Making Eating Healthy a Priority

And we are back.....! After a long hiatus from the blog due to babies, home moves and job changes were are ready to get back at it. We love that we can share our talents as sisters on this blog and hope to inspire others.


Today's post is in regard to the new year and making those crucial healthy eating changes. At my work I am able to talk to employees daily about the small changes they can make in their diet to see long lasting results. I would like to share with you the top 5 changes you can make in your diet to loose that weight for good.

1. Follow a 6 meals a day plan. Your hunger/satiety level should always be stable. You should never spike up really high because you have eaten too much and feel overly full. You should also never not eat enough that your hunger level spikes really low and you have low energy level. You should always feel never too hungry or too full. The helps keep your metabolism in line and burn more calories throughout the day.

2. Slow down when eating. Slow down and enjoy your food. Enjoy the company you are eating with. By slowing down you are giving time for your food to digest in your stomach and to tell your brain you are full.

3. Make fruits and vegetables a priority. Fruits and vegetables have so much water and fiber. These are two things that make you fill full and are good for your digestive system. If you are having a hard time incorporating fruits and vegetables into your diet then make a small start. Have a rule that all your snacks will only be fruits and vegetables. That way if you don't have time to integrate them into your main meals, then you have least gotten them in through your daily snacks.

4. Cut out the soda. Have you seen this Coca cola commercial yet?

It baffles me. Coke, it is only 140 calories. Yeah only 140 calories of pure sugar and chemicals that you cant even pronounce. The access sugar  in soda is not good for your waistline. Soda has empty calories, it does not fill you up and does not provide any essential nutrients. Avoid it if you want to keep the weight off.

5. Preparation is key. I believe the greatest way you can make eating healthier a priority is to prepare your food in advance. Think about your meals for the week on the weekend. Purchase those meal items on the weekend. Plan to add an additional 30 minutes onto your grocery shopping trip to cut up fruits and vegetables, cook chicken or fish and place in fridge in Tupperware containers. Make a large batch of brown rice on Sunday afternoon and use it throughout the week in different meals. By having things already cut up and cooked on the weekend it makes breakfast, lunch, and dinner on the weekdays a lot easier. You come home from a long day of work or being with the kids and you have all your salad fixings cut and ready to go and your chicken that just needs to be reheated on the stove.


Try these simple tools to help you on the track to making eating healthier a priority in your life.

Sunshine Striped Maxi Dress

This was my submission for Sunshine week over on SYTYC. Today I wanted to share the tutorial on how to create it. It is super easy!

When I think of sunshine, I think of warmth. I think of the beach. I think of lazy days by the pool. Most of all I think of Summer. What could be more perfect for all of those things than a comfortable bright striped maxi dress.

This dress was constructed from multiple colors of jersey fabric. The solid colors of jersey were cut into various size stripes and then sewn together to create a unique striped and colorful pattern.

This is the perfect dress to celebrate sunshine and summer. It is the perfect swimsuit cover up to wear to the pool or to the beach. It is the perfect dress to wear on a summer evening walk, or just to sport around town. It is just perfect for any activity on a sunshiny day.

What you’ll need:

1/2 yard each of four different colors of knit fabric

1/4 inch elastic (How much? Enough to fit around your waist.)

The first thing you are going to do is create your pattern. You will want to measure from your shoulder to your feet then add 3 inches to get the exact amount of stripes you will need to cut. For example: It is 56 inches from my shoulder to my feet. I cut 59 inches worth of stripes, because once you sew the stripes together you are going to loose about 3 inches of material.

I cut each cream colored stripe at 3 inches. Then I tapered the colored layers. The bottom color was 13 inches. Then the next color was 2 inches shorter than that, and and the next 2 inches shorter than that, and so on. You can see the dimensions in the image below. 

Once you have sewn your pattern together it is time to sew the dress. It can be completed in 6 easy steps.

*I have kept the instructions pretty general. I left out specific measurements. You can decide for yourself how big you want the arm holes, and where on your waist to place the elastic, or how deep and wide of a v-neck that you want for your body. If you do want more specific measurements just send me an email and I would be happy to share what I used for my dress.

As an optional step 7: You can hem all of your open edges around the arm holes, neck, and bottom of the dress. You can also leave it un hemmed since you are working with knit and it wont unravel.

Let me know if you have any questions.

No Excuses Week #3

Excuse #3: I find exercising boring

Exercising doesn't have to be boring. There are so many variations to make exercise more fun.

Here are some tips to help making exercising more fun:

1. Find a fitness facility that specializes in group exercise classes. There is a gym in my area that offers zumba, kickboxing, yoga, pilates, cardio sculpt, power tone. They are offered at all different times in the day and on different days throughout the week. This is a great way to vary the kind of workouts you are doing and make it fun at the same time. For me it is a good $25 well spent. The other great thing about this is that you get to do it with friends and meet new ones as you continue to go.

2. Take up sport you have never tried before. Try enrolling in tennis or golf lessons.  These are two great sports that can be really fun and social. Join a tennis group or find a gold buddy. The more you branch out and try something new, the less you might get bored with doing your regular routine.

3. Add a friend to your exercise programming. Taking walks or joining a sport with your spouse or friend can be added benefit. 


Not only is varying your exercise fun it also has great physical benefits as well. The more your body does an exercise routine the more your body adapts to it. It eventually stop seeing results or seeing results will take a longer time. By always changing your workout routine you have the potential to see results faster and enjoy it more at the same time.

Goal: Try one new sport or activity you have never tried before!

No Excuses Week #2

Excuse #2 : I am too embarrassed and uncomfortable to go to a gym.

Exercising can feel intimidating at times. You might avoid going because you don't know how to use the equipment or what to do when you get there. If you fit that category, let's look at how to move past it.

I have listed some ways to make sure you still get a workout if you don't feel comfortable in a gym. 

1. Pick up some light dumbbells from the store; there are endless things you can do with them. Click here for a great list of exercises you can do at home. 

2. Go to your local library and pick up workout DVD's. The great thing about a lot of these DVD's is that the instructor in most videos makes sure there are modifications to each exercise so you don't have to be concerned about not being able to follow what he or she does. There is always a way to make sure you get the best benefit for your body.

3. Use a game console. Many game consoles such as the Wii, Xbox and Playstation now have exercising games. Zumba is one of those games. It is great to do at home because many people are afraid to do it with a class because they are afraid they won't keep up. By doing it at home you are able to still have a great time but don't have to feel self concious if you dont know all the moves. 

4. Move around with your kids. If you don't like going to the gym then take advantage of playing with your kids throughout the day. Whether it is at the park or in the backyard, make get physical activity by playing with your kids.

If going to a gym is not your thing, don't make it an excuse not to get some exercise in your day. Working out at home can be just as successful as working out at a gym. No more excuses!

Time to Celebrate Fathers!

It is that time of year to celebrate Fathers everywhere! You don't have to remind me about this holiday. I'll take any excuse to celebrate my husband or my father. They are pretty awesome!

 

So in honor of the upcoming holiday we have made some printables to help make Fathers day even more special. They are both interviews about dads that you can do with your kids.

 

The first printable offers an interview that can be answered through words.

 

While the second printable offers an interview that can be answered through pictures.

I love the idea of having an interview with my kids about their father every year. My son is still a little young to understand how to answer these questions. I created the second printable that will answer the questions through pictures of my husband and son together.

I plan to keep all of these interviews in one big scrap book. I'll add to the book every year.  There are so many fun ways to do this interview.

 

I love this idea of framing the interview. I think I'll have to do this on Father's Day.

I also love this idea of creating a digital book every year with the interview questions.

If you are interested in downloading our Father's Day printable just head on over to our Facebook page. Both printables are available to all of our Facebook friends. If you already like us on Facebook, just click on the Free Gift box at the top of our page.

*Update: These are now available on our blog under our printables tab