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Showing posts from December 27, 2009

Mandarin orange muffins w/ sweet glaze

I am so excited about my mini-muffin pan. I got it at Wal-mart a few weeks ago. As if my normal-sized muffins got me excited with my creations, everything seems more scrumptious when it is bite-sized. I guess these would be termed "healthy" since I didn't go overboard with the sugar and butter. Even with my buttery-sweet topping, I hope you enjoy this healthy treat. Enjoy my latest creation. *I have to be honest...I think these are the best muffins I have made to-date. :) Mandarin Orange Muffins 1 can mandarin oranges 1 cup all purpose flour 1/4 cup oats 1 3/4 tsp. baking powder 1/4 tsp. nutmeg 1/4 tsp. allspice 3 tbsp brown sugar 1 tbsp Smart Balance butter 1 egg 1/3 cup milk *preheat oven to 350-degrees. 1. Mix together flour, oats, baking powder, nutmeg and allspice. 2. Add butter and brown sugar to flour mixture and mix well. 3. In a separate bowl, lightly scramble egg with milk and add to flour mixture. 4. Drain oranges into a bowl while discarding juices. 5. Grab a ...

Day 1: Get walking

Welcome to the New Year. In order to get you going slowly, I am going to make this change simple. But I will ask that you think about this change on a daily basis, for the rest of your life. As you know, small changes make a big difference and with this change...you will feel the difference. Current ACSM recommendations for exercise are that the average adult should get in 150-250 min. of moderate intensity exercise per week (or at least 30 min of exercise, at least 5 days per week) and that an obese individual should aim for 150 min. of moderate intensity exercise per week an average of 200-300 min of exercise per week is needed for weight loss. If you are an athlete, you are doing just that...and more I am sure. But, please read on. If you are getting into exercise for the first time, getting back into a routine, or just fed up with the way you look because it is "another year", I am not suggesting that you go right into exercise with that "high intensity burns the mos...

31 days, 21 changes

According to John Norcross, a Professor of Psychology and Distinguished University Fellow at the University of Scranton, a clinical psychologist in part-time practice, and editor of the Journal of Clinical Psychology: In Session , 40-46% of people will be successful with New Year Resolutions after 6 months. Having studied New Year resolutions for the past 2 years, Norcross feels that 71% of people will keep resolutions for 2 weeks but that percentage drops to 64% after a month. As you can see, there is hope for at least half of the population who is setting a New Year resolution. However, for everyone else, it is likely that you will not make it through the year (let alone a month) with the resolution that you are planning to start, tomorrow. I have faith in you. I know you will succeed. I know you believe you can succeed. I know your resolution is realistic, practical and doable. I know your resolution is going to make your 2010 better than 2009. I know you will have up and down days,...

Fun times

I've been keeping myself really busy lately. But in the midst of business, I am enjoying all of the little things in life. First off, Campy is just a hoot. Campy and Madison like to play together, chasing each other around our place. But the funniest thing was when Madison was playing with a toy and Campy took it from her. This was before the taking of the toy. Sorry for the darkness of the video. Also-the other night was the first ever Master swim team x-mas party. So much fun with my friends and even got to know the other swimmers a bit better. Here are some pics of great friends, aka my training partners. And of course, a few pics of Campy attempting to destroy his new Duck from Laura. And lastly, another pic of Campy and Madison. These two are inseparable.

Making changes

It's far too easy to tell yourself what not to eat when making changes in your diet. As you begin to make changes in your diet, it is well-known that cutting back on portions will encourage a caloric deficit, thus promoting weight loss. However, with that loss in calories (often, for some people, exceeding a 1000+ caloric deficit per day) comes hunger, irritability, mood swings, frequent drops in blood sugar and a loss in energy. While these characteristic symptoms of "dieting" may not be inviting as your jump start the New Year, it almost seems as if a prerequisite to weight loss is the constant feeling of hunger. I can see it now in an ad "if you are feeling hungry, you are doing something right in your weight loss journey!" Of course they would never say that in an ad but if you actually tried some of the "diets" out there, or tried to maintain a strenuous training routine on meal replacement bars for breakfast and a 200 calorie cookie for lunch and...

Non-typical resolutions

Now that the holidays are behind you, you can start finishing up those yummy chocolates, cakes, brownies, pies, cookies and candies. It is likely that you enjoyed your fair share of high calorie and high fat foods over the past month and a half and you are ready to get back to your normal routine of healthy eating and consistent exercise. Perhaps you don't have a consistent routine of exercise and you have struggled with your eating for the past year. Regardless of which person you are, it is likely that you are ready to throw out every "bad" food in the house, exercise like a mad-man/women in order to burn a mega amount of calories in the first week of your new lifestyle and vow to yourself that you will change every eating habit in order to get off the extra lbs that you gained during the past month or two. If you gained a few lbs over the months of November and December, it is probable that getting back to your old healthy habits will quickly get you back to your healt...