{Doutzen Kroes looking strong and healthy}

- Lose 10lbs by Snacking; Eat more healthy and lose weight! I like the eat more part of it a lot because I actually get variety in my diet now and it’s all thanks to snacking. -D

- Satisfy your Cravings; The nutrition expert said “The best thing for you is, you know yourself. You know your triggers, you know what you need to do.” Whether you’re good at controlling your cravings or not, only you know what will really work for you to overcome your weakness. Going cold turkey works for me!

- 10 Ways to Go from Tired to Terrific; Good tips but too tired to try. =/

- 3 ways to make eating out a healthy experience;

1. Keep it simple … for the most part. The simpler your order is, the less likely it is to harbor hidden fats and calories.

2. Make special requests. If you’re watching your waistline, you’ll likely need to tweak certain menu items to make them fit within your calorie budget. (I hate it when there’s sauce dripping all over anyways so I have been asking for it on the side…and eating less of it by doing so, yes!)

3. Eliminate the extras…bread, dessert, beverages. (Portion control people! =d The only thing that I might indulge in is the bread, if it’s really good that is and omgah….so far, soooo good.) =/

- Fix Your Worst Diet Habits; My worst habit use to be skipping meals but now I eat/snack healthier and regularly and I don’t have agonizing hunger pains at nighttime like I use to. I’m also getting Babes to do the same; it’s not fair if only one of us looks good you know. muahah!

- Gross Yourself Out To Lose Weight ; The author of the post said “This diet tactic may verge on insane; however, it might just be crazy enough to work! Never underestimate the power of conditioning. The best way to keep you on track is with constant reminders. I think it might be cute to have a pet fat … I’m going to name mine Bertha. ” =D

- Healthy Supermarket Swaps; I always make a list to take to the supermarket so I know exactly what I need; it helps me to make healthier choices, not to mention I also save on time and money that way.

It can be, says Dr. Lisa Masterson, a Los Angeles gynecologist, some of whose patients have experienced urinary-tract and vaginal infections, as well as skin sensitivity and hemorrhoids, as a result of wearing thongs. “Rectal bacteria can make their way down into the vagina using the thong as a transport,” says Dr. Masterson. That doesn’t mean you need to give up thongs. But if you’re having a problem with recurring infections, you may want to wear them less often or switch to regular panties until your infection heals. And try not to wear them while you’re working out: A sweaty thong is an especially effective conduit along which rectal bacteria can reach your vagina. – Read More, Your Most Intimate Gyno Questions Answered!

- Let’s ponder the Dangerous Thong together. Or not.

Here is a delicious snack I made today with ingredients I found in the fridge.

Preheat oven to 450ºF. Cut chicken breast into smaller pieces (about 6-8 depending on size of breast). Season the chicken with garlic salt. Put the jalapeno and meat into the oven. While broiling, bast lightly with a splash of lime and olive oil. Cook chicken pieces thoroughly (8-10 min). Remove from oven and cover lightly with tinfoil for a few minutes afterward to keep warm and seal in juices.

While chicken is cooking, rinse the parsley and green leaf lettuce. You can halve the bigger pieces. When chicken is ready and you have diced the jalapeno, place in this order: green leaf lettuce, one piece of chicken, chunks of jalapeno, shredded carrot, and parsley. Wrap the lettuce around the chicken and veggies and secure with a toothpick and you’re ready to serve! It came out to be a total of 6 wraps.

They were so tasty -which is saying a lot since I’m not known for my cooking abilities. mm mmm good!

Ingredients

* garlic salt, dried basil, lime, olive oil

* 1 skinned, boneless chicken breast

* 1 head of green leaf lettuce

* 1 jalapeno

* shredded carrot

* parsley

Ingredients

* Pita, 1 (54 grams)

* Canned tomatoes, whole peeled, no added salt, 1/4 cup (54 grams)

* Parmesan cheese, grated and shaved, 1 TB (15 mL)

* Arugula, 1 cup (12 grams)

* Extra virgin olive oil, 1/2 tsp (2.5 mL) -optional

* Pepper, freshly ground, pinch

- Read Full recipe! Which was inspired by this recipe in Everyday Food:

{ Kelly Brook looking healthy and fit }

Last week I decided I needed to make a few changes in my eating habits so I started a food journal. It was in the One Small Change article; a must read for those of us who can’t fully commit to healthy eating yet but would like to get started…one small step at a time.

I’ve realized in starting a food journal that I’m more aware of what I should eat (being that it will be written in my journal as a setback) rather than just ordering/cooking what I want to eat. I am all for indulging once in a while and rewarding myself for taking care of my body but I am hoping that, in time, I won’t even crave my favorite fatty foods anymore. Also, now that I have begun tracking all my food intake, I have introduced into my life a somewhat neurotic nutritionist – who lives in my conscience and is quite obnoxious but I know she’s only doing it for my own good. =p

Here are a few sites I looked at which help calculate your calories, have food logs, blogging options, and diet/nutrition/fitness information. I am currently using these two sites and will decide which I like better at the end of the week:

- nutrimirror.com

- livestrong.com

The National Institute of Health (click link to check yours!) says you’re at a healthy weight if your BMI falls between 18.5 – 24.9. My BMI is at 18.8 which is ok but I should gain a few pounds – as you all can see. =/

I want to get fit/toned and healthy, NOT lose weight so Don’t Hate! =)

Here’s some serious slimspiration for you: Doing only one thing differently can be all it takes to lose weight and improve your life in surprising, healthy ways. We found six women who each flipped a simple dietary switch that set off a chain reaction of positive effects, from getting glowing skin to losing 130 pounds. See which idea will ignite your personal success story.

1. Mapping out meals (I’ve been meaning to do this, I have a fondness (also known as OCD) for making lists so keeping a journal would be in that same ballpark.)

2. Eliminating white carbs (This one will be a toughy. I love me some good ole spaghetti, but the texture and taste of whole grain pasta just doesn’t stimulate my taste buds. I would be ok to compromise and alternate between the two though.)

3. Giving high-fructose corn syrup the slip; To avoid an afternoon energy crisis, swap packaged foods with sucrose or HFCS for those high in healthful fats and fiber, such as crudités with hummus, tuna salad on whole-wheat crackers or raisins mixed with sunflower seeds. Also replace reduced-fat foods you nosh on with small portions of the real thing. You’ll feel satisfied by less and skip the artificial stuff, too!

4. Eating greens for dinner instead of greasy takeout; Avoid green fatigue by experimenting. “Repeating meals can put you in a rut, which could lead you to abandon your plan, so mix things up,” says Keri Gans, R.D., a spokeswoman in New York City for the American Dietetic Association. For a filling, flavorful salad, include healthy fat such as pine nuts and a serving of protein such as lean sirloin or salmon, Gans says. And ditch fat-free dressing in favor of a tablespoon of olive oil or full-fat dressing; a little fat helps your body absorb more cancer-fighting antioxidants from the veggies.

5. Eating less, more often (I tried this and it worked for me. Ordering from the kid’s menu when we go out helped to save on cost and calories.)

6. Nixing packaged foods; “Women who got most of their calcium from their diet have a higher bone-mass density than those who got calcium mostly from supplements,” says lead researcher Reina Armamento-Villareal, M.D.

- Read Full Article!

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I will be trying to fulfill some of those healthy options above for sure and hopefully get a few friends and family to do the same. Here are a few things I have improved on recently:

- I am doing TaeBo Live at least 3 times a week. I love the Basic video routine but if you’re trying it for the first time make sure to watch the instructional video to help you do the techniques correctly so you don’t hurt yourself, k. K. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. =) I love doing this exercise video and would recommend it to others; the reviews were on the positive side for other users as well!

- I’m snacking more, mostly fruits. Normally I don’t snack at all which leaves me doing midnight runs to the fridge. =/

- Which leads me to my late night snacking habit…it has subsided for the most part! I’m trying to eat more during dinner (around 7pm) and have a little snack (yogurt or fruit) an hour later and it’s helped curb my midnight hunger pains.

Read the article and get motivated, let’s get healthy together! =)

Dr. Laura is brutally honest, very opinionated, and usually right. But here’s my two cents, which you can pick up at the bottom after my rant.

He loves me at my best and he loves me at my worst (cue dreamy sigh). And if you actually think that they want to, you’re either the luckiest person in the world to be dating a saint or mildly delusional to think they aren’t halfway out the door because you wouldn’t even want you at your worst. In my particular case, I can say with absolute certainty that he doesn’t. And I don’t blame him.

When I look in the mirror do I see what I like? Often times I don’t, but it’s mainly due to the same unresolved issue. The dreaded muffin top (read it and weep with me). I won’t blame it on my genes (like I so want to) because as Dr. Laura affirmed, you didn’t see any fat people in concentration camps due to their genes. Don’t get overly sensitive here, it’s the truth.

Babes loves a girl with a nice waistline. Now is that too much to ask for? I don’t think so. I have been overindulgent: cookies – macadamia nut cookies are delicious (no!), late night eating, and fast food runs have resulted in the undesirable muffin top mess.

Although my health is the real underlining issue here, it doesn’t hurt to look and feel fit and keep your man happy all the while. So I will keep these things in mind:

1. Always indulge but never overindulge; meaning one cookie, not two; lose/gain five pounds, not twenty-five. etc

2. Respect your body and respect your relationship. He has the right to say you look like a fat cow and should lose some weight (hopefully he will be a little less cruel in wording it than I) and you have the right to say you are happy the way you are and if he doesn’t like it to go hump a carcass of some sort. =/ Well, you get the point.

|Celebrity and designer|

Kristi Yamaguchi in Vera Wang, Lynda Carter in Carolina Herrera, Katie Couric in Carmen Marc Valvo

Natasha Hendstridge in Verrier, Nia Long in Tracy Reese, Valerie Bertinelli in Christian Siriano

Vivica A. Fox in Jenny Packham, Amanda Beard in Cushnie et Ochs, Amanda Bynes in Daniel Swarovski

Susan Lucci in Gustavo Cadile, Jennie Garth in Badgley Mischka, Brittany Snow in Marchesa

Hilary Duff in Donna Karan, Daisy Fuentes in Pamella Roland, Tori Spelling in Betsey Johnson

The last row is a few of my favorites from the Red Dress Collection 2008; Joss Stone in Max Azria Atelier, Molly Sims in Daniel Swarovski, and Maria Menounos in Marchesa.

For more information go to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute website.
Click here for a video of the fashion show.