The other day I mentioned rewarding yourself..... try this recipe and see what you think.

I found this on www.SparkPeople.com

Chocolate Chip Biscotti

Submitted by LADYBUG0147with cocoa and chocolate

Ingredients
1 cup Whole Wheat Flour1/2 cup Granulated Sugar1/4 cup Cocoa, dry powder, unsweetened1/2 tsp. Baking Soda1/4 tsp. Salt1 large Egg1 Egg white1/2 tsp. Vanilla Extract1/2 tsp. Orange flavored Honey2 tbsp. Semisweet mini chocolate chips

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, mix together until blended the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. In a medium bowl, mix together the large egg, egg white, honey, and vanilla. Add this to the flour mixture. Mix together until well combined. The dough will be sticky.Lightly flour your hands and a surface. Roll the dough into 2-inch thick rope. Place the rope on a baking sheet. Press the dough rope to a 1-inch thick width.Bake for 25-28 minutes or until firm to the touch. Remove from oven and let it cool on baking sheet for 2-5 minutes. Place rope on a cutting board. Cut rope into 1/2-inch thick slices (about 16 slices). Place slices on the baking sheet with the cut sides facing up.Bake for 8 minutes. Turn the biscottis on the other cut side for another 8 minutes or until dry.Let cool on wire rack.Enjoy with a cup of ot coffee or cocoa!

Number of Servings: 16

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user LADYBUG0147. Number of Servings: 16

Reward Yourself

Reward Yourself
How to Pat Yourself on the Back -- By Mike Kramer, Staff Writer of the SparkPeople.com.

Everyone likes a pat on the back every once in a while. And there’s no better time to get one than when you’re out of your comfort zone, challenging yourself to improve, nervous about whether you can succeed.Most people approach changing their health habits from a position of "pain".

They constantly nag themselves, berate themselves and expect nothing but perfection, no matter how much progress is made. Tools of the trade are guilt, doubt, shame and self-flogging. Instead of celebrating the 24 pounds they’ve lost, they see the six they still haven’t lost. Sound familiar? To people used to beating themselves up, it may seem like the best way to get motivated. But consider this: if you attempted to motivate an employee like that, how long do you think they’d stick around? How successful would they be?Let’s do it differently this time.

Try to approach your goals from a position of "possibilities" instead. Find ways to use regular rewards to pat yourself on the back and give a word of encouragement. Instead of focusing on what you do wrong, try paying more attention to what you do right. While straight talk and brutal honesty are often good for getting your butt moving, for sustained motivation, the positive approach will keep you from burning out.Rewards create a feeling of doing something you want to do, not just what you’re forcing yourself to do. Even the smallest of rewards can work wonders as you travel from milestone to milestone, pound to pound, and mile to mile.

Here’s how to set up a good rewards system:
Choose some benchmarks and reward levels. You can also reward yourself for levels of consistency.
Make the reward meaningful to you. As a reward, a new pair of shoes may not hold as much motivation as a simple night alone with a book. Then again, it might.
Choose two or three options from the Reward Roster below or come up with a few reward options of your own. It doesn’t take much. Sometimes, the best rewards are those you can’t buy.
A lot of small rewards, used for meeting smaller goals, are more effective than relying solely on the bigger rewards that require more work and more time.
Don’t use food as a reward. Even good food. It’s just too much of a slippery slope. Don’t even mess with it.
Plan to celebrate. Figure out now how you’re going to celebrate reaching your health, fitness or nutrition goal. Involve other people, tell them about it. Create a celebration that you can anticipate and then keep it within sight all the time.
Be honest with yourself. Fudging the numbers mentally, or "borrowing" against the next reward hurts the cause of building a lifetime habit. Remember to keep your focus on building a habit, not just figuring out how to get the reward.

REWARD ROSTER CHOOSE YOUR FAVORITES AND USE THEM LIBERALLY
Compliment yourself. Write down what you would say to anyone else who accomplished what you did.
Create an actual plaque or trophy.
Give yourself badges of honor for different levels of accomplishment.
Take a vacation or weekend getaway.
Take a day off from any goal activities.
Put $1 in a jar every time you meet a goal. When it gets to $50, treat yourself.
Create a Trophy Scrapbook, where you keep mementos from your accomplishments.
See a movie.
Make a grab bag of little prizes. When you reach a significant goal, reach in and get your reward!
Go for a spa treatment or massage.
Buy yourself a gift certificate.
Take a limo ride.
Subscribe to a magazine you always wanted.
Go canoeing or do something outdoorsy.
Watch your favorite TV show.
Buy something for your hobby.
Read a funny book.
Celebrate "100% Days". If you reach 100% of your goals that day, choose two rewards.
Find some time to be by yourself.
Pay someone to do the yardwork or house cleaning this week.
Fly a kite.

Night Time Cravings.

During the Diet phase you have everything mapped out. You go strong during the day but when you get home.....totally different story. You can do like I do and not buy food!... Pretty bad, but it works or you purchase only things that are healthy and no snacks. Try reading this article by Beck Hand... It is really interesting.

Is Evening Eating Destroying Your Weight Loss Efforts?
Cues to Eating and How to Control Them -- By Becky Hand, Licensed & Registered Dietitian

Balanced breakfast? CheckMid-morning snack? CheckHealthy lunch with your co-workers? CheckPassing up your friend's homemade cookies? CheckComing home in the evening and going on a feeding frenzy? CHECK!!

Does this sound like the bulk of your days? You're in control, everything is going fine - until you come home starving at night and eat a large dinner, say yes to dessert (and seconds) and finish off a bag of chips before bed. What gives? From a metabolic standpoint, there is really no reason not to eat food in the evening.

A calorie is a calorie regardless of when it is consumed. A morning calorie is metabolized in basically the same way as an evening calorie. However, eating in the evening is a problem for many, not because of the way food is metabolized, but because of the quantity of food that is often eaten. Skipping meals and becoming overly hungry by evening can lead to nighttime binge eating. Recent studies revealed that when people ate three meals a day only 13% binged. When people skipped breakfast, 24% binged and when people skipped breakfast and lunch, 60% binged. In general, people who spread their meals throughout the day seem to be better able to control their eating. They are less likely to feel hungry and less likely to overeat. So by eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner and planning snacks in between, you can help yourself lose weight as well as maintain better control of your eating throughout the day and night. For most people, the evening is "down-time," used to relax, watch television, and unwind from the stresses of the day. Others view this as a time to multi-task and catch up on household chores, bills, homework, and other responsibilities.

Whether you're winding down or checking off your to-do list, unconscious eating can accompany your routine and result in a massive calorie intake. Devouring a bag of chips, a sleeve of cookies, or a pint of ice cream can occur when your mind is somewhere else.

The Role of Sleep Consuming a large amount of food before bedtime can also result in indigestion and sleep problems, which can trigger you to eat more during the proceeding days. A growing body of research suggests a connection between obesity and lack of adequate sleep. Statistics show that overweight individuals sleep about 1.8 hours less a week than people of normal weight. Since the 1960's sleep duration for American adults has dropped by as much as two hours a night, while obesity has drastically increased. Sleep is a regulator of two hormones that effect appetite, leptin and ghrelin. Leptin helps suppress food intake and stimulate energy expenditure, while ghrelin stimulates appetite, fat production, and body growth. When one is sleep deprived, the level of leptin drops and the level of ghrelin increases. The result is a drastic increase in hunger.

One study reported a 24% increase in hunger, with excessive, uncontrollable cravings for calorie and carbohydrate packed foods such as cookies, candy and cake. It can all add up to a vicious cycle of late night binges, lack of adequate sleep, uncontrolled snacking, late night binges, and so on.Are You An Evening Eater? Try this exercise to find out.

Use the Nutrition Tracker to track 3-5 typical days of eating. Print each day's results and use your records to answer the following questions:1. How many meals and snacks did you eat after 5:00 pm? 2. How many meals and snacks did you eat during the day?3. How many total calories did you consume after 5:00 pm? 4. How many total calories did you consume for the day? 5. What activities occurred while you ate after 5:00 pm?You may have a problem with evening eating if:
 More than one-third of your meals & snacks are eaten after 5:00 pm.
 More than one-third of your total calories are consumed after 5:00 pm
 Evening eating constantly occurs with another activity.

Put An End to the Evening Binge Cycle!

You CAN control evening eating disasters. Try these tips to normalize sleeping patterns and fend off hunger:

Plan activities to do throughout the evening, but don't make food a part of the activity:
Take a bath
Walk the dog
Pay bills; balance the checkbook
Play board games with the kids
Call a friend
Keep your hands busy (polish the silver, sew, knit, or do any craft)
Play basketball, baseball, soccer
Read a book or magazine
Try a relaxing fitness video such as yoga or tai chi.

Eat 3 meals daily and 1-2 planned snacks, keeping in mind your total calorie range.
Plan to eat about the same number of calories at each meal throughout the day. The total should be within your calorie range.

Have a low-calorie beverage (diet soda, flavored water, etc.) in the evening.

Make a list of low-calorie snack options. Select one for the evening. Eat it, but no more.
Don't eat mindlessly! Eat all meals and snacks at the kitchen table, keeping all of your attention on the food you're enjoying. Take your time and really enjoy every bite.

Get 7-8 hours of sleep nightly.
Maintain a regular bed and wake time schedule, even on the weekend.
Establish a regular, relaxing bedtime routine.
If you have trouble sleeping, leave the bed (or room) and pursue another activity like reading until you're ready to sleep. Use your bedroom only for sleep and sex.

Finish eating at least two to three hours before your regular bedtime.
Exercise regularly.

Avoid caffeine and alcohol close to bedtime; avoid nicotine altogether.
Article created on: 4/13/2005

Health Snacks

On my diets I find that snacking is my worst enemy. The more I think about what I can not have the more I want. So this diet I am including snacks as part of the process. I plan for my snacks each day and for chocolate I use Quaker Mini Delights 90 calorie Packs and the Special K Bliss granola bars. They help more than anyone will know. Here are a few more suggestions by the Staff writes of www.SparkPeople.com.

Keep Healthy Snacks Handy
News Flash: Snacks are Healthy! -- By Zach Van Hart, Staff Writer

From SparkPeople.com

Research actually shows that snacking in between meals, or even eating 4-5 smaller meals throughout the day, is better for you than the traditional two or three larger meal routine. That is, of course, if you are eating nutritious snacks instead of the all-too-popular vending machine potato chips and soda, which many of us are drawn to.So really, it’s a matter of making good snack choices when it’s time for a food break. Power foods are always a good bet, because they usually combine high nutrients and lower calories. These could be anything from grains to dairy to fruits and vegetables.Healthy snack choices start at the grocery store. That’s where the decision is made to eat healthy snacks – not at the office or on the couch, but at the grocery.You still want to watch how much of these healthy snacks you eat. This is a snack, remember, not a meal. So buy, cut up or make single servings of any snack food you can. Here are some healthy snack ideas to consider next time you head to the grocery.

Healthy Snack Ideas
Yogurt , Fruit Cup, Apple, Banana, Pear, Peach,Grapes, Plum, Orange, Berries
Watermelon, Raisins, Carrots, Celery, Broccoli, Mixed Nuts, Tomato, Chicken Noodle Soup,
Cauliflower, Green or red peppers, Peanut butter crackers, Nuts, Carrots, Whole wheat cereal with skim milk, Trail mix, Oatmeal, Whole wheat bagel or toast , Pure bran muffins , Fruit smoothie, Spinach, Sweet potato , Broth-based vegetable soup , Skim and low-fat milk , Bean soup.
Article created on: 11/3/2003

Portable Snacking Tips & Ideas
Remember the 'Healthy' with the 'To-Go' -- By Laura Bofinger, Staff Writer

Eating is no longer an activity only experienced around the table with friends and family. Quick, how many times this past week have you eaten on the run? No place is safe either – the car, your desk, maybe even the shower! Our time is strapped and we need food that’s easy to grab ‘n’ go. And during this mad-chaos of finding food on our way out the door, one detail is easy to forget – making sure that the choices we make are healthy.Unfortunately, it’s mostly the bad stuff that falls into the "fast" and "easy" categories – chips, candy bars, sodas, etc. Well, what if we took some time and ingenuity to make our own healthy snacks portable and easy for on-the-go eating?I’m talking about things that can fit into the top drawer at work (not jelly beans or Kisses!) or snacks prepared ahead of time that can be popped into a lunch bag. Yes, some of these items WILL require some thinking ahead. Some might even require refrigeration or special containers. But they are fast, simple, and easy. Most take less than 5 minutes to prepare. You’ll also be thankful that you’ve saved yourself the cash that normally goes to vending machines or convenience stores. Your body will be grateful as well. The benefits of health outweigh the costs.

Check out these suggestions.
Celery sticks with peanut butter and several raisins on top
Rice cakes with peanut butter (good for getting a protein punch)
Low-fat cheese cubes
Hardboiled eggs
Deviled egg (wrapped in plastic wrap)
Fruit yogurt cup (add in some fresh fruits or nuts for a boost
Trail mix
Nuts or nut mix (stick to just a handful)
Vegetable sticks with a little packet of dip (lowfat salad dressing packets found in salad bars work as easy-to-pack dip)
Broccoli or cauliflower bites
Half of a turkey or tuna sandwich on whole-wheat bread
Cucumber slices (lightly salted or with nonfat Italian dressing)
Yogurt and granola
Leftover chicken or turkey slices (great to eat cold)
Healthy fiber-rich or grain cereal (great to eat dry from a baggie)
Pickles (wrapped in foil or plastic wrap)
Box of raisins or other dried fruit
Half a large whole wheat bagel with light cream cheese
Apples, bananas, strawberries (any fruit works, these are naturally portable)
Mixed berries (these freeze well in plastic bags)
Whole-wheat crackers and low-fat string cheese
Grapes in a baggie
Fruit smoothie in a thermos
Tuna and cottage cheese in mini-containers

The trick here is to be prepared and get creative!

Get your fresh fruits and vegetables on the weekend in preparation for the week’s snacking. Keep small-sized plastic containers for packing up small portions. Take note of the healthy foods you need to keep stocked in the house for future quick and healthy snack preparation. These will become automatic items for your grocery list. You may find that you start to replace a few nonessential, calorie-wasting items with your new healthy snack list. Article created on: 1/23/2004

Fad Diet or Life Change?

We all have those last minute pounds we want to get rid of before a special event. But do we know how we will do this? Is this really possible to be done safely and last? Francese Largeman, R.D. has a little information on this.

Healthy For a Lifetime
By Frances Largeman, R.D.

How many times have you gone on a diet for a specific event like a wedding or a reunion? Probably more than once. You may lose that five or even 20 pounds for your special event, but keeping them off is the true test.

Fad diets might help you shed a quick 7 to 10 pounds, but eating cabbage soup or beef jerky all day long does little to help you learn how to eat balanced, healthy meals. Once your month-long diet is over, you'll probably go back to skipping breakfast, eating fast food lunches and enjoying takeout for dinner. This isn't because you're a bad person or you lack willpower — it's because dieting doesn't teach you how to eat properly.

Healthy Diet and Exercise: A Winning Combination
Healthy eating and regular exercise are the only proven methods for long-term weight loss. For many people, this combination feels like a life sentence, but it should really feel like a new lease on life. Hectic schedules are the most common reason why people say they don't exercise. The truth is that 30 minutes of exercise each day — whether walking the dog or playing tennis — is one of the best things you can do to improve your overall quality of life, and that is worth reshuffling your schedule.

People also complain that they have no time to cook. Cooking does take time, but if you cook "smart," you may only have to spend a couple of hours in the kitchen each week. Even if you don't cook at all, there are plenty of healthy convenience items on the market (like low-fat burritos and ready made salads) that make quick work of nutritious meals.

Taking care of your body — both inside and out — is an investment in your future. If you stay at a healthy weight for your lifetime, chances are that you'll avoid Type II diabetes, high blood pressure and even several types of cancer. You'll also have a ton more energy to do the things you enjoy. So, drop those quick weight-loss plans, carve out some time for exercise, and eat your fruits and veggies. With a few simple changes, you're guaranteed a lifetime of good living.

Portion Control-Wallet Control

Yesterday I told you about the Food Budget..... I do not know if this is worth it when you read something like this article on "From Wallet to Waistline". The article has a point but think of this, with all the craze about weight loss aren't we trying every diet pill, gimmick and weight program to lose the weight brought on due to loving the oversize portions.

We can save money if we think of the $93.00 I spent this weekend for healthy food as an investment in my health to lower my weight, cholestrol and blood pressure and slowing down my need for medical services and fad diets. $93.00 vs. $12,000 visit to emergency room with a heart attack? NO BRAINER!



"From Wallet to Waistline
Super-Sized Portions may be More than You Bargained For -- By American Institute of Cancer Research

Americans who take advantage of larger sizes for just a few pennies more when eating out may be getting more calories than they bargain for, according to a new report by a coalition of health organizations.

The report found that the food industry's "value marketing" encourages overeating and contributes to the skyrocketing rates of obesity in adults and children."Americans are constantly induced to spend a little more money to get a lot more food," said Margo Wootan, director of nutrition policy at the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). "Getting more for your money is ingrained in the American psyche. But bigger is rarely better when it comes to food.

"From Wallet To Waistline: The Hidden Costs of Super Sizing, was issued by the National Alliance for Nutrition and Activity (NANA), a coalition of over 225 national, state and local health organizations. The report compares the price, calories, and saturated fat in differently sized foods from fast-food chains, convenience stores, ice cream parlors, coffee shops, and movie theaters.

Among the findings:
Upgrading from a 3-ounce Minibon to a Classic Cinnabon costs only 24% more, yet delivers 123% more calories. The larger size also provides almost three-quarters of a day's worth of artery-clogging saturated fat.
Switching from 7-Eleven's Gulp to a Double Gulp costs 42% more, but provides 300% more calories. Those 37 extra cents deliver 450 extra calories-more than you'd get in a McDonald's Quarter Pounder.
It costs 8 cents more to purchase a McDonald's Quarter Pounder with Cheese, small French fries, and small Coke (890 calories) separately than to buy the Quarter Pounder with Cheese large Extra Value Meal, which comes with a large fries and large Coke (1,380 calories). "McDonald's actually charges customers more to buy a smaller, lower-calorie meal," Wootan said.
Moving from a small to a medium bag of movie theater popcorn costs about 71 cents-and 500 calories. A 23% increase in price provides 125% more calories and two days' worth of saturated fat. (And that's unbuttered popcorn!)

According to the report, the practice of "bundling"—turning a fast-food sandwich into a "value meal" by adding sides like fries and a soft drink-is responsible for some of the largest increases in calorie content. And fountain drinks proved to be especially bad health bargains. They cost the least to upgrade and deliver the biggest calorie boosts (and they provide some of the highest profit margins for retailers).Have It Your Way"So what can consumers do right now?" asked Melanie Polk, RD, director of nutrition education at the American Institute for Cancer Research.

"We can speak up. Say 'small,' say 'half,' and share."By speaking out, Polk said, consumers let the food marketer know that they want healthy meals. "Order a small or half-size. Share that bucket of fries or bladder-bursting drink with friends. Keeping those extra cents in your wallet means keeping extra pounds off your body, and that's more important than ever.""If you walked into a McDonald's in the 1950s and ordered a burger, fries and a 12-ounce coke, you'd have bought a meal with about 590 calories," said Carol Tucker Foreman, director of the Food Policy Institute at the Consumer Federation of America. "Today a popular super-sized meal may contain 1,000 calories more. As a result, we're super sizing our kids and super sizing ourselves."That's why consumers should decline to take advantage of "more-for-less" marketing practices, even if it may seem cost-ineffective, says Polk. "It's penny-wise and pound-foolish to order more food than you really want, just because it seems like a bargain," she says. "Let restaurateurs and retailers know that you want reasonable portions at reasonable prices. After all, restaurants pride themselves on responding to customer demand." Article created on: 12/8/2004

FOOD BUDGET - no way!

This Weekend I took some recipes designed by the "The Biggest Loser" show and purchased all the necessary ingrediants to make two seperate dishes. $93.00 later I made only two meals with these items, (granted I now have things in my cabinet like ground cumin????) but my goodness that was alot of money. So once again I go on-line and look for help. HERE is what I found!

"Eating Healthy on a Budget
Save Money Without Sacrificing Quality -- By Rebecca Pratt

When you’re on a tight budget, the thought of preparing tasty, healthy meals on a regular basis can seem daunting. Not only is it easy to get sucked in by grocery merchandising tricks, but it’s also normal for most of us to fall into a mealtime rut, eating the same foods over and over. But you’re in control of your kitchen—and if you cook smart, you can enjoy the first-class meals you deserve. You can save money and still have quality. If you’ve been using cost as an excuse to eat junk, you can kiss that excuse goodbye! With a little organization and creativity, you can have the proverbial champagne when cooking on a beer budget.

To start, here’s a quick review of basic tips of healthy eating:

Limit your intake of junk food and alcohol
Drink lots of water (at least 8 cups a day)
Limit salty and sugary foods
Avoid eating many foods that are high in saturated fats
Make “variety” the watchword of your eating

Next, set aside regular blocks of time for planning meals, making your grocery list, and shopping—tasks that are most often shortchanged in food prep. Include healthy snack ideas, as well as main menu items. Think about the time of day, day of week, and even week in the month that you shop. Generally, the grocery is the least busy early in the morning, in the middle of the week, and on any day but the first day or two of the month (when many people receive pension or paychecks). Don’t be afraid to surf the internet for recipes that use specific ingredients (plug the ingredient in as a keyword of your search), since you can often get good buys on breads, meats, and other items marked for quick sale before they go bad.

Stock your fridge and cupboards with items that are quick and easy to cook (yet kind to your wallet):
Beans and lentils, whether canned or dried, make nutritious, hearty soups, and can be a main course with the addition of fresh vegetables or rice.
Brown Rice is a great addition to leftover meat and veggies. Although brown rice is slightly more expensive than white, the nutritional payoff is well worth it. Another inexpensive, easy-to-fix grain, millet, is best when bought fresh. Simply rinse and toast before using it in recipes.
Pasta, likewise, is quick and easy to prepare, and can be paired with veggies, meat, or a fresh salad. Have fun adding your own embellishments (mushrooms, spices, and herbs.) Choose whole-wheat pasta whenever available.
Soups can’t be beat for nutrition and convenience, especially since you can use canned or packet soups as your base, then add your own veggies and leftover meat. Again, try to experiment, adding your own herbs and spices.
Fresh vegetables and fruit should be bought at least once or twice each week, preferably in season, to ensure optimal taste and nutrition. You can also rely on canned/frozen varieties as handy additions to last-minute meals. Veggies make great stir-fries and vegetable patties, while fruit is good for a quick nutritious snack.
Meat and fish can be kept on hand also for last-minute meals— try the newer tuna and salmon pouches, and shop for inexpensive cuts of meat that work well in stews and casseroles.
Condiments add flavor and interest to your dishes. Keep a selection of dried herbs, spices, curry powder, marinades, vinegars, tomato and soy sauces, along with stock cubes, in your cupboard. Experiment with the new, such as Japanese miso, an aged salty condiment made from soybeans and various other ingredients (found in the natural foods section, usually refrigerated).

Finally, a few more hints that can help you save a little green:
When cooking a big meal, make extra to freeze, or use later in the week for lunches or quick suppers. Double recipes, then freeze half.
Save your vegetable trimmings to make your own vegetable stock. Not only do you save money, but vegetable stock also makes a nutritious base for casseroles, soups, and Crockpot cooking.
Buying in bulk is almost always cheaper; you can freeze perishable items (such as meat, milk, and even bread) in smaller portions to use as needed. It’s always a good idea to buy non-perishable items in bulk (canned foods, dried beans and grains, etc.).
Use less expensive cuts of meat for casseroles that you slow cook; add extra vegetables and beans to make the meal go further.
Capitalize on one-pot dishes, which generally save prep time, money, and dishwashing, and often make great leftovers.
Look high and low (literally) to find the less expensive generic or store brands on grocery shelves, often very similar to higher-priced brand names though packaged under different labels. Stores deliberately place the highest-priced brand-name items at eye level, but if you compare the cost per unit, you’ll be able to figure out the most cost-effective purchase. You can even try your own taste tests— blind, of course— to see where you can save money without sacrificing flavor.
Take advantage of specials on staples—broth, soups, pasta, rice, canned veggies, even bread and meat. Many of these items have a long shelf life or can be frozen for short periods of time.
Limit your dining out, especially when it comes to fast food, since you’ll find yourself spending unnecessarily on items that are high in fat, salt, and calories, which short-change you in the nutrition department.

There’s no magic formula to cooking on a budget. Like anything else worthwhile in life, it takes a little planning, creativity, and work. But if you think of the rewards—better health and more money—you’ll find it’s worth the effort. No doubt you’ll still have days when you fall back on that quick-fix packaged food or the local burger drive-thru. But if you look at cooking as an adventure, you’ll also have days when you find yourself pleased at what you’ve accomplished—as you serve dinner to rave reviews from family and friends!

No Pain - Do we Gain?

No Pain = Do We Gain?

I have always been taught that if you do not "FEEL THE BURN" you are not working out to your full potiential. Sometimes I do not feel up to "THE BURN", I just want to workout and feel stretched and relaxed. In my search for truth I found this cute article. See if you agree!

Is Your Exercise Program is Wearing You Out? -- By Jen Mueller, Certified Personal Trainer
We’ve all heard that a combination of diet and regular exercise is the best way to lose weight and keep it off long term.

For some of us, common sense dictates that the more you work out—and the higher the intensity—the better. But that’s not necessarily true. Even if you’ve gradually increased the intensity, duration and/or frequency of your workouts, you can still run into problems.

Have you noticed that your workouts suddenly feel harder than before, even though you haven’t changed anything? Do you feel like you are losing ground, even though you’re working hard? If so, you may be overdoing it.

The cause of overtraining is simple. You’re not resting enough to allow your body time to recover, or you’re doing the same exercises too much. Here are some common symptoms of overtraining:
Feeling tired, drained, and lacking energy
General body aches or mild muscle soreness
A decrease in performance
Inability to complete workouts
Headaches
Insomnia
Lack of motivation

If you have been overtraining, it’s not too late to get back on track! Follow these three steps:

1. Your first priority should be rest. Just a day or two probably won’t do it. Depending on how severely you’ve been pushing yourself, three to five days should give your body enough time to recover—both physically and mentally.

2. Get plenty of sleep and make sure you’re eating well, particularly during this recovery period. Focus on getting adequate amounts of protein, complex carbohydrates, and lots of fruits and veggies.

3. When you are ready to return to your exercise routine, start off slowly. Most research shows that it is okay to return to that same level of intensity, but you may need to cut back on the length and frequency of your workouts for the next few weeks. After that, you should be able to resume normal activities.

Here are some simple things you can do to avoid overtraining and burnout:
Use common sense! Work out less on days when you’re not feeling up to it. Schedule at least one or two rest days per week. Resting might mean no exercise at all, or just “active recovery,” which is light activity (an easy walk around the neighborhood, for example). Rest days should give you the feeling that you’re storing up energy. When you push yourself through a high-intensity workout (cardio or strength training), tiny tears develop in your muscle fibers. Allowing your body to rest and recover for a day (or two) gives your hard working muscles time to repair those tears, and a wonderful thing happens—your muscles start to grow back stronger! Without ample recovery time, you continue breaking down the muscle fibers, and that’s when fatigue and injury can occur.

Incorporate a variety of activities into your exercise program. Or, if there is one thing you really enjoy, mix up your routine. Add speed or distance, increase the incline, or change your route—all of these variations can improve fitness, prevent injury, and keep your motivation high. Try different kinds of workouts within each week. For example, try an interval walking workout, a long distance walk, and a few “regular” walks at an easier speed and distance.

Don’t do too much, too soon. Some people take the “all-or-none” approach, going from a sedentary lifestyle to exercising for 45 minutes or more, 5-6 days per week. At this rate, exercise doesn’t make you feel good like everyone says it will. You’re tired, your knees hurt, and your muscles are sore. After a week or two, it’s easy to get frustrated and want to give up. Instead, increase your workouts gradually and allow adequate recovery time to reduce these symptoms.

Take care of yourself. Make sure you are eating a well-balanced diet, and getting adequate sleep. Allow for flexibility in your program. If you’re planning to walk and its 110 degrees outside, think about exercising in water, or at least avoid the heat of the day. If you’re not feeling well, give yourself a break—no guilt allowed. You may end up doing more harm than good by pushing yourself to exercise if you’re getting sick.

Exercise should make you feel refreshed and energized—not exhausted. If it’s causing fatigue, soreness, or a feeling of utter dread, listen to your body! It may be time to make a change.

I like this advice it goes right to what I was looking for!

Stuck In A Rut?

Author Lisa T http://weightlosssurvial.blogspot.com/

Dieting seems to take forever. We want INSTANT weight loss, INSTANT muscle tone and INSTANT results. That is not the way this works. You go and go then your stuck. You make a mistake, then you quit.....You feel like you are going in the right direction but still behind because your wants are not fast enough. WWW.SparkPeople.com has some interesting
Staff Writer's take a look at what Mike Kramer tells us.



-- By Mike Kramer, Staff Writer
"Fall seven times, get up eight." - Japanese Proverb
"Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish." - John Quincy Adams
"The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials." - Chinese Proverb
"Never give in. Never. Never. Never. Never." - Winston Churchill
"Great works are performed not by strength but by perseverance." - Samuel Johnson

These quotes all say the same thing. No matter how many obstacles you run into, what matters is that you’re able to overcome each of them, one at a time."Two steps forward, one step back" is usually a negative term to describe someone who is having trouble making progress. But switched around, "1 Step Back, 2 Steps Forward" means that instead of grousing or feeling guilty about a misstep, you can still come out ahead if you put your head down and push forward.Steps back can take many forms: a family vacation, breaks in your routine, personal tragedies, injuries, or that lost weekend in front of the tube.

A big mistake people make when trying to get healthier is that when they fall off a bit or something happens, they think they "have to start over". Wrong! When missteps do happen, a better strategy is to simply take two steps forward. You’re still ahead of where you were before, far beyond the starting line.In tennis, losing one point isn’t the end of the world. It happens to the best of them. In fact, if you can consistently win a few more points that you lose, you may end up in the hall of fame. With healthy eating and exercising, as long as you’re consistently out-stepping your steps back, you’re ahead of the game. If you expect perfection (and many of us do), you’re setting yourself up for disappointment and guilt. Guilt can be debilitating to your healthy habits.

When you mess up (or even when things are messed up for you), it’s natural to feel guilty. At that point, you have a choice: to let that guilt plummet you into a cycle that could spit you out worse off than before, or to accept the step back and say "where do I go from here?" Of course, consistent success is still something to strive for. You don’t want to roller-coaster up and down. That’s an "old" habit, remember? And the 1Step/2Step strategy doesn’t lessen the need to do your best. You should still work hard to keep those steps back from happening. But it helps to be prepared with a plan and a positive attitude for when they do happen.

Many times, this means a rededication, a refocusing, and a recommitment. You might want to look at your program and see why it’s allowing those landmines to stick around. Use it as a learning process. Ask how you can keep that misstep from happening again.

Take a walk in the woods to clear your head and regroup.
Have a personal "bounce back" motto that will re-energize you. Put it everywhere.
Take a break if you think you’re trying too hard.
Return to the basics. Are you making it too complicated and tough on yourself?
Plan ahead for irregularities in your schedule, call ahead to healthy restaurants, pack healthy snacks.
Stay aware of what you’re doing. One meal mess up can turn into a one day mess up, a one week mess up if you’re not careful.
Remind yourself of your success so far when you need a boost.

Unlike people who run 10 miles today because they should have run two yesterday, "2 Steps Forward" doesn’t necessarily mean doing a lot more to make up for a blunder.

Just make a commitment to do things as right as possible as much as you can."

Exercises for your neck and shoulders.

Author Lisa T WeightLossSurvival.blogspot.com/

Working on a computer all day? Are you carrying the world on your shoulders? Would you like to know how to get a little relief?

No wonder you get a little stiff and sore now and then.

The neck and shoulders take a lot of physcial stress and abuse, turning this way and that, nodding, bobbing, jerking, lifting, hunching and straining all day long. In fact, neck and shoulder problems are among the most common injuries. In addition to physical injury, we carry a lot ot stress and tension in out necks and shoulders.

Below are some simple exercises can help relieve stiffness and tension, and strengthen the neck and shoulders against injury.

Be careful when working with your neck and shoulders. Move slowly and deliberately. Pay attention to which muscles are being used. Never go to the edge of discomfort. This isn’t a workout, test or competition.

Try these that I found on-line
1. Chin-to-chest. Inhale and as you exhale slowly lower your chin to your chest, creating a long, gentle stretch along the back of the neck. Take several slow, deep breaths with the chin down. Liftthe head back up on an inhale. Repeat.
2. Ear-to-shoulder. Inhale and then as you exhale slowly lower your right ear toward your right shoulder. It won’t reach, but don’t worry about it. Breathe into the gentle stretch created along the top of the left shoulder and left side of the neck. Take several slow deep breaths. Inhale and raise your head back up. Repeat on the other side.
3. Neck roll. Follow the instructions for ear-to-shoulder, then roll the chin down toward the chest, across the chest and up the other side. Inhale and as you exhale roll the chin down across the chest and up the other side.
4. Shoulders-to-ears. Inhale and raise your shoulders up to your ears, pulling them up as high as they’ll go. Then let go with an “ahhh” and drop your shoulders back down. Repeat several times.
5. Shoulder circles. Raise your shoulders up, rotate them back and down, forward and up again. Repeat several times then go in the opposite direction.

Now try this:
Yoga Facial Exercises
There are about 16 muscles, a dozen bones and assorted arteries, veins and blood vessels that help your face do the things it does. Like muscles in other parts of your body, your face muscles absorb and store a lot of stress and tension. Unless you relax those muscles, they get stiff and hard and look strained. Tense muscles also constrict blood vessels, limiting the flow of blood and nutrients to your face. What’s more, the tension in your face muscles can cause headaches and spread down into our neck and shoulders.

A few simple exercise can help relieve facial tension and help you look and feel more relaxed.
Your face deserves a break. Below are a few simple face exercise that help relax tense muscles, release stress and improve circulation.
1. Palming. - Find a comfortable seated position, either on floor on a cushion or in a chair. Sit with your back straight. Begin with your eyes closed. Focus on your breath as it moves in and out of your nostrils. Cool air in, warm air out. - Rub your palms together very fast until they feel warm. Then cup them over your closed eyes. - Repeat. Benefits: Soothes the optic nerve, eyes and area around the eyes.
2. The Great Rub - Place the index and middle fingers of both hands in the middle of your forehead. Rub your forehead by making small circles with your fingers. - Move your fingers across your brow and to your temples, pausing there to give them a gentle massage. This is an area where we hold stress and tension that can often lead to headaches. - Then move down from your temples to the hinge of your jaw, pausing to massage your jaw muscles. - From there, move across your cheeks and up along the side of your nose to your forehead. - Repeat. Benefits: Releases stress and tension, particularly in the temples and jaw.
3. Eye socket massage. - Take your index and middle fingers of each hand and place them on either side of your nose just below the bridge. Rub your fingers up to the bridge of your nose and along your eyebrows. - You’ll feel a notch in your eye socket where the bone begins to turn downward. Rub the notch gently for a moment. Then follow the line of the socket rim down beneath the eye and back up along the side of your nose. - Repeat 3-5 times. Benefits: Relaxes the eyes and surrounding areas, and relieves stress and tension.
4. Clenched smile. - Grit your teeth and open your lips as wide as they will go. - Feel your lips, cheeks, chin and neck stretch to their limit. Hold…and release. - Repeat. Benefits: Increases circulation, relaxes faces muscles, relieving stress and tension.
5. Scrunches - Scrunch your face real tight. Purse your lips, draw your cheeks in toward your nose, pull your eye brows down and bring the flesh of your chin up toward your mouth. - Hold…and release. - Repeat. Benefits: Provides a counter stretch to the “Clench” exercise. Increases circulation, relaxes faces muscles, relieving stress and tension.
6. The Lion. - Take a deep breath. - All at once, exhale forcefully, open your mouth wide, stick your tongue out as far as it will go, say “Aghhhhhhh,” and open your eyes wide and look up. - Repeat 3 times. Benefits: Relieves tension in the throat and face, stimulates the eyes and improves circulation.
7. Cheek Pinch. Pinch your cheeks, by grabbing bits of flesh and giving them a squeeze. Benefit: Improves circulation.

For help with these Yoga moves .......
Please send comments or questions to: info@yogasite.com.

Stopping Stress in 3 Minutes or Less

Don't Let this be you when you feel stress.-Stop Stress in 3 Minutes or Less
Author Lisa T WeightLossSurvival.blogspot.com/

Yesterday I found articles on how stress stimulates you to want to eat and I totally understand this urge.......But now how do I prevent this course of action. Because I promise the photo above IS ME! Stressed and willing to eat everything!

Here is what I found I am willing to try this but I make NO Promises.............

Stop Emotional Eating Before It Starts
-- By Dean Anderson, Behavioral Psychology Expert
"What is the single, most common problem that most dieters face when trying to lose weight? Will power? Nah. Temptation? Sometimes. Emotional eating? Bingo! That’s why it takes so much more than good intentions and information about nutrition and exercise to be successful.

The ability to manage difficult situations and feelings effectively—without turning to food and eating—is a necessary foundation for a successful weight loss plan and healthy lifestyle. Fortunately, there are many proactive steps you can take to keep functioning on all your mental cylinders during tough times.

These steps range widely from basic relaxation techniques to the development of a reliable support network. Other options include:
*Keeping a food journal to help you identify your emotional eating triggers
Cultivating mental and emotional well-being through practices like meditation, mindfulness, massage, and yoga
*Developing good problem solving skills ... Turning to the Message Boards for help and support when you need it; offering help to others as a way to get your mind off your own troubles and gain a little perspective on things.

But all of these things take time, and there are many instances when you need something you can do right now, to keep yourself grounded, focused and able to make good decisions. After all, you don’t always have time to take a walk, relax in a hot bath or call a friend to talk things over.

That’s what we’ll be talking about here—a 3-minute trick for handling stressful situations in the moment.

Minute 1: Stay Grounded
Emotional eating happens when you lose your connection to your grounded self. Stress itself is not what makes you reach for something to eat. In fact, stress is often a good thing and your grounded self knows this! We need the physical stress of exercise to keep our bodies in good shape just as we need the stress of intellectual and emotional challenges to keep our minds healthy. Nine times out of ten, what really leads to emotional eating is getting caught in a "mind storm" of worst-case scenarios, projections, misinterpretations, and all the emotional overreactions that come with these thoughts. This "storm" turns a manageable challenge into something that makes you feel helpless, overwhelmed, ashamed or afraid—and sends you to the kitchen to find something to stuff those extreme feelings. When you can stay grounded in the moment of stress, you have many more options.

Here are some simple ideas to keep you grounded when something (or someone) pushes your buttons and your feelings start to spiral out of control:

Take a few deep breaths. (You can also count to 10, if that helps.) If the stressful situation involves someone else, take a timeout and agree to continue the discussion in a few minutes.
Remind yourself where you are. Take a look around, noticing and naming the colors and shapes in the space around you.
Notice the physical sensations you are experiencing. Whether it's a sinking feeling, turmoil in your stomach, tension in your hands or jaw, restricted breathing, or heat on the back of your neck, try to name the feelings that go with the sensation. Is that sinking feeling fear, or dread? Is the heat a symptom of anger?
The idea here is to stay in your body and in the moment—with what’s real—instead of going inside your mind where all those unreal scenarios are just waiting to get spun out-of-control.

Minute 2: Reality Check
Once you’re calm enough to start thinking productively, put all those thoughts that are clamoring for attention inside your head through a quick reality check. Here are several very common thought patterns that have no place in reality. Do any of these apply to you?
All or nothing thinkingExample: You go over your calorie limit or eat something on your “forbidden” list, and then decide to keep eating because you’ve already “blown it” for today. Reality: Weight loss is not a one-day event. If you stop overeating now, you’ll gain less and have less to re-lose later. That’s something to feel good about!

Reading your own thoughts into someone else’s words
Example: Someone made a mildly critical or unsupportive remark to you, and you feel completely devastated. Reality: The more bothered you are by such remarks, the more likely it is that you are being overly critical of yourself. When you treat yourself with respect, what others say won’t matter nearly so much.

Either-Or thinking
Example: You make a mistake or have a bad day and feel like a complete and hopeless failure. Reality: No one does well all the time. Mistakes are a necessary and valuable opportunity to learn—if you don’t waste them by getting down on yourself.

Taking care of other people’s business
Example: Something is going badly for someone you care about, and you feel responsible, or pressured to fix it. Reality: People need to learn from their own problems. You aren’t doing anyone a favor by trying to fix things just to make yourself feel better.

Minute 3: Putting Things in Perspective

Most common problems that you face in everyday life are much easier to handle when you keep them in perspective and avoid making mountains out of molehills.

Here are some questions you can ask yourself to make sure you aren’t in the mountain-making business:
How big a deal is this, anyway? If I knew I was going to die in a week, would this be something I would want to spend this minute of my remaining time on?

Will any bad things happen if I postpone thinking about this until I have more time to figure things out?

Do I have all the information I need to decide how to respond to this? Do I really know what’s going on here, or am I making assumptions?

Am I worrying about things that might not even happen?

What do I need to check out before taking action?

Is there anything I can do right now that will change or help this situation?

Am I trying to control something I can't, like what other people think, say, or do?

Have I really thought through this problem, and broken it down into manageable pieces I can handle one-at-a-time?

Use this approach whenever your thoughts or situations begin to feel overwhelming, and you'll quickly find that the mountains that seem impossible at first can quickly morph into what they really are—manageable hills that you DO have the ability to climb. All it takes is three little minutes of your time."

Article created on: 6/21/2006

I personnally feel some of the ideas in this article may work but I do not know about all of them. I will try a few and see what happens.