Yesterday we ended up behaving for the most part during the Super Bowl.  I made Mini-Tacos with corn tortillas, sliced chicken breast, low fat white cheese, cabbage, and green sauce.  Yum!! I still insist on frying my tortillas (using healthy Omega 3 Oil), but during actual competition training I never fry.  I brown my tortillas on a griddle using Pam, or bake them in a toaster oven.

M-1 Whole Wheat Toast w/Nat. Peanut Butter, M-2 Turkey & Fruit, M-3 Chicken Breast w/Veggies and Potato, M-4 Rice Cakes W/Nat. P/B, M-5 Turkey Burgers w/sauteed mushrooms and veggies.

Workout – Circuit – Legs and abs. Cardio on Treadmill. I will be posting pictures sometime this week so that we have a starting reference point.  (ugh!)

By the way..this was in my inbox this morning. Love it!

Until Next Time…

Today I’m going to share with you information on how to cope when you are faced with a dinner banquet, holiday gathering, pot-luck, etc.. so that you can enjoy yourself at parties and gatherings without stressing about weight gain.

When you are faced with this type of situation there are several steps that you can take to ensure that you do not affect your training and nutrition plan.

1.  Use the party day as your “Cheat Meal”.  This is the first option which makes the most sense.  You are allowed a “Cheat Meal” once per week with my training program.  That way we get all of the cravings out of the way, enjoy a special treat, and can stay more focused on our meal-plan during the rest of the week.  When you do “partake” be sure to do so in moderation.  Since you have been eating clean the rest of the week, you may experience some discomfort when you do eat foods such as pizza, or excessive chocolate, etc.  Your “Cheat Day” is a good day to experiment with your will power. For instance, you can try to eat clean all day knowing that you are heading to the pizza parlor that evening and want to enjoy the entire experience – (bread sticks, pizza, etc.). But try to always have something healthy along with your cheat like a salad or some fresh veggies or fruit.

2.  Surprise Banquet – If you show up somewhere and there is an unexpected food spread there are steps you can take in this situation, as well.  Immediately, search for the color!  That’s right – look for the veggie tray or veggie side dish and fill your plate with greens!  This will help you fill up on the good stuff, and give the host or hostess the impression that you are enjoying all the festivities.  Try to stay away from casseroles, gravies, and desserts.  If your host/hostess is insistent, simply take a small sample of their famous pumpkin pie, etc., but leave off the whipped cream.  If it’s something like Mexican food, find the lesser of the evils – instead of having the enchilada loaded with cheese and sauce, have a couple of tacos with the meat, lettuce and salsa leaving off the cheeses.  The tacos will still fill you up, they are flavorful and have less calorie content than the cheesy enchiladas.

3.  Stay away from sweets.  The problem with sweets is that the sugar is stored onto your body because your body is unable to use the amounts of sugar that we, as Americans, consume on a daily basis.  Most sweets are also loaded with sodium which is why you can’t eat just one!! The sodium in a piece of chocolate is actually making you thirsty – but your taste buds are confused and usually you reach for another chocolate instead of drinking water.

4.  Deprivation Vs. Moderation – I, personally, don’t believe that depriving yourself of things you love is effective.  Once you have reached your goal-weight and decide that you are finally going to have that one thing that you’ve deprived yourself of, it is almost impossible to keep from over-indulging.  I recommend that we enjoy those things we love in moderation throughout our weight loss journey so that we learn how to control ourselves once our goal has been reached.  That is why I encourage the “Cheat Day”.  This is the day that you would go to your favorite restaurant, enjoy a pizza, chocolate shake, or whatever that item might be.

5.  Of course we all know this one, use a smaller plate.  This is a tremendous help because the host/hostess can see that your plate is full (of all the good things) and won’t make a comment that you aren’t eating enough, etc., plus psychologically it helps you to feel satisfied knowing that your plate was “full”.

6.  Have you heard that when you go to the grocery store hungry that you will inevitably buy more food?  This is also the case before a party.  If you go there hungry, you will most-certainly overeat.  So, I recommend that you eat before you go to the event.  If you are following your nutrition plan, you should be eating 5 small meals per day.  Just plan to eat one of your small meals prior to the event.  Then you won’t be tempted to eat as much because you aren’t hungry.

7.  Go easy on the alcoholic or party beverages.  Some beverages are loaded with sugar and calories.  It’s better to enjoy a glass of water with lemon if you plan on indulging in some of the rich calorie-laden foods.  Most of the special foods we love are loaded with sugars and sodium, so drinking lots of water and avoiding the special  beverages helps to keep your body in balance.  Also, if you decide to drink alcohol, be sure to limit your intake and drink water in between.  Alcohol tends to dehydrate the body.  Wine tends to have less calories than a margarita.  Also be aware of the items you add to your beverages.  Coke, margarita mixes, even different types of creamers added to coffee can pack on the pounds!!

8.  Go for a walk after the meal.  Invite others to go, too.  You might start a new family tradition (or office tradition) and actually help others get fit as well!

I hope all of these little tidbits will help you next time you are invited to a business gathering, family holiday dinner, or a surprise office party!