Traveling

When traveling somewhere while dieting, keep your routine.

Bring workout clothes and a video. Keep working out. Bring along some snacks that are good for you and other will eat too. It will help you to not eat too much of the things you should not.

What are some of your ideas?

Don't let the cold get you

I know that it is REALLY cold and you have every good excuse not do to anything.

But push through. Find something that you can do without leaving the house. You will warm up and feel better.

You could

1. Give you house a good clean
2. Clean out the closet you have been meaning to get to.
3. Get a workout video from the library. Try a few and find something that you like.
4. Do sit ups while watching tv
   

You can still find things to keep busy with and will help you beat the cold.

Taco Soup

I am making this for super and thought you might like the recipe.

Taco Soup

2-3 Chicken Breasts (Baked and Shredded) or 1 lb ground beef, chicken or turkey.
1 Medium Onion Chopped
1 can Diced Tomatoes
1 can Tomato Sauce
1 can Diced Green Chilies (4 oz)
1 can Corn (drained)
1 can Black Beans (drained but not rinsed)
1 can of Chicken Broth or water (use one of the empty tomato cans to fill this measure)
1 packet Taco Seasoning
1 packet Ranch Dressing Mix

- If you are using a ground meat, brown the meat with the onion. If you are using shredded chicken, saute the onion in a little olive oil until translucent then add chicken for a a 1 minute. Then add the rest of the ingredients. Simmer for 20 minutes. Serve with sour cream, cheese, and/or tortilla chips.

This is a really healthy meal. It if filling, full of protein, and yummy. Be careful with how much of the extras you serve with it. That will make it less healthy.

There is a lot of sodium, you will likely be a bit swollen the next day. So do not eat right before a weigh in (I know from experience) because it will make you retain water.

Enjoy!!!

Keeping Hand Busy

I tend to eat when I am bored or antsy. I know I am not alone in this. So here are some ideas of things you can do when you have down time to keep your hand and mind busy and out of the kitchen

1. Knitting - scarves and blankets are really easy once you get started. And you can easily do it while watching tv.
2. Embroidering - It if fun and creative. You are able to create great things for people
3. Reading - I always have a book that I am working on. If it is not too intense, I keep it around to keep me occupied during commericals.
4. Computer - If you are able, having a computer around for fun things at night helps keep you busy. I like Facebook to keep in touch with people from my past and present. This blog is a great way to pass time. I have also heard good things about The Mommy Business ;-)
5. Find something to organize. - Photos are usually asking to be put in some sort of order.

What do you do to keep busy and out of the kitchen???

Black Bean, Corn and CousCous Salad

Carl and I had this in the Quad Cities and it was delicious! As a note, there are green onions in it, and you can really taste them. However, they could probably be taken out of the recipe if you don't like them.

Ingredients:
1 (10-ounce) box dry plain couscous
1 (16-ounce) bag of frozen white or yellow corn, thawed and drained
2 (15 -ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed*
4 medium green onions, sliced (both white and green parts
1 medium red bell pepper, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
Juice of 2 lemons (~1/4 cup)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp. salt
Coarsely ground black pepper

*The recipe only called for one can, but that wasn't really enough, I would recommend using 2 unless you really don't like black beans)

1. Prepare the couscous according to the package directions. To cool quickly, spread the couscous on a large baking sheet in a thin layer and let it stand for 10 minutes.

2. Combine the cooled couscous, corn, beans, green onions, bell pepper and garlic in a bowl, mix gently. Add lemon juice and olive oil; toss well. Season with salt and pepper.

Serves 12

Tip: Giant pasta pearls (ex: Casbah Toasted Couscous) can be used in place of plain couscous. To enhance the flavor, add a bit of grated lemon rind, minced jalapeno chili or cilantro.

Enjoy!

Post-Thanksgiving Help

So, we've made it through the first major holiday of the Fitness Challenge, and we are preparing for the next one (celebrated multiple times throughout the next few weeks)! While I'm really excited for Christmas, I've found that I am a little nervous to get through the holidays successfully and maintaining that success throughout the rest of the year. However, I discovered a great way to burn off some steam and keep myself busy that even allows for a few workout points!

This year is the first year that I'm doing a lot of decorating for Christmas. Last night, Carl and I spent a few hours rearranging the house in order to put up the Christmas Tree, hang some holiday-specific decorations and generally cleaning up the house. Sometimes I forget how much work housework can be, but last night I was reminded that moving around that much is not only good for the appearance of the house, but great for us! We were too busy to snack, and we were moving around a lot. Plus, now the house looks great (though still a little messy). :) I'll have to include pictures in a later post, though. We didn't have time to take any yet.

Also, Lenny offered us a little extra exercise. This is his first Christmas, and he doesn't really know what to do about the Christmas Tree. To him, it seems to be one giant toy, regardless of whether Carl and I agree with that. As much as it bothered me, I guess that his excitement will give us a little bit more to do around the house this month because I'm pretty sure that he will have us chasing him and our ornaments all over the place until we take the tree down.

Anyway...I know I wrote this in true Ruth fashion (way more details than you guys need or want), but my point is to remember that the little things that you do around the house every day count toward the work out points, as long as you are moving around and get your heart pumping. I even managed to break a sweat while we were emptying everything out of the closet where it is all stored! Just stay positive and remember to keep moving because this time of year there's no way to completely avoid the yummy (albeit unhealthy) food options.

Hope you were successful

Now that Thanksgiving is over, I hope that you had a successful day.

But I find that the days following are almost harder than the actual day. The leftovers and the baking are way more tempting in the middle of the afternoon or late at night.

So the thing we should keep in mind is do we really need to eat that. Sometimes the answer will be no. And sometimes it will be yes.

Some tips to figure out the answer

1. Drink a glass of water first. Sometimes you think you are hungry when you are just thirsty.
2. How long has it been since you ate something substantial? If it has been a while, do not pick the left over pie. Go for some turkey or something else that your body can work with.
3. If you choose to eat the pie, think about portion size. Take a small piece. It will likely be just as satisfying.
4. If you want to indulge, fine. But do something to counter that. Do an extra workout to make up for it.

Good luck.

Help for Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving can be a difficult holiday because it is more about the food than the rest. And most of those foods are not the best (i.e. gravy, potatoes, stuffing, pies). So here are a few hints to make it a holiday where you can at least stay the same if not lose.

1. Think about what you really want to eat before you get to dinner. This way you will be able to make some priorities about what you want to eat.
2. When you are dishing up your plate, do not let your food touch.
3. Eat slowly so that you know when you are full before you over eat.
4. Listen to your body. If it is telling you that you are full, listen to it.
5. Take a walk or two during the day.
   
6. Drink a lot of water. If you are thirsty you may think that you are hungry.
7. Do not drink much alcohol.
8. Bring a healthy snack and side dish to dinner. People will likely join you in eating it and it will help you stay on track.
   

It is still possilbe to have a fun and satisfiying Thanksgiving. You just need to make some good choices for it to be a successful one.

If you have any more to add, please do. Have a great holiday.

Lemon Chicken with Capers

Here is the first recipe of the challenge. The whole family likes it even the kids. And I love that it tastes a little naughty but is really pretty good for you.

Lemon Chicken with Capers

3-4 Chicken breasts
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp pepper
5 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/4 cup chicken broth
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp capers

Put the olive oil in a sauce pan and heat on medium heat. While it is heating, pound the chicken breast to 1/4 inch. Combine flour, paprika, and pepper on a plate and dredge the chicken in the combination. Once dredged, place chicken in the oil . Cook 3 mins per side or until cooked through with a golden brown. Watch your heat so that it is not too hot. When chicken is cooked, remove from pan to a serving plate. Add chicken broth to oil and stir to remove bits from the bottom of the pan. Then add the lemon juice and capers heat until it is heated through. Pour on top of chicken and serve.

**I serve with rice so that the sauce and be added to the rice as well.

Enjoy!!!

More Than Exercise

I had a week where I exercised a lot. I earned 20 exercise points which I feel pretty good about. But I gained a pound this week.

So I want to remind that it cannot be done by exercise alone. It is a GREAT idea to sweat or move for at least 30 mins a day. But what goes into your body is just as important. This week I gave in to French Fries, the impulse to snack on the wrong things and candy at the movie theater.

My goal this week is to make better food choices. I am going to journal my food so I really know what I am eating and those little bits are going to count. I would encourage you to join me in this. Do not get me wrong, exercise is key but so is food.

Comment on what your week was like and your goals for next week.

**Reminder: exercise is not just time in the gym or doing videos. Are you walking outside or at the mall for 10 mins at a time? Are you doing yard work? Did you really give your house a good clean? Let me know your ideas by posting a comment.

Water

When I lost weight last time, I found water to be my biggest ally. It was amazing what 6 8 oz glasses of water a day does. The old recommendation was 8 8oz glasses of water a day but that has been up for some debate. There are different answers to how much water but I settled on 6 because it seems to help me.

Regardless a human needs to drink a lot of fluids in a day. We are constantly losing the water that we have in our bodies through sweating, going to the bathroom, and even breathing. If we fall behind in our fluids, the things that need to get flushed out of our systems do not have any way to get out.

Some hints to know if you need more are:

• if you feel thirsty, you need more. You should never feel thirsty because that is a delayed reaction and if you feel thirsty then you are a little late.
• If you are exercising (and you should be for the challenge), drink some water both before you start and after you finish to stay hydrated
  
• Drink a glass of water when you feel hungry. You may just be thirsty and sometimes you body mistakes that for hunger.
• Caffeine and alcohol are dehydrating. So if you are drinking a beverage with these things in them then you need to also drink a glass of water.
• I was told once that if you are hydrated enough your urine will be clear by the end of the day. So keep drinking until that happens.
  

Some ways to help get more water:

• Drink a glass first thing in the morning. Keep a glass in the bathroom or your bedroom. It will get you on the right track for the day.
• Keep a reusable water bottle around so it is easy to do.
• Water alone can get boring so keep things around that make it more interesting like lemons, crystal light packets to mix in, teas (decaffeinated or herbal).
• Eat some foods that have a high water content like apples, watermelon, oranges etc.
• Alternate between iced, cool, or other temps of water. It will go down differently each time.

When you start drinking more water, you will have to go to the bathroom more. I noticed that after a couple of days your body seems to adapt. You will feel better and it will help you lose weight. Good luck.

Tracking

I found a way to track. I set up a spreadsheet on Google Documents (I sent an email with an invitation to get started and it is free).

We can all fill in our information. You should be able to put in your start weight but the rest of the blanks should be open. Now, no comments or judgments on our starting weights. Some of us may be embarrassed by them and that is why we are working on it.

Let's do it.

It Begins

Hello all

We are set to begin. The only change is that you now get 1 point for every 10 consecutive minutes of working out.

If you could all send you money ($15 per person) to Kris. He will be in charge of the money.

Also I have not found a great way to keep track of things online yet so keep track of it for yourself so when I do find a good way, you can post it.

Good Luck. More to come.

Changes this Weekend

For those of you who follow this, many of us will be getting together this weekend. I think that we may change the workout point requirement. I will keep you posted.

The Rules

The Rules for our little challenge are as follows (although until Nov 10 they are open for discussion and/or change):

We will officially begin the Monday after deer hunting, Nov 10th, and we will have a final weigh in before the wedding on June 8th.

Rules:

1. $15 buy in
2. For every pound that you gain on your weekly weigh in, you pay in a dollar.
3. We weigh in once a week on Mondays
4. You will accumulate points for exercise (1 point = 30 consecutive minutes of exercise)
5. The person who loses the largest percentage of weight will get two thirds of the money
6. The person who accumulates the most exercise points receives one third of the money.


Support:

1. This is our blog. Once you sign on to the challenge, you will be given access to post.
2. This blog is to:

• post problems/issues you may be having during the challenge.
• Post healthy recipes
• Keep track of our progress.
• Post any articles or other items that you may find helpful
• It will be open to the public, so you can share it with your friends if they want to look at what we are doing.

Reminder: We will officially begin the Monday after hunting, Nov 10th, and we will have a final weigh on before the wedding on June 8th.

Let's Start

We have talked about this for a long time. So let's get started.

We can use this blog to keep track of our progress, talk about if we are having any problems and post any recipes or other fun tips.

I am excited about it.

Linda