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#50 It Is About You

Guilty of always looking outside yourself for the answer?

Have you ever said, when thinking about taking weight off, “I think I should get my thyroid checked out”? Are you smiling to yourself right now because you SO have?

You know when you’re feeling something that’s not normal but you can’t pinpoint what’s wrong, so you go to the doctor and actually feel relief when you find out that something really is amiss, and that this little pill will make it better? It’s so much better than walking around wondering if you’re imagining things, or worse, feeling the abnormal thing but not knowing how to fix it. We like to FIX things. And our weight problems need to be fixed. Unfortunately, weight problems can’t be fixed (safely) with a pill—the only magic tricks are patience and discipline. Imagine if the flu could only be cured by patience and discipline. Holy cow, this would be one sick country.

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#49 Squash-sta

Put a “spin” on your veggies

My kids call them snakes. Doesn’t bother me… as long as they eat those snakes. Check out the dinner Mike made tonight:

Squash Pasta

I got him a spiralizer for Father’s Day. That’s right. That’s what my sweet husband wanted for Father’s Day. Not an Xbox, but a spiralizer. So who am I to deny him?

What this newest kitchen contraption does is ingenious: It grasps onto the veggie of your choice (squash and zucchini tend to be favorites for this particular operation), and makes it into spaghetti-style noodles. Blended with a bit of real pasta and the sauce of your choice, you’ve got kids eating veggies. Not to mention an exciting new way to serve those veggies to grown-ups, too.

#48 Get Out of Your “Slump”

Strengthen your core–and hold your head high.

Don’t be a slouch. You there, sitting at your computer with your shoulders slumped, one hand on the mouse, your head jutting forward to better see your screen. Sit up straight.

Posture isn’t just about how you look—though ever walk by a window and catch your slumped reflection? Not hot. Your stature is who you are. Your body is you, and it’s your advertisement for you, the person you present to the world. Posture is one element in your body’s whole grand scheme.

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#47 Benched

Should you work out when you’re injured?

Feel like you’re benched because you pulled a muscle? Don’t be so quick to let yourself off the hook. You can get in an excellent workout despite your injury, and without causing further pain.

Say you pull a muscle in your leg so you call off your run for the next day. Sure. Of course. But if you have a training session scheduled for two days later, there’s no need to cancel your appointment. A good trainer will be able to work around your injury, and give you an excellent workout that will make you question why you ever considered canceling.

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#46 Party Games

What to do when there’s no veggie tray.

Here’s a scenario to ponder: You’re at a party as your husband/boyfriend/significant other’s sidekick and he/she goes off to talk to his/her friends, leaving you smiling nervously at a bunch of people you don’t know. What is the natural thing to do? Check out the food table. Grab a drink. Take sips of your drink. Munch on chips. Search for the veggie tray. Find no such tray. Eat more chips.

This scenario was brought to mind thanks to a training client of mine who recently shared that she was at a party as her husband’s sidekick, was left by herself, found herself alone at the food table with no veggie tray in sight, and didn’t know what to do but munch on chips.

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#45 Hunger Games

There’s no need to play hunger games with your body.

Oh, the games we play to stave off hunger, pretend we’re not hungry, rationalize that we’re hungry again already…

What would happen if we all just very simply listened to our bodies, fed ourselves what we need to survive, and resolved hunger at the physical level?

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DIY Energy Bites

Pop a couple of these to get you through an afternoon slump. They’re good for you!

Fantastic Fruit Delights (aka Energy Bites!)

They’re raw, easy to make, and nutritious, and they’re known as “energy bites” in my home. Instead of buying a bunch of Power Bars, I make a batch of these. Just a couple fill my belly when it’s not quite mealtime, and they’ll last forever in the fridge.

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#44 A Week at a Time

Sexy Up Your Week of Workouts

It’s Sunday night and you’re contemplating the coming week. Where will exercise fit in this week? Will this finally be the week you stay those 15 extra minutes to do some weights, as you keep hearing you should? Or will you just barely eke out 30 minutes at the gym three times this week, as usual, flipping through a magazine and moving at a just-below-challenging rate on the cross-trainer? Ugh. Your workout needs a lift.

First let’s talk about interval training. It’s hot right now—you should know what it means. Working out in intervals trains your heart for better endurance. You throw a curveball at your heart every so often to challenge its comfort zone. So for example, if you’re walking on the treadmill, every 10 minutes, say, increase your incline from a 1.0 to a 5.0 for 3 minutes without reducing your speed. Or increase your speed from 3.6 to 4.0 for 3 minutes. Or step off the treadmill and do 10 jumping jacks, 10 pushups, and 5 assisted pullups, then climb back on the treadmill.

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Spicy* Sweet Potato & Peanut Soup with Chickpeas

*leave out the spice if you want to!

Spicy* Sweet Potato & Peanut Soup with Chickpeas

1 T olive oil
5-6 c sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 c onions, diced
1 c celery, diced
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 t sea salt
2 t cumin
3 t ground coriander
1 t paprika
½ t crushed red pepper flakes (*or to taste)
2 c vegetable stock
3 c water
3-5 T fresh ginger, grated (we used the tube of ginger from the produce section at Kroger)
2 T natural peanut butter
2 c (1 can) chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
3-4 T fresh lime juice
Cilantro leaves, chopped, for garnish (optional)

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#43: Juiced!

To juice, or not to juice? That is the question!

To juice or not to juice? If you saw Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead, no doubt you came away from it wanting to try a juice “cleanse”—no matter your weight. It was so inspiring to watch the people in the movie not just lose weight, but detox their bodies of all the crap they were subjecting themselves to: sugar, caffeine, processed foods…

I absolutely do not approve of fad diets. I do, however, think that short-term, doctor-monitored juice “fasts” are an interesting idea. There is not much wrong with eating only fruits and vegetables in their purest form, at least to kick start your quest for healthier eating. I do believe that a short-term fast can adjust your taste buds, help with taming your processed food addictions, and jump-start your weight loss, if that’s part of your goal.

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