Friday Feature – Success Story: Belinda

January 11, 2013

New Year, New You?

It’s a new year and I know a lot of people like to set weight loss goals right now.  So, I figured it would be fun to offer a Friday Feature that included a success story!

Meet my friend Belinda.  She is pretty darn awesome!  She decided that she didn’t want to wake up old and unhealthy one day, so she decided to take care of business now!  Belinda is a BUSY woman.  She’s a mom with VERY BUSY kiddos, she works full time, and still managed to figure out how to fit a healthy lifestyle that includes exercise and nutrition into her life.  Anyone can do it if they TRULY want to, right!?

Needless to say (because the pictures pretty much tell you what happened) we did it with smashing success.  Her pictures tell a lot of her story, but here are a few of her stats:

  • She dropped 57 fat pounds!
  • She dropped over 17.3% in body fat!
  • She melted a total of 42 inches off her body!

If that doesn’t inspire you to want to shape up this year, then I don’t know what will!! You want to take a double take, don’t you?  You can . . . check out the pictures!

Mimi's Fit Foods

I love seeing the slimming effect through her mid-section!  Plus, look at those hot, sexy legs!  Belinda sent me a nice email when she officially wrapped up her program.  She said, “This program has taught me to do what is necessary to remain healthy.  I gained muscle tone and I can wear the same size I did in high school and am healthier than I have ever been at 46!  I feel better than I have in forever!”

Belinda is a champ.  She took the challenge to lose the weight the right way . . . through exercise and proper nutrition.  She pretty much rocks!

I think I’ve said it before, but I really L.O.V.E. my job!
If you’re looking for a little extra help and guidance with a program that is specifically tailored to your individual body, feel free to visit my Lose Weight/Get Fit page and/or contact me for more information.  I would love to help in any way I can.  Let’s make 2013 a good and  healthy year to remember!


Our New Miracle From Heaven

May 18, 2012

I hope you’ll forgive me for slacking off on the recipe posts for a minute, because I cannot get enough of my new little love bug! We’ve waited a long time for her to join our family and she’s finally here!  Look at her perfect face!  Can you blame me one bit for choosing to snuggle her instead of cook!?

Evie Savannah was born in St. George last Friday on May 11, at 1:50 p.m. She weighed 8 lbs.,  7 oz.,  and was 20” long.  She was released from the hospital on Sunday afternoon and we arrived home that night.  She is the perfect baby and our little miracle.  We simply CANNOT get enough of her.  Our hearts feel as if they are overflowing with love!

There’s no doubt that we are proud and VERY happy parents.  I feel like I am living one of my most important purposes and dreams as a mama.  Beau turned to me the other day and said, “I love being a daddy.”  Between the two of us, she rarely gets put down.  We believe you can’t spoil a baby or child with too much love.

We love our baby girl.  Oh, how we love her!  We love to snuggle her, we love to feed her, we love to change her diapers, we love to get up with her in the night, and we love to just look at her for hours.  We are mesmerized and completely in love.

We love Evie’s birth mother more than words can say.  Among many things she is brave, strong, and simply a beautiful person inside and out.  We hope and pray that Evie acquires those wonderful traits!  We are excited to have an open relationship with this beautiful woman, as well as with her family.  We’ve missed them since we’ve been home and we are thrilled to make a visit to see them soon.  Evie’s birth mama will be graduating from high school and we can’t wait to share in the celebrations.  I think we’re all counting down the days until we can be with each other again.  It’s impossible to express how much love, honor and respect we hold for Evie’s birth family!  We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect relationship with Evie’s birth mother and birth family, nor could we ask for a more perfect and beautiful child for us.  There is so much love around us we sometimes think our hearts might just burst!


Friday Feature: You In? Come On, Let’s Run!

May 11, 2012

Half Marathon 2012 American Fork Canyon

This is one of my MOST FAVORITE Half Marathons!  I ran it last year and absolutely loved it.  I knew as soon as I was done running it that I would be back the next year.  Well, it’s the next year and I haven’t changed my mind!  I’ve already registered.

Now, I can’t register and participate in this run all by myself!  I’m a bit of a social person and would LOVE to have more of my friends join me in this endeavor.  I realize we all have different goals and paces, so we may not actually run it together.  BUT, we can go through a training schedule together (while we may not be running side-by-side it will still be nice to know that we have others participating in a similar training regiment), we can meet up and ride the buses together on race day, and we most certainly will meet up at the end of the race to give each other high-fives!

Let me just tell you that this coarse is a BEAUTIFUL course!  The first 7.5 miles is run down American Fork Canyon (one of my favorite canyons, by far).  This canyon is absolutely gorgeous.  This is also a great race for beginners and seasoned runners alike.  It’s a downhill course which helps beginners, and it is challenging enough for seasoned runners to muster up the strength to achieve a PR (Personal Record).  The event is well organized, the apparel is pretty darn good, and we ALL get a medal when we finish!

Here are the details:

Race Date: July 28, 2012
Race Start Time: 6:00 am
Bus Pick-up: 3:40 – 5:00 am
Registration: $67.00 (Until May 30th)

You can get even more details by going to their web site:  http://afhalf.com/timpanogos-half-marathon

So, who’s in!?  Come on and join me for some running fun and a personal accomplishment!  Trust me – for a race like this, the cost is VERY comparable to other events and you’ll be SO happy to know you accomplished a half marathon.  Running a half marathon is VERY doable for most people.  So, don’t EVEN think that you cannot do it!  (For those of you who have already run one before, you know exactly where I’m coming from, right?)

Do you need one more incentive?  If you register for the race, I’ll personally write and design a training schedule just for you!  Yep, no charge – just a little perk for making my summer training and race day MUCH more fun by having you there with me.  The more the merrier, right!?

Once you register for the run, leave me a comment or send me an email to mimisfitfoods (at) gmail (dot) com.  I’ll be sure to hook up with you so I can get you that training schedule I’m promising you.

Now, let’s get running!  You going to join me or what?!

*Note:  This post is in no way sponsored by the organizers of the Timp Half.  They have no idea I am even writing it and all the opinions expressed are entirely mine.  I really do love this event!


Friday Feature: Restaurant Spotlight – Taco Time

April 13, 2012

Chicken Soft Taco, Whole Wheat Tortilla, No Cheese

Have you been searching for another fast food option that lends to a healthy choice and is not full of gobs of extra calories?  Look no further . . . Taco Time is to the rescue.  Now, just as eating out is rarely better than eating in (because we have NO control on everything they actually add to the individual components of a dish), you’ll find that the nutritional value is not perfect, but it’s close and offers an option when an option is needed.

I’ve been eating at Taco Time for years because I know exactly what I can order that will give me a balanced meal of carbohydrates and protein . . . AND, will still allow me to stay within my calorie guidelines.  Here’s exactly what I order:

1 Chicken Soft Taco (which is really the size of a burrito when comparing to other taco joints)
Made on a Whole Wheat Tortilla
No Cheese

First, you must know that Taco Time offers wheat tortillas.  So, almost anything you order there can be ordered with a wheat tortilla . . . all you have to do is ask.

You should also know that they have a salsa and onion bar located in the restaurant.  Since veggies are virtually free . . . that means tomato-based salsas.  So, I love to get a little bit of pico and mild salsa to add to my tacos.

So, when you’re out-and-about and you forgot to pack a lunch, or whatever your reason for not being able to make your own lunch for the day . . . let Taco Time be on your list of healthy fast food stops.  Just remember to order correctly and not to give in to any of those calorie-laden options (which Taco Time also has plenty of).

If you need a quick reminder of how and what to order when eating out, click here for a nice guideline.  You’ll quickly see why this menu option at Taco Time is a good choice. 

Nutritional Information Per Chicken Soft Taco
(No Cheese, on a Whole Wheat Tortilla)
Calories:  381
Protein:  29g
Carbs:  51g
Fat:  5g (1.5g = Sat.)
Fiber:  11g


Friday Feature – Success Story: Jennifer

March 30, 2012

I haven’t done a “Friday Feature” post for the past few weeks, so wouldn’t you say we’re due for one today?  And, wouldn’t you agree that some of the most fun “Friday Feature” posts are success stories?  So would I!  I want to share another one with you today!  This is one where my client wasn’t even local.  Like, I’m talking she doesn’t even live in the country! Thus, we “met” on a weekly basis via Skype or phone calls.

Meet my beautiful friend Jennifer.  Jen and I have been friends for just about 10 years now.  Among a gazillion things, during those 10 years we’ve both seen each other graduate from school, get married, and start families.  Jen is married to a super awesome guy who has a super cool job that allows them to live in foreign countries.  Jen currently lives in the Philippines. Yep, the Philippines!

She had her sweet baby boy just over one year ago.  She was struggling with getting her pregnancy weight off and so we teamed up to see what we could do.  We “met” every week on Skype to keep her program right where it needed to be.

Needless to say (because the pictures pretty much tell you what happened) we did it with smashing success.  Her pictures tell a lot of her story, but here are a few of her stats:

  • She dropped 15 fat pounds!
  • She dropped over 6.5% in body fat!
  • She melted a total of 18.5 inches off her body!

Now, isn’t that inspiring!?  I mean, she wasn’t huge to begin with and she went from lean to much leaner!  You want to take a double take, don’t you?  You can . . . check out the pictures!

Nutrition and Fitness Program, Lose Weight

And . . . Here’s her “sexy” side view.

Belly fat . . . GONE (plus smaller & toned legs and arms)!  You wouldn’t even know this girl had a baby unless you could see him yourself (oh, and you should because he is absolutely adorable)!  Jen sent me a nice email when she officially wrapped up her program.  She said, “Em, thank you for helping me to accomplish my goals. This is not the first time you have been a positive force in my life and I am grateful not only for this but for what a great friend you are!!”

She also told me that everywhere she goes the locals will tell her she is “sexy” because they say sexy like we might use the term “hot” here in America.  My favorite part about this is that Jen usually says, “Thank You!” because she worked hard to get these results, therefore she gladly takes the compliment.

I must brag about Jen and her journey because she accomplished these results by not only living in a foreign country, but by traveling home to America and making a trip to Hong Kong (Disneyland) while on her program.  And, you guessed it; she still lost weight!  It’s possible, it really is possible.  I’m SUPER excited because Jen is coming back home to America for a couple of months this summer and we’re planning on running a half marathon together.  Oh, how sweet that will be.

I pretty much L.O.V.E. my job!


Friday Feature: Success Story – Alicia

January 20, 2012

You ready for a success story that will blow your socks off (or at least motivate you to try a little harder)?  Meet my friend Alicia!  This girl is incredible and she has completely changed her life in ways that she never thought she could.  I have enjoyed going through her weight-loss journey with her because she not only changed her body composition, but a new-found confidence now shines through and she’s one awesome woman!

With her consent, she has allowed me to share her story with you.  She’s struggled with her weight ever since she was a teenager.  She continued to gain weight and before she knew it she was over 300 pounds.  She ached with almost every move.  She had reached a point where she was was so uncomfortable with the way she felt, she knew she needed to make a change.  Thus, she started to make a change and lost 20 pounds on her own before she allowed me to jump on her journey.  She was skeptical with me at first because she hadn’t really had much success over the years, but after the first two weeks of great losses . . . she claims she was hooked!  I was hooked working with her because she followed her plan to perfection, had the drive, and thus she produced fabulous results.

Her pictures tell a lot of her story, but here are a few of her stats:

  • She dropped over 107 pounds (that’s practically a whole person)!
  • She dropped over 17% in body fat!
  • She melted a total of 64.75 inches off her body (that’s over 5 feet, people)!

Now, isn’t that inspiring!?  You want to take a double take, don’t you?  You can . . . check out the pictures!

Alicia was nice to share the following with me.
“I love meeting with you every Monday and I find myself on Sunday looking forward to it!  Even when it has been a rough week I still look forward to Mondays, and yes, I would be lying if I said there weren’t rough weeks involved in this process.  That being said, this has been the easiest weight loss journey I have taken.  I never dreamed that I would be 110 lbs less than I was before, but I am!  I love how I feel and look now!”

I love this girl and I’m so thankful she allowed me to share in her experience.  She is a beautiful person and I’m still impressed with her ability to accomplish what she did.  She inspires me and continues to inspire many others around her.  I hope her story has inspired you too.


Friday Feature: Success Story – Susan

January 6, 2012

With this being a “New Year, New You” kind of week, I thought it would be that much more inspiring to share a success story with you today!

I have so many inspiring stories to share, but decided to share Susan’s story because she inspires me for a GAZILLION reasons!  For starters, she is INCREDIBLY humble!  It took a lot of begging on my part before she finally consented to allow me to show you her pictures.  While she has NOTHING to be embarrassed about (in fact, she has everything to be proud of), she is NOT one to brag.  So, I’ll be doing all the bragging while she’s probably reading this and partially dying inside to have someone talking so much about her.  Love you Susan!

I will say, she finally consented because she wants other people to know that it is possible to change your body and your habits.  She wasn’t so sure it was possible for her, but through a program that outlined her nutrition and exercise plan, she accomplished something she never knew she could. Despite her crazy (yet awesome) life, her age, and her schedule . . . she passed her goal and is maintaining it beautifully!

Her pictures tell a lot of her story, but here are a few of her stats:

  • She dropped over 26 fat pounds!
  • She dropped over 10% in body fat!
  • She melted a total of 22.5 inches off her body!

Now, isn’t that inspiring!?  You want to take a double take, don’t you?  You can . . . check out the pictures!

Susan was so nice and generous and said to me, “Thank you for taking me as I was and for sincerely loving me and teaching me how to accomplish a goal I have NEVER been able to do.”

She cruised through her program by putting in some hard work, a winning effort, and a conquering attitude.  I may have taught her a thing or two about nutrition and exercise, but she taught me other valuable skills/traits along the way.  We developed a special relationship throughout her journey and it’s one I still treasure today!  I love this woman more than words can say.  I wish you could all be friends with her because she would change your life in SO many ways.  She has mine!


New Year, New You!

January 2, 2012

The biggest holiday season of the year is over and a new year has begun!  How many of you are setting New Year’s resolutions?  Did you know (I’m sure you definitely won’t be surprised by this) that health and/or fitness is always among the top 5 resolutions set by Americans?  If you’re like most of us, something health/fitness related will be included in your resolutions this year.

To no surprise, I totally encourage this!  There’s always something we can do better (I’m totally going to improve my running pace this year).  However, wouldn’t it be nice to be at your goal weight so that your resolution isn’t always to lose weight?  Make this YOUR year to get where you’ve always wanted to be.  Do it the right way by improving your lifestyle (PLEASE . . . .  I beg of you – no crash diets, my friends!).  Make a permanent change.  While the gift giving season has passed, you should now consider giving yourself the best gift ever . . . better health and a better life.  You can read more about my philosophy on this subject here.  If I’m not already working with you, feel free to contact me for additional information or for a free fitness evaluation.  Helping others achieve their goals and change their lifestyle is what I LOVE.

I know that a lot of you are already making plans to improve your health because my blog posts had record viewing yesterday.  I’m THRILLED to know that you’re planning some healthy meals for the new year.  I’m jumping right in with you and will be back to regular posting of more delicious and healthy recipes.

So, here’s to a New Year & a New You!


Friday Feature: Success Story of Malinda

November 4, 2011

I’m soooo excited to share a success story with you!  This woman is an inspiration to me, and I know she can be for others too.  I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to work with her and I am so stinkin’ proud of her efforts and her overall results!

With Malinda’s consent she has graciously allowed me to “brag” about her by telling a little about her transformation.  Malinda is a beautiful mom.  She had been overweight for some time, but with the help of her sisters, decided to do something about it.  She lost a little bit on her own and then decided to team up with me to help her get to her final goal a little bit faster.  Boy, am I glad she did!

I started counting her calories and writing her exercise plans each week.  She worked hard and followed her program so well!  She’s allowed me to share her pictures with you.  And, as if the pictures don’t show enough of her success, here are her overall stats:

  • She dropped 59.3 fat pounds (how awesome is that?)
  • She dropped 16.4% in body fat (her body fat is now 20.4% – which is better than average; she is one fit girl!)
  • She melted a total of 35.75 inches off her body (whoa!)

How can you not love that?  She is one skinny babe, and a fit one to boot!  Check her out in these before and after pictures!

 

When she reached her goal I was incredibly happy for her, but sad for me because I wouldn’t get to see her on a weekly basis.  We became great friends.  I love going through this journey with others because I get to watch a beautiful transformation . . . inside and out!  It was fun to watch Malinda’s inner beauty and confidence grow throughout the process.  She is awesome.  She shared the following with me:

“I have to tell you this – if it was not for you I would not have made it to my goal as soon as I did.  You have been an inspiration to me and taught me a lot of good things about my meals, cardio and exercise routines. You are the best nutrition and fitness coach ever.  This is a life changing event, not just a one time deal, it is forever.”

GREAT JOB Malinda!  Keep up the great work!

What do you think?  Isn’t she inspiring?


Friday Feature: Chick-Fil-A

October 21, 2011

You wanna do lunch at Chick-Fil-A?  Count me in!  This a a great place to get healthy fast food.  There are a few options that are well balanced in nutrition and they taste great too!

Here’s your WOW factor for the day.  I went and tallied the nutritional information for a chicken sandwich meal at a VERY common fast food restaurant.  The meal included a spicy chicken sandwich, medium fries, and a medium Coke.  Here is the amazing total:

Calories:  1190 (what the!?)
Protein:  32g
Carbs:  176g (this is NOT a type-o)
Fat:  42g (10g = Sat.)
Fiber:  9g
Sugars:  74g (thanks to the Coke)

Okay . . . let’s bring ourselves back into focus!  Depending on who you are, the average lunch should be somewhere between 300 and 400 calories.  Let’s take a look at Chick-Fil-A and see if we can make something work there.

The picture I took above is what I order most when I go to Chick-Fil-A.  It’s their Chargrilled Chicken Sandwich.  It comes on a wheat bun and includes a boneless breast of chicken, dill pickles, lettuce, and tomato.  You ready for some awesome nutritional facts?  Here they are:

Chargrilled Chicken Sandiwch
Calories:  290
Protein:  29g
Carbs:  36g
Fat:  4g (1g = Sat.)
Fiber:  3g
Sugars:  9g

Now, that’s what I’m talking about!  You can even add a healthy side if you want.  A cup of fruit (since Chick-Fil-A is awesome and includes this as a menu option) is only an additional 70 calories.  A side salad with cheese is also only 70 more calories (order without cheese and it’s going to be closer to 30 calories) and they even have a reduced fat Berry Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing that is deeelish! (Take note however that there are 2 servings in the packet of dressing they give you.  But, do not feel cheated because it’s still A LOT of dressing.)

If you’re a salad eater, the Chargrilled Chicken & Fruit salad is a wonderful option . . . coming in at 220 calories.  Order it with that reduced fat Berry Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing and you’ll reach about 300 calories.

For those of you wondering about the Chargrilled Chicken Wraps . . . they aren’t a bad option, but they’re not your BEST option.  They come in at 410 calories.  If any of you know me, I’m all about quantity and I would WAY rather get a sandwich AND fruit for my calories.  But, I suppose there are probably some of you out there that love a good wrap even more.

So, it looks like we have another lunch spot!  Come on; let’s go!!


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