Physical Funness for the Motion Starved

Fit more fun into your fitness while exploring the outdoors.

Category Archives: Food


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Is it Friday yet?

Mr. Weather Man says it’s going to be sunny all weekend here in the Bay Area.  And…it’ll be warmer too!  Halleluiah! I don’t care if it’s still a bit chilly, get outside and get some vitamin D. You need it.

Here are a few of my suggestions for new and interesting things to try this weekend.

  • Friday Nights at the de Young Opening Night. Season six starts today.  If you’ve never been to one of these events now is the time to go.  The museum offers all sorts of interesting things during these Friday evening events. Free admission, live music, films, lectures and creative activities.  Go for a walk in the park and then wander into the museum.  Good for the body and soul!
  • Saturday check out The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition’s Architecture Ride. This guided, two-hour ride through the city takes you on a tour of the designs of James and Merritt Reid. For more info visit the SFBC website. Why not learn something while you exercise?  Sounds like a good idea to me! Free to SFBC members, $5 for the nonmembers.
  • Some of the boys at Bespoke Cycles SF will be leading a bike ride this Sunday. Meet at 9am at the GGB concession stand for a friendly, no drop, LSD (long slow distance) ride. Contact Ari at Bespoke for more info and to RSVP.  Ari’s my pal, go work him over for me!
  • Spaghetti Squash – I made some last night. It was pretty good, tastes nothing like pasta so don’t be fooled.  It’s full of water so that’s good and low in calorie.  Only has about 2 grams of fiber per serving so that’s not that impressive but give it a try.  It’s not bad!

Don’t forget my Fitness Walk this coming Wed.  I expect to see a bunch of new faces!

Have a great weekend, see you back here on Monday.




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Okra and brown rice = nature’s broom

Okra Curry

As promised, my Okra Curry recipe. Now, before your turn up your nose, remember what I said yesterday about trying new things and pushing your limits. This recipe is very easy to make, very low in calorie, full of vitamins and contains more fiber than you can imagine. Trust me. It’s really good. Not as good as pizza, but good.

EZ Okra Curry – serves 4 (unless you eat like me, then it serves 3)

1 ½ tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

1 ¾ tsp curry powder

½ tsp cayenne pepper

1 ½ lb fresh or frozen okra, chopped (I use frozen, not thawed)

1-2 green chilies, finely chopped and seeds removed

1 tbsp lemon juice

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until soft, about 4 minutes. Add curry powder and cayenne pepper, sauté 1 minute. Add green chili and okra, cook for about 3 minutes, stirring. Reduce heat to medium low. Add ¼ cup water and cover until okra is tender. About 5 minutes. Remove cover, continue on med low for about 2 more minutes, toss in lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. Serve with brown rice and garnish with chopped organic tomato bits.

Tomorrow I’ll share some ideas for fun, new things to try over the weekend. Stay tuned for that…

Coming in the next weeks… The GP-2011 Project (Guinea Pig 2011). I’ll be leading a husband and wife team trough the suggestions I make on this blog and following them through their progress. You, as readers will receive the benefit of hearing the stories of their results for better or for worse. We’ll be finding out not only what they’re made of, but also just how much I really know about fitness. Amusing for sure!


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The first Monday

In case you’re wondering why I’m here, I’m attempting to provide an environment in which folks may be entertained, educated and inspired (yes, at some point I intend to get rich off this). My approach is simple and to the point. My topics are well researched, however I will not be listing a bunch of long-winded study information. It’s my hope that I will inspire my readers to look further into the issues that interest them on their own. So, you might say that I will be “teasing” you with information and ideas hoping that you will be sparked to into bettering your lives.

With that, today I offer a few bits of information that perhaps are new to you.

  • Light soy sauce contains 600 milligrams of sodium?  That’s insane! A healthy adult should consume no more than 2,300 mg in one day. Tip from my friend Skinny Scott, put your soy sauce in a spray bottle and spray it on your food.  That way the flavor stays on the surface and doesn’t get absorbed into your food like a sponge (and you don’t puff up like a blow fish and die of heart disease).
  • Cherries. Who doesn’t love cherries? Cherries have been shown to reduce inflammation and may help with arthritis pain. Drink a glass of unsweetened cherry juice or eat a few fresh or dried cherries everyday.  Unsweetened juices can be a bit tart, so if it’s too much for you I suggest cutting it with water. Try, ¾’s water, ¼ juice.  Same goes for Cranberry juice, which helps the body to eliminate excess fluid.

Don’t forget to move today.  If you’re stuck at your desk, make an effort to get up every hour and walk around. Circle your ankles and wrists 10 times each way, do 3 side bends each direction and gently stretch your neck, front, back and side-to-side. Do this every hour if you can.  Remember, every time you move you’re burning calories and helping your body function.

I’ll be back tomorrow with more and soon illustrations and photo’s to help illustrate all sorts of things. Also, feel free to comment on my posts.  Your comments won’t show up on the blog unless I approve them so say what you like.

Enjoy your first Monday of the year.


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It’s the Sunday before the big Monday

If you’re like most of us you’ll be starting your New Years diet & exercise program tomorrow. The said beginning of the New You. It happens at the beginning of every year and lots of Mondays throughout each year. We chow down on Sunday and start big on Monday. I’ve been there. I’ve tried every diet, exercise and over the counter aid known to man. I’ve lost thousands of pounds since my first diet at age 10 and gained most of those pounds back. In all my years, I’ve gone from looking great, to looking like a massive farm animal and back to looking great again, over and over. Same thing happens to most of us (even those folks on The Biggest Looser). What’s become clear to me is that you must find a solution to your fitness needs that you can live with every day, forever. It needs to be fun, reasonable and adaptable.

Here’s what I suggest. Start with a washing out of your insides. Use the terms detox or cleanse if you prefer. Sure, there are lots of things you can do and kits you can buy to help eliminate the havoc wreaked upon your body during the holidays. Some of those products even promise to cleanse your system of things that have been stuck in there for years. Remember those crayons you ate as a kid? They may still be in there. I’ve tried some of these products, they’re fun but they’re a bit of a commitment.

Why not start with these simple detox ideas…

First – drink water, drink lots of water. Water helps ease your digestion and clear your system of all the fat, alcohol and sponge like carbs you’ve been sucking down. For better taste, place lemon, cucumber, orange or grapefruit slices in a pitcher of water and keep it chilled. Also pour yourself some freshly squeezed grapefruit juice instead of that martini. Grapefruit juice is said to help detoxify your liver. Whatever…just drink up!

Second – Fiber, eat lots of it. Every meal. Same as with the water, fiber helps smooth the flow of digestion and scrub out all that stuff you don’t want in there anymore. Get my meaning…? It makes you feel fuller too which helps with that post holiday diet you’re working on. Great sources of fiber are: beans, lentils, Okra, pears, whole-wheat products. Remember you need 30 grams a day.

Third – Get your sweat on! Go outside, go to the gym, clean your house. Do whatever it takes but make it something you actually like. I’m going on a guided hike (in the rain) along the coast in search of shipwreck remains today. Sounds fun right? Here’s your plan…Warm up for 5-10 minutes, then start doing some serious moving. Make sure you’re sweating. Sweat for at least 20 minutes, cool down 5-10 minutes with some stretching and drink some of that yummy water.

Forth – Repeat daily. Try it for a week and see how you feel. Can’t hurt. Just one week and then we can reevaluate.

More on this tomorrow, recipe ideas too…


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When life hands you a lemon

Make a facial – Take the juice of half a lemon, add 2 aspirin and wait for them to dissolve. Wipe the concoction over your clean face and let sit for 15 minutes. Rinse with a mixture of 1 tbsp baking soda and 1/2 cup water. moisturizer as usual.  You’ll look polished and marvelous.  No lie!

While you have the knife out, slice up the other half of the lemon and place it in a pitcher of water.  Place the pitcher in the frig and drink from it all day. Makes the water taste yummy. Try to drink the whole pitcher in one day. Hydrate!