Write it down...

Start Your Week Off Right With a Printable Meal Planner

September 27, 2015 by Susi May

           

 

Planning out your meals for a week has so many benefits: it helps with weight loss, it saves money, and it saves time. Take some time to map out your week of meals and snacks on the printable planner below. Make a grocery list of the items you will need, hit the store, then get cooking! This is your game plan for the week, so include the meals you plan to eat out as well as all your snacks. A well-laid plan is the best way to stay on task when it comes to eating well to lose weight.
Check out our
Mix and Match Meal Plan for tasty, healthy recipes for a daily eating plan that's between 1600 and 1800 calories.

Oops...try to avoid these...

Post-Workout Mistakes That Cause Weight Gain

March 29, 2015 by Leta Shy

           

Feeling like you hit the gym pretty regularly but aren't seeing results? One of these post-workout habits may be sabotaging your weight-loss results.

1. You reward yourself too much: The workout's done, the sweaty clothes are off, and you've been eyeing that piece of cake for a while. While occasional indulgences are smart — and necessary — using your workout as an excuse to help yourself to junk food is not going to get you the results you're after, so don't use the fact that you've just burned 300 calories as an excuse to indulge in twice that much.
2. You skip the stretch: You may think of the cooldown as a waste of time, but regularly skipping your post-workout stretches will put you at risk for injuries that will sideline your weight-loss progress by keeping you out of the gym.
3. You recover with a sports drink: Sugary sports drinks can replenish electrolytes, but if you've just finished a short workout, the extra calories are probably unnecessary. Save the sports drinks or coconut water for intense workouts lasting more than an hour or for workouts in hot weather.
4. You use it as an excuse: Monday's boot-camp class was so hard, so you can be forgiven for nursing your sore muscles until the start of next week, right? Not the best idea if you want to see pounds dropping on the scale. Make sure you get at least 300 minutes of vigorous exercise every week in order to stay on the right weight-loss track.
5. You wait too long to eat: Refueling soon after a workout is crucial because it's what helps you rebuild muscle after a workout. Since the more muscle mass you have, the higher your metabolism, make sure you fit a snack of carbs and protein into your post-workout ritual.
6. You don't schedule the next one: You should pat yourself on the back for finishing this workout, but don't let your self-congratulations get in the way of scheduling your next workout. You'll only see progress if you make exercise a consistent part of your week.

Emotionally eating??

The Biggest Diet Mistakes Women Make

by Leta Shy 12/06/15

 

 

We asked four experts — who've helped everyone from celebs to everyday women get their diets back on track — to tell us the mistakes they see their clients make over and over when it comes to healthy eating. Read on for the top four mistakes women make when it comes to nutrition, as well as our tips to be sure you're not making these same choices!

1. Only counting calories: When it comes to losing weight, it can be easy to fall in a quality vs. quantity trap — focusing on calorie counting instead of the whole picture. "Many [diet] programs focus on what I call the 'surface' evaluations of foods — how many calories, grams of carbs, protein, etc. a food has," says Kimberly Snyder, a celebrity nutritionist and author of The Beauty Detox Solution. "Too many women feel like they have to micromanage and count everything they eat in order to look their best, [but] that's simply not true," she advises.
   Our tip: Instead of counting calories, focus on adding more whole foods, especially vegetables and fruits, into your diet. A green juice or smoothie in the morning is an excellent way to get a lot of nutrients into your diet in one go; check out Kimberly's recipe for her Glowing Green Smoothie to start.
2. Not being consistent: Busy lives tend to mess up our carefully constructed healthy eating schedules, which doesn't do a body good. "I see many clients who eat erratically in terms of the timing, composition, and quality of their meals. Some days they may graze all day and on others go long stretches without eating, and some days may include kale salad and lentils, while others include frozen dinners and processed snack foods," says Cynthia Sass, a registered dietitian and author of S.A.S.S. Yourself Slim.
   Our tip: Before your busy life gets the better of you, block out time on the weekend to prepare lunches and shop for dinner so you won't go the takeout route on the weekdays.
3. Not drinking enough water: Getting adequate hydration is a simple part of a nutrition plan that many women neglect the most, says registered dietitian Erin Palinski, a spokesperson for ZICO Coconut Water. "In order for your body to function properly, you need to be properly hydrated, otherwise you can run into issues like fatigue, headaches, even dizziness and more dangerous long-term issues like kidney and liver function, cholesterol problems, and muscle damage," Erin says. And not only that, but she's seen that "many people also mistake thirst for hunger and can overeat as a result."
   Our tip: Make your water bottle a fixture on your desk at work. If you're tired of drinking plain water, add healthy, no-calorie additions like lemon slices, ginger, cucumber, or mint to your water to make it more appealing.
4. Eating emotionally: "Women let nutrition go before anything else," says vegan nutritionist Melissa Costello, author of the Karma Chow Ultimate Cookbook. "We have a lot on our plates — kids, works, husbands." A hectic schedule can upend any healthy eating goals, leading you to eat emotionally, "which usually always tends to be something that is not so healthy for us, like sugar, candy, or processed foods," warns Melissa.
   Our tip: If you find yourself reaching for what's convenient or what you crave, make healthy snacks easily accessible — and more convenient than the junk food option. This snack center you can keep in your fridge includes healthy options like string cheese, already-washed fruit and veggies, and preportioned nuts and pretzels to make choosing a lower-calorie, more-nutritious snack easy.