Welcome to the Smart Calorie Health Newsletter!

This month we have a guest author, Mr. Phillip Candito. Mr. Candito is a frequent speaker on exercise and fall prevention, and is a member of the American Physical Therapy Association. He'll be telling us how to take your first steps into the world of regular exercise and activity. Use the quick navigation menu to the left to move to the topics quickly. To accompany Mr. Candito's discussion, I have included a new Smart Calorie Survey: "How often do you exercise?" Why not see how you stack up compared to your peers!

If you have questions or topics that you would like to see in our newsletter, please let me know!

Exercise: The First Steps

By using the Smart Calorie program you have taken your first steps in a journey towards a healthier life. Dr. Manger has developed a simple, straightforward approach to long-term weight loss and maintenance. My Deluxe Calorie Diary allows you monitor what you eat and what you burn through your daily activities. It gives you the information you need to loose weight and keep it off.

While it may seem that your food choices and portion sizes may be at times limited, the types of activities you can do to burn up those calories and build muscle mass are endless. Think of them as an adventure. They should be fun! People don't run marathons to burn off that bacon double cheese burger they had for lunch, they run those 26 miles because they enjoy running. That marathon is a goal, and gives them a purpose, as well as a sense of accomplishment. You might be saying to yourself, "there is no way I am ever going to run a marathon!" Trust me when I say I have no intention of doing such a stunt either. Yet I do enjoy bicycling and playing soccer with my kids, (since they still let me win ). Each of us needs an exercise goal, both short-term and long-term, our own marathon of sorts.

Exercise can be anything. For instance, I enjoy taking the stairs to my 5th floor office, not once but many times during the day. Since I work in an urban area it is often easier to walk to my destination rather than taking my car. Walking not only burns calories but I also avoid the stress of city driving, traffic, and searching for a parking space. I am always looking for simple opportunities to increase my heart rate and burn a few calories. As a physical therapist, husband, and father of two delightful and active daughters, I don't have much time for the gym. But I try and practice what I preach to my patients. I am always on the look out for opportunities to exercise between meetings and putting my girls to bed. For instance, when my lawn tractor finally died, I was going to replace it with a similar model. However, I realized that I could purchase a mulching push mower for about half the price. A weekly, hour long sit-down activity is now an hour long walking and pushing activity. I like my new push-mower; it cuts the grass better than my old tractor and uses less fuel. I feel better afterwards, a little sweaty perhaps, but I have a greater sense of accomplishment.

As a first step, I challenge you to make a list of activities that you enjoy doing. Don't make it too complex. List items like playing with your children, taking the stairs, walking half an hour each day. Now look them up in My Deluxe Calorie Diary and see how those choices add up as calorie burners. Once you start, you may find many opportunities in your daily routine to burn extra calories.

Exercise is all about decisions, and every little bit helps. Next time you go to the store, notice where you choose to park. Did you try to find the closest parking space, or did you leave a little room for a walk from your car to the store? Parking farther away from the store burns more calories, and also minimizes the chances of having someone ding your car with a grocery cart!     Back to the top.

Your Weight Loss Questions

A reader asks "Am I doing the right thing to lose weight?"

I'm 21 years old and I have started my journey to lose weight. I now weigh about 205 and I'm 5'6". On memorial day I decided to change that. My goal is to weigh around 150 and be healthy. Since memorial day I have been eating balanced meals and working out at least 30 minutes (moderate exercise) 5 days a week with 15 minutes of resistance training. Now I know my efforts won't be reflected on the scale just yet, but I would like to know if I am on the right path to losing weight, even if its 1-2 pounds a week. With all the information out there I have no clue if I'm doing it right. Thank you so very much.

Answer:

Congratulations on your decision! You are most certainly on your way to better health. Exercise is critical in order for you to attain your goals. My only suggestion would be to slowly increase your exercise routine, striving for some sort of activity every day.

The goal you have set is quite attainable. However, a realistic weight loss is 2-3 pounds a month (See How do I lose weight?). You may lose more some months, and less others. I think the key to long term success is moderation and exercise. Keep up the good work and good luck!    Back to the top.

This Month's Recipe

Vegetarian Chili

A simple, satisfying, low fat meal. Good with corn bread or pita bread. Add large chopped mushrooms or tofu to give a more "meat-like" consistency. Low in fat and high in fiber (only 24% of this dish's calories come from fat). Leftovers the next day are even better!

Ingredients

1 small onion, chopped
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
3/4 cup celery, chopped
3/4 cup dry red wine or water
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 cans 14.5-oz. diced tomatoes, undrained
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup tomato paste
3 vegetable bouillon cubes
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
2 cans (15 oz.) kidney or pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup sour cream, optional

Sauté onion, bell pepper, celery, wine and garlic in large saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, for 6 to 8 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Add tomatoes, water, tomato paste, boullion, cilantro, chili powder and cumin; stir well. Stir in beans. Bring to a boil; cover. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve with sour cream. Makes 6 portions of chili (including sour cream: Calories 300, Protein 14 g, Total Fat 8 g, Carbohydrate 47 g, Sodium 870 mg).   Back to the top.

Site News

The Smart Calorie Health and Nutrition Support Forum is up and running! You can now ask general weight loss and diet questions to a community with similar goals and philosophies. Though this will be a public forum, there is also a method to send private messages to individuals as well. Access the public discussion boards and sign up for free. The more who join, the better the discussions!

If you have found My Deluxe Calorie Diary, My Recipe Diary, or the Body Fat Calculator helpful, consider donating here. With a minimum donation of $15 for the programs, you will gain access to a private Support Board at the Smart Calorie Health and Nutrition Support Forum. I will be moderating this private board and answering your specific weight loss and nutrition questions.

In next month's newsletter Mr. Candito will continue to talk about the steps to a better exercise routine. Make sure you take his challenge. Until next month...

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If you have comments about this month's newsletter, feel free to e-mail me. If you know someone who would enjoy this newsletter, feel free to forward a copy to them! They can also sign up for their own copy here.

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