Southwest Poultry Burgers

We love grilling in the summer! But if you're like us, traditional burgers and dogs get really old really fast. Here's a "healthier" burger with a twist to keep you excited about grilling this summer.

Southwest Poultry Burgers

1 slightly beaten egg
1/4 cup finely crushed tortilla chips or Doritos
3 Tbs finely chopped green bell pepper
3/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 lb ground chicken or ground turkey

Mix and form your patties. (It should make about 4 burgers.)

Grill burgers. Make sure to cook all the way through since they are poultry!

Top with Pepper Jack or Cheddar cheese, avocado, lettuce, tomato, and special sauce.

Special sauce: Combine fat free sour cream and salsa.

Happy Grilling!

letter to self

Dear body,

I've been feeding you with crappy fuel lately. Don't worry; I'll make it up to you by killing it in the gym this week. Yes; It will hurt. What doesn't kill you will make you stronger. PLEASE don't hate me and PLEASE don't die!

Affectionately,

Me

What would you say to your body in a letter?

Grilled Salmon

Salmon with Orange-Pineapple Salsa
From the Better Home and Gardens Cookbook

1.5 lb salmon fillet (with skin)

2 Tbs sugar
1.5 tsp shredded orange peel
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
Mix and rub evenly over fish (not on the skin side).
Cover in shallow dish and marinate in refrigerator for 8-24 hours.

1 tsp shredded orange peel
2 oranges, peeled and chopped
1 cup fresh pineapple or canned crushed pineapple drained
2 Tbs fresh cilantro
1 Tbs finely chopped green onion
1 fresh hot pepper, seeded and finely chopped
Stir in a small bowl, cover, and chill for up to 24 hours.

Grilling: Drain fish. Place fish, skin side down, on greased grill over medium heat. (Medium heat = 4 second count with hand near cooking surface.) Cover and grill for 14-18 minutes until fish flakes easily with a fork. (Do not lift the lid during cooking time.)

To Serve: cut fish into serving size pieces, cutting up to but not through the skin. Carefully slip a metal spatula between fish and skin, lifting fish up and away from skin. Serve fish with salsa.

This was my first time cooking salmon. Before this recipe I was scared to grill fish. It is actually very easy and fool proof using this method. I liked having a fruity salsa, but the peppers and onions were not necessary for me. I think I'll leave them out next time.

Snack, Snack, Snack

Are you someone who likes to snack? Snacking doesn't have to sabotage your "diet." In fact having healthy snacks throughout the day will help keep your metabolism up and give you the energy you need to make it to your next meal without eating your arm. Would you believe me if I told you that you could have up to six meals a day?!? We all know about breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I keep those meals around 300-400 calories each. Then I can have up to three 100-200 calorie snacks in between.

Snacks -- 150 calories or less

Carb Heavy
Fruit (anything)
1 cup grapes (60 cal)
1 orange (60 cal)
1 med apple (80 cal)
2 cups whole strawberries (85 cal)
1 pear (100 cal)
1 large banana (120 cal)
1/4 cup dried berries or raisins (140 cal)
Carrot sticks (25 cal per whole carrot or five large baby carrots)
granola bar (90-150 cal)
12 tortilla chips and salsa (150 cal)
4 cups air popped popcorn w/0 calorie spray butter (120 cal)
Hershey's Dark Chocolate Kisses (25 cal per kiss)

Somewhat Balanced
Cucumber sandwich -- 1 slice w.w. bread, fat free cream cheese, and cucumbers (130 cal)
half bowl of cereal and milk (90-150 cal)
1/2 slice whole wheat bread w/ 1 Tbs peanut butter (150 cal)

Protein Heavy
Celery stalk with 1.5 Tbs peanut butter (150 cal)
Greek yogurt w/ fruit on the bottom (100 cal)
1 oz beef jerky (80 cal)
20 whole almonds (150 cal)
1 cup fat free milk (90 cal)
3 oz or 12 large shrimp w/cocktail sauce (90 cal)

So go grab a snack that suits your needs.

Deluxe Turkey Sandwich

My Favorite Sandwich of ALL time!


Get those Whole Wheat Sandwich Thins in the grocery store (by the bread and the buns).
Toast the sandwich thin.
Top with 1/4 - 1/2 of a fresh avocado, turkey, tomato, and alfalfa spouts.

The whole sandwich is 230 calories.

Perfection!

No Gym Required (Part 1)

Since I haven't had access to the gym this week, I thought it'd be a perfect time to do a series called No Gym Required. I'll have ideas of things you can do at home without going to the gym. Here's what I did today.

Cardio: I got out my old road bike and bike trailer. I loaded up a picnic lunch and took my kids to the park. Now I recommend you get AT LEAST 20 minutes of consecutive cardio, so pick a park that will take you 20 minutes to get to. No cheating! Normally when I go for a bike ride I do a lot of coasting, and leisurely go about it. NO NO NO NO. If this is going to count as a workout, you better get huffing and sweating! I happened to have a couple of hills on my route which are near to impossible to do with a bike trailer with 60 lbs worth of kids stuffed in. Trust me, I was huffing and puffing.

Then while you are at the park, don't be the mom that sits on a bench and watches your kids play. If this is going to count as a workout, you better pick a park with lots of area and chase those kids all over it.

My kids chased the birds > I chased my kids = a bit of an extra workout.

I estimate that I burned about 200 calories with this excursion.
And my kids LOVED me for it!
(That's not as much as I burn at the gym, but it's pretty good considering the kids thought I went on that trip for THEM! Ha.)

Exercises: For this I put the kids to bed beforehand. I decided to focus on abs today. I admit they are my favorites. I have a video illustrating the exercises. Please keep in mind, I am not a professional trainer or a professional videographer.



Basically I'll do 30 reps of each exercise (except the plank -- 2 minutes of that one). If I have more time and I'm not burning yet, I'll do 30 more of everything. You don't want to stop just because you may feel a bit uncomfortable. No pain, no gain. You'll really see results if you work through the pain. Ideally, you want to make sure you aren't going to be able to move the next day. Call me crazy, but I LOVE those kind of workouts.

Confessions

Dear Readers,

I have a confession to make......*deep breath*......I've fallen off the wagon. You know what I'm talking about. You are on a really good, long healthy-streak; you think it's so great that you would never want to go back to your old ways; and then thump...you find yourself knocked on your A$$ and you don't know how you could have fallen off.

Figure it out! The reason your "diet," for lack of a better word, failed is crucial to deciding how to get out of your slump. I've been reflecting on it all week and I've come up with a list of my weaknesses.

• I'm an emotional eater! Whenever times get hard, I turn to food to make it all feel better. Example: When my kids just won't go to bed I get into this pattern. Get up, put the kids back in bed, close the door, take a trip to the kitchen, go back to whatever I was doing, repeat the next time they get out of bed. SHOCKING that anyone could be that STUPID and COMPULSIVE. But yes, without fail, I always stop at the kitchen on my way back from their bedroom. This can go on for up to 2 hours at a time! Stressful.
• When my husband "leaves" I get a little blue and have less motivation to make wise choices.
• When my husband "leaves" I don't make dinner like I normally do every night. We clean out the freezer and the fridge. We tend to eat a lot of PB&J and breakfast foods. Eating more like the kids do leaves me less satisfied and more likely to search for "grown-up" food while they are napping or sleeping.
• Certain times of the month trigger a chocolate craving. Let's just say my stockpiles of chocolate chips for baking have been completely depleted and the only chocolate left in the house is about 2 Tablespoons of cocoa powder. It's BAD, I know!
• I have temporarily lost my gym privileges. So I'm running a low on endorphins. It's extremely depressing.

Fact: ALL of these issues hit me with one forceful punch this week...knocking me completely off the "be-nice-to-your-body wagon."

My action plan: I can't control when my husband comes back from military black hole; but I can control my choices.
I've decided to instill 2 rules to live by while he's gone.

1. Do NOT eat while the kids are napping.
2. Do NOT eat after the kids have gone to bed.
These rules will limit me to 3 meals a day, in which I can better control my nutrition than emotional eating.

As for the gym privileges, I am working on it but in the meantime I will be exploring alternative home-gym options. Stay tuned for exercises you can do without a gym membership.

Keeping it real,
Melissa

P.S. Does anyone else have any shocking compulsions?

Breakfast Week: Egg Edition

Two Amazing Products that Could Change the Way You Do Breakfast -- Forever!

1. Egg Beaters = egg whites, vitamins and minerals

(First of all, I don't have a problem with eggs. Yes they have cholesterol, but I figure they are natural -- no chemicals and preservatives.)
But if you are watching your calories, eggs can quickly add up leaving you no room for your side of toast and oj.

Egg Beater stats: 30 calories, 0 fat, 0 cholesterol, 6g protein

1 Large Egg stats: 75 calories, 5g fat, 210mg cholesterol, 6g protein

I was astounded by the way Egg Beaters take the guess work out of scrambled eggs. They really do make the perfect eggs every time! I think they taste a little different than eggs from a shell. To compensate for this, I recommend trying the southwest or garden vegetable varieties of Egg Beaters or add your own fixings to make a fantastic omelet.

(They are also great for baking with. You may have noticed I use egg beaters in many of my recipes instead of eggs. For half the calories, I'd be a fool not to make the substitution.)


2. Ground Turkey Breakfast Sausage

I was also astounded to try turkey breakfast sausage. It tastes EXACTLY like sausage. You will fool everyone with this trick. Just substitute lean turkey breakfast sausage for regular pork sausage or bacon and you will be making an excellent healthy choice for your family. It's a no-brainer!

Beware: the breakfast links taste like sausage, but the casings don't hold up when you cook them without adding a lot of fat. Your family will catch you if you use the links. Stick to the ground sausage and they'll never know. Also, don't even try turkey bacon...it's highly disappointing!

Breakfast Week: Yogurt

Functional Yogurt

Regular low fat sweetened flavored yogurt -- for kids to have for breakfast
(*6oz stats: 170 calories 27g sugar 5g protein)
Too high in cal and sugar, not enough protein.

Light low fat artificially sweetened yogurt -- for dieters (lower calories)
(*6oz stats: 100 calories 14g sugar 5g protein)
A lower calorie option, but artificial sweeteners should be used in moderation.

Fat Free plain yogurt -- for smoothies and baking
(*8oz stats: 130 calories 17g sugar 15g protein)

Greek Yogurt with fruit on the bottom -- for a high protein breakfast or snack
(*4oz stats: 100 calories 13g sugar 10g protein)
Delicious, low calorie, TONS of protein!

Smoothies are a great breakfast option. I usually use 1 banana, some plain fat free yogurt, frozen fruit, and skim milk to thin to desired consistency. You can also bump up the nutrients in a smoothie without altering the taste. Flax-seed meal will give you extra omega-3 fats, and fiber. Spinach will give you a serving of vegetables with your breakfast. So grab some yogurt or mix up a smoothie for your next breakfast.

*Nutritional stats are an approximation. They vary slightly between brand and flavor.

Breakfast Week: Pancakes

I LOVE pancakes! I found a way to give them more fiber, and less calories. (And if any of you have whole wheat kernels stored that you don't know what to do with because you don't have a wheat grinder -- that was me until Christmas -- here's a solution for you.)

Whole Wheat Blender Pancakes

1 cup milk
1 cup Wheat kernels
blend in the blender 4-5 minutes on high

1/2 cup egg beaters
1 Tbs Vegetable oil
2 tsp baking powder
2 Tbs sugar
1/2 tsp salt
add and blend on low

My husband won't eat pancakes so I get an extra generous serving.
1/3 of the recipe Stats: 267 calories 5.5 g fat 5 g fiber 12 g protein

For dieters, the problem with pancakes is not the pancakes themselves -- it's the butter and syrup you bathe them in. I've looked at all the syrup bottles in the store, and everyone of them seems to have about 200 calories for a serving! (Even the fruity ones.) I've bought and tried a sugar free syrup sweetened with Splenda. It only has 30 calories, but I'd be lying if I told you I liked the taste of it. So why not make your pancakes ultra healthy and super special by topping them with fresh strawberries instead of syrup?

THIS is how I LOVE my pancakes!

Breakfast Week: cereal

Welcome to Breakfast Week!

A whole week of breakfast tips and recipes!

(You all eat breakfast right?!)
Skipping meals slows down your metabolism and makes you more likely to overeat at other times of the day.

Breakfast Week Day 1: All cereal is not created equal!

Have you ever gotten one of those tiny single serving boxes of cereal, poured it in your bowl, and were shocked to see that one box was about half a normal serving? I've been there, but actually it was a single serving. If that amount of cereal seems preposterous to you, you are probably eating several servings of cereal in one sitting. I'm kind of compulsive about it, but now I ALWAYS measure my cereal, according to the serving size on the side of the box.

Some truths about ALL cereal:
1. It's a fairly low-calorie way to get a serving of grains.
2. It's fortified with essential vitamins and minerals.
3. Americans eat so much of it that stores devote a whole isle for cereal!

Some things I look for when choosing a cereal:
1. Calories -- if there's only 100-120 it's not going to satisfy your appetite for long.
2. Sugar -- if there is a lot of sugar, as soon as the sugar high wears off, your hunger will strike.
3. Protein -- some cereals are fortified with protein to help curb your hunger, ultimately giving you more balance in your breakfast. (This is important if you are having a mostly carbohydrate breakfast.)

Some of my favorite cereals:
1. Kashi GoLean Crunch
Check out the fiber and protein!
This cereal comes in at about 190 calories and it is the BEST at keeping me full until lunch!

I love Kashi perhaps because I buy into their advertising, perhaps because there are so many unusual grains in their products that I feel exotic and super-healthy eating them.


2. I also like Kashi Heart to Heart Oat Flakes and Wild Blueberry Clusters


3. Kellogg's Frosted-Mini Wheats
They actually have a respectable amount of fiber and protein.


4. If I'm in a cereal rut, I will go for a lower calorie cereal (Wheaties or Rice Crispies), but I'll add bananas or berries on top. It's delicious and "healthy," but I guarantee that by 10:00am I'll be ravenously hungry and tempted to grab a snack.

That's it! You have no excuse NOT to eat breakfast because it doesn't get much quicker than cereal. What is your favorite cereal?

Beef and Vegetable Stir-Fry

Beef and Vegetable Stir-Fry

8-12 oz steak, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, grated
1 chili pepper, red or green (remove the seeds and the ribs and it won't be too hot)
8 oz package of bean sprouts
1/2 bell pepper, sliced (any color)
handful of snow peas, sliced into strips
handful of baby corn
3 green onions, chopped

Tip: Prepare all your vegetables before you start cooking anything!

1/2 box whole wheat linguine (about 6.5 ounces)**
1. Cook the noodles according to package directions then drain and put in a bowl.
2. Crank up the heat on a wok or skillet and add a bit of peanut oil.
3. Drop the steak, garlic, ginger, and chili pepper into the skillet.
4. 30 sec before the meat is done add bean sprouts, a splash of soy sauce, and
the juice of a lime.
5. Dump the contents of the pan into the bowl with the noodles.
6. Add a little more oil to the pan and stir-fry the remainder of your
vegetables for 1-2 minutes.
7. Remove from heat and put noodles and beef back into the skillet just to toss
and heat through. Add soy sauce to taste.
8. Serve with chopsticks.

The chopsticks may have made this dish exceptionally fun to eat.

I don't know what is so special about this meal. I liked it. But I didn't think my family would like it. I have two toddlers. Every meal is a battle to get them to eat. Plus, I was hesitant to make this dish because my husband doesn't like stir-fry, soy sauce, or sprouts. But check out results...

There was no battle and no leftovers! SUCCESS!!! And that's what makes this meal so special.

**If you haven't tried whole wheat pasta, this is a great meal to start with. Your family won't taste the difference and the brown soy sauce will disguise the slightly browner pasta.

Apple Coffee Cake

I'm really excited about this one! It's the best coffee cake I've ever had...did I mention it's guilt-lessly heart-healthy too! This is also a good starter food to get your family used to eating whole wheat. This recipe uses half whole wheat flour/half white flour. With all the sugary apple cinnamon goodness, I don't even taste the whole wheat.

Apple Coffee Cake

Dry ingredients:
2/3 cup flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt

Wet ingredients:
1.5 cups peeled and diced granny smith apple (1.5 apples)
1/4 cup liquid egg product (egg beaters original)
1/3 cup + 2 Tbs sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
optional: 1/2 cup walnuts or pecans [adds 100 calories per serving]

Topping:
1 Tbs flour
1 Tbs Whole wheat flour
2 Tbs oats or nuts
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 Tbs butter
2 Tbs brown sugar

1. Lightly spray a 9-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Mix wet ingredients and add dry ingredients all at once. Stir just until combined.
3. Pour batter into the pan. Combine topping with a fork until crumbly.
4. Sprinkle topping on top of cake batter.
5. Bake for 30 minutes. Let it cool slightly, but serve warm.

Note: I tweeked this recipe so that it would be appropriate for just 4 servings because there are 4 people in my family. Obviously you could get more servings out of it, but let's be honest. While my kids are taking their afternoon nap, any leftover species of "cake" does this mysterious disappearing act. *wink wink* I avoid leftovers completely by serving LARGE pieces of cake at breakfast so that it disappears BEFORE my vulnerable time of day.

Here's the stats for 1/4 of the cake:
calories 317 fat 3.7g carbs 70g sugars 34g fiber 4g protein 6g
Okay, ALOT of carbs and sugar! I know, but for a weekend brunch I'm willing to splurge.

Try this recipe and leave a comment telling me what you think.

Mayo-free Tuna Melt

Regardless the debate about whether mayonnaise is "healthy" or not, I dislike mayonnaise. It gives me the willy-nillies. Too much of it just makes me cringe from the greasy sensation in my mouth. Ugh.

Tuna on the other hand, is undeniable good for you and protein packed. How good does this look!?!


Mayo-free Tuna Melt

Large pouch of tuna
1/4 cup of onion (I used green this time and it was delish.)
2 Tbs bell pepper
fresh basil chopped
1 tsp balsamic vinegar or lemon juice
1 tsp or less extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)

Mix together in a bowl, add salt and pepper to taste, and let it sit for 10 minutes to combine flavors.

Meanwhile...
Slice sub rolls
Broil them cut-side down on a baking sheet
When they are crusty and golden, turn them over and toast cut-side up.
When that side is crusty and golden add tuna, sliced tomato, and cheddar cheese.
Bake just until the cheese is melted. And voila!


Tuna the way I like it!

Movie Night

To celebrate the release of Avatar on DVD, I thought I'd talk about popcorn. Popcorn is a great, low calorie snack with lots of fiber for the amount of calories. The trick is in the toppings. I love butter soaked popcorn with plenty of salt, but I know my heart doesn't appreciate it. So to please my body and my guilty conscience, I prepare my popcorn a little differently. I air-pop my popcorn (totally worth the $18 I spent on an air-popper), then I spray it with a little "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" Spray, and sprinkle a little cinnamon and sugar all over it. What can I say, I have a sweet tooth, but you could certainly use salt too.


Here's the stats for 3 cups of popped popcorn:

Oil-popped 165 calories 9g fat
Air-popped 92 calories 1 g fat

1 Tbs butter 102 cal 11.5g fat
imitation butter spray 0 cal 0 fat (that's right, it's flavored water!)

(the sugar will add 16 calories per tsp)

So feel good about enjoying some popcorn with your movie!

Note: I am concerned about taste and to keep the integrity of my blog, I won't hold back any information regarding taste. I will tell you that with the butter spray, I've noticed that it changes the texture of the popcorn. It becomes a little chewier, especially if you let it sit for a while. Obviously because every kernel gets wet with the spray. But I still eat it and love it!

All you need to know about FAT.

You may be under the impression that less fat is always better. However a low-fat diet may have health risks, such as depression, increased cancer risk, and higher cholesterol leading to heart disease. Fat is essential for a healthy body.

How do you know which fats are healthy and which raise the bad cholesterol?

I found this article on sparkpeople that breaks it down simple for us non-medical/non-dietitian people.

These heart-healthy fats are part of a cholesterol-lowering diet:

• Monounsaturated Fats are the healthiest fats. They decrease your total blood cholesterol but maintain your HDL (good) cholesterol. Ideally, most of the fat in your diet should come from this group, which includes: nuts, avocadoes, canola oil, natural peanut butter, olive oil, olives, peanut oil, pistachios, sesame oil, sesame seeds.
  
  
• Polyunsaturated Fats are somewhat healthy fats that decrease your total blood cholesterol by lowering both the LDL (bad) cholesterol and the HDL (good) cholesterol. Lowering your total cholesterol is great, but because these fats also lower your HDL (good) cholesterol, you should only enjoy them in moderation. You'll find polyunsaturated fats in corn oil, mayonnaise, pumpkin seeds, and sunflower seeds.
  
  A special group of polyunsaturated fats is called Omega-3 fatty acids. These are heart-healthy and can be found in high-fat fish (albacore tuna, mackerel and salmon), other seafood (herring, lake trout, oysters, sardines, shellfish and shrimp), and plant sources (flaxseed and walnuts).
  
  

To lower your cholesterol, avoid these unhealthy fats:

• Saturated fat is unhealthy fat that increases both your total cholesterol and your LDL (bad) cholesterol. Some experts say that limiting your saturated fat intake is one of the most important cholesterol-lowering tips you can follow. Try to limit or avoid these sources of saturated fat: bacon, bacon grease, beef, butter, cheese, cocoa butter, coconut, coconut milk, coconut oil, cream, cream cheese, ice cream, lard, palm kernel oil, palm oil, pork, poultry, sour cream, and whole milk. (I buy only low-fat or fat-free products of all the items in this category.)

• Trans Fat is the unhealthiest fat you can eat! It increases your total cholesterol and your LDL (bad) cholesterol while lowering your HDL (good) cholesterol. Even eating a small amount of trans fats significantly increases your risk of heart disease—especially if you already have risk factors like high cholesterol. Experts haven't established any level of trans fats as safe, so keep you intake near 0 grams. Food products that contain trans fat include vegetable shortenings, hard stick margarines, crackers, candies, cookies, snack foods, fried foods, doughnuts, pastries, baking mixes and icings, store-bought baked goods, and more. (But we all knew this stuff is bad for us, right?)

So I use all fat-free dairy products and low-fat meat. I add avocado to my sandwiches and reach for almonds or peanut butter for a snack. A word of caution: do not sit in front of the TV with a jar of peanut butter and celery sticks. Nuts add a lot of calories. 2 Tbs of peanut butter is almost 200 calories! Moderation.

And cheese is another dangerous one. My husband thinks the more cheese the better...in fact most of Americans think that way. Less is more when it comes to cheese. Learn portion sizes and stick to it.

P.S. I made the BEST coffee cake today! And did I mention it was heart-healthy? Keep following I'll post recipes soon.

"Healthy"

I hate the term "healthy." (That may surprise you since my blog has it in the title.) My dislike for the word comes from people's general use of the word. There are not healthy foods and unhealthy foods. It bothers me that people think it is black and white.

Like salad. Most people say: healthy food! Let's break it down.
Lettuce -- almost 0 calories and almost 0 nutritional value (it's the "water" of food)
Vegetables -- healthy, but how many salads are packed with them?
Cheese -- high in fat (not the healthiest kind of fat either)
Salad dressing -- definitely not healthy (all yucky fat and 2 Tbs = 120 calories) and I bet you use more than 2 Tbs!
So your for your basic green salad, you add a bunch of fat to eat a few shreds of carrot and a couple tomatoes. I'd rather skip the salad and have a handful of carrot sticks.

So here's my definition of healthy:
1. Healthy Food = anything that is packed with nutrients to fuel your body, make you feel good and have energy that lasts all day; food in it's natural state (without a long list of chemicals)
2. Healthy Person = when your body reaches a weight and fitness level that allows you to do anything active without hesitation

What is your definition of healthy?

The Basics: Weight-loss 101

The way I lost weight and gained all my knowledge was through counting calories. Now before you tune me out completely hear me out. Is it tedious? Yes. Does it take math skills? Yes.

But...
1. Nothing will teach you more about the food you are eating than reading labels. (And you have to read labels with calorie counting.)
2. It automatically makes you keep a food journal.
3. It works! Really it's fool proof.
4. It's FREE! Yes! I found this website that allows you to register for FREE. It has a recipe calculator, food tracker and it tracks more than just calories. I track calories, fat, carbs, and protein. Check it out if you are serious about weight-loss.

It's a simple concept...there are 3500 calories in 1lb of fat. So to lose 1lb, you have to either burn 3500 with exercise or eat 3500 fewer calories. Now a lot of people get a gym membership and think they will automatically be healthy and lose a bunch of weight. While exercise is important and definitely helps in weight-loss, I find that your diet it even more important. Consider this...

If I were to run or walk on the treadmill, I burn a little over 100 calories per mile. So to lose 1 lb in a week, you'd have to run 35 miles! It's doable, but it takes time. Or you could eat 500 fewer calories a day and in a week's time you'll have lost 1 lb. It's doable, but it takes discipline.

So to recap, my secret to healthy weight-loss: TIME AND DISCIPLINE. If you are ready to give a little of both, you could lose weight and be whatever size you want to be. You have control over your body. Check out http://www.sparkpeople.com to start today.