Staying on track with your weight loss goals can be difficult at times, but it’s not impossible. Here are ten ways to help you stay motivated and stay on track with your weight loss goals!

Plan Meals

This will help you to stay within your calorie budget each day. Make sure to be prepared and have healthy snacks and meals ready at all times. A good example of this is keeping freshly cut fruit and veggies in the fridge.

Accountability

You will be surprised at how much this can help you.  Build a support system of people who have similar goals and are working towards the same thing. If you surround yourself with people who are also trying to stay on track, you will be less likely to make poor eating choices or skip a workout.

Record Progress

Regularly weighing yourself, tracking your calories, recording your workouts, and taking measurements can help you stay on track. It will also show where you are, how far you’ve come, and how close you are to your goal.

Know Yourself

If you know you can’t resist brownies or you can’t wake up for an early morning workout at the gym, work those things into your plan.  Budget in the brownie and schedule the gym later in the day.  It’s not worth it to lose your control with food or to pass up a workout.

Eat More

It’s amazing what this can do!  If you do not take in enough calories, it doesn’t matter how many miles you run or minutes you spend on the elliptical – you will not lose weight (fat)! If you do see numbers on the scale eventually fall, it could be muscle or bone mass. Your body needs healthy calories to function, so make sure you’re eating enough every day.  This will prevent you from setting yourself up for a binge.

Staying motivated

Sometimes it’s difficult to maintain the excitement you felt when you first made your goals.  When the going gets tough, remember why you set those goals in the first place.  Remember what you are trying to accomplish and remind yourself that what you do today will pay off in six months!

Reward

Okay, I never reward myself with food since I don’t want to look at unhealthy treats as a reward to myself.  It’s easy to get excited when you reward yourself from time to time for all the hard work you’re doing.  Here are a few ideas you can treat yourself to: buy some new workout gear, get a massage, or maybe buy a new book you have wanted.

Exhaust Every Avenue

Don’t ever give up. If you find yourself slipping into a slump, try everything you can to stay on track. Make sure to commit to a minimum amount of exercise each week.  Here are a few ideas that can help you reach your fitness goals:

• Hire a personal trainer

• Find a workout partner

• Try something new like a spin class or particular sport

Lose the Excuses

Think positive thoughts and hold on to what inspires you rather than make excuses for yourself to skip the gym or eat unhealthy. Every day is going to be different; and what motivated you yesterday may not work today.  You may want to try on those pants you’ve been dying to fit into.  Always keep yourself motivated.

Have Consequences

There are consequences to everything in life.  If you skip workouts or practice poor eating habits, you won’t reach your goals.  That’s the hard truth.  Never miss out on what you REALLY want for what you want right now (extra sleep or that greasy cheeseburger, for example).  If you miss a workout or eat unhealthy, there should be a consequence that will hold you accountable.

Keep updated on the latest & greatest health articles by joining the Skinny Twinkie community!

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Calculating Heart Rate Zones

If you want to reach your goals in the gym, you first need to know what your maximum heart rate is.

Maximum Heart Rate

220 – age = Maximum Heart Rate

For example, if you are 30 years old:

220 – 30 = 190

Now that you know what your maximum heart rate is, you can determine what your heart rate zones are.

Heart Rate Zones

Zone One: 65% – 75% of Maximum Heart Rate

Zone Two: 80% – 85% of Maximum Heart Rate

Zone Three: 86% – 90% of Maximum Heart Rate

For example, if you are 30 years old:

Zone One: Heart Rate of 123.5 – 142.5

Zone Two: Heart Rate of 152 – 161.5

Zone Three: Heart Rate of 163.4 – 171

Advantages Of Each Heart Rate Zone

Zone One

• This is a great zone for your warm up and cool down during the exercise.

• If you are new to working out, this is a great zone to stay in during your entire cardio workout.

• This zone will help improve the blood’s ability to deliver oxygen throughout the body and remove waste which increases blood volume and allows the heart to become stronger.

• This is an Aerobic workout, which uses your muscle glycogen and fatty acids as an energy source.

• An example workout would be walking or even jogging.

Zone Two

• This zone is near the anaerobic threshold, which is when the body is at a point where it can no longer produce enough energy for the muscles with normal oxygen intake. As a result, higher levels of lactic acid is produced. Increase your anaerobic threshold should be one of your cardio goals.

• Exercising at an aerobic level, such as being in Zone Two, will result in more calories being burned with a higher percentage of those calories coming from fat. This is an effective zone for those who want to decrease body fat.

• This is the Aerobic/Anaerobic workout, which uses your muscle glycogen and lactic acid as an energy source.

• An example workout would be jogging, group (cardio) exercise classes.

Zone Three

• This is a high intensity workout that can’t be kept up for a long period of time. You should only stay in this intense zone for 60 seconds or less.

• Once you have worked your way up to this zone, you should only go into this zone about once a week – that’s it! If you go into this zone too much, you will overwork your heart and have less efficient workouts.

• Zone Three should only be used in conjunction with Zones One and Two.

• The benefit of Zone Three is to prevent  plateaus and to continue improving your overall fitness level and boost your metabolism.

• Increases the amount of oxygen burned after the workout, also increasing the number of calories burned after the workout.

• This is an Anaerobic workout, which uses ATP/CP and muscle glycogen as an energy source.

• An example workout would be a fast run or sprinting.

Interval Training

Knowing how to use your heart rate zones to your advantage will help increase the effectiveness of your workouts.

Before you start any exercise program – especially Interval Training – I suggest that you get the approval from your Doctor to make sure your heart can handle the intensity involved in this kind of workout.

Beginners

Zone One: 20-40 minutes (entire workout)

• If you haven’t been exercising consistently, it’s important that you start here. You will still get a good workout in, without causing more harm than good. You need to develop a strong cardio base before you move on to other heart rate zones.

Intermediate

Zone One: 5 minutes (warm up)

Zone Two: 1 minute

Zone One: 5 minutes

Zone Two: 1 minute

Zone One: 5 minutes

Zone Two: 1 minute

Zone One: 5 minutes (cool down)

• You may only end up being in Zone Two for about 15 or 30 seconds, rather than the entire minute. That’s OK and is expected. Once the minute is up, it’s time to go back into Zone One for 5 minutes. If you never reached Zone Two during that minute, your heart may not be ready for Zone Two.

Advanced

Zone One: 10 minutes

Zone Two: 2  minutes

Zone Three: 1 minute

Zone Two: 1 minute

Zone One: 10 minutes

• This Zone should not be used by beginning or intermediate clients, otherwise it could result in a critical health-related injury.

I suggest buying a Heart Rate Monitor that can easily provide you with your heart rate throughout your workout so you can adjust your pace accordingly. You can manage your heart rate while walking, jogging, running, biking, or even on an elliptical machine or group exercise class. Just monitor your heart rate regularly and know which zone you should stay in.

Keep updated on the latest & greatest health articles by joining the Skinny Twinkie community!

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“It’s all about self-motivation because at the end of the day, you can have all the trainers and all the money in the world, but if you don’t have that mindset, it’s not possible.” – Jennifer Hudson on Oprah

Jennifer Hudson’s Diet

For Jennifer Hudson, it all started with Weight Watchers, which is basically a support group for those who want to calorie count their way into their skinny jeans.

The great thing about Weight Watchers is that you don’t have to buy a specific brand of food to participate in their program (such as the Special K diet or Slim•Fast), though, they do sell their own Weight Watchers products in the grocery stores. Another positive thing about Weight Watchers is that the program doesn’t completely eliminate an entire food group, such as all carbohydrates or all fruit. Other diets are just not as practical.

A couple of concerns about the Weight Watchers program is that dieters are allowed to eat as much fruit as they want. This may sounds like a wonderful thing, but all foods, including fruit, have their limitations. For those who truly want to lose weight, and unlimited amount of sugar is not ideal, even if the sugar is coming from a healthy source such as a piece of fruit.

Weight Watchers is a glorified calorie counting program that costs you money every month. You don’t need to pay a company to find out how many calories you should be eating. It’s common enough that it’s found free throughout the internet. For a free support group, let your family and friends know about your healthy weight loss goals and have them help support you with your efforts. Again, I just don’t think you need to pay for that.

If Jennifer Hudson found success with Weight Watchers, why not you? Something to consider. She was approached by this company and was offered millions of dollars to endorse their product. Trust me, I am sure that would motivate anyone to lose the extra pounds that they wanted to lose anyways.

Jennifer Hudson’s Exercise Routine

In addition to Weight Watchers diet plan, Jennifer Hudson hired a Celebrity Personal Trainer, Harley Pasternak, to help her start an exercise program that would work for her.

Harley started Jennifer with a 25 minute circuit training routine that included cardio, shoulder presses, lunges, sit ups, and ab exercises for five days a week. As Jennifer progressed, she worked her way up to a 50 minute routine. In addition to a traditional style workout with her trainer, Jennifer also gets in at least 25 minutes of cardio every day.

Jennifer tries to keep her cardio workouts fun, so she will enjoy playing some basketball or even jump roping. You don’t have to be in a gym on an exercise machine to burn calories and lose weight!

I am proud of Jennifer Hudson for learning how to eat well and starting an exercise program to help her become healthy. Yeah, she lost weight – but even if you aren’t trying to lose weight, it’s important for your health to eat right and exercise on a regular basis.

Keep updated on the latest & greatest health articles by joining the Skinny Twinkie community!

Image Credits: jenniferhudsonweightlossx.com

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Losing 70 Pounds 

Mariah Carey had a very difficult pregnancy caring twins and gained excess weight from having edema. The first week after Mariah Carey had her twins, she lost 40 pounds in just water weight. After that, she lost 30 pounds of “baby weight” in three months.

How Mariah Carey Lost 70 Pounds

Mariah stuck to 1,500 calories a day (which is very reasonable) and once she was able, she started to workout three times a week.

Mariah didn’t lose her weight completely by herself. Jenny, formerly known as Jenny Craig, approached Mariah Carey to help her lose weight. Mariah Carey ended up as the new Brand Ambassador of the Jenny diet plan.

After three months of sticking to this regime, Mariah Carey was able to lose “at least 30 pounds”. Mariah doesn’t know how much she weighs exactly, since she is focused more on being more healthy. Now, Mariah boasts a flat stomach, toned legs, and easily fits into her size 6 clothes. Not bad for a 42 year old mother of 6 month old twins!

 ”I’m proud of how hard I worked to get my body back…I had to do this for me.” – Mariah Carey

I am not going to specifically endorse the Jenny diet plan, I’ll leave that to Mariah Carey. The reason I wanted to write about Mariah Carey’s weight loss is because (1) I wanted to give everyone an example that age doesn’t matter (as much as people think it does) when it comes to weight loss. Mariah Carey is in her 40′s, and she was able to lose 30 pounds in 3 months. (2) I also wanted to point out that Mariah was able to lose weight, get back into shape, after having twins! A women’s body gains weight and gets stretched out enough with one baby, but can you imagine trying to get back into shape after having twins?

“The whole point of this is not just like, ‘Oh, hey, look at me and my weight loss, I’m fantastic.’ It’s really health, I learned it when I became helpless and felt so vulnerable like never before in my life.” – Mariah Carey

Mariah Carey was able to lose weight without starving herself or living at the gym.  Mariah focused on creating a healthy lifestyle that would work for her.

Do you need to go on the new Jenny diet plan? Not necessarily. If you are able to, I suggest hiring a Certified Personal Trainer and/or a Licensed Nutritionist to help you reach your goals. Otherwise, you can still figure out how many calories you need to eat each day to lose weight, and start an exercise regime. I suggest looking at our archived articles to find out what to eat and how to start an exercise program.

Keep updated on the latest & greatest health articles by joining the Skinny Twinkie community!

Image Credit: PRNewsFoto/Jenny Craig

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Here’s a quick little visual aide to help you understand the power of dish size, and how it will effect the amount you will eat.

Do you see these two bowls? The have the exact same amount of cereal in them.

It’s easy to see how you can add multiple serving sizes of cereal (or whatever else you are eating) in the larger bowl, compared to the smaller bowl, which ultimately leads to eating more than you should.

If you are trying to lose or maintain a healthy goal weight, try to eat using a smaller bowl (or plate!), and the less you are going to eat.

Keep updated on the latest & greatest health articles by joining the Skinny Twinkie community!

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Battle of the Bulge 

Kirstie Alley has been known for the last couple of years for her constant battle with her weight. As Kirstie gained weight, she landed her own reality show called Fat Actress and later became a spokesperson for Jenny Craig.

Kirstie didn’t find the success that she wanted to with Jenny Craig, and rumors flew around saying that Kirstie left Jenny Craig because she gained her weight back, and other rumors said that she left due to creating a competing weight loss program. Fast forward a couple of years, Kirstie finally loses 100 pounds, reaches her goal weight and surprises all of us with a new weight loss product. Who knew weight gain and weight loss could be so profitable?

How Kirstie Alley Lost 100 Pounds

Kirstie Alley lost 60 pounds before her stint on Dancing With The Stars,  and during the show she lost a another 30 pounds! So how did she do it?

“I worked with scientists and different experts in the world of organic. I wanted something…there’s actually science behind chemicals, pesticides, insecticides, fungicides; all of the “-icides”, causing you to gain weight. So, I worked with these scientists and I said ‘this is what’s wrong with me. This is what keeps happening to me, and let’s solve it’ and we did solve it.” -Kirstie Alley on The View talking about her new company called Organic Liason.

Kirstie started a new company called Organic Liason, which she credits to giving her the energy she needed to participate on Dancing With The Stars and helped her with her weight loss. Kirstie’s new company promotes an Organic and healthy lifestyle – no fad diet!

One of the products that Organic Liason created is called “Rescue Me Weight Loss Elixer”, which is a product to help Kirstie rescue herself from temporary diets that didn’t last.

I am not one for weight loss supplements, but I have to admit…an organic, natural, safe, and healthy weight loss product? Hmm… tempting. Yet, not sure you *have* to have her product to lose weight. Yes, it worked for Kirstie, but she had a lot of money on the line, which would motivate just about anybody to lose weight and keep it off (Biggest Loser, anyone?). Either way, I think it’s great that Kirstie has lost 100 pounds and is determined to live a much healthier life and keep the weight off!

Was plastic surgery ever an option for Kirstie? Not even close!

“I haven’t had plastic surgery, but here’s the reason: People do plastic surgery to make you look younger, I don’t think it makes you look younger … it can make you look weird.” – Kirstie Alley talking to E.T. 

I think we would all agree that Kirstie – even at 60 years old – looks fabulous, and she doesn’t need surgery. I personally don’t believe people should feel like it’s necessary, because it is not!

How to Keep the Weight Off

Something to keep in mind to help motivate you: Maintaining weight is a lot easier than losing the weight. Create a healthy lifestyle, make exercise a habit, and eat withing your calorie budget. Once you reach your goal weight, you can eat some additional calories, but don’t go all out – that’s what caused the weight gain in the first place, right? Still…it’s a lot easier to maintain your weight. Weigh yourself regularly and stay on track! Yes, you can do it!

Good luck with your health goals everyone!

Keep updated on the latest & greatest health articles by joining the Skinny Twinkie community!

Image Credit: Kristie Alley Before and After 

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Wait…what just happened?!

Here’s a scenario that I’m betting 90% of you can relate to: You start exercising and eating less, and you jump on the scale and see that you have lost weight! Yay! You get really excited about your progress, so you start exercising even more and eating less than before (so you can lose even more weight the following week, which brings you closer to your goal weight!). You jump on the scale the following week and you didn’t lose a single pound! Wait…what just happened?! You are now confused and depressed that all of your efforts for the past week have been wasted. Sound familiar? It happens to the best of us…

Starvation Mode? Not Good…

Here’s what’s going on in your body: When you eat too little, especially with the amount of exercise you are now doing, your body goes into “starvation mode”, where it holds on to everything, making it so that you can’t lose weight! You have to provide your body with the nutrients and the calories it needs to be able to function properly, and even lose extra fat.

Track it!

I suggest signing up for a calorie tracking program, such as Lose it!, since you can track what you eat and make sure you are eating enough. Lose it!, for example, adjusts the amount of calories you can eat every day based on your weight loss goals and how much you exercise. First you provide information about yourself, determine how much weight you want to lose each week, and it calculates how many calories you should eat each day and a goal date of when you should reach your goal weight. When you enter in exercise, it calculates how much more food you should be eating each day – and still lose the determined amount of weight you specified to lose each week. The more you exercise, the more you eat. Pretty cool, huh? Just make sure you don’t over do it with the exercise. Find a happy balance and stick with it.

(Please note: The writer does not get paid from promoting Lose it!, though it would be really nice if she did get paid! ;) She just uses the Lose it! app herself, and thought it was an awesome program to share with all of you! You can use any program, just make sure it adjusts your calories based on the amount of exercise you do each day.)

Measure, Measure, Measure!

Just like you don’t want to under eat, you don’t want to over do it either. For those who use a form of calorie counting to stay on track, measuring out your food is more important than many realize.  For example, I like to snack on celery and dip it into almond butter as a snack. I used to guess what I thought two tablespoons should be, and used that as my guide for a serving of almond butter. Finally, one day I decided to measure out two tablespoons of almond butter. I remember thinking “that’s it? That’s two tablespoons of almond butter? Oops…!” As you can tell, my two tablespoons was way more than the actual two tablespoons!

It was a funny moment for me, but an experience that taught be a valuable lesson. Measure everything, because a lot of times your imagination is a lot bigger than reality when you are hungry or trying to calorie count!

Of course, I think that eating healthy foods is the main thing to focus on, but high calorie health foods like almond butter should be measured out when you are trying to lose weight and need to stick to a certain calorie limit each day.

Keep updated on the latest & greatest health articles by joining the Skinny Twinkie community!

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Carrie Underwood, along with many contestants who compete on American Idol, gain weight during the show. The contestants gain the weight for several reasons, such as the stress of the competition, bad food given to them, and long bouts of waiting for their vocal coaches to work with them. Carrie ended up gaining a total of 20 pounds!

How Carrie Underwood Lost 20 Pounds

Carrie has a simple yet effective approach to her weight loss. It worked well for her, and maybe it will work for you too! Of course, to make any weight loss program work, you have to just stick to it and be consistent!

• Start a Food Journal - Carrie Underwood bought a spiral notebook (nothing fancy or expensive!) and just started to write down every little thing she ate.

“I discovered that writing down everything I eat makes such a difference, because you never realize how much you’re consuming unless you read it later in the day” – Carrie Underwood

Carrie said the key to the success of a food journal is to check the calorie count for everything she eats and write the details down in her notebook – immediately after a meal, before she forgets. At the end of the day, if she wants to have a snack, she checks her food for the day, how many calories she has eaten, and calculates how much more she can eat.

I think that when you stick to calorie counting, it’s important to know that nutrition and proper balance should be considered.

• Seek Expert Help – Carrie wanted to set up a mini gym in her home, but didn’t quite know what pieces of equipment she would need to help her reach her goals. Carried ended up hiring a Personal Trainer, who helped her pick out simple pieces of equipment to use, taught her for a few weeks on how to use the equipment and come up with a routine, then Carrie was able to continue her weight loss efforts on her own.

So what exercises does Carrie Underwood do? According to the interview in Shape Magazine, she exercises on the elliptical machine for 30 minutes and then follows that with strength training (reps with weights).

“My favorite thing is cardio, it really helps the pounds melt off, and it gives me so much more energy.” -Carrie Underwood

I would like to point out how Carrie used a Personal Trainer for a few weeks to work on a routine. A lot of people don’t realize that a Personal Trainer can really be a temporary thing, and I personally think it should be for most people. I like to work with my clients for a few months and empower them to be able to get to the point where they just don’t need me anymore. It’s a great feeling knowing that you have everything you need to be able to continue on your journey to lose weight.

• Stop Obsessing Over the Numbers on the Scale – Carrie became a popular topic in the tabloids as she became more and more famous. Many of those articles focused on Carrie’s weight, even calling her “chubby”. Now that Carrie is at a much healthier weight, she tries not to focus on the numbers on the scale, but more importantly her health.

“I’m a performer, and yes, being in good shape is part of the package, but I don’t ever want to get neurotic about my weight. I feel healthy and I know I’m a good size for me. And that’s what’s most important.” -Carrie Underwood

I think that Carrie is focusing on what’s most important, her health! Numbers on the scale may help you track progress, but it shouldn’t be the “end all, be all” either. If you focus on exercising regularly and putting healthy, nutritious food in your body, that’s what’s important. Continue to stay motivated and keep moving forward, and you will reach your health goals.

How Carrie Underwood Kept the Weight Off!

Carrie continues to keep the weight off in a very simple approach.

• No Mystery Food – Carrie told the WebMD Magazine (August 2010) , ”if I don’t know what’s in it, I don’t eat it”. Simple rule, yet clearly effective. This one rule prevents her from eating the fatty catered food that’s available to her.

• Grocery Shopping – Due to the unhealthy catered food available to her on bus tours, Carrie has opted to do her own grocery shopping and buy fresh whole food, which also ensures that Carrie keeps up with her Vegetarian lifestyle.

• Regular Exercise – Just because Carrie has reached her goal weight, it doesn’t stop her from exercising on a regular basis. In fact, regular exercise is a big way to keep the weight off!

“If I can wake up and get a good cardio session in a class at a nearby gym or on the treadmill, I’m happier throughout the day” – Carrie Underwood

Once you reach your goal weight, you need to continue eating healthy and exercising. Just like it helped you lose the weight in the first place, now these healthy habits you have created will help you keep the weight off. Remember, it’s easier to maintain the weight than have to lose it again…and again.

Keep updated on the latest & greatest health articles by joining the Skinny Twinkie community!

Image Credit: celebritydietdoctor.com

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When life gives you lemons, just add water!

Skinny Tip: 

If you are looking for a healthy cleanse, a way to boost your metabolism, and a great afternoon “pick me up”, then just squeeze a little bit of fresh lemon juice into a cup of water and enjoy!

Not only does water with a bit of lemon taste great, but did you also know that lemons are known for a plethora of health benefits?

I suggest that you take advantage of them.

Keep updated on the latest & greatest health articles by joining the Skinny Twinkie community!

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There are some exercises that you can still do – even if you have or had knee pain in the past. Of course, every situation is very different, but typically these are the exercises that should be safe for you and your knees. Check with your doc – or stop immediately if you are feeling any pain.

Keep it Easy on the Knees!

Bicycling - This is a great way to exercise without hurting your knees. Make sure to keep your knees bent and enjoy the bike ride!

Swimming – If you want zero impact on your knees, swimming is a great full body workout for you! I suggest keeping to the freestyle stroke and enjoy the many health benefits that come from this cardiovascular exercise.

Elliptical – If you want a machine that is easy on the knees, the elliptical is it. It’s considered to be very low impact and great for those who are trying to lose weight while recovering from some knee pain.

Treadmill – I don’t suggest that you run on a treadmill, but you may want to consider going from a run or jog to a steady paced walk instead. Walking is a great way to continue exercise, lose weight, and stay in shape- all without all the impact that can come with running.

Step Ups – Anyone with knee pain probably cringes at the thought of doing lunges! For those with sensitive knees, but want to still workout the same muscles as you would with lunges, you may want to consider doing step-ups. You can use stairs or actual step ups, and just go up and back down, allowing for a deep- but not too deep-of a bend to activate those glutes and quads!

No Pain No Gain?

When it comes to recovering from an injury, you want to avoid painful movements. If any of the above exercises are painful, you need to stop immediately. I suggest consulting with your doctor first, before you do any of these exercises, since different knee injuries may prevent you from doing specific exercises, or you might just not be ready yet to exercise yet.

Bottom Line: It’s one thing to feel your muscles burning, and it’s another to feel actual pain. Don’t push through an exercise if you are feeling any pain.

No More Excuses!

Now you know that you can still lose weight or stay in shape – even if you have “bad knees”! Empower yourself to reach your goals and always keep moving forward.

Keep updated on the latest & greatest health articles by joining the Skinny Twinkie community!

Image Credit: sxc.hu/photo/391481

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Be Confident…No Matter What Size You are

One of the thing that I love about Raven-Symoné is that she has always been very confident about herself. Check out here quote from Vibe Magazine:

“I find it funny that people now come up to me and say, ‘Wow, you are absolutely gorgeous. I’m like, ‘I was beautiful before I lost weight. Egotistically speaking, I thought I was amazing.’” -Raven-Symoné

Let’s face it, carrying excess fat isn’t doing anything good for your health. It’s also not the most attractive thing either (Hey, I’d be lying if I said excess fat looked good on you). I think everyone owes it to themselves to be a healthy weight -not too big, not too thin- but I still think that no matter what size you are, weight shouldn’t be a deciding factor of how others treat you or how beauty is defined. Something I am deeply grateful for, is that I was always reminded that beauty comes from within. As cheesy as it sounds, I know how true this statement really is.

How Do You Handle Stress?

Raven-Symoné learned that stress can be a huge problem when it came to trying to stay fit. I know how much stress could affect your health, so I encourage you to find positive ways to release stress.

“I stopped stressing. You have to realize at 15, there was a whole entire show I had on my shoulders. It was a very big cast and crew and if you’re sick for a day, people lose money and that’s a problem,” she said at the time. “[It wasn't] just over eating because I’ve actually been eating the same. I keep a little bit more smaller portions because I learned that your body has to get rid of that stress some way. Some people break-out, some people lose their hair, some lose weight, some people gain weight, my body just reacted a certain kind of way.” -Raven-Symoné

Here’s a video clip from the Wendy Williams show when she interviewed Raven-Symoné and asked about her weight loss.

Keep updated on the latest & greatest health articles by joining the Skinny Twinkie community!

Image Credit: madamenoire.com

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Here’s a list of fun indoor date ideas that will help you burn some extra calories!

Bowling – Enjoy the cool indoors by going bowling and have fun burning about 180 calories an hour! Just be sure to skip the junk food available at the bowling alley and opt for a healthy meal before you go have fun bowling!

Indoor Swimming – As I have said before, swimming is a full body workout, if done properly. You can burn anywhere from 270 to 550 calories an hour - depending on how vigorously you decide to swim.

Yoga DVDs – Do yoga in the comfort of your own home as you watch your favorite yoga DVD. You can expect to burn about 220 calories an hour as you are sculpting your body to perfect form.

Roller Skating – Go to a roller skating rinkThis is a fun way to burn about 465 calories an hour, and that’s just if you are skating on a flat surface. If you roller blade uphill, expect to burn even more calories!

Karate Class – Take a Karate class together and and you could end up burning about 390 calories an hour.

Laser Tag – Ever played laser tag? You get to run around and shoot the opposing team with a plastic (sometimes heavy) laser gun! Play on the same team or opposing one and you can end up burning about 370 calories an hour!

Dancing – Do you and your date love music? Dancing is a great way to have fun while burning lots of calories! Turn up the music to upbeat songs and have fun burning about 160 calories an hour!

Museum – Take your date to an Art Gallery or Museum, and have fun while you do a lot of walking, which you will end up burning about 130 calories an hour.

Wii Sport – You will have loads of fun on your date when you play games on the Wii Sport! You can try out boxing, bowling, or tennis and you can expect to burn an average of 390 calories an hour!

Indoor Rock Climbing – For those of you who are not afraid of heights, this is the perfect activity for you! You can expect to burn approximately 575 calories an hour from Rock Climbing!

Spin Class – You can burn about 320 calories an hour by going to a spin class together!

Keep updated on the latest & greatest health articles by joining the Skinny Twinkie community!

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I am challenging each of you to make exercise a part of your life, and I suggest you check out some of the benefits that are associated with regular exercise.

Define “Regular Exercise”

In order to benefit from regular exercise, you need to start somewhere. What’s considered “regular exercise”? In general, adults need to exercise for about three to five times a week, for 20 – 40 minutes.

Health Benefits of Regular Exercise

There are plenty of reasons why you should take on this challenge of making exercise a part of your life. I will list some of the top benefits of exercise, just to give you some encouragement and to help you get started.

•Increased Energy

Do you notice that you are lethargic and too tired to exercise? If you are already tired, I don’t blame you for dreading exercise. Interestingly enough, if you just push through that first workout,  you will notice an amazing boost of energy!

•Muscle Strength

If you want to burn more fat in any given moment, you need to gain lean muscle mass. The more muscle you have, the more calories you will burn which leads to less body fat.

•Live Longer

According to a 20 year study, regular exercise has been shown to reduce the risk of dying prematurely. This isn’t a surprise considering all of the health benefits associated with exercise.

•Reduce The Risk of Breast Cancer

Studies show that when women exercise, two ovarian hormone (Progesterone and Estradiol) levels are lowered in the body. This is a very good thing, since an excess of these hormones have been linked to breast cancer tumor production. This means that by regular exercise, you can reduce the risk of breast cancer by up to 60% – if this isn’t a reason to exercise, I don’t know what is!

•Lose Excess Fat, and Keep it Off

Exercise increases your metabolism which helps you burn more calories throughout the day – long after your morning run (or whatever you decide to do). Exercise will help you reach and maintain a healthy weight.

•Clears Skin

Exercise is a great way to remove toxins from your body, which occurs when you sweat during exercise. Exercise is a natural detox for your skin, which helps you get rid of acne. Your skin increases the natural production of collagen, which is an all natural anti-aging benefit!

•Increase Cardiovascular Efficiency 

The stronger your heart is, the more blood can be pumped through your heart with less effort.  This is a very good thing since strengthening your heart with regular exercise will decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease in the process.

•Lower Blood Pressure

If you need to reduce your blood pressure, you need to start an exercise program (which this challenge should be the perfect opportunity to start, right?). All forms of exercise has been shown to be effective in lowering blood pressure.

•Strengthens Bones

Increase your bone density by choosing an active lifestyle! If you include cardiovascular exercises and weight training (nothing too intense, mind you…), it will help promote bone formation which will delay bone loss. Increase bone mass has been shown to protect against osteoporosis, which is bone loss associated with aging. As you get older, keep on moving!

•Prevent (or cure) Depression

You don’t need (in my opinion) antidepressants to help with your depression. First of all, they don’t fix the problem. Second of all, they are actually harmful to you and your mental health. Thirdly, study after study has proven that exercise reduces the symptoms of depression and promotes mental health. Exercise for 30 minutes just three to five times a week to experience significant improvements. This is something the drug companies don’t want you to know…since we all know how exercise can be cheap or even free.

•Reduce Stress Hormones

Is stress affecting your health? Sounds like you need to exercise (and perhaps resolve the issues causing the stress!) . Sometimes we can’t easily resolve the cause of the stress, but it’s good to know that regular exercise has been prove to reduce the amount of stress hormones in your body. Less stress hormones means lower blood pressure and a healthier you.

• Prevents Illness

Are you sick all of the time? Maybe you need to jump start your immune system, which will help reduce the amount of illness you will have to experience. Regular exercise is a great way to rev up your immune system

•Reduce the Risk of a Stroke

Exercise may reduce the risk of total, hemorrhagic and ischemic strokes – according to research data.

•Better Night’s Rest

Exercise has been shown to help you get to sleep at night. So long sleep apnea!

•Increase New Brain Cells

Did you know that exercise actually stimulates the formation of new brain cells? Research has shown that the area of the brain that forms the new cells is responsible for learning and memory development.

•Lower Cholesterol Levels

Do you have high cholesterol, and need to lower it? Exercise has shown to have a direct effect with influencing blood cholesterol levels by decreasing LDL (bad) cholesterol and increasing HDL (good) cholesterol.

•Prevent Diabetes

Studies have shown that exercise, combined with a healthy diet, can reduce the risk of developing diabetes by up to 60%! Considering how dangerous diabetes can be, exercise and a healthy lifestyle should be a no brainer.

Ok everyone – it’s time for you to take this challenge seriously. Do this for you. Do this for your own health, and take charge of your life. Make the choice today to make exercise a habit…you won’t regret it.

Keep updated on the latest & greatest health articles by joining the Skinny Twinkie community!

Related posts:

1. Never forget this Important Habit!
2. Twinkie’s Challenge: No Sugar or Artifical Sweeteners!
3. Are You Making One Of These Common Exercise Mistakes?

When it comes to getting into shape, do you need advice or motivation? Perhaps you can benefit from an “exercise buddy”? Maybe you need to find someone you can “report” to, when it comes to weigh-ins, exercise goals or even calorie (nutrition) consumption? Find someone that is reliable and will be a positive influence in your health goals!

You don’t have to do it alone - I encourage you to participate in our forum, which in on Facebook. The more people who join the conversation, the better it will be for everyone!

PS – don’t you just love this old school picture? It sure made my day! haha

Keep updated on the latest & greatest health articles by joining the Skinny Twinkie community!

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Pippa Middleton

The world watched the Royal Wedding, and we couldn’t help but notice Kate’s younger sister, Pippa Middleton. The big question that everyone wanted to know was, “How did she get that picture perfect body?!” Pippa has an active lifestyle, which includes running in marathons.

Gisele Bündchen

Think models are just born with the bodies they have? Just like everyone else, they have to work for their sleek figure. See those sweat stains on her shirt? That’s what I am talking about! She may have been born beautiful, but that body being in shape came from eating healthy and exercising on a regular basis.

Hugh Jackman

Not only does Hugh Jackman workout to prepare for movie roles, but he also does a great job of exercising with young daughter Ava. Too many kids are stuck in front of the TV all day, and Hugh is a great example by going outside with his daughter.

Hugh is also a great example to all of us, as he is seen running outside – even with a bunch of snow!- showing that running doesn’t have to be a seasonal sport.

Kim Kardashian

We all know that Kim lost some weight this year, going from “really curvy” to “curvy”, and a lot of that came because of her healthier lifestyle which involved eating healthier and more exercise in her life. The picture below is of Kim Kardashian headed to The International Dance Academy in Hollywood. Who said you had to hit the treadmill to call it a workout?

Shia LaBeouf

We’ve seen him go from the geeky little brother on Even Stevens to a much more grown up guy on The Transformers. How does he do it? Well, he hits the gym regularly, of course.

January Jones

How come stars get back into shape so quickly after giving birth? They continue to eat healthy and workout during their pregnancy! Crazy concept, right? Nope! It’s healthy for the Mom and the growing baby to eat healthy and to be engaged in prenatal exercise. Looks like January Jones is involved with Prenatal Yoga, which has many health benefits. All expecting mothers should consider a reasonable prenatal exercise program, with the blessing of their doctor (since high risk pregnancies may have their exceptions).

Want to get a Picture Perfect Body?

If you want to have a fantastic body worth talking about, you must create a healthy lifestyle for yourself. You must work for it and I promise you that it’s worth it. Not only will you look your best, but you will reap the health benefits of exercising and feeding your body with proper nutrition!

No crazy fad diets, please!

Keep updated on the latest & greatest health articles by joining the Skinny Twinkie community!

Image Credits: Chris Brunskill/Getty (Pippa), AKM Images (Gisele), Freddie Baez/Startraks (Hugh), Juan Sharma/Miguel Aguilar/Pacific Coast News (Kim), Ramey (Shia), INF (January),

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History Lesson

First, let’s quickly recap where we have been, so you can better understand – or appreciate? – where we are now. You be the judge.

1956 – The USDA came up with the basic four basic food groups:

•Grains: bread, cereal, rice, pasta

•Protein: meat, poultry, fish, eggs, beans, nuts

•Fruits & Vegetables

•Dairy: milk, cheese, yogurt

1992 – The USDA made some adjustments to the basic four food groups, and even provided a visual for the first time. This version now provides recommendations, which were under a lot of criticism. Some servings were the minimum recommendations, while other servings were the maximum recommendations. It was confusing and not quite accurate.

“The original icon was a bit misleading, e.g., all fats are bad,” said Sara Bleich, an assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore.

2005 – The USDA revised the dietary recommendations, serving sizes and came up with a new image and called it MyPyramid. This new pyramid even included some stairs on the side of the pyramid with a persona climbing it to promote exercise – in addition to healthy eating.

2011 - USDA came out with MyPlate, which is a very simple visualization of portion size for each of the major food groups.

If you want to get details about daily recommendations and servings, you will have to go to ChooseMyPlate.gov

“Portion size, even of healthy foods, plays a major role in controlling weight and reducing the risk of a number of chronic diseases,” said Marisa Moore, national spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association.

What do you all think of the new MyPlate that’s now available? do you think that it is easier for you to have a balanced diet?

I think it’s nice to see a visual in the form of a plate, but I am not sure that this provides enough detail. What about healthy forms of protein compared to not-so-healthy forms of protein? Apparently the USDA’s website has it, but I didn’t find it to be detailed enough.

I guess that’s what SkinnyTwinkie.com is here for, right?! ; )

Keep updated on the latest & greatest health articles by joining the Skinny Twinkie community!

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•Melissa McNicol

•JennK

•GiantSis

•heather c

•ErinCook

Our winners just won an autographed copy of The Skinny Rules: The 101 Secrets Every Skinny Girl Knows by Molly Morgan, RD, CDN.!

Thank you everyone for participating! We will have many more opportunities for you to win something, so stay tuned…

Winner’s next steps: Please contact editor@SkinnyTwinkie.com and provide your mailing address so we can send your prize directly to you.

If you do not send an email to us within 48 hours after this announcement, we will choose another winner.

Keep updated on the latest & greatest health articles by joining the Skinny Twinkie community!

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2. Congrats to our “Dinner4Two” Winners!
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Watermelon Health Benefits

1) Watermelon is rich in a carotenoid antioxidant in it called lycopene, which is something tomatoes are famous for. Something you may not know, watermelon has more lycopene than any other fresh fruit or vegetable -including tomatoes -which are known to help reduce the risk of several types of cancers.

2) Watermelons are very low in calories, about 46 calories per cup. This is one of the many reasons that makes watermelon a great snack to have throughout the day, especially if you have a weight loss goal.

3) Watermelon contains arginine which is an amino acids that can help maintain arteries, blood flow and overall cardiovascular function.

4) When you eat watermelon, you consume zero grams of fat and cholesterol.

5) Watermelons are high in vitamin A which is an antioxidant and promotes eye health (just like carrots!)

6) Watermelons are rich in potassium, which may help control blood pressure and possibly prevent strokes.

7) Watermelon is fairly high in vitamin C, which is a great way to build up your immune system, prevent cellular damage, heal wounds, and even promotes healthy teeth and gums.

8) Watermelon is one of nature’s natural sources of some important electrolytes – sodium and potassium- which we lose when we sweat. This concept alone reminds me why watermelon is a great fruit to snack on during the hot Summer months.

9) I thought this was an obvious thing, but it’s important to realize that we can get water intake from the foods we eat. Some foods contain more water than others, and you guessed it – watermelon is full of water! With it’s high water concentration, eating watermelons is a great way to prevent dehydration.

10) If you want to avoid Genetically Modified (GM) foods, stay away from seedless watermelons. A side-effect of GM seedless watermelons is that there is a much higher sugar content in them, which isn’t always a good thing.

Keep updated on the latest & greatest health articles by joining the Skinny Twinkie community!

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In The Skinny Rules book, you will learn the “Rules”, which are tips and tricks that you need to know so you too can get the body you want – in a healthy way!

Check out some of the Skinny Rules:

• Skinny Rule #10 – Opt for Fast Food over Restaurants. You will learn when to choose fast food over eating at a restaurant, and why it may be a healthier option when you aren’t able to eat at home!

• Skinny Rule #28 – Play the Pounds Away. Learn how to think like a kid and enjoy exercise again!

• Skinny Rule #47 – Don’t judge a food by it’s Package. Learn how to use your own sound judgement when making food choices.

• Skinny Rule #67 – Stock your Pantry with Skinny Essentials. You will find out which healthy ingredients should always belong in your kitchen.

• Skinny Rule #85 – Save $$ and your Waistline. You will learn how to order at restaurants the “Skinny way”!

Follow the Skinny Rules and enjoy a life full of healthy choices – again and again!

How to Enter

1) Join this website (through Google Friend Connect) and make a comment on this post. If you are already a member, just log in and make a comment on this post.

Yup, it’s that easy! Just make sure you check back on this site, facebook, or twitter to see if you won!

Please note: This is a mandatory step if you want to enter into the contest.

Bonus Entry Points

1) Find us on Facebook and “like” our page. We’ll have a post that you can comment on, which will provide you an additional entry point when you comment on it. Nice!

2) If you like to tweet, you should “follow” Skinny Twinkie on twitter! All you need to do is Retweet our tweet on twitter that announces this giveaway, and you will get another entry point.

3) Do you like to blog? If you blog about this contest and link to this giveaway post, provide the link to your blog in the comments section on here (or facebook), and you will have gained another chance to win!

♦♦♦You can give yourself a total of four chances to win! ♦♦♦

Contest Rules and Eligibility

This contest is open to all U.S. residents who are 18 years or older. Void where Prohibited by Law. This is a giveaway, which means you are not obligated to buy anything from anyone.

This contest starts on May 31st 2011 and will end on June 2nd at midnight EST.

Skinny Twinkie will use Random.org to choose five winners by picking random numbers based on the total number of entries. Skinny Twinkie will draw the winners on June 3rd, and the winners will be announced that same day on SkinnyTwinkie.com, twitter, and facebook. You must check to see if are one of the lucky winners!

If you are selected as a winner, please contact editor@SkinnyTwinkie.com to claim your prize. If you do not send an email to us within 48 hours after the winner has been announced, we will choose another winner.

Good luck everyone!!!

Keep updated on the latest & greatest health articles by joining the Skinny Twinkie community!

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Health Benefits of Fiber

• Helps lower the risk of heart diseases and some cancers

• Fiber aides in digestion

•Fiber encourages hydration

• Increases Satiety

•Helps lower overall cholesterol levels

Different Types of Fiber

Soluble Fiber - This type of fiber binds with fatty acids in your stomach and as it travels down the GI tract. The soluble fiber prolongs digestion, slows the absorption of sugars and fats, and helps regulate blood sugar. Studies also show that soluble fiber can help lower LDL cholesterol (harmful type of cholesterol) and reduces the overall cholesterol count.

Prebiotic Soluble Fiber – This type of fiber feeds the protective bacteria in your colon and stimulates immune-cell production, which promotes a healthy immune system.

Insoluble Fiber - This type of fiber adsorbs a lot of water as it travels down the GI tract, which prevents constipation and increases the frequency of stools. Insoluble fiber helps remove toxins from your colon, balances intestine acidity, and helps move waste through the intestines and the bowel.

Dietary Fiber – This type of fiber has been shown to help ease the symptoms of certain digestive disorders.

Recommended Intake of Fiber

The average adult needs anywhere from 25 grams to 40 grams of fiber on a daily basis. Most adults get less than half of the recommended daily amount, which can cause a lot of negative health effects.

Foods High in Fiber

Avocado – 11 grams for one (medium)

Kidney Beans – 8.2 grams per serving

Wheat bran – 8 grams per serving

Pear – 5.5 grams for one (medium)

Lentils – 5 grams per serving

Prunes – 4.5 grams per serving

Split Peas – 4.4 grams per serving

Raspberries – 4 grams per serving

Apples -3.1 grams for one (medium)

Oranges – 3.1 grams for one (medium)

Butternut Squash – 3 grams per serving

Flax seeds – 2.7 grams per tablespoon

Keep updated on the latest & greatest health articles by joining the Skinny Twinkie community!

Image Credit: thenutritionpost.com

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Circuit Weight Training

Circuit weight training is one of the most beneficial forms of cardiorespiratory training.  It’s an exercise program that combines resistance training with cardio by performing a series of exercises one right after the other with minimal rest.

Circuit training is a great exercise that is time efficient and can help you reach your fitness goals!

Weight Loss Benefits

Circuit weight training  allows for you to develop lean muscles, which helps you burn calories both during and after you exercise, helping you become more efficient with losing weight.

Too many of us – mostly women – have this fear of lifting weights because we associate weights to “bulking up”. If your health goal is to lose excess fat, make sure that you just lift smaller weights during Circuit Weight Training and for only two or three times a week. Incorporate cardio on the days that you aren’t weight training, and this will help you burn fat and develop long and lean muscles.

Build muscle strength

If you enjoy weight training but dislike traditional cardio workouts, circuit training would be ideal for you. If your goal is to gain muscle mass and “bulk up”, then you would choose heavier weights than those who are just trying to lose weight.

You may consider doing about 12 repetitions for each exercise in the circuit, and do a total of two or three complete circuits. If it takes you about 20 minutes to complete two circuits, then you are done with the workout.

When incorporating Circuit Weight Training into your exercise routine, make sure you start with lighter weights and move your way up. Many of the exercises (see below) require balance, and proper form is extremely important.

How to Incorporate Circuit Training

Typically, an exercise program with circuit weight training would look something like this:

• Warm up/Stretch (5-10 minutes)

• Cardio (5-10 minutes)

• Circuit Weight Training (15-20 minutes)

• Cardio (5-10 minutes)

• Cool down/Stretch (5-10 minutes)

As you can see, I have included time for you to warm up, cool down, and stretch. It’s important that you do this with any weight training program to reduce the risk of injury and provide you with a more effective workout.

Here’s an example of Circuit Weight Training:

1. Ball dumbbell chest press

2. Ball dumbbell row

3. Standing dumbbell curl

4. Standing overhead dumbbell press

5. Step-ups (with balance)

6. Dumbbell triceps extension

7. Rest

8. Repeat exercises, completing the circuit a total of 2 – 4 times, or however many circuits you can complete in about 15 or 20 minutes.

Important: Make sure that you aren’t rushing yourself during each of the exercises – proper technique is critical in preventing injury and maximizing results.

Keep updated on the latest & greatest health articles by joining the Skinny Twinkie community!

Image Credit: menshealth.com

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Benefits

• May increase metabolism and aide in fat loss or weight management

• Naturally detoxifies the liver, which helps boost liver function

• The active ingredient in Turmeric is curcumin. A study in 2009 showed that the combination of curcumin and vitamin D helped the immune system to clear the brain of amyloid beta, which is a substance that forms the brain plaque associated with Alzheimer’s disease.

• Natural Antiseptic and Antibacterial agent.

• A study done in 1992 has showed that Turmeric may be able to help reduce cholesterol level and fight atherosclerosis (which is when the artery wall thickens).

• Natural pain killer

• May help prevent Melanoma, a dangerous form of skin cancer.

• Natural anti-inflammatory that works just as well as many anti-inflammatory drugs on the market – with less or no the side effects. Because of this, it can be used as a natural treatment for arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis

• Early studies show promise that Turmeric can help slow the progression of Multiple Sclerosis (MS).

Intake

Dried – You can find Turmeric in a dried powder form to use in a variety of recipes. I typically find this spice used in Indian dishes, but you can be creative and use this however you want! Test it out, and have some fun!

If you prefer, you can usually find Turmeric in a pill at your local health food store. Just follow the suggestions on the bottle for use.

Precautions

If you are pregnant or nursing, consult your doctor first (by the way – I am pretty sure every spice and herb says this!).

Turmeric should not be used by people with gallstones or bile obstruction.

Keep updated on the latest & greatest health articles by joining the Skinny Twinkie community!

Image Credit: FotoosVanRobin on Flickr®

No related posts.

Why not go hiking and enjoy a picnic at the top of a mountain?

Here’s some fun date ideas that involve burning a lot more calories than sitting at the movies for two hours and munching on popcorn! Oh yeah, I think you will have a lot more fun too!

Canoeing - How fun would it be to go out on a lake with your date for a little canoe ride? Not only will you be able to talk, laugh, and enjoy each other’s company, you will also be able to burn about 320 calories  an hour if you paddle at a moderate speed.

Walking – Go to the zoo, museum, park, or beach and just go for a walk! When you talk and walk you can burn about 210 calories an hour!

Biking - Why not go on a bike ride with your date? You will burn about 415 calories an hour, and if you are adventurous enough to go Mountain Biking,  you can burn up to 600 calories an hour! Talk about a fun workout with your hot (literally) date!

Swimming – You can cool yourself off from the hot Summer sun and end up burning around 270 calories an hour if you just lightly tread water. Of course, you will end up burning more calories if you swim laps, but this is a date, right? Have fun!

Rock Climbing – For those of you who are not afraid of heights, this is the perfect activity for you! You can expect to burn approximately 575 calories an hour from Rock Climbing!

Surfing – If you are lucky enough to live close to a beach, why not go Surfing for a date? If you or your date doesn’t know how to surf, you can always take lessons together! Surfing is a fun way to exercise and burn about 170 calories an hour. Surf’s up!

Hiking - Enjoy the nature together and burn about 420 calories an hour! I am not surprised you can burn that many calories hiking since it’s like a natural stair master, only harder! Perhaps you and your date can hike to a beautiful location and enjoy a nice picnic lunch together?

Dancing – Do you and your date love music? Dancing is a great way to have fun while burning lots of calories! Turn up the music to upbeat songs and have fun burning about 160 calories an hour!

Mini golf – Whether you are on a double date or not, it’s pretty fun to go Miniature Golfing! Enjoy some friendly competition and burn about 135 calories an hour. “Four!”

Roller blading – This is a fun way to burn about 465 calories an hour, and that’s just if you are skating on a flat surface. If you roller blade uphill, expect to burn even more calories!

Volleyball – This is a fun group date activity that let’s you enjoy some competition, have some laughs, and burn 300 calories an hour. If you play Beach Volleyball, you will burn about twice as many calories since the sand makes it more difficult to balance and move on. More fun, more calories burned. Sounds like a win- win to me!

No Gym Required

I hope you realize that you can still have fun while you burn a lot of calories! As you can see, you don’t need a gym to exercise or lose weight, and I hope that you will enjoy the nice weather outside and all of your workout options!

Remember to drink plenty of water and bring food if the date lasts more than three hours. Wear safety gear as needed, be safe, and have fun!

Keep updated on the latest & greatest health articles by joining the Skinny Twinkie community!

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Do the words “exercise”  and “gym” intimidate you, or just sound down right boring? If so, you aren’t alone! You can burn serious calories and get the exercise you need without ever hitting the gym.

You need to find something you love to do. For example, do you like beautiful scenic mountains? Perhaps you will love to go out for a nice walk that will overlook some beautiful scenery. If you are physically able, find a hiking trail and go for a hike! Make sure you take plenty of water, some healthy snacks, and even a camera!

You will end up burning a bunch of calories and have a ton of fun in the process. You don’t need a gym to burn calories. You just need to move more!

Keep updated on the latest & greatest health articles by joining the Skinny Twinkie community!

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How Miranda Kerr shaped up after Baby

How did Miranda get back into shape? First of all, Miranda Kerr was already in great shape before she became pregnant, so her goal was to return to her pre-pregnancy weight, not some ideal weight she only hoped to be. She had an obtainable goal, which she knew since she has already been there.

Here’s how Miranda Kerr was able to get back into shape after giving birth to her baby boy Flynn:

What we can learn from Miranda Kerr:

1) Eat Healthy!

2) Breastfeed, if you can.

3) Exercise is important, but don’t over do it.

For more information, feel free to check out KoraOrganics.com to learn more health tips from Miranda Kerr!

Keep updated on the latest & greatest health articles by joining the Skinny Twinkie community!

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Motivation for Weight Loss

Motivation to lose excess weight comes in a variety of forms. It can be for a specific health goal, such as lowering cholesterol levels, or it could be just to look and feel better. For Mandisa, motivation to lose weight came from Simon Cowell. Let’s be honest, Simon is a great businessman, but he can be quite the jerk sometimes. He made some pretty harsh comments about Mandisa’s weight when she was on American Idol, which was a major motivation for Mandisa to finally lose the weight.

I think that it’s great that she lost the extra weight, since it has such a huge benefit to her health, but I wish she didn’t have to go through humiliation and verbal abuse from Simon to finally make the steps towards improving her life.

“I’ve never felt better in my life, honestly, I feel like I am on top of the world”

Now that Mandisa has lost 120 pounds, she says she would like to see Simon Cowell again and let him see what she looks like know. She even said that she has forgiven him for the harsh comments he has made towards her. Mandisa is a star that truly shines, doesn’t she?

Weight Loss Advice

After losing 120 pounds, let’s just say that Mandisa knows a thing or two about weight loss! Mandisa has some great advice for those who are trying to lose weight. Are you ready for this? Mandisa says her weight loss advice is to eat healthy, exercise, and just take it one day at a time.

There isn’t a magic pill or secret to weight loss. It’s simply just eating healthy, exercising, and taking it one day at a time, or in other words – consistency! Mandisa does a great job to provide simple weight loss tips that work astonishingly well for anyone, and her before and after pictures prove it!

Keep updated on the latest & greatest health articles by joining the Skinny Twinkie community!

Image Credit: K Barlowe/Sparrow Records & EMI Music/Sparrow Records

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Here are just a couple of the Gold Gym ads…

The following are Gold’s Gym ads found in Costa Rica, which say “It’s about time” in Spanish.

What do you think about these Gold’s Gym advertisements? Do they help motivate you, or do you just find them offensive? Tell me all about it in the comments section!

Keep updated on the latest & greatest health articles by joining the Skinny Twinkie community!

Image Credits: Bus Ads; Costa Rica Ads

No related posts.

1) Get enough sleep every night

A lot of people seem to think that sleep is just for babies and kids. As an adult, it is just as important to get the proper amount of sleep every night. I know life can be busy – trust me, I do! It’s important to make sleep a priority, since it allows you to get the energy you need for exercise. When you are sleeping, your body naturally creates a hormone that regulates your appetite for the next day. This means that if you have enough rest each night, you are less likely to crave and munch on unhealthy snacks.

Did you know? With the right type of exercise, such as Interval Training, you actually end up burning the most calories from fat when you are at a resting state, such as when you are sleeping. If that doesn’t convince you to get enough shut-eye, I don’t know what will!

Getting enough sleep each night is the first step to successful weight loss.

2) Replace all – or most – of your drinks with Water 

Liquids are one of the easiest and fastest ways to down calories, and before you know it, you have over done it. It may not be easy at first, but if you are serious about your weight loss, you should swap the soda, coffee, alcohol, and sugary juices with water. Easier said than done, I know. What I also know is this: The healthy benefits of ditching the other drinks for more water is worth it.

If you are looking for more flavor than water, you can try herbal tea that has no caffeine in it. This is a great way to enjoy flavor, benefit from the healthy herbs, without any unnecessary calories. Herbal teas tend to be zero calories.

3) Make exercise a part of your regular routine

Exercising needs to be a part of your life. Something that you just “do” rather than continually think about doing. Doing and thinking about doing are two very different things!

If you make exercise a habit, or in other words, a part of your life, you will eventually lose the weight and keep it off. A big reason why people who lose weight and gain it all back  is because they stop doing the healthy habits that got them there in the first place.

You shouldn’t wake up every morning asking yourself whether you should workout or not. Get in the mind set that exercise is just something you do every day (or on a regular basis), and it’s not a choice. Come up with an exercise schedule and stick to it, even after you have reached your weight loss goals. You may be able to turn the workout intensity down a notch or two, but exercise shouldn’t be completely eliminated once you are done losing weight.

Exercise should be enjoyable for you. If you hate running, you should consider swimming instead. If you like to dance, sign up at a dance studio and shake those hips! If you are hating the exercise you are doing, you need to find a new exercise that will be more enjoyable. Exercise may not be easy, but you shouldn’t hate it.

4) Fuel your body with healthy food

First of all, if you want to lose weight, you must eat. Don’t skip meals, and don’t starve yourself. That’s not the answer if you are trying to effectively lose weight and remain healthy. In fact, if you skip meals, your body tends to hold on to it’s fat reserves,where it will be almost impossible to lose your excess fat.

Here are some tips to eat healthy, and start losing weight:

Eat fresh fruits and vegetables throughout the day. This is your new snack food, so ditch the Fiber One bars and start eating real food!

Eat healthy protein sources such as beans, fish, chicken, and raw nuts.

Start eating healthy carbohydrates, since this is a major source of fuel that your body with use for energy during your workouts. You can ditch the refined and processed breads, such as white bread, since it actually makes you gain fat – especially in the stomach area.

Stop baking or eating foods that contain processed sugar, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, or artificial sweeteners. These types 0f processed sugars turns into fat and usually lands in the stomach area, just like processed breads.  I know that this one if a major change for most people – myself included – but I believe the healthy benefits are well worth the effort to eat healthier. If it helps, remember that processed sugars turns into fat that ends up around the abdominals, which doesn’t help with your goal of flat abs, does it?

In addition to eating healthy food, find out how many calories you need every day, and how many you should eat for weight loss. If your body burns more calories than you consume in a single day, you will lose weight. If you aren’t eating enough calories though, you end up going into “starvation mode” and stop losing weight. It’s all about finding the right balance.

5) Don’t go on a “Diet”

There are more overweight and obese individuals now than ever before. Are we lacking in diets? There are thousands of diets out there for you to choose from! The reason why diets don’t work is because most people are looking at diets as a “get thin quick” scheme, and it just doesn’t work that way.

If you are looking to lose weight and actually keep it off, ditch the “diet” and adopt a healthy lifestyle that you will continue, even after you are done with your weight loss journey.

More than 5

You can definitely lose weight with more than just these five weight loss tips, but I thought I would narrow the list down to these very important five items. You have to start somewhere, right?

Some of these tips may have been a “duh” moment for you. I’ll let you in on a little secret. There is no secret to weight loss. Yes, there are certainly some strategies that are more effective than others, but for the most part, you know what you need to do to be healthier and lose weight, if needed.

Now that this was a nice little reminder on how to lose weight (or just be healthier!), it’s time you do something about it. Knowledge is useless without action.

Keep updated on the latest & greatest health articles by joining the Skinny Twinkie community!

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Check out Kelly’s realistic approach to weight loss.

Emotional Eating

Kelly Osbourne faced drug addictions in the past, and when she cleaned up her life, she ended replacing drugs with food.

When people get upset or overly stressed, a common “solution” is eating. Emotional eating is a big reason why people gain weight, and once recognized, can be resolved.

When Kelly was on Dancing With The Stars, she realized she needed to change her diet so she can have the energy she needed to rehearse the dance moves for the show.

“The three things I did to really change my diet were: Start eating breakfast, drink water instead of soda, and always have a snack in the evening.” -Kelly Osbourne

Find the Exercises you enjoy

Just from making healthy changes to her diet mixed in with dancing, Kelly lost 20 pounds. So when the show was over, she knew she needed to do something to keep the momentum.

Kelly began taking long hikes several times a week, and soon started going to the gym. She found that she enjoys group exercise classes with her friends, and discovered Plyometrics. She says it’s a “killer” workout, but it’s worth it since she is seeing the results.

Since combining a healthier diet with her regular exercise, Kelly lost another 30 pounds, and is quite happy with her size 2 figure.

Weight loss: Permanent or Temporary?

When you lose weight, do you ever wonder if it is going to be permanent or temporary? You don’t have to wonder anymore!

Make sure that you maintain the healthy lifestyle you have created for yourself when you were trying to lose weight.

“It was never just about the weight loss.” – Kelly Osbourne

I love that Kelly Osbourne said that she isn’t dieting. She eats a healthy breakfasts, exercises daily, and avoids soda and candy. Kelly still allows herself to enjoy an occasional pizza or cookie, but doesn’t overdo it.

What do you think of Kelly’s weight loss success?

Keep updated on the latest & greatest health articles by joining the Skinny Twinkie community!

Image Credits: exposay.com

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Meet Three Inspirational Women

I interviewed three women who are Moms that have successfully lost weight after giving birth. They are an inspiration to others by proving that you can skip the crazy diet pills and actually lose the extra “baby weight” in a healthy way.

You will learn a lot from these women, from relating to their weight loss battles and you will find strength in their ability to succeed.

Postnatal Exercise

As a new Mom, it’s important for you to realize that you need to rest and let your body properly heal after having your baby. Your body just went through a lot!

Depending on the type of delivery you had, you may need extra time to heal. Some Moms wait six weeks, while others wait several months before they start to exercise again. Wait for your Doctor to tell you when it’s safe to exercise, as well as listening to your own body’s needs.

There are a lot of exercises for you to choose from, so which types of exercises will work best for you?

For Brenda, who was preparing for a marathon before she got pregnant, she decided to go back to her roots and start running again.

“I love to run! So I started running again and that was great! Running has always been a stress reliever for me, so it felt great to run and leave the stress of having a newborn out on the road.” – Brenda E. from Pensacola, FL.

I think a great way to workout is to involve your baby! Katie talks about how she took her daughter in the stroller and went on walks. It’s a great way to burn some extra calories while letting your little one explore the world outside!

“I took my daughter on walks. I also did a walk at home exercise DVD. It is great!” – Katie S. from Draper, UT.

Are you ready to workout? If you have ever been on bed rest, you can relate to Genine. She had a high risk pregnancy and spent most of it on bed rest. Once she started her exercises, she started with small steps and worked her way up, which is a great way to start a new exercise program.

“…since I was on bed rest for so long I was struggling to even move – so I started with Pilates – twice a week. From there I moved into cardio – and then onto weights – now I maintain cardio 5 days a week, Pilates twice a week and weights twice a week.” – Genine F. from Cincinnati, OH.

Genine lost a total of 140 pounds since she had her twin boys! She lost the extra weight in a very healthy way, and said that she is in better shape and more balanced now than before she was pregnant!

Biggest contributing factor in your weight loss success

I understand that with a small child, it can be hard to get your exercise routine back. I asked these wonderful Moms what helped them most with their weight loss success.

Brenda realized that exercise wasn’t the only factor that led to her weight loss. You can’t focus on the reasons why you shouldn’t start eating healthy or exercising again. There’s plenty of reasons to hold you back, but all you need is one to move forward in the right direction.

Katie S. from Draper, UT.

“It is so easy to come up with a million excuses (most of them extremely valid!), but with motivation; nothing stops me!” – Brenda E. from Pensacola, FL.

Be sure to surround yourself with those that are able to support you with your goals. Katie found that having a workout partner is very helpful in succeeding. If someone else is working with you towards the same goals, is seems to help ease the burden of trying to do it yourself.

“My husband worked out with me, and was very encouraging.” – Katie S. from Draper, UT.

Are your thoughts in the right mindset to help you succeed? You need to decide if eating right and exercising is a temporary change or a permanent one. Once you make the decision that this is a lifestyle change, you will start to incorporate healthier habits into your life that will help you reach your health goals.

“Consistency and Patience – this was going to be a lifestyle change and a marathon not a sprint – so even when I didn’t want to workout i did. When I wanted to eat bad, I would stop and think if I still want it after a glass of water 10 minutes from now then I will have it, most of the time I forgot.” – Genine F. from Cincinnati, OH.

Time to Motivate Yourself!

Everyone has their reason why they want to lose weight after their baby is born.

What motivated you to get back into shape after giving birth? Losing the extra weight is healthy for you and helps you feel good on multiple levels.

I have to say, I just love what Genine had to say when I asked her what motivated her to lose weight after she gave birth to her twin boys!

“Honestly – I often joke that I wanted someone to think I was the nanny to the twins” – Genine F. from Cincinnati, OH.

Every Mom deserves to feel good about the way they look.

Becoming healthy is a journey that doesn’t end with a single decision. Health starts before your pregnancy, during your pregnancy, and a long time afterwards!

Weight Loss: Challenges and Success

Trying to lose weight can be quite the challenge, especially when balancing the hectic schedule of having a little one around the home!

“It was hard to find the time to strength train at home because most workout videos that give good enough workouts are 45-60 minutes! I just don’t have that kind of time. Once I found Jillian Michaels’ 30 Day Shred, it became a whole lot easier! Her workouts are only 20 minutes (almost 30 with warm-up and stretching), but they really kicked my butt! It was perfect!” – Brenda E. from Pensacola, FL.

Everyone faces the challenge of trying to get started, and the first step to losing weight is just making the decision to do something about it. Once you have made the decision to change, you need to create a plan and take action immediately. Don’t wait any longer, and you will reap the many rewards of a healthy lifestyle.

“I sometimes lacked motivation to lose the weight. Then one day I just got really motivated, and started working out everyday, and eating even better.” – Katie S. from Draper, UT.

If you run into a brick wall where you seem to stop losing weight, does this  mean that you have reached your goal weight? Without measuring your body fat ratios, I can’t give you an answer. No matter what the situation, you still have every reason to continue to eat healthy and exercise. Perhaps you can evaluate your current situation and see if there is something you can improve.

“The biggest challenge that I have found is that I would plateau every few months – and would have to go back to the drawing board and change some things up… there are also days when I just don’t feel like working out or being healthy but I have pushed through…” – Genine F. from Cincinnati, OH.

Great Advice for You!

These three Moms did it. Now it’s your turn to get back into shape! Here is some practical advice to help you lose the extra weight in a healthy way that will be beneficial for your body.

“Just do something! Even if it small, it is a step in the right direction! Want to eat healthier? Try adding just one extra serving of vegetables to your intake for a week or two, then add another and so on! Also, always eat your vegetables first! Filling up on the healthier options first will cut calories and provide you with more nutrients! Want to be more active? Try taking the kiddos with you for a short walk or go to the park and be active with them! You don’t have to start with long workout hours! Just adding more active minutes into your day will help burn calories! Remember that you don’t have to be active and eat healthy on your own! Your whole family will benefit from it, so include them too!” – Brenda E. from Pensacola, FL.

“It may seem hard to lose weight after your baby is born, but you can do it! Just take one day at a time, and before you know it the weight will be gone!” – Katie S. from Draper, UT.

“Don’t look at the immediate – look at the long term goal!” – Genine F. from Cincinnati, OH.

I would like to thank all of them for their willingness to share their story and inspire women to get back into shape after giving birth – in a healthy and safe way.

Keep updated on the latest & greatest health articles by joining the Skinny Twinkie community!

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Jenna Fischer, who is one of the star’s of the hit comedy show The Office, explains that Hollywood’s focus on weight is no laughing matter.

Hollywood’s Pressure to be Thin

When the average person gains a couple of pounds, nobody seems to notice. You get to take your time working off the extra weight, right? What about when you are a famous Hollywood star? Apparently, when you are in Hollywood, gaining a couple of pounds ends up being a pretty big deal.

“In a normal job, if you gain or lose a few pounds, it’s no big deal. But in my business you have to tell someone so that the next time you go to a fitting, the clothes are the right size. It’s really embarrassing to have to say to your manager, ‘I’m now a 6 pant instead of a 4.’ Emails go out, and they CC the agents: ‘Jenna would like everyone to know that she’s now a 6 pant.’ This is why actresses obsess about their weight. It’s not a private affair.” -Jenna Fischer

Would you Obsess too?

If you were in Jenna’s situation (and ever other actress/singer/performer in Hollywood), would you obsess over your weight too? I have a couple of thoughts about Jenna’s comment.

In Jenna’s situation, someone has to provide her with a wardrobe for the TV series. They have to know what her new size is so they can appropriately dress her, right?

I think that women shouldn’t be only concerned about what size they are, especially someone who is at a healthy weight like Jenna Fischer. No matter what size you are, the focus shouldn’t be a number on the scale or a jean size – they can certainly help motivate you if you need it – but the focus should be about eating healthy and regularly exercising.

Being thin doesn’t necessarily mean “healthy”. Those who are anorexic or bulimic are thin, yet they are extremely unhealthy! As you can see, we don’t want to kill ourselves over being thin, since that shouldn’t be our goal anyways. I believe that if the focus is on being healthy,  we will all eventually end up at our ideal weight. Some people need to lose weight. Some people should maintain their weight. And yes, some people should gain weight. It’s about taking care of our bodies in the best way we know how.

Eat healthy more often than not. Exercise, but don’t over do it. Live your life to the fullest.

Keep updated on the latest & greatest health articles by joining the Skinny Twinkie community!

Image Credit: Redbookmag.com

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Big-Boned or Overweight?

At her heaviest, Ricki weighed a total of 260 pounds. She managed to lose 110 pounds when she started to host her own TV show, and she maintained her weight of 150 pounds for 15 years.  Due to her weight, Ricki always thought she was just a big-boned girl. After her final pounds dropped, she realized she wasn’t the big-boned girl she once thought she was.

“I’ve realized that my bones are a lot smaller than I thought.” -Ricki Lake

How Ricki Lake lost the last 30 pounds

You don’t need surgery, you just need to adopt healthy eating habits and an exercise routine!

When Ricki Lake first lost her 110 pounds, she admitted that she didn’t lose it in the healthiest way. She said she felt like she was starving herself, and was absolutely miserable. Yes, she lost the weight, but it wasn’t in the healthiest way.

To lose the last 30 pounds, Ricki started to eat healthier by eating a more balanced diet consisting of protein, complex carbs, and healthy fats. She didn’t starve herself either, by eating a healthy amount of calories, which was anywhere from 1,200-1,400 calories a day.

In addition to healthier eating habits, Ricki Lake started working out with a personal trainer three times a week to shed her last 30 pounds, which resulted in Ricki Lake’s current weight of 120 pounds and fitting into a slimming size 4.

Weight loss Reward

I am always up for rewarding yourself for achieving healthy weight loss, and it looks like Ricki Lake believes in the same splurge as I do: Shopping! Ricki Lake has said that since her weight loss, she plans on indulging in a whole new wardrobe to show off her newly slimmed body. Want to reward yourself too? Don’t reward yourself with food! You don’t want to train your brain to thinking that candy or junk food is a reward, because you will teach yourself to want it and will try to find ways to treat yourself to it. Find healthier ways to reward yourself, such as a new outfit, painting class, or another hobby you are interested in.

Keep updated on the latest & greatest health articles by joining the Skinny Twinkie community!

Sources: People.com; QuickandSimple.com

Image Source: Getty; Wire Image

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Drew Carey’s feet were hurting so much while hosting for The Price Is Right, he sometimes had to resort to using a cane. Carey weighed 260 pounds and confessed that at one point he was afraid to step on the scale. Carey stated that he didn’t want to live trying to reach a certain number on the scale, but he wants to live to be healthy.

Carey has the right idea, by saying he is choosing to “live to be healthy”. I couldn’t agree with him more!

Motivated to Make a Change

Drew Carey admitted to Parade, ”I always thought I was going to die before I was 60″, which is no surprise Carey thought this since his father died of a heart attack when he was just in his 40′s.

Carey decided he needed to make some big changes in order to save his own life and not fall under his father’s footsteps. Carey ended up trading his daily greasy hamburgers for healthier foods in moderation and picked up an active lifestyle.

After creating a healthier lifestyle, Carey ended up losing more than 85 pounds!

Noticeable Difference

Drew Carey said that he has “tons more energy now” since he has lost his extra weight. You can just tell from recent interviews with Drew Carey that he is so much happier with himself now. One thing I know for sure, it just feels good to be healthy!

What do you think of Drew Carey’s weight loss success? I appreciate Drew Carey for showing us that it’s never too late to start eating healthy and exercising – Thank you Drew!

Image Credit: WENN, PicApp

Keep updated on the latest & greatest health articles by joining the Skinny Twinkie community!

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Small Changes = Big Results

Kourtney focuses on eating small, healthy meals every 2 hours such as Salmon and Brown Rice. Eating every couple of hours is a great way to stay healthy without feeling hungry all of the time. It’s how I personally maintain, or even lose, my weight!

Kourtney does admit though, that she does have a daily splurge of a cookie or a mini doughnut. She now knows that it’s all about having one or two rather than eating the whole box!

Kourtney now weighs 95 pounds, which is not an unhealthy weight considering how short she is!

“It’s about being a healthy mom, not a certain weight.” -Kourtney Kardashian

I believe Kourtney was focused on the right things, such as being healthy and being a good mom, rather than obessessing about what’s on the scale. A great example for us all, don’t you think?

Workout Partner

Kourtney went to the gym with her sister, Khloe Kardashian, which helped her stay motivated and coming back to the gym every week. Kourtney was motivated to go to the gym knowing that her sister was waiting for her. I am happy for Kourtney who had such a great sister to workout with, which helped her reach her goals.

Strange how it’s easier to bail on ourselves rather than other people. If this is you, find yourself a dedicated workout partner and hit the gym together.

Quick-Trim

I am not too surprised about this, but just like her sister Kim Kardashian, Kourtney is promoting a specific product in her featured weight loss article in OK! Magazine. As you may have already guessed (or known),  Kourtney Kardashian, along with her sisters Kim and Khloe, are the official spokespersons for Quick-Trim. It shows by how often Quick-Trim is mentioned in Kourtney’s interview, where she says little blurbs like, “Quick-Trim Fast Shakes are a fave”. Well, for how much money she is getting from Quick-Trim, I bet they are her “fave”!

The question remains, do you need to buy Quick-Trim to have the same weight loss success as Kourtney Kardashian? The answer is “no”. I find that the main reason Kourtney lost weight, by eating healthy and exercising, is all you need to experience the same weight loss success as she did.

What do you think is the biggest contributor to your weight loss success?

Image Credit: Kourtney Kardashian

Keep updated on the latest & greatest health articles by joining the Skinny Twinkie community!

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During Kendra’s pregnancy, her diet became a “free for all”.

” I had no boundaries. I just ate, ate, ate. I just said, ‘This is my time, these are my nine months, I can just have fun, how big can I really get?’ Sixty pounds! I gained 60 pounds!”  -Kendra Wilkinson-Baskett

After giving birth to her son in December 2009, Kendra soon tried to lose the extra weight.

Kendra, at only 5’4″, went from weighing only 105 pounds to reaching her maximum weight of 165 pounds after pregnancy. For someone with such a petite frame, it was no wonder that Kendra was shocked that she had gained so much extra weight in just 9 months.

Kendra’s “After” Photo:

How Kendra lost 40 Pounds

Kendra credits her weight loss to the following:

Eating Healthy – Kendra has cut out almost all junk food from her regular diet! She eats healthier foods, including healthy smoothies and she sometimes nibbles on her baby’s food.  Of course, you can make your own pureed foods for you and your baby!

Abdominal Cuts – Of course Kendra is crediting Abdominal Cuts for her weight loss! Why? Kendra promotes the company (also known as “Abcuts”)and gets paid for it. Actually, Kendra gets paid a lot for saying she credits this for her weight loss. Did Kendra actually use this to help her lose weight? Maybe. We will never know. What I do know is this: This fat burning pill is not the answer to your weight loss. If you really want to lose weight, do it the healthy way and you will keep it off!

Exercise - Kendra gets her exercise by taking regular walks and hitting the gym.

Kendra’s real weight loss “secret”?

Kendra said she stopped obsessing about her weight and the number on the scale.

Kendra said “The second I stopped obsessing  was the second I started to see results. I started to look good and feel good.”

It’s all about making the decision and focusing on what you really want, which is being healthy. Kendra credits a lot of her motivation for getting back into shape to her husband, Hank Baskett.

Congratulations to Kendra Wilkinson-Baskett for losing 40 pounds and making her health a priority again!

Image Credit: Kendra Wilkinson

Keep updated on the latest & greatest health articles by joining the Skinny Twinkie community!

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Kim Kardashian goes Old School

She was able to lose the extra weight by some good old fashioned exercise! She kicked up her routine by doing lots of cardio, weight lifting, and even an intense boot camp routine.

Kim Kardashian said “My mom always taught us, like, no matter if you’re skinny, no matter if you’re fit, you always need cardio. Go on walks. Walk on the treadmill. Run. You need stuff to get your heart healthy.”

I am proud of Kim for hitting the gym to shed her extra weight!

Kim Kardashian’s Diet

Kim is sticking to a strict diet from Sunfare, which is a food delivery service that provides portion controlled meals that are only 1,100 calories a day.

Kim said “It’s the only diet I can stick to”.

Pros: The concept of Sunfare is pretty nice; No thinking about what you are going to eat and no trips to the grocery store where you can get tempted to buy (and then later eat) unhealthy foods.

Cons: If you wanted to buy your 6 meals a day (3 meals and 3 snacks) from Sunfare, it would cost you $68.20 a day! This is an extremely expensive diet for prepackaged meals that aren’t as healthy as food you could be making yourself at home.

Solution: Come up with a healthy meal plan and stick to your list when you go grocery shopping. Instead of buying junk food for your snacks in-between meals, buy fruits and vegetables!

Tip: An organic apple or a little bag of organic baby carrots is a lot cheaper and healthier than any prepackaged snack.

Image Credit: WENN; Splash

Keep updated on the latest & greatest health articles by joining the Skinny Twinkie community!

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In the modeling industry where the pressure to be thin is so intense, models have become obsessed on the idea of becoming skinny.  It all started when Isabelle Caro was 13 years old, when a fashion designer told her that she needed to lose weight if she wanted to be in the fashion industry.  Isabelle said that she started to stop eating in order to lose weight to become a model. This was the beginning of the end of Isabelle Caro.

Wake up Call

Isabelle had a rude awakening as to how Anorexia was slowly killing her when she ended up in the hospital  with a Coma in 2005. It was a wake up call for her, and she said  ”I have to do something” about her Anorexia. Isabelle decided to move to Southern France to seek medical help and start her road to recovery.

Anti-Anorexia Campaign

Isabelle gained international fame in 2007 when she first starred in an Italian anti-anorexia campaigns, which showed pictures of her emaciated body only weighing in at around 62 pounds. She participated in these shocking ads to bring awareness of the ugly side of Anorexia. Isabelle knew how unhealthy she was, how unhealthy she looked and felt. Isabelle was too weak and frail, and she knew that she had to do something to educate women across the world about the dangers of anorexia.

Effects of Anorexia

Anorexia can cause many harmful things to the body. When the body doesn’t get enough food, it goes into starvation mode. The body ends up consuming itself which leads to many medical and painful complications.

In late November of 2010, French model Isabelle Caro died of Anorexia. She was only 28 years old.

Where to get Help

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Image Credits: Isabelle’sBlog; WomensHealth.gov

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All of the buzz these days seem to be about the soon-to-be Princess Kate Middleton and her family. The questions from the public are “Who is she?” and “What’s her family like?”.

The newest question that everyone wants to know is how Kate’s mom, Carole Middleton, will get camera-ready for her daughter’s big Wedding day. According to People.com, Carol Middleton has been doing The Dukan Diet by Dr. Pierre Dukan.

The Dukan diet consists of four stages which dieters are able to select from a total of 100 foods; 72 foods which are high in protein, and the other 28 foods are different types of vegetables you can choose from.

The Dukan Diet’s Celeb Status

Carole Middleton is not the only one who is crediting the Dukan Diet to their weight loss. The Dukan Diet is becoming a bit of a celebrity itself as it becomes a bestseller in Britain in addition to selling more than 2 million copies in France. Who else has used The Dukan Diet for weight loss? Celebrities like Jennifer Lopez and Supermodel Gisele Bündchen have been on The Dukan Diet to help them lose weight.

Not sure if you have learned this yet, but not all Celebrity diets are healthy or even right for you. Before you jump on this new diet craze, let’s educate ourselves a little bit more about this diet.

Should you do The Dukan Diet?

Just because Kate Middleton’s Mom, Carole Middleton, is doing the Diet, should you too? Not surprisingly, a lot of woman will try the new diet out, just because of the Celebrities associated with the Diet. Of course, this is not a reason to try it out.

Here’s some facts about The Dukan Diet that you should take into consideration:

• Encourages very high protein intake, much more than the daily recommended amounts.

• In different stages of the diet, followers lack important nutrients such as Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Fiber, and even healthy fats. In other stages of the diet, followers are consuming too much of one nutrient, such as sodium. An excess of sodium can actually hurt a dieter’s plan to lose weight.

• According to researches at the Institut Pasteur in Lille France, the diet upsets the body’s natural metabolism which can lead to nutritional imbalances.

• Your body needs healthy carbohydrates to function. The lack of carbohydrates causes you to become weak and lethargic. This results in losing your ability to exercise. If you really want to lose weight, exercise is key to your success.

To do, or not to do The Dukan Diet?

Skip The Dukan Diet if you want to lose weight and actually keep it off. Nutritionally speaking, this diet is lacking in a lot of areas. Where it lacks in nutrition it tries to make up for with excessive amounts of protein and salt. While protein and salt is good for you, not in too excessive of amounts. I don’t believe in “no-carb” diets, since our bodies need healthy forms of carbohydrates. Diets like The Dukan Diet are known for temporary weight loss, and usually their followers regain their weight- and then some.

If you want to lose weight, eat a well-balanced diet and exercise regularly. Weight loss isn’t a temporary fix. It’s called a “Life Change” for a reason! It’s something you work on your entire life, but if you lose weight in a healthy way, it’s a lot easier to maintain your weight since you have changed your lifestyle. I have learned that temporary fixes mean temporary results.

Tell me in the comments: How did you reach (and maintain) your healthy weight?

Keep updated on the latest & greatest health articles by joining the Skinny Twinkie community!

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When you are full…stop eating! If you can, stop eating when you are “satisfied”.  Seems like an obvious thing, but many continue to finish their plate even after they are stuffed!

Keep updated on the latest & greatest health articles by joining the Skinny Twinkie community!

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Here’s a simple outline on how I eat every day…

7:30AM – Breakfast

•Ionix Supreme by Isagenix®

•IsaLean Shake (Vanilla) by Isagenix®

-With my shake, I will include IsaPro (whey protein), Greens!, and FiberPro by Isagenix®)

10:00 AM – Snack

•Fruit

-I will try to pick out a different fruit every week. One week I may have an apple, while another week I will have grapes, watermelon or strawberries.

12:00PM – Lunch

•Sandwich

-I always use Ezekiel bread, and I either make an almond butter and honey sandwich, a tuna or salmon sandwich (with mayo replacement) or sometimes a deli sandwich with fresh tomatoes and sprouts. Easy and delicious!

2:00PM – Snack

•Vegetable

-I will have either sliced cucumbers, baby carrots, or some butternut squash.

4:00PM- Snack

•Protein

-I like to have some hardboiled egg whites (4-6) with a dash of sea salt, or a small amount of nuts, like almonds or pecans.

6:00PM – Dinner

•Protein and Vegetable(s)

-I enjoy a healthy dinner like baked Tilapia and steamed Asparagus. I try to make sure I have a small amount of protein joined with a delicious vegetable.

As you can see, I eat small amounts of healthy food all throughout the day.  I am never starving. I don’t allow myself to get to that point. I eat a lot of food…just not all at once.

Also, I make sure to drink plenty of water throughout the day!

This outline works for me, and I believe it will work for you too.

Keep updated on the latest & greatest health articles by joining the Skinny Twinkie community!

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Regular Exercise

Working out on a regular basis helps with many things. I will briefly discuss some of the many health benefits of working out on a regular basis:

•Drops  Insulin levels -High Insulin levels are dangerous since it is the root cause of Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, High Cholesterol, etc. Cardiovascular Exercise is a natural way to lower your Insulin levels.

•Treats Type 2 Diabetes - A couple of the possible side-effects of Diabetes is Heart Disease and Kidney Disease. Both are very serious conditions, and exercising on a regular basis (including a healthy diet) can greatly reduce the chances of having Diabetes.

•Lowers Blood Pressure – If you have High Blood Pressure, you are at risk for Heart Attacks, Strokes and even Kidney failure. High Blood Pressure can be caused by poor eating habits, lack of exercise, and abundant amounts of stress. To help lower your Blood Pressure, it is important to eat healthy (every day, not temporary!) and Exercise on a regular basis. I have personally found that when I am stressed, I need to have a good work out or else it will negatively effect my health.

•Lowers Cholesterol – High Cholesterol is dangerous because it is something that is seen after many years of poor eating and the effects can be quite serious. High Cholesterol causes a plaque buildup in your arteries which can lead to Heart Disease, Heart Attack, and Stroke. It was once believed that only those who were overweight suffered from High Cholesterol levels, but you can be “skinny” and still have high cholesterol. Like I have said many times before…the whole point of eating healthy and exercising is to be Healthy, not necessarily “Skinny”, because “Skinny” doesn’t always mean “Healthy”. Focus on what’s important here!

•Prevents Obesity – Being overweight and obese causes some serious health concerns. Many people suffer from Impaired Immune Systems, Liver Disease, Arthritis, Heart Disease, Back or Shoulder Pain, Stroke, Sleep Apnea, High Cholesterol, Cancer, Type 2 Diabetes, and the list goes on. These are all very serious issues that are all very preventable. Eat well and Exercise on a Regular basis!

•Treats Depression – You would be amazed how much exercising can help prevent and treat Depression! When you exercise, your body releases endorphins, which are a natural feel-good hormone. Ever heard of a “Runner’s High”? Go out for a run (or walk!) and notice how much better you feel! Bottom line: If you want to be Happy, go Exercise!

“I don’t necessarily believe that you need to take expensive medications to solve many health issues.  The root of the problems are usually because your body is lacking proper nutrition and exercise. Your body needs regular exercise, and most people don’t make the time to exercise as often as their body needs it. ”

~Twinkie

Where to Start?

You may not be able to run, but what about walking? If you can’t walk,  what about clapping your hands or moving your feet? You have got to start somewhere.  Stay consistent, and you will notice the results!

The best way to maximize your exercise regime is to have healthy, well-balanced meals. Your body doesn’t want or need processed sugars, fattening or fried foods- no matter how much you are craving them!

Now it’s time to go out and exercise!

Keep updated on the latest & greatest health articles by joining the Skinny Twinkie community!

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I’ll give you some reasons why a proper warm up and cool down are important.

Warm up

Warm ups should be easy and short. Having a proper warm up helps provide blood flow to your heart and muscles. With the increased blood flow, the lactic acid in the muscles is minimized, which increases the overall performance of the workout. Synovial fluid is released into the joints which allows increased elasticity in the muscles and increased flexibility for the tendons and ligaments. A good warm up also helps activate the nervous system before your workout.

To prevent injury during your workout, be sure to properly stretch after your warm up. Do not stretch before your warm up, since this can cause injury.

Cool down

After your workout, it is very important to allow your heart rate to return back to a normal rate. You should do this by decreasing your pace, slowly by slowly until your heart rate has decreased. You should focus on breathing in slowly as you continue to decrease the intensity of your workout. This should take about 5 minutes, longer if you had a more intense workout.

Stretching after your cool down is important to prevent injury, help relax your muscles, and quite honestly – just feels great to stretch your muscles after you have had a good workout.

Sum it all up…

Here’s the bottom line when it comes to a warm up and cool down: Both help to prevent injury, and help maximize your exercise experience. What good is getting injured when you are trying to lose or maintain weight? It’s important to stay healthy, which includes staying injury-free.

Keep updated on the latest & greatest health articles by joining the Skinny Twinkie community!

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From my own observations, here are a couple of things you can get in the habit of, to help you become more healthy.

1) Replace your Soda with Water

The average 12 oz can of regular Soda has about 150 calories in it. Multiply that by how many cans of soda you drink aday, and it adds up. Even if you are drinking “diet” soda with 0 calories, that doesn’t make it healthy for you. Swap the Soda and other sugary drinks like juice for water. Your body will thank you.

2) Park your car far away from the store

Get some more walking in your day! Europeans are known for walking a lot, and Americans need to get in this habit as well. Walking is easy on the knees and body, so if you are physically able to, try to make excuses to walk more. Make sure with your added walking, you are wearing comfortable shoes that support your feet. This will not only be better for your body and it’s posture, it will help prevent aches and pains with your added walking and will help encourage more walking.  Every extra step counts!

3) Eat out less or not at all

Practically all fast food and restraunts are breeding ground to loads of saturated fats, oils, excessive sugars, and unhealthy sized portions. When you prepare food at home, you get to have more control on what you are putting into your body. Try to use Coconut oil rather than Vegetable Oil, use Honey or Agave to sweeten your foods rather than using  Sugar or Aspartame, and try to eat plenty of vegetables and smaller portions of meat on your plate.

You can start small. Start with these 3 simple steps that can help you in a big way.

Keep updated on the latest & greatest health articles by joining the Skinny Twinkie community!

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I recently had a poll on my site asking others what they thought was the healthiest oil for them. To my shock, Coconut Oil was quite underrated for it’s many health benefits. Apparently The marketers of Olive Oil are doing a better job, but still, I must set the record straight.

Let’s first begin with going over the different types of coconut oil. I want to be sure when you are using Coconut Oil, you are getting only the good stuff, and using only the best.

Refined Coconut Oil

This is the most common way to mass-produce Coconut Oil. Refined Coconut Oil is RBD, which means it is Refined, Bleached, and Deodorized. When you deodorize the oil, very high heat is used to do so. Sometimes the RBD oil is hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated.  Sodium hydroxide is usually used to get rid of the free fatty acids, which helps prolong it’s shelf life. Due to the refinement process, the taste and smell is bland, and does not keep to the taste and smell of an actual coconut. You may think you want a bland taste rather than a coconut flavored oil…but trust me, you don’t want the refined oil. Please read on..

Virgin Coconut Oil

The only way to extract Virgin Coconut Oil is by using fresh coconut meat. No chemicals or high heating is used in further refining since it’s natural pure coconut oil is naturally able to have a long shelf life (why the processing is done in the first place, I will never know). Virgin Coconut Oil retains the taste and smell of coconuts.

Extra Virgin Coconut Oil

Unlike the Olive Oil Industry, there is actually no difference between “Virgin” and “Extra Virgin” Coconut Oil. When it comes to Coconut Oil, “Virgin” is just as good as “Extra Virgin”.

Coconut Oil Heated

One of the wonderful benefits of Coconut Oil, is that it isn’t damaged by heat. Because Coconut Oil can be cooked without worrying the nutritional benefits will be cooked out, Coconut Oil is great for cooking and baking. Not only is it still good for you, but it taste great too.

Health Benefits of Coconut Oil

Coconut Oil is the richest form of Medium Chain Triglycerides (MCT), which the body burns for energy (unlike other oils which have Long Chained Triglycerides which actually store as fat – Not good!). Coconut Oil contains Lauric Acid (form of MCT), which is a predominant fatty acid that has anti-microbial and anti-viral properties. The medium chain fats in Coconut Oil is similar to the fats found in breast milk, and even have some of the same health effects, and have a great healing power.

Coconut Oil shows evidence of killing yeast infections (think Candida), increased energy, better immune system, helps with memory, protects the liver, reduced risk of heart disease, normalizes blood sugar levels (also reduces cravings of foods that would raise blood sugar levels), aids digestion, helps with the absorption of nutrients into the body, lowers cholesterol levels, and even helps with Weight Loss.

There are many health benefits of Coconut Oil – even more than what I have already mentioned! Nice.

How Coconut Oil effects Weight Loss

Just as I already mentioned, Coconut Oil has MCT, which helps your body burn fat, thus helping you lose weight. Coconut Oil also helps your body have the ability to control hungry and cravings, which again, helps you lose weight. Does everyone who consumes Coconut Oil lose weight? No, not always. There have been reports of people not losing weight, but they noticed their pants fit better. Apparently Coconut Oil also helps with muscle mass while trimming fat.

Research shows that an under active Thyroid may be to blame for weight problems. That is a pretty intense claim considering that 65% of the US population is overweight, and 27% is clinically obese. Wow. Good news, Coconut Oil is also known to help with an under active Thyroid. Diet seems to play a major role in Thyroid health (for good or bad), and considering their is a choice in the matter, I would do what I can to naturally have great thyroid health.

Cooking with Coconut Oil

Personally, I have thrown out all of my oils (Shortening, Vegetable Oil or any other “cooking oils”), and I have replaced them all with Virgin Coconut Oil (USDA Organic). I have to admit, I was a little worried how the Coconut Oil would effect the taste of my food. Come to find out, it has only made the flavor of whatever I was cooking- even better! You can use Coconut Oil as a replacement for all other oils whether it be for baking desserts, adding to smoothies, or to cook with your meats- you won’t be disappointed.

Coconut Oil has a melting point of 76 degrees, so if it is colder than 76 degrees, the Coconut Oil is going to be more of a solid texture. For measuring purposes, you might want to warm up the Coconut Oil by either running warm or hot water on the jar, or just taking a couple of spoonfuls and baking them for a couple of a minute or two. At this point, it will be a liquid, and easy to measure for recipes.

I love this wonderful oil, and believe you will too!

Keep updated on the latest & greatest health articles by joining the Skinny Twinkie community!

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Drinking enough water helps curb cravings, hydrates your body, and helps you with your weight loss. Water is SO good for you!

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There are a lot of people still debating on whether they should buy Organic or not. Let’s set the record straight once and for all when it comes to Organic.

Definition

Organic food is grown, processed, and packaged without the use of agricultural chemicals, artificial colors or flavors, genetic modification, irradiation, or other synthetic ingredients.

Per the National Organic Program, here are some definitions that should help clear up their labeling:

“‘100 Percent Organic’ must contain (excluding water and salt) only organically produced ingredients and processing aids.

Products labeled ‘Organic’ must consist of at least 95 percent organically produced ingredients (excluding water and salt). Any remaining product ingredients must consist of nonagricultural substances approved on the National List including specific non-organically produced agricultural products that are not commercially available in organic form.”

Later, the National Organic Program addressed the term “made with organic ingredients”. They wrote:

“Processed products that contain at least 70 percent organic ingredients can use the phrase “made with organic ingredients” and list up to three of the organic ingredients or food groups on the principal display panel.”

Something good to know: If you use the USDA Organic seal on your products that are not produced or handled within the National Organic Program’s regulations, you can have a civil penalty of up to $11,000 US Dollars. Ouch!

Just so you know, products labeled as “Naturally Grown” are not regulated. Some smaller farms who can’t afford to join the National Organic Program to be labeled as “USDA Organic”, can label their products as “Naturally Grown”. Since it isn’t regulated though, there are no guarantees on what you are really getting with this label.

Organic Farms

Having an Organic Farm is a strict business, and as you now know, you can’t just mark up your products as “USDA Organic” just for the fun of it. Organic farms do not use synthetic chemicals or drugs. They instead treat their soil, plants, and animals with natural products, which are a much safer alternative. They have surprise inspections by Inspectors who test the water, soil, plants (or animals) to make sure that everything is within USDA Organic standards. Once they do this, they review receipts from anything from feed to other records of reports and tests. This takes time and money, done twice a year, and the organic farmer pays for the fees involved to be able to label their products as “USDA Organic”.

Nutrition

The debate on whether Organic is really worth the usual additional costs seems to boil down to the common question, “Is Organic healthier for you?” or “Is Organic more nutritious?”. The answer to both of the questions is a simple “Yes”.

According to Virginia Worthington MS, ScD, CNS, in her article “Nutritional Quality of Organic versus Conventional Fruits, Vegetables, and Grains” in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, she found in her studies:

“…the vitamin C content of an organic fruit or vegetable is 27% more, on average, than a comparable conventionally grown fruit or vegetable.”

She also found from the various produce she studied, that  you can, on average, find about 21% more Iron, 29% more Magnesium, and 13% more Phosphorus. You will find about 15% less Nitrates. This is all very good news for your body, and more reason to stick to Organic produce.

The Nutrients come from the soil, which then in turns feeds the plant what it needs to produce healthy good-for-you produce which we get to enrich our own bodies with. If the soil is infested with pesticides and harmful chemicals, it will be lacking in nutrients, and the produce will in turn be depleted of nutrients.

Keep in Mind

When you do see “Organic” Chocolate bars, for example, it doesn’t mean it is all of a sudden it will be considered “healthy” or even “low calorie”. It still is sugar, candy, and not to be considered as food. Organic Candy is still Candy! Keep that in mind while you are in the grocery store, and try to stick with foods in its natural form. For example, choose fresh Organic Pears versus Canned Pears.

Your body deserves the best, and it deserves Organic.

Keep updated on the latest & greatest health articles by joining the Skinny Twinkie community!

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This type of thinking only turns “diets” into “yo-yo dieting”, which means after all that effort and time you too to lose weight and learn great eating and exercise habits, you just gained back all your weight…and then some.

If you know what I am talking about first hand, I am sure you hate dieting too. You are in luck though, because I have some good news and depending on how you look at it, maybe some bad news too.

Bad news first

I don’t think that it’s bad news, but for some it might be just that. The bad news is this: There is no magic diet pill or spell that will make your magically thin and healthy. Crazy, right? I feel like I might have just told someone that Candy Land doesn’t exist! hehe

You have to think of your eating habits and exercise routines as a part of your life. If what you are currently doing isn’t getting you to where you want to go, a temporary and short term fix won’t solve the problem for good. Maybe temporarily, but you don’t want a temporary fix because you will constantly have to worry about fixing a problem. You want to have a permanent fix. This involved a complete lifestyle adjustment and for some…and pretty big change in your life.

It may be a bit slower of a process to finally get to where you want to be. It may take time to find the healthy foods that you love to replace the old foods that didn’t do your body any good. It may take time to find and start a realistic workout routine you can keep up with and stay with (not the same machine, but the routine). By doing it this way, a lifestyle change, you will see long term results, which in the end, it’s something we are all after.

The Good news!

Your body will feel great! It’s amazing how much happier people seem to be when their body’s are functioning at their best because they are receiving the nutrients and exercise they need.

It’s not always about looking skinny/fit/slim…it’s all about being healthy and feeling good!

As always…it will be worth it. I’m here to cheer you on. You ready for this?

Keep updated on the latest & greatest health articles by joining the Skinny Twinkie community!

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What is this cereal missing? Well, it does NOT include things like Trans Fat (which are formed when liquid oils are made into solid fats…not so good), it has Zero Cholesterol, and if you are a Vegetarian…you are in luck! This cereal doesn’t have any ingredients that come from meat, such as fish, fowl, or eggs, which you can thank the wonderful founders for, since it agrees with their personal beliefs and lifestyle.

So this cereal has a lot of healthy “stuff” in it. So the next important question is, “Does this cereal even taste good?” Let’s put it this way. This is seriously one of my favorite cold cereals right now. It has all of Nature’s love packed into one cereal! You will actually look forward to eating breakfast again! This cereal tastes great, and is something you will truly enjoy!

Serving: ¾ cup

Calories: 220

Keep updated on the latest & greatest health articles by joining the Skinny Twinkie community!

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Lack of Sleep?

Research has shown that those who are sleep deprived don’t live as long as those who get more rest on a regular basis. Not only that, but studies have also shown that when you are sleep deprived, you are at greater risk of hallucinations and even mental problems.

Sleeping Beauty

Ever heard of people saying that they need their Beauty sleep? If you are like many people who do not want dark circles on their eyes, you may want to rethink your sleeping schedule.

Health Benefits

Getting enough Zzz’s will help your body’s immune system, which is why when you were sick as a kid, your Mom always told you to take a nap and get plenty of rest. Your body needs sleep to recover, and even prevent sickness in the first place. Sometimes if  you are getting sick, it might just be that your body is telling you to slow down. When you get enough rest, it can help you with reducing stress (which I believe goes hand in hand with letting your body heal).

Weight Loss benefits

Want to lose weight? Make sure you are getting enough sleep! First of all, you won’t be eating during all the time you are sleeping (obviously). While you are sleeping, you have these hormones created that regulate your appetite. This is a good thing, and it affects how you will be eating the next day. What I mean by this is, with less sleep, you have less of these hormones created. With that, your body unfortunately craves things that are sugary, fatty, high in carbs and calories.

Be sure to get your sleep tonight (…and every night for that matter)!

Keep updated on the latest & greatest health articles by joining the Skinny Twinkie community!

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Cycling is a fun way to get your body moving. I remember when I was younger I could ride my bike for hours since I was just having fun, feeling the wind in my face, and viewing the scenery. Back then, I didn’t realize that riding my bike (cycling) was actually good for me and that I was exercising.

Health benefits

Cycling is good for you for several reasons. First of all, it is a great cardiovascular workout (helps fight against heart disease). Cycling tones your muscles, such as your butt, your thigh muscles, and your calf muscles. More toned muscle comes with helping your body burn those calories, which if you want to lose weight, is a good thing. If you need to make sure you are careful with your knees, cycling is a great way to go. Cycling is easier on your joints than running for example, and can also help improve your joint’s movement, and reduces your risk of arthritis (which is usually caused by worn out cartilage in your joints).

Healthy you, Happy World

Another reason I can have an appreciation for Cycling? It’s not only good for your body, but also good for the environment. No pollution is a good thing, and something I just have to promote.

Keep updated on the latest & greatest health articles by joining the Skinny Twinkie community!

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The Isagenix’s IsaLean Shake is a complete meal replacement that is actually healthy for you. The reason I say “actually” is because there are so many weight loss shakes that have nothing but sugar as the first ingredient (just look and see!), and added vitamins – though they may be low in calories, they aren’t healthy for you. If you are going to try to lose weight, you should be healthy while doing so.

Nutrition

The IsaLean Shake has high quality Whey from New Zealand, Fiber, Calcium, Vitamins, Casein protein that is from grass-fed cows with no added hormones or antibiotics, Ionic Alfalfa™ (Isagenix’s proprietary blend of 70 super-charged minerals, trace minerals and alfalfa juice), and active enzymes to help maximize the absorption of key nutrients.

Health Benefits

• May support your body in burning fat*
• May support increased energy*
• Highest quality of amino acids
• Exclusive source of whey and casein protein
• Supports digestive health*
• Low lactose
• Zero Trans Fats
• No artificial flavors
• Gluten-Free
• Wheat-Free

The Isagenix IsaLean Shake has nothing but ingredients to help benefit and feed nutrition to your body…your body will thank you.

Feel free to watch an informational video on the Isagenix® IsaLean Shake

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Keep updated on the latest & greatest health articles by joining the Skinny Twinkie community!

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I first started using the Elliptical Machine after I was recovering from hurting my knees while running (soft and uneven ground- don’t recommend it). As you might have guessed, the Elliptical Machine is low impact, and easy on your knees. I thought of this machine as a temporary step while my knees were recovering, and found that I loved this machine and the workout I was getting.

Purpose

If you are looking for a great cardio workout, this is the machine for you. Within 3 minutes of using this machine, you can get up to your cardiovascular heart rate level and stay there for the duration of your workout. This machine will get your heart rate pumping, so it’s best if you slowly work your way up to either a more intense level and/or a longer workout. when I first went on this machine, I focused on doing short, but intesnse workouts. Once I finally got a heart rate monitor, I realized I was allowing myself to let my heart rate going higher than I should have. Not good. Be sure when you exercise you have a good heart rate monitor, and know your limits. Exercising is very healthy and good for you, but if you aren’t careful, you can hurt yourself too. Always consult with your doctor before starting an exercise program.

Benefits

Your lower body is mostly what gets worked out, but since your arms are on the handle bars, you get an upper body work out (think cross country skiing). With this full body workout, it gets your heart rate going, and calories are in turn getting burned. It burns quite a bit of calories actually. Be sure to increase your levels of intensity so that your body doesn’t get used to it, and still gives your body a workout. Start slowly, and depending on how your body is feeling, start increasing the intensity.

I have found success with this machine, but I would like to hear other people’s reviews and what they think about the ever so popular Elliptical Machine.

Keep updated on the latest & greatest health articles by joining the Skinny Twinkie community!

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Just because something may be given to you for “free”, it doesn’t mean you should have it!

Every week I am offered doughnuts, muffins, pizza, Chinese food – the works! And yes, it is all “free’ to me. At first, I would eat all the “free” food I could get, because it was “free”, and I just couldn’t say “No” to it! Since someone already bought the food, I didnt want it to go to waste, so why not just eat it…it’s a free meal! Save on groceries, perhaps?

Then it all finally hit me.  I was eating unhealthy. Actually, I was eating really unhealthy on a regular basis, and I was gaining unnecessary weight.

The cost of “Free”

I finally realized that the cost of “free” wasn’t always worth it.  Just because it didn’t cost me financially, it was costing me my health! I am starting to realize that it’s OK to say “No” to all the “free” food, and move on.

Be Prepared!

The Holidays are coming up, and we all know what that means, right? People gain an average of 5-10 pounds of fat during the Holiday Season (so I have read and heard). That is overindulgence if you ask me!

So, how does everyone gain all that excess weight in such a short amount of time?

Everyone will give you a reason as to why you should try their special cookies, cakes, pies, etc. Everyone will say how much you “have to try it!”. Guess what? You don’t have to try anything! OK, so don’t be a snob about it, but kindly tell the person “Thank you, but…I can’t have it”. If someone keeps urging you, tell them you can’t have X, Y, or Z. If they continue to insist, tell them that you will get a bad reaction if you eat whatever it is that they are offering you (If it’s unhealthy food, you might gain weight, right?!). If they continue to persist,  they are obviously not respecting your wishes, and you need to move away from the conversation. Move on to other people whose primary focus isn’t on the food.

Again, just because it’s a family recipe, special occasion, or whatever the excuse may be – it doesn’t mean you have to give in to anything.

Think about it…

If you were deathly allergic to peanuts, and someone offered you something that contained peanuts, would you honestly eat it just to makesomeone else not feel bad? No! I take my health seriously, and I am sure you do too. Even thought I am not allergic…someone once offered me soda, and I politely declined their offer. That person insisted that I drink this soda. I told this person again that I don’t drink soda (well, I used to, but I haven’t for years now). I think this person might have been offended, but I am not going to lower my standards and risk my own health to make someone else feel better.

Be strong in your health beliefs, and stick to them – no matter what “free” desserts may come along your way!

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The reasons why I love the “Lose it!” App for the iPhone

1) You can easily set up your weight loss goals. You enter in your current weight, your goal weight, and set up a time line on when you can realistically expect to achieve your goal weight. You can do this by setting up a  realistic plan of losing anywhere from “maintain current weight” to “lose 2 lbs per week”. Once you decide on what you want to commit to, it will give you a date of when you will be at your goal weight. The more weight you lose each week, the sooner you will be at your goal weight (do not lose more than 2 pounds a week!).  Now you have a date of when you will have reached your goal, and I feel it makes it even more exciting and real.

2) Easily tracks your exercise each day. It has a database of common exercises that people participate in, gives an estimated calorie burn for how long you were exercising, as well as for the intensity of the exercise.  For example, the Elliptical machine at “Vigorous” for 30 minutes estimates that you have burned about 257 calories. I have tested this many times, and usually the estimates are quite accurate. Normally, I am within about 5 calories from what my machine at the gym said, versus what my “Lose it!” applicate says I burned. If the applicate seems to be way off on it’s calculation, change the intensity level until you have found the right level of what you have participated in.

3) Easily tracks Food you have consumed each day, and breaks it down in Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, and Snacks. You can find common foods in a database, or you can add your own foods in, and it remembers it for later use.

4) When you add in your current weight, weight loss goal and timeline, and you add in your exercise and food…it let’s you know if you are on track or not on track for your goal weight by providing you a calorie budget. This is a nice high-tech food journal, with all the extra perks!

5) “Lose it!” is a FREE Application.

Remember when you are trying to lose weight, you should focus on your overall health! Yes, you are allowed so many calories a day, but be sure that you are feeding your body the nutrition it needs to function and live.

Keep updated on the latest & greatest health articles by joining the Skinny Twinkie community!

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Getting enough sleep each night helps with your cravings when you wake up. Wanna lose weight? Get enough shut eye each night!

Keep updated on the latest & greatest health articles by joining the Skinny Twinkie community!

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I like clothes. I like to shop for clothes. So naturally, when I wanted to lose weight, I gave myself a shopping trip as my reward for when I reached my goal. I put money aside each month for my shopping trip, which I couldn’t touch until I reached my goal size/weight. So on Saturday afternoons when I wanted to go out for a shopping trip, I didn’t. It is what pushed me to be able to stick with eating healthy and exercising. Trust me, I stuck to it! If you want something bad enough…you will make it happen. And trust me, shopping for clothes in my new size was well worth the wait.

What motivates you to stay eating healthy and exercising? I would love to hear from any additional ideas you have!

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