Archive for July, 2010
Sore Calves!!!
My calves are so sore today, I couldn’t even jog. Today would have been mainly jogging, because my workout buddy hurt her back and was in so much pain she couldn’t work out today, hence, I would have jogged around four miles today…but I couldn’t. My calves were sore from doing the P90X method of working your calves. It’s weird though because I did the same workout last week and I wasn’t sore, so imagine my surprise last night when I felt the soreness coming on; because you can tell when the pain is starting to come. So it was no surprise when I woke up feeling sore this morning.
During my walk, I started thinking I am a “wuss”, I could have jogged but I didn’t even try and at that same time when I was having that thought, I was about to cross the street but a car was also approaching, so the car slowed and allowed me to cross, so I decided to jog across the street so as not to hold the person up too long……that two second jog across the street felt like 2 hours, the muscles in my calves all started hurting at once Describing what I did as jogging is even pushing it, it was more like a wobble! That feeling I had of being a “wuss”, went right through the window…no way I could have jogged this morning. I couldn’t even wobble across the street!
Nonetheless I had a very good walk this morning, finished in 93 minutes, but I had a good sweat and I felt awesome. During my walk though, I felt shin splints coming in my right shin, or I think that’s what it was, so I stopped and stretched and rotated my ankles, tightened my sneakers and stretched some more, I pressed my leg on a palm tree and did lunges; I read that on a website yesterday. It came in pretty handy. I have heard people say how painful it is, and the little tweaks in my shin were painful enough, I tried everything I could to not make it get worse, whatever I did helped because the pain stopped and I was able to finish my routine.
Chicken Breast!!!
Ingredients :
2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1/2 cup chopped apple
2 tablespoons shredded Cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon Italian-style dried bread crumbs
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon water
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley, for garnish
Directions :
1.Combine apple, cheese, and bread crumbs. Set aside.
2.Flatten chicken breasts between sheets of waxed paper to 1/4 inch thickness. Divide apple mixture between chicken breasts, and roll up each breast. Secure with toothpicks.
3.Melt butter or margarine in a 7 inch skillet over medium heat. Brown stuffed chicken breasts. Add wine and 1/4 cup water. Cover. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink.
4.Transfer chicken to a serving platter. Combine 1 tablespoon water and cornstarch; stir into juices in pan. Cook and stir until thickened. Pour gravy over chicken, and garnish with parsley. Serve.
Nutritional Information :
Amount Per Serving Calories: 139 | Total Fat: 5.1g | Cholesterol: 46mg
Benefits of drinking grean tea !!!
Disclaimer: I didn’t come up with this list. I usually give credit to my sources, however I am afraid this time, I cannot recall where I received this list. I hope you find it informative:
Benefits to drinking Green Tea
Here are nine reasons to start drinking green tea or continue drinking it if you’re already hooked.
1. Green tea is a superb fat fighter. Its active ingredient, EGCG, increases the rate at which fat is burned in your body.
2. It targets belly fat. Research at Tufts University indicates that EGCG in green tea, like other catechins, activate fat-burning genes in the abdomen to speed weight loss by 77 percent.
3. Green tea keeps energy stable by balancing blood sugar levels. EGCG improves insulin use in the body to prevent blood sugar spikes and crashes that can result in fatigue, irritability, and cravings for unhealthy foods.
4. Research shows it may be helpful against lung cancer. In an April 2010 study published in Cancer Prevention Research, EGCG was found to suppress lung cancer cell growth.
5. Green tea may halt colorectal cancer. In numerous other studies, EGCG appears to inhibit colorectal cancers.
6. In research, it appears to cause prostate cancer cells to commit suicide. A March 2010 study in Cancer Science indicated that EGCG aids the body by causing prostate cancer cells to commit suicide.
7. Green tea may prevent skin damage and wrinkling. EGCG appears to be 200 times more powerful than vitamin E at destroying skin-damaging free radicals. Free radicals react with healthy cells in the body, causing damage, so lessening their numbers may help reduce wrinkling and other signs of aging.
8. It contains a potent antioxidant that kills free radicals. Because it is a potent antioxidant green tea can positively impact a lot more than skin cells. Free radicals are increasingly linked to many serious chronic illnesses like arthritis, diabetes, and cancer.
9. Green tea tastes good. If you’re not wild about the flavor, try a few different kinds. Try it iced or hot. Add some of the natural herb stevia to sweeten it if you want a sweeter drink. I wasn’t crazy about green tea the first few times I tried it, but now I love it with a fresh squeeze of lemon and a few drops of stevia over ice — et voila! Green tea lemonade. Mmmmm.
Reap the rewards
Add one or two teaspoons of green tea leaves to a cup of boiling water, preferably in a tea strainer. Let steep for five minutes. Pour over ice if you prefer a cold beverage. Most experts recommend three cups daily. And, don’t worry, green tea contains a lot less caffeine than coffee or black tea.
Commitment
I love working out. Trying to lose weight has to be a life style change, we cannot think of it as dieting, or we restrict ourselves too much, and we go about losing the weight the unhealthy way.
I have only 13 pounds to go, and I have been that way for over four weeks. However, I refuse to let that get me down. I just continue pushing forward. I increased the weights on a couple of the leg machines today. I didn’t increase my reps though, because by 12 I was using all my strength to move forward and for anyone who has done P90X the last 3 reps should really burn and I was burning.
Let us all keep pushing forward and never quit
Welcome back 153
Finally my scale is back to 153, the weight I was prior to leaving for my July 4th trip a few weeks ago. I had gained approximately 3 pounds because of the high sodium meals I ate due to being on the road all day. I came back and decided to grab the bulls by the horn; went right back to my work out and now everything is back in check.
I am also getting a lot stronger in my weight training. I am able to push myself more in my abs routines. I am just please with my overall success as I move forward.
Everyone is telling me how slim I look, however I don’t feel slim as yet. I know my body tends to lose inches quicker than actual weight so I am looking forward to my next measurement in August, to see if I have any new results. I do however have a pair of “tester jeans”, it is fitting better and better, but I look forward to the day, it doesn’t squeeze at all and it is perfectly comfortable.
13 pounds to go….the journey has slowed down considerably but I am getting stronger and healthier.
Superfoods All Week Long
There are certain foods that are considered Superfoods, they all aid in a healthy body. Review the link below. Alot of them I already eat, but I definitely will work on including the others in my daily menu.
http://www.self.com/fooddiet/2010/08/a-week-of-superfoods?currentPage=7
I was at the gym today and the instructor was passing by and saw me doing some weights and told me to increase my weights. I was like ok then, I am getting stronger. It felt good.
In a couple of weeks, I will be rocking it. I hate weight training, but I know it is essential, to look lean and extra sexy.
I cant wait to take my measurements in the next couple of months and see what changes my body has gone through, because weight wise, the scale hasn’t gone down, but I haven’t done anything overboard, so I know it will all fall in place soon.
Don’t ever quit guys, it takes time, but we will get there soon enough. Count your calories and workout atleast 3 days a week for atleast 30 minutes each time and definitely get your weight training in there and awesome results will be achieved.
Better workout Time!!!!
Today was an awesome workout day, and I am getting better on my workout times. My friend, wasn’t feeling well this morning, so I went at it alone, no big deal for me, have been doing that for years now. I was able to do more jogging this morning. I jogged four miles and walked two miles and I came back in 78 minutes…WHOOT WHOOT!!!!.
Initially it would take me 90 minutes to finish my 6 mile routine, so yeah me…..getting better and better.
When I started to jog, I could only do 1.5 miles of jogging. I did that for probably 3 months and then one day, I said you know what, time to kick this up a notch. I then jogged 2.5 miles straight. I walked 1.5 miles and I said, I feel like jogging some more and I jogged an additional 1.5 miles. Hence my four mile jogs. My girlfriend isn’t at my level of workout as yet, so when she comes I walk only, however what I do to get my jogging done, is the point we meet is one mile from the house, so I jog to meet her and after we finish and she is turning back, I then jog back , so atleast I get two miles of jogging on the days she doesn’t come, so that’s still awesome.
Sweet Tooth
We all have sweet tooth days.
Yesterday I felt like having Famous Amos cookies, I had bought the box in Costco, so I asked my very skinny cousin, if she wanted some cookies, she said yes….so I got the bag, counted how many cookies were in the package, there were 8…I took out 2 and gave her the rest. I then logged in my diary as having 1/4 bag of cookies….
My aunt also called me to come get piece of carrot cake she baked….I walked to get them and walked back home…..I checked the calories on line before I ate any this morning….Yeah I know, kind of early for cake….but again I felt for it…….3oz is 260 calories I believe….so I weighed mine and had 1.6 ounce of the cake
If I feel for popcorn….I first ask, anyone wants popcorn, if I get 2 or more answers, I pop the popcorn and share myself out 2 cups worth, which is 80 calories and give them the rest
Bottom line is unless you never plan to eat sweets again, don’t torture yourself, if you feel for it, have it….but small portions
A lot of people can do without sweets, kudos to them…I have a very bad sweet tooth, so I just eat it in moderation, and definitely not everyday