Your Workout Today

[Slice of Life]

Don't think I can get away with skim milk.  My girlfriend likes 1% variety but I don't expect it makes that big of a difference.

Something like this seems pretty simple:

*1 medium banana

*1 cup 2% milk

*3/4 scoop of protein powder

*1 1/2 Tbsp. natural peanut butter

http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=660886

Yup...mine is similar. And 1% ain't much more...Skim is typically 80-90 cals for a cup, 1% is 110-120 I think. So not much.

Careful with that peanut butter...1.5 tbsp is like 140 calories by itself. Which is fine, but it just takes up a lot of your calorie real estate. :)

[RFKFREAK]

Yup...mine is similar. And 1% ain't much more...Skim is typically 80-90 cals for a cup, 1% is 110-120 I think. So not much. Careful with that peanut butter...1.5 tbsp is like 140 calories by itself. Which is fine, but it just takes up a lot of your calorie real estate. :)

Well, considering I don't think I have peanut butter, I'm thinking of just using the other ingredients and give it a go. Hopefully it tastes good.

[Golfingdad]

But I'd likely be quite miserable if I don't regularly have something with some flavor when I drink it.  Haha.

I think it's definitely important for you to do something that you can stick with.  Just saying "I'm gonna give up soda" without realizing how much its going to impact you might not work because you may not be able to stick with it.

But you might want to just give it a try, because it's turned out a hell of a lot easier for me than I thought it would be.  I've changed nothing else (yet) and I just feel really good.  That feeling is possibly the beginning of a snowball effect that will have me cutting back on the other junk I intake as well.  And the motivation to improve just seems to be getting greater each day.

This is probably a dumb question but I'll ask it anyway ... @Slice of Life , what if he drinks water with flavor, like that vitamin water stuff, or that other stuff you squirt into water to give it a little flavor?  Or is that stuff all just as shitty as diet soda?

[CarlSpackler]

I think it's definitely important for you to do something that you can stick with.  Just saying "I'm gonna give up soda" without realizing how much its going to impact you might not work because you may not be able to stick with it.

But you might want to just give it a try, because it's turned out a hell of a lot easier for me than I thought it would be.  I've changed nothing else (yet) and I just feel really good.  That feeling is possibly the beginning of a snowball effect that will have me cutting back on the other junk I intake as well.  And the motivation to improve just seems to be getting greater each day.

This is probably a dumb question but I'll ask it anyway ... @Slice of Life , what if he drinks water with flavor, like that vitamin water stuff, or that other stuff you squirt into water to give it a little flavor?  Or is that stuff all just as shitty as diet soda?

I say go with water alone. A few drops of lemon or citrus essential oil can add flavor and increase the health value. If any of those flavored things have aspartame in them, run like hell. Just my opinion.

[Slice of Life]

I think it's definitely important for you to do something that you can stick with.  Just saying "I'm gonna give up soda" without realizing how much its going to impact you might not work because you may not be able to stick with it.

But you might want to just give it a try, because it's turned out a hell of a lot easier for me than I thought it would be.  I've changed nothing else (yet) and I just feel really good.  That feeling is possibly the beginning of a snowball effect that will have me cutting back on the other junk I intake as well.  And the motivation to improve just seems to be getting greater each day.

This is probably a dumb question but I'll ask it anyway ... @Slice of Life , what if he drinks water with flavor, like that vitamin water stuff, or that other stuff you squirt into water to give it a little flavor?  Or is that stuff all just as shitty as diet soda?

If it's got the fake sugar stuff in it...it's just more of the same. You're probably better off drinking the non-diet stuff and just tracking those calories.

[RFKFREAK]

I think it's definitely important for you to do something that you can stick with.  Just saying "I'm gonna give up soda" without realizing how much its going to impact you might not work because you may not be able to stick with it.

But you might want to just give it a try, because it's turned out a hell of a lot easier for me than I thought it would be.  I've changed nothing else (yet) and I just feel really good.  That feeling is possibly the beginning of a snowball effect that will have me cutting back on the other junk I intake as well.  And the motivation to improve just seems to be getting greater each day.

This is probably a dumb question but I'll ask it anyway ... @Slice of Life , what if he drinks water with flavor, like that vitamin water stuff, or that other stuff you squirt into water to give it a little flavor?  Or is that stuff all just as shitty as diet soda?

It's not really giving up soda.  If it were that, that'd be easy because it's not like I've been a big soda drinker my entire life.  I've gone from drinking Snapple Iced Tea, making iced tea from powder, to Gatorade, to Minute Maid Fruit Punch, Lemonade, Grapeade, etc.   I think like many people, soda is something easy, quick, and cheap to drink, so for someone like me, who likes to have flavoring in the things he drinks, the tougher part would be giving up the flavoring which is why just drinking water wouldn't cut it for me.

Well, considering I don't think I have peanut butter, I'm thinking of just using the other ingredients and give it a go.

Hopefully it tastes good.

So, here are the stats breakdown from the drink without peanut butter:

Calories: 307

Carbs: 43g

Fat: 2g

Protein: 29g

Sodium: 202

Sugar: 27

Seems high in carbs and sugar.  I have to imagine there are other shakes that are lower in carbs and sugars to make.

[mvmac]

It kind of sucks because if you look at it in the short term, there could be lots of fluctuation and the days I step on the scale like this morning where I lost 1/2 lb., it could be just water weight.

Lots of things can effect weight, how much water you drank, how much sodium or carbs you consumed, workout, bathroom schedule. Like @Slice of Life said, after a cheat meal the scale can go up 3-5lbs but then it quickly goes away after getting back to your normal diet. To actually gain 3-5lbs you would need to take in 17,500 calories above maintenance (3,500 x 5).

I'm going to cut out the late evening snacks/desserts next.  Baby steps.  (Oh, and we're cleaning out the junk in our room so I can get back on the elliptical each day too)

Getting the snack/dessert type stuff out of the house can really help. If it's not there you're not tempted by it.

Beef jerky is good snack to have around. I also like Quest bars.

No you don't.

That was the hardest thing for me when I started to lose weight was switching to only drinking water. The cravings go away but it sucks for the first couple months.

Yeah if you want to drink something tasty, do a protein shake. The carbonated drinks can make you feel bloated.

[Braivo]

I still need something to drink besides water, though.

No, you don't.  You'd be surprised how much your brain can rewire itself over time with some discipline.  Your brain is taking a trigger (i.e. lunch, dinner) and aligning it with a reward (flavored soda) which in fact is just a combination of the caffeine and *fake* sugar.  There is a reason soda contains caffeine - it makes it addictive.

A few weeks of discipline, of really wanting to change your health for the better, and those cravings for something other than water will go away as your brain adjusts to their absence.  It won't seek the reward anymore.  The rub though, is that there are no shortcuts here, you just have to do it.  Drink the protein, that's fine, but your body will still crave the caffeine / sweetness of the soda for a while.

I did this many years back and haven't touched a soda in three years.  I drink coffee, tea, and water.  That's it.  You can do this, drop that diet soda asap, it is toxic to your health.

[Slice of Life]

It's not really giving up soda.  If it were that, that'd be easy because it's not like I've been a big soda drinker my entire life.  I've gone from drinking Snapple Iced Tea, making iced tea from powder, to Gatorade, to Minute Maid Fruit Punch, Lemonade, Grapeade, etc.   I think like many people, soda is something easy, quick, and cheap to drink, so for someone like me, who likes to have flavoring in the things he drinks, the tougher part would be giving up the flavoring which is why just drinking water wouldn't cut it for me.

So, here are the stats breakdown from the drink without peanut butter:

Calories: 307

Carbs: 43g

Fat: 2g

Protein: 29g

Sodium: 202

Sugar: 27

Seems high in carbs and sugar.  I have to imagine there are other shakes that are lower in carbs and sugars to make.

Drop it to half a banana instead.

[mvmac]

Drop it to half a banana instead.

And freeze the other half. Frozen bananas works really well in shakes.

[RFKFREAK]

Drop it to half a banana instead.

I'm constantly drinking fluids so I'm hoping that I won't end up drinking these 5 times a day.

Cutting it down to 1/2 a banana would knock it down 13g of carbs and 7g of sugar so if I do end up drinking 5 of them a day, I'll have a better chance of not overdoing it on the carbs (and eating myself out of house and home).

[Slice of Life]

And freeze the other half. Frozen bananas works really well in shakes.

I just buy ripe bananas, cut them up into pieces and throw them in a tupperware container in the freezer. Then for shakes I just weight out as much banana as I need.

[RFKFREAK]

And freeze the other half. Frozen bananas works really well in shakes.

Is there a different nutritional value from a regular banana to one that's been frozen?

[Slice of Life]

I'm constantly drinking fluids so I'm hoping that I won't end up drinking these 5 times a day.

Cutting it down to 1/2 a banana would knock it down 13g of carbs and 7g of sugar so if I do end up drinking 5 of them a day, I'll have a better chance of not overdoing it on the carbs (and eating myself out of house and home).

You could even mess with putting less milk (.5 cup) and adding half a cup of ice or so. Lowers it even more, but still shouldn't taste watered down.

[Slice of Life]

Is there a different nutritional value from a regular banana to one that's been frozen?

No. And this way you can weigh it out instead of guessing how many calories your "medium" banana is. Weighing is the only way to properly track.

[RFKFREAK]

No. And this way you can weigh it out instead of guessing how many calories your "medium" banana is. Weighing is the only way to properly track.

True.  I just use what the tracker gave me was the nutritional content of 1 medium banana.

You could even mess with putting less milk (.5 cup) and adding half a cup of ice or so. Lowers it even more, but still shouldn't taste watered down.

Yeah, 1/2 cup of ice or water is easy, too, and cut it the carbs another 7g and sugar another 6g.

I could also probably add 1/4 of a scoop of the protein shake to get back the 4g of protein that I'd lose.

[Slice of Life]

True.  I just use what the tracker gave me was the nutritional content of 1 medium banana.

Yeah, 1/2 cup of ice or water is easy, too, and cut it the carbs another 7g and sugar another 6g.

I could also probably add 1/4 of a scoop of the protein shake to get back the 4g of protein that I'd lose.

Yeah, ton of options. Experiment and see how low cal you can get it while still keeping it tasty enough to keep you from the sodas.

[RFKFREAK]

Yeah, ton of options. Experiment and see how low cal you can get it while still keeping it tasty enough to keep you from the sodas.

Yeah, cuts it down by 70 calories, too.

Just going to have to monitor my meals to make up for the 350 potential calories this could take up.