All posts in 30 Days to a New You

Supercharging Our Bodies

By Scarlet Mom | April 15, 2012 | 30 Days to a New You, Eating Right, Exercise, Self Improvement | Comments Off

Today was the day…I put on my bikini. It wasn’t too bad since I don’t hibernate throughout the winter and continue to eat right and exercise but I’m committed to doing better. I am adding two things to my regimen.

First, I read an article about how to get a body like a swimsuit model with just a few simple exercises at home. I’m down with that! I can easily add that into my routine between yoga workouts and since I don’t have to go to a gym to do it I really don’t have an excuse, do I?

Second, and most importantly, I watched the movie Fat Sick and Nearly Dead. If you haven’t heard of this movie then you’re one of the few. It is changing people’s lives and it’s about to change mine. This is an inspiring movie about a man, along with the people he helps along the way, who changes his diet and changes his life just by going on a 60-day juice fast. He loses close to 100 pounds, cures an incurable disease and gets a new lease on life. I was in tears by the end of it!! I also can’t stop telling people about his story and the countless others that he helped.

I already eat pretty healthy but I still eat processed foods and animals products. I also feed my son a lot of processed foods. I know I can do better. I am committing to a thirty-day juice cleanse for both me and my son (not a fast) and am excited about what it will do for our well-being. This, along with the above addition to my exercise regimen, should yield some serious results.

I encourage all of you to watch the movie and to join Joe Cook on his website for a juice Reboot. Let’s take charge of our lives and our bodies. And please, I want to hear about your journey. As you embark on your own personal journey, please feel free to share the details with me on my website.

Still Rockin’ It
Scarlet Mom

Six Rules for Raising Healthy Children

By Scarlet Mom | October 3, 2011 | 30 Days to a New You, Self Improvement | Comments Off

Eat This Not That has a new article featuring just six rules for raising healthy children. I think adopting just one of these in an otherwise unhealthy eating culture can help curb a spiraling obesity epidemic.

I believe that I have one of the most picky eaters out there. I have allowed him to pick the few vegetables that he will eat (edamame and broccoli) and it really does work. I will also add that substituting whole wheat pasta for regular pasta is something that they won’t even notice. I’ve been doing it for so long that the little guy doesn’t really care for white pasta.

Here are the rules covered in their article:

Rule #1: PLAY PSYCHOLOGIST WITH YOUR KID
Nowadays, kids avoid vegetables like they’re out-of-style sneakers; only one in five of them actually eats enough plant matter. If you want to reverse that trend, a little scheming can go a long way. Research out of England found that giving children a taste of a new vegetable daily for 2 weeks increased their enjoyment and consumption of that food.

Not all strategies sound as sinister as the exposure therapy. Giving kids ownership over what they eat is also a powerful play. Consider planting a garden. Studies show that kids’ acceptance of fruits and vegetables increases after participating in growing them. No time to till? Simply letting your children choose their vegetables can lead to an 80 percent increase in their consumption.

Rule #2: NEVER SKIP BREAKFAST. EVER.
“Don’t skip breakfast” is the persistent platitude heard ’round the world. Which may explain why so few pay attention—especially children. A 2005 study showed that kids skipped breakfast more than any other meal despite its reign as the king of meals. The effects of this epidemic are by now well known. Test after test shows that breakfast-eating students score higher on short-term memory and verbal fluency, among many other academic benefits.

Maybe breakfast’s most important contribution, however, is found not in its own nutritional value, but in its impact on the rest of the day’s eating habits. Research says children eating a meal in the morning will themselves choose less soda and fewer fries while opting for more vegetables and milk throughout the rest of the day.

We know time can be an issue in the chaos of the early morning hours. But a nutritious bowl of cereal, cup of yogurt, or even microwaveable breakfast is never more than a few minutes away.

Rule #3: FORGET ABOUT FORCE-FEEDING
Whether it’s a Clean Plate Club membership drive or castigations about starving Africans, efforts by parents to get their children to eat healthy foods can backfire. In a 2009 study of 63 children, Cornell researchers found that those whose parents insisted on clean plates ate 35 percent more of a sweetened cereal later in the day. If kids ate 35 percent more than 1 serving of Froot Loops every day for a year, they’d gain 4 pounds.

There is a corollary. A Pennsylvania study indicated that the restriction of specific yummy foods from children’s plates actually increased the kids’ long-term preference for and consumption of those foods. It’s also been found that kids who are barred from having certain indulgences tend to eat more when they’re not hungry.

The lesson here is twofold: First, there is a fine line between encouraging your kids to try new foods and forcing them to eat against their will. The negative tone and tenor of all those warnings about not finishing our lima beans when we were kids is probably one of the reasons why most American adults still don’t eat enough vegetables.

Set a house rule that your children need to try a new food three times before deciding whether they like it. If they still don’t dig it after the third attempt, then Mom and Dad need to let it go. On the flip side, banning foods from your household can backfire, so rather than forbidding certain foods, set up specific parameters for when treats can be enjoyed.

Rule #4: SHRINK YOUR SILVERWARE
According to another study from Cornell, portion size is the most powerful predictor of how much preschool-age children eat. And with the typical manufacturers’ snack package being 2.5 times bigger than the appropriate amount for young kids, health-conscious parents fight an uphill battle.

Control what you can. Keep in mind that restaurant portions—even for kids—are egregiously oversized, so don’t force them to wolf down every last tater tot. Splitting a dish with a sibling is never a bad idea (as long as you ask for two toys). At home, use smaller bowls, plates, and utensils. Jedi mind trick or not, there’s plenty of evidence that kids will consume fewer calories when you downsize the dishes.

Rule #5: SET AN EXAMPLE (ESPECIALLY YOU, DAD)
The portion of America’s food dollars spent on meals out increased from 34 percent to 48 percent between 1974 and 2008. Parents’ increasing penchant for restaurant food can translate to nutritionally unsound decisions by kids.

One recent study laid the heaviest blame on fathers. Researchers at Texas A&M University say dads carry the most influence largely because when they take their kids to the Mickey D’s, it’s often as a treat or some sort of celebration. This enforces the idea that unhealthy eating is positive. Mothers, on the other hand, often choose fast food due to time constraints, so the food doesn’t hold as much psychological sway.

Rule #6: TURN OFF THE TUBE
Since 1970, the number of television ads aimed at children has doubled to 40,000 per year, and several studies suggest that the amount of time kids watch television is a strong predictor of how often they request specific foods. This spells big trouble for one reason: Half of all TV ads directed at children promote junk food.

The solution is simple: Shove your kids outside. Surprise them with a bike, a soccer ball, a Chihuahua dog—anything to get them moving. More time spent outdoors means less time being exposed to television marketing. Of course, the larger benefit is that they get more exercise, which decreases the risk of a lot of bad stuff: obesity, diabetes, heart disease, even boredom.

There is also a new Eat This Not That For Kids. Check it out!!

Still Rockin’ It
Scarlet Mom

20 Habits That Make You Fat

By Scarlet Mom | August 8, 2011 | 30 Days to a New You, Eating Right, Self Improvement | Comments Off

Eat This Not That has come up with a great new must-read list that none of us should miss. 20 Habits That Make You Fat has some great no brainers on it as well as some that will really surprise you. Here they are.

#1: Eating “low-fat”

It sounds crazy, but stop buying foods marketed as low-fat or fat-free. Typically, they save you only a few calories and, in doing so, they replace harmless fats with low-performing carbohydrates that digest quickly—causing a sugar rush and, immediately afterward, rebound hunger.

#2: Not seeking nutrition advice

Good news here: By reading this, you’re already forming habits that can help you shed pounds. When Canadian researchers sent diet and exercise advice to more than 1,000 people, they found that the recipients began eating smarter and working more physical activity into their daily routines. Not surprisingly, the habits of the non-recipients didn’t budge.

#3: Sleeping too little or too much

According to Wake Forest researchers, dieters who sleep five hours or less put on 2½ times more belly fat, while those who sleep more than eight hours pack on only slightly less than that. Shoot for an average of six to seven hours of sleep per night—the optimal amount for weight control.

#4: Eating free restaurant foods

Breadsticks, biscuits, and chips and salsa may be complimentary at some restaurants, but that doesn’t mean you won’t pay for them. Every time you eat one of Olive Garden’s free breadsticks or Red Lobster’s Cheddar Bay Biscuits, you’re adding an additional 150 calories to your meal. Eat three over the course of dinner and that’s 450 calories. That’s also roughly the number of calories you can expect for every basket of tortilla chips you get at your local Mexican restaurant. What’s worse, none of these calories comes paired with any redeeming nutritional value. Consider them junk food on steroids.

#5: Drinking soda—even diet!

The average American guzzles nearly a full gallon of soda every week. Why is that so bad? Because a 2005 study found that drinking one to two sodas per day increases your chances of being overweight or obese by nearly 33 percent. And diet soda is no better. When researchers in San Antonio tracked a group of elderly subjects for nearly a decade, they found that compared to nondrinkers, those who drank two or more diet sodas a day watched their waistlines increase five times faster. The researchers theorize that the artificial sweeteners trigger appetite cues, causing you to unconsciously eat more at subsequent meals.

#6: Skipping meals

In a 2011 national survey from the Calorie Control Council, 17 percent of Americans admitted to skipping meals to lose weight. The problem is, skipping meals actually increases your odds of obesity, especially when it comes to breakfast. A study from the American Journal of Epidemiology found that people who cut out the morning meal were 4.5 times more likely to be obese. Why? Skipping meals slows your metabolism and boosts your hunger. That puts your body in prime fat-storage mode and increases your odds of overeating at the next meal.

#7: Eating too quickly

If your body has one major flaw, this is it: It takes 20 minutes for your stomach to tell your brain that it’s had enough. A study in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found that slow eaters took in 66 fewer calories per meal, but compared to their fast-eating peers, they felt like they had eaten more. What’s 66 calories, you ask? If you can do that at every meal, you’ll lose more than 20 pounds a year!

#8: Watching too much TV

A University of Vermont study found that overweight participants who reduced their TV time by just 50 percent burned an additional 119 calories a day on average. That’s an automatic 12-pound annual loss! Maximize those results by multitasking while you watch—even light household tasks will further bump up your caloric burn. Plus, if your hands are occupied with dishes or laundry, you’ll be less likely to mindlessly snack—the other main occupational hazard associated with tube time.

#9: Ordering the combo meal

A study in the Journal of Public Policy & Marketing shows that compared to ordering a la carte, you pick up a hundred or more extra calories by opting for the “combo” or “value meal.” Why? Because when you order items bundled together, you’re likely to buy more food than you want. You’re better off ordering your food piecemeal. That way you won’t be influenced by pricing schemes designed to hustle a few more cents out of your pocket.

#10: Facing the buffet

Cornell researchers found that when eating at a buffet-style restaurant, obese diners were 15 percent more likely to choose seats with a clear view of the food. Your move: Choose a seat that places your back toward the spread. It will help you avoid fixating on the food.

#11: Eating off larger plates

One study found that when given an option, a whopping 98.6 percent of obese individuals opt for larger plates. Translation: More food, more calories, and more body fat. Keep your portions in check by choosing smaller serving dishes. If need be, you can always go back for seconds.

#12: Putting serving dishes on the table

Resist setting out foods buffet- or family-style, and opt instead to serve them from the kitchen. A study in the journal Obesity found that when food is served from the dinner table, people consume 35 percent more over the course of the meal. When an additional helping requires leaving the table, people hesitate to go back for more.

#13: Choosing white bread

A study from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that when obese subjects incorporated whole grains into their diets, they lost more abdominal fat over the course of 12 weeks. There are likely multiple factors at play, but the most notable is this: Whole grain foods pack in more fiber and an overall stronger nutritional package than their refined-grain counterparts.

#14: Taking big bites

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that people who took large bites of food consumed 52 percent more calories in one sitting than those who took small bites and chewed longer. By cutting food into smaller pieces, you can increase satiety and enjoy your food more thoroughly. A good general rule? The smaller your bites, the thinner your waistline.

#15: Not drinking enough water

Adequate water intake is essential for all your body’s functions, and the more you drink, the better your chances of staying thin. In one University of Utah study, dieting participants who were instructed to drink two cups of water before each meal lost 30 percent more weight than their thirsty peers. And you can magnify the effect by adding ice. German researchers found that six cups of cold water a day could prompt a metabolic boost that incinerates 50 daily calories. That’s enough to shed five pounds a year!

#16: Having overweight friends

Research from the New England Journal of Medicine indicates that when a friend becomes obese, it ups your chance of obesity by 57 percent. This probably has to do with the social norms that you’re exposed to. Rather than ditch a friend who starts to put on a few extra pounds though, suggest healthy activities that you can do together, and avoid letting him or her dictate the meal (“Let’s split the cheesecake!”).

#17: Eating too late

Your body can burn flab while you sleep, but only if it isn’t too busy processing a full stomach. A new study in the journal Obesity looked at the sleeping and eating habits of 52 people over seven days, and it found that those who ate after 8 p.m. took in the most daily calories and had the highest BMIs.

#18: Not using a scale

Looking at your body weight reinforces weight-loss goals and makes it difficult to cheat your diet. When University of Minnesota researchers observed dieters who weighed themselves daily, they discovered that the routine of stepping on a scale helped those people lose twice as much weight as those who weighed themselves less frequently. Avoid being thrown off by natural fluctuations in body weight by stepping onto the scale at the same time every day.

#19: Drinking fruity beverages

Most restaurants and bars have ditched their fresh-fruit recipes in favor of viscous syrups made mostly from high fructose corn syrup and thickening agents. As a general rule, the more garnishes a drink has hanging from its rim, the worse it is for your waistline.

#20: Eating when emotional

A study from the University of Alabama found that emotional eaters—those who admitted eating in response to emotional stress—were 13 times more likely to be overweight or obese. If you feel the urge to eat in response to stress, try chewing a piece of gum, chugging a glass of water, or taking a walk around the block. Create an automatic response that doesn’t involve food and you’ll prevent yourself from overloading on calories.

Can you change just three things from your lifestyle? How about five? Then you’re on way to a healthier lifestyle.

Still Rockin’ It
Scarlet Mom

30 Days to Finding Your Inner MILF, Confidence, & Beauty. #10 Discover One Thing About Your Partner That You Love

By Scarlet Mom | November 15, 2010 | 30 Days to a New You | Comments Off

For my final blog about 30 Days to a New You, I think it’s important to look at that person you chose at one point in your life to fall in love with and find something that you absolutely still love about them or can’t live without. We all went through that infatuation stage, where everything they did was adorable. But, at some point, some of those adorable attributes became annoying. And when the kids came along and life got really busy it got even harder to hang on to the cute little moments.

If you currently are not involved with anyone you can do this with your kids. Day in and day out we get so wrapped up in our routine that we forget to stop and enjoy their exhausting little personalities. I can tell you that I am engaged in an all out battle of boundaries with mine so I understand that this is not always an easy task, whether with our children or our partner. But setting aside that time and rediscovering that calm, peaceful time together will give you both the love and quiet family time you may be craving.

Once you pinpoint that one thing, or two, that you absolutely adore about your partner, tell him or her. Nothing is more flattering than hearing why you’re so loved and why that someone is so attracted to you. Then don’t forget to turn up the heat. Here are a couple other thoughts on relationships:

Keep physical intimacy alive. Studies have shown that affectionate touch actually boosts the body’s levels of oxytocin, a hormone that influences bonding and attachment. While being hot & heavy in the bedroom is important, regular, affectionate touch—holding hands, hugging, or kissing—is very important and key to any relationship.

Spend quality time together. You probably have fond memories of when you were first dating. Everything may have seemed new and exciting, and you may have spent hours just chatting together or coming up with a new, exciting thing to try. However, as time goes by, children, demanding jobs, long commutes, different hobbies and other obligations can make it hard to find time together. It’s critical for your relationship to make time for yourselves and those hot, sexy date nights. If you don’t have quality time, communication and understanding start to erode.

Never stop communicating. Good communication is the foundation of a healthy relationship. When people stop communicating well, they stop relating well, and times of change or stress can really bring out disconnect. As long as you are communicating, you can work through whatever problem you’re facing.

Discovering your inner confidence, beauty, and MILF is truly about you. Confidence and beauty come from within yourself. When you feel confident and sexy about yourself, your beauty will emanate to those around you. Hang on to that piece of you no matter what; it’s so important to not ever let it die. The healthier and better you feel about yourself the more you can give to those you love. You have everything you need to be confident & beautiful…set it free.

Still Rockin’ It.
Scarlet Mom

30 Days to Finding Your Inner MILF, Confidence, & Beauty. #9 Discover One Thing About Yourself That You Love

By Scarlet Mom | November 10, 2010 | 30 Days to a New You | Comments Off

If you’re a woman you probably can look in the mirror and hate just about everything about you. You can be long-legged and gorgeous and still pick out every flaw that no one else could ever find. Pack on a few pounds and some emotional scars and you have a recipe for disaster.

I grew up with a very emotionally abusive father. His sole purpose in life seemed to be to knock people down the second they started to feel good about themselves. He didn’t waste a second when he saw that confidence in a young teenage girl and told me repeatedly how fat and ugly I was. Did I mention I was 5’7″ tall and weighed 115 pounds? To this day, I can’t look in the mirror without seeing a fat, ugly little girl. Thanks, dad. But I know I’m not the only one in this world who suffered from a parent growing up. Or did you suffer from an emotionally abusive spouse? Or do you still suffer from these people? Perhaps it’s just you who doesn’t like who you see in the mirror.

Whoever it is talking to you in your head, it’s time to silence them. Everyone is beautiful. The key is finding what it is about you that YOU find beautiful about yourself.

It can be physical beauty: flowing hair, great legs, lips, skin, smile, eyes, ass.

It can inner beauty: tireless charity worker, awesome mom, great wife or girlfriend, incredible friend, amazing career person.

It can be what you do: fabulous cook, decorator, the party planner.

Whatever it is, there is something definitive that makes you beautiful. What is it that makes you, you? What sets you apart from everyone else? I want to hear about it. Comment on this post and let me know. I know that I have some seriously beautiful friends and fans out there and I want you to tell yourself and tell me what it is that makes you beautiful.

Still Rockin’ It.
Scarlet Mom

30 Days to Finding Your Inner MILF, Confidence, & Beauty. #8 Start an Exercise Plan & Change One Thing in Your Eating Habits

By Scarlet Mom | November 4, 2010 | 30 Days to a New You | Comments Off

#8 Start an Exercise Plan & Change One Thing in Your Eating Habits

It’s a long title but simple steps. These are baby steps and nothing has to be monumental but they can make a big difference. Feeling in a rut? Exhausted at the end of the day? I hear you loud and clear. When I finally get my little guy into bed at night I can’t get into my bed fast enough. I just want to veg. And a lot of times I do. But other times I remember that if I take just ten or twenty minutes to do some basic yoga, some light exercise, and maybe even meditate, I will feel so much better. And I really do feel better with just those few minutes. It just takes that very first baby step to do it.

You don’t need to join a gym or become a yoga guru to get your groove on. If you want to start yoga, find a basic yoga DVD and start small. Pressed for time? Instead of walking across your house, do squats as you criss-cross back and forth. Do push-ups against the kitchen counter while preparing dinner; leg stretches, dips, jumping jacks…any room in your house can become a gym. Get the kids involved. I’ll do anything to get mine to burn off some energy. You can find ideas on the web or in magazines, all you have to do is look. And next time you have time to watch TV try doing some sit ups and crunches during the commercials.

Now those eating habits. Pick one food that you know you should not be eating that you do on a regular basis. Do you have to have a sweet after every meal? Then kill it. What about fried foods? Those are killers. You don’t have to kill them all but moderation is the key. Moderation is always the key. If your whole diet is fried foods commit to no fried foods at dinner or no more fried chicken or french fries…just make that one change. Another good thing to remove from your diet are sauces, especially cream sauces. You can also commit to stop buttering your bread (you won’t die if you eat dry bread). Save the buttered bread for a special occasion. I can guarantee you that if you’re trying to lose weight and you decide to do all of these (no fried food, no sauces, no butter, no sweets) but keep everything else the same, you will lose weight. Again, small steps but big results.

It doesn’t take a lot to make big changes in your life and especially to change how you feel about yourself and boost your confidence. Inner MILF truly comes from within because it is all about you and the confidence you feel about yourself. Baby steps…you hot, sexy MILF.

Still Rockin’ It.
Scarlet Mom