Showing posts with label take. Show all posts
Showing posts with label take. Show all posts
Sunday, March 8, 2015
How To Take a Healthy Cruise Have Fun Without the Weight Gain
Azamara Journey 16 day cruise through the Panama Canal.
A healthy custom egg white and veggie omelette for breakfast.
Or have oatmeal with optional ground flax, raisins and seeds.
A blueberry smoothie from the custom smoothie station.
A combo of different veggie and seafood salad offerings.
Or make your own salad from a salad bar available all day.
Fresh fruit and cottage cheese makes a nice, light lunch.
You could order "steamed" veggies in any of the dining rooms.
There was always a nice selection of baked fish.
They offered custom stir-fries every night with fresh ingredients.
Start the day with an exercise class or work out in the gym.
Dancing in the New Year while burning more calories!
Its Easy to Lose Control on an "All You Can Eat" Vacation
When Doug suggested we take a 16 day cruise for our 20th wedding anniversary I was both delighted and terrified. The last time we went on a cruise or an "all-inclusive" land vacation, I put on pounds that took a long time to remove. These vacations all start out the same way. For a day or so we examine every little morsel that goes in our mouth, avoid the heavy desserts and check out the gym. After a few days we stumble into a margarita tasting or an ice cream social and by the end of the vacation we are ordering multiple entrees and eating a dessert at every meal. We hear ourselves saying, "what the heck, were on vacation" and "its paid for". We manage to squeeze into our largest outfit and fly home avoiding the scale for weeks and hating ourselves for losing our will power. If we take a 16 day cruise (almost twice our longest trip), well have to have a better plan.
How To Take a 16 Day Cruise Without Gaining Weight
First of all, you need to develop a plan that includes "Your Goal", the "Plan to Meet the Goal" along with "Rules for Avoiding Calories" and "Rules to Burn Calories". Dont forget, youve got to write it all down. Heres what I did:
My Goal
To take a 16 day cruise through Christmas and New Years to the Panama Canal WITHOUT gaining a single pound. My pre-cruise weight was 115.5.
The Plan
(1) Keep a journal and write down every calorie eaten and every calorie burned.
(2) "Net" 1386 calories a day. (To maintain weight, you need around 12 to 15 calories for every pound of body weight. To be conservative I used 12 X 115.5 calories or 1386). Net calories is all calories consumed minus all calories burned.
Rules for Avoiding Calories
(1) Skip the bread. I told the waiter to NEVER bring bread and butter to the table. Once that beautiful basket of assorted hot bread is sitting there in front of me, its almost impossible to resist.
(2) Limit alcohol to one glass of wine or Champagne a day and try to skip some days all together (not an easy task given this cruise was over the Christmas and New Years holiday). Avoid high calories mixed drinks completely.
(3) Be VERY specific about food preparation. I asked for "steamed" vegetables, "plain" baked potatoes, salad dressing "on the side", "hold the sauce", "grilled or poached" fish.
(4) Avoid events that give away alcohol or fattening food like martini tastings or ice cream socials.
(5) When eating buffet style, make one visit for the salad/appetizer and one visit for the main meal. Use a smaller plate.
(6) Limit dessert to one small and relatively healthy one per day like fresh fruit, low fat frozen yogurt or a mini fruit tart.
(7) Keep a food journal and WRITE EVERYTHING DOWN. Count all calories consumed (I brought the "Biggest Loser Complete Calorie Counter book with me).
Rules to Burn Calories
(1) NEVER take the elevator on a cruise ship. Walking up and down steps burns lots of calories.
(2) Use the gym every day.
(3) Sign up for exercise and self improvement classes. Azamara offered stretch and exercise classes and gave lectures on acupuncture and detox and tested for body composition. You could even hire a personal trainer.
(4) Walk around the track.
(5) Take the most "strenuous" excursions. Walk, hike or swim and avoid "site seeing bus tours".
(6) Dance
(7) Reward yourself with a massage
(8) WRITE ALL ACTIVITIES DOWN and record calories burned.
Smart Meal Choices if Available
Breakfast
Oatmeal with ground flax, cinnamon, raisins and sunflower seeds
Raw fruit smoothie
Cold cereal like Cheerios or All Bran with soy or skim milk
Egg white omelette with veggies and smoked salmon
Poached egg on an English muffin with Spinach
Yogurt and fruit
Lunch
Salads with lots of raw veggies, garbanzo beans, beets, etc. with a light dressing
Fresh fruit platter with low fat cottage cheese
Tuna or lean turkey sandwich with veggies and mustard.
Plain baked potato with steamed veggies
Grilled kabobs and veggies
Dinner
Custom stir fry with lots of veggies, shrimp and white meat chicken on rice or rice noodles
Miso soup and sushi
Grilled or poached fish with steamed veggies and plain rice
Grilled chicken or lean meat with steamed veggies and a plain baked potato
Light, non-cream based soups
Entree sized salads with shrimp, scallops, lobster, chicken breast or flank steak
Desserts
Small piece of chocolate
Low fat frozen yogurt
Sherbet or sugar free ice cream
Small fruit tart
Results
Even though I passed on the richer meals, the food was still amazing. With the beautiful fresh salads and fruit and the delicious selection of seafood, I didnt feel like I was missing out on anything. I ate three wonderful meals a day and a few healthy snacks in between.
I didnt really know how much I weighed on the cruise. The scale in the gym varied with each wave so I had to wait until I got home to see the results. I stuck to my calorie goal and worked out every day. I felt really great. Even without weighing myself, I felt like I was in better shape than when I got on the boat. After getting home I waited a day for the "salty" food to get through my system since I knew that would hold some "water weight". But the moment of truth came the next morning when I stepped on the scale and weighed 115.5 - EXACTLY what I weighed the morning I left for vacation. Doug, who ate and drank a bit more than I did,(but also worked out more) managed to actually lose one pound.
It was the best vacation we ever took. We saw the Panama canal, walked through the cloud forest in Costa Rica and released baby sea turtles to the ocean in Acapulco. We also visited Jamaica, Columbia, Nicaragua, Huatulco and Cabo San Lucas. Best of all, we didnt go home feeling badly about our loss of self control. My hats off to Azamara Cruises for offering all those delicious healthy choices. My "fear of cruises" is gone forever!
Friday, March 6, 2015
One Million Steps One Hundred Days Take The Challenge!
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| Take the Challenge - Start Walking! 1,000,000 Steps 100 Days Follow Foods For Long Life on FACEBOOK . |
One Million Steps
There have been quite a few mentions of a one million step challenge on Facebook and various blogs. My husband, Doug, told me about it a few weeks ago.
Im pretty competitive and I LOVE a challenge. So I thought Id challenge him to walk one million steps in one hundred days and Id do the same. Of course, this really means, "who can clock the most steps in this timeframe." By the way, hes even more competitive than I am.
The official start date for our challenge - June 1st!
My husband pretty much "hand" farms our vineyard. Because the vines are planted very close together (European style), he cant get a tractor between the rows. This means he has to walk up and down the 2 linear miles of grapevines whenever he needs to do something to them. He can clock 10,000 steps before lunch!
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| Doug logs lots of steps farming the vineyard |
I, on the other hand, am a blogger, researcher and author. I sit in a chair most of the day. How can I possibly compete with Doug on walking a million steps?
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| This is where you will find me most of the day. |
Getting Ready with our Little Fitbits
My son got me a Fitbit for Christmas so I am all set for this challenge. So Doug had to buy one too. My suspicions were confirmed when he clocked nearly 25,000 steps the first day he wore it. Now Im starting to worry. But the next day, he was down in the 12,000 range so I thought there was still some hope for me.
The Fitbit Zip is light and hooks onto your pocket. Its wireless and syncs automatically to your computer so you can monitor your progress. You can find less expensive pedometers, some as low as $20.
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| The Fitbit Zip Wireless Tracker. We paid about $49 each. |
Upping my Game
I always try to get in my 10,000 steps per day but some days it just doesnt happen. This challenge has inspired me to up my game. Heres how Ive modified my work day to get more steps in.
* Every hour on the hour, I take a 5 minute break and either jump on the elliptical (which is a few feet from my desk), do jumping jacks, or march in place.
* I only buy enough groceries for one day and walk to the grocery store every afternoon.
* I moved my home office downstairs so that every time I need anything in the house, I have to walk up a flight of stairs.
* I placed a step behind the couch so when I watch T.V., I can be doing step aerobics.
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| When watching TV, use a step or just march in place. |
* When I have to mail a letter, I walk to the post office.
* I take out my Zumba tapes a couple of times a week and dance.
The Benefits!
There are many benefits, besides the glory of accomplishing this goal, of physical activity. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, physical activity can:
* Control your weight (depending on your weight and current level of activity, you can lose 5 to 10 pounds by walking a million steps!)
* Reduce your risk of heart disease
* Reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome
* Reduce your risk of some cancers, such as endometrial and lung cancer
* Strengthens your bones and muscles
* Improve your mental health and mood and reduce depression
* Help you sleep better
* increase your chances of living longer
Partner Up
It easier and more fun to take this challenge with a friend, spouse, work partner or neighbor.
So pick a partner, pick up a pedometer,
TAKE THE CHALLENGE AND START WALKING !
How are we doing?
The totals for the month of June are:
Joanne
328,138 steps
135 miles
48,300 calories
Doug
418,071 steps
192 miles
80,011 calories
By the end of July:
Joanne
671,586 steps
276 miles
98,850 calories
Doug
799,544 steps
367 miles
153,000 calories
We Hit Our Goal!
By the end of August (92 days) I hit 1,004,085 steps
Doug met the 1 Million Step goal by August 15th, after 77 days!
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