10 Little Tricks to Avoid Vacation Weight Gain

1. Share your Meals. 

If you go out to dinner and receive a large portion share the 

meal so you wont be tempted to more than you need.

2. WALK EVERYWHERE.

Go sight seeing. 

Walk the beach.

 Explore your surroundings on foot. 

3. Bring Snacks.

If you go out for the day bring snacks you do not want to be 

starving and surrounded by vacation food. 

4. Plan for Fitness.

You have to plan time for your fitness routine to fit into your fun. 

You ABSOLUTELY do not need to spend all your time in a gym but don't let it go by the wayside either.

5. Avoid Buffets.

Your gonna go out and have dinner while on vacation. Heck I know I am. 

But do your self a favor and avoid places designed for over eating.

6. Visit a Grocery.

Not every meal has to be eatin out. Save yourself a few calories and probably a little money to and make a few nice meals on your own.

7. Alcohol.
If your over 21 chances are your gonna want to unwind with a few drinks.
Here's the thing though, those pretty little umbrella drinks have like a zillion calories. so either plan ahead for them or try drinking a lite beer or even wine as it's the best lower calorie option.

8. Breakfast.
 Breakfast is something that when done right fuels your body and can be so healthy, but often in restaurants breakfast items can have the most calories and sodium.
Take control and make your own.

9. Travel Exercise.
Weather its during a 90 min wait for your flight or 10 mins at a rest stop on the way.
Use your time wisely Stretch, run in place, do some yoga.
Whatever just move every little bit counts!

10. Get your Family Involved.
Go for a hike or a bike ride. Play a sport together. Be active.

Beach Body

Part of staying healthy on vacation is staying active.

I know I will be spending a good portion of  my Beach week 

laying in the sand getting sun.

That being said...

 I still need to put in a good effort on the work out front.

So how can I get the maximum burn for the least amount of time while

 also taking advantage of my beautiful surroundings?

The Five Following Exercises are specifically for the beach and may 

sound super easy but can be very intense.

1. Running/jogging in the soft sand is twice as hard as on concrete 

2.  In and outs are basically just running into the water waist deep

and running out. Sounds easy but the calorie burn is crazy.

3. Sand Lunges same as on land but a little more burn.

4. Planks are great on the beach 

5. Reverse crunches in the sand make it so much easier on your back

If the thought of exercise on vacation freaks you out you can always play in the sand with your family and friends. Just pick an activity and enjoy!

Road Trip

I am going on vacation next week with my Family.
We will be Driving the long 13 hours in takes to get from my
home town of Louisville Kentucky all the way to Ponce Inlet in Florida.

Now vacation normally spells the death of my get healthy efforts
but not this year.

No this year I am not only determined to stay healthy but I want to actually lose weight while still have a good time at the beach!

The first part of executing that is road trip snacking!!!!

Top Ten Healthy Road Trip Snacks.

1. String Cheese

2. Yogurt

3. Fresh Fruit

4. Baby Carrots

5. Proportioned Popcorn

6. Almonds or Mixed Nuts

7. Sun flower Seeds

8. Granola bars

9. Proportioned Baked Chips

10. Hummus and Bell pepper strips

Now for longer road trips you might also want to pack a
few healthy sandwiches or roll ups.

As for the drinks
 buy water bottles and a few different water enhancer's for the kids!

Motivation

Facing the scale 2

It's time for another round of facing the scale!

I am slowly making my way down.



Weight Loss Wednesday

I missed the boat on transformation Tuesday. 

So I am gonna do a Weight Loss Wednesday!

LEFTOVERS!

I love taking leftovers and making them a whole new dish.

Remember that yummy BBQ chicken? 

Well I had so much leftover I thought let's mix it up 

and make another yummy dinner.

BBQ Chicken Quesadillas

-Ingredients-

Leftover pulled chicken

Shredded Cheese (I used Parmesan)

Tortillas 

Optional  Veggie Toppings

 Jalapenos

Banana pepper rings

Tomato

Onion

-Directions-

1. Heat Skillet to medium heat and lay a tortilla in the center.

2. on half the tortilla lay your cheese, veggie topping and then the chicken,

3. Fold in half to Cover toppings

4. Brown on both sides and serve with a side of veggies!

Each Quesadilla is around 200 to 250 callories

BBQ Chicken

Something I really love is BBQ Chicken.

I could never give it up. So I looked around and found a really great 

way to have BBQ chicken and still be low calorie!

Pulled BBQ Chicken

-Ingredients-

2 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts

1 Bell Pepper

1 Onion

1/2 a cup of Water or Broth 

1/2 a cup of BBQ Sauce

(when choosing a BBQ sauce choose one with less than 80 calories a serving) 

-Directions-

1. Remove all excess fat from Chicken and place in center of crockpot.

2. Add 1/2 a cup of Water or Broth cover and let cook 4-5 hours on low.

3. With two forks shred the chicken.

4. Chop up your Bell Pepper and Onion and add to crockpot

5. Add BBQ sauce recover and cook on high for one more hour.

The best Part is that the whole pot is only 600 calories.

So each serving is around 100 to 150 calories :)

(That's without a Bun)

Make the switch

One of the best weight loss tools out their is Water.

It is free, zero calorie, and taste twice as good after a hard work out.

Replacing one 16oz soda a day with water not only saves you around 70 thousand calories a year but also a good 20lbs.

Still not convinced?

Here are 10 reason why you should Make the Switch

1. Water naturally moisturizes skin and ensures proper cellular formation to give it a glowing appearance.

2. Water helps maintain a healthy body weight by increasing metabolism and regulating appetite.

3. Water aids in digestion and prevents constipation. 

4. Water is so amazing for your kidneys.

5. Water leads to increased energy levels as the most common cause of afternoon fatigue is mild dehydration. 

6. Drinking large amounts of water can decrease the risk of certain types of cancers.

7. Water is the primary mode of transportation for all the nutrients in your body.

8. Water can prevent and alleviate headaches.

9. Water flushes out Toxins and bacteria in the body that can cause disease.

10. Drinking water can significantly reduce joint and back pain.

You don't have to never drink a coke again you just have to be smart, drink more water than sodas. 

(And no switching to diet is not enough but that is another post.)

My mom is a perfect example of having both.

 She primarily drinks water but she likes a soda at diner and I completely get it!

HIIT What is it and Why you should do it!

If your reason for not working out as much is lack of time then this post s for you.

What is the best way to burn the most fat in the least amount of time??? 

High-Intensity Interval Training or HIIT! 

HIIT is a training technique in which you go all out in quick intense burst of exercise, followed by short periods of rest. Which gets and keeps your heart rate up allowing you to burn more fat in less time. 

10 Reasons You should add it to your weekly routine.

1. It will help you build a better Heart.

2. It requires no equipment.

3. Supports Fat loss not muscle loss.

4. You can do it Anywhere.

5. A HIIT workout only takes between 10 - 20 mins.

6. You burn more fat because you continue to burn fat long after the workout.

7. You burn more calories in 10 mins doing HIIT then 30 mins on a treadmill.

8. It will increase your metabolism.

9. You will never get bored.

10. It will always be a challenge.

Sample Work outs:

15 rounds - work 30 sec - rest 10 sec 

Run as fast as you can for 30 sec 

rest 10 sec

repeat 15 times

and that's your 10 minute work out

or for Something Harder

3 rounds - work 45 sec - rest 15 sec

Jumping Jacks for 45 sec

rest 15 sec

Push ups for 45 sec

rest 15 sec 

Squats for 45 sec

rest 15 sec 

Butt Kicks for 45 sec

rest 15 sec

Lunges for 45 sec

rest 15 sec

repeat 3 times

and that's a 20 minute work out

Baja Citrus Salmon

I used to get really intimidated when cooking fish.. no one wants to eat gross fish NO ONE! Have no fear because this is a super simple dish to make since its mostly crockpot!

So for this yummy recipe your gonna need 

2-6 salmon fillets

1 cup cut squash

1 cup cut onion

1 cup cut mushrooms

2 cups cut broccoli

2 cups cut green beans

1 cup brown rice or 1 instant package of brown rice

1 cup water or chicken broth

the Baja Citrus sauce 

1 packet of baja citrus marinade from McCormick 

2 table spoons water

2 table spoons oil

2 table spoons white vinegar

Let's do this!!!

1. Pour chicken broth or water into the crockpot making sure it covers the bottom.

2. Place your chopped veggies in the crockpot and place salmon on top.

3. Mix together the baja citrus sauce and Pour on top of the salmon and veggies.

3. Cover and cook on high for 3 hours.

4. Near the end of cooking time prepare your brown rice.

This Plate is only 395 Calories. 

Oh and pro tip the juice from the veggies is soo good over the rice!