What's your choice?

Today's Workout:
60-minute Kickboxing class
35-minute walking on treadmill (5% incline)

I saw this quote recently and it really registered with me...

"There is going to be pain in your life. It is going to be the pain of discipline....or the pain of regret. What’s your choice?”

Sometimes it is painful to do what you know you should. Maybe it's getting up early to exercise or resisting something very yummy and eating spinach instead?!?!? I have definitely had my share of regrets when it comes to eating and even working out. I have never regretted passing up something fried for something a bit healthier nor have I ever regretted rolling out of bed for an early workout...but I have regretted making the opposite choice too many times to count.

Don't get me wrong, I definitely believe in moderation in all things, but there are many times when I eat (really I should say "overeat") something that is really not good for me and I feel so yucky afterward. I tend to really regret those decisions later. Like take Monday afternoon for example. I made the mistake of not eating lunch before I left to run some errands with the kids and I was STARVING before we were done. I picked up some raspberry lemonade for the kids at "Long John Silver" and before I even really thought about what I was doing, I had ordered myself a meal consisting of two pieces of fried chicken, fries and a Sprite (clean eating at it's finest, don't you think!?!?) While the food was pretty tasty (the fries at least, I ended up throwing most of the chicken away because it was pretty nasty), I walked out of there feeling so gross. Fried foods really don't agree with me much anymore and while I knew I would probably regret this feeling later, it didn't prevent me from indulging in the moment.

Even though I know that when I eat foods that are more natural and healthy, I feel SOOOO much better, I still don't always make the best decisions. I am improving slowly, but it is still a battle most days. I wish I was the type of person that could look at a really yummy desert and be satisfied with one or two bites, but I'm not. I feel like I HAVE to eat the whole thing, even if it will make me feel sick later. I am hoping to get to that place where I can be satisfied with just a nibble, but I am not there yet. (Sad story: Sometimes when I am eating something really good, I am thinking more about my next piece or serving of it rather than enjoying what I am eating right then!!)

(Photo found here)

(Hmmmmm, chocolate....I only wish I could get away with devouring it like this!!)

I guess that's why life and one's "diet" is a work in progress. I'll celebrate my successes and try to improve upon those weak moments.

Does anybody else struggle with making good choices when it comes to food or exercise?

My Training Partner

Well, I didn't actually get a picture of my food plate from last night's BBQ. It was a bit chaotic with 10 kids and 6 adults trying to eat at one time, but fortunately I was able to keep it pretty clean. My plate consisted of some grilled chicken, veggies with muhammara dip, cantaloupe and a few too many servings of veggie chips (love those things!) I did manage to avoid the cake and ice cream and the s'mores though so definitely a success. If there had been brownies, I would probably have given in...they're my absolute favorite desert!

Although I do have a running group that I get together with every Saturday, most of my runs are done solo. I enjoy this time that I have to zone out and think about things for a while.

But when I say I run alone, that's a little bit untrue, since I always run with my very faithful companion. He does a great job at keeping me motivated and monitors our pace very closely. He's always ready for a run (unless he needs charged) and gives me good feedback on how each run goes. This is him...

Awwww, isn't he sweet-looking? I really do love this guy. We've been together for over three years now and I seem to grow even more fond of him with time. We've done two marathon-training programs together and he was there for me when I struggled through the Richmond Marathon and triumphed in the Baltimore Marathon. He has been my constant companion while training for my current half-marthon too. He gets a bit neglected during the winter months (when the treadmill replaces him for a bit), but come Spring, Summer and Fall, he and I become the best of friends again.

In the dark days before the Garmin 305 entered my life, I used to have to map out my distances by car or bike and then guess at what my mileage, pace and total time would be. Now my little friend does it all for me and is amazingly accurate. They have since come out with a newer model (the Garmin 405) but I just can't imagine replacing this little guy, at least not yet!! Yes he is a bit bulky (I look like I have a small computer on my wrist when I run) but I wouldn't trade him!! He is definitely my favorite running gadget (outside of the very necessary Asics Nimbus running shoes I wear of course!)

Talking Point: What is your favorite piece of workout equipment? Do you have a Garmin watch? What do you think of it?

Weekly Challenge (Sept. 6-Sept. 12, 2010)

So how did your week go with no sugar? I did pretty well overall (a few mistakes like those candied pecans I mentioned that I didn't even think about!!) I did pass up on a few deserts and ice cream cravings (yeah) but I also seemed to make it up for it other ways (boo!) It was a good challenge, but it seems like anytime I completely ban a food item or food group, I tend to crave it more than ever!! I'll try to strive for more balance this week.


Happy LABOR DAY!! What are your plans for the last holiday weekend of the summer? We plan on grilling out this afternoon with a few of our friends. I will post a picture of my plate later in an effort to motivate myself to keep it clean!!


In honor of "labor" day, this week's challenge will be a fitness challenge for everyone. This week, I want you to think of one way that you can increase the intensity of your workouts. For those of you are don't workout regularly, maybe it will be deciding to exercise 2-3 times this week. For those of you who do workout, try to incorporate more reps, sets, miles, or HIIT training (my personal favorite!!) into your workouts this week. Challenge yourself this week and your body will thank you later!


Talking Point: What are your plans for increasing your "labor" this week? I will be incorporating some new HIIT workouts into my week (found here on this site.) These workouts are short, but pretty nasty!!

Grocery Shopping

You know it's time to go grocery shopping when your fridge starts to look a bit like this...

The only things in good quantity in this fridge are clementines (a new love!!), a few green vegetables (am learning to love) and eggs (have always loved!!) We always tend to have at least two containers of eggs in the fridge at all times. One is for hard-boiled eggs (which I label) and the other for everything else. It's really nice to have an easy protein option available in a pinch, like a good hard-boiled egg/egg whites.

Sometimes I really detest grocery shopping though. I actually love going inside and reading all the labels and seeing the new products that come out, but trying to do all of that while trying to stay within a budget and entertain two squirmy kiddos can be exhausting. I usually try to put it off as long as I can, but once we start to run out of the fresh stuff, I know it's time to enter the war zone again!

An after shot at our newly restocked fridge...


Here's a list of things that can usually be found in our fridge (at least for a few days after grocery shopping anyway)...

Fresh fruit...grapes, apples, strawberries, blueberries, cantaloupe and clementines are the favorites around here. I try to buy mostly organic when it comes to produce, unless it is something we don't eat the skin of like bananas and cantaloupe.

Fresh vegetables...kale, spinach, romaine lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, (though not in the fridge...it makes your other produce spoil faster), green and red peppers and green beans usually top the list.

Greek yogurt for me, regular yogurt or go-gurts for everyone else!
Eggs
Ground turkey
Chicken breasts and tenderloins
Organic milk
Yogurt-based salad dressings (these are a little pricey, but oh so good and healthified!! A friend of mine turned me on to these...)
Hummus
Cottage cheese
Hormel Natural turkey breast slices
Unsweetened applesauce
And my huge 3 liter of water that I strive to drink everyday

Like I said before, I try to buy organic products when I can, but our grocery budget limits me sometimes, so I often have to pick and choose what is really important. Like this week when I saw the price of organic peppers was $5.99 for 2 and I could get regular red and green peppers for $1.69/lb. The budget won out this time and I opted for the cheaper option. Like I said in the previous post, you have to do the best you can and hope for the best sometimes!!

One thing that I do to save a little money is I always buy my nuts in the bulk section of our grocery store. They are a lot cheaper this way and actually taste fresher in my opinion. Almonds, peanuts, walnuts and pecans are my faves!!

I also like to try new things each week to see if I like them (or if anybody besides myself will eat them!!) My new items for this week were...

Individual servings of instant brown rice (perfect for lunch-on-the-go or even a quick meal at home)

Ryvita crispbread crackers (I've tried and love the Wasa brand but I thought I would give these a whirl.) I'll let you know soon what I think of these two new products!

So that's a little look into our food world around these parts.

Talking Point: What kinds of foods do you like to eat? Do you enjoy trying out new things when you grocery shop? What are your refrigerator staples?

Weekly Challenge (Aug. 23-29, 2010)

So how did you all do with the breakfast challenge from last week? I love breakfast and look forward to it every morning. Hopefully if you haven't eaten breakfast regularly in the past, you can start to incorporate this vital meal into your routine. Breakfast...the meal of champions!!

This week's challenge is food-related as well. I had a conversation last week with a woman who was struggling to lose some weight. She had picked up running again about a month ago and became frustrated that she hadn't lost any weight with it. She then said that once she started to write down what she was eating during the day, she suddenly lost 3 pounds in one week. I think she was finally starting to understand that all the running in the world couldn't overcome a poor diet.

As you all know, I am not a huge proponent of counting calories (I know that works for some of you though, so I'm all for doing what you feel most comfortable with.) However I am a big proponent of food journals. I know when I keep a food journal, it keeps me far more accountable for what I am putting in my mouth and body. It also really helps as a mom to prevent the mindless snacking during the day and discourages my fetish for finishing the food off of my children's' plates!

So that's the challenge for this week...keep a food journal of everything you eat. You could go out and buy a fancy "Food Journal" from your local bookstore, but really any notebook would work for your purposes this week. You will need to record three things...

1. What you eat
2. How much you eat (cup, handful, tablespoon, etc.)
3. When you eat (record the time of each meal and snack)

You may be surprised at some of the patterns you discover just from writing it all down (Like when I discovered that too much of my carb intake was from starchy sources rather than from fibrous carbs like vegetables or simple carbs like fruit.)

Talking Point: Have you ever kept a food journal before? Do you feel like it keeps you more accountable in keeping your diet healthy?

80-10-10 Rule

Have you ever heard of the 80-10-10 rule when it comes to diet and exercise? Basically what you look like is determined by this simple formula...

10% Genetics - This is difficult to do anything with, it was what you were born with...but it really doesn't make for a good excuse either since it's only 10%, right?

10% Exercise - What?!?!? All that sweating in the gym only accounts for 10% of what I look like? Granted, exercise is vital for a healthy mind and body but don't fool yourself into thinking that you can out train a poor diet.

80% Diet - Yup, 80% of what you look like is determined by what you eat everyday. Kind of makes you think, doesn't it?

This is a principle that I didn't understand AT ALL until recently. I have been working out since I was 15 years old, thinking that it kind of gave me the right to eat whatever I wanted. If I knew that I was going to be overindulging that day, I just did extra cardio to make up for it.

But then I could never understand why I wasn't getting the results that I always wanted. Sure, exercise kept my weight from getting too high, but it never resulted in the toned body that I wanted to have. Then a light was turned on for me at the beginning of this year. I realized that what I put into my body each day was going to determine more of what I looked like than the hours I put in at the gym each day. This was and still is a hard concept for me. I feel like I can easily control my gym workouts, setting aside 60-90 minutes each day to workout is something that I enjoy doing. But controlling what I eat for the other 16 hours of the day is quite a bit more difficult for me! I have such a sweet tooth and sometimes can go really overboard when I choose to indulge (like eating a half gallon of ice cream in one sitting is probably within my reach!!) I have to choose day after day, meal after meal to make good food choices. It certainly isn't easy and I most definitely make many mistakes along the way, but I am finally learning after 30 years how best to fuel my body. I am changing my mantra from "Train to Eat" to "Eat to Train" and it's a whole shift in my diet and exercise philosophy. But I am seeing results, and that's what keeps me going along this healthy path.

I have learned a lot about myself over the last few months and the reasons behind why and when I eat. Everyday is a new beginning, a new step along this journey to a healthy life. Some days are better than others, but I am getting there. Are you ready to come along too?

Talking Point: How do you feel about the 80-10-10 rule? Do you struggle more with getting in exercise or eating healthy? What are your struggles?

Protein...It does a body good

After taking two gym classes yesterday (BodyStep and BodyPump) my legs felt a bit jello-y this morning. But despite that, I was still able to pull together a pretty good 4-miler...


This afternoon I'll try out that yoga class again at my gym. I think my muscles will enjoy the stretching!!

I've gotten a few questions recently about protein so I thought I would do a post today to explain a little about this very important nutrient.

Protein is an essential nutrient required by our bodies in order to maintain health and vitality. The primary function of protein is to build and repair body tissues and structures, like muscle, bone, and skin. Protein also has important satiety factors, helping you to stay more satisfied between meals.

Protein is made up of amino acids, the basic building blocks of cells. Your body MUST get these amino acids from the foods that you eat in the form of protein. If you fail to take in enough protein, your body will start to metabolize itself (breaking down muscle to provide the needed protein requirements.) And because your body doesn't have any way to store protein, this can start happening within 1-2 days of insufficient protein intake. Many people who want to lose weight, mistakenly cut way back on their protein intake as well as their overall number of calories. This will usually result in a loss of lean muscle mass, making a person weigh less, but giving them a "skinny-fat" appearance since they also lost the muscle mass that would have given them a leaner appearance.

Unfortunately, once that lean muscle mass is lost, it is hard to gain it back after a person is done dieting down. This is often the reason people will gain their lost weight back fairly quickly, they simply don't have the muscle mass and metabolism necessary to maintain the hard-earned weight loss. Getting enough protein in your diet while trying to lose weight ensures that you won't deplete your lean muscle mass while still enabling you to get rid of fat.

If you don't need to lose weight, protein is still essential for your overall health and well being since it is used to build and repair muscle tissue. If you don't have enough protein in your diet, you won't be able to see the effects of all those miles pounded, laps swum, or biceps curled!

So how much protein does a person need? Of course there are many factors that go into determining a person's protein requirement including age, gender, size and activity level. The minimum requirement is thought to be about about 1 gram for every .37 pounds of body weight. So a 130-pound sedentary woman needs a minimum of 48 grams of protein each day. Again this is the very MINIMUM. A basic rule of thumb for those who lead a more active lifestyle and engage in working out on a regular basis is to aim for about 1 gram of protein for every pound of body weight (so a 130-pound active woman should aim for about 130 grams of protein each day.) This does get a bit tricky too because it has been found that your body can only absorb about 30 grams of protein at a time, hence the need for eating 5-6 times each day. I try to aim for 20-25 grams of protein at each meal. Obviously some meals are a bit less, and some a bit more, but if I can get that amount with each of my six meals, it puts me right where I need to be protein wise.

A lot of times when we think of protein, we think only of meat. And of course lean meats are a great source of protein, but there are a myriad of protein sources out there to choose from. Here's a list of some good dietary protein sources...

Meats
•Most cuts of beef (per oz)=7 g
•Chicken breast (3.5 oz)=30 g
•Pork loin or tenderloin (4 oz)=29 grams
•Ham (3 oz)=19 grams

Fish
•Most fish fillets or steaks (per oz)=6 g
•Tuna (6 oz can)=40 g

Eggs and Dairy
•Egg (large)=6 g
•Milk (1 cup)=8 g
•Cottage cheese (½ cup)=15 grams
•Yogurt (1 cup)=usually 8-12 g
•Soft cheeses (per oz)=6 g
•Medium cheeses (per oz)=7 or 8 g
•Hard cheeses (per oz)= 10 g

Beans (including soy)
•Tofu (½ cup)=20 g
•Soy milk (1 cup)=6-10 g
•Most beans (black, pinto, lentils, etc. per 1/c cup)=7-10 g

Nuts and Seeds
•Peanut butter (2 Tablespoons)=8 g
•Almonds (¼ cup)=8 g
•Peanuts (¼ cup)=9 g
•Cashews (¼ cup)=5 g
•Sunflower seeds (¼ cup)=6 g
•Pumpkin seeds (¼ cup)=8 g

Also, I have become a huge fan of Greek yogurt. It's thicker and creamier than regular yogurt and packs an amazing protein punch. Here's a comparison for you...

Light Yoplait Yogurt (Strawberry Shortcake Flavor)...

This 6 oz yogurt has 110 calories, 6g of protein and a whopping 15g of sugar (Plus it has lots of artificial sweetener it it too.)

In comparison, here's a 6 oz container of Chobani Nonfat Greek Yogurt... This Greek yogurt has 100 calories, only 7g of sugar and a whopping 18g of protein!!

(I do have to admit that the Yoplait yogurt is much better tasting than the Greek yogurt by itself, but combine the greek yogurt with a few berries, perhaps a bit of honey if you like it a little sweeter and some GoLean Kashi cereal (to add a bit of crunch!) and you have a complete snack packed full of antioxidants and protein!!)

Another good source of protein can come from protein powders. There are lots of different kinds on the market, with probably the two most popular kinds being whey and casein. Whey and casein proteins (the primary proteins found in milk) are both high-quality proteins meaning that they contain all the essential amino acids needed by your body. Whey is known as a fast protein because it is quickly absorbed and broken down by your body. This is why whey protein is best used after a hard workout to quickly replenish your depleted muscles. Casein is a slow protein, providing your body with a steady stream of amino acids over time. This is best used between meals (to help keep you fuller longer) and before bed so that your body can use this protein for muscle repair while you sleep.

I personally use this whey protein...

GNC Pro Performance 100% Whey Protein powdered drink mix

It has few ingredients and contains no artificial sweeteners (I try to avoid these when I can.) It can be costly, but I usually order it only when I can get a good deal online with free shipping and order multiple cans at the same time. I actually don't like this particular kind plain, but I love it when combined with a banana in a smoothie, in my morning oatmeal and in my protein ice cream too.

Talking Point: How do you feel about protein? Do you think you get enough of it during the day? What are your favorite sources of protein in your diet?

Trying something new

Yesterday I came home from the lake completely EXHAUSTED! It's amazing how much the sun and heat can drain out of you. I was tempted to blow off the gym last night, but I made a commitment to try something new this week, so I was determined to go. And...

I LOVED IT!!

It has been a while since I have taken a yoga class and I've never taken the BodyFlow class offered at my gym (Gold's). A description of this class can be found here. It felt so good to stretch out those tight running muscles and I left the class feeling rejuvinated and ready to take on the world (or at least to tackle dinner and the bedtime routine last night!!) I think I will try to make this class a part of my weekly routine. I'm so glad that I decided to give it a whirl!

Before class last night, I had this very bland-colored meal...1 whole egg + 1 egg white, some organic unsalted peanuts and shredded wheat (did you know that regular shredded wheat only has ONE ingredient? SWEET!!) I usually try to make my meals a bit more colorful, but the supplies were a bit limited as its grocery-shopping day. Still, it was a good source of whole grains, protein and healthy fats.


This morning I did a 4-mile run. I was hoping to get it done closer to 32 minutes, but considering the humidity that had me sweating within a 1/4 of a mile (even at 6:30 a.m.), I'll take my 8:13 average pace today.
After my run I came home and did this routine. You will need to set your interval timer up to do two intervals; one for 10 seconds (your rest period) and the other one for 50 seconds (your work period). You will do 15 rounds and a different exercise for each round. I only did this once through and was wasted by the end, but if you are more hardcore, you could try doing it twice. Kudos to you if you can survive it!! Here's what your interval timer would look like...

Here are the exercises I did (alternating between cardio, upper body and lower body moves.) The number beside each exercise is how many I was able to complete during the 50 seconds of work...

1. Jumping jacks (57)

2. T Push-ups (12)

3. Sumo squat - 30 lbs (26)

4. Squat thrusts (16)

5. Bicep curl to shoulder press - 20 lbs (13)

6. Alternating reverse lunge - 30 lbs (24)

7. Mountain climbers (59)

8. Tricep dips (40)

9. Straight-leg deadlift - 30 lbs (21)

10. Snowboarders (33)

11. Dumbbell row - 30 lbs (25)

12. Kettlebell swings - 15 lbs (25)

13. High knees (70)

14. Lateral/front shoulder raises - 20 lbs (22)

15. Stability ball hip raise w/ curl (13)

Afterwards I did the following core workout, setting up my interval timer to look like this...

Six rounds of two intervals, one at 10 seconds (rest) one at 40 seconds (work). I did the following six core exercises...

1. Standard plank

2. Right-side plank

3. Standard plank

4. Left-side plank

5. Swiss ball rollout

6. Swiss ball jackknife

I did this routine two times through. It was a bit tough to finish considering the amount of sweat I had pouring off of me from the cardio workout beforehand, but I did it.

I refueled with my normal protein-flax-oatmeal and lots of water. My morning snack will be one egg + one egg white and a larabar before heading to the grocery store. Remember, if you want a chance at winning five LARABARS of your choice, just make a comment sometime before Monday morning. The more comments you make, the more chances to win!!

Talking Point: Have you tried yoga before? Do you use it as your primary exercise routine or do you supplement your other activites with a few sessions of yoga each week?

At least one reader!!

I have to admit that I was starting to feel a bit discouraged that nobody was actually reading this blog. But I finally got a few reader responses to those "talking points" that are always at the end of each blog entry (thank you Lauren and Stephanie!!) and then Stephanie wrote a really nice note on how much she is enjoying the blog. It made me get a bit teary-eyed and I realized that even if only one person is enjoying and/or learning something from this blog, then it makes it worth it.

Today's workout was another "Quick & Dirty" workout. It came from this website: bodyrock.tv (WARNING: The woman who does this website is incredibly fit and has some amazing workouts, but she shows A LOT of cleavage. You have been forewarned!!) Here's the actual workout I did:

Four exercises repeated six times for a total of 24 rounds. Each round consisted of 10 seconds of rest and 20 seconds of work (think Tabata-style). This entire workout only lasted 12 minutes, but left me totally spent at the end...

If you're using your Gymboss Interval Timer, you should set it up to look like this...

Complete the following exercises once each time and then repeat the entire circuit six times...

1. High Knees
2. Mountain Climbers
3. Side Plank Jumps (like squat thrusts but you jump to the side instead of out the back and add a little burpee on the end)
4. Super Girl Push-up (go down in a regular push-up, and as you come up, raise one arm and the opposite leg, repeat push-up and then raise the other arm and opposite leg)

(For more details on how to do this exact workout, go here)

During your 20 seconds of work, you should go all out and do as many as you can in the allotted time. Here were my results:

1. High Knees: 34/33/33/34/35/35 (I counted every time my right knee went up)
2. Mountain Climbers: 27/25/26/28/27/28 (Again, I counted each time my right knee went to the chest)
3. Side Plank Jump: 6/7/7/6/6/6
4. Super Girl Push-up: 7/8/8/8/7/8

I also did a 5-minute warm-up and cool-down on the stationary bike. This workout was short but very intense, great for a pre-lake workout (we spend most of Tuesday at the lake so I like to do something short before leaving in the morning.)

I refueled with my usual protein-flax oatmeal (love this stuff!) I also wanted to show my scrumptious lunch from yesterday...

Eating salads is one of the best ways to get in a lot of vegetable servings. My green of choice is fresh spinach and I also added some organic grape tomatoes and tuna all topped with some balsamic vinaigrette dressing. Add in a side of grapes and Babybel cheese and it was a complete meal.

Well, we're off to the lake. I will try my best not to get sunburned this time!! This afternoon I plan on attending my first BodyFlow class in order to complete this week's challenge. I'll let you know how it goes!

Talking Point: Do you like to eat salads? If so, what is your favorite kind of salad base (romaine, iceberg, spinach, arugula, etc..)? What else do you like to put on your salad?

Calorie Counting

I received my first "reader's question" (thank you Stephanie!) which I was super excited about (especially since I very rarely receive any comments.) After my blog about my daily eats, she asked this question...

"How many calories should you have in a day? Is there some kind of percentage
that I heard but was wondering what you thought? I had heard your body weight x 10. So if you want to lose weight, you would put in the weight you want to be at
times 10 and then that is the amount of calories you should use for the day.
What about if you work out? Should you increase your calorie intake at all? If
you are trying to lose weight, I would think probably not but what about if you
are just trying to maintain it?"

Calorie needs and calorie counting are really personal to each person and their individual bodies and mentality. I need to preface this by saying that I am not an expert nor a nutritionist. All I will do is tell you my experience and what has worked for me. What you do with that information is completely up to you, of course.

A calorie is the basic unit of energy that your body uses to do everything from blinking your eyes to running marathons and everything in between. Your Basal Metabolic Rate (or BMR) is the amount of energy or calories that your body needs in order to function at its most basic level (what your body would need if you just laid around the couch all day.) There are many formulas and online calculators such as this one that can give you a VERY general idea of what you BMR is based solely on your current weight, height and gender. Another general guideline to you BMR can be found by simply multiplying your current weight by 100. So if you weight 130 pounds, your BMR would be around 1300 calories per day. Obviously these methods are only rough guidelines and should be used as such.

To determine your calorie needs, you would take the number from your BMR and then determine how active you are during the day. A sitting-at-their-desk-all-day office worker doesn't burn the same number of calories as a construction worker and if you run around doing chores and chasing children all day, your calorie needs may be even higher. Calculating any increase in calories burned through exercise also needs to be accounted for to determine your basic calorie needs for any typical day.

The basic idea of weight loss then is to burn more calories than you consume. If you follow this basic "diet" philosophy, you will lose weight, at least for a while anyway. You could be consuming nothing but sodas and twinkies and as long as you burn more calories than you consume, you will still drop the weight (you won't be healthy at all and all those empty calories will have leave you pretty hungry most of the time, but you will be thinner.) A general rule of thumb to lose one pound a week is to burn 500 calories more per day than you eat, so that at the end of the week, you will have a deficit of 3500 calories, the equivalent of one pound.

If you are a calorie counter, I would encourage you to never drop your calories too drastically though. My personal recommendation is to never drop it below 1500 calories/day. Anything less than that in my opinion will send your body into starvation-mode and your body (the extremely efficient machine that it is) will find ways to hold onto any excess weight you may have, making weight loss even harder. Eating less will also mess with your metabolism in such a way that maintaining any weight loss may be close to impossible.

I don't count calories. I had a brief stint with calorie-counting earlier this year as documented here, but I really hated it. I felt that I became a slave to a number and wasn't relying on my own body's cues to know when, what and how much I should eat. And really, a calorie from unhealthy-overly-processed foods is not equivalent to a calorie obtained from a good-straight from-nature food item. Your body knows what to do with an apple, but it gets confused on what to do with Apple Jacks. I found that I did better at losing weight when eating whole, natural, organic foods than I did with the Diet-labeled-100-calorie-processed-packages of food, even though I was eating around the same number of calories (and actually I eat more calories now than ever before, but because most of them are in the form of healthy foods, I still don't gain weight!)

I think the best advice I have heard is to follow the lead of Michael Polan who said it this way...
"Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." If you are ready for it, I would recommend to stop counting calories today and instead follow these simple strategies...

1. Eat often (5-6 small meals each day is ideal)
2. Eat as many whole, unprocessed foods as possible (the fewer the ingredients, the better)
3. Watch your portion sizes
4. Aim to get in 5-6 servings of non-starchy vegetables, 2-3 servings of fruit, 2-3 servings of whole grains and 2-3 servings of healthy fats each day (Trust me, if you can get in these amounts each day, you will not have enough room to fill up on empty calories)
5. Drink water (our bodies can't really distinguish between hunger and thirst, so many times we think we are hungry when in actuality, we just really need to drink more water...I say if in doubt, drink first!)

I bet if you followed these 5 rules, your weight will go down, your clothes will fit better and most importantly, you will be developing a strong and healthy body. And a nice bonus...you will also be providing a great example to those little eyes who may be watching you!!

Blogiversary!!!

So today marks one month since I started this fitness blog. I'm not sure if too many people are reading this, but I am enjoying writing it so it's all good. More on that later...

I thought I would do a post about my favorite on-the-go snack. I have always been a huge fan of granola bars (both their taste and portability can't be beat.) But the nutrition label for a basic store-brand granola bar is a bit scary...


I do like these Clif Builder's bars. They have lots of protein and taste great. The Clif Company is known for using natural, organic ingredients but even their ingredient list is pretty long...

Then I discovered the Larabar. They aren't as sweet as regular granola bars (and there are a few flavors that I really don't like) but check out the ingredients...

Dates, Peanuts and Salt....you can't get much simpler than that, especially for an energy bar. The Peanut Butter Cookie is my favorite flavor (I love anything with peanuts.) They are a bit high in fat (peanuts) and sugar (dates) but I think they are a great substitute for when you need a quick and/or highly portable snack.

So good news blog readers!! To honor the one month blogiversary of "Make It Fit," I will be giving away 5 Larabars (YES, FIVE) to one lucky reader. To win, all you need to do is make at least one comment on the blog itself during the next week and next Monday I will announce the Larabar winner on the blog. The more comments you make this week, the more chances you have to win (your name will be entered in each time you comment.)

Talking Point: Do you have an energy bar that you really like? Have you ever tried a Larabar? If so, what is you flavor of choice?

I Scream, U Scream

Anybody who knows me well, knows that I LOVE ice cream. That gooey, yummy, creamy texture does me in every time. I have been known to down large quantities in a single sitting and was the one thing I craved almost everyday while pregnant with both children. Summertime seems to bring out my ice cream addiction even more...that cool goodness on these hot days is something that I just adore.

I have discovered a fairly good and healthy substitute for ice cream recently that I thought I would share. It still has the cool, creamy texture of ice cream but without all the fat and calories. The best part is that it contains a huge amount of protein too (about 30 grams) which is great for anybody like me who sometimes struggles to get in enough protein during the day. I call it "Protein Pseudo Ice Cream Goodness!"

Protein Pseudo Ice Cream Goodness

1 Banana (cut up and frozen -- this is important to get a good, creamy consistency)
1/4 c. nonfat plain greek yogurt
1/4 c. lowfat cottage cheese (for all those cottage cheese-haters, I promise you will not taste it at all in this concoction)
1/2 scoop chocolate whey protein powder
1 T. natural peanut butter (try to use something that lists peanuts as the only ingredient)

Combine first three ingredients in a food processor until smooth (this may take a couple of minutes with the frozen banana, but the more it mixes, the creamier it will be). Then add in the protein powder and peanut butter and mix until well combined. Pour this creamy goodness into a bowl, freeze for an hour or so and indulge in this creamy treat without all the guilt! (I will often make this right after dinner so that it is ready for a nice evening snack!)

Talking Point: Do you have any healthy alternatives to any of your favorite foods?

My Clean Eating Journey

In January of 2010, I made a goal to learn how to eat. I know, I know you might think I'm crazy since I have been eating since I was a baby. But I really wanted to learn how to eat well. I have always been into working out, but was less than stellar with what was going inside my mouth each day. Sure, I lost the weight after having each baby by following Weight Watchers, but I wanted to incorporate healthy eating into my life as my new "diet" and not a "diet" that I would go on and off of.

I started the year by reading "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" for my book club which opened my eyes to the ways that we get our food and the kinds of foods that I was eating. After finishing that book as well as Michale Polan's "Omnivore's Dilemma" and watching the documentary "Food, Inc." I started to make some changes in the foods that I was buying and eating. The culmination of my quest in learning how to eat was the book "The Eat Clean Diet" by Tosca Reno. Clean eating isn't something new, but she gave me ways that I could incorporate it into my everyday life and see and feel the results from it that I had been seeking. (I highly recommend all of these resources, but be forewarned, they will definitely change the way you look at and hopefully eat food!)

(Image from http://eatcleandiet.blogspot.com)

Clean eating is mostly about eating foods in their most natural state while avoiding the plethora of processed foods that we have become accustomed to eating as Americans. It is about becoming aware of what you are putting into your body at each and every meal and trying to fuel it in the best way possible. For me, it became a complete mind shift...instead of working out so that I could EAT, I had to learn how to EAT, so that I could workout...a completely different way of looking at food.


I've listed in the sidebar the basic principles of clean eating that Tosca Reno lays out nicely in her book. I am in no way perfect at this type of eating, but I have come a long way in the last six months. I feel better, I look better and I run better. (To give you the numbers...I've lost about 15 pounds, my skin is clearer, and I can fairly comfortably pull out 8-8:30 minute miles where before I was pushing 10-minute miles!) But the best part is that I feel like I am in control rather than food controlling me. And that is a great feeling.

I'll be posting tips that I try to incorporate into my own life during my adventures in clean eating as well as recipes and clean foods that I have found to be especially yummy. Hope you enjoy!!