Fall off the Weight Loss Resolution Bandwagon? Here's a Great Meal Plan from Eating Well Magazine to Help You Get Back on Track

How are those 2013 weight loss resolutions going?  With March more than halfway over, this is a great time to reassess your goals.  If you're struggling to stick with a program of eating real food, squeezing in five to six hours a week of exercise and taking time for yourself, then let's REFOCUS.

Today we're focusing on eating well, courtesy of Eating Well magazine.  Its print edition offers outstanding recipes that are practical, affordable and easy to make.  Recently it posted online a 7-day meal plan based on your caloric intake, ranging from 1200 to 2000 calories.  It's an idiot-proof method to help you achieve your weight loss goal.

First, determine the number of calories you need to consume to lose weight.  I always go with the method of multiplying your desired weight by 10.  Want to weigh 130 pounds?  10 x 130 = 1300.  That is the number of calories you can eat to help you reach that goal.  Exercise moderately for an hour?  Okay, a based on a conservative estimate, you can have between 350-500 additional calories on that day you do the exercise.  This is just one method.  It has worked for me whenever I need to drop a few pounds, including the 50+ I lost more than a decade ago.

Courtesy Eating Well Magazine

Look at what Eating Well offers for a middle of the road, 1600 calorie-plan for Tuesday:

• Breakfast

  • 1 Whole Grain Oat Bran Bagel
  • 1 Cup Skim Milk
  • 1/2 Cup Blueberries
  • 1 Tablespoon Creamy Peanut Butter, unsalted

• Morning Snack

  • 1 Apple, small

• Lunch

  • 1 Cup Tossed Salad Mix
  • 1 Tablespoon Vinegar & Oil Salad Dressing
  • Green Eggs & Ham Frittata
  • 1/2 Cup Cooked Brown Rice
  • 1/2 Cup Fresh Pineapple

• Afternoon Snack

  • 6 Ounces Nonfat Vanilla or Lemon Yogurt, Sweetened with Low-Calorie Sweetener

• Dinner

  • 3/4 Cup Steamed Carrots
  • 1 Cup Skim Milk
  • Cornmeal-Crusted Chicken Nuggets with Blackberry Mustard
  • Spiced Corn & Rice Pilaf
  • 1 Nectarine, medium

This is a satiating, diverse meal plan that won't have you hungry.  It offers real food options with recipes to help you stay on track. 

Interested in more ways to rock your 2013 weight loss resolution?  Here are a few more tips that work for me:

• Three ridiculously simple calorie cutting tricks.
• Don't get fat eating salads!  Trust me, you can.
• Great fitness apps and gadgets to help you tame your waistline. 
• Best diet around?  The Med!  Try it.  Today.

Rock Your Resolution: Tips to Get Lean, Fit & in Fighting Shape in 2013

One month into 2013, are you sticking with them?  Not the extra pounds you (and me) want to lose but the resolutions to drop them?

Many people abandon their New Year's resolutions in just a couple of weeks.   Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project, reports that of the 45% of Americans who make resolutions every year, 24% of them fail.  Take all that with a grain of salt but resolutions are a tough thing to maintain, no question. 

For those of us hoping for a leaner version of ourselves in a few months, here are reminders on how to rock your 2013 weight loss resolution with some easy tips:

• Three Calorie Cutting Tricks: it's as simple as putting your fork down between bites.  Check out the other two here.
• Dancing with your kids counts as exercise.  Really.  Here are some other workout options.
• Don't get fat eating salads!  Here's how to avoid that.
• Here is a great, quick workout you can do anywhere without any equipment when you're pressed for time.
• How about some healthy snack options so you can fight back when the urge to visit the vending machine attacks while you're at work.  This is my personal 2013 resolution - avoid the vend-o-matic! 

Whatever happened to this!?!?!?!?

Motivation Monday: The Best Way to Ensure You'll Hit the Gym Consistently

Two weeks into the new year, how are those 2013 resolutions going?

Mine?  Eh.  I'm still not getting up consistently at 7am on workdays.  It's a challenge.  But I am consistently hitting the gym and exercising.  I've said it time and again, that's the one thing I won't sacrifice.  I don't go to a therapist.  I exercise.

I've been a gym goer for more than 20 years and I've learned what works and what doesn't.  The number one secret to getting to the gym consistently?  It's not the hot trainer which can be motivation on certain days, let's be honest.  It's a matter of picking one that is close to you. 

It's as simple as that. 

I belong to a gym that is pricey by Dallas standards.  Sure, it has the most cutting edge classes I've ever experienced, is super clean and has a wonderful, caring daycare staff but it's expensive.   I've even resigned my membership because I felt it cost too much only to return.  Why?  Because it is literally three minutes from my house.  I pay almost $150 a month but I go at least five times a week because I have no excuse not to do so.

The Best Fitness Apps & Gadgets for 2013 From the CES & More

With all sorts of wonderful fitness-related products debuting at the Consumer Electronic Show this week in Las Vegas, the marriage of technology with health and fitness is a relevant one.  I'm kind of digging the iBitz fitness tracker for kids.

I blogged about the "Cell Phone Diet" last year which basically advocates using your smartphone to  motivate you to lose weight by using inspirational photos, ringtones and reminders.   It's not a totally ridiculous concept. 

TechCrunch provides an exhaustive list of apps, websites and gadgets that can help you reach your health, fitness and weight loss goals.  It is an outstanding reference guide.

Some of the highlights include:

• The Nike+ Fuel Band - a friend of mine who works for the Cowboys uses this and loves it because it helps him keep track of his activity level during the day. 

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.

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.

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!