Equipment: None

Workout: For this ladder workout you will by completing 12 reps of each exercise, then repeat again completing 11 reps of each exercise, then 10 reps of each exercise, and so on until you reach 1 rep of each exercise. Be sure to time this workout and repeat in 4 weeks to track your progress (and hopefully complete the workout with a faster time). Take breaks only as needed to keep that heart rate up and to make your best time possible!

Exercises:

• Floppy Burpee
• Inchworm
• Squat
• Curl Up
• Pop Squat
• Plank V-Jump

So how long did it take you to complete this laddder workout?

• Barley
• Bran
• Bulgur
• CousCous
• Durum Flour
• Farina
• Graham
• Kamut
• Orzo
• Panko
• Rye
• Seitan
• Semolina
• Soba
• Spelt
• Triticale
• Wheat

And these food additives often derived from gluten grains may contain gluten:

• Caramel Coloring
• Cornmeal
• Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein
• Malt, Malt Flavoring, Malt Vinegar
• Maltodextrin
• Modified Food Starch
• Textured Vegetable Protein

• Bagels
• Beer
• Bread
• Cake
• Candy
• Cereal
• Chips
• Cookies
• Crackers
• Croutons
• French Fries
• Granola and Granola Bars
• Gravies
• Muffins
• Pasta
• Pies
• Processed Lunch Meat
• Salad Dressings
• Sauces and Marinades
• Seasoned Rice Mixes
• Soups
• Tortillas
• Wraps

Yes, I know that’s A LOT of foods. And now you’re probably wondering what the heck can I eat? What foods don’t contain gluten? Well there are still many healthy options available that will leave you feeling full and with a lot more energy than most gluten containing foods. These foods include:

• Amaranth
• Beans and Legumes
• Cocoa, especially dark chocolate
• Condiments such as mustard, horseradish, vinegar, or salsa
• Cooking oils such as olive oil or coconut oil
• Eggs
• Fresh meats
• Fruit
• Gluten free flour such as rice, soy, corn, potato, or bean flour
• Millet
• Most dairy
• Nuts
• Oats processed in a gluten free facility
• Quinoa
• Rice
• Seeds
• Sorghum
• Spices
• Teff
• Veggies

Did I forget anything?

Start by eating really bad:

1. Eat at fast food restaurants as often as possible. It is convenient right? So why not. Great places to choose from are McDonald’s, Burger King, and Taco Bell. Always supersize.

2. If you want a fancier meal be sure to go to Chili’s and order this for dinner:

Appetizer Trio (eating only half as there will probably be someone with you) = 966 calories

Jalapeno Smokehouse Burger = 2130 calories

Chocolate Chip Paradise Pie Dessert = 1290

Total calories consumed = 4386 calories

Total fat gained on your body = 1.25 pounds

3. Drink lots of alcohol. Consume at least a 12 pack of beer or 5 Margaritas on a daily basis. You could gain around a half a pound every day.

4. Consume 7 cans of soda a day for a week straight. You’ll end consuming about 7000 calories which equals 2 pounds.

5. Go on some crazy, calorie restricted diet for a few weeks and then start eating your regular diet. That’s a surefire way to slow your metabolism down and cause you to binge on junk food since it’s too hard to stick to the ridiculous diet anyhow. Also, your energy level will be so low you won’t want to do anything, so the lowered activity level will surely add on extra pounds.

6. The best way to deal with a stressful day at work is to plop down on the couch to watch TV for the entire evening. Oh but don't foget to grab the pint of Ben and Jerry's. It'll surely lift your mood and  at an average of 1200 calories in each pint, simply consuming 3 of these could add an extra pound to those shapely hips and thighs.

7. Complain about how much it costs to eat healthy while filing your cart with Ribeye steaks, Premium Ice Cream, Bags of Potato Chips, Beer, and Cigarettes and simply ignore the batch of bananas that cost $1.50.

8. Go to the movies often, but don’t just watch the movies. Be sure to gobble down the following:

1 large popcorn with butter = 960 calories

1 Large soda = 310 calories

An 8 oz bag of Reese's Pieces = 1160 calories

Total calories consumed = 2430 calories

Total fat gained on your body = .70 pounds

9. Gorge yourself at the local buffet as often as possible. There's no doubt the huge selection of unhealthy foods can be turned down. Pile up your plate with fried chicken, gravy, and anything covered with butter. And don't forget dessert. It's required that you have to unbutton your pants before you leave, or better yet bring along a bigger size just in case.

Limit exercise and movement by following these proven techniques:

11. Take your kids, your sisters kids, or even your neighbors kids to the park so they can run around while you sit on a bench and do absolutely nothing.

12. Avoid exercise like the plague and instead watch 3 hours of TV every night while mindlessly munching on potato chips and chocolate candy.

13. Spend 20 minutes driving around a crowded parking lot waiting for that front row parking spot instead of spending 5 minutes walking from the back of the parking lot where there are at least 100 open spots.

14. Wear really uncomfortable shoes everywhere you go including the office, school, and running errands so that you can be sure to avoid walking at all costs so your feet don’t end up hurting.

15. Sit at the computer all day reading my blog and try to get up only when necessary such as a potty break or to grab a fatty or sugary snack. Yes, read all about how to get fit on my blog and learn different exercises and diet tips, but do not implement anything you learn.

16. Limit lifting of any sort as much as possible, not just weights, but lifting boxes, kids, or anything that weighs over a half a pound. Ask someone else whenever possible to help you out. The less muscle you have the more fat you can gain when your metabolism starts slowing down.

17. If your job for any reason requires activity ask to be transferred to a desk job or get a new job.

18. Make sure to get little to no sleep. Definitely, less than 5 hours is ideal. This will mess up your hormones, throwing your body and metabolism out of whack so your brain instead signals your body to store fat.

Total Bodyweight Workout

This total bodyweight workout will strengthen and tone your entire body as well as burn lots of calories with a mix of bodyweight and cardio exercises.

Equipment: None

Workout: For this workout each exercise will be timed for 30 seconds before moving onto the next one (so no need to count reps!). Just be sure to move quickly to the next exercise and limit breaks to keep that heart rate up! Circuit through each exercise before repeating the entire circuit. Beginners complete one circuit and more advanced exercises complete 2-3 circuits.

Exercises:

• Side to Side Push-up
• Plank with Alternating Knee-In
• Burpee
• Squat to Calf Raise
• Ski Jump
• Bicycle crunch
• Tuck Jump
• Scissor Kick
• Superman
• Lunge Hop
• Russian Side Twist
• Mountain Climber
• Side Plank

Bonus Challenge: Track how many reps you complete of each exercise during the 30 seconds. Repeat the workout weekly for 4 weeks and try to increase your number of reps for each exercise each time you repeat the workout.

Have you noticed the large collection of gluten free products at the grocery store lately? Or maybe you know someone who has celiac disease, gluten intolerance, or just a friend that has decided to go on a wheat free and gluten free diet and you’re not really sure what the big deal is. After working with clients with celiac disease in my fitness classes and reading the book Wheat Bellyby Dr William Davis I became rather intrigued with a wheat free and gluten free diet and decided to do more research. I am now even attempting the wheat belly diet myself to see what happens. I can tell you one thing all this fuss about gluten is no mistake.

• Stimulates your appetite. Yes, gluten products can make you hungrier, thus make you eat more food and calories, and make you fatter!
• Is addictive. Making you crave them more and eat them more, and even get cranky when you don’t have them.
• Causes inflammation. Celiac disease is inflammation in the small intestine where the intestinal barrier actually breaks down and leaks fecal matter. Yes POOH actually leaks into your body and bloodstream! Ewww! This can also lead to other autoimmune disorders and inflammatory responses.
• Disrupts the bodies PH balance. Wheat and gluten grains can be very acidic. To maintain balance, the body pulls calcium from the bones. This can lead to fractures and osteoporosis. And no, overloading on calcium supplements isn’t going to work here.
• Increases blood sugar and risk of diabetes. Wheat bread actually increases your blood sugar levels as much or more than table sugar. What does this mean? Here let me illustrate:

Ok I'll admit. I fell off the wagon. I started the Wheat Belly Diet a few months ago, did really good for a few weeks, and then started getting ready to move and travel and fell off the wagon. I'm a bit embarrassed but hey I'm human too. So I'm back at it and will be bringing you regular updates, gluten free tips, and more as promised! Today is Day 1 of the wheat belly diet and I'm going gluten free for good! And if you didn't catch my earlier blog post make sure you do so by clicking here!

Now before I saw some rather great progress in weight lost, inches lost, and energy levels so I'm hoping to see the same progress again!

Check out round one after only 2 weeks:

That's a huge difference in my tummy. And the funny thing is after eating wheat and gluten containing foods like crazy last week (because I really wanted to see the effects and changes in full force again). You can see how much my stomach bloated back up with my Day 1 pic here:

So I think that' s sufficient evidence to prove that wheat is making our bellies fatter! Don't you think?

Banana Walnut Oatmeal Recipe

This banana walnut oatmeal recipe was posted in the past but somehow when we loaded the new blog a few months ago some of the posts went missing! So good news, I'm re-posting them here for you again so they are handy whenever you need them. This is the last recipe so expect some fresh, new recipes starting next week.

Now I love oatmeal for breakfast with some eggs. This is by far one of my favorite oatmeal recipes and it's so easy to make.

Ingredients:

• 1 ripe banana
• 1 cup cooked oatmeal
• 1 Tbsp walnut pieces
• Stevia to taste

Recipe:

• Cook oatmeal according to package.
• Mash up banana and add to oatmeal.
• Add walnuts and stevia to oatmeal.
• Mix thoroughly.

What's your favorite breakfast food?

Pyramid Workout

This Pyramid workout of the week may not incorporate a lot of exercises, but it does incorporate a lot of reps which will definitely get your heart rate pumping so you can burn a lot of calories. So be sure to check out this pyramid workout, where Todd Gerringer, the Fox of the Month, will demonstrate the exercises!

The Workout:

Complete the ladder below for a total of 80 reps of each exercise. Start by completing 5 reps of each exercise, then 10 reps of each exercise, then 15 reps of each exercise, moving up the ladder to 20 reps and then back down the ladder to 5 reps. You must complete all reps before moving onto the next exercise.

The ladder will look like this: 5 reps – 10 reps – 15 reps – 20 reps – 15 reps – 10 reps – 5 reps

The Exercises:

• Floppy Burpee
• Double Crunch
• Push Up
• Plank V-Jump
• Squat Jump

Now for an extra challenge time yourself doing this workout and complete it again in 4 weeks to see how much quicker you can do it!

I have some of the most awesome clients ever! It's true, and because of that I want to share with you some of their fantastic success stories. So each month I'll be picking someone to spotlight and this month it's Todd Gerringer!! Way to go Todd (your trainer is proud)!

Todd has lost 22 lbs since starting with Get Foxy Boot Camp and the online Get Foxy Fit Club over 2 months ago! Can't you tell the amazing difference in his face above??!! If not you may want to consider a new pair of eyeglasses…But, anyway, Todd's clothes are looser, he has more energy, and just feels all around better. And to top it all off Todd used to have regular headaches which now are a rare occasion!

Todd works hard. He kicks butt in each class and makes a huge effort to eat clean (well except the occasional cheat meal which is OK and necessary to avoid going completely insane) by gathering different ideas and recipes online and through Clean Eating Magazine. And the most awesome thing is that his wife, Courtney Gerringer, is his partner in all this so they work as a team to push each other to be successful losing weight! I know that support can go a long way and it's been fun watching both of them transform.

Be sure to check out his testimony here:

So I asked Todd, "What are the major changes that lead to your 22 pound weight loss (besides going from not working out at all to attending boot camp 4 days a week)?" He had some great tips to share:

1. Log what you eat with a food journal.  By using a food journal, Todd has become more aware of what he's eating which can make a HUGE difference on the waistline. To learn more about food journaling check out this past blog on How to Keep a Food Journal for Weight Loss.

2. Cut out added sugars. Sugars are empty calories and can really hinder your weight loss goals. And not to mention sugars are rather addictive, so having just a little can make you want more or even cause you to binge. And Todd may kill me for this, but he's just like me, SWEET TOOTH galore and stopping at one cookie…Yeah right!! So by making an effort to cut sugar out of your diet you can make quick progress toward your weight loss goals.

3. Just make healthier food choices. Sometimes just small changes can go a long way toward weight loss success. Todd incorporate's small changes into his day to cut extra calories, fats, and sugars such as ordering a side of vegetables or fruit rather than a side of French fries when eating out. Those evil calories can add up VERY quickly and  so by swapping a few unhealthy items for healthier choices you can cut out those extra calories that are making you fatter!

So please congratulate Todd by leaving a comment below!

Belly Blaster Workout

Summer is coming soon and that means you'll be baring that tummy in a sexy bikini before you know it. This weeks workout with tone and shape that belly!

The Workout:

Complete 10 Reps of each exercise for a total of 2 rounds for beginners and up to 5 rounds for the more advanced exerciser.

The Exercises:

• Jack Knife Crunch – 10 reps on each leg
• Hip Raise to a Leg Drop – 10 reps
• Plank Hold – :20 – 1:00
• Side Plank with a Dip – 10 reps on each side
• Bicycle Crunch – 10 reps on each leg