Fitness Friday: what your mother always told you...

may not be the case :)

this article gives detailed explanations of why the following (and other) myths are...well, myths!

cutting off bread crusts will make your meal less healthy/vitamin-ey

going out with wet hair will make you get sick

don't cross your eyes!  they might get stuck!

gum takes 7 years to digest, so don't swallow it

an apple a day keeps the doctor away!

as long as you wear a hat when it's cold you'll stay warmer, since most head escapes from your head

stay out of the pool for an hour after eating!

always, always, always take your vitamins

interesting, no?

Fitness Friday: site highlight

today's version of fitness friday is a bit abbreviated.

i'd like to introduce you to a new discovery of mine.

eat drink better

they have recipes

food safety articles

a whole section on vegan living (which i passed on to my friend who is currently eating vegan -- great resource!)

general nutrition and health articles 

brainy laws about food and stuff

what i REALLY like about this particular site, is that it's not preachy at all.  so many sites that fall into this vein of healthy lifestyle and living are honestly kind of judgmental about those of us who aren't quite as crunchy as others.  granted, i haven't read EVERY.SINGLE article on the website, but what i have seen is balanced and informative.

and that's kind of my thing.  as long as i'm well-informed about it, there's nothing wrong with once in awhile making the choice to eat a pop-tart or cheeseburger.

so visit the website or their facebook page and enjoy!

disclaimer: this is simply a site i stumbled upon this week.  i doubt the creators of the site know that i or this blog exist, and they certainly didn't ask me for a plug.  consider it a freebie, eat drink better gurus :)

Fitness Friday: and the case for exercise gets stronger

in searching for inspiration for this week's fitness friday i ran across this cnn.com blog that gave me just that -- and just in time for colder weather and cold and flu season!

i've written before how studies have shown that exercise can help counteract lost sleep

and we all know it helps maintain/lose weight

but studies are now showing it might, just might

boost that immune system!

while the studies admit that people who exercise may just have a healthier lifestyle overall

(duh)

it also concludes that virus-fighting white blood cells are boosted with exercise

by my count that's several points for regular exercise

and not too many for snuggling in on the couch

(sigh)

:-)

Fitness Friday: revolution

last year i discovered jamie oliver on a whole new level
 

i'm not sure how many of you watched his show but it was amazing.  and now food revolution has grown to be even more. his commitment to promoting healthier choices in cafeterias across the united states is astounding, and i fully support his efforts.  after all, it won't be too long before i will have children eating in a school cafeteria...i consider my attention to this issue NOW as an investment in their future.

(plus, as an educator, it'd be nice to have the option to walk into the school cafeteria from time to time and get a well-balanced lunch when i didn't have the time or energy to pack one.  i'm speaking in the nearer future for that one...God willing)

today's fitness friday is a little different -- i'm letting someone else do the talking.  a fairly famous someone else, and someone who most certainly doesn't even know this blog exists.  yep, i copied and pasted straight from his website...you can find the direct link to what i grabbed right here.

his philosophy so embodies how i feel about food, and i'll remind myself of that the next time i feel a bit guilty for eating a meal of comfort food :0)

Food philosophy

My philosophy to food and healthy eating has always been about enjoying everything in a balanced, and sane way. Food is one of life's greatest joys yet we've reached this really sad point where we're turning food into the enemy, and something to be afraid of. I believe that when you use good ingredients to make pasta dishes, salads, stews, burgers, grilled vegetables, fruit salads, and even outrageous cakes, they all have a place in our diets. We just need to rediscover our common sense: if you want to curl up and eat macaroni and cheese every once in a while – that's alright! Just have a sensible portion next to a fresh salad, and don't eat a big old helping of chocolate cake afterwards.

Knowing how to cook means you'll be able to turn all sorts of fresh ingredients into meals when they're in season, at their best, and cheapest! Cooking this way will always be cheaper than buying processed food, not to mention better for you. And because you'll be cooking a variety of lovely things, you'll naturally start to find a sensible balance. Some days you'll feel like making something light, and fresh, other days you'll want something warming and hearty. If you've got to snack between meals, try to go for something healthy rather than loading up on chocolate or potato crisps. Basically, as long as we all recognize that treats should be treats, not a daily occurrence, we'll be in a good place. So when I talk about having a 'healthy' approach to food, and eating better I'm talking about achieving that sense of balance: lots of the good stuff, loads of variety, and the odd indulgence every now and then. 

 
(and jamie ;)

Fitness Friday: to run or not to run?

i've never been much of a runner

i walk pretty fast, so i was able to get 5K times of around 45 minutes when i walked the entire thing

but earlier this year i started running more during my 5K's (maybe 1/2 mile total, but still) and started noticing that i began getting 42 and 40 minute times.

i determined to run an entire 5K soon, and even put it on my "30 before 30" list

(even though my yoga teacher had always said it's bad for your back/knees/etc)

and then

april hit

and after moving me into my new environment

i had a major asthma attack that put me in the ER and required an overnight hospital stay

and i became terrified to run

it took a long time for me to go out for a walk even

and the first time i went hiking i thought i was going to die

that childhood asthma i thought i had outgrown

had come back stronger than ever

but now that it's been a few months and i've done a couple of semi-serious hikes and a nice little 3 mile hike last weekend

i've decided something

next weekend is the 1 year anniversary of my very first 5K

and i'm doing it again

last year i kind of strolled through, simply happy to be out and moving

this year, i WILL run at least half of it

so i've started what many of you have been doing for awhile

the couch to 5K program is what many of you have done

i've chosen a similar program: 5K 101 

simply because it has a free podcast you can download that tells you what to do when.  easy!

today is only my 2nd workout, which means i will only be 2 weeks into it when i do the 5K

but still

i am fairly certain i'll be able to handle it

if nothing else, i'll plug my headphones in and start the training podcast i'm on...

i'll let you know how it goes :)

Fitness Friday: could it be??

in principle, i'm not a fan of fast food

in practice, however...

i head through the drive-thru more often than i'd prefer

simply because fast food is just.that

fast!

and easy...

i found this article from fitness magazine that gives a few tips and tricks for getting through the drive-thru windows of kfc, mcdonalds, taco bell, wendy's and pizza hut.

great.  the only one of those restaurants i come close to frequenting is mcdonalds.

(they have the best.drinks.ever)

so i looked around a little more and found this article on helpguide.org

it's a little more generic, and common sensical.  it breaks down the CATEGORY of restaurant (burger joint, taco place, chicken, pizzeria, sub shop, etc) and gives you a guide to less healthy and more healthy options.

bottom line: should you (or i) be eating fast food on a daily basis?

absolutely not

however, on those occasions where it's more convenient to drive to dinner...at least make health(ier) choices!

Fitness Friday: well, that just makes sense

i'll be the first to admit that my sleep cycles are not normal

i'm working on it though

and this last couple of weeks, i HAVE noticed an improvement

besides biting the bullet and actually crawling into bed a bit earlier

the only other thing that's changed is that i'm exercising more

not a LOT more, just more

and then yesterday i stumbled across this article from msnbc

one of the people mentioned states that an hour of exercise can make up for an hour of sleep

so sleep 7 hours, exercise for one

apparently it's the same benefits

erm, i'll have to work up to 7 hours of sleep a night...

but i think that's a definite possibility

especially since my complaint about going to bed earlier is that i can't fall asleep...

same study shows that regular aerobic exercise can improve ability to sleep

well, fall is in the air

time to put on those running shoes!

Fitness Friday: an obesity FORECAST?!

i know

i read that and went "really?"

and the article is here, should you want to read what sparked this post.

i think the line that got me the most in this was the following:

The lifespan of an obese person is up to 8-10 years shorter than that of a normal-weight person, the OECD said, the same loss of lifespan incurred by smoking.

um, wow?

but truly, it's good that studies are being done

i live in tennessee, which is (according to recent calculations) the 2nd fattest state in the nation.

yikes.

that's not ok

thankfully, our governor sees this as the huge problem it is, and has unveiled a plan to make some pretty major changes

more sidewalks, taxes on soft drinks, more frequent PE classes

among other things

hear me say:

i'm not at an ideal weight

but i am working toward it

i got a little out of control

and i can certainly see how that happens

but seriously

to be the fattest nation on earth

when we have the access to amazing, local produce

(or at least fresh-ish produce for those of you not near great farmers markets and groceries)

and we have the whole world literally at our fingertips

to research how to eat healthful and real food meals

exercise plans for every level of ability and need

what's our excuse?

really.

what will it take for us to take the doritos off our regular buying list

and replace them with (for the same price) a week's worth of crunchy vegetables and hummus?

when will we put down the expensive packaged cookies

and for a fraction of the cost, make a better and more healthful version?
(ahem -- it kind of drives me crazy when people complain about the cost of healthy food
when junk food is incredibly expensive!)

it's not about deprivation

it's about making smart choices

and yes.

i occasionally buy a bag of doritos

but it's not even once a month!

and i bought oreos for the first time in about 2 months yesterday

but i'm sure the cashier was a bit surprised by that addition to an otherwise healthy basket.  ha!

i guess the real question here

is when will we get off our (literal) butts

and start making our health a priority?

(i'm asking myself too)

for me...i need to learn that happy medium.  after struggling with eating disorders for years upon years

i started eating what i wanted 

i embraced recovery

and as i stated above, i got a bit out of control!

but now that i'm learning more about what my body actually needs

how it was designed to function

and how i can eat really good food

and still be healthy?

why would i NOT prefer that over a drive-thru?

all things in balance

all things in moderation

it's not about never eating anything unhealthy

-- unless you're a stronger person than i!

it's about learning to make that the exception rather than the rule.

(and for me...a cheeseburger tastes SO MUCH better when it's been weeks since i've ordered one!)

i'm still working away at my weight loss challenge

(which reminds me...must make an update post about that next week)

my goal is to be at a weight that i'm happy with

and want to maintain

by the time i'm shopping for wedding dresses.

that's my clear and eventual goal

to be thrilled with my body on my wedding day

and beyond

it's a tangible goal

beyond that, i want to raise children

who never have the same body image issues i did

who learn how to have that balance and healthful attitude

that i'm currently striving for

what about you?

you know...we could prove that forecast wrong.
i'm just sayin'

Fitness Friday: 25 surprising (or not so) nutrition secrets

i loved this article!
because i truly want you to read it, i'm not going to list all 25 secrets here.

however...
i'll give you a few teasers

1 - drink a second cup of coffee
(don't mind if i do!)
9 - cut portions down by a quarter
(that doesn't seem too bad...)
10 - turn off the tv during meals
(i'm guilty...are you?)
15 - work out before lunch or dinner
(cool...that's the best time for me anyway!)
19 - drink 2 glasses of milk a day
(breakfast and bedtime for me :)
22 - choose food with the fewest ingredients
(all those nasty additives, etc)

it's worth a read -- if for nothing else for the explanations behind the numbers!

have a healthy and fit friday
:0)

fitness friday: worth it, or not?

an email came to me the other day
that really made me think

i gave up on energy bars a LONG time ago
i just don't like them
fake chocolate, fake taste
there are a few i can stomach
and once in awhile i'll try one in a pinch

but this article came and i thought of my friends who nearly live on them
and decided to share it with you :)

here's my fitness/nutrition tip of the day for you
and it sounds simple, and common sensical
(did i just make up a word? the little red line is under it, which may indeed mean that i did...)

anyway, here it is
ready?

if i don't like it
i don't eat it.

meaning, i'm not going to waste my calories for the day
on something i don't enjoy

if a salad has a vinaigrette on it that i hate?
not gonna eat more than the initial bite
if a "healthy" meal tastes like cardboard?
i'll go to the fridge and pull out some fresh veggies that i know i love
if a cookie or chip is stale?
don't bother

i think for the longest time i ate what was in front of me under the misguided assumption that i needed to do the healthy thing whether i liked it or not

the problem was that in many cases i didn't like it

and so within a few hours of a meal, i was reaching for something that would satisfy
therefore sometimes doubling my calories

clearly that didn't work.

now that i know tricks and tips to "lean up" just about any meal
i don't even bother with the health food aisle

full-fat ranch dressing please, on a salad loaded with veggies and no cheese
reduced fat sour cream or cream cheese in recipes only (not that i'll eat sour cream on it's own...blech)
sugar in my sweet tea and coffee
water most of the rest of the day

it's SO simple
but i'm much happier doing it.

fitness friday: to process or not to process

yesterday i was in two different houses with two different philosophies on eating and nutrition

yet the meals i served the children in both families both ended up to have about the same nutritional value

hot dogs in one home
macaroni and cheese from a box in the other
fresh fruit abounding in both

processed next to unprocessed
so i started thinking
which is dangerous, admittedly

what are my foodie confessions?
yes, i prefer unprocessed, whole foods
but honestly, i don't always do the best job of providing them to myself

for example, i know that pop-tarts have no nutritional value, whatsoever
but because they satisfy a sweet craving and have less fat/calorie content than many things that i could substitute
i allow them once in awhile

and while annie's mac and cheese is organic and all
it's still processed
and the blue box is even worse

i justify it because i don't eat these things every day
just "in a pinch"
when i'm in a hurry
or when nothing else sounds good and i just need food in my body

so...what can i do
what can you do
to ensure that healthful, REAL food is what you put in your body?

i think, for me, i'm going to be more purposeful in keeping healthful, whole foods on hand
actually preparing them when i bring them home, so that the temptation of fast and easy is removed
and it's actually JUST as fast and easy to have something real :)
and not falling victim to couponing--while it's AMAZING, i also think i buy more processed crap because i can get it cheap
(so now i have to somehow unify the part of me that wants healthful food with the part of me that wants to save money. THAT could be a blog project all it's own!)

what do you do?

fitness friday: the non-edition

fitness friday will return next week

i'm a little overwhelmed with car stuff, packing, and cleaning.

so...yeah.

fyi, i'm entertaining the idea of having guest posts on fitness friday. so many of you have such wonderful fitness routines or healthy eating habits--i'd love for some of you to share those here! please let me know if you're interested in that!

i'm hoping to catch up on reading blogs this weekend and early next week...unfortunately my life has been consumed with other things this week :(

much love to you all!

fitness friday: tracking, tracking, tracking

so, anyone who is serious about losing weight or getting more active intends to track their meals and exercise

i don't know about you, but food diaries always worked for me for awhile. then i'd forget to put a meal in, continue forgetting, and then try to think back to what on earth i'd had the day before much less the previous week!

enter websites that have saved my calorie counting life

the only one i have any experience with is sparkpeople. i found it, liked it and stuck with it. so i'm going to chat about it a bit, list a few others that seem to be similar, and then ask for your input. if you've had any experience with any of these or have one to add, please leave it in the comments so everyone can see it :)

first the rundown:

sparkpeople is free...which was important

it was easy...which was also important

and it has cool features that i'm STILL finding out about.

i've been using it off and on for a few years. here are my favorite things about it.

goals:

on sparkpeople you can set a goal for weight loss...or you can simply set some lifestyle goals. examples of lifestyle goals include "drinking 8 glasses of water a day" or "keep a journal" or "listen to a get-up-and-go song every morning"

you can also fill in the blank and create your own goals.

nutrition tracking:

every bite you put into your body can be tracked!

most restaurant nutritional info is available online, so you can enter it yourself

OR you can search entered info from other members--chances are that someone has tracked the same meal

any food you buy in the grocery is either listed or easily entered

and there are extras!

not only are there meters for fruit/veggie servings per day and glasses of water per day

but there are also ways to create food groupings of things your often pair together (my coffee with sugar and creamer, for example) so that you don't have to enter each one separately

and my very favorite part, which is an entirely new category...

recipes:

enter the ingredients, the number of servings, and save it in your recipes

you can choose to share with everyone else on sparkpeople if you wish

or just keep it for your handy info

i LOVE this

finally, there's fitness tracking:

you can plan to work in cardio however many times a week you want

strength training

etc

there are plenty of extra features--message boards, motivation tools, etc. i find that i don't really use them or the sparkspoints system, but you might find it helpful.

the only extra i do use? the iphone app.

:0)

here are a couple of other sites that seem to do similar things

fitday.com

nutrition data

calorie count

the daily plate

so

have you tried any similar tracking sites?

did you stick with it?

were you happy with the features?

what's YOUR recommendation?

fitness friday: organics

my approach to a lot of things is that the natural way is better

(although the jury is still out on childbirth. we'll see how i feel about that when i'm in labor one of these days!)

food is my main soapbox on the natural, non-processed way though.

don't get me wrong. i'll eat (organic, all-beef or turkey) hot dogs with the kids on occasion. sometimes to save time i'll eat processed food, although i DO try to make it natural or organic to at least feel better about the processing :)

but as far as my fruits and vegetables, dairy products and meats...

unless i'm eating out or at someone else's house

it's at least 90% organic

(allowing a 10% margin for those rare occasions that i can't find an organic product that i need for a recipe)

here's a couple of reasons why:

for me, i look at it with a spiritual context. if my body is a temple, do i really want to be shoveling crap in it all day long? do i want to put pesticides, preservatives, and other MAN-made chemicals in my body when on the flip side i could pay a few extra dollars to eat food the way God made it?

when i first started buying organic fruits, vegetables and milk, i balked a bit at the price tag. then i gave myself the "my body is a temple and this temple is going to try it for a few weeks and see what happens" talk. and a few amazing things happened.

-- my energy level went up

-- my body just FELT better

-- food tasted better

-- and my grocery bill remained about the same as it had been

(because i began craving the GOOD food and stopped buying the processed and boxed food...and the price tag of those boxes and cans is actually higher in most cases than buying fresh and natural ingredients. oh, and trader joe's helped :)

for a long time i stuck with the fruits, veggies and milk

then i snuck cheese into the equation

and finally meat. meat was my hold-out because, well...it really IS expensive to get organic meat.

(thank you again, trader joe. it's not THAT expensive there)

sometimes i don't have time to get to trader joe's and will buy conventional meat at the grocery. honestly, that probably stops after i write this post. there are organic options at publix and kroger...or i can suck it up and eat something that doesn't require meat for the meal i'm buying for!

do i say all this to change your mind?

maybe

but with all sincerity, i think we all have to make our own decisions about this stuff

i just want everyone to make an informed decision

mostly, i just want to help you think.

i know some feel it's not worth the extra money

some think it's just plain stupid or unnecessary

some are on the fence

and some buy into the organics idea but haven't really gotten started

i would encourage you to do what i did if you're considering it at ALL

experiment.

set a goal (3 weeks, for example) and a specific food group (vegetables, fruits, or dairy are good places to start)

buy 75% organics in that category for 3 weeks

if you can't tell much of a difference in the way your body feels

make a decision based on that (likely to go back to conventional)

if you can't tell much of a difference in your wallet

make a decision based on that (likely to stick with it a little longer and perhaps introduce more organics into your regular shopping)

but if you CAN tell a huge difference

you probably have your answer one way or the other.

don't take my word for it though. check it out for yourself!

※ here's an interesting article on whether organics is "worth it". it's written from a non-biased perspective from what i can tell. (and i'm definitely biased!)

※ here's a good list to help you decide which fruits and vegetables should be bought in organic form, and which are probably not necessary to purchase organically

dirty dozen and clean fifteen

(you can download a printable version OR an iphone app from that link!)

(more in depth article and more user friendly article both about the dirty dozen)

※ another article about organics in general

fitness friday

will return next week. i've spent a lot of time with anthony and his family this week, and i'm leaving for a retreat today literally right after the graveside service. i doubt i'll have internet access there...so i'm putting it on hold.

however, my reasons for choosing organics more often than not will still be the forefront of the discussion!

i'll leave you with a little tidbit: i get this email daily and love it. i'm better at reading a week's worth at once or so but still.

it's the "eat this, not that" movement, and it's a daily email chock full of good and surprising info. some of it's common sense stuff...some is more surprising.

you can go to this link and sign up--don't let the "men's health" bit scare you off--it's gender-neutral!

Friday Fitness

i'm starting a new feature here at le blog...because i want to help people be more educated about food and fitness. most of the things i'll be sharing are things that i didn't realize a year, two years, or 5 years ago. which means that even when i was skinny mini...the healthy version...i was still putting processed crap and foods very low in nutritional value into my body.

lately i've been making some changes.

and yes, while i'm no angel (pizza/wings for dinner with my small group last night and possible pub food tonight...) i believe that being AWARE of what you're putting into your body is important. so i'm aware that last night and perhaps tonight i'm filling my body with processed, greasy, possibly fried foods. that makes my lunch choices important, and means i'm limiting crap for snacks. there are plenty of fruits and vegetables in my fridge, so i have no excuse to reach for chips (which thankfully, i don't have in the house at the moment!)

i maintain that education is key. if you don't know...you don't care. if you know and you still don't care that's your prerogative...and if you know and care then maybe you'll find this little series helpful.

i'll just be passing on information that i learn. a simple google (or blackle) search will probably turn up similar information for you, but perhaps i'll save you a step or two. :)

here are 3 quick things for today since i spent all that time explaining why i'm doing this :)

1 - one of my blogging buddies posted this article on dangerous potato chips...and you're doing yourself a huge favor if you read it. seriously scary stuff!

(plus she's awesome and you should read her blog if you don't already *anyway*)

2 - an article that one of my friends shared on facebook a couple of months ago that has stuck with me. unfortunately, i haven't found a solution for canned tomatoes yet...but i'm looking into methods of canning them. there are not many available in glass jars, so i think the easiest and cheapest alternative will be to produce my own. ok, maybe not *easiest* :D

3 - two articles, one written in 2008 and one in 2009 about wiifit. pointing out the obvious--that if you don't use it it doesn't work, but if you do you actually may see some results.

for me personally, the wiifit game has been a way to gradually ease me back into exercise after my asthma attack earlier this summer...and a way for me to accurately track weight loss. and the bonus is that when i'm using it consistently (i average about 3x a week, although some weeks are more or less depending) i actually see results.

my opinion? wiifit is mainly about getting you off the couch and active. and it's fun. and if you lose a couple of pounds in the process it's pretty awesome :)

so there you go :) next week i'll share my reasoning behind my more organic than not lifestyle changes and you can all call me a crunchy freak ;-)