Let me tell you about myself and my family. We have a lot of fun and would love for you to be privy to our active lifestyle.

It¹s Monday morning at 3:45 a.m. and I¹m already up and exercising. I have this great exercise room across from my bedroom so I don¹t have to walk far to use the equipment.

I have two Lifecycles (upright and recumbent), a Stairmaster, a treadmill, a HealthRider, a Bowflex machine, a ballet bar, free weights and a lot of toys that include bands, weighted balls, stomach gadgets and more. After about 30 minutes of working out my endorphins have kicked in, and I¹m feeling terrific.

I try to exercise everyday for 30 to 60 minutes and vary my routine from aerobics and stretching to light weights and band work. It¹s a great mixture for a healthy body with a lot of variety to keep me interested in coming back each day.

It¹s now about 4:45 a.m. and I¹m ready for a quick shower, a fast health drink (cappuccino fat-free yogurt, one banana and a scoop of protein powder and ice) and I¹m off for some personal training. The rest of the family is still asleep.

I work out with clients six days a week. I only work out with a handful of clients as I love the other activities in my day.

Meal Planning

It¹s 7:15 a.m. and my next stop is the grocery store to pick up dinner. Tonight we¹re having stir-fry vegetables with scallops and teriyaki sauce.

Instead of oil I use only water and teriyaki sauce. On the side we¹ll have brown rice. In addition, as with most of our meals, we¹ll have fresh-baked fat-free bread, which I prepare in our bread machine almost every morning and evening. This entire meal will take about 15 minutes to prepare and everyone loves it.

Family Rituals

My husband Gary plays the role of ³Mr. Mom² in the morning. He¹s out of bed by 6 a.m. and works out for about an hour at the house.

Three times a week he goes to the gym for an intense hour and a half workout in order to maintain his low 5 percent body fat. By 7:30 a.m., the entire family is up.

Jamie and Scott go for their walk around the block, training our new dog, Dakota. After their shower and bath, they eat a quick, healthy breakfast of French toast, made with cinnamon raisin bread and eggbeaters.

It¹s now 9:15 a.m. and my morning has just begun. Gary is in his office, which is downstairs next to the laundry room. I head up to my office, which is part of my exercise room.

I start making my calls for promoting our four fat-free cookbooks: Recipes for Fat-Free Living Cookbook 1 and 2, Recipes for Fat-Free Desserts and Recipes for Fat-Free Breads.

We can¹t give up fat entirely, but we want to live as healthy and low fat as possible. It helps you to look and feel better.

Jamie and Scott aren¹t restricted to fat-free diets but we do keep a low-fat house and we limit their trips to fast food restaurants. Actually, Jamie¹s favorite restaurant is a soup and salad place where she feasts on fresh salads, vegetables, soups and potatoes. I¹ve taught Jamie how to read food labels. These can be misleading because while a product may say low-fat, the fat grams to the number of calories may exceed 50 percent.

For example, if a label says there are two grams of fat and 35 calories, that means there is more than 50 percent fat.

A handy device we use to easily calculate this percentage is our ³fat wheel.² The rule of thumb is two fat grams for every 100 calories or about 18 percent fat. Make sure you note the serving size.

The Real Bread

As for our business endeavors, Gary and I not only spend time marketing our cookbooks, but we¹re also involved in other entrepreneurial ventures.

One is our patent for Perfect Body Bands. It¹s a latex and Velcro device for resistant body work and provides a great workout for tightening and firming your body. In addition, we¹re formulating six fat-free bread mixes for the bread machines and 101 other projects to make this a healthier world.

I don¹t leave my desk each day until all my calls have been made and press kits have been sent out to promote the books.

More Healthy Living

I¹ve got 15 minutes before my next appointment, and I¹m going to take time to meditate. This helps sharpen my mind and recharge my energy, something I do everyday.

It¹s 1 p.m., and I¹m off to one of the elementary schools to teach the sixth grade classes how to make healthy choices. I believe in teaching them how to live a healthy lifestyle when they are young. Their assignment is to take one or both of their parents or guardians grocery shopping for food for an entire day.

It¹s 3 p.m. and time to pick up the kids from school. Today we¹re going to the park with friends. Jamie brings both her bike and Rollerblades and Scott plays on the swings. As it begins to get dark we head home for dinner.

Gary has already prepared everything and is just pulling out the fresh bread from the bread machine. The kids are usually satisfied with the healthy food choices we offer them.

Also they know when they¹re hungry and when they¹ve had enough, unlike so many adults who continue to eat even when they¹re full. My belief is that when you¹re full you¹re done and you should just push the plate away.

Winding Down After

dinner we sometimes turn to music and dance in the living room. But by about 8:30, I¹m ready for bed with a book before I go off to slumber land. The next day may be a little different, but with the same purpose, to make a healthier world.