Move Those Feet!

I confounded my Jenny Craig adviser by stating that I remained hungry after eating some of their meals. She replied that my hunger was “impossible,” but I couldn’t deny pangs for more food that were so annoying that they disrupted my workday.

I later discovered part of my problem was a lack of protein. It takes longer for the body to digest protein, much longer than it would take to digest carbs, fat, or a big bowl of lettuce. This digestion process helps a person to feel ‘full.’ So if you have a Jenny Craig pizza and salad for lunch, you might go for a cup of yogurt for dessert to help curb cravings for more food.

My favorite yogurt company is WholeSoy & Co., a business that produces yogurt from soy beans rather than from milk. The blueberry yogurt contains a full 6 grams of protein, and the vanilla carries 8 grams. The calories range from 120 to 160 among the flavors. Yes, the calorie count is high for yogurt, but you can’t beat the flavor. After all - the difference between this yogurt and milk-based nonfat yogurt is about 40 calories. You can burn that difference off with just five more minutes on the treadmill.

Plus, this company’s entire family of soy foods is certified vegan, certified Kosher and always dairy, casein and gluten free. And, I found this yogurt brand at my local Kroger, believe it or not! You can find a store that carries this brand near you through the WholeSoy & Co. site.

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When I’m busy with laundry, cleaning toilets, and designing blogs, the time slips by. Before I know it, it’s time for dinner and I’ve forgotten to eat lunch! So, I try to fit in my exercises anywhere I can.

I discovered that I can do three reps of fifteen deep knee bends when I’m folding laundry. I just start above the laundry basket with the correct posture, and bend to pick up a piece of clothing to fold it as I continue my reps.

As you might surmise, I finish my reps well before I finish folding laundry!

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Like me, you might find it difficult to exercise when you have so many thing to do for the season. Instead of beating yourself up for missing an exercise session, think about the ways that you can burn calories while you prepare for your upcoming holiday. Since you might do these activities every day, you can repeat them over and over again to keep that fat off! Remember that calories burned varies from person to person, depending upon age (and metabolism), weight, and gender, among other factors.

1. Walk around the mall at a 2.0 mph pace (slow). You don’t need to buy anything. Just walk, relax, and enjoy the decorations. This activity can burn 130 to over 200 calories per hour.
2. Stretch when you wake in the morning, stretch when you put up the dishes, stretch when you vacuum the floor. Think Hatha Yoga, and if you stretch for an hour total you can burn from 200 to over 300 calories per hour.
3. Stand when you pack those gifts for the post and remain standing when you open your gifts for the holidays. If you can pack and unpack boxes for at least an hour, then you can burn from 200 to 300 calories.
4. Playing with the kids is great for the soul and great physically as well. A little light play for an hour can burn from 140 to 210 calories. And, that’s sitting! Just imagine how many calories you’d burn if you actually moved!
5. Not surprisingly, food has two different aspects. Eating it is good, because it supplies the energy you need for holiday activities. But, preparing it is better, as you use from 140 to a little over 200 calories per hour.

As I mentioned previously, the lower numbers in the list below belong to someone who weighs about 130 pounds. The higher numbers belong to those individuals who weigh around 190 pounds. Visit NutriStrategy to learn more about how you can burn those calories over the holiday season (like go dancing, why don’t you? - that’s a minimum of 250 calories per hour!).

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Sure, it’s nice to be fit and conscious about what you put in your body. But holiday parties beg for a martini or two. The following tips will help you to minimize any ‘hangover’ effects you might experience.

1. Alcohol is dehydrating. Drink plenty of water before you go out, but don’t overdo it. I usually drink about four cups of water in the two hours before a party (yes, I find the bathroom as soon as I arrive at the party). I’ve discovered it also helps to drink a cup of water between drinks and to drink water as soon as I wake up in the morning (which I do anyway, to replace water I’ve lost at night). I’m also not drinking as much alcohol, since I’m counting calories. Those drinks will pack on the pounds!
2. Alcohol also will rob you of electrolytes. Fitness magazine suggests drinking coconut milk to regain some of that loss, and the magazine added the fact that coconut milk contains carbs for energy. But, you may reel when you see coconut milk’s calorie count at 552 calories per cup. Try a banana instead, because you can get your potassium there without the calories (602 mg of potassium and only 140 calories).
3. Don’t skip your morning coffee, even though it may smell and taste horrible. You don’t want a coffee withdrawal headache on top of your hangover. With that said, if you’ve wanted to cut your caffeine intake, a hangover may present a great opportunity to quit the coffee habit. You may be so hung over that you won’t notice the coffee withdrawal!
4. I have some friends who swear by this tip - they take two ibuprofen before they go out to that party. You can try this trick as well, but you might want to eat a piece of toast or something light so the ibuprofen doesn’t bother your stomach. If you forget to ingest the pills before you head out, don’t hesitate to take them the following morning if you need them.
5. Don’t mix drinks, because you’re overtaxing your system with a variety of toxins. And, avoid drinks that contain obscene amounts of sugar as well as alcohol (like sweet liquors, syrupy drinks, cola mixes, etc.). This combo will push your system over the edge and will increase your fat retention. Alcohol reduces the number of fat calories you burn, and it can increase your appetite for fatty, greasy foods.

Finally, the best tip on how to avoid a hangover might be to abstain from drinking altogether. Ask any recovering alcoholic…what you have in your glass is of no concern to the person who’s had two drinks or more. If you stay sober, you might be highly entertained, rather than be the one who’s doing the entertaining…

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Welcome to “Move Those Feet!” This blog is all about keeping fit, especially if you’re over age 50. While you may not be ready to jog just yet, you can get up off that couch and move your feet in a walk down the street. Or, get up and play with the grandchildren. It doesn’t take much energy on your part, but you’ll begin to see the health benefits within a few weeks if you’re consistent.

Bookmark this page and join me in January as I begin the year with you and your New Year’s resolutions. If you want to know when we’ll be ‘live’ with the site, just send an email to info AT movethosefeet DOT com.

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