Now you’re eating smaller portions, so the next goal is to exercise more. Okay, maybe the goal is to START exercising. Maybe the best way to think about it is to not call it exercising. Let’s just call it increasing your use of calories. Walking is the easiest. I know you’ve heard it before, and maybe you are already walking some. But the walking has got to be productive without overexerting you. The trick to knowing if it’s being productive is to speed your walk up till you know you are exerting yourself. This makes it self adjusting to your fitness level. When you start that will be a slower pace than when you are more toned. You can always gauge your exercise that way.
Warm up slow, push up to exertion, keep that pace for 10 minutes and ease off to cool down. Or do whatever length of time you can manage. Like the advertising slogan… “just do it!”
TODAY: WALK HARD FOR TEN MINUTES.
I know it’s not Irish but try it anyway. You know, the pasta part of spaghetti really doesn’t add much to spaghetti. It seems that it’s just a device for carrying the sauce from the plate to our palate, while it adds all those carbs. Instead, try a simple sauce with ground beef or Italian sausage added ladled over steamed broccoli or even mixed veggies like cauliflower, zucchini, onions and squash. It is actually much more flavorful and definitely better for you.
If you want to make your own sauce try this quick and Flavorful Tomato Sauce from Gluten Free Goodness. Then go ahead and enjoy your “Veghetti”.
TODAY: DO EXERCISES. WARM UP BY DOING TORSO TWISTS, TOE TOUCHES AND DEEP KNEE BENDS THEN PROGRESS TO LEG LIFTS, SIT-UPS AND PUSH-UPS. FINISH BY JOGGING IN PLACE. YOU CAN DO IT! EVEN IF IT’S ONLY A FEW OF EACH.
Jelly can be a source of hidden calories. Sure, you think it’s just a little dollop of goodness. It’s made from fruit, so how bad can it be? Well… most jelly os almost pure sugar and a tablespoon is a whopping 50 calories. But I found a great jelly that is actually low cal and sweet and even has fiber! At just 10 calories per tablespoon Polaner Sugar Free has now also added 3 grams of fiber to that. So if you’re following Atkins you actually get back 3 grams of carbs. So that can offset some of the carbs from a slice of whole grain toast.
I also like to skip the toast and just use a spoonful as a condiment with sausage, or ham and eggs. The berry ones are great with meats and I even skip the meat entirely and fry a couple of eggs hard and top them with some orange marmalade. I know… it’s odd, but it has a flavor a little like a crepe. So add a jar of the Polaner Sugar Free jelly to your pantry and have a guilt free treat.
TODAY: DO SOME STRETCHING EXERCISES.
You may have noticed that you weren’t as hungry at “meal time” since we started Daylight Saving Time. But you’ll likely adapt to eating earlier easier than waking up earlier. Just try and use that reduced appetite to reduce a few calories. You can still satisfy the cravings that come later with a nice piece of fruit or high fiber cereal AFTER you take a walk in the daylight that is left at the end of your day.
TODAY: RENEW YOUR COMMITMENT TO EAT LESS AND EXERCISE MORE.
We’re into the first week of DST. (Unless you live in Arizona or Indiana) I love it. I can cook dinner on the grill, play with the dog and still see the glow of the sun fade, even after staying at work until almost 7:00. I know, we “lose” an hour of sleep, but we quickly adapt to that. Getting that precious daylight at the end of the day makes it easier to get some exercise in. It should also give you one less excuse.
So spring forward with your diet and get walking.
TODAY: TAKE AN EVENING WALK.
As we head into the last days of “Standard” time I want you to start “spring ahead” with your walking. It only takes a couple of minutes at a time to start having it add up to a goal of about 30 minutes a day. It doesn’t have to all happen at once. It all adds up and increases your endurance so you will eventually have no trouble walking more. Chances are you will WANT to walk more. You’ll feel better, have more endurance, more energy and sleep better. Just like they used to say that every minute of smoking was subtracting your life span, walking will add to it.
TODAY: PUT SOME SPRING IN YOUR STEP. GET OUT AND WALK!
Here is some motivational food for your diet. Click the link to check out this fantastic story.
Persistence leads to a 258-pound loss – Joy Bauer’s Food Cures – TODAYshow.com.
TODAY: GET WALKING! THIS STORY SHOULD INSPIRE YOU.
Daily Nag, Exercise | Diet Nag | 
March 18, 2011 6:13 am | 
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