Isabella recently achieved a 14 lb fat loss… not just 14 lbs of any weight - 14 pounds of pure fat! To celebrate I decided to photograph her holding 14 boxes of butter (4 sticks in each box = 1 lb each). Isabella is very proud (and I am super proud of her) to have lost the equivalent of 56 sticks of butter!

I asked Isabella a few questions about her journey thus far…
In the past you have tried to lose weight….why are you succeeding this time, what are you doing differently?
“My mindset around losing weight and in general has shifted. It is more about making changes and when I drift away from those changes, instead of giving up and saying I’m a total failure, I recommit myself to my long term goal of living a healthier lifestyle. I am also owning the idea more. In the past I would see a picture of some clothes I thought were cute but either not in my size or wouldn’t look good on my overweight self, I would sigh and think ‘Oh I wish I could wear that’. Now I look at it and I think ‘Yes, that is me!’ and I know that I will get there this time.”

How much exercise and at what intensity do you do daily?
“I’m still working on getting the amount right. I do wear my heart rate monitor several times a week. When I take the dog running/walking I make sure to get my heart rate up to at least 140 BPM. I am also trying to get my total calorie burn for the day over 2500 calories.”

Do you feel like you can sustain these new habits for the long term or do you see burn out in the future, if not or if so, why? Read More »

The 1st official day of Spring has come and gone… what better time to spring clean your body along with your closets, garage, cabinets etc.?

My challenge to you - for 1 week (7 days):

-drink green tea in place of coffee

-eat only organic foods

-trade sour cream for non fat plain Greek yogurt

-eat a salad every day

-sleep at least 8 hours nightly

-meet a friend for a walk or workout instead of happy hour

-drink at least 8 cups of water daily Read More »

At some point in our lives most of us have tried a going on a ‘diet’ for some reason or another. We may feel the need for structure in our food choices or feel overwhelmed trying to decide what to eat. Or we may feel like it is the easy fix to dropping weight quickly. We lose 5 or 10 pounds and a couple weeks (or a couple of days for some of us) go by and we find ourselves bored of the routine, or tired of being hungry. An event or occasion pops up and we say we will get back on it after. But after never comes, does it? Excuse after excuse and then we feel like failures.

So why do we still try to convince ourselves there is a ‘diet’ out there that will magically work this time? I think we need to be really honest with ourselves and find out the real reason why we think we need an easy fix. Losing weight is not easy. But it is doable with the right attitude and the right information. Read More »

Sheila before

You most likely won’t lose 100 lbs over night, or even in a few weeks… (unless your on The Biggest Loser), but it can realistically happen slowly and with lifestyle changes and long term commitment.

“I started my journey in June of 2007. I was always a larger girl, but never really dieted. I just became fine with the way I was, however I did not feel healthy. After I kept talking about losing weight I finally made the decision to go to a gym and get a membership. The manager then convinced me that working out with a trainer 2 days a week was a good idea. That’s where I originally met Dawn. It was the best decision I ever made, and money spent!

Something just clicked, and I decided that I was going to accomplish this no matter what. It was a huge sacrifice of time and a life change in how I view, prepare, and eat food. Now, 100 lbs lighter, I feel better than ever, have more energy, and will lead a healthier lifestyle from now on.” Sheila Lozano 12/09

I met Shiela Lozano almost 3 years ago. She was 270+ lbs and wanted to get healthy. We started off working out 2 times a week together. In addition she was working out another 3 or 4 days on her own, with specific homework I gave her. Sheila knew she had to change her eating habits as well, and was ready for the change. Instead of putting her on a ‘diet’ I gave her healthier substitutions for the foods she was already eating and liked. Knowing she had a long road ahead of her, I did not want her to get ‘bored’ of her workouts so I made sure I changed them up every time we worked out together. Now, almost 3 years later, I don’t think we have ever done the same workout twice! Sheila has been very consistant with her workout and eating habits and is living proof that being fit is a life long commitment of daily decisions to make time for exercise and healthy food choices.

Words cannot describe how proud I am of this woman. Sheila has shown determintation, commitment, incredible hard work (lots of sweat!), strength, temprance, balance (dessert is ok) and patience in her journey to become the fit and strong person she is today. Along the way she has to learned how to run and completed her first half marathon!!!

Congradulations Sheila, I believe in you, like you have believed in yourself

The ever so important wine question - can I drink wine while keeping fit?

…Damn straight it fits in to a healthy lifestyle. My doctor told me 1-2 glasses of wine a day is in the ‘healthy’ range. Wine is full of antioxidants, as well as potassium (which regulates fluid balance in the body), and alcohol which may help raise the ‘good’ HDL cholesterol, reduce risk of blood clots, and lower blood pressure. When finding a place for drinking wine in a healthy diet, note that a 5 ounce glass of red wine contains 120 calories, and a 5 ounce glass of white wine contains 118 calories. It all comes down to the simple equation of calories in versus calories out. If you take in less calories than your body is burning, you’ll lose weight regardless if it is low fat, no fat, high protein, or high fat. Your body is first concerned with quantity, then quality. The next step is to make good choices as far as quality so your body is getting all the nutrients it needs. Amongst all the benefits of drinking wine, alcohol robs your body of these nutrients, promotes dehydration, taxes your liver, and sometimes gives you the munchies (counter productive!) All things considered, I believe in moderation and balance. I need to have fun in my life, and not feel deprived while keeping fit for me.

Many of us can relate to the “I’ll start on Monday”, “after my vacation” or “after the holidays”. What are we really waiting for? Other than setting ourselves up for failure and a yo yo cycle of being ‘good’ or ‘bad’ and constantly stressing ourselves about failing to meet our goals. Maybe our goals are not realistic: “I want to lose 20 lbs before my class reunion at in 3 weeks” or “I am going to the gym 7 days a week for 2 hours each and everyday“. Neither of these ideas are helpful in our strive to be healthier as individuals and as a society. We will constantly be making excuses why we should break our diet or skip our exercise.

I think many of us set ourselves up by listening to what society tells us we should look like or what we should eat. It is important to have reachable goals when working towards something. It may not be in your genes, even with balanced food choices and moderate exercise, to be a size 2. More likely than not, the ideal requires an unideal life style, and how long can we honestly live like that? In my experience in the fitness/ nutrition business I see the average ‘diet’ last 1, maybe 2 weeks…and burn out rate after joining a gym at 6 months. Read More »

As many of us Americans fall very short on meeting our recommended daily fiber goal of 35grams per day, here is a muffin that is packed full of fiber. And trust me, it doesn’t taste anything like cardboard. One muffin at 120 calories makes a delicious afternoon snack - either plain, heated in the microwave, or with a little nut butter smeared on it.

Fiber Muffin Recipe Read More »