A Common Sense Way to Loose Weight

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Believe it or not, but I have been searching for a common sense way to loose some pounds and keep them off. You see, over the summer a packed on over ten pounds and it has taken me to March to get it all off. Where is came from, what I did to get it, and why it took soooo long to get off is an honest mystery to me. Before summer I was already five pounds heavier than my "comfort zone" weight, so adding another ten pounds to that was not something normal. It was also the heaviest I have ever been.

That being said, the idea of just loosing it all (plus a few of the 5 lb's extra, thank you ;)) to simply bulk back up while race training sounded AWFUL. But then, I was listening to the Mickey Miles podcast with listener questions with Fitz Koelher and she said something so simple it was like a punch in the face. Her insanely easy method for not bulking and helping people loose weight without yo-yo dieting is to take your ideal weight and tack a zero on the end. That number, my friends, is your total calorie count for the day.

Whaattt?!?! I know.

Fitz says that the average calorie expenditure for usual activities is 10 calories. With that in mind, it makes sense that we would only need our target body weight, times ten. With this simple number, Fitz has found people to be able to slowly and safely bring their body's down to only needing that much energy... I like to think of it as a goldfish- they will only grow as big as their space will allow them. Likewise, our bodies will only grow as far as we feed/energize them.

But then, I had a few questions...

1. What should these calories be?
2. What about workouts? I cannot guarantee anyone's safety when I am hangry and working out+ low cal could make for a very hangry Jenni. 
3. Is using your name in the third person acceptable? Is it a sign of oncoming hanger?
4. What if I have a fast or slow metabolism?

Thankfully, Fitz went over most of these questions, in detail, on her website. You can read the full explanation here. My shortened version is below :)

1. Any diet should be well rounded and consist of lean meats, fruits, veggies, and healthy carbs and fat. This is not exactly the super fun town of eating, but who said being healthy means we get to eat fried chicken for breakfast daily? You know who, no one. ever. And, of course, we are in control of our diets, so we can decide when to cheat and when not. Hello adulthood, I will have that small fry. JK! Kind of.
2. Workouts should not increase your calorie count unless you are running 10-20 miles or doing the equivalent with some other workout. We do not need those extra calories and, if anything, will find those lb's come off faster if we do not supplement the calories lost during a workout. Keep in mind that a) you should not have an unhealthy number that your body cannot live on anyway and b) most workouts will burn between 200-500 calories an hour. Not quite bracket breaking. Also, eating lean proteins and a mix of proteins and healthy carbs after a workout will help you be satiated for longer. So maybe we won't actually break walls in a hangry rage!
3. Every body is different. Fitz recommends playing with the system a bit. If you are finding that weight is just falling off at an unhealthy rate or your are lethargic during the day, you probably have a fast metabolic rate and need to add on a few calories. If nothing seems to be changing, you may have a slower metabolic rate and need to reduce those calories a bit  more. Simple enough, now for the doing!

Please let me know if you are trying this and if it seems to be working for you. I have been trying this method for about a week now and, so far, are liking the results a bunch!

Starbucks for Less- Calories

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Ok, so laying it all on the table, I have had Starbucks A LOT in the past few weeks. Like once a day A LOT. Why?! You ask with mild concern and fear in your voice (unless you are one of my Starbucks loving friends who does not understand why this is a big deal)- Well, there are many bits to this Starbucks coffee storm.

In part, it is because I have has a ton of meetings there and you do not go to a place without getting something. That's just manners. Second, I keep having this pesky issue with forgetting my wallet at home and wanting food while out. Until recently I did not know that Apple Pay was up and the only way I could get food without stealing it was to go to Starbucks and pay through the app (also, let's just gloss over the whole driving without a license thing. Ok? Ok!)

And finally, it has gotten about as cold as Florida gets and I will take advantage of that with hot yoga, wearing scarfs, wearing scarfs at hot yoga (yes, I did), and drinking copious amounts of hot yummy coffee beverages. Oh, and as far as drive thru coffee is concerned, Starbucks averages the lowest calories between McDonald's and Dunkin Donuts.  All of this together and you have a Starbucks fiend on your hands.

Thankfully, there is a way to lower the super high amount of sugar and calories in your super yummy drink. Keep reading for the big, three part reveal! Drums roll.

The Easiest Way

Warning, the easiest way may not always be the healthiest or yummiest option. But, it can work in a pinch. For this, all you need to do is read up on the 200 calories or less menu at Starbucks. All of the drinks are Tall options (gross) and most are teas. If you are wanting a coffee,  the Skinny Vanilla Latte will run you 100 calories, the nonfat Cappuccino will only set you back 60 calories, and the nonfat Caramel Macchiato is only 140. Not too shabby, especially considering that a tall coffee is about the average person's cup.

But, what if you are not the average person and a cup of coffee is not a cup of coffee unless you need both hands to hold it and your cup could be confused with a bowl? Well, your in luck!

Soy and NonFat

Getting ready, a whole milk grande latte has between 150 (cafe latte) and 460 calories (Eggnog Latte)!!?! If you want to avoid some unneeded calories this coffee season, avoid whole milk. When it comes to dairy in your drink, Nonfat is the best with Soy coming in at a close second. This will shave between 10 and 100+ calories off your drink. Even better, many of these calories would be from fat.

To get a good idea, here is the run down on the Hazelnut Macchiato (my favorite), the Gingerbread Latte, and the Pumpkin Spice Latte.

Whole Milk Hazelnut Macchiato

• 270 calories
• 10 grams fat
• 35 carbs
• 10 grams protein

Nonfat/Soy Hazelnut Macchiato

• 190 calories (NF)/ 230 calories (Soy)
• 0 grams fat/ 4.5 grams fat
• 35 carbs/ 39 carbs
•  11 grams protein/ 9 grams protein

Whole Milk Gingerbread Latte

• 290 calories
• 10 grams fat
• 37 carbs
• 11 grams protein

Nonfat/Soy Gingerbread Latte

• 200 calories (NF)/ 250 calories (Soy)
• 0 grams fat/ 5 grams fat
• 38 carbs/ 42 carbs
• 11 grams protein/ 9 grams protein

Whole Milk Pumpkin Spice Latte

• 340 calories
• 10 grams fat
• 50 carbs
• 14 grams protein

Nonfat/Soy Pumpkin Spice Latte

• 260 calories (NF)/ 310 calories (Soy)
• 0 grams fat/ 5 grams fat
• 50 carbs/ 54 carbs
• 14 grams protein/ 12 grams protein

Less Sugar

Less sugar equals less calories. The goal, even beyond fewer calories is to have it be healthier. There are always ways to make things fat free or sugar free, but sometimes, what we are replacing it with is even worse than the fat or the sugar. That is, unless we are simply something away. To get less sugar in your Starbucks drinks, the best way is to ask them to put less in from the start. This has been my go-to for YEARS and I have probably already mentioned it on the blog once or twice before.

A flavored grande drink from Starbucks will have 4 pumps of syrup in it. That is a lot. Usually, it is very hard to tell the difference in taste between three pumps and four pumps, but the health benefits are vast. Each pump of Pumpkin Spice Syrup has 33 calories and 5 carbs. If you were to cut out 1-2 pumps, you would be saving about 66 calories and 10 carbs, bringing the total down to less than 200 calories and 40 carbs. That is still a TON of carbs, but it is a whole lot less. Although these numbers are quite high, the average flavored Starbucks syrup has 20 calories and 5 carbs but the Gingerbread has 80 calories per pump and 19 carbs.

Syrups to Avoid

Unfortunately, not all Starbucks flavors are created equal. To avoid unwanted calories, avoid the Starbucks flavors that have far too many. These include the Eggnog which is one of the least healthy and calorie loaded drinks Starbucks has. Next up is Gingerbread which is incredibly high in the calorie count.

Say No to Fluff

The Starbucks whipped cream and drizzle may be tasty and pretty, but is adds on plenty of useless calories to any drink. That whipped cream will set you back 80 calories, 2 carbs, and 8 grams of fat. Drizzle varies but will be 20+ calories. Just. Say. No.

Avoid the Skinny

You may think that ordering the Skinny option of anything is your best bet at Starbucks. Yes, that is true if you are only looking at carbs, fat, and calories, but reading the label tells a completely different story. The Starbucks Skinny syrups are the sugar free options. These use Sucralose, a sugar replacement that has been linked to plenty of nasty things. Sucralose has compounds that the human body cannot break down, much like trans fat. These compounds are mainly sotred in our kidneys and liver and will accumulate over time.

Although the absorption rate of Sucralose is only 10%-40% depending on research facility, you are still absorbing 10%-40% of something in your body that will never break down. Even worse, Sucralose has been linked to causing birth defects, shrinking of the thymus gland (needed for T-cell growth and proper immune function), enlarged liver and kidneys, and a reduced growth rate.

Sure, you may not be getting extra calories, but the side effects are just not worth the Skinny name.

Beer, Wine, or Liquor, Which is Heathiest: The Hard Stuff

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Yesterday we were able to learn the difference between beer, white wine, and red and today we will be talking about hard liquors. If you have not read the previous article you can take a gander at it here. After reading both articles, the winner for lowest calories and healthiest overall drink should be pretty obvious. Honestly, it was not what I expected it to be. Hopefully, these articles can save us all some extra lb's over the next year. Especially considering that drinking a six-pack of beer once a week for a year will translate to 15-lbs. What?!! Talk about a serious beer belly!

The Hard Stuff

The hard liquors like vodka, whiskey, and scotch tend to have the lowest calorie and carbohydrate content, but still give us a bang for our buck when it comes to antioxidants. Like beer and red wine, research has found that hard alcohols can help increase levels of the good cholesterol in our bodies. Amazingly, researchers have also found that averaging two drinks a day can increase women's risk of breast cancer by 10% or more! That said, keeping moderation in our drinking is key to getting the health benefits while still maintaining optimal health.

Generally, the higher the proof, the higher the calories and mixed drinks will always have more calories (sometimes 800 calories per drink!) than the straight liquor. One ounce of an 80 proof alcohol averages:

• Calories: about 67 (cordials can have as little as 15 calories per ounce while Schnapps can be over 100)
• Carbohydrates: 0 grams
• Fat: 0 grams
• Protein: 0 grams

Low Calorie Mixes

Mixed drinks can have as few as 100 calories or as many as 800+ for those cream and dessert drinks. Mixtures that use club soda, diet soda, or tonic tend to have a lower calorie count, rounding out to about 100 calories per serving. A great example of this is gin and tonic; this drink has 103 calories per serving! Vegetable and fruit juice mixes are another great mix option when we are counting those calories. One Bloody Mary has 123 calories and about 5-grams carbs.

One of the main reasons that things like flavored vodka have gained in popularity is because we get the flavoring of something extra with no extra calories. These flavored liquors can be mixed with tea or club soda for little to calories outside the alcohol itself. These are a few great drink recipes for those watching there weight.  mudslide mojito martini whiskey sour

Mudslide: This drink breaks the mold for healthy and dessert-like cocktails. One mudslide has about 185 calories.

Martini: Martini's are a a great option as long as it is not one of those dessert options with tons of chocolate and dairy. Most martini's average 160 calories and less than 1-gram carbs.

Whiskey Sour: For those who enjoy darker liquors, the whiskey sour clocks in at a 160 calories, but be careful, they have a whopping 14-grams carbs per serving!

Mojito: Mojitos are quite low in calories at 160 calories per serving. Lower the carbs by opting out of the sugar rim for a bit healthier option.