Exercise equipment you should invest in (and it's cheap!)

First of all, I want to apologize for my lack of blogging lately. I was out of town last week on vacation with my family and well, this month has been crazy for me. When I initially started this blog, my goal was to have at least 2 posts/week, but that really hasn't happened so far, and so now I'm just hoping to have 1 post/week for now. When I get more readers/comments, I plan to add more to this blog. For now, it's a lot of work on top of everything else I do (plus I have a family blog which takes precendence). Sorry again!

For those of you out there that hate going to a gym and would prefer to do exercises at home, I have some great suggestions of exercise equipment you can buy for a minimal price. Keep in mind that I also have selected equipment that you can do A LOT with, and will also last a long time. They are even better than machines because you can work multiple muscles in one exercise, you use your core/trunk muscles better, and you work on balance/coordination. If you have any questions on it, let me know! Stay tuned for some exercise ideas with these tools...

Stability Ball-you can buy these at sporting goods stores, Walmart, Target, etc (only cost about $15-20)

Dumbbells-preferably the rubber ones. You can also buy these anywhere and I would suggest having set of each: 5 lbs, 8 lbs, and 10 lbs at least. A wise investment ($7-10/set?)

Exercise mat-any kind will do, although I prefer one with a little "padding". Found at any of the above stores listed. (Cost: $10-20)

Resistance bands-find a couple with different levels of resistance. I prefer a medium-level and a difficult-level for most people. A TON of exercises can be done with these and they can also be found at any of the above stores listed. (Cost: $7-15/band)

Dyna-disc-a must-have for core and balance training! This will work you abdonimals better than anything! You can find this at: http://www.amazon.com/Dyna-Disc-14-95-Price-24-95/dp/B00077E32C (the cheapest I have found: $15)

Jump rope-easy to use, and great for interval training. Can be found anywhere as well. (Cost: $5-10)

BOSU ball-one my all-time favs and so much you can do with these. Cheapest I have found is located at: http://shopping.discovery.com/product-59700.html?jzid=40602653-0-0&seqStr=BOSU+ball (the link wouldn't work) (Cost: $100)

Medicine ball: I prefer one with no handle, and ideally 6-10 lbs. You can find these anywhere as well. (Cost: $20?)

Thera-bands-Physical Therapists use these a lot, but they're great for doing all kinds of exercises. It's good to buy a couple different resistance levels too. The pre-cut ones can be bought at: http://www.yogaaccessories.com/TheraBandsIndividual.asp (the link wouldn't work) (Cost: $5-10/band)

10 Small Tricks for Big Weight Loss

1. Drink more milk. Consuming 1,800 milligrams of calcium a day could block the absorption of about 80 calories.

2. Get watered down. Drink 100 oz of water a day. You will obviously be well hydrated (and less bloated), but you will also eat less.

3. Go smaller. Use a salad plate instead of a dinner plate. Studies shown that putting your portions on smaller dishes means you will end up eating less at a meal.

4. Think about eating. Eat without doing anything else-no TV, no working, no reading. It's important to chew slowly too, think about each bite, what it tastes like, etc. You will end up eating less.

5. Don't drink your calories. Usually those are "empty calories", however, if you must have the occassional cup of juice, dilute it water or drink V8 (Diet Splash is best) to get your vitamins/minerals.

6. Stop mindless snacking. Chew a strong flavored gum like cinnamon while you're cooking. Sneaking a taste of the food will be less appealing.

7. Tighten your belt a notch. It may sound silly, but by doing so you are reminding yourself that you want to be a size smaller when you feel a craving or that temptation to gorge coming on.

8. Put the fork down. When you're eating a meal, put the fork down after every bite and take a drink of water. You will eat slower, and EAT LESS.

9. Prepare ahead. One day a week, prepare a bunch of snacks ready to go and store them somewhere. For example, cut up veggies and put them in zip loc baggies, or even cook some chicken and cut it up to add to a salad. Planning will reduce impromptu decisions of what you're hungry and you're on the go (aka McDonalds runs with the kids).

10. Don't eat after 7:30pm. Studies have show that you are most likely to overeat in the evening hours. If you have to though, stash some popsicles, or fugdge bars, to get your sugar fix without overdoing it on the calories.

When your sweet tooth strikes

Did you know that women are twice as likely as men to scarf sugary foods under stress-AND they feel guiltier when they do? THE LIKELY REASON=HORMONES!!!!!

Here's some good advice/info on controlling your sugar intake as well as some low-sugar snack ideas for when that sweet tooth strikes.

The first thing you need to do to control your sugar intake is to find out how much sugar you're actually eating. Read labels for a week and jot down how much sugar you're taking in (Beware of and include other forms of sugar such as dextrose, rice syrup, and cane juice). You'll probably find that it far exceeds the approximately 10% of your daily caloric intake the federal dietary guidelines recommend (that's about 20 grams, or five teaspoons, per 1,000 calories consumed). This will open your eyes when you realize that many products touted as healthy are still high in sugar. There are no laws regulating the use the words "all natural" on food packaging, so manufacturers can label their products with abandon. For example, one ounce of dried pineapple has about 21 grams of sugar, compared with 2.6 grams for the same amount of fresh pineapple. Once you know how much sugar you're really eating, you can control your intake. Here are some tips for cracking down on the most seductive tabletop substance known to man:

1. Eat breakfast. Pure and simple. Ninety percent of sugar addicts skip breakfast. When you eat breakfast, you prevent the drop in blood sugar that makes you crave sugar later.

2. Pick fruit. Satisfy your sweet tooth with apples, bananas, peaches, berries, etc which will temper natural sugar with fiber and loads of antioxidants. Dried fruit and fruit juices will also do the job, but they don't have nearly as much fiber and are more concentrated with calories.

3. Think 100. When you simply must have a cupcake or candy bar, stick to 100-150 calorie portions and 16 grams of sugar or less.

4. Indulge right after dinner. Late-night ice cream fixes give you a pure, unadulterated sugar rush. Have a small scoop after dinner instead and you'll reduce the insulin-spiking effect (plus, you won't consume as much because you're still full from dinner).

5. Cut out "overt" sugars. Take the worst offenders first: sucrose-laden treats like candy, ice cream, and soft drinks.

6. Enter sugar rehab. Like any sugar addict, you need to detox before you fully recover. It takes five days to fully overcome your cravings for sugar, and you'll feel awful for three of them. Prepare to be edgy and irritable starting by day two; by day five, you'll feel like a whole new person. After you've recovered, you'll find that a little sugar goes a much longer way.

REACH FOR THESE SNACKS WHEN THAT SWEET TOOTH STRIKES:
1. Swiss Miss Milk Chocolate Hot Cocoa- 8.5 g of sugar, 60 calories
2. Kashi GoLean Chocolate Caramel Crunchy bar-14 g of sugar, 150 calories, 6 g fiber
3. Edy's Orange and Cream bars-15 g sugar, 80 calories
4. Breyer's All Natural Vanilla ice cream-14 g sugar, 130 calories
5. Skinny Cow Skinny Dippers ice cream bars-7 g sugar, 80 calories, 2 g fiber
6. Bare Fruit Bake-dried cinnamon apple chips-7 g sugar, 29 calories, 1 g fiber

SOURCE: Women's Health