Well, despite my best efforts, I did gain a tiny bit of weight over the break. Fortunately, it was only 1.9 pounds. For a skinny person, that might be a lot. But for me, that is practically what one day of eating salty food can do. So, that being said, I am very proud that I didn’t grossly overeat over the Holidays. In fact, despite the fact that my grandparents bought a pie every few days (even buying a one just this Saturday when I traveled back to school), I only splurged the three days around Christmas. Other than that, I often turned down dessert and insisted on cooking a huge vat of vegetable stir fry mix that we ate for several days. Cooking healthy food in large portions can help when trying to lose weight, since you’ll have healthy food ready to eat. After all, once it’s cooked, it’s as easy to reheat as spaghettios or any other easily prepared food.
In case anyone is curious about how to cook a big vat of vegetable stir fry, it is pretty easy. You just have to grab a bunch of varieties of produce, add some soy & teriyaki sauce (or alternatives if you have a problem with salt content), put in a small bag of lean chicken, add some sesame seeds (or maybe a small amount of chopped nuts), cook up some rice or gluten free pasta (preferably “brown” or wheat) and you’re pretty much good to go. The rice or pasta is cooked seperately, but everything else can go in one big pot/skillet and cook together. The ingredients I used included:
Lean Chicken
Red Bell Pepper
Green Bell Pepper
Carrots
Brocolli
Green Bean Pods
Beets
Diced, stewed tomatoes
Red Cabbage
Water Chestnuts
Sesame Seeds
Garlic
Cumin
Oregano
Rosemary
Thyme
I wanted to mention that Discovery Health is again putting on the National Body Challenge for 2009! They have a lot of great tools available to help you plan your weight loss. I myself have signed up, and am having a great time checking out all the tools. The features included are great! They even create a day by day diet plan including recipes as well as a fitness plan, motivational guides, and a 30 day free trial membership to Bally’s Fitness! Unfortunately for me, there isn’t a Bally’s Fitness where I live, but they are pretty wide spread, so you may be able to find one close to you.
Anyhow, if you are new to weight loss, and don’t know all the calculations and specifics of dieting and exercising, then the tools they provide are great! It is a very simple, easy to follow plan. So, if you are interested, you can sign up for free at Discover Health. Don’t worry, this isn’t an affiliate program or anything, it is purely a free weight loss tool.
Ugh. Nothing is worse than wasting part of your vacation time being sick. Of course, I have had a great time with my family during this break. However, I could have done without catching my mom’s vicious cough and sore throat. Horrible!! Anyways, I’ve been taking olive oil mixed with garlic on crackers. My family has always done that to help with colds, and it also is very good according to my own reading on antioxidants and phytochemicals. So far, I’ve been sick about three days (although the first was fairly light compared to yesterday and today). Yesterday and today were both very bad, but I am finally starting to feel a bit better. So, all together, if I am better tomorrow, I will have only had 1-1/2 really bad days of being sick (and my mom was sick for over a week with her horrible cough). I certainly think this proves the benefits of using olive oil and garlic for me! Of course, I have also been eating lots of other vegetables, bananas, and oranges. All together, it seems that eating foods with antioxidants and phytochemicals has helped me to heal much faster than I would have otherwise. Yea healthy foods!
Well, Christmas has come, and so has all the food that goes with it! I must admit, I have splurged a bit more than I probably should have, but it is the Holidays, after all. Actually, though, most of the food we prepared isn’t horrible calorie-wise. The seafood soup is actually pretty low in calories, and that has made up the majority of my food. I have limited my amount of mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, candied yams, and green bean casserole. Furthermore, I think this is one of the few Christmas seasons (at least recent ones), where I haven’t made myself sick from eating so much food at one time. Also, I am proud to say I passed on pie/cake on at least 2 occasions and candied yams/mashed potatoes, as well! In any case, I certainly haven’t been eating junk food, which is the worst thing. All our food is wholesome and home made! As for exercise, I have probably done worse with that than the food. I really need to get out and exercise. Today, we are planning on going shopping, so that should burn off some of the turkey and fish stew!
So, what does one do when they’ve “fallen off the wagon” so to speak? The answer is: jump back on the wagon! Just because we may have splurged a bit over the holidays, that doesn’t mean we are off our goals of healthy eating. It just means we are humans who have special occasions. As soon as the holiday food goes bad (or you finish eating it), refill your refrigerator and pantry with healthy, nutritious foods. Hit the produce isle and get yourself a good 3-4 days worth of fruit and vegetables to start out on the right track!
This post belongs in both Nutrition and Weight Loss Info. This is because it is not simply important to know to have good nutrition, but is also vital to be able to lose weight. Now, there are several differences between fats, proteins, and carbohydrates. Each one plays an important part in your body, and it important to include in your diet.
Proteins are generally thought to be used to build muscle, but they are also extremely important as hormones and enzymes, being broken down into amino acids and rebuilt into the needed form. If you don’t eat enough protein, it can cause a degeneration of your muscles, connective tissues, immune system, heart, and other vital systems. Also, the body does not readily store protein (and amino acids) the way that it can store carbohydrates (glucose) and fats. Therefore, it is important to make sure you are eating sufficient amounts of protein every day!
Carbohydrates are used for such thing as brain and nerve functions. In the body, carbohydrates are used and stored as glucose and glycogen in muscles and the liver. Carbohydrates are arguably the only “replaceable” unit. A deficiency of carbohydrates in the body can be addressed by burning fats/proteins in their place. However, it is highly unwise to completely eliminate carbohydrates since the body will start breaking down its own muscle and connective tissue (including heart, etc.) in order to replace the missing carbohydrates. This is one of the biggest debates regarding low-carbohydrate diets (although even in these diets, around 10-15% of calories should still come from carbohydrates). The main problem cited with carbohydrates is that the can greatly spike your blood sugar (and, therefore, insulin). However, it is important to note that NOT ALL carbohydrates do this! This is a function of SIMPLE carbohydrates (sugar, white bread/rice), not COMPLEX carbohydrates. In fact, complex carbohydrates (such as in vegetables, fruits, and whole-weat/”brown” grains) are very good for your body since they contain the greatest diversity of vitamins, antioxidants, and phytochemicals.
Fats are a tricky topic. First off, fats are ESSENTIAL. Fats are necessary for your body’s cells (not to mention the “fat-soluble” vitamins such as A, D,K, and E) and important for maintaining healthy skin and hair. You can not totally remove fat from your diet. However, you need to be smart about the type of fat you put into your body. After all, not all fats are created equal. Saturated fats and trans fats need to be very carefully monitored, since having too much of these fats can “clog” arteries and lead to heart disease and other circulatory afflictions. Trans fats are actually the worst for you, and are not natural! Instead, they are created through a chemical process called “hydrogenation” where hydrogen atoms are added to natural oils. Saturated fats are found in animal products such as meats and dairy products. Saturated fats, therefore, are natural, but still need to be used very sparingly. The healthiest category of fats are known as unsaturated fats. These come from plant sources and fish (some known as Omega acids). Vegetable oils (olive oil), nuts, and seeds falls in this category. When it comes to the oils, you should still use fairly sparingly when dieting (due to the calorie content), but feel free to healthily add small amounts of olive oil, canola oil, or peanut oil to your cooking.
What is the main message here? Proteins, carbohydrates, and fats are all important! Please never try to totally eliminate any of them! Instead, focus on choosing the types that are the best for your health (complex carbohydrates and unsaturated fats). The general dietary guidelines are to get no more than 25% of your calories from fat, about 10% from protein, and about 65% from carbohydrates. However, the more active you are, the higher you can tip the amount of protein vs. carbohydrates. In fact, having a bit more protein may help you control your appetite due to protein causing you to feel full and satisfied (as promoted by low carb diets). Nonetheless, it is wise to not let the amount of carbohydrates in your diet drop far below 50%. Remember, though, that the vast majority of that percent needs to come from complex carbohydrates.
I love Christmas time! I get to travel home and spend some time with my family. I am very blessed to have such a close, loving family (not that we always get along, but we always love each other, regardless). I had a pretty ugly drive home due to having to cross over some mountains with snow storms headed in. However, I managed to get through with some slow, careful driving. It was worth it since I am home with my family now.
I do feel bad that I haven’t had a chance to do any Christmas shopping. Fortunately, though, neither has the rest of my family. So, this Christmas is definitely based on family togetherness instead of gifts. Also, I attended a midnight Christmas service at a local Catholic church. I am not actually a Catholic, I am a Non-denominational Christian, but I still appreciate the spirit and atmosphere of the Catholic church. I never realized that the priests actually “sing” parts of the bible and various versus. It was very interesting (although I often didn’t know all the spoken parts most of the congregation knew).
Overall, I am very happy with this Christmas. I look forward to even more family time tomorrow. We are planning on making Chippino stew and Thanksgiving style fixings (we didn’t celebrate Thanksgiving properly this year, so we are now making up for it).
Lots of food, and a potential diet disaster. However, small recipe modifications can result in significant changes in calories. Not to mention, when it is a higher calorie item, portion size is key! You can allow yourself your favorites, so long as you budget them into your calories and control how much of them you eat! Exercise also remains extremely important (although I certainly understand being tired from traveling and not wanting to). It is often difficult to take a walk at this time of year, but I am planning on using an exercise video tomorrow (tae bo, I believe). My goal is to get my mom and grandma to workout with me!
I will look up some good articles about holiday eating and exercise. If I find some good ones, I will post them here. I know I have certainly seen lots of writing about this before, but I have to find a free-source article in order to post it here for you. So, here I go a looking!
So, I am currently trying to determine a good way to display the various Antioxidants and Phytochemicals in their respective food categories. So far, I have the following:
CITRUS (lemons, oranges, pineapple, kiwi, etc.):
α-Carotene (tangerines, oranges)
β-Carotene
Cinnamic acid (oranges, pineapple)
Citric acid
Coumarin
Cryptoxanthin
Ferulic acid (oranges, pineapple)
Hesperidin
Limonene (lemons)
Lutein (oranges, kiwi)
Naringenin
Oxalic acid
Perillyl alcohol
Phytoene (oranges)
Phytofluene (oranges)
Quercetin
Rutin
Tangeritin (tangerines)
Zeaxanthin (oranges)
NUTS/SOY:
Anacardic acid (cashews)
Beta Sitosterol
Cinnamic acid (peanuts)
Coumestrol (soy)
Daidzein
Ellagic acid (walnuts)
Ferulic acid (peanuts)
Gallic acid (gallnuts, soy)
Genistein
Glycitein (soy)
Lignan (soy)
Myricetin (walnuts)
Omega acids (nuts)
Oxalic acid
Phytosterols
Phytic acid
Protease inhibitors
Resveratrol (peanuts)
Salicylic acid (peanuts)
Saponins
Unfortunately, word press automatically formats this in a way that is less than perfect. I think when I complete these different ways of viewing the antioxidants/phytochemicals (individually, by food group, and by types of food to eat that contain them), I will save them into a pdf format so that I can format it better. My goal is to make it easy to read and understand, since it is definitely important to know.
I had my 7th workout yesterday. We practiced our soccer kicking, did strength training, ping pong, and the sauna. A lighter day, but still enough to burn at least 300 calories. Today is the first resting day I’ve had. Actually, my buddy and I were wanting to workout, but my grandparents called me and they have decided that instead of them visiting me, I should visit them. So, now I am getting packed and ready to leave town for a week. This is going to be my first time alone on a long transit bus! I’m also making sure all my business is taken care of. I have a couple payments to make and also renewed my library books and such. Anyhow, I am looking forward to a nice Christmas Break. I can’t wait to see and spend time with my family. Actually, I really wish they lived closer and could visit more often. Anyhow, to all who read this, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
exercise time: 2-1/2 hours
calories burned: at least 300
Yet another workout today. Still fun, although we are starting to push ourselves harder at the sports (a touch of competition is good!). Our ping pong skills have improved dramatically, I might add. In fact, it is actually becoming more aerobic since we are starting to move around so much more. Today, I used the elliptical machine, treadmill, and climber machines for only about 20 minutes or so (enough to burn about 150 calories). My buddy and I were eager to try out a squash game. So, we got the gear and went for it. Although it was pretty pathetic, being our first time, it was still a lot of fun. I actually got hit in the head with the ball once, but fortunately it was the side of my head and not my face. It is also a good thing that neither of us hits the ball that hard, because it hurt bad enough with our weaker hits. After playing squash for about 40 minutes, we spent about 45 minutes playing ping pong and 45 minutes lifting weights/using the vibrating machine. I seriously think that vibrating machine is unclogging my ears/lymph nodes (well, that plus the exercising and better nutrition). We rented out an indoor fuzzy soccer ball sort of thing, but we actually realized that the gym was closing soon while we were using the weight machines. So, we decided to wait on the soccer, and decided to spend our last 10 minutes in the sauna. Great for the skin, or so I’m told.
exercise time: 2-1/2 hours
calories burned: at least 350
Today was a very long, but informative day. I was actually at the gym for about 3-1/2 hours. However, only about 2-1/4 was spent exercising. For the rest, my buddy and I explored a few new areas of the gym, looked at fitness clubs/classes, and checked out the schedule for the rock climbing wall and ski trips. We plan on trying our hand at rock climbing on Monday. Of course, I was afraid there may be a weight limit, but the workers said there wasn’t. So, I am all set to climb a rock wall!
Anyhow, the actual workout was fairly diverse today. We started out with 35 minutes of walking, followed by about 10 minutes of elliptical machines (a bit lighter on the machines today, but only because we were eager to play some other games). Then, we spent about 30 minutes playing volleyball (lots of running chasing after the ball to raise the heart rate!). Not to mention, since it was the first time we’d played in years, our arms got really, really sore (and very red)! Next, we went to a small, nearly secret weight room at the end of a long hallway. It is almost more like a girl’s workout area since it is more private and there were a lot of balancing/core building items. One really interesting machine was like a massive vibrator that you stand on/do push ups on, etc. We only stood on it for less than a minute each, but I could swear it actually helped clear out some of the blockage in my head. I mean, I felt tingles up my spine and all through my head (it actually kind of made me dizzy). Apparently, the machine is designed to help build neurons. Quite interesting, although it feels really weird. We spent another hour playing ping pong. Although not extremely high on caloric expenditure, it is great for developing coordination, and gives us time to talk and relieve stress. Actually, during this time, we’ve decided to schedule buddy study sessions for next term. Also, we have become exceedingly better at ping pong in a very short time (not to mention better at using our left arms, since we have been switching to our left arms for at least 10 minutes in every sport that we’ve tried).
exercise time: 2-1/4 hours
calories burned: easily 450