good for what ails you. Specifically, research shows that yoga helps manage or control anxiety, arthritis, asthma, back pain, blood pressure, carpal tunnel syndrome, chronic fatigue, depression, diabetes, epilepsy, headaches, heart disease, multiple sclerosis, stress and other conditions and diseases. What’s more, yoga:

• Improves muscle tone, flexibility, strength and stamina
• Reduces stress and tension
• Boosts self esteem
• Improves concentration and creativity
• Lowers fat
• Improves circulation
• Stimulates the immune system
• Creates sense of well being and calm.

The Numerous Benefits of Yoga For Mind, Body and Spirit:

The practice of yoga has a distinct mind and body connection. Doing yoga requires the practice of precise and controlled moves, with a degree of mental commitment, while a controlled breath brings peace and inner calm.

•Yoga is very effective in alleviating stress and reducing anxiety.

•Regular practice helps the attainment of greater self-restraint, a strong state of mind, and genuine sense of compassion.

•Meditation is an integral aspect in yoga and it is instigated using the breath to start calming and clearing the mind. This allows for more focus, preventing the mind from wondering about present day events or activates.

•Having the proper posture and having a calmer mind-set allows yoga students to achieve a healthier body and sound mind. By allowing energies to flow correctly and in the right direction it also helps in addressing many other health concerns and emotional issues.

FIND YOGA VIDEOS HERE

Baked Banana Chips

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients
2 ripe bananas
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Preparation
1. Cut the bananas into thin slices.
2. Coat the slices in lemon juice.
3. Place the banana slices on parchment paper and bake them in the oven at 200 degrees F, turning every half hour and watching out for burning.
4. Remove them when they are crispy; let them cool, and store them in an airtight container.

Baked Apple Chips

What you will need: 

• 2 apples 
• Cinnamon (to taste)

Directions:

1. Thinly slice the entire apple.

2. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and place apple slices on it.

3. Sprinkle with cinnamon.

4. Bake at 275 degrees for two hours. At the end of hour one flip them over so they bake evenly.

Holiday Squat -a-thon!

Hi guys! I have a little challenge for you'll ;) we will work the booty for the holidays! that's right! and only doing squats!! no equipment needed, BUT if you want to make it more challenging then I suggest you to use some weights! ;) 
Let's work that booty for the holidays! 

PS: More challenges coming!! 

WARM UP FOR THE CHALLENGE!! 

IMPORTANT: This warm up does NOT replace your daily workout and neither the challenge.

Water weight

What is water weight?

Water weight is fluid retention. This can cause you to get bloated, and see a higher number on the scale. 

Why does this happen?

This can happen for many reasons. Increased sodium intake, too many processed foods, not getting enough protein, not drinking enough water. 

How to get rid of water weight? 
By drinking more water, cutting out processed and high sodium foods and sweating. The more water you drink the less water your body will retain!

So if you see a high number of gain or loss on the scale in a rapid amount of time it is most likely water weight so don't freak out! water weight and fat are different!!

WATCH THIS VIDEO FOR AN EXAMPLE---> CLICK HERE

HOW TO: Read nutrition facts label

If you're confused about how to read nutrition facts label then go to this website where it tells you absolutely everything about it :) 

CLICK HERE & HERE

post updated: December 6

Benefits: Grapefruit

information taken from toneitup.com 

ps: you can do your own research about this excellent fruit ;)

• Curbs your appetite, creating a full feeling in your tummy!
• Stimulates the liver to activate fat burning enzymes, that break down fatty acids in the body.
• Contains a flavonoid called naringin that helps with your insulin levels. Grapefruit is amazing as a weight loss food because it's low glycemic Index, meaning it won't spike your blood sugar levels. Naringin also helps with insulin sensitivity. The hormone insulin is released when your blood sugar spikes, causing you to crash, store the calories as fat and be hungrier sooner. Grapefruit actually lowers insulin levels which helps to keep your blood sugar levels steady so the calories are used as energy instead.
• Naringin also promotes lean muscle growth in an anabolic state (after those workouts when your body is repairing!)
• Contains cancer-fighting compounds like liminoids and lycopene
• Packed with over 200mg of vitamin C & has other vitamins such as A, B complex (for hair skin & nails), E & K.
• Contains calcium, folic acid (eat up prenatal mamas!), phosphorus & potassium
• Has an alkaline reaction after digestion ~ helping you stay balanced
• Contains bioflavonoids that have been found to lower excess estrogen levels and helps to stop breast cancer from spreading.
• Curbs that sweet tooth
• Assists in digestion
• Helps with detoxing the liver

Benefits: Green Tea

Healthy Banana Bread by blogilates.com

Ahh guys! I've been looking for a healthy banana bread recipe for so long! And I'm so glad that Cassey posted this easy recipe that looks delicious! :) give it a try!

Ingredients:

1 cup of oats
1 banana
1/4 cup almond milk
1/4 cup egg whites

Bake at 350f for 15-20 minutes!

The Easiest & Healthiest cookie

Hi guys! 

If you are craving for some cookies you can make your own healthy cookies with only 4 ingredients! When I tried these... I FELT IN LOVE haha :) I hope you love it too!

Ingredients:

1 banana.
1 cup of oats.
1 teaspoon of peanut butter (to taste)
some strawberries or any berries you want.

*optional*
- you can add your protein to these cookies :)
- you can add 1 teaspoon of Peanut Butter (I added 1 so it's more tasty!)
- berries are optional too 

Directions:
Mash all together in bowl and bake for 15-20 or less! at 350f.

Pumpkin Spice Latte

RECIPE FOUND HERE :) 

Ingredients
4 tbsp. ground coffee
1 tbsp. pumpkin spice (no sugar added, just the spice mix)
2-1/2 cups water
2 cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk OR…
2 cups regular milk + 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tbsp. pure maple syrup

Directions

Step 1 – Combine the coffee and the pumpkin spice and brew as usual with the specified amount of water.

Step 2 – Pour the maple syrup in the bottom of your cup and pour half of the hot coffee over that.

Step 3 – Add 1 cup of milk and stir.

Step 4 – Repeat steps 2-3 for the second serving.

Enjoy!

Nutritional Content
1 serving = 1/2 the recipe

Calories: 100
Total Fat: 3 gm
Saturated Fats: 0 gm
Trans Fats: 0 gm
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 189 mg
Carbohydrates: 17 gm
Dietary fiber: 0 gm
Sugars: 12 gm
Protein: 2 gm

FROZEN YOGURT-COVERED BLUEBERRY BITES!

Looks delicious right?!
If you want to make your own, then go to this website.

One Good Thing.

Fresh Fruit on a stick... with greek yogurt!

Hey guys!! I found this amazing treat for you! 

If you would like to see the recipe go to this blog

One Good Thing.

10 TIPS to ensure weight loss

1. Commit to the challenge. Accept losing weight and improving fitness won't be easy and commit to it. 

2. Make a plan. Write down your schedule for workouts.

3. Prepare meals a day ahead. If you don't have healthy meals at hand, you're more likely to reach for a less nutritious prepackaged snack. 

4. Eat 5 to 6 small meals a day. Fill those meals with complex carbohydrates like fruit and vegetables, protein from eggs, fish, and the good fats found in nuts, coconut, walnut etc.

5. Drink tons of water a day.  The human body is 75 per cent water. Water flushes toxins from the body, energizes, and improves mental clarity.

6. Train for at least 30 minutes. Five or Six times a week.

7. GO HARD. The higher you raise your heart rate, the longer you'll burn calories after you stop exercising. 

8. DITCH the sugar. An influx of sugar into the bloodstream upsets the body's blood sugar balance and triggers the release of insulin to keep blood sugar at a constant and safe level. Insulin also promotes the storage of fat, so eating sugary foods means rapid weight gain.

9. REDUCE intake of 'HARD CARBS'. Get your dose of carbohydrates through fruits and veggies rather than 'hard carbs' like rice, pasta & potatoes. Bread and pastry are no-nos.

10. Sacrifice plus pain, equals glory. Be prepare to make sacrifices if you want to see changes. That means changing what and how you eat and dedicating time to quality exercise.  

TIPS: Waking up early for exercise

Have you guys always wanted to wake up early in the morning to do your workouts or cardio? and you're just not a morning person at all? Here are some tips that I have found on the internet and thought that they were actually really helpful! 

1. Lay out the clothes you plan to exercise in the night before and set your socks and shoes in front of your bed.
2. If it’s comfortable, go to sleep in your sports bra and running shorts. That way, half the work is already done when your alarm goes off.
3. Whether you’re using a phone or alarm clock, put it far away enough so that you have to get out of bed to turn it off.
4. Set a bottle of water close to your alarm clock, preferably with some lemon juice in it. Also, keep some no-bake energy bites nearby. You’ll need those first thing.
5. When your alarm goes off, DO NOT HIT THE SNOOZE BUTTON!. Just don’t do it. Set the alarm for the latest time possible, so you trick your brain into thinking you’re in a hurry, rather than thinking, “I can sleep for 10 more minutes.” That 10 minutes won’t make you less tired. It will, however, turn into 20 minutes, then 30 minutes, then no workout for you. Trust me on this one.
6. While you’re up, grab that bottle of water you set aside the night before and drink a good amount. The lemon juice will kick start your metabolism and help your body wake up faster. Then eat an energy ball or two. Chewing will let your digestive system know it’s time to start working, and the protein-packed bites will fuel your workout.
7. Before you even think of heading back to bed, put on your sneakers and the rest of your workout gear. Put in your headphones and start listening to some music. Now you’re ready to go before your brain has figured out what just happened.

Tone It Up - Protein Pancake

Low carb, Low fat & delicious! 

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup egg whites
• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder (organic brown rice protein or whey)- visit your local nutrition store or wholefoods!
• 2 tbs vanilla almond milk or skim
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tbs ground flaxseed
• After above ingredients are mixed together add 1/2 banana (mashed)- mash first, then add!!
• Add a handful of fresh or frozen blueberries

Pour into a pan that has been sprayed with olive oil cooking spray ~ heat on medium. Cook one side until you see the little bubbles.. just like cooking any pancake! Flip over (careful!) and cook on the other size until the middle is done (peek inside with a fork).

Top with two sliced strawberries and optional powdered stevia. ENJOY your protein pancakes 

Strawberry Raspberry Yogurt smoothie

Ingredients

4 ice

1 bananas

1 cup strawberry

1/2 cup raspberries

6 ozs low fat vanilla yogurt

3/4 cup low-fat milk

Blend it and enjoy :)

Recipe found on http://the-fitspirational-blonde.tumblr.com/

Tone It Up Cocktails

COCONUT COCKTAILS from TONE IT UP(Cocktails are two servings…)

Coco-Colada  

• 1/2 cup frozen pineapple chunks
• 10 OZ cup coconut water (we love our Zico coconut water)
• 2 frozen sliced banana (freeze sliced banana on a plate & put in freezer)
• 1/2 cup Zico ice cubes
• 2 teaspoons agave syrup
• 3 oz of your favorite coconut rum!
• 1 tbs unsweetened coconut flakes
• BLEND until smooth 

Cosmo-Goes-Beach

• 4 OZ ZICO Lima citron
• 3 OZ Kettle l’orange
• 3 OZ Pomegranate Juice
• You can also place a handful of fresh pomegranate seeds in your glass

ZICO-Mojito

• 8 OZ ZICO Lima Citron
• ZICO ice cubes
• 20 Mint leaves… YUM!!!!
• 3 oz rum
• Juice of 2 limes

ENJOY! 

TIP: HOW TO KEEP YOU HYDRATED ALL DAY :) AND WHY IS SO IMPORTANT

In this picture you can see how to keep you hydrated all day   

WHY IS SO IMPORTANT TO DRINK WATER? (Posted by toneitup.com)

Your body is made up almost entirely of water; its hard to believe, but everything in your body is floating in a water-based suspension. Also, many of our bodily functions require water in some part of their equation to occur properly. In this case, we are going to talk about the liver.

The liver is an amazing organ, of its many functions, one is to take released bodyfat and break it down for use as energy (a process called lipolysis). However, when hydration levels get as low as 80% (ie not very low) the liver & kidneys have a difficult time functioning, and filtering all that thickened blood. Since kidney function trumps liver function on the task-list of sustaining life, the amazing liver does what it can to take over for the kidneys. Wow, we are sure glad that is the case, otherwise we would all be in some serious trouble! But we are; because without the liver able to do its job, lipolysis (from above, the breakdown of fat for use as energy) doesn’t occur at the rate in which we need it to, in order to maintain a healthy body composition.

So one of the points we are trying to make is that in order for proper diet & exercise to be truly effective, you’ll need to maintain a proper hydration level as well, so that the bodyfat released into the bloodstream due to exercise can be broken down and used as energy to repair, and proper nutrition will have provided us with the right type of protein that breaks down into the amino acids we require to use as the building blocks of muscle in the repair of tired & sore muscles (that was a mouthful!)  :)

So remember, half your bodyweight in ounces, spread throughout the entire day.

Water increases your metabolism so much that if you’re chronically dehydrated, it can mean up to an 8 pound weight gain (or more) per year. No wonder weight creeps on! Your challenge is to drink at least half your body weight in ounces of water PER DAY. Ex: 150lb = 75 oz of water.

This doesn’t mean all at once, it means throughout the whole day  We can all mistake thirst for hunger too, which leads to eating more unnecessary calories, so it’s important to always have water handy.

Vegan Pumpkin Pancakes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole wheat flour (or flour of choice)
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup almond milk (or milk of choice)
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• dash of salt
• 1/4 cup pumpkin (canned or fresh)
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg and allspice
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• sugar to taste 

Mix all together and cook. This made 12 small pancakes (about 4”), but this could easily be doubled or cut in half.

Banana Popsicles with Vanilla and Cinnamon

Makes 5 popsicles Ingredients:

• 10 pitted dates
• 1/2 cup low-fat vanilla Greek yogurt
• 1 large ripe banana, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 cup milk – I used coconut milk but almond milk or dairy milk would also work
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions: Soak dates in hot water for about 5 minutes to soften them, then remove from water and chop them into very small pieces.  Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth.  Pour into 5 popsicle molds and freeze.Note: I had just barely enough mix to fill 5 standard popsicle molds so you may want to add a touch more yogurt and milk to the mixture to make sure there is enough, depending on the size of your popsicle molds. source: http://www.onceuponacuttingboard.com/2012/06/banana-date-popsicles.html

Strawberry - Banana bites

Recipe found on: http://www.asweetsimplelife.com/home/2012/1/12/strawberry-banana-bites.html

Ingredients:

• 3 ripe bananas
• 2 cup gluten-free oats
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• A generous pinch of nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon ginger
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 slivered almonds
• 6 fresh strawberries

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350°.In a large bowl, mash bananas with a fork.  Add oats, applesauce, vanilla, spices, and almonds. Stir thoroughly.

2. Cut the tops off strawberries and chop fruit into tiny pieces.  Add to batter. Mix until well blended.

3.  Drop dough by rounded tablespoons onto a lined baking sheet. Cook for 20 minutes or until cookies are golden brown. Transfer to cooling rack. Enjoy with a cup of coffee.

Make your own carrot chips

Benefits of Banana

WORKOUT: Mountain Climbers + 30 MINS OF CARDIO

MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS + 30 MINS OF CARDIO

I want you to follow this circuit!

- 20 mountain climbers

- 10 mins of cardio it could be anything! (running, jogging, rope)

- 20 mountain climbers

- 10 mins of cardio

- 20 mountain climbers

- 10 mins of cardio

and then do 50 more mountain climbers!

Mountain Climbers are good for your:

• upper abs,
• lower abs,
• thighs,
• shoulders
• and arms!!!

HOW TO DO A MOUNTAIN CLIMBER? CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO

Run Longer

Fresh Fruit Chocolate Bar

Hey guys! So I recently found this cool recipe that looked really YUMMY and I wanted to share it with you guys… I think you can make this in smaller sizes and if you want to eat it, then eat it with MODERATION 

FRESH FRUIT CHOCOLATE BAR RECIPE(Makes 4 chocolate bars)

Ingredients

1/2 banana
4 large strawberries
10 other berries (blueberries, raspberries, blackberries) or other ripe fruit
2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips (you can use a chocolate that doesn’t have sugar and stuff like that)

Equipment: mini loaf pan, foil, cooking spray

Directions
Prepare the fruit, slicing the banana and strawberries into thin 1/4” slices. Slice the raspberries and blackberries into 1/4” slices. Cut blueberries in half.

Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave, 30 seconds at a time, stirring each time, until smooth and completely melted.

Line the loaf pan with strips of foil so that it overhangs on each side. Spritz with a bit of cooking spray so that it peels off easily.

Spread a thin 1/2” layer of chocolate in the bottom of each well. Arrange the prepared fruit closely together. Top off with another thin layer of chocolate. Tap the pan against the table so that everything settles and to get rid of any air bubbles. Add additional chocolate on any parts where fruit peeks out.

Place in refrigerator and let chill 30 minutes or until chocolate is completely set. Use a warm knife to loosen the edges and then lift out of the mold. Peel off the foil and serve immediately or store in fridge wrapped in foil up to 24 hours.