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Searching for Fitness Tips? Beware!
Are you constantly looking for all the best tips, information and advice. If so, beware of falling into the trap of reading tips and advice, and your knowledge stopping there. To truly transform your life, you need to become a student of fitness - study, learn and apply. Here’s what I mean…
In today’s world, we want quick fixes, fast answers, a short word of advice or small tip to help us get through the day. We want our trainer to motivate us to workout, we want our preacher to give us an inspiring word to make us want to live better and we want someone to just tell us what to eat so we can lose weight. Basically, we want everyone else to do the hard work – the studying, the thinking, the troubleshooting…and pass along the results of their labor to us.
However, even the best advice is worthless if it isn’t fully understood or being applied. Being told what to do in the gym isn’t going to make you any more fit than going to church once a week isn’t going to make you spiritual. These tidbits of information are to SPARK an interest in you to dig more, to study more, to learn more and to put what you have learned into practice. When you only get the tip, you are only getting part of the story. The tip should be the START of a journey, not the end-all be-all.
I try really hard to put short bits of information out there for everyone to enjoy, BUT there are some exceptions and more information than I can squeeze in a short blog or motivational mantra. The goal is to spark something in you to want to learn more.
“I have been in an academic setting my entire life, I have been obsessed with weight loss reality TV shows since they existed, and I have read magazine article after article on diet and nutrition for weight loss because I knew I deserved more than to be fat and unhealthy my entire life. But when your sister shared your book with me, I read it cover to cover in one sitting and my life was changed forever.” Jenny
Why was her life changed? It wasn’t because she bought my ebook. Because she UNDERSTOOD the text and APPLIED IT. It’s really that simple. AND, she didn’t apply PARTS of it, she applied it ALL – and she lost 70lbs!
We need to become more knowledgeable if we want to make better choices. We can’t rely on rules, a list of approved foods or tips to get us by in life. We need to understand they WHY behind it all. It’s in understanding WHY that we are much more motivated to DO.
Let me encourage you! Today, Joyce Meyer said we aren’t supposed to just read the Word, that we are supposed to STUDY the Word. Look at what the word “READ” actually means:
- to look at and comprehend the meaning of…
- inspect and record…
- to have such knowledge of (a language) as to be able to understand things written in it
I believe this is how we are to treat ANYthing that is important to us and has the potential to improve our life. We can’t rely on tips or CliffsNotes to help us make the best decisions in life. We must read (study), take notes, practice what we have learned, troubleshoot, experiment, learn from our mistakes and re-test yourself (try and try again).
Isn’t it time you make a commitment to STUDYING the important things in life? Parenting, Health & Fitness, God, Marriage & Career Skills – THESE are worth studying and will pay off big-time!
Stop looking for people to spoon-feed you fitness tips or religious inspiration. Let’s go deeper!
Why You Can’t Work Off Your Weight
I’m going to tell you something that could save you hours in the gym and weeks of wasted work for little to no results? Ready? OK, here it goes: you can’t exercise the weight off. (allowing a pause here for every woman to shriek in pure horror and disappointment)
Don’t get me wrong. There are SOME people who start exercising and lose weight, but normally they are also trying to eat better too. OR, maybe they were extremely overweight and sedentary so their new active lifestyle was a very drastic change for them. Whatever the case, it’s rare and exercise can only get you so far when it comes to weight loss. Weight loss requires cutting back on the calories taken in, unless you want to run 5-10 miles a day to get in the 500-1000 calorie deficit that is required for weight loss.
Unfortunately, many people join a gym and hire a trainer in hopes of losing weight and rely on those 3 workouts a week to do all the work. I only WISH this worked! Being a trainer would be awesome, everyone would get results and the world would be a happy fit and trim place. But it just doesn’t work like that.
Think about it. Do you really expect a one hour workout to erase all the poor choices you make for the rest of the 23 hours in your day? Does that even make sense? However, many people are doing just that. They expect their 3-5 hours in the gym each week to erase all the extra calories they eat over the 168 hours a week. Do the math! 5 hours vs 168 hours. If we were gambling, I’m pretty sure we’d all bet on the 168 hours winning the fight.
“You can’t compete with what you eat”
Think of it this way. If 30 minutes on the treadmill only burns 300 calories, but you can eat a 300-calorie pastry in 5 minutes, can you see how that math will never work? (PS: 1 blueberry scone at Starbucks is 460 CALORIES!!) So for every 5 minutes of pastry-eating, you’d need to work 30 minutes on the treadmill? Yeah, that ain’t happening.
It doesn’t have to be poor choices either. Most people just eat too much. They may eat healthy, but they eat a LOT of healthy food. And, the more they workout, the more they mentally think they can afford to eat.
Of course I’m just using these examples to help you grasp the whole exercise vs diet concept, do don’t get freaked out. This is also written for people who need to lose weight. Maintenance mode is totally different. When you are maintenance mode you aren’t trying to be in a caloric deficit so you can eat more. I can order fries if I want to and I probably won’t gain weight because I’m in maintenance. Now, if I did it every day, that’s another thing! However, I keep my calories low throughout the day so I CAN cheat here and there and not gain weight. I may also do an extra cardio here or there to make up for any extra calories, but I never can be completely irresponsible for several days straight or I will blow up quick. ;)
Sadly, most people don’t want to give up their simple little pleasures – even for a much BIGGER and GREATER reward, like a fit and trim body. They feel like they “must have chocolate” or “can’t give up wine”. Maybe their goal is too far away that they don’t truly realize what that glass of wine or nightly ice cream is costing them. They don’t realize how fast they’d reach their goal if they just stuck to both diet and exercise.
So, to make themselves feel better they decide to exercise. Working out is awesome and you can absolutely get in better shape. You can have a firmer body, stronger muscles, better stamina and more energy BUT you may not lose one pound if you are burning as many calories as you are eating. Diet is required for weight loss.
The same way you can’t eat a bunch of protein and magically grow muscle, you have to make sure you are doing what is required to reach your goal. If you want to lose body fat and lose weight, you have to diet. If you want to get fit, you have to exercise. If you want a better health report, you probably need to do both. If you want to look fit, you need to do both.
Most people act as if they are in maintenance mode – exercising and eating whatever they want. However, most people need to be in weight loss mode, which is dieting and exercising. The sooner you do it right, the sooner you can be in maintenance mode – but just a thinner fitter you in maintenance mode!
TIP: The longer you put off dieting, the longer you put off results. Go ahead and start today! You can lose 8-12lbs in one month with a great low-cal diet and exercise program. Do the math! How much do you need to lose? Isn’t it worth a few weeks of discipline!? I think it is!! You’ll be SO glad you did! Otherwise, 5 years may fly by and you are still the same weight because you weren’t willing to work as hard in the kitchen as you were in the gym.
The Amazing 63 Calorie Quiche
Eating healthy is always easier when you plan ahead. Part of my planning ahead includes making a healthy breakfast that’s easy to heat and eat! This week, my breakfast of choice is a low-fat spinach quiche made with Daisy low-fat cottage cheese.
One thing I love about adding Daisy Cottage Cheese to my quiche is because it’s packed with protein (13gms per 1/2 cup 90 calorie serving). Since I like to get the majority of my protein from whole foods, Daisy Cottage Cheese is a great way to boost protein in your diet naturally. (FYI: Daisy Cottage Cheese has no preservatives, thickeners or additives and only has ingredients, where other brands have more than 10).
Shopping Tip: Look for the LIGHT blue lid (that’s the low fat one. Daisy’s regular cottage cheese has a dark blue lid). Also, alway look at ingredients when shopping. Less is more! I took a photo of the ingredients for Daisy (below left) compared to another popular brand (below right). Look at all the extra ingredients. Who wants to eat Xanthan gum and Guar gum? lol
63 Calorie Quiche
16oz Bag of Defrosted & Drained Spinach
1 Cup Egg Beaters
2 Cups Low-Fat Daisy Cottage Cheese
1/2 Cup Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese
1/4 Cup Crushed Crackers or Croutons
6 1 Medium Tomato, Diced
Salt & Pepper (to taste)
Cook the spinach in a pan and drain well. Mix spinach in with all the ingredients. Pour in well greased muffin pan (I use Pam) and cook on 325 for 45 minutes. The recipe makes 12 63-calorie yummy low-fat, high-protein, low-carb mini quiches! BAM!
Change it up
Use this same recipe and just make some subtle changes to make your own new creations. Swap cheddar cheese for feta cheese or tomatoes for mushrooms. Change spinach for broccoli or asparagus. Dress your recipe up but adding a sliced cherry tomato on top. Don’t care about calories? Use 2 cups of cheese instead of 1/2 cup of cheese to richen the recipe (NOTE: that will make each quiche 120 calories instead of 63 calories).
Nutritional Information
Enjoy 2 quiches for only 125 calories, 16.4g of protein, 3.9g carbs and 4.8g fat. Look at this awesome pie graph! See all that light blue – that’s ALL PROTEIN!! WOOOT!
I log my recipes in the LoseIt app to track calories and nutrients. What I love about making quiche in a muffin pan is that I have 12 perfect individualized portions, making tracking calories a breeze!
10 Ways to Cook With Cottage Cheese
If you are like me, and aren’t a big fan of eating cottage cheese solo, here are some great ways to enjoy the benefits of Daisy Cottage Cheese to eat healthier, reduce calories and boost protein.
1. Use cottage cheese instead of sour cream to add creaminess and a bunch of protein to a baked potato.
2. Use cottage cheese to thicken homemade dressings (using blender)
3. Use cottage cheese in place of Ricotta cheese in Italian dishes. (90 calories per half cup vs 216 calories)
4. Add a nice dollop of cottage cheese to a salad.
5. Use pureed cottage cheese instead of sour cream for a creamy healthier chip dip
6. Add cottage cheese to your smoothie for a creamier protein shake with even more protein.
7. Use cottage cheese in place of oil when baking.
8. Use cottage cheese instead of mayo when making tuna salad. (Puree it to make it creamy if you don’t like it chunky)
9. Mix cottage cheese with salt, pepper and herbs for a yummy and healthy cracker spread.
10. Mix or layer with fresh pineapple, apple sauce, peaches, pear or mandarin oranges and top with a dollop of whipped cream for a healthy dessert or breakfast.
HOW DO YOU EAT COTTAGE CHEESE?
Join us in our Twitter Chat! Daisy wants to know how you “Power Your Way Through the Day”. Getting the proper fuel we need can be hard on the go. Getting protein, outside of eating meat or having a protein shake, can also be challenging. Daisy Cottage Cheese is the perfect protein source. Daisy is extremely versatile and can help power your breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack and pre/post workout. Learn more about the Daisy Difference April 10, 2014 at 9:00 pm EST #DaisyDifference! See you there!
The Secret Between Lean & Ripped
Someone recently asked me how to get ripped. I said, “It depends on where you stop”. Here’s what I mean.
The woman who asked that question was already losing weight and leaning out. Whether she gets thin or gets super fit looking just depends on where she decides to stop. She can continue to lose fat as long as she continues her program. While your desired destination can be different than someone else’s, the process is basically the same. The same fit road has many stops along the way. You can stop at 10lbs lost, 20lbs lost or go until you reach super cut and fit.
The problem is, many people quit when they get comfortable. They think, “wow! I really like 20lbs lost. This is a fun place, I’ll stay here for a while and play”. While they are there, they start allowing for more calories – hence, breaking the weight loss cycle.
Another problem is people fall into a false sense of security. They get thin and begin to feel like they “deserve” the extra calories because they are now so fit and active. Because they aren’t as strict during this phase, they quickly lose a grip on how many calories they are really taking in – and before you know it, they’ve plateaued or even gained some calories back. The knee-jerk reaction is to rely on exercise to erase the extra calories, but they will quickly discover it is much easier to eat 1,000 than it is to burn 1,000 calories. Sadly, many people learn the hard way – after they gain some (or all) of their weight back.
Avoid making these mistakes. Avoid missing out on your biggest victory. Next time you feel like stopping, or settling for the results you’ve gotten so far, ask yourself this question: “What if I keep going?” Amazing things happen! “Better” happens! Even if you are doing great now, you can even do better if you keep pressing on. You can continue to improve. You can continue to get fitter, stronger, leaner, healthier. You can be victorious.
Don’t stop short of your greatest victory. Small victories are awesome, but you have even bigger victories awaiting you if you can just keep pressing on!
Does Food Really Make You Happy?
It’s easy to think that freedom makes us happy. We think if we can eat whatever we want, when we want it, that it will satisfy something in us. It will be “fun”. But, the consequences outweigh the pleasure. So then you have to ask yourself “is it really worth having “fun” for 30 minutes, tasting whatever it is that temporarily satisfies a craving, if you are miserable the rest of the day?” I think not.
We would all be much better off if we really looked at what makes us truly happy. Maybe we need to even redefine “fun”. I don’t know about you, but I’m happiest when I am doing the right thing, when I’m practicing self-control and when I’m living a life that makes me proud. I have “fun” when I feel good about myself, when I feel good in my clothes, when I’m confident, when I’m strong, when I feel healthy, when I am comfortable in my own skin. When I feel good, I don’t need food to have fun, life is just more fun.
On the contrary, when I let my eating go out of control, I am grumpy. Nothing is fun. I feel bad about myself, I don’t fit in clothes, I don’t want to go shopping, I don’t want to dress up, I avoid cameras, I don’t want to go to the beach and be seen in a bikini. I hide. I retreat. I pout. I feel sorry for myself. And, I eat. Because that is what I do. Feed my lazy fat sorrows. Then I get fat enough (yes, I can fluctuate 10-15lbs if I let myself) to get mad enough to get back on the wagon and take back control. Then I start having a more lasting fun, a more steady happiness – from just plain out being healthier and more disciplined.
So, while I may not be able to say all my workouts are all that “fun”, and I may miss regular doses of my favorite foods, feeling healthy and getting results makes me MUCH happier than any meal could make me feel for a moment. (Note: I said regular doses of my favorite foods. This means I can still treat myself occasionally but I’m not eating whatever I want all the time.)
It is truly ridiculous that we would let the taste of food or a “fun” food-filled experience ruin the taste of success and becoming our very best. No one thing should have that much power over anyone.
Will I have an occasional taco or pizza! YES, will I let food control me? NO! Food is not the boss of me. I will NOT let it get in the way of my health and my success! Will you?
GREEN FOR GOOD LUCK: 25 Low-Cal Low-Glycemic Greens
If you want to eat healthy, and store less fat, start eating more low-glycemic foods. Foods that have a higher glycemic index (like potatoes, rice and corn) increase your blood sugar, and are higher in calories too. High-glycemic foods don’t tend to last as long in our system, therefore have a chance of being stored as fat quicker. A lower-glycemic food will stay in your system longer so you have more chance of burning it up, and using it for energy. Low-glycemic foods will also help you keep your blood sugar more stable, which means a nice steady flow of lasting energy. All in all, low-glycemic foods have a lot of perks – especially for weight loss!
(Read this article to learn more about the Glycemic Index by the Mayo Clinic.)
Tip: Choose lower-glycemic foods for snacks and dinner (since you want to keep calories low for snacks and you don’t need a lot of calories (energy) to sleep). Eat high-glycemic carbs during the morning or middle of the day (so you have a chance to use that blood sugar for working, working out and staying active).
Low-Calorie Low-Glycemic Greens
Try adding these greens to your grocery list and daily menu.
Arugula (salad greens)- Asparagus
- Bean sprouts
- Broccoli
- Brussels sprouts
- Cabbage
- Celery
- Chicory (salad greens)
- Cucumber
- Endive (salad greens)
- Escarole (salad greens)
- Green Beans
- Green Onions
- Greens (collard, kale, mustard, turnip)
- Iceberg lettuce
- Kohlrabi
- Okra
- Pea pods
- Peppers (green)
- Romaine
- Spinach
- Sugar snap peas
- Swiss chard
- Watercress (salad greens)
- Zucchini
High Glycemic Index Vegetables (over 60) LIMIT THESE
- artichokes
- carrot
- corn
- dried beans
- lima beans
- oyster plant
- parsnips
- potato
- squash
- sweet potato
- yam
There Are No Short Cuts to Victory
I can’t tell you how many people have told me “I’ve tried that, and it didn’t work for me”. However, I’d bet you a million dollars they didn’t try “that” (doing it completely properly, by the book), every day, 7 days a week, 30 days a month.
Getting results requires complete honestly with yourself, and the people leading you. It is not fair to say that something didn’t work for you if you aren’t willing to do what you are told.
For instance, I could easily say Spanish class didn’t work for me. I took two years of it and I basically only know how to say “no habla espanol”. Why? Was the teacher bad? No. Should I have gotten a newer textbook? No, that wouldn’t help. How do I know? Because half the class learned Spanish just fine. Why? Because they actually did the work.
I expected the same results even though I chose to take short cuts, skip my reading and practicing, skim through homework and not pay attention in class. And, that’s exactly how people treat diet and fitness programs. Then, when they don’t get the result they wanted or expected, they say “it didn’t work”, or blame the teacher.
If you have done your share of diet or gym hopping, and haven’t gotten the results you wanted, it’s time to get honest with yourself. Did you do everything you were told to do? 7 days a week? 30 days in a row? For 2-3 months straight?
Fitness is work, BUT the reward is SO worth it!
Quit searching for more short cuts – or the next new thing. Instead, commit to applying what you have already learned and know – doing it right this time, 7 days a week, 30 days straight. The results will amaze you!
How to Kill a Bad Habit
Joyce Meyer said, “Every time you feed the flesh, you strengthen it. This is good if you are trying to build a good habit, but detrimental if you are trying to stop a bad habit. The way to “kill the flesh” is to starve it; to stop feeding it.”
What a simple concept: Starve what you want to die, feed what you want to live. In the context Joyce was talking about, she was addressing feeding our physical desires, not necessarily just our stomach. Our body has physical desires. It lusts, it hungers, it wants to sleep, it wants to be lazy. Sometimes it wants to get angry, it wants to cuss, it wants to be get its way and if we LET it get its way, without practicing self control, the flesh will kill you.
So how do we subdue the flesh and grow the things we want to grow in our life? The same way we kill something or grow anything – it depends on how we feed it.
Trust me, if you don’t feed a plant it will die. If you don’t believe me, I’ll show you the plants on my back porch. However, the plants in my yard are thriving. Why? Because my lawn people take really good care of those plants. They feed it fertilizer, they get rid of weeds that may choke out any life, and they give it regular attention.
Our fitness is the same way. It requires attention. The more we feed it, the more it will grow. This means we need to attend to it regular. It also means we need to pull anything out of our life that might choke out our progress. And, it means we need to starve our bad habits (poor eating habits, laziness, business, etc) that will make it more difficult to succeed.
You are in control of your flesh. You decide what lives and what dies.
You are what you think:
“For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, (this means you decide what you want your mind should be on, think on those things, meditate on them, focus on them, fix it and keep it there. However, we can think on better things, healthier things, greater things…) “but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. Romans 8:5
What have you been allowing yourself to set your mind on that doesn’t belong? Decide now to not meditate on those things and replace those thoughts on the things you want to grow in your life. :)
100-Calorie Soup
What typically goes in soup? Well, let’s think… Potatoes, Carrots, Corn, Peas, Lima Beans, any kind of bean, rice, pasta…basically all high carb vegetables. What do you not see in soup that often? Low-carb veggies like Brocoli, Cauliflower, Spinach and Cabbage. Why not? Did someone make a rule? Are there only a few soup-approved veggies? NO! People just like their carbs. A high-carb meal is a high-calorie meal, so i decided to make a low-carb soup that would entertain my tastebuds without costing me a few miles of cardio to burn off. This soup is perfect for those nights I had a post-workout shake and don’t need a lot of calories, but still want a hot meal when I get home for the gym.
100-Calorie 2-Cup Soup
4 Quarts Vegetable Broth Base (I used Knorr Vegetable Mix)
1 Bag of Frozen Cauliflower (or 2 cups fresh)
2 Cups frozen chopped spinach
2 Cups chopped brocoli
2 1/2 Cups Ground Turkey (20 oz)
2 Chopped Zucchini
2 T Splenda/Stevia
2 T Hickory Liquid Smoke
Salt/Pepper to taste
Makes 25 Cups
59 Calories per Hearty Cup!
I entered everything into my LoseIt app. Here is the profile :)
Potatoless Low-Cal Shepherd’s Pie
I love potatoes. Honestly, I think they are probably one of my favorite vegetables. BUT they are super high in calories and carbs, so I try to limit them. One baked potato is a whopping 270 calories – that’s most of my allotted calories for a single meal when I’m dieting (which is around 300-350 calories/meal) – and that’s without butter, sour cream or anything extra!
A medium French Fry from McDonald’s is 360 calories!! Sadly, I have to admit, when I get fries, my eyes are bigger than my brain and I feel the need to order a large fry because I like fries more than the darn burger. However, that large fry will cost me about a 5 1/2 mile run! A large fry had more calories than my sandwich – 537 calories (Super Size is 610 CALORIES!)!! Needless to say, if you are counting calories, it doesn’t take long to realize you need to limit potatoes from your diet if you want to lose weight.
With all that high-cal potato talk, I got a little creative last night and made a potatoless Shepherd’s pie. Honestly, if I had cauliflower, I would have made mashed cauliflower. Instead, I started my meal out like I always do. I look in the fridge and pantry to see what I have and then I start brainstorming. Yesterday, I ended up with Ground Turkey & Cabbage Shepherd’s pie and it was a success. Steve loved it, and he liked the carb to protein ratio – so here it is!
Potatoless Shepherd’s Pie
- 1 head of cabbage chopped (made 4 cups)
- 4 cups cooked and seasoned lean ground turkey
- 1 1/2 cup yellow corn
- 1 1/2 cup lima beans ( didn’t have peas!)
- 1 tablespoon butter/margarine
- 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 teaspoon of Stevia and Splenda
- Salt & Pepper
- Badia Complete Seasoning
First I combined cooked and seasoned turkey meat with cooked corn and limas (cooked and seasoned with salt and pepper) and put that in the casserole dish. (I seasoned my meat with lemon juice and Badia Complete Seasoning). Then, in a separate pot, I boiled the cabbage with seasonings and the Stevia until really tender and soft. I drained the cabbage reeeeeally well and added the butter to add a little fat, as well as a buttery flavor. Next, I spread it out on top of the meat mixture, topping it with the sprinkle of cheese and baked it on 400 for 20 minutes or so (just to melt the cheese and do the final bit of cooking).
After you pull it out of the oven, drain off any fluid (from the cabbage) and let it stand for a few minutes. If you can’t wait, you can serve it right away, but it will be a messy meal. If you let it cool, it cuts in nicer squares. I let mine cool completely and stored it in the refrigerator. Then I cut it in squares and put it in tupperware (cuts beautifully when cold). Steve loved it and it was darn tasty!
9 servings: 278 calories 25g P, 15g C 13g F
12 small squares: 209 calories, 19.1g P, 11.3g C, 9.9g F
NOTE: Fat slows digestion, helping you feel fuller longer, as well as provides you with more lasting energy.
