Week 3: Spring Session

To contact us Click HERE
Week 3 is a pivotal week - this is the week where your focus can begin to waiver if you let it.....  And to make it even more tough, this time of year is crazy busy with ball games, yard work, graduation parties and so much more.  It's so easy to let the busy affect your healthy choices and only focus on your health and fitness goals when you are at Real Fitness instead of keeping those goals at the top of your mind all the time.  Make a concentrated effort this week to stick with the nutrition challenges and keep pushing yourself during workouts.  Life is always crazy so find ways to fit healthy into your busy life.  No excuses! 

Week 3 Nutrition Challenge:


Eat an apple everyday.  So far this session we've gotten in the habit of drinking lots of water, eliminating "junk" drinks from our daily routine, and focused on eating a good, healthy breakfast everyday. Now we are going to add in an apple everyday.  


Fruits and vegetables are nature's perfect food!  They are easy to digest, are low in calories, and very high in vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals.  The high fiber content in fruits and veggies help fill you up, help keep your blood sugars steady, and also keep you cleaned out - if you know what I mean :)   A healthy eating plan filled with lots of fruits and veggies also protects against heart attack, stroke, several cancers and lowers blood pressure.  Despite knowing the perfectness of fruits and veggies it is sometimes hard to get in the recommended 5-9 servings per day.  To help get us in the habit of eating fruit regularly, we are going to strive to eat an apple everyday this week.  Apples are a quick, easy, grab and go fruit.  Hopefully, your daily apple will replace a prepackaged snack and motivate you to eat more fruits :)  


Quick Tips for Eating More Fruit:
-When you get fresh fruit home from the grocery store clean it and package it up in easy to grab baggies right away.  The more convenient you make the fruit the more likely you and your family are to grab it.
-Put your apples in a big bowl as your table center piece.  Keeping them where you see them will make it easier to remember to eat one everyday.
-Don't forget frozen fruit (no sugar added!).  Frozen fruit is just as good as fresh, typically more budget friendly and a yummy treat.  I eat frozen cherries like candy :)
-Eat smoothies!  They are a great way to get in a lot of fruit servings! 



Nutrition Goals This Week:

• Drink lots of water!
• Avoid "junk" drinks.
• Eat a healthy breakfast.
• Eat an apple everyday.

Week 4: Spring Session

To contact us Click HERE

Time flies when we're having fun - it's already Week 4!  At the end of this week you'll be half way through this session and half way through eight weeks of small but VERY meaningful nutrition changes that truly can transform your health and body if you stick with them!  This week's challenge is a tough one but sure to make a BIG difference if you commit yourself to trying it.  And don't forget to keep your great habits from Weeks 1, 2 and 3 going too!  




Week 4 Nutrition Challenge:


Cut out sweets.  Refined sugar has absolutely no nutritional value and a whole lot of calories.  Calories from sugar are the most simple form of carbohydrate and are very easy for your body to convert to gylcogen and store in your body.  Excess glycogen that isn't burned for energy is then stored as fatty acids.  Not cool!  In addition, when you eat simple sugars/carbs it sends your blood sugars soaring and then crashing - when your blood sugars crash your body/brain want to raise those blood sugars back immediately.  So what do you crave?  More simple sugars/carbs.  Not cool!  (Don't freak about fruit here - the "sugar" in fruit is natural AND has the fiber from the fruit with it to keep blood sugars steady, not to mention all the other vitamins and minerals and phytochemicals that are in fruits). 


Here's the deal:  sugar is everywhere in a large majority of the foods we eat.  (Sugar is cheap and addictive so the food manufacturers LOVE to put it in their food, getting us addicted to their products is their goal).  For fun check food labels and see how much sugar is in stuff that's right in your cupboards.  From ketchup to crackers - it's everywhere.  So to keep it simple and since we're getting more than enough sugar elsewhere, this week our challenge is to cut out the obvious sweets and sugary foods.  Avoid cakes, cupcakes, candies (stay away from the candy dish), sugary drinks (but that shouldn't be a problem because we started that in Week 1 :)), ice cream, chocolate, desserts, etc.   In addition, avoid sugar-free versions of these treats too - the chemical sweeteners they use instead of sugar are really bad for you too.  I can go on and on about how bad artificial sweeteners are for you but I'll save that for another post.  


If you really "need" a sweet treat try having some fruit and a glass of water instead.  If you think you may die without these treats then pick ONE DAY, a fun day per se, when you can eat any of this stuff with no guilt.  But you only get this one fun day a week if you are successful with avoiding sweets the rest of the week. 


This is a tough challenge to implement but you can do it!  Trust me - this is by far the hardest challenge for me and my HUGE sweet tooth, but it is worth the effort.  You'll feel great and see results!  

Nutrition Goals This Week:

• Drink lots of water!
• Avoid "junk" drinks.
• Eat a healthy breakfast.
• Eat an apple everyday.
• No sweets!

Week 5: Spring Session

To contact us Click HERE
Whoa - last week was a tough one (for me anyway)!  That "no sweets" business is hard to do, but cutting back on sugar can have a huge impact on your health and weight loss/maintenance goals.  So this week I want you to keep working on cutting out (or at least way back on) sweets.  In addition, our new challenge for the week will be to try a couple new healthy recipes.

Week 5 Nutrition Challenge:
Sometimes eating healthy can get discouraging because you feel like you're eating the same few things over and over again and/or healthy recipes seem so complicated.  So your challenge this week is to try at least 2 new healthy recipes (or make a recipe you already use healthier).  Use this challenge to expand your horizons and try to find a healthy "go-to" meal or snack that you use regularly.

If you would like me to email you my list of 30+ healthy recipes just email me at realfitness.ia@gmail.com and I'll gladly send it to you.  The recipes in my list are all very simple to make (if I can do it, trust me - you can too!), they have "normal" food in them, and my family has actually eaten them!

Nutrition Goals This Week:

• Drink lots of water!
• Avoid "junk" drinks.
• Eat a healthy breakfast.
• Eat an apple everyday.
• No sweets! (or cut back)
• Try 2 new healthy recipes 

Week 6: Spring Session

To contact us Click HERE
Week 6 Nutrition Challenge:
No good eating happens late at night.  Ever.  This Week's Challenge is a great rule to live by: do not eat after 8 pm.  If your body isn't working on digesting food while you're sleeping, it can work on repairing your muscles and balancing your brain chemicals, not to mention you'll sleep better.  Better sleep leads to more energy during the day and more control over food decisions too.  The best part about a bedtime fast: without food for more than five hours your body will start burning its own fat and sugar!

So close the kitchen at 8 p.m.  (put up a sign on the fridge if you have to) and go to bed hungry.  You will live through the hunger you may feel and you will get re-fueled with a healthy breakfast when you wake up.  Does this mean skip supper if you get home from evening activities after 8 p.m.?  Yep!  If you know you're going to get home late try to plan ahead by packing an apple and protein bar to take with you.

Note: If your workout ends after 8 p.m. then you can extend this time until after your post-workout snack.  Just be sure your snack is planned, controlled, low calorie/high protein, and not a full meal.


All Nutrition Goals for this Week:

• Drink lots of water!
• Avoid "junk" drinks.
• Eat a healthy breakfast.
• Eat an apple everyday.
• No sweets! (or cut back)
• Try 2 new healthy recipes OR cook at least 10 meals this week (actually cook them, boxed dinners don't count)
• Don't eat after 8 p.m.

Week 7: Spring Session

To contact us Click HERE
Week 7 Nutrition Challenge:
Stop guessing - get your portion sizes right!  In our world of more is better and super-sizing we are a VERY confused people when it comes to proper portion sizes.  This week measure out everything you eat to a proper portion!  Get out measuring cups, count out crackers and the like and think about getting a food scale if you don't have one.  Keeping your portions under control is a very important key to weight loss and life long weight maintenance.

• Read labels: look for the serving size at the top and count out or measure your portion to match one serving.  Never eat something straight from a large bag, always measure out a single serving into a baggie or bowl.
• A single serving of meat is 4 ounces (about the size of a deck of cards).
• A single serving of cheese is 2 ounces (about the size of a pair of dice).
• Only eat from a small plate.  Do NOT use your super huge dinner plates!
• Only eat when sitting down (in front of the t.v. doesn't count) so you can pay attention to what you are eating.
• After serving meals put everything away before eating - this will make you take your time and think before you automatically just reach for a second helping. 
• Never, ever, ever order something supersized!  Pay more for a smaller serving if you have to - your health is worth it!
• Be prepared in advance by pre-portioning healthy snacks into baggies or small containers so they are quick and easy to grab when you are hungry.  Here are some great ideas of healthy snacks to pre-portion:
• 2 ounces of almonds
• 1 hard boiled egg
• Grapes
• 6 triscuit crackers
• 2 tablespoons of natural peanut butter
• 6 ounces of plain yogurt with some fresh or frozen fresh fruit
• The one exception to this rule would be fresh fruits and vegetables (without sauces, butter, etc) in which case, don't waste your time measuring - just eat away! 

All Nutrition Goals for this Week:

• Drink lots of water!
• Avoid "junk" drinks.
• Eat a healthy breakfast.
• Eat an apple everyday.
• No sweets! (or cut back)
• Make at least 10 meals this week (actually cook, boxed dinners don't count) and/or try 2 new healthy recipes.
• Don't eat after 8 p.m.
• Measure out your portions.

Biscoffee Cake (and a cake tip)

To contact us Click HERE

Biscoffee Cake - ButterYum

Have you had the pleasure of tasting Biscoff Spread yet?  I've been hoping our local grocery stores would start carrying it for more than 2 years now and I finally stumbled upon it a few weeks ago.  I quickly grabbed some and headed home to see if all the fuss I'd read about was true.  IT WAS!!!  If you're familiar with Biscoff Cookies, you already know that amazing butter-cinnamon-caramel flavor.  Now imagine it as a soft, creamy spread.  Insanely good, I tell you.  Insane!   I made the mistake of letting one of the teens taste my glorious find, but then I noticed the contents of the jar disappearing at an alarming rate so I had to move it into protective custody. 

 
Anyway, Biscoff Spread is soft, sweet, and spreadable, making it a perfect no-fuss substitute for frosting on my mocha version of this Busy Day Chocolate Cake - a one-bowl recipe that bakes in about 35 minutes. 



Biscoffee Snack CakePrintable Recipe
serves 9-12
adapted from Lucinda Scala Quinn

Cake:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon table salt
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 cup freshly brewed coffee

Frosting:
1/2 cup Biscoff Spread
chocolate covered coffee beans for garnish

Preaheat oven to 350F.  Prepare an 8x8-inch square cake pan with baking spray.  If you want your cake to bake without an ugly hump in the middle, wrap the pan with a moistened insultated baking strips (see photos below).

To make the cake:
In a medium bowl, combine all the cake ingredients and mix just until incorporated.  Pour the batter into a prepared pan and bake in preheated oven for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Remove cake from oven and place on a rack to cool completely; about 2 hours.

To decorate the cake:
Using an offset spatula, spread a thin, even layer on top of the cake.  Garnish with chocolate covered coffee beans.  Great served at room temperature, but it's also excellent chilled (my preference).


Now for my tip:
See this cake?  It was baked in a pan that wasn't wrapped with an insulated baking strip.  The sides are squished, and the middle has a huge hump.  Kind of sad looking, don't you think?
To avoid the hump issue, simply wrap the pan with an insulated baking strip before popping it in the oven.
See?  This is exactly the same cake recipe, but look how nice and even it baked.  The sides are as high as the middle - no hump!
And here's how it looks when you plate it.  Professional, no?
Needless to say, I highly recommend using insulated baking strips.

2012 Fireworks

To contact us Click HERE

Hi Everyone.  I thought I'd share some fireworks from the 4th.  This was my second time shooting fireworks.  I used a Nikkor 18-200mm lens on my Nikon D7000 - "bulb" setting, manual exposure, auto focus off.  "Bulb" allows you to keep the shutter open for as long as the shutter button is pressed; 1-2 seconds seemed to work best.  You can click on any photo to see larger images.  Have a great weekend.