Have You Made Exercise a Priority in Your Life?

      Truthfully there were times in my life where I stopped making exercise a priority and I paid a very high price.  I stayed fat for two decades.  Yikes!  Most of us know that exercise is not going to solve all of our issues with weight loss but I think we all would agree, exercise benefits us in numerous ways.  We know we can't eat a huge piece of cake for 500 calories and expect to burn it off by walking very briskly for an hour at a 4.0 pace.  A 150 pound person would only burn off 340 calories for a full hour!  That's still approximately 150 calories in the hole!  That's why exercise can't wipe out what we choose to overeat beyond our proper daily intake. 

       There's no doubt moderate exercise works off a couple of hundred calories, which assists in our weight loss goals or maintaining our desired weight.  Let's take a look at all of the additional great reasons why we need to make exercising a priority in our lives.

•   Exercise makes us feel productive
•   We feel like we're going the extra step in taking care of our body. 
•   Exercise simply makes us feel great from a mental standpoint. 
•   Exercise creates endorphins that are uplifting.
•   We release tension and unwanted stress when we exercise.

       So how do we fit exercising into our daily routine?  We simply must make it a PRIORITY in our lives.  It's not being selfish, in fact, it's quite the opposite.  By taking care of yourself from both a physical and mental standpoint, you become your best for everyone else in your life but most of all you! 

       Here's a tip on being prepared to exercise:  Make sure your at home attire consists of workout clothes.  Yes, that right there is a biggie.  Purchase workout shorts or clothing that you can throw on the minute you get home or at the start of your day if you work from home.  Remember to dress like this on the weekends also.  This makes it much easier to transition to exercise at any point of your day or night that you can fit it in.  You're already dressed and ready to go!

       Exercise doesn't have to be a full hour at a time and you don't need to go anywhere special to do it.  In fact, many studies suggest that it is better to get your exercising in at different times and for shorter periods.  I exercise three times a day on most days.  I take a 15 minute minute brisk walk for a mile in the morning.

       At some point during the day I do 20-30 minutes of an exercise DVD of Pilates or a dumbbell/squat routine.  In the early evening I walk/jog for 30 full minutes for 2 miles plus.  I slowly built up to the 30 minutes of walking/jogging.  I have an established routine of moderate exercise that works great when you're in the weight loss mode or when you achieve your goal weight in maintenance. 

       Many DVD's can be purchased that have 10 minute lower and upper body routines with low, medium and high intensity levels.  This way, you can easily get a full body workout out in during a 20 minute time period.  Many experts suggest building up to 30 minutes a day of cardio most days of the week.  If you're dressed and ready to go, there's no need to change clothing if you want to grab a 15-30 minute brisk walk.

       Exercise clothing can be worn to run all of your errands throughout the day.  It sure works for me.  I don't have to stop at any point when I'm home to change into workout clothing.  I'm ready to put on one of my favorite 20 minute Pilate or conditioning DVD'S at my convenience day or night.  I can also walk right out my front door for my 15 or 30 minute walk.

        Everybody is different but for me, nothing beats being ready to go and having the convenience of getting all my workouts in from my own home at my convenience.  That's what has led me to be successful in making exercise a priority in life.

         I hope some of these tips will help you in making exercise a priority in your life!        

How Many Servings of Grains Do You Eat Each Day?

On the site http://www.pyramid.gov/ you can research your age group and activity level in order to find out how many grains it suggests you incorporate into your daily eating plan. The site states that based on my age bracket, gender and activity level I should be eating 6 servings of grains each day. That's great but I strongly feel this is the area I had to watch closely when I was in weight loss mode. This is also the area I cut back on if I want to drop a couple of pounds in maintenance. Here's why. The site at http://www.pyramid.gov/ states that a woman my age should eat the following intake of foods each day.



Grains 6 servings. (1/2 cup of rice or pasta, 1 piece of toast)

Dairy 3 cups

Vegetables 2.5 cups

Fruits 1.5 cups

Oil 6 teaspoons

Meat & Beans 5 oz.

Plus a certain amount of discretionary calories


It's pretty obvious that the first place I am going to cut would be the grains, dairy and discretionary calorie areas. Vegetables are low cal and are great fillers. The fruit area creates a balance and also provides me with something sweet yet natural. I must restrict my oils which include my all natural peanut butter, whipped butter and olive oil. I don't reduce much from 6 teaspoons because I know these measly 6 teaspoons are a fraction of what I ate when I wasn't eating in a healthful manner and I don't believe it has to be an all or nothing type change. I did measure consistently in weight loss mode in order to stay on track and remain accountable within my daily intake. This is an easy area in which to overestimate.


I take supplements for the calcium and I do eat yogurt, cottage cheese and skim milk but not always three cups. I like to eat 5 oz. of meat or beans because of the protein but I can also cut back there if need be.


Still, in my opinion the area of grains would be a great area to cut back on in order to lose weight. The site tells me that with my established exercise patterns I should be eating up to six ounces of grains each day. Without exercising I should be at five. The site also tells me that I need a minimum of three each day.


I like to cut back to three servings of grains in order to balance out my intake when I want to lose weight. Since I set up my healthy eating pattern I have switched over to whole wheat products and brown rice. It's funny but now my entire family loves whole wheat breads, pastas and brown rice.


Please take a look at what your body requires based on your age and activity level:

http://www.pyramid.gov/pyramid/grains.html


Here are some of the whole wheat products and grains I buy and have on hand in my home to pull from on a daily basis.

100 % Whole Wheat Bread by Arnold (Pepperidge Farms is another)

100 % Whole Wheat English Muffins by Thomas

100% Whole Wheat Hot Dog Buns by Natures Own

100% Pepperidge Farms Hamburger Buns

Whole Wheat Blend Spaghetti by Ronzoni Healthy Harvest

Whole Wheat Blend Linguine by Ronzoni Healthy Harvest

Whole Wheat Blend Rotini by Ronzoni Healthy Harvest

Mahatma Brown Rice Natural Whole Grain

Instant Brown Rice by Mahatma

All Bran Complete Wheat Flakes Cereal

Of course, there are many other whole wheat products that are of equal values. It's a matter of choice. These are products I am most familiar with and products that I use on a daily and weekly basis.


When I first set up a healthy eating plan, I went to this site and wrote down the products from each part of the food pyramid. If you're interested in setting up a healthy pattern this is a great way to create a shopping list while pulling from each category. This way you are choosing the foods you like from each category in order to set up your overall healthy eating plan for life. I will present each category of the food pyramid on my blog so that you can see how you can check out your areas of interests.


Have a great day!

Have You Checked Out www.mypyramid.gov? It is Awesome!

When I first decided to lose the weight I had put on over the course of two decades, I automatically knew that I was not going to start looking for the latest or greatest diet. For the most part, I did not "diet" during those past two decades. A couple of times when I did try to "diet", I quickly went right back to all of my old past habits. I felt I was just like the grabby octopus and that I simply had no control over my eating habits for the remainder of my life. I felt burdened and powerless.

I think I always knew deep down inside that it all comes down to eating correctly. I just didn't know how to set up an eating plan properly in order to eat balanced meals in the right amounts. Sure most of us may think we know but I soon found out I didn't really know! I had to educate myself and learn!

My Dad was a great example for me in life while growing up. He mastered the art of knowing how to "eat to live." He didn't live his life in a "live to eat" manner. My mom, bless her heart, was a wonderful woman but together they were very similar to a certain childhood poem most of us know well.

Jack Sprat could eat no fat.

His wife could eat no lean.

So betwixt them both, they licked the platter clean!

Yep, that pretty much sums up my parent's eating patterns throughout their lives. So, I was exposed to two extremely different eating patterns.

It's been well over a year now that I've lost the weight extra weight or fat as I prefer to call it. I am a realist and I have always called the extra weight that I carried around for two decades "extra fat". I think I realized from the start that if I was going to attempt to set up a healthy eating pattern, the first logical place to start would be from our basic food pyramid. That made a heck of a lot sense to me.

That's what I did, I went straight to that site and found out how many calories I should be eating each day and what I needed from each food group. My goal was to first set up a low calorie balanced pattern of eating in order to lose all the weight and then up my intake from the same food areas. That way I wouldn't have to get off a "diet"; I would already be eating correctly from the start. Of course I had to cut back in certain areas from what they suggested I eat daily for my particular age and activity level in order to create a deficit to lose the extra weight.

Check out this link to see what they suggest a person my height, weight and age should eat at 54 years of age on a daily basis. It's really interesting. Of course, remember I had to cut back in order to create a deficit in order to lose the weight but this is what they suggest I eat on a daily basis. I modify it and even in maintenance I eat fewer grains and dairy but this is pretty much the way I eat on any given day.

http://www.pyramid.gov/mypyramid/results.html?name=undefined&age=54&gender=female&weight=125&heightfeet=5&heightinch=5&activity=low&weightN=126&heightfeetN=5&heightinchN=5&validweight=1&validheight=1&

This site has information for everyone, no matter what age, height, weight, activity level or gender; it's awesome!

Setting up a personal healthy eating plan based on my particular likes really made the process of

losing weight and maintaining weight a wonderful experience. It is truly a method and pattern you can live with for a lifetime and you only have to learn it once. It sure beats waiting around for the next latest or greatest diet!

I think it is so important that all of us realize that we have this valuable site where we can all look up what's needed to create a healthy eating plan for life!

Have a great day everyone!

Do You Frequently Experience "Food Guilt?"

From time to time many of us express feelings of "guilt or remorse" after eating some of our favorite so called "bad" foods. How many times have you heard yourself or others utter the following:

• Gosh! I am so weak! I can't believe I ate that!
• I couldn't help it; it seemed to be calling my name!
• It's my favorite; I simply could not resist!

I could go on and on but I think most of you get my point. For me, this was a daily routine. I wasn't even conscious of what I was eating at times because I didn't want to take responsibility for anything I chose to eat or not eat for that matter. Still, on a daily basis I personally felt a tremendous burden of having so little control and repeating the same patterns over and over. Just like the grabby octopus!

There were so many times I felt like I was Bill Murray in the movie "Ground Hog Day". You know, where you get up with the best of intentions but no matter what you do, your entire day is pretty much the same as it was the day before.

I now realize that "Food Guilt" is not a good thing. If I decide to eat something "off track" or not a part of my daily or weekly pattern, it is a conscious "choice" I make. Therefore, I am taking responsibility for it because I want it and feel like I can work it into my healthy eating pattern without going overboard.

I don't like guilt. I think it is destructive and many times "guilt" keeps you in an inferior position when it comes to food choices. Many times we hear people say, "Losing weight or maintaining weight is such a struggle or tug of war."

I finally realized food is food. Food is not human; it is not a person calling your name. It doesn't have magnetic forces that force us to eat any particular item good or bad. We make choices and we take responsibility for the choices we make pertaining to food.

There is no room for guilt. The main goal we should have is to eat well 95% of the time and stay "on track" for the most part. When we do choose to eat something that may not be the most healthful choice, let's make it a "choice" and take responsibility for making that choice because we want to.

This way we are breaking any unhealthy cycle of guilt or remorse in our food choices!

Have a great day!

Do Thin People Really Eat?

I used to tell myself that skinny people simply didn't eat that much. I thought for the most part they had some sort of super control that most of us don't have in life. In my mind I told myself that surely they had to be suffering to look that good or to be in that great a shape. I am a realist and of course I "realized" that I told myself these things so that I would feel better in some small way.

Well, very often we all tell ourselves little fibs in life. I have no doubt this was my way of letting myself off the hook by not taking responsibility for the "choices" I made pertaining to my food selections in my everyday life. For me, it was all or nothing. So, I took the safe comfortable side and settled for all. That resulted in me gaining 40 unwanted pounds of fat over the course of almost two decades. I pretty much ate what and when I wanted. I was just like the grabby octopus at times!

So true, I didn't deny myself of "nothing". Double negative, I know, but I have to get my point across! The truth is I didn't want to take a "time out" and educate myself in the area of setting up a healthy eating pattern. The truth is, I didn't really know how to do it! Not that many people do. It's a hit and miss sort of thing.

I realize now more than ever that there are many thin people who do not starve themselves. Many thin people simply eat properly and exercise moderately. Most of us know that what we "choose" to put into our mouths is far more important then what we can "work off" during exercise.

There's no denying that eating properly 95% of the time and exercising consistently work hand in hand from a physical standpoint as well as a mental standpoint.

Our forthcoming book "It's Never Too Late or Too Early - TAME YOUR INNER OCTOPUS IN 30 DAYS OR LESS! has the secrets to losing weight and keeping it off permanently!

Have a great day everyone!

It's Friday and The Start of Labor Day Weekend!

Weekends are awesome for many reasons! The weekend is a time where we don't have to be as strict with our routines as we are during the weekdays. We have opportunities to catch up here or there or work on a project around the house. Heck, who knows, it can also be about getting several errands accomplished or relaxing at times. We can't forget about that either!

I like weekends because it's a time my husband and I get to do activities together. It may sound mundane to some but I prepare a grocery list during the week, that pretty much stays the same, and we replenish our staple healthy foods every weekend. This is the only way we've been able to be so successful with our healthy eating patterns in life. It is that important that we take the time to always have healthy foods to prepare and choose from to eat.

The weekends are also a time to get in extra activities that burn off calories or simply keep us in shape. Bike riding, swimming laps, walking, kayaking, it really doesn't matter there are so many ways to get extra opportunities in on the weekend.

Like I've mentioned before never underestimate gardening, washing your car or spring cleaning type activities. Those are the best, because you not only get in a great workout, you get something you've been wanting to do accomplished. That makes us feel productive and that's a great feeling for many reasons!

I've posted a picture of the breakfast I ate this morning. If you're a man, just add a hundred or more calories. You can add the other half of the English Muffin or increase the amount of grits. If you're a woman who would like to add more calories, just add the extra you feel necessary.

Here's the breakdown:

1/2 English Muffin 60

Quaker 5 minute grits 130

2 teaspoons of whipped butter 35

1 teaspoon of honey 20

2 small slices of cantaloupe 45

4 teaspoons Fat Free Coffee Creamer 40

Total Approximate Calories for Breakfast: 330

This works great for me!

Exercise: Small Efforts Do Add Up!

It's great to realize that our exercise routines don't have to be set in stone or laid out in some type of regimented manner each and every day. It doesn't have to be that way. It doesn't have to be an all or nothing type of goal each day. Exercise can be added all throughout the day and in any manner you choose. A person can get up in the morning and go outside for a simple walk at a brisk but comfortable pace of 3.5 miles and burn up to @ 133 calories in 30 minutes. Part of a lunch hour can be used for a 15 minute walk.



People who have pets can take their pets out for a walk 2 or 3 times a day and get their exercise in at the same time. All of these things count.

Exercise is not only about losing weight or burning off calories. It's great for our bodies in general. Exercise doesn't always have to be formal as in taking a specific class. Many times it's the little things like gardening, washing your own car or cleaning your own home that keeps us in shape while burning off extra calories.

Of course, it is great to have your standard routine to a certain degree. Routines like walking briskly daily for 30 minutes a day at a brisk pace are beneficial. It sounds easy and it can be but remember to build up as you go and to always listen to your body. Of course, remember to also check with your Dr. before starting any new routine when in doubt.

Walking for one hour daily at 3.5 miles can burn up to 277 calories.

These are all goals some of us may wish to keep in mind.

Never underestimate the little walks or efforts we make to stay in shape. It's all good and it all adds up over time!

Have a great day and keep moving! It all counts!