Phit-N-Phat...Making Fitness and Weightloss a Lifestyle

Holiday Lifestyle: Quick Grocery Tips for the Family Dinner

We are all so busy in the holiday season! Running around, shopping, dropping off gifts, visiting family all can lead you to hitting the drive-thrus, having one too many chocolate Santas, and forgetting just where the gym is located. Well, ladies, let me teach you how to have a hectic holiday season and still wear your pre-holiday pants by New Years.

The next few weeks I will feature some holiday blogs and my PNP clients from the forums are helping me by giving you the gift of their best tips. I also invite you to spread the cheer by commenting on your own ideas and questions. Let's make this a season of celebrating and love, not calories and chub.

Drive Thru or Grocery Store
Many people will opt to run by a drive-thru and get food versus running into the grocery store to pick up a pre-cooked dinner. It might take a few extra minutes (maybe not with some drive-thru lines) but you get so much more healthier food than for CHEAP!

A client of mine just recently did this. She was soooo tempted to stop and pick up a bunch of burgers for her family. She's tired and had a long day. Knowing that this would be the easiest thing to do she decided it wouldn't be the thing in two hours she would feel good about. We all know how it goes; what's easy is often the same thing you will re-hash in disgust for the next twelve hours.

Now THAT is some wasted time.

So, she ran into the grocery store. If it was you going into the store, what would you grab that you can put on the table in less than ten minutes? I would grab:

• a rotisserie chicken fully cooked and ready to go
• a bag of mixed lettuces for a salad and some baby carrots bagged to put on top
• a can of veggies (Logan loves green beans, black beans, and corn so one of those)
• a bag of frozen brown rice
• lowfat vanilla yogurt and fresh berry or frozen berries

When I get home I would:

• Throw the brown rice in the microwave.
• Put the canned veggie on stove on medium with a touch of EVOO for a healthy fat.
• Pull off the skin of the chicken and toss and then make a bowl of the meat quickly stripped off the bone.
• Throw the lettuce in bowls and top with carrots and dressing.
• Pull out the rice, mix in 1 tbsp of Smart Beat Butter, a touch of salt, put on plate and top with chicken.
• Put veggie on side.
• Call everyone to eat and while they make their way to the table mix the berries into the yogurt and sit out for dessert. (If the berries are frozen I would nuke for a couple of minutes then mix with yogurt.)

Ummm...this meal is about $15 for everything. You probably have leftovers for your lunch tomorrow. A nice big chicken salad with some black beans or corn would be great!

I can have all of that done in less than 10 minutes and feel good about what I am eating, what my family eats, and know my body will appreciate the effort. :)

So, do you have ideas for drive-thru alternatives OR HEALTHY things to ORDER in the drive-thru? Remember, a lot of items can be made healthy with some creativity.

The BEST No Equipment Exercise Programs

Very often women approach me concerned they can't lose weight or get in shape because they don't have a gym membership and they don't have enough equipment at home.

Really? You really think you can't lose fat unless you buy tons of expensive things? I like to call that an EXCUSE!

Let me layout a program anyone can do for four weeks and lose four to eight pounds without anything more than a small space, a day of rest, and a gallon of water a day.

M - W - F Routine - Warm up with five minutes of walking outside or walking up and down a flight of stairs.
20 x Jumping Jacks or 8 Lunge-Lunge Pop Squats for Advanced girls

15 x Squats or 15 Squats with arms in overhead Y shape above head for Adv

15 x Alternating Lunges or 8 Jump Lunges

15 x Step Ups (low level for beginners and raise it up for adv girls)

Just set a timer and do all four exercises back-to-back, rest for 1-2 min. and repeat until you can't go anymore or your run out of time to exercise.

 

T - Th Routine - Warm up with five minutes of same as above.
10 x Push Ups (knees or toes)

5 x Burpees

10 x Slow Chair Dips (feet out and crossed over for advanced, feet under knees for beginners)

5 x Pike Walks (add a push up to the end for advanced girls)

10 x Renegade Rows (5-10lb DB's)

Set a timer and go again like you did the day before.

 

On Saturday you rest completely. You can take a walk or you can do your housework but you won't exercise.

On Sunday the most important workout is to be done. Get in your car and go buy the following:

Chicken Breasts
Salmon
Ground Turkey Breast
Eggs
Almonds
Old Fashioned Oats
Any fruit you like
Frozen Veggies or Fresh (any vegetables will work)
A few can of beans of choice
Brown Rice
Reusable Plastic "Gladware"

Now, get back in the car and go home. Prep the following:

B - 1/2 cup of dry oats, 1 packet of splenda, and put into plastic baggie. Cook at work in a coffee cup. Cover with water and cook for 3 min. on high. Have two hard boiled eggs with it. I cook 42 eggs on Sunday, peel them all, and dump the yolks of 30 of them. I personally eat 5 egg whites and 2 whole eggs with my oats every day.

10am - eat a piece of fruit with 12 almonds

L - have some chicken, beans and veggies you bought. I take the square Gladware and put about 1/3 of it with chicken, 1/3 of it with beans, and 1/3 of it with any veggies I like. It's portion controlled for you if you don't like to measure.

3pm - eat a piece of fruit with 12 almonds

D - have salmon or ground turkey breast with brown rice and veggies you bought. Same as above.

9pm - eat a piece of fruit

You can use all the spices you want. Get CRAZY!

 

Trust me, you do this and you will lose weight, tame your cravings, and cleanse your palate. It's not low in calories nor high. It's just basic, healthful, easy planning eating and anyone can do it.

Now, if you want something more creative and spelled out without fancy equipment, you can also order a more custom program from me here. Muscled Up Cardio doesn't require much more than your effort, a step bench, and some dumbbells.

Competing Again in 2010: Make Your Plans NOW!

I met with the competition coach and now have my marching orders for the next four weeks. I'm really excited and READY to be better than ever for 2010.

It's as if I have decided to give myself a gift. This next year I want it to be about balance in all the things I enjoy most in this world:

• My Family
• My Fitness
• My Business

Those are my priorities as I look forward to 2010. I have made sure to include all of them in my plans. If you want to be happy in life YOU have to make sure it happens. The only way to do it is to ensure what makes you happy is always the first thing you plan. The rest will get done...it always does.

Family
Chris and I are already planning when we will take our trips to Vegas together. We also have a list of trips Logan wants to do this year. The beach and Washington D.C. are on his list. Maybe even New York! We are also planning day trips and things we can do just the three of us to help him see more of the "cultural" side of Nashville.

My mom and I are going to Phoenix to do a half marathon in January! That will be a fun girls weekend with the PNP crew.

Fitness
I am laying out the competitions I want to do and making sure that I knock them out so I have plenty of time for those Vegas trips and such. Competing and walking half marathons keeps me fit and having fun. They are the two things exercise related I enjoy MOST so they get put into the plan.

Business
I've got plenty of ideas for next year including new products! We'll have good events and good times in our usual PNP way.

Now is the time for all of us to look forward. Don't wait until the week before New Year's Eve to put yourself first. Between now and the end of the year it just gets busier and busier. Before you know it, you'll be hating the holidays, wanting it to all be over, etc. and that is no way to live.

Take some time NOW before it's too busy to think about what you want out of the new year. What can you do starting this week to set yourself up for the best year of your life?

It could be...

• having a plan to maintain your weight.
• healthful options at your family functions (find those recipes now).
• scheduling some fun exercise events for the next two months so you have a reason to be moving.
• finding Christmas gifts for yourself that involve fitness and health (I ALWAYS send out a list of what to get me so I don't get useless junk or food).
• starting one of my programs to use for the next eight weeks to be READY for the new year's party!

By having things to focus on that have YOU at the top of the priority list you might find the big end of year push to be better than every before!

It's the WEEKend Again...Have You...

Made a plan yet? What are you waiting for? Oh I know...if you haven't decided how to successfully handle the weekend after 100's of WEAKends then you are waiting for LIFE to happen TO you rather than you LIVING YOUR LIFE.

Come on people! You know most of what you are doing this weekend short of TRUE emergencies. A party isn't an emergency. Sleeping late isn't cause for a day of bingeing. Girlfriends taking you out suddenly isn't reason to consume 1500 calorie or more.

Don't you get tired of getting up on Monday morning blaming the scale, blaming emergencies, and blaming your metabolism when you KNOW it has more to do with fixing things that are broke?

All of us who have more WEAKends than WEEKends make the same mistakes over and over again. That means you don't plan for chaos and you probably don't think your goals are worth a little bit of preparation or sacrifice.

Here's my tips for the weekend and PNP girls you can go to this thread to discuss your own trigger and solution with moderator help. Heck yes, this blog is tough love but as tired as you are of having WEAKends I am tired of seeing you not break your old habits. That's not the lifestyle I want for you!

Step One: What is different on the weekend from your week?
By identifying what is different you might find out why you have a tough time.

Maybe you don't carry a cooler on the weekend but you should. Fill it with nuts, fruits, protein bars, premade shakes, cheese sticks, pretzels, etc. Never get caught without food to eat or you will overeat blaming it on "an emergency". You and your mom shopping for an extra three hours isn't an emergency that leads to cheeseburger paradise. I always have stuff I can eat with me even if I'm not PLANNING to be away from home that long.

Step Two: Where are you going?
Most of us are going out to eat on the weekend more than we do during the week. Great! Look up menus ahead of time, tell your friends what you WANT to have and what isn't important. DO NOT START WITH I AM ON A DIET!

Good Lord! You start panicking and telling everyone I'm on a diet so I CAN'T have this or that and I swear your friends will push food on you. Not because they are mean but because they don't want to watch your face and hear you b!tch through their meal. They are there to have a good time and your choices aren't their choices. That's fine. You need to make your lifestyle invisible to others by simply stating something like...

"Hey, I really want to have a delicious grilled chicken made by somebody else. I can't wait! The only thing is that the bread makes my stomach feel yucky. Help me to not eat bread so I can enjoy the evening without running to the bathroom."

I promise that works better than...

"I started a diet and I don't want to blow it so I can't have bread and have to eat grilled chicken."

Now that sounds like a good time. Why don't you stay home if you can't enjoy the evening with us?

It's all about phrasing.

Step Three: Eat Breakfast!
So many of you sleep in and then don't eat breakfast. I don't care how late you sleep eat some kind of meal between 200-400 calories when you get up. Start the day like any other and that is with getting the metabolism in gear. If you don't, I promise you will get crazy later in the day.

Step Four: Fruits and Veggies please!
Carry some around with you but get them in. It really helps you stay in the lifestyle and get those vital nutrients.

Step Five: Move!
I rarely schedule two off days for the weekend. My weekend is better when I move. I also don't lose my HABIT of exercising. Doesn't have to be fancy...just schedule to move and I promise if you do it FIRST THING in the morning it won't get pushed off.

The last thing I want to leave you with is don't plan on being perfect. Weekends are meant to be relaxing. Make a great plan, have a few back-ups, and remember the GOLDEN RULE:

Make a BETTER CHOICE before you throw in the towel and make a POOR CHOICE.

We can ALL find opportunities all around us to make better choices.

Don't You Want to Lose FAT?

I am as guilty as all of you. That scale going down always just seems so rewarding but it can be MISLEADING if you aren't careful. Let's talk about what we all REALLY want to see happen; lose FAT not WEIGHT. These terms are NOT the same.

Weight Loss vs. Fat Loss: What's the Difference?

• Weight Loss. You want to lower your body-weight, the sum weight of your bones, muscles, organs, body fat, water, hair, fake-nails, everything.
• Fat Loss. You want to lower your body fat, the amount of fat your body carries. Healthy goals are 20-30% for women. This article is a good explanation of the different age groups and charts.

Problems with Weight Loss. If you want to lose weight, it’s most likely because you carry too much fat. There are people who must lose weight, like athletes before a competition, but most want fat loss. So, learn to track your success in other ways than the scale. It's only one flawed measure and not always a reflection of what you are doing RIGHT.

• Unreliable. Your body-weight can fluctuate daily since it’s influenced by your stomach/bowel/bladder content, water loss/retention, muscle loss/gain, fat loss/gain, … You’ll have no idea what’s going on.
• Irrelevant. Two people with similar height can weigh the same, but look completely different because one has lower body fat than the the other.

The pictures below are me a few years ago at 145 pounds and me today at 145 pounds. The difference? I've spent the last few years lifting weights and focused on a balanced diet to have FATLOSS. The first picture I ate decent but too FEW calories and only did tons of cardio to lose WEIGHT.

 

Here’s How The Weight Scale Can Mislead You. Clothes, pictures, and measurements don’t lie. But the weight scale can become your worst enemy by misleading you. You have a day with a false reading from too much sodium and you eat like crazy that day feeling like a failure.

Think of this: have you ever woke up feeling slimmer to only weigh more? I have done it so many times and let me tell you, right now I am not weighing and my eating is better than ever. Why? I feel good about myself each day and it makes the day easier to fuel up properly for my workouts. Otherwise, I want to drown my sorrows in a bucket of KFC.

• Carbs & Water. Carbs bind to water. Eating less carbs will make you lose weight: water loss. This is why you lose so much weight on a diet like Atkins the first 2 weeks: it’s mostly water. Of course, increasing your carb intake will make you gain weight again: water retention. This is why I'm doing a lot of work with the PNP girls on an Abs Menu.
• Muscle Gains & Fat Loss. You’ll gain muscle while losing fat when you start a strength program. But on the weight scale it will look like you’re not making progress: your body-weight doesn’t change. Track your body fat using a fat caliper and you’ll see your body fat is going down.

How to Make Sure You Lose Fat, Not Muscle? Check the picture above: 5lbs muscle takes less space than 5lbs fat. That means you’ll look slimmer at the same body-weight by building muscle. Keys to losing fat, not muscle:

• Get Stronger. Strength training builds muscle & prevents muscle loss.
• Eat Healthy. Follow my Basic Eating Strategies 101.

You can do cardio to speed up fat loss, but without strength training, cardio will cause muscle loss and you’ll end up skinny-fat. Here's some free routines from my site and my 30 Day Treadmill Bootcamp for those who MUST combine cardio and strength due to time constraints.

How to Track Progress Efficiently. You don’t need to track progress weekly, changes wouldn’t be drastic enough. Track progress every 2 or 4 weeks. You'll see more results and get more excited about your efforts!

• Stop Weighing Yourself Daily. The daily fluctuations will kill your drive unless you have a VERY HEALTHY mental state about why the scale goes up and down so much. Weigh yourself once every 2 weeks or once a month.
• Look in The Mirror. Self-image issues can skew perception. Start practicing choosing something you love about your body daily. Focus on it and TRULY appreciate it.
• Track Body Fat. Even though body fat scales can be "off" you can certainly track the trend to make sure it is going down.
• Take Measurements. Once a month measure yourself and make sure your problem areas are shrinking.
• Shoot Pictures. Full body pictures in the same outfit every two to four weeks show a good diary of progress.
• Training Stats. Keep a training log. Make sure you are lifting more weight, walking further, and doing harder levels in your cardio. You should be doing a little better each week or it's time to switch things up.

Last but not least, when someone says you look like you've lost weight just simply say, "Thank you. I've been working very hard." Most of you will dismiss the compliment and it's time to start appreciating what other people say to you!

39 Weeks and Counting

Have you ever set a big goal that was so far away that RIGHT NOW it's hard to stay focused? I have done that. Next June I am going to compete in Figure again.

I love this sport. Lifting weights makes me so happy. Seeing my body change based on my own hard work is challenging. Eating, well, I don't love that part but I do love eating healthy and challenging myself to find pleasure in foods that will keep me on the earth for a long time to come. You can't get rid of me easily. You girls will be 80 years old still getting emails from me talking about our senior hotness!

I have to admit I'm in the total fake it til you make it mode, though. Thank God for prepping food because if I didn't have a fridge full of healthy eats COOKED and ready to go I might be taking the slackers way out - meaning eating crap and feeling sorry for myself. I'm just cheap enough to eat all my healthy stuff because I don't want to waste a dime that can go into fake nails, hair extensions, MAC, and hoochie clothes. OK...so I do like to spend money - just on fun stuff. Besides, Logan has a birthday, drum lessons starting, and a bunch of other things coming up. No time to waste clean eats!

It's hard to explain my sour mood, though. It's like I'm tired but not exhausted, busy but not getting anything done, and goal focused yet so far out I can't taste it. So, yesterday while on the elliptical I had a moment of clarity. I shot a video of my thoughts.

Today I just need to remember how I best operate. I might make myself a huge calendar to hang in the bedroom that I can cross off each day. I would love a big ole motivation corner somewhere in the house where I can keep my goals up, calendar in focus, and even pictures. I ain't just talking figure competition either. I'm talking house stuff I want done, things for Logan I need to finish, etc.

Basically, it feels like life is swirling around me and I need to turn off the wind machine. I know most of it is self-imposed. My husband is going to roll his eyes when he reads this blog. I am the WORST at putting extra pressure on myself. So, today, I am going to figure out how to find the wind machine switch and at least set it to low. Stay tuned. If I come up with some decent ways to get the chaos under control I shall share with you.

OK...I feel better just blogging about it.

Snacks Are Your Lifeline to Losing Weight

Man, when I was in the 200's for most of my life I honestly didn't snack much. The only time I ate a snack was when I would skip McDonald's on the way to work. Then my snack was walking across the street with a co-worker for gas station cappuccino, and a package of Snackwell Fat Free Cookies or a big ole plastic wrapped cookie.

This was before Starbucks and when I look back it is NO FREAKING WONDER I felt miserable all the time. That cappuccino at the gas station is a straight up sugar bomb - fat free or not - and both of the cookies are, too. Heck the regular cookie is probably better because there is some kind of fat in there to blunt the sugar coma coming up.

Now a days I am big advocate of eating five to six times a day. I live by it. Depending on my day, sometimes my snacks are more like little meals in the 250 calorie range. That's when I'm going to be working for most of the day at home and can graze more. The days I will be on the road all day working remotely I like to make my main meals larger and my snacks light, grab-and-go stuff in the 150 calorie range.

These are my ideas and what I eat.

Fruits: I eat fruit all the time. I often eat a 1/2 cup of fruit before I start making dinner, an apple in the car, a small bag of grapes after a cardio workout, etc. NEVER feel guilty about eating some fruit. My favorite question to people is always this: Did you seriously put on your weight because of an addiction to fruit? HELL NO! You got fat because you didn't TURN TO FRUIT and you went for shiny wrapper.

Nuts: I pre-bag them when I get the can at the store. The most healthy yet lethal snack can be a can nuts. Have them portioned so when you are hungry you have the calorie control built right in to your snack. I pair nuts with protein shakes because it tends to fill me up nicely.

Protein Shakes: I make my own with Optimum Nutrition and Lean Dessert. Those are my favorite brands. I often mix it with water, ice, a tbsp of sugar free pudding to make thicker, and some fruit. I also buy EAS Carb Control shakes when I'm rushing and I keep Slim Fast Shakes for when I am caught needing something to hold me longer in between a snack and meal.

Protein Bars: I keep a few on hand for emergencies! To me a protein bar is a treat like a candy bar. In a pinch or at TOM they are great to keep you from eating worse but I hate when I see people build a daily protein bar into their plan. Only if you have no other choice do I advise this. Eat food. Get used to eating REAL FOOD.

Now, these are some things I combine.

• Banana Nut Protein Muffins with one tbsp of peanut butter on top or 100 calories worth of nuts
• Corinne's EZ Protein Bars with 8 oz. of unsweetened almond milk
• Cucumber Red Pepper Salad tossed with 3/4 cup of cottage cheese
• 1/2 cup of cottage cheese, 1 tsp of peanut butter, 1/4 cup of dry oats mixed with 1 packet of Splenda
• 3/4 cup of cottage cheese, 1/4 cup of berries, 1 packet of Strawberry Crystal Light
• Protein Pudding
• 100 calorie bag of popcorn and 1/4 cup of pumpkin seeds
• 1 pc of Ezekial Bread with 1 slice of 2% cheese, sliced tomatoes, 1 tsp of Light Miracle Whip
• 1/2 cup of brown rice, 1 tbsp of light cream cheese, 1/4 of blueberries, 1 packet of Splenda

I also like greek yogurt with fruit, a turkey sandwich, 200 calories worth of salad topped with cottage cheese, beef jerky, Fiber One with greek yogurt, small low carb wrap stuffed with cut veggies and 1 tbsp of hummus and a drizzle of light dressing, and just some chicken breast with a half sweet potato.

In the end, my goal with food is to make the WORST choices be things like a little Splenda, leaning on a protein bar in an emergency, and such. I try hard to keep my food healthy as possible so I don't have to get caught up in counting calories and macros. To look good and lose weight you WILL be successful if you cut out crap. It doesn't have to be overnight but you have to start making the effort.

I hope this helps and if you have your own ideas feel free to post them in the comments. Questions are welcome, too!

Clean Eats...It's What for Dinner

Now we are at dinner time. Ring the bell because here's what I eat a lot. Ya'll know it can be tough for me to cook dinner at night. Often Logan has therapy that runs into dinner hour and when my boy is ready to eat...HE IS READY TO EAT. A lot of what we eat is what I call fast-clean-food.

Let's start with when I do cook. Now, before you say, "My kid won't eat that," MINE does. Why? I don't offer anything else. Sure he gets to have fun stuff, too, but when we do healthy dinner that's what we have. When we do "junk" that's what we have. I don't make a second dinner and Logan has learned eat what Momma gives you or you don't eat.

By the looks of his plates he eats what Momma gives him. Score!

• Salmon, Atlantic Cod, Shrimp - I just grill it or broil it with some Kroger Grilling Time for Seafood.
• We usually pair these with brown rice, sweet potato, baked potato, fresh salad (light dressing), fresh cut tomatoes, peas, black beans, green beans, or white beans. I typically will have some type of fresh fruit on the plate, too, for Logan.

Normally, I will pick a rice/potato, serve salad or tomatoes, and then choose a bean. Logan loves beans. We do fruit as a dessert.

• Breakfast for dinner. Anything I put out for breakfast we do.
• Kashi GoLean Waffles and eggs (egg whites for me), Oatmeal with greek yogurt and fruit mixed, Eggs and peanut butter toast, and protein pancakes and fruit.

Breakfast is a favorite in our house so it is EASY, QUICK and Logan's favorite meal. I can get good calcium, protein, and fruits in quite easy. If he's in a great mood I mix in some tomatoes and spinach to the eggs.

• Big Salad with a protein of choice. That's mainly just me. I do a salad that has loads of vegetables in it that I make up on Sunday and toss in a variety of protein based on the calories I have left for the day.
• Grilled chicken, grilled fish leftover from when I cooked, can of tuna mixed with spicy mustard and a little cottage cheese, serving of chic peas with 1/2 cup of cottage cheese, packet of Starkist's Salmon Creations Chipolte Mango, or two Boca Burgers cooked and diced up to toss on top.

Sometimes I will stick some leftover roasted vegetables on there, too, with some reduced fat feta cheese. That's tasty.

Stuff I cook that we like...

• Chicken and Black Bean Soup
• Power Chicken
• Protein Chili
• Stuffed Peppers

Easy cook things we like also...

• Laura's Lean Hamburger patties on Whole Grain buns with green beans or a salad.
• Turkey Burger patties with cheese and beans.
• Macaroni and Cheese (I eat Weight Watchers and the boys eat Easy Mac) and we have it with green beans, tomato slices and a fruit for dessert.
• Ezekial bread egg sandwich with cheese and tomato served with fruit bowls.
• Hamburger Helper made with almond milk, no butter, and just use extra water. I also use ground turkey breast and will make a vegetable or salad for the side dish.
• Egg salad (just mustard, light MW, cumin, celery seed to taste) on Ezekial break toast or Wasa Crackers, raw baby carrots, and fruit and yogurt.

Lots of vegetables I keep cut up are red peppers, zucchini, yellow peppers, and baby carrots. I also roast each week two to three pan-fulls of cut up vegetables (zucchini, squash, broccoli, egg plant,white onion, and anything else that looks good). To roast I mix 2-3 tbsp of EVOO, 4-5 tbsp of Balsamic Vinegar, salt, pepper, oregano, basil, red pepper, stir it up and toss with raw veggies. Throw into the roasting pan on 400 for about 40 min. Delish! I do it all to taste. The amount of stuff I mix together depends on how many vegetables we're eating.

Hope this helps! Tomorrow is snacks and we're done with what I eat.

Lunch Bunch!

We talked about what I like to eat for breakfast, so now we will talk about lunch. On Sunday during my big prep day I make a huge bowl of salad. I use it for lunch and dinner and it's the spring board for many things I cook. What I love about the salad is that it knocks out a lot of vegetable for the day. Even if I'm not eating a "salad" for lunch I at least have a side salad of this base to start because it just makes getting vegetables in so simple.

Salad Base
2 heads of Red Leaf Lettuce
1 bag or bunch of spinach leaves torn
1 head of other lettuce that looks good
1 bunch of fresh cilantro OR parsley chopped
1 container of cherry tomatoes halved
1 cucumber diced
1 bunch of green onions
1 red pepper diced
1 zucchini diced

You can add any vegetables you want to this. I try to use what's the best looking when I'm shopping. Don't put dressing on until you are ready to use! I made that mistake one Sunday and by Friday I was eating salad soup.

Dressing
1/2 tbsp of EVOO
2-3 tbsp of Balsamic Vinegar
1 packet of Splenda
1 tsp of Ground Mustard
Dash of Chili Powder

I make some of this to use as a dressing. I also like to use Kraft Done Right dressings in a pinch. Roasted Garlic and Pepper is good and Chris and Logan like it. I'm not much of a dressing girl, though. MOST of the time I just use some balsamic vinegar and go.

Another good way to make dressing is to take a 1/4 cup of cottage cheese and mix it with some type of Sweet and Spicy type mustard. Just stir and then put on salad and toss. Gets you a little protein and calcium without trying really hard.

Lunch Ideas On the Go and Fun!
I keep frozen food because I never know when I have to run out the door or I'm wanting something fun versus what I have cooked. Honestly, ya'll, I do a prep each week but I am not above wanting Mexican, pizza, and other things you love, too. The difference is that when I want it I have planned ahead for those cravings by keeping a suitable fall back in the kitchen.

That keeps me from running for the border and trust me, I can put a hurt on Nachos Bell Grande with some Supreme Tacos on the side. Seriously, I WILL ALWAYS WANT JUNK FOOD but I CHOOSE to eat other things because I HATED myself back then.

So, if you like to eat crap food like I do you HAVE TO FIND things that are going to see you through these times that are easy to get your hands on and that you will feel successful when you have it. Here's some of those things.

 

Cedarlane Products- Beans and Rice and Roasted Veggie and Cheese are my favorites! The Cedarlane brand is by Dr. Sears who is the author of The Zone. They have solid products and many organic versions. I like them because I don't feel like I'm getting a bunch of junky stuff when I want to eat something easy.

 

You will still want to look at the calories. Not everything is low calorie but a lot of it is.

Pizza wise I love South Beach Diet Pizzas. I just haven't found another brand that can rival the taste and the protein in them. Not clean but they are certainly good and beat dialing up Domino's. I've even ate two when I was super hungry and wanted to "splurge". 700 calories for two and let me tell you, when I want to eat and want to eat a splurge it wouldn't be anything for me to put down a half to full pizza. I didn't get to 250 by half-assing my eating just like I didn't get to 140 by being unrealistic with my habits and desires.

The other awesome trick I have with the SBD is that I cook it up for road trips and eat it cold several hours later. I just put in a Ziploc sandwich bag and toss in the cooler. Makes me feel like I'm having a treat when everyone else is having McDonald's.

What I Eat Routinely
I keep the following in the kitchen and rotate these things each week:

• Big salad topped with can of tuna mixed with 1 tsp of Light Miracle Whip and 1 tbsp of mustard, 1 apple
• 5 oz. of Chicken cooked in either salsa or terriyaki marinade over 2 cups of roasted vegetables
• 5 oz. of Chicken in a low carb wrap with spinach leaves, 1 cup of baby carrots dipped in Sweet and Spicy Mustard
• 3 oz. of grilled Salmon on big salad
• 2 hard boiled eggs mashed with mustard and celery seed and cumin, red pepper strips, and toasted Ezekial Bread made into a sandwich and have salad with it
• 4 egg white spinach and onion omelet (made in microwave) on toasted Ezekial Bread, 1 slice of 2% cheese, 1/2 sweet potato
• 1 baked potato with 1/2 cup of cottage mixed in and topped with salsa. I eat this with a salad
• Big salad tossed with 1/2 cup of black beans and lentils mixed, feta cheese, and a few nuts of choice

Normally if you look in my fridge or panty I have:

• Hardboiled eggs
• The Big Salad
• Apples, strawberries, blueberries, grapefruit, and grapes at minimum
• Pre-bagged 4-5 oz. chicken breasts cut up and cooked already for salads and sandwiches
• Low Carb Wraps, Ezekial Bread
• Baby Carrots, Spinach, Red Pepper Strips, Chopped Green Onions
• Salmon and Cod we have for dinner almost every Sunday night so I have leftover fish for a day or two for salads and wraps
• Cans of tuna
• Cartons of egg whites, cottage cheese, and 2% cheese shredded and sliced
• Cooked and bagged cold sweet potatoes (great to chase with protein shake after a workout)
• Baking potatoes to pop in the microwave
• Salsa, mustard, lite MW, Crystal Light, Splenda, Protein Powder, Sugar Free Pudding and Jello Powders
• Cans of beans and other vegetables for quick sides (I often will want Macaroni and Cheese and eat a WW version with a can of green beans mixed in - sounds weird but it's good)
• Nuts already bagged into 1 and 1/2 oz portions

Maintenance or Progression Workout?

I am on vacation this week hence no blogs, but in the PNP forums I've been popping in with pearls of wisdom. This week in our fitness forum my chat/discussion theme for the week was, "Grade Your Workout and Corinne Will Critique."

The reason for this was to help the girls think about the purpose behind each workout. Every workout needs a goal before you start: busting it, recovery, training for a marathon, building some muscle, losing fat, etc. I also wanted them to come to a natural conclusion: each of us can always do a little better even when we think we are working hard.

A lot of clients took the time to participate. I am happy they did because we learned a lot to help them move forward. Here's my "executive summary" for the PNP girls and I thought it could help some of you who have purchased my workout programs. Those workouts all have purpose detailed in the books so now you have a way to make sure you are getting there.

 

First: How to Grade Your Workout...Corinne's Way

Take a look at this quote...

"We're a species that seeks comfort and rejects pain. As a woman losing weight intent on success, whatever the goal may be, we must reverse this outlook. We must seek pain and reject comfort. When I speak of pain, I don't mean the type that causes injury, but the type caused by effort."

This week tell me how you feel after workouts. Your homework is to describe in detail your breathing, your muscles, your clothes, your mind, and anything else relative to what you feel like during and after the workout.

Second, start your post with a grade. Grade each workout this week. Don't do it 15 min. after you are done. All of you should have a journal/binder you are using at the gym. As soon as the workout is over I want you to grade the workout.

A = I did exactly what the goal of the workout was (steady state, vomit intervals, searing strength training, low intensity recover)

B = I was close to a GREAT workout. I didn't stick to the goal but I feel like it was a good workout.

C = I did a workout but it wasn't what was planned. It was an OK workout but needs to be more on target for me to be successful.

D = I punched the clock and wasn't focused. Hey, at least I was moving.

F = This workout was not worth the effort. I need to do more or I will get no results.

Most of us in fatloss mode, changing our shape, and preparing to be hot will spend a good bit of our workout time in the zone of kicking ass in the gym. I want you to really evaluate how you feel each time you workout and make sure that it is filled with INTENSITY, a GOAL, and focused on making you fitter and PHATTER than you have ever been in your life.

 

Second: Corinne's Summary of the Week...Lessons Learned

This week has shown me that "mentally" we/me/all of us need and usually can up the ante on most workouts.

It truly takes workouts with purpose to lose fat and get to goals. I've said it 1000 times but every workout needs a purpose and you work to the potential of THAT workout.

Endurance Training = filled with workouts that CAN'T and shouldn't be all out.

Fat Loss Intervals = you should look like that most of the time.

Strength Training =   you need a combo of angry faces, less talking, a little icky feeling because you are working so hard, and then whipped when you leave.

Recovery = there are times in our life we have injuries and we workout to make ourselves get back to those other faces and THAT is a good workout.

I CHALLENGE all of you to grade every workout and keep it in your journals. You will be surprised that when you are giving yourself a grade that you will work harder and probably push enough to go from maintenance workouts to progression workouts.

To me, a maintenance workout is you punching the clock and feeling good you did something for your health. We are all supposed to workout daily in some fashion just to have a normal, healthy life.

A progression workout is where you leave knowing you did something EXTRA to make a difference towards your goal. THOSE are the workouts I want you girls doing.