On a personal note....

OK, I am going to have to reveal something new about myself - yes, I became a “Dancing with the Stars” addict!!!!  One of my favorite seasons was season 10 with Kelly Osborn!  OMG - I became such a fan of hers and now look at her, on the cover of Shape Magazine!  It has been so much fun watching her morph into such a beauty, and promoting her new image in the healthiest way possible - eat healthy and exercise! She is a great role model, she is inspirational!  GO KELLY!

I used to have 2 school of thoughts about my own self image.  1. I just thought I would become comfortable with being overweight and deal with it.  2.  I always said if I was wealthy and didn’t have to work and had a personal trainer and a personal chef I too could have a body like Demi Moore.  Well, it’s never too late! I was even more fortunate - I had the best nutritionist/dietician in the universe!  I have been able to transform my own body and  too have a new found self confidence.  OK - I am not going to be wearing a bikini in public and I am not going to get any plastic surgery (I could use some nips and tucks), but I will keep that extra skip in my step, walk tall and be proud that I was able to accomplish taking off my own 50 pounds.  I say - if I can do it, anyone can do it!  I am still keeping a food journal (week 80) and work-out journal, and I do get on the scale just about everyday.  It’s what works for me and helps keep me focused!

Until Monday - keep thinking veggies and protein!

Trying to understanding your cravings....

You've probably noticed that you feel your strongest food yens at specific times of the day.

Mid-morning (from about 10-11) and Mid-afternoon food cravings (from about 3-6 p.m.)

By far the greatest number of cravings occur late in the day, when our blood glucose drops, making us sluggish and in need of a lift.  All it takes now is a cue— food adds all over the internet and cookies and candy all over the office. 

When we're upset or bored or need stress relief

Bad moods frequently give rise to cravings. We imagine that if we eat a cookie or a chocolate bar, we'll feel better—and often we do. Carbohydrates—sweet or starchy foods—increase the secretion of the brain chemical serotonin, which in turn can improve mood and provide temporary stress relief.

Food cravings are common when it's cold and dark out.

Short, wintry days can encourage carb cravings for foods like bread and pasta. People who suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (aka SAD, which is depression related to diminished sunlight-exposure) may be especially affected and crave carb-rich foods to help themselves feel better.

Food cravings happen at times when we're accustomed to eating.

Our bodies often associate food cravings with happy times we've had in the past. When we're at the ballpark, for example, we might crave a hot dog with the works instead of other more healthy meals; if a summer-night trip to the ice-cream parlor was a family tradition, we may find ourselves nursing sugar cravings for an ice-cream cone instead of choosing healthy snacks when the weather gets warm.

How to manage your food craving - discover when food craving triggers tend to hit and how to effectively fight back.

Forewarned is forearmed: If you know a craving is going to strike, you can plan healthy snacks and healthy meals to eat at those times, or find other distractions rather than surrendering. Here are proven methods to help tame your cravings:

Crave-proof your home and office by banishing crave-worthy foods and making healthy snacks and meals readily available.

The simplest way to quash sugar cravings or carb cravings is to ban crave-worthy foods from your environment. If you do buy snack foods like chips or cookies, choose small packages or individually wrapped portions to avoid going overboard.

Here are three other ways to make healthy snacks easily available to defeat sugar cravings and carb cravings.

1. Cut up and bag carrots, radishes, broccoli and celery sticks in advance and pack them with some fat free Greek yogurt.
2. Pirates Booty is great if you crave the idea of popcorn or chips.
3. Keep fruit washed and ready to slice with bombell or laughing cow light cheese..

Address your stress and emotional overeating.

If your food cravings hit when you're anxious or stressed, seek consolation in other ways instead of emotional overeating. What is it that you really need? A comforting conversation with a co-worker or just getting up from your desk and taking a walk!  I know how difficult this time of year is, just keep your focus and choose your battles and you can make it through without over indulging and putting on the unnecessary pounds!  YOU CAN DO IT!!!!

Happy Hanukkah!

Yeah, yeah. It's nice to work out at a club—there's the camaraderie, the invigorating music, the sense that you're not alone in your efforts—but sometimes a girl just wants to work out at home, and save a few bucks in the process.  Here's what you really need to work out at home—and why.  It’s Hanukkah - ask for it :).

1. Medicine ball. Medicine balls are great because they can be used for abs exercises and core and lower back strengtheners. Mine is a 6 pound ball, and I like it for the  versatility and the fact that it doesn’t take up much space!
2. Stability ball. Also called a core ball or balance ball, this giant beach ball–like apparatus adds major bounce to your workout. An ordinary pushup is much more advanced and challenging performed on a stability ball. Because the surface is unstable, which means you have to work harder to stay upright and stabilized—which means you engage your core muscles with every single move. I especially use this for my abs!
3. Dumbbells. Remember if you are scared of bulking up, start with lower weights and do more reps.  I have put my 2 pounds away and now working with 3 pounds and I have a set of 5 pounds to use for one of my routines.
4. Resitance bands. These long rubber bands (some are tubular, some are wide and flat) are less intimidating than weights and even more versatile—you can target calves, thighs, glutes, biceps and triceps with a wide range of moves. And they take up no space at all. 
5. Stairs. Stairs are great for doing lunges, step-ups, or simply getting a
   cardio workout in without a pricey treadmill by running up and down a few
   dozen times. If you live in a one-story home with no stairs in sight, that's no excuse to skip the cardio—you can always take a run around the neighborhood, or mix in jumping jacks or even a jump rope routine to keep your workout challenging and fresh.

The mysterious calorie...

You can’t see, taste or smell them, but you can’t live without them, and you’ll definitely know when you have had too many!

What is a Calorie?

A calorie is neither good or bad.  It just is!
A calorie is a measurement or unit of energy; calories in the foods you eat are a measure of the number of energy units that food supplies. Calories fuel the body.  Energy units are then used by the body to fuel physical activity as well as all metabolic processes, from maintaining your heartbeat and growing hair to healing a scraped knee and building muscle. There's nothing bad or magical about calories, it's just that body weight comes down to a simple equation of calories in (from food) versus calories out (as physical activity). We need this reference value in the same way we need to know how many pieces of wood to build a house.  Everyone’s body needs different amounts of energy based on height, weight, activity level, age and some other factors.  However, when you don't use the calories you've consumed they get stored as body fat.

Calculating Caloric Intake
You can roughly estimate your caloric intake by using this formula: If you are age 30 or under, multiply your weight by 6.7 and add 487; women who are 31-60 should multiply their weight by 4 and add 829. Then, multiply the total by 1.3 if you're sedentary (don't work out at all), 1.5 if you're slightly active (work out three to four times a week for one hour), 1.6 if you're moderately active (work out four to five times a week for one hour) or 1.9 if you're very active (work out almost every day for one hour).

Empty vs. Hidden Calories
The term "empty calories" describes foods that offer little or no nutritional value.  In general, the more a food is processed, the lower its number of vitamins, minerals, fiber and cancer-fighting agents (phytochemicals), and the higher its content of fat, sugar and empty calories.

In contrast, "hidden calories" can be found in all types of foods. These are the calories that sneak into your diet quietly, such as from the butter added to vegetables in a restaurant kitchen. Request that food you're served at restaurants be steamed, baked or broiled dry. To avoid hidden calories at home, always check the nutrition label on packaged foods.

People often ask me if I am counting my calorie intake?  I don’t!  I have learned about making healthier choices and I try and stick to a slightly active to moderately active workout routine.  I know a slice of pizza can be about 500 calories and I would have to do at least an hour of extremely vigorous exercise or 1 mug of eggnog is about 345 calories which would mean about 40 minutes of ice skating!  You ate it, negate it!!!

Fresh pumpkin is better than canned pumpkin...

"Canned" isn't always a bad word. You have your, canned tuna and canned tomatoes that have a place in the pantry of any great cook. The same rule applies for pumpkin. Canned pureed pumpkin from the grocery store often produces a more reliable and consistent result--especially in baking. If you insist on using fresh pumpkin (and, let's be honest, preventing your guests from enjoying the traditional flavors of the fall) be sure to use sugar pumpkins; the pumpkins you buy to carve at Halloween are watery, mealy, and not great for recipes. But I say long live canned pumpkin--at least for the season!  

I won’t give you the recipe for the pumpkin roll-up cake we had at our Thanksgiving feast, (even though Bob is already figuring out how to make the frosting much more healthy friendly), but I will give you my favorite stand by, more healthy recipe!  

ingredients: One 15-oz. can pure pumpkin
One 12-oz. can evaporated fat-free milk
1/2 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute (like Egg Beaters Original)
3/4 cup Splenda No Calorie Sweetener (granulated)
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, and mix thoroughly.

Place mixture in a baking dish (8" X 8" works well) sprayed lightly with nonstick spray, and bake in the oven for 45 minutes. (It will remain a little soft, like pie filling.)

Once ready to serve (it's delicious eaten hot or cold), cut into 9 pieces.

Makes 9 servings (Per serving - 1 piece: 65 calories, <0.5g fat, 81mg sodium, 12g carbs, 18 fiber, 7g sugar, 5g protein)