Thursday, January 20, 2011 12:13:34 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00) ( )
Whew! It's been a crazy week attending Imaging USA and catching up on everything. But I'm back in front of my computer and ready to roll out some great new things for 2011.
But first, I wanted to thank everyone who has taken the time to email or message me about my weight loss over the last 6 months or so. It's been a long journey, but I really feel that I have the photography community to thank for it all. In particular, those who have attended my workshops over the last 2 years. Let me explain.
I've always known that the vast majority of people who are in the late 30's and are physically fit and a healthy weight work very hard to maintain their bodies. Very few people can be 37 years old, eat whatever they want, never exercise and still be a normal weight (though I know a few who are . . . . you know who you are . . . . yes, I'm staring at you . . . . ). The rest have to work hard at it. Over the last 2 years, I've had some wonderful conversations with workshop attendees about photography, but also about life and balancing parenting and work and health and everything else. So last summer, I just decided that if all these amazing people could balance kids, family, a photography business and STILL have time to look fabulous, I could do it too! So thank you for all your incredible examples and being so inspiring for me to just get with it and pull myself together!
Also, I've had a lot of emails from people asking about what snacks I eat when dieting. As I've mentioned before, I basically eat every 2 hours all day long. I never eat too much, but I'm also never hungry. I'm the kind of person that can't feel like I'm "depriving" myself when trying to diet. So if I feel hungry or like I never get to eat yummy foods, I just won't stick with a diet. So here are a list of snacks that I love that are between 70-150 calories each.
My personal fav is Mango Lhassi. I make homemade probiotic yogurt out of super low-cal, organic local skim milk (it ends up being around 85 calories per cup) and then blend 1/2 cup of my plain yogurt with 4 oz. of ripe mango, 1/2 cup ice and a little water and ZSweet. Add a dollop of fat-free RediWhip and you have 2 cups of heaven with less than 125 calories.
I also love to make a Cranberry-Strawberry Smoothie too. Blend 1 cup strawberries, 1/2 cup cranberries and 1/2 cup yogurt with 1/2 cup ice, a little water and ZSweet to taste. Again, it's around 125 calories (depending on the yogurt you use).
For something starchy, you can't beat a 100 calorie bag of popcorn. But I also love multi-grain, whole wheat bread. Sunflower Market makes a deliciously hearty bread that only has 50 calories per slice. I toast it and instead of butter on it, I smear a wedge of Laughing Cow Light French Onion cheese (or Light Garlic and Herb from Sonoma Jack). Only 135 hearty calories and so yum!
For a sweet treat, you can't beat protein bars. I love Atkins Chocolate Oatmeal Fiber Bars. They taste like oatmeal chocolate chip cookie dough and have fiber and protein and only 130 calories per bar. I also love Atkins Caramel Nut Chew bars. They taste like a Snickers and again, have protein, fiber and only 130 calories. South Beach also makes some good protein bars . . . . Basically, I just went to the store, bought one of every type of protein bar under 200 calories and made a list of my favorites, haha.
I also always have a large supply of fruit and veggies on hand. So a snack can also be an apple, a pear, an orange or a grapefruit (again, sweetened with ZSweet). I also have some 130 calorie bags of pistachios and other nuts. They also make for a quick, easy snack. Crunchies are also delicious to snack on. To be honest, I find myself scheduling my snacks everyday, because they're all so yummy, I can't wait to eat one, haha.
Thanks again for all your kind words and support!
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Nichole Van has repeatedly been labeled as a hot, new, up and coming photographer. As a Utah wedding photographer and a Utah
portrait photographer, she specializes in turning everyday life into art. Nichole loves expressing the unique beauty of
every client, creating artistic images that make people gasp when they see them.
As an international award-winning photographer, Nichole won the prestigious International 8x10 Portrait of the Year from
Wedding and Portrait Photographers International (WPPI) for 2007. Consequently, her international award winning photography
was featured in Rangefinder Magazine in June 2008. She has also taken First, Second and Third place honors from WPPI in other
international competitions for her child and family photography. Additionally, Nichole has received numerous Accolades of
Excellence and currently holds an Accolade of Photographic Mastery from WPPI.
In addition to her love for photography, Nichole loves teaching and enjoyed being English faculty at Brigham Young University
for nearly 10 years. As the best of both worlds, teaching photography to others is her passion. Nichole currently offers
international photography workshops focusing on helping others enhance creativity and artistry in their photos. Combining her
excellence in teaching with her photographic knowledge, Nichole’s Life as Art Workshops are quickly revamping industry standards
for photographic workshops.
Nichole lives in southern Utah County with her husband and three children. You can see her work at www.nicholeV.com.