Yummy Breakfast!

Don't those foods look great! AND THEY ARE HEALTHY TOO! I know alot fo people struggle with breakfast, but its so important especailly if you are ttrying to lose weight! BReakfast will make you feel fullr throughout the day and prevent snackign and grazing, also breakfast will help you have more energy so you can make it to the gym!

A great Sunday morning breakfast!
STUFFED CINNAMON FRENCH TOAST
INGREDIENTS
2 Tbsp part-skim ricotta cheese
2 slices whole-grain bread
1 tsp honey
Pinch + 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 Tbsp sliced almonds
1 egg
1 Tbsp 1% milk
Handful of fresh berries
PREPARATION

Spread the room-temperature ricotta on a slice of whole-grain bread. Drizzle the honey over the cheese and sprinkle lightly with a pinch of cinnamon. Top with the sliced almonds and another slice of whole-grain bread. Whisk together the egg, milk, and teaspoon cinnamon. Dip the bread into the egg mixture and cook over medium heat on a nonstick griddle or skillet coated with cooking spray, until the bread is lightly browned and the cheese is melted. Serve with the berries.

I eat this almost every day!
HUEVOS RANCHEROS WRAPS
Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 1 scallion, sliced
• 1 medium whole wheat tortilla
• 2 tbsp shredded reduced-fat mexican-blend cheese
• 1 tbsp chopped cilantro
• 2 tbsps salsa
Directions
1. In a microwavable bowl, beat the eggs and the scallion, and microwave for 2 minutes. Spoon the eggs onto the tortilla; top with the cheese, cilantro, and salsa; and roll up.


For you runners and high calorie burners! This is the breakfast for you!
THE ULTIMATE POWER BREAKFAST
Ingredients
• 1 egg
• 1 cup 1% milk
• 3/4 cup oatmeal
• 1/2 cup mixed berries
• 1 tablespoon chopped pecans or sliced almonds
• 1 teaspoon vanilla whey protein powder
• 1 teaspoon ground flaxseed
• 1/2 banana, sliced
• 1 tablespoon plain yogurt
Directions
1. In microwave-safe bowl, mix egg well, then add next 6 ingredients and nuke for 2 minutes. Remove, let cool for a minute or two. Top with sliced banana and yogurt.

Yummy Muffins!
CRAN-ALMOND MUFFINS
Ingredients
• 1 C all-purpose flour
• 1/2 C whole wheat flour
• 3/4 C plus 2 tsp sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 lg egg
• 1/2 C milk
• 4 tbsp butter, melted
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 1 2/3 C whole cranberries
• 1 tbsp butter, cut in 12 cubes
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 C sliced almonds (optional)
Directions
1. Heat oven to 375°F. Mix first 5 ingredients. Whisk next 4 ingredients. Fold into flour mixture. Stir in cranberries. Put batter in muffin pan lined with 12 baking cups. Top with butter, 2 teaspoons sugar, cinnamon, and almonds. Bake until test done, about 22 minutes.

A nice way to start off a Saturday!
High- Protein Pancakes with Sunflower Seeds

Serve with Apricot-Prune Whip (below).
Ingredients
• 1 1/2 cups plain low-fat yogurt
• 2 large eggs
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus more for the griddle
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup soy flour
• 2 tablespoons oat bran
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
Directions
1. In a blender or food processor, combine the yogurt, eggs, oil, whole wheat flour, soy flour, oat bran, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Process to blend.
2. Preheat a griddle and brush lightly with oil.
3. Ladle the batter by 1/4 cups onto the griddle. Sprinkle each pancake with about 2 teaspoons sunflower seeds. Cook until bubbly, then turn over and cook the reverse side for about 2 minutes. Repeat with the remaining batter and seeds.
Serving Suggestions
2. Apricot-Prune Whip: In a small saucepan, combine 6 pitted prunes and 6 dried apricots with water to just barely cover. Bring to a boil. Remove from the heat, cover, and let sit until cool. Drain the fruit and transfer to a blender or food processor and puree with 5 tablespoons plain low-fat yogurt and 1 teaspoon turbinado sugar.
2. While bacon is cooking, combine milk, eggs, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a small bowl; whisk until well blended. Pour mixture into a pie plate or shallow bowl.
3. Dip 2 bread slices into egg mixture and let stand 30 seconds to absorb the liquid. Flip bread over and let stand in mixture another 30 seconds.
4. Heat a nonstick skillet lightly coated with cooking spray over medium heat. Add 2 dipped bread slices and cook for 2 minutes or until lightly browned. Flip over and continue cooking for 1 minute or until done. Repeat steps 3 and 4 with remaining 2 bread slices.
5. On each plate, place 2 strips of bacon and 2 slices of French toast. Garnish with berries or apple slices, if you'd like, and serve with syrup.

Whats for dinner?? Steak Fajitas and El El Bean

STEAK FAJITAS

Ingredients
• 6 oz flank steak
• 1 small onion, cut into eighths
• 1 green or red bell pepper, cut length-wise into strips
• 1 small jalapeno pepper, cut into rings
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp chopped cilantro
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp cumin
• salt to taste
• black pepper to taste
Directions
1. Cut the meat diagonally and across the grain into thin strips. Place it in a large ziplock bag with all the other ingredients and shake well to combine. Dump the mixture into a skillet that's been preheated over medium-high heat. Cook, turning frequently, for 5 to 6 minutes, or until the meat reaches the desired doneness. Serve with 4 whole wheat tortillas and salsa.

El EL BEAN
Ingredients
• 1/2 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup canned corn kernels, drained and rinsed
• 1 sliced green onion
• 1 teaspoon diced cilantro
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
1. Mix ingredients together in a bowl and enjoy!

The best excuse TO workout! Massage!

More and more sports and fitness enthusiasts are including massage as a part of their conditioning programs. It's not just for the professional athlete or the person who is training for the Olympics. Massage is for everyone and needs to be looked at as a health benefit and not a luxury. People just like you and me are including massage as part of their regular exercise programs. Almost anyone can benefit from massage, athlete or not.
A lot of people avoid massage because of the costs, but look at it as an investment in you body. You can over train your muscles. That is what knots, extreme soreness and cramping are. IF you are tight, knotted, and/or cramping you NEED a massage. If you do not get them massaged out then you are wasting your time exercising through the soreness. You are just making the muscles even sorer, and not building muscle.

Fitness enthusiasts/athletes will find that massage helps improve their flexibility; muscles tend not to be as sore and stiff; it helps in their recovery time, and reduces the anxiety of athletic competition. Massage can help improve performance, increase endurance, and help lower fatigue levels. By reducing fatigue, althletes can train better with longer more effective workouts. When you choose massage or stretches between workouts, there is a high increase in recovery time.

The idea behind massage therapy is to reduce the stress and damage that the muscles endure throughout the day. When muscles become stressed, fatigued or injured, they can block oxygen and nutrients from reaching the rest of the body and the brain. This blockage can lead to inflammation, usually in the form knots. This can cause a build up of toxins in the muscle tissue. This is when a massage can really help the muscles release the toxins and getting the blood and oxygen circulating properly again and help bring some relief. It is always important to drink plenty of water after a massage treatment, this will help the body to purge out any of the toxins released during the massage treatment.

Today massage therapy is well accepted as a method of reducing stress, relieving pain and promoting relaxation.

There are many styles of massage around, so shop around and find the one that is best for you. A few styles to look for that are good for people involved with an exercise program are Swedish,DeepTissue, Shiatsu and Sports massage. Each is very different. A good massage therapist may use many different styles and gear the massage toward your needs.

I found http://www.soothinghandsandstones.massagetherapy.com/ and his rates are super affordable and he is excellent. Sometimes he offers a buy 4 get one free package. Honestly you can’t beat his prices (90 minutes for $45!!!) and his professionalism. I personally use him every month for a deep tissue hot stone massage.

Also, renewedwellnessmassage.com offers a great massage I recently tried where she uses Bio-freeze and warm towels to help relieve the tired muscles. This treatment is ideal for anyone who has muscle tension due to athletic training and/or repetitive movements or for those individuals that suffer from chronic pain. This massage targets the neck and back, arms and hands OR legs and feet and is customized to each clients needs. Therapeutic massage lotion is combined with "Biofreeze" enabling the therapist to work deeper into the muscle fiber giving the client an intense cooling sensation which releases tension, decreases pain, and invigorates the muscles. Warm towels are placed over the area to help relax the muscles even further.

It was very relaxing and I felt great afterwards. The bio-freeze is incredible, especially if you are training hard or are a runner. My new routine is killing my shoulders and she really worked it out!

Mistakes that are holdign you back from your goals!

When you stick to a routine, it's easy to become, well, stuck. "We fall into a comfort zone, and we keep doing the same thing even when we're not seeing any improvement," says Barbara Bushman, PhD, a professor of exercise physiology at Missouri State University in Springfield. If you're not trimming down, toning up, or feeling any fitter, it's likely due to one of the following exercise errors. Read on for how to reboot -- and get the body you want, pronto!

Mistake #1: You Rely on Cardio to Peel Off Pounds
For most women, sweaty aerobic exercise alone isn't enough. "Research shows that weight loss is minimal if it isn't accompanied by dieting," says Amy Luke, PhD, a nutritional epidemiologist at the Stritch School of Medicine at Loyola University Chicago. "We may compensate for the extra energy we're burning during physical activity by doing less the rest of the day, or more commonly, we feel famished after working out, so we eat more."
The Solution: Keep your diet in check. To drop a pound, which is 3,500 calories, in one week, aim to eat 300 fewer calories every day (300 x 7 = 2,100) while burning 300 calories from exercise five times a week (300 x 5 = 1,500). Follow our "Slimmer in 7 Days!" plan, not only to burn 1,500 calories a week but also to firm up from head to toe. Plus, to beat the post-workout hunger attack, pack a low-cal snack like a piece of fruit. "You plan for exercise. You need to plan what you're going to eat afterward," says John Porcari, PhD, a professor of exercise physiology at the University of Wisconsin at La Crosse and a FITNESS advisory board member. Drinking lots of water helps too

Mistake #2: You Race Through Your Reps
Two things could be going on here: Either your weights are too light, which is often the case for women, or they're too heavy, and you're letting momentum or gravity take over. Either way, your muscles aren't being sufficiently challenged, which is why they're not getting more toned. "To see an improvement in definition, you need to have an increase in the protein content of muscle fibers, and that happens when the muscles are stressed and being called on to exert more force," Bushman explains.
The Solution: If you don't believe you've done just about all you can do by the end of a set, pick a heavier weight. "You want there to be a bit of strain on the second-to-last and last reps," Bushman says. Reach for a lighter dumbbell when you aren't moving the weight with steady control as you lift and lower.

Mistake #3: You Stick to the Bike for All Your Sweat Sessions
If you feel as though your thighs are getting bigger than you'd like, you may be overdoing the cycling. "On an exercise bike, you're working a very specific group of muscles, and if you're hitting it hard four or five times a week, you will see development there," says Gary Sforzo, PhD, a professor of exercise and sport sciences at Ithaca College in New York.
The Solution: Unless cycling is your competitive event, cut it to once or twice a week and fill the gap with a variety of on-your-feet activities, from using the elliptical trainer to taking a dance class. "Every exercise affects your legs in different ways," Sforzo says. When you do cycle, lower the resistance level and increase the speed, Bushman suggests. "It's the overload on the muscles that causes the increase in muscle mass," she adds.

Mistake #4: You Aim to Stay in the Fat-Burning Zone
It's no wonder you think you need to do this to lose weight: Many cardio machines tell you when you're above and below the zone. But this reason for sticking to low-intensity exercise has been completely debunked. "Because fat takes longer than carbs to be converted to energy, you burn a higher percentage of it when you're sitting or walking than when you're running. So the old thinking was that with low-intensity exercise you could torch body fat and lose weight," Porcari explains. But the theory didn't work in practice. "In one study, we had people walk or run for half an hour. On average, the walkers burned 240 calories, 44 percent of which were fat, so they burned 108 fat calories. The runners burned 450 calories, 24 percent of which were fat, so they burned 120 fat calories. Whether you look at total calories or fat calories, the runners clearly came out ahead," Porcari says.
The Solution: There's nothing wrong with low-intensity exercise, particularly if you have joint problems. "But to lose weight, you'll probably need to do it for longer than half an hour. Just for general health, the recommendation is 30 minutes five days a week," Porcari says.

Mistake #5: You Skip the Warm-Up
You may think you're saving time, but you're actually just compromising the first 5 to 10 minutes of your workout. "Your body literally needs to warm up so that blood flow increases, the nervous system wakes up, and the body starts to use energy and oxygen more efficiently," says Michael Bracko, a sports physiologist and director at the Institute for Hockey Research in Calgary. The upshot: Every step feels like less of a slog, and calorie burn kicks into high gear.
The Solution: Bracko says that the best warm-up is to do your chosen exercise at a low intensity. Runners, for example, should walk, then jog. "Keep at it until you break a sweat," Bracko says. Alternately, you can try "dynamic" stretches, which are moves that take your body through the range of motions you're about to do. For a runner, that can mean high knees, butt kicks, and forward, reverse, and side lunges. "Avoid static stretching, where you're holding poses for several counts. That actually calms the system down and can impair performance," Bracko adds.

Mistake #6: You Overcrunch Your Abs
If you're doing more than three sets of 15, you're wasting your time. "Extra crunches aren't going to cinch your waistline," says Michele Olson, PhD, a professor of exercise science at Auburn University in Montgomery, Alabama, and a FITNESS advisory board member. "You're working the rectus abdominus, which is only one of four muscles in the abdominal wall. But it's the other three deeper muscles [internal obliques, external obliques, transverse abdominis] that give you a leaner look by helping you with your posture."
The Solution: Take a temporary break from your usual crunches and target your obliques and transverse abdominis with our waist-cinching express ab workout, "Firm, Flat Abs Fast!" Olson suggests trying these Pilates-based moves as well: (1) the plank (balance on floor on forearms and toes and hold for 30 seconds), (2) double-leg stretch (lie on your back, knees bent 90 degrees with feet in air and shins parallel to the floor, shoulders off the floor with arms loosely hugging knees; extend your legs and arms out in a wide V, then return to start), (3) the side plank (lie on the floor on your right side, propped up on right elbow, feet stacked; lift your hips up, using your left hand on floor in front of you for support. Hold for 5 counts, then lower. Do 10 reps; switch sides and repeat). Do 10 reps of each move, three or four times a week.

Mistake #7: You've Been Doing the Same Weight Circuit Since Forever
The reason it seems easy isn't because you're getting stronger and stronger. It's because your muscles, having adapted to the program, are utterly bored. "You need to continually challenge them," Bushman says. "Muscles improve only when they're doing something they're unaccustomed to."
The Solution: There are myriad ways to change things up. "Use the machines, free weights, resistance bands. You can manipulate the number of reps, amount of weight, length of rest periods between sets, number of sets, and the overall number of exercises," Bushman says. Try doing 12 to 15 reps of light weights one session, 8 to 10 reps of moderate weights the next, then 4 to 6 reps of heavy weights. "Ideally, you want to do something different every time you go to the weight room, or at least once every two weeks," Sforzo adds.

Mistake #8: You Only Do Yoga
While it's great for flexibility and helps improve strength, the typical yoga session is not going to incinerate calories. A recent study found that it takes 90 minutes of hatha yoga to burn 200 calories -- about the same as window-shopping or a casual stroll.
The Solution: If you're doing an hour of yoga five days a week, you need to shift three of those days to aerobic activity, says Kara Mohr, PhD, an exercise physiologist and founder of MohrResults.com, a fitness and nutrition consulting company. "I always encourage my clients to do yoga because it's excellent for raising the mind-body connection, which helps stop overeating," she adds. But you need to think of it as a supplemental activity if your goal is weight loss.

Mistake #9: You Always Run at a Steady Pace
If you want to increase your speed, you won't improve your time without interval training. "It teaches your muscles to burn energy more efficiently, so you can go faster," Porcari says. "You're also training your legs to move quicker and getting mentally used to the idea."
The Solution: Porcari recommends starting out with a one-mile warm-up, then doing four to six rounds of running at slightly faster than your regular pace for a quarter mile and slightly slower than your regular pace for a quarter mile. (If you're outside, try going from telephone pole to telephone pole.) "The goal is gradually to lengthen the faster-paced intervals and increase the tempo," Porcari explains. He adds that to prevent injuries, it's best to keep such speed work to once or twice a week.
Mistake #10: Your Workout Is the Sole Activity You Get
Sit all day and you're missing out on burning an easy 900 extra calories. That's the difference between what people who aren't sedentary melt in non-exercise activity during a day versus what couch potatoes burn, says James Levine, MD, PhD, an obesity expert at the Mayo Clinic and author of Move a Little, Lose a Lot. "Humans are basically built to be moving. The mechanisms that drive metabolism switch on when a person stands and they switch off as soon as she sits," Dr. Levine says.
The Solution:

The more active you are, the better. At the very least, you should get up every hour and walk or march in place. One easy change Dr. Levine recommends: Pace the floor when you're on the phone. Make it a habit and weight loss will be just several calls away!

womenshealth/mayoclinic

Whats for dinner??? Black bean ans Sweet Potato vegetarian/vegan chili

Black bean vegetarian chili I normally double or triple this so I have extras and freeze them for those lazy days where I do not want to cook!

Ingredients:
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 small sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 2 medium carrots, sliced
• 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped (optional)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 15 ounce can black beans
• 1 15 ounce can diced tomatoes or tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup vegetable broth
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp cayenne (or to taste)
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

Preparation:
Sautee onions and garlic in olive oil for a minute or two, then add sweet potatoes, carrots and bell pepper until onions are soft, about 5-6 minutes.

Reduce heat to medium low, and add remaining ingredients, stirring to combine well.

Simmer, partially covered and stirring occasionally, for 20-25 minutes, until flavors have mingled and vegetables are cooked.
Makes 5 servings of homemade black bean chili.

Nutritional information (per serving):
Calories: 427, Calories from Fat: 67
% Daily Value:
Total Fat: 7.5g, 12% / Saturated Fat: 1.2g, 6% Trans Fat: 0g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 368mg, 15%
Total Carbohydrates: 72.0g, 24%
Dietary Fiber: 17.3g, 69%
Protein: 21.4g
Vitamin A 289%, Vitamin C 65%, Calcium 15%, Iron 31%

Are you REALLY eating correctly?

Are you eating correctly??

The answer is you probably think you are, but you are not. Lets first chat about “eating clean” and metabolism.
Eating a clean diet is a health conscious way to improve your health and rid your body of unnecessary toxins and other elements that are bad for you. Clean foods are generally considered those to be natural, free of added sugar, trans fats and hydrogenated fats and any other unnatural substances. This type of diet can be used to lose weight as well as to improve your health and energy levels. Generally, a clean diet is combined with a healthy diet approach of eating 6 small meals a day. This would include breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as three healthy snacks.

**THE MOST IMPORTANT INFORMATION YOU”LL EVER READ** You should eat every 2 to 3 hours throughout the day to promote increasing your metabolism and curbing your hunger. Portioning is also important when eating. A meat portion for lunch should be a fist size serving and a diner portion should be a first and a half. A vegetable portion for lunch should be half a fist and for dinner a whole fist. A starch or carb portion should be half the fist at all times. Snacking on fruits, vegetables and nuts throughout the day is also recommended. Eating 2 breakfasts, 1 lunch, 1 snack, 1 dinner and 1 snack is the ideal eating to increase metabolism and bettering weight-loss results.

Your body reacts to fewer calories by slowing down your metabolism -- burning fewer calories each day just to maintain your body functions. If you don't add exercise along with the diet, you will lose lean muscle mass as well as fat and water weight. When you lose muscle, your metabolism is slowed even further and you would have to eat even fewer calories per day to continue to lose weight. It takes a conscious effort to increase exercise when on a diet.
If you don't exercise and then you fall off of the diet, the weight will come back on even faster, as your body is burning fewer calories per day. Even worse, the weight will come back on as fat rather than as the muscle you lost. Your body will look even less lean and healthy.

Of course, the diet advice we'd all love to hear is "Eat more and lose more weight!" But what really works is "Eat more often, and you'll lose more weight." Small, but frequent, meals help keep your metabolism in high gear, and that means you'll burn more calories overall. Your best bet for keeping metabolism revved: Build muscles, snack on low-calorie, high-protein foods, eat often, and keep moving!

If you are excersising as well as dieting it is important to replace the calories you burn. If you choose not to eat them, you may experience quicker weight loss to start with but will then experience tiredness, fatigue and increased injury rates, and a longer harder to push over platue. You will also see a slowing of weight loss as your body tries to conserve every calorie you put in. Replace what you burn! Myfitnesspal is a great tool use it!

Real or Sales Pitch? Health/Life coaches

The movement of “health/life coaching” is gaining some traction in health care circles.

Lets explore this phenomenon. Health/life coachs, among other duties, “help people clarify their health goals, and implement and sustain behaviors, lifestyles, and attitudes that are conducive to optimal health; guide people in their personal care and health-maintenance activities; and, assist people in reducing the negative impact made on their lives by chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes.”

That sounds suspiciously like what primary care is supposed to do, but can’t within the current paradigm of the 15-minute office visit.

So, instead, people with no prior medical training are taking advantage, by signing up for courses over the internet and training to become a health coach. There is no fixed route to become a life/health coach, many people flock special coaching academies. Often these academies are often run by other life coaches, in what amounts to a pyramid scheme.

Some sites promise $121 an hour (“at least”), without having to leave home, and there are no worries about malpractice.Are you really going to trust someone that took a quick course, with no medical training, and no degree to tell you how to be healthier??


Imagine what those with an actual medical degree can do as a health coach. See a dietician, a nutritionist, or a real doctor. Normally people with out degrees or certifications are trying to sell you something, which make them money. I'd be very careful. I have heard of these self-proclaimed "health coaches" promise weightloss, cancer free, reduce free-radicals, blah blah blah....as long as you buy their products. Becareful because its all probably just a sales pitch.

Whats the best way to lose belly fat/my baby pooch/my stomach/what ever you want to call it”.

As a personal trainer I always get asked “Whats the best way to lose belly fat/my baby pooch/my stomach/what ever you want to call it”. So here is the thing, you can’t pick where you lose weight from. I wish, but we can’t and even though many diet products and exercise machines claim they can, they are false claims.

Here are some common myths I want to get out of the way:

• AB machines cannot develop Abs better than exercises done with our body. Abs machines are not very successful in working right muscles in right order and they can not eliminate belly fat. If you have to lose belly fat you must take proper nutrition along with training and cardio exercises.
• AB rollers do not work at all although Advertisements pitch that rollers can easily create amazing Abs. But the truth is that they may cause serious damage. They do not protect your neck and may cause painful/ devastating cervical injury.
• Sit-ups is not the solution to abs and are dangerous. With feet anchored to floor with you flexing at high speed, you may actually strain your hip flexor muscles. This is not a way to losing belly fat.
• Floor crunches work but the bad news is that they are overused; mediocre results can be expected. Excessive crunching can shorten the abdominal walls as you are pulling head forward drooping shoulders.
• Starvation diets/ crash diets don’t deliver. Correct nutrition is important.
• Fat burning pills are totally misguided. They may treat symptoms but don’t remove causes. You would soon gain back the fat you lost along with interest.
• Machine based equipment such as bicep curls makes muscles work while mind stay inactive and that may lower your neurological response.

To lose belly fat first and foremost step is to eliminate “five c’s: candy, cookies, cake, cola, and chips” from your lifestyle; limit fried foods.

You might feel that it is easy but that’s not all. Going gets tougher with regular strength training/ aerobic exercise are especially effective to stem the growth of belly fat. Working on all muscle groups (arms, shoulders, chest, abs, back and legs) reduces belly fat by 10-15 %. Length of workout must be increased slowly. To lose belly fat, aerobic exercises and methods such as HIIT and Tabata Protocol are also helpful. More exercise you perform, more belly fat you lose. Start by walking, swimming, cycling and lose belly fat.

Diet is of utmost importance where belly fat is concerned. Eating fat-friendly diet would not only stop enlargement of belly but would also help body to fight fat. You must start eating 5-6 mini meals in a day rather than 3 main and larger meals. It would help lose belly fat as we will be eating less during main meals. Small and regular interval meals also boost metabolism as body requires more energy in order to do frequent digestions. Apart from frequency of meals, type of meal is also important. Some foods help lose belly fat like fish/ vegetables/ fruits/ black chocolates etc. Contrary to this, few foods destroy the efforts to lose belly fat. Foods high in saturated fats/ sugar must not be included in our diet.

If you are looking on tips on how to lose belly fat, also look to drinking correct drink; best drink being water. Water is essential and vital for our body as it helps liver proper function and that accelerates fat burning process as liver has the ability to burn fat stored in reserves and convert it to energy. So drink lots and lots of water avoiding full dairy drinks like milk shakes or chocolate drinks and soft drinks. Better alternative is Fresh fruit juice but eating fruits is even better.
Exercise is key to losing belly fat. Combining resistance/strength training with cardio is the best and most effective way! Resistance training exercises: It includes various Weight lifting exercises that help body to fight fat along with building muscles. There are not any of specific or particular exercises to lose belly fat particularly without losing fat from other area. Working with abdominal exercises, stomach muscles may get tighter as well as stronger. Other weight lifting exercises include squats/ dumbbell rows/ chest presses etc.

Cardio exercises: These are also very beneficial if you plan to lose belly fat. Cardio exercises also accelerate heart rate making us breathe faster thus body spending more energy. While exercising, it is important to feel increasing heart rate and faster breathing. In case you are exercising without feeling any pressure, results won’t be that good. Exercising must be done regularly (at least 3-4 times/ week). Exercising only once and not doing it for a month is more like nothing done at all. To completely change your body an ideal plan of 4-6 times a week is more accurate.
A lot of people feel that a treadmill, elliptical for 30-60 minutes a day is going to help them burn the fat that they want. The truth is, you will burn more calories in a class like body pump, jazzerice, or zumba than you ever could on a treadmill.

Think of it this way: Which gets your car cleaner, a machine or by hand. Which gets you skinny quicker: by hand!

Plateua, OHHH NOOO!!!

You've diligently worked to improve your diet and exercise habits, and you've been rewarded by seeing the number on the scale continue to drop. But then for no reason you can see, the scale doesn't budge — even though you're still eating a healthy, low-calorie diet and exercising regularly. You've hit a weight-loss plateau. It’s inevitable. At some point during your exercise program your body will fail to respond to the exercise and diet that has guaranteed you results in the past. Strength increases dwindle; fat loss slows; lean muscle gains aren’t as apparent. Life was good at the beginning of the program when your body responded by shedding massive fat, gaining pounds of muscle, and gaining superhero strength almost overnight. Welcome to reality.

Before you get too discouraged, you should know that it's normal for weight loss to slow and even stall. By understanding what causes a weight-loss plateau, you can decide how to respond and avoid backsliding on your healthy-eating and exercise habits.

What is a weight-loss plateau?
A weight-loss plateau occurs when you no longer lose weight despite continuing with your exercise and healthy-eating habits. Being stuck at a weight-loss plateau eventually happens to everyone who is trying to lose weight. At that point, losing additional weight becomes more difficult. Although hitting a plateau is common, most people are surprised when it happens to them, believing that if they just maintain a reduced-calorie diet, they should continue to lose weight. The frustrating reality is that even well-planned weight-loss efforts can become stalled.

What causes a weight-loss plateau?
The progression from initial weight loss to a weight-loss plateau follows a typical pattern. During the first few weeks of losing weight, a rapid drop in pounds is normal. When calories from food are reduced, the body gets needed energy by releasing its stores of glycogen, a type of carbohydrate found in the muscles and liver. Glycogen holds onto water, so when glycogen is burned for energy, it also releases the water — about 4 grams of water for every gram of glycogen — resulting in substantial weight loss that's mostly water.

A plateau occurs because your metabolism — the process of burning calories for energy — slows as you lose lean tissue (muscle). When you lose weight, you lose both fat and lean tissue. (The notion that overweight people have a slower metabolism is a myth. In general, the higher a person's weight, the higher the body's metabolic rate.) Your weight-loss efforts result in a new equilibrium with your now slower metabolism. This means that in order to lose more weight, you need to increase activity or decrease the calories you eat. Using the same approach that worked initially will maintain your weight loss, but it won't lead to more weight loss.

How can you overcome a weight-loss plateau?
If you're at a plateau, you may have lost all of the weight you will given the number of calories you're eating each day and the time you spend exercising. At this point, you need to ask yourself if you're satisfied with your current weight or if you want to lose more, in which case you'll need to adjust your weight-loss program. If you're committed to losing more weight, try these tips for getting past the plateau:

• Reassess your habits. Look back at your food and activity records. Make sure you haven't loosened the rules, letting yourself get by with larger portions or less exercise.

• Cut calories. Reduce your daily calorie intake by 200 calories — provided this doesn't put you below 1,200 calories. Fewer than 1,200 calories a day may not be enough to keep you from feeling hungry all of the time, which increases your risk of overeating.

• Rev up your workout. Increase the amount of time you exercise by an additional 15 to 30 minutes. You might also try increasing the intensity of your exercise, if you feel that's possible. Additional exercise will cause you to burn more calories.

• Pack more activity into your day. Think outside the gym. Increase your general physical activity throughout the day by walking more and using your car less, or try doing more yardwork or vigorous spring cleaning.

• Make sure you replacing what you are burning. Wearing a heart rate monitor can give you a more accurate view on how many calories you are burning in a workout session. Your body needs the extra calories through out the day. You must eat more to lose more. If your body is in a negative caloric state, it will not burn fat.
Don't let a weight-loss plateau lead to an avalanche.

If your efforts to get past a weight-loss plateau aren't working, talk with your doctor or a dietitian about other tactics you can try. You may also want to revisit your weight-loss goal. Maybe the weight you're striving for is unrealistic for you. If you've improved your diet and increased your exercise, you've already improved your health even without further weight loss. For those who are overweight or obese, even modest weight loss improves chronic health conditions related to being overweight.

Whatever you do, don't revert back to your old eating and exercise habits. That may cause you to regain the weight that you've already lost.

Try the following:

Is it a plateau? – A plateau is 1-2 weeks, not 1-2 days! When was the last time the scale moved? Are you really facing a weight loss plateau?
Follow your plan – Be sure you are following your weight loss program eating guidelines each day and are not inadvertently eating non-approved foods or too much of the higher-carbohydrate foods.

Too many carbs? – Reduce the total carbohydrates in your plan. For example, if your weight loss program includes a lot of vegetables, choose the lower carbohydrate vegetables for a week or two. Also, consider your choice of condiments. For example, are you adding high-carbohydrate salad dressing to your salads? Follow the Golden Rule of carbs, a 4:1 ratio.

Do not skip meals – Skipping meals can cause your metabolism to slow down and cause you to lose weight more slowly. If anything, you should consider eating smaller amounts more frequently, 5-6 times per day.
The little things – Do you add a lot of cream in your coffee? If so, try a creamer with less fat. Do you chew gum or eat mints? These can add a surprising amount of sugar throughout the day, depending on your choice of gum or mints. Record everything that touches your mouth. EVERYTHING has calories in it, record it.

Women – If you are female, are you on your menstrual cycle? This can certainly cause a temporary slow-down of your weight loss.

Water – Do you drink enough water? A minimum of 64-ounces per day is recommended. More is usually better!

Near your goal weight? – Are you nearing your goal weight? If so, you can expect the rate of weight loss to slow down. Be patient and persistent.

Exercise – Are you exercising? If not, start – but slowly. If you are already exercising, try adding a few more minutes (or more) of daily exercise. Make sure you are changing your routine every 4-6 weeks and challenging your body to do more reps, more weight, and more time. On the other hand, it is possible to be getting too much exercise to where your body is fatigued. Maybe you need to back off a little. It may also help to change the type of exercise you do for a while. For example, if you always run on the treadmill, try using a stationary bike instead for a couple of weeks.

Stress – Have you been under more stress lately than normal? Additional stress can cause your body to change and slow your weight loss. It can also cause you to behave differently. For example, when you are stressed and tired, you may grab some fast food on your way home from work, then feel guilty about your food choice.

Illness – Have you been sick lately? Even having a cold, for example, can cause your body to lose weight less efficiently as you fight the cold symptoms. Focus on getting healthy again and then resume your regular program.

Rest – Are you getting enough sleep? Most of us don’t but this is one of the most important things we can do for ourselves. A lack of sleep can wear your body down and affect your weight loss efforts.

mayoclinic/webmd/womenshealth

Accountability, how to get it and maintain it….

A lot of men and women struggle to have accountability in their exercise. But there are 2 types of accountability I’m talking about: workout accountability and nutrition accountability. You can not have one with out the other. You can workout all day but if you aren’t eating correctly then you are wasting your time.

You have to be fully committed to eating right and working out properly. Over the years I have learned that if people make workout calendars and set meal plans they are more successful in their goals. This helps them hold themselves accountable to workout on schedule and to eat properly when it’s on a calendar or preplanned out. Placing the calendar somewhere very visible helps remind you that you have to do it. Scheduling gym time into your day also helps.

Make working out part of your daily routine. Would you skip brushing your teeth everyday?- then why skip working out or eating correctly? Your physical fitness and nutrition are very important. Your health is something that once it goes bad-its very hard to get it back. Maintenance your body just as you would your car. You only have one body in this life- so take good care of it.

People forget to that you don’t have to go to a gym to lose weight and tone up. I lost 93 pounds with out a gym; everything I used was my bodyweight, free weights and stopwatch. So the excuse of “I have no time to go to the gym” isn’t a valid excuse anymore.
Another great way is to find a workout buddy, preferably someone who has the same goals as you. I’ve trained hundreds of clients over the years and those who have a workout buddy tend to stay more focused than those who don't.

If you are someone who can’t find the motivation then try hiring a personal trainer for a few weeks. Having a personal trainer is probably the most effective way to reach a fitness goal, especially if you are not motivated. Personal trainers, like me, not only walk you through the workouts, but hold you accountable to show up, complete the workouts and to eat properly. I force my clients to do myfitnesspal.com, which they write down every single thing they eat and record their exercise. If they don't show up to a scheduled appointment - I’m calling and texting them- holding them accountable. After a few weeks I find my clients asking for “homework” workouts because they are so motivated. After a while the most unmotivated person is motivated.

Set mini-goals. Sure your goal may be to lose 20 pounds by August, but set a mini-goal of 1.5 pounds a week or cutting out soda this week and ice-cream the next. I personally have “Do not eat more than 3 oreos a day or you will be fat” written on a post-it on my cabinets.

I record all of my workouts and it shows my progress, whether its an increase in reps or weight or even going longer in cardio. It’s a way to see where I was and how far I have come. I also measure and weight once a month. Looking back on my records, I see progress which motivates me even more.

So basically what I am saying is:
1.Make a calendar for meals and workouts
2.Find workouts to do at home (check out http://torquefitness.webs.com/ and their DIY Plan that they offer)
3.Get a workout Buddy
4.Hire a Personal Trainer if you can’t hold yourself accountable
5.Set Mini-goals to help you reach your big goal
6.Record your workouts, measurements, and review ever so often to see your progress.

Redbook/Torque/WebMD

Whats for Dinner??? Very Sloppy Joes with 'Shrooms

As southern as I get! This is so freakin' yummy and easy to make! Its a staple on our weekly meal planners because there is always left overs, plus my 16 month old will even eat it!


Ingredients
Serves: Prep: 5min Cook: 15min Total: 20min NOTE: Ingredients for a changed serving size are based on a calculation and are not reviewed by the author or tested. Please also consider scaling up or down cooking containers as needed.
•1 1/2 pounds lean ground turkey
•1/4 pound mushrooms, sliced
•1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
•1 cup ketchup
•1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
•2 tablespoons yellow mustard
•1/2 tablespoon chili powder
•1/4 cup worcestershire sauce
•ground black pepper
•4 whole-wheat hamburger buns

Directions
1.Coat a large skillet with cooking spray and place over medium heat until hot. Add the turkey and mushrooms; cook for 3 minutes, stirring to break up the meat. Add the garlic powder. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 3 minutes.
2.Stir in the ketchup, vinegar, mustard, chili powder, and Worcestershire. Continue cooking over low heat for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3.Season with pepper. Spoon the mixture over the bun bottoms and add the tops.
Nutritional Facts per serving

CALORIES 320 CAL with 100 calorie bun
FAT 16.8 G
SATURATED FAT 4.3 G
SODIUM 1297 MG
CARBOHYDRATES 44.6 G
TOTAL SUGARS 19.7 G
DIETARY FIBER 4.3 G
PROTEIN 35.9 G

Free WORKOUT! Tabata Protocol! Got 20 minutes and no equiptment?

The Tabata Protocol: Supra-Aerobic Cardio


Never heard of the Tabata Protocol? Created by Izumi Tabata, the Tabata Protocol is simply the best supra-aerobic cardio workout every discovered.

"The rate of increase in V02max is one of the highest ever reported." - Izumi Tabata, Japan


When you create an Oxygen Debt your body has burned off all of the blood sugar (glycogen) it has and needs to replace all of that energy. It does this by burning fat. You don't want to try and burn fat WHILE you are exercising. You want to burn off CARBS as fuel when you are exercising.

Your body has 2 fuel systems, so to speak. There is Aerobic and Anaerobic.

Now, the Aerobic system uses oxygen to burn fuel, and the Anaerobic system doesn't. But one does not replace the other! What happens is you start out by burning fuel with your Aerobic energy system, and once you go past the point where there is enough oxygen in your system to provide Aerobic energy to your muscles, your Anaerobic system kicks in. Think of this as your SUPRA-AEROBIC zone.

To get there, you need to get your heart rate up past what is typically referred to as the 'Target Heart Rate Zone' using common aerobics lingo. You should use a Heart Rate Monitor to measure yourself while doing this program.

You will need to build up your endurance gradually. Therefore, you will not start out doing the Tabata Protocol the way it is typically described.

The original Tabata Protocol requires the following:


•5 minutes of warm-up
•8 intervals of 20 seconds all-out intensity exercise followed by 10 seconds of rest
•2 minutes cool-down


If you research the Tabata Protocol online, the original study conducted at the National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Tokyo, Japan used highly-trained endurance athletes in peak physical condition. They would do 8 (or more) intervals, keeping the RPMs on the bike over 85 RPMs until they couldn't maintain that level of intensity. Don't try this!

You REALLY need to ease into this workout slowly, and perform it only on cardio equipment, not with weights.

You will find people doing a Tabata Workout with weights or kettle-balls or other types of resistance. Don't do this.

Your Maximum Heart Rate is normally calculated as 220 Minus Your Age (e.g. if you are 30 yrs. old, your Max. HR would be 190 BPM - Beats Per Minute). If you do the Tabata Protocol like they did it in the above study, you may see your heart rate shoot up over 200 BPM!

You need gradually build your heart and lung capacity over time.

Here's what you need to do when starting out:


*** Medical Dislaimer ***

See your physician before starting any kind of exercise routine
No Equiptment Workout

fat burning cardio tip:
4 minutes of tabata protocol fat burning intervals - 8 rounds of 20 seconds jumping and 10 seconds recovery


First Set: Jump rope! Fake it if you don't have one. 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off for 4 minutes

rest 1 minute

Second Set: Jump rope twists: When you are jumping shift your feet to the left side land and then shift over to the right side.
rest 1 minute

Third Set: Jog in place, if you are advanced do Jump Squats
rest 1 minute

Forth and Final: Jumping Jacks, if you are advanced do FULL Burpies
rest 1 minute

Or if you have a Recumbent or Stationary Bike, Versaclimber, Rowing Machine, Elliptical Trainer or other piece of cardio equipment, see below.

Equiptment Workout

The entire beginner workout starts out at 7 minutes long. It breaks down to 3 minutes of warmup, 2 intervals of 30 seconds each. (1 minute of exercise) followed by a 2 minute cool-down.

1) Use a Recumbent or Stationary Bike, Versaclimber, Rowing Machine, Elliptical Trainer or other piece of cardio equipment that allows for gradually increasing resistance, speed, etc. and utilizes the large muscles of your legs.

Treadmills are a possibility, but because you have to rest for 10 seconds between bouts of exercise, the only option when on a treadmill is to step onto the sides and stop entirely, because the machine won't respond quick enough to the required rapid changes in velocity during a Tabata Protocol interval.

2) Wear a Heart Rate Monitor. Record the Max. Heart Rate achieved during your entire workout, and your Recovery Heart Rate (see below)

3) Warm up for 3 minutes at a moderate pace. You can start out with a low resistance and low RPMs (like 60-65 RPMs on a bike) for the first minute, increase the tension on your equipment one notch for the second minute, then increase the RPMs to 70-75 RPMs and/or tension for the last minute, gradually raising your heart rate to a moderate level.

4) Start out by doing 2 intervals:

- First, increase the tension one notch above where your warmup ended at, or more if you find your feet are flying off the pedals

- Pedal (or go) FULL SPEED, as fast as you can, well above 85 RPMs (if on a bike) - even over 100 RPMs - for 20 seconds.

- Pedal slow for the next 10 seconds. If you did it right, you SHOULD see your Heart Rate go UP a little AFTER you stop pedaling so fast. This is because of the Oxygen Debt you created, and it signals your body to get more oxygen to your energy system. You will notice yourself panting - this is your body trying to get more oxygen to your lungs to fuel your energy system.

- Repeat 1 more time (20 seconds all out fast, 10 seconds slow). Notice your Heart Rate go up a little after you enter the slow part of the interval each time.

- After 2 intervals, decrease the tension to 0 (lowest setting) on your bike or other equipment and pedal slow for 2 minutes.

- After your 2 minute cool-down, stop pedaling COMPLETELY for 1 minute and just sit there.

- At the end of this 1 minute, check your Heart Rate. This is your Recovery Heart Rate - record it!

- Record the Maximum Heart Rate you achieved during your workout. This may have occurred during your 1st interval or your last (usually the last). It will PROBABLY be over the Max. Heart Rate calculated by 220 Minus Your Age. If it isn't, that's OK, especially when you are first starting out - don't overdo it.

5) Do this workout 3 times per week - allow yourself at least one full day of recovery between workouts. Your body needs to heal itself, increase the strength of your heart and lungs, etc.

6) When you notice at the end of your next workout (or however many workouts it takes) that your Recovery Heart Rate went down, add another interval (bringing it to 3 intervals per workout).

7) The next time you notice your Recovery Heart Rate goes down after the workout from its previous number, increase the tension on your equipment to make it more intense.

8) Gradually build up your fitness level by first adding an interval, then increasing the tension, when you see your fitness level has improved from one workout to the next (by checking your Recovery Heart Rate).

Easter Dinner Plans: Lemony Lamb Lollipops

Lemony Lamb Lollipops

Ingredients
Serves: Prep: 5min Cook: 10min Total: 15min NOTE: Ingredients for a changed serving size are based on a calculation and are not reviewed by the author or tested. Please also consider scaling up or down cooking containers as needed.
•1 cup low-fat plain yogurt
•1 tablespoon lemon juice
•1/8 teaspoon sweet or hot paprika
•1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
•8 rib lamb chops
•1 1/2 teaspoons salt
•1/2 teaspoon black pepper
•mint sprigs (optional)

Directions
1.Mix the yogurt, lemon juice, paprika, and cumin in a bowl and refrigerate until needed.
2.Sprinkle both sides of the lamb chops with salt and pepper. Grill over medium heat for 5 minutes per side or until cooked through. Serve with the yogurt sauce.
Nutritional Facts per serving

CALORIES 450.3 CAL
FAT 35.3 G
SATURATED FAT 17.5 G
SODIUM 836.2 MG
CARBOHYDRATES 4.8 G
TOTAL SUGARS 4.4 G
DIETARY FIBER 0.1 G
PROTEIN 26.6 G

Whats for Dinner?? Blueberry- Mango Mahi Mahi

This is MY FAVORITE FISH dish! I love the salsa so much that I make a little extra to eat with whole wheat crackers as an appitizer!

Blueberry- Mango Mahi Mahi
Serve with roasted red potatoes and steamed broccoli

Ingredients
Serves: Prep: 5min Cook: 6min Total: 11min NOTE: Ingredients for a changed serving size are based on a calculation and are not reviewed by the author or tested. Please also consider scaling up or down cooking containers as needed.
•1/3 cup blueberries
•1/3 cup diced mango
•2 tablespoons minced red onion
•1 tablespoon minced cilantro
•1 tablespoon lime juice
•1/2 teaspoon minced jalapeno pepper
•2 teaspoons sugar
•Salt and pepper
•1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
•4 mahi mahi, red snapper, sea bass, or halibut fillets (4 ounces each)

Directions
1.Mix the blueberries, mango, onion, cilantro, lime juice, jalapeno, sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a bowl. Don't worry about crushing the blueberries; you want to release the juice. Set aside.
2.Lightly oil a grill pan or skillet and place over medium-high heat. Season the fish with salt and pepper and place, skin side down, in the pan. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes, until the skin is lightly charred and crispy. Turn and sear for another 2 to 3 minutes or until cooked through. Avoid overcooking; the fish should flake easily with a gentle touch of a fork.
3.Top each piece of fish with the blueberry mixture.

Number of Servings: 4

Nutritional Facts per serving

CALORIES 161.1 CAL
FAT 2.2 G
SATURATED FAT 0.5 G
SODIUM 274.4 MG
CARBOHYDRATES 7.1 G
TOTAL SUGARS 5.7 G
DIETARY FIBER 0.7 G
PROTEIN 27.2 G

How to know if your "diet" is a Scam

Its that time of year again, swim suit season. I always get asked what do you think about "____________" (insert the latest fad diet or pill). These things advertise “Lose 30 pounds in 30 days!” “Block the absorption of fat, carbs, and calories with this pill!” “Wear this and watch the pounds melt away.”, and its tempting to try and believe.

Whether you’re flipping through a magazine, scanning the aisles of a health store, or watching late-night television, you’re bound to see slogans like these touting the latest and greatest product designed to help YOU lose weight.

But chances are the only thing you’ll lose by purchasing the latest “miracle diet product” is money. Diet scams are big business with sellers vying for their share of the nearly $35 billion that Americans spend each year on weight loss products and programs.

Top Diet Scams

Experts say roughly the same top five diet scams seem to keep resurfacing every few years, each time with a shiny new marketing gimmick. But they’re all based on the same bad science.

Those top five diet scams include:

—Metabolism-boosting pills based on herbal ingredients

—Fat-and carb-blocking pills

—Herbal weight loss teas

—Diet patches, jewelry, or other products worn on the body

—Body wraps or “slim suits”

“There have always been quack weight loss schemes out there because nobody ever believes that you can’t lose weight faster than you gained it,” says registered dietician Althea Zanecosky.

“It maybe took two years for them to gain those 15 pounds, but they want to lose it in two weeks.”

A more realistic timetable for lasting weight loss is to lose about a pound or two a week, says Zanecosky.

Diet Scams Not Regulated

Nonetheless, researchers say diet scams continue to flourish, thanks in part to the law of supply and demand as a growing number of Americans find themselves overweight and looking for an easier way to lose it.

In addition, many of the most popular diet scams are based on herbal ingredients, which are not regulated as drugs by the FDA. Therefore, the weight loss claims are not evaluated for accuracy by the FDA.

In fact, a recent Federal Trade Commission (FTC) report found that more than half of the weight-loss ads that ran in 2001 made at least one false or unsubstantiated claim.

“Now, more and more people seem to feel that there is some magic compound or practice, and there really isn’t,” Zanecosky tells WebMD. “Nobody gets the whistle blown on them unless someone dies or has something really awful happen to them.”

Even when diet scams don’t prove dangerous, experts say relying on pills, patches, creams, and other gadgets to lose weight keeps millions of people from seeking weight loss programs that could really help them lose weight and reduce their risk of disease.

“Most people need something more than a pill or diet aid to get them past the behaviors that got them into trouble in the first place. These products lead people to believe that there is a product that can fix the problem, and 100 percent of the time there isn’t a product that can fix the problem,” says Zanecosky.

Sorting Out the Diet Scams

1. Metabolism-boosting/calorie-burning pills

At the top of the list of diet scams are pills based on herbal ingredients that promise to boost your metabolism and help you burn calories or fat faster.

“New herbs always seem to percolate to the top as potential diet aids, as one leaves another shows up because the FDA doesn’t monitor herbs,” says Zanecosky. “Most of time they are just ineffective; once in a while they are dangerous.”

Two recent examples of herbal diet pills that caught the attention of the FDA as dangerous are ephedra and kava (Piper methysticum, also known as kava kava).

Until recently, ephedra was found in many herbal dietary supplements for weight loss, but in February 2004, the FDA banned the sale of ephedra in any dietary supplement in the U.S. due to the risk of illness or injury. The herb is a close chemical cousin of methamphetamine or speed and can cause high blood pressure, irregular heartbeat, insomnia, nervousness, tremors, seizures, heart attacks, strokes, and even death.

Kava is a plant found in the islands of the South Pacific. Supplements containing the herbal ingredient are often promoted for relaxation as well as weight loss. But the FDA issued a warning in 2002 that use of supplements containing kava has been linked to severe liver injury.

2. Fat- and carb-blocking pills

Pills that claim to block your body’s absorption of fat and more recently carbohydrates are also commonly-sold diet scams.

Even if these fat and carb blockers worked as they say they do, researchers say the effects can be dangerous if not just plain unpleasant.

It’s like making someone lactose intolerant, says Zanecosky. By making the body unable to breakdown nutrients in the body, which leads to gastrointestinal problems like diarrhea, bloating, and gas, these pills also block the absorption of the vitamins that travel with these nutrients.

“Why would someone purposely submit themselves to that?” says Zanecosky. “Some fat blockers might have something in them that can interfere with how people absorb fat, but they’ve never been shown to help with substantial weight loss.”

3. Weight loss teas

Teas based on herbal ingredients are also touted as diet aids, but researchers say the main ingredient in many of these teas is caffeine, which is a diuretic and leads to water loss.

“Losing water isn’t losing weight,” says Zanecosky. “Caffeine can also increase metabolic rate by a small amount but not enough that you would be able to say that it contributed to weight loss.”

Registered dietitian Nelda Mercer agrees and says the only potential weight loss benefit of drinking herbal teas might be using them as a substitute for high-calorie beverages.

Mercer says that with some diet teas, it’s the program the comes along with the teas that may sometimes promote weight loss, such as teas that recommend you drink it after dinner and then not eat anything else until morning. That way it could curb late-night eating, but it’s not necessarily a result of drinking the tea itself.

4. Diet patches and jewelry

Patches that deliver drugs though the skin have become popular for helping smokers quit and delivering estrogen to relieve menopausal symptoms.

But experts say no effective weight loss drugs have been designed to be delivered through the skin via patches. Most of the time, these patches contain the same ineffective herbs found in dietary supplements or teas.

Also included in this diet scam category is jewelry, such as earrings or bracelets, designed to be worn on the body with the promise to help people shed pounds. According to the FTC, any claim that people can lose even a pound or more a week using these devices is false.

5. Body wraps or “slim suits”

If there were an “oldie but goodie” diet scam prize winner, experts say it would likely go to body wraps.

The thick, layered sweat suits once popular decades ago have morphed into silver “slim suits” and fat-melting body wraps designed to lock body heat in and melt away the pounds.

But researchers say the only type of weight loss caused by wearing these outfits is water loss caused by excessive sweating. As soon as you take a drink, you’ll gain all that water weight back.

How to Spot a Diet Scam

Experts say the only way to lose weight for the long haul is to burn more calories than you eat, and that process is slow. That means any diet products or program that promises “quick and easy” weight loss without any effort or sacrifice is bound to be bogus.

But if that’s not enough to raise your suspicions, here are some frequently used buzz words to watch for, according to the FTC:

No Diet! No Exercise!Lose 30 Pounds in 30 DaysEat Your Favorite Foods and Still Lose WeightShrinks Inches Off Your Stomach, Waist, and HipsScientists Announce Incredible Discovery!Revolutionary European Method! Ancient Chinese Secret!Turn On Your Body's Fat-Burning ProcessAutomatically Convert Fat to Lean Trim Muscle!Absorbs FatDeveloped After Years of Secret ResearchNew Scientific/Medical Breakthrough

Not only do diet scam pitchmen tend to use the same words in their advertising, the FTC says they also employ some of the same sales techniques, such as:

—Extravagant claims of dramatic, rapid weight loss.

—Testimonials from "famous" doctors, researchers, or other medical experts.

—Dramatic before-and-after photos depicting substantial weight loss.

—Ads that tout the latest trendy ingredient in the headlines.

—A footnote hidden somewhere in an ad noting "diet and exercise required."

“Any time you are tempted to get a new diet product, my advice would be to look into what the claims are and if they can be substantiated by science,” says Mercer. “What people want is a magic bullet and quick fix, and that’s never going to work. If it sounds too good to be true, it is.”

What did we have for Dinner??? Old Grand- Dad's Glazed Pork Chops and Peaches !

Old Grand- Dad's Glazed Pork Chops and Peaches
Photo: Mitch Mandel


Serve with steamed spinach topped with toasted pine nuts.
Ingredients
Serves: Prep: 5min |Cook: 11min |Total: 16min
NOTE: Ingredients for a changed serving size are based on a calculation and are not reviewed by the author or tested. Please also consider scaling up or down cooking containers as needed.
1/3 cup old grand-dad or other bourbon
1/4 cup honey
3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 medium pork chops on the bone
2 peaches, halved and pitted
Loading...
Directions
1. Mix the bourbon, honey, soy sauce, sugar, oil, ginger, pepper flakes, and black pepper in a large bowl. Transfer about 6 tablespoons of the marinade to a small microwavable bowl. Add pork chops and peaches to the remaining marinade and toss to coat. 2. Grill the pork and peaches over medium-high heat and cook for 5 minutes on each side or until the pork is done. 3. Nuke the remaining marinade on high for 90 seconds and spoon over the pork and peaches. Nutritional Facts per serving CALORIES 303.6 CAL



FAT 7.7 G



SATURATED FAT 1.9 G



CHOLESTEROL 48.2 MG



SODIUM 453.8 MG



CARBOHYDRATES 29.2 G



TOTAL SUGARS 26.7 G



DIETARY FIBER 1.3 G



PROTEIN 20.2 G

As promised updated pics! This is me at 130!

I though I would share some of the products I love!

Join www.myfitnesspal.com and record EVERYTHING you eat all the time. Make this your life! Again, eating enough and eating right is 60% of maintaining your goals. Its so easy to use, free and AMAZING!

Vitamins:
FOR MEN http://www.gnc.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4033437&cp=4046473.3743471
For WOMEN: http://www.gnc.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4033463&ab=CMS:CATEGORY:CMS:2:WOMEN


Whey Protien Shakes: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Body-Fortress-2lb-Chocolate-Whey-Protein/10322406

Recovery shake: Endurox R4 ( I use this and love it! But it doesn't taste the best....) http://www.amazon.com/Endurox-Fruit-Punch-4-63-lbs/dp/B00029F42I/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1300925538&sr=8-4

Heart Rate Monitor:
http://www.amazon.com/Timex-T5G941-Heart-Monitor-Watch/dp/B000F5WB66/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1298328180&sr=8-5

Abs Diet Cook Book
http://www.amazon.com/New-Abs-Diet-Cookbook-Automatically/dp/1605293148/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1298328219&sr=8-1-catcorr

This cookbook is great! I love it and I can not recommend it enough! I haven't eaten anything bad in it yet and everything is sooooooo easy, 30 minutes or less. Plus there are almost always leftovers! Its great to get ideas to replace some things ont eh meal plan

Who Am I???

The first picture is me at 210ish, the second is me at 190ish. The third 170ish. I'll update later with a recent pic.

Two years ago I got pregnant. This was a shock considering I had cervical cancer and had been told sine I was 15 years old that children were not going to be in my future. I had accepted that at an early age and focused on dealing with the cancer. By the time I was 23 the cancer had gone in to remission twice and on its way back with abnormal cells. My doctors told me that when I turned 24 I can have a historectmoy and be done with it since my cancer had not spread past my birth canal. I was sooooo excited. I turned 24 April 2nd, made my appointment for the end of May to discuss the surgery. Even though I had recently gotten back a clean pap, I was done.

My husband and I went on a cruise and came back with an un-paid for suvioner. I found out 2 weeks before my appointment to dicuss a hysterectomy that I was pregnant. We were shocked, scared, nervous, pretty much every emotion you can imagine.

Early in the pregnancy I was put on bedrest, given tons of steriods and given a high calorie diet. I sucessfully carried my 8 pound baby to full term (which was a HUGE surprise to everyone). In the meantime, I gained 100 pounds. You heard it, 100 pounds. I gained a teenager in weight. I gained a large golden retriever, a Hawkbill Sea Turtle, a hellfire missile (or HAL-3)of weight....

I waited for a while to deflat naturally, I figured it was "baby weight". I knew you put on weight being pregnant but seriosly!

I was recently going through some old "open diary" posts and foudn this:
"I am no longer the thin, pretty girl people envied. I am 40 pounds heavier from before pregnancy. I have a fat belly and disgusting thighs. I have stretch marks. I have a fat face. I have a belly that giggles when I cry, laugh, or move. I have no sex appeal to anyone; I doubt my husband is even interested. I cannot even look in the mirror with out crying and being disgusted. If I can't look at myself, how can I expect him to? Maybe this image of me is wrong, but I doubt it. Maybe it’s because I have spent the past 2 years working for a company that only pretty, thin, sexy people work for...maybe its that. Maybe I am so depressed about my body because I spent the past 2 years making fun of girls with this body.
I want to be a happy confident person again. I want to be able to look at myself in the mirror an recognize the face staring back at me. I do not recognize that fat sad girl, I don't even want to know her. As I write this, I realize that I am most depressed about my body image."

I didn't realize how depressed I really was about this. After about 2 months of NOT DEFLATING, I joined a bootcamp here in Charlotte. I knew what to do to lose weight (or atleast I thought I did) but no motivation to do it.Plus when my duaghter was 2 days old we moved to a brand new HUGE city where we knew no-one. All I had was my husband, my baby who just ate, slept, pooped and cried, and my huge large golden retriever, a Hawkbill Sea Turtle, a hellfire missile (or HAL-3)of 100 pounds of weight.

I joined a bootcamp to make friends and lose the weight. Proir to pregnancy I was a personal trainer at a gym but had been out of the business for about 3 years. Even though I knew what to do, I just had no motivation to do it on my own. So here I was new in town, 100 pounds heaviery than I had ever been and in place where I knew no one. So I joined to get back in shape, motivate myself and make friends. He motivated me alright....he motivated me to open my own companyand re-new my certifications!

This guy was a joke. He had never had to lose weight, never had body image issues, and he obvioulsy watched the biggest loser and read mens health. All the workouts we did were from a TV show and Mens Health. Last time I checked, I HAVE A VAGINA, so I shouldn't be doing Mens Health workouts. The advise he gave was horrible and his meal plans a joke. He had no clue.

Turns out, either did I. Once I got motivated to do this on my own I pulled out some of my old workouts and got busy. After 6 weeks I realized, this isn't working. I re-evaluated my plan, did some trail and error and figured it out. Most personal trainers never have to lose weight, so all they know about weeight loss is what they have been told or read.

Its offically been a year since I started working out and opened my own training company. I am down to 130 and feel damn good about myself. I still have a budha belly, but its going away. I have learned so much from being on this side of the weightloss glass and I wanted to share what I have learned with everyone.

I wanted to share my workouts, my advise and the tools I used to get there, and hopefully motivate some of you to do the same.

FREE WORKOUT: Sexy biceps!

Sexy Arms in 10 minutes(repeat 3 times resting 2 minutes before repeating)-
Important:
* pick a weight heavy enough to make this hard, but light enough to do 3 rounds with
* Do this workout 3 days that are non-consecutive aka Monday, Wednesday, and Friday

6 incline thumb off-set curls http://fitbie.msn.com/exercise/incline-offset-thumb-dumbbell-curl-women

12 standing Pinky Off-set Curls (stand with pinky in contact with the head of the weight and curl)

25 decline hammer curls http://fitbie.msn.com/exercise/decline-hammer-curl-men

Dieting Mistakes and How to Avoid

Are you mad that your scale isn't budging? Are you making these mistakes??

1. Not spiking your caloric intake: Dropping calories really low works if you don't abuse the technique. The biggest mistake most women make is staying in a negative caloric state for too long without any caloric spike. You see, you have to spike your calories every once in a while. You must replace what you burn during a workout. If you are exercising on a daily basis then the caloric intake must match the amount of calories burned.

2. Soothing emotional pain with pleasure food: Food is very powerful. In fact, sugar can have drug-like effects on your brain. Unfortunately, pairing pleasure foods with emotional pain can lead you to some serious weight gain. Instead, have some distracting activities you can do when you feel those negative emotional states taking their grip. Substitute pleasure food with healthy snacks.

3. Weighing yourself every day: I've seen it time and again, a client of mine will weigh herself every single day and suffer from the resulting emotional roller coaster ride. Your body weight changes from day to day for a wide variety of reasons. Check your weight only once every couple of weeks. The BMI is what we need to monitor on a every other weekly basis.

4. Staying away from all comfort food: Doing this will eventually lead you to binge, not a good thing! So make sure you have your comfort food, but eat it on strategic days. You want to eat it on the days when you need to spike caloric intake, like after a workout. Try to avoid eating snack food past 7pm. The body does not have time to burn the calories and sugars off before bed. This can cause insomnia or worse, fat cells!

5. Not moving around enough: Simply moving around burns a lot of calories. And the best part is that it doesn't stress your system. Even better, low grade physical activity burns a higher percentage of fat calories while preserving muscle mass. Simple walks with the kids, dog, or friend. Try to be in constant motion, this means a constant burn in calories! Try wearing a pedometer for a day, then take the amount of steps you made in day and add 50 more steps the next day! See how high you can get the pedometer to go!

Why Diets Don't Work

A Diet is a Lifestyle, Not an Event
On many diet, you are not eating the way you will eat for the rest of your life. You eat foods you may not like very much and don't find satisfying. If you are determined enough, you stick with it until you reach your goal. But you know this is "just for the diet" rather than finding healthier foods you enjoy in amounts that don't cause weight gain.

Diets Can Be Downers
The very word "diet" is depressing to many of us. We think of giving up foods that are comforting and enjoyable. We think of sitting a party with celery sticks while others are eating the crab puffs. We may even stop socializing because food is a big part of how we interact with friends and family. We feel deprived, alienated and alone, except for others who are dieting. Eventually we give up and enter back into the world of happy uncontrolled eating, carrying negative feelings toward healthier "diet foods."

The Dangerous Yo-Yo Diet Cycle
Studies are finding dangers in the yo-yo diet cycle of losing weight, gaining it back plus a little more, losing, and gaining again. It is stressful on the body systems to have wide swings in body weight. We think each time that this time we won't gain it back, but the statistics show that most of us will.
Yo-Yo Dieting May Weaken Immune System

Control Issues
At first a diet can give you a sense of control. You are taking charge of your eating patterns. You may see success as the scale drops. But soon you are fighting cravings for forbidden foods, as well as hunger pangs and a lack of energy from the lower calorie level. Eventually you rebel against the diet and start "cheating." If your cheats are small you can still be losing weight, although more slowly. But soon you may go into full rebellion and return to your old eating habits.

Diets Slow Your Metabolism
Your body reacts to fewer calories by slowing down your metabolism -- burning fewer calories each day just to maintain your body functions. If you don't add exercise along with the diet, you will lose lean muscle mass as well as fat and water weight. When you lose muscle, your metabolism is slowed even further and you would have to eat even fewer calories per day to continue to lose weight. It takes a conscious effort to increase exercise when on a diet.
If you don't exercise and then you fall off of the diet, the weight will come back on even faster, as your body is burning fewer calories per day. Even worse, the weight will come back on as fat rather than as the muscle you lost. Your body will look even less lean and healthy.

Solution: Get Active for an Hour a Day
Your first step to improve your health and appearance is to begin daily exercise. Clients of bariatric surgery clinics are prescribed an hour of exercise a day before they can be candidates for surgery. Some of them lose weight so successfully from the exercise that they decide not to have the surgery after all. The exercise doesn't have to be intense -- pick activities you enjoy such as walking, biking, or swimming. Get your body moving most days of the week. The U.S. Surgeon General recommends a minimum daily requirement of 30 to 60 minutes a day of walking or other easy-to-moderate intensity exercise for weight management.

Solution: Make Simple Eating Changes
Find a 100-calorie change you can make for this week. Perhaps it is drinking one less can of cola each day, or having non-fat milk in your coffee instead of cream. Substitute string cheese or an apple instead of a bag of potato chips. Make a 100-calorie change each week for the next six weeks and you will have made a significant change in your eating habits. Don't think in terms of depriving yourself of foods you love, but eliminate empty calories you don't really like and find substitutes that you can enjoy for the rest of your life.