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Don’t think about getting a salad at taco bell if you are watching your waist line! Salads are nowhere close to a healthy option at Taco Bell!
The lowest calorie salad option is the fiesta taco salad without the shell, calculating at 470 calories and 23g of fat
… add that shell and you have 840 calories and 43g of fat!
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WOW! Eating this salad is like eating about 6 tacos!
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Not too sure what healthy options they have? Not to worry, Taco Bell has created their very own healthy choice menu!
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Taco Bell has a “Fresco Style” menu, containing 9 healthy food choices with less than 20-100 calories than the original item and fewer than 9g of fat. These “Fresco Style” food items replace cheese and sauces with a fiesta salsa made of diced tomatoes, onions, and cilantro. Here are those 9 healthy options:
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Fresco Crunch Taco: 150 calories, 7g fat
Fresco Soft Taco- Beef: 180 calories, 7g fat
Fresco Burrito Supreme- Chicken: 340 calories, 8g fat
Fresco Burrito Supreme- Steak: 330 calories, 8g fat
Fresco Fiesta Burrito- Chicken: 340 calories, 8g fat
Ranchero Chicken Soft Taco: 170 calorie, 4g fat
Grilled Steak Soft Taco: 160 calories, 4.5g fat
Bean Burrito: 340 calories, 8g fat
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I always ask for extra lettuce to my tacos. Not only does it add a little freshness to them but it adds bulk to your meal… keeping you full longer!
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Want to add a side to these healthy options? The rice and beans is your best bet. The beans are 180 calories with 7g of fat and the rice is 130 calories with 3.5g of fat.
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Other than these food items, I highly suggest staying away from those gorditas, burritions, and chalupas… they are high in calorie and fat!
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If you want the nutritional information on your favorite food items Taco Bell, click HERE
Enjoy Taco Bell… Fresco Style!
Are you noticing that your cardio workouts are getting hard than they normally are?
You could be doing too much cardio. Yep, I said it… too much!
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Your body perceives exercise as a stressor, therefore too much exercise can have a negative effect on it. Your metabolism will shut down, holding into your fat and burning everything else. You are also opening up a door to injury with all the wear and tear you are doing on your body.
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If you start to feel general fatigue, irritability, physical soreness, insomnia, headaches, or you find that 
your workouts are much harder than they normally are you probably are overdoing it on the cardio. Obviously everybody is going to be different when it comes to over doing it with cardio, but it is recommended that you do no more than 60-90 minutes of cardio a day. Obviously this depends on a variety of things such as intensity, activity, and the amount of food you are in taking that day.
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It is also recommended that you give your body at least one to two rest days throughout the week. This gives your body time to heal itself and your cells can regenerate. If you are like me, you find it hard to not exercise on your days off… I sometimes feel a little guilty. So instead of heading to the gym I find activities throughout my day that keeps me active, but gives my body a rest, such as going shopping at the mall, working in the garden, or playing in the pool.
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So allow your body the rest it needs… you will probably burn more calories the rest of the week because you will have more energy!
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When being on a diet it is easy to just stick with the same old stuff day in and day out. I feel like breakfast has become so boring these days, oatmeal, yogurt, fruit. There needs to be a little excitement in one’s diet in order to stick to your plan. Weight loss and diet is a life long change… and I don’t want to be eating oatmeal every morning for the rest of my life!
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After passing by McDonalds one morning, I started craving their bacon, egg, and cheese McMuffin, so instead of secretly going through the drive-thru, I decided to make it myself at home.
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Here is my favorite Bacon, Egg, and Cheese McMuffin:
- 100 calorie English Muffin toasted
- 1 Fat Free Cheese Slice
- 1 strip of turkey bacon
- ¼ cup Egg Whites or Egg Beaters
– In order to cook the eggs so that they fit perfectly in my McMuffin I throw them in a coffee mug and
cook them in the microwave for a few minutes. Scooping the egg out of the cup gives you a perfectly
round egg that doesn’t
Calories: 195 calories
Fat: 3.5g
Voila… a Bacon, Egg and Cheese McMuffin with half the calories and nowhere near the fat.
Say good-bye to McDonald’s this morning and go make your breakfast this morning exciting. . . cook yourself a McMuffin
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Fat is your WORST enemy… WRONG!
Did you know that fat actually has some virtues?
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It’s only when people consume too much or too little that your health is affected.
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Fat supplies essential fatty acids for growth, healthy skin, vitamin-absorption and regulation of bodily functions. In moderation and the right fats, you can actually control cholesterol and prevent heart disease!
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There are several different types of fats.
I’m not going to get into the chemistry of it all, but just remember than there are two categories, good and bad fats. Here is the break down:
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BAD FATS:
Trans fats
– Deep fried foods, cakes, cookies, doughnuts, crackers, chips, margarine, cheese, meat and dairy products
Saturated fats
– Whole milk, cream, butter, cheese, fatty cuts of beef and pork, coconut, palm, pies, cookies, doughnuts
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GOOD FATS:
Mono and Polyunsaturated fats (Non-Saturated)
- Olive oil, peanut oil, avocado, Vegetable oils, nuts and seeds
Omega-3 and 6
- Fish, Canola oil, flaxseed oil, walnuts, flaxseeds
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Like everything, these fats are only good in moderation! Fat should account for 20-35% of your daily diet. Here is the breakdown in grams:
1200 calories: 46g or less
1400 calories: 54g or less
1600 calories: 62g or less
1800 calories: 70g or less
2000 calories: 77g of less
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So check your nutrition labels and stay way from those saturated and trans fats! Choose meats low in fat such as chicken (white meat to be exact. It has less saturated fats), fish, and all those fruits and veggies! Cook with olive oil instead and limit the amount of crackers you are eating! Limit your butter and stay away from the sticks, they have more saturated fats!
Enjoy those “GOOD” fats!
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Boot Camp… seriously? I am not going to workout with military sergeants yelling at me because I can’t touch my nose to the floor while doing push-ups!
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This was the thought that went through my head when my brother invited me to attend his morning workout class. After much debate on whether I would be able to handle it, I decided give it a try.
Needless to say, the rest of my time visiting family in cali consisted of my brother and I waking up at 5:50am for Boot Camp.
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I absolutely loved it! EXtreme Boot Camp brought a new surprise every morning. I never knew what the instructors were going to throw at me next. We did everything from running or walking up hills, resistant training, boxing, to yoga. And let me tell you, I was so sore I could barely walk the next day!
The best part about the workout was that they weren’t intimidating at all! They were in fact, very encouraging, meeting me where I was at physically and not as a whole group.
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For those of you that don’t know what eXtreme Boot Camp is, it is an outdoor military-style fitness program. At the beginning of the session, you are put on a diet that allows you to eat within certain parameters. The best part about the diet is that you get a text message when you are suppose to be eating and with how many calories. The workouts are held outside in different locations including parks and parking lots, 5 days a week, for one hour. It’s the fastest one hour workout you will ever have in your entire life because they are so much fun!
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I highly encourage anyone that lives California to check them out because I loved it!
www.extremebootcamp.com
A pic of my brother and I just for the heck of it 
Is it ironic that I love watching the Food Network while exercising?
There’s nothing like killing your body to get healthy and fit while watching someone cook up artery clogging food!
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For those Food Network fans out there on a diet, I have found a great alternative choose where they actually cook foods that are healthy, low in fat, and calories!
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Cook Yourself Thin has come out with their own TV show on MyLifeTime. I don’t think they are airing at the moment, but you can watch them all from the web here.
There website also gives good advice on how to cook healthy on a budget, quizzes on your calorie IQ, and a calculator telling how fast you can get into those goal jeans.
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The show is based off the book Cook Yourself Thin, which gives your favorite meals a healthier and lower-calorie makeover. The three women that wrote the book teach you how to swap calorie-heavy ingredients for leaner and healthier additions. Some of the recipes include sausage dishes, chicken pot pie, banana chocolate chip muffins, and brownies.
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So, Have your cake and eat it too! ☺
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Now I’m just waiting for hungry-girl to get her own TV show
Summer is here and so is the heat! Living in the dessert, it can get up to 100 degrees before I even step outside in the mornings and sometimes it’s just too hot to walk or run outside!
So, I have decided to take my workouts to the pool… and I’m not talking about swimming back and forth, I’m talking about water aerobics!
Water aerobics is a great way to not only torch calories and shred fat while splashing around in the pool but it is easier on the joints! So for those of you that are injured or have bad joints, this is a great workout!
Not to mention that water aerobics can get you a little tan too! ☺
Here are so fun and “not so easy” moves you can try while having out at the pool.
Cardio:
* Run/Walk in the shallow end of the pool
* Jump in the shallow end while bringing your knees to your chest
* Tread water in the deep end
- To make it more difficult, get an empty 2-liter soda bottle and fill it up with water. Hold it over your head while treading water
* Quickly jump from side to side, keeping feet together.
Legs:
* Walk across the pool and kick your leg in front of you, switching legs as you walk
* On the way back while walking, kick one leg behind you and then switch legs
- The faster you kick your leg up and pull back down, the harder it is
* Stand in the shallow end and kick one leg out to the side and bring it back in (switch legs)
* Holding the edge of the poll, kick your legs for 30 seconds
* In the shallow end, sit like you would in a chair (feet planted on the ground) and stand back up. The water gives added resistance!
* With back against the wall and arms stretched out hold onto the edge, swing legs open into a V and then pull them back together.
Back and Shoulders:
* In shoulder deep water, place hands at side. Bring arms up to the top of the water and then back down. This can be done with in front of you and to your side
* Standing in water up to your neck, reach your hands out to each side, with your elbows unbent and your palms forward. Slowly bring them together, clapping your hands, and then turn your hands to return to the starting position.
* Holding on to the edge of the pool in the deep end, attempt to pull yourself out of the water and then slowing bring yourself back down
Arms:
* Glue elbows to side with palms down on surface of water, push down to bring palms to your side (triceps)
* Do the same thing but with palms up, bringing your hands to your shoulders (biceps)
* Holding on to the edge of the pool in the deep end, attempt to pull yourself out of the water and then slowing bring yourself back down
Abs:
* Holding on to the edge of the pool, extend your body behind you. Curl your knees into your chest and then extend back out.
* In the deep in, extend your body like you are floating (face up). Bring your knees to your chest and then extend your legs behind you so you are floating face down (us a floating device if needed)
* Lean with back against side of pool, arms outstretched holding the edge. Swing legs from side to side
Tips:
* To make your water aerobics harder, go but one of those pool noodles and cut them up into 6 inch strips to hold onto. It adds resistance to your arms.
* The faster you do these moves, the harder it becomes, so if you really want a work out, you can’t just swing your legs around.
* If you are tracking calories, water aerobics can burn up to 17 calories a minute!
So even if you’re just hanging out at the pool—be it on vacation or at your neighborhood pool—you can fit exercise in!
My husband is a huge chicken finger fan. It’s practically the only thing he eats when we go out. In my attempt to convert him over to the “healthy side,” I decided to make
hungry-girl’s low fat, low calorie “Finger Lick’en Good” chicken fingers tonight for dinner.
Needless to say, both our plates were clean at the end of the meal.
Here is the recipe for you chicken finger fans out there:
Ingredients:
* 6 oz. Tyson (or another brand**) Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts (raw); cut lengthwise into 5 strips
* 1/2 cup Fiber One cereal
- I used corn flakes because it is way cheaper and tastes the same
* 1/4 cup Egg Beaters, Original
* 1/4 tsp. Lawry’s Garlic Salt
* Pepper (to taste)
Directions:
* Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
* Using a blender or food processor, grind Fiber One cereal to a breadcrumb-like consistency.
* Add Garlic Salt and pepper to crumbs.
* Place crumbs in one small dish and Egg Beaters in another.
* Coat raw chicken strips with Egg Beaters and then with crumb mixture.
* Place strips on a baking pan sprayed with nonstick spray.
* Spray a light mist of nonstick spray on top of strips and place in oven.
* Cook for 10 minutes, and then turn strips over.
* Add another light mist of nonstick spray and cook for an additional 8 – 10 minutes (until chicken is fully cooked and Fiber One looks crispy).
* Enjoy! Serves 1.
Serving Size: 5 pieces (entire recipe)
Calories: 240
Fat: 3.25g
Sodium: 805mg
Carbs: 26g
Fiber: 14g
Sugars: 0.5g
Protein: 42.5g
Weight Watchers: 4 Points
We both give this recipe two thumbs up!
Like I have mentioned in previous posts, weight loss and eating healthy is all about portion control. But how are we to know correct portion sizes when America has taken them and blown them out of proportion?
… No wonder we are ranked one of the highest obese countries in the world!
Of course, reading the serving sizes on the nutrition labels and measuring out your proportions is the ultimate means of correct proportions, but there are going to be times when you can’t such as you are running late for work, don’t have the nutritional label in front of you, don’t have measuring cups on hand, or are eating out.
Here is a little trick you can memorize so that the next time you are eating out, you aren’t eating triple the amount that you should have ate.
Meat:
3 oz of meat: a deck of cards
3 oz of fish: a checkbook
2 tablespoons of peanut butter: a marshmallow
4 small cookies: 4 poker chips
Breads:
1 slice of bread: a cassette tape
½ cup pasta: ½ the size of a baseball
1 cup of cereal: a fist
1 pancake or waffle: a cd
1 small potato: a computer mouse
1 piece of cornbread: bar of soap
Fruits / Veggies:
1-cup veggies: a fist
1 medium fruit: a baseball
1 cup of cut-up fruit: fist
¼-cup dried fruit: a golf ball
½-cup of raisins: an egg
1/2 cup cooked broccoli: one light bulb
1 small potato: a computer mouse
Dairy:
1 cup of milk or yogurt: a fist
1 ½ oz of cheese: 4 dice
Fat/Oils:
1-teaspoon oil: a thumbnail
2 Tbsp salad dressing: a ping-pong ball
1/2 cup of potato chips, crackers or popcorn: one man’s handful
1 oz of chips or pretzels: two handfuls
Here is the amount of servings you should have in one day:
Breads: 6-9
Veggies: 3-4
Fruit: 2-3
Milk: 2-3
Meat: 5-6oz
Fats/Sugar/Oils: Sparingly
The saying is true… Your eyes are ALWAYS bigger than your stomach… take time to re-train your mind and eyes to portion control!
