Give PEAS a Chance!!

If iceberg lettuce, pickles, and ketchup didn't count... when was the last time you had five servings of fruits and vegetables in one day??

I am a terrible dieter...deprivation just doesn't work for me. And the harder I try NOT to eat something, the more it seems like I want to have it! So I discovered a new strategy...I use ADDITION instead of SUBTRACTION. Instead of saying I can't have Fritos or Reese Cups or Pizza, I just tell myself that I can have any and all of these things after I finish the healthy stuff.

Okay here's your challenge...
For the next week, you have to eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables per day. You must have at least one serving with each meal and you have to eat it first...then after that you can have anything you want. The idea here is that the fiber in the fruits and vegetables will help you feel full faster and you won't eat as much of the other stuff. Remember, use healthy preparation methods for your fruits and veggies to further enhance your success.

And NO....iceberg lettuce, pickles, and ketchup still don't count!! Good luck! Let me know how it goes. Have a great week

Gimme Some Sugar!!!

On a recent episode of Good Morning America, they did a segment on hidden sugars in various foods. One of the foods was the GO LEAN bar by Kashi....sounds healthy enough right? Wrong.

The GO LEAN bar has as much sugar as FIFTEEN Hershey's kisses. Wow! I have to say I think that I'd rather have the kisses! Now, I know I've touched on this topic before but this deserves a quick review.

Five grams of sugar is equal to one teaspoon of sugar...

So, the next time you are eating a breakfast cereal or drinking a juice drink...look at the label! If it says that it has 25 grams of sugar then you are literally ingesting 5 teaspoons of sugar! Not necessarily what you had in mind for a glass of V-8 Fusion or that bowl of Raisin Bran Crunch?!

Not only that...a gram of sugar has four calories ... then 4 X 25=100 calories. Wow...bet you didn't realize that the 160 calorie juice drink is 63% sugar?!

So that's the bad news...the good news is that you can start over today...reading labels and making choices that make sense for your healthy lifestyle. Be especially aware of pseudo-healthy foods marketed towards children...they're usually loaded with sugar. Just remember...just because it sounds healthy doesn't mean it is!

What are you really craving?

You know that late afternoon gnawing sensation in your belly? When you are really craving something but you're not exactly sure what??

It could be just another wave in the ebb and flow of your blood sugar levels. The body likes for everything to stay kind of even...blood sugar, blood pressure, H2O levels, etc. and it strives to keep the body in that balanced state, known as homeostasis.

So when things get out of whack, it goes to the brain and has it tell you that you're hungry or thirsty or whatever. Unfortunately, we often misinterpret the signals or ignore them altogether, thus causing the body to go even further out of balance. So just guess what the body does to combat these stressful waves?? It decides to store fat or retain water or whatever it thinks it should do to avoid this situation in the future! Not exactly what you had in mind?!

So when you get one of those cravings...try to stop and listen. Your body is trying to tell you something. If its hungry, don't wait...feed it! Your weight loss efforts are best rewarded when you never let yourself get too hungry. As a rule of thumb...if you get past 6 on the hunger scale of 1-10, then your body is going to react by storing fat because it wants to be sure it has something for later! And one more thing...did you know that thirst is often misinterpreted as hunger? So start listening to your body, I'm sure it has something to say...and hopefully it's "thank you!"

All Ho~ Ho'd Out!!

Well...it's official, I did my part this holiday season. You may remember that I explained in my last Fit Tip that the average person gains seven pounds between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day. I am happy to report that I came in a little below the average! I did weigh yesterday and I have GAINED THREE POUNDS! Yuck!

But at least I know...right?! As hard as it was to get on that scale yesterday...I am glad that I did. As our yearly calendar hits the reset button, so should we. I think that it's important that we all have a starting place. Note that I didn't say anything about a Resolution! So take some time today to think about how you're going to hit your Health and Fitness Reset Button! Goals give us a purpose and there's nothing that motivates me more than knowing there is a finish line!

We, as your trainers, are ready to help you not only to set your goals but to map out a pathway to them. So...we can do your bodyfat or measurements, do a treadmill or push-up test, or give you some goals to improve your flexibility. Now that I know I've got some (more) pounds of fat to lose...I've de-junked my kitchen and am ready to start making my way toward my finish line! How you measure success is up to you...but I think we all do a little better with our program when we have a goal in mind. If your goal is weight or body fat loss...take that first step onto the scale. Knowing is a lot better than not knowing because then at least you can start moving in the right direction! Happy 2009! Let's make it a GREAT year!