Chapped Hands…

When your paws are raw, you need something sweet. Here is a great way to use the sugar that is probably still in your cabinet from the Holidays!  Sugar scrubs are better than salt for your hands because they come in different size grains so you can customize according to your skin’s sensitivity.  Try exfoliating every two or three days and using a rich moisturizer with shea butter every day.  Add cuticle oil before you put your gloves on, and the heat generated by your body inside the gloves will help the cream and oil penetrate your skin. It's like a facial for your hands!  

I don’t know about you, but because of Chi-beria I have been using a body scrub a lot more often.  I love the idea of the sugar scrub for my hands and I am going to look for another recipe on line this weekend!

Until Monday - Keep thinking veggies and protein!  

Sushi for Weight Loss - Choose Sashimi Over Maki…

A lot of my friends always want to go out for sushi!  Just a reminder that each sushi roll has about one cup of white rice in it, which can add up to a lot of extra calories (one cup has about 200 calories) if you're eating multiple rolls. Go for sashimi (pieces of raw fish without rice) over maki sushi, which has the fish rolled into rice and seaweed.  

As you should with every meal, stick with the proper serving size, which is one roll or six pieces!   My problem is sushi never fills me up!  If you're hungry for more, fill up on a salad and miso soup.

Strengthen Your Core…

Planking!  A strong core can improve your posture, creating better mechanical positions for running. When your foot strikes the ground, it absorbs force that travels up your body to the core. A weak core can’t handle that force, making you less efficient, slower, and more susceptible to injuries.

The solution: Try the “pedestal routine.” For the entire sequence, keep your legs and torso straight, and raise your foot at least 6 inches off the ground. Come to forearm plank, making a straight line from shoulders to heels. Lift right foot off the ground 10 times, keeping leg straight and pressing heel toward the sky. Repeat with left foot. Flip over so you are facing upward, still supporting yourself on your forearms. Lift each foot off the ground 10 times, this time with toes pointing toward the sky (pictured above). Do a right side forearm plank, lifting left foot toward the sky 10 times. Repeat on the left side. Do the entire sequence once a day.

Since I haven’t been able to get outside to run, and I can only do so much on the treadmill - I am finding other alternatives and planking is helping and it is harder than it looks!

Thank you Shape Magazine!

Willpower…

Nothing derails your diet quicker than a sudden hankering for a junky snack. You know you'll eat dinner in an hour, but your taste buds don't care--they want those office cookies and they want them now! But you don't have to feel powerless over your junk-food cravings. Here is a little weird-tactics that may help keep your inner Cookie Monster in check and stop you from binge eating.

Make a fist - A lot of people become tense or stressed when a craving comes on, and you're better off trying to channel that tension into your muscles. In a study published in the Journal of Consumer Research, people who tightened their muscles (regardless of which ones) while trying to exert self-control in their food choices were better able to overcome temptations. The researchers speculated that this may be because we unconsciously associate firm muscles with willpower.  The researchers speculated that this may be because we unconsciously associate firm muscles with willpower!

Life's too short. Eat what you want!!!

Ha Ha - I used to be a firm believer in this quote, but, life can be even shorter if you aren't eating healthy foods! Remember that obesity is the second leading cause of preventable death after smoking. If you find yourself falling for this line, consider whether you are depriving yourself too much. Balance healthy foods with small portions of yummy snacks. You're right—life is too short to give up good foods. Instead, every so often savor small portions of the treats you love.  Delicious food can be in the eyes, er, tastebuds of the beholder.  Fresh, healthy foods taste much better than junk if you take just a little time to learn what those foods are and how to prepare them.

Excuses…

"Chocolate is full of antioxidants”.  That doesn't mean "ALL" chocolate has healthy properties. According to a recent study by a Yale researcher, 1oz of dark chocolate (at least 60 percent cacao) can have health benefits and boost your mood. The problem is that we tend to eat cheap chocolate mindlessly, popping it into our mouth without much thought.  Ha Ha - Buy the most expensive chocolate you can afford!

Choose 80 percent cacao dark chocolate or more to reap the health benefits, otherwise you are just consuming chocolate-flavored sugar.

Until Monday - Keep thinking veggies and protein! 

Are Any Foods Truly “Detoxifying”...

You should be very wary of any product that claims to be detoxifying. However, our world is full of chemical and natural toxins (caffeine, for example) that our body needs to deal with in order to maintain optimal function. The good news is there are foods you can eat and things you can do that help support your body in this process.

Cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts contain powerful antioxidants that have been implicated in helping cells fight cancer as well as with the body's detoxification process.  Two main compounds found in these types of vegetables have detoxification properties:

Calcium D-glucarate and  Indole-3-carbinol.  They are way to scientific for me to quite understand, let alone explain - so just eat lot’s of veggies, especially broccoli and of course, keep drinking water!

Polar Vortex….

Chiberia is back!  Wow it is really putting a cramp in my style!  I was glad I got out Sunday before the freezing weather hit again!  I want to be outside running in my new pair of New Balance running shoes!  There is nothing like a new pair of shoes to get me motivated and I am stuck on the treadmill! I am grateful to have the treadmill for this extreme weather, but it is starting to get boring!  I also miss commuting around town on my bike!  I did ride a few weeks ago and took a spill!  I have always been fearful of the “black ice” and it got me!  My back wheel went right out from under me and it happened so fast I landed right on my butt and thank God for my helmet!  A few visits to the chiropractor and some message therapy and I am fine!  I am just more aware of the weather these days!

Za’atar...

Spice mixes have held a venerable place in global cuisines from Morocco to Thailand since practically the beginning of time. They’re the shortcut you shouldn’t feel guilty about taking!  This one sounded so good and one I have never heard of - Bob!!

You’re missing out if you don’t have at least one kind of za’atar in your kitchen. There are dozens of versions of the spice, which at its most basic level is a mix of dried herbs, sesame seeds, sumac and salt.  It’s the different proportions that change. Some are more tangy, some are less.  You can add za’atar to pretty much everything;  salads, meat dishes, rice dishes and popcorn!

Berries for Blood Pressure…

I LOVE Berries!  High blood pressure (hypertension) essentially means blood flow through your arteries increases, which can lead to some serious problems over time: we're talking arterial damage (increasing the risk of arteriosclerosis), coronary artery disease, heart attack or heart failure, kidney damage/failure, and stroke. Not a pretty picture, but here's an easy – and tasty – solution: eat berries! According to a recent study, eating at least one serving a day of blueberries and/or strawberries reduces your risk of high blood pressure by nearly 10 percent compared to eating no berries. Researchers postulate that the blood pressure benefits of berries are attributable to a compound called anthocyanin, a dietary flavonoid present in blueberries, strawberries and other berries.

Eliminate Clutter…

It sounds obvious. Drink more water, get more sleep, stop complaining, and your life will improve. But sometimes we need a little reminder that a few simple steps can make a huge difference in our ultimate happiness and overall health!

Ever wonder why those people on Hoarders look so miserable? Climbing out from underneath piles of stuff can also mean emotional freedom from items that could be mentally weighing you down.

Go ahead and get rid of all the things you don't need or that are not good for you!  Ditch clothes you never wear and create more space to see the clothes you do actually wear.

And from your closets to your kitchen, get rid of unhealthy foods too.  Clean out your cupboards, and get rid of all processed foods like those containing white flours, sugar, and unhealthy oils!  It’s a great way to start the new year!  I try and do this every 6 months because we all know we just keep accumulating “STUFF”!

Until Monday - Keep thinking veggies and protein!  

Never Skip the Most Important Meal… 

For once we're not talking about breakfast but rather the recovery meal after your workout.  So many of us skip post-exercise nutrition because we don’t want to 'undo the calories we just burned' but getting a combination of 10 to 15 grams of protein and 20 to 30 grams of carbohydrates within 30 minutes of your workout will help to refuel your body, promote muscle recovery, amp up your energy, and build a leaner physique.  I for one need to concentrate on this a little better!

Train Unilaterally…

Your body likes to play favorites, so if you use machines or barbells, your naturally stronger side will take over and do more work. By training one side at a time (also known as unilateral training), you can correct these muscle imbalances and improve core strength to boot since you'll need to activate your core to stay stabilized, and recruiting more muscles means you're burning more calories!

Staying Hydrated Also Helps You Stay Gorgeous….

Most people already know that drinking water in the summer is important, but getting yourself to gulp in the winter is a different story. If helping your body function at its top potential—and preventing headaches—isn't enough, then let these four beauty-inspired reasons urge you to toast with water more regularly.

Support skin: Forget expensive creams and treatments; drinking water is one of the best things you can do to keep your skin looking young and glowing all year long. Staying hydrated promotes skin circulation at its base so that skin repair doesn't decrease. If you feel like you're constantly overloading on lotion with no results, drinking more water every day could improve your condition.

Suppress appetite: Drinking a glass of water before meals helps you eat less since thirst is often mistaken for hunger. In fact, studies have found that folks who stay on top of their water intake actually consume fewer calories.  This is also a great technique for someone who tends to overeat when they're bored.

Keep belly bloat in check: Staying away from salty foods and dairy certainly helps, but one of the best ways to make sure you don't retain water is to drink plenty of water. It seems a little counterintuitive, but filling up on water and keeping your body hydrated keeps bad belly bloat at bay.

Boost metabolism: We know that drinking more water helps you before, after, and during your workout, and it may actually help you burn more calories! One study showed that people who drank eight to 12 glasses of water a day burned more fat than those who only drank four.

Going Organic Won't Help with Weight Loss…

I love my local farmer’s market, and I always do my best to purchase products from the best sources. That said, slapping “organic” on a label does not mean it will help you lose weight, and in some instances it won’t even guarantee that a food is healthy. Research published in the Annal of Internal Medicine reviewed 200 studies that compared the health benefits of organic foods to conventional foods and the results were surprising: There were no clearly distinguishable benefits of eating organic foods, whether measured by preventing disease or an assessment of overall health. Specific to weight loss, a random comparison of organic to non-organic foods found no significant difference in nutritional information, including calories.

The fad-free truth: More research on organic foods needs to be conducted. There’s no doubt organic foods have fewer pesticides and toxins, the real question is if the sometimes-small difference in toxins makes any scientifically significant difference on your health. More importantly, labeling a food as organic does not mean its weight-loss friendly. Organic sources of sugar are still sugar. And organic products loaded with 1,000 calories are still 1,000 calories. If you want to reduce the potential of anything bad entering your body, feel free to purchase organic products but still keep an eye on the label.

Dried Beans..

I have been a bean “snob” forever!  If you’re not already soaking and cooking your own beans, this should be a 2014 resolution. Yes, opening a can, pouring out its contents, and rinsing them in cold water is monkey-could-do-it easy, but so is soaking beans overnight (you know, that thing you can do while you simultaneously sleep) and then simmering them in a pot of warm, salty water for a while. Here is why you should go the extra less-than-a-mile:

Cost: Dried beans are way cheaper, even when you compare apples to oranges. 

Health: You control what goes into your own cooked beans. Have you ever looked at the sodium levels on canned beans? Ouch! Ever read the ingredients on a bag of dried beans? They are: Beans.

Flavor:  The flavor and texture of home-cooked beans is light years beyond anything that has been sitting in a tin for who knows how long!  Also, you can get a variety of textures from dried beans, whereas with canned beans, what you get is what you get! 

Variety:  It’s pretty difficult to find a can of Christmas lima beans at the grocery store, isn’t it?  The beauty of buying dried beans is the enormous selection you’ll find!

Until Monday - Keep thinking veggies and protein!  

Avo Egg Breakfast Pizza…

I saw this picture and my mouth started watering before I even read the recipe!  Looks like I am going to try this over the weekend! 

Ingredients:
1 6-inch Greek or pocketless pita, or other flatbread
1 mashed ripe avocado
1 dash each lemon juice, extra-virgin olive oil, sea salt, pepper, chili flakes, cumin, and cumin seed
1 organic egg, cooked to your liking

Directions:
Toast pita until crisp and spread avocado on pita. Drizzle with lemon, olive oil, and spices, and top with egg.

Serves: 2

Nutrition score per serving: 252 calories, 15g fat, 18g carbs, 6g protein, 2g fiber

I will probably cut back on the oil and substitute the cumin with another spice and my choice of pita or flatbread will be whole wheat or multi-grain!

Winter Wonderland…

It has been REALLY cold in Chicago!  Record cold!  It is a challenge to get out of a toasty warm bed to get up and exercise!  I am managing to get some workouts in during the week!  I really miss my bike commute!  I did hear that the bike path is clear and I am hoping I can ride sometime this week!  We are going to have a winter heat wave - 25 degrees!  Time to get up and move!  

Picture - Saturday view from our condo!

Think Before Your First Bite…

This was my culprit during the Holidays!

We know breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but what we don't know about the morning meal could inadvertently be packing on the pounds!  When coworkers bring in treats, the office can become a calorie trap.  Stop, get centered, take a deep breath, and focus on your health goals!  Which is better: the taste of a muffin or the feeling of reaching your goals?  This is a great mantra that will work with just about any meal!

Damage Control…

Happy New Year - glad to be back!  I will admit that I did some damage over the Holiday season and already getting back on track!  I have ten plus pounds to take off :(.  For me it is more than a new years resolution - I am determined to get back into a modified wedding dress to celebrate 25 years of matrimony!  So it is back to the usual, basically - no fat, no carbs, heavy veggies and lot’s of lean protein and exercise!  I will be looking out for some helpful hints and motivation to share along the way!  Glad to be back and let's get focused!