Healthy Chocolate Shake
What is better than a creamy chocolate shake? A creamy chocolate shake without the guilt! You won't miss the fat and refined sugar as you slurp up this tasty treat.
Servings: 2
Here's what you need:
- 2 bananas, frozen
- 1/2 cup nonfat milk
- 2 scoops chocolate whey protein
- 2 Tablespoons raw almond butter
- dash of ground cinnamon
- 2 cups ice
- Throw everything into a high speed blender, blend until smooth and creamy.
Nutritional Analysis: One serving equals: 292 calories, 7g fat, 33g carbohydrate, 7g fiber, and 25g protein.
Targeting Healthy Habits in 2012
Targeting Healthy Habits in 2012
Health Target: Fiber
Fiber is your friend! Aim for a goal of 25-30 grams/day.
Why? Here's 3 of the many reasons to include high fiber foods on your plate:
1. Fullness. Fiber helps you feel full for longer, which means less in-between meal snacking and hunger pangs. Many well designed studies show the benefit of fiber to increase satiety (fullness) and help with weight loss.
2. Cholesterol reduction. Fiber acts like a magnet and binds to cholesterol, where it's then eliminated through the bowel.
3. Health benefits. Yet another study just released in the International Journal of Food Safety shows that fiber can "lead to improvements in gastrointestinal health, reduce diverticular disease, heart disease, colon cancer, and diabetes". Phew...now that's a mouthful!
My favorite sources of fiber include non-starchy veggies, berries, beans and legumes.
Tracy Baginski, CCN
www.intelligentnutritionservices.com
602.684.4722
The Habits That Make You
What are your habits?
Do you eat the same thing for lunch, go through the same exercise routine, and fall into bed at the same time each night?
Or maybe you've made a habit out of eating whatever looks good, avoiding the gym, and staying up as late as possible.
John Dryden famously said, "We first make our habits, and then our habits make us."
Confucius said, "Men's natures are alike; it is their habits that separate them."
And Aristotle noticed that, "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit."
It's pretty clear that the habits you adopt will shape who you are.
When it comes to your body, the two habits that define your physique are your eating and exercise habits. In fact, everyone that you know who is in great shape has dialed in these two important habits.
If you aren't happy with your body, then simply adjust your eating and exercise habits. Here's how to adopt a habit:
Making a Habit
Use these seven steps to create a life-improving habit.
1) Decide on the ONE habit that you would like to develop. It's tempting to pick up 3 or 4 healthy habits, but choosing just one new habit is realistic and doable.
Here are some healthy habit ideas:
- Do not eat after 7pm each night.
- Bring your lunch to work instead of eating fast food.
- Exercise 4 times a week after work for 45 minutes each time.
- Only eat fruits and veggies as your afternoon snack.
- Get up early and exercise for an hour each morning.
- Work with a personal trainer 3 times a week.
2) Write your new habit down on paper. Also include your 3 main motivators for developing this new habit, the obstacles you'll face, and your strategies for overcoming these obstacles.
Here's an example:
- My new habit is to work with a personal trainer 3 times each week.
- My 3 main motivators are 1) to feel confident in my bathing suit this summer, 2) to have more energy, and 3) to fit into my skinny jeans.
- The obstacles I will face are 1) not having the energy to go to my session after work, 2) not having enough money to pay for sessions, and 3) not having my spouse's support.
- I will overcome these obstacles by 1) doing my workouts before work instead of after work, so I have more energy, 2) cutting down on frivolous spending to ensure that I can afford it, and 3) asking my spouse to join me so we can get in shape together.
3) Commit fully to your new habit, in a public way. This could mean posting it on facebook, or simply announcing it at the dinner table. Put yourself in a position where you'll be embarrassed to give up on your new habit.
4) Keep track of your progress. You could keep a detailed journal or simply make a check mark on each calendar day that you successfully exercise your new habit.
5) Keep yourself publically accountable. This means either status updates on facebook or verbal status updates at the dinner table. Your friends and family are in a position to offer you support, so don't shy away from those close to you.
6) When you fail, figure out what went wrong so that you can plan around it in the future.
7) Reward yourself for your success.
Once your new habit becomes second nature, usually in about 30 days, feel free to add a second habit by going through the same 7 steps.
I'd love for my fitness program to become your new healthy habit! Call or email now to reserve your spot.
Complex is Best
I'm often approached and asked to pin down a single exercise as the one that will help lose the most fat and sculpt the quickest. That's not an easy question to answer.
You see, I'm very aware of the fact that though an exercise may be perfect for Client A, it may not be the best choice for Client B—hence my hesitation to label any exercise as the universal best.
That being said, some exercises are definitely better than others. And, yes, there are even a few that I would call the best.
What makes an exercise the best?
When you decide which exercises to include in your routine, it is important to consider the type of movement involved. The simpler the movement, the fewer calories you'll burn and the fewer muscles you will strengthen. On the other hand, the more complex the movement, the more calories you will burn and the more muscles you will strengthen.
To put it simply, exercises that use complex movements will deliver better results than exercises that use only simple movements. Complex movements recruit multiple muscles, some to stabilize and others to perform the movement. This process keeps your heart rate higher than a simple exercise would, giving you a more intense workout.
What is a complex movement?
A complex movement is a multi-joint movement that recruits large portions of the body to complete the exercise. Let's compare a simple movement leg exercise with a complex movement leg exercise:
The leg extension machine uses a simple, isolated movement to work the quadriceps. You're in a seated position moving only your knee joint. There isn't much involvement, if any, from other muscles and it doesn't burn very many calories.
Now let's look at a free weight walking lunge. You start by standing with your feet together and a dumbbell in each hand at your sides (or a barbell across your shoulders, or a medicine ball held at your chest, or even with no weight at all). You take a large step forward and lower your back knee, keeping your front knee at a 90 degree angle. Now you push off your front foot and pull your back leg forward, repeating the movement.
How many muscles did you utilize while performing the lunge? Probably too many to count.
You certainly worked your quadriceps, gluteus, hamstrings, calves, abdominals, supporting muscles in your shoulders, arms and back- just to name a few. You also raised your heart rate and really kicked your metabolism into high gear. That's what I call a great exercise.
Other ways to increase intensity
Using complex movements are just one of many ways to kick your workout intensity up a notch. Try incorporating a Super Set into your routine. To do so simply perform two or more exercises in a row and then take a short rest.
Or how about a Compound Set? Perform one exercise, rest, then perform an exercise with opposing body parts. To find exercises that compliment one another, choose ones that have similar but opposite motions such as a chest press and a row.
The key to finding the best exercise is to find the ones that bring your workout intensity to a whole new level.
I'd be shortchanging you if I named any exercise as the best. The fact of the matter is that it is a combination of changing your workouts up, using interval training, and even some good old cardio that will ultimately see you to your goal.
These methods will help you to burn more calories, increase your metabolic rate, and will stimulate the production of more fat burning and muscle toning hormones. Of course, there is more involved to achieving your fitness goals. You need to incorporate fat burning into your routine. You need to consistently challenge yourself during workouts. You need to take control of your eating habits and to get your diet dialed in.
Broiled White Fish with Brown Rice & Veggies
This is a great meal for cutting calories and dropping weight. Watch your portions with the brown rice in order to stay within your daily calorie goal. White fish is packed with protein - just what you need for toning your body.
Servings: 2
Here's what you need:
- 2 fillets white fish
- 1 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 lemon
- seafood seasoning
- paprika
- 1/2 red bell pepper, cut into bite-sized chunks
- 1/2 cup broccoli florets
- 2/3 cup brown rice, cooked
- 2 Tablespoons salsa
- Preheat broiler. Grease your broil pan with the olive oil. Place the fillets and bell pepper in the pan, squeeze the lemon juice over it. Sprinkle with seafood seasoning and paprika.
- Place the pan under the broiler for 5-7 minutes, watching closely to prevent burning. Add the broccoli and cook for another minute until soft.
- Mix the cooked brown rice with the salsa and divide between two plates. Place a fillet on each bed of rice along with half of the veggies.
Nutritional Analysis: One serving equals: 203 calories, 3g fat, 24g carbohydrate, 3g fiber, and 19g protein.
Simple 50 Pound Slim Down
Can you image how you would look 3 sizes smaller? You'd look like a whole new, younger person.
It's actually much easier than you think.
I'm not talking about invasive, costly surgery, dangerous pills or potions, or grueling routines.
All it takes is losing one pound each week. One measly pound.
Hang with me for a minute and I will break it down mathematically. A pound is 3,500 calories—spread that over 7 days and you need a 500 calorie deficit each day to lose 1 pound in a week.
Your 500 calorie deficit can be done by a combination of increased calorie exertion (exercise) as well as a decrease in calories consumed (eating less).
Follow these steps:
- First, record your normal weekly exercise – look at everything from walking to participating in sports to exercising in the gym. This is your starting point. From here you'll need to burn an additional 3500 calories on top of your normal weekly exercise.
If you don't currently exercise, then any new activity will count towards your 3500 calorie weekly goal.
- Second, record your normal weekly food intake – this may be an eye-opener when you see how many calories you eat in a day. Record everything honestly, since you are only cheating yourself by not recording everything. Calculate the total number of calories that you eat in an average day.
- Now divide the 3500 calories between your activity list and your food list. You could choose to eliminate 1000 calories each week and burn off an additional 2500. Or you may decide to burn 3000 calories and eat 500 fewer calories.
Here are 7 simple ways to cut 250 calories:
- Drink plain coffee instead of a sweetened holiday coffee drink. Flavored coffee drinks are delicious but filled with way too much sugar. Drop 250 calories (or more) when you stick with plain coffee or tea instead of sugar-filled holiday coffee drinks.
- Just say NO! to the holiday treats. A single slice of fruitcake may seem innocent enough, besides everyone is eating them at the office meeting, why shouldn't you? You know that all those holiday treats are packed with fat and calories. For each tempting treat that you refuse to eat, imagine the 250 calories falling off of your waistline, and smile to yourself.
- Jog for 30 minutes. Want in on a little secret? The hardest part about a simple 30 minute jog is the act of getting your shoes on and walking out the door. It's true.
- Exchange 20 oz of regular soda for water. You know that soda is filled with tons of sugar, so why are you still drinking it? Every time you crave an ice cold cola picture swallowing spoonfuls of white sugar. That's probably the easiest way to weight gain. Stick with water and kiss those extra calories goodbye.
- Swim laps for 30 minutes. If your response to my jogging suggestion was ‘I have bad joints', then you are in luck. Swimming is one of the best aerobic activities you can do, and it is impact-free. When you swim you recruit your entire body, a process which requires lots of energy—AKA calories.
- Eat an apple instead of a cookie. Do you always go for something sweet after dinner? While your first instinct may be to reach for a cookie or a bowl of ice cream, why not consider what nature has to offer? Fruit is sweet, natural and lower in calories than traditional desserts.
- Come give my fitness routine a try. I have the whole calorie-burning equation down to a science, and I'd love nothing more than to help you achieve your fitness goal. My workouts have been known to burn up to 500 calories at a time, so what are you waiting for?
Losing 50 pounds in 12 months is very possible. Simply use the tips above to create your daily 500 calorie deficit and you'll be shedding the weight in no time.
And if you'd rather have me do most of the work for you, then call or email to set up your no obligation consultation.
When you work with me, there's a good chance that those 50 pounds will come falling off in less than 12 months. That wouldn't be so bad, would it?
The Exercise Prescription
"The simple act of writing out a prescription for exercise is an excellent approach to being proactive in regard to your health. It's also far more logical, inexpensive and actually radically reduces your risk of most every chronic disease known to man. A daily exercise routine is one of the main factors in achieving optimal wellness."
Whether you think about it or not, each day you are faced with the option to get your daily does of exercise or not.
Will you find the time to hit the gym today, or will the busyness of the day leave you exhausted on the couch? Quite frankly, you don't have reasons to not do it - you only have excuses.
If you are like most then exercise isn't at the top of your list of favorite things. You'd rather be immersed in a bowl of ice cream, enjoying their favorite TV show or dining out with friends instead of sweating in the gym.
But the fact is that your favorite things add inches to your waist, and you know that a larger waist equals an increase in health problems, not to mention an overall decrease in your quality of life.
It's time to get serious about exercise.
You could start by changing your attitude toward exercise. If you go into it with a bad attitude, chances are you won't enjoy it. It's time to accept the fact that you can enjoy exercise.
Consider the following:
- Have you written off exercise based on a particular type of routine – maybe you would enjoy something different. The truth is that no one can deny how great it feels to accomplish a challenging workout. It's rewarding, invigorating and feels great. You simply need to find the right form of exercise for you.
- Try to pinpoint the main reason that you dislike exercise. Is it the uncomfortable workout clothes that you own? Maybe it is time for a new style. Is it trying to decide what machine to use at the gym? Maybe it is time for a personal trainer (more on that later). Is it the pain that you feel in your shoulder when swimming? Maybe it is time to find a new form of cardiovascular exercise - one that won't aggravate your injury.
See, the truth of the matter is that there are many different forms of exercises that will give you the results that you want. Don't like the gym? There's a program for you. Don't like running? There is an alternative. Don't have the time? There are time friendly exercise routines that will give you incredible results in under an hour.
Like I said, when it comes to exercise you have tons of options. But it all starts with ditching the excuses and asking a qualified fitness expert like me for the right program for you.
Is it really that easy? Yes.
So where do you begin? Just pick up the phone and give me a call or simply reply to this email and let me know that you're ready to get in the best shape of your life.
Exercise is your new prescription medication - don't forget to take your daily dose!
Spinach & Egg White Wrap
This wrap is delicious for breakfast, lunch or dinner. It's ready in a flash, tastes amazing, and is filled with lean protein, veggies and whole sprouted grains. Try it today, but don't be surprised if you get hooked!
Servings: 2
Here's what you need:
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 3/4 cup tomato, finely chopped
- 2 cups spinach, roughly chopped
- 1 cup egg whites
- dash of salt and pepper
- 2 sprouted grain tortillas
- 2 Tablespoons pesto (purchase it pre-made, or combine 1/2 cup walnuts, 2 cups basil leaves, 2 cloves garlic, 1/4 cup olive oil, and 1 Tablespoon lemon juice in a food processor and blend until it becomes a paste.)
- Spread a tablespoon of pesto over each tortilla and set aside.
- In medium sized skillet warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and sauté until golden. Add the tomato and cook for another 3 minutes. Add the spinach and cook until it is soft and wilted. Remove the veggies from skillet, set aside in a bowl.
- Pour the egg whites into the skillet, season with salt and pepper. Cook until the egg is no longer runny.
- Arrange half of the egg whites in a line down the center of each tortilla. Top with half of the veggies and then fold the ends up and wrap like a burrito.
Nutritional Analysis: One serving equals: 288 calories, 10g fat, 28g carbohydrate, 6g fiber, and 21g protein.
Chicken Quinoa Stir Fry
Here is a simple, wholesome meal that is ready in 30 minutes – perfect for busy weekday dinners. There's no reason to hit the take out line when you have this quick and delicious recipe on hand. Eating simple, wholesome meals like this and exercising regularly will get you to your goal weight.
Servings: 4
Here's what you need:
- 1 cups cooked quinoa
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1/2 onion, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
- 1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
- 1/2 yellow bell pepper, chopped
- 1 ear of corn, kernels cut from cob
- Handful of asparagus stalks, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 2 cups baked chicken breast, cut into small cubes
- 1 can of organic black beans, drained and rinsed
- splash of lemon juice
- splash of lime juice
- dash of salt and pepper
- splash of soy sauce
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
- Cook the quinoa and set aside. Place a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the oil, onion and garlic. Sauté for about 3 minutes. Add the bell peppers, corn and asparagus, cook until the vegetables are tender. Add the chicken and beans, cook for another 10 minutes, adding the rest of the ingredients.
- Place a serving of quinoa on each plate and top it with the vegetable mix.
Nutritional Analysis: One serving equals: 293 calories, 5g fat, 32g carbohydrate, 4.6g fiber, and 29.4g protein.
Don’t Complicate Things
Have you ever stopped to notice how many times you're bombarded by food marketing each day?
Ads come at you from magazine pages, T.V. commercials, on websites and billboards, each boasting of cheap, convenient and tasty ways to cure your hunger.
The question "What's for dinner?" has never been more complex than now.
Extensive menu options and large entrees have distorted your concept of a proper meal, and before you know it you've fallen into the trap of the chain restaurant, the drive thru, and the take-out line.
But wait – truly healthy eating is simple.
First you need to block out the blizzard of food marketing around you.
Remember that advertisers want your money, and they don't stop to consider if the food they promote will expand your waist – that's your job.
It's safe to say that, with few exceptions, any food that you see marketed should be avoided. When was the last time you saw an ad for grilled white fish, steamed broccoli and a side of brown rice?
So what does truly healthy eating look like?
A healthy meal contains lean protein, fresh vegetables and a modest serving of whole grains.
Just as importantly, a healthy meal does NOT contain:
- Refined sugar / corn syrup
- Fried / fatty food
- Full fat dairy food
- Processed food with chemical additives
Healthy Breakfast
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. What you decide to eat when you first wake up will set the tone for the rest of your meals that day. Try these healthy options:
- Scrambled egg whites, sliced tomato and whole grain toast
- Whole grain oatmeal, sliced fruit and a protein shake
- Homemade breakfast sandwich: Multi-grain English muffin with lean turkey slices and egg
Healthy Lunch
It is important to plan your lunch ahead of time in order to avoid turning to a fast food joint or vending machine. Pack your lunch the night before and carry it with you. Try these healthy options:
- Dark baby greens topped with chopped chicken breast and diced tomatoes
- Albacore tuna (packed in water), mixed with finely chopped cucumber over brown rice
- Homemade sandwich: Sprouted grain bread with lean turkey slices, lettuce, tomato and mustard
Healthy Dinner
Dinner is the meal where most people splurge and eat far more calories than they should. Eating at home is the first step in reducing your dinnertime calories. Try these healthy options:
- Grilled white fish, sautéed spinach and whole wheat couscous
- Baked chicken breast, steamed broccoli and brown rice
- Try the recipe for Chicken Quinoa Stir Fry below
While healthy eating is a huge factor in achieving your ideal weight, exercise is the other half of the equation.
Your exercise routine should be challenging and should be done on a regular basis.
I know that you have more than enough in your life to think about without having to plan your own exercise routine. Leave that job to me—call or email today to get started on a personalized fitness program that will leave your body no choice but to shed those unwanted pounds.