What do we eat in a day? Hmmm ….  Most of us go through the day and work hard, play hard and grab bites to eat here and there.  I know, we all live fast paced lives at times and it’s difficult to keep track of everything.  The kids need to go to daycare, the dog needs walked, the groceries’ need to be put away, got to go to the dentist, have to take the kids to soccer, music lessons, the doctor, have to go to work and on and on and on ….. I’m tired just thinking of it all.  And in between we eat.  If it’s not fast food, it’s rushed through at the dinner table with us hardly having time to talk with our family and share the day’s events.

But what do we really put in our bodies each day?  I’ll say it up front,  some of you do a great job of watching what you eat and how much.  But for the vast majority of you ……..  think again.  People stop by the golden arch’s and grab coffee, bacon and eggs, hash browns,  biscuits with who knows what on it, Danish’s , and that’s just to start.  On to school or work, we get there, more coffee, candy or crackers from the machine, doughnuts from the kitchen, bagels with cream cheese and on and on.  We haven’t even got to lunch, dinner or all the snacks in between.  So what’s my point?

My point is that we eat too much.  (As a general statement of course).  Honestly people, have you even tried to figure out how many calories you’re consuming?  Not to mention the right nutrients that your body needs instead of what we tend to feed the craving little guy buried deep in our body that screams out “I WANT THAT HOT FUDGE SUNDAE”.  I remember a long time ago listening to Bill Cosby when he produced comedy skits on record.  For those of you who don’t know what a record is …. It’s that black circular vinyl thing with grooves in it that music used to be recorded on.  Sheesssshhh another 10 years and that will totally be lost on ya’ll.  Anyway, Bill Cosby had a skit where his wife was pregnant and Bill kept trying to give the yet unborn child things to play with, such as asking his wife to swallow a ball so the kid could play, etc.  Then from the babies point of view, when the mom was eating healthy, the baby cried out ‘get those Brussels sprouts outta here, and so on”  He just wanted the junk food that tasted good that mom would eat………..I digress so …..   The CDC (Centers for Disease Control) says that every State in the country has a large population that is obese with a BMI of 30lbs or more.  We’re gaining, not losing.  Very sad.

So, let me just say that if you want to lose weight, you must take in fewer calories than you burn in a day.  I’ll refer you to a prior article to help you figure that one out, but let’s just say…..those coca colas are not helping!  Also, starving yourself is not helping.  Did you know that your body literally shuts down on you if you stop giving it food?  Yep, the little guys inside keeping you running start chatting with one another when their food source stops.  They raise mortal cain for awhile.  They convene a little board meeting and planning session and determine that since you are not going to feed them, they’ll just shut down your metabolism, slow it way down and then they decide to burn your muscles for fuel instead of the fat you were trying to get rid of.  Why should they burn the fat, hey that’s their winter protection, like the bears and other hibernating animals.

So there is a happy medium and a way to get the little guys active again (That’d be your metabolism).  Eat right, eat often (about 5 small meals a day spaced evenly) and you’ll find that your metabolism will kick into gear and with the right foods, your sugar levels will be maintained on an even keel and couple that with the correct calorie intake, you can either maintain your weight or lose some.  So what’ll it be, a life of hibernation or a life with high energy and a kick ‘in metabolism?  You choose!

If you found this post even remotely interesting, please share it with a friend or click the SHARE button below and maybe even send out to our favorite Twitter page by tweeting it up top.  Thanks!

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Hi There!  I’m so glad that you stopped by for quick bite! Well, at least maybe I’ll make you a bit hungry after this post.

So why is it everyone I see says they just can’t eat healthy when they go out for lunch or breakfast or dinner.  Bah!  Humbug I say!  Where’s your spirit of adventure?  Where’s that quest for the 66 lb. turkey hanging out in the market?  Will it take a Bob Marley to lead you by the hand to find the good out there?  No I say ………Okay, I got carried away a bit, he, he…. But seriously folks, you can eat well at restaurants.  You just have to look close at the menu and become educated.

Now I’ll post some well known restaurant menus items in a future article so you can really see what you’re eating, but look at the few things I found below.

Waking up early here on the Sun Coast, hopping in my little convertible and blasting over the St. Armand circle bridge I head to a favorite of mine, “The Blue Dolphin”.  Two of my favorite people in all of Sarasota, Pam and Alex greet me warmly as I enter the small café’.  Well known in all of Sarasota for having some of the best breakfast fare around, I quickly find a seat before the rush sets in.  Pam slides in the booth with me and we enjoy catching up on what’s been happening and the news of her daughter and such.  Pam knows my order by heart and places it with the chef.  So you see in the picture a huge omelet with egg whites, spinach and tomatoes. Oh my gosh!  The taste is incredible!  They must use 8 to 10 egg whites and I literally have to be wheeled from the café’.  Order a side of whole grain toast and you’ll be sure to start your day off right.  Now just do the same at your local café’.

For lunch I find a local restaurant serving a mix of American fare.  Once again treated like a King, they seat me in a booth by the window and promptly take my order.  This time I’ve ordered fish tacos.   Now at one time I really wasn’t a fan of these, but have quickly caught on.  Halibut, shredded cabbage tomato, and their sauce on tortilla.  Okay, now the tortilla and sauce could be nixed, but I generally only eat one with the tortilla and the rest I leave on the plate.  Sometimes I do sacrifice a tad, but all in all it was a great lunch with not too much to be guilty for.

For dinner I found Vino E Pasta.  The owner and maitre d’ seats me in the corner.  Now is that the power table or is the center table in the room, hmmm.  Ordering snapper, grilled with tomatoes, herbs and onions, with a side of pasta I complete my day of eating out with a renewed since that I can do this and still eat well.  Once again I forgo most of the pasta so I’m left with a very healthy meal and getting some of those Omega 3’s that we all need.

So can you do it?  Do you want to do it?  That’s the question.  Do you think that triple burger from Wendy’s and being super sized with the fries and cola are going to get you to the weight you’re looking for?  Well if that weight is upwards than be my guest.

But don’t be surprised some December night, late, late at night you hear a rattling sound, a chain clunking down the hallway, mist rolling under your door and you find me materializing right in front of you saying in a loud voice what your life could have been like if you had only chosen the right path.

Okay, again,……seriously, make some healthy choices today!  Your body will love you for it!  Please take amoment and SHARE this post bu clicking below and then just give it a little “Tweet” up top.  Thanks!

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It’s a bird, It’s a plane, It’s a Blog, no it’s a “Green Goddess Smoothie”!

Okay, not your typical blog here, but who ever called me typical?  But I did want to share this AWESOME little smoothie with you from my good friend Valerie Waugaman.  She might be seen flying high and be mistaken for a bird, or a plane, but she’s really “Siren” on the American Gladiators.  She’s also known in some circles as the “Green Goddess”.

I had the awesome chance of connecting with her and prying her weak little arms apart …NOT… away from her secret recipe for a smoothie concoction that is sure to set your day off right.  Now don’t turn your nose up, or start getting that green around the gills feeling.  This smoothie is VERY good!

So here’s the recipe.  Also I’ve included a short video of my friend and fellow Beachbody Coach.  Enjoy the drink and the show!

Green Goddess Smoothie

4oz.   Blueberry Pomegranate juice (other juice optional)

6oz.   Lite Vanilla Soy Milk (reg. milk optional)

1        Kiwi  (with the fur)

4-5    Strawberries

1/8    Lime

1/2    Medium Avocado

3 cups   Raw Spinach leaves (well packed)

1 scoop   Vanilla protein powder  (my current favorite is Beachbody Whey Protein)

Dash    Vanilla extract

10 drops   All natural Stevia sweetener, to taste (can be ordered at Sweetleaf.com my favorite is the vanilla creme stevia liquid)

1 cup   Ice

Blend all ingredients except ice.  Then add ice and blend.  Enjoy!

Here’s my friend Valerie in real life and as our favorite Super Hero! And you can find her at http://www.valspace.com  and don’t forget to SHARE this with all your friends if you enjoyed it.  But if it made you turn green ….then we may just have to go speak to the “HULK”!

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3 Day Cleanse

Well guys, I did it!  I did the Shakeology 3 day cleanse.  I have to admit I was a bit scared going into it as I have NEVER done anything like this before.  But having read up on Master Cleansing and what that’s about and then what the Shakeology cleanse was about I knew that this one was for me.  It’s not really calorie deficit, but is calorie efficient as mentioned by my friend Steve Edwards in his blog about the Shakeology cleanse.

I had been looking for a colon cleanse recipe and really everything I read didn’t sound like what I wanted to do.  There were all things out there that showed you how to cleanse the body.  Cleansing fast, cleansing slow, cleanse like this, cleanse like that…. good grief it was confusing.  But this 3 day cleanse that found with a product that I already love and use regularly was just the ticket for me.

The 3 day cleanse is just that.  Three days of putting into your body what it needs and wants.  My mind was telling me “cleanse the body”, “cleanse the body”.  My stomach was telling me other things as I went through it.  Here’s what Steve Edwards had to say about how to do it …”The plan consists of three Shakeology shakes* a day with a salad in the evening. If the shakes are plain (Shakeology and water only) I can add three pieces of fruit. The salad is unrestricted as far as veggies go, with 4 ounces of a protein source (if it’s meat or fish and slightly more if it’s a veggie source like legumes), and two tablespoons of an olive oil/vinegar dressing. For fatty acids, each salad will also contain a tablespoon of chia seeds (or flaxseed or hempseed). Plenty of water washes it all down. Coffee, tea, and herb teas are fine as long as they are sans additives, as all are performance enhancing.”

So that’s what I did.  I started out weighing 164.5 lbs. and ended up 161 lbs.  Now I know a lot of that wasn’t body fat loss, but some of it was.  I felt better for having done this and I set myself up for eating right going forward.  If you decide to do this one, make sure you do your own research first and make the decision that is best for you.  Come back here and write to tell me how your 3 day cleanse went.  If you don’t have the product Shakeology yet, just click on my link at the top of this page “Shakeology” and get it delivered to your door in now time flat.  The best thing about Shakeology is that it gives me absolutely the best meal of the day regardless of doing the 3 day cleanse.  In my opinion you’ll not find a better product on the market.

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Hi there everyone!

Just a very quick post on the healthy breakfast I made this morning.  Super easy, super fast and not loaded with tons of fat.  Just crack 8 eggs, saute’ them in a skillet with just a little spray oil on the pan.  Remove the eggs, and add to the pan a cup of baby spinach.  Saute’ till reduced in size somewhat.  Toast a piece of whole grain bread and you have the beginnings of a great meal to start the day.  If you need a tad more carbohydrates, just have a half cup of FACE yogurt.

The calorie count for this meal is; 233 calories, 1g fat, 19g carbohydrates, 36g of protein.

In the video I show you how I chart all my calories throughout the day.  It’s a great, fun and easy tool to have along and know where you are in your calorie count.

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Healthy Eating Habits

Wouldn’t it all be wonderful if we completed all the tasks in front of us, ate all the right foods, exercised every day and spent time with the one we loved like we should? Hmm… what a wonderful world that would be!

But if you are anything like me, that’s just not the case. We all live rushed lives. It seems as though we are continually on the go. We wake up already behind schedule…(I know some of us just like to sleep in)…

Read the rest of this entry »

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Shakeology is taking this country by storm.  It’s nutrition made simple.  But what’s the cost?  that’s what a lot of people have been asking me lately and when I tell them, they kind of hesitate.  But yet when I ask what are they taking for nutritional supplements they rattle off a long list of this and that and “Oh by the way, I have to go to GNC tonight” and stuff like that.  Mentally I add up what they’re taking and they’ve already doubled the cost if not more than what Shakeology cost.  Someone once said that their husband was like a 3rd grader not eating his vegetables.  But now that he has Shakeology in his bag, he’s not missing out on a thing.  But you do have to get it into your cupboard, so it involves spending a little just like you would for broccoli, carrots, spinach, … well you get the idea.  So, please take a moment and see what a friend found when he tried to buy all of the ingredients that was in this bag of Shakeology.  He said it was a close approximation and he couldn’t find 8 of the ingredients…

So, to wrap up, Shakeology will cost $119.95  and you will get so much nutrition in that bag you might be tempted never to eat a vegetable again.  I invite you to take another step and really dig deep and learn the details about Shakeology by clicking here ro simply going to the top of this page and click on Shakeology.  Your body will love you for it.

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Ok, as promised in my earlier blog, Body mass Index or BMI, here’s some information on how WE are trending in the United States.  Now I was being politically correct when I said WE.  I know this isn’t you, so for everyone else out there, let’s take action and do something.  I wanted to do this article in a video so you don’t have to read a lot, and it’s a short video any way, so why am I continuing to type?….  Take a look!

So again, my hope for you is to share this information with your family and friends.  Tell them to take nutrition and exercise seriously, or they may be on the path to a statistic on our map we just saw.  Get into a great at home work out routine such as P90X, Insanity, Chalean Extreme, Slim In 6, Rev Abs, Turbo Jam or something else.  If not they might just have to start using the Kathy Smith’s Project You Type 2 program that helps those fighting Diabetes.

So take action NOW!

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I can’t believe that someone hasn’t thought of this sooner!  Most of us don’t like to eat vegetables and I have to include myself in that statistic.  Broccoli, cauliflower, beans, spinach, you know the foods we all love to hate.  Well most of us anyway.

Now the company I’m associated with has gone the extra mile and developed a truly transformational product called Shakeology.  In my opinion, they have put together a daily shake that will revolutionize the nutritional market as we see it today.  Sort of “I can have my cake and eat it too!” or maybe “I can have my vegetables and like them too”.  Well in a shake anyway.  It’s now my healthiest meal of the day.

So you aren’t turned off right away, let me say that this shake taste like a chocolate milkshake to me.  And I get to have all these nutrients that I could never have eaten in one day.  My body has really felt rejuvenated and if it had a voice I know it’s thanking me to no end.  I could go into the macro-nutrients and the micro-nutrients but let me say it easier.  It’s Nutrition Simplified!   It has Pre-biotics, Digestive Enzymes, Protein & Amino Acids, 23 vitamins and minerals, Anti-oxidants and Phyto-nutrients!  Wow did I just say all that?  Look at the picture on the right….  How could I possibly eat all of those vegetables that is in just one meal?  Talk about a tummy overload.

By itself it only has 140 calories, 1 gram of fat, 15-17 grams of protein and 17-19 grams of carbs.  Now I do kick up the chocolate just a tad (cause I want too) with 1 banana, 1 tbsp of peanut butter and a teaspoon of my favorite instant coffee.  I have to have my caffeine with my morning meal.

Now it is not on the “cents per day” side and you WILL NOT find anything that’s good for you in that price range any way.  But I will tell you that in my opinion, you will not find anything out there in the market that is more nutritious and good for you.  I’ll do a side by side comparison in a future article so be on the lookout for that one.

So my advice to you is; take action and take control of your diet and give Shakeology a try.  Click HERE and find out more detail then just add it to your shopping cart and check out at the cashier with a better basket of nutrition than you have in the past!  And Shakeology is Guaranteed.

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ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

WOW!  As a yearly State Fair attendee, I love going and seeing the sights and sounds and smells of the Fair.  The animal competitions from cows, horses, pigs, bunnies, chickens and all the rest of Farmer McDonald’s crew.  But this year I was especially shocked as I passed by one vendor serving the typical fair food.

If you’re going to the Fair we all know that we’re going to consume something that is just not quite good for us.  And actually I’m OK with that.  ONE meal or one day of splurging on some fair food probably will not kill you.  Just as ONE day of eating purely healthy food is not going to make you healthy.  It’s a daily process, turned into weeks and months and years where the benefit OR the destruction pays off.

But I just had to write about the “Over The Top” food I saw.  Over the years the Fair has found new life in serving new stuff.  Deep fried Twinkies, Snickers bars, Oreo’s, pickles and pretty much everything you can think of has made it’s way onto the boulevard. This year was the first time I saw this.  Krispy Kreme burgers.  WOW!  I left the picture large so you could get the feel for what I saw.  I was drooling and sickened in my heart all at the same time.  That little voice inside me that I so long ago repressed and at times have to continue to beat down awakened to those doughnut memories of times gone by.  I really think the sign said it all “Over The Top”.  Kind of reminded me of the vendor selling deep fried Twinkies and asking “would you like powdered sugar on that Sir?”.  Answering no, because that would “put it over the top” wouldn’t it?

Okay I’m being a little silly here I know, but here’s the REAL implication of caving in and downing one of these burgers.  This gem consists of one Krispy Kreme glazed doughnut, one burger patti, cheese, 3 slices of bacon, mayo, lettuce and tomato.  For a whopping 800 calories and 75 grams of FAT!  Now some of you know from reading my earlier article on Abs are Made in the Kitchen, you have just done some quick math and found that you’ve almost reached your daily calorie count with just this ONE burger.   This same vendor also had the following fare offered to those who might not think the burger was too much.  Deep Fried “Butter”!

So I’m going to let you decide for yourself.  I admit, I did have a corn dog at the Fair today, but I also had a lean grilled pork loin later on.  I hope that you make food choices throughout the day, week and months that will help you to live longer, be healthier and curve this trend of Obesity that our nation seems to be on.  I can help you make some good choices with substituting one meal a day with Shakeology.  Look again at these pictures in this post, then visit my page, prepared especially for YOU on a better, healthier choice.

Decide today! Commit to you decision! Succeed in your Health!

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