Archive for July, 2008

How Much Exercise Is Enough?

Every month it seems the recommended daily amount of exercise changes. It’s 10,000 steps.
No, wait, it’s an hour.
Oh, no, 30 minutes is plenty, and you can even take breaks.
While few people really believe 10 minutes of daily exercise is enough, it turns out that for most of us trying to lose weight, [...]

Food Log: 07292008

Food eaten:

Breakfast: 1 pkg Buddig turkey, 1 c. brown rice, 1/2 tomato (broiled) with 1 tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese. Coffee, coffee, coffee. Calories: 430.
Lunch: 1 c. garbanzo bean salad, 2 c. Asian-style soup (rice noodles, spinach, chicken broth, rice wine vinegar, dash sesame oil and some chili pepper flakes). Calories: 341
Dinner: 1 c. steamed broccoli, [...]

Some Kind Of Bridal Swag

Most of my friends are already married, so I have little experience with the type of “Bridezilla” that’s now in fashion. Oh, sure, I know most brides try to lose weight before their wedding day. I vaguely recall doing that for my own wedding, although back then I had only 10 lbs. to shed. (Oh, [...]

Food Log: 07282008

I didn’t get around to posting this last night like I’d planned, so here’s the stats for yesterday.
Food eaten:

Breakfast: 2 scrambled egg whites, 2 tbsp. Pace Chunky salsa, 1/2 sliced avocado, 2 cups coffee. Calories: 265.
Lunch: Large salad with mushrooms, broccoli, green onions, peas, baby corn, 1 oz. shredded cheese and vinaigrette dressing. Calories: 344.
Dinner: [...]

Never Full? It’s Not All In Your Head

New research studying whether there’s a genetic basis for obesity has turned up a surprising find: for some, feeling constantly hungry might be in their genes. The researchers discovered that a gene, FTO, affects patients’ appetites. When a person has one copy of the gene they tend to weigh more than someone without it, while [...]

Calculating Your BMR: How Many Calories Do You Need?

After looking over one of my food and exercise logs, Donna B. wondered what BRM was. Well, it’s a typo. I meant to type BMR, which stands for basic metabolic rate. That’s the number of calories your body needs just to live and maintain minimum functions, assuming you didn’t move a muscle all day (e.g., [...]

Ugh, I Got Glutenated

It’s not very often that my husband and I get to spend an evening out of the house with other adults. So, when a friend who knows about my Celiac Disease diagnosis invited us over for dinner I quickly accepted the invitation.
She was wonderful about my dietary restrictions, too, running every item on the [...]

Food and Exercise Log 07242008

Food eaten:

Breakfast: 2 scrambled egg whites, 3 pieces turkey bacon, 1/2 tomato roasted and topped with 2 tbsp. Parmesan cheese. Calories: 265
Lunch: Baked potato topped with 2 tbsp. shredded cheddar, 1/4 c. non-fat refried beans, 2 chopped green onions and 2 tbsp. salsa. Calories:

Snacks: 2 stalks celery stuffed with 1 tbsp. cream cheese each, [...]

Food and Exercise Log: Diet Date 07232008

Food eaten:

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs (1 whole egg, 2 egg whites) topped with 2 tbsp. salsa and 1/2 avocado, sliced; 2 cups coffee. Calories: 284
Lunch: Massive bowl of homemade pho soup. Calories: 384.
Snacks: 2 c. watermelon chunks; 2 brown rice cakes; non-fat latte (16 oz.). Calories: 311.
Dinner: Grilled sirloin (4 oz.), vegetables cooked in packet [...]

Going Gluten-Free

Since I didn’t particularly know the best way to bring it up, I’ve mentioned on the sly that I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease (CD) last week. CD is an autoimmune disorder which causes the body to destroy its own tissues in response to gluten intake.
It starts with destruction of the villi in the [...]