Healthy snacks you can't overdo

I love articles like this one from Shape.com. When you are "dieting" all of a sudden your brain tells you that you need to eat more. At least that is how mine works. Shape.com lists six snack foods you can't overdo. Fabulous!

Healthy Snack #1: Homemade Cucumber Pickles
Make it: 1.Thinly slice cucumbers; 2. Douse in rice vinegar. Pretty simple, right? "Cucumbers only have 16 calories per cup and the rice vinegar only adds 1 calorie per teaspoon but tons of flavor," Blatner says. This low-calorie snack should be a staple in your healthy diet.

Healthy Snack #2: Air-Popped Popcorn
"Because popcorn is mostly air, you can eat a lot for minimal calories," Blatner says. "You get about 3.5 cups for only 100 calories." And since popcorn is naturally a whole grain, you also get 4 grams of filling fiber. For extra flavor add paprika, chili powder, vinegar and pepper, or cinnamon.

Healthy Snack #3: Zucchini Carpaccio
Make it: 1. Thinly slice zucchini; 2. Drizzle with lemon; 3. Sprinkle with pepper. The secret to this healthy snack is in the lemon. "Cutting the zucchini very thin allows the lemon to tenderize it, so it's extra delicious!" At only 19 calories per cup, with flavorful and low-calorie lemon and pepper as seasoning, this may become your favorite way to eat squash.

Healthy Snack #4: Canned Artichokes
Blatner recommends rinsing and draining to reduce the sodium content. Then dig in! Artichokes have one of the highest antioxidant contents of all fruits and vegetables. "So you're not only getting just 16 calories each," Blatner says, "you're also getting healthy anti-aging, disease-fighting antioxidants." Call it youth in a can.

Healthy Snack #5: Homemade Kale Chips
Make it: 1. Preheat oven to 375°F; 2. Wash 2 bunches of kale, remove stems, tear into small pieces; 3. Toss with 2 tsp olive oil and spread on baking sheet; 4. Salt lightly; 5. Bake until crisp and slightly golden around edges (10 minutes). "These satisfying chips only have 34 calories per cup, versus a cup of bagel chips, which would be four to five times more calories."

Healthy Snack #6: Finger-Food Veggies
"Veggies are mostly water—about 90 percent," Blatner says. So you'll feel full long before you overdo it. Plus, veggies are one of the most portable snacks around. "Celery, carrots, grape tomatoes, snow peas and broccoli are the best finger-food veggies." Pop them in a plastic bag and eat on the go. It'll save you from giving in to drive through disasters.

How to find a new gym

As with most New Year's resolutions, many people are looking at gym memberships. Some questions to ask yourself before signing the dotted line and laying down the bucks:

• Is the gym convenient to your home or work? If you have to go out of your way, you will make excuses not to go.
• Do your research on the gym - many companies don't make it. Make sure you pick a reputable company with a good track record.
• Introductory offer - What does it entail? What are you getting for our money?
• Know what it takes to get out of a contract - You sign for a year and something comes up after 3 months. Know what your options are.
• What is your goal? - Focusing on strength or cardio? Make sure the gym offers what you are looking for.

Your health is an investment. Research your options. Your body will thank you!

Classic Race Management

Upcoming races this summer in and around my home town. Check out www.classicrace.com

Couch to 5K

So I finished 2 weeks of the Couch25K program. The first week was pretty good. Walk 5 min, 60 secs of running, 90 secs of walking. Total of 20 min. I actually was able to go over the 20 min each time. And since not being a runner, it was mostly walking but the walking portions were a good amount to let me catch my breath.

The second week was a little harder. Walk 5 min, 90 secs of running, 2 min of running. Total of 20 min. This week I actually thought I was not going to make it. But I think the problem is tht I did all 3 days in a row. I have since read that you should have a day of rest in between.

As of now, my last day of training was 6/8/10. I've decided to start over with the training. I want to be able to do a triathon by 40. A friend of mine suggested it. And I think it sounds like a great goal.

Biking is fun!

I joined a biking meetup group tonight and we rode 11 miles in 1 hour and 45 minutes. Not fast by any means. I was in the slow group. And the short group. But I am so tired. Must go to bed now...

Note to Self

WTF? What was I thinking? Well I know exactly what I was thinking. I was thinking that I would be able to easily walk a 6K without doing any training. I didn't do badly. Mostly my feet. Blisters. Not sure what to do about that in the future. The Green Day Fun Run really wasn't fun either. Who knew Cascade had so many hills?!? If you are in the Grand Rapids area, check out the run on Facebook.

I'm going to nurse my feet for the night.

The End Times Are Here

I browse through a lot of health and fitness related news every day in order to try and find things that can help our readers here improve their lives. In doing so I come across a fair number of unusual topics, but more often than not most of the things I read tend to get repetitive. That’s why, when I opened up my reader this morning, I darn near spewed a mouthful of coffee all over my dual monitor setup after I saw one of the headlines.

McDonalds has partnered up with Weight Watchers .

That’s right, folks. Over in New Zealand McDonald’s is now advertising several of their menu choices with the Weight Watchers logo and the POINTS value prominently displayed. They aren’t offering anything new on their menu as far as I can tell, but what they have done is picked out three meals from their available selections that a Weight Watchers member can choose for a quick and relatively low POINTS meal. The items are :

•A Filet-O-Fish sandwich with a side salad and a diet soda or bottled water.
•Six Chicken McNuggets with sauce, a side salad, and a diet soda or bottled water.
•A Chicken Wrap with a diet soda or bottled water.
All three of these items are advertised as having 6.5 POINTS.

As much as this news made my jaw drop over the sheer level of bizarre WTF-ery involved, I have to admit that I think it’s a wonderful sign. It means that yet another major restaurant chain is bowing to consumer demand for healthy menu options. So much so that the chains see the potential to increase their profits by catering to those needs (and, conversely, the possibility that they will lose business if they do not do so). If this kind of menu labeling is adopted world wide by a major chain like McDonalds it’s only a matter of time before their competitors take notice and respond in kind. If that happens we can look forward to the possibility of having Weight Watchers POINTS values prominently displayed on even more restaurant menus in the future.

As a long time Weight Watchers member all I have to say to that is “I’m lovin’ it.”

Retrieved from ShrinkGeek

All I can say is "What??? When did the fish sandwich become healthy?