The Whys of Exercise

So if you  think I am incorrect in my sternness of exercise, you might want to know why. I've had a lot of people express concern about exercise. It's too hard, I get injured, I don't have time, it doesn't work for me, etc, etc, etc.  Believe me, I feel these are real concerns. Well,  I hope to meet some of these challenges for the sake of all.

Exercise is a hard habit to get into, that is why I started with just once a week.  The point of my Marathon-Style health plan, is to comfortably lead into a healthy life-style that you are able to keep up, hopefully for a very long time.

If my personal goals were too high or too hard for you to do, follow the guidelines, and make a good judgement for your level.  Wether my personal goals were too easy or too hard, the guidelines still work for you.

YES, ESPECIALLY THE EXERCISE!!

The following are seven reasons why exercise is so important.  I got these, word for word, from http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/exercise/HQ01676  .  I feel it is important to have reputable references to my knowledge.  Don't believe me? Ask the professionals!
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Exercise: 6 benefits of regular physical activity

By Mayo Clinic Staff

Exercise can help prevent excess weight gain or help maintain weight loss. When you engage in physical activity, you burn calories. The more intense the activity, the more calories you burn. You don't need to set aside large chunks of time for exercise to reap weight-loss benefits. If you can't do an actual workout, get more active throughout the day in simple ways — by taking the stairs instead of the elevator or revving up your household chores.

No. 2: Exercise combats health conditions and diseases

Worried about heart disease? Hoping to prevent high blood pressure? No matter what your current weight, being active boosts high-density lipoprotein (HDL), or "good," cholesterol and decreases unhealthy triglycerides. This one-two punch keeps your blood flowing smoothly, which decreases your risk of cardiovascular diseases. In fact, regular physical activity can help you prevent or manage a wide range of health problems and concerns, including stroke, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, depression, certain types of cancer, arthritis and falls.

No. 3: Exercise improves mood

Need an emotional lift? Or need to blow off some steam after a stressful day? A workout at the gym or a brisk 30-minute walk can help. Physical activity stimulates various brain chemicals that may leave you feeling happier and more relaxed. You may also feel better about your appearance and yourself when you exercise regularly, which can boost your confidence and improve your self-esteem.

No. 4: Exercise boosts energy

Winded by grocery shopping or household chores? Regular physical activity can improve your muscle strength and boost your endurance. Exercise and physical activity deliver oxygen and nutrients to your tissues and help your cardiovascular system work more efficiently. And when your heart and lungs work more efficiently, you have more energy to go about your daily chores.

No. 5: Exercise promotes better sleep

Struggling to fall asleep? Or to stay asleep? Regular physical activity can help you fall asleep faster and deepen your sleep. Just don't exercise too close to bedtime, or you may be too energized to fall asleep.

No. 6: Exercise can be fun

Exercise and physical activity can be a fun way to spend some time. It gives you a chance to unwind, enjoy the outdoors or simply engage in activities that make you happy. Physical activity can also help you connect with family or friends in a fun social setting. So, take a dance class, hit the hiking trails or join a soccer team. Find a physical activity you enjoy, and just do it. If you get bored, try something new.

The bottom line on exercise

Exercise and physical activity are a great way to feel better, gain health benefits and have fun. As a general goal, aim for at least 30 minutes of physical activity every day. If you want to lose weight or meet specific fitness goals, you may need to exercise more. Remember to check with your doctor before starting a new exercise program, especially if you have any health concerns.

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Lose 15 pounds with me!!

So here is the deal.  I just had a baby, and I am not the kind that easily loses the baby weight.  I'd like to get back into running, but with a baby that may or may not wake up several times during the night, and no one the take the kids at night or during the day for a run, I am limited.

ALSO, I am struggling with shaking the cravings, and consequently the last 15 pounds!  SO I decided to remove the refined sugars in the house and eat a lot more veggies. Out of site out of mind, right? Ah but I have a wonderful husband who keeps bringing home my favorite sweets. WHAT was wrong with me? I am having a hard time going into my old healthy habits. Sooooo, I was thinking about how I could get into a healthy habit, and make good choices! What better way then to do it marathon style, eh?  Apparently I am not doing well on the changing habits cold turkey.  Just like a person training for a marathon has to start out small and consistently take the run up a notch; I am going to do that with my physical health! This is NOT for people who want fancy recipes with 400 rare ingredients.... well most will be gluten free, so you might see a few with some weird ingredients, but I'll try to put I the "glutenous" version too!

  So, starting this Monday I am giving myself a goal for the week.  Though I have been doing better in the area of eating sugar, I'm going to allow some extra room for mistakes or unexpected celebrations where I am expected to eat more refined sugar.

SWEETS
  Mondays are family night, so we have a treat of some kind in the evening, and usually on the weekend I have one with my husband for a date.  So technically I should stop there, or at least that was my hope before.  I struggled with stopping there.  So I am going to allow four other SMALL treats during the week.  Yes, I am eating more than this in a week so this week we are starting with a low expectation.  A treat should stay a treat NOT a daily thing.  If you have a treat daily it no longer is a treat, it is a dietary norm, and can become an addiction. I may end up with almost one a day in the end, at least I am counti g and minimizing the size of it.

FRUIT
  Also, some of you may not know this, but fruit has a lot of unneeded sugar.  Serving sizes are vital here.  We can convince ourselves that we are eating healthy just because it's not a refined sugar; but too much can really slow down your health.  We all hear about how refined sugar can make a person moody (especially hormonally imbalanced children and adults) well too much fruit can do the same thing.  You might be surprised at how many calories and sugars you are consuming is a relatively small amount of fruit.  Eating a fruit with lots of fiber is a good choice, or eating a fruit that has less sugar in it.  Some of the worst ones to eat are grapes and oranges.  A serving size of grapes are seven average sized grapes. I know,..bummer.  With this knowledge I am going to limit myself to 3 fruit servings a day- split up how ever I'd like.  I plan to have one of those servings after dinner.  I usually crave some sweets at around 10 or 11 at night, it mind as well be a fruit instead of candy.

GRAINS
  Next are the type and amount of grains I eat in a day.  This can be a pretty hard thing to beat if you really love pastries, breads, pasta, etc.  Having to eat gluten free, I learned to let go of many of those things several years ago, but that doesn't mean I am following the Atkins diet! Eat whole wheat if you can.  It has a large amount of carbs in it, but is also full of fiber and protein and other great things.  Many store bought breads that say "whole wheat" on it aren't really whole wheat, but also contain many other bad flours, sugars, and less of the good stuff. Look on the label and compare proteins and fiber.
I will post some good recipes you can use with whole wheat.

PASTA/RICE
  Before I learned about having Celiacs, I learned that if I ate half the amount of pasta that I usually eat, I felt better and also lost some weight.  But here is the kicker, I was used to putting A LOT of pasta on my plate, I mean  A LOT.  I loved every thing with lots of Carbs.  Look at your fist (loosely), that is about how much you should have.

BREADS/PASTRIES
  Once again, READ the back labels.  I found that when my exercise was low or very light, half a sandwhich (or one slice of bread)was my serving size.  Of course you need to consider your size and physical activity.  But if I was going to also eat fruit and veggies and protein (meats, beans, nuts, etc) then I could easily fill myself up, without to much bread.  Since my physical activity is pretty low at the moment, this suits me just fine.  Since I can't eat bread, I usually use a corn tortilla with my lunch or no grain at all and use my servings on breakfast and dinner.

DAIRY
  Well, here is a touchy topic.  Many diets out there do not approve of dairy, and many people out there are intolerant to it.  Frankly, I am somewhat addicted to it. However, I was once unable to handle milk and eventually was able to slowly introduce it back into my life.  My inability to fill up easily with a grain, led me to make up for that with cheeses and other such things.  My cooking passion is cheesecake.   However, it really isn't healthy to eat cheese, it's loaded with  fat and things that could be harmful to those susceptible to heard and other intestinal problems.
   My problem is, that it wouldn't be easy at all to remove these things from my life. I'd have to not only change my snack habits, but most of my recipes as well.  I am not very skilled in cooking, or at least I don't think so, there are few things that I have a passion for cooking.  Many of you are different, and could succeed in this better than I could.  There are many substitutes out there.  I have a soy milk maker, you could buy rice milk, soy milk , and almond milk (which is the healthiest).  I've seen dairy-free sour cream, and a friend of mine even found a recipe for dairy free cheesecake!  It's totally possible.  It could, however, add more work to your day or more money from your pocket.  Being in a tight spot myself, I feel a bit limited in my options.
  My goal: no cereal in the morning with "real" milk.  One cheese item a day. Exception for Monday treats if necessary, and birthdays.

Protein
  Meats, beans, nuts, etc.  White meats are healthiest.  Beans may remind you of gas, but if cooked right and often enough, you don't need to worry about this.  Before people went to the store and picked up a bag of chicken breasts, you had to kill, pluck, and so on and so forth to eat a chicken.  BUT beans are different. You'll be surprised at all the things you can make with beans, and get a lot of protein and also fill yourself up with good protein instead of sugars, carbs, and other things.  My goal this week is to find a NEW recipe that uses beans as a main ingredient instead of Chicken.!

In a Nutshell
(Week 1 in my get healthy Marathon)
Sugars-  Mondays, 1 on the weekend, and 4 small during the week
Fruit -    3 servings a day
Grains-  4 servings a day
Dairy -  no cereal in the morning with "real" milk.  One cheese item a day. Exception for Monday treats if necessary, and birthdays.
Protein - eat a lot for me, and find a new recipe that has a lot of beans


Exercise:
Now those of you that know me, this is where I am willing to push, but my exercise goal next week is at least 3 miles once next week.
 --my goal I suggest for you, is exercise enough to make you sweat and cringe for 30 minutes at least once next week

Dairy-free and Gluten-free Zucchini bread

 1 rounded cup of fresh, grated zucchini (I partially peel my zukes, in stripes)
1 1/3 cup Rice flour (or you could use sorghum flour)
1/2 cup tapioca starch (I used tapioca flour, some people think these are the same, but I'm not so sure)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/4 t guar gum (opt)
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup light olive oil or coconut oil would be healthier, but I used veggie oil
1 teaspoon fresh lemon or lime juice
2 eggs beaten or egg replacer (1/4 cup liquid)
1/4 cup coconut milk

Option:

1/3 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Press the grated zucchini with a paper towel to remove as much moisture as you can. After pressing, fluff with a fork. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the rice flour, tapioca starch, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum, guar gum, sea salt, and cinnamon. Add in the brown sugar.

Add the oil, lemon juice, eggs or egg replacer, and the coconut milk. Beat to combine and continue to beat on medium high until the batter is smooth- about two minutes.

Add in the shredded zucchini, and stir by hand to combine. If you are adding nuts, stir them in to distribute.

Scoop and scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan and using a silicone spatula, even out the top. 

I really like pouring it into a 9 by 13 pan, it doesn't need to cook as long (abt 30 minutes), and the kids think they are having a ton of zucchini bread. 

Bake in the center of a preheated oven until the top is golden and firm, yet gives a bit when lightly touched. It should feel slightly springy. This may take anywhere from 50 to 60 minutes. It took 55 minutes for my zucchini bread to bake. Test with a thin sharp knife or a wooden pick.

I changed this recipe up, from a website I like. Gluten-free Goddess. She uses a lot of crazy ingredients that I just don't always have. But if you have celiacs; rice flour, xanthan gum, and either tapioca or potato starch  are generally staples. 

Cook time: 1 hour

Yield: 1 9-inch loaf

Pancake Sunday

One thing we love is when Dad makes pancakes.  These are not the light and fluffy kind, but I actually like them better.

Here's the recipe we love out of the MANY we have tried out.

2 Cups of Rice flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons white sugar
2 eggs (lightly beaten)
2 cups of milk
4 tablespoons butter (melted)

Mix it all together and vuala! Put skillet on medium to medium-high heat. Use a rubber spatula because these will be more delicate.

Pizza Pizza!

One thing I miss most with eating gluten-free is PIZZA.  I have a pizza crust recipe I use for homemade pizza, I got it from this great cook book Wheat-free Recipes and Menus by Carol Fenster. I recommend owning this one. (How's that Carol? A little free advertising!)
I this recipe does classify under my goal to post recipes without fancy ingredients, but it is worth it. I've never owned guar gum, but I bet it could really add to this, and I've only used the unflavored gelatin powder once (I keep forgetting where I put it!) I just substitute for more xanthan gum and corn starch.

The following is not her exact recipe, it is slightly altered.  I found that when you make a crust out of rice is lacks a lot of flavor.  Of course pizza isn't the healthiest thing to eat,  but I have found that most Americans feel the need to have pizza at least once in a while!!

1 Tablespoon active dry yeast
2/3 cup brown rice flour or garbanzo/fava bean flour
1/3 cup tapioca flour
2 tablespoons dry milk powder or nondairy milk powder
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 teaspoon guar gum (if I don't have guar gum than I use more xantan gum)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin powder
1/4 cup Italian seasoning
2/3 cup warm water (110 degrees F)
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
Pizza sauce
Pizza toppings

1. Preheat ove at 425 degrees F. Spray a non-stick 12-inch pizza pan with cooking spray, or butter and flour (with rice or other kind of flour) a 12-in pizza stone.

2. Using a mixer with regular beaters and a medium bowl, blend the yeast, flours, dry milk powder, xanthan & guar gums, salt, gelatin, and Italian seasoning on low speed. Add the water, sugar, oil, and vinegar.  Beat on high speed for 1 minute. (if the beaters are bouncing around the dough is too thick.  Add water if necessary, 1 Tablespoon at a time. )  The dough should not be like regular pizza dough, it should be very soft.

3. Place dough on the pizza pan. Liberally cover dough with flour (rice or other) , and press the dough into the pan with hands not rolling pin.  Make the edge thicker.
4. Bake for 10 min. and remove from oven.
5. Put sauce on, then toppings.  Bake for another 20 to 25 minutes or until lightly brown.

You may also use a bread machine on the dough cycle.  Just  put in the wet ingredients in first and the yeast last.

Easy Meal

This easy dish is packed with protein and fiber, gluten-free, low-sodium, and low fat.  Great isn't it.

It's simply chicken and rice, BUT there is a secret ingredient. Mrs. Dash garlic and herb.

I thawed some chicken, generously sprinkled it with Mrs. Dash Garlic and Herb seasoning (no salt) , put it in the oven at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes (I cut my chicken into strips).  In the meantime, I put some brown rice into the rice cooker.  Brown rice takes longer and more water, so check directions on rice packet. My rice cooker does brown rice at a 3 to 1 ration (3 cups of water to 1 cup of brown rice). It's a 2 to 1 ratio for white rice.  I sprinkled some Mrs. Dash in my rice too, and some pepper, but not too much.  You could cook it with broth too if you'd like, but make sure it's low sodium if you are worried about salt. 

I also steamed a side of veggies.  It was a hit with my two-year-old and my six-year-old too! I didn't take a picture of the final product, sorry. Try it out and let me know how you like it, feed back is always great.

A healthy habit.

So I run. I'm not a biker or a swimmer. While those are great exercises, the only one that seems to help me maintain my weight and health has been running. I use biking and swimming for cross-training or back-ups when I need to be careful about my bones.

I am waiting to run another big race until after my husband completes his. He was extremely supportive of me during my marathon, and I want to do the same for him. This time around the spotlight is only on him. We will most likely run future races together.

I like to run outside. I hate treadmills. For now, my running goal is a 6 minute mile. Some people may think this is a crazy goal and others may think this is an easy goal. For me, it is challenging enough to push me quite a bit, and-- I believe-- fully attainable.

Once I get my time to 6 minutes, I'll probably take the next step and aim for two miles in 12 minutes. But if anyone knows me, I can't just run for one mile. So I have tried to set some long-distance time goals too which are only slightly challenging.

Lately, I've noticed that a lot of people have a problem with exercise. There are endless excuses. I'm not saying that none of them matter or are not true or real. I've witness people press through many difficulties, but the biggest one is self-discipline. If you want to get in shape or improve your health, you can't expect to only do it when you are in the mood.

Which brings me to:

TODAY's HEALTHY HABIT:

Get some fresh air daily, the more the better.

It's been long known that fresh air brings health, prevents and heals respiratory issues like allergies, bronchitis, and coughs. It also lifts one's mood, and calms nerves. I don't think there is a recommended amount of fresh air one is supposed to have.

Winter, in many places can put a hamper on this. People naturally want to hide from the cold in their homes.

So if I were to tell someone a tip today, I'd say, "Get some fresh air; I don't care how cold it is, show some back bone. Get out there in your warmest clothes and breath in and out slowly. Of course if it's summer in AZ, I'd say get a fan and a spray bottle, and then go out side and get that fresh air. How ever you have to do it, get that fresh air."