We are in the last few days of January! How did you do on keeping your New Year’s Resolutions? Or even better, sticking to working towards your 2012 goals? It’s a great time to check in, make sure you are on track and re-focus as need.

If one of your goals was to lose weight and eat healthy, here are a few tips to help you stay on track for the next 30 days (or 29, since Feb only has 29 days!):

1. Keep your heart healthy this month – it’s National Heart Health Month. Simple things you can do include – 30-60 minutes of exercise a day, quit smoking and eat a healthy, balanced diet.
2. What does a healthy, balanced diet looks like? Think of a dinner plate – half of it should be vegetables (salad, stir fry, raw veggies for example), 1/4 protein (size of the palm of your hand) and 1/4 whole grains (barley, quinoa, brown rice).
3. Drink water. Lots of water. Juice has no place in a healthy diet, especially for kids. There is no fibre in juice and it’s high glycemic so it tends to spike blood sugar levels.
4. Enjoy your 1-2 cups of java a day though! Coffee has many anti-oxidants and even Dr. Oz recommends it. Just remember to balance out your coffee intake with a good quality calcium supplement!  I choose USANA Health Sciences pharmaceutical grade products for myself and my family.
5. Give lots of hugs and kisses! This helps you stay in a happier mood, and it’s easy to stay on track with your healthy lifestyle when you’re happy. In fact, it’s recommended that you give at least 12 hugs a day. The bonus is that you’ll receive 12 hugs in return.

What do you do on a daily basis to stay on track for your health? Is there anything in particular that you do to keep your heart healthy?

In my last newsletter, I talked about preparing a few things on a Sunday to help you stay on track during the week. Here are few suggestions to help you keep a healthy diet all week long:

• Slice raw veggies, such as colourful peppers, broccoli, mushrooms (or buy them pre-sliced), celery and carrots (or buy baby carrots) and store in clear plastic or glass containers. They will be handy for a snack (dip in hummus!) or a stir fry
• Bake or poach 3-4 chicken breasts (above what you need for dinner), let them cool and store in a container in the fridge
• Combine 1 cup of quinoa with 1 cup of vegetable or chicken broth and one cup of water. Bring to a boil and cook for 15 min. Let cool and either store as is, or make it into a salad with feta cheese, cilantro and grape tomatoes. Add a bit of balsamic vinaigrette when serving.
• Hard-boil 4-6 eggs, great to add to salads, wraps or just as a great snack with some raw veggies.
• Wash, cut and prep fruit such as cantaloupe, pineapple, strawberries and grapes. Mix in small containers for ready-made fruit salad to be added to yogurt.
• Prepare a bean salad for a great side dish with lunch or dinner. My favorite is adapted from the Low GI Diet Cookbook – I’ll share it at the end.

Now when you look at your fridge on a Monday morning, there will be lots of options for healthy lunches and dinners to start your week.  Usually by Wednesday evening I am doing some of the set-up again to get through the week, as we have often already eaten all that was prepared.

Here is my adaptation of the Mixed Bean Salsa from the Low GI Diet Cookbook.

• 1 can mixed beans, rinsed and drained
• 3 kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
• 4 sun-dried tomatoes (not in oil), chopped
• 1/2 cup of green onions, chopped
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 2 teaspoons of balsamic vinegar
• a few dashes of hot pepper flakes (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and lightly toss. Refrigerate unused portions. Makes approx. 6 side servings.

Happy Healthy Eating this week!

Last night I took a business call after 10 pm.  I immediately regretted it because I have a hard and fast rule never to take any calls after 10 pm.  Whether it be friends, family or business, my rule is that 10 pm is too late to be on the phone.

This is just one of the strategies I use on a daily basis to manage my energy.  You may be thinking why do I need to manage my energy? What does that even mean? Think of it like this, you body can store a certain amount of energy every day.  When you wake up after a good night’s sleep, your energy fuel tank is refilled and you feel refreshed. As you go through your day, many things will take your energy – and for many people, their energy fuel tank is depleted even before they finish breakfast.

Here are some examples of things that can steal your energy

• email
• the internet
• Facebook
• the news
• lack of focus
• other people
• not being yourself
• poor nutrition
• lack of exercise/over exercise
• not enough sleep
• STRESS

How many of these do you experience before breakfast? As you run into each of these throughout the day, you energy fuel tank gets more and more depleted. Unless you are doing something throughout the day to refuel, you end up feeling completely exhausted and depleted at the end of the day.  Do this day after day, and eventually you get sick – maybe just a cold, possibly something more serious.

What can you do to replenish and refuel your energy fuel tank? Here are few suggestions:

• 7-10 hours of sleep
• meditation/quiet reflection
• optimal supplementation to keep your cells fueled
• regular cardiovascular and resistance exercise
• create a vision board to inspire you every day
• drink lots of water
• breathe deeply once or twice a day
• de-clutter
• spend your time with people who fill your tank!

A few of the things that are also important to me to manage my energy include shutting off my phone and laptop at 10 pm every night and not turning it on til I’m out of bed for at least 15-30 min. Taking a half hour before bed to unwind (not in front of the TV) by writing out my 3 gratitudes for the day, reading a bit or maybe watching The Secret to You video – I love falling asleep with that music in my head. I also take some time to breath deeply and pray before I fall asleep.

What strategies do you use to manage your energy?

It’s been a busy couple of weeks and the rest of the month is looking much the same, so I wanted to share a great post from one of the blogs I follow:

Great Eating Tips for Busy Families: In Between Meals.

Enjoy!

There’s something I noticed this past month. I think my daughter eats better than my husband and I do. She eats whole foods, lots of fruit, some veggies, good sources of protein and fats – she loves salmon and avocado and drinks only milk and water. We give her very little processed foods (i.e. baby mum-mum) and of course, nothing with added sugar. Sure, she’s only 1 and we can pretty much control what going into her mouth (well, at least where food is concerned), but it’s also great that she loves to eat healthy foods.

For those new parents out there, who are still in close control of what their kids are eating – are they eating better than you are? Or do you all eat the same? Or are their eating habits worse than yours?

I often wonder how many children today have such poor eating habits. Is it because of what their parents are feeding them? Is it the media influence on tv commercials and branding with cartoon characters? Is it the food they are getting at school, perhaps in the cafeteria or in a vending machine? At what age do we “lose” the influence we have over what our children are eating?

The best suggestion I can offer to help battle this issue is to help parents and other caregivers learn about healthy, low glycemic eating for themselves and their families. In my opinion, if the parents have a better understand of what food is healthy and how easy and inexpensive it can be to feed your family with healthy, low glycemic whole foods, then we’ve at least got a chance to teach our children too.

Our next 30 Days to Optimal Health Program is starting on Wed. Sept 21st.  We’ll be starting the following Monday with a great 5-Day RESET Cleanse to help kick the carb cravings, bust the sugar habit and release fat from our mid-sections!

Who is this program for?

• Moms who are still struggling with extra baby weight or consuming extra calories but no longer breastfeeding
• Dads who gained baby weight too
• Runners and walkers who struggle with too many high glycemic carbs in their diet
• Any parent who wants learn better eating habits so that they can teach their children

How do I sign up?

• Contact Julie Caroline directly at julie@inspiredbyjuliecaroline.com for a free consultation call, to find out if this program is right for you

We’ve already got several people signed up – would you like to join us?

It’s been 33 days since I started the 30 Days to Optimal Health Program with 14 other people. The results have been great for so many people! I’ve shared some of their stories in testimonials. My reasons for participating in the program as well as coaching were simple: I had reached a plateau with my weight loss since my daughter was born.  I was frustrated that no matter what I seemed to do, nothing was changing. I needed to get back on track with the healthy lifestyle triad that had served me well for so many years. And I was motivated to be an example of good health, not only for my family but for other busy moms as well.

My goals were also very simple:

• Fit into my bridesmaid dress (check!)
• Stop drinking diet coke (check!)
• Lose 10 lb (7 lb and more than 2 inches already)

This photo is the most dramatic, you can see the changes in my face, tummy and thighs.

What I found was that this program is not just about weight loss. For so many people there have been other amazing results, beyond losing weight. Here are just a few examples:

• More energy
• No 3 pm dip in energy
• Fitting back into your clothes
• No late night snacking (or making healthy choices instead)
• Increased muscle tone
• Learning new healthy habits that allow for a lifestyle change
• Finding out that being healthy for life can be simple to do every single day
• Meeting new people and sharing support
• Improving on race times (one participant took 11 min off her half marathon time from 5 weeks earlier)
• More self confidence and feeling great about your body

Most participants achieved 2 of 3 goals within the 30 days. And not only that, many participants who hadn’t lost any weight in the years before, have been losing weight and inches with our program.  Since we are teaching lifestyle habits, the goal is to continue to lose weight at a steady pace until your body reaches it’s optimum weight.  Then it’s maintenance for life.

One of the questions I often get if do I have to continue to take the vitamins and use other USANA products? My answer is YES! You’ve had success for a month using these products along side your healthy low glycemic eating and regular cardio exercise – why would you stop? Part of the program includes learning about why each part of the triad is so important for lifelong health. And when you meet others who have been maintaining this program for years, you can tell the difference it makes not only in how they look, but their energy levels and overall health.

Where do we go from here? Stay tuned, I’m currently redesigning both Motivation For Your Life and 30 Days to Optimal Health.  The new website will launch within a month and we’ll have several program options available. If you’d like to get started immediately, just send me an email at info@julieboyer.com and we’ll get you started.

My goal: To help at least 1,000 mommies to feel great about their bodies again, using the 30 Days to Optimal Health program. Dads and non-moms welcome too! In fact, some of the most dramatic results have been from our men.

Last week I talked about the people that inspire me.  There were some great responses, both here and on facebook, and it even inspired a post by my good friend Janice, The Fitness Cheerleader. I hope you’ve had a chance to think about the people who inspire you and to let them know they do!

My sister and I had a great talk a few nights ago about being passionate about what you are doing.  My sister is an amazing teacher, she is dedicated, works very hard and gives all she has to her students – and because of this, makes an impact on their lives.  Yet for some reason, even since she moved to Vancouver, the universe has been making it more and more difficult for her to teach her specialty, English.  We mused about what the universe has in store for her, because she’s being pushed in another direction.  I suggested that maybe it was time for her to develop one of her other passions, such as writing or design.

Developing a passion in life is something that I feel is very important. You might be one of those lucky people who has known since they were a child what their passion is – like being an artist or a designer or taking care of children – whether it be your own or other people’s.  For many people, finding their passion is a lifelong journey.  And you may live out many different passions throughout your lifetime.  The important thing is to find SOMETHING to be passionate about.

Ask yourself this – what am I passionate about? Make a list of all of the things that you are passionate about. And then compare that to what you are doing every day – do the two lists match? This exercise can be life changing for some people.  If you ask any successful person what they are passionate about they will tell it that it’s their job or business that is their passion. Have you ever heard anyone say, “I love what I do so much that it doesn’t even feel like work”? If this phrase sounds nuts to you, chances are you aren’t doing something you are passionate about.

Perhaps you’re thinking wait a minute here, I can’t just quite my job and become a professional horseback rider, I’ve got bills to pay! True enough, so if you job isn’t your passion and you’re not in a position right now where you can change that, find some time to enjoy what you are passionate about on the weekends. Again, who hasn’t heard the story of the Fortune 500 CEO who quit her job to start a cupcake business because she was passionate about baking?

There was a time where I lost my passion, especially over the past year when my daughter was born and we had a rough go for the first few months. Now that she’s a bit older, and we’re sleeping more and having a lot more fun, I’m able to tap into my passions again.  So what I am passionate about? First, I am so passionate about helping other moms to feel great about themselves again through my 30 Days to Optimal Health program. This program has been redeveloped over the past month (I did a version several years ago) and I am loving every minute of it!! I love it when a client tells me they have lost weight, are feeling great, have made lifestyle changes and are happy with their progress. That’s why I’ve set a goal of helping at least 1,000 mommies to feel great about their bodies again in the next 3 years (men and non-moms welcome too!!).

Second, I am passionate about teaching. I have been teaching French since 2004 and still teach private lessons today. In fact I’m running French camp this summer for two weeks. This also ties into why I love the 30 Day program, as there is a live coaching component.

Third, I am passionate about exercise, especially triathlon. Now, this passion has been on the back burner for a while due to my toe injury – but the good news is that with my new orthotics, things are looking up!! Stay tuned for that developing story, I’m hopeful that I may be able to get back to competition shape by next summer.

Life feels so much more amazing when you’re able to do something you’re really passionate about. My wish for you is that you are living a passionate life and if not, that maybe you’ve been inspired to find out what you are passionate about and GO FOR IT!! 

I never thought I’d feel comfortable enough to post these photos on the internet, but I feel so amazing about the changes over the past 5 days that I have to share.  My goal is to help thousands of other mommies to do the same – and to feel amazing about their bodies again!!

After the first 5 days of the 30 Days to Optimal Health, I’ve lost 5.5 lb and 2″ and I feel great about my body for the first time since my daughter was born 8 months ago.  I am also sleeping better, I have more energy during the day and I’m feeling full til lunch with just a Nutrimeal Shake for breakfast and a yummy Peanut Butter Nutrition Bar for snack. I’ve bought some new summer clothes and am almost back into the size I was before I got pregnant!! And to top it all off, several of the participants in the program have lost pounds, inches and are feeling amazing.  I am so blessed to do what I do!!

I participated in a Mom2Mom sale recently and I realized that other moms are desperately looking for a solution that is simple, cost-effective and fits with their lifestyle.  Yes, this program works really well for others too – Dads, Grand-mothers, Triathletes, Runners – you name it.  I would love to help 1000 people in the next year to take the first steps toward changing their lifestyle for good and as a by product, lose weight if that is their goal.  So far, including me, I’m at 10 13.  Only 990 987 to go! Would you like to be one of them?

This week has been amazing! I’ve been doing the 5 day RESET plan, as the kick off to the 30 Days to Optimal Health program this month and I’m feeling great.  I’ve already lost a few pounds but more noticeably, my waistline is thinner!! I have to say that even though I have been coaching people on this program for years and seen great results with so many clients but it’s different when you’re the client and the instructor.  This is the first time in my life I have ever struggled with my weight, when I lost over 25 lb in 2006, it wasn’t because I had weight struggles – it was simply a fantastic side effect of my new healthy lifestyle (yeah!).

A good friend of mine who has 3 kids warned me how difficult it would be to eliminate the carb cravings after I had my daughter. I also never thought I would put on 45 lb during my pregnancy – it was a bit of a relief in the weight department that she came early. I developed some bad habits and a few chocolate addictions during and after the pregnancy. And having a fall baby means most of your exercise in the winter has to be done inside, and mall walking wasn’t doing it for me. I naively thought that it wouldn’t be too difficult to lose the weight after.  And for some women, it’s not a struggle at all.  I believe that for the majority though, it is.

I was inspired to put together the 30 Days to Optimal Health program by my good friend Leanne, founder of Healthy Girl. And being a participant in this first session will not only help me to lose the last 15 lb but it also allows me to be inspired by the other program participants.  I’ve been inspired by a husband and wife team who are doing the program together, committed to changing their lifestyle for the rest of their lives and giving themselves and their son a better chance at optimal health. I’m inspired by my husband, whose daddy tummy has gone down already and is looking fitter every day.  I’m inspired by my sister-in-law who has dropped 7 lb already. I’m inspired by those who are making changes and feeling great!

One of the things many of us have noticed while doing the plan is that we eat way more than we need to, in order to feel full. After the hunger pangs of the first day, by the second day, I was amazing at how the shakes, bars and fruits and veggies were filling me up.  And drinking lots and lots of water plus lots of fibre – well you do the math. I love becoming more in tune with my body again and feeling great about it!

I’ll be posting a photo this weekend, so stay tuned for the results.  And by popular demand, I will be starting another session on June 9th, with the program starting Monday June 13th.  There are 9 spots left, here are the details.

Sometimes I think we forget that our bodies are fueled by what we eat and drink. Everything we put into our mouths is what is fueling our cells on a daily basis. I’ve been watching a few reality shows lately that illustrate how many people, both adults and children, are eating mostly fake foods every day. What do I mean by “fake food”? Chips, chocolate, soda pop, anything fried, cookies, cakes, brownies, pizza, burgers, french fries. There is a huge proportion of the developed world that lives on these products EVERY SINGLE day!! There are children who have never even eaten a vegetable. This is absolutely shocking to me.

What I’ve started to realize is that even though I have a few bad food habits (I drink diet pop – and I have a goal to stop during the 30 Days to Optimal Health) is that we eat a very healthy diet.  I realize that growing up with a mom who is a dietician and a dad who is a French cook, I was blessed with fresh, healthy meals on the table while I was growing up. And now that I have a daughter, it’s even more important for me to show her how to eat in a healthy, balanced way. When I see the children who are eating all of the junk on these shows, I wonder where are the parents? Why are they eating such junk? And you’ll never convince me that it’s cheaper to buy chips and chocolate bars and Oscar Meyer Lunchables than fresh fruits, veggies and making a sandwich. Or buy frozen veggies and make a stir fry! Put frozen fruit in a smoothie or yogurt.

The bottom line is this: Our bodies are fueled by what we eat and drink, including water of course. Your brain needs the right combination of healthy fats to work properly and it needs to be hydrated. Children concentrate better when they’ve had a healthy nutritious lunch, rather than junk. Your muscles need good, lean protein to grow. And your body needs a combination of healthy, low glycemic foods in order to release fat and help to lower your risk of insulin resistance.

I challenge you to take a closer look at what you are putting into your body over the next few days. Pay attention to everything you eat and drink and ask yourself this: Am I fueling my body with this? If the answer is no, then perhaps the rest of it should go in the garbage.  I guess that means I’ll be quitting soda pop a few days early!!  Check in below and let me know what your biggest bad food habit is.