Sweatin' to the Oldies Sucks

One of the best motivators I've found to keep me working out is the music. It's all about the music. A music choice can make or break a workout and I do my best to find the most motivating mixes I can find.

DJ mixes are good for that. House and what I like to call "Big Gay Diva Dance Mixes" are the best for cardio. Second in line for cardio? 80's dance music and of course, disco. Some of my favorites for cardio: Kylie Minogue, Beyonce, Missy Elliot, Daft Punk and an assortment of house mixes.

Looking for music to yoga by? I like just about anything from the Cafe del Mar, Hotel Costes and Nirvana Lounge series. Another really good one is Chilled Sirens, full of ethereal female downtempo stuff.

When I'm walking on the beach or just outside, it has less of a cardio purpose anymore and more of a "this is time for me to reconnect with myself" sort of Chaturbate vibe. So I tend to listen to music that just makes me feel good and think about life and general whatever. My current faves? Dido's Life for Rent and Sarah McLachlan's Afterglow. Another great one is India Arie's Acoustic Soul and Jill Scott's Who Is Jill Scott?

Now, when I'm strength training? It kind of just depends on my mood. Sometimes I go for The Cure or The White Stripes. Sometimes I'm feeling loud and industrial. Sometimes I'm feeling a little All-American Rejects or The Cars. It's really all about my mood.

Fitness Magazine offers what they call Fit Mix cds -- one each for cardio, walking and running. I haven't heard them, but the playlist looks interesting.

Best Part of Wakin' Up

It's the oldest line: breakfast is the most important meal of the day. I've always been a "yeah, yeah, if I get time" kind of person when it came to breakfast or I'd just eat some crap like a Sausage McMuffin or something. Since I've started working out and taking vitamins, I've noticed that I really enjoy my breakfast. I have the advantage of working from home, so I do have time to make something, but you can still eat, even if you're on the go. It'll give you more energy throughout your day, for your workout and usually, if you eat a protein-rich substantial breakfast, you won't end up snacking.

This morning, I ended up eating breakfast a little later than I'd hoped, so it was more like brunch, but after going to the gym, I was ravenous. I ate like a horse for a mere 5 points.

6 egg whites, scrambled and seasoned with curry seasoning - 2 points

2 morningstar farms veggie breakfast links - 1 points

2 slices of orowheat light 9-grain toast - 1 point

1 tsp of brummel & brown margarine/yogurt spread - 1 point

water

I'm seriously full and man, that was a lot of food for 5 points. I know now that I'm satiated after my workout and I can go about my housecleaning, work and watching adult shows on https://www.jasminlive.mobi/ until dinner with maybe only a small piece of fruit or some cottage cheese this afternoon.

Try eating breakfast. Make time to give yourself some energy to get through your day. You deserve it!

Chicken in Mushroom Sauce

I made this rockin' chicken recipe I concocted from the back of a soup can, my childhood memories and a little creativity last night for dinner with some garlic pepper asparagus and wild rice. It was easy, gourmet-like, very filling and low in points!

Ingredients

4 item boneless chicken breast, 3oz

10 3/4 oz Campbell's (U.S.) Healthy Request Cream of Mushroom Soup

1/2 cup water

1 cup onion(s)

1 cup mushroom(s)

1 clove garlic clove(s)

1 serving PAM Cooking Spray

Instructions

Spray bottom of pan with PAM. Heat and add garlic and onions. Brown chicken. Add mushrooms. Add the can of soup and 1/2 cup water. Cover and simmer until soup creates a sauce. Whisk the lumps until smooth.

POINTS per serving | 4 to 5*

Servings | 4

ok, I go with 4 points, mostly because I use chicken tender pieces instead of actual breasts and I go by the calories and serving size on the back of the bag of tenders. Also, this calculation is by the WW site, assuming that you're going to consume every drop of sauce. I don't. I have plenty of sauce left over, so I feel I can safely say this is 4 points.

The aspargus was no points and one whole cup of Near East Long Grain Wild Rice was 4 points, so I had a huge 8 point dinner. And, I couldn't even eat it all.

I highly recommend this recipe

Enough is Enough

Yesterday, the strangest thing happened to me. I stopped eating when I was finished. Crazy, right? I mean, surrendering my membership to the Clean Plate Club? Shocking!

Sure, if I have a plate full of food and I'm stuffed, I couldn't possibly fit any more food in there, ok -- I'll leave the food on my plate. But in the last year, since starting Weight Watchers, I've learned to portion my food so I can't overeat. It hasn't been an issue.

But yesterday, I had a very reasonable portion on my plate, I'd measured out everything and when I was finished (not stuffed, not ill, not overflowing, not crammed, not full), I just... stopped. It was the oddest sensation that a lot of people can't understand. I'm not used to just stopping when I'm finished, especially if what's on my plate is a cheesy (albeit low-fat cheesy) mexican yum-fest. A little over a year ago, I easily would have eaten it all (and maybe more) just because it tasted good and/or it made me feel good, completely ignoring my body saying "Hey bitch! You've had enough! Put the fork down, porkchop!" I would have eaten until I was groaning and then beaten myself up with guilt - "I can't believe I ate the whole thing!"

For me, it was a novel hot sex shows experience and one that marks a milestone for me as someone who has truly changed her life. This isn't a diet. This is how it is. And it feels good.

Portion sizes are horribly out of hand in the United States. Everything is super-sized and they want us all to be super-models. It's all a bunch of horseshit. You can't blame the fast food industry for your fat. It's up to us to make the healthy, rational choices; to control what goes in our bodies. A Happy Meal is a reasonable portion for a grown adult, not a two cheeseburger meal, super-sized with an Oreo McFlurry. That's an entire days worth of food and two days worth of calories.

No one says you have to eat it all. Your mom (usually) isn't standing over your shoulder scolding, " in China are starving! Eat the entire box of mac n' cheese! Hell, have two!" Just because it's there doesn't mean it has to go in your mouth.

Eat slowly. Be deliberate about what's going into your body. Savor the experience. If you can't taste what your shoveling in there, what's the point? Neither Ben, nor Jerry can fill that void you may be feeling. No food will. So, eat a couple spoonfuls of the ice cream or whatever it is. Enjoy it, revel in it. And be satisfied. No need to lick the empty pint and then beat yourself up about it.

Remember to measure your food, learn to know what a real portion size is. America is so out of whack about what a reasonable amount of food is anymore. Then you can eat with confidence that you're not hogging out, especially if you're choosing something not-so-healthy.

It may seem like a small thing to some, but knowing when I was finished... that was a big deal to me. I know now that I look at food differently, not as an opiate, but as nutrition. Sure, it can still taste good, I can still go "Damn, this is delicious!" but ultimately know that no matter how delicious it is, when I've had enough, I'm finished.

Everyday is still a new experience, even after doing this for over a year and 80 lbs. I'm still learning, I'm still triumphing and so can you.

We can totally do this.

Pour Some Sugar Substitute On Me

When I find something at the grocery store that uses Splenda I squeal like a schoolgirl over a boy because it's something that will no doubt be low calorie, meaning low point, meaning more food for me. I use it to sweeten my tea once in a while and I have a few products like hot chocolate and fizzy water flavored with Splenda in my house. Though I have recently stumbled across some interesting reading about Splenda and it got me thinking about all sugar substitutes.

I read a post over at Kara's site. She linked to some interesting information about Splenda and shared her experience with it. I haven't heard too many bad things about Splenda but then again, ignorance is bliss in my world. But it did get me thinking about what exactly I am putting into my body. The point of getting healthy is to actually "get healthy". Not get healthy but pump it full of weird calorie free substances. I want to address some of the major substitutes out there that we see in sugar caddy's everywhere.. god bad or ugly. Equal or aspartame, Sweet n Low or saccharin and Splenda or sucralose.

They also claim that the ill effects people blame on Aspartame consumption such as allergic reactions, headaches, epilepsy, phenylketonuria vision problems, weight gain, mood swings and blood sugar control (amongst a slew of other effects) are completely bogus and blame the spreading of these "rumors" on the Internet (confirmed by Snopes that the information sailing through inboxes is indeed false information.).

However, I have found article after article suggesting that this is not the case. Though none of them seem to be from reputable sources. I know I have seen and heard a hundred reports of people who get sick from it's use. That is not a comforting thought.

We all know that we have heard "The pink stuff" aka Saccharin causes cancer in lab rats. That's pretty scary. I have heard for many years that "you'll get cancer from that stuff". But really, would they put it on the tables of a restaurant if it actually was proven that it would.That's pretty scary. But people are yammering that it's safe and the reports of its effects continue to build. And I don't know about you but the mere thought that it could cause cancer is scary enough to make me avoid it.

Finally, Splenda aka sucralose. I thought finally I found a non threatening sugar substitute. But I read some disturbing things and the lack of studies done on sucralose are a cause for slight concern. Approved by the FDA in 1990 it has been seen in all kinds of products from ice cream to salad dressing. The interesting thing about Splenda is that is made from actual sugar and is the only sugar substitute that doesn't carry a warning label.

With all that said, it is hard to ignore people who say they have experienced symptoms such as anxiety, panic attacks, feeling withdrawn, etc.

Here is where my opinion comes in. People have adverse reactions to a lot of things. Baning sugar substitutes from the shelves because you got sick (I have read "This product should be banned" quite a few times) is probably not the answer. People should educate themselves and of course discontinue using it if you experience anything as described above.

I personally have never had an adverse reaction to any of the above substitute sweeteners, but then again, I use them in moderation. If you drink 4 diet cokes a day and think aspartame is making you sick... you are probably right. I don't think people understand that if you consume too much of most things you aren't going to feel right, though the reactions may vary from person to person.

I am not dismissing what people have experienced. I believe that it happens and it is real. But I think educating ourselves is key and to be skeptical of everything we eat. And most importantly use them in moderation. I welcome all your thoughts on the subject.

The information I provided above is just a sliver of a very big pie. So take it with a grain of sugar substitute.