June Fitness Thread

[ssipes]

I'll start off with a couple of questions regarding calorie counts. I spent all weekend doing major yard work. Shoveling, hauling, and spreading 4 yards of bark mulch (in case you don't garden, it's alot), trimming trees and shrubs, weeding shrub and perennial beds, hauling weeds, sweeping up the mess. On saturday, I worked alone, and the wheelbarrow had a flat tire, so loaded with mulch it was a major b*tch to push. Sunday the husband did most of the shoveling and the wheelbarrow was fixed, but we did more hours and I was still getting up and down on the ground spreading the mulch.

Six hours on saturday, nine hours on sunday. Minimal breaks for food and water. If I put in 9 hours of "weeding, cultivating garden" on fitday, it calculates over 1700 cals. I think this is way too much. Any thoughts?

Also, any thoughts as to why I have apparently gained several pounds after all this? Sore muscles retaining water? I ate about 2000 cals both days, more than my usual but still should have resulted in a caloric deficit both days. Also friday I did 45 mins on the eliptical to make up for ice cream on thursday, and saturday I did 30 mins on the eliptical after I did the six hours in the yard.

[acmcgraw]

I would definitely guess the "weight" is water and should come off ni the next day or so.

Lauren has mentioned that fitday does tend to over calculate activities, so...

Anywho...Go Sedonia!! Sounds like a great weekend. Good workout and better yard!

[ssipes]

I just have this paranoid fear that my weight loss over the last 9 months is not due to my weight loss efforts, but some abnormal blip in my physiology, that is going to readjust to my old fatter self and there will be nothing I can do about it but watch it happen.

[JasmineRose]

Sedonia-I find that sometimes after a really hard workout or long race, I wake up feeling bigger and often am a couple pounds heavier the next day. I think it has something to do with the water retention after working out-something with the body hoarding water for glycogen production to repair muscles?

[Linnyg]

This all makes sense to me. I wouldn't sweat it. My lord that is a lot of yard work tho.......I am so glad I live in an apartment!

[ssipes]

It must have been water gain -- its all gone today!

[acmcgraw]

Score!!!

[Azhia]

Joanneraks and Nasila...

In Re P90X...

LOVE IT.

I was worried it was going to be cheesy. Not at all. While a little too "Superman" to me, Tony Horton is attractive in a weird way.

Appropriately motivating, very challenging and easy to follow (in the sense of the directions make sense).

I love the clear cut "schedule."

I'm on Day 4 and haven't missed any yet (that is unusual for me, I have a hard time following programs). The only other effective workout I've done is Body for Life.

[anala]

My base line is 1650 a day for desk work. The calculator on daily plate shows 268 per hour for moderate yard work. 360 for belly dance. 170 for "moderate sex" What's that?

[Azhia]

How does one measure "moderate sex"? How many minutes are we talking? Positions? They need to define that...

[anala]

working up a sweat, but not a rash?

[mish_mish]

Also, any thoughts as to why I have apparently gained several pounds after all this? Sore muscles retaining water? I ate about 2000 cals both days, more than my usual but still should have resulted in a caloric deficit both days. Also friday I did 45 mins on the eliptical to make up for ice cream on thursday, and saturday I did 30 mins on the eliptical after I did the six hours in the yard.

When I was really actively following Weight Watchers, we totally overhauled our front yard one weekend and I was so sore I could barely move. The scale showed that I gained nearly 3lbs after I had eaten sensibly and done all that work. I am SURE it was fluid retention in my very sore muscles. It should clear in a few days.

[*Shira*]

Once again, I'm trying to increase my daily dose of fruits and vegetables. I'm looking for recipes to inspire me. I'll share a couple of mine, and I hope others will do the same.


Spinach Salad with Bacon Dressing

Wash a bunch of spinach and put it into a salad bowl. Set aside.

Fry 4 strips of bacon. (I microwave them for 4 minutes, your timing may be different.) Pour the fat into a microwave-safe mixing bowl. To the fat, add 2 tablespoons of vinegar, 1/4 cup of water, and 1/2 teaspoon of sugar. Mix well. Place bowl in microwave oven and heat until boiling - about 5-6 minutes in my microwave, yours may vary. Crumble in as much of the bacon as you want and eat the rest separately. (I crumble in about 2 slices and the other 2 separately.)

Pour the dressing over the spinach and toss.

[*Shira*]

Cheese isn't exactly a diet food, but I use it in small doses to get protein and other nutrients. Also, I find that if I snack on something with cheese, I'm less likely to continue snacking - it satiates me more readily than a similar quantity of a carbohydrate-ish snack such as cookies. So here's a recipe for using your favorite flavor of soft, spreadable cheese. I serve these on the same tray as baby carrots, slices of bell peppers, and celery sticks.

Cheese-Stuffed Snap Peas

Buy a bunch of sugar snap peas and your favorite flavor of spreadable cheese. (You could substitute peanut butter.) Using a knife, carefully slit open each snap pea, and place a small amount of the cheese in it. Arrange neatly on a plate.

[*Shira*]

Another snack that helps with my satiety so I'm less likely to shovel sugar into my mouth...

Ants on a Log

Wash some celery and cut it into single-serving size pieces. Spread some peanut better in the hollow part of the stalk. On top of that, arrange a few raisins.

[anala]

The inspiration I needed to eat more veggies came from restricting my calorie count for the day to 1650 and then being so hungry I could eat wood! I looked at the calories in veggies and I now eat a lot of them just to keep from killing innocent bystanders.

[crimson vision]

working up a sweat, but not a rash?

*snorts water through her nose*

Too funny!

[*Shira*]

I found this recipe in the May 19 issue of First magazine:

Wheat Berry and Watercress Salad

Cook 3/4 cup of wheat berries until they are tender. (Or, do what I do and soak them in a bowl of water overnight.) Combine the wheat berries with a bunch of watercress which has been washed and chopped - about 1 1/2 cups. Add a grated carrot, 1/3 cup of dried cranberries, 1 1/2 teaspoon of orange zest, 1/4 teaspoon of lime zest.

In a separate bowl, combine 1/4 cup of orange juice, 1 1/2 tablespoon of lime juice, 3/4 tablespoon minced shallots, and 2 1/2 tablespoon olive oil. Season mixture as desired with salt and pepper. Add to the watercress mixture and toss to coat. top with 1/4 cup of toasted chopped pecans.

[*Shira*]

Another recipe that I like from the May 19 issue of First magazine:

Strawberry / Arugula Salad

In a large bowl, combine 2 cups of baby arugula, 1 cup of sliced strawberries, 1/4 cup of crumbled feta cheese, and 1/4 cup of pine nuts.

In a separate bowl, whisk together 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar. Slowly add 1/3 cup of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour dressing over salad and toss gently to coat.

[*Shira*]

And here's a casserole my family has eaten for years. With Iowa feeling a bit waterlogged from the flooding, I feel the urge to share a recipe that uses a lot of ingredients associated with Iowa (corn, milk, sausage). I don't know where my mom got it, but I like it:

Pride of Iowa

Combine 1 pound of sausage, 3 beaten eggs, 2 cans of cream-style corn, 1 1/2 cups of cracker crumbs, 1 1/4 cups of milk, 3 tablespoons of grated onion, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Mix well. Pour into a 9 x 16 inch casserole or cake pan. Pour catsup over the top. Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees.

[sumayasaahir]

Hey guys,

I can't remember if I announced this or not..I searched for the May thread but I couldn't find it, plus I haven't been on Bhuz a lot.

So anyway, I lost a coupla more lbs, and I'm now under 130! I'm 128 lbs! Yaaaay me! Fat is just melting off me and I couldn't be any happier for all the hard work and lets face it...suffering Ive had to do adjusting to the new allergy diet. I mentioned this in another thread, but on top of my every day running/roller blading schedule, Ive added 6 days of weight training, which I do religiously.

I would love to loose another 8 by the end of August, but I'm not sure its realistic. Wont stop me from trying my darnedest tho. :)

[ssipes]

Hey guys,

I can't remember if I announced this or not..I searched for the May thread but I couldn't find it, plus I haven't been on Bhuz a lot.

So anyway, I lost a coupla more lbs, and I'm now under 130! I'm 128 lbs! Yaaaay me! Fat is just melting off me and I couldn't be any happier for all the hard work and lets face it...suffering Ive had to do adjusting to the new allergy diet. I mentioned this in another thread, but on top of my every day running/roller blading schedule, Ive added 6 days of weight training, which I do religiously.

I would love to loose another 8 by the end of August, but I'm not sure its realistic. Wont stop me from trying my darnedest tho. :)

Hey, congrats!! I sent you a PM ..g.:

ps. post some pics!!!

[crimson vision]

My new favorite dessert. I am doing weight watchers and got this from one of their cookbooks. Its SO yummy!


WW Instant Chocolate Hazelnut Mousse
-----------------------------------------------------
Prep time: 10 min Serves: 4 Points: 3 per serving

1 1/2 tablespoons chocolate hazelnut spread (Nutella)
4 tablespoons chocolate syrup
2 1/4 cups fat free whipped topping

Combine the chocolate hazelnut spread and three tablespoons of the chocolate syrup in a medium bowl. Add 2 cups of the whipped topping, gently folding it in with a rubber spatula just until blended.

Spoon 1/2 cup of the mousse into each of the 4 dessert goblets. Top each one with 1 tablespoon whipped topping and 3/4 tablespoon chocolate syrup. Serve at once or cover and refrigerate up to 2 days.
-------------------------------------------------------

Now I tweaked the above a little bit; mainly because I only got one tub of the whipped topping which is a little less than 2 cups so I just dumped the whole thing in. I also got sugar free chocolate syrup. Lastly I skipped the part where you seperate them out and put more topping and syrup on it and have just been eating straight out of the bowl. LOL! Saves calories and time! Really! ;)

Be sure that the whipped topping is not frozen at all; the first time I made this it was too cold and it didn't mix right. Tonight I left the topping out till it defrosted and then mixed it and got an actual 'mousse' rather than the 'mush' I got the first time. Still tasted really good! Also, don't skip the first step of blending the syrup and the spread together; the spread needs to be thinned out a little to blend in well with the whipped topping.

Let me know if anyone tries it!

[Azhia]

My new favorite dessert. I am doing weight watchers and got this from one of their cookbooks. Its SO yummy!

-----------------------------------------------------
Prep time: 10 min Serves: 4 Points: 3 per serving

1 1/2 tablespoons chocolate hazelnut spread (Nutella)
4 tablespoons chocolate syrup
2 1/4 cups fat free whipped topping

Combine the chocolate hazelnut spread and three tablespoons of the chocolate syrup in a medium bowl. Add 2 cups of the whipped topping, gently folding it in with a rubber spatula just until blended.

Spoon 1/2 cup of the mousse into each of the 4 dessert goblets. Top each one with 1 tablespoon whipped topping and 3/4 tablespoon chocolate syrup. Serve at once or cover and refrigerate up to 2 days.
-------------------------------------------------------

Now I tweaked the above a little bit; mainly because I only got one tub of the whipped topping which is a little less than 2 cups so I just dumped te whole thing in. I also got sugar free chocolate syrup. Lastly I skipped the part where you seperate them out and put more topping and syrup on it and have just been eating straight out of the bowl. LOL! Saves calories and time! Really! ;)

Be sure that the whipped topping is not frozen at all; the first time I made this it was too cold and it didn't mix right. Tonight I left the topping out till it defrosted and then mixed it and got an actual 'mousse' rather than the 'mush' I got the first time. Still tasted really good! Also, don't skip the first step of blending the syrup and the spread together; the spread needs to be thinned out a little to blend in well with the whipped topping.

Let me know if anyone tries it!

Damn, this sounds fine!

[crimson vision]

Damn, this sounds fine!

It's crazy yummy! :) Easy to make too!

[sumayasaahir]

Wonders if Nutella has wheat or dairy...

[anala]

Only problem with that recipe..Nutella does not come in 2 Tbsp containers.

[crimson vision]

Wonders if Nutella has wheat or dairy...

Looks like it does have a little milk: Nutella - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"According to the product label, the main ingredients of Nutella are sugar and modified vegetable oils, followed far behind by hazelnut, cocoa and skimmed milk, comprising together at most 28% of the ingredients."

[ssipes]

I know I've done this before, but I just came upon this atrocious picture of me from a couple of years ago, so we're looking at long term progress here:

Me, ~160 lbs, 2005:


Me, ~135, couple of months ago

[anala]

Ahhh Sedonia...we carry exactly the same places...Belly button and under the arms on the chest. Thats a hard place to get rid of it....but I must say, wow! You look 20 years younger! Amazing...now, can I have your skirt if you dont need it anymore at your new weight? ;-)