I am curious how much water people drink on a daily basis.  It seems as though water has a stigma of not tasting very good.  I think this comes from high consumption of soda, juice and the sugar filled vitamin water.   A little trick to make water taste good, put sliced fresh fruit in it;  things like oranges, lemons, limes, strawberries…..

In my observation many people do not even come close to drinking the recommended 2-3 Liters of water a day.  There are so many benefits to water, the most important one is it keeps your body functioning properly… our bodies are 60% water.  Some of the other great benefits are water is a natural diuretic - meaning you drink plenty of water and you won’t retain water and look puffy.  Water helps to flush the Kidneys,  it helps reduce the appearance of cellulite,  improves the look of  your skin, and one of the most important functions is body temperature regulation.

So my question is, How much water do you drink?

Shawni diet, exercise, fitness, hydration

1 can creamed corn (14oz)

2 cups pancake mix

1 egg

2 TBS oil

~1/2 cup Water

Mix all ingredients together well and  cook as you would pancakes.

Great for breakfast or dinner as well as kids.

Shawni breakfast, corn, dinner, healthy food, kids, pancakes

One of the questions I get asked most often is how I stay on a ‘diet’ followed up with I just can’t give everything up and stay on a diet.  The thing is, giving up everything you like or love is the best way to set yourself up for failure on your ‘diet’.  You have to think in terms of moderation; this of course will vary depending on the person, the goal, activity level, and food weaknesses.  I feel it is also important to stress that ‘diet’ is more a term for what you eat daily rather than what you are restricting.

The way I recommend  approaching a daily diet is to start with reducing the sugars and fats.  This simply means switch from regular soda to diet or better yet cut soda altogether, order grilled foods rather than fried, and eat portions that are your palm size (fingers not included…).   Once you start with this and are comfortable reduce a bit more.  Start with choosing water rather than juice or soda, choose lean cuts of meat or fish, hold the sauce, get salad dressing on the side and eat LOTS of vegetables.

If  you start with small steps and then build on that you are more likely to stick with your ‘diet’ and it will just become part of your lifestyle.  I feel strongly that if you want to meet your goals you need to find the program that works best for you and make it a lifestyle.  If you choose to go the route of moderating portions and altering basic food choices I suggest that you keep a daily food log.  If you log what you eat at each meal it keeps you honest and you can look back on the week and see where you may need to make some adjustments.

Shawni atkins, body shape, diet, fitness, food, jenny craig, weightwatchers

this is really easy and quite tasty…. and yes it is healthy!

2 medium size sweet potato
1TBS olive oil
1 or 2 Low Fat Turkey Sausage (pre cooked)

Peal and dice the sweet potato into about 1 inc cubes and pre-cook in the microwave about 3-4 minutes.  Slice the turkey sausage into small pieces.  Heat oil in your wok or pan on med-high heat.  Add the sweet potato first, once they are semi-soft add the turkey sausage and cook till the sweet potatoes are soft.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Shawni food, low fat, recipe

Well it is late May and one of the things many people think about is getting into their bikini for the summer. I have to say I am currently in the process of ‘Hawaii-sizing’ myself. My advise to those men and women that are getting ready for vacation or just want to look good for the upcoming months is to take a good hard look at your diet and exercise plan.

I find that in evaluating your diet it is helpful to log what you are eating for a week or so. It keeps you honest as well as shows you a clear account of what you really have been eating. It is easy to forget little snacks here and there if you do not write things down. You might be surprised what you find. By logging your food intake you can then make adjustments such as reducing portion sizes, increasing the number of times a day you eat, cutting carbonated beverages, or choosing a piece of fruit as a snack. Making minor alterations to your diet will have a huge effect on helping you meet your goal.

Of course just changing your diet is not going to get your to your goal, you have to put in the time and increase your exercise as well. Try starting with adding a 30 min walk at lunch or in the evening, and taking the stairs (better yet two by two to work that tush). Realistically you should be able to find 30-45min of time to be active even it that means doing lunges, squats, and core exercises while you are watching TV.

With a little bit of change and focus you will be well on your way to getting into that bikini… guys those swim trunks.

Shawni bikini, fitness, summer

Sponsored Athlete
I would like to thank 4everFit for making me one of their sponsored athletes!

Muscle and Fitness
My feature in the November 2005 issue of Muscle & Fitness Europe

Click here to read it

Shawni 4everFit, Muscle&Fitness, supplements