Happy shopping! If you still have fitness-minded folks over 50 on your shopping list, we’re here with this 2022 Fitness Gift Guide. These represent a range of prices, goods, and services, all to help that special person exercise and enjoy a healthy lifestyle.

1. E-Bike. More than just a fad, e-bikes are here to stay. They give you a range of boosts to help you keep riding longer. Surveys show that you still get great exercise, and you’re more likely to use them more than regular bikes. Prices vary widely; this best-seller on Amazon is on sale for $1,000.
2. Drink Coasters That Look Like Barbell Plates. These are whimsical and give a bit of friendly support to the lifter on your list. And now the cheapest item – just $12.99.
3. Adjustable dumbbells. They’re handy around the house, garage, or home gym. These kinds of items also come in various prices, weights, and quality.
4. A Theragun. These hand-held massage devices above made a big splash and have been showing up in gyms and studios everywhere. They offer deeper muscle treatment to soothe chronic and acute pain, release tension and soreness, and improve circulation, flexibility and sleep from $149.
5. Resistance bands are low-tech but are also handy to have. They’re available from many rubber and fabric retailers, starting at around $10. They can provide a good workout at home and are super simple to toss in a suitcase for travel. Here’s just one example, Fit Simplify, available on Amazon.com.
6. A new mat. Maybe it’s time to get a new one, or it’ll be the first. Either way, it’s great to have a mat handy for home workouts or to take to yoga or Pilates class. Also affordable by countless retailers.
7. Weighted blankets. Studies show that weighted blankets help us calm down, feel secure, and rest better. And rest is one of the essential elements of fitness.
8. Skid-Proof Socks. Everybody loves getting new socks, especially when they have rubber on the bottom to keep you from slipping on floors at home or in yoga class. They’re low cost and high value.
9. Bhu Bars are keto-friendly, low-sugar, organic, and vegan. The best thing is they’re insanely delicious in flavors like chocolate chip, peanut butter, and coconut. Hit your macros, whatever they might be, and fight hunger with these healthy snacks.
10. Headspace App. Mindfulness and meditation can seem intimidating to newbies. But this friendly, fun, and effective smartphone app makes it easy to gain benefits. $70 a year.

Of course, the best gift is your time and attention. So, go on a walk, bike ride with people you love, or whatever outdoor activity appeals to you. Treat them to a meal at their favorite healthy restaurant. Better yet, see us and start your 2023 fitness journey by trying our 21-Day Strength and Longevity Program,  the best year for everyone involved. Happy Holidays!

Inspired by creamy turkey and wild rice soup recipes, this vegetarian mushroom soup recipe is a whole lot lighter and gets a rich flavor boost from caramelized leeks. Serve with a green salad with sherry vinaigrette and crusty bread to sop up any bits left in the bowl –  from AARP.

A Healthy Recipe

Prep/Cook Time: 1:50 Hours, Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 6 cups sliced leeks (4-6 medium leeks)
• 1/2 cup dry sherry
• 1 pound cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 1 1/2 cups sliced celery
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 6 cups mushroom broth
• 2 cups of water
• 1 cup wild rice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons sour cream
• 6 tablespoons sliced almonds, toasted

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add leeks and cook, occasionally stirring, until starting to brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and continue cooking, often stirring, until the leeks are golden brown and very tender, 5 to 10 minutes more.
2. Add sherry and cook, often stirring, for 1 minute. Stir in mushrooms and celery and cook, frequently stirring, until the mushroom liquid evaporates, 6 to 8 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add broth, water, and rice; cover and bring to a simmer.
3. Reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook, occasionally stirring, until the rice is tender, 50 minutes to 1 hour. Season with pepper and salt and serve each portion topped with 1 tablespoon each sour cream and almonds.

Nutritional Information

Per Serving: 309 calories; 13 g fat (3 g sat, 8 g mono); 6 mg cholesterol; 39 g carbohydrate; 0 g added sugars; 6 g total sugars; 9 g protein; 5 g fiber; 566 mg sodium; 749 mg potassium

Eating well & exercise, a healthy combination!

If you are looking for help in creating your own healthy habits, check out our 21-Day Longevity and Strength Program? We will help you extend the length and quality of your life by restoring your strength, improving your balance, and reducing your joint pain.

Join our 21-day longevity and strength program today! <<<

Panang Curry with Chicken & Cauliflower Rice

This rich curry dish that marries chicken and loads of vegetables with coconut milk, makes a trip to Thailand as close as your slow cooker – 20 minutes of prep, and 4 hours later your entire home will be smelling exotic. Riced cauliflower creates a nutrient-rich addition to this dish to soak up the curry sauce. From The American Heart Association. (February is American Heart Month.)

Ingredients
Cauliflower “Rice”
Cooking spray
1 head cauliflower
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. Black pepper
1/4 cup chopped, fresh parsley
OR
2 tsp. dried parsley
Optional
torn fresh basil, sliced jalapeno, lime wedges

Panang Chicken Curry
2 Tbsp. no-calorie sweetener, granulated, 3 packets
2 tsp. curry powder
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. coriander
1-3 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (based on the desired spiciness)
1 medium white or yellow onion, diced
3 clove garlic (minced)
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts (all visible fat discarded, cut into 1-inch cubes)
1 medium sweet potato (peeled, cut into 1-inch cubes)
OR
1 1/2 cups butternut squash (peeled, cut into 1-inch cubes)
1 1/2 cups broccoli florets
14.5 oz. canned, diced, no-salt-added tomatoes (undrained)
6 oz. canned, no-salt-added tomato paste
1 cup water
3/4 cup canned, unsweetened, light coconut milk
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves (thinly sliced)
OR
1 Tbsp. dried basil

Directions
Cauliflower “Rice”
Cut the cauliflower into florets. After, in batches, add cauliflower to the food processor (or blender) and gently pulse until cauliflower becomes the texture of rice. Be careful not to over-pulse.
Coat large skillet with cooking spray and add cauliflower, salt, and pepper. Sautee over medium heat for 5 minutes until cauliflower is tender, stirring occasionally.
Top with chopped parsley.

Panang Chicken Curry
Next, in a small bowl, combine no-calorie sweetener, curry powder, cumin, coriander, and red pepper flakes. Stir gently and set aside.
Add to the slow cooker: onion, garlic, chicken, sweet potato, broccoli, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, water, and coconut milk.
Sprinkle spice mixture and basil over the mixture in the slow cooker.
Cover and cook on low heat for 8 hours or high heat for 4 hours. Gently mix and serve over Cauliflower Rice.
Top with torn fresh basil leaves, sliced jalapeno or lime wedges, if desired.

Nutrition Facts
Calories           330
Total Fat          6.3 g
Saturated Fat  2.2 g
Sodium            419 mg
Total Carbohydrate     39 g
Dietary Fiber   10 g
Protein 32 g

Tons of fresh basil brightens this easy vinaigrette. Make extra and drizzle it over grilled chicken, shrimp, and more.

INGREDIENTS

• Kosher salt
• Pepper
• 12 oz. green beans, trimmed and halved
• 1 small shallot, chopped
• 1 c. lightly packed basil leaves
• 3 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tbsp. red wine vinegar
• 4 c. oak leaf lettuce or butter lettuce
• 1 15-oz. can small white beans, rinsed
• 2 5-oz. cans solid white tuna in water, drained
• 4 soft- or hard-boiled eggs, halved

DIRECTIONS

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 1 tablespoon salt, then green beans, and cook until just tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water to cool.
2. Meanwhile, in a blender, puree shallot, basil, oil, vinegar, and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper until smooth. Transfer half of dressing to a large bowl and toss with green beans. Fold in lettuce, white beans, and tuna and serve with remaining dressing and eggs.

NUTRITIONAL INFO
Per serving: 340 calories, 16.5g fat (3g saturated), 31g protein, 770mg sodium, 24g carbs, 8g fiber

From Woman’s Day

Denise Wehrkamp is living proof that fat loss after 50 is possible – if you stick with the program of exercising and eating right. 

Denise, 56, always struggled with her weight, trying to diet but frequently falling off the track. At age 50, she was 50 pounds overweight. Then, her son, CJ, opened a gym, and her doctor diagnosed her with arthritis. That was enough to make her change her ways, join CJ’s gym, and get her eating under control. Denise now manages that gym, a Fit Body Boot Camp that offers Functional Aging Institute-backed exercise programs for people over 55. She’s lost 40 pounds so far and says she’d like to lose another 20, but she knows not to focus on the weight as much as the body fat.“We have to program our brains to not worry about the number on the scale,” she says.

Here are some other ways Denise is winning the fight against fat:

• Realistic discipline: “I know I have to work out, even when I don’t want to. I’m continuing to work on being healthy.”
• Modify exercises to meet individual needs and limitations: “Every exercise out there is modifiable so that anybody can do it.”
• No time for excuses: “I have empathy, absolutely, but I don’t care much for excuses” about being too old to exercise.
• Moderation in the kitchen: “I eat more protein. But I am a carb eater. I love pasta, and I love bread. I don’t buy it. And I plan my cheat meals. There’s nothing in the world you can’t eat” on occasion.

The Functional Aging Training (FAT) model is now embraced globally with Your Personal Best Training Studio on the cutting edge of this research. We are the only entire team of Functional Aging Specialists in the Coastal Bend area of Texas. If you aren’t local, find a Certified FAS near you.

When you put in the focused effort to lose weight, there are certain benefits that you expect to get. You plan to look better in your clothes, have more energy, and you expect to feel pretty happy about your accomplishment. Knowing that these benefits are waiting for you, just on the other side of weight loss, is often a strong enough motivator for you to put in the work required. However, I’ve found that sometimes you need even more compelling reasons to dig in and get it done. My experience in helping clients achieve their fat loss goals opened my eyes. Now I can see what bonus gifts they gain when they lose the extra weight. I hope that by reading the 3 Bonus Gifts of Fat Loss below, you’ll feel the driving motivation that you need to jump into fitness with both feet. I also hope you find out just how amazing and capable you’ve been to achieve your goals all along.

Fat Loss Bonus Gift #1: Confidence

You may not consider it a concrete benefit, but that doesn’t stop confidence from being one of the most important perks of dropping fat. When you have increased confidence, you change how you view yourself and go about your daily routine. The world is at your fingertips, and you can take on whatever it throws your way. Additionally, when your confidence increases after losing a few pounds, you’re poised to keep losing. So the confidence you gain gives you what you need to lose more weight and feel even more confident.

Fat Loss Bonus Gift #2: Better Health Today And Later

Go to the doctor with some health condition, and unless it’s the common cold or flu, losing a few pounds can always help you manage the situation better. From diabetes to heart disease to joint pain, trimming the fat from your body gives you a heads up right now. Cutting fat makes it easier to get around on your joints, reduces your blood pressure, and helps you sleep better. As additional perks, less fat today means better sleep and better sex tonight. Since both of these improve your quality of life, taking the time necessary to shave off fat will give you the best life you could experience!

Today isn’t the only time your health will improve if you lose some fat. Shed some pounds, and you’ll reap the rewards for years down the road. Instead of having to manage a variety of health conditions, you will be able to keep those conditions at bay. Cut fat and reduce your risk for the following health issues such as diabetes, heart disease, joint pain, a variety of cancers, high blood pressure, and dementia. In other words, get rid of the fat today, and you can avoid all the health issues in the future that requires fat loss for maximum management.

Fat Loss Bonus Gift #3: Everything Tastes Better

As you settle into your new fat-burning lifestyle that includes eating healthily and working out regularly, you’ll notice something. Because you no longer overeat at the buffet or go for a second or third helping, you will begin enjoying every bite that you take. As the food sits in your mouth, you won’t swallow it before tasting or chewing. You will take more time and savor the flavor. And when you do start chewing your food and enjoying the flavors, your brain will have time to register when you’re full and cut you off before you stuff yourself with more calories than you can burn. Do this regularly, and you’ll lose even more fat!

I’ve dedicated my career to helping people who are over 50, just like you, conquer their fear of exercise and clear up their confusion with healthy eating. I know that a healthy life is within your reach – I’ve seen hundreds of my clients before you do it, and I’ll see hundreds after you do it. Today it’s your turn. Call or email now to get started on a functional exercise program that will make fat burning second nature, and will transform your body as you age to the best it’s ever been. Guaranteed!

I’m here to warn you about 5 fat loss myths that most people fall for. This might come across as a soapbox rant, and for that, I apologize but trust me when I say that this is a message that needs to spread.

Your fat loss depends on it.

Don’t waste your time on these:

This is a Myth: Diet pills will help you lose fat.

To take a pill can be so tempting! The commercials make compelling claims about the power of diet pills, but don’t fall for it. The ‘magic pill’ has yet to be discovered (it has been discovered – exercise. It’s just not in pill form…). Diet pills are more likely to damage your health and burn your pocketbook than to slim you down.

Don’t pop a pill—instead, regardless your age, burn calories with exercise.

This is a Myth: You should starve yourself to lose fat.

Attempting to lose weight by starving yourself is not only ineffective, but it’s also dangerous. It may seem that severe calorie restriction would deliver the quickest weight loss, but your body is complex and by doing so you’ll disrupt your metabolism and slow your results.

Don’t starve yourself—instead eat healthy small meals throughout the day.

This is a Myth: Lots of crunches will flatten your stomach.

We all want our midsection to be more toned so our clothes fit better, but excessive crunches aren’t the answer, and can even cause harm to aging backs. In order to achieve a leaner midsection, you’ll have to focus on burning off the layer of fat that is covering up your muscle.

Don’t obsess about crunches—instead, focus on fat burning.

This is a Myth: Eat packaged diet foods for speedy results.

It is amazing to see the kinds of foods that are packaged as ‘diet’ or ‘weight loss’ aids. More often than not these products are packed with refined sugar and other artificial ingredients that your body doesn’t need.

Don’t eat packaged diet foods—instead, stick with nutritious whole foods.

This is a Myth: You have to avoid carbs to lose fat.

Carbohydrates have been given a bad rap, which is unfortunate because you can (and should) eat carbs while losing weight. The key is to stick with whole grains, oatmeal, and brown rice while avoiding processed and refined flours and sugars.

Don’t swear off all carbohydrates—instead, stick with wholesome carbs.

Now that you know what not to do in order to look and feel better this summer, it’s time to go over your vacation ready game plan.

Here’s what you need to know in 3 simple steps:

DO THIS FIRST: Cut out the junk.

The best way to do this is to start by purging your kitchen. Get rid of sugary, processed and fat-filled foods. Once the junk has been cleared out don’t buy any more of it. Remember that your vacation ready body depends on what you eat – don’t eat junk!

DO THIS SECOND: Focus on whole foods.

Replace the junk food in your life with plenty of the following: cooked and raw vegetables, fresh fruits, whole grains, moderate amounts of seeds and nuts, lean meats and low-fat dairy. Clean eating really is that simple.

DO THIS THIRD: Come train with us.

This is the most obvious step. You’re ready to get into great shape and as Functional Aging Specialists, we are in a unique position to make that happen for you.

It is no secret that people look for all sorts of reasons not to workout or not to come into the studio and give us a try but the time is now.  Do not wait until tomorrow or until you come back from vacation or else something will just get in the way like always.

Lisa’s husband John, finally decided to commit to a program and stick to it and the results have been AMAZING!  They have been married for 13 years and John finally decided to change his diet and commit to working out and what a change he has made.

“My last weigh-in, I weighted 178.  I haven’t weighed that since college.” – John W., 67

He’s lost 5.7 percent body fat, gained 2 pounds of muscle, lost 12 pounds of fat, and lost another 3.75 inches of his waist!  His results have been amazing and it goes to show that if you work hard and are dedicated then you too can have amazing results.

“I never thought I’d break 180.  I could see myself losing ten pounds, but I couldn’t see myself going below 180.”

Not only has his commitment changed him physically but mentally as well!  He has more confidence in himself and more energy throughout the day. He’s even had to get new clothes because his old ones fit him lose now.

Watch John’s Testimonial Here – https://bit.ly/2LvuPZu ​​

The YPB Family!

John would agree that he wouldn’t have done it without the support of Lisa and the YPB community.  The community doesn’t just involve his wife and trainers, it involves his workout partners too, who are pretty much family now.

“The small groups are great and it’s really fun to workout now.  It’s a great place to exercise.” 

Our job as Functional Aging Specialists isn’t to just give you a workout and take care of you. It is also our job to give you an AMAZING experience.  We get you to move better, feel better and age actively. This is all while having a fun and energetic atmosphere at the same time.

As John would say…

“If you’re thinking about it, Go ahead and try it.  It’s really a good thing for your life.”