Health(y) education

As a home-educator and a lover of fitness, I thought it was important to make sure my kids get a good "health" education.  I love the sight KidsHealth.org, which has a "for kids" link to explain all kinds of heath related topics from illness and injury to healthy eating in a kid friendly manner.

Sights like this are also great for adults who may need a simpler explanation than the clinical terms given by doctors or other websites.  I always learn something new when I visit this site with my kids on a daily basis.

Microwave Popcorn (without the oil, salt and expense of storebought bags)

This post from100 days of real food sums up my thoughts (exactly) making your own microwave popcorn. Bottom line, it works, well.
I just went to the store and paid $1 for 50 brown paper lunch sacks and another 1.88 for a 32 oz bag of popcorn. I used 1/3 rd cup popcorn and ended up with 12 bags (that's .24 a bag) and fatsecret says that 1/3 cup of un-popped corn will be 172 calories. 
So make yourself up a bag... or a dozen and have it on-hand on the cheap for your diet fix.
YOUR WELCOME!

Sharing a favorite blog (YumYucky)

Today, I am sharing with you one of my newfound favorite blogs...heck, lets make it a thing and from now on Wednesday will be Share a blog day...
So without further ado... I present to you YumYucky, which features Josie a hilarious 40 something mom and about to be grandma who works out, looks great and still manages to eat some great food...Oh, she has an amazing blog too.
Enjoy it.

Fasting....I'm not REALLY doing it.

I thought I was "fasting".  I have heard many people on MFP (My Fitness Pal) talk about being "fasters" and wondered about it... Then I stopped wondering and started fasting.... or so I thought.

A few years ago I read a popular book at the time Skinny Bitch.  I thought it was a great book... I should read it again...but that's not the point.  I remember something from the book about "waiting as long as possible before you eat in the morning".  I took this to be fasting.  So I started doing this....

Instead of eating in the a.m. before I went to do my workout...I only had coffee, caffeine is really all I need to get me moving and power me through my workout...ok... water.... I also need water.  But I didn't need the calories as I wasn't doing a super grueling workout and lets face it... I have fat to burn... So.... I waited to eat until I returned from my workout.... as I am not employed... some days my morning workout takes me to 11:00 a.m.  So I have successfully not eaten until lunch... saving calories for the rest of the day... and possible something delicious.

BUT... this was not fasting.... according to Life by Daily Burn, fasting is a serious science.. and can be broken down by type... YES, there are 5 types of fasts (who knew).  Well this is a serious method  I am not ready to commit to.  At least not yet.... but at least now, I (and you) are armed with the information.

100 days left to the new year

I am in a group on My Fitness Pal tracking weight loss until the new year... This group starts on September 23rd so that we can have 10 , 10 day increments to meet our goal of 100 days by 2015.
here is the link to the tracker with the dates of the 10 day increments.
Feel free to add a username  and goal weight.. or not....
Or copy this spreadsheet or make your own and set a goal or goals to meet, make or continue until 2015.
You can do anything for 10 days.... do that 10 times and you have done it 100.
Awesome concept!

How many calories am I really burning on my walk/ jog/ run?

I run...not because I enjoy it...but because I believe it whips my body into the best shape in the shortest amount of time.  I also track calories... because I am an over-eater, it is my metric to determine how much food I can consume in a day/ week... and still have a calorie deficit with the hopes of loosing weight.
So the question arises, how many calories is my walk/ run/ jog burning? What is the optimal pace for burning calories for my limited skill and time.
Though treadmills and smart-watches, and heart rate monitors all claim to have an answer... they all seem to vary.
Well here is yet, one more metric from caloriesburnedhq... to throw in the mix. But at least it is fun to play with...without having to do the physical exercise to "see" the results.

Notice how your weight is also a factor in the amount of calories you burn as well as your pace and time.
Enjoy, calculating.

Foodie Friday (Make your own yogurt)

I make my own yogurt... there I said it.  Call me a "granola" type if you like.  I don't do it cause its healthier or so I'll know what's in it.  I do it cause its cheap and easy... simple as that. 

Here's how I make mine... a tried and true method... never messes up.  

What you need.
Pasta pot
quart glass jars
cooking thermometer
washcloth
potholders
cooler
blanket
stovetop 
milk  ( I USE 2%)
1 small (single serve) plain yogurt with active cultures

1.  I use 2% milk, the normal stuff in the gallon jug. Most of the time it comes from Walmart and is the cheaper of the 2 they offer.

2.  Grab your 5 qt. pasta pot, fill it 3/4 full of tap water, place a dishrag in the bottom of it. Start boiling the water.

3.  Fill glass jars ( I use 1 qt glass jars)  almost full with milk, and set them on the washcloth in the pot. Pull out a small container of plain yogurt, and let cool to room temperature.

4.  Let the water boil and the milk heat till the milk becomes 180 degrees F.

5.  Remove the milk bottles by using a hotpad, let the milk cool till it is 110 degrees F.  (this step takes the longest... about 1 hour)

6.  After your milk has cooled to 110 degrees F, stir in 1 spoonful of yogurt into each jar of milk, then cap the jars. (VERY IMPORTANT THAT THE MILK GETS TO 110 OR YOU WIL KILL THE YOGURT YOU PLACE IN THE JARS, AND YOU WILL NOT HAVE YOGURT.

7.  Place the jars in a cooler and wrap the cooler in a big blanket or towel. Place is a warm, room temperature area

8.  FORGET ABOUT IT!!! overnight or for about 10 hours.... the longer you wait the thicker it gets. Then refrigerate.  DELICIOUS.

* NEXT TIME YOU MAKE YOGURT, YOU CAN USE THIS FOR THE BASE INSTEAD OF BUYING A SINGLE SERVE YOGURT.

Trust me... this is so easy... after one time... you'll be a pro.  I promise I make this and just didn't see this recipe and throw it out there... I hate that.

COME BACK NEXT WEEK TO SEE HOW I MAKE A DELICIOUS OATS WITH FRUIT IN A CUP USING THIS YOGURT.

100 best running songs (a Spark People Opinion poll)

I run with music... perhaps when I am a better runner, i.e. not breathing hard and heavy and clomping me feet like a giant work horse, I might run sans music... but for now: Music is a must.
I am always on the lookout for some good tunes as well.  Something that motivates me to run a little longer, a little faster, a little prouder.
If you are looking for songs like these... don't borrow my list... though I will share my faves as well borrow this list of 100_running_songs_of_all_time  list, a poll from Sparkpeople.com.

Or check out my faves if you can find them.

1. Beyoncé: Ring the Alarm, free mason version
2.  Nerd: Almost Over now
3.  Taylor Swift: Shake it Off

Self Nutrition Data

I love this Self Nutritional Data base.  I found it when looking for information on raw, canned pumpkin, which I found was a super food in terms on nutritional value vs. fullness factor.  Today, I looked up the Russet potato, also good in terms of calories for nutrition and fullness. 
If you are watching calories, tracking macro nutrients or are just curious about the health value of any food, check this site out.

the nike plus (nike +) running app

I have been wanting to run a 1/2  marathon for quite a while now.  I wanted to run one last year, when I was on a health and fitness kick..but only got up to 10k.  About the same time, a year later, I am back on a health and fitness kick and again....want to run a 1/2 marathon.

I have been using a new app on my smart phone (android) and Ipod touch (Apple) called Nike + running app.  It has a coach feature on it and I am using this 12 week coach approach to train for my 1/2 marathon.

This week (week 4 of my training) calls for 20.75 miles of running with 3, 3 mile runs, 1 3.75 mile run and a big 8 miler on Saturday.

This app also goes further into training by suggesting what you should do on those run days... for instance, today the coach had me warm up for 1 mile, speed work for .75 miles, .25 mile rest, .75 speed work and a 1 mile cool down for 3.75 miles total.

I like the coach feature on this app, though I find the tracking mechanism to be off.  I generally run on a treadmill and when "carrying" the device with the app running in my pocket, distance seems to be off by about .5 a mile... When I used the gps tracker on my Mackinaw Island run, it measured the 8 mile run as 7.60.  So now, I prefer to input my distance with the setting feature and just use the coach feature, however if you are without a tracking device at all the Nike+ running app tracker might work for you.  It also may work better depending on your location, device, or tower signal strength.

Amp Up your Treadmill workout

On my running days...which is most days, these days, I prefer to run on the treadmill.  My reasons are as follows.

1.  I think it is safer... no cars with texters, to run me over, no rough terrain to stumble upon, no unexpected conditions. 

2. Optimal weather... its usually about 70 degrees in my gym and never rainy or windy.

3.  There are comfort items... towels, TV, other people I can chat with regardless of the pace they are going.

4. I don't have to carry my water.

5. Built in metrics like mileage, hills, time and effort. 

But continually running on the treadmill is cheating right?  I mean how will I ever improve?  Am I burning the same amount of calories as I would if I were challenging myself outdoors?  How is this type of training preparing me for races?  

Well, if you are looking to pump up your treadmill workout, check out these tips, once again borrowed from POPSUGAR.

Finishing Strong with the help of Negative Splits

I have been running a few races.  10k's and most recently an 8 miler on Mackinaw Island, Michigan.  One of my running trends is that I seem to start out very strong but loose energy and speed as the run progresses.
I'm interested in correcting this issue so that I can finish races running strong with good times and at least be able to guesstimate my finish time.  As of now... several runs have me walking 2 miles before the finish.

One possible remedy is to work on Negative Splits.

You can find out more about Negative Splits on this article by PopSugar.
In a nutshell, you are pacing your run and planning to be faster at the end than you were at the beginning.
I think that I can incorporate this into training...especially when using the treadmill but am unsure whether I can overcome the beginning race excitement which leads to a faster gait at most races.

Loose running shoes and heel slippage?

So I got an awesome new pair of running shoes, their Adidas, by the way... I think in the end they won out after the fit and comfort test, (of course) because they say "Run Fast" on the inside... I mean who doesn't want that... to "Run Fast"  anyway... its not about the shoes... well it is....
I feel like the are loose... they slip a little when I run. Never fear... I stumbled upon this great little video about how to fix heel slippage here, genius.... I never could figure out why those holes so far back were used for.

Sunny and 75

Do you know that song?  Sunny and 75?  Oh, it's by Joe Nichols.... you can find the song with its lyrics written down, on you tube here.

Anyway... this song was the inspiration for this new blog.... inspired by my new lifestyle, which features, me,  a young (40 something)  retiree who chases the calm weather from Michigan to Florida.  Get it... I'm always searching for sunny and 75.

This blog is primarily a fitness blog and my discovery of all things health and fitness to include but not limited to reviews on gear and gadgets, tried and true as well as new workouts and equipment and health and fitness related questions.

I plan to write... every single day... sharing something I learned about health and fitness as well as share what I am doing to maintain and improve my health and fitness.

I hope you will join me, at least in spirit... searching for Sunny and 75.