The Water Bar

Start with Flat Water or Sparkling Water

You can add in any of the following to make a yummy water cocktail:

• Lemon Wedge
• Lime Wedge
• Orange Slice
• Strawberry Slices 
• Kiwi Slices
• Cucumber Slices
• Frozen Grapes
• Watermelon Cubes
• Dash of fruit juice, cranberry, orange, grapefruit
• Mint Leaves
• Basil
• Grated Ginger
• Rosemary
• Crushed Ice
• Ice Cubes Raspberry mint ice

"I have no Motivation" Excuse!

No two people are motivated by exactly the same things. Some of us are internally motivated, some need an inspiring story or person to help motivate them. No person can be pushed to be motivated because if motivation doesn't come from you genuinely, you will fail.

My advice: remember a time when you worked out and how GREAT you felt afterwards, or remember a meal you had where you ate to much and felt yucky, most of all REMEMBER WHY you want to be healthy and lose/gain weight! You can do this! 

Check out fb.com/gerberfitness for some other motivation tips and success stories!

Saying you're too overweight to exercise is like saying you're too skinny to eat.

    Your body needs exercise just the way your body needs food. No matter how overweight you are, you can do something to start the process of losing fat, strengthening your bones, and relieving your joints of the load that they're carrying.
    Start small: Walk 5 minutes day, and increase by 1 or 2 minutes every few days. Soon, you'll be fit enough to walk an hour a day. You can even start small with resistance training. Doing simple exercises with soup cans or books will stimulate your muscles in new ways-and begin the process of kick-starting your metabolism so your body can burn fat.

If you want to live longer, start today. Your family-and your younger body-will thank you.

Time Management....

This is by far one of the hardest parts of my day! I struggle to stay on task. In my mind if I can do 10 things at one time then I'm getting more out of my time. Right!....
WRONG!
Multitasking doesn't make us as productive as we think! Our quality of work actually decreases and it can actually be wasting time instead of creating new time.
The simple reason multitasking doesn't work is because we can't actually focus on more then one thing at a time, our mind just thinks we can!

So imagine you are on the phone with someone and you are following up with a question from customer at the same time. Both of these tasks take communication, you can't talk to someone and write a focused well explained email at the same time, it's to conflicting. Your mind will get overloaded at this point. Now say you are writing an email and listening to someone at the same time. This task is a bit easier, but the person you are listening to will fade in and out. You simply can't focus on both tasks at once.

Another downside is the stress levels of dealing with multiple things at once. You feel overwhelmed  drained, and under appreciated. At the end of the day you don't feel like you really accomplished anything.

How do you stop multitasking??? Here are some ideas "m trying out to help me improve my time management skills:

• Plan your day in blocks. Set time aside for phone calls, emails, cleaning, etc...
• Keep a journal of what interrupts you the most. After one week look over your data and adjust what you need to in order to limit or take away these interruptions.
• Learn to focus on ONE task at a time. If you find your mind wondering take a 15 second break, breath and tell yourself "I'm in this meeting I need to focus on what I'm learning here!"

This is only a very small piece of time management! I hope this helps you have a more successful day!

Looking for a sweet treat for Halloween without the guilt??

How about a Healthy Shake that tastes like a Reese Cup??


1 scoop Chocolate Shakeology
1 cup of Unsweetened Almond milk (or skim milk)
1 tsp Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
2 Tbsp of PB2 (or 1 Tbsp of natural Peanut Butter)
1/8 tsp of vanilla extract
Ice to taste

Mix in a blender of 1 minute and ENJOY!

learn more at http://www.shakeology.com/agerber

Fluffy, Tender Denver Omelet

Serves 2

1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp olive oil
1/2 c finely chopped red onion
1/2 c finely chopped red bell pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 oz of chopped ham or turkey bacon (about 3 TBSP)
2 large eggs,
3 large egg whites
1 Tbsp chopped parsley leaves

Add 1 tsp olive oil to cast iron skillet, add onion, bell pepper, and salt and pepper. Cook about 5 minutes. Stir in the ham and cook until heated through. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and wipe out the skillet.
Preheat broiler to low. Lightly beat the eggs together. Heat the remaining 1 Tbsp olive oil, swirl in pan to insure it is fully coated up to 1/2 inch on the sides as well. Add the eggs and onion mixture and mix the ingredients. Cook for 2 minutes (or until the bottom is set). Place the pan under the broiler and cook until firm on top (about 1 minute). Let is stand 1 minute. Slice into 4 wedges and serve. Sprinkle parsley on top.

Calories: 233
Fat: 15g
Protein: 14
Carbs: 8.6

Warm to your soul Chili!

Chili is one of the dishes that actually is fun to make and healthy to eat. I love trying different ways to make Chili!  Spice it up, or substitute your favorite lean meat or textured vegetable protein. Experiment with different beans and legumes. It's also great for using up those soon to spoil veggies.  Try to avoid certain popular mix-ins like cheese and sour cream that add more fat than flavor. 

1 lb. ground chicken/turkey, extra-lean (or make it without meat and use buglur wheat)

1 large onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 bell pepper, chopped

2 stalks of celery, chopped

28 oz of fresh tomatoes diced

2 tbsp of tomato paste

1 bay leaf

12 oz of fresh tomato juice

2 cans (15 oz.) black beans or tri colored beans, rinsed

2 tsp. chili powder (or more to taste)

Salt and pepper to taste

In a large saucepan, brown ground turkey. Spoon out any excess fat. Add onion, garlic, celery, and pepper,  and sauté until veggies about 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and simmer at least 30 minutes. The longer it's cooked the better! Can be served immediately (although leftovers are great, too). Serve with hot sauce to taste. Serves 4.

Who doesn't love pumpkin in the fall!

Did you know that pumpkin is an extremely good source of vitamins A and C, essential for maintaining good eyesight and a healthy immune system, high in potassium, manganese, copper and one of the B vitamins, riboflavin, considerable amounts of magnesium, phosphorus, iron, folate, vitamins E and B6, niacin, thiamin and pantothenic acid — and is low in salt, cholesterol and saturated fat.

http://www.thegraciouspantry.com/clean-eating-pumpkin-quesadilla/

3 Benefits of Honey vs Sugar

Remember Honey and Sugar have almost the same calories in them. So when you think why change to honey if I'm adding the same calories...this is why! I hope this helps you make the better choice!

1. Sugar is made up of two molecules bonded together, when we eat sugar our body has to use it's own enzymes to break down the sugar before we can use the sugar's energy.
The bees add a special enzyme to the nectar to make the honey into two simple sugars which our body can adsorb directly. So the Glycemic Index of the honey is less, which is better for our blood sugar levels!

2. Table Sugar lacks vitamins and minerals, so your body has to use it's nutrients to metabolize the sugar. Which is why eating to much sugar for long periods of time can cause malnutrition.
Honey Contains natural vitamins and minerals which helps your body absorb the bad cholesterol.

3. Honey also have antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, which sugar does not.

So what are you going to do today?

Did you know exercise boosts brain power? Exercise increases energy levels and increases serotonin in the brain, which leads to improved mental clarity. All that makes for a more productive day. Improved productivity not only makes you a better worker, it makes things better for everyone in the workplace. Companies with less wasted work hours and less sick time end up with lower health care costs -- and an improved bottom line.

Veggie Chicken Burger

So one day I was trying to use some of my "end of the road" veggies up, and I came up with this awesome recipe that my family and I love! Let me know how you like it!


1 pound of lean ground Chicken
1/4 to 1/2 of very small chopped avocado
1/2 of a large sweet red pepper chopped very small
1/4 of a large red onion chopped very small
1 to 2 tbsp of olive oil
1 to 2 tsp of seasoning salt

Mix and patty up the Chicken into 4 4oz patties, cook on the grill until done, serve on romaine lettuce or with  whole wheat hamburger buns. Add light cheese and whatever you LOVE on your burger! ENJOY!

How often do you have your "treat" ??

So I learned a hard lesson this past week. I restrain myself and my family and we eat so perfect for a good 4 weeks....so I've taught my family that they don't need the willpower I have it for them, but when all my willpower is gone no one is there to help me fight against my cravings. So I fall down...and I fall hard! So after way to much Ice Cream and a few to many s'mores I have come to realize I need to "treat" myself a little more often and not take so much control of how my family eats. If they slip, I can't use all my energy talking them down. Hard lesson, but I'm glad I've learned it! I see the next 4 weeks being much more productive and a lot less stressful! What are you learning on your journey?

Do you love fries??? Me too...try these

http://www.thegraciouspantry.com/clean-eating-curry-parsnip-fries/

Morning, Noon, or Night?

In my perfect world I would wake up at 5:00 am and eat a small breakfast...clean the house for 30 minutes and then do my workout! I would shower and be ready to start my day! (daydream)
Oh sorry back to reality! I have two kids, one is a baby and one is in First Grade and I homeschool her....so my world is NOT even close to perfect...But I do schedule my workouts!
I workout around noon time! When my son is sleeping! It makes my day start very late but I ALWAYS schedule my workout time in! Just like I would an appointment! If someone asks hey can you call around noon...nope, sorry I have myself scheduled for that time to be doing something else!
You are more likely to do your workout if it's on your calendar then leaving it to chance! So I ask...do you workout morning, noon, or night? Are you scheduling it?
Happy Workouts!

5 Breakfast Ideas for Busy Lifestyles

It's hard to eat healthy when you have a busy lifestyle! Breakfast is so important! After you have fasted through the night your body will be glad to have a healthy meal!

Oats: Many varieties! (rolled oats, steel cut oats, etc...) A quick cook oat will save you lots of time! You can add nuts, fruit, cinnamon, vanilla extract, nut butter, honey or whatever you want!

Quinoa: Great source of protein! It's similar to oats, you can add whatever you want!

Fresh Fruit: A fruit salad is a great breakfast! Be creative try new things!

Eggs: You can do anything with eggs! Make a sandwich, add spices, and veggies...endless ideas!

Shakeology Shake: Shakeology is by far the quickest healthiest breakfast you can have! It's very filling! You can add anything to it! I love almond milk and a tbsp of PB2! Lots of ice! Yummy! (let me know if you want more info on Shakeology!)

Enjoy your breakfast! Find something that works for you and stick to it!

Love being in a Good Mood!

So what are you waiting for?? That's is what I'm telling myself now! Going to do my workout right now! Join me!

Clean, Comfort Chicken Dumplings! At about 145 calories a serving!!!

http://www.thegraciouspantry.com/clean-eating-chicken-dumplings/

Polar FT4! This is on my Christmas list!!!

Do you use a heart rate monitor to tell you how many calories you burn? If so, what are you using? Do you love it?

Quinoa and Black Bean Lettuce Wraps

                                                

http://keepyourdietreal.com/food/appetizerssnacks/quinoa-and-black-bean-lettuce-wraps/

So what are you made of?