Got Milk??

According to an article in this month’s Women’s Health magazine,  women who drank skim milk after exercising lost weight compared to women who drank a sports drink after a workout, who actually gained weight. They stated that milk helps the body to burn calories and build muscle. Now, I'm not big on a study stating that doing this ONE specific thing is going to help you lose weight because the only way that would work, according to me, is if every women in the study metabolized things the same way, ate and did everything identical to one another for that to be accurate. But, this brings up a good point that my husband and I debate about all the time, LITTLE CHANGES!!! I personally feel that every little change you make in your daily life effects your overall health and well being. Is drinking a glass of skim milk after a workout going to be your miracle cure to losing weight, I doubt it; is switching to whole wheat bread going to save you from having a heart attack later in life, probably not. BUT every little thing, adds up to BIG things! Every time I choose to buy my kid’s string cheese instead of goldfish and every time I make a sandwich with 100% whole wheat bread I am doing things that are going to improve our health over time. Sure, if I switch to whole wheat, but eat a bowl of ice cream before bed every night, that probably isn't going to do me much good, but moderation in everything and making little changes to my diet are going to help me to be healthier and happier. What are some little things that you do to be a little bit healthier??

Dinner Time

Recently I had to watch a movie for my food and nutrition class and write a paper on it and I did some major reflecting on my family and our daily interaction with food. Not only do I want to pull out my kitchen aid (have Devin fix it) and start making bread again, but even more so I realized how much I have allowed my busy life to get in the way of healthy eating for my family. It is WAY too easy to open a box of corn dogs and say “here is dinner” when I am running behind on a school assignment or jetting out the door for class, well let’s face it.....anytime I'm being lazy. Is it really worth it?? I think its fine once in a while, but we do it WAY too much over here.

Another HUGE influence on some of the changes I am making around here is the TV show Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution. EVERYONE should watch this show: it really makes you stop and take a look at what we are feeding our kids. ALL 5 of my kids in school have put on weight this year and I am convinced that 90% of it is because they eat school lunches! We made huge changes a long time ago to the snacks we keep around the house for our kids (which were not even that bad to begin with, it's not like they had a box of cookies for an after school snack), but that’s a whole other post!

Back to dinner time; not only am I cheating my family on healthy eating by not preparing my own healthy meals, but I realized how much I am missing out on quality time with my kids by having them help. ALL my kids love to help cook, so I created a chart that contains the days of the weeks: meal for that day, the ingredients, the helper and an overall shopping list. I can't wait to start doing this! I think I am more excited about the time that I will get to spend with each of my kids; I don't want them to ever feel like they don't get time with mom so I am looking forward to eating healthier meals and spending time together.

(I'm also curious about how many times I use things out of a box or can, that I could make myself? Hmmmm, that’s a whole other post too!)

P.S. I tried to figure out how to attach a word document to give you my chart for meals but wasn’t successful. Let me know if you want it and I can email it to you. :)

When do YOU weigh in?

Many different diets, magazines and articles will give guidance to when you should weight yourself. Once a week, every day, clothes on or off, before you eat?? Here are my thoughts; I say weight yourself as often as YOU need to stay motivated! For some it would be once a month, maybe if they weren't necessarily dieting but just to check in and see how they are maintaining. Others need to do it every week, maybe stepping on the scale every day is discouraging and you can stay more motivated by working hard all week and waiting to see what the result will be. For myself, I like to weigh every day. No, if I have a crappy night and give in and pig out on a package of Oreos it probably isn't going to show up the next morning on the scale. BUT if I am eating like that for several days in a row, I'm going to step on the scale and notice that maybe I better lay off the Oreos! For my own personal motivation weighing everyday helps to keep me focused on working hard.

What do you do? How does weighing in effect YOUR motivation??

Fact OR Crap?

Fact or Crap? Ice cold water causes you to burn more calories than room temperature water? My finding is Fact AND Crap. I did a little bit of research last night and here is what I found. It is true that cold water causes your body to warm the water itself, burning calories. BUT, the Crap part is that although it is said to be true, the amount of calories you burn by drinking ice cold water doesn't even equal the amount of calories in an apple. One article I read said for 16oz of ice cold water your body would burn an additional 17 1/2 calories. So for ME, it's not worth it. I like room temp water because when I am thirsty I can chug it as fast as I can, if it's ice cold I can only sip it and I don't drink as much.

 So there ya go.....this one is FACT and CRAP, according to me :)

To stretch or not to stretch?

I always knew it was important to stretch before and after a workout, but my understanding stopped at "for preventing injury or increase flexibility". That all changed when I read an article in this month’s Women's Health. The most important thing I took away from this article is that by stretching before a workout your muscles respond more effectively during your workout. Without waking up your muscles before a workout you "spend more energy during your workout fighting against your body's limitations, rather than burning calories" That statement right there was enough to make me never skip my stretches again! In short, your workout will "feel easier and you will see faster results" by taking the time to get those stretches in.

A few points to remember when stretching:

* NO BOUNCING!!!! You run the risk of injury when you do this.

* AFTER your workout stretch again to help increase flexibility and prevent injury, after you have cooled down.

* Hold the stretch until you feel the muscle loosen a bit, then stretch a little bit deeper (as long as there is no pain) for an additional 15 seconds

* ALWAYS warm up for 3-5 min before beginning your stretch, this makes the muscles more supple (again, prevents injury and maximizes the effectiveness of the stretch)

* DO NOT hold your breath! Concentrating on your breathing so you don't forget.

* STOP if you feel faint, dizzy, or have any pain. You should stretch deeper to increase flexibility, but you should NEVER be in pain.

School Lunches

Thanks Jamie for question about lunches! What a battle! I really hate the things they feed our kids at school!! The school will say "but there are good choices, like salad and carrots" OK, but at least my kids, if you give them the choice between carrots or french fries....COME ON! What do you think they are gonna pick!?! AGAIN, I am not professional this is just me and my advice (hmmmm, having 8 kids should qualify me for something right?) I bought a lunchbag/box for each of my kids so I could have a better choice of things to put in their lunches. The insulated bags are my favorite (you can get them anywhere, WalMart, Target, etc). You can also buy re-freezable things to drop in there to keep things cool OR throw their juice box in the freezer the night before.....they get a yummy slushy drink AND it keeps things cool. (you can put it in a baggie if you worry about it getting everything wet as it cools)

Here are some great healthy treats I use for my kids lunches:

* gogert (you can also freeze these as well!)

* juice (ONLY 100% juice is my vote)

* any fruit or veggie they will eat (again the little packs at Costco are GREAT! If you want to cut your own apples and send them you can sprinkle a little fruit fresh on them and that will keep them from turning brown and the keep the kids from tossing them cuz there "yucky")

* fruit or applesauce cups if they don't love the fresh fruit

* grapes (freeze those too) YUM

* we always do sandwiches, obviously whole wheat, if they will eat it is the best way to go. Get creative, use a cookie cutter on the top of the sandwhich to press a cute shape in the top, cut it different ways (I found these cute sandwich cutters @ WM that cut the sandwich into 2 dinosaurs!) just to change things up a bit.

* granola bars; ok, here is my spill on granola bars. Most of the Nature Valley ones are good but the BEST are Fiber One. I was floored at how yummy they were AND my kids super loved them AND they are packed with fiber, low in sugar and calories. These are the only ones I buy now and I can't keep the kids out of them!

* Once in a while I will throw in a cookie (homemade is better than store-bought), jello or pudding or something to give them a little treat.

Trust me I have afew very picky eaters so I know it can be hard to find what works. I hope this helps and gives you some good options for your kiddos!

Some of my yummy quick foods!

Just wanted to share afew of my favorite new "eats" that help me to grab something quick, easy and healthy!

These dried blueberries from Costco are SO yummy!! I bought fresh ones and they were SO bitter I couldn't even eat them. But my favorite is to put a small handful of these in about a 1/2 a cup of cottage cheese. YUM! Together I get:

15g protien, 2 Fiber only 2.5g fat and about 230 calories.

I wouldn't spend 230 calories on snaks normally but because of all the protein and fiber it really fills me up!

FAVORITE new lunch item!!! These come in a 4 pack @ Costco for under $7. Heat it in the microwave and your done! Red beans & lentils in a yummy tomato sauce.....my kids LOVE it too! Feeling like I have a few calories to spare I throw a little bit of cheese on top! One entire package gives me:

7g protien, 5g fiber, 6g fat and 150 calories

Those are pretty great numbers for a lunch that entirely fills me up!

And my last new favorite is @ Costco you can buy a package of individual packages of sliced apples or baby carrots. PERFECT for needing a quick snack when I'm running out the door. And seriously not to have to slice up the apples for the kids saves me a TON of time.

Add it to a couple TB of peanut butter and you have MY favorite snack!!

Happy good eating!!!

What are some of your favorite quick and nutritious snacks?

Water, Water, and more Water!

WATER! We all know it's important, but HOW important? I could probably go on for pages and pages about the importance of water. Water is my 1st and #1 change to my daily life. Unlike other subjects I will write about, there isn't much controversy over the importance of water. Acorriding to the website "Health Benefit of Water" (www.health-benefit-of-water.com) there are a tremendous amount of health benefits to drinking enough water. From rheumatoid arthritis, low back pain, depression, sleep disorders all the way to Osteoporosis and Cancer, water is said to "dissolve process and transport nutrients, and eliminate waste materials".
Dr. Sang Whang, the author of the Reverse Aging book, says the aging process is basically the accumulation of acidic wastes built up within the body..." The nutrients that we deliver to our cells burn with oxygen and become acidic wastes after giving energy to our body. The body tries its best to get rid of these acidic wastes through urine and perspiration. Unfortunately, our lifestyle, diet and environment prevent our body to get rid of all the wastes that it generates. Gradually, these leftover acidic wastes accumulate somewhere within our body. Since acid coagulates blood, the blood circulation near the waste areas becomes poor, causing all kinds of degenerative diseases to develop..."
In a nutshell it's REALLY IMPORTANT!!!!
The BIG question is how much?? This is where you will find lots of different information. The most common is the 8X8 rule (8 - 8oz of water a day) The mayo clinic website (www.mayoclinic.com) there are 4 major things that determine how much water you need:
Health: “Signs of illnesses, such as fever, vomiting and diarrhea, cause your body to lose additional fluids. In these cases you should drink more water and may even need oral rehydration solutions, such as Gatorade, PowerAde or CeraLyte. Also, you may need increased fluid intake if you develop certain conditions, including bladder infections or urinary tract stones.”
How active you are: “An extra 400 to 600 milliliters (about 1.5 to 2.5 cups) of water should suffice for short bouts of exercise, but intense exercise lasting more than an hour (for example, running a marathon) requires more fluid intake.”
Where you live: “Hot or humid weather can make you sweat and requires additional intake of fluid. Heated indoor air also can cause your skin to lose moisture during wintertime. Further, altitudes greater than 8,200 feet (2,500 meters) may trigger increased urination and more rapid breathing, which use up more of your fluid reserves.”
Pregnant or nursing moms: “Women who are expecting or breast-feeding need additional fluids to stay hydrated. Large amounts of fluid are used especially when nursing. The Institute of Medicine recommends that pregnant women drink 2.3 liters (about 10 cups) of fluids daily and women who breast-feed consume 3.1 liters (about 13 cups) of fluids a day.”
Recommendations according to me………..I now have a water bottle with me wherever I go! I read years ago that a good plan for water intake is to drink ½ your body weight in water. So if you weight 150 lbs you should be drinking 75 oz of water every day. (this is what I do) I got my favorite water bottle and figured out how many times I need to drink a whole bottle to get what I need. I also have a checklist on the fridge and check a box every time I fill up a bottle so when I get super busy I don’t lose track of how much water I have had.
KIDS
The decision to seriously pay attention to my water intake made me realize I have no clue as to how much water my kids should be drinking! So I did a little looking and one article from ezinearticles.com states:
“The standard recommendation of water intake for children is at least 6-8 glasses (1.5 - 2 liters) a day, drunk regularly throughout the day (at least 3-4 glasses while at school) ensuring that plenty of additional fluid is drunk during warm weather and/or when exercising.”When exercising" means before, during and after exercise and is not restricted to formal PE and games lessons, but is also applicable to active play (e.g. football in the playground or periods of running around).
The Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, Washington DC (2004), includes a separate category for teenage boys aged 14 over who require a higher average fluid intake of 2.6 liters (about 11 large glasses).
Symptoms of mild dehydration can be difficult for teachers to spot. In class some children may become irritable, tired and less able to concentrate. By the time they get home many children are complaining of tiredness or headaches and some may be too lethargic to do anything but slump in front of the television. Although we may think of this behavior as normal, it is now known that it may, at least in part, be due to the effects of dehydration.
Children can be taught to recognize when their fluid intake is too low as the urine becomes concentrated (small amounts of deep yellow, cloudy, smelly urine). If their urine's no darker than the color of pale straw, odorless and copious they're doing OK.
The early effects of even mild dehydration are significant for health, well being, performance and learning - and in the long term carry a higher risk of a number of health problems and disease states. These include constipation, continence problems, kidney and urinary tract infections, kidney stones, and some cancers. In some scientific studies, a decrease in cancer risk was specifically associated with water, as opposed to any other fluids.”
I feel like a terrible mom! I never thought to talk to my kids about the importance of water and through studying about this we are going to have a little family meeting about our 1st step to being healthy is drinking more water. I’m sure there are days that some of my kids don’t drink any water unless they feel like they are dying of thirst and even then they are more inclined to reach for milk or juice. I decided to go buy them each their own water bottle and make them their own checklist to get them excited about how important this is.
I’m SO glad I am doing this!!!!!
(especially since the 1st 24 hours I did I dropped 2 lbs!!)

Purpose of this Blog

So I deleted my "diet blog" for several reasons.
I have been dieting since I got fat after my 1st baby 12 years ago. So in between having babies I have joined thousands of others on the quest to get back my "pre-baby" figure. Come pretty close a couple of times. In 12 years I have participated in Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, done the South Beach diet, grapefruit diet, HCG diet ,used green tea suppliments, SEVERAL weight loss products from Hi Health, been on Phentramine and probably a TON of other things if I sat and thought long enough. Up until 3 years ago I was an avid exerciser, averaging workouts 3-5 times a week. I LOVE to exercise and found a love for running as well. Having twins and another baby 22 months after that really put a damper on my quest to be fit. I have tried many times to get back into the swing of things in regards to diet and exercise but have never managed to stay consistent due to LIFE hahahaha!!
So I made a decision over Spring Break. NO MORE DIETING!!!! I could give you all my opinions about every diet I have done (and if you really want to know, just ask) but that would take hours, and the point is, I have decided I don't want to do it anymore. My life is SO incredibly busy now that I cannot find the time to stick with anything, wether its weight watchers, counting calories or ommiting certain food groups. I don't have time to make myself a different meal every time I feed the animals at the zoo, I don't have the money to spend on expensive groceries for just me either.
My mom has been in the fitness industry since I was 8 years old and I am grately inspired by her! She looks more amazing now than she did when she was my age! (notice how I very conviently left out our ages LOL) She has made changes to her everyday eating habits that not only keep her thin but also allow her to indulge in treats or yummy meals when she wants to. She also continues to teach Yoga and has started running. So I guess I am inspired to make this "lifestyle" change because of her.
I am a HUGE emotional eater and I super love food....who doesn't? So I have to make changes that I can actualy live with, that are realistic and also things that I can pass on to my kids. So back to the purpose behind this blog. I decided that I want to have a minor in food/nutrition/fitness.....something in one of those areas, so what a better way to start than to begin this blog. Doing research, posting my own finds, tips recipies etc. I am SUPER excited about this and am going to constantly be making changes to this blog to make it what I want it to be. I want you to be able to ask questions, post your own experiences, your own tips or recipes or anything else you may think is relevant. I don't have a degree (yet) and I am no professional (yet) BUT I am a mom who wants to get back into my size 6 jeans again someday and am SUPER done with stressing out over dieting and even more done with feeling guilty when I fail or get sidetracked.
I have already begun making some major changes, not only for me, but for my family. I want to be fit and healthy and I want my family to be fit and healthy. I will post facts, recipies, tips, as well as respond to any questions. I'm excited about this and I hope that not only will it keep me focused and motivated but it will also inspire others to make changes in their lives that will lead them to a healthy and fit life!