Seven Tips to Boost your Confidence!

There are many types of confidence: 

Confidence in your body. 

Confidence in the way you perform your job. 

Confidence in how you carry yourself. 

Confidence in making the right decisions… 

Confidence surrounds us!

Let’s chat about having confidence in our body because this I feel is the number one struggle among women.

It’s way too easy these days to constantly compare yourself to other women because social media is everywhere! Let’s get something straight- There are filters, lighting techniques, and certain angles that bring out our best attributes. Magazines and billboards airbrush everything. No one is perfect and that is ok. Instead of criticizing ourselves and other women for our imperfections why don’t we lift ourselves and other women up?

Now let go back to all aspects of confidence---

Here are Seven tips to gaining killer Confidence: 

1) Talk yourself up by using positive affirmations. I tell clients who want to work on confidence to look themselves in the mirror every morning and tell themselves they are beautiful and love themselves.

“Stephanie you are beautiful and I love you.” Now it’s your turn!

2) Listen to Podcasts and read books about it. Andrea Owens has an amazing book- Your Kick Ass Life in addition to her podcast- Your Kick Ass Life.  Here is the link for the podcast. You can buy the book an Amazon. http://yourkickasslife.com/category/podcast

3) Surround yourself with people who are positive and bring you up. If you are constantly around people who make you feel like your work isn’t good enough, what you wear isn’t good enough, or that the life you are leading isn’t good enough- CUT THEM OUT! You may be thinking- what do you mean?! How can I do that? My sister-in-law is in my family. I get it, but you don’t have to let anyone make you feel inferior. In fact, I insist you don’t! The best way to handle these people is 1) have a heart to heart with them using “I” statements. “It hurts me when…. I’d really like it if you could….” 2) If the heart to heart didn’t work and you can’t cut them out indefinitely only have contact when it is absolutely necessary.

4) Stop comparing yourself to other women. For every women you compare yourself to she is probably doing the same to you. Start complimenting other women and you will see how good it makes you feel.

5) Get dressed up! Even if you have no-where to go! Remember when we were little girls and we loved to play dress-up and put on our moms MAC lipstick and 10x too big heels when she wasn’t looking? You felt beautiful like a princess and nothing could take that feeling away. The same rules apply now that you are older, but you can use your own MAC lipstick and heels that actually fit! Woohoo!

6) Build your knowledge. Are you struggling to understand principles at work? Maybe you have a passion that you love talking about, but don’t know much about. Learn about it! Research courses you can take. See if you can get certified. Further your education. Get some books on amazon and read about it! Listen to Podcasts on your drive to and from work or where-ever you go.

7) Exercise. Exercise releases endorphins that make you feel good. It is an instant confidence booster. I don’t know what it is, but I always feel like I look better and stand taller after a good workout.

There is only one you! Stand tall and know that you are beautiful- inside and out. Be confident in who you are.

      If you want to learn more about how to be Sexy, Confident & Healthy join my Free Facebook community by clicking here. 

      Xoxo 

   

           Stephanie Caputo

Top exercises to increase your metabolism and shrink fat.

The top three exercise related questions I get are:

1) How do I get toned thighs?

2) How do I get rid of these love handles?

 3) How do I lose my arm flab?

Every time my answer is the same- You have to have good nutrition to start. What do I mean by “good” nutrition? Good nutrition means to eat foods that are not processed or artificial, eating regularly throughout the day, eating the right combinations of foods, and eating for your specific fitness goals.

When you are following good nutrition practices and are ready to take it a step further exercise is the next step.

The type of exercise you do will help or hurt your results. Most times women want to appear “more toned”. While this is a great goal, it is actually a fancy term for “building muscle”. So when I say to my clients- “Let’s work on building muscle,” sometimes they get scared because they think of female body builders and think they will look like the Hulk. This is far from the truth. “Building muscle” is the same as “getting toned. In order for a women to turn into the Hulk she would have to eat massive amounts of food, train like a bodybuilder, and take anabolic steroids. Now that we have that out of the way let’s talk about what top exercises will increase your metabolism and shrink fat. The best part is that you don’t need heavy equipment to build muscle and start seeing changes in your body. Whether you like to train at the gym or at home is up to you!

Let’s get down to it!

Exercise # 1

Squat- Regular, jump, sumo, side to side, squat and kick, squat press, squat and curl.

Why- Squats are compound movements and your legs are the biggest muscle group in your body. 

Ever notice how working lower body gets your heart rate up faster? That is why!

You can try many squat variations to maximize your results and develop shapely legs. 

Exercise #2

Lunges- Forward, walking, backward, curtsie.

Why- Again, you are working the largest muscles in your body, but you are also working them at different angles. Additionally, you are putting more weight on the opposite leg making it work harder.

Exercise #3

Chin up/Pull up

Why- Chin ups and pullups work your entire upper body. Want bigger biceps? This will get them! Want more defined shoulders and a V curved taper back? This will get you just that! 

For women chin ups are easier to start because you do them underhanded. To make them a bit easier you can place your hands further away from each other. The goal is to extend all the way down and back up, but if you can't just yet go down as far as you can- even if it's just a few inches and go back up. This will build your strength and in a few weeks you will be able to extend further down. 

Exercise # 4

Dips

Why-Dips work our upper body muscle as well as our abs. 

Exercise # 5

Push-ups

Why- They work our upper body including our glutes (butt) and quads. 

Exercise # 6

Planks

Why- Planks work our entire upper body including our chest, shoulders, back and arms. Obviously our abs are worked, but also our butt! 

Not sure how to correctly do these exercises? Follow me here on Facebook to catch my live video stream demos! 

The Truth About Vegetables

The Truth About Vegetables

The Veggie Monster

“I don’t like them!” - what the 4 year-old screams when you offer them veggies for dinner.

Parents often get frustrated and “make deals” with their kids to eat two bites of their veggies before they can be excused from the table.  Thirty minutes later they still sit there with that sour look upon their face and you think- Just eat the damn things already!!

So what is all the fuss about? Why is it so important that we eat our vegetables?

The Facts

Veggies are very high in nutrients and low in calories.  They are high in potassium, folate, vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, magnesium, and more. They prevent disease including diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and stroke. Antioxidants found in vegetables are powerful at fighting off colds, flu, and chronic diseases that are steadily on the rise. There has been found to have lowered risk of many health problems including but not limited to the following: high blood pressure, stroke, high cholesterol, some cancers, kidney stones, bone loss, eye disease, Alzheimer’s, lowered inflammation in the body, and digestive problems.

Fiber content of plant foods also keeps our digestive system healthy, regular, and promotes good bacteria. Fiber keeps us full longer and we are less likely to reach for unhealthy snacks. New research suggests that our gut health effects our minds and prevalence of mental health disorders.  

Some of the most nutritious veggies include watercress, broccoli, asparagus, white mushrooms, cucumbers, tomatoes, cauliflower, eggplant, bell peppers, brussel sprouts, green beans, onions, and kale.

How much should you eat?

What counts as a serving? In general, 1 cup of raw or cooked vegetables or 2 cups of raw leafy greens can be considered as 1 serving.

Adult females need a minimum of 2 ½ serving per day. Men need 3 cups per day, children 1 to 1 ½ cups for 2- 8 year olds and 2- 3 cups for 9-18 year olds.

How do I get in all my veggies?

The easiest way to include veggies is to eat them at every meal and for snacks. Sautee them in the morning with your breakfast, have a big salad for lunch, munch on raw veggies like carrots, celery, cucumbers, and bell peppers with hummus or a healthy dip for snacks. Include a salad AND a veggie like green beans or broccoli with your dinner.

Smoothies are also a great way to sneak them in! Spinach is great to begin with when adding to smoothies as the flavor is light and it blends well. Soups, casseroles, and dips are more great ways to fit in veggies.