Healthy Soup Recipes!

Ok so I totally meant to post my attempt at cooking last night to share a healthy recipe... I made a winter squash and quinoa salad. (read: side dish) to go with my turkey and well...in the end it didn't taste as good as it sounded on paper. It took me forever to make it too. Trust me, peeling and cutting up a butternut squash is a work out! The quinoa needed to soak, veges to be chopped and baked for 55 minutes in the oven.

I took pictures of the entire cooking process and I was so excited to share in the end but after the first taste I was like...meh. So I'm not going to share. I found some recipes that sound tastier that I'm going to attempt...and I think the best use for a butternut squash is in soup. I made butternut squash soup for the family as our Christmas day lunch and it was delish. But I found a recipe online that is healthier than the one I followed.

So with out further ado...

It's Healthy Soup Recipe time!

In case you haven't noticed it's cold out and most of the country is covered in snow or ice. Even better with soups there always seems to be left overs so there always plenty to share with a group or you'll end up saving money by eating left overs and not buying lunch out during the work week. I was kind of afraid of cooking soup the first time I tried it because I had this idea in my head that it would take for EVER...but really some of them can be put together pretty quickly and the time you put into it is worth it in the end because, trust me these will taste much better and be lower in sodium than the canned crap at the grocery store. I also love that you can get a little creative with soup by adding/substituting different ingredients for ones you might like better or play around with the spices to get it to taste juuuuust right for your palette. It can be a lot of fun and I feel like I (a person who is mostly allergic to the kitchen) can actually sort of cook!

Enchilada Chicken soup

Each serving (1 cup [8oz]) - 105 calories, 1.75 g fat, 641 sodium, 12.5 carbs, 2 g fiber, 4 sugars, 11 g protein.

*3 cups fat-free chicken broth (go for the low-sodium broth)
*1 1/4 cups finely chopped celery
*1/2 cup diced onion
*3 cups green enchilada sauce (2 cans)
*1 15-0z can pure pumpkin
*10 oz cooked boneless skinless chicken breast, chopped or shredded
optional - dash of hot sauce

Directions - In a large pot, bring broth to a boil, add celery and onion and simmer for about 5 minutes, until slightly tender. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for another 10 minutes. Optional: Serve with fat-free cheese or crushed baked tortilla chips on top.

So this is just the basics for this recipe, I think this one should call for more veges ie. fresh peppers would definitely taste awesome. Also, make this soup vegetarian by using vege based broth and substitute the chicken for beans. Maybe try black beans or pinto. (this will change some of the nutritional information but probably not by much)

Minestrone Soup

1 cup 105 calories, 0.5 g fat, 512 g sodium, 19.5 g carbs, 4.5 g fiber, 4 g sugar, 5 g protein.


*Two 14-0z can of fat-free chicken or veg. broth
*Two 14.5 cans diced tomatoes, drained
*One 15 oz can cannellini beans drained and rinsed
*One 10 oz package frozen spinach
*1 packed mixed frozen vegetables
*1 cup uncooked whole-wheat-blend rotini or penne pasta (substitute with different grain for those who are gluten free)
*1 TBs dried minced onion
*2 tsp chopped garlic
*1 tsp Italian seasoning
*1 bay leaf
*Salt & pepper to taste


Combine all ingredients in a large pot, add 1 cup water to all, stir and bring to a boil. Simmer for 10 minutes. Don’t forget to pair this with a good lean protein for a complete meal.

Butternut Squash Soup!

mm mm good!

Spicy fresh ginger complements the sweet roasted winter squash and shallots in this easy recipe. Serve with a grilled cheese or turkey sandwich for a simple dinner.

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 2/3 cup soup and 1 teaspoon chives)
Ingredients
Nutritional Information: Calories: 112 (20% from fat)Fat: 2.5g (sat 0.4g,mono 1.7g,poly 0.3g) Protein:3.3g Carbohydrate:22.4g Fiber:3.6g Cholesterol:0.0mg Iron:1.6mg Sodium:266mg Calcium: 84mg



* 4 cups (1-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash (about 1 1/2 pounds)
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 4 large shallots, peeled and halved
* 1 (1/2-inch) piece peeled fresh ginger, thinly sliced (when I made this I just used ground ginger that you can get in any spice aisle)
* 2 1/2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth (or vege broth)
* 2 tablespoons (1-inch) slices fresh chives
* Cracked black pepper (optional)

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 375°.

2. Combine first 5 ingredients in a roasting pan or jelly-roll pan; toss well. Bake at 375° for 50 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Cool 10 minutes.

3. Place half of squash mixture and half of broth in a blender. Remove center piece of blender lid (to allow steam to escape); secure blender lid on blender. Place a clean towel over opening in blender lid (to avoid splatters). Blend until smooth. Pour into a large saucepan. Repeat procedure with remaining squash mixture and broth. Cook over medium heat 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Top with chives and pepper, if desired.

Ok, now this recipe is off of cookinglight.com. When I made the soup I just combined the squash, onion, broth, ginger, pepper and a few sprigs of fresh thyme in a dutch over (ie. Large pot) and simmered until the squash was soft (you should be able to pierce it with a fork easily like when you boil potatoes). There's really no need to bake this in the oven you can cook it all on the stove top. Make sure that the soup is well blended it should be creamy.

If you really want to add a dallop of flavor to this creamy dish ad a drop of creme fraiche (2tbsp =110 cal. so cut that in half and only use a *tiny* drop a little bit packs a lot of flavor) and I top mine with more ground ginger. Either way it's a delicious satisfying soup on a cold day.


Hmmm... Delicious and satisfying... Kinda like looking at RPattz...

but he's even better... he's calorie free :)

Sometimes Things Are Too Tough to Blog About...

If you follow this blog you may have noticed that I took a bit of a hiatus...I actually took the blog down for a while with every intention of deleting it, but I sat on that idea for a couple months first. My last post was made on Oct. 16th. The day I ran my first half marathon. Two days later on Oct. 18th my grandfather passed away.

On Oct 15th my Dad had said to me that I needed to visit, that my Poppop had taken a turn for the worst and he might not be with us much longer. I had known he was sick earlier in the week but I didn't think it was that bad. He had been to the hospital a time or two in the previous years but, like he always was, my Poppop seemed to come out strong and chug along stoically as always with a Manhattan in one hand and occasionally a cigar in the other. I left work early to visit him that Friday and my Dad was right. I wasn't prepared to see my lovable Poppop struggling for breath, unable to open his eyes, eat food or even sit up. He still held our hands though and he still wanted my Mommom, his wife of 63 years, by his side. He knew when she wasn't there and that made him restless.

When I ran the marathon and the pain in my legs was at its worst I thought of my Poppop. He made me keep going. My Aunt had told me that he was a fighter. He always had been. Poppop fought in every major campaign in Europe during World War II: D-Day, the Battle of the Bulge and Rhineland. He never spoke much about the war but the few stories we did hear made me realize how lucky he was to be alive, how lucky my entire family was to even be here to share these stories. So when I was running I thought of Poppop and how he would never quit so I should never quit either.

Quite a handsome young man in his uniform too wouldn't you agree :)

Two days later my Poppop passed away. I had never lost anyone close to me before. It was a blessing he no longer suffered but it was also the most heart breaking time for me and my entire family.

Right before I ran I was pushing to reach a weight loss goal. I was only 2-3 lbs away from 100lbs of total loss. After my Poppop passed I took a week off from working out to be with my family. I was surrounded by desserts and hearty meals for an entire week. And I ate blindly with out even thinking. I seemed to have no control over the desserts. I just wanted sweets.

When I returned to bootcamp the following week I got on the scale and I had gained 10lbs. TEN POUNDS!!! I was crushed. On top of everything that had happened this was just one more stress ball to add to it. I freaked out. I had never gained so much weight so quickly. I felt like a failure. I felt like I failed everyone including my readers of this blog and worse I felt like because I let this happen during my Poppop's passing that his death was some how an excuse to let myself go a little and that made me feel terrible.

I hid the blog from public view. I contemplated deleting it because I was a failure. I was not someone setting a good example for a healthy life style. How could I write about getting up and exercising and eating properly when I failed so miserably at it. I just wasn't in a good place and I needed time to think and get myself back on track. Because I told myself remember Poppop wouldn't give up!

I've been working out just as hard as always since I took that week off, I still went to bootcamp I still went on runs even in the freezing cold too, I still played soccer I managed to lose a little through the holidays which I'm happy about, but I just couldn't bring myself to come back to the blog and share it. Because after all I still screwed up so bad. My friends told me I was being too hard on myself when I stressed about my weight gain and I realize now I probably was. Hindsight is always 20/20 they say. I set a new goal to push through those final pounds to reach 100lbs of loss, and I've been working toward it. I have a deadline and I'll see where I stand tomorrow when I hop on the scale again at boot camp.

I also learned a valuable lesson about how I deal with grief through all this. I've never mourned the loss of anyone close to me before. I've been very lucky in that aspect, I know. But now I know my way of handling grief is to turn to food. Now I know to be aware of it in the future.

It took me a long long time to come to the blog and write about why I basically dropped off the face of the earth, about why I gave up and hid the blog. For the longest time I didn't know what to say, but it was a post on Twitarded from Dangrdafne that made me say I have to keep writing. I have to keep promoting healthy living on this silly little blog of mine because it was my mission when I started and I'm not a quitter. It's not in my blood to quit. Thanks Poppop :).

2:37:55!

I want to give props to the dude dancing on his car in a tiger suit blasting this song for us runners to laugh at! You rock tiger suit man!

Anyway, that was my time...I guess that's a time to be proud of :) I wanted to finish in 2:30 but at least I finished between 2:30 and 2:40 ;) Note to self for the future...don't train a certain way and then throw that all out the window and try to push yourself through the race...I guess that's why my pace was off...oh well it's over and my legs are VERY VERY thankful for that! I'm also very thankful that I was able to raise a little money for cancer research. Thank you to everyone who donated!!


My mom snapped a pic of me somewhere after mile twelve thanks for cheering me on Momma! It gave me an extra little boost when my legs really needed it! Believe me when the finish line was actually in view it was a dead sprint for me to the end!

Eye of the TIGER!!!!

Thank you all who have been so supportive of me during my training. I'm so glad I finished!

And now it's time for me to crash!

Where Has the Time Gone?!

See that little counter widget on the side of my page?? It says only 10 DAYS TIL RACE DAY!?!... I'm not freaking out nope, not gonna freak out....even though I'm quietly screaming on the inside...I'm not gonna freak out. I'm ok... I'm cool. I swear.

Why am I kinda sorta not really freaking out? Because even though I haven't been blogging I've still been working hard at my fitness levels to make sure I own this race!...If owning that means I finish in 2hrs and 30 minutes (which is almost a 12 minute mile and compared to some that makes me a slow poke) WHAT the freak EVER!! I'm going to OWN it!

My furthest training run has been 12 miles, which I completed last weekend in about 2hr and 15mins (oh and yes it was ALL hills baby), this weekend I ran 9 miles and then took a much needed yoga class to work on some of my muscle tightness. I went to bootcamp 4 times last week and played soccer last week and this week as well. I kinda haven't been doing my shorter runs but I know between the bootcamp and soccer and the training runs that I have the endurance to finish.

Plus I know the 2nd half of the course, I ran it last year in the team relays. Everyone keeps trying to scare me and say the first half is hilly as shit, but guess what, all i've been doing for the past month on my training runs is hills. I'll get past them. The second half is pretty much flat ground. Guess who loves running on flat ground? This chick. So yeah, I'd say I'm pretty well prepared for the race at this point :)

This weekend I will be running a charity 5k for children with learning disabilities, and then I have to tack a few more miles on top of that and it will be my final training run!

I am also still trying to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma society for their Light the Night Events so PLEASE if you can, donate to my page so I reach my goal of raising $655 ($50 per mile I run in the half marathon). I am $430.00 away from reaching my goal. So if you're reading please donate if you can... if you can't please help me spread the word!!





Also in the middle of all this I've decided I really needed to push to lose those extra pounds to reach 100lbs of total loss. I'm anywhere from 3-5lbs away depending on when I weigh myself (I know I'm only supposed to do it first thing in the morning I will from here on out). It's been rough trying to kick start my metabolism again. For two weeks I eliminated (almost completely there were some weddings thrown in there that I enjoyed myself and the open bar at a little too much) but anyway, for two weeks in early September I completely cut out sugar (including fruit), salt, saturated fats, refined carbohydrates and dairy from my diet. I was on 1100 calories / 6 meals a day. Yes, I finally went to a nutritionist (after 2.5 years of doing it myself) to seek this advice.

I know what you're thinking 1100 calories a day that's impossible to live off of that... it's not trust me, if you limit your diet to only the good foods, whole grains, lean proteins, and lots of veges you'd be amazed at the amount of food you can eat. I felt like I was force feeding myself at the end of the day...I just couldn't eat that much food.

I've practically perfected every type of egg white and vege omelet I could think of.

Try this out for a relatively quick, filling and delish breakfast:

(my portions are 4 egg whites and about 150g or more of the veges this number could be more or less for you)

egg whites
mushrooms
red and yellow peppers
Mrs. Dash (salt free) grilling spice

saute the veges with a spritz or two of olive oil and the Mrs. Dash seasoning, then add to the eggs.

PLAIN instant oatmeal. (my portion recommendation is 2pks)

The oat meal can be cooked with water, or try Original Almond Breeze milk if you want some added creaminess and a little sugar 7g in a cup, or go with the Unsweetened version for NO added sugar, just a creamy texture for your oatmeal. Add a ton of cinnamon and enjoy!

I promise you will be FULL and you will be full for a LONG time!

After two weeks i lost 4lbs of body fat and increased my lean muscle mass. Two lbs a week of loss is healthy. Since then I've lost 6 total. I took a week off from being so strict but now I'm back on.

Here's an idea for a lunch you can cook completely in the microwave! Perfect for gals on the go, slackers like myself that hate taking the time to pack a lunch, or those of us stuck in the office.

This product has been a life saver for my diet:


No, I don't own stock in their company, and I'm not being paid to promote this product. They cook food quickly and the food is healthy!!

So here's my idea for a lunch:

Buy individually wrapped frozen tilapia (white fish) fillets.
Add two slices of lemon and squeeze a little bit of juice to the bag
Add salt free seasoning to taste, my recommendation: Mrs. Dash

Frozen broccoli (can be steamed in the bag, but you might want to use a separate one than the one you cook fish in to avoid a fishy taste)
1/2 sweet potato (also can be cooked in a microwave, pierce with a fork several times - I haven't tried cooking these in the bag) sweet potatoes are naturally sweet but also rich with complex carbs, dietary fiber, and Vitamins A, C and B6, add cinnamon for more delicious flavor...cinnamon is also very high in antioxidants!

You will have a complete meal with lean protein, veges and a carbohydrate in less than 10 minutes.... I'm all about quick and easy. (Ash if you're reading this DON'T even go there! Hooka! ;))

So yea that about sums up my life since my last post... I'm still here, I'm still running, still going to bootcamp, still playing soccer and still focused on my diet.

Once race day gets here though I will be SO happy to have my Saturday mornings back...AND once I lose that 100lbs I think I'll crack open an expensive bottle of wine and go to the Indian buffet... maybe not in that order but I can't WAIT! Then I need to refocus and lose another 5lbs because I know I'll gain it back through the holidays because I will enjoy a few cookies and slices of pumpkin pie, then I need to lose that after the holidays. It's a life time commitment, but SO worth it especially when you see that little dress in a shop window and you go to try it on and it looks FAB-U-LOUS on you... or when you reach a new running goal/weight loss goal and you have that extreme sense of accomplishment. It's worth it just to try for that feeling alone!

Ok, enough philosophizing from me...off to cook up my lunch! (Chicken, broccoli, carrots and a small portion of whole grain pasta! lean protein, veges and a whole grain!)

More Running Adventures: Staying Hydrated and Sports Drinks Myths

Hello friends, sorry it's been so long since I've updated... I'm still scratching my head pondering where all my free time has gone since I came back from vacation...Aside from the running, bootcamp, soccer, miscellaneous real life things....


It's all kinda a blur of pretty really. But it started with seeing those pics and ended in a downward shame spiral of fan fiction...this is why I will never be an adult...I discovered that there are blogs that are only dedicated to reviewing and recommending new stories...this is HIGHLY dangerous. HIGHLY. Because I can all of a sudden have 5 or 6 stories lined up to read...bad news bears for the amount of time I spare for blogging.

But anyway, I'm still here... I'm still running, I'm still watching what I eat (when I don't have a wedding to attend that has an open bar with top shelf liquor...but then again my philosophy has never been to count alcohol yea yea... I know about the sugar, I know about the crashes, but I also know bad music at weddings are much more tolerable and easier to dance too with a few gin and tonics and long island ice teas in my system....I'm sure there have been studies done to prove this.)

That being said... my current diet (when not tossing back beve's at a family wedding) is consisting of no sugar, no salt no dairy for two weeks to get my metabolism running again. I'm eating lots of lean proteins, vegetables and very filling whole grains...but enough about that ON to the runs!

Since I've been back from vacation I've had three training runs:

First run was 10 miles of flat running. I have never run this far before. I was concerned about a few things during this run. Obviously staying hydrated is my biggest concern. I had previously purchased a little hand-held bottle when I was training for the 7 mile relay last summer/fall...

This is the Nathan Quickdraw Elite. Nathan makes a whole line of different hydration products for runners. This particular bottle I recommend this for short runs or for walkers. For a longer run it's not going to hold enough water, and to me it was really annoying holding on to it for a run, I kept switching hands so again...not for the longer runs.

Obviously I needed something that was going to hold more water. Since I've been having problems with my hip I pretty much knew I shouldn't have gotten a belt system, but I decided to try one out anyway. I didn't want to fiddle with little bottles of water so I looked at camelbaks line up of products...

This is the Camelbak montara. Camelbak specializes in hands-free hydration. Very convenient to just grab the hose and take a sip instead of trying to unhook and reattached a water bottle. This particular product though, I only recommend for dudes... because men, unlike us ladies and myself in particular, don't have hips or a shelf-ass. No matter how much I tried to tighten the straps once this was filled with water the water pouch kept smacking against my lower back. If I tightened the straps too much they dug into my hip bones. Unfortunately this had to go back.

So I ultimately ended up with this:



The Camelbak Charm. Isn't is so freakin cute? I didn't want an excessively large pack. This is slim and sleek and doesn't bounce all over the place if you wear it tight enough. Back packs are great because the weight is evenly distributed. The colors are bright which I like for when I'm running on roads. Have to make sure the cars see me! Safty first friends! It holds just enough water for a longer run (1.5liters), the only draw back is that I think I probably should have gone up one more size so that I can carry just a little bit more water especially if it's a hot day. Fortunately, we're heading into the fall so I might not need to think about that until next summer.


Sports Drink Myth Buster!

My other concern was my energy levels. If I'm running 10 miles do I need sports drinks or an energy gel or shot blocks or whatever other latest greatest performance product there is on the market? My research and after speaking with a nutritionist has all signs pointing to NO!

After a certain point in activity the body burns off more than just sweat...but for 90% of us hitting the gym for a 30 minute treadmill exercise or even up to an hour of exercise doesn't justify the need for sports drinks. They add extra calories and sugar that just aren't necessary...if you're eating healthy meals your body should pull enough energy from the calories and nutrients you consume during a regular meal to sustain you through your gym routine. However, if you're doing a strenuous work out (ie. more than an hour of strenuous activity - more than 10miles of running) then the body starts to deplete in electrolytes sodium and potassium.

So my advice ladies is to leave the Gatoraid, poweraid, sobelife water, vitamin water or whatever other sugar/chemical filled GARBAGE at home and just take a big bottle of water with you to the gym. If you do an exercise that only burns 150-200 calories and you add that back in a sports drink you're really not going to burn those excess calories. At one point in my life I did actually think that grabbing a sports drink was a healthy alternative to soda. Now that I know better I've only ever worked out with water in my sports bottle since I started my weight loss.

If you need to replenish your body with potassium try a natural alternative such as coconut water. I'm not going to recommend a brand, I only included a link to a google search so you can do a little reading...but coconut water is all natural and loaded with potassium. Banana's are another good source of potassium.

If you would like, please read this article in the Baltimore Sun, this is the first article I stumbled across while reading the morning paper that made me want to delve a little more into the topic of sports drinks. (It's also interesting to note that Vitamin Water is being sued for misleading that their product actually healthy for you. Guess what it's sugar content makes it more like a soda than a "health" drink...and yup yup back in the day I did also think this product was a healthy alternative to soda.)

Again dear readers... Just Drink Water!!!

Ok, back to the 10 mile run!!!

I was so so happy to reach the five mile marker and turn around. I finished in 1hr. 58mins. I wish I could have gone a little faster for but some strange reason my left hip did not like me on this run...or the two runs previous. I've worked past most of the pain with a few chiropractor visits, but It's still a little tight especially when I'm playing soccer...lots of stretching on the sidelines for me.

2nd run we scaled back and did 7 miles of hills! Hills. ugh...but surprisingly this wasn't so bad! I finished in 1hr 18mins. And even more surprisingly my hip did not bother me. It was a good run on a beautiful morning!! Ahhh... I love fall weather starting to set in!

My 3rd run was this past Saturday. It was supposed to be 11 miles of hills... I crapped out after 9. Adding those two extra miles of hills in the middle of my run really did me in. I turned off my regular route onto a side street that was ridiculously steep for almost an entire mile straight!!!! Once again, I got a side stitch going down hill but once I hit flat ground I focused on deep breathing and taking my mind of the pain and was able to push past it. My time wasn't so great for the 9 miles, but I know I was also pacing myself more in anticipation of those really steep hills.

P.S. So far I've raised $175 towards my $655 goal for the Leukemia Lymphoma Society!! Thank you very much for your donations!!!

Help Me Raise Money to Fight Blood Cancers!

Help me raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) is the world's largest voluntary health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research, education and patient services. LLS's mission: Cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. Since the first funding in 1954, LLS has awarded more than $680 million in research funding.

Since I'm already signed up to run a race that isn't part of Team in Training, I decided to try and raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society through their Light the Night event! Please donate any amount you can spare to this VERY important cause!!

I want to try and raise $50 for every mile that I run. That's $655 and if a few more than 30 people donate about $20 each then I will reach my goal!

< alt="View Donation Page" border="0" />

If Flash image does not work please click the image to Donate! Or click HERE!


p.s. Training runs are still going awesome! Last week I did 10 miles in 1hr 57mins. This week we run 7 miles of hills!! I'm well on my way to being prepared to run the half marathon!

Half Marathon Training: Run 4ish? ...FML Hills.

I'm not quite sure what number I'm on for my training runs. Officially with the group I think this is week 4, but I've done a few short runs in between on my own. I missed last Saturday's run because I was out of town, so I missed our 7 mile run, but not to worry I'll be running 8 miles next week...oh the joy! Mind you it will be flat again, however this week was our first week of hill running and I knew it was going to kick my ass and it sure as hell did.

But even though I missed the 7 mile run last week, I did get to see this instead:

Shenandoah National Park

and then I went hiking and came across this on the trail... a field of ferns

and when we reached the top of the trail there were lots of neat looking rocks to climb around and a pretty stunning view.

But anyway, on to this weeks run...

The run: A shaded country road that lots of runners and bikers flock to. It winds along our water reservoir and there are a lot of hills...big ones. It's closed to cars after 10 am on the weekends so even before that traffic is pretty light. We got out there at 7 am.

Distance: according to this handy little website called mapmyrun.com the run was 5.12 miles minimum elevation was 164ft and max elevation of 423ft and an ascent of 354ft decent of -358ft... guess what I really don't know what all that means for my run....except that it was hard.

My time: 63 minutes... pathetic. Almost ten minutes longer than it takes me to run the same distance on flat ground.

Problemas?: Yeah, I bit the dust on the way back running down hill...well not really but I got side stiches running DOWN hill... that's supposed to be the easy part the breeze to the end, and I got side stiches! ugh!

Anyway after the run I stretched a bit, drank lots o water and made breakfast. I think I have perfected the sunny side up egg... I've been eating a lot of eggs recently since I've been buying the free range ones from the farmers market they just taste better... I have also perfected the transfer of said eggs from the frying pan to my plate with out breaking the yolks... Don't mock me I am normally allergic to the kitchen and all things involving cooking so this takes concentration ;) ...Ta-Da!


Sorry if I have offended my vegan and vegetarian readers... I know there are at least 3-4 of you..but yea I gotta get that protein in there!

Half Marathon Training: Run 1

I have officially signed up for the Baltimore Half so that means on Oct. 16th my ass is running that 13.1 miles because I'm not wasting that entry fee!

This morning I set out for Day 1 of my half marathon training with my boot camp groups starting at 8am. Which means my alarm was going off at 6:50 in the morning on a Saturday. FTW.



We're starting out an hour earlier next week because of the heat so I better get used to it. I was armed with some new running shoes, arch hugging socks and some new shorts I couldn't resist buying....they were on sale and super light weight! (I'm not one of those runners that needs the newest gear even though I sound like it lol, my shoes were a year old and worn to crap, and it's hot as balls out hence needing light weight shorts...good shoes = good support and less chance of injury my friends :))


I can't speak highly enough of my Brooks running shoes... they're like love for my foot. My last three pairs of shoes have been Brooks. No matter what other brands I try on these always work out best for me.



So anyway...

The run: completely flat trail and it was shaded...soooo nice. The second I stepped off the trail into the sunny parking lot to stretch after the run... buckets of sweat, it was sweltering!

Distance: 5 miles, run/walk 4 mins/1min. I think we will be run/walking for the actual race because honesty I would probably keep the same time if I ran straight through.

My time: about 56 minutes which is an 11 minute mile. I kept pace with our leader and one other guy so I felt I did pretty well for our first run. Basically I was the first chick, but I backed off at one point because I heard one of the guys talking about how his kid vomited all over his back. Seriously why do all parents do this... making us non-parents suffer through their stories of their children's bodily fluids. I felt like I was going to puke on the side of the trail. fml. Shoot me if I ever become that kind of mom.

Problemas?: Nope, felt great. Really glad I went out this morning. A little sore in the right hip still from when I pulled it several weeks ago playing soccer but LOOOOOOOTS of stretching afterward.

Motivational Songs: I was kickin' it old school listening to an old mix on my ipod that had some of my favorite songs from highschool and college on it. This mornings songs on the way to the trail were:

Rebel Rebel - David Bowie
Bittersweet Symphony - The Verve (there are rules for listening to this song in my car...I must have control of the volume at certain moments for maximum crescendo factor ;))
Lucky Man - The Verve
Words - Doves
High and Dry - Radiohead
Someone Great - LCD Soundsystem. (2006...just after college)
1976 - Smashing Pumpkins (can't ever get over this song... ever.)

Good songs for a nice Saturday morning. Nothing fast paced or dancy for me this am. It was too early for that, and since I killed my shuffle I don't run with music...just the sounds of pounding feet.

p.s. Also... follow this blog! http://halfasstohalfmarathon.blogspot.com fellow fans Fat Girl Slimmed and Muffintopped (LOVE those names) are also training for a half marathon!

Current Status: *Le Sigh* The World Cup comes to an end!

I promise this is the last post where I mention the world cup...for 4 years...if I'm still blogging in 4 years lol :) My friend Ashley aka Shoewhore told me that her friend Em reads my blog and likes it (sweet! Thanks Em!), but she doesn't understand a damn thing about soccer... it's ok. I understand. The off sides rule is confusing, and the fact that the reffing in this world cup has been a little...well a lot ridiculous, I can understand why you can't get behind the game. It's cool, maybe we're not all meant to understand. But check out this awesome quote that my cousin's fiance sent me from his friend... maybe now you'll get it:

"Twilight's like soccer, they run around for 2 hours, nobody scores, and its billion fans insist you just don't understand"

LOL!

See you don't have to understand completely, just appreciate the fine muscled specimens...um I mean the athleticism of the game... ;).

on to the post!...

Current Mood: Sorta sad that there's no more good soccer on regular tv (I'm one of those freaks that doesn't have cable!) for the foreseeable future...come on 2014!!

Current Weight: 183 (26lbs of loss since I started the blog - 92lbs of total loss!) I lost 3 pounds last week! :) It amazing what happens when I get strict with my diet..and by strict I don't mean starvation or giving up foods I enjoy, I mean a balance of proteins, fibers and starches and portion control. I've set a new goal to lose 20lbs once I get there I'll re-asses and see how much more I need to lose/tone from that point.

Currently Thinking about: My love/hate relationship with Spain! I hate them because they defeated Germany, I hate them because they played a boring 115 minutes of soccer against the brutal Dutch..who knew they had it in them ey??

Sing it! Everyone was Kung Fu fighting!! Those Kicks were fast as lightening!

But I love them because most of their line up is made of FC Barcelona players or soon to be Barca players...and I like Barcelona...you might as well say that Barca won the world cup.

Currently NOT Thinking about: How I still hate Spain because Germany in my opinion was the more creative team, better at passing, and they scored way more goals through out the tournament...but that yellow card against Mueller, I really think that made a difference in their semi final game against Spain. Mueller ultimately won the golden boot (on more assists) yet he had to sit out that game, Germany could have used him. Spain controlled the ball, they controlled the game, and even though the German defense held them at bay for most of the game it only took one corner to make a difference and I counted at least 7 Spanish men on defense at one point. UGH! I'm not bitter...nope not me... not at all. ;)

Keep your eyes on the one on the left... #13 Thomas Mueller, winner of the Golden boot at only 20 years old... the one on the right though, back off ladies I claimed him in 2006 ;) lol It's a long term celeb-crush...christ, I'm turning into a kickette! anyway, #3 Arne Friedrich, German defender who also scored a goal against Argentina! :)

Also...just for the memories... I wanted to post this video:




So long world cup... see you in 4 years!





Currently looking forward to: Starting half marathon training on Saturday!! Oh did I tell you I've decided to run the Baltimore half...? I haven't signed up yet, guess I should jump on that.


De jong Kung Fu fighting is from the dailymail
pic of the German boys from the dailymail

How Important is Exercise??

So I've been reading a lot of articles lately about the importance (or lack there of) of exercise. It seems that some studies say exercise is very important, others say diet is more important. I think what all researchers agree though is that exercise is necessary but how much and how often is the question.

Remember it used to be suggested 30 minutes a day three times a week that was enough? Well clearly that did not help stop obesity rates from soaring. Now the CDC is suggesting the following for adults:

Adults need at least:

	2 hours and 30 minutes (150 minutes) of moderate-intensity aerobic activity (i.e., brisk walking) every week and
	muscle-strengthening activities on 2 or more days a week that work all major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders, and arms).

	1 hour and 15 minutes (75 minutes) of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity (i.e., jogging or running) every week and
	muscle-strengthening activities on 2 or more days a week that work all major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders, and arms).

	An equivalent mix of moderate- and vigorous-intensity aerobic activity and
	muscle-strengthening activities on 2 or more days a week that work all major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders, and arms).

For "greater" health benefits they suggest 500 minutes a week of exercise! So that number has increased greatly over the years...but lets face it America has a lot of excess calories to burn!



The how and why of weight loss is pretty simple burn more calories than you take in and you're going to lose. So exercise works hand in hand with diet:

The mathematics of weight loss is, in fact, quite simple, involving only subtraction. “Take in fewer calories than you burn, put yourself in negative energy balance, lose weight,” says Braun, who has been studying exercise and weight loss for years. (Source: New York Times)

But the same article says that women's bodies are prone to want to maintain fat stores! Because of... you guessed it, reproduction. Ugh it's always an uphill battle for us isn't it ladies...Essentially, when we exercise we want to eat more! And I know this is true I was just complaining about my appetite when i'm at my most active. In spring and fall when I'm working out 6 days a week playing lots of soccer I'm always hungry!! This must be why:

A study that Braun oversaw and that was published last year by The American Journal of Physiology had a slightly different outcome. In it, 18 overweight men and women walked on treadmills in multiple sessions while either eating enough that day to replace the calories burned during exercise or not. Afterward, the men displayed little or no changes in their energy-regulating hormones or their appetites, much as in the other study. But the women uniformly had increased blood concentrations of acylated ghrelin and decreased concentrations of insulin after the sessions in which they had eaten less than they had burned. Their bodies were directing them to replace the lost calories. In physiological terms, the results “are consistent with the paradigm that mechanisms to maintain body fat are more effective in women,” Braun and his colleagues wrote. In practical terms, the results are scientific proof that life is unfair. Female bodies, inspired almost certainly “by a biological need to maintain energy stores for reproduction,” Braun says, fight hard to hold on to every ounce of fat. Exercise for many women (and for some men) increases the desire to eat.

But this doesn't mean you should throw your hands up in the air and say it's impossible for you to lose weight because your body wants you to be curvy with a little too much junk in the trunk. Just because things are the way they are doesn't mean it's the way they have to be! It will take work but Exercise is STILL incredibly beneficial...it's proven that exercise helps keep the pounds off!

In one representative experiment from last year, 97 healthy, slightly overweight women were put on an 800-calorie diet until they lost an average of about 27 pounds each. Some of the women were then assigned to a walking program, some were put on a weight-training regimen and others were assigned no exercise; all returned to their old eating habits. Those who stuck with either of the exercise programs regained less weight than those who didn’t exercise and, even more striking, did not regain weight around their middles. The women who didn’t exercise regained their weight and preferentially packed on these new pounds around their abdomens. It’s well known that abdominal fat is particularly unhealthful, contributing significantly to metabolic disruptions and heart disease.

Scientists are “not really sure yet” just how and why exercise is so important in maintaining weight loss in people, Braun says.

I hope you're not scratching your head saying well great I have to lose the pounds first before I start working out to maintain the loss.... Not true! You should start a routine as soon as possible... this Harvard study shows that at a molecular level people who exercise show more metabolic evidence that their bodies are burning fat... so essentially if you think dieting alone will help you lose weight think again!

These findings suggest that exercise has both “acute and cumulative” effects on your body’s ability to use and burn fat, says Gregory Lewis, a cardiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and an author of the study. After only 10 minutes of exercise, even the least fit showed evidence that their bodies were burning fat; the more fit, the more metabolic evidence of fat burning.
The researchers then took a number of the metabolites that had been elevated by exercise and infused them into mouse muscle cells in a laboratory dish. Almost immediately, the metabolites, in combination (but not individually) ignited a reaction that resulted in increased expression of a gene involved in cholesterol and blood-sugar regulation. In other words, the metabolites weren’t just marking activity that was happening elsewhere in the body; they also may have been sparking some of that activity directly. (Source: New York Times)

If for no other reason exercise because it makes you feel better!! I guarantee you this is true!! I always feel better about myself after I exercise. If there is a time where I'm feeling down, where I'm doubting myself and starting to feel fat and lazy exercise yanks me right out of that mind set. I always say I NEVER regret exercising...EVER! How many of us can say the same about eating a few cookies??

How Exercise Combats Anxiety and Depression from the MayoClinic:

Exercise probably helps ease depression in a number of ways, which may include:

• Releasing feel-good brain chemicals that may ease depression (neurotransmitters and endorphins)
• Reducing immune system chemicals that can worsen depression
• Increasing body temperature, which may have calming effects

Exercise has many psychological and emotional benefits too. It can help you:

• Gain confidence. Meeting exercise goals or challenges, even small ones, can boost your self-confidence. Getting in shape can also make you feel better about your appearance.
• Take your mind off worries. Exercise is a distraction that can get you away from the cycle of negative thoughts that feed anxiety and depression.
• Get more social interaction. Exercise may give you the chance to meet or socialize with others. Just exchanging a friendly smile or greeting as you walk around your neighborhood can help your mood.
• Cope in a healthy way. Doing something positive to manage anxiety or depression is a healthy coping strategy. Trying to feel better by drinking alcohol, dwelling on how badly you feel, or hoping anxiety or depression will go away on their own can lead to worsening symptoms.

Want to read more?? Check out these articles:


A Work Out for Your Blood Stream - New York Times

Weighing the Evidence on Exercise - New York Times

Depression and Anxiety: Exercise Eases Symptoms - Mayo Clinic Online


p.s. The world cup is now winding down.  I was pouting and throwing a fit like a two year old when my German Boys lost today...they worked so hard and played so well for so long!! But such is the luck of the game it only take one goal to make a difference...and seven Spanish players playing defense. *grumbles* Now I'm going to go pout again. I'm muttering this under my breath right now:

Stupid Spanish team,Stupid La Liga players...even though I love you FCBarcelona and Charles Puyol I'm a fan of the German team and they deserved to win they proved to have better defense with less men playing back but that fucking undeserved yellow card on Muller made a big difference and I want to see Klose beat the record for most career goals in the world cup...Stupid Spanish!

*end grumble*