Oh the exercise battle. . . doesn’t someone know that I am way to tired in the morning to start a fight? At night I am so motivated and excited to hit the gym in the morning and the second my alarm goes off the exercise excuses start flying.

“I’m way to tired. I better sleep in to make it through the day”

“The gym is too far away and I don’t have enough gas to get there”

“I will just go tomorrow”

“I just don’t have enough time”

I feel like I have a hat load of excuses and each morning I draw one out and use that one for the day.

For some of you it’s the excuse that you will start excising tomorrow, but tomorrow has come and gone and you are still stuck on that couch. But don’t think you are alone is the exercise excuse train… here is a list of American exercise excuses:

40% say that don’t have enough time

20% say they get enough exercise at work or home

15% say their health gets in the way of exercising

12% say it is boring

10% use their age as an excuse

9% don’t see the benefit of exercising

7% pull the tired card

It’s time that we stop losing this battle and start hitting the exercise excuses head on to overcome them and start living a healthy lifestyle. The only way to beat this battle is to reason out your excuses. Here are 6 way to beat your exercise excuses:

“I’ll just start working out tomorrow”

Oh please! We all know that means in a few months. If you say it, mean it. Set a time and day and make sure that your schedule is clear. Tell a friend and make them hold you accountable the next day. . . or even better, meet up your friend for a walk.

“I don’t have time”

… ok, but you have time to watch TV several hours a night and hangout with friends around the lunch table for an hour at work. Prioritizing is key here! Pretty sure TV shouldn’t be on your top 5 priorities of the day

If you want to get get healthy and active, you are going to have to make some changes and give up 30 minutes of your day. Turn off the TV at night and take a walk or pop in a workout video. Have an hour lunch break at work? Cut that break in half and use the last 30 minutes to go on a walk with your co-workers.

“But I don’t have a gym”

The gym isn’t the only place to workout. Go outside and enjoy nature and the beauty that it holds. Here are some fun exercise to do outside. Not to fast, think the weather won’t allow it or it’s too dark? Pop in a workout video and get to work! Here are some of my favorite workout videos less than $20.00

“I hate exercising”

Exercising doesn’t mean spending countless hours on a treadmill or bike. Find something that you enjoy doing that will increase your heart rate. Go for a walk, swim, dancing, join a recreational adult sports team.

“I’m too tired”

Being tired has been linked to a sedentary lifestyle. The best way to beat this cycle is to get up and go workout. I know I always dread putting myself out of bed but at the end of my workout I am full of energy and feel ten times better!

“I don’t get a break from the kids”

Kids exercise too you know. In fact, it’s not only a great way to let them have a good time but it’s a way to wear them out and get them ready to hit the pillow hard tonight. For those of you that have little ones, pull out the stroller and take a walk to a nearby Starbucks or grocery store.

When you find yourself jumping on the exercise excuse bus, just think through all these reasons as to why you should go workout. And remind yourself of all the major benefits of working out… weightloss, lower body fat, decreased risks of illnesses / diseases, reduce depression, and increase energy.

There is a new and upcoming tea that is going to put you in tea heaven!

It’s called The NecessiTeas

These teas are unlike any tea you have ever had before

… they have their own personaliTEA

NecessiTeas have everything from the tradition teas like green, black, white, oolong, and roobios teas to dessert blends like Banana split which has chocolate, banana and strawberry flavor along with banana chips, dried strawberries and chocolate chips. Almost all the tea flavors are natural, fat, carb and calorie free. The blends that have chocolate chips, caramel, ect have about 5 calories per cup!

It’s like having dessert with all those unwanted calories!!

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Here is a short list of some of the most popular teas they have:

* Banana Walnut Bread Tea: banana and nut flavor with banana chips and pecans.

* Root Beer Float Tea: root beer and cream flavor.

* Caramel Dipped Apple Tea: a blend of green tea and caramel pieces, accented with apple bits.

* Mint Chocolate Chip Tea: black tea and peppermint with real Andes mints.

* Orange Creamsicle Tea: orange and cream flavor with white chocolate chips.

* Chocolate Orange Tea: a blend of orange peel and chocolate chips. Tastes just like the chocolate orange you get around Christmas time.

* Strawberry Shortcake Tea: a blend of white tea, angel food cake and bavarian cream flavors topped off with sliced strawberries.

* Pineapple Upside Down Cake Tea: a green tea blend of pineapple, rum, custard, brown sugar and honey

* Strawberry Kiwi Tea: strawberries are blended with kiwi. This makes a great iced tea drink

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Not only is tea a delicious and smoothing drink, it is associated with important health benefits. Consumption of tea reports benefits of:

* Enhancing immune function

* Reducing Cholesterol

* Reducing blood pressure

* Reducing the risk of a heart attack

* Lowering the risk of stroke

* Reducing the risk of cancer

* Improves digestion

* Preventing plaque formation and strengthening teeth

* Aids in weight loss

So visit NecessiTeas and drink to a better health!

Don’t think about getting a salad at taco bell if you are watching your waist line! Salads are nowhere close to a healthy option at Taco Bell!
The lowest calorie salad option is the fiesta taco salad without the shell, calculating at 470 calories and 23g of fat
… add that shell and you have 840 calories and 43g of fat!

WOW! Eating this salad is like eating about 6 tacos!

  

Not too sure what healthy options they have? Not to worry, Taco Bell has created their very own healthy choice menu!

Taco Bell has a “Fresco Style” menu, containing 9 healthy food choices with less than 20-100 calories than the original item and fewer than 9g of fat. These “Fresco Style” food items replace cheese and sauces with a fiesta salsa made of diced tomatoes, onions, and cilantro. Here are those 9 healthy options:

Fresco Crunch Taco: 150 calories, 7g fat
Fresco Soft Taco- Beef: 180 calories, 7g fat
Fresco Burrito Supreme- Chicken: 340 calories, 8g fat
Fresco Burrito Supreme- Steak: 330 calories, 8g fat
Fresco Fiesta Burrito- Chicken: 340 calories, 8g fat
Ranchero Chicken Soft Taco: 170 calorie, 4g fat
Grilled Steak Soft Taco: 160 calories, 4.5g fat
Bean Burrito: 340 calories, 8g fat

I always ask for extra lettuce to my tacos. Not only does it add a little freshness to them but it adds bulk to your meal… keeping you full longer!  

Want to add a side to these healthy options? The rice and beans is your best bet. The beans are 180 calories with 7g of fat and the rice is 130 calories with 3.5g of fat.

Other than these food items, I highly suggest staying away from those gorditas, burritions, and chalupas… they are high in calorie and fat!

If you want the nutritional information on your favorite food items Taco Bell, click HERE

Enjoy Taco Bell… Fresco Style!

Fitness Explosion Fitness Forums health diet and exercise. Our forums cover several aspects of fitness training and are open to everyone, feel free to ask all the questions you want, help others or just chat about the weather.

When being on a diet it is easy to just stick with the same old stuff day in and day out. I feel like breakfast has become so boring these days, oatmeal, yogurt, fruit. There needs to be a little excitement in one’s diet in order to stick to your plan. Weight loss and diet is a life long change… and I don’t want to be eating oatmeal every morning for the rest of my life!

After passing by McDonalds one morning, I started craving their bacon, egg, and cheese McMuffin, so instead of secretly going through the drive-thru, I decided to make it myself at home.

Here is my favorite Bacon, Egg, and Cheese McMuffin:

- 100 calorie English Muffin toasted

- 1 Fat Free Cheese Slice

- 1 strip of turkey bacon

- ¼ cup Egg Whites or Egg Beaters

- In order to cook the eggs so that they fit perfectly in my McMuffin I throw them in a coffee mug and cook them in the      microwave for a few minutes. Scooping the egg out of the cup gives you a perfectly round egg that doesn’t fall apart while you are eating your sandwich!

Calories: 195 calories Fat: 3.5g

Voila… a Bacon, Egg and Cheese McMuffin with half the calories and nowhere near the fat.

Say good-bye to McDonald’s this morning and go make your breakfast this morning exciting. . . cook yourself a McMuffin

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Boot Camp… seriously? I am not going to workout with military sergeants yelling at me because I can’t touch my nose to the floor while doing push-ups!
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This was the thought that went through my head when my brother invited me to attend his morning workout class. After much debate on whether I would be able to handle it, I decided give it a try.
Needless to say, the rest of my time visiting family in cali consisted of my brother and I waking up at 5:50am for Boot Camp.
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I absolutely loved it! EXtreme Boot Camp brought a new surprise every morning. I never knew what the instructors were going to throw at me next. We did everything from running or walking up hills, resistant training, boxing, to yoga. And let me tell you, I was so sore I could barely walk the next day!
The best part about the workout was that they weren’t intimidating at all! They were in fact, very encouraging, meeting me where I was at physically and not as a whole group.
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For those of you that don’t know what eXtreme Boot Camp is, it is an outdoor military-style fitness program. At the beginning of the session, you are put on a diet that allows you to eat within certain parameters. The best part about the diet is that you get a text message when you are suppose to be eating and with how many calories. The workouts are held outside in different locations including parks and parking lots, 5 days a week, for one hour. It’s the fastest one hour workout you will ever have in your entire life because they are so much fun!
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I highly encourage anyone that lives California to check them out because I loved it!
www.extremebootcamp.com

A pic of my brother and I just for the heck of it

Is it ironic that I love watching the Food Network while exercising?
There’s nothing like killing your body to get healthy and fit while watching someone cook up artery clogging food!
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For those Food Network fans out there on a diet, I have found a great alternative choose where they actually cook foods that are healthy, low in fat, and calories!
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Cook Yourself Thin has come out with their own TV show on MyLifeTime. I don’t think they are airing at the moment, but you can watch them all from the web here.
There website also gives good advice on how to cook healthy on a budget, quizzes on your calorie IQ, and a calculator telling how fast you can get into those goal jeans.
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The show is based off the book Cook Yourself Thin, which gives your favorite meals a healthier and lower-calorie makeover. The three women that wrote the book teach you how to swap calorie-heavy ingredients for leaner and healthier additions. Some of the recipes include sausage dishes, chicken pot pie, banana chocolate chip muffins, and brownies.
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So, Have your cake and eat it too! ?

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Now I’m just waiting for hungry-girl to get her own TV show

Like I have mentioned in previous posts, weight loss and eating healthy is all about portion control. But how are we to know correct portion sizes when America has taken them and blown them out of proportion?
… No wonder we are ranked one of the highest obese countries in the world!

Of course, reading the serving sizes on the nutrition labels and measuring out your proportions is the ultimate means of correct proportions, but there are going to be times when you can’t such as you are running late for work, don’t have the nutritional label in front of you, don’t have measuring cups on hand, or are eating out.

Here is a little trick you can memorize so that the next time you are eating out, you aren’t eating triple the amount that you should have ate.

Meat:
3 oz of meat: a deck of cards
3 oz of fish: a checkbook
2 tablespoons of peanut butter: a marshmallow
4 small cookies: 4 poker chips

Breads:
1 slice of bread: a cassette tape
½ cup pasta: ½ the size of a baseball
1 cup of cereal: a fist
1 pancake or waffle: a cd
1 small potato: a computer mouse
1 piece of cornbread: bar of soap

Fruits / Veggies:
 1-cup veggies: a fist
1 medium fruit: a baseball
1 cup of cut-up fruit: fist
¼-cup dried fruit: a golf ball
½-cup of raisins: an egg
1/2 cup cooked broccoli: one light bulb
1 small potato: a computer mouse

Dairy:
1 cup of milk or yogurt: a fist
1 ½ oz of cheese: 4 dice

Fat/Oils:
1-teaspoon oil: a thumbnail
2 Tbsp salad dressing: a ping-pong ball
1/2 cup of potato chips, crackers or popcorn: one man’s handful
1 oz of chips or pretzels: two handfuls

Wendy’s any one?
Here are some really healthy options when eating there!

SALADS: 

SANDWICHES / HAMBURGERS:
Jr. Hamburger: 230 calories, 8g fat
- Add cheese for another 40 calories

Ultimate Grilled Chicken Sandwich: 320 calories, 7g fat

Grilled Chicken Go Wrap: 250 calories, 10g fat

AVOID THE CHICKEN CLUB SANWICH (550 calories, 26g fat), ANYTHING CRISPY, BACON or DOUBLE / TRIPLE IN THE NAME
- Ask to hold the mayo and cheese on any sandwich or hamburger. It cuts out unnecessary calories and fat!

NUGGETS / WINGS:
4 piece chicken nuggets: 190 calories, 13 g fat

SIDES:
Side Salad: 35 calories
- Don’t forget to add the calories from the dressing!

Mandarin Oranges: 80 calories

Plain Baked Potato: 270 calories
- Add the sour cream and chives and you just added 100 calories

Kids Meal French Fries: 210 calories, 10g fat

Small Chili: 190 calories
Large Chili: 280 calories
- Avoid the crackers and cheese and just added about 100 calories

If you ask me, I love their chili (without the cheese and crackers), a side salad, and a diet coke or ice tea.

If you are anything like me, you have a list of foods that you can’t have in the house because you end up eating them in one sitting!
I have self-control, but when it comes to certain foods, I just can’t resist eating the whole box while watching TV or when I get in one of those munching moods. Some of those foods are Wheat Thins, Cheese-Its, Ice Cream, Gold Fish, Chips, Oreos… and the list goes on.

WHAT FOODS ARE ON YOUR LIST?