Blood?! Blech!

So I visited the dietitian this morning, and we had a nice discussion about an iron-rich diet. For those who may be interested, I will divide my comments into two categories (between the two kinds of iron.) First, there are two kinds of iron we can consume: 1)HEME Iron (from animal sources) and 2) Non-HEME Iron (from all other sources).

HEME Iron is more readily absorbed by our bodies, because it doesn't have to be transformed by our bodies at all. It comes from animal sources, and things like beef tenderloin, sardines, dark meat on poultry, and tuna are richest in iron. My dietitian recommended at least one serving from one of those I mentioned EVERY DAY.

Non-HEME Iron can be found in plant-based products. These can include: iron-fortified cereals, dark leafy greens, apricots, etc. However, our bodies do NOT readily absorb this kind of iron. It lacks an electron. So, a chemical reaction has to occur before our bodies can absorb it. Most of this kind of iron is flushed from the body during digestion. However, if this is your main source of iron, there are a couple of things you can do. 1) Eat a lot of it! (My dietitian suggested 2-3 servings a day.) 2) Eat these sources of iron with a good source of Vitamin C. The vitamin C lends electrons to the Non-HEME iron, making our bodies more able to absorb it. So...if you're going to eat a bowl of total, for example, drink some OJ or eat strawberries with it. You have to be careful as well -- high-fiber foods make it harder for our bodies to extract iron. (Just how it goes.)

Hope this is helpful for some of us!

Love you all, and feel free to comment or post questions. I'm seeing her again next week, so I can totally follow-up officially.

Running...

Two things...

1) Who all is interested in doing the 10k, 5k or 1 mile Freedom Run on the morning of the 4th of July? I will be signing up for the 10k, and all my family members will get $2 off their registration fee. Just be sure -- if you're going to register -- that you do it after me, and that you get your $2 off!

2) Since I've been running, my knees have been hurting. A friend, who is a marathon-runner, warned me this might happen. Any ideas of how to decrease the pain? Icing? Heat? Supplements?

Let's keep going y'all! Oh...and be sure to post on the blog as you have questions/successes, etc. Every little bit is great!!!

Love you all,

Anne

This works, peeps!

Hi All...

So when I weighed in at the beginning of the week (after one week of being on exercise and the new diet) I had gained between 3 and 4 pounds. I'm really not sure how that happened, but it did.

Anyway, I weighed in (unofficially) this morning -- the real weigh-in will be Monday morning -- and I have lost 5 pounds since I last weighed in!!! I've really been working hard, so let's hope it sticks for the official weigh-in on Monday.

Just thought I would share so you all know that we can do it!!! It feels fantastic, even though it's just a drop in the bucket.

Love you all!!

Workout music

Hey. I just thought maybe we could share ideas for workout mixes on here. Here are a couple of songs I'm loving -- songs that get me moving. :)

I Wanna Dance With Somebody - Whitney Houston
Sexy Back - Justin Timberlake
Don't Stop Believin' - Journey
DJ's Got Us Fallin' in Love - Usher
I Bust the Windows Outchya Car - Glee
I Won't Back Down - Tom Petty
Four-Eyed Girl - Rhett Miller
Such Great Heights - Postal Service
I Can't Get Next to You - (can't remember who does this song)
Crooked Teeth - Death Cab

More to come...

And feel free to post your additions/subtractions. Haha.

Exercise!!!

Hey all, just looking for a little pat on the back. I exercised Saturday (shape magazine's bootcamp workout video), did yoga monday (easy podcast), yoga wednesday (easy podcast again), and bootcamp workout video again today. Everyday I go to work I walk about 2 miles too (maybe more if you count the walking I do at work)!!

Now I just need to work on controlling my calorie intake. I know i'm eating more than 2000 every day- I need to break my habits of constant snacking. It's crazy how many calories there are even in a bowl of cereal!

Anyway, it's a slow start, but it's a start. That's all for now. How's everyone else doing???

bren

Get into the groove, boy...

Hey All,

I just wanted to post to tell you I just completed an hour-long workout!!! I alternated between jogging and walking on the treadmill for 20 minutes. Then I moved to a bike, bumping the incline up and down for 25 minutes. Then I did three sets of alternating bicep curls, seated row and lat pull-down for 15 minutes. Voila...first work-out complete!!!

I'm so proud of me!

Now on to workout 2...

Recipes

Hi All.

So I kind of love that show "The Biggest Loser" -- when I have time for it. This link is to recipes created for contestants on the show.

The one I've linked to is for vanilla cupcakes with raspberry icing -- only 60 calories each!!!

http://www.nbc.com/the-biggest-loser/exclusives/nutrition/curtis-stone-recipes/vanilla-cupcakes/

Check it!!

p.s. the roasted squash, pomegranate and pine nut salad sounds delish too.