The New Year is only a few days away. People all over the world will be making resolutions to make changes January 1.
It’s not surprising that losing weight and starting an exercise program are two of the all-time top ten New Year’s resolutions made. There aren’t too many people who don’t want to shed a few pounds and get into better shape.
How about you? Have you thought about what healthy changes you want to make?
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Recently a client told me, “I realized that I have been resentful toward people who can eat whatever they want and stay thin.” She felt angry because weight has been such a difficult issue for her, yet she sees others who appear to not watch their food at all and do not gain.
I totally understand. In high school I used to tell my best friend, “I just don’t understand why I am so heavy. I eat the same thing as everybody else, but they’re all skinny.” I saw my friends eating pizza and ice cream and French fries – yet they were thin. I ate all that junk too and was 190 pounds.
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When I think back to my “fat” days, food was purely for my enjoyment. I had no awareness of how many calories or fat grams my food contained. I had no awareness of proper portion size. I simply ate whenever, whatever, and however much I wanted.
This kept me 60 pounds overweight.
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There are so many sweets and goodies around my house – and so many people munching, lip smacking, and devouring those sweets – that it’s kind of hard to keep them out of mind. So I’ve had three diet mocha’s today with nonfat whipped topping (I usually have 1 per day). I’ve also nibbled on quite a few pecans (but diet mocha and pecans are better than cake and chocolate!) and these healthy treats have saved my day.
I’m holding out for Christmas Eve. After our 5:00 church service, we come home for dinner then break out the cookies. Now, these aren’t just plain old cookies. My mom bakes dozens of kinds of cookies – fudge puddles, magic bars, pecan tarts, etc. – and she gives us a plate full. So we freeze them and save them for Christmas Eve. We sit on the living room floor eating cookies and watching a movie – this year it’ll be the classic “It’s a Wonderful Life”.
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My in-laws finally arrived – five of them – after lots of travel. What also made it here are 2 pecan pies, several bags of cookies, and Hershey’s Kisses. There are chocolate cookie rolls in the cupboard with my peppermint tea, cheese crackers on the counter, and smoked sausage and cheese spread on the dining room table.
They had arrived only a few minutes before I had to go to work and were unpacking when I left. After work when I got home tonight, and feeling very hungry, I was greeted with lots of goodies spread on the kitchen table. Fortunately, they also brought a bag of pecans. So instead of delving into a bag of cookies, I ate a delicious handful of pecans while making my dinner.
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We had our first family Christmas dinner tonight. All the food was amazingly delicious (thanks Bea!). I did eat a little yogurt before I went so I wasn’t starving and I ate a large salad with dinner to keep from eating large portions. Even so, holiday food has a ton of calories – especially the chocolate cheesecake dessert! (I sure hope all that snow shoveling I did this morning helped pre-burn some of those calories.)
After dinner we sang Christmas carols around the piano. One of my nieces made me a lovely wreath of fresh greens and silver ornaments. i can hardly wait to hang it on my door.
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This time of year is super busy for most people. Dinners, parties, and shopping make schedules tight. Then there is relationship stress of being with family, and financial stress from buying gifts. All this can lead to physical and emotional exhaustion.
Is this the right way to enjoy the Christmas season? Certainly not!
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Did you know the color in fruit isn’t just there to look nice? The colors represent the many different nutrients in fruits that help fight cancer, ward off heart disease, and slow the aging process. Plus fruit is full of fiber, is naturally sweet, and aids in weight loss.
Fruit is delicious AND nutritious so aim for 2-4 servings of fresh fruit per day. Here are 5 ways to help you get more fruit into your diet: [More]
Last night after a full day of homeschooling and several hours of personal training, I finally got time to exercise. Getting on the treadmill at 8:00 p.m. was not what I wanted to do either. I wanted to go home for dinner!
My energy was in the basement and I felt a little nauseous. I started at a jog to warm up then took the speed up to run. Over the next 45 minutes I stopped a few times to get a sip of water and let my stomach calm down. It was not my best workout for sure, but I got it done and hit my calorie goal.
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Crackers, cereals, pretzels, chips, breads, cookies, etc., are all processed grains. They have been changed from their original state, refined, and added to. Often in the refining process, the fiber in the grain has been stripped away. Many processed grains also contain high amounts of sodium, sweeteners, and preservatives.
What I have found with process grains is that they are trigger foods. Whether it’s the salt, sugar, or the simple carbs hitting your system, processed grains trigger your body to eat more, crave more, want more!
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It’s so true what Dr. Phil says: “Weight is managed, not cured.” People who continue to lose weight, or who keep the weight off, are people who do the things it takes to manage their weight.
Can you imagine what would happen if you didn’t manage your money? What if you simply spent your money without tracking it? If you wrote checks without balancing your checkbook, or never bothered to write in deposits? It would be a mess!
In simple terms, this is called having a budget. You know when money is coming in, what money is going out, and how much is left over to spend. You have to keep a close eye on your money to keep it well managed.
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I love salads. In the warmer weather I eat them every day, at least once if not twice a day. Since the weather has turned frigid, I’m not so inclined to eat cold foods. I want something hot to warm my insides!
Here are 5 of my favorite ways to enjoy hot, cooked vegetables. [More]
Today was not a good eating day for me. I was BAAAAAAAD. Two cookies (my son made them for math to learn how to measure), a handful of M&Ms (I took some when I gave one to the little girl I was babysitting went potty), and half a homemade waffle my mom made (fresh, hot, right out of her waffle iron – the evil contraption).
When I got up today, I knew the waters were going to be rough. I felt very tired physically, plus I felt a boatload of stress on my shoulders. So, emotionally, I was not in a good place. And I felt really hungry first thing when I usually don’t even think about breakfast for two hours.
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When I started out, I didn’t have a lot of support. It wasn’t that my family didn’t want to be encouraging, but you have to realize how many times I’d been “on a diet” before. This was just one more time and they all shrugged their shoulders as if to say, “Uh-huh, okay, whatever.”
Over the years, we’ve all evolved into healthier people. So, even though my family isn’t as fanatical as I am, they’re pretty health conscious. So hold onto hope because you can be a great influence (it just might take a few years!).
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I see families at work taking martial arts classes together. I see dads jogging on the track with their sons, or showing them how to do pull-ups. I see moms and daughters side-by-side on the treadmills working out together. And families in the pool splashing and swimming together.
There are husbands and wives who decide to lose weight together. They go grocery shopping together, cook together, and choose restaurants with healthy options. They are each other’s greatest encouragers.
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One of my clients started personal training with me about four months ago. Her first several weeks were miserable. High heart rate, puffing and hard breathing, very sore muscles – she had all the beginner’s woes. After a workout she was totally “dead” for the night and couldn’t even cook dinner. (She literally had to make crock pot dinners.)
You should see her now. It’s not that she doesn’t work as hard, but she’s had great improvements in her fitness. Her recovery time is so much faster. She can lift heavier weights, do squat jumps, inclines on the treadmill, and difficult ab sets. She can now do 20 reps on the abdominal bicycle exercise, which was impossible for her at the beginning.
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Everybody needs to exercise. It’s good for your heart, lungs, muscles, bones, psyche, weight, and attitude.
But it can be hard to get in the exercise groove – and it can be hard to stay committed.
I see so many people jump into exercise gung-ho. Oh, they’re getting on the elliptical, trying new exercise classes, and learning the weight circuit. Three weeks later, hmmm, where did they go? Or maybe they even made it three months. Then, bam, they fall off track and don’t come back.
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We all know that fish is healthy and we should eat it more. But some people don’t love it – and even for those of us who do enjoy it, fresh fish is quite pricy. It’s not something that always fits into the grocery budget.
The first thing I do is watch for sales on fresh fish like tilapia, cod, salmon, and haddock. Every once in awhile a great sale will roll around and I’ll get some fish fillets for my family. If I can ‘t use the fish fast enough, I’ll freeze it in individual portions.
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You’ve heard me say it before, but I have to say it again: If you want to lose weight, you have to journal your food. Most people grossly underestimate the calories they consume each day. They’re often unaware of what is in their food and how much they really do eat.
A food journal keeps you aware and keeps you honest. For one thing, you have to look at nutrition labels so you know what’s in your food. This can be pretty eye opening. Then you have to be accountable for every bite you take. No more mindless eating, grabbing a cookie here, a handful of pretzels there, or the kids’ leftover Goldfish.
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