Diet/Weight Loss

Hydration

| cheriarmour

Hi!

I hope it’s perfectly fine with you if I talk about something other than Melania Trump, police brutality, Brexit, or Kanye West.  The news literally gets weirder and darker every single day.  With the exception of the Taylor/Kanye thing, which I fully plan to discuss my theories on that at some point this week.

However, let’s take a total right turn, and talk about something not awful and stormy, but something really really necessary for summer survival.  Hydration!

Okay, so I’ve always been pretty good about hydration, especially since I spent those summers at camp.  At camp, I was there before canteens really started coming out with any significant ounce-age (not a real word), so I started making a habit out of buying 101-oz Deer Park containers and just toting those with me to camp.  And then again when I started running seriously, water was crucial to avoid bonking on long runs and not damaging muscle terribly when I went for a run.

Now, I’m still super active, and lifting more, but my drive to stay hydrated isn’t just for the purposes of keeping me afloat (tee hee) in a long workout or during a long day of teaching classes, but it’s also to keep me from having contractions and to get into the habit of drinking constantly so that I can keep my breast milk supply up once the baby gets here.  Plus I think it helps with some of the headaches I was getting really badly in the first tri…which we can also chalk up to the first tri just being a miserable time in life.

First off, here’s the trick I was kind of given by a nurse 21 weeks or so in, when I was overdoing it, and ended up spending a day on the couch with my feet propped up.  On the phone, the nurse told me to try and get 30 oz. of water in before lunch, and then another 40 or so after lunch.  Sounds like a lot, but it’s plenty doable with a few tricks I’ve mastered over the past few weeks that totally help you get more clear stuff in.  Plus, with all that liquid in, getting diet soda in is harder.  My like main vice, even though I consider myself fairly healthy, and plenty active is artificial sweetener, but I figured at some point that that can’t be awesome for the baby, so I’ve backed off a lot.  Tricks to stay hydrated, especially in the summertime!

Get cute/large water bottles or canteens.  

I’m a big believer in keeping some sort of water bottle with you at all times, because there will never get to be a point in the day when you’re like CRAP, I’ve had nothing to drink all day long!  I tend to gravitate toward larger, double-walled ones that are pricier, but can keep things cold.  The thing about the price is that it’s something that you’re toting around daily, and you’re not reaching for plastic bottles consistently, which is really not great for you, or for the environment.  I have a S’well (24 oz.), another S’well (17 oz.), a Yeti (30 oz.), and  I’m in the market for a larger canteen since I’m drinking more lately.

Really quick.  The S’well is cute, and a fashion statement I kinda, think, but it’s hard to shove ice cubes in it.  I stick to plain water from one of those tappy things at the water fountain for this.  The Yeti is great because you can get ice in there and it can fit in most machines.  It’s not very pretty though, and I had to buy a separate lid with a straw in it so I wouldn’t have to sip out of it like a coffee mug.  I am totally open to suggestions for a slightly larger, double-walled canteen.  

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Start early!

I do my best on water on days when I have to get up really early for class, and I have to drink to get through classes.  On Friday mornings, I get up around 5am to get to my 5:45am class, and typically can at least get a Yeti in during/after class.

Seltzer

I really love anything carbonated, but I can’t slam Diet Cokes all day.  Just no good.  So, when I’m really wanting  something super super cold and bubbly, I’ve done a few flavored seltzers, in the the form of Dasani Sparkling, but my absolute favorite thing is to stop by the Burger King and get plain seltzer out of their Coca-Cola remix machine.  It’s always super cold, and overcarbonated, so it really has the most delightful effect.

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Monitor your pee.

This is a sorta-gross trick I picked up, that I start using heavily whenever I’m heavy into a training cycle for a marathon. This trick sort of also depends on what supplements you’re taking – a multivitamin or a prenatal can turn your pee BRIGHT yellow, but otherwise, you should be operating in light yellow territory. The darker it gets, the more your eyebrows should raise.

Those are the best I can do on a few tips to stay headache-free this summer.

  • What are your tricks to keep your water intake up?
  • Any suggestions on a slightly-larger canteen that I can start to use as I try and get in a few more ounces throughout the day?

Is this healthy?

| cheriarmour

I’m a part of a few closed Facebook groups where health and fitness are the main topics of discussion.  I love them because we bounce ideas off of one another, and it’s really cool to see newbies to health and wellness dip their toes in.

But one thing I’ve seen come up again and again and again is this.

Is [blank] healthy?

Is yogurt healthy?  Are almonds healthy?  Is quinoa healthy?  Is chicken healthy?

I’m genuinely baffled a lot of the time – and not because I’m a health expert, but at the ignorance that many of us have about common items.  Not only this, but the seeming unwillingness of folks to simply Google, or the lack of knowledge that information about a lot of these food items is readily available is pretty astounding.

But the biggest thing that I find somewhat problematic with this line of questioning is the question itself.

We are asking the wrong questions about our food.

Stay with me here.

“Is chicken healthy?”

Well, that is a really subjective question.  You can boil an appropriate portion size of chicken (about the size of a deck of cards), and eat it with steamed  veggies.  That’s a pretty balanced meal.

You also can fry a few pieces of chicken and eat it with mac and cheese and potato wedges sprinkled with old bay.  Not the most balanced meal.  Pretty good, but not balanced.

So I think when we throw out the question “is [blank] healthy” we miss the entire point.  A food, in its raw form isn’t inherently unhealthy.  The nutrition factor of the food is changed in a few instances.

  • When you put a dressing on it.  A bare salad, or a salad that’s been dribbled on is wayyy different than a salad that has been doused in ranch, for examples.
  • The portion.  There’s a big difference in a half-cup of pasta, and four cups.
  • And finally, the way you prep it.  Did you fry it?  Pan sear it?  Rub some rub on it and bake it?  All of these things will change how nutritious this food is.

So, I think, before you ask “is this healthy,” consider reading up about the food.  Figure out a few good ways to prepare it that don’t involve dunking it in egg mixture and frying it in oil.  Find out what the serving size of the food is.  And get creative!

Trying something new: my visit with a registered dietitian!

| cheriarmour

One of the perks of my wonderful work is that I get free personal training (which I take full advantage of) and visits with a registered dietitian, which I took advantage of starting with a visit that I made yesterday morning.

When I told my mom that I was going to see an RD, she was pretty shocked.  I’m perceived in my family as kind of the weird one who eats really crunchy weird stuff, and as a result, my mom didn’t think there was a need for me to visit with her – but because the visit was free, and because I felt like there were things I could learn from her, I decided to sign up with her and visit yesterday.

I think a lot of times, when you go to see a nutritionist, folks assume that you’re in it to lose weight, but there was more in it for me, and in the days leading up to the visit, where I wasn’t really sure what to expect.  I knew these things:

  • That my sweet tooth is a little louder than I’d like to admit.
  • We could potentially be talking about kids in the next few years, and I’m interested in being in really great shape to get pregnant, continuing in good health throughout my pregnancy, and returning to good shape after having a baby, and I could get help with that.
  • I’d like to have more energy – wake refreshed and ready to do stuff, rather than wanting to cut my own fingers off when I wake up in the morning.

So I was a little nervous to see Katherine (Katherine is the RD), because I as afraid she might be judgey, or condemn some of the unhealthy decisions I make.  I DO eat well, but I really enjoy my diet coke and my candy.  And it’s never like I feel like it would be impossible to give those up, but I haven’t.  But I was really pleasantly surprised at a few things that we got out of our first visit.

Similarly to a good therapist, Katherine did a lot with questions – but not yes/no questions.  Questions that involved me talking…a lot.  I hope I didn’t come off as neurotic as all, but I did talk a lot.

I was really happy that Katherine didn’t tell me to do…or NOT do anything.  She really listened.  And suggested.  And recommended.  But there were no demands.

Katherine allowed me to set my own goals, and didn’t set any for me.  I am going to share my goals with you for sure, but wanted to share with you my experience with an RD.

Have you ever visited a registered dietitian?  What was your experience like?

Mine was inspiring, refreshing, and a reminder.  No matter how awesome you eat, how many miles you run, or how many kombuchas you drink, there is always, always something to be learned from someone like Katherine.  And I really appreciate the chance to get to learn something from someone who’s better at it than I am!

Weekend update and Sober June

| cheriarmour

Hey! I hope you had a great weekend!

My sister came up and visited this weekend to celebrate her 24th birthday.

IMG_0141[1]We took her downtown and had her drink a few drinks, and we danced all night.   We also ate some ice cream cake in celebration because who doesn’t like ice cream cake, right?

One sort of not-so-fun thing came out of the weekend though.  A gnarly hangover.

Sober June

I’ve been playing with the idea of a sober [insert month here] ever since I ready Andy Cohen’s book, where he talks about his sober January.  A friend from school also mentioned a sober month, and it got me thinking. Part of me has wanted to do it just to see if I can.  But another part of me is/was a little nervous about social situations, and not drinking while my friends are off having fun.  Major FOMO moment I think.

But on the other hand, while drinking is fun (and we all know mama loves a good drink), its literally poison, and isn’t really doing me a whole lot of favors, ESPECIALLY considering this hangover that has be wanting to do NOTHING and be super unproductive.  It would be nice to wake up on a Sunday morning and not feel like shit, right?

I also was watching Love and Hip Hop (don’t judge) and the doctor at a rehab center said that if you can’t give up a substance for a year, that you should consider rehab yourself.

So I am embarking on a sober June.  I’m not going to be anti-social, and I’m going to continue socializing as I normally world, but instead of a beer, glass of wine, or vodka and soda (my favorite go-to), I’m going to reach for some water or so club soda.

I’m really interested to see how this endeavor affects my body, my energy levels, my skin, and see if I can do it.

QOTD

Have you ever been just sick of alcohol? 

Have you ever done a sober month?

Healthy Living Bloggers (HLBs)

| cheriarmour

I consider myself something of a lifestyle/healthy living blogger.  And I am perfectly transparent in what experiences/education that I feel make me at all qualified to dish on all that I dish on.

Here’s what I got real quick so you guys know where I’m coming from.

  • Studied Psychology in undergrad.
  • Studied Social Work, focused heavily on health and weight loss.
  • Worked two full summers at a weight loss camp, spent time, after I got full-time work, at weight loss camp with my kids.
  • Worked for Fleet Feet (running specialty) for…well I never really stopped.  I backed off of full-time when I was employed as a Director at a local nonprofit facility….
  • I am Director of Group Fitness.
  • Been teaching group fitness for over 5 years.  Zumba® Fitness, Toning, Step, Cycling, Body Pump™.  You name it I teach it.
  • Also, I lost some like 35-40ish pounds I put on in college and while in a terribly volatile relationship.

This isn’t to say, like “la la la, I’m so fancy, I know all this stuff,” it’s more to say, I know some of what I’m talking about.  I still have bunches to learn, and I will never claim that candy, wine, and coffee never cross my lips, cause they totally do.  But I’m increasingly troubled by the rise of the “healthy” living blogger, or HLB, especially the sort that doesn’t work out, lost weight on potentially unhealthy and unsustainable methods, and then touts the weird crap they eat as healthy to unsuspecting followers.

Enter…well…let me know say her name, because I’m not here to embarrass anyone, but, she’s sort of what I described above.  Maybe a nice girl, but really in no place to be telling other folks what to be putting in their bodies to lose weight – and not because she hasn’t found success, but because what works for her simply may not work or be healthy for every body.

So the other day, aforementioned blogger posts a picture of a salad with what looked to be about 5 tablespoons of ranch dressing on it.

There’s nothing wrong with a salad, I think salads are amazing and awesome, but not only did she douse the salad in ranch dressing, but she very literally stated…

“The ranch is intentional…it’s a great source of healthy fat!”

And then when a follower questioned her on it, she then stated, ” The oil, eggs and cream found in ranch dressing are all healthy fats.”

Let me break it down for you really quickly.  Ranch gets like a D- from nutritionists.  It’s FULL of fat (and not the good kind), and even fuller of sodium.  There is not a nutritionist on God’s green earth who would EVER list Ranch as a healthy fat.  And FURTHERMORE the serving size is like 1 tbs.  Not 5.  Or whatever’s going on there.

All that to say, please, please, please, when you’re following HLBs, keep a few things in mind.

  • We’re human.  We lose weight, we gain weight.  We run a good race.  We run a bad race.  Some of us have suffered with eating disorders.  Some of us just like to write!  Please don’t look to us as the gospel.
  • Please be discerning.  How does (s)he  know what (s)he is talking about?  Did they do something idiotic like go on diet pills?  Do they look as if they have some sort of eating disorder?  Are they copious drug/alcohol users?  DO THEY WORK OUT?! No?  Probably not someone you need to be looking to for diet advice, and I think it’s important for us to recognize that in ourselves as the blogger.
  • Call us on it.  Do you see something on the blog that doesn’t seem right?  Doesn’t make sense?  Email us, leave a comment, or ask a genuine question.

QOTD

On a more positive note, who are some of your favorite HLBs?

Weekend Buzz + The Best Holiday for Candy

| cheriarmour

I hope your weekend was the tits.

I actually had a bomb weekend because I got to spend time with my husband.  I don’t know about you guys, but a lot of times of the weekends, we make so so many plans that we barely get to see one another.  And by the time we get into bed too late on a Sunday night, we haven’t seen one another more than an hour or two.  This weekend was a little different – I made plans and drank with friends on Friday, and because I wasn’t teaching or anything, we spent all day Saturday together – cleaning, napping, working out, and finally, falling into bed, deliciously exhausted, but together.

Austin’s the bomb.  I love him a lot.  I like spending time with him.

Now.  Let’s talk candy. 

On the way to run yesterday morning, I got into a big discussion with Mama Cheri about candy.  Now, neither of us eats a ton of candy – she for health reasons, and me, because once I start, I can’t stop.  So when I eat candy, I typically do a single-serve York Peppermint Pattie, or the holy grail of candy, a Reese’s Big Cup, where the peanut butter to chocolate ratio is one that is angelic.  So I’m of the firm belief that Valentine’s Day is one of the best holidays for candy.  But I got into this argument discussion with my mother and a friend regarding the best holidays for candy, and they were not in agreement.  So let’s break it down.

The best candy, in no particular order.  

1.  Reese’s – the big cup variety is the best, which I’ve stated time and again.  NOW, the reason for this is that the peanut butter to chocolate ratio.  This includes the trees, the eggs, and the hearts.  All solid choices.

2.  Whoppers – malted milk balls are the absolute best.  Now, there IS a variety you can get at Whole Foods, which makes you feel a little better about stuffing your face because it’s made without HFCS and real chocolate, as opposed to Whoppers.

3.  York Peppermint Patties – the 140-calorie variety that you can commonly acquire at most checkouts at the grocery store.  I mean, DUH.

image via Wikipedia
image via Wikipedia

4.  Pretzel M&Ms.

5.  Sweet Tarts– you can shove these in your mouth by the handful, which makes them really convenient.  But really dangerous, as I’ve found out, because when they’re in the admin office, for example, you might eat them all every time you have to go down there.  Which is not productive.

Now, let’s move on to the worst candies, in no particular order. 

1.  Circus Peanuts – my mother disgustingly loves these.  If you read the description on these, you’ll find that they’re considered some sort of marshmallow candy, flavored artificially with BANANA?!  WTH?! Who would do such a thing?

image via Wikipedia
image via Wikipedia

2. Okay, so I’m having a really hard time moving past the Circus Peanuts thing. But my mother reminded me of these atrocities…

image via Candywarehouse.com
image via Candywarehouse.com

These guys are called Old Fashioned Marshmallow Eggs. There are a number of things that are pretty disgusting about this candy, mainly the fact that the sugar on the inside is suspended in this marshy thing. It’s really disgusting and not acceptable.

3. Jellybeans – they’re just too sweet and sort of pointless. They also get stuck in your teeth, and you run the risk of getting a horrible flavor, which is totally the opposite of the point of eating candy in the first place. Would you ever just go actively seeking out jellybeans? Probably not because they’re pointless and add nothing to your day.

4. Raisinets – I want to know who on God’s green earth decided that they would combine raisins, which are pretty disgusting on their own, and cover them in crusty chocolate? Why would I ever eat that?

image via Wikipedia
image via Wikipedia

So the holiday with the best candy?

For me, hands down, it’s got to be Valentine’s Day because of the variety of chocolate. Yum!

The worst?

Omg, so many worsts here, but I’m going to have to say that Easter provides us with the worst candy because it’s all smooshy and sugary, and that’s just not the way things should be. But Easter, don’t be sad because Easter is going to be closely followed by Christmas, because there is truly nothing fun about sucking on a peppermint stick.

All that said…

How was your weekend? What did you do?

What’s your favorite candy?

Least favorite?

Best and worst holidays for candy?

First time for everything pt. 2

| cheriarmour

I talked a few weeks back about my first time visiting the chiropractor, and I have to keep it 100, my neck and shoulder are feeling really really good.  I know for a fact that a lot of folks feel skeptical about the chiro, but I was really at a loss for what they might do for me besides prescribe a heavy dose of NSAIDS.  Which, honestly, doesn’t do me a whole lot of good because I could take like a million Aleve and drink red wine till the cows come home – I really wanted results.

So my verdict so far on the chiropractor is that I’m seeing some results, which is more than I could say before.  My shoulder feels 100%, and my neck feels almost 100%.  I think I will continue seeing him every month, especially given the fact that I am so active and am sore and imbalanced any given day.  I’m glad I gave it a shot.

So in the vein of trying new things, I started something a few weeks ago, and I guess I’m committed, so it’s time to come clean…I have been working out with a personal trainer once a week!

Let me back things up.  I never really thought twice about a personal trainer, mainly because I have never ever paid for a gym membership since I’ve been teaching classes for 5-6 years.  But, when I started this job 6 months ago (six months!?) our HR specialist mentioned that we got 1 hour of personal training included in our position a week.  I watched my office-mates take advantage of it, and finally, after months, I took advantage of it.

It’s funny, because it seems like Jill, the trainer, was a little nervous to train the group fitness director, because I’m supposed to be fit and stuff, but she really did an awesome job, and it feels good to feel sore again – sometimes when you’re constantly moving it’s hard to get sore.

I’m enjoying it.  I’m enjoying getting sore.  I’m enjoying challenging myself.  I’m enjoying watching my body firm up.  I’m enjoying talking to Jill on our Wednesday mornings.  And a friend told me yesterday that my body is looking fantastic.  WHA!

I like it 🙂

Have you ever worked out with a personal trainer?

Applebee’s Pub Diet Menu

| cheriarmour

Let me preface this entire post by saying that typically, this family is not big on eating at places like Applebee’s.  Also Applebee’s has not paid me one red cent for this, I just thought that you all might be interested in this.

In Applebee’s defense, they are not the only offender – but eating out can often lead you down a dangerous path, dietarily (and budgetarily) speaking.

Neither of those words, dietarily or budgetarily is a technical word, but go with me here.  

So we don’t eat out a ton because there are a few dangerous points there, especially since my husband and I really try to stick to a clean, healthy diet.

  • Restaurant food, even fancy restaurant food, is FULL of sodium.  You know when you flip over a Lean Cuisine, and there’s an obscene amount of sodium in it?  And you’re like WTF?!  But then you get it because the food was frozen, and it has to be preserved.   Sort of the same idea.
  • The portions are absolutely ridiculous.  Seriously, did you catch this NYT article that illustrated what 2,000 calories looked like at different chains?  It was just stupid.  And place like Cheesecake Factory and Chipotle can be some of the worst offenders.
  • A little unrelated to what we’re talking about here, but the shit is expensive.  I cannot justify paying $2.58 for a large diet coke when you can get a two-liter of my guilty pleasure for that much.  It’s so silly!

So back to my original sort of point, we don’t usually do Applebee’s but over Christmas, one of our relatives gifted us an Applebee’s gift card, so we decided to go there one date night two weeks ago.

Austin teased me about it in the days leading up – he knows how into food I can be, and it made him giggle that finding something on the menu to eat without sabotaging a full day was stressing me out a little bit.

So I did a little pre-research and decided that I might try something called the “Pub Diet,” an entirely new, beautifully photographed section of the menu.

Pub Diet 1

I went ahead and made my pick….

Pub Diet 2

And Austin had to sabotage EVERYTHING and order some bottomless chips and salsa, which I shamelessly indulged in.

And this is what it looked like when it came out!

Pub Diet 3And very delightfully and surprisingly, this dish off of the Pub Diet menu wasn’t bad in the least!

Because I stuffed my face with some chips, I definitely made sure to split the entree in half, and I saved the other half for lunch the following day, but I was really surprised at how good it was.  I even remarked to the server at how good it was, and she said that a lot of folks had felt the same way.  Interestingly enough, she also said that sometimes, after folks ordered it, they threw a little fit because it doesn’t come with a bread stick or anything.  But sorry folks, the point of a lower-calorie, higher-protein option is NOT so that they can throw a bread stick in.

I’m no nutritionist, but when folks ask me about eating out, I typically steer them far away from chains – but I would say that the Pub Diet is a winner in my book.

If/when you eat out, what is your go-to place? 

 

Food Lion Observation

| cheriarmour

I’m not an absolute Nazi about my diet, but I watch it pretty closely.  In the years after I graduated from Elon, after a summer away teaching fitness classes at a weight loss camp, I was educated on calories, portion control, and the necessity of exercise each day, and managed to lose the thirty-fiveish pounds that had crept up while I made my way through college.

Through the last part of graduate school, as I continued losing weight, I did the best I could with portion control and food, and ate a lot of processed crap like Lean Cuisine, more for the portion control.  I was more concerned with calories overall, and not necessarily what was in the food.  And I lost the remaining weight, as you will when you’re focused on that number.  But once I got down to a good weight, and felt comfortable stepping out of that premeasured box that was Lean Cuisine and Healthy Choice, I started dipping my toes into the Whole Foods pond, and discovering how much better I felt, and how much better my body looked when I was eating salads, fruits, and coffees that were locally grown, and not at all prepackaged – the closet thing that I could get to eating foods from the ground without pulling it out myself.

Our last apartment before we bought the house was almost painfully close to the Whole Foods.  Austin would groan when he saw that brown paper Whole Foods bag because he knew that meant that I had spent somewhere between $10-a billion dollars.  Now, even though the Whole Foods is not really more than like 15 minutes away, it’s not as convenient, and I’ve found myself shopping more and more at the Food Lion because I can literally walk to it without breaking a sweat.  And what I’ve seen has been a little troubling.

The nice thing about those more expensive places, is that if you can afford them, they offer you some great selection, as well as the fact that a lot of these stores are expanding into more local and organic options.

But with the Food Lion back across the street from me, I’ve noticed a few things.

  • The produce section is not as robust as it is other places. I’ve had to hunt for certain fruits and veggies, and on more than one occasion, have not been able to find what I’m looking for at all.  Additionally, when you do find what you’re looking for, a lot of times the fruit has been harvested early so that it will make the long journey fresh, and is rock hard, almost unedible, or the opposite.  Mushy from the nitrogen that they pump into the room to make sure the fruit is attractive and ripened.
  • But the freezer section is bangin’. For the first time in years, I’ve eaten a few Lean Cuisines.  They literally have an unending selection of this stuff, however, the sodium is off the charts.  And ‘tis no bueno.
  • Lettuce at the Lion and lettuce elsewhere is not always created equal. In my experience, I’ve purchased lettuce, that once I’ve gotten home, is slimy, so I have to pull out the slime, and use the edible parts.
  • I’ve unwittingly purchased spoiled dairy there as well, which is a pretty nasty surprise when you’re all excited about the little dollop of milk you put in your tea.

Now thankfully, I can afford, once in a while, to make the trip to a Whole Foods or a to a Harris Teeter to pick up some of those items that can’t be found in Food Lion, such a sundried tomatoes, fresh pasta, and fresh lettuce, and fermented teas that I’ve developed a love for.  But for those who can’t afford to make a trip across town, or for those who straight up don’t have access – have never set foot in a Trader Joes, for example, what is the best way for those folks, to make sure they’re getting a full, well-rounded, healthy diet, high in nutrients, but lower in sodium?

Just food for thought…