Hey Everybody!

Hope you all had a fabulous weekend!  Mine was so-so.  I’ve had better and worse.  I still seem to be carrying a TON of stress and can’t seem to get this weight to BUDGE.  This weigh-in took place on Friday before the nutrition disaster struck… So, I did the natural thing – overate.  ERGH!!

Not good, I know, but I enjoyed myself and I’m back on track for today.  When I over-indulge, it’s not the usual cookies or candies – it’s usually carbs at the wrong time of the day, and CHEESE.  I have a very bad problem with cheese.  I’m not even sure why, but it is one of my all time favorite things to eat whether mixed into something or all by itself.  I had good intentions, though.  I made the family my homemade Ground Turkey Tacos.  Sounds healthy enough, right?Yes, it is healthy until you add too much cheese and have more helpings than you should, and then have a repeat with the leftovers the next day!  Today I need to drink TONS of water after all of the sodium I took in this weekend.  The rest of the weekend, I ate on target – it’s just those blasted tacos!!  Had I been in the midst of competition training, I would have NEVER done what I did this weekend.  This is why it is SO IMPORTANT to set goals.  If you have a specific date, target weight, outfit, cholesterol level, whatever, it helps you stick to the program much more than just saying – “I want to lose weight”.  For instance, if you have a Doctor’s appointment in April – then set a goal for that date – I want my cholesterol to be down such-and-such an amount in time for my Doctor’s appointment.

Anyway, with all that said, I know that I need to set a date for my photo shoot so that I can have a specific target date and it will, in turn, help me to be more disciplined with my training and nutrition.  So I’ll be penciling something in on my calendar soon and let you know.  :)

M-1 – Eggwhites/Oatmeal, M-2 – Fruit, M-3 – Fish and Broccoli w/1 slice of bread, M-4 – Rice Cakes w/Nat. P/B, M-5 – to be determined…lol..

Workout – Sprints, Shoulders and Abs

Until Next Time…

Meals – Slept through Meal 1. M-2 – Raisin Bran and Banana, M-3 Turkey, Veggie, Potato, M-4 Rice Cakes Nat. P-nut Butter, M-6 Fish, Veggie

Workout – Chest and Biceps

I have a miserable cold but am still pushing through.  It takes some determination, but I’m doing it.

New goal today is to get in enough water!  It’s so important. It flushes out the impurities, makes our skin soft and smooth, and helps with the thermostat, too, keeping our body hydrated when we are working hard.

Found some new motivation – love this pic!

Until Next Time…

Ah yes… Super Bowl Sunday. It’s tough to eat healthy on days like today. But my philosophy is to stick to your normal routine – eating healthy all day long, getting in ALL of your meals, so that when the partying begins, you aren’t quite so hungry, you won’t WANT to snack as much, but you can still sample a few things in moderation and enjoy the day. Most importantly drink TONS of water. Water will help keep you full and flush out all of the sodium that comes along with eating all of those fun super bowl snacks!

I’m routing for the Colts – but am beginning to think all NFL results are fixed anyway so it really doesn’t matter. I think Peyton Manning is capable of taking it at the end of the game like he has so many times in the past. He knows how to get it done.

Here’s my plans for today:

M-1 – Eggwhites and hashbrowns, M-2 chicken breast, yam, veggie, M-3 rice cakes and peanut butter, M-4 Not sure since it’s Super Bowl Day. Glad I’m not in competition training yet! lol..

Workout – I think I’ll just do an upper body circuit today. Need to work on those delts! I’m hoping that just maybe I can do figure in August instead of Bikini. Passing on the Cardio today.

Until Next Time…

Good Morning! Okay – so last night didn’t go as planned. The guys out-voted me to make it “Cheat Night” which really isn’t a bad thing – I am allowed 1 cheat day per week.  It’s not a bad thing cuz I ate healthy all day so the whole cheat thing didn’t affect me as much as it could have.  So I had 2 small slices of pizza but the rest of the day was on target.

Today:

M-1 – Whole Wheat Toast w/Nat P-nut butter, M-2 Chicken Breast w/Veggie, M-3 Turkey, Potato, Veggie, M-4 Rice Cakes w/Nat P-nut butter, M-5 Fish and Salad, M-6 Yogurt if I’m hungry.

I think I’m going to do some cardio and take the day off from weights. Or, I might do weights and take the day off from cardio.  Not sure because today is sort of an “off” day for training and I’m still feeling pretty burned out from last week’s boot camps.  It’s very important to listen to your body, but make sure that it’s your body speaking and that you aren’t backing out of a workout because you just don’t feel like it.  You will feel much better after working out…guaranteed!

Week 1 – weigh in – down 4 lbs! Woohoo!

Do you know what my favorite part of all of this is?

RICE CAKES AND PEANUT BUTTER!

Until Next Time….

I’m finally feeling really good about the Clean Eating.  I look forward to the next meal because I know I’m doing good for my physique.  Here’s today’s plan:

M-1 – Eggwhites and Oatmeal plus coffee, M-2 – Turkey slice and veggie, M-3 Chicken Breast, Veggie, Yam, M-4 – Rice Cakes and Natural P-nut Butter, M-5 Chicken Tacos with Corn Tortilla, cabbage and salsa, M-6 – Yogurt at bedtime.

Workout – Didn’t do legs yesterday so hitting the legs today here at my home gym and doing some ol’ fashioned cardio – Treadmill…

I need to remember to drink LOTS of water.  I always seem to slack in this area.  It has so much benefit for my body, though.  I usually notice my skin clearing up and feeling much softer.

Happy Day Everyone!

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!

The first tip I want to offer you to survive the holidays is to drink LOTS of WATER.  Water is very important to a weight loss plan and is VITAL to keeping your body operating properly.

It is a principal component of your body – 60%!!  And every system in your body depends on it.  It flushes toxins from the body and transports vital nutrients to the cells.  If you are not properly hydrated you will begin to feel drained and tired which is NOT a good thing when you are beginning a new workout program.

To meet basic needs, everyone should consume at least eight 8 oz. glasses of water per day.  This is to cover basic needs such as water that is lost due to normal functions such as breathing, sweating and bowel movements.

Beyond that – if you are exercising, if you reside in a dry area, or in an excessively hot/humid area, or if it is wintertime and you are indoors a lot using heated air, or if you are taking medications that tend to dehydrate, or if you are pregnant or nursing, or if you have a medical condition you need to accommodate for those additional fluids that are lost or retained.

My recommendation for water intake is to consume 8-10 8 oz. glasses of water… A great way to achieve this is to keep a bottle or cup of water near you at all times.  You will find that as you get into the habit of having it nearby you will have no problem consuming the proper amounts of water and you will be surprised how often you take a sip!  I keep a 64 ounce “Thirstbuster” cup handy so that I know I’ve at least consumed the recommended amounts and will refill during my workout.

Holiday meals and treats tend to contain a lot of sodium and sugars.  To keep your body from retaining fluids, it is imperative that you drink water to flush out all of the excessive salts and sugars.  When you are at a holiday gathering, try to avoid drinking anything but water.  This will help you stay hydrated, keep your calorie consumption down, and help to avoid the bloating.

One more thing…we’ve all seen the ads for Gatorade, Powerade, etc. advertised as another way to replenish fluids during excessive exercise.  These beverages do help to replace the **electrolytes lost when you perspire, however, many of these beverages also contain excessive calories.  You need to be sure that you account for these calories when you are trying to lose weight or you will defeat the purpose of training.  These beverages wouldn’t be necessary for a weight loss/weight training workout unless you were working out in excess of 60 minutes.  They are extremely beneficial for someone who is doing an endurance-style event such as a triathlon or marathon.

Lastly, do not, DO NOT substitute energy drinks, soda or tea in place of water!  These types of drinks can actually dehydrate you so try to avoid them if possible.

An amazing thing will happen when you start consuming proper amounts of water, too!  Your skin and hair will feel better, your mouth won’t be so dry, your sinuses will remain moist as they should be and you will become more energetic so go get that cup of water, (or not), and drink up!!

**Electrolytes play a vital role in maintaining homeostasis within the body. They help to regulate myocardial and neurological function, fluid balance, oxygen delivery, acid-base balance and much more.  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water-electrolyte_imbalance)

Until Next Time…