ScottSwims

Writing It All Down

admin — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 12:36:00 +0000

I write everything down: my weight, what I eat, and what and how long I exercise. I do this for several reasons. First, I’m an unapologetic nerd. I like playing with any type of technology. I use a program called Lose It! (www.loseit.com) to log everything. It has a cool webpage interface as well as a smart phone and tablet app. I can view graphs of my weight loss and calories. I can even export the data to Microsoft Excel and really go nerd crazy. The program can be connected to Facebook and Twitter so that I can share my progress with others and get their support. The second reason I write everything down is that it works for me. I’ve tried dieting without logging and I end up lying to myself. If I write everything down, the truth is there in black and white. I can’t pretend that the Big Mac Value Meal I ate was 500 calories. (It’s really 1130 calories! That’s more than 1/2 the calories I need in a day). I’m very honest with myself. If I overeat, I still log what I ate. If I swim for 10 minute, then that is what I log. Every morning when I wake up I weigh myself and then log it. It’s become a habit now, so I don’t even have to think about it anymore; I just do it.

Writing everything down may not be for everyone, but it works for me. Give it a try and if it helps you then stick with it. If it doesn’t then just stop. You can use a notebook, computer file or an online logging program. The standard version of Lose It! is free so there is no financial investment. If you decide to write everything down using Lose It!, consider connecting it to Facebook and Twitter so you can share your progress with your friends and family. It automatically sends status updates when you weigh yourself and when you exercise. (it does not share your actual weight; just gains or loses) The positive feedback you get will really help.

Kale? Who would have thunk?

admin — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 16:25:45 +0000

Kale Chips

The first time I tried eating kale it was god-awful; steamed, soggy and bitter — I’d have rather eaten my running shoe! But, I thought I’d give it another try since it is supposed to be so good for you and I’m trying to add more vegetables to my diet. I searched the internet for a recipe that used kale and I stumbled upon Kale Chips. My wife prepared a batch and they were great! Delicate yet crunchy with a mild flavor that didn’t overwhelm the seasoning. So here is the recipe:

1 bunch of kale
1 tablespoon of olive oil
Seasoning (more on that later)

With a knife trim the thick stems from the leaves. Wash the kale and pat dry. Dry is important so that the olive oil and seasoning will adhere.
Pour the olive oil in a bowl, add the kale and toss the leaves until each is lightly coated.
Sprinkle with seasoning and toss again to distribute the seasoning.
Spread out kale leaves on a parchment lined cookie sheet
Bake for 10 to 15 minutes at 350 degrees. The kale is done when the leaf edges brown slightly.

Almost anything can be used for seasoning. We’ve tried garlic salt, seasoning salt and table salt. Because of the mild flavor of the leaves even a sweet seasoning would work.

Suggested Seasonings

Cinnamon and Sugar
Garlic Powder
Dried Mustered
Sea Salt
Seasoning Salt
Cayenne Pepper
Curry Powder
Old Bay Seasoning
Herbs (Fresh dill, mint or your favorite)
Sesame Seeds

How many calories can I eat and still lose weight?

admin — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 16:03:15 +0000

From everything I’ve read, the key to losing weight is to eat less calories and exercise more. There are numerous studies and opinions about the number of calories in a pound of fat and the amount of calories burned in a day, but I’m a pragmatist — I’m not going to get all tied up in the nutrition nerd wars. At this point I need to gain some control and I need to do it now. So for the sake of getting on with it, I assume that to lose a pound I need to eat approximately 3500 calories less. If I want to lose 1 pound a week then I need to eat 3500 calories less per week. I could also exercise those 3500 calories away but that is a lot of exercise!

My goal is to lose 1% of my body weight each week. The rule of thumb is no more than 2 pounds a week. My reasoning for 1% is that the average man weighs about 190 pounds. So 1% of 190 pounds is about 2 pounds. I’m not an average man! So I figure that I should lose about 3.6 pounds per week right now. So how do I lose 3.6 pounds per week?

3.6 pounds is 12,600 calories. Divide that by the number of days in a week and I find that I need to eat 1800 calories less per day. Whew!! That’s a bunch! Fortunately for me, just to maintain my weight requires 3464 calories a day. So if I’m doing the math correctly I should lose 3.6 pounds by eating 1664 calories.

When I started seriously working on my health on Jan 13th I set the number of calories I would eat each day to 1600 calories net. So if I want to have more than 1600 calories, then I need burn that many calories exercising. I’ve consistently stuck to 1600 calories net.

So far it’s working!