Your body was uniquely designed to employ a series of four processes to make use of the food you eat for its maintenance. Junk foods will not serve this purpose. Overeating is further abuse of the body which renders food indigestible and unusable to the body’s needs. Combining foods improperly can create an overload of work for the body also. The latter three items are unnecessary stress we place on the body which deplete our energy. (http://www.all-natural.com/make.html)

“It’s my metabolism!”

Does this sound familiar? If you’re carrying some extra pounds, it’s tempting to put the blame on a sluggish metabolism especially when you feel like you are trying hard to lose those pounds.

A super-charged metabolism is the holy grail of weight loss. It pretty much guarentees that your efforts to hit your target weight will pay off. Yet, it has a way of constantly slipping out of your reach.

Your age, gender, genetics, lean body mass and gender all influence your metabolism.  Sorry ladies, but it is true we have a slower metabolic rate than men and metabolism slows as we age!

But, don’t lose hope!  You can combat those factors and kick your metabolism into high-gear by incorporating a handful of lifestyle changes. 

Strength Train to Pump up Your Metabolism.
Strength training to build muscle tone is the most effective method of ramping up a sluggish metabolism. The more muscle you’ve got on your frame, the higher your metabolism goes.

Since muscle burns more calories than fat — even while at rest — the more muscles you have, the higher your resting metabolic rate, which means the more calories your body will be burning just to sustain you.
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Never Go Hungry
Starvation is the ultimate catalyst for slowing your metabolism. To keep that from happening, spread out your caloric intake with several smaller meals and healthy snacks. The goal is to eat every 3-4 hours so that your metabolism never gets the chance to idle.

Water. Water. Water.
Like every other system in your body, your metabolism requires the proper energy to run at full capacity and efficiency. When you’re sufficiently hydrated, your blood is better able to carry nutrients and oxygen to your cells, making them capable of their highest metabolic function.

drink at least 80 ounces of water daily and more on days you exercise. In addition, try munching on fresh fruits and vegetables, which are full of fluid, rather than pretzels or chips

Intensify your Workout

Aerobic exercise may not build big muscles, but it can rev up your metabolism in the hours after a workout. The key is to push yourself. High-intensity exercise delivers a bigger, longer increase in resting metabolic rate than low- or moderate-intensity workouts. To get the benefits, try an intense circuit training class or include short bursts of sprinting during your regular jog or walk. 

Your best bet for keeping metabolism revved: Build muscles, snack on low-calorie, high-protein foods, and keep moving!

I’ve put together a 30-day “maintain your weight” holiday calendar to help all of us keep our weight in check this season.  I’m even doing a challenge with my clients where each of them puts $20 in the pot, must weigh-in by Thanksgiving Day and weigh-in again Jan.3rd.  If you are within 2lbs of your original weight, you get to split the pot.  If not, you lost your money.   Anyhow, try a similar challenge with yourself.  A little reward can make a big difference.

The Holiday Maintain Calendar  <—–(click and download)

Post this calendar somewhere you will be reminded everyday to complete the daily challenge.  Good Luck!

Is this you?  do you decide to “let yourself go” and you will “get back on track” Jan 2nd?  This is a very common scene with so many people when it comes to this time of year.  People decide to indulge and eat whatever they want because they know January is coming and they can set a resolution to lose the holiday weight.

As a fitness professional in the field for over 10 years now, I see it happen with so many people every year…… they let themself go and decide to get back on track in January. 

Maybe this is you, maybe not.   If it is….Lets make this year DIFFERENT! 

I don’t encourage anyone to try and lose weight over the holiday season, but I do encourage and support maintaining your weight. Even though it’s hard to resist temptations all around you, there are simple steps you can take that can keep the extra holiday pounds off. 

Here are 7 of my “surviving the holiday bulge” tips:

1) ALWAYS eat breakfast.  Even if you wake up full from the night before, you need to eat something to get your metabolism fired up.  Fruit and protein are your best sources.

2) Drink at least 80 ounces of water daily.  This will help flush out the toxins and raise your metabolism which helps in digestion.

3) Stick to a regular workout routine and get plenty of rest.

4) Aim for 7 servings of fruits and veggies a day.  Making sure you eat seven or more servings of fruits and vegetables each day is a great way to help fill-up your stomach but not your calorie level.

5) Always plan ahead – Never go to a party hungry.  Before you go to a holiday party, eat a healthy snack such as a serving of nuts, two glasses of water and a piece of fruit, or a few slices of cheese with whole grain crackers.  This way, when you arrive at the party, you won’t be craving all the junk in front of you.

6) Stick to a 2 drink limit. Not only does alcohol add extra calories, but it can also stimulate your appetite and reduce your willpower. Whatever your limit, stick to it (I recommend 2).  Don’t let getting drunk ruin your commitment to everything mentioned above.

7) Always remain positive. If you do have a “bad” day, don’t worry or stress about it. Just get back on track the next day.

IF you have other tips not mentioned here, please leave a comment for us !  Also,  I will be posting and sending out my “Holiday Maintain don’t Gain” challenge calendar the day after Thanksgiving.  Stay tuned…

Below is a link to an article written by a friend and nutritionist Vanessa Rodriquez of  www.vanessaruns.com and online editor for Active. com

Halloween Detox in 4 Easy Steps <—-click here

I thought this was good timing with Halloween coming up….

Sugar is often called ‘suicide with a spoon’ and is found in foods such as candy, fruit, salt, peanut butter, canned vegetables, bouillon cubes, medicines, toothpaste, vitamins and almost all processed ‘fat-free’ products. Simple sugars have been known to affect asthma, mental illness, personality changes, nervous disorders, heart disease, gallstones, hypertension and arthritis.

Dietary sugar; Glucose, Fructose, Sucrose, Galactose, Maltose and lactose, will usually turn directly into fat because they are digested and absorbed with such speed that the body has no choice but to convert them into saturated fats. These saturated fats are sticky by nature and may clog arteries, increase the chance to stroke diabetes and will most definitely decrease your athletic performance.

So for each moment of weakness…each time you try to satisfy your sweet tooth, you become fatter. These new fat deposits tend to remain as fat deposits and only starvation (diet) or high calorie expenditure (exercise) can mobilize these new fat deposits and burn them as fuel.

Constant high levels of simple dietary sugar over stimulate and may burn out a normal pancreas and adrenal functions. The subnormal performance of these two very important endocrine glands can lead to adult-onset diabetes, cardiovascular complications, hypoglycemia and chronic fatigue.

In terms of athletic performance, high levels of sugar significantly increase blood serum saturated fatty acids, which depresses the oxygen transport system, because the red blood cells stick together and move slower. This delays the delivery of oxygen to you muscle cells.

Refined dietary sugar lacks vitamins and minerals and must draw upon your micro nutrient stores in order to be metabolized into your system. When these stores are depleted, destabilization of fatty acids and cholesterol is impeded, causing obesity due to higher fatty acid storage and higher cholesterol levels.

Generally sugar is void of vitamins and mineralsand has a deteriorating effect on your endocrine system. Because of this, sugar is considered one of the three major causes of degenerative disease. In the past twenty years, sugar consumption has increased from 12 kg. (26 pounds) per person to 61 kg (135 pounds) per person per year. Compare this to the early 1900’s when the average consumption was only 2.2 kg (5 pounds) per person per year.

Fruit contains sugar, and when drinking fruit juice instead of pop you should realize that sugar behaves the same in your body, no matter how you get it. The fact is one drink is filled with natural sugar and pop has added white sugar. Both have the same effect on your nutritional status. Also the Vitamin C you may receive from fruit juice is so small that it really doesn’t compensate for all the sugar you are receiving. So basically fruit juice is the dietary equivalent to soda pop.

Don’t be fooled into thinking you’re not eating sugar when your eating or drinking fruit. There are some fruits that are better for you like berries and melons, followed by plums but apples and oranges contain more sugar then some breads, cookies and candy bars.

The sugars found in fruits are biochemically the same as high fructose corn syrup and sugar cane. When your body is trying to metabolize sugar, it doesn’t care if the sugar comes from fruit, fruit juice or ice cream. Remember the nutritional value from eating fruit comes from eating the fibre and pulp not the juice.

Sugar also appears in foods you may not suspect. So make sure you read food labels and if you see anything that ends in ose. or ol. it may be sugar.

Here’s an interesting fact. Over the last few years Sucrose or cane sugar dropped in consumption from 81 percent to 44 percent of total market share and corn sweetener mainly in the form of high fructose corn syrup has increased from 18 percent of total market share to 55 percent. This change has occurred mainly because of the soft drink industry, because they use the high fructose corn syrup to sweeten their soft drinks.

Sugar is also contained in canned foods such as tomato sauce and baked beans, boxed foods like pilaf mix, crackers and stuffing, meats like frankfurters, lunch meats, pork sausage and hams, and condiments like pickles, mustard, tartar sauce and ketchup. Some ketchup’s even contain more sugar than ice cream,

Have you ever thought about the healthier potato chip that is no longer fried but baked and is low in fat? If you take a close look at the ingredients you’ll probably find that they contain corn syrup and dextrose. They’ve eliminated the fat but they’ve added sugar so that the chips will taste better. People who have chosen low-fat diets have actually consumed more sugar and therefore more calories. If you think about it, fat holds food together so when it’s removed something else must take its’ place, and the unfortunate thing is, that they use sugar or an emulsifier made from sugar.

Here’s something else to thing about the next time you think or crave about eating a chocolate bar. Your immune systems main defense is the activity of your white blood cells to remove invaders from your bloodstream in a process known as phagocytosis. One teaspoon of sugar will lower the phagocytic activity by 50 percent. Two teaspoons will lower this factor by 78 percent. Some people may average 33 teaspoons of sugar per day. Just think of what it’s doing to your internal systems not to mention the calories

•Understand that this is a lifestyle change. (You won’t see lasting results until you accept that.)

•Be open. Don’t be afraid to try new foods, activities, and ways of thinking.

•Commit to yourself and to your dreams.

•Live the life you want by “putting action behind your intentions and intentions behind your actions”.

•Don’t be afraid to ask for help.

•Measure your food and count your calories.

•Drink 80-plus ounces of water a day. Stop drinking soda and other diet drinks!

•Eat simply. Eat more organic, fresh foods.

•Treat yourself — indulge in your favorite “junk” once in a while.

•Get out there and enjoy life!

-Eat breakfast everyday!

-reward yourself with something other than food.

-Ditch the negative people in your life

-accept that you are in this for LIFE!

-Find positive support Surround yourself with inspiring influences to reinforce your new lifestyle.

Maintaining requires permanent lifestyle change. So many people reach their goals, only to watch it slip away as they regain the unwanted weight. Ending the cycle takes dedication to a new way of living.

Please leave a comment if you have anything to add to this list.  We love to hear from you.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lb uncooked chicken breasts

• 1 15-oz can whole, flavored, stewed tomatoes

• 1 can corn

• 1 can chickpeas

• 10 oz salsa

• 1 medium onion, chopped

• 4 oz jarred jalapeño, reserve 1/2 cup of liquid

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 2 cups water

• 1 14 1/2-oz can chicken broth

• 1 package low-sodium taco or chili seasoning

• 1/4 tsp black pepper

• 1 bay leaf

• 1 tbsp chopped cilantro

• 4 tbsp chopped avocado

• Whole-grain tortilla chips

Instructions:

1. Line a crock pot with chicken breasts.

2. Place all other ingredients (except tortilla chips) on top of chicken and stir gently to combine. Cook on low for at least 8 hours.

3. An hour before serving, remove chicken breasts and shred with forks. Return shredded chicken to pot and let cook for remaining hour. Serve with tortilla chips on the side.

Nutrients per serving:

Calories: 360, Total Fats: 14 g, Saturated Fat: 2 g, Trans Fat: 0 g, Cholesterol: 40 mg, Sodium: 880 mg, Total Carbohydrates: 38 g, Dietary Fiber: 6g, Sugars: 7g, Protein: 24 g, Iron: 2 mg

Sauteed Shrimp and Salad

Ingredients:

• 15 Sautéed Shrimp (see above)

• 3 cups salad greens

• 5 slices cucumber

• 5 halved grape tomatoes

• 1/2 chopped avocado

• 1/2 cup salsa

Instructions:

Combine greens, cucumber, tomatoes and avocado. Put shrimp on top. Pour salsa over salad

Cheese Stuffed Chicken

Ingredients:

• Nonstick cooking spray

• 4 oz skinless chicken breast

• 1 light Laughing Cow Swiss Cheese wedge

• 1/4 cup low-fat, low-sodium cottage cheese

• 1/3 cup diced tomato

• 2 tbsp fresh rosemary

• 2 tbsp oat bran

• 1 cup chopped broccoli

• 1 cup chopped cauliflower

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 2 cloves garlic fresh, chopped

• 1 4-oz sweet potato

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a large baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Split chicken breast in half and set on baking dish.

3. In a small mixing bowl, mash together the cheese wedge with cottage cheese. Add tomatoes and rosemary. Mix well.

4. Stuff the cheese mixture into one side of the chicken and use the other half breast to top it. Dust the top with oat bran.

5. In another bowl, toss together broccoli and cauliflower with oil and garlic. Place on the baking dish beside chicken.

6. Bake chicken and vegetables for about 25 to 30 minutes.

7. Meanwhile, wash and poke a few holes in the potato with a fork. Microwave for about 8 minutes (turning after 4 minutes).

8. Plate the chicken breast, vegetables and sweet potatoes. Serve.

Nutrients per serving:

Calories: 530, Total Fats: 19 g, Saturated Fats: 4 g, Trans Fat: 0 g, Cholesterol: 80 mg, Sodium: 490 mg, Total Carbohydrates: 52 g, Dietary Fiber: 13 g, Sugars: 12 g, Protein: 45g, Iron: 4 mg

Beef Kebabs (I’m not a big red meat eater, but I do love kebabs)

1 pound sirloin steak

1 small onion, finely chopped

1/2 cup Pinot Noir red wine

8 cubes fresh pineapple

8 cherry tomatoes

1 can (8oz) salt-free water chestnuts drained.

Cut the steak into 1/4 inch thick strips. Combine the onion and wine in a bowl with the beef strips. Marinate for 4 hours. Alternately thread beef strips, pineapple cubes, cherry tomatoes, and water chestnuts onto metal skewers. Place kebabs on grill over medium coals. Grill 4 minutes, turning once.

Cherry Tomato Salmon

6oz Salmon

2 tbsp. lemon juice

1 tbsp. mixed fresh herbs

2 tbsp. minced garlic

1/4 cup herb vinaigrette

4 cherry tomatoes, cut in half

1 sprig fresh thyme, for garnish

Season the salmon fillet with the lemon juice, fresh herb mixture, and garlic. Coat it with vinaigrette. Put the cherry tomatoes on the baking tray with the salmon, and bake at 325 until done. Garnish with fresh thyme.

Oven-Baked Pecan Pork Chops

1 egg, beaten

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp dry sherry or water

1 tbsp ground ginger and garlic powder

4 lean pork chops

1/4 cup finely chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350. In a shallow bowl, beat together the egg, oil, and sherry. Add ginger and garlic powder to taste. Dip the chops in the mixture, and then coat evenly with the pecans. Arrange the pork chops in a single layer in a glass baking dish coated with additional oil. Bake for 30minutes, turn, and bake until tender, about 20 minutes longer.

this presentation really, really made a difference for me.  I already knew sugar was bad, but seeing slides of what it actually does to cells in our body was a real eye opener and now I want to share with you some facts and encourage you to decrease sugar intake.

Some notes from the lecture:

By just cutting refined sugars out of your diet, you can significantly increase your health.

Did you know that sugar increases fat storing in your body? Cutting out sugars, coupled with a good exercise program, will result in your losing fat… want to find that Six Pack that you are currently hiding in the cooler? Cut out that sugar!

Sugar also disrupts normal brain function. We all have experienced the highs and lows that come from eating high sugar foods. Kids on sugar is a great example of attention “disorders” and behavioral issues due to eating too many sweet treats. Basically, the brain just gets “shorted out” with too much sugar.

And lastly, sugar can actually decrease your overall health and make you age quicker! Too much sugar will lower your overall immune system, increase inflammation, lead to essential mineral deficiencies in the body, and feed bad bacteria in your gut…all health starts in the gut! Sugar just causes the body to break down sooner than it should… which is really what aging is…

Cutting sugar out can help with the following:

Increase Fat Burning ability of the body.

Increase the immune system and state of health.

Slow down the destructive aging process.

Decrease risks for most degenerative diseases.

Have steady energy all day long (no crashes or swings).

Have increased mental clarity, focus & concentration.

Increase positive behaviors in children (and adults).

For more information on the effects of sugar and how to cut it out of your diet, here is a great link:

Beat the Sugar Habit: 3 Steps to Cut Sweets Out of Your Life

http://zenhabits.net/beat-the-sugar-habit-3-steps-to-cut-sweets-mostly-out-of-your-life/

How about you?  have you cut out sugar?  if so, how did you do it?  I know so many that get the craving and not sure how to get rid of it.   I know for me when I feel sluggish in the afternoon and really crave something sweet….I immediately eat some almonds and that stabilizes my blood sugar right away and I notice the craving goes away.

We’d love to hear from you.  leave us a comment.