Health Benefits of Tea

Tired of drinking water? Try drinking tea! There are many different kinds of tea, each with their own special health benefits. Thanks to WebMD, I will provide you their list of teas with benefits!

Here's what some studies have found about the potential health benefits of tea:

• Green tea: Made with steamed tea leaves, it has a high concentration of EGCG and has been widely studied. Green tea’s antioxidants may interfere with the growth of bladder, breast, lung, stomach, pancreatic, and colorectal cancers; prevent clogging of the arteries, burn fat, counteract oxidative stress on the brain, reduce risk of neurological disorders like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, reduce risk of stroke, and improve cholesterol levels.
• Black tea: Made with fermented tea leaves, black tea has the highest caffeine content and forms the basis for flavored teas like chai, along with some instant teas. Studies have shown that black tea may protect lungs from damage caused by exposure to cigarette smoke. It also may reduce the risk of stroke.
• White tea: Uncured and unfermented. One study showed that white tea has the most potent anticancer properties compared to more processed teas.
• Oolong tea: In an animal study, those given antioxidants from oolong tea were found to have lower bad cholesterol levels. One variety of oolong, Wuyi, is heavily marketed as a weight loss supplement, but science hasn’t backed the claims.
• Pu-erh tea: Made from fermented and aged leaves. Considered a black tea, its leaves are pressed into cakes. One animal study showed that animals given pu-erh had less weight gain and reduced LDL cholesterol.

Chamomile tea: Its antioxidants may help prevent complications from diabetes, like loss of vision and nerve and kidney damage, and stunt the growth of cancer cells.

Echinacea: Often touted as a way to fight the common cold, the research on echinacea has been inconclusive.

Hibiscus: A small study found that drinking three cups of hibiscus tea daily lowered blood pressure in people with modestly elevated levels.

Rooibos (red tea): A South African herb that is fermented. Although it has flavonoids with cancer-fighting properties, medical studies have been limited.

THANKS, WEBMD!

Homemade Chips

So, I use this website called Lose It! (thanks again to Haley for introducing me) to track my calorie intake and calories burned. I am on a 1400 calorie plan, including my exercise (so really it's more like a 1700 calorie plan), and I decided since I had 800 calories left to consume, I would splurge a little with carbs. I made some homemade potato chips... take a looksie:

In hindsight, I could have added a few more cloves of garlic, and maybe sprinkled a little salt. Also, for crispier chips, I could have let them go about 5-10 minutes longer. But overall, they're pretty tasty and very filling! By eating all of them, I consumed probably around 400 calories. Like I said, this was a splurge since I was so under my calories for the day. Potatoes = unnecessary carbs. Stay healthy!

Two Foods

When you are having trouble deciding which is healthier between two foods, use this website to solve your dilemma! Bagel or English Muffin? Mango vs. Peach? Give it a shot...

TWO FOODS

Calves and Quads

Today, Haley brought us an exercise to work our calves, quads, and back muscles. I've noticed that my quad muscles have been getting much bigger in proportion to my calves, so I was thankful for this workout. We started off on the treadmill, looking like this:

20 MINUTE TREADMILL

Incline: 8-12      Time: 20 min.      Speed: 5

(or speed: 4, depending on the machine configuration)

Min.     Incline

0-1           4

1-2           8

2-3           9

3-4         10

4-5         11

5-6         12

6-8           8

8-9           9

9-11         10

11-12       11

12-13       12

13-14         9

14-15       10

15-16       11

16-17       12

17-18         8

18-19       10

19-20        12

Even though it's at a walking speed, you will get a killer calf workout due to the inclines and will work up a sweat by the end of it.

If only I could remember what exactly we did next.... We worked our shoulder and back muscles and then moved on to quads. Since I don't remember the workout exactly, nor the names of the workouts, I'll post a few examples of what I do remember.

Back: 
Bent over rows
Bow and Arrows
Single arm rows (I believe?)

We did a lot more stuff for the back, which I can't remember for the life of me right now. Most of which we did sets of 15.

Legs/Cardio:
Jump Overs
Squat Splits (?)
Donkey Kicks
and one other I can't remember the name of...

We did each for 2 min. with 1 min. rest in between.

Overall, it was a good workout and we were activating our muscles and pumping our blood.

After workout meal: Protein smoothie!! Yay! I used a couple of ice cubes, ~1/2 cup water, ~1/2 cup strawberries, ~1/2 cup peaches, and 1 scoop of vanilla protein powder. If you don't have one, invest in a blender!!


Side note: If you read this, feel free to leave a comment correcting me and adding missed exercises, Haley! I thought today's exercise was great and would like to have it logged for future reference.

Alcohol

Today marks the one-week point that I have abstained from alcohol. My goal isn't to abstain completely, but  to moderate my intake. From being a 2-a-day (at least) drinker to not having one drink in a whole week is a HUGE improvement. Not just for my physical health, but my mental health as well. 

As for the physical, according to LoseIt.com (my daily calorie and exercise tracker), "Our bodies respond to alcohol much as it deals with excess carbs. Alcohol isn't necessarily evil because it's always stored as fat, but because it reduces the amount of fat your body burns for energy." This could explain why my body has been slimming down so quickly already.

As for the mental, well we all know how we get when we drink a little too much... cloudy judgement, absence of mental to verbal filter, etc. Maybe it's because of my increased amount of exercise, or maybe it's because of my lack of alcohol intake (or possibly both), my mood has been extremely upbeat and hopeful. This is also a big deal for me, being a girl who struggled with depression for so many years and commonly thinking about things in, not so much a negative light, but not an extremely positive one, either. I tend to think of myself as a realist, and my reality has recently become a lot more hopeful and inspired!

Food for thought: next time you crave alcohol or need help to relax from a stressful day of work, try getting 10-minutes of exercise (crunches, push-ups, jumping jacks, etc.) or drawing a nice warm bubble bath with a fruit smoothie or something! Just don't make alcohol you're go-to stress reliever and don't make it a habit.

If I had a scale...

A few weeks ago I weighed myself at about 132 lbs. My ultimate goal is to get down to 120 lbs by April 1st (vacation time!) in a healthy way. That means I have to lose 12 lbs in 8.5 weeks, that's averaging about 1.5 lbs per week. It's a stretch, but it's obtainable. I started working out and minding what I eat about two weeks ago and have not weighed myself in about three or so weeks. So I estimated that I started this journey at about 132 lbs.

I have to say, if I had a scale, it might possibly tell me that I weigh around 130 or even slightly below! Even if the scale doesn't say so, my body is shedding fat and flab and starting to tone up. Within TWO weeks I've noticed a huge improvement in my body image. SO, even if the scale doesn't agree with me, I know that I am getting healthier and leaner. So stay encouraged and don't get down if the scale is not making you happy. What matters is how you feel when you look in the mirror. Of course we may not always be completely satisfied, but progress is what we're looking for! Set obtainable, HEALTHY, goals and don't quit until you reach them.

If I can do it, you can DEFINITELY do it!



...and get lots of rest! Ok, goodnight!

January 29 - Workouts and Foods!

Ok, well I suppose I will get back to blogging. I may as well start writing about my time here in Bahrain and my daily activities. So I've been on a fitness high for the past week or so, so I guess I will begin by blogging about my exercise routines and eating habits. Here we go!

Today we did the "Trouble Area" Circuit, to blast our inner thighs, triceps, and love handles. They look like this:

INNER THIGHS
15 plank jacks
20 plie squats
10 side lunges (each side)
15 squat with knee ups (each)

TRICEPS
50 mountain climbers
20 dips with legs out
10 pike presses
1 minute reverse plank

LOVE HANDLES
40 speed skaters
50 Russian twists
15 side plank hip lifts (right side)
30 bicycle crunches
15 side plank hip lifts (left side)

Repeat this routine 3 times for the full effect!

We made some adjustments when our bodies couldn't tolerate certain exercises. For instance, we started out with the dips with legs out and made the adjustment to bring our knees in to a 45 degree angle after the first set. Eventually we'll work our way to the extended leg dips. But to make up for our deficiency, we added 5 lb weights to our Russian twists for a more effective ab/love handle work out. Also, don't underestimate the speed skaters, as cheesy as they look, they are killer on the muffin top! The lower you get your butt, the deeper the burn!

I try my hardest to maintain proper form, but usually by the end of round 2, my body is shaking and my muscles are aching. So I may not always keep good form, but I make sure that I always finish the exercise!

Side note: do not eat hard-boiled eggs or sweets, like a cupcake, within 1 hour before exercise. You will want to puke. It is not a comfortable feeling while you are already stressing your body over exercise. Now onto the food part...

I have found a few different meals and snacks that I thoroughly enjoying eating throughout the day that are either full of protein or are light on the stomach. I will map out what I consumed today:

BREAKFAST:
Homemade egg mcmuffin: whole wheat English muffin, poached egg, Canadian bacon, a LITTLE bit of shredded cheese, and spicy brown mustard.

LUNCH:
Hard boiled egg: with a dash of pink Himalayan salt (the difference between that and sea salt is beyond me).

Funfetti Cupcake: made with yellow cake mix and nerds for the funfetti, and a vanilla glaze on top. I usually don't eat sweets, so I treated myself to something nice today. Unfortunately it was right before I worked out so it left me wanting to throw up.

DINNER:
Chicken Phad Thai: If you don't know what it is, you're wrong! I know I splurged by eating noodles, but to make up for it I only ate about 1/3 of the serving. Also, I ordered it really spicy to get my internal organs working over time!

BEVERAGES:
Cranberry Juice: about 8 oz. If I'm going to have juice, I may as well make it a healthier choice.

Coffee: yes, with LIGHT cream and sweetener.

Water: LOTS of water... flush the nasty coffee creamer out of my system.


FAVORITES:
I did not consume them today (yet), but here are a couple of my favorite snacks when I want to eat healthy and still feel full.

Cucumber-Avocado Salad: I just chop up half a cucumber and half an avocado and drizzle it with some Lite Italian Dressing. It's so delicious and refreshing.

Apple and Cinnamon: Exactly how it sounds, I chop up a large sweet apple and sprinkle a little cinnamon over the top. If I want or need the extra protein, I get a spoonful of peanut butter (preferably chunky). If the peanut butter runs out on my spoon, I am SOL! Don't overindulge! It may be high in protein, but too much of anything is not good for you. Limit yourself to one spoonful.

Cherry Tomatoes: The smaller the tomato, the better, in my opinion. I prefer my tomatoes to be less sweet and more fresh and crunchy. I chop my cherry tomatoes in halves and sprinkle a little bit of salt over them. DELICIOUS!

Greek Yogurt and Strawberries: I'd say 4 oz of Greek yogurt and a handful of chopped strawberries mixed is a perfect breakfast or snack. Unfortunately, I haven't seen any Greek yogurt at the store on base here lately. But if you are a yogurt eater, try switching to the Greek, it is super high in protein and low in sugar, it is much better for you than regular yogurt.