Is the “Special K” Challenge For You?

Have you ever taken the “Special K” challenge? I did a few years ago, back when the only real good cereal was their red berries. Since then, numerous other kinds of low-fat cereals have been developed, including blueberry and fruit & yogurt (my personal favorite). I can tell you that I did have success with this challenge. However, there is a downfall to it, which I will share at the end. So how does the challenge work? You eat two servings of the cereal everyday, along with just half a cup of low-fat milk. You can do this for either … Continue reading →

Super Size Me…Not!

Although this movie was made in 2004, I didn’t see it until recently. It is the documentary, “Super Size Me.” Let me tell you, if you have a McDonald’s habit that you are trying to kick, all you have to do is watch this movie and I can almost guarantee you will lose your appetite for the fast-food chain. I did. In fact, I lost my appetite for a lot of things…that is, anything that is fatty. Filmmaker Morgan Spurlock decided to conduct an experiment in which he would only eat food from McDonalds for 30 days. He went into … Continue reading →

Starvation Diet Doesn’t Work

Have you ever tried a starvation diet? Many years ago I did and quickly discovered that this doesn’t really work. Sure, it can help shed some pounds but it could also be harmful. And without changing your eating behaviors, you will likely end up putting the weight back on. So what is the answer to losing weight? According to new research there are three specific ways you can drop pounds without depriving yourself. The first is something I have written about in the past, the benefits of keeping a food journal. When you monitor your eating habits it can help … Continue reading →

The Healthiest Meal Ever

What would you consider to be the healthiest meal ever? A piece of lean chicken, whole grain rice with some green beans on the side? Or how about a salad, with a light vinaigrette drizzled on top? Apparently food researchers have been able to come up with the healthiest meal a person could have. This was after spending years analyzing more than 4,000 health claims by supermarkets and manufacturers. Out of those 4,000 claims, just 222 of them were considered to actually be healthy. Think about that. How many times are we enticed with the belief that what we are … Continue reading →

Fitness Journal – Your Meals – Part 2

Hopefully you have picked up what you need to begin your fitness journal, as we are now going to start putting it together. We are going to start it off with meals. What you eat makes a huge difference in your ability to lose weight and your general health. The funny thing about this is that we can feel pretty sure that we are healthy eaters until we start to write down what we are actually eating. Your fitness journal should include a section where you write down everything you have eaten for the day. This includes the amount of … Continue reading →

A Simple Concept about Food

I have never been shy about sharing my struggles with food. I have an established workout routine, which I do fall away from every once-in-a-while but for the most part, I remain consistent. What gets me every time, however, is food. There are just too many things that I enjoy eating, despite the fact they aren’t good for me. So what happens is either I sabotage my efforts or I stay the same (the exercise only keeps me from gaining weight but it doesn’t result in weight loss). So lately I have been on a mission to change this. I’m … Continue reading →

Combating Emotional Eating

In my last blog I discussed what emotional eating looks like and how it plays out in someone’s life. In this blog we are going to look at ways we can combat emotional eating. First, we have to come to the realization that we cannot “will away” emotional eating. We can’t just wake up one day and say, “I WILL not eat based on my emotions.” Because guess what will immediately come in the way? Your emotions. Emotions have a funny way of intruding on us and by trying to rely solely on willpower; we are not going to be … Continue reading →

What Does Emotional Eating Look Like?

One sure detriment to your fitness success is emotional eating. It is a subject that I believe we can never talk enough about. It can sabotage every effort you make. So let’s do some digging into the makeup of an emotional eater, why it happens and how it looks. This week I was talking to my hairdresser, who mentioned that her almost 18-year-old daughter recently joined the gym. She had put on some weight and I asked if she was an emotional eater. She replied, “No, she doesn’t just eat when she’s sad. She eats when she’s happy, bored, you … Continue reading →

Change Your Eating Habits One Meal at a Time

I have mentioned in previous blogs that I seem to have the exercise routine down pretty good. I am consistently working out each week at a minimum of 3 times but more often than not, 4 to 5 times. However where I continue to struggle is with my eating. But then again, for the most part I have been attempting an overhaul of changes when it comes to that, instead of taking my own advice about exercise and doing it in steps. Changing the way you eat can be difficult if you try to do too much at one time. … Continue reading →

Snacking on Vegetables and Fruits

Recently I mentioned in a blog some of my mid-years goals. One of my goals was to eat three fruits and three vegetables a day. This has been going really well and has helped me to explore new foods. Previously, one of my favorite veggies to snack on was carrots. Whenever I would go to a party, I would load up my plate with carrots before I even look around at the other options. Starting with a healthy choice would make it less likely for me to eat a ton of sweet snacks later. Although I love carrots so much, … Continue reading →