Maintenance Mode

It’s a strange feeling once you have accomplished something. A sense of satisfaction but also “Where do I go from here” I attained my goal of losing 55 pounds. I started at 260 and counted calories until I reached 205. 202.5 was my lowest weight. And 200 is my bottom line. I will eventually get below 205 which is my weight ceiling. Last Monday I hit 204.5 so I ate more than I had been. The next day it shot back up to 207, yikes!!  I went right back to my previous calorie intake. By Saturday I was down to 203. Even with the 4^th of July eating fest.  

Last week, we went to Palm Springs for a couple of days and decided ahead of time, no worrying about food. We ate Mexican food , large breakfasts and desserts.  Needless to say I was full the whole time and enjoyed all the food.  The day we left I was at 202.5. Sunday after getting back I was at 205. Even with all the food we ate,  it was not possible to gain 2.5 lbs in 3 days.  I would have had to eat 8800 calories more than I burned in two days. For me that means 6000 calories per day.  So I knew it would come off as fast as I gained. I ate well the rest of Saturday and walked 4 miles. Sunday I ate pizza but limited the portion and walked 6 miles. Monday morning I was back down to 202.5.

Sunday night I wanted to eat something else just to snack, but I was not hungry. No going back to old habits. As the summer lingers I need to find my nominal calorie intake that allows me to keep my weight.  After eating a lot over vacation, I look forward to getting back to my routine.

For now I will continue to monitor calories and maintain my weight. 

How to Burn More Fat.

Cardio is the best way to burn fat.  Specifically exercising large muscle groups for long periods of time will burn the most fat.  In order to get into this further I want to touch on a little Biochemistry. If this scares you turn back now before it’s too late. Don’t say I did not warn you.

There are three types of energy: Carbohydrates (your body turns this into sugar), fat, and protein.  Muscles burn mostly sugar and fat for energy.  Only a small amount (~10%) of protein is used for energy.  It’s mostly used to rebuild the muscle after training. Exercise actually breaks down the muscle tissue and sends signals to your brain to send protein to build more and get ready for the next time you exercise.  When you starve yourself of Carbs your body will turn the protein into carbs and when you eat an excess of protein your body will turn it into fat. Either way both are very inefficient processes so you are better off eating a sufficient amount of carbs and keeping your protein intake under control.

Anyway, to efficiently burn fat you want to burn large muscle groups for long periods of time. The largest muscle group is your quadriceps (Thigh muscles). That is why the best cardio involves using your legs. Running, walking, biking, aerobics, etc. are the best fat burning exercises.  When you first start exercising your body starts using up the storage of sugar you have.  Sugar is quick and easily available and it does not require oxygen. The human body stores about 2000 calories of sugar in the muscles and the liver. As you continue to exercise you deplete the energy that is readily available and start using stored fats and carbs.  But it takes a while for the body to get the message to start breaking down stored fat and using it in the muscles.  After about 20 minutes the fatty acids in the blood increase to maximum level the muscle are burning the most fat.  The key is to keep exercising at a steady pace.

In order to burn fat, the muscles need oxygen. If there is a lack of oxygen the muscles are forced to burn sugar.  When you feel the muscles burning you are burning sugar. The burn you feel is from the buildup of lactic acid in the muscle which indicates sugar is being burned not fat.  The best way to burn fat is long continuous exercise of your legs in which you are not out of breath and you don’t feel a burn.  However when you do short intervals of these, sugar burning exercises you will build muscle and increase strength and endurance. So as usual both are good and both serve a purpose. But you will burn the most fat walking or jogging or riding a bike.  If you want to progress and get into better shape you should push yourself a little to increase your fitness and burn more calories the next time you exercise.

Once again everybody needs to find what works for them. Avoid injury by starting out slow and don’t worry about starting small. It takes time and patience to build up strength and endurance. If you start too fast and injure yourself then you won’t be doing anything. Or if you have nagging injuries talk to your doctor, they can recommend things specifically for you.

Since I spent some time talking about how we burn sugar and fat, I want to talk about why no/carb – low carb diets are a bad idea next time.

Why is exercise important

Eating less is not enough. Sad but true.

We want to focus on health gained more than weight lost. When we exercise we improve:
1. Sleep - The body needs to rest after physical activity.
2. Nutritional Health - Burning more calories means you can eat more and insure you are getting all the nutrition you need
3. Body Composition - Even at the same weight you have more lean muscle and less fat. That means even while sitting you are burning more calories
4. Bone Density - Lower risk of Osteoporosis
5. Immune System - People who exercise frequently have a higher resistance to colds and the flu.
6. Lowers the risk if Diabetes, Cancer, and cardiovascular disease - blood pressure and cholesterol are lowered resulting in a lower risk of heart attacks and strokes.

There are three types of exercises that are good to engage in to develop physical fitness

Flexibility Training - Stretching, yoga - perform 2-3 days per week.5 minutes Improves flexibility, allows the joints to move freely and reduces the risk of injury. I use to have back issues, I now stretch in the morning for 5-10 minutes. My back has been much better ever since.

Cardiorespitory- walking, jogging, bicycling, preform 3-5 days for 20-60 minutes per day. Cardio burns fat but it takes 20 minutes for your body to start efficiently burning fat.

Resistance training- weight lifting Pilates, push ups, sit ups. 2-3 times a week, 8-12 different exercises. Builds muscle and lean tissue. The more lean tissue you have the more calories you burn even when resting. It also helps build the lean tissue lost during

Don't overdo exercise. If you don't feel well, stop. And see a doctor if you are having major problems exercising. You have to find something you enjoy doing. Start small, I encourage stretching because it may help overcome physical issues with other exercises. I have been stretching for many years, I did yoga for a while on a Wii fit and it seemed to help also.
For Cardio, I started out riding an stationary bike.  I play my PlayStation  which makes the time go by quickly.  We have also started walking around the neighbor hood on weeknights and hiking on weekends.  We started walking 1.5 miles, now we walk 4.3 miles 4-5 days a week and hike 6 miles 1-2 times on the weekend. For resistance training I have a Total Gym the I train on 2-3 times per week.

The key is fond something you will want to continue because it is fun. If it feels like work,you probably won't continue.

Next Post: "How to Burn More Fat"

Mac and Cheese

This is a lighter recipe Mac and cheese, most recipes can approach 600 calories, this one comes in at 230 calories depending on the portion size. That tends to be a trap. When something is low calorie we think it is ok to eat more. But we have just made it high calorie by increasing the portion size.

8 oz elbow macaroni
1 can 2% evaporated milk
1/2 cup and 1/4 cup of 1% milk (2% is fine)
1/4 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp corn starch
8 oz of Sargento 2% cheddar cheese (grated)- Sargento is what I use, I have heard Cabot 50% Cheddar is very good but I have not found it yet.

In a 3 qt saucepan boil 2.5 qts and 2 tsp of salt, add macaroni
Boil for 5 minutes. I always take one out with a spoon at 4 minutes and bite into it to see if its done.
While the noodles are boiling put 1/2 cup of 1% milk, evaporated milk, garlic powder, dry mustard and cayenne in a small bowl or measuring cup and whisk together. Heat the mixture on a microwave for 1 minute
Add the other 1/4 cup of milk and the 2 tsp of carn starch into another small bowl
After 5 minutes of cooking, drain the pasta and leave it in the colander
Add the heated milk/garlic powder/mustard mixture to the now empty pan and bring to a boil. Stir frequently to prevent the milk from burning.
Reduce heat to a simmer and add milk/cornstarch mixture and whisk together.
Add the pasta back in and stir
Take off the heat and add the cheese
Let stand for 2-3 minutes

163 g of this is 230 calories which is about 6 servings per recipe.

Also, I use a Cuisinart kitchen scale to weigh out my portions
Here is a picture of it. I bought it at Bed Bath and Beyond for around $20-$30

Quick and Easy Chicken Breast Recipe

For dinner, when I want to make something quick, easy and healthy

My quick easy chicken breast recipe –
• 1 Chicken Breast
• Salt and pepper
• Garlic Powder
• 1 tsp veg oil (most if it stays in the pan the chicken may pick up 10-20 calories worth)

Pat the Chicken dry on both sides with paper towels. Sprinkle salt, pepper and garlic powder (liberally) on the both sides and let it sit for 15-30 minutes. It is important to allow some time for the salt and garlic to permeate the chicken.
Heat the oil in a skillet at medium heat. Until it is shimmering, (2-3 minutes)
Place chicken in the pan for 5-6 minutes on each side. If it starts to burn, turn the heat down and turn it more frequently until the internal temperature is 150°. Salmonella dies at 137° so you should be safe. Chicken breast above 160° is dry and nasty. I typically make 4 chicken breasts in a 12" skillet using 2 tsp of oil.

 This also works as a multipurpose recipe. Grill it on the Barbecue, and 1-2 minutes before it is done, brush BBQ sauce on it. You could also use this for a lean pork chop instead of chicken. I also sprinkle it lightly with Chipotle Chile powder and Cumin to make grilled chicken tacos. It’s so simple there are multiple substitutions that can be done depending on your mood.

Nothing spectacular but it’s a start. I do have other recipes that are more complex but they will need to be shared on other posts. Patty will be sharing an egg breakfast sandwich recipe soon.
If you use MyFitnessPal or Calorie Count, you can input your recipes and it will tell you the calories.

How much should I eat?

Let’s set a goal of 1500 calories per day. The question then becomes, how much food is 1500 calories?  It adds up pretty fast so keeping your food intake below 1500 calories requires good choices.

Let’s look at what we might perceive as a typical day
   • Breakfast – Bagel with cream cheese and orange juice
   • Lunch – Turkey sandwich with chips, soda
   •  Snack – Bag of cookies from the vending machine
   • Dinner – Boneless skinless chicken breast, rice, green beans with butter. 2 bread rolls with butter,            
        Arnold Palmer to drink

Looks healthy, now let’s break down the calories.
   • Bagel –                                                   350
   • Cream cheese (spread thin, not heaped on) - 115
   • Orange Juice (1 cup) –                                110 (Breakfast = 575)
   • 2 slices of bread –                                    150
   • Turkey –                                                 100
   • Mayonaise -                                             90
   • Soda –                                                   150
   • Chips –                                                   150  (Lunch = 640)
   •   Cookies -                                              200
   • Chicken Breast (Average size 5 oz piece)– 230
   • Rice (1 cup)-                                            205
   • Green Beans with butter – 140
   • Bread with butter –                                   300
   • Arnold Palmer -                                       100  (Dinner = 975)

These calories assume you’re controlling portion size, but how often do we pile on the cream cheese on a bagel or the butter on a slice of bread? Or go to Starbucks or microwave some popcorn. It all counts toward our daily calorie intake? The grand total of this day would be about 2400 calories. From the last post, if you are a female burning 2100 calories per day you will gain 1 pound of fat in 10 days eating these things every day. When we go out to eat and get a soda we can consume anywhere from 1000 calories to 5000 calories in one meal.   When I went out to eat I would get a soda with several refills, appetizer, full meal and maybe dessert of I was hungry. It not hard to see where all the calories I ate went. Now I am constantly eating but I am eating small healthy snacks. I typically eat between 1700 and 2000 calories in a day and I enjoy what I eat. My typical day looks like this

Breakfast –
   • Fiber one 80 cereal (I eat 1½ servings)          120
   • ¾ cup 1% milk                                           75
   • Blueberries (½ cup) 42
   • 2 cups Trop50 Orange Juice 100
 (It has Calcium and lots of potassium so I drink an extra cup)
The total is 337 calories. Cut the cereal to one serving, the milk to ½ cup and the OJ to one cup and you’re are at 222
Morning snack –
   • Banana                                                  105
   • Mixed Nuts (35g) 205
If you are trying to stay below 1500, don’t eat the nuts, or eat very few. People say to only  eat a handful. Only if you have very small hands. I can hold 400-500 calories worth in my hand easily.
Lunch –
   • 3 oz turkey 75
   • Oro wheat sandwich thin, 100
   • Lettuce tomato                                        10
   • light Mayo (2 tsp) 30
   • Snack bag of carrots                                  46
Total for lunch is 261
Afternoon snack –
   • Apple –                                                  100
   • Celery-                                                   30
Total snacks = 440 or 235 (no nuts)
Dinner-
I would eat the same dinner above but cut the chicken down to 3 oz, a little more than ½ a breast.  No butter on the green beans, no bread, and water to drink
Dinner  = 391

Total calories =1491 or if you eat a smaller breakfast and don’t eat nuts, 1109. You have enough left over for one of those 100 calorie desserts.  Or a bowl or fiber one 80 Chocolate cereal, it’s a pretty good dessert when you are hungry.  These are things I like, you need to find things you like, but be smart.  Moderation and variety are good guidelines when it comes to food.

Three other guidelines:
1. Think about what you are eating – do I need it? Is it just empty calories?
2. Think about how much you are eating – Is it more than I really need?
3. Plan ahead – If you are planning to have a big dinner or go out to eat, eat less earlier. There is a danger here. If you starve yourself before a big meal you will probably gorge yourself at dinner. Don’t starve    yourself! Stick to small, healthy, low-cal snacks and drink water before your meal. You won’t feel like you need to eat as much. I always consider my whole day when making meal or snack choices. If I am going out to lunch or I know dinner will be heavier I will cut back on snacks.  The key is to know what I am eating and how much I can eat and plan ahead to make it all work

The other thing you need to know is: You will be hungry. These are small portions and your stomach and body will need to adjust. After 30 days it becomes a habit. You still feel hungry, but you get used to it.

This last weekend we went to multiple parties (graduation season).  I had planned ahead to enjoy the great dessert I knew would be available.  The weird part was that I was looking forward to getting back to my routine of eating healthy. My weight did spike up but it’s already back to my lowest level since I started all this.  The weight was mostly water due to all the salt I ate.

I lost all this weight (51 lbs as of this writing) because I started eating better and paying attention to how much I ate. Now I can have extra dessert or get something sweet on occasion and go right back to my routine. I enjoy the food I eat and feel really good.  I can keep this up the rest of my life because I enjoy it.

Next time I want to talk about: “Why is Exercise so Important?”

How Fast should I lose weight

Depending on age, height, gender and weight you burn so many calories a day just by living. It’s called your Base Metabolism Rate or BMR. You burn more if you exercise and are active. The link below will calculate you BMR and there is also a link to the Harris Benedict equation to figure out your total calorie need

http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/

You can also use the apps I mentioned before

http://caloriecount.about.com/cc/account/index.php

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/

A pound of fat has 3500 calories. That means in order to lose 1lb of fat you have to burn 3500 more calories than you eat.  A typical female will burn 1800-2000 calories per day assuming moderate activity. Let’s assume 1800 to make this example easy. If she eats 1300 calories per day she will have a 500 calorie per day deficit. After 7 days they will have lost 1 pound of fat.

It is unrealistic to expect to lose more than 0.5 to 2.0 lbs per week.  It is also not healthy to lose weight so quickly. I mentioned before when we lose weight 75% is fat and 25% is lean tissue. The faster we lose the weight, the more lean tissue we will lose, The less lean tissue we have the fewer calories we will burn.  So where does that fat go when we burn it off? It does not leave through excretion (sorry if that is too graphic but we are all adults here). If it is not lost through number one or two, where does the fat go?

We get energy (calories) from 3 sources: Carbohydrates, Protein and Fat. (We get some from alcohol as well, but that’s not exactly a good source of other nutrition so let’s skip it).  Carbs and fats are made of mostly carbon and hydrogen with some oxygen.  Protein is also carbon, hydrogen and oxygen but it also has nitrogen.  Your cells burn carbons and hydrogen and make carbon dioxide and water. The water we pee out and we breathe out the carbon dioxide. So most of the fat we lose we breathe out. Crazy but true. When you exercise your breathing increases because you need more oxygen and you need to exhale more carbon dioxide. You are breathing out the fat you burn.

As I look back on my weight loss, I may have lost weight too quickly. I lost 3 pounds per week for 3 months. However I was eating very healthy and exercising vigorously and I felt good so I am not too worried about it. With the exercise I had a daily calorie deficit of about 1500 calories per day so my weight loss was in line with my food and exercise. The bad news is guys lose faster than girls and I am 6’2” which means I naturally burn more calories. Not fair, but it is what it is.

My wife had a good general and reachable plan to exercise about 200-300 calories per day. That would be added to a BMR of 1800 calories per day to make her metabolism at 2000-2100 calories per day. She ate 1200 calories causing her to lose about 1-2 pounds per week.  If 1200 calories per day is not realistic for you, eat 1500 calories per day and you should lose about 1 pound per week.  How much is 1500 calories per day? I will save that for the next post, “How much food should I eat?”