How Many Calories Do You Burn On the Elliptical?

Yesterday, I posted about calorie burn on walking versus running, so today I wanted to let you know what the calorie burn is like for the elliptical machine. Of course, the calorie burn does vary based on the the speed and resistance at which you are going, but below is a general look at what you would burn for 30 minutes on the elliptical.

I worked out on the elliptical today for about 1 hour and burned 660 calories. I usually work at a resistance of 3 and at a speed between 55 and 60 rotations/minute. That leaves me with 2,840 calories left to burn this week!

Have you worked out today? Maybe you can workout on the elliptical! It's a great workout!

I got the calories burned from this online calculator: http://www.healthstatus.com/calculate/cbc

Weight (lbs)	Calories Burned
100	258 calories
110	284 calories
120	310 calories
130	335 calories
140	361 calories
150	387 calories
160	413 calories
170	439 calories
180	464 calories
190	490 calories
200	516 calories

Enjoying The Outdoors

Summer is definitely coming to an end, but not quite yet. It is a beautiful day out today and I plan on spending some quality time out there with my baby girl! Nora has started walking a little bit; maybe we'll get to walk around in the yard! Sometimes she isn't too sure about grass and doesn't want to walk, crawl, or sit on it. Other times, she is on the move! We'll she what she does today. Not too many days left where we can go and enjoy our warm days outside!

I also made it to the gym this morning. Burned 600 calories, leaving me with 270 left to burn by tomorrow evening! Have you worked out yet today? If not, at least get outside and enjoy the weather!

Great On-The-Go Snack

Recently, I have rediscovered muffins. If you are grabbing a muffin from a coffee shop or bakery, you are doing yourself a disservice. Most muffins are high in fat and sugar, leaving you with the amount of nutrition you would be getting from a bowl of sugary kid's cereal. The great thing is - muffins don't have to be bad for you! If you make them yourself and use healthy ingredients, you are bound to be making a healthy snack that you can grab out of the refrigerator (heat up in the microwave, if you wish) and go.


The KEYS to making healthy muffins:
Replace the flour in the recipe with: WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR
Replace the oil in the recipe with: UNSWEETENED APPLESAUCE.
Replace the sugar in the recipe with: DATE SUGAR
Replace the eggs in the recipe with: EGG WHITES

Date sugar can be hard to find. I know Bob's Red Mill makes it, but I haven't gotten the chance to get it yet since learning about this great substitution. Dates are full of fiber, potassium, and many other vitamins and minerals. Plus, it is almost half the calories of regular sugar. Dates are 528 calories/cup while regular sugar is 774 calories/cup.

Here is my Zucchini Recipe! I have used all the healthy ingredients listed above with the exception of the date sugar. I used regular organic sugar since I don't have the date sugar yet. But I am excited to try it soon!

Ingredients
2 egg whites
1 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup date sugar
1 1/2 cups zucchini, grated and squeezed 
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Combine egg whites, vanilla, sugar. Stir in zucchini. Stir in applesauce. Mix in baking soda and salt.
In a different bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
Stir flour mixture into zucchini mixture.
Divide mixture among 12 muffin cups.
Bake 20 minutes. 

I love having these around for a quick breakfast or snack in the afternoon! They are only 100 calories!

Along with loving this muffin recipe, I loved my morning workout at the gym. I burned 770 calories on the elliptical. I kept going after 500 calories because I didn't want to turn the TV show I was watching off! That makes for a total of 1,930 calories burned so far this week! Did you get to the gym yet today?

And do you have a healthy muffin recipe that you love? Share it with me! I would love to try it!

Madison Arboretum

Me and Nora

Yesterday, we took Nora for a walk through UW-Madison's Arboretum. We had so much fun there. It is so peaceful being surrounded by nature!

The Arboretum is a place where ecological restoration and physical fitness can mesh.

While the vision of the Arboretum is to return this area of land back to it's more natural condition, they have made amazing pathways for hikers, walkers, bikers, and cross country skiers to enjoy Madison in it's most pure state. We had such a fun time just walking around the beautiful scenery.

My Husband Chris and Nora

I burned about 160 calories on our walk yesterday! I also went to the gym this morning and burned another 500 calories on the elliptical, stretched, and did my ab exercises!

That brings me to 1160 calories burned so far this week!

What did you/are you doing for exercise today? Are you out enjoying nature or sweating it out in the gym? Share your workouts with me here and stay motivated each and every day to get some physical activity into your busy day!

When Motivation Kicks In...

My house is very rarely a disaster. It is also rarely spotless clean - with 2 cats there is kitty hair everywhere. I have been wanting to clean up, straighten up, vacuum, the usual; but I have been lacking the energy and motivation for the past week or so. Don't you hate that feeling! Finally, last night I reached my breaking point; I knew I was going to have to get my house back to the way I like it (and my husband had no ironed clothes for work). So after we got Nora to bed we were both on a mission. I vacuumed, dusted, etc; and he ironed!

Sometimes we don't  have the motivation to work hard to accomplish the things we want until we get to a breaking point. It was the same way with losing my baby weight after being pregnant. It took until Nora was 5 months old until I felt a true desire to work at getting my body back.

Have you experienced the same breaking point with your fitness goals? Or are you still waiting to get there? I have found through my own experience and through personal training, that you will never accomplish the goal you want to achieve until you are ready to dedicate yourself to it. So if you aren't ready, it's OK. But when you do get that burst of motivation, work hard and stay positive, knowing that each day is a new day you can work towards your goal!

Today I spent about 65 minutes on the elliptical machine and burned 710 calories. 2080 calories remaining for the week. I struggled for the first 30 minutes on the elliptical. I zoned into a segment on the Today Show or GMA and felt like time had flown by, but when I looked at the monitor I had only been working out for 12 minutes! UGH! I hate that! But I pushed myself to stay strong and to keep going - I WANTED TO GET TO MY 710 CALORIES AGAIN! I was motivated to reach that goal and I made sure I was going to get there.

Have you gotten to the gym yet today? What is your game plan for your workout? Whatever it is, stick with it and make it happen! You'll feel great once you accomplish that goal!

Exercise Tip: Abs After Pregnancy

I had heard that during pregnancy your abdominal muscles can separate slightly due to the uterus growing and stretching your stomach. During and right after my pregnancy I never noticed this happening. After getting back down to my pre-pregnancy weight I was curious if my abdominal muscles separated at all. Here's how to check:

Lay down on your back, knees bent, feet on the floor. Then perform a crunch. While holding the crunch take a finger or two and feel right above and below your belly button. If you can fit 1-4 fingers horizontally above and/or below the belly button between your abdominal wall you have a separation. I could definitely get 1-2 fingers above my belly button.

At my doctor's appointment I had him confirm that I indeed had a separation, called Diastasis Recti.  He referred  me to a physical therapist that specializes in post pregnancy recovery to help correct this slight separation. I was so excited to figure out how to get my abs back!

Yesterday I had my physical therapy appointment. She confirmed a slight separation of 1-2 fingers above and below my belly button and said it is completely reversible - great news! She told me that crunches will pull the rectus abdominal muscles apart more - so AVOID CRUNCHING MOVEMENTS! This includes how I get up out of bed in the morning. Instead of sitting up, I have to roll to my side and get up. Its like being pregnant all over again!

In addition to avoiding crunches she gave me a series of exercises to perform every day that focus on the Transverse Abdominal muscle. Tightening this muscle will help to pull my Rectus Abdominal muscles together, closing the separation. These exercises involve laying on the floor with my feet on the floor and tightening my transverse muscle. You can feel this muscle when you exhale strongly, which engages the muscle about an inch or two in from your hip bone. While doing this, I have to avoid engaging my rectus muscle - very important!

In two weeks I go in for the second phase of exercises to continue making progress!

Elliptical today: 780 calories burned. 855 calories remaining

Did you get a separation in your abdominal wall from previous pregnancies? How did you correct it? Have you exercised yet today - what did you do?

The Pants are Too Big

When I was a sophomore in college I got to my heaviest weight (138 lbs), Then I started learning more about nutrition and calories from my Dietetics classes and my ACE personal trainer certification. By my junior year I started working out regularly and watching my calorie intake. The summer going into my senior year I got to my lowest weight ever (112 lbs).

That summer I bought a pair of cargo pants that I love. They are a dull greenish color and they became my go to pants. Through the years my weight would go up and down a bit. The pants would be a little snug and then a little loose. But I was still able to wear them over the next 3 years.

When I got pregnant the pants went into a box at the top of my closet shelf. After having Nora I pulled the box of clothes down and decided to get rid of a bunch of stuff, but I had to hold onto my now paint splattered, torn, worn out, greenish cargo pants. I was determined to fit into them again like before.

Over the weekend I ran out of my usual yoga pants and my one pair of jeans. I really needed to do laundry! The only thing left in my closet were my cargo pants. I hadn't been able to get them on a few months ago, but I was back down to 115 lbs and thought I would try them on. They fit! Actually they fit with a little extra room to spare! I was so excited! So the pants aren't actually TOO BIG and they probably never will be, but I love that they fit me with space around my waist to spare.

Do you have a pair of pants that you want to fit into again? Hold onto them and start the 3500 challenge with me. Count your calorie intake and you can make those pants fit again!

I got to the gym today! Elliptical and 710 calories burned. 1635 calories remaining! Did you workout yet today?