Turkey Burgers and Calorie Readouts on Exercise Equipment

Tuesday is coming to a close, and I'm pretty excited about it. A few updates; first, we went to see some new houses last night, with both Nick's mother and my parents. It was exciting, the big day is getting closer!! Also, a funny story. Last night Nick and I discussed what we would choose if we could have three foods on a deserted island. Here is what he said: White Chocolate Wonderful, Dark Chocolate Dreams, and English Muffins! HA!

Quick, Cheap, and Healthy Recipe #15
Fiesta Turkey Burgers

Ingredients
3 ounces lean ground turkey
1/4 cup sliced bell pepper (any color)
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp lime juice
1/4 tsp. cayenne powder

Possible Modifications

• Use any type of ground protein
• Use any type of non-starchy vegetable
• Use any spices, and amount of spices, you desire
• Add some oil or avocado for added moisture
  

Instructions
Combine all ingredients in a medium sized bowl, blend with clean hands.

** If you prefer to cook the peppers first, saute them in a pan with a bit of EVOO, to get them soft. This is not, however, necessary. I personally prefer a little crunch!**

Form into patties and cook evenly on both sides. Take the temperature of the patties and make sure the internal temperature reaches 180 degrees before consuming.

Place between a bun, or a slice of bread. Or eat however you please! Add condiments as you wish, and cheese if desired.

Nick's Rating: 9 out of 10
My rating: 8 out of 10
** Next time I will add a bit of oil, or avocado to the patties, for more moisture!**

Nutrition Information
(Includes one patty and 1 slice whole grain bread)

Calorie Readouts on Exercise Equipment
Source: Today's Dietitian Magazine

Are you one of the many individuals who tries to reach a desired calorie goal based off of what your exercise equipment spits out? While it's ok to do that, be aware that the calorie readouts may not be as accurate as you might think.

• The calorie readouts are a "ballpark estimate", and the machines that are most accurate are the ones that require exercisers to bear their weight (ellipticals and treadmills are better than stationary bikes and rowing machines).

• The best estimate will come from a machine that asks you to input your weight.

• Even when you enter your weight, the estimate may not be as accurate as possible, as muscle is more metabolically active than fat, and the machines do not consider this.

• Each machine uses a different equation to calculate calories burned (there are tons), so one machine might tell you one number, while another may claim you burned more or less.

• Some studies have shown that treadmills overestimate calories by 10-20%.

• For the best workout, don't hold on to the sides of the machines. By doing so, you are doing yourself a disservice because you are decreasing calorie usage.

• Trying to burn 400 calories? When your machine reaches the 400 calorie mark, go for five extra minutes. You will be much closer to the 400 calorie mark by that time.

Some thoughts: I used to be obsessed with looking at the calories that I burned while doing particular exercises, until I concluded that the science of "calories in, calories out" isn't exact, so why waste my time and energy focusing on the calories? Similar to weighing yourself, focusing on any number, which can fluctuate throughout the day (weight) and with different machines (calorie readouts), makes the activity less fun, in my opinion. I think it's more important to find an exercise you love to do and that provides a good challenge. More benefits will arise from doing different types of exercises, every day or every week. But If you still want to focus on calories burned, just remember the numbers are an estimate, and that's ok, just as long as you're aware.

Coming Up

I've been really busy with work lately, so I may or may not do a new post tomorrow. Either way, a Biggest Loser review is in the future! I'm excited for it to start back up again. I'll also be doing a post on all those crazy label terms we see on the shelves.

Have a great night everyone! Thanks for reading.