Not Bad

So far so good. My Saucony sneakers are holding up pretty well so far after having met grass and mud three miles in. It’s really raining now and my feet are amazingly only semi-damp.

AIDS Walk 2013

Well, I’ve strapped on my new Saucony sneakers and I’m headed to Central Park to participate in the 28th Annual AIDS Walk NYC. Let’s see how they hold up! I will be walking 10 kilometers (that’s 6.2 miles) up though
Central Park, then West to Riverside Park and back downtown. I sprained my instep slightly the other day, and my Achilles is flaring up, but I took some ibuprofen so I should be fine. Also raining out today (luckily just drizzling so far), but I packed my umbrella and the walk is sure to be colorful and fun nonetheless.

Cookie, Cookie!

Check out this amazing Peanut Butter Cocoa Cookie recipe I picked up from the folks at Smart Balance at the Fitness Magazine event. These cookies were so awesome I couldn’t wait to grab the recipe and try them out for myself. Luckily, Smart Balance came prepared and I logged zero time on the net hunting for the recipe.

Guys, these were so easy to make and I didn’t have to crack the oven door open once!

I used the crunchy peanut butter and My results were just as splendid as the cookies at the show. I substituted my beloved goat’s milk for low fat milk, used a tbsp coconut oil and a tbsp unsalted butter instead of the whipped balance butter called for in the recipe and added a scoop of ground flaxseed powder. They were delicious! My portions are a little bit larger because I scooped with a tablespoon (I had 28 servings all together by the time I was done), but you can use a 1/2 tbsp measurer and get the exact serving size of 40 portions. Still healthy, although a few more calories per portion.

As you can see, these won’t last long. Good thing I have a 10k walk coming up tomorrow —I’ve already eaten 6 of these darlings! If you’re a sugar fanatic who’s concerned about over doing it as much as I am, be sure to half the recipe. 😉

Swag!

Wow, take a look at this huge swag bag the super sweet folks at Fitness Magazine hooked me up with! Notwithstanding the Cherries and Volvic water–I threw those in there after a trip to the Market. The complimentary kicks and tee from Reebok look pretty awesome. Alas, my excitement was short lived –My Mom has already put her claim on the sneakers! I still don’t know what half these things are, but can’t wait to get home and see!

Me and Betty Wong

That’s me cheesin’ with Betty Wong, Editor in Chief of Fitness Magazine

Eat, Drink and Still Be Merry!

Celeb Chef Rocco DiSpirito, Author of Now Eat This! Italian and Star of the web series Now Eat This! Italy, tells us how to order and prepare a waistline friendly meal, eat what we love and stay healthy in a food obsessed society.

–Fitness Magazine Blogger Meet & Tweet

Eat that Bialy! It’s ok!

Dr. Jen Ashton of ABC News discusses Ange’s diagnosis, taking a day off from your diet, maintaining a relationship with your doctor, her new book Your Body Beautiful and returning to school to study Nutrition Sciences after med school.
–Fitness Magazine Blogger Meet & Tweet

205 Pounds, Staggering?

I was in Walgreens today, shopping for a light afternoon snack. No sooner than I laid hand to the part skim cheese I retrieved from the dairy section, my eyes zeroed in on a disturbing headline on one of the magazines by the checkout aisle. Emblazoned on the cover of In-Touch was an image of a very pregnant Kim Kardashian in an ill-fitting top; the caption under the cover photo and headline read: 205 Staggering Pounds.

It’s staggering this is even a headline

Excuse me, forgive me as I cringe and up-chuck my dairy. Now, maybe it’s just me. Perhaps I live in a candy coated sub-reality where 205 pounds just doesn’t seem like news; but come the eff on, Really? Just how out of touch is In-Touch magazine?

I’m not condoning being overweight. The problems associated with excessive weight are clear and pretty staggering. However, Kim is pregnant in this photo; as such, she definitely deserves a break. Since when did a bun in the oven and a size 16 become the straw that broke the camels back?

Peanut Butter Bliss?

I discovered something monumental today guys. 93% fat free Peanut Butter.
Now before you laugh or wave it off, hear me out because there are several reasons why you should try this.

One: It’s Peanut Butter
Two: It’s Practically Fat Free and Low Sugar
Three: Did I mention that it’s Peanut Butter?

Well, sort of; try peanuts without the butter. They’re actually powdered peanuts that have been naturally defatted. Yep, they took out most of the oil and left the nuts. Doesn’t sound too appetizing in theory! I showed this to my boss just recently and he didn’t receive the news too well either. I seem to recall something along the lines of a bemused expression followed by a grimace, a chuckle and a “Good luck with that”; and probably all in that order.

You’re probably having a similar reaction right now. If so, you’re totally blameless. If you’re anything like 99.9% of peanut butter lovers in the world, the terms “dehydrated” and “nuts” probably ain’t going to do it for you. BUT, I’ll probably also safely wager that you, like me, aren’t the typical doubting Thomas. While cruising the market aisles, your inner cheerleader whispers stuff like:

No boring USDA diets for us, no sir! Folks like us LIKE to live on the edge!

That said, my inner cheerleader did a full-on split when she saw this stuff. Ordinarily, recommending defatted peanuts would go against every peanut butter principle I believe in…first one being, you don’t DEFILE the peanut butter! However, I think I’ll make an exception for this minimally processed, organic version.

Only 40 calories. Is this a mirage?

At first, I didn’t think I could stomach the price let alone the concept of powdered nuts ( $9.99 a tub is a little steep even by NYC standards); but it’s actually pretty tasty and I spotted cheaper versions on Amazon.com. Just add a little water to your serving, stir, and you get silky, spreadable, and very yummy peanut butter. At just 40 calories a serving, you’ll hear no complaints here, trust me! Real peanut butter can pack a minimum of 180 calories onto your spoon! If you find that you really miss the buttery texture, I suppose you can add a little oil back in (ie: safflower, canola, etc); but that would pretty much defeat the purpose of making it a low fat option.

Just so you know, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with regular peanut butter as long as it’s 100% natural and has no added sugar. Look for versions that don’t contain a ton of junk (ie: high fructose corn syrup, soybean oil and a bunch of chemicals that you can barely pronounce). Personally, I prefer to grind my own or buy something like the Trader Joe’s Valencia brand or Smuckers Natural. I love the ingredients list on the Smuckers jar: peanuts, salt; and that’s it. My best friend and I always get a kick out of that when you compare it with other peanut butter brands on the market; And it’s so good you barely miss the sugar! Once and a blue moon, I’ll slip a jar of Peter Pan or Skippy in my basket, but that’s a rare occasion; I pretty much have to be desperate for peanut butter! Fortunately, there are many natural and organic options on the market nowadays. When the selection is poor in your neck of the woods, check out the selection at Amazon.com or buy a coffee grinder. You can always burr your own. Peanut butter is pretty simple to make! Check out the recipe I’ve pinned here.

Will Fruit Make Me Fat?

Yes and No.  My Mother always says, “it’s not what you do, it’s how you do it”… Well, that saying is very applicable to nutrition and weight management.  Just pick a topic, right? 🙂

Fruit (most fruits), can be eaten safely without significantly impacting blood sugar levels. However, any fruit eaten to excess will result in fat storage. But you ask, “Why, when fruit is supposed to be healthy for me?” Well, you’re right, it is very healthy for you; but anything you eat has the potential of becoming fat, especially sugars. We all need the necessary vitamins and nutrients that come from foods; however, fruit also contains fructose and glucose (a.k.a) sugar. Glucose goes straight info the blood system where, with the assistance of Insulin, it is converted to Energy. Some of that Glucose is used for energy and burned off right away. The rest is converted to Glycogen and stored in your muscles. But when your Glycogen storage is filled to capacity (and it doesn’t take much to do this consuming a typical American diet), whatever is NOT used is pumped into your fat cells. Now, this is where things get tricky. Fructose, eventually gets converted into Glucose too, but it is (for the most part), perfectly fine to consume in moderate quantities (4 to 5 servings a day of fresh, fiber rich, whole fruit will not harm you). Actually, the fiber in fruit can help ease the transition of sugar into the bloodstream, giving the body a little time to burn it off. However, certain fruits (like Watermelon for example) have higher indexes of glucose in them. An overabundance of sugar from these fruits shock the system, spike the blood sugar and immediately fill up Glycogen storage. Now, if you’re sedentary, this is bad news for you because some of that sugar isn’t going to be burned.

Fruit Juices (even the fresh-pressed ones) are dicey too. Five apples pressed into juice is a whole lot of sugar for your body to handle at one time (even if it’s fresh). One apple may be low glycemic, but FIVE apples in one sitting certainly is not; and with no fiber to slow it down, the massive amount of sugar in that drink will be treated no differently than if you were to have eaten a candy bar. When you juice, be careful to watch how many servings of fruit and “sweet” vegetables you add to a drink. Half a banana; or an apple in a relatively green vegetable drink is fine. A banana, an apple, a huge chunk of pineapple, beets and some carrots is a completely different story all together. When juicing, lean more on green vegetables or low glycemic fruits ( like berries ) for the body of the drink; then add a few slices of apples or pineapples for sweetness.

One more word of advice; watch your timing on eating fruits. Carbohydrates are a necessity for your body to function, but you have to be careful what kind you eat and when you eat them. Therefore, it’s not practical to have a carb rich meal (even sweet fruits or fresh pressed juices) right before bed; and especially if you’ve been consuming them largely during the day. The body immediately seeks to burn any carbs you eat as an energy source. However, when you’re resting, the energy expenditure supply needs decline. If your liver has already reached glycogen capacity and you try to fill’er up again, what your body essentially will do is take some of that extra glucose, and attempt to stuff it into your muscles… and your fat storage.

Did you get that? When Liver and muscle glycogen is at capacity, the body will convert the glucose to fat. Therefore, adding to an already filled glycogen storage isn’t going to help you. It’s like adding more water to a filled cup. It just spills over, into fat. However, if you empty your glycogen storage before bed, your body will spend that resting period doing exactly what it should do; burn excess fat for energy.

When you think about it, this makes sense doesn’t it? When your body goes to sleep, it wants to focus on doing what it needs to sustain your life and repair your cells. It shouldn’t be digesting a mammoth sized dinner or dessert. For it to adequately do it’s job, you can’t be hyped up, climbing the walls on a sugar high at resting time. You might fall asleep, but your body is feeling the effects of that sugar long after you shut your eyes and handling things as it would if you were still awake.

Also, be sure to add some protein with your fruits to slow down the rapid rise of insulin in the blood stream. A few selections that pair well with fruit are nut butter, cheese, eggs (limit 6 a week if you are a woman) or egg whites. This well help you sustain energy from the sugar longer, and blunt the sugar high that leads to fat storage. Plus, protein is great for repairing and building muscle. The only exception to the rule on fruit sugar is bulking. Guys who want to bulk up might wish to try combining a few simple carbs with 25-30 grams of protein within 30-45 minutes after training. The carbs will shuttle the protein to your muscles quicker. Some folks prefer to do this prior to training, but regardless of when you do it, make sure you ONLY do it on training days. Even protein that is not used, gets stored. Ladies, do not follow the protocol for post workout carbs unless you are fit and training or wish to maintain your weight. Some women wish to create more muscle definition and do not have fat to burn. They are candidates for that sort of protocol. Those of us who wish to emphasis fat loss, however, need to reduce our net carb intake.