Weekly Tip: For the Snackers

You know who you are.  You're the one who strays to the kitchen cabinet when you're bored, looking for something to munch on.  You're the one who can't sit through a movie without something sweet to nibble on.  You're the one who will keep eating even after you're full as long as there's still food in front of you... You're a snacker.  Don't worry, no judgment here - I'm a snacker too, and today I'd like to give you some helpful tips to curb your snack-stealing ways.

• Chew gum - If you're anything like me, you just need to have something to chew on.  Many times I find that I'm halfway through eating something and I realize that I don't even want it anymore, I'm just eating it to have something to munch on.  If that's the case, always having gum nearby can give you something to chew on without giving you extra calories.
• Stay busy - A lot times I find I'm snacking out of boredom, which means I just need to find something else to occupy myself with until I stop thinking about using food as a means to pass time.  If this means going out for a stroll or finally getting some cleaning done, even better!
• Track it - It's very easy to trick yourself into thinking that if you only eat a tiny bit of something then it doesn't count.  Well let me tell you, it does.  If you start tracking everything you eat, even the tiniest little spoonful of something, you'll see that it all definitely adds up in the end, which could stop you from reaching into the pantry for "just a little taste" of something.
• Surround yourself with healthy snacks - If you don't have junk food nearby, you're a lot less likely to eat it.  If you must keep a supply of snacks around at all times, make sure they're healthy ones.  I'm a big fan of trail mix, but those 100-calorie snack packs also work (if you can stick to just one), or fresh veggies and hummus.  If your healthy food is as easily accessible as some of the other less-healthy options, you're more likely to make smarter choices.

Hopefully these little tips will help you as much as they've helped me!  I know I love to always have a little something around to munch on, and that was one of the hardest challenges to conquer throughout my weight loss process.  Implement these tricks and you may find your weight loss goals are more attainable too!

Weekly Tip: Translating Restaurant Menus

It's going to happen to you at some point in your weight loss journey, it's inevitable: you're going to eat out at a restaurant.  Situations like going out to eat make it difficult for people to make good food choices because there's so much temptation, but there are ways to interpret the menu and figure out which dishes you should opt for.  Here are some things to keep in mind:

-Good: grilled, broiled, roasted, baked, steamed, steamed, blackened or poached

-Bad: pan-fried, sautéed, battered, breaded, au gratin, cheesy, creamy, buttered, deep-fried, béarnaise, or crispy

-Go for veggies!  You don't necessarily have to order a salad, but when looking over the menu try to pick out the items that include lots of veggies.  Opt for sides like steamed vegetables instead of french fries.

-Keep it simple! Aim for the simpler sounding dishes.  The more complicated a dish sounds, the more ingredients it has in it, which means the more calories it probably has.

-Sammies: order sandwiches with whole wheat, pita, or multi-grain bread. 

-Get saucy! Watch out for cream or cheese sauces, try to choose lighter sauces and clear broths instead.

Of course there are other great tips for eating healthy when eating out as well:

-Look up the menu online before hand and have an idea of which things you can eat before you go.  Try to make a plan and stick with it.
-Ask for a half portion, or ask the server to box up half your entree before serving it to you.
-If you know you're going out to eat for dinner, try to eat lighter or get a good work out in earlier in the day.  Don't skip meals, however, since then you'll show up to the restaurant starving and probably make poor choices.
-Remember: you're the guest at the restaurant, which means they'll give you what you want.  Don't be afraid to customize a dish or ask for substitutions.

Happy dining!

Weekly Tip: The Support System

Much like my advice to find a workout buddy, this week's tip also involves the people around you: the people who encourage you to keep going, the people you can lean on when you're struggling with your progress, the people who keep telling you how great you look and what a good job you're doing even when you don't see it yourself.  These people are your support system, and it's important that everyone trying to lose weight or achieve fitness goals has that in their lives.

Throughout my challenge I've been amazed at the continuous support and encouragement I've received from the people around me.  People have constantly been telling me what a great job I'm doing and how I've inspired them to start working on their own goals.  Comments like that mean the world to me and make me that much more motivated to keep going because I feel like I'm setting a good example.  It also feels good to know that the people around you are paying attention to what you're doing and truly want to see you succeed.  I will be eternally grateful for the people who have been supporting me for the past few months of this challenge, but that's a post for another day...

I also have a piece of advice for those people who make up the support system of somebody who's working on their health and fitness goals:

1) Try not to comment on what they eat.  Obviously someone who's trying to lose weight understands that they need to adjust their diet as part of their plan, so most likely they've already thought about what they're putting in their mouth.  If they decide to have a cheat meal or they know they've worked out enough that day to earn that extra beer, that's up to them.  There's nothing worse when you're trying to lose weight than feeling like the people around you are judging what you eat.  The only exception to this rule is if that person cooks you something.  Then you are definitely allowed to comment, and hopefully sing their praises.

2) You can never compliment them enough!  People who are working hard at achieving their weight loss goals want to feel like other people notice a difference.  You can never tell them too many times how great they look or what a good job they're doing it.  Praise them, and praise them often!  Who knows, your comment might be just the thing they needed to motivate them into the gym the next morning when they were considering skipping out.

3) Don't give them excuses to slack off.  Leave the decision of when/where/how much to work out and what/when/how much to eat up to the person responsible: the person trying to lose the weight.  Telling someone that they can have the loaded nachos at dinner instead of the Greek salad because "you've been working so hard, you've earned it, you have to give yourself a break sometimes" only encourages that person to slip up.  Obviously at the end of the day, someone who's trying to lose weight is in charge of what they eat and how much they exercise, but when you tell that person that it's okay for them to cheat on a day when maybe they weren't planning on cheating, it only makes it harder for them to hang on to their self-control and make good choices.  Be encouraging, but don't give them any excuses.

Weekly Tip: Get Out

Spring has officially sprung, at least here in DC, which makes the possibilities for exercise infinitely greater!  My advice to you all this week: get outside!!! You don't need to go to the gym to get a good workout in, there are plenty of activities you can do outdoors now that the weather is getting nicer. 

Running, for starters, is a pretty obvious way to take advantage of the higher temperatures and get some great cardio.  For people who aren't particular fans of running, you can still get your heart rate up outdoors with a brisk walk or bike ride.  For strength training, you can do so many of the basics right in your own backyard, i.e. pushups, situps, planks, squats etc.  If you want to branch out more, try looking up outdoor fitness classes in your area.  Lots of major cities offer all kinds of great classes that you can enjoy in the fresh air instead of a stuffy old gym.

So get out there and move!  After all, what could be better than getting fit AND getting tan at the same time?!

Weekly Tip: No Excuses

If anything should be your mantra throughout your weight loss process, it's this: no excuses allowed.  The moment you start making excuses for yourself is the moment your progress stops.

It's really easy to do when you think about it.  "I don't have time" and "I'm exhausted" are among the biggest offenders.  We get so caught up in our day-to-day lives that we don't make time to focus on our health and fitness, but if you want to see results and make real changes, it's time to re-evaluate.  Stop coming up with all the reasons why you can't put in the work and start committing to your goals.

At the end of the day, if you're not seeing the results you want, you have nobody to blame but yourself.  Take a closer look at what you're doing and focus on ways you can improve.  It's important to know your limits and be realistic about what you can do, but unless you start challenging yourself, you're not going to see any real results.  6 months down the road you're going to look and feel exactly the same way as you do right now.  How long is your lunch break at work? It probably doesn't take you a full hour to eat a meal, so when you're finished eating, go take a walk around the block.  Your friend invited you out to dinner after work but you haven't been to the gym yet this week, so SAY NO.  You're so tired after work you can barely move, so go to bed early (and I mean actually go to bed, not go home and watch tv or look at facebook until 2AM) and get up in time to fit a workout in the next morning.

I work from 8am - 6pm, Monday - Friday, and I have about a half hour commute each way.  I have 2 side jobs, I'm on a kickball team, and I volunteer for my neighborhood newspaper.  I have a very active social life, and yet on top of all that I still manage to work out at least 5 times every week, prepare most of my meals myself, and get 8 hours of sleep at night.  Do you want to know how I manage to do all of that?  It's because I'm serious about my goals.

No excuses.

Weekly Tip: Have Fun!

In honor of my Spring kickball league starting tonight, this week's tip is simply to HAVE FUN with whatever physical activity you decide to do.  The concept behind this is very simple: the more you enjoy doing something, the more likely you are to keep doing it.  When it comes to starting an exercise plan, you have to choose activities that you know you enjoy so that you don't burn out early and completely give up.  If you hate running and you think that overnight you're going to start running 5 miles 5 days a week, you're sorely mistaken.  Choosing something more enjoyable, like a brisk walk or bike ride, will make your exercise plan more realistic and your goals more attainable.

For example, in the beginning of this challenge I discovered swimming for exercise.  Swimming has always been something I enjoyed, so turning that fun activity into quality exercise time means I'm more excited about sticking with it.  I also have my kickball team, and while it doesn't always give me the best workout, it's a way to get outside and be somewhat active with my friends, which is why I keep coming back to it.  If you like dance, try signing up for some classes at a dance studio.  If you enjoy team sports, consider joining a baseball league, etc.

Getting in shape and exercising more does not mean you have to make yourself miserable 7 days a week.  You just have to figure out what you like and then try to do those activities more often.  My plan so far throughout this challenge has been to stay realistic about my goals, and I know that workouts that feel like torture will not hold my interest for very long, no matter how effective they might be.

So get out there and start having fun with your workouts!

Weekly Tip: Food Snapshot

I've been getting a lot of questions from people about what I'm doing in terms of diet throughout my challenge.  People are asking me if I'm following a strict diet and what I eat, so I decided to give you a snapshot of what a typical day's worth of meals looks like for me.  I'm not actually following any specific diet plan, I just try to stick with lean proteins, veggies, and whole grains.  I also am trying to stay away from a lot of processed and pre-packaged foods and I started learning how to cook so that helps a lot.  To give everyone an idea of what I usually eat, here is my food snapshot from this past Tuesday:

7:00am - Breakfast: Oatmeal and a banana

280 calories

10:15am - Morning Snack: Vanilla greek yogurt with blueberries and granola

240 calories

1:30pm - Lunch: Turkey slices and a Laughing Cow cheese wedge on whole wheat bread with carrots

230 calories

4:30pm - Afternoon Snack: Granola bar

140 calories

7:00pm - Dinner: Chicken breast, sweet potato, and sweet peas

335 calories

9:00pm - Evening snack: Trail mix

160 calories

As you can see, I actually eat quite a bit, and I'm eating totally normal things!  My total calories for that day was about 1380.  Eating a bunch of smaller meals throughout the day means I don't get the urge to binge on something really unhealthy, and this way I never eat too much in one sitting.  This has been a really helpful way for me to watch my portions and also satisfy my snack cravings.  I have fallen in love with trail mix as a low calorie snack in the evenings that still gives me the sweet & salty combo that I love.  I also try to include fruit or veggies with almost every meal.  Chicken or fish are easy enough to make in the evenings for dinner in order to get lean protein.  In terms of drinks, I drink water all day long, so no added calories there!  Usually I have at least 8 glasses, sometimes more.  I also might have a cup of coffee or tea once in a while, which have almost zero calories.

Have you made any changes to your diet that have worked well or not so much?  Tell me about it!  As always, feel free to send any questions my way.  Happy eating!

Weekly Tip: Portion Control

I'm a firm believer in the idea that it's not necessarily what you eat that impacts your weight, but how much.  Everything in moderation, right?  A lot of people struggle with portion control, including myself, and no matter how much working out you do, if you're still eating too much you won't be able to achieve your weight loss goals.  Understanding what 1 serving of something actually looks like can really help.  Learning how much food is appropriate to eat in one sitting can be a challenge, and one of my main goals for my weight loss journey was to adjust my concept of portion sizes and what's appropriate, so I've come up with a list of tips on how to train yourself to eat less.

•  Track your food!  I've said this once and I'll say it again: tracking my food has been the single most helpful change I've made since starting my challenge.  I had no idea how much food I was actually eating until I started recording every bite, and it really opened my eyes to the fact that I was eating way too much.  If you start keeping track of your food intake, you automatically start thinking about your food choices more, which can lead to better eating habits.
• If you're a visual person, use smaller plates.  You have to trick your brain into thinking that a full, albeit smaller, plate of food is the appropriate amount.  Especially if you feel the need to finish everything that's on your plate, this trick will allow you to do so without overeating.
• Put your fork down in between each bite.  We all need to slow things down a little when it comes to meal times.  We're always so rushed to shovel all our food into our mouths like it's going to disappear, but guess what: it's not going anywhere.  If you slow down your eating, you give your stomach time to send signals to your brain that you're full, so you end up eating less.
• Don't put more food in your mouth until you've swallowed your last bite.  Why must we constantly try to fit as much food into our mouths as possible?  Waiting until you've swallowed to take another bite of something works on the same principle as the last trick, it slows you down.
• Read nutrition labels.  Any food that comes with a label will give you a serving size, and this is what you need to be paying more attention to.  Not only does reading the nutritional information help you get a better idea of what you're putting in your body, but sticking to the serving size listed on the package means you're eating the proper amount.

In order to break bad habits, we have to create new ones to replace them.  These tips will help you retrain yourself into understanding how much food is the right amount to be eating.  Let me know if they work for you!

Weekly Tip: Have A Plan

Sticking to your fitness and weight loss goals means actually having to set specific goals for yourself to begin with.  Committing to something vague like "I want to lose weight" is almost like committing to nothing at all; it's way too vague and general.  If you don't have specific goals for yourself, you'll never achieve them.  That's why this week's tip is to HAVE A PLAN!

Initially, it's important to set your ultimate goal so you have something to shoot for.  This is what should keep your focused throughout your journey, because making major changes doesn't happen over night.  For example, my goal is to lose 15 pounds in 15 weeks.  I have a set number and a set time frame.  Once you've decided what your ultimate goal is, you need to make a plan to achieve that goal.  In my case, I decided that I wanted to start exercising at least 3-4 times per week and that I would track my food so I would know how many calories I was actually consuming throughout the week.  The blog also doesn't hurt when it comes to keeping me on track.

Once you've decided what specific action you need to take to achieve your goal, it really helps to make a schedule.  That way it's harder to keep pushing off that run to the next day or skipping your strength training session because "you'll do it later."  If you schedule those workouts in ahead of time, you're more likely to complete them.  Example:  "I will do cardio 3 days per week."  Or even more specifically: "I will do cardio on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday."  For me personally, I know that every week on Tuesday I'm going to go to my BODYATTACK class, and that every Saturday morning when I go to the gym for my weigh-in I'm also going to put in some time with the treadmill.  This is also helpful for time management in general since you can stay on track with your fitness commitment and you already know ahead of time when you're free for other activities.

Having a plan in terms of your meals is another huge factor.  I can't say enough how helpful it is to have your breakfasts, lunches, and snacks for the work week planned out ahead of time.  I make sure that I know in advance what I'm going to bring to work the next day so that I don't end up empty handed on my way to work in the morning and trying to decide which fast food chain to hit up for lunch.  Bringing only a certain amount of food with me to work each day also means I can only eat as much as I bring, therefore preventing me from snacking too much and overeating.  Generally I bring my lunch and 2 snacks for mid-morning and mid-afternoon.

Having a plan is useful in all facets of life, but especially when it comes to achieving your health and fitness goals.  Just having a goal is not enough, generating a plan of how exactly you're going to reach that goal is what makes it happen. 

Weekly Tip: Cheat.

I know I've mentioned this in previous posts, but I am definitely a big supporter of the CHEAT DAY!  Taking a cheat day, or even just a cheat meal, once a week is a way to keep your body guessing and give you a break from your (hopefully) normally regimented diet.  Since your body can adjust to pretty much anything, the cheat day allows you to surprise your body and change things up a bit.  It's also a nice chance for you to enjoy some of the foods you wouldn't normally eat as part of your weight loss plan.  I'm not saying healthy foods can't be delicious, but it's hard to get excited about veggies and lean proteins all day, every day, for weeks on end.  Since a cheat day lets you indulge in some of your less healthy preferred eats, it keeps things interesting for you and makes you more likely to stick with your long term plan. 

It's important to remember that you can't use the cheat day as an excuse to eat whatever you want, whenever you want.  For example, a friend invites you out to dinner and you decide, "Sure, I'll spring for the burger with everything on top and the chili cheese fries, this can be my cheat meal!"  Then 2 days later someone brings cupcakes in to work and all of the sudden, you're having another cheat meal, and another, and another.  That kind of thinking can snowball and quickly ruin all your hard work.  You need to plan this ahead of time.  Pick one day a week when you know you're going to be a little more lax with your food choices, and keep it the same day every week.  For me, my cheat day is always on the weekend, since it's easier for me to keep a regimented meal plan during the week on a full time work schedule.  Also, you're more likely to be going out with friends to dinner and drinks etc. on the weekends, which is when you want to loosen up and be more lax about your choices.

Cheat days, while enjoyable, can also be very dangerous for people who don't have the right amount of self-control.  If you're the kind of person with the "once you pop, you just can't stop" mentality, then taking a cheat day might not be the best idea for you.  For some people, once they've cheated it's hard to then go back to their healthy meal plan and they just give it up completely.  If a weekly cheat day is too frequent for you, it might be better to time your cheat day with milestones, like for every x amount of pounds you lose, or once you're able to run x miles.  That way your cheat meal isn't quite as frequent, but you still have something to look forward to along the way.

Also really important: even on your cheat day, always remember that ultimately, you have set weight loss goals for yourself and you can ruin them by making poor food choices.  The cheat day should not be a free pass to go crazy and eat things that will completely undo all your fabulous progress.  Keep your portion sizes in check, and try to still include fruits and veggies along with the more unhealthy things you might be enjoying that day.

Most importantly, do what works best for you.  What works for some does not work for everyone.  Know your limits and stay in control of your food, your choices, and your goals.  Enjoy!

Weekly Tip: Drink More!

...water, that is.  I was talking about this with my friends over dinner last night, which inspired me to use it as my weekly tip.  It's one of the most important factors for weight loss, and for your overall health: drinking enough water.  Many of us aren't actually getting as much water as we need, so it's important to keep this in mind at all times, but especially when you're trying to lose weight.

Staying hydrated is important for your health and fitness for gazillions of reasons, but here are just a few:

• Usually when you first start to lose weight, you lose water weight, so you need to drink enough water to avoid dehydration during this initial stage.
• Also good to note, dehydration slows down the fat-burning process, therefore the more hydrated you are, the faster your body can trim fat!
• Burning calories creates toxins, kind of like a car letting out exhaust, and water helps your body flush out those toxins.
• Drinking water before meals can make you feel full faster, and thus more satisfied with less food.  Many of the times we think we're hungry, we're actually dehydrated.

I know a lot of people aren't big water drinkers like me (I drink at least 8 12 oz. glasses per day), so here are some tips for drinking more water:

• Add lemon!  This is for the person with a sweet tooth who usually opts for sugary drinks like pop or juice.  Try squeezing some lemon into your water to make it a little more palatable without adding tons of extra sugar.
• Drink a glass of water first thing when you wake up in the morning.  This will rehydrate your body after hours of sleep with no water.
•  Drink an entire glass of water before each meal.  This will help you feel full faster, and if you're eating 4-5 small meals a day, this guarantees that you'll drink at least 4-5 glasses of water.
• ALWAYS drink water during a workout.  ALWAYS.  

This is just one example of an article about drinking enough water.

Doesn't that just look so refreshing?!

Weekly Tip: Buy New Gear!

Buying new workout gear can have an immediate and significant impact on your desire to stay fit since you get excited to try it out!  Obviously we're not all rolling in dough and can't afford to be constantly buying new stuff just because our motivation has dwindled a little, but every once in a while spending a little money on things that will encourage you to continue can be very helpful.  My recent purchases include:

New workout capris!  (You can find really inexpensive ones at Target)

New Swimsuit and Goggles! I blend right in with the water ;)

A Heart Rate Monitor, the Polar FT4F (yes, I burned 643 calories in an hour! I AM SUPERWOMAN!)

A Crock Pot!

 All my new swag has encouraged me to keep going.  In my opinion, you can never have too much workout gear, especially since it takes away the excuse of "I can't go workout, all my workout clothes are in the laundry."  The swimsuit was actually a necessity, I can't exactly glide through the pool when I'm worried about my bikini falling off.  The Heart Rate Monitor is one of my favorite purchases because now I'll be able to track my heart rate to make sure I'm in the right zone for burning fat and have a more precise idea of how many calories I burn during all my different activities.  Last but not least, my new Crock Pot will motivate me to learn how to cook even more delicious, healthy meals.  Hopefully my next purchase will be a new pair of sneakers!

What are some things you've bought recently  or want to buy soon to contribute to your health and fitness goals?

Weekly Tip: Change it up!

It's really easy to get stuck in a routine when it comes to working out.  We tend to stick with the same activities over and over once we find something that works.  The problem with that is that your body can adjust to anything, and after a while the same routine becomes less effective unless you keep turning up the intensity.  I recognize that problem in myself a lot, I pick a machine at the gym and use it over and over, etc, which is why my latest tip is to TRY SOMETHING NEW!

Whether it be a class at the gym, a new cardio machine, or some new strength training exercises, you should always be switching things up.  If you usually run indoors, try running outside once a week.  If you typically stick with the treadmill, try using a bike or the elliptical.  Not only does this keep your body on its toes, but it also keeps things interesting for you, which can prevent you from getting bored and giving up.  To give you an example, last night I tried a  fitness class called BODYATTACK for the first time at my gym.  It's part of the Les Mills program and it's described on their website as a "sports-inspired cardio workout for building strength and stamina. This high-energy interval training class combines athletic aerobic movements with strength and stabilization exercises."  Let me just say that this was one of the most intense workouts I've had in a long time.  The instructor informed me that people typically burn anywhere from 500-700 calories per class (it's an hour long).  My body sure is sore today, but it was totally worth it.  I'll definitely be taking the class again as a way to switch things up throughout the week.

What kinds of activities have you been wanting to try but haven't yet?  Whatever it is, go out there and do it!

Weekly Tip: The Workout Buddy

A great way to make sure you keep up your exercise regimen is to have a workout buddy!  If you're the type of person who will give yourself excuses to skip the gym, a workout buddy can really help you stick to your plans.  That way, if you try to miss a workout, not only would you be letting yourself down, but you'd be letting your partner down as well, so it helps to keep you accountable.  Your buddy should be someone who encourages you to do your best, but not someone you feel like you're competing with.  They're also the one who drags you out of your house to exercise when all you want to do is sit at home watching TV.  The two of you can keep each other motivated, push each other when you think you've hit your limit, and help each other discover new activities.  I know who my workout buddy is, who's yours?