The holiday season is upon us.  And it's my favorite time of year; family gatherings, presents, parties, meals, cakes/cookies/snacks...what isn't to love?  Well....as I look back to previous years, I think of my waist line and overall weight pre- and post-holiday season.  And I recognize the common trend...an increase of several pounds, and a decent amount of bloat to go along with it.  And everyone wants to rationalize it; "you only live once", "treat yourself", etc.  But this year, I'm determined to do something different.  I'm going to be in control of WHAT I eat, WHEN I eat, how ACTIVE I am, and make sure I get plenty of water, rest, and down-time to balance out all of the hustle & bustle.  I have no desire to sabotage the balance I've created in my life thus far; hormonal balance, stress management, and proper rest are my non-negotiables!!! They MUST happen, because I won't go back to the old way of feeling heavy, tired, and sluggish.  Does this describe you?  Does this sound like something you'd like to be a part of?  Email me at TRWHealthandWellness@gmail.com and I will help you find your path thru the happy-yet-tricky-holiday season, too :D

Five Day Sugar-Free and Whole Food-Full Challenge!!!

Sooo.....I was thinking that maybe next week could be a Five Day Sugar-less and Whole Food-Full challenge for those who are interested in giving it a try. A wise woman said to me just today (and by "wise woman", I mean my friend Joan the Dietician) - "we need to reaquaint our taste buds to something less hyper-sweet". That hit me over the head like a BRICK. Last year, I did 4 weeks of a similar program, fairly intense with lots of meal prepping ~ but I bet we could do a 5 day version of it and take out some of the complicated details (she soaks her nuts and seeds, for example. I don't bother anymore). Comment below if you are interested, and I'll come up with the game plan and some sample recipes. But be forewarned...it will mean NO added sugar, NO breads, NO pasta, NO rice, NO dairy, and NO alcohol. For five days. FIVE. I think it's entirely do-able grin emoticon

Fall back into running!!!

Fall is my absolutely favorite time of year.  I love the temperatures, the changing colors of the leaves, the way the air carries a scent of camp fires, pine needles....but I don't necessarily love the smaller window of sunlight.  That being said, I will resort to using the Dreadmill in my basement to get in some cardio if I'm up before the sun is.  I've tried to follow a lot of treadmill routines, but found that they were either far too advanced or to aggressive for me to use more than once or twice.  I developed my own that satisfied my needs for a beginner program that was easily progressed, and based it off of one I found in Shape Magazine over 10 years ago.  It gives just the right blend of speed and interval work to give a nice burn, and also uses the incline feature to adjust intensity without going too fast for my beginner legs :D  This particular routine gave me a burn of just under 200 calories, and just over 2,000 steps.  Not bad for 20 minutes and 1 .28 miles.  I plan on progressing this plan in intensity and duration over the next several weeks, so check back to get the updated plan!!!

3 months....the losses and the gains!

From left to right - May 2015, August 2015.

So...the first trimester is over :D  And I'm happy to say that even though I wasn't perfect, my eating wasn't spot-on 24/7, and my workouts weren't daily and intense....I had incredible results!  13 lbs gone, and the change in my body overall is amazing.  Of course I still have a long way to go, but I'm proud of how far I've come and I'm motivated to keep going.  What have I gained?  Confidence.  Experience.  Inspiration.  Humility.  Faith.  Persistence.  I've used a blend of exercises and products along the way....Shakeology, whey protein, organic foods and produce, and lots and lots of WATER.  Who knew I could actually drink up to a gallon per day?  

The best reward of all, is the feeling I get when I help others to reach their goals.  To help them follow a meal plan.  To help them commit to a work out.  That was completely unexpected, but it is by far ~ the BEST part!  

Now, if I can only get this fitness and weight loss trend to extend to my pets....hmm....my Tanker boy does NOT appreciate my affection and resists all efforts at exercise, except for the Red Dot.  Still working on that one.  

Interested in connecting with me for your health & wellness journey?  Email me at  TRWHealthandWellness@gmail, or message me at www.facebook.com/TRWHealthandWellness

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Zucchini Lasagna

My family has been making this recipe for years....because everyone grows zucchini if they have a garden, which means that they have an abundance of zucchini mid to late summer.  And there's only so much zucchini bread that one can eat!  I made this a few weeks ago when I was prepping my food for the week.  I used a pound of ground chicken, and half of that went into chicken meatballs to snack on.

Recipe for the zucchini lasagna: 

   I used both green zucchini and yellow summer squash. Cut into slices ~1/4 " thick. Line the bottom of your dish with sauce (here's where I used the other half of my ground chicken; added it to some marinara I had on hand once the chicken was browned. Cook the sauce until it is very thick; the vegetables produce a LOT of liquid when they cook off and you don't want your lasagna to drown before it is ready to be eaten!.) Spread a scant amount of sauce in the bottom of your pan (I used a shallow 2 quart casserole, cooking for one!) and then start layering in the zucchini/squash slices. I dot small layers of ricotta, Parmesan, and fresh mozzarella on top of the slices. Spread a layer of the sauce on top. Repeat the layers until you are satisfied ~ I usually get 3 layers. Top the last layer with more cheese (as much or as little as you'd like, I tend to be sparing). 

  I used my toaster oven @ 350 for ~30-35 minutes so that I didn't heat up the entire house on an 85+ degree day. It is done when the knife goes through the layers quite easily. Let it stand until the juices reabsorb to prevent it from being a soggy mess :D

 I almost never follow a formal recipe, just go with what I like and try to keep it healthy. I don't season my ricotta; there's a lot of flavor in the sauce and I try to keep the sodium down. I use fresh basil whenever I can, especially in sauce. I think I tossed in a handful of baby spinach leaves with the marinara, too on that particular day.  Enjoy!!!

CIZE!!!

I have been doing Shaun T's new program called CIZE, and I have to say that I was quite skeptical when I first heard about it.  I tried to convince myself that it was only for young people (I'm 43), you had to have at least some dance background (I cheerleaded in college for 2 semesters), and most of all ~ you already had to be in shape.  I'm pleasantly pleased to admit.....I was wrong! 

And...I didn't really believe that this could happen.  Really?  Up to 400 calories with a half hour of pretending that I am a Laker Girl?  Well......

BOOM! Over 400 calories, and yes I was super sweaty at the end.  And the funny part is that for all of my initial reservations about doing this program; I never quite want it to end.  There's the competitive, perfectionist part that wants to keep working on the routine until I have it perfected.  And in terms of complexity...it isn't bad.  Shaun does his best to break down the moves and repeat them until they are comfortable and up to speed.  I will still make a few mistakes, but I have to say ~ I'm on week 2 and today was the first day of the 3rd routine.  I just know if I were to go out clubbing, bystanders would be mesmerized as I would "trip the light fantastic". 

So...this is week 2 of an 8 week program.  I'll give updates to continue to provide feedback on the routines, and of course...weight loss!  I'm coming into this with an 8lb+ weight loss already.  But I just know I'm going to reach my goals at least by another 30% with this program.

Interested in trying CIZE?  Message me @https://www.facebook.com/TRWHealthandWellness. 

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