Hi and Happy National Nut Day (I kid you not)!
I always find random food holidays to be amusing, and this morning I found out about today’s holiday via Twitter. Cashews and almonds are my favorites! I love to top my yogurt bowls with them or eat nuts with fruit for a snack. On National Nut Day I can’t forget about my nut butter obsessions. Peanut butter, almond butter, hazelnut butter…. I never get sick of them!
I actually just bought cashew butter to try, and I’m a little afraid of how much I’ll probably love it given my fondness of cashews in general.
Week 1 Recap: Eats
Since talking about my plans to shed a couple of pounds last week, I decided that I’ll do a weekly recap as a way to share my journey with you all. I’m happy to say that my first week went really well. Since I usually eat lots of fruits, veggies, and whole grains, the big change has just been cutting down on portion sizes, sweets and wine.
I was down 2 1/2 pounds yesterday versus last Monday, which is on the high end of my weekly weight loss target of 1 1/2- 2 1/2 pounds a week. I ate between 1,300-1,400 calories a day, except for Saturday when I ate a couple hundred calories more. To keep things in moderation, I think I’ve got to have a bit of a “cheat” day every week or two!
Goals for the next week: Recently I kind of got out of the routine of making green juices. Last weekend I made my first juice in awhile, and I want to make an effort to drink them more often again. Goal #1: Make green monsters at least twice.
I recognize that this past week was great in terms of weight loss, and that I probably won’t continue losing 2 1/2 pounds every week, but I can certainly try! Goal #2: Lose another 2 pounds in the next week.
Week 1 Recap: Workouts
Since I’m already good about making exercise a priority, the main thing I can do to tone up is to step my workouts up a bit in terms of intensity. Maybe in a couple weeks once I get close to my goal, I’ll also step it up in terms of length of workouts, but for now I’m keeping it the same since I log in a lot of weekly exercise time already. Here are last week’s workouts:
- Sunday – 60 min cardio/conditioning at-home workout (while watching football of course)
- Monday – 45 mins of triceps & chest strength training & 20 mins of rowing
- Tuesday – 20 mins of stretching and abdominal conditioning & a 40 min interval rowing workout
- Wednesday – 20 mins of boxing in the AM & 60 mins of Vinyasa yoga in the PM
- Thursday – 40 min cycling interval workout & 20 mins stretching & conditioning
- Friday – 90 min hike
- Saturday – 45 mins easy yoga in the AM & 30 min easy bike ride in the PM
I never really lay out my workouts like this, and doing so made me think about how much time I exercise per week. The American Heart Association recommends that Americans get 150 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic activity a week, or 75 minutes per week of vigorous exercise. Last week, I logged in about 500 minutes! And that’s not even counting my usually daily 30-minute walks with Harley, as I wouldn’t define those as moderate intensity for me. Not all weeks are as consistently awesome as this, but I’m giving myself credit for making exercise such a priority. Snaps for me!
How many minutes would you estimate that you exercise per week?
What are your favorite kind of nuts?
Awesome job! I admire your dedication to working out. I feel like I did good if I work out 3 days in a week!
Congrats on the weight loss! I love your goals. They seem very attainable. I am probably with you on the minutes of exercise I get a week. I actually have to be careful not to overtrain. I can’t help it, I love to exercise! I’m with you on the cashews and almonds but I also like pistachios and pecans are good for salads.
Thanks Brittany! I hear you, I am the exact same way. I know you’re coming off of an injury too, and I completely understand your desire to just fully get back out there because that’s how I am!
Oooh yeah, I really like pistachios but for some reason don’t buy them a lot.
I love all nuts! Of course I try to only eat a few here and there, because of the calorie and fat content. I don’t think I have a favorite. As for the exercise question, I have to think about it. I would say 1 1/2 to 2 hrs 3 or 4 times a week, so that adds up to… approximately 400 minutes per week, not counting daily stretching at home. Pretty good for an old gal!
Ahh yes, no wonder why I was scared of their fat content until a couple years ago! They have GOOD monounsaturated fats that are supposed to be beneficial for your heart and provide an anti-inflammatory effect, which can be good for people who constantly have inflammation going on in their bodies (cough cough!!!).
That’s great! I’ve seen so many green juice recipes, what do you put in yours?
I really need to up the amount I work out. I’m impressed with how much you exercise. I’m working on getting to that level.
Thanks, Nikki! I appreciate the compliment.
Usually my green juices include an apple and some sort of power greens like spinach & kale, and then I’ll add other stuff I have around. Lately my favorite is a green lemonade juice, which also has pear, cucumber, lemon & mint.