Posts tagged ‘calories’

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May 7th, 2013

Burn without Feeling the Burn

by Tiff

Yeah, I just said it, “Burn without Feeling the Burn.”  I realize it sounds just as cheesy as “Burn Calories without Trying” or “Workout without Exercising.”  Just roll with it.

I recently heard a news piece (similar this article, What Housework Has to do with Waistlines in The NY Times) that discussed women’s growing weight problems.  Though this doesn’t apply to all of us, I think we all know that the population as a whole is growing… mostly around the middle.

shrimpies

The meal I cooked last night. Burn calories, not dinner.

The news piece (presumably on account of this study) said the decrease in daily activities has given women trouble.  More sitting at computers (or in front of DVRs) leaves less time for cleaning our own homes, cooking family dinners, washing our own cars, etc.

In 1965, women spent 25.7 hours/week on average cooking and cleaning.  In contrast, women spent 13.3 hours/week on such tasks in 2010.  However, time in front of a screen (tv or computer) doubled… shocker.

That may not sound like such a big deal, but there are 52 weeks in a year.  Yeah… it adds up.

someecard

This got me thinking of all the things we can do to burn without necessarily feeling the burn, at least not in the gym.

  • Fight fat with Fido – take a hike or play in the dog park with your pup (bonus points to bathe it afterwards)
  • Clean your house (or paint a room)
  • Wash your car
  • Spend “quality” time with your significant other
  • Park further from the store or office
  • Cook a meal (not Hamburger Helper)
  • Yard work, yard work, and more yard work
  • Trade massages with your spouse
  • Fidget (but not around people because that’s annoying)
  • Organize something, a closet, a pantry, anything!
  • Try a new hairstyle (your arms might notice the burn though)
  • Go shopping – bonus points for carrying goods instead of carting them
shop

Shopping the farmer’s market this weekend

You can also check out these links:

Do you make a conscious effort to burn without trying?  If so, do you have go-to activities?

Posted in Fitness | 30 Comments »

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April 25th, 2013

Thursday Thoughts

by Tiff

Heeeeeyyyyyy!  Guess what, it’s almost Friday!  Woohoo!  I’ve got a lot on my mind, but not much of it is easily expressed into words.  Soooooo without rambling for ages, I think I’ll just narrow this down into some random Thursday thoughts.

1. Elliptical Machines: I love ‘em, and I hate ‘em.  I like the low impact, but I hate the toe-numbing-ness.  I love the handles, but I hate that I can’t use the handles right now.  (Stupid tendonitis.)  I love that you can burn a bunch of calories, but I hate that most are so deceptive about actual calories burned.  Seriously, 45 minutes at a steady state just outside of my comfort zone lead to only…

calories

2. Books:  I picked up The 13th Tale, but I wasn’t digging it.  Now I’m into Spring Fever.  Spring-themed Southern chick lit just seemed right for me at the moment.

book

3. Downtown: This song was in my head all friggin day.  It doesn’t help that I’ve been dying to throw on a mini skirt and strappy heels.  I’m usually content in my jeans, but my heels are singing the lyrics, “I don’t know why you don’t take me downtown anymore!”

4. Bake:  I had a dilemma yesterday, to bake, or not to bake.  I wanted to do a little baking since I had leftover pumpking (I threw pumpkin in Sunday’s enchiladas… much recommended), and I just so happened to have some chocolate chips.  Hmmmm…. yup.  I chose baking.

bowl

I followed Amanda’s recipe for chocolate chip pumpkin bread, but I used a chia egg instead of a real egg.  Obviously I’m no vegan, I just really didn’t want raw egg to keep me from licking the spatula.

bread

5. Just Keep Swimming.  That’s what I’ve gotta keep telling myself.  After a little quality time with weights today, I’m hitting the pool to squeeze in a few laps.  I despise swimming laps.  It feels good, but I get so bored!  By the way, I think everyone knows this now, but just in case you didn’t…

dory

Yeah, I’m pretty excited too.

  • Penny for your thoughts?  (but not really… I’m no moneybags over here)

Posted in Fitness, Food | 23 Comments »

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July 26th, 2012

What I Didn’t Eat Thursday

by Tiff

I posted my Tuesday meals on my WIAW post yesterday, and I planned to eat basically the same thing all week.  Hmmm… that didn’t work out so well.

First hiccup in the plan: un-satisfying lunch

I know better.  That’s one of my top diet rules: don’t make a plan with food you don’t like.  Of course, I didn’t realize I wasn’t going to like the dressing before I bought it, but nevertheless – this is what happened instead.

thursday 002

It’s a wheat baba ganoush pita from Pita Pit with spinach, cucumber, a little onion, and a little black olive.  Yum!

Second hiccup in the plan: calorie miscounting

Tracking calories works best when you enter the right food into your calorie-counter app.  I accidentally entered a Larabar mini instead of a regular Larabar.  By the time I realized my mistake, I had already gone 110 over my limit.  Oh well – no biggie! 

thursday 004

I still thoroughly enjoyed my leftover channa masala without an ounce of regret.  It tasted extra-good since I enjoyed it after my post-work trip to the gym.  (20 minutes elliptical followed by 1-hour body pump class)

thursday 003

My arms were burning in class!  I’m surprised I could hold up the camera for this sweaty photo once I got home.

  

  • Ever have diet mishaps (whether you’re “dieting” or not)?

Posted in Fitness, Food | 14 Comments »

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June 18th, 2012

Michelob ULTRA Light Cider

by Tiff


I have a new product to share with you guys. Okay, okay… it’s a new adult beverage. Big surprise there, eh? I think some of you might really be interested in this one. Michelob ULTRA Light Cider is now available nationwide (excluding CO, UT, WY and OK), and I recently picked some up to try.

cider
I’m very familiar with Michelob ULTRA Light, seeing how that was my drink of choice in college, and I’m not new to hard ciders either.

the big two-one
Though I like the taste of ciders, most of them are a bit too sweet for my liking. However, when I heard Michelob offered a less sweet, lower calorie alternative to traditional ciders, I knew I had to give it a shot. According to the company, this cider “is naturally sweetened and made from hand-picked apples,” and it’s also gluten-free. You can read more about it on the sponsor’s site here.

cider
Regular readers know my reviewing style. I go by Beer Advocate’s recommended ASTMO technique.

 

  • Appearance: nearly clear, not nearly as golden as other ciders
  • Smell: almost no aroma
  • Taste: not much taste so extremely light in flavor; obviously tastes like apples; this does not taste like beer, so do not expect this to resemble the flagship Michelob ULTRA product; not overly sweet
  • Mouthfeel: light carbonation; lacks the syrup-like thickness of sweet ciders; has a dry feel that reminds me of English-style ciders; refreshing but almost too thin and watery
  • Overall: I liked this beverage and found it to be quite refreshing; however, I certainly would not recommend it to most of my craft beer drinking buddies. I’m not sure that I would buy this again since it was a bit too light in flavor, but I can definitely see how it would go well by the pool or on a patio. Even though it’s not exactly my cup of tea, I did enjoy it and would certainly recommend it to calorie-conscious friends who aren’t necessarily big beer drinkers.

summer
According to the company, “Michelob ULTRA Light Cider has 1/3 less calories than an average of the leading regular hard ciders, 120 cal./serving in light hard cider vs. 180 cal./serving in an average of the leading hard ciders.” It also has 4% ABV. Want to learn more? Check out the Michelob ULTRA Light Cider page on BlogHer.com.

    • Which favorite summer meal or activity do you think would go best with Michelob ULTRA Cider?

 

Posted in Brews | 24 Comments »

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January 11th, 2012

WIAW: Snacks, Snacks, + More Snacks

by Tiff

It’s time for yet another What I Ate Wednesday post. Last week I attempted to clean up the diet. I did pretty well. Over the course of the week, I took my GNC Total Lean shakes at snack time, kept dinners simple, and averaged about 1,500 calories per day. Naturally, M-Th had lower calories, and they spiked a bit F-S. Relatively speaking, I kept it pretty steady.

This week has gone pretty well so far. I’ve changed up my meal plan a little bit, but yesterday isn’t the best example of it. I was a hungry, carb-loving beast, so here’s what was on the menu…

Breakfast = pre-gym rice cake, post-gym EAS protein shake + medium/large pear

pear n' protein

Snack = grande cafe au lait with skim milk

need coffee

Lunch = Asian-style salad (lettuce, cabbage, snow peas, baby corn, edamame, lite ginger dressing, bell pepper) + orange

lunch

Snack = 14 almonds, granola bar (vending machine splurge), GNC Total Lean shake

simple sugar goodness

Dinner = mediocre soup + slice of whole wheat bread

soup

Snack = Eat Think Smile Bar (chocolaty, un-pictured goodness) + chips (why did Kevin have to get those out?!?!)

chips

Ever have those I-want-carb days? Best thing you’ve eaten recently?

Posted in Food | 28 Comments »

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