Nutrition tips from AWS Nutrition:

1. Add flavor to meals without added fat by substituting low sodium chicken broth for oil or butter when cooking rice & pasta dishes.
Add flavor to your meals without added fat! Just substitute low sodium chicken broth for oil or butter when cooking rice or pasta dishes! You’ll save 36 calories and 5 to 6 grams of fat per serving. Broth also adds flavor to simply steamed veggies. Just sub it for water and cook as usual.

2. Get more fiber and lower your chance for heart disease by exchanging whole grains (brown rice, quinoa, millet) for white rice and cous cous. Cook them like rice and add to soups, salads, and stir-fries.
Exchange whole grains (brown rice, quinoa, millet, barley, faro) for white rice and cous cous to get more bang for your buck! This easy switch will provide you with 5-8 grams of fiber per serving and can reduce your risk for heart disease by roughly 20 percent. Need a few ideas on how to incorporate these foods into your kitchen? Easy, cook these grains as you would rice (simmer, covered, over low heat) and add to soups, salads, and stir-fries.

3. Add “no salt added” canned beans (easier and just as healthy as dried beans) to any meal for an economical and tasty fiber and protein boost! Beans, beans good for your heart (I’ll stop there!).
Add beans to any meal for an economical and tasty fiber and protein boost! Dried beans can take forever to prepare (soaking over night, etc), canned beans are just as healthy as long as you buy the “no added salt” variety. Just open, rinse with water and add to your salad, soup, or snack on them alone!

4. Yogurt is a healthy choice, but be sure to get plain low- or non-fat Greek yogurt to avoid extra sugar, then sweeten naturally with stevia, honey, or berries.
Add yogurt to your diet but watch out for the sugar trap! Yogurt contains naturally occurring sugars but fat-free flavored yogurts contain about 15 grams of sugar on top of that (which is equivalent to 4 tsp of added sugar). So opt for fat-free or low-fat plain Greek yogurt, and sweeten naturally by adding one packet of stevia, 1 tsp of honey or fresh berries!

5. Answer your cookie cravings with healthier cinnamon graham crackers!
Have a cookie craving? Reach for a graham cracker instead! With all the sweetness and crunch of a regular cookie without the excess fat and calories! Sure go ahead and buy the cinnamon flavored ones, they’re deliciously good for you!

6. Candy doesn’t have to be off-limits, but control your portions by enjoying a 60 calorie Tootsie Pop or even two Mini York Peppermint Patties (100 calories/2 g of fat).
Craving candy? It doesn’t always have to be off limits! Instead of buying a bag of easily “pop-able” candy where you just can’t stop at one (like jelly beans, Swedish fish or licorice) enjoy a 60 calorie tootsie pop or even two mini york peppermint patties (100 calories/2 g of fat).

7. Veggie chips aren’t as healthy as the look! Make your own by spraying pieces of kale with cooking spray, sprinkling with sea salt, and baking at 350 for 10-15 min.
Sure those veggie chips look healthy but beware they have just as many calories and fat grams as your good old potato chip! Instead make your own veggie chips and get some calcium, iron and fiber while you’re at it. Take a bunch of kale, tear into pieces, place on a baking sheet, spray with cooking spray, sprinkle with sea salt and bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes. YUM!

8. Avoid the calorie and sugar surprise of smoothies by making your own! Mix in a blender 1 container of 0% Greek yogurt, ¼ cup skim milk, ½ cup frozen fruit, 1 packet stevia, ice as needed.
Summer time means smoothies for many. Easy sip-able treats on the go. Not so fast. A small Jamba Juice smoothie can cost you up to 500 calories and 13 tsps of sugar! Solution, make your own! Mix in a blender 1 container of 0% Greek yogurt, ¼ cup skim milk, ½ cup frozen fruit, 1 packet stevia, ice as needed.

9. Eat breakfast! It is the easiest way to lose weight, start your metabolism burning at full speed and prevent over eating later on in the day!

10. An ideal lunch or dinner plate is ½ veggies, ¼ lean protein like fish, chicken or tofu, and ¼ complex carbohydrates.
When making your plate for lunch or dinner guarantee portion control by filling ½ your plate with vegetables, ¼ with lean protein like fish, chicken breast or tofu and the other ¼ with complex carbohydrates!

Courtesy of Amy Shapiro, RD CDN
For more information, visit awsnutrition.com.

Your self image and habits go hand in hand. Change one and you automatically change the other. This is the ideal on which Mind Over Matter was founded. It is as simplistic as it sounds. The way you see yourself is the way you are, and more importantly, the person you will become.

Your habits, whether good or bad, will follow your self-perception. To achieve success when it come to fitness and exercise, step one is to always think positively. Believe in yourself and see yourself as the person you want to become. While this might not guarantee success 100% of the time, I assure you will not get there without thinking it.

Now when you see yourself as the person you want to become, step two would be to take the necessary actions to get there. If you want a newer, leaner, more fit you; you must put the hard work, and energy into becoming that person.

Break free of the old you. The old bad habits that have weighed you down, pun intended. The hardest part is doing it the first time. After that, every time out it gets easier. Surround yourself with the people who are going to help you get there. Surround yourself with positive reinforcement such as your friends, family, co-workers and the most important, a personal trainer.

No Pain, No Gain, the person who came up with that mantra was sadly mistaken, if you’re performing an activity that is causing pain, STOP! Chances are you’re doing something wrong. Exercise should be fun and enjoyable, something to look forward to, dare I say… the highlight of your day.

Some Quick Tips

Work Out with Friends
When you set a date to meet a friend in the gym or park, right away you establish accountability. Your friend is counting on you and more importantly looking forward to the workout, sort of like a “Grownup Play Date”. Like most things it’s always better when with a buddy.

Try Different Activities
Can you imagine performing the same discipline over and over and over again, you’ll start to feel like a broken record. Switch It Up, variety being the spice of life. Besides your body will start to plateau if you do the same routine over and over again, lessening its effects.

Play Team Sports
Remember kickball as a kid, what about little league? In case you’ve forgotten they’re still fun; “Return to Youth” and enjoy you. Besides many of these leagues are co-ed, you might make a new friend or even more, you won’t know till you try.

Take a Trip
Go on a vacation that doesn’t consist of lying around on a beach for 8hrs a day or eating the 24/7 buffet on a cruise ship. Be active: hiking, biking, swimming, white water rafting, skiing, etc… It can be challenging, rewarding, and above all else fun.

Give Yourself a Treat
If you’ve accomplish your fitness goals for the week indulge a little, remember just a little. Anyone who’s exercised knows that that piece of cheese cake tastes so much better if you earned the right to eat it. Or maybe go out and buy yourself something nice, because now it actually fits.

Before you set out on that journey known as exercise, you first must recognize that it is a journey — not a destination. Secondly you must know WHY you are going on this journey! WHY are you waking up earlier to work out? WHY are you caring about pushing yourself past your comfort zone? WHY are you making this commitment?

You have to be up front, honest and accountable with yourself BEFORE you begin this journey! After all, if you are not completely on board with your WHY, you won’t have as much motivation to succeed.

Yes, if you want to get into tremendous shape, you need to use the power of your mind, not just the power of your body.

After all, there will be plenty of time along the journey when you will find yourself exhausted, busy, overwhelmed with other things to do — and you will find yourself questioning: WHY do I need to take the time to work out? WHY is working out so important?

With your WHY in place, you’ll be more willing too make those needed sacrifices and put in that extra effort.

So before you begin your journey, TODAY take that time to find your WHY.

I promise that when the time comes that you feel ready to give up — as it will — you will simply refer back to your WHY, and will find it much easier to keep your drive alive!