Saturday, February 4, 2012

Get Slim Without the Gym...

In the December 2011 issue of Prevention Magazine,
There was an article with some great ideas...to help us slim
down if we don't have major exercise equipment or don't
 have access to a gym.  There are some small ways that
we can add to our daily routines to get us moving more.
Some of the ideas are ones to help us combat
"Sitting Syndrome".  See what YOU think...


AT HOME

1)  Hide the remote...get up to change channels
2)  Stand up and march or do jump jacks curing commercials
3)  Take items upstairs in small trips rather than long hauls
4)  While on the phone, walk around your house or just
      around the kitchen table
5)  Listen to a book on tape as you walk, rather than sitting
     down a reading a book
6)  Set up stations in the room where you watch TV.  Each
     time a commercial comes on, move to a different station
     to do an exercise.  I.E., two bar bells (or cans of soup)
     lift them up and down a few times.  Then, next station would
     be to sit and lift your legs up a few times, etc
7)  Turn on music that you would like to dance to while preparing
     a meal.  You will move faster...or maybe even dance a bit.


AT WORK (or crafting)

1)  Hover above your chair in a squat for a few seconds
     every hour.  Set a timer on your computer or phone to
     remind you
2)  Walk somewhere to eat your lunch and walk back, rather
     than sitting at your desk to eat.
3)  Drink lots of water...if you can get up to get a drink...and then
     getting up to use the restroom, this would give you more
     opportunity to move
4)  Purchase an "under the desk" peddle bike and use when you
     have a break, or when talking on the phone.
5)  Wearing comfortable shoes will motivate you to walk more
     If you have to wear dress or high heeled shoes, bring some
     comfortable ones so that you can use them when not in meetings
     etc.
6)  Take the stairs when possible.  If you need to start slow, just
     do one flight of stairs and take the elevator for the other floors
     until you can work up to more steps.
7)  While at your desk reading emails, lift your heels off the ground
     so that your foot is resting on the ball of your foot.  Then, slowly
     put back down on the heel.  Raise again, feeling the calf muscle  
     tighten...lower and calf muscle relaxes.  Do slow and work up
     to more times...and doing it faster.

=========
What do YOU think of some of these ideas?
Maybe YOU even have some ideas of your own?
I LUV to hear about any ideas...to get me moving more!
I'm thinking that I might try to set a timer when using
my laptop...and for every so many minutes I'm on the
computer...I have to walk around the table for
the same amount of minutes?  Well,  I dunno
maybe that's NOT that great of an idea! 

=======================================

Flourless Expresso Choco Gems

~~ 100 calorie treats  ~~
10 minute prep time - 40 minutes total
yields 24

4oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 c (1 stick) unsalted butter
2/3 granulated sugar
2tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp of expresso powder (intensifies chocolate flavor w/o adding fat)
3 (large) eggs
1/2 c unsweetened cocoa powder
2 Tbsp confectioners' sugar

(1) HEAT oven to 375 degrees F.
      Coat 2 gem tins (12-cup mini muffin pans) with cooking spray
(2)  COMBINE chocolate and butter in a medium metal bowl set
       over saucepan of simmering water.  Stir until melted.  Off heat
       whisk in granulated sugar, vanilla extract, and expresso powder
       Whisk in eggs until well combined.  Sift cocoa over top and
       whisk until smooth
(3)  DIVIDE batter among prepared pans and back until cakes
      have risen, 8-12 minutes.  Cool in pans on rack.  Dust with
      confectioners Sugar.

===================================

{- Ruby's Report -}

Treadmill - YIPEE!! 4 weeks of 6 days per week!  It's been a long time since
I've done this.  This week, I "sort of" thought about doing 2 miles per day.  But,
I didn't hold myself to it.  I did do 3 days at 2 miles.  This coming week, I will be
trying to do 2 miles every day.  I have been working on incline too.  I've upped
my incline to a minimum of 4.0 average.

Eating Healthy - wheeeeel, I'm trying...but, we've had so many friend/family 
gatherings and it's sooo hard to discipline myself to leave things when they
look soo yummy.  =(   I am going to work harder on this for next week. 
Maybe I should be writing the calories that I eat...down?  I did better with
sugar this week and with water..."better", but, I could improve on the water
intake. 

Weight"loss" - well, I'm up 1.2 .  Doggone it!  I was careless with my eating
this week.  I just didn't watch the calories.  =(

==================================

Okay....anyone?  OUT THERE???
Didja...set any goals last week?  And...?
How DIDJA DOOO?

We'd LUV to read YOUR commnets =)




13 comments:

Brenda said...

Other than walking on the treadmill at night, I probably get the most exercise when I am on the phone. If there isn't any cleaning to be done, I pace back and forth from the front room to the back of the house. I've never been able to sit in a chair and talk. Must be a multi tasking gene in my body... ;)

Samantha said...

I decided to eat vegitarian for the month of February but have actually been doing it for a bit more than a week. I fell off the wagon for dinner on 2/5 since there was my favorite takeout sweet and sour chicken in the house. :) I lost a pound in the last 8 days. I really need to add exercise and drink more water.

Vroomans' Quilts said...

That was one of the biggest things our Quilt Guild speaker (physical therapist) said for quilters = get up and move! Set a timer, walk around, do some stretching excercises, and water. My ironing is set up away from the machine so I have to walk back and forth. I use a timer - or I would sit and chain piece for ever! I take time here/there to use my floor pedal machine. It has been nice weather, so there has been more outdoor walking. I still don't have a scale, but have had several people comment on 'weight loss' and I even had to buy some new jeans - a size smaller!!

KatieQ said...

I went to Curves to exercise 5 times this week (2 of these were for Zumba class). I drank 64 ounces of water each day which kept me walking to the bathroom so I got extra exercise. Unfortunately, I put the 1/2 pound I lost last week back on. I went to COSTCO and yielded to the temptation to try every one of the pre-Superbowl samples they were giving out. Even if the pounds are not falling off, exercising more frequently has improved my outlook. Thanks for the sweet recipe.

regan said...

Thanks for posting all those great tips.....if nothing else, it made me realize how much time I spend sitting! I'm going to start getting up during commercials now....and not just racing to get snacks! lol

I started Weight Watchers this week. I'm on day 4, and I'm really feeling good about it. I have the motivation I had when I was on it way back in the 80's, when I lost my 42 pounds and got to Lifetime Membership.

AND.....I needed to make fudge for hubby's bud at work (he's been begging....sheesh!), so I made it, cut it all up, put it all in tupperwares, and sent it ALL off to hubbies work. Never even licked the spoon or my fingers! YAY!

Deb said...

A tip I do, related to the ones you mentioned from Prevention (don't you love that magazine? I don!) is during commercials, I clean/pick up. IE: start unloading the dishwasher, if it's not been finished by the end of the commercial break, I come back to it next commercial. It's amazing how much one can accomplish during commercials!

Carol Swift said...

Thanks for posting these tips! Hopefully (no promises) it will motivate me.

Emma said...

If you can afford it, buy a pull-up bar that fits onto your door frame (the weight you put on it will hold it tight without screws/bolts). Put it in the doorway of a room you use often (my sewing room) and do a pull-up every time you go in. Can't do a pull-up? Then give yourself a hop up and use the momentum to get up, then lower yourself down as SLOWLY as you can. Do that enough, eventually you will go from a standing position, then from a dead hang.

The timer to get up and do stuff is a great idea, as is spending half an hour (sounds like a fairly short time, right?) in the morning walking laps through your house. If you see something in the wrong place, pick it up and hold it until you reach the place it belongs. Then from there, keep your laps going until you find something else to put away, then hold it until you're at its home. It sounds boring, but if you make a point to go into and around each room (not just in the doorway, but all the way in and around it) it'll take longer than you think PLUS you're tidying while you're doing it! My husband was shocked with how much I can get done that way!

I did a 2.5 mile walk for time on Monday out in the cold. It was horribly cold (low 20s Fahrenheit, although it's colder now!) but I did 2.5 miles in just over 35 minutes, and that was after doing 27 sit-ups and 60 sit-ups beforehand. I completely missed lunch on Thursday (and never missed it) and I biked to get my lunch at work on Friday. Little steps for now, until my ankle's supposed to be better!

My goal for the week is to do more exercise intentionally. I've been limiting grains in general, and I seem to be well on my way. Note that I'm not limiting fat or calories at all, just grains and I'm already noticing a difference in my size, even if the number on the scale isn't exactly where I want it still. But 7 pounds to lose should be easy with the grains limited...it's my easiest way to lose weight for sure!

RobynLouise said...

We've finally had some fine weather so I've been walking again. I have been placing my ironing board at the other side of the room when I sew and that is giving me some exercise as I need to stand up, walk over, iron the piece and then reverse the process. Works better if you are doing smallish pieces too that need pressing between each piece.
Cheers,
Robyn

Sarah Craig said...

I have to say, I can't hide my remote because I don't know where the buttons are on my TV! Isn't that ridiculous??????

Starting tomorrow I'm taking a Power Scuplting class offered by a friend at my church - I've asked her to try very hard not to kill me, because I am pretty sure Jillian is tame compared to my friend! She swears it will all be ok, but if you don't see me here again, you'll know why!

Valspierssews said...

Great tips for moving. I make a point of getting up every hour or so and walking around and doing something standing up. I love having my gym room always set up with mats, video machine, weights, blankets, yoga props, stretchy bands. I get in there every few days and do one of the workouts I have designed or got from Oxygen magazine. Every few days I walk up the road for 10 mins.
I can only lose weight if I count the kilojoules. Week to week we can go up and down just work out why you went up and try to change. Great work on the treadmill :)

suemac said...

Great treadmill work. I have only gotten to a 3.0 incline and I pretty much only do a mile. I do get on the bike and 2.5 to 3 miles. I was good with exercising while out of town but not calories. Went to Pappadeux twice. Good food. Too good. I have my iron set up across the room and I get a lot of back and forth while piecing.

Miki Willa said...

I set up my ironing station in a different room from my studio, so I am up and down all the time. I also walk circles in my house. I started on a weight management system January 1, and I have lost 20 pounds so far, all of it from fat and not muscle. I have cut out all sugars and eat about six cups of veggies and unlimited salad every day. I also read that to increase weight loss, you should be drinking, in ounces, half of what your weight is up to 100 onces per day with a minimum of 60 ounces. I feel better than ever, and am very happy about the direction I am going.