To get the future you want, you need to let go of the past. Review your baggage and see if those old beliefs you have been holding onto are holding you back.  Take time to reflect and then say those are old beliefs and I let them go.

1. Set a deadline — nothing springs you into action like a deadline.  I recommend picking 3 dates (short roughly 6 weeks, medium roughly 12 weeks and long roughly 24 weeks). This way you’ll have something to celebrate yet keep you motivated.
2. Review past behaviors — As I said earlier, look at your past, if what you were doing wasn’t getting you to where you want to be, then you need to stop doing them. What I mean is if you want to lose weight and you are not exercising and/or watching what you eat, guess what’  You are not going to see results.

Now is the time to take your dream and put it into action.  I am hosting a Shape Up For Summer teleconference call.  I will be discussing actions you can take to flatten your belly, tone your legs, tightened your tushy and what’s the best thing to eat on a hot summer night. To attend, just register here.

In the next 30 days what actions will you take to make your dreams come true’

For those of you who don’t play golf, a mulligan is a do over. You hit a bad shot and then you get to do it over again.  Well here we are coming off a long weekend filled with fun activities that may have included lots of food and alcohol.

You wake up today look in the mirror reflect on your weekend. You say to yourself,  I’m going to the gym and hit the weights the little harder, do a little more cardio or skip a meal or to to make up for all this past weekend’s bad behavior.

Do you think it will help’  Sorry to inform you, but no. I tell my clients that you need to live the 80/20 rule. Eat cleanly 80% of the time and have some treats 20% of the time.  If you go over that limit then there is no make-up.  You need to step up and take responsibility for your actions. If you eat you own it!

The lesson is before you eat or drink it. Think about it. Are your actions moving you toward your goals or away from you goals.

It’s the first big weekend of the summer, you’re staring at the invitation thinking how can I do this AND keep to my lifestyle. Guess what YOU CAN! Offer to bring side dishes or part of the main course. With a grill there are so may choices grilled veggies, lean meats and great salads.

Here are a few dishes you can give a try.

Roasted chick peas — (2) cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans) drained and dry with papertowel. Put in a bowl and season with 1T chili powder, 1t kosher salt 1T olive oil. Place on cookie sheet coated with non-stick cooking spray. Cook for 30-40 min keep you eye on the for the last 10 min to make sure they don’t burn.

Grilled citrus shrimp –1 to 1 1/2 pounds of uncooked medium shrimp peeled. Squeeze 2 medium oranges and 1 lime in a mixing bowl. Now add 1/4 cup olive oil and 1 t kosher salt. Like it a little spicy add in crushed red pepper flakes. Put shrimp and marinade in a ziplock bag and refrigerate for  at least 30 minutes.  Grill about 2 min/side or until shrimp turns pink.

Hummus cucumber cups — Cut 4 cucumbers into thick 1 inch slices. Using a melon baller, scoop at the seeds (careful don’t break through bottom) and add in hummus. You can use store bought. I like the garlic lovers.

Here’s a marinade to give a shot.

1/2 cup cilantro leaves, 1/2 c parsley, 1/2 c olive oil, 2 limes squeezed, 2 garlic cloves, 1/2 t salt and 1/2 t crushed red pepper and 2 T red wine vinegar . Mix together using a food processor or hand mixer.

If you really want to do something, you’ll find a way. If you don’t, you’ll find an excuse.

I am a personal weight loss coach. This is my job to help you succeed at your weight loss goals. What’s really interesting is that when it’s time for the rubber to meet the road a few of my clients retreat into excuseville.

This is what it’s like to live in excuseville. You can’t workout or take care of yourself because….

Your kids need your help with _____________.

Your husband comes home with ___________ take out and  you don’t want it to go to waste.

It’s your friend’s ________________ and you’d be rude if you didn’t.

You’ll start ______________.

It’s only one______________. It can’t hurt, right’

What excuse are you using to keep you from living a healthy lifestyle’

Here’s one way to get started. You don’t need to do every thing at once, commit to change one thing! If you tomorrow was day 1 what is the one thing you would change’  Now that you make that change can you keep it up for 21 days.  It take 21 days to make a habit.

Are you done making excuses and ready to get real’ Give me a call.

I saw this in a blog post that was so unrelated to nutrition, but it get me thinking. Do we go through our lives and just want to get through the day.
You know what I’m talking about. You think if I just keep my head down it will all be okay. Now if I asked you is that surviving or thriving what would you say’ Pick me — it’s surviving I know that Gloria Gaynor’s I Will Survive song is so suppose to be the female national anthem, but it’s all about surviving. Once you survive is there more’ Can you then THRIVE’

Do you want to thrive’ Just follow these 7 steps.

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Feeling exhausted’  Pop a handful of blueberries in your mouth and enjoy a little energy boost, along with a ton of nutrients. Blueberries contain anthocyanins and other pigments high in antioxidant properties possibly having a role in reducing risks of inflammatory diseases and certain cancers. Let me put on my big brain and tell you that blueberries contain pterostilbene, anthocyanins, proanthocyanidins, and resveratrol (yes that stuff that stops wrinkles), all which inhibit the cell development of cancers.

Blueberries are also a good source of vitamin C, manganese, fiber, and vitamin E , and are low in calories! Many studies have found that blueberry consumption lowers cholesterol and total blood lipid levels, possibly reducing the risks of heart disease and high blood pressure. Even more studies have found that a diet rich in blueberries may enhance short-term memory in older adults while reducing symptoms of depression.

Fresh blueberries keep very well and can be packaged and stored easily. Blueberries usually hit the peak of their season, depending on the region, sometime between May and October.

I love heading to Farmer’s Markets this time of year and get fresh blueberries and putting them on my oatmeal, cottage cheese, plain yogurt or just eating them out of the container.

If you have any recipes you’d like to share leave the comments below.

And doing it any way.  I read this book a few years ago and it still sticks with me. This week I felt as though I jumped off a high cliff.  I’m in the process of making some serious changes as to how I run my business and decided to take on a business coach.  I’ve known for a few years that at some point I would need to do it, but the time is now to bite the bullet.

I pulled up my big girl panties and LEAPED!

Is there fear that is holding you back. Is there something that you have been thinking about know you should do, but just haven’t taken the steps to make it happen’

Let me tell you. I’m nervous, excited and terrified all at the same time.  I’m a big fan of Lululemon clothing and on their bags they have a number of inspiring phrases.  One of the phrases that sticks with me regularly is Do one thing everyday that scares you. I’ve been living in my comfort zone for a little to long and now I’m OUT! If I want to see change, I need to be the change!

Big things are ahead for me I can just feel it.

What about’ What’s  your fear that you can embrace’ I would love to hear it. Hell I’d love some company on this journey!

You just picked up the latest People, Us Weekly or Star magazine and on the cover is some movie star or singer showing off their rock hard abs.  You then look at your abs and vow today is the day that I will do 1000 crunches everyday until summer to have those abs.

Ladies you’re not alone! To get great abs, you must do more than crunches. You will need to:

• burn more calories than  you eat — 1 pound = 3500 calories, you will need to create a 500 calorie deficit everyday to lose 1 pound each week.
• work your large muscle groups — butt, quads, lats, and chest using resistance/strength training and cardio.Working your large muscles will help you burn fat, that maybe covering those gorgeous abs of yours.
• limit your sugary treats,  ladies we tend to store our sugary treats in our mid-section.
• consistency! To see results you must work consistency or your eating and exercise regimen.

I hope you found these tips helpful. If you have any others, I would love to hear them, just leave me some comments below.

No matter what the temperature is outside, I can always eat soup. The thing I love most about soup is that it’s freezable and you can add any cooked meat you like to it to make it a complete meal. Here are a few quick soups that I make regularly.

Beef and Vegetable Soup
Brown some lean hamburger meat, onion and garlic in a large pot. Once the meat is completely cooked drain any excess fat add any frozen/canned vegetables you like. I usually add chopped canned tomatoes, green beans, white beans, broccoli or stewed canned tomatoes chopped into bite size pieces.  Just throw the meal together and add a bit of some seasonings, I like mine on the spicy side so I’m always adding a little crushed red pepper. Play with varying spices to see which ones you really like the best. (more…)

It’s Earth Day. A day created for us to help us to remember that we only get one planet to live on and if we don’t take care of it, we’ll have no place to live.

Many of us are trying to live a more sustainable, eco friendly lifestyle. One of the best places to start making changes is in our kitchens. Here are some tips on reducing your carbon footprint and making your kitchen a little healthier.

• Make sure your fridge is set at 36 – 38 degrees. You will likely need to purchase a refrigerator thermometer to gauge this properly.
• If possible don’t place your fridge close to a stove or sunny window where it will be warmer, causing the compressor to turn on more frequently using more energy. (more…)

I was recently at event where they were hyping a “cleanse”. “Cleanses” aren’t worth it regardless of how “all natural” they claim to be. Your body already has its natural cleansing system called your liver. All things pass through your liver and despite what the bottle says or what you heard from a friend your body has a great cleansing system.

So instead of doing a “cleanse” why not focus on cleaning up your diet. You know removing all the processed foods from your diet so that you won’t feel the need to “cleanse”. Here are some great spring fruit and veggies to give a try.

• Asparagus — great source of fiber, folic acid and B vitamins. I like to roast it in the oven or put them on the grill
• Beets — I know they seem like a fall veggies but they are still readily available. I love my roasted with a little Udo’s oil, feta cheese a walnuts. Yummy!
• Cherries — my favorite fruit I LOVE cherry season. I really need to practice portion control with these.
• Kiwi — I like my on the firm side. I add it to cottage cheese or greek yogurt with a touch of honey — YUMMY
• Strawberries — Yahoo — I love fresh strawberries on my oatmeal nothing tastes better. The mix of hot with the cool berries. Sorry I was having a dream weaver moment

What is your favorite spring fruit or veggie, I would to hear it.

On the calendar Easter is next Sunday, but by looking at any of the stores   Easter should have been shortly  after Valentine’s Day. You can’t go through a store without those tempting treats popping out at you. Personally I’m a sucker for the Cadbury mini eggs, those things just call me! I’m sure you have an Easter treat that just screams your name.  Leave me a comment below and let me know what it is.  Oh my how could I forget that I’m also a SUCKER for peeps, you know the marshmallow ones. Yum, Yum give me some! Okay enough about the unhealthy, let’s talk about surviving Easter without packing on the pounds.

• The Easter basket — instead of filling with candy add some boxes of raisins, cranberry or fruit. If you must do chocolate make it dark. Also add in some non-food treats. Like coloring books and puzzles.
• Healthy Easter Menu
• Main dish — Grilled Wild Salmon
• Side dish — Roasted Veggies — love this one, it’s awesome
• Desert lemon squares. They are fast, easy and delicious.

I hope of a few of these ideas help you out. If you have any additional tips, I would love to hear them just leave them in the comments below.