Robert Stinnett

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Posts Tagged fitness

How to Survive (and Beat) the 4,500 Calorie Thanksgiving Meal

Nov 21

Posted by Robert Stinnett in Get Fit, Home Life | 1 Comment

If you ever needed motivation to hit the gym, this one should do it.  According to the folks at the Calorie Control Council, the average American will consume 4,500 calories this Thanksgiving.  But wait, it gets even worse!  That figure doesn’t include breakfast or or the late night snacking that will inevitably take place after the big meal. Waistlines all over America are working overtime preparing to expand at least one full size!

When I first read that I was sure there was a mistake.  So I took to web to look for more information – unfortunately, I found it and all of it confirmed what I read.  In fact, that 4,500 calorie estimate may be on the conservative side considering that it doesn’t take into account the belly-busting desserts that normally accompany the meal.  Come on now, when is the last time anyone ate just one little piece of pie?

The good news is that you can take a few simple steps when preparing the feast this year to significantly reduce the calories and fat that will end up on the table.  No worries, we aren’t talking about radically changing recipes or serving some “Experimental” food to your guests.  All of these ideas have been tried and tested for generations and no doubt even your mom and grandmother used a few of them when they were preparing dinner “back in the good ol’ days”.

 

While your cooking…

  • Substitute chicken broth (use the reduced sodium variety) for milk in mashed potatoes and save not only calories but a good deal of fat as well.
  • When baking the sweets substitute applesauce for butter in cakes and muffins.  You can cut the fat content by more than 2/3rds while reducing calories at the same time.
  • Ditch the store bought rolls and breads and make some whole wheat rolls to compliment the meal.  Your body will appreciate the whole grains and your guests will love the fresh taste of homemade bread!
  • Offer an alternative to the gravy boat – fat-free sour cream for the potatoes; olive oil and Italian spices to dip the rolls in.
  • Don’t drown vegetables in butter, in fact skip the butter altogether.  Steam vegetables such as corn, broccoli and green beans.  Then spice them up a bit with a little bit of garlic (fresh is best) and other seasonings. 
  • Don’t put butter on the table at dinner.  Out of sight – out of mind!

For cooks and non-cooks…

  • Start Thanksgiving day off with a family walk.  Find a park, trail or other area nearby and head out for a nice 2-3 mile hike. 
  • If you know that Thanksgiving is going to pack on the calories, commit to adding 20 minutes to your workout each day this week to help work off the extra calories.
  • Eat breakfast on Thanksgiving!  Don’t “save your appetite” for dinner by starving yourself.  You will end up overeating and your body’s metabolism will be slowed down since you didn’t eat that morning.
  • Skip the holiday nog and other calorie-loaded drinks.  Stick with tea and skim milk.

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Want to Eat Healthier? Pick Up a Shopping Basket!

Nov 19

Posted by Robert Stinnett in Get Fit, Home Life | No Comments

Wow.  Look at all that food.  Aisles and aisles of everything you could desire – fruits, breads, meats, soups, cookies, ice cream.  It’s all there for you to choose from – take as much as you wish.  How about a free sample?  If you buy one, we’ll throw another one in for “free”.  Go ahead!  Indulge!

Can you guess what place I’m talking about?  It’s the grocery store – a mecca of temptation and a cathedral to all that is filled with fat.  We walk into the grocery store and, like clockwork, we emerge an hour later our shopping cart overflowing with deli meats, processed foods and that chocolate cake we just couldn’t say no to in the bakery.  Not to mention the chips, candy bars and Ho-Ho’s we managed to slide into the cart as well – after all, they were on sale!

Good grief – is it no wonder we as a nation are fat?  It’s not like fattening, unhealthy food is all the grocery store sells.  It’s just that we have this big shopping cart, and the displays are so tempting.  I’ve always said its too bad the produce department can’t get some of the folks who market the Ding Dong’s to help them come up with an ad campaign sometime.  The sale of asparagus would go through the roof!

If I’ve learned anything over the years is that when it comes to the grocery store you have to know how to play the game.  We all know by now that the healthiest foods are normally found on the perimeter of the store – and that the processed, bad stuff is usually found in the middle.  Of course, the grocery stores know that we know, so they have started to rearrange a few things.  Notice how the bakery is now to the right of the front door?  And those frozen food displays, they someone managed to go from the middle of the store to along the wall.  How convenient.

The good news is you can win at this battle in the grocery store.  You can not only eat right, but you can also get in a mini-workout at the same time.  It’s simple – just say “no thanks” to the shopping cart and pick up a shopping basket!  With this one move you’ve made it a lot harder to pile up on the bad stuff, and a lot easier to burn a few calories while shopping. 

Think about it for a moment.  When you go to the grocery store you usually go because you need something.  Maybe you need some tomatoes, flour, some bread.  The problem is when you leave you have piled your cart full of other stuff, and in the process you forgot all about the tomatoes, flour and bread!  I was terrible at this – the local grocery stores used to love to see me coming because they knew their profits were going to be up the day!  So that’s when I decided to ditch the cart, pick up a basket and take matters into my own hands – literally!

With a basket I tend to focus on what I came into the store for.  There simply isn’t enough room in that basket to load it down with junk food or impulse purchases.  Of course this means I make more shopping trips per month than most, but that is OK.  I look at them as a time to get in a little mini-workout carrying my basket around, walking through the store.  Who would have thought it – eating right and getting some exercise all at the same time!

My friend Randy Pickard, who has been involved in retail for many years and is what one might call an expert in shopping baskets, told me that on average shopping baskets have went from something that was an afterthought in many stores to now being scattered around the store, ready for you to grab at a moment’s notice, and they are getting bigger!  I guess the stores figured if they couldn’t force us to take a cart, they might as well make the basket a bit bigger to encourage us to shop!

Give it a shot next time; skip the cart and pick up the basket.  Then when you get home take a look at what you bought.  I’ll guarantee your shopping mix is going to be healthier than what you would have brought home before.  Instead of chips, boxed foods and the sort you’ll probably find you stuck more to the fresh foods, cooking staples and healthy meats. 

So what are you waiting for?  Let’s go Krogering!

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Holiday Madness–No, I’m Not Going Mad (Yet)

Nov 17

Posted by Robert Stinnett in Get Fit, Home Life | 1 Comment

100_0988It’s that time of year again, can you believe it?  No, it’s not that time again when I write a new blog entry (yes, I know I’ve been a bit quiet since early fall!), but rather it’s that time of year to get ready for the holidays.  So much has happened since I last sent out an update it’s hard to know where to start.

For most of you, my loyal readers (all 2 of you), you are probably wanting to know how the weight loss is going.  I am happy to say that I am still keeping active and slowly shedding the pounds.  In September and part of October I “fell off the wagon” so to speak when I was doing a lot of traveling.  It’s so easy when you travel to overeat and to stop being active.  Hotel gyms are usually sparsely equipped, and after a long day of taking care of business it’s all I could do to just fall into bed and fall asleep watching Letterman.

However, I’ve fallen off the horse many times and each time I pick myself right back up.  That’s the most important part of any fitness program.  When you take a step back, that is OK.  You don’t need to beat yourself up every time you put on a pound or two.  Overall fitness means that you will fluctuate, and you may put on some pounds now and then, but in the long run you are still maintaining your workout and healthy eating goals.

Of course, with the holidays upon us it’s a real challenge for many of us to stay healthy.  What with all the pies, cookies, cakes, holiday candy and fudge that seem to be teasing us everywhere we go.  My advice?  Enjoy it in moderation.  The absolute worst thing you can do is deny yourself these treats.  Because if you do then you are setting yourself up for failure.  It’s just like any fad diet – if you deny yourself something that you like, you are going to fail.  Plain and simple.  The problem is when you fail, you fail harder (and usually eat way more) than you would have if you just ate the foods in the first place.

Again, I’m not saying to run out and eat every piece of pecan pie or homemade fudge that you find.  What I am saying is to enjoy them as a treat this holiday season on occasion and know that when you do then you need to cut back in other areas.  When I know I’m going to a holiday party I cut back on other meals during the day.  I may just have a bananna and a piece of toast in the morning, for example instead of an egg-white muffin and a bowl of cereal.  Just remember – what you do, don’t skip meals!  That is the worst thing you can do for your metabolism.

And now for the rest of the story…

With the holidays approaching many of you know that the economy is still very fragile.  Unfortunately, I know many people who are still trying to find work.  Things are looking a little better, but we have a long way to go.  With that in mind I’ve decided to setup a holiday challenge to not only get me more active in keeping the blog up to date, but also to share some tips that can help you have a great holiday season without spending a fortune. 

There are so many things you can do for the holidays that don’t cost a lot – or are just plain out free.  Christmas has become, unfortunately, a time where we forget about spending time with family and friends and focus way too often on gifts.  So from now until Christmas I am going to post an article each day about how to spruce up your home, make homemade holiday treats, and decorate on a budget.  Check back here bright and early on November 18th for the first post.  I look forward to your feedback on each of them.  I think it’s going to be a great project and I’m excited!

So welcome back readers – let’s get ready for a great holiday season!  Together, there is nothing we all can’t do together!

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Good Morning! Now Start Eating!

Aug 10

Posted by Robert Stinnett in Get Fit | No Comments

If I had known that I get to eat more meals in a day when losing weight, I would have started a lot sooner!  The last thing you probably think about when trying to lose weight is eating more often, but it’s true – the tired, old philosophy of eating “3 big meals a day” is horribly out of date and just plain wrong.  To really boost your metabolism and help you achieve your fitness and weight loss goals you should be eating smaller meals every 3-5 hours.  The key here is smaller meals (you cannot have a 5-course meal every time you sit down!) and making sure what you put into your body is stuff that it can use.

Our bodies are strange creatures, and they very easily start to think that food is scarce when they don’t get nutrition every few hours.  By eating smaller meals more frequently you are telling your body “Hey, it’s ok, there is plenty of food – here, try this and enjoy!”  It helps your metabolism to keep going throughout the day and helps to provide regular doses of energy that your body can use to keep you feeling better and helps give you the motivation to be more active. 

Without a doubt the most important meal of the day is breakfast.  I can’t tell you how many years went by when I was skipping breakfast and just grabbing a donut or some other junk food from the convenience store or the break room at work.  Is it any wonder I was 342lbs and growing?  Make sure that you start your day off right – you want to fill your plate with proteins, healthy fats and a few carbohydrates.  Think of this combination as the perfect “Good Morning Body” breakfast!

Here is a sample of what I had for breakfast this morning:

Scrambled eggs (yes, eggs are good for you!), slice of whole wheat toast with a teaspoon of peanut butter, a tablespoon or so (I don’t measure things exactly) of pecans and a glass of skim milk.

Now feel free to get creative with those eggs – why don’t you chop up some of those garden fresh tomatoes and put into them?  How about a dash of cinnamon?  Can I interest you in some chopped onion? Just avoid the salt and the cheeses and you will be fine!

Mmmm, let me tell you it was good!  I’m not a morning person, but this boost of energy really got me up and going.

Losing weight isn’t easy, but we can do things to make it a little more enjoyable.  Eating a good, healthy breakfast and making sure that we are eating multiple small meals during the day can go a long way to making this journey a lot more enjoyable – and helping you to stick to it.

So if you haven’t done so already, get off the computer and go make you some breakfast!

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Lights, Camera, Action! Weight Loss Video Update

Aug 4

Posted by Robert Stinnett in Get Fit | No Comments

I figured it was time to come from behind the keyboard and show myself on video.  I put together this short video to update everyone on my weight loss progress and give some tips and advice about what I found has been working well for me.

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Looking Good and Feeling Great

Aug 1

Posted by Robert Stinnett in Get Fit | No Comments

I thought it was about time I gave everyone an update on my weight loss and fitness journey.  It’s been a while, and a few folks have been asking.  So here goes – I’m doing TERRIFIC!  I have to tell you, I’ve never felt better in my life and knowing that it’s going to get even better down the road – man, it’s a total rush.

So here we are in July of 2010 (well technically as I write this the clock just ticked over to August, but we’ll call it July) and I’m down to…drum roll please… 287lbs!  To put it into perspective, I started 2010 clocking in at a gut busting 342lbs.  Wow!

How did I do it?  No magic diets, no magic pills, no self-help nonsense.  I did it by doing a lot of cardio exercise, lifting some weights and watching what I eat.  It was that simple.  I didn’t starve myself and I didn’t do some fad diet where I got rid of all the stuff I love to eat – I just watched the portions and tried to substitute healthy snacks and healthier alternatives in where I could.  So, for example, instead of eating french fries I switched to a nice baked sweet potato.  Instead of ice cream, frozen yogurt.  Simple things like that.  I also started reading the boxes of what I buy in the store and started steering clear of the high fructose corn syrup crap and started going for the whole grains and whole wheat.

So how about a picture?  They say a picture is worth a thousand words!

Look at that handsome guy!

I couldn’t even fit into those jeans and shirt back in January!

Now don’t get me wrong – I still got a ways to go.  My goal is 205lbs.  So I got another 82lbs to go and I know it’s going to take time.  However, I’m more motivated now than ever!

Getting fit and feeling great – it’s worth it folks, believe me.  If you need some motivation please, please contact me and let me be your motivator.  I’ll help you and along the way we can encourage each other!

Now if only I could find a sponsor to supply me with gym shoes – Finish Line or Reebok, you listening?  I’m going through gym shoes like crazy because of all the workouts I do.  You should change your shoes every 500 miles because they lose their support and comfort – and I’ve been through probably 3 pair so far!

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(Sometimes) Life Comes Easy

Feb 26

Posted by Robert Stinnett in Get Fit | No Comments

It’s been a little over two months now since I started my fitness routine.  I’m pleased to say that I’ve been able to, with only a brief 5-day interruption due to being ill, hit the gym at least 5 nights a week.  There was a short period of time when I was hitting it up every day, but I soon learned that your body needs rest.  Breaking up the week into one or two day routines with a one day break has really helped.  So many times in our quest to get fit we push ourselves too much – and forget that in order to build muscle our muscles need a day (or even two!) to repair themselves.

One thing I’ve noticed lately is that despite doing some rather intense workouts – especially cardio workouts – that they are becoming easier and I’m not exerting myself like I was in the beginning.  I can easily do a 3.5mph @ 10% incline without getting my heart rate above 125.  When I first started something like that would have shot my heart rate up into the high 140’s and I’d have to back down a little because I knew that it was too much.  Not anymore – now I find it’s not only easier, but that I can recoup much faster.

Of course this is a good thing – it means my cardio system is getting in better shape.  My resting heart rate has dropped and my body is building up the muscle that let’s me do more while not wearing myself out as much.  My heart muscles are strengthening which means I can do more work while spending less energy.  Nothing wrong with any of that!

This also means it’s time to take it to the next level.  If I continue along at this rate I’ll be doing my body good – but I won’t gain more muscle and I’ll basically plateau.  Who knew I’d ever get to the point where I would have to worry about not working myself hard enough!

cardio So I’ve introduced a few things to help me get to the next level.  First, I’m moving away from a “steady state” cardio workout where I’d chose an incline and stay with it and now moving towards a variable workout.  Increasing the incline throughout the workout, with periods of rest in there where I bring the incline down.  I’m also varying the speed – starting out at around 3.0, going to 3.5 and then peaking around 4.0 to 4.1mph.  There are numerous studies that show that this type of interval training is very good for you and in fact can help you build more muscle and expend more calories in the long run than just doing a steady state workout.

Speaking of studies, I ran across this article yesterday about how intense sessions of interval training can really benefit you and could possibly mean you can get the benefits of doing longer workouts in shorter periods of time.  It’s an interesting read and has a lot of good points.  I know after I took a week off from the gym due to being under the weather I actually was able to go back and felt better than ever before.  I credit some of that with giving my body time to repair all of my muscles while I was resting instead of constantly pushing myself without letting them fully repair.  I’ve even read some articles that suggest every month or two you should take an entire week off just to let your body rebuild itself fully.

I’m willing to try anything once – so I’ll be incorporating more intensity into the workouts in the coming weeks and let you know what happens.  I’ve also got some exciting news that I’ll share next week as well as a few new pictures of me so you can judge for yourself how things are going.

Keep motivated!

 

Photo Credit:  sportsandsocial via Flickr.

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Now, Before or After – Working Out and Munching Down

Jan 27

Posted by Robert Stinnett in Get Fit | No Comments

I see a lot of advice floating around about when to eat if you are working out.  Everything from don’t eat before a workout for optimal fat burning to eat a light snack an hour beforehand to build up reserves – and everything in between (sorry folks, but the one thing I haven’t seen is the one that says to eat a Kit Kat bar during the workout!).  Armed with all this conflicting information I set about to pull it all together and see what makes sense and what doesn’t.

I found out that, really, it just doesn’t matter.  The truth of the matter is this – if you workout and burn 500 calories then your body “subtracts” 500 calories.  At the end of the day, when you tote everything up, if your body needs more fuel it will simply get those 500 calories form your fat reserves.  It’s as simple as that.  I can find no scientific evidence that any special type of meal or time of day is going to increase or decrease calories.  At the end of the day what matters for weight loss is calories –plain and simple.

Realize to that everyone is different.  What works for me may not work for you.  Personally I feel like I get a nice post-workout “high” by eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich when I come back from the gym.  This isn’t “free” food calorie wise, it’s still part of my daily meals – but I find by having it within an hour of working out I get a nice, natural high.  It’s just how my body responds.  I know some people who eat about 60 minutes pre-workout to build up the sugar and energy in them to help motivate them to workout.  Like I said, whatever works for you GO FOR IT!

About the only thing I ever take with me to the gym and consume during workouts is Propel water.  I don’t know about you – but I have to have some flavor in my water.  Plain water never has done much for me.  When you are working out and doing cardio you need to make sure you keep yourself hydrated, so find some type of water and take it with you.  Stay away from sodas and teas which can actually dehydrate you.

Oh, and for those of you who like those energy bars and such – hey, it’s your calories, but I would like to point out that most of those things are just sugar and protein (sometimes and most often just sugar).  Why not save yourself some money and pack you some Ritz crackers with peanut butter or make you some Rice Krispie treats instead?  How about peanut butter on the Rice Krispie treats?  Sounds good to me!  Either way, you will be saving money and controlling how much sugar and fat go into your mouth!

So there you have it – 100’s of thousands of Google hits boiled down to a simple statement.  Eat when you feel like it, eat right and drink plenty of liquids.  Solid advice for anyone whether they are trying to lose weight or not.

 

Photo Credit: Drunken Monkey on Flickr.

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I Indulged on Cheetos – And I Feel Good!

Jan 25

Posted by Robert Stinnett in Get Fit | No Comments

Last night I ate almost 3/4th of a bag of Cheetos.  Why?  Because I had a craving for them and they were in the kitchen.  Now this wasn’t some huge 50-lb bag, but still it was a good 6 servings worth probably.  I blame my craving for not eating properly during the day.  I had been over at a friend’s house watching football and had just snacked on the typical football food and earlier in the day I had a peanut butter & jelly sandwich.  Aside from the sandwich, it was a pretty unhealthy day food wise.

Yet, I don’t feel guilty.  Not one bit.

I know a lot of people who just beat themselves up when they indulge on something – especially when they are trying to lose weight or get in shape.  Often times they will indulge for whatever reason (maybe they went to a friend’s house or out on the town for a night, or maybe they just felt like ice cream) and that is the breaking point for their fitness goals.  They throw up their hands in the air the next day and just say “I can’t do it!” 

It’s easy to give up, but I have found it’s even easier to say “Yeah, I ate it – so what?” and move on.  Let’s face it folks if you try to take away all the foods that are bad for you, or take away all the foods you love the most you are just setting yourself up for failure.  That’s a primary reason why I never believed in any type of diet – take away the food people enjoy and they are already 99% of the way to failure.

I subscribe to the fact that as a general rule you should include a wide variety of foods in your diet.  Make your meals well-balanced and include fruits and vegetables aplenty in your daily intake.  Personally, I just love steamed broccoli on the vegetable side and apples on the fruit side.  Mix it up – but don’t run away from food.

Now before you think I’m saying to just eat anything you want, in whatever quantities you want let me stop you right there.  I’m not saying sit down everyday and just stuff yourself or run to McDonald’s or Burger King and think you are going to lose weight.  What I am saying is that McDonald’s and Burger King are OK once or twice a month.  The other 28 days in the month you have to practice self-control and know that these are “treats” and not everyday meals.  Have a craving for a hamburger?  Instead of the the calorie-rich, fat-laden Double Whopper w/ Cheese, why not make a turkey burger at home with some avocado on a wheat bun, or how about cooking up a lean hamburger and dressing it up with some salsa, lettuce and even a few olives thrown on for good measure?  Not only are you going to cut your calorie consumption by 66%, these burgers are going to be so good and so delicious that you may swear of Burger King forever! 

I always give myself one “indulge” day a week.  I know this is my day to have a special treat for myself, or maybe to eat a little unhealthy.  The great part about it is when it’s all said and done – I don’t beat myself up over it!  In fact, I usually feel pretty good about myself because I know overall I’m still zooming right along towards my goal.

In fact, today, the day after my Cheetos episode, I planned my day around my indulgence.  I added an extra apple as a snack, and ate a very low-fat lunch.  For breakfast I had my usual banana and toast with a little bit of peanut butter.  Here it is 6:00PM and I’m not starving at all – I’ll have some chicken and other vegetables and a salad for dinner and be fine.

So stop beating yourself up and enjoy food like Julia Child told us to do.  As long as you are making steady progress towards your goals it is all good.  Just make sure that your indulgences don’t turn into an everyday affair and you will be just fine. 

We all need some McDonald’s fries at least once every few months!

Photo courtesy of Apple Blossom Photography on Flickr

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Cardio + Strength Training + Peanut Butter = Success!

Jan 8

Posted by Robert Stinnett in Get Fit | 4 Comments

I’ve been faithfully hitting the YMCA doing cardio and strength training for almost two weeks now.  To my amazement, I’m actually seeing small, but beneficial results already.  I went from being able to maintain a 2.7mph pace on the treadmill at a 5% incline to being able to make it up to a 3.5mph pace at a 7% incline – even managing to get a few bursts of 3.8mph.

I also made sure to add strength training to the workouts as well.  Cardio burns calories, while strength training helps build muscle mass that helps you burn calories 24×7 and gives your body a better overall appearance.  At first I was a little reluctant to try strength training, but to my amazement it’s actually become something I look forward to.  Right now I’m focusing on my abdominal and back muscles – but try to get some tricep and bicep exercise in as well. 

You know the old saying, “Feel the burn?” Well let me tell you, I can feel the burn when it comes to the strength training.  It’s not unusual to have a bit of soreness the next day, but as I’ve learned you want some soreness – this is your body’s way of telling you that it is building and repairing your muscle mass.  What you don’t want, of course, is prolonged, agonizing pain – that is your body’s way of telling you “way too much! stop it now!”

Peter Pan Peanut ButterOne of the observations I’ve made is that there are a lot of people who do strength training who believe in spending a lot of money on expensive protein and vitamin shakes.  Call me old fashioned, but paying $50 for a jar of powder just doesn’t top my list of fun things to do.  Luckily one of my favorite foods provides a lot of the vitamins and protein I need and is available for just a few dollars in any grocery store – peanut butter!  It really is a super food when it comes to protein and heart health.  Yes it has fat, but it is good fat.  As long as you aren’t eating a whole jar a day peanut butter can really be a great resource of vitamins, protein and heart-healthy fats.  I’d much rather spend $3 on a jar of Peter Pan than $50 on a jar of powder.

Of course, man cannot live on peanut butter alone – and I’ve tried to make sure I slowly adapt my diet as well.  Fruits and vegetables are a must – broccoli in itself is one of nature’s super foods.  I have started to pack my own lunch for work which is not only helping me keep my food intake in check, but also seriously reducing the amount of money I spend.  It takes a bit of getting used to, but after a while making your lunch becomes second nature.  Many times I just pack up leftovers from the night before and take along with me.  I also make up a little container of vegetables to pop in the microwave and enjoy.  It’s amazing how much flavor vegetables can have by being creative – and I’m not talking about salt and butter, either.  Garlic, pepper and even a bit of basil can really spice them up and make them taste great.

If the cardio machines are to be believed, I’m managing to burn through about 450 calories during each 35 minute session.  I’m slowly increasing my minutes (I started at around 25) to work towards a good 45 minute burn.  Luckily between my iPod and the televisions they have at the Y it is hard to get bored – as long as your mind is on something else the time really does fly by!

So far, so good – and I’m having a lot of fun doing it.  Amazing what can happen when you put your mind to it!

 

(Photo Credit:  stopnlook on Flickr)

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