So, it's officially the weekend and as I'm writing this I'm shoving an apple cinnamon rice cake in my mouth. Problem is, it's my fourth and there are "ecstasy amounts" of carbs in each one. Um... and I've already had two bowls of cereal. BUT IT'S THE WEEKEND!








"BUT IT'S THE WEEKEND" is the lamest and most used excuse for today's women! I say this because I use it almost every weekend--so I'm just taking a stab in the dark that it applies to a large percentage of America's female population. I say "America's" because I just can't see a French woman or Tokyo native using this excuse as often as we do. If you can prove me wrong, please let me know.

Why do we use this excuse time after time? I think it all comes down to 1) a lack of moderation and 2) stress. We read so many articles about "how to lose those last 10 pounds" that deprivation gets the better of us and we cave. At least I do.

So I'm making a vow to try a different angle for next weekend. Instead of saying "BUT IT'S THE WEEKEND" and so having another drink or falling off of the clean-eating wagon, I need to take that "split-second" moment before the backslide happens and say "No." I think the weekends are for rewarding one's self, but not so much that it undoes all of our hard work throughout the week.

As I mention often, a lot of damage can be prevented by having a sense of moderation and stress management. I'm trying to make daily efforts to work on both of these points.

Instead of... "BUT IT'S THE WEEKEND," so... :

-I'll have a snack MARATHON. Let me lace up my tennis!
- I'll chill on the couch all day
- I won't do my ab exercises
- I can abandon my healthy lifestyle
- I'll drink what I want, when I want
- I'll party like it's 1999

Let's try... "BUT IT'S THE WEEKEND" so:

- I'll eat healthy snacks so I'm ready to hit the ground running come Monday
- I'll get in some "active rest" like taking the dog for a walk or cleaning the house
- I'll do my ab exercises because I'm on a constant "Abs like Alba" quest
- I cannot abandon my healthy lifestyle
- I will curb my drinking somewhat
- I'll reach out to the people I can't catch up with during the week due to "strestic mode." ("Strestic" is a made up word combo of "hectic" and "stressed" that shouldn't be used when talking in certain circles, such as the educated).

Come next week I will be brutally honest and blog about how it turned out. Regardless, making a plan is always the first step. Count Me Healthy helps to prevent weekend slips. Look down at it. It's on your wrist for motivation. Count your glasses of wine, snacks, or just move a bead over when you've had a "clean eating" weekend day. It will keep you motivated to move over that next "clean-eating day" bead. As always, keep counting.

Labels: chelsea gossett, count me healthy, count me healthy jewelry, eating healthy, fitness, fitness tips

March is officially Nutrition Month so I wanted to share some "food for thought." A lot of us get discouraged when the warm weather rolls around because we feel we need to overhaul our physique. It's been burned into our brains that we need to have this rock star workout routine, but sometimes our lives don't support it at the moment.










(Pink and her Rock Star abs)


My earlier post was my personal "Spring Cleaning," which included my workout routine I HOPED to achieve. HOPE is stressed. There are many times when my day starts at 5:00 am and I don't stop until late at night. And I realize that you are no different (um... especially new moms who are up at all hours of the night). However, I think it's important to maintain a positive attitude and continue to plan your workouts like you would appointments even if you know you'll have to miss some.

But, if you are at a place in your life when you can't hit the gym on a consistent basis, remember the golden, 70% rule. Your physique is determined by 70% nutrition, 20% sweat sessions and 10% genetics.

Based on your diet, the 70% rule can be a God-send or your demise. If you are a consistent, clean eater, isn't it fabulous to know that you can forgo that extra snack and two glasses of wine because you didn't get to pilates and still come out ahead?

Or that you substituted white fish for the hamburger you may have eaten if you ran those three miles (workouts and eating "entitlement" is a whole other topic) and you are still on your way to having abs like Alba? The first step toward a better body is a nutritional adjustment.









Guest Blogger: Susie Rahaim

I thought there would be no better person to blog on the positive life changes clean eating can bring than Susie Rahaim. Not only is she schooled in holistic nutrition, she's also the busy mother of three beautiful girls, ages 5, 3, and 1. Her personal quest for better eating is inspiring and I've had friends tell me that they've learned so much from her about how to raise their children to eat (and enjoy) whole foods.

Stay tuned for Susie's first blog with us, "Do You Know What You Are Really Eating?" And as always, Keep Counting for a balanced and beautiful spring!

Labels: chelsea gossett, count me healthy, eating healthy, healthy living

Aggghh it's finally March and THE BEGINNING OF SPRING! What comes to mind when you hear the word spring? I imagine flowers, green grass, spring cleaning and the start of my own personal "bikini body ready" routine! Yep, shapeless tunics won't cut it. I'm going to have to give in and show some skin.

I think you should read the health mags and blogs with their "bikini body ready" plans to get you in shape. But while reading, remember that no two people are the same. Motivation, taste buds, and "vices to adjust" are all personal. Read the articles with an open mind and always remember to adapt a program to you.

This year, I'm looking at my own bikini body ready prep as just a facet of the larger, overall spring cleaning of my current life. I think that winter naturally throws our lives out of balance due to poor eating, lack of sunshine, and the "laziness of a hibernating bear" that comes with darkness greeting us so early each evening. If you Spring Clean Your Life as a whole, I truly feel it is easier to lose weight and keep it off.

Here are some steps to Spring Clean Your Life (write these steps down and build your plan)

1). Choose your Motivation
2). Choose your Workout Plan
3). Change Your Eating Habits for the better
4). Healthy Habits that need to be priority
5). Organize Your Work Space

Please just use my personal plan below as a rough template to adapt to your own spring cleaning!

The 2010 Spring Cleaning of My Life

1). CHOOSE YOUR MOTIVATION (both "body" and "organization" motivation)

My Body Motivation! Hmmm... nice weather, my cousin Corey's June wedding in Michigan, photo shoot in late April, and getting body "baby ready" for whatever may come my way in a year (or three).

My Organization Motivation! Everything is easier when you have a clean work space. Plus, being organized means feeling less scattered, which would make me way more apt to stick to my workout plan.

2). CHOOSE YOUR WORKOUT PLAN

My Workout Plan (I plan for six days a week, but if I only hit 5 because of a busy schedule, no problem). I'm a morning person, so if I don't do it in the morning... it's not happening):

- Monday: 30 minute treadmill and pilates with Crystal B
- Tuesday: Rest
- Wednesday: 30 minutes on treadmill and pilates with Crystal B
- Thursday: 30 minutes on treadmill and Tracey Anderson video
- Friday: 45 minutes on treadmill
- Saturday: 40 minutes mix on treadmill/elliptical + legs
- Sunday: 40 minutes mix on treadmill/elliptical + abs & arms

3). CLEAN UP YOUR EATING
My Clean Up! These are the personal "eating vices" I hope to address, as well as healthy foods that I enjoy and would like to add more of in my diet. Everyone's tastes are different, so please insert your own. For some of the foods, I added my favorite brands and/or how I prepare. By the way, Count Me Healthy is great at tracking some of these bullet points!

- Ditch sweetener
- Reduce diet soda
- Ditch energy bars full of fake stuff because all they do is hurt my stomach
- Ditch soy crisps
- Reduce caffeine
- Reduce sodium
- Reduce I Can't Believe It's Not Butter (yes, I'm admitting that I spray it on everything)
- Drink more water



Foods I love and want to eat more of:
- Eggs
- Spinach
- Fish (love all white types)
- Brussel sprouts (broiled at 450 with olive oil spray, sea salt and pepper )
- Broccoli & cauliflower
- Sashimi (the salmon sashimi with chives from Whole Foods is AMAZING)
- salads
- Almonds and Unsweetened almond - milk (I am going to turn into an almond I eat so many. I need to watch my portion size)
- Green tea
- Stevia, (I prefer the liquid in the dropper)
- Decaf coffee (Newmann's Own)
- Oatmeal with fiber (I mix 1/4 cup of the dry organic with almond milk, cinnamon, stevia and Renew Life Fiber Smart)
- Protein pancakes
- Kombucha (GT's No. 9 is my fave and found at Whole Foods)
- Red grapefruit
- Hummus
- Kashi bars

4) Healthy Habits to Make and Break
Here are mine:
- Limit my drinking to one glass of wine a night (or not at all)
- Remember I owe it to myself. I AM WORTH IT.
- Stop eating snacks that are over 5 grams of sugar and don't contain fiber
- If I want to snack late at night... go to bed
- Read more (book club bound)
- Get more sleep
- Take my Vitamins
- Schedule my health maintenance: Doctor, chiropractor, dentist, hypnotist (yes, I want to try a hypnotist... it worked for Fergie, enough said)

5) Organize Your Work Space

This means cleaning my office at ful (picture below is my purple office at ful) and my home office. This also includes backing up my Mac on my hard drive, shredding documents that I no longer need and organizing my notes.

Here's to a healthy, fabulous spring. Remember, Balance=Beauty! As always, keep counting.

Labels: chelsea gossett, count me healthy, eating healthy, health tips, healthy living, March, spring cleaning

So, we leave for Vegas tomorrow. It's for work, but unless you are an alien there is a pretty heavy "fun element" laced throughout any business trip to Vegas. I've been there about 50 times and it never gets old. Some people say, "Oh, but I'm not a Vegas person." Who exactly is a Vegas person? They must like drinking, gambling, partying, and eating at the buffet. I don't agree with this (although all of the before-mentioned activities are fun to me). I think this view must have come from watching National Lampoons and the Hangover. But Vegas has so much more to offer. It's not just bright lights and bunny ranches. Vegas is a shopper's paradise, spa heaven, and home to the best shows on earth.

But alas, when it comes to maintaining my Healthy Travel Moderation (HTM) it is truly Sin City. By actually writing out some temptations beforehand, maybe it will give me pause--a sense of realization--before I fall headfirst off my HTM wagon.

Temptation #1) Usually, upon landing, the casino picks us up and we ask if we can swing the limo through the In-N-Out Burger. I never eat fast food... except in Vegas. If I am truly feigning this Christian culinary delight (In-N-Out has bible passages on the bottom of their drink cups), I will go for the "protein style, no cheese, no sauce, no onions." Protein style is wrapped in lettuce and I know I saved some major calories by forgoing the sauce and cheese.

Temptation #2) I'm dehydrated because it was dry on the plane and we're in the desert. As I've mentioned before, when you're dehydrated, sometimes you have a tendency to misinterpret thirst for hunger. I am one who always does this and if I don't eat healthy snacks to tide me over it won't be pretty.

Temptation #3) Okay, bright lights, music, no idea what time it is outside, that equals a party to me. And what is served at parties? Alcohol. Here it flows with abandon, while making me abandon my healthy food choices and hard-earned willpower.

Temptation #4) So, we are having a blast and I have to keep the energy up so I reach for caffeine in the form of Sugar-free Redbull. This stuff will tweak you up, dehydrate you, and leave you crashing hard the next day (like a bad lover).

Temptation #5) Since I don't know what time it is and my body clock is tossed from the caffeine, I guess there is nothing better to do than order room service at 2 AM!

So here is a recap of five temptations that could throw off my HTM (let me disclose that these are in no particular order of prominence):

1) In-N-Out
2) Misinterpreting Thirst for Hunger
3) Alcohol
4) Caffeine leading to NO SLEEP
5) Night Eating

I'm going to go pack now. I'll let you know how I fair in LV now that I've put these little potholes down on paper. How do you stay healthy in Sin City, while still having a good time? Can you maintain your HTM? As always, keep counting.

Labels: count me healthy, eating healthy, health tips, travel, vegas

I'm continuing my fall kick with a great recipe that is tasty, easy, healthy, and will impress your guests.

Brown Sugar Squash Bowls (From the Kitchen of Michelle Charles)

(Serves 6)
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Level: Easy

Ingredients:
3 Acorn squash (halved and deseeded)
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 tbs butter or light butter
1/2 teaspoon salt


Directions:
- Pre-heat oven to 350 F.
- Place water in the bottom of a shallow, glass 9x12 baking dish (about the length of your fingertip).
- Place the acorn squash halves face down, so the flat surface of the squash is submerged in the water.
- Bake squash at 350 for 35 minutes.
- Remove squash from the oven and place each section, face up, in its own, small bowl. Put pat of butter and brown sugar inside the bowl-shaped acorn squash. Serve immediately.

What are some of your "wow" recipes that are also easy and healthy? I'd love to mention them here.

Labels: count me healthy, eating healthy, food tips, healthy recipes, recipes

Countesses,

The 100-calorie pack is marketing gold and, if used correctly, can be a great way to waylay the damage from snack attacks. I have no problem paying a bit more for someone to measure my calories and vacuum pack them into colorful, shiny, and come-eat-me-and-don't-feel-guilty packaging. However, 100-calorie packs can only help so much with discipline, so I feel the packaging is missing something... WARNING LABELS!

And I don't mean the warning you often see after the ingredients ("product contains wheat, eggs, dairy, and is manufactured in a facility that processes nuts.") I think they need to stamp the following warning, "Distractions and stress may lead to overconsumption of 100 calorie snack packs leading to 'the 400 Calorie Meal.'" This warning may help those of us not quite satisfied with our meager, measured portions as we're surfing the web, watching Oprah, or on deadline.

Let me know if this sounds familiar. I go to the grocery store's "100-calorie pre-packaged section" (which is offering more and more choices every month) and decide to stock up--100 calorie almond packs, Oreo Crisps, Nutter Butters. Sometimes my pantry looks like the 100-calorie pack aisle, just so I can have a wide variety on hand if I NEED THEM. Problem is, when I'm stressed and not aware, I go back and forth to the pantry three or four time... in one sitting (all the while tricking myself into thinking I'm being healthy because of the 100-calorie title). Pre-portioned snacks are not going to be friendly, weight-loss solutions unless we practice awareness while eating them. If you are a 100-calorie portion controller, use your Count Me Healthy to monitor the amount of 100-calorie packs and/or snacks you consume a day. I know it's better to cut down on processed food altogether, so I'm making a more conscious effort to eat whole foods. However, if I eat one of the packs, I move a bead over and move on. The bracelet serves as an excellent awareness tool.

Have you used Count Me Healthy to better your life? Let us know by entering the Healthy Her contest (click here to enter). We'll highlight a new Healthy Her on our blog, Facebook, and Twitter, complete with pictures and details about the winner's health & lifestyle goals. Plus, we'll give the winner a Sassy Stack so she can continue to keep multiple wellness goals top-of-mind.

Keep counting and be proud of the goals you've set for yourself!

--Chelsea Gossett

Labels: count me healthy, countessess, eating healthy, sassy stacks