MBBC Holiday Party!!!

Boot camp Holiday Party!

Join us for food, drinks, and a white elephant gift exchange!

The best part? NO TRX INVOLVED!!

WHEN: Saturday, December 18^th @6pm–??

WHERE: TBD

*Gift exchange optional, but it’s going to be fun 🙂

$20 limit on a “fun” gift of your choice

*Please feel free to bring your own drinks or finger foods to share.

Skinny margaritas and a few appetizers will be provided.

 

*RSVP by December 15^th please:

via email @ Kira.Sandifer@gmail.com

Phone/text @ 480-239-0955

Directions will be distributed ASAP!

Hope you can make it 🙂

 

9 Way To Help You Stay on Track this Holiday Season!

The Thanksgiving-to-New Year’s holiday season can be a fun time of celebrating with friends and family . . . but if you’re not careful, it can turn into a 5-week festival of overeating, too. Not only is this period associated with heavy winter comfort foods, but seasonal treats and big holiday meals can be a minefield for people trying to stick to a fitness plan. It’s no wonder so many people end up dieting in January just to make up for their recent excesses.

But as someone committed to gaining and maintaining a fit body, you should know that it is possible to enjoy the season without feeling deprived or looking like a party pooper. Follow these tips, and you can have a fun time and maintain your weight—or end up even leaner than before.

1. Forget the preemptive diet. A new British study found that lots of women crash-diet before the holidays in the expectation that they’ll overindulge during the season itself. But your goal should be to learn healthy eating habits that you can stick with over the long term, not to lose weight now just so you can gain it back later. That’s likely to lead to a yo-yo dieting cycle, which could lower your metabolism and make fat loss more difficult than ever. Instead, make the decision now that you’ll eat reasonable portions later (even on Thanksgiving), and you won’t have anything to make up for.
2. Stick to your workout program—or start one. Here’s another reason why you should: Exercise and eating right go hand in hand. When you’re working out, the food you eat goes toward energy and muscle, not fat. And you’ll naturally want to eat foods that fuel your body, instead of junk that detracts from your performance. And if you do indulge in occasional treats, your regular workouts will help prevent them from doing much damage.

Remember, you’re building a habit of fitness that will last you a lifetime. When better to work on it than the busiest period of the year? You’ll learn how to devote time to your own well-being every day, even when you have a lot of other things to do. And when your friends and family see you getting leaner and fitter while they’re poking new holes in their belts, you’ll be an amazing inspiration.

3. Be careful with comfort foods. When it’s cold outside, you may be tempted to cocoon indoors with hot, hearty meals and snacks. This isn’t necessarily a problem if you make fitness-friendly choices. But if lousy weather or a lack of sunshine makes you crave carb-heavy dishes, prepare them with healthier carbs such as root vegetables and whole grains, not macaroni or mashed-potato flakes. And make them part of a balanced meal, not the whole thing.
4. Moderate your treats. More than any other time of year, the holiday season is associated with lots of “special” foods—turkey and stuffing, pumpkin pie, candied yams, green-bean casserole, latkes, Christmas cookies, etc. Some of these would put you way off your food plan, even if you managed not to stuff yourself the way so many people do. But others are just fine when eaten in moderation, or can be made much healthier—in fact, you couldn’t do much better than a meal of turkey, baked yams, and fresh green beans.
5. Plan ahead for parties. Cocktail parties can be the downfall of any food plan, but they don’t have to be. First, if you’re expecting to be served treats or hors d’oeuvres instead of healthful food, have a protein-rich snack before you go. It’ll prevent you from gobbling up appetizers or sweets out of sheer hunger, and will help keep your blood sugar steady even if you do have a few cookies or crab puffs. If there’s a buffet, watch your portions carefully; it’s easy to pile on the food, especially if there are a lot of choices you want to try. And if it’s a potluck, bring along a dish that’s both tasty and healthful—it’ll guarantee there’s something good for you to eat, and others will probably appreciate it, too.
6. Don’t stress out. A recent study at the University of California, San Francisco, confirms what you already know: You’re more likely to eat high-calorie comfort foods when you’re under chronic stress. And the holidays can be a perfect storm of stressful conditions and sweet treat availability.

You probably can’t avoid the annoyances that come with too little time or money, holiday crowds, or lengthy family get-togethers, but you can keep them from getting you down. If you’re working out regularly, you already have a leg up on the average person, because exercise helps reduce tension and create an upbeat mood. Help yourself even more by doing something relaxing for a few minutes each day, whether it’s yoga, meditation, or simply listening to calming music. And if you do start feeling stressed, stop for a few seconds and take slow, deep breaths instead of reaching for an extra snack.

7. Don’t abuse the booze. Yes, a glass of wine or champagne can be a nice way to celebrate the season, and it’s pretty much obligatory on New Year’s Eve. But too much drinking has all kinds of negative effects: extra calories (which your body will burn while storing carbohydrates), lowered inhibitions (which can lead to overeating, or behavior that will require an apology later on), and a feeling of sluggishness or worse the next day that can derail your fitness plan. As long as you’re an adult and don’t have problems with alcohol, an occasional drink or two is fine—but if your cheeks get as red as Santa’s regularly, eventually your belly will resemble his, too.
8. Avoid the food-gift trap. You could stay away from heavy sweets all year and still find it hard to resist grandma’s special fudge, even if the box contains 2 full days’ worth of calories and enough sugar to fuel an army of hummingbirds. So what should you do with food gifts? Store-bought baskets of fatty sausages and “cheese food” are fine to regift (or donate to a food bank), but homemade goodies are trickier. You’ll have to be polite and enjoy a little, preferably in the giver’s presence. Leave the rest out for the family to share, or bring it to work (where it’ll probably be devoured quickly). If it’s a treat you really love, divide it into small pieces and freeze them in individual baggies, so you won’t be tempted to eat it all at once.
9. Give yourself a break. If you do overindulge at some point, don’t beat yourself up about it, or decide to give up entirely and start over in January. As long as you have a consistent fitness program, you’re unlikely to lose the progress you’ve made. Just Keep Pushing Play every day, go back to your food plan, and look forward to your healthiest holidays ever.

By Ben Kallen of Beach Body

 

HAVE  YOUR BAKE AND ZITI TOO

Craving pasta? Don’t give in and order take-out! Some of those dishes can have up to 1000 calories and 50 grams of fat…no thanks! I found this recipe on Hungry-Girl.com. You can even add some extra lean ground turkey breast to add a little protein… much lighter in calories but not in the flavor department 🙂 Ingredients: 5 oz. (about 1 1/2 cups) uncooked whole-wheat or high-fiber ziti or penne pasta 1 cup thinly sliced onion 2 cups chopped brown mushrooms 1 tbsp. chopped garlic 2 cups fresh spinach 3/4 cup low-fat/light ricotta cheese 2 tbsp. chopped fresh basil 1 1/2 cups canned crushed tomatoes 1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp. shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided 2 tbsp. reduced-fat Parmesan-style grated topping Directions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare pasta al dente according to package directions. Drain well, place in a large bowl, and set aside. Meanwhile, bring an extra-large skillet sprayed with nonstick spray to medium heat on the stove. Add onion and, stirring occasionally, cook until slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and garlic, and raise temperature to medium high. Continue to cook, stirring often, until mushrooms are soft, about 3 minutes. Add spinach to the skillet and, stirring often, cook until spinach has wilted and excess moisture has evaporated, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in ricotta cheese and basil. Transfer contents of the skillet to the bowl with the cooked pasta. Add tomatoes and 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese. Toss gently to mix. Spray an 8″ X 8″ baking pan with nonstick spray, and carefully fill with contents of the bowl. Evenly top with Parm-style topping and remaining 2 tbsp. mozzarella cheese. Bake in the oven until entire dish is hot and cheese on top has melted, about 15 minutes. Allow to cool slightly, and then serve and enjoy! MAKES 4 SERVINGS

Serving Size: 1/4th of recipe Calories: 286 Fat: 7g Sodium: 455mg Carbs: 41g Fiber: 5g Sugars: 7g Protein: 16.5g Enjoy! From Hungry-girl.com

A new spin on veggie burgers!

A boot camper passed this recipe on to me and it sounded like something some of you might enjoy 🙂 We all know that black beans and brown rice are two healthy food choices. How about creating delicious veggie burgers using both these high fiber, nutrient dense ingredients?

15 oz can black beans (250 g cooked from dry)
1 cup cooked brown rice
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup egg substitute
1 T taco or chili seasoning
4 T salsa

1. Mash beans. Add remaining ingredients.

2. Let sit in fridge for 30 minutes (sometimes over night to firm up which is recommended).

3. Form into 8 patties. Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes a side.

Makes 4 (2 patty) servings, each with 159.7 calories, 0.8 g fat, 29.7 g carbs (6.8 g fiber), 8.6 g protein

Enjoy!

See you at boot camp 🙂

1 Week To Go and Challenge Results!

 

Congratulations on making it through 3 weeks of boot camp!  We have seen amazing improvements from each of you and we hope you have seen and felt them too!

 It is very important to keep it active through the weekend.  We hope you all made it to the challenge this morning, but if not, remember to get in a homework assignment.  As always, your coach will be checking, so write your homework down in your journal.

The standings for the boot camp challenge are as follows…

 

In 3rd Place PM Boot Camper Mary Kerr!

 

In 2nd Place AM Boot Camper Dianne Richards!

 

and taking 1st Place is AM Boot Camper Amanda Casteen (aka A.C.)!

 

We want to thank everyone who participated and we hope you enjoyed yourselves! Get ready for the next challenge in November! – Max Body Fitness