Rest Day, Weigh-In, and Cheat Day

I love rest day!! Especially when it falls on the third day of my new workout plan! I enjoyed every minute of  rest day. Tomorrow I'll be teaching boot camp which will help me get my scheduled cardio-interval training workout in for the day.

I am going to make a habit of weighing in once a week.  (In reality I'll be weighing in every day, which is a bad habit of mine...... and one that can be discouraging at times.) So every Friday I'll report any weight lost or gained and why I think i lost or gained for that particular week. So far for this week I am down 2 pounds. That surprised me considering I haven't been working that hard at it yet. However, it does go to show you how important a healthy eating plan is to your weightloss goals.

It takes a combination of both exercise and healthy eating to create LASTING weightloss. You can just do one or the other, but once you are done with your "diet" or done with your "6 week workout", you'll go back to your old habits and that weight will creep right back on. To make it stick you HAVE to make a lifestyle change. That means incorporating healthy eating habits and regular exercise into your weekly routine FOR LIFE.

I love food. I love to eat, and I love to eat things that taste good. One thing I have learned is that I can be strict only to a certain point. I have to have a cheat day. So Sundays are going to be my cheat day. I am going to eat and drink whatever I want on Sundays. Its a good way for me to remind my body that it is not starving (which in turn keeps it from wanting to store fat) and to fill some cravings I have been having during the week. Its also a nice reward for all of the hard work I have been doing during the week.

Tomorrow will be my last post until Monday. I'll have much to share when I return! See you tomorrow!

Day 2- The Workout

Day 2 is now behind me.....Whew! Lots of temptations today. It was a struggle to stick to my eating plan. I broke a rule and bought some things for the girls lunches that tempted me all day long. Not a good idea when you are in the beginning stages of a new eating plan!! Obviously I am a slow learner. Here is what I learned. 21 Cheetos contains 160 calories. 160!! And let me tell you, after you eat 21 cheetos, you are NOT full. Not even a little bit. But I was bound and determined to eat my 1 serving of Cheetos (hence the bizarre 21 number). At first I thought it said 12, so I ate 12 and was very discouraged. Then I reread the nutritional information part and realized that 12 was actually 21...and so I of course ate the extra 9 cheetos to make up the difference. I was still discouraged because I was still hungry.....what a  waste of calories. I would have been much more satisfied for much longer had I eaten an apple and a piece of string cheese.....or anything else. Enough with the cheetos, I learned my lesson.

I started my workout today which was the original intention for this post. Today I did a core workout. The plan is to  ease myself into this new workout regimen (sp?).

Here was my workout:

25 crunches on the body ball
15 pike ups w/ body ball
1  minute plank w/ alternating leg raise
30 second side plank
30 second back plank
15 back hyperextensions
20 straight legged crunches
Repeat 2x's

Here is what I intend to do each week:

Monday: Total Body Weight Training
Tuesday:Cardio Interval Training/Abs
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday:Cardio Interval Training/Abs
Friday:Total Body Weight Training
Saturday: Cardio Interval Training/Abs
Sunday: Rest

Each day that I workout I will share my workout with you. I like to change it up constantly so that a) I don't get bored; and b) my body does not get used to what I am doing. Changing up my workout keeps my muscles guessing and helps me get good results FASTER. I'm all about efficient and effective workouts!

For those of you that are dying to know what I ate today, here is my food log for today:

9/22	Description		Calories
Breakfast	ww english muffin, 1 tbsp ras. Preserve, 8 oz. oj, 1 egg		350
Snack	sugar snap peas/ 2 tbsp hummus		100
Lunch	wrap (ww tortilla, 4 slices ham, 1/2 slice cheese, fresh spinach, tomato)		270
Snack	21 cheetos(160)/ 1 apple(70)		230
Dinner	bourbon Salmon/brown rice/steamed squash		531
Snack	1/2 c. slow churned oreo ice cream w/ 1/2 banana		200
Total			1681

At 1681 I went over my daily goal of 1600, but only by 81. My ab workout countered that 81 so all in all, I am feeling pretty good about the day! See you tomorrow!

Day 1 Complete-My final Thoughts

Success! I made it through my first day of my new eating plan. All in all, it went way better than I expected. I managed to stay under my daily calorie goal of 1600 calories and I can honestly say that I was not hungry. Looking at the list below, it doesn't appear that I ate very much, and in reality, it wasn't a large quantity of food. The trick here was that I did not let myself get hungry. I ate my meals and snacks when they were scheduled and it kept my hunger at bay. Looking back, If I could do anything different, I would eat more fruits and vegetables. I get full faster and stay full longer when I eat them. My problem today was that I did not go grocery shopping until late in the day and therefore did not have a lot of fresh food on hand. Tomorrow I am going to discuss my workout plan. (Today I did not exercise). More about that tomorrow. Here is the final count for today(you will have to click on the title of this blog to be able to see the calorie totals if they do not show up below:

9/21	Description				Calories
Breakfast	quaker instant brown sugar oatmeal				160
Snack	yoplait light lemon cream pie yogurt				110
Lunch	pita sandwich  (ww pita, 4 slices ham, slice cheese, fresh spinach, tomato)				300
Snack	sugar snap peas/ 2 tbsp hummus				100
Dinner	4 oz. pork tenderloin, 2 wheat yest roll, glass wine, sugar snap peas				360
Snack	1 c. slow churned oreo ice cream w/ one banana				365
Total					1395

Hunger-A Diet Sabotager Exposed

The fastest way to sabotage any healthy eating plan is to let yourself get hungry! Think back to a time when you were really, really hungry. For me that was yesterday just before lunchtime. I had breakfast but no snack and lunchtime was closing in. I was ravenous! I don't know about you, but when I am hungry and I have options in front of me.......the ONLY things that look especially tempting are foods that are fried, smothered in sauce, or covered in cheese. In those moments, I am not tempted by a salad, some carrot sticks or a piece of grilled chicken. Those foods couldn't be furthest from my mind! Now, had I done what I was supposed to and eaten a healthy and satisfying snack between breakfast and lunch, I would have entered lunchtime with my wits about me. But as you learned in an earlier post, when hunger takes over, all rational thought flies right out the window!

So, from this day forward, in order for me to stick to my eating plan, I am going to abide by the rules that I suggest my clients follow. I WILL NOT allow myself to get hungry!!!!!  Here is a glimpse of what my 1600 calorie day will look like:

7:30am Breakfast- 400 calories (eggs, oatmeal, fresh fruit, whole wheat english muffins, protein shake)
10:00am Snack - 100 calories(lowfat yogurt, string cheese and fruit, almonds and fruit, peanut butter and banana)
12:00pm Lunch - 400 calories(whole wheat wrap with deli meat and loaded with veggies, salads with veggies and lean meats, peanut butter and banana on a whole wheat wrap or whole wheat english muffin)
3:00pm Snack 100 calories(see above)
6:00pm Dinner -500 calories(brown rice or whole wheat pasta, lean grilled fish, chicken or meat, steamed veggies sprinkled liberally with cajun seasoning)
7:00pm Snack -100 calories(see above but add hot chocolate, small bowl of cereal, 1/2 c. low fat ice cream w/ lots of fruit)

I like to make sure that I eat a protein a fat and a carb at each snack or meal. That gives my body all of the necessary energy sources to pull from so that it can do its job effectively. Food is fuel! Pick the right ones and you can optimize your body's performance.

You can track your calories if you visit the tools page on my website ( www.LoriDoster.com ) and print out a calorie log. Writing it down makes ALL the difference!

Later I will share my workout plan. Have a great day!

Day 1-The Plan

Good Morning! Welcome to day one of operation "find my six pack". So far so good. Last night I went to http://my.apexfitness.com/vip/content/fitness_calculators.php and used their calculator to determine what my daily calorie needs are.  Based on my height, weight, age, gender and daily activity, the calculator determined that I should consume 2100 calories/day to stay exactly the same weight I am right now.  If I reduce that number by 500 calories/day to 1600calories/day , I will be able to acheive a minimum of a 1 pound/ week weight loss. At that rate, I would lose 10 pounds in 10 weeks. Now, If I added exercise to that mix, that would accelerate my weightloss goals even more quickly.

I am two hours into my day and I've had my bowl of oatmeal, 1 egg and glass of water. Thats 230 calories towards my daily calorie goal of 1600 calories. Breakfast by far has to be the most important meal if you are starting any new eating or exercise plan. I will NEVER skip breakfast, doing so would slow down my metabolism and encourage my body to STORE fat. And I don't know about you, but I want to do everything in my power to DISCOURAGE fat storage. Eating breakfast is the first step to doing just that. And not just any breakfast will do, whole grains (whole wheat breads, oats, etc.), lean sources of protein (peanut butter, eggs, low fat milk, low calorie yogurt) and fruit are your best bet.

I have to run for now, I'll update you more on my plan later tdoay!

Find Success In the Small Things

One lovely thing that I never considered about blogging is that doing this will help to hold me accountable. And I (like most people on the planet) require accountability when it comes to sticking to my goals. If no one is watching, its so easy for me to slip back into old habits.

Tomorrow will mark day ONE of my journey. Oh how I would love to say that day is that today, but then I would by lying to you, and that is no way to start a relationship! So, starting Monday morning, September 20, 2009 at 7:00am (my normal waking time), I will be on my way towards acheiving my goal.

I do have a plan by the way. Its Fine and Great and Wonderful to have a goal, but if you don't set yourself up for success by creating a plan to reach said goal, that goal (regardless of how worthy it is) will be left unreached. So tomorrow, on Day 1 of operation "Find My Six-Pack", I will reveal my plan to you.

See you tomorrow!

In Search of A Six Pack

I often tell my clients that if they have a fitness goal (ie running a 5k, losing 1 pound/week, participating in a triathalon, dropping two pant sizes), they will be more likely to stick to their workout and see success. No one can honestly say that they LIKE working out. Exercise is hard, its supposed to be, its hard for me and its what I do for a living! But like any worthwhile goal.......if it is something that is important to you, its well worth the work it takes to get there. I have a goal. I've decided to share my goal with you and invite you to join me on my journey. You might want to sit down when I tell you this...are you ready? My goal is to find my six pack. I know what you are thinking...."gasp, what? shouldn't she already have one of those, isn't she a personal trainer"? Well, the answer to that would be no. Finding your six pack takes that extra effort that I have not been willing to put forth. After all, I have kids (excuses), and a family to take care of (excuses) and two businesses I am running (more excuses), and a busy life (and yet more excuses). Well enough of the excuses. I am ready to set that goal before me and do what it takes to achieve it! I hope you will join me as I work my way towards my goal. In the mean time, set a goal for yourself and take this journey with me! 

Little Debbie Isn't As Sweet As She pretends To Be

I had a fight with Little Debbie today. You know, on the package she looks all cute and sweet and happy, but in real life, she's down right mean. And for a "Little" girl, she's awful strong too! It all started when I skipped my mid morning snack. It was right before lunchtime and I was hungry. I opened the pantry with every intention of making myself an early lunch and there she was....staring right back at me with her beady little eyes and adorable 1950's haircut. I could have resisted, I wanted to resist, but memories of how good vegetable shortening mixed with ungodly amounts of sugar would taste weakened my resistance. Its only 170 calories right?? What's 170 calories in the grand scheme of things....(told you she was strong). So I thought to myself, all I have to do to be able to eat this is workout today. I can do that, I can work off these extra calories and no one would know any different. Little Debbie won that fight by the way. I am sure you could tell where that story was heading. Its my fault for letting myself get so hungry....I tend to lose my self control when my stomach starts talking. However, as I sit here at 3:09pm and realize that I still have to workout today(on a Friday night no less), I'm saying bad things about Little Debbie behind her back. Not really my nature to do so, but i'm thinking she deserves it.  So what did I learn from my little adventure today?  Basically not to invite Little Debbie into the house anymore, she's way stronger than she looks!

Healthy Childhood leads to Healthy Adulthood

Take a look around you and you will notice that fewer and fewer children today appear to be physically fit. We can blame it on a lot of things like fast food, junk food, more time in front of the t.v., lack of participation in sports, the list could go on. Regardless of the cause, it is important to understand that there is a solution..

Children naturally have a higher metabolism than adults. They need more calories than we do so that they can grow. However, (just like in adults) too many calories combined with too little physical activity leads to increased fat storage which in turn can lead to a lifetime of health problems. Why set our children up for failure? Teaching them how to live a healthy life NOW is just as important as teaching them how to read or how to save money. Who wouldn't want to set their kids up for a lifetime of success? The habits you teach your children now will carry over into adulthood.

So where do you start?

Exercise together as a family. Go on family walks, swim, play kickball, play basketball, go rollerblading or ride your bikes at the park. Pick something active that you like to do together and do it. Make exercise something fun and something to look forward to!

Make healthier food choices. This is a hard one. Most of the time, foods that you think are healthy (or that are marketed to you as healthy) are NOT healthy at all. Healthy to me means natural, whole foods. If you can grow it or pick it, its  healthy. If it comes in a prepackaged box with a list of ingredients you can hardly pronounce (AKA "processed" foods), then avoid it as much as you can. Stick to foods with minimal ingredients that are fresh like fruit, vegetables, low fat dairy, lean meats, nuts, eggs, and whole wheat breads!  Stay far away from ingredients like bleached, enriched, high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, etc.

Why are processed foods so bad? Well for one, you don't get as full when you eat them.  You therefore can eat more and more and more of them before you ever come close to feeling full. Remember what i said before? Too many calories leads to increased fat storage? Not getting full on foods that already contain a lot of calories means you will still be hungry and looking for more foods which in turn means consuming even more calories, etc. You get the picture. Eat one apple and a piece of string cheese and you will walk away  more satisfied (with less calories and for a longer period of time) than if you ate that sleeve of oreos.

Teach your children why exercise is important. If they know why they are doing it, they might be more likely to do it. Read books on the subject, look up information online, subscribe to prevention magazine and read articles together. Do a research paper as a family on type II diabetes, hypertension, heart disease....well maybe that's stretching it....but you would be surprised at what you would learn and what they will retain!

Provide healthier snack Items.  You think your children won't eat them, but they will. They will not let themselves starve. If the only options available in the house are fruits, veggies, whole grains, low fat dairy, etc., then they are more likely to reach for those items. Better yet, put the choices out on the table and let them pick what they want. Here is an example: cut up different types of fruit and let them dip them into lowfat vanilla yogurt, bake whole wheat pita chips and let them dip them into bean dip, cut up veggies and serve them with low fat dips, natural peanut butter, or hummus. There are plenty of websites and cookbooks out there with great suggestions for healthy snacks.

I could go on and on. But I won't :). What I do know is that there are a lot of obesity related diseases out there that CAN be prevented. Get your kids on the right path now and give them the tools to be successful at taking care of the one thing that is most important......their body!

To Blog or Not to Blog

I have a passion for helping people. I suppose this is what has driven me to work as a Personal Trainer in the first place. Right now, so much of what I do involves educating people on how and why they need to make lifestyle changes. Sometimes the education process moves SO slowly. Until today, I never considered blogging. It didn't occur to me that I could help people using a blog site. Then I actually visited someone else's blog site and my eyes were opened!

So welcome to my new blogspot! I plan to use this site to spread useful information to the masses that can help people make real changes to their lives. I am excited to have a tool that can be used to help others on their journey to living a healthy life.

If you become a member of this blog, you will be notified whenever I update the site. You could also bookmark this site and then check it weekly to see my new posts, blogs, articles, recipes, workouts, websites, and more. I hope you will enjoy this as much as I will!

To your success!