100 Calorie Snack Attack

There are tons of 100 calorie packed snacks available today, and of course I have tried a lot different varieties. Sometimes though, you may feel like you are not getting a good bang for your buck. Here are a couple of my favorite snacks that are only 100 calories and which I believe are worth the money. These are a grab and go kinda deal ;)

Kudos
So I remember my aunt having these in her first grade classroom. They are a great candy bar alternative. So what is a kudos. The original formulation of the bar was much more candy bar-like, with less focus on the granola (although there is still some granola in the bar). The 100 calorie version comes in 3 different types: chocolate chip, M&Ms, and Snickers. Snickers is my absolute favorite, but all of them are fantastic! These are great if you have a sweet tooth!

100 Calorie Packs Smartfood White Cheddar Popcorn
These things are so legit! I remember eating this popcorn normally on road trips with my mom to Phoenix. This popcorn is so addicting, so I'm glad that they came out with smaller portioned sizes! There is a lot of popcorn in a 100 calorie bag, which I love because the more there is, the more I can enjoy eating it! I personally don't even really like popcorn (especially after working at a movie theater), but I love this stuff!


Hostess 100 Calorie Packs Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cakes
These things are so yummy! It's like eating a dessert, but guilt free! These cakes are convenient, individually wrapped 3-packs which make them easy to eat on the go, so you can enjoy them as a satisfying morning snack or whenever snack cravings hit during the day. They also make them in banana and blueberry muffin 100 calorie packs!



So there you have it! Not all of my favorites, but a couple of the best 100 calorie snacks that I love, that I'm sure others will too!

Whole Wheat vs. White Flour

Many people are quick to complain about the more wheat-y tasting versions of their favorite recipes made with whole wheat flour. But simply swapping white for whole wheat bread, according to The Journal of the American Medical Association in 2003, cuts a person’s heart disease risk by 20%. (Which is fantastic)

It’s not tricky to substitute whole wheat flour for white flour; start by using half and half and over time aim to replace all white flour called for in recipes with whole wheat flour. Companies even make whole wheat pastry flour to satisfy those needing fluffiness to their pastries; many people get used to the difference in the first few bites.

White flour is nutritionally useless, and breaks down in the body as a sugar. The body cannot tell the difference between eating a spoonful of sugar or a slice of white bread; the pancreas reacts by secreting insulin—at fat-storing hormone stimulating the appetite and slowing the metabolism. With the Western diet so full of processed foods the pancreas works overtime to balance the sugars consumed and eventually shuts down, causing low blood sugar, diabetes, and a handful of other problems.

Not only is white flour drastically less nutritious than whole wheat flour, but on top of the nutritionally worthless make-up of white flour, it is also chemically bleached. That's right, bleached. The bleaching process was invented due to, not surprisingly, money. Factories figured out they could speed up the normal aging process of flour (months) into literally days to make it ready to sell.

Flour mills add chemicals in the bleaching process such as nitrogen oxide, chlorine, chloride, benzoyl peroxide, and even potassium bromate, a known carcinogen banned in Europe, Japan, and Canada. Many European countries ban the bleaching process entirely. Except for an off-white tint, unbleached flour is identical to bleached flour in terms of cooking; many professional chefs will not use bleached flour due to the slight chemical taste in the final product many can detect.

So do you want to put something that basically has been bleached into your body?? I didn't think so.

DON'T BE FOOLED
The fact is Americans are tricked into believing so much about nutrition simply due to the money advertisers use to do so. It costs less to make white flour and use it in products, therefore advertisers make it appealing to those trying to be health conscious by printing “enriched with vitamins and minerals” on the label. However, with a simple glance to the ingredient list one can see the truth.

Aim for two grams of fiber per whole grain serving and look for the first ingredient in whole grain foods like flour, pasta, bread, and cereal to be whole wheat or whole grain. With the addition to real whole grains in the diet, people will feel the immediate effects on bowel habits and reap the long-term rewards of warding off diseases like diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and many cancers.



The same type of facts are applied to rice! White rice is also bleached!

Honey Mustard BBQ Chicken Stir-fry

Believe it or not, I got this off of the back of a French's Honey Mustard bottle. It was so super yummy, it was ridicules! So I thought I would share.

Ingredients
Serving Size: 4 Servings (3/4 cup of Stir-fry) 264 Calories
1 lb. boneless Chicken, cut into strips
2 bell peppers, cut into strips
1 cup snow peas
1/3 cup Honey Mustard (Like Frenches)
1/3 cup barbecue sauce
1/2 cup water

Spray a nonstick skillet with cooking spray. Cook chicken in a nonstick skillet on medium high heat until browned. Add Stir-fry vegetables and then cook until tender. Stir in the remaining ingredients and simmer for about 3 minutes. Then Dig in!

I used a red and orange bell pepper because that was what was on sale at Aldis, but you can use whatever kind you want. You can also use any kind of BBQ sauce you want. I used Jack Daniels Original Recipe BBQ just because that is my absolute favorite sauce! I would pair this with brown rice or some sort of bread. I paired mine with a toasted pita. Yummy!


Sorry the Picture quality is so horrible. I took it using my blackberry!

Walkout Push ups

These are one of my absolute favorite sculpting exercises. I guess it's used in training for football, but I had never heard of it before until I did one of my exercise DVD's. It's used mostly for a warm up, but I would use it for sculpting. I like these way better than doing normal push ups.

Walk out push ups are a variation on classic push ups, but help to increase flexibility as well. Here's how you do them:

You're going to stand with your feet hip width apart. You're going to do a forward bend, touch the ground, walk your hands down to a push-up position, push up and then walk your hands back, then stand up all the way. Look at the horizon then repeat. When you're coming down, do a push up with a full plank position, keep your body nice and strong and straight.

It's really going to warm up your upper body. It's going to warm up your whole body, but it's really to help warm up your shoulder, shoulder girdle, shoulder mobility by walking out and back with your hands. I usually do around 10 to 15 of these.

If you are unsure of what I'm talking about look at this youtube video. The guy in the video is going a kinda fast (I think the video is sped up). You should have a slower pace as not to injure yourself, but remember to keep a rhythm while doing this exercise.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfbJE_k9v6k

Pizza! Pizza! Egg Mug (Put to Little Ceasers Commericial)

Isn't cold pizza for breakfast one of the best things ever! Well it may be tasty, but defiantly not all that healthy for you. Here's another alternative, which gives you a warm satisfying breakfast as well as that awesome pizza taste! This recipe comes from the 300 under 300 recipe book. I made this for the first time this morning and I thought it was fabulous! I will be making this dish often from now on. Cheers to Egg Mugs!

Ingredients
Serving Size: 1 Serving (entire mug) 134 Calories
2 tbsp. canned crushed tomatoes
1/8 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/2 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute (like Egg Beaters Original)
1 wedge The Laughing Cow Light Original Swiss cheese
6 slices turkey pepperoni (like the kind by Hormel) or soy protein pepperoni, chopped
1/2 tsp. reduced-fat Parmesan-style grated topping

Season crushed tomatoes with Italian seasoning and set aside.

Spray a large microwave-safe mug lightly with nonstick spray. Add egg substitute and cheese wedge, breaking the cheese wedge into pieces as you add it. Microwave for 1 minute.

Stir gently, and then microwave for another 30 seconds.

Mix in seasoned tomatoes and pepperoni. Microwave for another 30 seconds, until scramble is just set.

Stir lightly, and then sprinkle with grated topping. Allow to cool a bit, and then ENJOY! I paired my egg mug with a large gala apple and a large cup of hot coffee!

If you don't feel like opening a can of tomatoes for just 2 tbsp., you can use some jarred low-fat pizza sauce instead!

My Big Fat Greek Egg Mug

This is a recipe from the HG 300 Under 300 Cookbook. I made this for the first time last week and I loved it so much, I had to share. If you were wondering what an egg mug is, well its basically a breakfast scramble in a mug! This recipe is super easy and there's really only one dish to clean up!

Ingredients
Serving Size: 1 Serving (entire mug), 117 Calories
1/2 cup chopped fresh spinach
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1/2 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute (like Egg Beaters Original)
2 tbsp. diced tomatoes
2 tbsp. crumbled reduced-fat feta cheese
1/2 tbsp. chopped fresh basil

Spray a large microwave-safe mug with nonstick spray. Add spinach and onion, and microwave for 1 - 2 minutes, until softened.

Blot any excess liquid from veggies (This step is very important. If you don't get the liquid out, you will have runny eggs, trust me on this one). Add egg substitute and microwave for 1 minute.

Stir gently. Add all other ingredients and lightly stir. Return to microwave for 45 - 60 seconds, until scramble is just set.

Gently stir, and then allow to cool slightly. Dig in! I paired this dish with a banana and my morning coffee! It is so low in calories you could almost make two and not feel guilty about it!

100 Super Foods for a Supper You!

Faster than a speeding bullet…
More powerful than a locomotive…
Nutrient-packed with health enhancing properties…

Here come the SUPER FOODS!

These foods benefit your body in so many ways. They power your brain, and correctly and efficiently fuel your body. Super foods fight infection, enhance your immune system, and protect against diseases such as osteoporosis, heart disease, certain cancers, diabetes, and respiratory infections.

While this list of super foods may be longer than most, it shows that great things do come in small packages. These foods are not only healthy, but they're also affordable, familiar, and readily available at regular grocery stores and farmers markets. With so many choices, you'll discover just how easy it is to eat super healthy every day...even when on a tight budget.

This is an all-inclusive list, but some foods might not be right for your tastes, preferences or health goals. Remember that no single food can provide everything you need to be healthy. That's why it's important to choose a variety of super foods from each category to meet your daily nutrition needs.

Vegetables
Asparagus
Beets
Bell peppers
Broccoli
Brussels sprouts
Cabbage
Carrots
Cauliflower
Collard greens
Crimini mushrooms
Cucumbers
Eggplant
Garlic
Green beans
Kale
Mustard greens
Onions
Peas
Portobello mushrooms
Potatoes
Rainbow chard
Romaine lettuce
Shiitake mushrooms
Spinach
Summer squash
Sweet potatoes
Swiss chard
Tomatoes
Turnip greens
Winter squash
Yams

Calcium-Rich Foods
Almond milk
Cheese, low fat
Cottage cheese, low fat
Milk, skim or 1%
Orange juice with calcium
Rice milk
Soy milk
Yogurt with active cultures, low fat

Fruits
Apples
Apricots
Avocados
Bananas
Black olives
Blackberries
Blueberries
Cantaloupe
Cherries
Cranberries
Figs
Grapefruit
Grapes
Honeydew melon
Kiwifruit
Lemons
Limes
Nectarines
Oranges
Papaya
Peaches
Pears
Pineapple
Plums
Prunes
Raisins
Raspberries
Strawberries
Watermelon

Grains
Amaranth
Arborio rice
Barley
Brown rice
Buckwheat
Bulgur
Corn
Jasmine rice
Millet
Oats
Quinoa
Rye
Spelt
Triticale
Wheat berries
Whole grain breads, cereal, pasta
Whole wheat breads, cereal, pasta
Wild Rice

Proteins
Almonds
Beef, lean
Black beans
Cashews
Chicken, skinless
Chickpeas
Egg whites
Eggs
Fish, unbreaded
Flaxseed
Garbanzo beans
Hemp seeds
Hummus
Kidney beans
Lima beans
Lentils
Miso
Navy beans
Nuts
Peanut butter, natural
Peanuts
Pinto beans
Pork, lean
Pumpkin seeds
Salmon, canned or fresh
Seafood, unbreaded
Sesame seeds
Soybeans
Sunflower seeds
Tahini
Tempeh
Tofu
Tuna, canned or fresh
Turkey, skinless
Veggie burgers
Walnuts
Wild game, skinless

Miscellaneous
Canola oil
Dark chocolate
Green tea
Olive oil

The Biggest Loser Season 11...Normal Healthy Weight Loss

So I just watched the Season 11 finale of the Biggest Loser. I love the Biggest Loser for their ability to change people who are unhealthy into athletes. This year, my two favorite people were sisters Hannah and Olivia. Both of them at the finale lost a combined weight of 253 lbs in 5 months. Although I think that the Biggest Loser is amazing, I sometimes feel like they give false hope. Both of these girls lost around 48% of their body weight in 5 months, 5 MONTHS PEOPLE!

The contestants of the Biggest Loser workout for 8 hours a day. So basically working out is their job. Those of us who have normal, average, 8 hour a day jobs cannot workout 8 hours a day. So when you see someone on the Biggest Loser loose 20 lbs in one week, don't think like that is normal weight loss. If I were to work out 8 hours a day, I would be the same size as my pinky finger.

Most people start working out, see that they don't loose 10 lbs in one week and then dig into a pint of ice cream. This was actually a statement told to me by a sorority sister who is/was attempting to loose weight.

So what is the normal amount of weight a person should loose in a week? A healthy weight amount to loose is about 1 to 2 lbs a week. This may seem like a small amount, but trust me it adds up in the end, and plus if you think about it, you weren't loosing weight to begin with, so might as well loose it at a reasonable pace. This reasonable pace is what allows you to understand how to be healthy, because it is a life change, which is the whole main point about loosing weight, changing your life forever.

In case anyone was wondering or cares, I have lost 38.7% of my body weight in about 9 months.

Yoplait Fruit Smoothies

So I sometimes have a hard time getting enough fruit into my diet. This may be for a couple of reasons, the most prominent reason being that the produce on the East Coast is not only expensive, but it sometimes unappetizing and artificial.

Yoplait makes Smoothies fast and fabulous straight from your freezer. They're rich in nutrition with real fruit, live and active cultures and calcium, and they contain one full serving of fruit per serving. These smoothies are very easy to make. You add the contents of the package to the blender as well as 1 cup of milk, and blend.

At only 110 calories for 1 serving of fantastically great smoothie, I will have this satisfying drink for breakfast or for a snack. There are four different smoothie flavors: Blueberry Pomegranate, Strawberry Banana, Strawberry Mango Pineapple, and Tipple Berry. My favorite out of all of these is the Triple Berry.

Pizza-bella

A mushroom dressed up like a pizza? It's so beautiful, it brings tears to my eyes...

I have seen this recipe in two different cookbooks, and I have made this for both myself and my mother, who liked it as well. I love mushrooms and pizza, so combining them wasn't a problem for me.

Ingredients
Serving Size: (1/2 recipe: 1 pizza-bella) 118 Calories
2 large portabella mushrooms
2 sticks light string cheese (around 50 calories per cheese stick)
1/4 cup canned crushed tomatoes
1/2 tsp. chopped garlic
Dash Italian seasoning
8 slices turkey pepperoni (like the kind by Hormel) or soy protein pepperoni (tofu), chopped
2 tbsp. canned sliced black olives

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Remove mushroom stems, chop, and set aside. Place mushroom caps on a baking sheet sprayed with nonstick spray. Bake in the oven for 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, break each stick of string cheese into thirds and place in a food processor or blender -- blend at high speed until cheese takes on a shredded or grated consistency. (Or just tear string cheese into pieces and roughly chop.) Set aside.

Remove sheet from the oven but leave oven on. Blot excess liquid from mushroom caps and set aside.

In a small bowl, combine crushed tomatoes, garlic, and Italian seasoning. Mix well and equally distribute between mushroom caps; spread until smooth and even. Sprinkle shredded/grated cheese over the saucy layer on each cap. Top with chopped mushroom stems, pepperoni, and olives.

Bake in the oven for 8 - 10 minutes, until cheese has melted. Eat as soon as you can without burning your mouth!

String cheese is basically portion controlled cheesy goodness, which is fantastic! Don't like olives? Not into turkey pepperoni? Don't use 'em! Each standard saucy 'n cheesy mushroom "pizza" has 89 calories and 2.75g fat, so feel free to pick your own toppings and add their stats to those numbers.

Chilly Chocolate Mousse Crepes

This is a very simple recipe for a dessert and or a breakfast meal, especially if you like chocolate for breakfast, well I like chocolate for breakfast anyway. These are very simple and easy to make.

Warning…: these things are seriously addictive! Luckily, at just 55 calories, you can have a few...

Ingredients
Calories: (1 crepe) 55 Calories
2 Melissa's Ready to Use 9 Inch Crepes or other 50-calorie dessert crepes
1 Jell-O Sugar Free Reduced Calorie Pudding Snack-Chocolate Vanilla
1/2 cup Cool Whip Free

Optional
Berries for Topping

Fold Cool Whip into pudding and stir until blended. Gently tear or cut each crepe in half. Into the center of each crepe half, spoon 1/4 of pudding mixture. Fold crepes envelope-style, ensuring that there is nowhere for mixture to seep out. Place crepes in freezer for at least 1 hour.

Spray a skillet with nonstick spray and set on medium heat. Beginning with the thinner crepe side down, heat for 1 minute. Carefully turn crepe and heat for an additional minute or two. Crepes will be slightly browned and toasty on outside but cool and creamy on the inside!

Top with berries if you want and dig in! The ready to use crepes are located near the refrigerated section in the supermarket, they are premade and really easy to work with.


(Nutritional values will vary slightly if garnished with berries, but not by much ;))

Treadmill Running Tips and Tricks

So it's been raining here for the past week. This makes marathon training extremely difficult. I love running outside, but when I can't do it due to weather conditions, I move onto the treadmill. Most people find that running outside is easier than running on the treadmill. This is because your brain freaks out because of the fact that you are running, but not actually going anywhere. But running on the treadmill does have its benefits, especially if you can't go outside due to rain (Apparently its the rain season here in DC).

The treadmill and running in general has a bigger learning curve than the elliptical. I didn’t think it’d be something I’d need to “get the hang of,” but it’s not easy as just stepping on the treadmill and pushing the start button.

Here are a few basic treadmill running tips for beginners.
These are things that I discovered when I first started running. These tips shouldn’t be a revelation to anybody who has been running for any length of time, but if you’re new to the treadmill (and/or running) you should definitely take them into consideration.

Just breathe. Maintain steady, deep breathing while you’re running. It may seem basic, but sometimes when I’ve been running for more than 30 seconds and I’m concentrating on uh, running, I’ll forget to breathe.

And when you forget to breathe, running and functioning becomes difficult.

Inhale. Exhale. Repeat.

Walk tall. Don’t slouch or curve your back. It’s especially tempting to slouch and lean forward (a lot) when you’re going against an incline. It's also common to want to look down when running, most of the time to see how much time you have left (I am very guilty of this). This could effect your running posture and could potentially result in injury.

Keep your feet low. You don’t want to scrape the bottom of your feet against the treadmill every time you take a step, but you also don’t want to take your feet a foot (feet a foot, what?) off the machine. Just keep a low, steady, “piercing stab” so to speak with your feet and make fast, low, quick forward snaps with your feet underneath you.

Swing your arms. Don’t use the handles on the treadmill machine. The handles on the machine are for safety purposes. Also by not using handles and swinging your arms you’ll burn more calories, keep your posture upright, and feel more natural. While it’s hard enough transitioning from running on a treadmill to the ground as it is, a handle only creates are a larger deficit to overcome later down the road.

Hydrate. Drinking water is very essential while working out. I have found a good measure for me is between 10 – 20 oz of water per hour of running, depending on how hot and humid it is. I try to start increasing my water intake a few hours before I plan to run, then cut back about 30 -45 minutes before, that way I don't have a "sloshy" stomach.

Look straight ahead. Sometimes I try to look around the gym while I walk and I start wobbling on the treadmill. I also notice that if I look to the side while I walk, my posture deteriorates.

Bend your knees. Don’t walk/run like you have a pirate leg. Not only is it bad form, but it could cause serious injury depending on the speed you’re running at on the treadmill.

Warm up and cool down. Don’t jump on the treadmill and immediately start running. I stretch for about 2 or 3 minutes before I get on the treadmill. And, once I do step onto the treadmill, I’ll start an extremely slow speed (like 3.0) for about 5 minutes so that I am warm to run at my desired speed. The same applies to cooling down.

Also run at speed that that you feel comfortable at. You can work your way up to a higher pace as you get better at treadmill running (this is mostly for beginner runners). You don't want to get discouraged or injure yourself on your first time out on the treadmill.

Long socks. I know you kids these days like those low socks, but be careful – your heal could get eaten up by the back of your shoes in as little as 5 minutes. I learned this proper shoe lesson the first day I went running (ask my mother!). By the time I felt any pain, I already had a blister the size of a quarter on the back of my heel.

Then the stinging came. Oh, how the stinging came. If this does happen to you, I would wait a day to do any exercising and then place band-aids on them before you plan to workout again.

Have a good pair of running shoes. Gump had a good pair. I have a good pair of running shoes. So should you — your ankles, feet, and back will thank you after every workout.

These are just some basic tips that I have discovered. Please post others in the comment section below if anyone has any!

Pop-Tart Crazy

I have a love-hate relationship with Pop-Tarts. I have a feeling most people here do as well. One basic Frosted Strawberry Pop-Tart has 200 calories and 5g fat. In my opinion, any time TWO items are wrapped up in ONE pack, that pack should be considered a single serving!

Great news my friends, there are a couple of ways to get around this Pop-Tart funk. Pop-Tarts people came out with 100-calorie pouches of Pop-Tarts Mini Crisps. They come in both chocolate and strawberry frosted flavors. I really enjoy them, my favorite being strawberry. They are basically little crisps with frosting on them, and they actually taste like Pop-Tarts without the filling (which is normally way to sweet for me anyway). They are found in the cookie/cracker aisle in the grocery store.

If you are in dire need of a gooey filled pastry, and if you've gotta have something large and in charge, check out Amy's Organic Toaster Pops in Apple and Strawberry. Each one has 160 calories, 3.5g fat, and 2g fiber. Not bad. They do come four to a box, but at least they're frozen, so you can toast one up and leave the rest in the freezer. They are found in the organic frozen section of the supermarket. My favorite of these is Apple, but Strawberry is good as well.

http://www.poptarts.com/Minicrisps.aspx

Fiesta Fun: Ground Turkey Tacos

This is one of my classic staple dishes. When I started loosing weight I decided to first make this dish, and I still keep it in my diet. I don't really eat meat that often, but I eat this still every once in a while when I feel like I need protein.

Ingredients
Serving Size: 2 Servings (2 Huge Tacos)
Calories: 320
1/2 lb. Ground Turkey (such as Jenny-O Ground Trukey)
1/4 of Large or Medium Yellow/Sweet Onion
1 Tbl Chili Powder
1 Tbl Garlic Powder
4 6' corn tortillas (around 65 calories per tortilla)

Optional
1/4 cup reduced fat Mexican Blend Cheese
Lettuce
1/4 of a Large or Medium Tomato Chopped
Salsa or Tapatio

When I get home from the supermarket, I normally cut my 1 lb ground turkey in half, put them both in plastic bags and stick one in the fridge and the other in the freezer for later. This way you have just the right amount of meat for this recipe, and can make it again in the later weeks ;).

Heat up a nonstick skillet pan on medium-high heat. Chop up the onion into pieces and place them in the hot pan. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes or until the onion starts to slightly brown. Add ground turkey into the pan with the onion and sprinkle the chili and garlic powder on the meat and onion. Brown meat until cooked all the way through. Since you are working with ground turkey, there wont be really any grease to drain (which is super awesome!)

Heat up another skillet pan on medium-high heat and place corn tortillas on them. Cook on each side around 1 to 2 minutes each. You have to heat up corn tortillas when working with them, otherwise they will just fall apart when you try to eat them. I like mine a little crispy, so if yours softer, heat them up in lesser time.

Place two warm corn tortillas on two separate plates. Evenly distribute ground turkey/onion mixture onto the 4 corn tortillas. If you want distribute cheese, Lettuce, tomato, and salsa/Tapatio over tacos. I normally use fresh spinach, just because that's what I normally have on hand in the fridge, but you can use any type of lettuce. I just take a couple of leaves and tear them up over the tacos. I like my tacos spicy so I use Tapatio, but salsa is also a healthy option that can be used as well.

I usually will eat these two huge yummy tacos for dinner, then store the other two for lunch at school the next day. They microwave incredibly well! The onion in the dish keeps the meat moist when it is microwaved, so it heats up just like it's freshly made. After telling my mom about this recipe, she makes it all the time. It's a guilt free way of eating Mexican Food!

320 Calories include the following toppings: Cheese, lettuce, tomato, and Tapatio. Salsa may add a couple of calories to the dish, but not that much to make a huge difference.

Jewish Snack: Bagel and Lox

So I first experienced this wonderful dish at my friend Daniella's house for New Years Breakfast. It's a Jewish Breakfast or Snack! It is absolutely wonderful. Its a very simple to make

Ingredients
Calories: 175
1 or 2 slices of Lox
Slice of Red Onion
Slice of Tomato
1 Thomas Bagel Thin (any flavor you desire)
1 oz fat free cream cheese
black pepper (optional)

Toast bagel in the toaster until desired toastyness (yeah I'm pretty lame with this statement). Spread cream cheese over toasted bagel. Place lox, onion, and tomato slices on the bagel and sprinkle with black pepper if you desire. There you have it!

I love Thomas Everything Bagel, Bagel Thins, which is what I used for my snack. I love Bagels in general, so these bagel thins are great because they are only 110 calories for 1 bagel (I just discovered these in the supermarket today)! If you don't know what lox is, its a cured salmon fillet. Lox is a little expensive, but you usually get a lot of it in the package. It's normally found near where all the shredded cheese/cream cheese or lunch meat section in the supermarket.

DVD Exercising (the right one for you)

First exercise post, how exciting. I had someone say to me this weekend that they would be too embarrassed to work out in the gym because of the way they currently look. So why not do a workout DVD! You can do it from the comfort of your home, without feeling like everyone is watching you. I do workout a DVD almost every day.

So you see all those commercials out there for those intense DVD workouts. I'm not going to knock down P90X or the Insanity Workout, but those are not great exercise DVD choices for beginners. These videos are meant for those who are already, for the most part, physically active/fit. They are trying to stay in shape by toning their bodies. Beginners will sometimes get discouraged when they can't do all the workouts on the DVD, and can easily give up on working out altogether.

When I first started loosing weight, I decided that the best plan for me was to start from the bottom and work my way up. I started out with The Biggest Loser: The Workout. Of course it was hard at the beginning, but it was manageable. They do a lot of basic boxing workouts, and I really started enjoying it. I actually own all but one biggest loser workout DVD, I think they are that great. They use real people (i.e. past contestants from the show), who struggle in the workouts along with you. I always feel motivated when doing these because if those contestants who used to weight over 400 lbs can do it, well I'm sure I can do it. I then moved onto more challenging DVD's such as anything by Jillian Micheals (she really is crazy, but she gets results). My favorite of hers is the Jillian Micheals: 30 Day Shred. She of course kicks my butt everytime, but its worth it! For some reason this woman thinks jumping jacks are a warm up, and she also really likes push ups, in many variety of forms. Both of these DVD's have a 6 week workout plan to follow, and almost all workout DVD's do have a training program to follow (which is what I did). I love these DVD's because the trainers teach you the proper way to work with weights and even breathing techniques for when you exercise.

I would start with something for beginners and work your way up to DVD's, like P90X. Try a DVD that interests you. I personally love boxing, so I try to do as many kickboxing workouts as I can. If you like yoga, there are tons of yoga/pilates DVD's out there on the market. Also Netflix does have workout DVD's that you can stream instantly to your computer or TV. I do this quite often when I get bored of my normal routine workouts!

If anyone would like a personal copy of any of my workout DVD's please feel free to leave me a message and I will send them to you. You can also contact me via facebook message or through email mccleney@gwmail.gwu.edu.

Post Graduation

I just came back from visiting my Alma Mater this past weekend for May Graduation. I know how hard you work. Half the people I knew didn't recognize me, and some even walked right past me, and (I am assuming) thought I was someone else they didn't know. I didn't realize I have changed that much. My mannerisms are still the same as well as my facial features. After consulting my Aunt, she brought to my attention that people tend to notice body image before they notice facial features, which I personally think is really sad. Since I've obviously changed that much, I wanted to post some before and after pictures of my journey (which technically still isn't finished yet)





These two photos were taken a little over a year apart. They are of my sorority sister Daniella and myself. She has changed a little as well ;). I want others to realize where I have come from. Some people throw away all their pictures from when they were overweight, but I want to keep mine for motivation. I could have deleted all these unhealthy pictures of myself, but it wouldn't feel right. I keep these to remember how far I have come, how much better I am, and to realize how bright my future is.

So here's to the new me, making positive changes and looking back on how far I've come.

Newton's Fruit Thins Crispy Cookies: Yummy Snackage Alternative

So these are pretty much the bomb.com. I'm not always going to post recipes, but things I also find that are super yummy and not that bad for you. One of my colleagues brought these into my heat transfer class, and from the moment I tasted one, I fell in love.

These cookies are made by Nabisco, and is a cross between a wheat thin and a fig newton bar. They are sweet crackers that have real fruit baked into them. They come in four different flavors: Fig and Honey, Blueberry Brown Sugar, Cranberry Citrus Oat, and Raspberry Chocolate. .

I have tried all the flavors except the Cranberry Citrus Oat, and that's only because the supermarket by my house doesn't carry that flavor ;). My favorite is the Fig and Honey, while my colleague loves the Blueberry Brown Sugar (also really yummy).

The serving size is 3 large cookies for 140 calories! Which is wonderful especially if you have a semi-sweet tooth.

Calorie Intake: Eat to loose weight!

So, you may ask, how many calories should I be eating. You don't to be eating too little, and you don't want to eat too much. Here is a basic rule that I discovered while dieting. This method is what is used by the Weight Watchers program (confirmed by at least two people on Weight Watchers that I know). So you're getting the info, without having to pay to loose weight and stand in front of a bunch of people to weigh in.


Guidelines

Take your weight and multiply by 100. That is how many calories you should be consuming if you are trying to maintain weight with no exercise in the least bit. If you want to loose weight you subtract 200 to 400 calories from that amount.

So say I weigh 150 lbs. To maintain weight without exercising, I should eat around 1500 calories. To loose weight I should be eating between 1100 and 1300 calories. This is of course a guideline, not a in fact rule. I am not saying to starve yourself, if you are hungry even though you've consumed 1300 calories, then eat, but choose foods that are better options (you can ask my classmates, I always enjoy a nice bowl of mutligrain cheerios when I get home from a night class).

DO NOT STARVE YOURSELF. This is no way to diet, if you are actually consuming less than 1000 calories a day, your body goes into starvation mode, and it retains whatever you put into it (which is the exact opposite of what you want!) So basically, you have to eat to loose weight.

Of course, if you are exercising, you should eat more to replenish and fuel your muscles. This of course all depends the long and the intensity of your workout. (this is up to your discretion)

You should break up your calories into 4 or 5 different meals a day (this helps boost your metabolism). So say you are eating 1200 calories a day, you should break your meals like this:

Breakfast-300 calories
Lunch-300 calories
Mid snack- 150 calories
Dinner-300 calories
Snack-150

These again are of course guidelines, you can break your meal calories up as much as you want to. You can eat a bigger breakfast and have a lighter lunch, it all depends on how you feel that day.

I suggest keeping a food diary. Writing down what you eat keeps you accountable for the foods you are consuming, and I personally don't want to write down that I ate Twinkies in my diet food diary. This diary makes counting calories very easy, once you get the hang of how many calories are in items, then it all becomes second nature of how much you are consuming and reading the nutritional information becomes easy when dealing with serving sizes. Until that happens, writing it down is the easiest way to get a hang of calorie consumption. I actually keep mine on sticky notes which hang in front of my closet.

I'm starting with nutrition because anyone can exercise, but not everyone knows how to eat properly, exercising is mostly second nature, but your nutrition (quantity and quality) is learning a whole new way of life.

Banana Pancakes Recipe

So this is my first recipe that I am posting. You hear it over and over again, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. But why is that?

When you skip breakfast, you are likely to become tired when your brain and body run low on fuel. By mid-morning, you might grab a cup of coffee or wolf down a sugary candy bar to wake up again. This might work for a few minutes, but by lunch time you are hungry, crabby, and perhaps your mood might make you a little more prone to make unhealthy choices at lunch.

Skipping breakfast is a common strategy for losing weight, but not a smart one. Many people believe that they will lose weight if they skip meals, but that just isn't true; the body expects to be refueled a few times each day -- starting with breakfast. Actually, eating breakfast is good for weight loss. In fact, studies show that people who eat breakfast are more likely to maintain a healthy weight. I personally almost never ate breakfast when in school studying my undergraduate and of course I gained most of my weight there.

Here is one of my favorite recipes. I love pancakes, in any way shape and form. I made these for the first time for my family when I was home in AZ in December. They are a healthy alternative to a well loved food. I mean come on, who doesn't love pancakes!!!!

Ingredients
Number of Servings-5 (2 Pancakes)
Calories- approx. 200
Heart Smart Bisquick (pancake and baking mix)-2 cups
Fat free skim milk or vanilla soy milk- 1 1/4 cups
liquid egg substitute-1/4 cup
1 medium or large banana
cinnamon-2 teaspoons


Heat a pan on the stove on medium high heat and spray with non-stick cooking spray (I use butter flavor). Combine all ingredients (except banana) in a bowl and mix until all lumps are gone. Cut or mash banana into small pieces and fold into pancake batter. Pour 1/4 cup of pancake mixture into pan and flip pancake when one side has set and golden brown. Place two on a plate and eat with yummy fat free whipped cream or low calorie syrup (Makes around 10 pancakes)

You can find heart Smart Bisquick in the baking aisle in most supermarkets. Its amazing and I use it as a staple in a lot of my cooking. It is low in fat, has 0g trans fat, naturally cholesterol free, and a wonderful source of calcium. If you don't want to use the liquid egg substitute, you can use one egg, it increases the calories a little bit, but not by much.

This recipe always leaves me satisfied! The bananas make the pancakes so sweet that you almost don't need syrup, and they melt in your mouth. I usually pair this with a large cup of coffee and watching the Today show on NBC ;). But if you do need syrup, then you should go for the sugar free low calorie types. I get the generic low calorie kind from Giant supermarket near my apartment.

Not only did my mom and sister adore these, my 13 year old male cousin fell in love with these and wanted more! So it is a kid friendly recipe. The recipe is kinda large, but these guys have no problem being stored in the refrigerator and reheats very well in the microwave.

New Beginnings...but not the biggest loser

I am starting this blog because tons of people have been asking me about my weight loss, so might as well put it all out there for everyone to see. I'm sure most of you know me, but if not, my name is Amy. I started loosing weight when I moved to DC mid August. So far my total weight loss journey has included 85.5 lbs. I have done many things in my life, but this by far has been the most rewarding. I have found myself through this process, and am very excited to share my knowledge with others.

I will be attempting to post 2 to 3 times a week, depending on my schedule (I am a working Grad Student ;) ), but I will keep all who follow updates on things I find, nutrition advice, and exercise tools that I find useful to keep me motivated and on track. Like my title says, I am in no way a nutritionist or a trainer, but this is what has worked for me, and since people keep asking. I am sharing my advice with those around me!

Oh and if your wondering what HG means...its Hungry Girl. I love to eat, and have no problem doing it! So my nutrition advice will be items that will keep you full and feeling wonderful all around, but in a healthy way, and taste super incredible. If anyone has other advice, please feel free to input!