There’s not a single food (or group of foods) that reminds me more of when I was younger than cereal.

My brother and I couldn’t get enough of the stuff. 

For breakfast.  As a snack.  Before bed. 

We ate cereal literally ALL the time.  We would mix them together to see what creation we could come up with.  We’d often eat it out of mixing bowls. 

And I wonder why I was overweight when I was younger.

I digress.

While we did eat it all the time and clearly ate way too much of the goodness, we still always had healthy options.  My mom had a rule that our cereals didn’t have more than 10 grams of sugar per serving.  Only sometimes could we get Honey Nut Cheerios, but even then we mixed it with plain Cheerios so it wasn’t as sweet.

Smart lady that Mama Mohr. 

But one time, I was with my Dad at the grocery store, and I "tricked" him — we needed cereal and somehow I was able to convince him to buy E.T. Cereal — telling him that our mom let us have it.  The E’s were chocolate.  The T’s peanut butter.  Clearly not a regular cereal of choice in our house.

And it broke one of the cardinal rules of eating that we now suggest to people.  Our favorite food clearly was our "enemy" when trying to eat well.

You see, cereal can be a GREAT option …

…but it can also be no different than if you were to fill a bowl with a can of Coke and eat that.  Sugary junk.  In flake form.

So while we encourage everyone to fuel their bodies as soon as they wake up (well, within about 30-60 minutes), we want this fuel to be fuel that works for you, not against you.

Cereal is often a quick go to option because it’s quick and convenient.

If that’s you, though, picking cereal for a quick on the go option, follow our 6 Food Rules to make sure you’re starting your day right (or ending your day, if you were anything like my brother and I).

1. It should  have at least 3 g of fiber/serving (Mohr Results Picks – rolled oats, Grape Nuts, Kashi Good Friends Cereals, Wheat Chex).
2. If there is a cartoon on the box, leave it on the shelf.
3. If it turns your milk colors, toss it in the trash.
4. If it has more than 10 grams of sugar per serving, find a different option.
5. If sugar (or any variation of the name, sugar) is one of the first 3 ingredients, put ti back on the shelf.
6. Don’t fall for marketing hype and claims that are pasted all over food labels now, like "made with whole grains" even though that may do nothing to boost fiber and it’s still loaded with sugar.

Fueling your body with breakfast is not an option — it’s a necessity.  But fueling your body right is just as important.

I have a confession to make.  I used to be really overweight as a kid.  That’s not my confession. 

But I once went away with my family … and gained TEN pounds in one week.  Ten. 

I was in around 14 or 15 years old.  And it wasn’t that there were a TON of junk foods around — sure, some cookies, chips, maybe desserts.  But it was what I now see as mindless eating at its best. 

Our family has a house in Upstate NY — on Lake Champlain — we’ve gone ever since we were younger.  In fact, my dad and uncle grew up going there too. 

Well when you walk into the house, from the outside, you go through a screened in porch to the kitchen.  And then to the rest of the house.  That means every single time you go in inside and out, I saw (and usually ate) food. 

A lot of mindless eating.

I also remember trying to convince my parents that they should bring my football equipment so I could prepare for double sessions.  They did.

I remember doing nothing.  Except relaxing.

Fortunately I’ve since learned better and now make smarter decisions. 

…so can you actually stay on track and continue to work towards your fitness goals while vacationing?

This came up in the blog yesterday, when I asked what people do to stay on track during their travels.  You see, the Mohr Clan will be at the beach soon and we wanted to hear some other ideas for staying on track.

So here are some simple fat loss strategies while you vacation … and what we plan to do while away ourselves (not gain 10 lbs in a week!).  Let’s start with nutrition.

1. Pack your food if you’re planning a road trip.  Because we now have an almost 1 year old, we’ll be driving … we’ll have too much stuff to even consider driving 10+ hours with her.  So we’ll have a cooler in the back seat, knowing that the only food options you’ll find along the highway are none that will keep you on track. 
2. Prepare some meals when you’re there.  Jenny left a comment on our blog that since she has extra time when vacationing, she uses it to cook some healthier options.  Sure, eating out can be fun, but take advantage of your local environment and foods and prepare some of your own.
3. Be careful of the mindless eating.  It’s easy to pick and snack without giving it much thought — from chips to nuts and other snack food.  The rationalization?  "I’m on vacation, I’ll get back on track NEXT week."  Coincidentally "next week" always becomes the week, month, or year after.  Always make aware of what you’re eating.
4. Watch your alcohol intake.  Will we have more drinks than normal?  Sure.  But it doesn’t mean drinking a blender full of mixed drinks, a bottle of wine, or a 6-pack every night.

How about training?  Many times we hear "I’m on vacation, so I’m going to relax."  Since you now have the entire day to relax, get some exercise out of the way first thing in the morning … then relax all you want on the beach, in the pool, or whatever you’re doing.  Here are our plans. 

1. Make use of the environment.  We always say you don’t need a gym to get or stay in shape, lose that muffin top, or whatever your "complaint" is.  We’ll have a beach.  And nothing is better … or more unique since we don’t have those here in Kentucky … we will definitely be doing sprints on there.  The soft, uneven surface, offers a completely unique workout for your body that challenges you beyond the traditional pavement or even grass.
2. We’ll also be bring our TRX – an incredible tool for challenging body weight workouts and one we highly recommend, even for home workouts (or to bring with you to the gym).
3. We have "battling ropes" too that we use at Mohr Results boot camp and for our own workouts.  We’ll throw those in the car too, as those will be fun on the beach as well.  Just another alternative to traditional intervals.

But of course you don’t have to have any equipment at all — simply walking or running takes no more than a decent pair of shoes. 

What we personally WON’T do is step inside a gym.  We do that regularly — so want something different.  To us there is so much to do with our own environment and body weight, it’s nice to take advantage of that so exercise continues to stay fun.

Pushups, burpees, sprints, body weight squats, lunges, TRX exercise, battling ropes, etc … all in the sand.  Now THAT’S a workout!

Enjoy your summer vacations!  

I have an embarrassing admission to make.  You're going to laugh at this one.

It was the fall of my junior year of high school.  I didn't drive yet as the driving age is 17 in New Jersey and with a summer birthday, I didn't turn 17 until before my senior year.

Of course I was way too cool for my parents to drive me anywhere, but fortunately most of my friends were older, so many already had their license.

One of my closest friends, John, was a year older than me — we played football together — and since he drove past my house to get to his, he would always drive me home.

But before we ever got home, we had a daily ritual …

EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.

We would stop at Dairy Queen.  He got a large chocolate milk shake and I got a Medium Blizzard (I mixed up the flavors each day). 

In my defense we didn't go on Saturday and Sunday — just the other 5 days of the week.  That makes it OK, right? Ugggg, the thought!

Fortunately I'm a bit wiser these days and we've created a Dairy Queen Blizzard in our own Mohr Results "test kitchen."

Less than half the calories.  Less than half the sugar.  And zero fat unless you want to add a healthy one in there (we sometimes use flax oil).  It's a far cry from the 1000+ calorie Dairy Queen options…unless your goal is to gain a ton of belly fat, lose confidence, and lower your self esteem. 

If so, we can't help you.

Best of all, this is the PERFECT meal for the busy mom on the go when there is otherwise "no time" to eat breakfast (or any other meal).  In this video I used BiPro Protein — which you can only find BiProUsa.com — because there is nothing added like artificial sweeteners or other junky ingredients.  It's virtually 100% whey protein isolate!