04 My exercise regiment...

My exercise regiment

Hey Folx,

Ya, no. I don’t have one. I surf, I skateboard, and I like walking. During the school year, I generally surf about 3 times per week, between 45 min - 2 hours. The picture was from spring 2019 (pre-weight loss), and if you zoom in on it, you can see I've got some extra layering. I’ll skateboard with my son (as he scoots) 1-4 times a week; its a nice cross-training for surfing (I love my Carver skateboard). And when we walk (1-2 times a week), we usually walk a route that is just shy of two miles, with a decent hill component. Nightly, I have a short 10 minute stretch routine too (that may be the only regimented activity). If I feel that I have been slacking, I’ll do some pushups and lunges, but that seems to be rare. Nothing is really regimented though, and I wouldn’t do any of it if I didn’t like it. I’ll never join a gym because no, and I need my physical activity to be functional. In committing to counting calories, I committed to keeping up an amount of physical activity too.  

What I end up doing each week is different, and so are the summers. Last summer, I surfed 5 times a week on average (as a teacher, I get a much needed summer break). We walked more and I skated more too. I’d actually attribute a lot of my quicker weight loss due to this much higher amount of physical activity, but it wouldn’t have been possible without the calorie counting. I know this because when the school year started, and my physical activity slowed significantly, so did my weight loss. But I still lost weight, and I’m still losing weight, because I kept counting. 

Physical activity alone does not cause weight loss (unless you are going ham everyday). Physical activity, in conjunction with a healthy diet, can cause weight loss. I’d argue (and I believe research shows), most weight loss is attributed to diet and not as much from physical activity. BUT, physical activity is important for many other reasons besides weight loss. Even just 10 minutes a day of walking has huge benefits. As we get older, our bodies decay. As we become less active, that impact is magnified. It seemed after turning 30 that I would throw my back out annually, being laid up for at least a week. I had a couple scares with knee injuries too (i.e. ACL / MCL strains). I wasn’t as active as I probably should have been, or wanted to be, plus I was super over weight. A bad combination. Though, once I started counting calories and losing weight, I felt that recovering from physical activity was easier. This was motivating to commit to a consistent-ish amount of physical activity. 

Mental Health Tip: Making small gains, either in cutting back on calories instead of full blown calorie counting, or starting small increases in daily physical activity, are significantly better than doing nothing. It’s easy to get turned off by the overwhelming effort to totally change your life. But small changes can turn into big changes. Need to start somewhere. 

Food Choices Tip: Not all vegetables taste good nor are filling. Fortunately, some are, like potatoes and squash! I love these two because they are low in calories, very filling, and very versatile in flavors and cooking methods. 

Recipe: Mashed potatoes (makes about 10 cups). I like to use either russet or some sort of gold potato, about 3 lbs per person (this recipe will be for two people for meal prep purposes). Rinse the potatoes of any dirt. I leave the skins on, and then cube them into 1-1.5” pieces. Put potato cubes into a large pot of cold water (enough to cover the potatoes by an inch or two), and enough salt that the water tastes like the ocean (for real). Let this come up to a nice boil, and cook for about 15-20 minutes, until a fork will pass into the potato with great ease. While the potatoes are boiling, in a saucepan, add the butter, milk, cheese, and other to melt and warm on low heat. When the potatoes are done and the milk mixture is warmed and melted, mix it all together with a potato masher, or somewhat gently fold with a wood spoon or spatula. Over mixing mashed potatoes can result in a taffy-like consistency, and using too little fat (i.e. nonfat milk) will leave them dry. Taste and add seasoning accordingly. 

• Potatoes - 6 lbs - 39 g protein - 410 g carbs - 2 g fat - 1775 cals
• Butter (I like salted) - 8 tbsp - 0 g protein - 0 g carbs - 88 g fat - 800 cals
• Half-n-half milk - 1.5 cups - 12 g protein - 12 g carbs - 36 g fat - 480 cals
• Cheese, like aged white cheddar - 4 oz - 24 g protein - 12 g carbs - 32 g fat - 400 cals
• Salt and pepper, and any other spices you like, to taste
• From here, almost anything can be added: 
• Garlic, 6 cloves (I LOVE GARLIC), diced up, added to the milk product saucepan
• Grilled onions, also added to the milk product saucepan
• Add in a hearty vegetable like broccoli, one large head diced up, into the hot potato + milk product mixture (so it can steam and become tender)

Cooking Tip: When boiling potatoes for mashed potatoes, put cubed potatoes and salt (ocean levels) into the cold water, and allow it all to come to a boil together. You’ll know when the potatoes are cooked through after about 15-20 minutes of boiling, or when a fork can be poked through them easily. Then, you have some choices: mash them, or coat them in a little bit of oil and seasoning and put into oven at 400o F until brown for delicious, tender wedges.

Meal Prep Idea: The calories and macronutrient values expressed below are estimates. I try to err on the side of higher calories than lower. The mashed potatoes from the recipe above result in about 350 calories per cup. Eat more or less than a cup, depending on how the meal is built, and change the quantities of the contents to reduce calories. I like to eat them alone, with chicken, or on a shoe. 

Exercise Idea: Go out for a 10 minute walk. Fresh air, moving your body, getting some outdoor atmosphere not only assists weight loss, but releases endorphins and can be mood changing. I like walking with my family because then it becomes a social activity.   

Next post: Counting calories vs. macronutrients...