Recipe from Oxygen Magazine September 2010
These are incredibly easy and super yummy!
Balls of Energy
28 (2 ¾ cups) pitted dates
½ cup water
1/3 cup natural peanut butter
1 cup whey protein powder
¼ cup unsweetened, non-dutched cocoa
¼ cup ground flaxseeds
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ cup ground walnuts or almonds
In a food processor, blend dates and water. Add nut butter and blend until smooth. Add protein powder in ½ cup increments and process. Add cocoa, flaxseeds and cinnamon and process until well blended.
With clean hands, gather some dough (about the size of a golf ball) and roll it between the palms of your hands. (Note: refrigerating the dough overnight makes it easier to work with the next day.) Roll each ball into ground walnuts. Set each ball on a baking sheet. Place in the freezer for 2 to 4 hours. Serve or freeze for later.
Makes 12 balls. Serving size 4 balls. Well, I eat two with a piece of fruit as a snack. I keep them stored in the freezer at work.
Calories: 230
Fat: 7 g
Sodium: 99 mg
Carbs: 31 g
Fiber: 4 g
Protein: 15 g
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Monday, October 11, 2010
ASK THE TRAINER
I’m going to dedicate one blog a week to answering questions I get from friends, co-workers or on my various blogs. Hmmm, where should I start…
Q. Can I drink too much water?
A. I’m going to say no, although it is possible, it takes drinking a very LARGE amount at nearly one time. Like downing a gallon in five minutes or something, not like downing a gallon over the course of a day. A base minimum should be eight 8-ounce servings of water, and you will get more by eating lots of veggies and fruits. The more active you are, the more water you need. Lots of fitness professionals drink a gallon or more of water a day. DO whatever works for you.
Q. Should I work out everyday?
A. I would love to tell you, no, that’s not necessary, but it all depends on what you want. If you are just maintaining your current level of fitness, 3-5 days may be all you need. If you are going for weight loss or to increase your fitness level, 7 days a week, with one of those days being a simple active rest day. And this is at least 30 minute workout sessions.
Q. Should I eat 30 minutes before waking up?
A. It is advised that you eat first thing in the morning and not wait two hours later. Personally, I eat maybe an hour after I wake due to having too much to do and not wanting to eat in the car on my drive to work. So I say, eat within the first hour of waking.
Q. Should I workout in the morning, afternoon or evening?
A. I get this question enough! It was something I struggled with when I first started my weight loss journey. Everything I read stated to work out in the morning. But I missed a lot of workouts from oversleeping, or half-heartedly did a work out half asleep. No burn at all! When I work out in the evenings, I am energized and work out to my max. So my ANSWER is to work out when it is convenient for you AND when you can give it 100%.
And this one is not a question, but didn't know how to reword it. In the past I got on a co-workers case about eating fast food EVERY DAY!! It got to the point she was sneaking it past me. I really didn't care much, her body, she's grown, she's not paying me to be her trainer so my advice is unsolicited. I do not like being the food police...honest, I don't. Well anyway, she stopped me last week to say she stopped eating fast food and immediately noticed a difference. Hmmm, you don't say?
If you have anymore questions for the trainer just send them my way!
KStyle Fitness
Q. Can I drink too much water?
A. I’m going to say no, although it is possible, it takes drinking a very LARGE amount at nearly one time. Like downing a gallon in five minutes or something, not like downing a gallon over the course of a day. A base minimum should be eight 8-ounce servings of water, and you will get more by eating lots of veggies and fruits. The more active you are, the more water you need. Lots of fitness professionals drink a gallon or more of water a day. DO whatever works for you.
Q. Should I work out everyday?
A. I would love to tell you, no, that’s not necessary, but it all depends on what you want. If you are just maintaining your current level of fitness, 3-5 days may be all you need. If you are going for weight loss or to increase your fitness level, 7 days a week, with one of those days being a simple active rest day. And this is at least 30 minute workout sessions.
Q. Should I eat 30 minutes before waking up?
A. It is advised that you eat first thing in the morning and not wait two hours later. Personally, I eat maybe an hour after I wake due to having too much to do and not wanting to eat in the car on my drive to work. So I say, eat within the first hour of waking.
Q. Should I workout in the morning, afternoon or evening?
A. I get this question enough! It was something I struggled with when I first started my weight loss journey. Everything I read stated to work out in the morning. But I missed a lot of workouts from oversleeping, or half-heartedly did a work out half asleep. No burn at all! When I work out in the evenings, I am energized and work out to my max. So my ANSWER is to work out when it is convenient for you AND when you can give it 100%.
And this one is not a question, but didn't know how to reword it. In the past I got on a co-workers case about eating fast food EVERY DAY!! It got to the point she was sneaking it past me. I really didn't care much, her body, she's grown, she's not paying me to be her trainer so my advice is unsolicited. I do not like being the food police...honest, I don't. Well anyway, she stopped me last week to say she stopped eating fast food and immediately noticed a difference. Hmmm, you don't say?
If you have anymore questions for the trainer just send them my way!
KStyle Fitness
Monday, October 4, 2010
Set realistic goals
What I am finding that works for me, is not only do I have yearly goals (you may call them resolutions if you like) but also having monthly goals. You can break them down even further into weekly goals and daily goal (or also called To-Do list but more on that later.)
Let’s start with yearly goals, are as most of us would like to call it New Year’s resolutions. I think there is nothing wrong with making resolutions. It’s just your goals for the year. Most people want a significant amount of weight loss each year, financial status to be more stable, add in traveling that year, finish that project that has taken the back burner for years or something. A yearly goal/resolution will mean that you will achieve this SOMETIME in the year.
Monthly goals are where you can break it down even further. Want to lose 30 pounds? Break it down to 5 pounds a month here. You can also include how you will achieve this. No fast food for the month, pack your lunches every day, exercise, etc.
Weekly goal get even more detailed. For example, to lose 5 pounds a month, that’s about 1 pound a week, so set that as a weekly goal. Increasing your water intake to 8 glasses a day can be a weekly goal. Working out 45 minute every day is another weekly goal.
Daily goals, or what I like to call my “To-Do List” includes everything, even my non-lifestyle goals. I’ll put if I need to write a blog on my list (I have 4 different blogs), or that I need to write in my novel or screenplay, or that I need to go grocery shopping. I also put my exercise down, and if I know what I am doing I put what I will be doing.
Writing these goals down helps you to visualize it better, this leads you to actually achieving them. Go ahead, try it!
My Goals for October:
1. No late night snacking.
2. Total of at least 60 minute workout 6 days a week.
3. 14+ cups water a day.
4. Write something every day
5. Finish at least one ACE CEC this month.
Let’s start with yearly goals, are as most of us would like to call it New Year’s resolutions. I think there is nothing wrong with making resolutions. It’s just your goals for the year. Most people want a significant amount of weight loss each year, financial status to be more stable, add in traveling that year, finish that project that has taken the back burner for years or something. A yearly goal/resolution will mean that you will achieve this SOMETIME in the year.
Monthly goals are where you can break it down even further. Want to lose 30 pounds? Break it down to 5 pounds a month here. You can also include how you will achieve this. No fast food for the month, pack your lunches every day, exercise, etc.
Weekly goal get even more detailed. For example, to lose 5 pounds a month, that’s about 1 pound a week, so set that as a weekly goal. Increasing your water intake to 8 glasses a day can be a weekly goal. Working out 45 minute every day is another weekly goal.
Daily goals, or what I like to call my “To-Do List” includes everything, even my non-lifestyle goals. I’ll put if I need to write a blog on my list (I have 4 different blogs), or that I need to write in my novel or screenplay, or that I need to go grocery shopping. I also put my exercise down, and if I know what I am doing I put what I will be doing.
Writing these goals down helps you to visualize it better, this leads you to actually achieving them. Go ahead, try it!
My Goals for October:
1. No late night snacking.
2. Total of at least 60 minute workout 6 days a week.
3. 14+ cups water a day.
4. Write something every day
5. Finish at least one ACE CEC this month.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Lifestyle tips to live by
Things to avoid - AT ALL COST.
1.Soda.....Yes even diet!
2. Fast Food (except Subway and Bread Co.)
3. Anything Fried (unless it is flash fried in a pan with 1-2 TBS of EVOO)
4. Nothing with High Fructose Corn Syrup
5. Try to stay away from "WHITES" (white flour, sugar, salt, white rice)
6. Don't eat past 7:30 pm
7. Double servings of food that sneak up on you (read the label and measure).
Healthy Alternatives:
1. Water or Green Tea (If you drink a lot of soda then cut back to 1/2 of what you drink now.)
2. Pack your Lunch
3. Baked, Broiled, Grilled, Poached, or Steamed
4. All natural products and sugars
5. Stick with 100% whole grains (not whole wheat or whites)
6. If you are hungry drink a lot of water.
7. Plan meals in advance
1.Soda.....Yes even diet!
2. Fast Food (except Subway and Bread Co.)
3. Anything Fried (unless it is flash fried in a pan with 1-2 TBS of EVOO)
4. Nothing with High Fructose Corn Syrup
5. Try to stay away from "WHITES" (white flour, sugar, salt, white rice)
6. Don't eat past 7:30 pm
7. Double servings of food that sneak up on you (read the label and measure).
Healthy Alternatives:
1. Water or Green Tea (If you drink a lot of soda then cut back to 1/2 of what you drink now.)
2. Pack your Lunch
3. Baked, Broiled, Grilled, Poached, or Steamed
4. All natural products and sugars
5. Stick with 100% whole grains (not whole wheat or whites)
6. If you are hungry drink a lot of water.
7. Plan meals in advance
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Water is your friend
Water is my friend! Water is my enemy! I just call it my frenemy!
I love water, I do! On average, I drink about 10-12 cups a day. Lately, I've been aiming for 16 with success. Some days it is a chore, most days very easy. Everyone has heard about the 8 glasses of water a day. So why do I drink so much?
One, because I am super active, thus require more than the norm. Two, I tend to lean on the high side of sodium intake, and need the extra water to reduce sodium retention. Three, I just love water!
I always tell others this: If you don’t change anything else about your lifestyle, but add 8+ cups of water a day, you will lose weight!!
Well, initially that is. Initial weight loss is largely due to loss of water, and you need to drink an adequate amount of water in order to avoid dehydration. So, you’re upping you water intake, from say, 2 cups to 8. The body no longer needs to hold on to that water like it is dying in a desert. The body will release any extra water it was holding (retention) and that will equal a significant weight loss on the scale. (Part of the reason those numbers are insanely high in Biggest Loser).
I also tell those questioning the benefits of water this: it helps you to feel fuller, quicker!
But listen, we can’t live off water alone, so you still need to eat! Drinking water with a meal will help you feel full sooner and therefore you will be satisfied eating less. However, drinking water alone may not have this effect. In order to feel satiated (not hungry) our body needs bulk, calories and nutrients.
Still not sold on the idea of drinking all that water? Some worry about drinking too much water, but that will likely never happen. Your body will tell you when it has had enough. Water will not cause you a bloated look. There are a number of causes of water retention, including consuming to much salt, but drinking water is none of them.
When you drink enough water, your urine will usually be pale yellow, though vitamin supplements and antibiotics can discolor it. On the other hand, you shouldn’t need to run to the bathroom too frequently. When in doubt, drink a little more.
Here are a few of my quick tips:
*If you feel thirsty, you are already dehydrated, so please drink enough throughout the day to avoid that feeling.
*Drinking other liquids provides your body with a source of water, but note diuretics cause your body to expel water. Diuretics include caffeinated drinks (tea, coffee and soda) and alcohol. When drinking diuretics, drink more water to compensate
*Some prefer ice cold water, other room temperature. Drink it however you prefer to ensure you get in your allotment every day.
*Use at least a two-cup bottle or cup. This lessens the amounts of time you have to fill it up. I prefer a 3 or 4 cup bottle just because I only have to refill 3-4 times a day.
*Keep your water bottle/container with you at all times. It’s always at my desk, in my car, several have collected around my bed.
*Drinking water helps to keep your skin clear and young looking. It’s the best facial you can buy.
*For variety, I add lemon to some of my water. Or Crystal Light (or any other form of drink mixes) to no more than half my daily water. It still counts, just don’t do this with ALL your water.
*Start off small. If you never even gulped down 1 glass a day, going from 0 to 8 could be bad business for you body. Start with drinking one cup at every meal, and sipping water throughout the day. This way, you can easily manage 3-4 cups. Then add 2 cups to that intake until you have worked your way up to 8 a day.
*If you’re very active, live in a very warm area, sweat a lot, or if you are overweight or obese, you will need more than 8 cups. But 8 is a good starting point.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
If not at the gym, at home!
But just workout!! Why is it so hard for some people to workout? Why do we (me included) come up with some of the LAMEST excuses?
For the most part, I exercise daily. But then there are those days I come up with crazy excuses.
“Well, I ate good today, so I can skip my workout.”
“Well, I ate so bad today, why even bother.”
RIGHT!! I’ll admit it if you will!
When I belonged to a gym, I was obsessed with getting there EVERY DAY!! If I missed a day, I did not work out at all. So you know when that weather got bad, many workouts were missed. What a waste when I have oodles of workouts at home.
Actually, I really prefer workouts at home and have given up on joining gyms (well, not given up, but it’s not feasible now.) But I can get any great workout at home! Through DVD workouts, designing my own, dancing for 30 minutes, going walking in the park, and if I ever put it together, riding my stationary bike.
I get many people asking me which is better, the gym or at home. Only you can answer that. I like both and can get great workouts at either, but I PREFER home. Some people don’t feel motivated enough at home, they need the accountability of showing up at a class, or they need to make the rounds at the weight station. Do whatever works for you.
If you are a do-it-at-home type of person, make sure you have a variety of workouts that include strength training. Make sure you have several sizes of weight and increase the weights as you progress. Resistance tubing, weighted bars, gloves, barbells, and a bench are also nice to have for strength training. Other equipment to use at home is: stability ball, jump rope, step, resistance tube door straps, medicine ball and a mat.
All you need are a few DVDs in your collection to have a nice rotation. My faves are: Hip Hop Abs, Turbo Jam, Tae Bo, The Firm and P90X. But there are so many workouts out there, find something you enjoy and just do it!
For the most part, I exercise daily. But then there are those days I come up with crazy excuses.
“Well, I ate good today, so I can skip my workout.”
“Well, I ate so bad today, why even bother.”
RIGHT!! I’ll admit it if you will!
When I belonged to a gym, I was obsessed with getting there EVERY DAY!! If I missed a day, I did not work out at all. So you know when that weather got bad, many workouts were missed. What a waste when I have oodles of workouts at home.
Actually, I really prefer workouts at home and have given up on joining gyms (well, not given up, but it’s not feasible now.) But I can get any great workout at home! Through DVD workouts, designing my own, dancing for 30 minutes, going walking in the park, and if I ever put it together, riding my stationary bike.
I get many people asking me which is better, the gym or at home. Only you can answer that. I like both and can get great workouts at either, but I PREFER home. Some people don’t feel motivated enough at home, they need the accountability of showing up at a class, or they need to make the rounds at the weight station. Do whatever works for you.
If you are a do-it-at-home type of person, make sure you have a variety of workouts that include strength training. Make sure you have several sizes of weight and increase the weights as you progress. Resistance tubing, weighted bars, gloves, barbells, and a bench are also nice to have for strength training. Other equipment to use at home is: stability ball, jump rope, step, resistance tube door straps, medicine ball and a mat.
All you need are a few DVDs in your collection to have a nice rotation. My faves are: Hip Hop Abs, Turbo Jam, Tae Bo, The Firm and P90X. But there are so many workouts out there, find something you enjoy and just do it!
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Tyra Banks takes a stand!
Love her! On America's Next Top Model last night, the model that seemed to have an eating disorder, or at least, a distorted body image was sent packing! In my opinion, there are others there thinner, but that particular model's image of her body and how she treated it, was enough reason for her to leave. The others are naturally thin, probably eat whatever and stay so...but she admitted to not eating to stay thin, which is UNHEALTHY.
Hey, we all can't be a size negative, or zero, or whatever the heck the average top model is. But guess what, she could still be a model at a healthy size 4 or 6 if that is what her body naturally gravitates to. I think she said "I was a lot heavier before." And then she says she weighed 135, now she's 110. SHE IS 5'10"! What kind of nonsense are we feeding women?
And I don't think they noticed her weight much before. The way the show is set up, they are cast and then go home for awhile before the show starts. I think in that time, she starved herself to get thinner. Hmmmm. Maybe she thought that's what the industry wants. I hope she had a wake-up call.
But in her exit interview she replied that unless 3-4 other modeling agencies said she was too thin, she wouldn't change her look. Wow! Tyra needs to offer her counseling.
Again, WE are so obsessed with being thinner. I know I WAS. A size four wasn't small enough, I still wanted to lose. That is not me anymore. Long as I eat healthy and exercise, I will just appreciate the body that I have. Let's wake up people!
Hey, we all can't be a size negative, or zero, or whatever the heck the average top model is. But guess what, she could still be a model at a healthy size 4 or 6 if that is what her body naturally gravitates to. I think she said "I was a lot heavier before." And then she says she weighed 135, now she's 110. SHE IS 5'10"! What kind of nonsense are we feeding women?
And I don't think they noticed her weight much before. The way the show is set up, they are cast and then go home for awhile before the show starts. I think in that time, she starved herself to get thinner. Hmmmm. Maybe she thought that's what the industry wants. I hope she had a wake-up call.
But in her exit interview she replied that unless 3-4 other modeling agencies said she was too thin, she wouldn't change her look. Wow! Tyra needs to offer her counseling.
Again, WE are so obsessed with being thinner. I know I WAS. A size four wasn't small enough, I still wanted to lose. That is not me anymore. Long as I eat healthy and exercise, I will just appreciate the body that I have. Let's wake up people!
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