Peanut Butter VS. Almond Butter

I ran across a post on the Caloriecount.com forums asking if Peanut Butter is really so bad for you. The poster said that they've been reading articles that are bashing peanut butter. I thought this would make an interesting topic for my blog since I do have a bit of an opinion on this subject. Overall, the Almond is a healthier nut butter in the fact that:

1. It has less saturated fat
2. A bit more phosphorus and potassium
3. Loads more Calcium. Almost 700%  more!
4. Much more Fiber, Vitamin E and Iron.

In two Tablespoons of Almond Butter, you will consume 2 more grams of Fat and about 11 more calories. However, when you look at all the positives, I think that is a small trade off. These comparisons are based on two tablespoons of no salt added nut butters. I got some of this information off a website with a super fun chart comparing the two. Click here to see it for yourself !

Something to keep in mind is that too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. I think that is why there have been some articles popping up talking about why peanut butter isn't all that great. In the short amount of time that I have dived into the fitness community, I have noticed a slight obsession with peanut butter. Some people seem to use it as a diet staple. I think in that respect Peanut Butter can turn into a "bad" food. This doesn't mean peanut butter needs to be cut out or demonized either. I still have it in my pantry, but I do gravitate towards Almond Butter now instead. If I use Peanut Butter, I buy all natural peanut butter with the least amount of sodium, sugar and extra oils. The same goes with Almond Butter too!

Week One Weigh In and Update

Hey guys! I've been doing great with my plan! I slipped a little on Father's Day but I am pretty sure I actually stayed within my calories at the end of the day. Saturday night I basically drank most of my calories but I didn't use being drunk as an excuse to eat everything under the moon to "soak up" the alcohol when I was feeling a little sick. My new Zumba game came on Friday so even after making cake pops for 3.5 hours I got my workout in and only ate one cake pop. I kicked butt and burned over 600 calories. It felt really good.  So I think I did pretty well over the weekend even though I did not log my calories.  I still kind of counted them in my head though.
    I did my week one weigh in on Saturday Morning and I am down three pounds!! Wahoo. Also, A non-scale victory is that I have more energy, I don't feel bloated half of the time and I swear I feel a little firmer in some areas from doing Zumba! I am so excited to continue. Here's a little comparison picture for you:

See you guys soon! Here's a link to the Zumba I got for my Wii. They also have it for X-Box Kinnect.

My New Plan

So far I have actually stuck to my plan. I have worked out according to plan and I have been eating well too.

Here's my new (more aggressive) plan :

Currently, my Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is 1,980 calories. This is how many calories I would burn if I did nothing but lay in bed all day . If you search the web for BMR calculators, you will get mixed readings from each one. I am basing my numbers off the one on Caloriecount.com because that is what I am using to count calories as well. Losing weigh is supposedly a simple mathematical equation. Burn 3,500 calories and you will lose a pound. You can burn these calories by either working out or by in-taking (eating) less calories than you would naturally burn that day. My new plan is using a mixture of both. Now, keep in mind that this is just going to be the simple mathematical version of what I am doing. Beyond mathematics, I am making other changes which I will likely talk about in future posts. Just to give you a run down, they include water intake, how I look at food, social networking, changing the food pyramid and other lifestyle changes.

Ok, So here is the raw math version of it:

Current weight is 187 pounds as of 6/08/13. I am 25 years old and 5'9".
I will eat no more than 1,600 calories EVERY day.  By doing this alone, I will save myself from 380 calories per day.
I will exercise 6 out of the 7 days of the week. My one rest day will be the weekend day that my Fiance has off work. My excercise goal will be to burn a minimum of 420 calories. I just purchased a Heart Rate Monitor with a Calories burned calculator. Here is a link to the particular one that I purchased, Polar FT4 Heart Rate Monitor (Purple/Pink) . They have it in "manly" colors as well. I wanted to get this because I am only cheating myself if I am using an app that says I am burning way more calories than I actually am. Also, using a heart rate monitor will help you keep your heart rate "in the zone" to get the most out of your workout.
Between food intake and calories burned from working out, my daily goal is 800 calories burned. If I happen to eat a little extra that day and go over my 1,600 calories, I better work it off somehow. Also, I picked 1,600 as my magic number even though Calorie Count told me to do 1,470. Why? Well, every time I shoot for 1,470 I end up closer to 1,600 and then feel like crap for going over. So, instead of feeling crappy about that  I am shooting for 1,600. You know what is funny about that? These past couple days, I have been closer to 1,500 anyways!
So, I will be burning 800 calories per day , except on my rest day which will be 380 calories. That adds up to a total of 5,180 calories burned per week. 5,180/3,500 equals 1.48 pounds per week lost. For easy math ( and hopeful thinking) I rounded that up to 1.5 pounds. 1.5 pounds times 4 weeks = 6 pounds. 1.5 pounds times 12 weeks = 18 pounds . This idea started 3 days ago on 6/8/13, so I am basing everything off that date.
 Here are my mini goals:
Current weight of 187 - 18 pounds = 169 pounds on August 31st
169 pounds - 18 pounds = 151 pounds on November 23rd
151 pounds - 6 pounds = 145 pounds on December 21st < that is my goal weight. Either 145 or a size 7.
That means I will look good just in time for Christmas Family Pictures!  Wahoo!

The only thing I need to remember to do is to adjust my allowable calories as I lose the weight. My BMR will lower and I will have to either eat less calories or burn more through working out. Here's to hoping I can stick to it this time!