Do you even know what's in that?

How many times have I asked myself this question this week at the beach? haha Oh dear... between the boardwalk food and all of the "little" treats we feel are necessary for a vacation- sometimes it gets out of hand. I am the first one to tell you that you should have some fun on vacation, relax your typical routine and splurge a little. However, my moto is and always will be MODERATION!!!!

Sometimes I'll look at people like Drew Feldman who can eat 7000 calories in a day and stay so stinking twiggy and think ... ahh wouldn't that be nice? He had 8 gigantic cheesesticks on vacation before his meal came i mean- it must have been a pound of cheese for his appetizer and yet he doesn't gain an ounce. But here's something you might not realize, Drew is also the most hyperactive young man you'll ever meet. He burns those calories in a few hours with all of his incredible flips and jumps! My point is that yes you might say, but why can't I eat like that? But unless you're movin' like some of those people do we have to use a little self control- UGH!

Again I'm not saying you can't splurge a little but moderation is my favorite word- know why? Because it means that YES i can still eat ice cream every day but I literally measure out the half cup serving EVERY DAY! It may be annoying but maintaining your healthy weight is way easier than eating whatever and then having to loose a ton later ya know?

So here's a tip, go ahead and eat that candy bar but get some snack size ones so you're not tempted to wolf down the 350 calorie version all at once. My mom and I are all for our sweets so we found the things that we love only in smaller versions. Also variety tends to keep you satisfied longer. So you might want 2 hershey kisses and a mini baby ruth bar with an oreo one night. That's still only 175 calories for all of that as opposed to a normal baby ruth bar for 300! So much of a difference. And the other amazing benefit of moderation is that you stick with it longer because you never deprive yourself. I mean let's face it, when we diet and rule out all sugar or all fat or all carbs- how long can you possibly stick with that? Then you loose the weight but you haven't changed your lifestyle. So you end up gaining it all back plus more sometimes! NO FUN! So here's the trick, eat smaller portions, never give up what you love, and you end up succeeding :)

Question for you...

So I had a revelation last night at my sister's graduation party. Amidst the numerous food options that included everything from hot dogs to chips to cake, I realized how (as Christians) we deny ourselves so many things to keep our mind, will, and emotions healthy but when it comes to food we struggle. For example, most people I know strive to avoid pornography, foul language, and other addictive behavior. But when it comes to taking care of our bodies we have a hard time denying ourselves.

Don't take this the wrong way I'm not trying to bash you or me for that matter! BUT I just want to encourage you that YOU can do this! You so have the strength in you and the will power- heck look at the movies today and TV shows. Most of America can't manage to use self control with things we do each day! So I know that when it comes to taking care of your temple- You've got this!!

I know that many of you do try to eat healthy and take care of yourselves but if you're struggling lately just take heart that you have all that you need inside of you to take control. It gets overwhelming- trust me i know! But man you truly have what it takes to begin or continue a healthy lifestyle.

* Some Party Eating Tips:

So first of all Summer is the perfect party season- i've already been to 5 and it's only June 5th! One of the best tips I've ever received was to eat a healthy snack before you hit the party. The hungrier you are when you go- of course the more you'll eat and generally when you're really hungry have you noticed that your will power is nearly gone! Your flight or fight mode kicks in and it's just FOOOD!

Another tip is to maybe bring a healthy food. Many parties are potlucks so why don't you bring some healthy options- and here's a tip, instead of bringing the boring old veggie tray bring something healthy that you'll actually want to eat!

Try to avoid eating little bits of everything. This might seem like a good idea but in actuality you end up eating way more. Did you know that if you only eat a little bit of potato salad, chips, beans, macaroni salad, and cheese puffs, etc... Your mind never receives the "i'm full" signal. Therefore you end up eating ALL NIGHT. Did you notice that, you never really seem to get full so you just keep nibbling all night long which does you no favors.

So next time you head to a party this summer remember- You do have the strength to control your self! You can eat a healthy snack before you go so you're not ravenous when you get to the buffet table. You can bring the healthy foods for the party that are yummy, filling, and good for ya! And finally try to pick a few main healthy filling foods to eat so you don't keep snacking all night long.

You guys so have this and i'm excited to hear some good reports :)

Exercise Myths...

Ok so I hope everyone is feeling more alive now that Spring is in full swing :) I personally always feel much more motivated to work out even harder this time of year- we're breaking out the shorts and the tank tops and it doesn't hurt to add a little tone to our bodies right? So here are some things I've learned over the years...

1) Don't be afraid of strength training- this is basically working out with weights. Many women don't want to bulk up so they steer clear of the free weight area of the gym. Let me assure you- unless you're bench pressing 200 I can guarantee that you will only tone your muscles not bulk up.

2) When we use free weights or the weight machines at the gym we are also building strength. And I know that it's sort of a myth that men should want to build up their muscles but i'm telling you ladies- wouldn't it be nice to not struggle carrying in the heavy groceries? At Kohls i'm always lifting heavy boxes and carrying around pounds and pounds of clothing (can i hear an amen misses girls?!) I have noticed a huge improvement since i've been working out my arms. I can lift more for longer periods of time. Which is crucial when you're at work!

3) The more muscle we have the more calories we burn at rest- i've probably said that a thousand times now but it's true. Wouldn't you prefer to burn 100 calories sitting on the couch as opposed to 25? Well the more muscle on your body, the more blood has to flow to keep those muscles getting oxygen. This burns more calories than fat because fat doesn't need any oxygen. Have you ever seen those women who work out all the time with big fat veins running down their arms? That happens after a lot of strength training- the muscles need that constant blood supply and so the veins get bigger!

4) Lastly, I never want you to think that if you don't look like Jillian Michaels or some of those other trainers out there that you're not good enough. HECK NO! Can i just say that I know a lot of you out there are much stronger than you think! You have so much energy in you and the more you channel that energy into staying healthy... the better you will look and most importantly the better you will FEEL.

So keep going at it girls! Fire up that inner motivation and channel your energy into this. It is so key to living a long health filled life. Try something new this week, maybe you want to get a workout video- Pick something you're interested in. I love kickboxing LOVE IT! Maybe you'll prefer dance or a Zumba DVD. There is so much out there, but just get moving!

You guys are doing an awesome job!

I just wanted to take my time to congratulate you on your success today. You all are making some sort of effort to improve your health. Even if it's just reading my blog and educating yourself- those seeds are now in you and believe it or not, you're applying them to your lives.

On that note of praise I want to remind you to reward yourselves for your victories. Say you work out once this week- you know what? That is great! You're getting some physical activity into your hectic crazy week and that is awesome! So reward yourself... I will say that rewarding yourself with food probably isn't the best route to take. Not that having an ice cream cone will kill you! But it's the patterns we create that hurt us in the end. This really applies to children. If they do a good job and we reward them with a candy bar, when they grow up they'll eat a lot of candy bars to get that same satisfaction they felt as a child when they did a good job. So obviously you guys aren't kids but how about some alternative rewards: For you moms out there I say give yourself 30 minutes of alone time!!!!! DO IT! I know you feel guilty but seriously you deserve some time to yourself!

How about your favorite cup of tea or coffee and a good book? That is always appealing to me. For a special occasion, plan a day out! I love going to Longwood Gardens in the Spring. It is a gorgeous garden that goes on for miles and when it's tulip season there are literally millions of them everywhere!!!

So reward yourselves this week- you're doing a good job, trying to stay active and aware of your health and I am so proud. Also for you CCC ladies Zumba starts next Tuesday I believe at 5:30 and it's only $5 per class. It's a really fun way to exercise because it combines dance with cardio that will get you moving but you'll have a fun time too!!!!

Walks are a beautiful thing...

Aren't walks on a sunny, warm, Spring day a glorious gift from God! Oh my, today I took a walk and can I just describe the beautiful sensation of all of my muscles working, my heart pumping, the Spring feeling pulsing through my body! Oh I just adore Spring.

I definitely encourage you to take a walk this week- it is supposed to be a glorious week! Psych yourself up for it. The lovely thing about walks is that there is NO PRESSURE! You can walk as fast or slow as you want, pump your arms like a march or not. I mean it is totally up to you how intense you want your walk to be. Some days you just need a light happy walk. Other days a strong arm pumping walk is amazing. I am pretty sure whatever walk you choose you will be able to experience those endorphins pulsing through your body.

If you recall: endorphins are those chemicals that our body releases that make us "feel good!" They are actually a mechanism we adapted to encourage our "fight or flight" responses. Our bodies were granted with adrenaline to make sure we could escape from predators and so forth. Consider endorphins as a reward for your hard work! They are a God given motivational prize :)

So this week the goal: Get outside and take a lovely walk- feel your body getting stronger and healthier. Another little factoid is that walking involves every muscle in your body when done correctly. If you pump your arms, stand up straight, and swing those legs with power you are working your arm muscles, abs, butt, and leg muscles! So go get em girls! :)

Don't let that number determine your mood!

Today I want to address the myth that your weight determines your health. FALSE! Did you know that muscle weighs more than fat? Ok so yes, we can still be overweight and have excess fat on us which we need to try and work on, BUT please don't let this number determine your mood!

I used to weigh myself everyday, sometimes twice a day. If I gained even half of a pound I would FREAK OUT! (Did you know that you can loose up to 3 pounds after a bowl movement?!? Crazy stuff huh?) Also I want to clarify what the B.M.I calculations mean to me. Most doctors use the Body Mass Index calculations to determine whether you are overweight or not. They plug in your height and weight and come up with a number... usually it ranges from 18-40 but what it fails to consider is body type. Let's face it, we are all sooo different. Some of us literally have bigger bone structures, others are born having more muscle on them. All of these factors contribute to your overall weight. So here's my take on the BMI: If your number says that you are overweight, consider it but don't let that discourage you! Make sure that you do your best to take care of yourself- FOR YOU! Not to make the numbers on the chart say you're in the healthy range.

One of my professors (who is a Nutritionist) told me that one of her sons came home from the doctor one day and was told he was "obese". Now this kid was husky- I'm talking all muscle and had a large bone structure. My prof thought this was such an absurd thing but all that the doctor did was a BMI test- he did nothing to determine how much muscle compared to fat the kid had! So stinking annoying! So if you're curious about your BMI you can go to www.Kraft.com and under the Healthy Eating section they have a BMI calculator. Enter your height and weight but REMEMBER don't let the numbers (whether they're on the scale or on your computer) rule your life!

Another point I would like to make is this: When you begin to loose weight, hopefully you're loosing fat pounds and not muscle pounds. When this happens at first you will notice the scale going down. After a while however, if you are exercising, even somewhat regularly compared to normal, you will begin to build muscle. As i mentioned earlier, muscle weighs more than fat so if the scale starts to go up again or if you notice no change but your measurements keep shrinking this is why. Now you know what to expect. It's called the plateau stage of weight loss and all that this means is that your "weight number" eventually reaches a holding place once you start to build those muscles! So this is a GOOD thing! Be happy, the more muscle we have, the more calories we burn at rest. Which means after a while, you don't have to work sooo hard to maintain your "happy weight". So good luck girls and keep your chin up- Don't let those numbers rule your day, Remember the good choices you made today. The BABY STEPS you took to becoming a healthier you!

Exercise Video (FINALLY!!!!!)

Hey everyone here is the promised video! The first part has the warm up and arm workout. The second part has the lower body workout and cool down. So just give it a try- if you can't get through the whole thing- no worries- We start where we start and we progress! It's ok to take breaks! And most importantly have fun!!!! :) It literally helps to smile, try it. When you're out of breath and feeling tired- SMILE! It helps alot! Good luck everyone!