The skin of the fruit contains most of the healthy carotenoids and flavonoids that have numerous benefits—including, studies are finding, providing some protection against cancer. The pulp of the fruit also contains flavonoids and vitamins that can be lost through the juicing process. And where fruit juice really falls short is in its fiber content. An apple contains around 4 grams of fiber. A glass of apple juice contains no fiber. Fiber helps your body digest and metabolize fruit’s naturally occurring sugar more slowly, which prevents your body from experiencing a “sugar spike”—the blood sugar elevation you get from drinking fruit juice. Plus we all know fiber is nature’s Roto-Rooter^®, scrubbing your digestive system clean.

The argument for working a few servings of whole fruit into your diet each day is a strong one. After all, that old saying “An apple a day keeps the doctor away” didn’t come out of thin air. When I was younger, I had a friend whose father was a doctor and she religiously ate an apple every day, including the core. Well, I thought that was a bit much, but I bet she was super-regular! A corollary to that old saying might be “An apple a day can make you pretty sick of apples after a couple of weeks.” As with incorporating most food into our diets, variety is the spice of life. Here are a few ideas for slipping more fruit into your day.

1. Cut it. A lot of times, a big bowl of fruit can be too daunting. You might not be hungry enough to eat a whole apple and you might opt for a smaller snack. Try slicing up a couple of apples and putting them in an airtight container or bag. By tossing them in lemon juice, you can prevent them from turning that unappetizing brown, at least for a day or so. Keep them in the fridge, or handy on your desk or in front of the TV, for a healthy snack. Any sort of combination of cut-up fruit is a great idea for a TV snack. Instead of absentmindedly eating a day’s worth of sodium and fat from the chip bag, you might eat your “apple a day” before you know it.  Read More…

Questions about your workout program, diet, the latest newsletter, or anything wellness related? Chat with the overseer of Beachbody’s fitness and diet development, who also serves as our Fitness Advisor, Steve Edwards, on Monday, January 31st, at 8:00 PM ET, 5:00 PM PT…or for more information on Shakeology visit us at http://www.myshakeology.com/coachalba.

To Your Success

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To Your Healthy Success!

Resolution 1:  Get Out of Debt
Easy to say, difficult to do!  According to some experts, Americans charge over one trillion dollars per year using Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover.  For many, money is a big source of stress; and it doesn’t help that we’ve had to deal with economic issues over the past few years. This coming year, make it a priority to resolve your money woes. 

One of the benefits of joining National Association Women on the Rise (NAWR) is to take advantage of our Women, Money and Power series. Led by Tamara Haskins, CEO and Founder of Haskins Wealth Management Group, Inc., says, “We are educators who believe in providing our members with the information and resources that empower them to make smart financial decisions.”  Haskins, with over 20 years of experience in accounting and financial planning, will, will help members of NAWR take control of their own financial destiny!  She will provide monthly webinars and oversee the member’s forum.

Resolution 2:  Give back
Have you ever considered the impact you would make on the lives of others by sharing your time and talent?  Volunteering or mentoring is such a non-selfish way to give back!  There are many ways you can reach out; find a non-profit organizations in your area that you feel compelled to work with and volunteer; help your local library or hospital; or mentor youths or adults. 

Over the past few years, I’ve had many women reach out to me about mentoring. As much as I would like to help everyone, it is not possible.  So, in 2011, NAWR will launch its mentoring program, “One-Mentor-One” a program that will match successful women entrepreneurs and executives with mentees.  

Resolution 3:  Understand your finances

This is extremely important for the health of your business.  As a new or growing business, you need to be diligent about your finances.  The NUMBER ONE reason that businesses fail is due to lack of control over finances. 

Some experts suggest reviewing your profit and loss statements, balance sheets and cash flow reports on a monthly basis.  To manage this, there is accounting software such as QuickBooks specifically for small businesses.  Also, hiring a CPA or bookkeeper can be a wise investment.  

Resolution 4:  Learn how to delegate

As your business grows, so should your ‘tight grip’ on controlling every aspect of your business.  The worst thing that you can do is become a slave to your business.  This attitude can cripple you!  I know this first hand; as a former owner of a building maintenance company; I was president, HR generalist, payroll specialist, trainer, janitor, sales woman and more!  It took me a while to realize that not only could I not effectively wear every hat, but in order to grow and regain my sanity, I had to trust others.  It is important that you delegate non-core business tasks to your staff or consider outsourcing.  Play on the strengths of others. The lack of delegation will stifle your growth, or worse, cause you to run your business and yourself into a pit fall. 

Resolution 5:  Make more time with family & friends
One of the reasons we go into business is the idea of being flexible with our time.  So, the idea of having time for family and friends seems like it should be a no-brainer, right?  According to recent polls conducted by General Nutrition Centers, Quicken, and others shows that more than 50% of Americans vow to appreciate loved ones and spend more time with family and friends this year. 

You have control over your time, so make sure that you balance work and life to be able to spend it with those that are important to you.  

Revolution 6:  Network religiously
One of the most successful ways to promote your business is through networking.  You are in business to grow, so make networking a key part of your marketing strategy so that you position yourself to connect with the right people.  

Networking is a lifestyle in which you need to incorporate onto your “To Do” list. By networking, you are developing your social skills by engaging or interacting in an informal gathering to communicate with others for mutual assistance or support. By acquainting yourself with other business owners or executives, you are building meaningful relationships. There are many organizations that you can become involved in such as the Chamber of Commerce, Business Network International (BNI) or a professional organization related to your industry.

NAWR recognizes the importance of creating a platform for women to network.  We’ve built a great virtual community for women to network, collaborate and build lasting relationships. 

Katrina Harrell, President of KM Harrell Group, LLC, says, “Since discovering NAWR, I’ve been increasingly impressed with the quality of content, caliber of women entrepreneurs and professionals and the commitment to excellence Sylvia and NAWR have consistently presented. I personally am a part of several wonderful online women business networks, but often find myself coming to NAWR when I’m in need of a little “push” and some thought provoking insight from seasoned entrepreneurs. I have met many wonderful women entrepreneurs on this network that further challenge me and inspire me to reach higher.” 

In addition, NAWR was recently selected by Black Enterprise as, “10 Ning Networks You Need to Know,”   http://tinyurl.com/39tmbq7  

Revolution 7:  Get organized 

It is essential that you start your day with a ‘to do’ list.  It doesn’t matter if your business is small or if you run a large corporation, having a daily plan will keep you on track in effectively running it.  Start your day by scheduling uninterrupted time to plan and create your list of tasks for that day, and rank your list in order of priority.  For example, if you have 10 tasks on your list, of those, how many do you need to complete?  Can you save the least important tasks for another time? 

Please note: If you don’t accomplish all the tasks from your ‘to do’ list, it doesn’t mean you are having problems managing your time.  It simply means that you only have limited time per day to get everything done and you may be trying to accomplish more tasks than you have time in the day. 

To manage and prioritize my time, I rely on Microsoft Outlook’s calendar and task manager to plan my personal and business schedule.  I then sync Microsoft Outlook to my Black Berry PDA.  This helps me to stay on task and set priorities for my daily activities.  Find what works for you and make it a daily habit to have a productive and organized day!    

Last but not least…

If it’s not working, drop it quickly

Don’t waste your time or invest any unnecessary energy nursing something that isn’t working for your business.  Time = Money and in our current economic crisis, both are a very precious commodity that a small business can’t afford to gamble with.  Move on and don’t look back!

By incorporating these simple yet effective strategies into your plan, you can position your business for significant growth.  Here’s looking at a great 2011! 

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:  Sylvia Browder is CEO of Browder Consulting Group, a virtual small business consulting firm.  In her role, she helps Women in Business grow and succeed.  She is Founder of National Association Women on the Rise, a virtual community for aspiring and established women entrepreneurs. The association’s mission is to provide professional and personal resources while uplifting and empowering women entrepreneurs through collaboration, education, mentoring, spiritual and peer support, leadership and networking. She is ‘employed as Project Director and business consultant for the Women’s Business Center, Inc, a non-profit economic development organization with a mission of empowering women to start and grow successful businesses.  She has served as an online volunteer SCORE counselor since 2004.  She also serves as a Technical Assistant Provider for SBA’s Community Express Loan Program.  For FREE weekly articles go to Sylvia Browder’s Blog for Women Entrepreneurs, www.sylviabrowder.com.  She can be contacted at info@browderconsultinggroup.com.   

Become a fan of ‘National Association Women on the Rise:’ http://bit.ly/9qqvWW

Follow me on twitter: http://twitter.com/sylviabrowder 

Are you LinkedIn? http://www.linkedin.com/in/sylviabrowder 

Join ‘National Association Women on the Rise’ on LinkedIn: http://bit.ly/dsd5E0 

Join our community on NING, www.nawomenrise.com

Thanks Sylvia for this great article! If I may add, take care of your health, body and mind….!

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Engage, respond to a few more blog comments, post a challenge to your blog followers, offer some keen advice, a special and remember to stay sincere…

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Enjoy Your Holiday and hope to see you around…:)

“The Amazing Race to Entrepreneurial Freedom”

Get to know her, chat and receive an opportunity to win a free copy of this great book…

Meet Georgina
Georgina Terry, FCCA–The Passions to Profitability Expert– is a business and people development  coach with a difference – she is a qualified accountant, mentor, consultant, local and international inspirational speaker, International Labour Organisational (ILO) certified trainer and author of the ‘The Amazing Race to Entrepreneurial Freedom’.

With 20 years’ experience in consulting, coaching, finance, training, mentoring, presenting and facilitation, Georgina uses her skills and knowledge globally to help people achieve previously unrealised business and personal goals; to live their lives and grow their businesses by desire and design and not by default.

Georgina’s success with international and multi-cultural clients (Trinidad, Tobago, Jamaica, Canada, UK and West Africa) reveals her exemplary ability to adapt quickly to diverse cultural norms as she works with organisations to increase and align their passion, performance and profits.

Georgina, CEO of Business and People Development Associates Limited, is originally from London, England.  Before moving to Trinidad in 2001, she worked for The Economist and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Georgina has been featured in the Guardian Newspaper, in Outlish Magazine http://www.outlish.com/georgina-terry-from-passion-to-profit/, is a regular guest on 104.1 a national radio station and was a guest on the Atlanta TV Show ‘What’s Your Story’.

Georgina says, “I believe, to the core of my being, that when you tap into your passion you will never work again, because work will become PLAY!!’

www.amazingracetoentrepreneurialfreedom.com

www.passionstoprofitabiliy.com

“The Amazing Race to Entrepreneurial Freedom”

Join us for the exciting Virtual Book Tour as Georgina Terry, The Passions to Profitability Expert visits with us and shares her new book…Get to know her, read her bio and Win a chance to receive a copy of her book. 

“This book is an amazing book that I recommend to anyone that ever had a passion to achieve.—”   
Melissa Evans,   The Guru Implementation

Hosted by i-Virtual Assist Book Tours
Meet Georgina
Georgina Terry, FCCA–The Passions to Profitability Expert– is a business and people development  coach with a difference – she is a qualified accountant, mentor, consultant, local and international inspirational speaker, International Labour Organisational (ILO) certified trainer and author of the ‘The Amazing Race to Entrepreneurial Freedom’.

With 20 years’ experience in consulting, coaching, finance, training, mentoring, presenting and facilitation, Georgina uses her skills and knowledge globally to help people achieve previously unrealised business and personal goals; to live their lives and grow their businesses by desire and design and not by default.

Georgina’s success with international and multi-cultural clients (Trinidad, Tobago, Jamaica, Canada, UK and West Africa) reveals her exemplary ability to adapt quickly to diverse cultural norms as she works with organisations to increase and align their passion, performance and profits.

Georgina, CEO of Business and People Development Associates Limited, is originally from London, England.  Before moving to Trinidad in 2001, she worked for The Economist and PricewaterhouseCoopers. 

Georgina has been featured in the Guardian Newspaper, in Outlish Magazine http://www.outlish.com/georgina-terry-from-passion-to-profit/, is a regular guest on 104.1 a national radio station and was a guest on the Atlanta TV Show ‘What’s Your Story’.

Georgina says, “I believe, to the core of my being, that when you tap into your passion you will never work again, because work will become PLAY!!’ 

www.amazingracetoentrepreneurialfreedom.com   

www.passionstoprofitabiliy.com