Weekend Happenings!

Cheers to the weekend!

Woodbury Farmers Market | Check out the fresh produce, flowers and delicious foods from the food vendors of Woodbury. This delicious market returns from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. through Sept. 21st at Cooper St. and Railroad Avenue, parking lot near Railroad Avenue near the Woodbury Train Cafe. Cooper St. and Railroad Avenue

DJ in the re:mix Lounge @ Aloft | 6pm – 10pm | Play it. Mix it. Aloft’s wxy z lounge is spinnin’ all your favorite tunes! DJ in the re:mix lounge every Friday from 6pm-10pm. 558 fellowship road, mount laurel, nj | phone: 856.234.1880 558 fellowship road, mount laurel, nj (more…)

So, You Wanna Run a 5K?

Are you looking for a new challenge and a change in your lifestyle for the summer?

This course will prepare you to run in your first 5K. Our instructor will give you tips, handouts, and homework to do throughout the course. Work your way up and gain the confidence to run in the “No Frills All Thrills” Race event. (more…)

8 Weeks to Wellness – Week 5

SoJo Happening’s own Liz Battaglia is participating in the 8 Weeks to Wellness® program at Health Goals Center for Life Enhancement, and we are happy to share that after 4 weeks on the program, she is down 13 lbs and feeling fantastic!  Miss something? Read about:  Week 1  |   Week 2   |  Week 3  |  Week 4

What was that I was whining about last week? Plateau?  Well guess what.  I broke that bad streak with a 2 pound loss this week! That makes my total 15 pounds in 5 weeks!  Woot, woot!

Dr. Baumgardener of Health Goals told me last week that it was probably temporary, and she was right!

I find that the diet/eating plan is the easiest to stick to during the weekdays – once I am up in the morning, I am good to sticking to routines.  At right is my typical “workday” lineup.

Protein shake with berries in the morning (far right), which I eat right after my cardio, around 9:00am.  This is around 20 oz. of protein, vitamins, and the antioxidant boost of strawberries and blueberries. This is not just a yummy “smoothie.”  This is a seriously satisfying meal.  And the berries make a huge difference – trust me.

Next up is lunch – protein and green. That’s easy to remember, isn’t it?!  Protein and green. In this case, southwestern salmon with grilled asparagus. This meal comes between 12:00 and 1:00pm.  I’ve been using a lot more seasoning lately, and I’m loving it. My spice cabinet has a whole new lineup. (You’re welcome, Trader Joe’s!).

Next up is what I call my “snack” shake, because it takes the place of whatever not-so-great things (carbs, carbs, sugar and carbs) I used to eat in the afternoons.  I pack the shake powder dry in my handy-dandy blender-bottle, and fill the rest with water when I’m ready to drink.  Shake, shake, shake senora, and I’m ready to go!  Usually between 3:30 and 4:00pm.

And there’s still 2 meals left in the day!  I promise you, I am never, ever hungry on this plan. And I know it’s the RIGHT way to eat, because my body is telling me so!

By the way, having a bullet-type blender is extremely awesome for making the AM berry shakes.  Of course I could do it in my regular blender, but the little one is so easy to clean and so FAST.  Fits right into the routine!

15 lbs down, and I am excited to see what Week 6 holds…

Until next week!

For more information about the 8 Weeks to Wellness program at Health Goals Center for Life Enhancement, visit www.HealthGoals.com.

8 Weeks to Wellness – Week 3

SoJo Happening is participating in the 8 Weeks to Wellness® program, and I am happy to share that after 3 weeks on the program, I am down 13 lbs and feeling fantastic!  Here’s how week 3 went…

Click here to read about Week 1

Click here to read about Week 2

Week 3 of 8 Weeks to Wellness (more…)

8 Weeks to Wellness – Week 2

SoJo Happening is participating in the 8 Weeks to Wellness® program, and I am happy to share that after 2 weeks on the program, I am down 10 lbs and feeling fantastic!  Here’s how week 2 went…

Missed Week 1?  Click here to read about it!

Week 2 of 8 Weeks to Wellness

The Diet

After a week of no carbs and no sugar, I was a little nervous this week to reintroduce cabs into the mix, as carbs tend to be a trigger for me. But Jordana, the nutritionist on staff at Health Goals Center for Life Enhancement explained it to me.

Breakfast Wrap

“We like you to start with no carbs to jump start your metabolism. But after that first week, carbs become necessary. After a while, you can’t lose weight without them!”

Now I get it. Carbs, once thought to be the killer of any good diet, are necessary to keep your metabolism running. Plus, the 8WW plan has me eating carbs with a low Glycemic Index, which means no spikes in blood sugar, and therefore no cravings.  So now for breakfast most mornings I enjoy and egg and spinach wrap (see right), then twice a day, I still have my 8WW Shakes, now and then adding frozen berries for great flavor and an antioxidant boost.There are still 2 meals after that, where I alternate between chicken and fish plus fresh or steamed veggies. (more…)

Paula Deen’s Type 2 Diabetes Helps Educate Health Goals patients

Food Network personality Paula Deen has been quietly battling type 2 diabetes for three years. Infamous for her high-calorie, high-fat southern cooking (can you say butter?), it’s no wonder that Deen, diagnosed with the disease three years ago, wanted to keep the news hush-hush.  Deen came clean Tuesday morning on the Today show, where she told Al Roker that she had also teamed up with pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk on a new website, DiabetesInANewLight.com.

As soon as the news broke yesterday morning, Health Goals Center for Life Enhancement, based in Mount Laurel, NJ, began receiving questions from patients and employees alike. Since almost 26 million people in the U.S. have the condition, and it’s linked with obesity, it’s a condition that Health Goals is quite familiar with, and one they help battle every day. (more…)

8 Weeks to Wellness – Week 1

This is the first of 8 weekly posts following my 8 Weeks to Wellness Journey!

There’s lots HAPPENING in SoJo all the time, and as a result, I am constantly on the go, sometimes taking in less than ideal nutrition. As the holiday season approached and the scale inched higher, I decided that I would research local diet and exercise programs. After looking at several, I decided upon the 8 Weeks to Wellness® program, and am happy to share that after 1 week on the program, I am down 8 lbs and feeling fantastic!  Here’s how it started… (more…)

SoJo Diner Guide

Sure, it’s nice to go out to a fancy schmancy restaurant and get all dolled up to pay top dollar for some serious cuisine. But every now and again, you want a laid back joint that can (more…)

Thanksgiving Eve, SoJo Style

Some people call it the best party night of the year. Others call it amateur hour. Whichever your view, there’s plenty to do on Thanksgiving Eve in SoJo!  Bars, always thinking up innovative ways to turn a mid-week buck, indulge this tradition by offering drink specials, live music and general promises of overcrowding and debauchery. Here are a few of the night’s bright spots.

Adelphia – Deptford
Cintron gives the “Ultimate Thanksgiving Eve Party” some Latin flair. The Grammy-nominated band beings at 6 p.m. and plays all night. (more…)

Finding food sensitivity, one arm at a time

You think  you’ve got ‘mind over matter’ down, until you have an allergen on your tongue. That’s when you will find (like I did), that you have less control of your body than you realize!  Don’t worry, it’s not what you think.  But Health Goals Life Enhancement Center in Mount Laurel, NJ has a mighty interesting method for testing for food allergies. (more…)