08-31-2012

So this morning was pretty awesome. I had originally planned to go to the gym and hit my shoulders, back, and biceps...but the opportunity arose for a bike ride with my hubby and one of our awesome neighbors. I was a little hesitant about getting on the bike today because I had a huge leg (and butt)workout yesterday and wasn't sure I was up for it. I am so happy I went though. We did 11.3 miles around our picturesque farming town. It was gorgeous...just a hint of crispness in the air gave us a preview of fall which is always pretty special in New England. It took about an hour through gradual inclines and declines, winding roads, with ample scenery. When we got home we jumped right into the pool. The water was only 70 degrees but felt like heaven. I even tootled around on the float for a while before hitting a warm shower. If every workout was like this, I would never want to do anything else!

Update 8-30-2012

So I have been back to my healthy self for four days now, eating clean and hitting the gym... The old "1...2....punch"! I have only lost one pound but I am not bummed....I am excited....because I know I am on the right track! Yes, if I starved myself I might have lost two or three pounds in these 4 days but I guarantee those pounds would be back with even more next week.

Here is why I have only lost one pound and by doing it this way will lose and, more importantly, KEEP OFF even more in the weeks to come.

I am eating clean, which means I am eating non-processed food, in it's most natural state, that my body recognizes as food and fuel. I am eating 4 to 5 small meals a day. Why? Because I am training my metabolism to keep up with me and burn what I give it right away knowing that I will provide more food (fuel) soon.

When you starve yourself, you are actually training your body to save some food, in the form of fat, for a rainy day. When you starve yourself, your body learns not to trust you. Your body needs a certain amount of calories to function so if you eat less often, your body will actually not burn fat... At least not right away. A starving body eats muscle first. Crazy huh? That is the way our bodies have been designed to work. remember, we were built to be hunters and gatherers who did not always have ready access to food, so our bodies evolved into the perfect energy storing devices...kinda like the hibernating bear. When you starve yourself you may appear to be losing weight on the scale but you are not losing the fat you wanted. You are losing muscle and storing fat.

So, I am in the process of retraining my body and getting it to trust me again, so my metabolism isn't where it should be yet. The good news is that our bodies are quick studies so it shouldn't be long before I am burning calories with a vengeance.

I am back to doing regular weight training and cardio, which means 4-5 days a week in the gym. Muscle weighs as much as fat (a pound of muscle weighs as much as a pound of fat...just like a pound of feathers weighs as much as a pound of bricks), but takes up far less room and, I feel, looks more attractive. I know that I have put on muscle in the last 4 days. I know you are thinking 4 days is not long enough to put on muscle. Not true... Especially because I have always done some weight training, even over the summer. What I changed was the weight...I have gone heavier and have forced my body to do it (read: as much as I can without injuring myself). I have also worked each muscle group twice this week so my body is starting to realize it needs to get some more muscle in those places if this is going to be a regular thing. It's amazing what you can train your body to do and how quickly. As much as we are forced to listen to our body (hunger, pain, etc), our bodies are also forced to listen to us!

So, losing a pound this week is a good thing. It means that despite putting on muscle weight, I am losing fat because my body is learning to trust me and not store anymore fat despite the fact that I am actually eating more than I did last week. Cool, huh? And if you think a pound is no big thing, check out the picture below!

It has always been my hope that others would come along with me on my health and fitness journey. The reason for my blog is to inspire and be inspired by my readers. If you are like minded, please read through my blog entries for clean eating recipes and fitness tips. I am just like you, I am sure, in so many ways. Let's help each other be as healthy as we can, for ourselves, and the ones we love! I also love feedback, so go for it!

I'm Back Baby!!!

Today starts the school year here, and with that the summer is basically at an end. Yes, the warm weather may be here for a few more weeks and the pool isn't quite ready to be closed. I will hopefully be wearing shorts and sandals just a bit longer but the mostly carefree schedule of a stay-at-home mom with kids on no particular schedule are done.

I greet this change with very mixed feelings. Although I am grateful for what was probably the best summer ever for my family, I am happy to return to the structure of the school year and all the activities that go with it. The summer was full of fun, a lot of get togethers, cookouts, trips, etc. But with the carefree I also got a little careless. In my attempt to "go with the flow", I found myself not eating right and I discovered beer (I don't completely regret that). Even though I was still working out, it was not as often as I normally did and we all know you can not sweat away a bad diet.

I made some huge mistakes this summer and I am lucky that the only ill effects I suffered was gaining about ten pounds. With my history of stomach issues, I could've landed myself in the hospital. I had committed myself before to never letting myself get that sick again... It wouldn't be fair to my family.... So the mistakes have got to stop!

So now my routine is back. The kids got on the bus this morning and I got my butt over to the gym. I did my meal planning and grocery shopping yesterday to make sure we would all be eating clean more regularly. With the kids back in school it is time to get back to taking care of me, and now I have a little more time to do it. I am also motivated by the fact that, with the unhealthy state of school lunches these days, I have to work super extra hard to make sure I am planning and packing healthy meals my kids can take to school, and more importantly, will enjoy!

I will still have my cheat meal or wine once a week...because deprivation never works (and football season is upon us!). I will, however, try to be better about not rewarding myself with food. I will set my goals and think of a prize to get when I reach it... perhaps those new boots I have been wanting :)

My blogs should be more regular now, because, as I have written before, one of the most effective tools we have is accountability. I will use my accountability to you the reader as one of my motivators to stay on track.

So, no more excuses...who is with me? Who else is committed to living a healthy lifestyle with clean meals and exercise? I'm back baby!!!!

Checking in.... July 7 ....Leger

Well it's my 38th birthday today! I am celebrating by spending time with my family and renewing my commitment to staying in shape. It has been a super fun summer, but it has also been hard to stick to eating clean and getting my workouts in with the kids out of school and social events abounding. As the years tick by it's even more important to take care of ourselves as we naturally begin to lose muscle mass and bone density. So I will be off to the gym today as a personal celebration of my age! Enjoy your weekend!

Check in- Leger- July 1

Well, it is July 1... And I am not wearing a bikini (in public)...and I am ok with that. I really feel like I am doing good enough. When is good enough, good enough? For me, it is when I know I am eating as healthy as I can, except on a rare occasion. Good enough is knowing that I am exercising 5 days a week and my clothes are fitting well. Most importantly, good enough is when I feel good and my doctor has given me a clean bill of health. I am doing good enough...

Not too long ago, I thought being able to strut my stuff in a bikini like a 20 something year old again was good enough. Well at 38 years old, after two C-sections and gall bladder surgery, I can tell you that goal, absent a cosmetic surgeon to the stars, is not attainable. I don't want surgery and I think life is too short not to skip a few workouts on occasion and have an ice cream sundae every now and then... Right???

Below is me last week on vacation in Rhode Island. I am not perfect but my bathing suit fits. I gained a few pounds while there, but I had a great time. I won't be showing off my belly anytime soon, but I will be showing off my smile... And THAT is good enough!

I will continue eating clean and sticking to my workouts, but won't worry about being bikini perfect!

I started running while away and it kinda stuck. I am only doing about 2 miles right now in about 19 minutes ( on the street). I won't be winning (or running) any marathons soon, but seeing as running has never been my thing, I am psyched that I am actually enjoying it. I would like to get up to 5 street miles by the end of August. Time to get some serious running sneaks! I'll keep you posted!

Backdrop for This Mornings Workout

I love taking my workout on vacation versus taking a vacation from my workout! This is where I did my boot camp this morning... Some beautiful running roads here too... As the postcard says "wish you were here", lol!

Focus on This Hour Every Week and you Will Lose the Extra Weight!

It doesn't matter who you are or what you do, finding the time to get healthy is hard. If you are a working parent, balancing career and kids, those two things consume your life and there is little, if any, time for you. If you are a stay- at- home parent, chances are you are over committed with all things related to kids and home (sport practices, dance lessons, PTA, and caring for every aspect of your family). I don't think I ever believed my stay-at-home mom girlfriends about how busy they were until I became one. The point is, staying healthy and getting in shape feels unattainable because it's just one more thing to add to the already impossibly long list!

For busy people like all of us, sometimes the key to being healthy is to incorporate healthy habits into the time we have already allocated to something else. This might mean going for a walk on your lunch break, or doing squats in between pancake flips (yup, I do this). It could also mean just changing the way we do the things we already do.

The good news is the time you can make the biggest impact on your health is time already allocated every week foraging for food. The average American spends about one hour a week grocery shopping, but what you do in that hour can help you reach your goal or keep you in your rut. The grocery store is where you set your dietary tone for the week...good or bad. This is where you can set the course for a healthy week or make the bad decisions that end up on your hips later in the week. The point is...if you can get through this hour making the right decisions, losing weight could feel effortless.

If you are like me, then temptations in our homes are the hardest to resist. I know that if I am aware of the presence of corn chips or ice cream in my home, I will eventually give in and eat them. If they are not in my home I won't go out of my way to go to back to the store to get them if I'm craving salt or sweet. Because I do the grocery shopping, a have a ton of control over what foods are in the house. If you are trying to be healthy then it's a good idea to make sure you are the one in your household doing the shopping. If someone in your home insists on junk food, it's ok to ask them to respect your decision to remove temptations from your home. If you are the week willed one in the house, and are prone to buying junk food, then perhaps sending someone else in the house with more will power is best. Also consider taking a healthy friend grocery shopping, not only to get some shopping tips but also to keep your grocery cart headed in the right direction.

If you can control this one hour, you can lose a lot if not all of your extra weight. Plan out your healthy meals and snacks for the week and limit your shopping to those ingredients. Leave the junk behind to avoid it showing up later on your behind..lol!


If you need a little help figuring out what to buy and prepare as healthy meals and snacks, consider purchasing monthly or yearly healthy meal plans and shopping lists from cleaneatingonline.com.

As always, I wish you the happiest and healthiest life!

Check in- Becky Leger. June 7, 2012

Well, it's now been almost a month since I returned from my girl's get-away where I started to get off track from my goals. I knew that I was going to cheat a bit on my "eating lifestyle" and I wasn't going to have access to my gym, so I took off a few extra pounds before we went. That seemed to work pretty well, only gaining those few pounds I had lost with the food and drink we treated ourselves with while away. Then when I got back home, the departure that I had made was difficult to come back from. MOTHER's DAY was the following weekend...and then a Memorial Day picnic and next thing I knew, despite working out, I had gained about 6 pounds!

The problem with taking "cheat days", or getting off track a little, it that it can be hard to get back on track and eating the right foods. The reason for this is that the wrong foods contain additives that intentionally have addictive properties. It's funny how we are all over the cigarette companies for adding nicotine to cigarettes to make us addicted to and crave cancer sticks, but we don't think twice about the same companies, who also make food, using the same techniques for enslaving us to their food but in the form of MSG (carefully cloaked as "natural flavoring) and artificial sweeteners, just to name a few. My problem was that once I got the taste of corn Chips and salsa, ice cream, and Margaritas, it was very hard to not eat and drink more, especially since leftovers were in my fridge for a bit. It requires a "detox" of sorts every time we get off track.

So, I still advocate cheat meals or days because it is important to give in to a desire once in a while and because you deserve to treat yourself. They key is making sure it is only one meal or one day and to get the crap out of your house after that! If it is in your home, you will eat it! Get rid of it and get back to your healthy lifestyle the very next day. You might even want to find other ways to treat yourself, like buying that new smaller sized skirt you were eyeing or a new trinket.

A month later, I am finally back down to 134 pounds. It only took ten days of religiously sticking to my healthy lifestyle. That's the cool thing about clean eating...it really is effortless weight loss just by making better decisions about what you eat and the weight comes off pretty steadily.

I have another vacation coming up and am really looking forward to it. This time I am not going to let myself get too far off track. The truth is that I feel better when I am on track. My energy levels, stress levels, and just about everything else is better when I am eating well. When I go off track, I always end up feeling like crap. Junk food feels good on the tongue and then immediately bloats me and makes me feel like a load. I just have to remember that next time!

So, I continue on my path to healthy living. I am still striving for 125 lbs, but am not too worried about making it. I am starting to suspect, my ideal weight is more like 130 lbs because even when I eat right and work out for months at a time, I cannot seem to break that plane. I know I am doing things right, so weight isn't really a good measure of my success... My ability is. If I am feeling good and am able to do what I need to physically, then I am a success!

Thanks for letting me check in and be accountable to you, blogger cyber-land! You really are a big help!

Avocado Breakfast Bowl

Avocado Breakfast Bowl

I saw this recipe on lifehacker.com and modified it a bit. It's a cool and creative way to make a healthy breakfast. My husband and I tried it yesterday and it was yummy... A keeper for sure!


Slice avocado in half, take out pit, and place avocado in microwave safe dish, hole facing up

Wisk one egg in bowl like you would to make scrambled eggs

Pour whisked egg into the cavity left by the pit (don't fill too high or egg will ooze out)

Top egg with a sprinkle of your favorite cheese and a pinch of salt

Microwave for about 1 min or until egg is cooked and avocado is soft

Top with a teaspoon of salsa

enjoy!


You can also do this in the oven if you like your cheese nicely browned but it takes a long time, about 1/2 hour on 425 degrees.

Post from Carla, 06/01/12

" Enzymes and Probiotics (Yogurt)
Probiotics and enzymes, those friendly bacteria found in yogurt, may be the key to losing those last stubborn inches around your waist. They not only help the digestive system work properly, but also have a profound effect on the metabolism, according to a new study in Molecular Systems Biology. The bacteria Lactobacillus paracasei and Lactobacillus rhamnosus can change how much fat is available for the body to absorb by influencing stomach acids during digestion.
But not all yogurts are probiotic, so make sure the label says "live and active cultures." Other foods containing probiotics include kefir, acidophilus milk, miso soup, soft cheeses, pickles, and sauerkraut."

"Ice Cream and Other Healthy Desserts
Calcium-rich desserts like ice cream bind to fatty acids in the digestive tract, blocking their absorption. In one study, participants who ate 1,735 mg of calcium from low-fat dairy products (about as much as in five 8-ounce glasses of milk) blocked the equivalent of 85 calories a day. Plus, half a cup of vanilla ice cream gives you 19 milligrams of choline, which translates to protection from cancer, heart attack, stroke, and dementia. We’re not suggesting you have a bowlful of ice cream every night. But a scoop (the size of a tennis ball) every few days isn’t the diet-saboteur it’s made out to be.

Caveat: Tricked-out designer ice creams are packed with added sugar and preservatives. Pick a single flavor ice cream—vanilla, chocolate, coffee, whatever."

Information from diabetes.org

Turkey Gorgonzola Burgers

We have tried this recipe and love, love, love it! Enjoy!


Turkey Gorgonzola Burgers

1 lb lean ground turkey
3 oz Gorgonzola cheese, chopped
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, drained and chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp cumin powder
2 tsp vegetable oil
6 100% whole-grain buns
6 Tbsp barbecue sauce (see recipe posted three days ago)
Shredded cabbage (optional)

1. Preheat grill to medium. Combine first five ingredients and salt and pepper to taste in a bowl. Lightly mix together and form into 6 patties. Brush them with oil.

2. Grill burgers for 4 to 5 minutes per side or until internal temp is 165°F. Toast buns for 2 minutes. Serve burgers on buns; garnish with barbecue sauce and cabbage, if desired.

Makes 6 servings . Per serving: 293 cal, 11 g fat (4 g sat), 27 g carbs, 4 g fiber, 545 mg sodium, 26 g protein

(from Women's Heath Magazine, 2012)

Clean BBQ Sauce

Clean BBQ Sauce


We tried this on our burgers yesterday (Memorial Day) and OMG delish! I won't use bottled BBQ sauce ever again. This was far tastier and no high fructose corn syrup or other unclean ingredients! I doubled the red pepper flakes for a little kick in the butt! Enjoy!


Ingredients:

1/4 cup tomato paste

3 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

2 Tbsp. pure maple syrup

2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp. onion powder

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil



Preparation:

In a medium saucepan whisk together 1/2 cup water, tomato paste, vinegar, maple syrup, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, onion powder, salt and pepper flakes.

Bring sauce to a boil on medium high and continue boiling for 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in oil. Makes about 1/2 cup.

Courtesy of "Clean Eating Magazine"

Happy Memorial Day! Thanks to those who serve!

My Simple Banana Pancakes

Clean eating is often as simple as replacing the ingredients in our favorite recipes with ingredients that are simpler and more true to their most natural state. Banana pancakes are a favorite in my household so we make them a bit healthier. We replace refined white sugar with Sucanat, which is pure dried sugarcane juice. We replace refined white flour with whole wheat flour. Also instead of pancake syrup, which is mostly high fructose corn syrup, we use 100% pure maple syrup. Enjoy!!!


My Simple Banana Pancakes


Ingredients:

2 cups Whole wheat flour
1 tbsp Sucanat
2 1/2 cups 1% milk
1 mashed up ripe banana
Real Maple Syrup

Directions:

Coat skillet with organic cooking spray and heat on stove on medium heat.

In a mixing bowl, use a fork to mash up one medium sized ripe banana into a sauce like consistency. Add flour, Sucanat, and milk to banana sauce. Whisk all the ingredients together, until well blended.

Pour mixture into hot skillet forming a 8 inch round pancake, flip when batter is bubbling and edges formed. Remove when cooked though, repeat until batter is gone.

Drizzle maple syrup on pancakes as you serve.

Makes about 11 pancakes.

I hope all have a wonderful, safe holiday weekend. I also want to THANK all who serve or haved served. THANK YOU for all your service and sacrifice!
I really understand what this holiday means, I am the daughter& daughter-in-law, of Veterans.....I am a wife of a Viet Nam Veteran and the Mom of an Iraqi Veteran!
So no matter the "uniform" you or someone in your family has worn...OR is wearing, this Family THANKS YOU!
YOUR or THEIR service will never be forgotten...............!
Carla

My Fun Cardio!

I gotta tell ya, getting on a treadmill or exercise bike is not my favorite thing. In fact, I can easily talk myself out of it. It can be boring! It's hard to keep going when all you have to occupy your mind is the ticking of the timer, right? 5 mins...5 min, 1 sec... 5 min, 2 sec....and on and on, ticking away....holy boring! Sometimes I can bring a book and distract myself reading on the recumbent bike, but then I find myself slowing down because I'm paying more attention to the book than my heart rate. I can sometimes run on the treadmill at the gym while watching tv with headphones on, but I have the same attention problem...plus I am always looking at the timer, ticking away.

Like me, you make not be the kind on person that enjoys the mundane. If it's not fun, I don't want to do it. BUT, cardio is soooooo incredibly important to our health. Our hearts need exercise, but do all cardio workouts have to involve a piece of stationary machinery?...NOPE! Let me tell you about the way I LOVE to get my cardio in...and it's fun!

I weight train 4 to 5 days a week. Sometimes at the gym, but in a lot of ways I prefer to do it at home...because I can't dance between sets at the gym :). ... A.) I am not a very good dancer and B.) unless you are in a Zumba class, no one there is dancing. At home, I crank up music that gets me moving, and if I am not doing my weight set, I AM DANCING! I normally try to do 3 sets of 14 reps of each weight lifting exercise, then rest that muscle for 30 seconds between sets, and during that 30 seconds I dance... Energetic, probably goofy looking (though I think I am a dance goddess in my little gym) dance. cardio is all about keeping your heart rate up and dancing surely does that. If I dance between my weight sets, I have accomplished weight training and cardio all at once.... Plus if my dance involves that of the Latin variety I have also worked my abs!

So what's your cardio exercise of choice? What do you do to make cardio more fun? I'd love to hear your ideas!!!

Status update- Becky Leger 05-23

Gave my body a big shock today. As I mentioned before, I got myself into a bit of a rut and was having a hard time getting back on track. I put a few pounds on during vacation. Extra weight always makes me feel sluggish, but there is also no doubt that I am still purging the bad food and alcohol I consumed on vaca out of my system. It's kinda like when you put bad gas in your car, it takes a while for it to run normally again.

So today, after the kids got on the school bus, I made my way to the gym as I often do. I worked chest and triceps today but really piled on the weight today. I really wanted to wake my body up and get moving again. When it was time to do cardio I decided it was too nice a day to get on a stationary bike or treadmill. Plus, the energy in the gym was wicked low. Funny how that effects me. Sooooo... I went home and grabbed my mountain bike and took a 13 mile ride down the canal trail and back home again. I kept the pace up the entire time and made the round trip in about an hour. Oh, my legs are sore!!! But, I feel greeeeeat!

Oven - Fried Zucchini Rounds (submitted by Carla)

Oven-"Fried" Zucchini Rounds

2/3 cup plain breadcrumbs or whole wheat breadcrumbs
1/4 cup freshly grated "low fat" Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp garlic salt
2 large egg whites, lightly beaten
1 TBS water
2 1/2 cups zucchini slices, cut 1/8 inch thick on the diagonal
(About 2 medium zucchini)

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 deg. Place a wire rack on top of a cookie
sheet and spray with (Olive Oil) cooking spray.

2. In a wide, shallow bowl, mix together the breadcrumbs, Parmesan
cheese, oregano and garlic salt. (or sea salt & pepper whatever you like!)

3. In a separate bowl beat together the egg white and water.

4. Dip each zucchini slice into the egg mixture; then roll in breadcrumbs.
Place onto the wire rack and repeat until all the zucchini has been coated.

5. Lightly spray with the cooking spray and bake for 8 minutes.

EAT JUST PLAIN, OR HAVE SOME LOW FAT RANCH DRESSING
TO DIP IN!


(one word of caution..........you may want to DOUBLE the recipe!)

Calories 80 / Carbs 9g / Total Fat 2.5g / Protein 6g / Cholesterol 5mg

These are good with a meal or just as snack! The recipe above is for
four servings! So enjoy because....they are a healthy treat!
This recipe comes from my "EAT WHAT YOU LOVE" cook book, written by Marlene Koch.

Happy 53rd BDay to one of my Greatest Inspirations!

Tosca Reno, fitness guru and Author of "Your Best Body Now" Turned 53 today! Doesn't she look great? She didn't even start getting in shape until she was in her 40's! She is an inspiration to me. She proved that it is never too late to be healthy! You go girl!

PS: I strongly recommend her books and her magazines, "Oxygen" and "Clean Eating Magazine".

(by Carla)

Becky Leger Progress 5-22

Well, it has been a tough few weeks on the road to my goal. I had mentioned previously that I would cheat while on vacation at the Cape and then Mother's Day came along as well, making me feel entitled to eat and drink freely. I still feel cheating is necessary occasionally because deprivation definitely doesn't work. Cheating comes with some risk though, the greatest of these is that some of my favorite cheat food and drink have addictive qualities (corn chips, ice cream, margaritas). Literally the manufacturers of junk food intentionally use ingredients that make you crave more. Not only is this unfair but should be a banned practice and probably would be if food companies didn't have so many politicians deep in their pockets. Anyway, if your cheat meal or day turn into cheat days or a week, you will have a hard time getting back on track. This is the problem I had leading to a 4 lb gain in weight in two weeks :(. I really dislike going backwards! This weight gain was despite working out. Bad diet makes all the difference which is why I harp on it so much.

All is not lost though... It's a setback that I will use as motivation to get my butt in gear. There is always a chance to start over again and we can't let setbacks set us completely back. I have thwarted all temptation in the last few days and should be back on track, and a few pounds lighter, by the end of the week.

On my next vacation I won't allow myself to stray so much remembering what happened this time. You may be thinking "but Becky, it's vacation... Live a little". My answer to that is I know I will have a better vacation if I eat healthily because when I eat bad, I feel like crap. When I feel like crap, my vacation is not enjoyable. I will have a treat here and there for sure but will no longer take a complete vacation from the healthy lifestyle that has done so much for me. I am looking forward to planning some healthy meals and snacks for our RI trip coming up... Planning is ALWAYS the key to staying on track :)

As always, I wish you the happiest and healthiest life... Especially on vacation!

So True

Some wise words to start the day. The ball is truly in our courts...so to speak. We have more control over who we are and what we do than anyone or anything else. We are not the victims of our lives... Our lives are what we make them. Lets start today by deciding who we want to be and make a list of a few things we can do to get ourselves there. I have decided to be a more mindful person, present and more grounded, so I am adding 15 minutes of meditation to my days... How about you?

Larabars... Quick, healthy, and yummy!

Questers... I have the perfect already made snack for you. As clean eaters, we talk about eating foods in their most natural state and avoiding processed foods. That is a good rule to live by. We also say that if you MUST buy something pre-made, shoot for products with minimal ingredients that you immediately recognize as food, not chemicals or food made in a test tube. The truth is we do sometimes need to eat something convenient when we are out and about. A good store bought snack alternative is the "Larabar" and is available at most grocery stores (see photo below). Larabars typically have 2 or 3 ingredients tops and are always made of real foods. The one depicted below has two ingredients, Cashews and Dates. That's pretty basic. they are also gluten free, dairy free, soy free, non-gmo, vegan, and kosher and yummy! I advocate 4 to 5 small meals a day. The Larabar would make a great mid afternoon meal... So enjoy!

As always, I wish you the happiest and healthiest life!

Becky

From Carla on this first day!

Wisdom on this first day,
"The greatest wealth, is health."
(author - Virgil)

Thanks,
Carla

Today Could be the First Day of your New Life!

Today is the day that the Questers Page goes live! The Questers Page is open to whoever wants to join and is basically a blog for all people looking to connect with others also on their way to their health and fitness goals. All you have to do to join is:

-contact me at healthquest@sigct.com and let me know you would like to participate.

- find the page on the blog I will create for you and write something about yourself (who you are, what your health and fitness goals are, maybe a "before picture").

-then blog freely on the Quester Page about your journey to be healthy, include recipes or motivational snippets, etc.

- support other Questers by reading and commenting on their pages and posts.

The idea is that we all need support and help along the way. This is a forum for both. So join in and let's get healthy together!

Avoid the Last Horray Today for a Good Beginning Tomorrow

Avoid the Last Hooray!

I post this today because many of you may be thinking about becoming Questers and transforming yourself into the happy and healthy people you always wanted to be, starting tomorrow. If you have made this decision to begin a new day in your life, I am so proud of you! Great days are ahead as you watch and feel yourself getting closer to your goals!

From experience, let me warn you about the "last hooray", other wise known as the "I will start eating healthy tomorrow, so I'm gonna eat and drink my hearts delight today" syndrome. I know this one all too well as it was the way I use to start all of my diets before I discovered clean eating. The day before I started a diet, I would have a big fatty dinner and desert and wash it down with several margaritas or a bottle of wine. The problem with this, as I have found out, is that what you eat and drink today will set the tone for tomorrow. If you eat a lot of fatty, salty foods and drink a whole bunch of margaritas today, tomorrow you will not have the energy to start exercising and your body will not work as it should. Think about the last time you had a good binge, didn't you feel like crap the next day? It's easy to talk ourselves out of exercising or eating well when we feel like crap.

Tomorrow morning I want you to be able to bounce out of bed and enthusiastically embrace the first day of your new healthy life. Take it easy today to have a good day tomorrow. Remember, a good healthy way of eating includes having a treat from time to time, so you will be able to enjoy your favorite treat again soon.

As always, I wish you the happiest and healthiest life!

Becky

Questers Page Goes Live Tomorrow!

Tomorrow, May 18th, is the big day that the Questers Page goes live! The Questers Page is open to whoever wants to join and is basically a blog for all people looking to connect with others also on their way to their health and fitness goals. All you have to do to join is:

-contact me at healthquest@sigct.com and let me know you would like to participate.

- find the page on the blog I will create for you and write something about yourself (who you are, what your health and fitness goals are, maybe a "before picture").

-then blog freely on the Quester Page about your journey to be healthy, include recipes or motivational snippets, etc.

- support other Questers by reading and commenting on their pages and posts.

The idea is that we all need support and help along the way. This is a forum for both. So join in and let's get healthy together!

Test Blog

Testing to see if this is linked to the Health Questers page. Dan

Pork Loin Chops with Cinnamon Apples

I haven't given you a recipe in a while, so here is what we had at my house tonight. I love searing pork chops in a hot pan to lock those juices in. My kids love juicy and they love apples, so we threw some of those in there too. My son told me that I made "apple pie pork chops"! It doesn't really taste like that but it is tasty, so enjoy!


Pork Loin Chops with Cinnamon Apples

Ingredients:

4 4 oz pork loin chops
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp ground white pepper
2 medium sized shallots, sliced thin
1/2 cup chopped celery
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup low sodium chicken broth
3 apples cored and diced (red variety)


Instructions:

One: Heat olive oil in a skillet on medium high heat. Meanwhile, season the pork on both sides with salt and pepper. When skillet is nice and hot, add the pork, searing until brown on both sides. Remove chops from skillet and place aside temporarily.

Two: Add the shallots, celery, and garlic to the skillet on medium heat and cook until softened and just beginning to brown. Stir in the broth, apples, and cinnamon to the skillet and bring to a simmer. Return the pork chops to the skillet and mixture, spooning some of the juices over the chops. Let cook until pork is cooked all the way through, about 7 minutes.

Three: Serve the apple mixture over the pork chops and enjoy!

Easy Everyday Ways to Be Active from Carla

Easy Exercises at Home and Work
With a hectic work schedule followed by demands at home, it may be hard to squeeze in a trip to the gym. The good news is you may not have to go anywhere to get a good workout. "Any kind of movement can be considered activity and will burn calories," says Burron.

Try these ways to incorporate easy exercises into your day:

Park in the back of the parking lot so that you have to walk a little farther to your destination. For an added workout, carry your groceries instead of pushing them in a cart.

Give your house a really good cleaning. To burn even more calories, sing and dance while you work.

When you have a choice, use stairs instead of an escalator or elevator. Try to climb stairs quickly instead of taking your time.

When feasible, walk instead of driving, taking a train, or riding the bus.

Getting antsy in your chair at work? Fidgeting is fine — and burns calories.

Use an exercise ball instead of a chair. It forces you to continually contract your core muscles in the abdomen and back to stay balanced.

Play with your kids — tag is a great game to get the heart pumping.

Laugh, jump up and down, dance, and just enjoy life.

Exercise doesn't have to be a chore on your to-do list or something that you dread. If you make choices throughout each day to help you move a little more, your heart will reap the benefits.

Contest Winning Healthy Recipe

I really like this Dr. Mark Hyman guy. He is the one that talks about "diabesity". Anyway, he had a healthy recipe contest and here is the link to the winner....Enjoy!!! Recipes Galore…The Path to a Healthy Life | Dr. Mark Hyman http://drhyman.com/blog/2012/05/12/recipes-galore-the-path-to-a-healthy-life/

End of the Week Status- Becky Leger

Happy Cinco de Mayo! This is my one week check in. A week ago today I committed to losing ten pounds and fitting into a bikini by July 1st. It is
My hope that fellow Questers will check in once a week or so as well to let us know how they are doing with their goals so we can offer each other encouragement and support.

Anyway, I have only lost one pound this week, which would probably get me voted off the Biggest Loser this week if I were a contestant... Lol! I couldn't be happier though because not only did I do very well eating clean this week, I also ramped up my weight training in anticipation of my upcoming trip to the Cape. Weight training equals muscle so I have likely gained a little muscle weight, which is off setting my weight loss. I lost a half inch on my waist so the proof is in the pudding.

Next week I will be at the Cape for a few days with my bestie and I plan on cheating a bit. I won't expect big results at next week's weigh in. I will just hope not to do too much damage :) . It's all good!

This is Inspiring Beyond Words

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qX9FSZJu448&sns=em

I like this! Check it out...

What is the Health Questers Page?

If you are reading this post, and DID NOT find this blog through my main blog, you may be confused as to what this blog is. First of all, thank you for your interest and let me tell you what the Health Questers Page is. My name is Becky Leger and I have a blog you can find at www.beckylegerhealthquest.blogspot.com. The title of this blog is "My Quest to be Healthy in an Unhealthy World". The link to this blog is located on the right side of this page.

Recently, I posted about the effectiveness of working on your healthy living goals as a group rather than "going it alone". In my posting about Dr. Hyman and Pastor Warren's collaboration, I told you about the success they saw in creating small groups of people looking to lose weight and live healthfully. Accountability and support are so important in reaching our goals. It works for me, whether it's been training with a partner for an upcoming event or blogging for you. Knowing that someone else is interested in my progress motivates me. The proof is in the pudding when you figure I've lost ten pounds since starting this blog a month ago...lol.

This same concept exists all over, beachbody.com, jillianmichaels.com, to name a few. These are perfectly good sites with good information, and good programs, but you have to pay for the daily support pages that basically do what I am proposing. But it's really only about connecting people to each other, so why pay for that when social media is at our fingertips? I decided to dedicate space on my blog for just that. It's called the "Health Questers Page" and it's free!

The "Heath Questers Page" is actually a separate blog linked to my main page. Each person who would like to be a "Quester" will be given the ability to "author" posts for the blog that relate to information on clean eating or other nutritional information. They may also post links to articles, tips, motivational snippets and encouraging words, exercise routines or videos, or general healthy living information to share with the other Questers (no copy-write material please).

Now, this isn't a weight loss plan, so it's largely up to you to set your goals and work toward achieving them. What you will find here is a collaborative effort to share healthy living information and a place to be accountable to your fellow "Questers" as you work toward your goal. Here you will find information, motivation, and inspiration. Perhaps you'll be the source of all three for someone else!

To get started simply let me know via email (healthquest@sigct.com) that you're interested in becoming a Quester. On the launch date of the new blog you will notice a page assigned to you (limited to the first 20 Questers).That page should be a place where you would write a little bit about yourself and what your health goals are. Refer to my "Then and Now" post for a sample of how this might look.

Please email me (healthquest@sigct.com) with your interest in participating as soon as possible, as personal pages will be limited to the first 20 Questers. The anticipated launch date for the Health Questers Page is May 18, 2012.

I am really looking forward to working with the Questers. I know I will learn as much, or more, from them as they will from me. I can't wait to hear from you! Sign up now and start your own Health Quest!!!

As always, I recommend you check with your doctor before beginning new exercise or nutritional regimens.