When I make my energy drinks or even my Chocolate Shakeology I always use coconut juice (water).  I am a self admitted electrolyte junkie, where ever and what ever I can get natural electrolytes from I will take it….provided it is an approved products of course

I was at the grocery store yesterday and came across a new brand of coconut juice in the International section.  It is made by Mira Azul, I noticed the sugar content right off the bat was about 50% less than the brand I have at home.

Time to compare:

Current brand Charokoh  vs new brand Mira Azul per 260ml

calories: 160                         50

fat: 1.5g                                 .5

sodium: 110mg                   280mg

carbs:  37g                           10g

fibre: 1.5g                              3g

Protein: 0                               2g

sugar: 30 g                          7g

Both are products of Thailand, the Azul is not a sweet tasting as the Chaokoh, I have new favorite brand!

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I love making new flavors of energy drinks, this one is a must try

1 scoop of your favorite protein powder

frozen berries

coconut water

teaspoon of Matcha tea powder

1 banana

3 ice cubes

1/2 packet of your favorite crystal lite flavor stick

I use a magic bullet to mix my energy drinks which is why I didn’t give you a lot of the measurements.  No worries, just make sure it all fits in the cup and still have room for expansion when blending.  If you find your drink too thick just add a bit of water and blend again…consistency it completely at your discretion.

Enjoy!

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Kelly

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It wasn’t ChaLean Extreme, but it was Turbo Jam Body Sculpt.  Feeling a bit of sore muscle syndrome from yesterdays work out and yard work I decided that because I had more yard work to do, fatiguing my muscles further would cause more strain.

Turbo Jam’s  Body Sculpt is a great work out, lots of squats, lunges and even some ab work with some light weights = calories burned.  I can’t recommend highly enough if you are new to cardio exercises get your self a  heart rate monitor with a chest strap so that you will know exactly how many calories you are burning.  These monitors will let you know exactly when you need to increase intensity or when to decrease intensity.  After some time you will be able to figure it out for yourself and won’t need to depend on the monitor so much, in the meantime it is a great way to learn and understand what your heart rate is doing and to keep track of how many calories you are burning.

You can pick up a decent monitor at Canadian Tire for around $100.00, I believe you will not regret the purchase. Building muscle will increase your metabolic rate and that means you can eat more food (healthy that is) and I am all about eating food!

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Kelly

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June 19 I started ChaLean Extreme over, that lasted one week..  Day 1 was fantastic, day 2 is a rest day, day 3 fantastic, day 4 not so fantastic. I ended up straining a muscle in my back, there is pain, and normally I embrace the aches and pains and consider them to be the fruits of my labor, but, not strains.  This led to me halting my day 5, day 6 was not a lot better, I choose to give it a bit more time to relax.  A couple of days later everything was back  to normal and time to resume, right, not so right.  For the first time in 10 months my lifestyle was interfering with my work out routine.   Maybe that is the problem, my routine is not my routine any more.  Summer yard work as dumped a tremendous load on me and is consuming a lot of my time.  I really enjoy the yard work, gets me outside, love the fresh air and it gets me out of the office.

While I was away with my husband on the weekend I decided that maybe what the real problem is I need to do a parasite cleanse.  I have not done a cleanse in over a year, think that could be the problem.  Today I started my parasite cleanse and I did a 20 minute work out.  The 20 minute work out is only a couple hundred calorie burn BUT, I did cut the grass and pick up the fertilizer for the lawn, between emptying the bags from the lawn mower a dozen or more times and hauling the fertilizer, that has to count for a bit of  weight training.

Tomorrow I will restart ChaLean Extreme from Day 1, gotta get it right this time

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Kelly

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Wow, did that feel great to get back at Chalean Extreme.  I have done so much cardio lately that I had forgotten how good weight training feels.  Looking back in my guide-book seeing how much weight I was lifting from day 1 to now is pretty incredible the strength that I have gained over the past 10 months.  I am confident this time I will see a transformation.

After my work out I enjoyed a delicious home-made energy drink that doubles as either a meal or snack, depending on your caloric intake.  The cost of shakeology can seem expensive  at $121.00 per bag,  but there is 30 servings per bag.  5 servings a week = 6 weeks,  chocolate is my favorite but the green is delicious too, I found mixing fruit with it helped to enhance the flavor.  If Shakeology is a product that you would love to hear more about contact Heather Buchman or Bill Patty at Beachbody.com

Keep coming back for more great home-made energy drink ideas, I will post them as I make them!

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Kelly

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December 2010 I finished Chalean Extreme, my results where minimal at best but the work out was great and it certainly keep the joints from creaking.

I have worked with Chalene’s Turbo Fire and Turbo Jam, cycling indoors on my Schwinn Trainer and of course the old faithful treadmill.  I was not able to follow Turbo Fire, it was too difficult, instead of putting it in the box and forgetting about it I bought Turbo Jam to learn the TF moves and be a little better prepared for the intensity of TF.

Once Spring hit and of course all the outdoor work that needed to be done, my exercise regimen has been neglected.  I truly thought that the yard work would be a good compensation for my actual work out…not so. Although it has only been two weeks, my joints once again are aching, well, it can only be one thing, back to the work out routine.  Since I do have most of the out-door tree trimming and flower beds weeded and looking healthy I will start Chalean Extreme over and watch for the transformation that I didn’t get the last time.

Round two here I come!!!!

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Kelly

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This is a great protein pop em’s breakfast idea for those on the run or just in a hurry.

This recipe can be made on a Sunday and enjoyed during the week.  They will stay fresh in an air tight container for one week or up to 3 months in the freezer.

I altered some of the ingredients, I used dried cranberries instead of cherries, natural peanut butter instead of cashew butter, I did not use cashews, and Unicity brand Quadplex protein powder.  The pop ‘ems taste great, had 3 for breakfast and they quite nicely tied me over until lunch, of course I don’t recommend skipping snack, I had a late breakfast and one extra pop ‘em.

Enjoy!

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Kelly

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When I come across information that I feel is important to share, and I learn something from it, I love to pass it on.

My friend Lissa Coffey wrote this message about fruit and it definitely is going to change the how and when I am going to eat fruit.

We all grow up knowing that fruit is an important food to include in our diet because it is whole and fresh and healthy.  In Ayurveda, how and when we eat fruit is important to consider.  Fruit should always be eaten on an empty stomach, or before a meal, because fruit goes through the digestive tract more quickly than other foods.  When we eat fruit on an empty stomach it helps us to detoxify the body and supplies us with needed energy for weight loss and other activities.   However, when we eat fruit after a meal, the fruit is prevented from digesting because it is being blocked by the other foods that are ahead of it in line.  So the fruit juices come into contact with the other foods, turns into acid, and the whole meal starts to ferment and spoil.  When fruit mixes with other foods, it produces gas, so we feel bloated and burpy.

Ayurveda says that eating whole fruit is preferable to drinking fruit juice.  If you want to drink fruit juice, choose fresh fruit juice, never juice from a can.  Don’t drink juice that has been heated, as heating juice, or cooking fruit, takes away many of the nutrients.  When drinking fruit juice, take sips to mix the juice with saliva for better digestion, don’t take big gulps.

During my recent trip to Cuba, where I love to try new foods, I tried their carrot juice, it was delicious it actually had a mango sweetness to it.  Now I have to try homemade!  I hope that you get some benefit from this article as I did.

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Kelly

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Looking for a way to get your protein in a treat?  These delicious little morsels are perfect as a meal replacement or an on the go snack.

I used a scoop of Shakeology for a chocolate flavor but cocoa could be used very easily, I also used Quadplex protein powder, it is a high quality whey protein isolate.

Give it a try, the bars are very satisfying, healthy and tasty!

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Kelly

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Finished!

I completed each exercise with everything I had.  My results where good, there was some changes I did not expect and other changes that I expected that did not happen.  The last four weeks I started an eat clean challenge that my coach set for me to help me stay away from holiday goodies.  That alone was a great tool to use, I highly recommend eating clean, it will make such an amazing difference in your overall health.  I always felt that I eat very healthy, but I didn’t realize that I could take it to the next level.  Eating clean takes a little more time, but you will love the results of not eating processed food and you will be pleasantly surprised at how well your digestive system loves it too!

Since I still have toning to do my husband gave me Turbo Fire for Christmas,  now, Turbo Fire is all cardio, toning and flexibility training so for me I will add ChaLean resistance to the Turbo Fire cardio so that I don’t lose the muscle that I have gained.  I am very excited to take this to the next level in fitness.

I am going to continue with updates as good things happen in my transformation.  I know great things are going to happen, I can see them starting to take shape.

Live, Love, Laugh

Kelly