Want to lose stubborn weight? Show your bod who's boss!

I wrote Expedition: Eat ! because no one should struggle with losing weight.

For years I tried to get fit and hated myself for failing. Making things even worse, I felt responsible for my husband and baby girl's weight problems too.

Being lectured by my daughter's pediatrician was mortifying. My health was declining, my husband had terrible gastric reflux and nothing we tried worked.

Then I figured out how to show my body who's really in charge! Without denying favorite foods and without starving, this system transformed my whole family. I lost 70 lbs, my hubbie lost 50 lbs and my daughter is a healthy size for her height. The weight has not come back for any of us.

Expedition: Eat ! is a fool proof method to make your body and brain do what you want them to do. It really works. Check out my before and after shots...

Buy the book and change your life. Get it today. Click the link or go to Amazon.com and type "Expedition Eat" in the search bar.

Follow the expedition on Twitter and Facebook. Post your transformation pics during your weight loss journey. Road trips are always better with friends.

-Dina

Staying Motivated: Mud Runs

It's obstacle course race season again! This year I've been in the Zombie Mud Run, Rugged Maniac, MudManX and this Saturday is Warrior Dash. Please enjoy this replay of a post from last year on staying motivated to keep running, climbing, jumping and moving.

Stay strong.


Lose weight: check!

Get fit: check!

Now what?!

How do I stay motivated to keep the habits that lead to a 70 lb weight loss and improved my immune system?

Wish I could say feeling great and looking good are enough. But sadly, no - I find it's very easy to backslide into old habits.

When I look back at what worked during the 14 month transformation, it's obvious that playing to my personality was a main factor. As a goal oriented type A, I worked hard to achieve nutrition and fitness metrics. It makes sense that if I want to continue to be healthy, I need to set some more goals. Time to push some boundaries.

Growing up I was not considered the athletic sibling. That was my sister - who was not afraid of anything. And she was generally pretty darned good at anything she tried. What if I didn't have to be the non athletic sibling? What if I could be any damned thing I wanted to be?

As I struggled with how to maintain the improvements, I saw a Groupon for the Survival Race. It was a mud run - a 5K timed obstacle course with mud. Running. Climbing. Swimming. Carrying sandbags. Hurdles. Not anything I've ever done or anyone could imagine me doing.


But I had set a goal to push myself. And this certainly counted. It must be on a weekend I have to work, right? Nope! Must be expensive? Nope! Must be happening too soon to properly train, right? Nope! 2 months was plenty of time and I was out of excuses so I bought the Groupon and signed up for the race.

Knowing it was coming up supercharged my enthusiasm for working out and eating right. It also made me find different workouts that would get me ready fo the obstacles. I would have never been able to do pull-ups or monkey bars if I wasn't trying to increase my upper body strength.

I was 42 at the time and my goal was only to finish and not punk out on any of the obstacles. It was crazy fun and finishing in the top 16% of all participants was a rush. I signed up for 2 other mud runs:, MudManX: Beach Bash N Dash and the Zombie Mud Run: East Windsor, NJ


MudManX had some issues with their first beach event, a bunch of the obstacles couldn't be used and running in the sand without something to break it up gets old fast. My performance resorted to a run-run, trudge-trudge, run-run cycle. But there were still good times to be had after the race took to the streets.


Oh, but the Zombie Mud Run...so much fun. Probably because I'm such a horror geek. Tough obstacles, great course (at the Fields of Terror, East Windsor NJ) and very nice observation area for my hubby and daughter complete with bonfire (it was on Nov 8). Runners needed to finish with one flag football flag still attached to have "survived". I did not and was "infected". But still had a muddy good time.


Right now, I'm planning what runs I'll be in next year because the earlier you register, the cheaper the signup cost. And that will keep me working my butt out throughout the winter, because I want to do even bigger and badder runs next year.

Find out what works for you and your personality. When something new sparks enthusiasm it makes staying fit an adventure that ensures ongoing success. You might be surprised what you can do if you try.

-DK

Did I really just publish a weight loss book?

I lost a lot of weight a few years back and everyone asks how I did it. In hallways, on the street, in passing at work...as hard as I tried, I couldn't come up with a 1 minute elevator speech that explained it. There was too much to it.

And there is so much mis-information about weight loss and fitness in the media that I feel bad for folks who are really trying to take care of themselves and can't lose weight permanently.

So, I wrote this book...that way I can tell people to download it from Amazon if they want to lose weight forever like I did. Safely, permanently and without fad diets, expensive food/supplements or feeling hungry all the time.

My style is very NJ and I've got a thing about honesty so I'm apt to cheese off some folks who won't like what I have to say. Oh well, maybe they shouldn't be telling people fibs just to make money on their weight loss products. It's a mean thing to do...the diets and products don't work and they know it. They convince folks who really are trying to get fit to spend money and then the customers think they didn't follow the plan right when the weight doesn't come off or comes back.

For a very brief overview, check out my previous post on How to lose 70 pounds forever . Hopefully, I can use this book to spread a little truth and help folks figure out what works best for them.

-DK

Guest Post: Tips for Fighting Hunger at the Airport

Time for some holiday survival tips! Although it's fine to enjoy a holiday meal to its fullest, we don't want to detour too far from our healthy path. This is especially true when it comes to travelling. Our regular routines are tossed out the window and we feel like we're at the mercy of whatever is easiest to eat while we try to get to our destinations.

Cole Millen of Cole's Mill has some great advice on how to do it right. Take it away, Cole....

Tips for Fighting Hunger at the Airport

As those watching their weight know, airports can be traps. Because airports are filled with unhealthy restaurants, it can be tempting to spend a bit of time eating a calorie-rich but unhealthy meal. It is important to be proactive, and a bit of effort can help you make it through the airport without giving in to temptation. Here are a few tips.

Stay Hydrated

When people feel thirsty, they often grab a soda or high-calorie coffee drink. In addition, it can be difficult to resist the urge to buy food while getting a drink. Unfortunately, drinks cannot be taken through airport security, so your options are limited after you arrive. Drink plenty beforehand, and try to have enough that you won't feel tempted to purchase a drink while waiting. Even if it means an extra trip to the bathroom, extra hydration can help you make it on board without an additional meal.

And Meals to Your Plan

When people travel, they often make a list of the day's activities. However, many fail to account for meals. When making your travel itinerary, write in some extra time for having a meal before heading out. You'll also want to bring along some snacks as doing so can help you stay comfortable while dealing with security and waiting for your flight to begin loading.

Avoid Especially Bad Foods

While knowing which meals to eat is important, it may be even more important to know which meals to avoid. Airports are filled with terrible options, and eating them can cause acid reflux and other problems, which can make travel even more unpleasant. Avoid cinnamon rolls and drinks with too much caffeine. Fried foods should be avoided as well. You may also want to avoid drinking soda, which is loaded with calories and sugar.

Research, Research, Research

The best way to avoid eating excessively the airport is to perform extensive research before leaving. This knowledge is helpful in general, but it is especially important when waiting for a flight. Not only should you read about the food within the airport but in the city as well. You never know when your flight will be cancelled and you’ll be stranded so it is important to prepare for the worst. I got stuck over night in Las Vegas a couple months back that could have led to a dietary disaster. Fortunately, I found a great site where I could do some quick research and book a hotel with a healthy restaurant, allowing me to avoid the deadly buffets.

 Learn about what meals each restaurant offers, and try to find information online about their ingredients and calorie loads. In addition, some knowledge about different types of restaurants can help. For example, Mexican restaurants generally offer a number of healthy options. Chinese restaurants, on the other hand, tend to offer fewer healthy choices. Also, keep an eye out for restaurants that market themselves as healthy; they can become go-to options for those who travel regularly.

The wide range of dining options available at most airports indicates that travelers frequently eat between flights. Travelers have a natural tendency to use them as ways to pass some time before departing. However, they also make it incredibly easy to wreck your diet each time you travel. By taking some time to prepare before heading out, you can ensure that you remain healthy no matter how frequently you travel.

Thank you, Cole! Excellent advice - and I'd like to add my own 2 cents....keep movin'! Waiting for a flight or a layover doesn't mean we have to plant our rears in a plastic chair and watch cat videos on our phones. Sitting is eeeevvvviiiillll! Get up, walk around, do some jumping jacks or use the edge of the chair to do tricept dips. I've gotten full workouts in while waiting around for different reasons. Don't worry about what others in the airport think of you. Your health is more important than the random thoughts of strangers. Repeat after me: "what other people think of me is none of my business." Freeing, isn't it?

-DK

Life Begins After 40!

On January 1st of 2011, I was 40 years old and clinically obese. I set a goal to achieve a healthy weight and BMI by February 2012. NY resolutions are not a way to make sure something is absolutely gonna happen and this absolutely needed to happen. Resolutions seem predestined to fail within 8 weeks of being made, but a goal...carries more weight (ha!). Plus not completing a goal is not in my vocabulary.

The weight came off, fitness level increased...life was perfect, right? Not exactly. I maintained the loss without a problem from Feb 2012 to November. Then gained about 5 pounds over the holidays which came right off by Feb 2013. No biggie. But I realized I was getting complacent. How was I going to stay motivated to keep up the healthy habits? Same way I lost the weight without losing muscle to begin with: determine a goal and work to meet it. What could I do that was something new and exciting? Something I've never done before? Well, against all reason, in Feb 2013 I set a goal to be fit enough to participate in a mud run by summer 2013. Then I reviewed my goal every week without actually doing a damned thing about it. Just kept exercising and eating for maintenance without worrying about this crazy thing I had put on a goal list.

Then in March a Groupon came across my iPhone for the Survival Race. Working every other weekend means this mud run nonsense would be occurring when I couldn't attend, right? Nope - it was on my weekend off and far enough off I'd have pleeeeenty of time to train for it. Crap. Well, surely it was too expensive, right? Nope - Groupon was only $65 and came with a free ticket for Great Adventure. And my husband and I had just talked about taking our daughter to GA this summer anyway so I'd be saving on purchasing my ticket. Absolutely no reason not to purchase the Groupon and sign up. So I did.

For the next 3 months I did the Couch to 5K program, found a nature preserve by my house to run 5Ks in terrain and lifted many heavy weights. I was concerned about cargo nets, heights, climbing, etc. Public parks have nets, monkey bars, rings and trails - I used them all repeatedly. Found a great core workout in a magazine and by the end of those 12 weeks, I could see my abs! That has never happened before. All of this activity took no more time than my usual workout routine, since old stale workouts were traded for the new ones geared toward the event.

Growing up I was not considered the athletic one. But at 42 years old I completed the mud run in 45 minutes, placing 254 out of 1582 participants. That put me in the top 16%! How the hell did that happen? For women in my age group (40-44) I came in 7 out of 80. Whaaaat?!

The sense of accomplishment is just fantastic. Less than 3 years ago I was laying on the couch, pumped up on Prednisone just to breathe and missing work. The high amount of fat had depressed my immune system causing horrible bronchitis. Now I can do this crazy mud run thing.  If you are reading this blog and want to change your weight/fitness, you CAN do it. Hell, if I can do it, anyone can.



Set goals. Drink water. Eat 5-6 times a day. Eat lots of veggies. Lift weights. Don't sit a lot. Read this blog (shameless plug alert!). Let's show the world what women can do. Especially once we turn 40. We are awesome.

-DK

Lose Fat While At Work

Food is glorious and it's BBQ season. Even training for a mud run, I still managed to sneak on a coupla pounds. My scale tells me I gained muscle, which rocks. But I do wish I had lost some fat in from the backs of thighs - that jiggly junk is hanging on for dear life. However, I can do 25 pushups in a row and swing my way through all the monkey bars at my daughter's school.

It boils down to my daily calories. They've been a touch over cause of all the wonderful food lately. The Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble was gone in 2 days flat and I'm the only one in the house that likes rhubarb. Again though 2 pounds of muscle is crazy! And muscle burns more calories than fat so I'm taking this as a win.

Our bodies need to be in a slight calorie excess to build muscle. That's why it's almost, but not completely, impossible to build muscle while losing weight. Gotta lift a bunch of heavy stuff on a very regular basis to keep your body from breaking down muscle while losing weight. This means you too ladies! Then when the fat is gone, those abs are ready to be shown off. I never saw my abs before now even when I was thin and in my 20's - cause I was a cardio queen. Wisdom comes with age. *nods wisely*

I plan on keeping these 2 pounds of muscle but still want the thighs gone. To that end I'll keep lifting muy heavy weights. But I'm gonna go back on the eating plan and burn a bit more calories every day. Doing a bunch of cardio takes too much time for this busy mom so I installed a treadmill desk at home and set up a standing workstation at work. My boss is gonna plotz on Monday when he sees this. It was a ask - for - forgiveness - not - permission kinda thing.

Several of my newer employees thought I had lost my mind. (The ones who have been with me for the long haul are used to me by now.) But once I explained I had lost 70 pounds and needed to keep it off - the look of "boss is nutz" was all replaced with "please tell me how you did it!" Yeah. That's more like it.

It boils down to doing what you need to do to get the job done and to hell with what people think of you. In the long run, your impressive outcomes are going to make people want to be like you. Doing what everyone else does will get you where they are. Considering there's an obesity epidemic, I don't want to be like everyone else.

Like the treadmill desk, the standing workstation took less than 1/2 hour to put together. It was done during a web based virtual diversity training that I needed to take before the end of my company's fiscal year. Just let the training run on the computer run while I moved stuff around my desk and figured it out. Once the training was done, it took 2 minutes to unplug everything, put it in it's final spot and plug it all back up so the cords weren't in the way. Cost was nothing because the milk crates were just laying around anyway.

So, how do you plan to torment your boss with fitness?

-DK

Sexy Summer Salad

This sweet and savory little number has it all. Crunchy nuts, softly roasted root veggies, snappy greens, sweet cherries and a salty kiss of feta. Don't blame me if you fall in love after the first bite.

2 T Walnuts, chopped
1 C Hakurei Turnips, peeled, cut into half moons
6 ea Baby Carrots, sliced longways
1 T Walnut Oil, divided
Pinch each kosher salt, onion powder, garlic powder, cracked black pepper
2 C Turnip Greens, washed, chopped
9 ea Cherries, fresh, pitted, quartered
2 T Feta Cheese, crumbled
1 t Balsamic Vinegar
Salt and Pepper to taste (I used Pink Himalayan Salt from Trader Joe's)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Spread walnuts out in a single layer on a baking sheet and toast util medium brown. They burn quickly - as soon as you can smell them they are usually just about ready. Set aside to cool.

In a medium mixing bowl, toss turnips and carrots with 1/2 tablespoon of walnut oil. Add kosher salt, onion & garlic powders and cracked black pepper. Toss to evenly distribute the seasonings. Spread turnip and carrot mixture in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast at 400 degrees until the vegetables start to brown on the edges and are tender. Set aside to cool.

Once the walnuts and vegetables are room temperature put them both in a mixing bowl. Add turnip greens and cherries then toss to evenly combine everything.

Add feta, reserved walnut oil, balsamic and salt/pepper. Carefully and gently mix everything together.

Makes one entree sized portion, two side salad portions or 4 something healthier instead of chips with a sandwich portions.

Nutrition info is for the entree portion, cut numbers in half for the side salads; divide by 4 for the sandwich platter portions:

Calories: 472
Fat: 32g
Sat Fat: 7g
Poly Fat: 17g
Mono Fat: 4g
Trans Fat: 0g
Protein: 17g
Carbs: 43g
Fiber 13g

How to lose 70 pounds forever

After gaining weight slowly over the years, I tried doing what I did when I was younger to lose weight. I did a lot of cardio - which achieved nothing now that I was in my late 30s. After a few years of trying this unsuccessfully, I had put on even more weight which caused recurring bouts of bronchitis so severe I was incapacitated. Not to mention the abject distain I felt when looking in the mirror. At 5'4" and almost 190 pounds, I was almost wider than I was tall...

My degree is in clinical dietetics and I held multiple certifications in the field. How could I be in this situation? Was I stupid? Lazy? Neither was true so I used my knowledge of clinical dietetics as a starting point and began my quest to find out exactly what needs to happen to achieve weight loss permanently.

Turns out almost all the information and lifestyle we are surrounded by is WRONG! Here's some examples...

3 squares a day - great way to gain weight
Cut down on snacks - pack on the pounds
Give up your favorite food - recipe for disaster
Eating low calorie - great way to make sure we stay fat forever

Many weight loss plans reduce calories by 500 to 1000 calories a day to lose weight. But doing that is a guarantee we lose muscle instead of fat which will lead to the weight coming back on.

Going on a diet means someday going off the diet. Once we start eating the same way we used to, the weight comes back and is even harder to lose. Any diet plan that actually puts you on a diet is lying to you. They want you to fail so they keep you coming back.

Running healthcare kitchens for over a decade has taught me to systemize anything to achieve maximum performance with minimum input. Using the information I learned combined with my systemization technique produced amazing results...

70 pounds of fat lost in a year and a half! 
And it's still gone!

I lost weight without going on a diet, buying expensive tasteless foods or taking weird supplements. (Who knows what's really in those diet pills?) Eating more frequently and understanding how much water, activity and nutrition my body personally needs got me where I wanted to be.

Many plans preach insane amounts of water but my body only need 7 cups a day. The weight came off (and stays off) eating 50% carbs, 20% protein and 30% fat. I still like to bake and continue to take my coffee with half and half so I don't give up out of self depravation.

Activity is not hours of cardio but is a balance of cardio and some weight training. And making sure I don't sit on my keister for too long at work without moving. Same at home - can't spend too much time blogging without some movement.

It's about understanding the needs of our individual bodies and eating to meet those needs. Losing weight really is all about the food.

-DK