The Exercise Cure

I made it through the first day of school. I had half of the kiddos today and they were okay. You can never tell much from the first day because they are mostly quiet and just shocked by the whole thing. I hate the first week or two because its a lot of me talking and pretending to be excited about REALLY boring things such as learning how to stand in a line, be a good listener, etc etc. So boring and exhausting. I did have kind of a funny experience this afternoon though when this little boy showed up at my classroom door. I recognized him as being the little brother of one of the girls I had last year. I came to the door to say hi and he said, "where is my sister?" I was confused at first but then I realized he was looking for her and didn't realize she was in a new class...haha cute. And don't worry I did bring him across the school to his sister's new class. Why a 3 year old was roaming the school himself is also beyond me but you never know with some people...

It was only a half day today (we start full days on Tuesday, oh boy!) and I was still beyond exhausted by the end of the day. It was nice to have the afternoon to get things done but I was so tired and my head was killing so I was not all that productive. I wanted nothing more than to come home and take a long nap after work but I took yesterday off from working out and I know I need exercise to stress relieve so I went for the shred instead.

It was like my body did a complete 180 during the 20 minute shred video. All of a sudden I had energy and my head ache went away completely. I was so energized I cooked dinner and cleaned the whole kitchen. I decided my new plan is going to be to do a few minutes of cleaning while cooking dinner at night so I really stay on top of it. I took on "baked tofu" for the first time ever and I have to say the results were delicious.

I started by draining and cutting up some Trader Joe's extra firm tofu. Then I quickly dipped it in some Trader Joe's Soyaki sauce (are you starting to see a trend in where I do my grocery shopping?).

I am obsessed with this sauce, it's truly delicious and such a nice change from teriyaki sauce. Anyway, I put it in the oven on 400 for about 20-25 minutes and turned it over about halfway through. Although it tasted really great, I am not sure if this sauce is really meant to be baked like that because it burned a bit. Of course I am no master cook so it's also possible I just cooked it too long or on too high of a temperature. I served it to myself with some white rice and cooked veggies. Here is my final creation:

It was a nice change from my usual meals lately and I am REALLY looking forward to one of those amazing ice cream cups I purchased at Target the other day. Thanks for all of your great stress relieving tips the other day. It's good to know other people stress without even realizing it. I think today helped me to realize how important making time (and energy) for exercise is. And then maybe it will be more okay to also relieve stress with ice cream!

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?