Back To Business

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  I'm back to the office after a much needed sejour in sunny Florida.  It's going to be a cold weekend here in New York and the flu is running amuck; bundle up, don't forget to wash your hands and although it's freezing outside, make sure you plan to do something fun this weekend!

Persevere And You will Reach Your Goals

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  About 4 months ago, I decided to get serious with myself and enroll into my own Wellness Program...heck, if it works for all my patients, why wouldn't I want to do it as well???  Today, I'm once again wearing my very expensive and fabulous summer Armani Collezione pants suit - the one I got too fat to fit into for a few years.  The take home message here:  stick to your guns, persevere and stay with your Wellness Program.  If you're lost and don't know what to do to get fit and healty, call or email my office and I'll enroll you into my Wellness Program...it works!
917-701-7582  k@kmondesire.com

Patient Education For Weight Loss

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  It seems that Americans are becoming more and more obese.  All the tools a person needs to become a healthier individual are available:  weight loss programs, psychotherapy, exercise programs, wellness programs, bariatric surgery, et al.  ALL my patients who enroll in my Wellness Program achieve their goals, but this is because I educate them on proper nutritional choices, and limit lifestyle changes so they are not 'deprived'.  Patient education regarding healthy weight and nutrition is part of my job.  I never shy away from encouraging a person to lose that extra 15 to 20 lbs that is affecting their achey knees, heart disease, diabetes, R.A. or vertigo.   Working together with a patient and understanding why they overeat and their lifestyle is key to their road to wellness.  If you have a problem losing that extra poundage and are tired of being labelled 'obese', call or email the office today.  Enroll in my Wellness Program - you won't regret it!  917-701-7582
k@kmondesire.com

Be Civilized When You Eat

Today, I had approximately 20 minutes to prepare a salad and eat it for lunch.  I scoffed it down just as quickly as my dog could have eaten it and one hour later....oh, what a stomach ache!!

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  Sometimes, we just don't have enough time to eat our entire lunch because of our busy schedules.  Just eat slowly, and eat what you can within the allotted time span.  If you gobble down your meal, you'll have a wicked stomach like I have right now!  Be civilized...eat slowly!

It's Planting Season...Are You In Shape For It?

These 60 plants are my new friends that have just arrived from White Flower Farms in Litchfield, CT.  I'm heading outta Dodge early today to embark on a 3 day digging and planting project to beautify the front lawn of a friend's business.  I've been doing situps, pushups and all types of exercises this winter and I'm in fine form to take on this manual labor...and enjoy it!

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  I'm looking forward to outdoor projects, sports and all types of activities this spring and summer.  I'm fit and feeling fabulous - how about you?  If you're not there yet, call or email my office and enroll  yourself into my wellness program.  You, too, can enjoy the warm weather fun and festivities if you start now!

It's April 3rd and Time to Start Something New

Whoopeee!  It's April 3rd and I've completed my 90 day Insanity Fitness Challenge.  I've lost inches everywhere and 20lbs.  I've been following my own customized Wellness Program and have adopted minor lifestyle changes.  Shopping for clothes has become fun again and I'm really enjoying myself.  But...now what????
I've achieved my original goal, so now is the time to set the stage for reaching my second goal....another few inches and another several pounds to be 'picture perfect'.  I want my 50s to be as fabulous as they can be and being as fit and healthy will help make all that happen for me.  I've devised a second stage Wellness Program that will include Brazilian Butt Lift, Insanity, jump rope and some Muay Thai pad work to keep me fit, supple and ready for anything coming my way.  Nutritional plan includes one cheat meal per week and a continuation of a dietary plan full of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins.

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  Want to achieve your fitness and health goals?  Email or telephone my office today and get going with a custom-made Wellness Program to help you attain your goals.  If you would like to order Insanity, P90X, Brazilian Butt Lift or another exercise program suited to your fitness needs, log onto http://www.teambeachbody.com/kmondesire
917-701-7582  k@kmondesire.com

Don't Let Success Go To Your Head

I'm winding up my 90 day Insanity/Wellness challenge.  I'm down 20lbs, several inches and feeling pretty good to say the least....looking much better as well.  I've received many compliments from friends, colleagues and patients over the past 2 weeks regarding my progress, self discipline and perseverence.  But, I've still got 7 more lbs I'd like to lose and the worst that could happen now is to allow success go to my head.

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  If you are near to or have reached your fitness goals, this does not mean you're ready for the 'whoopie wagon'.  Maintain your regime and stay on course.  Cheating once a week is fine, but repetitive cheats on your diet and exercise will get you right back to where you started.  Remember how tough the road to losing 20lbs or more was?  Do you want to do that all over again or do you want to continue to enjoy wearing a smaller size and a much higher quality of life and health????  Donate all the 'fat' clothes, treat yourself to some very special pieces for your wardrobe and that alone will keep you from porking up again.  I'll be out there watching you....and you'll be watching me!

What Are You Made Of?

Less than a week after I subluxed my right patella, I was back punching a heavy bag and practiced perfect form kicking the bag with my good leg.  No pity party or lame excuses here.  I had a week to chose:  feel sorry for myself, go off my diet and eat through my misery, or stick with my program, eat well and concentrate on healing.  At the end of 6 days, I'm feeling pretty good and got back to my Insanity 90 Day Challenge Exercise regime this morning.  Since I was feeling fearless, I decided to get onto the scale...when I took my hands away from my eyes (cause I really hate to look at the numbers), I saw that I lost another 3 pounds....that's 20lbs so far, and I've got another 2 weeks to go in the 90 day challenge.

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  I've said this before and I'll say it again....Winners don't quit, Quitters don't win and Losers never try.  I'm a Winner....who are YOU and WHO do you want to aspire to become?  No time like the present....enroll in my Wellness Program today and become a Champion and Inspiration to others!

Tips To Stay Healthy When Travelling

Travelling and afraid you're going to mess up your healthy lifestyle?  Easy-breezy!  All you need to pack in your travel bag are a pair of sneakers, a few pair of shorts, socks and workout tops...AND...your favorite Beachbody workout dvd.  There are so many to choose from:  Brazilian Butt Lift, Insanity, Chalean Extreme and many more.  You don't need weights or any other equipment to do these exercise programs and you can even download them into your IPhone or droid for even more convenience.

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  Don't Despair when travelling for business or pleasure.  You can still get in a good 20-40 minute workout with a choice of dvd programs.  Log onto
http://www.teambeachbody.com/kmondesire  and for less than the cost of a dinner or month's gym membership, you can download a plethora of workout dvds onto your IPhone or droid and exercise anywhere in the world...no excuses!

When You Lose Weight, So Will Your Spouse

The International Journal of Obesity recently published a report stating that when one spouse or domestic partner engages in a weight loss/fitness program, their partner lost an average of 3% of their body fat as well.

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  If you and your domestic partner want to lose weight, become 'fitness' buddies and do it together.  You'll be accountable for one another, it will be easier to stick with a healthy eating plan and you can find exercise programs that will suit both your tastes.  Log onto http://www.kmondesire.com/teambeachbody.html  today and choose from the many exercise programs available from Beachbody.com.  For less than the cost of a single month's gym membership, you can enjoy fitness in the privacy and time-flexible comfort of your living room.

I Believe, I Believe!

Remember when Tinker Bell and Peter Pan flew high in the sky and anything was possible?  It was because they BELIEVED they could fly; they believed that anything was possible.

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  Believe in yourself.  Believe you can be healthy and happy.  Believe that, if you try, you can achieve greatness - no matter how large or small the endeavor.  When you believe in yourself, you become an inspiration to others - they will believe in themselves because they believe you.  BE your WORD.  If you say you will exercise, then do it.  If you say you are the possibility of fitness and health and will eat accordingly, then DO IT.  No excuses...those are for losers.  You don't want to be one of those, do you?

Making Time For Exercise

I've heard just about every excuse for not exercising or taking the time to eat healthy.  I'm no angel either.  At the start of the year, I decided to get off my pity pot, end the ongoing pity party and do something about my own SELF.  Month after month, I coach and treat patients who have enrolled into my Wellness Program and all have successfully achieved and maintained their goals.  It was time for me to enroll myself...Just 60 days into the program, I'm down almost 15 pounds, 2inches smaller in diameter overall and feeling great!  Ten more pounds and I'll be back to 'normal'.  Hey, my Wellness Program really does work!

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  Want to lose 10, 15 or more pounds like me and my patients?  Join my Wellness Program today!  Call or email the office for your first step to being fit, healthy and happy.  k@kmondesire.com  917-701-7582
Don't know what type of exercise will turn you on?  log into http://www.kmondesire.com/teambeachbody.html  and check out the various exercise programs that you can do in the privacy of your own home, without the cost of a gym membership.

Getting Back Into Your Fat Pants Can Be A Good Thing!

This morning, I pulled a pair of my old 'fat pants' out of the closet to see if and how they would fit.  They fit really well and I was so happy!  WHY???  Because my 'REALLY fat pants' were becoming too big on me.  Now, I'm back to being into my 'just fat pants'.  This is a transitional phase:  I hope that in another 4 weeks or so, I will be ready to wear my 'normal' pants again. 

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  Weight loss and fitness doesn't' happen in a day; it's a process.  Take baby steps - create small goals every week for yourself and you'll be surprised what giant leaps you make over time!  All my patients in my Wellness Program have lost between 6 and 18 pounds since January 3rd.  I'm on the party wagon to wellness with them.  If you want to get out of your REALLY FAT PANTS and back into your 'just fat pants', contact the office and sign up for the best program of your life...today!

Staying With Your Resolutions

I'm well into week 2 of my Insanity 90 Day Challenge.  Exercising to these dvds 6 days a week and abstaining from alcohol and gluten (my own self-inflicted torture) and partaking in a very clean dietary regime is hard work.  It takes planning meals, shopping wisely and a daily lunch bucket to schlep to the office.   At the end of each day, I feel better than the previous day and proud of myself to stick with the program.  I am a team leader and coach for Beachbody.com and I have a few people doing this challenge with me....we're all in it as a team - encouraging oneanother and checking in on the internet daily to keep ourselves going strong.  I'm loving the experience and the enthusiasm of the group is uplifting.

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  If you're feeling lonely and losing your momentum with your New Year's regime, pick up the phone or get onto the internet - create a team, join a team or if you like, join my Beachbody.com team.  You don't have to being doing one of the beachbody programs.  You can do your own thing and check in with me daily or weekly.  YOU GET FREE COACHING!  How can you beat it?
log onto www.teambeachbody.com/kmondesire and join my group.  We'll help you achieve your fitness and health goals!

Perseverence Gets You To Your Goals

The first week of my 90 day fitness challenge came to a close yesterday.  It was a week filled with an Insanity exercise workout everyday and creative cooking to make low fat meals sophisticated and delicious.  Coming out of week one and into the second week of this challenge, I'm feeling pretty good, not only physically, but mentally.  Placing myself into the mindset of 'I can' and being team leader has given me the impetus to persevere and reach my goal.  What I find quite intriguing is that the more people I tell about this challenge, the more encouragement I receive from friends to complete strangers.  Conversely, the more I talk about my journey, the more 'pumped' my listening audience becomes to maintain their focus on their own health and fitness goals.

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  If you have promised yourself to stay with your New Year's Resolution of fitness and you find yourself struggling after week one, share your journey with everyone you know....and don't know.  You will find more 'cheerleaders' out there for your team than you can imagine.  A team in your 'corner' will help keep you on course and encourage you to achieve your goals.

Just When You Thought You'd Get Lazy

Quite often, we get tired of waking up, exercising, eating right, blah, blah blah....me too, included.  How wonderful it would be to go back to being 20years of age - rocket fuel for energy, perky bodies, eat whatever you want and look fabulous in a bikini (never mind you guys out there today!).  This morning, I received an email from a friend who attached a photo taken of me last night at a cultural event.  I looked at the photo and I just thought, "I hope she doesn't post this on facebook".  I hate the way I photograph....all I ever see is 'the hair wasn't right, I didn't get enough sleep, that dress makes me look like a linebacker', and the list of complaints goes on and on and on.  So, there I was, on my pity pot and figured 'let's just get this over with', and reached for a skirt that I could no longer zip up last year.  I had it cleaned anyway and stuck it in the closet for the 'I'll get back into it one day'.  I held my breath and started to plan a giant pity party because I figured I'd be putting the skirt back into the closet for another year.  Much to my surprise, the skirt not only fit, but there is plenty of room in the waist again.  I flushed the pity pot, reached for the Insanity DVDs and put on my best lipstick.  I'm ready to get back into the game today.

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  Forget the stupid photos and what we 'see'.  We tend to only look for what's amiss with ourselves and are our own worst critics when it comes to self image.  Judge instead, how your clothes fit, how you feel and when, at our age, people say 'you look so healthy', don't take hard (they used to say 'you look so sexy'), smile and realize that you look really, really good.  All that hard work....getting up early, exercising, eating right, blah, blah, blah....is worth it in the end.  I'm due for an updated press shot...are there any professional photographers out there??????

Treating Obesity as a Disease

Per Medscape Medical News:  October 7, 2011 (Orlando, Florida) — Physicians who specialize in treating obesity are conceding that education to promote prevention and lifestyle improvements will not be sufficient to reverse the obesity epidemic.

"We really need a Manhattan Project for medical treatment in the field of obesity--we need prevention, we need behavioral modification, we need more drugs, and we need to look at better indications for bariatric surgery," surgeon Dr John Morton (Stanford University, CA) said. Because of the negative social stigma attached to obesity, there is still a lot of reticence among patients, physicians, and the general public to support obesity treatments other than diet and exercise. That must change if the problem is going to be solved, Morton argued. "We need to mainstream the treatment of obesity. That's really the big thing here. We wouldn't be having this conversation around oncology or cardiology. It would just happen. Those patients would get treated."
I believe that gross obesity is like any other addiction (drugs, alcohol, cigarette smoking).  Gross obesity is one's inability to 'say no' or cease a specific activity; eating becomes an addiction.  This eating disorder, like any other disease, costs all of us in missed work days, higher costs of healthcare, and a nation of unhealthy persons.  It has to be difficult for any person with an addiction to 'say no' when we live in a society where ads permeate every aspect of life (eg:  alcohol ads, ads that advise you to 'tell your doctor you need this sedative', etc) and focus especially on food (eg:  buy two pizzas and get a large soda for 1/2 price).  Researchers have found that individuals who participate in a complete wellness program of diet, exercise and lifestyle change lose more weight and keep it off longer than those who partake in fad diets or 'weight loss' gimmicks.  Psychological therapy is also recommended to get to the 'root cause' of the overeating addiction.

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  If you (or someone you know) has an eating disorder, call or email my office today.  Enroll yourself in my Wellness Program; a custom-designed program for healthy living.  Take control of your life today and do something positive for yourself.
k@kmondesire.com   917-701-7582

Chocolate Pumpkin Pie Shake

It's October and pumpkins are everywhere...pumpkin pie, pumpkin cake, pumpkin butter, pumpkin candies....sometimes, the temptation is just too great.  Here's a great low calorie, low fat, high in protein afternoon shake that will knock your socks off and knock out that craving for the pumpkin pie.

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day: 

Chocolate Pumpkin Pie Shake
1 scoop Shakeology Chocolate Protein Powder (you can purchase this online at http://myshakeology.com/esuite/home/kmondesire)
1/2 cup unsweetened canned pumpkin
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 cup skim milk

Put all ingredients in a blender with a few ice cubes and blend until smooth.  This one is OUTSTANDING!!!  Enjoy!

'Designer' Your Food Plate

The 2010 Dietary Guidelines have thrown out the food pyramid and replaced it with "MyPlate".  Here's what our very own custom-designed food plates should look like:
1/2 the plate should contain fruits and vegetables, a bit over 1/4 of the plate should be whole grains, protein gets a bit less than a 1/4 of your plate, and add a glass of low-fat dairy or calcium-fortified soy milk.  The servings are based on a 2.000 calorie per day diet.
Here's Your Healthy Tip of the day....the breakdown:
grains:  6 daily portions in total.  one portion is equal to 1/2c rice, oatmeal or pasta, 1inch slice baguette or hockey puck sized bagel.
dairy:  3 portions in total.  one portion is equal to 1 c milk, yogurt or calcium fortified skim milk, 1/2c ricotta cheese or 1/3c shredded cheese, 1.5oz hard cheese.
fruits:  2 portions total.  one portion is equal to 1c fresh fruit or juice, 1/2c dried fruit.
vegetables:  2.5 portions total.  One portion equals 1c cooked or raw veggies, 2c salad greens, potatoes the size of a computer mouse.
protein:  5.5oz total.  One portion equals 4oz fish, 3oz meat or poultry, 1/4c beans, one egg is an ounce, 2tblspns nut butter equals 2 oz protein.

Work Out, Eat Right, Reap the Rewards

Everybody always talks about getting into that swimsuit or miniskirt in time for the warmer weather.  Well, have you ever considered getting back into that fabulous fall skirt or Zegna suit?  Today, I began switching the summer clothes out of the closet and bringing the seasonal items in.  I decided to try on a few items that had no longer fit last year, but I was too stubborn to give up on either myself or my great clothing.  Much to my surprise, those fabulous Armani skirts fit nicely again, as well as some other amazing pieces.  I'm a happy camper...all that hard work is paying off just in time for fantastic Fall fashion.

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  Workout, eat right, don't fall into the cooler weather trap of heavier foods and exercising less.  You should want to look and feel great all year long.  Remember, those silly holidays are coming and, if you're like me, you'll want to escape to someplace warm during those days.  What better way to prepare for a winter getaway than to keep up the good work!