I have gotten my first sponsor for the Total Health Challenge. Yippee! I am a licensed Wellness Coach through wellcoaches, so I thought it would be a great idea if each of the participants in the program gets one-on-one wellness coaching. In addition, each of the participating trainers will receive free tuition to complete the wellness coach certification on their own. It's a win for everyone! Copyright Elizabeth Sherman. Purchase a Bodybugg through Elizabeth Sherman. Read More . . .
Eat your Veggies!
I overheard a quote in my circuit class the other day: "You build a strong body in the gym; you build a lean body in the kitchen." And it’s absolutely true. It’s much easier to stop yourself from eating 2 oz of tortilla chips than it is to run for 30 minutes (300 calories in both instances). Whenever I find that my waistband is getting a little more snug than I’d like, I turn my attention to my diet. I often realize that in addition to not paying as close attention to my portion sizes, one of the mistakes that I’ve been making is not eating enough non-starchy vegetables. A loose definition of Non-Starchy Vegetables are those veggies that grow above the ground. Examples are tomatoes, lettuce, cucumber, broccoli, green beans, summer squash, and peppers. In addition to vegetables having lots of essential vitamins & minerals, they also have a Read More . . .
What do you say to yourself?
Have I mentioned lately how much I love my bodybugg? I also have the display device which, when I originally got it, didn't think it was that useful. After all, I uploaded my information on a pretty consistent basis – twice or three times a day. Since it doesn't take that long to upload the data from the armband, it was really easy for me to keep track of the number of calories I was burning. Well, once I got the digital display, I realized that I didn't need to update as often as I had been doing, because the digital display allows me to see almost real time how many calories I'm burning. Yes, Exactly! It allows me to be even more anal retentive than I had been before! So anyway, I recently set a goal to burn 100 calories per hour, or 2400 calories per day. I burn Read More . . .
3 pounds
One of my guilty pleasures is that I watch Oprah. No, I'm usually not home at that time of the day, but thank goodness for DVRs so that I can record it; saves a lot of time skipping over commercials, but also, if I'm not interested in the topic being aired that day, I'll just delete it. Yesterday she had Gwyneth Paltrow & Mario Batali on her show to promote a new series that is coming out where Gwyneth & Mario travel around Spain eating their hearts out. The first segment of the show was an interview with Gwyneth about her workout routine (see the video). I can only imagine that they did that so that America wouldn't curse Gwyneth after seeing her eating her way through Spain; giving rise to the fact that no one gets a free ride as far as the calorie formula goes – Calories In Read More . . .
Trick-or-Treat! Here’s a pencil….
Halloween is fast approaching, and since I am a wellness coach, nutritionist and personal trainer I don’t feel like I would be acting responsibly if I gave candy to the trick-or-treaters. For the past few years I’ve been conflicted about what to give the neighborhood kiddos. Candy is fine in moderation, however there really isn’t anything moderate about the abundance of Halloween candy children receive: not to mention that Halloween signals the beginning of the 5 month long sugar-fest that concludes with chocolate eggs and colored sugar coated marshmallows in the shape of chickens & bunnies. One year I tried to sell Gary on giving away those small 8oz water bottles, but he convinced me that we would get egged by the kids. When I looked into it, it wasn’t very economical either. You can get 6 lbs of candy (150 pieces) for less than $25; A case of 48 Read More . . .
HFCS – It’s a Four Letter Word
I was watching TV last night when I saw this commercial & was stunned. It’s a commercial promoting High Fructose Corn Syrup. Here’s another one. If you don’t already know, High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is a sweetener made from corn. Production Excerpt from Wikipedia: High-fructose corn syrup is produced by milling corn to produce corn starch, then processing that corn starch to yield corn syrup which is almost entirely glucose, and then adding enzymes which change the glucose into fructose. The resulting syrup (after enzyme conversion) contains approximately 90% fructose and is HFCS 90. To make the other common forms of HFCS (HFCS 55 and HFCS 42) the HFCS 90 is mixed with 100% glucose corn syrup in the appropriate ratios to form the desired HFCS. The enzyme process which changes the 100% glucose corn syrup into HFCS 90 is as follows: 1. Cornstarch is treated with alpha-amylase Read More . . .
Wellsphere
I've recently gotten turned on to this new site called Wellsphere. It's totally in line with my personal philosophy & perspective. It's not about living the "perfect" life according to the rules: no sugar, no alcohol, no fat — just green beans & grilled chicken. It's about living life and doing those things in your life that will allow you to enjoy your life for as long as possible. I love that! They've asked me to join their community as a health blogger & what could I say, but YES, Yes! So, it's a great site especially now because I'm a part of it. Elizabeth Sherman Healthy Living Community Read More . . .
I’m not going to feel guilty on Vacation
As I mentioned in my previous post, I was on vacation last week; and I ate. A lot! So the next question you might ask is, "Did you wear your Bodybugg?" No, I did not. I wore it when I exercised – because I have the display device, and I wanted to know how many calories I was burning. There were a few days that I really wish that I had worn it because Gary & I were so active that I was curious to know how many calories I was burning. The main reason I didn't wear it was because of the food. I was going to eat what I wanted to eat regardless of how many calories I burned; and also add to it that I was eating restaurant food, which, in my opinion, is more difficult to estimate calories than the national debt. I was on vacation, Read More . . .
Eat Without Abandon
This week I was on vacation. My husband, Gary & I went to Boston for his sister's wedding, and while we were there we spent a couple of days in Newport, Rhode Island. Now, my attitude towards vacations is this: When I'm on vacation, I do everything that I can't do at home. That definitely includes eating; I eat whatever I can only get locally. I don't eat foods that I can get at home because really, what's the point? Since I was in Boston & Newport, seafood (specifically shellfish & lobster), italian food and good bread (because we can't find those here in Austin) were on the menu. I follow a 80/20 rule: 80 percent of the time I make food choices that are "clean eating"; or foods that my body needs to function properly. The other 20 percent of the time, I relax my guidelines a bit, and Read More . . .
Fiberific!
This month's Nutrition Action Healthletter is all about fiber. Fiber is great stuff. Not only because it helps you stay regular, but foods high in fiber tend to be more filling. Fiber is found in carbohydrate sources of food. Simply put, it's the part of the grain or plant that is not able to be digested by the body. There are 2 natural types of fiber: soluble & insoluble. If you've ever taken Metamucil or psyllium husk, you've taken Soluble fiber; it gets gel like when it interacts with water. Because of that, when you eat foods that are high in soluble fiber, it bulks up in your stomach causing you to feel less hungry. Insoluble fiber is found in the bran part of whole grains, and in most vegetables as well as edible fruit skins. Insoluble fiber stimulates the muscles of the large intestine, helping the waste with it Read More . . .
Custom Calories?
Whether you use the Bodybugg Weight Managemtent System or fitday or the daily plate, or sparkpeople, to log your food, One of the complaints is that it takes a long time to find the food that you want to log. When I first started using fitday, I remember I typed in "milk" and got 350 items! As with any new activity, it takes a while to get familiar with the new way of doing things; and that's uncomfortable. The key in being successful in the new behavior is getting through the discomfort. One thing that's a HUGE pain in the rear whenever you use a logging tool is not only finding the foods that you eat (and remembering how they're listed) but then entering the foods that aren't in the system that you consume. Typically, we each eat about 100 foods over & over & over again. So, once you Read More . . .
To Be or Not To Be … Vegetarian
Wanting to leave the world in a better place than I received it is how I started in the health field. At the time, I interpreted that as a duty to serve my fellow humans by spreading the message of wellness to all. Nowdays with so much attention to being earth-friendly, I try to incorporate 'green' practices into my own life as much as I can. I try not to waste gasoline; I turn off the lights & fans when I leave a room; I recycle; I eat local foods when they're available to me, and definitely stay away from produce shipped in from South America when the same US produce is sitting in the next bin over at the store. But now I'm starting to turn my attentions to other areas of my diet: protein. As a Nutritionist, I know how vital protein is to our bodies for muscle Read More . . .
I’ll try not to let it go to my head
I was interviewed by the local press last week about the Bodybugg. Jessica, my client did an excellent job in the interview & I think she even upstaged me a little bit. I'm excited about the buzz that it's causing. The news story was even picked up by not only the Texas Cable Network, but also three other markets: Austin, Las Vegas, and Topeka Kansas. How exciting! Apex is thrilled with the exposure, as they should be. It's a really cool device & I'm confident that it will do well. Lately, folks have been asking me if it will work for them. Yes, it will. However, I've been coming up with a list of criteria for those who it will work best with: You're motivated enough to wear it all the time – If you only want to wear it part-time, then just go out & buy a heart rate Read More . . .
Success!
After 12 weeks of using the bodybugg, I've achieved my goal weight. If someone had told me that I would have been able to lose almost a pound a week without starving myself or working out for 2 hours a day, I would have told them that they just didn't know my body. My body is different. It's very efficient & doesn't like to give up it's calories & fat. It's impossible for me. I know this because I've tried. I guess I really don't know this because after using the bodybugg, it proved that I'm wrong. I competed in a bodybuilding contest about 3 years ago. I competed in the figure division, which the judging favors the athletic female form rather than the overly muscled women that you think of when you think of women's bodybuilding. When competing in bodybuilding, the competitor must get his/her body fat down to Read More . . .
Mmmmmm… Tacos!
I just posted a new recipe to my website for Thai Style Steak Tacos. They're a really good alternative to traditional mexican or tex-mex tacos. Read More . . .
It’s Very Freeing
I really love my bodybugg! I love it because I am so close to achieving my goal. And that's exciting. It's exciting to know that as a personal trainer and nutritionist, I'm not a failure at losing weight — I just didn't have the proper tools before. And it's amazing to me how easy it is. As I've said before, I've always had a rather clean diet, and I've journaled my food for years — nothing new there. I don't think I'm exercising more either. I haven't given up carbohydrates, and I still pretty much eat chocolate every day. I have become more aware of my hunger, and I try to eat to that, however whenever I had tried to eat according to my hunger cues in the past, it had led to eventual overeating. I think there were days that I certainly didn't eat enough for my activity level, Read More . . .
Is Eating Healthy More Expensive?
For years, I've heard the argument that eating healthier foods is more expensive. It's hard to argue with that when you have McDonalds and Burger King supersizing meals for a measly $0.39, yet a salad can run you $9.00 at a to go restaurant. Not too long ago, I saw a post on what 200 calories of food looks like. I wondered what 200 calories of food cost. Lucky for me, someone already did that. As a general rule, you want to "eat from the rainbow". Foods that have lots of color have more nutritional value. Unfortunately, everything looks pretty beige (except for the brightly colored candies, cereals, and chips) until you get to just above the "Cost of 200 Calories: Over $1.00" category. The Avocado makes it's debut at $0.99. It makes me sad that not only is bad for you food cheaper, but it's so readily available – Read More . . .
Wii Fit
The Wii Fit (different from WWEE or Absolutely Fit) is a new video game launched from Nintendo to get people to move more. For years now there have been reports of folks who have dropped dramatic weight by using video games such as Dance Dance Revolution or some of the other Wii games. As a wellness professional, my first thought is, "That's great! It's getting people up & moving around — off the couch & that's just fantastic!" But then thinking about it for a bit, I start to get sad because it's a video game. I laugh when I think about my massage therapist, Annie. One of the newest hit video games is Guitar Hero. She says that "By the time one gets good at Guitar Hero, they could actually have learned the guitar!" Which is true. But I think that the Wii Fit is a little different. People Read More . . .
Absolutely Fit!
I do my personal training out of a small personal training studio in the heart of Austin. The studio is called Absolutely Fit! & has recently launched it's website. You can only workout there if you're working with your personal trainer. What I love about working there is that it's a little like The Island of Misfit Toys — Everyone belongs. And because everyone belongs there, my clients & I don't feel uncomfortable. Ever. The studio is fantastic because it's just the right size, it has all of the necessary equipment, the location is perfect & clients don't have to pay for a membership. Sometimes we have complete privacy, other times we share a space with a few trainers & their clients. It all depends on the time of day. Everyone knows everyone else & share in group discussions (or eavesdrop if that's your thing). It really is awesome. Thank Read More . . .
WWEE?
I’ve recently purchased the URL WhatWouldElizabethEat.com. Right now it just redirects to my recipes page, however I have lots of clever things in mind for it in the future. Unfortunately, WWEE.com is taken by Worldwide Entertainment Events. They’re not even using it! ugh. But anyway – Yippee! Read More . . .