For losing weight, I thought I’d give a few tips, and if you follow the suggestions below, you are sure to get some results without dieting or feeling deprived.

1. Eat off small plates. This is an easy change that definitely made a difference to me. It makes it so much simpler to figure out portion sizes without having to measure, weight, count calories, etc. If you eat off a smaller plate, the same amount of food seems like so much more than if you put it on a big plate, so you are tricking your brain into eating less. If you eat off a big plate, you are more likely to fill it up with more food, and then you are more likely to eat more. The opposite happens with small dishes, so try this handy trick that I stick to as much as I can.

2. No deprivation! If you tell yourself you are never going to eat a food you consider “bad” then you are setting yourself up to fail if it is ever put in front of you. I am a nutritionist and a personal trainer, and I want to represent self-control and the epitome of health and wellness. But, I eat pizza! I drink wine! I do choose to make these things as healthy as I can when I have them–I don’t eat meats on my pizza (those can be the worst part–meaning the pepperoni and sausage); instead, I pile on veggies and pick pizza places that are more mom-and-pop kind of places instead of cheaper chains, so that I feel like the ingredients are more natural and not as processed. Yum! And, if I have a chocolate craving, I have healthier options that I like just as well as the bad ones–like my Healthy Brownie recipe, or dark chocolate bars from Trader Joe’s. There are only a few food items that I would tell someone to never have–but they do include fast food burgers, and anything containing trans fats. Other than that, I don’t deprive myself if I want something, but gradually over the years I have found options for almost everything that I love and thoroughly enjoy and aren’t as awful for me. And I don’t feel guilty! No guilt!

3. Drink water! I know you have heard this so many times, but it is important. Lots of times, you think you are hungry, but you are really just thirsty, and if you had a glass of water you’d suddenly realize that you aren’t hungry any more. Plus, if you drink water before a meal, you are likely to eat a lot less but still feel just as full. In addition, the biological process of burning body fat requires water, so if you are dehydrated–even if you are regularly exercising–you won’t burn fat as well.

4. Eat more fruits and vegetables. I know, I know, you remember your mom nagging you and it brings up images of you as a kid refusing to eat brussels sprouts. There just has to be a few fruits and even a few vegetables that you like. So what if you like cheese on your vegetables? So do I! Granted, I don’t use processed cheese that would probably survive a nuclear holocaust! Try roasting different veggies–like asparagus, potatoes (yes, potatoes are good for you), squashes, carrots, even broccoli–by just cutting them up and putting them on a pan in the oven with olive oil and garlic (depending on the veggies). Bake at around 400 degrees for 30 minutes and then sprinkle some cheese on top, and enjoy a guilt-free, nourishing side! Add a breast of chicken or fish and you have a very healthy, well-rounded meal. Try adding a fruit to breakfast and lunch and you will be getting “A”s in nutrition! Plus you will be amazed how you start losing weight, and then it stays off!

 5. Go for a walk. You have probably heard this one so many times now, too. But, we live in one of the best states as far as weather for most of the year, and it is a shame to live here and miss out on it! You don’t have to do anything fancy, don’t need fancy work-out attire, just some good shoes… so put them on and just walk around your block! Walking is such good exercise for you, and it is a great opportunity to clear your mind and have time for yourself and help reduce stress. Just do it, as they say. Like showering or brushing your teeth or doing your hair, it is a part of your day so just do it. Slip on your shoes and make it happen. It doesn’t have to be an hour to matter. If you can do it just a few times, you’ll love the time you get to yourself, and then you’ll miss it if you don’t get it. Don’t be afraid to tell family members that you need this for yourself, or just bring them along!

For help with lots of other areas of life that hit the top New Year’s Resolutions, please take a look at this NewYearNewYou flyer for some contacts of local business women who want to help you reach your best potential! Happy New Year and best wishes for success and feeling great in 2011!

After many tries and revisions, I have finally “perfected” (if you’ll let me use that word without sounding like I’m bragging) my Healthy Brownie recipe! There are only healthy ingredients in this recipe! Yes, these brownies are actually GOOD for you! And I think they taste great (again, don’t want to brag) and they are so easy to make. Enjoy!

But, I gave it a shot. And I really pushed myself hard at the half-marathon. I was whipped by the time I finished. I had done the PF Chang’s Half-Marathon the past two Januarys, and was really hoping just to tie my best time… or at least just finish (I had trained before those races). I did finish, and I did beat my best time. Yay! Before, my best was 3 hours and 15 minutes. Sunday, I did the Women’s Half-Marathon in 2:53! I was pretty happy with that. But, then I looked closer…

So you understand that I’m a personal trainer. I do try to be faithful to practicing what I preach so that I can look my clients in the eye when I say that they can fit in exercise, that I do too and I’m busy. I think people’s expectations of me are that I am in pretty good shape, and I think they are very justified in having that expectation.

I looked at the results from Sunday based on age. Out of my age group (35-39), I came in 531 out of 680. Wow, that’s pretty darn low. That shocked me. I took another look at the results for other age groups. Here’s how it played out:

From the 50-54 range, 167 participants out of 259 beat me (more than half!). The winner of this age group beat me by 1 hour and 14 minutes.

From the 55-59 age group, 69 out of 115 beat me (more than half!). The winner, at age 58, beat me by 1 hour and 15 minutes.

From the 60-64 group, 21 out of 53 participants beat me (almost half!). The winner, at age 64, beat me by 1 hour and 11 minutes.

From the 65-69 age group, 9 out of the 17 participants beat me (more than half!). The winner, at age 65, beat me by 51 minutes.

So, I hope you find this encouraging. If you are reaching the “mature” age groups, there may be no reason why you couldn’t try to do a half-marathon. There are others out there doing it! And, they are beating me! Maybe you will, too!

Southwestern Sweet Potato Wraps

Makes: 6 burritos

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 tablespoon unrefined coconut oil

1/2 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cans (15 ounce) red kidney beans (preferably organic), drained and rinsed

1 cup water

1  1/2 tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

2 teaspoons yellow mustard

1 pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste

1  1/2 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce or reduced-sodium wheat-free tamari sauce

1  1/2 pounds sweet potatoes, baked and then peeled and mashed

6 (10-inch) whole-wheat tortillas or whole spelt tortillas, warmed

4 ounces cheddar cheese (preferably organic), shredded, about 1 cup

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350F. Place whole sweet potatoes on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until soft through the center. Remove from oven but leave the oven on for warming the burritos.

Allow sweet potatoes to cool, then cut open and scrape out all of the inside part of the potatoes and place them in a bowl. Mash the potatoes with a potato masher. They can still be slightly lumpy. Set aside.

Heat coconut oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until soft. Stir in the beans, and mash them with a masher. Gradually stir in the water, and heat until warm. Remove from heat, and stir in the chili powder, cumin, mustard, cayenne pepper, and soy sauce or tamari sauce.

Warm tortillas by placing them in a dry skillet over medium heat. When the tortilla is warm to the touch, remove from the skillet and lay the tortilla on a flat surface, such as a cutting board or a plate. Add equal amounts of the bean mixture and the mashed sweet potatoes down the center of each tortilla. Top with cheese. Roll up the tortilla burrito style, and place burrito on a baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining tortillas. Bake the burritos for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, just enough to lightly brown the tops of the tortillas. Serve immediately.

Recipe reprinted with permission from  Plan-D: The Amazing Anti-Diet That Will Change Your Life Forever by Dee McCaffrey, CDC. © 2009 Center for Processed-Free Living,

 http://www.plandee.org

   For dinner, I had a “burger” that was made of sweet potatoes and almonds.. and a few other things that I admit I don’t remember what they were. I opted to switch the standard side dish (sweet potato fries that are made by air baking and not cooked in any oil) for the fruit salad, which the description had said something like fruit with a “remarkably” good mint dressing. The side dish options were really great options–the mac and cheese from the appetizers was another I could have chosen, and the sweet potato fries sounded healthy (and good) enough, but I wanted to try something different since my “burger” had sweet potato in it, as well as one of the appetizer dishes. My “burger” was really yummy! It was substantial without being heavy or greasy, and again had some interesting flavors that blended well together and was really enjoyable. The fruit salad was good, and I am usually not a fan of mint, except stuff like mint gum. Oh, I had asked the waitress if the vegetarian “burgers” are cooked on the same grill as the meat “burgers” or dishes and she said absolutely not, that they are very careful about cross-contamination with allergens or with vegetarian vs non-vegetarian items. That was nice to hear–I used to order veggie burgers at family-style restaurants that don’t have many options for vegetarians, but then I started thinking they are probably cooking my veggie burger in someone else’s meat burger fat (or “cooties” as I usually say kiddingly to Alex). Both of our meals I think were $10 each.

     Alex order a turkey meatloaf dish with a side of mashed sweet potatoes. He thought the meatloaf was fantastic, but the sweet potatoes were good but were flavored with ginger and he thought maybe there was just a bit too much ginger. We both took half of our meals home, so it was a lot of food after the tapas plate. And, I will confess that I was saving room to try some dessert. We had the strawberry nutella pie, which we also couldn’t come close to finishing. It was soooo yummy! I highly recommend that, though a bit more strawberry would make it even a little better in my opinion. It was a quinoa crust with nutella coating on it, then pieces of strawberry on top with a bit of shredded coconut sprinkled on it. So good! And, really, probably not even all that bad for you! Definitely would prefer my clients using this dessert to curb any cravings rather than Dairy Queen or Sonic or something god-awful like that. The berry pie was $6.

    So we definitely plan to go back! Even Alex said we are going back. We will plan ahead and try to make a reservation next time… although there is an outdoor patio which was not in use this past weekend–probably too hot for anyone. That will help them host more people. I highly recommend Nourish!  

   Oh, one more small point. Nourish is located on the bottom floor of the Optima condos on the west side of Scottsdale Road, north of Camelback, on the north side of Highland. We weren’t sure where to park. We just parked across the street at the Desert Stages Theatre and walked across Highland. I think maybe you are supposed to park right at the Optimas? I am not sure. We saw signs for valet parking but avoided those as we always do since we don’t want to pay extra for that. Maybe there is parking in a garage under the restaurant, but I’m not sure. You might want to investigate that before you go if walking across the street is an issue for anyone with you. If the theater had a show that night, there may not be any parking available, too. If you find out more info about the parking, post a comment!

      So what is my “wish list” of people I would like to extend this offer to?

1. A lady in her 80s or 90s

2. A young lady in her 20s or 30s who wants “butt-kicking” or “boot-camp” kinds of workouts

3. A person with orthopedic problems, any age, man or woman

4. A person, man or woman, any age, who wants to lose over 100lbs

Do you know anybody who fits any of these descriptions? If so, please let them know about my huge deal! Or, if you fit one of them, please contact me immediately–it’s a first-come, first-served deal! Contact me at Jacky@BodyDefinitions.com.