Fitness4Her

Women's Fitness

Pizza in the Morning Breakfast Sandwich

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For those who love pizza in the morning, you will love this breakfast sandwich. It’s quick to make and easy to take.

1 whole grain English muffin
1 tsp pesto
¼ cup low fat feta cheese
½ plum tomato, sliced
¼ cup fresh baby spinach leaves, torn

Directions:

1. Toast English muffin to your desired crispness.
2. Spread pesto onto muffin halves.
3. Divide tomato slices onto muffin halves.
4. Add spinach leaves.
5. Sprinkle each half with feta cheese.
6. Bake in oven until cheese softens or serve cold.

Health Benefits:
Brimming with good for you vitamin rich ingredients. Spinach is an excellent source of iron and Vitamin A, along with pesto, which contains Vitamins A, K and E. Tomato provides the antioxidants you need as well as Vitamins C, K, and A. Feta cheese gives you a portion of protein, but you can add another serving to the sandwich or have an egg white on the side.

Live Healthier With A Fitness Journal

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A healthy diet and regular exercise are essential parts to a healthy lifestyle. To ensure your diet stays on track and you stay motivated to exercise properly, make the commitment to keep a fitness journal. Writing down everything you eat and what exercise you participate in will keep you accountable for what you did today and challenge you to compete for the next level, tomorrow.

Living healthier is on everyone’s minds today. Healthful eating has become a trend that I hope continues. Making healthy choices about what you eat and making conscious decisions about how much you eat can help you to lose weight permanently. The ideal way to lose weight is to change your habits but make the sort of changes that you can live with. It doesn’t do much good to lose weight by depriving yourself, only to gain it back when you start eating normally.

Eat to live, and enjoy your meals. Learn to make substitutions that have fewer fat calories, sodium or sugar. Expand your menu choices and try new foods. Keep your diet exciting; boring foods can lead to diet failure.

A fitness journal will allow you to see what foods and exercise help you to lose weight and maintain a flattering figure. It will also help you determine what behaviors make you gain weight, too. Record your weight and measurements in the beginning and write down your weight and measurements each week of your fitness program. Do you eat more or less on the weeks that you don’t work out? If so, perhaps your body needs more protein to keep you from getting so hungry. Even if you skip your workout, be sure to record everything that you eat.

Choose a fitness journal that is easy for you to use. If possible, keep your fitness journal with you throughout the day. If carrying around a journal is not acceptable, you can always record your food and activity on your phone and then transfer it to your journal when you get home. I stress the act of writing in a journal as a reinforcement to keep you accountable. If you find it easier to keep track of your daily food and exercise in a digital format, do whatever works best for you.

Live healthier by staying active and eating healthy, stay motivated with the help of your fitness journal. It has worked for so many women; I know it will work for you if you just give it a try.

Peaches and Cream

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This dish reminds me of my friend who is a real Georgia Peach, because she is so sweet and has that warm Southern hospitality. Peaches from Georgia are naturally sweet and are the best in the summer months. If you can’t find Georgia peaches, look for peaches from South Carolina. Canned peaches are an acceptable substitute as long as they are packed in their own juices.

1 peach per person
4 ounces fat-free cream cheese
4 ounces low fat vanilla yogurt
1 tsp honey
2 tsp lemon zest

Directions:

1. In a blender, mix cream cheese, vanilla yogurt, and honey until smooth and creamy.
2. Slice peach and place slices in bowl.
3. Spoon cream mixture over peach slices and enjoy.

Health Benefits:
Peaches provide a bite of beta carotene, potassium, flavonoids and fiber. Rich in Vitamin A and low in calories, peaches complement this dish both in appearance and taste. Yogurt is a great source of calcium, is low in saturated fat, low in calories and the whole dish is low in cholesterol and sodium.

Stop Procrastinating and Start Living

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If you are waiting until you lose weight to before you join the gym, stop procrastinating and start living your life. Just because you think you look fat in your workout clothes, do not let that stop you from going to exercise. You know you want to exercise, you know you want to work your body, it’s time you gave yourself permission to move forward and stop procrastinating.

Procrastination is the act or habit of putting off or delaying a task that you need to do. Sometimes, procrastination can work in your favor. There are times, when waiting or putting off a duty can have positive results. However, when the task you need to do has to do with living your life, then it is time to stop procrastinating. Especially if the reason for procrastination has nothing to do with the difficulty of the task but more about your perception of yourself, it is definitely time to start living your life.

The problem with waiting until you look better to start exercising is that without exercise, you may never get to the point of liking the way you look. And exercise, with or without weight loss, is very beneficial to your health. Not only does exercise help you lose weight, it will reshape your body and make every area of your figure look better. As muscles develop they sculpt the shape of your body to give it a lean cut-in look. Let’s face it, muscle makes you look slimmer, fat just looks like fat, no matter how much you weigh.

Once you conquer the urge to put off going to the gym, make a definite schedule to keep yourself on track. Don’t stray from your plan; make your workouts as important as any other part of your healthy life plan. Just as you always find time for eating and working, make time to get out and exercise. It’s important, just make sure your mind realizes that your body really needs it.

The truth is your brain benefits from exercise too. The endorphins that are released during exercise should be enough to keep your mind trained to work out, but the brain is lazy and as usual will always search out the easiest path to follow. Therefore it is up to you, you must take control of the way you perceive your health and your life. Don’t let anything stand in your way, stop procrastinating, stop putting everything else before your health. Make fitness a priority and start living your life to the fullest.

Pot Roast with Baked Sweet Potatoes

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I got this recipe from a family gathering a few years ago. I’ve made a few changes to it and it tastes oh so delicious. I wanted to share it with all of you because it’s not only tasty—it’s nutritious too.

1 (4 lb.) lean boneless rump roast
1 tsp. dried whole rosemary, crushed
1/2 tsp garlic powder, cooking spray “Pam”
1 small onion, cut up
1 tsp low sodium beef bouillon granules
1 cup hot water
4 large baking sweet potatoes

Directions:

1. Trim fat from roast.
2. Clean sweet potatoes with water.
3. Bake at 350 degree 1 hour.
4. In a roasting pan combine roast, rub rosemary, garlic powder, rub on entire surface.
5. Coat with Pam.
6. Add roast, place onion slices on roast.
7. Combine bouillon granules and water, pour over roast.
8. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 2-1/2 hours or until tender.
9. Serve with yummy applesauce. Perfect combination.

Health Benefits:
Lean beef contains a healthy percentage of protein per serving. A great way to add that all so important iron to your body, lean beef is relatively low in calories, especially when it is served in its own juices and not covered in thick gravies. Rosemary is a natural anti-inflammatory that stimulates the immune system and aids in digestion. Sweet potatoes are full of beta carotene and a flavorful source of fiber. This meal is low fat, low in cholesterol and low in sodium.