10 weeks of Twitter Goals

So if you haven't been following my twitter, here are highlights of my weekly health goals I try to incorporate in my life.  Small changes to great health.

2010 weekly health goal #10: Commit to increasing your moderate physical activity by 5 minutes a day each week until you reach 1.5-2 hours

2010 weekly health goal #9: Swap one meal a day for a vegetarian meal. It could be a veggie breakfast omelet, veggie burger or salad.

2010 weekly health goal #8: Shrink your stomach by eating less than 1 L in volume of food a meal and waiting at least 3 hours between meals.

2010 weekly health goal #7: Clean your living area like your bedroom and kitchen. De-cluttering your space leads to a healthy mind and body.

2010 weekly health goal #6: Don't eat for 3 hours before bed. Nutritionists say it's untrue. Try it and weigh yourself in the AM. Believe.

2010 weekly health goal #5: Cut one thing out of your diet. It's called processed white carbs. No sugar or white bread.

2010 weekly health goal #4: Start your morning with a good breakfast. Whole grains, lean protein, veggies. Veg egg white omelet with toast!

2010 weekly health goal #3: Plan out your meals. Go for 50% of food space from non-starchy veggies, 25% lean meats and 25% whole grains.

2010 weekly health goal #2: Eat 5-9 servings of fruits and non-starchy vegetables a day. Yes to asparagus, no to potatoes.

2010 weekly health goal #1: Drink 3L of water a day. Yes, that's 2 of those monster 1.5L. Cleanse baby cleanse!         

Eat Like A Child, Your Child

After the blog about McDonald's and the children I got to thinking about how one of my milestones is having a child.  It's this far off wish that I rationalize will be the time I'll give up my bad habits.

"I'll eat right when I'm pregnant for sure."

"Breast feeding will be great for my metabolism."

"Sex and the City told me that taking care of a baby will help me burn calories."

The one thing I do look forward to is fixing things like healthy bento boxes for my kids.  Have you seen them?  Adventures in Bentomaking is one of the most inspired blogs on bentos. Small portions of fresh food heavy in fruits and vegetables along with lean proteins.  Isn't that the perfect diet?

Do you have an idea of what you actually want your kids to eat?  What if you ate the same things?  Does the well being and health of your child inspire you to be healthier?

Things I like about kids foods:

1. Convenience and portability are of the utmost importance in kids meals.  That idea melds well with the compact self contained nature of so many fruits.  Think strawberries and bananas!  How much more convenient does it get?

2. Robust colors and visual appeal are paramount to get children to eat it.  Eating the rainbow is not just some skittles advertisement.  Eating the natural rainbow in produce provides more nutrients and antioxidants than plain green leafy vegetables.

3. Small amounts of lean meats.  Kids naturally don't usually eat a lot of meat and don't have a problem consuming lean meats while not having cravings for fattening protein like bacon.  Sticking to proteins that don't overpower the fruits, vegetables and whole grains in mass results in less calories at each meal.

What I like the most about eating a healthy child's diet is that children learn good nutrition not just through what you feed them but by watching what their parents eat.  Why not be a good example?

McDonald's and the Children

After a weekend camping and relaxing I'm inspired to start blogging again.  During this camping trip a couple in the group were having a disagreement about whether or not their future children will be allowed to eat McDonald's.  The guy said that McDonald's is delicious.  The gal said that she had never had McDonald's in her life and neither would her kids.  It was a standoff that no one wanted to comment on in fear of offending either party.

On the way home though, Josh, my dear husband and I discussed it.  Though it's staggering that someone who has lived in the United States her whole life has never had anything from the Golden Arches it's a testament to the dedication of her parents to keep her away from it and teach her the habits to stay away from junk food.

It's a dedication that I would hope to have but most likely won't in the long run because I believe that to evolve a palate one must start young and make them open minded eaters.  I can't very well tell my children that they have to try everything they *say* they don't like to eat at least 3 times if I'm not willing to let them try something that they may want to eat right?

That being said, junk food is off the table until the child is at least 3 years old.  Why?  Because that's when they can actually play with the Happy Meal Toys and will likely start demanding things. 

I personally feel that if I eat a clean diet of vegetables, whole grains, lean meats and fruit throughout my pregnancy and continue on through each kid's childhood healthy eating habits will come naturally to them.  The occasional splurge on Happy Meals is a lesson in moderation. 

Depriving them of something that is popularized in the media and can be geared healthily now (apple slices instead of french fries, 1% milk instead of soda) will likely make them binge when they can buy their own food in high school and college.


(Image Courtesy of Get Fitness Here.)

Women Require an Hour of Excercise a Day

In a recent study it was found that as women get older only those who are already their goal weight and getting at least 1 hour of moderate exercise a day could maintain their weight.

If women are already overweight, they'll need to restrict their calories in addition to getting 1 hour of exercise.

I don't know about you Dear Readers but I think this makes perfect sense!  The idea that 20 minutes a day is sufficient was probably leaving a lot of people feeling like exercise wasn't working for them and that their weight loss goals were hopeless.

Take heart, your goals are not hopeless, just harder to attain than previously thought.  So how about we book a 1.5 hours of moderate exercise a day, cut back on our consumption and watch the lbs fall off?

Pokemon SoulSilver with Pokewalker

Dear Readers, you know by now that I'm on a quest for the holy grail of fitness equipment.  Something that combines strong motivation with great technique to get to fantastic results. 

In my previous searches I found things like Wii Active and Yourself Fitness which are all great games that incorporate the techniques of a personal trainer but require a level of motivation and commitment that is somewhat lacking in my busy days.

Enter the popular game from my childhood: Pokemon.  This new edition of SoulSilver and HeartGold incorporates a pedometer in the guise of a Pokerwalker. You see, you clip this Pokeball to your belt and it tracks your steps all day.  The higher the number of steps at the end of the day the better the prizes you'll find in the game. 

My husband, a big Pokemon fan, bought HeartGold for himself and later bought SoulSilver for me so we could trade.  I found that I'm striving to beat his steps, much like the Personal Trainer: Walking game for the DS did but with more of a collaborative feel.  And it's been great in convincing him to go on walks with me after work. 

"Honey, do you want to go on a pokewalk?" I say.

Checking his pokewalker, "Sure, I'm only at XXXX steps."

The best part about this game is the pedometer is easy to carry integrating into your everyday life while the actual pokemon game is somewhat addicting in it's cute characters, puzzling game play and the compulsion to catch them all.  It's motivation in a video game!

Now, this isn't going to get you ripped, but if you're a gamer having a hard time getting the right level of physical activity, this game could be the answer to your prayers.  And if you're a parent worried about the lack of exercise your video game addicted child has been prone to this game is the perfect solution.

Personally?  I've been carrying it around for about a week now and I've already started increasing my steps in a subconscious way, now only falling short about 2000 of my daily step goal. 

I'll get them all in today because I've Gotta Catch 'Em All!

Japanese Women Don't Get Fat or Old?

As I was lazing around my house Sunday after a gluttonous wedding weekend as a Matron of Honor I was perusing the health and fitness videos on MSN.com and came across a clip from the Today show where Katie Couric interviews the author of Japanese Women Don't Get Old or Fat: Secrets of My Mother's Tokyo Kitchen.

I'm Chinese, I buy into the idea that the average Asian diet is healthier than the average American diet so of course, I kept watching. Apparently there are 7 basic guidelines.

Here's the gist with my own little spin:

1. Healthy ingredients make for healthy food. Eat homemmade meals preferably using fish, soy, vegetables and fruit. She made a point in the interview of noting that chicken is fine, the key is less red meat.

2. Get Closer to the Grain. Use rice instead of bread. Brown rice is preferred.

3. Small Plates, Smaller Body. Eat smaller portions by serving your food separately on small plates. The sample meal in the video included a small bowl of miso soup, a small bowl of mixed green salad, a small plate of chicken, a small bowl of rice, a small plate of multicolored vegetables and a pot of green tea with cup. Visually it looked like a lot and full of healthy and appetizing foods.

4. Miso Happy Day. Have a bowl of miso soup for breakfast, which is traditional in Japan because of ease and quickness of preparation, it's high nutrient, protein and fiber values and because it's just plain delicious.

5. Small Desserts. No really, that pazookie is not small enough.

6. Light and Gentle Cooking. I'm a big proponent of raw fish and other sea life but this concept lends itself to general Japanese cooking. Steaming, brief boiling, anything that doesn't impact the original ingredient too far from it's original flavors is preferred. Yes, I am talking to you Broccoli Casserole.

7. Hari Hachi Bunme. This is the Japanese art of not stuffing your face until you're full ala some pizza buffet. The author more tactifully put it as eating small amounts of food whenever you like until you are 80 percent full.

Pretty solid ideas except I like foods from other cultures. There's got to be easier, wider guidelines. I'll think on it and get back to you soon.

Image courtesy of Finnair.com.

The Diet Derailer: Weekends

What is it about weekends that make them such a huge diet derailer? Is it the lack of routine? The copious amounts of partying and meals with friends? The idea that it's a minivacation amid the week of responsible behavior?

All I know is that come Monday I'm struggling to get back to my healthy lifestyle changes, find that I'm at least a lb heavier than I was Friday morning, and sometimes nursing a hazy post weekend buzzy headache. Am I alone here?

On Mondays, I try to go back and enter everything I can remember consuming into my diet journal because despite the fact that I have a program that will wirelessly sync the data from my cellphone to the website, on weekends I just can't seem to find the concentration to even think about calories. Even with the memory blocks that might have occured in a retrospective calorie count, I still blow my caloric intake off the rails! (Read: 1000 calories over par.) Partner that with the fact that I RARELY make it to the gym on the weekends and I'm basically reversing my entire weeks progress in the matter of 2 days!

Here's what I'm going to do to get my train on track this weekend:

1. Drink More. Water that is. Between every glass of beer while bowling, every drink while bar hopping, every wine glass at dinner there will be a glass of water instead. I don't care if it doesn't look cool, I'm starting to think that I'm imbibing more alcohol than I have use for just because it's something to do between gutter balls, funny stories and courses respectively.

2. Eat More. Leafy green vegetables I mean. I will sneak some spinach into a breakfast omelette, a salad before every gluttonous meal just to take up space in this cavernous pit I call a stomach. More goodness in my stomach means less room for that cheesecake that keeps giving me the eye.

3. Play More. If I'm not going to get to the gym because I'm too busy socializing, then I can play while I entertain my friends. A game of tennis here, frisbee golf there, maybe even a bike ride to the beach. The possibilities: endless.

4. Pamper myself. Ok, this is more of a perspective shift. For most of the week, because I workout early in the morning before work, I never get a chance to sit in the steam room or sauna or hang out in the spa. I think if I make it the first thing I do on Sunday with the purpose of relaxation versus working out I could actually convince myself to get into the gym on... wait for it... a weekend. *gasp*

Yourself Fitness: Upper Body Workout

Yesterday I did the Yourself Fitness Upper Body workout (30 minutes) and then Yoga (10 minutes). Who would have guessed that 5 minutes into the workout I would break into a massive full body sweat? It was awesome and I'm thoroughly impressed.

One of my good friends, Anthony, is a personal trainer and did weekly training with Dear Husband and I a few months before our wedding last year. Maya, the Yourself Fitness animated personal trainer, isn't as effective as a human personal trainer but gives a similar feel to personal training sessions. The benefit of Yourself Fitness, so far it seems, is that the trainer is basically guiding through a workout class, like one you would attend in a gym, adding gentle reminders about form to keep the workout as efficient as possible.

Here's the problem: I hate workout classes. I'm not coordinated enough! It takes me a few steps to realize what I'm supposed to be doing in each move and by that time, the repetition of the moves is almost over. That being said, regardless of my lack of hand-eye coordination, I got a good enough workout to have mild muscle soreness this morning.

The other issue, however, is that Yourself Fitness feels like a series of workout videos rather than an exercise class or sessions with a personal trainer. I possibly could have had Anthony videotaped for a series of our workout sessions and then just followed along and gotten a similar result. But I didn't because I like either being in an environment where everyone is working out or outdoors running with scenery whizzing by. But let's be honest, I wasn't doing either and the convenience of the video game console in my living room is actually getting me up and moving.

It does beat a workout video a little bit though, because of the difficulty checks during the workout, each subsquent workout will customize to the user's difficulty level. And, let's not forget that though a workout video can't track how consistent you are, an animated personal trainer named Maya will.

Add Structure To Your Meals

I've been reading a lot about the Factor 5 diet. Eat meal is supposed to include 5 calorie sources(protein, complex carbohydrates, fiber, fat, and fluids), contain no more than 5 ingredients and take no longer that 5 minutes to cook.

I am a foodie, I cannot do this. I take that back, many foodies can, of course, eat a delicious meal made with 5 fresh and wholesome ingredients that only takes 5 minutes to cook but to me it's just too much work and way too limiting. I mean, you can't make Osso Bucco in 5 minutes!!

Food is an experience for me, from wandering through a farmer's market being entranced by the vibrant and fragant fresh produce, to tasting how a cherry port reduction mingles with a roasted pork loin over a bed of roasted baby vegetables sprinkled with ages parmesean.

That doesn't mean that I don't think my meals shouldn't have any structure. A few guidelines can definitely help keep us eating healthy, regardless of the richness of the meal.

1. Eat every meal on a plate or bowl. My last post mentioned to use utensils, now I am saying pur your food ON something. Yes, even that Big Mac in the little McDonald's box needs to be taken out, placed on a plate along with whatever else you're planning on eating for that meal. This is not an attempt at Fancy Fast Food. It is, however, a clear visual picture of how much food you're planning on putting in your body.

Plus, you always eat with the eyes first. If it isn't looking to appetizing, you might not want to put it in your mouth.

2. Make sure every meal has a veggie portion that accounts for at least a 3rd of your meal or more ideal half. Yes, this particular guidelines is to stop you from thinking, as my Dear Husband is so often prone to do, that the lettuce and tomato on his bacon cheeseburger counts for his vegetables for the day.

I am not saying that if you are eating Dim Sum that you should attempt to destroy the flavor of the Har Gow with some lettuce. I am saying that you should order that side of Chinese Broccoli, steamed and squirted with oyster sauce, and eat enough of it so that your Dumpling to Broccoli ratio is at most 2:1 if not the ideal 1:2.

3. Don't put more than 3 fistfulls of food on your plate or bowl and that's the high side. Portion control Dear Readers. Your stomach is only the size of your fist while empty and keeping it relatively small by not stretching it beyond 3 times it's size and you will it takes less to get full in the first place.

Yes, that's it! 3 guidelines! Easy to remember, sustainable and won't stop you from having a little bit of that aged prime rib you've been eying.

Small Changes That Make A Big Difference

I believe that my body has started to reject dairy products for my own good. I'm probably at my highest weight right now and my body, as long as I'm actually listening to it, is telling me it's hit its max. The current culprit that I've overindulging in might be dairy and my body is not having it. I probably shouldn't have bought that Sam's Club block of Manchego huh?

I actually thought it was alcohol because I have been drinking deeply while entertaining people at our house. Mainly wines, which are fine, as long as we're not downing 5 bottles between 4 people. Oh, the world of lushes.

But I stopped drinking this weekend and the stomach pains continued. So I'm taking dairy out of my diet to see if that's what's causing my digestive issues. If not dairy then I'm going to juice fast for a day or so and slowly start introducing foods starting with vegetables and fruit, then whole grains, then lean meats, then dairy. I'll see if that fixes this pain when I eat.

It got me thinking about how if we really listened to our bodies we would probably get to our ideal weight faster. Making small changes to our eating habits is likely to get ourselves more in tune with what we should and shouldn't do.

1. Eat small thumb sized bites of food. Shoveling big bites into your mouth just makes it harder for your stomach to catch on that it's full and then it's too late: You've already over eaten.

2. Thoroughly chew eat bite and savor the flavor of the food. A lot of time, when something is so delicious, we eat more because we want to keep tasting the flavor that is so pleasant. Eating each bite slowly will allow you to experience the flavors longer without taking more bites.

3. Use utensils. If you make eating something conscious, something civilized and enjoyed, instead of something you shovel in your face between things you're trying to get to, you'll likely eat less and only when your body really needs you to.

4. Put your fork down between bites. Yes, this seems really ... inefficient but so is eating more than you need and then carrying the extra weight on your butt slowing you down. Putting your fork down between bites allows your brain to register that you could possibly be done with this bite and stopping before you eat that bite that puts you over the edge of fullness is something that would help any waistline.

5. Take a sip of water between bites. This serves as a palate cleanser and a way to get that oh so neccessary 8 glasses of daily water supply. Each bite we take actually results in a little less pleasure based on the repetition and the familiarity of the flavors. Taking a sip of water increases repetition of eating, cleanses the palate to get a clear taste of the food and as a result, allows your mind to tell you when the food isn't tasting so good anymore because you're full.

Test The Technology

This weekend I spent much of my online shopping time focused, which ended up being about 2 hours longer than I expected, on these new Wii Games like EA Active, Outdoor Challenge and Wii Sports Resort. The idea that I could in fact get my lazy butt, which by the way has gained more stones than I'd like to admit after the wedding weight loss, in shape without needing to leave my air conditioned living room is tempting to say the least.

But wait, what of the other nifty gizmos I already have from the Nike+ Ipod set, Yourself Fitness for the PS2 and the most recent purchase: Personal Trainer: Walking for the Nintendo DS? I'll go into a review of each product in later posts, Dear Readers, each of which I believe could benefit someone by motivating them by what hits them to their very core (which in the case of the Nintendo DS Personal Trainer Walking game is avoiding being called a sheep.)

I attempted to purchase the EA Active game for the Wii but something went wrong with my order just in time for me to realize that perhaps the Yourself Fitness game would work just as well without me needing to spend an addition $50. Why would it work now if it didn't work before? Well now I'm going to treat this like an experiment, like I do so many other things I get caught up in, and try Yourself Fitness for 30 days combined with a reasonable eating plan that consists of 5 small meals a day at about 200-300 calories per meal.

If by the end of the experiment I decide that maybe I want to try out the EA Active game instead I'll go ahead and do a giveaway of the Yourself Fitness game.

Cheap Ways to Stay Healthy

With all the crazy talk about the economy and need to start pinching pennies while keeping our weight loss resolutions, what solutions do we have to achieve our money and figure saving goals? Here are a few easy to implement tips that will get you through this penny pinching period. Consider it level one of the lifestyle change.

1. Drink only water that you bottle yourself and drink 3 liters a day. Take 2 - 1.5L bottles of water and refill them with filtered water (I use a faucet Brita) every night before you go to bed. Yes, I am suggesting you reuse your single use bottles. All that stuff about bacteria and toxins in PET 1 bottles, I snoped it and found out as long as you clean the bottles properly, you can reuse them repeatedly.

Analysis:
Monthly cost of buying water bottles daily: $90.00.
Monthly cost of bottling your own: $9.21 (Assuming that you buy 2 water bottles a month and it costs you about $0.07 per liter using a Brita.
Monthly Savings: $80.79.
Estimated extra calories burned per month: 4,500 (If the article on About.com is right.)

2. Cook and eat as many homemade meals as possible. This include packing your own lunch instead of stopping at the local drive through, and making your own dinner instead of popping in a frozen dinner. I could delve into the fact that buying a $10 salad at a restaurant that you can make for less than $2.00 is relatively ludicrous (salad's don't even require turning on a stove Dear Readers) or that you can make a turkey sandwich for under $1.50 that you would buy for about $4.00 at the minimum.

The important thing is that when you're cooking you can be conscious of what you're putting in the food and you'll most likely remind yourself to add in a few more vegetables and cut back on the bacon fat. I have also done a $3 a Day Diet project that tells me quite clearly I can feed myself on merely $3 a day. It was difficult to get in all the veggies so I'll bump it up to $5 a day just for extra produce. Under the $3 a Day Diet Project, the calories for the day came in between 1200-1400 calories.

The average cheap meal eaten outside the home usually comes out to at least $3.00 a meal. The average fast food meal runs over 1200 calories BUT say you're buying only $3.00 worth of food and going with a relatively healthy option. Like Wendy's chili and baked potato w/ side salad. That is probably the healthiest combination I can think of around $3.00 (it's actually slightly over but I'll let that go for the sake of the argument). It comes out to 760 calories. That means about 2,280 calories per day if all the meals average that caloric intake.

Analysis:
Monthly cost of eating all meals outside of homemade: $270 (at the low end)
Monthly cost of eating all meals homemade: $150
Monthly savings: $120
Estimated Calories Uneaten: 26,400.

3. Pack your own vegetable snacks. Snacking is inevitable. I think that most people snack at least once throughout the day, usually something like a bag of chips that costs at minimum $0.99 and about 150 calories. Packing your own veggie snacks would only cost you about $0.25 a day for celery sticks or cucumbers with some dressing, some grapes, etc. for about 100 calories.

Analysis:
Monthly Cost of Average Snacks: $30
Monthly Cost of home packed veggie snacks: $7.50
Monthly Savings: $22.50
Estimate Calories Uneaten: 1,500.

There you go Dear Readers, a theoretical savings of $233.29 and about 9 lbs!

The Basics of Weight Loss One More 'Gain

Ok, so everyone has said this over and over again but I read an article on MSN on Secrets of The Belly Off! Club. Yes, it's from Men's Health Magazine but I don't think that matters Dear Readers, do you?

Here's the gist, no need to thank me for cutting down your reading time.

1. Cut Out Refined sugars and carbs. No candy, chips, soda and if the grain based product doesn't say Whole in it, don't put it in your mouth.

2. Eat more protein, healthy fats, and fiber-rich produce and whole grains.

3. Eat breakfast.

4. Do weight training 3 times a week.

5. Do interval cardio training.

6. Be motivated.

Seems easy enough.

5K runs: The Possibilities

12/07/2008 08:30am Saturday

USC Quench the Fire 5K Run & Walk. Hosted by USC School of Medicine to benefit the USC Pain Center.

W2 Promotions 310-828-4123 W2Promo@aol.com

El Dorado Regional Park East, Long Beach, CA

Fast, flat course w/mile splits called & aid stations. Finishers are greeted by an expo w/food & drink galore. A special kids fun run for 12 & under. Register online and get more info at: www.w2promotions.com

12/21/2008 08:00am Sunday

Winter Solstice X-mas Tree 5 Mile Run, 3K Walk and 1K Kids Fun Run

Try-Us Events 213/254-8242 TryUsEvents@gmail.com

El Dorado Park East. Long Beach, CA. Take 605 Fwy to Spring St exit. Head west to park entrance on north side next to Archery Range. Follow signs to registration and start area.

Beautiful flat scenic loop through pine trees & around El Dorado Lakes. Race Day Reg 6:30-7:50am. 5 Mile Starts 8:00am, 1K Kids Fun Run Starts 9:00am. Christmas Tree for all runners!!!

01/10/2009 09:00am Saturday

City of Artesia 50th Anniversary 5K Fun Run/Walk Event. Non-sanctioned course.

Clayt Iske, City of Artesia Parks and Recreation Director 562/860-3361 ciske@cityofartesia.us

City of Artesia Parks and Recreation Department, Artesia Park, 18750 Clarkdale Ave. Artesia, CA. 90701

Event begins & ends in Artesia Park and consists of youth and adult age divisions for awards. Youth division runners ages 12-20 yrs, $20 prior to December 1, $25 after. Adult division runners 21 yrs and older, $25 prior to December 1, $30 after.

02/01/2009 06:50am Sunday

Surf City Marathon, Half Marathon, 5K and Kids 1 Mile Race

Kinane Events 1-888/433-0786 info@runsurfcity.com

2100 Pacific Coast Hwy, Huntington Beach CA 92648

Flat and fast,the Surf City Marathon is California's most popular Beach Front Marathon, with 16,000 runners it pumps up Super Bowl Weekend! Proceeds benefit Free Wheelchair Mission, Kiwanis Club, Key Clubs, Orange County Service Clubs www.runsurfcity.com

02/21/2009 07:30am Saturday

Race on the Base 5K Walk, 5K/10K Run, 10K Skate/Wheelchair, Kids Fun Run, and New Reverse Triathlon R-3.1 Mile, B-12 Mile, S-200 meters pool

Emeline Moya 562/430-1073 x-510 emoya@ci.los-alamitos.ca.us

Los Alamitos Joint Forces Training Base 11200 Lexington Drive Los Alamitos, CA 90720

The course is located on the Joint Forces Training Base runways. Helicopters, planes and military vehicles line portions of the 100% flat course. website

04/04/2009 08:00am Saturday

35th Annual Seal Beach 5K Run/Walk, 10K Run and 1K Kid's Fun Run.

Bill Ayres grabme@roadrunner.com

Old Town Seal Beach. Registration & Start at the Marina Community Center --- 151 Marina Dr. at the corner of 1st. Street & Marina Dr.-- Seal Beach.

Run/Walk the prettiest course in Southern California. A Well managed event with more than 4,500 participants. A MUST DO event for you. Contact us at: www.sealbeachrun.com

05/03/2009 06:30am Sunday

2009 Avia OC Marathon

949/222-3327 info@ocmarathon.com

Orange County, CA (Cities of Newport Beach and Costa Mesa).

A world class running event featuring the best the OC has to offer. www.ocmarathon.com

That gives me about 6 months to train for a marathon. I can consistently run 2 miles without stopping now, I'll have to ramp up my running by starting to run every morning.

3 Easy Rules of Thumb

With all the fad diets out there, and if you've read my blog you've seen I've tried many, at the end of the day there is only a handful of rules that if you follow you'll be on the right track to eating healthy the easy way.

1. If you can't figure out the ingredients, don't put it in your mouth. For instance, that twinkie you've been eying at the 7-Eleven near you isn't an option. I don't know what Sorbic Acid is and I heard that it actually is derived from natural gas. Gross.

2. If it naturally grows from soil, with the exception of various drugs and poisonous things, it probably is good for you.

2a. It's probably even better for you closest to it's natural state from the soil. I.e. whole apples as opposed to apple juice.

3. If it comes from the ocean it's probably a good source of lean protein.

3a. If it's a white meat, it's probably also a good source of lean protein.

Alcohol is Out!

I watched a few episodes of 30 Days, you know that "documentary" show hosted by the guy who brought you Supersize Me? One of the episodes for 30 days was called "Binge Drinking" as if the guy never went to college or something!

Well just as Supersize Me encouraged me to go vegetarian for some time, 30 Day encouraged me to gift up the Drink for a month or two just to see how it would go.

I'm over half way through and I've dropped 5 lbs (I'm assuming because my body has stopped needing to process alcohol and can now focus on processing fat) and feel pretty good. I'm up to 2X a day workouts (an hour long morning run and at least 1.5 hours at the gym after work) and I'm not pigging out on junk food after getting trashed. Overall, kicking alcohol to the curb for a while has proven to be one of the most worthwhile changes I've made to my lifestyle for a while.

When I do get the urge to socially drink, which just happens to be the times I am tempted the most I've come up with some delicious mocktails. Check it out here.

The Busy Girl's Diet

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a diet junkie. I try a million diets, most recently low carb and juice detox. But at the end of the day, we all know the secrets to successful and healthy weight loss: Nutrition, Exercise and the right state of mind.

Nutrition:
1. Dietary Fiber. This is so crucial to the success of any change to a healthy lifestyle. I'll get into the nitty gritty later, just try to get 25+ grams per day.
2. Vegetables in a multitude of colors. 7-9 servings is ideal. Everyday try to eat 2+ colors of vegetables, tomatoes and radishes alongside some leafy greens.
3. 5 meals a day spread out 2-3 hours apart. Each meal should include a protein and a vegetable. My current favorite is asparagus and bell pepper strips with a soft boiled egg.
4. Caloric deficit of at least 500 per day. This is sometimes considered the max you should go and to make up the rest with exercise. Depending on your goals, your plateaus, etc. this number can be adjusted. More on that later.
5. 8 glass of water. It may be easier to know that 8 glasses of water is actually a little under a 2 liter bottle of water.

My meal plan for tomorrow:
Breakfast (9am): 5 asparagus Asparagus, 1 bell pepper in slices, soft boiled egg. (2 servings of vegetables - 120 calories)
Snack (11am): 1 cup Radishes, 1 oz low fat cheese, 2 turkey bacon slices. (1 serving of vegetables - 107 calories)
Lunch (1pm): 2 cups of lettuce, 2 grilled chicken tenderloins, 1 tablespoon of dressing. (2 servings of vegetables - 185 calories)
Snack (4pm): 2 celery stalks, 1/2 a cup of tuna salad (1 serving of vegetables - 205 calories)
Dinner (7pm): 1 artichoke, 1 cup sauteed green beans, 2 cups of lettuce, 1 tablespoon of dressing, 3 oz of NY strip steak. (5 servings of vegetables - 282 calories)

Total: 995 calories (on the low side to leave room for a glass of wine if I'd like to have one), 11 servings of vegetables, 26 grams of dietary fiber.


Exercise:
1. Weight training. This is crucial, do at least 30 minutes of it everyday. 30 minutes on average burns 100 calories.
2. Cardio. This is the way you will burn the most calories. On the elliptical for about 60 minutes means a caloric burn of on average 600 calories.
3. Pilates. Stretches and strengthens your muscles while whittling down your core. 20 minutes a day will only burn on average 80 calories, but it for the shaping more than the caloric burn.

My goal is to burn 750 calories from exercise on a daily basis so I'm typically looking at doing at least 60 minutes of cardio, 30 minutes of weight training and 20 minutes of pilates in the morning to hit my 750 goal.

State of Mind:
1. Post a picture of yourself at your absolute worst on the refrigerator next to a picture of your physical ideal. Post a copy of this person's diet on your fridge. I have Mariah Carey and Hayden Panettiere. Will post later.
2. Install at least one full length mirror in your home in a place you have to see at least twice a day. I have one on a door in my bathroom so I have to see myself when I get in the shower. It's truly sobering.
3. Make a mantra. Define who you are. Everyday we define ourselves by the work we do and get up and go do that work. Part of who we define ourselves as should be Healthy, Fit, Active, and we should get up everyday and be those things. When you think about not going to hit the gym or think about eating that mile high chocolate cake, remember who you are and what you pride yourself on.
4. Log your food. Get accountable. Publish your intake.

Water the Wonder

My best friend, the biggest health nut I know aside from my personal trainer Anthony, once told me that she hated the taste of water. But realizing the importance of this wonder fluid made her search out alternatives to water that would give her the same hydration benefits like sparkling water beverages that come with a slight flavoring and no calories. I think she also dabbled with some Crystal Light a few times.

Now, though hydration is an important part of the whole health picture, there's something important about just pure water untouched by the likes of sugar substitutes and artificial flavorings. Aside from the fact that studies show that drinking sugar free beverages might actually contribute to obesity, it just doesn't have the purifying ability that water does.

Here are the basics:

1. Water flushes out the toxins in your body including your liver.
2. Water helps your liver run more efficiently resulting in a better metabolism of fat.

Drink at least 8 cups of water a day, more if you're active, to keep your body running at optimum efficiency. I have 3 half bottles of 1.5 fl. oz. water sitting around my desk. I'm going to drink them all before I begin my day.

Food Relationships

Have you ever thought about your relationship with food? Personally, I grew up in a household where food was how mothers and grandmothers showed their love. Where multiple meals, multi course dinners and delicious specialty snacks were expected to be eaten with appreciation for the person who provided it all. Anything less than voracious consumption of these culinary creations was considered offensive to dear Mommy and PoPo (Cantonese for Maternal Grandmother.)

As I got older I was taught that food is part of the pleasures of living. My mom made sure that I tried everything that passed m plate, no matter how disgusting my adolescent palate thought it would be. The experience of trying it, tasting it, would prevent a lifetime of not knowing what I was missing, according to my mother.

And so I learned to travel the "world" through food. Understanding the intricacies of culture, geography, weather and history that led certain countries to develop certain cuisines. The heat of Indian and Thai food to create a sweat that would cool down it's people in the face of the heat and humidity that the lands are so well known for. The saltiness of food and pervasive use of preserved meats in Hawaii because of war impacts. Even now, as I travel difference places domestically I try to get in a taste of the local fare each city is known for to get a better understanding of it's locals.

But this food association with love and experience comes with an unfortunate result: food as joy and comfort. Eating as a way to quench the boredom of hotel living while traveling, or to connect with friends and family. My food relationship has resulted in 15 lbs of unhealthy weight and an additionally undesirable 15 lbs after that making this a love/hate relationship.

Because now I hate food, or certain foods, whatever diet I embark upon for whatever reason next. First it's meat because vegetarianism is the way to go. Then it's carbs because they prevent the efficient metabolism of fat. Then it's certain vegetables because of salmonella. And everyday becomes a thought about what I should and should not be eating. What I wan't to eat and can't have. How much I love what I can eat. How much I hate all the things I can or can't eat. The idea that I have to eat what I'm supposed to eat now so that I won't lose control with hunger that I'll eat something that I shouldn't eat later.

Enough. Here's a message to myself and food. I know I can never break up with you entirely but I think it's time we take a break so I can focus on my other priorities. I'm going to eat to live, not live to eat.

Low Carb: Why Does It Work? Part 2

I'm on Day 3 of my low carb adventure. I assume that eventually, after the first 30 days it'll be a lifestyle choice instead of an adventure per se. I'm starting to feel the dizzy carb withdrawls which I can only assume are occurring because my body has no more glucose to burn, no more glycogen to tap into for energy and as a result, thinks I am starving. After I go to the gym for a couple of hours tonight I'm going to assume my body will start burning fat.

Back to the low carb logic. Insulin is the hormone that basically stops the use of fat for energy. It is responsible for pulling glucose from the blood stream and converting into the glycogen for energy use. The body will only store about a day's worth of glycogen for energy use. Anything beyond what the body can convert and store as glycogen is converted to fat.

Insulin is released whenever glucose is released into the blood stream. Glucose is apparently something our bodies want regulated in the blood so insulin is something of a blood stream hero. There's some nitty gritty science going on about glucose release but we'll skip it. For low carb purposes, know that the consumption of carbohydrates results in the introduction of glucose into the blood stream which results in the release of insulin.

So how do you avoid the release of insulin in the blood stream if you need to get at least 7 servings of vegetables in per day and vegetables naturally have carbohydrates in them?

The key is minimize the amount of glucose released in the blood stream resulting in the smallest amount of insulin released into the blood stream. The less glucose, the less insulin required to regulate the glucose levels.

So what vegetables should you eat to reduce the amount of insulin released and continue to burn fat? For that answer we turn to the Glycemic Index (GI).

This is another topic that most mainstream diets fail on. Being low on the GI is not purely enough to say that you can eat as much of it as you want. The GI measures the glucose effect on blood when a particular food is eaten. That measurement is based on a specific serving size. Consumption beyond that serving size can increase the glucose load.

Most foods that have a high fiber to calorie ratio, low in glucose and fructose as well as high in fat tend to have a much lower GI rating than foods than the average food.

Particularly easy to eat, find and enjoy low GI foods include:


(Chart courtesy of southbeach-diet-plan.com)