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SO MANY REASONS NOT TO “SAVE UP” AND STARVE FOR A SPECIAL VALENTINE’S DAY DINNER

I myself have said and hear from others countless times, “I’m not eating so I can go out to [fill in indulgent restaurant here] tonight.”  Well, even though it sounds good and the numbers even out, famine now doesn’t mean you can or should feast later for several reasons:

1. By not keeping your metabolism in motion, you slow it down.  So when it’s faced with a large dinner it takes longer to pass it through.
2. Your blood sugar will drop drastically and you’re not going to feel good or act appropriately.  Your productivity will suffer as well.
3. If you’re hungry all day, you’re more likely to eat even MORE at dinner.

So how can you help yourself if you want to indulge???  My nutritionist Hilary King has some suggestions for you!

1. Exercise regularly at least an hour a day to keep your metabolism in high gear.
2. Eat complete meals of lean protein, complex carbs, and good fats so you’re satisfied without snacking.
3. Have a healthy snack (veggies, nuts) before you go out to dinner so you don’t blow your meal on bread.
4. Cheat on salty and fatty foods instead of sweets.  The more sweets you eat, the more you will crave them.
5. Choose a protein you’ll enjoy and limit side dishes.
6. Eat some veggies (NOT STARCH) with dinner to slow down the absorption of alcohol and sugar into your blood stream.
7. Opt for red wine or clear alcohols without juice mixers as your beverage.

Basically, if you maintain a healthy and balanced diet, train your body to burn fat, and limit simple sugars, you can splurge without starving yourself or feeling guilty.

NO MORE LETTUCE!  - 3 yummy alternative salads you can make once and enjoy all week.

HOLIDAY SURVIVAL TIPS FROM MY NUTRITIONIST!

blast900:

Hilary says you CAN have fun and still be healthy over the holidays.  Here are her tips for survival:

Before the Parties

Do NOT skip meals!! You know when people say, “Oh I’m not eating lunch because I’ve got this party tonight, and I know I’ll eat there!” WRONG!  Do NOT go to the party hungry. Try eating something before hand like a think thin bar so that you don’t go in hungry!

At the Parties

Do NOT hover around the food table. Get a small plate, put what you want on it, and walk away! Work the room, talk to people—focus on the company rather than the food.

• Put protein on your plate FIRST!! Start with protein and then move to rich vibrant colors.
• Rather than loading your plate the first time, put a little on, and if you want more later, you can always go back.
• Be picky!! Passed hors d’oeuvres are small, but they add up FAST. To avoid eating 2,000 calories worth of cheese puffs, limit yourself to 3 you love—if you can, pass on the crab cakes and other fried fare.
• If you’re at a sit-down dinner party, cut your first helping in half. That way, you can enjoy seconds (and your host or hostess will feel good about that), and the total amount of food you eat will be about the same as a normal-size portion.

Be Smart About Alcohol 

Keep your calories and your buzz under control!

• A single shot of vodka, gin, or rum with club or diet soda and a squeeze of lime is about 100 calories.
• Low-cal options like light beer or wine have fewer than 150 calories per serving. They’re perfect if you sip one all night.
• If you’re the type to make several trips to the bar (no judgments!), ask the bartender to fill your glass halfway each time to keep your total intake down.
• Champagne or pink Prosecco are both great options. Not only are they low on the calorie chart—80 to 120 per glass—but you’re more likely to sip rather than guzzle.

Holiday Shopping Snack Attack

Ohhhh the mall food court! All of the gift decisions you face at the mall will make you more vulnerable to temptation at the food court so keep things in your purse.

• Pack Snacks! 30 pistachios or 24 almonds in a Ziploc bag with two dried plums or apricots, or even some turkey jerky or a snack bar like Think Thin—get protein—it’ll keep you full.

Holiday Special Treats

Why are we such suckers for holiday desserts? The scarcity theory: things we think are in limited supply, are more desirable to us than non-scarce items.

Holiday-themed coffee drinks and sweets are often more caloric than regular ones, so stick to the basics: add your own cinnamon to your every day coffee or drizzle your own vanilla or peppermint extract.

Fast Food At Home

We get it, you’re busy! This means less time to prepare meals, so you may be tempted to eat at the drive through for convenience.

• Making recipes in advance that you can store in the freezer to reheat for dinner on busy evenings.  I will post plenty this week.  Click here to see them.
• Crock pot dinners are another good option for protein then just add steamed veggies.

Get your Protein Early

Eat a protein-based breakfast. Healthy proteins and good fats will give you an energy boost in the morning and prevent cravings later in the day.

• Try a whole boiled egg or some salmon with avocado instead of cereal or toast.
• Use nut butter like almond butter on Ezekiel or gluten free toast.

TRAINING MY BODY TO BURN FAT, NOT SUGAR

When I think fat, the gym is THE LAST thing that pops into my mind.  I see bikinis and cupcakes….and wine. (How did I forget that one in the pics?!)  I want to eat cupcakes, drink often, and look good in a bikini, all of which screams to me crazy CARDIO, not a nice and steady aerobic workout where I barely break a sweat!

As Hilary my nutritionist tells it, I would be wrong.

My second thought is to lift weights and build lean muscle because it burns 35-40 calories a day, while fat only burns 5.

Hilary says I’m getting warmer!!

While I hate to admit it, and I have even been hesitant to accept it, Hilary’s philosophy on staying lean makes sense.

70-80% of your exercise should be Aerobic

20-30% should be Anaerobic.

Aerobic means keeping your heart rate in zone 3**.  For me that is 145-165 beats per minute.  Anything over that is zone 4-5, anaerobic crazy cardio.  If we as women do too much cardio we train our body to burn sugar, not fat.  This would be ok if we didn’t eat any fat I suppose, but fat is important to keep us full and our blood level stable.  In other words, keep us from being cranky bitches.

Now let me explain from Hilary’s METABOLISM perspective.

Your metabolism is like fire and it needs oxygen for fuel.  Intense cardio workouts that keep you breathing heavy don’t let you to take in oxygen without blowing it out instantly.  A steady zone 3 workout, however, allows you breath in oxygen and let your body use it as fuel for your metabolism.  So the more oxygen you get in there, the more capable your body will be to burn fat.

Here’s the new schedule she has set for me.  I’m not a fan, but I’ll try it.

• Monday & Wednesday:  BLAST class, Spinning, or weight lifting with sprinting intervals at the end.  Objective: get muscle groups fatigued to SORENESS.
• Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday:  Zone 3 – jogging, bike, treadmill, elliptical for AN HOUR! How boring. Plus Yoga if I want.
• Friday:  Lifting weights in Zone 3 and fatiguing muscle groups that did not get attention.

**Knowing your heart rate and VO2 zones is KEY to all of this.  If that’s over your head (I’m right there with you), get your heart rate monitor and have it set to your body.  The Age/Heart Rate Zone chart is based on averages, not the size of your own heart, which is what it’s all about.

Why I hired a nutritionist…

The answer is easy: I’m tired of eating all day and being hungry ALL THE TIME!

Apparently all of my healthy snacks are “candy” and I don’t eat enough protein….

There’s more, read on.

Now pass me the cookies.  haha