IT'S GOOD TO GIVE YOUR BODY A BREAK ONCE IN AWHILE...

We all know how important it is to exercise regularly but it's also just as important to give your body regular breaks. So long as the 'break' doesn't become permanent!
Depending on how hard you work, your body needs to recover accordingly.
If you go hard and hit the gym Monday to Friday, you should take at least one day on the weekend to recover, the other you could do a more leisurely activity.
It's also important to give your body a longer rest from time to time. It doesn't hurt to take a week off each season just to rest it and change things up.
You'd be surprised how your body will re-energize when you give it a chance. You will come back stronger and with new energy...ready to tackle the new challenges that lay ahead.
So go ahead...give yourself a break!

HOW TO STAY CLEAR OF TEMPTATION...

It can be very difficult to resist temptation but here are a few tricks to help you stay clear.
1. STAY AWAY FROM DRIVE-THRU'S- Drive Thru's are the templates of disaster. It's so easy to biggie size your fries or add a shake instead of a diet pop when you're eating on the go. It's convenient...you really might not be hungry but you're given a combo and you eat it just because...not a good thing
2. EAT MINI MEALS- By snacking throughout the day rather than eating 2 or 3 large meals you have more control over how much you are eating. You are not overeating because your blood sugar is low and you feel like you're starving. By eating small amounts regularly you are better able to listen your tummy and stop when full. Your body also uses the food more efficiently because it knows there is more coming soon.
3. WEIGHT YOURSELF REGULARLY- By weighing yourself it reminds you of where you are at. If you are up a few pounds then you know sooner than later to make some adjustments. Mainly psychosomatic but it's all good.
4. GET HAPPY- Poor food choices is often associated with mood. If you are happy and content you are more likely to keep things in check. If you are sad or emotional you may look to food for comfort and that's not a good thing.
By trying these four things you may just be able to steer clear of temptation and look to make better food choices for you. Give it a shot!

DON'T SKIP THE PROTEIN!

I remember when I was growing up I remember believing that meat (man source of protein) would make me fat. A lot of people still believe that today. It's silly of course as protein used properly helps to build muscle which in turn helps your body to burn calories more efficiently.

It's when people eat too much protein or protein foods loaded with fat, that we run into trouble.

How it is cooked is very important, along with eating it regularly.

If you sit down at dinner and have a grilled 12 oz sirloin steak with buttered potatoes, broccoli with cheese sauce and buttered french bread...you are indeed consuming too many calories and a lot more fat than you need.

The meat in itself is 2 to 3 times larger than a normal serving of 4-6 oz.

If think that chicken is a good protein source you are correct. But Kentucky Fried Chicken is not! That's just loaded with extra fat. ONE piece of extra crispy chicken breast is 490 calories and a crazy 31grams of fat! On average a 6oz grilled chicken breast has 281 calories and 3 grams of fat in comparison...yikes.

Great protein sources are lean red meat, chicken salmon, tuna, yogurt, tofu, quinoa (protein grain), lentils and beans. Of course there are too many to list.

My main point here is to make sure you get a healthy serving of protein at every meal. By healthy I mean cooked without added fat.

So don't be afraid of protein.

Mix it up, use proper serving sizes, keep it healthy and enjoy!

Now could somebody please pass the honey-glazed chicken?...Sml