Spot Reducing Fat

Spot Reducing Fat! Sounds kind of fancy huh? This simply means just that: reducing fat in one spot. I am so sorry to break this to you if you haven't heard it before, but SRF can't be done. Yes, you can make your belly smaller and you can make the flab on the back of your arms go away, but it's going to take effort. All over effort.

Nothing comes for free or everyone would be strutting their stuff on the beach healthy and thin. Remember you didn't get the big pooch or caboose overnight. It took time. You weren't paying attention every time you put a fry in your mouth. So don't be impatient when you are trying to get it to come off. With all good bodies, it takes just as much time to go the other way. Sometimes more. I know your counting every carrot, or staring in the mirror every five minutes at your stomach (or maybe that's just me) but just think every carrot equal to every fry. But the carrot will do what it was designed to do, nourish your body.

Now back to the Spot Reducing. Since this can't be done, what can you do? Obvious by the picture above you must workout and resistance train., ie: weights. (You MUST use weights. Or your body will eat the muscle FIRST and then head for the fat.) When you build the muscle you will burn more fat.

If you have a problem area such as your belly, you will have to lose weight all over your body. For example, you can not tell your body to only burn fat from around your stomach. Your body will burn off the fat evenly around your body. You may notice it going in your belly more as that's where you held the majority of our weight. Or off the back of your legs, thighs and buttocks. Or it could be you notice it falling off in a specific area because you are only focusing on that.

As you lose weight by working out and eat only what GOD made for us, you are slowly going to build muscle under your fat. Very soon after the fat starts to drop off, you will start to actual see your muscle.  This is the exciting part. When you really start to see and feel a difference in yourself. The less fat you have the more energy you will have which will in turn burn more fat. But you have to start somewhere. And it's probably slow and no energy. But TRUST me, the more you workout and make that change the faster you will feel like doing more.

Who doesn't want to look like this guy? Maybe you don't and that's OK. Being healthy is the most important thing.

I want to give a tip about the nasty flab on the back of your arms. Once you start to lose your weight, you can "fill" in the lose skin by building muscle. Another great reason to grab that weight.

I hope this encouraged you to make a change or keep going. You deserve to be healthy and happy!

Victoria Jackson Makeup

I wanted to share my experience with Victoria Jackson's make-up. I was not approached by the company to write this review, I have simply found it on my own. I should say I found it thanks to Sam's Club and the special they are running. (Call your local Sam's for tour dates). PLEASE READ FOLLOW UP REVIEW POSTED 05/15/2011.

I am typically searching for more organic based products to use on my skin, thus the start of www.greenorganicdiet.com. But when shopping in Sam's Club a few days ago, there stood a huge display of Victoria Jackson Cosmetics. It said the "No Make-up" Make-up.  I just had to check it out. I had never heard of this brand before. (Maybe I am the only one. She is a makeup artist to the stars and a best selling author). After a demonstration at Sam's I went home and checked out Victoria Jackson's website. I found the cost of the kits they were selling at Sam's Club and I rushed back the next day. This was too good to pass up.

This is the survival kit. It has eye pencil, lip pencil, mascara, 10 eyeshadows, 5 lip glosses, 2 blush, brushes, and mirror. Folds up, clicks shut and is made to travel through an airport snug in your purse. Or with you on a daily basis. It also came nicely packaged in a protective case with magnet closure if you are like me and like to keep your packaging. I was impressed. This retails for $110 on the site.  Right now at your participating Sam's club you get this for $26.95. But.....it also comes with the following free.....

 

This is the shimmer powder brush bronzer. Retails for $32.00.  It is refillable. You want to put powder foundation or more bronzer of another brand in. Which I really like the glitter on this and am impressed also. There is a built in clear plastic tube that slides up the brush to keep it intact. That was a bonus.

Then you also receive a compact called Exotic Eyes which is not on her site. It has six more eye colors and two creme eye liners; brown and black. The case is gorgeous and has a huge mirror. On her site, her eye and lip kits, which I found to be comparible are around $49.00. So I would guess that would be the price of the Exotic set as well.

So this smaller set at Sam's is about $191 worth of stuff for only $26.95. You just can't beat that.

When I went in the first day the sales woman showed me the smaller set. Then when I went the next day and decided to purchase a kit for myself and my friend, she told me about the second kit. You got all I just mentioned above plus......for $56.95.

Additional items in larger kit include:  Essentials Face color kit. I would say it's close to the one shown above, but slightly different for promotional reasons I am sure. The case is more of a rubber feel where the other cases are high-gloss black. This kit has nine more eye shadows, two huge lip glosses, and two large blushes. This retails for $69.00 on line.

The Pocket Palette is very cute as well. (shown above) There are four creme to powder eye shadows and two more lip glosses. The eye shadows are cool because they are very shimmery but have a dry feel and seem to really stay on. This retails for $48.00 on line.

The final item is a brush set in a roll case with snap. The brushes are high quality and comfortable in your hand. I love the lip brush (far right).  When the cap is taken off you don't see the brush as it is down inside. But when you put the cap on the back end of the brush (as pictured above) it pushes the brush up and out. This keeps the gooy lip gloss from getting all over the other brushes. Very clever.
This retails for $44.00 on line.

So now you are talking about $352 worth of make-up (give or take a few dollars) for $56.95.  I was so impressed I just had to share with my readers.

Both sets shown above, come with a small spiral bound book with tabs to each part of your face and instructions on how to do proper make-up applications. These are tips from her best selling books rolled into one small one. Bonus!

We try everyday to take care of ourselves and be healthy. So feeling good and looking good is important to us. I knew you would be impressed too.

Let me know if you rush out and get one and what you think. Happy shopping.
Angie -

SofSole Shoe Accessorie Giveaway

Who doesn’t love a good tennis shoe for jogging or walking in? I know I do. So what do you do when your favorite pair really starts to wear out on the inside?

SofSole is the place to get all your running shoe accessories, and much more. They have all kinds of different shoe inserts and you can give your old tennies a new feel.

SofSole offers a shoe arch insert you can place in your oven, warm up on a cookie sheet, put in your shoe and slip your foot in. As the insert cools, it takes perfect shape to your arch so you get the right fit every time. No guessing in the store which support would be the right one. A standard insert is available to for those who want just a little support, but really need the new padding on the inside of your shoe.

Now you can’t have a great insole without the perfect sock. SofSole has tons of different socks. Some that breath, some so soft you won’t want to go for a jog, and some that sit so low they hide in your shoe. I was given the opportunity to try several of their products and have been impressed with all. This past winter, YHH has published an article previously for the SofSole Company. For spring they would love to head you in the right direction for fitness. They have offered my readers, yet again, a chance to win some awesome products.

SofSole has provided YHH with men’s shoe inserts, women’s inserts, and several pairs of socks. A few selected readers will also get a specialized laundry soap sample to reactivate your weather protected clothing. Now there is no excuse not go workout in the rain.
To enter the giveaway, simply follow the steps below:

#1 – Leave me a comment letting me know you are a subscriber. If you are not part of my radical wannabe healthy fitness junkies, join today by simply filling in your address in the subscription box. (Remember to verify the email message in your inbox to receive all of YHH’s great posts.)

#2 – For a second entry: Check out SofSole and leave a comment on what you think or what products intrigue you the most.

#3 – For a third entry: Join as a follower and get Your Happy Heart moving in the right direction of fitness and health.

Good luck. Contest ends May 10th at midnight.

The Giving Essence Giveaway

A new giveaway has been posted on our sister site: www.greenorganicdiet.com and we wanted you to all be in on it if you are interested.

YHH and G.O.D. are proud to be a part of a great company, The Giving Essence
A store for all your organic needs.

So hop on over to Green Organic Diet and register for your chance to win this great room spray. Contest runs till May 3rd, at midnight.

Good luck.

YHH goes ALL organic - Jillian Michaels Book Giveaway

Internet is something that a lot of us take for granted, unless you live in the woods. It's something that I prayed for everyday. Everytime I opened my laptop, I thanked GOD for allowing me to have internet at home, even though it was not physically there. And finally it has come true. Through this, he has shown me a sister site that MUST be launched as soon as possible. I introduce......

www.greenorganicdiet.com Green Organic Diet is an acronym for GOD and a subject that He has directed me to research. I would love all my YHH fitness junkies to follow me on this new journey. Not only is it our responsability to workout but to eat healthy and make organic choices. With this, GOD has lead me to Green Organic Diet.com. This is a site that will dive deeper into organic products and eating; while YHH will spend more time with your fitness and workout needs. YHH is planning on starting slide shows on proper weight lifting form and how to get the most out of your workouts. YHH is going to be new and improved starting today!

Living GOD's way means eating healthy from the earth and NOT eating processed foods. If it has a mother or comes from the earth you can eat it. If not, don't! If it's packaged, boxed, or canned it's not how GOD intended it to be. This is processed junk! It is full of chemicals and not meant for your new health journey.

Lotion, bath gels, make up, vitamins, food (anything you put in your mouth or on your skin) is what Green Organic Diet will find for you to use. We have departed so far from GOD that out lives and bodies are now confused. He created a perfect being......us! A perfect body that moves and lives by his design. It was not to be energized or refueled by McDonald's and Diet Coke.

This site will go deeper into what our lives were supposed to be, by His design. If you are ready for this ride, jump on and subscribe today. You will never regret this decision. GOD wants the best for you and living a Green Organic Diet is the way to go!

Giveaway:

This is going to be a great giveaway. Jillian Michaels, you have all known for a while I am a huge fan, and she has written a new book. "Mastering Your Metabolism". It's is a great book that I have been diving into for a while now. Learning that your metabolism is just your hormone balance and something that you CAN control. I really want my hormones to be working with each other and not against each other. So if you would like to register for a free copy and read on this subject as well, visit www.greenorganicdiet.com and subscribe today.

#1- Subscribe on Green Organic Diet for one entry.
#2 - Join as a follower on Green Organic Diet for a second entry and....
#3 - Leave a comment here on what you think of Green Organic Diet .

This is a great book and you will benefit beyond belief. I pray that you follow over to Green Organic Diet to get the maximum benefit from both sites.

Blessings, Angie!

Sleep Your Way Thin!

When you are working out, do you ever hit a wall and you just can’t go any further? It’s not that your muscles are giving out and becoming fatigued, but your mind and body just want to fall on the floor and take a nap right then and there? This has happened to me several times. It’s because of lack of sleep. Sleep is important to our everyday lives and to our workouts and weight loss. You won’t lose those pounds unless you are getting quality sleep. I have been watching my “bedtime” and finding great results. So I am not preaching what I am not practicing.

Studies have been done for years on sleep patterns; the effects of good sleep and the side effects of bad sleep. Here are a few things that I have learned and am passing on to you.

Leptin and Ghrelin are hormones that affect our sleep, appetite, and metabolism. These work together to control your feelings of being full or satisfied. When not working properly, you feel hungry and feel a need to snack. This next statement is taken from Jillian Michaels’ book, Making the Cut. I like how she states this: “Ghrelin, which is produced in the gastrointestinal tract, stimulates appetite, while Leptin produced in fat cells, sends a signal to the brain when you're full. When sleep is restricted Leptin levels go down and Ghrelin levels go up.”  So if you don’t get enough sleep these two can’t balance each other or work properly. Your brain won’t know the following day when your stomach is full and will just keep on wanting snacks. But in turn your body doesn’t always know the difference between what it wants or what it needs. In several other university studies, the subjects that were found to have slept the least, carried the highest percentage of body fat and weighed more than those with proper sleep.

Human Growth Hormone or HGH is produced during that deepest realm of sleep. The majority of us don't go to this level. Our lifestyles are too busy for sleep. But growth hormone, in adults, is a protein hormone, which regulates your fat and muscle proportions and is very important to a healthy lifestyle. This will help stabilize your fat loss and muscle growth if you are getting a good deep sleep.

So how much sleep do you need, you ask? You should be getting NO LESS than eight (8) hours of sleep a night. 8-10 would be best. I have read several articles in fitness magazines, during the training process for fitness competitions, our favorite contestants will sleep around 12 hours a night. Since the majority of us aren’t just sleeping, eating and working out, so this may not be feasible.  But just proves again how beneficial it can be to our weight loss.

I have always been one that loves a great afternoon catnap. This is a great way to “catch up” on sleep. Contrary to what you may have heard, you can catch up, or make your brain think that you have. I have a harder time with the shorter naps. But during the day I sink down in my chair at my work desk and take a 15 min. power nap.

Now if you are a stay at home mom, you should be napping when your children do. I know your thinking; this is your time for laundry/house work without the kids bugging. But at some point in your life you have to make time for yourself and this is the perfect time.  I have one day off from my full time job and I take a good long nap in the afternoon. I try not to make myself feel guilty, that I should be doing something else, but remember it’s just implementing another step into great fitness and weight loss. 

Continue to make sure you are hydrated. You will actually have a better nights sleep if you hydrated. Your body dehydrates when you sleep naturally so if you aren’t making up for that during the day you just can’t get a deep sleep. Your organs won’t be functioning properly.

Try and read for about a half hour or so before bed or use this time to journal. The motion of your eyes, back and forth across a book, signals to your brain to slow down and that’s why you can get so tired reading. If you watch an action movie before bed, you be wound up and not ready to fall asleep causing you to stay up later. Read a book, preferably on health and fitness to gain more knowledge, and slow your brain.

Try and get some sleep for faster weight loss and muscle gain.

Good night my fitness heroes, good night! Angie Taylor