When it comes to healthy weight loss, we don’t absolutely have to have much for our kitchens in order to make sure that we get the pounds coming off in a healthy way. But there sure are plenty of kitchen items and gadgets that can help you make weight loss promoting foods more easily, prepare more delicious food and save lots of time to boot. And besides, surely I’m not the only one who thinks kitchen gadgets are a lot of fun?

I’ve compiled a list of the top 20 kitchen gadgets and equipment I consider “must-haves” (more…)

With the Memorial Day weekend looming large, I know you may be wondering how to continue to lose weight or at least maintain your current weight while spending time eating with your loved ones. If you’re trying to slim down and achieve healthy weight loss, but the holidays have you worried, there’s no reason to panic. You don’t have to stress out or set back your progress just because you’ll be spending meal times with loved ones! (more…)

If you want to lose weight but have struggled to follow through in the past, you can absolutely slim down easily this time around, but you do have to ensure that you don’t fall into your old diet traps (at least without having weight loss motivation tips that work!).

To ensure that you stay focused on even the toughest days, it helps to have weight loss motivation tips on hand that remind you why you’re doing all this great work to get your body healthy, fit and fabulous.

Here are 3 powerful weight loss motivation tips to guide you (more…)

Just a quick note to let you know we’ve been getting incredible feedback on Cindy Ashton’s session for ThriveMom! — and her audio ends tonight, so if you haven’t already, make sure to sign up for the telesummit (it’s FREE!) at http://www.ThriveMom.com and then listen to Cindy’s “4 Critical Steps to Unleash the Superstar Within and Achieve Your Goals!”

Something I’ve seen a lot in women I’ve been coaching lately is fear of success.

Seriously. Fear of actually becoming the better version of yourself, not just because you’re getting thin and healthy, but because it can seem scary to step into your own greatness. (Yes, greatness. I believe we each have greatness within us.) (more…)

If you’re a mom reading this and haven’t yet registered for my upcoming FREE ThriveMom! telesummit, consider this the kick in the behind that you might be needing right now: :)

• Feel blah and like your life isn’t all it should be? Cindy Ashton will be sharing the 4 steps it takes to release your inner superstar.

• Wonder why you’re not feeling as energetic as you’d like? Want help to get healthy? Renowned natural health physician Dr. Joel Fuhrman will tell ThriveMom! participants simple foods you can include in your diet that will get you back on your feet and prevent diseases like breast cancer, PCOS and more.

• Are you a mom entrepreneur? Find out what you can do to be more successful with your small business when I interview Maruxa Murphy.

I’ll also be interviewing other nationally recognized experts on how to look your best, gain more confidence, get organized and find balance in your household — all the major aspects of your life as a super busy, stressed-out mama (in other words, a normal mom!). (And almost forgot — I’ll be sharing some killer weight loss tips that get you healthy as you go!)

So unless you’re *completely* satisfied with every area of your life and nothing needs a single bit of improvement :) I highly recommend you get on board with ThriveMom! It’s absolutely free, and all you have to gain is a happier, healthier life in 2010. So what are you waiting for? It’s time to take care of YOU for a change!

Get all the details and sign up now at http://www.ThriveMom.com

I have heard that this year’s allergy season is the worst on record. Tons of pollen. Lots of sneezing, itching and other misery.

I’ve been known myself to react to miscellaneous pollens out there blooming this time of year. In fact, when I lived abroad, what I was most allergic to bloomed from March to September, so at one point I literally swapped continents in hope of getting relief from a different growing season. At least if the stuff didn’t grow for half the year, I wouldn’t be miserable for as long, right?

But I didn’t know some basic things about allergies that actually have everything to do with healthy weight loss, and if you’re a mom dealing with hay fever of your own or your kids suffer this time of year, you’ll want to listen up because what I’m going to share is killer:

The same strategy that helps you lose excess weight also helps you with your allergic symptoms. (more…)

My inbox is chock full of questions from readers about weight loss — how to do it, what the steps in the process are, which specific foods to eat, etc. And maybe THE most popular question I get is:

What’s your secret to weight loss?

The implication right away is that there must be something magical that I know that only a select few do about weight loss. And while it’s true not everyone knows the steps in the process to getting your bod back in pre-kid shape (or maybe in better shape than you’ve ever been in), there’s no magic involved. It’s completely possible for anyone — and certainly any mom because we’re the hardest-working folks on the planet … or at least in our culture :) that I know — to lose weight, though it can certainly help if you have a mentor to guide you (like me!).

Certainly I have a process to healthy weight loss that I used myself (more…)

It’s been a while since I last shared a new healthy recipe, I know, and it’s mainly because my options for ingredients changed drastically when we discovered a few critical food allergies that my son was dealing with. But this one’s a good basic recipe I thought you should have in your repertoire because it’s very versatile, delicious and healthful, and you can truly make it your own. And as you know, I’m all about the healthy vegetarian eating thing (not that it’s an issue if you’re not vegetarian, but the more often you can make the switch to *healthy* vegetarian fare, the better)!

Though I’m obviously a big fan of healthy eating, I’m a busy mom like anyone else with little time to prepare food beyond what’s absolutely necessary. I’ve been known many a time simply to heat some Sunshine burgers from the frozen section at the health food store, toss a quick salad and call it a meal. But sometimes I want another option for veggie burgers that’s equally delicious and nutritious, which is why I developed this recipe for black bean burgers. (more…)

Calling all moms who’d love to feel better, look better, de-stress and get truly healthy!

If you’re looking for the right tools to improve the most important aspects of your life — your health, weight, relationships, confidence, stress level, time, money and more! — I’m thrilled to share an event with you that can help you succeed in improving your life: the ThriveMom! Telesummit, a virtual conference that will be held May 3-27, 2010, and is dedicated to helping busy moms just like YOU.

(What’s a virtual conference? you might be asking. I’ll explain in just a moment, but first …)

The ThriveMom! Telesummit is a project I’ve wanted to do for some time because despite the fact that we moms seem to have more stress and responsibilities than almost anyone else, no one out there is talking directly to US to help us out. There is literally no other event like this designed to help us moms create a happy, balanced life.

And yet we moms have very specific needs: No one has less time to ourselves than moms. We’re out there taking care of our families, often while holding down a full-time job or being a stay-at-home mom (either one is very demanding!). And we very often put our family’s needs far above our own, which means we need MORE help and DIFFERENT help to create a healthy, happy, balanced life that ensures we’re as satisfied and fulfilled as our kids are!

That’s why I know you’ll love ThriveMom!

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JUST FOR MOMS …

The ThriveMom! Telesummit, May 3-27, 2010
Love Your Life Even More!
Register now absolutely FREE at:
http://www.thrivemom.com

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I’ve put together an INCREDIBLE panel of renowned experts — true specialists in their respective fields — who will be sharing their knowledge to help you specifically as a stressed-out mom — from nutrition and health to relationships, weight loss and handling stress more effectively to beauty and organizing advice so that you can feel better, look better, LIVE better!

Some of the nationally recognized experts I’ll be interviewing for the event include:

• Dr. Joel Fuhrman, a board certified family physician and one of the country’s leading nutritional experts (and as you know, one of my personal heroes!)
• Jamie Novak, The World’s Most Relatable Organizer(TM) who helps make our lives easier one bite at a time
• Maruxa Murphy, founder of Momprenaire, who helps moms create highly successful businesses
• Dr. LeslieBeth Wish, who is nationally recognized for her pioneering strategies in women’s careers and relationships

And many more! (Psst! I’ll also be speaking on healthy weight loss!)

It’s a virtual event, so everyone can attend!

I work with busy moms every day and am a mom myself, and I know too well how difficult it can be to rearrange your schedule to accommodate your own needs. So ThriveMom! is set up to ensure that you can fit it into your life — allowing for homework help, activities and bedtime with the kids. In fact, you don’t have to leave the house to join in on this event — you can listen to every expert session from the comfort of your own home computer.

And the best part?

ThriveMom! is 100% FREE to attend!

Getting all these experts to share their best strategies wasn’t easy, and ordinarily it would be an expensive proposition just to consult with one of them. But we’re bringing every single expert panelist’s insights to you at NO charge!

If you’re ready to make 2010 your best year yet, you don’t want to miss out on ThriveMom!

Get all the details and register for FREE at:
http://www.thrivemom.com