Friday's Freshness

Lunch:

Local butter lettuce

local orange

half a local avocado

toasted almonds.

Slice up some raw almonds and toast for 5 mins or so at 400 degrees. Let cool down for 10 mins.

I squeezed some orange juice into a small container (from the orange I put in my salad, just ate what I squeezed the juice from) just a little bit...maybe 2-3 tablespoons, one tablespoon of olive oil, a splash of champagne vinegar, sea salt and pepper. I put some local chopped up cilantro in the little bowl and muddled it to release the flavors....give it a good stir after.

Toss the dressing from above over the lettuce, oranges, and avocado, grind extra pepper on top if you like...and put some toasted almonds on there.

Doesn't get much better than this.

Keep Austin Weird, Yo

Austin is really great for one thing...keeping things local. There is an amazing community here that supports each other to keep things local (and fresh!). In cities across the US, there has been a big movement of keeping things local.

My newest venture into this is receiving Farmhouse Delivery each week!

(website: http://www.farmhousedelivery.com/)

Each Thursday, I get a knock at my door.....and I open it to a box of goodness....

Knock Knock:

So exciting to open this box and smell the goodness and freshness. Minnie Pearl even has a quick sniff...hoping some of this will end up on the floor later today!

Here is all the loot:

They put frozen bottle waters at the bottom so it stays cool if you were not home. I love that you can add breads, meats, eggs, milk, extra produce, jams, etc. Go to the site. You could potentially start skipping the grocery store all together, saving gas and going LOCAL!

Is there a Farm to Table delivery in your area? Tell me about it!

I can't wait to see what will come next week. Its different each week depending what is in season. I will just wake up, put that box back out so they can reuse it...and wait for that knock knock of freshness to come :)

Shortest blog yes, holla. I am proud.

Post Work Out Favs

I don't know about you guys....but after I get a good workout in...I get home and know I need to eat something but just don't feel hungry.

The key is getting something in there so you don't crash later. Plus your body is just burning cals like crazy and you need to refuel it.

I have a few favs:

-Coconut water. I am not sure if you have jumped on this bandwagon yet or not but I have. I am a member of the club. I love coconut water. Its full of electrolytes (like sports drinks are) with WAY less sugar...basically none...and full of potassium.

Coconut water is good when you are dehydrated as well. If you have been out drinking and need to help your hangovers.....drink some. What really helps is having some before you go to bed as well.

ANYWAY :) (oh PS I drank a TON of coconut water in Napa ;) )

Naked Coconut water is my fav (not only because of the name) because it tastes less sweet to me. There are so many brands out right now. Just try them. Also some have different flavors mixed in if you can't handle the taste.....just make sure you are getting coconut WATER and NOT JUICE...and flip over the bottle and make sure its coconut water only no sugars added!

Google Coconut water benefits...you can find a lot of info there!

-LOW fat chocolate milk. Its all the new rage. It helps rebuild and refuel your muscles. Plus who doesn't want a refreshing glass of chocolate milk when you get back from all that hard work??

Just make sure 1. you get lowfat chocolate milk. 2. I like to buy organic because of the more clean ingredients 3. make sure you measure that glass. Drink a serving or two...calories do still count :)

BONUS...it helps with any sweet tooth you might have like me!

You can read more here: http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/recipes/healthy-eating/superfoods/chocolate-milk-after-workout/

and: http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/news/20100604/chocolate-milk-refuels-muscles-after-workout

-Chocolate Protein Powder. I am posting what I like. I mix it with some skim or 1% milk and have a delish protein shake that rebuilds, refuels, and reloads!

-Kombucha.....now this is a huge trend going on right now even though its very ancient. Spend some time google-ing about it.

I love this stuff. The entire bottle is only 60 calories....and I honestly feel SO much better after having it each day. I feel refreshed and cleansed. I heart it.

There are many different flavors but I like clean stuff...the one I posted is just the tea itself....and flavor extracts. My husband hates the vinegar-y flavor so he can only drink the more flavored ones. I would try a few and see what you think.

Do some google-ing. Its not for everyone but I just am obsessed with it!!!! I also find this is a great drink to have around 2-3pm when I am tired kinda hungry and just need a kick in the butt!

Here are some sites:

This one talks about the importance of only drinking from a reliable source: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/kombucha-tea/AN01658

There you go! I have been posting so much info on nutrition lately that soon I will start posting more work out info :)

Enjoy the day, I know I will because I am having some choco milk RIGHT now!

PS....I can't wait. On Thursday I get my first Farmfresh Delivery! Where a company gathers bushels of fresh produce locally and delivers it right to me! I will DEF blog about it.

Here Piggy Piggy Piggy Piggy

well, I am back from vacation. I just got back from the Napa Valley....where the days consist of sun, wine, food and wine. Did I mention wine yet?

I had planned on blogging about vacation health before I left but I didn't have time. But this is what I would have said....

1. Try to do something active everyday...10-15 mins of push up, squats, lunges, high knees. Something active. Something to get your juices flowing. Bring a resistance band, etc. Just do something.

2. Try to cut the calories where you can. Try to eat a healthy breakfast. Bring your own oatmeal or go to a grocery store and keep fruit and things in your room

3. Drink as much water as possible. I mean gulp it down like its going out of style

4. Try to limit things at meals. Don't binge eat but don't worry about it as much. Cut bread at the beginning, one bite of dessert. Just SOMETHING to cut back a little but still enjoy yourself

5. Did I mention water?

ANYWAY....I can say that this is what I would have told you to do for vacation and I didn't do that AT ALL. I sat around all day whether it be sitting in the hot tub, sitting by the pool, sitting in the steam room, sitting outside drinking wine, sitting inside drinking wine, lounging in the lobby with mimosas, or sitting in a big comfy chair drinking wine. I drank wine.

I sat. I ate. I drank. I beee-ed merry. I fully intended to AT LEAST eat really healthy for breakfast until I found the amazing brunch our hotel served every morning for free.....I mean we are talking pastries, breads, jam, potatoes, bacon, mimosas, bloody marys, cheeses, meats, omelets. Oh holla, I do love me some pastries.

I think you get the gist of it. I was bad to the bone and it felt so good. I was fat and happy the entire time until on the plane I realized my body was screaming out for wine and a puff pastry tart. I wanted more more more more more...and when I got home last night I wanted pizza, I wanted a milk shake and I wanted WINE. It was hard not to give in saying JUST ONE MORE DAY. This is when I realized...this is when people cross a line that makes it hard to turn back around.

While I am sitting around waiting for my big fat commission check that won't ever come, there is one thing I do NOT agree with in the Eat Clean Book. Tosca seems to NEVER splurge. Even in her book she mentions on her bday she only eats the cake part of her bday cake and no icing. I mean is she serio? Ridic.

While both extremes are bad, never splurging to always splurging....just be realistic!

Its okay to live it up. Its about living life. Chicken, brown rice and broccoli isn't living the life....it can easily be obsessive fitness behavior.

That being said...while its okay to splurge make sure you know when to cut it off. Make yourself stop because splurging can change into a lifestyle that you can't get out of...at least very easily.

So...now that I am done with my splurge what will I do? If you went on a spending bender...naturally you would tighten up your wallet for awhile after. Do that with food...tighten up those lips people.

This week I am going to go overtime on the water. Flush the toxins out. I am going to stay away from all processed foods. I will eat lean proteins like chicken, wild salmon and eggwhites...I will eat leafy greens. Cut back on all sugars....including fruit...stay away from most dairy except egg whites. I will also try to stay away from whole grains because I want my food to digest and go thru my body quickly. Basically eating lean meats as well as leafy greens...spinach, broccoli, and add in radish, celery, etc.

I am also taking this cleanse. You drink it for 2 days and severely limit what you eat. The only drawback is you can't do any hard core work outs because you are too tired. I can still do Pilates and I plan to walk on the treadmill for an hour or so tonight.

So you splurged, its okay. Don't hate yourself...just don't let your splurge become a lifestyle. Come back home, tighten up those lips so you don't have to loosen up that belt!

It's 4:20, Ya'll

We have all been there......the 4:20 crash. The one you get after a long irritating day of work. Your energy drops and you become so hungry that you just need to eat...and eat something good. I am talking fatty, sugary goodness to revive you from your crash. No stinkin' apple or almond will do the job.

Guess what...this can be avoided! This is my danger zone...the crash. I am great all day...eating clean...gym at lunch. I eat a great breakfast, healthy lunch....then I crash. Nothing clean will fix it and I just need to ram in fatty foods right in my mouth.

I have to watch it because this happens to me a lot. How have I learned to fix it? Well this is why you come to my blog :)

First determine when your crash is. I would assume most people have a crash between 3-6pm. Figure out when your crash mostly happens so you know when to snack.

Mine happens usually 4:30-5pm. I have learned to put on my mac iCAL ....a 3:30pm reminder...CAM SNACK. It reminds me...to eat something before I crash.

I will normally eat an apple and a small handful of nuts...almonds, pecans, walnuts, whatever. Make sure its a SMALL handful and we are talking ONE hand. I might eat a small piece of cheese and a vegi. Sometimes when I am feeling really hungry...I will have a bowl of Grapenuts with one fiber added Splenda packet!

Make sure you eat a protein and a complex carb always together. You will learn in the Eat Clean Diet book (ehem) that you always need to pair the two together at every meal or snack! Why? Well a little preview...when you eat a protein with a complex carb....it slows the digestion of the complex carb...keeping you more full for longer periods of time!

I say HOLLA to that! Think about when you normally have the crash and mark a note on your phone, calendar, etc to eat a snack everyday about 30 mins to an hour before your normal crash would be.

My husband has learned to have a snack on the way home from work....otherwise he will come home and just munch munch munch and overeat! If he has a bar or an apple or something on his way home...it curbs his hungry and keeps the impulsive munching down.

It's 4:20 guys......and how are you feeling?

Recipe BONUS!

Ezekiel Pita Pizza. I am not sure about you guys but I LOVE pizza.

This is one of my favs....

Ezekial pitas can be found in the frozen/cold section at grocery stores. I get mine from Whole Foods!

Spread on 1-2 tablespoons of chevre/goat cheese The soft/spreadable kind. I like to buy the kind with peppercorns on them because I love pepper!

I slice up 1-2 tomatoes depending on what you like. I like Roma tomatoes. (I try to remove the seeded part because I don't like it)

I put a little more cracked pepper on there...and drizzle a little EVOO....not even a tablespoon...maybe a teaspoon.

You can top with seasoning if you want. Maybe Italian Herbs, Oregano, etc. Sometimes I put some garlic on there!

Pop it in the oven. I do about 400 degrees for 15-20 mins. Sometimes I put the broiler on for 30seconds-1 min so that I can get the top a little crunch at the end.

and bam....a little pizza....I am not kidding. Its SOOOO good.

SUPER BONUS recipe...

those pitas....if you toast them a little longer by themselves in the oven or toaster....and you take them out...they will become hard and crisp...a perfect way to have salsa or guac without the cals of chips! I do it all the time (that's what she said)

:)

H2Ohhhh Yes

WATER! H2O.....nature's little miracle. Why did I just write that? geez. I am getting ridic.

By now I think you all must be so sick of me asking you to buy the Eat Clean Book. If only I could make a commission off them! I just say it because I believe in it! I am not going to go over all the benefits of drinking water...google it...or read it in the book.

Overall..it helps flush your system...and well...LBH (let's be honest for the oldies out there)....it helps you poo. In my older age, I realize how important it is to stay regular. Water...is like the ultimate fiber pill....and its natural and good for your body. I used to watch those fiber commercials of all these old people really concerned with staying regular and thinking look at those old people. WELL $%#$ I am one of them.

drink it, do it. No fussing. You should be drinking 2 liters a day at least.

One way to make water more interesting is infusions. Nothing fancy. Literally just slice up some fruit, herbs, whatever you want.....put them in a pitcher of water...leave overnight and bam in the morning..... refreshing flavored water with ZERO cals and the same benefits as drinking plain water. Locked and loaded to be enjoyed all day!

Here are some to try:

sliced cucumbers

sliced strawberries

mixed berries

mint!

cilantro

lime

or mix it up and mix them together:

-cucumber and mint

-cinnamon sticks and berries

-strawberry and basil

-cilantro and jalapeno maybe with some lime

Try it! Its amazing how refreshing it is...and it just goes down well like water :)

Please tell me how it goes or if you made up any interesting combos I should try!

Do it, impress your friends. You fancy girl!

BONUS...today my friend Desi emailed me her Fit Foods for the week! Desi's Fit Foods:

Stuffed Tomatoes:

5 large red tomatoes
2 table spoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
1 pound lean ground turkey meat
1 cup cooked brown rice
1 bunch of asparagus
I/2 cup part skim mozzarella
4 cloves of garlic
1 onion
Garlic powder and onion powder to taste

Directions:
Note: I LOVE the taste of garlic and onions, so be sure you aren't getting close to anyone right after eating!
Chop onion and garlic
Gut tomatoes (chop off the top and with a spoon scoop out the insides) SIDEBAR: I can just see Desi now guttin' those maters!
Chop the asparagus into little pieces (note, you can use other greens, including broccoli or squash) Great idea Des...pack those things with green vegis!
In a large frying pan, Sauté the onions and garlic with EVOO then add the asparagus to the sauté
Add the meat to brown
Add the cooked brown rice
Add the cheese. Note from Cam.....ground parmesan might be really good too! Parm is lowfat as well! I bet if you didn't like cheese...it would still be tasty without it...or even Greek plain yogurt! Or lowfat cottage cheese.
Scoop the contents into the shelled tomatoes and bake for 25 minutes on 350.
Enjoy for lunch at work!

Note: you might have left over stuffing. If so, get creative. Make tacos, omlettes, etc. Who doesn't love a bonus?? I do I do!!! If you make tacos...use soft corn tortillas. They are packed with nutrition opposed to flour or wheat tortillas.

Happy Monday!

Cam's Fit Foods/(insert your name) Fit Foods

If you want to manage your weight or loose weight you have to plan for it. Planning is the key to avoid mistakes and flip ups. Those who know me well...know that I am the ultimate planner. I have most of my life planned to a E. I say why not E.....its a cool letter....what does planned to the t really mean anyway? Plan your life to whatever letter you choose. This week I will plan it to the E. Wait, scratch that......I am going to plan it to an N....for Napa....I am going this week and can't be more excited.

Wow...I digress. Back to planning. Those who know me ......know when something changes in my plans I "need some time" to wrap my head around it.

Naturally, I do it with meals. Going to the grocery store each week is a step in the right direction but its about what you do when you get home that really counts. Plan a time you can go to the grocery store....get home, unload/unpack and start cooking right away. It will keep your focus and it also keeps things from going bad in the fridge. Get vegis...wash and cut them up right away and put them in a ziplock or an airtight container so they are locked and loaded....ready to pop right in your mouth. Quick snack before you can reach for that Snickers.

I also make "Cam's Fit Foods" each week. Hey guess what....if you put your name before the Fit Foods...you will have your own Fit Foods! Try it....say: (insert name) Fit Foods. Has a nice ring to it doesn't it?

How did this start? There are places in Dallas and Austin that serve pre-made healthy meals. You walk in, buy....put in fridge and heat up to eat. Fresh, tasty....and natural.

I totally support this place! In fact, even though I make my own each week now....I normally buy a few of these to have on hand just in case.

Here is one place....My Fit Foods: http://www.myfitfoods.com/

I really love the breakfast things there. Migas, tacos, etc...try them.

(what if you don't live in a town with one of these...go to the site....look at the menu....and make your own based on those ingredients!)

Here are a few more in Austin:

http://www.melsmealsaustin.com/

http://www.snapkitchen.com/index.php/site/

I haven't had Snap yet....just a few Mel's Meals but My Fit Foods is my fav. They use more spices that I like. I only make my own at home because I don't want to get too tired of My Fit Foods and it saves money. Eating these pre-made meals every day really adds up so learning to make your own is key.

I do think really like saving the containers they use because they are perfectly portioned. If you don't have them....get yourself small microwavable containers to use! I say get around 10 of them.

This week since I am going to Napa (remember the entirely too long blurb on the N), I am going to use what I have in my fridge before it goes bad.

With broccoli, brussels sprouts. and sweet potatoes....I will mix in with some rice and baked chicken breast. Um excuse me, brown rice. You will read more of that in the Eat Clean book.....which you all ordered already right?

So the steps:

1. wash and cut up the broccoli. I am steaming these because its easy. Did you know roasted in the oven broccoli is amazing as well?

2. wash and cut in half the brussels spouts. Put them in a bowl....drizzle EVOO (extra virgin olive oil...so good for you! Please see Clean Eat Diet book...which should be hopefully on the way to you by now) put some sea salt and pepper on them...mix around and put on pan. Roast for 20 mins or so at 400 degrees.

3. Clean the sweet potatoes, cut them up, drizzle some EVOO, sea salt and pepper and roast for 20 mins at 400 degrees.


SIDEBAR: measure the EVOO. One tablespoon is 120 cals. I would put 1-2 tablespoons on each vegi type. Don't sneak in those extra calories!

All you need is a simple steamer doodad!

Take these vegis and put each kind in the individual containers. It doesn't have to be exact. Try to make it even.

Scoop in the brown rice in each container. Did you know that 1/4 cup of brown rice is 170 cals? Don't overdo it. You will learn in the book that a serving of brown rice is about one smaller handful. I made one cup of dry brown rice so that is 680 cals that I will break up into 7 meal containers. There were 8 of them....but my puppy Minnie Pearl pulled one off the counter as I wrote this.....so now 7 :)

I like this brand. They make brown rice, wild rice, orzo. Love em.

I am baking a piece of chicken breast. They are about 150 cals each. That makes 150 cals for the chicken and about 100 cals for the rice. That is only 250 cals for the meal...vegis really don't have a ton of cals but I will put down 100 cals because of the olive oil. I am just estimating. This could all be plus or minus!

I like to season my chicken with dried herbs like Italian Seasoning with salt and pepper. Less sodium (salt) that way...and less preservatives. My husband likes to use a more spicier blend. Whatever works for you. Just check the ingredients and calories on the seasonings. Ask yourself if its a high calorie seasoning...if its worth it to you!

I bake chicken at 375 degrees for 20 mins and check it. Cut thru it and see that its cooked thru. Before putting them in the containers I cut each piece up into bite size pieces so all I need is a fork when I re-heat!

There you go! Cam's Fit Foods! Try it yourself.

Here is what it looks like!

Yumtastic healthy goodness

All in a row (hey there would be 8 if Minnie Pearl didn't pull one off for herself!)

And look how easy and nice to grab right out of the fridge!

The possibilities on your Fit Foods is endless. Think of some, message me so I can post your ideas too!

Last week I made steamed spinach with whole grain orzo and chicken breast. I mixed the orzo with 2 tablespoons of pesto (for the entire batch of orzo) I bought at Whole Foods for flavor. You can do anything. Pork, chicken. etc. I sometimes find seafood doesn't re-heat well so I don't use that. Try any whole grains...orzo, wild rice, brown rice, couscous. Just make sure its whole grain. You will learn more about this in the Eat Clean Book (that is obvi by now already ordered)

Any vegis work. Just make sure you put the alot of vegis in there. Low calorie, fiber, high in nutrition and they fill you up without the cals. Mix it up each week so you don't get tired of the vegi!

Try roasting some, try steaming some. Steamed vegis have less calories because you save on the EVOO calories.

Wow, this is a long post as well. I promise soon the post won't be so long winded.

What did we learn in this blog post? I hope to see all of you this week doing......

1. PLAN...plan your meals. Go to the store and come home and cook. Just buying the healthy things is a step but if you don't have meals ready to go...that is when its easy to slip and eat bad.

2. (insert name) Fit Foods. Do it. Try to find a place in town that carries such healthy foods and have a few on hand. Please message me with local ones around you so I can post for others!

3. Make your own Fit Foods! Look at the menu of the websites and go to the store...come home and cook them! Make sure you use the proper portions for each part of the meal!

My husband takes a few to work to have on hand. Its a perfect way to have healthy food ready when you are hungry...avoiding a slip!

HOMEWORK for the week: Try to rent Food Inc. Its really eye opening about our food chain.

Please DO message me with what you made in your Fit Foods, tell me where you have found local places that do this and DO message me with ANY and all questions even if its simple cooking questions. I am here to help.

DON'T let the week go by unplanned. Its a BAD recipe for disaster when you don't have healthy/nutritious meals locked and loaded!!!

There Has To be an Intro Right?

Why do people blog? I don't know why others do but my trainer keeps telling me to do it. I love fitness and health and always want to help people. I guess this is a good way to get it all down on cyber paper.

Maybe once its written down....people will listen? I hope? Now that its official...because you know...blogs are official and all factual (heavy sarcasm).....people will start getting healthy!

Disclaimer......this is all my advice. Take it at your own risk :)

Now...that is all done with...let's get right into why I wanted to start this blog.

SIDEBAR: before you read this....go get yourself a tall glass of water. Water is the KEY to being healthy. You should be drinking as much water as possible....at least 2 liters a day. I will talk about this more later but go do it! Now....and come back (fingers crossed)......

Do you ever feel like there is so much diet, fitness and nutrition stuff out there. So much you can't really thumb thru what you really need to hear. Its confusing and so many people tell you all different things.

Let's keep it simple. If you are looking for a way to completely change your life or just tweak what you are already doing...read on fellow cyber friends!

How do you get started? Let me tell you...because as my dad tells me...I love to tell people what to do :)

Step 1:

Dieting is brutal. Its a beating. Who wants to diet? You get on a diet...do well, loose weight and slide back into bad eating. Its not about dieting! Its about changing the way you eat! So you can eat...and not feel ravenous all the time. Being ravenous is not sexy, and really its about keeping it sexy.

I tell you...buy this book and buy it now. Your weight and you...are 80% diet, 10% genes and 10% fitness. So really its not about being at the gym...its what you ram down your throat. (this is in her book, I am not making it up :) well I added the ram part. )

Since your weight is 80% what you eat....you need to know what you eat. This book isn't about eat 1,200 calories a day and have a shake instead of this, etc. It learns you up real good.....what food is! I highly highly highly recommend buying this book and reading it. Its an easy read with big pretty pics (my kind of book!)

You do it....now. Buy it. Online, in stores, do it. If you are not willing to read a book like this. This blog isn't for you. Click off immediately. (for those about to click off, thanks for joining, even if it was a short visit! Please finish that tall of glass of water)

Info about the book: http://www.eatcleandiet.com/

Hey look...I am making it super easy...click on link, add to chart, insert credit card info:

http://www.amazon.com/Eat-Clean-Diet-Recharged-Lasting-Better/dp/1552100677/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1295114171&sr=8-1

Now that was easy? Step one of getting your life back to healthy CHECK. Progress already.

Once you get the book, I hope you will be obsessed....then you might buy her recipe books! Great ideas that are easy and yummmmmy!

Onto step 2:

Basic fact...if you eat more calories than you burn, you will gain weight. Simple as that. It isn't about low carb, low fat etc etc......if you eat more than you burn. You will gain weight. Period. Simple. End of Story.

Going to the gym an be an aimless task. What do you do? Are you working hard enough?Fact...those calories burned monitors on the machines are wrong. They don't know about how tall you are, your age, or even if you sit or stand to pee (AKA if you are a boy or a girl).....so how will they know how many calories you burn? Its just wrong.

If you are going to start working out. You need this period. Can't afford it? Cut back somewhere for a few weeks and buy this. Period. End of Story. This changed my life.

You wear this strap around your chest and wear the watch. You program it with age, sex, weight, height info....and you wear it when you work out.

You can tell what your heart-rate is.....so if you need to push yourself more in a work out...and it tells how many calories you have burned. LOVE THAT.

It completely changed the way I work out. Now I know if I am not pushing myself hard enough or not. Plus if I know I am going to go out that night to dinner......I will say to myself okay 100 more calories (PS there is about 550 calories in a bottle of red wine) ....and push myself to burn more.

Here is a sample selection. Choose one!

http://www.target.com/s/ref=sr_sort_highlow?ie=UTF8&keywords=heart%20rate%20monitor&searchSize=30&searchView=grid5&searchNodeID=1038576%7C1287991011&searchPage=1&fromGsearch=true&rh=&searchBinNameList=subjectbin%2Cprice%2Ctarget_com_primary_color-bin%2Ctarget_com_size-bin%2Ctarget_com_brand-bin&searchRank=-price

I suggest getting a Polar brand because it works with most machines at the gym. Plus its the brand I own, and it is my blog isn't it?

Or even better get this one. Its a gold color...go for the gold!

http://www.target.com/Polar-FT7F-Heart-Rate-Monitor/dp/B001U0OFDM/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&searchView=grid5&keywords=heart%20rate%20monitor&fromGsearch=true&sr=1-10&qid=1295114499&rh=&searchRank=-price&id=Polar%20FT7F%20Heart%20Rate%20Monitor&node=1038576%7C1287991011&searchSize=30&searchPage=1&searchNodeID=1038576%7C1287991011&searchBinNameList=subjectbin%2Cprice%2Ctarget_com_primary_color-bin%2Ctarget_com_size-bin%2Ctarget_com_brand-bin&frombrowse=0

Between the book and the monitor. Those two will put you on the road to the life you want to live! I know its a hundred bucks. Its worth it. I take mine everywhere. On trips, gym etc. Basic info...calories in, calories out. Wearing this will motivate you and ALSO you realize how hard you have to work to burn those extra calories.

I used to eat those 100 calorie packs of things...thinking oh its only 100 calories...but you realize that is about 8-15 mins of extra hard work at the gym to burn that off. Worth it? I think not!

So don't you already feel better? You have tools that will just make your life easier. CHECK CHECK.

Step 3: (the cheapest step)

Got an iPhone? Download the ap Lose It....its now time to start finding out how many calories are actually IN things. Its eye opening.

Now I am not saying log everything you eat for the rest of your life....but do it until you get it. I don't do it all the time. I will do it every few months to make sure I am on track. When you first start.....do it everyday for awhile. Do it until you start seeing the weight come off!

For me, I enter in 1,600 calories a day when I want to loose weight. Each goal should be based on your body. Feel free to contact me if you want specific help on it! So when I am logging my calories and want to be loosing weight....I need to eat 1,600 calories a day TOTAL/NET after work outs etc.

For example. If I burn 600 calories in a work out....I need to eat 600 calories more to NET 1,600 calories total.

Simple fact.....you must nourish your body. If you eat too much, you gain weight. If you don't eat enough....your body goes into starvation mode.....and starts holding onto the weight because it thinks its starving. Now that isn't good is it? Its about balance. Also, if you don't eat enough your body's metabolism goes down. We aren't those spring chickens in second period gym class anymore.....save your metabolism! The older you get the more it goes down....so don't ruin it by not eating enough!

So this isn't too bad is it? I am not telling you not to eat McDonalds or that Snickers bar...or to set down that glass of champers......have it. Just realize that 280 cals in that hamburger....won't fill you up as much as say a breast of chicken grilled, vegis, and whole grains.

Let's review. Or for those who know me...let's confirm. I love to confirm. I am a confirmer. I should have had one of those cheerleading is life, the rest just details shirts but mine should read: Confirming is life, the rest just details (of which I will confirm)

1. Buy book/read book/change your life forever

2. Buy strap/wear strap/change your workouts forever

3. Buy ap/use ap/loose weight

you can do it!!!!

And for those of you who like extra credit. I have a bonus step for you. I was always that kid....love extra credit.

BONUS STEP:

Get an RMR Test. What is it? Its a test to tell you how your metabolism is. You will know based on your age, weight, and height......how many calories your burn a day and if you have a low, high, medium etc metabolism compared to others in your same age/weight/gender/height group.

This is an amazing test that is EASY. It will cost you about $75. TOTALLY worth it. You wake up in the morning. Don't eat or drink anything...go to the location and breath into a tube for 15-20 mins or so...and that is it.

I did it and was amazing. It basically told me...I have a higher metabolism than most people in my group and if I were to do NOTHING at all during the day...just sit....I burn about 1742 calories a day.

The print out that I got....which I will scan and post later on.....also gives you zones. Maintenance weight zones, weight loss zones and zones that should be done only under strict medical supervision.

I highly suggest this test. It gives you a good number to put in your lose it ap!

It really tells you about YOU. And you need to know yourself. My husband did it....and he came back with a very low metabolism. He burns under 1,500 calories a day doing nothing. Its low for a guy and he has realized that for him and his body if he ever wants to be lean lean.....it would be nearly impossible.

This is really where those 10% genes come in. Things you can't change but have to learn to live with.

If you want to do this test. Contact me and I will help you find a location. I know of locations in Dallas as well as Austin.

Well that's all folks for today. I hope those 3 steps and one bonus will help you wrap your head around your body (now wouldn't that be a site!)...and how you can change it inside and out.

If you want more reading....here are some helpful links:

http://www.caloriesperhour.com/tutorial_BMR.php

About RMR testing: http://www.metatestvo2.com/metabolic_testing.shtml

Come back soon!