Snacktime! Healthy FIlling Snacks for 200 cals

By: Stepfanie Romine : 1/19/2012

Editor’s Note: All this week, we’re sharing meals, snacks and even desserts that can fit into your daily life. We combine our recipes with simple and nutritious sides for healthy meals, snacks and desserts that are calorie-conscious. You’ll be amazed that you can fill your plate and still fit into your jeans the next day. (Find the whole series here.)

You’ll need to pick up a copy of “The SparkPeople Cookbook: Love Your Food, Lose the Weight” to access the recipes, but we will share some sneak peeks this week—and you can easily add recipes from the cookbook to your SparkPeople Nutrition Tracker, too!

 
In recent years, dietitians, doctors, and researchers have rethought the “no eating between meals” rule. Snacks are important, especially when you live an active life or are trying to lose weight. If you go hours on end without eating, your blood sugar will drop, your stomach will grumble, and you’ll start to get grouchy—and you’ll ultimately eat your way through whatever’s in the kitchen. Eating every few hours keeps your hunger levels down so you can control your appetite and prevent overeating. Healthy snacks help keep blood sugar levels in check and keep your energy up.

Just a few well-timed bites have a big impact. That’s why we included so many snack tips and recipes in “The SparkPeople Cookbook.” It’s almost snacktime…
 
  1. Creamy, Tangy Tomato Bruschetta (141 calories)
  2. Tabbouleh (179 calories)
  3. Multi Grain Roll with 1 tablespoon each peanut butter and all-fruit spread (205 calories)
  4. Coach Nicole’s Fresh Guacamole with baked tortilla chips and 1/2 cup cucumber slices (206 calories)
  5. Baked Sunburst Fries with Spicy Yogurt Sauce (176 calories)

  6. Sweet and Spicy Pecans with 1/4 cup dried cranberries (191 calories)
  7. Caramel Popcorn with 1/2 ounce dry-roasted peanuts (199 calories)
  8. SparkGuy’s  Best Trail Mix (158 calories)
  9. Berry Oatmeal Bars (159 calories)
  10. Tomato Jam on 1 slice whole wheat bread with 1 tablespoon low-fat cream cheese (183 calories)

Source: dailyspark.com

Yoovie’s PLATEAU Theory - reposted for SELF

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Your brain does not evolve at the same rate as your body.

Major sections of your personality hinge on your perception of your physical appearance.

Which is controlled by your brain.

Which doesn’t change as fast as your body.

You following me still?

As you change the shape of your body, your perception of yourself does not necessarily change at the same rate. Where you may have gone from an 8 to a 6 or from a 22W to an 18… your perception of your body might not have changed at all.

This is very hindering!

“I’ve lost 50 pounds but can’t really seeee the difference!”
“I had to buy an entirely new wardrobe but I dont feel smaller.”
“I have no idea what the scale is talking about, cause I still see the fat.”
“THIS IS BULLSH*T!”

You’d think that losing the poundage would be an instant and immediate change in our reflection. But that reflection has to go through our brain filters first.

Our brain filters… some good some bad. Like?

1. Comparing to the person next to you or someone else in general. That’s the first and quickest way to alter your perception away from your simple sense of sight.
2. Comparing yourself to what you USED to see. This can be good or bad. If you are used to seeing your reflection span the entire width of the mirror and now there are several inches of bathroom wallpaper visible behind you, AWESOME. But you can see how comparing to your old self would also affect what you actually see in front of you, negatively.
3. Inner critics. Moms, aunts, best friends, significant others… all those unwanted, unbidden opinions floating around in your head… alter what your brain is processing.
4. Self-inflicted expectations. These can also be good or bad. Expectations to eat right and be active can have a postive reinforcement in your brain filters. Expectations to lose 9 jean sizes between New Year’s and the beach… ehhhh notsomuch helpful.
5. This is the tough one. This is the Reflection that you have gotten used to seeing. The YOU that you ARE. The grownup, this is me, reflection. When we are very used to seeing one person in the mirror, and she starts looking very different…. it can be very disconcerting.

NOW hold that thought….

When you are doing cardio or ST.. and you need a rest to catch your breath and get your bearings… do you take it?

When I run, I run a block or three and then walk a block, run a block or three and then walk a block. It dawned on me yesterday that that is EXACTLY how my weight loss progress goes. But if I walk too long instead of hopping back into a run at the next block… lol guess what, no loss.

emoticon Running = losing steadily
emoticon Walking = maintaining
emoticon Stopping = gaining or giving up.

Now… I walk until I can give my poor ankles a break, catch my breath and adjust my tits. Change the song on my iPod, take a picture, drink some water, ogle a hottie running past. Tie my shoes, wipe the sweat off my face, get it out of my eyes and decide which direction I will go next.

We need these little moments of walking. Think about it.

emoticon Give my ankles a break = time off for injuries
emoticon Catch my breath = take care of other things going on that have higher priority
emoticon Adjust my tits = rearrange your schedule
emoticon Change the song on my iPod = find a new way to invigorate yourself
emoticon Take a picture = stop to smell the roses along the way OR take a progress picture, take stock in how far you’ve come
emoticon Drink some water = check in on how you are caring for yourself
emoticon Ogle a hottie running past = time out for silly ish
emoticon Tie my shoes = make sure you aren’t doing anything the unsafe way
emoticon Wipe the sweat off my face = slough off the bad habits you’re steadily dropping
emoticon Get it out of my eyes = (DING DING DING - PAY ATTENTION) GIVE YOUR BRAIN’S PERCEPTION OF YOU TIME TO CATCH UP TO WHAT YOU REALLY LOOK LIKE AND FEEL LIKE NOW. YOUR ABILITIES AND DIMINISHED LIMITATIONS. There’s a new ‘you’ to get used to in the mirror.
and
emoticon Decide which direction I will go next = Decide which path to take. Do I keep maintaining this walk for a little while until I have done all those things? Do I stop? Do I quit? Can I start running again now? Left? Right? Up the hill?

There are so many things right there that we can get hung up on when we reach a plateau. Sometimes we’ve handled everything except the part where we are giving our brains and bodies enough time to SYNC UP AGAIN. It’s frustrating, I know.

Sometimes, the more weight you’ve lost… the longer that plateau might last, even if you never stop exercising regularly, never give up eating right, never slow to a walk… but it’s time that you NEED so your perception isnt completely out of whack.

I KNOW. BELIEEEEEEEEEEEVE ME, I KNOW. I spent last summer in agony, trying to live in a body that was 90 pounds smaller than the me I’d been used to for a decade. 90 pounds. That’s like… Justin Beiber.

I looked a million times better. My skin was radiant from all the water, my hair was badass as usual, but I was taking turns too widely, sucking in my stomach to edge around a chair when I had more than enough room to walk straight past it. Wearing clothing 3 sizes too big. Avoiding any kind of attention at all. Getting angry when someone would tell me I was beautiful and fit because obviously they were mocking me. I was hiding behind people (and door frames/lazy-boys/kitchen islands) still, I was being so harsh on myself. I FLAT OUT REFUSED to date anyone who was physically fit. O_o (wacked out yo)

My stubborn ass needed a plateau so I could get used to my new body.

Here’s the trick though… you can’t walk forever. One day, you will wake up…. and JUST like the day you woke up and decided (for real) to START this mission to get a better body (for real) and you will realise you can move on from your plateau. You will start running again, and your mind and body will be as one and THEN…

Then the magic happens.

How else would you describe the fact that your body won’t lose any weight that your brain doesnt want it to, despite all physical efforts?

If you’ve hit a plateau, see if you need to adjust your tits, ogle a hottie, tie your shoes, get the sweat out of your eyes or if you are just waiting to pick a direction to go next.

And when you figure it out… grab your brain and start running again.


believe-toachieve.tumblr.com

PS. just dont use this as a friggin excuse or weightloss karma will bite you HARD, babydoll.

December Ignition Switch

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

WARNING!

If you want safe vanilla politically correct non-confrontational, coddled and sugar-coated semi-motivational spark-celebrity type encouragement without any questionable or unpopular opinions, morals, perspective or thinking outside of the box… please look elsewhere, you are NOT going to find what you are looking for… so please, do you and me and big favor right now and just DO NOT READ THIS.

Thank you and good luck =)

Graphics featured in today’s blog were created by activeinspiration.tumblr.com , (unless otherwise noted) a site that I HIGHLYHIGHLY recommend you visit on days when you need a string of true and bright and bold words to get you out of your chair.

ooooooooooh GUESS WHAT!

It’s DECEMBER tomorrow! Oh 2011.. how do I hate thee.. let me NOT count the ways. Instead, let me have THE LAST WORD.

Im going to get myself all pumped up to have the last word in my fight against 2011. There must be a reason I havent quit yet and if I havent quit yet, then it just simply aint gonna happen.

Who cares if I maintained for the last 13 months? At least now I know that I CAN maintain.

Who cares if I kept gaining weight because of BS? I lost it right back, didnt i?

Who cares if I got injured? Im running again now, aren’t I?

Who cares if its no longer pretty summer weather to exercise in? I have long sleeved sht.

There are things that I want to see more of. Things like hip bones and muscle definition. And we all know there is only one way to make that happen.



but but but…



N.O. NO.



When I was losing weight, there were things happening to my body that were addicting! I was watching my shape change, I was watching my body develop as the fat melted away. I couldnt BELIEVE what I was seeing under there! Things I really really loved! LIKE OBLIQUES!

omg the day my obliques showed up i liked to lose my sht. You shoulda seen me, late for work cause I was busy taking side pics in my bedroom mirror.

Can you imagine what it will be like when I can see my six pack starting to show through? Im gonna call in sick probably!

Guy was recently asked what advice he gives girls who want an ass that guys really like. What kind, how do you make it? Is it genetic only?

He told her- if you want a great ass- forget about your ass and work on your hamstrings. No one’s ass looks good unless they have developed hamstrings. She bounced off in amazement with determination to do squats, etc.

But me, well, I question EVERYTHING. Why? Where did you get that idea?

1. It is a big muscle that you can see without being a contortionist.
2. There is usually less fat to lose before you can see that muscle develop- so progress is more apparent, more more quickly apparent than on your ass.
3. Seeing progress motivates you to keep going.
4. You can’t work your hamstrings without working your glutes.
5. Saying UGH I HAVE TO GO WORKOUT MY ASS is something we are all tired of hearing and saying. But Hamstrings… how fun are those?
6. Sitting a pretty ass on top of chicken legs or tree trunks is no bueno. Sitting it on top of a pair of stems, is beautiful.
7. Usually when you can focus on something you CAN change, the things you think you can’t change… naturally follow.

DINGDINGDING!!!



So Im going to focus things that I CAN CHANGE and hopefully things that I feel will never change, will react to what Im doing differently.

I feel like I cant get my tummy fat to go away no matter what, BUT Im getting petty good progress at slimming down my arms and legs. I may not have lost any weight in the last year, but i’ll be damned if my arms and legs aint half the size they were last year!

me last year @175:



me this year @ 175:



I spent A YEAR focusing on NON-POUNDAGE VICTORIES and what did I get out of it?
NON-POUNDAGE VICTORIES!

So that’s it. I spent a year doing it that way and defnititely made a difference. Now Im going to go back to letting the scale matter. I can only go so far while pretending the scale doesnt matter when I actually want to lose some more weight. I know my body very well and although I know it may seem to many that I should just STOP where Im at- I see how much fat I can grab on my thighs, I see the gut that strains against my leggings, I can tell how much of my back fat can be trimmed. I dont know if I need to lose 20 or 40 but I know I need to start losing again before these non-scale victories can start happening in different areas of my life.

iF I DONT CHANGE SOMETHING, I WILL BE FAT UNTIL I DIE.

I dont want to have to squeeeeeeeeeeeze into a booth and pretend I dont notice. i dont want to get so big that i break furniture because it simply cannot support my weight. i dont want to be the friend that everyone makes excuses for because my size is so damn ridiculous that I cant take the subway because I dont fit through the doors. I dont want to get up over 400 pounds and still tell people Im only 250. I dont want to backslide all my progress and turn back into the creature that I was, that got the looks and the stares because I allowed my body to turn into something that could have its own orbit.

I dont like pretending Im normal, I like actually being normal.
Denial isnt sexy, self-awareness is.
Lying to myself is bullsht, being honest is beautiful.
Treating my body like an trashcan is hateful and ugly, treating it like an amusement park is far more loving and beautiful.
Saying I dont care, doesnt mean I dont.
And eating because I met a minigoal is like turning around and walking away from the finish line.

I dont want to be a fat stupid American.

Pounds need to matter again. Need to lose a little of the extra, to make room for the better.



Ok!

So how do I lose pounds?

I mean, I know how to do ST for muscle and trimming. I know how to curb my eating, which I have recently revolutionized TWICE (thanks wheat, jerk). I know how to make sure i MOVE EVERY DAY and I know that regular cardio sessions are the only sure fire way to lose weight.

So. More cardio.

Well, the fact that I have now found a place where I can do 200 JUMPINGJACKS without going through the floor, means Im going to turn it into a place where I can do 10 sets of 100 jumping jacks without going through the floor.

I have hills and open sidewalks and streetlights blasting Christmas music? Get out there into it.

The sidewalks in my own neighborhood are too crowded to go in the evenings? Don’t want to walk over two avenues to jog down 7th Ave where its desolate, clean and quiet? You dumbass, 2 avenue blocks is part of your warmup. Skip the fifth ave crowds and run down 7th. Its prettier anyway. You can walk back down 5th to get home during your cool-down. Genius. *shakes head at self*

I quit my gym membership though! What do I do when it snows? Jumpin jacks bitch, we just discussed this.

The thing is not what to do or how to go about it or when we can get it done, the thing is doing it when its time to do it.



Its a choice.

It’s MY CHOICE.

IT’S MY CHOICE TO CHANGE, TO DO, TO GO, TO MAKE, TO CREATE, TO LIVE.

ITS ALL ABOUT CHOICES. ALL OF IT.

ALSO…



EVERY TIME I FIND MYSELF CONSIDERING SKIPPING A WORKOUT BECAUSE OF SOME LAME REASON OR ANOTHER (BUT BASICALLY BECAUSE I DONT FEEL LIKE TAKING THE VERY FIRST STEP)…. I HAVE TO REMIND MYSELF THAT IM MAKING A CHOICE.



Do I want to ever see my hipbones or am I happy overflowing my jeans?
Do I ever wanna fit those size 7 jeans on my wall or am I ok with elastic waist bands?
Do I want to be able to curl up with my Sharkslayer and just lose myself in the moment or am I ok with thinking about how much my stomach folds over itself and into my lap when Im sitting on the couch? Can I just stand forever?
Do I want to jump on top during sex and have thestamina of a 17 year old boy?
Yes yes I do.

Wait, is she really making this compleely about lookingbetter naked because she’s falling for a guy?
28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lvhovg04N
N1qgw1f2o1_250.gif
Whatever gets you through your workouts, my friends.

Im chasing something.

Im chasing an attainable something.

Im chasing something that I want to catch.

How am I suppoed to catch something from the observation deck?

Im not.

IM SUPPOSED TO CATCH IT BY GOING OUT THERE AND RUNNING AFTER IT! HULLO!



IM SPOSED TO CATCH IT BY USING MY BRAIN AND SNEAKING UP ON IT IN THE WILD!



IM SPOSED TO CATCH IT BY GETTING UP EARLY AND SUBMERSING MYSELF IN ITS ENVIRONMENT! (NOT MY OWN)



“IT” IS THE REAL ME.

HOW AM I GOING TO FIND THIS CRAZY WOMAN AND HUNT HER DOWN AND MAKE HER ME?



I have to catch her.

I have to find her in places I dont go very often, doing things I don’t do as often as I should, because Im not going to find her in front of me waiting to exist, and Im not going to find her in my bed sleeping late.

She is on the move, an elusive target, so I must be an agile hunter.

Looks like December is oing to be hunting season and that bitch is MINE.




In DECEMBER:

emoticon Its about POUNDS again.
emoticon Its about CARDIO again.
emoticon Its about CONSISTENCY again.
emoticon Its about forcing myself to take the first step and START my workout.
emoticon Its about defying WEATHER.
emoticon Its about creating STEAM.
emoticon Its about hunting down my PREY.
emoticon Its about HAMSTRINGS!
emoticon Its about the 160s and SEX. Yeah you heard me.

The non-scale victories will come along while Im concentrating on the scale again. I don’t feel like focusing on pounds is bad since spent 13 months pretending that only other things mattered. Well, everyone is different and Im ready for some pounds to drop again.



Ive been aiming toward my utimate goal weight for a LONG TIME, its time I DO finish what I started. I wanna do it this winter!

I promised myself years ago that I would lose 120 pounds. I HAVE to KEEP that PROMISE!
But i also promise that if I start getting closer to 140 and Im looking sick or underweight, I will quit and work on sculpting instead of pounds.

emoticon Its about follow through
emoticon Its bout loving myself
emoticon Its about proving it.
emoticon Its about faith and electricity.
emoticon Its about shiny and alive.
emoticon Its about strength and bragging rights.
emoticon Its about not growing stagnant and still.
emoticon THIS IS EVOLUTION IN REAL TIME.



Alsothis^

Now if you’ll excuse me…

 

PS ABOUT EATING, DUDES

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

all of this comes to 1250 calories, just saying. Sometimes when people tell me to eat more, I think GEEZZZ PUT IT WHERE? MY ESOPHAGUS IS FULL.

Banana, fresh, 1 medium
Bagels, w wheat, 1 bagel
Parkay, Light Original Spread Margarine, 1 Tbsp
Trop50 Lemonade, 1 serving
Breakfast TOTAL: 453 

Cottage Cheese, Nonfat, 0.25 cup
Hard Boiled Egg, 1 large
Alfalfa sprouts, 1 cup
Cabbage, red, fresh, 1 leaf
Iceberg Lettuce (salad), 2 cup, shredded
Baby Carrots, raw, 10 medium
Cashew Nuts, dry roasted, 2 tbsp
Baby Plum Tomatoes (6 tomatoes)
red (purple) onion (4 rings)
Lunch TOTAL: 293 

Strawberries, fresh, 0.5 cup, halves
Onions, raw, 0.25 cup, chopped
Green Peppers (bell peppers), 0.5 cup, chopped
Peanuts, dry-roasted, 1 oz
Chicken Breast, no skin, 5 ounces
Yellow Bell Pepper, 10 strips
coconut water, 2 oz
Kroger Dry-Roasted Salted Sunflower Kernel, 0.1 cup
Asian Home Gourmet Singapore Black Pepper Stirfry Sauce, 12 tbsp
Dinner TOTAL: 497

Help!

fightxforxit:

Okay, so I have 2 avacados that I want to use before they go bad, but I have no idea what to use them for. I know the obvious one is for sandwiches but I want to be creative. So if you have any healthy recipes that contain 1 avacado or just a half leave them down below or in my ask. I’d really apperciate it! :D

 Sear them in a pan with onions and garlic and throw them on the side of your meal, or hot over a chicken salad, or put in a pita.