CNI's Core 4 soon to be in Canada

I have been lucky to be able to test the Core 4 system before it’s official launch in Canada.  My weight loss of 4lbs in 7 days is modest compared to other testimonials.  I am excited for the launch on May 1st in Canada.  I’m looking for partners to take this weight loss journey with.  I plan to host weekly group support calls, webinars explaining the program and for our local group how bout a fun “Shake it up & Cheat!” party?  Who do you know who would like to shed some inches around the mid section for summer?

Slow but Easy Baked Beans

Wow! This weekend flew by and Monday did as well. I’ve been too busy to post since Friday, and I’ve missed it and all of my bloggie friends! I hope everyone had a great weekend. I did! It even came complete with a tiny bit of sunburn. I wasn’t properly prepared for the beautiful weather at the cookout on Sunday, but it was certainly nice to see the sun!

Thank you all so much for the wonderful comments you left on my last post. I will treasure them! I’m so happy with my new approach for now, and I have to say that I had a much less stressful weekend full of eating activities, largely due to my new outlook. It was lovely. I didn’t realize how stressed I had been about food situations. I’ve just been doing my best to choose things that I really want, and then eat reasonable portions. I think I’ve done pretty well.

I don’t have any photos (some friends don’t know about the blog…), so I won’t get into too many longwinded details, but I will say that over the past few days, I’ve enjoyed bastilla, lamb couscous and chicken mkali at a Moroccan restaurant. I had Rabbit Fricassee with Gnocchi, Coq au Vin, Chocolate Mousse Cake with Bourbon Cherries, and an assortment of items from the charcuterie menu including spanish ham and an amazing duck prosciutto at Vinoteca, which is a very cool wine bar and bistro on U Street. At the cookout, I had a small portion of some pulled pork that my friends had smoked, salad, some of the baked beans I’m going to tell you about, and a small lemon bar for dessert. I love lemon bars. Yum!

I’ve kept my portions small, tried to skip the bread when possible because it isn’t my favorite thing anyway, and tried to plan ahead while eating during the rest of the day so as to leave a bit more room in the calorie count for these richer foods. I’ve kept up with my workout schedule too. The last few days have been nice, and I haven’t regretted any of the things I’ve eaten. I figure that’s a pretty good sign that I’m doing ok. Time and the scale will tell, but, as I said before, I’m absolutely prepared to keep tabs on the situation and adjust if necessary. 

So, on to the beans! I volunteered to bring baked beans to the cookout, and I wanted to try making them from scratch rather than just doctoring up some canned beans. Here’s the recipe I came up with:

Slow but Easy Baked Beans

Ingredients:

1 lb. small white beans, uncooked

water

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/8 tsp. salt

1 cup chopped onion

3 ounces center cut bacon, chopped

1/2 cup Virginia Gentleman Bourbon Barbecue Sauce

2 tsp. dijon mustard

Directions:

Rinse and sort the dried beans. Place the beans in a large pot and cover them with water. Bring the pot to a boil, and boil for 10 minutes. Cover, and allow the beans to sit for one hour. Drain the water, rinse the beans again and place them in a slow cooker. Add 1 1/2 cups water, onion, syrup, brown sugar, salt and bacon. Cook over high heat for four hours. I added a splash more water to the slow cooker around hour number three because the beans were looking a bit dry. You might want to keep an eye on them and add a little water if needed.

Add the barbecue sauce and dijon mustard and allow to cook for an additional hour.

I made mine the day before the cookout, so I spread them in a baking dish and reheated them at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes just before I got ready to serve them. I think this was good as it allowed a bit of a crust to develop on the top.

This made about sixteen 1/4 cup servings.

I decided to use smaller amounts of syrup and brown sugar than usual, and then to finish it off with a distinctively flavored barbecue sauce to punch up the flavor. I think that the sauce gave the beans a nice taste without adding quite as many calories. I also wanted some bacon, but I didn’t want to go overboard. There was enough in there to give it some good bacon flavor without resulting in greasy baked beans. Here’s what they looked like right after I put them in the slow cooker:

I know this post is short and sweet, but I need to head off to bed. I have a bit of an early day tomorrow. I’m headed to the dermatologist in the morning for an annual check-up, and I’m sure that my bit of accidental sunburn will earn me a well deserved lecture. Here’s a question: Do you wear sunscreen every day or just when you expect to be out in the sun for a long period of time? 

My everyday foundation has sunscreen in it, and my face didn’t burn at all. I have a weird stripe on one forearm and my collar bones got a bit singed. It is lovely, to be sure. Speaking of lovely, I hope you all have a lovely night and a lovely week. I’m hoping to get caught up on reading/commenting over the next couple of days. I’m sure I’ve missed some great posts! Goodnight!

Falling Down. Getting Up. Never Giving Up.

It’s been a rough three weeks. Rough. One minute I’m humming along feeling great, feeling like everything great in the world is mine for the taking. I hit one speed bump, and all the wheels come off one by one. It’s crazy how that happens. How quickly the air in my sails is gone. It’s scary.

I have learned a lot, though, and I think that knowledge will keep me in good stead as I move forward. Because I *am* moving forward. I can’t afford to throw my hands up and give in. My health is at risk.

I learned that…

-I do not handle change or disruptions to my routine very well.

-I do not love myself enough to push through when things get hard, or even just to be still with myself.

-If I do not plan it all falls apart.

This was kind of tough to realize, but it’s my truth and it is what it is and now I figure out how to address these to make them strengths vs. weaknesses. To just *do* even if I don’t want to. To be active and present in my life. To use healthful eating and activity as my ROCK against any and all adversities. It can be done. I’ve seen it with other people. I have the potential within me to have the life I want.

This week I am going to…

-drink 64oz water daily

-track calories daily (between 1600-1800)

-train with trainer 2x week

-get in 3 cardio sessions

-make an appointment with the ortho for my knee

-update the blog every day to keep focus

Missed again

It was the drink with the co-worker, I was surrounded by cigarettes, had to have one.  And unlike food, where I can “screw up” and pick up right where I left off, smoking doesn’t seem to work that way for me.  Bummer.  So now I don’t know whether I should try again, or wait until I visit the parents in May.  I know how bad and wrong it is, but I can’t help thinking that I should wait until I lose this 15 pounds I’m determined to lose, then quit.  I’m quite sure I can maintain my weight, much less confident on my ability to lose.   Very disappointing, indeed.  I may quit again tomorrow, or within a few days, and I’m going to have to be much stricter about alcohol.  Hard to do when I’m trying to start dating someone who wants to go for drinks, but I may have to be determined here.  He likes dogs, too, maybe we can walk the dog instead.  I hate this.

Beautiful Guiltfree Dinner

I soooo enjoyed my dinner last night.  We had company over - my husband’s cousin and her hubby - they are wonderful people, and I was really looking forward to hanging out with them. I decided to make our family favorite teriyaki/wasabi salmon, this asparagus and brown/wild rice salad someone pointed out to me on Twitter (I love Twitter! It’s like a recipe box at your fingertips!), a big mache salad with avocados and feta, and a lemon tart with real whipped cream. YAY. Oh, and they brought some amazing wine they’d procured during their weeklong trip through Napa.

I didn’t worry about the points or calories of any of these items. I had had a good run/walk in the morning. I had gone to Weight Watchers and had lost 2.6 lbs since last week. I knew that everything I was eating was super healthy (except maybe the lemon tart!).

I enjoyed every single bite of my dinner. I didn’t overeat, I didn’t obsess over “going over” (which, had I counted, I probably did) I know that today I’m doing another Couch to 5k AND I’m going to be rowing in a “parent row” for my daughter’s crew team. THAT should be interesting!! And I’m going to resume my regular good eating today. It’s all good.

Is it possible that I’ll gain weight from this one dinner, at the end of this week? Somehow I really don’t think so.

The Plan....

Well, as I said in the last post. I am going to tell you how I am going to accomplish this mission. As you are ready know, I am doing what is called the “Experiment of One”. This program is more of an idea. It is based on my theory that everyone is different and a weight loss program should be customized to you.  Now, if you read my first post, I have gone into this in more depth.  So, with that in mind I have decided to use 3 different programs. By this I mean, i am using principles from 3 different programs available on the market. These 3 programs are P90X, the Reverse Diet, and The RTP Transformation System. Now the reason I have chosen to go this route is because for me, these are solid programs, but there are somethings that i don’t agree with and will not work for me. I did my research and found that this would be the best course of action. So if all goes well in my preparations, Monday is D-Day.  I will go into more detail about how i am using these programs in conjunction with each other as I progress.  Until later!

-B

Why Can't I Lose Weight

I keep gaining weight and I have no idea why. If you find yourself in a situation where you keep putting on the pounds that are making you overweight then you have come to the right place. We know how frustrating it can be to be trying to lose weight; yet you keep gaining the weight that is making you look fat.

No one likes to gain weight and have to struggle with their weight going up and down. However so many people who try to lose weight find themselves in a constant battle of trying to shed the excess pounds. This does not mean that you are meant to be fat. Even if you have tried to lose weight and it seems as though nothing that you do seems to work. The truth is that unfortunately even if you believe that you have been doing everything to lose weight; you may be missing the most important part.

Most people who are trying to lose weight never learn how to eat the right types of foods that will help their bodies burn the necessary calories that it requires to turn their fat into muscle. On the other hand you have people who learn how to eat food yet they do not add the exercise part to it.

Maybe you are like a lot of people who have a picture of the person that they would like to look like; yet they take no action. While it is true that you have to know what you would like to look like and how much weight you want to lose. However if you are unwilling to get off the couch or quit eating too much; then chances are I am willing to be that you are one of the people who keeps saying “I keep gaining weight.”

Losing weight is not that difficult; however what is difficult is to change the habits that you have been doing on a daily basis that are responsible for you being fat. We are such creatures of habit that we despise change; as a matter of fact many of us fight it and refuse to learn how to develop new habits.

Unless you are truly ready to lose the weight; you will continue saying “why do I keep gaining weight.” Visit our site below and get the truth about how to lose all the weight that you want and how to stop gaining the weight. You do not have to continue to struggle to lose weight; it all comes down to a choice either learn from someone who has accomplished something that you want to do or try to pave your own path.

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Day 17

Wow, I almost forgot to post today.  That would have been a tragedy.  On my other blog I’m a posting queen, I can’t stop now.

Yoga X  6:30-7:30am

I used to hate downward dog.  Seriously, I despised it.  I thought it was the stupidest thing… but with Yoga X I actually adore downward dog, because the rest of the moves are so painful and long I look foward to having all fours on the ground.  I mean seriously, Warrior 3 for thirty seconds?  Who can do that?  If you don’t know what it looks like, imagine a one-legged table.  That’s it.  and it hurts.

I think tomorrow is legs and chest, which means weightlifting.  Thank goodness!  All this cardio is kicking my ass.

On the plus side, I saw my doc the other day and it turns out I’ve lost five pounds since January.  I’m not sure it is all related to these last two weeks of P90x, but it had to have helped quite a bit.  Losing weight is hard for me because of the Type 1 diabetes.  Five pounds is a pretty great achievement.  *pats self on back*

Now I should really put the rest of this giant lasagna and these girl scout cookies away.

Lose Weight Digitally With Paint Shop Pro

Almost everyone would like to change some aspect or another of his or her appearance but trimming a bit of weight always makes the top of the list.

“Paint Shop Pro”, and for that matter many other digital graphics programs, provides an interesting and versatile set of tools that allow the operator to modify a subject’s facial and body features.

Here’s where you can learn about “Paint Shop Pro” and it’s “thinify” tool, and here’s the link to the program’s facial features modifying tools…. Read more. Go to Weight-Watch-Blog

Halfway Through Week Two On Medifast

My oh my, this whole weight loss journey is really turning out to be just that… a journey. I can’t say I’ve ever learned more about myself in such a short period of time. The issues I had with food would be enough to break a normal person down. I was talking about Medifast with my mother, and she was saying how she could never do a diet like this, as it would leave her feeling way too “deprived”. I’ll be honest, there are times when I do feel deprived, but I’ve come to learn that I never really needed those foods or “experiences” that I thought came with that food in the first place. I no longer deserve those luxuries. My body doesn’t “deserve” that type of care any longer.

I learned that once I stopped feeling entitled to certain foods and restaurant experiences, I was much happier on Medifast.

To come to that epiphany, I really had to tell myself that I seriously wanted to be healthy, and that I was really serious about sticking to Medifast until I reach my goal of 150 lbs.  I had to ask myself: What are the pros of being healthier and thinner?

There’s one big reason that I feel trumps them all. This goal is starting a family with my husband. We want to have our first child sometime next year. None of my family knows this yet, although they’ve been bugging us for the last few years about when we’re finally going to have a baby. We’ve been together for almost 10 years. Married for 5. We’ve waited patiently to have kids. We wanted to own our dream home, be more than financially stable… in addition to many other personal goals. A few of the goals have been achieved, and the others are set to happen very soon. We are blessed.

I definitely don’t want to be unhealthy when I have my first child. Although I previously weighed 240 lbs, I was actually very healthy. I ate well for the most part (especially main meals), and I did exercise often. However, I can’t imagine being overweight and getting pregnant is healthy. I know a lot of women have fertility issues when they are overweight, but I haven’t yet experienced this, since we haven’t actually tried to conceive yet. Women in my family are generally very fertile, so I don’t imagine this being an issue.

Either way, I want to be able to savor ever minute of my first pregnancy. Seeing the smallest sign of a baby bump will be so much easier when I am at a healthy weight. I don’t want all of this belly fat in the way of me feeling my baby kick for the first time. I want to be healthy enough to exercise regularly when I’m pregnant, and I want to make childbirth as easy as possible. I know losing my remaining 80 lbs will help pregnancy and childbirth tremendously.

I think losing this 80 lbs will be the first of many  things I can do for my unborn child, well before he or she is even conceived. It just needs to be done. Just like buying the house, being financially stable, and having a life that’s suitable for a child to grow up in.

Is It Just Me, Or Is This Thing Getting Harder?

So in the beginning, hopping on my ROM was a piece of cake. Well not quite; it was difficult but in a ‘tolerable’ way.

Not anymore.

I frequently feel like I’m hyperventilating, every muscle in my body screaming for mercy after just 90 seconds. ROM, our honeymoon is over. Used to be at the gym, when I’d do an exercise for awhile I’d get ‘better’ at it. Y’know, it’d get easier over time and it was up to me use more weight, do more reps, etc. Not so the ROM: It’s getting harder and harder. I emailed one of my ROM coaches to ask: Am I a failure? Is this normal? This is what she said…

Yes, the machine DOES get harder the stronger you get, because you are able to create more resistance, because you are spinning the flywheel faster. You have to imagine a little old lady getting on the machine, and pushing and pulling to her ability, and then a highly trained athlete: one is just barely going to get the flywheel spinning, so not much resistance is created, and the other is going to really get the flywheel going, so the centrifugal brake will be engaging more: so the workout will be harder. So guess what? It means that you have moved over in the spectrum further away from the little old lady and closer to the highly trained athlete…

I plan to test this theory out with my mother or grandmother in the next few months. Should be interesting, eh?

A complete index of ROM Fitness Challange posts can be found here.

Exercise #54 - Breath Regulation

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Welcome to Healing T’ai Chi

The award-winning blog of seated exercises based on Qigong and Yang style T’ai Chi for people of all ages and levels of fitness.

~~~~~~~~~

 ”Chase after money and security

and your heart will never unclench.

Care about people’s approval

and you will be their prisoner.”

Tao Te Ching, #9, translated by S. Mitchell

 ~~~~~~~~~

Benefits - As the name implies, this exercise will help to regulate and deepen your breathing.   Healthful breathing is especially important at this time of the year when we’re spending most of our time indoors and viruses are spread easily from person to person.

Posture - You will be sitting forward on your chair through all of this exercise.  Your feet should be close together rather than shoulder-width apart as we usually place them.

1. Sit with your feet close together, heels touching.  Make fists of your hands with your thumbs inside your fingers.
2. Begin by breathing in slowly through your nose and keep your tongue tucked behind your upper front teeth.
3. Rub your fists upward on the large muscles that run alongside your spine as far as the base of the rib cage.  At the same time,  roll up on the balls of your feet.
4. Now,  exhale slowly as you rub your fists back down again to the top of your pelvis and bring your heels back down to the floor with a slight impact.
5. Repeat steps 2 through 4 six to nine times slowly and with concentration.

Use the acupressure point, Fish Border (Lu10), to further improve your breathing.

 

 

• This point is located on the inside of your hand at the base of the thumb bone.
• Press firmly on this point for a full minute.  Then change hands and press on this point again for a full minute.

Benefits: This point will help to regulate your breathing, relieving shallow breathing, coughing and swollen throats.

 Don’t forget to drink water at the end of your exercise session or any time you begin to feel thirsty.  A Word of Caution…If you have or have had problems with your kidneys, please consult your physician regarding the amount of water appropriate for your condition.

~~~~~~~~~

This week’s featured special report:

http://www.cloudwater.com/chi/meditation/MeditationSpecialReport.pdf

Find great deals on home exercise equipment at the Exercise Equipment Super Store.

T’ai Chi in a Chair: Easy 15-Minute Routines for Beginners is now available exclusively at Barnes and Noble.

http://www.joansweightloss.com

Health Tips.

The Health Shack.

http://realfitnesstx.com

http://discoverandrecover.wordpress.com

http://www.friendly4seniors.com/

http://brainblogger.com/2008/07/03/treating-psychiatric-disorders-something-smells-fishy/

http://passiontobe.wordpress.com/

http://victoria-e.com/

http://www.baby-parenting.com/pregnancy/exercise_pregnancy.html?artid=21

http://www.smallbusinessavenues.com/

http://www.dfwrhn.com/

http://dietandfitness.dmbhate.com/

View this document on Scribd

 

 

 

 

~The exercises in this blog are intended for educational purposes only.  Always consult with your health care provider before beginning a new exercise program.~

Illustration of why it's better to lose 1-2 pounds a week

Last week, I wrote about the importance of losing weight slowly and consistently versus a rapid weight loss program. This week, I am going to give an example of what frequently happens when someone loses weight too fast versus someone who does it at a consistent clip.

As I mentioned before, the body is only capable of losing 1-2 pounds of fat per week so any more than that comes from lean body weight which is weight that we don’t want to lose. For this example, we are going to take a person who is 200 pounds and 30% body fat. This means that the person has 140 pounds of lean body weight and 60 pounds of fat. I am going to go through two separate scenarios with this person to show my point.

Scenario 1- This person decides to go on a crash diet or a very low calorie diet. This person could very easily lose 30 pounds over the span of 5 weeks. If we average this weight loss out to 5 pounds a week, then in a best case scenario, this person would have lost 8 pounds of fat and 22 pounds of lean weight.  What results is that this person is actually less healthy at 170 pounds than he was at 200 pounds because his body fat percentage is still 30% and he has lost 22 pounds of valuable lean weight. What makes this example even worse is what happens next. 95% of the time a crash diet will fail within 6 weeks and the person puts back on all of the weight that was lost. In this case, if this person puts back on 30 pounds, he won’t put on 22 pounds of lean weight and only 8 pounds of fat. The likely outcome will be the reverse and he’ll put on 20 pounds of fat weight and 10 pounds of lean weight. The result will be that this person will be back to 200 pounds but with a body fat of 36%. He will have gone from 60 pounds of fat weight up to 72 pounds of fat weight because of the crash diet.

Scenario 2- The same person follows a program which includes a balanced and healthy diet with strength training. If the person is focused on losing 1-2 pounds a week the after 6 weeks, this person will only have lost 10  pounds but it will all be fat weight. After 6 weeks, this person would be 190 lbs but his body fat percentage would have dropped down to 26%. Another 6 weeks and 10 pounds of fat later, his body fat would have dropped to 22% and finally another 6 weeks and 10 pounds later and his body fat would have dropped to 17%.

As you can see, scenario 1 lost 30 pounds in 5 weeks but paid for the rapid weight loss by losing mostly lean weight. He also had the added negative  benefit of gaining back mostly fat. Scenario 2 took 18 weeks to lose 30 pounds, almost 4 times as long but this person was able to lose 12 percent body fat and 30 pounds of fat in that time.

Feel free to comment or ask questions. Any involvement would be greatly appreciated.

3 month checkup

So I had my 3 month checkup, last Thrusday. They seemed happy with my 32 lbs weightloss and that it’s about in line with everyone elses progress in the clinical trial. I wish it was more, but I think part of this is my fault, I think I need to work more on my head and remember that I need to control what I eat and exercise more.

Anyways, at this appointment the did an EGD to check my tummy and the sutures… basically they wanted to see how they were holding up. I guess there was a disruption of 1-2 centimeters, but I don’t know what that means for me, because the Dr never came back in to talk to me. Which has me all curious and a little peeved. I realize I am a clinical trial patient but still I have questions I want to ask. But I called the reseach nurse, Deeann, and hopefully she will call back and be able to answer my questions.

Speed Up Your Weight Loss With Interval Training

Burn More Fat With Interval Training

Interval training is highly popular as a very effective way of burning fat. At the same time, it is also a first-rate method of improving cardio-vascular fitness.

Interval training involves alternating high intensity bursts of activity with lower intensity stages of recovery. Because the body’s aerobic and anaerobic systems are overloaded at the same time, you get the benefit of training both at once.

As a high intensity training method, it is certainly harder work than lower intensity training, but the benefits can be seen much more quickly.

How interval training works.

The interval training technique can be applied to pretty much any exercise, e.g. running, rowing, swimming, cycling etc. Taking running as an example, you’d start with the usual warm-up for 5-10 minutes at a low to moderate intensity. Then increase the pace to a sprint for one minute. At the end of the minute, lower the intensity by slowing down to about half the speed to allow your body to recover. Stay at this rate for about 2 minutes before starting the next high-intensity minute. Keep alternating these two periods.

Depending on your fitness level, you might not want to push yourself too hard during the higher intensity periods at first. However, you’ll quickly find that your fitness improves and you’ll soon be able to increase the speed or duration of the high intensity bursts.

Some exercise machines such as running, cycling, rowing machines and elliptical trainers have an interval training setting as one of the built-in programmes. They’ll allow you to set two speeds or resistance levels and press a button to toggle between the two. If the machines at your gym don’t have interval training pre-programmed, you can simply change the speed or resistance setting manually.

Don’t think that interval training has to be confined to machines in the gym either. If you prefer exercising in the great outdoors, this training method is easily employed in activities such as running and cycling simply by speeding up and slowing down.

The science behind interval training The intensity of the high intensity bursts should be high enough that you would not be able to maintain them for long. During these periods, your body will use the anaerobic system for energy, the by-product of which is lactic acid. Lactic acid builds up in the muscles causing the ‘burn’ and creating what is referred to as an ‘oxygen debt’.

During the lower intensity periods, the heart and lungs must work to repay the oxygen debt by delivering oxygen to get rid of the lactic acid. This period trains the body’s aerobic energy system. The trick is, not to slow down too much during the lower intensity periods; you don’t want the heart rate to drop too much otherwise the aerobic training effect is reduced.

What are the benefits of interval training?

Alternating your intensity is far more interesting than exercising at the same intensity for long periods of time. As it is more intense overall, you’ll also burn more energy in less time. This means your workouts can be shorter and more fun and still burn more fat.

Working at high intensity also stimulates your metabolism, so that after you finish your workout, you’ll continue to burn fat at a higher rate than if you’d exercised for longer at a lower intensity.

The cardio-vascular system is trained more quickly doing this type of training compared with longer periods of lower intensity exercise.

Long duration endurance training is often associated with injuries because of the repetitive stresses placed on joints and soft-tissues. Because interval training is less repetitive, it is a good way to reduce risk of these types of injuries.

Written by Simon White

This is an article from my online fitness magazine you get free with your monthly membership to: Bray Fitness A to Z

Week One

265.5lbs

100.5lbs to go

I can’t consider yesterday to today a “loss” as it was the difference between after-dinner (and eating all day) to first thing in the morning just after peeing and no food.

I guess I could celebrate though that last night I had a huge chicken salad and some good exercise. Ahem. In this case “exercise” is code for “sexy time with the hubby”…

In my defense….I’ve got the worst cold of my life, and my poor baby boy has it too. It’s not very conducive to eating well, exercising, cleaning my house….well, you get the point.

Ah. The wee man is calling for his breakfast. Off I go!

Day 10

DAY 10 DIARY:

Breakfast: cheerios.

Lunch: xxx.

Soda Pop: none.

Coffee: 1 cup with creamer & sugar

Alcohol: xxx

Dinner: xxx

Snacks: xxx

Exercise: xxx.

Marriage: Started off very rocky today. A lot of it had to with my wife walking into the garage, seeing the heavy bag & stand and yelling “WHAT is THAT?!” which launched a “discussion” about finances.

Calorie Count Day 2

Ok, today i had a total calorie count of 1195:

Breakfast - Raisin Brand  180

                    - milk                     65

                                               = 245

Lunch - yogurt  150

              - grapefruit  100

                                   = 250

Dinner - fish sandwich 480

               - soup  220

                         = 700

 

I went to the gym for an hour and a half.  It was cardio day.  I did 20 mins on ellipticals level 4, dist. 0.7 miles. 20 mins on treadmill walking on incline 4.5 at a speed of 3.5, dist. 1.23 miles. 20 mins on the bike level 4, dist. 5.1 miles.  After that i did push ups, crunches, leg ups, plank, and stretched.

My overall intake wasnt bad….shouldnt had that wendy’s fish, but hey i was cravin it.

Tomorrow is saturday, i may to some taebo we will see how that goes; I usually rest on the weekend.

How Drinking Water Can Help You Lose Weight

You probably know that water is good for you, but despite knowing it’s good for them, most people don’t actually drink enough!

One reason why I would recommend that you aim to drink plenty of water is that water helps you to function as a human being.  If your system is only slightly deficient in water, which, unfortunately, many of us are without realising it, the body cannot function on all cylinders, and as a coach, I want for you to be firing on all cylinders, and raring to go!

I could write a whole book on the benefits of water, but to keep this short and sweet, I would just like to draw a few facts to your attention.  Did you know, for example that with only a slight deficiency in water (perhaps 4%), you could be losing up to 30% of mental capacity.  Now, I don’t know about you, but I think that is a good reason to drink some of the stuff!

You probably already know that water helps flush through your system, and takes away waste and toxins, but how about this for those of us who would like to lose a few pounds… an increase in water intake can actually reduce fat deposits (and studies have shown that a decrease in water intake will cause fat deposits to increase)!

You may also be interested to know that water naturally suppresses the appetite and that many people mistake thirst for hunger and eat when they really need to drink some water!

So how much water is enough?  Well, there are differing opinions on this, but a good level to aim for most people is 2 Litres a day (more if the weather is hot, or if you’re exercising a lot).  That’s 2 Litres of water, drunk as water, and not as tea, coffee, juice, fizzy drinks, or any other form of liquid.  In fact, drinking anything that contains caffeine (or alcohol) means that you should drink extra water to compensate for the diuretic effect.  Again, there are differing opinions on this, and current thinking is that if you drink coffee or other types of drink then it will help with your total liquid intake total, but personally,  I don’t think you can beat pure water, the stuff of life )

Mediterranean Thinking

People who eat more like the traditional foods of the Mediterranean seem to be more likely to hold onto their thinking and remembering abilities as they age. Researchers found indications of that when they checked for mild cognitive impairment, which is a stage between normal thinking abilities and dementia.

Nikolaos Scarmeas of Columbia University Medical Center looked at data on Mediterranean eating patterns, which include lots of fish and plant-based foods, and less meat and dairy.

[Nikolaos Scarmeas speaks] “People who were following more closely the diet had approximately 28 percent less risk of developing mild cognitive impairment – which is a considerable reduction.’’

The study in Archives of Neurology was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

-Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat

Looks Aren't Everything... for example...

Baba Ghanouj. It isn’t pretty, but it is very tasty. I made a batch this evening, and realized that it isn’t the most photogenic food. Like many things, looks aren’t everything!

I hope everyone made it through humpday. We saw the sun today for the first time in several days, and it perked me right up! All the gloomy days just make the sun seem sunnier! I had a good day at work, and then came home to the rest of my egg salad from last night’s batch. I’m going to have to make some more. I forgot how much I like it! I also came home to an eggplant:

I’ve had plans for this eggplant for several days now, and I finally got the chance to turn him into Baba Ghanouj. If you are a fan of hummus, I think that you might really dig this dish too. The recipe I use is not my own. It comes from Arabesque: A Taste of Morocco, Turkey and Lebanon by Claudia Roden. I think this is one of the prettiest cookbooks on my shelf:

If you are in the market for a cookbook full of fresh, interesting and generally healthy recipes, I have to recommend this one. I’ve made several things from this book, modifying a few recipes to reduce the amount of fat, and I’ve loved them all. I always divide the Baba Ghanouj recipe in half, but you should know that the proportions below are easily doubled. The ingredients are basically straight from the book, but I’ve written out the instructions based on the way I prepare it. 

Eggplant and Tahini Dip “Baba Ghanouj”

from Arabesque by Claudia Roden, p. 248

Ingredients:

1 eggplant

1 1/2 Tbsp. of tahini (Sesame Paste)

Juice of 1 lemon

1/2 cup plain, nonfat Greek yogurt

1 garlic clove, crushed

1/4 tsp. salt

 1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

chopped parsley

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees. Prick the skin of the eggplant four or five times with a fork, and place the eggplant on a baking sheet. Roast it in the oven for 45-55 minutes, depending on the size of the eggplant. It should look shriveled and be soft. Remove the eggplant from the oven and allow it to cool. When it has cooled, remove the skin and place the flesh of the eggplant into a strainer or sieve. When removing the skin, I just sort of tear the skin apart and scrape the flesh off of the skin with the side of a fork or knife. Press out as much liquid as possible, and then use a spoon to chop/mash/pulverize the eggplant while it is still in the sieve, allowing the juices to continue to escape.

In a bowl, beat the tahini and the lemon juice. I just used a fork for this. It may take a minute for it to really turn into a nice paste. After it becomes a smooth paste, beat in the yogurt. Add the mashed eggplant, the garlic and the salt and beat it vigorously with the fork. Adjust the salt and garlic to taste. I like a lot of garlic so I used 2 cloves instead of one.

Ms. Roden suggests spreading this onto a flat serving dish, drizzling it with the olive oil and topping it with a sprinkle of parsley. I’ve certainly had it that way when dining out, and I’d do that if I had guests. Since it is just me (and since most of it was going in the fridge for later), I mixed it all together in another piece of my retro pyrex that is made for fridge storage. I went ahead and mixed in the olive oil after snapping the photo too. Oh, and I didn’t have any parsley, but I’m not going to lose any sleep over that. If I happen to go to the store tomorrow, I might pick some up because it is kind of nice on top, but it isn’t necessary. 

This makes 6 unofficial 1 point servings.

You’ve seen the eggplant before roasting. Here’s the after:

I also wanted to show you a photo of the eggplant being mashed in the sieve. It was really pretty bland looking so I posed my little chef smurf nearby to add a little hit of smurfy color:

He tasted the final product and thought it was quite good. I have to agree with him! I have some yummy veggies that are going to go very well with this tomorrow. Tomorrow is a food diary day, so expect to see a delicious pile of this glop! Seriously, if you are looking for a way to reward yourself for accomplishing a healthy goal or if you are just looking for new books to add to your collection, I really have to recommend Arabesque! 

Now, I’m up past my bedtime so I need to make some tea and head to bed with my book. I have a little bit of a cough, and I think that peppermint tea may really hit the spot. Good night, kids!

Lies!! All Lies!!

That’s right!! I LIED!!! With the best intentions of course.

Ok so for the past few days I’ve been doing the 30 Day Shred in place of my normal treadmill run. I started it because we moved and the treadmill is currently banished to a TVless basement. Now, running on that thing with entertainment is torture enough, but I refuse to run without any distractions. (Music just isn’t enough for me.) Thus the 30 Day Shred. I started it with every intention of simply replacing my normal M-F routine with this DVD. Then I got ambitious and said maybe I would do it for the full 30 days straight… LIES! The very next Saturday I took the day off… and the next day… and the next day (Well kinda… I’ll get to that.)

The past few weeks I have been a stress bucket. This is not normal for me. Usually I am optimistic and upbeat… a genuinely happy person. Well, moving is stressful… getting sick is stressfull… unpacking is stressfull… cleaning the old house is stressful… the list goes on. In the midst of all this stress I was severely lacking my favorite time of the day - “me time”. It’s the time when I get a break. It used to be the time when I would run to a TV show for an hour, then make lunch, then veg out until the grumbletron woke up (yes “Grumbletron” - it is one of my hubby’s nicknames for the girl.) My “me time” has been non-existent lately. Sadly the Shred is partially to blame. You see, if I’m watching workout people while working out I’m not getting any kind of treat. I love my TV shows. They are a pleasant escape from reality… I only get to watch one per day… Somewhere in the inner depths of my brain Desperate Housewives makes me feel warm and fuzzy while Jillian Michaels only makes me feel muscle pain.

Not to say that it’s a bad workout - it’s not!! But I can’t sacrifice my sanity for a good workout.

“So,” you ask, “How are you going to keep up your exercise?” Good question! For the past two days I have run very tight very dumb looking circles around my living room while the TV plays. Yesterday Ugly Betty watched me alternate walking and running… doing jumping jacks when that got old… butt kicks when that was hard… jump rope (without the rope) when my legs were about to fall off…. then rinse and repeat. I figure as long as I’m moving for the full TV show that I’m getting in something. And hear me on this, I am most certainly breaking a sweat and feeling it!

Ultimately I would like to get into a routine where I run 3 days a week and do something like The Shred for 2 days. Muscle building is very important to the weight loss process and I don’t want to neglect it!! But I also don’t want to be the scary stress monster from the swamp of doom. It’s a compromise.

So what have we learned here? 1.) You can get cardio in anywhere. You don’t have to have a treadmill or a gym membership to burn some calories. (Oh and yes, you “state the obvious” people out there, I do plan on getting outside and running, but it’s been cold and rainy so that much more logical solution will have to wait.) And 2.) you need to find something that’s right for you. The Shred is not right for me. On a workout stance it is AWESOME and I would love to do it… while watching Grey’s Anatomy… maybe I’ll write down the intervals and figure out a way to do it without watching it, but the bottom line is the video does not work for me.

Quick warning because I’m OCD… it’s easy just to say “I don’t enjoy any exercise so I guess I won’t do it”. Every exercise super stinks in the beginning. I do not enjoy working out and people who do disturb me. (No, seriously if you love working out I will look at you with a mixture of awe and respect while wondering what kind of extraterrestrial species you are.) That said, some things work better than others. The point is to keep moving!!

Dried Fruit is a Healthy Way to Satisfy a Sweet Tooth

*This article was written by Barbara Minton and edited for length by me. To see the full article, please find the link at the bottom*

What could be better than giving your sweet tooth what it craves while giving your body the nutrients it needs for vibrant health? Recent studies have shown that dried fruit is a treasure chest of nutrients. It’s also a way to eat favorite fruits when they are out of season.

Eating nutrient dense fruit helps with weight loss

Eating fruit has been shown to do everything from reducing the risk of cancer to helping with weight loss. Eating nutrient dense fruit sends a powerful signal to the body that it is being properly nourished. When the body is well nourished, the hormone leptin will turn off the urge to eat.

Fruit provides a rapid increase in energy level for activity and exercise. It has been shown in studies to help reduce blood pressure due to its positive sodium to potassium ratio. Fruit reduces risk of cardiovascular disease, and keeps cancer away. It keeps cholesterol ratios looking good, helps prevent diabetes, and slows the aging process.

The drying process removes most of the water, making everything about dried fruit more concentrated including its nutrients. For example, the antioxidant power of dried blueberries can be as much as four times higher than their fresh counterparts.

Dried fruit is a research star

Dried fruit is loaded with vitamins, minerals and vital enzymes.

Consuming dried plums slows the development of atherosclerosis, the buildup of waxy plaque inside blood vessels. This in turn slows the development of cardiovascular disease and may reverse the buildup of plaque in veins and arteries.

Eating dried black raspberries prevents the development of cancer by restoring carcinogen altered and damaged genes to their normal state.

The infection fighting power of dried cranberries comes from its high antioxidant capacity. Antioxidants combat free radical production in the body, a function that many scientists believe gives fruits the ability to combat the aging process.

Dried berries decreased tumor number and tumor size, and decreased expression of genes implicated in colon cancer.

Which dried fruits make the best choices?

Raisins are rich in boron, iron, potassium calcium and the B vitamins, and are a good source of fiber. The health benefits of raisins include protection from gum disease and cavities, osteoporosis, and macular degeneration. Raisins are as beneficial to eye sight as carrots. The resveratrol in raisins provides the body with many of the benefits of eating a calorie restricted diet.

Apricots are rich in fiber, beta-carotene, Vitamins A and C, magnesium, iron, calcium, phosphorus, silicone, and potassium. Apricots are also rich in lycopene, a powerful antioxidant that protects against cancer, particularly of the prostate, larynx, esophagus, lungs and prostrate. Their ability to scavenge free radicals helps prevent cataract formation, while their high fiber content helps prevent constipation and digestive conditions such as diverticulosis.

Cherries are a good source of vitamins A and C and potassium. They contain pectin and antocyanins, which are flavonoids linked to the prevention of cancer and heart disease. One study found cherries to be potent antibacterial agents that help prevent tooth decay and plaque formation. They are also a time proven treatment for arthritis and gout. Cherries have one of the highest levels of anti-aging free radicals of any food, giving them superfood status. Cherries have been found to help regulate the body’s natural sleep patterns, and help recovery from jet lag. They have been shown to aid people with memory loss. Dried cherries can be added to salads and desserts, but they are supreme right out of the bag.

Cranberries keep the urinary tract clean and may prevent tumors from developing. Cranberries have powerful effects on heart disease, yeast infections, cancer, stroke, and viral infections. Regular consumption of cranberries can kill the H. pylori bacteria, known for causing stomach cancer and ulcers. Extracts of chemicals found in cranberries prevent breast cancer cells from multiplying in test tube experiments. Dried cranberries make a great addition to all types of cooked meats, sweet potatoes, salads, and casseroles. They can be tossed with olive oil, parmesan and pasta.

Apples supply a high level of the bone protective mineral boron, along with an osteoporosis fighting flavanoid found only in apples, called phloridzin. Studies have found that apples lower asthma symptoms in children, and women who eat lots of apples during pregnancy have lower rates of asthmatic children. The quercetin in apples may protect brain cells from the kind of free radical damage that leads to Alzheimer’s disease. Pectin in apples lowers LDL cholesterol. Quercetin and naringin are responsible for the 50 percent lower rates of lung cancer in frequent apple eaters. A Cornell University study found that rats eating apples every day reduced their risk of breast cancer by up to 44 percent. Apple eating rats had a 43 percent lower rate of colon cancer primarily due to the pectin in apples, and they had a 57 percent lower risk of liver cancer. Pectin also supplies galaturonic acid which lowers the body’s need for insulin. Apples make a great afternoon energy booster. They can be added to chicken or tuna salad. Mix apples with grapes, walnuts and a touch of organic mayonnaise for a Waldorf Salad.

Don’t let this list be confining. All dried fruits contain a wealth of nutrients and provide a host of health benefits.

Choosing and using dried fruits

Organic dried fruits are free of additives. In addition, organic dried fruit has been sun dried or dried at temperatures low enough so that vitamins and enzymes remain intact.

Dried fruits should be stored in tightly closed glass containers in the refrigerator. Stored this way, or in their original unopened packaging, they can be kept for a year or more.

Full Article: http://www.naturalnews.com/025471.html