Smarter, Better, More

Cleaning up around the house I found an article from Family Circle Magazine that talked about how to Eat Smarter, Sleep Better, and Move More. Perfect!

Eat Smarter
Leave two bites at every meal. (they say you'll cut out about 100 cal a day. But I'm not into the whole wasting food thing, so may I suggest dishing up and putting 2 spoonfuls back?)
Swap out a red meat dinner and swap in a vegetarian one, once a week.
Cook at Home one more night eat week. (New research shows that the average American now eats four restaurant meals each week!)
Turn off the Kitchen lights at 8:00pm (a great idea! I'm totally going to try it!)

Sleep Better
Gain time with sleep. (A sleep expert, Jodi Mindell, Ph.D: "A lot of women think that if they go to bed early they're mission out on getting stuff done- they won't get those emails sent, bills paid or laundry done. But you'll get everything done twice as fast the next day if you get enough rest.")
Hotel-ify your bedroom: (Soft sheets and pillows, room-darkening shades, no laptop in bed, move out exercise equipment.)
Keep it cool: 60-68 degrees at night.
Get the right light. (Mindell: "exposure to AM light affects how sleepy you feel come nighttime. Morning light triggers your body to stop producing the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin and to make more of the stimulating hormone cortisol. About 12 hours later your body will automatically start producing melatonin to get you ready for sleep." Interesting!)
Log off your computer and allow your brain 20 minutes to wind down before you hit the lights.

Move More
Walk 15 extra minutes a day.
Take advantage of weird time. Find the random time in your day. Bored? don't text, WALK! :)
Don't blow off your plans. ("Your day has been one big downhill of cake, candy and chips- so why bother with that 4pm power walk you'd planned? Because it makes a big difference. Physically, exercise can reduce your appetite, and mentally it will put you back on track to eat a smarter dinner.)
Be a role model. to everyone and make it fun!

School's Out! Food's In!

Well, with school just about over, summer plans have began to take over. I have gallbladder surgery scheduled for the beginning of June, and tons of things to do beforehand. I'm not going to let my plan to eat healthy lapse though, here's a little Rachel Ray cooking on a budget.

You've GOTTA check THIS out. :)

Trust me, you'll be glad you did.

Okra

This is Okra:

This is Fried Okra:

After a garage sale, we went to celebrate our good sales by going to a local restaurant called Golden Chick. It's fried everything. It's a dangerous place. I didn't realize how much our attitude had changed until I sat down with the food. Everything was the same color. Golden. :)

My method? Peel off the fried skin on the chicken and enjoy. There was no way I was going to risk having a gallbladder attack or having a clogged artery, or anything else by eating a TON of fried everthing. I peeled the skin of my daugher's chicken as well. (We actually just got one entree for the three of us- the portions are big enough!) She wouldn't eat the fried okra. My husband would show her how fun they are, and she just wouldn't eat it.
So...
I peeled off the 'fried' part while she wasn't looking and put it on her plate. A minute later when she saw the green- she popped it in her mouth, loved it, and gave us a good laugh!

My thoughts:
1- don't visit restaurants too often- I want to know what I'm eating. (a past post on the subject)
2- COLOR, color, CoLoR!
3- Watch out for the portion size (this is how you can actually save money by eating healthy!)
4- eat closer to the 'natural' state. Okra vs. Fried Okra.

Buen Provecho!

My Confession

I love bread.

I eat bread.

I now make bread.

When my husband and I were first married we gained. We gained a new apartment, new jobs, new life, and new weight. I weighed more 4 months after we got married than I did full-term with my daughter.

What did it?

I blame Me. My weakness. My bread.

Hot Ham and Cheese Bagel for Breakfast,

Bagel with jelly for a Morning Snack,

Sandwich for Lunch,

Banana Bread for afternoon Pick-me Up,

And Chicken breasts with Bread Crumbs for Dinner.

Don't even ask about dessert....it wasn't pretty.....

Along my quest to be aware of what goes in my body, I found that buying bread was one of the hardest things to do. There was the healthy bread, but even that had HFCS (High Fructose Corn Syrup) in it, and a whole bunch of other things that I don't recognize. I did find some natural stuff, but really.... $4 for a loaf of bread?

Yes, my bread addiction has been under control for 3 years now, but really, $4? It just wasn't in our budget. So...I began my search for a breadmaker! And FOUND ONE! (Brand-new Betty Crocker at Goodwill for $15)

I was hesitant that my addiction would come back. Reading in SuperSized Kids today, I found this quite fitting to my situation:

"Another patient...carefully preserved a picture of his grandma, a woman the size of the Titanic who had a great fondness for baking bread. He loved his grandma and he cherished that picture. Yet... [he said] time and again, "I just don't want to be like her." He love her, admired her, respected her- but he absolutely did not want to wind up morbidly obese, like her."

Meet more families studied by clicking here.

"Parents, the time to prevent or reverse SuperSizing in our kids is always now. Don't wait until the problem gets worse. Don't wait until serious physical problems appear. If your child has an apparent obesity problem, start today to deal with it. Why? An average-sized adult may have 20billion to 30billion fat cells; a moderately obese adult, however, can have 60billion to 100billion fat cells; and a morbidly obese person in excess of 300billion fat cells. Obese children can have five times more fat cells than children of normal weight!"

"Once formed, these fat cells can decrease in size, but they do not decrease in number....

"Today is the best day to start!"

Feel the Earth Move

I was online this morning, and ran across THIS page about Exercise Needs by Age.

They said that it's never too late to start a regular fitness program. Even though it is April, almost May, the New Year's resolution can start with TODAY. A New Earth Day's Resolution!

Up to 35 years old

Two fitness components are often neglected during these years are form and flexibility. Practicing good form in any sport will help you stay injury-free later in life. Devoting time to stretching, yoga or Pilates will also help. Avoid overtraining by always building rest into your exercise program.

35-50 years old

Strength training should be a part of your fitness goals. Perform 30 minutes of resistance training at least three times per week. This is vital for women in order to help prevent osteoporosis and osteoarthritis.

50 and up

Even if you haven't exercised in a long time, you have every reason to start now. The real key is slow and gradual progress. Begin any new actrivity with its lowest run. For example, instead of running, start walking first. Instead of lap swimming, take a water aerobics class first. If you're unsure about how to start an exercise program, consult with a qualified personal trainer.

And if you need extra motivation, click here to link to Parent's magazine reader's responses to the question, "How to busy moms fit in time for exercising." My favorite one, probably because I do it, is using your kids as a workout. Hmm...so if I keep it up, when she's 10 will I still be able to bench press her weight? :)

DON'T just READ! GO and DO SOMETHING!

Hop to the bathroom...or maybe from the bathroom is a better idea.

Calf raises while doing the dishes, making a sandwich or talking on the phone!

Do chair lifts before getting up from the dinner table or computer desk.

Commercial Crunch!

Oops, I mean, Commerical Crunches!

Hey, the earth is moving, why can't WE!?

The Coolness Factor

I love friends. I love my family. I most definitely love my family more though. So, when I think about what others think about me, I think about my family. Am I Honest with them? Hard-working in serving them? True to myself?
So naturally, my family's health comes before my coolness factor.

Now to define 'cool'. My definition of 'cool' in this situation is minimizing akwardness. :) Wikipedia says that cool "often is used as an expression of admiration or approval." Okay, so social approval.

Enough background, now for the story. I have friends. I have family. I most definitely control my family's health, and not that of my friends. When my friends go to a certain fast 'food' place every week after a get-together it's hard. It's hard on a lot of people. It's hard because it's now socially expected, not just accepted.

I have found myselft not going to the weekly get-together to avoid the situation. Do I have problems saying, "Naw, I'm not going to go this time." or "No, she's ready for a nap." or "Naw, have fun though."? No, I can do it, but it gets old. Just like we get old. And we become what we eat. And I don't want to be a re-heated science experiement served on a tray with a side of diabetes and preventable heart problems.

My point? It's not easy to eat healthy, but it can be cool.
I think it cool, who's with me!?

And friends, if you read this too-my cool group is accepting applicants! :)

oh, and just to clarify, this isn't the only place that the 'coolness' factor comes into play. It's really any type of social gathering that is loaded with a whole bunch of stuff that the guests get to choose from. Luckily though, in those situations there are CHOICES! :)

...while you're at the store

Click here for Ingredients to Avoid!