Happy Holidays!

We all know the holidays are very challenging for everyone.
Here are a few tips that I tell my clients!

• Think of the food as a meal, not a whole day eating competition.
• Eat one plate of food-DO NOT LET YOUR FOOD TOUCH EACH OTHER!
• This will help with portion control.
• Drink TONS of water.
• Be active that day. After you eat, take your family on a walk!
• Eat one small dessert. Yes-I understand it is a holiday and it would not be the same without desserts!
• Half of a piece of pie
• One brownie (Guilt Free are the best-Trader Joe's or Giant Eagle)
• One cookie
• Do not eat leftovers for every meal! Especially the day after!
• Watch your alcohol content. Liquid calories should not take place of food calories.
• The goal is to maintain or lose weight throughout the holidays-not to take a step back!

Happy Holidays!

Vitamin C

Vitamin C: Water Soluble Vitamin*

                   Forms collagen in the bones, cartilage, muscle, and blood vessels
                   Aids in the absorption of iron
                   Foods: Fruits and vegetables (citrus fruits)
                  Vitamin C significantly reduced the risk of developing colds by approximately 50%
                  Vitamin C is required for the synthesis of carnitine, a small molecule that is essential for the  transport of fat into cellular organelles called mitochondria, where the fat is converted to energy
                  Recommended dosage: 90 mg (men) 75 mg (women)
                  Overdosage of Vitamin C can result in a potentially fatal disease called Scurvy which causes weakening of blood vessels, connective tissue, and bone.


*Water Soluble means the vitamin is not stored in the body and must be replaced each day.


 
To see if a vitamin is dissolving in your stomach, take a glass and add some vinegar. Then take the pill and drop it into the glass. If it doesn't dissolve within an hour that means it is not dissolving in your stomach.

Vitamin Review-Vitamin A

Below is a typical multivitamin. I am going to break down each vitamin & give you some tid-bits on what foods you can find these certain vitamins in. For the next couple weeks I am going to be breaking down each vitamin.

Vitamin A: Fat Soluble Vitamin*
                   Protects the immune system from diseases and infections
                   Carried through the body by fat & is stored in fat.
                   Foods: Eggs, fortified milk, oils in fish, carrots, sweet potatoes, squash, spinach, broccoli
                               Mostly dark greens or orange
                   Beta-carotene=antioxidant that creates a role in cancer & heart disease prevention
                   Palmitate=fat soluble vitamin that supports formation of skin cells & is utilized for proper vision
                   Recommended dosage: 5,000 IU (men) 4,000 IU (women)
                   Overdosage of Vitamin A can result in digestive problems, night blindness, eye disease


To see if a vitamin is dissolving in your stomach, take a glass and add some vinegar. Then take the pill and drop it into the glass. If it doesn't dissolve within an hour that means it is not dissolving in your stomach.


*Fat-Soluble Vitamin means that it can be dissolved in fat.

Get excited!

I encourage you to make a vision board. This could be cut outs from a magazine, quotes, etc...Anything that you would like to accomplish within the next 5 years. Place it on your fridge and get excited to achieve those goals!

The next step is to prepare for these goals.

• If one of your goals is to eat a balanced meal M-F, then you must prepare for it! Pack your snacks and lunches in order to keep you on track.
• Keep extra workout clothes in your car/bag so there is no excuse for you miss a workout!
• Get to bed at a decent hour each night to give your body the appropriate rest it needs to function throughout the next day!
• Bring a water bottle/cup with you to work or school so you always have water in front of you!

You are probably saying: "I know that I need to do these things, I just don't have time."

• No excuses-if it is important, you need to make time. Everyone has a busy schedule...and it never slows down :)

2011 is right around the corner...no excuses.

Here is an example of a vision board. Your goals can be about any topic you would like. Fitness, life, career, relationships, etc... The sky is the limit! Please feel free to share ideas about your vision boards!

Have a great day!
D

Stress

(Sigh...) Stress...how to handle stress in your everyday life.

Every individual has stress in their life at one point or another (sometimes everyday!) & the major factor is how you handle the stress. Below are some techniques that I have done for myself in the past, and also some advice on what not to do!
Hopefully you will find your inner strength to overcome the effects of stress.

1. Walk away from the situation & take deep breaths. It is important to close your eyes, release the tension in your neck, and breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth.

2. Take a nice relaxing bubble bath, get a massage, facial, etc... something to release the tension & for you to focus on yourself and not the issue at hand.

3.EXERCISE! The most important! Exercise releases endorphins which make you feel happy & give you self confidence!  Sweat, sweat, sweat!!!

4. Get on a phone call/chat with a close friend about your issue. Get it out on the table. Do not hold your emotions/feelings in.

The most crucial advice that I could give you....

*Do NOT EAT when you are stressed. This is called emotionally eating. Otherwise known as binge eating. Instead of eating, DRINK WATER!

At the end of the day, focus on how this little situation impacts your life in the big picture. Most of the time, it does not matter and you get worked up over nothing.

Always remember: Everything happens for a reason...

I hope this helps!
Have a wonderful day!
D

Question of the Day

Like training, does the body adapt to the same foods eaten day in & day out?

The logical sense would be "Yes".
 I am trying an experiment with a friend that I went to college with. The candidate eats the same foods everyday & is not seeing the results that they want. It is going to be my challenge to professionally answer this question over the next couple months. I have suggested different healthy foods throughout the day & also evaluation calories in vs. calories out. After a couple months, we will reevaluate body fat %.

It has always been my philosophy that the body adapts to any stimulus that you place on it. Just like working out. If you continually do the same routine weekly-your body will plateau. It is called muscle adaptation. Most individuals wonder what is happening & why they are not seeing results. You always want to keep your body guessing!

A great example of muscle adaption is throwing a baseball. For the first time playing baseball, your shoulder is really sore for the next couple days. The more that you play baseball and mimic the throwing motion, you will become less sore in the days to follow. This is how the body works with exercise & training.


Be creative with your workouts & nutrition. Explore new healthy recipes while still understanding the foods & the nutrients that you are putting in your body!

Great Fall Recipes

Who doesn't love apple crisp? Here is a great recipe that is only 90 calories per serving!

http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=149574

Taco Soup
*I actually made this soup last night and it is amazing! I substituted the ground beef for ground turkey.

http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=419550

Sparkpeople.com is a great website to stock your recipe book with. Also check out the calories & sodium content in them.

Clean your plate!

Has anyone ever told you to clean your plate?

This is very common to instruct children to make sure they eat all the food that is on their plates. Most children are not allowed to leave the table until they finish their meals. Kids are told to clean their plates at every meal, so it's no wonder they grow into adults who feel compelled to finish whatever is in front of them.

I am straying my clients away from this technique. This instills negative habits into adults & children's lives.

Quick tips to help save your portion sizes.

*When eating at a restaurant, ask for a to-go-box right after you order your food. Once your food comes to the table, split the portion and place one in the box. This will help with portion control and saves money! You have the boxed portion for lunch the next day! :)

*When eating at home, minimize the portion of food you are serving yourself.
 Remember a fist size=one serving size!

*Always make sure you are drinking water with your meals. The water will fill your stomach so you won't be craving more food after you finish your portion.


Have a great week!

RBX Fitness teams up with lululemon

Click on the above image to enlarge...

My Food Diary

One of my clients suggested this as an idea for a blog post. She wanted to see what my food diary looked like. I have decided to open my food diary to this blog. Obviously everyone eats differently on the weekends than on a normal week day. Use the weekdays to keep your body in check. You can be more lenient on the weekends if you work hard during the week!
Please feel free to ask any questions!

Monday
7a: Arnold Sandwich thin (100 calories) with all natural peanut butter
-WORKOUT
     Protein Shake
     coffee with a small hazelnut creamer

10a: Low Fat Vanilla Yogurt
       Kashi Go Lean Crisp
       Granola Thin-Nature Valley

12:30p: Granola Bar-Nature Valley Oats

1:30p: Sliced Turkey Breast(5 lunch meat slices)
           Strawberries
           Tuna packet

I am planning on these items for the rest of the day. Planning is the key to weight loss/maintenance.

3:30p: Oatmeal

5p: Sandwich Thin with natural peanut butter

6p: RUN 30-60 minutes

7:30p: Steak Salad with corn, cucumber, carrots, onions, & balsamic vinaigrette dressing

9p: I really struggle with a late night snack. I try to avoid carbs at all costs but temptation is a hard thing to avoid. Sometimes my snack consists of air popped popcorn or pretzels-I see a huge change in belly fat when I completely cut out this snack! My goal for tonight is to not eat a night snack!

I hope this helps! Look for an exercise on Wednesday!
D

Gearing up for Tailgating Season!

My favorite time of year...Fall. I am a sweatshirt and jeans kinda girl and I love the brisk air. Another thing I love about Fall is the sound of ESPN while I'm snoozing on the couch. Yes, it is true. I use Sunday football games for my nap time-that is of course if we are not attending a freezing cold Brown's game. :)

I have lots of suggestions for Tailgating!
Everyone knows a typical tailgate consists of potato chips & dips, burgers, hot dogs, wings, deep fried ANYTHING, and tons of alcohol. I love to hang out with close family & friends on a football game day-however, there are so many unhealthy temptations that it is intriguing to me to take a step back and people watch other tailgates...So put yourself in the situation-I know you can picture it.-
People laughing, playing cornhole, drinking, eating etc..Watch them graze over the food table. They are subconsciously picking food up from the food table. They aren't even aware of how many calories they intake just while holding a conversation. Don't let yourself fall into this category.

Tip #1: Put the food that you are going to eat on your plate. Never graze..we are not cows. (This is also the reason I despise buffets) This will let you visually see all the food you are putting into your body.

Most individuals are geared up for the game and ready to party! Totally fine. I have nothing against alcohol. I do want you to realize that they are liquid calories. Liquid-your body does not use anything from it for nutrients. Nata, zip! Make sure you are aware of how many calories you are consuming. Add them up-HUGE EYE OPENER!

Tip #2: Always keep count of how many drinks you are having. Ask yourself-Did I workout today in order to compensate for these empty calories...which leads me to

Tip #3: If you know you are going to be tailgating-make sure you get up early and burn tons of calories! Make yourself sweat!

Then the debatable topic comes up: "What should I bring to a tailgate?"

Tip #4: Bring what you think is a healthy choice for people that will make them feel good about eating it. Also-something that you like. The dish you bring might be the only healthy item available! The food network does a really good job of giving healthy recipes for tailgating. As well as sparkpeople. Check them out!
foodnetwork.com
sparkpeople.com

I hope this helps you plan for football season!
Have a great weekend!
D

RBX

RBX Fitness blog is here! This is where you will find all my thoughts, fitness advice, workout tips, nutritional guidance, etc! The sky is the limit!

Let's dig right in!
I watched a nightline report on NBC last night or was it ABC? Not sure, but it was a documentary on a woman's life and her battle with obesity. The scientists in West Virginia compiled a study to see how brain surgery would affect the hormonal changes of hunger cravings. The participants had to be a certain age, try every diet, supplements, even gastric bypass surgery in order to be capable of qualifying as a guinea pig.
As the female stated she had tried everything in the book...Atkins, gastric bypass, pills, etc...nothing worked for her!

*At this point-this is where my loud mouth comes in-"Have you tried exercising with a healthy balanced meal plan?" Of course the TV didn't answer my question, but exercise was NEVER mentioned in her quest to lose weight...I found that odd.

Well back to the story-she went ahead and became a test subject for the scientists. It was actually quite intriguing for me to watch. They drilled through her skull (queasy stomach's stay with me!) and were able to inject electric impulses into the correct part of her brain that controls hunger & metabolism. They planted a device in her skull where they could regulate the impulses while she went on with her everyday life.

A year went by and there were some small changes in her nutritional habits, however, she did not lose any weight. The doctors decided to take a different approach and have her meals regulated at a testing facility. It is true-she wasn't eating nearly as much food/Pepsi as she was before the study.

This is where I became unsure of this study. They are doctors-scientists. I wanted to just give them the simple answer-combine the study with a little exercise...even start her out with 20 minute walks 3x's per week. Then lets see the difference!

Clearly this study was solely focused on the scientific part of electrical impulses controlling the hunger/metabolism portion of the brain...not how to fight obesity in our country. I just found ironic in the grand scheme of things. Let's not be so focused on one item for weight loss or even maintaining your current weight. Take the top off the box...look at your world of opportunity.

Have a healthy & well day!

D