19 April 2010

Monday Magazine


In case you missed it, I posted my chicken stir-fry recipe prior to this one. You can view it for future reference on the 'Recipes' page at the top of my blog. I'll add more as I go along. I'm thinking of making some wheat-free muffins next week...

I'm thinking they'll have to have chocolate chips!


I love my big Starbucks coffee cup :D


Anywho, I thought it was time to break open my bulk purchases and put them to good use. I made a YUMMY oatmeal for breakfast.


I added goji berries, chopped dates, blueberries, a tablespoon of ground flaxseeds, cinnamon, and stevia. A bowl of pretty colors. <3


I made a chicken stir-fry for lunch. Same one as the recipe.



For dinner I made my usual oven baked sweet potatoes and yams.


Today I was flipping through some of the magazines lying around the house when I found an interesting article written in the new issue of 'First for Women' magazine.


I usually don't read 'First' because I think it's a little "self-indulgent." 47lbs in 4 weeks ... I'm sorry but that's just dumb.

Anyways the article talks about why using running as your main source of exercise may actually STOP weight loss. I was hearing around the blogosphere that some people notice they gain weight when theyre training for a run. Maybe this article can shed some light for those who have experienced this. Remember this is only the advice of the magazine, and not of mine.

Click to zoom and read.


Feel free to post your thoughts/opinions below.

21 comments:

alex said... [reply]

I bought that magazine for the first time ever and that month's copy. It's an interesting magazine. I'd need to re-read it to discuss but from what I remember it was very interesting!

That stir fry just looks so freakin' good. Maybe a 4th dinner tonight?? haha

Amy B @ Second City Randomness said... [reply]

I have a hard time with claims like that- everyone's body is different, everyone plateaus at different points... I think they're missing the point that cardio is cardio and still completely necessary- no matter how you do it.

Anonymous said... [reply]

Ahh your oats look amazing; such a gorgeous mixture of colors :)

I've heard about the running and weight gain thing, but never experienced it first hand as I'm not a runner and never really have been... Unless something is chasing me or I'm late, I stick to a good fast paced walk :)

Jocelyn @ Peace.Love.Nutrition said... [reply]

stir fry is always my to go recipe! Look delicious : )

xo

Jocelyn

lynn @ the actors diet said... [reply]

i love a big mug. that starbucks one is cute.

Karin said... [reply]

Your oats look fabulous! I love adding all sorts of toppings too though I never thought about adding dates. Need to think of that next time! :)

I think that the main reason why people might put on weight while training for a race is because their appetite gets bigger. However, I've never experienced any weight gain before..

Tara said... [reply]

L-O-V-E The starbucks mug girl!! hehe The articles advice seems reasonable....but im a big supporter of focus on doing what makes you feel great and strong!!
Have a great day! <3 <3

Anonymous said... [reply]

I've never even heard of that magazine before... but whenever there's a publication that claims to make you lose 50 lbs. in 1 week, I'd say to take whatever is written there with a grain of salt! ;)

That said, I've actually heard something similar to this before. But I'm not a runner and never have been, so I never paid much attention to it.

<3 <3

Danielle (Coffee Run) said... [reply]

haha uhh maybe you could walk off 47 bs in 4 weeks if you stopped eating completely...? Yeah, that's dumb

Ok, now I have to defend my favorite sport: Running is amazing for your health (cardiovascular fitness, muscle tone, etc.) When you hear people say they gain weight from running, it's probably because either 1) They're new to running and it's causing a huge increase in appetite, therefore they eat a lot more than they need to
or...
2) They're training for a marathon (which a lot of the weight comes from glycogen, water, muscle...not fat)

haha everyone probably already knows that & agrees, I just felt the need to say it! :D

Anonymous said... [reply]

I think people see running as a weight loss tool, but then they don't realize that all of that cardio can make you MORE hungry. Some people may overdo it with calories and end up gaining weight. but everyone is different! I know when I ran I maintained my weight, so no losses or gains!

runnerforever said... [reply]

Your oatmeal looks really good, I bet it had a great flavor with all the different toppings. I think there are many reasons people may gain weight with running, but some could be muscle which should be taken as a good thing!

Anonymous said... [reply]

To be honest, I have no idea what to believe. All I know is that running makes me feel amazing. I've been running for years and it's never made me gain weight. The weight I HAVE recently gained came after I stopped running and started eating too much junk. I guess I just stated what I believe.. haha. In my opinion, running doesn't make you gain weight, people are probably just eating more because they think they can or they feel a bit hungrier than usual and overdo it.

Anonymous said... [reply]

i totally believe that exercise has absolutely NOTHING to do with weight loss. the only productive thing that comes out of exercise, when done right and not hard-core purposefully pushing yourself and calorie determined, is a clear stress free mind.

anything that stresses the body(ie running) makes the body conserve itself, signaling stress, which raise cortisol and adrenaline, which results in weight gain. your body "thinks" it will be hard at work everyday so it will add extra protective "cushioning" because think about it, no hardworking body is going to allow itself to be thin because the body/mind are more powerful and realize evolutionarily to think "faminine" and "store fat"

just my opinion though...

Anonymous said... [reply]

i totally believe that exercise has absolutely NOTHING to do with weight loss. the only productive thing that comes out of exercise, when done right and not hard-core purposefully pushing yourself and calorie determined, is a clear stress free mind.

anything that stresses the body(ie running) makes the body conserve itself, signaling stress, which raise cortisol and adrenaline, which results in weight gain. your body "thinks" it will be hard at work everyday so it will add extra protective "cushioning" because think about it, no hardworking body is going to allow itself to be thin because the body/mind are more powerful and realize evolutionarily to think "faminine" and "store fat"

just my opinion though...

ChocolateCoveredVegan said... [reply]

Haha people always ask me why I run if I'm so skinny and don't want to lose weight. Truth is that I haven't lost anything since I started running... except stress :)
Great post!

Mandiee said... [reply]

yumm! your bowl of oats looks lovely and oh so decadent. i love gojis but barely ever get to indulge in such a treat (they're quite hard to find where i live). thanks for posting the article. i don't necessarily agree with it, but instead believe that a healthy lifestyle in general will produce the best results. as for exercise, i think you have to do what feels best for your body and you enjoy. i do yoga and could care less how many calories i burn from it, if it's making me too hungry, blah, blah, blah. either way, i think this is an interesting article to read and hope people who are struggling because they hate running but feel they "need" to do it, will benefit.

have a lovely day!
xox

p.s. i love that suggest beans and raspberries! love love love <3.

Lauren said... [reply]

Oh wow...does the article cite sources and give reasons for WHY running would interfere with weight loss? I think that some people gain weight initially because they put on muscle, or maybe people are more likely to think they can eat large amounts because they think they burned off more than they actually did. This would obviously interfere with weight loss. There's a lot of conflicting info about this though...
By the way, your oats look delicious <3

Megan said... [reply]

Love the oats! So pretty and goji berries are to die for all warmed up!!

xoxo
Maggie

Molly said... [reply]

Your breakfast is beautiful looking and I LOVE adding flax to my oatmeal.

That article makes a good point about fiber! Fiber is amazing, just sayin!!

Also to comment on your hiking post from a couple days ago.. what an awesome view!

Heather (Where's the Beach) said... [reply]

Hey girl - On my tiny netbook I couldn't read the article... So I can't totally comment on that particular article, but I think that anytime you let your body get used to one workout and one workout only, you'll hit a plateau. I think it's important to add in weight training as well as cross-training. OR, with running, add in HIIT and interval workouts. Again that is all being said without reading that article.

Averie @ Averie Cooks said... [reply]

I havent read the article but bottom line, weight is 80% diet and 20% exercise and of course genetic tendencies, too. That's what i have read and believe. You can exercise like a maniac but if you eat like crap, it wont matter.

And if you eat wonderfully but dont exercise ever, you wont see at much benefit.

Exercise though is great for health benefits not just weight mgmt, as well as emotional stress relief!

Glad you read the bulk bin info. Yeah. Scary. Not that their couldnt be icky stuff in prepackaged things and no foods are truly "safe" but i just minimize overt risk by staying outta the bins. To each her own though, totally!
xo

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