I was driving to the gym this morning and listening to a morning show on the radio when an Arby’s commercial came on… ok that’s fine but then they threw this line in (sorry if it’s not verbatim).

“Now enjoy the large roast beef sandwich without guilt, it only has 350 calories which makes it a great healthy option if you’re trying to lose weight.”

Hum… really? Sure the 350 calories isn’t a problem. There are Kashi meals with the same amount of calories but what does get me is the claim that it is healthy. There are other factors to consider with food than the calorie count. I mean after all cookies and candy bars aren’t loaded with TONS of calories but they are loaded with sugar…

And the same goes for the Arby’s Roast Beef… there are 19 g of fat and those fat grams aren’t all healthy unsaturated fats, over 6 of those are saturated. The carbs are pushing 40 g and they are definitely not complex healthy carbs. And out of all the meats, I love roast beef but it’s not exactly the leanest and healthiest meat option… cholesterol, calories, sodium (950 g of salt) and fat!

So thanks Arby’s for really trying to help people hit their weight loss goals. I would hate to see someone try the Arby’s Diet… and then how disappointed they are at the end of 30 days when there has been no weight loss and most likely some weight gain.

Gosh, can’t believe it has already been a week since my last fitness diary… how time flies!

Dear Nutrition Diary

Remember that last week I started my two week fat blasting? Well, I am still going pretty strong! Cutting carbs really isn’t hard for me and since I gave up chocolate for Lent, I can easily keep away from it. From Monday-Thursday I took in around 30-40 grams of carbs per day. Now I know what you’re saying… that is less than in a slice of bread! But my body responds well to low carbs.

You might get lethargic if you’re not used to a low carb nutrition program but I eat low carb for my everyday lifestyle so cutting it down really doesn’t change my energy levels too much.

I will admit that Friday my soon to be in-laws came from Phili to visit so I did relax and just enjoyed their time here. I fixed a dinner which of course was still a clean meal but I did enjoy a normal diet of healthy carbs. The thing is, that this is actually a good thing. Studies show that to help keep your metabolism on high when you’re cutting calories or carbs, it is good to have a cheat day. This just reinforces to your brain that you’re not starving and that your metabolism can stay burning lots of calories!

So the dinner looked like this:

• Appetizer… Sauteed Shrimp (marinated in ginger, olive oil, and a bit of honey)
• Meal… Homemade Pesto Chicken, my secret Greek potatoes, and salad (bell peppers, mozzarella, olives, and almond slivers).
• Dessert… Angel food cake with coconut

My Exercise Diet

My workouts went great this week! I changed up my exercises and made sure that I was doing BIG moves that meant big calorie burn and muscle toning! My favorite exercise this week was the barbell snatch… it can be a hard one but once you get it down you feel an amazing workout from it.

I have been exhausted from doing filming for The Art Of Weight Lifting, working and preparing for Dan’s family so the cardio stayed low intensity this week. Which was fine, my body needed a rest from all the HIIT workouts lately.

I haven’t weighed myself or taken my body fat % but I will next Monday and I will post my picture and stats up… fingers crossed we will see a difference!

Here is something you may not know, and I really haven’t talked about it in the past with many people… but I battle with anxiety. Not that this is something I am ashamed of, after all 40 million Americans have to battle with the disease. The older I get the more comfortable I get with it… I was diagnosed at 15 and of course as a teenager I thought I was rare and crazy.

Here is the thing though… I have not been on anxiety medicine in over 5 years. And my doctor is fine with it. My lifestyle is my medicine! I keep my anxiety under control (well, most of the time) with regular exercise and a healthy diet. Sure there are times when I have mini flair ups, for example this past week was crazy…

My soon to be in-laws were meeting my family for the first time, I was juggling wedding plans, planning for their visit, preparing a 4 course meal for six and working 3 jobs.. so you can see why I was a bit on edge this week and yes I did have a panic attack or two but this is normally rare.

The Big Exercise And Anxiety Report

The reason I am talking about this, is because a new report was just published that I loved to read!

Out of 3,000 patients with anxiety those that exercised regularly saw a 20% or more reduction in their anxiety symptoms. Now, I am not suggesting that you stop your meds tomorrow and go lift weights by any means but this has helped for me… it also helps to have a great support system like Dan who can see when I am on edge and helps to calm me down.

‘”Our findings add to the growing body of evidence that physical activities such as walking or weight lifting may turn out to be the best medicine that physicians can prescribe to help their patients feel less anxious,” said lead author Matthew Herring, a doctoral student in the department of kinesiology, part of the UGA College of Education.’

This is straight from the report which I will post below. The specific anxiety symptoms that were relieved with exercise were: feelings of worry, apprehension, and nervousness… pretty much every symptom! haha… I also have had less stomach issues… less butterflies!

So if you’re stressed… get to the gym! Just 30 minutes working out can help you out! If you need help with a workout, just use the one below! It’s great for getting the anxiety out.

Weight Training Anxiety Workout

Aim for 3 sets of 8 reps… This is a superset workout… do exercise 1 and then straight to exercise 2… rest 60 seconds this completes one set.

1. BB Cleans
2. Incline Bench Press

1. Cable High Rows
2. Cable Shoulder Press

1. BB Deadlift (straight leg)
2. Calf raises

Read the article: Regular Exercises Relieves Anxiety Symptoms

Summertime is upon us! Finally… well, I may be getting ahead of myself since this weekend is the first time Charleston has seen temperatures over 65 in months but none the less at least I can say spring is upon us!

Spring time is the time to start getting summertime ready. I always recommend women start to get serious and pick up their fitness routines about 12 weeks before a known event… and what is bigger than beaches, vacations, and less clothing?

The arm exercise below is going to help get your arms from shoulders down into great shape for those tank tops and strapless dresses you have waiting in your closet. Add it into your workout tomorrow and give the dips a try… even better yet if you are at a gym that has a dip bar use that!

Using a dip bar will utilize your core more than off a bench… but obviously both are great!

Dip Your Way To Amazing Arms!

Is there a particular exercise or kind of exercise you would like to see? Just let me know!

This morning Good Morning America ran a story about fish oil supplements stating that they contain harmful chemicals called PCBs, industrial chemicals that were banned back in the 1970s because they cause cancer and birth defects.

This is obviously not something that I like to hear and I am sure you’re the same way. I wasn’t born in the 70s but I have heard about the issue several times over my biology studies. And when I heard the story my question was… how are these chemicals getting into the supplements?

Well… the thing is that many of the fish that are used to harvest for fish oil are from waterways like Chesapeake Bay… small, filter fish take in the PBCs (polychlorinated biphenyl compounds) that were deposited in the water decades ago by electrical plants and other polluters. Here’s a fun fact… out of all of the 10 fish oil supplement companies tested by environmental analysts all of them showed PBCs.

How much it too much?

While getting small doses of the chemical isn’t linked to health issues, getting over 90 nanograms isn’t recommended… three of of the 10 had much more than the 90 ng… so where do you stand?

The FDA is required to test fish for PCBs but not fish supplements… that is the biggest issue about any supplement, they are not regulated very strongly. So eating fish shouldn’t be a worry… but taking the supplement you might want to think twice.

Why do you take fish oil in the first place?

Because it is a great source of omega-3 fatty acids. Omega fat acids are linked to healthy skin, hair, fat burning, heart health and more. But just because you don’t want to take fish oil doesn’t mean you can’t get your omega-3s in!

More specific benefits:

1. Reduce inflammation throughout the body
2. Blood thinner to fight clotting
3. Help cholesterol in the blood
4. Improve the body’s response to insulin to fight fat storage
5. Help fight cancer growth

Other Healthy Sources of Omega-3 Fatty Acids

• Cold water fish… tuna and salmon (eating just once a week is plenty)
• Flaxseed and flaxseed oil. I don’t like the taste of the oil but the pills and the actual seeds are fine.
• Foods like avocados, nuts, and soybeans

Read the story from ABCs Good Morning America… The Truth Behind Fish Oil

March 1 2010 After Workout

I haven’t gained weight according to the scale… but then again scales suck. I try not to hop on mine too often but every once in awhile I can’t resist it calling me over. Anyways, that really has nothing to do with my lean out. I have some unwanted body fat and with wedding parties getting started I want to look and feel my best.

Project Lean Out

So for the next 2 weeks, I will be on Project Lean to cut my body fat. I know you’re curious… what does this mean?

Everyone is different in how they lose fat the easiest, but for me that happens when I cut carbs… VERY low. I naturally eat a low carb diet (unintentionally) so for me to make a difference and cause my body to go into fat burning mode I have to stay around 40-60 g or carbs TOTAL per day.

And that is what is going to happen for the next two weeks. Because this is so low, I don’t recommend doing it for a long period of time. To help suffice for the low carb count I have to increase protein intake by A LOT… that means I will probably get it up to 150 g per day!

Side View

And the good news is I will have one cheat day. Increasing your calories for one day during a lean out is great because it lets your body know that you are not starving and that you don’t need to slow your metabolism down. I definitely don’t want to lower my metabolism… I want results.

So Friday will be my cheat day since we have family coming in from out of town. By cheating I don’t mean I am going to scarf down everything and anything in site… it just means I can relax a bit… I will probably bring my carbs to around 80-100 g and my calories up to 1800-2000.

My fitness is already where it needs to be, I won’t be changing that at all. Just the nutrition part will be cleaned up.

How I Eat To Lean Out And Cut Body Fat?

1. 5:30 Breakfast: 3 scrambled eggs
2. 8:00 Snack: Protein Shake (vanilla)
3. 12:00 Lunch: Grilled chicken breast and spinach salad
4. 2:30 Snack: Cottage cheese
5. 6:00 Dinner: Backed turkey breast and veggies
6. 8:30 Last snack: Protein shake

I will post my pictures again in two weeks… so on March 15, we will see how I did and if I succeeded. It really isn’t so much about what the scale says… It is about how I feel! And if I ever want to be on Oxygen then I need to look and feel my best!

This is a great exercise for everyone… for complete beginners and for the advanced. It’s called the Inch Worm and it’s great for toning your body… your entire body!

This is a total body exercise from your calves to your arms…. and especially the core. In this video I show how you do the basic inch worm and then take it up a notch for the advanced woman.

Try it out next time you workout and let me know how it goes!

The Inch Worm

Ok, so I can’t say behind “your” cookies because I ordered a box from a student of mine. But it back fired on me because I gave up chocolate for Lent and completely forgot I had ordered the cookies until they were delivered to me Tuesday… crap was all I thought.

So now I have a box of samoas cookies (chocolate and coconut) which  I can’t eat and will be delivered to my parents’ home tomorrow by the Girl Scout Fairy. So it’s a blessing in disguise that I can’t eat them! I would be tempted to eat the box… which is what I think most people do.

I am staying strong on  my no chocolate rule and am taking it one step further by cutting out all sugar… but if you are able to enjoy your cookies keep these tips in mind.

Eat just two cookies a day as a sweet treat. Remember, they only come once a year and there is no reason to down that box of thin mints in one day… even if they are frozen. At the same time, they’re only once a year so don’t feel guilty for having a box in your freezer.

If I could I may be eating a cookie right now. And then of course planning a great workout for tomorrow!

Nutritonal info for your favorite Girl Scout Cookies:

Thin Mints:

• Serving size= 4 cookies
• 160 Calories
• 22 g of carbs (not the good carbs)
• 2 g of protein
• 6 g saturated fat

Samoas:

• Serving size = 2 cookies
• 150 Calories
• 19 g of carbs
• 1 g of protein
• 4.5 g saturated fat

Do-Si-Dos (peanut butter sandwiches)

• Serving size = 2 cookies
• 120 Calories
• 16 g of carbs (1 g of fiber)
• 2 g of protein
• 1.5 g saturated fat

Of course there is no question that Olympic athletes are in amazing shape… they bodies are tight, toned and very lean, they are in the best shape ever when it comes to endurance and strength! Yes, one reason could be that they train for their sport as if it were a full time job (to them it is) but you don’t have to spend 8 hours a day working out to get these same benefits.

Ask any athlete and they will tell you their workouts combine three basic parts: strength training, cardio endurance and plyometrics (jumping exercises) to help get ready for their run at the Gold. And that is what my workout below includes. It is high intensity to help fat burning, heavy weights to help tone and a great mix of all three so you don’t get bored!

But first… what’s plyometrics?

Plyo exercises are jumping moves. These make your body act like a rubber band with your muscles contracting and then springing back (during the jump phase)… and yes they help not just the way your body looks but your over all performance by building lean toned muscles, increasing endurance, agility  and improving cardio health too.

I aim to do some form of plyometrics at the end of each workout I do to keep my body improving not just with the weight I lift but with my overall athleticism too!

Olympic Total Body Workout

Try this one out today, let me know what you think!

1. Walking DB Lunges 3 x 8 (Rt-1 Lt-1; Rt-2 Lt -2)
   
2. Incline Bench Press 3 x 8
3. Single Arm Clean and Press (Dumbbells) 3 x 12

1. Jumping Jacks 3 x 2
2. Burpees 3 x 8
   
3. Suicide Runs x 3 (basketball court length; or approximately 30 yards)

This is a tri-set workout… for the first set do a set of lunges, straight to a set of bench press then the clean and press…rest 60-90 seconds and do it again. Once you’ve done the three sets move to the second tri-set.

This past Saturday Dan and I went to a wedding for a lifelong friend of mine (Congrats to Brooke and Dan!), we had a great time, dancing, eating and drinking the night away… but just because we had a great time doesn’t mead we forgot all about our healthy eating habits.

It is very possible to have a terrific time and still eat and be healthy at your big events. And to prove my point, we took pictures of the wedding food, yes most people thought we were taking pictures of each other but the food was the center of our attention.

The Good and The Bad of Wedding Food

The Cocktail Hour:

Cocktail Hour... Goat Cheese Mini-Tart or Meatball. The best choice enjoy the meatball rather than the cheese ball.

The Main Course (Heavy hors d’oeuvres):

The Good And The Bad: Antipasta Kabobs, Rye Crackers and Cheese, Chicken Skewers, Stuffed Mushrooms and Mystery Wrap

The best choice to grab for is of course the chicken skewer. Is was simply white meat chicken, no dressing or sauces… these were on the side. We opted for the mustard sauce for dipping. The Rye cracker is a great choice too, but go light on the cheese choices to just 1-2 pieces.

I loved the antipasta skewer minus the proscuitto (not a fan of cured salty meat… too much sodium and processing)… but the olives and artichokes are great! Good source of omega-3s. Now, the stuffed mushroom… I have never had a meatball inside a mushroom and in my health conscious mind, I don’t think it really fit in with the clean eating meal. Really because I doubt the red meat was very lean and since chicken was there it did the trick.

Oh and why was the wrap a mystery? Well, most people (um me) think a wrap will have turkey or some meat in it and that it’s a healthier alternative to a sandwich. But imagine my surprise when I bit into it and it was filled with some sort of sugar icing… literally sugar. It was grindy and sweet and just not what I expected. I am sure you can guess that this was one item I didn’t finish.

Roast Beef and Sushi...White carbs allowed?

Then there was the roast beef sandwich bar. Roast beef isn’t the best choice of meat but if you don’t get to choose atleast you can pick out the bread. I personally don’t eat roast beef but Dan loves it so here’s his plate… he went with the whole wheat roll… the white bread is just to show the difference.

And there was a sushi bar! I am telling you there were lots of choices at this wedding! I love sushi but because it was made with a thick layer of white rice, we kept it to just one piece for each of us. Just to give it a try. See, you don’t have to stay away completely from the whites, but just limit yourself.

Drinking it up…

When it comes to drinking, opt for drinks without heavy mixers. Wine is good (red is best), and light beer is ok too… but just like everything else it is just important to limit yourself. 1-2 drinks is great… go for it, after that aim for water.

I am not a big drinker at all, I don’t drink at all during the week and then if I drink on the weekends it is normally just a glass of wine… so I was pretty annoyed that after just 2 glasses of wine I woke up with a headache yesterday that lasted until 8:00 pm! It’s true what they say, the older we get the less our body likes drinking!

Put On Your Dancing Shoes

I love to dance…Dan loves to dance, so we normally end up being “that couple” out on the dance floor. We have a blast and we work off any poor food choices we eat that night that is for sure. I am guessing that we probably danced for 2 hours (my feet have the blisters to show for it)… I calculated that I potentially burned over 600 calories just dancing!

The Family Dancing It Up... My mom, dad and me!

My Fiance and I!