Monday, August 10, 2009

Delicious Restaurants and Exercise Controversy



Hi everyone, I'm still down at the Cape for a little bit. We have been checking out restaurants for our rehearsal dinner, and just enjoying Cape food so I thought I'd post some pictures.

Last night we went to Cape Cod Sea Grille in Harwich. We are considering it as a Rehearsal dinner spot and my parents had tried it out and recommended it. It's pretty close to the water, but I wouldn't say it has a "water view". It does have a great inside, fun decor and really nice waitresses. I got the Oven Roasted Cod. Look how delicious...


It was served with basal rice and a pineapple salsa. And here is Eric's filet mignon...


And his side of peach risotto. I am really hoping he attempts to recreate this at home.


I am totally sold on this place for a rehearsal dinner spot, but they only fit 35 people...and we can only do that if we have less readers then I wanted to, and do some other rearranging. So, I'll check out some other places before I have to take any drastic measures :)

Tonight Eric and I were aiming for Japanese food but the place was closed so we decided to hit downtown Hyannis again. We ended up at a place called Asa Grille. We have been there before only for drinks (which were delicious) so we thought we'd give it another shot for food. I got Cod again (I know it's amazing how adventurous I am) but it was so different and ALSO delicious.

This time my Cod was served on whipped potatoes and green beans. Mashed potatoes was probably my favorite food when I was younger, but now that I can't have butter it's not as exciting. This was probably filled with both garlic and butter, but I ate it anyway. I don't feel amazing tonight, but it's also about 100 degrees and humid so it's hard to tell if I can really blame it on the mashed potatoes. If you ever find yourself at the Cape, I'm highly recommending both the Cape Cod Sea Grille (Harwich) and Asa Grille (Hyannis).

In other news, have you guys read this new Time article? Way to stir up problems! Basically this article argues that exercising does not help you lose weight, for several different reasons including the ever popular, "I went to the gym today, so I can eat this cupcake." They don't say exercise is not healthy (although they do suggest that perhaps we just need to be moving throughout the day without actually spending an hour on the elliptical machine), but just that it is not helping us lose weight. Of course there has been a lot of rebellion against this, including this article by Runner's World.

Now, we all know I am a huge fan of exercise. I come from a very active family and my fiance's job is to teach kids to be active. However, I PERSONALLY have never found it to be a good tool for weight loss. When I was studying abroad in Australia, I went to the gym 6 days a week (far more than I ever made it to the gym when I was at BC), but I also gained nearly 10 pounds because I was eating like absolute crap. For me, losing weight has always been about changing my eating habits. But, I think things might be different for someone who eats unhealthy and does not exercise at all, and then begins doing both. Or things might be different for people who are just not me.

On the other hand, I clearly do not think exercise is useless. For most people, the point of weight loss is to be healthier and to look better. Exercise will do both of those. It will add to our cardiovascular health, and help us build toning and muscles which will make us look leaner. So while you may not see a number on the scale, you will most likely see a difference in your body if you take up exercise. I think Jillian Michael's Shred is a great example of this. Most people I know who have done the Shred have not lost the many pounds promised on the front of the DVD, but everyone has seen a change in their body, often proven by a change in their measurements in the waist, chest and hips area. Plus exercise keeps me sane and makes my stomach function a lot better. So I won't be giving up my treadmill or my gym membership just yet. What do you think?

10 comments:

  1. Thank you for your comment on my blog ;o)

    I love love love mashed potatoes too! Your 2 meals look delicious.

    As for exercise - I am not sure on this one, I think its different for everyone, I believe that if you dont have a great metabolism because of years of abuse to your body (read junk food and no exercise) then it can help to change your metabolism for the better and therefore help to lose weight but if you already have a good metabolism then thats when you will see changes in body shape not body weight - if that makes sense :o)

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  2. My pescatarian self is MAJORLY lusting over your cod. Particularly the first one!!! :o)

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  3. I kind of hated that article, but haven't really had the chance to sit down and write my opinions on it. I think most of the bloggers I read would agree that the article was pretty irresponsible!

    And I'm lusting over that pineapple salsa, on a lighter note :)

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  4. For me, exercise is more for my mind than my body. I could exercise for 3 hours a day, if I didn't eat good I would gain weight. I exercise because it makes me FEEL good!

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  5. I read the book "Good Calories, Bad Calories", which is an amazing book tha tI recommend to anyone (it uses a lot of scientific language though, warning). In the book it explained the idea of how exercise makes us hungrier (so true) therefore those who exercise may end up eating more, which will cancel out any weight benefits. BUT that is if you make the wrong choices (such as the cupcake you mentioned). IF you exercise, then make really healthy choices (whole grain, fruit and veg) rather than "awarding yourself" with cake and pizza, then it should really be beneficial. Especially weight lifting, which keeps you burning for hours later. I know for me I sitll end p eating the same amount whether or not I workout, sinpley because of habit! So if I stopped working out, Id gain weight (probably like 5 pounds, no big deal, but still!).

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  6. Interesting debate. Sure, exercise is not going to help us lose weight if we counteract it by eating all kinds of junk food. The principle of calories IN vs. calories OUT is pretty simple. If we burn more than we eat, we'll lose weight. The thing is, exercise often makes us hungry!

    Regardless of weight loss, I definitely agree that there exercise is beneficial for many other reasons.

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  7. Mmm your cod looks fantastic!

    As to the article.... sigh. I am a very firm believer that exercise must be used in conjunction with diet to produce weight loss. Exercise alone with a crappy diet won't make you lose weight. For a healthy lifestyle, I believe it's about the balance of eating well and being active.

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  8. I read that article too. It was very interesting. I think it raises some good points, but for the most part exercise has more benefits than detractions. I hope this article doesn't help people justify laziness.

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  9. holy moly, both of those cod dishes look amazing! and peach risotto? intriguing--what kind of cheese did they use? yummy! sometimes i hate media... it's not exercise that's causing us to think about an extra cupcake, it's society and the values, etc. that they cause us to have!

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  10. i tend to eat healthier when i worked out that day... for whatever reason my brain works like this - "well i ran today so i shouldn't eat that cookie or it will set me back" but if i didn't work out i will tend to pig out...

    sure some people may think they are entitled to eat a treat b/c they worked out but as long as the workout was good enough (and the treat not over-the-top) i don't think you'd gain weight.

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