January 2014 Tips and Recipes

A New You

It’s a new year and with this you, like many, have probably made a few resolutions in order to have a brand new you. These resolutions are all about changes for the better.

They might be simple resolutions like getting up 15 minutes earlier so you have extra time with the kids and significant other. It could be that you connect with family and friends more often.

And of course like thousands of others, your resolution could be health related like losing weight, exercising and eating better. Resolutions always start with a big bang and you are sticking to it.

But as a few weeks go by, you might find yourself slipping back into old habits.

So this month’s ezine is all about keeping your healthy resolutions.

Part of Exercise 4 Weight Loss’s resolution is to make the website more user friendly across different devices. This way if you need to visit the website from your phone, it will be easier to view and hopefully loads faster than it does now.

With this in mind, we are also giving the website a new fresh look…the new us if you will. We are currently in the testing phase and will launch the new look and feel February 1st. However, we did put one page (and one page only) live for you to take a sneak peek at the new us.

So what are the changes you ask? Well, gone is the 3 column layout and it’s down to just two columns. This gives you the content front and center with less distraction from the side columns.

The navigation has been moved from the left side of the site to the top. Just hover over a navigation item to see even more selections.

Easier social media sharing is now part of the new look and feel. So if you want to share a page with friends on facebook, twitter, pinterest or other, the buttons will always remain in view on the page.

The new mobile friendly features will automatically resize the page and content on the page for easier viewing. The top bar will show a navigation button to quickly jump to the sites mobile navigation.

This mobile friendly template is available for iPhones, android phones and Blackberrys. Unfortunately Windows phones were not part of this feature. So if you are a windows phone user, then you will see the full website view while on your phone.

There are plans for adding Windows phone in the future for this feature. I do not have a date from my website hosting service when this will be, but will keep you informed.

Look for all the pages to have this new look come February.
So check out the new look and feel and drop me a note to let me know what you think.

Now on to the Ezine

Monthly Tips - Keeping Your New Years Resolutions

Re-evaluate Your Goals

Now’s the time to look at your goal you set on the first day of this year. Was it realistic? If not, you may get discouraged and give up.

Instead, adjust the goal to something that is attainable. Setting unrealistic goals only sets you up for failure. You can still make your goal a challenge, just make sure it’s one you can reach.

Don’t Negotiate

Once you’ve set your goal, stick to it. You don’t get to negotiate with yourself. If you set a goal to work out 3 – 4 times a week, then don’t talk yourself out of it. Stick to your schedule.

Forgive Yourself

As with any plan, unforeseen situations will arise. If life’s twists and turns have you unable to eat at home or skipping the gym due to a schedule change, don’t let guilt stop you from reaching your goals.

Instead, forgive yourself for missing that one day, or eating that meal on the run. Then get right back to your schedule as soon as you are able.

This crock pot chicken recipe is a great way to have dinner ready and waiting when you get home from your busy day.

Serve this on a bed of brown rice and add a tossed salad to complete the meal.

Crock Pot Orange Chicken

What You Need:

• 2 Carrots, large, peeled and sliced 1/2 inch chunks
• 1 Red bell pepper cut into 1/4-inch cubes
• 1 Green bell pepper cut into 1/4-inch cubes
• 3 Garlic cloves, minced
• 4 Boneless and skinless chicken breasts
• 2 tsp Ginger, ground
• 8 ounces Orange juice concentrate
• 2 cups Orange segments or canned, mandarin oranges
• 2 Green onions, chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste

How to Make It:

The directions below are for the stir fry. For the brown rice, prepare as directed on box.

1. Put carrots, peppers, garlic, then the chicken, ginger, salt, pepper & frozen orange juice in Crockpot.
3. Cover and cook on low 4 to 6 hours.
4. Serve chicken on hot cooked rice on platter.
5. Top with orange segments and green onions.

Number of Servings: 8

Nutrition Information Per Serving

230 calories, 3.3g total fat, <1g saturated fat, 2g fiber, 28.4g protein, 21.3g carbohydrates, 374mg sodium, sugar 18g.

Org Pts 4; Pts Plus 5

The nutrition and points information do not include the rice.

Exercise 4 Weight Loss 2 Achieve Fitness and Health

From your Diet Buddy