11.04.09
Halloween Candy Scaring Your Diet?
I’ll come clean – I really love Halloween candy. Everything from the gummy worms to the Almond Joy mini bars. Halloween marks the beginning of the calorie laden season that doesn’t come to an end until the New Year’s Resolution kicks in. Usually. This year I am making my resolution early! I have already dumped a ton of old candy sitting around from last year and my daughter only has a small stash over the fridge. I am making sure to journal everything that goes into my body (Thank You IPod iWatcher App), drinking more water and less wine, and am making an effort to vary my workouts. You wanna join me? Pinkie swear? This is such a tough time of the year, so lets make sure our resolve to stay healthy is strong and let’s do this together. I’ll make sure to keep you updated – I have got until 12/27 until I put on that bikini in Key West (special birthday trip) – so that is my major goal.
Kandice recently shared a great website with me that has all the calorie and WW Points information for candy. Check it out before you put that mini tootsie roll or peanut butter cup inside your body. Is it worth the extra burn effort? Halloween Candy Health Info. Just remember that Fun Size is not so fun coming off.
I, like most people, struggle with losing and keeping the weight off. It’s a daily battle. This year has been no different – I had a fantastic spring, but now I am paying for my lax summer and fall. I plan on taking the journey day by day and focus on the healthy habits that I know so well. I am even signing up for a 5K – something I haven’t done since last May!
OK – so off we go – We CAN make healthy choices this season and get back on track (stay on track). Good Luck and Take Care of You!
10.21.09
Check Out This Great Article
From Dancer Universe: Dance Fitness Jazzercise Style. It’s a great article that talks about how Jazzercise has evolved and maintained it’s high quality of fitness class while keeping students burning. Here’s an excerpt, but make sure to read and share the whole article. Enjoy!
When most people my age think of Jazzercise they envision a room full of middle-aged women clad in pink Spandex leggings clapping and singing along to “Physical” by Olivia Newton-John. In fact, I can remember my mom skipping off to Jazzercise for her mid-afternoon workout—leotard, legwarmers, hi-top Reeboks and all.
Even though Spandex leggings are currently back in hipster fashion, times have changed since the Jazzercise craze of the ‘80s. This unique fitness/dance fusion program, which was founded in 1969 by Judi Sheppard Missett, who danced professionally with Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago, is experiencing a renaissance. And these days, it’s definitely not for the athletically challenged. In fact, it’s becoming popular in dance studios.
10.01.09
True Texas Tailgating Tips
(say that fast 5 times!)
It’s fall tailgating season, so I thought I would share some fun tips for tailgating. Weather your favorite team is the Texans or the Aggies – we can all appreciate good pre-game food and friends. Some suggestions for healthy menus are:
1. Lentil Chili with low-fat sour cream, baked tortilla chips, and reduced calorie cheddar cheese for toppings. Use the same seasonings as you would with regular chili, only substitute red lentils. Really tasty and filling but easy on the calories. If you aren’t quite ready to go vegetarian try using lean turkey or extra lean beef for your chili.
Add veggies and dip, fruit tray, and some crusty whole wheat bread and you have a tailgate.
2. Jambalaya made with lean beef/turkey, lean ham, and Venison sausage. I discovered Holmes brand Venison sausage a couple years ago at my local HEB and fell in love. I hadn’t had good smoked sausage in ages because the fat content just didn’t fit into my plan. Now I can make my favorites with none of the guilt or tummy ache. The Holmes Venison sausage is loaded with flavor and very lean.
I make a tossed salad and whole wheat garlic bread to round out the meal. I also use brown rice in my recipe to bump up the whole grains. I love fruit salad with this menu to offset the spice in the jambalaya.
3. Boiled shrimp and cocktail sauce (extra spicy, please), Veggies and dip, Turkey po-boys made with lean turkey and low fat mayo/mustard and toppings, whole-wheat and veggie pasta salad, chocolate dipped strawberries for dessert.
4. Pita chips and hummus (don’t freak, hummus is just bean dip), Greek Bulgar Salad, Grilled Veggie pitas with low fat yogurt/cucumber/garlic sauce, and a splurge of Baklava for dessert.
5. Go traditional – Lean beef or turkey burgers, Venison Sausage, Reduced Fat Hot Dogs/turkey/soy dogs, Veggie Burgers – whole wheat buns with all the toppings, Baked chips and dip on the side, grilled sweet potato wedges, and tossed salad. Finish off with a low-fat apple cake or even grilled pineapple slices.
Most of these menus can be prepped very easily from home, brought to the tailgating site in a big cooler, and then grilled if needed. Think simple, substitutes, and delicious.
Along with food, most tailgate parties have good quantities of adult beverages to help folks with their cheering voices. If your tailgate is one such tailgate, try these few tips:
1. Hydrate – before, during, and after
2. Light Beer if you are a beer drinker
3. Pace yourself, have plenty of non-alcoholic drinks on hand
4. Limit yourself a bit – you would hate to drink ALL of your day’s calories, right?
Final thoughts:
Tailgate parties are just that – parties. They are special events and don’t happen that often. Make sure to build some wiggle room into your eating plans and enjoy yourself! Fit in an extra class to make up for the splurge and no guilt.
Now – go forth – cheer – have fun – and most importantly, be safe.
08.31.09
Doing the Math
Ok, don’t run away screaming just yet. Stay with me here…
One pound of weight roughly equals 3500 calories. That means, in order to lose one pound of weight, you must net a negative 3500 calories. WOW. That’s a lot. Using myself as an example – I teach 5 classes a week at about 500 calories burned (most students burn about 300 calories). That’s 2500 calories for a week. To lose one pound I would need to cut back 1000 calories in that week, so 142.8 a day. Broken down that way, it’s not so bad.
So let’s say you exercise 4 times a week and burn 300 calories each time (300*4) – 1200 calories. 3500-1200 = 2300 additional calories cut from your week to lose a lb. That breaks down to 328.6 calories a day to eliminate. What small changes can you make to your daily eating pattern to find those extra calories? Here are a few examples:
Substitute mustard for mayo on your sandwiches – 90 calories saved per sandwich.
Use half the amount of salad dressing on your salads – 70 calories saved per salad.
Use vinegar and a little bit of olive oil for your salads instead of full fat dressing – 100+ calories saved per salad.
Stop drinking regular sodas – 150 calories per can.
Eliminate 1 teaspoon of sugar from your coffee or tea each morning – 15 calories a teaspoon.
Eliminate 1 Tablespoon of half and half from your coffee or tea each morning – 20 calories a Tablespoon.
Use Light bread instead of regular white bread – 80 calories saved per sandwich.
See – here we have some small changes and already we saved 455 calories! We are always told to think big, dream big, go big – but in this case I need you to think small. You don’t have to go on crazy diets to achieve your weight loss goals. Think in terms of making lifestyle changes that you can live with. Get the diet mentality out of your being – this is a “live – it” not a “die-it”. If you want to lose faster, work out a little more and eat a little less. Be careful, though, you never want to lose more than 1-2 lbs. a week after your first week. Never give up and throw in the towel either. It may take a long time, but you will get there.
(All of the calorie calculations in this post are basic approximations. Individual bodies will work slightly different)
08.25.09
Back to School
It’s that time of year again. Backpacks are new, shoes are clean, clothes are still in one piece, and you can almost hear the “creak” of notebooks opening for the first time. That’s right – kids are going back to school. I thought this would be a good time to talk about some healthy ideas to fuel our precious children’s bodies. Recent statistics from the CDC state:
Data from NHANES surveys (1976–1980 and 2003–2006) show that the prevalence of obesity has increased: for children aged 2–5 years, prevalence increased from 5.0% to 12.4%; for those aged 6–11 years, prevalence increased from 6.5% to 17.0%; and for those aged 12–19 years, prevalence increased from 5.0% to 17.6%.
It’s staggering how quickly we are losing hold of healthy eating patterns for our young people. This is a problem that has been surfacing for a few years now, so it is probably nothing new to you. Luckily, it is a problem that we CAN work on and solve for our future generations. I think a key part of infusing a healthful lifestyle into our kids starts at a young age. Start small. Just make tiny changes gradually and you can see a difference. Serve them water every other beverage until eventually they are drinking mostly water during the day. Avoid the sugar dense juice and make it a once-in-a-while treat. Even though the labels say juice is a healthy option for kids (“100% juice” or “not from concentrate” or “all natural”) it’s really straight fructose – sugar. Milk is a nutritious option as long as you don’t overdo the 2-3 servings a day and serve a low fat percentage. Milk can be loaded with calories, unhealthy animal fats, and sugars as well, so be careful to watch the serving sizes. We serve Soy milk in our house because of allergies and my daughter loves it! Another small change can be switching from white bread to a whole grain/high fiber bread. Think about giving them a snack of low fat popcorn instead of potato chips. Even serving a small portion of baked potato chips or pretzels is a good substitute for regular chips. Avoid sodas and artificial sweeteners as well. Sodas have no nutritional value and the fake sodas are not much better. See, not that hard to make big changes!
So, once you incorporate healthy choices at home, its time to pack a good lunch for your kid. If yours is like mine, they are quite picky with what you can send. My little one doesn’t like sandwiches or bread which adds a challenge to my planning. Today we packed: grilled chicken strips, blueberries, triscuits, and yogurt. Her snack is a serving of grahm crackers and whole wheat goldfish.
Some other ideas include: Hummus on pita, mini carrots, berries of all types, yogurt, chicken slices (I will cook a batch of chicken breasts on the weekend and just store them in the fridge for the week), lean ham cubes, mozzerella string cheese, lowfat cheese slices, whole wheat roll or crackers, turkey pepperoni…you get the idea. There are tons of options out there. Just think of building their lunch as a puzzle – work in a protein, milk, whole grain, and a fruit/veggie choice and you are golden. I usually use her lunch as her meal that she gets a juice box since they are easy to store. When purchasing foods, think about buying whoe-type foods instead of overly processed foods. Sometimes the dyes and additives in foods can cause adverse behavior reactions in kids. You want them to be well fueled for them to get through the rest of their school day and continue the learning! No food comas when they are eating healthy.
Don’t forget the after school snack (what is it about school that makes them starving when you pick them up?!). Again – stick with snacks loaded with fiber and some protein to give them a nice energy boost. 1/2 pb sandwich on wheat works well! Then send them outside to work off some of that pent up energy.
These lifestyle lessons you are teaching your child through your example will carry them throughout their entire life. Remember that you are in charge of what you feed them when they are children. Sometimes it takes a lot of work on the part of the parent to convince your child to eat healthy. Don’t give up – their lives depend on it! You wouldn’t let them run in a busy intersection even if it looked way fun, would you? So why would you let them eat over-processed, nutrient void foods? Keep on keeping on and they will thank you when they reach adulthood and pass on these valuable lifestyle choices to their children. We CAN stop this tragic trend.
08.05.09
Act Like A Kid Again!
How often do you hear that phrase? Never? Well, no more. Start acting like a kid again. This simple rule can apply to both your workouts and your eating habits.
Workout Like A Kid
Remember when you were little and would just run and run and run? No concern about what other people thought about you or if you were doing it “right”? That is precisely what I am talking about here. So many times as adults we are afraid to try something new or to let loose and enjoy ourselves. Who says working out has to be boring and lifeless? It doesn’t and chances are if you like what you are doing, it will like you back. I love to see my Jazzercise students cutting loose on the dance floor and truly enjoying the moves. I tell them that no one is watching, so shake it like you mean it! I can guarantee that you burn way more calories when you get into your workout and have fun.
Eat Like a Kid
I am not talking reverting back to no veggies and a diet laden with chicken nuggets. That’s boring and there is no need for boring and food to go together. No, I am talking about re-visiting children’s sized portions. I was out with some lovely ladies last night at a mexican restaurant and we talked about what we ordered. I mentioned that I usually either order off the a la carte menu or a child’s plate (one enchilada or one taco with a teeny bit of beans and rice). Its a great way to get a taste of favorite foods without the pressure of scarfing down a huge calorie-rich entree. The child’s size is usually what an adult should eat anyway . The other diner hadn’t thought of doing that and said she’ll try it sometime.
As a side note, did you know that the McDonalds kids meal hamburger is the original size they served back in the day? No wonder our waists have been growing over the years. Restaurant sizes are Out Of Control! If you go into a dining out situation with that in mind, it might save you a bit in the long run.
So today are you going to dance like you mean it and eat like a kid? I double dog dare you.
07.17.09
Fast Forward Summer
Is it me or has the summer flown by? I don’t know about you all, but I have been a bit lazy on my dieting this summer. We’ve hit the drive through more than I would like to admit in order to get out of the house or keep the kitchen from heating up. The good news is that the pounds haven’t gotten out of control and I am getting back on the wagon. That’s the great thing about committing to a healthy lifestyle – you can always go back.
Another piece of good news is that fast food eating doesn’t have to be bad. A few tasty discoveries I have made this summer:
1. Whataburger Grilled Chicken Sandwich – Ordered with mustard, no mayo, extra lettuce and pickles. Very good flavor and not a bad calorie hit as long as you leave off the fries and drink water or unsweet tea.
2. Taco Bell Fresco Style Chicken Tacos – Two of these fill me up and they are a mere 5 Weight Watcher POINTS. Very good with fire sauce.
3. Naked Tenders with Jerk Sauce from Buffalo Wild Wings – I usually get an order of 4 and then a side salad. Go easy on the sauce and dressings and you are getting pretty good food for lower calories.
4. McDonalds Yogurt Parfait – Really great mid morning or afternoon snack. Gets a milk serving in and adds some fruit to the day.
5. Sonic Diet Cherry Limeaide – If you are craving something sweet or are very thirsty, this is a fun treat. Sonic has the BEST Ice. Don’t know how they make theirs, but its a personal favorite.
The only other big pitfall with eating fast food is the salt content. Make sure to load up with extra water on the days you splurge and also take a few more laps around the pool.
Getting Back on Track one Day at a Time…
06.24.09
Number 5 is Alive!
Anyone know what movie that quote comes from? Class…anyone?
As you have all been told over and over again, 5 is the magic number when it comes to fruits and veggies to intake a day. Sounds like a lot, doesn’t it? You would be surprised at how many times I hear “my family hates veggies” or “I hate veggies” or “I can never fix them right”. Fitting in your needed fruits and veggies takes a bit of practice and a lot of experimentation. It has taken me years to love eating lots of fruits and vegetables. When I was younger, I think there were only a handful of things I would eat. Now there isn’t a single fruit or vegetable I can name that I won’t eat (although okra are a challenge). Here are some of my quick tips:
-Add veggies to whatever you can. I add them to my soups, salads, pasta salads, pasta dishes and casseroles. I also add frozen veggies to microwave meals that need a little more substance. One recipe I use for Mac and Cheese uses pureed butternut squash and Parmesan cheese as its base. Yum.
-Have loads of variety on hand. Try new things every week and keep trying new things until you find something you like. My cart at the grocery store is loaded with produce every week because we have three people that need their 5 a day. I usually have something different each week.
-Grilling or Roasting are great ways to prepare most vegetables. I will cut whatever I want to cook into pieces, add a little olive oil, salt and pepper, and roast at 400 until they are barely tender. Green beans, squash, asparagas, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli, peppers and onions all work well. Easy and tasty. For grilling, you can marinate and then throw in a grill basket along with the rest of your meal.
-At a restaurant, order the vegetable side dish or trow in a side salad to start your meal. This will take the edge off of your hunger, help you to avoid the bread basket, and also fits in another vegetable.
-Make it a game. Challenge yourself to fit your 5 in every day and notice how much better you feel. Once you get in the habit, you will not go back – I promise!
-Ask for ideas whenever you get in a rut! The internet is a great resource for recipes. Comment here if you need some help and we will be glad to send you some great recipes.
Good Luck and Have fun. Enjoy eating healthy and your body will thank you.
06.09.09
Guest Poster Here – Vacation Eating
Going on Vacation this year? Worried about the diet plans? Worry no more, because this post is loaded with travel tips to keep you on target and moving forward while still enjoying your vacation. Don’t think it’s possible to vacation and still eat right? Guess again…
Having just returned from an extensive road trip (nearly 32 hours total on the road), I have come back with some great news. I didn’t gain a single ounce. AND I enjoyed myself tons on the trip. In the past I would have thought the very concept of vacation and not gaining weight would be crazy. I love to indulge on trips and have previously convinced myself that food is calorie free when on the road. This time I tried things a little differently.
The first leg of our trip was to New Orleans, Louisiana. That’s right, the food capital of the country. Fried shrimp, butter, butter, and more butter – all close personal friends of mine. My plan in NoLa was to make sure to drink lots of water and find salads wherever I could. I also made sure to indulge in moderation. Instead of a whole shrimp po boy, I enjoyed white beans and shrimp for a much smaller caloric impact. We had to make the required trip to Bud’s Broiler Burger, but I didn’t have cheese or mayo, and I got a tasty chicken sandwich. I splurged by having some of my husband’s chili cheese fries. I am certain it would have been a sin not to. I attended a Jazzercise class at Old Metairie Jazzercise while I was in town to balance out the food and then it was time to hit the road to Disney. So, my first tips:
1. Indulge in moderation, drinking water first.
2. Substitute lower caloric, but equally satisfying foods.
3. Bring workout clothes and fit in some activity where you can. They don’t take up a lot of room in the suitcase and then you have no excuse to skip on the workouts.
At Disney, we were lucky enough to rent a cabin at the Fort Wilderness campground. It was a wonderful arrangement because we were able to cook our meals and pack lunches for the park. I planned an easy menu for the week, grocery shopped when we got there, and made sure to have lots of healthy snacks on hand for those after-park munchies. We enjoyed grocery store rotisserie chicken, burgers, and whole wheat pasta and red sauce – saving calories and money. I also had lots of salad, fruit (oranges anyone?), and yogurt. For our park days, we packed nuts, crasins, and sandwiches and brought a water bottle to refill all day. It really helped when they piped in the good smelling food to have snacks on hand!
Don’t worry though, since we had done so well with the grocery and cooking departments, we had enough money and calories to splurge on 3 meals on property. One was the Hoop De Do review (fried chicken, ribs, potatoes, etc), another was the Princess Breakfast (eggs, potatoes, bacon, sausage), and then a nice dinner at The Artist Cafe (salad, cheese plate, bread, wine – my most favorite meal ever). This way I never felt deprived and I wasn’t destroying all of my hard work either. We had pleanty of walking and some swimming when the weather was nice, so I got activity into my schedule as well. So more tips:
4. Plan ahead. Plan ahead. Plan ahead (Got It?). If you make a plan to eat healthy, you tend to stick with it.
5. Its ok to splurge, just balance it out with some activity.
OK, so that was Disney. The last leg of the trip was a quick stop in Biloxi to see Mike’s Uncle and then home. Biloxi was beautiful and luckily had great seafood. We ended up going out to dinner at a cool local place and enjoyed an awesome meal – Blow Fly Inn. Which brings me to my next and final tip – Share. It’s something you learn in preschool, but might forget along the way. I love fried shrimp (did I say that already?) so I consider it my treat. Mike loves all types of seafood and had decided on the seafood platter. My strategy for this meal was to get a salad to start and then an extra plate to steal some of his shrimps and hush puppies. I got to have my favorite food, but didn’t have to over do it. Yay for me!
6. Share – find a food buddy and don’t be embarassed to get that extra plate.
7. Have a great time and don’t forget to smile in the pictures.
Thanks for letting me hijack the blog! Until next time…
ikaneat
kkaggie
litenetty01