photo by Suzanne Smith Goodman

Good morning my friends! I am writing my first post to you while visiting an old high school friend, Suzanne, in Susanville, California. She and her husband have a quaint little home here, and I am taking advantage of their generous hospitality, enjoying a mini-retreat with them. Here I sit in her cozy guest room, it is 7:24AM and I have just set up this blog – the beginning of another adventure. Oh, I have my webpage, my Facebook page, and my cookbook, but I wanted another way to connect with my readers, and I decided this another pathway to start!

Living a healthy lifestyle doesn’t require you be into Zen Yoga, although it could be a piece of your personal puzzle. It does require that you do what you love to the best of your abilities. I love to eat, as most people do, but what you put in your mouth directly affects your health and appearance! So here we go, here are some pieces I can offer you that may fit into your own personal puzzle.

My cookbook contains over 180 delicious recipes that will amaze you and help you to stay on your path to being fat free. A healthy body can be achieved and your palate can be pleased! Check out my website today! www.thefatfreegourmet.com

Hmmm. what next? I have found meditation to be extremely useful in my life. When I am not devoting at least ten minutes per day meditating, I am much more stressed, and therefore prone to gain weight. Personal imagery and focus on your goals can be very powerful. Here is a link to get you acquainted with Zen Meditation, this is the technique that I use: http://www.meditationiseasy.com/mCorner/techniques/zen_meditation.htm

When I am away from my weights and ski machine there are two exercises that I do to maintain my figure. One is called a ‘Hip Bridge’: http://living.health.com/2008/07/23/your-leg-workout-hip-bridge/. I do this pose for 8 minutes, this excercise tightened my tush, thighs, and tummy! The other excercise is called the ‘Plank’. I do this excercise for 4 minutes : http://www.frixo.com/sites/fitness/exercises/staticabs.html. These two exercises can be done anywhere and will keep you in shape. Sometimes I do them twice a day because they are so very effective.

There are some pieces of my personal puzzle, I hope that you will find them useful. These three things can and will evoke huge changes in your life. Now go out and collect some puzzle pieces on your own!

Make it a great day!

Remember: Cook fat free, eat fat free, live fat free, be fat free!

Epicuriously yours,

Melinda