Medicines you shouldn't give your child

I get e-mails from the babycenter and other informative parenting sites occasionally.  I usually just skim through them at best, until today.  I found a curious article entitled "8 Medicines you shouldn't give your preschooler."  The list is what almost all of us have in our cabinets: Over-the-counter cough and cold medicines, syrup of ipecac, and infant medications.  Here are some important parts of their article I though you'd be interested in:

"Over-the-counter cough and cold medicines

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) advises against giving OTC cough and cold medicines to preschool-age children. Studies show that they don't actually help soothe symptoms in kids this age. And they can be harmful, especially when a child mistakenly gets more than the recommended dose.
In addition to side effects like drowsiness or sleeplessness, upset stomach, and a rash or hives, a child can suffer serious effects such as rapid heart rate, convulsions, and even death. Every year, thousands of children end up in emergency rooms across the nation after swallowing too much cough and cold medicine.
Over the past few years, though, emergency visits involving infants and toddlers who take too much of these medications have dropped in half. Health experts attribute the drop to the fact that manufacturers no longer market cough and cold medicines to young children.
If your preschooler is miserable with a cold, you may want to try a humidifier or other home remedies.

Infant and adult medications

Giving your preschooler a smaller dose of medicine meant for an adult is as dangerous as giving a higher dose of medicine meant for an infant. Many parents don't realize that infant drops are more concentrated than liquid medicine intended for older children. If the label doesn't indicate an appropriate dose for the weight and age of your child, don't give that medication to your preschooler."

Interesting. Luckily for my family we stopped using over-the-counter anything because we discovered natural medicines.  I had pneumonia recently and used this method to get better.  What is this amazing substance you ask? - doTerra's essential oils.
You can put the oils in a diffuser (a high-tech humidifier) and it puts the oils into the air so you breath in your medicine.  It's great to put in your sick child's room at night or nap time.  The ones I have, have an optional light in it.  Which my kids love having the "medicine color changing nightlight," in their room.  Or if the light bothers you, it can be turned off.

The ultrasonic technology creates an ultra fine mist. Our mister is BPA free and offers a convenient on/off and led light switch on the front of the unit. The unit is easy to use and simple to clean. Just add a few drops of oil into cold tap water, and turn any room into a healing, relaxing oasis within seconds. Enjoy the beautiful and tranquil led light display of 6 fading colors to further enhance your relaxation experience.

 For a cold you need: thyme and lemon
diaper rash: Lavender
earache: melaleuca
fever: Lavender and Peppermint
Which can be purchased here
You can add some drops of the oil to the diffuser or you can apply them topically to your child.  If done topically dilute 1-2 drops with 1 tsp carrier oil, such as fractionated coconut oil.  It can be on neck, chest, bottoms of feet, just about anywhere.
What's great about these is the price. One application is about $0.50- $0.75.  You can apply pretty much on demand-which is a child's schedule anyways, right?  Effects start taking place with in minutes too.  Essential oils are a gold mine for anyone but especially for kids.  And what's great about doTerra specifically is that they are "certified pure," which means there's no harmful pesticides, fillers or weeds mixed in like most companies.
Also they have what's called a family physician kit.  It comes with the most needed oils for keeping a family healthy, CD featuring dōTERRA®'s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. David K. Hill to guide you on how to care your family's everyday health needs with simple and safe methods.
Also EfficientBody is discontinueing there diffusers.  There is talk of a new line and so the old ones must go!  They normally retail for $50 but will be going for $40 , also just for my readers you can get free shipping.  No rain checks though, once there gone, they are gone.
If anyone has more questions about this stuff e-mail me: jamie@efficientbody.com

Hope this had been enlightening for you.

No equiptment Core Conditioning

How are you goals coming?  Do we have visible progress yet?  So I've cheated a little. 
My Dad, last minute, came to visit and we did indulge in some brownies and gummy bears.  But because i've been working so hard I think I've still evened out.  My ab muscles are coming along nicely,  the booty getting more lift and all with two months to go.  Exciting! I wish our Halloween costumes were coming along that well.  I'm really behind schedule there.
So let's pick up the pace shall we?  I want you to workout more than you did last week.  Whatever it is, increase it.
If your a beginner here is what you can do this week:  Monday-20 min run, Wednesday- Lower body routine, Friday- Core conditioning routine (see below)
Intermediate and advanced:  Monday 30 minutes of running hills, Tuesday- Lowe body routine, Wednesday- core conditioning routine (see below), Thursday- lower body resistance bands, Friday- yoga, Saturday- 3 mile run.
I've also been working on a great core routine.  It's still a work in progress but give it a try anyway and tell me how you felt.

Here it is: Do as many as you can for 1 minute on each exercise or do 8-10 reps.

Plank Taps: Hold plank and tap the right shoulder with the left hand while keeping center your weight. Bring the left hand back down into plank.  Take the right hand and tap it to the left shoulder making sure not to lean to the left.  Keep alternating left and right arms.

Bicycle Crunch: extend the left leg out to a 45^ angle, bring the right knee in toward your chest. Take the arms behind the head to support its weight.  Twist the body bringing the left elbow and tap it to the right knee.  Rotate to the other side tapping the right elbow to the left knee.

Push ups: We know these;)

Best EVER!!!

Get used to Catcalls!  Operation CatWoman is still on and I put together this oh so simple yet incredibly effective routine. This is by far the best booty shaping routine ever!  I was amazed at how long my muscles kept tight and firm after this routine.  So give it a try.  Make sure to STRETCH after or you'll be sore for 3 days!  It's that good.  When preformed correctly it also will hit the abs nicely too.
 
Beginners do 7-10 reps of each exercise or for more advanced, do as many as you can for 1 minute.  Repeat the entire sequence 10 times or for 30 minutes.
No equipment needed, all you need is what you can find at a park or in your back yard.

Routine:
One-legged assisted squats: As you stand up squeeze your booty and your abs in tight. Also make sure to stand all the way up. 10 reps/ 1 min all on the same leg.

Side lunge jumps: Start in a side lunge position, hand touching ground, jump and switch lunge leg.-that's one rep. 10 reps/1 min

Wall jumps-  You can do this on a stair, gym box, or bench.10 reps/ one minute.  Intermediate to advanced, make this a high jump, about the top of your knees.
If you are pregnant don't do this!  This is a high impact exercise with risk of falling.  You can modify by just stepping up rather than jumping but keep the height lower.  Or just do squats on the ground.

That's one set, do 10 total- but alternate which leg you do on the assisted squats.
You can print this  to help you remember the routine.

 Work it!

Get the scoop on protein

I had some fun in the kitchen yesterday! I made some sugar and shortening free Banana Bread and some more Pico de Gallo and Protein Bars.  Speaking of protein, did you know that your probably not getting enough?

According to a recent publication in Women's Health magazine most women's diet lack sufficient amounts of protein.

All your tissues, bones, and nerves are made up  of mostly proteins.  It's also a building source for muscles, blood, skin, hair, nails, ligaments, tendons, and organs.  Also protein is important for the formation of mother's milk.  So if your lactating you need even more.
Protein can also double up and be used for heat and energy.  But because the body requires so much protein it's not always the best idea to use it for energy sources.  We need to keep it available for growth and maintenance in the body.  This is one of the reasons why its important to have fats and carbs in our diet.
There are 22 amino acids (a simpler unit of protein) required to make and up keep our bodies.  All but 9 can be produced by the body.  Meaning those 9, called essential amino acids, we need to intake to maintain healthy bodily functions.
In the food we eat there are two kinds of protein I want you to be aware of: Complete and Incomplete.
Complete Protein: Has all the essential amino acids
Incomplete Protein: lacks or is very low in any one of the essential amino acids.
For our bodies to use or synthesize protein ALL 9 essential amino acids must be present AT THE SAME TIME. If one is missing or low protein synthesis will be extremely low or fail all together.
Thus the importance of Complete Protein.

This is my favorite! I use vanilla for cooking and chocolate for enjoying! Can be bought here: Bev.protein

Meats and dairy are Complete.  Where as fruits, veggies, beans, nuts, and rice are Incomplete.  But by combining different Incomplete Proteins we can create a balance in amino acids.   Such as beans and corn like in the Southwest Salad recipe.  Or PB&J, the nuts from the peanut-butter and the wholegrain wheat combine to crate a Complete Protein.
To complete beans or brown rice here are a few options to combine with: nuts, seeds, wheat, corn.
This is one of the many reasons for eating protein shakes, bars and other fortified options.  It helps make it easy to get it complete and enough while keeping calories low.

This is next on my list to try.  It includes a patented weight-loss ingredient EssentraTrim that has been demonstrated to help with managing the stress hormone cortisol associated with fat storage.  Can be bought here: Trim shake

If you do choose to supplement protein make sure that there is little to no sugar.  We want protein but no junk to come with it.  Check the label for calories as well, try and keep it around 120 calories a serving.
So next time your planning your menu or wondering what to eat, make sure you've got your protein covered.

p.s. I created on awesome workout for you this morning I'll work on getting it on video or a printable for you.

Southwest Salad and Fall celebrations

 We celebrated the rest of the world going back to school today with a hike.  Fall is by far the best time to get some fresh cool air, and dirt on your boots.

Plus my alarm didn't go off today, or I was so exhausted that it did but I turned it off with out remembering. -Which is a good possibility. We have begun all the pre-filming business for our next  workout DVD and it's tough to keep up with it all and a Mother's life.   We all needed a break and some good ol' fresh air and quality time together and hiking was the best answer.












After hiking we can back for a delicious lunch of Rice cakes and South West Salad. I found these sauces on sale and thought I'd give them a try.  The barbeque dressing was just OK, but the fajita chicken sauce was Amazing!








Here is the recipe I created using the sauce:
1 bunch of Kale, washed and broken down to bite size pieces
3/4 head of Iceberg lettuce, washed and broken down
1.5 bunch of Cilantro, washed and leaves snipped of the stem
1 can of White Corn, mostly drained
1 can of Black Beans, washed and drained
optional: sweet and hot jalapenos and diced fresh tomatoes
Toss all ingredients together
Cook 3 chicken breasts in pan until mostly done, then add Fajita sauce and cook until done.
Add to salad and serve

Delicious!

Record It

I did recover from Friday's fiasco.  By Saturday I was great and enjoying some homemade energy gel and other fun stuff before the shoot.  Which went well by the way.  It was not two hours of grueling workouts like I was told.  It was easy, show me some moves type of thing.  Only 30 minutes!
Afterwards I really gained confidence that I can do things.  I hope you all get a confidence booster experience, its really empowering.  Maybe our CatWoman project will do that for you.
Speaking of which.  To track results we need to record our stats.  I do this with most of my Personal Training clients.  Nobody likes it but it's necessary. Get a measuring tape and do the biceps, thighs, around the belly button, and the fullest part of your booty. Then take your "before" picture.

Your stats are important to see how you are progressing.  Some people loose inches more than they lose pounds. (we'll talk why later)  They replace their fat with some muscle.  But because they didn't "loose" they get frustrated and give up before they see major results.  So If your not sure what's going on re-measure your self.
Also, we see ourselves everyday we don't really notice the subtle changes, as opposed to someone who only sees us once a week or a month they will notice more.  That's were the picture comes in so you can see the transformation.
I did this with my mother-in-law put up two pictures side by side and she was shocked how she had changed, she didn't realize what had taken place.  So get it done! 

 Last few days of summer upon us.  That means it was our last track workout :(
Here's what we did:
Warm up-walk 1 lap
Run: 1 mile
Ladders: end-zone and back progressing by 10 yards to 40 yard line. x3
x10 Bleachers
x10 Bleachers with modified pushups (20) and Triceps dips (12) at the bottom
x10 Bleachers
Just for fun we threw in some tire pushes

Menu:
Breakfast- 2 homemade protein bars
Snack- protein shake
Lunch- Chicken and Veggie Alfredo on whole wheat linguine
Snack- 1/2 tuna sandwich
Dinner- Southwest chicken salad

Continue Mission?

I woke up this morning pumped to do my last workout before the shoot.  While I was focused on the task I started feeling funny.  I went outside to do a quick run, started speed walking for my warm-up when..."Stop rocking the boat." I got really dizzy.  I was worried that I wouldn't get my run in so I just decided to go for it.  I broke into a run (yes, you can tell how well I was thinking at the time) and the dizziness got worse I could barley tell where I was.  I almost got hit by a car.  I was seriously messed up.  It calmed down slightly, but not enough that I could really tell where an object was.  Long story short, I only lasted 15 minutes running and decided my life was not worth this run.
What happened?
Well I'm no Dr. but I think my body could no longer handle my extreme diet.  No salt, sugars, fruit, grains.  Only meat and a few veggies.  But it's the eve before my shoot!  I've worked so hard.
 Do I just throw it all a way and have a bowl of cereal? or Continue Mission?

I decided neither was good. Alter mission, I would give myself some salt and some sweet potatoes.  That way I would feel better but not retain all the carbs I ate.  So as of now I still feel crappy, and so weak!  I haven't even unstacked the dishwasher and it's almost dinner time.  I've wasted a whole day.
Why did I even attempt this again?  Yes again. I'm in the health industry I'm always trying new stuff.  So I did try a similar plan, one not as extreme.
I did it because well, I wanted the results.  My figure competitor friend did it so it works right?  Even though it goes agents everything I believe in and I did have a bad feeling about it, I did it anyway.  I'm so mad at myself!
Never compromise what you believe in.
It's been experimenting with crazy diets over the YEARS that we came up with our slogan for EfficientBody Real workouts Real Food for REAL LIFE.  I was not doing life so well as demonstrated by my day so far. 
What we teach and what I'm re-committed to it eating "right" and healthy in a way that allows you to live life better. Enjoy it more.  No crash diets and craziness.  I've done so many and they never have good results.
I guess I also lost confidence in myself.  I always teach this stuff, how to eat REAL food but really healthy.  Sometimes we loose focus in a world with so many voices and think maybe I'm not right.
But I am, my background, training, religion, and experience tells me so!
So come Monday (It will take me that long to recover, if I can even make it through the shoot) we will get our game on.  EfficientBody style!  Let's be real and do this right.

Menu:
Good grief, Let's not go there today.

Workout:
cleaning the kitchen and going up the stairs;)
or for you people actually in real life do a 30 minute run or Yoga.
(check your local library for videos or youtube)

Are you getting enough?

Aside from oxygen what is the most vital to sustaining life of all organs?
Did you guess?  I'm not telling you the answer, you really have to play my little game here.
No it's not love, but that could be argued.
Fine I'll tell you even though you probably didn't guess.
Water
45-65% of your body is water.  And it's required for respiration, digestion, assimilation, metabolism, temperature regulation and so so much more.
The water is in your kidneys, blood, muscles, brain, liver and even in your bones.

So to get optimum health we need to intake water! It's also easier to loose weight keeping your body hydrated.  And we want both.
Remember the 8-8oz. per day rule?  Well you actually need more. There is no one set amount, it all depends on your climate, you physical activity, and gender.  According to the Institute of Medicine ruffly 9 cups of fluids for women and 13 cups for men is adequate.    But 8-8oz is a good place to start because most people don't even get that munch in.
All beverages count toward your intake, however,  not always is all of it water so don't be fooled there.  Also drinking other beverages besides milk or water really isn't going to help you health so If you can, ditch 'em.  There just adding worthless calories and sugars.

If your serious about your health start measuring your intake to see how your doing. Here is how I measure mine:

Hilarious right? But It works!  I measure how how much I need and sip on it all day long.  I use a gallon jug because I need tons of water right now to prepare for the shoot.  But typically a half gallon jug should do the trick.  Fill it all the way up put the lid on, use a knife to cut an "x" in the top and stick in your straw.

Today's menu:

breakfast: 2 eggs, grapefruit
Snack: recovery drink with BCAA's
Lunch: Herbal chicken stir fry
Dinner: Chili Balls, potatoes, and of course asparagus.  I've cooked this veggie about 5 different ways so far, all of which I've loved.  But I haven't written down the measurements so I will work on that.
And because of my special diet I need to alter this recipe.  After I do I'll share it with you.

Workout:
15 reps, cycle through for 30 min:
bicep curls
tripcep kickbacks
lateral raises
frontal raises
good moarnings
shoulder press
bicycles
diamond crunch

Help your body

In the battle to loose our excess, tone up what we've got and have energy while doing it there are things we can do to help our bodies succeed. One of those things are vitamins.
But aren't vitamins and supplements just a sales gimmick?  Yes, and no.  Supplements do not have to be regulated by the FDA.  There are certain stipulations, and criteria that must be met of course.  But compared to food and medicines, supplements (vitamins fall under supplements) rein free.
Meaning that if you buy a bottle of 90mg flax seed capsules there may or may not be 90mg of flax in there.  There could be 50mg with 40mg of "fillers" or pesticides, and debris from harvesting your supplement.
Some companies have chosen to be dishonest, some don't have full control of the product from plant to retail. Few do have full control, and some just choose to conduct business on the honesty policy. That is the industry we live in.
But we also live in a time of nutrient depleted soil, scientific hybridizing of seeds,  altering the seeds and plants in many ways to resist drout and bugs better.  While their intentions may have been pure, what has happened is a tomato is not as nutrient rich as it was 100-200 years ago.  Not just tomatoes but all plants in general.
Thus, to get all the vitamins and minerals needed for optimal health is more difficult.  Let alone how we complicate it with fast food, artificial substances and preservatives.

That is where supplements come in.  We need a bit extra to meet our daily quota.  So how do you choose in such a vast array of options?
First, to a large degree you get what you pay for.  When I choose my vitamins at my grocery store I looked for vitamins that were well balanced.  Vitamins work together they are all interdependent on each other such as calcium.  Calcium needs vitamin D for full absorption, that's why almost all milk is fortified with it.
Next, I looked for one that did not have outrageous amounts, like 300% of a daily value.  Because the body will only absorb so much.  You only need large amounts for therapeutic reasons validated by a doctor or dietitian.  And all vitamins have a toxicity range, you can have too much.  It's usually hard to reach that range but it's possible.
Lastly, I looked for minerals.  Ohh these are so so important!  Minerals are needed in small amounts in the body but control much of the bodies regulations.
After that I look for the cheapest;)
Be sure to check the label.  I was looking at Women's Centrum when I saw a store brand much cheaper which said "compare to exactly what I was looking at".  So I did and they were NOT the same.  The store brand had lower levels of some vitamins and minerals and two minerals were missing altogether.  So be sure the check!
I then bought the expensive one, and a bottle of flax seed because flax is the best healthy and essential fat out there.  Our body needs this for MANY reasons.  Good skin, nails, and hair.  Also vitamins A, D, E, and K are all fat soul-able.  Which means a active (not sorted) source of fat must be present to use them.
I've had no complaints about my vitamins until I tried some really pricey ones.  I can honestly say that I had more energy!  I felt better.
The difference?  These were made from whole food sources, not scientific copies, so they have a better absorption rate.  Also they are in a food capsule not vacuumed packed into one large solid horse pill.  Another thing is that they have FULL control of the entire process in making the supplements, this is makes it more expensive.  And a bonus, they've also added essential oils into them.  I have yet to see a vitamin that has the amazing benefits of frankincense in it. Just to top it off they give a guarantee:
"Just 30 days to change your life- Guaranteed." 
 You do have to be a preferred customer for the money back guarantee though.  But still that's confidence in their product.
What is it?  It's called  "Lifelong Vitality Pack" by doTerra.  The pack comes with 3 different supplements: "Mircoplex VMz," (vitamins) "xEO Mega" (essential oils like flax), and Alpha CRS+ (cellular vitality complex)
If you want to buy them or find out more check this website out :
 http://www.mydoterra.com/efficientbody/
These are what I've used for the past 4 months and love them.  Like I said they are expensive but if you become a preferred customer you get 25% off these and all products they offer.

Here is today's menu:
breakfast: 2 eggs with Pico De Gallio and grapefruit
snack: protein shakes and recovery drink
lunch: Cilantro Burger and asparagus (flavored with white cheddar:)
snack: beef jerky, protein shake
dinner: BBQ chicken leftovers with kale side salad

Workout:
Warm up-Walk one lap
Run 6 laps
Cool down- walk one lap, this is my kinds turn to run, and my turn to hydrate.
(this totals 2 miles, for beginners walk 1, run 2-3, walk 1)
After that my kids get a snack and I do bleachers.
Run 12x up the bleachers (beginners do the stairs they are not has high as the actual seats)
Rest
X12-Run up the bleachers, 20 modified pushups at the top, run down, do 12 triceps dips at the bottom.
Rest and hydrate
X12 bleacher runs.
Hydrate and DONE!

I needed to hit this again today so I could blast more calories and really hit my legs hard for the last time this week.

Eating Out

So I'm just about back on.  I was a good girl yesterday and so far today even though we went out to eat!  My cousin is visiting me from NY/Organ so I had to give him the Cincinnati tour which wouldn't be complete without Cincinnati Chilli.
But what's a girl to eat when everyone gets the good stuff?
Control. Fill in the blank: I what I want more than a chilli burrito is to look great in my photo shoot and Halloween costume. 
So when ordering food ask for no sauce or sauce on the side. Go for grilled options.  Have a side salad and eat that all gone before eating anything else.  That way you fill up on the good stuff first.  And go easy on the dressing.  Many people think their eating healthy when lurking in their dressing is fat and major calories.  So dip your fork into the dressing or sauce and then poke your food.  You get the flavor with out overdoing it, win-win.
I ordered a sandwich on wheat bread with no mayo.  And because of my Saturday shoot I ditched the bread and let my two-year-old have at it.  But under normal circumstances I would have eaten it.  I drank water.  Again this is a area where you can either cut or LOAD calories.  Shakes, sodas, even lemonades- Bad, extra bad, and still bad.
Focus on the company and conversation rather than thinking "what your missing out on."  But really were not missing anything.  We don't miss being unhealthy, overweight and self conscious, right?  We only gain here: health, fitness, self control and confidence.  And that my friends is what we really miss.

Today's menu:
Breakfast- 2 scrambled eggs with Pico de Gallio and a grapefruit
Snack- chocolate protein shake
Lunch- double decker sandwich (they didn't have any veggie sides but I would add one here)
Snack- small orange and tuna or protein shake
Dinner- barbeque chick sandwiches with watermelon and asparagus

Exercise:
Yesterday we banged out our lower body, and just touched on upper so we reverse that today.
So do your upper body resistance bands workout
But after every two exercises add 1:00 min of jump roping.  Doing so will triple your calorie burn, something we all want right? This should put you in your fat burning zone.


Let's do this and loose some this week!

How are you doing?

Well, how was your weekend?  Was your eating, good or did you give in at eat junk?
I have a confession: I did.
I was asked last Wednesday to do a fitness photo shoot. They wanted toned and muscular action shots.  I was SO nervous AND excited.  So I talked to my friend who is a Figure Competitor on how to prepare my body for the shoot.  (That's why my eating was SO SO limited last week)  Anyway long story short, it got cancelled Friday night.  I was being so good and after hearing that I decided to make a bad choice and eat cookies my neighbor brought me. Oooh they were divine! (Thanks Rach)
But excuses or not I still have to pay for it so I'm working out extra hard and lowering my calories a bit to compensate, because I'm still CatWoman and the shoot is rescheduled for this Saturday.  But I doesn't feel real anymore.  I feels like just another crazy idea I have in my head.

Any way here is today's menu:

Breakfast: shake  (1/3 cup oatmeal, 1 cup chocolate protein powder, 8 oz water with mint leaves) p.s. this recipe is still in the works.

Snack: Beef Jerky and recovery drink

Lunch: Japanese Udon noodles with veggies.

Snack: Beef Jerky and Cashews

Dinner: Sweet Potato, asparagus and Barbeque Chicken

Exercise:  It's Monday so that means the Track Workout.  Here's what I did:
Warm up-Walk one lap
Run 6 laps
Cool down- walk one lap, this is my kinds turn to run, and my turn to hydrate.
(this totals 2 miles, for beginners walk 1, run 2-3, walk 1)
After that my kids get a snack and I do bleachers.
Run 10x up the bleachers (beginners do the stairs they are not has high as the actual seats)
Rest
X10-Run up the bleachers, 20 modified pushups at the top, run down, do 12 triceps dips at the bottom.
Rest and hydrate
X10 bleacher runs.
Hydrate and DONE!

I think I'll repeat this on Wednesday because it's an easy way to burn so many calories.

How are you guys on your exercising, are you getting it in daily?