Aging is Optional

Aging is a natural process and each and every one of us will have to deal with it at some point in our life. However, you can slow the process! Here are 6 bad habits I recommend avoiding or significantly reducing in your life so you can slow the process:

6 Bad Habits that Speed Up the Aging Process

1. Lack of Sleep
Most adults do not get the recommended eight hours of sleep each night. In fact, many of us get only half of that per night. Obviously this not only influences your energy levels the next day, but sleeping less than six hours per night significantly contributes to high levels of inflammatory proteins which increase the process of aging.

2. Drinking and Smoking
These two habits are probably among the top three factors to blame for aging. Alcohol is not only high in calories, but can greatly damage the liver and kidneys. Smoking, on the other hand, is bad for every organ in your body. It significantly increases the risk of lung cancer and other types of cancer and diseases. Heart disease being the most deadly of these. Both alcohol and tobacco products greatly increase the aging of your skin as well. To stay beautiful, fit, and ageless throughout your life, steer clear of cigarettes and keep alcohol consumption to a minimum.

3. Lack of Greens and Vegetables
Not consuming enough variety of greens and different vegetables in your diet can greatly influence the aging process. Greens and vegetables not only keep you energized and provide you with healthy nutrients, but they are also beneficial for your skin, hair and health overall. Including more vegetables such as kale, spinach, tomatoes, brocolli, brussell sprouts and many others, will decrease the aging process drastically.

4. Stress
Stress is the number one cause of disease in the 21st century. According to the National Academy of Sciences, immune system cells of highly stressed women caused them to age an additional 10 years. Minimizing stress by incorporating things such as meditation, yoga, hiking and other stress-reducing activities, can go a long way in keeping you young. 

6. Negative emotions
What bothers us inside will show on the outside. Keeping negative emotions such as anger and resentment to yourself will only make you feel worse and bring you down. It's important to let it out, and then let it go. Holding grudges can add to your stress and increase the aging process even more!

6. Passive lifestyle
Being passive or inactive can cause a number of different problems. Not keeping yourself active and moving can lead to several metabolic diseases, including obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes. But, that’s not all. People who are less active are more likely to experience depression and anxiety, which also have a very bad influence on the aging process. 

Ultimately -- 
YOU HAVE TO MAKE A CHOICE!
That is the first secret.

If you make the right choice, you can look forward to a younger, more confident, and happier you

5 Ways To Reverse Your Biological Age

Studies show that if we break down the factors contributing to one’s longevity, a mere 25% is attributed to genetics or one’s biological makeup. The other 75% depends on the way we think and the choices we make. 

Thus, the principle of Un-aging is based on the idea that—although our chronological age is a given since it refers to how many years we have lived on this earth, we can still control the rate at which we age or our biological age.

Un-aging addresses how to prevent, slow, or reverse the effects of aging. It not only includes nutrition, physical fitness, skin care, hormone replacements, and similar; it also includes anti-aging psychology, e.g., attitudes, beliefs, and coping skills for resiliently handling change, stress, and aging.

All of these factors contribute to the state of our internal body clock. 

Although most believe that a body clock is something intangible, on the contrary, it refers to something very tangible and specific because the measure or one’s body clock is related to the length of so-called telomeres.

Telomeres are the caps on the ends of our chromosomes or DNA strands. They are like the tips of shoelaces, Without these plastic tips on the ends of our shoelaces, the shoelaces quickly start unraveling. The same is true of our DNA. As we age our telomeres gradually get shorter and shorter. When our telomeres get too short our DNA is no longer protected. Thus, when cells divide, errors will be made causing cancer and other chronic medical conditions. Eventually, our telomeres get too short to maintain life.

Fortunately, there are things we can do now to lengthen our telomeres and reverse aging at the cellular level.  By making these changes now, we can reverse our biological age and dramatically slow the overall aging process.   

Here is a list of ways to reverse your biological age:

1.    Eat healthy.
Many studies have shown that a healthy diet can reverse or slow telomere aging. In particular, diets high in whole foods such as vegetables, fruits, fish, nuts, seeds, and legumes can protect our telomeres from shortening. Sugar, processed foods, and processed meats have the opposite effect to our telomeres. 

2.    Lead an active lifestyle.
Studies show that regular exercising slowed telomere aging by about 10 years. The message here is clear, exercise can reverse or slow the aging process.

3.    Maintain an ideal weight. 
Being conscious of of our weight is more than just cosmetic or a means for us to have a positive self-image. Being overweight is another cause of premature aging. Carrying excessive weight causes oxidative stress, or “rusting,” to our cells resulting in telomere shortening and premature aging.

4.    Get enough sleep.
Ideally, we should sleep at least 7 hours a day. Sleep is when our bodies go into repair mode.  We need this repair process functioning optimally if we want to reverse our biologic age and “grow younger.”

5.    Manage stress and strive to be happy.
While we cannot avoid stress, we can change how we perceive stress and we can block the effects of stress on our telomeres through mindfulness, meditation, etc. Maintain a positive attitude by connecting with friends and family. Social connection was shown to be an additional way to keep our telomeres long and prevent loneliness, which is a powerful predictor of heart disease.

The decisions we make every day determine whether or not we grow old. By taking the steps outlined above, we can immediately reverse our biological age by about 10 years.  

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RANCHO EGG BASKETS

Rancho Egg Baskets

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PLYOMETRIC/CHEST OUTDOOR WORKOUT

One of the best ways to trim your legs and tone your butt is doing plyometrics. Adding in some chest for a upper body workout adds variety. See the full video for your complete workout.

This video is about Outdoor Plyo Workout

PROGRAM DETAILS:

>20 Jump squats

>20 Incline pushups

>20 Bulgarian split squats - each leg

>20 Decline pushups

Repeat Circuit 3 times

Always warm up for 5-10 minutes before starting any workout. Running one full lap on the track is a great warm up before starting this workout. 

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4 Ways to Significantly Slow Down the Aging Process

4 Ways to Significantly Slow Down the Aging Process

1. Maintain a healthy diet
A healthy diet consists of recipes packed with the right amount of lean protein, leafy green vegetables, seafood, whole grains, fruits, and healthy fats such as avocados, nuts, and coconut oil. Remember to keep sugar to a minimum.  Incorporating these healthy foods, will not only keep you looking young and flatten your abs, but it will also give you that much needed energy to get through your day.

2. Stop smoking and drinking
Bad habits can sometimes be hard to break. But, if you succeed, it can have an incredible influence on your overall health and physique. Getting rid of alcohol will make your skin much healthier and younger, whereas quitting smoking will reduce the risk of lung cancer and aging skin. Bottom line, getting rid of these two bad habits will greatly benefit slowing down the natural aging process.

3. Pay Attention To Your Skin
The best thing you can do to slow down aging is to take care of your skin. Exposing your skin to the rays of sun too much can damage it, as well as enhance the process of aging. In order to protect it you should always apply sunscreen, wear a hat and sunglasses and drink plenty of water. A good moisturizer is important as well. 
I use Revision Skincare
1. D.E.J. Face cream  
2. D.E.J. Eye Cream  and
3. Nectifirm for a firm neck

4. Exercise Regularly
Actually, one of the best ways you can do in order to slow down the aging process is to get active. Exercise initiates psychological changes, increases your blood flow, and energy instantly goes to your brain and muscles. So, when you have regular exercise activities, your body will be able to retain energy for a lot longer and fight the aging process!

Now that I've shared this information with you, please don't feel overwhelmed. It's a simple process, just take it one step at a time. For more guidance in stopping the aging process, click here now. 

Ultimately -- 
YOU HAVE TO MAKE A CHOICE!
That is the first secret.

If you make the right choice, you can look forward to a younger, more confident, and happier you

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EATING HEALTHY TIPS FOR DATES, LUNCHES & PARTIES

I’m often asked, “How do I handle parties, holidays, dates, business meetings, and the break room” It’s true that many of these occasions add tremendous temptation. So, here are my tips:

• Eat before you go to a party and decide in advance what you will or you won’t eat. Almost all parties have a raw vegetable tray and ice water. Arriving full will help avoid any last-second justifications.

• Host the party yourself! That way you have more control of the menu and can easily create healthy options both you and your guests can enjoy.

• Keep a glass of water in your hand as you socialize. And, socialize far away from the food table.

• If clients or vendors suggest going to lunch, simply decline and welcome them to your office for the business discussion at a non-mealtime.

• For business meetings you can’t avoid, bring your own meal. Few will even notice.

• For dates, suggest a healthy restaurant in advance and study the menu online before you arrive. Also, don’t be afraid to order exactly what you want, even if it’s not listed. For example, say I’d like grilled chicken with steamed vegetables and no butter. Most restaurants will gladly accommodate.

• For Girls’ Night Out, suggest an activity such as pedicures, a movie, a play, a hike, or shopping at your favorite mall. You’ll be glad you did!

• As for the break room, just stay away. Keep your food in your own mini refrigerator or at your desk. It’s not super classy to be rummaging through leftovers anyway.

• Often holidays are centered on food. First, don’t let yourself indulge days before and days after the actual holiday. This can easily turn into a month of sabotage. On the actual day, plan ahead what you will eat and what you will not. Plan to do a little extra cardio on the day before or after. And, most of all, remind yourself that it is just a couple of hours. Staying on track for a holiday might seem difficult, but if you make up your mind it’s totally possible.

• Reward yourself for staying on your nutrition plan with a new nail polish, a book you’ve wanted to read, new earrings, etc.

Remember that accomplishing your goal will feel and taste better than falling off track at any party. You are in control. You don’t have to make excuses or explain yourself. You’re simply choosing to be healthy, feel good, and look good. Others will quickly be inspired by your example.

Ultimately -- 
YOU HAVE TO MAKE A CHOICE!
That is the first secret.

If you make the right choice, you can look forward to a younger, more confident, and happier you

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Embrace Change

Change is constant, but that doesn’t always make it easy.
We are all aware that change is a constant thing in life, yet many of us tend to resist it and whatever consequences it may bring. We should, however, keep in mind that without change… there would be no progress.
In writing this article, I was most inspired by this quotation from Esther Dyson, who as a journalist and author focused her career on health and technology.

“Change means that what was before wasn’t perfect. People want things to be better.”

Ergo, if we want things to be better, then we have to change. Perfection? Before we can even think about that, we have to know where to start.

Ask yourself --
What could make the quality of your life better? What is the single power we are born with, that could change everything?
We may call it free will, or the power to make a choice. Arguably, we cannot always control the events in our lives or sometimes even the outcome of the decisions we make.  But we can take charge of changing the things we need to, and the steps to go about it.

What I am trying to point out is that, we cannot (for instance) stop the changing of the seasons. As we do not have control over the days turning into weeks, weeks into months, months into years, we simply find ourselves one day asking: 
•    How have I lived all these years?
•    What decisions did I make that contributed to how I am living right      now?•    Do I have any regrets? What would I like to change about me? 

Look into the mirror right now and see how the years have changed you. Do you like what you see? Are you physically, mentally, and emotionally fit?

There is no need to focus on the negative. 

Sure, you may have put on some weight and have a bit of cellulite here and there, but this may be just consequences of having two or three beautiful babies for instance. Ironically, the decision to choose is easier when life gets tougher.

My life was not going the way I had hoped when I found myself a single mom of two young boys, but the one thing I realized through hard times was I could control how I took care of myself. I could make the choice to do that for me and that choice would make my life and my boy's lives better.

When you do choose to make changes in your life that will make you fit and the healthiest you can, keep in mind that a strong and fit body will slow the aging process and reduce the risk of disease. Staying fit helps to build and maintain strong bones and muscles, all while boosting your immune system. Choosing to have a healthy lifestyle will enable you to be more active to enjoy activities with your loved ones, plus you can be with them longer.

The choices we make will depend on each individual as we determine the goals we need to set. But for most of us who are starting to, or have been feeling the passing of time and the effects of aging, it comes down to these two choices:

Do I stay young or continue aging?

Every decision you make in your life will move you in one direction or the other. This includes what seem to be mundane decisions like:
•    Should I go for a cheeseburger at McDonald's or grab one of the meals I prepared using only whole foods?
•    Should I just sit on the couch and watch a flick or do I roll out my   yoga mat and do some poses?
•    Should I skip my weight training and just go hangout with friends     over some drinks?

Aging has to do with several factors, your genes, your environment and your choices. You cannot choose the genes you are born with, but you can make choices that will make or keep you healthy. Being conscious about your decisions is also of the utmost important.

Ultimately -- 
YOU HAVE TO MAKE A CHOICE!
That is the first secret.

If you make the right choice, you can look forward to a younger, more confident, and happier you

The Importance of Personal Assessment

Staying fit and healthy is not easy sometimes. In this fast-paced world where we’re often overwhelmed with work and other never-ending responsibilities, staying fit and maintaining a strong physique can be rather challenging. It’s one of those things we neglect frequently. And we shouldn’t. 

Being healthy is essential for many other aspects of our life and the way to achieve that is to take care of our bodies and work out regularly. However, there are many strategies that can be applied in order to stay fit, and personal assessment is one of them. A pretty good one, actually! 

Step One: The Present
Sometimes, in order to find the motivation and be able to take a step forward, we have to be realistic about the present. About where we are right now at this very moment. Motivating yourself is not as easy as it might seem and doing a personal assessment at some point in your life can be helpful for the long term. So, for example, a very good strategy would be to ask yourself a few very basic questions in order to determine your current stage in life. Take a moment and ask yourself about your own life. Are you happy with your life right now? How do you feel emotionally and physically? Is there anything you would like to change? And if there is, how would you do that? How do you feel about your health? Are you satisfied with your appearance or would you change it? 

Step Two: Making a Fitness Journal and Creating Motivation
Now it’s time to be honest. Brutally honest. In order to get you motivated, I would recommend starting a fitness journal and track all the changes that happen over time. Start with adding a photo of your current self. Write down how you feel about your current fitness situation, your mood, how you look, what it makes to feel like, etc. This is a great motivation technique as you progress because if you ever feel like you need extra motivation re-reading this will give you motivation to push through. I know you don't want to look or feel this way anymore, and as the time passes, you’ll be able to reflect and see the progress you’ve made along the way. Every beginning can be difficult, so take it a day at a time and do what is necessary for that day. Before you know it nothing will stop you in reaching your final goal and keeping it. 

A little tip: Make sure to write down all your current feelings now so they can be a reminder as you make certain progress over time. 

Step Three: The Future
Let’s focus on the next phase of the process. Now, when you’ve established your current stage in life and set your primary goal, it’s time to get imaginative! Think about your future self. Picture EXACTLY how you want to look and feel. Feel free to visualize and imagine who you want to be in the foreseeable future. Don’t be afraid to idealize your future self. If you stick to the plan, there’s no way you can fail. You just have to be persistent!

So, in order to get the whole picture of your future self, you have to ask yourself some basic questions again. Imagine it’s been a few months or even years since you’ve started writing your journal and set your goal. How have you changed? What feelings have you experienced along the way? What do you think of your physical appearance now? Do you like your life? How do you feel?

Again, it’s time for being brutally honest. Visualize your future self and write down the answers in your fitness journal. It will enable you to imagine your physical appearance in the future and help you boost your motivation to an even bigger level. It’s also a good idea to put some pictures of yourself as you are making progress, so you can check before and after photos every now and then. Nothing will motivate you better than seeing results in the form of pictures of the new and improved self!

Finding motivation for regular workout sessions can be difficult sometimes. It’s not easy to embrace another workout routine when so many failed to work prior to that. But, with little planning ahead and strategies such as personal assessment, it’s completely manageable. Just remember to always be honest with yourself and if you are persistent and consistent, the results will speak for themselves. 

Ultimately -- 
YOU HAVE TO MAKE A CHOICE!
That is the first secret.

If you make the right choice, you can look forward to a younger, more confident, and happier you

CLIENT OF THE MONTH - BROOKE

Sometime it’s not always about losing weight, and that was the case with Brooke. She was so thin and was always dieting to stay skinny for her modeling career. 

That changed when she wanted to step on stage. I worked to change her whole mindset that the right foods and training will shape and build beautiful toned muscles. She put in the work and the results she got made her look like a fitness model instead of just a skinny runway model. She now has a more overall healthy look.

Her before and after pictures show how thin she was for her first show and then we continued to build and tone with food and training so she could win her bikini competitions. Finally after being dedicated for 2 full years she finally took overall and won her NGA Pro Card.

Brooke has always been such and great client. She was open to learning about her body, learning different ways of training and manipulating her body, but more important being open to learning different food strategies.

I’m so excited about Brooke’s future with competition and more important that she know how important a healthy nutrition and training program really is.

BROOKE’S STORY:

Before I started working with Sandy I never lifted weights.  I thought lifting would make me big, bulky, and masculine. I wanted to be toned, tight, and shapely. Unbeknownst to me, I was going about it totally wrong. That is when Sandy stepped in. She encouraged me to implement lifting into my routine and am so glad that I did. My body got leaner, my legs, and butt filled in in all of the right places and I finally started to see the body I have always dreamed of.

When I started working with Sandy my entire outlook towards nutrition and fitness changed. She taught me that food was my friend, and crucial to achieving my goals. Workouts became fun and no longer a chore, but a chance to challenge myself and change my body. 

I started training with Sandy back in 2013 after signing up for my first fitness competition and I have never looked back. Since then I have competed in 4 more additional shows, earned my NGA Pro card, and completely changed my body for the better. 

Sandy is an excellent trainer. She is attentive, knowledgable, but most importantly just a good person. I am glad to not only call Sandy Hancock my trainer, but also my friend. 

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WATER: PURE & SIMPLE

Drinking water is key to any fitness program, but it’s especially crucial to strength training. I recommend all my clients drink 1 gallon of water each day.

Almost two-thirds of the human body is made up of water. Drinking 1 gallon of water a day offers softer, clearer skin, healthier hair and nails, and clearer thinking. Water also acts as a natural appetite suppressant and aids in metabolism. When you are dehydrated, your body often confuses dehydration as cravings for sugar. So, drinking water throughout the day will keep your body optimally hydrated, cravings for unhealthy foods at bay, and your goals in clear vision.

Drinking 1 gallon can seem like a lot if you are accustomed to drinking far less. So, here are a few tips that might help you:

• Carry water with you wherever you go

• If you don’t care for the flavor of tap water, invest in bottled or filtered water

• Drink chilled water or ice water

• Add a little flavor, like fresh-squeezed lemon

• Always have water accessible and convenient

• Act each time you think I should get a drink

• Drink from a 32 oz container rather than an 8 oz glass

• Just like planning your nutrition, pacing yourself throughout the day makes hydrating more simple:

  • Drink 16-20oz of water first thing in the morning

  • Drink 1-liter water during your workout

  • Drink 1 liter every 3-4 hours

  • Drink 1 glass of water each time you crave sweets

  • Drink another 2-3 glasses during down time such as watching TV, surfing the internet, or taking a bubble bath

Water is the only drink for a wise man.
~Henry David Thoreau

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GREATER GULF STATES AND MASTER NATIONALS

To date, I have entered and competed in three NPC Figure Competitions. Since blogging about the 2012 Emerald Cup, which I placed 2nd over 50, I have competed in the two others. Greater Gulf States was held in June and I felt my physique looked better than at the Emerald Cup. I worked hard to get my body fat down lower and I did manage to reach 10.4%. My backside looked much better at this lower body fat percentage and I must say, I literally worked my butt off during this time. I enjoyed seeing many of my fellow “Oddo Angels” and enjoyed the two days of competition and friends. I placed 4th in over 45, 6th in over 35, and 6th in the Open Class.
In June, I competed at Master’s Nationals. Since I didn’t know for sure if I would compete again after this show, I truly tried to enjoy every bit of my journey. To prepare, I worked my butt off in the gym doing cardio every day and extra leg training to make my glutes look their best. Sometimes being 50 can literally be a pain in the butt!! It was such a joy to be around my team of friends at Master’s Nationals. They are such beautiful, kind, giving ladies. I feel my physique looked it’s best and was happy with how hard I worked and knew I did all I could do to be ready. I placed 7th out of 19 in over 45. I truly enjoyed this journey and I’m so blessed to be able to do what I love.
I would like to thank my makeup artist Elaine Goodlad for making me look beautiful on stage. I would also like to thank my coach Kim Oddo for all his support and the Oddo Angels for making it so much fun backstage.

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LEGS, CHEST & CALVES WORKOUT

Today is my favorite day of the week…Monday! I love Monday’s because I’m more focused during the week and I enjoy how my body responds to the structure. I also train legs on Monday’s which is my favorite body part to train. Today I decided to throw in some chest movements to mix things up a bit.

Take a look at my leg, chest, and calf workout:

Machine leg press 5 x 20,15,10,8,8, superset with

Machine Incline Chest press 3 x 15,12,12

Leg extensions 4 x 15,12,10,8, superset with

Weighted walking lunges with pushups using 22 lb d-bells. 10 walking lunges, stop 10 push-up with hands on d-bells on floor. 10 more walking lunges, finishing off with 10 more push-ups.

Giant set:

Leg curls 3 x 15,12,12

Machine flies 3 x 15,12,12

Weighted straight leg dead lifts with 22.5 lbs. d-bells 3 x 15

Sitting calf raises 3 x 15 with 10 bounces on top of last rep

Incline calf raises 3 x 15 with 10 bounces on top of last rep

For beginners only do 1-2 sets of each exercise, intermediate do 2-3 sets and advanced do 3-4 sets of each exercise. If you are a beginner always check with your doctor before starting any new training program.

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EMERALD CUP 2010

I can’t express enough how excited I am to have finally competed again after 6 years. I decided to compete in the Emerald Cup since that was the show I wanted to compete in 2005 but never made it. I truly enjoyed this journey of learning and experiencing some new concepts with training and nutrition. My boyfriend Jeff was the best training partner and support for me. He always encouraged me and was so excited for me to get on stage again.

When I arrived in Seattle, WA I felt so excited and ready. I tried some new things with my new nutritionist John Kreklo. He watched over my physique the last three weeks pre-show and dialed me in to peak on show day. I can’t thank him enough for his guidance and encouragement.

My heart was pumping so fast as I entered the stage and walked on for prejudging. I tried to breathe deep to slow my heartbeat but it didn’t work, I was a little shaky but did the best I could. It was a good thing I did a lot of practicing because if I didn’t I would have really fell apart. I was so relieved and excited when I made the first callouts.

I felt so much more relaxed for the evening show and really enjoyed walking the stage. After we all did our walk and comparisons we filed off stage to learn who was top five. As we waited I was praying they would call my number and after calling the first three numbers they called mine and I almost starting crying with excitement. The top five girls walked back on stage for trophy awards. They announced the placing for 5th place, it was someone else, then 4th place they called my name, I was so excited! They brought my trophy and a tiara which all the top 5 girls received. I got my first tiara at 48 years old and I can’t express how great it made me feel. It may sound silly but I think I might sleep with it on my head for the next three months.