On Hiatus...

I have a huge project I have been working on that will hopefully come to completion with success in the next few weeks. I am really looking forward to returning to a regular, more balanced life after that. Please stay tuned :-)

Love These Bars!!

A new snack I bought that I am pleasantly surprised by: Kashi TLC "Tasty Little Chewies Fruit and Grain Bars". I've bought these before but there seem to be new flavors out now. These new bars are slightly smaller, have fewer calories, but, (get this!) and a substantial layer of fruit or chocolate (depending on the flavor) on top. I've tried Dark Chocolate Coconut and Pumpkin Pie (those are two different bars, not one over the top dessert explosion). They taste like dessert - Yum! Especially the Dark Chocolate Coconut one.
Stats: 120 cal. 3 gr. fat, 4 gr. fiber, 4 gr. protein per 1.1 oz. bar.
Has anyone tried Larabars? I've heard of these recently but have never tried them.

Healthy Egg Salad

I just invented this healthy way to make egg salad:

• 1 hard-boiled egg
• 1/4 cup non-fat greek-style joghurt
• 1tbs honey-mustard
• 2tbs chopped scallion
• 1tbs chopped cilantro
• squirt of lime juice
• salt, pepper, paprika

Check out the stats: the whole thing is about 130 calories, 5 gr. fat, 26 gr protein

Intervals!

I've heard and read this everywhere for months now: Do your cardio in intervals because it is way more effective. As I was growing increasingly weary of doing my 30 min. runs on the treadmill, I decided it was time for a change and the change came in the form of intervals.
It's only been two weeks of this, so I can't really tell whether I am running way more effectively, as it has been heralded by fans of the intervals way. What I can attest to is that it is psychologically refreshing. Instead of watching 30 minutes tick away, I've broken it down in my head to three sets of 10 minutes, and I try to work my speed up to its maximum by the end of each third. So in other words, I want to run at least at an 8.0 pace as my maximum, and I therefore try to reach and sustain that, starting from 30, by minute 20, minute 10 and 0. In order to progress, I've played around with trying to sustain the 8.0 pace for longer and longer, so now I am running at or above an 8.0 from minute 23-minute 20, minute 13-minute 10, etc.
I guess each person has to find what works best for them. This, more than anything, has kept my brain occupied in a different way during my runs, which is a much needed change!

Self 2009 Challenge - Don't bother!

Fit Sugar just promoted the Self Magazine 2009 challenge. I discovered this in leafing through the recent Self at the gym last week and because it promised all kinds of incredible free online tools for keeping track of my progress, I went to the Self website and I checked it out.
I'm totally disappointed. The tools allow you to log your calories burned in exercise and your calories consumed through diet. Sounds helpful enough, but it is actually pretty rudimentary. I was frustrated that the only strenght training it allows me to log calories burned for is their own published routine - and I am not really interested in following that. Also, the cardio has to fit into their pre-established schemas too, as well as the diet.
Pretty much, if you decide to follow the diet and exercise plan they published then the website allows you to track your progress online. Any deviation leads to complication.
This may be good if you are just starting out, but definitely not for someone with experience.
On top of everything, I am annoyed that I had to create an account to investigate the 2009 Challenge and the website does not make it easy at all for me to delete said account now that I've discovered that the tools suck. Grr.

Counting Away

I've noticed that out of the 30 lbs I've lost in the past year, five crept back up on me somehow. I was pissed for a while ( I work out all the time!! How can this be? If I can't eat cookies and ice cream and chocolate once in a while, who can??) but then decided to suck it up and just shed it. After all, it's only 5 lbs. So I started counting the caloric value of what I eat about a week ago and was amazed to see how fast things add up! Really, try it!
I am finding that this new practice is kindof liberating. It does not sound like it would be, keeping track of all the numbers and all, but it is and here's how: I generally find myself snacky and hungry at the end of the day, and now I can 1) economize my calories throughout the day and save some to be consumed at night, because I know I will get hungry and 2) not feel back that I am snacking at night, especially when my numbers indicate that I am still below the daily limit. It's great. AND since two weeks ago, I am already down 2 lbs! Hurray!
One thing I am wondering about is where to best determine what my daily intake should be. I don't have time for meeting up with the trainer right now for his fancy equipment and complicated equations.. and one online site based on my height and activity level recommends 2400 a day which is the highest quote I've ever seen! Any tips for better online resources?

My hearts beats for cardio

Okay, I admit that I meant that title in a slightly sarcastic tone. My heart shuns away from cardio lately, though I do it 30 min a day nonetheless, thus resulting in it being a drag.
Here is how I try to keep it interesting. I find five different ways a week to do at least 30 minutes of cardio:
Mondays: elliptical
Tuesdays: spinning
Wednesdays: combo (10min run, 10min bike, 10min stairmaster in a row)
Thursdays: boot camp (they have me run bleachers, sprints) or treadmill
Fridays: run on treadmill
I keep trying to invent new ways. I recently tried the row machine but it was a better warmup for an upper body workout than a cardio session.
Any cardio tips to keep it interesting?

Farmer's Cheese

I want to tell you more about this amazing food. (25 cal, 3g protein, 1g fat per serving) It's like cottage cheese but with smaller curds and a less watery consistency. If you are a European, especially from the eastern half of the continent, you know all about this, and you probably use it all the time in spreads, snacks, dips, and both as sweet and savory fillings for pastries, or even over pasta.
I love this stuff but I have to go to the special Euro ethic grocery stores to find it. This is the brand I usually find; it varies in price, depending on the store it runs from $3-$5 dollars per container.
Recently I felt empowered to try to make it at home. Partially this is because the ethic store is out of the way and I am tired of making extra trips. One night I saw Alton Brown make it on Good Eats (love him, love the show!) but when I attempted to make it, I didn't exactly follow it: I used lemon juice instead of vinegar and I skipped the half and half and mixed in some non-fat greek-style joghurt. Here is what I did:
mix - 4 cups of skim milk
1tsp salt
bring to a boil - make sure it's hot enough, steaming with bubbles, but don't scorch the milk
stir in the juice of one lemon
let sit 10-30 min
strain through a colander and cheese cloth, squeeze out the liquid (whey)
mix the curds with some joghurt for a creamier consistency

Boot Camp!

I'm definitely feeling treadmill boredom that Fit Sugar recently posted about...as I write this I should have dragged myself down to the gym a half an hour ago, but I am procrastinating because I am not looking forward to the workout. I am bored with it.
This is generally the time when I can use some external motivation. A big fan of classes in general, I started attending Boot Camp at my gym once a week. There is only so much I can organize and carry out by myself, but I've been a loner with my fitness routine for a while, despite my love for classes. The classes recently just have not fit into my schedule so I would go and follow my own routine, but now I am getting a bit burned out. Thus my recent return to Boot Camp.
The classes where I go are generally small, so it is almost like personal training! And the instructor pushing you and doing the thinking for you makes all the difference, trust me. Especially if you spend the rest of your day in your head, thinking. The last thing I want to do sometimes is to think up a new routine, but with Boot Camp, I don't have to. So I carry on. :-)

How does a Fitness Fanatic Fast?

For many people, today is Ash Wednesday, a special day that invites them to fast. The spirituality of this Catholic holy day, as well as that of Lent, the season it initiates, is well beyond the scope of this post, though I'd be more than happy to elaborate on it if anyone is interested.
Suffice it to say for now that on Ash Wednesday, Catholics go without food to remind themselves of their utter dependence on God, of their on mortality, of entering into the 40 day journey that leads to the death and resurrection of Christ, as well as an expression of solidarity to the millions of people who go without food today out of poverty, not of choice. These are all good, strong reasons to practice this spiritual discipline.
The problem I am encountering is a clash of this spirituality of fasting with the culture of diet and fitness that has become a lifestyle for me. How should I define fasting when my everyday approach to food is already limited, regimented, specified? Giving something up is not just a lenten thing for me; it has defined my diet for the past year or so. How do I distinguish Lent then?
A friend suggested to fast by fasting from dieting and exercising for a day each week. I like in her suggestion the broad definition of fasting, and pinpointing an area in one's life that could use some simplification. Nonetheless, I am drawn to figuring this out in terms of the original intent of the practice of fasting, which involved giving up food in some capacity. I don't want my practice of fasting to be so subjective that it becomes disconnected from the actual practice.
I continue searching to figure out the deep spirituality that connects food, hunger, fulfillment, and God...

My go-to snacks

I started on a low carb, six small meal a day diet a year ago (which I've since modified..my body needs carbs) that alloted for several snacks. I followed the recommended 1/4 cup nuts and piece of fruit for a while, but eventually I branched out to other things, allowing for the emergence of my new and favorite snack: dairy. Sounds like a bad word for healthy eating, I know, but trust me. My dairy obsession takes on two forms: plain 0% fat greek style joghurt (6 oz= 100 cal, 0 fat, 0 chol. 18 gr. protein) and non-fat farmers cheese. (stats forthcoming) I doctor up both, adding frozen blueberries, or reduced sugar preserves from Trader Joes (35 cal/tbs). My best method is to mix up a containter of farmer's cheese with some raisins, craisins, crystallized ginger bits, and lemon zest, and let it sit overnight. Time allows for the dried fruit to soften and sweeten the cheese so no sugar is needed. Yum.

Creative Eating

Continuing to explore how to maintain my health and fitness habits while away from home:
What my fiance considers basic for his kitchen/household is just that: pretty basic, at least compared to my house. Lots of snack foods, canned foods, frozen foods, etc. here.
I've been eating plain oatmeal for breakfast for a couple of days, looking for different ways to spice it up - I even tried adding a scoop of his chocolate whey protein shake powder to it, which was a bad idea, because the oatmeal was hot and the stuff curdled. Bad texture.
On the other hand I've taken to adding a bag of "steamfresh" frozen vegetables to a can of prepared soup, to amp up the health value and overall quality, in my opinion. Yesterday it was beef barley with a bag of frozen broccoli, red peppers, onions, mushrooms and edamame. Two thumbs up.

Creative Fitness

Both a recent episode of Biggest Loser (where they had to workout without using the gym) and today's post on the Diet Blog got me thinking about working out creatively. Also, I am out of town this week visiting my fiance, and I've had to reinvent my routine and eating habits based on what is available here. It's hard! I'm used to certain things. For example I love fitness classes at my regular gym, esp. toward the end of the week when I am sick of trying to think up new things to do. In a bind, YouTube is a good way to do find some fitness videos - I've used the 8 minute series not only for the time efficiency, but also for the added amusement of the striped biking shorts of an era long gone :-). Also, I've recently discovered Exerise TV and its free videos as an added feature of my cable service provider. Not bad.

The Numbers Game

I let numbers get to me. Yesterday I found an ensemble of weight and fitness calculators on this website and had some fun with them. As much as I'd like to think that I have it together, though, these numbers got to me. For my height, it determined a weight 15lbs less as my "ideal. " I will never be able to reach that "ideal" - my body fat to muscle ratio just does not allow for this, there is no more wiggle room. ;-)
Because weight loss and fitness is a mental game above anything, I wonder how helpful it is to consider these numbers, knowing that they psych me out. At the same time, we're always on some level looking for outside affirmation, and fitting the "ideal" as much as we'd say that is a bad idea to do so.
The same website suggested I should be eating 2400 calories a day. This is double the 1200 calorie diets I come across in Oxygen Magazine all the time. I am still in shock! Could this be so?

My Debut

I have been at this for a while. Getting up everyday, and while I am preparing my breakfast, psyching myself into spending the next 1.5 hours at the gym. I get there, I sweat, I count reps. The trip home from the gym is always lighter and brighter than the way there, but I am always glad that I sustained my discipline another day.
Although the gym is definitely an "in the zone" time, I am finding that it is really good to find others to share fitness ideas and inspiration. I am looking forward to regularly reading some of the fitness blog pros and hope to become part of the conversation.