Portion Control. Dining Out.

Let's get real here. For what we get charged at restaurants we should get those ginormous plates of food but should we be eating all of that in one sitting? The answer is, no. One of my all time favorite chef's and TV personalities is Giada De Laurentiis. When she eats out she asks them to take half of the meal and put it in to go containers before it ever even hits the table. It's a solid idea but most of us are not comfortable will asking for this service so instead you have to rely on your will power to know how much of what you're eating you can have in one sitting and to stick to your plan! Believe at first it may be difficult, especially when you're out celebrating and it's your favorite dish but after awhile you will begin to get full on the portions you allow yourself to have and you won't have to think about it anymore. Now everyone's diet is different (and I hate using that word) but portion control is crucial. Sure you can have some veggies and some hummus but if you eat a 1/2 cup of hummus every day when you really should have only had 1 tablespoon you're probably going to be disappointment come time for weigh in and measurements. Moderation is key. It's okay to "cheat" once in awhile too. Just remember the only person you're cheating is yourself. If you really have to have that piece of cheesecake after dinner, earn it! Go for a walk, do something active to earn it so you don't spend the next three days beating yourself up over it and wind up going on a guilty binge eating spree. (Which we've all done before. If we're being honest with ourselves.)

An easy quick way to portion control while dining out is divide the meal in half and save the other half for lunch the next day or do what I do and take it home and share it with a family member. My mom loves when I do this. :) The biggest portion on your plate should always being veggies, the green kind is the best! Primary vegetables such as spinach, brussels sprouts, kale, asparagus, string beans, carrots etc.


Dining out tips:
1. Divide your meal in half. (Mentally, have them do it or do it yourself!) Portion control 101
2. There should be more vegetables on your plate than anything else (just like our momma's told us growing up. We weren't actually supposed to stop eating them once we became adults!)
3. Stay away from words like- basted, smothered, fried, breaded, battered, loaded, stuffed, etc instead go for words like- roasted, baked, braised, broiled, poached, seared, grilled, or steamed
4. If you want to have an adult beverage (and your old enough) don't feel guilty about it just be smart about it! Click here, for tips on how to not hinder your progress and still enjoy that glass of wine at the end of the day!
5. Look up the menu online and decide on what you are getting before you go. This can take the stress out of the situation completely and you'll know exactly what you have to adjust for the day so you can enjoy your meal and the company you're with, as you should be doing.


I hope this makes dining out easier for all of you!

Easy Bruschetta Egg on Toast

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and I often don't have time and i'm not usually hungry. So I often have my meal replacement shake but sometimes I am hungry and sticking with a clean healthy diet can be a challenge. I do love food. I love spices and bold flavors so bland flavors will not cut it for me! So the other morning I decided to spice things up while not taking to much time in the kitchen. When my son is in school is the only time I really have to run errands and get most of my work done uninterrupted.

I toasted a piece of fresh bread I picked up from Whole Foods. I usually get their Ancient Grain bread but they didn't have it this week so I picked up their Onion Grain and it was yummy! While it was toasting I made some bruschetta. I sliced up 4 campari tomatoes (so my mom could have some too!) 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil, 2 cloves minced garlic, and mixed in a bowl with a dash of salt and fresh ground pepper and a drizzle of olive oil.  I heated up a pan on medium high heat and gave a light spray of cooking oil and cooked an egg over medium (one for each of us.) Then I placed the toast on a plate, topped it with my egg and spooned the bruschetta on top and dug in! My mouth was doing a happy dance and my mom was making all sorts of "mmmm" sounds from the dining room. Fresh, simple and a way to change up your basic breakfast.

If you know someone who would enjoy this recipe please feel free to share it! I share pictures on my instagram all the time of recipes I try and when requested I'd be happy to post the recipes here on my blog. Instagram is @dreadigiglio

Cocktails and Dieting

How many times have we been going about our new lifestyle of clean eating and our new workout regimen mostly without a hitch, until our girlfriend's invite us out or we get invited out on a double date and now the stress of what can I drink starts to erupt in our minds? We do things like, well Friday is date night so it's my "cheat day". Setting ourselves up for failure and being sour in our disappointment when we get on the scale or take our monthly measurements. Being informed about is part of the battle so I hope this information can help you out as it did me. If you are select few who can skip the cocktail's altogether good for you! For me, that just wasn't the case so I needed to know the in's and out's of my choices. (I found this information from health.com)

First thing first, drinking basically presses 'pause' on your metabolism, shoving away the other calories ordering the break down of the cocktail you just drank, first. The result is that whatever you recently ate, gets stored as fat. This is why all of us coaches push so hard to try and eliminate alcohol from your diet during your fitness journey because it truly does hinder your result and at the very least it slows down the speed at which you reach them. Another thing is when drinking most people's inhibitions lower and become hungry and though they normally wouldn't order those mozzarella sticks with a side of ranch, after a few drinks they sure as hell are thinking about it now. 

Tips

#1 Always eat when you drink

Yes you should factor in the calories of your drinks but it is more important to eat right than to eat less. At least that's what the experts say. "Before you go out, have dinner or a snack with protein, fiber and a healthy fat," says Karlene Karst, RD author of The Full-Fat Solution. Like Greek yogurt with berries, almond butter with an apple or a protein shake. 

#2 Know some drinks will make you more hungry than others

Waist friendly drinks = simpler the drink the better. What I mean by simple; straight up, wine or beer. The more items you add into a drink the more calories you're adding and likely the more sugar and carbs. Any wine or beer works but to trim 10 calories per glass pick a rose or white wine instead of a heavier red. A whole pint of dark beer is around 170 calories compared to 195 for the same amount of regular beer. Vodka, gin, bourbon with club soda and a twist are a good choice too. Club soda is calorie and sugar free, dilutes the alcohol and its effects on your cravings. You should avoid juices, liqueurs that are sweet and syrupy, tonics, sweet bottle mixes (like sweet and sour mix, margarita mix, daiquiri mix, etc) and cola's.

#3 Stick to a drink or two, max 

According to Dr. Pamela Peeke, MD, author The Hunger Fix, going all week without alcohol and saving your seven drinks for the weekend is the worst you can possibly do for your weight. It has a much bigger effect than having one drink a day. Don't forget your body stop breaking down the calories you've previous eaten to breakdown your cocktails calories. All those drinks throw your blood sugar out of whack and make you feel hungry and you won't think twice about ordering greasy fries smothered in things that defeat what you've been working so hard to achieve. The extra calories alone are enough to pile on the pounds but have four or five cocktails every Friday night you'll be up ten pounds in a year. 

#4 Beware the starving feeing the next day

The next morning has a new set of diet challenges. Hangovers suck all on their own but now you're craving greasy fast food. Part of the issue is you are dehydrated. The body wants energy and the richest source is fat and greasy food does tend to settle the stomach. To avoid this disaster, well first don't go past the two drink max, obviously. Drink a glass of water for every cocktail you have. You can drink it in-between or alternate sips. Also drink a glass before you go to bed and one when you wake up as well. Also have a snack before going to bed that is high in fiber and protein such as a high fiber cereal or oatmeal. 

Hopefully these tips help you out! Remember be safe out there and never drink and drive!

Thank you to Health.com by Sunny Sea Gold article How to drink without gaining weight

Health and Fitness Journal #GetFit

I am one of those people who as much as I love the digital world we live in, I love journals. It's an obsession really. I have more journals than I should probably admit to. When it comes to fitness journals however, I just never found one that quite fit to what I was looking for. I wanted something that fit with my beachbody programs also. I am currently doing the PiYo program, so I wanted the daily food log, exercise log, water intake checklist. Another huge part of me continue to commit to my fitness, are the challenge groups. I love challenge groups, they keep me accountable. It's one of the reasons I became coach, to keep myself accountable and to help other's stay accountable so they could obtain their goals. Seeing people reach their goals is extremely rewarding. So I set off to create a health and fitness journal that was simple but included all of these things. Small enough to carry around. Sleek but not girly so anyone could use it and most importantly not twenty dollars like the ones you find at your local target. So I created the #GetFit Health and Fitness Journal, available through amazon.com I hope it helps like minded souls on their fitness journey as well!

Keep on keeping on my friends.

I chose to invest in my health and these are the tools I used to get there

Okay first thing first, there is no one size fits all. Some things that work for me might not work for you. Supplements do take time to work. Sometimes it takes a week and sometimes it takes longer. If you try a supplement and have a reaction to it that makes you feel sick, uncomfortable or unwell, stop taking it! I am not a doctor and I suggest that you consult your doctor prior to adding any vitamin, supplement or over the counter medication to your routine an in your body. Due to my hypothyroidism, it is extremely difficult for me to lose weight. It was so depressing to be working out, eating better and still not see the scale move or my measurements change. I tried a non-invasive laser procedure costing thousands of dollars that resulting in no results. Between my plexus supplements, vitamins, meal replacement shake and workout regimen I finally was seeing change in my body. I was finally feeling a change, having more energy during the day, sleeping better at night (when my kid allows of course), feeling overall healthier. Crazy to me, I lost ten pounds and overall 8" in 2015! This was huge for me as I hadn't seen a change in years. Granted it took a lot longer than it does for most but again I have hypothyroidism (among many other health issues) and every person is unique.  With that being said, here is my regimen, with some info about the products. (It may seem like a lot, but this is what my body needs to get healthy, stay healthy and to help me lose the weight I want to lose.)

Supplements:
1. Cap full of IntraMax first thing in the morning. Followed by a glass of water. This stuff is like gold to me, helps boost my immune system and is way better than any multivitamin as your body actually absorbs the nutrients. It is a little on the pricey side, 1 bottle is a month supply. I feel the pro's outweigh the con of price and honestly my health matters to me so it is worth it.

2. With my morning meds I take Vitamin D, as many people (especially in Michigan) are lacking in this department. Just ask your doctor to check your Vitamin D levels with a simple blood test. It's amazing how this can help your total body health.

3. I take Block, a supplement made my Plexus, before my biggest meal (usually dinner) and usually before lunch as well. It blocks up to 48% of the absorption of starches and sugars. In todays world where we tend to reach for more bread, pasta etc this helps out.

4. Before my biggest meal, (again usually dinner) I drink the "pink drink" aka Plexus Slim. It is not a meal replacement drink and it tastes great, which is a big plus for me. It naturally helps you lose weight. In addition to that, it helps keep blood sugar, cholesterol and lipids at healthy levels. Diabetic friendly too!

5. I take the Plexus brand Probiotic at night with my nighttime medication. I can not stress enough how important a healthy gut is to your overall health. What we put in our bodies does matter. I used to get sick all of the time. Especially after my son was born, as he was always getting sick. If he got sick I was soon to follow. This last time he had the flu and I actually didn't get it. I didn't get a flu shot this year, (I'm not promoting to not get a flu shot,) I'm only saying with my history of a poor immune system and my son in my personal space the entire span of him being sick, I wasn't as concerned about it knowing I had this in my corner. This is the time where I also take MagMind, a magnesium supplement. It helps with muscle soreness and memory, these two things alone are worth taking it, for me. It also helps with quality of sleep.

Other:
1. In the morning I drink my meal replacement shake. I prefer shakeology as it is jam packed with nutrients. vitamins, proteins and minerals. It's hard to get all of those fruits and vegetables in everyday. Life is busy and chaotic and this way I know I got a good dose of them each day. More importantly I feel so much better since I started and it comes with a recipe for 30 days for each flavor you try. So far I love the chocolate and the vanilla. I like to do the chocolate with a little peanut butter, banana and ice. I also love the vanilla with chai tea and ice, it's like a frozen chai latte!

2. I do my workout routine after that, which is currently whatever disc is up on my Piyo Program. I love that its low impact so I can actually do it. Ever since my car accident my knees do not appreciate heavy impact workouts. I've truly come to appreciate the Beachbody programs over the years. When I'm not doing a program, I still love to warm up on my elliptical for ten minutes and then punch my punching bag for 10-20 minutes. Followed by a triple set of plank/push-up/squats. After either I drink the results and recovery post workout drink, I actually love this and wish I could drink it all day! It taste so good and it really does help with not being as sore. In the warmer or (as we say in michigan) the non-winter months I tend to go on a fast paced walk for 45minutes to an hour (about 3 miles) 2-3 times a week.

3. Water, water, water. I'll be straight honest I am not a fan but it is so very important so I still do it!

4. I have my main meals but I watch my portions and how much starch and carbs I have on my plate. I try to keep healthy snacks on tap and prepped for the in-between. It is true what they say that 5 small meals is better than 3 large ones. Also try to make sure whenever it is you eat dinner, you wait three hours before going to bed to give yourself more time to digest. Another tip, if you're going to have something that is harder to digest such as pasta or breads, have that for lunch so you can use the energy you get from it and have more time to digest it. Currently I am eating more leafy greens as it goes with my "clean eating diet" plan that goes along with my Piyo program. You can workout everyday tirelessly but if you aren't eating right you will not see the results you are looking for.

5. I don't agree with cheat days. You will just gorge yourself and then those cravings you finally got rid of will be back in full swing. I don't believe in depriving yourself either, instead I allow three cheats a week. Between you and me, that's usually chocolate or wine. Moderation is key.

6. I have mostly, eliminated fast food from my diet. I'm not saying I never eat fast food but it's more rare these days. I also quit drinking pop, which was very difficult as I do love ice cold coca cola. Most people eliminating these two things alone notice a huge change in how they feel and tend to drop a little weight.



I know it can be overwhelming and I don't suggest doing all of these things let alone starting them all at once! Once you make the choice to feel healthier, be healthier; do one step at a time to find what works best for you to get you to your goals. If you need help figuring out how to obtain these goals please contact me, I would be happy to help you get there. Remember there was a time where I reached out to my coaches, I am just like you.

Lastly, I hold a free 7 day health and fitness challenge at the beginning of each month, if you would like to check it out contact me for more details!
Those interested in starting a beachbody program can join my 3 week health and fitness challenge held monthly! Contact me so I can help you pick the right program for you!





Live. Love. Read. Repeat.

End of the year update

It's the end of the year of 2015 and as such its time to let go of the things we cannot change or did not go our way. I don't think we have to stick with new year's resolutions as the only time to start new but it is an opportunity to do just that. January 4th I will be holding a free (private) challenge group, a 7 day full body workout challenge to give you, and myself a kickstart for the new year. If you are interested, message me on my page, https://www.facebook.com/coachdreadigiglio/

My next 3 week challenge begins January 11th and you have plenty of time to contact me! I will help you pick out the best program for your wants, needs and goals. Plenty of time for you to receive your program before the start date. And don't think you are alone, I am doing the work right along with you. I am currently two weeks into the Beachbody PiYo program. It is kicking my butt, but the low impact of the workout is exactly what I needed.

In the next blog post I will go over what I have personally been doing to get my health and fitness on track. From the supplements I take, the workouts I do and basic daily routines. I don't believe in recommending something without first trying it myself. At the very least doing the research on the product before hand.

So Happy holidays and I hope you all have a happy new year!!!

Today is the day to work towards the new you, the you that you want to be. Why not start today?

You have to do the work to benefit from the reward

We all have a habit of wanting things but not wanting to put the work in. When it comes to being healthy inside and out that won't work. If you commit to doing the work, sticking to your diet (etc) you will reach your goal. It's hard work but you will feel amazing. You will have more energy, feel stronger, your mood will improve and most people report sleeping better too.

Maybe you've chosen a new fitness journey for the sake of your children, maybe for yourself. Make a plan you can follow, a schedule you can actually do. Don't set yourself up to fail before you even start! Set your goals and then go for them the same way you would go after the new leather knee high boots you've been stalking on amazon. Don't allow yourself to make excuses, "I'll start tomorrow, or monday." There is no rule that you have to start on a monday. I know so many people, myself included, who let weeks go by because, "oh its wednesday, guess I'll wait till next monday."
Be the force in your life, drive yourself towards your goals and then kick their ass!

You can do this, and I can do this. We can do this together. ;)