Nutrition - FAT FAT FAT!

With all of the millions of diet books out there you would think that eating right has got to be the most complicated thing in the world to do, yes? Not so much. Eat real food, in small quantities. That's it, pretty simple stuff.

Today we are going to talk a bit about FAT. Not your fat or mine, but the fat found in food.

People tend to be fat phobic, but you shouldn't be. The body needs fat to survive. Fat is a part of every cell membrane in the body, it helps transport nutrients across the cell membrane. Basically, we couldn't survive without it.

Fats are generally saturated or unsaturated, based on the amount of fatty acids present. Saturated fats are typically found in animal products and processed foods.

Unsaturated fats are what you want to include in your nutrition plan:

• avocado
• salmon or other oily fish
• nuts
• olive oil, sunflower oil

If you're counting calories, fat counts for 9 calories per gram, while carbs and protein count for 4 calories per gram. So, yes, fat calories do add up quicker, but in moderation will help your body work like the well running machine that it wants to be.

As a general rule, I would suggest avoiding most, if not all, diet books. A diet is a temporary bandaid. To get positive, longterm results you need to change your lifestyle. Not all today, not even tomorrow, but you must make changes if you expect to see something different. There are several healthy eating books out there that I like, most of the Clean Eating books by Tosca Reno are great. Her recipes are a bit on the fancy side for me, but her eating ideas are spot on. I bought the Recharged book a few months ago and really like it. Am still working my way through Your Best Body Now by the same author, and am thinking it might not be necessary to get both.

Cramming a Workout in

Today is a typical day for me with running around and not having a lot of time to fit in what I'd like.

Get up at 6:30 to get my oldest on the bus at 7:20. Feed her and make sure she's ready. Load the dishwasher, quick clean up in the kitchen.

Then have about an hour to myself before the little one gets up. What do I do with that time?

Fit in a yoga dvd, this one: YogaFit for Cyclists. Love this dvd. It has a lot of chest openers and hamstring stretches that everyone needs, not just cyclists, from all the sitting and reaching forward that we do. Think computer time and driving. Yeah, chest openers rock. I did a review of it a year or so ago, here. And still love it, 16 months later.

Then I eat. This morning I have a slice of protein quiche that I whipped up this weekend. I made up my own recipe when I couldn't find my favorite one online.

Here's what's in it:

1 cup of egg whites

1 cup of lowfat cottage cheese

2 cups steamed broccoli

1 cup parmesan cheese

2/3 cup of chicken I found in the refrigerator

1/4 cup of onion

I blended it all up in my handy Vitamix (love my Vitamix! more on that another day) and put it in a round pie dish and baked at 350 for 45 minutes. It's quite good although no one in the house but me thinks so......hmmmm...

Little one is taking a bath as I write this. Will soon need to get her out and to her first appointment. Just checkups today, nothing serious. She just turned 4 so it's time to visit the dentist and get tortured by her doctor. Kidding, our pediatrician is great.

Will hopefully fit in a weight workout later, in the 2 hours we have before her next appointment. Maybe some quick biceps or triceps exercises, easily done with the dumbbells I have at home. More than likely I will be running around the house making lunch for the little one, transferring loads of laundry, quickly feeding myself and then running back out the door.

How was your workout today?

Welcome to my life

A little bit about me: I'm a stay at home Mom, slightly obsessed with fitness and eating well. I have two little kidlets who keep me very busy (duh!) so I often can't make it to the gym. Hence the title of my blog: Fit From Home. I do workout DVDs, different workouts that I make up, hike, bike, mountain bike and a few other things that you will hopefully find somewhat interesting.

I'm not much of a cook, but I like eating. I have been a vegetarian in the past, but am not now, although I haven't eaten a cow, pig or deer (or buffalo!) in about 20 years. So I do eat chicken, turkey and some seafood. I am obsessed with cookbooks, many of them related to sneaking vegetables into my picky children who will scream if something green goes on their plate. Okay, that is not really true, but close. They do love broccoli but haven't come around to spinach or kale yet unless it's hidden. I am still working on brussel sprouts and collard greens for all of us.

I go to the gym whenever I can. I like spinning classes, most cardio, and lifting weights. I don't really do any other classes other than spinning.

Occasionally I get sent DVDs to review for another site I write for, if I like the workout I will include it on here.