Caridad Pineiro® Romance Author
NY Times & USA Today Bestselling Romance Author
Something funny this Friday to get the weekend off to a good start! Thanks to my good friend, Gail Freeman, for sharing this very funny parody! Click here if you can’t see the Adele Hello Parody below.
Hope you have an awesome weekend! See you Monday!
I love Pinterest, although I haven’t been pinning that much lately. I’ve just been too busy with work and the holidays. But I have been keeping up with my goals to be more fit. In fact, yesterday I hit the 35 pounds lost mark. I had hoped for it to be 40 by the end of the year, but I’ll take 35 and I plan to keep on going. One thing I do to help get more fit is to use my Fitbit for not only tracking steps, but also as a food journal. Likewise, Wellcoin which I’ve mentioned before.
I also pin interesting workouts, infographics, skinny recipes, etc. to my Fitness Pinterest board and that’s what I’m sharing with you today! I hope you’ll find some interesting information there.
Follow Caridad’s board Fitness & Exercise on Pinterest.
I’m not a big fan of wasting food and this weekend I made some roast chicken and had leftovers. I decided, Why not make some chicken salad? Of course, I’m trying to not have too much fat, so I decided to experiment a little and the result was quite tasty. So today’s Foodie Friday entry is a healthier chicken salad made with low fat greek yogurt instead of mayonnaise. Another nice thing about this salad is that you can really play with it. If you want it spicier, add a few shots of Tabasco or Cholula hot sauce. For a little crunch, some chopped walnuts or pecans. Sweeter? How about some grape quarters? The possibilities are endless.
2 cups roasted chicken, diced
1 cup low fat greek yogurt
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped celery
4-6 dates chopped
Mix all of the above ingredients and voila! A healthier chicken salad. Not only lower in fat, but if you get a greek yogurt that has live cultures, lots of probiotics. Not to mention that dates are a great source of dietary fiber, iron, potassium, anti-oxidant flavenoids and other minerals. A win-win.
Have a great weekend.
As some of you might know, I’ve had a long battle with my weight. I’ve gone up and down so many times that I guesstimate I’ve lost and gained hundreds of pounds.
I’m on the heading down again and have lost 30 pounds. I’ve done that with a combination of better eating (a key part of it) and being more active. I’ve shared some of my healthier recipes with you in the past and today I’m going to share two of the apps that have helped me meet new people who keep me encouraged and help me track what I’m doing so I can keep to my lifestyle change. In the future, I’ll share some apps for workouts and exercise that are helpful.
I learned about Wellcoin several months ago and am now a Wellcoin Ambassador. What is Wellcoin? Wellcoin bills itself as the “World’s First Health Currency” and basically, you enter information about your lifestyle to earn points you can exchange for things like gift certificates, healthy food and drink samples, yoga lessons, etc. It’s free to join, but to earn the points you will need to photo document the various healthy activities you are doing.
The activities are many. You get points for counting steps, sleeping 7+ hours, eating healthy meals, participating in the community by verifying other people’s activities, etc.
I find that documenting my activities helps keep me aware of what I’m doing and also, I see interesting new foods, etc. that others are trying out. Makes me want to be adventurous and try them out as well.
Click here if you want to follow me there!
As I mentioned, being more active is a big part of being healthier. I log at least 12,000 steps a day by walking to and from my office from the train station, getting up every 30 minutes to move and going to the gym for cardio and strength training. Yes, it can be work, but I am feeling so much better and stronger. It’s worth it!
I use FitBit and its community and app to help me. This does require the purchase of a FitBit device and there are several different kinds. I have the Fitbit Flex which I wear on my wrist. I have friends who use the Zip and the One which attach to your clothing. Still others have variations of the Charge (wristband) which also track your heart rate. Regardless of which one you choose, the end goal is the same: monitoring your activity.
In addition to monitoring, you can friend people on FitBit and cheer them on. Challenge them to daily or weekly goals. It’s all in the name of helping others stick to it. You can friend me by clicking here!
Another thing I really like about the FitBit is the smartphone app. You can use the GPS on your phone to have the Fitbit track your walk. You can also journal what you eat with a really nice interface.
The Fitbit also helps you track your sleep so you know if you are getting that essential 7+ hours of sleep (I don’t regularly, but am getting better).
I hope you enjoyed today’s Tuesday Tip!
As some of you may know, I’ve been trying to lose weight and be healthier. I’ve made some lifestyle changes to do that and have lost 30 pounds. Some of the changes are probably obvious, but I’ll share them anyway along with some links for you on this Tuesday Tip day!
I drink more water! Water fills you up. It helps your liver process toxins from your body and first thing in the a.m., it wakes up your metabolism from a long night of rest. Click here for more info on how drinking water can help you!
I walk more and I exercise every day in one way or another. I try to hit the gym for cardio exercise at least twice a week and then do strength training twice a week. As we get older, it’s important to improve our core strength and stay strong to do everyday tasks. Click here for info on the muscles to work on for core strength and a quick core workout.
If you want, you can friend me on Fitbit and challenge me to a workout! I love challenges.
I’ve stopped using artificial sweeteners and only have sugar in my first cup of coffee. I’ve also limited myself to two diet sodas a day. Rough for me, but I know they are not healthy. Here’s a good article from the Mayo Clinic explaining the different sweeteners and possible concerns with them.
Finally, I’ve been researching ways to boost my metabolism to help burn calories. At work I’ve got a little kitchen timer that dings regularly to remind me to get up and move. I’ve started doing intervals on the elliptical and even while I’m walking, changing the pace to increase my metabolic rate. Click here for more tips on things you can do to boost your metabolism and burn calories just by doing some pretty simple things.
Hope you enjoyed today’s Tuesday Tip!
As my regulars know, I’ve had an up and down battle with my weight for some time. I recently lost 30 pounds and am trying to continue on that trend by working out and eating right. It’s more than just about losing weight, however. It’s about being healthier.
My friend, Karen Katchur, is not only a writer, but has a M. Ed. in Health and Physical Education as well as twelve years of experience as a group fitness instructor. I’m blogging with Karen today about fitness and writing, so take a moment to drop by and leave your comments on what you do to try and stay fit. You can click here to visit with us!
Also, please come join the fun on June 9th as Lisa Renee Jones and I dish about what we love in our paranormal heroes, how to make the perfect man and our latest releases. We’ll also have a mess of goodies for you like gift cards, autographed books, t-shirts and more!