8. Excerise for Free!

Posted on January 14, 2011 by Nicole

A tight wallet shouldn’t leave you with a loose butt!

So you’ve made your resolutions to lose 20 lbs by summer. You have a plan: Join the gym, eat better, and drink more water.

You’re all set, right? Wrong.

After a quick review of your check book balance you remember your pockets have yet to recover from your holiday spending. And even with the administration fees waived and no long term contract to sign, a gym membership is out of your financial reach.

Don’t worry. I have a solution and it’s absolutely free!

Yes, for free you can enjoy kickboxing, yoga, and Pilates at home! How? With just one trip to your local library, you and Billy Blanks can burn mega calories without you spending any cash.

Added bonus! You don’t have to find a matching outfit or worry about all the skinny people at the gym judging your “downward facing dog”!

Have you found other ways to cut costs while funding your excercise routine?  What are some ways you’ve gotten fit for free?

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Pan-Seared Tilapia with Almond Browned Butter – 6 pts!

Posted on January 13, 2011 by Nicole

My family and I really enjoyed this dish. This ingredients for the recipe were cheap and the results were yummy.  On top of that, it was low in calories!

It made plenty for dinner and leftovers; the  almond flavor was even better the 2nd day.  This recipe is a winner in my book but don’t take my word for it, try it out!

4  4 to 5 ounce skinless fresh or frozen tilapia fillet or other white fish
3  cups fresh pea pods, trimmed (I used green beans, cheaper)
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup coarsely chopped almonds
1 tablespoon snipped fresh parsley

1. Thaw fish, if frozen. Rinse fish; pat dry with paper towels. Set aside. In a large saucepan, bring a large amount of lightly salted water to boiling. Add pea pods: cook for2 minutes. Drain and set aside.

2.  Meanwhile, sprinkle one side of each fish fillet with salt and pepper; sprinkle with the flour. Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat. When skillet is hot (a drop of water should sizzle or roll), remove from the heat; immediately add olive oil, tilting skillet to coat with oil. Return skillet to heat; add fish, floured side up (if necessary,cook fish half at a time). Cook fish for 4 to 5 minutes or until it is easy to remove with spatula. Gently turn fish and cook for 2 or 3 minutes more or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. Arrange pea pods onaserving platter; arrange fish on top of pea pods.

3. Reduce heat to medium. Add butter to the skillet. When butter begins  to melt, stir in almonds. Cook for 30 to 60 seconds or until butter meltsand nuts toast lightly (do not burn butter). Spoon the butter mixture over fish fillets. Sprinkle with parsley.

Per serving:  226 cal., 15 g total fat (5 g sat. fat), 71 mg chol., 210 mg sodium, 7 g carbo., 3 g fiber, 24 g protein.

Recipe from Better Homes and Gardens Budget-friendly meals

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7. Exercise on Holidays

Posted on December 7, 2010 by Michael

Holidays are special days that most of us look forward to and at the same time take for granted.

We grind all the days prior saying “I can’t wait until the holiday!  I get days off!  I can sleep in!”.

On the other hand,  skinny people look at holidays as a time to get in MORE exercise!  Here are a few things they do while the rest of us are looking forward to eating turkey and then falling asleep to football:

  1. They check the schedules at their gyms for the holiday hours.  Huh?
  2. They plan exercise into what is likely a busy holiday schedule.  Let’s see: shopping, cooking, drinking, eating, sleeping…my holiday schedules usually don’t have room for exercise!
  3. They get up early and even PAY to participate in organized fitness activities.  Double “huh!?”.

Recently, Nicole and I, along with  some friends of Skinny People Do, took a shot at taking our holiday fitness to the next level.  We got up bright and early on Thanksgiving morning to run in the 3 mile Torrance Turkey Trot.

Here’s a video of us along with the other turkeys running around South Torrance.  Hope you enjoy it!

When the next holiday comes along,  what exercise routine or fitness activity will you be planning!?

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Seven Percent Challenge Check-In: From Bad to Worse

Posted on October 6, 2010 by Michael

Hey, folks!  Its Michael from South Bay Foodies.  Time for another 7% Challenge Check In!  If  you missed the last one, I’ll let you know that Nicole — the brains behind What Skinny People Do — and I are in a challenge with some friends to lose 7% of our body weight over a period of time.

Our first weigh in was last week and MAN, things have gone from bad to worse.  Well, for me they have.

The rest of the crew have either lost weight (yay team!) or maintained their weight.  Me? I’m 4 pounds heavier than when we started!

I started with the best of intentions and a plan to be a contender in this race to skim the fat off my thighs and waistline.  Turns out I’ve been sitting on the sideline! What went wrong!?  Here’s a few thoughts:

  1. I’ve been eating like a mad man.  Just a couple weeks ago I went out to food-focused events every night of the week!  WTF?  I’m happy though.  Maybe all the lard I’m consuming is lifting my spirits…and making my ass sag at the same time!
  2. My exercise has been inversely proportional to my food intake.  You’d think I would exercise more if I was grubbing more, right? Nope.
  3. I stopped thinking about the competition as MY competition.  When it came time to weight in, I felt more like a spectator than a participant.  I realized that I had mentally put myself out of the competition.

As we move into the next round, I’m worse off than we we started.  That means I need to work even harder than I had planned to work before.

But now I’m wondering, “If I stick to my plan, can I be a contender!?”

Have you ever started to lose weight and then became OK with our body when you didn’t see a change?  How did you snap out of it?

When you got off track from your weight loss goals, how did you get back in line?

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KID APPROVED! Lime Garlic Shrimp – 2 pts

Posted on October 1, 2010 by Nicole

As I adopted the “Skinny People Do” approach to my cooking, I noticed my daughter’s increased lack of interest in eating vegetables.

The problem was two fold.

First, she was born in the “South” and spends every summer there. Now, I absolutely love southern cuisine. But I also realize that vegetables don’t always have to be smothered, covered, chunked, or fried…especially if you want to reap the nutritional benefits of eating them! So eating vegetables that actually taste like vegetables isn’t appealing to her.

Second, she seems to have a freakishly sensitive gag reflex. Really! The irritation that I experience trying to force her to clean her plate is getting to be ridiculous! (what happens?)

Little did I know, making a small change in my meals would help change my daughter’s appreciation for vegetables.

One of my Weight Watchers group members suggested that I start eating a small salad before dinner. They said it would help cut my appetite, leading to less consumption of higher calorie foods.

Eventually, I began eating just a salad topped with whatever lean protein we were having for dinner that night. The more salads my daughter saw me eat, the more interested she became in eating salads, including the raw vegetables they were made of.

This recipe is one of her favorites.  Hopefully your kids will eat it up too!

(Adopted from Oprah’s website)

Servings: Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 4 limes
  • 3 cloves garlic , minced
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 2 lbs medium shrimp peeled and de-veined

Directions

Using a zester or vegetable peeler, zest 3 limes (about 1 tablespoon); place in a glass dish large enough to hold shrimp. Juice same limes (about 1/2 cup juice), then pour into dish. Add garlic, ½ olive oil, salt and pepper to taste, and shrimp. Toss gently and refrigerate 30 to 45 minutes.

Add remaining olive oil to a large skillet and heat.  Place shrimp in skillet; sprinkle with additional salt and pepper, if desired. Sautee shrimp 2 to 3 minutes on each side, just until curled and pink in color, then remove them from the heat. Place 7 or 8 shrimp on top of a salad. Enjoy with your favorite dressing (dressing points not included in calculation)!

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Disneyland Half Marathon Part 1: The Day Before the Race

Posted on September 17, 2010 by Nicole

7:45 PM,Saturday, September 4, 2010

The last nine months of my life have prepared me for this moment.  I woke up this morning excited about the race tomorrow: The Disneyland Half Marathon.

I spent today with my family, finishing preparations for the greatest endurance challenge of my life. The mood was light and playful. They were either very confident in my abilities or very good at keeping me relaxed.

At the beginning of my training, relaxing and being confident weren’t easy; I was full of self doubt and couldn’t imagine how I was going to run 13.1 miles. Completing 2 and 3 mile runs left me exhausted and relying on a “cat nap” to make it through the work day!

When I think back on the days I spent suffering with shin splits and soreness, all the while hoping my body would grow stronger and adjust to my new expectations for myself, I become more grateful for this moment.

My fondest training memory is the day I realized that I could complete a half marathon.

It was a Sunday during my 8th week of training and I was scheduled to do an 8 mile run. I was dreading this run. With a little nudge from Michael, I laced up my running shoes, mapped out a route and was on my way.

To my surprise, a little after the 4 mile mark I was greeted by my own personal cheer squad! Michael and the girls brought me water and some much needed encouragement.

When I arrived home about 45 minutes later, Michael presented me with a small cake to celebrate the completion of my longest run. The love and support I felt in that moment was immeasurable.

That night I was not exhausted or sore. I no longer doubted that I could run 13.1 miles; I just knew I would be able to do it.

Today, I know that I made it to this moment only through the grace of GOD.  Only HE could loose me from nearly a decade of laziness. I had forgotten that my body is a temple and should be treated as such.

With my health greatly improved (lower weight, cholesterol, and pant size), I thank GOD for giving me a “new attitude” and for surrounding me with supportive people.

So as I sit here a little nervous, very excited, and extremely loved, I just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who supported me along the way. I know I wouldn’t be ready to run this race without your encouragement.

With Love,

Nicole

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Skinny People Do Progress Report

Posted on September 15, 2010 by Nicole

Last month I had my annual physical. Although I knew that I had lost some weight since my last visit to Dr. Cruz, I wasn’t sure exactly how much.

To my surprise I had lost 17 lbs. SWEET!  She informed me that I was no longer considered obese and that she was taking obese off of my file!

In my mind I could hear the Wii balance board say “That’s overweight” which is a big step up from the “that’s obese” I was accustomed to hearing.

Hearing "that's overweight" is better than hearing "that's obese"!

I spoke to my doctor about my decision to join Weight Watchers, my weight loss goals, and the ½ Marathon that I was training for.

She replied that I may have a hard time loosing additional pounds because of my body type (what the hell!?). But regardless, I am determined to lose at least another 7% of my body weight (see 7% Challenge post).

A week or so after my physical, I received a call from my doctor’s office with the results of the blood work that was done as part of my physical. I was delighted to hear that my Cholesterol had gone down 25 points!

SkinnyPeopleDo.com is changing my life for the better. I am making healthier choices for myself and my family and I am beginning to see the difference! Check out my status below.

Physical 2009 Physical 2010
Weight 200 lbs 183 lbs
Cholesterol 231 206
Pants Size 16 12

What healthy changes have you made lately? Are you seeing the difference?

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Seven Percent Challenge Check-In: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

Posted on September 10, 2010 by Michael

Hey, folks!  It’s Michael from South Bay Foodies stopping by Skinny People Do to give you my first update on the Seven Percent Challenge.

In case you haven’t heard, Nicole — the Ace of Skinny People Do — and I have challenged ourselves and a couple of our friends in a race to safely lose seven percent of our body weight. Wow!

The downside:  that’s a significant amount of weight to lose.  The upside: we each put in $50 and the winner takes the pot!  Depending on where you stand, you could swap the downside and upside points and they would both still make sense. 😀

Whatever the case, I’m in it to win it.  Let’s talk!  Here’s my look at the  “Good, Bad, and Ugly” of this Seven Percent Challenge.

The Good

I’m motivated to take it all, baby!  I’m waking up energized, eager to hit the gym, and getting sweat-inducing-heart-pumping work-outs in as often as I can.  Exercise-wise I’m working the stair master and swimming (which just might be my secret weapon…ask my challengers!).  Diet-wise, I’m trying…TRYING…to eat better and drinking green tea during the day to keep my metabolism up.  Hopefully everything will add up to 7% off my bottom line!

The Bad

I write about food.  What can I do!?  I’m chasing food trucks all over LA, checking out happy hours, and reviewing menus at restaurants that just opened.  Its a tough life but someone has to do it!  Unfortunately, all of that truck-chasing, happy-hour-ing, and menu-reviewing doesn’t set me up for weight loss.  To top it all off, I’ve got some choice festivals and restaurant reviews coming up.  Maybe I should start doing gym and personal trainer reviews!?

The Ugly

Competition brings out the ugly in people, I swear!  Please know that I’m joking when I say this but…seriously…my challengers are getting down right dirty to improve their chances of winning the pot!  I know it would be different if we were on a team but as indivduals, we are all keeping our eyes on the prize.  Which means a lot of smack talk.  Just today when I mentioned I might save some of my lunch for a later meal I was challenged with “No, no.  Go ahead and eat it all now.  And then have a nice dinner!”. 😀

I’ll be back soon to give you a report on how things are going.   In the mean time, leave a motivating comment for me, Nicole, and our challengers.  If you only want to leave one for me, that’s ok too!

Photo credit Thorne Enterprises.

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A Grilled Salmon Sandwich – 9 points!

Posted on August 13, 2010 by Michael

Do you have a dish or food that’s so easy to make, and tastes so good, you could eat it over and over again without getting tired of it?  For me, grilled salmon fits that bill easily.

Grilled salmon is a favorite at our house. No matter how often we have it — which really isn’t that often…maybe once a month? — everyone still gets excited when salmon is the answer to the daily pondering of “What’s for dinner?”.

Even though we don’t get tired of it, its still nice to switch things up a bit.

Recently, Nicole asked me to make grilled salmon for sandwiches.  Usually we eat it as fillets so I was kinda curious but hey, I know my place so I just responded “Yes Chef!”. 😀

Turns out, she had come across a recipe for salmon sandwiches and my tasty grilled specialty was going to be the star!  It was a perfect arrangement because everyone was happy.  Let’s see:

  • I was excited to cook my signature dish that everyone loves, even cooking it in a new way.
  • The kids were happy that it was a sandwich so they didn’t have to use utensils — not that they do anyway.
  • And Nicole was happy that each serving was low in points!

Talk about a win-win-win!

What foods can you eat over and over again?  Could you serve it in a different way?  Could you prepare it in a way that’s healthier?

Grilled Samon Sandwiches

Makes 4 servings
Active Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Course: Dinner / Lunch

Ingredients

  • 1 pound of wild salmon fillet,  skinned and cut into 4 portions
  • 2 teaspoons of blackening or Cajun seasoning
  • 1 small avocado , pitted
  • 2 tablespoons of low-fat mayonnaise
  • 4 crusty whole-wheat rolls , split and toasted
  • 1 cup of arugula
  • 2 plum tomatoes , thinly sliced
  • 1/2 cup of thinly sliced red onion

Directions

  1. Oil grill rack; preheat grill to high.
  2. Rub salmon on both sides with blackening (or Cajun) seasoning. Grill until cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes per side.
  3. Mash avocado and mayonnaise in a small bowl.
  4. To assemble sandwiches, spread some of the avocado mixture on each roll and top with salmon, arugula, tomato and onion.

Recipe from http://www.nutrisum.com

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My 1st Month with Weight Watchers

Posted on June 17, 2010 by Nicole

I have not been as focused this month as I should have been. But I will not make excuses. I will just focus harder on making the program work for me. Lets go June!

What I’ve learned this month:

I now know what it is going to take to lose weight. I realize that my main hurdles are refraining from emotional eating and lowering my alcohol consumption. Also I need to increase the number of servings of fruits and vegetables I consume each day.

What I need to improve:

Before I started Weight Watchers, I thought that I drank enough water. Now I realize that I need to increase my water intake even more!  In addition to that, I need to be more mindful of my eating habits on the weekends.

On a postive note:

But I did lose 4.2lbs this month. I really didn’t have a goal but I thought I would have lost closer to 8 lbs.

Have you had a “eureka!” moment about losing weight or staying fit? Leave a comment and tell us about it!

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