Blogs by Jonae

I try to walk at least 1/2 hour per day and watch my meal portions. Good luck!!

I just finished complaining about the Seattle heat. It's crazy hot today! But I can offer you hope on the workout front. Seattle's great for Zumba, and BodyPump, and whether I see that high school shape again, I'm getting closer, and having fun (which nobody ever heard me say about exercise before). I'm a regular Zumbavangelist, it's so fun. Good luck, and stay cool!

cheesemite.....yeah, you think seattle is bad, try mount vernon (where i actually live.) it's a scorcher up here. i tried cross fit this morning and had a lot of fun but it's a little spendy!! thanks for the advice and try to stay cool! hopefully this weather calms down a bit!!

I love the Skagit Valley, and Mount Vernon, oh, so pretty up there! But I'm sure you're hotter than me. I finally found a place that is fun, and sort of an exercise co-op, so it's reasonable. If you live out, you could get a pony!

haha cheesemite! silly me!!! i read your blog that has the sheppard’s in it and commented on how i live in the seattle area too. then i came back to my blog and realized that we have already discussed our locations. i didn't realize you were the same person until now. this heat it frying the brain cells i tell ya!!!

I'm the one living across the water near Port Gamble and the Hood Canal Bridge. My temp gage says 78 as we speak so I will not complain. I am not a hot weather person. My workout is three days week at a pool doing physical therapy for my lower back. I really need to try walking again to up my workout. I'm gaining a bit instead of loosing. It doesn't help when I am sitting and punching the keys on this computer but I do get out and water my garden in the early hours. It was really nice and cool this morning. Someone said that if you have a favorite set of shows on tv each evening and just sit there, I crochet, you should get up and for 5 min at a time do some sort of dance move or just move. I'm trying that to my husbands glee. He thinks its funny. Good luck...

panther49! OH I LOVE LOVE LOVE PORT GAMBLE. i am on a ghost hunting team and we went out there for an investigation and investigate the cemetery, theatre and the ames house! it was sooo amazing!! my husband and i are going out there in september with another couple friend of ours and staying at one of the guest houses. i wish i could live in port gamble! so amazingly beautiful there! i am starting to do cross fit here in mount vernon about three times a week so hopefully that will help my tush tighten up!! i love dancing, i wish there was a dance place here that wasn't expensive.

My kids and I love to visit the Los Angeles Zoo. We have an annual membership, so we can go whenever we want. A day at the Los Angeles Zoo involves LOTS of walking on steep hills, so we get tons of exercise and we're out in the fresh air and sunshine.

I really like fish and veggies for low calorie, healthy meals. Earlier this week I roasted cod with carrots and summer squash. Quite tasty!

OOH. My favorite thing to do is take leftover white rice (sans butter, salt, etc) and mix it in with some broccoli, snap peas, edamame, water chesnuts, and whatever other vegetables they've got at the store. I just put them in a really big pan, making sure there is more veggies than rice. (You can even use frozen veggies if you want). After it's heated up a little, using about 1/2 c water to keep it from burning, I add in some sea salt, teriyaki sauce, and honey. Fry it up until the flavors seem to be mixed up well. It comes out delicious! And the best part is, it's only about 300 calories if you do it right! :)

They run the air-conditioner at the skating rink. Take the kids and rent skates for yourself, too!

KERI - i love the zoo. maybe i will still my sisters kids for a day and take them to the kirkland zoo here in seattle! great idea!! KELSEY-ANN, great idea! thanks for the advice. great sounding dish with little calories. my kind of meal!! HR DONALD, i don't have little ones....yet! my husband and i are trying but it will be years from now before i can take them to the skate park. i look forward to it though.

Hi! To escape the heat you could try swimming. Maybe there's a local YMCA so it won't be too pricey. Once it cools off a little you could start walking. Do you have a dog? I walk a lot more now that I know our pup is depending on me. :) For some healthy, quick meals I like variations of pita pizza. You can do a Mexican pizza - salsa, black or pinto beans, and a little 2% shredded mexican cheese. I also like roasted vegetable pita pizza. I'll roast whatever veggies are around - butternut squash, eggplant, bell peppers, onions, etc. in a olive oil (I'll use the Pam spray) and balsamic vinegar mix with a little rosemary. Add a little 2% mozzarella or a strong cheese (a few crumbles of feta) and you're good to go. Big salads are also a great option and with so many options - I like adding a chopped, crispy apple to mine. Maybe the most important thing is drink lots of water!! Good luck!

Hey,I know what you mean.I lived in Pensacola,Florida from November until the end of june.It was near 100 every day,and the heat index put it at 105-110.I couldn't take it,and moved to Pa.!!I know that moving may not be an option for most of us,but I was lucky enough to be able to escape!!

Walk the dog, eat smaller portions and try oh, try to cut back on fat which means for me cheese and butter! I have been fighting 8 lbs for about 8 months. I am in winter here so, no heat to help me lose my appetite either. Drink lots of cold water!!

Six meals a day, smaller meals. Establish a goal of what you want to lose. Then make a training plan. Organize, stick to it. Go to : http://www.diet-blog.com/archives/2005/12/26/how_to_calculate_your_daily_calorie_needs.php OR http://www.caloriecontrol.org/calcalcs.html to figure out your "needs". 3000k is a pound. If you shave roughly 500 cals a day from your diet, you should lose a pound a week. It should come off no faster than 2 lbs a week or so to be safe. So, burn at least 250 in the gym and lose the rest from your diet and your good. Start training slow. Don't rush in, hurt yourself or get so sore you dont go back. Bill Phillips has a good book as a reference. He has some recipes in it as well. I personally like to eat good tasting food too much to eat like he suggests all the time. That being said, I have actually gotten MANY Of my good tasting food recipes....right here. The asian section here is great for low fat ideas and you can get others and makes subs for the higher fat ingredients, bring it down and still have a good meal. Actually what my wife and I do for fun together besides gutter stuff, is go to the gym together! Training with your spouse is great. Training is only 10% of your success though. The rest comes from proper nutrition and rest. Emphasis on both. Sorry if this is redundant and its in another post. I didnt have time to read em all. Educate yourself above all else though. Go to bodybuilding websites and educate yourself on working out, cardio etc. Many will tell you CARDIO CARDIO CARDIO. Yes cardio is good but its not the be all end all. Train with weights. I don't care if you are a girl, train with weights and train HARD (once you get used to training). You can go in and train hard for 30-45mins and be done. You'll lose weight and feel better. What works for one person may not work for you either. Have to find that on your own. I'd circuit train to start though. Get a feel for things and move from there. Now, I'm off to study! :) Jakman... I'm moving to Pcola in December after graduation. Your comment made me laugh!!

Unemployed from a fast-paced, fine-dining restaurant since early May; I found myself with flab on my legs and arms instead of muscle, by mid June, and I freaked! While not over-weight, my sedentary 6 weeks caused some havoc with muscle tone. First thing I did...removed all white starch and sugar from the cabinets. I've always made healthy choices in my diet by: not eating red meat, butter, fried foods, bread, whole dairy products, etc. I stepped it up a bit and said "No" to soda pop, ice cream, chocolate, cheese, and anything with trans-fat...no dining out or cocktails either! I bought a mountain bike, found my pedometer, and pulled the 5 lb. weights from under my bed; re-read a great book "Body for Life for Women" by Pamela Peeke (a must read for women of all ages), and committed to myself! On July 1st, began a personal challenge. I should tell you that I am single with no children and live alone, the choices I make affect only me. I filled my fridge with carrots, celery, radishes, cucumbers, tomatoes, spinach, romaine lettuce, mushrooms, broccoli, asparagus, and low carb fruits. (BTW: Debbie Myers Green Bags really keep fruit and veggies fresh longer) I keep canned tuna in water, sardines and crab meat for a quick salad topper. I use whole wheat pita bread and tortillas, cut each into triangles and bake a short time to use with my house made salsa and guacamole. Also great as a cracker for a little dab of 'Krema Natural' peanut butter (the best)! Snack shelf has: natural/unsalted almonds and sunflower seeds, raisins, and other dried fruit. (I make my own trail mix with all things I like) I love to start my day with steel cut oats and found a great way around the 30 minute cook-time each day: One cup oats, 4 cups water/skim milk, cook, let cool, refrigerate a few hours, divide into 8- 1/2 cup portions, and freeze. At night, slip one into fridge, in the morning heat stove-top or microwave, top with bananas, blue berries and strawberries. Great way to start the day! Cooking for one has become quite easy for me...I buy skinless, lean turkey and chicken, fresh salmon, shrimp, and anything else looking nice at the market that day. At home, I clean and prepare, then freeze off in single portions. I might make a large pot of turkey chili and freeze off 8 portions. I marinate chicken breasts in various styles and freeze those off individually as well. Salmon, I purchase in 3 or 4 lb weight and portion them out in 6 to 8 oz. size, slip into a double Ziploc bag (making sure no air inside) then freeze. I do this with lasagna, meatloaf, casseroles, just about anything. One day cooking allows for nearly a full month of meals. I find, when I have an easy, healthy meal with little prep time waiting, I don't think about Pringles or Tootsie Rolls! The key is to think about your meals for the day, ahead of time, so you avert a bad decision. (If you choose unhealthy, no problem, make a better choice next time!) Don't beat yourself up! Slowly but surely, I began working my properly fueled body...Detroit is experiencing a lovely, mild summer; no oppressive heat this year. -Use weights for my arms every other day: 7 different exercises, 3 sets each. -Worked up to cycling 20-25 miles, usually 5 times a week. -Climb 205 stairs to my apartment 3-6 times, every other day. -Looking into a Yoga class. As the month of July ended, 7 lbs. lighter, I noticed muscle tone in my arms mostly. My calves have always been tight, but I do see renewed tone in my thighs and for all the pain I have felt in my gluts, I'm sure something is getting ready to happen back there too! At the end of all this, I should confess...I have been a smoker for many years. I'm relying on 'Nicorette' to help me through the cravings, I've only purchased 3 packs in a month. Saving $7.00 daily is great, but making it up that huge incline at the end of my 20 mile bike ride is, for me, a personal best! Get inspired! Peace!

I totally understand. For me it was 2 knee surgeries combined with my love of food that added on 30lbs. I'm almost back to my pre-surgery weight. I joined this (free) website called SparkPeople- you put in your weight loss goals- and then it gives you recommended caloric intake/fitness output, etc. You enter your food each day it does all the calculations for you. It also gives you food tips, exercise tips- there are teams to join for motivation (based on location as well as interest), recipes to use, post, share- challenges/activities to earn "points." I highly recommend- my mom also joined since I raved so much about it (Yikes- sounding like an infomercial! ) Anyways-if you want to check it out, it's at www.sparkpeople.com

Be grateful for the beautiful weather. I live in Milwaukee, WI where it only hit the 90s for a few days. We've been in the 70s for the past few weeks. Haven't really had much of a summer here. I suggest you find a sport you enjoy. Also, do you drink in your calories? I recently lost 5lbs in 2 weeks by cutting out Mt. Dew. I was consuming over 1000 calories a day in liquids! Good luck to you!

I live in VA and we typically have hot, HUMID summers. I grew up in VT, so the heat really bothers me. I've found walking or biking early in the morning before the heat gets unbearable works for me. My kids and I like to go to Water Country and also swim which is good exercise. Another GREAT resource is Sparkpeople.com! It's free and there are recipes (whole menu's if you wish!), workouts, nutrition trackers to help you see where you are getting the calories from and best of all there are GREAT people to encourage and inspire you. Try it out, you'll love it!! Good Luck! :)

I am a no-exerciser, but finally found something I enjoy - Zumba, latin cardio dance. Between watching what I eat (lots of good tips in your blog) and dancing, I am losing! And I have more energy. Having a pedometer helps too. With the goal of 10000 steps a day (about 5 miles) it makes me think more about taking the stairs, parking farther from the building,etc. I live in central Florida, so understand the heat problem. But we do have air conditioning and it makes a diff! Good luck

I just moved to Florida from Chicago so I can empathize with the heat problem. Walking is the best. Walking at a slow pace for 45 min total a day. I try to go for a 20-30 min walk in the morning and again in the evening. It doesn't take much effort and is a great time to do thinking or talking with whoever joins you even if it is just the dog (-: good luck!

How big is your yard? Get a reel mower. I feel extra productive mowing the lawn with one of those!

I wish we had heat in my state. We made a record also...The most it has rained in summer EVER!!!! I forget what the sun looks like. This whole summer it only hit the 90's once. So If I was living where you are, I would go swimming. Any of your friends and or family have a pool? And not only swim in the pool, but run in place, do lunges and hang onto the side and kick backwards. It's a great workout and less stressful on your joints by doing it in water.

I am a certified hypnotist and I can tell you for sure that self hypnosis works to help people lose weight. Best of all, it's free!

I have a membership at the local YMCA and I found what motivates me to go is the cost! I figured I have to go & workout at least 3 times a week to justify the monthly fee. I feel good if I can get those 3 times in and anything over that is even better! And my husband & I usually get a hike or two in over the weekends. I love to cook & eat also - but I found cutting out a lot of the fats from our diet helps keep the weight down. I live in San Diego and can't really complain about the weather here - it's great almost year around for outdoor activities. Good luck to you!

wow! thank you everyone for your amazing tips!! i have already put some in to play and i am finally finding something that works for me and, most importantly, is fun!!!

eat in front of the mirror naked. and cut out high fructose corn syrup out of your diet.

I live up here too, and yes, this summer has been awful. I just had my third baby, and so the summer months and their need for cooler clothes have not been friendly to me. That said, we LOVE to go camping and crabbing/fishing as a family. I take veggies like cucumber and celery that are easy to chop, toss into stuff, or eat as snacks. Then we cook our "catches"right there at our camp site, minus a lot of butter ;o) and it always ends up being tasty, maybe just because we are so satisified because we caught it and cooked it ourselves :o) So we get out moving and get to enjoy eating and coking all at the same time. Westport, Twin Harbors State park is a favorite of ours. Wesport has a lot of great seafood, for a quaint little place, and teh fishing and crabbing are fantastic.

I know what you are going through. I was 55 pounds heaver 8 years ago! I tried everything! Check out www.weighdown.com I was able to lose all my weight eating regular foods. Just learning how to eat inside hunger and fullness!!

I just moved from Cincinnati, Ohio to Northwestern Louisiana- talk about hot and humid summers! OUCH! (nevermind the fact that I'm going on 3 months of bad hairdays) I'm trying to get back into the shape I was in before child #2. Currently, I'm eating a salad before lunch and dinner, and filling 1/2 of my plate with veggies, and then make whatever else I want. I find it to be an easy way to not over indulge, since I tend to fill up on the healthy stuff. I am a busy stay at home mom (a three year old, and a 21-month old) so I work out twice a day, 5 days a week. I do 30-45 minutes of cardio in the morning, and then 30 minutes of weight training in the evening. Once you get settled into a routine everything comes easier.

I live a bit north of you in Lynnwood, and work in Everett. Neither my apartment nor my work (I care for my severely (if you consider being nearly thirty but mentally a 5 year old) mentally disabled sister in law) have air conditioning, so this past week has been really horrible. Though I shouldn't have a problem. I grew up in Fresno, CA... Anyway, we've been trying to beat the heat by using fans, and the hallway in the sister in law's apartment building (The building has AC, but not the individual APTs...) It does not help that most of the Community Transit and Everett Transit buses do not have air conditioning. So it has been one slow-roasting torture for me... Really I think that any place that has any history of getting above the low 80's should have AC or a Cooler of some sort as a requirement for being a safe living space.

Like you, I love to cook and eat but also want to be healthier and happier with the bod. I like to work out in the morning - getting up and going first thing sets your metabolism at a higher rate for the day. I find that the more I move, the more energy I have for it. Setting goals or signing up for an event like a 5K/10K/half marathon really helps me keep to a schedule, too. And, I really focus on getting all of the recommended fruits and veg, eating less meat, more fish, and choosing whole grain options for breads, pastas, etc. Best of luck! I can't wait to hear how everything goes.

You should move to Canada. We don't often complain of the heat here! As for keeping excess pounds off, I signed up to train for a 1/2 marathon. I had never ran before and I fully believed I would end up having to walk the whole race, but that was 3 years ago and I'm still running and loving it! It's especially fun to pick an exciting race destination, it helps to keep you motivated and makes for a great reward. And the greatest reward is that you can eat, eat, eat, and eat some more when burning that many calories!!!!

My favorite food to eat that is super low in calories is spaghetti squash; an entire cup is only 42 calories!! It's my go-to meal when I'm really hungry. I top it off with my own chicken marinara sauce to make sure that it stays healthy. I also eat a lot of Sugar-Free Jello. It's only 10 calories a serving and if you add 2 tablespoons of fat-free cool whip it only brings this little snack to 25 calories! I love desserts and candy, my diet survives on this Jello dessert because it feels like I'm cheating and eating a high calorie goodie! As for working out, my boyfriend and I go to the gym 4 days a week, it really helps that I have him to push me to go on the days that I just want to lay in bed and relax. If you are a member of a gym try an aerobics class, they are difficult at first, but only do what you can until you work your way up to staying for the entire hour. Aerobics classes are fun, they pump you up to want to move around, and you burn a ton of calories! On the weekends we try to do at least one active thing per day, such as taking a walk in the park, going to the driving range, or batting cages. Try to do everything standing up, even things like folding the wash. The calories that you burn by doing simple tasks sitting down increases if you do them standing up, and every little bit helps! I have lost 30 pounds in the past 3 months, just staying active and counting my calories :D

Increase the amounts of fruits & vegetables you eat, then once you are there, try to get 5 servings in by lunch time. Walk two times a day, in the morning before it gets hot, and in the evening after dinner. You will see results!