Thursday, November 26, 2009
Whats 5 pounds?
Somehow, from Tuesday before I worked out to yesterday after I worked out I had dropped 5 pounds. Not sure it is full on weight loss since I went swimming and swam an hour on Tuesday, and 45 minutes on Wednesday, and I may have been dehydrated after my swim yesterday but I will take what I can I guess. This morning I was bad, as to be expected on Thanksgiving but I did something I never have thought I would, I went out walking before dinner this afternoon. 5 miles, a thousand arm curls each arm with a 5 pound weight, and 500 arms lifts with a 5 pound weight each side, I am feeling much better than if I had just stayed home after eating too many Orange rolls and then ate too much turkey. I know that the key is portion control tonight, and I know that I can do that, now it just comes down to doing it.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
The perfect iced tea recipe.
Over the past 5 years I have worked on a method of brewing my own iced tea that has seemed to work well over all, and wanted to share it as a healthy alternative to sodas and other sugar, carbonated beverages.
You need-
1 gallon glass jug- not necessary but it does make filling your bottles easier than ladle and funnel
6 Glass bottles- Sobe bottles work well as do Lipton bottles though with time there is a tendency to get some grime in the tops that is hard to clean out. I have worked with plastic bottles in the past but have found that they tend to stain, are harder to get really clean and also have the disadvantage of breaking down slowly with time and as such I try to avoid putting my tea in them.
10 Tea bags- Any variety will do just realize that you need 10 tea bags so you go through a lot of it to make several batches.
Small sauce pan
Water
Fill the sauce pan with water and heat to just under a boil. Traditionally tea is to be enjoyed at just under a boil as it is not as harsh on the tea itself. I usually wait for bubbles to form on the sides of the pan but not to begin a rolling boil.
Steep 10 tea bags in hot water for anywhere between 30 minutes to an hour.
Once the mix is cooled pour it into the glass jug removing the tea bags. It is important that you do not leave the bags in as they have a tendency to grow things on them if you leave them too long.
Fill remainder of the jug with fresh water.
You now have a perfectly simple way to enjoy your tea, either alone or with a little honey. (take the honey part how you want to ;))
If you want a good way to transport it fill the 20 ounce bottles with the tea and refrigerate.
Always consume quickly as this tea has no preservatives and will go bad within a few weeks of making and letting sit.
Benefits:
Making your own tea is a great way to get fluids for the day as well as being a VERY inexpensive, healthy alternative to Carbonated sodas. Depending on the tea that you brew it can be very refreshing. In my opinion nothing beats an iced mint tea in the middle of the summer or a good Green/white any time of the year. Depending on what your tastes and health benefits desired there is a tea out there for you. I use mine for all kinds of things from helping an upset stomach, to relaxing in the evenings, to simply having something to drink during the day.
Cost:
I once figured it out and once you take out the cost of the bottles it costs anywhere from 5 cents to 25ish a bottle to brew your own iced tea depending on the variety and what you are drinking. Many Orange Pekoe, Black teas can be bought in 100 tea bag boxes for less than 5 dollars. In that way if you brew and bring your own tea to work you can save upwards of a dollar to several a day depending on how much you drink. Before I brewed my own I was paying a $1.25 each bottle of soda, and it has been my general finding that besides being mostly sugars and being high in calories they are also high in sugars. Tea has next to no calories (2 per 8 oz serving http://caloriecount.about.com/calories-tea-i14355) so 5 per 20 oz bottle. As well as all of the health benefits each tea itself carries in easily consumed and prepared quantities as well.
Varying sugars:
I used to be a traditionalist and stuck to the idea that tea was to be enjoyed as it was without sweetener. As of late I have found that I enjoy some teas more with a little honey. A tablespoon of honey adds 64 calories but when put in context with the tea (5) it is all together 69 calories per 20 ounce bottle, non carbonated, and better for you than any other soda. For example 20 oz of Mt dew has 275 calories per 20 ounce serving and I have never heard a health benefit of it. http://caloriecount.about.com/calories-pepsico-mountain-dew-i82953 I also know people who sweeten with sugar or no calorie sweetener. but I am not sure there is much benefit to that. I am not a doctor and have not studied medicine or the subject but from what I have heard Aspertaine is just as bad for you as the extra calories you loose by consuming these sweeteners. Not to mention there are actually health benefits to honey such as antibacterial benefits as well as pollen allergy benefits.
Caution:
Most Iced tea that I have made is better enjoyed within a few days to maybe a week after making. Any longer than that and the tea begins to become more tart than normal as well as the occasional settling of a sort of film on the bottom of the bottle. Simple solution: Only brew a gallon or two at a time and drink it all within a day or 2. Last time I made tea in a large batch I added honey to the concentrate and that batch went bad much faster,(3 or 4 days instead of a week or more.) so it is my suggestion that you not sweeten the tea until you are ready to drink it as this keeps it from going bad longer.
Safety caution:
Do not put the water in the jug before you let it cool. I once made a very large batch and poured it into the jug hot and it cracked the glass do to the sudden heat difference it went through.
I prefer to make it in the concentrate method, though at times I have made it in a big pot and ladled it out into the bottles individually. Though this works it is more time consuming and much more messy, for no real difference in the end product.
However you like your tea is the way that works best for you. Hot or cold, I know that I feel a difference when I am drinking tea instead of the terribly sweet and terribly bad for me sodas.
You need-
1 gallon glass jug- not necessary but it does make filling your bottles easier than ladle and funnel
6 Glass bottles- Sobe bottles work well as do Lipton bottles though with time there is a tendency to get some grime in the tops that is hard to clean out. I have worked with plastic bottles in the past but have found that they tend to stain, are harder to get really clean and also have the disadvantage of breaking down slowly with time and as such I try to avoid putting my tea in them.
10 Tea bags- Any variety will do just realize that you need 10 tea bags so you go through a lot of it to make several batches.
Small sauce pan
Water
Fill the sauce pan with water and heat to just under a boil. Traditionally tea is to be enjoyed at just under a boil as it is not as harsh on the tea itself. I usually wait for bubbles to form on the sides of the pan but not to begin a rolling boil.
Steep 10 tea bags in hot water for anywhere between 30 minutes to an hour.
Once the mix is cooled pour it into the glass jug removing the tea bags. It is important that you do not leave the bags in as they have a tendency to grow things on them if you leave them too long.
Fill remainder of the jug with fresh water.
You now have a perfectly simple way to enjoy your tea, either alone or with a little honey. (take the honey part how you want to ;))
If you want a good way to transport it fill the 20 ounce bottles with the tea and refrigerate.
Always consume quickly as this tea has no preservatives and will go bad within a few weeks of making and letting sit.
Benefits:
Making your own tea is a great way to get fluids for the day as well as being a VERY inexpensive, healthy alternative to Carbonated sodas. Depending on the tea that you brew it can be very refreshing. In my opinion nothing beats an iced mint tea in the middle of the summer or a good Green/white any time of the year. Depending on what your tastes and health benefits desired there is a tea out there for you. I use mine for all kinds of things from helping an upset stomach, to relaxing in the evenings, to simply having something to drink during the day.
Cost:
I once figured it out and once you take out the cost of the bottles it costs anywhere from 5 cents to 25ish a bottle to brew your own iced tea depending on the variety and what you are drinking. Many Orange Pekoe, Black teas can be bought in 100 tea bag boxes for less than 5 dollars. In that way if you brew and bring your own tea to work you can save upwards of a dollar to several a day depending on how much you drink. Before I brewed my own I was paying a $1.25 each bottle of soda, and it has been my general finding that besides being mostly sugars and being high in calories they are also high in sugars. Tea has next to no calories (2 per 8 oz serving http://caloriecount.about.com/calories-tea-i14355) so 5 per 20 oz bottle. As well as all of the health benefits each tea itself carries in easily consumed and prepared quantities as well.
Varying sugars:
I used to be a traditionalist and stuck to the idea that tea was to be enjoyed as it was without sweetener. As of late I have found that I enjoy some teas more with a little honey. A tablespoon of honey adds 64 calories but when put in context with the tea (5) it is all together 69 calories per 20 ounce bottle, non carbonated, and better for you than any other soda. For example 20 oz of Mt dew has 275 calories per 20 ounce serving and I have never heard a health benefit of it. http://caloriecount.about.com/calories-pepsico-mountain-dew-i82953 I also know people who sweeten with sugar or no calorie sweetener. but I am not sure there is much benefit to that. I am not a doctor and have not studied medicine or the subject but from what I have heard Aspertaine is just as bad for you as the extra calories you loose by consuming these sweeteners. Not to mention there are actually health benefits to honey such as antibacterial benefits as well as pollen allergy benefits.
Caution:
Most Iced tea that I have made is better enjoyed within a few days to maybe a week after making. Any longer than that and the tea begins to become more tart than normal as well as the occasional settling of a sort of film on the bottom of the bottle. Simple solution: Only brew a gallon or two at a time and drink it all within a day or 2. Last time I made tea in a large batch I added honey to the concentrate and that batch went bad much faster,(3 or 4 days instead of a week or more.) so it is my suggestion that you not sweeten the tea until you are ready to drink it as this keeps it from going bad longer.
Safety caution:
Do not put the water in the jug before you let it cool. I once made a very large batch and poured it into the jug hot and it cracked the glass do to the sudden heat difference it went through.
I prefer to make it in the concentrate method, though at times I have made it in a big pot and ladled it out into the bottles individually. Though this works it is more time consuming and much more messy, for no real difference in the end product.
However you like your tea is the way that works best for you. Hot or cold, I know that I feel a difference when I am drinking tea instead of the terribly sweet and terribly bad for me sodas.
Damn it feels good
Interesting fact: If I swim one hour at a rapid vigorous pace I burn somewhere between 978 to 1397 calories.
I now understand my cycle. I work out hard, get burned out take a day off, eat poorly, justify it with "I will start eating better tomorrow.". Of course this makes me feel bad for breaking my covenant with my self. In the dark places where I feel disappointed, I begin to believe that it is hopeless for me to do this. Of course in feeling hopeless I loose motivation to go to the gym to work out, so I take another day off then feel bad because I should have not taken the day off. Then I eat badly because it makes me feel better. That adds to the weight I am supposedly trying to drop. Now I feel like crap and am only gaining weight. Well this was the cycle I fell into this week. Saturday I went to sword fighting and thought about hitting the gym afterward but was so warn out when I sat down in my car that I did not make it. Sunday I was so "busy" that I did not go to the gym, because by the time I was about to go it was too late to get any time in before they closed. Monday I felt so bad about myself that I ran some errands and spent the evening at home vegging out and beating myself up for not going to the gym. Finally yesterday I made a move, and went to Steiner and swam for an hour. It was awesome, and also made me see the spiral that I get caught in. Today they close earlier, but I am not letting that stop me from working out.
It seems like when there is even something resembling a cause to come up with excuse I have taken it in the past. If I was not for sure how late something was open rather than finding out I just assumed that they would be closed by the time I would get there if I had some sort of cause for reasoning for not wanting to go. It all seems to stem from a feeling of low self esteem that I have always lived with. The irony is that in not feeling myself worthy I have perpetuated it all.
From here I have realized that this process of getting myself in shape is not purely a physical thing. It really is as much mental not just in having motivation to go to the gym to work out but also to work on self esteem and historical issues so when I emerge from loosing weight and it becomes a sustaining thing that I will have the mind set I desire as well. Who would have thought this would have brought up so many things?
I now understand my cycle. I work out hard, get burned out take a day off, eat poorly, justify it with "I will start eating better tomorrow.". Of course this makes me feel bad for breaking my covenant with my self. In the dark places where I feel disappointed, I begin to believe that it is hopeless for me to do this. Of course in feeling hopeless I loose motivation to go to the gym to work out, so I take another day off then feel bad because I should have not taken the day off. Then I eat badly because it makes me feel better. That adds to the weight I am supposedly trying to drop. Now I feel like crap and am only gaining weight. Well this was the cycle I fell into this week. Saturday I went to sword fighting and thought about hitting the gym afterward but was so warn out when I sat down in my car that I did not make it. Sunday I was so "busy" that I did not go to the gym, because by the time I was about to go it was too late to get any time in before they closed. Monday I felt so bad about myself that I ran some errands and spent the evening at home vegging out and beating myself up for not going to the gym. Finally yesterday I made a move, and went to Steiner and swam for an hour. It was awesome, and also made me see the spiral that I get caught in. Today they close earlier, but I am not letting that stop me from working out.
It seems like when there is even something resembling a cause to come up with excuse I have taken it in the past. If I was not for sure how late something was open rather than finding out I just assumed that they would be closed by the time I would get there if I had some sort of cause for reasoning for not wanting to go. It all seems to stem from a feeling of low self esteem that I have always lived with. The irony is that in not feeling myself worthy I have perpetuated it all.
From here I have realized that this process of getting myself in shape is not purely a physical thing. It really is as much mental not just in having motivation to go to the gym to work out but also to work on self esteem and historical issues so when I emerge from loosing weight and it becomes a sustaining thing that I will have the mind set I desire as well. Who would have thought this would have brought up so many things?
Day two of working out
OK, day two of working out done. Tuesday I did an hour of cardio, yesterday I did 45 minutes of cardio and did all kinds of lifting. I feel awesome. Finally got a good friend to work out with on a regular basis. I am down to 308 as of yesterday and if I can keep this up will be in range of my target sooner than I thought. Right now I am shooting for 230 or more than anything else looking it as I drop pounds to make sure I am being healthy. Theoretically if I dropped to my "target" weight I would weigh 175. Honestly, I am not sure that I would not be underweight if lost that much. If I dropped 133 pounds. Frankly for my body size I think I could hold at 230 or 250 and look healthy if I added muscle mass. Or as a friend of mine told me yesterday based on just the height weight thing Will Smith is obese so I can't just base it on a certain score as it were. I am feeling pretty good about working out, now if I can pair it with good nutrition I should be in great shape. Yesterday I did some things that were very rough physically but I can see the use for it especially when it comes to training for sword fighting so really right now I am feeling good about all of it.
The weekend of Halloween
I guess as well as weekends can. I have fallen off but that does not mean I can't get back on. I know thats the secret to it, when you fall down get back up. I had a meeting today with my staff to which I brought all the candy I had in my office and once it was over and they took what they wanted I took the rest to some other units to get it gone so I did not eat it all in my office. Here comes round 2 Have been somewhat good today and still am looking to do better this week. I missed weighing in and will after lunch which I know is a bad idea but is better than claiming ignorance. At this point in time I just need to get real face the facts and if I do not like them, change them.
After day 4
It has been 4 days since I started my fitness plan. And today I fell off a bit. It was actually more than that. I have not worked out the last couple days when I knew I should have gone walking or lifting or something. Today, I fell off my eating plan. But what I know is that now as much as ever I need to get up, brush myself off, and just keep swimming. I also weighed myself yesterday and I have gone up a smidge, but i figure with time I will accomplish it all. Maybe the revision needs to be, I continue to eat better for the next few days and add regular exercise into it not today but beginning next week. It does one good to know that as much as I have slipped I did not do as badly as I thought I was doing. When eating a free lunch provided by the company that sells the hospital our supplies I ate perhaps poorly but still only drank water so as not to fall into even the trap of carbonated sodas which I am avoiding as much as possible.
Calories?
I walked yesterday, 7.4 miles with Sam. I also emptied out my locker at the library and am thinking about just bringing my work out clothes to work with me and stopping at the library again today and tomorrow as the snow is definitely a hindrance to walking outside until I get better shoes. I made some decisions yesterday about all of this. I weighted in yesterday, and was at 314.6. But I am not going to weigh myself again for a week as I know there is some fluctuation daily and I can't handle that kind of a yo-yo of emotion. Had a protein shake for breakfast yesterday, and a protein shake with FITNUTZ in it for breakfast today. I love the soup for lunch, it works well, is low in calories, and so easy for me to make. I have been off carbonation for several weeks now after I was off it for awhile and then it burned when I drank a coke or some crap like that. I am drinking a lot of water these days and found out that if I add Metamucil to my bottles of water it is easy to drink all the fiber I need to have in a day as I am drinking all day. Honestly, I am not sure if I will keep up with blogging on here daily but I am doing what I can. I am not sure honestly how I got to this weight. If I understand the garbage I read online apparently I have been eating at least 4710 calories a day, which seems impossible to me. Even at 200 pounds apparently I would be eating 3000 calories a day. I guess the thing that weirds me out is that drinking the shakes, eating the soup, and even eating some popcorn for a snack like I did yesterday I am not starving. At the end of the day when I watch it I am so low on calories I can essentially eat anything I want and still stay below the 3700 that should at worst be my high for the day. example:
1 Isagenix Shake, 231 calories
2 scoops of Fitnutz to make it a peanut butter chocolate shake 124 calories
1 Metamucil serving for fiber, 45 calories
1 can of soup for lunch 160 calories
So far today I am only at 560 calories and have had breakfast, lunch and drink all morning. Given that the high is 3700 that leaves me with 3140 calories left to eat today. even if I go with the lowest it is suggest that I have found that you should eat of 1500 a day it still leaves me 940 calories to eat today and I have not worked out yet today, which will likely leave me at a deficit for the day. I have a long long way to go to hit 300 then 285 then 270 etc... but I am feeling like today if I can keep it up I just may make it.
1 Isagenix Shake, 231 calories
2 scoops of Fitnutz to make it a peanut butter chocolate shake 124 calories
1 Metamucil serving for fiber, 45 calories
1 can of soup for lunch 160 calories
So far today I am only at 560 calories and have had breakfast, lunch and drink all morning. Given that the high is 3700 that leaves me with 3140 calories left to eat today. even if I go with the lowest it is suggest that I have found that you should eat of 1500 a day it still leaves me 940 calories to eat today and I have not worked out yet today, which will likely leave me at a deficit for the day. I have a long long way to go to hit 300 then 285 then 270 etc... but I am feeling like today if I can keep it up I just may make it.
Begining it all again
Deep breath
Ok, I am starting the fitness/weigh loss work again.
In some ways it is good news. I want this, I want to look and feel better. It does not make me feel good when I am always the last one running or doing exercises at sword.
I am not happy that I can't do a real sit up because my belly is too big
I also am not happy with being told that my "ideal" weight is 130 pounds less than I weigh right now.
There is good news in all this and bad news.
Good news- Starting this morning My weight is 314.6 though I feel bad about this 2 years ago when I started going to the gym and thinking about my weight I was up to 322 so at least I am down from there.
Bad news- In the last 2 years I have been down to 298 on several occasions.
Honestly I have never been at my "ideal" weight, hell when I was born I weighed twice what the adverage is for babies born in the U.S. I have not weighed 175 which is supposedly my "ideal" since the summer between jr high school and High School. For years I stayed at 275 and felt bad about it but felt good that I was not over 300. Now i get to work backwards towards 275 yes it is only 40 pounds down but that seems like a whole hell of a lot from where I am standing.
I have to do this. I have seen too many people I know with health complications due to being overweight or not living healthy, and it is far better now than in 40 years when I am pushing 70 and have diabetes because I did not make healthy changes in time. Along the way I know I am going to face some challenges. Part of the reason I eat or stay where I am is emotional problems or mental blocks I have and need to work out diffrently. For the time being my plan is to work cardio as well as lifting to gain muscule mass and loose fat. I am also making a rule that I can't eat out as much as I am sure that is contributing to the problem much more than it needs to be. Along with those things I am cutting back my calorie intake, I did this before and it made a huge diffrence. Where there was a lunch consisting of 600 calories or more, I am replacing with a can of soup whish has 180. I was not hungry doing this before and if I can cut to it now it will make a huge diffrence.
It is also my intention to post on the blog on a regular basis to get support and be really honest with myself on where I am with things. It takes a lot to admit you have a problem, it takes a lot to admit that you weigh enough to be a person and almost 2 of your size. Right now I am not shooting high for the goal. I don't think I would look good at 175 but for now I am looking at 300 as a starting goal, then maybe 15 each as I come down. This is not going to be easy but I am not sure I have a choice to sit back and do nothing anymore.
Ok, I am starting the fitness/weigh loss work again.
In some ways it is good news. I want this, I want to look and feel better. It does not make me feel good when I am always the last one running or doing exercises at sword.
I am not happy that I can't do a real sit up because my belly is too big
I also am not happy with being told that my "ideal" weight is 130 pounds less than I weigh right now.
There is good news in all this and bad news.
Good news- Starting this morning My weight is 314.6 though I feel bad about this 2 years ago when I started going to the gym and thinking about my weight I was up to 322 so at least I am down from there.
Bad news- In the last 2 years I have been down to 298 on several occasions.
Honestly I have never been at my "ideal" weight, hell when I was born I weighed twice what the adverage is for babies born in the U.S. I have not weighed 175 which is supposedly my "ideal" since the summer between jr high school and High School. For years I stayed at 275 and felt bad about it but felt good that I was not over 300. Now i get to work backwards towards 275 yes it is only 40 pounds down but that seems like a whole hell of a lot from where I am standing.
I have to do this. I have seen too many people I know with health complications due to being overweight or not living healthy, and it is far better now than in 40 years when I am pushing 70 and have diabetes because I did not make healthy changes in time. Along the way I know I am going to face some challenges. Part of the reason I eat or stay where I am is emotional problems or mental blocks I have and need to work out diffrently. For the time being my plan is to work cardio as well as lifting to gain muscule mass and loose fat. I am also making a rule that I can't eat out as much as I am sure that is contributing to the problem much more than it needs to be. Along with those things I am cutting back my calorie intake, I did this before and it made a huge diffrence. Where there was a lunch consisting of 600 calories or more, I am replacing with a can of soup whish has 180. I was not hungry doing this before and if I can cut to it now it will make a huge diffrence.
It is also my intention to post on the blog on a regular basis to get support and be really honest with myself on where I am with things. It takes a lot to admit you have a problem, it takes a lot to admit that you weigh enough to be a person and almost 2 of your size. Right now I am not shooting high for the goal. I don't think I would look good at 175 but for now I am looking at 300 as a starting goal, then maybe 15 each as I come down. This is not going to be easy but I am not sure I have a choice to sit back and do nothing anymore.
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