Fitness4Her

Women's Fitness

Cajun Chicken with Salsa

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This kickin’ chicken is low in fat and sodium, while providing a great source of protein and iron. Vitamin rich and nutrient dense, it’s a healthy meal that is sure to please.

4 sweet potatoes cut in chunks
4 chicken skinless breasts boneless or on the bone
3 Tbsp. of Cajun seasoning
Lime wedges to serve

Salsa
1 can low sodium sweet corn
1 cucumber diced
2 vine-ripe tomatoes, diced
1 handful of chopped cilantro
2 Tbsp. lime juice
1 ripened mango, diced

Directions

Chicken
1. Preheat oven at 350º.
2. Spray roasting pan with Pam.
3. Sauté sweet potatoes with olive oil.
4. Add a pinch of salt and pepper.
5. Cook till golden brown.
6. Season chicken in Cajun mix and coat evenly.
7. Cook for 30 to 40 minutes.

Sweet Potatoes
1. Sauté sweet potatoes with olive oil.
2. Add a pinch of salt and pepper.
3. Cook till golden brown.

Salsa
1. Drain corn.
2. Add diced cucumber, tomatoes, mango, cilantro and lime juice.
3. Mix and season to taste.

Serve chicken with sweet potatoes, the salsa and garnish with lime wedges.

Health Benefits: This is a healthy choice that is low in fat, sodium and cholesterol. It’s high in protein, potassium and fiber and rich in vitamins and nutrients. Taste before adding any extra salt or other seasonings, as the Cajun mix contains sodium. The corn is naturally sweet and gives the salsa a great taste.

Try this recipe and tell us what you think in the comment space below:

Walking Your Way Thin

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If you are just getting started with your fitness program and looking for an aerobic exercise that’s easy to do, try walking for 30 minutes. This is the simplest form of cardio that you can do, unless of course, you have a physical problem that prevents it. All you need to get started is a good pair of shoes and a safe place to walk.

Walking is something that you can begin slowly and learn to enjoy. Find a place to walk that is safe, bring along pepper spray if you need to, and try not to walk alone after dark. Ask a friend to join you, but keep the pace up. If your friend walks faster, challenge yourself to match her pace. You may lag behind in the beginning but if you keep at it faithfully, you’ll be stepping up your game in no time at all.

Begin by walking one way for 15 minutes, at that point, turn around and return to your starting point. That should equal 30 minutes of walking. Now, after a week or so, you will build up strength and start to walk faster. After the first 15 minutes you will find that you are walking further than you did previously. This is great—you will begin to reap the benefits of a cardio or aerobic fitness program.

While I believe it’s essential to get outside and explore nature in order to maximize the benefits of walking, you may prefer to get your walking exercise from a treadmill. Although you can’t experience the true sights and sounds of the great outdoors, you can simulate different terrains on some treadmills. This helps to keep it interesting, because after all you are walking in place for miles at a time, so you need to create some kind of distraction to keep you from getting bored out of your mind.

The great thing about treadmills is that you can set the equipment to continue for 30 minutes so that you can be sure that you are spending the recommended time engaged in aerobic activity.

Don’t forget about your dog, if you have one. Most dogs love to go for a walk. They help to keep you safe and are also great motivators to keep you committed to your program. Once Fido gets used to the outings, he’ll be looking at you with those sad dog eyes, tapping at his leash and prompting you to get those sneakers on and get moving.

Help! My Meds Are Making Me Fat

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I have worked with many women who have complained about gaining weight after their doctor put them on various medications. Certain meds for diabetes, high blood pressure and psychiatric disorders have been known to cause weight gain. These medications may be critical to your health, so it is important that you continue to take them unless otherwise advised by your physician. However, you may be able to make some small adjustments that can help you to take control of your weight.

Here are some ideas: 


• Start a fitness journal and make special notes about your appetite and level of energy. Write down everything you eat and drink every day. Record all of your activity, how far you walk, how many sit-ups you do, how long you stay on the treadmill, etc. You can share this information with your doctor to determine how much weight can be attributed to the medication. Providing these notes to your doctor will demonstrate how proactive you are, and how concerned you are about the impending weight gain.

• Recognize that whether the medication increases your appetite or slows your metabolism, it is no harder to lose this weight than any other weight. Make your mind up that you won’t sit idly by and watch the pounds pile on. It may be a battle but with a winning spirit you can be the victor.

• Adopt a consciousness about what you are consuming. Learn the nutritional value of the foods that you are eating. Healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables will fill you up but are low in calories. 


• Try to exercise regularly and increase your daily physical activity. Depending on your illness or disability, some type of physical activity is usually encouraged by doctors. Before starting any type of exercise, check with your physician and follow his/her advice.

• Park farther away than necessary and walk, take the stairs and try to get at least 30 minutes of aerobic activity every day. Make a conscious effort every day to exercise. Start slow and gradually increase your activity.

• Eat five small meals a day, instead of three large meals. This will help to regulate your blood sugar, and keep you from craving sugary snacks in between meals.

• Eat protein at every meal, but choose low fat sources. We need protein to build cells and muscles. If you have diet restrictions, check with your physician about which food choices are best for you.

• Be wary of foods with high sodium content. Too much sodium can make you crave sweets, make you thirsty, cause swelling and a whole bunch of medical problems. Check your food labels, and avoid adding salt to your food until you have eaten at least three bites. This will give your taste buds a chance to adjust before you start sprinkling the salt.

• Avoid sugary sodas. If you really want to drop some serious pounds, substitute water or unsweetened tea for sugary soft drinks. You might be surprised at how quickly you can lose weight when you give up these high calorie beverages.

• Drink lots of water. If you concentrate on drinking an adequate amount of water each day, it will be easy to substitute the water for the sodas.

• Don’t stop taking your medication. However, talk to your doctor about the weight gain and ask about other medications that you could take instead. If your doctor prescribes an alternative, be sure to follow his or her instructions exactly as you change medications.

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Banana Walnut Bread

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This is a delicious recipe that is meant for sharing. Bake one and take it into the office or classroom. Serve it to your family for a breakfast treat or snack. Remember: Life is all about balance. Moderation is key. Don’t sabotage all that hard work for something sweet.

2 cups all purpose flour
½ cup applesauce
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
½ cup wheat germ or flax seed
2 large eggs or 4 egg whites
2 large ripe bananas, mashed
1/3cup canola oil
1/3cup low fat milk
½ tsp. vanilla extract
2/3 cup diced walnuts

Directions:
1. Bake at 350ºF.
2. Spray loaf pan with Pam for Baking.
3. Mix together ingredients in large bowl.
4. Once ingredients are mixed, gently stir in walnuts.
5. Don’t overmix! Your goal is a smooth consistency; add a touch of low fat milk if needed.
6. Spoon batter into prepared loaf pan and bake until golden on top.
7. Cool 5 to 10 minutes.

Health Benefits: Flax seed is rich in lignan, a type of antioxidant that helps to fight disease. Benefits show it helps to lower cholesterol. A great source of fiber, flax seed has a possible role in fighting breast cancer. Bananas are high in potassium and they are a good food for providing fiber and protein. Full of vitamins and nutrients, it’s hard to believe it tastes so good. Your biggest challenge with this bread is to try and eat only a small slice, that’s why it’s best for sharing.

Try this recipe and tell us what you think in the comment space below:

Counting Calories with Your Journal

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Calories are not a bad thing  in fact calories are the way we get our energy from food. Your body has an insatiable appetite for energy and uses the calories from food to keep functioning. Energy from calories fuels all of your body’s actions; much like gasoline powers your car.{+}

Foods that contain calories are the main sources of energy for your body. Carbohydrates, fats and proteins are the types of nutrients that your body needs for energy. Proteins and carbohydrates have about four calories per gram, and fats have about nine calories per gram. Alcohol is high in calories too, with about seven calories per gram.

The calories you eat are either converted to physical energy or stored within your body as fat. It all depends on how active you are and how many calories that you burn versus the number of calories that you eat. If you eat more calories than you burn, you gain weight. Because 3,500 calories equals about one pound of fat, you need to burn 3,500 calories more than you take in to lose one pound.

Cutting calories doesn’t have to be difficult. In fact, it might be as simple as forgoing one extra item a day, swapping foods or trimming the size of your serving. You would be surprised at how much weight can be lost by cutting out those soft drinks or swapping the giant latte for a regular size coffee.

Now, unlike many of the other diets, my Fitness4Her diet is not primarily about calorie counting, but more what you eat and how much you consume. I believe portion control is a major factor in controlling your weight.

There are two problems with basing your diet on strict calorie-counting: 1) some find it difficult or dull, and dieters with the best of intentions often give up on calorie-counting after a few days; 2) it’s almost impossible to do with any great degree of accuracy.

For example, let’s say you decide to have a bowl of cold cereal for breakfast. The box of cereal says that it contains 110 calories per serving. But how much is a serving? You check the box and find that three quarters of a cup equals a serving. How many of you pour your cereal into a measuring cup before pouring it into the bowl?

You would need to go through the same procedure with the milk that you pour over the cereal, in order to calculate how many calories the milk is adding. If you decide to add a handful of raisins or a few strawberries or a banana to the cereal, you would need to get the calorie count on them, too. So in order to calculate our calories adequately, you would need to bring a calculator, measuring cups and spoons to the table along with your food.

You can see how this could get frustrating to say the least. By the time you come to an accurate, definitive calculation on your caloric intake for breakfast, it may be lunchtime. Then you’ll be doing it all over again.

For most of us, there isn’t enough time in the day to go through all these calculations. The only way we can do it is to make fairly broad estimates.

What we need to concentrate on is the type of foods that we eat. So much of what we put into our body is just junk food. Very little nutritional value and many times way too high in fat, sugar and salt.

• Replace high calorie foods with ones that are lower in calories. For example, drink fat-free milk instead of whole milk and water with a twist of lemon rather than high calorie, high sugar content, soft drinks. Eat an extra spoonful of vegetables at dinner instead of another slice of meat. Choose sliced fresh fruit for snacks instead of chips. Little changes like these make a big difference in your caloric intake.

• Serve smaller portions. Resist the urge to fill your plate from rim to rim. Serve up slightly less than what you think you’ll eat. You can always have seconds, if you are still hungry.

• Never eat from a container or bag. You need to see what you are eating in order to get a sense of how much you’re eating. Seeing food on a plate or in a bowl is much more appetizing and easier for you to realize when you’re full and satisfied.

• Be sure to check food labels for the serving size and number of calories per serving.

• Stop eating as soon as you feel full. Don’t take another bit past that full feeling. Remember, your next meal is only a few hours away.
If you prefer to count calories, your journal is a great place to calculate the number of calories that you eat at each meal. Be sure to include all the condiments, snacks and drinks that you have throughout the day, too.

Since you are tracking your calories, you might find it beneficial to count the grams of fat and carbohydrates that you’re eating too. These high calorie nutrients can sometimes be the hidden problem in an otherwise balanced diet. Make sure you eat protein at every meal, but strive for low fat varieties since fat has more calories per gram.

Your fitness journal makes it easy to stay on top of everything you eat and drink. But just as important as your diet, an active lifestyle is crucial to your health. Record all of your activity including cardio and strength training. You’ll be able to assess how much exercise is needed each day versus the calories that you eat.

Keeping a fitness journal makes my life easier. I hope you will find it helpful in counting calories, writing down your daily meals and tracking your activities, too. It can be one of the best ways to keep an eye on your progress as you work towards your goal.

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