Posted by Natalie Deangelo on Fri, Sep 03, 2010 @ 07:14 AM
Good morning, Fighters! Happy Friday!
When the Full Life staff came upon the below article from Men's Health, "The Scariest New Restaurant Foods", we knew this would be one for the Friday Fight. It seems that everyday, restaurants are competing for our attention with the biggest and "best" new offerings, and they're doing it the most destructive way: by making meals even fatter and even more fried. The bread on KFC's fried chicken sandwich is being replaced by more fried chicken. Burgers are being served on donuts instead of buns. Sound Crazy? Check out more examples from the article below:
Denny’s Fried Cheese Melt with wavy fries and marinara
1,260 calories
63 g fat (21 g saturated, 1 g trans)
3,010 mg sodium
CALORIE EQUIVALENT: 18 T.G.I. Friday’s Frozen Cheddar & Bacon Potato Skins. Apparently, Denny’s deemed the classic grilled cheese too boring for our novelty seeking taste buds, so they fixed it by driving four deep-fried cheese sticks into the core of the sandwich.
IHOP New York Cheesecake Pancakes
1,270 calories
CALORIE EQUIVALENT: 28 McDonald's Chicken McNuggets
Further blurring the line between dessert and breakfast, IHOP has infused their fluffy flapjacks with gooey hunks of cheesecake. Next thing you know they’ll be serving breakfast with big scoops of ice cream and chocolate syrup.
Friendly’s Grilled Cheese BurgerMelt1,500 calories97 g fat (38 g saturated)2,090 mg sodiumCALORIE EQUIVALENT: 15 Snickers Kudos Granola Bars. Is this a joke? Because it should be. Where a normal hamburger has buns, this one has grilled cheese sandwiches
Full Life's thoughts? Don't buy in! If Americans stop taking an interest in these crazy calorie creations, marketers will stop making a point to WOW us with more fat. Let's take an interest in fruits and vegetables instead. Let's take an interest in physical activity. Wouldn't it be great if Fast Food restaurants were banished completely? Well, I might be living in a dream world on that one. But if you banish them from your life, that's one less person marketers can effect with calorie destructions!
Posted by Monica Bautista on Thu, Sep 02, 2010 @ 04:50 PM
Ahhh...the last weekend before we say goodbye to Summer and hello to Fall. Although, where I live, we are still fully in Summer at 100 degrees! The perfect kind of day for a thick, delicious Pina Colada...Shake, that is!
This Labor Day weekend, serve our HMR Pina Colada and treat yourself and your guests to a healthy, refreshing drink (without all of the extra calories...a typical Pina Colada has around 650 - yikes!).
You will need (makes 2 servings):
- 2 scoops HMR 120 Vanilla
- 1 cup pineapple (fresh, frozen or canned), chopped
- 4 - 5 drops coconut extract
- 4 - 5 drops rum extract
- 1/2 - 1 cup water
- ice, crushed or cubes
Directions:
Put water, HMR 120 Vanilla, pineapple, and 2 drops of coconut and rum extract into blender. Blend on medium speed as you gradually add ice. Continue to add extracts (one drop at a time) and ice until you reach desired flavor and consistency.
Top off your shake with a skewered pineapple and a cherry and enjoy a taste of the Tropics!
Bon Apetit!
Posted by Alicia Leeds on Thu, Sep 02, 2010 @ 04:40 PM
We do, do, do and finish what we are doing so we can start doing what we need to do next.
What happens when we stop doing for a moment and make time for just Being?
This is spider season in Sausalito, CA and webs are everywhere. From porch railings to shrubs, tree branches to lawn furniture, spiders cast their intricate webs which glisten in the sunshine and get caught in your face and hair. There are three large webs beneath the landing of my front steps and three thimble sized spiders hanging there in the Center of the Universes they have spun for themselves.
A lot of work went into their webs. The strands are too numerous to count, woven around and through, and attached to points far and wide, way beyond the Center where the spiders just wait. It occurs to me that their survival depends on their just Being there, now. Spin, spin, spin, spin, wait. Hang out. Literally. From elsewhere in the Universe, the food will come.
I took note of these particular spiders when I came home from yoga today. In yoga, we move and pose, twist, turn and pose again, stretch, balance, breathe and bend... and every teacher that I have ever had has told me the the same thing. The most important pose of the entire class is the final one. Corpse pose.
Savasana.
In this pose, lying flat on your back with eyes closed, palms resting at your sides toward the ceiling, the object is to imitate a corpse, to still the body and the mind and allow space for conscious relaxation. Some people fall asleep, although Being Fully Awake is the goal. Some people jump ahead to the chores of the day, or think about going back to work, or make a grocery list. I have done all these things in Savasana. It is incredibly difficult to lie perfectly still, and not fidget, calculate, plan, organize, judge, or snooze. For 10 to 20 minutes!
In Savasana you can breathe open the door to a place of pure Being. All the hard work is done. The web you have spun is strong enough to hold you in the Center of the Universe. There is no where to go and nothing to do.
As I practice Savasana I begin to understand the power of just Being. When I quiet my mind and body I make space to experience possibility and connectedness. When I practice, I am reminded that this place of pure Being is a place that I can access any time I choose. A place in the Center of my Universe where I can Not-do, Un-do... just Be and Breathe.
In Light on Yoga, B.K.S. Iyenger says, "The stresses of modern civilization are a strain on the nerves for which Savasana is the best antidote."
My spiders will spring into action when a bug gets caught or an unsuspecting pedestrian tears through their web. And we are called into doing by our responsibilities and our jobs and our people and our goals. But just Being - in the space between doing - can be a source of infinite peace, joy, light and love. Allow yourself Savasana. Just hang out in the Center of your Universe and breathe. Your nourishment will come.
Posted by Alicia Leeds on Wed, Sep 01, 2010 @ 03:49 PM
You know it when you feel it. You met this great trainer, new teacher, fantastic weight loss coach... and you just Clicked.
It's not something you can manufacture, not something you find on a resume. Usually, it's a gut reaction to the details about a person that you take in as energy, like the way he looked you in the eye, or her tone of voice, and that elusive something more. Something that makes you feel like they know what they're doing and you are in the right place.
Some of us are moved by the Click. To call or email. To pursue a relationship. And sometimes we wait optimistically after an introduction or second meeting for the Click to happen. But beyond some point in time can we let go without that Click?
If you are embarking upon a journey for better health... check in with the Click. Do you trust the person who is telling you to eat this and not that? Are you really being honest with the person on the other end of the phone? Are you willing to take a leap of faith and try it their way?
Ten years ago I walked into a yoga studio and met my first teacher. We Clicked. I went to her class four days a week and when she retired two years later I was devastated. She guided me through the start of my journey and I wasn't sure what I would do without her. But her influence was so profound that I kept practicing yoga even though it would be years before I found the Click again.
Last year I moved to a small town with a delightful yoga studio and I have, gratefully, Clicked again. Now I have several teachers, each of whom has something to say that I am open to hearing. My practice has deepened and expanded because I am ready to learn and I trust in their ability to guide me.
There are websites, gyms and medical centers, self help groups, pop culture docs and a gazillion other gurus to turn to when you're looking for help with your weight. And many of us say the same things, just in different ways. So seek out the Click.
You are inviting people into your life hoping these relationships will help you change.
When you identify the changes you want to make, visualize the people you want to have around you. What do they look like? What do they sound like? Do they challenge you? Do they coddle you? Do they make you laugh? Is your coach more like an army drill sergeant or a wise old woman meditating on the top of a mountain? Or both?
The people you choose will support you and cheer you on, but they might also tell you things you do not want to hear. You are asking them to help you be different, and so they will be pointing out ways for you to do things differently. Most people, no matter how much they want a different result, resist doing things differently. Over time, there will be hundreds of conversations, trials, successes and failures, good times and bad. The scale goes up and the scale goes down.
The Click helps you take the leap of faith with a trainer, teacher or weight loss coach. And in the best case scenario these are the people who will have a profound and lasting impact on your life. Who do you want to share your healthy life with?
Posted by Monica Bautista on Tue, Aug 31, 2010 @ 08:57 AM
When I think of lasagna, I imagine all of the perfectly cooked noodles, delicious sauce, and melting cheese. Lasagna is one of those comfort foods for me, but, unfortunately, it can be a calorie-buster! Not any more...I have found a great recipe using HMR Lasagna (one of the most popular entrees, by the way) that your whole family will love!
You will need:
- 2 - 15 oz cans diced tomatoes (not drained)
- 2 - 4 boxes of HMR Lasagna
- 2 cups sliced mushrooms
- 3 cups spinach
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 - 4 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 1/2 - 2 tsp (each) fresh basil & oregano, chopped (or Italian seasoning)
- 1 tsp Red pepper flakes, optional
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare all of your vegetables.
- Spray saute pan with PAM. Saute garlic and onions until translucent. Add 1 can of diced tomatoes, fresh herbs, and red pepper flakes. Simmer together.
- Spread the other can of diced tomatoes on the bottom of a baking dish.
- Layer HMR Lasagna with mushrooms and spinach. Top with the diced tomato, onion, and garlic sauce.
- Bake until heated through.
Bon Apetit!
Posted by Natalie Deangelo on Sun, Aug 29, 2010 @ 07:16 PM
Hello Fighters, I hope you had a fabulous weekend!
I had to follow up on my previous post about what Americans are really eating with this crazy stat from Fitness Magazine: Statistics show that the average American consumes 56% more processed foods like candy and ice cream than fresh food like chicken, veggies, and nuts.
WOW - 56% more processed foods! That means, when given the decision, the average American will choose processed foods more than half of the time when deciding what to eat for a meal. Maybe it's because our environment is continuing to produce and support things like this: sandwiches in a can (or Candwich, as he calls them). Check it out here: http://vitality.yahoo.com/video-second-act-mark-kirkland-21318007
As you go into your week, fighters, think about this stat when you choose your breakfast, lunch or dinner: Ask yourself: which choice am I making? Overly processed foods that don't support weight management? Or fresh foods that keep you healthy and lean? I think you know which choice Full Life supports!
Posted by Alicia Leeds on Thu, Aug 26, 2010 @ 03:17 PM
"Can I have that?" is a question I often hear as a weight loss coach. And my answer is always the same.
You can have whatever you want to have, today, tomorrow, next week and next year... AND you will also have the consequences of those choices.
What most people really want to know is can they eat _______ and lose weight... and the answer to that question is usually... uhm, no.
When we want the consequences of our choices to change - we want to weigh less, we want to be healthier, we want to feel better, we have to back up and change our choices.
(Here is the HMR Calorie Chart that explains very simply how making different choices will help you manage your weight and health more effectively.)
Think of your food choices like your finances. The wine is like a trip to France and the chocolate cake is like a diamond bracelet. Of course you want them both! It's your birthday!
But you still have to pay the rent.
Living beyond your calorie budget is like putting all the extras on your AMEX, and the interest... compound, annually... on your waistline.
Having a health educator, personal trainer or Personal Coach can help you make better choices more consistently until those choices become habits and you build a healthier lifestyle. But no one can do it for you - and that's actually the good news. You have the power to change in any moment.
Say this, "I can have whatever I want to eat at any time, and I am making the choice to have ________ right now because the consequence I want is ______________".
So while we know that chocolate cake and weight loss don't go together in this statement, we can reaffirm our power to make the chocolate cake choice as long as we change the consequence. Say this a few times and it starts to get easier.
This statement EMPOWERS. Instead of saying I am eating this right now because I am tired, angry, celebrating, joyful, in the car, on a plane or at the movies, as though our choices happen to us, we can instead affirm our ACTIVE ROLE in choosing and thus take responsibility for the consequences.
Weight gain is not a result of having a birthday. But people say this to me, "I gained weight because it was my birthday."
I usually pause, uh huh... uhm, no. Not buying. Because... I do not believe that some demonic Betty Crocker forced chocolate upon you before allowing you another year of human life.
"I gained weight because it was my birthday" is like telling me birthday cake is inevitable and it just happened to you.
Try telling Bank of America you can't pay the rent because it's your birthday. You were in Tiffany's... "and the diamond bracelet looked so good and everyone else was wearing one... did I mention it was my birthday?" (it probably won't work on your spouse either)
Now say this; "I can have whatever I want to eat at any time and I am making the choice to have an Edible Arrangement because the consequence I want is to lose weight on my 50th Birthday"
Instead of focusing on the whys of your choices (emotion, location, expectation) confront the whats, the consequences of making the choices instead. It will be easier to change!
Yes, you can have it. And in America you can have it any time, any place, in any quantity, at any price AND for any reason! Have it your way! But Your choices = Your consequences. So You Decide.
Posted by Monica Bautista on Wed, Aug 25, 2010 @ 11:46 AM
Do you love coffee drinks but hate all of the unwanted calories and added sugar? Now, you can have a delicious, nutritious Cappucino Shake using HMR shakes, instant coffee, and a little cinnamon! Read on and enjoy!
You will need (makes 2 shakes):
- 1 1/2 scoops of HMR 120 Vanilla (or 70+, 800, or 500)
- 1/2 scoop of HMR 120 Chocolate
- 1/2 TB instant coffee
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 1/2 cups plus 2 TB warm water
Directions:
Dissolve 2 TB warm water into 1/2 TB instant coffee. Add 1/2 tsp cinnamon and remaining 1 1/2 cup water. Add 120 Vanilla and 120 Chocolate and blend.
If you want to make this into a frozen drink, add crushed or cubed ice and blend to desired consistency.
Bon Apetit!
Posted by Julie Kinney on Thu, Aug 19, 2010 @ 02:29 PM
This is my favorite time of year and my least favorite time of year all at the same time!
I love the time I get to spend with my children, the trips to the pool, the zoo, miniature golf, and the many weekends and weeks away on vacation visiting family and friends.
What I don't like is packing a bag for 5 people, packing the car, driving for what seems like hours on end, and getting off my routine. What always happens to me is picking up the pieces of vacation for weeks afterwards...doing laundry, sleep routines for the kids getting back to normal, and most of all exercising in my own environment, and eating MY foods on MY schedule.
Even when we have the best intentions of our behaviors on vacation, something can always get in the way. I take pride in my planning of car snacks and meals on the drive from Ohio back to Boston. I always pack turkey sandwiches and a cooler with fruit, all individually cut up and bagged for the kids. I also include a whole bag of homemade trail mix with popcorn, pretzels and raisins for the kids. Of course, water bottles are included in the cooler, as well as Benefit Bars for Mom and Dad. We try to avoid stopping along the way for meals as it is very easy to fall in the "GAP"! Wherever you turn, there are fast food restaurants and convenience stores.
When I plan for a trip, I always pack my workout clothes. I figure as a family we can get out for walks often, and since my husband would be around more than we are when we are home, I could get out for a solitary run or "sanity run" as I like to call it.
Since we are staying with family, I do the grocery shopping when I get there and am sure to stock up the shelves with OUR foods, as it keeps us in our routine and keeps our weight in check.
The most important skill that ALWAYS gets in my way no matter how hard I try to control it, is my record keeping. We all know that if you are not keeping records, you really have no idea what you are taking in for calories and outputting in physical activity.
This vacation was no different. I had a record keeping book with me and even though I did pretty well with my meals and snacks, and most of my plan was executed, things got in my way and my records were non-existent for almost 10 days.
The result...5 pound weight gain. BOOOOO!!!!
My work this week being back has been the hardest and harder than it would have been had I thought a little bit more about my records.
I am leaving that on my vacation and am back to my routine, my house, my schedule, and MY RECORDS. In one week, I have lost 4 out of those 5 pounds, but it has taken me a lot more work to get it off. In essence, it is going to take me 2 weeks to get out what I gained in a little over a week.
What is the point here? Let the bad behaviors go from vacation, and start fresh now. It is NEVER too late to make a difference even when you have a weight gain.
Have a great week!
Julie
Posted by Monica Bautista on Tue, Aug 17, 2010 @ 11:51 PM
HMR entrees are convenient, nutritious, delicious, and very versatile. It is possible to eat and enjoy them right out of the box (with added veggies, of course), but we encourage you to take them out, mix them with your favorite veggies, herbs and spices, and create a hearty and filling meal. This week's recipe is satisfying, quick and easy...a virtual fiesta of flavors! Try it and see what you think...
You will need:
- 1 HMR Vegetable Stew with Beef Entree
- 1/2 cup corn (frozen, canned, or grilled (removed from the cob)
- 1/2 cup black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1/2 cup canned chopped tomatoes (do not drain)
- 1/2 TB taco seasoning
Optional Garnish:
- Green onions, chopped
- Fresh cilantro, chopped
- Non-fat sour cream
- Salsa
Directions:
Mix together all the ingredients in a bowl. Pour into an oven-proof dish sprayed with nonstick spray. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. Garnish as desired.
Bon Apetit!