Tuck in Your Shirt

Did anybody ever tell you to tuck in your shirt? Well I hope you listened to that very wise advice.  I recently came across a picture on pinterest that led me to this blog.  She suggested tucking shirts into skirts or jeans and admire the instant silhouette created. So...I tried it. I can't believe the difference it makes in portraying the shape of my body.

Surprise! I have a waist.  I feel like it makes my legs look longer and my hips smaller. I get more of the desired hourglass shape rather than a pear shape. My skirt has a black elastic band so I added a belt to hide that and break up my torso from my legs. So I will now preach to tuck in your shirt!

Shirt:American Eagle Outfitters (c/o Mom's closet)

Cardigan and belt: I can't remember, I've had them for so long.

Skirt: Walmart (c/o sister)

Nylons: H&M (I love nylons, thank you Kate Middleton for making them somewhat less elderly)

Shoes: DSW

Caution: When someone you love is on Take Shape for Life your clothes may begin to disappear as none of their clothes fit them anymore :)

A Surprising Discovery

Honestly, I started the Take Shape for Life program because I wanted to be the “Hot Mom”.  In some ways, I suppose I’m still that insecure high-school sophomore,( or junior, or senior) :) girl still trying to figure out me and my life purpose.  So I searched and watched tutorials and paid a lot of money to figure a few things out.  I still have a lot to figure out and many of these thoughts have only occurred to me as I type this post.  I’ve colored my hair for almost 15 years, I’ve gotten a spray tan, I recently got acrylic nails and embarked on a very expensive make-up journey, all in the pursuit to feel good about my appearance and ultimately, myself.  Of course I’m not saying that doing any, or all, of these things is bad, but I had all the wrong reasons.  I still thought my worth lied in how I look, and trying desperately to not look like me.  Do I still love make-up? You bet.  Will I still get mani/pedis? Of course! However, as I have lost the weight I’m finding that I feel better.  I’m healthier, my body gets so much more of the nutrients it needs and not all the sugar and emptiness I was feeding myself before. And with that feeling better, I like me.  I have learned to embrace so many of the aspects that I loathed before. I no longer have “man-hands”, I just have “hands” and I’m so grateful for them.  I no longer dread my roots growing out, because I’m going back to my own hair color.   I even went out in public in flip-flops without a pedicure!!  So, why lose weight? To look great in a white bikini (my ultimate swim-suit dream)? No.  To give my body a fighting chance at allowing me to enjoy me and the life that I am meant to live without always yearning to live the life of another? Yes!

Enjoying Tara,

Tara

Eating Out...Gasp!

Can you eat at a restaurant and still achieve optimal health? Of course!  I love eating out.  I don’t have to cook, clean, or worry if anybody will like the meal I poured my heart and soul into making.  However….eating out often equals eating calories, calories, and more calories!  But it doesn’t have to.  Last night my husband took us all out to Olive Garden, the ultimate place of sin when you’re on a diet, or is it?  Let’s take a look at how I did.  What I used to order: raspberry lemonade (110cal) maybe 3 or 4 breadsticks (140 cal each) with alfredo dipping sauce (460cal), chicken fetticine alfredo pasta(1440 CAL!!!), with salad and dressing (150 cal). THAT IS A TOTAL OF 2,580 calories!  Even if I ate half of my meal I’m still consuming 1,290 calories in one meal.  Well last night I ordered: water (0 cal), salad with out dressing (60 cal), and from their lighter menu, the seafood brodetto (480 cal). For a grand total of : 540 calories.  Still quite high for one meal, but you can eat a whole plate and not completely kill your waistline.  So my tips for eating out for Optimal health for the rest of your life:

•  Say NO to the bread.  You don’t have to even let them put that free bread on your table. There’s almost no nutritional value and it’s loaded with calories, not worth it!
•   Drink water, you can add a lemon for flavor, or a diet drink
•   Skip the appetizer
•   Salad dressing on the side or not at all
•   Most restaurants these days have a lighter menu to order from so try to find something that most closely matches a “lean and green” meal
•   Never order anything fried! Always baked or grilled
•   Skip dessert and eat your delicious Medifast brownie when you get home
• If you have some time ahead you can always look up the nutritional facts online and plan your meal before you go to the restaurant so you are less tempted by the higher calorie, higher fat choices.

And that is how the weight will stay off just by adopting a few life-long healthy habits you can still enjoy eating out without the calories.

Happy dining,

Tara

Toast Your Nuts.

Do it, just do it.  Nuts provide a wonderful source of protein, good fat, and vegans can eat them!  Almonds, walnuts and pistachios are an optional snack on Take Shape for Life.  So for those days when you have the munchies or just want to eat something, you can eat nuts.  But for goodness sake toast them!  Just throw them on a cookie sheet in a pre-heated 350* oven  for around 15 minutes.  Delicious!  I also toast walnuts, pine-nuts; really just any kind of nut should be toasted! I hope this tip changed your life, because once I started toasting my nuts, it changed mine.
Happy toasting,
Tara

Motivation

"Changing our emphasis from what we're against to what we're for can have a dramatic impact."

Dr. A's Habits of Health:The Path to Permanent Weight Control and Optimal Health by Dr. Wayne Scott Anderson

Motivation and weight loss go hand-in-hand.  In "Dr. A's Habits of Health" found here, he mentions that often our weight loss goals are based on problem solving, or something in our life that we want to change through weight loss.   Illness, over weight, lack of energy, etc. initially motivate us to lose weight.  However, when that is your focus, once those "symptoms" are gone, you essentially return to your old habits.  Instead, we should focus on what we want, optimal health for example.  Optimal health means something different to each individual.  For some it may mean to run a 5k, to another a marathon.  Figure out what optimal health means to you and focus on what you want!  The positive thinking can make all the difference because you won't stop until you have what you want.  You're more likely to stay at how you want, once you've reached it, and not yo-yo back to how you were before.  I want to have a fighting chance at keeping up with my kids.  They have so much energy!  I want to love my body and appreciate it working at it's best.  I want to always feel comfortable to take my kids to the pool in the summer and not have to hide.  Mostly, I want to eventually stop worrying about weight and image and enjoy food to energize and fuel my body.  I want to pass on to my daughter a positive image about her body, food and how to enjoy this precious, often too-short, life.

Friendship

source

Friendship.  Relationships make up life.  In critical points of our lives, friends often times make all the difference between success and failure.  Especially when trying to change your life.  Weight loss is difficult when attempted alone.  On the Take Shape for Life program you always have a friend.  That friend is your health coach.  I decided to become a health coach because I wanted to help people change their lives, more specifically, I wanted to help one of MY friends change her life.   I want to support them through their weight loss journey.  To share the successes and the fall backs.  If you have a bad day on the plan, I want to help pick you up, dust you off, and walk with you to a good day.  So to start off my blog and journey of being a health coach for Take Shape for Life, I share this tip:

make your health coach your friend.

Your friend,

 Tara