RMinVA Member

While it's not ideal, look for sugar free syrups. A lot of flavor with no calories, add in a bit of skim or low fat milk for a bit of creaminess.

Doesn't....unless it's drowning in butter or oil

There are plenty of ways to make healthier versions of comfort foods. In this case, google is your friend. A few quick thoughts though: sub ground oats for breadcrumbs, sweet potato for white potato, brown rice for white rice, whole wheat flour/pasta for regular. Cut fats in half and increase seasonings. Hummus is a great…

I have done lots of 10 milers and a couple of half marathons. I just make sure I have at least one healthy carb a day (brown rice/sweet potato) in the couple of days leading to the race. I might eat a bit of extra fruit also, but I don't worry about downing "x" amount of carbs. Hydration in the days leading up to the race…

Definitely pull out a tape measure. On average I dropped a size for every 10 pounds, but there were a few stretches where I barely lost any weight at all, and still dropped a size. I have to point out though that fat does not "turn" into muscle. They are metabolically different: muscle is active, but fat is not. You lose…

My favorite!!

Honeycrisps rock!!

It is tough!! I'm good during the week...then wham. I am making an effort to just drink wine these days though. I tend to "sip" it and drink less. Beer just goes down way too easy :-)

You can do it!! One of my friends that did the sprint tri with me had to learn to swim....and we had a half mile ocean swim!! I just talked to someone after the Army 10 Miler that also had just done her first sprint tri this year....and although she had a pool swim, she still had to learn how to swim to do it!!

I did this too!! I also had a bunch of clothes that I had held onto for years...and once I got back into them, I donated them :-) Not my style anymore or very clearly "dated."

Take your measurements too...that will tell you where the weight is coming off. I went down a size about every 10 pounds when I started....but everyone is different.

Great feeling isn't it? I did my first one in September...after talking about it for years!! Congrats!!

I eat it occasionally, but I definitely don't consider it a "clean" or "whole" food since it is highly processed. If you like the taste go for it. I don't think eating it every day would really be an issue....I can't think of anything that I eat every single day.

Quiche...no problem. But a reheated tuna omelette just doesn't sound appealing...at least to me anyway.

You will find lots of opinions on what "clean" is. My list is mostly fresh fruits and veggies, lean protein and some reduced fat dairy. I usually stick to seasonal fruits and veggies and lots of chicken and fish for protein, and some starchy carbs (brown rice/sweet potatoes). But I am going to be cutting those out for…

Boil the eggs and make some tuna salad instead. You can still throw the spinach and mushrooms in there. Cube the cheese and have it on the side w/some veggies...same meal. Just put together differently. And you don't need to heat it up.

This!! Completely different workouts..but cross training is good for you!! Mile for mile though, there is absolutely NO comparison. If you are training for a race or want to run, you need to run. There is no good substitute.

Great point! I know that the whole biofuel thing (which IMO is complete rubbish), has driven up the cost of corn, and subsequently food prices. But I had not made that connection in regard to switching from HFCS back to plain old sugar. Anyway, I don't eat a lot of processed foods, so it doesn't really impact my diet one…

I remember when those commercials came out...really chapped my *kitten*!! While I agree that sugar is sugar, I'll take the refined white sugar any day over HFCS. I am amazed at the products that you find it in: it is everywhere. There are a lot of things that I don't eat anymore for that reason. Every once in awhile I will…

I saw an interview with the doctor that wrote "Wheat Belly" a couple of weeks ago. I am aware that genetically modified foods are already in the system, so his theory about "franken wheat" did not surprise me and made sense. I play around with it all the time and just started gluten/wheat free again this week. I do know in…

Since it's only a 5k, just do your regular routine. Take it easy on your legs a couple days before, and completely rest the day before.

Nothing new, as I was already a well rounded eater. I do experiment with recipes a bit more though. I just picked up cranberries yesterday. I always have homemade cranberry relish in the fridge at this time of year: just run a bag of cranberries and a whole orange (peel and all) through the food processor then add "sugar"…

Did I see correctly that you are male? You are not eating nearly enough...most men need at least about 1800 a day minimum.

Very similar to this recipe on whole foods website...which I just love. I sub black beans for kidney beans though. Nutritional info is at the end too. Serves 6 Besides adding a sweet nutty flavor to dishes, pumpkin is a ready source of vitamin A, which boosts the nutrition content of this offbeat chili. Garnish each…

Oddly enough it came out to what I would like to be...145. Whether or not I can hit that # again remains to be seen!! It's been a long time!!

I am right there with you!! Unfortunately, I have come to the conclusion that there are some things that must be limited in my diet due to my "ahem" age. The hard part is actually doing it. I have my last big race for awhile on Sunday. As of next week, I'm going to do a bit more interval training and get back on the weight…

Me too. I usually round up portion sizes too just to be sure.

Having some "wiggle room" (leftover calories) is always a good thing when you eat out. Restaurant nutritional info is often off by as much as 30% and there is absolutely NO regulation on restaurant nutrition labeling. Since foods are prepared to order, that leaves further room for variation from location to location: all…

Go vegetarian first. Vegan will REALLY limit your diet. I did a vegetarian stint for 6 weeks a few years ago, but resumed my carnivorous habits. During any given week, I would say that at least half of my meals are vegetarian. However I do still eat "flesh:" primarily poultry and seafood with a bit of pork thrown in here…

IMO there are way too many variables to determine accurate calorie intake or burn, so I don't think that a blanket "eat your exercise" calories is good advice for everyone. I think that eating nutritionally dense food is just as important, but oddly enough, I don't really hear a lot of people talk about that. My "sweet…