Fit Tip of the Day 5.23.2013
categories: Fit Tips
Tag: getting healthy
Excuses Won’t Change Anything
categories: Fit Tips
Excuses, complaining, and whining are my biggest pet peeves. Honestly, I would rather hear someone say “It’s just not that important to me”, then give me a list of excuses why they don’t/didn’t do something. It’s annoying. If you want something bad enough, you will do anything to make it happen.
Think back to a time when you really, really wanted something. Maybe a good grade on a test, purchasing your dream car, or going on an exotic vacation. I am sure you made a plan on how to get to your end result. If you wanted to get a good grade you studied and practiced the skill till you got it right. You worked extra hours at work and even gave things up for that fancy car or vacation. I’m sure you didn’t give up till you got what you wanted.
In the end, the three things I listed would have made you temporarily happy. Imagine working hard for a goal that would make your life better. Even better, the happiness achieved will last your entire life. When you decide to live a healthy lifestyle and make permanent changes, health and happiness are your reward. The more you put into it, the more you get back.
When I made the decision to get in the best shape of my life, I had to change my attitude. Excuses were thrown out the window. Complaints were non-existent. Drive, determination, and inspiration pushed me when it seemed impossible.
Here are some excuses that might sound familiar:
- I’m too tired
- Healthy foods are more expensive
- I don’t have the time to make healthy foods
- I don’t have time to work out
- I don’t like fruits and vegetables
- My kid(s) is picky
Now, let me give you a solution to each of these:
- You are most likely too tired because of what you are fueling your body with. Cut the processed foods, and fast food and put something real in your body. Exercising will actually give you more energy.
- Healthy foods can cost more than a fast food meal if you don’t plan. If you go into the store with a plan and use some of the same ingredients twice, you won’t spend as much as you normally do. Junk adds up too. Watch your store ads, and use coupons when you can. Call your city and ask if they have a program that helps families purchase healthy foods. I know in my city they do regardless of income, there have to be others that do as well.
- If you don’t have time during the week to make food from scratch, do it on Saturday or Sunday. Yes, it does take some time, but in the long run, the results will be worth the small sacrifice. There are also healthier fast food options for those times that you don’t have a choice. Ask for no spread or cheese. Pick the grilled option instead of crispy/crunchy. Opt for a side salad or apples instead of fries. Get an iced tea or water instead of soda. There should be no excuse not to eat healthy regardless of time.
- Everyone has time to work out, you just have to be motivated and creative. If you watch t.v. every night, you have time. Exercise at every commercial break. Go to the gym on your lunch break and eat at your desk. Wake up early. Today I really didn’t think I would have time to workout. So instead of driving to my son’s school to work on a project, I ran. Both ways combined ended up being 2 miles. Decent workout for not having time.
- If you don’t like fruits or vegetables, it’s time to try them again. There were a lot of things I didn’t like as a child. When I tried them as an adult I was amazed how quickly my opinion changed. I despised fish growing up. Not only do I love fish now, but I even eat it raw. Something I never thought would happen. Sometimes it will take a few times of trying something to really like it. Don’t give up and keep an open mind.
- Both of my kids have their likes and dislikes, but at every meal we ask them to take a “no thank you bite”. We use the premise “How do you know you don’t like it if you don’t know what it tastes like?”. Even if it’s on their ‘do not eat’ list we still ask them to try it again. It’s their choice how big or small the bite is. Due to this tactic our kids have expanded their food lists ten fold. Our once very picky eater (due to horrific GERD as a baby) is now a bona fide foodie. He even loves sushi, salmon, brussel sprouts and mushrooms. Our 4 year old has a longer road to get his foodie badge, but as long as he is willing to try new foods he can take as long as he wants.
The point is that any excuse you come up with can be resolved. You just have to want them to be. Stop thinking you can’t do it and tell yourself you can. Find inspiration that will motivate you to the next level. My personal motivater when I want to quit a hard workout is a contestant from the Biggest Loser. At 500 lbs this man was running 5 miles, and looked amazing by the finale. I am obviously much smaller than him. He didn’t use his size as an excuse, so any excuse I have about something being hard is destroyed when I think about his determination.
Now that your excuses are gone what is stopping you from reaching your health/fitness goal?
“Accept responsibility for your life. Know that it is you who will get you where you want to go, no one else.” – Les Brown
Spaghetti Squash Goat Cheese Bake
One of my favorite dishes growing up was made only for special occasions. Usually at Christmas, Thanksgiving and Easter. To do this day, I love cheesy potatoes. It consists of shredded potatoes covered in a sour cream, cream of chicken, and cheese mixture. I’m pretty sure most families have a version of this. So you most likely know how delicious it is, and how unhealthy it is.
Tonight I accidentally made this dish healthy. It was a happy accident leading to me rushing to my computer to blog about it.
For the first time, in who knows when, I was on my own for dinner. It was one of those nights where I really did not want to make dinner, especially not for one person. Then, out of the blue I was inspired by the spaghetti squash I bought yesterday. No one in my family likes spaghetti squash but me. Weirdos. So this was the perfect opportunity for me to make whatever I wanted. I was in uncharted territory. I had carte blance on this dish.
I started pulling ingredients out of the fridge in a feverish pace. Goat cheese went flying onto the counter. Then turkey bacon followed in its path. I found a portion of a red onion and then went to town slicing and dicing. In the end I wound up with a casserole/bake.
While my experiment in solo cooking was bubbling and browning, I watched an entire t.v. show without being interrupted. Those with children can attest to how wonderful that 30 minutes was. No complaining about what I was watching, no asking me for anything, just the commentary of Joel McHale on the Soup. Ahhhhhh. I was so relaxed I almost fell asleep.
When it was time to try my new creation I jumped off the couch feeling refreshed, and pulled it out of the oven. I was really excited to try my dish. I cut a giant square all for myself. Grabbed a fork, plopped back on the couch and devoured my entire plate in a matter of minutes. Oh my goodness! Then I went back for more. I then licked my plate clean, since no one was here to witness it.
It tasted very similar to the cheesy potatoes I grew up on, with a fraction of the fat and zero carbs. If you have never tried spaghetti sqaush, this dish would be a great place to start. I have a feeling my husband and boys would approve too. I can’t wait for them to come home and try it.
Recipe
1 small spaghetti squash
4 pieces of turkey bacon, diced
1/4 of a red onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 oz. goat cheese, crumbled
2 tablespoons cheddar cheese
1 egg
1/4 c. unsweetened almond milk
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 – 1 teaspoon tabasco (depending on how much spice you like)
2 tablespoons grated parmesean
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Spray a 8×8 baking dish with olive oil.
Cut the spaghetti squash in half lengthwise. Place face down on a microwave safe plate with a small amount of water, cover with plastic wrap and cook for 8 minutes on high. (An alternative to a microwave would be place face down on a cookie sheet and bake for 40 – 90 minutes depending on the size). When spaghetti squash is cool enough to handle, take a fork and scrape out the strands of squash. Set aside.
Saute the bacon over medium high heat for 3-4 minutes. Add the red onion in and saute another 3- 4 minutes. Add in the garlic, saute for 1 minute. Remove from heat and mix in the spaghetti squash.
Whisk together the egg, cheeses, milk, salt and pepper, and tabasco. Add the milk mixture to the spaghetti squash and mix thoroughly. Pour into baking dish and evenly sprinkle the parmesan over the squash. Bake for 30 minutes, turning half way through, to bake evenly. Serve hot. Enjoy!
Servings: 8 • Size: 1/8 of casserole
Calories: 154 • Fat: 11g • Carb: 13 g • Fiber: 1 g • Protein: 5g •
Sugar: 0.3 g
Sodium: 790mg • Cholest: 57 mg
Should Women Run?
categories: Fit Tips
Read this article and then come back for my commentary:
http://www.dangerouslyhardcore.com/5343/why-women-should-not-run/
When I first started my weight loss journey I tried a multitude of things. I first started off with the elliptical in my home, then fought to get a bike in spin class, then began my love of running. I did lose weight doing each of those, but I was stuck in an unbreakable plateau. I was eating somewhat healthy, so I decided to ramp that up and eat really healthy. I lost a little more, but still, I was stuck.
Then I discovered the secret to my success, www.bodyrock.tv. Bodyrock is high intensity interval training (HIIT) exercise instruction with videos. Best of all, it’s FREE. It is a great resource for those that want to get in the best shape of their lives.
The definition of HIIT is any workout that alternates between intense bursts of activity and fixed periods of less-intense activity or even complete rest. Each exercise is 50 seconds long, and there is a 10 second break in between. The amount of exercises in for each day differs, but the formula is always the same. 50 second exercise, 10 second break, move onto the next exercise. Once you have gone through all the specified exercises you do the series 2 more times.
According to Shape magazine, “Not only do you burn more calories during HIIT workouts, but the effect of all that intense exertion kicks your body’s repair cycle into hyperdrive. That means you burn more fat and calories in the 24 hours after a HIIT workout than you do after, say, a steady-pace run”.
More added benefits to HIIT are, a healthier heart, loss of fat, not muscle, quick effective workout, and increased metabolism.
My weight essentially melted off when I started doing HIIT. I still ran here and there, but the majority of my workouts were HIIT. Yes, they are hardcore workouts, and the videos may scare you at first. Trust me when I tell you, if I can do it, so can you. Don’t try to match the instructors intensity at first. Do what you can and your body will become stronger over time. Eventually you will match the instructors vigor!
When I married the exercise with an even healthier eating regime I blasted through the plateau and haven’t looked back. If constant cardio has been part of your regime and isn’t getting you to your goal, try HIIT. What do you have to lose? Besides fat of course.
What are your thoughts on this topic? Did running work for you or did you plateau? If not, what did work for you? Post your comments below.
Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes
categories: Side Dish
When you think ‘health food’, the word mashed potatoes usually doesn’t exist. When I found out those words could co-exist in the same recipe I ran home and made a batch. I think it’s been about 8 years since I first made them, and they are still a go to recipe.
This recipe is simple and translates into any mashed potato use you can think of. I have used it on top of Shepherd’s Pie. I have made ‘potato’ cakes. Of course you can eat them in their simplest form too.
Regular mashed potatoes, made from scratch have a calorie count of 239 calories, for one cup. A whopping 79 calories are from added fat. The carb count comes in at 35.5g and the sugar content is 3g. It would take you 27 minutes of jogging to burn off the spuds.
For the same amount of cauliflower mash, there are 90 calories. 40 of them are from healthy fat, the carb count is 5.1 g, fiber 3.3g and sugars are 1.7. This version only takes approximately 10 minutes of jogging to burn off. Kind of a no brainer nutritionally. Especially because this healthy version of the mashed taters will have you saying “potato who?”.
Recipe
Serves 6 – 8
1 head of cauliflower, core removed and florets pulled apart into smaller portions
4 tablespoons Smart Balance butter
salt & pepper to taste
Steam the cauliflower florets until they are soft enough to mash.
When cooked, put the florets into a food processor with the remaining ingredients and process until it reaches your desired consistency. I like mine a little chunky.
Servings: 4
Calories: 94 • Fat: 5g • Carb: 2 g • Fiber: 1 g • Protein: 1g • Sugar: 1g Sodium: 99mg • Cholest: 0mg
Fit Tip of the Day 4.17.13
categories: Fit Tips
As I was deciding what fit tip to post, I came across this. I have to say that I wish I had some super glue gloss in the past week. Granted it was my child’s 7th birthday and birthdays are meant for splurging, but I went way beyond that. Needless to say I am back on track after lecturing myself about my ultimate goal. Continuing on the my indulgent path would just erase all the hard work I had done. As good as those foods were they aren’t worth the work I am going to put in to erase that errant food rant.
Sometimes our will power fails, and only superglue lip gloss will keep us from falling into our old patterns. When you reach that fork in the road, the path you take in the long road means everything. Are you struggling with eating healthy right now? If so, step back and ask yourself why you started in the first place. I doubt it was to become overweight or unhealthy. Your actions should reflect your goals. If they aren’t, change them. Only you have the power to do that. Get back on the path to your goal! You will be glad you did.
Beet Chips with Sea Salt
categories: Condiments, Side Dish
It’s most likely apparent that I love food. Food prep is a stress relief to me and a enjoy to eat. There are very few things that I do not like, boxed potato au gratin, nacho cheese Doritos and beets have always been on my list. Always. Until recently I had not even been near a beet purposely since I was little.
In December my husband and I went on a much needed cruise together. We did not follow the crowds and join in on excursions. The only ‘group’ activity we participated in was the Chef’s Table. We signed up 3 months ahead to assure one of the only 12 spots. I was so ecstatic when I received an email from the maitre d’ confirming our seat.
When the night finally came we started off eating 3 meticulously made appetizers in the galley, then we headed to the library for the remainder of our 8 course meal. Every course that came out was better than the last. Then it happened. Our luscious fish course came with a beet on the plate. I looked at my husband and then froze. If I didn’t eat it I risked insulting the chef and his amazing meal. Everything up to this point had been dreamlike, perfection. So I put my big girl panties on and I ate it. Even the red devil that I have always had an aversion to was over the top.
Recently I came across a beet chip recipe. My thoughts raced back to that delectable beet. That is when the decision came to give them a real shot. Even as I was peeling them, I was sure I wasn’t going to like them. I am not a classically trained Chef and have no idea how the chef on the boat prepared them. But, I had to try them again. They are packed with vital nutrients that fight cancer, and heart disease. They are chocked full of good carbs, and fiber.
I will officially say that they are off the “Does Not Eat” list and on the they are not so bad list. They aren’t something I will crave. But, I will eat them over a fatty potato chip any day.
The moral of the story? Try it, you may like it, even just a little.
Recipe
2 large beets, top cut off and peeled (the tops can be eaten as well)
Olive oil in Misto
Pre heat your oven to 350 degrees. I used my food processor to make the beets into chips. If you have a mandolin I would use that instead. (A mandolin is currently on my, I want that list). Place the beet slices onto a cookie sheet that has been lightly sprayed with olive oil. Spray the top side of the slices with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt. Bake for 10 -15 minutes until the edges start to curl slightly. Be careful not to burn them, like I did the first time. They go from done to burned quickly. They will dry a bit after they cool.
Fit Tip of the Day 4.11.2013
categories: Fit Tips
I found this nifty little chart the other day (click to enlarge). It shows how many pounds you can lose by just changing one small habit. For instance, drinking a glass of water versus a can of soda can lead to a 15 pound weight loss in a year. Pretty amazing! So put that soda down, stop super sizing, and get off your booty! Small changes lead to big results.
Fit Tip of the Day 4.9.2013
categories: Fit Tips
Turkey Bacon & Egg Cups
Last week I was flying solo in the parenting department. I’ve lectured you before on the importance of prepping meals or ingredients ahead of time. This time I figured I should practice what I preach. In the past I’ve been really bad about not eating breakfast at all when don’t have my partner in crime to help assist with the morning craziness. But, I feel like a hypocrite, so I decided to break that cycle. This breakfast dish is an easy go to, quick breakfast for those busy mornings.
I came across these little babies on pinterest. I have now made them twice and have tweaked the recipe to my liking. They are so delicious, healthy and easy. They reheat well, and give me a much needed protein boost in the morning. I ate them with half of a whole wheat english muffin topped with smart balance butter, and half a grape fruit. The meal was perfectly balanced with carbs and protein. Leaving me satiated till my mid morning snack.
They may look fancy but they are super simple. They would even make a great addition to a weekend brunch. Make them, you won’t be sorry!
1 lb Turkey Bacon
1 dozen eggs (preferably organic)
2 tablespoons green onions, or chives, minced
about a 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
Salt & Pepper to taste
Pre heat oven to 350 degrees. Line each cup of a muffin tin with foil (or you will never make this again). Make sure the foil is higher than the cup. Make a circle with the bacon and drop it in each muffin cup, it will overlap itself. Crack each egg into the bacon circle. Sprinkle salt and pepper onto each egg cup. Bake for 25 – 30 minutes, or until the white is set. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of cheese. Sprinkle each cup with green onions. Enjoy hot! (Of course I enjoyed mine with a generous amount of tabasco. Hey! It boosts your metabolism!).