This one is sure to fatten your wallet and loosen your belt.

I’m a big advocate of bringing your lunch to work. But for many, packing a lunch 5 days a week is just out of the question. Time seems to be an issue. If it’s not time , it’s what the heck do I pack for lunch!? Why not take some of the stress of you and delegate! Form a lunch club this year!

Here’s how it works.

1. Put an email out to see who would be interested in joining your lunch club.
2. Whether you have 2, 4 or 7 people on board you’ve just formed your very first lunch club!
3. Assign everyone a day to bring lunch for the gang.
4. On your lunch day – pack a healthy lunch to feed the troupes!

Now you only have to worry about lunch one day a week and on the other days you know your going to get a healthy home made lunch!

Here are some lunch ideas to help you get started!

• Turkey Chili
• Any type of salad with any type of lean protein
• Sandwiches with lean meat on whole grain bread with veggies and hummus to dip!
• Hearty soup with chicken and vegetables – Try this one!
• Lean Beef Stew – like my Hamburger Soup
• Healthy Casseroles – like my Chicken Nachos
• Chicken or tuna salad made with Greek yogurt. Try my Curry Chicken Salad recipe.
• Crust-less Quiche – Here is my favorite recipe!
• Turkey Burgers on Whole Grain English muffins. Make these the night before and heat them up day of.
• Quiona Salad and Soup. Try my Feta Quinoa Salad and my Green Soup!

You have 10 ideas to get you started! And don’t forget, everyone in your lunch club will have 3 or 4 ideas up their sleeve that they love. This is a great way to form a little team at the office and encourage each other to stay healthy and on track this year. Team support is the best kind of support to help you reach your goals. Happy Lunch-ing! Keep me posted on how it goes!

Related posts:

1. 10 Healthy Lunch Ideas
2. 10 Ideas for Bringing A Lunch to Work
3. The Passover Challenge – Lunch Ideas

WHAT TO DO?

Well for starters let me be honest before I dish out a bunch of advice on how to avoid eating all these treats. I started with the cinnamon buns, because as you know if you read this blog- they are my weakness. HOME MADE Cinnamon Buns!!!! And once I had the buns, I was like – we’ll those cookies do look delicious and so the story goes. That was Monday. Could have been the start to a HORRIBLE week.  BUT I’M SO HAPPY TO SAY THAT ON TUESDAY I CAME OUT ON TOP!

So, what did I do on Tuesday and Wednesday (until all these treats were eaten by everyone else) ?

1. I only went into the kitchen when I HAD to. I did not aimlessly wonder into the kitchen just to ‘check things out’,  because I knew that would just tempt me further.

2. Water. Water. Water. I brought a fresh lemon with me to work and squeezed it in every glass of water I drank. I don’t know why but for some reason lemon water helps me curb my cravings. Maybe it’s the tart on my tongue.

3. I brought a big lunch with lots of snacks to work. And they were not crappy snacks that I felt I needed to eat to repent for my Monday melt down. No, I brought snacks I thought were delicious so that I would not feel deprived. I brought Activia Vanilla Yogurt, Pistachio Nuts, Greek Plain Yogurt and Fresh Berries, Corn Thins with Peanut Butter & Banana and cheese.

I gotta say, yes it’s VERY HARD to turn down “treats in the kitchen”. But you have to ask yourself a few questions before you dig in ?

1. IS IT WORTH IT? Like really worth it. You’re going to eat for 2 seconds (or 2 hours if you can’t stop!) and then you will be paying for it for weeks. 2 minutes of taste-bud heaven ….. 2 pounds later! (Exaggeration but you get my point)

2. DO YOU EVEN LIKE WHAT’s IN THE KITCHEN? Sometimes we eat just because it’s there and not because we actually want it or like it.

3. ARE YOU EVEN HUNGRY!!!? Really, because if you’re not even hungry, what’s the point ?!

Of course I know you can ask yourself all these questions, answer the way you should and still eat! We are human after all!! But I think the best way to over come this if you do have a Monday Meltdown like I did, have a Totally Awesome Tuesday and a Wicked Wednesday! Get your brain back. One bad day does not warrant a bad week. One bad day or bad meal will not change your pant size, but a bad week sure can! If you do start off on the wrong foot – don’t punish yourself for it, just stop as soon as you the sugar let’s go of your brain!

Best of luck with your Treats in the Kitchen this Holiday Season.

Related posts:

1. How To Stay Away From Holiday Office Treats
2. Sugar Cleanse – Week Two
3. 10 Holiday Health and Fitness Tips

But let’s think about this for a second or two. Are you going to have a better time if you eat badly or opt not to?

Scenario One - You go out with a “friend’. You both dig into the bread together, order an appetizer, mains, dessert and share a bottle of wine.

GREAT NIGHT! So fun! You chatted away about all sorts of stuff and felt like you really connected. You do however leave feeling stuffed and a little mad at yourself for going overboard. Whatever. You go to bed. You wake up kinda feeling stuffed still and now you are officially mad at yourself for eating too much. Whether it effects you for the whole day, half the day or an hour. You still spend at least some time beating yourself up. And if your trying to lose weight or your trying to maintain – your really pissed at yourself becuase all the work you did during the week to stay healthy (and it was not fun and games) was just blown to smithereens on this one FUN night.

Scenario Two – You go out with a “friend’. She digs into the bread, you opt not to. Is is hard, Yup. But you do it.

She may try to pull you into her “I feel guilt for eating this bread without you…have a piece” trap.  Do you fall for it? Not a chance.

She wants to split a bottle – you just want one glass. You order a clear broth soup or salad as an appetizer she orders fried calamari. You order fish with vegetables for dinner she orders pasta in a cream sauce. She BEGS you to share dessert with her  (another I-feel-guilty-doing-this-alone trap) you tell her how stuffed you are (even if it’s a lie) and order a decaf coffee or tea.

GREAT NIGHT! So fun! You guys chatted away about all sorts of stuff and felt like you really connected. You leave feeling great! So proud of yourself for keeping it healthy, staying on track and having had such a fun night with your friend.  You go to bed. You wake up feeling refreshed. You put whatever you want on from your closet because you don’t feel bloated or stuff from last night. You keep on trucking with whatever your goals may be!

What are you missing out on by not pigging out?

• Being mad at yourself
• Being disappointing in yourself
• Not liking the number you see on the scale
• Not fitting into your pants.

Now which one sounds more fun to you?

Related posts:

1. How To Eat a Healthy Thanksgiving Dinner
2. Sugar Cleanse – Week Three
3. Thanks For Nothing

How do I manage to get myself to a gym on those really hard days? It’s pretty simple – I pretty much force myself! The benefits outweigh anything I can come up with so it’s kinda a no brain-er. But a no brain-er that needs some serious convincing by my inner voice!

Here are a few thoughts I tell myself during my time of need:

• I don’t think about the during, I imagine the finish.
• I remind myself how good I will feel after I’m done.
• I remind myself how quick it will be (even though it may not feel that way during). *If it’s really ‘one of those days’ I only commit to 20 minutes. If I get a burst and I workout longer- Bonus for me.
• I compare how I will feel at the end of what I could be doing to how I will feel at the end of a workout. Workout (MOST OF THE TIME) wins.

The bottom line is this: EVERYONE has a hard time motivating themselves. EVEN ME! So next time you’re contemplating going to the gym versus sitting in front of your t.v don’t think of the work it takes to ‘run the race” think of how great you’ll feel at the finish line!

My advice – give yourself a pep talk. We all need a good one every now and again or we would never get anything that’s not so fun done!

Related posts:

1. Just Go
2. Find a 5k
3. The Secret to Weight Loss Success- Your Best Friend

* Click the name of the song to link to itunes!

Related posts:

1. Jessica’s Summer Playlist
2. Jessica’s Spring Playlist
3. Jessica’s Fall Playlist

• When you go to a barbecue your assuming your going to eat. I mean why wouldn’t you? That is what you do at a Barbecue. But your actually not going just to eat, your going so that you can socialize with friends and family! Eating is secondary (at least it is supposed to be!) Make connecting with people your first priority. This may help take focus off of the food. You may actually stop eying the potato chips you “shouldn’t eat”.
• Chat with someone while you’re eating and actually stop eating at 3 points during your conversation to just listen. Once again taking the focus off food. This will also help you to recognize when you’ve had enough. Stopping for a breather gives your mind a little time to catch up with your body so you actually get that “I’m feeling satisfied” signal. (Notice how I said satisfied and not FULL)
• Don’t talk with your mouth full. I knew my parents taught me this for a reason! When your telling a story – stop and talk. Don’t bite- talk – chew, bite – talk. One thing at a time. Put your plate down and tell your story. Again, another way to give your tummy a small break so that it has more time to signal to your brain that you’ve had enough.
• Offer to bring something to help out and make it something healthy. Something that can be your go-to in the event that your having trouble finding healthy options.
• Meet two new people. If you’ve been invited to a barbecue and don’t know everyone – make it your mission to chat with 2 new people. This gives you a task so that the task of standing beside the food table and guarding it with your eyes (and maybe your mouth) is someone elses responsibility.

Related posts:

1. Eating At The Holiday Cocktail Party
2. How To Eat a Healthy Thanksgiving Dinner
3. TEN TIPS To Staying Healthy During the Hoildays.

I could write 17 pages about this subject – but I really want to try to keep it short & sweet – hopefully to drill the point home.

There have been many articles in the news lately comparing simple carbohydrate foods and fatty foods to the effects hard drugs have on your body and mind.

Related posts:

1. Bad Food = Bad Mood
2. Quiz : Are you Ready to Lose weight
3. Not Eating Enough During The Day?

*Cross & Strength means cross training(something other than running) and strength training.

Related posts:

1. How to Train for a 5k
2. The Benefits of Strength Training
3. Interval Training

“I didn’t know I was not sleeping well, until I started sleeping well.”

“3 pounds in 8 days.”

“It was really hard the first week, but the last 3 days, I feel like I really settled into this way of eating. I now appreciate that I no longer feel stuffed after a meal. I feel satisfied and that’s way better then unbuttoning my pants!”

“I was eating so much bread and carb filler – this past week I felt like I was always putting something nutrient rich in my mouth that would help me function as apposed to easting just becuase it tastes good”

Thanks again to Team Passover Challenge! Until next year…

Related posts:

1. The Passover Challenge Wrap Up
2. The Passover Challenge – Dinner Ideas
3. Passover Challenge

1. Single Ladies- Beyonce
2. I Got a Feeling – Black Eyed Peas
3. Don’t Stop the Music – Rihanna
4. Funhouse – Pink
5. Fire Burning- Sean Kingston
6. Boom Boom Pow – Black Eyed Peas
7. Right Round – Flow Rita
8. Poker Face – Lady Gaga
9. I Know You Want Me – Pitbull
10. So What – Pink
11. My Life Would Suck Without You – Kelly Clarkson
12. Wavin’ Flag- Knaan

Cool down with:

1. I’m Yours – Jason Merez
2. Say – John Meyer

Check out my FALL & SUMMER play list!

Related posts:

1. Jessica’s Summer Playlist
2. Jessica’s Fall Playlist
3. Jessica’s Spring Playlist