Bikini Pageant Competitor Gets in Shape for 40. And raises mental health awareness at the same time! Today’s transformation is the incredible Natalie!
Her goal was to get in great shape for 40, and she wanted a big goal. She chose to enter her first beauty pageant and get in her best shape with a Hitch Fit Bikini Plan! One of the greatest victories in this story, is not only did Natalie take home 3rd place at her first competition, she also used this platform to raise awareness about Mental Illness. She raised over $20,000 for Victoria’s Voice and the Junior Welfare Society. THAT is amazing!
Congratulations Natalie!
Natalie’s Before and After Bikini Body Photos:
Natalie’s Story and Hitch Fit Review:
“As my 40th Birthday was approaching, I decided I wanted to challenge myself by entering my first beauty pageant!
As a former NFL cheerleader and a dance fitness instructor, I am no stranger to bikini workouts and meal plans.
But, I knew strutting down a runway in 6 inch heels and a bikini would require next level training!
I’ve known Micah since high school, so I knew right away that I wanted to work with Diana and Hitch Fit.
What I love most about Micah and Diana is that they truly “practice what they preach” in terms of living a clean and healthy lifestyle. I was motivated by my weekly check-ins with Diana and inspired by their personal commitments to be the best versions of themselves, as I shared the same goal!
It’s important for me to share that I pursued pageantry as an opportunity to raise awareness about mental illness.
4 years ago I was diagnosed with pre-menstrual dysphoric disorder.
PMDD is a hormonal disorder but classified as a mental illness producing symptoms such as depression, suicidal thoughts and panic attacks.
Over the last few years, I have worked hard to change my lifestyle, clean up my diet and incorporate exercise in order to heal naturally.
Occasionally, I still experience PMDD symptoms, BUT, during my 12 weeks with Hitch Fit, I experienced ZERO symptoms!
My hope is to inspire others who are struggling with their mental health to make the necessary diet and lifestyle changes so that they can heal themselves as I have.”
The success of a coach always draws the attention of the spectators far and wide, and everyone wants to know what a successful coach is doing to be successful especially when coaching has to do with handling about 23 different players who grew up in different geographical locations and with different characters. Soccer coaching, without any doubt, is a tough job, and to achieve success, you must have a lot of love for the game.
Coaching is much more than putting together a starting lineup or conducting training sessions. If there is any job that takes all of you, it is the soccer coaching job. A lot of coaches thriving don’t see coaching as a job, and that’s one of their reasons for success. They often see it as their life. Pep Guardiola, who is one of the greatest football (soccer) coaches, once said this “Players think about themselves while the coach thinks about them even when he is not with them.” And that’s the nature of the job of a soccer coach. You study opponents a lot, and you think about tactics; you think about the effective way of using each player, you think on how to make every player happy to ensure unity within the group, which is pertinent for success. The coach always has a lot to think about, and any lag in the job of a coach means the opponents are preparing better, which is what top coaches don’t want to see happen.
So, whether it is a recreational soccer team for young children or a World Cup champion national team, one person that you cannot do without is the coach and to become a good soccer coach, there are a lot of things that must be put in place. One of them is your knowledge of the game. Being a soccer coach is very demanding, and it takes a lot of preparation in studying and practicing.
Many may assume that a great player could be a great coach, but many great players have failed on the coaching platform. So being a great player helps you understand some things when you become a coach, but it doesn’t guarantee that you’ll be a great coach. There is more to being a great coach; you must tick a lot of essential boxes.
And the most important question is this, what makes a great coach?
You must have heard several coaches being praised for how they’ve helped their players improve, how they’ve made their team play brand new football. What qualities do these coaches have? What makes them so “great”?
Claudio Ranieri on winning the Premier League: “There are so many keys to this. Humility, the strength of the dressing room, they help each other at important moments, they play with the heart, the soul, they play 11. There was a good blend. And all these are not things you achieve overnight.
Here are some points you should look at on how to be a good soccer coach;
1. Be Professional
Professionalism is the embodiment of what a coach should be. The competence of a coach must be seen by all and the coach must be able to transmit professionalism that he embodies to the players and the other staff he is working with. Part of professionalism is punctuality, the coach must always arrive early at training and in games, even before the players, this way you’ll get to set up the training sessions without wasting time.
Part of being professional as a coach is an act of taking further steps to improve your education, take time to evaluate yourself and your work ethics and be sure it’s what your team needs. Always make your players see the need to improve continuously, a coach cannot afford to leave a training ground satisfied, no matter how hard the lads have worked. Keep encouraging the lads, keep pushing them, they need that push to be the best version of themselves. Adequate preparation and Continuous education is what makes a great coach.
2. Be a Good Teacher
One important job of the coach is to teach the players how to be more effective.
The coach must be able to access each player’s strengths and weaknesses, and he must take it upon himself as a duty to explain basics like passing, dribbling, shooting, and tackling to the players.
The coach must ensure that his team keeps learning and improving their skills daily. As a coach, always remember to give clear and correct instructions during the training sessions. You can’t coach the soccer players who don’t have any knowledge about the do’s and don’ts in soccer. In teaching soccer skills, remember “a picture is worth a thousand words,” so demonstrating the drills can be so much better than oral instructions.
3. Be Friendly but also know when to be stern and demanding
The first thing that every coach must learn to establish is a great relationship with his players. Being friendly with the players helps you a lot in understanding their personality and how to get the best out of every one of them. This way, you could analyze their varied emotional and mental characteristics and develop strategies that could motivate them more accordingly. But remember you can get personal but stay professional. Friendliness is a means to an end, not an end in itself. When you are friends with someone, you won’t like to disappoint them, and that’s how you should make the players see it so they can always give their best always even though you’re their friend. Don’t go to the level where you become so friendly that you forget to be a demanding coach. Your friendliness should be a means to get top quality performances from your players. Don’t fake the friendliness so that you can get what you want, be sincere, and enjoy being with your players.
4. Always listen to your players
Most coaches ever forget that they are humans also, and they often go to the level where they put every responsibility upon themselves. That will not only be draining, but it will shut your players out from you, and even if everyone knows you are making a mistake, they won’t say a word to you. Being the coach doesn’t mean you must always do the talking, listen more, and you’ll find more solutions. For the team’s development, ask your player’s view after every game. As the soccer coach, you must be a good listener because every person has his own brilliant ideas to share. Always encourage your players to speak out and take what they say into consideration. Make notes if necessary, and include some recommendations in your soccer session plan.
5. Good Communicator
As a soccer coach, communication is very important. You must recognize the players’ performances and achievements; you must always be there to encourage them to do better and tell them to put more efforts when they aren’t doing so well. Commend them after every game. You must also be careful of words to use because a coach, your words are powerful, and it can have a massive impact on the players and the team in general. Communication also includes your body language. Don’t be negative with your body language during training and matches. Even when things aren’t going so well, the players often look to the body language of the coach, always be positive.
6. Development
A coach must always pay close attention to the player’s development. Each soccer player’s development is essential. As their coach and role model, you must teach them not only soccer basic skills, but also social skills like discipline, patience, determination, and teamwork. Always put as one of your goals the development of the team players.
7. Team Motivator
The coach must always be the motivator, and he must transmit positive energy always. As a coach, you must develop activities in the training session that will help motivate each player to do better every game. Don’t forget to remind them their goals and missions on why they wanted to play soccer and create a winning team. Words of encouragement and ways for development are very useful. Understand every player and motivate them to do better even when they are doing well.
8. Ensure to be Adequately Prepared
The soccer coaching job is very demanding, to enjoy the process and to avoid getting exhausted quickly, you must ensure adequate preparation. Don’t forget the perfect 5 P’s of preparation. Perfect Planning Prevents Poor Performance
9. Be the perfect example for your players
Being an ideal example to your players works like magic. Every team needs a soccer coach that is a good role model. Players need to look up to someone they think is worth emulating. Examine yourself and ensure you are that person. Live by the standards you require from your players.
10. lastly, provide a perfect environment for everyone in the team
The coach must always ensure to understand the atmosphere around the players at all times. Sometimes all that is needed for a great performance is a good atmosphere. Bonding is key to success, organize picnics to ensure proper bonding between everyone in the team. Don’t show favoritism to some while you sidetrack others. Let everyone in the team feel like a member even if they don’t make the first eleven selection.
To Lean more about becoming a great soccer coach check out top coaches' online training by clicking the link below.
Nevertheless, you will need to showcase your strategic ability through tactical awareness. To learn more about this side of soccer coaching, Coach Kartashov's course: Become a Professional Soccer Coach is a wonderful course on the tactical side.
Throwing Strikes and Playing Good Defense Equals Wins
By Jose Ortiz
Winning consistently in youth sports, particularly in baseball, is more about learning how not to lose, as opposed to learning how to win. Sure, you can focus on hitting line drives, stealing bases, effective bunting or any number of other things, but more often than not, wins and losses will come down to throwing strikes and playing good defense.
At all levels of baseball – even college and professional – far more games are lost than are won.
This means that teams usually do more to cause their own losses than the opposition does to win them.
Throwing Strikes
It seems simple enough, but so many pitchers and coaches focus more on improving velocity than improving location. What good is an 80 MPH fastball that’s always out of the strike zone? You’re better off throwing 40 MPH and consistently locating for strikes.
Before worrying about how fast a player throws or how much hook his curveball has, worry about them getting complete command of the strike zone. This means a pitcher can locate his pitch anywhere within the four quadrants of the strike zone at any time. For younger-level pitchers, this requires that they dial back the velocity a bit. Pitchers are better off focusing on command with a moderate fastball than trying to throw the heat.
Your average youth and high school baseball lineup isn’t stacked with sluggers who can make you pay dearly for leaving a meatball over the plate. In most situations, the worst that will happen is a base hit.
But the nature of baseball (.300 hitter is Hall of Fame material) dictates that even the slowest pitch will generally result in an out. When pitchers realize this and learn to trust their defense, they will find they have a lot more success, without the need for a blazing fastball or deceptive curve.
Remember that pitches off the plate lead to walks, which almost always come around to score. Make players earn their way on base by consistently throwing strikes.
Play Good Defense
One of the worst things you can do in baseball is give a team extra outs through bad defense. Each team is supposed to have three outs per inning – when defensive errors are made, the team is essentially given an extra out to put more runs on the board. It doesn’t take a baseball genius to realize that this eventually leads to crooked numbers on the board against you.
A defensive error not only gives the other team an extra life, it also demoralizes the pitcher and everyone else on the defense. You were about to get out of an inning and get back in the dugout to bat when a routine grounder rolled through the shortstop’s legs. Now, you have to work to get another out, naturally leading to a mental let down. It also invigorates the other team, which now has another chance to do some damage.
Conversely, a great defensive play excites your team and your pitcher. You were about to give up a run or an extra base hit until the centerfielder made a diving catch to get you out of the inning. Now, instead of having runners on base, you’re back in the dugout getting ready to put some runs on the board. On the other hand, robbing a team of surefire runs is a great way to kill the opposition’s spirit.
Source: Infield Play: Drills & Techniques For Infielders
Minimize Mistakes to Maximize Wins
In all sports, mistakes are killers. Whether it’s turnovers in football or basketball, faults in tennis or errors and walks in baseball – the more chances you give another team to beat you, the more likely they will take advantage.
Keto stands for "ketogenic diet," which is characterized by a high-fat, moderate-protein, and low-carbohydrate diet.
The keto diet's basic principle is to compel your body to cease
burning glucose (sugar) for energy and instead burn fat. Carbohydrates
are limited to 10% of daily dietary intake, whereas protein is only 20%.
The rest is made up of fat.
Eating a high-fat, low-carb diet puts your body into “ketosis,” a
metabolic state in which your body burns fat instead of glucose for
energy.
Ketosis is thought to be the best state for losing weight.
The ketogenic diet was created to address significant medical issues.
The keto diet can help with cancer, PCOS, autism, and degenerative
brain illnesses including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. For almost a
century, the keto diet has been used to treat epilepsy.
As a result, the keto diet is unquestionably a healing diet.
Keto, on the other hand, is the most recent diet craze. It's being
used to "hack" the body to achieve speedier weight reduction, exercise,
and body-sculpting gains, in addition to being utilized medically.
What are keto desserts?
A keto dessert is one that is heavy in fat, moderate in protein, and low in carbs, according to the keto diet requirements.
The following are some common keto dessert components (with links to the best sources):
• almond flour and coconut flour
• coconut cream/full-fat coconut milk
• heavy whipping cream
• full fat cream cheese, preferably cultured
• nuts or seeds, preferably soaked or sprouted
• berries, cranberries, lemon, and lime
• cacao powder, cocoa butter, and stevia-sweetened chocolate chips
• unsweetened, shredded coconut
• almond, peanut, and pecan butters
• eggs
• fats like butter, ghee, coconut oil, and avocado oil
The absence of grains or grain-based flours, as well as any sort of
sugar, whether white sugar or a complete sweetener like honey or maple
syrup, distinguishes keto sweets.
5 Reasons Why I Eat Keto Desserts… Even Though I’m Not Keto
Whether you agree with all or none of my reasoning, I hope you'll
think that dessert isn't necessary for us in terms of nutrition. No one
has ever gone hungry because of a lack of desserts.
These reasons aren't ranked in any particular order. Maintaining my
gut health, for example, is just as crucial to me as keeping my blood
sugar in check.
Here are the 5 reasons why I eat keto desserts even though I’m not keto
1 — I care about my gut health.
Sugar allows harmful organisms in the stomach to multiply by feeding
them sugar. Candida, SIBO, H. Pylori, and general digestive pain such as
bloating, gas, and constipation are all symptoms of an excess of
pathogenic organisms.
If your microbiome already has an overpopulation of pathogenic
bacteria or yeast, every time you take sugar, you're feeding the bad
guys. Yes, even raw honey, coconut sugar, or maple syrup are unrefined,
whole sweeteners.
Those harmful organisms aren't picky. Sugar feeds harmful germs and
yeasts, whether it's high fructose corn syrup from your Coke or raw
honey from your backyard bees.
2 — I care about my blood sugar.
My grandmothers were both diabetics. Diabetes runs in families, it's no secret.
In addition, I've had my fair share of hypoglycemia. (Do you suffer from a blood sugar imbalance?
Hypoglycemia is defined as a lack of glucose in the blood (low blood
sugar). Headaches, intense hunger, dizziness, eyesight issues, weakness,
irritability, nausea, and tremors are some of the bothersome and
frequently frightening symptoms.
The abrupt peaks and falls in insulin — the hormone that regulates
our blood sugar — are caused by processed carbs and sugar in sweets.
3 — I care about inflammation.
All types of sugar, except raw honey, are forbidden on any
therapeutic diet, including AIP, GAPS, keto, low-FODMAPs, and Whole30.
Even raw honey is restricted or not included at all, as is the case with
Whole30.
Why? Sugar is inflammatory, thus it's important to avoid it.
When your blood sugar levels rise, your body produces cytokines, which are pro-inflammatory chemicals.
The more sugar you consume, the more insulin your pancreas must
produce to maintain a constant blood sugar level. Your cells get
resistant to all that insulin over time. Insulin resistance is also a
risk factor for diabetes. Excess sugar is deposited as visceral fat
(i.e. belly fat) as a result of insulin resistance, which produces
inflammatory chemicals.
Sugar also works against the body's anti-inflammatory processes and
anti-inflammatory nutrients. So, even if you eat all of the turmeric,
kale, and coconut oil in the world, if you still eat a sugary dessert,
you're undoing the benefits of those superfoods
4 — I care about my hormones.
As I previously stated, healthy carbs are necessary for the creation
of hormones in women. Carbohydrates are required by our adrenal glands.
Carbohydrates are required by our ovaries. Carbohydrates are also
necessary for our brains.
I'm not sure why both sweet potatoes and refined sugar are referred
to as "carbs." Doesn't it appear perplexing? It also drives us to
categorize carbohydrates as "good" or "evil," which is problematic.
I don't believe in categorizing anything as "good" or "evil." So,
let's divide carbs into those that help our hormones and those that
don't.
Hormone-supporting carbs are complex carbs:
• root veggies like carrots, beets, celeriac, and potatoes
• winter squashes like butternut squash, delicate squash, and pumpkin
• brown rice and wild rice
• soaked or sprouted beans
• soaked, sprouted, or soured gluten-free grains like oats, quinoa, buckwheat, and sorghum
• sweet potatoes
Carb sources that do not support our hormones:
• sugar — in ALL forms
• whole sweeteners: coconut sugar, maple syrup, secant, evaporated cane juice, and honey
Be there wherever there is food. Comparing it to others on social
media, your friends, or your favorite food bloggers is a bad idea.
Simply be in the present moment.
I used to follow the 80/20 rule, which stated that you should eat
good, real food 80 percent of the time and binge on junk food the other
20% of the time. Again, if that's where you're at, accept it and move
on. It's not about trying to be more like myself.
I've discovered something incredibly liberating by eating intuitively and asking my body what she needs on a daily basis:
I don't need to go crazy, "be terrible," or do anything else with my
diet 20% of the time. I don't even have the want or the need to do it.
That yearning existed as long as some meals were considered "off limits"
in my thinking.
I'm currently focusing on eating healthful foods approximately 100
percent of the time. I'm concerned with making each bite count. Every
food either nourishes or malnourishes me; it either feeds my best self
or feeds disease.
Keto desserts are nutrient-dense because to their emphasis on healthy
fats, high-quality protein, and the absence of sugar. Even if it's
dessert, those are the bits that matter. Why shouldn't dessert provide
us with nourishment as well?
This is why I avoid sugar, don't drink alcohol, and only dine at two
carefully selected restaurants. It doesn't feel restrictive or rigid
because I'm confident in my ability to eat healthily all of the time!
About Keto After 50
The Keto After 50 program from Nutrition Hacks helps men and women over 50 lose weight while adhering to the keto diet.
Nutrition Hacks claims to have tested its Keto After 50 program on "thousands" of beta testers and received rave reviews.
You may purportedly reduce weight while continuing to eat the foods
you enjoy by following the eating recommendations described in Keto
After 50.
Here’s how Nutrition Hacks explains the benefits of their program:
“Thousands of beta users have already taste-tested this
first-of-its-kind program, and the feedback has been incredible! People
may finally enjoy desserts while also getting in the best shape of their
life and eliminating manufactured sugar from their diets.”
According to Nutrition Hacks, processed sugars are especially harmful
to anyone over the age of 50. Your immunological and metabolic systems
aren't as robust as they were in your twenties and thirties. You used to
be able to consume sugar without harming your health, but that is no
longer the case.
Keto After 50 offers to teach you about the keto diet's benefits
while catering to an older demographic. You can get the same keto diet
advice that many others have used to reduce weight, but tailored to your
age group.
Keto After 50 Desserts Benefits
Keto After 50 Sweets gives you a variety of delectable desserts that
are low in carbs and processed sugars, making it easier to keep to your
keto diet.
Nutrition Hacks says that its meals contain nutrient-dense foods that can provide the following advantages.
Boost your immune system.
Increase your metabolic rate.
Ensure that you have youthful energy throughout the day.
Improve your mental clarity and concentration.
Satisfy sugar cravings and satisfy your sweet tooth
James Wilson also believes that you can get all of the other keto
diet benefits, such as improved cholesterol levels, rapid fat burning,
lower blood pressure, lower blood sugar levels, and smoother skin, among
others..
What Will You Learn in Keto After 50 Desserts?
Keto After 50 Desserts includes step-by-step instructions for producing delightful keto-friendly treats.
The book includes desserts for all tastes, such as chocolate-drenched
black forest cake, banana split ice cream with toppings, and
melt-in-your-mouth lemon squares, among others.
Each recipe is thoroughly detailed in each book, along with step-by-step instructions on how to prepare each dish at home.
You'll also get precise nutritional information for each dish, making
it easy to enjoy delicious meals while sticking to your macros and
following the keto diet.
What Types of Desserts Can You Make?
In Keto After 50 Desserts, James Wilson presents hundreds of recipes, including ones for all of the following:
Pastries & Cakes: Cakes and pastries are infamous for their high
carbohydrate and sugar content. James Wilson provides recipes for
triple-fudge chocolate cake, New York-style cheesecake, white chocolate
mouse, and pumpkin pie, all of which are low in sugar and carbs and can
fulfill cravings.
Cookies: It's easy to consume a large number of cookies in a single
sitting. James focuses on sugar-free, low-carb cookie recipes that can
be made at home using basic ingredients. Chocolate chip cookies,
snickerdoodles, shortbread cookies, and other cookies are among the
recipes included in the book.
Chocolates & Candies: The Keto After 50 Desserts book includes
recipes for salted caramel pecan brittle, homemade chocolate chips,
vitamin C-enhanced gummy bears, and other guilt-free chocolate and candy
recipes.
Keto stands for "ketogenic diet," which is characterized by a high-fat, moderate-protein, and low-carbohydrate diet.
“There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death” (Proverbs 16:25, NLT).
What seems right isn’t
always the right thing to do. It’s dangerous to get caught in flights of
fancy and let our imaginations run away with us; letting God lead us
along the right path keeps us out of danger.
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