Healthy Guidelines for a Healthier You!

Diet?  You don't need to follow a specific diet, but you might want to get ideas from a healthy cookbook or "diet book" to help you with your meal plans.  Check out cook books by Tosca Reno and Clean Eating, Bring It by Tony Horton, Body for Life, Southbeach, books by Jillian Michaels, and the nutrition planning tools in the Beachbody website.

Here are some guidelines to follow:

1) Eat within 1 hour of waking!

Your best bet would be within 30 min of waking.  It has been proven that your metabolism will fire up faster and you will burn fat rather than muscle if you eat ASAP.  If you find that you can’t stomach food first thing in the morning, try having a protein shake (like Shakeology) or eggs.

2) Eat no less than 20g of protein at each meal.

Most nutrition labels will give you this information.  If necessary, add a 1/2 protein shake with water (or protein powder) to your meals.  Most of them mix well in anything (soup, cereal, etc)

3) Drink no more than 16 oz of caffeine daily (coffee, tea, diet soft drinks)

It is time to tame the addiction!  If you need the caffeine that much you might want to find a way to get a little more sleep, make sure you are getting your multivitamins and consider a natural energy source like Shakeology.  More than anything, too much caffeine can hinder weight loss.  Herbal teas are fine.

4) If you are closely watching your calories and making great food choices, you need to "cheat" or break some of the rules for two meals per week! Or have a "cheat day".

Sounds crazy????  There is a method behind this that is twofold.  First, when watching food intake many people still count calories and restrict them, often too far which, over time, will slow weight loss.  By having one day that is a free-for-all, your body will never get “set” on a certain number of calories or “plateau” with your nutrition plan.  Second, you won’t feel deprived.  If you know that you have to be strict for 6 days but you can have ANY of those foods you crave on day 7, you are much less likely to give in on day 4 (with only 2 days left to go).  NOTHING is forbidden (or should be) but please have a little bit of self control.

5) Increase your veggie intake.

Vegetables are full of water, fiber and nutrients.  They take up a lot of room on your plate and help you feel full but are low in calories.  Try celery and carrot sticks for a snack, steamed spinach with sesame seeds for a side dish, or large tossed salad-just beware of the dressing!

6) Avoid all sugars and artificial sweeteners (other than stevia) except on “cheat” meal/day.

We all know that all sugars can cause weight gain but even artificial sweeteners can trick your body into believing they are real.  Even agave nectar and honey can wreck havoc if eaten too often.  Get your carbs from vegetables, fruits and then grains and you’ll find your sweet tooth disappears.  For those times when you HAVE to have something sweet, go for fruit (berries are your best choice!)

7) No more than two 1-cup servings of whole grains daily.

Regardless of your nutrition plan, be sure you are eating WHOLE grains (look for 100%) and fewer than you usually have.  Two servings is plenty to keep you fueled and ready to go.  If you are an elite athlete or working our excessively you may need more, but follow guidelines laid our with your workouts.

8) No eating within 1 hr of bedtime.

If you’re really desperate for something, try herbal tea.  Mint works well as mint has the effect of subduing the appetite.  Another to try would be vanilla.

9) Drink 50% of your body weight in water daily!

Water is vitally important for our bodies and if you are increasing your exercise you will need even more.  A well hydrated body will also flush out lactic acid faster which will leave you less sore!

10) Do 3 resistance workouts and 3 cardio workouts per week (20 min minimum each)

There are numerous workouts I could recommend (just email me if you need help with this) but as long as you are doing 6 20-min workouts each week, you’re good.  These can also be done back to back on 3 days (cardio and resistance on the same day). 

Try following these guidelines and let me know how they work for you.  Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns or if you notice no improvement in your  health and weight loss within the first few weeks!  Good luck!!!

8 "Diet" Foods That Can Make You Fat

By Justine Holberg - taken from the Beachbody newsletter...sign up for a FREE membership at www.GetFitWithNicola.com to receive the full newsletter in your inbox!
 
A veggie wrap for lunch. A night out for sushi. And you're working out . . . but you're still not losing weight. What gives?

Some "diet" foods may be your worst enemy. That's because they're tricking you into eating too many calories. So what are some of the worst offenders?

1. Sushi: Fish wrapped in rice and seaweed. Not a diet food? Yep, that's right. It's not always as "light" as it seems. Some sushi has calorie levels so high it might just shock you.
   
   Diet Shocker: One eight-piece serving of Philadelphia sushi roll is the caloric equivalent of 1 medium bagel with plain cream cheese—close to 500 calories. It's the cream cheese that gets you. And what about spicy tuna and other mayo-based rolls? They can contain as many as 450 calories and 11 grams of artery-clogging fat per serving. Eat too many of the "wrong" rolls and you're in Big Mac® calorie territory.
2. Wraps: You order the whole wheat veggie wrap thinking it'll put you on the skinny track. But is it actually the fat track? For some reason, wraps have been viewed as a healthy upgrade from a sandwich, but this isn't always the case.
   
   Diet Shocker: The tortilla holding your wrap together can easily contain the same number of calories as four slices of bread, not to mention more carbs and twice as much fat. Many kinds of wraps you get at a deli have at least 300 calories. And that's just the tortilla, not the contents. You also have to factor in the fillings—and keep in mind that a wrap has more surface space to spread these calorie-boosting culprits:
   • Dressing
   • Cheese
   • Mayo
   All told, one healthy-seeming wrap can easily trick you into eating hundreds more calories than you planned.
3. Granola: When you're having granola, you might think, "It's healthy. The fiber and all those little pieces of dried fruit are so good for me." Truth is, although it's got good stuff in it, it also packs in the calories.
   
   Diet Shocker: A half-cup serving is what's often listed on the nutrition label of prepared granola. But who eats just half a cup? For most brands, there are more than 400 calories in a one-cup serving of granola. And when's the last time you actually measured? If you keep filling your cereal bowl with this stuff, it's no wonder you're not losing!
4. Bran Muffins: The kinds sold at many bakeries today aren't the little 3-inch muffins Grandma used to bake. They're much, much bigger. And just because they're made with "healthy" bran doesn't mean they're a diet food, either.
   
   Diet Shocker: The average bakery muffin can contain as many as 630 calories. You might be slightly better off with a bran muffin than, say, a banana or blueberry one because of bran's extra fiber, but most of them are still packed with sugar and butter. Eat one bran muffin from Dunkin' Donuts® and you'll be consuming 480 calories, 13 grams of fat, and 46 grams of sugar. OMG.
5. Dried Fruit: The more fruit you eat the better, right? Not when it comes to the dried stuff.
   
   Diet Shocker: You could boost your calorie count as much as four times (!) by choosing to eat the dried version of a fruit rather than its fresh counterpart. Check out these calorie comparisons based on a 100-gram (about 1 cup) serving:



Fruit (about 1 cup)	Fresh	Dried
Grapes	70 calories	(Raisins) 300 calories
Apricots	50 calories	240 calories
Bananas	90 calories	(Banana chips) 350 calories
Plums	45 calories	(Prunes) 230 calories



6. Pumpkin-Flavored Baked Goods: Pumpkin is nutritious, but these baked goods can be a dieting disaster. Like bran, pumpkin has lots of stuff that's good for you. So if you see pumpkin on a baked-goods label, it's easy to think you're eating something that's lower in calories. Not the case, though: Pumpkin doesn't mean diet food.
   
   Diet Shocker: Dunkin' Donuts strikes again. Their pumpkin muffin has 630 calories and 28 grams of fat. OMG again! Want to switch bakeries? It won't help much. A pumpkin muffin from Panera Bread® has 530 calories and 20 grams of fat, and the pumpkin scone at Starbucks® has 470 calories and lots of fat too—22 grams' worth. You might as well be eating pie with whipped cream!
7. Olive Oil: It's a good fat and helps you burn fat. However, you don't need a lot of it to get the benefits. Two tablespoons a day can do the trick. And overdoing it can backfire.
   
   Diet Shocker: Olive oil served with bread at a restaurant is heart-healthy, but high in calories. You can easily sop up a quarter of a cup. That's 478 calories, not including the bread. Or the rest of the meal you've ordered.
8. "Healthy" Salads: That's what some restaurants want you to believe in their "lite" section of the menu. It must be diet-friendly, right? Not always.
   
   Diet Shocker: Listed under "Healthy Options" on the T.G.I. Friday's® menu, their pecan-crusted chicken salad, which contains mandarin oranges, dried cranberries, and celery, has 1,360 calories. Meanwhile, their cheeseburger and fries combo weighs in at 1,290 calories. Say it ain't so.

So what's a dieter to do in a world filled with "diet" traps?

Ask about nutrition and read food labels. After a while, you'll be a pro at it and enjoy the weight loss that comes with it. You won't even have to give up the foods you like. That's because you'll know how to work them into your food plan the right way.

Plan for Success

There are 1,440 minutes in a 24-hour period, but it only takes five to ensure your success for the entire day. In this short amount of time you can write a daily to-do list that schedules your weight-loss goals into your calendar. Each night, pencil in your morning exercise session, write down what you plan to eat and make note of any other goal-oriented plans you have for the day.

Lay out the next day’s clothes near the bed, so you don’t have to scramble to find them in the morning. Make your lunch, and check to make sure you have the food you need for a healthy dinner. The whole process can take as little as five minutes, especially once you get into a routine of doing this each evening. Writing down your goals serves as an incentive and a well-laid plan to make them a reality.
(Tip taken from Jorge Morales)

Beachbody tips to fight your inner Cookie Monster!!!

Here are 10 tips for managing your inner cookie monster.

1. Treat yourself. Ever notice how denying yourself something only makes you want it more? According to researchers, dieters who were told not to even think about chocolate ate twice as many candies as people who weren't. The solution? Have a taste instead of eating the whole treat—or make smart substitutions. Instead of Fritos^®, have some edamame. Or trade a bowl of ice cream for an ice-milk fudge bar.
2. Think 25 minutes into the future. It takes 12 minutes for a thin person's brain to register that he or she has eaten. But it can take 25 minutes for an overweight person to know this. So set a timer, have a sensible meal, and know that 25 minutes after your first bite, you'll feel a lot less hungry.
3. Skip the dip and gravy. Gravy is made of flour, salt, turkey fat, and broth. Do you really need all that? And dip? It's just a lot of goo. You're better off nibbling on fresh veggies. Besides, skipping these temptations will help you leave room for a little dessert.
4. Flip your script. You slipped and ate two of Grandma's killer chocolate chunk cookies? Rather than say, "I blew the diet, so why not keep eating," take a breath. Smile and say,"No big deal. I can stop now and feel good about myself."
5. Sleep to avoid holiday stress. You know the holidays are hectic. So give yourself a chance to heal. Studies show that when we are sleep-deprived, the stress hormone cortisol is released at a higher level. That will help you feel hungry, even when you're full. And who needs that?
6. Say no to the nog. Egg nog, that is. An 8-ounce glass contains 343 fatty, high-carb calories. And that's without the rum. Think about how long it takes to burn all those calories and saying no to the nog gets easy.
7. Walk and talk. It's harder to fill your mouth with sweets and carbs when you're talking. Well, OK, a little harder. But it's worth it, because you'll be the life of the party. And that could keep you from eating everything on the buffet.
8. Work out. Bet you didn't see that one coming. Sure, it's a crazy time of year. But if you think of your workout as an essential way to stay grounded, you'll do it. And here's a hint that will give you more time to fit in your workout.
9. Shop online. With all that you have to do, stay home instead. Eat healthy things you have in the fridge, instead of grabbing fast food or sweets. Put on holiday music if you must, and save your energy for a good, sweat-soaked workout.
10. Try tag-team weight control. See if you and a friend can look out for each other. If one of you begins to blow your diet, a little friendly peer pressure could help you step back from the cookie. If you don't want to burden a friend with this job, try a FREE 30-Day Team Beachbody Club VIP Pass. Team Beachbody Club members reach their health and fitness goals 3 times faster than people who don't join, in part because of the online peer support they get to keep going with their diet and exercise programs.

I would love to help you work on your fitness goals and then help you reach them!  There is no day like today to get started!  www.GetFitWithNicola.com

Win Money for Losing Weight!!!

Do you have some weight to lose? Are you looking for some incentive other than just looking and feeling better? Well I have two contests that you could actually do at the same time!!!
Option #1: Locally in Bakersfield the "Bakersfield Loser Contest" is getting ready to start at Body Xchange Fitness Clubs around town. www.bxfitness.com or you can find them on Facebook and a chance to win up to $20,000 cash! Last year's second place finisher (by a mere few pounds), Anthony, used P90X at home to get his amazing results!
Option #2: From anywhere, Beachbody has the "Million Dollar Body Game". All you do is use a Beachbody program and lose weight, get fit and feel great...enter your before and after photos and you can win lots of money! This year they have different categories for different programs so the cardio folks aren't up against the P90X folks, plus there are age and sex categories! Check out this video link and give it a go! What have you got to lose...oh right, some weight!

Healthy Gifts!

I love to help people with their health and fitness, so a logical gift would be something to encourage/inspire friends and family to work on their health and fitness!  Alas, I cannot afford to buy everyone P90X and Shakeology, but there are a few more affordable options...here are some ideas:

• Tony and the Kids $9.95 - This is a fun workout for kids...also for parents starting on their fitness journey!
• Tony and the Folks $9.95 - Do you know an older person who would like to get their fitness rolling?  Tony Horton has a great option here!
• Shaun T.'s Fit Club $19.95 - Another great workout for the youngsters!
• P90X One on One is &19.95 a month...December though is only 1 penny!  This does require signing up for monthly shipments, but you could gift a month or two and then tell them how they can continue this!  This gift would be ideal for someone who has completed P90X or wants to experience it before buying it!
• Insanity Fast and Furious $19.95 - A 30 minute INSANE workout.  A taste of Insanity all crammed into a quick workout!  This workout is great for someone who is fit already and loves to exercise!
• Brazil Butt Lift, Slim in 6, Turbo Jam, Hip Hop Abs and Power 90 are all $59.85 and the other programs go up from there.  Remember that these programs include not only the workout, but a suggested schedule to get maximal results and a nutrition plan!!!
•  Beachbody has resistance bands, weighted gloves, Yoga tools, P90X Equipment and supplements, balance balls, plus vitamins and nutritional supplements that are proven and guaranteed!

There are many options here and as a coach I can buy all of these products at a 25% discount!  Guess what...so can you!  It is FREE to sign up as a coach until the end of December...you can buy yourself Shakeology or a program as a Christmas present at the same time!!!!  How many people can you check off of your list with these ideas?  Let me know how I can help you find the perfect gifts, the perfect program for you and encourage and inspire you into 2011!  www.GetFitWithNicola.com