Exciting Biggest Loser Ranch Trip Giveaway from Joy Bauer & SpaWeek



Helllloooo, Bob! :)

You all know I am a fan of The Biggest Loser on NBC and love to tweet during the shows live (to the point where I have been put in "Twitter prison" for tweeting TOO much during the show! lol).  So when SpaWeek.com approached me to find out if I'd like to share links on our sites to offer up an incredible prize package, I jumped at the opportunity!  (But, okay, I didn't jump UP and onto a box... because I *still* can't do that!!! *insert muttering here!*)


Joy Bauer (right) and a fan

 In June I saw Joy Bauer in person at the Boston Health & Fitness Expo and listened to her motivating talk on getting healthy and living a healthy lifestyle.  I've always liked Joy's segments on NBC's Today Show and have enjoyed her nutrition advice through her Woman's Day column and Slim Down Plan!.  Now Joy is co-sponsoring this "Fast Track to Health Giveaway" with SpaWeek.com and the Biggest Loser Resort and it is an incredible!

If you don't know about this giveaway yet, friends, you need to check it out because the "ultimate weight loss journey for one deserving winner" is the very cool prize and includes a six night stay at the Ranch, three meals a day, spa services, a private cooking class with the Executive Chef of the Resort, a nutritional plan developed for you by Joy Bauer, and more!  The details are below and you'll need to go to SpaWeek's Facebook page to enter the Fast Track to Health Giveaway.

Please do note one thing about the prize, friends... airfare is not included so if you do win, you'd have to find a way to get to and from Malibu on your own! ; ) 

Did I mention that I'm excited to be one of the featured healthy bloggers on SpaWeek Daily's blog? I am answering what my #1 Diet Tip is along with other spa and fitness bloggers.  Can you guess what my tip is before peeking? : ) You can skip over to SpaWeek Daily's blog by clicking here! :)



How awesome would it be if one of the HealthyLoserGal blog readers won the grand prize to The Biggest Loser Resort in Malibu? Maybe Sam Poueu would be your trainer during the week... he works there, you know, and a gal can day dream! ; )



BL9 Fan Favorite, Sam Poueu

Here's to our health!

Dream. Believe. Achieve!

Jan / HealthyLoserGal

Awesome August: Healthy Habits & Having FUN!

Friday was one of those great summer days when the sun is out and it is hot but there are billowy clouds that are calling for you to get outside and DO something!  Luckily for me, my job allows us to have a couple of Fridays off over the summer and this past Friday afternoon was my turn!

I'm proud of myself for how well I've been doing planning and then logging all my meals.  I can't say that I have stuck 100 percent to my planned out food, but I bet I'm averaging well over 85 percent and - for me - that is a win! : )

To keep up with my planning of food, I needed to hit the local farm stand and grocery store to get some healthy foods ready for the weekend and coming week.  I have a friend who wanted to go with me - talk about your healthy eater - this gal is paper thin and up for any sort of challenge... and I'm not kidding! ; ) (Cue the FitStella montage!)

It is soooo wonderful to have the farm stands stocked with local summer fruits and vegetables!  I picked up local watermelon and berries, cantaloupe, three varieties of fresh lettuce, sweet corn, onions, green peppers, and tomatoes - all from Wilson Farm in Lexington, Mass.  I stopped at my favorite little local fish market and picked up scallops and the local Stop 'n Shop for skinless chicken and avocados.

After getting home, it was time to get ready for the weekend ahead with some food prep... one huge garden salad and one huge fruit salad were in order with FitStella overseeing the whole operation! : )

All the lettuces got broken into smaller pieces and rinsed and spun dry.  When that was done it was onto the fruit salad... 

Personally, I could eat fruit salad everyday of the week if it was always THIS fresh and juicy.  But I have to portion it out because there are many more calories in fruit salad than a green salad... but still... I'm oh-so-willing to walk a half a mile to burn off a few extra scoops of fruit salad that is this delicious! : )

After the salads were stored in the frig, it was time for some fun exercise in the sun... bike riding! Yay!  Helmet and Go Sport ID both in place, an expected 30 minute bike ride ended up being 90 minutes on the bike path because it was so darn nice out I didn't want to turn around and come home! : )  But FitStella suggested we probably should ride home before dark since I hadn't brought my headlight or blinking rear light for the bike with us.  (Not only is she fit and healthy, FitStella is smart!)

We made it home long before twilight with just enough light outdoors left for me to snap this photo! 

FitStella will be traveling to someone else's home this coming week... and she'd love to visit a home that has kids in the house!  Any chance you're a health, weight loss and/or fitness blogger and interested in hosting her for a week?  Let me know if you would like FitStella's adventure to continue at your home and I'll let you know the details! : )

It was a great day and leisure biking is an easy way to burn calories without even realizing you are! Those are the best activities sometimes! : )

Here's to our health, friends!

Dream. Believe. Achieve!

Jan / HealthyLoserGal

FitStella: A Healthy Snack That Kids Can Make

It is summer and it is hot and as everyone knows FitStella is all about eating healthy food to grow big muscles (just ask her)!  So here is a recipe for kids to make that is a healthy and fun summertime snack that is FitStella Approved!

FROZEN GRAPES

Step 1

Ask a grown-up to buy green, red, or concord grapes at the farmers' market or grocery store.



Step 2

Wash your own hands and then wash the grapes under cool water.

Step 3

Put the grapes in a plastic zip bag and place them in the freezer until they are frozen.

 

 

Step 4

Take them out of the freezer,

pop them in your mouth

and ENJOY!

FitTastic Fun with FitStella at Healthworks Fitness..."You're in Beantown, Stella!"

So much fun to have FitStella visiting me this week, all the way from Austin to Boston! 

As I mentioned August 1st, you can find out a little bit more about FitStella and her counter-part, FitStanley on MizFitOnline's site, but the original idea came from the worldwide Flat Stanley Project with MizFit's daughter.  From FlatStanley was born the idea of FitStanley... and (insert Marlon Brando montage here) everyone knows that Stanley goes hand-in-hand with Stella. *grin* (Yes, I'm doing the "Stelllahhhhh" yell as I write this!)

So tonight, I bring you a little preview of what the FitStella visit wrap up at week's end will hold...

FitStella and HealthyLoserGal

Hit the Gym!

Hey! Look who has been waiting
for me to get out of work!

Healthworks Fitness in Porter Square is really great..
FitStella agrees!

Dream. Believe. Achieve!

Jan/ HealthyLoserGal

& FitStella : )

Such a great quote for living a happy life!

Thanks to Attune Foods for posting this on Twitter this afternoon. So positive!

Dream. Believe. Achieve!
Jan / HealthyLoserGal

An Awesome August 1st in Pictures : ) PS: FitStella Arrives! (Woot!)

I've had a great on-plan day for the first day of the Awesome August Challenge... so great and so busy that I'm tired out and want to get to bed to get a good night's sleep to start it all again in the morning! : )

So tonight's post is a pictorial (kind of...) of Monday, August 1st... a day in the life of a healthy loser gal! *grin*

Breakfast looked something like the photo over there... 'cept it was plain yogurt and raspberries and blueberries. But the photo I took of breakfast is on my work laptop which is... unfortunately... in my office.

I made a turkey, avocado, tomato with dijon mustard sandwich for my lunch at home and brought it into the office... with a fresh, juicy peach.  Really delicious! :)



Did my food journal thruout the day!



After work I headed for my first workout at Healthworks in Porter Square to take advantage of the all club pass I won at FitBoston.  I really "got my sweat on" and was only there for 35-40 minutes working out.  More on Healthworks tomorrow night, but this is a photo of Danielle who oriented me to the great fitness club and spa yesterday.  She shared with me that she has lost 100 lbs and started at over 230 lbs.  Now she's toned and sculpted and just ran over 4.5 miles last week.  So very cool. 

Drove back home and was pretty tired out by this point, but - lo and behold!  What is this in my mailbox?! Ohhhh... woohooo.... Fit Stella has arrived in Lexington!   She and I are going to have an awesome week together.

What's that? Who or what is FitStella?  Well - short 'n sweet, you can read about her on MizFitOnline's site but you'll be seeing her plenty this week on the blog.  She's a world traveler... she's a health icon... a fitness guru.  And Stella and I have some sites to see, some healthy food to eat, some adventures in store.  Stay tuned!

Nearly 8:30pm by the time I'm out of the shower, flowers are watered and I'm ready to make my planned dinner.  Huge salad with balsamic dressing, skinless 4oz chicken, fat free Hood cottage cheese with a little salsa on both the chicken and cottage cheese - oh so delicious.  And a small (4oz) glass of Reisling.  Reward for staying on plan and a great day!

A pretty perfect day, all in all.  August really IS going to be awesome! : )

Dream... because we all need to believe we can do great things.
Believe... 'cause when you truly believe and work hard toward your dreams, great things begin to happen!
Achieve... you'll be amazed at all the goals you'll surpass, all the magical moments your life will hold!

Jan / HealthyLoserGal

Awesome August Challenge! Let's Go For It!

Last August I started monthly challenges on the blog and over the course of a year we have had 327 people (!!!) join into healthy challenges for weight loss or fitness or... like me, for both! :)  This month, I'm going back to the original challenge and hope you'll all join in!  I want to ROCK this month of August... I want to end it looking back and by us saying "I really gave this month my all... it truly has been AWESOME!" So who is with me?

Oh! and I'm still working on my Healthy Habit Challenge, too, believe me - - and so far so good - I'm planning my food and exercise and logging which is my goal for a new habit!

How did the summer come and go so quickly? I am determined to make every little second of August count for me - both for summer fun and fitness! When thinking about this earlier tonight I logged onto Twitter and posed the question "If I were to challenge you to an #AwesomeAugust for #fitness, would you join me? Maybe something like committing to exercise 24 of 31 days?" Well, within an hour or so, I had well over two dozen resounding "I'm IN!" replies! I was so shocked and happy! How totally cool are our Twitter friends and I am SURE some of you reading the blog will join in, too.



Sweaty, happy,
HealthyLoser :)

 So here is the idea... let's really commit to ourselves to make August count with our own personal fitness pledge. Of the 31 days of August, commit to yourself and to the #AwesomeAugust group that you will walk or exercise 24 of those days. It is really incredibly hot in some parts of the country so the rest days will be recovery days to use! : ) We can make the last month of the summer our best month of the summer and enter September proud of ourselves for the commitment we made and KEPT to ourselves!! You can post here on the blog or on Twitter when you've exercised or group the days together and post what you did for the week. If you're posting on Twitter, please use the #AwesomeAugust hashtag so we can find one another and support each other during the month!! It'll be fun! :)

If "you're in!" on the Awesome August Challenge and want to use the badge above or over on the right, simply right click on it and save it to your photo directory to add to your webpage or blog!

Happy first day of August, friends, and let's have an Awesome August!!

Dream. Believe. Achieve!
Jan / HealthyLoserGal

Easy Summer Dinner: Panko Crusted Chicken & Garden Salad

Every once in awhile I want to change up an old recipe and try out a healthier version.  Sometimes it takes a few attempts to perfect the recipe and sometimes - you nail it on the first try!  The latter was tonight! : )

I cut a skinless 7 oz chicken breast into strips, shaking them in a plastic bag to coat them lightly with whole wheat flour (about 1/2 cup).  Taking them out of the bag, I brushed them sparingly with one egg white and 2 Tbsp of water whisked together, removing them to a mixing bowl holding 3/4 cup of seasoned panko crumbs, coating the chicken pieces thoroughly. 

In a medium cast iron skillet, I'd heated 4 Tbsp of rosemary EVOO (which, I'm proud to say, I made myself from my own little herb garden) and placed the chicken pieces together in the skillet for about 3 minutes on the 1st side, 2 minutes on the second, creating a nice brown, crunchy coating on the chicken.

Removing the chicken pieces with tongs, I placed them on a paper towel to remove any excess EVOO (there wasn't much) and cool a bit while I whipped up 1/4 cup each of Dijon mustard and fresh honey, squeezed a lemon over the chicken and about a tsp into the dressing, adding 1 Tbsp of light Hellman's mayo and whisking all together. Perfect honey mustard for dipping the chicken into!

My Lexington Farmers' Market trip had provided me with fresh baby greens and tomatoes and fresh mushrooms so I quickly rinsed all and arranged them in a bowl with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. 

Dinner in about 15 minutes total from start to finish and enough left-over chicken to have as part of lunch today! All good and all healthy! : )

Bon appetit!

Dream. Believe. Achieve!
Jan / HealthyLoserGal

Thank You HEALTH Magazine! : )

I was delighted to find a package waiting for me last week when I returned home from work one evening!  Inside was the new book The Carb Lovers Diet: Eat What You Love, Get Slim for Life from Health Magazine's Editor in Chief, Ellen Kune, and Frances Largeman-Roth, RD, also of Health.  I'd won this a few weeks ago during Health's first Twitter party about healthy swaps which had been a lot of fun and I picked up some good, healthy tips over the course of the evening! : )

Not only did the book arrive, but a copy of this month's Health magazine AND a surprise bronze bag/pocketbook was in the package -- so nice!



Recipe on pg 132 of Carb Lovers Diet

 I haven't read the book yet but I have thumbed through it and it looks great.  It includes a food plan in the book which incorporates "CarbLovers approved" foods I already eat like Kashi bars and Boca burgers with recipes. There is a section with CarbLovers workouts. too, that are easy to follow and have photos to go along with each move (this is always a great thing about Health Magazine, they make it simple to do what they are telling you with clear photos)!  Carb Lovers Diet looks like a great overall plan so I'm willing to give it a read and a shot! : )  I *do* like carbs, I must admit!

Many thanks to Health Magazine for the great book, bag and mag I received! I've been a Health subscriber for years now and always look forward to the new issue arriving in my mailbox. 

Dream. Believe. Achieve!
Jan / HealthyLoserGal

How do you lose 100 pounds? You eat HEALTHY! :)

Did you know that July is National Blueberry Month? A full month is devoted to those little delicious blue antioxidant berries that I love year round but especially when they're 'in season' in New England.  I just found out about the July designation the other day when Boston Globe's Sunday Magazine featured the Geddes Blueberry Farm in Gilmanton, NH. (The article is definitely worth a read and then maybe a trip to scenic Gilmanton if you, like me, have an interest in supporting local farms and small farmers by buying locally.)

That same interest in supporting small, local farms has led me many times to family owned Verrill Farm in Concord, Mass. On Friday I saw a tweet from John (the Farm's great marketing guy!) @VerrillFarm who posted about their Blueberry Pancake Breakfast scheduled for the following morning.

"Hmm," I thought, "I love blueberries - I'm going!" and tweeted back pretty much just that to John.  My tweet was seen by Kathy of @Bos_Sportswoman and she asked about details of the event and within moments we had plans to meet on Saturday morning at the farm to attend!

Thunderstorms and threatening skies didn't stop us from spending a great July Saturday morning together. The Verrill Farm Blueberry Pancake Breakfast was in full swing when I arrived... tents had been erected to shelter patrons from any lingering raindrops (and then the bright sunshine of later), a Dixie Land Jazz Band played, and oh-so-delicious pancakes loaded with fresh succulent blueberries, fresh farm bacon and sausage, with real maple syrup were enjoyed by all attending!

Not only did I get to catch up with John of Verrill Farm a little bit, but I was able to meet and spend time with "the infamous Annie", Kathy's soon to be 9 year old adorable daughter!  After our pancake stacks, Annie chased butterflies and explored, and took a few pix with her Mom's camera before we all decided to embark upon the offered tractor ride... complete with hay bale seats!

It was fun to see Kathy again after FitBoston and spend the morning with a kindred spirit... she was taking photos and checking Twitter during the morning just like I always do.  It is great to connect locally with someone so upbeat and fun and healthy!!  We talked marketing and blogging and CSAs and healthy eating... I feel like I've known her for years! : )

We wandered through the Farm Stand before heading home and I ended up buying two new veggies to try: Tequila Sweet Peppers and a new variety of beets which I have plans to make Monday evening.

I highly recommend the trip from Boston to Verrill Farm in Concord.  It is an easy quick drive (right off of Route 2) and you'll be happy with all their "farm stand" has to offer, beyond just the vegetables.

Here's to healthy living, eating whole foods and supporting local farms and small farmers... and to new friends to enjoy a great Saturday morning with!

Bloom where you are planted! :)

Dream. Believe. Achieve!
Jan / HealthyLoserGal
PS:  I'll be posting all Saturday morning's photos on the HealthyLoserGal Facebook page! :)

Review: Eucerin Everyday Protection Body & Face Lotions = Fab After 50!

Eucerin Everyday Protection

Face Lotion *SPF 30*

Body Lotion *SPF 15*

Talk about your Law of Attraction and something unexpected arriving just when you need it - - look what I received from Eucerin!


The very first week of June I headed oh-solo-mio to Hampton Beach, NH (actually I ended up there, I didn't really head there...) and had the beach nearly to myself so lounged and read and snoozed and walked and spent hours and hours there. In the sun. Without adequate sunscreen. Can we say "ouch!" from sunburn?!

Aloe helped and I slathered on skin moisturizing lotion twice a day, but - sadly - I have found that 50 year old skin does not "bounce back" with the elasticity of 20 year old or even 30 year old skin, so I was still peeling a little bit and kind of scaly... AND I had my 35th high school reunion approaching. I really didn't want to go looking "leathery".
Enter the Boston Health & Fitness Expo. At the Expo I had visited the Eucerin exhibit and tried samples of their new Everyday Protection line and was startled then by how quickly it absorbed into my skin and didn't feel greasy. I've been a Eucerin fan since I began using it maybe 10 years ago to solve my rough elbows and heels problem, so knew their products were good.


Within 36 hours of the Expo and less than 72 hours of leaving on vacation for my informal class reunion, I received an email asking me if I'd like to receive and review Eucerin Everyday Protection lotions for the blog. YES! The products arrived two days later in a cute little gift bag and, to my delight, I began to use both the 30 SPF Everyday Protection Face Lotion and the 15 SPF Everyday Protection Body Lotion.


Here's my review:
I *LOVE* the Eucerin Everyday Protection Body Lotion! I have used one body moisturizer for years and keep going back to it (St. Ives' Oatmeal) because it is so light and absorbs quickly but it wasn't helping out my skin with the damage I did from the sunburn. The Eucerin Everyday Protection Body Lotion showed visible change right away. Additionally - and this is huge for someone like me because I am not good about putting both moisturizer and sun block on before I head out the door to walk or ride bike - now there is one step and I know I'm protected and don't have to 'seek the shade' worried about my shoulders and arms getting burned.  What is more, the damage I did to my skin was dramatically improved by this product!

I used Eucerin Everyday Protection Face Lotion the entire week of vacation when I was very active and did the bare minimum makeup of mascara and lip balm. I have very fair skin and usually have to apply and reapply sun block. Not so with the Eucerin Face Lotion! Busy days in the sun and I was protected throughout. In fact, this may be the first summer in years when my face hasn't burned. I like, too, that this product is very light and I've since learned from experience that it goes on well beneath bronzer or foundation. Oh, it is fragrance free... all good. And it is affordable, too! :)

I'm thankful to Eucerin for reaching out to ask me to review their product but I'm grateful for the excellent product that will continue as part of my daily skincare regimen. Your products are helping me be "Fab After Fifty"! Life is good!

Dream. Believe. Achieve!
Jan / HealthyLoserGal