Lose 10 Pounds... (Happy Hour Edition)

To lose ONE pound, we need a 3500 calorie deficit. If you cut just 100 calories/day, you can lose 10 pounds in a year! Here are some creative ideas on how you can cut 100 calories from your happy hour. Just think, if you find a way to cut 100 calories 3 times a day, you could be 30 pounds lighter by the end of the year! If you missed the earlier posts in the "100 calorie" series, scroll down for the breakfast and lunch editions.

• Nurse a single glass of wine instead of downing 2 beers.
• Ask for your rum and cokes in a highball glass. Bartenders pour an average of 20 percent less liquid into taller tumblers, so you'll swig less per round.
• Drizzle extra hot sauce, not blue cheese or ranch dressing, on your wings.
• Ordering a cocktail? Make it on the rocks instead of frozen. Slushy fruit drinks tend to be made with bottled mixers that contain added sugar and syrups.
• Blending your own? Have a daiquiri, not a piña colada.
• Pop the cap off of an MGD 64 instead of a bottle of Killian's Irish Red.
• Sip a glass of water between drinks—pacing yourself can help you cut back by a glass or more.
• Dip your nachos in salsa rather than guacamole.
• For automatic portion control, sip wine from a Champagne flute, not an oversize goblet.

Lose 10 pounds... (Lunch Edition)

To lose ONE pound, we need a 3500 calorie deficit. If you cut just 100 calories/day, you can lose 10 pounds in a year! Here are some creative ideas on how you can cut 100 calories from your lunch. Just think, if you do that at breakfast, lunch AND dinner, you could be 30 pounds lighter by the end of the year! If you missed the first post in the "100 calorie" series, click here to see some ideas on how to skinny down your breakfast.

• Leave the Swiss cheese out of your sandwich.
• Slather your bread with mustard rather than mayo and save 80 calories per tablespoon.
• Pass up croutons at the salad bar.
• Use up to 10 pumps of ranch dressing spray instead of pouring 2 tablespoons from a bottle.
• Devour a slice of Pizza Hut cheese pan pizza instead of the meat lover's variety.
• Take your iced tea unsweetened.
• Reach for a Snapple raspberry white tea instead of a Snapple raspberry iced tea.
• Stuff chicken salad into a whole-wheat pita instead of between slices of multigrain bread.
• Make your burger turkey, not beef.
• Slurp minestrone soup instead of cream of anything.
• Go bunless—shed your hamburger roll.
• Use south-of-the-border savvy: Have a quesadilla made with two 6-inch corn, not flour, tortillas.

Lose 10 pounds... (Breakfast Edition)

To lose ONE pound, we need a 3500 calorie deficit. If you cut just 100 calories/day, you can lose 10 pounds in a year! Here are some creative ideas on how you can cut 100 calories from your breakfast. Just think, if you do that at breakfast, lunch AND dinner, you could be 30 pounds lighter by the end of the year!

• Ditch the Pop-Tart for a slice of high-fiber toast with strawberry jam.
• Gotta have carbs? Split a bagel with a coworker.
• Drink your two cups of coffee black. Or order a single espresso instead of your usual latte.
• Swap OJ for the real deal—one fresh orange.
• Trade a side of regular sausage for turkey.
• Top your waffles with Reddi-Whip instead of syrup (or use sugar-free).
• Skip the whip on any Caribou Coffee 16-ounce drink.
• Eat your granola from a 4-ounce mug, not an 8-ounce bowl.
• Lose the Yoplait Thick& Creamy and have a Yoplait Fiber 1.
• Order pancakes, but hold the butter.
• Scramble together 4 egg whites instead of 2 whole eggs.

Losing Time........

I have been working so hard to get a faster time on the 1200-step stair climb. Yesterday was my "stair day," so even though my thighs were pretty sore from previous workouts, I decided to still challenge myself.

I knew my time would not be good, but I didn't expect it to slip this far! My last attempt was 16:00, but yesterday I barely eeked it out in 20:00! What gives?

I'm going to have to figure out a way to fit in all my regular workouts (training with Adam, taking my favorite classes at the Y, and regular cardio) while still leaving enough energy to train for my stair challenge. The Race to the Top event is now less than 2 months away... gotta' keep working!

Stairclimb Update!

This week, I got back on the stairmill to challenge my previous best time of 18:00. Remember... the goal is to climb to the top of the Duke Energy building (1194 steps) in less than 16:00.

The GREAT news is that I was able to climb 1200 steps on the Stairmaster in 16:00 exactly! The not so great news is that I was barely breathing by the end, so I obviously need LOTS more training.

Also, during this latest climb attempt, I had a little bit of a "technical difficulty." While climbing, I was getting a little winded and reached for the control to slow down the stairmill. Because this device makes one sweat pretty heavily, I don't wear my glasses, and therefore don't see the controls so well. Evidently, I was pressing the "up" button instead of the "down" button and the stairmill started turning at a FRANTIC pace. I wish you could have seen me panic!

At that point the stairs were coming SO fast that I couldn't climb up high enough to reach the control, and didn't have the mental wherewithall to just hop off! I finally put my feet on the siderails and managed to reach the controls and slow the darn thing down (all the time sliding down the siderails and trying to pull myself back up). I'm sure I was QUITE the sight!!

So... not only do I need a LOT more practice, I also need to pay closer attention to the controls while doing so! Yikes!

Working out and getting healthy has risks that I never experienced when all I did was hold down the sofa! Still... I take those risks... they're SO worth it!

Rest Up... You've Got a Long Way to Go

I read this quote in my daily email from Runners World magazine. Adam (my trainer) has been yelling at me for over training (I haven't been taking rest days), and now Runners World is evidently taking his side, too! Sometimes the universe speaks to us through various "voices," I guess...

I constantly remind myself that resting takes confidence. Anyone can train like a mad man but to embrace rest and to allow all the hard training to come out takes mental strength.

Monday, I was feeling VERY fatigued and achy, so I took Adam's advice and made it a "rest day." It seems like it was just what I needed, because Tuesday night I attempted my 1200 steps and completed them in my best time yet--16 minutes flat!

Tomorrow, I am having metabolic testing done, so today is another mandatory rest day. Also, since my test is at 5:30AM tomorrow, I am not allowed to eat after 5:30PM today. It's gonna be a L-O-N-G night!!

Food to Live By: Snack Your Way to Health

Natural Peanut Butter...it's better for you!

It's mid-January and some people are already starting to fall off the wagon with their New Year's resolutions to eat healthy and/or lose weight. How are you doing? Are you eating healthy meals only to ruin your efforts with junk food from the vending machine? Why not make "snacking" your friend instead of your enemy? That's what I do.


People are often surprised to see how often I eat... not a LOT of food, just FREQUENT meals/snacks. I do that not only because it feels good, but also because it's good science. If our bodies go longer than 2-3 hours without food, they start to worry about the next meal and begin to store fat. That is why I try to eat 5-6 times per day. Since I am busy and don't have time to create gourmet snacks at work or when on the run, I have developed a few "go to" snacks. Here are a few you might enjoy:


1 small apple and 2-3 Baby Bel light cheese rounds
1 oz beef jerkey and 1 oz air-popped potato chips or popcorn
1 container greek yogurt (plain) and 1 small banana (if it's big, eat half... share with a friend)
handful of celery sticks and about 28 raw almonds
1 instand Maple Brown Sugar instant oatmeal and 1 Tbsp natural peanut butter


By the way, don't knock the oatmeal idea until you try it. A triathlete and triathalon trainer I know gave me this idea and I now LOVE it! The PB doesn't work so well in other flavors, though...


Try some of these ideas or share some of your own. With a little effort--and planning--we can snack our way to health!