lildebbieg

Good morning all! I was up again this morning before work to get in a 30 minute workout. Today's focus was legs and glutes with a cardio factor as well. Fun workout! I've managed to get in extra cardio every night this week as well. I have a play date for the kids after work today, so my evening will be more rushed than ususal.....will be a challenge to get in that extra cardio but I'll do my best since I know the fastest way for me to get the scale moving is to get myself moving as often as possible!

It has been so cold here that there have been reports of something called Frost Quakes! I haven't experienced this personally, but apparently the ground is so cold that it is acutally cracking below the surface cause loud noises and the ground to shake! When it's this cold, this quick, there's another strange occurance that happens. Your house makes loud banging sounds as the exterior expands and contracts. Loud like thunder...the kid that wakes you from your sleep. My kids have never heard this before and they were so freaked out this week that they've been sleeping with us. We didn't have any snow on the ground until this week and it's been unseasonably warm...but wow did Mother Nature make up for lost time this week! It's been as cold as -40 C with the wind chill!!!! That actually converts to -40 F for those that use imperial measurement! The cold snap is supposed to break this afternoon and start warming up to a more bearable cold temperature...one that won't freeze exposed skin in a matter of seconds! Enough complaining...you get the point....it's freakin' freezing in Eastern Ontario Canada!


Mike - I have no idea what a king cake is, but I get the feeling you like it as much as I like chips! I don't buy them becasue I know I'll eat too much. If you see me at a party, I'll be the one by the chip bowl! And for the record, no I don't count chips as a veg

Vicki - I'll have to check out George Stella's cookbooks. Never heard of him, but I love me a good cookbook! I know we can find all sorts of recipes online, but there's something about opening up a cookbook and having it all laid out with pretty pictures and indexed.

Libby - What kind of almonds do you eat? If I keep them in the house, I only keep raw almonds. I absolutely love salty smoked almonds though! Can you tell I'm craving something salty this morning! LOL!

Lisa - I've been getting logged out too...seems to be an ongoing problem eh? I definitely don't have a photographic memory! My husband would agree When it comes to exercise and nutrition however, I'm very interested so absorb and retain like a sponge. Guess I missed my calling....I should have been in the medical industry as possibly a dietician or a physical therapist. Instead, I'm a programmer in a government job. **sigh** I'm glad you felt inspired by the show last night! I guess it can put things in perspective to see somebody with such a long tough road to health....makes us realize it can always be worse....and to see somebody acheiving success is most certainly motivating! I've never heard of the show...I shoudl look it up.

Annette and Roxy (paisleyjane) - I saw this morning on the weather network that there was an earthquake in BC last night. Hope you were both not affected!

Mern, Hope and Bea - Hello!

Hope you all have an awesome...and warm...day!

rainbow24

Lisa, I'm not doing well either. It was the cookies I broke out when my daughter brought five kids over yesterday. Only two of them were my grandchildren and they were all under 6.

Last night I had a half serving of dinner and went out to writer's group. I was hungry when I got back so I ate the rest of my meal. Way too late to be eating.
Needless to say, I gained this morning.

As soon as the sun lightens the sky, I will walk it off.

rainbow24

Debbie, I heard about the earthquake while driving last night. I think it was too far away for me to have felt.

The earthquake pages say there has been no reported damage.

lildebbieg

Anybody else out there feeling the same way? I know I do at times...for sure! I feel I have a good grasp on health and nutrition, but I also got caught up in the hype at times and second guess what I truly believe in. Well I want to encourage each and every one of us to not let the hype confuse and overwhelm us....even though it really can be confusing and overwhelming....but only if we listen to it

The weight loss industry is a multibillion dollar industry coming out with the latest and greatest to sway you to their camp! They are there to make money...whether they have a good product or a bogus product.....their bottom line is to make money.

The fact of the matter is there is really only one way to lose weight....eat less, move more (and add muscle...more on that in a moment). I know it sounds simple, but I personally believe this to be true. Of course there are ways to do it 'healthier' like eating whole, unprocessed foods, lots of fruits (side rant....I've known people to cut out bananas saying their too high in sugar and cause weight gain! Seriously!?!?! Have you ever known someone to gain weight from eating too many bananas! Wow! ...k getting back on track ) and veggies for their antioxidant powers, whole grain for their slower digesting and filling fiber, healthy fats for heart health, etc. Having said that, I've seen a friend lose a substantial amount of weight using Nurtisystem which is extremely processed and even high in sodium! My point is, if you eat a variety of unprocessed food, you'll be eating a healthy diet. You don't need to eat completely unprocessed, whole foods...just chose them more often than you chose the processed stuff. (side note: I know there are a few of us here who have health concerns that have them eating a specific diet. What I'm saying above is not to undermined anyone's way of eating. Just some general guidelines for those that don't need to follow a specific diet.)

As for exercise, you can move more by doing something as simple as walking every day or you can do programs like Insanity....both get you moving...but they're obviously entirely different. Pick the ones you enjoy and do it at the time of day that works for you...there's no magic time. Another extremely important factor with the battle of the buldge is beautiful and metabolically active muscle! The more muscle you have, the more calories you'll burn even at rest. As we age, we lose muscle each and every year unless we are doing weight bearing exercises to maintain that muscle. Think about that for a moment....if a person loses 2 lbs. of muscle per year after the age of 30....even if they maintain their scale weight, they would have lost 10 lbs. of muscle and replaced it with 10 lbs. of fat by the age of 35! We've all seen the image of a pound of muscle versus a pound of fat right? It's clear that 10 lbs. of fat takes up more space than 10 lbs. of muscle. It's imperative for good health to maintain muscle mass and since we're all over the age of 30 (I believe?), not only do we need to maintain, but with extra effort we can restore some of what we've already lost!



Bottom line is, make changes that you feel you can do for your entire life. Those are the changes that will stick...not the ones that a multibillion dollar industry tells you that you should do. We all know the things that we have done to get us to the weight we are working to lose...right? None of us are mystified as to how we gained weight? Those are the things we need to change to lose the weight. I've gained back all the weight I lost last year and I know exactly why I gained it back. It's quite simple, I eat a very healthy, unprocessed diet 90% of the time (I have Crohn's disease, so this is a must for me), but I stopped being conscientious about portion sizes. To add insult to injury, I also stopped exercising on a regular basis....and I like wine...too much!

One last thing, if anyone is looking for good exercise programs that you can do at home with little to no equipment and would like to hear good sound, solid advice regarding health and fitness, you can go to youtube or google and search for Jessica Smith and Fitness Blender workouts. Both have a youtube channel as well as their own sites. Both offer a wide variety of workouts...something for everyone...I highly recommend them!
Debbie

01gt4.6

It's really not new, don't let it confuse you. I think they may be focusing on it now for marketing. Just think about it and it's easy to think of the good and bad one. 20g of carbs from potato chips isn't as good as 20g of carbs from broccoli. Basically just try to choose the healthier carbs, fat, etc. Avocados are loaded with fat, so is a stick of margarine. Avocados are better for you.

I think it has to do with how your body processes or stores it. Whether is used as energy to get you up and going (while leaving miss grouchy pants behind) or whether it's stored in your body (usually the trouble areas like hips, stomach, etc)

This article gives some examples. Choosing Healthy Fats: Good Fats, Bad Fats, and the Power of Omega-3s

01gt4.6

Debbie, I didn't get a chance to read everything because I'm at work, but this is so true. People wonder why body builders can eat 5000+ calories a day and don't get fat. It's because the amount of muscle that have is "consuming" the calories. That's why lifting weights is the key to burning fat, even for women.

01gt4.6

Is anyone getting logged off after they post. Not sure if it's just on my end. I'll report it if it's not just me.

rainbow24

ohelp, I make my oatmeal in whatever flavour I feel like for the day. I have a shelf full of flavorings. Caramel, rum, French vanilla, almond (artificial of course), or I use spices. Even unsweetened bakers chocolate.
I splurged yesterday and had rum and butter. I have used pumpkin pie spice, or the spices that go in eggnog. I have also flavoured my oatmeal with fresh fruit. Anything to avoid salt and sugar.

One scoop of oatmeal in my mug. 3/4 cup water. Microwave for 2 min. Stir. Microwave 1 more minute. Add flavoring and microwave 1 more minute.

Mike, sometimes it goes offline, sometimes it doesn't.

Mern

I have to leave in a few minutes to pick up my granddaughter from school, so here's my first "installment" on catching up with our group's posts these past couple days:

My flounder alone last night was very good. I just took the flounder, salted and peppered it and dredged it in zero cholesterol egg blend and then Parmesan cheese and fried it in no-stick cooking spray. Although the sauce was good (olive oil, butter spray, Rosemary, garlic powder, lemon juice, salt and pepper) I wouldn't recommend it because it overwhelmed the flavor of the fish. I was glad I tried the sauce on just a small piece of fish--chose to eat the rest with no sauce.

Lisa, best wishes as you fight hard to work on your issues without the benefit of insurance to pay for the therapist. I hope we have enough positivity to carry you through until the therapist is affordable to you. Does your eating plan encourage a balance of proteins and healthful levels of fat to help curb hunger pangs? Mine (just low carb, low cholesterol worked out with the help of my fantastic family physician) allows me 10-12% of my daily total calories as saturated fat, and 250mg of cholesterol, 25g net carbs after subtracting fiber. The fiber also helps me keep more full, and as you probably already know, is a carb that does not impact blood sugar. My eating plan also encourages eating five-six small meals instead of three big ones, but that's not easy to accomplish with all my responsibilities helping with grandkids and my great-granddaughter. Are there any baby steps you can take to ease back into the portion control levels? Feeling hungry all the time isn't good. Oh, I hate when I lose a post. I sometimes forget to copy my reply, too--but I know better. I'm not worrying about my numbers yet, either, on my food goals--just working on making healthful eating a habit and maybe in a couple weeks I'll start logging everything.

Roxy, what a wonderful, sharing, and caring post to Lisa. You have it in you to conquer your struggles again. I'm sure I can speak for all our group when I say we'll all be rooting for you. I hope your power gets back on soon.

Mike, wishing your family the best concerning the emergency. Yeah, keep away from the King Cake! Kudos on your accomplishments so far in your restart. Great job logging your daily goal accomplishments. "Keep your head up, unless it's raining." I got such a good chuckle out of that but it is truly sad that turkeys sometimes drown themselves looking up at the rain. Nuts can count as veggies--so maybe you could count your PB part of the sandwich as half a serving of veggies. The J stands for junk unless it's sugar free. :;

Hope, congrats on all your positive blue goal accomplishments and best wishes for improvement on your red ones.

Debbie, you're doing a great job so far with your food and exercise! Your chicken wrap with onion, cucumber, lf mayo and pesto sounds YUMMY! Thanks for sharing that! I was craving chocolate last night so made myself some hot chocolate with almond milk, unsweetened cocoa, and a packet of artificial sweetener.

Libby, sounds like the chocolate chips made up for the caffeine you missed in the coffee. Good substitute when you control your portion. Your meat sauce on the salad reminds me of taco salad. Now I'm thinking about making that--I can make a taco shell out of my low carb tortilla by just baking it in the oven for a few minutes. Great job on your food and exercise plans. We keep almonds in our freezer all the time--the unsalted ones. Great choice for a snack. I agree with you on all the new diets and the advocates making it sound like one diet fits all. I've never been on a plan I didn't have to tweak to my own health needs. Maybe you need to take baby steps cutting things out of your diet? Too much at once may cause you to get burned out!

Vicki, I love George Stella's recipes. One of my faves is his sausage and pepper casserole. I make it stovetop with turkey sausage, green bell peppers, onion, tomatoes, and sometimes add Dreamfields low digestible carb pasta. My husband is not a low carber, but he loves that. Your boiled beef with cauliflower and snap peas sounds good--I have to bypass the carrots, though because they're too high carb for me.

rosabella2012

Mike, it's not just you. It happens to me every time I go from logging in Foods to Reports or Forums. Vicki