Tuesday’s Tips (Week 6) – Baby Steps for a Happy & Healthy Life
NEW PEOPLE: If you are just joining us we recommend that you start with the first step, which is Week 1. Give yourself a week to form each new habit, you will have a better chance for success and avoid burning out.
Each week I will post a very small, simple, easy thing that we can add to our lives to make us happier and healthier. Some of them might seem ridiculously easy and small but that is really the point. I can’t tell you how many times in my life I have decided to start losing weight or getting in shape AGAIN. This time I will really do it! So I start an elaborate plan to eat healthy, exercise, run for hours on my treadmill, do yoga, meditate, blah blah blah…. It usually goes well for a while but then slowly thing return to the “norm” and I am feeling fat and tired again.
So these small, easy tips are actually habits we would like to create for life. You may have noticed I said that these are things that we can add to our lives. The more positive things we add the less room there is for the negative and it keeps us from feeling deprived. After all, this really is a mental game for most of us if we are completely honest with ourselves.
Today’s Tip: Eat Smaller Portions More Often Throughout the Day
Studies suggest that eating smaller portions throughout the day (5-6 meals instead of 3 per day) may help boost your metabolism, allow you to eat fewer calories yet still feel full (but not bloated). The idea is that your body will get used to being provided with enough calories throughout the day on a regular basis (every 2-3 hours) so it does not need to store up extra calories as fat. It also provides your body with regular protein for your muscle tissue, which in-turn increases your metabolism and fat burning potential.
Plus, if you keep the portions nice and small, you’ll feel satisfied but not over stuffed. And this will keep you more active throughout the day (no food comas).
Eating more often allows your body to burn all of the calories at every single meal, and when it gets done burning those calories it will seek out and burn YOUR FAT TISSUE.
However, never skip meals! This may help you lose weight in the beginning, but eventually you will get tired of being hungry and will binge and overeat. And that goes against the entire idea.
Here is a recap of our tips so far for those who are losing track:
WEEK 1 – DRINK A GLASS OF WATER FIRST THING EVERY MORNING
WEEK 2 – EAT ONE PIECE OF FRESH FRUIT EACH DAY
WEEK 3 – HAND WEIGHTS
WEEK 4 – TAKE A MULTI VITAMIN
WEEK 5 – DRINK A GLASS OF WATER BEFORE DINNER
WEEK 6 – EAT SMALLER PORTIONS MORE OFTEN
Emie
Monday’s Menu from our Farmer’s Table
Today’s Menu:
- Farmer’s Market Pasta
- Potato Onion Bread
- Handmade Butter
- Pumpkin Walnut Bread with Strawberries
It was a gorgeous sunny Saturday morning so we decided to go to the big Torrance farmer’s market. Normally I go to the small Hermosa Farmer’s market on Fridays just down the street but Skye slept until 3:30 last Friday and it closes down around 4:00 so we didn’t make it last week.
Trust me, I realize how very, very lucky we are to live in southern California where we have the most amazing farmer’s markets year round. I never take it for granted and I always feel overwhelming gratitude to have locally grown strawberries, tomatoes and cucumbers on the table in January.
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My favorite find this week is the handmade butter from Spring Hill Farms located in Petaluma. We also bought the garlic curds which Skye loves. Randy’s Favorite thing is the Halawy organic dates from the Bautista family located in Mecca. They have several different types of dated to choose from and of course you can sample all of them while you get a lesson in how dates are grown and harvested. They even have pictures of the brothers harvesting the dates from palm trees, quit fascinating! I didn’t even know they came from palm trees.
Farmer’s Market Pasta
Whole wheat or whole grain pasta, I used Barilla plus – ½ lb.
Grape tomatoes – about 20 cut in half
Asparagus – one bunch cut into ½ inch pieces
Arugula – large handful
Garlic – 3 cloves, smashed rough chopped
Evoo
½ cup Dry white wine – I used Coppola Diamond Collection chardonnay, you may substitute wine for chicken stock and lemon juice
2-3 Anchovies, optional but strongly suggested, you will not taste them I promise J
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper
Note: You could add any protein you like; it’s great with sausage, chicken or shrimp.
Boil water for pasta and add a hand full of salt and a little olive oil (It should taste like salt water)
Heat evoo in a large skillet – at this point add sausage or chicken, if using shrimp wait.
Add garlic, tomatoes, anchovies and a pinch of sea salt, cook for about 5 -10 minutes or until meat is fully cooked, add white wine and scrape bits from bottom of the pan ( Anchovies will dissolve into the sauce) add red pepper flakes if you like a little heat.
Cook pasta as instructed, 2 minutes before its’ done add the asparagus, do not overcook the asparagus, it should be firm and slightly crunchy. Drain pasta and asparagus then add to the skillet (if using shrimp add it now) add arugula and freshly ground pepper, Serve immediately with grated parmesan.
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Pumpkin Walnut Bread with Strawberries
Harvest Loaf
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp groud cloves
1 3/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup walnuts
1/2 semi sweet chocolate chips or chunks
Mix with electric mixer adding in above order. Place in greased loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 65-75 minutes, done when toothpick comes out clean. Recipe makes one loaf. Serve with Strawberries and whipped cream if desired.
Enjoy!
Emie
What it Took – My Journey Launching a New Business and Becoming a New Father
This is the first post of a new series that I am starting here at our SurfShelf blog. The series is called “What it Took – My Journey Launching a New Business and Becoming a New Father”.
Because I had absolutely no idea of what I was doing, I had to start from scratch. And now that we’ve come this far, it’s easy to look back to see the successes and the mistakes, and to use the SurfShelf as a case study on the do’s and don’ts of how to bring a product to market and build a new business.
As far back as I can remember it has always been a dream of mine to be an entrepreneur. Another dream has always been to be a father. It just so happens that these two dreams came into my life at the same time.
We’ve all had “great ideas” for new products… but what does it really take to turn these crazy ideas into real products and bring them to market? And once they’re on the market, how do you build brand awareness so that people know you exist so they can buy from you?
In a nutshell, here’s what it took for me…
Coming up with the crazy idea • the first prototype • the provisional patent • the testing • the tweaking • the market analysis • the business plan • the product design • the industrial engineering • the simulations • the stereo lithography rapid-prototyping • the product evaluation • the mentor • the consigliere (my wife Emie) • the patent attorney • the official patent application • the patent specification • the patent drawings • time to get investors • the investment proposal • the pitch • the deal • quitting my job • reading books and articles on what the heck to do • the manufacturing agent in Hong Kong • the manufacturer in mainland China • the Polycarbonate • the injection molds • the logo • the photo shoots • the website • the packaging design • the instructions • the lawyers • not sleeping • being scared to death • the production samples • the PR firm • the product sheets • the product brochures • the pricing analysis • the first fitness trade show • our booth • our sales • the new website • the warehouse • the contracts • the online shopping cart • the merchant account • the merchant gateway • the shipping boxes • the cargo forwarder • getting stuck in U.S. Customs • shipping • the recession • running low on money • maxing out credit cards • freaking out majorly • getting the SurfShelf into stores • developing store sales displays • ecommerce • investigating infomercials • working with HSN • working with commercial health clubs • the new website • social marketing • the blog • working with new marketing consultants • building brand awareness • Facebook • Twitter • YouTube • Flickr • becoming a non-resident importer to Canada • expanding to international markets • coming up with new product ideas…
…all while trying with my wife to get pregnant, having some difficulties, trying IUI with no luck, getting as healthy as possible, stopping drinking (just when I really needed a drink), working out like crazy, doing IVF, getting lucky and having our beautiful daughter Skye.
So this is what I’ll be posting about. Step by step. It’s a lot of stuff no doubt. But don’t worry; we’ll break it all down to make it all manageable.
What I’ve also found along the way is that in order for me to keep my sanity, keep my stress to a manageable level and reduce my overall fear factor, I need to always make sure to enjoy the journey. Each and every day. Sure, we all want to be millionaires, but if you don’t enjoy the journey you will totally freak out, it’s just too much.
So the first thing on the list was the crazy idea. And then building a rudimentary prototype.
So that’s where my story will begin next time. Please come back and join me for my next post where I will tell you how I came up with the idea for the SurfShelf and how I built and tested the first SurfShelf prototype.
Then we’ll go from there…
Cheers,
Randy
Free Shipping for Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Weekend!
Just wanted to announce that we’ll be having a FREE SHIPPING holiday promotion in celebration of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend.
The special starts Friday January 16 and runs through Monday January 19 (we like to start celebrating early here at SurfShelf so we’re starting it on Friday… why wait till Sat?).
This is the perfect time to kick-start your New Year’s resolutions and make your exercise routine so much fun that you’ll look forward to accomplishing your fitness goals for the year.
So order a SurfShelf, grab your laptop and get ready to have a blast on your treadmill (or exercise bike or elliptical trainer) while you start off 2009 with this new, fun and exciting way to work out.
Have a great holiday weekend!
Randy
Tuesday’s Tips (Week 5) – Baby Steps for a Healthy Life
Tuesday’s Tips are good habits we want to create and have for the rest of our lives. They are very, very, (some may say ridiculously) small steps we can take to dramatically change our lives. Each new habit is small and easy so we can and will actually do them. And if we do each of these small things on a regular basis they will have a huge impact on our entire life – our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health.
If you are just joining us we recommend that you start with the first step, which is Week 1. Give yourself a week to form each new habit, you will have a better chance for success and avoid burning out.
WEEK 5 – Drink a glass of water before dinner
Studies have found that drinking a glass of very cold water right before a meal can also reduce appetite and give the person a feeling of fullness after eating smaller amounts of food. So this is another benefit that can be gained from drinking more water. Water also has other health benefits such as giving skin a much healthier appearance and a better all-around tone. See my post on Top 10 Reasons to Drink Water.
But it’s hard to know how much water you really drink each day. It’s not like you keep a water journal or a water log. So how do you keep track? Here’s how: By getting in the habit of drinking water at specific times throughout the day we know for a fact we are getting enough water.
How much water do you need to drink every day? One approach is the “8 x 8 rule” — drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day (about 1.9 liters). The rule could also be stated, “drink eight 8-ounce glasses of fluid a day,” as most fluids count toward the daily total. Though the approach isn’t supported by scientific evidence, many people use this basic rule as a guideline for how much water and other fluids to drink. For additional approaches go to the Mayo Clinic website.
Also, don’t forget to drink water while you exercise. I always drink water while I walk and work on my laptop – on the treadmill – using my SurfShelf of course!
Some signs that you are not drinking enough water are:
- Dry, sticky mouth
- Tiredness
- Muscle weakness
- Headache
- Dizziness or lightheaded-ness
Have a great day,
Emie
