50 Calorie Crustless Pumpkin Pie!!!!!

***** Let me start off by saying... I DO NOT COUNT CALORIES, and I don't think you should either!!!   "Well, Erin, Why did you put the calorie count right there in the title then," you ask?????

1 big Reason!  TO GET YOUR ATTENTION!!!!!  Whenever I post anything with the calorie count in the title, more people read it, and this is an AWESOME recipe and I want you to try it!

OK OK, Calories can be 1 small way to begin to determine what and how much of something you are eating,   BUT   and that is a BIGGGGGG BUT!!!!   If you are eating good clean unprocessed whole foods, and eating the correct portion sizes, the calories take care of themselves.

Unfortunately, if you ONLY judge things by there calorie count, you could be seriously shooting yourself in the foot!  Processed foods cause your body to hold onto fat... If you eat tons of processed diet bars, shakes, low calorie snack packs, diet drinks... etc etc.  Even though the calorie count may be low, your body will not let go of the weight! :)

To learn more about why your body holds onto weight when you drink diet soda, click HERE

The BULK (if not ALL) of your diet should come from fresh veggies, fruits, lean meats, whole grains, nuts.... you get the idea.

Now to the good stuff... The RECIPE!!!!

Single Serving Crustless Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients

¾ cup pumpkin puree

4 egg whites

¼ cup almond or coconut or cashew milk

1½ tsp. pumpkin spice

5-6 scoops stevia or 2-3 packets of sweetener of choice

1-2 tbs. raw maple syrup (or honey, but it will give it a slightly different flavor)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350.

In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients except for the maple syrup. Stir until well combined.

Place 4 small ramekins on a baking sheet. Divide the maple syrup between the ramekins. Spray the top of the ramekins with coconut oil or non-stick cooking spray to allow the pumpkin pie filling to rise.

Evenly divide the pumpkin pie filling between ramekins.

Place in the oven 30-35 minutes until center is set.

Take out of oven and allow to cool a few minutes before eating.

* If you don't have ramekins, you can use a muffin tin

Each serving has 49 calores, 0 fat, 7 carbs and 4 grams of protein if you use 1 tbs. maple syrup or 62 calories, 0 fat, 11 carbs and 4 protein if you use 2 tbs. maple syrup

*If you miss the crunch of crust, throw 2 or 3 walnuts or pecans on top!


If you are on an EM Meal plan, this is PERFECT for any meal of the day!!!!! I eat 2 of these for breakfast - meal #1- along with 4 scrambled sweet egg whites (I just scramble the whites with stevia, cinnamon, and vanilla) ALL THE TIME. Or use this as your sweet treat before bed and have 2 for meal #6. If you're having these for a meal mid day, I suggest having 2, and coupling them with a serving of protein.

-xoxo
e

NEW March 5 week Class Schedule! THERE ARE CHANGES FROM LAST MONTH!!!!

We've started a NEW HIKING Meet up!!!! EVERYONE IS WELCOME!!! You can bring kids, and go at your own pace.  We'll just meet and HIKE (Weather permitting)  I personally will be bringing my 11-year-old son and carrying my 1 year old in a pack...!  You will be able to find SOMEONE in the group that will hike at your pace, fast or slow!   

For now we will be meeting on Sunday's at 10am, but as the weather gets warmer, the time will get a little earlier! :)  The Trailhead is off Manastash Rd.  Turn South onto Cove Rd, and meet at the parking area there at 10am!

On March 21st we will ONLY HAVE A PILATES CLASS at 6:30am.  For Cardio, we will meet to Run the Caveman Roar and Pour at Cave B!  The race starts at 11am, but fun starts at 10!  If you'd like to carpool up, meet at my place at 9:30am and We'll head up together! For more info about the run, click HERE

March 26th, I will be presenting at the Washington State Leadership Conference in Wenatchee at the Coast Convention Center.  For more info on the Conference, click HERE

No More Underarm jiggle-band series

This workout will have your arms jiggle free by summer!!!! All you need is a stretchy band!

I would couple this workout with my "BYE BYE Bat Wings" Workout, HERE

Repeat, alternating the 2!

Try and get in 3 rounds, which should take about 54 minutes!!!!!!

xoxo

e

Summers coming QUICK! Feel AWESOME in your own skin with my online training special!!!!!

Why your diet soda/energy drink habit is keeping you fat!

If you're still drinking diet soda.... STOP..... 

UM.... REALLY... It's not 1992 anymore, when you used to stop at the 7/11 on your way to work and re-fill your HUGE BIG GULP with Diet Coke at the fountain drink station. Ya, the re-usable one you bought to save a little cash.  That one that was soooo big it wouldn't fit in your drink holder!

Weather you still pick up a 6 pack of coke every day, run in and grab a monster energy drink, or DO THE DEW, it's all the same to your body!  Just because it says its calorie free, DOES NOT MEAN IT CAN'T MAKE YOU FAT. (this go's for food too, but that's for another post!)

PS The average adult human’s stomach can hold comfortably about 32 ounces at any given time (excepting we Americans who, apparently can hold about 138 times that amount despite science’s official averages). The Double Big Gulp from 7/11 holds about 64 ounces of soda or Slurpee.

SO Besides diet soda going out of fashion in the 90's,.... you may still need a few more reasons to quit!!!! LOL! Here ya go!

1. Diet soda & Calorie free energy drinks contain Artificial sweeteners, which have more intense flavor than real sugar, so over time products like diet soda dull our senses to naturally sweet foods like fruit.  When full grown adults tell me they do not like many fruits and veggies, first, it's sad.... You cannot be healthy without them, and second, It's because you're used to eating artificial things.  Stop with the fake, and re-learn how to LOVE REAL FOOD!

artificial sweeteners confuse our bodies and palates. Our bodies taste something sweet and believe it is going to be getting some calories, but when it doesn't it craves what it was expecting and leads us to over eat or consume those wanted calories from other sources.

Even more troubling, these sugar stand-ins have been shown to have the same effect on your body as sugar. "Artificial sweeteners trigger insulin, which sends your body into fat storage mode and leads to weight gain!!!!!!

2. You're FAKE DRINK HABIT is giving you Diabetes. Drinking one diet soda a day was associated with a 36% increased risk of metabolic syndrome and diabetes in a University of Minnesota study. Metabolic syndrome describes a cluster of conditions (including high blood pressure, elevated glucose levels, raised cholesterol, and large waist circumference) that put people at high risk for heart disease,stroke, and diabetes,

3. It's causing you to have Headaches! Early studies on aspartame and anecdotal evidence suggests that this artificial sweetener may trigger headaches in some people. "I have several clients who used to suffer from migraines and pinpointed their cause to diet soda

4. You're bones are getting weaker! Women over 60 are already at a greater risk for osteoporosis than men, and Tufts University researchers found that drinking soda, including diet soda, compounds the problem. They discovered that female cola drinkers had nearly 4% lower bone mineral density in their hips than women who didn't drink soda. The research even controlled for the participants' calcium and vitamin D intake. Additionally, a 2006 study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that cola intake (all kinds, not just diet) was associated with low bone-mineral density in women.

5. It's hurting your hart! Just one diet soft drink a day could boost your risk of having a vascular event such as stroke, heart attack, or vascular death, according to researchers from the University of Miami and Columbia University. Their study found that diet soda devotees were 43% more likely to have experienced a vascular event than those who drank none.

6. Carbonation makes your body hold onto toxins! Kidneys flush the body's toxins to help it run more efficiently. Because of this, drinking many fluids, specifically water, is extremely important to all parts of the body. Kidneys help clean the body's fluids and blood and ensure the body's pH remains balanced. Carbonated water does not provide the same benefits of flat water.

Regular water helps the kidneys flush the body of toxins and other excess materials, but carbonated water can complicate the kidney's processes. Carbonated water adds carbon dioxide to the body, which is a gas that the body is constantly trying to remove. Putting carbon dioxide in the body can complicate your bodily functions, since the only place that CO2 is used is in the respiratory process.

The carbon dioxide in carbonated water turns the water much more acidic than regular water. This impacts the kidney's job, because adding acid to the kidneys make the pH level of the body lower, which hurts the body's attempts to balance pH. Flat water is not acidic and therefore does not put any pressure on the kidneys.

Drinking only carbonated water can be very dangerous, as it can prevent kidneys from eliminating wastes. Drinking about eight, 8-oz. glasses of flat, regular water every day, is recommended for keeping your body working properly.

Do I really have to say it!!!??? STOP! NOW!  

For the record, IF you must have caffeine to get through the day, there are healthier ways to get it.  If you just need something to sip on .... sip cucumber, lemon infused water and feel like you're at the spa all day long!!!! 

-xoxo

e

Master Your Thighs, Without the Thigh Master!!!!!!

For this workout, you will need; a wall, & something to prop your heels up on!  I used 2 dumbbells, but you could use 2 large books, or even 2 rolled up hand towels.

REMEMBER, These workouts are for you to make your own!!! Mix and match whatever videos you choose from my YouTube channel to build a workout that works the muscle groups you want!  OR, If you just want a KILLER Thigh day, repeat this video 4 times (or as many as you can)

My suggestion for a SUPER SLIMMING THIGH WORKOUT, incorporating this video, is below!

Get through the "Master Your Thighs" workout (above)  1 time

Follow it up with my, "Lower body Chair Challenge" Workout HERE (You will need a chair or a bench.  DO BOTH LEGS)

Then repeat the entire circuit above 1 more time!

To complete the workout I have outlined above, it should take about 60 minutes.

Metabolic Damage: How To Fix Your Broken Metabolism

As A fitness professional specializing in women health and fitness, I am CONSTANTLY faced with the problem of “metabolic damage” or its close relative, “starvation mode.” When it comes up its in one of two scenarios; Women who feel they are killing themselves to lose weight and not seeing the results they want because they are doing this to themselves and have no idea, or Women who diagnose themselves with a slow metabolism and use that as an EXCUSE to not do what they need to do to lose weight.

star•va•tion mode - noun (stär-ˈvā-shən mōd): a series of metabolic, hormonal and behavioral responses to extreme or prolonged calorie deprivation, which is common during many popular weight loss diets. Since your body can’t recognize the difference between severe dieting and starving, it responds as if you were really starving: Protective mechanisms are activated to decrease your rate of further weight loss, including reduced energy, lower physical activity and increased appetite. Your metabolism also slows down more than you’d predict for the amount of body weight lost.

As you self-diagnose your symptoms, you really begin to worry: low energy… hungry all the time… can’t stop thinking about food... seems like you’re not losing fast enough for how little you’re eating… weight loss has gotten slower or even reached a plateau. And when returning to normal eating, you seem to gain back the weight faster and easier than you ever gained weight before!

At this point, your heart drops into the pit of your stomach and you're convinced that you're a metabolic damage victim. "What If I've messed up my thyroid gland?” “What if I’m stuck with this fat forever because my metabolism is SHOT?”

First, I want to confirm that both “starvation mode” and “metabolic damage” are real.

Starvation mode and metabolic damage are also not scientific terms, which is another reason they are unduly dismissed. If you look up “adaptive thermogenesis” however, (the technical term for the metabolic decrease part of starvation mode), you’ll find plenty of evidence proving that it’s real. It affects some people more than others due to genetic and lifestyle factors and it’s not a stretch to suggest that metabolic damage hits women harder than men.

Details about the mechanisms and hormones involved are beyond the scope of this post and would put 90% of you to sleep anyway. What’s important for now is that you understand this: starvation dieting and excessive prolonged cardio, cause rapid weight loss, but also cause “bad stuff” to happen to your body that makes continued weight loss more difficult and weight regain more likely. It’s a very complex process, involving numerous feedback loops and body systems.


Research dating back to the 1980’s and 1990’s found that diet-induced decreases in metabolism can extend to the period AFTER the diet is over. This gives us yet another reason why keeping the weight off is so hard.

Diane Elliot, an MD and professor of medicine at Oregon University published her research in 1989 about the lasting effects of very low calorie diets. She wrote:

"Resting metabolic rate of our obese subjects remained depressed after massive weight loss despite increased caloric consumption to a level that allowed body weight stabilization."

These and other studies suggest that metabolic consequences of crash dieting and rapid weight loss persist after the diet is over. The degree of metabolic drop can vary from the almost insignificant to the very serious, but the drop is real.

This is “metabolic damage.” I would define it not only as the bad stuff that happens during the diet, but also as the lag time between when a severe diet ends and when your hormones, metabolic rate and appetite-regulating mechanisms get back to normal.

Pursuing weight loss the wrong way makes the bad stuff worse and aftereffects linger longer. Pursuing fat loss and body composition improvement the smart way minimizes the bad stuff and prevents outright metabolic damage.

If you’ve caused metabolic damage as a result of following starvation diets, extreme cardio, or losing weight too rapidly in the past, it can be extremely difficult to achieve any further fat loss at all. The good news is, metabolic damage can be repaired. All it takes is the right combination of metabolism stimulating exercise and metabolism stimulating nutrition (NOT just a diet), all done consistently over time.

The big irony is that most of the diet programs that claim to help you get rid of excess weight, only end up making it harder for you in the long run because they use harsh metabolism-decreasing diets and not enough exercise (almost never any weight training).

It may take a little longer if you have really messed things up with severe starvation dieting in the past, especially if you’ve lost a lot of lean body mass, but it is never hopeless. Anyone can increase their metabolism.

Now for a little of the technical stuff from Jade Teta ND, CSCS

Jade states, As a clinician in integrative & functional medicine, I often get the hard cases. One of the most difficult things I deal with is what many often refer to as “metabolic damage” or a “broken metabolism“.

"This is a condition where the nervous, endocrine, and immunological systems lose their ability to function properly due to extreme weight loss measures or repeated dieting. In functional medicine we call it neuroedocrineimmune dysfunction because these systems are not separate at all, but have overlapping communication and integrated function.

What is Metabolic Damage, and what makes a metabolism stop working, and what can be done about it?

The metabolism has a hierarchy. You have nervous system function and when that becomes disrupted, it negatively impacts the endocrine system (hormone system), and both negatively impact the digestive system which then leads to nutrient deficiencies, compromised antioxidant defense systems, damaged cell membranes, and then all of this of course makes the nervous system more dysfunctional and a vicious cycle ensues.

Think of metabolic dysfunction as a lot like dominoes. Once one domino falls, the rest are directly impacted and will likely fall as well.

Extreme low calorie diets and heavy continuous daily cardio are the most insidious extreme diet stresses. If this persists The first thing to set in is Adrenal fatigue. Adrenal fatigue is a term used to describe adrenal dysfunction occurring before a diagnosis of Metabolic Damage is made. Fatigue is the number one complaint general care physicians see, and almost all of this fatigue is from adrenal fatigue.

If you don’t like the word adrenal fatigue than use over-training, post-traumatic stress, chronic stress disturbances, or some other name of your liking as they all describe elements of varying degrees of adrenal dysfunction. Adrenal fatigue can be measured both clinically and in the laboratory.

After the nervous and endocrine systems become dysfunctional, from continued Adrenal fatigue, the dominoes begin to fall very quickly. Digestive function is usually the first to go, and this is not always perceived by the individual. This causes decreased absorption and assimilation of nutrients further disrupting metabolic function.

One of the more insidious insults for those losing extreme amounts of fat is the damage to cellular and mitochondrial membranes that are without adequate antioxidant defenses, fatty acids, and phospholipids for repair. The immune system also sufferers leaving individuals susceptible to multiple illnesses, frequent colds, and flus. Food intolerance's may begin to surface, and reproductive dysfunction occurs with men and women having decreased libido and women losing ovulation and menses.

SO HOW DO WE FIX IT, RIGHT?!?!?????

To fix this issue, the imbalance that started the dominoes falling in the first place needs to be fixed. If it’s not, you simply keep knocking down the dominoes after putting them back up. This is what is essentially being done when people use stimulants, or supplements, or detoxes, or any other number of quick fixes that don’t deal with the real cause of the problem. A sure sign you have missed it is when you feel a little better, but never lose the weight again and never feel quite the same.

Balancing the system can sometimes be the the hardest for chronic and extreme dieters because it requires you to STOP the incessant cardio. No, cardio is not evil. However, when taken to the extreme, it is the most common cause of this dysfunction especially when combined with low fat, low calorie diets.

Diet can be balanced by eating much higher protein and fiber based foods allowing you to quell the hunger and cravings that are a huge part of this issue. Doing things this way allows you to eat unlimited quantities of certain foods while still keeping calories low.

There are many others ways to fix your metabolism, and I will go into more of them at a later date, (this is getting long already)  but CONSISTENCY in applying the principles below will get you stated.

Meal frequency: eat 5-6 small meals per day

Meal timing: eat approximately every 3 hours, with a substantial breakfast and a substantial post workout meal.

Sufficient caloric intake: maintain a small calorie deficit and avoid starvation-level diets.

Food choices: Select natural, unprocessed foods with high thermic effect (lean proteins like chicken, turkey, egg whites and fish are highly thermic, as are all green vegetables, salad vegetables and other fibrous carbs)

Cardio training: sorter bouts of High Intensity Interval Training, NOT done EVERY DAY. NO MORE CARDIO QUEENS!!!!!

Weight training: DO IT!!!! 4 TO 5 TIMES A WEEK. When you're pressed for time, pick weight training over cardio!

NOTE: If you've severely damaged your metabolism, you're going to have to be patient, it can take UP TO 6 to 8 weeks of CONSISTENTLY following what I have listed above before the damage is repaired.

-xoxo
e

Will you be my Valentine?!? V-Day 2-hour "Tough Love" workout!

95 Calorie Decedent Chocolate cupcakes

I LOOOOOOVVVVE it when people share awesome healthy recipes with me!  

This particular recipe comes from my friend (and former client) Kellee!!!!  

Kellee has gotten herself in KILLER shape, and truly adopted her new healthy lifestyle complete with clean eating!  She has discovered the FUN (yes, it truly does become fun)  In finding NEW HEALTHY RECIPES that are also DELICIOUS!!!!!!!!

Here is one that is sooooo good it will replace your unhealthy, fat laden, sugar filled cupcakes ANY DAY OF THE WEEK!!!!

Ingredients

1 3/4 cup of old fashioned oats

3 egg whites

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (or regular plain low fat yogurt)

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

1/4 tsp. salt

1 cup hot water

1-1/2 tsp. baking powder

1-1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 cup baking stevia, or healthy sweetener of your choice

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used the mini chips) 

Instructions

1. Line a muffin pan with foil cupcake liners, or you can also spray a muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray.

2. Heat oven to 350 degrees.

3. Mix all of the ingredients together in a blender (except for the chocolate chips) on LOW. Blend until mixture is smooth. Do not over blend.

4. Place mixture in cupcake liners. I filled mine about 3/4 the way full. Once the batter was in the liners, I placed the chocolate chips on top.

5. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

*Tip: At 12 minutes, take cupcakes out and place a few more chocolate chips on top to get the "muffin top."

AND, If you're looking for something that tastes EXTRA DECEDENT, but is still perfectly clean, try drizzling my Healthy Caramel on top.  You can find the recipe HERE

You have 2 options for serving sizes here.  If you ONLY want to eat cupcakes for your entire mini meal (remember, you should be eating 5 to 6 small meals throughout the day)  You can have 2 cupcakes for a serving/meal.

If you'd like a meal with a little added protein, I would eat 1 cupcake plus a serving of protein (4 oz) and a serving of veggies!

You can read more about Kellee and her AMAZING TRANSFORMATION, HERE

The ABSOLUTE BEST Healthy Valentines Day Ideas from Far & Wide!

(This is my #1 PICK!!! "You're AWESOME SAUCE!!!!")

If you have any other AWESOME Healthy valentines day ideas, please share!

-xoxo

e

I'M OBSESSING OVER CINNAMON!!!!!

I use cinnamon like it's my job. Seriously. Every single morning I put a dash into my coffee. I DUMP it in my Sweet Egg Crepes, and I POUR it into my Pumpkin pudding at night!!!! I love cinnamon. Good news is, not only does it have a delightful flavor that I just can't get enough of, cinnamon packs serious health benefits! Whoopee. If you neglect this wonderful spice, here are just a few reasons to add it to your diet:

Promotes weight loss by stabilizing blood sugar levels and supporting digestion

Brain health. Cinnamon is a natural remedy to relieve migraines and headaches. It also helps boost memory and cognitive function.

Anti-fungal properties that help prevent UTI's, tooth decay, gum disease, and even congestion

Anti-clotting effect on the blood and stimulates circulation

Anti-inflammatory compounds that may relieve arthritis, stiff muscles and joints and even menstrual cramps -- yes, please!

You can reap these benefits by adding just a dash of cinnamon into your diet everyday. Try adding it to your morning coffee or tea! However, just because cinnamon by itself is healthy, cinnamon rolls, not so much.

XOXO

-e

How to get the PERFECT BUTT- THE WORKOUT!

Do this workout 3 times a week for 4 weeks and see the difference!!!!

*NO EQUIPMENT NEEDED (But if you have weights, use them)

The Perfect Butt Workout

Start with my Quick Lower body Burnout workout, (Do both legs)  HERE

Follow it up with my No Implants Needed Butt Lifter workout (Do both legs) HERE

The entire thing is 1 ROUND!!!!

Each round is 24 minutes long!!!

Work up to completing 3 ROUNDS!!!!  

3 rounds will take you approx 70 minutes.