Mastering Pizza Cravings: Satisfy Your Taste Buds and Stay Fit with Healthy Choices
Mastering Pizza Cravings: Satisfy Your Taste Buds and Stay Fit with Healthy Choices Healthy Pizza Choices: Savoring Pizza Without the Guilt After years of working at our Fitness Retreat, it’s hard to say we haven’t heard it all. Healthy pizza choices are very important to most people, and rightfully so. Pizza is a delicious, sinful little treat that we need to have. This is one of the many scenarios that happen all too often… It’s Friday afternoon, you are leaving your office after a long hard week, and you are looking forward to a much-needed break. As you begin your drive home, you are thinking about being home, relaxing, and maybe even rewarding yourself for all of the hard work you have done. Maybe it even occurs to you that you are feeling as if you have earned it. Surely everyone deserves a reward now and then, you think. As this thought crosses your mind, you pass by a Pizza Hut that seems to be calling your name. With your eyes fixated on the big red and white sign, your car appears to be steering itself into the driveway. Before you realize it, you have devoured several slices of the delicious deep-dish pizza, and as a feeling of guilt washes over you, it occurs to you that this does not feel like a reward. That is what many pizza lovers struggle with, which is why we are here to help with healthy pizza choices. As with most rewards, the tendency to go overboard with pizza, or any food for that matter, is ever-present. While we have all used food either consciously or unconsciously as a reward at some point, we have all probably also abused it as well. As you can see from the example given above, without conscious awareness of what we are doing, this tendency becomes magnified. Much of the reason for this is due to the fact that when we are not aware of what we are doing, we are at a loss to change it. As you can see from above, the reality of our actions does not occur to us until after we have already done them. Clearly, at that point, it is much too late. It is usually then that we feel overwhelmed with guilt. The difference between using something, food or anything else as a reward, and abusing it, is being consciously aware of what we are doing. With this awareness, we are armed with the power of choice about what we do. This, of course, enables us to evaluate our decisions, negotiate for what we want, and leave the situation feeling satisfied. This sense of choice applies to everything we do, and in the area of weight loss, it becomes invaluable. Applying a sense of choice to foods, we are able to evaluate every decision we make, weighing the impact of what we want to eat, against where we want to be. If we want to eat a hot fudge sundae, yet we want to fit into that pair of pants currently collecting dust in our closet, we are going to have to make some serious choices. The reason this choice becomes so important is that without evaluating it clearly, one of two things will inevitably happen: we will either avoid the sundae, telling ourselves we can never have it, feel deprived, and end up overdoing it later, or we will avoid thinking anything, just have it anyway without thinking about it, and end up overdoing it and feeling guilty. Avoiding both of these negative situations then becomes dependent on our ability to think clearly through the decision-making process. Obviously, we can neither avoid the sundae totally nor have all of it right now, as neither one of these choices satisfies both of our wants and goals. So, we are going to have to be able to negotiate with ourselves for both these wants and goals and look for a third option. When it comes to pizza, healthy pizza choices come in many slices, pardon the pun. We can either have less of the dangerous deep-dish version, reducing the total caloric impact of it, or we can come up with a healthier version. That is just what Fitness Retreat has done. Offering tasty, yet surprisingly healthy versions of the foods we love is what this company specializes in. Imagine pizza that is fresh, healthy, and guilt-free! Cauliflower Pizza Crust Recipe Ingredients: 2 pounds cauliflower florets, riced 1 egg, beaten ⅓ cup soft goat cheese (chevre) 1 teaspoon dried oregano Pinch of salt Method: Preheat your oven to 400°F. To make the cauliflower rice, pulse batches of raw cauliflower florets in a food processor until a rice-like texture is achieved. Fill a large pot with about an inch of water and bring it to a boil. Add the “rice” and cover; let it cook for about 4-5 minutes. Drain into a fine-mesh strainer. This is the secret: Once you’ve strained the rice, transfer it to a clean, thin dishtowel. Wrap up the steamed rice in the dishtowel, twist it up, then squeeze all the excess moisture out! It’s amazing how much extra liquid will be released, which will leave you with a nice and dry pizza crust. In a large bowl, mix your strained rice, beaten egg, goat cheese, and spices. (Don’t be afraid to use your hands! You want it very well mixed.) It won’t be like any pizza dough you’ve ever worked with, but don’t worry– it’ll hold together! Press the dough out onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. (It’s important that it’s lined with parchment paper, or it will stick.) Keep the dough about ⅓” thick, and make the edges a little higher for a “crust” effect, if you like. Bake for 35-40 minutes at 400°F. The crust should be firm and golden brown when finished. Now’s the time to add all your favorites–sauce, cheese, and any other toppings you like. Return the pizza to the 400°F
MAKING SENSE OF WEIGHT LOSS NONSENSE!
Weight Loss: 5 Powerful Ways to Make Sense Out of the Nonsense The Struggles of Weight Loss At our weight loss camp, Live in Fitness, we’ve noticed how hard it is for everyone to grasp the sometimes intensive techniques of losing weight, especially after trying so many things at home and not having them work out. You’ve been counting calories, exercising diligently, drinking more water, and learning about the “right” foods to eat. You even went to the health food store. As you have thoroughly raided your cupboards of any evil temptations and thrown away all the unfinished ice cream containers in your freezer, you stop to wonder: is this really going to work? The Absurdity of Dieting in Modern Society It seems fitting that both of those things should go in the trash. After all, you just read an article on the National Institute of Health website that reported that the average mood of people when watching a sitcom was mild depression. Perhaps reading People magazine has the same effect. After all, all those actresses and models look the same. In fact, they kind of look about as plastic as the ice cream that is melting onto Angelina’s face. If the website also said that eating “fake” foods like every diet food these days is bad for you, then it occurred to you that possibly the same bad effect the doctors are warning you about might happen if you are exposed to those “fake” people. The Reality of Diet Products And what isn’t fake these days? More than 65% of the U.S. population is currently trying to lose weight, according to the website. When you went to the grocery store, it certainly wasn’t hard to find what you wanted in a diet version. As you piled the low-sugar jam on top of the low-sugar, low-carb bread, you felt as though you had discovered some hidden treasure. Everything came in a diet version. You could even get Ben and Jerry’s chocolate explosion ice cream in low sugar. It even felt like an explosion in your gut as you got so excited and downed the whole thing, only to read the label and discover that the “fake” sugar, aspartame, can have laxative effects. That’s when the People magazine came in handy as you were stuck in the bathroom for the rest of the night, pondering the predicament you were in. What is going on here, you wondered? No wonder that website also said that we are the most depressed nation on the planet. The Exercise Conundrum As you take a look at your zippy new Nike running shoes staring across the room at you, you think to yourself, no wonder we are all gaining weight; nobody feels like exercising when they are depressed. Or, wait, are we so depressed because we have gained weight? This is all getting so confusing. Good thing that website included a mental health section; thinking about all this weight loss stuff is enough to make anybody crazy. Hey, wait a minute, they did say sunlight was good for ADD kids. As you look back at your Nikes, they do seem to be pointing toward the door. Maybe if sunlight helps those ADD kids, it will help make sense out of this mess. A Step Towards Health You lace your shoes and step outside, thinking maybe, just maybe you’ll find some answers. You start down your block and head to the nearest park. If sunshine is good, grass and trees might be better still. The more nature, the better, right? Then it hits you: the website said sunshine is good for the mental health of ADD kids, yet all those weight loss products never mention anything about health. In fact, neither do the celebrities. And they sure as heck don’t all look so healthy. If Britney Spears, Mel Gibson, Pamela Anderson, and Michael Jackson are any example of health, we all better pick up our needles and start aiming for the nearest vein. Wait a minute, you stop dead in your tracks. Didn’t that weight loss product Metabolife get implicated in several deaths? Whoever thought getting thin could kill you? The doctor told you to lose weight or else you could die early, but he didn’t say losing weight could kill you. He must have meant that you should lose weight to get healthy, but he sure probably didn’t mean you should lose your health to lose weight. Or your mind, for that matter. A New Perspective You shake your head; losing weight shouldn’t come with a warning label. Neither should the people we look to as healthy. As you approach the park, you think to yourself, since when did the focus on health get lost with all the weight we are supposed to lose? Something moving quickly to your left catches your eye. As you turn your head, you see your neighbor’s daughter racing across the grass with the reckless abandon only a six-year-old could know. Now that looks healthy. You think back to when you felt that energetic. It must have been 10 years since you bothered to break into a trot. And that was only to snatch the last chocolate chip cookie from your husband’s hand. Embracing Physical Activity What the heck, you decide to give it a try. You gingerly take a few steps. Hey, this doesn’t feel so bad, you think, impressed with the little bit of spring in your step. Maybe you haven’t lost it after all these years. This actually doesn’t feel too bad, and you stretch your stride out a little, then a little more, and before you know it, you’ve crossed the grass. A little sign posted on the fence catches your attention. It’s a brochure for a 10K race in your neighborhood. Something tells you to take a look. 10K seems far, actually 10 of anything athletic seems daunting. But wait, it supports leukemia. That seems noble. Those poor kids with leukemia go through a
5 Ways to Get Faster Results at the Gym!
Faster Results at the Gym: Top 5 Strategies to Boost Your Workout Efficiency Achieving faster results at the gym doesn’t have to be a challenge. With the right strategies, you can maximize your workouts and see improvements quicker. Here are five proven ways to enhance your gym sessions and achieve your fitness goals more rapidly. Here are 5 ways to make sure you get quick results!! Max Body Interval Training: Regardless of the workout. Go all out and do as many reps as you can for 20 seconds and then take a breather for recovery. Repeat 8 times. Make it a total body workout with bodyweight work outs like jumping jacks, bodyweight squats, etc. Increase Weight and Lower Reps Sometimes instead of changing a work out or adding a new work out to your routine is to change the weight or reps. A great way to do that is to increase the weight and lower the reps. Add Kettlebells The kettlebell swing is a fundamental move that improves your performance on every level. Swings train your cardiovascular system and also your posterior chain, it makes you jump higher and increases your endurance and stamina. Drop Sets A proven way to add volume for muscle growth is to do drop sets. Drop sets can be done with almost any exercise. Finish your workout with a descending scale that will drive your muscles into full fatigue. Superset Your Workouts If you need to save time and max results you can cut down the workout time and increase calorie burn with super sets. Go back to back with two different exercises. Then, without a rest, do the same with the another 2 exercises.These will help you stay focused and interested in going to the gym. It offers a way of getting results faster if you need that. There are lots of ways to optimize your gym time. These are only a few but are very affective.– Fitness Retreat! . Enhance Your Fitness Journey with FitCulture To fully support and amplify the benefits of these revitalized workout strategies, turn to FitCulture. Our app offers personalized workout plans, expert nutrition advice, and a supportive community to help you reach your fitness goals. Whether you are just starting out or aiming to elevate your fitness level, FitCulture provides the essential tools and community support you need. With features like progress tracking and motivational tips, and access to a network of fitness enthusiasts, FitCulture ensures that you remain committed and motivated throughout your fitness journey. Download the FitCulture app today and join a vibrant community dedicated to achieving health and wellness goals together. Let’s make your fitness journey exciting, effective, and rewarding!
