Day 3 of the Fitness Advent Calendar

From frog squats (lower body), to frog push-ups (chest and arms) to the airplane (back and glutes), this is our exercise of the day. There are so many variations to this exercise. The video demonstrates some of those options.

For the beginner, using a modification, do 3 sets of 10 second holds. For the intermediate exerciser, do 3 sets of 30 second holds. For the advanced exerciser, hold in the lifted position for 2-3 minutes with arm variations.

For a major muscle simple workout, do one set of all 3 exercises from Days 1-3. Then repeat so that you do 3-4 sets total of each exercise. Easy to do when you're on the road! All you need is enough floor space for your body!

Directions:
1. Lay down on your belly.
2. Squeeze your glutes and anchor your hips and tops of your feet to the floor.
3. Keep your chin tucked so neck is in alignment with the spine.
4. Lift chest up to rib cage if you can.
5. Use modifications and variations where applicable. (see video)

Day 2 of the Fitness Advent Calendar

So if we're going to act like a frog in the lower body, might as well do some upper body huh? Push-ups! Frog push-ups! The great thing about push-ups is that they sculpt shoulders, triceps, chest and core! Multiple muscles all in one shot!

Beginners, do 1 set of 10 and modify by bringing the knees down if you need or only going down half way. If you've been exercising for awhile, do 3 sets of 10. Advanced exercisers, here's your challenge...do a set of frog squat hops from Day 1 then do a set of frog push-ups. Rotate the 2 exercises for 3 rounds of hoppin' happy fitness fun! If you still need more motivation, how about watching a Christmas special on TV and on every commercial break, do 1 set!

Directions:
1. Hands set up outside of the chest.
2. Start with knees under the hips then tuck your toes and lift the knees up off of the floor.
3. Staying in this lifted position, take your nose towards the floor while bending at the elbow.
4. Chin tucks so spine stays long.
5. Abs pull up to protect the back.

Day 1: Fitness Advent Countdown

(Click on the image above and zoom in to see the run down of our Fitness Advent Calendar. You'll find workout ideas listed on there as well as each day's exercise.)

It's here! 25 Days 'til Christmas and we're going to count it down with the gift of fitness to ourselves. Each day, I'll post an exercise, a little video demo and ideas of how to incorporate that exercise into your current routines or how to create a new routine utilizing the movement.

Your first Fitness Advent exercise is the frog squat. If you're a beginner, complete this exercise 15 times with a small range of motion (don't touch the floor with your hands.) If you've all ready been exercising, do 3 sets of 15. If you're an advanced exerciser, feel free to do all 45 together and add a small hop between each squat AND touch the floor each time. That's SURE to get the heart rate up and the legs leaner! We'll refer back to this exercise in other posts and we'll put it in with other exercises for a complete workout. For now, start small and get to hoppin' with the frog squat!

My 3rd grade son played animal tag in P.E. and was sore the next day which is unusual for young boys! I asked him what animal he was and he said he was a frog. Essentially, he did this frog squat WITH A HOP for 30 minutes of playing tag. So, he wasn't taking his time doing this squat, he was trying to hop away from someone! If you have kids and you need a bit of motivation to get this exercise in, play animal tag today!!! You're the frog and you're it! They'll love it!

Directions:
1. Feet wider than shoulders
2. Toes and knees turned out
3. Body upright
4. Sit straight down towards floor
5. Knees stay behind toes
6. Abs braced, chin lifted, chest open
7. Spine long as you squat and touch the floor
8. Hands on legs if you need to modify or support the back
9. Have fun!

Coming Soon!

The snow is falling, my bed is calling, but there's no stalling on our health goals! The holidays are almost here and I've got an idea for us to do together...Fitness Advent. I will post a daily exercise that you can do at home or on the road, no equipment necessary. There will be strength exercises, cardio exercises, yoga, pilates, and all kinds of games and workout ideas as we countdown the days until Christmas. The first post will be on December 1st! I will post the full advent calendar along with a video demo and exercise idea daily! Feel free to get your friends and family in on the countdown!

Fitness Advent: Giving the Gift of Fitness...to Ourselves

Each year, I always try to find a creative way to "countdown to Christmas". The kids and I have done all kinds of advent calendars. This year, I made a calendar that has a special way to celebrate the season on each day. For example, tonight we had hot chocolate with our dinner.

As a trainer, I've found that this time of year, people get busy and have many added activities in their schedules. But we also eat more, drink more and slow down because of the winter cold setting in. I thought it'd be fun for those of you following me on my journey of losing the baby weight and seeking a healthier lifestyle if we did a Fitness Advent calendar together. Essentially, we'd be celebrating the gift of fitness, our bodies and capability to move, and in a short simple way, we'd keep our activity level up even when we get busy.

Each day, I will post the "Merry Movement" video clip. I'll demonstrate and lead you through a fitness movement. I'll give you directions to make it harder, easier and other ways to incorporate it into your day. I've all ready posted Day 1. Stay tuned for Day 2!

Why Do Good Habits Die so Easily?

Why is it that bad habits seem to form so easily and good habits can disappear so quickly? Ever since the kids brought home their Halloween candy, it's become a ritual to say, "Can I have a piece of candy?" after nearly every meal. It only took a few times to solidify that bad habit. The good news is that we were all gone and busy the first 3 days this week and since we've been home, I haven't heard about having candy after our meals. So maybe that's the key to losing bad habits...leave town for a few days. Well that doesn't seem so practical. Maybe it would help to just remove yourself from the situation, position, routine, environment that fosters and supports the habit. I don't know. That's just something I've thought about this week. This isn't eaters anonymous or anything. If we remove ourselves from the routine so the bad habit can die, then is it likely that we should do the opposite to support the new good habits?

What environment, company, routines, and situations will support your new good habits (or behaviors that you want to be habits)? I have a feeling that this is why some of our new good habits die easily. We don't change the environment, routines, or company to support them. We try to do something new in an old environment. When we get tired of doing the new thing, it's so easy to do the old thing. It's what we know best. When we find our good habits fading, maybe we should do an inventory of the other things surrounding us to make sure they're supporting our goals rather than creating resistance towards them.

Recently, I read this: "95 percent of Americans have no written goals. A recent Harvard study showed that only 5 percent of Americans have written goals and many of them are among the highest earning people in the nation. That's because successful people are willing to make sacrifices and put in the time of preparation that unsuccessful people aren't willing to do." If this is true, I think we've found another key to keeping new good habits...write them down and prepare for the change. It's not enough to dream about it and have vision for it. We need to dream, plan, make action steps, find motivation through other good resources/support/help, understand the learning curve and possible set-backs and load up on the persistence and perseverance.

This week, let's write down what we want to accomplish then make a plan. Let's understand that we need a supportive environment and create new routines to foster the new habit. Then with that understanding, let's make the change so success will be guaranteed. Sticking with it is key. Many very successful people saw very big failures before they ever saw success. Ups and downs are bound to happen. It's what we do when we fall down that matters.

3 Things that Stop Health Goals in Their Tracks

There was no "Weigh in Wednesday" this week. It's not because I've lost 10 pounds. I still want to weigh in weekly for awhile as I work on changing some habits. I think weighing periodically is a good check on the choices we're making. The reason I didn't weigh in is because I was out of town. I am fully convinced about this: traveling, stress, and busyness will either make you gain weight, keep you from making progress, or steal your health.

We were traveling to the Children's Hospital for yet another appointment and EEG for our baby. I didn't think I was too stressed, but I recognized it later in disguise. Before leaving for our trip, there was a lot to plan, prepare and accomplish before we could leave. This made us quite busy. Thus, the deadly combination of stress, travel and busyness. I think alone, they have a powerful effect on the success of our goals, but together, I believe they're a show stopper.

When I'm busy, meals are missed and hunger grows. Then, when I'm short on time and big on hunger, I tend to make choices out of convenience and cravings rather than based on what's needed. I eat while standing, driving, working, feeding the baby, talking on the phone and even while walking around the house do things. How can you accurately keep track of what you've eaten? You can't. How can you accurately tell the difference between hunger and appetite? You don't. You have food in your hands and you need to get rid of it. So, you eat it all to get it out of your hands so you can continue on with your busyness. Or at least that's what I was doing. Then, because I got extra busy, I didn't log my food for a few days. Double trouble.

Many people are stress or emotional eaters. We try to relax, be comforted, calm down, get rid of anxiety, cheer up, and feel better by eating something pleasing to the mouth. There is actual science behind carbs and sugar and their effects on our brain and mood. There is truth behind the "comfort foods". They do actually send signals to our brain making us "feel" happy or happier. I didn't think I was stressed out until I looked back and noticed my stress in a sweet disguise...literally. I'm almost embarrassed to write down ALL of the treats I've consumed in the last week. It's a bit humbling really.

Then we have the travel issue. "Where do you want to eat?" In an unfamiliar place, you settle for less many times. Eating out gets old and so does trying to find something healthy when the baby is tired of being in the car and you're tired of being hungry. We ate out multiple times and even the "healthier" options were weighing heavy in my gut.

All of this to say that being busy, allowing stress and traveling did not help me in this last week. The good news is that we are at home, I am less busy this week, and we got good news about the health of our baby (which means less stress). So, all of those damaging factors can be eliminated for the most part. Sometimes, we can't eliminate travel. Sometimes, stress comes with the territory. And many times, busy is a way of life. But, what CAN we change? What CAN we control? What can we do to alleviate stress? How can we be less busy? How can we set ourselves up for success when we travel?

To be more healthy, to reach our health goals, to have a lifestyle of health...we need to lower our stress, become less busy and plan our travels to support our health not diminish it. Sounds simple enough. If any of these factors affect you, start with one of them and make a small change. A bunch of small changes add up to big change.

Lose the Weight and Never Find it Again

A friend asked me yesterday, "What are you going to do now since you've lost the 10 pounds?" "Keep it off" is the answer. That can be the hardest part of weight loss for many people; lose it and not find it ever again. Lots of people have lost weight, but somehow it finds it's way back home to the thighs, the belly or the butt. Why does it happen? I believe it's because new habits and a new lifestyle weren't formed. Instead, there were temporary changes that brought weight loss. You have to ask yourself, "The things I'm doing to lose weight now, are they things I would want to do forever?" If the answer to that is "no" then it's likely that the habit won't stick, but the weight will.

Just because I lost 10 pounds, doesn't mean I'm done. I can always improve my health habits. I haven't "arrived" by any means and most people (like 99.9%) never will. So, I can keep making healthy changes with maintenance and my overall health in mind. The holidays are approaching...how will I avoid gaining weight?

I am going to continue to log on sparkpeople. There are several things I want to improve upon, but more importantly, I know I'll be adding holiday treats and eats into my diet so I want to keep tabs on it.

I am going to continue to weigh myself on Wednesdays. Ignorance is bliss for some, but it's not so blissful when your pants feel tight. Weighing daily isn't necessary. Weight fluctuates daily and there's no reason to get worked up for nothing.

I am going to get my bodyfat tested. I want to see how much of my weight is fat. There are healthy levels of body fat and I am curious to see where mine lies. That gives me a better idea of what my natural/healthy body weight should be.

I am going to continue and increase the use of the hunger scale from my previous post. This will be really helpful during the holidays. I can enjoy the food when I'm hungry and chose not to indulge when I'm not. That will keep the extra weight from piling on.

I am going to increase the amount of water I drink. That way, my appetite won't take control.

I am going to continue to workout. Thankfully, it's my job so it's never really an issue.

I am going to continue to plan meals for the week and grocery shop according to the list and plan. That will help me to buy the necessary ingredients and not all of the extras that are out in the aisles for the holidays.

I am going to monitor my progress and attitude to make sure it's not consuming me, hindering me, or boring me.

With these things that I am going to do, the one thing I am NOT going to do is bring the weight back on!

Weigh in Wednesday: Week 4---Hunger Scale and the Weight Scale

I lost another 2 pounds for a total of 10 pounds lost in 4 weeks. Not sure if it was a fat loss or a hair loss. I also cut about 10 inches off of my hair this week so maybe that's all it was. I strep throat this week too so there was a day or two in there that I didn't eat much. So there you have it, cut your hair and contract a sickness where you can't eat and you'll lose weight!

For a tip that you can actually apply, I have been thinking on the "hunger scale" that I read about in a book called "Thin Within." We've messed up our natural hunger signals by over scheduling, dulling our taste buds, eating instead of drinking water, getting too little rest, stressing ourselves out, eating for emotional reasons, treating ourselves with food and over eating too often. If we could learn to "listen" to our hunger signals, our body might just find it's natural weight and let go of the extra it never needed.

The hunger scale goes something like this...that when you are truly hungry, you are at a "0". When you've over eaten and are incredibly uncomfortable (like so many people after Thanksgiving), you've eaten to a "10". Waiting to eat until you are at a "0" is best and then never really eating over a "5" or "6" will help you to get to your body's preferred weight. If you often eat over a "6", you tend to gain weight. If you often eat under a "5", you tend to lose weight and feel low in energy. People who fluctuate between "0-6" will maintain or adjust to what is good for their body. I think I ate to a 7 or 8 for the first time in a long time today at lunch. It was really good and I kept eating and talking and then it was too late.

I was thinking on this this last week. Sometimes, I eat because it's "time to eat", not necessarily because I'm at a "0". But sometimes, I DON'T eat because it's not "time to eat" and I'm all ready at a "0". How do we get these crazy ideas in our heads? I feed my 3 month old baby when he's hungry and he tells me when he's hungry. Would I tell him, "Sorry son, it's not dinner time. You can't eat." No, that's silly. At the same time, would I feed him an extra time because he was a "good boy". No, that seems silly too. But, in reality, that's what we do as adults.

As the "feasting" holidays approach us, I think by practicing the hunger scale, we can avoid weight gain unlike many Americans. AND, we can ENJOY the meals and treats if we eat when we are at a "0" and stop at a "6". Try it out this week. See what crazy mind sets you have to adjust.

5 Easy Ways to Lose 1 Pound in a Month

Usually, we don't put the word "easy" in the same sentence as "lose weight". Many of us struggle with it at least one point in our lives and some struggle with it on an off for years and years. There are a few things I've found over the years with my clients and with myself that if done fairly consistently, can make part of the fat loss easy...yes easy.

1. Be careful about your cereal servings. Check the label. How much is considered 1 serving? Spoon-sized Shredded wheat for example is 1 cup at 170 calories. Then, add 3/4 cup of nonfat milk at about 70 calories. I can eat that breakfast in 2 minutes flat. 1 cup of shredded wheat might be about 10-15 of those little biscuits. That's 240 calories down the pipe in no time. If you eat more like 1.5-2 cups with a little more milk, that is an additional 200 calories. In one month, cutting back your serving size would cut back 6000 calories which is close to 1.75 pounds.

2. Don't drink your calories. Drink tea instead of regular soda and save 150 calories. Drink skim milk instead of 2% and save 30 calories/cup. Do that daily and you'll drop 1-2 pounds.

3. Don't go nuts on the nuts. The calories in those buggers add up super fast. During the holiday season, they may be sitting out. 1 cup of walnuts is 654 calories! Even only a 1/4 c. is going to be 160+ calories. Slim down on the serving size of nuts and lose.

4. Chew gum instead of eating candy or sweets. If you have a sweet tooth after lunch or dinner, try chewing gum. It'll save you 50-200 calories and might help the sweet tooth. If that doesn't work, how about a hot cup of brew chai tea with some Coffeemate Vanilla Creamer for 35 calories?

5. Crackers aren't what they're cracked up to be. Crackers have a lot of calories for a small serving and not much beneficial nutritional value. Stop eating crackers with your lunch or as a snack and lose 1-2 pounds in a month. If you need a salty crunch, try substituting popcorn or cucumber slices with a laughing cow cheese wedge.

Weigh in Wednesday: Week 3- Hmmphf!

I got on the scale this morning and had lost 1/2 a pound. Hmmphf! Blah! Ughh! Is what I think about that! You mean adding Halloween candy to the diet doesn't help? Ok, fine. I knew that this might be the case. Here's the deal, I am not going to deprive myself and make this a "crash diet". I resolve to live a lifestyle of health so enjoying treats here and there are within that parameter. It's good that I was keeping a log all week though because it's super easy to eat a few too many treats and that's when the holiday weight gain sneaks up on us.

If I were my own trainer, here's what I would say to myself:
1. "A half of a pound down is a half of a pound that you didn't want last week."
2. "You enjoyed some Halloween candy and still lost weight."
3. "The closer you get to your ideal weight, the less you lose each week."
4. "Weight is not the only number that matters."
5. "Don't forget why you're doing this."
6. "Success is learning, changing, and seeing the downward trend."
7. "You know what to do next week."

I guess I should listen to the inner trainer and not be bothered by the small change. Any change is good change. I can be thankful for the candy and the small weight loss too.

How to Enjoy the Treats of the Season

'Tis the season for sweet treats! I've always told my clients that "winter weight" starts with Halloween and ends on New Years. But, the great thing is, we can have our cake and eat it too if we fill in the gaps with some "beneficial" goodies.

I've all ready felt the season approaching this week. I seem to have had more "non-beneficial" foods than normal. There's something about those treats that make me want to keep eating. We'll see how much self-control I had on "Weigh in Wednesday." It sure feels as though I was doing more eating than usual.

The good news is that the season isn't a surprise and so it isn't something that is out of our control. We can plan ahead to enjoy the season, but not go overboard. Here's a couple ideas of treats that I've made for seasonal celebrations to give a bit more "benefit" to the body and are still yummy and festive. I find many of my ideas on www.allrecipes.com and then make healthier substitutions where needed. The hungry girl site also gives great tips and treat ideas.

Fruit dips
1. Mix 1 jar of marshmallow cream with 8 oz. light cream cheese (fat free makes the wrong consistency)
2. Mix fat free sour cream with sugar free/fat free butterscotch, chocolate or cheesecake pudding mix, cool whip, plus skim milk until the right consistency.
3. Peanut butter mixed with honey or fat free caramel ice cream topping.

Pumpkin spice cookies
1. Mix 1 can of pumpkin with a spice cake mix. Drop spoonfuls on baking sheet and bake as long as the cupcake directions instruct.

Fat free cupcakes
1. Mix 1 can of diet soda with 1 box of cake mix. Bake as directed. Ideas are diet Dr. Pepper with chocolate cake. Diet cream soda with yellow cake. Sprite zero with spice cake or carrot cake.

Baked Sweet Potato (yam) fries
1. Cut 6 yams into fries. In plastic bag, mix 2 T. olive oil with 3 T. taco seasoning and potatoes. Bake at 425 for 30 minutes, toss and bake for another 30 minutes until crisp on outside and soft on the inside.

Weigh in Wednesday: Week 2- What I am Doing

I got on the scale this morning and had lost another 2.5 pounds for a total of 7.5 pounds in 2 weeks.
What am I doing?
-Keeping my calories in an appropriate range
-Logging on sparkpeople.com
-Trying to drink 8 cups of water daily (should be more eventually)
-Tracking protein:carb:fat so I can make adjustments later
-Doing 3-4 Spinning classes/week for cardio
-Doing 2-3 Body pump classes/week for strength
-1-2 Body Flow classes/week for flexibility, core training, and sanity
-Trying to think before I eat...if I can beat my hand to mouth reflex :)
-Trying to lessen distractions when I eat (not always possible)
-And celebrating small successes while not obsessing about "non-beneficial" choices
-Praying for strength, self-control and giving thanks for the body I get to use :)

What am I not doing?
-Plank Challenge :)...no real excuse except, I always find other things to do. Just keeping it real for ya!
-Avoiding treats: in the last 2 weeks, I've eaten M&M cookies, Pumpkin cookies, a few pieces of Halloween candy, had a small sundae, shared a piece of cake, and shared a brownie sundae. All "non-beneficial", but were conscious choices within my calorie range. Is this good? Not necessarily. I will work on it. 1 thing at a time...
-Weighing myself daily...why?
-Obsessing, allowing bad self talk, allowing feelings of failure...nope none of those. Been there and done that and they don't work well in getting me to my goals.

What are YOU doing? What are you NOT doing?

New Habits for the Multi-tasking Eaters

There are times when multi-tasking are absolutely necessary. If I didn't multi-task, I'd never get anything done. Take for instance right now. I am studying something for work, blogging, doing laundry and feeding the baby. With 3 boys (1 being 10 weeks old), a job, a husband, being on a church planting team, and holding the position of keeping my family organized, fed, clean, etc...I have no choice but to split my brain and hands among many tasks. Sometimes, multi-tasking becomes so second nature to many of us that we even multi-task and eat. I found myself the other night rocking my baby's carseat with my foot while making dinner for my older boys, looking through bills, and eating all at the same time. I'm lucky their food didn't burn. Maybe I would've been more lucky if the bills had burned instead. I could apply "the dog ate my homework" principle except it'd be "the bills burned up on the stove."

I have no idea how much I really consumed. My hands went on cruise control...down to my plate then up to my mouth. Repeat. The whole plate thing is actually just a visual picture because I wasn't eating off of a plate which is one of the "new habits" I want to talk about.

In a previous post "Mind Before Mouth" I mentioned that I am trying to think about what I am eating and drinking before I put it in my mouth. I am now going to take that a step further and say that I am going to put my whole mind on what I'm eating for that short amount of time and apply a few new things to my eating routine.

#1 I will sit and not stand when eating.
#2 I will not read, look at the computer, talk on the phone, work, or do anything else when I eat. Just eat and be with my family if I can.
#3 I will serve myself a small portion of food on a plate or in a bowl and will not eat out of a package, box, sack, pot or pan while I am cooking. (If I am still hungry (not appetite, but hunger), I can take a second portion, but will always start small....I'm going to talk about the "hunger scale" another time.)

By just applying these 3 new (or revisited) habits, I can learn to enjoy my food more, listen to my hunger, and stop myself from eating more than I need. Do you multi-tasking eaters need to drop the old habits and pick up some new ones too? This is just another one of those "behaviors" I referenced in the post on not dieting. The last post was about a "black and white" thought pattern that we get trapped in and tripped up by. If diets have always been on again off again for you, a source of frustration, and up and down like a yo-yo...be sure to read the last 2 posts. You can visit those by clicking on the links highlighted in this paragraph.

Are you Black and White?

Have you ever thought or said these things?:
1) I am either "on track" or "off track" when it comes to my eating and working out.
2) I was so bad this weekend. I ate __________. (Fill in the blank with your favorite treat like chocolate cake.)
3) Fatty foods are bad for you.
4) I have a terrible sweet tooth.
5) I had a stressful week. I am going off my diet because I deserve a big steak, a big glass of wine and a big piece of cake.
6) I have eaten so bad today. I might as well eat this ______. (Insert one of those foods again.)
7) I will start over with my good eating and exercise on Monday or even better, on the 1st of the next month. Until then, I will eat everything I can!
8) If I stray from my diet, then I binge.
9) I feel so guilty if I miss a workout.
10) Go hard or go home. All or nothing....black or white....

In my previous post, I made reference to a few thought patterns that must change as a part of the secret to losing the extra weight forever. The "black and white" mentality is one of the most common and one of the biggest stumbling blocks that I see with my clients (and even with myself.)

Food is not "bad". You are not "bad". A sweet tooth is not "bad". Missing a planned workout is not "bad". Here's the thing, there are things that we do in life that are either "beneficial" or not. "Everything is permissible"--but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible"--but not everything is constructive. I Cor. 10:23 If we eat a piece of Halloween candy, it is neither bad nor beneficial. It is not constructive as it doesn't help us towards our goals. Did it taste good? Did you practice self-control and not eat the whole bag? Is your craving gone? Are you living life or running from it because you're afraid of being "bad"?

If your overall goal is to lose weight, maybe you should rephrase your goal by saying you are working towards making "beneficial", healthier choices every day so that you can enjoy life to the fullest. If you phrase your goal like this, then right now is a good time to start. You don't need to wait until Monday. In fact, if you ate something that wasn't beneficial at lunch, then give your body the nutritional benefit it needs at dinner. If you weren't able to workout for whatever reason, make a healthy active choice to take the stairs, park far away from Wal-mart's door and walk the dog around the block. Any activity is "beneficial" for a healthy lifestyle goal. You have the rest of your life to become healthier. Why are we rushing and why do we think we need to reach an end today? I am a firm believer in the process of things. If we can learn in the process of becoming healthy then we'll stay healthy for life with what we've learned and we'll continue to get more and more healthy. If we're always focusing on the end result or reaching a destination, then we find ourselves disappointed when it's over, or because we can never quite reach it, and quite possibly we learned nothing along the way.

A friend of mine commented on the last post saying she felt like with "diets" she doesn't learn to think for herself. That's so right. What's amazing is that when we were born, we were born with amazing things like metabolism, a digestive system, taste buds, and hunger signals. We mess them up, misread them and confuse them for other things. We have to unlearn some things and relearn others. This "black and white" mentality has to be unlearned. No more saying "bad food". Yes, foods that are high in saturated fat are not beneficial and eaten in large quantities can cause multiple symptoms and malfunctions of the body. But, french fries in and of themselves are not bad. A birthday cake is not bad, it can be a tradition of celebration to be enjoyed through self-control and proper perspective. If we just follow the "rules" of a "diet", we never learn to think about things like this, why we think a certain way and when and how we apply self-control. All we learn to do is follow "rules" which seem to be easily broken. No one likes to feel like a rule-breaker.

I've struggled with this mentality, but I have to say that I am much much better in this process and journey. If you know me, you know I have no problem eating a brownie sundae for dessert. Am I bad? Do I eat bad? No. I just know that eating a brownie sundae for every meal, or even one time per day is not beneficial or helpful towards my goal of being healthier and losing the baby weight so I don't do it. I will be honest with you, I skipped the Plank Challenge workout yesterday. Why? Because I was feeling like I was fighting off sickness. Am I bad? Did I fail? No. I listened to my body and thought that doing the workout would be less beneficial than resting. That is what my body needed. The decision was based off of what was going to be the most beneficial. In years past, I would've felt guilty and I would've felt like I didn't "stick with it". The "rule" was that we were going to do this every day for 2 weeks. I might've just dropped the challenge all together since I didn't do it everyday like I wanted to originally. Rather than thinking of it as a "rule", it is a general guideline to shoot for. If I do it today, it will be more beneficial than if I just quit.

Do you have this thought pattern? Maybe the most beneficial, healthy choice you can make today is to commit to change your vocabulary and change your thoughts. It might be the single most influential choice you make that will help you lose weight.

The Secret to Longterm Weight Loss: Diet or It-Die

I'm a personal trainer and I don't believe in dieting. "What???" you say. It's true. I don't recommend diets. Diets are not long lasting, depriving, usually unbalanced, unrealistic ways of eating that only lead to short term results. That's why we even have a phrase called "yo-yo dieting". It's because people diet and lose weight then stop the diet and gain weight. They always seem so complicated and such a hassle. Plus, it feels like they take the fun out of life.

I'm a personal trainer and I don't believe in weight loss pills. We gain weight when we eat too much. We lose weight when we eat less. I know it sounds as if I am over-simplifying, but I fully believe that the over eating that most people do is a symptom of something else. If we just treat the symptom with a diet, then we're not fixing the problem, we're just hiding it. I've found that most women who use diet pills lose weight at first which boosts their self-esteem for the moment. Why take the credit...the pill did it. They compromise feeling good physically (jitters, heart racing, dizzy, upset stomach) for looking good temporarily. Then, when the pills are gone, the weight returns and out goes the self-esteem. Why should our happiness or "success" be determined by a diet or a diet pill? It shouldn't!

I'm a personal trainer and I believe that we can be at a normal weight for our body, not be consumed by our weight, eat healthy, enjoy treats, enjoy eating out, live a healthy lifestyle, and be happy all at the same time. "Yea right" you say. This is not just a dream. I will be completely honest with you. There have been times in my life when I have been overwhelmed and consumed by my weight, my fat and by food. I have had days, weeks and even months where I felt fat and felt self-conscious. Even when I'd sit down, I'd be thinking about my fat. I didn't want anyone to see my thighs spread out like jello unleashed when I sat on the chair. I didn't want anyone to see the width of my butt busting through the side seams of my pants. I didn't want someone to think "If she looks like that and works out, then I don't want to work with her or take class from her." These times have come more often in my life than I'd like to admit. So many times I've felt guilty about feeling like that. I would beat myself up for not being at my ideal weight because "I should be...I'm a trainer...I'm an instructor...". My mind would be consumed with the number of calories, when I got to eat next, what I would eat next and then if I was feeling deprived. I know I'm not the only one. Something is seriously wrong with that and it's NOT the fat. My thoughts were so distracted by thinking about how I looked in the eyes of others and how I measured against my own standards. How would someone who is so caught up in themselves have time to think about anyone else? You don't really. You become a prisoner in your body and a slave to the diet. No thanks.

If dieting isn't the answer for weight loss, then what is? The answer lies in how you got the extra weight in the first place. The answer lies in how you decided your goal and ideals. The answer lies in why you think you need to lose weight. The answer lies in your thought patterns and your food habits and/or behaviors. Trust me, I've read all of the diet books. I know people who have been successful on diets. BUT, I don't know many who have had long-term success. Sure, I've seen people lose weight for a wedding, a body-building show, after pregnancy, or to go on vacation all using a diet. I've also seen those same people gain weight back. Why? Because diets are meant to be temporary, not lifelong. I think we need to adopt a nutritional lifestyle, a healthy lifestyle. That is SO much more than measuring, weighing, counting everything we eat.

Do I eat whatever I want? Not necessarily. Do I follow a diet? No. I have decided that to be successful, we need let It-Die instead of Die-it. Let the old thought patterns go away. Adopt new thoughts and new habits.

What are those? I'll talk about those in the next couple of posts. My baby is crying so this blog is done for today.

My 1 week Results AND Drinking Goal

It's "Weigh In Wednesday" and I got on the scale this morning to find I'd lost 5 pounds! Yee haw! Now, you should know that when you change your diet or exercise plan, the first week or 2 might have big results, but the weeks that directly follow might be a big goose egg or very little change on the scale. That's because I did NOT lose 5 pounds of fat. Some of the water weight might level out next week. I don't want to continue to lost weight at this pace because it's not the weight on the scale that is most important. I don't want to burn up my muscle and be a light weight blob. I should level out to losing 1/2 a pound to 2 pounds per week. The closer you get to your goal, the less you lose in each week. I need to get my body fat tested and will try and arrange that in the next week or 2 so I can keep my eye on what really matters in "weight loss". Don't get too worked up about the scale (and I won't either). We'll talk more about this later.

For today, I need to adjust my drinking...not what you think...I mean my water intake. A good way to figure out the amount to be drinking of plain water each day is to divide your body weight by 2 and then drink that many ounces. Currently, I am only drinking 32-50 ounces of straight water daily. That's not enough considering my weight, my workouts, and nursing a baby. Sparkpeople.com is where I log my food and drink intake also keeps track of the glasses of water you drink with a cute little pitcher. I am going to try and fill my pitcher with 64 ounces for now and work into more water later. Gotta keep it realistic and doable.

Why is drinking water so important to me? Well, our body is about 70% water. Shouldn't run a car on dirty or low oil. There are other benefits of drinking water as well. Click on the link to check them out.

What was your weigh in today and are you drinking enough of the right stuff?

Working In the Eating Out

First, an update about the first day of the Plank Challenge...OUCH. I posted what I could and couldn't do under the post's comments. If I were giving myself an elementary grade, I'd get an "NI" for "Needs Improvement". I figured that all ready. That's why I put out the challenge. How did you all do? If you need pics or video, google the names of the exercise like "spiderman plank exercise"...you'll get some visuals that way.

On to other things. I try to avoid fast food restaurants, well, except for Subway. For several reasons really, but the biggest being that I don't like paying for food that isn't that good and isn't that healthy (referring to the healthier options that they give.) For example, McDonald's has salads, but I don't like paying $5 for iceberg lettuce (low nutritional value), a salty chicken breast reheated (high sodium and preservatives), and a packet of salad dressing. Sure, the calories might be low, but the price is high for the low quality that you get. I'd rather eat the kids' cheeseburger. So, I just try to steer clear of those places.

But eating out at sit down restaurants and an occasional fast food place can be SO convenient. Last night, I had all three of my boys and my husband was working. I had just taught class and was hungry. It was 7pm and no one had eaten. The two older boys really needed to get in bed by 8pm and the baby needed to be fed. So, when the boys begged to stop by Arby's which is right across the parking lot of the gym, the convenience called to me. Last night, I was willing to pay for the "fast" in fast food.

I bet you want to know what I ate huh? I'll get to that. Realistically, I know we'll eat out at least one time per week. Instead of letting that meal ruin my good habits, I have learned to use a valuable resource. It's a website called calorieking.com. If you type in the restaurant of choice, they list the nutritional value of many menu items that they offer. That way, you can make your educated order and not feel guilty. I have typed in Arby's several times. You'd be surprised! Sometimes, the seemingly healthier options are not so healthy. Don't be fooled! Arby's market fresh sandwiches have way more calories than their beef and cheddar sandwiches. Yep! Not lieing! The turkey market fresh has 710 calories, 28 g of fat and 41 g of protein. Last night, I had a beef and cheddar. Like I said, if I'm going to pay for it, it better taste good (and keep me in the right calorie range. I had 800-1000 left for the day by 7pm). A beef and cheddar has 430 calories, 19 g of fat and 23 g of protein. Not a great dinner, but not bad for fast food.

Check out that website. Type in a few of your favorites and see what you come up with! Check out a whopper at Burger King and the ice cream at Cold Stone...might make you think twice about eating some items. I always weigh out my options. If I really want to eat out for convenience (ahhh...no dishes) or for social reasons (I told you I like to eat and be social) then I think about what I can eat and where that will taste good, but not take me too far off track. Knowing ahead of time also helps when you're really hungry and everything on the menu looks good. The 600 calorie cornbread at Famous Dave's isn't worth it to me, but sometimes, the 430 calorie beef and cheddar is.

Getting the Abs Back: Plank Challenge

After a baby, the most disfigured portion on the body is the midsection. The abs won't come back without some work so I'm throwing out a challenge for anyone who wants to get their abs back with me. All you need is 5 minutes and a floor.

Planks are awesome core developers when done correctly.
Here's a few safety and form tips.
Pretend that you are pulling the belly button in and then tucking it up under your ribs. Slighty engage your glute muscles (squeeze your butt a bit). Pull your knee caps up to activate your quads. Keep your spine in one long line from your tailbone to the top of your head. Have someone check this. If you are pulling your belly up, you won't sway your back and feel the pressure in the low back. Make sure you don't lift your hips in the air. This takes away the work from the core. Push strongly through the elbows so that your shoulder blades are open and apart in the back. Print and put these tips right under your face so you can remind yourself when you're getting tired.

Here's the challenge: you and I are going to do the following plank workout everyday for 2 weeks (until Nov. 1st). It will only take 5 minutes which can be fit in even with newborns. In fact, our babies would love to lay beside us and have some face to face time anyway!

Here's the workout:
Do each exercise for 1 minute. If you are new to planks, try doing each exercise for 15-30 seconds each. Every week, increase your time by 15 seconds until you've built up to 1 minute each. All of these plank exercises can be modified to the knees.

1. Basic Plank
Set yourself up facing the ground with elbows directly under your shoulders on the floor. Your arms should make a 90 degree angle. Tucking your toes on the ground, lift legs and torso off of the ground in a straight line. Following the the tips for form above, have your feet about hips distance apart. To modify this, move from this position, keeping toes tucked, but let your knees touch the ground.

2. Plank with leg swings
Start in basic plank position. Keeping your hips level and stationary, take one leg out to the side and tap the toe then return to basic plank. Alternate side to side. Keep torso in good form.

3. Spiderman plank
Start in basic plank position. Bring your right knee out to the side and towards the right elbow. Then, return the foot back to basic plank. Alternate side to side keeping your torso squared up to the floor. You should look like spiderman crawling up a wall so keep those knees out and parallel to the floor so it's as if you were climbing up the flat surface.

4. One-armed plank
Start in basic plank position, but move your left elbow a few inches toward the midline of your body. Put the right arm behind your back. Make sure you do not lift your right hip. Keep both hips squared to the floor. Modify if needed and do both sides for 30 sec. to equal 1 minute.

5. Side plank
Lay on your side and put your elbow directly under your shoulder. Put your top foot in front of your bottom foot. Lift your hips and legs off of the floor and make your body 1 long line on it's side by pressing your elbow and feet into the floor. If this is too hard, put the bottom knee down, but keep your hips up. Hold this for 30 sec. then switch sides to equal 1 minute.

There are variations of these moves I'll give you later on. I'll let you know how my first 5 minute plank workout goes! I just taught Spinning and have BodyPump yet to teach so I have a feeling I will be feeling this!

Sticking with the Plan

If we don't make a plan, then how can we stick to it? If we don't choose a road, then how do we know when we're at the end of it? I know where I want to be so I better make a plan to get there. Planning my meals is all a part of that. I don't like to plan too hard...my mind is pre-occupied with enough dealing with a 2 month old and one with medical conditions at that. So, I am not going to get too freaky about fixing all of my nutritional flaws right now. I think that is a big mistake of too many dieters...we try to go from black to white. We label our food as "good" or "bad" and we label ourselves as either "failures" or "successes." A lifestyle of health is not that way.

I've found that if I plan my week of meals and what I will make my family on the weekend when I am NOT hungry, I will make a list. Then, if I stick to the list, I bring home only the foods that will help me to stick to the plan. Here's one of the fallish dinners I have planned for this week. I use extra lean ground beef and use black beans and kidney beans both. You could use lean ground turkey too or just use more beans and make it vegetarian. Pumpkin is an excellent source of vitamin A and has fiber in it as well. The yummy beans have fiber and protein. This is a well-balanced meal. I love to serve it with fat free or lite sour cream on top and sprinkled with a bit of reduced fat cheddar cheese. Let me know if you try it!

Pumpkin Chili
Ingredients

* 2 pounds ground beef
* 1 large onion, diced
* 1 green bell pepper, diced
* 2 (15 ounce) cans kidney beans, drained
* 1 (46 fluid ounce) can tomato juice
* 1 (28 ounce) can peeled and diced tomatoes with juice
* 1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree
* 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
* 1 tablespoon chili powder
* 1/4 cup white sugar

Directions

1. In a large pot over medium heat, cook beef until brown; drain. Stir in onion and bell pepper and cook 5 minutes. Stir in beans, tomato juice, diced tomatoes and pumpkin puree. Season with pumpkin pie spice, chili powder and sugar. Simmer 1 hour.

Weekend Sabotage

As I mentioned in my Hunger vs. Appetite post, social eating is something that can get a little out of control for me. My mind and mouth are too busy talking and listening to think about what food I'm putting in. I knew this would be a problem last night as we were doing a girls night. But, I can't just stop being social and I don't want it to feel like deprivation. Weekends can truly sabotage all of your efforts from the week so go into it with a plan.

I ate smaller meals for breakfast and lunch yesterday knowing that my calories would be up last night. I can't say I did great on portion size...lime tortilla chips are addicting and I'm sure I grabbed out of the bag a few too many times. But, when I logged most of what I ate, I wasn't in the "gain weight" zone. I was probably in the maintain weight. That's good, but not great. I'd like to get better about portion sizes of junk snacks.

One thing that I try to do when I know there will be a "buffet" of junk is I try to figure out what I am really wanting to eat and pick my top 2 or 3 things from the table instead of trying them all. That way, I can hope to satisfy the craving, social eater in me and not go too overboard. Eating from a plate is the best (unlike me eating out of the bag). That way, when loading the plate, you are fully aware if you go back for seconds and it might bring your mind back into the game helping you to make better choices. Then, throw it away after the food is gone from it! No plate, no more eating.

If I had been on my best behavior last night, I would have gotten my plate, picked my 3 favorite things and taken a small portion of each. I would have grabbed my big water bottle and enjoyed the things on my plate while chatting with my friends. Just so you know, I didn't do that and I hope that makes you feel better. I was holding the baby, swaying back and forth and eating with 1 free hand a few bites here and a few bites there. Someone asked me if they could help me dish up a plate about an hour later and it was too late. Oh well.

Even though I wasn't perfect, a few things to celebrate is that I didn't overdo it and I had a great time with my friends. Now to let go of the perfectionist in me and not beat myself up for it. I know many girls do this too and then we swear that our pants fit tighter the next day. I would have had to eat 3600 EXTRA calories on top of my normal 2200 last night in order to have gained 1 pound. That doesn't mean I'm not retaining a bit of water from all of the salt on those yummy chips, but I'm quite positive I didn't gain a pound.

Life is to be enjoyed and if I'm thinking too much about what I'm eating or not eating, then I'm thinking too much about me. I'm pretty sure life isn't about me either! Food and friends are not the enemy.

Hunger and Appetite...Fight them?

I like to eat. And, I like to eat for more reasons than because it satisfies my hunger. I am a social eater, a celebration eater, a dessert eater, and yes, I like junk too. Sounds like eaters anonymous or something. I wish, sometimes, that I was one of those people who just eat to live. But, I'm not. That probably won't change and I don't think it's realistic for me to try to change that right now. So, I just have to figure out strategies to make sure I don't make every social event, every celebration, every dull, tired or sad moment an eating event.

By 4pm yesterday, I was starving. My stomach was growling and there's one thing I've learned about myself, if my stomach is growling, I tend to act like a bear. I get grumpy. But, the problem was that I had all ready eaten 1400 of my 1800-2200 calories for the day and I wanted to wait until dinner. Well, then we decided we were going to go to the maze and pumpkin patch before dinner. At that point, I realized that I needed to listen to my hunger. Hunger is a physical signal that we need food. I almost stuck my hand in the Triscuits box, but then my mind told me that a South Beach protein bar might keep me satisfied longer. I had all ready tried a carrot and some popcorn 30 minutes earlier and it didn't get me far.

Appetite on the other hand is a whole other animal. Fighting hunger might not be the best fight to fight, but fighting appetite is a worthy cause (even if I hate it.)
At 9:30pm last night, I really wanted a snack. Ok, it was a cupcake. Was my stomach growling? Nope. It's just that my dear friend brought cupcakes and there were two of them sitting on our counter and they looked really good. There they were, with great looking frosting and pretty little sprinkles. I was tired, the kids were in bed and it just seemed like the perfect end to a good evening. As I promised myself in a previous post, I would let the food cross my mind before it crossed my lips. I thought about it for a bit (ok, maybe it was a lot longer than a bit...it was actually annoying me) and then decided I better not think about it any more. I laid down on the couch, realizing I was tired and decided to let this appetite pass. I did it. I won the fight this time. Trust me, sometimes my appetite wins. You don't just have 10 extra pounds to lose by winning the appetite fight all of the time!

I think if I can distinguish between the difference between hunger and appetite all of the time, it'd be helpful to reach my goals and stay there. I think if I made conscious choices to let myself get hungry (but not TOO hungry) before a social event, then maybe eating and socializing can be a good match. It's all about awareness and not shutting down the mind when we get hungry. Trust me, there's been plenty of times that my stomach is TOO hungry and my hands and mouth just go on autopilot and my mind doesn't even have a chance to catch up. I'll save that for a different post.

Burn Baby Burn!

We all have some good excuses as to why we have a little extra chunk here or there. My favorite is "my metabolism is slow." Could be, or maybe it's just our hand to mouth skills are fast! I'm pretty sure my metabolism isn't slow so I can't use that excuse. Weight loss has to do with burning up what was stored unnecessarily so I have to figure out the rate the I burn in order to burn off the fat storage. There's technical ways to do this and equations you can use to give you an idea of what your basal metabolic rate is (your burn rate or metabolism at rest). Here's one place to do this http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/bmr-formula.php If that is all too technical or it doesn't seem accurate for you, the best way to figure out your burn rate is to keep track of what goes in (food) and what comes off (fat). I am not sure of my burn rate to be quite honest. I am nursing a baby, I have worked out for years, but I'm 31 now. So, all factors considered, my burn rate has probably changed. So, I am giving myself a rough estimate of 1800-2200 calories. This gives me enough calories for nursing, but should be enough to use some fat stores too. I'm keeping track of my intake on sparkpeople.com and I guess I'll found out if that is too much on the next "Weigh in Wednesday"!

Mind Before Mouth

You probably do it too...you make dinner, but snag a few bites of an ingredient while you make it...you get the kids a snack and sneak in a bite or two of whatever they're having...you feel a little thirsty, go to the kitchen to get a drink and take a bite of the brownies sitting on the counter on the way out of the kitchen...this is mindless eating. Whenever I need to refocus on eating healthier, this is one of the first things I have to come back to...think before I eat. I make it a rule that the food I eat needs to cross my mind before it disappears in my mouth.

The best way to force me to think is to journal my food and drinks. By having to write down or log everything that goes into my mouth, it makes me think twice about whether or not I want to put it in. I can easily save 200-300 calories a day with this rule alone.

My favorite food log is www.sparkpeople.com. It's free, it's easy to use (once you navigate the site a few times), it's convenient, and it's really informative. I can not only track my food and drinks, but it has nutritional information for thousands of food in their database. It gives me a running total for all kinds of nutrients as I eat throughout my day. It has goal setting options for nutrition, exercise and even other health goals. Sparkpeople has a community of users that help to motivate each other towards their goals. I always recommend this site to my clients.

So my sparkpeople log is up and running, my mind is on call and my mouth is working less. One helpful step towards my goal!

Weigh In Wednesdays

I've heard having that 3rd child changes things drastically and I've certainly found that to be the case for me! Not only has my life become busier, but my heart's become fuller (as well as a few other body parts). With my first son, the weight melted off with no effort. With my second son, the last 10 pounds were battled and whittled away until the final 5 would come and go and come and go. Prior to becoming pregnant with my 3rd, I was at my ideal and realistic weight. I am not looking to be "skinny", but I know what it feels like to be fit and to be comfortable in my skin (literally).

Over the last 12 years in the Fitness industry, I've heard this countless time, "I just can't lose those last few pounds." I wanted to put this out there for those of you who think that trainers were born thin and fit or for those of you who think that fitness comes easy to trainers. I'm human, I'm real, I'm busy, I'm a mom, I love sugar just like you...I have days I "feel fat". I have days I don't have willpower.

I will be as honest and transparent as possible along this journey. I will share my tips, my goals, things I'm struggling with, my weaknesses, and my successes. And yes, I'll even post my weight.

That leads me to "Weigh in Wednesday". I got on the scale this morning and weighed 153 pounds. I'm 5'8" and if I were my own trainer, I'd suggest a weight between 135-155. I am a medium framed person that tends to build muscle fairly easy. 145 pounds is a realistic weight, but the body composition at that weight is important. I'll talk about that more later on.

I am also nursing my 2 month old and will need to adjust my eating accordingly. I can't cut calories drastically, which I don't recommend anyway.

If you have been looking for a way to stay accountable to "finish strong" or "reach your goals", then join me! Let's do this! If you want even more guidance along the way, I'll make it possible for you to get my workouts, my exercise plans, my recipes, my nutritional guidance and correspondence to help you see success with me. I can be your online trainer who will really "feel" what you feel and will join you in your weight loss journey.

I'm ready! Are you?