A few little "tricks" to keep Halloween "treats" from adding to your padding

Halloween is this week and one of the scariest things about the holiday is how many empty calories you can consume in the days surrounding October 31st (not to mention the day of) because of all the darn candy. So what is a person to do when candy is EVERYWHERE? Well, just don’t eat it (or buy it)! Easier said than done, right? Well here are a few tricks and tips to keep the candy out of your tummy and off of your waist.

·         Buy candy to hand out to trick or treaters  that you don’t like. Don’t be your own undoing. Pretty simple, eh?

·         At the office, make sure you have cut up fruit, veggies and nuts on hand so that you have something to munch on other than handfuls of candy corn and “fun sized” chocolate.

·         If your kids bring home candy that you can’t resist, do something like the “Halloween Fairy” and have them pick out their favorite 10 pieces and put the rest on the front doorstep for the “Halloween Fairy” to trade for a non-edible present on Halloween night and then get rid of the bag. (Healthy kid tip too!) 

·         Extra Halloween candy? Throw it away! OR better yet, donate it to our troops overseas. Click here for where you can drop your candy.

·         If you just have to have a piece of candy, keep it at just that: one piece. Or check out this awesome chart of what 100 calories of your favorite candy looks like.

If you’re interested in the best and worst candy picks, choose Three Musketeers for chocolate (avoid Butter Finger and peanut butter cups), Dum Dum Pops for fruity candy (avoid Air Heads and Skittles) and tootsie rolls for a chewy fix (stay clear of Twix).  Click here for a calorie and fat comparison from Eat This, Not That.

Happy and Healthy Halloween!

Stay safe on your dark runs/walks

I was reminded this morning that running, although an amazing cardiovascular exercise and stress reliever, can be a super dangerous sport as TWO cars almost flattened me at TWO different crosswalks. Soooo…I thought I would review some safety tips for runners/walkers who are finding themselves running in the dark now that the sun rising later and setting earlier.

Although I was practicing most of these safety tips, the drivers of these cars were not paying attention (one was doing something on their phone and the other might have just been completely blind and therefore shouldn't have been driving a car). And, although I had the right of way in both of these situations, it is really really important to pay extra attention and assume that I am not seen unless acknowledged and take the proper precautions even thought they were in the wrong. Okay…that’s my little soap box. Here are the tips J

1.      Wear reflective and light colored clothing. Don’t be one of those people with a death-wish wearing all black and running in the street pre-dawn.

2.      Run with a flashlight or headlamp. Not only does this really draw attention to you in the pitch black, it helps you navigate while you run. Nothing sucks more than stepping on something you couldn't see and breaking an ankle (ask my friend Alice).

3.      Pay attention and take precautions. Don’t assume that drivers see you…make sure to make eye contact with them. It doesn't matter if it’s your right of way if you’re flattened on the street.

4.       If you’re running on a street, run on the left side of the street. You should be going against traffic when walking and running anyway so that you can leap out of the way if a car comes at you.

5.       Run in populated areas with plenty of lighting. That’s just a no brainer.

6.       Run with a friend. It’s easier to see two people than one person, plus you have a bit of defense if you happen to run into a sticky situation like an injury or creepy person.

I’m sure you all have other suggestions as well…feel free to leave a comment and share it with us!

Eat out and still lose weight

Here's my newest post on feed me kc. 

It's possible! You can totally eat out and still lose or maintain weight. I have a few weeks full of fun celebrations, meetings, happy hours, and other restaurant-eating activities and am well aware that restaurants are notorious for transforming seemingly healthy options into extremely high-calorie bombs.

For example, a grilled chicken Caesar salad can have around 1,190 calories and 75.4 grams of fat. Shocking, right? “Grilled Chicken” and “Salad” are usually the healthy options.

So here are some simple tips to help you (and me) navigate the restaurant menu and avoid a dietary disaster:

1. Plan ahead. Many restaurants — especially chains — have nutrition info on their website. Visit their www before venturing out to make sure you order something that fits into a healthy diet! Better yet, look up your favorite and most frequented restaurants and have healthy options in mind when making an unexpected stop to eat out.
2. Avoid these words. Avoid dishes with the following words: cream sauce, butter, oil, fried, au gratin, breaded, battered, Alfredo, and smothered. These dishes are most likely extremely high in fat and calories.
3. Eat your veggies. Watching your carbs? No problem. Order lean meat with veggies on the side and ask for an extra serving of vegetables to replace the carby (e.g. bread, potatoes, rice, pasta, etc.) side.
4. Watch the toppings. When ordering a salad, find out what’s actually in the salad. Veggies and lettuce are great, but candied nuts, cheese, creamy dressing, and dried fruit add up to a very unhealthy salad.
5. Ditch the buffets. Buffets are just a recipe for disaster; avoid altogether for calorie/fat safety. But if you HAVE to be at one, get just one plate of food with at least 1/2 of the plate piled with veggies.
6. Eat your meat. Just make sure your meat is prepared in the following ways: steamed, poached, roasted, broiled, grilled, baked, or boiled. Fried or breaded meat is never ever healthy. Poultry and fish are great choices but if you are a red meat lover, no worries, just choose a lean cut of meat, such as eye of round roast, top round steak, bottom round roast, mock tender steak or top sirloin.
7. Send the bread back. Who really needs the extra bread at the table? Most likely, you’ll just fill up on it and then try to stuff down your meal. Ask the wait staff to not bring the bread or send it back if it’s already on the table.
8. Ask for the to-go box first. Box up at least half of your meal right when it comes out, and then eat your plate clean without guilt.
9. Don’t be afraid to ask for what you want. If a dish comes with fried chicken, ask for it to be grilled. If something is smothered in cheese, ask for the cooks to “hold the cheese, please.” If something comes with fries, ask for steamed veggies instead. Most restaurants are very willing to help people eat healthier.
10. Go straight to the healthy section of the menu. Many restaurants have recognized the need for a “light” menu to make it easier to choose wisely. So if you have that option, just flip right to it and don’t even tempt yourself with the less healthy options.

New favorite snack: Roasted Chick Peas

I should warn you first…these are super addictive, and healthy but are NOT calorie-free, so be prepared to have to limit your intake on this amazingly crispy, salty and fiber/protein heavy snack. What are they? It’s simply roasted garbanzo beans (chick peas).

What you need:

1 can of garbanzo beans

Cooking spray

Favorite spices (I used sea salt and pepper…so good)

What to do:

1.       Preheat oven to 400°

2.       Drain, rinse and dry garbanzo beans

3.       Put beans in a bag or bowl, give a couple sprays with cooking spray and add your spices

4.       Shake it, stir it, whatever…just make sure the beans are evenly coated with spray/spices

5.       Put foil down on a cookie sheet, spread garbanzo beans in a single layer and pop in the oven for 45 mins

6.       Enjoy (they come out hot J )

Nutrition:

Makes three ¼ cup servings

140 calories

2.5 grams fat

7 grams protein

24 carbs

7 grams fiber 

Push-ups: do them!

If you don’t already do push-ups as part of your strength routine, you really should. I don’t know if you’ve noticed in my past posts on feed me kc or anywhere on my blog, but I really, really, really, really like them. Push-ups are a must move because they use pretty much all the muscles in the upper body (arms, chest, back) and also engage your core, making it an extremely efficient upper body exercise.

Level 1: Using a wall, stand with feet hip-width apart a few feet out from the wall. Keeping the abs in tight and torso straight, lean towards the wall and place hands at chest height, slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Slowly bring your chest towards the wall and then slowly push back up to starting position. Repeat 12 times.

Level 2: Use a counter or sturdy table edge and follow the Level 1 instructions.

Level 3: On the floor, either on your knees or toes, keep your body nice and flat as you lower your chest towards the ground and push back up. Need more? Lift one leg up as you go down.

Levels 4, 5, 6 … : Put your feet on a table, chair, swing, etc. Or do it dive-bomb style.

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Seeds and Push-ups

Check out my newest contribution to feed me kc. It's all about pumpkin seeds (super nutritious) and push-ups (super awesome). Click here for the article and info :)

Endurance Playlist

Here is the playlist I used this morning during a rather intense and endurance-training-heavy spin class. It was a good one...so good, I'm going to go ahead and use it as my running mix tomorrow. There's some new stuff and old stuff and good stuff and trashy stuff...so enjoy!

Bruises (Train)

Crazy Kids (Ke$ha)

Work B**ch (Brittney Spears)

Mama's Broken Heart (Miranda Lambert)

Demons (Imagine Dragons)

Can't Hold Us Down (Macklemore)

Sexy and I Know It (LMFAO)

Shake It (Metro Station)

Thrift Shop (Macklemore)

Your Body (Christina Aguilera)

Right Now (Rihanna)

Gangnam Style (PSY)

Gone, Gone, Gone (Phillip Phillips)

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Enjoy!