Peach Cobbler Oatmeal

I love to turn oatmeal into a deliciously decadent treat that is great for breakfast or a pre/post-workout snack.  One of my all-time favorite desserts is my Mom's peach cobbler.  It's sinfully delicious and loaded with calories, so it's a rare splurge.  This oatmeal recipe packs all the flavor without all the calories.  The recipe is also included in my book, Choices Coach: Weight Loss Menu Guide (under breakfast at home/oatmeal).

1/3 cup of Quick Oats or 1 Plain Instant Oatmeal Packet 

1 Tbsp. Bonne Maman Brand Peach Preserves*

1 tsp. Brown Sugar 

1/8^th tsp. Cinnamon or Pumpkin Pie Spice 

1/4 cup boiling water

*I love Bonne Maman brand preserves, not only because they are French & delicious, but also because they contain simple ingredients with NO high fructose corn syrup. If you don't like peach you can sub in a different kind of fruit preserves.

Mix all the ingredients. I like my oatmeal a little thicker to concentrate the flavors, but if it looks a little dry you can add more water. Let it sit for 30 seconds for the oats to soak up the water. 

Total Calories = 168

Enjoy this guilt-free pleasure! What are your favorite low-cal oatmeal combinations?

Chambray Splurge vs. Steal

Love 21 camisole dress / Splendid blue jumpsuit / Dolce & Gabbana leather handbag / Lipsy buckle purse / BCBGeneration bangle set / Alexis Bittar charm pendant / Alexis bittar necklace / Kanupriya multi strand necklace

I'm not a baby, but I'm still a sucker for a onesie. Who doesn't love a jumpsuit? Am I right, Andy Cohen? Whether it's a jumpsuit or a dress, you may replace the basic black with chambray for a more casual, daytime look. It also doubles as a blank canvas for jewelry to showcase your favorite pieces.

Dolce & Gabbana blue leather shoulder bag / NuLOOM flower area rug

In addition to chambray onesies, I'm also falling in love with Grecian-inspired tile print handbags. While I cannot afford a gorgeous Dolce & Gabbana handbag, I can certainly appreciate it as a thing of beauty. Can't we all? Big sigh...(I'm mentally adding it to my Lisa Vanderpump dream closet).

Dolce & Gabbana crossbody

Stay fabulous, my friends!

10-Minute Cardio Warm Up

It's always important to warm up before your exercise program or before my other workout videos. No matter what your fitness goals are you have to be consistent to achieve results. It's going to take a lot more than one workout, so the last thing you want is to be excessively sore or get injured.

I made this video so that you can warm up without having to invest in a treadmill or elliptical.  Plus you don't have to have a lot of space. You can do this in your living room or even in a hotel room. Now there are no excuses for skipping your warm-up.

Still tempted to skip it? Here are 6 major reasons to warm up before exercise: 

1. Warming up enhances the delivery of oxygen to the muscles.
2. Increasing the body temperature increased muscle elasticity and reduces the risk of muscle and connective tissue injuries.
3. The warm-up increases blood flow and nutrient delivery to the muscles.
4. The increased blood flow to the heart reduces the risk for exercise-induced cardiac abnormalities.
5. Warming up may reduce muscle soreness.
6. Warming up promotes sweating which is the body's natural cooling system.

More Choices Coach workout videos

More physiological reasons to warm up

Types of Warm Ups

Fit > skinny,

Sara

Only 5 Days Left! Personal Training Program

PROGRAM DESIGN & FOLLOW UP SESSION

$80

($125 VALUE)

OFFER ENDS JUNE 15, 2015.

For the Kansas City area, I am currently running a personal training special featuring a program design plus a one-hour follow up session that may be used as a training session or health coaching session.  

The program design (regularly $65) is great for the novice or the highly motivated individual who just needs guidance on what exercises to do including amount of weight, sets, and reps to reach personal goals.  It's also a great way change up your current program to break through a plateau.

We go over each exercise in an hour long session to make sure you feel comfortable with your program.  At the end of the session you receive a spreadsheet including all the exercises so you can keep track of your workout progress.  

As an added bonus I am throwing in a one-hour follow-up session (regularly $60) just to make sure I get you started on the right track.  The $80 special can be purchased through June 15, 2015.  It must be redeemed within 90 days. 

For help with diet and nutrition please purchase Choices Coach: Weight Loss Guide, and/or consider doing a health coaching session.  Call today to set up a FREE consultation. 

Fit > Skinny,

Sara Moser 

Choices Coach

A.C.E. Personal Trainer

A.C.E. Health Coach

(816) 813-8122

saramoser@choicescoach.com

Swimsuit Season Begins with Water Aerobics

Jets by Jessika Allen Rash Guard

Ready or not, swimsuit season is actually here. It's time for fun in the sun, and hopefully some water workouts too! 

 Athleta Separates 

Athleta swimsuits are sold as separates, so you can mix or match. 

Find the perfect fit at Athleta.com - Shop now.

I want to help you start the season off right, so I am sharing a 30-minute water aerobics routine to keep you working out all summer long. You can increase the intensity of the workout by adding aqua dumbbells or increasing speed.

Here are my picks for fashionable swimsuits that are great for water aerobics, swimming laps, and lounging afterwards.

One-piece Swimsuits

Kenneth Cole New York Halter One-Piece

L-Space "Wildside" Swimsuit

Topshop Floral Halter Swimsuit

Kenneth Cole New York Push Up One-piece

Blaire Fringe One-piece

Strappyback Maillot

Illusion One-piece

Stripe Avila One Piece

Don't forget to apply sunscreen! 

Ted Baker London "Paisley Toucan" One-Piece

Protect your skin with SPF, and reapply often even if it's waterproof. I like L'oreal sunscreen products, because they don't have that zinc oxide smell that can be hard to get out of your swimsuit.  I have washed some old swimsuits three times with baking soda, color-safe bleach, and Borax trying to get that smell out. 

Have fun in the sun!

Fit > skinny,

Sara

Grilled Chicken Southwest Salad

This salad looks pretty good. Doesn't it? On Monday, I was out and about on appointments with clients when lunchtime hit, and I felt like I was starving. I don't make good decisions when I'm starving.  I debated about what I could make at home that would be healthy. However, I knew that by the time I got home I would be too hungry to make a healthy choice. So I did something unthinkable. I stopped at McDonald's....for a SALAD! 

I have written about salads at McDonald's in my book, but I never actually eat them from there. I think I had a salad from McDonald's about 10 years ago and was disgusted wasn't impressed. Since I wrote about McDonald's salads as a better choice in my book, I thought I should really give one a try. I knew it would at least be low-calorie. I decided on the Premium Southwest Salad with Grilled Chicken. 

As I sat down to my meal, I prepared to be unimpressed. While I wouldn't say that I was blown away, I did actually like it. The greens were actually fresh and crisp. There was a bit of spinach in the mix. The protein from the chicken and the fiber from the black beans made it filling. I guess the biggest seal of approval is that I would order it again. Here's the skinny on the nutrition facts:

Southwest Salad

330 Calories
32g Protein
11g Fat
26g Carbs
890mg Sodium

I used half the packet of Newman's Own Creamy Southwest Dressing (60 calories).  The whole packet is 120 calories. I found half the packet to be plenty, because the salad came with a fresh lime wedge. The squeeze of lime added some freshness and acidity that brightened everything up (and added vitamin C).

Southwest Dressing

120 Calories
1g Protein
8g Fat
11g Carbs
300mg Sodium

The Moral of The Story

When you are starving sometimes you can order fast food without blowing your calories for the day. Don't prolong a blood sugar crash. Get something to eat!

Speaking of McDonald's...

One of the blogs that I follow, Snack Girl, just posted that McDonald's is offering Kale in Toronto, Canada. What is the world coming to? Lol. I never thought I would see the day that I have the willpower to go to McDonald's without ordering a cheeseburger. Who knew?

Make good choices!

Fit > skinny,

Sara Moser
Choices Coach

Chest/Back/Legs Supersets

Fabletics Taylor Tank II by choicescoach

In yesterday's post about motivation, I mentioned that when you are feeling less motivated choose just a few muscle groups as opposed to working the total body.  The workout that I provided today includes all the larger muscle groups (chest, back, core, quads, and hamstrings) without any isolations on the smaller muscle groups (biceps, triceps, shoulders, calves).  The smaller muscle groups are still assisting on the exercises.  Plus the larger muscle group exercises burn more calories. This workout still requires motivation, but it will be worth it.  

Choose the appropriate amount of weight that is challenging for you.  The last three reps should challenge the muscle to fatigue, but not to the point that you lose good form.  Go through the circuit at least two times, and you will feel like your time was well spent.  Your body will feel worked, and if it doesn't you didn't lift heavy enough.

If you prefer to break it down to one muscle group per day, then you may. Just tack on some additional sets (3-4 sets/exercise).

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Chest

Dumbbell Chest Press

Push-ups

Back

Pull-ups or Lat Pull Down

Single Arm Bent Over Row

Athleta Crux Capri

Legs

Wall Sit

Squats

Deadlifts

Single Leg Bridges

Stay motivated!

Fit > skinny,

Sara

Motivation Tips for Mondays

It can be difficult to get motivated to workout on Mondays. I admit I find them challenging, and I often don't get my workout in until the late afternoon. However, if I workout Monday morning I feel a great sense of accomplishment. It also makes me feel more positive about the rest of the week. I feel prepared. It simply starts the week off with more energy, drive, and focus.

If you are feeling motivationally-challenged on Mondays (like me!), then here are a few suggestions to help you get motivated:


1.  Commit to a shorter workout. Instead of telling yourself that it has to be an hour-long workout, commit to 20 minutes. After you get warmed-up you may feel like doing more. If you don't, then you can walk away happy with your 20-minute workout.  It's still better than nothing.

2.  Pick one or two muscle groups. Total body workouts can seem more daunting when you don't feel motivated. Work on chest/triceps or chest/upper back. You can balance it out by hitting the rest of the muscles throughout the week. 

3.  Do your favorite exercises. Whatever floats your boat, do it. I like to think of my workout time as recess. What happens to us as adults? Don't you remember being a little kid that couldn't wait for recess so you could go play on the jungle gym. I do. It was fun, and nobody told us we were exercising. Pick a fun workout, and the motivation will soon follow.

4.  Create a new playlist over the weekend. Music is motivating. Get the latest upbeat, heart pumping music to be your soundtrack for the week. Whenever I make a new playlist I can't wait to try it out. It actually gets me excited to do cardio (Did I really just say that? Who am I?). Here are a few of my current picks:

5. Enlist a workout buddy, or set an appointment with a trainer. If you're in KC, then I can recommend someone. (Wink, wink!) There is strength in numbers. Meeting with someone adds accountability.

What helps you stay motivated to workout? Leave comments, so we can inspire one another!

Fit > skinny,

Sara