I don’t know about you, but when it’s hot outside, I start craving ice cream. Every afternoon around 3:00, I feel the need for a big scoop of mint chocolate chip. But, knowing that I can’t indulge in ice cream every day without adding a few summertime pounds, I began searching for alternatives to satisfy my summertime sweet tooth.

As I began this intensive research project, I asked a few people how they dealt with their cravings. The serious athletes (you know them…the Ironman types) chose fruit. HOW BORING IS THAT? An orange is not going to satisfy my sweet tooth and I’m not even going to give it a try. The slender people said they chew gum. Hmmm. Rocky Road or Trident? You can’t put ice cream and chewing gum in the same category!

After a few weeks of trying out various sweet treats, I created a list of my favorite summertime goodies. They had to satisfy my sweet tooth, but not contain have too much fat or too many calories.

1. Fage 2 % Greek Yogurt with strawberry preserves. This delicious, creamy treat is high in protein and low in fat. It’s one of my favorites.
2. Peanuts with semi-sweet chocolate chips. A handful of peanuts sprinkled with chocolate chips satisfies your cravings for something salty AND sweet. Stick to one handful and enjoy this protein packed snack with an ice cold seltzer.
3. Kashi Go Lean Fiber and Protein Bar. These nice little “hold-me-over” snack bars are pretty good. And they keep me going strong until dinner.
4. Chocolate Milk. I know it doesn’t sound like it would be satisfying, but it is. I hadn’t had a glass of chocolate milk in over 15 years until the other day. It was delicious! And because it’s so hot outside, it helped quench my thirst too. I like Farmland Dairies Lactose Free Skim Plus Milk and good old Hershey’s Syrup.
5. Gelato. I know. It’s almost ice cream but it’s not. It’s so much better! It has less fat, less sugar and they serve smaller scoops. Treat yourself to this amazing Italian delicacy every now and then—it’s simply to die for.

Like any other food, eating a little sweet treat is fine in moderation. When choosing any of the above, remember to simply go with a smaller portion…and ENJOY!!!

Please share your favorite summertime with us. I’m always looking for new options!

Stay sweet,

Molly

Ahhh…summertime.  It’s time to head to the beach (or the shore as they call it up here in the Northeast) and have some fun in the sun!  When I ask people what they love to do at the beach, unfortunately, the number one answer is “read a book or a magazine”.  Reading is great, but how about adding some exercise into your beach vacation this year?  All you need is your swimsuit, some running shoes, and lots of sunscreen. 

Try it—You’ll Like it

Going for long walks on the beach is great exercise.  It’s relaxing and it allows you to really appreciate the beauty around you.  But, if you want to get into really good shape while you’re “beaching it” this year, try the following workout.  It’s my favorite and I do it whenever I go to the beach.

• Warm up.  Okay, it’s already warm outside but you still need to warm up your muscles.  Walk briskly down the beach for about 5 minutes.  Stop and slowly do pain-free range-of-motion exercises to get your body loose and ready to move.  Don’t leave any body parts out!
• Run!   Ease into it but make yourself run faster than you would if you were going out for jog.  Run until you finished counting to 100 in your head.  You can count as fast as you want (to get it over quicker) or you can count slowly—which is a better workout.  (If you can’t run, walk as fast as you can).
• Walk.  This is your time to recover.  When you feel like your heart rate is coming back down to normal, then it’s time to move again.
• Run!  Just like before but this time will be easier.  You’ll notice your body loosening up start to feel good.
• Walk.  It will probably take a little longer to recover this time—that’s okay.  Listen to your body!  The more you do this, the less recovery time you’ll need.
• Push-ups.  You heard me.  The sand won’t kill you so get down in position and do as many as you can.  If you’re new to this, do a modified push-up with your knees in the sand. 
• Squats.  Stand facing the beautiful ocean, knees shoulder width apart, and perform 10-20 squats.  You’ll thank me for this later. 
• Walk.  It’s time to recover again.
• Run!   This will feel like the best one yet.  Focus on your form and staying light on your feet.
• Walk. 
• Push-ups.  Try to do 5 more than the first time.
• Lunges.  These are so good for you but don’t do too many the first day—they can make you really sore!  Try to do 8-12 if you can.  
• Walk.  Walking right about now feels really good. 

If you’re super ambitious, you can keep it going for as long as you like.  However, with an intense workout like this, the good news is that you can do it all in about 20 minutes!  And it will rev up your metabolism, sculpt your muscles and improve your cardiovascular health all at the same time. 
Save the Best for Last!

I purposely left out exercising in the ocean since many of you happened to see Jaws back in the 70’s.   It didn’t scare me but I refused to get in a bath tub for about a year after I saw it!  

Seriously, the best part of this workout is being able to take your shoes and socks off and go running into the water.  Go for a nice swim and let the healing salt water do its job. 

You’ll feel GREAT after this energizing workout!  And you should be proud of yourself for choosing YOUR HEALTH over People Magazine! 

Stay well!  Molly

Originally published in GO, GlobalFit’s online healthy living newsletter.”  http://www.globalfit.com/gonewsletter/default.asp

I love the curl I get from the humidity of summer, but I hate the frizz that accompanies it.  Like so many women, I am constantly on the lookout for the next best product for my hair and skin.  Whether you have straight or curly hair, long or short, there are just too many products to choose from!  Trying to figure it all out can leave you standing in the aisles of your local CVS for hours.

I typically only use two products on my hair:  an anti-frizz serum and gel.  I find the type of hair gel doesn’t matter nearly as much as the anti-frizz serum.   And when it comes to these serums, I’ve tried them all.  John Frieda, Garnier Fructis, Citre Shine, Moroccan Oil and Macadamia Oil.  I definitely prefer the oils over the other anti-frizz serums but the oils are VERY expensive.

But every now and then we get lucky and stumble upon something great.  I was waiting to pick up a prescription at a local drugstore and decided to make good use of my time by looking for travel size products for my hair.  Instead of a travel sized container, I found a large bottle of One N Only Argan Oil and picked it up to read about it.  Of course, I couldn’t read any of the important information on the back of the bottle because I didn’t have my reading glasses with me!  So I asked the woman at the counter if she knew anything about it. She RAVED about it.  Like me, she had tried all of the serums and found this one to be the best.  On top of that, her hair was really shiny—like she just finished a photo shoot for a magazine cover.

I was sold.  Plus, the 8 ounce bottle was only $16.99 (the 4 ounce bottle sells for about $8).   Compare that to 3.4 ounces or the Moroccan Oil Treatment for $41 and 4.2 ounces of the Macadamia Oil that sells from $26 to $36!

Sadly, I blew it the first time I used my One N Only Argan Oil.  I squeezed the bottle too hard and a huge amount came out.  I figured “What the heck?  Maybe I’ll get the shiny locks like the woman in the drug store.”  But NOOOOOOOOO.  As I boarded my flight to Europe, I looked like a rat that’d been caught in a torrential downpour for 3 days.  I’m sure people on my flight wondered why I didn’t wash my hair more often.

But the second time I used it, I got it right.  My hair was shiny, it felt good, and it wasn’t frizzy!  The nice woman at the drug store gave me some samples of the One N Only shampoo and conditioner to take on my trip.  I like them both but don’t think they’re necessary to get the smooth results you’re looking for.

So give this smoothing oil treatment a try but remember not to use too much of it.  Let us know if you like it or if you have any other products we need to know about.

Stay Smooth & Shiny,

Molly