Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: 30 day shred, diet, fitness, goal setting, goals, health, nutrition, pilates, rewards, running, strength training, yoga
As I mentioned before, I view my years from September to September. I set my goals and resolutions around this time each year. Generally, rather that set nebulous goals like “lose weight” or be more thoughtful, I try to make measurable short-term (month to month) mini-goals to help me get there.
Here’s what I’m striving for this September in…
Fitness:
- Do yoga 2x/week (either at home or at the studio)
- Complete regular exercises every weekday morning (push-ups, squats, sit-ups, etc).
- Run 3x/week (2 shorter weekday runs, 1 longer weekend run)
- Strength train (either at the gym or at home with Shred) 2x/week
- Swim weekly
Health/Nutrition:
- Cook fish 1-2x/week
- Try one new recipe from “How to Cook Everything Vegetarian” per week
Now, I admit, some of these I already kinda do. I already run 3x/week and I already try at least 1 recipe from HtCEV per week. I think this kind of motivates me though, and helps me develop the others into good habits too.
Whenever I set my goals like this, I also think of some rewards for my success. For example, if I keep up with all of my fitness goals, I’ll treat myself to a new, cute workout outfit after September is over. This tends to work for me.
What do you do to stay motivated?? Do you reward yourself? Set short-term goals? Let me know your thoughts!
After last weeks sad realization, I buckled down this week and really focused on some healthy habits. I hit the scale, and I’m down 1.4. This is a victory for me, for sure. I hope to take off roughly 1lb/week. We shall see how this goes.
This biggest change was in my schedule. As I had mentioned before, I tend to gain weight in the summer because of the lack of structure. I planned out my days in advance and made sure that I wouldn’t have too much down-time at home (my downfall for snacking). For the most part, I stuck with it. I ate loads of beautiful fresh fruits and veggies, and when I went to a friends house for grilling on Saturday, I brought some healthy fresh foods (I knew there wouldn’t be here).
This week, I’m going to continue with my schedule and eating habits. I think I’ll also try a few more recipes to post. Overall, I think this week was a success and I plan to be down another pound next week.
Filed under: Produce | Tags: diet, easy, health, nutrition, recipe, summer, summer squash, zucchini
After a wonderful July 4th weekend (finally a few beautiful days here in NYC!), I came home very tired and in need of something easy and healthy after a weekend of picnic food.
I rounded up a bunch of leftovers for this one. Earlier this week I had sauteed some summer squash and zucchini in garlic and olive oil. I also found some whole wheat pizza dough from Whole Foods (really cheap and versatile – good to have on hand). I rolled out the whole wheat dough on cornmeal so it wouldn’t stick. I greased a casserole dish and placed the dough in the bottom. I layered the zucchini/summer squash on top, then chopped up some red peppers (I had one floating in the fridge). To round out the meal, I beat 4 eggs in a bowl and poured them on top and added sea salt and freshly-ground pepper.
I baked the dish at 350 for about 20 minutes, then added some shredded parmesan cheese and put it back in for ten more minutes. With a nice salad and some vino, this turned out to be great meal. Even better, the leftovers were delicious cold for lunch.
Filed under: People/Person | Tags: Bittman, cooking, diet, kastor, marathon, nyc, running, video
On a long run, I looooove thinking about what big meal I’m going to have when I finish. (At around mile 22 of this year’s NY Marathon, I began to set my sights on a burger and a nice cold beer).
Recently, the NY Times blog Well (one of my faves), featured an article and video with Mark Bittman and Deena Kastor. Mark Bittman, of whom I’m a HUGE fan, is a NYTimes foodie. Apparently, he’s also a runner who is training for this year’s marathon. Deena Kastor is a super US marathoner. The two paired up for a run, and for some cooking.
Check out the article and the video here.
Happy Fourth of July!
Filed under: People/Person, Uncategorized | Tags: diet, exercise, gain, nutrition, scale, weight, weight-loss
So after a few weeks hiatus, I hit the scale. It could have been bad - very bad. All things considered, it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. But…
I’m up. like 3lbs. I know this doesn’t seem like much, but when I think of how long and how much effort it takes me to lose 3lbs… it’s pretty daunting.
So, I’m buckling down. I had become a bit lax on most things in the last month, but as of yesterday, I have begun journaling EVERY vittle that touches these lips. I am forcing myself to get my stretching and run in every morning – no matter how long/short – every week day. It can’t be an option.
I generally gain weight during the summer. I think it’s due to the fact that there is less structure and more spontaneous activity. This summer, I’ve “scheduled” out most of my days. I’m making sure that I’m not spending any unnecessary downtime at home – that’s a potential binge-central.
Anyhow, I’m back on the straight and narrow. I’ll go back to weighing in each Wednesday. I’ll let you know how my journey is going on Wed.
I eat very well during the week. My daily routine keeps my healthy diet in check. Somehow, though, the wheels fall off on the weekends. Many weekends, during which I find myself (thankfully) without obligations, my patterns of eating are thrown off. I thought that this weekend, to be more aware and accountable, I’d document what I eat. (This was also a really good excuse to use my new iphone, and play with slideshows).
Saturday:
- Breakfast: 1 slice Ezekiel sprouted grain bread (toasted); shmear of my hazelnut spread; banana; vitamin; yerba mate tea; loads of water.
- green grapes (forgot to take a picture…)
- Lunch: (In the middle of 3-hr bike ride) half of a whole wheat spinach foccacia from the Farmer’s Market and a Granny Smith apple; loads of water
- Dinner: (Mexican restaurant) chips w/ guacamole; chicken enchiladas (I only ate one of the four enchiladas pictured. I got full pretty quickly, and didn’t really like all the dark meat in them.
- Dessert: Haagen Dazs 5 vanilla ice cream
Sunday:
- Breakfast: pear (chopped, sprinkled w/ cinnamon, nuked for a minute); whole wheat toast w/ honey, banana, and cinnamon; glass of skim milk; yerba mate, loads of water, vitamin
- Lunch: 2 falafel balls, tabbouleh (only ate about 1/3); cantaloupe, honey grahams
- Snack/Dinner: whole wheat toast, slices of parmesan; red pepper; baby carrots. I was kind of tired, and not hungry enough for a full meal, so I just sneaked in my veggies.
- Dessert: gingersnap cookies (forgot to take picture)
This, I think, was a pretty typical weekend for me. I’m not sure that taking pictures helped me to be more conscious of what I ate, since I generally write down everything anyhow. This is by no means a recommendation on how to eat. I noticed that I definitely have more processed foods on the weekend, whereas during the week I prepare all of my food myself. In addition, on weekdays I typically get an average of 7 fruits and veggies per day, whereas this weekend I seemed to struggle to get to 5.What this menu doesn’t show, however, is all of the activity I get in on the weekend. I went on a 3 hour bike ride on Saturday, and 4+ hour walk on Sunday.
In one of my favorite blogs, Eat Like Me (SELF magazine), a registered dietician photographs all of her meals. She also offers advice and answers nutritional questions. Check it out – it’s a great read!
So I’ve stayed exactly the same this week. I’m pretty pleased with that. As I’ve noted in previous posts, I hope to average about a 1/2 lb loss per week. Each of the last two weeks has shown a 2+ lb loss. That’s not a realistic loss pattern for me.
I’m keeping with everything that’s been working. I’ll check in next week and discuss other indicators of weight-loss (taking measurements).
Filed under: Product | Tags: diet, hazelnuts, no sugar, nut butter, nutella, recipe
In my effort to incorporate more nuts and nut butters into my diet, I decided to branch out from my usual almond butter/peanut butter rotation. I had some hazelnuts on-hand, and when I think of hazelnuts, I think of the wondrous Nutella. Nutella is this super-delish spread of hazelnuts and chocolate (and sugar and milk, of course). It’s one of those things that I can’t keep in the house. I’d eat it with a spoon.
Anyhow, feeling a little adventurous, I thought I’d try to make my own natural sugar-free version of Nutella. Here goes:
- First, I toasted the hazelnuts. (To toast nuts, just put them in a dry heated saute pan. I kept my on low-medium heat. Shake ‘em around a little and they are done in less than 5 minutes — you can usually smell it.)
- Next, I put the toasted hazelnuts in a dish towel and rubbed it together. This was to remove most of the papery shells.
- I tossed them into my Magic Bullet (a regular food processor probably would have worked better), and poured a little canola oil in. I just eye-balled the amount.
- Give it a spin.
- I noticed it was really chunky – not buttery. I added a little more oil and gave it another spin.
- Keep doing this until you get the desired consistency. Note: mine never got to be “buttery.” It’s still sorta spread-able, definitely soft, and delicious
- I then added a little honey to sweeten and 1tbsp pure cocoa powder. Combine with spoon.
It came out really delicious. I am just storing mine in an old jar in the cabinet. I don’t see any need to refrigerate since it may harden.
As I experiment with more nut butters, etc. I’ll try to post some pics/vid. This one was spur-of-the-moment.
Again, Nutella-lovers, you’re welcome!
I’ve been keeping you updated on my slim down. Since last Wednesday, a mere week ago, I dropped another 2.4lbs! That’s a lot when you have little to lose in the first place. I think I’ll taper off soon, but my goal is to have a steady average loss of about 1/2 lb per week.
What’s working… the same things that were working as last week! I’ve been getting in even more raw veggies, and generally eating clean, otherwise.
I’ll check in with you next Wednesday!
I’ve been very interested in sugar dependency (namely because I struggle with it). As such, I’ve been reading as much as I can about it, and trying new/different ways to combat cravings. Yesterday on the train back to New York, I was reading my mom’s Woman’s Day, when I found an article about sugar addiction.
In short, the article (“The Sugar Effect” from Volume 72, Issue 9) discussed how sugar dependency has exhibited some similar effects as drug dependency. It also shares some information about why we do (or don’t!) need certain sugars and how our body processes them. Some highlights:
- The US Dietary Guidelines allow 32 grams of sugar per 2,000 calorie/day diet. This is about the equivalent amount of sugar in 1c of sweetened cereal! This really makes me think… especially since my daily caloric intake is closer to 12-1400!
- About sugar being a legitimate addiction: “…research on rats shows that they had withdrawal symptoms, including shaking and teeth chattering, when the effects of the sugar water they’d had for nine days had been blocked.”
- Sugar, or having a sweet-tooth, may be linked to evolution: “Humans likely gravitated away from bitter foods, which might have been poisonous, toward sweet ones, which were probably safe.”
Just some food for thought… My own efforts to drop my sugar dependency have been going quite well recently… I’ll keep you updated!
