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Time vs. Intensity

There’s a very important relationship between exercise time and intensity.  Since most of us have limited time to devote to exercise, it’s very important we understand this relationship so that our efforts really count.

Don’t get me wrong, ANY time spent exercising at ANY intensity will have positive benefits on your sense of well-being.  But if your goal is to improve your fitness level or maybe even lose a couple inches around the waist, then you need to keep reading.

In the past, conventional fitness wisdom suggested the best way to burn fat calories was through longer, slower cardio sessions that kept your heart rate at an intermediate  level.  This was believed to be the “fat burning zone.”  But a closer look at exercise physiology proves this “fat burning zone” is sort of a myth.  Recent research has found that we actually burn a pretty even amount of calories from carbohydrate and fat stores during exercise.  Obviously, the more intensely you exercise:  the more calories you will burn, the more strong your heart will become and the more you will increase your muscular strength and endurance.

If you have an hour or two to devote to running at a moderate pace or to low-intensity aerobics, and you want to – GO FOR IT.  But if you have neither the time nor the desire to do so, but you want similar results and benefits in shorter time, then you need to up the intensity during your shorter workouts.  Do this by:

• Adding in faster-paced intervals to go farther or do more reps.
• Make your movements bigger or more intense, such as jumping higher or lifting heavier weights.

My exercise challenge for today is just one example of how you can make your shorter workout more intense using hill sprints and challenging exercises like burpees and squat jumps.

In the 20 minutes that I had, I spent 5 minutes warming up and then did 12 minutes doing the hill sprints / burpees/ squat jumps and 3 minutes to cool down.  In the 12 minutes I got 8 sets in.  How many can you do?

Temptation!

We made it to my mom and dad’s house and are getting settled in.  Now, I got my sweet tooth from my mother.  There’s always something temptingly sweet in this house.  And by “something,” I mean MANY things:

Some of the goodies in my mom's kitchen. They call to me!

M&M’s, Hershey’s Special Dark Mini-bars, York Pepermint Patties, 5 Gallons of Ice Cream, Klondike Bars, Lemon Drop Cake, Keebler Jumbo Fudge Sticks…and that’s not everything in this damn kitchen that’s tempting me!

I knew I’d be facing this for the 9+ weeks while we’d be staying here and so I knew I had to be ready for it.  I thought I’d share with you 3 strategies I use to overcome the tempting goodies:

(1) Start out the day right.  Eat a healthy, filling breakfast.  I like to start my day with a complete protein and some vegetables- veggie omelette or protein shake with carrot sticks.  I have found that starting the day off right makes it so much easier to make healthy choices for the rest of the day.

(2) Practice saying, “No.”  I mentally rehearse tempting situations.  I know, it seems a little strange, but last night as I was falling asleep I imagined what would happen the next day (today).  I imagined myself in the evening when my sweet tooth really starts to take over.  I pictured myself walking into the kitchen for a snack and facing the 5 gallons of ice cream in the freezer.  I mentally rehearsed passing on the ice-cream and grabbing a banana or protein bar instead.  Don’t knock it till you tried it This really helps you make healthier decisions!

(3) Don’t beat yourself up when you give in.  Nobody’s perfect and once in a while we don’t do exactly what we said we were going to do.  When you fudge a little on your healthy nutrition plan don’t be too hard on yourself.  And DON’T use it as an excuse to convince yourself that, “I messed up once already, I might as well indulge today and start over fresh tomorrow.”  This little rationalization used to get me every time.  It’s not worth it though, I ended up regretting it every time.  Just accept what happened, get over it and recommit to do better FROM THAT MOMENT on.

I hope this helps you through your next tempting situation and I’d love to hear any great tips for overcoming food temptation you might have.

Cheers!

Off To New Adventures

Ode To Suffolk :  Good bye video

In 2008 we moved from the metropolitan D.C. area to southern Virginia.  It was the start of our new lives.  Jared had a new job and Shelby was just born.  We moved with anticipation and excitement for what Virginia had in store for us.  Many things have happened since then; some wonderful and some not so.

While here, we’ve made wonderful friends, hosted visits with precious family and lost loved ones too.  The lower taxes and charm of the Historic District drew us in to Suffolk to buy our first home.  We soon fell in love with the character that each old house holds, the tree lined streets and the old fashioned shops along Washington and Main.  Most of all we fell in love with our dear Suffolk friends.

Jared joined the army and now we look forward with anticipation and excitement for what lay in store for us now.  And I find it hard not to look back and reminisce on all that we were blessed with here.  So, to all of our loved ones in Suffolk, this one’s for you!

Why 5?

Why 5

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I know you’ve heard it before, “Eat 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day.”

According to a Gallop-Healthways Wellbeing Index conducted between January and June 2010 :

“Nationwide, 92% of Americans report easy access to affordable fresh produce where they live, as do at least 8 in 10 residents in all states but Alaska. …less than half of Americans (46.6%) report eating five or more servings of fruits and vegetables on five or more days per week, but 32.7% do so two to four days per week and 19.4% do so one or fewer days per week. Those who say they do not have easy access to fresh produce consume less fruits and vegetables than those who do.”

If we’ve heard it so much, know it’s important and have easy access to fresh produce, then why aren’t we getting our 5 a day?  I propose it has a lot to do with habit.  Change can be hard, especially changing life-long eating habits.  But it doesnt have to be a huge deal.  You can take “baby steps” and make simple, meaningful changes in your diet that will improve your nutrition;  giving you more energy, strength and vitality.

I found a wonderful website Fruits & Veggies More Matters that is full of convenient, easy tips for getting more fruits and veggies in your diet.  Here are a two of my favorites:

(1) Focus on increasing by 1 a day.  Start with 1 cup of 100% fruit juice at breakfast.  The next day, have your juice at breakfast + a banana, and so on.

(2) Visit the USDA’s  Super Tracker to create a healthy eating plan specific to you.  It’s great.  You enter in your age, height, weight and activity level and the website tells you exactly what you need to eat and how much.  They even provide a free log for you to track what you eat.  How much easier could it be?

Do you have a tip to share?  How do you get your 5 a day in?  Please share by posting it in the comments below.

Avocado & Chili Chicken Sandwich

Are you ready to chow down on an easy-to-make,  low-fat, nutrient dense, delicious meal?

I had no idea what to do for dinner last night.  Yesterday was very mild, 66 degrees to be exact and felt more like a spring day than January.  It put me in the mood for some picnic food.  I knew I wanted to make  chicken sandwiches for dinner, but wanted something a little more exciting.  I headed to the grocery store for a little inspiration and I that’s exactly what I found:

Gourmet Garden Chili Pepper Splice Blend

This Gourmet Garden Chili Pepper Spice Blend is made from 5 organically grown chili peppers and I thought I’d spread it on the sandwich rolls like a spicy pepper relish. Cool, creamy avocado would complement the spicy chili spread perfectly, so I grabbed one along with some fresh fruit and kaiser rolls and headed for the checkout.

Avocado & Chili Chicken Sandwich with Fruit Salad

Here is how you can recreate my Avocado and Chili Chicken Sandwich that’s perfect for lunch or dinner:

Heat some olive oil with minced garlic in the skillet over medium heat.  When sizzling begins place the chicken breast tenderloins in the skillet and brown on each side.  Turn the skillet down to med-low and cover.  Allow the tenderloins to continue to cook until no longer pink in the middle.

In the mean time prepare the fruit salad.  Wash, peal and cut your favorite fruits. My salad consisted of Granny Smith apples with a  splash of lemon juice, oranges, grapes and strawberries.  Mix them together and place in the fridge.

HEALTHY HINT:  You’re more likely to make healthy snack choices when they are convenient.  So, make your fruit salad extra big so that it’ll be at your fingertips to snack on during the following few days.  

Fruit salad.....yummy, yummy.

Prepare the sandwich toppings:  romain lettuce, tomato, cucumber & avocado.

When the chicken tenderloins are done cooking, slice the kaiser rolls and spread the chili pepper blend on both sides of the roll.  Stack your sandwich as you see fit.