What's for lunch?

A good thatching of the yard, pulling some weeds, mowing the overgrowth and topping it all off with a succulent, homemade blackbean burger. That's what I had for lunch today. This illustrates exactly what I'm trying to get you all to incorporate into your everyday lives. Eating should walk hand-in-hand with physical activity.

What you consume is fuel for your body. The only time a car needs fuel is if you drive it. It doesn't need much energy to just sit in the driveway. Same goes for us.

For breakfast--half the Tae Bo tape (ran out of time but every bit counts), a whey protein smoothie and a couple rounds of tennis (well sort of) with the boys while we watched Savannah's lessons.

That's what it's all about. You eat, you move. You move, you eat. And eventually your body will become more efficient at burning calories to energize your day.

Food tip: Try to think of substitutes for your favorite snack or meal. For instance, I love burgers. So, I tried the blackbean burger--homemade of course. It was actually quite filling and not bad at all. And with only

Other substitutes I've made:

• Doritos with hotsauce to Baked version with hotsauce. Pretty close and eventually it will fill the craving.
• Regular Lays potato chips to 1/2 calorie version (made with Olestra of which only one none side affect so far--more poopie and I like the poopie).
• Chocolate candy bar or fudge brownie craving to Skinny Cow chocolate ice cream sandwich (only 140 calories)
• White bread to Sara Lee Delightful whole wheat (only 45 calories per slice).
• Water with all meals. I only splurge my calories on beverages maybe a couple times a month. This may seem extreme to most, but I rather eat my calories. Plain tea or black coffee have little to no calories (like 2). If you want something other than water, get 1/2 calorie juices that are 100 % juice and PLEASE NO NUTRASWEET (aspartame is the devil in sheep's clothing!)
• Margarine or butter to vegetable spread.
• Ground beef to ground turkey.

Post some of your substitutes to the fan page.

Running on the beach--this is the life

Took the family to the beach this Good Friday and while I sat there basking in the sun and watching the kiddos, it hit me. I could be running up and down the beach to get in some good moving.

The uneven, soft sand works great for core building while you run too. I know, many of you don't want to run while you're at the beach, and I certainly didn't have it in my mind to do so. But, how can I miss an opportunity? I ran up the beach one way and noticed all the cool shells as I passed making a mental note to grab them on the way back.

Sure enough, I ran pausing ever so often to collect those small treasures for my little girl.

I only ran for about 10 minutes, but the smell of the water, cool breeze off the ocean along with the sun caressing my skin--absolutely exhilarating and well worth it.

Get it in whenever and wherever until you don't even give it a second thought.