Post workout drink

After a strenuous workout it is very possible that you are feeling tired and sore.  I see people at the gym walking around with a gallon of water. BIG MISTAKE. If you have sweated you must replace those electrolytes lost during sweat. My favorite remedy and concoction will take away all your aches and pains! It also leaves you refreshed after a workout rather than wanting to plop on the couch for the rest of the day.

Try this remedy after your workout:

1/2 cup coconut water

1/4 teaspoon turmeric 

pinch of black pepper'

pinch of salt

So why these ingredients? Let me explain......

• Coconut water: Potassium is lost in sweat during a workout and replenishing it will help prevent any leg cramps. 
• Turmeric: It is anti-inflammatory! Curcumin which is an important component in turmeric is what helps relieve that muscle soreness that comes 24-48 hours after a workout.
• Black pepper: This helps the turmeric work!!! It stimulates the absorption of curcumin.
• Salt: Helps replenish the sodium we have lost during the workout. By adding that salt you can avoid drinking sugary sport drinks like gatorade or powerade

Try it! And leave your comments below to let me know how you feel after trying this for a couple days!

National Nutrition Month

Happy National Nutrition Month!!!! 

March is National Nutrition Month! Come join us to celebrate this month by educating yourself on to “Eat Well and Be Well!” Madiha Ahmad a Certified Nutrition Specialist from MAD Nutrition and Wellness will discuss the following topics:

Ø  Super foods to include in your diet: “Food is thy medicine”

Ø  How to be a healthy shopper

Ø  Carbohydrates, Protein and Fat: Quantity and Quality of these micronutrients.

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Ø  Portion sizes! How much should be on your plate?

• Wednesday, March 22 at 7 PM - 8 PM

• pin	La Madeleine French Bakery & Café (Buford, GA)

Breast Cancer Awareness Month-Event

Presents a Nutrition Seminar on:

NUTRITION AND WOMEN’S HEALTH

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month come join us to talk about how nutrition can play a role in cancer prevention. Learn which types of foods can have a crucial role in preventing and fighting breast cancer. Exercise tutorials will be provided as well as healthy snacks, drinks, and prizes. Bring your kids for some outdoor fun at the park while you educate yourselves into a good health!!!!

Location: Rabbit Hill Park 400 Rabbit Hill Rd, Dacula, GA 30019

Use this link to sign up:  http://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0f45acad2aa1f85-nutrition

Postpartum Weight Loss

Post-baby 6 months

My blog covers a variety of topics from nutrition to fitness tips. I have been on a 1 year hiatus because 1 year ago I was blessed with a beautiful baby girl. Taking care of a baby is a 24/7 job so that would explain why I have not had a chance to update my blog. I wanted to write a post about my experience with weight gain during pregnancy and weight loss post-baby. I want to share my tips and strategies to getting back to your pre-baby weight!

Pregnancy can put a toll on any woman's body. In this pregnancy, which was my 3rd one, I planned to gain only between 30-35 pounds. So I continued to exercise up until the day I delivered! I exercised about 45 minutes/ 4 times a week. I included weight training as well as cardio.  I started out pre-pregnancy weight of 110 and I ended at 145. Exactly 35 pound weight gain! I felt great after having the baby because I did not have much unwanted pounds to lose. Post-delivery I weighed in about 119. Now this number is not bad for me considering with my previous pregnancies I had gained over 50 pounds. I knew that with this pregnancy I had to be careful since I had 3 kids and losing weight would be a struggle. Would I find time for exercise? Would I be able to control stress eating? That is why I am glad I did not have much to work on.

Even though I did not have much to lose it still took time. They say it takes you 9 months to gain it so it will take you 9 months to lose it. Boy were they right! I wanted to take my time and not stress my body out. I believe the key to postpartum weight loss is to start watching what you eat the day you have the baby. Do not go into your pregnancy eating habits!! Start watching refined carbs, desserts, portion sizes, cut out sodas, drink plenty of water,(especially if your breastfeeding), and for the first 6 weeks get plenty of rest. Rest is important because you do not want your cortisol (stress hormones) levels going up and causing weight gain in your belly area. So when your baby sleeps you sleep!!!!

When your doctor gives you the go-ahead you can start exercising again. This will make you feel great despite all the sleepless nights and stress of a new baby. Make sure you are drinking plenty of water to stay hydrated.
Here are some great tips to concentrate on post-baby:

DIET

• Eat more veggies
• Eat plenty of fruits as snack
• Include a healthy carbohydrate and a protein at snack time
• Eat every 2-3 hours
• If you feel hungry you might not be! It might be thirst! Drink water!!!
• Include Green Tea with ginger-metabolism booster as well as belly bloat blaster!
• Try oatmeal for breakfast-include a protein and a fruit for a complete meal!
• Salads with plenty of veggies for lunch with a lean meat
• Brown rice, lean meats, and plenty of veggies for dinner

EXERCISE -(MAKE SURE YOU GET DRS APPROVAL TO BEGIN)

• Light walking in the beginning
• If you worked out during pregnancy start slow then you can begin your normal workout routine pre-pregnancy.
• Try an aerobic class
• Do not weigh yourself in the beginning of your exercise regimen you tend to gain a little when you start then it starts coming off soon enough!
• Include light weights for arms
• Leg lifts (youtube has great exercise videos)
• Pelvic tilts (great for getting that flat belly back)

I have given you some excellent pointers!  Do not stress about the baby weight let it come off slowly because then it will stay off. We do not want those pounds to creep back on by going on crash/fad diets. Do it the right way through healthy eating and exercise!

Good Luck ladies! Don't be afraid to add any comments or suggestions if you have any!

The Morning Workout

COFFEE!!! What a great way to start the day!!! WRONG!!!! The best way to begin your day is to get moving. Don't think your body can get moving without caffeine? Think again! Once you hop on that treadmill, stepper, hit the pavement, or whatever form of exercise you choose your endorphin hormones will start kicking in. You will want to keep going because you feel so good.

Studies have shown that exercising in the morning pre-breakfast can burn up to 20% more fat! So try fitting that workout in before your breakfast meal. Remember after your workout to fuel your body with a breakfast that is full of good fats, protein, and a high fiber carbohydrate. Having a stack of pancakes loaded with syrup will set your weight loss efforts out the door!

Here are some great breakfast ideas:

• 1/ 2 cup rolled oats,(cooked in your choice of water or milk)  nut butter, and a fruit of choice.
• Whole wheat toast and egg white veggie omelet
• Whole wheat English Muffin with nut butter and banana
• 1/ 2 cup of rolled oats,(cooked in your choice of water or milk), fruit, and a hard boiled egg.
• Whole wheat toast with avocado spread and scrambled egg whites with kale 
• Greek yogurt with fruit (choose berries they are full of antioxidants)
• Smoothie: made with coconut water, fruits of your choice, some frozen kale or spinach and your choice of protein powder (or add nut butter if preferred) 

For some caffeine forget the coffee and opt for some green tea with ginger and a dash of lemon. This will keep your metabolism going and also give you the little caffeine boost you might need. Need more caffeine during the day enjoy 2 or more cups of green tea throughout the day.

Remember don't hit the snooze button! Get up and get moving! Your mind and body will thank you.

The Journey of an Atkins Dieter

Spring is creeping up on us as winter seems to fade away. One thing that folks are going to be worrying about now is:  “How will I look in my swimsuit on spring break? I need to lose these 10 pounds that I have gained in winter now!!! How I wish I stuck with my new year’s resolution!”

Now people will tend to fall in the fad diet trap by trying to hurriedly lose the extra pounds. Some will inevitably blame the extra bulge on the darn polar vortex! As they could not make it to the gym after being snowed in or splurged on extra calories because there was nothing else to do but sit at home and watch television.   What is the easiest and quickest solution? Let us go on the Atkins diet to lose the unwanted pounds and look skinny in that swim suit.

The Atkins diet is the most horrible, hardest, and unhealthy diet to follow. I mean not being able to have fruit strips our body of essential vitamins and minerals!  The diet is high in protein and fat. It can leave you feeling hungry, deprived, and irritable for days to come.

So let us begin the first 2 weeks where we cut out all sugar, caffeine, carbohydrates (healthy and unhealthy), and introduce into our bodies access protein and fat from meats, nuts, and cheese.  Two weeks of absolute torture and if you passed these two weeks kudos to you! I am an advocate for healthy eating and not quick weight loss. During this time sure enough you have lost a good 10 to 13 pounds! How awesome is that! NOT! You feel like you have accomplished so much so you feel you can treat yourself to something so yummy and delicious, but beware what you lost will slowly creep back on! You have lost only water weight and no fat!

What do people most likely do after they have cheated? Tend to fall back into all old habits and basically give up. This is why we want to concentrate on healthy diets and not fad diets that promise quick weight loss. We have to avoid this yo-yo effect on our weight as it puts stress on our all our organs and can lead to chronic diseases.

Want to fit into that bikini? Follow a diet full of whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. Carbohydrates are your friend and not your enemy. Our brain depends on these carbohydrates for energy. You just need to choose the right ones! Stay away from white breads, white pastas, white rice, and sugary cereals. Include 100% whole wheat breads, brown rice, quinoa, brown rice pastas, and whole wheat pastas in your diet.  Practice moderation and remember to keep moving to burn those calories!!!
Drink plenty of water to lose that belly fat and you will fit in your bikini in no time! 

If you have any diet stories to share I would love to hear them!

Comment below

Day 3 and 4 Gluten Free

So far so good! I have found something to cure my sugar cravings that is a tasty treat and gluten free! I made chocolate chip cookies with chickpeas! Yes chickpeas! Surprisingly you could not even taste the chickpeas in the cookie. On day 3 I kind of slipped and had some ice cream. So I kind of cheated on the dairy free part. It is all good because I got right back on track the next day.

Recipe for the cookies:
Ingredients
1 1/4 cup chickpeas washed and then dried with paper towel
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup  natural crunchy almond butter
1/2 cup  dark chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees C.
2. Mix all the ingredients except the chocolate chips in food processor. Process until smooth.
3. Scrape the mixture into a bowl and then add dark chocolate chips.
4. Make 1 1/2 inch cookie balls with wet hands and put on foil or parchment paper on a cookie sheet.
5. Bake 10-15 minutes ovens will vary.

The end result:

These cookies were delicious! If you have any leftovers keep them in the fridge so they stay fresh. When you want to eat them zap them in the microwave for 20 seconds and they will taste like they are freshly baked!

Enjoy!!!!