Measuring What You Eat...It Can Add Up!

I often talk to clients that state they are not eating a lot of calories, exercising a lot and still have issues losing the weight. I always ask the same questions...are you being honest with your intake of calories? Have you actually measured your food? The answer is usually a mixed response.

It has been my experience that people underestimate the amount of calories and overestimate that amount of energy they are burning. This is often because they are relying on guessing with the portions and allowing the equipment to calculate the amount of calories burned at the gym. If for example, you were to underestimate your calories consumed by as little as 250 a day, this would add up to 1750 calories in one week. This omission is only equal to 1 apple, 1 tablespoon of natural peanut butter, and 1 tablespoon of honey in your afternoon tea. In addition, if you were to rely on the computer at the gym and overestimate your calorie expenditure by 100 calories a workout, this would add up to 700 calories in one week. Remember, the gym machines give an average based on a 150lb person and don't calculate body mass, intensity etc. They can be off by as much as 25-50%. Therefore, over a week, you have now underestimated the amount of work you have done by 2450 calories. If you are trying to lose weight, it takes 3500 calories for a pound. For the week, you have actually only burned 1050 calories towards your 1 pound goal for the week. So, in order to lose a pound next week, you will have to work that much harder.

One solution to this is to accurately measure your food. Eyeballing amounts, guessing the portion size, doing exercises without passion will all push you in the direction you are trying to avoid...not losing the weight.

*Measure your food! Buy a scale, use measuring cups/spoons, read labels etc.
*Journal your food for the day. Be specific and be accurate. www.calorie-count.com is free and you can customize everything.
*Exercise with passion. If you are on the treadmill for 45 minutes, do 45 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise for you. Push yourself beyond your comfort zone. When you are finished with you cardio session, you should feel like you burned a lot of calories!
*Be honest and record the cheat items. You are only punishing yourself by omitting them. Then, look back and see what you gave up to have that item. By saying yes to the chocolate donut, I said no to losing weight. That won't taste so good the next time.
*Measure your success monthly. You should utilize the scale as a guide for your weight loss. Never weigh more than once a month. Also, if you are building muscle, measure your body fat as that is a better guide.
*Don't get discouraged. This is a learning process. If you don't fall down a few times, you will never learn how to pick yourself up.

Measuring what you eat is a great moment of honesty. Try it for one day and see how much you were "not" eating...I bet it is more than you thought!

Celebrate Life!

I have had the opportunity to work with many people as they redesign their lives and begin to live from a place of health and vitality. In that journey I met my friend I would like you to now to meet. She has touch my life and we connected on so many levels during our year together battling weight, strength and endurance hurdles and all the obstacles that came her way. I recently found out that she is battling breast cancer. The news came as she had embraced healthy eating, found her groove with regular fitness routines and gave her a sock in the spirit she never expected. I was angry. Why does cancer have to attack the people we love? I started to look at her and wish I could make it all go away. Make all the pain and sickness leave her body and allow her to continue on her journey as if nothing had skipped a beat.

Then, I realized something! What I know about her is this. She is whole, resourceful and strong. She is determined, sassy and knows what she wants in life. Yes, if I learned anything about my friend over the time we spent together...it was just that...she will beat this disease and come out stronger than before. And she is doing just that...fighting! I sat down and told her this. I told her that she overcame so many battles in preparation for this larger challenge. All those things she said she couldn't do. They were too hard. Too much effort. Well, she conquered them and I know she will conquer this one too.

So, if I have learned anything from my friend it is that life is hard. Life is unpredictable and sometimes not fair. I have also learned that the human spirit is strong and determined to succeed. I am asking everyone that reads this entry to do one thing. Live for today and celebrate life! She is celebrating and will continue to do so for all of us. We must do the same for her and everyone else who is battling a life-threatening situation. When you feel tired and unmotivated remember my friend...the strong and beautiful woman that is holding the torch for all of us and proving that life is precious each and every day!

I love you girl and I will be by your side to fight with you!

How Do I Sabotage My Goals?

This question is one that can lead in many directions and for most can have several answers. Sabotage is defined as "...a deliberate action aimed at weakening an enemy, oppressor or employer through subversion, obstruction, disruption, and/or destruction."

Wow! Powerful actions with devastating consequences. Sabotage can show up when we least expect it. It can be from the words we say to ourselves to the restrictions we place in front of our goals to keep us from achieving success.

*I'm not qualified.
*Who am I to think I can do that?
*I can only do one thing at a time.
*I don't have the energy right now.

These are all places where our saboteur hinders our progress. I encourage you to name your saboteur. Call it out and recognize that it is present and alive in your being. It needs to be recognized and contained. The more you ignore its presence, the more it will undermine and control your behaviors. Recognize when your inner voice says things that are not aligning with what you know to be true about yourself. It is often the saboteur that is writing your life script.

For example, if you say to yourself, I am not qualified for a promotion...take a look at your true self. It is that you are just scared? It is that you have never been in a position like that before? It is that you will have to step in the light and be present? These are more likely the reasons why you haven't moved forward...not because you are not qualified. You probably have a lot to offer. You are intelligent, resourceful, a great communicator and all of these things cannot be learned. These are innate qualities that you would bring to the table. Sure, there are things you could learn about your new position but that is what the challenge is. Learning and growing. If you never step out of the saboteur prospective, you will never see the new and improved you on the other side.

So, I challenge you to ask yourself this question. How do I sabotage my goals? It is in the answer to this question you will find the most powerful you ready to accomplish and learn along the way!

Stretching Tips For Tight Shins

It is important to stretch and warm up your shins and calves before exercising if you plan on walking or running on a hard surface. You lower extremities take a lot of impact when you engage in cardiovascular exercise and will tighten and cause pain or minor stress fractures if not conditioned prior to your session. You can alleviate this pain by following these simple tips:

1. Prior to running or walking place your heels flat on the ground. Pretend a string is attached from the top of your foot to your shin and pull the string moving your toe towards your shin in a slow up and down motion. Maintain a flat heel on the ground by just lifting your toes. Do this for 20 reps on both legs.

2. The second warm up is to use the same mechanics and move the foot from side to side maintaining a flat heel on the ground and pulling up slightly and then side to side. Do this for 20 reps on both legs.

Try these tips for less than 5 minutes a day and in about a week you should feel some relief. If pain persists you may want to see a professional for an evaluation.