What people think of you...

I like to think that I'm not one of those women who is ruled by what people think of me. However, I am totally one of those women who let criticisms go to my heart. Absolutely. I can hear in my head what people have said about me days, months, even years ago. I can hear it like it was yesterday. I dwell on it. Even if it's nothing serious! The smallest things tend to stick with me. I wouldn't say they define me, nothing like that, but I do dwell a bit. Recently I was told that I'm too honest. Too honest?! I mean really, if you have nothing nice to say, just don't say it. Being "too honest" has now stuck in my head, and is that even a bad thing?! I don't think it is. If you're an open book, good for you! There's too many fakies out there.

I so encourage you, and myself, to just Let It Go! How many times have we heard Elsa say it?! Sometimes I pray for God to help me to Let it Go. Do you pray for little things like this? You know what I love about God, it's NEVER too little for Him.

A quote from one of my favorite authors!

Women who lift!

Why should women lift weights? And by weights, I do NOT mean 2-3 pound mini weights. My 4 year old uses 2 pounders. As a rule of thumb, never lift anything lighter than your purse. You'll want two sets of Dumbbells: a light set (5-8 pounds) and a heavy set (8-12 pounds). Now, logistics out of the way, you're a woman, why should YOU lift weights? Isn't that a guy thing? No, it's not. Won't you bulk up? No, you won't. Lifting weights transforms your body. Those beautiful woman figures that you admire? Those aren't cardio bodies, those are weight training bodies. A weight training body looks a hundred times better than a "skinny" body. Women want long, lean muscles. It's "the look" you're going for, trust me.

How about more than looks though, why should you lift? Well, your body is going to function better. Oxygen Magazine explains that lean muscle tissue is actually one of your best defenses against diseases, harmful fat accumulation because muscle burns fat, and many of the health risks associated with aging. The bottom line: those dumbbells that are no lighter than your purse are making you fit on the inside, not just out.

Did you know? Lifting weights boosts metabolism. Working large muscle groups and building lean muscle tissue helps your body to burn more calories throughout the entire day after your workout is complete. And then, those lean muscles work to burn fat. Guess which workout doesn't burn calories or fat throughout the day? Cardio. A cardio workout burns calories during the workout, and maybe a couple hours after, but once it's over, it's over. A body with more muscle and less fat is key for health and fitness on the inside and out.


For women especially, lifting days are important to your health. You can actually “bank” muscle for the future. “You lose muscle mass and strength each year starting around age 50,” says Michele Kettles, MD, MSPH, the executive vice president and chief operating officer at Cooper Clinic. Women who lift throughout their lives are more apt to keep their lean muscle mass as they age, instead of experiencing the weakness that comes with muscle loss and frailty. You want to create a good blend of lifting days and cardio days for a well balanced fitness regimen.

5 Tips to build muscle the most efficiently? You got it!

1. Plan your postworkout meal. Within 30 minutes to an hour after your workout, your body is most receptive to replacing glycogen stores and protein, leading to muscle building. Your post workout meal should be a balance of protein and carbs, like Shakelogy, which also repairs muscles!

2. Aim for at least 20 grams of protein at each meal. Your body needs lean protein to build lean muscle. Focus on having some protein at each meal of the day.

3. Lift until Fail. You've heard the saying "do more reps with less weight." No. You are not the energizer bunny! During interval training, you want to focus on 10-15 reps of each move, in about 60 seconds. But what we really want to aim for is failure. Do your reps until you've exhausted yourself, and then add 3 more. Don’t stop at a set of 12 if you can do 15 reps — take your sets to the point where you can’t do another rep with good form.

4. Challenge yourself with your weight. Picking easy, light weights means your body has no reason to grow stronger. If a workout calls for 10 reps per set and you can get to 12, 15 or more, you’re definitely lifting too light. Likewise, if you've been using a set of weights for some time, and they are no longer challenging you, time to bump up the weight.

5. Eat apples. The apple peel has a high concentration of ursolic acid which can work to decrease muscle atrophy. Consider adding apple to your salads, sandwiches, or have apple as a snack. Obviously you would want to leave the peel on!

Brick by Brick

Whether you want to agree or not, our country is based on instant gratification. Gosh, my mom used to use this term on me ALL THE TIME. Drove me crazy, but it's true, and I knew it even as a teen. In America, we want the FASTEST, CHEAPEST, EASIEST route possible to achieve our goals -- but that mindset is a TRAP. There is no easy way out!!! For ANYTHING.

I've been using this mantra in my personal fitness journey and my business: TODAY I will do what others won't, so that tomorrow I can live as others can't.

Build your life brick by brick. Did you catch that? Brick. By. Brick. Don't look for an easy fix, there isn't one. Just think about marriage and raising kids, two of the HARDEST things EVER, and yet the most rewarding and the most WORTH IT! Think of your fitness journey and your life like a marriage. There is no SECRET to success beyond pure discipline, commitment, passion, and consistency. Once you build your life and your personal fitness from the ground up, brick by brick, just think of how fulfilling and accomplished you will be at the finish line!!!

Help! I've hit a plateau!

If you feel like you've hit a plateau, change up your eating habits a little! Small changes can go a long way.


Tip #1 Eat all carbs and fruits BEFORE 6 pm. Stick with protein, greens, and fat at dinner.

Tip #2 Choose wisely the foods you'll eat! For 21 day fix and any other eating plan from Beachbody, you can stick to the top 1/3 of the food lists. These are the foods with the most nutrients for the calories that are in them.

Tip #3 Start your day with 8 ounces of water with a squeeze of lemon.

Tip #4 Practice intermittent fasting. There are many ways to do this, but to start, I recommend shortening the gap of time that you usually eat by 2-4 hours. So for example, if you're up at 8am for breakfast, and you have dinner at 6pm, change that to 9/10am and 4/5pm. I know some of you may be like me and cannot eat at 4pm! Try having breakfast later.

Tip #5 Do not eat anything within 2-3 hours of going to sleep!

Let me know if you give these tips a try and how they are working for you!

XO

go for it

What does your dream life look like? What can do you do to get there? GO FOR IT!!

Giving up on dreams

I'm being totally RAW Jalene with you this week. I kinda gave up. The last 11 weeks of my life have been ROTTEN! Just rotten. I'll write a blog post on the challenges of bedrest at some point when I'm actually done being on bedrest. If you've ever been on bedrest, you know just what I'm talking about. How did I give up? Well, I have this big scary dream about being a top coach in my industry. If your dreams don't scare you, they aren't big enough right? Anyhow, I didn't really "give up" on it persay, but I did put it on the backburner. I never left my clients/friends (I hate that word "client" they all become my friends!). I never gave up coaching them, but I did give up the dream of making it big in the business. I just set it aside for a while. Now of course you understand, my son and I were in a life/death situation, my focus really HAD to be on him and myself. But you know what, I did learn that the time passes anyways. So for whatever reason you are setting that dream on the backburner, stop it. The time is going to pass and you're still in the same spot.

Different challenges call upon a different YOU

I saw this quote this week and it really made me think. We are always saying "be the best version of you." But being the best you might not work for all situations. With every new challenge, you might need to modify and be a different best version of you.

With my regular day to day life, mom, wife, health coach, I feel like I have the best version of me pretty well figured out. I need patience, I need to give love, I need to show respect, I need to be helpful, I need to eat well and live well, I need to be active, I need to be focused. Okay, that chick has it figured out. I know what being the best version of the mom, wife, coach means. Do I struggle at it daily, you betcha. Mostly with Momming. Momming isn't easy. But at least I KNOW what I need to do to be best.

When I'm thinking about the people who I coach into starting a new lifestyle, I think about helping them to adapt. It's a new challenge, one they've never done before, it's going to take a new version of themselves. I tell my fitness peeps, be the best you that you can be! But what does that mean from a health and fitness standpoint? Well, I believe it means trying, failing, trying again. Believing in yourself. Making smart choices when it comes to food and nutrition. Being active everyday. Forgiving yourself when you miss a workout or when you scarf down a chocolate bar. Choosing to live healthy. Choosing to plug into the challenge group daily, to be accountable. Choosing to ask me for help if needed. These are all practices that can be done daily to be successful at this new lifestyle.

Now, where I struggle is my new norm. For those that don't know, my husband and I are welcoming a baby boy in a month. We tried to get pregnant, succeeded, and I was looking forward to this perfect and beautiful pregnancy that I had with my daughter five years ago. NOPE! WRONG! This pregnancy has been a hot mess. I never really felt "glowing" from the very beginning. Truth be told that's how I knew this was a boy! So different from the look and feel I had with my daughter. But then, at 24 weeks, placenta abruption. Not good. Bedrest. Not good. I had 4 weeks of bedrest and then things were looking up. I was able to get up a little. Still pelvic rest, no workouts, no standing for more than an hour, no walking long distances, but hey, I got to get up. Then bam, short cervix. Back on bedrest. Pre-term labor is flipping scary guys. False labor every single day, flipping scary. This has been extremely challenging for me. I'm an active person. Even if not working out, I'm always on the go. I hate to be bored. I thrive on busy-ness. I thrive on being a mom and wife (see number 1!) That's the best version of me! Momming, wifing, fitness coaching. And now, bedrest. I felt like I couldn't even promote my fitness because I don't have any! You guys, I can't do anything, how I am going to LIE HERE on my bed/couch and encourage you to get up and move!?!? How am I going to encourage home cooked meals and show you what's going on in my kitchen when there's NOTHING going on in my kitchen cause I can't cook!? I'm a REAL person. I practice what I preach. What you see is what you get, what you see is really what's going on over here. So I struggled. Bigtime.

Now, I've managed to re-vamp my best version of me a little bit when it comes to coaching. I've got some great new fitness groups going on, I'm working on a HUGE project that you'll soon see, and I've given myself a break. I have a medical reason not to be able to practice what I preach. But I promise you, I will be back at it soon! For now, I'll be your cheerleader, I'll focus on helping you! Even from my couch. The rest, the bedrest, how to be a mom while sitting on my booty, how to be a good wife without being able to move, cook, go on dates, how to deal with the fact that I've gained more weight than I like because I've been on bedrest since 24 weeks, how to do all that... I haven't figured that out yet. But I do know that the most important job I have right now is focusing on the child who's HEALTH is at stake if I move. And keeping this sweet little guy inside is the best thing I can be doing right now. So maybe, just maybe, I should give myself a break and rise to the challenge of sitting (or laying) here cooking a baby and keeping him inside. I mean, I grow humans, that's a pretty big superpower right?

The next level of my life is going to require a different version as well! Eeek, so many changes!!! I would like to see advances in my business, and I will be focusing on being a new mom again while trying to lose weight and to build muscle back (read a little about what bedrest does to muscle tone, you'll know my struggle). But NEXT LEVELS are what propels us, what builds our future, what defines our lives. The next level is a good thing, and requires you to be flexible, and RISE to the challenge!

Do you have a challenge that is calling you to be a different version of yourself? I would love to hear about it!

7 Things Every Woman Needs To Know

'nuff said.

Failure IS a word in my vocabulary

The word "fail" really freaks people out. Instead they'll say "don't succeed" to be politically correct and less harsh. Failure has always been a struggle of mine because I am a major perfectionist. Major. Perfectionist. But I have to say, since I've added the word back into my vocabulary, I've learned a few things! First, EVERYONE fails. It's true, everyone fails at something. No one is perfect at everything. You're going to do great at some task that someone else is going to attempt and fall flat on their face doing. And vise versa. I joke that my husband is great at everything he does! It's maddening! But there are failures and challenges that he faces as well.

And the second thing I've learned is this... Failure is NOT a bad thing. Failure means you're trying. You're stepping outside your comfort zone and trying something that you aren't perfect at! Failure means there's room for progress, and progress means you have achievements to reach for! Congratulations, you won't be stagnant! Go You! Progress is IMPERFECT. There are going to be failures along the way. I'm reminded of a quote from one of my favorite Proverbs 31 ministry gals...

So FAIL, FAIL MISERABLY! Then tighten up that ponytail (a nod to all the powerful woman reading this) and jump back in! That's where you're going to see your biggest achievements, stemming from your biggest failures.

To all the perfectionists out there, I'm with you. I know how difficult it is! If you're a perfectionist and you want to chat about this, send me an email (jalenecabralesfitness@gmail.com) or message me on Facebook!