Random ideas for a random day...

I have been asked what my top snacks are....those that contribute to health and are still good. These are my go-to non-meal-foods that I eat almost every day. Here are the top five.

1) Popcorn : in my personal opinion, just a remarkably satisfying snack. (ALWAYS get popcorn that is 15 calories per cup popped...NO MORE THAN THAT. The brands that fall into that category are Orville Reddenbacher's SMART POP 94% fat free butter, air popped at home(I got an air popper at Target for less than 15 dollars, and a plastic bottle of popcorn), ACT 2 fat free, and Deerfield Farms Natural.

2) Sliced turkey (thinly sliced) with a bit of mustard on it, rolled up (NO BREAD or CRACKERS)

3) Danon Light and Fit Yogurt (80 cal per container)...I usually eat half a container in the afternoon & the other half after dinner if I'm hungry, or before dinner if we are eating late.

4) two egg whites cooked in pam or poached - each egg white is about 17 Calories (one source).

5) Plain fat-free cottage cheese (1/4 cup) or 1/4 cup plain fat free yogurt, no additives.

Keep in mind, these are snacks, not meals. I also like apples, cut into slices, for a late snack, but steer away from them during the day because even though they are high in fiber and unrefined sugars, that sugar makes me hungrier as the day goes on, so I like to eat them late, when they do their job well without rebound hunger. If for some reason I have to skip or eat a late lunch, or I haven't gotten enough calories during the day, I add a thin layer of natural peanut butter or almond butter to the apple slices.

Okay, random switch...treadmill experiment - MYTH DEBUNK TIME. When I type in my actual weight, I get this reading at half a mile:

So 42 calories burned at level 10 in one half mile. What's my actual weight you may ask? I am going to withhold that information, because I do not want ANYONE in the entire world to compare themselves with my weight, which happens to be a bit low at the moment. I'm working on it. That being said, here is my results for the 1 mile:

So in a hair over a mile, I only burn 83 calories at level 10 (impossibly fast with HUGE hill program). What this means is..... it is hard to make exercise a viable way to justify eating a lot. It doesn't work. It helps, and ups your basal metabolic rate, and does burn calories....but I can't go and eat a huge gluten free donut and think I'm gonna work it off, unless I decide to blow out my hip running a marathon! LOL. Okay here are the photos of the same program when I use 150 (the default) as my weight:

So my actual weight burns about 64.5% of the calories that someone would burn in the SAME workout at 150 pounds. That means that if I did not enter my actual weight, I would have thought I had a very intense workout indeed. Here's the one mile numbers:

 

So in one mile, under these circumstances I burned only 61% of what I would have thought I burned if I did the workout with an inaccurate weight. What does this prove??? You don't burn nearly as much as you think you do, and if you don't individualize your weight (or other stats) on your treadmill, then you just aren't getting the workout you think you are, and you are, in my opinion, fooling yourself.

Things brings me to EXERCISE MYTH #1.....If you wanna do it at first, it doesn't work. What is the culpret, fooling our nation's gym rats into thinking they are burning calories like its going out of style??? It's the Eliptical trainer. It doesn't work. It feels like it works, but it doesn't. I will share a brief story about this.

It was probably about 12 years ago, and I was training during the winter months for an upcoming 5K. I got sick of the treadmill (boo hoo, I know, NO EXCUSES) so I climbed on to the eliptical at my gym. I faithfully did 45 minutes, sweating, feeling like I was ready to take on an Ultra (translation: ultramarathon, which is a distance race longer than a marathon, usually 50 or 100 miles). Anyway, race day comes and I sucked up the course....it was HORRIBLE DISPLAY of athletic weakness. Conclusion - eliptical no worky. Okay then I began asking my patients to make detailed exercise diaries. I began to see a pattern. Those who did the eliptical felt like they were working their butts off, but still liked it. They also were the ones who more easily hit the weight loss plateau. In every case, once we changed the eliptical to the treadmill, the weight loss continued, and plateau was left in their dust! I realize that the eliptical is better than nothing, and some people have knee issues. But please do not stick w/ that miserable aperatus if you have a choice. The reason people like it - is that it isn't hard. It isn't challenging and I can hear you right now in your head saying "but I GET A GOOD WORKOUT...but but but..."  No you don't, and NO you are not the exception to the rule. I have collected the data from hundreds of patients, and I conclude...NO ELIPTICAL. Whew! Sorry, had to vent about that.

 

Oh Ikea, how I love thee. Let me count the most recent ways:

1) RIBBA picture frames with acid-free mattes included. This baby (above) is perfect for my 11x14 Lobster Pot print, and ran me.... **GASP** 14.99. Yes, it's true. The larger one, also with matte that fits a 16x20 was 24.99. I am just taken aback at what a good value it is, for something that looks awesome when you put it up .

2) Glass sealed canisters - the humongo size for only 5.99 (I think, it may have been 4.99). I now have dog treats, rice & oats in the three I purchased. Beautiful & functional.

3) My new studio "island". We purchased a cube bookshelf thingy that is the perfect size, and it cost me....34.99. Baskets custom made to fit cost me 12.99 apiece, and I bought two, for the bottom two cube shelves. Ahhhh, I love it.

4) Glassware. Cheap, attractive, and I forgot to mention, cheap.

5) Fabric. Just amazing, unique and great quality. The problem? You have to track someone down to cut the yardage. A small price to pay.

Alrighty then. Food. Last night I was at my wits end with work and driving kids around so I decide to do a 15 minute meal, meatsauce (sadly no time for New Basics bolognese). 97% fat free ground turkey, spices, finely chopped onions, 3 cloves garlic, crushed tomatoes in tomato sauce, diced tomatoes (can) and tomato puree. Threw it all into my favorite enamel pot from my grandma....and here it was...

Oh, and don't forget to use your immersion blender....the best invention after enamel pots and popover pans. Here's my model...

 

I also made one of my favorite sides, sauteed white mushrooms with vidalia onions. Sauteed in pam with kosher salt & a few grinds of black peper. Delicious and makes the pasta les necessary when you throw these on top.

 I have a lot more to post, but gonna take a break and leave you with a little eye candy!

I also owe you receipes....one being the black bean chowder! Yum. I'm gonna type that up as a download for anyone who wants it. xoxo

Comments

[Em]

you are so right about the elliptical. However, I did lose a mess of weight last year, using the precor elliptical (looks like your running on air) at the gym, everyday for 45 minutes. Then, when I hit that plateau, took gym classes, and did the treadmill. So, it's funny you should say all that!!!!!!

[Barbie]

Very interesting Em. Actually I'm not saying there is NO place for the eliptical...but we just get a bigger bang for the buck on the treadmill....or road running. I bet your change in diet was the most instrumental factor in your weight loss. Short of my 50 mile weeks, that always has been the case for me in the past. Loved your insight into this.

[Scott]

I could use some new canisters. That and some motivation to deal with this weather