It's almost week 4 of the Forever Fit Challenge! We can see, a lot of you are losing your steam....Jump back on that horse and ride it!!! 

Week 4 Challenge:

To help get the pep back into your step, we are doing a week 4 challenge for prizes! Every time you come in to workout, you will get a raffle ticket. At the end of week 4 we will put all of the tickets into a hat and draw a couple of winners. The more you come, the more likely you will win! 
In addition to the raffle, we are letting EVERYONE participate in the Get Fit Classes for free... so, you have more opportunities to work out.
Here are the workout times available:
Get Fit Classes -
Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning from 9am-10am.
Tuesday and Thursday from 6pm-7pm
Guide Me/ Forever Fit Workout times -
Tuesday and Thursday from 5am-7am
Monday - Friday from 3:30pm-7pm

Follow Us:

If you haven't already, don't forget to follow our blog. We are posting great information twice a week. You don't want to miss out! It's easy to do, go to www.guidingfitness.blogspot.com, enter your email address, then check your email and click the confirmation link.

Also, follow us on facebook!

Final Weigh-In:

You can come in any time between 10am-12pm or 3pm-7pm on Friday, June 14th for your final weigh-in. WE HOPE TO SEE ALL OF YOU THERE!!! 

Forever Fit Finale:

Everyone is invited... friends, family, even members that did not participate.
We have a night filled with fun activities and lots of prizes!!
June 14th from 7pm to 9pm at Guiding Fitness!


We are only half way there and it's never too late to get started! Remember, this is a lifestyle change challenge.. not a weight loss competition which means that you are allowed to mess up and most of you WILL. Dust yourself off and keep on going! So what, you had a doughnut... or a couple dozen. Don't give up! Use this opportunity because we are here for you every step of the way!

22 Suggestions for Making Your Diet Healthier

Losing motivation?  Here is a little sneak peek of some of the prizes.

Biggest Loser:

1^st Place - The New Kindle Fire HD

& Custom Mason Mug (Donated by Country Craft)

2^nd Place - A Spa Day! (Donated by Avant-Garde Salon and Spa)

& Custom Mason Mug (Donated by Country Craft)

Most Participation:

Gift Certificates from both -

·     Shawna Erickson Photography

·     Anna’s Sweet Repeats

Best Attitude:

- Teeth Whitening (Donated by Jaime M. Curtis DDS)

- Custom Sign (Donated by Arts by Jill)

*** Lots of other prizes! Lose weight and have fun! ***

This list may be a bit much for some of you to take in.  We suggest focusing on one item at a time. Don't do anything cold turkey and slowly change your lifestyle. 

22 Suggestions for making your diet healthier:

1. Consume less low-quality fat.

2. Consume less red meat, lunch meat, bacon, ham and so on.

3. Consume less milk and milk products.

4. Consume less fried foods. 

5. Consume less hydrogenated oil.

6. Eat fewer refined flour products.

7. Eat less white sugar and simple sugars.

8. Eat less salt and salty foods, such as crackers, pretzels, chips and pickled foods.

9. Consume fewer calories

10. Consume less coffee and alcohol

11. Smoke less, or not at all.

12. Eat more fresh fruit (especially berries)

13. Eat more fresh vegetables.

14. EAt more legumes and keep grain products 100% whole, including wheat breaks, oatmeal, rice and pasta.

15. Eat more fiber foods - fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts and grains.

16. Eat more fresh fish and poultry to replace red meats

17. Eat more vegetable protein such as nuts, seeds, beans and sprouts.

18. Drink more filtered water or springwater.

19. Drink more dilute fruit juices, vegetable juices and herbal teas.

20. Get more regular exercise

21. Take better care of our air.

22. Keep our waters free of pollution.

11 Cancer Risk Factors

It is the start of week 3 for the annual Forever Fit Contest...you are almost half way there!  How are you doing?

If you are staying on track, keep it up!  If you are struggling to keep up or have fallen off the wagon completely, get your booty back up!!!  Remember that this is a lifestyle change, not just a weight loss challenge... which means that you are allowed to mess up and most of you WILL.  Dust yourself off and keep on going! So what, you had a doughnut... or a couple dozen.  Don't give up!

Read the following information and think about how you can get/stay healthy and eliminate some of these risk factors from your life.

Cancer is all around us.  It is surprising that we have control over most of the risk factors.
According to the book Staying Healthy With Nutrition, here are 11 Key Cancer Risk Factors.

1. Smoking
2. Dietary excesses - Fats (mainly saturated oils, fried polyunsaturated oils, and cholesterol), protein, and obesity (calories).
3. Undernutrition - Deficient fiber and nutrients such as vitamins C and E, beta-carotene, and selenium.
4. Occupational chemicals - In such high-risk fields as farm work, work in plastic manufacturing plants and so on.
5. Food chemicals - Pesticides, additives and hormones.
6. Air and water pollution
7. Excess sunlight and radiation
8. Certain pharmaceutical drugs - Estrogen, metronidazole (Flagyl), lindane (Kwell), or griseofulvin.
9. Alcohol
10. Viruses
11. Psychological influences - Such as personal changes, loss of loved one, grief and divorce.

Mark Your Calendar!

Go ahead.... get out your calendar, I'll wait.....

Forever Fit Finale - June 14th 
Everyone is invited... friends, family, even members that did not participate. 
We have a night filled with fun activities and lots of prizes!!  

   


When: Friday June 14th from 7pm-9pm
Where: At Guiding Fitness

* Announce Winners
* Food, Fun and Contests
* Kidsit Provided
* Bring Friends and Family!

Week 2 of the Forever Fit Challenge is Here!

You've made it to week 2 of the Forever Fit Challenge! 

This week we want you to focus on cutting sugar and artificial sweeteners out of your diet.  There are a lot of names for sweeteners that you may not recognize and most likely if it says 'sugar free' it has unhealthy artificial sweeteners in the ingredients. For more info on a common one, read the article below on Aspartame. 

Healthy snacks: almonds, walnuts, green apples, berries, sweet potato fries or chips, almond or cashew butter with celery, hummus and veggies, kale chips, brown rice crackers, edamame and pistachios.

Artificial Sweetener, AspartameIn 1974 the US Food and Drug Administration approved the artificial sweetener, aspartame after a highly contested campaign to keep it out of our food and drinks. It is to this day controversial as critics alleged the approval process was not followed properly and was a conflict of interest (explained below). There are claims of numerous health risks caused by aspartame such as lupus, shooting pains, seizures, headaches, depression, anxiety, brain tumors, vision problems, weight gain, insomnia, tinnitus, memory loss and more. There have been research projects that examined and dismiss these claims, but far more substantiate them. In fact, in researching this article myself, I found very few articles disclaiming the harmful effects and hundreds warning us why we should not have this product in our bodies. For information disclaiming harmful effects, David Hattan who is the Director of the Division of Health Effects Evaluation in the FDA, has contested that aspartame was well tested and a safe product. 

Aspartame (the technical name) is more commonly known by brand names such as NutraSweet, Equal and Spoonful. NutraSweet is a subsidiary company of Monsanto who is also controversial in GMOs. (hence the conflict of interest) In reported to the FDA aspartame accounts for 75 percent of adverse reactions to food additives causing sometimes very serious effects.

 

Aspartame is made of three chemicals: aspartic  acid, phenylalanine, and methanol. In a book written by James and Phyllis Balch called "The Prescription for Nutritional Healing" they list aspartame as a "chemical Poison". Without getting too technical, these chemicals are excitotoxins and they "excite" or stimulate neural cells literally to death. It slowly destroys neurons, up to 75 percent in the brain before symptoms of chronic illness are noticed such as MS, ALS, memory loss, hormonal problems, hearing loss, epilepsy, Alzheimer disease, Parkinson disease, hypoglycemia, and AIDS. 

 

Aspartame is especially harmful to children and pregnant women. Because a child's brain is not fully developed, it is very susceptible to the harmful chemicals. The chemicals have also been shown to cause birth defects.

 

It is believed that with the numerous cases of aspartame poisonings brought before congressional hearings, there has been nothing done to remove this product because the drug and chemical lobbies have very deep pockets. There are now over 5,000 products containing aspartame. Advertised as a diet product, research shows it makes you crave carbohydrates which in turn, makes you fat.

 

It is important that you read labels especially of any product that is sweet and claims to have few calories. Even sugarless gum contains it. The many tutorials I read while doing this research has convinced me to eliminate this from my diet. Also if you have any of the health problems I named, consider your choice for sugar-free to be a culprit.

The Forever Fit Challenge Has Begun!

We are so proud to announce that there are almost 40 people signed up for the forever fit challenge!  If you are participating, you should now have your own personalized workout to follow throughout the next 6 weeks. We will be posting helpful information weekly.  Remember, the more energy you put into the challenge, the better results you will see!  We are here for you every step of the way if you have any questions or need modifications for your workout.  Also, please feel free to email us anytime at info@guidingfitness.com. In a couple of days we will post some expectations we have for you, but right now we want you to get used to the new routine. 

If you are subscribed to our blog and not participating in the forever fit challenge, there is some great info coming your way. 

FIVE KEY AREAS OF HEALTHY LIVING

Reduce fatigue, foggy thinking, poor sleep and excess weight (especially around the stomach, hips and thighs) by focusing on these five simple things.

1. Eat Clean

Eat organic whole foods that are free of preservatives, additives, pesticides, hormones, antibiotics, artificial flavors and all other toxins.  Organic fruits and vegetables contain up to 40% more antioxidants than those conventionally grown.  

2. Increase Nutrient Intake

Due to the overabundance of pre-packaged and fast food, many people today are overweight and undernourished. We can carry toxic fat while our bodies are starving for real nutrition.  This condition can be reversed by eating whole foods and drinking lots of water and other healthy beverages. 

3. Eliminate Allergenic and Addictive Foods

Many people experience symptoms of premature aging or poor health and have no idea that the solution may be as simple as removing possible food allergens.  Try removing possible allergenic foods like gluten, dairy, soy and processed sugars. If you cringe at the thought of removing a certain food, chances are you are allergic or intolerant to it and it is causing an array of problems you may not be aware of. To be clear, a food allergy and food intolerance are not the same, although their symptoms may appear similar.  

4. Balance Blood Sugar

We encourage you to eat low glycemic foods for many reasons.  High glycemic meals cause you to feel hungry soon after you eat.  Eating low to moderate glycemic meals reduces hunger cravings. When blood sugar goes up in response to a high glycemic meal, a process called 'glycation' takes place.  In addition to causing weight gain, glycation promotes the thinning of the skin and causes wrinkles. It's not just the refined sugars in things like candy bars and cupcakes that elevate blood sugar.  It is also in foods like pasta, bread, potatoes, white rice and high glycemic fruits that are responsible for elevating blood sugar. 

5. Support Elimination Organs

It is also important to support the body's seven elimination pathways: the liver, kidneys, intestines, blood, lungs, lymphatic system and your largest detoxifying organ, your skin. It is nearly impossible to avoid the toxins we come in contact with on a daily basis. If toxins enter your body faster than they are removed, you will experience signs of toxicity.  If, on the other hand, you give your body the support it needs to eliminate these toxins, it will perform optimally.

All 5 areas are supported by the Arbonne Essentials nutritional line that is certified vegan and has no gluten, dairy, soy and artificial colors, flavors or sweeteners.

Forever Fit Challenge Starts Monday!

Don't forget that the Forever Fit Challenge starts Monday!

This 6 week challenge is our version of The Biggest Loser except we give you the tools you need to make a lifestyle change and keep the weight off.

"I COMMIT TO GET FIT' Join us and win! We will have over $1,000 worth of prizes!  No more yo-yo, this time it's for life! 1st place gets a kindle fire, other prizes will be awarded by a panel of judges. 

Starting: May 6th is the start date. You can come in on that day between 10am and 12pm or 3pm and 7pm for your personal training session (initial weigh ins).

Ending: On June 14th we will do ending measurements and host a Final Fit Finale from 7:00pm - 9:00pm to announce results and award prizes (kidsit will be provided). 

6 Weeks Can Change Your Life! During the 6 weeks you can come in anytime during our open hours to do the personalized workout we give you. There will always be a trainer available for questions and modifications. LET'S MAKE LINCOLN 'FOREVER FIT' TOGETHER. May 6th - June 14th


CLICK HERE to register, it's only $10 a week! Anyone is welcome to participate, so bring your friends! 
You can also come in on the 6th between  10am and 12pm or 3pm and 7pm to sign up.