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General Weight Loss Tips

Goals for 2011

I love reading the posts that are popping up recapping 2010 and looking forward to 2011. I looked in my archives for my goals for this past year and couldn’t find anything. I’m sure I wrote something down, but I know one of my main goals was to branch out on my own career-wise. And I did that. I created goals as the year progressed and just went with it.

My best friend Ashley asked us all at our Christmas get-together what we have planned for 2011 and I didn’t have a real answer then. There were things floating around in my head, but nothing concrete. I have some goals that I feel like I must do to progress and other goals that I’d like to strive for, but okay if it’s not perfectly executed.

Off the top of my head here are some things that I want to accomplish and strive for in 2011. Some are vague, and some require more planning:

– Get dressed every day. Working from home allows for a lot of PJ work, which on occasion is nice. I like to be comfortable when I’m at home, but would like to take time in the mornings and get ready for the day. I would also like to photograph daily outfits on this blog for motivation and inspiration.

– Let go of sugar. This is my biggest goal for the year and the one I’m most excited about. I will allow treats on my birthday, anniversary and christmas. If I want a treat it will be in the form of fruit, like whipped frozen bananas or date-nut balls.

– Run a 5k in under 45 minutes and/or run a 5k straight through without walking. Our first 5k this year is march 19th, and will do one again at the end of April. Having a goal makes training have more purpose and I like that.

– Work smarter and harder. Say no. Time Management. From May up until this weekend I’ve had somewhere to be, something to do, something I was cramming for and while I do work best with a deadline, I want to space projects out more. I want to stop cramming empty slots of time with stuff that isn’t productive for me. I’ve gotten better at saying “no” this year. I need time to decompress. I very much enjoy time when I do absolutely nothing, but I want to balance it out with better planning and scheduling. I want to get better at waiting until the last minute to make things happen.

– Finish the bedroom. I want to get this room finished by my birthday. Clothes organized and put away, decorated, and just a nicer room to sleep in.

-ooh! Just thought of another one: cook more! I cook a decent amount, but I’d really love to plan ahead more and try out new recipes.

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General Weight Loss Tips

Cooking Made Easy

A lot of individuals nowadays don’t like to cook. Sometimes it appears less complicated just to eat out every night, because of so many take-out shops available or to simply pop a little something in the stove because  there are so many ready dishes available.

And yet have you any idea what is in those meals you might be getting from the shop? Or even precisely what is incorporated in the  take-aways that your family are consuming? Would you have any idea just how much it’s costing  you?

It may be hard, from time to time to get the time to cook or to choose what to put together, that is appealing and also nutritious and easy. But you will find  many very easy, nutritious dishes to choose from that you can experiment with on your household. Many simple ingredients can quickly and easily be turned into delicious wholesome food. Also , they are cheaper than eating out or perhaps buying fast food or perhaps ready dishes. And if you are  worried because of the washing up- there is hardly any!

Why not have a shot at a simple dish together with your next takeaway, simply to discover how uncomplicated it can be?And if you want to encourage yourself to accomplish something, be it  to prepare dinner on a regular basis or perhaps to develop some other good practice- check outFreedup to find ways of getting oneself  to do what you want to attain.

Mashed Potatoes

Mashed potatoes are a basic, filling dish, but still extremely tasty. They can be served in lots  of alternatives and even the leftovers can be used up.

Ingredients: Depending on your appetite, use about 2 medium potatoes for each person. You will also need salt and pepper to taste, a knob of butter and a little milk.

Method: Peel the potatoes, and cut them into slices. Put them in cold water until you are ready to use them. Drain off the cold water, put the pieces in a saucepan and cover them with boiling water. Bring the water back to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the potato slices are cooked. (They will be tender when tested about 5 – 10 minutes.) To test if  the potatoes are cooked – use a fork. It should meet no resistance going into the potato  slice. If there is resistance, or the potato tries to grip onto the fork – cook a little longer. Drain the water off the potato slices and put the pan back on the hob at the lowest  temperature, just to dry the potatoes a little. Mash the potatoes (use a potato masher, or a fork) and add the salt, pepper, butter and milk. Mash until smooth. Use alongside your normal meal or even eat them by themselves.

Ideal for the kitchen American Style Fridge Freezers and American Fridge Freezers

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General Weight Loss Tips

What is Interval Training?

I’ve seen interval training get a lot of attention recently because it is supposed to be a quick way to get fit, in this article we look at what it actually is. Interval training is when you use timed intervals to alternate between two different levels of intensity as you exercise. For example, you could warm up, then go on the treadmill for 1 minute of easy jogging at 7km/h, then crank it up to 14km/h for 1 minute, then go back to 7km/h and repeat that for as long as you want to train for.

The reason this is so good is because if you tried to push yourself to do 14km/h on the treadmill for as long as possible in one session then you might only last a few minutes, then you’d stop because you were exhausted. With interval training then the recovery interval you give yourself after each intense interval allows you to push on and do far more of the intense intervals than you could do if you tried to do them all in one go.

Another thing I have found with interval training is that as you are so focused on waiting for the minute to end so you can change the speed up or down, then time goes by much faster. Usually jogging is incredibly boring for me and after 5 minutes I am fed up and just want it to end, but I don’t get that with interval training.

Interval training is probably a more natural way to exercise anyway, consider sports, when you are close to the action then you are doing an intense interval as you try and get the ball etc, then you get to rest as the action moves away from you. Plus we have actually descended from hunters, and that is how they would have exerted themselves too.

The treadmill was just an example though, you can actually use interval training to spice up almost any kind of exercise, you could be on the elliptical trainer, the rowing machine, or even out on a normal bike on the roads. The good news is that studies suggest your metabolism can be elevated for hours after finishing interval training, rather than returning straight back to normal after most other types of exercise, so you are burning fat for a long time even after you finish your workout!

If you prefer changing your diet to lose weight rather than exercising, then check out Cheat Your Way Thin instead.

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