A New Year, A “Nu” You

Happy New Year!!!! Have you written any resolutions for the New Year? Several of my friends are committing to losing weight through improved diets and adding exercise this year. Personally, I am back on track with my pre-holiday diet consisting of small meals and snacks of veggies, a handful of nuts and fresh fruit 5 or 6 times a day. Every night I drink 2 tablespoons of unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar. Combined with 3 to 4 days of fairly strenuous weights and conditioning exercise, this system has worked really well for me. I lost 13 pounds before the holidays following this regimen. Now, I never stopped drinking my apple cider at night but my meals became irregular in size and time. Snacks were gone all together or consisted of holiday cookies and yummy, high calorie, holiday snacks. I expected my skinny jeans to get a little tighter. But, what I did not expect was to feel so tired between Christmas and New Year’s Day. Now, I only gained about 5 pounds and I was still mourning the loss of my grandmother, but I felt about 20 years older!!!! That just goes to show how diet directly affects physical energy.

Here is an interesting fact I got on Monday, January 2nd, from a local gym: “60-percent of all new health club memberships come in January and February and as many as 50 people joined one local gym on January 2nd”. How many of these new members remain throughout the year? About 50-percent of them continue their journey to better health through exercise or at least they think they will so they don’t cancel their membership. Gyms get their money whether people go or not so my advice is find an accountability partner. For me, I have to schedule an appointment to exercise with someone. It ensures I make it to the gym even when I might be tired. I’m always glad because I feel better afterwards.

Health Tip: Steroids: Side Effects Not Worth It!
Often referred to colloquially as just “steroids”, Anabolic steroids are synthetic hormones similar to the male hormone testosterone. While there are many types of anabolic steroids – each with their own effects – anabolic steroids generally stimulate muscle growth and tissue regeneration, and amongst their many uses they can be used to build size, strength, and explosive power. However, used improperly they can also carry a number of harmful short and long-term side effects. Two common steroids used to gain muscle strength and reduce body fat are Dianabol and Winstrol. See below for a list of their individual side effects.

Dianabol Side Effects
Strain On Liver
As a 17-aa steroid, Dianabol can cause liver damage if high doses are taken over an extended period of time.
Gynecomastia
Because Dianabol converts quite easily into Estrogen, another potential side effect of the drug is the condition known as Gynecomastia. Gynecomastia is when males develop mammary glands and grow female breasts due to various reasons related to hormonal imbalances.
Fluid Retention
Also related to Dianabol’s tendency to convert to estrogen is the Dianabol side effect of increased fluid retention as well as fat storage.
Winstrol Side Effects
Liver Toxicity
Like Dbol, Winstrol is a 17aa compound, which allows it to be taken orally, but also renders it toxic to the liver. Winstrol is quite hepatoxic, thus it’s extremely important to limit its use and avoid abuse.
Negative Effects On Cholesterol Levels
Tests have shown that Winstrol may have results on Cholesterol that are less than desirable, including lowering HDL (good) cholesterol while increasing LDL (bad) cholesterol.
Effects On Joints and Connective Tissue
Winstrol has been said to cause joints to feel less lubricated, likely due to its negative effect on fluid retention
This is just a small list of the negative side effects from only (2) of the anabolic steroids available. It certainly makes it understandable as to why professional sports ban their usage. These listed side effects make me wonder about other drugs used to enhance physical performance and/or physical appearance. Stick to reducing the number of caloric intake and make them the most nutritious calories you possible can for the sake of your health and beauty.

NS International convention – How many of us have….Friends?

Friends…How many of us have…Friends?

Considering the busy lives we all lead and all the roles we play in one day…mother, father, grandmother, grandfather, neighbor, aunt, uncle, cousin, neighbor, employee, employer, volunteer. The bottom line is we all have full schedules. Who are the real friends that support us as we motor through our busy days with their generosity of heart and their positive energy? I am lucky. My best friend is my sister. She supports me through and through. I meet a lot of people during my work week but not all of them become “friends”. To me a friend is a special person that touches my heart because they share a common belief that is dear to me and are not overly, uselessly dramatic. Through them I gain energy, wisdom and inspiration.

Recently, I was fortunate to meet new friends at the NS International Convention in Salt Lake City from South Africa and Japan. I have lived in the Middle East and traveled extensively but these people touched my heart because they were so sincere about themselves and about their life goals. How many people do you meet that you would consider authentic? Once again I was impressed by the caliber of people drawn to the NS business. Anyway, they were all lovely to chat with and I truly hope to see them again. The three I met from Johanessburg, South Africa were beyond delightful in their honesty and amount of heart. I gave them my goal of coming to visit them in October 2012. Elenia told me it is a good time for game! Well, I’m in for a trip to South Africa!

Health Tip: Overcome Daily Stress
Dissolve 2 cups of Epsom Salt into a tub of water as hot as you can tolerate and soak your body for 20 minutes. This will soak away tiredness and soreness, help soothe away stress and help to detoxify your body. The magnesium sulfate of Epsom Salt draws out the cellular toxins generated with exercise as well as the normal cellular waste created as our bodies do their daily work metabolizing food, combating environmental toxins, handling emotional stress and just simply creating new cells.