MeanGirls

Monday night is our final training make-up session from our snow day. Had probably my last ski run on Wednesday hadn't been in four weeks. Absolutely no issue with the legs being in condition. Go team training. We will need to figure out how to keep the momentum going girls.
Wednesday night out with the team.

These 8 weeks of "Mean Girls" training were motivating and inspiring on so many levels! We definitely pushed each other, and had MANY laughs along the way. Kristin had a gift for knocking us off of balls (or bosu's), with minimal harm inflicted. "No pain, no gain?" How about, "A little pain....LOTS of gain!" ;-) Good times, I say!! Can't wait until next year! Thank you, ladies.

That's it?

Wow, eight weeks never went by so fast! Had a blast with my team! And Yes, I am the teacher's Pet! :) Good luck to all who participated. You all won, just by participating!
Hears to Good Health!

Be well, Val A.

Loved Team Training

I am sad to see Team Training come to an end. I had never participated in it before and will definately sign up next year! I will use Lisa's plans to help me develop my own fitness routine now that I am on my own-I feel like a baby bird that has been pushed out of its nest!
Another good website to check out:
livestong.com

Eight weeks to get it done !!!

O well.... Thanks Kristin...... Eight weeks..Lots of great workouts...More laughts... I had the BEST Teammate..Even thought she took off for a week to FLA... I just wish it was a Ten week program... Moreover, I want to thank all the female's in the group classes..... Yogafit, BodyCombat, BodyStep,BodyPump and the Bonus workouts... As most of the time the only male in the classes.....

This is the link for the last race of series.

http://www.runthewildrover.com/

At the Fort Myers airport.... ready to return home and get in this last week of training!  8 weeks went by much too quickly,  and has been a lot of fun.  Camaraderie with team mate, and good natured competition with other teams all added to it.  Extra thanks to Charlene and Mike!!

Staying motivated and inspired!

So yesterday was our last Team Training meeting...boo-hoo! While the actual number on the scale didn't move as much as I'd hope, I know I am more fit, more trim and definitely a lot stronger than I was 8 weeks ago. And this morning I actually hauled myself out of bed to go to Ashley's 5:30 am pump class! So thank you Lisa and everyone at FFY for offering Team Training - it was great...now the rest is up to me!

MeanGirls6 Week 7

Where did the weeks go? Just flew by and the spring has nearly arrived. We lost feet of snow and hopefully pounds and fat. Last week for MeanGirls to get in our workouts and points and one make-up class. It's always a struggle between going out and drinking and getting extra points for not.......... Next time points for those who can go out and drink the most.

Stomach b-UGH!

Week 7's extra workouts were squashed by the stomach bug visiting our house-and it hasn't left yet! Do many flights of stairs doing laundry, getting medicine and water count???

Can't believe it's the last week!

Where did the last EIGHT weeks go? Hopefully the same place as my extra pudge! So glad I did Team Training again this year...I never would have worked so hard (actually, never would have gotten myself to the gym as often)...I'll be curious though to see whether I'll see the concrete results in pounds and body fat lost given that I was not as good overall in the eating department as I was last year...but I know that I am certainly more toned and fit given how my clothes feel and the amount of running I can now manage...and at the end of the day, that's worth a lot in my book. So thanks to Lisa for continuing for push us and to Angela for her camaraderie - I'll miss Team Training!

This is a link to the second race in the Wild Rover Series.

http://www.runthecladdagh.com/

MeanGirls6

Only three drinks this week. Can we get a prorated share of the 10 points? 5:30 came to soon after a 1:00am bedtime. How about a prorated share of the 10 points for setting the alarm and not getting up? Only a couple weeks remaining. Let's go for increased activity outside of the team training session, some weight loss, good nutrition and curb the sugar.

Heading out of town for a week.. will have to stay motivated on my own.  Lots of long walks under the palm trees.  Not the same as team training at FFY, but I will make the best of it!!

Thanks, Lisa!

Another reason I love the Team Challenge...motivation! I would have never pushed myself to run the 5 mile morning challenge with Lisa but I did it! woo hooo! And I have the blisters to prove it! I will miss the training sessions with Aya and Lisa!

Spring Fever Randomness

It's official, I've been diagnosed with spring fever.  I know, it's very sad.  But, cheer up the days are getting longer and when I get up for my 6am workout with Kristen, it's actually light out!  Hooray for sunshine!!  I can't even tell you how hard it is to get up at the crack of dawn in the cold darkness, and drag yourself to the gym.  It's amazing though, afterwards I'm glad I did because I always feel like a million bucks. 

Thankfully now when I get home from work, it's still light out!  You know what this means...soon enough we'll be able to exercise outside.  I love trail walking, doing yard work, walking/jogging with my dogs, playing softball, and just plain being outside.  Chin up, spring is around the corner.  And with all our hard work these past few weeks we can embrace bikini season! Bring it on, I'm not scared.

Miracles can happen!

Thanks Team Training - if it wasn't for the glory of points and not wanting to disappoint my team, this girl who LOVES to sleep and NEVER sees the 5 o'clock hour, would NEVER have gotten my sorry *ss to the gym in the wee hours of the morning (at least that's what it is to me)...let alone run FIVE miles - a first for me! THANKS! and the other bonus was that I went shopping for a new pair of jeans yesterday and dropped down a size - yahoo!

Thanks to the bonus class this week, I now know.... I can run 5 miles without stopping. Thanks Lisa!

Yes 5:30 comes to early in the morning for me...sorry MG6 just couldn't getting up that early to go workout! I think the only thing that could get me up that early would be house fire or something like that! However I will make the 4 classes this week for 10 pts. Good job to those of you who made it to bonus class this week!

Wow, 5:30am sure comes awfully early, but Team Silver Xtreme  got there today for Lisa's bonus challenge class and did their best.  Yay us!
Last night's health workshop was really very informative.  I am glad I went.
Great to have my teammate back in action this week!

MEAN GIRLS WK 5

Okay we had a couple of incidences. One really MeanGirl fell off the Bosu with 20 lbs of weight in hand. So who ratted me out? The story is now "an accident". I almost fell over again with that one. Another fall when hurricane Kristin stormed in. Okay MeanGirls. We are trailing 2nd place. Let's kick it in gear girls.........

Bin28

Just made reservations for Wine Bar Bin28 tonight.......and I'm not going with the Shirley Temple's option. Guess that counts me out of the no alcohol bonus points this week. Hmmm. Drinking = minus 10 points. Blogging that I'm drinking = 10 points. okay, I'm breaking even on the deal. Martini's it is! Well needed after "Hurricane" Hotter knocked me off the ab ball at team training last night. Mean girl.

Team Training Standings

What... No WINE????  But it is book club week.. at my house no less.  Whine, whine, whine.
Meanies.......
:-)

Not a good week

Got a new puppy and all is upside down. Will get back to it all ASAP!

Sugar is the Devil

It was a weekend of temptation....organic oreo cookie ice cream from Whole Foods, Valentine's Day cupcakes at my sister's house, and I said NO NO NO!!! It's just not worth the calories when you realize how hard it is to burn it off. Thanks for keeping me on track MG6!!

Running in the land of enchantment

I was worried that a quick trip home (read: eating my mom's homemade chicken and cheese enchiladas and my sister's made-from-scratch hot fudge) would derail my progress...but with the two hour difference in my jet-lag I was able to get two nice outdoor workouts in - breating in the wonderful scents of the southwest. So now I'm back well-fed but also happily a little sore and ready to hit it with Lisa and Angela this week. Wondering if I will be able to wake up for the bonus work out this week - that will be the true test for this sleeplover!

The Accountability Factor with Team Training

I had to be in San Diego for a conference this weekend and due to weather related delays (and some bad luck at the airport) it took 16 hrs to get from Boston to San Diego for this 2 day trip. Normally this would have been a perfectexcuse to skip my workouts. However, due to thoughts of earning points for my team (MeanGirls6) and my newly rejuvenated commitment to fitness, I made it to the gym in San Diego both Sat and Sun am before the conference. I have found the accountability of Team Training to be an enormous motivating factor. Thanks Girls!
Theresa

Love FFY classes

I love the FFY classes-especially Sunday's yoga and Roque's Body Pump. After training ends I hope to try out some others with my schedule at the gym being more flexible. I have a good website to pass along:

sparkpeople.com

Recipes, workout plans and videos to motivate you to get active!

Foods That Fight Fat
Avocado and tomatoes pack a powerful health punch.
Not only do healthy fats in avocado help thwart belly bloat, they also help our bodies better absorb carotenoids, cancer-fighting compounds found in colorful fruits and veggies like tomatoes, carrots, spinach and winter squash. In fact, people who ate salads with avocado had 15 times higher absorption of carotenoids, a study from The Ohio State University at Columbus found.

Try this juicy burger recipe, which comes all dressed up with superfoods.
Turkey BurgerCook a 4-oz turkey burger in a pan coated with cooking spray until done, 8 minutes (turn once). Place on a whole-wheat bun; top with 1/2 tomato, sliced; 1/2 avocado, sliced; lettuce. Serve with 1 cup cubed papaya.

LIKEA MG6!!

Not sure why my previous post didn't show up but...with the pressure of girl scout cookies and Valentine's Day candy just remember: A moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips!
Loving my workouts with Lisa and teammate Aya!

MeanGirls6

Skiing this week was even easier as we complete week 3 of team training. It is amazing the difference in a few short weeks for strength and endurance. Thanks to our MeanGirl leader Kristen. We had a new recruit working out with us this week. Our very own adorable chocolate lab Vino. He quietly crawled under one of the MeanGirls while she was in her bridge and he planted himself under her to make sure she kept up the bridge. He also did a few exercises with several of us. Since we are down one member we decided to let in one "boy" into our MeanGirl team. MeanGirl team has improved in weekly points. Let's try for another increase this coming week.

Disney Bound

"Nothing tastes as good as thin feels!"

Off to Disney the end of this week with my son. I am hoping I can find some good to eat there, i.e. healthy options. There is a gym there just have to figure out what to do with my son while I go to the gym. Walking will help a lot. I am just hoping my son and Disney do not stress me into an eating binge! One more hard work out with Dean before Disney bound.

Despite Valentine's Day still feeling fit thanks to Charlene and Lisa!

So I thought I posted this last night but alas it must not have "stuck" - anyway, enjoyed a yummy early Valentine's Day dinner (now last night) with my honey and was so happy to have made it to Charlene's bonus class - lots of fun! And despite the extra-yummies due to the holiday (and did I mention that my Girl Scout cookie order arrived? my total downfall!), I am still feeling like I am making steady progress thanks to Lisa's training. Now I just have to stop myself from eating the WHOLE sleeve of Thin Mints :)

Rumba

Hi fitness friends,
I highly recommend trying a Rumba class for a great work out. Fun way to work up a sweat! You should go even just for the funky music. No dance skills, no problem. The class was forgiving on gracefullness. It was a hoot just to attempt moving my hips in unconventional hoola hoop gyrations. Ok for those with their minds in the gutter.....let's keep this about Rumba. Have fun!

Don't forget about jump rope

I know, I keep posting about cardio exercises.  I can't help it, I need all the inspiration and new ideas to get motivated, so I figured you do too.  I love jumping rope as a cardio exercise, and over time you'll be surprised at how long you can do it.  I like to do 100 jumps at a time, which can take 1-2 minutes.  If you have a short rest in between sets, you can do this for 10, 15, 20 minutes, and really get your heart rate up and your leg muscles burning.  You can really mix it up and vary your jumps; side to side, front to back, knees up, double dutch, heel taps, etc.  Couple this with some time on a machine and your cardio workout just became more diversified and interesting.     

Mean Girls 6 Team Training

After falling down a flight of icy stairs last Sunday I was out of commission last week and need to make up some serious points. I was a little sore but had great workouts this week. I was at the gym at 6:30 this morning getting my cardio in, (Hodder you looked shocked), and I'll be there tomorrow morning too! Love feeling so motivated and pushed by my team members. Let's go Mean Girls 6!
Renee

Quote

The difference between 'involvement' and 'commitment' is like an eggs-and-ham breakfast: the chicken was 'involved' - the pig was 'committed'."
- unknown

Don't you love this quote! Go Fab Five!

Hmmm.......   Are we going to get weighed in again?  If I read the e-mail correctly, the scale at FFY is off?  Wonder if my scale at home is off a little then too?!  Seems to have moved in the wrong direction.  Oops.  However, I am feeling good about exercising, and know the next 4 or 5 weeks will be even better! I got a kick out of the note regarding those that tried classes "out of their comfort zone" on Sunday.  That was me for sure!  Zumba might not quite be my thing, but was fun to give it a try, and what the heck, I probably provided a chuckle or two for others in the class.
Good luck to all the teams this week.  Have fun and stay strong!

MeanGirls6

Let's go team we need more points!! On Wed. let's make sure all of us are blogging!! Easy 5 pts per person and no hard work involved!!!!

Mission TrimPossible Team Pushes On!

I was excited today to hear we weren't going to spend time running on the treadmill for cardio, until I discovered the difficulty level of climbing hills for 15 minutes! Then turning the treadmill "off" and using our own body weight and force to move the track! What a calorie burn! Try it - You'll like it????

Team Training MeanGirls6

Team training helped me to do six of seven classes on Super Bowl Sunday. Look forward to skiing the next couple weekends; legs should be prepared. Don't forget to eat healthy with the team training plan to drop weight and body fat. I highly recommend the new book High School Reunion Diet Book by Dr. David Colbert. It's simple but effective if followed. You will have a completely new look but it does take discipline not unlike working out so you can all do it! MeanGirls6

I feel super after super sunday!

Thanks Fitness for You for a fabulous day of fun! I really enjoyed all four of my classes and am feeling freakin' fantastic! Team Training keeps me on task (I never would have dragged myself to the gym last week) and the competitive spirit helps motivate me to exercise a little more and eat a little less of the delectable treats that are always calling my name (because I'm more than happy to plop down on my couch and drink wine and eat chocolate after a long day). Anyway, can't believe we're about to start week 4 - is that possible??? Hope everyone has a great week. -Aya

Food Rules by Michael Pollan

Two New Years ago my family tried to eliminate most processed food as a news year resolution. It has been really hard but his food rules have really helped us.

Rule #3

Avoid food products containing ingredients that no ordinary human would keep in the pantry.

Rule #4

Avoid food products that contain high-fructose corn syrup.

Super Sunday!

Love the new classes, BodyPump, Step and Combat! All three really good! Enjoyed taking the classes this morning made up for missed classes last week. Burned 1235 calories today!

2/5/11

Two great team workouts this week.  Having both a fun teammate partner,  and enthusiastic coach,  makes it that much better! I love being challenged and pushed in ways that I do not do on my own. Tough week though with the storms... just did not get in to the gym as much as I would have liked to.  Next week I will make up for it.    Go Team Silver Xtreme!

A new cardio idea

Last week I blogged about keeping my cardio workouts interesting by switching up the machine.  Today's blog is about a new idea to keep cardio interesting and intense!  This morning I ran on the treadmill while holding a 4 pound medicine ball.  It did make the workout a little harder, but what I liked best about it was it took my mind off the cardio workout itself and onto how many different ways could I hold this ball?  As you can imagine, it gets heavy in any given position so I kept finding new ways to hold it.  I put it over my  head, in one arm on either hip, in front of me, or I got fancy with it and passed it between my hands and around my waist.  It honestly made the time fly by and afterwards I felt a great sense of accomplishment.  Check it out and let me know what you think.

Eat Clean Diet

Have you heard of Tosca Reno's Eat Clean Diet?  She is a fitness professional with a great story.  I found her book after the Christmas holidays a few years ago when I was feeling very sluggish.  Her written motivation coupled with fantastic, healthy recipes jumpstarted a healthier me.  I made a few recipes a week and the pounds started coming off.  What I like best about it, is that it isn't a fad diet.  It is a healthy eating, lifestyle change for the best!  You should try it!  http://www.toscareno.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=572&Itemid=108
 

White Bean Dip recipe

This is my first team training and I love it! Lisa is great! She is teaching me new exercises, how to use the equipment and, most of all, pushing me! Looking forward to this week.
Angela

Skiing improved with Team Training exercises!

Thanks to Team Training exercises I'm seeing healthly changes already (: I had a great day skiing with my family on the slopes of Loon Mt yesterday. All those squats and lunges strengthened my legs to keep up on the blue and black diamond trails. My husband was impressed.......but not my 6 year old who was instead fixated on me looking like a bowling ball in my ski helmet. My energy level is also better so we skied right through closing time at the lifts. Thanks for the motivation meangirls6!

Back at it!

Ahh - love Team Training! The workouts have been great and Angela and I have been working hard with Lisa pushing us to do our best. I know that the commitment to T-in-T gets me into the gym more than I ever would on my own and I even try to eat a little better (well, last night's double-dip Mad Maggie's ice cream surely didn't count!). C'est la vie - today is another day to try again! -Aya

I am enjoying the challenging workouts and really enjoying my team. This is just what I needed for motivation.

Great team work out tonight.  Thanks for making it so much fun, Charlene.
Mike, have fun skiing this weekend, but come back in one piece ready for week 3!

I am new to team training and like other newbies - I was apprehensive at first. What would Dean be expecting me to do? To my surprise, this experience of training with others is amazing. Just when I think I can't do another dip or lift, I look to my team members, hear their motivating voices and push on! Mission Trimpossible is pumped up to be the best that we can be.

Cardio Equipment

Hello!  Yesterday morning I was doing cardio and thought to myself, wow this can be sooo boring.  There are a lot of good machines to use, but when you do cardio a few times a week they can get monotonous.  I try to mix it up a little bit and use the rowing machine as part of my cardio workout.  I like it because not only does it work your lower body, like all the other cardio machines, but you also get a good upper body workout.  Have you ever tried this as an alternative to the typical cardio machines?  What's your opinion on the calibar of workout you get as compared to the treadmill, elyptical, etc.?

This is my first time participating in Team Training and I didn't know what to expect. My nervousness disappeared after a few minutes of mountain climbers and squats though! MeanGirls6 is a great team, and I love how we all motivate each other. (Getting leaner and meaner every week). Bring on Week Three!!

Team training has started again and I'm so looking forward to the next 8 weeks! Love our team and I'm sure we will do great!

Exercises of the Week 1/24/11

Get on the Ball Bonus Workout #1 Pictures

Heart Facts

Will beat 95,694 times, pump 1,404 gallons of blood, and push that blood nearly 9,956 miles throughout my body!

Created by MyFitnessPal.com

Team Training Bonus Work Out # 1

This Friday 1/21/11- GET ON THE BALL class with Charlene at 4:00 - 4:45 PM

All Evening Classes Canceled

Also the Free Wellness Workshop is postponed.

Team Training Day 1

You have taken an important step in improving your own health and well-being. We hope the next 8 weeks will not only be challenging and rewarding but also motivate you to stay involved with the ongoing commitment of maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

The purpose of team training is to give you the tools and support necessary to make positive changes in your own life. Although you train within a team, we hope you take the opportunity to look inside yourself to find what motivates you to become a stronger, more fit individual. If you resolve to make 2011 your greatest yet, then you must give earnest dedication to do just that. With success, this is the time when your hopes, wishes, goals and desires stop…and the execution begins.

Good Luck and Have Fun!

My favorite ab exercise

One of my favorite ab exercises are planks and side planks. They are fantastic core exercises because:

1. They work the whole core including the low back.

2. Planks are great for people who find traditional crunches painful in their neck and back.

3. Planks are incredibly effective for core strength and definition.

4. They have many variations from beginner to advanced.

5. Planks can be done anywhere, anytime.

Basic Front Plank

-With clasped hands place them in front of you on the floor under your shoulders.

-Go up on to your toes so you are supporting your weight with your elbows and toes.

-Now flex your abs and lower your butt.

Ab Exercises

Here are few excellent exercises to build a trim torso:

Side Stretches: Keeping your feet hip width- apart and slightly turned out, lift your arms above your head and clasp your hands together, keeping your shoulders dropped. Now, in a smooth movement, looking straight ahead, drop down on to the left, bending from the waist. Try to get low enough for your arms to be parallel with the floor. Slowly come back to the centre and repeat on the right. Do at least 6- 10 drops each side.

Torso Twists: While performing this exercise keep in mind that it is only the waist and upper body that turn- the hips stay absolutely still and facing the front. Begin by standing on your feet hip-width apart, feet slightly turned out and knee bent. Rest your hands lightly on your shoulder, elbows pointing straight out. Feel your back straight and your tail-bone dropping down towards the floor. Turn from the waist to look over your left shoulder. Do 16 turns slowly, feeling the stretch and the repeat to the right.

Roll-Ups: This exercise is a series of movement that build up in difficulty, so start with the first one and only go on to the later ones as your muscles strengthen.

• Lie on the floor with your leg stretched out and your arms at your side, palms facing upwards. Pull your stomach muscles back into the floor, tighten your buttock muscles under you at the same time. This will cause your knees to bend slightly and your pelvis to tilt. Repeat 8 times.

• In the second stage, repeat the pelvic tilt, this time moving your upper body off the floor, arms outstretched and parallel to the floor. Your head should come up last. Do not raise yourself far enough to make your stomach bulge or your shoulders tense. Repeat 6-8 times.

• In the third phase, you begin as before and continue to raise your upper body until you are sitting straight up, arms stretched out in front, head and neck in long line with your spine.

• Now drop your head forward onto your chest and roll back down through the spine, holding on a tight to the stomach muscles. Try to feel your back go down, vertebra by vertebra, lengthening out on the floor. Repeat 6 times or till muscle fatigue.

  
  
  
  

  Crossed Fists:
  Start by lying on your back on the floor. Contract your stomach muscles so that you start to roll up until you are about halfway to a sitting position, knees bent, arms outstretched in front of you. With your hands in loose fists, cross and re-cross one above the other, raising your arms at the same time until they are reaching straight upwards. Make sure you don't tense your neck or shoulders as you do this. When you reach the top, reverse and come down in four crosses. Repeat the whole sequence 4 times up and down.

  
  
  
  
  © by Womenfitness.net 1999-2010. All rights reserved.

10 ways to control your cravings

You can lose weight by overcoming your cravings now. Here are the latest tricks of the trade from researchers and experts: 

Avoid your triggers. "You crave what you eat, so if you switch what you're eating, you can weaken your old cravings and strengthen new ones," says Marcia Pelchat, PhD, of the Monell Center. This can happen pretty fast. For five days, her study volunteers drank bland dietary-supplement beverages. During that time, they craved fewer of their trigger foods. By the end of the study, the volunteers actually wanted the supplements instead. The first few days are always the hardest, and you probably can't completely eliminate your old cravings. But the longer you avoid your trigger foods, the less likely you may be to want them. In fact, you'll probably begin to crave the foods you eat, a real bonus if you've switched to fresh fruit. 

Destroy temptation. If you've succumbed to a craving and bought a box of cookies or some other trigger food and start to feel bad while eating it, destroy it. "Don't just throw it away; run water over it, ruin it. You'll feel a sense of accomplishment that you've licked your binge," says Caroline Apovian, MD, director, Nutrition and Weight Management Center at Boston Medical Center.Don't think about the money you're wasting. If the cookies don't go into the garbage, they're going straight to your hips. 

Go nuts. Drink two glasses of water and eat an ounce of nuts (6 walnuts, 12 almonds or 20 peanuts). Within 20 minutes, this can extinguish your craving and dampen your appetite by changing your body chemistry, says Michael F. Roizen, MD. 

Jolt yourself with java. Try sipping a skim latte instead of reaching for a candy bar. The caffeine it contains won't necessarily satisfy your cravings, but it can save you the calories by quenching your appetite, says Dr. Roizen. And the warm richness and ritual can distract you. 

Let it go. Since stress is a huge trigger for cravings, learning to deal with it could potentially save you hundreds of calories a day. This will take some practice. You can try deep breathing or visualizing a serene scene on your own, or you can speed things up by buying one of the many CDs that teach progressive muscle relaxation. A good one isRelaxation/Affirmation Techniques, by Nancy Hopps. 

Take a power nap. Cravings sneak up when we're tired. Focus on the fatigue: Shut the door, close your eyes, re-energize. 

Get minty fresh. Brush your teeth; gargle with mouthwash. "When you have a fresh, clean mouth, you don't want to mess it up," says Molly Gee, RD, of Baylor College ofMedicine in Houston. 

Distract yourself. If only ice cream will do, it's a craving, not hunger. "Cravings typically last ten minutes," says John Foreyt, PhD, of Baylor College of Medicine. Recognize that and divert your mind: Call someone, listen to music, run an errand, meditate or exercise. 

Indulge yourself -- within limits. Once in a while, it's OK to go ahead and have that ice cream. But buy a small cone, not a pint. Try 100-calorie CocoaVia chocolate bars and 100-calorie snack packs of cookies, peanuts or pretzel sticks. The trick is to buy only one pack at a time so you won't be tempted to reach for more. And since even 100 extra calories can sabotage weight loss if you indulge daily, strike a bargain with yourself to work off the excess calories. A brisk 15-minute walk will burn 100 calories or so. 

Plan or avoid. Vary your usual routine to avoid passing the bakery or pizzeria. If you know you'll be face-to-face with irresistible birthday cake, allocate enough calories to fit it into your diet. 
© 2010 The Reader's Digest Association, Inc

Easy Way to Cut Fat & Calories

Here are some culinary "special effects" that you can try to trim some calories and fat. 

Substitute leaner meats for fattier ones, such as white-meat poultry for dark, lean ground turkey for ground beef, or pork tenderloins for ribs. 

Bake or broil instead of frying in oil, which saturated whatever you're cooking, especially if the food is breaded. 

Remove skin from poultry, trim visible fat from meat, and throw out the egg yolks. Why worry about hidden fat when the fat you can see -- and remove -- does most of the harm?

Buy low-fat or sugar-free products. If you haven't recently tried low-fat or fat-free foods (especially cheese), try them again: They've gotten better. If one brand doesn't taste good to you, try another. And you'll always save calories by replacing whole milk with fat-free or using naturally lower-fat cheeses such as mozzarella instead of higher-fat ones such as cheddar. 

Mix higher-fat meats, cheeses, and other foods with lower-fat versions if you don't want to make whole substitutions.

From The Natural Solution to Diabetes