NEXT!

Well I finally had my date with the guy who cancelled on me by text last week and it was unfortunately very uneventful. Nice guy and everything, but just no butterflies. He was like a miniature Dermont Mulroney…handsome, but small and excruciatingly chatty, although it could have been nerves.

We met at a pub and talked for a couple hours (well he talked), he asked if I wanted to meet up on Sunday, but I said I was busy. I think he got the hint cause I haven’t heard from him since. Now it’s on to the next date, the search for Mr. Perfect continues…or at least someone I can stand and who can stand me!

The Single gal team has often discussed why our dating lives aren’t more like Sex In the City…a date for every night of the week…or at least every weekend (or every other weekend??). If that was the case, maybe we wouldn’t get so nervous about the whole thing. I often get nervous and feelings of anxiety and I know some of the gals have some nervous ticks (you know who you are! LOL!), but that is only natural. If it were an every day thing, we’d be pro stars. But unfortunately a date, for some of us, seems to be a once in every 2-3 months type of thing. I personally think I’ve been re-virginized, my dating/sex life is so slow. Why is it so hard to find a date in this town? I just don’t understand.

Even when we finally do talk (or text) with someone, it takes 2-3 weeks to actually meet them in person and to find a day that works for both of us, and sometimes by then the excitement has kinda disappeared. No one goes out of their way to meet anymore, to set aside some time in their busy lives to actually get to know someone. No one seems to make sacrifices to potentially meet their love, no one chases anymore and us single gals are also guilty of all of the above.

Good luck all - and if you have any awesome dating stories please be sure to email us as we must remain optimistic!

Single Chick

How much protein do we need?

There is so much information our there as to how much protein we should consume. I’ve been trying to figure it out for years now and some experts say to eat around 120 -150g daily and that is a lot for this gal. My goal is to get more lean muscle mass, and it is very important to get the right nutrients after a workout but I’ve been finding it very hard to get the correct information. I am currently taking sports nutrition and yesterday we discussed the role of protein for muscle development and repair. Here is what I found out and it actually makes sense to me. And I am happy to report that most of us do not need to eat 120 – 150g of protein for proper muscle growth and repair. Your protein requirements are based on your activity level and weight. Protein is important because it builds lean body mass, is needed for tissue repair. Also a small amount of protein is burned during physical activity.

So how much protein do you need?

For the general population the requirement is .8 grams of protein per Kilogram of bodyweight daily

Example: 68Kg (150 lbs) x .8 = 54.4g of protein daily

There are 4 calories per gram of protein. Example: 54.4 (grams of protein) x 4 (calories) = 217.60 protein calories. If you are following a 1500 calorie diet that is 15% of your total daily calories.

Convert pounds to Kilograms Calculator
http://www.calculateme.com/Weight/Pounds/ToKilograms.htm

Protein requirements for endurance athletes (marathon runners, tri-athletes etc) are 1.2g – 1.4g per kg daily.

Example: 68Kg (150 lbs) x 1.2 = 81.6g of protein
68Kg (150 lbs) x 1.4 = 95.2g of protein
Therefore a 150 lbs endurance athlete would need between 81 – 95g of protein

Protein requirements for strength athletes are 1.6g – 1.8g per kg daily

Example: 68Kg (150 lbs) x 1.6 = 108.8g of protein
68Kg (150 lbs) x 1.8 = 122.4g of protein
Therefore a 150 lbs strength athlete would need between 108 – 122g of protein

Now you may be asking yourself what category do I fall under? Things to consider are how many days do you work out, what type of training do you do? Are you a cardio queen? An iron sister? Or do you mix it up with cardio, weights etc.

For me, I work out 3 – 5 days a week. I do strength training, boxing and spin so my protein requirements are around 1.2g – 1.6g per kg per day.
So your meter of measurement falls between .8g (couch potato) – 1.8g (Hardcore body builder) try to estimate where you fall between that line.

If you work out 3 times a week 1.2g per kg would be a good protein intake.


Protein Supplements:

There are various protein supplements on the market and they have different effects on the body. (Listed in no particular order)

1) Casein: a milk protein that has good absorption levels due to extended exposure in the intestines. It is a time-released protein best taken at night or before going to bed. If you have a dairy intolerance then Casein needs to be avoided.

2) Soy or Vegetable: a protein that isolates and contains 90% pure protein. However be weary of Soy because it is one of the top 4 products that is GMO (genetically modified organisms). Make sure it’s coming from an organic soy source. Also Soy is a common intolerance for many people, so if you have too much of it, you could develop an intolerance. If you are vegetarian or have a dairy intolerance it is best to go with Vegetable based proteins.

3) Whey Isolate protein is the superstar of protein supplements; it has a full amino acid profile, is high in BCAA’s (branch chain amino acids). Whey Isolate yields a higher Whey protein fraction (90% of casein (milk protein) is taken out and there is no lactose so even if you have a dairy intolerance you can use a Whey Isolate supplement. Also if it is not an Isolate Whey protein it may contain wheat gluten, and other fillers. Whey Isolate is best right after your workout, or immediately upon rising because it digests fairly quickly and the absorption rate is high.

A great post workout snack would be an Apple with a protein shake (protein powder w/ water).

Food sources of Protein:


Meats:
1 oz low fat tenderloin = 7.5g
1 oz wild game, venison etc = 8.5g


Poultry:
1 oz skinless chicken breast = 8g
1 oz deli style chicken breast = 5g
1 oz skinless turkey breast = 8g
1 oz deli style turkey breast = 5g

Fish:
1 oz Bass (freshwater) = 6g
1 oz Cod = 7g
1 oz Halibut = 7g
1 oz Haddock = 7g
1 oz Herring = 6.5g
1 oz Mackerel = 7g
1 oz Salmon = 7.5g
1 oz sardines (oil based) = 6g
1 oz Sardines (water based) = 6g
1 oz Snapper = 7g
1 oz Tilapia = 5g
1 oz Trout = 7g
1 oz Tuna (fresh) = 8g
1 oz Tuna (oil based) = 7.5
1 oz Tuna (water based) = 6g


Seafood:
1 oz Clams = 7g
1 oz Crabmeat = 5.5g
1 oz Lobster = 5.5g
1 oz Scallops = 5g
1 oz shrimp = 6g


Eggs (boiled)
1 Whole Egg = 6g
2 Egg whites = 7g


Dairy:
Whey Protein Isolate
1 oz Organic low fat Cheese = 7g
¼ cup low fat cottage cheese = 7.5g
½ cup plain organic skim Yogurt = 7g


Grains:
1 cup Quinoa Cooked (Gluten Free) = 9g
1 cup Millet Cooked (Gluten Free) = 6.1g
¼ cup Amaranth (Gluten Free) = 8g
¼ cup Buckwheat (Gluten Free) = 6g
¼ cup Oats = 6g


Beans and Lentils:
1 cup Lentils cooked = 18g
1 cup Black Beans cooked = 15g
1 cup Kidney Beans cooked = 13g
1 cup Pinto Beans cooked = 12g
1 cup Black-eyed peas cooked = 11g
1 cup Lima Beans cooked = 10g

Seeds and Nuts:
¼ cup Almonds = 7.6g
¼ cup Sunflower Seeds = 6g
¼ cup Cashews = 5g
¼ cup Walnuts = 3.8g

Soy / Other:
1 cup Tempeh = 41g
3 oz Seitan (a.k.a Wheat Meat) = 31g
4 oz Tofu firm = 11g
4 oz Tofu regular = 9g
1 cup Plain Soy Milk = 7g
6 oz plain soy yogurt = 6g
1 cup Soybeans cooked = 31g

Thinking of getting inked?

I have just put down a $100 deposit for my tattoo which is scheduled for Friday July 23 and will take between 4 – 5 hours to do. Now ladies this is not an impulsive decision, if you are thinking of getting one make sure you know without a doubt that you will be happy with it in 5 years, 10 years, 20 years from now. I was recently talking with a friend that got a tattoo on impulse when she was younger because she was dating a guy with tattoos and thought it would be cool to get one. She got it on her stomach and now regrets it.

I've been thinking about doing this for the last two years, I wanted something meaningful to me, the ideas have changed over the years but I finally decided on getting a portrait tattoo in loving memory of Shmoo and Yoda. They were my two loves and both were taken from me in very traumatic ways.  I still have not gotten over the loss of Shmoo and it has been over a year, so in his and Yoda’s honor I will have their beautiful faces put on my shoulder.

  

Once I  made the decision as to what I wanted to get done, next on my list was finding the right tattoo artist.I was on the hunt for one that specialized in portraits, I asked friends, looked at the work of at least 50 different artists. This to me was the hardest part because there are so many talented tattoo artists out there. I finally found one at the Tattoo Convention. I am nervous and excited, probably more excited since I have already had a tattoo done I know what to expect, but I am still a little nervous because it will take 4 hours or more.

Now ladies, if you are seriously thinking of getting inked, put a lot of thought into it, do your research. You need to think about where you want your tattoo, that’s very important. Do you want it to always be seen, do you want to be able to hide it when need be, or not to be seen at all, unless by someone very, very close to you. Also please refrain from getting the tramp stamp that is so 90’s and it’s been done. (Just my personal opinion no offense intended, I have friends that have great work done on their lower backs) Here is a link for common questions you may have and things you should consider when you first get a tattoo Beginner’s Guide to Getting a Tattoo.

We at the Single Gals camp love tattoos especially on hot dudes. However ladies if you have one send it to us with a little blurb as to the meaning behind it  and we will post them in a special blog dedicated to our Inked SG Followers. E-mail us at single@single-gals.com

Cheers!
Hopeful in TO

Not all tires are the same...Who knew?

Monday night I go to grab my car for night school and what do I find waiting for me but a flat tire. My first reaction was “You got to be kidding me” and than I get the flashbacks of the last time I tried to change a tire and scraped my knuckles to a bloody pulp. Now the stress headache kicks in which is a prefect addition to my 45 minute ride on the moving sauna. During that ride I go through a various rollercoaster ride of emotions, and thoughts, first it’s pity “why me”, than it’s anger “If that man rubs against me one more time he‘s getting an elbow in the groin” and than its loneliness “if only I had someone in my life then he would take care of my tire and the pervert on the bus”.

 I survive my bus ride and once in my nice air conditioned classroom I started to think a little more clearly about the situation. It really wasn’t so bad it was just a flat tire after all. I remembered that I had renewed my CAA membership a couple of weeks ago.  So in my clear headed moment of genius I think to myself, well rather than have CAA put on my “Donut tire” why not buy a new tire and they can put on that one, saving me the trip to a dealership to have them do it. GENIUS! So my fellow Einstein drives me to Wal-Mart, to get a new tire. While there I realize that I would need to know my tire size, so while my friend is running around looking for the big book that lists every car made and their tire size I do a Google search (NOTE: Gal’s invest in a phone with internet it is a girls best friend) I tell the guy what I want and I leave the store quite proud of myself. Also it did not help that my fellow Einstein, was praising my genius.

I get home with my new tire; since I am so pleased with myself I am just about beaming with pride. In my elevator there are a couple of dudes who kept looking at my tire, I’m thinking to myself, ‘Yes boys you got it this girl knows what she is doing, hmp who needs a man!’ I call CAA and within 15 minutes a CAA hero is at my door, we get to my car and I pull out my nice new shiny tire, he just looks at me like I pulled out a curling iron, he ask “what’s that?” (Uh it’s a tire genius) I said it’s my tire to replace the flat one. Well he laughs and tells me that he can’t put that tire on; it has to be done at a shop. What isn’t a tire a tire? Apparently not! Putting on a donut and a regular tire are to very different processes as it turns out. Who knew? Also you can’t just put on one new tire you would have to at least change two tires, something to do with balance.

My flat tire was caused because I ran over a screw, so the CAA hero tells me he can plug it but that he is not allowed to so. So I say “I have $10 bucks will that help?’ It takes him all of five minutes to fix my tire. Yippee now I can drive my dumb blond ass back up to Wal-Mart and return the nice new shiny tire. Now ladies I did tell all my gal pals my plans for my tire and they all thought it was genius, so I know I am not the only gal that has no clue about tires. The moral of this story is, if you are a Single Gal and have a car make sure you have a CAA membership, also call them first before you get any bright ideas no matter how genius your friends think you are, or call a male in your life because they seemed genetically disposed to just know these things. 

Cheers!

Hopeful in TO

Summer Loving?

Now that spring is officially over I feel it’s the single ladies duty to try to get out and enjoy the nicer weather, the happier attitude of people and the pool of available men.

I am not an excuse person I deal with facts, why am I stating this? Well because people tend to make excuses for being single. Now I’m not saying that there aren’t legitimate reasons for being single but the facts are that you are single and you need to take control of the situation. Your knight in shining armor is not going to come to you; you need to make yourself available to him. Get out there and be seen, watch World Cup matches in bars, go walking, go out to patios, go rollerblading, play tennis….the list goes on but I’m sure you get my drift…Don’t wait for things to happen take initiative and make things happen.

Summer is a great time to get out there and the biggest reason being that weather is on your side. Also friends, family and acquaintances are more likely to want to reconnect so take them up on their offers. You never know what may come your way and even if it’s not the relationship you’re thinking of, you may just get some summer loving from the cute guy you meet in the most random of places.

Queen B

From textmessageless to plain ole’ dateless…

So last week I was complaining about text messaging and how it’s ruining the dating world and how we actually get to know and interact with people. I was anticipating an upcoming date and hoping the guy wasn’t a text messaging doucher…well, turns out he’s just a doucher because that date never happened.

I thought our plans were pretty final because the conversation went something like this;
Him: “blah, blah blah, I may have to work on Saturday but we could do something after, I could come out your way”
Me: “Ok that sounds good, we could also meet half way?”
Him: “No I don’t mind coming out there, I’ll call you at the end of the week to figure it out”

I even told most of my friends about it. He never called, but he did text message me on Thursday to say he would be in touch.

Saturday rolls around and I got my hair did, worked out and still hadn’t heard from him. So I called him at 3pm and left him a message wondering if we were still on for that night. I got all gussied up…even put on a freakin dress. Then I get a text message from him at 6:30pm and I quote:

“Hey, at the cottage. Terrible reception. I’m coming back tomorrow morning. Any chance you’re around tomorrow aft? Have a good night.”

WTF?? Why would he have not just called earlier and told me he’s decided to go to the cottage for the weekend? I wouldn’t have cared. Is it just easier to do that sort of thing over text? Why are people so afraid to say things face to face anymore? I just don’t get it.

My responses back to him were very short, and he happened to call last night to see if we could do something this week. Even though I’m pretty put off by the whole situation and no longer enthusiastic about it, I feel like I should give it a shot since it’s been a while since I’ve even had a date and the pool of “semi” decent guys is forever shrinking. See I'm not even picky...I'm willing to go out with them even if they're "semi" decent.

Are those butterflies we used to feel when we were younger ever going to happen again? Is it too late for us to have a normal first date with a decent person who doesn’t disappoint you right off the bat, is NOT self-absorbed, possessive, a texting maniac or boring, and who actually looks like their picture, pays for the bill and maybe even offers to pick you up? Are these things too much for a single-gal to ask for?

If anyone out there has any answers to the above questions please let us know. And keep in mind that we are not bitter...we are very open minded about who we go on first dates with and get very excited about them. We will pretty much give anyone a shot (do not take this out of context...we do have our preferences!) It's just starting to seem like the crappy stories I hear and my own experiences are getting more and more common. It seems very rare that a first date ever makes it to a second date. No one seems to try anymore. I guess visiting mommy and daddy's cottage for the weekend is more important than finding the love of your life.

Single-chick

Text Messageless…

I know Single-gals has broached this subject before, but it must be raised again. After months of going dateless, I finally, potentially, have a date coming up (as some of us know that nothing is ever set in stone). This “fix-up” was strangely arranged by my mother…but hey, in desperate times a gal should take what she can get. He’s apparently “good looking” (although this tid bit of info comes from his own mother), a little older (approx 8 years more than myself) and looking to actually “find someone” (as we all know this means nothing and one should not get too excited about the fact that someone may want to “settle down” because they could quite suddenly change their mind).

So we have our first phone conversation and talk for 40 minutes. It was a decent conversation, he talked a lot, but was funny and we seemed to have stuff in common. We set something up for that coming weekend. I didn’t hear from him all week, until a couple days before our anticipated date, when he sent me a…dun, dun, duuunnn….text message! The most feared message in the dating world today! I now realize that one of the things I hate most about dating is the dreaded first text message. Most of the guys I have dated this past year have resorted to having a sort of text message relationship. I suppose it’s safer that way and rejection over text is so much easier? These ridiculous experiences start off by phone call, then we meet up, and then from there…it’s all text. I don’t get it, why does the guy never call again? All plans, flirting, “how’s your day going” are all done through text.

I went on a date with this one textamaniac…it was actually our second date. He asked if we were still on for that night, then we decided on a place and time, then he suggested to meet at the place…and this is all done through text. Why? It just doesn’t make any sense? I ended up not knowing where this place was so what did I do? I called him! I know you all gasped right there, but there was no other choice, my hands were tied, I had to get directions! I also “verbally” suggested that maybe he could pick me up since he never offered and my place was on his way to the restaurant. He agreed. What a gentleman.

Our relationship continued over text, although we never went out again. He would text all the time, but never asked me out again? WTF? Over time my text responses were short and then I just didn’t respond. Total turn off. Fingers are crossed that my newest dating venture is not a text messaging douchebag. Perhaps we can start off by slowly evolving into text messaging, instead of tyring to get to know each other through this ridiculous mode of communication.

I’ll keep you all posted,
Single-chick