<p>Beans: if you can find Kuner’s Southwestern Style Black Beans with Cumin and Chile, I think you might enjoy them. Plenty of flavor, and I don’t recall added sugar. They’re definitely not sweet. </p>
<p>On the salt front: my current theory is that you can easily and successfully minimize intake of one dietary substance. In my case, carbs. But once you add a second dietary constraint, things go to hell very quickly, as I saw when I was trying to buy gluten-free low sodium foods for my mil. Salt makes food taste good, and low salt soup is almost always awful. BP often decreases with weight loss, even if you don’t restrict salt, and it just makes the foods you ought to be eating taste that much better. Now that I’m not particularly eating processed foods, I’d guess my salt intake has probably gone down even though I cook with salt, use soy sauce, and eat good cheese which is always loaded with salt.</p>
<p>That’s what my wife cooks: black beans and cumin + chilies. She mentioned that to me this morning. My son loves the stuff; my daughter doesn’t; I’ve avoided it because I was worried about carbs but I guess I shouldn’t have worried. She made a huge pot of it recently and it’s all gone.</p>
<p>I think that doing the diet with multiple constraints is like a continual exercise in linear algebra.</p>
<p>Ran 2.5 miles on the track. It was a little warmer in the building as it was about 8 degrees warmer outside. There were a few more people in the building today but it was still relatively quiet. The one thing that bugs me about tracks is people that don’t read the signs - the inner lane is for walking and the outer lane is for running. There are four signs indicating this as you move around the track. The other annoying thing is two people walking side-by-side on the track - you have to try to figure out how to squeeze by them. This is a problem at the old Y too.</p>
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<p>Yeah. That’s pretty much the way I look at it, too. Try to cut multiple things and you end up with nothing good to eat. It’s like… I’m more than happy to eat a ton of salad (a good thing, I think), but tell me I’ve got to cut out olive oil and blue cheese and now I’m not so happy eating a ton of salad.</p>
<p>One thing we usually have in the freezer are “frozen treats” for dessert. Some old-fashioned stuff is actually very modest in calories - eg., ice cream sandwiches (160), fudgesicles, that sort of stuff. They seem to take a while to eat and be just enough sweet after dinner to put the brakes on. When I have cookies or cake or pie in the house . . . it’s not good. So that’s a once in a while thing and most nights it’s a “frozen treat.”</p>
<p>BCEagle- just give them a little nudge on your way by! You are big enough that they won’t want to mess with you! I gave a lane 1 walker a little bump at the SMU track many years ago when I was trying to do a serious interval workout. Sign said for joggers to use outer lanes" which in this case meant lane 1 was for track workouts. The woman threatened to have me arrested for assault!</p>
<p>I was eating a 100 calorie cup of Italian ice every night for my treat. Then, I realized that there wasn’t much good nutritionally about a 6 ounce cup of sugar water, so that’s when I decided that 100 calories would be better spent on treats like pistachios or mandarin oranges. Lustig’s presentation on fructose pretty much ruined my Italian ices for me. :(</p>
<p>Gotta hand it to 'em though. Freezing it makes a 6 ounce cup of intensely sweet juice seem like a whole lot more, probably because it takes so long to eat compared to the same amount of juice that would be gone in a swig or two.</p>
<p>So, I’ve had a chance to watch the first four workouts from iPod nazi’s new program and it looks like I’m in for a lot of fun. Nothing real groundbreaking here: each workout is 15 to 20 minutes of core and glute exercises using almost no equipment, just a stability ball. I’ve done many of the exercises, but some are new.</p>
<p>[YouTube</a> - Amazing Abs Solution](<a href=“Amazing Abs Solution - YouTube”>Amazing Abs Solution - YouTube)</p>
<p>I’m going to use these as the core section of workouts, followed by strength training or intervals. I’ll figure out the details once I’ve done a couple and see how gassed I am. There’s some pretty tough stuff here, even in the first month of a three month program.</p>
<p>Three exercises caught my eye:</p>
<p>1) Pushups with the feet on the stability ball, but pulling the ball into a pike on the way down in the pushup. I’ve done the pushups and I’ve done the pike, but never at the same time.</p>
<p>2) Lie in the “bench” position on the stability ball – just the head and shoulders on the ball. Then, crabwalk sideways so that only one shoulder is on the ball, maintaining the solid bench position.</p>
<p>3) Spiderman pushups. [YouTube</a> - EricCressey.com: Spiderman Pushups](<a href=“EricCressey.com: Spiderman Pushups - YouTube”>EricCressey.com: Spiderman Pushups - YouTube)</p>
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<p>This is pretty much a continuation of all the core stuff I’ve been doing in New Rules of Lifting for Abs.</p>
<p>I’d rather not touch anyone, intentionally or not, on the track. I will run pretty close to someone and then cut quickly back into the lane though. They usually start looking for me after a few times (the walkers get lapped fairly quickly by runners). I have considered yelling left or pointing out the sign but I usually have my tunes playing and don’t like to break my stride.</p>
<p>Dr. Michael Eades, author of Protein Power, weighs in on the new USDA food plate replacing the food pyramid:</p>
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<p>lol</p>
<p>I could hardly believe they are still coming out with food pyramids. Does anyone pay any attention? Honestly.</p>
<p>Regarding desserts, my grandparents who both lived past 100 had me and my roommates for spring break in FL a gazillion years ago. Of course, we were all on diets and very figure conscious and I vividly recall dinner at my grandparents. It was delicious (Grandmother was a great cook) and complete - meat, vegetable, salad, roll, starchy side. Then came dessert. As I recall it was a slice of cake. Of course, I and my roommates all said “No Thank You! We’re on Diets.” Well, my Grandparents just chortled and insisted we eat our cake. My Grandfather told us, “If you finish your day with a little sweet you won’t be so hungry the next day.”</p>
<p>I just always thought that was great advice - all things in moderation. And the formality of serving it appropriately on a plate with a napkin at a table . . . and with friends and family. All the elements serve to make it satisfying and ward off binges.</p>
<p>Something else on the track yesterday - son was also running and he told me that a kid ran straight at him. There were two kids horsing around on the track - they ran down to the basketball court, grabbed a ball each, ran up to the track which overlooks the basketball court, and shot balls into the hoop from the second floor. Son just grabbed the kid as he was running into him. The Y is designed so that all of the kid stuff is on the first floor and the older people stuff is on the second floor but things don’t always work out.</p>
<p>I really don’t get the plate thing. The American table is a mix of health folks, government folks and industry folks. Like most other incarnations with the same combination of people, the end result is usually a mess. Just type fructose into google search and see what you get.</p>
<p>Good Morning! Debating on whether to hit the gym this morning. H and I walked yesterday for over 6 miles. Now that darn knee of mine is stiff and swollen. I think biking would be ok…painfree…but I wonder how it will affect the swelling??? I don’t want the knee to be supersized for the upcoming wedding shower. Just can’t figure out whether I should rest it or just continue my workout routine???</p>
<p>I will generally rest if a joint is stiff or swollen. I don’t recall having swollen joints before. I’ve had times when I pushed on an injury and the result usually isn’t pretty - being out from two weeks to many months. I think that taking NSAIDs, maybe a brace, some ice and taking it easy would be the better way to go.</p>
<p>Probably right, BC. Think I will just go and lift weights. Wonder why walking makes the knee so swollen and biking doesn’t.</p>
<p>Bicycling involves a smooth, relatively constant load while walking or running involves loading all of your weight on one leg for a moment. With bicycling, your weight is also distributed on two feet instead of one unless you’re using clips or cleats and lifting up.</p>
<p>My guess is that the momentary force of the foot strike on the ground is far higher than the constant force on bicycle pedals.</p>
<p>Between yardwork and a big walk, NM, I think I would just take a rest day. Ouch. Take it easy.</p>
<p>sewhappy, I really like your grandfather’s philosophy. If I could just limit myself to one piece of cake I might be tempted to adopt it. Maybe when I’m 70.</p>
<p>Rejoined the gym near our beach house in RI. Haven’t been there since last October, but when I walked in I recognized a lot of people. We’re all such creatures of habit! Forgot that this gym doesn’t have a towel service, though, so I was a dripping mess when I left. Came home and made a feta & arugula omelette (sp?) – delicious! </p>
<p>Oh, forgot to mention that the other night I made beer can chicken on the grill. It was wonderful! (You all probably already know about/have made this, especially idad.) I use the grill year round (except when it’s buried in snow) but especially in the summer. I woke up thinking, “I wonder if I can do a whole chicken on the grill,” and when I googled it, “beer can chicken” kept popping up.</p>
<p>Why running is occasionally NOT stupid. 64 degrees on tree canopied, flat, beautiful Perkiomen Trail. 6 miles- not fast but last couple at a quicker pace. 30 mile week with 2 hot yoga classes last week. Flying back to heat and hills today, though.</p>
<p>I used to help clean the towels at the Boston College recreation complex many years ago. There were huge washer/driers in a room that was very hot and it was a bulk operation. None of the places that I go to today have towel service - I just always bring my own. My ritual for running is to always ensure that I have five items: towel, shorts, underwear, socks and shirt. For tennis, there are one or two other items depending on the season.</p>
<p>My wife cooked the black-eyed beans and I have them in a container for lunch today. There is practically no flavor in them so I grabbed some cooked chicken shreds and tossed them in an will zap them for lunch today. They might become a regular lunch stable if she’s willing to cook them regularly.</p>
<p>30 miles a week - that’s the holy grail to losing weight quickly.</p>
<p>Son ran six miles over the weekend. That’s more than he has ever run in two days. I will ask him if he wants to go again tonight. I plan to run this afternoon but will do weights at the Y if he wants to run.</p>
<p>Our facilities have towels out for the members, but it has been mentioned a few times the consideration to do away with it. Our towels keep disappearing! We have to order more towels probably 2x a year because they show up missing.</p>