What kind of magic can you work in your life this year?

It is such a relief to know that every morning we can start fresh with a clean slate and that we can do that any time during the year. A new year is simply a reminder for most people of a promising new beginning. As they say, out with the old (the old that’s not working so well, that is) and in with the new.

You have made it past a very busy holiday season. Let us evaluate how you are making time for your own fitness, your own passions and your recovery from those things. It all begins with setting goals and making a decision to work toward them.

Henry Ford had said, “Obstacles are those frightful things that you see when you take your eyes off your goal.” Let’s look past the obstacles right now and find out: what would you like to do?

Are you balanced in these areas of life: finances, career, social, family, passion, spirituality, relaxation, health/fitness, service to others, self education? If on a scale of 1 to 10 you could score yourself and how much time you spend in each category, then what would that look like? I encourage you to make a list of each life area above and score yourself, 10 means you are heavily invested in a life area, and 1 means you have very little or no investment in that life area. If your numbers are very low in certain areas, then to increase your focus in those categories will help you achieve overall balance and improvement in all areas.

Make a number line for each life area and put numbers one through ten spaced evenly on each line. Then score yourself on each line and see if your zig-zagging all over the place. The lower the number, the more emphasis you need to put on that life area.

Go back to the first question of what you would like to do and apply that to those areas where you are spending the least amount of time. This is where you can see major positive shifts in 2013 toward progress.

If, for instance, you score lowly in the area of health/fitness what are you doing today and what are you willing to sacrifice to help you focus on that very important aspect of your life? Are you seeking weight loss? Will you choose to integrate walking in your day 6 days per week? If you already do that and it’s not enough (because your body is amazing at adapting), then will you integrate 3-4 days per week on interval strength training? How is your nutrition? Be honest. Are you getting 10-13 servings of fresh, raw fruits and vegetables every day? What small steps can you take to work toward that? These are merely examples of assessing your health/fitness life area.

Take small steps in the right direction. Add 20 minutes three days each week of increased exercise or a whole food supplementation to increase your produce. Get these new changes under your belt for three weeks before you integrate a new change (like drinking more water) and turn that into a habit. It takes about 21 days to make a habit of something new. The biggest mistake you can make is to take on too much too soon and then burn out. Slow and steady wins the race.

Are you having difficulty with toxic people or situations? Are you finding support for your challenges? Is life caving in on you? If so, or, if you simply want to expand your personal development -another great resolution, then please consider reading a fascinating book on drawing boundaries. It is called Boundaries: When to Say Yes, When to Say No to Take Control in Your Life by Doctors John Townsend and Henry Cloud.

New starts are one of the best blessings we get every day, let alone every new year. They are refreshing and help us to get past our failings to create success. “The ignorant of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and re-learn.” (Alvin Toffler)

Best of luck and Happy New Year!

To learn more about how you can get the best of fitness for yourself or your family, visit Cleveland’s best personal trainer at trainingbyliz.com.

He seems pretty happy about his fitness.

Hello & Happy Sunday!

The weather in Cleveland has been dreary, yet I smile not to have to shovel snow or scrape off my windshield.

Can you smile about your fitness right now or are there things you can tweak? We are always a work in progress, but the worst thing we can do is to be complacent about our fitness. After all, if we don’t take care of ourselves, then nobody will and we probably won’t be so happy with ourselves in the coming months. So what, if anything, is holding you back from achieving the results you want?

There are plenty of wrong turns I made in my life prior to becoming serious about my fitness. Not recognizing the importance of weight-bearing exercise and eating a clean diet were big downfalls for me. I remember when I was in my early marriage, I’d go shopping and buy those strudels from the bakery. Yes, bakery is a big temptation for me, so I don’t keep it in the house. Otherwise, I’d be the fattest personal trainer in town!!

Another thing I used to struggle in and still do to this day is to get consistent workouts in throughout the week. I found that the days I’d get up before the kids and exercise for even 20-30 minutes (usually that was my time for intervals on the treadmill or bike), then I’d not only feel more energized during the rest of the day, but I’d also be more mindful about what I was putting in my mouth.

Whenever I made a decision to be successful about my fitness, then I was making progress. Whenever I talked down about myself and got frustrated and did nothing, then I got no positive results.

Let’s face it, fitness is a mindset. You have to want it.

Are you kidding yourself? Do you think it’s just in your genes to be overweight or to have cravings for salt or sugar? I invite you to read an article about my friend, Brian, from Montreal, who felt defeated about his overweight physique. He looks great now and has inspiration to share about how he changed his mindset. I had nothing to do with his journey, but I read his story and thought you’d really like it.

I first met Brian four years ago in Stamford, CT. He was inspiring audiences back then with his story and education.

If your mind has gotten you down, then you’ll lose.

Are you ready to win?

Check out his story in this link: http://www.edmontonsun.com/2012/12/07/brian-grassos-positivity-conquers-weight-issuesIf you are in the Cleveland area seeking weight loss or fitness solutions for yourself or your family, then please visit trainingbyliz.com.

This loaf has been cut into to show the density. It's moist yet holds its shape quite nicely.

As the price of bread and basic staples rise in the grocery store and as more people are seeking to take gluten out of their diets (be it from celiac’s disease or generally wanting to diversify their diets), why not try this delicious and super-hippie version of cinnamon raisin bread?

I have tweaked a recipe that I had on hand for a number of years and have found a complimentary mixture of ingredients that makes a moist (yes, a moist GF bread!) that has a nice flavor (not too sweet) and smells delectable when baking. I can imagine that the fiber content of this bread is pretty high as well. I didn’t figure that out for you however.

Gluten-free Buckwheat Cinnamon Raisin Bread

This recipe is for a bread machine. I have an Oster, which is around 7 years old. It works pretty well and can make up to a 2-pound loaf. This recipe makes a 2-pound loaf. Ideally, you want your ingredients at room temperature. I usually set the timer on the bread machine for a few hours after I set it up. For instance, if it’s bedtime and I just mixed the ingredients, put the WET MIXTURE INTO BREAD MACHINE FIRST, then the flour mixture on top. I set it as directed below and add a few hours to the time so that it will finish just when I’m waking up. Pretty neat, huh?

Combine the wet ingredients separately as follows:

3/4 cups eggs (I used one full egg and the rest whites)

1.25 cups + 4 Tablespoons of water

1 teaspoon of vinegar (I use the raw apple cider vinegar)

1/4 cup oil (I used grapeseed oil)

1/2 cup applesauce

3 tablespoon honey (could also use molasses, agave nectar, maple syrup, etc.)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon flax seed meal

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Mix all wet ingredients together and set aside.

Dry Ingredients (mix together and set aside):

3 cups buckwheat flour (yes, you can make a combination of GF flours, garbanzo, brown rice, etc.)

2 tablespoons flax seed meal

2 tablespoons cinnamon

3 tablespoons of organic cane sugar (can also use brown sugar)

1 tablespoon stevia powder

1 tablespoon xanthan gum

1/3 cup raisins (I prefer black and organic, thanks for asking)

After mixing all the dry ingredients be very mindful to open your machine and pour the WET ingredients into the reservoir first. Then add the dry mixture. Make sure all areas are covered with dry so that none of the wet is coming through the surface. Before you close the machine REMEMBER TO ADD 1 TABLESPOON OF ACTIVE DRY YEAST TO THE TOP OF THE DRY: make a small divet with your finger and put the yeast into that. You do not want to go deep with that divet because the wet ingredients need to stay covered.

Now, you’re ready to set your machine up. Plug it in, close the lid and look for the whole wheat setting. It will probably show a little over 3.5 hours on the timer. Consider using the light crust setting. It seems that for my machine anything darker than light crust will really cook the heck out of the bread. Feel free to experiment on this one.

If your ingredients are still cold after adding them to the machine, then add a few hours to the timer. Read up on your machine’s manual if you’re not sure how to do that.

When the timer goes off, be sure to remove the bread right away so as not to over cook. Then let it sit out for 15-20 minutes so that you can turn the reservoir upside down and slide the bread out. You’ll probably have to gently dig out the blade with a fork, but that’s not hard to do.

Let the loaf cool more and let me know how you like it!!

If you’re looking for ways to burn off some of those bread calories and check out Cleveland’s best personal trainer, then be sure to check out TrainingbyLiz.com for fitness this holiday season!

So here’s the recipe:

1/2 cup Melted Coconut Oil (some will be used to grease  your casserole dish or baking sheet)

1/4 cup Cocoa Powder

3 Tablespoons Stevia Powder

1/4 cup Agave Nectar

1/4 cup Peanut Butter

7 cups of Organic Rolled Oats

Smattering of chocolate chips

Yield: A lot

Preheat oven to 310 degrees.

Be sure to grease two 9×13 glass pans with some of the melted coconut oil (cut your recipe in 1/2 if you only plan for a bit, but this goes fast…)

Get a large mixing bowl and add coconut oil, cocoa powder, stevia and agave nectar. Stir with a wire whisk until smooth. Then add peanut butter & stir with whisk until smooth. Now, you’re ready to add the oats and fold in with a spatula.

Put granola mixture into the pans and sprinkle the chocolate chips on top.

Place in preheated oven for 20 minutes. Remove and stir. Return to oven for 10-15 minutes. Remove sooner if you like your granola a little less crunchy. Keep in for longer, checking every five minutes, for crispier (careful not to over-bake, it gets progressively browner). Remove granola when finished to your liking and cool completely (will get more crisp as it cools).

It’s excellent as its own snack or with rice, almond or (my favorite) coconut milk.

In this lunch is oatmeal with carrot sticks (that's her addition), mini chocolate chips (for the oatmeal), broccoli, apples & oranges. The chocolate bell was dessert..

Has our culture gone too far? Are families now breaking the cardinal rule of eating? How many times did mom have to tell you NOT to play with your food? Well, this mom knows a Family Fitness Guru moment when she sees it.

Naturally, I had to get out the camera and ask them to come clean with their rule bending. Quite frankly, I enjoyed their creations immensely. (They sure didn’t last long!)

Below you can enjoy a video of the kids proudly describing their creations on a totally different rule-bending occasion.