Here's the continuation of my previous blog. Following is a breakdown of a recommended daily diet from the opinions of nutritionists from a Prevention magazine article. I'm going to try following it for at least a week. I'll report back and let you know how I made out. 

6:30 to 7 AM: Wake Up with Water

“Before you put coffee, tea, or food into your body, it's best to first break your fast with a glass of water with lemon,” says Ashley Koff, RD, a nutritionist in Los Angeles and founder of ashleykoffapproved.com. When you sleep, Koff says, your body isn't just abstaining from food but from water too. “Because many vitamins are water-soluble, having a glass before you eat will help your body better absorb nutrients from food.” The acidity of the lemon helps rebalance your digestive tract by making it alkaline, allowing “good” bacteria in your intestines to thrive and facilitate optimal nutrient absorption.

7 AM: Short Walk

This is your ideal fat-burning window, says Koff. A light bout of cardio soon after you wake up and before you eat-a 20-minute walk with the dog, jumping jacks, or running up and down stairs in your home, etc.-taps into your body's energy reserves.read more...

One of these days I’m going to go to a nutritionist and have them outline an eating plan for me. A very specific eating plan where they tell me what I should cut out and what I should be adding into my diet. Since I haven’t gotten around to making this happen, I was happy to see this article in Prevention magazine: The Perfect Day of Eating. The writer interviewed three nutritionists who counsel real women on the simple secrets of smarter meal planning.

Here’s what they found out: 1) Have a meal or small snack every 3 to 4 hours. This fuels your metabolism and helps prevent binges and blood sugar crashes. 2) Combine protein (meat, fish, beans, nuts, eggs, dairy) and fiber (whole grains, fruits, vegetables) at every meal. When eaten together, these foods take longer to digest than simpler carbohydrates, so you stay fuller, longer. 3) Get up, move around, and drink water often. This daily meal plan has a wide range of calories (from about 1,550 to 2,100); if you’re active you can go toward the higher end of the range.

Finally, remember that even the “perfect day” isn’t perfect if you eat the same thing over and over again. Use creativity to mix and match your own delicious, healthy meals.

***My next blog will continue with an hourly breakdown of what you should eat throughout the day from the Prevention article.

Parting thought: “Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could; some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; you shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

I once thought I had an addiction. It was an addiction that I couldn’t even fathom kicking: drinking soda. Drinking a 20-ounce Coke (I’m definitely not a Pepsi gal, it has to be Coke) at least twice a day was part of my routine for the past couple of years. Sometimes I would substitute a regular lunch for a 20-ouncer and a soft pretzel. . . .ahhh, carbs and caffeine can’t get healthier than that, right? Wrong.

I knew with each bottle of Coke I consumed that I was pumping more than 300 calories into my body. Empty calories that weren’t doing anything remotely near healthy for my diet. One soda contains 10 teaspoons of sugar (that’s 100% of our recommended daily intake) and plenty of high fructose corn syrup. What I loved about Coke though was that it made almost everything I ate taste better whether it was popcorn at the movies or a sandwich at lunch. I also loved how full it made me feel. I stupidly convinced myself that drinking a Coke was curbing my appetite.

When I would tell people how much soda I drank they would cringe. I got lectured on how it ruins your teeth, leads to the breaking down of your bones and especially how it packs on the pounds. One friend went so far as to emailing a list of websites devoted to how bad soda is for your health. One fact in particular from these websites made me pause: soda can clean your toilet, eliminate rust from a car bumper and remove grease from clothing. Yuck!

The bottom line was if I wanted to lose weight, I’d have to cut my ties with Coke. It wasn’t easy at first. I got headaches that I’m assuming was from not having the caffeine. I felt lost without saying “I’ll have a Coke with that” when I went out to lunch. Day by day it got easier and after almost three months of breaking my daily routine of guzzling Coke, I’m happy to admit I don’t miss it. The cravings are long gone. I’m certain a percentage of the weight I’ve lost so far is due to changing my beverage choices. Now my beverage of choice is water —something I never believed I would crave, but I do now.

So if you’re reading this and you’re thinking I’d never be able to give up soda, think again. Try it and you just may surprise yourself.

Parting thought: Be not afraid of going slowly; be afraid only of standing still. — Chinese Proverb

When you eat out in the Big Apple the menu clearly states how many calories are in each dish. So if you’re at Burger King and you’re craving a Triple Whopper with Cheese you’ll know that you’re consuming 1250 calories. Or if you are a fan of the fried macaroni and cheese at The Cheesecake Factory, you’ll know that if you clear the plate you’ll have eaten 1570 calories (and even though it doesn’t say it on the menu this dish has a colossal 69 grams of saturated fat which is more than you should eat in 3 1/2 days).

 Public-health advocates and the Senate are trying to pass nationwide laws that all chain restaurants put the calorie counts on the menu. Currently only New York City, West Chester County, NY and King County, WA, have mandatory calorie counts on menus. A recent study confirmed that 82% of New Yorkers said the new in-your-face nutrition data have affected their ordering.

 When can mandatory calorie counts on menus be implemented on the Main Line? I know that I would definitely think twice about ordering some of the (ahem) not-so-healthy stuff I order if I knew how many calories came along with it. Would chomping down the Quesadilla Burger at Applebee’s at 1440 calories really be worth being on the treadmill for hours working it off? I don’t think so. Sometimes I have to be shamed into making the right decision and staring back at calorie counts definitely would make me think twice before placing my order.

 Parting Thought: “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.”— Aristotle

Although I’ve been doing well so far I know from past experience of trying to lose weight and exercise that it usually goes well for a few weeks then things start slipping.

It starts with a missed workout here, then a chocolate donut there and then it’s one big slippery slope of being off the track of healthy living.

So I started to research advice on how to stay motivated and I came across this quote from Czech Olympian Emil Zatopek which I think sums it up quite succinctly:

"If one can stick to the training throughout the many long years, then willpower is no longer a problem. It's raining? That doesn't matter. I am tired? That's besides the point. It's simply that I just have to."

I’d add just one thing to this great Zatopek thought for myself: Just stop whining and get moving.

****Eight weeks into my training and eating modification (I think this term sounds better than diet) I’ve lost 11 pounds. I think they say the average is two pounds a week, which means I should be at 16 pounds, but I’m down more than10 and I’m going to be happy with that. Plus, muscle weighs more than fat and I know I’ve had to gain muscle after almost two months at training at Vertex. I can’t wait to see what the next few months bring.  

I love working out at Vertex Fitness. Dwayne, Chris and Corinne and the whole staff are phenomenal personal trainers. They’re encouraging, patient, knowledgeable, and somehow know what my body is capable of (even when I’m not even sure myself). There’s been days I’ve walked through the door at Vertex and have totally not been in the mood or felt like I’ve had the strength to get through five minutes let alone 30 minutes of a workout, but one of these guys have gotten me through it and I’ve left every time feeling re-energized.

I do have one complaint: I wish spot training problem areas really worked.

At Vertex they train the whole body: you work both your upper and lower body during the same session. The entire body responds to the weight training and since every body is unique, every body reflects the effects of the weight training differently. Exercising the entire body is the proper, and only, way to achieve an overall stronger and fitter body.

So I’m glad I’m not wasting my time doing 100 crunches for those flatter abs I’m dying for or spending precious time performing countless lounges for the perfect butt. I’m lucky to be working with professionals that understand the body and know how to properly train it. I can, however, continue to hope that my “problem” areas start responding faster to all my hard work. There’s nothing wrong with wishful hoping, right?

Parting Thought: A man who wants something will find a way; a man who doesn’t will find an excuse. —Stephan Dolley Jr.  

My Most Ignored Meal of the Day

 A “Speed Up Your Metabolism” article in Women’s Health magazine caught my eye the other day as I was flipping through the current issue. My metabolism could definitely benefit from a little boost so I kept reading.

 Of course, the first tip I didn’t do: eat a good breakfast. I’ve read a 100 times how breakfast is the most important meal of the day. But I’m not a morning person. At all. I can barely get myself out of bed, showered and to work on time every day. Adding time in to make a healthy breakfast would require getting up even earlier, which I’m not so sure I could do.

 Until I read this fact: according to a study in the American Journal of Epidemiology, volunteers who reported regularly skipping breakfast had 4.5 times the risk of obesity as those who took the time to eat. That statistic made it suddenly more appealing to lose some precious sleep time to prepare breakfast.

 So I’m going to try to not be so much of a night owl and get to bed earlier so I can get up earlier and get some breakfast time in. (There was also an article in the magazine that stressed the importance of getting eight hours of sleep a night—another thing that I never do.)

Beware, co-workers, I may be extra cranky from sleep deprivation the next few weeks. At least, now, I’ll have an excuse for my crankiness!

Parting Thought:

"You've got to say, I think that if I keep working at this and want it badly enough I can have it. It's called perseverance." - Lee Iacocca

If you don’t have something nice to say . . .

I’m a few weeks into working out at Vertex and eating healthier and I’m feeling good. I’ve lost a few pounds; averaging about a pound or two a week (although I know not to be too worried about what the scale says because I’m gaining muscle through the strength training).

 I’ve been through the weight loss process before so I know it’s not instantaneous. It took time to put the weight on and it’s definitely going to take time to get the weight off. Rational thinking like this, however, doesn’t always work for me. I want it to show right now that I’ve been really working hard. I want to fit back into the jeans I used to love to wear before my weight shot up—tonight! I want people to start noticing today that my body is changing.

 I’m learning that along with will power and determination you also have to have patience when it comes to weight loss. As much as I want it to, the weight is not just going to fall off of me. I just have to keep working hard and eating right and patiently wait to see the results that I’m dying to see.

 In the meantime, I’ll find solace in the little things like when a friend sent me a text message saying that she saw pictures of me on Facebook and thought my face looked like it had thinned out. So even though I’m not trying to lose weight in my face, I’ll take that compliment for now and be happy with it. Which brings me to another point—if you know a person who is working out and trying to lose weight pay them a compliment. Even if it’s just a “keep up the good work” a few kind words of encouragement can go a long way when you’re on the long road of weight loss.

Parting Thought:

If you don't have confidence, you'll always find a way not to win. — Carl Lewis