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Do we really need that morning cup of coffee?

June 10, 2010 by

cafe au lait

Caffeine is one of the most addictive substances in the world. I know that I’m addicted to it – and many of my fellow food and health/fitness bloggers are as well. We’ve all been there – late night, early morning, and the quest for coffee or any caffeinated beverage. And, just like our parents’ generation, we need our caffeine to wake up, to stay alert, or just to give us that boost of energy throughout the day.

Well, wouldn’t you know that this idea that caffeine makes us more alert or more awake is all in our heads! Yes, that’s right. New research shows that caffeine addicts actually develop a tolerance to caffeine, and therefore, don’t really experience its true stimulating effects. The caffeine merely brings an addict back to the baseline levels of alertness, which was originally decreased due to caffeine withdrawal. Now that’s scary!! No wonder we need more and more caffeine each day to feel its effects!

Here’s a thought, next time you need your coffee, try making it a decaf and see how you feel.

Filed Under: Health Tagged With: , ,

Should You Run or Walk?

June 9, 2010 by

(Photo source)

Yesterday, I woke up early for my normal Tuesday run. Blah – it was raining! And it wasn’t even that light, sprinkly rain, it was a hard, steady rain. I usually don’t have a problem with running in very light rain, especially if it’s warm outside. But a hard rain leaves me feeling like a drowned rat – hence, I try to avoid it. As a result, I post-poned my run for Wednesday, which is my normal day off. But, instead of just going back to bed (I was fully dressed in my running gear), I went downstairs to walk on the treadmill. I emphasize WALK since I knew I was trading my Tuesday running day for Wednesday. Besides, running on the treadmill in the summer just…well, sucks!

As I was walking, I got to thinking about how some people are walkers, while others are runners. Walking is a very low-intensity, low impact sport that doesn’t require much practice. On the contrary, running is a high-intensity, high-impact exercise that often requires consistent training. Both exercises are very good for you, especially for cardiovascular benefits. So, why would a person – like me – choose to walk over running when walking just seems so much easier?

For many people, including yours truly, whether to walk or run really comes down to time and calories. Running is one of the fastest and most efficient ways for you to burn calories and lose weight. However, there has been some debate about this in recent years – let’s take a look…

Old School Rules: For decades, the old school of thought was that a person would burn the same amount of calories in one mile, whether that person walked or ran the distance. It would just take the runner half the time to burn those calories.

New School Rules: New research indicates that running actually does burn more calories per mile than walking. In 2004, researchers from Syracuse University found that both women and men burned 2x as many calories when they ran a mile compared with when they walked the same distance. But why? Well, unlike walking, running produces a more intense impact on our bodies. When running, we are completely airborne in between strides. The impact of our foot hitting the ground puts a tremendous amount of force on our feet and our legs. The greater force we place on our bodies the more calories we need to expend to absorb the force.

Exception to the Rules: Research also noted that higher intensity walking (such as race walking at speeds of 5.0 mph or higher) actually burned the same amount of calories as running. But, unless you’re walking at very high speeds, it appears that running burns twice the amount of calories in half the time.

Run or Walk?

If you’re on the fence about whether to walk or run, consider your goals and ask yourself the following questions:

  • Am I running/walking for weight loss?
  • How much time can I dedicate to exercise?

Why Run? If you’re pressed for time or want to maximize calorie burning, then give running a try. After all, if you only have 30 minutes a day to spare for exercise, 30 minutes of running will burn significantly more calories than 30 minutes of walking, which can mean losing weight faster.

Why Walk? If you’re not into high-intensity exercise and time isn’t an issue, then walking may be a better choice for you. Keep in mind that walking can still help you lose weight slowly and it is a great, low impact way to improve or maintain your cardiovascular fitness.

Whether you choose to walk or run, the most important thing is to find an exercise that you like and that you will do consistently each week.

(Please note: this has been adapted from my Bookieboo post from earlier this year!)

Filed Under: Running Tagged With: , ,

Are You A Tea Snob?

June 8, 2010 by

I attended a conference over the weekend and had the extreme fortune of trying my first ever Mighty Leaf Tea. As you all know, I am a tea-loyalist, with my faves being Tazo Awake, Harney and Sons Paris tea and English Breakfast. But I have to admit, Mighty Leaf Tea really threw me for a loop – the chamomile citrus was fantastic – so fantastic that I actually swiped an extra one to take home with me! Like Harney and Sons tea sachets, Mighty Leaf uses whole leaves in their cute little sachets, which makes the tea rich with flavor and very classy. Mighty Leaf also carries organic brands of tea which I think is very cool.

I’m actually headed out to Whole Foods today to see if I can find the English Breakfast sachets. Wish me luck!

By the way, do you consider yourself a tea snob or tea loyalist? What’s your favorite tea?

Jen

Filed Under: Food Tagged With: , , ,

Keeping Your Motivation to Run

June 7, 2010 by

After yesterday’s fast 7-miler, I decided to slow it down today with an easy 4-mile run. Post-run breakfast was a bit of Kashi Go Lean and a full cup of a blackberry/blueberry mix – fantastic!

Scott is teaching class this week which means our schedule is totally crazy. In order to run before he leaves for work at 6:45 AM, I must be up by 5:30/5:45 AM and out the door for my run by 6 AM if not sooner! Although I am a morning person, getting up this early is not always easy. Sometimes, I have to psych myself up a bit before a run because I’m so groggy. But, on any given day, I rely on many different motivational strategies to keep me going. Here are some of my favorite ways to motivate myself to run:

Running Motivation

  • I set my alarm at least 20 minutes before I know I need to head out the door. This gives me time to wake up a bit.
  • I get all my running clothes ready the night before so as soon as I wake up, I see my clothes sitting there – almost beckoning me to put them on. I also try to have all of my work-related things ready the night before – clothes, lunch, bag, etc. – so that I have no excuse to skip a run.
  • If I really need motivation, I plan a new route to take. Planning it out and then having to actively think about where I’m running (not just zoning out) helps the time pass faster.
  • And, for those really bad days, I tell myself that if I run, I will reward myself with a treat during the day, whether it’s Starbucks or a muffin. I know it kind of defeats the purpose of the run, but it works every time!

How do you psych yourself up to run or exercise when you really don’t want to?

Filed Under: Running Tagged With: , ,

A French Sangria Night

June 5, 2010 by

Last night, Scott and I had the “night off” from parenting. We took advantage of our time alone and headed to a local French bistro. Although I love going out for French food, I don’t usually stray too much from what I normally eat – salad, chicken, fruit, etc. Of course, we started with drinks – mine being an awesome French sangria made with a splash of Grand Marnier – that’s what makes it French. The GM made all the difference in the world with this drink – fabulous! Who knew French restaurants offered Sangria? Notice the plate that Scott strategically placed behind my glass.

When you’re drinking, it’s good to soak up some of the alcohol with food – I think that’s what French bread was made for and this was some of the best I’ve had! I am sooo glad that they did not put a big basket of this bread on the table – it was delivered in individual pieces by a “bread server” – I seriously would have eaten the whole basket, complete with the olive and red pepper tapenade that it came with.

I was going to pass on the appetizer but then I saw this cute little cone-shaped holder on someone’s table – ahh French Fries! Yes, I did get them, but only because they were served in the traditional French metal holder with a piece of “newsprint” to soak up the oil.

I was not in the adventurous mood (no cow tongue or snails for me!) so I opted for an eggplant and goat cheese crepe. Not gonna lie to you, it was just ok – rather uninteresting and blah by crepe standards. I decided not to waste the calories and only ate about 1/2 of it. Last but not least, Scott and I shared his dessert fave, chocolate mousse. The mousse was divine and I kept my tastes to just two bites – that’s really all you need with super rich mousse.

The best thing about this dinner was that I did not have to eat it with a 2-year old sitting on my lap. I’m all about sharing the love but not when I’m eating!

Filed Under: Dinner Tagged With: , , ,

Morning at Wordcamp Chicago

June 5, 2010 by

Hey all! I can’t wait to tell you about my fabulous French dinner last night, but that will have to come later. First, I must tell you where I’m writing from today – I’m at Wordcamp Chicago! Woo hoo! My husband is presenting at a Wordcamp session again (you may remember that he presented at Fitbloggin) and I decided to tag along. I do use WordPress, so it’s not such a stretch for me. So, I’m in for a fun-filled day of learning more about WordPress and bloggin – and you all know how much fun that is!

Of course, I didn’t leave home without fueling up with a little Kashi topped with blackberries and strawberries! Once at the conference, I was then tempted by the cookies and the muffins – bad Wordcamp! I know, I know, it’s not Fitbloggin so I should not compare. I did have a cookie, but I also had some mighty nice Mighty Leaf citrus tea!

Anyway, back to the session for me!

Filed Under: Fitness, Life Tagged With: , ,

Blackberry Martini – Sort of…

June 3, 2010 by

I have had this urge to purge all things unnecessary in my house. I seriously want to get rid of anything that does not have a purpose. As a result, Tuesday and Wednesday became huge cleaning days for me. I cleaned out drawers, cabinets, sorted through clothes, etc.  I contemplated giving away a good portion of our glassware that we received from our wedding. In the 9 years that we’ve been married, I think I’ve used our margarita glass once! I’ve kept them around all these years, just in case we had a margarita emergency, but that never happened. Now, all they do is take up space. So, I am donating them to a good home to someone at work.

As for the dozen Martini glasses –  I’m keeping them around to – what else? – hold my blackberries! Hmm, somehow everything looks and tastes better when it’s served in a Martini glass – don’t you think? Classy and healthy – just my style.

Now, on to more purposeful things….

Filed Under: Life Tagged With:

Tea Forte for Breakfast

June 2, 2010 by

Morning everyone! I missed yoga this morning. I literally walked in the door 5 minutes before class and the guy at the front desk told me they were full – blah! Come on people, it’s a Wednesday! Oh well, I’m on vacation. Relax and breathe.

Lack of yoga allowed me to get a jump on the home cleaning I need to do today. But first…breakfast! I had an awesome almond croissant that I picked up from fresh market last night – super light and fluffy. I also tried a new bagged tea – Tea Forte’s Forte Breakfast – good but not as good as Tazo Awake – but is anything? And, just because they filled with fiber and they taste good – I had a full cup of fresh blackberries – holy 8g of fiber!

I’m off to do more cleaning then trimming the trees and bushes.

Lumberjack Jen

Filed Under: Breakfast Tagged With: , , , , ,

Call Me Popeye

June 1, 2010 by

Hello all! Hope you all enjoyed your long weekend. My weekend has been extra looooong – I was on vacation today and I’m taking another day off tomorrow! Because today was the better of the two days (83 and sunny as opposed to tomorrow 75 and rainy), I spent a great deal of time outdoors. My day started with 5-mile run – of course – followed by cleaning up the house then heading out the door.

I ran several errands – all before 12 PM – including trips to Costco and the grocery store. I really do NOT like running “errands” on vacation, but sometimes you just have to suck it up.

Inspired by Fruit Not Fat, I came home from the store with loads of fresh fruit. Seriously, I think people were looking at me because of all of the fruit in my basket:

  • Bananas
  • Pears
  • Peaches
  • Watermelon
  • Blackberries
  • Strawberries
  • Blueberries

The blackberries looked fantastic. I wasted no time washing off a handful and making them disappear. Not the most glamorous way to eat, but hey, it was at least 6 g of fiber plus a ton of antioxidants.

For lunch, I made a huge spinach salad – I easily had 4 cups of spinach, as well as 1 hard boiled egg, 1/2 cup of cherry tomatoes, and a few cucumbers. When I totaled all of the fiber it came out to 17 g! As you can tell from the blackberries and spinach, I’m still on “fiber watch 2010” so I’ve been trying to incorporate as much fiber as I can at each meal. Although I can usually knock off around 10-15 g of fiber at breakfast (love you Kashi!), lunch and dinner are a little harder to fill with fiber. After reading The Full Plate Diet, I learned that spinach is fairly high in fiber for a vegetable – 4g per cup. And anyone who has made spinach knows that 1 cup of the greens does not go very far. More than likely, you’ll eat 2-4 cups at a serving – especially if it’s in a salad. Now I’m addicted to spinach salads!! I think I’ve eaten 5 in the last week – no joke – but I try to make a “different” salad each time. Spinach salads are very versatile – you can either add the normal veggies, or you can spice it up with raspberries, walnuts, various cheeses, etc. I also change up the dressing – sometimes it’s balsamic vinegar with olive oil, other times it red wine vinegar, olive oil, and dijon mustard – all home made of course!

The rest of the day was spent in the garden and the yard. I would love to go on a rant about how much I detest those spinner things that fall from the trees (which now have made a thousand little trees all over my vegetable garden), but I won’t.

OK, must get to bed. I’m off to yoga at 9 AM followed by a ton of “spring cleaning” – fun, fun, fun – can you believe I’m on vacation?

Filed Under: Food Tagged With: , ,

Michigan Road Trip – What No Peanut Butter?

May 30, 2010 by

As you may have guessed, I’ve been away the whole weekend. This time I was on a road trip – to Michigan. I will be the first one to admit that 6-7 hours in a car with a 5 year old a toddler can get a little dicey. But what’s even more challenging is finding healthy things to eat when I’m on the road.

Because we left so early on Friday morning, Scott wanted to stop for breakfast at Cracker Barrel. I am not against CB, but I’ve been there so many times that I’m barreled out.  Nonetheless, he was the driver so he got to choose.

In my college days and even pre-kid days, I would love to stop at CB for their cheesey potatoes and their biscuits. But now, I have absolutely no desire to eat those things, especially for breakfast.  As you know, I normally eat yogurt, oatmeal, or Kashi cereal for breakfast. I also like to incorporate some type of fresh fruit and/or peanut butter. As I casually looked at the menu, I saw “fresh fruit” and oatmeal on the menu, and thought, this couldn’t be that bad. But then I noticed that the “fresh fruit” included sliced bananas and fried apples – ugh! When did we start labeling fried apples as “fresh fruit”? This is a total Jamie Oliver nightmare.

The server came to our table and the conversation went a little something like this…

  • Me – Do you have any fresh fruit other than bananas and fried apples?
  • Server – No, that’s it
  • Me – so no fresh berries or melon?
  • Server – no that’s it
  • Me – Ok, then I’ll take the oatmeal
  • Server – we stopped serving oatmeal at 10 AM
  • Me – But it’s only 10:10 AM, you don’t have any left?
  • Server – no, it’s all gone.
  • Me – Do you have yogurt?
  • Server – No, we don’t serve yogurt. We tried serving it years ago but it didn’t go over well.
  • Me – OMG!!! Well then I’d like an English muffin with peanut butter
  • Server – We don’t have peanut butter.
  • Me – What is with Cracker Barrel? You guys need to get with the times!

As this point, I was so frustruated, I forgot to ask what cereal they served. I would bet money that they didn’t have Kashi. My server then explained that, like me, she was surprised that CB didn’t have these items. But she said that the restaurants were trying to keep with the authentic country or “down home” type of food. I could see that she wanted to help me, but it was beyond her control. My husband said, “there’s plenty of things to eat on the menu” to which I replied, “yeah, if all I want to eat is CARBS!” Ugh, I was not happy. I settled for one poached egg an English muffin with jam. I wonder if they considered the prepackaged jam a fruit as well?

Cracker Barrel, if you weren’t so convenient on road trips, I would avoid you like the carb-laden plague.

Filed Under: Breakfast Tagged With: , , ,