Happy Wednesday, all! It has been raining all day here, so no outside exercise for me today! But I hope to cook something much better for dinner tonight because after my debaucle in the kitchen yesterday, I was told about a website that had some great recipes & she said "beginners welcome". The recipes are from Chef Devin, and they do look yummy. I haven't decided which one to try, but if anyone would like to try one, this is the site.
I read an article from Yahoo! today that had a very misleading title. It claimed to have a way to burn an extra 150 calories a day just sitting on the couch. I should have known better than to really think it could be true, just to sit on the couch and burn 150 calories. I thought that maybe it would tell me how to do some simple exercises to burn calories that I could do while sitting on the couch, but no, it did not. It said that by adding lean muscle mass, one's metabolism would kick into high gear and burn an extra 150 calories a day. This is true, but just not what I was expecting from the article. The article recommended 2 weight training sessions a week along with 3 cardio sessions for at least 40 minutes each per week. This is definitely a great way to boost your metabolism and weight loss, but since I'm already exercising at least this much, this doesn't really help me that much. But I still thought it was a good enough tip to pass on!
I have done great eating healthy today! I switched it up from my normal for breakfast today. I still had my Almond milk, but with it, I had an apple and an egg instead of cereal. It was yummy, and I stayed full almost all morning. The protein in the egg and the fiber in the apple were definitely helpful in that respect. I did have a mid/late morning snack of a FiberPlus Antioxidants bar and a peice of string cheese. I had my favorite SmartOnes mini pizzas for lunch, and a WW ice cream bar. Those were absolutely delish as well. It really is not difficult to eat healthy, and once you find a few healthy options, more and more seem to appear, and there are so many out there with new ones coming out all the time!
I haven't worked out yet today, but when I get home I plan on doing an elliptical workout as well as the p90x Yoga DVD. I might not have time to get the whole DVD in, because it's an hour and a half long(!) but I'm going to at least do some of it. I love how I feel after yoga, so refreshed and calm and energized! I would definitely recommend it as part of a weight loss plan or just as a part of a healthy lifestyle. Love it!
Quick thought to end with: I was saddened by the report released today that said obesity has risen in 28 states.
Don't contribute to America's weight gain! Stay fit!
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Some pics
Here are some pics from the wedding I was in on Saturday!
I'm the second one from the left in this one
These are 2 more. I was feeling skinny that day, since I got down to 125 lbs! :-)
Stay fit!
I'm the second one from the left in this one
These are 2 more. I was feeling skinny that day, since I got down to 125 lbs! :-)
Stay fit!
Relationships....with food; Dinner fiaso
I have a love/hate relationship with soda. This was my starting idea for today's post. I just had to have some caffeine this morning, and a soda was my only option. It was so good, but I hated to have to drink one since I know how hard I worked to get them out of my diet. I also know how bad they are for me, but I just needed the caffeine (thank you, marketing final). So, here are a couple of foods that I love or hate.
LOVE- Almond milk. This is my absolute favorite thing to have in the morning. I can have it with cereal or by itself (or both!), and a cup is only 90 calories! I usually buy Almond Breeze (Vanilla, not unsweetened), but I know that there are a few other brands as well. This milk is lactose free, soy free, and has a great flavor that is slightly sweet and SO good.
HATE- Cottage Cheese. Ok, I have tried to eat this, but I just can't stand it! When I did the Body For Life diet/weight loss program, I really really tried to eat it, and I even added things like fruit to it, but it is just awful. I hate the smell, the look and the texture of it. I don't care too much for the taste of it, but that would be bearable if I could get past the texture of it. UGH!
LOVE- Broccoli. There are some veggies that I don't like, but broccoli is not one of them. I love broccoli; I love it raw, cooked, plain, with cheese sauce, and pretty much any other way you can think of. I really like the convenience of the microwaveable steamer packets. It's also convenient to be able to eat it raw. I don't like it when it's cooked too long and therefore all mushy, but otherwise, broccoli is hard to mess up. Which is good for people who can't cook....like me!
HATE- Hamburgers. I know, this is yet another reason why I'm weird. :-) I like to think of this as a good thing though, because it means I'm not tempted to pull in a drivethru and pick up a fatty, greasy, bad-for-me burger when I'm hungry. The one exception is homemade burgers, as in made from ground beef and grilled burger. As long as I know it came from lean ground beef, I can eat it, but if it's any other way, it practically turns my stomach. Ew!
Ok, so that's just a small sampling of what I like, especially when I'm eating healthy and trying to lose weight.
I exercised today for 20 minutes using my elliptical machine. I didn't like the workout I did though. I like to switch up the resistance and pace, but today's workout stayed at one resistance level almost the whole time, and only varied between 2 different paces. I know that doing intervals is key for weight loss, and this workout didn't include many of them. At least I still burned 240 calories.
Dinner was quite interesting tonight. I got a recipe that I tried about a week ago for a white bean soup from a friend, and I was super excited to try it. It was supposed to be really healthy and most of the ingredients were veggies. It looked complicated when I set out, but I was determined to make it. I spent FOREVER getting it ready, and then it took about 35 minutes to cook. I could tell that when it was done simmering it didn't look quite right. The next step was to put half into a blender so that the soup would be thicker and creamier. Well. That was just a disaster. Long story short-my kitchen was/is covered. in. soup. GAH! Seriously?!?!?! I just could not believe that as soon as I turned on the blender, the lid came right off. I was so mad. And at the same time I was laughing because, honestly, it was pretty funny. I'm not even sure it was worth it. The soup was awful. I must have done something wrong, because it was not like the soup that I tried last week. I think that if I could have gotten it all into the blender (without it going all over my kitchen), it would have been okay. Not great, but at least okay. All that effort, and I ended up eating a piece of soy chicken. I am so NOT a cook, and I'm not ashamed to admit it! I think I'll have to have some help to make that the right way....maybe next time!
Lastly, I created an FB fanpage! Go check it out and "Like" it!! :-)
Stay fit!
LOVE- Almond milk. This is my absolute favorite thing to have in the morning. I can have it with cereal or by itself (or both!), and a cup is only 90 calories! I usually buy Almond Breeze (Vanilla, not unsweetened), but I know that there are a few other brands as well. This milk is lactose free, soy free, and has a great flavor that is slightly sweet and SO good.
HATE- Cottage Cheese. Ok, I have tried to eat this, but I just can't stand it! When I did the Body For Life diet/weight loss program, I really really tried to eat it, and I even added things like fruit to it, but it is just awful. I hate the smell, the look and the texture of it. I don't care too much for the taste of it, but that would be bearable if I could get past the texture of it. UGH!
LOVE- Broccoli. There are some veggies that I don't like, but broccoli is not one of them. I love broccoli; I love it raw, cooked, plain, with cheese sauce, and pretty much any other way you can think of. I really like the convenience of the microwaveable steamer packets. It's also convenient to be able to eat it raw. I don't like it when it's cooked too long and therefore all mushy, but otherwise, broccoli is hard to mess up. Which is good for people who can't cook....like me!
HATE- Hamburgers. I know, this is yet another reason why I'm weird. :-) I like to think of this as a good thing though, because it means I'm not tempted to pull in a drivethru and pick up a fatty, greasy, bad-for-me burger when I'm hungry. The one exception is homemade burgers, as in made from ground beef and grilled burger. As long as I know it came from lean ground beef, I can eat it, but if it's any other way, it practically turns my stomach. Ew!
Ok, so that's just a small sampling of what I like, especially when I'm eating healthy and trying to lose weight.
I exercised today for 20 minutes using my elliptical machine. I didn't like the workout I did though. I like to switch up the resistance and pace, but today's workout stayed at one resistance level almost the whole time, and only varied between 2 different paces. I know that doing intervals is key for weight loss, and this workout didn't include many of them. At least I still burned 240 calories.
Dinner was quite interesting tonight. I got a recipe that I tried about a week ago for a white bean soup from a friend, and I was super excited to try it. It was supposed to be really healthy and most of the ingredients were veggies. It looked complicated when I set out, but I was determined to make it. I spent FOREVER getting it ready, and then it took about 35 minutes to cook. I could tell that when it was done simmering it didn't look quite right. The next step was to put half into a blender so that the soup would be thicker and creamier. Well. That was just a disaster. Long story short-my kitchen was/is covered. in. soup. GAH! Seriously?!?!?! I just could not believe that as soon as I turned on the blender, the lid came right off. I was so mad. And at the same time I was laughing because, honestly, it was pretty funny. I'm not even sure it was worth it. The soup was awful. I must have done something wrong, because it was not like the soup that I tried last week. I think that if I could have gotten it all into the blender (without it going all over my kitchen), it would have been okay. Not great, but at least okay. All that effort, and I ended up eating a piece of soy chicken. I am so NOT a cook, and I'm not ashamed to admit it! I think I'll have to have some help to make that the right way....maybe next time!
Lastly, I created an FB fanpage! Go check it out and "Like" it!! :-)
Stay fit!
Monday, June 28, 2010
Monday Monday Monday
Yes, I said Monday 3 times. It has been quite the Monday so far. Okay, maybe that's a little dramatic, but it has been a little crazy. It's finals time in summer school (part 1) so I've been digging into the books today since I've been home from work. I had a 5 page paper to work on, and material to learn for a presentation, so that's mostly what I've done this afternoon/evening. I haven't been able to exercise today, but I have also done some house work to get in some calorie burn. I did laundry and dishes, and I also made dinner. Wow, looking at it in words, it seems like I accomplished a lot today! I wish I was this productive every day!
I ate very healthy today. I had my favorite breakfast of Kashi GoLean cereal with Almond Milk. I had a packet of Newton's fruit crispers (apple flavor-yum!) for a snack, and for lunch I had my new favorite, Smart Ones Pizza minis. Those things are so good, and they're only 280 calories! I made pork chops for dinner, and I ate a sweet potato with it (hubby ate baked potato and rolls). I'm not sure how many calories that is total, but I know that it is reasonable and within a healthy range of calories.
I read an article today (that would have been of great use to me in the last 2 weeks, but oh well, haha) that talks about healthy rapid weight loss. It was great to find an article that recommends fast weight loss instead of advising against it. I love it when I find professionals and researchers who back up the method that I use and that I know works. The article affirms my belief that weight loss is about calorie deficits. In it, the author (an RD) says that staying in a calorie intake range of 1050-1200 with an hour of exercise will get a weight loss of 3-5 pounds a week as opposed to the normally recommended 1-2 pounds per week. She also recommends limiting sodium and starch to reduce fluid retention. I did learn something new from this article. Dieticians sometimes recommend an average calorie intake of 7 calories per pound of body weight (1050 for a 150 pound person), but no less than 1200. With this article, the RD recommends no lower than 1050. There are also some good tips for staying focused in the article. You can read it here.
Have a great night! Stay fit!
I ate very healthy today. I had my favorite breakfast of Kashi GoLean cereal with Almond Milk. I had a packet of Newton's fruit crispers (apple flavor-yum!) for a snack, and for lunch I had my new favorite, Smart Ones Pizza minis. Those things are so good, and they're only 280 calories! I made pork chops for dinner, and I ate a sweet potato with it (hubby ate baked potato and rolls). I'm not sure how many calories that is total, but I know that it is reasonable and within a healthy range of calories.
I read an article today (that would have been of great use to me in the last 2 weeks, but oh well, haha) that talks about healthy rapid weight loss. It was great to find an article that recommends fast weight loss instead of advising against it. I love it when I find professionals and researchers who back up the method that I use and that I know works. The article affirms my belief that weight loss is about calorie deficits. In it, the author (an RD) says that staying in a calorie intake range of 1050-1200 with an hour of exercise will get a weight loss of 3-5 pounds a week as opposed to the normally recommended 1-2 pounds per week. She also recommends limiting sodium and starch to reduce fluid retention. I did learn something new from this article. Dieticians sometimes recommend an average calorie intake of 7 calories per pound of body weight (1050 for a 150 pound person), but no less than 1200. With this article, the RD recommends no lower than 1050. There are also some good tips for staying focused in the article. You can read it here.
Have a great night! Stay fit!
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Super Sunday
Another 2 pounds are gone! :-) Which is super!! As of this morning I weigh 125. This is a total of 5 lbs lost. I was quite surpised since the past couple of days have been REALLY busy and I haven't had much time to exericse or even think about eating as healthy as I should. Friday was crazy with work and school and getting things ready for Saturday. I spent most of Saturday doing wedding for a good friends that got married last night. But thankfully I got through the weekend and didn't do too much damage!
I want to share a website that I found that is really cool. It is set up to help subscribers form any habit they choose. It's called HabitForge and it works by sending you a daily email where you say if you were successful or not that day in forming your chosen habit. If you click no it sets you back to day 1, and if you are successful you go from day 1 - 21 and you have formed a new habit. I'm going to sign up, but I haven't decided what I want my new habit to be. Here's the link.
I hope everyone had a great weekend and looking forward to a great week! Stay fit!
I want to share a website that I found that is really cool. It is set up to help subscribers form any habit they choose. It's called HabitForge and it works by sending you a daily email where you say if you were successful or not that day in forming your chosen habit. If you click no it sets you back to day 1, and if you are successful you go from day 1 - 21 and you have formed a new habit. I'm going to sign up, but I haven't decided what I want my new habit to be. Here's the link.
I hope everyone had a great weekend and looking forward to a great week! Stay fit!
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Thoughtful Thursday
Today has been a very thoughtful kind of day. I have been considering reasons why I am not losing as much weight as I wanted to, and I found a few articles that may help.
This article gives 4 reasons why you may not be losing weight like you wanted/thought you would. 1) "You're not fully commited". This is one that I struggle with. If I can't find the right motivation, I lose commitment and it becomes less important in my life. I have to constantly remind myself of my motives and goals, or find new ones so that I will keep going. The temptations jump out at me more persistently if I'm not fully committed. 2) "People expect miracles". I don't think that I expect miracles, so I don't think this one is an issue for me. I know that some people, though, jump into weight loss programs expecting to lose all this weight and when they don't lose it immediately they get discouraged and give up. Weight loss is not an immediate thing, it takes hard work and time, so going into it expecting miracles will just lead to disappointment. 3) "Your plan isn't sustainable". This is why focusing more on living healthy is the most important thing, rather than weight loss alone. If you make being healthy into a lifestyle, then it is sustainable over the long-run as opposed to something short lived/extreme that will fizzle out sooner than later. 4) "You can't forgive your slip-ups". This is the other thing that I have a hard time with. If I mess up or even take a break from being so intense, I feel so guilty and like I'm letting myself and others down. I have to let myself rest without guilt, and allow myself to mess up here and there. If I don't, I will just make myself crazy and I will lose heart and quit to go back to being unhealthy. This is where I try to use the 80/20 rule that I have talked about, where you do good at least 80% of the time so that you can get over slip ups for 20% of the time. So, forgive and forget....that's the best thing to do :-) Here's the link to the full article.
Another article I found talks about reasons your diet may get off track. It lists 5 reasons why. 1)Boredom. This is SO true! I know that consistency is a good thing, but eating the same thing all the time just gets so old. 2)Getting too lax. I am guilty of this sometimes for sure. I get comfortable in whatever diet/method (a specific diet like weight watchers or a method such as just being healthy)I'm using and I get lax and don't do it 100%. This is kind of like boredom for me. If I get to comfortable in what I'm doing, I will make excuses as to why I don't have to do it totally right and that I'll make up for it later. Of course, I never make up for it and end up feeling horrible about it. This is another reason to switch it up and eat something different rather than the same old food every day. 3)Vacation. This one is tough, but at least if this is the case, it only lasts a short amount of time. Unless you get extended vacation or something of course (lucky you if you do, haha). When I'm on vacay, I just wanna chill and let loose, not watch myself and monitor what I'm eating all the time. In this case, moderation is the key. As long as I don't go overboard and stuff myself, I should be okay and not incur any damage. Also, exercising while on vacay is important too if I'm not planning on being careful with food. If I'm at the beach, that's easy because I LOVE a run on the beach. Other locales are harder, but it's not too difficult to find something to do.4)Parties. This is a really big factor in the summer (like right now) or during the holidays. There is always a reason to have a party this time of year it seems, and those throwing the party may not know or care that a guest is looking to eat healthy or lose weight. And even if they did, who wants to make 50 different things to please everyone?! I know I don't. So again, moderation is key, as well as maybe eating a little something before going so that I'm not starving when I arrive. If I'm too hungry, all healthy thoughts will be gone out of my head, and I will just be wanting to eat anything in sight. Also, making sure to exercise before I go helps me stay mindful of what I am eating. 5)Stress. This is definitely a biggie. Stress does several things to your body. First, it makes your body hold on to fat. Second, it makes you want to eat more. This is a dangerous combination for weight loss goals. Exercising is a great stress reliever, and it helps me focus and feel better. Also, yoga is fantastic for stress relief, as is meditation. I don't do meditation very well unless I'm listening to a "guide" of some sort. It is definitely relaxing, but I can't do it by myself. I know that research supports that meditation is good for mind/body harmony, so it's definitely something worth trying. Lack of sleep is also a factor in stress. I have trouble getting into bed at a decent hour, so I know I need to work on that. Also, there are herbal teas that are very helpful in calming the mind and body, like chamomile and others. The ones I have tried are very good, and they really do work. I slept great the nights that I drank them. You can look at the article here.
That's all I've got for today. Stay fit!
This article gives 4 reasons why you may not be losing weight like you wanted/thought you would. 1) "You're not fully commited". This is one that I struggle with. If I can't find the right motivation, I lose commitment and it becomes less important in my life. I have to constantly remind myself of my motives and goals, or find new ones so that I will keep going. The temptations jump out at me more persistently if I'm not fully committed. 2) "People expect miracles". I don't think that I expect miracles, so I don't think this one is an issue for me. I know that some people, though, jump into weight loss programs expecting to lose all this weight and when they don't lose it immediately they get discouraged and give up. Weight loss is not an immediate thing, it takes hard work and time, so going into it expecting miracles will just lead to disappointment. 3) "Your plan isn't sustainable". This is why focusing more on living healthy is the most important thing, rather than weight loss alone. If you make being healthy into a lifestyle, then it is sustainable over the long-run as opposed to something short lived/extreme that will fizzle out sooner than later. 4) "You can't forgive your slip-ups". This is the other thing that I have a hard time with. If I mess up or even take a break from being so intense, I feel so guilty and like I'm letting myself and others down. I have to let myself rest without guilt, and allow myself to mess up here and there. If I don't, I will just make myself crazy and I will lose heart and quit to go back to being unhealthy. This is where I try to use the 80/20 rule that I have talked about, where you do good at least 80% of the time so that you can get over slip ups for 20% of the time. So, forgive and forget....that's the best thing to do :-) Here's the link to the full article.
Another article I found talks about reasons your diet may get off track. It lists 5 reasons why. 1)Boredom. This is SO true! I know that consistency is a good thing, but eating the same thing all the time just gets so old. 2)Getting too lax. I am guilty of this sometimes for sure. I get comfortable in whatever diet/method (a specific diet like weight watchers or a method such as just being healthy)I'm using and I get lax and don't do it 100%. This is kind of like boredom for me. If I get to comfortable in what I'm doing, I will make excuses as to why I don't have to do it totally right and that I'll make up for it later. Of course, I never make up for it and end up feeling horrible about it. This is another reason to switch it up and eat something different rather than the same old food every day. 3)Vacation. This one is tough, but at least if this is the case, it only lasts a short amount of time. Unless you get extended vacation or something of course (lucky you if you do, haha). When I'm on vacay, I just wanna chill and let loose, not watch myself and monitor what I'm eating all the time. In this case, moderation is the key. As long as I don't go overboard and stuff myself, I should be okay and not incur any damage. Also, exercising while on vacay is important too if I'm not planning on being careful with food. If I'm at the beach, that's easy because I LOVE a run on the beach. Other locales are harder, but it's not too difficult to find something to do.4)Parties. This is a really big factor in the summer (like right now) or during the holidays. There is always a reason to have a party this time of year it seems, and those throwing the party may not know or care that a guest is looking to eat healthy or lose weight. And even if they did, who wants to make 50 different things to please everyone?! I know I don't. So again, moderation is key, as well as maybe eating a little something before going so that I'm not starving when I arrive. If I'm too hungry, all healthy thoughts will be gone out of my head, and I will just be wanting to eat anything in sight. Also, making sure to exercise before I go helps me stay mindful of what I am eating. 5)Stress. This is definitely a biggie. Stress does several things to your body. First, it makes your body hold on to fat. Second, it makes you want to eat more. This is a dangerous combination for weight loss goals. Exercising is a great stress reliever, and it helps me focus and feel better. Also, yoga is fantastic for stress relief, as is meditation. I don't do meditation very well unless I'm listening to a "guide" of some sort. It is definitely relaxing, but I can't do it by myself. I know that research supports that meditation is good for mind/body harmony, so it's definitely something worth trying. Lack of sleep is also a factor in stress. I have trouble getting into bed at a decent hour, so I know I need to work on that. Also, there are herbal teas that are very helpful in calming the mind and body, like chamomile and others. The ones I have tried are very good, and they really do work. I slept great the nights that I drank them. You can look at the article here.
That's all I've got for today. Stay fit!
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
What a week
So far, this week has been crazy! I feel like I haven't stopped to take a breath most days! Even so, I have been really good about staying on track with my goals. I didn't set any specific goals this week because I knew it would be crazy, but I don't want to get off track either. I exercised on Sunday (yes, I know that counts as last week, but that has been since my last post so I'm including it, haha), Monday and yesterday (Tuesday). I exercised a lot yesterday, and I may have done too much. I am taking a break today to make up for overworking myself :-) I can definitely use the rest! I ran a mile at lunch yesterday, then did a 350 calorie routine on the elliptical and then went and ran some more with my sister-in-law (over a mile, not totally sure how long we went). I think that I deserve a nice day to rest after all of that, and I'm not going to let myself feel guilty for it! I struggle with feeling guilty if I don't give 190% when I'm working toward my goals, but I'm not going to let those feelings in because they will just bring me down and discourage me. If I let them in, I will get down about it and it will just send all my hard work down the drain. So, I have to let myself rest, and I am doing so today.
I am having a hard time with eating healthy this week. I am on some medicine temporarily that is making me super hungry. This is making it really hard to keep my calories under control, but I'm trying really hard. I only take to work a certain amount of food, so I have no choice but to eat the right (and right amount of) things. When I get home is when I have a hard time. I just want to eat and eat and eat, and I have to distract myself and do something else to take my mind off of it. Also, I have been CRAVING something sweet, so I went to the grocery store and got some Skinny Cow truffle bars, and they really hit the spot. They are only 160 calories so they don't ruin my calorie count and they kick that sweet craving so that I can think rationally again about what to eat or not eat! That's what eating healthy is about, finding a balance and substituting things that are better for you in the place of high calorie, fattening things. That way, you can have your cake and eat it too (ha, yeah I know, that was totally corny). A better way to put it, I can satisfy my craving for "bad" foods with good-for-me foods, or at least foods that are better for me than the bad ones.
I have not lost any more weight, but I think that if I can get some more rest, I can change that. I know that not getting enough rest is detrimental to weight loss efforts, but I am so busy that it is hard to get all the rest I need. I am going to bed early tonight for sure though, so that I can get a good nights sleep! Hopefully that will help me lose more weight, but it will at least make me feel better so that maybe I have more energy to workout or the brain power to make better food decisions.
Have a great night everyone! Stay fit!
I am having a hard time with eating healthy this week. I am on some medicine temporarily that is making me super hungry. This is making it really hard to keep my calories under control, but I'm trying really hard. I only take to work a certain amount of food, so I have no choice but to eat the right (and right amount of) things. When I get home is when I have a hard time. I just want to eat and eat and eat, and I have to distract myself and do something else to take my mind off of it. Also, I have been CRAVING something sweet, so I went to the grocery store and got some Skinny Cow truffle bars, and they really hit the spot. They are only 160 calories so they don't ruin my calorie count and they kick that sweet craving so that I can think rationally again about what to eat or not eat! That's what eating healthy is about, finding a balance and substituting things that are better for you in the place of high calorie, fattening things. That way, you can have your cake and eat it too (ha, yeah I know, that was totally corny). A better way to put it, I can satisfy my craving for "bad" foods with good-for-me foods, or at least foods that are better for me than the bad ones.
I have not lost any more weight, but I think that if I can get some more rest, I can change that. I know that not getting enough rest is detrimental to weight loss efforts, but I am so busy that it is hard to get all the rest I need. I am going to bed early tonight for sure though, so that I can get a good nights sleep! Hopefully that will help me lose more weight, but it will at least make me feel better so that maybe I have more energy to workout or the brain power to make better food decisions.
Have a great night everyone! Stay fit!
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