All Calories Are NOT Created Equal
5 Important Points to Keep In Mind

The most deceptive health secret is the calorie. Painted as an enemy and something to be avoided. This is not entirely true! Here are some easy pointers…

1. Quality or Quantity?: Turns out the quality of calories is more important than the amount. Mind you, portion control is needed… but the 50 calories of an apple are NOT the same as 50 calories from a snickers. One of them feeds your body and is utilized as fuel, the other… not so much; one guess as to which is which. Go for natural calories and nutrients, avoid chemicals and synthetic calories. 

2. You Might be Missing Out: With the stereotypical calorie “truths” we miss out on some needed high caloric foods such as avocados or nuts. These foods contain beneficial and much needed healthy fats, natural sugars, proteins, dietary fiber, vitamins and minerals. That is way to much goodness to deprive your body of based on a misconception of the calorie. 

3. Recommended calories for when Your hungry:First recommendation is eat 5-6 small healthy meals a day to avoid starvation. Let’s be honest though, without discipline time can get away from us and we miss meals. SO! When you have the massive munchies and need something quick go for 16 oz of water, wait a few minutes, and then follow up with something that is a balance of good fats, protein, and carbs. Ex: Natural Yogurt – 12 almonds – 1 small apple
My favorite way to make it easy on yourself with portioning and figuring out what types of food you need is the 21 Day Fix.

4. Order of your calories: Believe it or not there is an efficient order to eat food that leads to better digestion based on what it takes your body to metabolize them. Drink 16 oz. of water and wait a bit before your meal (drinking it during the meal actually dilutes the digestive juices slowing the process down) then proceed to: Fruit >greens >grains >meats >fats. 

5. Chew it: Take the time to chew… focus on it’s texture or savor the flavor. This activates all the metabolizing functions in your body from the mental stimulus to the digestive juices. Eating too fast slows the body’s ability to figure out it needs to start digesting and when it’s full which leads to way to many calories. Then, afterwards, you enter what my brother calls “Erf mode” you have food coma’d yourself to the point where your body has to focus all it’s energy on digesting leaving you exhausted. 

Be Confident In Your Kitchen!

It leads to a healthier lifestyle 🙂

What do you rely on for what comes out of your kitchen?
It is so easy to dictate our attitude in the kitchen by relying on habits or what we grew up with.
Some ideas I have battled personally or with friends:

• I’ve always cooked this way
• I never learned to cook
• I can’t cook.
• It isn’t convenient
• What’s wrong with what I cook? It’s normal for me…
• That takes planning… no.
• I’m too tired
• I’m too busy

Identify with any of these? I did! to be honest sometimes I still do. Problem is… in the longterm it interferes with our health; sometimes severely. The best way I have found to combat these mental blocks or built in habits is by getting more comfortable in the kitchen. 🙂 Your past habits and mentalities do not have to dictate your kitchen. It’s your kitchen… own it! 

For me, knowing what I was putting in my body gave me more confidence in what I was doing in the kitchen. Before (and sometimes now) when I rely on an old habit or mentality… the kitchen is a drag and I can’t wait to get out of it. However, if I know that what I am doing will benefit my (and the babies) health then comfort level in the kitchen shoots up and I have more energy to prepare my food. Start small and find a simple healthy food plan that is easy to cook or deal with mentally. An easy healthy grocery list with 10 minute recipes. Click here for a plan and grocery list that is a great starter. 

Having a meal planning tool is a great asset!   It combats the feeling you get when opening the fridge and have no idea what to do with the ingredients that are in front of you. (Which typically leads to giving up and relying on habits) Gavin and I eat much healthier and on a more regular schedule when we stick to a plan we didn’t have to come up with. I recommend theMeal plan wizard provided by Beachbody or emeals.com. 

Changing the mental environment of the kitchen can also be a massive help. The kitchen has not always been a positive experience for some. Grab a glass of goodness, put on great music, and invite friends to cook(and clean up after) with you, make it an event! Or, go simple and make it a family time where you get to chat, do homework, and have time together. Any effort to change your attitude towards the kitchen will have a long-lasting effect and leave a legacy for those you are with.

I’m Cranky & Sluggish…

Are you thirsty?

I have a history of chronically forgetting to drink water during the day and to be honest I never realized it’s impact until I started staying on top of it.

Sneaky signs of dehydration:

Skin dryness and poor elasticity: Lotion is not the only answer, in fact if you are dehydrated repetitive use of lotion is almost a moot point and the effects do not last as long. An easy test… your skin looks visibly cracky or pinching your skin (nicely) and it does not spring back into place.

Mood: If you are tired, cranky, moody or get chronic headaches you may be dehydrated. As the body gets dehydrated, the heart has to work harder to pump blood through the vessels, aka overload, which effects all other parts of the body/your day.

Sunken Eyes: Sleep may not be the issue – dehydration could be the cause for those dark circles under your eyes.

The Munchies: Dehydration can often be confused with the munchies which can lead to weight gain. So are you hungry or thirsty? Keeping an eye on your food intake and is an easy way to tell whether or not you should be hungry when the munchies attack.

With all of that in mind doctors will tell you that you should be getting at least 64oz a day… but here’s the kicker… it’s 64oz at a STEADY pace. This is not a guzzle and go. The guzzling method is a good way to make yourself sick (or gag) and create a huge dislike for water. The best way to stay hydrated is constant sipping throughout the day. Arm yourself with a favorite water bottle; or for my medical friends, know the location of all your water fountains and visit them often. If you struggle with keeping track or remembering try an app on your smart phone, set alarms on your phone/watch, or have an accountability group to check in with. (Message me to get in on my monthly water challenge)

Other helpful tips:

• If you don’t like water go for natural flavoring or sparkling water. Click HERE for one of my favorite website for flavoring.
• At LEAST 64oz a day but you probably need more – doctors recommend taking your weight and dividing it by half to get an idea of what you need.
• Eat your water: Fruits and Veggies are another great source of hydration. Some of the most hydrating foods: cucumbers – berries – watermelon – cabbage – lettuce – tomatoes – figs – cherries – grapes – carrots

5 Popular Diet Tips to Ignore
Tip Fails: Part One… 

1. Bad Advice: Go for sugar-free and fat-free foods
Good Advice: Don’t let the hype get to you. They will typically use sugar and sodium to replace fat and then they’ll use fat to replace the sugar. Or worse… they’ll use chemicals to replace both. Stick to the original versions, keep an eye on your portions, and avoid the processed foods.

2. Bad Advice: No cheats ever!!!
Good Advice: First off, watch out for the negative mental state. It’s a treat-meal not a cheat-meal. You are working towards a positive relationship with your fuel (food) not seeing as the enemy. Also you are more likely to go long-term with a healthy lifestyle if you relax. Stress over strict rules can have a negative effect on your weight-loss or weight maintaining. Easiest thing to do is plan your splurges 🙂

3. Bad Advice: No snacking!
Good Advice: Snacking is different than mindless munching and are quite necessary for a good metabolism. Snacks help maintain your blood-sugar, keep your mood up, and help you not to over eat later on. Go for the nutritious balance of protein, fiber, and good fats: apples & natural peanut butter or carrots & hummus.4. Bad Advice: Fruit is pure sugar so don’t eat it…
Good Advice: This can actually be one of the best ways to fight over indulging a sweet tooth. Yes fruit is sugar… it’s also fiber, vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals. All good stuff that will actually slow how quickly your body absorbs the sugar.

5. Bad Advice: If it’s organic then splurge away… it’s ALWAYS good for you
Good Advice: Yes, it is better to eat real food that hasn’t been genetically modified or pumped with chemicals. However, let’s be reasonable… just because the ingredients are pure doesn’t mean you can go crazy. A brownie is a brownie even if it’s organic.

6. Bad Advice: Calories are all the same just make sure to burn them off
Good Advice: Calories from your Starbucks latte are not going to give you the same fuel as an apple with peanut butter. Not only that, eating junk can have some serious side effects while not giving you the long-term full feeling you were looking for in the first place.

Tips On Smart Late Night Snacking. 

I’ve had dinner… bedtime is not for another hour… and I’m slightly bored. The perfect equation for the munchies! 

Can you think of any event of our “happy hour” society that does not really have any nighttime activity that doesn’t include food or drink? Depending on your food choices; this is the LAST thing your body needs. It can cause heartburn, sleeplessness, be a danger to asthmatics, and encourage insomnia.

My first recommendation is to AVOID eating 3 hours before bedtime with a few handy suggestions:
1. Make a ritual: A nightly pattern can be your best ally
2. Stretching: the last thing you feel like doing when you stretch is eating
3. Herbal Tea!: Learn to love it

Avoiding bedtime eating gives you the best chance of not putting yourself at risk for over-indulging or making poor choices.
However, if you can’t go to sleep because you are hungry
then go for SMART snacking…

No’s
1. NO fatty foods!!! Period!: Fat stimulates the production of acid in the stomach, which can spill up into your esophagus, causing heartburn.
2. Wine: it’s pure sugar and your body metabolizes it quickly which means your going to be waking up all night
3. Chocolate: calories + caffine… not so much for sleeping
4. Soda: Right up there with chocolate except worse! Your dentists worst nightmare as well.

GOOD ideas:
1. Cherries – one of the few natural foods that contain melatonin which helps you sleep
2. A small bowl of good complex carb cereal – my personal favorites are Kashi and Shredded wheat
3. Bananas: Contains natural muscle relaxants 
4. Turkey: This is the ONLY protein I will recommend others will keep you up- It contains tryptophan – yes that’s why you pass out after thanksgiving
5. Mineral water: I tend to avoid anything carbonated before bed but if you MUST have something then this is the smartest solution.

You Are Worth 6 a.m.

Invest in yourself much lately?

Working from home has been interesting… emotionally interesting. A while back I ran into a lazy rut that had me in tears! Gavin would come home and I would felt so guilty for having wasted an entire day accomplishing almost nothing. What’s worse is that because I felt so awful about myself I would lose the energy to do anything! The cycle would repeat itself and it just got worse. Here is the thing… I remembered this exact feeling when I was working THREE JOBS! When I got to thinking about it… it was also the same feeling when I used to eat something that was fast but super unhealthy, missing my Jesus-time, skipping a workout, choosing TV over craft I wanted to do, or not getting that thing done that’s been there for a month.  So what was the deal! This crazy self-criticism would grow exponentially with all of these things shouting at me. It was the lack of investing in myself!

BOOM. Mind blown. I had nothing to give because my tank was empty.

First things first, I have always been a morning person for Jesus-time, it puts my whole day on the right track, but I was not getting up early enough to get it in. For some reason at 8 a.m. my brain switches over to business mode and I am way to distracted to even attempt Jesus-time. No Idea why, that’s just me… but I felt entitled to sleep in because I was exhausted from being pregnant. Let me translate that into reality; I felt entitled to punish myself! I was shooting myself in the foot from the moment I wouldn’t wake up. The same goes for every other thing I was denying myself.

So! This had to stop.

My emotional and physical health was worth getting up at 6 a.m., eating better, ignoring the TV to do what I loved, and overall investing in myself. It took me about a month but one tiny triumph at a time I made myself a priority and the change that has occurred and remained since then is amazing. I feel better, have more energy, I have more to give to my friends and family, I sleep better and my confidence is through the roof! The self-criticism monster has been silenced and when it tries to sneak up on me for a tiny failure… I can stomp it out because my tank is full.

In order to get out of lazy rut that was basically self-punishment I…

•  Made a morning routine that includes Jesus-time, personal development time, and making sure I am ready for the day by 8 a.m. (sometimes this means getting up at 5)
• Got an accountability partner that I Skype with every Friday where we discuss successes, challenges, ah-ha moments, to-do’s for the next week and prayer requests.
• made my workout a “no matter what” it’s going to get done 
• choosing the delicious healthy foods that may take a little more time over the quick unhealthy ones (me and my families bodies are worth the investment) 

As time goes on and my life-stages change there will be new hurdles that I have to get around… but you know what.
I’m worth it. I have to be. Here is my question for you… Are you investing in yourself? The fastest way I have discovered to find out is to sit down and write out “instead of doing X, which does Y, I did A which is causes B” and then discover how you feel about it.

EX: Instead working out today which gives me energy, makes me feel good about myself, and boosts my confidence I chose to watch TV which caused me to feel sluggish and frustrated later because I got nothing done.

Puts a bit of a different spin on it huh?

Pantry Secrets To Success!
Make your fast-food a friend not a foe

You’ve just gotten home, nothing is prepared for dinner and you want something quick. Your hand inches towards the phone for pizza… nooooooooo!

How about healthy-fast-food instead? It’s all about the set up. As Gavin and I get closer to having our little ones we have found this to be a life-saver.
Here is a list of what is always in our pantry…

Canned Beans: Garbanzo, pinto, black, kidney, lentils, etc… we pretty much keep a little collection. Canned beans are a quick way to get your needed fiber and protein and up the full-factor of any meal. Look for no- or low-sodium brands when possible, rinse before eating and always check the ingredients. you are going for just beans… not beans plus chemicals.

Raw nuts: Keep a variety or simply your favorites. They are an easy go-to for munchies and they are great for making a salad fancy. They also are surprisingly filling. Full of good-for you fats and oils.

Pasta?: Well yeah! Precooked brown rice (make it sure it’s clean of chemicals… we keep bin of cooked rice in the fridge) needs only a minute in the microwave, quinoa cooks in 15, bulgur and whole wheat couscous takes five, and quinoa pastas are ready in eight minutes.

Nut Butters!: A personal favorite of mine, especially as I’ve needed to up my caloric intake in a healthy way… almond, cashew, peanut; all delicious and filling add-ons for things like a quick stir-fry, putting into shakes, oatmeal, or on fruit.

Spaghetti sauce: You have to have something to pour over the quinoa or whole grain pasta. With lots of vitamin C and numerous other benefits go for the delicious all natural no sugar added sauces.

Salsa: A must in our house. Great way to up your veggie intake and add great flavor to chicken, fish, eggs, veggies… whatever! Stick to the all natural and you have an awesome 10 minute meal.

Coconut oil: Due to the chemical compounds of oils, when you want to cook fast you need an oil with a high smoke point; it keeps you healthier and your pans cleaner. Plus it adds a wonderful nutty flavor.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil: For fast meals it is a go to for dressings and simple veggie flavoring with a few spices.

Reduced-Sodium Broth: Go all natural with the broth, throw in a can of beans with chopped veggies and you have an easy go to for a simple 10 minute soup.

Spices!: These are freebies that will flavor whatever you want however you want it! Stick to the all natural spices which can be cheap if you look in the bulk section where you are buying the spice not the container.

Cupboard Friendly Veggies – Garlic, potatoes, and onions are the fresh veggies that last for ages. Keep them in a cool dark place and avoid putting the onions next to the potatoes.

Budget-Friendly Tips For Getting Fit

It Does NOT Have to Cost a Fortune…

New sneakers, expensive equipment, private trainers – anything to lose the weight! It does not have to be this way…

Don’t get me wrong… getting healthy and fit IS an investment in yourself that is worth every penny. However there are money-saving ways to handle it that give RESULTS! Here are some tips…

If the gym is too expensive – GET A WORKOUT PROGRAM!You can get a legitimate result-giving workout in your living room for the cost of a few classes. (hint hint… I might know a few 😉 AND!!! you get to keep it!!! The trainer never goes away! The trick is to keep yourself motivated… tips:

1. Find your soul-mate workout: If you have a workout you love you are more likely to consistently push play. For some (myself included) this is the first and final roadblock. Let me be honest I DID NOT NATURALLY LIKE WORKING OUT! It took me a few tries but I have found a workout I enjoy. For you, this can be a lot easier 🙂MESSAGE ME and we’ll talk about your likes/dislikes and what there is out there for you.
2. Treat it like a scheduled gym class: Plan ahead to have a specific time that you workout. Just like you would at the gym.
3. Invite a friend: It makes the class more interesting and gives you the needed accountability

If a trainer is too expensive… HOLD YOURSELF ACCOUNTABLE: We go see trainers for structure and accountability so…

1. Join an online community: Virtual exercise partners are quite handy! You keep your personal workout schedules and check in with each other. MESSAGE ME the online accountability groups I facilitate to stay on track.
2. Go high-tech: There is an app for EVERYTHING! Ask the google and find one that works for you. Ex: Waterlogged, P90X,FitnessPal.
3. Take a photo: A “before” photo can be a massive motivator and a huge pat on the back as you continue to improve. Look at how much you have accomplished! Plus when the scale doesn’t change you can still see the physical differences the muscle you built made to your physique
Fitness Equipment… AH!: Building muscles on the cheap…

1. Things around the house can prove to be great fitness equipment – get creative and be sure to be able to have a good grip on them. Weights can be canned good & small children. Furniture & walls for stability. A stepping stool or milk crate for a Step.
2. Resistance Bands… the cheap secret: Resistance bands are a phenomenal workout out equipment secret and are super cheap!
3. Get a workout DVD Program that doesn’t require ANY weights: Such as Insanity, FocusT25, Turbofire, and 10 minute trainer.

Nutrition?: You CANNOT OUTWORK A BAD DIET! Abs truly are made in the kitchen. With a bit of pre-planning you can eat well and not break the bank.

1. Stick to the basics:  “Shop seasonal produce, lean meats, and other foods on the periphery of your grocery store,” says JJ Virgin, a Certified Nutrition Specialist and Certified Health and Fitness Instructor. “The center aisles are usually where packaged and processed foods are kept. Watch for sales on meat, and buy nuts or beans in bulk.”
2. Get Informed: Look to legitimate nutritional guides. Look for the books by certified nutritionists – not fad faux pas. Michael Pollan’s Food Rules is a good place to start. Also, the nutrition guides that come with Beachbody DVD programs are excellent resources.
3. Plan meals ahead of time: Go into the store with a mission, complete it and leave. Plan your meals ahead, write down the needed ingredients, purchase them, and LEAVE. If this is a struggle, there are plenty of meal-planning apps that can make this easy. Also, don’t shop hungry. (SIDE NOTE: The grocery store is my playground so I tend to wander… if this is you then I would get your needed things – buy them – and then have a wander. It hurts more if you have to take your wallet out twice.)