Looooong awaited recipe: Liberty Bars

[SPQR]

I am probably carrying 15 I don't need.  I am twenty-two above my weigh in from the last judo tournament I fought in.  I understand what you are saying, but these things aren't why I am fat.  They are, however, delicious and the five minutes I got away from the line chomping one and drinking a cup of coffee at Noblesville last Saturday were a God send.  I can't blame Liberty Bars for me being fat any more than I can blame my fork for killing the cattle in the field behind the house any more than I blame guns for the decisions of their wielders.  My question is, if I continue to play judo and softball a couple times a week and have an active lifestyle can I still eat two or three Liberty Bars once a month at an Appleseed?  (because they are delicious and they make me feel good)

[techres]

Those of us who don't need 'em ain't gonna until:

1. The old SC's lose as much in lbs as the current SC actually weighs.
2. We do 300 cal of exercise to offset the 226 cal of nom nom.  That's 30 min on the recumbent bike currently for me.

Those are more doable than you might think...   

As to the Appleseed Exercise Video I suggested in 2010, I still do think it is a doable project!

[BlueFeather]

If you are not the weight you want to be... first calculate your BMR, basal metabolic rate.  This determines how many calories you need to consume, just to exist.  You can then add your level of activity to see how many extra calories you burn when working out, vaccuuming, or sitting at the computer.  The extent to which you consume calories in excess of this number, is why you are overweight.

In theory you reduce your calories and you will lose weight, but it isn't that siimple, and that is why 'starvation diets' where one eats 1000 calories or less a day, don't work for very long.  The content of the calories, the time of day and the relation to when you exercised all play a part.  In general, if you want to eat these cookies, or have your cake and eat it too, you need to create a caloric deficit elsewhere to make up for the rush you are getting from those 266 of almost all carbs. 

You can play the game and have a caloric deficit on another day and then have a cheat day where you get to eat anything you want, like these cookies. But you will have to pay for it in either more exercise or less calories or both at some time. 

All excess carbs beyond what you need for immediate energy will be stored as fat.  Once there, it is extra difficult to get rid of. After age 35, we start losing muscle at an increasing rate. The more muscle mass we have, the more calories we burn to maintain our weight, so it gets increasingly difficult to maintain our weight as we age.  The more you can do to regain muscle, the higher your BMR, and the more calories you can eat and not change weight.

As you get closer to your ideal weight however, your body will tell you what works and what doesn't and you will lose cravings for many of the things that are bad for you.

Sugar is highly addictive and creates a similar brain response as does cocaine. That is why it is so hard to kick the sugar habit.

These cookies also contain a lot of grains, and they pose their own digestive and weight problems. If you are going to eat such things, have them soon after eating protein or fat, like some peanut butter.  At least that will slow down the metabolism of the carbs. If you eat a burger say, eliminate the bun and then have the cookie instead.  (The bun has a high glycemic index of its own. So trade one for the other.)

[twh731]

Bluefeather, that was a marvelously brief explanation of metabolism vs diet.  Aging makes us more susceptible to gaining weight and makes it harder to recover from injuries or heavy workouts.  Therefore we who have not found the counter clockwise time machine need to exercise smarter and eat smarter.  We can no longer get away with abusing our bodies and expecting them to recover as quickly or as completely as when in our 20's 30's and 40's. 
   I read a study in a college sports magazine that indicated that 70% of all chronic back pain is caused by weak core muscles.  They had their college football team implement a series of core exercises along with their normal weight training.  They found that after a few weeks of this adaptation that their rate of onfield and off-field injuries and chronic pain complaints were reduced substantially.  A fair percentage of exercise and sporting injuries are caused by weak core muscles because weak core muscles do not allow us to balance and exert force in unusual directions as well.  If pushing or pulling while off camber or with weight extented away from your body your core is what allows the body to maintain posture and an even force.  Big weights or extended lengthy workouts are not necessary.  Moderate weight training and exercises that focus on core areas are the key to maintaining good postsure, proper gait, and flexibility.  Also, a moderate amount of aerobic excersice will eventually make those many trips downrange less exhausting and allow you to get back on target much more quickly.  My weight training workout only takes me 20 to 30 minutes 3 times a week.  I spent most of my allowed exercise time doing aerobic workouts only because my efforts this year have been doing bicycling events.
   I think incremental changes are the easiest way for people to eventually accomplish major lifestyle changes.  Such as the wonderful treats being discussed in this forum.  As I said in my previous post, if just a few of the ingredients are substituted with healthier alternatives then where's the hard part.  We all have to determine what we do with our bodies and what we put in our bodies.  Since we are going to the trouble to "home make" the treats it doesn't take any more effort to include the best ingredients and enjoy them just as much.  Actually to enjoy them more because we have the satisfaction of knowing that we are making a conscious effort to make a healthy change thus gaining more self-confidence at being incharge of ourselves.  Of all the positive aspects of exercise, healthy diet, and mental challenge, I believe the gain in self-confidence is the most satisfying.  It allows you to truly experience mastery of self.  Even if things around you get chaotic your response to the situation will be better thought out and sensible because your mind will be sharper and your body will not go into a fight or flight stess mode.  It's how we are meant to be.

[AuntieBellum]

Two points I'd like to make:

1. I love that Niecie goes out of the way to bring a special touch to the Appleseeds she attends.  I rarely make such an effort to make Appleseeders feel so welcome.  A little treat part-way through the day when lunch is long gone and blood sugars are dropping can go a long way to to getting through to that five o'clock hour and through tear-down and the drive home.  This is one of her gifts to Appleseed, and I thank her for that.

2. I love even more that we all have the freedom to do with our bodies as we please.  Are we to have freedom in some areas of our lives but not over what we eat?  What is healthy for one may not be healthy for another.  Don't feed me pecans.  I will not be healthy afterwards.