Tag Archives: Betsy Bonner

Thanksgiving Substitutes

Posted on November 22, 2011 | Leave a comment
Pumpkin pie, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki...

Image via Wikipedia

Here are some easy ways to cut calories, fat and sugar from some of your favorite side dishes on Thanksgiving.

One of everyone’s favorites is Pumpkin Pie, try using 100% pure pumpkin or fresh pumpkin if you’d like it has less sugar than the canned pumpkin pie mix, also try substituting egg whites for whole eggs. 2 egg whites equal 1 whole egg and use low fat or fat free milk.  Pumpkin bread is another dessert that is made a lot this time of year and you can try substituting applesauce for oil or butter.

For Sweet potato casseroles, try reducing the amount of butter or use a low calorie fat free margarine instead, and use fewer marshmallows.  I don’t think you’re going to find a sugar free marshmallow.  Just out of curiosity I looked up the nutrition facts on these tiny little air-puffed creations.  For a 2/3 cup (30 g) serving there are 100 calories, 0 fat, 25 mg of sodium, 25 g of carbs, 18 grams of sugar and 0 protein. Most people don’t eat French fries on Thanksgiving, but for some other time, sweet potato fries are pretty good in place of the real deal.

Last but not least is Green Bean Casserole, try using fat free Cream of Mushroom Soup, fresh or frozen green beans and fresh mushrooms and fat free milk.  I haven’t found a substitute for the French Fried Onions though.  Again, I looked up the nutrition facts on this as well, for a 2 Tbsp serving size, and that is not a typo either a 2 tbsp serving size has 45 calories, 3.5 g of fat, 60 mg of sodium, 3 grams of carbs and 0 protein.   If anyone can think of a substitute for these, please let us know!  I hope you try some of these and I wish everyone a great Thanksgiving!! Enjoy!!

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Questions

Posted on November 19, 2011 | Leave a comment

This past week was odd, because I had 3 different people ask me the same question.  So, it made me realize that I need to be more specific in how I prepare my food.  My food is really not bland, I cook/bake pretty well, even though I don’t like to cook for myself.

Let’s talk about pumpkin first, I really like pumpkin and I actually eat it everyday.  I’m super busy and so, I do eat my pumpkin from a can.  I make sure it is 100 % pure pumpkin, it does not have to be the named brand pumpkin, I’ve tried several kinds and they all taste the same to me.  But, plain pumpkin straight out of the can with no doctoring up, is not good. I like to take cinnamon, Splenda, and a little bit of natural almonds and mix it all together.  It’s really good, so try preparing it that way.  You can use whatever sweeter you like.  I’ve tried to kick Splenda completely, but honestly I do use it in a couple of things I eat and also coffee. 

Next, cottage cheese I know a lot of people don’t like it.  This is another thing that I eat almost everyday.  I like to take the large curd 2% milk-fat (you can use non-fat if you’d like) and again, I add cinnamon, Splenda and blueberries or pineapple, but I like the blueberries the best mix it all together and it tastes like a treat.  I know is probably sounds yucky, but it’s so good!!

Oatmeal, I take plan oatmeal and I add cinnamon, coconut oil (LOVE coconut oil) and again Splenda and usually blueberries, mixed fruit or cherries (the frozen kind) the coconut oil is really good in the oatmeal, give is a really good flavor.

I hope this helps out and don’t eat your food bland. Season your food and  try different things to see what you like!

Have a great weekend!  ~~

 

 

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That time of year…

Posted on September 26, 2011 | Leave a comment

This is the time of the year, that comes around every year where goodies come out!  We have Halloween, I’m already thinking about a costume!! Then Thanksgiving, I think this is my favorite holiday, then Christmas. But, you can make it through these next 3 months without weight gain, if you’re careful.  It doesn’t mean you can’t have anything to eat, or any of your favorite goodies, you just have to be careful and not over do it.  If you do overeat, make sure you hit the gym and work off those extra calories.  Enjoy yourself, but do it in moderation. 

I had someone say to me the other day that they enjoy football season, but they want to eat wings, subs, pizza and have some drinks during the game with friends, they didn’t want to feel like they were being deprived. But, they also are trying to lose weight.  My suggestion, is to eat clean during the week, and that doesn’t mean almost clean, it means clean, so on football game day or whatever day you know you want to eat something that you normally wouldn’t, you’ll be fine.  Work really hard and eat clean through the week and you can enjoy your day!! This isn’t about being perfect, it’s about changing the way you eat on a consistent basis, so it becomes a lifestyle change and it just comes naturally to eat clean everyday.   Tomorrow, I’ll post some suggestions on clean appetizers and ways to eat clean during the holidays.   ~~B

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Thursday’s Workout~You can still lose weight eating out

Posted on September 22, 2011 | Leave a comment

Weight training tonight, we worked biceps, back, shoulders.  When I first got to the gym my hamstrings from Wednesday’s workout were a little stiff, now they are even more stiff, I need to stretch out some more, I’m feeling too tight!  For cardio I did my little circuit, I just switched the order around.  Great workout!

I was thinking the other day. about how hard it is for people to stay focused and eat clean on the weekend.  You can still eat out and lose weight.  You have to be selective about what you are going to eat.  My first suggestion is to kick the bread basket, when the rolls and bread come to the table skip it!  Have an appetizer high in protein such as Shrimp Cocktail, or some Ahi Tuna instead. I think the most important thing about going out is to watch the alcohol, your body will burn these calories first before anything else, so your food will be stored as fat, be careful when drinking, plus people tend to eat more and make unclean choices when they drink. Have a drink, but just do over do it. It really is one of the worst things for your diet!  So, try to limit the booze!

I would also stay away from fast food chains, but if you do visit one, stay away from the combo meals or up sizing.  Look at the nutritional values and try to make the best choice based on that information you have.

Another food that seems to be a favorite, is pizza.  Seems everyone loves pizza, but the main calories are from the crust.  If you crave some pizza and decide to have a slice or two,  skip the deep dish style and go with a thin crust pizza. You’ll save calories by doing this. 

Some good choices to have as sides when you go out to dinner are black beans, brown rice, roasted veggies, mixed greens, and seasonal veggies.

Hope this helps and give you some ideas when you go out for a bite to eat! 

I want to thank everyone for visiting my blog I’ve had record numbers of visits to it this past week!  Thanks!  Till tomorrow…goodnight!! ~~B

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Tuesday’s Cardio Workout

Posted on September 20, 2011 | Leave a comment

My triceps and pecs are sore from yesterday’s workout, but not too bad! Tonight the gym was pretty packed, the parking lot was full and almost all of the cardio equipment was taken.  I seemed to time everything just right tonight, it seemed just when I was ready to switch equipment, someone would leave!   So, I did get to do my cardio circuit. Great night!!  I almost didn’t get to walk backwards on an incline on the treadmill tonight, but lucky me, as I was getting ready just to go ahead and move on to the bike, the guy that was on it called me and said, he was getting off, did I want to use it! Yay! My night!  So, I hopped on 2 mins, 50 incline, speed of 1.4, then I went to the bike right after that.  I really like this workout.  I think I’ll switch the order around next time, just to get some variety and see how it feels.  Right after my cardio and I went and stretched out really well. 

 I am also registered as a duo team for the “City Scramble” in St. Augustine, FL, we had to come up with a name and I am so not a creative person when it comes to things like that.  But,with help from friends our team name for the City Scramble will be the “A1A Conquistadors”

 Now, we have to come up with a name for our Mud-Fest team! Any suggestions?? 

Tomorrow is legs day and cardio, till then…goodnight!  ~B

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Monday’s Workout

Posted on September 19, 2011 | Leave a comment

Weight trained upper body tonight, triceps, chest & abs with my trainer I did a lot of reps till failure tonight! It’s really hard, it tires me out pretty quick, but I like it! I feel like I am really working the muscle hard when I do this!  First thing was

Tricep Dips

triceps dips, right into push-ups both till failure, and then bicycles 40 reps.  We did three sets of these.  We did bench presses, these are one of my favorites to do, my chest always is sore after these, then right into triceps push downs, again until failure and for abs we did reverse sit up with a crunch.  Next set is kind of hard to explain…I perform a push-up with one hand on the floor, one on a medicine ball-

Medicine Ball Lateral Push-ups

 I roll the ball to my other hand, perform another push-up, 10 of these, thank goodness, because by this point, that’s about all I could muster, then right into close handed push-ups and for abs Captain Chair leg raises.  Oh yeah, I almost forgot we also then did 3 sets until failure tricep kickbacks after that!  I think I’ll be sore tomorrow!!  I did my circuit for cardio again tonight, 5 mins each on the following, the Stairmaster, skipping every other stair at a pace of 90, Cross Trainer, running on the treadmill, bicycle and the only thing I didn’t do for 5 mins was walking backwards on the treadmill at an incline of 50, I upped the speed from 1.2 to 1.4, because my trainer had me do this the other night, and I want to be able to keep up this pace when he gives it to me to do again later. I did this for 2 mins and my quads were on fire!!  I can really feel the difference when we up the speed, even by that little bit!

Tomorrow is cardio only, no weights. I miss weight training on Tuesday’s!  Wednesday will be legs and glutes and of course I’ll finish with some type of cardio. 

Remember to stay on course and be consistent in what you do and you’ll see results!

~B

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Sept 12, 2011

Posted on September 12, 2011 | Leave a comment

Worked upper body tonight at the gym, I think I might be sore tomorrow!  I one of my old food journals tonight and landed on January 23, 2007.  Let’s see for breakfast I had cereal, no telling what kind, I’ll give myself credit and say it was Special K!   Along with the cereal I had grapefruit and yogurt and I know it wasn’t greek yogurt, it was most likely Dannon none fat yogurt.  For my AM snack I had another yogurt, lunch consisted of beef chow mein?!  I had some veggies with that, broccoli and carrots. For my PM snack I had  pineapple and for dinner I had Weight Watcher meal Chicken Carbonaro.  Oh,  looking down the page I had dessert too, it was a Weight Watcher cake, I didn’t put what kind!  My totals I listed for the day were:  1255 calories, 17 grams of fat 230 carbs Wow!! I wasn’t afraid of eating carbs that’s for sure!!  40 grams of protein, pretty low and 114 grams of sugar.   There’s a place at the bottom for notes, I noticed I wrote “too much sugar for the day”  haha!! I must have not cared too much about all those carbs I ate!  I did exercise that day.  I weight trained for an hour, total body and after that I stayed and did cardio on the Elliptical for 45 mins. 

I have to get these journals scanned so, you can look at them, they’re a little embarrassing, but  I want you to see how the progression over time with my nutrition became so much better.  I really like the way I eat now, I feel in control of what and how much I eat, and I think that’s a big accomplishment.

Until tomorrow, enjoy the evening!  ~Betsy

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How often should you eat?

Posted on September 7, 2011 | 2 Comments

 A lot of people tend to skip meals when trying to lose weight.  When I first started this journey, I was not eating breakfast and I too skipped meals. 

One of the first things I changed was to make sure I ate breakfast and I’ve never deviated from this since.  To me this is the most important meal of the day.  Your body is kind of in a starvation mode when you sleep, most people get about 8 hours sleep a night even if you get about 6 like I do, that’s a long time for your body to go without food!  I think I’ve said this before, that breakfast is the “break after the fast”.

Over time I’ve changed not only what I eat, but also how often I eat.  I now eat 6 meals a day. I believe it stimulates your metabolism which burns more calories along with preserving lean muscle mass.

 I was looking at my old food journals tonight (that I am going to share with you soon) and I was eating on an average about 4 meals a day. I would eat breakfast, lunch, dinner and I would throw a snack in sometime during the day.   This was a day that I was looking at tonight, it was August 7, 2007, for breakfast I had a Smart Bar,  I have no idea what a Smart Bar is now!  Then this particular day I had my snack in the morning, which consisted of mixed fruit, for lunch I had a South Beach Diet turkey and bacon wrap. I didn’t eat again till dinner which I had a Weight Watcher meal and some pineapple!  And this was actually a huge improvement from what I was eating before I started this whole process of losing weight and trying to get into shape again.   It took some time to change my bad eating habits and incorporate new and better habits.  I’m so happy I did this and I’m glad that I did it slow, I believe that’s how I’ve been able to change my eating forever, I’ll never go back to eating like I did before.  I can’t even imagine doing that!  I hope this helps out!! 

 Have a great evening! ~B

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Muscle Vs Fat

Posted on September 5, 2011 | Leave a comment

As you can see,  5 lbs of muscle takes up much less space than 5 lbs of fat!  Muscle does not weigh more than fat, 5 lbs of muscle weights the same as 5 lbs of fat, BUT it takes up less space.  The more muscle you have the more calories you burn as well, even at rest.  Muscle is more compact and dense than fat.  Having muscle will make you look leaner, fat obscures your muscle definition!  It’s important if you are trying to lose weight not to consume too few calories, never go below 1200 calories a day, you want to make sure you are burning fat and not muscle.  Ladies please do not worry about getting “bulky”  you won’t,  you’ll look leaner and burn more calories, you may weight the same, but you’ll be smaller and leaner!!  So, start lifting!!  ~~B

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Tiger Balm & Tennis Balls

Posted on August 30, 2011 | Leave a comment

I went to, two different massage therapist about my forearms and both of them were excellent.  The massage therapist I went to Sunday, work on my forearms for about 45 mins.  She said that she would get them loosened up and then when she would go back they would be tight again.  Her recommendation was for me to work on them in between massage sessions which is exactly what my trainer said also.  She suggested a tennis ball to massage my forearms.  Hopefully they will get better soon, I miss lifting heavy weights so much! 

  I also remembered that while my daughter was in gymnastics they would use “Tiger Balm” for overuse and stressed muscles. So, I went to the store and bought some. I used both of these tonight on my forearms and they feel better.  I know a lot of people use Biofreeze, but I really don’t care for it.  I don’t like the way it makes my skin feel.

I’m off to do some laundry….until tomorrow…

~B

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Breakfast Shake

Posted on August 29, 2011 | Leave a comment

This morning shake only takes about 5 minutes to make!

1/2 cup non-fat plain or vanilla flavored yogurt
1/4 cup chopped cantaloupe
1/4 cup blackberries
1/2 banana
1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder
1 tbsp ground almonds
2-4 ice cubes & water if needed
Place all ingredients in a blender and blend
 
This shake has 330 calories, 7 grams of fat, 39 grams of carbs and 27 grams of protein. 

My favorite whey protein is the “Pure Protein” brand. 

 

I buy the vanilla cream flavor.  It has a good flavor to it. 

Enjoy!

Until tomorrow…goodnight!  ~B~

 

 

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Food Journal 8/29/11

Posted on August 29, 2011 | Leave a comment

Meal # 1
Time: 8:00 AM
4 oz Protein egg whites-hard boiled
1/4 C Fruit blueberries
1/2- 1 C Veggies green beans
1/4 C Starch oatmeal
1 TBSP Good Fat coconut oil
Meal # 2
Time: 10:00 AM
4 oz Protein cottage cheese
1/4 C Fruit pineapple
1/2- 1 C Veggies cauliflower/broccoli
1/4 C Starch rice cakes 2
Meal # 3
Time: 12:00 PM
4 oz Protein Turkey
1/4 C Fruit blackberries
1/2- 1 C Veggies zucchini
1/4 C Starch pumpkin
Good Fat Almonds
Meal # 4
Time: 2:00 PM
4 oz Protein chicken
1/2- 1 C Veggies green beans
1/4 C Starch brown rice
Meal # 5
Time: 4:00 PM
4 oz Protein Tilapia
1/2 -1 C Veggies Squash
Meal # 6
Time: 8:00 PM
4 oz Protein Whey Protein Shake

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8/25/11~ Food Journal~Stretching & Maintenance to Help Stay Injury Free

Posted on August 25, 2011 | 1 Comment

I’ve been nursing a sore Achilles for a couple of months now, along with the muscles in my forearms.  It’s been a little frustrating, because it takes so long for them to get better. 

I stay relatively injury free, (knock on wood).  I haven’t had an injury since I tore my calf muscle in 2007.  I believe that you have to do maintenance on your body.  I try to stretch really good every night and take my time doing it so, I get a really good stretch session in. When stretching out I use a foam roller also,

Foam Roller

I roll on the sides of my legs,  not just the front of them and  I’ve been using it on my calves also.   One other thing is getting massages, I had a massage therapist work on just my forearms today and if my appointment had been longer, I think she could have worked the soreness out of them.  I have another appointment on Sunday and I’m going to have her work on them longer this time.  They felt so much better after she was done. 

So, until my forearms and Achilles feel better, my trainer has been modifying my workouts.  I’ve been icing, taking ibuprofen, elevating and of course trying not to do anything that aggravates them.  The minute I feel soreness, my trainer switches it up. 

So, don’t forget your maintenance, it will help keep you injury free!

Food Journal August 25 2011

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My days…

Posted on August 11, 2011 | Leave a comment

I hope everyone had a great week so far!  Mine as far as work is concerned has been busy and productive, but this work week seems like it’s been 6 days long instead of 5.  Tomorrow should be Saturday in my mind!  One more day!  I don’t like wishing for Friday, I want to enjoy each day, they go by so fast!

I’ve been really inspired by people this past week…I went to watch a triathlon this past weekend and there was a girl there who was overweight, she was probably I would say around 300 lbs, which I can relate to since I was at one time 252 lbs.  She was one of the last people coming out of the water and also one of the last coming out of the bike shoot.  She had a problem with her first bike and at first I thought she was quitting.  She  came back with another bike, a beach cruiser and she struggle a bit to get onto the bike and get going.  She keep trying and after a few attempts she got on and started her bike run.  Everyone started clapping for her and  yelling for her, my chest and throat hurt from trying to hold back the tears…

I had to use the restroom while I was there and while I was waiting in line, I was behind a physically challenged athlete, she was in a regular stall because the handicap stall was taken.  She had the door open because she was in a wheelchair and I was next in line to use the restroom.  When she was finished she looked at me and said “I’m sorry, I’m not trying to be rude, but I can’t reach the handle to flush the toilet”  I told her “no worries, I would  take care of it”.  My heart…I can’t even put into words how I felt after that moment…

I watch people everyday and how they interact with others, there are some truly remarkable people out there!  They make me want to be a better person. I watch how people will hold a door open for someone behind them…how someone sees paper or some sort of trash or something on the floor in the gym or on the road…they pick it up as others walk by and just look at it…all these people truly inspire and motivate me…watch, you’ll see what I’m talking about. 

On a lighter note…I had some AWESOME workouts with my trainer this week!!   Tonight was only a 1/2 hour, and I usually complain about how short it always feels.  I always say “it’s over already, I feel like we just got started!”  I love my hour nights! Although, I am super grateful for my 1/2 hour workouts also, I’m thankful and appreciated to have them!!   I was drenched when I finished and the last 2 minutes seem like an eternity!  Feels good to workout hard!  Looking forward to Friday’s workout and to Friday period! 

Until tomorrow…have a great evening!!  ~B

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