March « 2009 « vadimstudio.com Blog

March 6, 2009

Eating Breakfast

Filed under: By Tamra Rosenfeld — Administrator @ 9:15 pm

Importance of eating breakfast:
· Eating breakfast boosts your metabolism for the day. If you eat breakfast you are less likely to overeat at lunch.

· Eating breakfast helps with weight loss. If you skip breakfast because you are trying to save on calories you may want to think again. Studies show those who eat a nutritious, low fat breakfast weigh less than those who skip breakfast. Dieters who regularly eat breakfast also have more success in keeping the weight off.

· Those who eat breakfast have lower cholesterol. Studies show that men and women who eat breakfast have a lower fat intake during the day than those who skip.

· Eating breakfast helps concentration. Studies show those who eat breakfast have better test scores than those who skip. Glucose is stored in your body temporarily. When you do not consume carbohydrates you are not replenishing glucose which fuels the brain.

· Eating breakfast containing carbohydrates will boost your energy for the day.

What to look for in a healthy breakfast:

· Look for whole grain products

· Use low fat protein or dairy foods

· Try to add fruit or vegetables to your breakfast

· Look for high fiber foods

· Limit added sugar

· Choose items low in saturated and trans fats.

Healthy breakfast ideas:

· Egg white omelet with low-fat cheese, vegetables, and whole grain toast.

· High fiber, low sugar cereal, with low-fat milk, and fresh fruit.

· Oatmeal with cinnamon, almonds, and raisins.

· Smoothie with low-fat yogurt and fruit.

· Whole grain pancakes or waffles topped with fresh fruit.

· Banana with low-fat peanut butter.

· Whole grain English muffin with low-fat cheese and tomato.

· Whole grain English muffin with 1 egg, low-fat cheese, and Canadian bacon.

· Low-fat cottage cheese and fresh fruit.

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March 3, 2009

Feeling Fab

Filed under: By Ellen Bittner — Tags: eating plan, pedometer, walking — Administrator @ 5:29 pm

Ellen Bittner

Chapter 2: Taking it Off : One Step at a Time

In Chapter 2 of my blog “From Flab to Fab” I wrote about the frustration I felt over the slow pace of my weight loss. Despite that frustration, I believed that as long as I wasn’t gaining weight, I was still better off. I continued to exercise and followed the eating plan that the nutritionist and I worked out. Now that I’ve lost nearly 50 pounds and have a healthier lifestyle, I’ve started a new blog – “Feeling Fab.”

In the first chapter of “Feeling Fab: A New Vocabulary” I wrote about the new words I heard as my body and fitness level improved. This second chapter of “Feeling Fab” relates the story of how I lost a baker’s dozen (13 pounds) in a year – One Step at a Time.

The prevailing advice usually given to people who are trying to increase their activity level and lose weight is to walk more. The research suggests that everyone should walk 10,000 steps a day. Typical of most sedentary people, during my sedentary days, I made it a practice to look for a parking spot that was as close to the store’s entrance as possible.

Once I adopted the goal of 10,000 steps a day, I began parking my car at the far end of the parking lot, away from the entrance to the store. I also began using the stairs to and from my apartment, instead of taking the elevator.

When I made the commitment to myself to make “walking” part of my daily routine, I began wearing a pedometer and kept a record of the number of steps I walked each day. To my surprise, the pedometer I was wearing only “clocked” about 5,000 steps a day, even with this additional activity.

In order to maximize my daily step count, in addition to using the stairs, and parking at a distance from my destination, I began walking on the treadmill. At first, I had difficulty walking for only 15 minutes at a speed of 2.0 miles an hour. Eventually, I was able to work my way up to a daily “walk” of at least 3 miles, at a speed of 3.4 to 3.6 miles an hour.

Once walking had become part of my daily routine, I decided to challenge myself further, and change my original goal of “10,000 steps a day.” Gradually, I increased my personal goal to 11,000, then 12,000, and now 13,000 steps a day.

Last January, Vadim and I created a chart and we began to keep track of the average number of steps that I walked daily. At the end of each week Vadim recorded my daily average and my weight. Some weeks my weight remained the same, but not for more than three weeks in a row, and Vadim noticed that although my weight loss was slow it was steady, usually 1/4 pound at a time. By the end of the year I lost a total of 13 pounds.

In addition to the personal benefit that I’ve experienced – improved health - my walking also benefits others. Several times a year, I participate in fund raising walks for a variety of causes – The Heart Association, Making Strides Against Breast Cancer, and Multiple Sclerosis.

To be continued…

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