The shape of things

It's Halloween today and chances are you have some plans either with a big candy jar at the end of the day or at a party with a big cocktail glass. Today is a great day to remind yourself of the benefits of a healthy lifestyle - in hopes that you'll go easy on the candy and cocktails.

MSNBC put together a list of how to exorcise your fitness demons. It's such a great play on words - and a great article - that I decided I'd share it with you today.

Thought this pic was funny. Adrian Grenier gets rid of his fitness demons by becoming Richard Simmons?? (source)

So what are your demons?

If it's always coming up with excuses not to workout - MSNBC says you should create a detailed schedule for the week including time and type of exercise (i.e. monday- 4:30 p.m. run 30 mintes, tue/thur - 5:30 p.m. pilates). This way it will be harder to make excuses if it's already planned into your schedule in the first place.

If you think you're chained to your desk - MSNBC says it's time you learn to let go of being able to finish everything and leave work at the end of a work day, at a decent time.

If you have a terrible diet - You eat healthy the first couple of days, then go way downhill from there - you need to remember that having small treats is not a bad thing, and in fact, if you don't you'll probably continue to spiral downward every week. (See yesterday's post)

If you drink too much - Remember that those cocktails have lots of calories, so a couple of drinks after work could lead to hundreds of calories. If that's the way you unwind, it may be time to find other ways to relieve stress - maybe yoga, massage, pedicures, warm baths.

Read the article here. Have a Happy Halloween!

I read this column today in the New York Times about one woman's healthy-eating philosophy. Sure we see a lot of these exposes of how people "stay so thin" etc. but something about this column really stuck out to me...

ICE CREAM! This woman keeps a ton of ice cream in her freezer - yet is still able to remain thin. She shares with readers how she does it - no deprivation. She talks about how when she tried for a year to lose weight by depriving herself of her favorite sweet treat, she was miserable and also found herself overindulging guiltfully.

So her approach now is to have her cake and eat it too (well her ice cream, that is).

She buys ice cream that is less than 150 calories per serving but never buys fat free or sugar free. She also bought bowls that can only fit 1/2 cup (which is a serving of ice cream) and she only eats that much a day. She tells herself that if she ever eats more than the 1/2 cup serving she'll throw away all of her ice cream - so she never does it.

I think we too often hear of diets and eating habits that encourage deprivation and labeling bad foods. This woman's philosophy is so much better - and so much more in line with my philosophy. (You know my affinity for ice cream is in line with Reese Witherspoon's)

We aren't just trying to lose ten pounds. We are trying to adopt a lifestyle that will keep us healthy for the rest of our lives. By doing these silly diets and obsessing over calorie counts and carbs, we set ourselves up for failure because we won't be able to do that for the rest of our lives - well we won't WANT TO do that for the rest of our lives.

Read her column and take some of her tips. She's a smart cookie and you can be one too!

I'm a huge advocate of counting calories for weight loss. It wasn't until I fully understood the concept of calories in needs to be less than or equal to calories out that I started actually losing weight. I did it the old-fashioned way. I got a notebook and wrote down every single thing I consumed - food and drink - and tallied up the calories to make sure I was meeting my goals.

I saw this article today on MSNBC about how sometimes counting calories doesn't add up. At first I was skeptical. But then after reading through the article I realized they were right.

The whole point was that if all you do is count calories then you'll most likely consume very "low-fat" foods and possibly (probably) miss out on many of the nutrition powerhouses (think olive oil and almonds).

I'm not sure if any of you are in the process of trying to lose weight - but if you are I'd encourage you to read the article and take their advice. They have simple tips like "pile on more produce" and "eat every meal" so it's not like these goals are unobtainable.

Also, my advice is to go to mypyramid.gov. Type in your information (age, gender, weight) and follow their tips! They tell you how many servings of fruit/veggies you need, how much protein, how much whole grains, etc.

It will look like this:

 

That was another important part of my food-journaling notebook - a little chart I'd create each day that had tally marks for each category of the "food pyramid"

Here's an example: 

Yes, it takes a little bit longer. But if you're already in the habit of counting calories, it's just one small thing to add. When you  finish your meal you count calories and then put marks under the food eaten. This meal the person had a whole grain ham sandwich (two grains, two meats) a serving of cherry tomatoes and a small apple (1 veg, 1 fruit) and then a glass of milk (1 milk).

Not too difficult.  

I recently read this post at Fitsugar about PETA's new ad campaign. It features a naked Alicia Silverstone swimming around and exposing her nude butt on national television - and this is supposed to convince us to become vegetarians? Many people commented about the ad and the general consensus (in my mind) was that the ad was more sex and not very much veg. Obviously PETA is trying to imply that if you go vegetarian you can become sexy and skinny like Alicia.

When I saw this research study today about low calorie - vegetarian diets having little difference than a low calorie - omnivorous diet - it reminded me of this advertisement. The study watched obese and overweight people following a low cal veg diet and low cal meat diet to see if either group's diet had a different effect on their health. Interestingly, neither diet had a significant difference. read more. But, both groups did lose weight and had healthy changes in their bodies. 

I'm not for or against either type of diet, but it does aggravate me when people assume that their diet is the high-moral ground, and everyone else is somewhere below them.

Obviously the important thing about staying healthy is having a well-rounded diet, low in calories and fat, high in fiber and getting proper nutrients. So whether you're a meat eater or a veggie, make sure that your food choices are healthy and don't assume that you're way is the only way.  

Going along with yesterday's "Don't Judge" theme - an article I found today on MSNBC talked about 7 secret healthy foods. They go over seven foods that are usually judged as unhealthy, high in cholesterol and get an all-around bad rep. BUT, they talk about how with certain modifications, these foods are actually quite healthy.

Intrigued?

1. Eggs - great source of protein, low calorie (75 for a medium egg) and contains 13 essential nutrients! How should you eat them? As natural as possible, scramble, boiled or poached mixed with veggies work well.

2. White Potatoes - ever since Atkins deemed these carb-evil, potatoes have had a very bad rep. But despite the fact that they are filled with carbs - they are filled with the good-for-you carbs, the ones that our bodies and brains need for energy! And they contain a lote of vitamen c and other minerals. 

3. PIZZA - this one made me smile. Pizzas can either be a health-nightmare OR a well-rounded meal. Made with whole-grain crust, minimum cheese and lots of veggies it can be a meal that touches all food groups. 

4. Beef - just one 3-ounce serving contains half of your daily protein!! And it also has zinc, B12, selenium (which helps with belly fat) B6, and Iron. It still is what's for dinner.

5. Sugary Cereal - I'm a sucker for these, having grown up eating it every morning. Most of these cereals actually contain a lot vitamins and minerals and fiber from whole grains. Just make sure the one you buy has few ingredients and the first one is whole  wheat or rolled oats.

6. Canned Fruits and Vegetables - These are not worse than fresh produce, and they last longer! Did you knowthat if you rinse beans or canned veggies under water you can actually wash away a lot of the sodium? Awesome.

7. Oysters - Perfect timing since the season just opened, oysters are a good source of protein and omega-3 fatty acids. Six oysters have about 1/3 of the daily recommendation of Omega-3s.  

Read the full article here to get more great tips on how to eat these 7 healthy foods and to learn more about why they're so healthy. (Tip, once you click on the link, you may have to choose the "print" option to view the full article, don't know why, but just a heads up!)

Found a couple of interesting articles in the food and diet arena:

1. The Skinny on Spicy Foods: growing up in South Louisiana this article really hit home. It features several reasons why spicy foods are good for you. The good for you spices include red pepper, turmeric, curry and spices in chiles. 

Adding spices to your diet can curb hunger, strengthen muscles, boost your brainpower and improve mood, new research shows. Plus, you get instant big-time flavor for a few calories and nearly zero fat.

 Ready to reap the spicy benefits? Use these recipes that include those spices: Hot Pepper Chicken, Middle Eastern Lamb Burgers, Wolfgang Puck's curried Chicken Satay, and Jambasta.

 

2.  Can Drinking water make you skinny? Nope, sorry. Although it benefits every cell in your body, hydrates your skin, and improves your mood - but it doesn't help you lose weight.

Women's magazines and diet gurus have long promised that if you gulp a lot of water, you'll feel full and eat less, and the pounds will melt away. If only it were that easy. Unfortunately, that's one of the biggest diet myths out there.

But just because it won't make you skinny, still drink it! Especially if you replace water for your sugary-calorie-laden drinks like soda or fruit juice - then it could actually help you lose weight because you'll be taking in less calories.  

I'm not sure if any of you attempted any of the EASY recipes from last week, but I had so much fun putting it together that I decided to do it again this week. So get shopping and start cooking some meals that will blow your family away.

Sunday: 5-Vegetable Fried Rice with 5-spice pork this one is a little higher in the calorie content BUT the HUGE amount of veggies in it makes up for it (in my book) This makes a ton, so it's a great leftover for a few lunches...

Monday: Moroccan Beef Patties - These are delicious. I usually make up some rice instead of couscous and serve with a small salad. I also sometimes make them a bit smaller than the recipe calls for therefore the nutrition content stays down a bit and we have leftovers the next day.

Tuesday: Pulled Chicken - This recipe is actually for a sandwich which Rachael smothers in cheese but I modified it for more of a dinner by just making the chicken and serving it with a great side dish. This chicken tastes amazingly like you got it at a small BBQ joint - and it's so light!

Wednesday: Pineapple Shrimp Kebabs - These take a little longer to prepare (cutting the veggies and soaking and threading the skewers) but they are so great - light, fruit and veggie filled. Yum.

Thursday: Marinated Flank steak - This dish is great and you marinate it for 45 minutes - 2 hours and it comes out tasting like it's been soaking all day! So lean and light (but remember to eat about 4 ounces - size of the palm)

Friday: Lemony Chicken Milanese - This is a surprisingly easy dish that comes out tasting pretty gourmet, get a bottle of white wine or light red wine (mmm... pinot noir). Not quite as "healthy" as the others, but it's Friday so you can splurge a little, right?

Saturday: Sausage, Egg and Cheese Turnover - Breakfast for dinner - perfect for saturday evening. These taste great. Italian sausage, egg and cream cheese all up in a puff pastry turnover. Sigh. So great - and around 400-435 calories per turnover - priceless.

 

I've mentioned the Website Fitday.com before in a few other posts. Basically it's an online food journal - free - but so much more. In addition to recording the food you ate, you can log your exercise and create physical and nutritional goals for yourself (even with deadlines! i.e. lose 5 pounds by Sept. 21).

I've been using it all summer - just because I'm a little OCD about food/workouts journaling and I hated carrying a notebook around all the time (AND wasting paper). 

The feature I'm so in love with right now is the "nutritional report" section. If you have a fitday account (if you don't go get one, they're free) log in and on the right side click on the "Reports" link. Once you are on that page go to the Nutrition link, and click to generate your report. It will look something like this. 

As you can see the report analyzes all the food you've journaled and lets you know how much of each vitamin and mineral you've had that day and what percenatge of the recommended dailly allowance you're at. The numbers in red mean that you haven't met the RDA yet. So as you can see, for me today I haven't had enough Vitamin D, E, K. I'm a little low on iron and zine (89% and 95% respecitvely) and I'm low in calcium and magnesium.

It may seem like a bunch of random numbers to you - but look at it this way. I see that I'm lacking in some vitamins and in calcium so I know in a few minutes I'll go to the fridge and grab a glass of milk and a banana.

So perhaps you're an avid multi-vitamin taker, well with these reports you can try to get all your vitamins and minerals using the food you eat instead of relying on a pill.

Here's a close up of this detailed information:

I'll tell you the truth, at first using the journal can be tedious because you have to search for all the foods and what not, but with this feature alone it's worth it!

Other great features? Calories burned by workouts, percentages of fat/protein/carbs, weight goals, nutritional goals, etc. 

I'd love to share with you a few of my favorite recipes and create a "menu" for this next week. You won't find the nutrition content count on these recipes but it's not too difficult to calculate them yourself. Part of what I learned when I started cooking is that having the exact count isn't always necessary. Be aware of the ingredients and make sure the not-so-good ingredients are in moderation. 

Sunday - Hoison Pork Roast - a slow cooker meal. It cooks all day and comes out so tender. Make it in the morning and have it at dinner. You'll have leftovers for lunch all week long!

Monday -  Hot Pepper Chicken under a Brick - I made this one last night and it was delicious. It takes about 30 minutes top. Love it. Little prep too, so it's a perfect Monday recipe.

Tuesday - Flank Steak with Chimichurri - This one also takes very little prep time and you cook the steak in a broiler so no need for the grill. Comes out delicious. Flank steak is one of the leanest steaks but make sure you eat around 4 ounces, not more than that. (It's about the size of a palm)

Wednesday  - Spinach Salad with Shrimp and Feta - This recipe is very easy and it's delicious. The sauce on the shrimp and salad is very light and you can go easy on the feta to keep the calories in check.

Thursday - Middle Eastern Lamb Burgers - This one is a little higher in calorie/fat content, but it's lovely. You can make the burgers smaller in size to keep the nutrition content in check and you can use half a whole-wheat pita instead of a roll as your "bun." 

Friday - Chicken Frico - I think chicken gets a bad rep for being "boring" but this recipe is far from it. The chicken's cooked in the broiler so it's super fast. The "gremolata" is incredibly simple but delicious. The frico is optional (cheese crisps).  

Saturday - Parmesan-Crusted Tilapia - Not your typical "healthy fish" (grilled with no flavor). These fish are dredged in parm cheese and then baked. Hey, cheese has calcium and it's better than frying them. ENJOY!  

Happy eating!  

Part of living a healthy lifestyle is eating healthy. In fact, it's a HUGE part. You can exercise your heart out, but if you're eating too much or eating an unhealthy diet, you'll see little - if any - results.

Many women (and men) start a healthy diet with full force - counting calories and fat and trying to get the right amount of water/veggies/fruit etc. Unfortunately a lot of times this leads to a very blah diet. They'll eat chicken and veggies every night for dinner and the same salad for lunch. Obviously this would be very tough to keep up for a lifetime.

I made this mistake. But, soon after I started a healthy lifestyle I got married and found out that I love to cook. Before, I'd make very small, healthy and unimaginative meals for myself. They were a little boring, very blah and very similar. But with a new husband, I wanted to cook something more exciting, tasteful and yummy. I started using recipes from Rachael Ray and Bon Appetit.

At first I was very scared because the recipes called for olive oil! Which I knew had a lot of calories - but as I did my research I found out that the fats in olive oil are good fats and that without good fats in your body it's hard for it to function well. I read about how people on low-fat diets don't get enough heart-healthy fats which actually puts them more at risk for some diseases.