10 Tiny Changes for Big Weight Loss

Turbo Jam™ trainer Chalene Johnson recommends taking baby steps to eat more healthfully. If you “slip,” get immediately back on track. Never let a vacation or a special holiday be an excuse to overdo it the entire time. Go ahead, enjoy the occasional indulgence, but keep it reasonable. Here are 10 tiny changes you can make for big weight loss.

1. Wait 2 minutes. Cravings will disappear after two minutes if you walk away and turn your attention elsewhere.
2. W.I.W.M. When you really crave something unhealthy, answer this question: “What do I Want More,” that piece of chocolate cake, or a body I feel proud of? And on rare occasions, it’s okay to pick the chocolate cake!
3. No one’s perfect. Don’t allow one bad choice to result in bingeing the rest of the day, or falling back into old habits.
4. Focus. Make eating purposeful, not something mindless to do while watching TV, driving, or sitting in front of the computer. Whenever you put food in your mouth, try to engage all of the senses in the pleasure of nourishing your body.
5. Don’t skip breakfast. Start eating a filling breakfast, but one that’s lower in fat. It will help you eat fewer total calories throughout the day.
6. Veggies. The majority of your plate should have veggies and/or fruit on it at both lunch and dinner.
7. See what you eat. Eat your food off of a plate instead of straight out of a jar, bag, or box.
8. Don’t buy it. Stop buying the food you snack on all day. Just eliminate the temptation.
9. Eat more fruit. A person who gets enough fruit in their diet doesn’t have a raging sweet tooth.
10. Watch what you drink. Cut back on or cut out high-calorie drinks like soda, sweet tea, lemonade, and, especially, alcohol. People have lost weight by making just this one change.

2009 Summer Color Trend: Brown and Green

With decorating trends steering toward the green movement, it comes as no surprise that the color green is making a big impact again, especially when it is paired with brown.  Brown has become the popular neutral of the last few years, looking fresh with nearly any color it is paired with.  As the trendy blue and brown trend starts to tire, the brightness of green has taken its place.

For those with a cutting edge color sense,  combining an acid green and chocolate brown is a great look.  The darkness of the brown juxtaposed with the bright color makes it literally jump and shake.  Throw in a little white, and the combination is thrilling and of the moment.  Large scale patterned wallpapers with solid, textured seating emphasize this color combination in modern interiors.  Furnishings are more minimal, allowing the color to saturate the room.  For a bigger punch, throw in a touch of orange or bright yellow.  Romo’s fabric collections are perfect for this look.

The opposite effect is using an earthy green with a softer, mellow toned brown.  The result is a more calming and sophisticated look.  Soft textural fabrics in soft shades of green, along with touches of brown and even a little metallic give an elegant, but current look to interiors.  The key is combining patterns with elements of embroidery, geometrics, and touchable textures for an inviting décor.  One of the most beautiful collections to feature this combination comes from Highland Court’s Phillip Gorvan.

The combination of brown and green can have a long lasting life when used in a way that is not too modern, not too traditional.  Use a medium toned green that can be combined with golds or reds for a timeless feel.  Softer apple greens work well with nearly any color, and are not as harsh.

Double Duty Rooms: Creating a Home Office

With the recession in full swing, more women are looking for ways to earn extra income, particularly from home.  Depending on the type of work, a home office may be needed.  But what if the home has no more room to spare to create an office?
A home office doesn’t have to have a specific room designated for it, especially if space is maxed out already.  Think outside the box and decide which room provides an area conducive to multi-tasking.  Often the home office combines the functions of home, school, and work all in one space.
A home office does have a few requirements:  good lighting, storage, access to technology, and comfortable ergonomic seating.  There may be two or three good areas to utilize as the office – consider the living room, dining room, or even a wide closet.  The key is to create a work space that doesn’t add extra mess and additional work.
With the living room, a console table or small desk can be placed behind a sofa or against a wall.  The desk chair can easily be pulled in as additional seating if there are extra guests.  Utilizing a secretary or drop-down desk works well as they are easily closed up.  File cabinets can be slip-covered to double as pedestals.  A table with an attractive shirred skirt velcroed to it can hide cords or file boxes underneath.  Bookcases are perfect in nearly any room, and can showcase items as well as provide hidden storage.

A dining room comes with a desk in it already.  The key is being able to pick up the area quickly and store it efficiently, so that the shuffling of documents doesn’t end up with lost items.  This room can end up cluttered easily, so using a credenza with pull out drawers or doors that not only stores plates, but accommodates important files works well.  Look for a piece that allows things to be put away without having to create messy piles each time they get picked up.  Storage such as lidded file cabinets tuck into shelves nicely.
If there is a wide closet to spare, then look no further for a compact office.  Two file cabinets with a narrow top can be set inside to create a desk.  The back wall can have cork tiles applied for an instant bulletin board.  Once you are done working, simply close up the door.
Look around your home for other areas that seem conducive to working in.  You may be surprised by the options, and be able to keep the utilitarian aspect under control.

Top 10 ways to increase calcium absorption

I received this information in the form of an ad for a calcium supplement.  Although I had seen many of the points before I thought some of them were worth making note of.

1.   Make sure your calcium supplement contains vitamin C as it is essential for proper calcium absorption.
2.   Take your calcium in liquid form for the fastest absorption. It is more effective than tablets, and also shouldn’t contain antacids like tablets do, which interfere with calcium absorption.
3.  Be sure to take the doctor recommended 2:1 ratio of calcium to magnesium in your supplement — two parts calcium to one part magnesium.
4.   Eat foods that are high in the amino acid lysine, which is needed for calcium absorption. These include eggs, fish, lima beans and soy products.
5.  Get outside in the sun without sunscreen for 15 minutes, three times a week. Sunshine is the easiest and best way to get vitamin D, which is essential for proper absorption of calcium.
6. Spread out your doses of calcium over the day, as it appears to work more effectively if taken in smaller doses, rather than a large dose all at once.
7.  Avoid taking calcium with iron or zinc as it reduces the efficacy of both minerals and can interfere with calcium absorption.
8. Decrease or eliminate soft drinks from your diet. They are high in phosphorus, which can lead to calcium excretion in your urine.
9. Cut down on junk foods, alcohol, caffeine and white flour. All of these may lead to an excessive loss of calcium from your body and a decreased rate of absorption.
10. Eat foods containing oxalic acid in moderation. Oxalic acid interferes with calcium absorption. Foods containing oxalic acid include almonds, beet greens, cashews, chard, kale, rhubarb and spinach.

1400 Calories a Day to Lose a Pound a Week

Weight loss season has officially begun. Have you tried to get parking at your local GYM lately?  Everyone has the same New Year’s Resolution it seems.  This year I decided I was going to jump on that bandwagon too. I might as well get rid of those extra pounds rather than get used to them!  I decided if I was going to have a resolution to lose weight I had to have a goal, a plan and a way to measure my progress.  Typically when watching my weight I stick to a formula that I learned ages ago.  Eat 300 calories for breakfast, 400 for lunch and 500 for dinner.  You can also have 3 snacks at 100 calories each.  This is a grand total of 1500 calories per day.  Well, I never realized that this is too many calories for a woman who weighs in at less than 140 pounds.  A 140 pound woman wanting to lose a pound a week should only consume 1400 calories per day!  So to measure and track my dieting progress, I decided to try my iPhone apps tools.  Yes! I found a great program called Lose It.  I’m able to set my weight loss goal and then track the calories of the food that I eat with the handy calorie counter.  This shows me at all times where I am on my daily calorie budget. Want to eat more than 1400 calories a day?  Exercise!  You can track calories burned with the exercise tracker, which includes everything from Snow Shoveling to Broomball, and add this into your budget too.  If you do a spin class for an hour and burn an additional 500 calories, you just bumped your calorie budget up to 1900 for the day.  I carry my phone on me at all times so there is no excuse for not entering those mints I ate at the doctor’s office or the handful of m&m’s I snagged from my kids.  If you don’t have an iPod touch or iPhone you can track yourself on your computer with a similar program called the Daily Plate on the livestrong.com website.  Don’t fall for all the latest fad diets.  What really matters is calories in and calories burned.  You need to count them and stick to your plan.  Good luck.  I know you can do it!

Great Gift for anyone who Grills, why Go Outback tonight?

Your grilling friends will be impressed.  No need for going to a restaurant for steak.  Spice it up the way you want, or individually for each guest.  Add a grill charm so the steaks don’t get mixed up OR to show the “chef” how to cook it.

Grill Charms are dime-sized solid stainless steel charms that are placed in your food BEFORE grilling. The serrated stem holds the Grill Charm securely in place while flipping, moving and grilling like you normally do. You Grill Charm your food prior to cooking to distinguish spices and flavors, steak temperatures, or to avoid health or allergy issues.

Grill Charms can make a great host or hostess gifts when going to those holiday parties.  Also, for any office parties where you play the Thieving Secret Santa gift exchange, Grill Charms are perfect for anyone who owns a grill!  And of course, as a stocking stuffer, it’s the perfect size.

Grill Charms are available for $19.95 and come in 4 different collections – Steak Collection, rare, medium rare, etc. Spicy collection, mild, medium, spicy, etc. Charmed Life collection fun personalized collection. Pink Collection with the proceeds going toward finding a cure for breast cancer.

Be charming, give grill charms this year.  Go to www.grillcharms.com

You won’t find this one at the bookstore because YOU are the Star

Did you ever think you and your sweetie could star in a romance novel?  Are you too spicy for that or too mild?  yournovel.com will let you choose between a mild or wild version of romance and, starting at about $50, create a personal virtual fantasy for you and your sweetie beloved.

Yournovel.com’s founders Kathy M. Newbern and J.S. Fletcher, who form the husband/wife writing team Fletcher Newbern, have been penning the novels since they met and fell in love in 1992. Each book is personalized throughout with more than 25 details about the starring couple crafted from an online questionnaire, including names, hometown, places of work, eye and hair color, best friends, favorite perfume, cologne and music, affectionate nicknames for one another, and how long they’ve been a couple. There’s even the option of adding the starring couple’s photo to the book cover, and novels come in paperback or hardback.

One romance? I want the series! I want to laze on the Caribbean beaches, gaze into my beloved’s eyes over a fine glass of Barbera di Asti in Rome and take the Alaskan cruise, all without leaving our bedroom. Think of the fun we’d have – not only in the location of our choice, but reading about our wild encounters with pirates on the high seas! What’s your fantasy? Here’s your chance! A bodice-ripper? They have that!

What a very fun gift this would be for both of you.  Hurry there are only 17 days to Christmas!

Black Friday shopping tips PLUS a Holiday Gift Guide

For some great holiday shopping tips, from budgeting to what to buy, you must check out Jennifer Melnick Carotas site the Gift Therapist.  What is a gift therapist?  Well, we can all use some type of therapy when it comes to gift giving as there are so many extremes, from spending more than we can afford on gifts to buying so manyy gifts that you’re not quite sure who you’re giving them all to.  Or some people become so stressed out with the gift giving process that they don’t even know where to start and there is little enjoyment found in it. This year go to the Gift Therapist site and learn what Giveology is all about. According to Jen, when asked what is her favorite sanity saver… “As an expert Giveologist, my mantra is “focus on the giving, rather than on the gift.” Forget about price-tags and obligatory spending! Give the best you can with what you’ve got and feel great about it. If you take the time to put together a meaningful gift that reflects your cherished relationship with that person, you will hit a home run every time…even if you only spent $10.”

Jen can help you with gift ideas – check out Advice and Tips, Sanity Savers, and Top 20 Gifts for 2008.  I want you to know that Strappys Decorative Bra Straps are Gift Therapist Approved and have received her approval seal.  She didn’t actually know about Strappys until she had put her top 20 together.  Had she known I have a feeling she would have had to expand her list to the Top 21 gifts as all the top 20 are really cool.  Check them out – they’re available online.

Interval Train to get RESULTS

Are you tired of chugging away on the treadmill or elliptical for 45 minutes to an hour?  Are you seeing the changes you want?   Reading your magazine while riding your stationary bike or climbing on the Stairmaster is probably not going to get you the fat loss results you want.  The smartest, most efficient way to work out  is to do interval training. Simply defined, interval training involves alternating short bursts of intense activity with intervals of lighter activity, which is called “active recovery.”  Interval training can be used with any activity. You’ve probably read in numerous magazines that on your daily walk(?-good idea!) you can play games with yourself by picking out houses or trees to walk “briskly” between.  In other words, pick landmarks to do interval training between.  These should be short bursts of activity, walking or jogging, that are strenuous enough that you are out of breath, about 1-4 minutes.  Then go back to active recovery pace until you bring your heart rate down again.  For swimming, do pyramids where each lap gets faster, then drop down to active recovery pace. On the treadmill or stairmaster, bump up the level each minute over a 3-4 minute period, then drop down to active recovery for a minute or two.

My absolute favorite Plan for interval training is from Body for Life: 12 Weeks to Mental and Physical Strength
Body for Life has a website with a complicated looking chart for interval training but it is very simple in reality.  Also, the idea behind this interval training plan is that you will only have to spend 20 minutes a day on your favorite piece of equipment at the gym.  Try it.  You’ll get that endorphin high AND you’ll save yourself 20 minutes.  If you’re not convinced that you can afford to shave 20-30 minutes off your cardio workout, then just implement this plan into your workout.  Congrats to you if you can keep this up for 60 minutes! You rock and you’re going to look and feel fabulous!

The 20 Minute Plan as I “see” it and use it:

First 2 minutes Very Easy , Level 5 you’re warming up

Minute 2  Bump up one notch of effort, Level 6

Minute 3  Bump up another notch of effort, Level 7

Minute 4 Bump it up again, Level 8

Minute 5 Bump it up AGAIN, Level 9 – you should be really working at this point but NOT to a 10

Minute 6 Drop back to Level 6 to recover for a minute

Minute 7:  Level 7

Minute 8:  Level 8

Minute 9:  Level 9

Minute 10:  Level 6

Minute 11:  Level 7

Minute 12:  Level 8

Minute 13:  Level 9

Minute 14:  Level 6

Minute 15:  Level 7

Minute 16:  Level 8

Minute 17:  Level 9

Minute 19:  Level 10!

Minute 20:  Cool down at level 5

If you try it and you love it let me know!

3 Things They Don’t Tell You About Breast Cancer Detection

The most important thing to get out of this article is this…Do monthly self breast exams right after your period. PERIOD.  You know your body and you will know if something doesn’t “feel right”.

Now for 3 Important facts that have never stood out in my reading of breast cancer detection…

1.  This was shocking when I heard a doctor talk about this at a Fundraiser for Breast Cancer and the 3Day Walk.  So I looked this up and found it verified by yet another doctor.  Usually there is NO FAMILY HISTORY in breast cancer cases.

“Typically, in most cancers there is not a family history. In fact, the incidence of positive family history depending on whose series you review once in the neighborhood of 7 percent sometimes may be up to 9 percent or 10 percent. So, it is actually more common not to have a family history, particularly, breast cancer.”

So it seems you are at just as high of risk if there is no family history of breast cancer.

2.  Film mammography is NOT the golden standard for breast cancer detection.  Digital mammography is much better for two reasons.  Digital images allow you to manipulate them and analyze them better.  They also make it easer to share images for consulting with other doctors and specialists.  Digital mammography detected up to 28% more cancers  than regular film mammography.

Have your annual mammogram at a center that does Digital Mammography

3.  During her ordeal with breast cancer my girlfriend told me that she had learned that MRI’s were the best screen for detecting breast cancer.  They aren’t done because of the cost.  BUT what is really concerning is that in the case of DCIS (ductal carcinoma in situ, affecting the milk ducts in the breast),  MRI scans were far superior than mammography. In a UK study of more than 7,300 women, 92 percent of those with DCIS were diagnosed by MRI compared with 56 percent by mammography. According to the UK specialists, MRI’s had too many false positives which meant more biopsies had to be performed than were needed.

Lobby for MRI’s in the future for breast cancer detection. I’d prefer a false positive over detection at stage III any day.

Best Breast Cancer Sites as published in Good Housekeeping Magazine

You’ve Just Found a Lump

The ABCs of Breast Cancer Guide at the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation site (komen.org) will walk you through all the decisions you’ll need to make, from type of biopsy to kind of treatment. The site is also noted for its inclusion of alternative treatments.

You’re Especially Interested in New Findings

In addition to basic information, breastcancer.org features clear analyses of the latest studies, with an emphasis on how the results may apply to you.

You Want to Connect with Other Patients

The Y-ME National Breast Cancer Organization (y-me.org) offers a hotline, guides to local support groups, and more.

Problem solving: After Clarice Richter of Southington, Connecticut, was diagnosed with breast cancer two years ago, connecting with the support group at the Komen Foundation’s Website was like “having a best friend all the time. I’d wake up at two in the morning, go online, and someone would be there to talk.”

Think pink. Wear pink.  And give to find a cure!   Strappys does offer two pink bra strap options.  A percentage of the proceeds will be given to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

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