Skip to content

Posts tagged ‘nutrition’

Aug 29

Minnesota State Fair — fun sans the stick

Yes you can have a healthy & fun State Fair experience without the stick! #healthygirlsdothefair

loriandsandra-horsebarnThe Minnesota State Fair is home to more deep-fried foods and food-on-a-stick (pork chops on a stick, pronto pups and corn dogs, merlot-marinated grilled lamb on a stick, pickle dogs…) than any other place on the planet!

As a former 4-H’er and farm girl, I practically grew up at the Minnesota State Fair eating things on a stick. Well, actually, that’s not true. Foot long hot dogs, cheese curds and malts at the Dairy building were among my favs and they weren’t on a stick. This love of the “Great Minnesota Get Together” and my history of 12 days of “pigging out” on all things fried, fatty and greasy — on a stick or otherwise — might have something to do with how I got so overweight.

Fast forward 30-40 years and what’s a healthy girl to do when she loves the State Fair, but is beyond tempted by all that fatty, greasy, stuff on a stick? Read more

May 4

3 Comments

Weight maintenance is hard, rewarding & totally doable!

If…and when…you’re in your equation…
Do NOT be discouraged in weight loss by The Biggest Loser Study

ITE_Before-After_Insta

My before & after

On Monday, the New York Times published an article on the science of fat titled: After the Biggest Loser, Their Bodies Fought to Regain Weight.”

Google search #biggestloser and you can read a lot of hullabaloo over the study with everyone from past The Biggest Loser contestants to so called weight-loss experts weighing in. I was hesitant to comment because, well, I’m no expert. But, I am living with the joys and struggles of weight maintenance. For me, it’s real life. And in two weeks, I will be celebrating my 4-year anniversary of keeping off 200 pounds. ( I know, cool, right?!)

Since the obesity research was published in the NYT, I’ve had no less than 10 people send me the article and ask me to comment on how I am able to keep the weight off. Others have messaged privately and asked what I thought of the study.

For those who haven’t read it yet, the research showed a significant slowing of the metabolism for The Biggest Loser contestants that has persisted for years, causing their resting rate metabolism to plummet so they burn far fewer calories when their bodies are at rest as compared to someone their size who did not have dramatic weight loss. It’s more nuanced than that and you can read the full article here.

The questions I was asked:  What do you think? Are you experiencing the same thing? Read more

Apr 21

The breakfast of a fit girl

southwestern scramble

Easy Southwestern Scramble

Or the breakfast of champions, depending on how you look at it! 😉

What did you have for breakfast this morning? Please don’t say nothing!

Six years ago (or more), if you had asked me what I ate for breakfast the answer would vary greatly. One day it might be absolutely nothing but coffee; another day 2-3 egg McMuffin sandwiches at McDonald’s; and on another perhaps a Starbucks Venti Latte with a couple of slices of coffee cake and a muffin.

Truth: I didn’t do much in moderation back then and all too often I skipped breakfast and made up for it later. Can you relate?!

Fast forward to today and ask me the question. It’s a whole different story. For the last five plus years, I’ve eaten pretty much the same thing every day and I love it! Eggs. Read more

Dec 9

What’s for dinner? Fresh scallops! Yum.

Tired of chicken? Change it up with fresh seafood recipes — all on plan.

freshscallopsDo you ever find yourself stressed about what to cook for dinner to stay on your diet plan? Or, you work all day and come home to the frig to open the door and wonder – hmmmmm, what’s for dinner?

I plan and prepare my meals in advance for the week – usually on what I fondly call, meal prep Sunday. So I don’t often have that stare at the frig problem. But I eat a lot of lean protein — mostly chicken and turkey — and admittedly I get sick of the same old…

So this week, I changed it up. And YUM! Read more

Nov 19

Operation reboot!

7 Tips for a successful start, restart, or total reboot

lori-operationreboot-2015Nearly four weeks ago I boldly blogged about my epiphany on the mountain and #operationreboot. It’s time for a reality check.

The old me wishes I could report that I’ve been perfect — 100% on plan with no slip ups. The new me laughs at that notion and is happy to report that Ive had a good run, with ups and downs along the way. I’m not perfect. But I’m authentically me. I love and celebrate that.

Yep, I’d rather be perfectly imperfect, perfectly authentic and 100% all in! That’s my new definition of success. And it’s working. I’m kinder and gentler with myself without hiding behind the excuses. I am able to take stock of major progress despite a lot of stress, travel and unexpected emotional challenges. I feel great — strong, capable, and on fire. There’s no question, that I’ll reach my goals. Because I know I can! One day at a time.

So here’s the report from the trenches. Read more

May 26

2 Comments

I don’t eat “fast food.” Or, do I?

Exploring healthy options at Subway with the help of Jared & NBC’s The Biggest Loser

2015-05-22 09.18.52Those of you that know my story, or have heard me speak publicly, know that I no longer eat “fast food.” It was one of the very first things to go (along with the diet coke) back in November 2010 when I officially started my transformation journey. I haven’t eaten fast food in five years.

Well, okay, until this past weekend.

This past January, when I shared my at-home transformation story on NBC’s The Biggest Loser, we were surprised by Jared, the Subway guy, who was in the audience and “gifted” us a year’s supply of Subway. Read more

Mar 19

2 Comments

Podcast: Lori Schaefer turns 48, loses 211 lbs

014-Lori-SchaeferAfter I shared the short version of my transformation story on NBC’s The Biggest Loser, I had the privilege of sharing a much longer version with Brett Fairell who started the podcast and website titled: “Your Way Weight Loss.”

I met Brett at the Biggest Loser after-party where we swapped transformation stories. Brett lost 173 lbs and his way was the Paleo diet. Like me, Brett is paying it forward, and asked me to be interviewed for his podcast. Here is my full interview titled: Lori Schaefer Turns 48, loses 211 lbs. Read more

Mar 16

2 Comments

You are what you eat. Uh oh!

March is National Nutrition Month. What kind of fuel are you putting in your body?

fruit for breakfastDid you know that fruit is a carb? How about that a chicken breast & a doughnut have about the same calories? But, boy, oh boy, do they get processed differently in your body.

In celebration of March being National Nutrition Month, I thought it would be fun to start the week off with a blog about nutrition.

When I started my transformational weight loss journey, I didn’t know that fruit is a natural carbohydrate. And I was sketchy on details about good and bad carbs all together. Read more

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox

Join other followers: