I'm an author, sometimes a speaker, and a relational coach on a fairly regular basis.  To put things into perspective, it takes 3-6  months to create a new product (such as an e-course, a workbook or journal) before I can put it out for sale.  It takes me a year to write a book.  And that doesn't include the time it takes for promotions.  Speaking engagements are kept to a minimum unless I happen to be in a somewhat close proximity, and coaching is kept to one or two small groups per week.  
​So, I paint you this picture so that you can see that my income structure is sporadic and difficult to determine from one month to the next.  I haven't really been looking for another income stream, because my plate is pretty full on any given time, but I'm always open to hearing about new opportunities.
Enter It Works!
​

Full disclosure.  I discovered this company as a client.  I use their products and I love their products.  I think they are well made and they really do all the things they promise.  They are worth every single penny.  My daughter started selling the product and she loves the company side of things too!  So, with some convincing, (not much, actually) I decided to sign up to be a distributer too!  It's now a family business!! Lol!

In case you haven't heard of It Works, it is a company that offers Health and Wellness products that are sold through Independent Distributors.  Their products are plant-based which makes them an instant "YES!" to vegans or those who have a difficult time getting their daily requirements for a healthy body.  (Which I think we ALL struggle with! Lol)

It offers weight loss, hair, skin and nails, a full skin care line, healthy shakes, help with stress, digestion, and so many other wonderful and well made products.  There literally is something for everyone!  Check out their products here.

I love it already because it doesn't add a ton of more items to my already explosive list!  No inventory.  No parties.  No cold calls.  No expensive sign up fees or subscriber fees.
Did I mention that I now get a really great discount on the items I'm already using?!  Lol!!
I spend a lot of time on social media and blogging already, so this is was just an extension of things I'm already doing.  The company is very clear that they don't want a bunch of pushy sales people.  They just want you to tell the people you are in contact how you feel about the products. 
That's it?
I can do that!!  I AM doing that!!  And, people come to me.  It's amazing.  It helps that the company has a good reputation and a recognizable product.
So, here I am, letting you know I'm here for you!  I'll probably be blogging a bit more about the products but I promise not to take away from the amazing content already found here.  (Maybe I'll start a different blog?)
If you are interested in product, let me know!  If you are looking for a real, honest-to- goodness work from home option, let me know.  I am happy to brag about this one!  I am so impressed already!
If you want to dig around the site to see what it has to offer, here ya go.  Just click here!
If you have any questions about anything (as always), please reach out to me and ask!   

Read about this new book now available to unlock all the superfood smoothie mysteries!  Daphne Groothuijse makes her book available on Amazon, which I know you'll want!  See what she has to say...

By Paul Counts


How many times have you tried to lose weight? Most importantly, how many times have you tried to lose weight and failed? Depressing, isn’t it? Don’t worry, you’re not the only one, many of us have tried and failed, all we need is a push in the right direction, and that is what I had done to me! So, instead of being selfish, I’ve decided to let you into my secret, I don’t want to be the only one feeling wonderful and fabulous! So here it is; my 3 top secrets to that amazing bikini beach body...

The three main mistakes people make when losing weight:

1. People DON’T work off more calories than they consume.
   
   
2. People DON’T use a combination of diet and exercise.
   
   
3. People DON’T set goals.
   
   

‘People DON’T work off more calories than they consume’, obvious, yes? NO! The amount of people that don’t know this is amazing! Think about it, if you don’t work off more calories than you’re consuming, how are you going to lose weight? Answer: You’re not. If you don’t work off more calories than you’re consuming then the calories are just going to accumulate, therefore, you will gain weight.

It doesn’t matter how many calories you consume (within reason) as long as you burn off more than you eat, you will lose weight.

Keep a food diary, believe me, it is so much easier to control what you eat and to be able to see what sort of food you are eating if you write it down, think of it as a blueprint for where you are going to start your amazing journey. You will be able to see the type of foods you need to cut back on, (notice how I say CUT BACK on, and not cut out? This is because we are human, everyone needs a bit of comfort food now and again, just don’t go all out and finish that pack of cookies, that’s when all your hard work will go down the drain, and no one wants that!) also processed foods, take out, fried foods, these can be classed as a treat every once in a while. You will also be able to see the type of foods you need to introduce into your diet, fresh fruit and vegetables are a staple food that HAS to be introduced into your diet, without these you will not get the goodness you need to not only lose weight, but to lead a healthy diet, also include pulses and beans, and vitamins and minerals Low in fat milk is a must for healthy bones, and you definitely need healthy bones to work out with! Drink 8 – 10 glasses of water a day, not only is water the best source of refreshment, it washes out all those nasty toxins from your body, also, water is free! What more can you ask for?!

Get a weight-loss buddy to write food diaries with, having someone who will watch what they eat with you is so motivational! You can even talk to them when you are having a bad day! Play a game with them, if you have a bad day food wise, ask them to give you an exercise to do to make up for that slip up, it also works vice-versa! If you really want to be a good weight-loss buddy, you might even do that extra exercise with them, not only are you helping them work out, you can motivate them!


Now that you have un-covered the first step to your new look, the rest is easy!


‘People DON’T use a combination of diet and exercise’. This is so true; people think that if they just eat right, they will lose weight. This is true to an extent, but what happens when you lose weight but don’t exercise? You don’t get toned, you stomach can become saggy, your arms become saggy and you don’t get the full benefit of losing that weight! So, how much exercise should we do?

•   Adults should do around 30 – 40 minutes of moderate exercise a day, 5 times a week (moderate means you should be sweating by the end of it!)
  
  
•   You don’t have to do the whole 30 – 40 minutes in one go, how cool is that?! You can spread it out over you day, so if you have a 9 – 5, ten minutes at lunch is perfect, the 20 minutes after work is fine.
  
  
•   If you suffer from obesity, or if you in serious need of weight loss because of a medical condition, you will need to do around 45 – 60 minutes of exercise 5 times a week.
  
  Workout Tips:
  
  
•   Take the stairs instead of the elevator/escalator in work, or out shopping, this helps tone up instantly! You’re going to do this at least twice a day anyway!
  
  
•   Go Green! Walk to work! Not only are you getting some exercise and fresh air, you helping the environment too!
  
  
•   If you live too far to walk to work, take the bus and get off a couple of stops before you need to, easy huh?
  
  Work out an exercise plan and stick it on your refrigerator along with your food diary, if you trip up one day with your eating, then you can see if you need to do just a little bit more exercise that day. It is a proven scientific fact that visual aids will help you lose weight. Think about those television programmes that show the person who wants to lose weight what they will look like in 5 years’ time if they carry on the way they are going? Big shock, huh?
  
  O.k, so you’ve got the first 2 secrets uncovered, now for the final one!
  
  ‘People DON’T set goals’. Goals are a vital ingredient to the recipe of weight-loss! You don’t want to under work yourself, but more importantly, you don’t want to OVER work yourself! If you over work yourself you are in danger of harming yourself, whether it be eating too less, or pulling a muscle, goals are important!
  
  Don’t set yourself impossible goals, if you do this you will feel defeated and there’s a high chance that you will stop trying to lose weight, or even swap to those pesky weight loss tablets, and no one wants to be dependent on pills!
  
  Try setting yourself goals that are easy to reach, after a few months of weight loss, sure, why not set yourself higher targets, but you have to get the ball rolling first!
  
  

Personalize your goals:

 Take into account how much you weigh, how much time you have on your hands, health concerns and your fitness levels.

Set realistic weight loss goals:

•   Aim to lose 1 – 2 lbs a week, it will be easier to lose the first 1 – 2lbs as your body is not used to you doing exercise and eating the right type of foods.
  
  
•   Even though it may be easy to lose the initial weight, don’t aim to lose more than 2lbs as your body is still adjusting.
  
  
•   Aim to lose 10% of your body weight, aiming to lose more than that will only disappoint you! Set short term AND long term goals:
  
  

 Short term goals consist of things like ‘Exercise regularly’, ‘Eat healthier’, where-as long term goals consist of things like ‘Lose 30Lbs’. Long term goals tend to motivate you more than the short term goals

Pick a date to start:

 Pick a date and STICK TO IT! Do NOT let this date pass you by for anything. Obviously you will have to take in account other commitments: work demands, vacations etc. But in that case, set your date when these commitments are not around.

Write down everything:

 Like I said before, write down a food diary, and exercise plan. AGAIN to re-iterate ‘It is a proven scientific fact that visual aids will help you lose weight.’

Adjust your goals if needed:

•   If your weight loss goals are being easily met, e.g lose 1-2lbs, set your goals a little bit higher, but DO NOT set your goals to high.
  
  
•   If you are finding your goals hard to meet, then adjust your goals accordingly.
  
  SO! Now you understand the importance of weight-loss you’ll approach it with a whole new POSITIVE attitude! Most people simply aren’t aware of the basic rules of weight-loss; 1. Work off more calories than you consume. 2. Use a combination of diet and exercise. 3. Set goals. Now YOU know these three simple rules it will be easy to fit into that beautiful item of clothing you have hanging in the closet that has been staring at you since you purchased it!
  
  Now get out there and lose that weight! Look forward to a whole new you that you KNEW existed! 
  
  

By Paul Counts


Being a personal trainer for the past 6 years I have many clients that come to me asking how exactly to lose weight and look after themselves. A lot of my clients have the wrong ideas about losing weight; they believe myths about exercise and also the right foods to eat. But the main reason for my clients, and probably 80% of the population, not knowing how to achieve their goals in weight loss is because there are so many different styles and types of weight loss strategies on the internet. I’m not saying that all of them are wrong, but most of them are. Some tell you how much weight you should be losing, but to be honest it depends on your body type/weight and your lifestyle.

There are also all sorts of diets that you can find on the internet with one click of a button, but again, it is down to the individual. You need to find out what diet suits you best and what diet will work for the type of weight loss you want to achieve. You shouldn’t try to lose too much weight in one go, this is a very big no-no! You can become seriously ill by doing this.

I’ve put together some tips to help you along the way:

You should only do around 30 – 40 minutes of moderate exercise 5 times a week, and you should be sweating by the end of it! This way you do not harm yourself if you have been avoiding working out!

If you want, you don’t have to do the full 30 – 40 minutes of exercise at once, you can break it up into 3 or 4 10 minute sessions, you still need to get your heart rate raised though.

You should take the stairs in work instead of the elevator, also if you take a bus to work you could get off the stop before you need to, and walk the remainder of your journey. If you live close to work, then just walk the whole way.

Why not plan an exercise regime? Stick it up on your refrigerator, or write it in your diary, that way you will never forget what your exercises for the day is.

When it comes to food it is important to eat the right kinds. Fresh fruit and vegetables are an obvious place to start, without these you will have a very unhealthy body, because after all, it’s not only about losing weight, it’s about leading a healthy lifestyle. Pulses like chickpeas and different types of beans are good, and fresh fish is a brilliant source of oils and vitamins, also it is a ‘brain food’ so not only is it health, it will stimulate your brain. Lots of water is good for you also, and on average you should be drinking 7-8 pints of water a day to help wash out the horrible toxins in your body and it also leaves you feeling refreshed.

Why not keep a food diary? Write everything you eat down in it each day and stick it up next to your exercise regime on your refrigerator: It will seriously help you to keep focused on the job at hand. Having a visual aid will also help you see what foods you need to balance out and what foods you need to cut down on! 

Are you looking to lose weight?  Whether you are interested in losing weight to improve your physical appearance, your health, or both, you may be feeling a little bit hopeless. While many are able to lose weight when they want to do so, others have a little bit harder time.  If you are finding it difficult to lose weight, it may be because you are trying to go about losing weight all on your own.

When it comes to weight loss, there are many who find it easier, as well as less embarrassing, to doing their own weight loss program from home. While it is more than possible to exercise and workout by yourself, do you know that you don’t have to?  In fact, many who have a workout partner or a workout buddy find it easier to lose weight than going at it along. Two popular reasons as to why those who have a workout partner or a workout buddy see success is because of support and motivation.

As nice as it is to hear that you should think about getting a workout buddy or a workout partner, to help you exercise and to help you lose weight, you may be wondering where that person may come from. You don’t actually have to look very far.  If you are married or if you have a romantic partner, you may want to think about asking them to join you.  Even if your partner isn’t a fan of exercising and working out, you can place a “quality time,” spin on it.  In fact, if your partner is a little bit overweight or out of shape themselves, they may even want to join you in your weight loss adventures.  This is the ultimate show of support.

In addition to a romantic partner, you may want to think about asking any of your friends or family members if they would like to be your workout buddy or workout partner. When approaching your friends or family members, it is important to not focus on their weight or their physical appearance.  Unfortunately, many make the mistake of assuming that those that they know who are already in perfect shape wouldn’t have any reason to exercise, but you may be surprised. For that reason, you are advised to ask any friends or family members that you know to join you when you workout.

If you have asked those that you know to join you as a workout buddy or a workout partner and you have still come up empty handed, you may want to consider joining a weight loss program.  Locally operated weight loss programs are ideal, as you often get membership perks, like access to proven exercises, as well as healthy meals. Another benefit to joining a locally operated weight loss program is the support from other members.  There is a good chance that one or more of your other weight loss program members would love to join you when you exercise.

If and when you get a workout buddy, it may be a good idea to “spice up,” your exercises a bit. For instance, you may want to let your workout buddy or partner choose your exercises or activities for one day and then you choose for the next.  This may help to keep your exercises fun and exciting.