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Can you drink alcohol and still lose weight?
How booze can be blocking your fitness goals
By now you must know that I am not afraid to take on touchy subjects. I feel that with an audience of mostly working professionals, we gotta talk about alcohol. And the timing is just right. Alcohol is a significant thread in the fabric of socialization. We will soon be back to the days of raising a glass, of wining and dining clients, and of team happy hours.
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Escape the Free Food Trap Part II: The Office
One of the many perks of working in an office environment is the abundance of free food. From stocked kitchens and holiday treats to cookies, candy dishes, lunches, bagels, and doughnuts, the workplace often becomes a culinary playground. While these offerings can bring joy and foster a sense of community, they can also pose challenges for those striving to maintain a healthy and balanced lifestyle. In this guide, we’ll explore strategies to navigate the office food scene without compromising your well-being.
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SAD is normal – how you can overcome your winter blahs
As December unfolds, the air is filled with anticipation and excitement for the upcoming holidays. However, amidst the festive spirit, the pressure to wrap up work tasks, attend social gatherings, and fulfill family obligations can lead to a spike in stress levels. Managing the year-end rush is crucial to prevent burnout and preserve your mental well-being. In this article, we’ll explore practical strategies to navigate the December chaos and prioritize self-care in ways that DON’T take up more of your time.
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Are you still scrambling to buy gifts? Here is an easy solution
It’s the most wonderful – and crazy – time of the year. On top of your to-do list, you have gifts to buy! The good news is, it’s such an easy solution – basically everyone wants to get fit and take care of themselves, but a lot of times we forget to or just don’t want to spend 30 bucks on a candle. If someone gets one as a gift, though, that is a whole different story. This year, consider giving the gift of fitness with presents that cater to self-care, healthy indulgences, and exercise essentials. In this article, we’ll explore fantastic fitness-related holiday gifts that span categories from self-care to exercise equipment, offering something for everyone on your list.
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Dirty fasting can allow liquids like green juices throughout the day. Photo by Devin Avery
Dirty Fasting: How to Make it Work for You
In recent years, fasting has gained immense popularity for its potential health benefits, including weight loss, improved metabolic health, and enhanced mental clarity. Traditional fasting methods often involve abstaining from all calorie intake for extended periods, which can be quite challenging for many people. However, there’s a new and less restrictive approach on the block: dirty fasting. In dirty fasting, you primarily consume liquids until late in the day, providing you with more energy and flexibility than traditional fasting methods. This article explores the concept of dirty fasting, its potential benefits, and why it may be a more attainable fasting approach, as it was for me.
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ESCAPE the Free Food Trap: Strategies for Being Healthy This Holiday Season
This week I attended a conference in San Diego, and at one point, to my horror I found that I was EATING CHILI LIME TORTILLA CHIPS FOR BREAKFAST.
WHAT THE WHAT? This my friends is a classic case of the “Free Food Trap,” and no one, not even the ones with the most willpower, are safe.
Whether it is a work event, friendsgiving/family Thanksgiving, holiday party, or even just minding your own business in Costco, there is FREE FOOD everywhere. And no matter how financially secure you may feel, for some reason, the natural reaction is to shovel it in like you were at the Last Supper.
Free food, it’s one of life’s greatest pleasures, right? We all love to indulge in delicious treats, and when they’re offered to us without a price tag, it’s even better. However, this “free food trap” can lead to overindulgence and impact our health, especially in typical scenarios like holidays, work events, kids’ school functions, and parties. But fear not, we’ve got strategies to help you navigate these situations while still enjoying yourself.
The good news is, there is a logical explanation, a primal reason in fact. And the key to escaping the food trap is understanding this reason and figuring out a way to outsmart it.
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10 Ab exercises that won’t mess up your hair
Whether it’s a midday workout or a quick one before you hit the office, or your weekend activities, you might want to just zoom through a workout with as little “muss and fuss” as possible. For me, sometimes I have just gotten my hair done the day before, or maybe I don’t want to look like I have been rolling around on the floor just minutes ago. If you are working at home, you can do many of these between calls. If you only have 15 minutes to actually be in the gym you can easily do an amazing ab workout after a five minute brisk work or HIIT workout. (see my post here for a simple explanation of HIIT and how it is easily accessible)
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How you can hydrate for optimal health and weight loss
You know water is a key component to your overall health. But did you know that hydration is a big part of maintaining your energy and regulating your appetite throughout the day? But it’s a lot more complicated than “8 glasses a day” because everyone is different. So how much should you drink and how often? This article breaks it down by the times of day.
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Hot Sauce: The Spicy Secret to Jump Start Your Fall Fitness
Did you know hot sauce can be a powerful weight loss tool? From boosting your metabolism to reducing your appetite, hot sauce has been found to offer a range of benefits for those looking to improve their health. In this article, we’ll explore these benefits, as well as the different categories of hot sauce.
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Just go with it : Why not trying is the key to winning
This summer Simon Biles made a miraculous comeback from the "twisties" that caused her to leave the Tokyo Olympics two years ago. How did she do it? She let go…
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Why You Should be Skeptical of the 12-3-30
Every single day when I walk into the Equinox I see the treadmill -style workout still sweeping the nation – the 12-3-30 workout. But a lot of what I see is people holding on for dear life on the handles and craning their necks to overcompensate. It is important to consider whether a certain “hot” workout is right for your physique, as opposed to jumping on some social media bandwagon. You should always be skeptical. This is why.
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Sip, savor and stay skinny with this coffee creamer guide
For many, the comforting ritual of sipping a steaming cup of coffee is a cherished part of the day. However, concerns about weight gain often loom large, especially when considering the addition of creamy, flavorful coffee creamers. The good news is that with a mindful approach and a few clever techniques, it’s possible to enjoy the indulgence of coffee creamer without tipping the scales. In this article, I will give you specific recommendations and a great method to make sure no matter what you choose, you can sip and stay skinny! Thanks to my husband’s friend Chris H for inspiring this article!
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The DAO of Metrics: Why You Will Succeed With Food Tracking
In business, accountability and metrics are important. How is a company supposed to know if it is meeting its goals and gains if there is no understanding of daily, weekly, quarterly sales? Similarly, fitness goals also need measurable metrics. But what are the right ones, and how should you track them? The #fitprofessional is here to help.
NOTE: This is not to be interpreted as a recommendation of how many calories/macronutrients you should be eating. While the tools highlighted here are a good litmus test, everyone should consult with a medical professional and/or dietician to ensure that the numbers are consistent with their individual health profiles.
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What the Liver? What You Don’t Know Might Kill You
Have you ever had a long weekend and felt like you needed a “detox”. Maybe you had too many glasses of wine at that wedding. Maybe you ate a lot of croissants on that summer vacation to France. Or maybe you just feel a little sluggish, and the fantastic promise of many products in the market that will “clean out your liver” and “detox” you is very tempting. This article should make you reconsider. Based on a true story.
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Why Portion Sizes Matter! (more than most things)
We are going to talk about portion sizes. I categorized this as a saboteur because I have seen many cases, including with me, of eating nothing but healthy whole food and gaining weight. It is SO frustrating.
The only explanation lies in CICO, Calories in = Calories out (read my cardio post for more explanation and breakdown of CICO). Portion sizes matter in this equation. And thanks to Supersize menus, we have a skewed view of what they should be. So I will use this article to understand the problem, and then offer a guide to retrain your brain – which is what I had to do after being brainwashed by the skewed portion size saboteur.
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Your Low-Cal Guide to Summer Starbucks Drinks
You know it’s summer when you start seeing pictures of the frothy, creamy, colorful Starbucks drinks pop up on the menu.
What you might not know is that many of these favorites, even when not supersized, are the calorie and sugar equivalent of a large candy bar. And have far in excess of the recommended sugar intake sometimes on a daily basis. While following my 80-20 approach can definitely leave room for an indulgent Starbucks drink as is, regular consumption of these “empty calories” will not only add up but will leave you unsatisfied, as there is no significant amount of protein, fiber, or fat in any of them.
But you don’t have to be left out in the heat. You can have your cake and eat it too on the reg. Here’s how.
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What Happens when ChatGPT Designed My Meal Plan
When I saw influencers start to post videos with AI-designed meal plans, I immediately opened my Chat GPT app and joined the fun. I will say that ChatGPT did a pretty good job, if not lacking a little in variety. I also learned you have to be REALLY SPECIFIC about what you want, so you don’t get weird combos (you will see).
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Fasted Cardio for Best Results
Fasted cardio has gained significant attention for its potential benefits in accelerating weight loss, but there is so much more to it. It can help jumpstart your morning, get your blood and creative juices flowing, and uplift your mood.
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The Best Low-Carb Wraps
When I need something to eat during the day when I am working, I literally sometimes have NO TIME to either prep or time to get lunch out. Not to mention, the latter is expensive and can add up to 100s of dollars a month!
For this post, you will find the DAOFitLife “awards” for the best types of low-carb wraps.
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Love and Other Weight Loss Drugs: The New Wave of Injectable Treatments
Sometimes the greatest success comes from a mistake. Or an accident.
In a drug originally developed to treat Type 2 diabetes, scientists discovered during the process that the active ingredient in these drugs could also be used prescriptively to aid weight loss. Boom, an industry estimated to be worth 200 Billion dollars by 2030 was accidentally born.
So what do you need to know about the trend sweeping social media and dominating the headlines? And why does it matter?
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