A Great Quickie Workout When You're Pressed for Time

I hear ya.  I feel ya.  I sympathize with ya.  But not having any time to exercise is not an excuse.

Wednesday night I was able to cram in a quick 20 minute workout after I got home from work around 7:40pm (which is early for me).  Jordan was crawling all over me and even doing jumping jacks with me.  It was kind of fun.

Here is the actual workout:
10 squats
10 pushups
10 situps (I did five sets of situps and five sets of bicycle situps)
10 triceps dips
10 jumping jacks
Do this circuit once and repeat 10 times.

Thirty minutes of exercise can change your life.  This quick, little routine lifted my spirits and made me feel so much better about myself today.  Not so slothlike. 

Try it.  Or try some simple stretches or yoga poses for half an hour.  Tell me what you think.  I promise, you will feel better and have more energy after the workout than you did before it.

A Healthful, Easy Weekday Breakfast

How can you not love an egg white?  Really.  It has all sorts of nutritional goodness including slimming and satisfying protein for hardly any calories.  Huge nutritional bang for the buck.

Tuesday, I shared one of my other go-to breakfasts that is quick, easy to make and hearty enough to keep you satiated for a while.  Today it's all about the incredible, edible egg white.

Before I go any further, I have nothing against the yellows.  I just prefer the egg white.  Jordan gets two or three egg yellows a week.  It's not a "let's keep fat away from the kid thing."  This just happened to be an egg white kind of day.  More on that later.

I made this breakfast for both Jordan and me in five minutes.  It's another creation so simple, yet versatile, even I can't screw it up.

My omelet featured two egg whites, a dash of Mrs. Bragg's seasoning (love it because it has no sodium) and liberal handful of torn salad greens.  I added a heaping spoonful of Mrs. Renfro's green salsa for my omelet.   Jordan had the exact same omelet sans the salsa.

Once I sprayed the pan with olive oil Pam, I timed myself.  It took all of five minutes to cook this omelet, let it cool and cut it up for her to eat.  Could that be any easier?  Jordan loves it, too.   She gets vegetables and protein for breakfast.  I added half a banana, a piece of bread and some milk this morning for her.

I'll add anything and everything to an omelet: cheese, broccoli, peppers, spinach, cauliflower, olives, just about vegetable-related.  If I want something more substantial, I'll add some whole wheat or corn tortillas and make breakfast tacos.  My concoction this morning, according to the Daily Plate was only 103 calories with three grams of fat, 10 grams of protein and two grams of sugar. 

That was it for me this Wednesday morning.  I broke my New Year's resolution on Tuesday and visited the vending machine at work.  Twice.  Not pretty.   I have Fake Food regret this morning.

A Quick, Easy Oatmeal Recipe That Keeps You Going All Day

It's so easy to overlook breakfast or grab some delicious yet calorie-killing scone from Starbucks or a big, fat (literally) bowl of cereal.  Don't!

Anyone who knows a thing a two about weight loss or weight loss maintenance extols the virtues of a good, healthy breakfast.  There are a slew of studies that support this.

One of my favorite breakfasts is this oatmeal recipe which is ridiculously easy to make. Bonus? Oatmeal is satiating.

According to Nutrition Journal, eating oatmeal for breakfast leaves you feeling full longer than if you ate cold cereal. (Tweet this)

The following recipe yields one serving:

• 1/4 cup of oatmeal, I love Open Nature Quick Cook Steel Cut Oats
• 3/4 cup of water
• 1/4 -1/2 apple, chopped
• 1 tablespoon peanut butter, I like Earth Balance. Any nut butter will do. 
• Liberal dash of cinnamon

Looks like baby poop but it's delicious!

Microwave the first three ingredients in a bowl for one minute and stir. Microwave another minute or two depending on the consistency you like. Take the bowl out of the microwave and add peanut butter and cinnamon. It will be piping hot, so let it cool for five minutes.

If you're out on apples or want to mix it up just microwave the oatmeal and water and add some fruit once it's cooked. Blueberries, blackberries, strawberries or raspberries are good.

It looks like a dirty diaper in a bowl but it's delicious.

According to the Daily Plate, this is 261 calories, 11 grams of fat, 5 grams of fiber, 8 grams of protein and 5 grams of sugar.

Don't Get Fat Eating Salads! Here's the #1 Tip to Slim Down Your Salad

Did you know that young women get half their daily calories from salad dressing?  Half!

At least that what Dr. Oz (love him!) claimed on The Today Show Monday morning when I was channel surfing.  That means you're wasting a ton of empty calories on a condiment!  A condiment, that in many cases, is loaded with saturated fats and high fructose corn syrup.  And that gross, fat-free salad dressing?  Forget it.  It has a ton of sugar, preservatives and other crap that make you fat, as well.

When I was fat, I lived on fat-free salad dressing.  When I made the commitment eat to real food, all of that fake garbage went right out the window, including the bottled dressing.

In lieu of salad dressing, I normally top my salads with a good balsamic vinegar.  It adds a wonderful flavor and might also help you burn fat.  A Japanese study done in the mid-2000's found that subjects who ate a high-fat diet but included vinegar, ultimately lost 10% more body fat than those who did not consume it.  Sweet!

Other great options are a balsamic reduction, salsa, homemade dressing or just a bit of lemon and olive oil.  These are fresh, easy and taste so much better than a bottled dressing that has been sitting on a store shelf for six months.

Two flavorful, affordable vinegars

In some restaurants, when I specify I would like plain, balsamic vinegar along with my salad, servers sometime make a mistake and bring balsamic dressing instead.  They are usually happy to correct the error.  In Mexican restaurants, I always top my salad with salsa, except at Mi Cocina.  I do splurge and request their spicy blue cheese dressing on the side for their Rico Salad.  I LOVE it but only eat it once in a while and don't eat all of it.  Just a few bites.

Crazily, some places don't have vinegar.  I stopped eating meals at Panera because the sandwich shop doesn't make its dressings on-site.  Meaning, it's shipped in and full of preservatives and high-fructose corn syrup.  Subsequently, they don't have any vinegar in their stores.  At least that's been the case at the three across DFW I've visited.

Try eliminating bottled salad dressing from your diet.  It's another way you can rock your 2013 weight loss resolution and easily cut empty calories from your diet.

Fitness Friday: 30 Minutes of Exercise Will Change Your Life

"I don't have enough time."

"It just takes too long."

"It will mess up my makeup."

All of the above are excuses I, myself, have said in the past and have heard from others for not exercising.

BullS!$&.

You DO have the time.  You can NOT afford not to exercise and focus on yourself for just a bit every day.  All it takes is 30 minutes and it will change your life.  I promise.  Look at some of the activities that count as exercise:

• A brisk walk
• 30 minutes on the elliptical, stepmill or treadmill - I use this to catch up on my reading 
• A half an hour of yoga or pilates
• A run 
• A bike ride 
• Dancing with your kids 
• A cardio/weight training workout from the Nike Training Club app - I love this, they don't pay me to promote it, it's a genius workout class on your IPad.  I blogged about it here.
• Vigorous forms of housework and yardwork

I recently did a story for CBS11 on fitness trends in 2013 and the cool thing is that getting in great shape doesn't require hours at the gym.  If you combine cardiovascular exercise with weight training, you get a ton of bang for your fitness buck and can get in and out of the gym in half an hour to 45 minutes.  You will have to work hard, at a higher perceived level of exertion (about a 6-9) but it's time efficient and effective.   Check out the story and accompanying blog post for specific classes and trends.

The Center for Disease control recommends, at the bare minimum, 2 hours and 30 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity every week and muscle strengthening activities on 2 or more days a week to work all major muscle groups.  The CDC offers a great infographic that explains all of this wonderfully.

More than anything, getting active for 30 minutes a day works wonders for your brain, as well as your body.  It clears your head, gets the blood flowing and actually energizes you.  Make that commitment.  If you're just starting out, try the following exercise regime for 5 days:

• A brisk 30, minute walk
• 30 minutes of yoga 
• 10 squats, 10 pushups (on knees or feet), 10 situps, 10 tricep dips, 10 jumping jacks.  Repeat this sequence 10 times
• 30 minutes on an exercise machine: elliptical, stepmill, treadmill, stationary bike 
• 30 minutes of pilates

You can download pilates and yoga programs on ITunes.  I like Exercise TV pilates and Pocket Yoga. 

Get moving.  It will change your life.  It doesn't take a ton of time and it will help you rock your weight loss resolution in 2013.

Anchor Makeup Must-Haves

Years on-camera wearing a face full of anchor spackle has taught me a few tricks.  Talk to any television reporter or anchor (male or female) and he or she will have a tip or two you can use.

My friend and CBS11 colleague, Tracy Kornet, does a wonderful applying makeup in a way that is natural yet strong enough to withstand the harsh high-definition TV lights.  We actually had a wonderful makeup artist at our station for a while who taught us a number of secrets I'll share in the future.

Tracy and I found a moment on Thursday to gab about a few of our fabulous new makeup finds. I'm talking things we wouldn't dare consider going on-camera (or out on the town, in my case) without wearing. Interestingly enough, it's mostly about starting with a good foundation, literally, to keep your makeup in place.

Here's why these are indispensible:

Here are links to the items we love:

Sanitas PeptiDerm Eye Treatment

Talika Lipocils Expert 10ml

L'Oreal Paris Collagen Filler Wrinkle Treatment, 1-Fluid Ounce
MAC Studio Fix BoldBlack Lash Mascara
Urban Decay Eye Shadow Primer Potion
Zethina Mineral Foundation - Tracy has turned a ton of people onto this!

Rock Your 2013 Resolution with Three Calorie Cutting Tricks

Three days into 2013 you're still motivated to get in your best shape ever, right?  Yes!

You can do this and it doesn't have to be a painful, life-force-sucking endeavor.  Wednesday I blogged about getting mentally ready to lose weight.  In short, wrap your head around the lifestyle changes you will need to make to accomplish slow, successful and permanent weight loss.  Getting your brain involved in the process, makes a world of difference.

Also keep a food journal.  Do it.  It works.  Promise. 

In my experience, permanent weight loss is usually a matter of moving more, eating less crap and consuming more quality, real food.  And after a few attempts at rapid weight loss, I can guarantee, you can't drop 20 pounds in five days.  Five months?  Yes.  

While there is a lot of science involved in weight loss, there are a few incredibly easy tricks that can help you eat fewer calories.  These three are so simple that you won't even notice that you're doing your waistline a favor.

• Eat with your nondominant hand.  If you're left handed, use the right and vice versa.  It takes some getting used to but that's the point.  It keeps you from quickly shoveling food in your mouth.  Think slow, enjoyable and mindful eating.
• Put your fork down between each bite of food.  Again, it will force you to eat slower than you normally do.  This, in turn, allows your stomach time to signal your brain it's full.
• Leave at least two bites of food on your plate at every meal in restaurants and at home if you're doling out huge portions.  Trust me, you don't need those last two bites of steak, guacamole, mac and cheese, tiramisu or whatever it is that is you're noshing.  Restaurant portions are way too big.  Just leave two full forkfuls of food at every restaurant meal and huge home meal (like that Thanksgiving dinner) You will reduce the calories you consume without even noticing the difference.

You don't have to jump head first and try all three of these at once.  Practice one at a meal or two, starting today with lunch or dinner.  You will notice that you aren't eating as much.  

Let me know how it goes!