Texas Fit Chicks 75 Tips for Weight Loss (that really WORK!)

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                                               I can only handle 1 change now. What should it be??

• Eating out? Halve it, and bag the rest. A typical restaurant entree has 1,000 to 2,000 calories, not even counting the bread, appetizer, beverage, and dessert.
•  When dining out, make it automatic: Order one dessert to share.
• Use a salad plate instead of a dinner plate
• See what you eat. Plate your food instead of eating out of the jar or bag.
• Eat the low-cal items on your plate first, then graduate. Start with salads, veggies, and broth soups, and eat meats and starches last. By the time you get to them, you’ll be full enough to be content with smaller portions of the high-calorie choices
• Instead of whole milk, switch to 1 percent. If you drink one 8-oz glass a day, you’ll lose 5 lb in a year
• Overeating is not the result of exercise. Vigorous exercise won’t stimulate you to overeat. It’s just the opposite. Exercise at any level helps curb your appetite immediately following the workout.
• When you’re exercising, you shouldn’t wait for thirst to strike before you take a drink. By the time you feel thirsty, you’re already dehydrated. Drink 8 ounces an hour before and another 4 to 8 ounces every 15 to 20 minutes during your workout. Finish with at least 16 ounces after you’re done exercising
• Drinking too few can hamper your weight loss efforts. That’s because dehydration can slow your metabolism by 3 percent, or about 45 fewer calories burned a day, which in a year could mean weighing 5 pounds more. The key to water isn’t how much you drink, it’s how frequently you drink it. Small amounts sipped often work better than 8 ounces gulped down at once.
• Skipping breakfast will leave you tired and craving naughty foods by midmorning. To fill up healthfully and tastefully, try this sweet, fruity breakfast full of antioxidants. In a blender, process 1 c nonfat plain or vanilla yogurt, 1 1/3 c frozen strawberries (no added sugar), 1 peeled kiwi, and 1 peeled banana. Pulse until mixture is milkshake consistency. Makes one 2-cup serving; 348 calories and 1.5 fat grams.
• If you’re famished by 4 p.m. and have no alternative but an office vending machine, reach for the nuts—. The same goes if your only choices are what’s available in the hotel minibar.
• Next time you’re feeling wiped out in late afternoon, forgo that cup of coffee and reach for a cup of yogurt instead. The combination of protein, carbohydrate, and fat in an 8-ounce serving of low-fat yogurt will give you a sense of fullness and well-being that coffee can’t match, as well as some vital nutrients. If you haven’t eaten in 3 to 4 hours, your blood glucose levels are probably dropping, so eating a small amount of nutrient-rich food will give your brain and your body a boost.
• Making just a few changes to your pantry shelves can get you a lot closer to your weight loss goals. Here’s what to do: If you use corn and peanut oil, replace it with olive oil. Same goes for breads—go for whole wheat. Trade in those fatty cold cuts like salami and bologna and replace them canned tuna, sliced turkey breast, and lean roast beef. Change from drinking whole milk to fat-free milk or low-fat soy milk. This is hard for a lot of people so try transitioning down to 2 percent and then 1 percent before you go fat-free.

How do I avoid late-night eating??

• Eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The large majority of people who struggle with night eating are those who skip meals or don’t eat balanced meals during the day. This is a major setup for overeating at night
• Eat your evening meal in the kitchen or dining room, sitting down at the table.
• Drink cold unsweetened raspberry tea. It tastes great and keeps your mouth busy.
• Change your nighttime schedule. It will take effort, but it will pay off. You need something that will occupy your mind and hands.
• If you’re eating at night due to emotions, you need to focus on getting in touch with what’s going on and taking care of yourself in a way that really works. Find a nonfood method of coping with your stress.
• Put a sign on the kitchen and refrigerator doors: “Closed after Dinner.”
• Brush your teeth right after dinner to remind you: No more food.
• Eat without engaging in any other simultaneous activity. No reading, watching TV, or sitting at the computer.

                                                       How can I control my raging sweet tooth??

• Once in a while, have a lean, mean salad for lunch or dinner, and save the meal’s calories for a full dessert
• Are you the kind of person who does better if you make up your mind to do without sweets and just not have them around? Or are you going to do better if you have a limited amount of sweets every day? One RD reported that most of her clients pick the latter and find they can avoid bingeing after a few days.
• If your family thinks they need a very sweet treat every night, try to strike a balance between offering healthy choices but allowing them some “free will.” Compromise with low-fat ice cream and fruit, or sometimes just fruit with a dollop of whipped cream.
• Try 2 weeks without sweets. It’s amazing how your cravings vanish.
• Eat more fruit. A person who gets enough fruit in his diet doesn’t have a raging sweet tooth.
• Eat your sweets, just eat them smart! Carve out about 150 calories per day for your favorite sweet. That amounts to about an ounce of chocolate, half a modest slice of cake, or 1/2 cup of regular ice cream.
• Try these smart little sweets: sugar-free hot cocoa, frozen red grapes, fudgsicles, sugar-free gum, Nutri-Grain chocolate fudge twists, Tootsie Rolls, and hard candy.
• Give it away! After company leaves, give away leftover food to neighbors, doormen, or delivery people, or take it to work the next day (and don't set it on your desk :)
• Walk around the mall three times before you start shopping.
• Make exercise a nonnegotiable priority.
• Remember, EAT before you meet. Have this small meal before you go to any parties: a hardboiled Egg, Apple, and a Thirst quencher (water, seltzer, diet soda, tea).
• As obvious as it sounds, don’t stand near the food at parties. Make the effort, and you’ll find you eat less.
•  At a buffet? Eating a little of everything guarantees high calories. Decide on three or four things, only one of which is high in calories. Save that for last so there’s less chance of overeating.
• Scramble eggs in a nonstick skillet. Pop some asparagus in the microwave, and add whole wheat toast. If your cholesterol levels are normal, you can have seven eggs a week!
• A bag of frozen vegetables heated in the microwave, topped with 2 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese and 2 tablespoons of chopped nuts.

                                        Great ideas for a low-cal dinner when you don't want to cook

• A smoothie made with fat-free milk, frozen fruit, and wheat germ.
• The smallest fast-food burger (with mustard and ketchup, not mayo) and a no-cal beverage. Then at home, have an apple or baby carrots.
• A peanut butter sandwich on whole wheat bread with a glass of 1 percent milk and an apple.
• Skipping meals. Many healthy eaters “diet by day and binge by night.”
• Don’t “graze” yourself fat. You can easily munch 600 calories of pretzels or cereal without realizing it
• Eating pasta like crazy. A serving of pasta is 1 cup, but some people routinely eat 4 cups.43. Eating supersize bagels of 400 to 500 calories for snacks
• Ignoring “Serving Size” on the Nutrition Facts panel.
• Snacking on bowls of nuts. Nuts are healthy but dense with calories. Put those bowls away, and use nuts as a garnish instead of a snack.
• Thinking all energy bars and fruit smoothies are low-cal.

                                                                   How to Cut Calories:

• Juice has as many calories, ounce for ounce, as soda. Set a limit of one 8-oz glass of fruit juice a day.
• Get calories from foods you chew, not beverages. Have fresh fruit instead of fruit juice
• Keep a food journal. It really works wonders
• Follow the Chinese saying: “Eat until you are eight-tenths full.”
• Use mustard instead of mayo.
• Eat more soup. The noncreamy ones are filling but low-calorie
• Cut back on or cut out caloric drinks such as soda, sweet tea, lemonade, etc. People have lost weight by making just this one change. If you have a 20-oz bottle of Coca-Cola every day, switch to Diet Coke. You should lose 25 lb in a year.
• Take your lunch to work.
• Sit when you eat.
• Dilute juice with water.
• Have mostly veggies for lunch.
• Eat at home
• Limit alcohol to weekends.

                                                                       How to Eat more Veggies:

• Incorporate Shakeology into your day
• Have a V8 or tomato juice instead o a Diet Coke at 3 pm.
• Doctor your veggies to make them delicious: Dribble maple syrup over carrots, and sprinkle chopped nuts on green beans.
• Mix three different cans of beans and some diet Italian dressing. Eat this three-bean salad all week.
• Don’t forget that vegetable soup counts as a vegetable.
• Rediscover the sweet potato.
• Use prebagged baby spinach everywhere: as “lettuce” in sandwiches, heated in soups, wilted in hot pasta, and added to salads.
• Spend the extra few dollars to buy vegetables that are already washed and cut up.
• Really hate veggies? Relax. If you love fruits, eat plenty of them; they are just as healthy (especially colorful ones such as oranges, mangoes, and melons).
• Keep seven bags of your favorite frozen vegetables on hand. Mix any combination, microwave, and top with your favorite low-fat dressing. Enjoy 3 to 4 cups a day. Makes a great quick dinner.

                                                             Mantra to stay on track:

• “The best portion of high-calorie foods is the smallest one. The best portion of vegetables is the largest one. Period.
• “I’ll ride the wave. My cravings will disappear after 10 minutes if I turn my attention elsewhere.”
• “I want to be around to see my grandchildren, so I can forgo a cookie now.”
• “I am a work in progress.”
• “It’s more stressful to continue being fat than to stop overeating.”
• You can't ever "Out-Train" a bad diet

Ready to get started on your weight loss journey? Click HERE to find a boot camp near you

Serving women from Anna, Prosper, McKinney, Frisco, Allen, Fairview, Wylie, Plano, College Station, Houston, Richardson and Firewheel Texas

Not  a boot camp near you? You can start your fitness journey and get our 30 Day Fit Chick Challenge with 30 Days of recipes, at home workouts and printable grocery lists! For less than a dollar a day, you can start your weight loss no matter where you live. Click HERE to get started!

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7 Steps to Create new healthy habits

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What are your habits?


Do you eat the same thing for lunch, go through the same exercise routine, and fall into bed at the same time each night? Or maybe you've made a habit out of eating whatever looks good, avoiding exercise, and staying up as late as possible.

John Dryden famously said, "We first make our habits, and then our habits make us."

Confucius said, "Men's natures are alike; it is their habits that separate them."

And Aristotle noticed that, "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit."

It's pretty clear that the habits you adopt will shape who you are.
When it comes to your body, the two habits that define your physique are your eating and exercise habits. In fact, everyone that you know who is in great shape has dialed in these two important habits.

If you aren't happy with your body, then simply adjust your eating and exercise habits. Here's how to adopt a habit:

Making a Habit
Use these seven steps to create a life-improving habit.

1) Decide on the ONE habit that you would like to develop. It's tempting to pick up 3 or 4 healthy habits, but choosing just one new habit is realistic and doable.

Here are some healthy habit ideas:
Do not eat after 7pm each night.
Bring your lunch to work instead of eating fast food.
Exercise 4 times a week after work for 45 minutes each time.
Only eat fruits and veggies as your afternoon snack.
Get up early and exercise for an hour each morning.
Work with a personal trainer 3 times a week.

2) Write your new habit down on paper. Also include your 3 main motivators for developing this new habit, the obstacles you'll face, and your strategies for overcoming these obstacles.

Here's an example:

My new habit is to work with a personal trainer 3 times each week.
My 3 main motivators are 1) to feel confident in my bathing suit this summer, 2) to have more energy, and 3) to fit into my skinny jeans.

The obstacles I will face are 1) not having the energy to go to my session after work, 2) not having enough money to pay for sessions, and 3) not having my spouse's support.

I will overcome these obstacles by 1) doing my workouts before work instead of after work, so I have more energy, 2) cutting down on frivolous spending to ensure that I can afford it, and 3) asking my spouse to support my efforts.
3) Commit fully to your new habit, in a public way. This could mean posting it on facebook, or simply announcing it at the dinner table. Put yourself in a position where you might be a little embarrassed to give up on your new habit.

4) Keep track of your progress. You could keep a detailed journal or simply make a check mark on each calendar day that you successfully exercise your new habit.

5) Keep yourself publically accountable. This means either status updates on facebook or verbal status updates at the dinner table. Your friends and family are in a position to offer you support, so don't shy away from those close to you.

6) When you fail, figure out what went wrong so that you can plan around it in the future.

7) Reward yourself for your success.

Once your new habit becomes second nature, usually in about 30 days, feel free to add a second habit by going through the same 7 steps.

I'd love for Texas Fit Chicks Bootcamp to become your new healthy habit! Call or email us now to reserve your spot.

Enjoy this yummy and healthy recipe tonight!

Easy Teriyaki Salmon

Salmon is filled with healthy omega 3 essential fatty acids, protein, and vitamin B12. This recipe is quick and tastes amazing. Serve it with a side of brown rice and steamed veggies.
Servings: 4

Here's what you need:

1 Tablespoon sesame oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
4 (6oz) salmon steaks

In a large re-sealable plastic bag combine the first six ingredients; mix well.
Set aside 1/2 cup of marinade and refrigerate.
Add salmon to remaining marinade, cover and refrigerate for 1-1/2 hours, turning once. Drain and discard marinade.

Place the salmon on a broiler pan. Broil 3-4 in. from the heat for 5 minutes. Brush with reserved marinade; turn and broil for 5 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork. Brush with remaining marinade.

Nutritional Analysis: One serving equals: 392 calories, 19g fat, 2.6g carbohydrate, .2g fiber, and 38g protein.