Snacks All The Weigh Down

Running In My Son's Honor Again This Year

2012-10-15T15:02:00.002-07:00

Here we go again!

Please give!

http://www.dallasmarathon.com/donate/?kwoAdvocateId=54VLNS3

Sugar and Mila Kunis - What Sweet Tooth?

2012-09-26T04:54:00.000-07:00

Created by: www.OnlineNursingPrograms.com

Brute Force - Brain Power "Gangnam Style"

2012-09-17T10:58:00.001-07:00

Pasta and Serving Sizes

2012-08-08T05:49:00.000-07:00

One of the biggest things I had to almost immediately learn when changing to a healthier lifestyle is that a serving size does not equal - how much do I think I can eat without exploding first!

An easy example of this is on pasta or rice. A serving is ABOUT a cup or regular rice or past is around 200+ calories. All other nutritional value aside, not so bad, but consider how much you normally actually eat. If you were like me, it was way more. 2-3+ times more.

Visualize Cup of Rice - Palm of Hand

If you go to a restaraunt, they love to give you 5 cups of noodles or rice to fill your plate up and make you feel like you are getting a heck of a deal. Check out some of these 7 Worst Pasta Dishes in America from Eat This Not That. Even if you order from the kids menu at The Cheesecake Factory with Kid’s Pasta w/ Alfredo Sauce you will eat 1,810 calories.

You need to become familiar quickly with what a serving size is and how the calories will impact your daily intake! I personally think you should work with measuring spoons and cups plus digital weight scale for the first few months of change so you can get a better handle on things.

What you will find is that a cup or rice or pasta is more than enough to get the same feeling of the meal without breaking the bank. Then add a cup of some green vegetable or similar low calorie high impact food and you will be even more satisfied with a complete and balanced meal.

What is your favorite addition to a meal in replace of that extra few cups of rice or pasta?  Leave a comment!

Extended Journey - Change

2012-08-06T07:14:00.001-07:00

After focusing on a health and fitness change for the long haul for so long, time starts to tick by faster and faster. Its still a daily thought process but it has become ingrained in my pattern and there is no turning back. I cannot believe its been over two years already! I need to work on a new before and after post soon.

Here is my first post on how I got started...

http://fatboysnacks.blogspot.com/2010/07/beginning.html

Excuses vs Finding The Way

2012-08-01T05:32:00.003-07:00

Midweek motivation...

What are you finding a way to do this week? What are you making excuses for so you don't have to proceed? Leave a comment!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Fix

2012-07-30T10:54:00.002-07:00

I have written about my love for Chobani products several times and this may be the theme of the week, but one of their newer Champions flavors (targeted for kids) is vanilla chocolate chunk and it is really good! It has a flavor profile very similar to chocolate chip cookie dough in my opinion (a Ryan Lochte favorite?!?) .

The stats are great for a snack, and I have also been using it as a syrup replacement on my high fiber french toast at lunch some days.

If you like chocolate chip cookie dough and the Olympics, give this one a try!

Whats you favorite flavor "profile" and how do you attack it? Leave a comment!

Snack Intervention Needed

2012-07-11T07:28:00.000-07:00

Reading an article today titled Snack Theft Leads to Ohio Police Chase, Car Crash got me thinking of all of the crazy things that I used to eat in the car that were keeping me fat. Made we wonder if I ever would have been this desperate...

the pursuit began early Tuesday after a store manager reported the girls stole potato chips and other items and took off in a car

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/snack-theft-leads-ohio-police-chase-car-crash-16753280#.T_2I25GWi9I

Some of my (not so) sneaky offenders used to include...

And a work out regimen like Michael Phelps was definitely not included which is another reason why I was an overweight mess.

What WAS your craziest snacking addiction before you started to get healthy? Leave a comment!

Good Habits Positive Results

2012-06-29T08:38:00.003-07:00

We all have habits and patterns. The key is creating good ones! Fill up your lifestyle with enough healthy patterns and you can overcome minor regressions into old bad ones alot easier.

Eat This, Not That is a great series of books for perspective on foods. They also run a website and tweet lots of good tips on a regular basis.

Recently they posted an article on the 20 habits of skinny people. Lots of great points! Al;though I am far from skinny, I feel some validation that I am on the right track with most of their points. Particularly...

18. Skinny Habit #3: Eat a boring diet:

Researchers at the University of Buffalo discovered that people who ate macaroni and cheese every day took in significantly fewer calories than those who ate the cheese-covered noodles only once a week. The reason: The novelty of new foods drives us to consume more, so by removing the novelty, we feel fuller, faster. I’m not suggesting you choose one meal and eat it every day for the rest of your life, but the more routines you establish, the more your belly will shrink. Start with lunch. If you find yourself scratching your head every day when the clock strikes noon, you’ll end up eating impulsively and taking in more calories. Instead, pick something healthy, like a soup-and-salad combo, and eat it every day. Or grab a book like Cook This, Not That! and commit to making more dinners at home

15. Skinny Habit #6: Eat breakfast:

A study from the American Journal of Epidemiology found that people who skipped breakfast were 4.5 times more likely to be obese. They don’t call it the most important meal of the day for nothin’—eating a nutritious morning meal jumpstarts your metabolism and prevents you from overindulging throughout the day. For optimal weight-loss results, choose a breakfast dish with a healthy balance of protein and fiber, like eggs with fruit and whole-wheat toast.

14. Skinny Habit #7: Take snack breaks:

Snacking sometimes gets a bad rap, but planning nutritious snacks throughout your day can actually keep you skinny. A recent study released by the Nutrition Journal found that consuming low-sugar, high-protein snacks promotes weight loss. The reason: Healthy snacking keeps your blood-sugar from spiking, preventing hunger pangs, cravings, and body fat storage. An ideal snack choice? Nuts. The balance of protein, fiber, and healthy fats is sure to keep you satisfied between meals.

There are also more than a few I need to work on...

1. Skinny Habit #20: Avoid dinner distractions:

With laptops, smartphones, and iPods aplenty, we've become accustomed to round-the-clock entertainment. But your mealtime may be one time of day we should fight our addiction to amusement. Researchers at the University of Birmingham found that diners who were distracted at mealtime consumed significantly more unhealthy snack foods later on than those who paid close attention to what they ate. One possible explanation: When you don’t pay attention to the meal you’re eating, your brain doesn’t fully register the experience. That leaves you less satisfied and more vulnerable to overeating.

20. Skinny Habit #1: Eat an early dinner:

Experts have gone back and forth on whether eating late leads to weight gain, but a recent study published in the journal Obesity found a solid link. Northwestern University researchers looked at the eating and sleeping patterns of 52 adults and found that those who regularly ate after 8 p.m. ingested the most calories and carried the most body fat. An easy-to-follow rule of thumb: Stop eating three hours before you hit the sack. Then, while you sleep, your body is better primed to burn fat instead of creating more.

9. Skinny Habit #12: Sleep for 6 to 8 hours each night :

Getting a good night’s sleep has been linked to a host of major health benefits, not the least of which is maintaining healthy body weight. In a study from Harvard University, participants who slept for fewer than six hours or more than eight hours each night gained significantly more weight than those who slept for six to eight hours. Lack of sleep has been shown to increase appetite, lower willpower, and bolster cravings for high-calorie foods. That might be why you find it so hard to resist those doughnuts in the break room.

What habits are you working on adding into your lifestyle for better health? Leave a comment!

Carbaholic Nation

2012-06-27T08:22:00.000-07:00

There is no end to the data points for dieting. Everyone has one in favor of their preferred weight loss method. Here is one of the latest articles on the subject...Low-carb diet burns the most calories in small study. Probably the point I agree with the most based solely on my experience is...

Ludwig says that restricting carbohydrates over the long term may be hard for many people. If you're trying to lose weight, "you can get a jump start with a low-carb diet, but over the long term, a low-glycemic index diet may be better than severely restricting carbohydrates."

As usual the real issue is balance. Regardless of where you stand on no-carb/low-carb diets, there is no denying that as a rule most people are addicted to sugar, bread, potatoes and pasta and the poor overall quality of those high quality factors is what is keeping us fat!

How do you view the bad carbs of the world? Leave a comment!

Skip The Fad Diet Keep The Change

2012-06-25T08:21:00.000-07:00

I have definitely come to realize that for long term success, I have to mentally get my mind wrapped around a permanent healthy eating and exercise pattern. Fad diets and temporary eating changes are not going to work long than temporarily.

I read this article today about a recent food network contestant and thought he summed it up well...

"Losing the weight, a lot of people think is the hardest thing. It's not. Keeping the weight off is the hardest thing. It's just like any other addiction to drugs. You can keep the habit, but sometimes you go back to those habits," he says. "My struggle is certainly not over. When it comes to being overweight and dealing with food as an addiction, it's something we have to be cognizant of for our entire life," he says. "I'm committed to that." --

'Food Network Star's Judson Allen's Weight Loss Success And Favorite Healthy Recipes

What have you started permanently changed to benefit your health lately? Leave a comment!

NO Surprise - Shortcut to Better Health

2012-06-21T05:50:00.000-07:00

Funny how there seems to be no end recently to articles, books etc about the benefits of even a little focused movement. Its like a shocking development...or is it really?

Here is a quote and link to a good interview about a NY Times writer's new book

The First 20 Minutes: Surprising Science Reveals How We Can: Exercise Better, Train Smarter, Live Longer

"The most surprising message from Ms. Reynolds is not that we all need to exercise more — or at least not the way exercise is typically defined by the American public. Ms. Reynolds makes a clear distinction between the amount of exercise we do to improve sports performance and the amount of exercise that leads to better health. To achieve the latter, she explains, we don’t need to run marathons, sweat it out on exercise bikes or measure our peak oxygen uptake. We just need to do something." The Surprising Shortcut to Better Health

What are you doing to keep moving today? Leave a comment!

Vapid Weightloss Strategies

2012-06-14T08:03:00.000-07:00

I personally did not use a fad diet, pills or surgery to lose 130 pounds. I know there are legitimate reasons for using some of those options, but unless their in an underlying motivation to get and STAY healthy I am pretty sure they are doomed to fail.

I read this article on weight loss surgery for teens (OMG!) and it makes some good points...

Unless you are willing to work at healthy eating and regular exercise and stick with it, it does not keep the weight off entirely. The average patient who does not change their lifestyle gains back about one-third of the lost weight. A few others use it to lose more weight and get down to their recommended weight for height and build. A rare few even find ways to overeat after the surgery and gain all the lost weight back.

Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/healthy_kids/158628915.html#ixzz1xmNmIE2E

Patterns have to change! You have to stick with it! Surgery may be an option for you to get started, but you still have to change!

Have you started to change? Are you moving in the right direction? Leave a comment.

Yep You Have To Work At It

2012-06-13T06:07:00.000-07:00

As I progress in time on my journey from obesity it has become even clearer that this is indeed a CHANGE and not a short term fix. It may seem daunting at first, but in order to see lasting results, I believe you really have to slowly establish healthy patterns that you will be able to stick with for the foreseeable future.

I say slowly because it would be too overwhelming/daunting to do it quickly and all at once. It would be like picking a lifelong unchangeable career path before you graduate high school. You need to discover healthy foods that you love and activities that you can be passionate about for the long haul!

I recently ran across this older Time magazine article about the Myth of Moderate Exercise...just another piece of evidence that your whole lifestyle has to change if you want to see a permanent change in your health!

By the end of the 24-month intervention, the women who managed to lose at least 10% of their starting body weight (which was, on average, about 193 lbs.) — and keep it off — were exercising twice as long as health authorities typically recommend and expending more than twice as many calories through exercise as women who had no change in body weight. The biggest weight losers were active a full 68 minutes a day, five days a week (about 55 minutes a day more than they had been before the trial began), burning an extra 1,848 calories a week.

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1827342,00.html#ixzz1xg2nz3Mu

Have you made some permanent changes toward better health lately? Leave a comment!

Happy National Running Day

2012-06-06T14:15:00.000-07:00

If you think you can or think you can't...you are right!

Time to Get Started!

2012-06-01T07:17:00.000-07:00

Keep Meaning To Revamp

2012-05-23T13:03:00.000-07:00

Keep meaning to find time to revamp the site and set it up for less obviously minimal updates, but all is well (for those who have asked). Still plugging along. Half marathon mid April - 5k last weekend and 10K this weekend. Need to be better about food choices but otherwise staying surprisingly on track!

Balancing Effort With Intensity

2012-02-17T05:36:00.000-08:00

For those of you who start a healthy exercise routine only to quickly drop it because of the constant effort you perceive is necessary and are unwilling to continue, the article below has some interesting insights...

How 1-Minute Intervals Can Improve Your Health

"While many of us wonder just how much exercise we really need in order to gain health and fitness, a group of scientists in Canada are turning that issue on its head and asking, how little exercise do we need?

The emerging and engaging answer appears to be, a lot less than most of us think — provided we’re willing to work a bit."

What kinds of excuses against exercise have you been making lately? Leave a comment.

Mid February Motivation

2012-02-14T20:22:00.000-08:00

I Can't Today Because...

2012-02-02T19:18:00.000-08:00

Research: Its The Count That Counts

2012-01-31T04:09:00.000-08:00

I joke about the simplicity of my changed health and fitness plan (versus back from when I lived like there was no need for a plan). People tend to bristle at the notion that its as simple as eating less and exercising more. But...sorry...that's almost always what it boils down to! :-S Counting calories (OCD fashion at first and then intuitively later).

Since I have started on this change, there have been plenty of research studies released saying one thing or another about different diet plans. There was even a guy who lost weight eating just hostess snack cakes for a period of time (we are not talking overall health here, just weight loss).

This study seems to back up the fact that when it comes to lost weight, its the CALORIES that matter and not types of food. In fact, its the title of their findings..."Effects of 4 weight-loss diets differing in fat, protein, and carbohydrate on fat mass, lean mass, visceral adipose tissue, and hepatic fat: results from the POUNDS LOST."

The study conclusion reads..."Participants lost more fat than lean mass after consumption of all diets, with no differences in changes in body composition, abdominal fat, or hepatic fat between assigned macronutrient amounts."

Back when I started this blog, I wrote briefly about my influence for food choices here. While I do not adhere to a strict diet plan having a balance of protein and carbs still influences my overall decision making process because it worked for me in the past. It make sense to me and my body seems to respond to it. Still if the calories are not in line with my goals (as the above study showed) its a moot point.

What kind of eating pattern (er...diet) do you tend to think works best for you? Leave a comment!

Thought For The Week

2012-01-29T14:21:00.000-08:00

What are you going to do to change?

Ignorance Is NOT Bliss

2012-01-19T21:07:00.000-08:00

One of the biggest lasting impressions I have from being on a journey to healthier living for over 2 years now, its that ignorance was not bliss when it came to eating and not exercising. It was killing me.

As hard as it still is now some days to make the right choices, I have flipped the switch and continue to see food for what it really is. Making decisions based on reality does not mean I am not happy, it just means I am making a decision instead of ignoring reality!

One of my earliest posts has to do with my amazement at not considering the true costs of what I was eating day in and day out. Here is a link to that post How Many Calories Are You Eating.

How to do you view food? Leave a comment!

Happy 2012 - Get Going!

2012-01-03T05:37:00.000-08:00

Re-post alert, this is a copy of my 2011 post, all is well but my job is the kind where the first two weeks of the year is too crazy for me to be able to focus on the blog and I tried to end the year with my nuclear family so alas I am slow to update. Exciting things coming very soon though! God Bless!

Ecclesiastes 3:9-15

What gain has the worker from his toil? I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God's gift to man. I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him. That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away.

2012...We Got This! Eat right. Exercise right. Enjoy yourself and get/stay healthy!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T00:54:00.000-08:00

May you and yours have THE peace this season!