Being in community is key to battling weight lose and striving towards a healthy lifestyle. Nothing’s worse than being surrounded by people who are eating greasy fast food all day and sitting on the couch while trying to eat that salad after a 5 mile run.

That is why I have love the Internet! People of interests alike can come together in support for one another in so many different ways, especially when it comes to healthy living and weight loss. An internet community that I have been extremely inspired by is Sparkpeople, a weight loss community created to SPARK people’s desire to live a healthy lifestyle and lose weight.

Sparkpeople is 100% FREE with the resources, support, and community to push people towards healthy living.

Upon signing up, one can create a weight loss or maintenance goal. Based upon the food pyramid, sparkpeople creates a range of calories, carbs, fats, and protein needed to obtain weight goals. What I love the most about sparkpeople is that their philosophy is all about eating the things you enjoy but in moderation, never going below 1200 calories, and finding joy in living healthy.

Keeping track of what is being put in the mouth is made easy with a nutrition tracker that will add up all your calories, carbs, proteins, and fat to find that balanced diet. Sparkpeople offers daily meal plans around your caloric needs, or you can input your own meals.

An exercise tracker is used to keep count of how many calories are being burned as well.

A nutrition and exercise tracker is great, but without a community there is no accountability! Sparkpeople has a message board where people can find healthy recipes, motivation, support, and a place to voice weight loss frustrations and achievements. I love the replied I get, not only from the sparkpeople dieticians/coaches, but also the members. When I need advice on my diet or support/motivation when I feel burnt out, someone is always there for me to push me through.

Other things you can find on this website are great articles on nutrition, exercise, motivation, and health topics. You can join sparkteams that focus on different topics/interests such as clean eating, specific age groups, and running. You can find tons of great recipes ranging from low calorie to high protein meals that can spice up your diet and prevent food boredom.

I love sparkpeople and can’t believe that so many people have never heard about it before. This site is great not only for people that want to lose weight, but also for those with diabetes, heart problems, and other health related issues in which to help control their specific diets and stay on track to a health living! So what are you waiting for, go check it out!!!

Question

Have you heard about sparkpeople?
Where is your community found in health living?

Sitting or standing… that is the question!

Let’s face it; the reality of sitting down to a home cooked dinner is so in the 90’s. Families and individual’s these days are finding themselves eating on the road, while standing in the kitchen, sitting in front of the television, or in front of the computer at work.

There are thousands of excuses to why people can’t find time to sit down for meals, but these excuses could be the culprit to an expanding waste line.

Research has shown that those who sit down to a COMPLETE meal, as well as snacks, are less likely to eat more calories throughout the day.

Sitting down to eat compared to standing up while eating plays a mental game with our food diary. The mind does not recognize when we eat on the go or while standing… leading us to snacking after the so called meal.

Visually seeing everything laid out on a plate also helps to visually satisfy those cravings/hunger and helps one pay attention to what we are putting in our mouths.

Eating while sitting down at the table compared to standing up or on the road ultimately makes the meal more satisfying and full.

So the question is, are your excuses for not sitting down at the table valid. Do you really have an extra few minutes to walk to the table?

Question

Where do you typically eat your lunch or dinner?

Do you eat your snacks on the go or sitting at the table without distractions?

In the 1990’s the Fat-Free Diet Fade struck the diet industry by surprise. The motto and diet / health mentalityof “Less is More” was taken up like it was going out of business. The food industry started making creating products appealing to this mentality by throwing in more preservatives and fake ingredients to slap a “fat-free” or “reduced-fat” label on it, making it easier for people to cut out all fats from their diet.

I have to admit, I am one that fell into this trap. I strayed far away from anything containing fats. Thanks to the diet food industry, by the end I was eating close to no fat in my daily dietary intake.

I mean, it makes sense, right?!?! Eat less fat and my body won’t put on the fat. . . WRONG! The body needs fat in order to function to its fullest. In fact, eating below the recommended daily fat intake can actually sabotage weight loss and put one’s health at risk.

Here are 6 risks of eating a low fat diet

1.) Depression

Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids play a vital role in regulating mood behavior. A diet low in fat can throw people into depression, bipolar disorders, and ADHA. Foods high in omega 3 fatty acids include fish, flex seed oil, leafy greens, and walnuts Foods high in omega 6 fatty acids include sunflower, safflower, corn, cottonseed, walnut and soybean oil.

2.) Poor Vitamin Absorption

Fat soluble vitamins including A, D, E, K depend on fats in one’s diet in order to be absorbed. Not getting enough fats in a diet will cause these essential vitamins to be quickly excreted without any benefit to the body leading to increased bleeding, decreased vision, poor skin, decreased bone density and teeth breakdown.

3.) Increased Risk of Cancer

The New York Times published a study showing that people increased their chances of cancer when on a low fat diet. One might think they are doing their body a favor by reducing their fat intake, but in the long run, they are going to be paying for it!

4.) Heart Disease

A decrease in fat intake causes the body to decrease in HDL (good cholesterol) which works to excrete and keep the level of LDL’s (bad cholesterol) down. This leads to high cholesterol and ultimately heart attacks, strokes, and other heart diseases

5.) Overeating

Low-Fat food products can be very sneaky! They like to play with our minds and tricks one into thinking they can eat more of it because it’s low fat. Studies show that people tend to eat more because they think they are eating “low-fat” when really these products have just as many calories, carbohydrates, and if not more sugar.

6.) Imbalanced Nutrition

When one goes down, one must come up. Decreasing fat intake forces people to compensate in other areas. People usually end up eating more carbohydrates while on a low-fat diet which has been proven to increase one’s appetite and chances of Type 2 diabetes.

Just like over eating dietary fats can lead to detrimental problems, so can under eating fats. People seem to forget that moderation is key when it comes to dietary fat intake. If this list doesn’t force you to become more aware of your dietary fat intake, than I don’t know what will!

Check out the table below to find out how many fats you should be in taking each day:

1200 Calories: 27-47 grams

1500 Calories: 33-58 grams

1800 Calories: 40-70 grams

2100 Calories: 47-82 grams

Here is a list of healthy fats to fit into your diet:

-       Nuts

-       Peanut Butter

-       Avocado

-       Fish

-       Cooking Oils

-       Olives

Remember, Moderation is Key… You don’t want to overdo it or under do it when it comes to fats

How Do You Fit in Your Daily Fat Intake Each Day?

Thanks for all the wonderful birthday wishes!

I had such a great birthday weekend back home in California. I’m usually running around all over the place trying to see everyone when I go home, but this trip I decided to dedicate to my family. And what a great decision it ended up being!!! My husband and brother were both gone at a 4-day conference so it was so nice to have my parents all to myself.

Here are a few pictures from the weekend… my camera battery died so I didn’t get many pictures.

My friend made me a beautiful dolphin birthday cake!

Birthday-night out with the rents

Birthday Dinner at Woodward Ranch BBQ

My husband definitely knows me! For my birthday he got me The Wave by The FIRM. I had never seen or heard about The Wave workout, so I was very interested to see how it worked. I love all of The Firm workout DVDs so I had high hopes for this one. It came with a board, 3 DVDs, and a success guide with nutrition tips.

The workout kind of feels like step aerobics with a twist. The arched board can be used as astep or can be flipped over as a rocker. And let me tell you, the rocker works the whole body trying to balance on it.

I love this workout! I would say that I am more of a cardio girl … I hate lifting weights. This workout involves lifting weights, but it didn’t really phase me because I was moving so much while lifting. The time definitely goes by way too fast and my whole body feels it by the end of the workout. The only down fall- I’m so clumsy that one day I know that I am going to trip or fall off the board. When that day comes I will be sure to let you know.

To see the WAVE in Action, check out this short video clip-

Have you seen or tried The Wave workout?

What are some of your favorite workout DVDs?

Don’t forget to head over HERE for a chance to win the Turbo Jam Workout DVDs! Turbo Jam workouts are just as fun as The Wave!

Oh water… can’t live with it, can’t live without.

If any of you are like me, you choose flavored beverages over water anytime of the day. I must admit, Diet coke is my guilty pleasure and it gets in the way of my 8 cups of water a day, leaving me dehydrated and feeling sluggish. I know, I know… Diet Coke is horrible to drink and I shouldn’t be drinking it. I am working on it people… ok, maybe not as much as I should. I guess this post is more for me than it is for you guys!

Water works in so many different ways throughout our body. Just look at how water affects out body

There are so many benefits to drinking water besides the obvious of staying hydrated! Drinking at least 8 cups of water a day aids in weight loss, moisturizes skin to make it look younger, relieves headaches, fuels to brain to function better, aids in energy to exercise longer, prevents cramping and sprains, and helps fight against the flu.

So with this in mind, how can we get more water in throughout the day?

Here are 7 great tips to get in more water:

1.)  Buy a fun water bottle and NEVER let it leave your side

1. Rule: Only fill up with water

2.)   Drink one glass of water prior to every meal

3.)  Spice up your water with a slice of lemon or lime.

1. My friend taught me to slice up cucumbers and throw them into a pitcher full of water the night before. The water soaks up the flavor of the cucumbers to give a nice taste. You can do this is all sorts of fruits!

4.)  Straws… They work wonders

1. Who would have known that straws help in drinking water? I find myself drinking so much more when I drink from a straw.

5.)  Drink and Drive… water that is

1. Ok, this is the only time on my blog that I will ever encourage you to drink and drive. Keep your car cup holder full with your fun water bottle and make it a priority to drink your water while on the road.

6.)  Add your vitamins

1. Kill two birds with one stone by getting in your vitamins and water at the same time.  There are several different vitamin supplements made to be mixed with water

7.)  Filter your water

1. I don’t know where you live, but Arizona has the worst tasting water in the world. Brita Filters have saved my life ever since I moved out here. They aren’t too expensive either. Speaking of filtered water… Starbucks has the best water ever! From what I hear it’s triple filtered

Find what works for you. Hopefully some of these tips will help you cross the finish line of 8 cups by the end of the day.

Cheers and drink up!

Question: How do you fit in your 8 cups of water a day?

Weight can easily become an obsession.

Living a healthy life and losing weight is something that takes time and energy as you count calories, plan out healthy meals, and exercise daily . . . and that is ok. But what most people don’t realize is that losing weight to live a healthy life can soon be tossed out the window and the numbers on the scale can start to define you.

It amazes me how a scale can dictate the mood someone is in or consume the mind day in and day out. The scale starts to define one for who you are… one day they are thin and beautiful because they lose a few pounds. The next day you are fat and ugly because you went up 1 pound.

A piece of metal has so much power and control in one’s life… Don’t let the scale define you!

I challenge you to copy this picture for one week and seek out what defines your life. Living a health life is so much more than numbers… it’s about feeling great, living longer, being able to run around with your children or grandchildren, or gaining confidence in your self.

What defines you?