There are reasons why holidays only last a day!  Easter has come and gone.  Its Tuesday night so by now all of the pies, Cadbury eggs, ham and the rest of the leftovers should be making friends with the trash bin.  What?  Throw food out?  Yes! Yes! Yes!
Remember, eating right takes willpower and discipline.  Holidays are wonderful for eating freely, consuming foods you may not normally eat, and over-indulging just a bit.  The next day is a new day.  You must leave that day in the past and move on.
Are you heavier today then you were last week?  Probably!  Most holiday foods are over-loaded with salt, extra butter and most likely you didn’t consume enough water to wash all the junk out.  Ham is great but it will make you swell like the Easter rabbit!  Get back to increasing 90-100 oz. a day and I guarantee you will feel better by the end of the week.
This week I want you to just get back on track.  Last night I threw out the cake, the ham and froze the pecan streusel coffee cake.  Was it hard?  Not one bit.  Most likely you’ve had your fill and your body is beginning to rebel, like mine, and you are ready to move on.  If you are really tuning into your body, then you too should be feeling the same way.
Remember, one of the most important keys to weight loss is food journaling.  If you haven’t started I would encourage you to do that tomorrow morning.  You don’t need anything fancy.  Grab any kind of notebook and start writing down whatever you put in your mouth.  After a couple of days, sit down and look it over.  Where are you going wrong?  Is it portion size, sugar over-load, consuming far too many calories all together?
Nobody can do THIS for you.  You must take control and hold yourself accountable for what you are doing to your body.  Treat it right, feed it healthily, make exercise a part of your daily life, and I will promise you results!
Have a great week!

Spring is in the air.  The chocolate bunnies, Cadbury eggs and peeps are everywhere.  Are you able to eat just a little and then walk away?  I know this is a tough time of the year for eating right but you must stay focused.
This week I don’t want to even talk about food.  Okay, well maybe a little but I really want to focus on your exercise personality.  In the last few weeks I’ve had so many girls ask me why they are not losing weight.  Well, I’d answer whole heartedly if I knew the answer.  This is usually how I evaluate and answer.  Are you getting enough water?  Do you realize that water can be the single most detrimental part of your diet?  What?  Yep!  An average woman needs about 90-100oz of water a day.  Get over it, we are grown-ups it’s time to start drinking water.  Do you know that in an hour workout (especially mine) a woman sweats out one quart of fluid?  How do you think that fluid is going to get replaced if you don’t drink water?  Please don’t say soda!
Can you eat too little or better said, can you eat too few calories per day?  Absolutely!  If your body thinks it’s going to starve for the next few meals it will hang on to whatever you put in.  A body needs fuel to function and that means that you absolutely have to feed it!  If you want to keep your metabolism revving then you need to feed it every couple of hours.  A good breakfast, a small healthy snack, a nutritious lunch, a small snack, a good dinner with lots of veggies, and a small snack afterward is the key to weight loss and keeping it off.
Let’s get to the hard-nosed stuff.  Let’s talk about exercise.  Yes, most of you are getting at least 3 workouts a week.  Are you ready to step it up?  You really should be pushing for more than 3.  Step it up and try to get that 4th and 5th in during a seven day week.  It is recommended that you get some kind of exercise everyday or get as close to that as possible.
Now, I’m going to be the tough Kandice that you all know and love.  When you are in class how would you rate your exercise intensity?  How do you think I would rate it?  Yes, it’s good that you show up for your workout and it’s good to move.  I’m proud of anyone that can do that; however, if you really want to change your body, your muscle tone and your endurance then you must step up to the plate sister.  Do you leave my class (or any other Instructor’s class) soaked in sweat?  Do you feel like you just got your butt kicked?  If not, why?  Try moving up toward the front, try not backing down when you start to get tired.  Wait, I have a good one!  Try working out like you will never be able to work out again.  Give it 200% and go for broke!  I could feed you a line and say that things changed for me when I became an Instructor but I truly believe that when I was a student I came to class and gave it my all. Did you know that I lost all of that weight before I even became an Instructor?  Sure did!  Take the stress from your day and get it all out in that one single hour.  I promise you that you will be better for it in the end!
You have an assignment this week.  Move up at least one row in class if not to the very front.  Baby step if needed!  Max out every time you take class! Up your water intake and fuel your body with plenty of wholesome foods.  I would love it if you all could experience the power of weight loss!  It’s amazing how weight loss has changed my entire life!

My sister and I had an interesting conversation earlier this week.  She was feeling guilty about eating really badly over the weekend.  She is an active Jazzerciser, like you and I, during the week and on the weekend she over-eats and eats all the wrong foods.  Hmmm!  She continued to talk about it and I just had to intervene; it only took one question to stop her in her tracks.  What was the question?  I asked her why she felt that every weekend was a party.  I told her, to me it sounded as if she was giving herself permission to eat whatever she wanted and to eat out multiple times (with dessert) just about every weekend.   Is this a common problem?  Absolutely!
Did I treat weekends the same way my sister does now?  Yep!  Do I now?  Not very often!  I went on to explain to her I believe in taking one day a week off.  Does that mean I eat out three times that day and pile in the chocolate?  No way!  It just means that on Fridays, (that is my chosen day), I feel a little more freedom to eat something I may not eat normally during the rest of my week.  I may choose to have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, (no that shouldn’t be your sandwich of choice every day of the week….it’s really dessert in disguise) and chips that day for lunch or I may decide I really want Chinese for dinner.
You must have balance to be successful at losing weight and keeping it off the rest of your life!  Read that statement again.  Deprivation will not help you succeed.  Over-eating every weekend will not help you either.  Balance is the key!  You must find it to be successful.  If getting the weight off and keeping it off, this time, is the goal than you must have an off day here and there, if not every week.
Another point I made to my sister.  If you remember how hard you exercised during the week then why would you want to fuel that amazing body with junk for two days straight?  Even on your “off” day, junk shouldn’t be the main component of your diet.  Pretty soon, if it hasn’t already, your body will begin to rebel when you fuel it with trash.  Have you over-indulged on junk lately and felt like total crap that day or the morning after?  Think that’s a coincidence?
Go look in the mirror right now.  Yes, get up and find a mirror.  Look at that body.  It’s a gift given to us.  How are you treating your gift?

his is a full week of being completely out of my element.  This happens in life and we have to be equipped to deal with adversity.  I’ve had a week of travel, sickness, and a visit from my mother-in-law.  I’ve had one day after another of stepping away from my normal schedule.  Somebody once asked me how I could lose weight while being a stay-at-home mom.  I laughed first and then went on to explain I find it much easier to eat right in my own home then it is while spending stressful hours in the O.R.  Vending machine anyone?  Bagels or doughnuts in the break room, birthdays, and sponsored lunches can destroy your goals in a hurry.
My home is my sanctuary.  I do all of the grocery shopping, meal planning and, if I want my family to eat healthy, the cooking. I am in complete control of what goes into my mouth.  I can imagine you are much like me; eating pretty much the usual for breakfast and lunch and then shaking it up a bit for dinner.  I stay pretty regimented unless my schedule is thrown off.
Let me get back to my point.  This weekend I had to travel to Dallas and although I didn’t eat trash I still didn’t eat my typical oatmeal for breakfast and salad or vegetable sandwich for lunch.  It’s hard to make good choices in restaurants that offer delicious, over-sized goodness.  Immediately upon my return to Houston I got sick.  Do you ever find yourself seeking comfort food when you are home sick?  Well, I did.  It was slim pickings, yet I faltered from my usual caloric intake.  Now, my mother-in-law is in town and that has furthered pushed me into an abnormal eating pattern.  It hasn’t been a complete wash this week but I still feel off my game.
What does one do when life throws curve balls at you?  My best advice would be to not travel, not get sick and definitely, never allow your family to visit.  What?  I know, I know impossible so we must do our best when we are faced with stepping outside of our box.  You have to continue to work out in some form even if it isn’t getting to Jazzercise.  Walking is free!  Running is free!  You must, and I do believe this is one of the most important pieces of advice I can give you, keep your water intake close to 100 ounces a day.  What?  You didn’t realize that is how much water you should be consuming per day?  Drink up baby, because that is pretty much the recommendation these days and yes, that is what I consume per day. When eating out do your best to eat right, cut the portion down, and tell yourself that you will not eat like you’re on vacation the entire time.  Try taking your oatmeal packet with you when you travel; it cuts expenses and calories.  If you are sick, try making a big pot of broth-based soup.  If family comes in town, try to pre-plan your meals forcing you to stay on track and possibly unveiling a new meal idea to your visitor.
Life happens!  Even if you completely blow it, which happens to all of us by the way, get back on track as soon as you possible.  I’ve seen many go way wrong by making a week of bad choices turn into months and years of bad eating and weight gain.

Happy March!  Statistically, this is the month that most people lose their drive to stay healthy; they resume bad eating habits and start slacking off on their exercise regime.   Have you?  Are you sticking to the promises you made to yourself a couple of months ago?
The weather is warming up and fruits and vegetables are about to come into season.  What a perfect time to get into shape!  How are your arms going to look in that tank top you’ve been eying for the last couple of months.  Are your shorts from last season going to fit?
The other day one of my students told me she had lost three pounds.  She said she felt amazing even though it was only three pounds.  If you haven’t drawn the connection between your weight and your mood, it may be about time you did.  Raise your hand if you have stepped off of the scale and had a really bad day after seeing the numbers?  ME!  How many of you felt like a runway supermodel after seeing the scale drop a few pounds?  ME!  Now, imagine  my student doubles her loss in the next few weeks and drops 6 pounds.  6 pounds of fat off your little bod will make you feel amazing!  Now, look into the near future; let’s say around Easter and that same student has lost 15 pounds.  Wow!
My point?  Yes, you may only lose a pound and a half or a couple pounds every couple of weeks, but baby, that adds up!  You could be at your goal weight in a few months, depending on what that goal weight is, and this whole game of fighting your weight can be behind you.  In just a matter of months!  Hello!  Did you hear me?  By swim suit season you can be down to your dream size!  Take your calendar out and count the weeks until your goal date.  It could be swim suit season, a wedding, reunion or just a random date.  Now, let’s say you lost 1-2 lbs every week until then.  Add it up!  Are you getting the picture?
During my weight loss journey, I took it 5 lbs at a time.  I just wanted to lose 5; then I would set out to lose the next 5.  75lbs to lose can be overwhelming so I took baby steps and it just kept coming off.  I was thinking about it the other night.  In my 20’s I normally weighed around 165; sometimes a little higher, sometimes a little lower.  Wow!  I carry around 40+ pounds less than I did when I was in my 20’s.  No wonder I have so much energy now!  Pick up 40 lbs worth of dumbbells and carry it around for an hour.  Enough said!
The year is already flying by.  Is this going to be “your” year, or is this going to be another year you merely talk about losing weight?