“Exercise to stimulate, not to annihilate. The world wasn’t formed in a day, and neither were we. Set small goals and build upon them.”

Lee Haney 

Only YOU can stand up and make a lifestyle change!

You have to commit to the workouts…commit to eating healthy…commit to building a better YOU!

Yes it will be hard…and yes it will take some time…

BUT YOU CAN DO IT!!!

Adults LEAD by example.

Kids mimic our behaviors MORE than we could even image.  So take into consideration how your healthy habits will influence the young eyes that are watching you!

Parents make most of the health decisions at meal time.

Yes it may be hard to keep driving  past Taco Bell or McDonald’s when you are leaving work or school BUT try to plan out healthy meals that you can create at home.  This will also allow you to incorporate “Family Time” into your day

Allow your kids (and other family members) the chance to help cook or prepare the meals.

Insist on sitting down and having dinner each night as a family!

If YOU start to make healthy decisions today, these decisions may be reflected in your children allowing them to start living healthier lives.

What you eat has a HUGE impact on if you will reach your health and fitness goals

Your body is MADE in the kitchen.

Your body is SCULPTED in the gym

What you eat is supposed to fuel your body.  Your body needs all the right things in order for it to grow, repair, and lose the weight that you do not want.

You can not eat like crap and try to workout to compensate for all the bad food you eat.

It just does not work that way!

Eat a clean and well-balanced meals during the day

Stay consistent with your healthy eating and fitness plans.

This will allow you to see the results you are working for!

…Everyone has an excuse as to why the can’t workout/eat healthy…

“I Don’t Have Time.”

…did you know they have 24 hour gyms!? so now you can plan your day on when you CAN find time to workout!

“I’m Too Tired.”

…if you start working out regularly studies have shown that people GAIN power, strength, energy, and endurance to get them through their day!

“I Don’t Get a Break From the Kids.”

…did you know that some gyms offer day care! Or you can ask a local church, friends/family,  or seek other options to find child care for an hour so you can work out!

“Exercise Is Boring.”

…then you must not do the right things!  There are so many FUN options available for you to workout and have fun at the same time! Can you honestly tell me that Zumba is NOT fun!?

“I can’t afford it.”

…if you can not afford a monthly gym membership try workout videos or even trying to create your own workout to do at home!

“I don’t want to get bulky.”

…SORRY LADIES!  Doing simple exercise and strength training will NOT get you big and bulky…

“I don’t know how to exercise.”

…this is your ONE and only time it is OK to be a stalker!  Go to the gym and look around and watch what other people are doing!  DO not try to lift as heavy as they are but you can try some of their moves.  Or you can Go to the gym and ask a worker or even other people working out for some suggestions!  

Any more excuses?

I have an answer to resolve it!!

Well if you do not already know…you should for sure be drinking:

WATER!!!

But, yes I do realize it is hard for some people to drink water all day!

Have you realized HOW important your water intake is to achieving your health and fitness goals?

Try this…try drinking just ONE CUP of water after every meal.

And at least 2 cups during/after your workout.

If you can do that than you have pretty much reached your water intake goal for the day!

Some people need to take baby steps in order to switch over to consuming MORE water each day.

Or here is another suggestion…if you have a carbonated drink…coffee…or any other drink with more sugar than is needed….have one cup of water after you enjoy that drink!

It is all about compromising to reach your goals and to start a healthier lifestyle!

Top Rules to Healthy Eating and Living

• Try not to skip meals! If you wait and let yourself get too hungry you are more likely to make bad food choices (by eating the first thing that you are able to get your hands on) Try to pack a light snack in your bag, purse, or desk just in case you are caught in a need to eat bind!
• Try not to go to the grocery store on an empty stomach! Those cravings you have suppressed may take over your better judgement allowing you the chance to purchase unhealthy food options
• I can not stress this enough but WATCH YOUR PORTION CONTROL  when it comes to preparing your meals and snacks.  Achieving your health and fitness goals greatly depends on your eating habits! So you have to be knowing of what you are consuming and how much you are consuming.
• Try to cook your meals and take them to work.  This will allow you to be more mindful of what you are eating AND it will allow you to save money in the long run!
• If you do have a bad meal do not stress out too much!! You still have your other meals to worry about. You can still eat healthy your other meals/snacks that you have that day.
• Start keeping a food journal.  This will allow you the chance to see what you are eating and keeping track of what you are consuming.  It will also allow you to see what you are eating too much of or what you are lacking and you can add/subtract things from your next weeks food menu.
• PLANNING IS KEY! Try to plan out your meals for the week! And if you know you are going to a restaurant try to look and see what they have on their menu and find their healthy options so you can know what is safe to order before you get there.
• Restaurant tips: shy away from the bread/chip basket! Those are extra calories just waiting to jump in your mouth! If you do only have one or a handful of chips.  When you get your entrée cut EVERYTHING in half. You can have the other half for your lunch or dinner the next day.  Restaurant portion sizes are traditionally twice as big as the recommended portion sizes.  Order sauces and dressing on the side.  What to drink? WATER!
• Watch your favorite shows DURING your workout! You can DVR it or watch it online.  This will help you to pass time and it will allow you the chance to catch your favorite shows without feeling guilty!

Remember optimal health goals should be planned for losing about 1-3 pounds a week.  If you lose more than GREAT! But if you are in that range you are doing great!

Stay focused! Stay Committed!

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Looking back on my own personal childhood, there was not a time where I would beg to stay inside and play.  Yes, I was lucky enough to be one of those kids who was athletic.  But, at the same time, I also remember running around OUTSIDE with the other children I knew and grew up with.  Seeing today’s society and dangers does not allow children of today to roam their neighborhoods freely like I did back in the 80′s and 90′s.  But there are things that parents can do to get their kids away from the TV’s and game consoles!

One great thing is to impalement physical activity time during your family daily routine.  I know when I was a kid, we had a routine when we got home from school.  Get home, do our homework, read for an hour, dinner time, some nights were family fame night, then off to bed.  Granted we did not get home until 6 or 7 (or later some nights) but each family can plan their own family post school/work day routines.  Why not work out as a family? Yes, some gyms do offer discounted rates for family memberships but some people can not afford that expense each month.  Here are some suggestions that you can do as a family:

Walking:

The family can plan a special route that they walk a few nights a week (or even jog! If there are more children in the family you can offer a competition and have them race at certain points in your route).   You can walk around the neighborhood or if there is a nearby park.  You can maybe even do it right after school when you pick the children up (seeing as most schools have fitness tracks or fitness areas at their school).

Family Boot Camp:

A few nights a week you can create a Family Boot Camp workout.  This can include moves that ALL members of the family can complete.  This is a great idea because each member of the family will also work as a support system when someone needs a little encouragement to finish the selected workout move.  You can choose to do certain moves for a selected period of time (for 30 – 60 seconds) or you can say you have to do that move so many times before you move on to the next move.  Here are some suggested moves that you can incorporate in your family boot camp:

• Jumping Jacks (It is good to have this exercise be timed. Set a clock or watch for approximately 1 minute to 2 minutes) This is also a great exercise to do to help get the family warmed up! Don’t forget that it is important to warm up and stretch before your fitness routines!
• Push Ups (this is also a great move to do but to also time it.  To start off it is a good idea to start at 30 seconds and as you do these more and get better at doing them you can add time to this exercise).
• Crunches (also called “sit ups”)
• Jog in place or run for a certain distance (If you are having to move your workout inside due to the upcoming cold weather running in place is a great idea. Make sure to lift your knees and to actually go through the motions of running.  You can also set up cones or any other things you have available to have family members run that distance and back for a selected amount of time.)
• Jumping Rope
• Running up/down stairs (This is good to do if you have the space to do it.  Please BE CAREFUL if attempting to do this.  Make sure that no one is rushing to go up or down the stairs to help eliminate a mistake which will allow someone to fall and hurt themselves).
• Chair Dips (Thanks to this article look at the following picture to see how to correctly do a chair dip.  Make sure to find a good sturdy chair and a chair that is also big enough to use).

• Straight Arm Plank (Thanks to this article for describing this move.  You will want to time this move for about 30 – 60 seconds.  It is wise to start off at 30 seconds and raise the time once you have done this a few times)

• Squats (thanks to this website they have listed TONS of variations of squats that you can do at home.  They have also listed as well as show you many different exercises you can do at home with a partner or by yourself)

You can also try these simple Yoga moves that the whole family can try!

It is suggested that you work through the above listed exercises 3 times (go through all of them once and complete them again in 2 different sets).  After you have done that you can alter the workout to better fit your family and your time schedule.

Hope that these tips helped you out.  The best way to help your kids is to teach them healthy habits starting now! This will allow them to continue to practice these healthy habits as they grow up and become adults.  I promise they will thank you later for it!

I suggest try them out first, then if you like them, double the ingredients and make more so you will have some in the fridge or freezer to have for lunch/dinner next week! This is a great idea for people who are busy and like the convenience of just running home and throwing something in the microwave.

Speaking of frozen food, you want to watch to see what frozen foods you do choose to buy and eat.  Some meal options are over processed and has tons of sodium and other things added and are not as healthy as you think they are for you.  The best things that are good to buy frozen are fruits and veggies (with no syrup of sugar added of course). Some people argue that they lose nutritional value, but that has not been completely proven.  It is also a cost-effective way to stack up on veggies if they are on sale.  I personally like fresh fruits and veggies the best but some veggies (like corn, okra, green beans) I will buy frozen because I can usually find them on sale and because they last longer when frozen (since I try to cook different meals each week).

Frozen meat, chicken, and seafood can sometimes be bad for you as well.  If it was baked or grilled then it should be OK.  But if it states that it has been fried, “crispy” or breaded on the package then it is probably not as healthy as you think.  Also be aware of the sodium content that is in the frozen product.  The best advice is to get these kind of things separately on your own at the store when they are on sale and put them in baggies or vacuum sealer bags and freeze them yourself.  I like to separate them out so I can grab one of a few chicken breast to thaw out and cook with and leave the other 5 in the freezer until I need them again.

What about those Lean Cuisines or Healthy Choice meals? Well some of those are OK for you.  But like listed above check the nutritional label.  Some of them are packed with sodium and other things that was added to the food before freezing.  And to be honest sometimes it is cheaper to buy the things separate and make up a few meals that contain the same things as these frozen meals.  It is indeed a healthier option and it may save you money!

Feel free to check out this article or  this article to read more about Frozen Food facts and questions other people had about freezing food.

This weeks recipes:

Herbed Rice Pilaf

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes

3 Tbsp minced red onion
1 1/2 Tbsp minced baby carrot
2 tsp canola oil
3/4 tsp thyme
3/4 c instant brown rice
1 1/4c chicken broth

1. In a saucepan, combine onion, carrot, oil,
thyme, and salt to taste. Cook, stirring, over
medium heat until sizzling, about 2 minutes. Add
rice. Stir to coat with seasonings. Add broth.
Bring to boil. Reduce heat and cover so mixture
just simmers. Cook for 12 minutes.
2. Remove from heat and set aside for 5 minutes.
Fluff with fork.

Makes four servings.
 Per serving: 188 calories, 6 g fat (1 g saturated), 126 mg sodium, 29 g carbs, 2 g fiber, 6 g
protein
***This dish is served great with grilled some chicken or fish 



Chicken Fajitas
Prep Time:10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes


1/2 c minced red or white onion
1 c  minced Mushrooms
2 tsp Olive Oil
3/4 tsp basil
1-2 c cut up chicken breast
bag of whole wheat tortillas
1. Cook chicken breast to desired liking in oven at 400 degrees
2. In sauce pan on high heat cook mushrooms, bell peppers, and onions
****Note you are allowed to add/subtract any type of veggies into your fajitas!
3. Cook veggies on high heat for just a few minutes (just to brown them)
add desired spices
5. Cut up cut chicken and add it to the veggies.
6. heat tortillas or serve fajitas on tortillas right out of the bag

Home Made NoN Fried Tortilla chips
Before:

After:

Here is a healthier option for those tortilla chip lovers out there!!

Heat oven to 350 degrees

Get whole wheat tortillas

BEFORE YOU CUT THEM brush on olive oil (Make sure to LIGHTLY cover entire front service of tortilla with olive oil)

then cut the tortilla into your desired shapes/sizes

Place pieces on a baking sheet

Choose your own type of seasonings to put on top of chips (above has salt, garlic salt, and Italian seasonings)JUST SPRINKLE IT. you do not have to make sure the chips are completely covered.

Place baking sheet in over for approximately 10 minutes

WATCH THE OVEN! THESE COOK VERY FAST AND WILL GO FROM BROWN TO BURNT IN SECONDS.  Once they are your desired golden brown take them out. Let them cool off, and place in a bag or container.

***You can add all types of seasoning to the chips to give them desired flavoring.  I have tried chile  lime to have zesty chips, or a BBQ chipotle to make BBQ chips.

Roasted Asparagus and Mushrooms

***Another option to pair with grilled chicken or fish

Prep time: 10 minutes

cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 bunch fresh asparagus, trimmed
• 1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, quartered
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary, minced (optional)
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• kosher salt to taste
• freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 1/2 tablespoons grated Fresh Parmesan cheese (optional)
• 3 tablespoon lemon juice (optional)