Be Healthy, Stay Active, and Eat Tasty Food!

I attempted this a few weeks ago and it was a total disaster.  THIS time, I got it right and it was delicious!!  The dough recipe is from www.eatingwell.com.

Dough Ingredients

• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cup white flour
• 2 1/4 tsp rapid rise yeast
• 1/4 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 to 2/3 cup of warm water

Toppings

• 1 cup organic marinara sauce
• 1 1/2 cup 2% mozzarella or provolone cheese
• your choice of veggies (I used red peppers and mushrooms)
• 2 servings of turkey pepperoni slices

Combine the flour, sugar, salt and yeast in a mixer (I love my Kitchenaid!).  Combine the water and olive oil in a measuring cup, and gradually add into the flour mixture while the mixer is still running.  Once it’s mixed up, remove it from the bowl and kneed into a ball.

Place the ball of dough on a floured surface, sprinkle some flour on top, and place plastic wrap over.  Let sit for 10-20 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat your oven to 500 degrees.  Spray a pizza pan with cooking spray or olive oil.  Cut your veggies.

Once the oven is heated, roll the dough out.  Put your sauce, cheese, veggies and pepperoni on.  Put in the oven for about 10 minutes.  Remove from the oven, slice into 4 large pieces, and put back in the oven for 3-4 more minutes.  This makes it pretty crispy, so feel free to cook to your preference :-)

This makes 4 servings.  It’s 7 weight watchers pointsplus points per serving.  It’s 320 calories per serving.

Normally I have my Shakeology for breakfast.  I woke up this morning DYING for some blueberry pancakes!  Not wanting to blow my healthy eating, I made this, and it was sooooo good!!  I just had my shake for lunch instead!

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup sugar free Maple Farms pancake mix
• 1 egg white
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/3 cup of blueberries

With a whisk, mix everything but the blueberries until smooth.  Once smooth, add in the blueberries.  Then cook on a skillet either as one big pancake (a “mancake” as my husband calls it!), or as 2-3 small pancakes.

I put 1/4 cup of sugar free syrup on it and it was DELICIOUS!  Very low calorie!  This was only 4 Weight Watchers plus points, INCLUDING the syrup :-)

*Note: Bisquick heart healthy pancake mix works well too.  With that instead of the Maple Farms, it’d be 5 points plus points.

Last chicken tortilla soup I posted is delicious, but it’s cream soup based.  This is one I found in a crockpot recipe book, but I cut down the beans to make it a little less filled with carbs :-)  It’s cooking right now and smells awesome!!

Ingredients

• 1 lb of skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• 2 - 14.5 oz cans of rotel canned diced tomatoes (1 can drained, 1 can undrained)
• 1 - 14.5 oz can of black beans, slightly drained
• 1 - 4 oz can of green chiles
• 1 cup of salsa
• 1 - 14.5 oz can of tomato sauce
• 1 cup of low sodium chicken broth
• 2% shredded cheddar (optional)
• tortilla chips (optional)

Combine all ingredients, except for the cheese and tortilla chips, in a crockpot.  Cook for 8 hours.  Before serving, take out the chicken and chop it and mix back into the soup. 

Serve with tortilla chips and 2% cheddar, if desired.

Makes 4 servings.  About 260 calories without the chips and cheese.  This is also 7 WW PointsPlus points.

With 1/2 serving of chips and 1/8 cup of 2% cheddar cheese, it’s an additional 100 calories and addditional 2 WW PointsPlus points. 

Turkey Stuffed Peppers

These are really good, and fairly low carb and low calorie.  YUM! You’re more than welcome to use lean ground beef.  I’m just on a kick where I’m trying to eat as little red meat as possible :-)

Ingredients

• 1 lb of ground turkey breast
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 tsp of olive oil
• 2 - 8 oz cans of no salt added tomato sauce
• 1 1/3 cup of cooked brown rice
• 2 tsp italian seasoning (more or less to taste)
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• dash of red pepper flakes (if you like some zest)
• 4 green bell peppers
• 1/4 cup 2% mozzarella cheese, shredded (optional)

In a skillet pan, cook the onions in the olive oil until soft, then add the ground turkey breast and cook until no longer pink.  Once cooked, combine in a bowl all remaining ingredients except for 1/2 cup of tomato sauce, and the peppers.  Mix thoroughly.

Spray a baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.  Preheat the oven to 350.

Rinse the peppers thoroughly, then dry off.  Slice the top of the pepper off and empty the seeds and stuff from the inside of the pepper.  Place the peppers rightside up in the baking dish (it helps if the dish is small so the peppers are crowded in and can’t fall over).  Scoop the mixture evenly into the 4 peppers.   Pour the remaining tomato sauce on top of the peppers.

Cover with foil, and bake for 50 minutes.  If you want to add the mozzarella, remove the pan, sprinkle the cheese on and return to the oven for an additional 15 minutes. If you don’t want cheese, just remove the foil and throw back in for 15 more minutes.

Makes 4 servings.  

For my weight watchers friends, with cheese, it’s 8 points a pepper, 295 calories.  Without cheese, it’s 7 points a pepper, 280 calories.

Okay, this is just delicous.  I’ve made it before, but just threw the sausage in the sauce right before serving.  This time, I put the sauce and the sausage in a crockpot and let it cook all day on low and it made it SO much better!  It’s super easy too.

Ingredients

• 1 lbs of Sweet (or Hot if you dare lol) Turkey Italian Sausage - I used Honeysuckle White brand
• 1 jar of organic marinara sauce - try to keep it to around 45-50 calories per 1/2 cup
• 1 green pepper, chopped or sliced
• whole wheat or multigrain spaghetti

First, grill the sausage, or cook it in a skillet.  I prefer the foreman grill because it drains all of the grease and cooks it up a bit quicker.  Once it’s cooked and cooled down a bit, slice it into small pieces.

Add the jar of marinara to a small crockpot, and throw in the sausage & peppers in as well.  Cook on low for 6 hours or so.

When it’s time to eat, you can serve it with 1/2 or 3/4 cup of whole wheat or multigrain cooked spaghetti.  This was SOOO good!! 

It makes 4 servings.

1 serving and 1/2 cup of whole wheat pasta is 340 calories.  For my Weight Watchers friends, it’s 9 Points Plus Points.  ENJOY!!

Garlic Basil Parmesan Chicken

This was a really quick, easy recipe with a lot of taste!

Ingredients

• 4 - 4 oz boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• ¼ cup of parmesan cheese
• 1 tbsp of melted butter (I use smart balance with flax oil)
• 2 garlic cloves (or minced garlic – equates to 1 tsp of minced garlic)
• 2 tsp of basil
• 2 tbsp of lemon juice
• 1 tbsp of melted butter

Preheat your oven to 350. Spray a glass baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

For the chicken, I use frozen chicken breasts, and before I made this, I just boiled them so they were thawed and cooked the whole way through. Then I took the chicken and butterflied them.

In a bowl, combine the parmesan cheese, 1 tbsp of the melted butter, garlic & basil. Once mixed, take ¼ of the cheese mixture and stuff it inside of each of the 4 butterflied chicken breasts. Place the chicken in the baking dish.

Then mix the 2 tbsp of lemon juice and 1 tbsp of melted butter together, and pour over the chicken.

Bake the chicken for about 20-30 minutes, and voila! I served this with ½ cup of brown rice, and 2 cups of broccoli florets. When you mix it all together, it is fabulous!

4 Servings

With no rice: 190 calories & 5 Weight Watchers PointsPlus Points

With rice: 340 calories & 8 Weight Watchers PointsPlus Points

So I think I do a pretty good job of eating healthy and not stressing out about it too much.  It is very difficult with our busy lives to always eat healthy and cook healthy.  If it weren’t easy, well, then everyone would look pretty good right?  Anyway, these are some things that I do, that I have learned throughout the last few years, that make it pretty easy for me to eat healthy.

First off, I am busy!  I work a full-time job, I teach a group fitness class once a week in the evening, I have my own health & fitness business, and go to school part-time!  So I have a lot of excuses for not having time to eat healthy, but I choose to NOT take the easy way out.  Here are some things that I have gotten in the habit of doing, and I really hope that they help you too!

• Plan your meals on a weekly basis.  On Sunday mornings, I sit down with my weekly planner and I write down what I’m going to make throughout the week for dinner.  Then, you can easily make you grocery list because you know what you’re gonna need to make dinners!
• When you cook dinner, cook a double batch, so that you’re only cooking every other day!  It’s just me and my husband, so I can make 4 servings of something and save 2 of those servings for the next night.  It’s so convenient!
• Do as much prep as possible the night before for making dinner the next night.  For example, if I am making Mexican lasagna, I cook everything the night before, put the lasagna together and throw it in the fridge. When I get home the next night, I just have to throw it in the oven, and it cooks while I am working out!  So easy!
• Pack your lunch the night before.  You know what happens if you don’t plan – you end up STARVING at work the next day and you run to the cafeteria and you have little control over your lunch.  So pack it ahead of time!  I even go as far as making big batches of things like quinoa, so I can easily bring a serving of that to work throughout the week.  If you plan ahead, you won’t be scrambling for fast food the next day!! 
• Grocery shop on a weekly basis.  You wanna eat less processed foods, which means that you need to have fresh ingredients on hand.  I LOVE my grocery store and like making my weekly trip!!  Have fun with it!
• Have your favorite healthy snacks on hand all the time.  One of my favorite afternoon snacks is greek yogurt with protein cereal & blueberries.  I make sure I always have greek yogurt in my fridge.  Have fresh fruit on hand to put in your lunch for the next day.  Boil some hardboiled eggs, they make good snacks!!  1% cottage cheese with some pineapple is another great snack.  Baby carrots, red pepper slices with some hummus is a great replacement for chips!! 
• Have frozen chicken, ground turkey breast, veggie burgers, etc on hand so that if you are running low on time, you can easily make something with what you have.  Also, keep frozen veggies on hand.  I should buy stock in birds eye for as much frozen veggies we eat!! 
• If you’re going out to eat with friends/family, if you have time to plan ahead, go on the restaurant’s website and look at their menu. You can easily plan before you go out what you’re going to order, so you’re not roped into something unhealthy because you’re not prepared!  Also, specialty order!  You can order veggies without butter, or a salad with dressing on the side and no cheese, etc.  If you plan appropriately, you won’t even need to look at the menu when you sit down!! 

It’s all about planning, and figuring out the times to prepare that work best for you.  And be creative!  It’s boring to eat the same bland foods over and over again.  Experiment!  If there’s a meal you REALLY like, like lasagna, find a way to make it healthy.  Use ground turkey breast instead of beef, whole wheat lasagna noodles, make your own sauce, use less cheese…it can be done!  If you have a recipe you really like, but aren’t sure how to make it healthy, I’m a dork and LOVE to turn recipes into a healthy version of themselves.  Send it to me!  I’ll help you out J

It happens to all of us, we all get stressed out and drive ourselves insane with weight loss! Things like plateaus, lack of motivation, a million other things going on in our life, etc, all stress us out. You shouldn’t stress out about your weight loss, because when you do, it makes it even HARDER to lose weight! If you believe you will only be successful if you lose weight, it’s not going to work. Losing weight should only be part of it. For example, think about how you’re taking care of yourself, you’re boosting your mood by exercising, you’re making healthy food for your family, you’re feeling great about yourself, your internal health is improving, etc.

I know that it’s hard not to focus on losing weight and having certain expectations, but here are some tips that have worked for me that keep me from getting too stressed and too focused on my weight loss goals.

1. Be realistic. Not everyone is going to lose 2-3 lbs consistently a week. I have a Bodybugg, I know that I’m creating a deficit of over 3500 calories per week, which equates to 1 lb loss a week, every week. I don’t always lose this, and it used to blow my mind! Be realistic, not everyone is the same. You may have a deficit of 7000 calories and expect to lose 2 lbs, and lose ½ lb, while your friend has a deficit of 3500 and loses 3 lbs. Don’t worry!

2. Don’t compare yourself to other people. It used to crush me when I talked to someone who’s not even trying to lose weight and they lost more than me 1 week, when I worked really hard. The more I dwelled on that, the less motivated I was. You have to remember that consistency pays off. If you’re consistently exercising and making smart, healthy choices, it will pay off for you. (this requires patience, which is NOT my thing, but I have learned LOL!)

3. Plan ahead. You will get stressed out if everyday, you’re waking up and blindly deciding what healthy food to eat at the spur of the moment. If you get in the habit of planning out what you’re gonna eat the next day, you’ll be set! For example, pack your lunch ahead of time for the next day. Sit down a weekly basis with your family and decide what your healthy meals will be for the upcoming week, and make sure you have the proper groceries on hand. When you’re not frantically rushing around to figure out what to eat, it’s more manageable.

4. Don’t rely on the scale for your happiness. If you constantly watch a # on your scale, first of all, it’s dangerous and could be a sign of a bigger issue like an eating disorder, and it’s not always a good indicator of what’s going on! Do you know how many factors play into your weight? Too much sodium, for the ladies – PMS (sorry guys LOL), weight training that causes muscle soreness which causes muscles to retain water…and a million other factors! I am over the scale, I don’t focus on it anymore. I do weigh myself periodically, but I don’t dwell on it. I’m free!! Try taking photos – take front, side, and back photos. Also, take your measurements, especially your chest, waist, hips, thighs, arms. You can take measurements and pictures on a monthly basis and see more improvements than you do on the scale. When I did P90X, I lost hardly any weight. I gained at first! Then I kicked the scale into the closet, and when I did my monthly measurements was amazed to see the inches coming off. And man did the pictures show the changes!

5. Realize that this is a lifestyle change, NOT a diet. Diet implies deprivation, quick fix, temporary changes. That’s not what we’re doing. We’re making healthy changes in our lives that will last forever. I realize that when I was 30 lbs heavier, I hadn’t gained it all over night. It took time. So realize that it will take time to lose your goal weight, and that’s okay, because slow and steady wins the race. Wow, sorry to throw that cliché in, but it fits LOL!

6. Realize that life happens. I’m a planner, and if something doesn’t go my way, I do stress, and I’m working on this! I have realized that only certain things are in my control, and if something unexpected comes up, I make changes to adapt to the situation. For example, you can’t control a snowstorm that causes you to get home 3 hours late from work and forces you to skip your workout. Solution, take an unplanned rest day, and either make up that workout on the planned rest day, or take an extra rest day that week.

7. Don’t be that person that person that never allows yourself a splurge. You know what I’m talking about. You really want that piece of chocolate cake and you think about it for weeks, and you don’t allow yourself to have it, and next thing you know, you eat everything in your pantry because you can’t control yourself. If you realize that it’s a true craving, and nothing else is working, enjoy it IN MODERATION! I’m not at all telling you to go eat chocolate cake. Also, make a list of things you’re not willing to give up. For me, it’s peanut butter and olive oil. I manage this by using it in moderation and planning for it. I only use 1 tbsp of peanut butter in my shakeology, and when I cook with olive oil, I use 1 tsp. A little of it can go a long way.

8. MOST IMPORTANTLY - Be positive, and feel good about what you’re doing for yourself!

I SOO wish that I had come up with this all on my own, but I must give credit where credit is due.  One of my BESTEST friends Michelle made this when I was visiting her a few months ago and it was unbelievable!  I believe it is a modification of a cooking light recipe.  THANK YOU MICHELLE! 

Ingredients

• 1 lb lean ground turkey (or lean ground beef)
• 1 cup of shredded 2% cheddar cheese
• 1 cup of 1% cottage cheese
• 1 cup of salsa
• 1 1/2 cups of black beans
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 tbsp taco seasoning
• 4 low carb, whole wheat tortillas, cut into strips

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

In a skillet pan sprayed with nonstick spray, cook up the ground beef and the onion.  Once cooked, turn to low and add salsa, black beans, and taco seasoning and mix together.  Turn off the heat and set aside.

In a bowl, combine 3/4 cup of the cheddar cheese & the cup of cottage cheese.

In a baking dish sprayed with nonstick spray, line the pan with 1/2 of the tortilla strips.  Scoop 1/2 of the meat mixture on top and spread out, covering the tortillas.  Then add 1/2 of the cheese mix on top of the meat and spread out.  Repeat the layers again with remaining strips, meat, and cottage cheese.  Top with remaining cheese.

Cover and bake for 40 minutes at 400 degrees and ENJOY!  Makes 4 servings at 350 calories each!

Weight Watchers Points Plus points: 8 1/2!

This was amazing, both me and my husband crushed our portions LOL!

Ingredients

• 6 egg whites
• 2 whole eggs
• 1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese
• garlic powder, about 1 tsp
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 red pepper, chopped (optional)
• 10 oz of frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
• 1 tsp olive oil

Preheat oven to 350.

Heat 1 tsp of olive oil in a skillet pan, and add the onions and peppers.  Cook until the onions are soft.  Meanwhile, whisk the egg whites and eggs, garlic powder, and mozzarella in a separate bowl. 

Also, make sure that the spinach has been completely drained and all excess water has been squeezed out.  Once that’s done, add that to the bowl with the eggs.

Finally, add the onions and peppers to the mixture and mix up.  Then pour into a pie pan that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.

Bake the quiche at 350 for about 20 minutes.  At 20 minutes, remove it from the oven, and stick a toothpick in the middle to see if the eggs are set.  I baked for another 10 minutes, so 30 total.  It was DELICIOUS!

My family makes these appetizers called spinach balls, and they are so good dipped in hot sauce.  This reminded me a lot of them, but very healthy!  I used a sprinkle of hot sauce on top and that was awesome too!

Makes 2 big servings, for only 315 calories a serving! 

For my weight watchers friends, this is only 7.5 points plus per serving!  YUM!

I got a recipe for this on a website and just modified it to use less cheese.  The original recipe came from www.eating well.com.

Ingredients

• 4 large portabella mushroom caps
• 1 cup lite ricotta cheese
• 1 cup finely chopped fresh spinach
• 2 tbsp parmesan cheese
• 1 tsp italian seasoning
• 1 cup marinara (the kind I use is organic and is only 1 WW point)

Preheat the oven to 450.  Rinse the portabellas, and dry them of the excess water.  Place the portabellas gill side up on a cookie sheet, and roast in the oven for 20 minutes.

While the portabellas are roasting, mix the italian seasoning, ricotta cheese, and parmesan cheese and chopped spinach.  Also, place the cup of marinara in a pot and heat on the stove.

When the mushrooms are done, remove them from the oven and remove excess water that came out while cooking.  Place gill side up on the baking sheet, and spread 1 tbsp of mariinara on top.  Then scoop 1/4 of cheese mix on top of the cap. Bake at 450 for 10 minutes. 

Pour the remaining sauce over top and serve!

Makes 2 servings, about 300 calories a piece!

Each serving is only 5 weight watchers points plus points!!

Right now I’m doing a P90X/Turbo Fire hybrid.  I did a Chalean Extreme/TF hybrid prior to that.  At the time, I didn’t have a schedule…but I followed something like this, which is similar to what I’m doing with my P90X workouts right now.

Here are some key things for my hybrid schedule.

1. I followed the Chalean Extreme schedule for the strength workouts for each phase.  So 4 weeks of burn, 4 weeks of push, and 4 weeks of burn.
2. I do 3 cardio workouts a week and 3 strength workouts a week.
3. I LOVE working abs, so I made sure to have abs 3 times a week as well!
4. I teach Turbo Kick one night a week, so I used my class as one of my cardios.  You can always substitute a long Turbo Fire workout like Fire 55 EZ, or Fire 60 if you have the advanced DVDs.
5. HIIT workouts are great, but overdoing them can 1, cause your body to get used to them, and 2, overwork you.  So following Chalene’s Turbo Fire schedule & advice, I put HIITs in the first 4 weeks, then took them out for the next 4 weeks, then added them back in during the last 4 weeks. 

Week 1

M: Turbo Fire 45 + HIIT 15

T: Burn Circuit 1 + Ab Burner

W: Turbo Kick Class

Th: Burn Circuit 2 + Extreme Abs

F: Rest

Sa: Turbo Fire 30 + HIIT 20

Su: Burn Circuit 3 + TF Abs

Week 2

M: Turbo Fire 45 EZ + HIIT 15

T: Burn Circuit 1 + Ab Burner

W: Turbo Kick Class

Th: Burn Circuit 2 + Extreme Abs

F: Rest

Sa: Turbo Fire 30 + HIIT 30

Su: Burn Circuit 3 + TF Abs

Week 3

M: Turbo Fire 45 + HIIT 20

T: Burn Circuit 1 + Ab Burner

W: Turbo Kick Class

Th: Burn Circuit 2 + Extreme Abs

F: Rest

Sa: Turbo Fire 30 + HIIT 25

Su: Burn Circuit 3 + TF Abs

Week 4

M: Turbo Fire 45 EZ + HIIT 15

T: Burn Circuit 1 + Ab Burner

W: Turbo Kick Class

Th: Burn Circuit 2 + Extreme Abs

F: Rest

Sa: Turbo Fire 30 + HIIT 30

Su: Burn Circuit 3 + TF Abs

Week 5

M: Turbo Fire 55 EZ

T: Push Circuit 1 + Ab Burner

W: Turbo Kick Class

Th: Push Circuit 2 + Extreme Abs

F: Rest

Sa: Turbo Fire 45

Su: Push Circuit 3 + TF Abs

 Week 6

M: Turbo Fire 60

T: Push Circuit 1 + Ab Burner

W: Turbo Kick Class

Th: Push Circuit 2 + Extreme Abs

F: Rest

Sa: Turbo Fire 45 EZ

Su: Push Circuit 3 + TF Abs 

Week 7

M: Turbo Fire 55 EZ

T: Push Circuit 1 + Ab Burner

W: Turbo Kick Class

Th: Push Circuit 2 + Extreme Abs

F: Rest

Sa: Turbo Fire 45

Su: Push Circuit 3 + TF Abs 

Week 8

M: Turbo Fire 60

T: Push Circuit 1 + Ab Burner

W: Turbo Kick Class

Th: Push Circuit 2 + Extreme Abs

F: Rest

Sa: Turbo Fire 45 EZ

Su: Push Circuit 3 + TF Abs 

Week 9

M: Turbo Fire 45 + HIIT 15

T: Lean Circuit 1 + Ab Burner

W: Turbo Kick Class

Th: Lean Circuit 2 + Extreme Abs

F: Rest

Sa: Turbo Fire 30 + HIIT 20

Su: Lean Circuit 3 + TF Abs

Week 10

M: Turbo Fire 45 EZ + HIIT 15

T: Lean Circuit 1 + Ab Burner

W: Turbo Kick Class

Th: Lean Circuit 2 + Extreme Abs

F: Rest

Sa: Turbo Fire 30 + HIIT 30

Su: Lean Circuit 3 + TF Abs

Week 11

M: Turbo Fire 45 + HIIT 20

T: Lean Circuit 1 + Ab Burner

W: Turbo Kick Class

Th: Lean Circuit 2 + Extreme Abs

F: Rest

Sa: Turbo Fire 30 + HIIT 25

Su: Lean Circuit 3 + TF Abs

 Week 12

M: Turbo Fire 45 EZ + HIIT 15

T: Lean Circuit 1 + Ab Burner

W: Turbo Kick Class

Th: Lean Circuit 2 + Extreme Abs

F: Rest

Sa: Turbo Fire 30 + HIIT 30

Su: Lean Circuit 3 + TF Abs

I’m learning Round 43 right now, it’s the 3rd round that I will learn to teach!  I’ve only been doing this September 2010, but I LOVE it and think I finally figured out the best approach for me to learn it in order to teach it!

First, before I started teaching, I read Chalene’s book “Rock the House”.  You can buy it on her www.turbokick.com website and you NEED to read this!  Even if you don’t teach turbo kick, it will help anyone who teaches any format!  It’s awesome.

I also bought the CD “Cueology”, which has a few songs on it, and they teach how to hear the 8 and 32 count in the music, and when you should start cueing the next move.  These are things I totally recommend before you start teaching!

So when I get a new round in the mail, it’s like CHRISTMAS for me!  What I do is at least 2 weeks before I’m going to start teaching it, I do the round with the video 3 times for the first week. 

During this week, I also listen to the music on my ipod when I’m at work or in the car…it gives me a chance to feel the 8 and 32 counts.  I also carry the cheat sheet that comes with the DVD/music so that as I’m listening to the music, I can look at the cheat sheet and place the choreography with the song.

Also, I watch the preview on the DVD - during the preview Chalene breaks down all of the moves, which I don’t need in order to do the round myself, but I need to know the best way to TEACH it to people.  If it takes you a few tries to learn the round, imagine how much you need to break it down for new people!  This preview totally helps.

During the 2nd week, I’ll practice the round again at least 3 times, but this time, on my own, with the music only.  And while I’m doing it, I’ll do the cueing out loud as if I’m actually teaching the class.  If there’s a section I’m having a hard time with, I go back and do it until I feel comfortable with it.  This is good exercise because it takes me quite a few tries to master the TURBO section! LOL!

At least 1 or 2 of these days that I practice on my own, I find someone to practice with so I can make sure the cueing I’m planning on using actually gets the people to do what I want them to do!  Most of the time it’s my loving, wonderful husband, and other times it’s my lovely, patient sister!!  That’s what family is for!

The turbo section takes the longest for me to learn.  I usually rewind it and do it 2-3 times with the video during the first week.  During the second week, what I normally do is play the turbo music while I look at the cheat sheet, to make sure if I count out the choreography in my head, I get the timing right :-) 

If you’re reading this and wondering what the heck Turbo Kick is, it’s the greatest group fitness workout EVER!  Check out www.turbokick.com - getting certified and starting to teach is a dream come true for me and something I never thought I would actually do.  Now I can’t imagine NOT having done it!!

Okay, it’s time to get serious!  Monday, January 3^rd, begins a TWO month health & fitness challenge! 

Here’s the deal…you make a $5 contribution.  This $$ goes towards the cash jackpot that the winners (yes, I said winnerS) will get! 

Here’s what I’m asking you to do, and it’s all about accountability!  These are things that have worked for me and millions of other people!

• Commit to a workout program.  If you don’t have one right now, talk to me!  We’ll find you one of Beachbody’s awesome programs!
• Track your calories.  I am not asking you to send this to me, but I’m telling you this because it helps keep you accountable and paying attention to what you’re eating.  You never think that the calories in a small piece of candy matter, but when you’re eating multiple pieces, they add up!   If you need help finding a free website to do this, let me know!  My favorite is www.sparkpeople.com!
• Use our group page that I will create!  Hold each other accountable! 
• Check in with me on a weekly basis on Mondays.  Let me know how you’re week went, how you’re doing and how you’re feeling, and your weight.  And yes, weigh ins will be on a Monday – why?  To keep you focused on the weekends! 

You’ll also take measurement, but only on day 1, 30, and 60.  Measurements are extremely important, ESPECIALLY if you are doing a program like P90X or Chalean Extreme where you’re lifting heavy and building lean muscle!

I would also recommend you take 1, 30, and 60 day pictures.  You can keep these to yourself, but pictures show a LOT of changes.  So do it for yourself, the pictures don’t have to go anywhere but you’ll be happy you took them!

Oh, and to keep you on your toes for the WHOLE 2 months…we’re gonna have midpoint, 30 day winners, who will get a piece of the jackpot EARLY, just so you guys can see what you’re up against! 

So, how do you win?  Well, there will be 2 categories.  1 category will be for the most inches lost.  The other category will be for the greatest % of starting weight lost.  Yep, 2 winners…2 chances to win some cash.  The more, the merrier!

So, all I need you to do is send me a message letting me know that you’re in.  I’ll create a group page for us and keep in touch with you so you’re ready come January 3^rd.  I’ll ask you to take your initial measurements (and send instructions on what measurements I’m asking for) and your weight to me on January 3rd!

So that’s it!  Enjoy the holidays now because we are gonna get SERIOUS after New Year’s!  I’m in this too, I’m committed…now the question is, are you?!

I am writing this while I am enjoying a healthy breakfast made up of Ezhekiel sprouted grain cinnamon raisin toast and scrambled egg whites.  It feels like the best breakfast I have ever had because for the past 3 days, I have been doing the Shakeology cleanse!  I was so looking forward to some toast this morning, LOL!  But the past 3 days were totally worth it because I am down 1 ½ lbs from Sunday morning!

The 3 day Shakeology cleanse is pretty awesome.  Most people who I have known that do it have GREAT results.  Besides losing lbs and inches, most people feel awesome!  The cleanse is a great way to jumpstart your metabolism, break a plateau, and flush toxins out of your system.  As far as hunger and energy, the cleanse isn’t as bad as you think.  Most cleanses rightfully so deserve that stigma because they totally deprive you of calories, necessary nutrients and vitamins, and totally drain you of energy.  Shakeology has all sorts of good stuff in it and this cleanse is actually filling!  For me, feeling deprived was a mental thing; I’m super full on this cleanse, but in my head I’m thinking “I want to pick something up and eat it”!  If you can get past that, it’s great.  And I’m still looking forward to my mid-morning shake today!  I can’t live without this stuff J

So, here’s how the cleanse works.  You replace 3 meals a day with Shakeology - your breakfast, lunch and afternoon snack.  You want to avoid dairy and sugar for sure, so you’ll want to forget those almond, rice, or soymilks you may be using with your shake.  You also want to make sure you still drink all of your water!

This time around, I struggled a bit.  For one reason, it’s because I had lunch plans on the 2^nd day, so was unable to have my shake.  We went out for Chinese, which made it difficult, but what I did was order chicken and broccoli with sauce on the side, and just used a little bit of sauce and didn’t eat the rice.  Pretty close to a salad with dressing!  Then I just had my shake for dinner.  Having only a shake for dinner is what I struggled with, but I made it LOL!

In addition, I was also extremely hungry everyday, so I added an additional piece of fruit per day, and on day 3, added an extra small salad at lunch.

So here’s a typical meal plan for each day.

• Optional: 2 cups of decaf green tea
• Breakfast: chocolate shakeology mixed with water/ice ONLY and an apple
• Lunch: chocolate shakeology mixed with water/ice ONLY
• Afternoon snack: chocolate shakeology mixed with water/ice ONLY and a banana (this was my extra during the day)
• Dinner: spinach salad with fresh mushrooms, peppers and 4 oz of plain chicken breast; 2 tbsp olive oil & dash of balsamic vinegar for my dressing

 It works out to be around 1100 calories per day or so.  So you are restricting calories, and I know I always say you don’t want to do this because eating too little calories can go against you, but in the case of Shakeology, you’re not depriving yourself of those vital nutrients.  You are using a small amount of calories in an efficient way. 

Here are some words of caution.  You DON’T want to do this cleanse for more than the 3 days.  And, you don’t want to do the cleanse while you’re in the middle of an intense workout schedule.  In my case, I’m in the middle of P90X.  However, I started the cleanse during my recovery week.  You need more calories to make it through a typical 3 days of working out, but during recovery, I had a rest day and a yoga day…so I was fine. 

As of right now, you can only buy Shakeology in a month’s supply.  But, if you’re interested in buying just enough for the 3 day cleanse, contact me at jackiedamp@gmail.com. 

I made this the other night and it totally hit the spot!  It’s about 460 calories, but you can cut the rice down to make it less calories.  But it’s so good when you wanna have a meatless dinner one night :-)

What you need:

• 1 cup brown rice
• 1/4 cup edamame (optional, lowers calories by 60 if you omit this)
• chopped veggies (I used carrots, green peppers, and onion)
• minced garlic
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp tumari (wheat free, low sodium soysauce)

First I sauteed the veggies & minced garlic until soft in 1/2 tbsp of olive oil.  Once soft, I set them aside on a plate.  Then I fried up the egg and chopped it up.  Then I put the rice, edadame, veggies, tumari and remaining olive oil in and cooked until the rice was heated up.  It’s SOOOO good and totally hit the spot when I was craving chinese food!

About 7 Weight Watchers PointsPlus points.  With no edamame, only 6 points.

Enjoy!! :-D

This is a typical day for me…a few people have asked lately what I eat, so here ya go!  I try to eat around 1600-1800 calories, and I eat smaller meals throughout the day.  I also try to eat all whole, natural, unprocessed foods wherever possible.

Breakfast (around 7:30 am)

• Chocolate shakeology made with 1 cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk and 1 tbsp of natural peanut butter

Mid-Morning Snack (around 10 am)

• Steel cut oatmeal, mixed with 1/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk and a dash of cinammon
• Hardboiled egg

Lunch (around 12:30 pm)

• Tuna sandwich - mixed 1 can of white albacore tuna with 1 tbsp of kraft mayo made with olive oil and some garlic powder, and put it on 1 slice of Ezhekiel sprouted grain bread with some spinach
• Apple

Afternoon Snack (around 3:30 pm)

• Fage 0% fat plain greek yogurt with a sprinkle of truvia, 1/2 cup of fresh strawberries, and 1 tbsp of sliced almonds

Dinner (around 7:30 pm)

• 2 cups of steamed broccoli
• 4 oz turkey burger on an Ezhekiel sprouted grain English muffin, 1 tbsp of organic ketchup

Evening Snack (around 9:00 pm)

• Banana nut Vita Muffin

Total Calories: 1580

Total Fat: 34 g

Total Protein: 119 g

Total Carbs: 196 g

Today, I’m feeling pretty terrible.  I have had a cold and chest congestion, a sore throat, and a cough for a few days now.  I was able to workout a couple days this week, and yesterday, but haven’t been able to do any intense cardio.  I decided to do some research to see if pushing myself to make it through an hour long cardio would be a good idea or not.  After all, I’ve always heard that exercise is good when you’re sick because you can sweat out the toxins!  Well, apparently that’s a myth - it’s your immune system that has to do all the work.  Exercise when you’re NOT sick can strengthen your immune system.  BUT exercise when you are sick, can interfere with the work your immune system is doing, and your immune system works best when it’s not stressed.

So here’s what I found out.

It’s most likely okay to workout (but you may want to adjust your intensity down), if:

• Your symptoms are above the neck (e.g. sniffles, runny nose, sore throat, etc)
• You have mild cold symptoms

You should not workout if:

• You are running a fever, because your heart is already stressed due to the higher body temperature
• The symptoms are below the neck (e.g. chest congestion, coughing, widespread muscle aches, nauseau, shortness of breath, etc)
• You are extremely fatigued due to the illness

You really need to listen to your body.  Sometimes working out when you’re not feeling 100% can make you feel better because of the endorphins that are released with exercise.  However, when you’re very sick, it can make you feel much worse.  If you do decide to workdout when you’re sick, pay attention to how you feel.  If you’re suffering from shortness or breath, feeling lightheaded, having trouble breathing, and just feeling a lot worse, you should stop working out.

Working out when you shouldn’t be can actually lead to the illness staying around LONGER than if you had rested and recouped for a few days.  It sucks really bad when you’re in a routine, you love working out, and you’re sidelined by being sick, but it can be more beneficial to take a few days to recover.  I know, I’m one of those people that feels like I’m crawling out of my skin when I have to rest! 

A few years ago, I had lost a lot of weight, so I was pretty happy about that and definitely felt better and in good shape.  But,  I still didn’t feel well.  I was pretty miserable and I was only 24 years old.  I definitely did NOT feel like a 24 year old.  I was ALWAYS tired, like even if I slept from 9 PM until 11 AM the next day, I was drained.  I pretty much couldn’t ever stay awake for a movie at home.  In addition to being super tired and drained, I had chronic headaches.  Literally everyday, I would end up with a headache at some point. 

In addition, I was eating healthy, watching my calories and fat and exercising like crazy, and losing no weight at all.  I was beyond frustrated.

Also, without getting into too many details, my digestive system was just a mess.  I was totally miserable and couldn’t figure out why when I was eating so healthy, my stomach was always upset and I always felt so terrible.  

At that point, I realized that there was something wrong.  I would take everything under the sun for my symptoms and nothing worked.  I got sick of taking medication to try to feel better when it didn’t work.

I was going to the doctor trying to figure out what was wrong with me.  I was being tested for hypothyroidism, polycystic ovarian syndrome, epstein barr syndrome, irritable bowel syndrome, gluten allergies, celiac disease, pre-diabetes…all of my bloodwork was coming back normal.  I was doing everything the doctor told me…eating the right foods, working out, drinking water, taking vitamins…NOTHING worked.  I was hoping something would show up so we could fix it. 

That’s when someone told me about trying to eat an all natural diet, and watching what’s IN your food…not just how many calories are in it.  I was eating a lot of processed foods that were low fat, low sugar…didn’t even think twice about the fact that it could be causing problems.  So, I started really watching the types of food I ate.  I cut out processed foods.  It is amazing how much it helped! 

After a while, I was still having some symptoms of things like hypothyroidism and polycystic ovarian syndrome and blood sugar problems.  I went to see a natural doctor in the area and he gave me some stuff to take everyday.  One was for my thyroid; another was for my blood sugar; natural vitamins; and another was a digestive enzyme.  These did help, but it was so inconvenient to remember everyday to pack enough for 3 times a day.  Not to mention, they cost about $60 each and I went through them in about 3-4 weeks.  I also had to try to get to the dr’s office during work hours to replenish, and it was ALWAYS packed in there.  I pretty much got to the point where I gave up.

Right after my wedding, I joined facebook and met a lot of other Beachbody fanatics like myself and they were ALWAYS talking about this stuff called Shakeology.  I was curious, but didn’t really have much interest.  One day, I saw my now coach talking about how it helped her with some of the same problems I was having and inquired about it.  I looked into it, saw that it was all natural and made with whole food ingredients and decided it would fit into my plan to eat as naturally as possible.  I bought a month supply to start.  When it got there, I was a little nervous to try it, thinking that this is made with stuff like wheatgrass and other stuff that doesn’t seem like it would taste good, so I didn’t expect this to taste good.  And did I mention I HATED the taste of whey protein with a passion?!  ICK!  So I was pretty skeptical.  I made my first shake with a little bit of peanut butter and it was love at first taste LOL!  The next month, I got on home direct because I knew this was something I was going to keep using.

So basically, it replaced those herbal meds that I was taking; it was more convenient;and a lot cheaper!  I used it as either my breakfast for afternoon snack, and within a week, I noticed that I had more energy, I was less hungry, my blood sugar level wasn’t all over the map, the stomach problems were pretty much gone…it was amazing.  In addition, my hair and nails were shinier and stronger, and my skin was more clear!  I was a believer right away.

Now, a year later, between Shakeology and eating clean foods, I feel amazing.  My energy level is where it should be, my blood sugar isn’t dropping and causing problems, my skin looks great, my stomach feels NORMAL…the only thing I regret is not doing this sooner!

So after about 6 months of using Shakeology as a customer, I decided to become a coach so I could save $30 a month with my discount.  It helps that I believe in this product and that it’s changed my life :-) 

If any of this sounds like you, you should look into Shakeology.  It’s $4 a day for the healthiest meal of the day.  You pay more than that for a Starbucks coffee with a shot of espresso, and you’ll get more energy with Shakeology than that!  www.shakeology.com/jackiedamp for more info.  And I believe in this stuff so much that I have free samples to send to you if you are interested…just email me at jackiedamp@gmail.com for more details and to request your sample :-) 

It’s that time of year - the holidays.  It’s great to spend time with family and friends and be thankful for what you have, but it’s also that time of year where we are challenged to avoid gaining weight!  So, with the holidays just a couple of weeks away (I can’t believe it, already!), I wanted to post some tips that I plan to use to help avoid gaining weight and to keep on track!  And believe me, these are as much a reminder for me as they are for you :-)

1. Watch your drinks!  Egg nog, hot chocolate, fancy holiday cocktails…empty calories!  Plus, alcohol will lower your ability to say no to food!  Drink your water - nothing is better than H20!  And it will keep you feeling full, hence less temptation to snack!

2. Think before you bake! I know for me, when I bake, the cookies end up at my house, and guess who is tempted to eat them?!  ME!  If you’re going to bake for others to enjoy, think about how much you make and make sure you get them out of your house as soon as possible! 

3. Crush your workouts!  Even do extra, to burn those calories.  Yes, you can still do your workouts while you’re away, that’s the beauty of Beachbody’s programs - you do them anywhere!  Maybe your family will even join you! 

4. Portion control, moderation!  I’m guilty of wanting to eat some of everything!  Believe me, it’s not worth it!  Really think about which cookie or appetizer you really want, and have just 1 nibble of it!  Moderation is key; you don’t have deprive yourself from Mom’s homemade sugar cutouts, but don’t eat a dozen of them; limit it to 1 or a few bites!

5. If you eat too much or something not so healthy, don’t end up in a downward spiral!  Don’t think “I just blew my diet, so I’ll just keep eating junk the rest of the day or my vacation”, this isn’t a diet – this is a healthy lifestyle!  You can bounce back quickly with the next meal or the next day.  Don’t get stuck in that rut, minimize the damage!

6. Eat a healthy breakfast!  If you still eat a healthy breakfast, even if you know you’re going to be at a party later with not so healthy foods, you’re more likely to make healthier choices later at that party!

7. Bring healthy options to parties/family get togethers.  Even if everyone else brings fried this, or baked goods slathered in frosting, you can bring something healthy!  Consider a fruit or veggie tray, or a vegetable dish, or even cocktail shrimp – this way you are guaranteed to have at least one thing there to eat that won’t increase your waist line!

8. Eat something healthy before heading to that party or dinner.  This way you won’t be starving and grab everything in sight!

9. Avoid taking leftovers home with you.  All they will do is tempt you!  And if dinner or the party is at your house with a bunch of leftovers, buy some cheap containers and have your guests take some leftovers with them!

10. Focus on the company you’re around rather than the food.  This will take your mind off of the food sitting in the other room!  Also, move away from the main area with the food!  If you’re standing next to the table talking, you’ll be mindlessly munching on those chips.  MOVE AWAY FROM THE FOOD!

11. Have a schedule.  It’s going to get hectic, so figure out what time you’re going to workout between family parties and dinners, and get it done!  Think about what time you’ll be at that party or dinner, and plan your healthy meals around it.

12.  Working in an office, beware the goodies!  This is a problem for me – here’s what you do.  Stash some healthy snacks in your desk.  Maybe some raisins, granola bars, P90X bars, Shakeology – anything to satisfy your sweet tooth to get your mind off of the cookies that someone brings in!

13. Write down your goals and your why’s for getting healthy, and keep them on you.  If you are reminded of your goals and the reason that you have chosen to pursue a healthy lifestyle, you’re less likely to go astray! 

Hopefully these tips are helpful to you!  With New Years coming up, so many people are going to be worried about getting healthy January 1^st.  NOT US!  We’re doing it now, we’re ahead of the game and we’re living that healthy lifestyle!  No holiday goodies are going to stand in our way!