As the 2009 year ends and the 2010 year begins I want to take a moment to THANK all of you who have helped make NaturalBody Personal Training a true success!  Thanks to all my clients who so graciously gave me the opportunity to train each of you to better health and to accomplish the goals that you were trying to achieve!  I hope each of you has experienced a new sense of wellness due to my help.  I have enjoyed teaching and learning from each of you!

Jason Chilcot

Beautiful Irina

My dear Jerod taking it all!

Thank you Jerod, Jason, Irina,  David, Natalie, Christine, Kym, Karen, Kristie, Darlene and Alan for allowing me to train you and to those who competed on stage thank you  for allowing me to take you to winning in your competitions!  You all did beautifully and were winners for sure!

Bringing back slimnastics

Bringing the best to Charlotte! Joel Bryant!

Teaching water exercise! So relaxing but tough!

Precious Stella and her Free Range Chickens!

Thanks to all who allowed me to teach you water exercise, kick boxing and slimnastics it was huge for all of us!   To those who enjoyed my classes at EarthFare and my booth out at the Farmers Market on Adrey Kell…Thank you for trusting me to teach you about eating right and enjoying what our farmers have for us here in our community and learning about organic and natural nutrition!  What a pure joy it was to  be with down to earth folks like little Stella Smith from Van Wyke and her wonderful parents and her farm animals!  We all loved her and her story that made the paper with all that she had to teach us!  Thanks Stella!  For the MANY that came out to hear my dear friend Joel Bryant motivate each of us to “DOING THE DREAM”….I thank you and Joel for making it a success as I was honored to have him here to promote wellness in so many ways! 

Getting married was a highlight for me this year to my wonderful husband Jim.  Becoming a new step mom of 3 wonderful boys has been extremely rewarding!  The boys have also contributed to NaturalBody Personal Training’s success by always inviting their friends to all the events and the kids come and boy do they have a great time! 

My 3 step sons always ready to have fun with NaturalBody Personal Training events and to relax afterward in the hot tub!

These runners who run 50 miles, 50K, 1/2 marathons in extreme area are so awesome!

Jim blessed me with many wonderful trips this year. From Lodtz, Poland where I  was able to travel around with a local friend Anita who shared her recipes and garden and showed me a REAL farmers market to traveling to San Fransisco and working the NorthFace Endurance Challenge with athletes who really showed me what true dedication is to run 50 miles in the Golden Gate National Forest in the pitch black night, I have truly learned so much to bring back and enjoy writing my health and wellness column for our local Carolina Gateway newspaper to share my experiences.

My wonderful husband Jim Acuff

Team NaturalBody and Samaritans Feet! We tied some laces!

Team NaturalBody and Breast Cancer Awareness! We raised $2000!

The year was a real learning experience for me with teaching so many folks about health and wellness.  From the Farmers Market, to EarthFare to Corporate Wellness in businesses around the Ballantyne community it has been a true blessing to me and those listening.  Thanks to all who invited me in!  I learned so much from each of you! I hope you learned something from me too!

TWTelecom- The girls were great and Christine is still kicking butt!

Teaching the girls about protein and carbohydrates

TIP for the new year!

My new friends...The Road Less Traveled Girls! I am so lucky!

Protein is the major building block for the body.  As a competitive bodybuilder I know it’s huge importance.  It is the primary component of muscle and is essential for the formation of all cells.  Protein is also critical for optimum immune function.  When deprived of protein, the body is more susceptible to allergies, infection, and disease.  Anyone who is recovering from surgery, a wound, or burn may require more protein to promote tissue repair during healing.

Proteins used by the body are made up of several different amino acids.  The body is capable of making some of the amino acids, but not all of them.  The amino acids that it cannot make are called “essential” amino acids because they must be consumed in the food we eat.  Eat a variety of foods to be sure that you get all of the amino acids you need.  Lack of protein can cause growth failure, loss of muscle mass, decreased immunity, weakening of the heart and respiratory system, and death.

In order to get adequate protein from our diet we need to eat a variety of foods each day.  The most common source of protein in the American diet is meat.  Milk and most dairy products are also rich in protein.  Egg white is said to have the most complete protein.  I believe this.  I eat 6 egg whites every morning for breakfast.  Like the egg’s yoke, many of these animal sources of protein can also be high in fat.  To avoid too much fat, select leaner cuts of meat, fish and poultry.  Cook without adding fat by baking, broiling, barbecuing, or boiling your meat.

Vegetarians can also get adequate protein in their diets by eating beans and lentils as well as a variety of vegetables and grains.  Certain beans, when eaten together with certain other beans or grains, can make a complete protein source.  An example is eating corn with black beans.  Nuts and sees are also good sources of protein.

How much protein do we need?  The average adult needs 8 grams of protein per 20 pounds of body weight.  As an athlete we find that 1 gram per lean pound of body weight works great.  That’s just equal to about 1-2 more servings per day than a person that is not as active.  This is why it is important to know what your body fat% is so you can adjust your protein intake as your body changes. 

Balance carbohydrates with proteins.  Eat a variety of foods to be sure that you get all of the amino acids you need.  Soybeans, tofu, and other soy-based foods are excellent alternatives to red meat.  Eat 2-4 servings of soy a week.  A high protein diet (such as red meat, cheese, and  full-fat dairy products) that is high in saturated fat and low in vitamins and minerals may increase the risk for heart disease.  Cut back on highly processed carbohydrates (like commercially prepared foods) and increase protein to improve levels of blood triglycerides and HDL’s.

Digesting lots of protein takes calcium.  Eating a high protein diet for a few weeks will not affect your bone strength.  However, eating a high protein diet for a long time may increase the risk of weakening bone.  High protein diets should be used with extreme caution, if at all.  If you are overweight  do not necessarily need more protein.  Most athletes feel we perform better and increase our muscle mass if we follow a higher protein diet.

The USA Food Guide Pyramid recommends that adults get 2-3 servings of meat and 2-3 servings of milk group products everyday.  Low-fat selections are best of course.  A serving of meat is 3-4 ounces or about the size of a deck of cards.  One serving of milk one cup and for cheese, a serving is about 2 ounces. 

Make sure you take the time to figure up your weight and protein calculation.  You need to know the numbers to make sure you are getting enough protein!

The gift of love

I love February!  It is the month that holds my most favorite holiday of all, Valentines Day!  I have always loved Valentines Day!  From  hearts and roses to the beautiful colors of pink, red, white and cream I love everything that goes along with the wonderful day of love, February 14. 

I remember as a little girl hand-making my own Valentine cards with red and pink construction paper and pasting them on dainty white doilies. I would anxiously wait to put them in my classmates hand covered cigar boxes made to be a Valentine mailbox.  I of course was always in hopes that the right boy would put a special one in mine.  My how nothing has changed!  I still look  for that special card to come my way!

I love Valentines Day so much that I chose that as my special day to marry the love of my life Jim Acuff  last year 2009!  He has been a dream come true for me in sharing true love with and has always put the right card in my Valentine box since we met! 

So what about true love?  How does that affect a person and their health?  I for one know that love has been a word and an experience that I continue to understand with age and situations.  When my life seems to be most complete it has been when I have felt most comfortable with myself.  Loving  and accepting myself  for who and why I am the way that I am has been a part of the understanding of love for me.  I can not truly understand others until I understand and accept myself.

One thing I have come to understand is that unless I love myself unconditionally and love others unconditionally I will never be able to  be free in my life.  Freedom brings great peace and joy and in turn good health.  Loving those around you with no hidden agendas or conditions is very valuable in finding true love.  That is tough at times when conditions present things in a manner that we do not like or do not agree with.    I know how hard it is when I want to have things my way.  It is not in God’s plan for us to have everything our way.  God wants us to love one another.  It is stated in John 13:34 when Christ said “a new command  I give you:  to love one another.  As I have loved you, so must you love one another”.  I don’t question it anymore.  I just do it.  Fighting inside my mind sets boundaries for myself and my life.  Letting love work through loving everyone unconditionally makes life work for me and it is healthy!

Are you happy with yourself?  Have you tried to control a situation in your life to have it your way or do you love ALL unconditionally enough to let things and life play themselves out and continue to love deep and unconditional?  If not then start with you.  Start with what is inside first.  Ask for someone to forgive you and then start to love with no conditions attached.  See how freedom will arrive on the scene and your love life will being to grow quickly and your health will too!   Until next time let me go begin the Valentine decorating!  Let the party begin!  Happy LOVE month to all! 

http://www.lcni5.com/cgi-bin/c2.cgi?951+article+Features+20091222125019951151014

Candi Acuff, Lt. Col. Rob "Waldo" Waldman, Dr. Chad Frisch

NEVER FLY SOLO!

From the moment Lt. Col. Rob “Waldo” Waldman hit the stage it was “PUSH IT UP”!

Thanks to good friend Dave Waldman,  we had the privilege to attend my hero Rob “Waldo” Waldman’s (Dave’s twin brother)  private seminar held Friday Jan. 22, 2010  at the Renaissance Hotel for Continental Tire East Coast Distributors.

Rob and Dave Waldman! My two WINGMEN!

When the video presentation of Lt. Col Waldman in his F-16 fighter jet began I knew I was going to be in for a treat!  You see I have read Waldo’s new New York Times Best Seller “Never Fly Solo”  and I knew he would be talking my language!  Yes, it was “Push it Up” ,  “check your 6″  and ACCOUNTABILITY the entire hour!  MY ELEMENT!

Lt. Col. Waldman shared with business leaders here in Charlotte, NC that unless you have the right TEAM you can not achieve a successful mission.  You see every TEAM player MUST learn to “chair fly”.  “Chair flying” takes planning, training the team with the tools they need to be affective to work the plan, and staying focused on the target as you execute the skills during the mission.  This plan will bring back results that are successful to have your MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!  

This could mean just coming back ALIVE like Lt. Col Waldman experienced every time he strapped into his F-16 fighter jet.  Each and every mission required each of his Wingmen to be 100% ON each and every minute so the enemy would not kill him or his Air Force flying partners.  They each had to “check each others 6″ continually. 

Dr. Chad Frisch of Vitality Family Chiroporactic takes it all in!

PUSH IT UP!

What are you doing in your life and business to “check your 6″? Your business partners 6? Or your wife or husbands 6?  You better get real in this day and time and get started to develop a plan to make chair flying successful in your business and daily life or YOU WILL crash!   The enemy is developing their own plans to strategically outsmart and take over your life  and business in every way they can and YOU MUST be developing a plan to attack back and with the RIGHT PEOPLE!

Every day I push people to understand the importance of accountability when it comes their health through teaching them the importance of fitness and nutrition in their daily lives.  At Vitality Family Chiropractic, Dr. Frisch is doing the same with providing the care you need for your health through his expert knowledge and application of Chiropractic care and educating the community.  Dr. Frisch,  Victor Dees and myself want to continually educate the community through our “chair flying” to provide you the best tools for your success through Vitality Family Chiropractic.  Yes, we want to see you succeed through our team effort!  We continually educate ourselves to provide you with the best and most updated information and search for the best in areas of referrals for your special needs and requests. See www.vfcwellness.com for more information!

As those that know me know….I am SERIOUS about accountability and follow through.  If you can’t hold yourself accountable to you then why do I think you will hold yourself accountable to me or anyone  else?

As a way to help educate those I love and share with those I do not know, please take pride in going to Lt. Col. Rob “Waldo” Walman’s web site www.yourwingman.com  and purchase one of his new New York Times Best Seller’s “Never Fly Solo”!  It will teach you how to become a true Wingman and grow in the success of your life and your business!

Check out this past Monday on FOX and Friends as Rob was featured guest!

http://tinyurl.com/WingmanonFox-Friends

Until next time people……PUSH IT UP!!!! Yea!

This is a winning team! Push it up!

Achieving Ultimate Health-Meet Up group gets strong after learning about the simple principals of ACCOUNTABILITY! Your key to success!

Vitality Family Practice held it’s monthly Meet Up at BacInTyme in Ft. Mill, SC  Saturday Jan. 16th from 2:30-3:30.  We had a great time learning from Dr. Chad Frisch Chiropractor from VFC about the importance of fitness and nutrition in our daily lives.  Speaking from the clinical side we were blessed to have the professional give us the importance of having the right connection with your health care  provider who honestly approaches your health care from a non-drug using manner. 

Having the opportunity to have questions answered on topics like inflamation and vertigo from the group was very interesting.  Dr. Frisch taught how cortisol levels in the body also effect our wellness and what we can do to prevent an overload through exercise.  Doing it the way you did at 15 and now 50 is totally different.  Robert Tullar was very interested in getting this answered as like many others is having a tough time with “why it does not come off around the middle quite as easy”.

Fitness Trainer/Consultant and now Vitality Family Practices new Chiropractic Assistant, Candi Acuff, spoke on the key to any fitness programs success….ACCOUNTABILITY.   Sharing through her experiences of success as a competitive all natural bodybuilding to her career as a flight attendant crew member for 19 years, ACCOUNTABILATY to one’s self  was the 1st decision that needed to be made before success could be achieved. 

Candi also shared the fact that 95% of people making New Years Resolutions fail by the Jan. 15th date.  This statistic proves that people need to be held accountable to a professional who can keep them on the right track. Understanding that we can not do this alone was also highlighted.  Relating this with her friend Rob “Waldo” Waldman, Air Force fighter pilot, New York Time Best Seller’s new  book “Never Fly Solo” , we must have the right TEAM helping us as they will “check our 6″ (check our back) making sure we are being held accountable and staying on the discussed plan or mission.

All in all we had a wonderful hour of learning and look forward to adding fitness and accountability into each of our daily lives.  Getting hooked up with the right team like Dr. Chad Frisch  at Vitality Family Chiropractic is also key and we look forward to hearing more from them as they add value to our community through their informational Meet Up sessions!  Hope to see you at the next one on Feb. 6th!

Enjoy the article below!

http://www.lcni5.com/cgi-bin/c2.cgi?951+article+News+20091229152655951151014

Health Awareness – a valuable gift – priceless!

To each of you that have supported me this year in my endeavors to bring health and wellness to the fore front of your life may you have the merriest of Christmas’s! 

Jim and I wish you peace and joy with your family and friends and look forward to sharing new and exciting things with the upcoming year!  Check out my article in the Carolina Gateway for this week as it is on “Giving yourself the gift of health awareness” .   A great one for the holiday and sooooo important!

http://www.lcni5.com/cgi-bin/c2.cgi?951+article+Features+20091222125019951151014

May God bless each of you and remember that Jesus is the reason for this wonderful season. 

In good health through a NaturalBody,

Candi and Jim Acuff

Crown Castle Coporate Wellness “Lunch & Learn” – Informational

 Health Awareness

“Awareness” was the key focus  in Crown Castle’s “Lunch and Learn” Corporate Wellness program  Dec. 14th here in the Toringdon area corporate park.

About 50+ concerned employees from their offices all over the country took the time to sit or listen in by “webinar” to a power packed hour of information.  Discussing topics of importance like knowing your blood pressure, cholesterol, body fat% and understanding the need for proper water and nutrition intake,  employees walked away with  some vital  keys to being aware of one’s  health and wellness and the encouragment to jumpstart thier commitment to one’s self of making a change for the better. 

Addressing sometimes difficult but easy questions can be the reality for some but just having the opportunity to have a company that cares enough to bring this type of lunch program to the table was  a great start for many.

Employee’s enjoyed a healthy lunch provided by the company from Panera Bread as we discussed exercise and it’s importance in maintaining and gaining better health.  I wrapped up the information session with a question time and gave each an opportunity to have their blood pressure , body fat% and weight taken and recorded. 

To all at  Crown Castle THANK YOU  for the opportunity to provide you with helpful information for your valuable employees.  Serving my community and helping others is what it is all about!  Good luck in your weight loss and commitment challenges to your individual goals!  I look forward to hearing from each of you as to your progress!

In good health through a NaturalBody,

Candi Acuff