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Thursday, October 4, 2012

Let's Talk About Salad

Wow I havn't posted all week. I've been so busy trying to get ahead of my work because I'm going home tomorrow! I can't wait.

But anyway let's get to business. So a healthy option at the dining hall-or in general- can be salad. Emphasis on the can. Some people go overboard and their salad turns into being a nightmare. So step by step we are going to build a delicious, and healthy salad.
1. Lot's of greens! They are very low in calories and filling too so load up on them.
2. Pile on the veggies! As long as they're raw they also have very low calories. Try to get as many colors as possible to get different nutrients. Beware of veggie salads that are premixed and have some kind of dressing on them. Usually they are soaking in the dressing and that is a ton of calories.
3. Add protein but don't go overboard. Protein is important for keeping you full but it can also add a lot of calories to your meal. Try to stick to healthy choices like eggs(yes they are healthy despite misconceptions), grilled chicken breast, salmon, legumes and tofu. Aim for about half a cup of these choices.
4. Fruit- it's delicious on salad, try it! Sometimes I use pineapple juice or applesauce as a replacement for dressing and it's amazing.
5. Toppings- beware of these. Dried fruit has much more sugar and calories than regular fruit. Seeds have a lot of sodium. If you always have toppings try only choosing one at each meal now. My strategy (for sunflower seeds) is have them on a salad maybe once every week or two.
6. Now comes dressings, which everybody knows is bad! And even worse at dining halls they usually don't have light versions. I have gotten into balsamic vinegar lately. It is nice and light and soaks into the tofu well to flavor it. If you absolutely don't like vinegars try to stay away from creamy dressings and don't overload your salad. The salad is about the veggies not the dressing on top.

Hope this helps,

Fit girl over and out.

Saturday, September 29, 2012

APPLE FEST

Today is the famous Apple Fest in Ithaca, NY! This has been talked about since the first time I visited the college. Apparently there will be 30,000 people visiting for streets filled with delicious apple food, local crafts and entertainment. Let's just say I can't wait and will be coming back with my wallet a bit lighter. I'm not really in the mood to eat though, being sick and all. Hopefully there will be some yummy apple soup there or maybe hot apple cider. It all sounds so good I just can't wait.

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Disclaimer

So I have to admit I just broke my goal. I ate a piece of lemon cake/pie/cheesecake/tart and it was the most amazing thing I have ever eaten. I'm not freaking out about it. I'm still going to make my other goal of a 90 minute run this week. It's not like I overindulged so I'm just going to let it slide. Maybe from now on I should set a more realistic goal like twice a week or something. It was a learning opportunity. And I did go for a run and have two bowls of fruit with dinner.

Tomorrow morning
breakfast=strawberry yogurt
after workout snack=apple
late lunch=big spinach salad
dinner=vegan tacos, tofu stir fry or sandwich


Procrastinating...

All done with classes for the day (to be honest I only had an hour) and another two hours before my run. I should be working on homework but this is much more entertaining. My problem today is I don't have very much energy, as was yesterday. I have to admit I looked at that cookie at lunch time, heavily considering it, but then turned it down. I'm still going strong on my one desert goal. I just had a snack of strawberry yogurt. It worries me though that I'm not sure if it was low fat and it probably had a lot of sugar in it. I need to make a trip to Wegman's soon and get some more to fill my fridge up with. I'm going to be at a meeting late tonight (yay skiing!) so I have to go to late night for dinner, pasta night. I know there will be Alfredo sauce there but I'm going to pass it up. Also, I'm only going to have a small amount of pasta and then hit up the salad bar. Then probably off to the library and to bed early tonight for 8am classes tomorrow. I just remembered that Apple Fest is this weekend. I'm going to have to stay strong not to have desert there. I'm sure I'll be able to find something healthy, maybe a soup or something.

I've noticed an overall change in cravings. Right now I'm craving a nice spinach salad with chickpeas, tofu, red peppers and balsamic vinaigrette. I also crave fruit salad and bananas. I was a healthy eater before but I tended to crave pretzels/crackers and chocolate since we had them in the house and I was able to eat them. Now at college I really don't. I've been eating a lot of tofu stir-fry. When all else fails I get a salad, pita and hummus or sometimes a veggie sandwich on oat nut bread or a whole wheat wrap. On the mornings I eat at the dining hall I go for oatmeal or cheerioes and fruit salad. In my room I usually have greek yogurt (plain) with some raw honey or my mom's homemade jam. I ran out of that though :( So tomorrow might be oatmeal if I'm up early enough to make it or a piece of fruit and special k fruit crisps (only 100 Calories!).

What's on tap for me?!
-one hour run tonight
-an hour at the gym tomorrow
-spinach salad lunch tomorrow

Well I would love to keep writing but if I'm going to get a good night sleep I better get started on my homework.

Fit girl, over and out

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Body Image

Okay, I'll admit it. I have a pretty horrible body image. I always see myself as fat and having something I want to change but I've been working on it. And with my clothes being so loose lately that has helped! Usually when I eat something unhealthy I feel guilty until I can workout. But as part of my goals I set I decided everything should be in moderation, and allowed myself one desert this week. Well, it's day two and I had it. I ate (most of) a donut tonight. I'm not feeling guilty about it either. After two workouts today I think I deserve it. To keep track on my goal though no more deserts until next Wednesday. Can I do it? Of course I can, I'm up for the challenge!

What's on tap for tomorrow?
-After my 8 and 9 am classes a trip to the gym- an hour and a half of strength circuits mixed in with laps around the gym
-Probably Ultimate Frisbee practice
-Breakfast-plain greek yogurt with a little raw honey

Monday, September 24, 2012

Intro, Tips, Goals

So I'm new to this whole blogging thing but I figured I'd try it out. I'm a college student, freshman to be exact, and not only do I not want to gain the dreaded freshman 15 but I want to stay healthy and fit like when I came here. So far I've been doing pretty well. I've been exercising about an hour a day at least six days a week. That ends up being less than I used to do but it's hard to find the time. I vary it up and go with different people to make it fun. I use the gym for strength, go on the rec trail for running, go to classes like spinning and use the olympic size pool for swimming! Take the stairs as much as you can, even if you're on the 11th floor of a building like me! Food wise I'm staying pretty healthy but I have to admit I could do better. I have salad around twice a week, have decided to go vegetarian and eat a lot of fruits and veggies. Here are some tips for eating healthy in the dining hall:
1. Have an idea of what you want to eat before you see the food, that way you can bypass the unhealthy options and not be tempted.
2. Try to fill a large portion of your plate with veggies so there is less room for high-calorie foods.
3. Drink water not soda
4. Be careful of sauces and condiments on foods
5. Opt for whole grain breads and bagels
6. Don't sit near/walk by deserts (chances are they're not as good as homemade anyway!)

I try to follow these rules but sometimes I have to give in. For example on mine or friends birthdays I have had cake and of course on National Ice Cream day I had to have ice cream. Just have all good things in moderation and that way you won't be as tempted. I've actually been able to lose weight since I came here and want to keep that up.

Goals for This week:
1. Go for a 90 minute run
2. Only eat desert once