Free Morning Workouts...

What are YOU doing tomorrow morning (Wednesday) at 5:30am-6:40am? Join us in the gymnasuim at Monte Vista Chapel for THIS workout! It's FREE and it's killer!

4 Keys To A Smart Nutrition Plan

Think of the word "diet," and what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Visions of joyless eating, piles of pale lettuce, bored taste buds, more pale lettuce, meals that would starve a mouse, and mounds of food labeled "Off Limits" and locked away, never to be tasted again. Oh, and lettuce. In other words:

DONT
IMAGINE
EATING
THIS

Boooring! Deprivation diets, fad diets and taboo-food diets send the wrong message. Your body is not an enemy that needs to be beaten and starved into submission. Building healthy habits can – and should – be fun! This is a positive thing you’re doing, making yourself healthy and happy at the same time.

Food was created for a reason. Each food has specific benefits and potential drawbacks. Even chocolate, in certain forms, is said to protect against high blood pressure and heart disease. On the other hand, if you eat nothing but grapefruits, you'll be loading up on certain vitamins, but missing out on a lot of other very important nutrients. The key is balance. Too much of anything can hurt. But not enough of everything can hurt even more.

How far do you think your car would go on watered down gas or without any oil? About 20 miles, probably. You’re no different. Deprive your body of what it needs and it’ll break down. The secret is to be conscious of the grades of "oil" and "gas" that you use. Some are more powerful than others, and help you run longer on less fuel.

To fuel your body for optimal performance while losing weight, SparkPeople strongly suggests 4 strategies to use when starting a weight loss program:

Control your food portions. Who really needs "Biggie" anything? Use our easy guide to portion control.

Make smart substitutions. Why not try mustard (11 calories) instead of mayonnaise (99 calories) on that deli sandwich? Who knows, you might even like it better. Compare calories in your favorite foods using this handy chart, and learn more ways to cut calories without deprivation.

Focus on "power foods. High protein, high fiber, healthy fats and good carbs give you the most punch for your lunch. Here are over 100 foods that fit the bill.

Watch your eating habits. Mindless munching, emotional binging, and twice-a-day trough feedings are sneaky habits that steal momentum and leave pounds. Overcome emotional eating with our 10-step action plan.

-- By Mike Kramer, SparkPeople Staff Writer

10 Tips for Eating Out on a Diet

Eating out on a diet doesn't have to be cause for panic. Sure, you hear about oversize restaurant portions and the plethora of fattening menu choices available all the time, but that doesn't mean dining out will doom your dieting efforts! Just use these 10 simple tips for eating out on a diet:

1.Cram for tonight's dinner. Many eateries post their entire menu online so you can print it out for reference. If you often eat at "mom and pop" type restaurants that aren't online, call and ask for the menu to be faxed to you, or pick up a takeout menu on your next visit. Highlight the healthiest options for each menu and store them all in a central location. Then, when you are planning your next night out, take the time to decide on your dishes at home before you've been tempted by the sight of other choices.

2.Order your main dish from the appetizer menu. Not only are appetizers more reasonably-portioned, they will save you some money as well. (This is a great way to save enough calories and cash to split dessert with someone!) Too peckish to be satisfied with just a starter? Order a side salad, too -- the fiber-rich veggies will round out your meal. Soup is super-filling, so it's an awesome appetizer add-on, too (just steer clear of cream-based ones).

3.Beware these high-fat menu buzz words: Cream sauce, butter, oil, au gratin, breaded, Alfredo, battered or batter-dipped, "with gravy," or smothered. Unless you've spared yourself treats for several days and snacked on salad greens all day, these little "extras" aren't worth the extra calories.

4.Modify the menu. In my neck of the woods, anything and everything can be batter-dipped and fried, so I make special requests all the time. Many restaurants will take your dietary needs into account so you'll be a happy customer and return. Don't hesitate to request anything on the menu to be prepared in a more diet-friendly and for sauces or dressings to be served on the side. It's not likely that you will be denied.

5.The meat is on. As tempting as that bucket of fried chicken looked on the commercial before you left home, order poultry steamed, poached, roasted, broiled, boiled, grilled or baked. Ask for skinless chicken whenever possible or remove it yourself. If you do treat yourself to fried chicken, choose white meat as it has fewer calories than dark. Of course, chicken, chicken and more chicken gets old after a while, so if you're asking, "Where's the beef?" allow yourself red meat a few times a week -- just be sure to choose leaner cuts of meat like loin or flank.

6.Keep tabs on that tubini. Endless pasta at your favorite Italian restaurant may be carb-lovers' heaven (Darn near nirvana for yours truly!), but it's a waist-widening trap for those of us who tend to overeat (How are you supposed to know when to say "when" if they keep bringing more?). As tempting as the great "value" for your money that infinitely-refilling pasta bowl seems, it's certainly not a bargain for your calorie budget. Order a portion-controlled main dish instead. "Ixnay" on the endless breadsticks, too!

7."Wrap it up, I'll take it!" You know you're at a nice restaurant when the server takes your plate away and wraps up your leftover food for you at the end of the meal. (And if you're in a really nice restaurant, you'll get the eating out equivalent of a balloon animal -- the tin foil swan!) To ensure you don't leave sans swan, keep temptation at bay and ask the server to wrap up half of your as soon as it is served.

8.Take control of takeout. You don't have to swear off takeout when you're dieting -- there are many healthy options at ethnic restaurants. Portion control is key, though: Take out half of your takeout before dishing up your dinner, put the food in microwave containers and tuck it away in the fridge before you even start eating. (Instant will power and instant next-day lunch!)

9.Banish buffets. Portion control can become a foreign concept for even the most determined dieter at an all-you-can-eat buffet. (Who can practice moderation when there are new, clean plates just beckoning to be filled?) The sheer variety of foods available at buffets is also daunting -- studies have shown that when we're given more choices, we tend to eat more without realizing it. Simply avoid buffet restaurants and you won't have to face this temptation.

10.Mini meals are a must. It's smart to eat smaller meals during the day when you're planning to dine out. Just don't eat too sparingly, though -- you don't want to be so famished by the evening that you overeat. (It was a dark day when I ate too-mini mini meals and -- clearly ignoring my own tip number 9! -- visited a buffet in a ravenous state with a fellow waist-watcher ... the look of sheer horror on her face as I went for round number four is not something I will soon forget!) If mini meals don't tide you over, have a small, healthful snack in the afternoon to curb your appetite and you'll be much more in control come dinner time.

By Jennifer R. Scott, About.com Guide

Last Chance Workout

Yes, even though tomorrow is a Holiday (MLK day) we will still be weighing in! Are you ready? Do you want one last chance to make a difference on the scale and to burn up some of those claories you indulged in over the weekend?

Monday morning at 5:30am come down to the Monte Vista Chapel gym (same place we weigh-in) and join us for the BIGEGEST LOSER: LAST CHANCE WORKOUT! This High Intensity Interval Training (HITT) DVD will have you sweating and burning calories like never before. If this is your 1st time working out in a while, there are easy modifications you can do to get through the entire workout! It's broken into 5 sections that total up to 1 hour.

• A 5 minute Warm-up
• 25 minutes of HITT
• 12 minutes of upper-body toning
• 12 minutes of lower body toning
• 5 minutes of cool-down

You can stay for the entire hour, or just come for the HITT portion of the workout. Believe me, you'll feel glad you did and you'll KNOW you burned calories! ANd I love this workout because it's not a bunch of skinny girls or muscleflexing men... this video features actual participants from the Biggest Loser show. This alone gives you the encouragement to think, "If they can do it, so can I!" Come try it out!

Here's a short clip of what to expect...

8 Products to Make Measuring Serving Sizes Easier

Tips to Make Sure You Get the Proper Serving Size


#1: Measuring Cups
If you want to get the proper serving size, measuring cups are essential. Measuring cups ensure that you get an actual cup, rather than a cup and a half. When measuring serving sizes, you cannot just guess, you must use the proper tools.

#2: Scales
If you want to be even more precise, scales are the perfect product for measuring serving sizes. Scales will give you the exact weight of the item you about to eat. This is important because many snacks state that an ounce is the perfect portion. Scales will allow you to portion out exactly one ounce and not one potato chip more.

#3: Cereal Dispensers
Cereal dispensers are a great way to measure several different types of dry foods, not just cereal. While different dispensers will put out a different amount of product, with each turn, you can still use this for measuring serving sizes. Simply measure what one turn yields and then you will know how many turns will give you the portion that you need. For example, if one turn equals a half of a cup, and a serving size of your favorite cereal is a cup, simply turn the knob twice.


#4: Ziploc Snack Bags
Ziploc snack bags hold the perfect serving size for many of your favorite snacks. Filling these snack bags with dried fruit, nuts, carrot sticks, etc. ensures that you always have a snack available. Fill several snack bags and have them available at work or in your pantry without the hassle of measuring out your favorite snacks.

#5: 8 Ounce Drinking Glasses
In the morning, the last thing you want to do is measure out a serving of juice. That's why 8 ounce glasses are perfect for measuring out your favorite drinks. Because let's face it, you aren't going to measure juice out in the mornings and you'll probably overestimate if you use a larger glass. If you use an 8 ounce drinking glass you'll be getting the perfect serving of juice.

#6: Proper Dishes
Using the proper dishes is an easy way to measure out serving sizes. For example, the bowls that came with your dish set will more than likely hold a cup of cereal with milk, which is the proper serving size for many cereals.

#7: Custard Cups
Custard cups make measuring serving sizes child's play. You can find custard cups in 4oz., 6oz., and 8oz. sizes. This means you have the perfect serving dishes for snacks that have serving sizes of a half a cup, three-quarters of a cup, and a full cup. Using custard cups makes serving sizes seem larger, leaving you more satisfied with you snack.

#8: Disposable Containers
You can purchase disposable containers in several different sizes. These are perfect for measuring out meals and snacks. For example, containers that will hold one cup servings would be perfect for side dishes.

By Amy Brantley

Tracking Calories on the Go!

I've had several people email me to reccomend an app called LOSE IT. I've heard great things about this...it's easy to use and can track everything for you. If you have an iphone, check it out by clicking HERE.

The Single Best Way to Lose Weight!

It’s scientifically proven: The key isn’t just what you eat, it’s what you write

If you’re anything like me, you have no idea how much food you inhale on a day-to-day basis. Thanks to multitasking, grabbing grub on the go, parking myself in front of the TV while munching, and various other weight-loss crimes, I often barely register that I’m eating. Take last week: I was totally oblivious that I was popping jelly beans into my mouth until my nephew complained that I was about to polish off his bag (sorry again, Jake). It’s tough to watch every mouthful you eat, even if you’re an expert. Researchers at Louisiana State University asked dietitians to estimate their daily caloric intake — and even the professionals lowballed the number by 10 percent. That may explain why it’s so hard to shed pounds, no matter how good the plan is.

But there’s a simple solution: Keep a food diary. Studies show that a journal doesn’t just aid weight loss — it turbo-charges it. When researchers from Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research followed more than 2,000 dieters who were encouraged to record meals and snacks, they found that the single best predictor of whether a participant would drop weight was whether the person kept a food diary. It trumped exercise habits, age, and body mass index. The number of pounds people lost was directly related to the number of days they wrote in their log. (It’s no coincidence that Weight Watchers, one of the most successful diet programs, asks participants to track what they eat.)

Here are five more reasons to start a journal today — even if you swore off diaries in middle school.

1. You’ll get a reality check about how many calories you consume.
Americans typically underestimate their daily intake by about 25 percent, reports nutritionist Carrie Latt Wiatt, author of Portion Savvy. The situation gets even more complicated when you eat out. In a 2006 study led by Cornell University, 105 diners in fast-food restaurants were asked how many calories were in their orders. For the small items, almost everyone guessed correctly; for the larger orders, the diners underestimated the calories by a whopping 38 percent. It may be an issue of perception, says study author Brian Wansink, Ph.D. The larger the quantity, the harder it is to make an accurate guess — the same is true for distances and heights.

Even professionals can be tricked by hefty portion sizes. When an NYU researcher asked 200 dietitians to estimate the calorie count of four popular restaurant dishes, the experts lowballed the number for each by a whopping 250 to 700 calories.

So stop assuming and start calculating. A good manual, like the classic Calorie King Fat & Carbohydrate Counter, makes it easy by giving you the calorie counts and fat grams for a huge number of foods. Or try nutritiondata.com, which also lists the stats for many foods. If you are going out to eat, check out the website for the restaurant. Many also have the nutritional values for meals if you simply ask.

2. You’ll cut back on between-meal munching.
Make a mental checklist of what you ate yesterday. Sure, you can probably remember breakfast, lunch, and dinner — but what about that mini Snickers you snatched from your coworker’s stash? Or that spoonful of mashed potatoes you took off your husband’s plate?

It’s easy to overlook bites, licks, and tastes (known as “BLTs" to professionals). But that’s a huge mistake — there are 25 calories, on average, in each mouthful. Translation: Six little bites a day add up to around 15 extra pounds a year.

“I remember one client who was keeping a diary and couldn’t understand why she wasn’t losing weight," says Bethany Thayer, R.D., spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. “We were discussing the problem when she took out a peppermint. I asked her how many she ate every day, and she said, ‘A bag.’ They’re nine calories each, but the whole bag is several hundred."

Writing everything down can also help you make smarter food choices. If you often order a Starbucks Grande Dulce de Leche Latte, entering the data will bring you face-to-face with the fact that your beloved drink packs 440 calories, versus 23 calories for the same-size regular coffee with milk.

3. You’ll discover where your diet detours.
“I thought I ate a lot of vegetables — it seemed like I was constantly cooking spinach, broccoli, or Brussels sprouts," says Melissa Smith, a 32-year-old mom from Omaha who’s been keeping a food diary for the past 18 months. “But looking back over a few weeks of my journal, I was surprised to realize that I was only eating veggies once or twice a week." So she made salads a regular part of dinner and noticed that it helped her eat less of her entrée. Her analysis and follow-up action paid off: She’s lost more than 27 pounds.

A balanced diet is the key to weight loss, says Suzanne Farrell, R.D., who owns Cherry Creek Nutrition in Denver. “Whole grains, low-fat dairy, green vegetables, orange veggies, beans, nuts — science shows that we need to eat these regularly to reach a healthy body weight. So when I flip through my clients’ journals, I always look for what I’m not seeing."

To find out how many servings of each food group you should be eating, go to mypyramid.gov. This tool will calculate the correct portions based on your age, gender, height, weight, and level of physical activity. It’ll also tell you the number of calories you should aim for daily to lose weight.

4. You’ll learn why you pig out.
Experts suggest that, to help break bad habits, you record not only what you eat, but the circumstances that prompt you to eat. For example, maybe you indulge in more sweets at work because you sit close to the vending machine. Maybe you have a milkshake several times a week because you pass Wendy’s on the way home. Or maybe every time you worry about money, you retreat into the kitchen for chips.

When you begin to notice these patterns, you can figure out ways to change them. If the vending machine is a constant temptation, stock your desk drawers with fruit and granola bars. If you can’t resist a fast-food sign, MapQuest a new route to work. If you eat when you’re under pressure, steer clear of snacks and take a short walk instead (it’s a scientifically proven stress buster).

Another bonus: “When you increase awareness of what’s going into your mouth," says Thayer, “you’ll feel fuller sooner than if you were just mindlessly munching."

5. You’ll see real results — quickly.
Your food diary can be as revealing as the one you kept in fifth grade. For example, to get a glimpse into how much you’ve improved your diet, compare the entries in week one (Twinkie-filled) to week four or five (ideally, veggie-filled). You can also discover which decisions translated into pounds lost — for instance, that week you had fish for dinner twice might’ve helped you lose weight.

Food journals also let you give yourself credit where credit is due (personally, I reward myself with a gold star each day I resist eating candy). And that positive reinforcement is essential for shedding pounds.


HOW TO WRITE OFF POUNDS: A Cheat Sheet to Get Your Food Diary Started

Choose Your Medium
If you’re using pen and paper, buy a regular spiral notebook. Or go for a pre-organized book like the DietMinder. Computer addicts should check out online journals, such as myfooddiary.com ($9 per month) and nutrihand.com (free for a basic plan; $10 per month for extras). We reccomend the following FREE sites... www.caloriecount.about.com or SPARKPEOPLE. If you can’t live without your PDA, visit weightbydate.com and download the software (starting at $19).

Start Recording
The crucial info to write down: the time you ate, what you ate, and how much you ate. Make a habit of jotting notes right after you eat. “If you wait until the end of the day, it’s too easy to leave things out," warns Suzanne Farrell, R.D. Tracking your diet online? Remember to take paper with you to restaurants, so you can write down every ingredient and calculate its nutritional content afterward.

You may also want to invest in measuring cups — they’ll help you learn what a one-and-a-half-cup portion looks like (it’s a lot less than you think) — as well as a calorie-counter book and a calculator. Armed with these tools, you can track your calories like a nutritionist would.

Get Personal
Customize your diary so it reflects the info that’s most useful to you. For example, if you’re someone who eats whenever food is in front of you, create columns in your journal to rate how hungry you were before and afterward. If you snack your way through hard days, add a column to describe how you were feeling when you ate. Trying to figure out when you’re most drawn to junk food? Record where you were when you indulged and what was going on at the time. Also, if you’re trying to break a specific habit, like scarfing down ice cream at night, create a column for that, so you can give yourself a star for each day you resist the urge.

Be Honest
Include every single bite, lick, and taste (anything larger than a crumb counts). And don’t forget to keep track of your sips. Even the most diligent diarists often forget to include the glass of white wine they had at dinner (120 calories) and their 3 p.m. can of Coke (155 calories).

Find Your Favorites
Counting calories is easier for creatures of habit: If you have a bowl of cereal for breakfast almost every morning or a turkey sandwich three times a week, you won’t have to look up the number each time.

Keep Your Diary Close
“I’m forgetful, so I always need to put the journal where I can see it — on my kitchen table, on my desk at work. I carry it a lot in my hand, too, as a reminder," says Melissa Smith, 32, of Omaha, who lost 25 pounds keeping a food diary.

You can also try this trick from Maryellen Mealey, 42, of Chicago, who lost big (188 pounds) keeping a journal: “I made a deal with myself that I wouldn’t eat anything unless I wrote it down first. It’s obsessive, but I’m a mindless snacker and putting everything in the book really helped me be more conscious," she says.

Examine the Evidence
No matter how diligent you are, a food log won’t help in the behavior-changing department if you don’t analyze it. At night, sit down and calculate how many calories you consumed. Tally up what food groups you’re eating, and make adjustments. (A big plus of online tools is that they do a lot of the analysis for you, totaling everything with a click of a button and often giving you charts to show what you can improve.)

You may also want to consult a registered dietitian. A professional may see things in your diary that you don’t (cost: usually $50 to $300 for an initial consultation). This coming Monday, January 17th, Karin Plett, RD will be available at a table here at our weigh-in site and will offer FREE mini-consultations! A two-year study from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle showed that participants who consulted a dietitian had better success keeping off weight than those who followed their usual diet.

Reward Yourself
“I read that it takes 28 days to build a habit," says Mealey. “So when I have a new goal — like eating veggies more often — I do it for a month, then treat myself by shopping or going to a movie with a friend. Rewards give me an incentive to keep going."

http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/health/advice/food-diary-diet-success