Blog Posts by FitSugar

FitSugarSource: 4 Lunch Ideas That Help Beat the Afternoon Slump

If you want to stay energized all afternoon, then choose your lunch wisely. Meals made of verve-inducing foods like lean protein, iron-rich leafy greens, and healthy fats will keep your spirits up well into the evening. Here are four energizing lunches to try this week.

• Tuna Salad Pitas: Tuna salad can quickly quiet hunger, but the mayonnaise found in traditional recipes racks up (empty) calories fast. Instead, make this protein-packed tuna salad pita sandwich to reduce fat and calories but not flavor.
• Quinoa Avocado Salad: Quinoa is a great source of protein and fiber, both of which help fuel the body throughout the day, and avocados provide sustained energy through their high amount of healthy monounsaturated fat. Both avocados and quinoa are also good sources of potassium, which is important for metabolism and muscle growth. Keep your body's engine running smoothly with this quinoa avocado salad recipe, which

Source: No More Excuses! 10 Tricks That'll Motivate You to Work Out

It's true what they say: 80 percent of success is just showing up. Once you're there - you're there. This advice can be hard to take when, after a late night of fun, your alarm goes off before the sun is up. Propelling yourself to the gym, pool, mat, or trail can feel like a hurdle in its own right, but it's always one worth jumping. If you've resolved to work out more this year and get fit for 2013, motivate yourself to keep on sweating with these tricks.

• Channel that glorious post-workout feeling. Whenever you feel the instinct to skip a sweat session, imagine how accomplished and energized you feel after just 30 minutes or an hour of exercise. Just get there already.
• Make a date with a friend or fitness trainer. If you set a time to meet someone, you'll feel obligated to go, even when your mind and body are telling you otherwise. If you're looking to get your sweat on outside of the gym, here are some of our

Source: Snack Stash: Nonperishable Food to Keep in Your Gym Bag

Refueling after a long, hard workout is important to help muscles repair and recover so you can hit it just as hard your next time out. If you're a gal on the go, then it's a good idea to always pack a few nonperishable items. Here are some tasty and nutritious ideas.

• Package of unsalted raw peanuts and mini boxes of raisins (18 nuts are 104 calories, one mini box of raisins is 45 calories): 146 calories.
• Small packages of Late July Organic Mini Peanut Butter Sandwich Crackers: one bag is 120 calories.
• Shelf-stable Soy Dream Chocolate soy milk: one eight-ounce container is 150 calories.
• Kind Nut Delight Bars and a bag of dried apricots (half a bar is 105 calories, three apricots are 50 calories): 155 calories.
• Package of unsalted sunflower seeds and bag of medjool dates (one tablespoon seeds is 47 calories, four organic dates are 100 calories): 147 calories.
• Barbara's Bakery Raspberry Fig Bars and raw almonds

Source: 10 Healthy Habits to Nail This Week

Feeling like you need a healthy living revamp? Here are 10 ways to make this week your healthiest yet.

• Exercise for 150 minutes this week. Whether you work out for 50 minutes three times a week or exercise every weekday for 30 minutes, 150 minutes is the bare minimum experts recommend to maintain heart and body health. For how much you should be exercising to lose weight, read here.
• Cook dinner every weeknight. Here's a stay-on-track meal plan from nutritionist Cynthia Sass to help you plan your week.
• Make a water goal to hit every day, and then meet it. Calculate how much water you should be drinking here.
• Drink green tea. You'll be boosting your metabolism and fighting disease with each mug.
• Eat a healthy breakfast every day. Forgo the pastry display for one of these healthy breakfast recipe ideas.
• Stretch. To improve flexibility and relieve aches, take three mornings this week to do a quick, gentle stretching

Source: 4 Medication-Free Ways to Relieve Congestion

Congestion is one of the more annoying manifestations of catching a cold, and the stuffy nose and sinus pain that result from it can make other cold symptoms even more unbearable. Instead of loading up on an over-the-counter decongestant, which may make you drowsy and foggy-headed, here are four natural ways you can relieve congestion.

• Use the shower: Steam from a shower is beneficial for opening up nasal passageways, so focus on breathing while you're in there. Make a conscious effort to breathe deeply and slowly to maximize the steam's decongesting benefits.
• Exercise: You may not feel like you're at full energy, but even if you go slower than you're used to, cardio can help open up your nose and relieve sinus pressure. Aim for 20 minutes of brisk walking, jogging, or other cardio to help break up sinus pressure.
• Tea remedy: A spicy tea can help open nasal passages while also warming you up. Peruse your spice cabinet

FitSugarSource: How to Stay Motivated During a New Routine

Getting motivated is often the easy part; it's staying motivated that can present an even bigger challenge. Forgetting what urged us to join a new class or change our diet happens all the time, especially once we've started making a little bit of progress. This is why it's crucial to keep reminding ourselves all the way through. Here are a few simple ways to keep up with new healthy habits.

• Ease Into It: Gradually moving into healthier food choices can give you the extra boost you need for an overall new diet plan, workout regimen, or both! It's important to choose a realistic plan to enable you to be successful all throughout the year. It's the small steps that lead to major accomplishments.
• Vision Board: You don't need to cover your bedroom in quotes, but you certainly can if that keeps you treading on. Make a small vision board you can keep at work or somewhere more discreet so you can look at every day to help remind you

Source: Healthy Spreads For Bagels Help Save on Fat and Calories

There's nothing wrong with a little cream cheese here and there, but enter the world of other topping possibilities. These new tastes are fresh and can help you to mix up your palate. Another perk of these foreign bagel flavors is that they are all healthier options without sacrificing flavor. See which spread will be the next butter to your bread.

• Neufchâtel: This spreadable cheese looks just like cream cheese and is usually available right next to it in the refrigerator aisle. Judging by labels alone, this is the health-conscious choice with 10 percent less fat than cream cheese.
• Farmer cheese: Lower in calories and in fat is farmer cheese. If you enjoy the texture and taste of ricotta cheese, think of this as its cousin, which makes it a whipped-style bagel topper.
• Goat cheese spread: Herbed goat cheese can taste great on a bagel. The lower-cal, more spreadable version involves combining it

Source: 5 Habits to Learn Now to Relieve Stress Anytime

If one of your New Year's resolutions is to not stress, the characteristically quiet weeks of January are a good time to start working on a few habits that will help you manage this when things become more hectic. Here are five habits to learn now so you can beat stress when it starts to creep up on you.

• Streamline your morning: If you normally start the day behind, devote some time to learn how to make getting ready in the morning a quick and painless affair. Pack your work, lunch, and gym bags the night before so you're not frantically packing in the morning, and start training yourself to stop relying on the snooze button. And when you wake up, think of something positive - it helps to begin a busy day on the right foot. Read more tips on having a stress-free morning here.
• Schedule tasks: If you're feeling overwhelmed when it comes to your to-do list, schedule them out on your calendar. That way you can group them in