TOTD

Nutrition Tip of the Day
Substitution Tip #4: Whole Wheat Flour
Try using a whole wheat flour instead of an enriched white flour while cooking/baking. When using whole wheat you don't want to completely eliminate the white flour, but split it in half: Substitute half the amount called for in white flour with whole wheat. Whole wheat is much denser so you can not substitute 100% of what the recipe calls for. It will cause your cakes or muffins to have a "heavier" texture, but it really does not change the flavor. Give it a try to see if you like it!
Whole wheat, whole wheat, whole wheat...we hear it all the time, but what is all the fuss about? Whole wheat is actually much better for you than enriched white grains. It all comes down to how the grain is processed. A grain has three parts: the endosperm (small amounts of vitamins and minerals present), bran (contains many vitamins and minerals and most of the fiber in the grain) and germ (where a new plant would sprout, chocked full of vitamains and protein). During the refining process for white flour, the germ and bran are removed, which removes the two biggest sources of nutrients! Whole wheat leaves the entire grain in tact.

Exercise Tip of the Day
Track Your Workouts
This is one of the best things that you can do while working out! When tracking your workouts, you are better able to see what areas you are improving on, what areas are weaker/stronger, and how you are progressing. You do not have to have a spreadsheet, or any fancy method of tracking. Simply writing down what you did, how many times you did it (the number of repetitions and sets), and how much weight you were able to do, will get the job done!
Personally, I find that tracking my workouts gives me extra motivation, incentive, and accountability. For instance, if I am tempted to grab 5 pounds for a certain exercise because I am sore, but see that I did 10 pounds last week, then it holds me accountable to what I am really able to do (and believe me, I try to do that a lot!). Also, it proves to me that I am getting stronger and more fit! I can see the progress written down.
Exercise is wonderful, but it can get discouraging when we feel like we have not progressed. Tracking our workouts really enables us to know that we are improving and reaching our goals!