Food Substitutions

When it comes to eating right and losing weight, the number of calories you consume and burn can make a big difference. Whether it be you pre-run snack, post-run snack, or one of your three meals, it is important to make the right decisions and eat those healthier foods. It is easy to work out, and then justify eating loads of food. This is an extremely unhealthy habit that can be easily fixed with a little bit of knowledge and will power. Below are some tables that compare different foods and may offer some simple substitutions that can change your whole diet.

In the first column is a food (and the number of calories) that most people would commonly choose to eat. The second shows a simple, healthier food that you could trade out. The final column shows the number of calories you save by switching. Also keep in mind that the number of calories per food are approximated and may be slightly different depending on the amount and brand of food.

Food	Substitution	Calories Saved
Small Bag (1 oz.) of Chips (160 Cal)	1 cup Mixed Veggies (80 Cal)	80 Calories
Latte w/ whole Milk (1c) (136 Cal)	Latte w/ Skim Milk (1c) (67 Cal)	69 Calories
Cappuccino w/ 2% (1c) (100 Cal)	Black Coffee (1c) (2 Cal)	98 Calories
4 oz. lb. 80% Lean Beef (306 Cal)	Chicken Breast (130 Cal)	176 Calories
1 Cup Orange Juice (112 Cal)	1 medium Orange (62 Cal)	50 Calories
Yogurt (150 Cal)	Greek Yogurt (100 Cal)	50 Calories
1 tbsp. Grape Jelly (50 Cal)	½ Banana Sliced (36 Cal)	14 Calories
1 Cup Ice Cream (273 Cal)	1 Cup Frozen Yogurt (235 Cal)	38 Calories
Chips (1 oz.) (160 Cal)	Popcorn (1 oz.) (122 Cal)	38 Calories

The difference in calories for these foods seem insignificant, but it is important to keep in mind that we normally eat more than the given amount, and therefore would be saving more calories. Plus, when you think about how often you eat these things, the number of calories saved begins to really add up. This is why keeping a food log can help you lose weight. If you compare food logs from when you first start keeping track of your calories to a food log today, you would see that you consume much less calories than before, and your calories probably come from foods that are healthier and have less calories.

Eat Well!

Danielle Renee ♥

Simple Substitutions

Weight Loss: Day 5

When trying to lose weight, our diets are one of our main focuses. Our diets, however, can also prove to be a major problem. It’s no secret that Americans eat unhealthy food. A lot of people blame these unhealthy foods for our increasing average sizes. The truth is, whether people want to believe it or not, there are more than enough healthy options for us to choose over the unhealthy ones. Now some of you are probably saying, “But healthy food is more expensive” or “I do not like healthy foods”, and some of you may even be saying “I don’t have time to make myself healthy meals!” Well, the truth is, there are healthier options that are still cheap. For those of you who do not like healthy foods, you probably just don’t like vegetables or things of the sort. And for those who think you do not have enough time, there are plenty of healthy foods that you can prepare quickly, or even “pre-make” ahead of time.

For those of you who do not know, I am a college student. And yes, the stereotypes for college students fit me perfectly. I am completely broke. I barely afford my food. Between my Biology major, my Mathematics minor, and two jobs, I do not have a lot of time. But you know what? I STILL find ways to eat healthy. When I go grocery shopping, I avoid the junk food isles all together. I understand that junk food is exceptionally cheap. I also know myself well enough to know that I cannot pass up a good deal on food. So by avoiding the junk food isles all together, I avoid all temptation to buy such unhealthy foods. When it comes to my actual food, I buy cheap, long lasting fruits and vegetables, fresh meats, wheat bread, yogurt, cereal, etc. When I am actually at the store, I do not select my food based on the number of calories. I simply choose the foods that I know are not greasy, sugary, or full of preservatives. It is much better to buy foods that you would normally see in a list of ingredients, or foods that are not already “pre-made” into meals, seeing as these usually have more preservatives, more calories, and we usually eat more than one serving at a time.

Trying to choose healthier foods can be very difficult, especially if you know you really like to snack. As I have mentioned in previous posts, will power can make or break you when it comes to weight loss. It is obviously much easier said than done, but if you have strong will power, you can do all of this! Next time you are at the grocery store, just keep these things in mind and you will slowly but surely see a change in your eating habits. And remember, there are no excuses!

Keep it Up!

Danielle ♥

P.S. I will soon be posting actual lists of healthy substitutions for our regular foods and snacks. Check back later for this post.

Staying Active

Weight Loss: Day 4

Choosing to train for a race, whether it be a 5k, 10k, half-marathon, or a whole marathon, is a great way to stay motivated and get in shape.  Most new runners choose to train for a 5k race. The time it takes to build up endurance and get prepared for a 5k varies from person to person. For some people, training for a 5k can take as little as one month; for others, it can take several months. When I began training to run distance, it took me about two and a half months to be able to run 3 miles without stopping. No matter how long it takes, it is always worth the time. Plus, once you’ve run a few 5ks, you can move up to training for a 10k, then a half-marathon, and maybe, eventually, a marathon.

When training for a race of any distance, it is helpful to add challenges into your workouts. One way to do this is by adding hills to your runs. You can either choose a route with more hills, or you can go to a park and run hill repeats. Running up and down the hills will help you build up your strength and can even increase your speed. Another way to increase your speed is to do some “strength training” every once in a while. By strength training, you can build up the muscles in you upper and lower legs, as well as your glutes and abdominal muscles. Some helpful exercises for building leg and abdominal muscles are: jump roping, lunges, squats, squat jumps, crunches, planks, mountain climbers, etc.

While it is important to get in your daily training, it is also important to stay active as much as possible throughout the day. Simple decisions can make a difference in how many calories you burn every day. For example, walking to and from the back of a parking lot will burn more calories than walking from the front of the lot. Rather than taking an elevator to the third floor of the building, you can take the stairs to burn even more calories. Whatever you do, make sure you stay moving because chances are, you will only actually work out once a day. These small amounts of calories burned may seem insignificant, but after a while, these few extra calories really start to add up. Say you burn an extra 300 calories a day. This does not seem like a large amount, right? Well let’s say you burn the same extra 300 calories every day for one week. That is now 2,100 calories. Now let’s pretend you burn the same amount for one month (4 weeks). You have now burned 8,400 calories! One pound of fat is only 3,500 calories. This means that you lost an extra 2.4 pounds simply by making a few small, healthier choices.

Stay Moving!

Danielle ♥

Start Off Right

Weight Loss: Day 3

For most people, working out every day seems time consuming. Sure, working out only takes about an hour of your day, but that hour can be nearly impossible to fit into our daily schedules. Some people solve this problem by working out early in the mornings. Starting your day off with exercise can kick start your metabolism, leave you feeling more energized, and it can help get your workout done without interfering with your schedule. However, there are a few things to keep in mind when working out early in the morning.

Normally, you hear people telling you that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Breakfast is also said to kick start your metabolism and get your day moving. Still, a lot of people assume that it is okay to exercise on an empty stomach and eat breakfast when they are done with their workout. While it’s probably best not to run on a full stomach of cereal and milk, it is still important to get some sort of fuel in your system before working out. Scientists claim that exercising on an empty stomach will cause your body to use fat reserves as your only energy. This may sound like a good thing, but in reality, once your body starts using these reserves as fuel, you will lose energy quickly and may be forced to end your workout too soon. In addition, your body may think that it is under stress and may slow down your metabolism to prevent itself from losing more energy. Sports trainers and scientists agree that eating a small, pre-workout snack up to half an hour before you exercise will help keep you energized.

Once you get your workout in, it is a good idea to eat your normal breakfast. Eating breakfast after your workout can actually aid in muscle recovery. This is even more effective when you eat a good amount of protein with your breakfast. It is also important to keep in mind that most breakfast foods are sugary and loaded with calories. Do your best to eat a healthy, well-balanced breakfast that won’t completely ruin your workout. I personally prefer making omelets with spinach, onions, and a little bit of cheese. This way I get some protein, and a good serving of vegetables.

Rise and Shine,

Danielle ♥

All of the above information can be found in Runner's World Magazine.

Watch What You Eat

Weight Loss: Day 2 

One way to lose weight is to watch what you eat. No, I don’t mean you need to go on some crazy diet that only allows you to eat gluten-free, sugar-free, no carbs, etc. When I say watch what you eat, I mostly mean you need to make sure you are not over-eating. This was the biggest challenge for me. Even as a child I remember my parents telling me to make sure I wasn’t over-eating. I’m pretty sure that was their “subtle” way of telling me that I was gaining weight. You see, the human body burns a certain number of calories on a daily basis. Most range between 1500 and 2500 calories per day. If you consume more calories than you burn, your body stores the extra calories in fat. This means that you will gain weight. On the other hand, if you consume less than you burn, your body will use those stored calories and will result in you losing weight. Therefore, when losing weight, you should make sure that your caloric intake is less than your caloric output.

As I previously stated, taking in less calories than you put out can help you lose weight. However, there is such a thing as not getting enough calories. If you limit your calorie intake too greatly, it can have some unhealthy and harmful effects. When you restrict your calories beyond a certain point, it sends your body into a sort of freak-out mode. Your body will think that it is stressed which will cause it to slow down your metabolism, making it harder for your body to actually lose weight. At one point, I tried eating less food throughout the day (snack wise), and there were times when I would have up to 10 hours between meals. I just assumed my body would start burning through my fat reserves while there was no food in my stomach. That was when my sister told me that what I was doing was unhealthy. She claimed that, by not eating for long periods of time, my body would go into starvation mode. She told me that by going into starvation mode my body would cling to any and all calories I had, as well as store more of my calories from my next meal just in case it were to go into starvation mode again. I doubted every word she said until I came across an article online. In this article from Runner’s World, scientist agreed with everything my sister had told me. They said that it was more common in women (go figure!) due to hormones found in our bodies related to reproduction. This article claimed that the female body takes the lack of food as a threat to its health, so it will train itself to hang on to as many calories and fats as it possibly can, which leads to more weight gain.

There are a few ways to track your calories throughout the day. One way is to keep count in your head. While this may seem simple, it can lead to miscalculations, under-calculations, and sooner or later, you may forget to check the calorie count on foods. Another way, which is less common, is to keep a written food log in a notebook. This would allow you to write down everything you have been eating and allow you to look up the caloric values later. Another method is calorie tracking via the internet or smartphone app. I personally use a smartphone app because it is quick, convenient, and I always have my phone with me. It also takes a lot of the guess work out of tracking your calories. Most of these apps have large data bases that already have the caloric values of common foods. All you have to do is tell it what you ate, and it will keep track of how many calories you have eaten, how many you have left in the day, as well as other basic nutritional information.

Lastly, I’d like to make sure you are all aware that working out does not mean you can eat whatever you want! I have also made this mistake! When you work out, your body only burns a certain number of calories. Yes, you can add those calories to your daily allowance, but that would mean your workout would not help you lose weight. It is best to make sure you still have a small deficit of calories every day, no matter how much you work out. It is also important that when you consume more calories, you do not justify eating sugary, unhealthy foods. Yes, they are okay every once in a while, but working out does NOT mean you can eat junk food whenever you want to. Just keep that in mind next time you open your food pantry ;)

I wish you all the best of luck with this! It may seem difficult at first, but I know you can do it!

Best Wishes,

Danielle ♥

P.S. If you have any questions at all about what I have said, please feel free to leave a comment below, or send me a direct message from the box at the bottom of the webpage. Thanks!

All of the above information can be found in Runner's World Magazine.

Weight Loss

Weight Loss: Day 1

It’s no secret that weight is a major concern in our society. If you have ever tried to lose weight, you know that it is much easier said than done. In our world today, we are used to getting instant results. The problem is, with dieting and working out, we do not lose a large amount of weight in a short period of time. After working out for two weeks, and losing less than 5 lbs., most people get discouraged and give up on their weight loss program. In addition to this, lack of motivation is one of the most common reasons that people are unable to reach their weight-loss goals. Prior to this past year, I gave up on my weight-loss goals more times than I could count. If I did not lose more than 3 lbs. a week I would get discouraged. Looking back now I am able to see that consistently losing 3+ lbs. a week was not a realistic goal. While it is possible to lose more than that in a short span of time, it is unhealthy. After researching weight loss, I learned that losing weight takes time. By focusing all of your efforts on the numbers you read on a scale, you are losing the importance why you are losing weight in the first place: to be healthy!

The best way to reach your goals of being healthy and slowly losing weight is to pull your focus away from the scale. It is also important to have some sort of motivation that will keep you going. It may not be for everyone, but training for a race is a great way to stay motivated, focused, and active. Not to mention it will make you a happier and healthier individual. Just as losing weight, training to run distance will take time. However, in that time, you will continuously be active and your focus will not be 100% on your weight. In addition to keeping you focused, running is a fantastic way to burn more calories in a shorter period of time. Also, seeing as it is summer, I doubt there is a single person reading this that would NOT want to get in shape for the summer, or even lose weight to show off when returning to school. For those of you wanting to lose weight, be it by running or by other means of working out, I just want to start off by saying if I can do it, there is absolutely no reason why you cannot! And, if you found this post intriguing, be sure to check back daily this upcoming week. I will be posting new articles about different aspects of weight loss, as well as helpful tips and tricks that will assist you in losing weight in a healthy manner. 

Good Luck,

Danielle Renee ♥