MIA

Wow, it's been a long time since I posted. SORRY!! I've been super busy with dance and school this week especially and sadly this blog has been put on the back burner. BUT, I'm back, and you're going to be seeing a lot of different posts from me from here on out. 

I'm taking a class where one of the assignments is a weekly blog post. So, here is the first of many different posts that will help you get to know me, and what I'm about!

Let Me Introduce Myself:

It's hard to put a face behind a blog when you don't know a lot about the writer. For those of you who know me, thanks for visiting! For those who don't, here's a little more about me. 

My name is Cassie Mueller. I am a certified personal trainer, dance teacher/choreographer, student, wife, and lover of life. (can you say cliche? ha!) I am the youngest of 3 with an older sister and older brother. I grew up in the beautiful state of Utah where I am currently residing and attending school at the University of Utah for Exercise Science with a minor in Nutrition. 

My spark for fitness and healthy weight loss started after high school. You can read more about it HERE. I love learning more about how to exercise based on your goals, and how to eat based on those goals as well. I love the body and think it's an INCREDIBLE machine that we are all blessed to have. I love how the body moves and what it's capable of. I also love helping people realize that their bodies are not against them. We are all different shapes and sizes, and that's ok. What isn't ok is how we treat our bodies based on others perception of it. Ok... stepping off my soap box.

I have been married for just over a year now, and love it! My husband is my best friend and the best companion anyone could ask for.

 I'm still young, and hope to make a difference in the world before I die. I don't want to be there person who sits on the sidelines watching the world go by. I want to be a change for the better.

Eat To Live, Don't Live To Eat.

Lately I've been reading a lot about food, and nutrition, and I've been getting a lot of questions about what to eat to lose weight, as well as how to fix achy joints, and low energy levels. 

This post is all about what you put into your body and how it effects how you feel. 

Ever heard the saying, "You reap what you sow?" This applies to your nutrition as well.

When you eat fast food, you're putting huge amounts of fat, sodium, and calories into your body. When you ingest sodium, your body produces urine to get rid of it. When you ingest too much sodium, your body can't handle it and it stays in your system. This can cause tons of problems like high blood pressure, heart disease, weight gain, stroke, and it can even pull the calcium out of your bones making them more fragile. 

After you eat fast food, your body puts all it's energy to digest it and doesn't get much of a reward. Not a lot of vitamins and minerals are digested which help give you energy and help regulate your bodies systems. When you're not getting those essential nutrients, your body keeps losing energy with no way of replenishing it which slows down your metabolism, which means of your food is stored as fat. After eating a huge hamburger with a plate of fries and a soda, have you felt sluggish, tired, and lazy? Step away from the fried starches and start eating some clean, raw veggies! :)

As we get older, our bodies start to ache and sometimes we can't move the way we used to high school, but when you're still in your 20's and 30's and you have constant aches, muscle soreness, and headaches, something is wrong. Soda and/or diet soda drinker? 

Please, if you are having health problems and have gone to the doctor numerous times and come up empty handed. Just take a look at your diet. What you put into your body DOES effect how you feel, look, energy levels, and most importantly, your HEALTH. Take care of your body because it's the only one you have. 

When you're feeding your body with foods packed full of nutrients, you're going to feel better, look better, have a TON more energy, and you will live a longer, healthier life! I don't know about you, but I plan on being the 80 year old going to yoga class still, and I know that that's not going to happen if I don't take care of my body now. 

Make the promise to yourself that you are going to respect your body, and take care of it. YOU are responsible for your health, and YOU are in charge of your future. Make it a future full of happy memories, and not one full of misery and doctor's visits. 

Eat to live, don't live to eat.

The Number On The Scale Got You Down?

When it comes to weight loss there are a couple of things that you need to remember in order to reach your goals. 

1: Keep your goals realistic.

Your body needs a certain amount of fat on it to remain healthy. Fat cushions your organs and helps insulate you. A pound of fat weighs the same as a pound of muscle, but the difference in size is crazy. 

A pound of fatis roughly three times the size as a pound of muscle. When your body is full of lean muscle and not fat, your BMR (basal metabolic rate) is higher which means you burn more fat throughout the day. A pound of fat burns only about 2-3 calories while a pound of muscle burns 7-10! 

2: Set Small Do-able Goals

There's nothing worse than feeling so overwhelmed that you give up. That's not what you want to do when it comes to your health. Don't set goals that are so unrealistic that you give up after a week. Instead, make goals that are stepping stones to a larger goal. 
Set goals to lift heavier, run further, workout a certain amount of days during the week, etc.

3: Don't Obsess!

I cannot emphasis this enough. DO NOT OBSESS! When it comes to weight loss especially, what you eat is going to impact your results more than workouts will. Now, when you're eating right and working out, they go hand in hand and great results can be achieved. BUT, when you obsess, the opposite of what you want can happen. I try and follow the 9:1 RULE (click for details). It's ok to 'cheat' every once in a while as long as you control your urges, and when you do eat too much of something not so good for you, the important thing to remember is to let it go and do better the next day. You can't get down on yourself, especially when you are just starting to change your lifestyle. Fall off the horse 8 times, get back up 9!

4: Motivation is Key!

Find any way to keep yourself motivated. Create a reward program for yourself by putting a dollar in a jar for every time you complete a workout, then at the end of month or so, go spend that money on ANYTHING you want. Do the same for healthy eating. 

Post your goals online, tell your spouse, friends, family, anybody! When you have someone to be accountable to, you're way more likely to stick to your goals.
Workout with a partner. When you workout with someone versus by your self, you would be surprised on how much more you can do with someone there watching you. ;)


5: Track Your Progress

When you first start to change your lifestyle to a healthy one, one way to keep going is to take your measurements, and keep track of it. Remember that the scale can trick you because muscle weighs more than fat. Take circumference measurements instead. I measure the neck (mostly for men looking to bulk), biceps, chest, waist, hips, quads, and calves. You can also do weight. Every month, remeasure and track your progress. As your body starts to transform, you won't notice the changes as easily as someone who hasn't seen you in a while, so seeing the results on paper can keep you on the right track.

You can do it!