CRAZY SEXY DIET: Eat Your Veggies, Ignite Your Spark, and Live like You Mean it!

Kris Carr's new book CRAZY, SEXY DIET is next on my list of "must reads!"

Her message is not explicitly about losing weight, but more about eating the foods that actually serve our body and promote health.

Here are her Top 15 Crazy Sexy Diet Tips:

1. Get back to nature and back to the garden – preferably the organic garden – when affordable – when not, try to choose fruits and veggies that are less sprayed. You can find a Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides at foodnews.org. There are over 80,000 chemicals in our world today, eating them and putting them on our bodies is a dangerous proposition.

2. Create an anti-inflammatory diet and lifestyle. Learn about pH, the acid/alkaline balance, and say goodbye to the SAD, acidic diet in favor of alkaline raw organic veggies, sprouts, green drinks, green smoothies, enzymes, vitamins, minerals, love and oxygen.

3. Make juice not war. Green smoothies are great too. My favorite juicer is the Breville Ikon, and the best blender is the Vitamix. Instead of your morning cup of Joe, (or nightly cup of booze) try filling your day with fresh vegetable juice.

4. Drink lots of clean, purified water.

5. Decrease the amount of animal products you consume (especially dairy products) and move towards more of a plant-based diet.

6. Refined sugars and processed starches are the devil – dump them. If it’s made in a lab it takes a lab to digest. If it has a shelf life longer than you, don’t eat it. Choose low glycemic foods as much as possible.

7. Shake your booty. Your lymph system, which carries away waste, needs you! Unlike your heart, it doesn’t have a pump. Aerobics is the pump. Brisk walking is the pump. Yoga is the pump.

8. Give your colon a regular spring-cleaning. That’s right, flood your body with alkalinity and flush it of toxins. As the good stuff goes in the bad stuff should come out – on a regular basis.

9. Use natural skincare products. Your skin is your largest organ and what you put on it you literally drink in. Everything you consume either gets assimilated or eliminated. Chemical creams and perfumes tax your body big time.

10. Stress also creates acidity, so turn down the volume on chaos and turn up the joy factor up. Find and regularly commit to activities that help you bring it down a notch. Some ideas: meditation, gratitude journaling, guided relaxation or visualization CD’s, nature.

11. Snooze. Snooze. Snooze. Optimal hours: 11-7am.

12. Chew. Your stomach does not have teeth.

13. And stop eating late so that when you snooze, your body can focus on repair instead of digestion.

14. Set boundaries so that you have the physical and emotional time to take care of yourself – it’s not selfish, it’s self-preserving.

15. Make time for fun, for love, for laughter!

BeInspired

"The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start"

Walk Steady

Walking is a great, low impact exercise both for people wanting to lose weight, and also for those who simply want to maintain a healthy lifestyle. With no equipment or gym required the only thing you have to set aside is the time, which is sometimes the hardest part. However, consider what your health is worth and toy with the idea of giving up your nightly fix of reality TV for something that is guaranteed to benefit your life. Below is a one week program that can help you focus your walks and get the most out of your time.

One Week Walking Plan:

Monday- Rest/Easy

20-30 minute walk where your breath is normal and you could easily carry on a conversation.

Tuesday- Speed Intervals (30-40 Minutes)

Warm up 10 minutes

Alternate 30 seconds of fast-paced walking (where you would not be able to hold a conversation) with 2 minutes at an easy pace. Repeat 8-12 times.

Cool Down 10 minutes

Wednesday- Recovery

45-6o minute walk at an easy pace.

Thursday- Threshold Workout #1 (50-60 Minutes)

Warm up 10 minutes

Alternate 8 minutes of quick-paced walking with 2 minutes easy. Repeat 3-4 times.

Cool Down 10 minutes

Friday- Recover

Light walk (20 minutes) or rest.

Saturday- Threshold Workout #2 (40-50 Minutes)

Warm up 10 minutes

20-30 minutes of brisk walking (Pace where it would be difficult to hold a conversation)

Cool Down 10 minutes

Sunday- Long

5-8km walk at moderate pace.

Walking TIPS:

-Focus on your stride- A slower pace should have a long, natural stride; when you speed up take short, quick steps.

-Invest in proper shoes

-Use your arms

-Check your posture: back is straight, shoulders are back, tummy is sucked in, and eyes are forward.

Important:

** Try not to get discouraged if you miss one of the days or find it difficult to complete the full walk. Simply pick up where you left off and do what you can. Maybe you bust out 20 minutes on your lunch break, and save the remaining 30 minutes for after dinner; the point is you are moving!

Fight Fat with Food!

Almonds- Reduce cravings; Fight muscle loss, heart disease, and cancer

Beans/Legumes- Burn Fat; Regulate digestion

Spinach- Neutralizes free radicals in your body to prevent aging

Dairy (Yogurt, Cheese)- Prevents osteoporosis

Instant Oatmeal- Provides sustainable energy; Maintains blood sugar levels

Eggs- Build muscle; Burn fat

Turkey- Strengthens immune system

Peanut Butter- Fights wrinkles

Olive Oil- Fights high blood pressure

Whole Grains- Prevent body from storing fat

Berries- Improve balance, coordination and short term memory

200 Reps Workout

Complete 100 reps each of 2 exercises, done back to back with as little rest as possible.

For Example: 10 Woodchops/10 Burpees/10 times in a row.

What is Your Intention?

If you haven't already, make it a point to articulate some goals for the new year. Be clear about what you want, direct your energy into what you want, and you will get what you want.

It's that simple.

Happy New Year.