Greetings BUTIsattvas~

Two years ago I smashed my bathroom scales off of my Los Angeles balcony.Yes, I took the digital scale from my bathroom and slammed it onto the streets below…I was done. Done with dieting. Done with obsessing over my weight and food.Have you ever felt like this? Maybe you feel this way now…For those of you who may not know me, I’m M.C. (Mary Catherine) and I have the pleasure of writing to you on this BUTI blog about all things health, food, and wellness. It’s my job is to teach you how to complement your BUTI moves with a method of intuitive, feminine eating that fuels your body to freedom.

Today, I will share with you one of my favorite feminine slimming tips that saved me from a life of endless dieting, increased my metabolism, AND significantly improved my body image!

During the time of the smashing scales,  felt lost, desperate, and trapped.  The popular approaches to weight-loss were not working for me. Intuitively I knew I was missing something …

But what?

Thankfully, I discovered the key to my freedom!

Totally unlike anything any diet book had ever taught me, I discovered the reason all my valiant attempts to lose weight and love my body had failed me in the past was:

I was missing my feminine!

For years I had been attempting to place my intuitive, creative, emotional female body into calculated, methodical, primarily “masculine” equations for my health and weight-loss.

Have you been putting in the effort only to be stuck facing same 10-15 pounds and same sad body image?

Have you  thought your body must be  broken, convinced you are just meant to be puffy and unhappy?

If so, I’m here to tell you:

You are not meant to be overweight and unhappy in your own skin forever.And the key to your body bliss lies in your feminine nature: It’s time let your feminine out to play!BUTI is a perfect workout for the woman needing embrace her feminine! BUTI has done wonders to usher in physical strength and personal healing in body shame for me, Thank you BUTI There are also a number of feminine eating + lifestyle practicesthat have saved me from a life trending towards endless dieting + bad body image that perfectly compliment your BUTI moves for a killer metabolism!Today’s feminine slimming tip is:

Flirting!

Flirt, flirt, flirt….then flirt some more.

I gotta be honest, when my teacher suggested this as my means to start losing weight I had struggled to lose for years I was a bit offended and highly skeptical! “Flirting? Come on, give me a diet!”

Thankfully she refused to do so…I quickly discovered that yes, flirting is good for your metabolism!How?Well you can flirt with new foods: Been curious about new greens? Flirt with kale + collards using one of these recipesBeen wanting to see if you could be a breakfast smoothie gal, try this fall favorite of mine.

 

Get wild, don’t let the flirting stop there…

 

The idea is to flirt, have fun with it.

Put on lipstick on just for the hell of it.

Hold a glance just a few seconds longer.

Dance naked for yourself, or for your lova lova;)Cause girl your “work” now is not dieting but rather,  getting used to being sexy.Until your sexy is safe – you will never lose weight.So get out there…flirt a little with a boy, a bush, or a brussel…doesn’t matter just flirt and notice how hey, it’s okay that you are sexy. Your sexy is even a contribution.  When your body learns this- your struggle with weight will be a thing of the past.Big love and happy flirting

XOXO,
Mary C
MC is a BUTI instructor and certified Health Coach. She works with women who have tried everything to lose weight yet still struggle to have the body and body image they desire. From food tips to self-sabotage set-backs,  she covers it all. Interested in a FREE 15 minute consultation with her? Send an e mail to mc@butifitness.com include your name + main health concern. She will respond within 48 hours to set up your FREE consult.

 

 

Greetings BUTIsattvas~

“Wherever you are, be all there”

To me, this quote brings to mind the concept of being PRESENT.

Have you ever experienced having someone’s undivided attention? If so, then you know how damn good it can leave you feeling.

Being present when in conversation or with one you love is significant. It’s my guess we could all refine this skill and I highly recommend practicing it this week, It will certainly make someone else’s day and will leave you feeling all sorts of good.

Being present in your health and in your body is also highly significant…

After many years of being a health detective, I’m now convinced:

Want to get healthy? Practice and become highly skilled at living present. 

Yes, I really do believe this to be THE foundation of good health, good skin, good bodies, etc.

And we all want that, right?

In my practice, it’s clear: the more present one can become the more healthy they will experience their bodies + their lives.

And how can we become more present?

In a word: Breathing.

Sound a little yoga-esc to you?? I know, I realized that too and was like “Damn, it really does all come back to yoga!”

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Today, I’d like to share with you 3 ways conscious breathing has directly impacted my heath + teach you 3 quick ways to start building your own bad-ass breathing practice:

CONSCIOUS BREATHING HAS DIRECTLY HELPED ME …

1. Improve my digestion and increase the speed of my metabolism 10 fold!

-yes, I’m saying my poops are better in every way (you know what I mean that deeply satisfying way) AND because I’m relaxed when eating, my metabolism fires up and works with me, not against me (like it sometimes does when eating in stressed state).

2. Ditch Dieting and Calorie Counting for good! 

-When I breathed, I got present. When I got present, I was finally able to access my intuition. With my intuition, I just knew what and how much my body really needed to eat. Then as I kept breathing throughout a meal – I would know when I’d had enough. Simple and life shifting for me.

3. Improve my workout performance = stronger and leaner me!

-Using proper and constant breathing during my workouts has worked wonders! I can last longer and perform more of EVERYTHING.

20 pushups? No problem: Inhale down, exhale up! 2 minute plank? Watch me and get scared as I breathe this challenge to the ground!

- This “stronger” benefit is two-fold: Breathing whilst in the midst of emotions is a super-tool for staying true to self and therefore strong in moments of otherwise spiral-like chaos. Its also the very mature thing to do, which makes it my not-so-readily-utilized breathing method

TRY IT TODAY: 3 QUICK BREATHING TIPS

*The breaths I’m talking about below are simple: Inhale. Fill your lungs 2/3 full. Hold at top for a count of 1, 2,3. Exhale.

1. Consciously breathe 3-10 times before every meal.

- 3 if you’re arriving to meal under zero stress. 10 if you’ve just left a crazy important meeting, dropped off the screaming carpool, or recently watched the last episode of “Breaking Bad”.

2. When breathing before meal, ask yourself “What foods will best nourish my body at this time?” This helps develop intuitive eating skills which in turn kicks your dieting days to the curb!

*Extra credit: Breathe 4 times during the meal. This helps with digestion, metabolism, and knowing when you’ve had enough. 

3.  Bring your attention to your breath when doing BUTI (or any other workout/exercise) Yes, you may hear this all of the time and for good reason: it’s genius. Try it next class and notice: are you breathing freely or are you holding your breath?

*To get the most out of each move remember this tip: Exhale on the “work” phase. Example: in a pushup would would inhale as you lower down to the ground and exhale as you press away (the work). A squat you would inhale as you lower, exhale as you press through your heels to rise.

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There you have it, your personal plan for tapping into all that mysitcal and somehow deeply powerful yogi-breathing-bliss.

May your breathing practice bring you first into the sacred presence with yourself, and then with the world around you,

May your breathing practice bring you deep health, a fired up metabolism, and regular wonderful digestion.

And may your breathing practice help you finally nail that pushup, that booty bounce, and send you sailing through your best BUTI class yet!

Be well,

Mary C

With Fall fast approaching, do you find yourself renewing commitments made at the beginning of 2012?

Summer sailin’ is always a much needed break and now Fall’s energy calls for some much needed action.

Today’s blog is about taking action by going Gluten Free.

Have you been curious if a gluten free diet is right for you?

If so, there’s no better time than now to start! (click here for more info on gluten)

One of my 2012 commitments was to test this whole Gluten Free thing.

I must admit I was a skeptic, wondering if GF was just another passing fad.

Eight months later, I can attest: gluten free is legit.

Here are just a few reasons why going gluten free has been one of the best choices I’ve ever made for myself:

1. Reduced weight/bloat in belly (problem solved- thank you GF)
2. Crazy energy (gluten in meals was weighing me down)
3. Freedom from obsessive calorie counting  (no need to count when eating foods your body can process – just be careful not to stuff yourself)
4. I became a Detective I always dreamed of being as a kid (going GF requires a bit of creativity. When sandwhich is no longer an option it’s amazing how many new foods you will discover)

If you’ve been thinking about trying Gluten Free, we say go for it!

You really have nothing to lose except:
-Belly bloat
-Headaches
-Depression/Fatigue

At BUTI, we believe that eating Gluten Free (grain free + dairy free when possible) is the best recipe for Electric Energy + Killer Abs + Feeling Sexy.

Here’s how to get started Living GF today!
-Grab a buddy
-Commit to 14 days absolutely no gluten
-On day 15 eat gluten
-Document the effects Gluten has on your body/skin/energy
-Go back to GF and enjoy the lightness and sexiness that comes with it!

Follow these simple guidelines:

1. Build your meals around high quality veggies and meats of any kind.
2. When in doubt, go without This tip is especially helpful with grains. Yes, there are GF grains (rice, quinoa, etc) which are allowed in GF living. However,we suggest eliminating grains completely for best results. We love sweet potatoes as a filling substitute.
3. Beware of hidden gluten A few to mention: soy sauce, beer, croutons, certain dressings and marinades. Always check labels or ask servers. Trust me, servers are very used to gluten free customers.
4.Booze responsibly Wine and hard liquor beverages are gluten free. Drink in moderation. My favorite: Grey Goose Vodka + Water + 2 limes.
5. Dine out smart:  Living gluten free does not mean you have to sacrafice your social life check out this website with  a downloadable app for tons of GF restaurant menus categorized by city.

As it relates to your health and fitness, what will you commit to these next 4 months of 2012?

Let us know in the comments below or hop over to the community page. We love hearing from you

With love and support,
MC

“You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
For a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.”

- from “Wild Geese” by Mary Oliver

Do you love to go out dancing?  If you love BUTI then I’m willing to bet you do!Recently, Bizzie and I were in NYC (for a smoking hot BUTI teacher training).

All day everyday was BUTI and all night every night was dancing!

Yes, we were living the dream.

As you may know each club experience is fairly standard:

Arrive at club.

Stand in line…

Or walk right to front.

Pass velvet rope + bouncer.

Enter.

Party.

As a health-nut, this process got me thinking:

What if we treated our bodies like the hottest dance club in town?

And what if we became our own bouncers- selectively choosing which foods we allowed past our velvet rope (aka our mouths)?Okay maybe the analogy is a bit of a stretch but it did make me think: What are my standards of what I allow into my body?

As my body’s bouncer, I want to have some pretty high standards of who/what was allowed into my party!

Here are some fun standards I’ve created:

1. NO POSERS- you know who we’re talking about…deliciously tempting only to discover they’re not really a lawyer and that tan is not from a recent trip to the hamptons.*Bye-Bye artificial processed junk food, you build us up only to let us down.

2. NO GRANNIES- they all arrive with good intentions but quickly bring the mood down with their flatulance and wallflower ways.

*Bye-Bye gluten & dairy you always bring bloat and make us wanna call it an early night.

Now it’s your turn…

What are your standards as a bouncer going to be?  What foods make your list?

Take a few moments before your meals this week to consider:

1. Which foods get “ALL ACCESS”? The ones you know are going to keep you feeling sexy with energy to last all day and night?

2. Which foods need a big “ACCESS DENIED” stamp for their notorious ways of sabotaging your sexy efforts?

At your next meal use this analogy as you get empowered to make the food choices that serve your body best.

Yes, your friends may be annoyed as you turn the shiny greasy pizza away and choose instead a fresh kale salad with salmon. But you, sexy BUTIsattva, know what it takes to keep your party going.

May we all see ourselves and our bodies as the hottest ticket in town and may we all become the most badass bouncers known for our exclusivity, uncompromising standards, and of course killer parties.

We’d love to hear from you. What will make your “all access” list? Hop over to our community page and let us know!

With love and support,
MC

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 Filling: