1. Find a buddy — don’t go it alone, find someone who shares the same goals and team up. By teaming up you SHARE in the accountability, you’ll have someone to check in with and help keep you on track when you’re feeling low.  Need a buddy’ Let me know and I can help.
2. Clean out your cupboards — temptation lurks everywhere! Take your time and go through your cupboards and remove all tempting foods.  You’ll replace the junk with fruits, veggies, lean protein and dairy. Need a grocery list’ Shoot me an email and I’ll send you one to get started.
3. Find rewards outside of food — typically when we have a bad or good day, we eat or drink. Instead of reaching for food or drink try doing something else.  Feeling stressed, try a nice chair massage or go for a walk. Signed a new client call a friend and share the good news or step out of your office and give a big scream and a jump. Like those old Toyota commercials. Am I dating myself’
4. Set realistic goals — losing a large amount of weight in a short amount of time ain’t gonna happen.  (ie. losing 10 pounds in a week) Average weight loss is 1-2 pounds per week, base your goals with this in mind and give yourself a fighting chance.  Don’t set yourself up for failure.
5. Track what you eat — we have a way of either grossly over and/under estimating what we eat. When you write down EVERYTHING we put in our mouths it has  a positive  effect on our eating.  It shines the light on exactly what we are eating. The best FREE site to track your eating is myfitnesspal. Studies show that when you track your food you lose more weight than those who do not.
6. Have the right attitude — begin with the end in mind! Weight loss is 80% mental and 20% physical.  When you are having a bad day, instead on what you are giving up, focus on why you started this and what you want you want to get out of this.  When you can visualize your goal, you are more likely to obtain it.  If your goal doesn’t provide enough motivation think about changing it.

Yes, it’s that time of year. In just 30 days, we’ll start thinking about New Years Resolutions. Did you know that 71% of all resolutions makers fail make their resolutions’.  Here are the top 6 reasons why we fail to stick with our New Years Resolutions.

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Did you know that the average American will consume 3,000 calories and 229 grams of fat on Thanksgiving Day’ That can really derail your nutrition and workout plan. Here are the Top 5 Reasons to workout rather than doing typical Thanksgiving activities. (more…)

Here we are again, it’s November and we are on the starting line for the holiday mayhem. Each year you say this year will be different and then you get wrap up and STRESSED TO THE MAX!!! Here are 7 ways to reduce holiday stress. (more…)

This weekend I caught my 1st hopefully last cold of the year! I can trace this cold back to getting run down, I have been burning the candle at both ends and skimping on my sleep. Guess what it caught up with me! Here are 5 natural immune system boosters in case you’re someone is also burning the candle at both ends.

1. Eat more mushrooms and green leafy veggies. Research shows that increases your white blood cells (germ fighters) and potentially makes these white blood cells more resistant to cold/flu bacteria.
2. Be social. Having people to turn to during times of stress, reduces your chances of internalizing stress and breaking down your immune system.
3. Chicken soup. No one’s quite sure how chicken soup helps, its either the raising steam from the soup that opens your nasal passages or the hot liquid soothes your throat.
4. Add lemon. Lemons increase the PH acidity in your body making it a less hospitable environment for cold and flu germs to grow.
5. Rest. Get a good night sleep. Your body needs it. Sleep restores your body’s hormonal balance and recharges your batteries.  Studies show that people who don’t get at least 6-10 hours of sleep will be 3xs more likely to catch a cold.

So, take care of yourself, the holidays are fast approaching and blowing your nose at the dinner table is frowned upon. If you have any other suggestions, I would love to hear them, just write them in the comments below.

I know that I’m a FREAK about how long food stays in my fridge. My husband constantly makes fun of me because I FREEZE everything immediately. I hate to see food go to waste, because I couldn’t eat it before it went bad.

It’s National Clean Out Your Fridge Week and I wanted to share with you some quick tips around how long you should keep some popular food items.

• Eggs fresh in the shell – 3-5 weeks
• Poultry (cooked) – 3-4 days (raw) – 1-2 days
• Yogurt – 7-14 days

Here are just a few, are you looking for a specific food, check this database.

Well that great, I have a database that I can check my food, but what does best buy, best if used by and all that those terms mean.

1. Best Buy — the food manufacturer makes up this date. Basically it is still good, but it may have subtle changes. If anything smells or look funny DUMP in the trash immediately.
2. Sell Buy — this when the store should sell the product by. They say you can still use it, provided you use it by the Keep It Toss It Guidelines.
3. Expires on — the federal government mandates this and you will find this on mainly baby food products.

After you’ve tossed all your food be sure to wipe down the fridge and the condiments that you put back into the fridge.

If you are on a roll and want to clean out your pantry, check out this out.

I have had the pleasure of getting my hair done at Simply Erinn for as long as I can remember. She not only is a great hairdresser, she is a great person!  Every time I go into the salon we always talk about hair, men and workouts. On Monday, November 29th at 7pm I will be hosting a FREE Body Fat Loss Secrets at her salon.

We’ll be discussing the best ways to burn body fat and busting nutritional myths. If you are ready to feel great and look fabulous the time is NOW!

This year my husband and I are cooking Thanksgiving for his family. As I perpetual planner, I needed to get the menu all straight in my head. This is the only way that I can relax and ease into the holiday.  I spent the weekend scouring my cookbooks and old Cooking Light magazines and this is what I’ve come up with.

We are going to deep fry a turkey, I know I said FRIED. Well surprisingly deep fried turkey has only 25 more calories in 3.5 ounces than traditional roasted turkey and only 4 more grams of fat. Instead on focusing on those small caloric difference, I focusing on how much it’s going to free up my oven and not make my house feel like a sauna.  (more…)

If you put one crab in a bucket without a top it will escape, but if you put a bunch of crabs in a bucket, they will not escape, they will claw away at each other so that not one crab can escape.

Are you surrounded by crabs, you know those people who know matter what new thing you try in life, they always have something usually negative to say about it’  The key to anything that you do, is to surround yourself with people who will support you and help you build on your strengths and not tear you down when you are trying to spread your wings and grow.

Have a story about a crab in your life’ I would love to hear it.

You have to believe in yourself when no one else does. That’s what makes you a winner. Venus Williams — tennis star

I have had a breast cancer scare in October 0f 2008.  Two months prior was the happiest time of my life, I had just got in engaged! Then my routine monthly breast exam, I discovered a lump.
I remember sitting down my fiance — now husband — and telling him of my discovery. To help make me laugh, he said you certainly know how to put the vow in sickness and health to the test. He went through the entire process with me holding my hand and telling everything was going to be okay.

Thankfully my lump turned out to me a calcium deposit, and I have a scar on my left breast as a reminder that I should continue to do regular self breast exams, because what if it wasn’t calcium deposit.  Below are 8 ways to help prevent breast cancer

1. Maintain a healthy weight — if you been looking to lose a little weight maybe this is the motivation you need to get started.
2. Exercise — get moving at least 30-40 minutes/day
3. Eat your Omegas 3/6/9 — this include nuts, seeds and oily fish.
4. Get a mammogram — I know it may be uncomfortable and maybe hard to fit into your schedule, but it could save your life.
5. Regular self exams — doing this could save your breast and your life.
6. Know your family history — if anyone in your family has had breast cancer, be sure to inform your doctor you maybe genetically predisposed to breast cancer. Once I discovered my lump within the 5 years both my mother and sister discovered calcium deposits. Again better safe than sorry.
7. Limit alcohol intake — its been found that alcohol may increase the toxins in body that contribute to breast and other cancers. Plus its hard to maintain a healthy weight if you are drinking all of your calories.
8. Eat fruits and veggies — they contain antioxidant vitamins and nutrients

This is too funny. I think I may have ESP. I have been reading this Elizabeth blog for almost a year and she always seems to read my mind. Today I was going to sit down and write a blog about stepping up and embracing your moment. Well Elizabeth PW did it so wonderfully, you deserve to read it.

My moment happened in December and I pushed it in the corner because I was to0 scared and thought that I wasn’t worthy okay let’s call it what it is SCARED SHITLESS of my moment. Could I be bigger than I am today, could everything I want really want come happen if I stood up to my fear’  Anyone have those thoughts’ Not sure about you but my negative thoughts SCREAM!

Well — I am no longer hiding. Next week I leave to attend a seminar with Alwyn and Rachel Cosgrove. Prior the event they sent a 3 page questionnaire that really helps you get you mind straight and ready to hit the ground running once you go there, but also want actions will you take once you get home.

Don’t let fear, money, time what have you get in the way of your moment.  Someone once told me — NOTHING WORTH HAVING COMES EASY!

Have you had your moment’

Here in Boston today is the first day of school for most kids. Every year at this time I feel like its time to reset the clock and refocus on my 2010 goals, with approximately 116 days left until January 1, 2011. I have plenty of time to make major headway. (more…)