I sold my sport KTM 450XC ATV and purchased a Cedrus far-infrared sauna.  The sauna is 100% cedar.  Very nice.  Smells great.  I love the sauna, I use it at least 6 days per week for 1/2 hour in the morning.  It’s been about 3 weeks now.  One thing I will say, this sauna does not heat up in 10 minutes.  It is more like 1/2 hour – 45 minutes. 

The construction of the sauna is ok.  The seems really don’t line up well leaving small gaps which I would say is causing heat to escape.  (maybe that is why it takes so long to heat up, I don’t know)

If you cannot elevate your legs and you have your feet on the floor, it is cold on your legs as there are no heaters there.  If you are looking at this sauna, get the heaters on the floor/bottom of the bench. 

For each person using the sauna, get a backrests.  You will be much more comfortable while having your legs up. 

Due to the amount of sweating make sure you put a towel down on the bench and I use one on my backrest as well. 

After using the sauna I feel refreshed and warm.  I cannot verify that I am burning the amount of calories it says I can burn, but I am going to get a calories burned device and I will post the results from that very soon.

More to come.

Jennifer Loganathan

You can’t have failed to notice all the rain we’ve had recently and with the official start of winter only two weeks away it’s hard to see how staying active can be possible over the next few months. Not only does the weather put you off exercising outside, or even leaving the house to go to the gym, but the shorter days and lack of sunlight seem to make a lot of people feel lethargic and lacking in motivation.

Our body naturally follows a circadian rhythm which is partly controlled by exposure to light. This affects our daily sleep/wake routine and also influences our mood, appetite and energy levels.

This decrease in physical activity and increase in appetite can mean that all your hard work during the summer months can be lost. So… in order to overcome the ‘winter effect’ and take control, there are a few things you can do:

1. Alter your approach to exercise and activity. Maintaining activity levels through the winter can have a dramatic affect on how you feel as it improves energy levels, boosts metabolism and improves circulation. The following tips make it easier to fit activity and exercise into your lifestyle when it’s cold outside.

- Try and get outside at least once a day while it’s light. Instead of seeing your activity levels ‘flatline’ in the middle of the day, try to build in a lunchtime walk whatever the weather, even if it’s just a 10 minute dash to the shops. This will increase your exposure to direct sunlight (even if the sun is nowhere to be seen!) and should help you to feel less sleepy during the day.

- Swap modes. There are plenty of activities that you can do inside when it’s too cold to go out. Swimming is a great cardiovascular activity that works the whole body and is easy on the joints. Ice skating can be a great way to get the whole family more active for a few hours. An exercise DVD in the warmth of your own home can be a good option when you don’t feel like leaving the house.

- Be flexible. If you’ve planned a run or bike ride for the morning, have a plan B as a back up for when the weather is really bad. You can often go out during a gap in the weather later on, or swap your outdoor session for an indoor one.

- It doesn’t all have to be ‘exercise’. Don’t forget the impact that routine activities can have on your calorie burn. Housework and DIY can burn just as many calories as some types of exercise and this non-exercise activity can make a big difference to your daily energy expenditure. If you’re not sure whether a particular activity is a good calorie burner or not, the Ki Fit System can tell you exactly how much you’re burning every minute during daily tasks.

- Wear the right clothes and being outdoors will be a joy not a nightmare. It can be difficult to choose what to wear when exercising outdoors in bad weather. You’re cold when you start, but soon get too hot. Light breathable fabrics and layers are the best way to go, with base-layer ‘wicking’ fabrics that draw moisture away from your skin. You can take the outer layers off as you warm-up and fold them up so that they fit into your pockets or bag. A hat is also a big help in keeping you warm as you lose a lot of your body heat via your head.

2. As well as staying active, maintaining the good habits that saw you through the summer can also really help:

- Maintain a regular sleep pattern. Going to bed and waking up at the same time each day should help your body clock establish a natural pattern and your sleep quality should be better during the night.

- Keep yourself well hydrated. It’s easy to forget to drink when it’s cold outside, or when you exercise in cold conditions, but keeping well hydrated can have a big impact on your performance and on the way you feel.

- Remember your fruit and veg. You might not feel like a salad on a wet and windy day in the middle of December, but it’s really important to maintain the quality of your diet through the winter and vegetables can easily form part of stews, soups and other hot meals. The vitamins and minerals in fruit and vegetables are vital in supporting your immune system and that should mean less colds!

Weight: 166.2 (as of Sunday)

Weekly Goal: Exercise at least three times

Daily Goal: Do not eat ANY candy out of the candy dish at work.

Water Drank: 16 oz, 16oz, 16oz, 16oz

Breakfast: Kashi Ripe Strawberry Snack Bar 110 Calories

Morning Snack: Garden Salsa Sun Chips 140 Calories

Lunch: Healthy Choice Fresh Mixers Ziti & Meat Sauce 340 Calories

Afternoon Snack: Peanut Butter Crackers 140 Calories

Dinner: Homemade Sweet and Sour Pork over White Rice 724 Calories

Evening Snack: Reduced Fat Oreos & Skim Milk 370 Calories

Total Calories: 1824 Calories

Total Water:

Exercise:

Personal Notes:

It is 20 minutes till 10. Work was busy this morning, but has now slowed down some. I’ve already smelled the Reese Cups in the candy dish. It is ridiculous how my senses react to the smell. It is my favorite “candy.” I will allow myself to have a piece here and there, but I’ve got to be held accountable for it and I’ve got to make sure I don’t go overboard. For today though I don’t want any. Well it is now 1030. I got busy at work and had to run around the hospital I work at (which is huge by the way) so yay I got some exercise.

The burpee challenge is really making things diificult to say the list. Its mostly fun but I keep getting behind. I’ve had to do one 70 and one 60 burpee day to catch up.

The aforementioned has of course given me an idea of what I’m up against when I hit fifty days. That’s 50 burpees in one day and we’re supposed to hit 100.

Oh my lord, what did I get myself in?

Yesterday I reached my first of my goals. 145 lbs. Yes, I’m very happy. That’s 7 lbs down in 4 weeks. The blog started back on Oct. 22, that’s 7 weeks ago, but it wasn’t until Nov. 6th that I changed strategies after reading a book by Dr. Christine Northrup and began focusing on protein instead of just counting calories.  My next goal is 140lbs. and I do hope to get there by New Year’s Eve. I haven’t been that weight since Dec. 2007.

Today’s recap:

Bfst: designer whey 100 cal + 18 grams of P, plus almond milk 40 cal + 1 grams of P.

Lunch: big lunch, one serving container of green giant frozen brocooli w/cheese , 40 cal, 2 grams of P by the way, I love www.thedailyplate.com as a resource for calorie counts. also, Polenta 2 servings (140 cal + 4 grams of P) with tomato sauce and one medallion of mozzarella (left over from yesterday when I od’d on mozzarella – my skin is paying the price today), pan fried just in olive oil spray. and then 6 homemade butternut squash ravioli’s frozen from back in september. I’m going to guestimate those at 250 cal plus 1 gram of protein. stash green ice tea with sun crystals (5 cal)

dinner: miss hungry gluten free spaghetti 40 cal + 2 grams of P, plus  1/2 can of Thai lite coconut milk 157 calories (more than i thought) + red curry paste + 11 japanese scallops from trader joe’s 180 calories + 33 grams of P, + bean sprouts + sugar snap peas. yummy. plus one small glass of white wine. 70 calories. also, water.

Totals as of 10:13 pm: 1022 calories (is that really possible?????).  and 61 grams of P. i can’t believe I hit both goal totals today without even thinking about it until now! that’s very exciting.

One of the main reasons that 95% of all diets is that your metabolism slows down during the diet until it burns less and less fat. That is also why people lose more weight when they diet, but watch your weight loss rate to decline over time. What happens is that your metabolism does not know all the health data remains hungry. And so slowly, so your burn fewer calories. It is a biological process that occurs in all animals in nature and in us humans.

> Calorie cycling is a weight loss method, the "trick" that the metabolism of which we are not trying to diet. Thus, metabolism is not slowed down, and we continue to lose weight at a rapid pace.

How is this done?

You must change the amount of calories you consume from one day to another. Of course, you need to maintain a calorie deficit, so to lose weight. Suppose you need to eat an average of 2,500 calories if you are on a diet. One day you Essen 2500, but the next to be held in 2000, and the day after 3,000 calories. Bicicleta calories This ensures that your metabolism does not know who is on a diet.

An extension of the bike calorie calorie shifting. The posting of calories you move the kind of calories you consume from one day to another and even from one meal to the next. This keeps your metabolism running at a high level. Cycling is calories on the next flight will be successful.

> Cycling change calories or calories when done properly secured, fast fat loss and continuing due to high metabolic rate, keeping your body.

Total Calories Eaten: 1980
Total Calories Burned: 255

Well, day 2 was not such a good day. It started out good but then I ended up going out to chilis with some friends. And even though I got a salad, its actually higher in calories than some of their sandwiches (check out the Calorie King’s website. He has a great book that I carry around as my food bible so when Im out to eat, I can figure out how many calories are in a meal). I also ended sharing some of a white chocolate molten cake- can we say hello calories, bwah bwah. So, needless to say I had a bit of a set back but its okay! I’ve got a bunch of exercising planned for tomorrow: wii fitness, shopping and even some dancing! Hooray!
I feel like I should be mad at myself, but I’m not. I’ve learned, over my many years of dieting, that if you fall off track you don’t have to beat yourself up over it. Life happens. Just wake up the next day, a brand new day, and try a little bit harder to stay on track.
And I’m excited because my brother is getting a gym membership for Christmas, so he is joining me on my quest! We are going to go everyday and keep the other going.

Support is such a large part of being successful in anything.

Today was so much better than yesterday. In all honesty, yesterday really wasn’t bad – I mean, the weather was BEAUTIFUL and the temperature reached sixty-four degrees! I don’t like naming bad days because really, a day can only be a bad one if you let it be. I’m going to devote tonight’s post to one of my favorite foods… FREEZE-DRIED STRAWBERRIES.

OM NOM NOM

I got these babies from Trader Joe’s… what can I say? They were delicious!

SOOO GOOD. <3

My only complaints were is that they stained my fingers and mouth red, plus when crushed, they turn into a powder, therefore becoming quite messy. But like seriously, THEY ARE FUCKING AMAZING. The nutritionals are pretty decent, too: they’re single served bags, but come with the full benefits of strawberries. 7 grams of fiber, 230% daily value of vitamin C (although, lyk srsly, EVERYTHING comes with vitamin C these days). They’re a bit tarter than real strawberries, but in a good way. I LOVE ‘EM.

DESICCANT PACKET OF DOOOOM.

On a side note, there’s a desiccant packet inside the bag, which is used to absorb the moisture from the strawberries. DO NOT EAT-AH THE DESI, raves the packet. DO NOT EAT ME. …’kay. xD

Anyway, today overall was a better day for me. Although… I didn’t add in the extra calories. :/ While it’s mostly out of fear, it’s partially out of confusion, because I don’t know where to add those calories in. And they mostly need to be fats, which minimizes the options. I’m comfortable in adding chocolate syrup to ice cream, a good 100 calories right there, but chocolate syrup is fat free. I really want to enjoy what I have to add in, because then ED gets less of an excuse to say they’re bad for me. I don’t want this to feel like a chore. DEE-LEM-UH!

Oy, I hope things work out. I don’t want this to be an issue. I’m going to head off now and shower, then eat yet another snack. Hope you all have a fantastic Friday night, don’t stay up too late. ;D

– Delilah

]]> http://thismustwork.wordpress.com/2009/12/04/i-havent-had-a-drink-since-monday/ Sat, 05 Dec 2009 00:25:58 +0000 thismustwork http://thismustwork.wordpress.com/2009/12/04/i-havent-had-a-drink-since-monday/

BUSY day! Whew, I’m finally able to take a break so I can catch up on here. OK, lunch was kind of random but filling and tasty, so no cpmplaints. I’m proud of myself, I made it through lunch with no soda! Woo hoo!! I drank a huge class of water instead. So lunch consisted of a single serving pack of broccoli & cheese (only 60 calories!), one string cheese (80 cal.) one hard boiled egg (78 cal), a 1/4 cup of cottage cheese(45 cal) and about 20 peanuts(50cal)! Thats a whole lunch for only 315!

About 3:30 I ate a special K bar (90 cal). so that brings the days total so far to about 550. I’m going to eat some fresh berries when I get home and then who knows what is for dinner….

I also want to go for a walk. Maybe my boyfriend and I will walk to dinner downtown, we live close enough and that way i wont feel guilty eating out. Just no alcohol (I haven’t had any since Monday! Crazy!) and no soda, and healthy menu choices only!

Have a nice Friday night, mine will be tame seeing as i work at 8am! I’ll be back after dinner with an update!

Take care,

This must work

Not much damage was done over the Thanksgiving weekend.  I am certainly thankful for that.  Sure, I strayed from my diet and exceeded the number of calories I should have been eating each day, but I kept the excess somewhat in check.  I generally only went over by a few hundred calories each day, which is pretty damn good during the holidays. 

I gave myself a few days to get back on track with my eating and exercise before stepping on a scale.  I decided to finally weigh myself right before meeting friends for dinner and drinks tonight.  I figured whether the number was good or bad it would help me be more mindful of how much I consumed.  A bad number would certainly guilt me and make me want to make up for the damage immediately.  A good number would inspire me to keep it going.  In the end, I lost 3 more pounds.  I usually only weigh myself in the morning before eating or drinking anything, so the 3 pound differential after having had lunch and drinking lots of water throughout the day was even more impressive to me.  That is a monthly weight loss of approximately 10 pounds.  Not too shaby!  I would like that number to be higher, but I have to be realistic about it. 

The holiday events are starting to pile up, so December will definitely be a tough month.  When I am faced with deadlines (like buying/shipping presents and baking foods for various parties) I tend to sacrifice my workouts.  Working out before going to work is one of the most painful notions to me.  I’ve tried a few times.  And by tried I mean I have set my alarm really early.  When the alarm has gone off and it is still dark outside I would refuse to get out of bed and reset my alarm for a later time.  It would be really nice to get under 200 pounds by the end of the year.  Maybe if I keep focusing on that goal I will make some headway.

Yum! Just ate an amazingly huge & delicious chocolate chip cookie: the perfect end to a yummy lunch @ Cafe on the Corner. Worth every delicious little calorie

Treat yourself this weekend. You deserve it! Happy Friday!

xoxo

GG

I’ve posted this before the holidays because I know that I will sleip up once.  From EverydayHealth.com:

Q: I totally pigged out today and feel so defeated. What should I do now?

A:  Congratulations — you’re human! We all make mistakes, and pigging out does not constitute failure on your part. Consider it just a slipup or a temporary setback that you can overcome. Overdoing it at one meal, or even for a full day or two, will not undo all your hard work. The first thing you should do is get yourself back in gear. Here’s how to get started:

Make the rest of your day as healthful as possible. Don’t skip meals, but have a lighter dinner (and lunch too, if you haven’t eaten lunch yet). A bowl of cereal and milk works well for a light meal (measure it out so you don’t eat hundreds of extra calories), as does a container of yogurt with fruit, a big salad, a baked potato with broccoli, or even a sandwich.

Go the extra mile — by adding minutes or intensity — with your exercise routine today and tomorrow. This will give you a head start on getting back on track.

Think about what may have gone wrong. Did you let yourself get too hungry? Were you eating to fill an emotional need? Was the food sitting right in front of you, tempting you even though you weren’t hungry? The more you learn about your behavior patterns and why you slip up, the better able you’ll be to prevent future setbacks. Use a journal to record your thoughts and feelings.

In my last article, I wrote about lots of food and no exercises during my holiday, except  shopping, shopping, and more shopping.

I must have lost my mind. How could I forget about the “exercises” I did as immediate as touching down at 1am that rainy night?

Hey! No! Not what you dirty-minded people are thinking! I was referring to household chores!

Since flying days, I’ve been quite a clean freak at my rented home. I have this idea that all dust would settle during my 10-day absence. Therefore, the moment I touch base, I would embark on 6-8 hours of non-stop cleaning and packing. Can you all imagine how it is like now that I have my own home?

As I think back, I realise that when we live with our parents, we would never have a sense of ownership. At the back of our minds, we know that even if we don’t lift a finger, our loving mothers will pick up the scraps for us. Moving out means we are relieved of constant nagging while gaining freedom, but by being independent and living on your own, you are really on your own- with the dirty toilets and laundry etc.

My housekeeping schedule includes changing to crisp sheets, scrubbing toilets, doing the laundry in 3 batches (black, white, and coloured), mopping the floor (never with a mop, always with a piece of cloth, mom says it’s cleaner and reaches all corners that way), washing the huge heavy rugs by hand (one part-time cleaning auntie wanted to put it in the washing machine. That was the last time I saw her), ironing all the clean clothes and making sure they all hang according to the classification and colour group in the wardrobe, and making sure the huge mirror in my living room is so clean, that someone could walk into it.

Somehow, there is never-ending packing. I would bring out all my clothes, fold and refold until it looks like a boutique’s walk-in wardrobe. My storeroom is my greatest enemy. I constantly have to arrange the 20+ pair of heels (taking pictures of new family members, and pasting it on the box for easy identification), putting aside the unused Christmas gifts from last year, unwanted garments, and much more rubbish I couldn’t recall. Throwing them away seems like a uprooting a raintree.

*My Shoes!!! My Love… Which of you working woman don’t like shoes?*

Last but not least, car wash. Not too bad on this part. It’s just a tiny baby. For the 1^st few years, no one is even allowed to caress her! But as time passes by, I allowed her to say occasional “Hi” to strangers. No machine allowed though, only tender touches.

Shouldn’t all these take 6-8 hours already? Can anyone calculate the calories I’ve burnt on a single occasion? (I need more motivation!) This “very fun activity” actually happens twice a month. J

Hey working ladies out there! Have you ever felt a lack of accomplishment and job satisfaction at some point of time in your life? Do you live on your own? Try this exercise! I guarantee you would feel as if you’ve conquered Mount Everest. Best of all, it is a great way to work out! I’m killing two birds with a stone. Don’t you think?

A check with my ex-housemates, who now have their own homes, indicates unanimous satisfaction when chores are completed. Anyone else feel the same way? Or are we the strange species of birds flocking together?

After I started showing off my ability to eat and yet not gain fat, it’s time I punish and slap myself. I did not heed Mom’s teachings: “Never say never”. Sigh…

A visit to mom last week prompted her to comment on my little bulge. The problem with Moms, they never complain when we put on weight. They are all too delighted to see a kg or two on our tiny figures. In fact in their eyes, chubby is good. I nearly fainted and gave all sorts of explanations like: I just ate a lot, indigestion, her wild imagination etc. I was just kidding myself. I did pile on a little. L

The suggestion of gym membership pops up in my mind again. Should I? Findings indicate that most working executives sign up at the gym because they need to keep fit, de-stress, lose weight, and work towards better health. Most important of all, they need the personal trainer to push & keep them disciplined, so as to ensure they achieve their goals.

I decided to tag along when my girlfriend (the gym addict mentioned in my previous article) went for her routine session. She took me through 2 cardio machine, 4 sets of sit ups and leg lifts, and 2 weight machines for working the thighs and butt. By the time she proceeded to dumbbells and another 10 sets of exercises, I was already surrendering and sitting on the floor watching the various in-house television programs. I’m convinced that I am totally unfit.

But with so much household chores and fun activities going on, do I really need to waste more money on signing up for the gym membership (about $600 a year)? Would I have the time? It may just be a white elephant sitting in my purse.

Final answer, NO. I can always start with jogging, sit-ups and leg lifts at home. I don’t think I want to sacrifice my precious TV serials and my machine therapy at the comfort of my home.

Besides, I can always fall back on this baby. 

Today did not start out as well as I’d hoped. I woke up with a strained hamstring. Since I am so out of shape, I decided not to push it and am taking the day off (reluctantly) from the gym. In addition, my husband invited a friend over for breakfast, biscuits and gravy, and I found myself  in front of a half of a biscuit and gravy to “be nice” I sat and ate with them. Next time, this happens I am going to be armed with “a different plan” and not fall into “eating with the group because it is the polite thing to do”.

This is my mission and I chose to let someone or something else get me off track.  Therefore, without gym and with starting with a BAD breakfast, I see how easy it would be to fall into old patterns. Eat to live, not choosing living to eat. Patterns are meant to be broken. I believe this 5 months will take more discipline than anything else. Therefore, the rest of the steamed veggies is the lunch time game plan. Today the total calories HAVE to stay at 1200 and NO more since I am not exercising.

Breakfast: 1/2 biscuit and gravy=300

Lunch: Steamed veggies with cheese=300

Dinner: Home-made turkey soup with noodles with 3 crackers=450

Snack: handful of almonds and 1/4 cup cantaloupe= 200

Total for the day1250

1800-1250=550

Total calories burned in three days: 2550 or 2/3 of a pound.

Only 4 months and 27 days to go.

So let’s start with a little anecdote:

So my friend Katie Betts used to be in the Akron Youth Ballet. I guess her teacher was a little bit crazy though. After returning from holiday break, they were sitting around and the teacher welcomed them and said “Looks like the holidays have been good to all of you.”

Katie’s mom was there as she told me this story and added, “yeah, they all look emaciated.”

Let’s face it, the holidays are made to make you feel good about yourself and give you a reason for you to indulge. Contrariwise, they also make you feel bad about yourself so you will spend money on your New Year’s resolution or prepare you mentally for the season of Fasting that is soon to follow.

Things that make you fat:

Food

Cold Weather

Clothes

Diet is a funny word. In our culture it assumes you are eating less of something. But my understanding is that diet is what you are eating and how much. The former is most important. There is this really big debate, well not debate but between my classes:

my ecology teacher discusses that the lower the trophic level the more energy is within it and the more predators that can be sustained by feeding from that level. Going with energy is neither created or destroyed and energy is lost by heat when being transferred. The world could sustain more humans if we all were vegetarian.

My anthropology teacher discusses how the plants we are consuming don’t have the right nutrients we need and so we have to eat more of it. It also causes cavities and takes time to process it to do something with it i.e. wheat.

The pointer point of the story is that calories are calories. If you eat 1000 calories of fat or carbs it is calories. So are you getting anything else besides sugars and fats from the Grande Mocha Frapp with Whip on it. No. I will discuss bird migrations later because I’m getting off topic. Christmas cookies= muffin top.

Not only are people gathering together for decadent feasts, but they are also more sedentary. It’s cold outside- I know already got my winter coat/hoodie, hat, scarf, and gloves combination going on. I don’t run unless I’m in shorts and a light weight top so I don’t exercise outside either. So guess what, we are all sitting around inside eating those frickin snowmen cookies.

I don’t run outside in the cold because I hate when clothing constricts my movement. I hate the winter because I’m loaded down in a rigid blanket that is my winter attire. It is think, and makes everyone look large and in charge. I can barely fit through the desk isle. Also, being all bundled up conserves heat. Therefore, we are unable to move and we are not decreasing below the thermo-neutral zone to start shivering and burn energy that way.

THE REASON I MADE THIS POST:

All of this jibberish is just some reasons I hate winter and the holidays. But I really wrote this post to discuss Christmas Gifts. I haven’t been a really big fan of Christmas since i was like nine. So Christmas gifts aren’t really necessary, let’s just go have a snowball fight or something. I mean I’m all for free shit, but usually it ends up being practical things like clothes.

I hate clothes as Christmas presents. Actually, I hate being the petite ,younger, gay brother and receiving clothes as Christmas gifts.

I know it is really nice of people think of me on the holidays but seriously you obviously have no idea what I look like. Every year it is the same thing, I receive shirt after shirt that is too large. When I mean large I mean I’ve actually received large and xLarge items.

I know at least 5 years my parents had to relay my sizes to these people. And I know a couple of times one of these people told me I was too skinny. Obviously I wouldn’t be a large.

Sizing:

Alright, I know that when I was younger I wore clothing items a little loser than I do now. However, In any recent picture you can obviously tell that loose fabric around my torso shouldn’t be happening. Also, I don’t like shirts that hang lower than my crotch.

I used to be told that I would grow into these things. I never did. I stopped growing early on. Actually I was chubby and got skinnier so I shrunk.

Vanity:

Vanity sizing is the bane of my existence. I don’t know who decided to change the measurements of large medium and small but know that I hate you. I don’t know when the men started wearing too large of shirts that they go down to their knees, but you should know that I hate you too.

Smalls are sometimes too big. The fabric just falls wrong, and the volume to be contained in the short length is off. (especially with dress shirts, whoever decided to add that pleat in the back so they could put a larger circumference around and have it puff out in the front was an idiot. No one’s body puffs in the back).

It is almost impossible to find an extra small in men’s anyways. For some reason people seem to think that because you are an adult you have obtained a certain size, that there is some lack of variation as well. I must be a freak.

Siblings:

People obviously are way to lazy to take a few steps and look at a different rack/shelf/whatever. For years I would receive the same clothing item but in a different color. I actually think most were the same size in case we wanted to switch. Being two years separated from your brother can mean being in different growth stages. But more importantly:

When we moved to Ohio my brother and I had to sit on the same bus seat. One day I got so fed up with him that I tried to claw his eyes out. Needless to say we don’t get along and probably don’t desire to wear matching outfits.

Comments:

I once was told that I am too small- Have you seen my skeletal structure, it is still too small and short to fit into these vanity sizing. ps my BMI isn’t even close to low.

I once was told that they took time and effort to pick something- obviously not if they didn’t spend time to pick out the right size. Slash I would rather have them spend the time finding one thing/or something cheap that I would actually be able to wear instead of having to pass it on or store it in my closet till I “grow into it.

-EPF

When I work with my clients, one of the key elements that I incorporate into all of our workouts is INTENSITY. In my view, intensity is the most critical aspect of any exercise regime and can mean the difference between someone who reaches their goals and someone who doesn’t.

Increasing your workout’s intensity will stimulate your body to burn more calories and induce a greater cardiovascular response. It will also allow you to have a more time efficient workout.

If you are looking to burn fat and become more toned, then increasing your exercise intensity is critical. Many people have the misconception that if you workout at a higher intensity you will no longer be burning fat since you will be in your “cardio zone”. Whereas, if you keep your intensity low for a longer duration you will burn more fat since you will be in your “fat burning zone”. Let me clarify this for you once and for all.

By training at a low intensity (<70% max) it is true that you use fat as your predominant source of fuel. While exercising at a higher intensity (>75% max) your main fuel source is carbohydrate but you will ultimately burn more calories. And since 1 pound of fat is equivalent to 3500 calories, the ultimate goal is to burn as many calories as possible to create a negative energy balance!

One of the best ways to achieve this intensity is through the use of full-body compound circuit training (strength training) in conjunction with interval training (on the cardio equipment). The benefit of full body compound training is that since it utilizes more muscle in any given movement you burn more calories. The intensity of the workout also means that each exercise becomes more challenging as your heart rate is sustained at a much higher level.

Here are a couple of benefits to following an exercise program combining circuit training and interval training:

1. Intervals and circuits vastly reduce boredom. Traditional steady state cardio training and/or weight lifting can become quite boring. Interval training and circuit training offer more variety and excitement to your workouts.

2. Interval training increases post-exercise energy expenditure (calories burned following exercise) more than steady-state exercise, which means that more fat is burned. After intense exercise, the body needs extra calories as it works to repair muscles, replace energy stores (i.e. carbohydrate) and restore the body to its normal state (e.g. reduce heart rate). As this can take many hours, you will keep on burning more calories long after the workout is over. In fact, research shows that metabolic rate is higher for several hours following interval training compared to steady state exercise.

3. Interval training burns more calories. As an example, 30 minutes on an Elliptical machine using a steady state program will burn roughly 292 calories, whereas 30 minutes of intervals will burn approximately 584 calories!

Here is a sample workout that will leave you huffing and puffing:

WARM-UP
bike, treadmill, elliptical, rower 5-10 min

CIRCUIT (45 seconds for each exercise, with 15 seconds rest between exercises) 5-7 min
Lunge walks with lateral raises

Plank (on stability ball)

Squats with medicine ball shoulder press

Push-ups

Side Bridges

Reverse Pull-ups

Burpies

INTERVAL TRAINING (cardio equipment)
20 sec @ 100% : 40 sec @ 70% x 5 5 min

Repeat Circuit and Interval 3 times

Total Workout Time: 45 – 60 min

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Happy December, Dear Readers! The holiday season is officially here, and in addition to fun times with family and friends, it also means we’ll be faced with temptation in many forms. There are so many treats to enjoy in such a short month. And some of those treats come in alcoholic form. It’s easy to forget that drinks have calories, too, so here are some sensible ideas for enjoying seasonal beverages.

Let’s get started with a cocktail recipe for a Candy Cane Martini that we modified from a recipe that appeared in an edition of last year’s The Hill newspaper. First, you rim a martini glass with crushed/pulverized candy canes. To rim a glass, all you need to do is wet it by running a water- or alcohol-soaked paper towel around the rim. Then quickly dip the wet glass into the candy canes. Next, add a few ice cubes to a cocktail shaker and add 1 ½ ounces vanilla vodka, ½ ounce peppermint schnapps and strain into the glass. Top it off with 1 ounce of cold tonic water (or club soda, but that will make the drink even sweeter) and STIR. Learn from our mistakes and DO NOT shake the carbonated beverage! This recipe has about approximately 155 calories. Most martinis will provide 150 – 210 calories per drink, depending on mixers. Tonic water is low in calories, but to cut down further, use diet tonic instead.

For our readers who are expecting or just don’t drink alcohol, we’ve got a mocktail recipe just for you. Pour one ounce cranberry juice into a martini glass, add two ounces seltzer water and top off with a splash of sweetened lime juice. Add more juice or seltzer to taste, or mix it up and add flavored seltzer instead of unflavored. As with cocktails, mocktails such as this one can be lightened by substituting reduced calorie versions of the ingredients, particularly if juice is involved (the majority of calories in this recipe will come from the cranberry juice). With juice, keep in mind the differences between 100% juice and juice “drinks” which may only be 10 – 25% juice.

For more information about indulging in alcohol without overdoing it, check out our post from earlier this year.

What are your favorite holiday cocktails and mocktails?

How Stacey Got the Shot: On a transparent table overlaid with white paper, one light under the glass, one light above, with diffusion material in between the glass and top light, and foam core reflectors on either side of the glass. Camera set to f/4.5, focal length 50mm, ISO 100, 1/15 second exposure on a tripod.

A blended coffee beverage might hit the spot but pack on the pounds, a new study suggests.
A survey of about 3,000 purchases from 115 restaurant chains in New York City found that servings of brewed coffee or tea average about 63 calories, even when some include milk and sugar. But get a blended beverage and you’re looking at 239 calories on average — 89 more than you’re likely to find in a can of soda.

A large ice-blended beverage, meanwhile, can reach 750 calories or more. At one coffee chain, 8 percent of the customers interviewed bought the largest size of a blended drink, which can boast 860 calories.

Research suggests that 17 percent of U.S. adults buy one of these blended drinks each day.
What to do? Beverages such as coffee and tea can have fewer than 10 calories, although you might need to studiously ignore those sugar packets, the health department suggests. Low-fat or skim milk can help, too, as can getting a “small” size if the drink is sugar-sweetened and flavoring it yourself.

Firstly, I’m thankful for the encouragement I’ve gotten from friends and family about my efforts!  It’s always great to have confidence in myself that I can do this, but it’s even better to have that same sentiment from others.  Thank you so much!  I’ll tell Matt and Meredith about you guys in June next year when I’m on the show.  (Ha!)

Now back to business.  Of course, it’s really only been a good 24 or so hours since I’ve started my personal mission of “underindulgence.”  Today was my first real day of being fully conscious and making a lifestyle out of this. I would also like to make it a point that I am currently not counting my calories before every single meal.  I feel that right now I’d like to make this as much of a natural progression as possible, and counting calories before every single meal or snack is not really natural.  Don’t get me wrong: I’m watching what I eat.  I’m allowing myself to still have savory snacks and sweets, but only maybe 5 cookies instead of 10.  You’ll see by what I ate today, that maybe they weren’t the best decisions but I maintained my calorie goal today.

I started my day not working out with Bob Harper’s Biggest Loser Weight Loss Yoga DVD like I had wanted to.  (Don’t you worry, I will get to that!)  I had an espresso with sugar.  I know, sugar is the devil, but I cannot bring myself to like Splenda.  (Does anyone know of better alternatives?)  I also had about 1 cup of Fiber One Honey Clusters.  I discovered Fiber One over the summer after swearing it tasted like cardboard, and now I absolutely love it!  Hungry Girl has so many recipes that uses Fiber One as breading, and it’s totally tasty!  I had made some baked chicken cutlet with regular Fiber One and it was the same taste, minus the grease and monstrously high calories.  But aside from that, on to lunch!

Okay, so I was beyond starving around 11:00 AM and had some pretzels.  Shame on me, but not to worry I only had 5 of them.  Lunch finally came around, and I had 10 Ritz Low Sodium crackers, 2 Teaspoons of Cheddar Cheese, and 5 slices of Prosciutto.  This seems like such a small lunch, but it was filling.  For me, it’s moreso the flavors that are satisfying to me than the size of the meal.  The saltier, the better (tsk, tsk, I know!).

Side note: Please keep in mind that I have absolutely no money to buy any lunch, or even a healthier lunch than I had today.  I was really trying to work with what I had.  Not to worry for the rest of the week, because I made Whole Grain Wheat Shells with Sundried Tomatoes.  Go Pam, Go Pam!

Before dinner, I input my breakfast, lunch, and snacks into Lose It! in order to determine how big of a dinner I can have.  Honestly, I am so broke that all I had was Roast Pork Lo Mein left in my refrigerator and I wanted to see if I was even allowed to have any.  It turns out I had about 820 calories left to use, so I did.  I had perhaps 1.5 cups of the evil Lo Mein (only 671 calories!) and even then I was under my daily goal of 1,488 calories.

Of course, I was still not satisfied and had 5 Double Stuffed Golden Oreos.  I realize this is probably THE WORST ITEM to have in one’s pantry, but I didn’t have any chocolate or fruit.  I can tell you right now that after putting the oreos into Lose It!, I will never again eat these things.  The 5 oreos totaled about 280 calories.  Seriously?!  Never again!

Around 8:00 PM, I was getting restless and thinking of going to bed early… but wait!  I hadn’t done my workout yet, WTF Pam!  The Biggest Loser Weight Loss Yoga with Bob Harper DVD is probably the best workout I’ve ever done through a video.  Firstly, he’s so dreamy and adorable.  Secondly, I really like that the Biggest Loser contestants are the participants in the video.  It’s not any sort of intimidating model-type bitches looking at me as I pant for breath, lose my balance, and drip sweat in places I never wanted to sweat (seriously).

This was not my first time ever doing this workout.  I had done it more regularly about 2 months ago, and was even getting to Level 2.  I did Level 1 today with the Warm Up and Cool Down, and am in some crazy pain.  I was stretching muscles I didn’t even know I had.  I can just tell tomorrow that I am going to be crying for Bob Harper to carry me to work.

As for the visuals, here is today’s Lose It! data:

As you can see, my workout basically cancelled out those damn oreos I decided to indulge in.  From this chart, and just looking back on today, I’ve realized some changes are in order:

1. Change in my schedule.  I need to wake up earlier and eat a bigger breakfast, in order to not be starving once lunch and dinner come around.  This may also help with the definite binge eating cravings that may ensue (and they will!).
2. Once I have some money to spare, I will need to buy some healthy, low calorie snacks so that I am not scrounging for Oreos or any other dangerous foods I may stumble upon in my pantry.
3. Lay off cheese?  Cheese is probably my favorite food, but the calories in cheese seem a little crazy.  I should regulate my cheese intake much more.
4. Work out consistently!  And by consistently, I am talking every day, if possible.  After all, this is a lifestyle change, meaning this needs to become natural and part of my every day activities in order to really work and become natural.

As you can also see from the chart above, I didn’t go over my limit!  Yay!  So those extra 59 calories from yesterday that I went over can be allotted to today.  Hopefully tomorrow and the rest of the week will be just as great.

I also discovered the dangers of champagne.  To be very honest with you and myself, I have drank an entire bottle of champagne in one sitting in the past.  A bottle of champagne is equal to 750 ml which is about 25 ounces, and in each ounce of champagne there is 25-30 calories.  So, in that one sitting that I have had champagne, I’ve downed 1,000 calories.  Seriously! Most of these calories are carbohydrates by the way, with a small amount of protein.  I may as well have eaten 2 Snickers bars.  Believe me, I am thinking twice thrice about even touching those bottles in my refrigerator.

Side note: I assure you that I am not an alcoholic.  I just enjoy cocktails and champagne every now and again, in large volumes, maybe once every 2 weeks.  (There’s no point, if you don’t get a buzz right?)  No need to worry, Mom (if you are hopefully not reading this).

‘Til next time!

Peace, love, and Double Stuffed Golden Oreos Fiber One Honey Clusters,

Pam