It is my understanding from the Today show spot that Tiki’s book returns the focus of our fitness programs to functional training.  Exercises such as dumbbell chest press, bench dips, squats, and lunges are at the heart of this type of program.  My workout and most of my client programs incorporate functional training. 

I am looking forward to adding this book to my resource library. 

On the back of the box there was a recipe for Onion Rings breaded with Fiber One cereal.  I must admit my first thought was EEWWW! 
This recipes was from Hungry Girl Tips and Tricks for Hungry Chicks book by Lisa Lillien.  Lillien’s website has many great tips and recipes to eating healthy.  I plan to get a copy of the book soon.  Check back later for more a few more thoughts.

In addition, Fiber One offers a variety of great recipes using there cereals in unique ways.  Check them out, I will!

Many women are so concerned with losing the baby weight and fitting back into their pre-pregnancy clothes that they want to start their exercise program the day they are released from the hospital.  One thing you need to realize is that your body does need to recover after child birth.  Your abdominal muscles or pelvic floor need to be ready!

ALWAYS check with your doctor before starting any post pregnancy routine. All moms, deliveries, and Doctors are different. Begin only when your doctor clears you and has lifted your restrictions.Take this process one step at a time!

Here is an article from babyfit.com - Rebuilding Your Core After Pregnancy.  I love the approach that they have taken, start early to regain the brain muscle connections. You must have your Doctor’s approval and consent to participant in any of the following exercises.

EXERCISES TO STRENGTHEN YOUR CORE
Below is a list of exercises to begin within 24 hours postpartum (from Essential Postpartum Exercises by Elizabeth Noble, Physical Therapist).

VAGINAL BIRTH
Begin with only a few repetitions of each and increase as tolerated.
Phase 1

• Diaphragmatic breathing (Abdominal tightening on outward breath): Lying on your back, place your hands over your abdomen. Inhale and allow your belly to rise as it fills with air. Exhale through your mouth as you tighten your abs, pulling them in towards your spine. Your stomach should flatten, not bulge, as you exhale.
• Kegels (Pelvic floor contractions): Can be done in any position. Tighten and hold for 5 seconds. Do several times a day.
• Pelvic Tilt: While lying on your back with your knees bent, tilt your pelvis backward as you tighten your abs and exhale. Try to bring your belly button to your backbone as you push your low back into the mattress/floor. Hold for 5 seconds, inhale, and relax.
• Stretch out the kinks: Lie on your back with arms and legs out straight, palms up. Bend at the ankles so toes are aiming for the ceiling, tighten thigh muscles and push knees into the bed. Pull your abdominal muscles in and flatten your back. Squeeze your shoulder blades together and elongate your neck. Press your hands back into the bed and hold this for a few seconds, then relax. This allows your muscles to contract isometrically (without changing length), which is safe on the body and provides an easy readjustment to normal posture after birth.
• Active posture check: Standing - tuck your chin in to elongate the neck, pull your shoulders down and back, tighten your abdominal muscles while pulling your belly into your backbone, tighten your pelvic floor, keep knees soft, and increase the arch in your foot.

Phase 2

• Bridges: Lying on your back with knees bent, contract your abdominal, buttock, and pelvic floor muscles, and raise hips up off the floor. Hold for 5 seconds and relax down slowly. The farther your feet are from your buttocks the more challenging it will be. Bridging can also be progressed by lifting one leg while up in bridge position - but you must be able to keep hips level to do this.
• Heel Sliding: Lying on your back, tighten your abdominal muscles and do a pelvic tilt. Slowly slide out one leg at a time while tying to maintain your pelvic tilt. You can progress to sliding both legs out together as long as you can keep the pelvic tilt and not allow the back to arch. Always bring legs back one at a time.

Phase 3
If diastisis is present after day 3 postpartum, do not move on to phase 3.

• Curl ups: Lying on your back, begin with arms outstretched, exhale, and pull your belly into your spine as you slowly reach with your hands towards your knees. Only roll up until your shoulder blades lift off, then inhale and slowly lower. Be sure your stomach flattens (not expands) as you rise. Also, do diagonal curl ups by reaching right arm past left knee as you curl up, and vice versa. Increase difficulty by changing arm positions, from easiest to hardest - arms outstretched, arms crossed across chest, and arms crossed behind head.

CESAREAN DELIVERY
*See instructions above

• Diaphragmatic breathing*
• Huffing: This is important if general anesthesia was used - it helps clear mucous out of the throat and lungs. Take quick forceful outward breaths while tightening the abdominal and pelvic floor muscles.
• Ankle/foot movements help prevent blood clots after anesthesia.
• Pelvic Tilt*
• Bridges with a twist*: While hips are elevated, drop one hip toward mat, then the other, so that you are gently twisting your hips. This helps alleviate gas pain as well as working your core.
• Kegels*
• Straight and diagonal curl ups* (if no diastisis present)
• Active posture check*

BOTH VAGINAL AND CESAREAN DELIVERIES

Move on to exercises listed below as tolerated.

• Single leg lowering: Lying on your back with knees bent, do a pelvic tilt and lift one leg up. Straighten out the leg, maintaining pelvic tilt as you return leg. Progress by lifting both legs and doing a bicycle motion. Your abdomen should be flattening with exhale, not bulging.

• Double leg lowering: Maintain pelvic tilt as you lower your legs, starting with knees bent and straightening legs out as you lower. Only lower as far as you can maintain your pelvic tilt. Once you feel your back begin to arch, return legs one at a time to starting position. Double leg raising will work your hip muscles and is too much pressure on your spine and abdominal muscles - LOWER with both legs but RAISE one at a time.

Baby Fit has two additional articles to help you lose the baby belly; Post-Pregnancy Fitness 101 - How and When to Start Exercising After the Baby Arrives and Post-Pregnancy Core Rebuilding -Exercises to Help Repair Your Abs.

Remember you can do it, one step at a time!

Top Fall Foods
Pumpkin
Butternut Squash
Sweet Potatoes
Acorn Squash
Root Vegetable - Rutabagas, Beets

In the video form this story Liz Bonis talked about Tofu, particularly Silken Tofu as a substitute for the fat in your fall recipes.  Whats the difference between silken and regular tofu?

When shopping for tofu, you’ll notice there is usually a selection of plain tofu available as well as a variety of pre-cooked, marinated and even pre-sweetened brands. Here’s what you need to know about the different kinds of tofu.

Answer: There are two main kinds of tofu: silken and regular. Silken tofu, also called soft, silk or Japanese-style tofu has a softer consistency than regular tofu and will fall apart if not handled carefully. You may notice that silken tofu, unlike regular tofu, is sometimes packaged in aseptic boxes that do not require refrigeration. Because of this, silken tofu is sometimes sold in a different section of grocery stores than regular tofu, which is packed in water and requires refrigeration.

Both silken and regular tofu can be found in soft, medium, firm and extra firm consistencies. They are made from the same ingredients, but they are processed slightly differently, and are not interchangeable in a recipe.

 

Silken Tofu

Most recipes will let you know when silken tofu is needed. I find that there is little difference between firm and extra firm tofu, and for most purposes, the different kinds of silken tofu are interchangeable, so don’t worry if your grocer only stocks one kind.

Salad dressings, sauces and desserts usually use silken tofu for a thick and creamy texture. Silken tofu in an aseptic container has a shelf life of up to a year, unopened. Once opened, submerge any used portion with water in a container, cover, and refrigerate for up to a week.

 

Regular Tofu

Regular tofu, also called Chinese-style tofu or bean curd is more common than silken tofu and comes in a plastic container in the refrigerator or produce section of most grocery stores. Firm or extra firm regular tofu is best used in stir fries, tofu bakes or any dish where you will want the tofu to retain its shape. For recipes that call for crumbled or mashed tofu, such a as mock ricotta or scrambled tofu, firm tofu will work just fine, though medium or soft tofu will have a smoother consistency.

Ladies if you have a yummy and healthy recipe using the Top Fall foods, send it my way. Take a look around Food Fit to learn more about the Fall fruits and Vegetables.
Try the Silken Tofu  it is available at Wegmans.

Active Life: Outdoor Challenge features a unique user interface that puts the player’s entire body in motion, yet is easy enough to use for the whole family to enjoy. Unlike the Wii balance board with the Wii Fit game, the Active Life mat supports and encourages vigorous activities such as running and jumping, allowing for an energizing game experience.
 
Active Life: Outdoor Challenge also offers a variety of pre-set exercise routines, grouping the game’s events into workouts focusing on different areas of fitness such as endurance, reflexes, and general body strength. In Exercise Training mode, you can select a series of training types, such as Full Body, 5 Minute Easy or Hard, Relaxed Exercise, Upper Body, Lower Body, Reflex Exercises, Jumping Exercises, Balance Exercises, Endurance, and Marathon.

After you select your workout, you’ll be able to see the set of mini games that have been chosen for the workout, and you complete them one after another to finish the entire exercise set. Each day you participate in the exercise training mode will be tracked, and each exercise gives you points that are used to track your progress each time you play, so you can easily compare your activity level of one day to the next. This is not as much of an exact science as Wii Fit. Active Life does not measure and track your weight, height and BMI to calculate the amount of weight being lost. Instead, you’re comparing your activity level of one day to the next.  This is great for kids and pre-teens to track their activity. This system shifts the focus from the number on the scale and a scued BMI reading and puts the focus on being ACTIVE!  That is what I want my family to focus on BEING ACTIVE!

I absolutely LOVED the 5 minute Hard and the Endurance!  The 5 Minute Hard was made up of Sprint Challenge, Head-on Hurdler, and Timber Trail.  The Endurance was comprised of Sprint Challenge, Jump Rope, Conveyor Runner, Log Leaper, and Head-on Hurdler. I think that Active Life: Outdoor Challenge is a great alternative to Nintendo’s Wii Fit.  I’d definitely suggest checking out Active Life: Outdoor Challenge, especially for family game time.  This is a great game to get your kids more active. Mason and Anna agree that the mini-game collections on Active Life are some of their favorites for the Wii.

This weekend my family and I went to Stokoe Farms to pick pumpkins and enjoy the rest of their family activities.  Well, there they were on the menu again, Deep Fried Oreos.  I just could not help myself this time.  There was no walking away.  I went right up to the counter and placed my order, 6 cookies for $3.75.  The Oreos came out of the oil almost on fire they were so hot!  When they finally cooled off and I could taste them, they were good, not the best food I have ever eaten, but good.   The cookie loses it’s hard crunchy texture and becomes more like yummy warm chocolaty cake and the center melts to creamy frosting.  Now I would like to state for the record, I ate 1.5 cookies, NOT all 6.  
Tricia making NOT the Best Choice… Deep Fried Oreos.
I think I will be able to resist them at the future festivals, I will save my calorie splurge for a new tasty treat.  If you make a “Bad Choice”  just remember it is NOT the End of the World.  Create balance and make more good choices and you will stay on track!

To make up for this increase in calorie intake I did walk the corn maze and I even did a little extra workout in the pumpkin patch.  You know overhead pumpkin press and pumpkin curls.

You never know where you can burn a few extra calories.

WOMAN’S WEEK AT THE GYM

If you read this without laughing out loud, there is something wrong with you. This is dedicated to everyone who ever attempted to get into a regular workout routine.

Dear Diary,
For my birthday this year, my daughter (the dear) purchased a week of personal training at the local health club for me.

Although I am still in great shape since being a high school football cheerleader 43 years ago, I decided it would be a good idea to go ahead and give it a try.

I called the club and made my reservations with a personal trainer named Belinda, w ho identified h herself as a 26-year-old aerobics instructor and model for athletic clothing and swim wear.

My daughter seemed pleased with my enthusiasm to get started! The club encouraged me to keep a diary to chart my progress.

________________________________
MONDAY:
Started my day at 6:00 a.m.  Tough to get out of bed, but found it was well worth it when I arrived at the health club to find Belinda waiting for me. She is something of a Greek goddess - with blond hair, dancing eyes and a dazzling white smile. Woo Hoo!!

Belinda gave me a tour and showed me the machines. I enjoyed watching the skillful way in which she conducted her aerobics class after my workout today. Very inspiring!

Belinda was encouraging as I did my sit-ups, although my gut was already aching from holding it in the whole time she was around. This is going to be a FANTASTIC week-!!

________________________________
TUESDAY:
I drank a whole pot of coffee, but I finally made it out the door. Belinda made me lie on my back and push a heavy iron bar into the air then she put weights on it! My legs were a little wobbly on the treadmill, but I made the full mile. Belinda’s rewarding smile made it all worthwhile. I feel GREAT-!! It’s a whole new life for me.

_______________________________
WEDNESDAY:
The only way I can brush my teeth is by laying the toothbrush on the counter and moving my mouth back and forth over it. I believe I have a hernia in both pectorals. Driving was OK as long as I didn’t try to steer or stop. I parked on top of a GEO in the club parking lot.

Belinda was impatient with me, insisting that my screams bothered other club members. Her nasally whine that is VERY annoying.

My chest hurt when I got on the treadmill, so Belinda put me on the stair monster. Why the hell would anyone invent a machine to simulate an activity rendered obsolete by elevators? Belinda told me it would help me get in shape and enjoy life. She said some other shit too.

_______________________________
THURSDAY:
Belinda was waiting for me with her vampire-like teeth exposed as her thin, cruel lips were pulled back in a full snarl. I couldn’t help being a half an hour late - it took me that long to tie my shoes.

Belinda took me to work out with dumbbells. When she was not looking, I ran and hid in the restroom. She sent another skinny b—- to find me.

Then, as punishment, she put me on the rowing machine — which I sank.
_________ _ _____________________
FRIDAY:
I hate that b—- Belinda more than any human being has ever hated any other human being in the history of the world. Stupid, skinny, anemic, anorexic little cheerleader. If there was a part of my body I could move without unbearable pain, I would beat her with it.

Belinda wanted me to work on my triceps. I don’t have any triceps! And if you don’t want dents in the floor, don’t hand me the damn barbells or anything that weighs more than a sandwich.

The treadmill flung me off and I landed on a health and nutrition teacher. Why couldn’t it have been someone softer, like the drama coach or the choir director?

________________________________
SATURDAY:
Belinda left a message on my answering machine in her grating, shrilly voice wondering why I did not show up today. Just hearing her voice made me want to smash the machine with my planner; however, I lacked the strength to even use the TV remote and ended up catching eleven straight hours of the Weather Channel.

________________________________
SUNDAY:
I’m having the Church van pick me up for services today so I can go and thank GOD that this week is over. I will also pray that next year my daughter (the little s—) will choose a gift for me that is fun — like a root canal or a hysterectomy. I still say if God had wanted me to bend over, he would have sprinkled the floor with diamonds!!!   

I am not as bad as Belinda, right ladies?

Alison Sweeney (”Days of Our Lives”) returns as host of the series, which challenges and encourages overweight contestants to shed pounds in a safe and recommended manner through comprehensive diet and exercise as they compete for a grand prize of $250,000. The unscripted and life-altering reality series gathers contestants from across the country to face real-life temptations, while being provided with approved weight-loss skills and resources in an effort to help them transform their bodies, health — and ultimately — their lives. Contestants work out under the supervision of professional trainers Jillian Michaels and Bob Harper.

Jillian Michaels a trainer from this NBC hit series is now joining the Wii scene.   Jillian Michaels Fitness Ultimatum 2009  video game uses the Wii balance board, and is scheduled to be will be released on October 21, 2008.

Stay tuned for a Training with Tricia review after Oct 21!

The world today is all about instant gratification and, Right NOW! We have the knowledge, the technology, and the credit to desire and acquire anything in a matter of minutes. We expect quick, fast, express, and in a hurry as the standard in almost everything we do.

In our quest for a healthy life, our need for speed often works against us. If you’re overweight, or out of shape, it is more than likely it took more than 30 days to happen. Therefore, it will take more than 30 days to get in shape and drop the extra pounds. Enter this process with the mindset to take one step at a time!

I have been listening to a song being overplayed on the radio lately, One Step At A Time by Jordin Sparks. This song has a great message for all of us in many areas of our lives. Here are the lyrics.

Hurry up and wait
So close, but so far away
Everything that you’ve always dreamed of
Close enough for you to taste
But you just can’t touch

[Bridge]
You wanna show the world, but no one knows your name yet
Wonder when and where and how you’re gonna make it
You know you can if you get the chance
In your face and the door keeps slamming
Now you’re feeling more and more frustrated
And you’re getting all kind of impatient waiting
We live and we learn to take

[Chorus]
One step at a time
There’s no need to rush
It’s like learning to fly
Or falling in love
It’s gonna happen when it’s
Supposed to happen that we
Find the reasons why
One step at a time

[Verse 2]
You believe and you doubt
You’re confused, you got it all figured out
Everything that you always wished for
Could be yours, should be yours, would be yours
If they only knew

[Bridge]
You wanna show the world, but no one knows your name yet
Wonder when and where and how you’re gonna make it
You know you can if you get the chance
In your face and the door keeps slamming
Now you’re feeling more and more frustrated
And you’re getting all kind of impatient waiting
We live and we learn to take

[Chorus]
One step at a time
There’s no need to rush
It’s like learning to fly
Or falling in love
It’s gonna happen when it’s
Supposed to happen that we
Find the reasons why
One step at a time

[Verse 3]
When you can’t wait any longer
But there’s no end in sight
When you need to find the strength
It’s the faith that makes you stronger
The only way we get there
Is one step at a time

[Chorus]
Take one step at a time
There’s no need to rush
It’s like learning to fly
Or falling in love
It’s gonna happen when it’s
Supposed to happen that we
Find the reasons why
One step at a time

[Chorus]
One step at a time
There’s no need to rush
It’s like learning to fly
Or falling in love
It’s gonna happen when it’s
Supposed to happen that we
Find the reasons why
One step at a time

This blurb was from an article, How To Make Your Home a Skinny House, in Health Magazine.  I love the tips for the kitchen about portion control.  This is huge! Use a salad plate insteadof a dinner plate, replace your fork with chop sticks, indiviual portions from your cupcake pan or icecream scoop, use a microplane or zester, it grates finely more flavor and less cheese or chocolate.