drink more water.

I'm so excited about everyone who is on board for this month's contest! Yay for all of you. It's not to late to jump in and share your hints and tips for losing weight, sticking with it, little ways to stay motivated, etc. and get in on the contest. (Read more about the contest here.)

Water is an important part of keeping your body healthy. Make sure you are drinking enough of it. Eight 8-ounce glasses are recommended for keeping your body hydrated through out the day.

Here are a couple of tidbits about water and your body:

*Drink more when you exercise. "If you exercise or engage in any activity that makes you sweat, you need to drink extra water to compensate for the fluid loss. An extra 400 to 600 milliliters (about 1.5 to 2.5 cups) of water should suffice for short bouts of exercise, but intense exercise lasting more than an hour (for example, running a marathon) requires more fluid intake. How much additional fluid you need depends on how much you sweat during exercise, the duration of your exercise and the type of activity you're engaged in.

During long bouts of intense exercise, it's best to use a sports drink that contains sodium, as this will help replace sodium lost in sweat and reduce the chances of developing hyponatremia, which can be life-threatening. Also, continue to replace fluids after you're finished exercising." Mayo Clinic. Read more here.

*"the liver's duties is to pick up the slack for the kidneys, which need plenty of water to work properly. If the kidneys are water-deprived, the liver has to do their work along with its own, lowering its total productivity. It then can't metabolize fat as quickly or efficiently as it could when the kidneys were pulling their own weight. If you allow this to happen, not only are you being unfair to your liver, but you're also setting yourself up to store fat.* Maia Appleby at inch-aweigh.com Read more here.

*If you think that drinking that much water sends you running to the toliet all day long don't give up. Maia says, "What is really happening is that your body is flushing itself of the water it has been storing throughout all those years of "survival mode". It takes a while, but this is a beautiful thing happening to you. As you continue to give your body all the water it could ask for, it gets rid of what it doesn't need. It gets rid of the water it was holding onto in your ankles and your hips and thighs, maybe even around your belly. You are excreting much more than you realize. Your body figures it doesn't need to save these stores anymore; it's trusting that the water will keep coming, and if it does, eventually, the flushing (of both the body and the potty) will cease, allowing the human to return to a normal life. It's true. This is called the "breakthrough point."

*Do it for your skin. "You've heard this since high school, and it's true. Water will do wonders for your looks! It flushes out impurities in your skin, leaving you with a clear, glowing complexion. It also makes your skin look younger. Skin that is becoming saggy, either due to aging or weight loss, plumps up very nicely when the skin cells are hydrated.

In addition, it improves muscle tone. You can lift weights until you're blue in the face, but if your muscles are suffering from a drought, you won't notice a pleasant difference in your appearance. Muscles that have all the water they need contract more easily, making your workout more effective, and you'll look much nicer than if you had flabby muscles under sagging skin." Maia Appleby. Read more here.

Water and Weight loss myth:

*"Drinking water in and of itself will not lead to weight loss. Of course, water is key to a healthy lifestyle and drinking enough has many benefits, but when people lose weight due to drinking water, it's most likely because they're substituting it for high-calorie juices and sodas."  about.com Read more here.

Whether it's possible to lose weight drinking water or not it, the overall health benefits are huge.  I think it's definitely true that water can help you avoid things that make you GAIN weight.  If you are replacing soda or other drinks with water than, to me, water is helping you lose weight.  If you are drinking water instead of putting food in your mouth, then water is helping your to lose weight.  If you are drinking water before, after, and during your daily exercise and helping your body to run more efficiently, then your body may be losing weight. 

I know that, for me, when I drink water before dinner my stomach gets the message sooner that I'm full.  I also know that when I drink water instead of having that high fat snack I'm much less likely to eat the high fat snack and reach for something more healthy.  If nothing else, it buys you some time to rethink what you you are eating instead of mindlessly shoving whatever is in front of you in your mouth.

Here's another take on hydration.

No matter the reason for drinking water you can't go wrong with making eight 8-ounce glassesof water sprinkled through out your day part of your daily routine.  Your muscles and skin will definitely thank you.

So here's to water and better health.

healthy. LIFE.

it's time.

I've been thinking about what to do for the contest of the year and decided that we are going to have a year long contest (no matter what don't give up this year...it's easy to get back to a simple plan, remember!).  We are also going to have some monthly contests.

Contest for this month:

This month's contest will go through the first week of February.  To kick off the year the winner will receive a pair of workout shoes valued at $70, a magazine subscription of your choice, you will also get the book that I'm talking about today.

To win:

you just need to be the person with the most comments/help/advice on Move it Monday posts.  Give us all of the wisdom you can muster.   We want to hear about a favorite recipe, a way to feed the midnight muchies something healthy, your favorite motiviational tool or quote, emotional tips, what you do when you're trying not to eat something you love, what you do to exercise, your mantras to keep you on the path, anything and everything you can think of that helps you out when you're trying to lose weight.  Tell us how you battle through those times of the month when it seems like you do nothing but sit around like a bloated whale because you're feeling full on pms.  What do you eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  The person that posts the most ideas and is the most helpful will win the prize package (and some additional goodies).  SO get thinking and sharing in the comments section of Move Monday posts this month!!

Contest for this year:

The winner will receive a full day with me.  It can be a Day with Davina or it can be a full day of a photo session with me.  You get to choose.  It will also include other goodies that we will add onto the winner's package through out the year.  You will want to win this!

To win:

*Be the person that posts the most often on Move it Monday through out the entire year.

*Keep a journal and have at least 12 entries by the end of the year. (That's at least one per month...this is about getting some consistent habits.)

*Check in every week on Move it Monday comments.

*Get 20 minutes of exercise at least 4 days a week.

*Start eating off of smaller plates...or at least eat much smaller portions at every meal.

Now,  I know that you can't do this every single day of your life.  Take it a day at a time.  Do the best you can.  Don't give up.  The person that does the best at developing consistency will be the winner.  It's not really about being the one that loses the most weight (although I think that it will be a natural thing that will happen) it's about changing your approach to food and moving your body.

I just read another book..."I can make you thin"

 Paul says that you just need to do the four golden rules:

*Eat when you're hungry.

*Eat only what you want, never what you think you "should".

*Eat consciously and enjoy every mouthful.  (When you slow down you eat less naturally)

*Stop when you think you're full.

He discusses how our brains have made well worn paths from our thoughts and habits toward food.  In order to make new paths you need to change the way you're approaching food and exercise.  He has what he calls hypnosis moments that he has you do.  It seems to me that they are meditations coupled with acupuncture/pressure points.

I don't think that there is a magic formula to losing weight.  I do think that Paul has some good points.  Many of the golden rules that he suggests are ones that I'm already doing and seeing results with.  The other issues he addresses in his book are ones that I know I need to work on as well.

This book is included in this month's prize package.

So...share share share share.  Tell us in the comments what your hints and tips are for eating well, exercising, healthy food, and all of the rest.  Be the one with the most amount of helpful comments on Move it Monday posts and you'll be this month's winner!

good. LIFE.

too true.

For part of our date on Saturday night, my husband and I went to Barnes and Noble.  While I was there I discovered this book, The 9-inch "diet".  I love this book.

I think I'm just excited to find a book that goes along with what I've been doing.  I put less on my plate and the try to leave a little there every time I eat.  I think it's one of the keys to me losing weight.

So much of losing weight is just having a little bit of discipline over time.  Just doing something small and then sticking with it will alter the shape of your body.

Alex Bogusky says that the reason that Americans are so overweight is because our plates have gotten bigger over the past 50+ years.  Literally.  They have really gotten bigger.  In the 1950s plates were only 9 inches.  (This was a total surprise to me!  I've been out looking for vintage plates and been wondering where the dinner plates were!  The dinner plates were 9 inches...so I've been seeing them all along.)  Now our dessert plates are 9 inches!  Is that crazy?!?

Alex says that we've as Americans have gotten bigger in direct proportion to how much bigger our plates have gotten...so eat off of a 9 inch plate (don't heap it full of food) and you'll lose weight.  Of course, he goes into much more detail so you should get the book.  I love the way the book is designed, the amount of pictures, and the way Alex writes.  It's easy and fun to read and it is full of common sense.

The 9-inch "diet" is not a diet.  Alex says that over and over again in the book.  It's just a simple perspective change in the way you eat and how much you eat.  It's the way you eat for the rest of your life.  Eat for dinner on the size plate you eat for dessert and you'll change your eating habits.

A few other points I love from his book:

*The French are thinner than Americans.  At first researchers thought that the reason for that was because they consummed red wine with their cheese and red meat.  What is really the case is just that they eat less of it than we Americans do...they eat off of 9 inch plates.  Most people in Europe eat off of smaller plates.  It's Americans that think bigger plates are better.

*An order of fries in England is a very small plate with about 10 fries on it...compare that with the supersize fries from McDonalds.  That's a big difference!

This book is an encouraging look at losing weight and keeping it off.  It's worked for me.  Just eating your food in much smaller portions and not having seconds will make a huge difference.  It's one of the ways that I've lost 20 pounds in the last few months.  The thing I love about the way I've been losing is that it has changed the way I look at food, it's do-able, and it's something that I can do anywhere.

Just make small changes.  Decide to eat off of a smaller plate, when you have dessert just eat 1/2 of what you'd usually eat, go for a 20 minute walk everyday, and instead of asking your kids to run up stairs and get you something...you run upstairs to get it. 

We all say it and it's true...it's the little things that make the difference.

What little things are you going to do this year?

new. LIFE.

one step.

So many things encourage major life changes.  Huge steps.  A complete overhaul. Sweeping changes.  Innovative approaches.  A completely new way to do things.

What I've found, and what the book I just started reading (One Small Step Can Change Your Life by Robert Maurer) says, is that small changes can have huge impact. 

I've now lost 20 pounds.  This didn't come because I made a major change, had surgery, cut major things out of my diet, or jumped on the latest diet craze wagon.  I made small and consistent changes and those changes, over time, have yielded wonderful results.

I decided I would start getting some kind of exercise for 20 minutes a day. I just wanted to get my body moving.  I made a small change in the amount of food I ate by taking a smaller portion and then leaving a little bit of food on my plate at each meal.  Small things.  I didn't decided to cut sugar or carbs or protein from my diet.  Just to eat a little less.

Over time that little bit, those little steps, that 20 minutes have helped.  In fact, they've made a big difference.  I feel better about the way I look, my body is stronger, my muscles are leaner, and my heart is healthier.  I love it.

What small step are you going to take?

small. STEPS.

one day late.

A friend of mine sent me this totally anti-healthy/anti-watch-what-you-eat-for-the-holidays email. I'm going to post it here because I got it on Move it Monday and I thought it was very inappropriate. (lol) or appropriate...which ever way you want to look at it.

This time of year is a really tough time to start on a new healthy eating program. If you're already on one it's tough to just stay on it. For all of you trying to stick to your guns right now I hope the following email makes you laugh...just don't give in to the ideas! :) And to everyone who wants to get started...I won't make you get healthy at the hardest time of the year. I will say to make sure and check back at the beginning of the year, though. We're going to get some motivation going with prizes. (So make sure to tell me what would motivate you to get your booty shakin' in the comments and I'll see what I can do to make it a great prize in January.)

And...I am posting this funny look at NOT staying healthy but make sure to read to the end to see how you can avoid packing on the pounds over the next couple of weeks.

1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving rum balls.

2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. It's rare. You can't find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an eggnog-alcoholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it. Have one for me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's Christmas!

3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.

4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.

5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello?

6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.

7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again.

8. Same for pies. Apple. Pumpkin. Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day?

9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost.. I mean, have some standards.

10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Re-read tips; start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner.

And now...Here are some ways to keep those pounds at bay during the holidays...if you're interested!!

-Take a walk with family members.

-Organize a tour of the neighborhood lights.

-Go to a fitness gym with a friend.

-Organize a family outing like skiing, skating, ice skating, horseback riding, etc.

-Eat only one of those cookies or chocolates and then walk away from the plate.  Just walk away.  Nothing to see here.

-Have only one helping of Christmas dinner.

-Eat whatever you want just have a very SMALL piece of it all...(okay, not sure that that one works exactly but if you were going to eat some of everything in large quantities then having a very small amount of it WOULD be more healthy the then possibility, right?)

Have fun!!!

good. LIFE.