Happy Hump Day!
I think we can all agree that a big component of healthy eating is understanding serving sizes. I believe a lot of people have a hard time comprehending what a portion looks like because it’s so common for restaurants to serve single meals that contain 3 or 4 servings of food, or for a sports drink to actually contain 3 servings of beverage. In a world of excess and super sized eats, it’s important to remember that moderation is key, but we can’t eat only a serving of something if we have no idea how much that actually is.
What does 2 oz of dry spaghetti look like?
How about 1 oz of cheese? Or a serving of cashews?
I used to guesstimate these things all the time… until I started using one of my now favorite little kitchen tools, a food scale.
These days, I throw something on the scale and know exactly how much I’m eating instead of giving it an educated guess. And after you’ve measured something a few times, you have an eye for what it looks like. When I’m out at a restaurant, I have a pretty good idea of what 3 oz of pasta looks like. The same principle goes for measuring foods with measuring cups and spoons. 2 tablespoons of peanut butter may be a lot less goodness than you think, and the same goes for a 1/2-cup serving of ice cream (unfortunately!).
If you don’t have a kitchen scale yet and would like to start using one to be more conscious of how much food you’re putting into your mouth, you’re in luck my blog friends! Today I’m doing the very first giveaway contest on Foodie Loves Fitness, courtesy of the folks at SlimKicker.
SlimKicker is a recently launched game and calorie counter that keeps people motivated to achieve their healthy living goals through a level-up game with points and rewards. Users can rack up points by tracking healthy eats and completing challenges. People can also upload a picture of a desired reward, and SlimKicker reminds them to cash in on it once they’ve reached a certain number of points. They also offer recipe ideas for many diets.
Here’s the deal: The challenges on SlimKicker include tasks like abstaining from drinking soda or resisting snacks after dinner for 30 days. They’re looking for some new creative ideas of challenges for their users to participant in, and that’s where you come in!To enter the contest, simply leave a short comment below with a creative fitness or diet challenge idea. SlimKicker will pick their favorite idea, and I’ll announce the winner after a week. That person will receive a handy dandy kitchen scale, and the idea will be used as a challenge on SlimKicker. Sound like a plan? Great, now leave a comment below!
Nicole
First I would like to say that this is my favorite blog and I check it every day. You seem like a real good person and genuinely interested in the physical and emotional well-being of your audience. After giving much thought to your challenge I would like to propose a challenge stimulated by the inspiration you give me. My challenge would be to have your readers walk 15 total miles in one month with a friend of theirs who is not regularly physically active. Passing along the inspiration you give me daily would be a great challenge. Thanks again for all the support and all the best in the future with your blog!
Nicole,
Love you blog – so many wonderful recipes and inspirations from your daily living. Here are a few ideas:
Make your own 100 calorie snacks for a week
Don’t eat out for a week (even skipping Friday night happy hour) and make all home cooked clean meals
Create your own signature clean eating recipe
100/100 Challenge: do 100 situps everyday for 100 days
Identify the exercise/activity you like the least and challenge yourself to do it 3x a week over the next month
Pick your favorite comfort food and modify the recipe to be a healthy option
Just discovered this blog out. My challenge ideas would be:
– Do 10 crunches or pushups everytime there is a commercial break.
– Stretch and wake up 30 mins early everyday
– Invite a friend to workout with u for a week to make it more fun.
Challenge: Do some type of exercise 6 days in a week and don’t eat any foods that have sugar listed in the first 5 ingredients
Love you lots Nicole! Great suggestions above. I think another fun way to get in more steps and burn extra calories on busy days is to “move” when you would normally “ride.” For example, take the three flights of stairs up instead of taking the elevator, park at the furthest parking spot in the lot at the Grocery Store or walk to pickup dinner instead of ordering in. Sometimes it is the little things that can really add up each day!
Dance
Anywhere, anytime.
Put on some upbeat music and dance around while housecleaning
Shake your booty while you’re making supper
Dance around your kids or pets– you’ve increased your activity level and bonus: you get to enjoy their recaction
Boogie in the checkout line– you get some exercise and the folks around you don’t notice how long the wait is– everybody wins
Lindy your groceries to the car
walk on treadmill 40 minutes a day for a month at age 78
I love all these ideas and I do a lot of them already, including dancing around, while I’m cleaning and cooking! New fitness idea, hmmm… The only thing I can think of is to try to workout at a totally different time of the day for one month. For instance, if you go to the gym in the morning, try working out at night. This is something I never thought I could do, but because of a new work schedule, I have been forced to work out after work, when I think I’m exhausted and not capable of working out. But guess what?! I have been loving it and feel really good doing it. Changing up our workout routine is key to keeping our bodies in shape! Good luck with the new site!!!
Nicole,
I love the new site.
If you are doing cardio 5 days a week at a gym, change up and challenge yourself and do your cardio at home for 30 days.
For 30 days try a new food a day.
Hi Nicole, I absolutely loveeeee this website. Your food always looks so delicious and your comments always make me smile. My favorite healthy advice is to drink seltzer or water with crushed ice and squeeze of fresh lemon wedge instead of soda. It is so refreshing and gives you than nice thirst quench. Love you Sweetie!!!
Hello fellow happy eaters and work outers!
This is what I’ve been doing this past summer to get me motivated to be more healthy. I signed myself up to do some small fun races with girlfriends. Like the Diva Dash and Venus De Miles bike ride and the Dirty Girl mud run. I’m not a runner at all. I’m a funner. We wear tutus and sweat! Girls can do it all. Since I’m signed up for theses races I’ve been having to run or bike so I don’t make a complete ass of myself. I’ve added yoga too. My body is slowly changing in a good way. I’ve taken breads out of my diet. I mostly eat salads and veggies and fruit. And I add fish in there too once a week. I don’t eat out and if I do I usually go big, because it’s a rare occurance. I’ve lost a couple of pounds and a lot of inches and had some super good times with my funner girls. My challenge is if it scares you ask why? If you don’t come up with good reasons get out there and do it. Move for for life! Cheers! To your health!
Hi Nicole! Hope you’re doing well! Just logged in to check out your website. I like it!
Challenges:
Work out at least 4 times a week.
Do planks every night for 30 days
Do 10 pushups a night for 30 days (this one is for my daughter 🙂
Write down what you eat for 30 days and see how much that helps you. I use My Fitness Pal and love it. Lots of foods included in their database
Eat to live, don’t live to eat!
Just Do It!
Thanks to everyone for their great suggestions!
Gina, I love MyFitnessPal too and use it every day! 🙂
I am challenging myself for 30 days….
-fruits & veggies, nuts & seeds, lean meats, legumes, little starch & no sugar
Avoid…
-anything and all things processed
-limit dairy consumption(highly processed)
Track…
-keep a diary of what you eat
-log how yu feel the day you start
-gauge portion sizes and write them down
-end the challenge with a log of everything and how you feel after!!!