Fit Bottomed Girls Linda LaRue's CORE TRANSFORMER 1,000 Calorie BURN Workout DVD Kit Review

Merci, gracias & thx to the awesome Fit Bottomed Girls for your lovely review of my new CORE TRANSFORMER 1,000 Calorie workout DVD kit. All of us at team CORE TRANSFORMER are grateful.

Linda LaRue's CORE TRANSFORMER 3D 1,000 Calorie BURN Kit

Linda LaRue’s CORE TRANSFORMER: Target & tone your deepest core muscles, burn belly fat fast and train your ENTIRE body too! It’s smart training made simple.

The CORE TRANSFORMER 3D 1,000 Calorie BURN Kit featuring Linda LaRue RN MEd, ATC, Exercise Physiologist Raneir Pollard, CPT ACSM and Teri Ann Krefting, one of CRUNCH Hollywood’s top group exercise instructors is here!

Burn 1,000 calories per hour!

If you want to get flat, sculpted abs you have to do two, separate workouts. One, strength training to sculpt your abs flat. The second, hours of intense aerobic workouts to help shed that stubborn, top layer of belly fat.

Developed by core performance guru, Linda LaRue RN MEd, ATC, The CORE TRANSFORMER® is a revolutionary new, workout that torches off that top layer of belly fat fast by BURNING an incredible 1,000 calories per hour! (Testing by Body Bugg analysis.) And, it also target tones your deepest core muscles, just like a laser, along with your entire body too.
The uniquely patented, 3-dimensional, CORE TRANSFORMER® rubber tubing system creates a constant resistance that keeps you in your customized fat-burning zone. You’ll build lean muscle in all the right places, plus sculpt your shoulders, tame that triceps jiggle, build a tighter butt, a strong back, and of course, flat, chiseled abs. You'll see results in one month or less—guaranteed!

M Café's Curried Cauliflower Salad

This in one of my two, favorite healthy salads I routinely buy at M Café from the LA Times Food Section. The other is their Kale Salad. Both store well in the fridge for up to five days. They’re both SOooo yummy and healthy for you!

Ingredients

Curried cashews
2 cups (1/2 pound) cashews
1 T maple syrup, preferably grade B
3/4 tsp. curry powder
Pinch salt

Directions
1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the cashews on a baking sheet and roast for 5 minutes.
2. While the cashews are roasting, in a medium bowl, combine the maple syrup, curry powder and salt.
3. Toss the cashews with the spiced maple syrup, then spread again on the baking sheet.
4. Roast the cashews for 15 more minutes, tossing every 5 minutes, until toasted and aromatic. Remove from heat and cool well. This makes more cashews than are needed for the remainder of the recipe; the cashews can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container.

Curried Cauliflower

Ingredients
1/4 cup plus 2 T extra-virgin olive oil
2 T plus 3/4 tsp. curry powder
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. ground coriander
Pinch dry mustard
2 T (1/2 ounce) fresh ginger, peeled and julienned
3 heads cauliflower (about 8 cups), trimmed and cut into small florets

Directions
1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, curry powder, salt, cumin, coriander, mustard and ginger. Add the cauliflower florets and toss to combine and evenly coat.
3. Spread the florets in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast until golden-brown and aromatic, about 20 minutes, tossing every few minutes for even cooking. Remove from heat and cool completely.

Curried Cauliflower Salad

Ingredients
3 T agave syrup or honey
1 ½ tsp. lemon juice, fresh
1 ½ tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
8 cups (1 3/4 pounds) Curried cauliflower
1 cup (4 ounces) peas, fresh or previously frozen
2 cup (2 1/2 ounces) red bell pepper, diced
¼ cup (1 ounce) dried apricot, diced
½ cup (2 ounces) curried cashews
½ cup (1/4 bunch) chopped fresh cilantro
¾ tsp. salt, or to taste

Directions
1. In a small bowl, whisk together the agave syrup, lemon juice and olive oil to form a finishing syrup. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, toss together the cauliflower, peas, bell pepper and apricot. Pour over half of the finishing syrup and toss to combine. Stir in the cashews, cilantro and salt. Taste, adding additional finishing syrup if desired and adjusting the seasoning as needed. Cover and refrigerate a couple of hours to give the flavors time to marry before serving. This makes about 8 cups salad.

Nutritional Content: Yields 10 servings. Calories: 179, Fat: 12 g (0 Sat), Protein: 17 g, Carbohydrates: 12g, Fiber: 4g, Sodium: 440mg

Red, White & Blue Angel Food Cake

Top this fast and easy angel food cake with fresh strawberries, raspberries and blueberries for a red, white, and blue(berries that is) low cal/fat free, patriotic Fourth of July dessert. And at ONLY 144 Calories per slice and fat free, no one will feel ever feel guilty about indulging this holiday! (Add a dollop of fat-free whipped topping if desired, as it’s one of my “free foods”.)

Ingredients
1 ½ cups sugar, divided
1 (2-inch) piece vanilla bean, split lengthwise
1 cup sifted cake flour (about 4 ounces)
12 large egg whites
½ tsp. cream of tartar
¼ tsp. salt
1 tsp. lemon juice (preferably fresh)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place ¾ cup sugar in a small bowl. Scrape seeds from vanilla bean, and add seeds to sugar; discard bean. Work the vanilla seeds into sugar with fingers until well combined.
2. Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour and sugar mixture, stirring with a whisk to combine.
3. Beat egg whites with a mixer at high speed until foamy. Add cream of tartar and salt; beat until soft peaks form. Add remaining ¾ cup sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time, beating until stiff peaks form. Beat in juice. Sift flour mixture over egg white mixture, ¼ cup at a time; fold in after each addition.
4. Spoon the batter into an ungreased 10-inch tube pan, spreading evenly. Break air pockets by cutting through batter with a knife. Bake at 325 degrees for 50 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Invert pan; cool completely. Loosen cake from sides of pan using a narrow metal spatula. Invert cake onto plate.
Nutritional Content: Yields 12 servings, Calories: 144, Fat: 0.1g (sat 0.0g,mono 0.0g,poly 0.0g), Protein: 4.3g, Carbohydrate: 31.7g, Sodium: 105mg

What We Can Do to Use Less Oil & Get Fit Too.

We all agree that we all need to do a better job conserving our planet’s limited resources, but where do you begin when it comes to making your workout green without busting your budget? Here are 3 simple solutions that will easily help you get green into your workout routine without much effort at all. These eco-friendly frugal changes are easy switches that will save you time and lots of money too!
1. Join a neighborhood gym that’s within walking distance to where you work and/or live. You’ll be supporting the local economy, saving car gas, car emissions, and costly parking fees. Plus, you’ll burn more Calories walking to and from the gym.
2. If the weather is fine, walk outside—it’s free. Did you know that out of all motorized pieces of fitness equipment, treadmills use the most energy? Try holding up to 2 pound dumbbells, which will help tone and sculpt your shoulders while increasing your Calorie burn by approx. 33%. According to www.treehugger.com, a treadmill uses around 1500 watts every hour or the equivalent of 15 of those old-fashioned light bulbs. And, over 1 hour, treadmills use the same amount of power to light up your Christmas tree for 12 hours. Treadmills also pump out about 4 pounds of CO2 per hour.
3. Use organic cotton and/or bamboo, or reclaimed fabric towels. Lots of discount retailers sell eco-friendly towels, such as organic cotton, bamboo, or organic cotton-bamboo blend. For example Bed, Bath, and Beyond, www.BedBathandBeyond.com, a nationwide retail store, sells them for reasonable prices. They routinely offer 20% coupon specials, which make the towels even more affordable. And, bamboo towels are extremely soft, luxuriant, and surprisingly absorbent.

Gut Bacteria May Help You Lose Weight

I am a big proponent of taking probiotics, naturally such as eating low fat yogurt oral supplements, that you can buy at www.LindaLaRue.com.

Reprint by Amber Dance from LA Times Health Section, June 21, 2010

Don't go searching for a bacteria shake just yet — scientists are still investigating which bacteria do what in humans. Something in your gut could be making you fat — and it isn't just last night's pizza. The vast, diverse community of microbes inhabiting the intestines, scientists are finding, can influence metabolism and weight. Between 10 trillion and 100 trillion microbes, mainly bacteria, dwell in a person's colon and small intestine. They function together almost like another of the body's organs, influencing, among other things, how many calories we extract from our food and whether we make or burn fat. Researchers have discovered significant links between gut bacteria and weight and metabolism in mice — and are starting to find similar associations in people.

The story in humans is far from certain, though, and scientists say it's too soon to concoct microbe-filled "stay-slim" beverages — a fact that has not prevented some companies from promoting their bacteria-laden products as helpful for weight loss.

Bacteria that draw the maximum calories from our food would have been useful to our hunter-gatherer ancestors but are less beneficial for modern people eating an American fast-food diet. In addition to our ready access to high-calorie eats, the bacteria we carry around have changed, says Andrew Gewirtz, an immunologist at Emory University in Atlanta, through antibiotic use, improved hygiene and cleanliness in the food supply. This, he believes, could be one environmental cause for obesity and related conditions such as diabetes.

On the whole, our gut bacteria are beneficial, says Ruth Ley, a microbial ecologist at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. They prevent disease-causing bacteria from taking hold in our body simply by filling up all the available space. And they help us digest foods, such as some starches, that we cannot break down ourselves, producing vitamins and energy sources we can use. "You might just generally be sicklier without them," Ley says.

Babies are born bacteria-free but start to pick up bacteria during and after birth. Infants mostly collect bacteria from their mothers and others around them; in a sense, the gut community is inherited from family members. If the gut-obesity theory proved correct, that would suggest obesity risk could be passed along with them.

"If a person has changes in their gut bacteria — and that could be due to anything, to diet, to antibiotic use — if that person has kids, then they can transfer those gut bacteria and maybe transfer the problem," Gewirtz says. Because people pick up different bacteria from their environments, people have different gut communities. For example, in a study published in the journal Nature in April, scientists reported that some Japanese people could digest compounds in nori, the seaweed in sushi, because they hosted the right bacteria for the job.

Every person carries at least 160 different kinds of gut bacteria, scientists estimated in another Nature study published in March. Most fall into two divisions, or phyla: the bacteroidetes and the firmicutes. Both of these groups are found in soil and water as well as in animals. Some cause disease, but many in the intestine are beneficial. The firmicutes, in particular, are good at digesting our food. The more firmicutes in a person's intestines, the more calories they can collect from a meal.

Obesity studies. This is where the obesity link comes in. In 2005, Ley and colleagues at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, where she worked at the time, studied the gut bacteria found in mice, hoping to use them as a model to study obesity. They compared normal, lean mice with ones that were genetically obese because they had a mutation in the hormone leptin, which normally controls appetite and metabolism.

As in people, the main intestinal inhabitants of mice were bacteroidetes and firmicutes. But the researchers discovered that obese and lean mice had different proportions of each. In particular, fat mice tended to have more firmicutes, and fewer bacteroidetes, in their guts than lean mice.

In another study, Ley and colleagues worked with sterile mice that have no gut bacteria. These mice eat a lot, but don't get fat, presumably because they don't have the bacteria to extract the full complement of calories from their food. But when the scientists transferred the bacteria from fat mice to bacteria-free mice, the recipient mice gained weight. This result, reported in a 2006 Nature paper, directly suggests there's something about the bacterial community in the obese mice that contributes to weight gain.

What about human beings? Ley and co-workers examined the proportion of firmicutes and bacteroidetes in 12 people, in a study they also reported in Nature in 2006. They examined bacteria samples from obese people as they followed a yearlong diet program. Before the diet, the subjects had more firmicutes and fewer bacteroidetes than healthy-weight people. As the year progressed and the dieting continued, the bacteroidetes numbers went up, and the firmicutes numbers went down.

In addition to squeezing every last available calorie out of the food we eat, bacteria can also influence metabolism by signaling the body to store fat or burn less of it, and slow down food moving through the intestine so there is more time to collect calories. The exact nature of the bacterial signals that influence metabolism is unclear, but in a March article published in the journal Science, Gewirtz and his colleagues reported that bacteria can cause inflammation that alters appetite and weight.

Normally, the immune system and gut bacteria maintain a kind of peace, Gewirtz says. But the mutant mice in this experiment were not normal: They lacked a protein needed to keep bacteria in the intestine where they belong, and out of the bloodstream. In these mice, gut bacteria leak out of the intestines and cause inflammation as the immune system responds to the intruders.

That inflammation, the scientists found, altered the body's sensitivity to insulin, a hormone that normally suppresses appetite and regulates blood sugar and fat storage. With the insulin system out of whack, the brain doesn't receive the crucial "I'm full! Put the fork down!" signal it needs to stop us chowing down.

This, in turn, led to a sort of "pre-diabetes" condition in the mice — and by the time they were 20 weeks old, they weighed approximately 5 grams more than normal animals. Gewirtz's team took the bacteria from the fattened mice and transplanted them into sterile, non-mutant mice. These mice then gained weight. Again, it seemed like just having the wrong bacteria can pack on the pounds.

Scientists have plenty of data that gut bacteria affect weight in mice, but their understanding of the effects in humans remains hazy. For example, not all human studies have shown that firmicutes go hand-in-hand with obesity in people, cautions Margaret Zupancic, a microbial genomicist at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore.

In part, that is because it's much more difficult to study people in a carefully controlled way. People, after all, are out and about in the world and have a variety of food and exercise regimes, unlike genetically similar mice living in identical cages eating identical mouse chow.

Another fact hampering scientific study is that intestinal bacteria are difficult to grow in a laboratory setting. Thus, scientists must study the entire community from stool samples and try their best to figure out from those which bacteria serve specific functions. To get a better handle on the human situation, Zupancic and others are now working with people in a variety of settings, collecting stool samples to further analyze the human gut community and how it interacts with our genetics and lifestyles.

If certain bacterial communities do cause obesity in people, replacing the bad bacteria with the good ones seems like a possible route to weight loss. The idea is not wholly unprecedented. Doctors occasionally treat debilitating diarrhea with a transplant of bacteria from healthy stool, for example. And there is certainly evidence that products called probiotics (see the sidebar) may improve health via a spoonful or swig of bacteria-laden foods. Even simply changing your diet might sway the bacterial community in a different direction, Ley says.

Next steps. Gewirtz says that someday it might be possible to swap obesity-linked bacteria for skinny-jean microbes. But scientists caution that a nice bacterial cocktail is not the next big weight-loss drink. For one thing, they don't yet know what bacteria to use if they were to try and concoct such a drink. It is difficult to sort out the relationships between all the factors that lead to obesity, including diet, exercise, genetics — and now, possibly, bacterial inhabitants.

And then, for a bacterial-replacement therapy to really work, doctors would first need a way to get rid of less desirable bacteria already in residence in someone's gastrointestinal tract. The right combination of antibiotics might do the job, Gewirtz says, but there are no well-defined methods for creating such a treatment.

Some companies, meanwhile, already are claiming that the right probiotics can slim you down. This month, researchers from the Japanese company Snow Brand Milk Products reported that people who drank a probiotic milk drink for 12 weeks lost weight. For their study, published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, they offered the probiotic drink or a bacteria-free concoction to 87 people. The subjects were slightly heavy, with an average BMI (body mass index) of 24.2. (A BMI of 25 and above is considered to be overweight.)

Over the course of the study, people drinking the probiotic lost an average of 1.5% of their BMI and, on average, 1.4% of their body weight. That's about 2 pounds for a 150-pound person.

The Ultimate Workout for Summer Abs: Awesome Abs without The Crunches

Looking for the ultimate workout to sculpt summer abs? Start now on these crunch-free moves designed to tone your midriff and you'll be flaunting a flat belly in no time
By Amanda Vogel Best Health Magazine, May 2010

The fastest way to a flatter stomach isn’t doing hundreds of crunches. Rather, the key is to train a deep abdominal muscle that wraps around your midsection called the transversus abdominis (TA). Think of it as a sort of internal Spanx shapewear, smoothing your belly from the inside out. Your TA acts as a natural girdle, and it needs proper training to make your lower abs in particular look and feel flatter and sleeker. “However you train your ab muscles is how they develop,” explains Linda LaRue, creator of the Crunchless Abs DVD series and a celebrity trainer in Los Angeles. LaRue says that doing standard crunches incorrectly can cause you to build your ab muscles outward. The trick to a flatter belly is “pulling your abs up and in as you work them from all angles.”

Before you get started
To get the most from these exercises (and your workout in general), follow these simple pointers from LaRue: 

• Check your posture. Whether standing, lying or sitting, align your ears with shoulders and hips. Next, pull shoulders down and slightly lift breastbone. Feel for equal muscle balance between your front and back.

• Contract your pelvic floor. To help activate the TA, do a soft “Kegel” during each move by gently pulling your pelvic floor muscles—the ones you use to hold back urine when you need the bathroom—upward. (Bonus: Kegels help prevent or lessen incontinence.)

What you'll need
• Equipment: A mat or bath towel, a hand towel and a one- to two-kilogram (three- to five-pound) dumbbell (optional).

• Warm-up: March in place or walk briskly for about three minutes.

• Repetitions: Begin with two sets of each exercise, working up to three sets as your abs get stronger. Perform each for the suggested reps or time (or less if you can’t hold good form). You should be able to do two sets of three moves in about six minutes (about eight to 10 minutes including warm-up). 

• How often: Do this routine three times a week. For a well-rounded program, add cardio and weights, and stretch after every workout.

1. Standing cross core
Works: deep abs, sides of abs, back, thighs and butt, as well as shoulders when done with dumbbell

A. Hold a dumbbell in your right hand, arm slightly bent and held straight out to your right side. (This exercise can also be done without the dumbbell.) Place left hand on left hip and stand with feet hip width apart, shoulders relaxed, abs tight and pelvic floor pulled upward. Do a squat (as if you are about to sit into a low chair) and at the same time cross your right arm diagonally across your body until your right hand is in front of your left knee. 

B. (Shown) As you return to standing, raise your right arm back across your body until you are reaching your right arm to your right side and up, with hand just above ear level and elbow slightly bent. With right arm still extended to your right side, also twist your torso right, looking slightly upward and to the right. Keep your feet flat on floor and pointing straight ahead. 

C. Return to starting position; repeat. Do 10 reps; switch sides.

2. Crouching Tiger
Works: deep abs, inner thighs and arms

A. Get onto your hands and knees with your knees aligned under hips and hands in line with your shoulders. Place a small rolled-up towel between your knees; squeeze the towel to hold it in place. Curl your toes under. 

B. (Shown) Maintaining a long spine, draw your abs up and in, and pull up your pelvic floor. Avoid holding your breath. With elbows slightly bent and still squeezing the towel between your knees, lift your knees about two inches off the floor.

C. Hold for 15 to 20 seconds. Return your knees to the floor. Repeat.

3. Core Clock
Works: deep abs and back

A. Lie face up with legs bent, feet on floor but heels lifted, and arms stretching to ceiling. Hold each end of a hand towel, pulling it taut. 

B. Slowly rotate your torso so that both knees point toward your right side (with toes still on floor) as your extended arms reach just slightly toward your left side. Then move knees to left, with arms slightly right. Alternate 10 times total, then follow the instructions below if you feel strong enough (otherwise, repeat this move for another 10 reps). 

C. (Shown) Continue same sequence as above but with feet off the floor, legs bent to 90 degrees and knees over hips. Alternate sides 10 times total. If you feel as if you’re falling toward the side, you are twisting too much; lessen your range of motion.

Skinny Margarita: Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Most margarita recipes use highly caloric, sugary orange flavored liquors, such as curocao, triple sec or grand marnier that will bust your diet. Here's a great recipe that is 0g carbs and only 112 calories versus a regular margarita, which has 740 calories!

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup fresh limejuice
• ½ cup club soda
• 2 packets Splenda
• 1 shot patron silver
• lime wedge
• ½ tsp orange extract

Mix together the orange extract, Splenda packets, and club soda. Put crushed ice into a shaker and pour this liquid over the ice. Add in 1 shot tequila, lemon and limejuice. Shake thoroughly, then pour into a glass. Calories: 112 per serving. Carbohydrates: 0g.

Nutrition Tip: Healthy Plate Portions

When assembling your dinner plate, try this visual: 1/2 your plate should be veggies, 1/4 should be whole grain, and 1/4 should be protein. And, a healthy plate size is 9 inches--not 12!

For more yummy & healthy nutrition tips & recipes, join my FREE Make Healthy A Lifestyle emag@http://www.LindaLaRue.com/members!

Instant Breakfast Portion Control

I love this simple Mid-Week Makeover for an INSTANT BREAKFAST PORTION CONTROL from David Zinczenko, author of Eat This, Not That and Editor-in-Chief of Men's Health: Eat ur cereal from a coffee cup. (Plus, it’s easier to slurp the milk!)

M Café Kale with Spicy Peanut Dressing

Lately, I’ve fallen in LOVE with M Café’s Kale with Spicy Peanut Dressing. (I honestly can’t get enough of it.) Besides being delish, kale is also one of those super foods. Kale is considered to be a highly nutritious vegetable with powerful antioxidant properties, and is considered to have anti-inflammatory properties. Kale is very high in beta carotene, vitamin K, vitamin C, lutein, zeaxnthin, and reasonably rich in calcium. Because of its high vitamin K content, patients taking anti-coagulants such as warfarin are encouraged to avoid this food since it increases the vitamin K concentration in the blood, which is what the drugs are often attempting to lower.

Kale, as with broccoli and other brassicas, contains sulforaphane (particularly when chopped or minced), a chemical believed to have potent anti-cancer properties. Sulforaphane, which is formed when cruciferates are chopped or chewed, triggers the liver to produce enzymes that detoxify cancer-causing chemicals, inhibits chemically-induced breast cancers in animal studies, induces colon cancer cells to commit suicide. Here’s the recipe below & I hope you enjoy:

Ingredients
1 large bunch kale

¼ cup peanuts, chopped for garnish
¼ red onion, halved and sliced for garnish
Spicy Peanut Dressing*
½ cup peanut butter
1 ½ T honey

2 T low sodium soy sauce
2 T brown rice vinegar

½ tsp. garlic, minced
½ tsp. ginger, minced

¼ tsp. cayenne pepper

1/8 tsp. salt

1 ½ oz hot water

DIRECTIONS
1. Remove the kale from the stems. 
Add a pinch of Salt to a pot of boiling water, then blanch the Kale for 3 min. 
Remove the Kale from the boiling water and shock it in a container of ice water. 
Finally, squeeze the excess water out of the cooled Kale.
2. To make Spicy Peanut Dressing: Place all dressing ingredients into a blender. Blend until mixture turns into a smooth consistency.
3. Drizzle the dressing on top of the Kale and mix the kale and dressing together until kale is evenly coated. Garnish with sliced red onions and chopped peanuts.
*Makes enough to dress 2 large bunches of kale. Stores well refrigerated for up to 6 weeks.
Serving Size: ½ cup.

*For more healthy, yummy recipes, join my FREE digital magazine, Make Healthy A Lifestyle @http://www.LindaLaRue.com/members.

Fat American Kids: Lose The Bedroom TVs

Eating habits, physical activity, access to parks, ethnicity, poverty, and TV watching all play a role in our national epidemic. The percentage of American children who are overweight or obese has been growing for decades, and now our kids--nearly one in three has a body mass index that's greater than normal. And the problem continues to grow, according to a study published Tuesday, March 8, 2010 in The Journal of Health Affairs.

Using data from the 2007 National Survey of Children's Health, the study showed marked regional differences. The five states with the highest rates of overweight and obese kids are all in the Southeast — top-ranked Mississippi (44.4%), Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky and Tennessee. Minnesota and Utah were tied with the lowest rates (23.1%).

But when researchers further divvied up state-level numbers by race and socioeconomic status as well as things such as TV-watching behavior and access to parks, they found even greater disparities.

The likelihood of being overweight or obese was greater if a child has a TV in his bedroom or watches more than two hours a day (41% greater odds) or if he lives in a neighborhood without a park or recreation center (21% greater odds).

Define & Focus Your Intentions with a Vision Board: It REALLY Works!

Recently, I had dinner with one of my sista's Stacy Small. We were both yapping about the recession, how it’s been affecting our businesses, and what we’ve been doing to market ourselves. Stacy mentioned that every December for the past few years, she’s been making a Vision Board. She said her Vision Board really helped her define, focus, and successfully achieve her goals. (I do something similar each December, as I pick 3-4 business goals I want to achieve for the coming year. I write them down along with bullet deal points. AND, did you know even Oprah makes a Vision Board?)

I like the Vision Board concept, because you have words and pictures, thereby creating more sensory stimulation and focused visualization. Below is a simple definition of a Vision Board, and how to make a vision board.

A vision board is a collage of images, pictures, and written affirmations of the intentions and desires you wish to achieve. It helps your focus through visualization, thus, activating the Universal Law of Attraction, or “likes attract likes”. This means the more you focus and think about something, the more likely it is to materialize and happen in your life. Vision Boards are also called Dream Boards, Treasure Maps, or Vision Maps. I think a Vision Board is a healthy self-care tool.

How to Make Your Vision Board
1. Take a couple days to percolate and meditate in a quiet place about what personal and professional goals you’d like to manifest and successfully achieve in 2009. I usually choose no more than 3-4 as this keeps me focused and not overwhelmed. Before I go to bed at night, I also ask myself what are my goals?

2. After you are clear about your 3-4 goals, you’ll need a few things including a poster board, a glue stick (sticks are best as you to easily move or remove picture), pictures from old magazines (use your old ones, get them from friends, hair salons, doctor’s offices, and the library), photographs, and/or printed from the internet.

3. Go through the images and begin to cut out photos, words, and phrases that intuitively resonate with your new goals. Then, lay them out on the board—but do not glue them yet. Leave a space in the middle to place a favorite photo of yourself. (If you have gained weight, and one of your goals is weight loss, post a photo of yourself when you were at your ideal, comfortable weight.)

4. Try to be specific about the photos and words. For example: if you want to make more money in your job use green dollar signs around your job picture. If you want a new car then, place a photo of the car with color you want too.

5. When you feel comfortable with the photos and words, glue them to your board.

6. Hang your new Vision Board in a place where you can see it often.

I hope you have fun while getting clear about your intentions and goals this year—especially losing weight and getting fit. I have my written goals next to my desk, sitting in the hands of my Buddha statue. I intend to place my poster board above and to the side of the Buddha. In this challenging economy we can all use a little extra help and support. Namaste to my sista’ Stacy for sharing her good karma marketing biz with me…and now you. Let me know your results by emailing me at info@LindaLaRue.com;)!

SHAPE Magazine March Issue: Get Sexy Shoulders

SHAPE magazine March issue: Get Sexy Shoulders using my total body CORE TRANSFORMER that AOL ranked as one of the five hardest total body ab classes in America. Available for purchase @http://www.LindaLaRue.com/store.

"The Linda LaRue Project" Photos of Top Fitness Trainers Linda LaRue, Patrick Goudeau, Stephanie Vitroino & Paul Katami Fitness

Here's a sneak peek at the upcoming Linda LaRue Fitness Project with Top Fitness Trainers Patrick Goudeau, Stephanie, Vitorino & Paul Katami Fitness.

35 Calorie Chocolate Chip Meringue Crips

Try these yummy little bundle of love treats are ONLY 35 Calories each! How amazing is that? I recommend you buy a good quality semi-sweet morsel that has at least 60% cocoa content. I love popping a couple of meringue crisps if I am experiencing a sugar craving. Try adding a couple drops of red food coloring to make them pink for Valentine’s Day.

Ingredients:
½ cup walnuts, chopped
2 egg whites
½ tsp real vanilla extract
½ cup Splenda® (or sucralose) sugar blend
½ cup good quality semi-sweet chocolate morsels

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
2. Bake walnuts in a shallow baking sheet, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes or until toasted. Set aside.
3. Beat egg whites and vanilla at high speed with an electric mixer until eggs form a still peak.
4. Add Spenda® (sucralose) sugar blend, 1 T at a time, beating until stiff peaks form; stir in walnuts and chocolate chips.
5. Spoon rounded teaspoons of mixture on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
6. Bake 15 minutes. Drop oven temperature on 200 degrees F. Bake for one hour and 45 minutes. Cool slightly on cookie sheet. Remove to wire racks to cool completely. Store in an airtight tin.
Yields: 36. Serving size: 1 cookie. Nutritional content: 35 Calories, 1g fat, 1g saturated fat, 1g protein, 4g carbohydrates, 0mg sodium.
*Note: You can easily make these diabetic cookies by deleting the chocolate morsels. For more great tasting, low Calorie Desserts, buy Linda’s SOUPer Slim Diet ebook @www.LindaLaRue.com/store.

February Make Healthy A Lifestyle 2010 Issue: How to Beat the February Blues & Belly Bulge

My Linda LaRue's health, fitness, and diet February Make Healthy A Lifestyle Issue: "How to Beat the February Blues & Belly Bulge is here. Check it out @www.lindalarue.com/members.

Seemingly unending long, cold, dark nights and short, dreary days void of summer sunshine cause many folks including me to suffer from depression and lethargy. This oftentimes leads to winter weight gain, which generally causes further depression. The medical term for our condition is called Seasonal Affective Disorder or S.A.D. For most of us who suffer from SAD, February is the worst month regarding our symptoms. Experts say it’s due to post-Christmas/New Year letdown, and an accumulation of the all-consuming winter darkness. That’s why this edition of Make Healthy A Lifestyle is about what SAD is, and how to cope with this disorder—along with “how to” combat the side effects, such as winter weight gain.

One of the best mood elevators is cardiovascular exercise. That’s why I’ve asked my friend top trainer Christopher Ross Lane who is Valerie Bertinelli’s trainer, to teach us how to begin a running routine. Christopher recently got Val to begin a running routine. In fact she’s running her first marathon (the Boston) this spring at the age of 50. How super awesome is that!?!

If it’s cold outside and you’d rather workout inside, then my #1 recommendation is to buy my total body cardio CORE TRANSFORMER exercise tube. It’s the perfect, happy endorphin, mood boosting living room workout that will also rev up your metabolism to melt off your depressing winter weight. Bottom line: Feeling fit feels good.

So get up, get moving, and start feeling happier:)!

Linda

Get Flat Abs Fast: Core Sculpting CORE TRANSFORMER Resistance Workout from Fitness Magazine February 2010

Here's a great article from Fitness Magazine February 2010 featuring my total body CORE TRANSFORMER written by my friend, Nicole Dorsey Straff; Workout created by Linda LaRue, creator of the CORE TRANSFORMER class at Equinox Fitness Clubs.

Dump the crunches! These 8 belly-flattening ab exercises will take you from squishy to sexy in just 14 days.

How It Works

If you envy A-list abs like Kate Beckinsale's, we've got one word for you: rubber. "Using a resistance tube boosts the firming power of any ab move," says instructor Linda LaRue, who created the CORE TRANSFORMER class at Equinox Fitness Clubs in Los Angeles and has a list of devoted Hollywood fans including Beckinsale. LaRue put together her best new belly flatteners using this secret-weapon shaper exclusively for FITNESS Magazine. Do two sets of each move, working your way up to three sets, on three nonconsecutive days a week. Mix the order every time to really whittle your middle.

What You'll Need: A CORE TRANSFORMER exercise tube and a sturdy chair.

Do the Twist! When crossing the CORE TRANSFORMER into an X shape for each move, twist it around twice before grasping the handles, so the point of intersection is solid. "Twisting the tube increases the pull and resistance on your core," LaRue says, giving your abs maximum toning from every angle. You can aim to start with the X at belly-button level, but "it doesn't matter if the intersection moves around a bit," she adds.

Rowboat
Targets: Back, triceps, biceps, and abs
-- Sit on floor with knees slightly bent, feet hip-width apart, and heels planted.
-- Loop center of tube around arches of feet, cross it once or twice in front of you, then grasp a handle in each hand, elbows bent 90 degrees and tucked by sides, palms facing up.
-- Keeping abs tight throughout, lean torso back about 45 degrees and slowly curl handles to shoulders. Make it harder: Hold for 3 seconds.
-- Hinge forward at hips slightly as you extend both arms behind you, keeping elbows close to body, to complete one rep. (Exercise pros can hold here for another 3 seconds.)
-- Do 16 reps.
Watch a video demonstration of this move!

Crouching Tiger
Targets: Back, arms, abs, and quads
-- Stand with feet hip-width apart on center of tube, cross it once or twice in front of you, then grasp a handle in each hand, arms by sides.
-- Crouch down and walk hands forward until you are in full push-up position, arms extended with palms directly under shoulders, legs directly behind you so that you form a straight line from head to heels. (Hold handles lightly by thumbs so that palms can lie flat on floor.)
-- Keeping palms planted and abs tight throughout, press hips back toward heels, bending knees so that they hover just above floor.
-- Straighten legs to return to full push-up position and complete rep.
-- Do 16 reps.
Watch a video demonstration of this move!

Baseball Swing
Targets: Shoulders, back, arms, abs, and obliques
-- Stand with feet hip-width apart on center of tube, cross it once or twice in front of you, then grasp a handle in each hand, arms by sides.
-- Bend knees slightly in a half squat and bring both handles together in front of you, elbows slightly bent, palms nearly touching. Make it easier: Cup both hands around both handles as if they were fused together.
-- Keeping elbows bent, bring both hands together over right shoulder as you rotate torso to right, pivoting on left toes and straightening both legs.
-- Slowly return to half-squat position.
-- Do 8 reps. Switch sides; repeat.
Watch a video demonstration of this move!

Hooray Squat
Targets: Chest, arms, abs, butt, and quads
-- Stand with feet hip-width apart and your back to a sturdy chair; place feet through tube handles (like stirrups) so that soles press handles to floor.
-- Cross tube once or twice in front of you, then hold center of tube with both hands in front of chest, elbows bent by sides, palms facing forward. (Either grasp tube or notch it between thumb and forefinger and keep hands open, as shown.)
-- Squat to sit in chair, then immediately stand up, pressing arms directly overhead to stretch tube.
-- Return to seated squat, lowering hands to chest level again, and repeat.
-- Do 16 reps.
Watch a video demonstration of this move!

Upstream Swim
Targets: Shoulders, back, arms, and abs
-- Stand with feet close together on center of tube, cross it once or twice in front of you, then grasp a handle in each hand, arms by sides.
-- Squat, hinging forward at hips so that back is nearly parallel to floor with arms extended down.
-- Simultaneously lift left arm in front of you and right arm behind you until both are parallel to floor, palms facing down.
-- Hold for 1 to 3 counts, then lower.
-- Do 16 reps, alternating sides.
Watch a video demonstration of this move!

Tubing Half-Teaser
Target: Abs
-- Lie faceup on floor with right knee bent, foot flat, and left leg extended toward ceiling. Fold tube in half, then loop it around left arch and grasp ends together with both hands.
-- Roll torso off floor slowly to sit up; try to use abs, rather than pulling with arms, by drawing navel into spine.
-- Hold for 1 to 3 counts, then engage abs to roll slowly back down to start.
-- Do 8 reps. Switch legs; repeat.
Watch a video demonstration of this move!

Cat's Cradle
Targets: Abs and obliques
-- Stand with feet hip-width apart and your back to a chair; put feet through tube handles.
-- Cross tube once or twice in front of you, then hold its center with both hands in front of chest, elbows bent by sides, palms facing forward. (Grasp tube or notch it as shown.)
-- Sit near edge of seat and lean torso back 45 degrees as you lift legs off floor, knees bent 90 degrees, until feet are at seat level.
-- Extend right leg forward as you rotate torso left to bring right elbow toward left knee.
-- Switch sides, bringing left elbow to right knee to complete 1 rep. Do 8 reps.
Watch a video demonstration of this move!

Resistance Side Plank
Targets: Shoulders, chest, back, abs, and obliques
-- Stand with feet hip-width apart on center of tube, cross it once or twice in front of you, then grasp a handle in each hand, arms by sides.
-- Crouch down and walk hands forward to get in full push-up position.
-- Shift body weight into left hand and rotate extended right arm to reach for ceiling while keeping shoulders down.
-- Hold for 1 to 3 counts, then return to full push-up.
-- Do 16 reps, alternating arms.
Watch a video demonstration of this move!

Originally published in FITNESS Magazine, February 2010.

Win a FREE CORE TRANSFORMER Exertube: $25 Value!

1st 5 ppl who email me @info@lindalarue.com & sign up for my FREE digital magazine, Make Healthy A Lifestyle win a FREE CORE TRANSFORMER Exertube valued at $25 dollars! U must pick up my CORE TRANSFORMER at the Equinox Woodland Hills open house this Saturday, January 23rd where Stephanie Vitorino, Ilyse Baker & me, Linda LaRue, will be giving CORE TRANSFOMER demos from 12:30 to 3 PM. Plus, we'll have a raffle to win a 1:1 CORE TRANSFORMER training session w/me.

My new CORE TRANSFORMER is the next evolution of total body crunchless core training. This device will sculpt your entire core from the inside out 3 dimensionally. From side-to-side, front-to-back, and top-to-bottom, it trains your entire core to act as a natural abdominal girdle helping to banish that lower belly pooch. Best of all Linda's CORE TRANSFORMER time saving exercise tube trains your ENTIRE body too—great if you’re time “crunched”.

Pumping Rubber is the most affordable way to reshape your ENTIRE body (beginning first and always from your core). Make sure you sign up for Make Healthy A Lifestyle’s FREE digital magazine to get all your CORE TRANSFORMER exercise tube workout videos FREE.

*This eco-friendly product is made from sustainable rubber trees.

Born to Run? No, But This Former 'Butterball' Does Now

Reprint from LA Times Health Section 1/11/10 By Carrie Luger Slayback

Last night at dinner, my 6-foot-tall husband looked down at my plate and said, "You eat more than I do." It's true, and it's odd, considering I'm nearly a foot shorter than he.

In my 20s, my dad referred to me lovingly as "Butterball." Headed for size 12 at 36, I wear size 2 at age 66. So what's the secret? I'd say run -- don't walk -- away from fad diets and phony diet foods. In fact -- just run. Start slowly. Jog for five little minutes, then walk back. Next day, run 6 minutes, then walk back. Work up to a 15-minute jog, then walk back.

Here's my guarantee: In time, your body will command you to run back, not walk.

During a recent holiday visit, my brother asked, "Carrie, what happened to you? In high school, you hated any kind of exercise." True. In the 1950s, way before Title IX, my friends and I looked down at athletic girls. Now I'm 66, and I've run a marathon every year since I turned 55.

When I first started running, every step hurt. I gasped for breath. If my partner stopped mid-run to walk, the pain of resuming the run made me miserable. Still, I stuck with the early morning jogs, pleased with the gradual weight loss.

Note that I said "partner." A running partner is not necessary but is helpful. Running alongside a pleasant conversationalist distracts from discomfort. Besides, having a partner was safer, since I ran at 5:30 a.m., before work. Just as important, the obligation to meet my partner pulled me out of bed. Early running had other advantages. My husband and children slept, and I didn't need a sitter. In fact, I didn't need a club, a fancy outfit or any equipment except running shoes -- which I bought on sale.

So here's my simple formula for weight control:

1. Wake early enough for a half-hour workout on the street or treadmill, five to six days a week.

2. Ease into it gradually, but never give up.

3. Find a partner, if that helps you.

4. If you miss one day, get back. If you experience a muscle ache, walk or ride a bike -- but don't stop moving for that half-hour before breakfast.

My extra pounds came off gradually. Eating is still a big part of my day but no longer my major preoccupation. As I continued my runs, another great pleasure revealed itself. It feels fantastic to move through the morning air.

Luger Slayback recently placed 10th in the age 65-to-69 group at the New York City Marathon. She writes on issues of fitness and running. Read her blog at lazyracer.blogspot .com. She lives in Newport Beach with her husband and a house full of dogs.