Sorry–again long time no posts.  I have been busier than a one-armed wallpaper-hanger, & none of my occupations at the moment let me anywhere NEAR a computer!  Things are going GREAT with my training, & I will be competing in just over TWO WEEKS at the Pittsburgh Championships!  This is a HUGE show, & I am very excited about the opportunity.  I have been working SO HARD–literally 3 workouts a day, 5 days a week, & 2 workouts over the weekends.  It is really paying off though!  My legs have NEVER looked this good–although I still have a long way to go to get them where I want to be!

I will try very hard to do a better job at keeping you updated on my progress.  My training business is really taking off, & I am so excited about that too.  I have discovered a new love—BOOT CAMP!   I am now teaching Boot Camps at my local gym & I am in love with it!  I have never taught group classes before, so this required me to step outside my comfort zone, but I am SOOOOO glad I did!   I have wonderful ‘troops’ & we are calling ourselves the “Buff-Armed Forces”.  We all should have the right to BARE ARMS! 

I have several things in the works, too, so I hope to be making some big announcements soon.  Stay Tuned!

I was forwarded this wonderful article by my friends at Sun Warrior, & just HAD to share it with you all!  Enjoy!

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Is Your Favorite Protein Powder Causing Cancer or Preventing it?

Protein is something everyone likes to talk about. Plant-based eaters, especially those who consume high raw and vegan diets, often find themselves on the defensive end of these conversations. This is unfortunate, but the tables are slowly turning. It is now common knowledge that cholesterol, found in all animal products, greatly increases the risk of heart disease, often leading to a heart attack or stroke. Eggs and red meat are notorious for being high in cholesterol, so some avoid beef and eggs and look to chicken or fish as protein sources. While lower in cholesterol than fatty cuts of red meat or egg yolks, poultry and seafood still contain substantial amounts of cholesterol. People are best served to avoid cholesterol altogether by eating a plant-based diet.

Most everyone is familiar with Dr. T. Colin Campbell’s landmark work, detailed in his book, The China Study. Campbell’s research dealt with casein, which is the primary protein component in cow milk and cheese. In his study, rats were fed casein above their protein needs, which caused experimental tumors in the rats to grow. The protein needs of a rat are similar to those of a human, about 10–12% of total calories.1 In Campbell’s experiment, the rats were fed up to 20% of their diet as protein. According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2003–2004, protein intake for Americans ranged from 13.4% of total calories in children aged 4–8 years to 16% of total calories in men aged 51–70 years.2 Additionally, the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) recommends consumption of 0.4–0.8 grams of protein per pound of body weight for exercise levels ranging from sporadically active to very active.3 The high end of this protein range is about 15% of total calories. Considering these numbers, it’s easy to see the relevance of Campbell’s work regarding protein consumption.

Traditional bodybuilding and sports diets, especially those targeting muscle growth, typically far exceed the NSCA’s protein recommendation, often doubling it. One can simply search the internet for “macronutrient ratios” and they’ll find that countless people are eating 30% or more of their calories as protein. Whey protein is a popular product to supplement the diets of those aiming to reach this protein surplus. Whey is the byproduct of the manufacture of cheese or casein. While whey is the more popular of the two, both whey and casein are marketed as protein supplements. All animal-based proteins, including powders made from milk or egg whites, should be avoided because of the cholesterol they contain and their link to cancer.

The trend in sales of protein products indicates people are learning the truth about animal proteins. According to 2008 research from Global Industry Analysts, annual sales of protein ingredients are expected to top $18 billion by the end of 2010. While animal protein ingredients account for 69% of the market, the plant protein ingredients market was the faster growing segment, with a projected growth rate of about 8% through 2013.4 There are several plant-based protein powders on the market—rice, hemp and soy are all popular options. None of these protein sources have cholesterol, but there’s something very special about one of them. One of them has cancer-fighting properties.

While casein can encourage the growth of cancer, certain components in rice protein can help prevent cancer. Sadly, these beneficial elements in rice are greatly reduced, or removed altogether, by the time it gets to the plate. Rice bran is the brown coating between the rice kernel and its protective hull. Brown rice maintains a thin layer of rice bran around the seed, but in the case of white rice, this nutrient dense layer is polished off. This is why white rice is a nutritionally dead food.

Inositol hexaphosphate acid (IP-6) is a potent antioxidant found in rice bran. In addition to its cancer-fighting properties, many experts also believe IP-6 can prevent and treat heart disease, kidney stones and liver disease. The process isn’t fully understood, but IP-6 suppresses the production and activity of cancer-causing free radicals. It also reduces the abnormal rate of cell division that defines cancer and tumor growth, allowing cells to normalize and return to regular, controlled growth. Additionally, IP-6 enhances the body’s potential to kill existing tumor cells by stimulating the activity of the immune system’s natural killer cells, called lymphocytes.5

Arabinoxylan compound is produced by altering the outer shell of rice bran using enzymes from Hyphomycetes mycelia mushroom extract. This compound is a major component in a popular alternative cancer treatment called MGN-3 (known as BioBran® in Japan). More clinical trials are needed, but arabinoxylan has shown promise in improving immune reactions in cancer and diabetes patients. Also, pre-clinical experiments suggest that MGN-3 may also be of potential value in treating AIDS patients.6

Rice bran looks to have a very promising future not only as an alternative cancer treatment, but as a treatment for a host of other diseases and conditions. Whole grain brown rice also makes a fantastic protein supplement. There is a great protein product on the market today called Sun Warrior. Naturally rich in vitamins and minerals, Sun Warrior rice protein provides a complete amino acid profile. Their old world process combines the sprouted endosperm with the bran from raw, sprouted whole grain brown rice to offer a protein with a 98% correlation to mother’s milk and a 98.2% digestion efficiency. Sun Warrior is raw, vegan and GMO-free.

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Interesting info!  As you all know, I am a huge Sun Warrior fan, & more reasons are being added every day!  Click on the link to the right to order.

Be Defiant!!!

Christy

Sun Warrior really is a godsend, and an incredible product. I highly recommend it. I use it several times a day! Even if it weren’t raw vegan, it is still far superior to whey or other proteins out there on the market.
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And the incredible Raw Beauty, Lauren Michelle Kinsey, also known as Sweet Raw La-La on her VERY popular blog, Awakening Raw Beauty, was kind enough to include me in her “Raw Built Body Project”. Her site is wonderful and extremely informative. Here is the link to my post:

http://laurenkinseynaturalbeauty.wordpress.com/2009/11/17/an-update-from-christy-duffell-seguin/

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Today was a three-workout day, but comparatively very easy. Rob and Shannon said they want me to recover and rest this week, as I have done all I can do to prepare my physique, and they want me rested and on my A-game come this Saturday. I did really bust it on back and arms, though. I was jelly by the time I was done. The cardio was a piece of cake!

We leave for Florida on Thursday morning. I will keep you as updated as possible!

And THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!! To all of you who have shown interest in Team Defiance and have sent me some incredible comments. My heart is filled to bursting with gratitude for each and every one of you, and just knowing that I somehow make a positive difference in the life of others is the best gift I can get. I am humbled and honored to be a part of your life. And I promise to keep working hard and hopefully inspire others to be the best they can be.

Be Defiant!

Christy

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As you all know, unless you have been under a rock or don’t have cable, the real estate market is, well……not what it used to be. The reality of that situation coupled with the realization that I am now the happiest I have ever been, has made me want to pursue my true passion–fitness and nutrition.

Now, I am not by any means abandoning real estate! I just have a lot of time now that I didn’t have before, and have put it to good use in the gym. And in studying holistic nutrition. If I had the funds, I would pursue a PhD in Holistic Nutrition, and I do plan to someday. But I study nutrition passionately, and learn as much as I can every day. With what I learned in my studies, and with the consistent workout schedule, that led me back into competition. Which then led me to Team Bombshell, and the rest, as they say, is history.

My friend asked me last week if I was happy. It only took me a second to stop and realize–I am living my dream. I told her, truthfully, that I am the happiest I have ever been in my life. I am so grateful for everything I have—my incredible husband and soul mate, Michael; the ‘bestest’ kitty in the world, Jukebox; a wonderful family; fantastic friends; and I finally had the guts to step out there and really pursue my dream of competing in Figure. People come into our lives for a reason . ‘When the student is ready the teacher appears.’ I was ready, and Shannon and Rob appeared. And my life has changed.

The only thing missing right now is a consistent source of income. I am still working and have been blessed with much more business than most agents have in this market. And I do feel positive that good things are to come. But when I really sat down and thought about what it is I really want, I realized that I really want to work in the fitness industry and positively affect people’s lives through better health and nutrition. Basically, I want to get paid for working out!

I have been working on a recipe book for a while, although I have been very intermittent and not committed enough to it. That is going to change. I am going to work on that with a vengeance. With what I have learned, I really feel I can help guide people to health through Living Cuisine.

But the big thing right now is this:

I just became re-certified as a personal trainer! I had let my certifications slip after I moved here and got so busy in real estate. But I realized I wanted to train people again, especially because I get so many requests from this site and people that I meet in every day life. Plus, with training, I can have a flexible schedule that allows me to also work real estate. So it’s the best of all worlds!

A BETTER WAY:

But with the economy the way it is, the number of people paying 50 bucks an hour for someone to stand over them and count reps has dropped dramatically. I see the trainers in my town suffering the loss of many clients, and the gyms are letting many of their in-house trainers go. So, there has to be a better way. A way to provide excellent services to many people, at a very affordable cost.

I think I have found that way. Inspired by the way that I am trained by Team Bombshell, which works so incredibly well, I realized that this model of training could be applied to ‘regular’ folks–not just us gym bunnies in sparkly swimsuits! Come on–you know how to count. You can count your own reps! What most people need is a plan.

So here is what I am now offering:

Nutrition plans and workout plans emailed every four weeks, with unlimited email support throughout the month.

Everything will be detailed and spelled out for the client, on a daily basis. Each plan will be customized to the client, based on a thorough initial consultation. The initial consultation can be in person or on the phone. I will create the programs and send them to the client. The clients’ responsibility is to simply FOLLOW THE PLAN! Print out the plan, tuck it in your workout journal (you DO have one, don’t you?) and take it to the gym. Have your meal plan with you, and you won’t even have to think about what you are eating every day–it will all be spelled out for you and relieve all that stress!

I want this to be accessible for EVERYONE, so the fee structure is as follows:

–4-week workout plan: $100

So, basically, you get a comprehensive, customized nutrition or workout plan starting at $100 per month! That’s the equivalent of only two private training sessions! If you are serious about your health, you can save $100 per month just by following the nutrition plan and eliminating a lot of unhealthy things that are also costing you money. Heck, $100 is just one decent dinner out anymore.

This would also be on a month to month basis–no contract, no obligation. Your success will depend on the level of your commitment and motivation. 50 percent effort will be a disaster and you will say that the plan didn’t work. So don’t go there. But if you are really committed and self-motivated to achieve a healthy lifestyle, then this would be perfect for you. And remember, it is customized to you, so you don’t have to fear the plan. It will challenge you to achieve a new personal best, but will be very achievable.

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If you are interested in working with me, please contact me through this site, or email me directly at cduffell@sc.rr.com. I am so excited about this new venture, and already have been working with some wonderful clients. I can work with anyone, anywhere in the world. I am even talking to a wonderful lady who lives in Dubai who will hopefully become a client after recovering from surgery. What a cool place to live!

One big thing!!! If your goal is to compete in Figure, Fitness or NPC/IFBB Bikini—then I will refer you to Team Bombshell at www.bombshellfitness.com.

Team Bombshell offers so much more than just the plans–it’s like having your own PR or modeling agency, coaching you in every detail for competition. They own their own magazine, and just do so much for the Bombshells. It’s a comprehensive, incredible program and they have so many connections in the industry to help launch their athletes. For example, Bombshell Cheryl Brown just was awarded a sponsorship by GNC!!! Wow! (What I would give for something like that!!!) I cannot offer that kind of environment, and the serious competitor needs to be in a place that can maximize their exposure and career. So I will send you directly to Shannon and Rob, do not pass Go, do not collect $200!

I am looking for the person who wants to be in their best shape and health. I especially want to work with people who want to explore the Living Foods lifestyle in more depth and still be fit, toned, and not stick-thin and gaunt like so many people perceive vegetarians to be. But I can work with anyone–you don’t have to go raw vegan for me! I promise! I WILL teach you about the power of whole foods, though. It’s your choice what to do with the education.

So here is my pitch–I want clients! I am available and eager to get you on the road to beautiful health and a gorgeous body! Please contact me, and I will go right to work for you!

Be Defiant! Fight for your health–and I will be right there fighting for it with you. I got your back!!!

Christy

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I am fortunate that I found a compatriot on YouTube—RawVeganBodybuilder, aka Giacomo Marchese.  His videos are great and he’s a super guy.  I asked for his advice since he has been competing as a raw vegan already.  And coincidentally, we have contests on the same day!   How cool–two raw vegan bodybuilders competing on the same day, on different coasts, as his contest is in Oregon and mine in Georgia.  Good luck Giacomo!

Today, I practiced posing and basketball drills.  I can’t do any cardio this week, because that would cause me to retain water under my skin.  Normally I hate doing cardio but naturally I don’t think I am lean enough, so I am dying to work out!  I had an orange when I first woke up, then a big salad with greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, beets and celeriac root, with a few Brazil nuts and some of my homemade salad dressing–just a little bit.  It has sodium in it, so that will have to go later in the week.   Around lunch, I had a spirulina superfood smoothie made with fresh raw almond ‘mylk’, chocolate Sun Warrior protein, spirulina, Elements for Life Blue Green Algae, stevia, and a tablespoon of UDO’s oil.  Pre-workout, I made my delicious chocolate ‘Muscle Mousse’ of avocado, chocolate Sun Warrior protein, water and a dash of Celtic salt.    Yum! 

The workouts are totally different this week.  Since I am trying to deplete my muscle glycogen in the carb-depletion phase, I am supposed to change to a high-rep workout without going to failure.   The goal is just to work the glycogen out of the muscles so they will be depleted and hungry for carbs later in the week.  Hopefully, they will just soak up the carbs when I ingest them again, and will fill out nicely and be full of water, drawing the water out from under the skin into the muscles.  This is what causes that really ‘dry’ hard muscular look you see in competitors.  It’s not a normal look, and can usually only be achieved for one day.  The trick is to make that day the same day as the contest.  It’s easy to ‘miss’ and look better the day before, or even more commonly, the day AFTER the competition.  Many competitors will come in flat and smooth, and after they lose, go out and eat in frustration–and then wake up the next day looking like a winner.  The human body is difficult to predict and manipulate!

After my workout, I had another big salad, some Spicy Lime Cilantro Soup, and Vanilla Sun Warrior mixed with water & 5 grams L-Glutamine.

I was talking with a fellow competitor at the gym tonight, and we were discussing how easily we could shed bodyfat, water, etc.  just by manipulating our macronutrient (carb, protein and fat) intake, cardio, and weight training.   That led us to wonder how people have such a hard time losing weight and just seem to not have any idea what to do.  It reminded me of something I read yesterday, that the most dangerous ‘disease’ is IGNORANCE.  Most people just don’t understand how their body works or how profoundly food affects their bodies.  I can see my body change after each meal!  Any bodybuilder can.  A single food–even a single nutrient like sodium–can mean the difference between winning and losing.  The only cure for this ‘disease’ is education.  We aren’t born with an owners’ manual.  We have to SEEK the knowledge and make it a priority in our life.  Health is our only true wealth!

I am really happy I am doing this.  I am definitely learning alot about how raw foods affect the body, in detail under the microscope of competition.  It’s a great learning experience.  I did it the conventional way before, and I always felt so awful!  I was ravenous, desperate for sugar, exhausted, fighting uncontrollable cravings, headaches, cramps, etc.  This time, I feel great!  I have so much energy tonight, with no cravings or detrimental effects so far.  (I have a feeling the sodium depletion later this week will kill me, though.   I love my Celtic salt and Nama Shoyu!)  I do miss my fruit, and can’t wait to get back to my green smoothies.  But it’s not a bad ‘craving’ feeling, though.  I just wish I could have my smoothies.  I can make it for a few days without them, but I will be blending like a mad woman on Sunday!

I am watching the National Championship Basketball Game between UNC & Michigan State.  What a disappointment!  I was hoping MSU would really make this a good game, but they are getting blown out of the arena.  Bore-ring!

I will update you on how things are going.   Right now I feel great, with good energy and excitement.  I am looking forward tomorrow to having a critique of my posing, with great advice and instruction by a master.  I need this, and am eager to learn.   I am sure he will pick me apart, but that’s the only way to improve.   I also need to pick up a few final things to get ready with.

This weekend, I will have wireless internet access in our hotel room, so I will update you from the show too!

Until next time, stay Defiant!  Fight for your health.  Defeat ignorance, and learn about your wondrous body.  Every cell in your body is more complicated and sophisticated than a city of a million people!  We are an amazing creation, and we have an innate infinite wisdom that is constantly leading us to better health, if we will just let it–and not fight our own inner physician!  Fight the conventional medical doctors–not your Infinite Intelligence inside your own body!

BE DEFIANT!

Christy

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Today, I started with a Spirulina Smoothie made from 8 oz coconut water, the meat from one Thai coconut, handful of spinach, 1 tbs coconut butter (Artisana–yum!), 1.5 Tbs Spirulina, 1 Tbs raw carob, 1 tsp Elements for Life Blue Green Algae, 1/2 tsp Elements for Life Cordyceps, 1/2 tsp Elements for Life RevitaPhi, and stevia to taste (I used 2 packets), and blended it all up.  Not too bad, but definitely not as tasty as my normal addictive spirulina treats.  Can you tell this is a major superfood smoothie?    I figure I need the superfoods to preserve muscle while cutting the calories, sodium and sugar.

Lunch was broccoli, coconut water and a little pineapple blended into a smoothie.  It was OK, even though I was wishing I could use more pineapple and a banana.  Then it would have been really tasty.  I got really hungry in the afternoon, and ate a LifeForce Cacao bar, which is delicious and fairly low fat, sugar, and sodium.   Next week I won’t be able to do that, though.  I also had a tablespoon of UDO’s oil for pre-workout energy.  I am taking a tablespoon of that every day now.  They did a study where the athletes lost bodyfat and gained muscle by using the oil so that sounds good to me, and the body still needs SOME fats no matter what.

I worked out with intervals tonight, alternating shoulders with high rep leg intervals, like lunges, step-ups and leg extensions.   After the workout, I made a ’savory’ smoothie, which is really more like a soup.  I used a few cherry tomatoes, a few baby carrots, spinach, lovely fresh basil, 1/3 of a red bell pepper, 3 cloves garlic, 2 large celery stalks, 1/2 lemon peeled and tossed in whole, and water.  It was pretty good, actually, but would have been a lot better with some Celtic salt or Nama Shoyu!   

My assessment of my condition is that I am definitely improving in definition.  I can see more abs, and more veins are coming out.   Practicing posing last night, I felt I could definitely see more cuts.   It’s hard to tell, as the lighting differs so much from one place to another.  

Next week, I plan to carb deplete Sunday through Wednesday while drinking a lot of water to flush my body of any water-retaining substances, and then slowly carb load until the contest.  This protocol is supposed to shed the water from under the skin which obscures muscle definition, and force the muscles to ’suck up’ the water to make them nicely full and pumped.  I have been studying material from several books and former competitors, and I am attempting to take their suggestions and adapt them to a raw foods protocol.  For example, where they cut carbs by eating a lot of chicken, I plan to eat a lot of leafy greens, spirulina, superfoods, and Sun Warrior protein.   I feel nuts would have too much fat, plus my body doesn’t do well on too many nuts.   I will most likely be a salad-eating fool next week!  (And the savory green smoothies of course.)  For carbs, I plan to sprout some grains like barley and quinoa and use those to carb-load.   On Friday night,  I will eat a special meal to try to get the muscles as full as possible.  The suggested meal is a steak with Heinz 57 sauce for some sodium, so I am thinking I will make my Living burgers, which are kind of like a hamburger and have Nama Shoyu in them, which would do what the 57 would do.   My biggest fear is coming in flat, and retaining too much water. 

I plan to eat a lot of celery and asparagus, as those foods are awesome for diuretic effects.   This is just what I am thinking.  Again, this is an experiment.  If I see something not working, I may call an audible and change the protocol.   And I may find that in the future, I may want to add some nuts and that the ‘good’ fats in nuts don’t react in the body like what we normally ingest as fats.  But, knowing how I have reacted to nuts in the past, I will most likely be avoiding them like the plague for the next week.   But I plan to eat the heck out of a nut-based dessert on Easter Sunday when this contest is over!  I may eat the whole thing–with lots of dates, nuts, fruits, etc.  Maybe I will make my White Chocolate Cheezecake, maybe a Pecan Pie Cheezecake, or maybe something chocolate–who knows?

I have to share these two videos with you.  They were sent to me by a Facebook friend, and they are powerful.  The journalists didn’t pull any punches and they definitely called out some big brand names who are knowingly exposing our most vulnerable babies and toddlers to very harmful chemicals.  And all in the name of a germ-free, clean house……

Part One

Part Two

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DEFY these chemicals and toxins.  Buy holistic, chemical-free cleaners.  And not from big name brand companies, either.  Do not support them in their efforts to ‘look green’ when they are still just profit-crazed toxin-mongers.  Look for the truly organic cleaners from companies who truly care about your children and the earth, while still creating products that clean.  Many of the ones I use actually work a LOT better than the toxic stuff. 

More updates to come!

Be Defiant!

Christy

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The site will have a great new home page with links and pictures, and I will be able to add much more content and links to the pages.  I hope to be offering you some great products–both free information and for purchase–in the near future.   So please bear with me as I learn and experience growing pains, because it will all be worth it in the future.

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We were supposed to get a great snow yesterday, and it didn’t happen here.  I was so disappointed.  I have always loved the magical beauty of that beautiful blanket of white snow.   Of course, living in the South where it is generally 60 degrees all winter, snow is a fun novelty.  I completely understand how it can be horrible if you have to live with it much of the winter.   My nephew is 10 and my niece is 6, and they finally, for the first time EVER, got to see a truly great snowfall yesterday.  They live just outside of Athens, GA, and it snowed 7 inches there.  They went sledding for the first time and had a blast.  Unfortunately, they also lost power and heat, so that part wasn’t fun at all.  I wish I could have been there to see them, and do some sledding myself.  I used to go crazy when I was growing up and it snowed.   We had great hills near our house and I would play all day.  It sure did snow a lot more back then.  I remember that 3 years in a row it snowed or ‘ice-stormed’ on my birthday when I was growing up.  

But we got SHAFTED here!  No snow at all.  It did start coming down in big flakes last night, but they only lasted 20 minutes, and didn’t even stick.  But in the typical panic mode of Southerners faced with snowfall, all schools, government, businesses, etc had already been canceled.  So we wasted an entire beautiful sunny day.  It’s hilarious.   The folks here absolutely lose their MINDS if it even thinks about snowing.  They run to the grocery store for milk and bread (horrors), and if it actually does snow, it seems that they implant their heads firmly up their behinds and then attempt to operate a motor vehicle.   South Carolina drivers are bad to begin with (Note to those unfamiliar with SC:  turn signals are optional equipment on the vehicles, and a red light is merely a suggestion), but the incompetence reaches a crescendo if a flake of snow falls.  Ordinarily, they would be out like on a Sunday drive, creeping along and holding up traffic, usually in the fast lane of the interstate.  But if it starts to snow or really get treacherous with ice, that’s the time they pick to do their best NASCAR imitations, speeding and trading paint.  That’s why Michael and I stay home.  We know how to drive in snow and ice.  We just want to keep the cars in the garage to protect them from the demolition derby that is a South Carolina snow day.

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As usual, Michael and I hit a hard back workout, since it’s Monday.  I love working back on Monday for some reason.  Maybe it’s because I usually rest on Sunday, but I did intervals on the stationary bike last night, with dumbbell shoulder exercises during the recovery periods.   And last Sunday, when I flashed back to high school and ran sprints and bleachers, I pulled an ab muscle.  It was better by the weekend, but I pulled it again helping my father put out hay for the cows on Friday.   And then I strained a hip flexor doing my bodyweight workouts Saturday.  Hmmmm….I think my body is telling me I am 40!  Ha-ha!  Not really, I have always managed to hurt myself over the years.  That stupid ab pull is aggravating.  It hurts every which way I move.   I was afraid I would have a hard time working out, but the back exercises didn’t bother it at all.  Now tying my shoes, that’s another story.  Go figure.

Back workout:

• Warmup on elliptical, until the pulled ab muscle screamed enough to make me quit
• Pullups, wide grip for three sets and neutral grip for three sets
• Seated close-grip rows.   I actually got 100 pounds for 6 reps on my last set!  That was a benchmark for me.  Four sets of 12, 12, 10 and 6 reps with increasing weight.
• Wide-grip lat pulldowns, 3 sets of 12
• Dumbbell rows, 50 lb bells, 3 sets of 10 each arm
• Rear delt flyes, 3 sets of 12
• Reverse-grip low rows on Hammer machine, 3 sets of 12, 10 & 10 reps, increasing weights
• Cable bicep curls, isolateral, 3 sets of 10
• Hammer dumbbell curls, 1 set with 17.5s, dropping to 15s, and then 2 sets with 15s

Wow, that was a long workout tonight.  It was good too.  I really felt my back working.  For our post-workout smoothie, we had banana, mango, vanilla Sun Warrior protein, fresh-from-the-farm organic spinach and water.  Yum!

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This morning, I tried a superfood smoothie that Mike Adams posted on NaturalNews.com.  It was an avocado, raw cacao powder, carob, green ’superfood’ powder, stevia, and an Asian pear.   I also added cordyceps mushrooms (from Elements for Life), coconut water, and chocolate Sun Warrior protein.  It was surprisingly delicious.  I love avocado and chocolate, though.  One of my favorite pre-workout meals is to blend an avocado, chocolate Sun Warrior, and honey or stevia to taste with enough water to make a thick pudding.  Yum!   Chocolate pudding that builds muscle and burns fat—cool!   Try it sometime!  Avocados are SOOOOOO good for you.

I will miss you all until I can post again.  Please be sure to visit and see the new look for the site.   Please give me your feedback and suggestions. I would love to hear from you!

Have a fabulous day, and misbehave until we meet again—Be Defiant! 

Christy

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You can see my Macadamia/White Chocolate/Strawberry Cheezecake on the right, and the regular cake on the left.   I even had decidedly non-health-nut people coming up to me commenting on it.  One said ‘It’s bad when the healthy food tastes better than the unhealthy food.’  I LOVED that!  Hahahahaha! 

I did manage to get in a great leg workout yesterday before getting ready for the party, and I am so sore today!  My rear end is hurting!  I hope that means it is GROWING–in a good way!    We did deep, rear-to-the-ground Smith Machine squats followed by walking lunges and then lying hamstring curls.  That is a serious booty workout.

We spent several hours out on our boat today, and I got to soak up some rays.  Thank God!   I have been feeling so sun-deprived.  I needed the Vitamin D for sure.  It was nice–72 degrees.  A bit breezy but I still broke out the bikini and laid out on the bow of the boat.  The water was 45 degrees, so no swimming, though!  I love where I live—February 8th and we are out on the lake.  Too cool.

I made two Spirulina pies for a client tonight, and it triggered my addiction badly.  Since I couldn’t eat their pies, I made some pudding to feed my addiction and scarfed that up.  Yum!

Be Defiant!

Christy

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And since we got back in town, I have been running around like crazy getting ready to launch our Boat Smart class tonight for the Lake Murray Power Squadron.  I am thrilled to report that the attendance far exceeded our expectations.  We had about 17 pre-registered, and had 26 people in the class!  That is wonderful, and we have many young people too, which is especially exciting.  Our youngest tonight was Braxton, who is about 7 or 8 years old, and after I worked with him for a few minutes, he learned to tie a pretty good cleat hitch knot, so now he can safely secure a boat to a dock.  I videoed him doing it, which I will post shortly.  (Yes, I am playing with my fun new toy still.  I love that Flip Video!)

I am getting very excited about my upcoming Valentine’s Day special Living Foods class, where I will be teaching some of my favorite treats that are easy and fun.  I made the White Chocolate Strawberry ‘Cheeze’cake for the birthday celebrations this weekend, and it was a major hit, even with my family.  And then I brought the leftovers to a Super Bowl party, and even the confirmed non-healthy-eating people there loved it, between their wings, hot dogs, pork BBQ, chili cheese fries and buckets of beer, of course.  Oh well, at least they consumed SOME antioxidants and phytonutrients, among the SAD foods.  I was proud of myself–I resisted onion strings that were sitting right in front of me.  I used to love good onion rings/strings/bloomin’ onions/any form of fried onion, more than life itself, and those were always a big issue for me.  Now I found it rather easy to simply not eat them.  Of course, having two pieces of the ‘Cheeze’cake helped!  On what other diet can you eat two big desserts without any guilt and actually be healthier after eating them?  I can’t think of another one, so that is one reason why I LOVE Living Foods!

There is still time to register for this class.  Please see the Defiant Events Page for more information.

Wow, I have had three workouts since I last posted.  Michael and I did a quick but tough leg workout on Saturday before we left for Georgia.  Yesterday, I rocked a great High Intensity Interval cardio workout with chest & triceps mixed in, designed to burn off some more bodyfat before my big day on Saturday.   And today we had a very efficient back & biceps workout, before we had to run to set up for Boat Smart.

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I won’t go into a lot of detail, due to time constraints, but here is the overview of the workouts:

Legs:

• Warmup
• Leg Press—I got 10 reps TWICE with 475!  Whoo–hoo!  I was grunting big time getting those last two up, but that was the best I had ever done.
• Smith Machine Lunges
• Isolateral Hamstring Curls
• Isolateral Leg Extensions
• Calf Raises on Donkey Calf Machine

Cardio and Chest:

• Warmup on the machine that simulates skating for 15 minutes.  Can’t remember the name of it at this moment.
• Jumping on the rebounder for about 5 minutes.  Great for stimulating the lymphatic system.
• 25-lb dumbbell flyes on the exercise ball, supersetted with the following
• High Bench Jumps, supersetted with Single Leg Jumps, 3 sets
• Pushups with elevated feet supersetted with the following
• Jump Lunges, supersetted with Jump squats, 3 sets
• Pushups with various hand positions
• Side bench jumps, supersetted with side bench lunges
• Abs worked in randomly when I needed more recovery time from the cardio sets

Back and Biceps:

• Two-handled lat pulldowns
• Seated rows on isolateral plate-loaded machine–I got my highest weight ever on these tonight, 82 lbs each arm.  Yay!
• Pullups on assist machine, wide grip
• Rear delt flyes on machine
• Dumbbell bicep curls.  Another personal best.  I got 3 sets with 22.5 lb bells.  The last set, I only got 6 reps each arm, so I dropped to the 17.5 lbs and finished out to 12 reps.  My previous best was struggling with 20 lb bells, so I am pleased with the strength improvements I am making.

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OK, speaking of my big day on Saturday—-It’s my 40th Birthday!  Yay!  I am not having any of this “Over the Hill” party stuff.  Oh, no.  I will be having a ‘Fabulous Forty’ Party this Saturday night at a club called Blue here in Columbia.  If you are in the area, please come by.  We will be rocking to a special night of 80’s music in my honor, since I am a total 80’s chick.   The party will be cranking about 9:30 until we can’t dance any more.  Blue is located behind Wild Wing Cafe in the Vista on Lady Street.   Wear some of your best 80’s flashback fashions and come help me celebrate the big FOUR-OH!

I am actually excited about turning 40.  Is that weird?  I wouldn’t say ‘weird’, I would say highly unusual for most people.  But I don’t think that age is a constraint, or a life sentence to pain and suffering.  It’s a number that tells you how many days you have been on earth.  Big deal.  Doesn’t mean a thing.  Kind of like your scale weight doesn’t tell you what you look like, neither does your age number.  I feel better than I have since high school.  I am literally in better shape than I was in high school, or even in my twenties.  I know a lot more, I am much wiser, and I have learned to savor and appreciate the things that really matter in life.   And number one is health.  Without health, you have nothing.  You can’t enjoy anything else, no matter how much you have.   Having lived with pain and illness for many years, I understand and appreciate how incredible it is to feel good and not suffer every day.  Number two is my family, especially my incredible Soul Mate, Michael.   Every day I give thanks for him, and I know how fortunate I am.  I have seen the other side, and I know what I have now, and I treasure Michael more than anything else on earth.  I am so blessed, so grateful, and so intensely aware that I cannot take these blessings for granted.

The reason most people fear aging is that they feel resigned to accept a fate of declining health and vitality, living out their years in pain and sickness.  Sadly, for most that is the case.  That is their destination, according to the course they are currently charting.  Borrowing an analogy from Boat Smart tonight, you are at the helm of your ship.  You are the captain.  You are charting the course, and you have full control of the direction you are sailing.  Don’t like the destination?  Change course!  I heard a fabulous statement yesterday.  Think long and hard about this:  “Nobody has EVER accidentally eaten a meal.”  

You are in full control over what you eat.  In high school, my sister became nearly anorexic.  She weighed only 85 pounds at one time.  I myself struggled with that for a short while in college, until I discovered weight lifting, which cured me from that forever.  My studies of eating disorders drove one point home.  Eating disorders are often about control.  When all else in someone’s life is out of control, that person can still always, always, control what goes into their mouth.  What they eat is completely under their control, no matter what else is going on.  You cannot blame anyone or anything else for what you eat.  You are in full control.  You may feel that through pressure from others, cravings, stress, etc. that you just can’t help yourself or you have to eat a certain way.  That is crap.  You don’t have to.  It’s just the lazy, easy way out.  You have to defy all those things–Be Defiant!

I don’t know how many times people have tried to justify their foods to me, saying that they would eat healthy, but ‘they have kids, and you know, all the stuff they want to eat.’  OK–that’s crap.  The kids shouldn’t be controlling what the family eats, and by no means should the kids be eating harmful foods leading to disease and obesity.  Their health is the parent’s responsibility.  Hey, the kids are not the ones behind the wheel in the fast food drive-thru.  The kids are not the ones writing the checks at the grocery store.   I know it’s not easy, but be the adult.  Be a parent, not a pushover.  Set the example.  Don’t allow unhealthy food in the house.   The truth is, the parents want the junk food and the kids are an excuse.    Same with spouses.  So many women blame their weight on their ‘meat and potatoes’ husbands.  Because “they have to fix him what he wants for dinner.”  Excuse me?  That’s crap too.   That is called being bullied, if it’s true.  More than likely, it is simply that they want to eat what they crave and take the easy way out of blaming it on their spouse.  And even if he eats poorly, he is not holding them down and shoving cake down their throat.   They can eat whatever they want to.  It’s still somewhat of a free country, and there is no law that everybody at the table has to eat the same food.  Eat what you know is good for YOU. 

Am I stepping on a lot of toes here?   I know I am, and that’s OK.  I had to learn these lessons, too.  It’s not easy.  Been there, done that, got the T-shirt.  You can argue with me until the cows come home about it.  I hear the same things over and over from dozens of people every day.  Come on…..Take control!  Be Defiant!   Stop passing the buck and blaming everything else.  You are in control over every bite and every food that goes into your mouth.  Is it easier just to grab the artery-clogging, diabetes-causing, health-destroying ‘food’ at the drive through that tastes so good?  Well, yes, it is.  For a time.  Until you get fat, or sick, or worse.  Until you change your habits.  Until you feel the improvements.  Until you feel better and look better than you did 20 years ago.  Until you see your kids thriving, with fewer illnesses, ADHD and behavioral problems.  Until your spouse starts seeing you as a hot and sexy babe.  Then how tempting is all that disgusting ‘food’?  How hard is it then to eat natural, whole, delicious foods that nourish your cells and build a strong body and immune system?  You just have to want health more than anything else, make a commitment, and visualize the end result of a vibrant energetic new you, free of disease and beautiful inside and out.

So, remember our Revolutions?  Make another one, right now.  No more excuses!   You are in control.  Stand up for yourself, eat to nourish your precious cells.  Be an example to your family, spouse, and/or children.  Let them see you becoming an incredible being of light and energy, thriving and healthy and beautiful.  They will eventually want that for themselves.  Don’t force anything on anyone.  Nobody likes anything shoved at them.  Simply go quietly about your own way of eating  and let them come to you.

I feel strongly about this because I know how many years I struggled under false notions of what is healthy, and suffered so much because of it.  Now, I am so excited to be reaching the milestone of age 40 in my life, and I just feel that every day I am getting better and better.   It’s such a dramatic shift of consciousness.  I know I can be very blunt about it, but why sugarcoat the truth?   You can be what ever you want to be.  It starts in your mind, and in your attitude.  Get an attitude!  Misbehave.  Challenge the status quo.  And above all, Be Defiant!

Blessings, love and light,

Christy

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Abominable Snow-Kitty

Fiercely Raw!

I saw these on a Facebook application tonight, and had to share them with you!   I just loved that they had ‘Raw’ in them, plus the cute kitties.  I am a kitty freak, for sure.  I love cats, especially Jukebox, my big fat white kitty. 

I had the privilege today of meeting an awesome gentleman named Curtis Bryant, who placed seventh in the 202 class of the 2008 Mr. Olympia bodybuilding contest.  For those who don’t follow bodybuilding, that is the Super Bowl of bodybuilding.   Curtis is extremely impressive in his well-balanced and muscular physique (with shoulders for DAYS), but even more impressive in his humble, laid-back demeanor and vast knowledge of human physiology and training.  We talked for a long time about bodybuilding and nutrition, and I made him his first-ever green smoothie!  He just recently moved to South Carolina.  Welcome, Curtis!  Here’s a pic of Curtis competing in the Mr. Olympia:

Curtis Bryant, Mr. Olympia competition

I tell you, I was feeling rough this morning with very little energy.  I decided that I needed to do some serious cardio to help flush out the last of this nasty detox and to hopefully gain some energy.  So I dragged myself on to an elliptical machine, turned on some seriously motivating rock & roll on my iPod, and busted out over 15 minutes of high-intensity intervals, with 60-90 second recovery intervals in between.  Then I went on to a shoulder workout, and jumped rope at high speed in between each set.  By the end of the workout I felt great, and definitely was able to purge some of the sinus drainage.   Ever since, I have been having no problems breathing and felt energized the rest of the day.

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Shoulder Workout:

• Overhead Dumbbell Presses, 3 sets, 27.5 lb bells, 12, 10 & 10 reps
• Dumbbell Lateral Raises, 3 sets with 17.5 lb bells, alternating arms for 12 reps, and then supersetting with Overhead Dumbbell Pulses, with 20 lb bells (Pulses are small limited range of  motion presses that really burn out the delts)
• Cable lateral raises, 10 lbs, 10 reps.  These kill me.  I don’t know why cables are so hard for me.
• Cybex isolateral press machine, close grip, 3 sets with 50 lbs & 12 reps, supersetted with the Dip Pushdown machine, 90 lbs 3 sets of 10 reps.

My post-workout smoothie was apple, pineapple & banana with Sun Warrior vanilla protein, coconut water, cinnamon, spinach & parsley.   RAWkin’! 

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Tomorrow is my niece Haven’s 6th birthday.  I had a field day today and went way overboard.  I found the coolest shop called Justice for Girls, and they have all kinds of really radical clothes, like Hannah Montana would wear for a concert.  Well, Haven is a huge Hannah Montana fan, so I figured I would dress her like her idol.  I lost my mind.  I wanted to buy everything in the store.  I also wanted to sneak into a back room and see if I could squeeze into some of the outfits!  WHY don’t they make cool clothes like that for big girls??  I got her a really cute full skirt with a tulle underskirt and sequin swirls, plus the matching cami and shrug, and then I brought out the big guns and went all out on the most adorable outfit:  Hot pink Rock & Roll shirt, with Zebra skirt & matching zebra fingerless gloves, black leggings, demin vest, hot pink sequin hat, pink & zebra flip flops and to finish it off, a cool cuff bracelet–zebra & hot pink of course.  I love it!  And she will too.

My sister will just die.  She is very classy and conservative, unlike her crazy sister who secretly wants to be a rock star.  (If I just had this little thing called talent……….)  We have always been diametric opposites, but I love my sister so dearly and always considered her to be one of my best friends.   She is 3 years younger than me.  Anyway, Haven will love the wild outfit, but my sister will probably smack me for turning her child into a miniature Nickelodeon rock star.  But that’s what birthdays are for!   To do something or buy something special and out of the ordinary.  They all say Haven takes more after me anyway—the little diva! 

I had such a blast today.  I love shopping for gifts for my family. 

And since I am going to Georgia for the weekend, I may not have computer access to post anything.  We will see.  MY big 40th birthday is next Saturday!  So my family is combining my birthday with Haven’s.  And since I will be in the land of food that is not on my raw vegan diet, I spent some time tonight making some awesome food to take with us so I can eat.   I also always haul my Blend Tec with me, and make green smoothies for everyone while we are visiting.  I made a delicious Mock Meat Loaf, and some really incredible Raw BBQ sauce.  I have some Thai coleslaw also.  And for my birthday cake, so I can have one, I made an incredible White Chocolate Strawberry Cheezecake by Vanessa Sherwood.  Holy Moly!  I was digging every last smidgen out of the blender and licking the spatula!  That may be the best dessert I have made yet.  I certainly won’t be deprived of an amazing cake at my own birthday party!

One week until the BIG FOUR – OH!

Be Defiant!   Eat better cake–that’s good for you!

Christy

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Some of the reconnections bring back long-forgotten memories.  Like my friend who used to be our trainer for the basketball teams.  We became good friends because I was always hurting myself, and he had to tape my ankles up–a LOT—so I could still play.  My style of play was somewhat of a cross between kamikaze and the Tasmanian Devil.  Of course, I am approximately the same height as the Tasmanian Devil, which is a disadvantage among the trees on a basketball court.   So I just had to be quicker and more aggressive.   I hurt myself almost every game, diving after loose balls, into the bleachers, into the walls, the cheerleaders, whoever or whatever was in diving distance.  And I would get in and fight for rebounds, since I have always had a great jumping ability.  But I would often land on someone else’s foot.   My ankles were always sprained, and my toes always seemed to be bleeding even through two pairs of socks.  (I have never been able to find shoes that fit right.  I just have odd feet, I guess.)  Anyway, I had forgotten all about the bad ankles and so many fun details of my basketball years, and it all came rushing back. 

Many have asked me if I have always been into fitness.  I totally lived for basketball in high school.  I had the opportunity to play for some small colleges on scholarship, but in 1987 there was no WNBA or any way to make a living playing basketball.  So I took my academic scholarships instead.  I thought often about coaching.  I was an assistant student coach to the JV basketball girls in high school and loved it, but I never pursued it any further.  Those were the ‘glory days’ for sure.  I also was big into track, was a fixture at first base in softball, and did play a little volleyball, but only one year.  We won the state championship though, so that was cool.  I gave it up because I was doing so many horse shows during volleyball season and it was too much.  I loved working out even way back then, and often joined in some of the drills with the football players.  Like those big, heavy rubber jump ropes that weigh like 10 pounds.  I got so good with those that I could cross them in front of me as I jumped.  It was hard to give all that up after high school, so I feel blessed to have discovered bodybuilding and fitness.  I knew I had found my niche!

Speaking of niches, I did get a couple of great workouts in yesterday and today, even though I am STILL fighting this darn detox or whatever the heck it is.  I am still sniffly and stuffy, and it’s hard to breathe.  Yesterday was chest and abs, just a quick light workout with cardio intervals.  And today I worked out with a new dear friend of mine, who really pushed me into a great leg workout.

Chest/Cardio workout (yesterday)

• Warmup on elliptical machine with moving arms
• Hammer Strength Incline Chest Press, 3 sets, 12, 10 & 10 reps with 40 lbs each arm, supersetting with jumping rope in between sets
• Dumbbell flyes on incline bench, 25 lbs, 3 sets of 12, supersetted with step-ups on bench holding 15 lb bells.  (I am proud.   This is the best weight I have ever done on flyes)
• Fly machine, 3 sets of 12 reps, 40 lbs
• Pushups with varying hand positions, 6 sets of 10 reps, each set different.  Between sets, I was doing jump lunges for cardio and some ab work.
• Finished with some squat jumps

Today, I worked legs with higher reps and lower weights.  My friend Colette worked with me, and really helped me get my full range of motion on each rep and control the movement so each rep was more effective.  Hey, even trainers need a trainer!  The motivation, encouragement, and watchful eye on form is so important.

Leg Workout:

• Warmup on recumbent bike
• Squats in squat rack, warmup with 2 sets of 15 reps, light weight–95 & 115 respectively
• Deep squats on Smith machine, 3 sets of 15 reps, increasing weights
• Leg press, wide plie stance, 15 reps full deep range of motion, 295 lbs, 3 sets
• Calves on donkey calf machine, 3 sets of 3 foot positions–12 reps each position, so each set had 36 reps.  Wow!  That burned!
• Isolateral Hammer Leg Extension machine, 3 sets 40 lbs each leg, super slow reps to failure
• Lying Hamstring Curls, 50 pounds, 3 sets of 12, super slow reps

Whew, that was a good workout today!  Longer than I normally do, especially with the slow reps.  But it was great, and I need to really whale on my legs to get some quick growth.  So I am up for working them as hard as I can!  Thanks, Collette! 

My post-workout smoothie was an awesome Apple Pie Smoothie.  Just blend apples, banana, spinach, coconut water, cinnamon or apple pie spice, and Sun Warrior protein for a decadent treat.  I bet you had never thought about cinnamon and spinach together, huh?   I videoed this one, so it will be up soon.

I am so excited about how well my first Living Foods Preparation Class went on Saturday.  I am doing a short presentation at my Network Club tomorrow, and I am going to talk about Living Foods.   And I have another class coming up on Feb. 12th.  For that one, it will be a Valentine’s special:  Decadent Desserts in a Red & Chocolate Theme.  I am going to prove you can eat your cake and have your abs too!  I am also planning to team up with a dear friend of mine who is an Arbonne consultant extraordinaire, and teach her clients ‘How to Eat for Beautiful Skin & Hair’.  That will be a fun class–teaching about which foods specifically promote younger-looking skin and healthy hair.

Thank you for all your kind words and encouragement.  It means the world to me.   Thank you for following along on my journey, and making it more enjoyable every step of the way.  Blessings!

As always, LET IT RAWK!

Be Defiant!

Christy

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