3.14.2011

why? WHY?!?!?!

Do you ever commit to something and ask yourself "why"? Yeah, that's what I'm doing with this stupid push-up challenge. And the fact that I'm on my own in this blasted thing is making it even harder.
Boo, hoo, hoo, hoo, hoooooo.
At least, I've stuck to it!

3.08.2011

inspiration

I'm sure many of you know Lindsay and have already read her blog but I HAD to share it here. She contacted me a few months ago asking general diet and exercise questions. We stayed in touch for a few weeks but our correspondence kind of fizzled. Then Sunday night I saw her blog and her amazing, inspirational transformation and I got goose bumps. Literally! She is so beautiful (always has been) and her story is just so relevant and real. I've asked her to do a guest post with more details which will come soon but for now I encourage you to go to her blog and get inspired.

3.06.2011

get in my belly

I had a conversation with a friend the other day about eating/exercising/weight loss and she asked me about my personal eating habits. After giving her the scoop she told me I should share them here. I know I've mentioned some of my "tricks" in the past but I felt like it would be a good idea to share my tips for staying in control.

I have a hard time restricting myself from any food. When I say no this and no that I always end up binging on it. So instead of going on food lock down I alter my initial instincts when it comes to eating.

I try to use a smaller plate whenever possible. I have 2 salad plates at home that I like to use for meals. I end up with less of a portion than a dinner plate would allow and am never left feeling empty or unsatisfied. On the rare occasion I end up using a dinner sized plate I ALWAYS feel over full/stuffed/uncomfortable at the end of the meal.

I never go back for main course seconds. Let's be honest, lasagna has about 50 bajillion times more calories than the steamed broccoli you served with it. And although a fruit salad has alot of natural sugars it's a way better "double dip" than the sloppy joes. If I need more after my salad plate portion I'll go back for seconds and dish up on healthier sides.

When we eat out Michael and I always split our meal. If we go fast food we'll order one value meal, split the drink and fries and each get our own "entree." It does get obnoxious sometimes though because he is a very picky eater. I'd say that almost always one of us ends up compromising on what we really want so that we can split. It may sound annoying but it's cost effective with both calories and dolla, dolla bills. :D I also split food with the kids because alot of times I'm not as hungry as the drive through menu would have me believe. I'll end up with a few left over nuggets and some fries. It's enough to keep me satisfied until my next meal, even if it comes earlier than normal, which I can make healthier anyway.

If there is a time when I go out and order my own entree, I won't order anything else. If I go to In N Out I get a cheeseburger animal style, of course, and nothing else. No fries for me thanks, I already have a giant cheeseburger to clog my arteries with. If I really, really want a whole meal I will get a kids meal. I've heard that a kids meal is actually the appropriate size for an adult anyway.

I love to eat fruit before a meal. When I start cooking dinner, I'll rinse some grapes or cut up an apple. This helps begin to fill me with a fibrous food that is relatively low in calories. I end up eating less of the dinner that I've made which could be anything from homemade pizza to alfredo. I also eat the same kind of fruit numerous times in a day. I don't know why but I used to not eat more than an apple a day because I felt like I wasn't supposed to or something? But now, when I buy the Costco packs of apples I treat them like a constant daily snack morning, noon and night. I will eat 2 or 3 apples in a day and it feels and tastes great. I get fiber, quick energy and nutrients. If you have lots of fruit, eat lots of fruit. The same goes for veggies too of course.

This may seem like alot of things but I like having a whole arsenal of tricks to help me in various situations. If I can make wise portions a part of my daily diet I know that I won't gain weight no matter what I eat.

Now the next part of this post (it's long, I know) is about why I can eat what I do and stay the same size. I exercise a lot. I burn at least 600 calories every time I teach. Add that to the small portions and you get success in maintenance.

Do you know how much you burn during your workouts? I've used this example before but let I'll share it again. If you run a mile, you burn 100 calories. If you walk a mile you burn 100 calories. Picture it like this, if you heat up some left over pizza in the microwave it takes 1 minute. If you heat it up in the oven it takes 10 minutes or so. The same level of heat can be achieved using different methods at varied lengths of time. Now, if I burn 600+ calories in a one hour Zumba class, it is equivalent to me going 6+ miles. If I wanted to go the 6 miles in the same amount of time I teach a Zumba class I'd end up with 10 minute miles. Basically all of this break down is to show you that I burn a lot of calories and eat fatty foods in smaller portions to end up staying where I'm at. If you don't know how much you burn I would recommend getting one of those watches or some kind of Body Bug that tells you. It's nice to know.

If you want to lose weight you have to burn alot and eat less. It is a simple equation: calories in and calories out. The first being the lesser of the two. I AM NO EXCEPTION TO THIS RULE. If I were to stop exercising like I do and keep eating the fatty foods, even in smaller portions, I would gain weight.

Do you have any questions?

3.04.2011

"deenra"

My husband is the king of saying words in a funny way.

He adds an 'N' to words like 'pickle,' 'thirsty' and 'with.'

They then become 'piNckle,' 'thirNsty' and 'wiNth.'

It's silly and he is silly and that's part of why I love him.

So tonight, I'm making 'deenra' rather than dinner.

And this is what's on the menu.


SPINACH ARTICHOKE LASAGNA


For the full recipe go here. I also want you to know that I originally discovered this on www.justcookalready.com.
Fabulous little blog.
(Actually, not so "little" anymore! Yay!)

3.03.2011

grapes and cottage cheese

This was on my menu today along with steamed broccoli (good thing my husband will be studying in the other room all night long!) and lots and lots of water.

What healthy, QUICK food/snack can you share with me?

I've also reinstated my trips to Sunflower's for produce.
I heard some health guru say once that if you buy the produce, you'll eat it.
I know it sounds like, "well duh!" but it's a truth that can be forgotten and then we end up with a cart full of fruit snacks and granola bars rather than produce.

Sigh....eating right is harder than exercising. Boohoo.

3.01.2011

say no to crack

(Rather than giving you the "I'm the worst blogger in the world" speech, I'm going to assume you don't care and pretend it hasn't been a century since I've posted.)

So CRACK, yeah, like real, addictive, druggish crack. I'm on it. It looks like this.



SOUR PATCH WATERMELONS!!! EF!!!

These little babies are screwing me. So I've decided to say, "screw you," right back!

As of tomorrow (I know, I know, cliche) I will start a diet. Not an I wanna lose weight diet. It's more of an I need to get healthy diet.

I really love that my workout regimen allows me to basically eat whatever I want in moderation. That being said, it's high time I give my body nutritional love in the same way I give it exercise love.

I know I need to straighten out my diet and it's big enough for me to blog about. Not sure if you remember but I am the self proclaimed worst. dieter. ever. This is where you come in.
You wanna join me?
I swear it will be easy to clean it up seeing as how there is a bounty of fresh fruit and veg coming into season lately.

Wanna? Should we?
Yes?!
Yes!
Go!


p.s. I am also officially starting the push-up challenge again tomorrow too. It's high time I conquer that sucker for reals. Just like I conquered my bread baking after producing salty brick after salty brick for 5 years. Join me in that too if you wish.