I hope you had a wonderful holiday season.  I definitely did!

Not only did we celebrate my son’s first Christmas, but my husband and I are in Charleston, South Carolina with our wonderful family for the next several days.

We arrived here very late on Wednesday night, after a traffic filled 16 hours in the car (thank goodness for my healthy food cooler!).  Thursday and Friday were filled with gifts, family and lots of delicious food!  I will confess, my husband and I did have our fair share of sweets and treats, but we have continued to eat healthy and even took a trip to Whole Foods yesterday.

On Saturday morning we also went right over to the local gym in town and got ourselves a week membership.  Yes, my husband did try to pull the old “Let’s start on Monday morning” routine but I knew we would feel so much better all week long if we maintained our work out schedule and maintained our healthy daily eating.  Besides, it’s very rare that my husband and I ever get to go to the gym together so it’s actually a pretty fun part of our vacation.

Just in case you’re waiting for January 1^st to get started on your own weight loss and fitness goals, I’m going to give you a swift kick in the butt and say…START NOW!  You’ll be amazed at what a difference just one week makes!

Just think about it.  By this time next week, you may already be a pound leaner, less bloated and much happier with how you feel when you wake up each morning.

How can I help you start 2010 off with a bang?  Well, I’ve got an awesome surprise for you this coming Thursday  and I’m working on the finishing touches right now!  Make sure to watch your email inbox closely…

Two last things before my husband and I are off to the gym…

First,  I just heard Craig Ballantyne, author of Turbulence Training, is offering his incredible workout system for 50% off this week.

http://turbulence.thedsp.info

He’s never done this kind of a sale before, so if you’re looking for a great workout to start off 2010, this one comes highly recommended by me.  If you want to details on what Craig’s program is all about, I’ve done a thorough review of it here on my fitness review page:

http://www.thedietsolutionprogram.com/fitness.aspx

It’s the third one down, but you’ll see there are also some other really great programs on there as well.

Second, I wanted to share with you one of the BEST Christmas presents I got this year.  It was a gift from my brother in law, sister in law and niece and it is perfect for my healthy DSP lifestyle!

Take a look at this great gift. It’s a new travel cooler for carrying around my healthy food: (more…)

Today, in my video, I’ll be answering the question…

“Isabel, why can some people eat anything they want without gaining weight and I can’t?!”

I know how frustrating this can be.  I have to make a constant effort to maintain my 30 pound weight loss and sometimes just can’t believe how other people can eat whatever they want without any ill effects.  Or, are they affected in ways we just don’t see?

Watch my answer here:

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(You’ll see my son is hanging out in today’s video and yes, he wears socks on his hands!)

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http://SpecialForIsabel.GetPrograde.Net

I’m going to be absolutely modest right now and tell you that when I was pregnant with my first baby, I was looking pretty good the whole time. (Come on, if I can’t pat myself on the back, who will?)

I can remember specifically how much attention I got in the last few weeks, especially from complete strangers in the supermarket, book store…actually, just about everywhere.

Once I would tell people how far along I was (7-8 months), they always would say the same thing, “No way! Really? How did you stay so fit?” Besides mentioning the fact that I stayed consistent on my exercise regimen, I always told them the number 1 reason I was able to ward off the usual excessive pregnancy weight gain…by watching what I put into my mouth!

Is this really any different than what I would normally do even when not pregnant? Not really. Healthy principles are healthy principles. What’s good and healthy for someone not pregnant (men included) is just as healthy for the preggers girl (with a few exceptions, of course).

I will tell you that I did put a special emphasis on one specific food and ingredient through the whole duration of my pregnancy and that is Omega 3 Fats, especially from fish oils. Before I got pregnant, I always included Omega 3’s into my everyday meal plans for their fat burning and anti-inflammatory effects. But during pregnancy, I included them for the healthy development of my baby’s brain and spinal cord. The benefits of Omega 3’s are so far reaching, I don’t think anybody should be without them.

Here are some to just name a few:

1. Relief and prevention of pain and inflammation. Omega 3 fish oil fatty acids, particularly EPA, have a very positive effect on your inflammatory response. Through several mechanisms, they regulate your body’s inflammation cycle, which prevents and relieves painful conditions like arthritis, prostatitis, cystitis and anything else ending in “itis.”

2. Better brain function and higher intelligence. Pregnant and nursing mothers can have a great impact on the intelligence and happiness of their babies by eating foods high in Omega 3’s and supplementing with omega 3 fish oil (Everybody wants a smart baby, right?). For adults, fish oil improves memory, recall, reasoning and focus. You’ll swear you’re getting younger and smarter (Wouldn’t that be nice!)

3. Uplift mood and prevent depression. Making you smarter is not all that fish oil does for your brain. Psychiatry department researchers at the University of Sheffield UK, along with many other research studies, found that fish oil supplements “alleviated” the symptoms of depression, bipolar and psychosis (and they even help to alleviate PMS which sometimes brings on the same symptoms of depression and psychosis).

4. Superior cardiovascular health. Fish oil’s DHA, EPA and DPA have also been proven to work wonders for your heart and the miles and miles of arteries and veins that make up your cardiovascular system. They help lower cholesterol, tryglicerides, LDLs and blood pressure, while at the same time increasing good HDL cholesterol. This adds years to your life expectancy.

5. Burn unwanted Body Fat. Omega-3 fats help you burn fat by helping your body respond better to a hormone called Leptin. Leptin tells your body (your brain) to suppress your appetite making you eat less so you can maintain or lose weight. Leptin also increases your metabolism by increasing your thyroid output and causes your body to burn fat for energy. A better response to Leptin will decrease your hunger and increase your burning metabolism. Omega 3’s also help control hunger by stabilizing your blood sugar levels. Less hungry equals portion control equals increased fat loss.

You can easily increase your intake of Omega 3’s on a daily basis by eating several servings a week of wild salmon, tuna, herring, sardines, flaxseeds, pecans, walnuts, hazelnut, butternut, mackerel, and anchovies (I love anchovies!)

If you find yourself not able to get these foods in on a regular basis, you can easily get in your daily Omega 3 intake by taking a high quality supplement. Many of you know there are very few supplements I will recommend or even promote. Prograde’s EFA ICON is one that I proudly stand behind and use myself.

You can read more about EFA ICON right here on Prograde’s site and take advantage of the special 15 % Off Sale ONLY for my DSP readers:

http://SpecialForIsabel.GetPrograde.Net

Like I mentioned, I would not go without it and neither should you.

http://SpecialForIsabel.GetPrograde.Net

Do your brain, your joints, your mood, and your heart a huge favor and increase your Omega 3 intake right now. Your body will thank you (and I know my baby will thank me one day too!)

Wow, its so good to be home! Last week I took a little road trip with my parents and my son to Atlanta, Georgia and we had a great time.

But traveling is most definitely not an excuse to abandon my healthy eating regimen (and no excuse for you either.)

Here’s a short video of exactly how I survived one week away from home and still managed to stay on my DSP approved meal plans.

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Take a look at exactly what my mom packed inside our cooler (I think you’ll be pretty impressed. My mom is a die hard DSP follower!)

Enjoy the video and have a wonderful weekend!

I received so many great emails from readers telling me the first video, “Best Pre Workout Nutrition” really cleared up a lot of confusion they had around exactly what to eat before their workout. I know many people have the same confusion when it comes to post workout nutrition and I know this video will give you some great answers.

Actually, I think the whole nutrition topic is very confusing for many people, especially when they are trying to coordinate their eating plan along with their workouts for maximum results. That’s why I decided that a 4 part video series would be perfect to go along with Vince DelMonte’s “No Nonsense Muscle Building and Six Pack” DVD’s. If you haven’t seen exactly what’s in my videos and Vince’s DVD’s, you can read about both here:

http://vinceturns30.thedsp.info

Pre and Post Workout Nutrition is just one of the many topics I cover in Vince’s videos, but I wanted to at least share a little piece of them with you.

Ok, now on to today’s video:

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