Category Archives: Nutrition
Small Victories
On this Motivation Monday, I hope to quash some of the negativity that tries to sabotage your plans on the windy road to health and wellness.
Monday has the unfortunate stigma of being the least favorite day of the week. However, it’s also the springboard allowing us to start fresh on so many levels. First and foremost, it’s time to forget what didn’t happen last week. Maybe you didn’t get to the gym as many times as you planned. Don’t sweat it. Instead, celebrate the fact that you did get there at some point. Even if you didn’t, pat yourself on the back for the times you:
- Took the stairs instead of the elevator
- Added a few more steps to walk from the parking lot to your office building by parking the car further from the entrance
- Carried some extra bundles and/or your kid up the stairs without stopping to rest
The same goes for eating. Okay, so you had a little more wine than you wanted over the weekend. However, you ordered the grilled fish instead of a cheese-covered entrée to go with that wine. That’s a win. Maybe you indulged in dessert, but did you share it? If so, you found a way to cut down on some of the decadent calories. Remember, healthy habits take time to take root in our often all-too comfortable routines. So instead of beating yourself for what you didn’t do, feel empowered by the better decisions you did make.
Finally, don’t be shy about rewarding yourself for those little victories. Perhaps you set a goal to stay away from the wine this work week and make a date to enjoy an extra good glass with a gal pal next weekend. That way, you get to savor the flavor and enjoy the wonderful wellness booster known as laughter and good conversation. And what better way to reward yourself for making it to one extra group exercise class than with a new tank top or other fun workout wear?
Remember, just like other good deeds, taking care of your body and your mind should be recognized and rewarded. Celebrate your small victories because before you know it, they’ll add up to healthy lifestyle changes in the never-ending journey to have fun, be fit and feel fabulous!
New Month = New Me
March (L) & Today (R)
I love when a brand new month kicks off on a Motivation Monday! The calendar basically gives us a boost to get things started in so many parts of our lives. So, I thought this was the perfect opportunity for me to share the positive health journey I’ve been on since March.
My repeat readers will know I’ve never been shy about discussing the slips in my own health and fitness routine. The injuries brought on by my own stupidity. Too many days off between workouts. The extended stints of chocolate and Prosecco-filled nights out. It’s all part of who I am. However, back in March I decided to do something to give my healthy routine a reboot. Three months later, I feel healthier than ever.
Before I get into my routine, let me say this: I realize I’ve never been what any medical chart would define as overweight. However, over the last few years, I simply didn’t like how I felt. When I turned 41 back in February, I was at my heaviest weight ever and my same old routine just wasn’t giving me the energy I wanted. Today, I’m back at the weight I feel most comfortable at and have more energy to do the things I love.
I won’t lie, I still had a few “cheat moments” during the month. However, thanks to my new focus, I realized these treats didn’t need to be part of my everyday routine because I liked how I felt being fueled by superfoods. Finally, I believe I was able to better manage my stress levels because my body was getting what it really needed.
The result: at the end of 30 days, I was down 10 pounds and lost two inches from each thigh; 1 and 1/2 inches around the hips and a 1/2 inch in my waist and arms. Numbers aside, my skin never looked better and I had more energy at a steady level throughout each day.
Since then, I’ve managed to maintain a regimen that’s kept my weight at the level I feel good at and I can still enjoy my night’s out, Prosecco, chocolate and the other treats that simply make me smile. The bottom line is this: I always write about how working out is a part of healthy lifestyle and not a hobby. The same goes for nutrition. Eating good foods and the right nutrients is crucial to improving your overall wellness.
A couple of final notes:
- It’s never too late to start healthy habits that can make a huge impact on the rest of your life.
- Don’t let others keep you from going after what you want.
If you’d like to learn more about my journey, I’m just an email away! Whatever goals you set for yourself this week and this season, here’s to making them a reality with
some help from that ever-burning desire to have fun, be fit and feel fabulous!
Let the Easter Bunny Motivate You To Move!
If you need some motivation to get moving on this post-Easter Monday, let me direct your attention to the empty Easter basket in your house.
If you were lucky enough to get your own personal visit from the Easter bunny or perhaps you simply swiped some of your kids’ loot, you joined thousands of others in a sugar-filled holiday celebration. After Halloween, Easter is the second-largest candy-giving holiday. So if you enjoyed savoring some sweetness, now’s the time to work it off!
Still need a shot of motivation to kick the candy coma and get your butt to the gym? Here are some calorie counts of some of the most popular treats:
- Cadbury eggs – my all-time favorite! One egg = 170 calories; 6 grams of fat
- Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs (probably my second favorite) One egg = 180 calories; 11 grams of fat
- Solid chocolate bunny (small, 1.75 ounces) = 298 calories; 18 grams of fat
- Jelly Beans: 20 candies = 160 calories, 0 grams of fat (But oh, the sugar!)
- Jordan Almonds: 13 almonds = 140 calories, 5 grams of fat
- Peeps: 5 Peeps = 160 calories, 0 grams of fat (Again, the sugar!)
For those celebrating Passover, here’s how a few menu items break down:
- Dark chocolate covered matzah: 3 pieces – 200 calories; 11 grams of fat
- Coconut macaroons: 2 cookies = 142 calories; 7 grams of fat
- Chocolate coconut macaroons: 1 cookie – 190 calories; 11 grams of fat
Remember, whatever and whenever you celebrate, enjoy the quality time with family and friends and don’t sweat the extra calories. There’s always post-holiday time to get back on track with your plans to have fun, be fit and feel fabulous!
More Fit, Fun and Fab Tips for Spring!
All you repeat readers know how excited I am when my fitness and production worlds collide!
Recently, I was able to share some springtime health and fitness tips with stations and blog sites around the country. I hope you find some helpful information in the interview I shared below.
Thanks to my wonderful crew at VIDICOM and to LG and Cold-EEZE for giving me the opportunity to spread the world about a whole new season filled with opportunities to have fun, be fit and feel fabulous!
Quick Hits
Only one way to say this: it was a hell of a week. So on this Motivation Monday, I’m offering a simple post with three simple tips to get you even more excited about the start of spring!
- Leave the winter behind: Did you pretty much hibernate all season, skip gym classes or miss those daily runs thanks to dangerous weather conditions? Maybe you indulged in more than your fair share of calorie-loaded comfort foods. Don’t sweat it. Leave the sins of the past where they belong, take note of any updates to the spring schedule at your gym and stock up on some colorful produce and healthy food options. It’s time to get your mind focused on a fresh start!
- Don’t forget your core: It’s been awhile since I reminded everyone about the importance of incorporating core strengthening exercises into any fitness routine. I know everyone’s excited to start pounding the non-snow covered pavement for long runs and enjoy some outdoor calorie-burning fun like basketball and softball. If you’ve been less active than normal all winter, do your body a favor and don’t forget to incorporate some planks, crunches and bridges into your daily routine. You can do them when you first roll out of bed, when you’re watching TV or just add five more minutes to your workout at the gym. Click here for a reminder of some of my favorite core exercises.
- Workout for your skin: Spring makeovers are all the rage right now. I’m here to remind you of another great benefit of exercise – it’s a natural way to make your skin more radiant! Exercise improves circulation which increases the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to your skin. It’s also been shown to reduce wrinkle-causing inflammation.
So, there you have it. Three easy reminders on how some easy tweaks to your spring routine can help you stay on track with your plans to have fun, be fit and feel fabulous!
Spring Cleaning for Your Fitness Routine
Get Psyched to Get Back Outdoors! Photo by: Leslie Hassler
This Motivation Monday brings us just four days away from the official start of the spring of 2015! To be more specific, spring starts on Friday, March 20th at 6:45 P.M. EDT; 5:45 P.M. CDT; 4:45 P.M. MDT, and 3:45 P.M. PD. Yes, I’m pretty excited about it. Then again, after the brutal winter most of us just lived through, who isn’t?
In anticipation of the start of the long-awaited season filled with sunshine and rising temperatures, here are five tips to give your health and fitness routine a spring makeover:
- Set a Realistic Schedule: If you’re fitness routine took a backseat this winter, don’t sweat it. Write down your plans for walks and other outdoor cardio, trips to the gym and group exercise classes. Just don’t write something in for every day of the week or you’ll get frustrated the first day you miss a workout. Start with three days and work up from there.
- Stretch: We’re all excited to get outside and move, but hitting a high-intensity boot camp or basketball game without any type of warm up can be a recipe for disaster. If you’ve been less active than usual during the winter months, focusing on your flexibility training is more important than ever. One idea: warm up with 10 minutes of light cardio, then some dynamic stretches. These include lunges, touching your toes and walking your hands forward, swinging your legs while standing and twisting from side to side. Post-workout, do some static stretches to help your muscles recover – just remember to hold those stretches for 30 seconds.
- Try Something New: Break up your routine and soak up some fresh air with tennis, golf or team up with friends on the weekend for endorphin- and laugh-infused games of dodge ball, kickball or even ultimate Frisbee. You don’t have to be a seasoned athlete to have fun and burn some calories at the same time!
- Clean Out More Than Your Closets: Still have tins of treats from the holidays or boxes of chocolate from Valentine’s Day? Get rid of them. Feel guilty about throwing stuff out? Bring it to the office or some other place where a crowd will devour it quickly. Replenish supplies of raw almonds, beans, quinoa, brown rice, herbal teas, spices and other non-perishable healthy staples.
- Give Your Workout Wardrobe a Makeover: It’s always fun having new duds, so why not get rid of the cotton college t-shirts and sweats and replace them with bright tanks, shorts, cropped pants and other workout wear made from moisture-wicking fabric. For my fellow fitness chicks, it’s a good time to think about replacing your sports bras. If you’re working out a lot, a sports bra has a similar lifespan to your footwear – about six months.
Hang in there just a few more days, and soon we’ll all be launched into a brand new season filled with endless opportunities to have fun, be fit and feel fabulous!
The Challenge of Change
This Motivation Monday arrives just one day shy of two weeks since my return to the full-time work force. It’s been a wild ride so far, and of course, that’s in no small part due to adjusting to new procedures and a new schedule. New routines can be overwhelming and exhausting at certain moments, while exhilarating and exciting at others. So while I’ve struggled to find Physique57 classes that mesh with longer work days, get a pre-workout snack in at the right time and find healthy meals that work for a later dinnertime, I know it will all come together eventually. Sometimes we just need to step back, take a deep breath and remember to be patient and let the newness settle in.
In the midst of my finding my new groove, another St. Mary’s Gael inspired me to re-think my dinner options. Edith sent me a message on my LauraLovesFitness Facebook page asking for some healthy meal ideas when dinnertime has to be later than usual. First of all, as you repeat-readers know, I’m all about prepping healthy food. Some items you can stockpile for the work week include:
- Chop up veggies like celery sticks, carrots and red peppers and divide them into single-serving sized containers or baggies
- Cook up a half-dozen or more hard boil eggs
- Grill a half-dozen chicken or turkey breasts
- Cook a cup or more of quinoa and then you can easily scoop out a 1/4 cup serving to add as a side or filler for lots of meals. (If you prefer brown rice or other whole grain, no problem!)
Now for some meal ideas incorporating the prepped foods and other quick-fix items:
- Easy salads: Mixed greens, kale or other leafy green salad with grilled chicken, lean steak or fish. No time to grill up the fish? Open a can of tuna, add some of the veggies you already chopped up and use some olive oil and vinegar for flavor and you’re all set. You can even add the quinoa for some extra filler!
- Have breakfast for dinner: Try an egg white omlette or scramble with some of those chopped veggies or even a bag of frozen ones.
- Healthy pastas: There are so many gluten-free and/or whole grain options out there. Go ahead and cook up a box and then you can create individual-sized servings as needed. Add beans, tomatoes and some peppers for a healthy chili.
- Soup: I find a lot of low-sodium soup options at Trader Joes. Sometimes a hot bowl of soup with a piece of whole grain toast does the trick for me in this cold weather!
I leave you with this final thought: Whether it’s a new job, revised after-school activity schedule for the kids or the unpleasant surprise of a loved one being diagnosed with an illness, something will eventually throw a wrench into your plans. Don’t beat yourself up when you can’t get to the gym one day or if you eat a little less healthy later at night. Get some sleep, shake it off and try again tomorrow. Sometimes being a little patient with ourselves is all we need to get back on track with our plans to have fun, be fit and feel fabulous!
Motivation Monday: Super Bowl Edition
On this Motivation Monday, here’s hoping you’re not hurting too badly from your Super Bowl Sunday fun.
As you read this super short post, I happen to be in the midst of a mini-getaway…which will probably be the topic of discussion for next Monday.
So, as I scramble to cross the items off my vacation-prep to-do list, I offer a simple boost of motivation to get you moving today with help from last year’s day-after Super Bowl post. Click here for a reminder on why you do NOT want to skip the workout today!
Whether or not your favorite team won the Super Bowl, you’re certainly not alone in dealing with the aftermath of some serious splurging. Remember, one day doesn’t have to wreck your plans to pursue those longterm health and fitness goals. Just clean up the crumbs, recycle those beer bottles and re-focus on your commitment to have fun, be fit and feel fabulous!
A Unique Approach to Healthy Living
With Dr. Donald Hensrud, Medical Director of Mayo Clinic’s Healthy Living Program
It’s always a win-win when my multimedia production world collides with my lifelong love for health and fitness. On this Motivation Monday, I’d like to share a glimpse at how that happened just last week in Rochester, Minnesota. That’s home to the world-renowned Mayo Clinic, and it’s where I made a repeat visit to produce a satellite media tour for KickedUp Media Group.
I had the pleasure of working with Dr. Donald Hensrud, the medical director for Mayo Clinic’s Healthy Living Program. The immersion program is aimed at helping people keep their health and wellness resolutions alive long beyond a few weeks or months in the new year.
Let’s face it: most of us realize the benefits of adding healthy eating habits and physical activity to our daily routines, but the tough part is sustaining those habits in the course of our hectic lives. To learn more about how the Healthy Living Program is helping people make better choices and maintain them, please click on the player window below.
Before you take a peek, I’d like to thank Dr. Hensrud and Mayo Clinic for not only making this production possible, but for creating such an innovative program to help people have fun, be fit and feel fabulous!
Another First for LauraLovesFitness: A Different Kind of Fitness Video
At VIDICOM’s studio in New York City
Happy MLK Motivation Monday!
Now that we’ve officially tipped the scale toward the last half of the first month of 2015, it’s time to address one disappointing reality. Traffic is getting a little lighter at the gyms and some people have already started throwing in the towel on their health and fitness resolutions. For anyone out there who’s wavering, it’s time to re-focus and get back in the game!
I often write about the fact that you aren’t alone in your health and fitness journey. Hopefully the video below offers another reminder that there are simple steps you can take to embrace a healthy lifestyle. The good news is there are tools out there that can help you!
Before you jump in, let me say thank you to LG, Culturelle and Flight Song Wines for the opportunity to spread the word about how to keep those resolutions alive all year long. Sometimes a helping hand is all we need to continue on our journey to have fun, be fit and feel fabulous!
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