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Category: Lifestyle

FitnessHealthy TipsLifestyle

Healthy Snacks For The Whole Family

In the midst of everyone’s busy schedules packed with work, school, after school activities, social events and errands, planning a healthy snack time can fall through the cracks. This can be true for not only you but for your kids as well. Unhealthy snacking can quickly erase a day of clean eating and exercise, not to mention fill your kids with sugar.

 

When you know it’s going to be a hectic day, throw some almonds or carrots sticks in a baggie for your passengers to munch on in the back seat and stick some in the cup holder for yourself. Snack boxes of raisins or apple slices with to-go peanut butter packets are great for school or work. Easy grab and go bars like Special K Protein bars or Fiber One provide a little bit of sweetness as well as protein and fiber.  For sports, dance or any active extracurriculars, try orange slices or peanut butter and banana sandwiches on whole wheat bread to give them a boost, and always hydrate with water.

 

On days when there’s a little more time to prepare something at home, something as simple as celery with peanut butter and raisins or veggies with hummus can satisfy everyone. Sliced fruit or a bowl of grapes is a great snack to share, maybe with a string cheese on the side. If they’re looking for something salty, try whole wheat pretzels or light popcorn snacks like Skinny Pop.

 

When they inevitably ask for candy or cookies, try something else sweet but smart like sugar free chocolate pudding. Trail mix is also a great alternative, as long as you make sure they aren’t just picking and choosing the sweet stuff! A cup of Cheerios can taste like candy with flavors like chocolate, apple cinnamon and dulce de leche, but they also pack whole grains, vitamins and minerals.

 

Snacking healthy will not only help you with your immediate fitness and weight loss goals, but it will also provide the foundation for a healthy lifestyle for you and your family.

 

~Love to Live Healthy with Josephine Fitzpatrick

 

Innovation Weight Loss and Fitness
8031 Jericho Tpke Woodbury, NY 11797
469 7th Ave Manhattan, NY 10018
FitnessHealthy TipsLifestyle

Are Your Kids Making YOU Fat?

Back into the swing of things and we already feel the Snack Closet calling our name. We buy snacks for lunch, snacks for after school and snacks for sports.  Stealing one or two handfuls for yourself and then another for “just in case”. Before you know it, you ate half the bag of Goldfish. If only they didn’t eat those darn Goldfish! If only they ate vegetables and fruits. Not the candy, cakes and cookies…not to mention the ice cream!

 

Do these thoughts sound familiar? Are you constantly blaming your children for making you eat?  As parents, we know how very difficult it is to not buy that cake they love. You know, the one they beg for all the time, and when you buy it they only have one little tiny slice. The cake that you could inhale by just smelling it.  How are you expected to get through each day with all these delicious sweets and treats in the house? You have to take one piece or maybe two. A handful for me and one for you. What choice do you have? Do you have a choice?

 

Let’s think about this more clearly….Who bought the snacks? Are they really all the snacks your children like or are they some that you like as well? Or did you buy them because you like them and hope the kids will take a piece to make you feel a little better about buying and eating it?

 

When we really think about it thoroughly, it’s not the kids who are making us fat, it’s more likely that we are making our kids fat. We buy foods that we know are loaded with calories and sugar, but it’s okay because they are kids, right? When we’re really honest with ourselves, we realize this is not the case and it’s time to make the right choice.

 

Start by keeping the unhealthy snacks out of your home. If an indulgent treat is just a couple steps away, it’s more likely for you to give into it. Not to mention that giving in to your kids’ cravings is creating bad eating habits they may carry with them their whole life.

 

Next, lead by example. Show them that eating healthy is something to be proud of, not a way to punish yourself for bad behavior. When you start making healthy choices it will affect the people around you, especially your kids.

 

Check back later this week for healthy snacks you and your whole family can enjoy!

 

~Love to Live Healthy with Josephine Fitzpatrick
Innovation Weight Loss and Fitness
8031 Jericho Tpke Woodbury, NY 11797
469 7th Ave Manhattan, NY 10018
FitnessHealthy TipsLifestyle

BACK TO SCHOOL – BACK TO YOU!

Vacations are coming to an end and the children are back at school…now it’s time to get back to you. Why wait until New Year’s to make a resolution to lose weight and be healthy? September is a perfect month to start a “New You”.

 

With long work hours and after school sports here are a some IMPORTANT TIPS to make sure your September schedule is a healthy one that works for you:

 

1) PLAN YOUR WORKOUT IN THE MORNING:  When you plan to do your workout first thing in the morning you have an 80% chance of actually doing it. On the flip side, if you don’t do your workout first thing in the morning, you have an 80% chance of NOT doing it!

 

When we start with a morning workout, we are much more likely to have a better nutritional day. Why? Because mentally you have put yourself on track for the day. You will not want to ruin your hard work and effort with an unhealthy snack or meal.

 

If you are a stay-at-home parent, get the kids off to school and head to the gym. Don’t put it off until after you clean the house or get the laundry done. Before you know it, the kids will be getting off the bus as quickly as they got on. Head right to the gym. Follow up by running your errands and then head home and do your housework.

 

If you are a working parent, make the effort to get up an extra hour early and get your workout in.  It will change the dynamic of your day from okay to awesome! While I understand how difficult it can be to add an extra hour to your day, I can assure you it’s worth it, both mentally and physically. Your body will get used to it and in return, that extra hour will actually make you feel more healthy and energetic throughout the day.

 

2) REMEMBER: WORKOUTS ARE IN ADDITION TO HEALTHY FOODS, NOT IN REPLACE OF:  What exactly does that mean?  You are doing your workout so you can be healthy. If you want to lose weight in addition to clean eating it will help you lose even more weight; HOWEVER, you are NOT working out so you can eat whatever you want all day…AND you are NOT working out so you can eat more food throughout the day (even if it is healthy food – it’s still more). Workouts are to keep your body, mind, muscles and bones healthy and toned. In addition to a healthy eating plan, it will help you lose even more weight.

 

3) KEEP MOVING: When you are with your kids at after school sports, make sure you are not sitting, chatting and watching them. Even if you already worked out in the morning, grab some of the moms and dads and walk around the track or field. Unless it’s a game, you don’t need to watch your child practice. They have coaches to tell them how to play. They only need mom and dad to tell them what a great job they are doing and how amazing they are.

 

4) PLAN YOUR MEALS IN ADVANCE: Don’t ever start the day by winging it. If you don’t know what you are going to eat each day, it will most likely turn out bad.  Either the night before or the morning of, make sure you know exactly what you are going to eat. Plan it out: You should know what you are eating for your meals and snacks each day. If you don’t know, you can quickly turn a healthy day into an unhealthy day all because of lack of planning. More importantly, when you don’t plan it out, it sometimes means mentally you know you will go off that day. That’s why you don’t want to think about it. So make sure you know exactly what you are going to eat from the time you wake up until you go to bed. When you are proactive it will make all the difference in your day.

 

When you incorporate some time for yourself into your schedule you can really make a difference in how you look and feel. No one said it’s easy to be healthy and fit, but everyone will tell you it’s worth it.

 

~Love to Live Healthy with Josephine Fitzpatrick
Innovation Weight Loss and Fitness
8031 Jericho Tpke Woodbury, NY 11797
469 7th Ave Manhattan, N& 10018
FitnessHealthy TipsLifestyle

MAKE MONDAY A WEIGHT LOSS DAY AND GET RID OF THE WEEKEND BLOAT!

Mondays can be tough days. They tend to make us feel bloated and tired after a long weekend of socializing. Even if it’s just socializing with the immediate family, statistics show that we eat 80% more on the weekend than during the week.

 

For many, Mondays are also the start of work and school week. It’s a day of transitioning from happy and carefree to miserable and restricted.

 

If you are tired of starting your week feeling unhealthy and bloated, here are two simple tips to make your MONDAY a better day.

 

1) Start Sunday Night! If you make an effort to get some form of exercise competed on Sunday night before you turn in, you will feel so much better Monday morning. Even if it’s just walking the dog for a couple of blocks – try to end your weekend with a healthily exercise. By doing this, you will feel like you are already ahead on Monday morning.

 

2) Start Monday LESS AND LIGHT with a Low Calorie & Low Fat Menu. Think egg whites, grilled chicken, vegetables, yogurts, and nuts. By starting your week less and light you will not only get rid of most, if not all, of your weekend bloat, you may actually lose weight that day.

 

If you make the effort to do a Sunday night exercise and make your Monday a less calories and low fat day, these two simple tips will not only make all the difference in how you feel, it will also make all the difference in how you start your week.

 

~Love to Live Healthy with Josephine Fitzpatrick

 

Innovation Weight Loss & Fitness
8031 Jericho Tpke Woodbury, NY 11797
469 7th Ave Manhattan, NY 10018
FitnessHealthy TipsLifestyle

ARE YOU THAT ATHLETIC CAREFREE PERSON YOU ONCE WERE?

If  someone twenty years ago was describing you would it sound like this?…..Athletic  Very Active, Awesome and Energetic,  positive and carefree, loves life?

 

What about if they were describing you today?….Overweight, unhealthy, tired all the time, moody, lives through life with little ump and enthusiasm.
Well if you want to regain the old you- youth and all… there is only one way to do it.  PROPER NUTRITION AND EXERCISE.  Regardless of what you read you can’t get your old self back from a pill or a boxed food.

 

You can  ONLY  obtain these goals by adopting a healthy lifestyle through exercise and the proper nutrition.  Exercise in the most simplistic form can change your life.   Something as simple as a walk or an intense workout can eliminate excess body fat and help you to lose weight.  Bringing out your inner athlete or creating one through an adopted healthy lifestyle will make you more active and motivate you.  You will find yourself taking on more activities like swimming, tennis, water sports, dance, baseball, basketball, all types of exercise classes that you thought were beyond your reach and more.

 

Eating a healthy balanced meal program will help you get your energy back to want to exercise.  Once you lose the layers of fat off of your body you will no longer be held back from doing the sports and exercises that you once loved.  Never let your age hold you back.  If you fuel your body with the right nutrition and incorporate some healthy exercise you will quickly regain and remember that carefree athletic- in shape person you use to be.

 

Exercise will boost not only your energy level but will counter act any stress, giving you a carefree inner body peace.
When you are active in any way on a daily basis you will feel a sense of belonging, purpose and meaning.
Any problems and or issues you might have is left behind giving you a mind vacation that is long lasting.
If you are lost and were once an active, energetic ,active person you can be found by starting an exercise program today.
Remember a simple walk will start the process to a better you.

 

*Please feel free to contact me @ innovationelyse@gmail.com for more details

 

Stay Healthy and feel good,

FitnessHealthy TipsLifestyle

Are You hungry?…

Many times we reach for a snack is it because we hear a growl in our tummy or is it because we choose not to listen to our minds.   Is the snack what our body really wants or is it just something to do at the time.  The next time you are having a snack attack ask yourself  these questions before you reach for those unwanted calories:

 

1)  Are you thirsty?  9 out of 10 times we are more thirsty then hungry.  When we do not properly hydrate it shows through our dry skin, and chapped lips.  It also appears in our hunger.  When we are thirsty we reach for food instead of drink. Most of the time we do this because we don’t even realize that we are thirsty and not properly hydrated.  So next time you reach for a snack drink 8 oz of water and then see if the snack is still as appealing as before.

 

2) Are you bored?  How many times do you mindlessly walk from cabinet to refrigerator back to cabinet.  Just looking for something exciting.  Well guess what – it’s not the food that we need to be exciting, it’s our life at that moment that we wish to be more exciting.  Since we can’t have that we settle for the food.  So next time you are mindlessly reaching – pull the hand back.  Put on your shoes and go for a walk.  Don’t come back until you are no longer hungry 🙂 – it will probably be about  20-30 min.  

 

3) Are you avoiding something?  Many times we eat out of comfort.  We don’t want to face something in our life that we are not ready to deal with.  This could be as little as the laundry, as middle way as homework with the kids and as big as an upcoming argument with the significant other.  Big or small makes no difference when we use food as a comfort.   If it’s a small issue we don’t go for a small snack, we snack attack and keep at it regardless of how big or small the avoidance is.  So next time you want to avoid something that is making you reach for the snacks, simply think about the outcome.  You will not only have to still deal with the problem at hand… now you will have extra weight to do it with 🙁   

 

THINK BEFORE YOU ACT…..

 

~Love to Live Healthy with Josephine Fitzpatrick

 

Innovation Weight Loss and Fitness

 

8031 Jericho Tpke Woodbury, NY 11797

 

469 7th Ave Manhattan, NY 10018

Healthy TipsLifestyle

POSITIVE THOUGHTS….

THIS WEEK INNOVATION CHALLENGE IS TO LIVE LIFE WITH POSITIVE THOUGHTS…

 

BE  happy in the present moment and recognize that there is much to be thankful for.   Stop complaining about the small annoying stuff in favor of counting your many blessings.  The glass is no longer half empty; it is half full.  Cherish your body and life.  Understand and believe that a healthy, fit body is the most fundamental component necessary to sustain life.  Physical health and fitness are the basic building blocks that give you the opportunity to bloom and grow.  Be happy about who you are and what you have.   If you need to improve your health, start taking positive steps to do so.  Find and live for the bliss in simple pleasures of a daily life well lived. 

Healthy TipsLifestyle

If You Want to Lose Weight – Don’t Do This….

One of the most common dieting mistakes is constricting your calorie count.   Think about this – if someone covers your mouth and one of your nostrils (very similar to when your nose is stuffed), and your air is constricted.  What do you do when you finally get some air in?  You gasp and breath and suck as much in as you can.  Very similar to when you constrict your calories and then all of a sudden you find yourself grabbing everything and anything in sight.  If you restrict anything too much you are setting yourself up to abuse it in the future. 

 

The healthiest way to lose weight is to NOT constrict your calories to the extreme.  Restrict your calories but make the gap a little larger and give yourself some room to breath.  Start off with smaller portions and healthier food choices.  Give yourself one day a week to enjoy something that is “off limits.”   Include light to moderate exercise everyday for 30 minutes….working  your way up to an hour.   Before you know it you will be on a healthy path to a fit and healthy life.

Healthy TipsLifestyle

Tips on Choosing Healthy Meals when Dining Out

The biggest problem with Dining out is choosing a healthy meal once you get there. With often so many unhealthy meals offered it can be difficult to make the right choice.  Almost every restaurant today offers at least one healthy meal on the menu.  If they don’t, you can always ask them to make a dish the way you prefer it.

 

However, even when our intentions are to eat healthy  – we sometimes fall prey to the company we are in and the choices we make.   So how do you make a healthy meal choice when there are so many tempting things to choose from?  The following tips are especially helpful to those who Dine out often.

 

Follow these 4 Tips to help keep you on track when dining out.

 

  • Check out the menu before you go. Most places carry a menu right online. It’s very helpful to know exactly what you are ordering.

     

  • Bread….When you get to the restaurant and they are seating you – tell them immediately no bread for the table until dinner arrives.   You will not only being doing yourself a favor but everyone at the table a favor.  Most people fill up so much on the bread they don’t enjoy the dinner they ordered.  If the bread arrives the same time as your meal you are less likely to pick from it.

 

  • Drink Alcohol? Order your drink with dinner and not before.  It’s wise NOT to drink an alcoholic beverage before you order dinner or before dinner arrives.  When everyone is ordering drinks you can order water with lemon.  Tell the waiter that you would like your alcoholic beverage when dinner arrives.  This will help you in three areas: First the water with lemon will hydrate you before you drink your dehydrating alcoholic drink.  Second, you will fill up on the meal with your drink and be less likely to order a second drink.  Third, if you have the drink before dinner you will be more likely to make a poor choice for your dinner option.

 

  • Eat slowly.   Really think about and enjoy your meal.  Chew each bite and try not to get so caught up in the conversation at the table that you shovel the food in your mouth without thinking – and before you know it you look down and it’s all gone.  Really think about and savor each mouthful.  Put a little moan into it.  Everyone at the table will be envious of how much you are enjoying your healthy choice.

 

Healthy meals can be just as delicious as unhealthy meals with a gratifying end.  Think about after your meal and how happy you will be that you did not overdue it.   That you feel a healthy full, and not overly stuffed and sick.   You enjoyed your healthy meal and one drink and stayed on track to maintain or lose the weight you have worked so hard to do.  It’s always very important to think about the choices we make in life.  When it comes to food and being healthy – making the right choices will keep you on a healthy successful path to a fit and healthy future.

 

~Love to Live Healthy with Josephine Fitzpatrick

 

Innovation Weight Loss and Fitness

8031 Jericho Tpke Woodbury, NY 11797

469 7th Ave Manhattan, NY 10018

FitnessHealthy TipsLifestyle

Plan a Healthy Year

As part of “2014 NO EXCUSES” we want you to do something really healthy this January. Schedule all of your Doctor Appts for this coming year. Depending on your age and sex – you should look to have the following tests every year. Full Physical (with blood work & urine) in addition to regular blood work ask to check thyroid and sugar; Have your yearly Mammogram & Sonogram; Gynocologist (pap & uterine);  Colonoscopy (every 5yrs except when family history- yearly); Cardiologist (Heart & Stress test).

 

We are very fortunate to live in a world where we have access to so much preventative measures and medicine. But they cannot help you if you don’t go and get checked. Way too many lives have been shortened due to disease and illness. We should no longer depend on family history alone as studies have shown environment also plays a large role in our well being. Fortunately, we know that if we catch something early our chances for survival can double and triple. So why wait? If you make your appointments every January you will always remember to do it and you will always start your year off right. Consistency is key in finding early diagnosis and better recovery.

 

We are all busy and it’s easy to put off important appointments, especially when we feel great. But you don’t want to wait to have a test because you don’t feel well or because you are already showing symptoms.   I often compare it to hydrating.  When you are thirsty your body is telling you that you are dehydrating.   If you wait to drink water until you are thirsty – you are most likely already dehydrated. You should be drinking enough water throughout the day so you are never thirsty. Same goes for testing. If you wait until you have symptoms it’s most likely something is there and then its just a matter of what it is, and how bad, and how far its spread. If you go before the symptoms start and something is there- you most likely caught it in plenty of time for a complete recovery.

 

Looking good and feeling great are important – but only when our inside is as healthy as the outside. Make your appointments today and start your “2014 NO EXCUSES” on a healthy path to a long healthy life.

 

~Love to Live Healthy with Josephine Fitzpatrick

 

Innovation Weight Loss and Fitness

 

8031 Jericho Tpke, Woodbury, NY 11797

469 7th Ave Manhattan, NY 10018