Happy Thanksgiving, Dear Readers…

Last month, I had the incredible opportunity to lead a mini exercise session at the Women’s Conference in Long Beach, CA. 3500 women followed my lead and it was incredible to see and experience! On top of that, I had a front row seat to see Tony Robbins present on the same stage. He talked a lot about the power of focus to shape our lives. We’ve all heard the saying about the glass being half empty or half full, or “Energy goes where attention flows”. So, I ask you: What are you focusing on?

I think it’s fair to say that 2010 was a difficult year for many people. The economy is depressed, people are depressed or stressed, the housing market is down, unemployment is up, and on and on so the media tells us…

Things are also pretty amazing! YOU have the ability to live healthy and fit, even if you’re on a budget and have a busy schedule. You don’t need a lot of time or fancy equipment – you can get in amazing shape in your living room, with a couple pair of dumbbells, add a pair of Valslides, and you’re golden!

With the internet, it is easier than ever to stay connected or get support. I love my Twitter and Facebook friends!! – and of course, my Red Carpet Ready girls.

You can learn to cook healthy and delicious meals with the click of a mouse. A few of my favorite websites for food are: Gavan Murphy, LiveWell360, and KathEats –  Come on, try a new recipe. Don’t be afraid of making a mistake, it’s just one meal.

Whole Foods has made organic and healthy food shopping easier, but even if you don’t live near one, many of my favorite products, such as Sun Warrior protein powder, can be shipped to you door.

One of the wonderful things about Thanksgiving is that it helps us remember to stop and be thankful for all the good in our lives, in the world and each other.

I am incredibly thankful for you, my dear reader I feel connected in a way I have not before.

I am grateful for the kind comments you leave and the love and support I feel when you “like” my Facebook posts.

I am thankful that my body is still keeping up with my active lifestyle. I really do enjoy working out (most of the time), going to yoga and surfing – when the water is warm and the waves are small.

I am thankful every single day that Cody and Lexi belong to me!

I am so thankful for the Red Carpet Ready Club and the incredible women that I’ve come to know. I am humbled by your commitment to the program, to yourselves and especially to each other. Your stories have often made me laugh or cry.

I am thankful for my amazing clients and this incredible career that I am so lucky to have. It is the best feeling helping someone get fit and see their life change because of it.

I’m thankful for my family, especially my nephew Joel, who is growing into a fine young man, and my younger nephew, Ollie, who seems poised to light the world on fire! And little Julia, who is on the verge of walking and who I will get to know even better this Christmas.

I am also grateful for my little work family, Nikki who literally runs the show over here, and Ryan, who is behind all my product launches and endeavors.

Tell me, what are you most grateful for? Have any of my programs or blogs made a difference in your life? Be sure to leave your comment in the comments section below – 5 random submissions will be selected to receive either a free Valslide or one of the NEW Valslide DVD’s.

I wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving and a joyous (and healthy) holiday season!!

Love,
Val

P.S. Don’t miss my black friday sale – already under way! CLICK HERE

Red Carpet Ready: Get It. Live It. Because LIFE is an EVENT!

Click here to visit the Black Friday Fitness Sale!

For many years now I’ve been helping celebrities prepare for red carpet events like movie premieres, the Academy Awards, or the Emmy’s. It’s important for my clients that they look and feel their best, because millions would be watching, and their pictures would surely end up in magazines. My Red Carpet Ready plan was born from this…actual Red Carpet events. Later, Red Carpet Ready came to mean looking, feeling and being the best version of yourself. We all want to feel good in our body. We all want confidence and energy.

For years, this program was only available to Hollywood’s elite. When I finally sat down to write the book, I was worried that maybe it wouldn’t be as successful without me there, guiding the client through the workout. After all, my approach seems so much more moderate than other trainers. Well, I needn’t have worried. Thousands of woman have now followed my program with awesome results!

“Thanks to Val’s amazing workouts, inspiring coaching and delicious nutrition plan, I have more energy to play with my little guy, a brighter outlook in life and my hips have found their sway again! [Before meeting Val, I thought “sexy mama” was an oxymoron...Not anymore!]
The most important thing I realized is that being RCR isn’t a one night thing. It’s a way of life. An RCR girl owns the length of that Target parking lot like it’s the hottest red carpet in town, baby! One of the most memorable moments of the year happened in September as I was making my way through the airport. I walked by two young, very attractive pilots and one of them actually spun his head around as I passed, made a “mmm-mmmm!” noise and asked the other guy “Hey, did you see her!?!” Now, some women might be offended by it, but when you haven’t had a response like that in several years, it is more than welcome! Talk about feeling like a star!” -Stephanie M.

Two years ago, I launched the Red Carpet Ready Club – an online membership site where women could come together to encourage and support each other, while being guided and coached by me. In an effort to truly demonstrate how it works, I offered to take two women, Mary Bess Dalton and Cody Kennedy, through my program, on-line. The kicker was that they’d have to put themselves on camera each week, and tell us how they were doing. So, my feet were in the fire just as much as theirs. In addition, the 6 weeks they were on the program, included Thanksgiving and most of the holiday season –parties and all. You can see them just 4 weeks in, at Thanksgiving 2008, HERE.

What I am so proud of is how amazing not only Mary Bess and Cody are still doing, but how well so many of the other original Red Carpet Ready Club girls are doing too. They’ve learned that its not just a diet of a 6 week program, it’s a way of life.

Click here to visit the Black Friday Fitness Sale!

What does it mean to live Red Carpet Ready? It means you can go to your closet and pull out your favorite skinny jeans, knowing they’ll fit. It means remembering that you get to workout, not you have to workout. It means choosing the foods that help keep you lean and full of energy, while not feeling deprived. It means getting more out of life.

How do you do it?

Decide, right now, that this is something you want and must have. Stop wishing. Take action.

COMMIT – often times people give up too soon on their plan. Follow my Red Carpet Ready program for a full 6 weeks (or, another workout program if you choose) and you’ll see that soon things start to become easier and more automatic.

DO THE WORK! – Lets not pretend that you’re going to get a Red Carpet Ready body (lean, strong, sexy) by working out 10 minutes a day. It will take more effort than that. However, I promise that the workouts will make you feel good and you will start to notice real results in just the first two weeks – plus, they’re fun!

EAT REAL FOOD, not packaged diet foods. You really do need to ditch the processed junk – but you will thank me later. If you’ve been consuming too much sugar and refined processed carbs, and you cut them out, you may feel tired and moody – please know that this very temporary. You will pass through the worst of it in 4 to 5 days, if you stay the course. When you get on the other side of this mini detox – you will feel amazing.

MAKE NEW ASSOCIATIONS – I want you think about how good eating clean makes you feel. I want you to recognize that you are always in a better mood after a good workout. You may even need to surround yourself with some new friends that support you in choosing to seek the very best version of yourself. Inside the Red Carpet Ready Club, we support each other and cheer each other on. If you slip up, someone is there to pick you up and dust you off. Other times, you may need to have your feet lovingly held to the fire. We want to help you achieve the success you desire.

LOVE YOUR BODY NOW – Deciding to make changes does not mean you to be unkind to you body. You do need to take an honest assessment and see where you really are, but this is to help you determine where you want to go. You can still bless your body for all the wonderful things that it is able to do. Maybe there is a body part you feel really good about that you can focus on, while you improve the rest. As you get stronger, and work on your diet, you will see new, sexy muscles show up – it’s really fun when this happens!

We’ve got 6 weeks before we say goodbye to 2010. Did you achieve your goals? Did you get the body you wanted? There is still time. Decide today. Live Red Carpet Ready! Your life is waiting.

Click here to visit the Black Friday Fitness Sale!

Red Carpet Ready TV Episode 11

Today’s episode of Red Carpet Ready TV features The Healthy Irishman, Gavan Murphy! He shares a fantastic healthy Holiday recipe with us..

Here’s the Recipe:

Sick of turkey yet? Need a little breather from the winged one? Then you must try this recipe out. Not to worry, it’s still in line with the season since it’s full of autumn veg and cinnamon accents, which are just brilliant at this time of year. And it’s a great dish to warm your bones, esp. for all of you experiencing signs of winter. Wonder when that will kick in here in Los Angeles….

What exactly is this dish you ask? A tagine is a North African dish (typically Moroccan) of spiced meats and vegetables prepared by slow cooking ingredients together usually in a tagine (clay pot). Of course a saute pan works as well. By using this method of slow cooking the flavors will marry together and you’ll end up with a fantastic flavorful dish.

RECIPE: Serves 8

• 2 cups butternut squash – peeled, seeded & diced into 1? cubes
• 3 cups Japanese eggplant, sliced diagonally into 1?pieces
• 2 cups red onion – diced into 1? pieces
• 3 garlic cloves – minced
• 2 tbsp. fresh ginger – grated
• 2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 2 cups fresh cauliflower florets
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• S&P to taste

• 3 cups vegetable broth]
• 1 stick cinnamon or 1-2 tsp.
• 2 tbsp. agave / honey
• 2 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 tbsp. lemon zest
• 2 tbsp. fresh chopped cilantro
• 1 tbsp. chopped mint for garnish

TAGINE DIRECTIONS:
Combine the squash, eggplant, onion, cauliflower, peas, garlic, ginger, cumin, chili powder, S&P and olive oil in a large mixing bowl and toss together. Mix well.
Pre-heat a large saute pan. In 3 batches, saute the veg mix until lightly browned, approx 3-4 mins. per batch. Remove each sauteed batch to another mixing bowl and repeat browning process until completed. When all the veg have been browned return the entire batch back to saute pan. Add broth, cinnamon (stick or powdered), agave, lemon juice and zest and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 20 mins. stirring occasionally. Taste and season with S&P. Just before serving remove cinnamon stick and stir in cilantro.

CRANBERRY ORANGE RELISH

Cranberries are quite bitter so the majority of recipes use sugar when making. It’s usually 1:1 water:sugar. I try to avoid sugar as much as possible as there are so many great alternatives. I prefer to use agave nectar which although is a real sugar and has similar properties to many sugars its glycemic index is much lower which makes it less likely to raise blood sugar levels. Agave is 40% sweeter than sugar so you also use less. Check out http://www.allaboutagave.com/ for more info.

• 1 12 oz. bag cranberries
• 2/3 cup water
• 2/3 cup agave or honey
• 1 tbsp. fresh ginger-chopped
• 1 med. orange-zested

Place all above into sauce pan and bring to a boil. Once the cranberries start popping reduce the heat and stir until blended, 10 mins. approx. Taste for sweetness (add more agave if needed) and refrigerate. This can be made a day or so in advance.

Yields 3 cups.

Visit http://www.thehealthyirishman.com for more tips & recipes from Gavan!