The new currency

Back to "Eat this, Not that". One point this book made that really stood out is that we should think of calories as currency. Would you go to a restaurant and spend your entire daily budget on just one meal? Then why do that with calories? It's very important to be aware of exactly what is going into your body as well as how much energy it takes to burn it off. (300 calories = walking on the treadmill 3.5mph for 40 minutes).

Another very good point is how quickly all the small things add up. 250 extra calories eaten everyday is the equivalent to an extra 26 pounds a year! For so many of us that's a quick trip through Starbucks for a latte every morning.

Lunge Jumps = mini moments of hell

I hate them, I hate them, I hate them! Did I mention that I do not like lunge jumps? Starting in a lunge position, jumping into the air while moving your legs and landing in the alternate lunge position you started in - clearly this exercise was derived from a medieval torture regimen. If I never have to do these again I will be the happiest woman in the world! The only thing that makes me smile (through clenched teeth) is that I know this horrid drill will be waiting for Jim as soon as his back heals.

Eat this, Not that

While we were out the other night we picked up the latest copy of "Eat this, Not that". It's a very interesting read, and really makes you conscious of what you are eating. Things at restaurants are not always what they seem. I was shocked to read that my favorite salad from Outback registered in at over 1200 calories, and that's without the dressing! The good news is the book also give tips and tricks to shave off calories from those high fat and calorie meals. For instance, ordering your burrito sans the tortilla is a quick way to cut the calories by about 200 and the fat by as much as 7g. They also target grocery stores and point out the healthier options to many pantry and fridge staples.

And then there was one....

Apparently Jim's valiant efforts were a little too much for his back. The dancing sequence did him in (churning the butter a little too much) and he is now on the injured reserve list with a pulled muscle in his lower back. So while he takes a few days off to recover, I am forced to move on alone.

Day 3

On the 30DC the workout schedule is set up for you to start on the first day of the month and every 2 days is designated as a rest day so your muscles can recover. Since we started a week late we were fortunate to get a rest day following our 1st workout. Little did we know, we would make up for lost time on day 3! I think collectively we must have done 100 lunges, and don't even get me started on the torture they named "inline skating". At least we got to take our frustrations out with a good boxing session.

The 30 day Challenge

We opened up the Wii active tonight and started the 30 day challenge. I chose to start at a medium level, while Jim pushed it a little more with the hard intensity. After only a short 25 minute work out, we were both worn out. I never thought a video game trainer could be so tough. I am a little sore today and I think Jim is feeling it too. On to day 2....

The Wii

For Christmas Jim bought me a Wii. We finally got it all hooked up and played a few games and let me tell you, that was a workout! My arms are so sore! We went over the weekend and bought Wii Active, but we haven't opened it up yet. So far this week we have just been focusing on using the cardio theater.

We are still eating great and I am finding my new groove in the kitchen with healthier ways to make old favorites like chili, pizza and spaghetti. The main key is low fat meats and lots and lots of veggies.

The official Day 1

Time to put our money where our mouths are. We are following a basic eating regimen that has been very effective for both of us in the past. It is derived from the Body-for-Life plan. Basically it's 5-6 smaller meals throughout the day, each made up of a protein and a carb, with vegetables in at least 2 of them. It's making me totally change gears in the kitchen! For the last 2 months I have been cooking up a storm with pies, cakes and all kinds of other confections and now I am doing a 180 with healthy meals and snacks. We cleaned out the pantry, fridge and freezer and tossed all the junk, and I wrote out my list and off I went to Publix to stock up on healthy food (like everyone else, since all the healthy foods were very picked over).
One of the main points the BFL book stresses is that failing to plan is planning to fail. Jim and I sat down Sunday and made a list of about 14 different dinners that we could cycle through to avoid the boredom of salads. All of them are very low in fat and calories, and rich in nutrients and protein. Our dinner tonight was a stuffed Green Pepper and side salad with vinegarette. SO Good and Very Healthy!

Green Pepper Recipe
2 Green Peppers, tops cut and seeded
1 c. cooked whole grain brown rice
1/2lb browned lean ground beef (or chicken/turkey *make sure this is chicken/turkey breast*)
1/2 can italian stewed tomatoes
1 small diced onion
salt and pepper to taste.

Saute onion with gr. beef, salt & pepper to taste
mix ingredients together and stuff in pepper bake at 350 for 1 hour, or until peppers are cooked.

Est. Fat 9g, Cal 375, Carbs 34g, Protein 27g

Cardio Theater

The home theater in the making has taken a small detour and become a make shift gym, which we now refer to as "cardio theater". We moved out clothing rack, also known as the treadmill, from the bedroom to the back room, & bought a stationary bike and put it next to it (hopefully these will not end up as his and hers clothing racks!). The inspiration for this came after Jim saw an episode of Dr. Oz where a couple dropped 20lbs in a month just by making a simple switch to keep moving. They moved their furniture & brought in their excercise equipment with the mindset of "why not make tv time productive." We thought it sounded like a great idea. Instead of sitting on the sofa, eating cookies and junk food while watching people work out on The Biggest Loser, why not work out with them?

Here we go!

It seems like every year there are three main new years resolutions: lose weight, eat healthy and quit smoking. But how many people actually manage to keep up with it past mid February?

Our two main goals in this blog are to help inspire our friends and loved ones to be more healthy and to keep us accountable so that we can beat the majority and make this change last longer than the average 6 weeks.