Monthly Archives: February 2014

March Ab-ness

Despite the snow outside my window, swimsuit season is upon us. The pool toys, tankinis, and deck chairs are out in stores and, if you wait until June to buy your swimsuit, you’ll be picking through the clearance racks next to the Back To School displays.
In honor of swimsuit season, I am challenging myself to do 3100 crunches in 31 days. Yes, dear blog readers, the month of March will be a true test of my determination, discipline, and dread of being half naked in public in a few short months.
Some of you may be thinking “100 crunches a day isn’t that many, Katie”. True, but it’s a heck of a lot more than the zero I do now!
And why the public nature of the challenge? Because I’ve been thinking I should do this since the start of last swimsuit season and my mantra of “I’ll start tomorrow” doesn’t seem to be working.
In 31 days, I will tell you the effect that 3100 crunches has had on my abs. Hopefully those results will include my ab muscles being visible from the surface and not only by using an MRI machine.

Want to see a before picture? Glutton for punishment, aren’t you? I was kidding. This will have to do: It’s a bowl full of jelly; just imagine a belly button in the middle.

I’m not expecting a miracle (Rock hard, get it?), just a bowl with less jelly.
Want to join me? Measure your waist – that’s the line around your middle at the level of your belly button, not where your jeans rest on your hips – and let’s do this! Who’s in?

“But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.” 1 Corinthians 9:27

Crunch image from http://sassyfitgirl.com/crunches

Balls from http://woodlandspoolbuilder.com/?p=242

Posted by Katie Robles. Categories: SEX: Sleep and Exercise. Tags: crunches, God, healthy living, humor, maintaining a healthy weight, Physical exercise, Stomach, swimsuit season, Weight loss. 8 Comments

Feb. ’14

Diet Dictionary: Delusions of Grandeur

Posted by Katie Robles. Categories: Cartoons. Tags: exercise ideas, healthy living, humor, Physical exercise, Weight loss. Leave a comment

Feb. ’14

New Recipe! Fried Cabbage

My brother gave me this recipe months ago, but I’m just sharing it now for two reasons.

1. I kept forgetting to buy cabbage. I’ve never known what to do with it, so I was in the habit of passing it by in the store. Poor cabbage.

2. After I started making this, I kept forgetting to take a picture of it until it was too late. It was always long gone before the camera came out.

Do my kids like it? I’m not sure. I’ve never shared it with them. Call me selfish, but that’s the truth. I offered once, but they said “Ew, what’s that?” and I said, “Cabbage. You’re right, it’s gross. Here, let me eat yours.”

I’m sure there are many variations that can be created with the cabbage/bacon base, so let me know if you stumble upon a wonderful new combination. When your vegetables taste like bacon, you really can’t go wrong!

Fried Cabbage

(Careful: wait until the pan is cool before you lick it clean.)

Ingredients:

2 slices bacon or turkey bacon

5 cups shredded/sliced cabbage

1 cup onion, canned corn, or both

salt and pepper to taste

1. Fry the bacon. Remove and cut into little pieces.

2. Add the veggies, cover, lower the heat, and cook 20-30 minutes or until the cabbage is soft.

3. Add salt, pepper, and bacon.

Posted by Katie Robles. Categories: SOUP: Water and Vegetables. Tags: low calorie diet, maintaining a healthy weight, recipe, Vegetable. 2 Comments

Feb. ’14

What kind of water is best for weight loss?

The wet kind!

Most things you consume in a liquid state will keep you hydrated; some just have extra benefits or extra pitfalls that come with them. For example, juice has all of the vitamins and sugar found in fruit, but none of the fiber and mandatory chewing that slows down calorie consumption.

So here’s a quick 4 question quiz to see if you know how to keep your body hydrated and on the track to good health! I’ve included a few hints to help you along the way.

1. What percent of your body is water?
a. 30% like a gila monster after a day in the desert sun.
b. 60% One man actually lost 25 pounds of water weight in 48 hours to “prove” that scales are useless. That’s approaching gila monster humidity and he was promptly rushed off to get an IV drip.
c. 90% like a jellyfish.

2. How many ounces (total) of water should you drink each day?
a. 8 ounces – your blindingly bright yellow or orange colored pee should tell you that this is not the correct answer. Bad blog reader, bad! Most water bottles aren’t even that small.
b. 8 8 ounce glasses – correct, but don’t be lazy, do the math.
c. 64 ounces. Correct! (8oz x 8 glasses = 64) That’s 8 cups of water, or 4 pints, or 2 quarts or one half gallon, or three hours sipping at a water fountain. (I’m glad fountains exist, but when you’re thirsty, they’re maddeningly slow to drink from. Some sort of wall hose would be preferable.)

3. Which of the following beverages count towards your 64 ounces?
a. Coffee and tea. It’s water with natural brown food coloring. Don’t believe me? Check out this myth-busting research.
b. Juice and lemonade. It’s still mostly water, just watch the sugar intake. Sip and savor, but save the chugging for water.
c. Soda. Nope, not even close. It’s liquid, but your body has to use all the water it contains to flush out all of the chemicals it also contains, so you end up not hydrated.

4. Which of the following are benefits of drinking enough water?
a. Flushing out toxins. This is obviously good, right? No commentary needed? Why am I still typing?
b. Energized muscles. Not feeling up for a little exercise? Drink some water; dehydration causes muscle fatigue.
c. Hydrated skin that looks good. Eat your heart out, Maybelline! Moisturizers create a barrier that helps keep moisture in your skin, but if the moisture isn’t coming from the inside out, that barrier is ineffective.

Two footnotes:
1. If you need an answer key, leave a comment and I’ll contact you; I have some magic beans I’d like to sell you.
2. Gila monsters have more like 70% water in their bodies, not 30%, but they LOOK so darn dry! And in the dry months they survive by not urinating for months. Gross, but so very cool too. The point is, you are not a gila monster. Raise your glass and drink up! A toast to your health!

Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:13-14

Images are from:

http://www.volusia.org/services/public-works/water-resources-and-utilities/

https://beccasbyline.wordpress.com/2011/09/

http://diabetesdailypost.com/learn-why-you-need-to-drink-8-glasses-of-water-per-day/

http://savenaturesavehuman.blogspot.com/2012/05/gila-monster.html

http://www.precisionnutrition.com/coffee-and-hormones