Sites of the week

Well, we got the WiiFit this week and I am loving it. The running and the hula hooping actually raise my heart rate into my aerobic zone – about 145-155 beats per minute. That’s about the same as when I go for a light jog. The step aerobics brings me into what some call the ‘fat-burning zone’…about 125-135 beats per minute.
That is more than enough to keep me happy when the weather it bad outside.

My calves are seriously…seriously…sore. I am shuffling as I walk. I also did some of the WiiFit strength exercises and my arms are sore. This is after I have been doing strength training with dumbbells for months. Obviously the WiiFit is hitting muscles I haven’t used before…or is working them harder.

The balance exercises…eh. I stink at those. But, I have dropped another pound this week. I used the WiiFit for about 3 and a half hours in two days and burned about 600-700 calories (according to my heart rate monitor.) That makes me happy. Especially since is was so rainy in PA this week.

The yoga? I haven’t really tried that part yet. I was more interested in the ones that keep my heart rate up. I like the running a lot. I think that is what killed my calves. I am definitely going to invest in a step and get a good step aerobics tape. I forgot how much I like that kind of workout.

So, my weight today? I saw 131. Very very nice. I am 4 pounds away from officially losing 20 pounds since January. That’s about a pound a week. Slow and steady wins the race.

Okay – looking good. I saw 132 twice in the past 7 days. In a few weeks, I’ll be in the 120s. That will be sooo nice.
I am babysitting my friend’s daughter today for a few hours and hopefully the sun will still be out by the time she heads to preschool. My Tony Little Gazelle is just not giving me the indoor workout it used to. I need to run!

So, I picked up some white tea the other day. I have cut down on my coffee so much since starting this new eating plan in January and I have been switching to an occasional cup of tea. The reason I cut down on coffee is mainly for the calories. I don’t put any sugar in it, but I love my half and half. I was able to even cut that down to 1/8 cup of half and half and 1 tablespoon of fat free creamer, but the amount of calories (70) and the lack of healthy nutrition isn’t enough to allow myself to have it more than once a day. On my non-exercise days, I usually consume about 1325 calories and I need those 70 calories to spend on healthier foods.

So, anyway, I have been drinking green tea mostly, but saw some white tea in the store and vaguely remember Dr. Oz mentioning it on Oprah recently and thought I would buy some.

After a few days of drinking it, I began to wonder what the difference actually is between the two teas. The taste seems the same to me, personally, so what about the benefits?

Green Tea Benefits

1. Rich in antioxidants or polyphenols (specifically, EGCG.)
2. Lowers LDL cholesterol.
3. Inhibits abnormal blood clotting.
4. Kills bacteria.

1. Polyphenols are chemicals that have the possibility of fighting against some of our common health issues and may also inhibit certain signs of aging. They act as antioxidants in our bodies. When molecules in our bodies break down they have the possibility of breaking down in an unstable manner. They them roam the body as “free radicals” – atoms with missing electrons.
As they attempt to ‘steal’ electrons from other cells, these free radicals can cause damage to the body. (Stealing is just plain wrong!) This problem has been linked to cancer, aging, problems with the immune system, etc. Antioxidants fight free radicals. They ‘donate’ one of their electrons to the free radical and have the ability to remain stable by doing it. In turn, the free radical is also returned to a stable state.
The polyphenol most associated with preventing the growth of cancer is EGCG, which is found in all teas, but large quantities are found in green tea. Research has shown, however, that white tea has a significantly higher concentration of antioxidants than green tea. So, if this is your primary reason for drinking tea, you might want to switch to white.

2. As far as cholesterol is concerned, LDL is the bad cholesterol. (HDL is good..I remember it by saying “H” is for “healthy.”) LDL is the ‘oxidized’ form of cholesterol. As explained above, oxidation causes free radicals. Therefore, the anti-0xidant properties of Green Tea can help inhibit the LDL oxidation.

3. It has been known to inhibit abnormal blood clotting (which can lead to heart attacks and strokes.)

4. Supposedly, green tea can kill bacteria. Bacteria in our foods, in our mouths (to help with bad breath), and a certain antibiotic-immune strain of the staph germ.

White Tea Benefits
Supposedly nearly everything green tea can do, white tea does better.

1. Greater concentrations of polyphenols (antioxidants)
2. Possibly better anti-bacterial properties than green tea.
3. Strong potential for fighting cancer.

1. As explained above, polyphenols are antioxidants. Antioxidants (especially the extremely powerful EGCG) can aid in the prevention of cancer. White tea has the higher levels of EGCG than green tea.

2. Pace University did a study in 2004 that provided evidence that white tea can provide protection against certain germs and viruses, including the harmful bacteria causing staph, strep and pneumonia. ¹ They stated that green tea had already been proven to stimulate the immune system, but white tea can actually destroy some of these germs as they are forming. White tea was more effective

3. Researchers at Oregon State University discovered that white tea may have the strongest cancer fighting properties of all the teas they have tested. ² The reason for this actually ties in with the fact that (as mentioned above) white tea has higher levels of polyphenols than the other teas. These polyphenols inhibited cell mutations, thereby reducing a person’s cancer risk, more effectively than green tea.
Oregon State also discovered that the consumption of white tea reduced the tumors in lab rats from 30 to about 13. The rats who actually consumed cancer-reducing drugs decreased their tumors from 30 to about 6. The fact that the natural properties of tea was able to make such a difference has definitely caught the attention of the medical community.

Other Notes

• When drinking green tea or white tea, it has recently been discovered that adding a little bit of citrus juice can allow the antioxidants to remain available for absorption even after the tea exits the stomach. The reason for this is that some of the antioxidants chemicals become unstable when they are not in an acidic environment. After leaving the acidic environment of the stomach and entering the intestines, fewer of the antioxidant properties are available for further absorption. By adding citric juice (such as lemon or orange juice) it travels with the tea into the intestines and allows for better absorption. A Perdue University study found that citrus juice increased the tea’s antioxidant levels in the intestines by more than five times.³

All in all, I have switched to drinking nearly all white tea, with an occasional cup of green tea from time to time. (Mostly because green tea is a little less expensive and easier to find than white tea.) Since the studies on white tea are still new, I am always keeping an eye out for new updates and information about the tea. In the meantime, it sounds like there is enough positive to make it worthwhile to treat myself to a cup everyday.

References:

1. American Society For Microbiology (2004, May 28). White Tea Beats Green Tea In Fighting Germs. ScienceDaily. Retrieved June 8, 2008, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­/releases/2004/05/040526070934.htm
2. American Chemical Society (2000, April 13). Cancer-Preventive Potential Of White Tea. ScienceDaily. Retrieved June 8, 2008, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2000/04/000410084553.htm
3. Purdue University (2007, November 14). Citrus Juice, Vitamin C Give Staying Power To Green Tea Antioxidants. ScienceDaily. Retrieved June 8, 2008, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2007/11/071113163016.htm

Well, my weight is holding steady at 133-134. It’s been slow going for the past 4 weeks. As long as I’m still losing, I’m good, I guess. I just got spoiled with the 1 pound a week loss I was having.

Today was a weird day. I slept in. Really slept in. I woke up at 9 and then went back to bed until 1PM. The rest of the day has been sluggish. It’s rainy and chilly and I’ve been vegged out on the couch for the whole day. Not my usual routine, but it’s nice to have the day off.

Because I woke up so late, there is no way I am getting all my calories in today. No matter. It just evens out the week from my high calorie Mother’s Day.

Not much else to report. I started on Prilosec again and hope that will hold me over until I get back to my gastro doctor for Protonix. I have been trying to steer clear of things that will aggravate the acid reflux, but seriously – I am already trying to stick to low-glycemic, low saturated fat, all natural…and then to through in foods to prevent acid reflux. It’s exhausting to keep trying to eat foods that will not conflict with all of my health issues.

Well, right now I’m in the middle of a “V” marathon – that old ’80s miniseries about aliens coming to earth. Fun. Brings back memories – my brothers and I watched that soooo many times when we were young.

Okay, so mom and I went out food shopping today.
I swung by the health food store to pick up some chia seeds. I already added them to my protein shake today…just a small change from my usual flax seeds. No special taste or difference – just added health benefits, so that’s good.

I also picked up some cauliflower for the first time. I am trying two new recipes with them.
The first is just Mashed Cauliflower. Basically, steam or microwave the cauliflower until it is soft. Then mash it with a fork and add your own spices. Today I tried garlic, chives, salt and pepper. Very very yummy. If you like mashed potatoes (which I don’t) this might be a nice alternative for you.

The second recipe is Popcorn Cauliflower.
Basically I took whatever cauliflower I had left after trying my mashed cauliflower (about 1/3 of a head.) Broke it up into a bunch of little florets. Mixed it with 1 tablespoon of Extra Virgin Olive Oil and 1/2 Teaspoon of powdered garlic (I didn’t have fresh garlic or I would have used that.) Baked it on a baking sheet at 450 degrees Fahrenheit for 25 minutes.
This is the basic calorie information.

I just finished it and it tasted good. I’m not sure if the calories are worth it, though. I am going to try a full head with 2 TBSP of olive oil next time. Because I am getting closer to my goal weight, my daily calorie goal is getting smaller and smaller and I need to start making strict choices with my daily calorie content.

The last thing I am doing today is marinating my salmon. I have been using a honey mustard glaze recently, but want to try something different and with slightly fewer calories. So, today is Lime Marinated Grilled Salmon.
I am not known for my cooking skills, but I think I can handle marinades.

Okay, while I’m at it…the rest of my dinner is my favorite. I have this all the time and I love it. It’s my Tofu/Pepper/Onion Mix. (I think I’m going to come up with a catchy name for it one day.)
Basically…

I chop up 5 asparagus spears, half of a pepper (sometimes more), 1/4 cup of red onion, (and sometimes garlic, if I have it) I spray my wok with some cooking spray and start cooking the veggies. I season it…I have tons of different combinations I use, but it usually includes garlic. I add some sesame seeds sometimes, too. Then, at the end, I add my sesame oil for taste and shred some of my Cabot 75% cheddar cheese (so low in fat!) to melt on top.
The firm tofu gets added in the middle (I don’t know why I add it then…I’m just a haphazard cook.) It picks up the onion flavors, the seasoning flavors and especially the sesame oil flavors at the end. I make sure the tofu pieces sit directly on the pan and turn them so that each side gets brown.
I have this side dish about 3 times a week (I have to or the tofu goes bad! I don’t like freezing my tofu…it turns weird when I do that.)

This is probably how I get most of my vegetable servings. I really don’t like vegetables that much, so the fact that I have 4 of them in one recipe is pretty darned good!

Well, today is a ‘no exercise’ day. I couldn’t really fit it in this morning and I am tired now, so the exercise would be rather half-hearted. Plus, Grey’s Anatomy will be on tonight and I need to stay awake for that!
So, tomorrow is an exercise day, for sure! It’ll be raining, so it’s just me and my Tony Little Gazelle.

Okay, since I started using an online site to track my calories, I was introduced to the concept of Net Calories.

Total Calories consumed – Exercise Calories Burned = NET calories.

I have dieted a lot in my life. A lot. I have only tracked calories with two of those diets. (Once a long time ago with Weight Watchers…which, yes, is a calorie counting program disguised by a Points System) and once again last year. Neither plan included Net Calories.

This January, I started at The Daily Plate and noticed the Net Calories feature.
Basically, when you track your exercise you eat those calories back. It took me a few weeks to understand the logic behind it. It is highly prone to accuracy errors and I think that is the main reason why it doesn’t work for every one. Also, I think people may be using it incorrectly.

Below is my basic understanding of it. I am fairly certain I have the general idea of how it works.

1: What to do and how it works.

When you calculate your daily Calorie Goal, you need to select your activity level and how much weight you want to (safely!) lose per week. Seriously…unless you are obese – don’t try to lose 5 pounds in one week!
Okay, the important thing here is if you want to ‘eat back’ and track your exercise…pick the correct activity level!

For instance, I get my daughter ready for school, I work at home on the computer, I drive, I do light housekeeping (very light – wash dishes, make a bed, wipe counters, etc.) I do college work, I watch TV, I read, etc. That is my typical day. Boring…yes!
But, on average, my day pretty much falls under the “lightly active” category.

First, the calorie calculator starts with the number of calories burned in a ‘lightly active’ lifestyle on a typical day…let’s say 1800 calories and subtracts a deficit from that. In my case, I want to lose 1 pound a week, so it subtracts 500 from 1800 and gives me 1300 as my Calorie Goal. (I am going to assume everyone understands how consuming fewer calories than your body burns will bring about weight loss.) So, I now know that I can consume 1300 calories and lose 1 pound a week because of that 500 calorie deficit.
Now, there are 3 ways to maintain that deficit:

1: Food Restriction. (Eat 500 calories fewer than 1800/day. i.e. Eat 1300 calories/day.)
2: Exercise. (Eat 1800 calories a day…and exercise off 500 calories)
3: Both. (Ex: Eat 1500 – which is only a 300 deficit – and burn off the extra 200 to make the deficit 500)

So, I start my day and eat 1300. I have my 500 calorie deficit.
Then, I decide to exercise and burn an extra 200 calories.
My NET calories are now 1100.
1300 (total calories consumed) – 200 (exercise calories burned) = 1100 NET.

Another way to look at it is that my deficit is now 700.
500 from the food restriction deficit we made when we ate 1300 calories…and 200 from the exercise we just did.
500+200 = 700 deficit.

One final way to look at it is I no longer just burned 1800 today. I busted out of my Lightly Active lifestyle and I burned 2000 calories.
If I still want a 500 calorie deficit, I now have to eat 1500 calories (2000 – 500 = 1500) instead of 1300 to get my 500 calorie deficit.

So, yep…to do that I have to eat back my 200 exercise calories.
This makes my deficit 500 again.
My NET is now 1300 and the total I consumed for the day is 1500.

1300 (food eaten) – 200(exercise) = 1100 NET + 200 (eat back) = 1300 NET.
and
1300 TOTAL (food eaten) + 200 (eat back) = 1500 calories TOTAL.

I still have my 500 calorie deficit. I just changed how I got it. Instead of just food restriction, I used a combination of food restriction and exercise to get to a 500 calorie deficit.
This is why people ‘eat back’. If you track it right and use the right activity level, it does

2: What not to do.

Here’s what I think I did wrong in the beginning.
I told the calorie calculator that I was ‘Moderately Active’ and I ate back.
The calorie goal given to me for ‘Moderately Active’ already included my exercise calories.

The calculator started with the number of calories I burn due to an moderately activity level that included my exercise sessions….it was about 2100 calories and then subtracted my deficit (500) to give me a Calorie Goal of 1600 TOTAL. I wasn’t supposed to track exercise and ‘eat back’ because my calorie intake number already included my exercise. The 2100 calories (and thereby the 1600 Calorie Goal) already had those burned exercise calories in there…to track them again would be redundant!

3: Finale

So, the two choices are…choose an activity level for just your day-to-day activities and track exercise separately/’eat back’. Or just choose a higher activity level to account for your exercise and just eat and know that your Calorie Goal will give you a deficit that already includes your exercise calories.

Remember it’s not all exact. The calorie calculator estimates – it doesn’t really know exactly how many calories you are burning. (How helpful it would be if it really did!)
Keep all this in mind as you track your calories.

Which one do I personally do?

I do both. I switch every 3 weeks and do one or the other. When I use the higher activity level, I actually calorie cycle (change the amounts I eat each day, but still end up with the same total by the end of the week.) Also known as ‘calorie shifting’, ‘zig-zag dieting’ or ‘The Wendie Plan’ (for those of you on Weight Watchers.)

When I “eat back”, I track my exercise with my Heart Rate Monitor and eat back most of those calories. I have personal rules about how many exercise calories I actually eat back. I do this mostly to allow room for inaccuracies with counting calories.

I like doing both. It gives me a fresh start every three weeks. I have been successful (so far) with both, so I’ll keep doing it for now.

I’m back up to 134.5 today.
So, water weight? Maybe. I have been drinking a lot (which is supposed to help) so that I can avoid water weight fluctuations and get a good picture of whether my new techniques are breaking me out of my 18 day stall. If it isn’t water weight, then it means I might be missing something.

Time to look at the numbers.

Let’s start with March and go all the way to May.
My weight is the weight at the END of that week. That makes more sense because it reflects how my Total and Net calories affected that weight for that week.

3/2/08: 142lbs. Total: 9808 (1400/day) Net Cals: 1269/day.
3/9/08: 141lbs. Total: 9702 (1375/day) Net Cals: 1278/day.
3/16/08: 140lbs. Total: 9464 (1350/day) Net Cals: 1276/day.
Average Exercise for three weeks: 736 calories per week.

3/23/08: 139 lbs. Total: 10500 (1500/day) Net Cals: 1390/day.
3/30/08: 140 lbs. Total: 10567 (1509/day) Net Cals: 1396/day.
4/6/08: 138 lbs. Total: 10971 (1567/day) Net Cals: 1380/day.
Average Exercise for three weeks: 957calories per week.

4/13/08: 136 lbs. Total: 10115 (1445/day) Net Cals: 1250/day.
4/20/08: 134.5 lbs Total: 10210 (1458/day) Net Cals: 1250/day.
4/27/08: 134 lbs. Total: 10078 (1440/day) Net Cals: 1220/day.
Average Exercise for three weeks: 1450 calories per week.

5/4/08: 133 lbs. Total: 10746 (1535/day) Net Cals: 1369/day.

That May 4th weight of 133 was only seen once – on that day only (so I don’t know what happened to it. I’m blaming my cheap scale on that one.)
Today is May 14th and I am back at 134.5.
I have been seeing 134 and 134.5 since April 20th. Almost 4 weeks at the same weight. That’s about as plateaued as I can get. I think.

Granted, I have changed how I track my exercise, so my Eat Back weeks may be a problem now. The accuracy of calories burned may be under/over estimated and pushing my body closer to my maintenance or closer to “starvation mode” (if I want to subscribe to that particular viewpoint. The jury is still out on that one.)

How has my exercise tracking changed? Well, I don’t count all my exercise calories and I don’t count all exercise the same way.

Old Way # 1

All exercise counts – cardio, yoga, weights, etc.
I tracked only 90% of any of those calories burned.

Old Way #2

All exercise counts.
If my average BPM (beats per minute) at the end of any exercise was:

1. above 140, I ate back 90%
2. between 112 and 139, I ate back 85%
3. anything below 112 was not counted.

Current Way

Exercise has to last longer than 20 minutes.
Any cardio over 129BPM: I subtract 1 calorie per 1 minute of exercise to account for my RMR.
All cardio between 120 and 129BPM: I count only 50% of those calories.
Any cardio under 120: not counted.
All non-cardio (such as weight training) over 125 BPM: I count 70%.
Any non-cardio under 125: not counted.

Am I underestimating?
Should I be counting any and all activity? Is my NET actually lower because I am really burning off significantly more than I am tracking?

Bah!

I seriously like my ‘eat back’ weeks. I start each day with the calorie intake for someone who is lightly active (which describes my life apart from exercise.) I then track all my exercise and eat back those calories. This has worked for me for quite a while, so I have no idea what is going wrong now.
Okay, before I panic. I am still in the middle of my Plateau Busting Plan. So, I will give myself to Sunday until I begin to really worry.

In any case – I had a really good workout today. Almost 5 miles. I was exhausted! Rain is coming on Friday, so I’m going to try to head out tomorrow and give myself Friday off.

11:10 AM: Okay, I suddenly jumped from 132.5 to 134 this morning.
Darned weight fluctuations! Seriously. I dislike those aplenty.

In any case, I am up for a heavy duty exercise session in about an hour. It’s beautiful here in PA and I am working on a good 3.5 to 4.5 mile walk/run. I’m not good enough to run the whole time, but I am noticing huge differences in endurance over the past month. I love running.

As for everything else, my brother just decided that he wants to hop on the health train, so I hope I might be able to pass some of what I have learned down to him. Our family has a slew of heredity medical diseases – cardiovascular disease and diabetes being the worst of them – and we have to work extra hard to avoid them.

4:00 PM: Well, my workout went awesome. About 4 miles at 414 net calories (after I subtract my RMR from it) and then 121 calories from my strength training. It was Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps today. That’s my favorite workout. I only count 70% of non-cardio workouts over 125BPM. Yes, I have strict rules about what actually counts as exercise.

I am eating slightly less than my normal calories today because I am trying to make up for my Sunday binge-fest. Holidays are a pain to recover from – I have to really work on making them not so crazy in the future.

9:00PM: Eh. My acid reflux is sooo bad these days. I feel like I have something stuck in my throat all the time. I think my poor esophagus is all irritated. I have to read up a little on this and figure out what to do about it. Or…just go back to the doctor and get my Protonix prescription refilled. I just really dislike taking medication.