Maureen Jeanson's Fitness Journey

2009-01-21T10:24:00.002-05:00

How to prevent death 101

Posted using ShareThis

2009-01-09T12:58:00.001-05:00

Burger King says..who needs friends and family or real connections when you can have 670 calories with 41 grams of fat, 44 grams of carbs and 30 grams of protein slither down your throat and into your arteries? Real love is pressure on the arteries not that warm fuzzy feeling you get when someone comments on your facebook photo! Join burger king and ditch 10 people on your facebook friend list for fat saturated death! Maybe if we ditch 30 they will help us pay for the angioplasty!

Click the beef to read the article.

This seems very aggressive and counter productive in the whole SAVE AMERICAN FROM OBESITY that we need to be on. Not sure how encouraging even sublte disconnection with people and replacing it with food is going to make mankind better but I guess when we have a need for the almighty dollar so high....something has to give. So, what we give up is humanity, right? "Sorry casual acquaintance, I appreciate your supportive comments on my pages. I loved the jokes you shared that made me laugh....but i am going to have to let you go. " While laughter and human companionship has been shown in studies to even increase our life expectancy nothing is more important than saving $1.99....right?

Perhaps if they offered to give a free whopper for adding 10 people of common interest there would be a bit more love for the King from me. However, to me this is an obvious ploy to target sales back to the fast food industry when everyone right now is lining up at the gym hoping to finally stick to their new year resolutions. Hhhmm..I wonder how many will drop entire diet groups in order to get that free 670 calorie burden into their belly.....

As for me, I will keep my facebook friends..maybe I will send them all a note today thanking them for being on my friends list in fact......

2009-01-08T12:31:00.002-05:00

Hey! I thought you may be interested in hearing this podcast by JR Smith of www.obesity-rehab.com. Why would you be interested? I am in it, that is why DUH!!
Ok, seriously it is a fantastic start to his new series "What Fat Attacks-How to Fight Back"

I will be updating with the new releases he has as they arrive.

Thanks for reading and for listening!!

When Fat Attacks Part I

2008-11-11T17:37:00.001-05:00

Well the traditional winter holidays are almost upon us once again. The New England Journal of Medicine went so far as conduct a study on the winter weight gain to prove it a fact or a myth. The study concluded that we do in fact gain holiday weight between the months of November to February; also reporting we do not normally LOSE that added weight over the course of the following year. So each winter we add fluff to our body and do not burn off that fluff in the warmer months. You can see how this adds to the uphill battle of the bulge for a lot of us! So…how do we prevent that?

Come on…you should know the answer by now…PLAN! It is not like holiday treats are sprung upon you at your relatives, or in your own home and office parties and you have no idea what you should do. Panic sets in and you eat and eat and eat…ok no that is not what you do. I also don’t think self deprivation is the answer at all here. So, here are some tips as well as a yummy recipe to share at the next party you go to in order to help stave off the holiday blubber and increase your focus on your own fitness journey. (the NEJM calls this “self regulation methods”)

Weigh yourself daily
Starting your day off with a measured weigh in gives you a basic start point each day. A number you can keep a close eye on and keep in check when you walk by the party foods and prepare your own holiday feasts. Knowing the number is steady or even lowering is a good motivator to keep you looking forward vs. sliding that belt looser as you belly up to the buffet.

Water it down
We all know…drink water to help mobilize stored fat. Keep a tally of your water intake. Drink water before the office party, at the office party and after the party itself. This helps keep you full and of course the walks to the bathroom offers you an extra calorie burn as well as time away from the snacking table.

Eat before you go
Have your planned healthy meal making sure it has good amounts of healthy fats to keep you fuller longer. Keep the protein in to make sure you have that feeling of eating something with substance, don’t look for celery sticks to save you from the rum cake!

Caffeine Rush
Have a nice hot cup of coffee in your hand. The caffeine will help suppress appetite, enhance your mood and the warmth of the coffee will give you a sated feeling in your belly as well. Just be sure to skip the super sugar and fat laden drive up varieties. Adding a dash of cinnamon to the java gives you more of a festive feel and a slight metabolic boost. YUM!

Sample the Menu
By now you KNOW calories and serving sizes and what is too much and what is a sample. So, don’t be afraid of the food just choose wisely! Have small tastes of 3 or 4 foods that you just can’t seem to take your eyes off of. It is OK to sample, I give you permission. You won’t gain 100 pounds from a small sampling of treats and you know how to work those samples off in the gym.

Here is a wonderful recipe that you can also prepare to bring with you. You can share your fitness journey with your companions AND enjoy a rich seasonal dessert try our Pumpkin Custard.

Last but not least, remember you need to be accountable. You can utilize our fitness forum 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and always with no charge. You can ask advice, offer advice and look to find more motivation and encouragement that you DO need to have success on your fitness journey. Studies do show people are far more likely to stick to a program of diet and fitness if you are held accountable outside of your own self. Imagine it like we are all following you around watching you pick your food choices and making sure you get to the gym to get your workouts in……we are stalking you into wellness!

With all that said, please enjoy your holidays and remain honest and true to your own goals. I am always just an email away!

In Health

Maureen Jeanson

Your Fitness Journey

Co-Author to Squeaky Gourmet

2008-10-29T07:36:00.001-05:00

Human behavior is a fascinating thing to watch and try to understand. How people respond to external influences such as parents, peers, siblings and even strangers. I have been watching this show on the A&E channel called “Intervention”. I am sure you can imagine what the show is about just by reading the title but let me give some more explanation. Each episode begins by introducing the addict and explains to the viewer what their addiction is. We have seen alcoholics, meth, cocaine, heroin, prescription pills, aerosol spray and even people with eating disorders. The show unfolds and there is ALWAYS a reason for the addiction. No I am not saying excuse, I am saying reason. In some cases it is one single traumatic event, other times it is a series of ongoing abusive situations that cause the person to turn to a chemical release from their internal agony. Some cases, though, are what seem to be small events over time that add up to the person being in such turmoil they also turn to some fort of relief from their own struggle with life. Each and every addict that has been on the show, all the triggers and tragedy have occurred in childhood. Each and every single situation has been a direct result of something in their childhood. Something as small as being in a Christian home and town and being homosexual to growing up watching your mother be beaten by your father day in and out can lead these people down a very destructive path when they grow up. They are all running away from, burying, hiding and trying to destroy their own self to get an escape when they begin their destructive behaviors and eventually the drugs take over and they are now a victim to the chemical.

This show makes me think about my children and my relationship with them. I think about how our minds and emotional health develop and mature and really just how fragile children are. I also see the same pattern in these drug addicts that we also see in food addicts. That, to me, was fascinating to connect. The voice inside of you which drives you to eat the foods you know are not on your current “diet” but the pull to eat them is very strong. How many of you can hear Oreos or chips if they are in the cupboard? How many of you have an emotional trigger from certain foods and you just love them even though you know they will not allow you to lose weight. Sure some people are thinking “Ok my mom’s apple pie is fine for me to eat, Moe. I am not an addict” and you are most likely right. There are others who know I mean a deeper draw to food than just a fond memory of apple pie scent and warm crust. I am talking about almost the blind eating we can do when we have that certain food or even group of foods that trigger our food addiction. So, this leads me to think….where did the food addiction begin? For me, and for you, what started it? I know my childhood events and really at times I feel it is nothing short of a miracle to not have been a featured person on Intervention. I am lucky that I am not and my path took a different turn when I was just 16 years old. Though, that is the same age where my relationship with food really began. I would starve, I would binge I would exercise till 2 in the morning. I have done almost every diet and have tried every junk food that came near my mouth. I have eaten in private and hid the food wrappers. I have felt shame from not being able to control my urge to eat the foods I have eaten and I have purged food out of guilt as well.

Internally, that is where my work is. It has nothing to do with the food or the diet I pick or the exercise because if I do not work on myself internally then I will still be fighting an addiction to something vs. curing my own emotional response. I needed to stop the self abusive pattern with food and diet and learn to address the injuries of my past. Is that where you are? Are you in denial of a food addiction and still believe you just have no will power or that there is something wrong with you? Do you look for food as an escape from something? I know when I am deeply stressed I still want to eat junk food for that chemical reaction in my body and if I had all I could eat dangerous amounts of donuts could be devoured. Sounds funny when worded that way but thinking logically about it…..that is an addiction. So I am asking you..if you have an emotional reaction to food that HAS and IS holding you from your fitness and health are you possibly fighting an addiction alone?

Here are a few none and listed symptoms of food addiction.
• Obsessed with thoughts about food.
• Eats to relieve worry or stress.
• Feels anxious while eating.
• Worries or feels anxious while eating which results in more eating.
• Feels guilty when they overeat.
• Hides food so they can eat in secret away from other people.
• Goes on a food binge after dieting or after trying to cut back.
• Sees food as something to be avoided or as harmful.

If you feel any of this applies to you I would encourage you to seek counseling and support to get to the heart of the matter. You can be free from your internal dialogue of guilt and anger and self abuse. You can find a way to be happy and healthy and stop struggling with food every time you open the fridge or head to the super market.

I am an email away if you want or need to talk to someone about anything.

2008-10-21T08:11:00.003-05:00

Ok! So the water is falling off my body now with the return to clean eating and a.....D-I-E-T.
I am hungry today so extra fat will be swallowed to prevent the carb cravings that usually follow me around.
Heavy DL is tonight rather than last night. I ended up on a road trip to pick up some reserve copies of Squeaky Gourmet to ship out. I was asked to take pictures of me near the book ( ok holding it I am sure) and I will post those later today as well!

I have some serious injury thing in my right wrist and arm right now. I am not sure how heavy the DL will be tonight but I will try my hardest for pulling up those 3 plates off the floor again.

Biggest Loser is on tonight!! WOOOHOO...I love that show!

2008-10-19T08:39:00.003-05:00

So today is day one of stop gaining any weight ;)
I had a fantastic summer "cut" and when I lost the amount of fat and wore the size of clothing I wanted to wear I moved to maintenance calories. Ok, but I forgot that maintenance is still tracking, counting and making sure my energy input ( eating) matches the energy used by my body. So, I have gained back a few pounds, nothing major. However it is so crucial to make sure I keep these pounds in check and not let them get too far ahead of me. I do not want to sit there with 20 pounds I have to lose AGAIN.

So, today I am buckled back in to a diet for a little bit and then when I move back to maintenance I will TRACK MY INPUT VS OUTPUT!!!

My family has been toying with the idea of becoming "gluten free" in our kitchen. We have a history of celiac disease in the family as well as autism under our roof. There has been such great information out there now on the effects of wheat on the digestive tract and what it does to the body when the body says " No thank you" to wheat but you eat it anyway.

However, gluten free is EXPENSIVE! I have 5 kids to feed , bills to pay and hello we all know what our economy is right now so I decided to do some research on how to go gluten free and not go broke making cookies. We have an international market near my house. Lucky Star in Somersworth NH. When you go there it is seemingly a hole in the wall store. The enter door is on the left, the exit door on the right . The electric door has a sign that says "door moves slow PUSH HARD" and boy they are not kidding...it does not move. When you go in the store you see a lot of boxes cluttered about, ninja gear for those times you engage in mortal combat ( which seems to be more common than I originally thought judging by their array of weapons) Walking around the corner past the weapons and soda bottles which have symbols as labels and no English translation you are greeted with the produce section.
Avocados as big as my 4 yr old's head-.99 cents each. (the fruit not the 4 yr old) 20lb bags of basmatti, jasmine, red and brown rices all under $10. This same rice is over $2 a pound at the grocery market. They also sell for pennies on the dollar all the ingredients for making gluten free baking flour. Rice flours, tapioca flour etc. All for literally dollars on the pound less expensive than the market place I normally shop at.

While I was there i also bought a 5 pound bag of raw peanuts for $5, smoked eel to see if Mr G will eat it (he did, it smelled like canned cat food to me though so I was not impressed) coconut spread which tastes like macaroons. No idea what to use it on but it was under $2 for a large jar. It would be fantastic on ice cream ( I am on a diet, on a diet on a diet) or drizzled over a cream pie ( I SAID I AM ON A DIET!!!!).

Anyway, I estimated what would cost us over $25 to buy at the grocery store would cost us under $10 at this international food hole in the wall. I will be going back! I would encourage you to look around your area and see if you may have an international hole to shop in as well. I was excited for new food ideas and the possibility of saving considerable money while shifting to gluten free fare. I also need to learn several different languages before I am tricked to buy bird spit soda again. Yes, we bought soda and tasted it only to find out..it has bird spit in it.
It is called Bird's Nest and well..I did not think it had BIRD NEST in it....this reminds me of when I was a young girl and ate head cheese when my father offered it. I thought it was just cheese....my parents still laugh about it and I am still working it out in therapy.

Anyway..here is a gluten free flour recipe you can put together rather easily and spend less money than if you were to buy those specialty boxes of gluten free flour that has enough flour to make a few pancakes but certainly not enough for a Sunday morning breakfast for my army of a family!

Gluten Free Flour
2 cups white (or brown) rice flour

1/3 cup tapioca starch

2/3 cup potato starch (not flour)

1 tsp guar or xantham gum per cup of mix.

oh and just a reminder, gluten free does not mean healthy. Peanut butter cups and nachos are gluten free...as is bird spit soda and head cheese....see my point?

2008-10-14T06:28:00.002-05:00

I was talking with a friend of mine about finding our motivation to workout and eat right when we have taken a break from our fitness journey. How do we lose that motivation and how the heck do we get it back? Every spring we begin to plan our diet to make sure we can fit in the summer clothing we are soon to be taking out of our closets. We pinch and poke all the new fat stores we let settle in on us while the winter months let us cover ourselves with wool sweaters and long johns. (Hey I live in New Hampshire, it gets cold..we wear long johns) We start to regret the extra helpings of the comfort foods that warm our souls and bellies during the off season. Wouldn't it be great if we did not have to fear the summer by setting up safeguards NOW before the comfort foods and snow storms become the norm.

Have you gained back some of the weight you have previously worked hard on losing? Have some how lost that motivation to stay the course to a healthier you? Lots of people do. This is a life long commitment in a society that does not embrace or allow a healthy lifestyle. You can't go to a drive-thru and order carrot sticks and a protein enriched salad. You won't find your local fast food offering sweet potato fries or an avocado side dish. You have to make extra time to plan and prepare in this fast paced world and it is easy to back slide. But everyday is a new day and an opportunity to begin anew.

Sometimes you just have to hunker down and plow through the right steps in order to find that motivation you have lost. You may WANT to be motivated right now but you just are not. You may be thinking " Man, I was so excited when I began and i made good strides as well. Why is it so hard to focus like that right now?!?!" I think everyone at some point or another has been in that exact mind set. Some people end up totally giving up and return completely to old life habits and food addictions and others continue to struggle and once again are able to refocus and plug back in. Which one will you be?

Because no matter what you do, how much weight you lose or gain and how many gym trips you skip or do, it was ALWAYS a choice. You can choose to let it all go and return to the unhealthy state you were in or you can just put your effort in to go through the right steps and start your journey again. It is ok to take time and wonder what it is you want for a goal or for a focus but while you are looking for a goal just start with the right steps. Dedicate time to being more active, just 2 times a week to start with. Stop eating the foods you know will do nothing to feed your body the way your body needs to be fed. Pick whole foods over quick processed foods. An apple is just as convenient as a donut. A handful of raw almonds is just as filling as french fries. Don't allow yourself to think you do not have time or opportunity to eat the right foods. So take some steps to make sure your food choices are clean whole foods and you make sure to move your body at least 2 times a week. Who CARES what your long term goal weight is at this time, do not waste time trying to figure it out while you slide further and further back from your initial weight loss success!

So, remember, we all have been there at some point or another. The key to getting back on track is just doing it and stop waiting for the motivation fairy to visit you. Pick healthy whole foods over processed foods and make an effort to move your body at least 2 times this week.

Soon you will feel healthier and your body will be grateful for the exercise and healthy nutrients and you WILL BE MOTIVATED to go further!

Come join the forum and let us know where your motivation is. Do you need a reminder of the right steps? Need to share how fantastic things have been and motivate some others? We are eager to hear from you!
Take No Prisoners Forum

2006-09-01T21:29:00.000-05:00

HEY! I have not run off to join a circus act or anything! I have been working hard on the new site design as well as starting up my online coaching program etc. I am going to be "blogging" on my own site now so please change your bookmark settings to this link
Moe's Blog
Hope to see you there!!!

2006-07-01T06:22:00.000-05:00

There are about 300 million people in America....almost 200 million are classed as overweight.....of those 1/2 of them are classed as obese...and the number keep rising. Like a flood coming towards you and you can see it and you have a chance to be free from the deadly power of it or you can succumb and be like everybody else...dying from your bad habits.

out of 300 million people 2/3 of them are dying from an outrageous yet preventable epidemic......you realize of those numbers some of them are CHILDREN!!!! CHILDREN!!!!! We are passing on deadly habits to your babies..here son have a cigarette and some beer, your 8 and you deserve it for cleaning your room.....WTF IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE!?!? 10% of our preschoolers are classed as over weight.....our 3-5 yr olds....15% of your pre-teens are fat, 15% of our teens are even fatter....LEAVE THOSE POOR CHILDREN ALONE!! It is so hard growing up normal as it is, then cripple them with a food addiction, lack of physical activity and then blame them for no motivation, slug like behavior and their ADD problems

70% of adult onset diabetes in the United States is attributed to the friggen expanding waist line...Type II kills people.

Americans spend over $33 BILLION each year on weight loss products.....and we are STILL GETTING FATTER! 25% of those same money spending, quick fix seeking Americans admitted to spending NO TIME in physical activity....25%!!!!! 14% of those 25% say they can't recall the last time they MOVED THEIR ASS!!!

Stop killing yourselves, killing your children....there is no such thing as a fat gene..there I said it..THAT'S RIGHT I SAID IT!!! We have not changed our gene's in over 100 years yet Obesity is climbing faster than the thermometer on a hot morning in Texas....

I won't be going down that road, my children won't be going down that road....I will fight till the end, i will take no prisoners.....I will win the WAR a battle at a time damn it.....

2006-06-19T12:42:00.000-05:00

2006-06-19T11:32:00.000-05:00

I received an email from someone who says she wants to loose weight. She started last year on the BFFM path, saw results and then lost motivation. She asked me how it is I keep mine. (waving Hi Pat!)

I thought about it for a while last night. How do I remain on target? Gosh, how do you lose the target at all if you are honestly focused on it? I did not aim at a vague point and just hope to get there..where ever the "there" may be.

Everyday is an opportunity to hit or miss so everyday I can set a goal to hit my target. The human mind is an amazing tool; don't underestimate the power of your thoughts. Anthony Robbins talks about the science of "becoming". Some people will tout the phrase " fake it till ya make it". It is about being in a place mentally that you lead the body where you desire it to go.

What I am trying to say is; there is no magic here. I do not posses something everyone else does not. People who make transformations of their body, or financially or spiritually, none of them hold some key that the world is not permissible to view. it is in your reach, if you reach. You have to reach.....listen to me....you have to reach..not hold up your hand and wait for it to fall into your grasp, it won't happen like that.

Some tips:

Stop the crippling mind set of “I just can’t find my mojo” There is nothing to find, I am not sure why you think it was created elsewhere for you to scoop up. You make it, you create the motivation and fortitude.

Stop setting vague goals like “I want to lose weight” Well, how much weight? How can you work with a goal like that? Lose 4 pounds on a crash diet, BANG goal achieved. Close your eyes and picture who you want to be. Imagine in great detail the body image you want to have. Is it to wear a size smaller? Lose the fat off your thighs? Perhaps it is to wear a slinky black dress to a party and attract the eyes of every eligible man in the room? How will you get to that goal? How will you BECOME that goal?

Start planning: In order to reach this specific goal I need a time frame. I need an approach I can work with and a diet which I can work with. I have mapped all that out in my blog as well.

Check progress: Make sure you are charting progress. Sometimes we lose fat but not weight. We exchange fat numbers on the scale for pounds of muscle. We think all that work was for nothing and we lose focus. Take some measurements, squeeze into some smaller pants and keep trying them on…if you apply it all you will see the changes not reflected in the scale.

Get support. It is great to be held accountable to others and not just our own thoughts. Join a support forum and post your goals, your desires, your struggles….your triumphs. You can join our growing forum at www.yourfitnessjourney.com. We are all waiting to see you!!!

Again, remember there is no magic that you can’t seem to find. You create the motivation each and every day….read again the tips… begin your journey!!!

2006-06-06T13:50:00.000-05:00

Putting into a clear Perspective

When you picture losing weight you picture yourself looking good and healthy, perhaps wearing a perfect pair of jeans and turning heads. You go to bed with the full mind set to wake up with the sun and begin your new diet. You feel confident in your idea and you think that this is finally the answers you were looking for. Then, as the sun peeks thru your tightly closed window shades and beams of daytime penetrate your eyelids, you grumble, roll over and hit the snooze button. You know you wanted to work out first thing yet that new fabric softener in the pillow case seems to have you in a trance.

When you finally wake up you have no time to workout at all now. In fact you are running behind and have no time to eat breakfast either. You justify it by saying you will grab something healthy on the way in. Yeah, right. On the way in are traffic jams and red lights you can’t seem to get around. By the time you arrive at the office the donuts from the break room have beckoned you and you cave in. These set off a domino effect and you fall off the diet wagon before you even touched the snooze button; before you even began!

Self sabotage is followed by self abuse and the spiral continues and you never seem to get past the gate. You beat yourself up over and over at your presumed failure and allow yourself pity to consume you. You flip the channels on the TV and see fit thin people everywhere. Some are so eye catching your self talk mutters “God I would kill to look like that!! “ You would?? Funny, from where I am sitting you are killing yourself already and you certainly don’t look like that. So, let’s put it into perspective.

Somewhere in the world a person is lying in bed right now unable to sleep. They toss and turn and replay life over and over in their minds. No, not because they are planning a new diet or failed that day to reach the diet they had planned. Think outside that mindset. Perhaps they cannot sleep because their spouse was diagnosed that day with a terminal disease, or they found out their child will be born with a severe disability. Perhaps they cannot sleep because their soul is in turmoil over something that life gives us no control over at all. Where they are, there are no choices. You cannot will death to not happen to your family and loved ones; you can’t control car accidents and traumatic events which do plague people all over the planet daily. Yet here you sit beating yourself up because you some how could not manage to wake up early?

When you see that food which beckons you, why do you allow the excuse you had no control….or even the excuse you had little control since this “ x,y,z poison” is your weakness? Stop lying, you do have control of your choice to eat it….to over eat it and to sit in your Barcalounger all evening angry at yourself for again not keeping your word to yourself. You wallow and allow yourself the self pity and self destruction to feed into your mind set. Snap the hell out of it, somewhere there is a mother grieving, or a husband dying; families are splitting up all the time left and right and you think the 4 donuts in the break room are the destruction of man kind. HELLO!??!!?

Just put it into perspective and ask yourself why you think saying no to the lasagna your Aunt Marie made is somehow far more difficult than telling your wife you have cancer. Say no thank you, grab an apple and move on from that moment. Stop acting like making the right food choices or time to work out are so mind boggling and emotionally challenging that you would rather remain over weight and out of shape. There is no grey area of torture here, it is black and white. Donut or oatmeal…..hhmm, does not seem to be so life altering when you look at it in this perspective does it??

Make your plan, choose your moments wisely and be conscious of the self talk you offer yourself as an out. Be in the moment and aware of the moments. Don’t hit the snooze and abuse yourself later…jump out of bed in a run and take life on full force! This is your time to be in control, so BE IN CONTROL!!!

~ In loving Memory~
Seamus Charles who should be turning 6 yrs old, I love you baby boy.

2006-05-31T17:21:00.000-05:00

I want to thank all of you for the emails as well as the IM's about the forum. Unfortunately Yahoo Web Hosting has really failed to help with customer support in this regard. Our database was some how corrupted and they failed to repair it in a timely manner....ok enough of the soap box!

With the amazing help of our Tech Dept we have launched our own forum as well as website. The web site is still a work in progress but the forum IS BACK!!!! We lost some files and some people will have to register again, but I PROMISE it will be worth it!! Soon we will have chats and the gallery up and running as well....again I am sorry the first one did not workout but here is the new forum!!

Take No Prisoners

Welcome back!!!!!!

WOOOHOOO!!! Who is excited?? Ok, well I am!!!! See you there!!!!

2006-05-25T17:01:00.000-05:00

Well, some of you have joined us at the forum I had been messing around with. Today as I was working on my business web site I stumbled across something really cool. I won't get into all the programing details because really I just closed my eyes and clicked a lot *wink* However, I would like to invite you all to join me at the "Take No Prisoners" forum! You can still smell the wet paint even!

I am excited to take this to a more comfortable level than the emails people send me from my blog as well as from the yahoo groups I am on. So...without further rambling....

Take No Prisoners

2006-05-24T07:00:00.000-05:00

I am in my kitchen tossing in healthy ingredients to my Kitchen Aide mixer. My two year old as well as my three year old daughters' are helping me, of course. I am making up the recipe as I go along. Soon the house is filled with the scent of baking goodness as the cake mixture rises in the pan inside my oven.

Fifteen minutes later it is complete. I mix up some protein powder pudding and slop it over a piece of this new concocted "dessert/meal"of mine and take a bite. ..........

At some point in this journey food function has surpassed food flavor. I am not saying I do not thoroughly enjoy the taste of a rib eye or a piece of birthday cake, but I equally enjoy a bowl of fiber rich, anti-oxidant loaded raw veggies. That is right, go ahead read it again...I said I EQUALLY ENJOY a rib eye to a bowl of raw vegetables. EQUALLY!! How in the hell did this happen? There was at some point in my life a time when I clearly enjoyed foods! To the point of my skin being stretched past normal, my clothing popping off buttons one by one as I outgrew the body I was suppose to have. Yet, in about 15 months worth of time I have decided function is as important to me, some days more important to me than the icing on the cake.

This morning I added some protein powder to my coffee walked over to my magic cake I made and lopped off a portion. It is dry and um...Listless....I would not win an award at any contest and I am pretty sure this recipe will die with me. I sat with my cake and coffee and chewed and sipped and chewed some more. My two year old daughter woke up and asked for a bite of my cake......She chewed a bit and then her eyes grew wide as she promptly spit my dry, gritty creation onto my living room rug. Hhhmm, I guess it tastes gross, I was not aware!!

When I was done eating my breakfast I honestly thought " Well it might not taste good but it is protein loaded, good clean carbs and is really filling for such a small portion" and I was sated with that. So, when I said 15 months ago I would do anything to lose that weight, I meant it! I really really meant it!!!

If you are just starting out today and see how people eat who have been healthy for a long time do not discount their foods. Don't sit and think " I could never like that...Or eat like he does or she does" I am here to tell you, you will change and develop new priorities and you will adjust and not even know it!

Begin the change......

2006-05-19T13:06:00.000-05:00

I have one simple question for you....

Are you excited about summer coming?

Ok I have more than 1 question. You know how one question can lead to other questions. If you are excited, tell me why!! If you are not excited...is it because you have not stuck to the decision to improve your body and your health? It is almost Memorial day here in the USA and that means BBQ's and beach days......are you ready?

Dig deep, people, this is it. This is why some of us have worked all year!! This is why we flex in the mirror, skip the butter on the veggies, perform lunges until our legs are jelly. Squeeze into that swim suit or skimpy t shirt and shorter-than-short shorts. THe timer is set and the final count down has begun.

So...ARE YOU READY?!?!?!?

2005-09-14T06:51:00.000-05:00

I watched a show last night on TV. It was called " The Biggest Loser" , have you ever watched it? I remember watching it last season and I was fat and envious of the intense training they had. I remember thinking to myself "Wow, if I was there I would SO be thin!!" Well, I never went on that show but here I sit at almost 12% body fat ( for a chick I am considered "lean"). Anyway....Last night there was this one woman, man she drove me NUTS with self sabotage. I am sure she is not even aware of the fact she does it, so many people do it. Do you?
She said she could not ride on an airplane because it would make her sick, she began to cry and heave and said she should go home even.....Leave the damn SHOW because of a ride on an airplane!! Leave the show which was offering to help her day and night lose the 100 pounds of fat which weighed her spirit down. Leave the show which so many other people applied to be on because she had to ride in an airplane. I mean, how about setting a limit on yourself as soon as the bell is rung!!
Later in the show she said she KNEW she would be picked for an added burden by the other challengers..She just KNEW she would be picked to fail, she just KNEW she had not lost enough weight to make the cut...SHE JUST KNEW SHE WAS A FAILURE, so why bother trying. How can you set yourself up like that? We see it all the time though.

I could be thin like her if I had the self discipline to not eat all the donuts and ice cream in the house at 10 o'clock at night. Here is helpful advice if this is you....Make a clean home for yourself. Don't allow junk food in until you are in a safer place emotionally that they WILL NOT TEMPT YOU! By cutting out that binging alone you save yourself from 19 pounds of extra fat gained this year!

I could be physically fit if I only had TIME to go to the gym. Between my job, errands for the family, and my down time at night I have no time to work out. Even if I did have some time, I am too tired at the end of the day to work out. I promise you this....I PROMISE YOU THIS...if you start taking 30 minutes a day just 3 times a week ( so that is what? 1.5 hours out of 168 hours in a week!) you WILL have time, you WILL get more energy and soon you will see changes which will encourage you to work out more. Soon, in a few weeks or even for some a few months you will forget you really liked this TV show, or that news program. The world will not come to a screeching halt if you skip TV a little bit and walk around the block. Your body will begin to change completely, though!

I could look as good as him but I can't give up my *insert food here*. I also can't STAND *insert food here* If you tell yourself you won't like a new food program before you even give it 100% of your effort you are no better than the 3 year old child staring at a plate of veggies that EVERY PARENT EVER has said "just try it, you may like it" So are you setting yourself up here just like a small unreasonable child having a tantrum. I can't say it any other way. I can't imagine the self reasoning to tell yourself you could have the physical appearance you have always wanted but you can't stomach the idea of eating differently to get there. With that mind set, when you become so obese and develop diabetes and heart disease....just wait till you see the foods you will have to give up in order to just STAY ALIVE!!

If you approach this with 100% effort, with 100% open thoughts to how to get to where you want to be, you will get there! If you start off making excuses for yourself before you even tie your running shoes, you will NOT get to where you really and truly want to be. So right now, be HONEST with yourself. Why are you telling yourself these things? What are you afraid of happening? You may like oatmeal? You may develop a love for aerobic fitness?

Are you afraid of failing? If you tell yourself you will do ANYTHING it takes, how can you fail?

If you are willing to do all that it takes, you WILL have the physical fitness you want!!

2005-09-13T07:05:00.000-05:00

Everything we eat does something for us, or to us. We are all eating to maintain a specific size, what size is determined by how much and what foods we eat. A lot of people make the mistake of skipping meals or going on extreme diets which cause the body to actually go in a panic mode and it ends up slowing down fuel burning ( metablolism) and looks to our muscles for added energy. Some people make the mistake of eating an abundance of anything because they think the 30 minutes on the treadmill 3 times a week will make up for it. In both extremes the body has no idea what to do so it stores fat.
It is so important to understand food, and digestion when atempting to change your eating styles. It is like knowing to put gasoline in your car for fuel rather than alcohol or peanut butter. How our body works with food is specific NOT hit or miss.
We digest food, good wholesome nutrition, roughly at 3 hour intervals. If you are eating the right foods and feel hungry an hour or 2 later, you are not eating enough. ( I mean real hunger people, not when you open the fridge door over and over looking for something to do) and if 4 or 5 hours go by and you have not felt that twinge of hunger, you are eating too much at one time.
An important step right now, for people who are looking to change is discover what amount of calories your individual metabolism needs. You can find out more about that on so many sites, but here are a few:
http://www.weightlossforall.com/calculate%20cals.htm
don't want to do the math? try here
http://www.shapefit.com/dailycalorie-calc.html
and another
http://www.caloriesperhour.com/index_burn.html
Now take one day and consider how many calories you normally eat, when you feel hungry and when you do not. Now if you are saying " But Moe, I am not hungry when I wake up, in fact I am not hungry till lunch or even later" then something is very wrong with your metabolism and you need to eat MORE! Remember it is not always about eating less. Yes people ( that's right I said YOU PEOPLE) who skip meals can still be gain weight, in fact MORE WEIGHT because their body dines on muscle stores while they feel proud they have not eaten yet....hence fat is stored and muscle destroyed.
So, today if you are trying to change and have no damn idea where to start, this is an excellent starting point.....time to EAT!!

2005-09-12T07:39:00.000-05:00

This weekend someone noticed I lifted weights. He noticed it just by looking at me, what a nice ego boost that was. Well, not really an ego boost but more a confirmation I AM doing this right and I am heading towards the goals I have set for myself.
While visiting them I noticed they had some boxes which said "6 weeks to the new YOU!!" on the covers. I asked what it was about and teased that they had new bodies inside of boxes. I could not help it, I opened them and looked it over. It had motivational tapes, diet plans and even a resistance band to help them work out. I asked why they had not used any of it yet and of course jokes were made etc. Wow, six weeks to a new you and you have had this box for 12 weeks now, how is that working for you?
It really showed me how much a choice can influence us on a daily basis. Remember the talk about choices and how to make one, each day and to stick to that choice each day. When they made that purchase for that program ( how much is that program anyway!?!?) they had made a step towards a choice but each day since then had made a different choice. Yikes....They had come so close. Now like countless others that box will be either given away, sold at a yard sale or sit in a closet somewhere and wait for the choice to be remembered.
My basement is filled with other people's new choices. I have a Cardioglide machine, I have a Nordic Track, I have a wonderful treadmill, as well as 2 aerobic steps. I have 2 full weight benches with complete weights as well as 3 Olympic weight bars to go with it. I have a complete gym in my basement and I acquired it all for free.
People all spent money on these items, made a good choice to change their lives and then some how managed to self talk themselves into a really bad choice....Complacency. It cost me absolutely nothing to have a full gym at my ready because other people can't stick to a choice, one choice repeated daily until it becomes so routine and needed it is like breathing. Imagine making a choice to not breathe?

If you are interested in benefiting from other people's lack of initiative go to www.freecycle.org and join your local group! You can get gym equipment, workout tapes/DVD's etc. There is a plethora available for the taking!

make a choice

2005-09-09T06:59:00.000-05:00

Well, about 10 weeks into my decision to change my life I came across an interesting link. They talked about the exact amount of calories based on body weight and activity ( STAY WITH ME PEOPLE) one would need to see weight loss. Well, I am a normal lazy American and this was interesting. I thought to myself, hey this will let me do as little as possible and get results! It did, too. It cast out all those ideas of working so hard you sweat blood just to lose 4 pounds of fat. It showed me a way, a truth and a light that I had never seen before.
Years ago I was very interested in weight lifting. I joined a gym and worked very hard at it, and I got very fit but I was still "fat". However, this site showed me what to do in order to not be fat and look sleek and muscular and lean. I would not just look thin, according to what I was reading, but I would look like I worked out! Well sign me right the hell up for this! I was all over it!
Very soon, in my hands I had the complete printed version of a book called Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle. Gregg, my husband, had printed it up for me and tabbed the chapters and handed it to me in a rut colored 3 ring binder. I read this book, I did the math to figure out my calories and mapped out my goals in log term.
Using the tools in this book I took my 37 pounds of weight loss I had achieved so far on my own and lost an additional 27 pounds of fat that I had no idea I could lose! My goals keep going and I am more and more educated on the human body, despite my college degree in it already!
I learned about body fat percentage, how much cardio is too much cardio. Read that last part again, because it is a really great thing to know.
We CAN do too much cardio!! WOOHOO, I knew it! However, most of us are in danger of doing to little so settle back down. I encourage anyone who wants to dig out of a rut, who wants a way to get completely healthy and have it explained SPECIFICALLY HOW and to find great motivation along the path, check out this book!
Here are some great links as well

www.fitren.com
www.weightlossforall.com

If you do nothing about this today, you will wake up fatter tomorrow.

2005-09-08T09:05:00.000-05:00

2005-09-08T06:53:00.000-05:00

After my stint with yoga I also discovered a new channel on TV, FitTV. A whole channel dedicated to fitness, who knew? They have different workout programs for different interests. I KNEW I was not interested in jumping up and down and smiling and that had been the only other options I had known about....Until I saw Gilad: Sculpt and Tone. This was a turning point for me, a golden beam of light from the heavens which shone down on the remote control and blessed me with a new insight. He did not jump around, he had no bounce in his groove but he used free weights and this new thing called "push ups".
One morning dressed in sweat pants and a sweatshirt I tuned in to Gilad, standing ready with my hand weights and my yoga mat I began my first real moves towards a rapid sculpting program. Yes, sculpt is a funny word to those seasoned in fitness, we know you can't sculpt off fat, but allow me to use it for now. I began to sweat, my heart was pounding, I was focused and tired. I forced out a few push ups and rested while Gilad continued, I squeezed upwards for a few stomach crunches until my ab muscles began to come to life and told me to lay the hell back down!
For an hour I did this, for one hour 3 or 4 times a week and yoga began to be a thing of the past in way of fitness. Soon I could do more push ups, more crunches, more lunges and squats and shoulder presses...soon I could see new muscles develop and inches gone from places like my mid section, my arms and my chest.
I had increased my workout incredibly and the pay off was obvious to me! I did not need to do traditional aerobics to burn off fat. This is a medical break through, people all around the world should know this!
My point with this is, you may not know all the options to burning off fat and have a mental image of wedgies from leotards and happy smiles jumping off small buildings and back up again. This may not be the approach you want to take, in fact you may HATE this idea as much as I do. If you do, know there are options, look into circuit training. A faster paced weight lifting program which makes you burn fat and feel powerful and healty and accomplished. Wedgie Leotard and plastic smile not included.
If you DO like aerobic jumping up and down, get out the pom poms and work up that smile. Jump up and down to music or the sound of traffic even.
Make sure today to move your body harder than yesterday and you will see a result, you will feel a result. Apply the idea to make each day a bit more physical than the day before and soon you will be SHOCKED with the results.
Days turn to weeks, which turn to months which turn to years. What will you do today to change the results over the years to come?

2005-09-07T07:45:00.000-05:00

Do you ever sit and imagine changing yourself? Picturing the roll on your belly as flat or your thighs which rub together looking firm and fantastic in a pair of shorts? What stops you from taking the steps to being that image you have in your head? Have you been over weight for a while now and you just can't imagine the steps from fat to thin?
It is about making choices, or one choice. If you decide right now to no longer accept the fat on your belly, or thighs or hanging over your bra strap or keeping you out of your favorite pants, then take that choice and run with it. Decide right now to make a plan for today. If you are not taking steps to change it then you are becoming what it is you do not want to be.
Today, sit down and write goals. Be specific, I would like to wear a size....., I want to look like....., etc. Read that list and KNOW the list.
When you are tempted to go off your plan, to eat that pizza or that ice cream, remember your list and ask yourself how much closer to the goals you will be if you eat that food.
When you have a moment to fit in some sort of exercise, walking, bike riding, even some push ups and you decide to sit and watch TV instead, ask yourself how this choice is going to affect the time it takes to reach your goals.
Before you take any action, remember what the choice will affect.

So today, as you go about your day, ask yourself if this action will help you or make it worse for you. Weigh out what it is worth to you and act on that choice.

Become who you want to be simply by making the choice to be that person.

2005-09-06T06:22:00.000-05:00

Well, here I am, er was when I decided it was time to stop this crazy spiral into the potato chip bag. Now wait, don't leave. You may just now have thought, but I do not eat potato chips and well, that is ok I did not really either. I can't even remember all of what I ate "then" and it is not relevant to the posting anyway.

I first started with the book written by Dr. Phil The Ultimate Weight Solution: 7 Keys to Weightloss Freedom. Great book, great place to start if you are trying to not be the emotional eater. If you just want to lose a few pounds you can also check out his rapid start book, this outlines the food plan really well. What I liked most about the rapid start is the calorie values for the crap food we think is part of our daily right as adults to consume without thought or care as to the glycemic index, the fat to protein ratio etc. Oops, did that last sentence get to "techy" for you? Did it make your eyes glaze over and make you look at the "fat" me again and wonder where I was going and if I could offer any help to you? Did the mention of the word glaze cause you to think of a donut? Ok, sorry, keep reading I won't do that again for a little while.

Now...sit still for a moment while I softly say a word. Don't close the window or run away or think of that donut again when I say this word to you. Exercise. Ok, hush, wait don't leave...I know, trust me I KNOW! You have no time, no energy, no desire, no need, no motivation...yeah yeah I KNOW! I began with something as simple as Yoga and walking with my toddlers in the twin stroller two or three times a week. This was how I started. Let me tell you though, nothing motivates me more than having sore muscles from Yoga, I mean COME ON, this is a relaxing stretching routine done to center my spirit and mind. My mind and spirit were apparently crumpled up in the back of a dresser drawer for a very long time. Taking them out and stretching them looking for a center caused muscle pain. WOW, I was more out of shape than I thought!

So let me break down this post to you in simple terms. I ate roughly 1,200 calories a day and worked out gently EVER SO GENTLY for three days out of seven every week for 3 months.

Here is a diet example from one day

Breakfast

1 slice WHOLE WHEAT TOAST

1 teaspoon natural peanut butter

8 ounces low fat yogurt

Snack

small apple

low fat cheese stick

Lunch

large bowl fresh spinach salad

1/2 cup low fat cottage cheese

1/2 chicken breast

Snack

1 ounce feta cheese

small apple

Dinner

Large Salad

Chicken Breast

fiberous veggies like broccoli

Snack

low fat frozen yogurt

Here is me at the end of those 12 weeks, you can see the extreme difference in my face. I lost 37 pounds from this adventure so far. There are more details to add but I will write more about it later.

Stay Dedicated to the choices you make for yourself and you WILL see results!