When it comes to weight loss, it’s always the food that reflects on the scale.
Inevitably, when I weigh a client in whose weight has gone up, he or she will say, “But I exercised all week!”
Well, when we’re looking at the scale, I’m not interested in hearing about your exercise. I want to know what you’re doing with your food.
One thing I try to drive home to my clients is: “Weight loss is 80% percent what you eat, 20% how you train.” Food is absolutely, positively, unquestionably the biggest factor in weight loss.
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If your kids are like mine, they love pizza. But restaurant pizza is full of sodium, fat, and cholesterol with refined white dough, full fat cheese, greasy meat, and oil in the pan. One slice of a popular pizza chain’s pepperoni pizza has 260 calories, 12 grams of fat, and 590 mg of sodium. (Not something I want my family eating!)
But you can enjoy pizza at home – and make it fun and healthy too!
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I stopped in the middle of the store to read the sign over several times. The usually “Plus” tag on the clothing rack was replaced with a sign that said, “Extended Sizes.”
“What?” I thought. “Extended?” I guess plus was too harsh of a word so they made it softer, less offensive. Extended…like seatbelt extenders when you’re too big to use the seatbelt?
I used to be called chubby when I was a kid. Being 185 pounds at age 11 was a little more than chubby. I was a fat kid – round belly, round cheeks, roly poly. Chubby was the way nice people referred to me.
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Tonight was the first time I saw someone walking the track while reading a magazine. She was strolling slowly along, flipping through the pages, glancing up from time to time. She looked genuinely relaxed.
Then another person meandered along, cell phone to her ear, while she talked and laughed. She looked like she was having social time not workout time.
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Doritos, Oreos, Snickers, potato chips, French fries, M&Ms, pizza, nachos, chicken wings, oatmeal cream pies, chocolate, cheese curls… can you think of a few more?
All of these foods make you want to keep eating and eating, after you’re full, when you’ve already consumed more than a serving, and your taste buds clamor for more. To win the battle with them, you’ve got to cut them off cold turkey.
You cannot flirt with these foods or wean yourself off of them. They’re dangerous. Just one bite and you’ll be slammed-bammed-whammed with huge cravings to eat more. Why?
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Do you feel like your schedule is spiraling out of control? Work meetings, kid’s activities, laundry piling up, etc.
In hectic times like this, it’s tempting to give up your weight loss efforts. Everyone needs you! You can hardly tear yourself away from your responsibilities. And if you do, you feel guilty for it.
But no matter what is going on in your life, you must hang onto your weight loss efforts. (Even if all you can do is hang on by your toenails.)
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When it comes to working out, fatigue is your friend. You want to work your muscles hard so they tire out. You are burning calories, getting stronger, and increasing your endurance.
In other words, the harder you work, the more you can work hard. The more calories you burn. The more fit you become.
I often see people sitting on the exercise bike reading a magazine while pedaling. They look very comfy. There’s no sweat, no elevated breathing, no flushed cheeks. Hmm, that seems more like checking out than working out.
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Today was rough. I was tired, the kids were tired, and we had tons of stuff to do and a crazy schedule to follow. The kids were at each other fussing and fighting. Honestly, I was too tired to deal with their behavior consistently. It was not a good day.
I found that I wanted to eat. I wanted to calm my nerves. I wanted to escape!
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My friend trained for months for a marathon this past weekend in Maine. She called me after she drove the scenic, but very hilly, course.
“I don’t know,” she said. “I’m having second thoughts.”
“In this case, you have to just do,” I told her. “Turn off your mind and just do it. You’ve trained for it. You’re ready for it. And you wouldn’t want to miss it for the world.”
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We took a family walk today and enjoyed the cool, crisp air of autumn, the golden sun, and the colored leaves. There was something about being outdoors that made me hungry for baked apples. When we returned, I immediately began peeling and slicing apples for a healthy version of apple crisp.
Fall is such a great time to enjoy the many varieties of apples. I love to try all different kinds to experience the flavors and crispness (not to mention their delicious aromas). I enjoy using them in many different recipes and usually eat one every day.
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Nobody wants to weigh-in on Monday. And sometimes not on Tuesday or Wednesday either. They hope by Friday (fingers crossed) their weight will be down.
So many times I hear, “Uhh, can I weigh-in later in the week? I had a bad weekend.”
Then they work hard all week long to get their weight back down to what it was the week before. Do you see a problem with this?
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First of all, make sure you buy LEAN ground turkey or ground turkey breast. Regular ground turkey is full of fat and calories (even worse than ground beef). Check the nutrition label to make sure you’re getting lean turkey.
You can use lean ground turkey to replace ground beef in any recipe. Here are three of my favorite ways to use it:
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It’s scary to be doing well with weight loss then mess up and see the scale change directions. It can really shake you up when you realize 10 pounds have crept back on.
One of my clients went on vacation then had guests stay in her house. With all the changes in her routine, she gained weight. It was terribly disheartening for her because she had worked so hard to lose weight. She felt down and was berating herself for it.
“Lapses are normal. Everybody has a lapse at some point,” I told her. “You can’t go through life and never have a lapse. It’s how you deal with it that matters. People who are successful with weight loss get right back on track after a lapse.”
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This morning I woke up early and headed to the boardwalk for a run. The dark blue sky was streaked with pink over the steel-colored ocean. Cold wind whipped from the north. As I ran, the sky lightened and the sun suddenly rose in red glory. What beauty!
There’s nothing that soothes my soul and refreshes me like a couple of days at the beach. I was feeling tired and pressured from a busy schedule, lots of long runs in the last few months, and not enough time with my family. A weekend away was just what my family and I needed.
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What woman doesn’t want firmer thighs, hips and butt? We want to fit well in our jeans and look good in our pant suit.
Unfortunately, a lot of women store extra fat in this area. Of course, if you have extra weight, you’ll have to work on losing it. But you can also workout to tone and tighten those trouble spots.
Here are three exercises to get you started toning your hips, glutes and thighs!
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One of my favorite breakfasts is hot, creamy oatmeal with fresh fruit. It is a delicious comfort food and it’s also full of healthy nutrition.
Oatmeal contains insoluble and soluble fiber, which is helpful for lowering cholesterol and reducing the risk of cancer. The fiber also causes oatmeal to digest slowly so there is no quick spike in your blood sugar. This is great for keeping you full and aiding in weight loss.
Oatmeal is highly nutritious and it has been shown to help fight heart disease and cancer, so eat up!
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Today was one of those crazy days with obligations and activities back to back. It was school, groceries, more school, and then off to work. There was no down time – period.
The only time I figured I could squeeze in my exercise was the half hour after work and before I took my boys to their evening activity. But work ran late and I ended up with barely 20 minutes to pump out some upper body sets as fast as I could go.
I was not happy with the workout and knew I needed to burn more calories. So, once my kids were tucked in, I got out my step and dumbbells and set up in the living room…finally at 8:30.
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Did you ever run low on groceries and have to scrounge around in the cupboards to find ingredients for a meal? You have to be creative and make something out of whatever you have on hand. Sometimes this can turn out to be a great new dish.
The point is; you used the ingredients you had.
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I had a great conversation with my cousin yesterday. Both of us work really hard to stay at a healthy body weight. This includes exercise and healthy eating (which we aren’t always perfect at!). We were laughing at our own weaknesses when it comes to food – what else can you do but laugh?
She said, “Why is it when you get started eating something bad, you just keep going? One day turns into two days, or one bite turns into a whole piece.”
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I love pancakes. I rarely make them because the typical pancake mix is high in calories and carbohydrates, and low in fiber. So I went looking for an alternative.
I found a way to make a healthy version of pancakes that tastes delicious (my family agrees). They are made from oatmeal, which is a great source of nutrients and fiber, and they have no added fat or sugar.
Oatmeal Pancakes
1 cup old fashioned oats
1 1/4 cup hot water or fat free milk
1 cup oatmeal flour (grind oatmeal in a blender)
4 egg whites, whisk with fork
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 packets Splenda
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Do you know how hard it is to walk out the door when your kids are crying for “Mommy” and your husband is looking at you with those please-don’t-leave-me eyes?
Do you know how hard it is to walk away from your desk when there are 20 unread email messages in your box, three voicemails to return, and a report to finish?
Do you know hard it is to close the door on the laundry, the dishes, the bills, and the clutter?
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