Guest Blogger

Violet Santo

Hello Everyone! My name is Violet Santo, I am 26 years old and live in Boise, Idaho. I grew up in Idaho and moved to Nashville, Tn for a couple of years to pursue music. I recorded 6 songs and now moved back to Southern Idaho to be by family. Family is #1, I am a mother of two small boys (ages 9 months & 3.5 yrs). They are the light of my life, it is alot of hard work (as most mothers know) and I try my best to squeeze in fitness wherever & whenever I can. I gave birth to my 2nd son 9 months ago, and competed in a swimsuit competition when he was 6 months old! It takes discipline, mental focus and a desire to be fit! I started back in the gym 6 weeks after giving birth, with mainly weights and light cardio. I am not a very regimented person about fitness (unlike my husband! haha) the best advice is to do something you love. I love to rollerblade, walk (with my sons as weight), bike, some weight lifting & exercise cardio DVDS. They KEY is to find something you LOVE to do, and do it as much as you can, and dont beat yourself up about it if you miss a couple of days. The KEY is Diet. Everyone is different and everyones needs are not the same. You have to find your rythym and what makes your body tick. I follow a Raw Foods diet. I found out that Shania Twain followed it and as a fan, I thought I would give it a try. My biggest problem area is my stomach, that is where I store fat first. So I knew something powerful would have to happen to get rid of the fat FOR GOOD! So, I eat Raw vegetables, fruits, nuts & seeds (soaked & germinated). I also eat some grains from Ezekiel bread products, but not much. If I crave cheese, then I eat RAW dairy or goat cheese. If you research RAW FOOD DIETS, your eyes will be opened to a lot of amazing discoveries on health. My passion is food, health & nutrition! David Wolfe, & Carol Alt are my favorite raw foodists. They are very wise in this area, this is also a good website: http://www.markusrothkranz.com/markus_health.html ~~~ Its a lot of fun! If I were to sum it up:* Eat the Rainbow everyday (raw preferably) *Get outside and enjoy the sunshine & breath deep (Yoga or Meditation) *Treat excercise as something you do as a reward from your strong body, not something to have to dredd to lose weight. (the pounds will fall off, if you beleive they will & enjoy what your doing!)