Monday, November 1, 2010

Master your Metabolism

Have you ever heard yourself say one or more of these? I know I have!

“I can’t lose weight because I have a slow metabolism.”

“As you get older, losing weight becomes near impossible.”

“I’m not losing weight because I’m not eating enough. My body goes in starvation mode.”

We’ve heard those statements (or similar ones) so many times that we ended up believing them! There are so many myths about metabolism, and sadly they have made their way into the mainstream knowledge. We use them as excuses; marketers use them as bait to sell magical weight loss potions.

What is metabolism really? This week we will demystify the concept of metabolism and see how it can help us, not hinder us, in our weight management efforts. It’s not a magical pill for weight loss, but it can help.

Want to know the coolest part? You can totally do something about it!

Tool of the week:

Have you taken a look at our fitness kits? We have 2: Punch and Belly Butt and Thighs.

Punch has weighed gloves (3/4 lb each) and Belly Butt & Thighs has an exercise ball. Those come with work outs (on DVD) and are a great way to get your moving on at home!

I have the Punch one and use the glove sometimes just as I do my daily routine. ¾ lb might not seem like much, but after an hour… and I lift weights regularly!

Ask me about them, I’ll bring them in for you! Perfect for those who don’t feel at home at the gym.

What’s going on?

Halloween marks the beginning of party season really. Next thing you know we are getting ready for Thanksgiving and then it’s madness until mid January.

This can be a scary time for us members if we don’t take a little time to put together a master plan. In this down time before the party starts take time to think how you want to sail through the holiday season. Here are a few things to remember:

Attending your meeting every week will give you an anchor, and bring accountability in a time when distractions are the rule. It’s also the perfect place to learn all those tricks and ideas which can really make navigating the season a breeze.

A little planning ahead goes a long way. Being prepared takes out the stress and let you truly enjoy the time you have with friends and family.

You have the tools, use them! Etools is a great resource for Point Values certainly, but also for inspiration, ideas, information, everything! You have plenty of other very useful tools: Your food scale, your journal, the companions, the Point calculator, the Point clicker… Find the right tool for the situation you’re facing and use it!

This is also a great season to give back. Look around your community and see where and how you can do your own little part to help those in need. Every little bit helps!

In the Kitchen

This is a fall favorite of ours. I like to make big batches for parties in the crock pot, or individual ones in the microwave (using ground spices). Honestly, the microwave version doesn’t taste nearly as rich.

There’s the “right way” to do this, and there’s the “oh c’mon, I don’t have the rest of my life to do this” way. Pick your own ;o)

Hot spiced cider*
16 servings 2pts/serving

1 gallon (4 quart) apple juice
3 + sticks cinnamon
1 TBSP whole Allspice
1 tsp (or less) whole clove
1 whole orange cleaned and sliced (peel and all).
Nutmeg to taste (I love nutmeg!)

If you wish put the spices in a little teabag or make a little pouch with cheese cloth and put them in. I don’t bother because I like to see whole spices floating around. If young kids will drink this, I would make the teabags, just to be safe.

Put the juice in the crock pot and put on high for 30 minutes or so to warm up. I sometimes cheat and warm up the juice in the microwave.

Add the spices and the orange slices and let sit on low (or even warm if your crock pot has that setting) for 1+ hour.

If you have it on warm, you can leave it on all through the party. If it’s on low, I would turn it off after 90 minutes or so.

Let people serve themselves (it’s part of the fun!) and put whole nutmeg with a grater close by for people to add it at will.


I get this going before I start cooking, that way the whole place smells wonderful and it really gets us in a Holiday mood. :o)

*Some people who shall remain nameless have been known to add rum to this. I’m not saying that I encourage drinking, but it’s the holidays… safely and in moderation… Dark rum would work better for this I believe. Obviously you’d add the Points for the rum. ;o)

At Work Corner

As always, let me know if you need anything and I will do my best to find it for you. I’ve found a few pocket guide/Journal covers. I’m bringing them around.

I also have cookbooks left. Those will go from meeting to meeting until I run out. If there is any you are interested in, grab them. They are going soon.

As always, if you can’t attend your weekly meeting, you are welcome to attend any traditional meeting. You can find my schedule at:


You have paid for attendance already, it’s included in your series.

Have an awesome week!

Email me if you need anything, I’m there for you!!

Remember that a little bit of thinking ahead can make all the difference between “I did it!” and “Shoot, I got to fix this now”. ;o)

Your leader

Melanie


“Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you.”
~ Oprah Winfrey


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