Fab Fit Squad

For me September always signals change.
Change in your laid back summer attitude, kids going back to school, the return of traffic (at least here in Boston). So why not take this time to change your breakfast. What do you typically grab for breakfast? It is highly CARB based — bagel, fat free or low fat muffin, just coffee or heaven forbid NOTHING!

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and by adding a few more grams of protein, it will keeps us from indulging in sugary snacks later in the day.  Here are some snack ideas:

• Scrambled egg whites with spinach and Ezekiel toast — don’t have time? microwave eggs while in the shower and stick in the toast
• Add some egg whites — don’t judge eggs are in all baked goods, why not oatmeal or protein powder to your oatmeal
• Plain Greek yogurt or cottage cheese with some fresh or frozen (non-sugar added) fruit or wheat germ.
• Whole wheat waffles and egg whites or Greek Yogurt or cottage cheese.

If you have any more breakfast ideas, I would love to hear them just post them in the comments below.

This has been the topic of discussion this week, with a number of my clients. Many are asking about making more improvements with their body composition. I know what their workouts look like, but I don’t know what they are doing in the kitchen. When we go through their food journals we realize that they are not getting enough protein in their diets. (more…)

So many people ask, how do you do it? Here are a few easy weight loss tips. I TRACK EVERYTHING, I have been writing down my food and my workouts for years. Some may say really or I just don’t have the time. My response is how will you know what is going on when you don’t lose weight or you’re not increasing your weight in regular increments.  What is your track record? I look at this as my fitness bank account. I wouldn’t just write checks without keeping track of the checks I wrote, and some how you have time to write that down. Think of this in the same way. (more…)

That’s right, drinking chocolate milk after a HARD work out will aid in helping your muscles recover. Now let me reiterate HARD workout, if you just went a did a light workout and didn’t break a sweat, you won’t need a post workout recovery.  But if you did come back from a long bike ride, run or hike chocolate milk will help you recover better than some of those other high beverages. Why??

• Plain water just replaces the water you sweat out during your workout
• Carbohydrate laden beverages just builds and replaces your glycogen (stored muscle carbs)
• Carbohydrates and Protein combination not only replaces the glycogen but studies have that you see a double % increase in glycogen, plus the protein also helps your muscles to recover and repair.

I am a big advocate of using whole foods, but for post workouts chocolate milk will do the trick.  Just remember you need to be in a hard workout to earn the chocolate. In honor of National Chocolate Milk Day go out for a hard workout and enjoy!!

It was hard break up, but it had to happen. About 2 months before my last fitness competition I was reduced to 4 yellow packets,  REALLY ARE YOU KIDDING!!! Prior to that those yellow packets and I were BFFs make the VBFFs. Like the Frank’s hot sauce commercial, I put those packets on EVERYTHING. Breaking up was hard to do, but it had to be done, I need to drop some weight and those yellow packets weren’t doing anything to help me.

Now that I am done with my competition and my diet is more open as they say, I thought I’d go back to  my old ways, but surprisingly I have not.

Sorry to say BFF we’re through, if you haven’t broken up with your yellow packet BFF read more about why you should.  This posting appeared in the Huffington Report. http://huff.to/9lgm1m

I’m just 10 days away from a fitness competition and my food choices have SLIMMED. So, I need to get really creative, good thing, I’m not afraid to experiment with food and I love spices. I have tons of them. My husband often asks how often do I use those spices and how, like he thinks I’m not going to have a good comeback. He’s not new, he should know better! Any who.. My favorite spices are crushed red pepper, garlic, onion powder, old bay seasoning oh I could go on… On the morning news, I saw a great piece that reinforced how great spices are not only for making food taste better, but have a positive health impact.

Yes cabbage, I remember as kid my grandmother, affectionately referred to as Granny use to make red cabbage slaw and braised red cabbage all the time. It took me a while to reconnect with this veggie, but now that I have I love it. Here is a twist on a her recipe.

Braised Cabbage

• 1/2 head green cabbage
• 1/2 head red cabbage
• 2 T mustard (Dijon or Grey Poupon)
• 1/2 c chicken broth
• 1/4 c balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 t nutmeg

Simmer in a pot for 40 minutes. Stirring occasionally.

I know what you are thinking you should only eat cabbage on St. Patrick’s day or only if you are Irish, but cabbage has a lot of health benefits.

1. helps fight ulcers
2. promotes women’s health by helping to metabolize estrogen
3. protection against Alzheimer’s

If you’ve done something interesting with cabbage, let me know below!

Oatmeal Parfait

• 1/3 c cooked oatmeal
• 1/2 c greek yogurt or cottage cheese
• 1/2 t honey or agave nectar
• 1/8 t pumpkin pie spice

in a separate bowl, mix 1/2 c berries (blueberries, raspberries, strawberries or a mixture)

Layer into a glass and serve. YUM YUM. This could also be a snack.

For my egg lovers give this a try

Scrambled Eggs

• 4 egg whites and 1 whole egg
• 1/4 c salsa (your choice)
• 1/4 c black beans

Scramble in a pan coated with Pam, no one likes to clean up the egg mess.

Do you have any other great breakfast ideas, share them below.

It’s tax day. I know just sent check to Uncle Sam. So let’s move onto something more cheery. Many of my clients struggle with the idea of “snacking” most people think “snacking” is a bad thing. Trust me its not. If you are working out you will need the extra fuel! To help you out here are 15 healthy snack ideas. The idea is to take any of these 2 ideas and combine them and wallah  you have a healthy snack.  Depending upon the length of your work day. You should be aiming to have anywhere between 2-3 snacks/day. If you don’t you are derailing your weight loss goals. (more…)

I hear that so many times? You are so healthy and fit what exactly do you eat? Well I eat a VARIETY of foods, lean protein, fruits, veggies and good fats (other than nuts).
I decided that each Sunday I’d sit down and give you a few ideas.

I start each week where I head my local grocery store and shop for the week. From there I head home and start cooking. Right now I’m trying a new veggie each week, I have grown BORED with your traditional veggies, so I have been OBSESSED with Brussel Sprouts. Yes, brussel sprouts.

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