Does Sugar rule you?

I am all about eating healthy and encouraging others to do the same but I do love a slice of birthday cake, a small bowl of ice cream or a hunk of chocolate on occasion.  Sometimes I have it as a treat, sometimes I have it because I am really craving it, sometimes I just have it because it is there and I know I will enjoy it.
Trick one to avoiding treats I love... Don't have them readily available to pick up and eat- set yourself up for success!  Trick two ... have a treat every so often, just don't have one every day!  Its about moderation, self control and will power... we all have some, give your self a little credit... now USE IT!

My kids LOVE sugar.  They manage quite well when they don't get sweets but when given a choice between fruit or cupcake they will usually choose a cupcake... but they do both love my homemade, low sugar zucchini bread!

Where isn't there sugar?  Look in most of the foods you eat and check out all of the added sugar, especially in the low fat products!  How many people drink coffee without sugar or a flavored creamer (which is sweetened)?  Sugar is addictive.  Sugar gives you a quick burst of energy, but can often lead to a "sugar hangover" as the energy is short lived!  Sugar is known to feed cancer cells, trigger weight gain and promote premature aging (Mercola).  Artificial sweeteners are no better!

Most mornings I set my children up for a successful day with oatmeal, raisins and yogurt with a small slice of homemade zucchini bread.  Their bellies are full, their brains are fed, their bodies are nourished.  As I dropped them off at school last week I saw boxes of donuts waiting to be carried into a neighboring classroom to celebrate a teacher's birthday.  How sweet, her gift was 25 sugared up little first graders... YIKES!  Our school allows birthdays to be celebrated and it usually involves a lot of sweets.  Do your schools still allow this?  The bigger the treat does not mean the more you love your child or the more money you have... but that seems to be where we are at right now!  I am thinking dipped, frozen bananas or fruit kabobs with a marshmallow or two thrown in might be suitable this year!

My goals?

• To help my kids understand the value of healthy eating... it is not about being skinny, it is about being healthy... not just now but long term! 
• To help my friends and family understand the value of healthy eating for the same reasons.
• To share this forward to help "End the Trend" of obesity.

Tiny changes, baby steps, healthier options... we all can get there, it is just going to take time!
I would love to help you make changes, just give me a shout and we will see what we can do.  I would love some help as I am only one person and there are a lot of people who need help!  Learn a little more about the Beachbody Challenges in the video below! and find me a www.GetFitWithNicola.com

Can't lose the weight this year?

Suppose you have been pretty efficient in the past at maintaining your weight, fitting in your clothes and enjoying life... every so often, particularly in the winter months, you gain a few pounds either because you indulged a little too much or you got busy with life... your solution was to cut calories, cut treats, eat Lean Cuisine and rice cakes for a few weeks + some extra trips to the gym... and BAM, back to the weight you need to be at.  Suppose you are now in your late thirties and low and behold, this plan no longer works!!!  I guess it is time to try something different!

Lets look at a few details. 

1. As we age we naturally lose muscle mass.  Muscle burns calories (even while you are at rest) and 1 pound of muscle takes up less room than 1 pound of fat... so the scale might not read a different number but your clothes will become tighter the more muscle you lose (and fat you gain)! 
2. Our digestive systems tend to get a little less efficient as we age.  That 1200 calories you were getting with the Lean Cuisine and rice cakes is tough for your body to digest... so your body is now in starvation mode as it needs more calories than you are putting in to operate, so it won't let any weight go!  Limiting yourself all day also leads to binging in the evening when you are starving, and rarely do we make good choices at this time!

Solutions:

1. Resistance training.  At home you can do pushups, tricep dips, squats and lunges OR some great DVD workouts like ChaLEAN Extreme, Les Mills PUMP or if you are tight for time try 10 Minute Trainer.  At the gym you can join a PUMP class, interval training or hire a personal trainer to show you the ropes.  Either way, do NOT be scared to pump iron.  You will NOT bulk up, you will get leaner... remember muscle takes up less space than fat, so even if your weight does not drop, your clothes should fit better!
2. Eat REAL food!  I know, cooking isn't always easy but alas, it is necessary.  I will be posting recipes and foods I am eating over the next 3 weeks (starting 4/30) while I work through a 21 day detox- the Ultimate Reset... the final week is Vegan!  Apparently some of the recipes are awesome... I will also share some of the food choices.  Think whole foods, things that grow, things that can't sit on the shelf for months on end full of preservatives!  Shop around the outside of the store, try new things, mix it up!
3. Breakfast ideas... oatmeal with blueberries and/or egg whites, scrambled eggs and whole wheat toast, fresh fruit and greek yogurt (higher in protein).
4. Lunch ideas... salad with protein, lentils, quinoa, non cream based soups, whole wheat sandwiches.
5. Dinner ideas... grilled salmon (I like to put some pesto on top, place on foil and put on BBQ), brown rice sushi, veggie stir fry, roasted root vegetables, salad... serve any of these with grilled chicken breast or lean beef!
6. Snacks... always a tough one...green apple + 12 almonds, raw veggies and hummus, apple and peanut butter, berries and greek yogurt, hard boiled egg + whole grain crackers, edamame, celery + peanut butter, miso soup.
7. My favorite for any of these... Shakeology.  You can keep it at 140 calories by just mixing with water.  1/2 cup of unsweetened almond milk is only 20 calories.  or blend in some fruit or peanut butter + banana to make it a complete meal!  PLUS you are getting amazing nutrition which will help reduce cravings for sweets, naturally increased energy, improved regularity and healthy digestion, reduced cholesterol, reduced blood pressure... sound intriguing?  Take a look at this video link to learn a little more.  Flavors are Chocolate, Greenberry, and the newest, Tropical our vegan option.  You can find a recipe to make them all work for you... I love Chocolate, but the lighter flavor of Tropical is amazing too!
8. If you want to give yourself a little kickstart and drop a few pounds as you dive into your healthier plan you could try the Shakeology 3 day Jumpstart.  It isn't a cleanse (although some digestive systems are more prone to a little cleansing action the first day), it entails 3 Shakes a day for 3 days, plus a salad with lean protein for dinner.  Let me know if you would like the full rundown.  All you need to do is order a bag of Shakeology, and I will get you all the information you need.  If you decide to try a fitness program as well, we have Challenge packs that combine Shakeology with a program for a discounted price plus free access to the meal planning tools on the Beachbody site for 30 days!  Getting your Shakeology on Home Direct saves you ~$9 with free shipping as well!  Orders can be canceled at any time and you have a 30 day money back guarantee on all products, even Shakeology!

Let's get you moving forward with your weight loss again and confident heading into the summer!  Whether you use Beachbody products or not, make sure you hit the weights, clean up your eating and connect with me.  I would love to help, and if these products aren't for you, maybe you can recommend them to someone else!  Contact me by email or come to my website at www.GetFitWithNicola.com  You can sign up for FREE to check things out and let me know how I can help!

If you are just beginning your weight loss journey and want to try out a Beachbody program, Check out this 30 minute basic workout!  OR forward it to someone who could use it!

20 Little Ways to Drop Pounds

I get regular emails from RealSimple.com and I LOVE this one so I had to share. Thank you to By Joe Mullich for his Smart tips for how to take the pounds off―and keep them off.

Bad news: The average person gains one to two pounds a year.

Good news: Consuming just 100 fewer calories each day is enough to avert that weight gain.

If you’re finding this out a little too late―and you want to actually lose some of that weight―you have to downsize by 500 calories a day. But you don’t have to slash them all from your plate.

“You can eat 250 calories less and then burn 250 by walking for 30 to 45 minutes. Over a week, that will produce about a pound of weight loss,” says Holly Wyatt, MD, a clinical researcher at the Center for Human Nutrition in Denver. You won’t see dramatic changes immediately, but small tweaks like those that follow will pay off over time.

Tweak Your Diet

1. Start with salad...and eat less during the rest of the meal, says a study from Pennsylvania State University. When salads were topped with low-fat mozzarella and low-calorie Italian dressing instead of high-fat alternatives, women ate 10 percent fewer calories over the course of the day.

2. Stick a fork in it. If you prefer your salad dressing on the side, dip your fork into it before stabbing your greens. That little maneuver could cut hundreds of calories.

3. Order two appetizers. According to a study at the University of North Carolina, the average hamburger is 23 percent larger today than it was in 1977. Choose a pasta dish and salad or soup from the appetizer column, instead.

4. Visit the vending machine. Nibbling on single servings is better than digging your way to the bottom of a megabag of chips. 

Get Moving

5. Walk and talk. When your cell phone rings, slip on your walking shoes and stroll the halls at work or hoof it outside. If you did this for 10 minutes every workday at a moderate 3 mph pace, you’d burn about 1,000 calories a month and lose 3 pounds a year.

6. Watch coffee calories. The fancy concoctions that are now the javas of choice for many people can contain as many calories as an entire lunch.

7. Crack a nut. Dieters in a Harvard University study who ate a handful of peanuts or mixed nuts daily were more likely to keep weight off than a group whose regimen didn’t include the high-fat snacks.

8. Don’t just sit there. The average person burns 100 calories per hour sitting and 140 per hour standing. Get on your feet 2 hours a day while you work, and you could drop an extra 6 pounds over the year. 

Adjust Your Habits

9. Sleep well, lose more. Insufficient shut-eye appears to increase production of the stress hormone cortisol, which regulates appetite. High levels seem to worsen bingeing and hunger; moreover, too little sleep could keep your body from burning carbohydrates, which translates to more stored body fat.

10. Double your protein. The high-protein, low-carb approach may help keep you from losing muscle along with fat, according to a study published in The Journal of Nutrition. According to study author Donald K. Layman, PhD, of the University of Illinois, the amino acid leucine―found in beef, dairy, poultry, fish, and eggs―may help preserve muscle tissue.

11. Keep an exercise journal. Writing down your fitness achievements is a great way to track your progress, give yourself positive feedback, and maintain focus on your goals.

12. Eat dairy daily. A piece of cheese or a cup of milk or yogurt can rev up your metabolism, a University of Tennessee study found. People who cut 500 calories a day from their diets while eating yogurt three times a day lost 13 pounds over 12 weeks, more weight and more body fat than a control group who only cut calories.

Start Drinking

13. Drink water. Your body often mistakes thirst for hunger, so staying hydrated means you’ll probably also stay satiated.

14. Be wary of white foods. That’s the color of most high-calorie carbs―bagels, potatoes, breads, rice, creamed corn, and the like.

15. Have an apple before dinner. How did 346 people in small-town Washington State lose an average of 17 pounds each in 3 months? With regular exercise, balanced eating, and an apple with every meal. The typical apple has 5 grams of fiber, which makes you feel fuller.

16. Act like a kid. Expand your definition of physical activity to include shaking your booty with your kids. It’s a welcome break from the StairMaster and can burn just as many calories (about 120 every 20 minutes). 

Breakfast Like a Champion

17. Eat breakfast. A Harvard study found that people who did so every day cut their chances of becoming obese and developing diabetes by 35 to 50 percent, compared with those who ate breakfast only twice a week.

18. Be picky about bread. Select loaves with whole grain listed as the first ingredient, and make sure each slice contains at least 2 grams of fiber.

19. Munch a handful of M&M’s. Just under half a pack of plain candies adds only 100 calories to your daily tally and can satisfy a sweet tooth.

20. Brush your teeth after every meal. It doesn’t just fight cavities: Brushing serves as a physical and psychological cue to stop eating. When you’re on the go, a few Altoids or a breath strip can have the same effect. 

Did you pick up any great ideas?  Just add one or two in and progress over time!  Remember, you are a role model for someone...whether it's your kids, your family, your siblings...help yourself and help others at the same time!!!  If you are looking for some help to get rolling or to stay motivated I would love to help you as your FREE coach!  Sign up at www.GetFitWithNicola.com