Planning meals that will satisfy both my desire for healthy, whole foods and my husband’s need for substantial, mouth-watering fare can sometimes be a precarious balancing act. Add to that the fact that once I get home after work the last thing I want to do is cut and mix and scrape various edible items into what I hope passes as “supper” and I’ve got one headachy situation on my hands.

Want to see yourself in Oxygen’s Future of Fitness? Then this post is for you.

As a triple F – Female Fitness Freak, for those of you who don’t speak my nonsensical lingo (and few do) – I’m constantly trying to figure out new ways to push through a strength plateau or how to experience quick gains in definition and leanness. 

That being said, I am a stubborn exerciser: I know what I like, and I tend to stick to the programs and exercises that I know will give me that adrenaline rush or muscle pump that I crave, whether or not my body had become completely immune to progress through repetition and redundancy.

There’s a story in our November issue about ground meat, and how it’s a great economical source of lean protein; often 30% cheaper than whole meats. It’s one of those dog-earred articles that I keep going back to all month long because I love all of the easy-to-make recipes.

You’ve probably heard the recent buzz about monotonous diets: research has found that you may actually eat less if you don’t nosh on numerous types of nibbles. And here’s something else interesting: another study, published in the journal Obesity, found that dieters who were put on a low-carb program eventually lost their desire for carbs; likewise, a group that was put on a low-fat diet found that they no longer had intense cravings for greasy foods. So, while it may sound as exciting as a trip to The Dutch Tile Museum (it exists; if you can read Dutch, check it out here, limiting the types of foods that you eat instead of focusing on the calorie count (which will naturally lower as you reduce your mealtime variety) may be a better strategy if you are aiming to lose a few pounds.