Focusing on Metabolism to Burn Fat

Some of us don’t know what to do even after trying out all the diets searchable in the internet. You’ve tried them all — even starved yourself and still it’s the same weight problem. Is there no other way to do it? Ever had that friend who could down two family-sized pizzas in one sitting, have an ice cream and still stay slim? That’s metabolism at work for you. Fast metabolism will help you lose weight. And that it’s probably one of the best ways to shed the extra pounds. A few things you have to know about metabolism.

Different people have different metabolism rates. It’s unfair, I know but what can you do? That’s really how it is.

Analyze why your metabolism is like that. There are factors which determine why you have your particular metabolic rate. One is age. Older people tend to have slower metabolism. Another is gender. Men are believed to burn more calories than women just by being men. How inconvenient for women, right? Sometimes you have to ask if nature is gender sensitive. If you want to determine your basal metabolic rate , check with a dietitian or a fitness expert.

Also, experts also say that your metabolic rate is genetic, probably dates back to your great great grandparents. This can probably be linked to the reason why one family seems to have one body type, fat or slim. Also, metabolism increases when you increase your muscle mass. There’s also the link when problems in the thyroid gland slows down or increases metabolism.

Check Your RDA Before Loading Up on Vitamins

You can find a lot of supplements in the market but do you really need it? There are people who say that if a person eats good food, particularly following the food pyramid, then there is no need for vitamin supplements. But then it is also true that supplements enhances your health. In my case, for example, vitamins really rev up my system so that I become more productive after I’ve taken my vitamins. Placebo effect? Perhaps, but I do feel healthy.

Healthy eating is still the way to go. If you eat healthful foods, you will equip your body with the essential nourishment you need for you to accomplish your daily activities.

But then there’s stress. No matter how healthy our diet is, when stress creeps in, it will really weaken your body. Stress is a killer. When you’re stressed, your body is bound to react — you become fatigued and restless. Supplements give you extra fuel to perform better and longer.

Know about the RDA. There are different Recommended Daily Allowances for different groups of people. Pregnant women, for example, may require more vitamins and minerals whiloe children also have different needs compared to regular adults. There is also a more specific recommendation for specific age brackets.

Are you on a special diet? The different types of food diet, i.e., vegetarians and its variations, has effects on your health. Meat has many essential vitamins which a vegetarian might miss out on in the absence of supplements.
The next time you go to a doctor, ask about your RDA so you can ensure that you’re always in top shape for anything.

Things that You Should (Try to) Remember when Drunk

Do you tend to lose it all after a few drinks? We’ve all been down that road before – having more than we can handle, not remembering how we got home, and waking up with the worst headache ever. Though there are those things that you could just dread happening “the morning after” aside from the hangover of course. Here’s our take on what you should try to remember when drunk.

Are you or aren’t you drunk? You are. If you’ve gotten yourself drunk enough to render yourself unable to drive, then at least make sure you can still walk yourself home. Don’t order that last drink because you should’ve had your last a few drinks ago. If you’re drinking with friends, you might think it’s ok to get wasted because someone’s going to drive, but think again. If each one of you has the same backup plan, then you’re all going to end up sleeping in the dumps. If you do plan to get wasted, assign someone in the group to stay sober so you can get drunk and get home safely.

Don’t forget that the last time you talked about politics or your favorite baseball team, you got into a fight. Just because you love Kobe Bryant so much that you’d kill people who call him “ballhog” or “rapist,” means you should. Imagine your lack of control when drunk. A few bottles might make you forget that a particular topic is something you’ll fight for, tooth and nail. Avoid topics which usually heat you up lest you end up brawling again, then crawling home.

Don’t come home with a girl you picked up when you were drunk. First of all, you weren’t thinking straight when you decided you like her. Don’t bring strangers to your home because you might end up getting robbed, or getting an STD. Good luck on slipping on a condom if you can barely even walk.

No questions asked, the best way to get past the night is to sleep it off. You can’t do any harm to anyone or to yourself if you just sleep. The next thing you know, it’s morning. You may have a headache, but it could’ve been so much worse.

Spending Time With Our Kids, Seems Easy Right?

As a Stay at home mom we assume we have plenty of time to spend with our children. We are not like the working mom who comes home and must set aside specific time with her child if she is going to nurture that relationship. We are with them all the time, right? Yet being with them, and spending time with them are two separate statements.

One mom describes a day with her children to me recently. They went to the gym for an hour, came home and she played ball with them, and she spent the entire morning in the pool with them just the three of them. She spends time in the afternoon working with her daughter on reading. ( Her daughter is not in kindergarten and reading very well) And yes, before you say it… her house wasclean with no maid. Probably because they have not been inside pulling out the toys all day.

I have to admit that I am guilty of finding that most days I have been with my kids and not spent time with them. I keep them active, we go to the park or the swimming pool, and such, several days a week, and they love that. They get plenty of play dates. We usually go swimming or to the park with other moms and their kids, which leaves me able to talk to an adult and they get to be with kids their own age. This is good and healthy. However, when we are home… I need to clean up, and I need to call so many people, I ended up on the phone for 30 minutes rather than 10 and my daughter has tried to talk to me several times with an “I’ll be off in a minute” answer, I need to check my email, and oh I need to fold the laundry, and now I need to cook dinner. In the midst of that, my daughter has tried to talk to me and I have put her off, I had to put one in time out for hitting her sister, and the bedroom has every toy pulled into the middle of the floor. Just another thing to clean up.

Here’s the thing. I am with my kids all day, yet how much time did I spend with them? I know I am not the only one guilty of this. I recently read in Parenting magazine (August issue, Page 127) that “Fifteen minutes of one-on-one time a day with a child can significantly reduce aggressive behavior”. I probably spend that much time a day refereeing arguments between my kids. How much could that be reduced if instead I took that time to sit down with them, and facilitate play with them? If it reduces aggressive behavior it more than likely reduces whining, and discontentment. How much does it say to us, that 15 minutes a day of personal attention from their mother greatly effects their behavior? How powerful that relationship as a parent, not just a disciplinarian.

Life is just as busy for the “stay at home” mom as it is for the working mom. Our day can get filled with “to-do’s” and forget to do what is most important.My goal is to plan my “quality time” with them if need be. Turn off the cell phone, and the computer and set the dryer to air fluff. Spend 15-20 minutes a day with each of my children. I will remember why I had them to begin with, and why I stay at home in the first place. I will put them on my “to-do” list if necessary.

Tips on Making Dinner Easy

Yesterday I talked about the importance of gathering around the dinner table. The biggest reason people do not is because of time. They do not feel they have enough time to prepare a meal. There are lots of ways to cut time and effort, remember it is the time spent at the dinner table not the time preparing it.There is an entire industry dedicated to helping you create Meals in a hurry. (Ever heard of Rachel Ray? Her site not only provides you with the recipes but the grocery list itself) Here are some tips to help you save time on cooking so you can spend more time talking.

Make one grocery trip a week. Keep an ongoing list on the fridge. Once a week before going to the store, create your menu for the week, and list the items you need for those recipes. This means you will have the ingredients needed without having to run to the grocery store in the middle of the week. Saving time!

Crock Pot Recipes are great, it is done when you come home. Some great ones are Chili, Soups, I have even put chicken covered in Alfredo sauce in the crock pot. When I come home all I have to do is cook noodles, and voila Chicken Alfredo Pasta. You could even add some broccoli to it at the end, adding an easy vegetable. It is a big hit at my house.

Cook up casserole dishes, make double the recipe, and then freeze one to pull out for another night. When you do have that ballgame or practice you have to go to, you can simply pull it out that morning and pop it in the oven to cook. It is a quick frozen dinner that is homemade, and not full of all the preservatives.

If you are cooking rice, especially brown rice which takes longer to cook, cook twice as much. It will keep in the fridge for at least a week and you can use it again.

When you are slicing and dicing things you might use in other recipes, like onions, then go ahead and slice extra and save it, cutting out prep time later. My husbands grandmother gave us a slicer-dicer last Christmas, it has Glad containers with it, you slice and dice right into the storage container. So I can easily make extra, and it is quick, easy, and clean.

Do a left overs night once a week. (My mother in law taught me this) Come home, pull out all the left overs (maybe the night before you go to the grocery store) Heat them up and put it all on the table. You save money as well as time. Plus you clean out your fridge. The only clean up is the containers that held the food.

Dinner Diva, Leanne Ely, gives you healthy recipes and grocery lists for an entire week. (SavingDinner.com) They are quick and easy and some would be freezable.Any of my recipes I have listed on this site are also simple quick recipes. I do not spend a lot of time on prep. and cook, but I can still provide healthy and delicious.

Preparing For Back To School, Right Now.

Four more weeks until my daughter is back in school. I know it seems that you have plenty of time to get ready, but it surprisingly goes by so quickly. We have enjoyed our time off, but I am already thinking ahead and mentally preparing myself to begin the new school year on the right foot.

Here are some things I have done the last couple of summers in order to make that first day of school the smoothest transition:

1) About 2 weeks before school starts (no later than one week before) begin re-establishing bedtime routines, and wake up routines. Now while Emily gets up at 6:30 on school days, I only make her get up around 7 or 7:30. Still, the routine of getting up and getting dressed and starting the day in a timely manner is the most important habit to get into, even for me. 

2) I take the next few weeks to go through their clothes. Move things around in their closet, reorganize, try on the uniforms and school clothes from last year, see what works and what doesn’t. She/He may need some new tennis shoes, or their shirts may fit fine for now.

3) If you have not already been doing Summer Bridge Activities, begin doing at least one worksheet or activity that will help get their brain back in “thinking” mode. One website I recently discovered that is great both for Emily who is going into first grade, and Anna who is going into Preschool, is StarFall.com. The most user-friendly site I have seen and all educational activities! Also, in Target’s “Dollar Section” I picked up work books for both of the girls.

4) If you have the capabilities of getting your supplies list from your school, go ahead and begin collecting those items. i.e. - I know that I am going to need “treasure box” items for my girls classrooms, so I begin collecting in a bag the Mcdonald’s toys, dollar items, etc. This way I am ready to send those things in on the first day of school.

Getting Back to the Journey

It would appear that I have taken a long journey and decided not to include my friends at 1smartmom.  True, I have been “journeying”, but not without thinking of you.    So, with that said, I’ll bring you up to date on my journey and I will get back to talking with you on a more regular basis.  
According to Zach we have had a very ordinary Summer.  I suppose from a 10 year olds’ perspective that is a fair assumption.  As the Mom in the house, I see it a bit differently.

We’ve had long days roll out before us with nothing to do, but eat, maintain the house and enjoy each other’s company. (Sometimes broken up by time with friends and the back and forth to a couple of day camps.)  My treat this Summer has been to actually lay down for a bit of time each afternoon and put my feet up.  Gabe (20 month old) is now taking one 3 hour nap and that is bliss to me! 

While I’ve been journeying I have decided that cloning me would be optimal for my family because then each son would have the “mother type” they need.  Being a mom of a 10 year old, an almost 9 year old that lives in Romania, and a toddler can make this one woman a bit crazed at times.  I have a new healthy respect for all those moms who have and are parenting a wide age range of children.   Many days I find myself blowing bubbles for the toddler, while discussing the trajectory of the sprinkler with my 10 year old.  All the while wondering, if the 9 year old was home would it be any easier? 

Probably not, but we would be happy.

Aww, the days of Summer.  I haven’t read one good book yet and I am not my usual tan self, but I am feeling pretty rested.  SHHHH!  Don’t tell my husband.  School starts soon enough and this now “part time” home school mom is not ready to give up her naps! 

It’s good to be back!  I look forward to blogging with you for the rest of the year.

~Journey’ With Kelly

Today I celebrate six years with my husband Ben.

Love never gives up. Love cares more for others than for self. Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have. Love doesn’t strut, Doesn’t have a swelled head, Doesn’t force itself on others, Isn’t always “me first,” Doesn’t fly off the handle, Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others, Doesn’t revel when others grovel, Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth, Puts up with anything, Trusts God always, Always looks for the best, Never looks back, But keeps going to the end. 1Corinthians 13

Today I celebrate six years with my husband Ben. It is amazing at how much we have been through in such a short time of marriage, and how much we have grown and changed.  I love the Message translation of the love chapter, there is not a characteristic of love listed that Ben has not shown me in our marriage.

I am so thankful to have found someone who has loved me through so many growing years. Seeing my heart even when I haven’t always produced the fruit, he has always seen the strength in me even when I could not see it in myself. He is the eternal optimist, and is always encouraging of anything I see in life, even when I can not see it for myself.  Where others see half a glass, he sees a glass that has room for more!

He has taught me so much. Like how sometimes silence is better than empty words, and actions speak the loudest. He has given me the freedom to be me, and I think that is what I admire the most about him. He has loved me where, and for who, I am. This has only made me want to be the best wife, mother, and friend I could be. It has also been a lesson I have learned to apply in every other relationship in my life.

I have seen him grow as well. I have watched  him go from someone who keeps to himself and hardly prayed in public, to stopping and praying with someone in the middle of his work day no matter how busy, because he doesn’t see the point in promising to do it later when he could do it right then. Ben is one of those you would say is a quiet mystery. A friend of mine says “when Ben talks, you better listen”. He has earned the respect of those who know him, but none more than myself and my girls.  I love you Ben, thank you for the past six years, and for many, many more!

Just a quick mom tip: Saving money on snacks

Right now between now and after Halloween Wal-mart is selling all kinds of candies, etc. In the Holiday section where all the trick-or-treat candies are sold they have Fun size snacks including goldfish, Teddy Grahams, Ritz-Bitz etc.

They are about half the size of the normal snack packs, so you can get 30 snack packs for about $2.50 - $3. While they have fall leaves and such they do not have witches and goblins on them, so last year my sister and I bought several bags and used them all year without them ever going bad.

Most kids, especially toddlers and preschoolers, do not need an entire snack pack. They either won’t eat it all, or they are eating too much. So this is the perfect size paired with a piece of fruit or other small healthy snack, it is even enough for my 7 year old. It gives them a little bit of what they want, and a little of what they need.

Hope this is a useful tip!

** Other places, Kroger, Target, etc. have them as well, but not quite as inexpensive.

Dijon Chicken

This is just a quick tip to spice up a grilled chicken breast:

I spread Dijon mustard and Garlic Salt on either side of a boneless skinless Chicken Breast and then cook with a tbs. of olive oil. The mustard crusts as it cooks, and it adds a little kick to your chicken with no added calories. This with a salad and some cous-cous, or quick side item like that, gets a great meal on the table in 15 minutes.

You can also try it with a honey mustard or Honey Dijon mustard for a milder, sweeter flavor.