Incredible smells, from the Plumeria in Lakes Park, Fort Myers, Florida, on May 1, 2023. Photo Courtesy of Charly Caldwell II.

For those of us with busy and active lifestyles, it can be a real challenge to keep the body sufficiently fueled day after day.

Between work, working out and the rest of life, we can end up eating on the run more than we would like to.

Cue food preparation.

You’ve probably heard or read that you increase your chances of eating poorly if you are caught out without food and that advance meal prepping is absolutely the answer.

But not everyone wants to spend their Sunday afternoons chopping onions, weighing out chicken and adding just enough cheese to keep the food calculator happy.

For many, especially those who have only recently embarked on a training program, food prepping can be a source of stress.

Even the most hardcore food preppers would be pushed to admit they could do it forever.

Life eventually gets in the way.

Finding balance in our choices is...

A delicious, healthy, immune boosting Greek Salad at Milos in Las Vegas. Photo courtesy of Charly Caldwell II

Your immune system is your body’s natural defense system - keeping it as strong as possible should be a primary goal.

More people than ever are beginning to realize the importance of improving their health.

The 3 keys to a balanced immune system and better overall health are optimizing your diet, movement and sleep, and reducing stress.

When it comes to diet, an antioxidant-rich, whole foods diet best supports the body’s ability to repair itself and ensure optimal gut health.

Over 70% of the body’s immune cells are in the gut walls, which explains why good gut health is key to robust immunity.

We have immune cells located in the lining of our digestive tract called GALT – gut
associated lymphatic tissue.

GALT is often referred to as ‘the immune system’s brain’.

GALT is the largest area of lymphatic tissue (immune tissue) in our body,...

A delicious appetizer with celery, curried cauliflower, carrots, sesamed seeds and more - Sternewirth Tavern - Hotel Emma - San Antonio.  Photo courtesy of Charly Caldwell II

There are so many benefits to a diet that is rich in vegetables.

It doesn’t matter if you are vegetarian, pescatarian, vegan, paleo, or a person who eats anything and everything - it is important for good health and vital for strong performance to eat a wide variety of vegetables every day.

If fat loss is your goal, bulking up your meals with low calorie, high volume veggies is a great way to stay full longer.

If hiding veggies in your kid’s food who simply refuses to eat them is your goal, sneaky veggies is the way to go.

Regardless of your current health and fitness goals or situation, learning more ways to incorporate different vegetables is beneficial for all.

How to sneak veggies into your meals:

Add them to your daily oats.

Adding either grated carrot or zucchini to your oats is a...

Fresh off of a 5k run, enjoying nature at its finest in Lakes Park, Florida.  Photo courtesy of Charly Caldwell II

As life expectancies continue to rise, quality of life in our later years is becoming increasingly important. Therefore, keeping our minds as well as our bodies healthy is a priority.

Here are 3 strategies you can start today to keep your brain sharp:

1) Exercise your brain.

Like the body, the brain benefits from being used and challenged — from being ‘kept in shape’.

Challenging the brain with new activities can create new pathways within the brain that can act as alternate routes if some neurons (nerve cells) are damaged.

You could try:

• playing games that involve planning and memory such as chess and bridge,
• trying activities that test your vocabulary such as crosswords and Scrabble,
• learning a new skill — perhaps a language or a musical instrument, and
• doing sums in your head rather than automatically reaching for a calculator.

2) Keep...

Running through the beautiful gardens of Lakes Park, and spotted this beauty -> it's Queens Wreath!  Photo courtesy of Charly Caldwell II.

It’s much easier to stick to a nutritious, healthy meal plan when you already have all the ingredients at home.

Mapping out a weekly meal plan and writing down what to buy before grocery shopping can eliminate impulse buys and poor food choices.

One of the first steps for anyone on a mission to achieve a healthier lifestyle is to learn how to food shop.

Running through the gardens of Lakes Park in Fort Myers, Florida, spotted this beauty in bloom -> it's Queens Wreath!  Photo courtesy of Charly Caldwell II.

Stocking the pantry and fridge with wholesome, nutritious foods provides you with healthy options and provides more variety to mix and match meals and snacks throughout the week.

1. Meal plan + grocery list. Make it a priority to write out your weekly meal plan before writing down your shopping list. Doing this will save...

Take the extra time to reflect on what's real - do the research & learn.  Enjoy & reflect on this beautiful February sunset on Naples Beach.  Photo Courtesy of Charly Caldwell II

With so much information available on the Internet and social media, it can be hard to decipher what's real from what’s … not.

Qualified personal trainers hold professional degrees in fitness-related fields, including exercise science and kinesiology, plus years of experience training clients to reach their fitness goals.

When you’re seeking answers, seek out a professional. Don’t be fooled by misinformation.

Get quality information from a qualified professional so you may realize your goals.

MYTH #1: You need to be in the 'fat-burning zone' to burn fat.

You might have heard about the 'fat burning zone' and how you need to run for long durations in this zone to burn fat.

Though there is truth to this, the same desired outcome can be achieved through a...

Join us for a beautiful fall morning run in gorgeous Fort Myers, Florida...

Regardless the kind of exercise or activity you do, you will always require some sort of energy to complete the task at hand.

Without our metabolic processes’ we would not be able to convert the food we eat into usable fuel.

Around 60% of the energy we get from our food is used for keeping the body alive and its organs working correctly. The other 40% can be used for walking, exercise and other daily activities.

If the energy does not get used, a big part of it will be stored in the body as fat.

Extensive dieting reduces our metabolic rate, cuts down your energy levels and is not the best way to lose weight.

Exercise can help to increase your resting metabolic rate, meaning you’ll start to burn more calories even while your body is in its resting mode.

High intensity exercise or vigorous resistance training can cause you to burn calories for hours after the training has been completed.

This is...

Angie sharing delicious things & ideas in the kitchen, filming the 14 Day Fit & Fresh Challenge (a bonus in our fantastic Monthly Program!)

For those of us with busy and active lifestyles, it can be a real challenge to keep the body sufficiently fueled day after day.

Between work, working out and the rest of life, we can end up eating on the run more than we would like to. Cue food preparation.

You’ve probably heard or read that you increase your chances of eating poorly if you are caught out without food and that advance meal prepping is absolutely the answer.

For some, perhaps, but not everyone wants to spend their Sunday afternoons chopping onions, weighing out chicken and adding just enough cheese to keep the food calculator happy.

For many, especially those who have only recently embarked on a training program, food prepping can be a source of stress and even the most hardcore food preppers would be pushed to admit they will do this forever. Life eventually gets in...

We are aware, now more than ever, of how the food we eat plays a significant role in our health, performance, mood and body composition. Many are less conscious, though, of how our behaviors and attitudes around food also impact these outcomes.

Through print, radio and social media, we are continually bombarded with information on how we should and shouldn’t eat, so it’s not surprising that many of us are confused, stressed and anxious about food.

So, what is a ‘healthy’ diet then?

A healthy diet is one in which you are intuitive to your hunger and fullness cues.

You can recognize when you are getting hungry and you feel free to eat. No food rules dictate when you should or should not eat, you listen to your body. A healthy diet means your eating behaviors are flexible. You can travel, try new foods and cuisines and eat out with friends and family. Your diet or food rules do not dictate your social life. A healthy diet provides your body with all its...