Friday, November 8, 2013

October Goals Recap and New November Goals + Sweat Pink Ambassador Healthy Moms Spotlight


Since we are well into November I decided it is time to take a look at my October goals and see how I did.  I also want to set some new goals for November, although a few might carry over from October.  Did you set goals for yourself in October?  How did you do?

Here are my October goals and a quick recap-
1) Do at least 2 art projects a week with Ariana.  We did a few art projects.  We focused on numbers, letters and colors.  She can count to 10, recognize her letters, and knows her colors.  I am a proud momma!

2) Listen to my body.  I did this quite well. 

3) Read 2 books.  I read a fiction book and stared a few non-fiction ones.  I will get through them this month.

4) Walk outside once a day with Ariana and talk about what we see.  This was fun, she loved picking up leaves and spending time outside.

5) Spend some time with just me and the hubby after Ariana goes to bed, doing something other than just watching tv.  Well, we spent time together, but we mostly watched tv.

6) Go to Church!  I fell short on this one.  I will try to make it this month!

7) Do more yoga!  I didn't make to any yoga classes, but I did more at home.

8) Read more of the blogs in my bloglovin feed and make more blogger connections.  I did this one!  I really enjoy reading other blogs and will continue to do so.

9) Take time to just sit and be.  This one is hard with a toddler, but I did take some of her nap times to just sit and relax or read.
 
10) Cook more meals at home!  I nailed this one!  My hubby is part of a biggest loser competition at his gym (he's lost 17 lbs so far, so proud of him!), so we are cooking more meals.  We talked about how important having healthy food prepared is to weight loss success.  Go babe!

November Goals- 
1) Read a non-fiction book.  The two I stared are Wheat Belly and a parenting a toddler book.  I will get through at least one!

2) Stay consistent with my workouts.  Working out at least 5 days a week.

3) Doing more things with Ariana.  Taking her to a story time, or play classes.  We do Kindermusik weekly, but maybe add in a few other things throughout the month.

4) Go to my Kickboxing class at least once a week!

5) Try 3 new recipes.  Sometimes I get stuck in the same meals rut.  I want to try some new meals and maybe a few crock pot recipes too.  If you have any great ones to share I would love to try them.

Okay, I feel like these 5 goals are attainable for the rest of this month.  Since Thanksgiving and my best friends wedding are coming up I know I am going to be busy, but I will make the time for my goals. 


  I am so excited to be a part of the Sweat Pink Ambassador Healthy Moms Spotlight.  If you are on Google+ make sure to join us on Tuesday November 12th at 8:00 EST.  Here is the link to the event, make sure to RSVP.  You can ask questions and learn more about these healthy moms.  

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Why Am I Not Losing Weight?


One of the questions I get most frequently is..."Why am I not losing weight?  I am doing everything right!"  As someone who has gone through weight loss in the past I know how frustrating it can be to feel like you are doing everything right, but the scale is just not moving.  When I was working at Life Time Fitness as the Nutrition Coach I was fortunate enough to go through their coaching program.  I learned a lot about the process of losing weight and unfortunately it is not always just about calories in and calories out.  There are many other factors that can go into the process of losing weight, however there are some things that you may be or not be doing that is affecting your weight loss progress. Remember that every person is different and will react to nutrition and exercise differently.

Here are the top 6 reasons that you may not be losing weight:
1) Sleep.  In this fast pace day and age chances are you are not getting enough sleep.  When you sleep your body goes though the process of resetting itself.  Ideally you should be getting to bed around 10 and waking up around 6, which makes for 8 hours of quality sleep.  From the hours of 10-2 your physical body resets and from 2-6 your mental body resets.  You should at a bare minimum be getting 7 hours of sleep.  When you constantly deprive yourself of sleep it is stressful for your body and you will release cortisol which is the hormone that causes weight gain in the mid-section, exactly where you don't want it!  Try to wind down and turn off the TV, cell phone and iPad at least an hour before your head hits the pillow.  Spend this time reading something enjoyable, doing some light yoga or taking a hot bath.  Your body will thank you after you give it the rest it so needs. 

2) Stress.  You are booked to the max and stressed to the gills.  Your life is demanding and you are not taking the time to relax and rest.  Does this sound familiar?  If you are not giving yourself adequate rest you will be stressing your adrenals which in turn produces more cortisol, that not so fun stress hormone.  You need to find some time each day to relax your body and mind.  Try to free up your schedule a little more and don't be afraid to ask for help from friends or family.  You deserve a break, and time to tend to your health.

3) You're not eating enough or you're eating too much.  The amount of calories that you need to consume for weight loss will vary from person to person, based on things such as weight, height, and age.  If you need help determining how many calories you need to eat for weight loss try using a website such as My Fitness Pal.  Here you will enter your information, weight loss goals and how often you will exercise and you will be given a calorie goal.  You may have to play around with this number, say give or take 100 calories.  It will take some adjustment, but if you pay attention you will learn what you need.  This will make sure that you are getting enough calories.  When you go below 1,200 for too long your body thinks that it is starving and will hold on to the food that you do eat and store it as fat, which is the opposite of what you want.  Conversely, you may be eating more than you think.  You should weigh and measure your portions until you can eyeball your portions.  This will ensure that you are tracking your calories correctly.

4) You're eating too many processed "foods".  All calories are not created equal.  Imagine a healthy dinner with  4 ounces of grilled chicken breast, half a sweet potato and a cup of broccoli this meal is around  300 calories.  However, these are all whole real foods that your body recognizes and they are nutrient dense foods.  Now say you eat 300 calories worth of chips and ice cream.  You think just because you are staying within your calorie range for the day that it is okay.  This is not food that your body can use, and will most likely be stored as fat.  Now, I am not saying that you can't have a few treats here and there, I am saying that you can't replace your nutrient dense meals with junk and expect to see the same results.  Put real, whole nutrient dense foods in and you will be much happier with how you look and feel.

5) You are gaining muscle.  This one only applies to you if you are lifting weights at least 3 or more times per week.  When you start lifting weights you will start to put on muscle if you are eating correctly and getting enough rest.  So even though you may weigh the same you are changing your body composition.  Muscle weighs more than fat, but takes up less space.  I suggest taking your measurements and body fat percentage monthly.  I have had many clients not lose a pound, but lose several inches.  Don't focus too much on what the scale says.
 
6) Your body craves homeostasis.  What does this mean you ask?  This means that while you are working your butt off and eating right your body just wants to stay at a comfortable place.  This is why it can be so hard to lose weigh sometimes.  If you feel this is the case for you, you may need to push yourself harder in your workouts and clean up your diet a little more.  You have to challenge your body and push it to change sometimes.  Think about how you like the comfort of the same routine, well your body does too.  Stay consistent and your hard work will pay off!

All good things take time and hard work.  Remember that your weight loss is a journey and you are learning how to live healthy for the rest of your life.  Be kind to yourself and don't engage in negative self talk.  Stay positive and you will get there!  If you have any questions please feel free to e-mail me.  I would love to hear from you.


Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Sorry I've Been Away + Clean Eating Meal in a Bowl Soup


Hello my fitness friends!  It has been a little over a week since my last post, because our house was infected by a stomach bug that lasted 5 days to fully recover from.  It was not a fun bug to have (are they ever?), we even missed handing out treats on Halloween this year, but we didn't want to spread the bug, and the weather here was icky so we didn't miss much.  How was your Halloween, were you able to avoid raiding your kids candy bags?  A friend and fellow mom posted something about a "Switch Witch", which is where your kids trade in their candy for a toy or something non-food related.  I love this idea and when little A is old enough to get candy (hopefully I can hold out until she's 5), I will do this with her.  Candy, these days, is full of a lot of chemicals that I don't think belong in little bodies, not to mention choc full of GMO's (see my post on GMO's here).  It is sad that our food system is so tainted and we have to worry about what we eat and what we are feeding our little ones.


So, after not eating much and not working out after Monday of last week, I jumped back in today.  I did the new Jillian Michael's Yoga Inferno and I loved it!  It was challenging and she has some new killer moves (I don't know where she gets this stuff!  I also did her kickboxing too.  I always know that I will get a great workout with my Jillian DVDs.  I will finish out this week with more Yoga inferno, Jillians Kickboxing and my "real" kickboxing class.  I have also been busy getting ready for my best friend's bachelorette party on Saturday.  I am looking forward to a night out with the girls.  The wedding is in 3 weeks and our dresses are strapless so I am going to be doing a lot of upper body work until then!  What do you do to get ready for special events?


This weather calls for some yummy and hearty soup.  This is one of my favorites from Tosca Reno's Clean Eating Recharged book.  I omit the cabbage (my stomach does not like cabbage), but it still tastes great.  Do you have a favorite clean comfort meal when it is cold and rainy?

Here is the recipe: 


































I am sorry that I was away, and it feels good to be back.  I have some update posts to do this week along with setting new November goals for myself, and showing you what I got in my Rose Vox Box from Influenster!  I also have some product reviews in the works so come back from those. 

Stay Healthy my fit minded friends!