Secrets of Success

Stairs

I work on the eleventh floor. I typically walk downstairs to lower floors when I have to use the restroom, usually to floor 7 or 8, and I walk back up most of the time. I take the long route everwhere in the building I have to go. That's a great way to get in extra steps. People think I'm weird for doing so, but they don't appreciate healthy living the way I do. I love it.

Cut Down on Cooking Oil

Put all of your oils in spray bottles, label them and adjust the spray to a mist. Use in place of cooking sprays - you'll need much less oil when you saute foods.

Fat Free vs Full Fat

Full fat wins! Natural fats from foraging, pastured, or wild animals and tropical oils (all non-hydrogenated) are the healthiest there is. It is what our bodies were designed to eat!

Post Workout Drink

The best is chocolate milk. It has the perfect combination of carbs and fat. Woohoo for Yoohoo!

Take time while shopping to look at lables...

I just started looking at nutrition lables and comparing them. It is amazing how two products that are so much alike can be completely different with it comes to calories and fats.

Eat Fat to Get Thin

Alot of people (me included) assume that to lose weight you should always choose the fat-free options. I'm now realising that I actually NEED fat to feel satisfied and that going under my fat goal wasn't helping. Now I include some full fat dairy in my diet and try and eat nuts in some form every day.

Southwest Enchilada Black Bean Dip-Fritos brand-actually looked at the label...

I'm a sucker for chips & dip!! Bought a can of Fritos Southwest Enchilada Black Bean Dip & didn't open it because I was sure it wouldn't be good for me, but then I looked at the label & a serving is just 30 calories and NO FAT!! Imagine my surprise!! Not everything Fritos makes is terrible for you. Had a serving of the dip with a serving of baked tortilla chips - a pretty good snack all-in-all!!

My Favorite Way to Exercise in a pinch

When it's too cold outside or I can't make it to them gym, my favorite way to fit in some flab blasting cardio is going for a thirty minute run... up and down my stairs! Sometimes I add in twenty minutes of jumping jack intervals, man are those fun!

When I'm feeling lazy....

I pinch a baby fat roll and contemplate it. And that's more than enough to get me off the couch and busting my gut at the gym!

Balance

I find that omitting any one food group or "bad" food sets me up for failure. Limit my sugar? I'll be dying for candy, cookies and sweets. Fat? I'll be dreaming about bacon and burgers. The secret for me is finding BALANCE. At each meal, I try to make sure I eat a healthy carb, a lean protein and a healthy fat. The comination helps kick cravings AND makes me feel fuller longer than JUST focusing on one "cure-all" ingredient, like fiber.

You can... if you have! Never say Never!

If you have lost weight in the past and gained it back, you KNOW for a fact you can do it again! If you have done it once you CAN do it again, just FOCUS. You KNOW its possible and you can do whatever you set your mind to! Never say Never!

Grow Fresh Herbs on Your Kitchen Windowsill

For the same price as a bunch of cut fresh herbs at the supermarket, you can buy a small potted herb plant at Home Depot, Lowes, etc. Keep it on your kitchen windowsill and use when you're cooking. Fresh herbs add so much flavor that you won't even miss the salt and fat you cut out of the recipe!

Ordering Chinese Take Away (an improvement, just ask!)

So, I love a good chinese take away and part of a balanced diet, its ok! I go for Lo Mein- trouble is, they use a lot of oil and salt to cook most dishes.

Solution: Just ask! My take away were happy to use less salt and oil when I asked, I can taste/see the difference and it still tastes great!

STUDY the nutrition report carefully!

You can learn a lot from using the pie charts as well as the nutrient counts.

Understand food industry tricks & food addiction

Research shows that some food manufacturers combine fat, sugar and salt to stimulate ‘reward centres’ in the brain, causing addiction just as tobacco does. We then crave these foods and can't stop eating them even when we're full. Sound familiar?

Google “bliss point food” for more information.

Logging WHEN you eat!!

If you have the chance to log your meal or snack right away while you are eating or or directly after, you won't have to try to remember what you ate throughout the day and this way, you are less likely going to forget what you ate when its time to log it in.

No eating 5 hours before bed

Me not eating 5 hours before bed every night helped me to lose 40lbs in 4 months. When I started eating before bed I gained my weight back. It was hard for me to lose weight when I was eating 5 hours or less before going to sleep.

Fresh Fruits & Veggies - They're Awesome, Try Some, You'll Like It!

Stop the madness! Eating all the processed junk isn't good for you. If you're relying on a box to tell you there are no trans fats, then you're shopping in the store's wrong section. Shop the perimeter of your grocery store. (Produce/Meats/Cold) If you can't buy fresh, then buy fresh frozen. :)

It's All Good

Even if you might not see numbers dropping on the scales, think of how well you are treating your body, and all the good things you are putting in. Chances are you're swapping fat for muscle, especially if your putting forth a lot of effort.

Rinse your cooked ground beef

After training your cooked ground beef, try this!

Weight fluctuation is probably water not fat

People can get upset by gaining 3lb or so in the space of a day. Based on SP guidelines, it would take an extra 10,500 calories to add 3lb of fat so it's probably water weight, which will come and go. Factors such as TOM or eating too much salt and sugar can cause this. Don't let it put you off.