Check Out These Three Awesome Exercise DVD's!

I have learned the hard way that when it comes to choosing exercise DVD's it is best to ask for recommendations from friends, family or co-workers.  I've bought a few that I wish I had not purchased but these three are the absolute best that I've come across!  I wanted to share them with you.  I'm going to break down why I like them and why I still use one or two of them on a daily basis.  I ordered all of them from Amazon.com at the following link:  http://www.amazon.com/

Winsor Pilates - Basic 3 DVD Workout Set was the very first exercise DVD I purchased close to two years ago when I first made major lifestyle changes in my eating and exercising patterns.  It is absolutely awesome for several reasons.

• Mari Winsor is a top instructor and has been in the business for over two decades.  She is highly professional and knows her stuff.  She has worked with many movie and TV stars.   She has three DVD's in this set.  One is a 20 minute overall body routine.  This 20 minute routine is great to start off with when you're getting back into conditioning after a layoff or when you simply want a great, short overall workout.  I started off with this 20 minute version because it allowed me to slowly build up strength.  It took me a month or so to get down the moves and I became stronger over time.  This 20 minute version of Pilates was my main DVD that I used for months and I used it almost daily. There is also an instructional DVD that breaks down the moves and there is an awesome accelerated 50 minute version of Pilates that I now use once or twice a week.  It is awesome!

I love this DVD by Denise Austin.  It was recommended to me by a young woman who loved her workouts.  It is awesome for the following reasons:

• It is divided into 10 minute mini routines that focus on the core, abs, hip, thighs and buns individually.
• There are different levels of intensity you can choose from and you can start out low and work your way up.
• You can put together your own custom routine.  My favorite routine on this one is the abs & waist, hips and buns.  I do this one at least two days a week.

Of course, you can switch this workout any way you like and you can make the workout as long or as short as you like.  I go for 30 minutes on this one as I've stated and I hit the abs & waist, hips and buns sections.  It is awesome!  I love the tropical scenery.  She is motivating!

Denise Austin's Personal Training System is off the charts!  It was recommended to me by the same young woman.  I use this one 3-4 times a week because it works your body in a totally different way than Pilates.  It is more like strength training that you can do in your own home. 

• This DVD centers on your upper and lower body areas.  She provides three different intensity levels which are low, medium and high.  It is awesome! 
• The mini individual workouts are each only 10 minutes long. 
• There is an upper body dumbbell routine.   I gradually built up to using five pounds and eight pounds weights for this routine and I mostly stick with the low intensity area because the medium and high level incorporate pushups.  This is awesome for people who like pushups but I stay with the low intensity in the upper body area on this one.  Believe me, it gets results and it is challenging.
• The lower body workout is incredible.  I started at the medium intensity on this one and I now stick to the high intensity.  It is so great because it has built up the areas that surround my knees.  I had problems in my knee areas when I first started walking briskly consistently.  Do you know once I added on this workout with all the squats and lunges I no longer have any sort of knee pain?  I am amazed.  I look at this DVD as a big bonus because it's sort of like a weight routine for me where I don't have to go to a gym.

I also love Exercise TV and during the week on the days where I am doing the dumbbell/squat routine, I do 20 minutes of Nicole Stewart or Elizabeth Garcia's Pilates.  They are awesome and it's good to mix things up.

I am always looking to add in great DVD's as I go along but these are the main great ones that I love and they provide great results if used consistently.  This may sound like an awful lot of exericising but it's not.  I only do 20 minutes of Pilates on the day I do my squat/dumbell routine which is also 20 minutes.  On the days that I don't do the squat/dumbell routine I do 30 minutes of Pilates.  I do my cardio of walking/running for 30 minutes six days a week.  So, I'm basically working out around an hour a day and at my convenience from my own home and surrounding area.  I've learned the hard way about finally making myself a priority. 

I wanted to share this information with you, so that you know these DVD's come highly recommended. 

Have a great day!

Is There Way Too Much "Drama" Associated With Food In America?

If you stop and take the time to notice, there's a tremendous amount of "drama" associated with discussions about the foods we eat throughout the course of any given day or week.  Whether it pertains to a "diet" or food in general, many of us talk about food as if it were human and possessed some sort of supernatural powers!  In fact, we give food way too much power, which diminishes our own self control over what we "choose" to eat at times.  It's time to take the "drama" out of our daily pattern of eating and put the emphasis on setting up an overall healthy eating pattern for life.  Realistically, we can and should enjoy great healthy foods every day of our lives but it's time to put food in its proper place in America.   There's far too much emphasis on eating the wrong types of food for all sorts of reasons.  We're way out of control with approximately 67% of our nation presently overweight or obese.

Food is not human, we all know this yet how many times have you heard the following type comments?

Myth:  I couldn't resist that cupcake; it was calling my name and I simply had to eat it!

Fact:  Cupcakes can't talk; they're not human; we make "choices".

Myth:  I feel like I'm in a "battle" or a "tug of war" with weight loss; it's an ongoing struggle. 

Fact:  Food is not human, we shouldn't feel like we're in a battle or tug of war, we make "choices".   We're giving way too much power to food if we talk in this manner.  It mentally puts us in an inferior position and we're not inferior, we're intelligent humans who take responsibility for the foods we "choose" to eat.

Sharon and I wrote about this topic extensively in our forthcoming book, "Tame Your Inner Octopus!"  We felt that we needed to first understand how we became overweight before we set out on our own personal weight loss journey.  We felt we needed to see the entire picture.

We quickly realized there was far too much "drama" and emphasis on food in general in our own lives and we knew it was an overall problem in our nation.  We saw the staggering statistics of being overweight and obese in our nation and we immediately knew we wanted to be on the lower side of the equation.  We wanted to be with the approximate 33% of our nation that was not overweight or obese.

We achieved our goal and it was not difficult.  One of the main reasons we were able to reach success came with the realization that there was way too much emphasis on food in our personal lives.  We realized very early on that we must take responsibility for the foods we choose to eat if we are to be successful for the remainder of our lives.

There's no doubt in our minds that thousands of others can do the same.

Have a great day!

Lordy Be! Study Shows Fatty Foods Head Straight for the Brain First!

A recent study by the UT Southwestern Medical Center, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation suggests that foods high in certain fats may head straight to the brain.  From that point the fat molecules encourage the brain to send messages to the body's cells to ignore the appetite-suppressing signals from leptin and insulin which are two important hormones involved in food intake and body-weight regulation.  Worse yet, our bodies may be tricked into eating more and the effect may last up to three days!

Wow! Although this study was conducted on mice and rats, researchers feel this strengthens existing dietary recommendations to limit saturated fat intake.

This study explains a lot if you stop and think about it.  How many times have most of us woken up the morning after a huge holiday meal or special occasion feeling like we wanted to eat anything within sight? Many times we haven't been able to pinpoint exactly why we have felt this way.  I strongly feel that most of us can also relate to the urge to continue eating that way for several days afterwards. 

In fact, here's a short story.  Our absolute favorite ice cream brand from back home branched out into the south florida area this past year.  Needless to say, we ran to the store and bought some!  Seriously, we could have easily chosen to clear the shelf.  Heck, I had lost all of the weight I wanted to lose and surely I could eat my most favorite ice cream in the entire world!  Hmm...my husband and my son gobbled it up with me.  Actually, one half gallon didn't last for more than two days.  After a month or two of eating it for one reason or another my son made this statement:  "I feel I have no control over eating this ice cream; I feel like I have to keep eating it for days until it is gone."  Do any of you notice his comments substantiate this recent research in rodents?  Granted he's not a rat nor is he a top researcher but I feel he did say something quite profound.  My husband and I felt the same way but like most people we really didn't understand why we felt this way.

Now, we have studies, such as this latest study that suggest there may be solid reasons to back our lack of control over our urges to eat certain foods day after day.

To me, this is yet another great reason why we should try to eat in a healthful manner 95% of the time.

I'm just like most people.  I enjoy eating high saturated fats but I have also learned that I can no longer allow them to rule my patterns of eating.  There's a time and a place to eat them and I'm in charge of when and if I choose to do so.  I don't believe in labeling certain foods as "bad".  When I do eat these type foods, I have  learned the importance of limiting my intake.  I know I may temporarily enjoy them but I also realize overall, they are not in my best interest to eat on any type of consistent basis.

I am finally learning to limit these type foods for special occasions and trust me, there are always special occasions around almost every corner if you stop and think about it.  I can't eat these foods everyday because I don't wish to struggle or battle out the repercussions of trying to get my body back on track.  I know that fatty foods work against me being able to control my intake of calories and regulate my body weight.

Yes, I must admit I feel a great deal of compassion towards the rodents in this research.   It was only a couple of years ago when I was in the same predicament!

Have a great day everyone!

Part II of The Not So Sweet Side of Sugars!

Part I of The Not So Sweet Side of Sugars centered on the American Heart Association's recent recommendations of added sugars.  The guideline suggested that women consume no more than 6 teaspoons (about 25 grams) of added sugars a day and no more than 9 teaspoons (about 37.5 grams) of added sugars daily for men.

I also posted a video clip from the Dr. Oz show on my previous post.  Since I would like to stay in that recommended guideline, I have begun to look at the labels on the products I consume on a daily or weekly basis.  You may wish to do the same when you have the time.  I no longer use white sugar but I do sprinkle brown sugar about a teaspoon or less on my sweet potato.  I use one teaspoon of honey on my half English Muffin.  I would like to use more honey in items where I use artificial sweetners.  I want to look into the new product "Stevia".   These are two areas that I can work on in the future.  There is so much to be said about "substitution" in the quest of building a healthy overall eating plan.  We just have to keep working on it little by little.  Small changes here or there add up to huge differences over time. It's the same with exercise.

Here's why eating too much sugar matters and why we must pay attention.  The American Heart Association says that a high intake of added sugars is implicated in numerous poor health conditions, including
obesity, high blood pressure and other risk factors for heart disease and stroke. 

They further state that added sugars and solid fats in food, as well as alcoholic beverages are categorized as "discretionary calories" and should be eaten sparingly.  Soft drinks and other sugar-sweetened beverages are the number one source of added sugars in the American diet.

I went grocery shopping yesterday and our store, like many, has certain items upfront on sale as you walk in just to make you stop and check them out.  I'm a sucker of course and I stopped, as always, to check out some of the items.  I picked up an innocent looking six pack of apple sauce with cinnamon.  I thought that would be a great addition to my area of healthy snacks.  Since I had the recent recommendations concerning the added sugars from the American Heart Association on my mind, I decided to check out the sugar content on the label.  You are not going to believe what it was for one serving of that apple sauce.  Remember, as women, we're supposed to have 6 teaspoons or 25 grams of added sugar a day.  This one small serving contained 26 grams of sugar!  That's why "Ignorance is Bliss."  If you don't educate yourself, you have no idea what could hurt you in the long run.  I know this, because this is exactly how I got fat and stayed fat over the course of two decades.  I do want this knowledge now and I want to take responsibility for knowing my overall limits because I never want to be in that seemingly helpless situation again.  I now have the knowledge and you do too!

Can you believe 26 grams!  I couldn't.  That one little container of hidden sugars was already over my suggested daily limit.

So, this made me want to check out other areas of hidden sugars in many of the items I eat on a daily or weekly basis.  Check out these everyday seemingly low sugared items.  Some of them are fairly low but in some cases, you wouldn't even think that sugar would be in the item.  That's the tricky part for most of us.

Barbecue Sauce:  2 Tablespoons = 12 grams
Reduced Wheat Thins: 16 crackers = 4 grams
Ketuchup: 1 Tablespoon  = 4 grams
Healthy Bran Cereal: 3/4 of a cup - 5 grams
Pork & Beans:  1/2 cup = 12 grams
Organic Animal Crackers: 13 crackers - 6 grams
Ken's Lite Raspberry Walnut Vinaigrette:  2 Tablespoons = 7 grams
Edy's Fruit Bars (Splenda added) (no sugar added) 1single type bar = 1 gram
Edy's All Natural Fruit Bar (double the size of single bar) = 20 grams
Smucker's Natural Peanut Butter Creamy: 2 Tablespoons = 1 gram

Remember what many experts state about low fat products?  They said to watch out for them because they may lower the fat but they may also up the sugar to make it palatable.  Check out the low content of sugar in Smucker's Natural Peanut Butter; that's a great example of a low amount of sugar in a natural product.

I don't believe in an all or nothing attitude. I like sugar.  I don't wish to banish any one thing from my eating pattern since I do eat healthfully 95% of the time.  I do believe in possessing the knowledge and taking responsibility for staying within my limits as recommended by highly regarded associations such as the American Heart Association.

Most of us know all of these things are true. Sharon and I wrote "Tame Your Inner Octopus" after we, as baby boomers lost every pound we had put on over the course of a few decades. We wrote the book so that people our age as well as people younger or older could benefit from a book based on knowledge, experience, compassion and understanding that takes you by the hand and shows you exactly how to set up a healthy eating and exercise patterns for life.

We couldn't find one such book with all of the information we so greatly needed. After we achieved our goals, we took all of our research and experience and wrote it down to benefit millions of others who greatly wish to do the same.

It is never too early or too late to set up a healthy eating pattern for life.  Sharon and I are proof that you can turn your life around at any time and construct a healthy eating and fitness pattern for life.  It is all in our forthcoming book, It's Never Too Early or Too Late to Lose Weight and Get Fit!  "Tame Your Inner Octopus!" In 30 days or Less! 

Have a great day!

The Not So Sweet Side of Sugar!

In a recent statement the American Heart Association has issued specific advice regarding our daily intake of added sugar.  It seems that many Americans eat 22 teaspoons of sugar a day!  It is recommended that women should consume no more than 100 calories (about  25 grams) of added sugar a day.  They also recommend that men consume no more than 150 calories (about 37.5 grams) of added sugar each day.   This comes out to about 6 teaspoons of added sugar a day for women and 9 teaspoons of added sugar a day for men.  This is a recent statement from the American Heart Association that provides us with a more detailed guideline.  These are added sugars, not sugars found in natural foods like the fruits we choose to eat in a healthy balanced diet.  This does include the hidden sugars in many of the items we eat.

I'm one of the last people to be surprised by these recent high sugar consumption findings.  I am a former sugar fiend.  I never realized how much I loved sugar until I removed refined sugar from my daily eating pattern in order to lose the 40 pounds I had accumulated over the course of a near two decades.  Trust me, I love all the sugary items our grabby octopus is holding to the right.  I can vividly remember the withdrawal and frustration I felt when I could no longer grab any type of sugary item within sight.  That's a hard habit to break if you stop and think about it.  They say it takes 30 days to break a habit and that's about how long it took.  No one dared bring any type of sugary item into the house during that time period.  If they did, they received a look that was sort of between scary and pitiful.  Truthfully, I needed all the help I could get at that time and everyone was supportive.  I had to break that cycle or dependence.  We can call it anything we like but we all know the point I am trying to make.  I guess after decades all of my family had  witnessed my weakness with sugar.  I like the word weakness better than the word addiction!

I know I am one of millions of people who love sugary items!  Just recently I was watching Dr. Oz's new show that comes on right before Oprah each day.  Here's a woman, who was just like me at one time.  He had some great advice for her and I've already made these changes in my life close to two years ago.  If you have a chance, check it out; it's awesome!  Here's a video from that show where he is talking about sugar.

http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/break-your-sugar-addiction

There are some great tips on this clip.  We'll talk about additional new research on the effects of sugar on our bodies this week on our blog, Tame Your Inner Octopus.

Have you incorporated ways to cut back on sugary items in your daily pattern of eating?

Have a great day and please check this great video out!

Do You Eat at Scheduled Times Throughout the Day?

Truthfully, I didn't eat anything on any type of schedule for a period of close to two decades.  There were so many times where I skipped breakfast!  Trust me, because I grazed or "snitched" I got more than my fair share of calories in throughout the course of a day.  Oh yeah, and I had plenty of extra fat on my body to show for it.

Now, I do eat pretty much on schedule throughout the course of a day.  I have to for many reasons.  This is one of the single main reasons why I have been successful in losing the extra weight I had put on over the course of two decades.  It is also the reason why I have been able to maintain my ideal weight for over a year and a half. I stick to a balanced schedule of eating and exercising.  It is that important.

If you think of your day as the face of a clock, you can imagine a time schedule where you could easily spread out your caloric intake over the course of a day.  This is greatly beneficial whether you are in weight loss mode or maintaining your ideal weight once reached.

Of course it doesn't have to be perfect or look like this:

7:30 am Breakfast
10:00 am Morning Snack
12:30 pm Lunch
Etc.

It can look more like this:

Around 7:30-8:00 am Breakfast
Around 10:00-10:30 am Snack
Around 12:00-12:30 pm Lunch
Etc.

There are so many solid reasons why this sort of eating schedule is important.

1) Breakfast provides you with fuel after your body has fasted all throughout the night.  You need to get your system fueled up for the day.
2) Eating breakfast starts the spreading out of calories throughout the day in a balanced fashion.
3) Eating healthy snacks between breakfast and lunch and lunch and dinner prevents you from becoming famished.
4) Eating within a certain time period for each meal or snack prevents you from becoming famished or overeating due to a delay.

Here's an example of why I adhere to this type of schedule.  Just last night my husband and I went to visit our eldest daughter.  She was in the process of purchasing a car with her sister, my second daughter.  We were taking her puppy for a walk and waiting around until she returned.

Of course it took a long time and supper had long past.  My husband and I are used to eating on schedule around 6:00 p.m. or so.  My daughter was going to order a pizza on the way home from the dealership.

Here's what happened.  We were hungry so we began to eat snacks.  Most all of the snacks were healthy choices but still, they were snacks.  By the time she did return home, thank goodness the pizza guy wasn't far behind!

I'm sure you all can figure out what happened next.  The pizza came and we were so hungry that I ate more than usual.  Not a great amount but most certainly more than I normally do with my healthy eating patterns now in place.  Of course, I felt no guilt or remorse because I stick to a healthy eating plan 95% of the time and when I do choose to eat something off track, I do it intentionally and I enjoy it because I made a "choice" to do so.  It just made me realize how I used to eat like that most everyday!  I was so much like the grabby octopus!

Now I know more than ever the importance of staying on schedule with my eating.  This type situation confirms it all over again.  It most certainly does matter.  It is not a great thing to put yourself in a situation where you are overly hungry at any point during the day.

I am happy to say that I have finally learned these important facts and I'm happy to realize that I no longer allow this to be a frequent occurrence in my life.

For the most part, do you stick to a scheduled eating pattern throughout the day?

Have a great day everyone!