Yenny Polanco

A personal trainer superstar, Figure and Fitness champion, NPC Team Universe Fitness championships 2009 and qualitifed for Olympia in her first IFBB show!

In America, the fourth Thursday in November commemorates the autumn harvest feast shared by the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians in 1621. “Thanksgiving” has become symbolic of friendship, cooperation, and thanks for all of Mother Nature’s gifts. Gatherings with family and friends are filled with laughter, fond recollections and… ridiculous amounts of scrumptious food! But that’s OK. On this day, we count our blessings, not our calories!

So start counting your blessings now!

Be thankful for your health -- both physical and mental.

Be grateful for every good thing that ever happened to you, and for all the good people in your life. And try your hardest to discard the mental baggage that we all accumulate.

Be thankful that you are alive and well, and that you have a body, which is your own! Think about that. ‘Your body’ is the one and only thing which you truly “own”. Treat it like a temple, because that is what it is… your temple!

If you can walk, talk, see, hear, smell, taste, and write, then you are blessed! These are things we tend to take for granted. Instead we focus on the superficial things that mean very little when it comes to contentment. True happiness comes from within, and from the appreciation of life and all you have. Your body and your health should not be taken lightly.

Consider the people who have lost an arm, who are disfigured from a freak accident, who can’t walk, see, or hear …. Think about it now, but don‘t forget about it.

And look around you at the less fortunate, suffering with chronic health problems. The sad fact is that the majority of the illnesses of modern society, and the need for multiple medications, can be avoided with proper diet and exercise! You can take control of your own health.

Now is the time! This is my suggestion... How about getting a jump on your New Year’s Resolutions now? – the week after Thanksgiving? Give yourself the most important gift of all – the gift of health. Five full weeks between Thanksgiving and the first of January, offers a lot of time for a running start to a healthier, fitter, and happier YOU!

Think of Thanksgiving as the beginning of training camp… the warm-up for your fitness resolution season. Let’s use it to ease into exercising, eating well, and getting that physique you’ve always wanted. By starting your fitness resolution now, you’ll get closer to your fitness goals and a healthier lifestyle in 2010.

So, here is my advice on using THANKSGIVING as the starting point for your New Year’s Fitness resolution! Let’s make this year’s goal of getting in shape one which you will achieve!

All the best!

Yenny Polanco.

1 Don’t buy more than you need. Buy for a week’s worth of food at a time. Have a big family and need to buy more? Make sure it is food which can be stored in the freezer such as lean meats, wild ocean salmon, and frozen veggies. Avoid over-buying perishables such as veggies, legumes and fruits, which can go bad quickly

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3 Buy natural and organic foods. They are more likely to be free of pesticides and other poisonous chemicals which can tax your body, cause allergies, and make you sick.

5 Surround yourself with health-conscious people. Yes, it is sometimes difficult to choose who your friends are. But try to socialize with individuals who like to engage in physical activities such as jogging, biking, hiking, rollerblading, taking aerobics classes, lifting weights… and oh, my favorite -- Jump roping! Yippee! (This will be the topic of my next article. It will bring out your inner child!). At work avoid the candies, and junk food. And do not keep any of it in your home either!

7 Eat small meals throughout the day. It is extremely important to fuel your body regularly – every few hours – with nutrient-dense food . Look at each feeding as an opportunity to deliver powerful nutritional building blocks to your cells! Our usual 3-meals-a-day routine is a tradition, based around convenience, more than on principles of physiology. More frequent (smaller) meals will keep your blood sugar and other systems better regulated and help you maintain more consistent mental and physical energy through the day.

9 And last but not least, consider all the people in the world who are starving and would love to be in your shoes. Do not waste. Do not be greedy. Do not be ungrateful. And do not take your body for granted.

2 Don’t go food shopping when you’re hungry. You’ll end up buying foods which are not the best for your body. When you are hungry you tend to lose control, and end up filling your cart with certain junk items which you’ll later regret!

4 Stay busy. Keep yourself occupied with work, at home doing chores, exercising, organizing, planning, or spending time with loved ones.

6 Drink water. Drink 8-10 glasses of water daily. And if you are very active and consume a diet higher in protein, then drink even more. The body is 70% water! It’s necessary for countless physiological reactions; it helps to flush your system of toxins, and to keep you regular.

8 Eat consciously not emotionally. Ask yourself… “Am I really hungry?” “Do I really want to eat this?” and if so… “Is it good for me?” “How much cardio will I have to do to burn this off?”

Life is short and we only have one body. So treat it like a temple.

I know all too well that this is easier said than done. But all you have to do is try.

As “Uncle Charlie” said... “You cannot expect someone else to do your pushups for you“.

In order to achieve success at anything in life, we must first ‘try’. And then -- keep on trying!