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(You can also read this article on the Courior and Press Website- http://www.courierpress.com/news/2008/apr/21/let-summer-clothes-serve-as-incentive/) 

It’s that wonderful time of year when we all sit back with a smile at the return of green grass, flowering trees and birds chirping and we seem to have a little more “oomph” in our step. That is, until we start to see the swimsuits, shorts and summer clothing popping up in the stores.

For many, the thought of standing in a bathing suit in front of a full-length mirror sends shivers down the spine.

I always think of springtime as a wake-up call for the healthy mind-set. Like many warm-blooded mammals, you’ve taken comfort behind your big warm sweaters and jackets for the last several months. What you didn’t think about was that by indulging in your favorite cold weather comfort foods, you have stored up some warm layers of your own. Now when you peel away those sweaters — Bam! — you’re waking up on the floor in the dressing room, having fainted at the sight of yourself in a swimsuit.

Good news: It’s early spring and we have a good month before we drag out the swimsuits and tank tops. If you start today — make a plan and stick to it — you can make significant progress by shedding a few pounds, improving your health and feeling a whole lot better as we enter the summer months.

Unfortunately, most of you think that to achieve this, a diet is in your future. Nonsense! I’m going to step on some toes here and say this with my head held high: Dieting is for lazy people who mean well but don’t want to make the effort to learn how to change their unhealthy behaviors.

Until we lose the quick-fix mentality, we will always yo-yo with our weight and have to “diet” every spring for the rest of our lives.

I could list about 100 things you could do to change your lifestyle, eat healthier and burn more calories. What I ask you to do right now is to make this the last spring that you have to be fearful of the smaller-clothing-coverage months ahead.

Do your healthy living homework, educate yourself on what healthy eating really means, and seek out a form of exercise that you enjoy instead of dieting a few pounds away only to gain them back (and then some) next winter.

You have the power to decide, and you have access to a wealth of knowledge via the Internet, magazines, books and local wellness professionals. You have the power to change your mind-set and lifestyle any time you want to. Now all you need to do is take action.

By summer you might just be admiring a healthier, happier and slimmer you in that mirror — one who plans on sticking around for good this time.

If you need help learning what food are healthy and how to make them teasty enough for your whole family to eat then check out… www.grocerytour.com

 Best of Health,

 Darlene

Note: article from Evansville Courier and Press 3/10/08

I get many e-mails from frustrated readers asking how on earth they are supposed to fit exercise into their already busy lives. Many explain that gym memberships are not in their budget. Some say they just don’t have the time to dedicate to regular exercise because of work hours or other “more important” life commitments. Others say they can’t find a form of exercise they like or are physically capable of doing regularly, although I’m not sure I buy either of those.

I could tell them to think of solutions — get up earlier, walk at lunch or stop watching so much TV so they can find the time. But most people already know this, yet still can’t seem to get motivated to get up and move more often.

So instead, how about I give you a whole list of fun, new and super-healthy activities that you can do right here in the Tri-State? Now, keep in mind that you need to make a deficit of only 500 calories a day to lose 1 pound each week. So adding a couple of these to your weekly agenda could help you shed some pounds and create new healthy habits at the same time:

Saturday — Run of Luck 7K Run/Walk and Wee Folks Dash. Of all the race events in the Tri-State each year, this one is by far the most family-friendly — and it’s darn fun to boot. Dress up in your best St. Patrick’s Day attire and walk, jog or run your way to better health while supporting the Easter Seals Rehabilitation Center. After the event enjoy all the activities: crafts, Celtic music, a silent auction, food, drinks and the chance to win some awesome prizes.

Pick up a registration form at most local gyms or go to www.runofluck7k.com for all the details.

March 29 — Guided hike at Garden of the Gods. Put your hiking shoes on and join Top Spot Outdoors on a guided hike in Southern Illinois. And believe me, you’ll be having so much fun that you won’t even know you’re burning more than 443 calories per hour. Now, that’s my kind of exercise.

For more information on guided hiking excursions offered by Top Spot, call 476-8677 or go to www.topspotoutdoors.com.

April through November — Canoe Evansville’s Guided Tour of Pigeon Creek. Canoeing burns 258 calories per hour. And the best part is that it’s something that young and old, fit and “working on it” can do, plus it’s very affordable — only $15 for a three-hour quick-start class. Go to www.wesselmannaturesociety.org for class details and more information.

April 19 — Enjoy a beautiful walk (or run) around the Evansville State Hospital grounds to benefit the American Cancer Society. This two-mile run and relay or one-mile walk is sponsored by Colon Screening for Life and is perfect for individuals of any ability and fitness level. They even have a free kids’ dash. This is a great race for beginners, so set a goal to walk a little each day and you’ll be ready for this one in no time.

For more information, go to www.colonscreeningforlife.com.

Ideas for any time:

- Shake your booty and burn more than 332 calories per hour with the Evansville Swing Bop Club at The Icon. Those 21 and older can learn swing dancing for only $2 on specially scheduled evenings. Go to www.dancecrafters.com for more information on all the ballroom dance classes.

- Play catch with your kids and burn 185 calories per hour.

- Get your hands dirty and do yardwork. You’ll burn more than 369 calories per hour.

(All calorie calculations are for a 155-pound person for 60 minutes. To calculate your own calories burned for each activity, go to www.self.com/fitness/activity/calculators.)

Stop thinking that you must force yourself to endure long hours performing torturous exercises that you hate to do. Remember, you’re in this healthy living thing for the long haul, so cut this list out and place it on your fridge as a reminder.

Before you know it, you’ll flip that healthy lifestyle switch and get moving (and burning) your way to a fitter and happier new you.

NOTE: This is from my bi-wekly article in the Evansville Courier and Press BUT Anyone…Anywhere can use this info. Americans in general are in BIG trouble and need a wake up call! Enjoy… 

I have lived in many wonderful cities — Dallas, Santa Monica, Hollywood — but there’s something about good ol’ Evansville you just can’t replace. I have wracked my brain trying to pinpoint what makes my corn-fed friends so much friendlier and why I choose to live here compared with the excitement I used to experience in the bigger cities.

In the end, I always come back to the people. Evansville to me is family. People here are focused on family, friendships and living a “good life” away from the crazy life that the larger cities bring. However, there is something we miss that could impede that quest for a good life.

We are so busy working hard for our families, running here and there trying to raise well-rounded kids, worrying about new stadiums and parks that we are losing sight of the one thing that allows us to enjoy it all — our health.

Indiana has an adult obesity rate of 26.8 percent, ranking it the ninth heaviest in the nation, according to a 2004-2006 study by the Trust for America’s Health. Even scarier is that our childhood obesity rates aren’t much better. Can you say, “Monkey see, monkey do”?

My Evansville-area friends, you simply must give yourself a reality check and ask some hard questions:

-Are you at a healthy weight?

-Are your blood pressure and cholesterol rates within the normal ranges?

-Are you raising your children to make healthy choices? Do they even know what healthy choices are?

If you answered “no” to any of these, you need to take a long hard look at what your future, and your family’s future, will look like if you don’t make some changes.

I don’t say this to scare you, but maybe that’s what you need. It’s what I call “a big fat kick in the pants to healthier choices.” We have this mentality of “oh, it’s only one Big Mac” or “it’s just a Pop-Tart — they are kids, you know.”

Come on — take a look around next time you’re at the mall. I think you’ll realize that those Big Macs and Pop-Tarts are adding up.

We are getting too comfortable in our laid-back Midwestern lifestyle. If we don’t do something, we will continue to climb that national obesity scale, and, folks, Hoosiers are better than that. We are not lazy people, but the numbers are indicating something a little different.

Let’s make some healthy changes together and help Indiana slide down the obesity scale. How? It all starts with choices.

You must choose to change. To help you here are a few great resources:

-I challenge you to go to www.in.gov/inshape/ and take a look at Gov. Mitch Daniels’ In Shape Indiana program. This is a top-notch free resource. Learn how to quit smoking, eat healthy and exercise, regardless of whether you are 8 or 80 years old. There’s also a way for you to e-mail questions to the site’s nutritionists and personal trainers.

-At www.sparkpeople.com you will find healthy living information as well as a support community. You can sign up for daily e-mails and join online support groups in the Evansville area.

-Need healthy recipe information? Look up www.foodfit.com for meal ideas.

-If you still have questions, come by my Web site, www.lifechanginghealthysolutions.com, and submit your questions. I would be honored to help my fellow Hoosiers and to see that No. 9 obesity ranking plummet.

I have to admit I can be an “uncool” parent at times, at least in my 8-year-old son’s eyes. You see, we have always been an anti-video game family. When all the neighborhood kids were getting their PlayStations and Game Cubes, I was buying our son a baseball glove, tennis racket and Rollerblades.

Instead of spending $50 on the latest game for these zombie-creating machines, I was spending that cash on swim and drum lessons. I just couldn’t see encouraging my child to sit and not move for hours on end.

All of this changed on Christmas. We purchased our first family video game. Hold on a second — don’t get smug thinking I’ve given in to one of society’s unhealthy habits. Let me tell you what kind of video game. We purchased a Wii (pronounced “we”).

Heard of it? If you haven’t, it could be the one thing that gets your kiddos (and you, too) movin’ like never before.

The Nintendo Wii is the video game I have been longing for. No more kids parked in front of TVs for hours on end. With the Wii you have to stand, move, punch, jump and do all sorts of goofy moves in order to beat your opponents.

Can I just tell you how sore I was the day after playing boxing and tennis for the first time? All from a video game!

The Wii is an interactive video game that could be a key player in fighting our nation’s childhood obesity epidemic. Of course, it’s no substitute for good old exercise, but I have to admit that the Wii games are a pretty fun way for adults and children to burn a few extra calories.

The New York Times reports that in a recent British study of six boys and five girls ages 13 to 15, all team athletes who played video games at least two hours a week benefited greatly when moving from a stationary game such as Xbox to the more active Wii.

The study used monitoring devices that measured the children’s energy expenditure at rest and as they did 15-minute sessions with “Project Gotham Racing 3,” a sedentary Xbox game, and the active Wii versions of bowling, tennis and boxing.

At rest, the children burned an average of about 72 calories per hour. Playing the Xbox game increased the average to 107. Wii tennis consumed 179 calories per hour, and Wii boxing 174 — both significant increases over the sedentary Xbox game. But keep in mind that an actual game of doubles tennis in the real world burns about 318 calories per hour, and punching a boxing bag burns 382.

These new virtual exercise machines could be a solution for parents and schools concerned about the inactivity and rising weight of their children and teens. An added benefit: Our family discovered that playing and laughing together was something we just weren’t doing enough of.

I never thought I would be encouraging my friends, family and clients to go out and get a video game, but in this case it could be a way to get a sedentary child moving and to insert a bit of healthy family fun time into our busy lives.

In my book there is no substitute for real exercise and sports, since both improve health and encourage social interaction. But you may consider getting rid of most of your PlayStation and Xbox games, and get yourself a Wii. The technology is only going to get better, and as the companies catch on to the parents’ desire for more interactive games, I think these babies are going to get healthier and healthier. Just you wait and see. Wii love it!

I often preach about how as parents we need to put our foot down more when it comes to what our children are eating and drinking. I feel that most parents and grandparents (you guys are particularly bad about giving the kids too much junk) are in the dark when it comes to knowing just how much caffeine, sugar and chemicals that their children take in on a daily basis. Many just let the kids grab what they want, when they want then act all surprised when they end up with an overweight child, a child with health issues or severe cavities.Let me prove my point to you…

Take 9 year old Eddy (name changed so that my friends and family won’t ditch me for talking about them-LOL). Eddy is my son’s friend that comes over from time to time. He has some serious “hyper-tendencies” and I believe takes medication daily to control his “condition” (I can go on about that one also but another day).

Given, we are a healthy household and I don’t keep the typical kid junk foods around but would you believe this kids mother sent him over with a bag full of junk food because she “just knew he wouldn’t eat my food”. You may think I’m exaggerating but his bag contained, fruit gummies, cheese crackers, a candy bar, Pop-Tart sticks and a Mt. Dew.

Talk about keeping a kid held back and never trying anything new. Because I find how parents feed their children incredibly interesting, I began to ask “Eddy” what kind of foods he eats and likes. First of all he explained he hates water and milk and refuses to drink anything but soda and Kool-aid Jammers. He also never eats a single vegetable (which he said with a very proud smile) and will only eat hot dogs and chicken nuggets. He said he hates eating breakfast and if he eats anything it’s a donut or Pop-Tart. And might I add I always see this kid with candy in hand.

I asked him what his favorite fruit was….long pause…(his brain a workin’ hard here)…he finally said to me “what’s a fruit again?” Now I’m sure he knew what fruit was but he couldn’t think of a single one that he liked to eat. NOT ONE! (He said his mom doesn;t keep fruit around). I went through the list banana…nope, too mushy….apple…nope, don’t like the skin…orange, “yuck”…COME ON! I couldn’t believe it!

Later I very cautiously spoke with his mother and she explained that she tries to get him to eat better but he won’t try anything. I explained she really gives him no reason to because she will turn around and give him the other stuff the second he won’t eat the healthy stuff. Plus, she and her husband make no attempts to eat all that healthy so why should “Eddy”. Just doesn’t work that way.

1) You must make the decision as a family to eat and live healthier. Get rid of some (yes, I said some…it is a process ya know) of the unhealthy things, limit how much unhealthy/junk food you and your family eat or just stop buying it all together (my preference).  

2) Put some effort into finding healthier recipes you all like, snacks that are tasty but not full of crud and sugar and just make this whole healthy thing a new adventure instead of a punishment or chore. You didn’t learn to walk overnight and learning to shop, cook and eat healthy doesn’y happen overnight either.

Solutions are there…you first need to be willing to make the changes as a parent…then your kids are more likely to accept and follow. If you aren’t doing the deal then why should they? Also, get the kids involved in cooking and preparing healthier foods. They will be more likely to eat the food they cook then be forced to eat something YOU say is “good” for them. I do this often when I want my kids to try a new recipe or food.

Just Remember, YOU ARE THE PARENT! YOU CALL THE SHOTS! PERIOD!

Look, I know that you can’t be there all the time and kids will trade their carrots for a ding-dong any day BUT you can show them how to make better choices and grow their taste buds for healthier foods simply by walking the walk at home and providing tasty alternatives to the usual chips, soda and sweets. Yes, you will have to do some work and start showing them by WALKING the WALK YOURSELF but aren’t your kiddo worth it?

I often get a lot of flack from moms when I say “buy the healthy stuff and don’t have the other junk around” (except as an occasional treat). I feel that when they get hungry enough they will at least try your Whole Wheat Spaghetti and Pita Pizza, English Melts, Hi-Protein Pancakes or Sunrise Shake (all of which you can learn about in my Healthy Grocery Store Tour Kit). They aren’t going to starve, I promise you. If you are consistently encouraging them to make better choices AND explaining why the other junk is bad for them they will take you up on SOME (I’m not that unrealistic) of the new healthier options you are making available to them. 

My point is very simple today, take a good hard look at whether or not you are really giving your kids opportunities to be healthy or if YOU are the reason they are making the poor choices in the first place. I know that’s kind of a crappy thing to say but they don’t buy the groceries…you do. What you expose and teach them when they are little will set the stage for the rest of their lives.Hang in there parents and grandparents! There is a wealth of info out there to help you. Keep your eyes peeled for healthy foods and recipes. Always be willing to try new stuff and the little guys will see that and catch on, it may take a bit, but they will eventually come around.

Raising healthy kiddos is hard these days but IT IS POSSIBLE, with effort and consistency!Check out my main page and you will see many resources I have available for you. Recipes, exercises, articles, my newsletter and Healthy Grocery Store Tour DVD. Feel free to post your feeling and thought below (good or bad). We can all learn from each other. Take care and raise those kiddos healthy…there’s no telling what they will achieve!

Darlene

This has been a tough week in the Nicholson household. Not only have Barry (my husband, marketing director, business partner and best friend) and I been bombarded with work launching my cool new healthy living quiz (www-dietplans.info) and free telewebinar: “The Unadulterated Truth About Losing Weight and Keeping It Off For Good: What Thin, Healthy People Know About Dieting That Yo-Yo Dieters Will Never Know” (take the quiz and you can set in on the webinar for free).

Ialso have 3 article deadlines for Friday, my son gets out of school early today and tomorrow, a parent teacher conference today, Spencer has drum lessons, an exercise class to teach tonight…Oh, and we have also had a sick kiddo in the house to boot. A 4 year old sick kiddo! Yikes!

Everything in me wants to throw cooking dinner and exercising down the drain BUT I know that’s not going to do anyone, any good if I do that, especially me. I get grumpy, feel sluggish, I beat my self up and I get much less done when I stop taking care of me. When I keep on track I get more accomplished with my work and writing, I’m a much less stressed out mom and it keeps my immune system up to fight off the crud going around the house.

Why am I telling you all this? BECAUSE LIFE’S CRAP HAPPENS…deal with it! This time of year, Halloween through New Years, we are just looking for reasons to skip workouts and pick up fast food for dinner. Don’t do it! Stay strong and get rid of that darn “stink’in think’in” that keeps you from finding solutions to life’s challenges. This “life crap” and time issue is the number one problem I see when clients struggle with living that healthy lifestyle I preach about so often. You need to find SOLUTIONS!

I had to get my booty into the gym at 5:30am this morning, I had to get yesterday’s workout in late in the evening and tomorrow it’s going to be a late afternoon jog. Dinner yesterday was a slow cooked crock pot meak that I put in early in the morning because I knew i wouldn’t have time when I got home and today it may have to be a rotisserie chicken I pick up from the store (breast only) and a salad. Planning and focus….that’s the key(s) to surviving the crazy weeks and the busy holiday season.

Don’t throw in the towel and give up when things get crazy…take action and stay focused on your goals. You’ll never reach them if you let everyday set backs get the best of you. If you need a bit more help, info and inspiration be sure to check out my site. www.lifechanginghealthysolutions.com.

I’m here for ya friend!

Best of Health,

Darlene

 The sound of rustling leaves, a brisk cool breeze…its fall yall! I absolutely love this time of year because the heat of summer is behind us (finally) and the outdoors just seem to come alive with color and opportunities for…drum roll please….fitness!

  Many times we think of exercise as something we must do indoors, in a gym or on an exercise machine of some sort. It’s like some unwritten rule somewhere that this whole be healthy, exercise thing needs to be a miserable experience and something you must do rather than something you enjoy doing. You know what I have to say to that? Baloney!

  October and November are the perfect months for taking your exercise outdoors because it’s no longer miserably hot, the leaves are changing colors and there’s just freshness in the air like no other time of the year. Let me tell you, some of my most productive days are those where I have walked outside before jumping into my workday. You think clearer, your attitude is better and you just have a better outlook because you know you have done something really great for yourself.

  So, here are several ideas that will help you take your exercise outdoors. Heck, most of these will be so much fun that I doubt you will even think of them as exercise at all! Oh, and get the whole family involved. If you have kiddos that are a little too into video games and TV then these are perfect for getting them off the couch and disguising exercise with something fun. As I always say, “a family that plays together stays together”.

1)      Mesker Park Zoo- a few hours of walking up and down all those hills is a great way to burn some major calories, not to mention, tone your tush. Bob’s Gym even offers a group walking class at the Zoo every Wednesday at 9am.

2)      Take a Saturday and head out to Land Between the Lakes- just 2 hours south into Kentucky and you’ll experience one of the most beautiful and fun afternoons you could ask for. They offer endless hiking trails, canoeing, horseback riding and mountain biking trails. Throw the family and your bikes into the van and head off for a day full of fun family fitness. For more information and directs check out ww.lbl.org.

3)      Take your walks outside to Wesselman Park or The State Hospital grounds. Don’t walk the same route everyday! You need to keep your body on its toes and mix it up with new scenery and terrain.

4)      Take advantage of the many local walks and running events. Don’t worry - you don’t need to be a major athlete to take advantage of these fun-filled healthy events. Registration fees are usually around $15 and are usually collected to raise money for area charities and organizations. There are often health-related vendors, food, games and activities for the whole family. Check out The Greater Evansville Runners/Walkers Club at www.gerwc.com/ for upcoming events.

5)      Make it a new habit to walk or bike outside a few times a week. Even if you are limited on time, take just 15 minutes to breathe in the cool air and the beautiful scenery. I guarantee you it will put you in a better mood and help you get fit and trim at the same time!

Sometimes we make all this being healthy and weight loss stuff much harder than it really is. We over-think it. Counting points, steps, carbs, protein and whatever else we can come up with.

I have a friend that says when you need to really think something through…”just break it down to the ridiculous”.

So, today let’s just start with the most basic concept. 

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Calories in….Calories Out
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I want you to do this for one reason, and one reason only. AWARENESS!

Most of you have no idea how many calories you take in, how many you burn off or how any you are supposed to have.

Calories give energy. The average woman burns about 2,000 calories per day, a man about 2,500. Now this is a basic count and is not for weight loss. Most people can lose weight if they keep their calories around 1500 per day BUT your best bet would be to have a doctor, dietician or nutritionist calculate what your caloric intake should be for weight loss. They would need to take into consideration your weight, height, medications, activity level and overall health.

You can calculate this for yourself if you go to my website www.lifechanginghealthysolutions.com and check out this article on Calculating Your Caloric Needs:

How Many Calories Do I Need To Lose Weight?
Now this number is to maintain your current weight. Obviously, in order to lose you need to take in fewer calories and/or burn off more calories.

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BURN, BABY, BURN
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Many people ask me how I find time to stay in such good shape, when I’m a busy business owner, speaker, writer, mom and instructor and whatever else I think of each week.

Well, yes, I do eat very healthfully. And I exercise around 5 days a week. But one of the things I think I do better than most is staying active all the time. Even though I write at a desk most days, I get up a lot. My office is downstairs and I am constantly walking up and down, all day long. I rarely sit and watch TV (except on Thursdays…Survivor Night!..love that show!) and when I do sit it’s not for long. Even on our TV night I stand and fold clothes while I watch.

I park at the back of parking lots, take the stairs and walk at a bit faster pace than most…just ask my kids they are always telling me I’m going too fast.

My point is I move - and so should you. Find ways to get moving more often and you will burn more doing everyday stuff. If you sit in front of the TV or sit and read all the time, you are not only going to miss out on lots of calories that could be burned off, but it slows your metabolism down too. So tape your show, get an audio recording of your book and get moving, will ya?

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A LITTLE PERSPECTIVE
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Calories IN

• 12 oz. cola- 150 calories
• 1 cup ice cream- 540 calories
• Pint of beer- 148 calories
• 1 glass sweet wine- 226 calories
• Premium Grilled Chicken Sandwich from McDonalds- 420 calories
• 2- 1oz slices of cheddar cheese – 226 calories
• 2 oz potato chips- approx. 300 calories
• 3 oz steak- 230 calories….5oz – 470
• 1 Bacon, Egg and Cheese Biscuit (McD’s) – 450 calories

Calories OUT (keep in mind this is non-stop for one hour calorie counts)

• Sexual intimacy 108 per hour (could be more or less…sort of depends?)

• Cleaning house, doing laundry, scrubbing tubs, going up and down stairs, cleaning refrigerator, picking up clothes (doing a lot of squatting down, bending over and picking up)  130 cal/hour

• Weeding a garden (stooping and bending), bagging up discarded weeds, pushing mower, carrying away bags of weeds and grass, breaking a sweat- 230 cal/hour

• Yoga, breaking a sweat – 230 cal/ hour (more for intense power or “hot” yoga)

• Light exercise, walking 2 1/2 miles per hour, sweating somewhat – 250 cal/hour

• Circuit Weight Training- moderate weights (8-12 reps so that the last few are difficult), moving quickly to each stations, 30 seconds rest between- 540 per hour

• Exercising using an Elliptical or Rowing Machine (staying in your target heart rate for 20-30 minutes)-  850 calories/ hour

So you can see how this can add up…in your favor or against you? The key is being aware. Knowing how much you are taking in and burning off. Keeping a food and activity log will help keep you “in the know” and on track.

Oh, and if you want to burn an extra 90 calories go grocery shopping! But before you do, check out my Healthy Grocery Store program…it will ensure you not only burn off some calories but learn how to control the one’s coming in!

www.healthygrocerystoretour.com

Best of Health,

Darlene

P.S. Quick ways to save yourself some calories…drink more water instead of cola, juices or other high calorie drinks. Skip the ice cream and try a little low-fat frozen yogurt, skip the beef and try more lean chicken and fish.

You can do it! And I’m always here to help! Check out my site for lots of great tools and tips.

It happens to all of us…You are doing well, exercising and eating healthier then BAM…you stop losing weight. A few days go by and that scale isn’t budging…few more days nothing! Then, in some cases, you see the scale creep back up! WHATTHEHECK!

This must be one of the most frustrating things for people who are trying to lose. You feel you’re doing all the work but not seeing the results anymore.

If I had a dollar for every time a client said “Something isn’t right… I haven’t lost a single pound today. This exercise and diet thing doesn’t work”. Everyone wants results overnight. Did you gain that extra 20, 30 or 60 pounds in a couple of weeks? Well, why do you expect to lose it that quickly?

Geeeze, if it were only that easy.

Plateaus are when you are eating well, exercising regularly…basically doing all the stuff you are supposed to do and you stop losing. It’s like you hit a weight loss wall. What do you do? How do you get your body to kick start into weight loss mode again?

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NASA We Have A Problem
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The good news is that you can fix this stubborn scale issue. The bad news is you’re gonna have to step up your game!

There are basically 3 things you need to do:

1) Get REAL. You need to take a real and honest look at what you are eating and what you are doing. FOOD LOG! If you have truly been doing a good job controlling calories, controlling fat as well as exercising, as you should, then your food log will show it.
If you have been fudging here and there it will show that too. When you see it in writing you’ll get a whole new perspective…I promise.

If you haven’t strayed and you think your log looks as good (you may need to have a professional look to make sure) then it may be time to cut back some calories or up (or change) your exercise routine. As the body progresses, its needs change and you need to move your plan forward also.

If all you have ever done for exercise is walk, it may be time to mix it up with swimming, biking, exercise classes or just add faster sprints or intervals to your walk to make it a bit harder. Same thing with your diet. Mix it up, try new foods or cut back on processed stuff or things that have “snuck” into your eating plan..

2) Real Labels. Food logging will also help you determine if the foods you are eating are really healthy for you because it forces you to look at the labels. Sometimes foods that say they are low in fat, low in carbs aren’t necessarily low in calories. So, food logging doesn’t mean just writing down the name of what you are eating. It also means adding up the days total calories, fat, fiber, protein and carbs.

I give the recommended amounts that you should have of each of these in my Healthy Grocery Store Tour Manual. Check it out at www.healthygrocerystoretour.com.

3) Ignore the people who are trying to convince you that your plateau means your plan isn’t working and your efforts are in vain. Many people hit plateaus early, especially when they’re first starting a weight loss plan (or lifestyle change as I like to say). Don’t let people say that all you have lost is water weight and that what you’re doing isn’t working.

That’s bunk.

Yes, it is common for some to lose several pounds right off the bat and then stop losing. If you are one of these types of “losers” keep at it, keep eating clean and keep exercising. It may take a little time, but your body needs to see that consistency in what you are doing. Yes, you may have lost the initial several pounds from a bit of water shed if you lowered your sodium and processed foods, BUT keep it up so you can see more loss.

3) Make sure you are eating enough! I know that sounds strange but many people can’t get away from the “diet mentality” of deprivation eating. If you take in too little calories your body goes into defense mode and stores extra fat in order to protect itself. You need adequate calories (and good healthy fats) in order to lose weight. Know what number is right for you to lose.

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No One Ever Gets Anywhere
By Quitting…Stay Strong
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Plateaus are inevitable! They happen to all of us. It just means that you need to stand firm on what you know is right and then take the steps to up your game in order to start seeing some results.

Healthy eating is key. Exercise is equally important. And motivation is the glue that holds the whole darn thing together.

Well, I have come out with a system that covers all those bases. It’s NOT a diet! It’s a tool to help you achieve better health, weight loss success and a healthier overall lifestyle. My Healthy Grocery Store Tour has it all.

You get the specifics on what to eat, what to say away from, and most importantly how to cook it so it tastes good.

You also get a 4 Week Quick Start Exercise Plan that will show you what types of exercise to do and how often to do it. It’s great for the beginner or those already exercising because it starts you off slow but also gives more advanced modification.

And to keep you focused and motivated, I give you 2 months of my get Life-Changing Healthy Solutions Newsletter. It comes to your mailbox every month with a great audio CD and is packed full of information and motivating tips and topics.

Get all the details of this limited time Special Offer at www.healthygrocerystoretour.com.

Don’t get flustered when you hit a plateau…instead, arm yourself with the take-action knowledge and techniques I provide in my Healthy Grocery Store Tour Special Offer.

Best of Health,

Darlene

P.S. Oh, one other thing about Plateaus. Don’t judge everything off the scale weight. Sometimes we worship that scale a little too much and it messes with us mentally. Many times you will stop losing scale weight but you are still losing inches all over your body. So, measure as well as weigh!