Motivation Monday: How to get your diet back on track After an Indulgent Weekend

This WILL be happening today.

I hope you had a great July 4th weekend. I was supposed to be on a Mediterranean cruise right now but had to postpone it to a later date. Instead I spent a relaxing weekend at a friend's lake house. It was a weekend of indulgence for which I am trying to balance out today with diet and exercise.

I had a green smoothie for breakfast the last two days made of simply kale, a banana, fresh peaches from Ham's Orchard, water and a splash of coconut water. It's delicious. Here are more smoothie recipes. I like to eat fiber-rich foods like watermelon or cauliflower after an indulgent weekend. It's filling without providing too many calories. Try this Buffalo Cauliflower Bites recipe from Mind Over Munch. Amazeballs!

Here's some diet and fitness news to help kickstart your week and get you back on track if you overdid it this weekend.

 Diet And Fitness News You Need To Know 
If you ate or drank too much this weekend don't worry. Eat a produce-heavy diet, drink plenty of water and exercise the next few days. Consume too much salt? Again, load up on water. Drink too much booze? Drink coconut water, Emergen-C (I love both of these) or some other electrolyte replacement beverage and eat a potassium-rich food like a banana. Here are more ways to help you fix bad diet decisions.

It's scientifically proven that exercise improves your life. It sharpens your memory, speeds your metabolism, helps you sleep better and reduces stress. Need more evidence? Read the rest from a recent study by Cleveland State University here.

Heading to the beach this summer? A) Don't forget sunscreen! B) Take a few minutes to exercise. From sand lunges and beach crawling to simple jogging or skipping, here are the best exercises to do at the beach.

SO, it turns there is such a thing as a negative calorie food. Sorta. It's ice. Think about it. Ice requires heat from your body AKA calories to warm it and burn it. Of course, there's a diet book to go with this.

You should drink coffee before you workout. It improves circulation and increases muscle fuel. Find out the other reasons why coffee is the BOMB here.

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Monday Motivation: When In Doubt Work Out

TRUTH!

I hope you had a great weekend and are looking forward to enjoying a long holiday weekend. I found this "When In Doubt Work Out" pillow and couldn't help but smile. It's pretty solid advice. 

Think of exercise as a reward, not punishment. That approach will change your life. 

Here's some healthy living news to help you win your week:

• Looking for a quickie? Workout that is. Here is a slew of 15-minute workouts that burn fat, featuring yours truly. 
• Even if you exercise, sitting all day can still kill you. Well that's a Debbie Downer. 
• So if you're stuck at your desk, here are exercises you can do at your desk featuring a heavy dose of squats, chair crunches, calf raises, desk pushups, tricep dips and bicep curls. 
• Check out these diet myths that can hurt your weight loss efforts. For example, calories don't matter if it's a healthy food. Or you can eat whatever your want if you exercise. Both of these are WRONG. You can't outrun the fork. I gained weight when I was training for marathons because I would eat that extra cookie. Or six. 

Make it a great week!

Update Your Workout Game With 1 Of These Great Pieces

Outline The Sky Dallas T-Shirt AKA My Gym Uniform Tuesday Night

Wearing cute workout wear can sometimes be motivation to get you in the mood to fight through your exercise session. At least it did that for me Tuesday night.

Stylish activewear is having a moment. Like team-inspired gear for women, this segment is growing.

Don't believe me? Tory Burch is launching its Tory Burch Sport line in 2015 with yoga, golf, tennis and other athletic fashions. This speaks to the behavior of so many real women like me who wear workout clothes to the gym and throughout the rest of the day.

Here are some stylish, activewear looks that work both in and out of the gym:

1 (only $15!) | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 (great for July 4th)

The great thing about these pieces is that they can generally found at a nice price point.  Each of them can work in the gym and for errands or even a casual lunch afterwards. Simply throw on a light jacket or sweater if you're worried about being too cold.

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Mickey & Miller's Cowboys Hour, Episode 12

Me, Mickey Spagnola and Cowboys first round draft pick Zack Martin

Mickey Spagnola and I are back for Mickey & Miller's Cowboys Hour TODAY at 1pm.

We're wrapping up the Cowboys offseason workouts, looking ahead to training camp and taking your questions.

How do you join us? Easy!

Watch here.

Or simply hang out and watch in the video box below.

How To Sweatproof Your Makeup For Summer Baseball Games

Doing a Rangers pre-game show with Mark McLemore & Blue Man Group

With the weather warming up, if you're heading to a game at Globe Life Park or any baseball stadium sometime soon, there's a good chance you'll leave drenched. And I'm not talking Emily Jones drenched. I mean drenched in sweat from the heat.

If you're a fellow sports girl, that doesn't mean your makeup has to melt and fade as the temperatures approach triple digits.

I have spent 12-hour days in August heat in Arlington and had to go on TV at the END of the work day. Despite sweating my ass off, my makeup was still somewhat fresh. Yours can be, too, by incorporating a few simple tricks. 

Click HERE for Rangers dugout reporter Emily Jones makeup tips. 

Prime Your Face

You should be wearing primer on most occasions. It's an outstanding way to help your makeup last. I don't go full-face-makeup without three primers I refer to as my secret weapons:

• L'Oreal Paris Miracle Blur - an award-winning face primer with SPF 30 that truly works and helps your makeup last.
• MAC Prep + Prime Lip - a lip primer that goes on clear and keeps your lipstick from feathering into the fine lines around your mouth.
• Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion - the best primer I have found to keep eyeshadow from creasing in your lids.

Protect Your Face and Body

Wear sunscreen on your face and body. That goes without saying but there are certain sunscreens that just work better than others for your face. I like Elta MD's UV Daily with SPF 40 or L'Oreal Revitalift with SPF 30. If I'm going to wear simply a BB cream or tinted moisturizer, Hydroxatone BB Cream with SPF 40 is my personal favorite. Laura Mercier also does an outstanding one with SPF 20. 

Wear Less Makeup

This is the biggest thing. In the oppressive summer heat, less is more. Don't wear a ton of heavy products. Use a BB cream instead of foundation and perhaps a nice lip gloss instead of thick lipstick. 

MAC Fluidline

Also, don't wear eyeliner on your lower lid. It is guaranteed to run and give you raccoon face. If you need eyeliner, use a gel liner like MAC's Fluidline or Lancome's Long Wear Gel Liner. 

In fact, go a step further and forgo mascara on the lower lash line, too. I went on TV all the time without eyeliner and mascara on the lower lash line. It's fine, no one will notice. 

MAC Blot Powder

Also, don't reapply powder with a sponge. Instead use a retractable brush with a hint of translucent powder (I love MAC Blot Powder) and simply run that over your face when your feeling oily. Even better, use blotting paper. A number of TV personalities, both male and female, use these to control oil and shine. 

Get The Secret Weapons Featured In This Story

15 Weird Diet Tricks That Work

Earlier this year, we shared the 25 best diet tips of all time.  I stumbled across an article recently detailing weird weight loss tricks that work from Allure.

I found  this t-shirt online and couldn't help but smile.

There are some of the usual suspects like eat off small plates (a proven weight loss winner) and give up the guilt. The latter is a diet gamechanger. Turns out the stress induced by the guilt of overeating can cause you to eat more. Just enjoy an indulgent meal and move on. That has saved me in more ways than one.

Some of the other suggestions are fascinating and smart:

• When eating out, sit at the end of a table away from the center where the bread and chips are normally placed. Easy, simple and genius. 
• Sleeping in a chilly bedroom can help rev up your metabolism. It forces your body to heat itself up and, in turn, you will burn calories keeping yourself warm. 
• Researchers have found that drinking one to two glasses of wine a day helps keep your weight down. Why? Well researchers can't exactly explain but they have found that women tend to eat fewer calories when drinking wine and burn more calories after drinking than men do. The key? It's moderate wine consumption.
• Check your allergy meds, these can be a sneaky cause of unexplained weight gain because H1-type antihistamines like Claritin or Allegra block the histamine's in the immune which play a role in appetite and metabolizing fat. 

Read the rest here.

One More

I would add perhaps my most effective one: put your fork down between bites. It forces you to eat slower which allows your brain to signal your stomach you're full. It works. Promise.

Stylish, Patriotic And Somewhat Sexy World Cup Soccer Gear

Cue the cliché alert: I have World Cup fever. My TV is on all day while I am working with the games going on in the background. I found myself with a rooting interest in Brazil/Mexico and cannot wait until Sunday's USA/Portugal match.

I am not alone. The ratings for the USA/Ghana match were insane: a 6.3 household rating and 11,093,000 viewers, making it the most-viewed soccer match ever on ESPN.

If you're going to a bar, watching party or just want to show your spirit there is so much great gear to help you support your favorite team.

Scroll through to browse

US & World Cup Soccer gear:

Are you into the World Cup? Do you plan on watching USA/Portugal?  Donde?