Cooking Tip

Lately, I have been trying really hard to remove butter and oil from my diet. It has proven to be quite a challenge! My sister gave me this great tip that has really helped! Instead of using butter to saute' vegetables - try using vegetable broth. I tried it yesterday and it was delicious :D
I fried potatoes in a small amount of vegetable broth and the taste was amazing! Thank-you Jacylyn!

Filthy Fifty Workout

Feel free to give this workout a try at home:

50 Squat Jumps
50 Sit-ups
50 Push-ups
50 Walking Lunges
50 Mountain Climbers
50 Body Rows
50 Lunge Jumps
50 Tricep Dips
50 Box Jumps

Try to do it as fast as you can! The next time you do it - try and beat your time.

Good Luck!

For those of us who want to gain weight and muscle

If your goal is to gain weight and muscle than this post is for you! Below are some tips and tricks to help you achieve your goal.

• The key to gaining muscle/weight is to consume more calories than you burn in a day. Calculate how many calories you should be eating in a day and then adjust accordingly for appropriate weight gain. Keep track of what you consume in a day to help you gain an idea of what you should be eating to achieve your goal
• Strength training is key! Don't worry - bootcamp will help you with this :D
• Incorporate extra calories wherever you can
• Drink milk, Gatorade or juice instead of water
• Eat foods like peanut butter, dried fruits, cheese, nuts, avocado's, salmon
• Eat 6 small meals a day instead of 3
• Eat bigger portions than you normally do
• Although it is important to eat healthy - sometimes you just need to get the calories in you and get the weight gain started. Don't feel guilty about eating unhealthy foods to get you moving towards your goal
• Add protein powders and nutritional supplements (like ensure) into your day

Like any goal - the key is to believe in yourself! I know you can do this!

Body Image

"If you realized how powerful your thoughts are, you would never think a negative thought. They can have a powerful influence for good when they're on the positive side, and they can and do make you physically ill when they're on the negative side." - Peace Pilgrim

Did you know:

• 75 percent of women are dissatisfied with their appearance; 89 percent say they want to lose weight
• Young girls are more afraid of becoming fat than they are of nuclear war, cancer or losing their parents
• Girls are more prone to developing eating and self-image problems than developing drug or alcohol problems. Yet there are drug and alcohol programs in almost every school but very few eating disorder programs
• The average North American woman is 5'4", weighs 140 pounds and wears a size 14 dress? Yet the "ideal" woman portrayed by models and movie stars is 5'7", weighs 100 pounds and wears a size 8.

Although many people that attend bootcamp have goals to lose weight or tone up - you still must love your body for what it is TODAY! If you feel that you need to lose weight to be happy with yourself - than you need to change your attitude! That day will never come! It will never be enough! You will be caught in a vicious cycle of negativity that will never end.

Instead, love your body for what it is today! Make healthier lifestyle changes because you deserve it - not because you are unhappy. This attitude will allow you to achieve your goals. If you have a hatred to your body you will never achieve your goals. I strongly encourage you to to love your body and take control of your happiness!

How many calories do I need?

Hey All!

So the ivillage website has a great tool to calculate how many calories you need in a day. However, the formula below will be a little bit more accurate.

I don't want you to obsess with calorie counting - but if you are trying to lose or gain weight - it's a really good idea to do it for a couple days and get your eating on track.

Calculate Basal Metabolism:
Multiply weight in pounds by 10 (men is 11)
eg: 120 (weight) x 10 = 1200

Calculate Physical Activity
Multiply basal metabolism by energy expenditure
- Energy Expenditure
Inactive = .3 (sitting most of day, less than 2 hours moving slowly or standing)
Average = .5 (sitting most of day, walking or standing 2 to 4 hours, but no strenuous activity)
Active= .75 (physically active 4 or more hours of the day, little sitting or standing, some
physically strenuous activities
eg: 1200 (basal metabolism) x .5 (average energy expenditure) = 600

Dietary Thermogenesis
Add calories needed for basal metabolism and physical activity together and then multiply by .l
eg: (1200 + 600) x 0.1 = 180

Total Calorie Need:
Add calories needed for basal metabolism, physical activity, and dietary thermogenesis together
1200 + 600 + 180 = 1880
*** This is the number of calories you need to consume to maintain your same weight!!

Adjusting for goals
if you want to lose weight minus 250 off of the total calorie need
eg: 1880 - 250 = 1630
***** This is how many calories you would consume to lose 1 pound a week

If you want to gain weight add 250 - 500 calories to the total calorie need
eg: 1880 + 250 = 2130
or 1880 + 500 = 2380
******This is how many calories you would need to consume to gain 1-2 pound per week

Good Luck! Let me know if you have any questions about this!

Great Weather

Well, now that it is so nice outside I encourage you to spend more time outdoors instead of sitting in front of the tv!
Go for a walk, jog, bike or rollerblade!
Do some yardwork or gardening.
Go play tennis, shoot some hoops, throw around a baseball!
There are so many activities we can do instead of watching tv!!! The average person watches 4 hours a day!!! I encourage you to aim to watch a maximum of 1 hour of tv a day!
I know you can do it :D

Quick Workout

Hey All!

Here is a workout you can do at home on your own.

50 Walking Lunges
50 Burpees
50 Jumping Squats
50 Plyo Push-ups

Push yourself to see how many times you can get through it in 20 minutes?

Good Luck!

Eat Clean Egg Salad Recipe

Eggs are so good for us! They are an excellent source of protein and Vitamin B12. Unfortunately, we rarely use them as a protein source.
Below is a recipe from the Eat Clean cookbook for mayo-less egg salad - it would make an excellent lunch!

1/4 cup fat free cottage cheese
1 TBSP skim milk
1 tsp mustard
4 hardboiled egg whites (diced)
1 hardboiled yolk
2 TBSP chopped green onion
2 TBSP chopped celery
dash curry powder
1/4 tsp sea salt

Preparation
- whip cottage cheese and milk until smooth
- blend remaining ingredients except egg whites with cottage cheese mixture
- add diced egg whites to cottage cheese mixture - mix well

ENJOY :D

GREAT CORE WORKOUT

Hi All!
If you don't have a lot of time to workout - but you want to squeeze something in - here is an excellent core workout.....
Personally, I love to do it after a run :D

21 Down
21 Push-ups, 21 Sit-ups
20 Push-ups, 20 Sit-ups
19 Push-ups, 19 Sit-ups
.... you work your way down to ZERO!

It is fantastic for the core!

Enjoy :D

Snacking at Night

Well - so many of us do it... weather it be boredom or habit... we snack in the evening while watching tv.
This is a habit we really really want to break when making healthy lifestyle changes. Usually, we do not need those calories and they are the cause of us holding an extra 5-10 lbs (sometimes more)!
My advice is when you are thinking about getting an evening snack try to drink a great big cold glass of water first. Sometimes this will help suppress our desire for food. You can also try sipping on some herbal tea while you relaxing in the evening.
If this doesn't work - try doing something that isn't watching tv. Go for a walk, organize your closet, play a game or cards, clean your bathroom - anything to distract you from wanting to eat out of boredom.
I also highly recommend to not buy your favorite snacking foods - if they are not in the house you can't have them! Replace your favorite snack foods with vegetables (no dip) - if you really need something - reach for the veggies!

It takes about 2 weeks to change a habit - so if you can ward off evening snacks for 2 weeks you may not even want them after that!

Changing this habit is about willpower - YOU CAN DO IT! Have your family be your support system - if you really WANT to change - then you WILL!!!

Great Website

Hi All!

I hope you had a great weekend and were able to get in some exercise and fresh air!

Below is a link to a fabulous website!

http://www.ivillage.com/

You can find so much information on diet and exercise on this site and the best part is that is FREE!

Particularly, if you click on Health and Diet and then tool kit - and then calorie tracker - you can figure out how many calories you should be eating in a day! Keeping track of your calorie counts for a couple days is an excellent way to get your eating habits on the right track!

Enjoy!

Cracking Down on Your Eating Habits

Hi All!

So - you're looking to get results - lose weight and inches and tone and tighten those muscles. Well, unfortunately just attending bootcamp cannot get you those results! You need to take a close look at your eating habits and make some changes.
I challenge you for the duration of the spring bootcamp to completely stop eating/drinking:

ALCOHOL
JUICE AND POP
CHEESE
CHIPS AND OTHER SALTY JUNK FOOD
CANDY
CHOCOLATE
PASTRIES
PROCESSED FOODS
HIGH FAT SPREADS (MAYO, BUTTER, ETC)

Eliminating these items completely will make a huge difference in your results!

Delicious Tofu Bites Recipe

Hi All!
Today I wanted to share a great recipe with you. These tofu bites are awesome - you can eat them as a snack, put them on top of salads or add them to a delicious stir fry.
Enjoy!

Tofu Bites

• 1 (16 ounce) package extra firm tofu
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• 1 dash hot sauce
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly spray a non-stick baking sheet with oil.

1. Slice tofu into 1/2-inch slices, and gently press excess water out of tofu. Cut sliced tofu into 1/2-inch cubes.
2. In a bowl, stir together the soy sauce, maple syrup, ketchup, vinegar, and hot sauce. Stir in sesame seeds, garlic powder, black pepper. Gently stir tofu cubes into sauce. Cover, and marinate at least 5 minutes.
3. Place the tofu on the baking sheet in a single layer. Bake in a preheated oven for 15 minutes. Turn tofu, and bake until the tofu turns golden brown, about 15 minutes more.

Makes 4 servings - each serving has 168 calories and 8.8 grams of fat

Working out in bad weather

Well, I hate to say this but there is no such thing as bad weather! If you dress appropriately you can workout in any weather. Too often weather is used as an excuse not to exercise!
So, be sure to dress in breathable layers. Wear something on your head, ears and your hands! Also, don't forget about your feet - wear appropriate clothing to keep them warm.
I'll see you out there rain or shine! :)

First Day of Outdoor Bootcamp!

Well, the weather was not in our favor. It was quite cold and windy - but we toughed it out.
Today's workout was our fitness assessment....
Run

75 Dips

100 Jumping Squats

50 Sit-ups (elbows cup knee)

Broad Jump Burpees

50 Push-ups (knees / toes)

100 Crabwalks (50 forward/50 backward)

40 Split Squat Jumping Lunges (20 per leg)

50 Mountain Climbers

Sprint

TOTAL TIME:

We will repeat the assessment at the end of this session and see how you have improved