Life Only Better

Daria DiGiovanni from "The Palm Tree Press" was kind enough to write this interesting article about me! Take a look http://thepalmtreepress.net/2011/07/eleven-questions-for-south-floridas-first-lady-of-fitness-christine-king/

NEWS FLASH!! Body & Soul is getting very exciting this year with the addition of Nourishe Medi Spa of Delray Beach! They have kindly offered to provide the complimentary mini-facials!! To save your place for this year's event on June 5 click here http://lifeonlybetter.com/uncategorized/body-and-soul-2011-ticketing-donations/

Body & Soul 2011

Local Businesses come together to help

The Achievement Centers for Children & Families 

Have you seen the announcement for Body & Soul 2011? This year is going to be better than ever. We have amazing speakers, Yoga, Fitness, Spa Services, and lunch, all for a very small admission fee that helps to feed over 700 children daily. Please contact us to register for this June 5 event by calling 561-866-9068 or Click Here.

Thank you for your support. These children need our support!

Underwritten by The Evelyn M. Samuelsohn Charitable Fund

Keynote Speaker:  Dr. Melody Smith

"Sex is Good Health" 

 The Achievement Centers for Children & Families

Your Body Is Listening

What are you telling it?

Are you thinking positive thoughts about the way you look or the way you want to look, or do you have negative thoughts about your current appearance?  Your thoughts play a huge role in the success of your health and fitness goals. 

That which you focus on will multiply and reward you.

So if you keep telling yourself and your body that you are fat, overweight, or out of shape your mind and body will respond by keeping you in your current situation.  But, if you begin to send more postive messages like "I am beginning to lose weight", or "I feel great after exercising today", or "I am a lean, mean fat burning machine", you will be focusing on the positive, which will help to lead you to your ultimate goal.

And having a very clear vision of your ultimate goal is essential.  Take some time to sit down, close your eyes, and picture in your mind how you want to look and feel.  Make your vision as detailed as possible and imagine what it would feel like to be the ideal you. 

Every morning while brushing your teeth, recall that vision and those feelings.  This will help you to begin each morning sending positive thoughts and messages to your body.   Those positive messages will fester and multiply and before you know it, you'll find yourself making healthy choices, exercising more, and overall feeling better about yourself. 

You can create the ideal you both in mind and body.

Curves: Feeling Good About Your Body

I recently met a young woman who we'll call "Jill", who impressed me the minute we were introduced.  She is young (24 years old), confident, carries herself extremely professionally and operates her own business. 

Since meeting her that first time, I've had the opportunity to get to know her a little better.  I really love her attitude about the way she takes care of herself and about her body image. 

She eats healthy, exercises and is not "skinny".  As she coins it, "I'm curvy".  And, by the way, she's proud of the way she looks. 

This is such a refreshing yet unusual attitude for young women in our society today. Kelly is young, fit, and has beautiful curves which makes her look and feel sexy.  She is not trying to lose weight in her derriere or her beautiful legs, she's completely happy. 

What a wonderful example for young female children and adults.  Genetically we have a predisposition to a certain body type.  So many women fight against the current in an attempt to drastically change those features to achieve the waif/model body style. 

I'm here to tell you that many models and celebrities simply don't eat (or eat too little).  Many of them also work with a personal trainer 2-3 hours per day.  This type of lifestyle is simply unrealistic for most people.

So take a good look at the beautiful features of your body and be proud of them.  If you continue to eat healthy and exercise you'll live a long, happy life, appreciating the way you look and not worrying about what others think!

Weight Loss: The Emotional Component

During a presentation I gave on Wednesday morning about Health, Fitness, and Weight Loss, I was asked a very interesting question.  The gentleman acknowledged that most people know they should eat well and exercise, and understand the numerous benefits as a result. 

He wanted me to explain, however, the emotional aspect of this process and how to tap into his emotions in order to truly make this process effective.He hit the nail right on the head!  I've spent my entire career preaching about how to eat right and exercise, however, I think sometimes I neglect to explain how emotions play a role in the success of this journey.

So I asked the group to think about some questions, which I'll list below.  I encourage you to write them down in your journal, a piece of paper, or a cocktail napkin, and really take some time to think about them and answer them (honestly of course).

1.  How long do you want to live, and why?

2.  Why do you want to be fit?

3.  How do the benefits out way the cost of putting the time aside to take care of yourself.

4.  Why do you want to lose weight?      

This is a very important question, one that I initially received some "surface" answers, but when we really got down to the nitty gritty we uncovered some good stuff. 

The beginning answers were, "I want to look better", "fit into my clothes", and other answers you would typically expect. Every time I heard a "surface" answer, I asked that person, "why?".  Now this is where we really made some headway. 

So when you answer the question "why do I want to lose weight?", to every answer I'd like you to ask you to keep asking yourself "why".         

Let me give you an example of a conversation.     

    Q:  "Why do you want to lose weight?"       

    A:  "To look better."       

    Q:  "Why do you want to look better?"   

    A:  Here's where the answers came flooding in; "To have better sex, to feel better about myself, to not be embarrassed to go shopping, to not have to ask the sales lady for a larger size, to feel comfortable wearing a swim suit, to be happy, to perform better in my job, to live long enough to enjoy my children and grandchildren, to be comfortable naked in front of my spouse, to have better sex, to have better sex, etc., etc., etc."

This is how you tap into the emotional aspect of your health and fitness goals.  Continue to ask yourself the question "why" as you write down each of your goals.  The why will bring you to the true reason for what you really want.

The other way to incorporate your emotions is visualization.  During this presentation I used an example that I personally tap into on the days that I really don't feel like working out (yes, I too have those days).  I picture what I want to look like in a bathing suit.  Let me tell you something, that get's me moving fast!

Visualizing how you would like to look, how you'll feel when you look that way, the smile on your face, how you interact with your spouse, children, co-workers, etc., are all very effective ways to involve your emotions into your goals. 

This is a very broad subject matter, so if you have anything to add, or if you'd like for me to expand on anything, simply comment below and I'm happy to help you in any way I can.Visualize on and on and on (and write it down!!!)

Weight Watchers: "I can eat again"

I recently had dinner with one of my girlfriends.  She is in the process of menopause and trying to lose weight. Sounds impossible, right?  Well, it isn't.  This woman has tried every diet that's out there, including starvation, to lose weight.  You know what that means, right?  It means she's really confused her metabolism which in turn results in a longer process for weight loss.

My friend must have said at least 10 times throughout dinner, "Now that I can eat again".  It was astounding to me.  So many people have trouble grasping the fact that in order to lose weight you must eat five to six meals a day!!

We also discussed the exercise component of her program and how she now realizes that in order for her to reach her goals she must exercise.  She explained that through the years if she couldn't exercise first thing in the morning that she couldn't any other time of day.

Now, her attitude is much more flexible.  If she is unable to exercise first thing in the morning, she makes it a priority to fit it in during another free time in her day.

This conversation was so enlightening and inspiring to me.  It fills me with joy to see someone who has struggled with their weight for so long finally find their way. 

And that's exactly what we do at Your Best Fit.  We help people make it realistic to lose weight and be as fit as they want.

It really isn't that hard.  There are just some basic principles to incorporate into your daily routine.  You must, however, truly have the desire.  If you really want to lose the weight you will.  If you're not fully committed, you won't. 

If you need help, whether you are local to Delray Beach, FL or in another state, we can help.  Simply give us a call at 561-866-9068 to schedule a complimentary in person or phone consultation. 

"Do what you never thought possible"
Christine King
www.LifeOnlyBetter.com

Delray Beach Personal Training: how to find the right trainer

In my 13 years in the fitness industry my most difficult job has been finding qualified, talented, dependable, caring trainers.  I'm blessed that most of my staff has been with me for a very long time.  But it got me to thinking, how does the average person find a trainer who suits their needs, goals and physical or medical conditions.  How are you to know?

I'm lucky enough to know what questions to ask, I have a radar on top of my head that tells me if the right person is sitting in front of me or not.  But that doesn't help you at all unless you are in Delray Beach. 

My suggestions to you are to make a list of your goals, your medical conditions, and your concerns.  When speaking to a prospective fitness professional, ask open ended questions.  If you have special needs, ask them what type of experience they have with special populations and have them describe some examples.  Ask them what type of methods they use to train their clients.

Just listen to them talk and hear for yourself if it feels like a good fit.  And please always remember when working with a fitness professional, if they ask you to do something that hurts, don't do it, no matter what they tell you the benefit may be.  It's simply not worth the risk of injury and pain. 

If you'd like more information about finding a qualified fitness professsional in any area of the country please don't hesitate to contact me directly, I'm more than happy to help in any way I can!

Bulging Discs: What a pain in the neck!!

Many of you who read my blog may know my background.  If not, read here: http://lifeonlybetter.typepad.com/about.html. 

Throughout my career I've always tried to educate the world about how important it is to be fit for the reasons of my own story and also how being fit has helped so many others.

I have another stellar example of how being fit has saved me once again.

Several months ago as I was looking 40 in the face, I decided that it was time for me to bump up my own fitness routine.  Just like the rest of the world, work and life can sometimes get in the way of our workouts.

I committed to stepping away from my desk a minimum of three times per week to work every muscle in my body.  I felt fantastic!

One morning about four weeks ago I woke up and couldn't move my neck or my right arm.  Here you'll learn a little about my tendency to be "accident prone".  After breaking my back in 1996, I had two auto accidents in 2000 & 2004, where I had whip lash and minor bulging discs in my neck.

So this recent episode we can call the straw that broke the camel's back.  I was already at risk for further neck injury and then one morning, after not doing any heavy lifting or anything unusual, I can't move my head or arm.

For the purposes of this post, I won't bore you with the details of the process of decisions of recovery from this episode, however I will share with you that if I had not been fit my injury would have been much worse.

More than that, I've not been able to exercise to my full capacity since then.  And here's the big "ahhh" moment.  Because I'd been exercising prior to this injury, the rest of my body has not fallen apart due to my limited activity.  And, I've not gained any weight.

So the moral of the story, which is the mantra for which I chose fitness as a career, is that fitness is critical for your quality and maintenance of life.  If you experience injury or illness or debilitation, you will not only survive but recover quicker and maintain your existing physique and quality of life much better than if you were not fit.

You have only one body, one life.  Taking care of yourself will allow you to live a full, happy life, despite any accident or injury you may encounter.  I'm living proof. 

Functional Training Photos

Tracy Allerton, a reporter for the West Palm Beach Health and Happiness Examiner interviewed me today about Functional Training.  Once her article is finished, I'll post it for your review.  We discussed some basics about functional training and some simple exercises to start with that would be extremely beneficial.  So here they are, enjoy the exercises and her article!

You can find more of Tracy's reporting on our face book page:  http://www.facebook.com/GETFITDELRAY?ref=name