Kokomo and BB are hosting a dinner party! Join them as they cook up a healthy and tasty crowd pleaser: mushroom crostini!
Archive for September, 2010
BB’s Back Burner, Episode 4: Mushroom Crostini
Saturday, September 25th, 2010#65: Set Realistic Goals
Thursday, September 23rd, 2010When Trekking 3 (free virtual workout at cardiopump.com) first released, I was working out to it at least once, sometimes twice a week. I found the interval workout to push me to my max in less than 30-minutes time! It was exhilarating, and I loved it! Then the mind game began. I created this mindset that every time I did the workout, it had to be faster than the time before. Then, the magic number became 3.5 miles (before the cooldown), and I was ferocious to meet that goal. I started dreading trips to the treadmill for Trekking 3, because I knew that I had to beat my fastest time, but even if I did and it wasn’t 3.5 miles, it wasn’t good enough. I felt slow, weak, and frustrated. Instead of celebrating the fact that my heart, lungs, and legs got me through another great workout (perhaps, even setting a personal record), I berated myself. During my trekking workouts, my breath sounded like a strangled hyena, sweat profusely dripped out of every pore, and the expression on my face said “I’m about to diiiiiie!!” All signs show that I pushed myself to my absolute max, but all was inconsequential to me because I didn’t reach that dadgum goal of 3.5. Truth be told, my cardiac output wasn’t the problem. The problem was my goal. It wasn’t realistic. I could keep chasing that wild goose, but I wasn’t going to catch it. My best distance was 3.29, and I am surprised I’m still alive to tell you that because it just about knocked the wind out of my sail! After time and time again taking trips to the treadmill for Trekking 3 and falling short of 3.5 miles, my trips started getting less frequent, and my attitude less positive.
Then the light went on: what if I just reset my goal to simply completing at least 3-miles every time I do Trekking 3. I know I can do that! With that changed mindset, I came back to my long lost lover, Trekking 3. I had missed it! I had missed exercising to that workout for the pure joy of the great drills and good music. When I changed my expectations, I found my sound.
How many of you have similar stories? Goals to lose an extreme amount of weight in 6-weeks; goals to start a strenuous exercise regime when you haven’t so much as gone on a power walk since Bush was president; goals to suddenly become a domestic goddess when you’ve been messy all your life…
Unrealistic goals are like acid on your self-esteem. Think of them as self-imposed emotional abuse. Be kind to yourself by setting achievable goals. By doing so, you can flick that little devil of negativity off your left shoulder and start making positive strides in the right direction.
BB’s Back Burner, Episode 3: Breakfast Casserole
Thursday, September 16th, 2010The most important meal of the day just got BETTER! Join BB and Koko for this breakfast edition of BB’s Back Burner. In Episode 3, they’re cooking up delicious & nutritions VEGETARIAN BREAKFAST CASSEROLE.
#66: Know your Total Energy Expenditure
Friday, September 3rd, 2010To now figure your total energy expenditure (TEE), simply take the number you derrived from #68 on our countdown (for your resting energy expenditure) and multiply that number by your physical activity level, as found from your fit in the table on #67 on our countdown. Energy expended through physical activity (EEPA) is your physical activity level (PAL).
TEE= REE x EEPA
(or, said differently, TEE= REE x PAL)
If your goal is to lose weight, aim to create a 500 calories-per-day deficit from the value you just discoverd to be your TEE, and that adjusted caloric intake should translate to an approximate weight loss of one pound per week.
#67: Know Energy Expended in Physical Activity
Friday, September 3rd, 2010In #68 on our countdown, you learned your estimated resting energy expenditure. However, in order to figure out the total number of calories your body regularly burns each day, we will need to multiply that REE value by your physical activity level (PAL). The values provided below are based on doubly labeled water studies, a highly accurate measure of energy expenditure.
PHYSICAL ACTIVITY LEVEL VALUES*:
A. Chair-bound or bed-bound= 1.2 PAL
B. Seated work with no option of moving around and little or no strenuous leisure activity= 1.4-1.5 PAL
C. Seated work with discretion and requirement to move around but little or no strenuous leisure activity= 1.6-1.7 PAL
D. Standing work (housework, etc)= 1.8-1.9 PAL
E. Significant amounts of sport or strenuous leisure activity (30-60 minutes four or seven times per week)= + 0.3 per increment
F. Strenuous work or highly active leisure= 2.0-2.4
Generally, a physical activity level of 1.5 for women and 1.6 for men is selected for those engaged in light activity.
*Source: Johnson RK, Energy. In L. Kathleen Mahan & Sylvia Escott-Stump (Eds.), Krause’s Food, Nutrition, and Diet Therapy (pp. 10-30). Philadelphia: Saunders, 2000; adapted from Shetty PS, et al. Energy requirements of adult: An update on basal metabloic rate (BMRs) and physical activity levels (PALs). Eur J Clin Nutr. 50(suppl 1):S11, 1996.
#68: Know Your Resting Energy Expenditure
Friday, September 3rd, 2010How do you know how much fuel to put in your truck if you don’t know the size of your tank? What I’m staying is that it is important that you know how many calories your body needs to consume each day in order to maintain your current weight so that you know your set point. Once you know your total energy expenditure (TEE), you will be able to track your calories daily to be sure you consume less than that, if weight loss is your goal. This particular blog will instruct you on how to calculate your resting energy expenditure (REE), but be sure that you then progress to #67 on our countdown next to figure out your energy expended in physical activity (EEPA). Eventually, you will be multiplying your REE by EEPA in order to calculate your TEE.
So, resting energy expenditure is the amount of calories you burn, just by living. Your body has several functions that it does without any conscious effort on your part. Think about it: breathing, blinking, swallowing saliva, pumping and circulating blood, etc. There are several standard formulas that can be used to estimate REE, all providing about the same end values. The Harris-Benedict equations are commonly used in the United States; however, some authorities report that they can overestimate REE, particularly for obese individuals. The World Health Organization (WHO) equations provide an alternative method. Both Harris-Benedict and WHO equations will be given below. I recommend that overweight or obese individuals follow the WHO equation.
Formulas you will need to know: 1 centimeter= 0.3937 inches, and 1 inch= 2.54 centimeters; 1 kilogram= 2.2 pounds, and 1 pound= 0.4536 kilograms
The REE values are represented in kilocalories. Kilocalories are the same the same things as what Americans simply call “calories.”
HARRIS-BENEDICT Resting Energy Expenditure EQUATIONS:
Women: REE= 655 + 9.56(weight in kilograms) + 1.85(height in centimeters) – 4.68(age)
Men: REE= 66.5 + 13.75(weight in kilograms) + 5.0(height in centimeters) – 6.78(age)
Please note that every time there is a parenthesis immediately after a number, it indicates that you are to multiply the preceding number by that value.
WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO) Resting Energy Expenditure EQUATIONS:
Women (18-30 years): REE= (14.7 x weight in kilograms) + 496
Women (30-60 years): REE= (8.7 x weight in kilograms) + 829
Men (18-30 years): REE= (15.3 x weight in kilograms) + 679
Men (30-60 years): REE= (11.6 x weight in kilograms) + 879
So, there you have your estimated resting energy expenditure (REE). Please progress to #67 on the “101 Legitimate Ways to Lose Weight” countdown to figure out your estimated energy expended in physical activity (EEPA).