Starting this month, I will be posting a monthly feature on a real woman who is living a healthy lifestyle.

I recently read a lot of crap about two of the female dancers on Dancing with the Stars. The gist of it was that some of their male cast mates made negative comments about these two ladies’ bodies, saying they were too fat. Never mind that these women are athletes! They are beautiful and sexy and clearly enjoy what they do for a living (and they rock at it). In fact, the two women in question are my favorite dancers on that show; Cheryl Burke and Lacey Schwimmer. They work their asses off, and they are blessed with beautiful curves. They are real. They don’t fit the stereotype of a public female figure who subsists on lettuce leaves, water (or coffee) and a daily vitamin pack. They are active, successful, passionate and healthy. And they’re getting crap for that? No wonder women, in general, have such a horrible and unhealthy self-image. Enough already!

I recognize that we all don’t have an ideal schedule or a personal chef. And many of us have an insurmountable list of responsibilities, often putting ourselves at the bottom of the list - if we’re even on the list at all! I get frustrated when I see women give up on themselves, and give up trying to make healthier lifestyle choices because they think it’s impossible within their circumstances. I’m tired of hearing how much time and money women are spending on fad workouts and gadgets, celebrity diets, “miracle” supplements and surgical procedures. I’m sick of these messages in the media telling women that anything bigger than a size 0 is ugly and unacceptable, and suggesting that we need to take drastic measures in order to gain control of our lives and our bodies. That is no way to live - a prisoner in your own body, and you’re the warden? Let yourself out already!

Be yourself, love and respect yourself, take care of yourself and the rest will work itself out. Take a cue from my Ms. November, Lisbeth Colon!

Age: 32
City:  Miami, FL

EMLH: Tell us a little bit about yourself - your family and home life, your job…

Lisbeth: I am a single mom.  I live with my 9-year-old son.  I work at the Miami Dade Police Department Crime Laboratory Bureau.  I am a DNA analyst.  I screen evidence in criminal cases in Miami-Dade county.  I also perform DNA analysis and testify to my results.  It’s a little crazy, and it’s hard to see all that crime first-hand.  But it is also very rewarding to know that I help the countless victims in Miami-Dade.

EMLH: What is your typical day like?

Lisbeth: I wake up, go to work, work out, go get my son and do homework, have dinner with my son and then relax.

EMLH: How do you manage stress?

Lisbeth: I used to eat crap (sugar) but now I try to do other things….I still on occasion do that.  Now I exercise, relax, watch to tv (veg out), take a hot shower…sometimes a glass of wine. I work a lot and on what little time I have for myself I enjoy working out and running.  I do alot of active things with my son and my boyfriend - we run, bike, rollerblade and Kayak. 

EMLH: Which one do you enjoy most?

Lisbeth: I run, alot.  It makes me happy and makes me feel very good.  I started runnign to lose weight.  I have lost  ~25 lbs.  after getting to a weight that makes me happy I found that I could do more.  I started swimming and biking, then I decided that a triathlon would be a great thing to try.  I have only done 2, but I am hooked!  I love it!  Now during the off time I still run, bike and swim as well as lift weights to make my next attempts at a tri much better.

EMLH: What motivated you to get started?

Lisbeth: In addition to losing weight and trying something new, I wanted to prove to my son that a healthy lifestyle and being active is a positive thing.

EMLH: What motivates you to keep it up? 

Lisbeth: My health, my weight loss and my son.  I just want to prove to myself  (and my son) that you can always do better for yourself and that hard work and dedication pay off in many ways.

EMLH: What has been the biggest challenge and how have you worked with it or overcome it? 

Lisbeth: Time! It’s hard to find the time to do everything: be a mom, work and all the other things that come along on a daily basis. 

Making the time is difficult.  I make sure that I always have my gym bag with me and go straight from work.  Regardless of how unmotivated I am after work, I make myself go.  Once I’m there, I’m glad I went. As far as cooking goes.  I make vegetable soup on the weekend and freeze into servings for lunch during the week.  I also prepare food in advance.  So I will make fish filets or chicken breasts, that way I can just have something easily accesible during the week. I also buy lots of veggies that I can eat raw, like carrots peppers and celery, to snack on.  Oh, and I always have apples - the easiest, most portable snack!

I find age is also becoming a challenge!  I feel the toll that working out and training takes on my body.  It’s a lot harder and more work now to stay injury-free.  Thirty-two really isn’t like 22, and it takes a lot to not get hurt! Injury prevention is something I know I need some help with.  I tend to push myself too hard and sometimes ignore the symptoms my body is displaying.  I invest more money in the proper shoes and I also treat myself to massages. But I admit I need to work on this a bit more. I need to be less hard on myself.    

 

 

EMLH: What has been the most rewarding outcome from making a lifestyle change?

Lisbeth: Weight loss, improved fitness level, the look on my son’s face when I cross a finish line, inspiring my son to be more active.

EMLH: How does your lifestyle make you feel? 

Lisbeth: It makes me feel strong, happy and as if I can do anything if I try.

EMLH: What is your advice to a woman who thinks she can’t do this, or who is unsure about taking a first step?

Lisbeth: The hardest thing is getting started.  There is always time to do something for you.  You are really of no good use to those you love if you are not content with yourself.  Taking care of yourself makes you better able to take care and provide for others.  Start out doing what feels good for you and then push yourself when you feel up to it. 

EMLH: What do your friends and family think of your lifestyle changes? 

Lisbeth: My family is very supportive and encourage my new possitive and healthy lifestyle.  I have even motivated my sisters to be more active!

EMLH: That’s awesome! So it’s affected your relationships, too!

Lisbeth: Yeah, I make it a family thing.  Adrian (my son) goes with me to races.  we train together on ceratin days.  We make the healthy eating part of it a family things.  I explain to him why eating certain foods makes your body more efficient, etc.

EMLH: What does your typical workout schedule look like?

Lisbeth: I run, bike or swim three to four times a week, and I lift weights two times per week. 

ENLH: And what about your nutrition?

Lisbeth: I avoid sugars… but I must admit I do allow myself to indulge every so often.  I mostly eat veggies, complex carbs, fruits and lean meats.

EMLH: What is your favorite healthy dish? Do you have a recipe you want to share?

Lisbeth: I love pizza.  So I make pizza using Flat Out bread, low fat mozzarella cheese, tomatoes and fresh basil.  I love it!

EMLH: When you eat out (do you?), where do you like to go?

Lisbeth: I love the Cheesecake Factory usually my first choice.  I love dessert.  so I will order dessert, eat a few bites and take the rest home.  Ususally I will have a few bites till its gone ( a few days).  I go out and have drinks with my friends every other week.  I stay way from beer and sugary drinks.  Usually I will have Diet Coke and Captain or Vodka Tonic.

EMLH: Rock on and tell me what you really think about yourself…

Lisbeth: I love my body.  I don’t have a six pack, but I have a beautiful woman’s body.  I have wide hips, and a great butt.  It is big and wonderful.  I love looking like a woman.  I love my size 6.  I don’t want any less.  I love that I am strong and still soft.  I love that I have all my scars that I got from getting to where I am.  Stretch marks are my badge for motherhood.  I really have a great outlook on who I am.  I am a WOMAN.  Strong, sexy, happy, crazy and all ME and never emabarassed by who I am.  I trully am happy by what I have acheived.  I still get a little crazy when I eat or drink too much, but it is only because I love what I have done with myself.  I am positive and encourage all those who try to make these positve changes.  I don’t deny myself anything. ALL IN MODERATION.  And if I do succumb to my weaknesses, I just work a little harder after that and don’t beat myself up.  I love me and I do what makes me and my body happy.

—————-

Thank you, Lisbeth! Congratulations and thank you for agreeing to be my first “Real Woman” feature! I hope to continue this feature on a monthly basis, and I know it won’t be hard to find more real, healthy women! We are everywhere!

If you’d like to be featured, please send me an email, or post a quick message below. Let’s start setting better examples for ourselves!

A friend of mine just sent me a link to this company’s website: Me & Goji. You can create your own healthy cereals from a huge variety of ingredients!

Start with a base: artisanal cereal, flaxed & flaked, samurai wheat, raw 5-grain muesli or granola.

Enhance it with a little variety: barley flakes, wheat germ, shredded wheat, corn flakes, crunch granola, oat bran, multigrain flakes, rye flakes, or spelt flakes

Maybe some chocolate-kissed add-ins: choco peanut, choco cranberry, choco granola, choco goji, or cacao nibs

Some dried fruit, perhaps: goji, cherries, apples, cranberries, mango, mulberries, papaya, raisins, strawberries, coconut, banana, golden raisins ,raspberries, golden berries, blueberries, or currants

And some nuts for extra crunch and healthy fats and fiber: chia, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, almonds, brazils, cashews, macadamia nuts, pecans, pine nuts, walnuts, flax seeds, soy nuts, or amaranth…

The website keeps track of your creation’s nutrition facts, updating the nutrition label in real-time as you add ingredients to your mix.

Finish it up, name it something special and get it shipped to your home in a “capsule!” The capsule is actually a really smart, and attractive packaging alternative that keeps your creation fresh much longer than a typical cereal box. And it’s portable and recyclable!

I am looking at the options, and my first creation was an artisan cereal with raspberries, coconut and almonds. I’ll let you know what it tastes like when it gets here!

I know it goes without saying that we should all be eating apples, and I bet that all you ladies reading this blog are smart cookies who regulraly enjoy the health benefits of this amazing fruit. But are you stuck in a rut? Do you usually eat the same apples all the time? Granny Smiths? McIntosh? Red Delicious?

Depending on where you live, you might be familiar with some apples that other people aren’t lucky enough to experience, unless they go out of their way to find.

Yes, Granny Smiths and Galas are my reliable go-to apples. They’re available all year round it seems. But there are some that I look forward to every year, like the Honeycrisp and the Arkansa Black! I was first introduced to these babies when I briefly worked at Whole Foods Market. One of the produce guys had a real passion for his fruits and veggies and didn’t miss any opportunity to cut something up for me to try.

The Honeycrisp became my instant all-time favorite apple. It’s an early-season apple, so it’s harvested between September and October, and it can get really pricy, especially if you buy organic. I have seen it up to $3.69 a pound! Don’t let that stop you, though. You can find smaller, conventional Honeycrisp at Trader Joe’s, Sprouts and even at some high-end supermarkets, so it’s up to you. I do urge you to bite into one of these crisp (as the name implies), sweet and oh-so-juicy apples!

A little background on the Honeycrisp: it was originally said to be a cross between the Macoun and Honeygold, developed by the University of Minnesota’s apple breeding program. However DNA testing recently discovered that its parents are the Keepsake and an unknow breed! Talk about drama in the apple world! It was “born” in the 1960s, but wasn’t made commercially available until the 1990’s. The University holds a patent and you need to have a business license in order to grow and sell Honeycrips apple trees! However, that patent will expire this week, which could make a difference when it comes to price and availability of these apples! They’re great for baking and in salads, and of course, my favorite way to eat them is eating straight out of the fridge (they taste best really cold, in my opinion).

The other delightful apple variety I only got to know last year is the Arkansas Black. It’s actually been around since the 1800s! This late season apple, said to be a descendant of the Winesap variety, is at its best when harvested in November and December. The later it’s harvested, the better the flavor, they say. It has a dark skin, deep red turning into almost some kind of purple, with some yellow undertones. The flesh is a creamy yellow color. It’s crisp, a little tart, somewhat sweet, but not very. It has hints of cinnamon (at least that’s what it tastes like to me).  It’s unbelievable for cider or for eating fresh (and cold, of course!).

And coming next year…. The SWEET TANGO! My god, I wish I were one of the lucky folks who has had a chance to taste a Sweet Tango this year. The University of Minnesota’s been at it again, growing this hybrid of the Honeycrisp and Zestar apples. Sweet Tango apples will be commercially available next fall! From early reviews, I have a feeling this one may knock the Honeycrisp off the top of my apple list. Check out this write up at Epicurious.com. If James Oliver Cury’s description of his Sweet Tango experience doesn’t make your mouth water, I’m disowning you!

So there you have it, ladies… Variety is indeed the spice of life, even in the world of apples. If you’ve got a favorite variety or a great apple recipe, email it or post it in the comments!

I get my cholesterol checked twice a year. It’s coming up again this month.

In April/May of this year my numbers were:

Total: 209
HDL: 79
LDL: 117
Triglycerides: 51

Sure, the total is over 200, and if you look at things in black-and-white that’s “too high” and I’m at a higher risk of heart disease, heart attack, stroke, yadda yadda yadda. However, check out the HDL. That’s the “good” cholesterol that helps minimize the presence of LDL (the “bad” cholesterol). It’s almost 80! For women the acceptable minimum is 40-50, so I’m thrilled with this number. And the LDL, which ideally shouldn’t be over 100, but is OK so long as it’s under 130… that’s great where I am. My triglycerides, stored fat in the blood, are also something to celebrate - 51 is well below the 150 considered the maximum acceptable! This one is a huge deal because this would increase if I were eating a lot of sugar and white-flour, processed foods.

Why am I so happy to share these numbers with total strangers? Because they’re evidence that making simple, but long-lasting lifestyle changes will improve more than just your waistline. A few years ago, before I changed my lifestyle, my total cholesterol was 239, my HDL was around 29, the LDL was just over 180, and my triglycerides were in the high 200’s, almost 300.

Within just a few months of regular exercise and a more nutritious diet, cutting wayyyy back on the processed foods, fast food and sugar, it wasn’t just my numbers on the outside that were changing! Sure, I was losing weight and inches, but my numbers on the inside reflected the positive changes too! In my case, yes. I started out trying to lose weight, but just being healthy for the rest of my life turned out to be my real long-term goal. Still, there are women out there who “don’t have to” exercise and can eat “whatever they want” and they still look phenomenal. It’s nice to be able to wear a bikini, or “skinny jeans” or a slinky dress. But how nice is it if you are not enjoying that in good health?

My fiance recently wrote a great post on his blog about trigger points, and I wanted to share it with you all. Check it out.