Tequila Talk Tuesday

Now if you've listened to the show before, chances are you've heard Robin and I talk about how we're on a quest to bring 'sexy back".  That's right, we're trying to cut the crap out of our diets (say goodbye to carbs and sugar) and include more fruits and vegetables (helloooooooo broccoli) in a effort to live a more healthy and active lifestyle.  But what we have found is that no matter how hard we try, we still find that the needle on the scale is moving ever so slowly to the left.  Which has us thinking could it be our metabolism that's getting in the way of our progress???

We all know what as we age (we're not 18 anymore you know) our good old friend metabolism starts to slow down to almost a crawl and well that's not a good thing.  If you are in the same boat as Robin and I, all is not lost.  There are some simple things that we can all start doing today to rev up our dear friend metabolism so we can finally shed those unwanted pounds and get back to our former sexy self.

Here is what we found...

Drink Green Tea 
Try to stay away from sodas, alcohol and calorie packed beverages.  Not only will they leave you feeling bloated and tired, they are a major saboteur when it comes to losing weight.  Drinking brewed green tea is an effective way to speed up metabolism thanks to one of it's ingredients EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate).  EGCG is an ingredient known to speed up metabolism and by drinking just 3 cups of green tea a day can increase a person's metabolism by up to 10 percent.

Can I interest you in some green tea???

Power Up with Protein (peanut butter anyone?)
Protein has a high thermic effect which means that your will burn more calories t digest it.  Can we all scream...SCORE?!?!?!?  So grab a spoonful of your favorite brand (Jiffy anyone) and enjoy!






Listen to Your Mother and Don't Skip Breakfast!
You're mom was right when she told you that breakfast was the most important meal of the day.  Did you

know that breakfast is good for your health?  Not only is it a nice way to start the day, research suggests it's actually good for your brain and bodily health.  A 2003 study in the American Journal of Epidemiology showed that people who skipped breakfast was 4 1/2 times more likely to be obese than those who make time for a morning meal.  So start your day off right with a good breakfast and get that metabolism started for the day!  Pass me the Raisin Bran please!


Watch Out for Dehydration - it kills the metabolic rate

Just remember these words..."water does the body good!"  Oh and let's not forget the other healthy drinks that are available to keep you hydrated.  A dehydrated body will slow its metabolism and increase hunger and sluggishness.  So the next time you're feeling a little thirsty, grab that Big Gulp and fill it with a little H2o!







Now we all know Rome wasn't built in a day and the same is true when trying to rev up your metabolism.  Try making small simple changes say just doing on thing a week and see if you notice a change in how your feel.  We are going to take our own advice and give them a try to.  So be sure to check back and see how we're doing.

Good luck!

StyleDIVA Workout Gear

StyleDIVA Workout Gear by favorevtmgt featuring cut out swimsuits

Dirty Martini | Janet Jackson show off new body on the cover of Prevention Magazine

Prevention Magazine - July 2012

When I first saw Janet Jackson's commercial for Nutrisystem, my first thought was why?  Why was Janet...Miss Jackson, if you're nasty was joining the laundry list of other celebs who have decided to jump on the weight loss spokesperson bandwagon.  But now that she has unveiled her new body I understand perfectly why she did it.  In the July issue of the magazine, Janet opens up about her life at 46, being the spokeswoman for Nutrisystem and her thoughts on her niece Paris' (Michael's daughter) decision to pursue an acting career at 14.

In the magazine, she says:

"Health was always a concern.  When I gained weight in 2005, my nutritionist was very worried.  I was close to having diabetes.  Even when I lost it and then gained quite a bit back, there was always the thought of heart disease."

"I don't like to work out, and I get bored easily.  Tony Martinez (her trainer) is great.  When I'm getting ready for a tour, I'll work out with the dancers.  He'll put  us in teams and we'll do all sorts of drills and races"

Well Miss Jackson, at 46 you look amazing!  To read more about Janet and her awesome transformation, make sure you pick up a copy of the July 2012 issue of Prevention Magazine.

Yours in health and fitness!

Kickin The CRAP is OVA well sorta...

April is over and the 31st was officially the end of Kickin the CRAP movement.  But how can I kick something to the side that helped me lose 7 - 8 lbs (depending on what scale I was on) that Big Poppie said was only water weight - forget him.  LOL

If you remember CRAP stands for Caffeine, Refined Sugar, Alcohol, Processed Foods and the point was to get rid of it for the month of April.  Well let's just say I fell off the wagon more than one time but I did make some major improvements.  I learned to cook some great meals, prepare for lunch and understand what really is IN the foods I'm eating - there is some scary stuff in there.  So this was such a great lesson for me and the kiddos.  I can't say I'm getting rid of the quick and easy fix of pizza in a box or Hamburger Helper but doing more fresh and less fast is going to totally get me over the hump!  Thanks for cheering me on and to one of my girls LaJuan Wilks for Kickin It with me.

With Style,



StyleDIVA

Before with CRAP

After No CRAP

Kickin the C.R.A.P

I'm always up for a new way to shed some of my awesomeness so when I heard about the CRAP movement I decided to dedicate April to it.

C=Caffeine
R=Refined Sugar
A=Alcohol
P=Processed Foods

Can you imagine removing all of this from your diet all at one time? Luckily I have some support from one of my former cheer coach peers to get me through. So I am not much of a cook and the processed part is going to be a real challenge for me but thank goodness for Pinterest because I found some fantastic recipes and I'm sharing one with you tonight. Mine is actually in the oven as I type.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/06/crash-hot-potatoes/

Try it and let me know how yummy yours turned out.

With Style,


StyleDIVA

Living a life full of adventure

For those who know me, know that I love Ali Edwards.  I guess you could say that she is my blog crush.  I love scrapbooking and Ali is the Queen B when it comes to capturing the stories of her family.  Ali is also the creative mind behind One Little Word which you can read more about here.  This year the word that I selected (or maybe it selected me) is Adventure.  For me adventure means taking a chance; doing something new and out of the box.  So to stay true to my One Little Word for 2012 - Adventure, I decided to enter the Suwanee Get Fit Challenge sponsored by Suwanee Magazine.  If selected as one of the participants, I will work with a local fitness facility and health experts to help define fitness goals and set me up with a plan.  Also Suwanee Magazine will follow the participants throughout the program for a year and track their progress.  To enter you just needed to send an email and include pictures or a video.  Of course you know I chose the video (remember I'm stepping out of my comfort zone).  You can find my submission below.

The magazine will notify who the selected few are on February 13th, so keep your fingers crossed for your girl.  I'll keep you posted!

28 Day Diet | Day 10

We are on Day 10 and it's going to be a wonderful day starting with MEDITATION!  Who wouldn't love meditating, it provides great benefits: stress-busting, lowering blood pressure and bad cholesterol.  There are a few tools Dr. Oz provides us with in his article to help us get to the OM factor:

1.  How to Meditate CDs, can be purchased at a health store or on online.
2.  Insight Timer App.  Chimes to notify you when your desired timed meditation is over.
3.  A Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Workbook.

Below I've taped a meditation session that I hope you will join in on:

Sorry I said the 11th day in the video, hey it's 5 AM!!!

Namaste,




StyleDIVA

The 28 Day Diet | Day 9

Are you getting enough sleep?  Sometimes I think that I don't but my kids would disagree.  I definately get 7 - 8 per night, I could use 10!  Couldn't we all?  Now raise your hand if you have a little trouble getting to sleep some nights...***StyleDIVA hand in the air***  Well our new bud Dr. Oz talked to some of his celeb friends and they gave him some suggestions:

Rosie Perez makes a dried tea of chamomile flowers that her sister (a chef) told her to make before bedtime.

Jillian Michaels listens to books on tape and if she rolls over and is up in the middle of the night she recites the alphabet backward.  - sidebar, I don't know about you but after Z, Y, X I'd be so confused I'd never go to sleep.

Robin Hunt (Yes I'm a celeb!  Didn't you see me hanging with David Tutera?) says to try the Rain App on your smart phone or tablet.  iPad has a great one, it gives you several rain selections like: rain on the roof, rain hitting the ground, rain on water and my favorite is a rain with thunder.  Love, love, love this - trust me you will sleep like a baby after 5 minutes. 

Do you have a favorite trick to get the sandman to come?  Leave a comment below so we can share it on the air.

Sweet Dreams,

StyleDIVA

The 28 Day Diet | Day 8

Time to take it up a notch today, break out your new year workout gear and start sweating!  That's right do some physical activity for 30 minutes to reduce the risk of stroke and heart attacks by 30%.  Not use to working out?  Start with a walk, you'll be surprised how you feel about yourself when you get done.  If you are the Workout Dancehall Queen I'm going to challenge you to do something different to your workout routine.  Try belly dancing, go 6 miles instead of your normal 5 or give ZUMBA a try instead of sliding your membership card to walk the treadmill.  Day 8 ladies just 20 more to go, how do you feel?  Thanks Dr. Oz for making this journey loads of fun.  Now where is that belly dancing brochure?? - don't worry I'll be sure to report back how it went ;) (wink, wink). 

The 28 Day Diet | Day 6

I'm going to find todays task to be a chore but none the less helpful in the diet journey.  Here it is:  Write every bite, scribble every nibble (his words), be a slave to your food war (my words).  Even though this task is daunting it is essential.  I've had friends actually lose pounds by doing this because they were afraid to write down they had eaten a bag of chips for fear that....it was true!  LOL  The nice thing about doing this is that it is super easy.  You can jot things down in a notebook or Oz suggests going technical and using one of the following apps to help you:

PeerTrainer (actually works with WW points)
Dailyburn (includes workouts and it's FREE)
SPARKPeople
Lose It! (This is actually an IPad app - Whoo Hoo!!!)

The StyleDIVA is only familiar with one of these and that's SPARKPeople, they flood my email box with stuff.  Some of it helpful some just spam but they do have lots of cool tools on their site that are helpful with weightloss.  Pick your favorite method and see where some of the pitfalls in your diet are coming from.  Remember write it all down, from that stop at the vending machine to the peas you eat off of your son's plate.  Maybe we'll lose twice the weight we expect to lose as the article claims people that track do....I'm game are you?

Let's turn YIKES into Morning Sexy!

The 28 Day Diet | Day 4

Remember I mentioned that this diet was a bit on the unconventional side?  Well day 4 starts us out with FORGIVENESS.  Not forgiveness because you ate those Oreos last night but of someone that you haven’t forgiven.  Is there someone?  I promise you I did this exercise and could not think of a single soul that I needed to forgive.  Therefore the only person I have to blame for this poundage that rest on me is GULP… ME!  Maybe I should forgive myself, nah that just sounds weird.  But if there is someone that’s wronged you, poured you a glass of haterade on your worst day or somebody that just ticked you the heck off – L I Git.  That’s my term for Let It Go!  Madam Oprah says, “Forgiveness is letting go of the hope that the past will changed.”  Dang that women is smart.  Don’t hold on to what someone has done in the past, release that devil and get on track with what’s important Y-O-U!

The 28 Day Diet | Day 3

Dr. Oz suggests cooking 4 of the following food groups today.  Yeah he doesn’t know me very well, first I don’t do much cooking and second two of the groups he’s suggesting are on my, "I haven’t even eaten in my life list."  Be it as it may here are his suggestions:

      1.        Wild Salmon – YUCK! (with my best 3 year old YUCK face) I know this stuff is good for you but I’ve never been able to stomach it.  Omega 3’s reduce clotting and provide for less plaque buildup in the arteries.  Luckily I don’t have this as an issue, I’m eating a pork chop tonight.

      2.       Tomatoes – Okay I’m good with this one for two reasons, 1) you don’t have to cook them you can just pop them in your mouth and 2) I like snacking on cherry tomatoes during the day so this one is a go for me.  According to Oz people with hypertension can see their systolic points drop by 10 and their diastolic a 14 point drop by including these in your diet. 

3.       Garlic – another WIN!  One of my favorite seasonings, I use it so much I’m sure many people don’t want to stand near me after I’ve had a meal.  This one is also a good heart booster and protects you from hardening of the arteries.

4.       Lima Beans – again this is not on my list of favs so I’m going to pass.  These beans also have heart boosting potential with magnesium however I'm sure if you sleep with someone they won't be happy you had them for dinner.  Oy do I remember those nights when!

There you have it, that’s all you need to do today is implement these into your diet on day 3 and learn how to integrate them more for HEART SMART eating. 

The 28 Day Diet | Day 2



StyleDIVA

WHAT!  I swear I love Dr. Oz.  Day 2 of the diet is to enjoy a piece of chocolate.  Wait dark chocolate.  Shoot I don’t get to have a Snickers bar but hey chocolate is chocolate.  I’m not a fan of dark chocolate but I guess that’s the point of this exercise and according to the good doctor it improves circulation, increasing blood flow to the brain.  Well I’ll have a piece at my 11 AM snack attack and then one at my 2 PM snack attack, 2 pieces of Special Dark minis and today’s diet checklist is complete.  Enjoy your ChocOLat today ladies!

The 28 Day Diet

The 28 Day Diet - Day 1

Erika and I talked diets on the show yesterday, she’s going the Weight Watchers route and I said I’d just follow this new starvation diet I recently picked up since I got sick. Not healthy but working! But as I read my most recent copy of O Mag I noticed that Dr. Oz had a 28 day diet that I decided I must try. The nice thing about this diet is that it’s very unconventional and gets you to think about your habits and make some adjustments. 

So it starts today!  Day 1 was Go Green, as in tea that is.  My favorite is Raspberry Green tea but Dr. Oz suggested some others that you could try too:  Art of Tea Green Earl Grey, The Republic of Tea Kiwi Pear and Tea Forte Cherry Marzipan.  They all sound good and provide LDL lowering bad cholesterol and promote weight loss.  Sending cheers to you today with my Raspberry Green Tea cocktail.