Mexican food can certainly be one of the more challenging cuisines when eating out, as there aren’t many low-fat items to choose from, and several dishes are full of fried foods. Add on calorie-filled margaritas and tortilla chips to start and you are already filling up on unneeded fat and calories before having even ordered your main course.

Dishes at Mexican restaurants are usually on the larger side with the addition of rice and beans accompanying the meal. To help prevent overeating, I would first suggest ordering a house salad, which should entail tomatoes, cucumbers, corn and some avocado for your healthy fat. This starter salad will also help in the avoidance of eating the full entree when it arrives or you can ask for half the portion to be put in a to-go container.

Some terms that you should look to avoid on the menu are: fried, crispy, refried, breaded and cheese. Instead look for items that are baked or grilled and request sauces on the side so you can control the amount on your food.

Avoid sour cream or any additional toppings that will add to a higher and unhealthy caloric intake, but feel free to include fresh salsa, as this provides a great boost of vegetables with vitamins and minerals.

Mexican entree recommendations and tips:

1. Fajitas – These are a great option, as the dish comes freshly grilled with toppings and tortillas on the side. This is the perfect opportunity to be in full control as you build your meal. My recommendation is to ditch the tortillas and eat the fajitas as is with some salsa and light guacamole topping.

2. Burrito – This loaded meal can be healthy with a few revisions. Try ordering, as many restaurants term, a “burrito bowl” or “naked burrito,” which means no tortilla. Also, specify no cheese, no sour cream, and request the guacamole on the side. As a finishing touch you can replace the rice with lettuce or include brown rice as opposed to white or Mexican rice.

3. Grilled Proteins – For any entree choice choose grilled chicken, fish, or lean meat as these are excellent sources of protein, which help to keep you feeling full longer.

4. Tortillas – When including tortillas in your meal, choose corn or whole-wheat over flour tortillas, as they have less calories and fat and are higher in fiber.

Stay tuned for How to dine out: Pub Food

Check out this video sent to the GGS crew from Yoplait about how Fibre One yogurt really tastes with none other than, Hungry Girl herself!

Yoplait Fiber One 50-calorie yogurt is the only leading nonfat yogurt with 50 calories and 5 grams of fiber

• Available in four flavors – Strawberry, Vanilla, Peach and Key Lime Pie – Fiber One 50-calorie yogurt contributes 20% of the recommended daily value of fiber and is a good source of calcium as well as vitamins A and D 
• Instead of munching on boring lower-calorie foods, you can now snack with zero guilt on Fiber One yogurt, a tasty way to help watch waistlines and keep calorie counts in check
• Fiber One 50-calorie yogurt features a ‘Hungry Girl Seal of Approval’, the first nationally distributed yogurt to receive this endorsement.
• Click on screen to print your $1 for coupon! Yipee, we love saving $$!

Yoplait provided us with this opportunity, information and coupon.

What is your snack food when you are watching your calories?  

Brand new fitness books for 2010 landed on my desk.  I am always looking for more information about fitness, health and diet.  I love reading about those hot topics. 

The title of the first book really got my attention,  Celebrity Body on a Budget.  We all want to know how those super skinny pretty famous people stay so toned.  I found this book to be mostly about how to set up and start a gym in your home on a budget.    It has pictures of all different exercises to get a full body workout from home.  It is very easy to read and follow.  The author Cornel Chin, has trained with some very famous people.

“Cornel gave me the lean look I needed. His training methods are second to none!” ~ Leonardo DiCaprio

It’s a great read if you are just starting out in a fitness program and need some advice from where to start and how to set up a home gym.

 out of 5 (colored pictures would get another dumbbell)

The next book we read was Pure Physique, by Michael Lipowski.  Now this book was the complete opposite of the first one.  This has some great information to get you super pumped up.  I thought I knew almost everything about weight training, but I learnt a lot more in this book.  The author is  a competitive natural Bodybuilder and was the personal trainer for the winner of the 2009 Men’s Fitness Fit-to-Fat competition.  So he does not mess around!

This book will teach you how to put together an exercise and nutrition program that is truly tailor-fitted to meet your individual needs and goals. We love that!

This book is great for people who are very serious about building muscles in an effective way. 

 out of 5

Want to read either of these books ? We’re giving away a  copy of each! Leave a comment below telling us what book you would like to get your hands on. Winners will be notified by email. U.S. residents only, please.

Conest ends March 24, 2010~good luck! 

Really want either of these books?

Price World is  offering GGS readers a special $5.00 discount on both Pure Physique and Celebrity Body on their retail site, www.SportsWorkout.com.  That is more than 33% off the retail price!  Just enter code:  GGS1.

Reviews on Girlgetstrong.com reflect the personal opinion of the writer, whether it is good, bad or ugly.  No compensation was accepted by me or GGS Media Corporation for this review.

We’ve seen them on those late nights when zoning out in front of the television is more appealing than going to bed. Whether it’s a device to tone your abs or boost your biceps, the infomercials for at-home fitness products have a fascinating appeal to them, which is why 20 minutes later, you can still find yourself watching the same ad and then picking up your cell phone or popping on the computer to order it and cash in on the “act now” savings.

If all of those fitness products seem to look like one another, we’re going to help you sort through the sometimes drowning waters of the exercise industry.

Here is a list of the six most popular As Seen on TV fitness products and a summary of each.

1. Shake Weight

What it is: This dumbbell-like weight promises to help sculpt lean and strong arms and shoulders. It literally shakes as you use it forcing your muscles to contract and relax so that they become toned and defined.

Target Audience: Females who want to firm up their arms and get rid of underarm jiggle.

Time Commitment: Six minutes per day.

Pros/Cons: Doesn’t require batteries and time commitment is pretty low. But the Shake Weight has a bizarre phallic feel to it, which may dissuade potential users.

Cost: $19.95 plus $7.95 in shipping and handling.

Complete Review: Shake Weight

2. Ab Circle Pro

What it is: Kind of like a treadmill for your abs, the Ab Circle Pro targets your entire core from side to side and front to back in a circular movement so that you can get rid of love handles and tone your entire middle. It also comes with a nutrition plan.

Target Audience: Males and females who want to tighten up their abdominal muscles.

Time Commitment: Three minutes per day.

Pros/Cons: It’s lightweight and can be easily stored under your bed or in a closet. But the the Ab Circle Pro is one of the more expensive As Seen on TV fitness devices.

Cost: $199.95 and free shipping and handling.

Complete Review: Ab Circle Pro

3. Bender Ball

What it is: The Bender Ball, which is a small exercise ball, target abs in ways that you can’t do with regular crunches. Regular crunches just move the core forward, but the Bender Ball allows you to get extension and flexion. The ball’s Selective Stabilization method sculpts your abs from all sides, including the hard-to-reach lower abs. The Bender Ball also comes with a series of abs workout routines.

Target Audience: Females who want to tighten their abs.

Time Commitment: Ten minutes per day.

Pros/Cons: Simple to use and cost-effective. But you may be able to get the same effects by using any exercise ball.

Cost: $12.98 plus $7.93 in shipping and handling.

Complete Review: Bender Ball

4. Wave Fitness by The Firm

What it is: This device, which is a cross between a rocking surf board and a step-aerobics platform, combines cardio with strength training. On one side is the rocking, or Wave, platform, which you can use to tone and strengthen your core, abs, lower back and hips. On the other anchored side, you can use it like a step aerobics platform for a cardio workout to burn calories with minimal impact on your joints. The Wave by the Firm also comes with a workout DVD that teaches you how to perform 100 different exercises.

Target Audience: Females who want an overall body workout.

Time Commitment: Three times per week.

Pros/Cons: Comes with supporting and instructive workouts but the rocking motion and design may lend itself to instability.

Cost: $59.95 plus $14.95 in shipping and handling.

Complete Review: Wave Fitness by the Firm

5. Slendertone

What it is: Also called the Slendertone Flex Pro, this abs contouring belt develops toned and sculpted abdominal muscles through its FDA-cleared electric muscle stimulation technology.

Target Audience: Males and females who want to tone their middle.

Time Commitment: Thirty to forty minutes a day, five days a week.

Pros/Cons: It can be worn at any time, but it does run the risk of causing chafing or burns, if not used correctly.

Cost: $99.95 plus $9.95 in shipping and handling.

Complete Review: Slendertone Flex

6. Core Sculptor

What it is: This stable but rolling pad targets your upper and lower abs, obliques and lower back. Together with the stretch power cords, you can tone these areas of your body in just a few minutes a day.

Target Audience: Females who want to tone their middle.

Time Commitment: Four minutes per day.

Pros/Cons: Time commitment is small and its compact design allows for easy storage, but its rolling movement may be unstable.

Cost: $59.95 plus $10.95 in shipping and handling.

Complete Review: Core Sculptor

Come and say Hi~Diets in Review

Elle.com contacted us to post this fantastic article about the celebrities Pre-Award Weight Loss plans, which the GGS crew thought our readers would enjoy.

Oscars 2010: Oz Garcia, nutritionist to the stars, reveals Hollywood’s slimming secrets By Emily Hebert 

 Hollywood’s leading ladies never fail to dazzle the night of the Academy Awards—but don’t be fooled: Their svelte silhouettes are the result of highly regimented exercise and eating habits. “Everybody thinks there’s a shortcut but there isn’t,” says Oz Garcia, PhD, the nutrition specialist behind Heidi Klum’s post-baby body and Hilary Swank’s famously lean muscle in Million Dollar Baby. “You should alwayshave a healthy lifestyle, but there are temporary fixes that will help.” Here, Garcia reveals the pre-Oscar guidelines he sets forth for clients like Swank and Klum.

ONE MONTH BEFORE
Detox Responsibly Though Garcia doesn’t recommend doing the Master Cleanse—the decades-old detox that’s based on a pepper, water, and lemonade concoction—he does suggest doing more nutrient-rich alternatives and intermittent fasting prior to a red carpet event. “I think a two- or three-day juice fast through a program like Blueprint Cleanse or Organic Avenue is a safe and healthy way to detox,” says Garcia, adding that, “There’s a lot of information that indicates intermittent fasting and cleansing is also great for preventing heart disease and diabetes.”

 Garcia himself fasts once a week, eating only nutrient-dense, low calorie fruits and veggies—a practice that makes the body more sensitive to insulin and, as a result, can normalize blood sugar levels and raise the rate of metabolism. If you lack the discipline of Garcia, however, a day of fasting could cause you to overeat the next day (or make a beeline for your favorite fast-food chain).

Given the inability to determine a celebrity’s reaction to a cleanse Garcia says he always recommends doing one at least a few weeks prior to a red carpet event: “Are you going to feel better or are you going to have withdrawal? You just don’t know what can happen when on a cleanse.”

Read more for the days coming into the main event and to find out what the celebrities are exactly eating….