Okay so here goes. It was a big mistake, Huge mistake on my part to think that giving a daily run down of what I ate would be good for me. UGH! All of the sudden I was back in the world of weight watchers and other dieting tricks and it made me want to eat. Notice I haven't posted for the past few days. Well that's because all I could have posted would have been "Don't ask". I guess I still have some hang ups about dieting, and hope, to be honest, I always do. So, that being said, I'm announcing I'm going back to just a weekly update on weigh ins. It may or may not be the only post for the week. When I feel like I want to share; I sometimes share often.
It's amazing to me that once I came to the decision not to give a day by day, I calmed and have been on track today. That's really saying something. We had church this morning. Which is fine, but I tend to get home starving. I thought ahead and planed my morning. In addition, my youngest is moving out today. He found a place with two other friends and off he goes leaving the nest. I got home thinking I would cook me a pork loin chop and roast some veggies, but instead came home to "Mom can you help me pack?". Well of course honey let me get lunch started, and now at 4 pm he has taken the first load and I sit to type to you guys. I did get my chop and veggies. I literally wolfed it down in between packing. Now I sit with you guys eating my "Butter Popcorn" which is 4 gms butter to 3 TBS popcorn popped in a microwave popper.
My workout was also a fly by the seat of your pants. It's house cleaning. That's what I call packing, lifting, sweeping (sand out of the truck so dear son can take it), etc for the past 2.5 hours, but I only counted 45 minutes.
It was definitely a improv kinda day and improv when it comes to what I eat and how I move is what I need. Whatever I do has to roll with the punches so to speak. It has to be flexible because life, more often that not, isn't.
Sunday, December 31, 2017
Thursday, December 28, 2017
Barely made it and a thought
So today has been so so. I started out good and then had to pull it out in the end. It will end well though. I redeemed myself. My workout was 30 minutes on the treadmill at 3 mph and a 7% incline, 10 minutes of housecleaning (I did more than that, but counted 10), and 108 reps with 10 lb weights. So that I can check off my list.
The hard part of my day was the want to still eat goodies left over from the holidays. My hubby is having the same issues. As a result almost a third of my calories came from less than stellar sources. Oh who am I kidding. It was junk. Chex mix, cookie, chips, etc. Not my best day. I knew today I needed to adjust my thinking. While doing my treadmill workout, I watched, yet again, a documentary I've watched many times before. It's called "Hungry for Change".
It's available on Hulu and Netflix right now and I highly recommend everyone take a look. When I watch this documentary I get re inspired and a little ticked at the food industry. But they don't make me eat what I eat. I do that. Anyway, after my workout and the movie I sat down and redeemed my day by making sure I have plenty of fruits and veggies to round out my day. As a result I'm under calories, and everything else is in range. I also remembered to fix a large glass of water. Now to just do that everyday.
My thought is that. To make sure I'm loading up on the fruits and veggies. The fun food is fun, but not what I need. It's just for pleasure. I need to start focusing my calories on nutrition and less on pleasure. Don't get me wrong. I will still have my treats, and coffee isn't going anywhere, But I should never look and see I've used that many calories for junk.
The hard part of my day was the want to still eat goodies left over from the holidays. My hubby is having the same issues. As a result almost a third of my calories came from less than stellar sources. Oh who am I kidding. It was junk. Chex mix, cookie, chips, etc. Not my best day. I knew today I needed to adjust my thinking. While doing my treadmill workout, I watched, yet again, a documentary I've watched many times before. It's called "Hungry for Change".
It's available on Hulu and Netflix right now and I highly recommend everyone take a look. When I watch this documentary I get re inspired and a little ticked at the food industry. But they don't make me eat what I eat. I do that. Anyway, after my workout and the movie I sat down and redeemed my day by making sure I have plenty of fruits and veggies to round out my day. As a result I'm under calories, and everything else is in range. I also remembered to fix a large glass of water. Now to just do that everyday.
My thought is that. To make sure I'm loading up on the fruits and veggies. The fun food is fun, but not what I need. It's just for pleasure. I need to start focusing my calories on nutrition and less on pleasure. Don't get me wrong. I will still have my treats, and coffee isn't going anywhere, But I should never look and see I've used that many calories for junk.
Day 2
Well the good news is I stayed away from the chocolate in the candy dish. The bad news is I had Chocolate chip cookies for dessert! LOL. BUT! I stayed in calorie range. I had no calories left over, but I counted it and stayed in range. I also met my fiber intake goals, so there is that. I decided I wanted a Coke Life more than the tortilla with my dinner so I had fajita filling (the chicken, peppers, onions) with no tortilla and a coke life. I haven't had one all season so I grabbed one while I had them. It's all about picking and choosing your battles.
So far today:
Breakfast
2 eggs
3 slices of turkey bacon
1 orange
coffee (With the rest of the flavored creamer. Well no one else was using it!)
Morning snack
1/4 cup cottage cheese
Lunch
3 oz chicken breast
Roasted Broccoli with a little Parmesan cheese (1 tsp)
1 oz chocolate chip cookie.Ahem and some bite size chocolate( Don't judge)
Dinner
4.78 oz pork loin
2 cups broccoli roasted (Love this stuff)
Coffee with milk and sugar
Dessert
2 oz cookies
Notice a trend here? I throw over breads for sweets! Well at least I got plenty of veggie and fruits in too. Now on the upside, I did 40 minutes on the treadmill at 3mph and a 7% incline plus 108 reps with 10 lb weights. Plus more house work so overall not too bad. Could be better. I need to drink more. I get busy and forget.
So far today:
Breakfast
2 eggs
3 slices of turkey bacon
1 orange
coffee (With the rest of the flavored creamer. Well no one else was using it!)
Morning snack
1/4 cup cottage cheese
Lunch
3 oz chicken breast
Roasted Broccoli with a little Parmesan cheese (1 tsp)
1 oz chocolate chip cookie.Ahem and some bite size chocolate( Don't judge)
Dinner
4.78 oz pork loin
2 cups broccoli roasted (Love this stuff)
Coffee with milk and sugar
Dessert
2 oz cookies
Notice a trend here? I throw over breads for sweets! Well at least I got plenty of veggie and fruits in too. Now on the upside, I did 40 minutes on the treadmill at 3mph and a 7% incline plus 108 reps with 10 lb weights. Plus more house work so overall not too bad. Could be better. I need to drink more. I get busy and forget.
Tuesday, December 26, 2017
And we start
This would normally not be a good day for getting back on track. It has been filled with a comedy of errors. That being said, I've stuck to my plan and not given in to the call of a few pieces of chocolate still lurking in the candy dish. If I do give in, I'll count it and let you guys know in the morning.
I began my day by putting up Christmas decor. To me there is nothing more depressing than decorations after the day. I put up my decor early and take it down as soon as the holiday as over. That is today. I usually gather everything together to my dining room and then pack away everything there. All was going according to plan. I had everything gathered and went to get the boxes. That's when things went wrong. I dropped one of the boxes which had some of my hubbies Redskins stuff in it. I broke one of the mugs. I can get it back together, but it was the start.
While packing things away, I went to put the Christmas linens in the wash and noticed something....off with the laundry room. Our cats litter box is in the corner in the laundry room, and at first I thought she might be up to some weird dementia ways when it came to toiletry (she's 18 and crazy as a bessie bug), because it was obvious something wet was around her litter box. When I started moving things I discovered the truth. Our new dog, Sophie, has decided that if the laundry room is good enough for the cat to use for a bath room it's good enough for her. She's a great Pyrenees mix if that gives you any indication of the mess I was facing. Fortunately we are only talking urine (Thank you Lord). So I had to stop what I was doing Decor wise and clean up this mess too. I get it all cleaned up, mopped, etc, and go back to work putting the Christmas decorations away. Oh, before that, I started a load of clothes. You know, Multitasking. I'm making good progress on getting the tree down and I turn towards the kitchen, laundry room area and notice the floor in my kitchen looks very...shiny. It takes a minute then it dawns on me my washer has flooded the laundry room, part of the kitchen, and part of the gym (den). Grabbing every towel available, I quickly turn off the washer and begin to dry up the mess. The drain pipe had come out of its holder and just sprayed everything. I had to pull everything out of the laundry room, pull the washer and dryer out from the wall, and dry up all the floor. The I moved onto moving stuff in the gym to dry under it as well. All is dry now. I have fixed the drain hose, and have a space heater drying up the floor. I've finally finished getting the decorations down, and am sitting down writing to you guys and eating my snack. Speaking of snack, here goes the day so far and plans for dinner:
Breakfast:
Coffee with 2 TBS whole milk and 1 tsp sugar
2 eggs + 1 egg white- "fried"
1 cup blackberries
2 oz french vanilla whole milk yogurt
Morning snack
Apple
2 oz plain yogurt + 1 tsp sugar
Lunch
5 oz pork loin
1 cup brocolli
2 carrots and 1 small potato roasted
Snack (now)
2 oz plain yogurt
1 cup cherries
Dinner
Chicken fajitas- just one
Not sure whats will be my dessert tonight, but I have the calories if need be. I'm only at 1286 and I get 1500. For exercise I cleaned house. I've been cleaning all day, but will only count 45 min. 262 calorie there.
So there's my day in a nut shell. I now have to go back to work. Not done yet!
As for Sophie, she's still cute as a button and sweet as can be, but we have got to keep her out of the laundry room.
I began my day by putting up Christmas decor. To me there is nothing more depressing than decorations after the day. I put up my decor early and take it down as soon as the holiday as over. That is today. I usually gather everything together to my dining room and then pack away everything there. All was going according to plan. I had everything gathered and went to get the boxes. That's when things went wrong. I dropped one of the boxes which had some of my hubbies Redskins stuff in it. I broke one of the mugs. I can get it back together, but it was the start.
While packing things away, I went to put the Christmas linens in the wash and noticed something....off with the laundry room. Our cats litter box is in the corner in the laundry room, and at first I thought she might be up to some weird dementia ways when it came to toiletry (she's 18 and crazy as a bessie bug), because it was obvious something wet was around her litter box. When I started moving things I discovered the truth. Our new dog, Sophie, has decided that if the laundry room is good enough for the cat to use for a bath room it's good enough for her. She's a great Pyrenees mix if that gives you any indication of the mess I was facing. Fortunately we are only talking urine (Thank you Lord). So I had to stop what I was doing Decor wise and clean up this mess too. I get it all cleaned up, mopped, etc, and go back to work putting the Christmas decorations away. Oh, before that, I started a load of clothes. You know, Multitasking. I'm making good progress on getting the tree down and I turn towards the kitchen, laundry room area and notice the floor in my kitchen looks very...shiny. It takes a minute then it dawns on me my washer has flooded the laundry room, part of the kitchen, and part of the gym (den). Grabbing every towel available, I quickly turn off the washer and begin to dry up the mess. The drain pipe had come out of its holder and just sprayed everything. I had to pull everything out of the laundry room, pull the washer and dryer out from the wall, and dry up all the floor. The I moved onto moving stuff in the gym to dry under it as well. All is dry now. I have fixed the drain hose, and have a space heater drying up the floor. I've finally finished getting the decorations down, and am sitting down writing to you guys and eating my snack. Speaking of snack, here goes the day so far and plans for dinner:
Breakfast:
Coffee with 2 TBS whole milk and 1 tsp sugar
2 eggs + 1 egg white- "fried"
1 cup blackberries
2 oz french vanilla whole milk yogurt
Morning snack
Apple
2 oz plain yogurt + 1 tsp sugar
Lunch
5 oz pork loin
1 cup brocolli
2 carrots and 1 small potato roasted
Snack (now)
2 oz plain yogurt
1 cup cherries
Dinner
Chicken fajitas- just one
Not sure whats will be my dessert tonight, but I have the calories if need be. I'm only at 1286 and I get 1500. For exercise I cleaned house. I've been cleaning all day, but will only count 45 min. 262 calorie there.
So there's my day in a nut shell. I now have to go back to work. Not done yet!
As for Sophie, she's still cute as a button and sweet as can be, but we have got to keep her out of the laundry room.
Monday, December 25, 2017
The Apology Tour
MERRY CHRISTMAS! I hope this post finds everyone well. I hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas festivities. I know I did!
Ohhh boy. I ate sooo much food! I have eaten so badly the past week. I knew I would. We had our daughter and her family over for dinner. I had the party at my mom's house which was an over night affair with lots of chocolate and cookies, and my mom knows her way around an oven. Plus my sister is a teacher and she brought goodies her student brought her for gifts. Then we had our Christmas eve and Christmas day. UGH! But it was good! Ironically I'm only up one pound. That's great compared to last year.
But now starts the apology tour. This is when I start to say "I'm sorry" to my poor digestive system that has held the reigns this past year, but got thrown over for taste buds.
So, starting tomorrow, for the next little bit, and maybe longer, I will post here everyday with stats. Some days I'll have something to say aside from that, but my daily posts will consist of what I've eaten, how many calories intake, and my workout info. This is an accountability of sorts. To lie to any readers of my blog is to lie to myself and it's not worth it. This will work for me to get be back on the straight and narrow. Accountability is important, especially first starting off. For one it makes it real. By telling someone your plans and goals, it plants it firmly in your mind. Someone else is now aware of your intentions and that means you can't pretend it didn't happen.
I promise I will be totally honest about my weigh ins, my intake, and workouts. If I have a bad day, I'll be honest about that as well.
As a result of this declaration, some daily posts may be dry reading, but I promise to post interesting things too.
This is not a New Years resolution. It is just returning to normalcy. Christmas is over for this year. It was fun while it lasted, but now it's back to everyday.
Now on a fun note, I got something for Christmas that will help me in my fitness endeavors and it makes me feel young! Can't you see me zipping around town, or taking it camping? I can. WEEEE!
Ohhh boy. I ate sooo much food! I have eaten so badly the past week. I knew I would. We had our daughter and her family over for dinner. I had the party at my mom's house which was an over night affair with lots of chocolate and cookies, and my mom knows her way around an oven. Plus my sister is a teacher and she brought goodies her student brought her for gifts. Then we had our Christmas eve and Christmas day. UGH! But it was good! Ironically I'm only up one pound. That's great compared to last year.
But now starts the apology tour. This is when I start to say "I'm sorry" to my poor digestive system that has held the reigns this past year, but got thrown over for taste buds.
So, starting tomorrow, for the next little bit, and maybe longer, I will post here everyday with stats. Some days I'll have something to say aside from that, but my daily posts will consist of what I've eaten, how many calories intake, and my workout info. This is an accountability of sorts. To lie to any readers of my blog is to lie to myself and it's not worth it. This will work for me to get be back on the straight and narrow. Accountability is important, especially first starting off. For one it makes it real. By telling someone your plans and goals, it plants it firmly in your mind. Someone else is now aware of your intentions and that means you can't pretend it didn't happen.
I promise I will be totally honest about my weigh ins, my intake, and workouts. If I have a bad day, I'll be honest about that as well.
As a result of this declaration, some daily posts may be dry reading, but I promise to post interesting things too.
This is not a New Years resolution. It is just returning to normalcy. Christmas is over for this year. It was fun while it lasted, but now it's back to everyday.
Now on a fun note, I got something for Christmas that will help me in my fitness endeavors and it makes me feel young! Can't you see me zipping around town, or taking it camping? I can. WEEEE!
Wednesday, December 20, 2017
Danger Foods
This time of year I'm readily faced with, and I know you are too, foods that are too good to eat and not good for you (at all). Thanksgiving and Christmas, along with all the other holidays celebrated this time of year, tend to bring out the good stuff. Weather it's gifts you're receiving or preparing to give, this can be a tricky time of year to stay on track. That's one of the reasons I say make your decision as to what you want to do during this season of giving and gaining. Me? I wanted to stay status quo. If I can hold my own during this season and concentrate on losing again after, then I'm fine. So far, so good.
But......
Enter...the forbidden. Nah, enter the dangerous. Technically I CAN have these, but they're trigger foods for me. Trigger foods are foods that I can't keep in the house in any large number. In other words I have to limit my exposure to them. What foods am I talking about? Well for me it's things like Toffee (apparently... ahem...moving on), M&M's (any kind), ice cream cake (not right now, but in the warmer months). These things I can't stay away from. It's not a short coming on my part. We're genetically geared to be attracted to fat and sugar and, well, there it is! Like credit cards, I can't be in possession of these things. It's one thing if i'm at a party and these things are there. I can enjoy it knowing I'm back on track next day. What I'm realizing is I can't have them around me all the time.
How did I come to this epiphany?
Well Kroger had an amazing sale on Hershey's Baking chips. That included all flavors. I stocked up. Now having an inkling to my weakness for toffee (Heath, Skor), I only bought 5 packages of the heath chips. But OH MY these things have been the bane of my existence. I mean really!!!!!! UGH! So I have to do something with them. Well they are now baked into cookies which I will gift friends, family, the post man, etc. Nothing of this will remain in my house after the 25th. It can't. I know my weaknesses. This is one and it has to go.
We all have those trigger foods. Having them periodically is fine. But if you know they're a weakness, don't put yourself into a position of prolonged exposure. Especially this time of year. When you're stressed, tired, not feeling 100%, your resolve weakens and you can get yourself into a lot of trouble. That's what I've been dealing with. It's been hard with my Etsy store being so busy (Yay). I knew that it would be going into this season and so Thought I planned accordingly. This is another lesson learned. I was sewing, sewing, sewing, grabbing what I could for meals, and sewing. It doesn't make for a smoothly running machine. Now things are slowing down with y store, but picking up with the finishing touches of our own Christmas Holiday. Today is a cloudy, rainy, not feeling well, errand running, etc kind of day and I just needed to get those things out of the house. So now they're all baked up and on their way out as gifts and so I Have to stay away.
But......
Enter...the forbidden. Nah, enter the dangerous. Technically I CAN have these, but they're trigger foods for me. Trigger foods are foods that I can't keep in the house in any large number. In other words I have to limit my exposure to them. What foods am I talking about? Well for me it's things like Toffee (apparently... ahem...moving on), M&M's (any kind), ice cream cake (not right now, but in the warmer months). These things I can't stay away from. It's not a short coming on my part. We're genetically geared to be attracted to fat and sugar and, well, there it is! Like credit cards, I can't be in possession of these things. It's one thing if i'm at a party and these things are there. I can enjoy it knowing I'm back on track next day. What I'm realizing is I can't have them around me all the time.
How did I come to this epiphany?
Well Kroger had an amazing sale on Hershey's Baking chips. That included all flavors. I stocked up. Now having an inkling to my weakness for toffee (Heath, Skor), I only bought 5 packages of the heath chips. But OH MY these things have been the bane of my existence. I mean really!!!!!! UGH! So I have to do something with them. Well they are now baked into cookies which I will gift friends, family, the post man, etc. Nothing of this will remain in my house after the 25th. It can't. I know my weaknesses. This is one and it has to go.
We all have those trigger foods. Having them periodically is fine. But if you know they're a weakness, don't put yourself into a position of prolonged exposure. Especially this time of year. When you're stressed, tired, not feeling 100%, your resolve weakens and you can get yourself into a lot of trouble. That's what I've been dealing with. It's been hard with my Etsy store being so busy (Yay). I knew that it would be going into this season and so Thought I planned accordingly. This is another lesson learned. I was sewing, sewing, sewing, grabbing what I could for meals, and sewing. It doesn't make for a smoothly running machine. Now things are slowing down with y store, but picking up with the finishing touches of our own Christmas Holiday. Today is a cloudy, rainy, not feeling well, errand running, etc kind of day and I just needed to get those things out of the house. So now they're all baked up and on their way out as gifts and so I Have to stay away.
Monday, December 11, 2017
No I'm not missing. Call off the search!
I know, I know, two weeks without a peep, but here I am now.
This is high season for my Etsy shop. I feel like it's the seam that never ends, but I'm happy with that one cause it means a little extra "Cha ching" this time of year. I mailed off something to Canada and something to England this morning. That is too cool! Anyway, I raised my head up enough to say "howdie" from here in the deep freeze south. And I do mean deep freeze. We got snow this past Friday. Real snow with inches accumulated and everything. In fact as I write this there is snow all over my yard, front and back. It is beautiful, and did double duty because it kept me at the sewing machine. Once done with this quick post I am back to the grind stone. My stock is getting low.
On the low front as well, I had a weigh in this morning. More of an accountability weigh in than anything else. This past week has been hard. I have wanted to eat, eat, eat! I don't know if it's because of the cold to generate some calorie warmth, or if it's my inner cave woman saying I need to pack on pounds for winter. Well I'm happy to say if it was the latter, I failed. Oh darn! Even after my terribly awful no good week, I am at my same weight. Actually I'm down compared to my official weight. Who Knew!
Lest you folks in reader land think this is always a breeze let me set you straight. While this is way easier than when I did things the old fashioned way, there are still days....... Compared to before, though, it is a breeze. I don't feel like a junkie needing my next fix.
So that is my post for now. Sorry so short. I'm just busy, busy, busy!
This is high season for my Etsy shop. I feel like it's the seam that never ends, but I'm happy with that one cause it means a little extra "Cha ching" this time of year. I mailed off something to Canada and something to England this morning. That is too cool! Anyway, I raised my head up enough to say "howdie" from here in the deep freeze south. And I do mean deep freeze. We got snow this past Friday. Real snow with inches accumulated and everything. In fact as I write this there is snow all over my yard, front and back. It is beautiful, and did double duty because it kept me at the sewing machine. Once done with this quick post I am back to the grind stone. My stock is getting low.
On the low front as well, I had a weigh in this morning. More of an accountability weigh in than anything else. This past week has been hard. I have wanted to eat, eat, eat! I don't know if it's because of the cold to generate some calorie warmth, or if it's my inner cave woman saying I need to pack on pounds for winter. Well I'm happy to say if it was the latter, I failed. Oh darn! Even after my terribly awful no good week, I am at my same weight. Actually I'm down compared to my official weight. Who Knew!
Lest you folks in reader land think this is always a breeze let me set you straight. While this is way easier than when I did things the old fashioned way, there are still days....... Compared to before, though, it is a breeze. I don't feel like a junkie needing my next fix.
So that is my post for now. Sorry so short. I'm just busy, busy, busy!
Monday, November 27, 2017
The awaited weigh in
I have looked on today with, I'll admit, a little trepidation, but the reality wasn't so bad. So after, not my most stellar month; with the three day festival and Thanksgiving to round it out, I was still down .2 pounds. I said it was like chiseling granite. That's .2 from last weeks weigh in. I'll take it. Well, I would have accepted anything good or bad. I made those choices, but did my best to minimize the damage. Now I have three uninterrupted weeks before the Christmas week. Three weeks to keep to my calorie range and move. Last year I put on 5 lbs and most of that was during the Christmas week. So I want to have 3 really good weeks before hand and just do my best that week. Once I get past Christmas, things should settle down into normalcy.
Speaking of Christmas! Aside from baking bread this morning, I spent the day putting up decorations. I am almost done with just a few tweaks here and there. The tree was put up by all of us Saturday night. I told them then to give me a few days and I would have it looking like Santa threw up in here. To which my youngest son replied " so there's gonna be cookies and milk all over the floor?" Wise guy.
I have other rooms decorated, but these are the main ones. Almost have my shopping done. Yay! I don't know what to do with myself. Not a normal thing for me. But anyway, spent the day putting up decorations with Celtic Christmas music playing on Pandora in the back ground. I still have it playing. Very relaxing. So anyway, that's my day for the most part. How's yours? When do you decorate?
Speaking of Christmas! Aside from baking bread this morning, I spent the day putting up decorations. I am almost done with just a few tweaks here and there. The tree was put up by all of us Saturday night. I told them then to give me a few days and I would have it looking like Santa threw up in here. To which my youngest son replied " so there's gonna be cookies and milk all over the floor?" Wise guy.
I have other rooms decorated, but these are the main ones. Almost have my shopping done. Yay! I don't know what to do with myself. Not a normal thing for me. But anyway, spent the day putting up decorations with Celtic Christmas music playing on Pandora in the back ground. I still have it playing. Very relaxing. So anyway, that's my day for the most part. How's yours? When do you decorate?
Tuesday, November 21, 2017
All the comforts of home
Been in the kitchen mostly today. I had some things I needed to use and so have been..well...using them. I made apple cereal bars (uh not low calorie, but good), Cranberry orange bread, and lastly a chicken pot pie for dinner. The cranberry orange bread was a pumpkin bread recipe I altered to use butter instead of oil and cranberries instead of pumpkin. I think it would have done fine had I baked it in wide bread pans or used three pans instead of two, but I didn't so it over flowed the pan some and didn't turn out as pretty as I would have liked. It's good though. It's good and went promptly into the freezer. Whew! It will reemerge on a day I can enjoy it, and when everyone is home and can help me eat it.
While preparing to make the chicken pot pie, I had an inspiration to write a post about things we can do to still enjoy the comfort foods without turning to highly processed diet tricks. The recipe that I will leave you with is a healthier version of Chicken pot pie. As a result it will have fewer calories and fat then it's unaltered counter part, but it is by no means a "Diet" recipe. There are no tricks of the trade as you may know them. I'm not using skim milk, thickener (cept flour), "Low fat canned soups", or anything else like that. This is sure nuff Chicken pot pie, made smarter.
First things first you need chicken and chicken broth. This morning I took a whole chicken from the fridge (I had been thawing it a few day in there) and placed it in my crock pot to cook. I added no extra water. Just the bird and a little salt. It cooked on high the better part of the day til the chicken was falling off the bones. That's what you look for. I removed the chicken to a plate to cool,and poured the broth, which was now in the crock pot, into a 2 cup measuring cup. I placed the measuring cup into my freezer to get cool enough for the fat to solidify on the broth, but have no plans to freeze this broth. It's to be used tonight. And that is tip #1
1) Use de-fatted broth. I don't buy broth. I make my own. But you can buy your own. Just make sure you read the labels. It should only be broth...maybe salt. Anything unpronounceable, move on.
2) Use the white meat part of the chicken- I'll de-bone the whole thing and save the dark meat for other recipes, but since this dish will have a pie crust, I'm using the white meat for lower fat in that area to make up for the fat in the pie crust.
3) Double up on the veggies- I bulk up my pot pies with extra veggies The recipe calls for a 10 oz pkg of frozen veggies, I may add another pack of veggies, or add extra celery or carrots to bulk it up. I use the same amount of meat though.
4) Don't saute your veggies in butter or any other kind of fat. Once my broth is cool enough to remove the fat, I will take the broth(after I've removed the fat) and add my veggies directly to it and let it simmer til they're soft. This one thing alone removes 1/4 cup of butter from the recipe. I also add the chicken after the veggies are soft.
5) They normally want you to use the 1/4 cup of butter so that you can make the gravy for the pie. Instead, I take the 1/3 cup of flour called for in the recipe and whisk in the 3/4 cup of (I use whole milk/water half and half) milk. Whisk the milk/water into the flour and not the other way around or it will clump. I turn the heat up on my chicken/broth/veggie mixture and once boiling, add the milk/flour all at once and stir. It will thicken pretty quickly. Once thickened, remove from heat.
6) Use one pie crust at most. I mixed up a recipe for a double crust pie, but will freeze one and use the other tonight. You can also can roll out your single pie crust and cut it into strips. Use the crust on the top of your pot pie in a criss/cross pattern. You won't use as much crust this way. Freeze the extra for later.
So here is the actual recipe:
10 oz pkg frozen veggies or more (or fresh equivalent )
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 stalks celery chopped
2 cups white meat chicken
1/3 cup flour
3/4 cup of half whole milk half water
2 cups chicken broth (de fatted)
1/2-1 tsp salt (start with the 1/2 tsp and add from there)
1/4 tsp sage
1/8 tsp pepper
2 tbs dried parsley
Pastry for single crust pie.
Place broth, veggies, cooked white meat chicken, and spices into a pot and simmer till veggies are soft but not mushy. Whisk milk into the flour. Bring the veggie mixture to boil and add the milk flour mixture all at once stirring well. Once thickened, remove from heat. Might want to taste and make sure it's to your liking. Now would be the time to make any adjustments. Pour into a 9 X 13 casserole dish and top with single crust. Bake 450 for 10 min or until crust is golden brown.
Monday, November 20, 2017
I'll take that!
Just spent a great weekend at the 29th annual dulcimer music festival in Unicoi Lodge Helen, Ga this weekend, and yes, I tentatively jumped the wagon. By that I mean I ate things I probably shouldn't, but I did pace myself and didn't go hog wild. Still, I know I was over calories. You can't eat a chocolate peanut butter pie (as well as other desserts offered) and not be over. Just sayin. What I didn't say was "It's an all you can eat bar and so I'll start with the cheesecake". So...ya know...I did well all things considered. AND considering those 3 days, I was dreading getting on the scale, but knew I needed to face the music (pardon the pun). You're not gonna believe this, but I'm down 1.4 pounds. Now in all seriousness, I know I probably would have been down more had it not been for the past three days, but I'll take it
Regardless of how I ate those 3 days, I knew this festival was coming and planned ahead to minimize the damage. I had a scheduled workout every day from Sunday before thru Wednesday when we left to go. Also we were fortunate in that you had to walk up and down stairs to get where you were going at the festival so that was a plus. We came home Saturday at Midnight and woke up Sunday with the determination that the festival was over it was back on track time til Thanksgiving (Our next jump off). So since yesterday and thru Wednesday, I will be eating like I should and moving like I should. Thursday is vacation and Friday is back on track. I hope when I get back to you guys on Monday, I can say I'm down again despite a holiday.
Regardless of how I ate those 3 days, I knew this festival was coming and planned ahead to minimize the damage. I had a scheduled workout every day from Sunday before thru Wednesday when we left to go. Also we were fortunate in that you had to walk up and down stairs to get where you were going at the festival so that was a plus. We came home Saturday at Midnight and woke up Sunday with the determination that the festival was over it was back on track time til Thanksgiving (Our next jump off). So since yesterday and thru Wednesday, I will be eating like I should and moving like I should. Thursday is vacation and Friday is back on track. I hope when I get back to you guys on Monday, I can say I'm down again despite a holiday.
Monday, November 13, 2017
Baa! Okay...full accountability
Ever forgotten to record a check and the account ends up over drawn? Anyone? I know I'm not the only one. Anyhoo. I missed a weigh in. Like 2 weeks ago missed a weigh in. So I weighed today and, well. I'm up 2.2 lbs. I told yall I was having a multi jump off kind of month. Now in my defense this shouldn't be my official weigh in because that should be in 2 weeks, but another problem I'm having is my body is getting a mind of it's own. But, disregarding that, I am treating this as a sure fire gain cause there is no other way to do it.
This week is also the week Dh and I go on our festival trip. Three days. There's food. Yikes. Then next week is Thanksgiving. One day. There's food. Yikes. So that's 4 out of 14 days where jumping off is a distinct possibility (or fact). Can someone say DAMAGE CONTROL!!!!
So here is where I follow my own advice. My official weigh in is the 27th of this month. That follows the next crazy two weeks. So to offset those 4 days( yes I more than likely won't stay on plan or get a workout...much) my other 10 days have to be exemplary. No other days off, no missed workouts. Already done a workout for today. It had to be treadmill cause there isn't much left to do outside. I'll do the treadmill for the next 2 days as well. Not much I can do about festival day, but if I get a chance to walk around the park a bit, I will.
Eating will be right on target the next three days, plus I figure if I can stay out of the lodge restaurant a good bit I should be okay. Breakfast is provided those days, and at breakfast they don't have the pies and cakes and such out. I plan to grocery shop prior to going and make sure we take lots of high protein items like Greek yogurts, fruits, and such to have for snacks or meals. There will more than likely be a dinner in the restaurant, but if I'm not starving like last year, I should be able to muddle through without too much damage (I hope).
Once I'm through the festival, All I need to worry about is Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is Thanksgiving and I will enjoy myself, but make sure all the other days are right on track. We'll see in two weeks how I do, but weather I get through this unscathed or not, I'm still plugging along taking things as they come and ever moving forward (and hopefully downward).
This week is also the week Dh and I go on our festival trip. Three days. There's food. Yikes. Then next week is Thanksgiving. One day. There's food. Yikes. So that's 4 out of 14 days where jumping off is a distinct possibility (or fact). Can someone say DAMAGE CONTROL!!!!
So here is where I follow my own advice. My official weigh in is the 27th of this month. That follows the next crazy two weeks. So to offset those 4 days( yes I more than likely won't stay on plan or get a workout...much) my other 10 days have to be exemplary. No other days off, no missed workouts. Already done a workout for today. It had to be treadmill cause there isn't much left to do outside. I'll do the treadmill for the next 2 days as well. Not much I can do about festival day, but if I get a chance to walk around the park a bit, I will.
Eating will be right on target the next three days, plus I figure if I can stay out of the lodge restaurant a good bit I should be okay. Breakfast is provided those days, and at breakfast they don't have the pies and cakes and such out. I plan to grocery shop prior to going and make sure we take lots of high protein items like Greek yogurts, fruits, and such to have for snacks or meals. There will more than likely be a dinner in the restaurant, but if I'm not starving like last year, I should be able to muddle through without too much damage (I hope).
Once I'm through the festival, All I need to worry about is Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is Thanksgiving and I will enjoy myself, but make sure all the other days are right on track. We'll see in two weeks how I do, but weather I get through this unscathed or not, I'm still plugging along taking things as they come and ever moving forward (and hopefully downward).
Saturday, November 11, 2017
Getting in shape cheaply.
I hear this soooo often " It's just too expensive to eat healthy!", or "I can't afford to workout". Shoot! There are articles posted by the "They" everyone talks about (in hushed tones) yet no one knows (she said as she glanced about furtively) that say the exact same thing! If I hear one more time how it's cheaper to buy a cheese burger at McDonald's than to eat healthy I'll scream! Especially when you are buying burgers for a family. It sounds good though. Ya know? It's a nice little justification of being over weight. "Poor me, I'll always be fat and unhealthy because I don't make lots of money". Ya know what I say to that? TOOWY! Yes you heard me. I will not mince words!
Yes! SRSLY. So let me borrow their premise for one person. Just one. Okay. Let's see how cheap it is. A Cheeseburger from McDonalds value menu is $1. Assuming you only eat 1 burger at lunch and 1 burger for dinner with no fries, just water to drink, and it's just you. For breakfast we'll choose a sausage biscuit cause they're only $1.19 and we have to watch our pennies. Now I'm also assuming these choices. In fairness to Micky "D"s", they do have healthier choices. The yogurt parfait and 2 bags of apple slices will cost you $2, But that might be more than budget. So I'll take the absolute cheapest version of this scenario. I have $3.19 x 1.07 (for sales tax in my area) which comes to $3.41. We won't factor in the travel expenses it takes to make daily trips to the restaurant to eat your meal. So $3.41 x 7 (days)= 23.87. Times a month (30 days) and you have $102.40. What can I do with $102 dollars for a month of meals for one person at home.
Breakfast
Eggs- 2 a day for 30 days is 5 dz- $5
Apple- (since apples are what is offered at McDonalds, we'll go with that, though there are cheaper food options)- 30 lbs for the month. I'm figuring 3 medium apples a day for snacks and such. FYI still cheaper than McDonald's 2 pks of apple slices for $1. - $30
*** some cheaper options would be Bananas at .55 lb, or get whats on sale. Go half and half Banana's/ Apples and you are only at $23.25 for total fruit needs with $8.25 of your total in bananas FOR THE MONTH.
Now before you say "That's not a lot for food. might I point out that you're only getting one sausage mcmuffin for breakfast at 400 calories. I've just given you in snacks and such 359 (not counting if you mixed in some Bananas.
Lunch/ Dinner
Chicken - 7 fresh whole chickens. Estimated 4 meals per bird maybe more. $35.00
Carrots- 25 lb ORGANIC whole carrots- bought in 5lb bags $18.45.
Potatoes- 20 lbs bought in 2 10 lb bags - $8
Option A
Eggs $5
Apples- $30
Chicken- $ 35
Carrots- $ 18.45
Potatoes- $8
Plus 7% sales tax = $103.20. OH MY GOODNESS! I went over by .80. Sorry to break the bank.
But!
Option B (should you mix in Banana and apples (highly recommend just for variety anyway)
All of the above, but replace half your apple weight with banana weight- $95.98. Under budget! You could splurge and by a little something extra like 1 pound of butter in which to roast/cook all your stuff.
Now I know the menu I have set before you is unrealistic, but how realistic is the McDonald's menu I started with. Who goes to McDonald's and buys a cheese burger and nothing else. In actuality, my menu can be more realistic. Especially if I have a pound of butter to cook my eggs in. I only need 4 gms.
I can cook up and debone just one of those birds, reserving the broth (seriously reserve the broth). Put the broth in the fridge over night. In the morning remove AND SAVE the fat you skim off the top. Keep the fat in the fridge. Want something good? Melt a little of that fat (not a lot!!!) and use it to roast your potatoes and carrots in the oven with a little salt. The broth can be frozen or used immediately by taking some chicken, potatoes, and carrots and making a soup or casserole (if you have the makings).
Banana's can be frozen then blended in the blender with a little water and make the best tasting banana soft serve ice cream. Make sure you get bananas that are a little ripe. They are sweeter and usually marked down cheaper than .55 lb. More savings! You can use those savings to add something else to your cart.
Look for meats marked down or on sale. Right now turkeys are .59 lb. Do you know what I can do with turkey! The same stuff I can do with chicken. You can totally switch it out.
Replace some of your chicken with dried beans and lentils. Very cheap per pound and very good for you. You can soak them over night, add a tsp of salt per cup of dry beans and cook during the day. Cook a bunch at a time and freeze what you aren't using. Again, with the savings from this one thing you can add something else, maybe fun, to your cart.
My grocery budget for the month is $350-$400 dollars. That includes pet food for a dog and cat, Chicken feed, all cleaning, and toiletries. Plus I keep a pantry in case of emergencies. I make my budget low because I grow a lot but not all of our veggies. I also make a lot of stuff from scratch. I purposely kept the menu set before you minus anything that has to be grown. In fact the menu contains items I have to buy myself. There's nothing on this menu I grow or make from scratch. That being said, my budget is for 4 grown adults, 3 of which are men. Multiply the Mcdonalds menu I started with and I would have a $410 budget to start with. I can do a lot with that.
There's nothing special about me. My trick is education. In a google world, anything you need to know is at your finger tips. In addition to that, many of the things I do now came from those old ancient paper filled things called books. Available in any library or thrift store. In fact, find cook books from the 40's and you can get a lot information on making due with less. Rationing during WW2. My other trick is "Want to". A willingness to do what it takes to save money and eat right.
My prices came from Kroger, a grocery store higher priced than Walmart or Aldi, but less than a convenience store.
I end with the caveat. Yes McDonalds is cheaper than buying highly processed, really bad for you diet foods in the name of healthy eating. It is not cheaper when you eat honest to goodness real food in normal portions that you cook and prepare yourself.
Well this has run on longer than I thought. Sorry. I'll vent about workout routines later. So how do you keep costs down when buying groceries?
Yes! SRSLY. So let me borrow their premise for one person. Just one. Okay. Let's see how cheap it is. A Cheeseburger from McDonalds value menu is $1. Assuming you only eat 1 burger at lunch and 1 burger for dinner with no fries, just water to drink, and it's just you. For breakfast we'll choose a sausage biscuit cause they're only $1.19 and we have to watch our pennies. Now I'm also assuming these choices. In fairness to Micky "D"s", they do have healthier choices. The yogurt parfait and 2 bags of apple slices will cost you $2, But that might be more than budget. So I'll take the absolute cheapest version of this scenario. I have $3.19 x 1.07 (for sales tax in my area) which comes to $3.41. We won't factor in the travel expenses it takes to make daily trips to the restaurant to eat your meal. So $3.41 x 7 (days)= 23.87. Times a month (30 days) and you have $102.40. What can I do with $102 dollars for a month of meals for one person at home.
Breakfast
Eggs- 2 a day for 30 days is 5 dz- $5
Apple- (since apples are what is offered at McDonalds, we'll go with that, though there are cheaper food options)- 30 lbs for the month. I'm figuring 3 medium apples a day for snacks and such. FYI still cheaper than McDonald's 2 pks of apple slices for $1. - $30
*** some cheaper options would be Bananas at .55 lb, or get whats on sale. Go half and half Banana's/ Apples and you are only at $23.25 for total fruit needs with $8.25 of your total in bananas FOR THE MONTH.
Now before you say "That's not a lot for food. might I point out that you're only getting one sausage mcmuffin for breakfast at 400 calories. I've just given you in snacks and such 359 (not counting if you mixed in some Bananas.
Lunch/ Dinner
Chicken - 7 fresh whole chickens. Estimated 4 meals per bird maybe more. $35.00
Carrots- 25 lb ORGANIC whole carrots- bought in 5lb bags $18.45.
Potatoes- 20 lbs bought in 2 10 lb bags - $8
Option A
Eggs $5
Apples- $30
Chicken- $ 35
Carrots- $ 18.45
Potatoes- $8
Plus 7% sales tax = $103.20. OH MY GOODNESS! I went over by .80. Sorry to break the bank.
But!
Option B (should you mix in Banana and apples (highly recommend just for variety anyway)
All of the above, but replace half your apple weight with banana weight- $95.98. Under budget! You could splurge and by a little something extra like 1 pound of butter in which to roast/cook all your stuff.
Now I know the menu I have set before you is unrealistic, but how realistic is the McDonald's menu I started with. Who goes to McDonald's and buys a cheese burger and nothing else. In actuality, my menu can be more realistic. Especially if I have a pound of butter to cook my eggs in. I only need 4 gms.
I can cook up and debone just one of those birds, reserving the broth (seriously reserve the broth). Put the broth in the fridge over night. In the morning remove AND SAVE the fat you skim off the top. Keep the fat in the fridge. Want something good? Melt a little of that fat (not a lot!!!) and use it to roast your potatoes and carrots in the oven with a little salt. The broth can be frozen or used immediately by taking some chicken, potatoes, and carrots and making a soup or casserole (if you have the makings).
Banana's can be frozen then blended in the blender with a little water and make the best tasting banana soft serve ice cream. Make sure you get bananas that are a little ripe. They are sweeter and usually marked down cheaper than .55 lb. More savings! You can use those savings to add something else to your cart.
Look for meats marked down or on sale. Right now turkeys are .59 lb. Do you know what I can do with turkey! The same stuff I can do with chicken. You can totally switch it out.
Replace some of your chicken with dried beans and lentils. Very cheap per pound and very good for you. You can soak them over night, add a tsp of salt per cup of dry beans and cook during the day. Cook a bunch at a time and freeze what you aren't using. Again, with the savings from this one thing you can add something else, maybe fun, to your cart.
My grocery budget for the month is $350-$400 dollars. That includes pet food for a dog and cat, Chicken feed, all cleaning, and toiletries. Plus I keep a pantry in case of emergencies. I make my budget low because I grow a lot but not all of our veggies. I also make a lot of stuff from scratch. I purposely kept the menu set before you minus anything that has to be grown. In fact the menu contains items I have to buy myself. There's nothing on this menu I grow or make from scratch. That being said, my budget is for 4 grown adults, 3 of which are men. Multiply the Mcdonalds menu I started with and I would have a $410 budget to start with. I can do a lot with that.
There's nothing special about me. My trick is education. In a google world, anything you need to know is at your finger tips. In addition to that, many of the things I do now came from those old ancient paper filled things called books. Available in any library or thrift store. In fact, find cook books from the 40's and you can get a lot information on making due with less. Rationing during WW2. My other trick is "Want to". A willingness to do what it takes to save money and eat right.
My prices came from Kroger, a grocery store higher priced than Walmart or Aldi, but less than a convenience store.
I end with the caveat. Yes McDonalds is cheaper than buying highly processed, really bad for you diet foods in the name of healthy eating. It is not cheaper when you eat honest to goodness real food in normal portions that you cook and prepare yourself.
Well this has run on longer than I thought. Sorry. I'll vent about workout routines later. So how do you keep costs down when buying groceries?
Monday, November 6, 2017
When Monday's come
Okay, true confessions here. How many of you out there in La, la land have ever had a bad eating day and said "(sigh) Well I'll just start again fresh on Monday". If I had a nickle for the number of times I made that statement...well, I'd have a lot of nickles. Problem was, with sheer determination that I would start fresh again on Monday; I would spend the rest of the week eating badly and moving little. I mean, seriously, come Monday my life would forever be changed and I would never ever be able to eat this way again. I mean I had to have a farewell party (or parties). One for the road so to speak. Sometimes I would even prepare for my fresh start by filing the house with all "healthy" stuff like diet foods, sugar free koolaid, sugar free everything. I have even been known to buy a workout tape, a gym membership, or a piece of exercise equipment. With money invested I would surely succeed. Nope. Monday never really came. At least not those Monday's. With every promise that I broke to myself, I became more cynical about weight loss and more determined to never try again. I was a lost cause. Then I made some determinations:
1) I determined my money would no longer line the coffers of members of the weight loss industry. That included gyms, equipment dealers, diet programs (Sorry Jenny), and Diet stuff (Food, etc). They had received enough of my money, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!
2) I determined that if I jump off the wagon (which FYI has been a lot), I would get right back on next meal, and not wait til a fresh start day. If I had waited for a fresh start day for every time I ate badly; I would've never gotten this diet off the ground and would have given up long ago. This diet has miraculously survived holiday's, birthdays, family emergencies, anniversary's, impromptu dates, emotional crisis, rainy days, stress, and boredom. I will say my weight is coming off at a snails pace right now. Part of that is due to being close to the finish line, and some of it's due to a string of wagon jumping in the past month. Notice I said wagon jumping instead of falling. I choose what and when I want to eat. This past month we've had a birthday, lost power for three days, helped my mom with a yard sale, had some dates, and needed to get groceries (so I was making a lot of goodies for lunches and such). There's another jump off next week as my Dh and I, along with my sister, are attending a festival in a little over a week. Then the following week is Thanksgiving. Do you see how waiting for a fresh start day, especially this time of year, can be less than successful? But by making sure I'm on the wagon aside from those days or events, I can still be successful. Even if only a pound or two a month. I'll take it over ever going back to the way I was.
3) I determined regardless of what I ate, I would record it and face the music. Sometimes I record it and think, that wasn't as bad as I thought, and other times I record it and say "YIKES!". Once I see the damage done, I can take steps to mitigate it. I would much rather do that than stick my head in the sand and ignore it. Once I take my head back out of the sand, the damage will be much greater. Handle it now while it's a small issue.
4) I determined that I didn't care how long it took to get the weight off. As long as I was going in the right direction, I was doing good. Now full disclosure here. I have one good weigh in a month. Hormones pretty much screw the others up. During those three weeks of hormonal fluctuations, I still weigh, but am always talking myself down off the ledge. And just an FYI, my husband has this same problem; except he has one bad weigh in each month and I have one good.
5) I determined to NEVER GO BACK...ever. I don't care if I never lose any more weight. I will hold this course to never gain that weight again.
NEVER AGAIN!!!
1) I determined my money would no longer line the coffers of members of the weight loss industry. That included gyms, equipment dealers, diet programs (Sorry Jenny), and Diet stuff (Food, etc). They had received enough of my money, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!
2) I determined that if I jump off the wagon (which FYI has been a lot), I would get right back on next meal, and not wait til a fresh start day. If I had waited for a fresh start day for every time I ate badly; I would've never gotten this diet off the ground and would have given up long ago. This diet has miraculously survived holiday's, birthdays, family emergencies, anniversary's, impromptu dates, emotional crisis, rainy days, stress, and boredom. I will say my weight is coming off at a snails pace right now. Part of that is due to being close to the finish line, and some of it's due to a string of wagon jumping in the past month. Notice I said wagon jumping instead of falling. I choose what and when I want to eat. This past month we've had a birthday, lost power for three days, helped my mom with a yard sale, had some dates, and needed to get groceries (so I was making a lot of goodies for lunches and such). There's another jump off next week as my Dh and I, along with my sister, are attending a festival in a little over a week. Then the following week is Thanksgiving. Do you see how waiting for a fresh start day, especially this time of year, can be less than successful? But by making sure I'm on the wagon aside from those days or events, I can still be successful. Even if only a pound or two a month. I'll take it over ever going back to the way I was.
3) I determined regardless of what I ate, I would record it and face the music. Sometimes I record it and think, that wasn't as bad as I thought, and other times I record it and say "YIKES!". Once I see the damage done, I can take steps to mitigate it. I would much rather do that than stick my head in the sand and ignore it. Once I take my head back out of the sand, the damage will be much greater. Handle it now while it's a small issue.
4) I determined that I didn't care how long it took to get the weight off. As long as I was going in the right direction, I was doing good. Now full disclosure here. I have one good weigh in a month. Hormones pretty much screw the others up. During those three weeks of hormonal fluctuations, I still weigh, but am always talking myself down off the ledge. And just an FYI, my husband has this same problem; except he has one bad weigh in each month and I have one good.
5) I determined to NEVER GO BACK...ever. I don't care if I never lose any more weight. I will hold this course to never gain that weight again.
NEVER AGAIN!!!
Friday, October 27, 2017
But I'm so hungry!
Woo. There are days. There are days when I feel like I could eat the paint off the wall. Well maybe not that bad, but I definitely have the munchies. The munchies I get now pale in comparison to the munchies I used to get when my body was trying to use highly processed sugar free fat free "foods". Those bordered on manic, but these are more of a nuisance. Now I can usually pin point the problem and mitigate the damage. Here's what I've found.
1) I'm really thirsty- I know this will sound a bit sciencey, but here goes. You hypothalamus is the kind of foreman in your brain. It tells everyone else where to go and such. Well it will trigger you when you need food or water. One problem with the trigger for hunger and thirst are that they are so similar as to be identical. Many people miss read a thirst signal to be a hunger signal. FYI, if you ignore a thirst signal long enough, your hypothalamus will say "screw it" and shut off the signal. Ever had one of those times where when you finally got a drink you guzzled the whole thing down in one fell swoop? "I didn't realize I was so thirsty!" Well you had ignored a thirst signal so once you did drink, your body made the most of it. There are times when I feel like I have the munchies and then I realize I haven't had anything to drink since the coffee that morning. Many times getting something to drink (Usually water) will do the trick.
2) I need to move- Moving covers three things.
A) It gives me something to do, taking my mind off the munchies.
B) It suppresses my appetite, probably because I'm not thinking about it, but also all those wonderful endorphin's and such get released.
C) It burns calories which means I can eat more calories throughout the day. This gives me a grace period so to speak. I know I have a buffer should I need to eat more. This is why it's a plus to move when you may be going to an event where food is included. It also helps if you can't seem to shake the munchies; especially if the hunger is due to stress or emotions. There are times nothing will work but chocolate. I feel you sweetie. Just move! Then pace yourself calorie wise. Kind of a controlled Munch.
3) I'm Bored- If you haven't moved today, SEE #2. Seriously. Boredom can be a hard thing to resolve. You may have already moved today. Now you're bored. Find some task to occupy you. You may think "I'm not in the mood to do "xyz", but make yourself. If you're in an office job, this one can be hard to do. Especially if you have co-workers who love to bring in goodies. YIKES! I'm blessed in that I'm home and can easily find something that needs to be done. I realize that and am extremely grateful to my hubby for making that happen. I used to have a desk job. I used to have coworkers who liked to bring in goodies. I know how hard that is to resist. I also know how hard it is to get unchained from your desk. On days where we were busy, it wasn't too bad. It was the S-L-O-W days that got me. Not sure what your job is like so I'll have to leave the "What" to you. Here are some thoughts though. Even if you've already moved for the day; go outside and walk during lunch break. You can always eat you lunch at your desk if needed. If you get a 15 minute break too, go outside. Out from the cooped up office. Out into the sunshine and fresh air. Out and away from the goodies. Out and away from the stress of your job. Doesn't matter the weather. GET OUT!
4) Sometimes I'm just hungry- Sometimes that's all it is. It's amazing to me now that I can recognize when I'm really hungry as opposed to other things. I still go thru my check list of what's causing my feeling of hunger, but i'm where I can go thru that check list instead of immediately jumping onto food. Sometimes I am really just hungry. There are times your body just need a few extra calories. Make them good calories. Fruits, veggies, proteins, etc. A bag of chips won't do it I promise: or cakes, candy, cookies. Use those 160 calories some other way. But again, if you have moved for the day, you can eat more calories when your body needs it.
I eat something every 3-4 hours. Just like a little baby. I have my three main meals and then snack in between. Many times when I start to feel hungry, I can look at the clock and go "Yay! time to eat!" I have noticed that if the calories I'm taking in are quality calories, then I tend to do better at avoiding the munchies. That doesn't mean no fun foods. I still have those, but I limit them because I know it won't stay with me very long.
I did have a great breakfast this morning though
2 eggs scrambled
1 slice bacon (real!)
1 bowl of strawberries with
2 tsp choc syrup
2 cups coffee with 1/4 cup whole milk (total) and 2 tsp of sugar (total)
I'll get to eat again in 2 hours. Life is good. I actually had to add the chocolate syrup and extra coffee with milk and sugar in order to get my carbs up above 30. Calories for breakfast? 378. Right where I want it.
I hope all this is helping some. If there is anything I'm missing, please let me know. I'm not an expert by any stretch of imagination. This is just my own experience, but I want to help where I can.
1) I'm really thirsty- I know this will sound a bit sciencey, but here goes. You hypothalamus is the kind of foreman in your brain. It tells everyone else where to go and such. Well it will trigger you when you need food or water. One problem with the trigger for hunger and thirst are that they are so similar as to be identical. Many people miss read a thirst signal to be a hunger signal. FYI, if you ignore a thirst signal long enough, your hypothalamus will say "screw it" and shut off the signal. Ever had one of those times where when you finally got a drink you guzzled the whole thing down in one fell swoop? "I didn't realize I was so thirsty!" Well you had ignored a thirst signal so once you did drink, your body made the most of it. There are times when I feel like I have the munchies and then I realize I haven't had anything to drink since the coffee that morning. Many times getting something to drink (Usually water) will do the trick.
2) I need to move- Moving covers three things.
A) It gives me something to do, taking my mind off the munchies.
B) It suppresses my appetite, probably because I'm not thinking about it, but also all those wonderful endorphin's and such get released.
C) It burns calories which means I can eat more calories throughout the day. This gives me a grace period so to speak. I know I have a buffer should I need to eat more. This is why it's a plus to move when you may be going to an event where food is included. It also helps if you can't seem to shake the munchies; especially if the hunger is due to stress or emotions. There are times nothing will work but chocolate. I feel you sweetie. Just move! Then pace yourself calorie wise. Kind of a controlled Munch.
3) I'm Bored- If you haven't moved today, SEE #2. Seriously. Boredom can be a hard thing to resolve. You may have already moved today. Now you're bored. Find some task to occupy you. You may think "I'm not in the mood to do "xyz", but make yourself. If you're in an office job, this one can be hard to do. Especially if you have co-workers who love to bring in goodies. YIKES! I'm blessed in that I'm home and can easily find something that needs to be done. I realize that and am extremely grateful to my hubby for making that happen. I used to have a desk job. I used to have coworkers who liked to bring in goodies. I know how hard that is to resist. I also know how hard it is to get unchained from your desk. On days where we were busy, it wasn't too bad. It was the S-L-O-W days that got me. Not sure what your job is like so I'll have to leave the "What" to you. Here are some thoughts though. Even if you've already moved for the day; go outside and walk during lunch break. You can always eat you lunch at your desk if needed. If you get a 15 minute break too, go outside. Out from the cooped up office. Out into the sunshine and fresh air. Out and away from the goodies. Out and away from the stress of your job. Doesn't matter the weather. GET OUT!
4) Sometimes I'm just hungry- Sometimes that's all it is. It's amazing to me now that I can recognize when I'm really hungry as opposed to other things. I still go thru my check list of what's causing my feeling of hunger, but i'm where I can go thru that check list instead of immediately jumping onto food. Sometimes I am really just hungry. There are times your body just need a few extra calories. Make them good calories. Fruits, veggies, proteins, etc. A bag of chips won't do it I promise: or cakes, candy, cookies. Use those 160 calories some other way. But again, if you have moved for the day, you can eat more calories when your body needs it.
I eat something every 3-4 hours. Just like a little baby. I have my three main meals and then snack in between. Many times when I start to feel hungry, I can look at the clock and go "Yay! time to eat!" I have noticed that if the calories I'm taking in are quality calories, then I tend to do better at avoiding the munchies. That doesn't mean no fun foods. I still have those, but I limit them because I know it won't stay with me very long.
I did have a great breakfast this morning though
2 eggs scrambled
1 slice bacon (real!)
1 bowl of strawberries with
2 tsp choc syrup
2 cups coffee with 1/4 cup whole milk (total) and 2 tsp of sugar (total)
I'll get to eat again in 2 hours. Life is good. I actually had to add the chocolate syrup and extra coffee with milk and sugar in order to get my carbs up above 30. Calories for breakfast? 378. Right where I want it.
I hope all this is helping some. If there is anything I'm missing, please let me know. I'm not an expert by any stretch of imagination. This is just my own experience, but I want to help where I can.
Saturday, October 21, 2017
Ah but my dear, you too can have sausage!
Hello and good morning! I'm up early for a Saturday since my oldest son is off to work. I'm getting breakfast made before he leaves; Sausage biscuits. Am I going to have one? Dern Tootin!
I LOVE SAUSAGE!
Now It isn't that I can't have real, full fat, high calorie breakfast sausage. In this case I choose not to. It's one of those "Food as an investment" things. Store bought sausage has a lot of fat, but not a lot of protein per serving. That's because sausage has a lot of filler. Protein keeps you filling fuller longer so I try to have a good amount during the day, especially for breakfast. It is for this reason I make our sausage. Yes, I make our sausage. It's easy! Here's the deal
While you can use ground turkey, and I have used ground turkey, I prefer to use ground pork loin. There are two stores I watch for pork loin to go on sale. Ingles is one and a local store here called J&J foods is another. The reason being they will grind the meat they sale for you. Many stores will slice, but these grind as well. Find a store that will do this! When pork loins go on sale I will buy 2 usually and have them slice the 1/3 of the loin in the center into chops, but grind the 1/3 on each end. When I come home I'll either put the ground pork away in 1 pound portions, or take all of it and mix up a big batch of sausage and then put that away in 1 pound portions. Last time, I just put the pork away without making the sausage first. I do all this because, ironically, ground pork rarely goes on sale. Plus this way I know what went into my ground pork and how much fat was on that pork loin. It's just a better product that way.
So you've read all this to get to the recipe so I won't fail you:
Breakfast Sausage
1 lb ground meat (I use pork)
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp minced onion
1 tsp basil
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp sage
1/2 tsp parsley
1/4 tsp salt
Take all your spices and mix together in a bowl. Add the ground meat and mix well with your fingers til everything is blended well. You can either do this ahead of time and let sit in the fridge covered til morning, or you can do this in a pinch like I did this morning. I like to do it a head of time, but forgot to lay out the ground pork to thaw. Oops! A serving is 4 oz pre-cooked. I measure it out into 2 oz patties to fry.
Calories- 140, Carbs- 0, Fat- 4 gm, Protein- 23 grams
***If you want to make Italian sausage, just add 1/2 tsp fennel seeds (Or to taste) to your spices. Then you can brown it and add to pizza, lasagna, or any other Italian dish.***
*** If you make sausage cheese balls like I do during the holidays, you can substitute this sausage for the sausage called for in the recipe. You may need to add a little milk if the dough is too dry. I do this every holiday and, while it may not stem the tide of calories much, every little bit helps.***
*** When I have this for breakfast I will have 2 pieces of sausage and 1 biscuit or two pieces of sausage and a baked apple. Plus coffee of course.
Try ! Let me know what you think!
I LOVE SAUSAGE!
Now It isn't that I can't have real, full fat, high calorie breakfast sausage. In this case I choose not to. It's one of those "Food as an investment" things. Store bought sausage has a lot of fat, but not a lot of protein per serving. That's because sausage has a lot of filler. Protein keeps you filling fuller longer so I try to have a good amount during the day, especially for breakfast. It is for this reason I make our sausage. Yes, I make our sausage. It's easy! Here's the deal
While you can use ground turkey, and I have used ground turkey, I prefer to use ground pork loin. There are two stores I watch for pork loin to go on sale. Ingles is one and a local store here called J&J foods is another. The reason being they will grind the meat they sale for you. Many stores will slice, but these grind as well. Find a store that will do this! When pork loins go on sale I will buy 2 usually and have them slice the 1/3 of the loin in the center into chops, but grind the 1/3 on each end. When I come home I'll either put the ground pork away in 1 pound portions, or take all of it and mix up a big batch of sausage and then put that away in 1 pound portions. Last time, I just put the pork away without making the sausage first. I do all this because, ironically, ground pork rarely goes on sale. Plus this way I know what went into my ground pork and how much fat was on that pork loin. It's just a better product that way.
So you've read all this to get to the recipe so I won't fail you:
Breakfast Sausage
1 lb ground meat (I use pork)
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp minced onion
1 tsp basil
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp sage
1/2 tsp parsley
1/4 tsp salt
Take all your spices and mix together in a bowl. Add the ground meat and mix well with your fingers til everything is blended well. You can either do this ahead of time and let sit in the fridge covered til morning, or you can do this in a pinch like I did this morning. I like to do it a head of time, but forgot to lay out the ground pork to thaw. Oops! A serving is 4 oz pre-cooked. I measure it out into 2 oz patties to fry.
Calories- 140, Carbs- 0, Fat- 4 gm, Protein- 23 grams
***If you want to make Italian sausage, just add 1/2 tsp fennel seeds (Or to taste) to your spices. Then you can brown it and add to pizza, lasagna, or any other Italian dish.***
*** If you make sausage cheese balls like I do during the holidays, you can substitute this sausage for the sausage called for in the recipe. You may need to add a little milk if the dough is too dry. I do this every holiday and, while it may not stem the tide of calories much, every little bit helps.***
*** When I have this for breakfast I will have 2 pieces of sausage and 1 biscuit or two pieces of sausage and a baked apple. Plus coffee of course.
Try ! Let me know what you think!
Monday, October 16, 2017
Oh Happy Day!
So day started off with my weigh in. No loss, but no gain so I can deal with net neutral. Beats being behind. I did get some motivations this weekend and this morning.
Dh and I went thrift store shopping for new clothes. No need to spend a lot because we are still in transition, at least I am. He needs permanent new clothes cause he's just maintaining now. I need some that can see me through the last 20 pounds. I got some crazy good deals. I found 3 sweaters sz large; surreal since I used to be in a 3X. I also found a set of black moccasin slip on shoes and a pair of black suede ankle boots; both of which looked new. My motivator was a risk I took to buy a pair of sz 12 jeans, no stretch for $2. I figured for $2 if I couldn't wear them yet, I would eventually. I came home and tried them on. THEY FIT! Not as comfortable as I would like, but I got them on without any fuss. Guys, I have never worn a sz 12. Ever. Maybe 12 months when I was little. lol. The lowest I ever got was in high school and that was a 14. Many years have passed since then. We won't go into how many. So motivator #1 Do I want to get into these jeans comfortably? You bet your bippy!
Motivator 2. While thrift store shopping, Dh wanted a new zip up hoodie in a men's small. We found a very nice one for a couple of bucks. He had a pullover hoodie in sz medium that had a graphic on it that said "Property of" and a friend had written my name in permanent marker below it. Dh said he guessed we could retire that pullover hoodie. So today as I was hanging up the "new" hoodie and taking out the one to retire I thought hmmmm. I wonder if.....So I tried it on. IT FITS! WOOHOO! I never thought I would see the day when I would be able to borrow my Dh clothes! I know some women can, but I never could nor thought I would ever be able to. Big motivator for today.
I could care less what the scale said. I care more about my two new motivators.
Dh and I went thrift store shopping for new clothes. No need to spend a lot because we are still in transition, at least I am. He needs permanent new clothes cause he's just maintaining now. I need some that can see me through the last 20 pounds. I got some crazy good deals. I found 3 sweaters sz large; surreal since I used to be in a 3X. I also found a set of black moccasin slip on shoes and a pair of black suede ankle boots; both of which looked new. My motivator was a risk I took to buy a pair of sz 12 jeans, no stretch for $2. I figured for $2 if I couldn't wear them yet, I would eventually. I came home and tried them on. THEY FIT! Not as comfortable as I would like, but I got them on without any fuss. Guys, I have never worn a sz 12. Ever. Maybe 12 months when I was little. lol. The lowest I ever got was in high school and that was a 14. Many years have passed since then. We won't go into how many. So motivator #1 Do I want to get into these jeans comfortably? You bet your bippy!
Motivator 2. While thrift store shopping, Dh wanted a new zip up hoodie in a men's small. We found a very nice one for a couple of bucks. He had a pullover hoodie in sz medium that had a graphic on it that said "Property of" and a friend had written my name in permanent marker below it. Dh said he guessed we could retire that pullover hoodie. So today as I was hanging up the "new" hoodie and taking out the one to retire I thought hmmmm. I wonder if.....So I tried it on. IT FITS! WOOHOO! I never thought I would see the day when I would be able to borrow my Dh clothes! I know some women can, but I never could nor thought I would ever be able to. Big motivator for today.
I could care less what the scale said. I care more about my two new motivators.
Saturday, October 14, 2017
Navigating food land mines.
Our oldest son celebrated his 24th birthday this past week. All their lives our children have been able to choose what foods with which to celebrate their birthday. Doesn't matter how old they get, as long as they are still home, the rule still applies. I don't have many of these birthdays left before they start getting their own place. So the rule is firmly in place...for now. For his birthday, he chose pizza (of course), Homemade chocolate chip cookie cake with frosting (Like you get at great american cookie), and chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. Yea, don't judge. It only happens rarely. When Dh heard his choices he simply stated "It starts". What he is referring to is the three month span we have each year where all the kids have birthdays, plus he has a birthday. This is the same three month span that includes Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and all the subsequent parties involved. I know we aren't the only ones who have to deal with these mind fields this time of year. So I thought this would be a good time to address the elephant in the room.
(Sigh). That above picture is pecan pie cheese cake. I mean really. How cruel can people be!!!! Two things I love combined! Anyhoo.
Some things to help you during this time of year.
OPTION #1) Plan on trying at least something. You know you will anyway, and by giving yourself permission, you take away it's power and your guilt. Leave room in your calorie level to try a bite or two of something. Notice I said bite. No, you can't fill a dinner plate with everything your eyes devoured. Do a walk through first, not eating or touching anything, but just getting an idea of what's there. Go back to the back of the line or better yet, your seat. Think about what you saw up there. There will be a few items calling your name. You know what they are. Get a SAUCER or small bowl. Try A BITE of the things you want THE MOST. This is a one time trip to the buffet table for desserts. Just like you can nickle and dime your self to financial ruin, you can taste and nibble yourself back your original weight.
Option #2 ) Give yourself the day off. Try and do as little damage as possible, but enjoy the party in anyway you like. With this knowledge. YOU WILL BE BACK ON TRACK BY NEXT MEAL. Notice I didn't say next day. I said next meal. My family has their parties in the afternoon. My next meal (If I have one) would be dinner. That means my choices for dinner will be on track. More than likely something healthy ( veggie and lean protein heavy) to apologize to my poor digestive system. You never want to look at these things as a personal failure and give up. One party will not totally derail you. It may set you back a little, but not anything you can't handle.
If you're facing a season full of parties, food gifts, etc. Try the first option and then stay away from the temptation. If you can't keep from temptation( or you choose not to), you can assume you will gain about 1-5 pounds from Oct to Jan 1st. I'm not saying this to discourage you. I'm saying this to give you the worst case scenario. Which isn't the end of the world! With a three month vacation, this is what you're looking at repairing. Face it and move on. You say "Okay, need to get back to getting the weight off again". I had to last year, and I did.
BTW, it's much easier to withstand the temptations of high sugar items if you don't have any artificial sweeteners in your system.
Also, try and get a workout in the day of the party. It will help mitigate the damage and it will also help you steer clear because you don't want to reduce all your hard work to nil.
So what did I do when faced with all that junk food for my sons bday? Option #..........2. Yep! Enjoyed the fun and back on track now. I have a weigh in on Monday and whatever it says, it says and I will move on from there.
So what tips and tricks do you have?
(Sigh). That above picture is pecan pie cheese cake. I mean really. How cruel can people be!!!! Two things I love combined! Anyhoo.
Some things to help you during this time of year.
OPTION #1) Plan on trying at least something. You know you will anyway, and by giving yourself permission, you take away it's power and your guilt. Leave room in your calorie level to try a bite or two of something. Notice I said bite. No, you can't fill a dinner plate with everything your eyes devoured. Do a walk through first, not eating or touching anything, but just getting an idea of what's there. Go back to the back of the line or better yet, your seat. Think about what you saw up there. There will be a few items calling your name. You know what they are. Get a SAUCER or small bowl. Try A BITE of the things you want THE MOST. This is a one time trip to the buffet table for desserts. Just like you can nickle and dime your self to financial ruin, you can taste and nibble yourself back your original weight.
Option #2 ) Give yourself the day off. Try and do as little damage as possible, but enjoy the party in anyway you like. With this knowledge. YOU WILL BE BACK ON TRACK BY NEXT MEAL. Notice I didn't say next day. I said next meal. My family has their parties in the afternoon. My next meal (If I have one) would be dinner. That means my choices for dinner will be on track. More than likely something healthy ( veggie and lean protein heavy) to apologize to my poor digestive system. You never want to look at these things as a personal failure and give up. One party will not totally derail you. It may set you back a little, but not anything you can't handle.
If you're facing a season full of parties, food gifts, etc. Try the first option and then stay away from the temptation. If you can't keep from temptation( or you choose not to), you can assume you will gain about 1-5 pounds from Oct to Jan 1st. I'm not saying this to discourage you. I'm saying this to give you the worst case scenario. Which isn't the end of the world! With a three month vacation, this is what you're looking at repairing. Face it and move on. You say "Okay, need to get back to getting the weight off again". I had to last year, and I did.
BTW, it's much easier to withstand the temptations of high sugar items if you don't have any artificial sweeteners in your system.
Also, try and get a workout in the day of the party. It will help mitigate the damage and it will also help you steer clear because you don't want to reduce all your hard work to nil.
So what did I do when faced with all that junk food for my sons bday? Option #..........2. Yep! Enjoyed the fun and back on track now. I have a weigh in on Monday and whatever it says, it says and I will move on from there.
So what tips and tricks do you have?
Tuesday, October 10, 2017
A day in the Life
Good Morning!
I hit the ground running this morning. Woke up about 5 am to begin my day. So far I have cleaned the master bath, made our bed (husband was out of it by this time), vacuumed our bedroom floor, and made hubby's lunch for today. Now I'm sitting with my wonderful cup of coffee. My breakfast for today is
2 Eggs scrambled in 4 gms butter
140 grams of blueberries
3 oz plain whole milk yogurt
1 cup coffee
1 tsp sugar
2 Tbs whole milk (for coffee)
Calories: 337, Carbs: 28, Fat: 18, Protein: 18, and Fiber: 4
Lest you think this 337 calories is low and thee is no way I won't be hungry before lunch, you are right. At 10:30 I will have a snack of:
102 gms banana (a small banana)
2 oz french vanilla yogurt
6 gms of chocolate syrup
Calories: 165, Carbs:35, Fat: 2, Protein: 3, and Fiber: 3
This puts me at 501 calories before lunch. Right where I want to be! Yay!
It's a rainy day today so my workout will be the treadmill, a combination treadmill/ step workout, or crazy cleaning the house (Which it does need). Since I really need to sew, it's probably going to be one of the structured workouts. I do get a greater calorie burn in a shorter time. I have a custom doll outfit to make for an order due next week. So I need to get to that.
I'm not dreading the treadmill today though. Hubby showed me I can watch Youtube videos on the Roku. I've been binge watching Bethel Church Senior Pastor Bill Johnson lately so that will definitely hold my interest. Highly recommend him.
Good Afternoon!
Well I did 30 minutes on the treadmill, Dusted my living room, swept and mopped my living and dining room. That plus cleaning my bathroom and vacuuming our bedroom this morning plus general running around I counted 15 minutes of heavy cleaning. I think I'm safe with 15 minutes, though it was more than 15.
For lunch I'm having
354 grams of carrots, roasted (3 large carrots)
144 gms of potatoes, roasted (2 small)
3 oz chicken breast cooked (4 oz raw)
I roasted the veggie in the oven with a little 4gms of oil. Not hydrogenated oil. Use olive or sesame.
1 glass of lightly sweet tea (about 1/4 cup sugar to 2 qts tea)
Calories: 404, Carbs: 64, Fat: 6, Protein: 26 and Fiber: 12
This is a lot of food. More than I will eat for only lunch, so what's left will also constitute a snack later. LOVE roasted veggies. All Veggies are better roasted with the exception of zucchini. It still gets mushy.
Up to 905 calories so far. I get 1200-1550. The higher end if I move (Which I did) so I have about 600 ish left.
Glad to say I have been sewing! Almost done with this order. Then let's just hope it fits the doll.
Good Evening!
Back again! I did have a homemade sure nuff chocolate chip cookie this afternoon! I weighed it out and a 1 oz cookie is 139 calories. Sooooo good! Life is too short to not have real chocolate!
Dinner was Vietnamese fried rice (without the frying part, and hold the rice. I made rice for the rest of the family).
My part was:
4 oz pork loin
chopped onion
cauliflower, brocolli,, and carrot frozen veggies.
Added soy sauce, salt pepper, and garlic powder.
Calories : 210, Carbs :16, Fat: 3, Protien: 29, and Fiber 3
Can't go without a SMORE for dessert!
1 graham cracker
1 large marshmallow
8 gm choc chips
Zap in a microwave and Voila!
Calories : 132, Carbs : 30, Fat : 4, Protein : 2
So my total for the day was
Calories: 1386, Carbs: 192, Fat: 40, Protein: 78, and Fiber: 24.
So there you have a day in the life of Me! Now to bed!
Good Night!
I hit the ground running this morning. Woke up about 5 am to begin my day. So far I have cleaned the master bath, made our bed (husband was out of it by this time), vacuumed our bedroom floor, and made hubby's lunch for today. Now I'm sitting with my wonderful cup of coffee. My breakfast for today is
2 Eggs scrambled in 4 gms butter
140 grams of blueberries
3 oz plain whole milk yogurt
1 cup coffee
1 tsp sugar
2 Tbs whole milk (for coffee)
Calories: 337, Carbs: 28, Fat: 18, Protein: 18, and Fiber: 4
Lest you think this 337 calories is low and thee is no way I won't be hungry before lunch, you are right. At 10:30 I will have a snack of:
102 gms banana (a small banana)
2 oz french vanilla yogurt
6 gms of chocolate syrup
Calories: 165, Carbs:35, Fat: 2, Protein: 3, and Fiber: 3
This puts me at 501 calories before lunch. Right where I want to be! Yay!
It's a rainy day today so my workout will be the treadmill, a combination treadmill/ step workout, or crazy cleaning the house (Which it does need). Since I really need to sew, it's probably going to be one of the structured workouts. I do get a greater calorie burn in a shorter time. I have a custom doll outfit to make for an order due next week. So I need to get to that.
I'm not dreading the treadmill today though. Hubby showed me I can watch Youtube videos on the Roku. I've been binge watching Bethel Church Senior Pastor Bill Johnson lately so that will definitely hold my interest. Highly recommend him.
Good Afternoon!
Well I did 30 minutes on the treadmill, Dusted my living room, swept and mopped my living and dining room. That plus cleaning my bathroom and vacuuming our bedroom this morning plus general running around I counted 15 minutes of heavy cleaning. I think I'm safe with 15 minutes, though it was more than 15.
For lunch I'm having
354 grams of carrots, roasted (3 large carrots)
144 gms of potatoes, roasted (2 small)
3 oz chicken breast cooked (4 oz raw)
I roasted the veggie in the oven with a little 4gms of oil. Not hydrogenated oil. Use olive or sesame.
1 glass of lightly sweet tea (about 1/4 cup sugar to 2 qts tea)
Calories: 404, Carbs: 64, Fat: 6, Protein: 26 and Fiber: 12
This is a lot of food. More than I will eat for only lunch, so what's left will also constitute a snack later. LOVE roasted veggies. All Veggies are better roasted with the exception of zucchini. It still gets mushy.
Up to 905 calories so far. I get 1200-1550. The higher end if I move (Which I did) so I have about 600 ish left.
Glad to say I have been sewing! Almost done with this order. Then let's just hope it fits the doll.
Good Evening!
Back again! I did have a homemade sure nuff chocolate chip cookie this afternoon! I weighed it out and a 1 oz cookie is 139 calories. Sooooo good! Life is too short to not have real chocolate!
Dinner was Vietnamese fried rice (without the frying part, and hold the rice. I made rice for the rest of the family).
My part was:
4 oz pork loin
chopped onion
cauliflower, brocolli,, and carrot frozen veggies.
Added soy sauce, salt pepper, and garlic powder.
Calories : 210, Carbs :16, Fat: 3, Protien: 29, and Fiber 3
Can't go without a SMORE for dessert!
1 graham cracker
1 large marshmallow
8 gm choc chips
Zap in a microwave and Voila!
Calories : 132, Carbs : 30, Fat : 4, Protein : 2
So my total for the day was
Calories: 1386, Carbs: 192, Fat: 40, Protein: 78, and Fiber: 24.
So there you have a day in the life of Me! Now to bed!
Good Night!
Monday, October 2, 2017
All diets work.....hmm
Good Morning! It's a glorious fall day here in Ga. Not only because our highs today will be in the 70's (joy!), but I'm down another 2.2 lbs! I'm officially 20 lbs away from my goal. I've never been this close before. Feels kinda weird! Good weird though. Don't get me wrong, it's coming off at a s-l-o-w pace, but it is coming off.
So my topic of choice today is the statement my doctor made about how "all diets work. It's just a matter of calories in vs calories out.". I do agree with her on that statement, with this caveat, all diets work if you can stay on them.
You see there is no magic combinations of foods that cause weight loss. All carb, No carb, eat this with that, etc. It is calories taken in vs calories expended in energy. If you take in more calories than your body needs, regardless of type or combination, your body stores it for future use. How is it stored? Why fat cells! So, yes, any diet that limits calories so you use more in energy, will work....for time. Problem is many diets are hard to stay on. "I'm cutting out all ________( enter food here).). Once you take an item away in totality, it won't be long before you cheat. Most people cut out what they eat too much of anyway. Now I can hear you guys saying "But you took out bread!'. To which I answer "nay". I limit bread, rice, and pasta to when I really want it and am willing to count the calories. Goodness! I make my bread. I would be nuts to never try it! This is a lifestyle change so unless you're going to cut these things out for eternity, the weight will be back on. If you are taking a pill to lose weight; then once you stop taking the pill, the weight will come back on. Even if you have weight loss surgery, be advised, you have about 18 months and then you are back to needing to count and measure or, you guessed it, the weight will come back on. Just a little FYI. Your stomach is made of a transitional tissue which means it stretches. I have seen people eat their way back to their original weight.
In addition, many people, rely on sugar free /fat free items to help them thru a diet. This is actually detrimental to a diet. This is one of the things on which my doctor and I were in agreement, the fact that artificial sweeteners make your body crave sugar! It craves simple sugars like cookies, cakes, cokes, candy. I have a cup (ahem or two) of coffee every day. I have 2 TBS of whole milk and 1 tsp of sugar in my cup of coffee (she said as she took a sip). Total calories for my joy here? 36. 36 calories. That's it! Sugar is only 16 calories per tsp. Many times it doesn't take a full tsp to sweeten something. Read your labels next time you're in the store. Many times there aren't many calorie differences between the sugar free and the sweetened, between the fat free or the full fat. Speaking of full fat! Fat is what helps you feel satisfied! Don't take that away.
If you need to keep within a calorie range like I do, then do this for example
Instead of- 1 cup of blueberries + 1 container of fat free sugar free yogurt = 170 calories
Try - 1 cup of blueberries + 3 oz of french vanilla whole milk yogurt = 165 calories.
Or if you are a wild child, try - 1 cup of blue berries and 4 oz of plain whole milk yogurt = for 155 calories. You actually have the calories left over to add a tsp of your own sugar. Try it without sugar first to see if you like it unsweetened. Try it! Seriously, whole milk yogurt is a whole different animal than non fat yogurt. I will actually take 1/2 of an apple chopped, 1/2 cup blueberries, 4 oz plain WM yogurt, mix it together and sprinkle a bit of cinnamon.
Either way you do it, I promise it will stay with you much longer.
Anyway, My point is to
A) Allow all things (except diet foods Please!). Nothing is off limits as long as you are willing to spend the calories on it.
B) Eat real food! Your body will thank you because it knows then what to do with what you're putting in it! NO ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS, NO NON/ LOW FAT UNLESS GOD MADE IT THAT WAY. Try to eat as little processed food as possible.
C) Be active! May sure your activity counts for something. You do not get walking points for getting up to turn the tv channel. Whatever you choose, you need to be MOVIN! Not movement.
D) Realize this is a lifestyle change. My weight is coming off at a snails pace now, but it's coming off and not going back on. That's a first for me. I will always measure, and record. Any diet that tells you otherwise is pulling a fast one because you won't be able to maintain once you're at your goal. Then you will be right back to them for "help". It's their plan see. This I believe.
E) Realize life happens. If you have a day off, let it go, but get right back on the next day.
and lastly, make sure you get as much for the calories you eat as you can. That includes as much nutrition, and enjoyment. I don't want something that "tastes just like", or "Isn't that bad". Life is too short! You need your fat, proteins, carbs, fiber, fruits and veggies! Don't forget those! Very important!
So my topic of choice today is the statement my doctor made about how "all diets work. It's just a matter of calories in vs calories out.". I do agree with her on that statement, with this caveat, all diets work if you can stay on them.
You see there is no magic combinations of foods that cause weight loss. All carb, No carb, eat this with that, etc. It is calories taken in vs calories expended in energy. If you take in more calories than your body needs, regardless of type or combination, your body stores it for future use. How is it stored? Why fat cells! So, yes, any diet that limits calories so you use more in energy, will work....for time. Problem is many diets are hard to stay on. "I'm cutting out all ________( enter food here).). Once you take an item away in totality, it won't be long before you cheat. Most people cut out what they eat too much of anyway. Now I can hear you guys saying "But you took out bread!'. To which I answer "nay". I limit bread, rice, and pasta to when I really want it and am willing to count the calories. Goodness! I make my bread. I would be nuts to never try it! This is a lifestyle change so unless you're going to cut these things out for eternity, the weight will be back on. If you are taking a pill to lose weight; then once you stop taking the pill, the weight will come back on. Even if you have weight loss surgery, be advised, you have about 18 months and then you are back to needing to count and measure or, you guessed it, the weight will come back on. Just a little FYI. Your stomach is made of a transitional tissue which means it stretches. I have seen people eat their way back to their original weight.
In addition, many people, rely on sugar free /fat free items to help them thru a diet. This is actually detrimental to a diet. This is one of the things on which my doctor and I were in agreement, the fact that artificial sweeteners make your body crave sugar! It craves simple sugars like cookies, cakes, cokes, candy. I have a cup (ahem or two) of coffee every day. I have 2 TBS of whole milk and 1 tsp of sugar in my cup of coffee (she said as she took a sip). Total calories for my joy here? 36. 36 calories. That's it! Sugar is only 16 calories per tsp. Many times it doesn't take a full tsp to sweeten something. Read your labels next time you're in the store. Many times there aren't many calorie differences between the sugar free and the sweetened, between the fat free or the full fat. Speaking of full fat! Fat is what helps you feel satisfied! Don't take that away.
If you need to keep within a calorie range like I do, then do this for example
Instead of- 1 cup of blueberries + 1 container of fat free sugar free yogurt = 170 calories
Try - 1 cup of blueberries + 3 oz of french vanilla whole milk yogurt = 165 calories.
Or if you are a wild child, try - 1 cup of blue berries and 4 oz of plain whole milk yogurt = for 155 calories. You actually have the calories left over to add a tsp of your own sugar. Try it without sugar first to see if you like it unsweetened. Try it! Seriously, whole milk yogurt is a whole different animal than non fat yogurt. I will actually take 1/2 of an apple chopped, 1/2 cup blueberries, 4 oz plain WM yogurt, mix it together and sprinkle a bit of cinnamon.
Either way you do it, I promise it will stay with you much longer.
Anyway, My point is to
A) Allow all things (except diet foods Please!). Nothing is off limits as long as you are willing to spend the calories on it.
B) Eat real food! Your body will thank you because it knows then what to do with what you're putting in it! NO ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS, NO NON/ LOW FAT UNLESS GOD MADE IT THAT WAY. Try to eat as little processed food as possible.
C) Be active! May sure your activity counts for something. You do not get walking points for getting up to turn the tv channel. Whatever you choose, you need to be MOVIN! Not movement.
D) Realize this is a lifestyle change. My weight is coming off at a snails pace now, but it's coming off and not going back on. That's a first for me. I will always measure, and record. Any diet that tells you otherwise is pulling a fast one because you won't be able to maintain once you're at your goal. Then you will be right back to them for "help". It's their plan see. This I believe.
E) Realize life happens. If you have a day off, let it go, but get right back on the next day.
and lastly, make sure you get as much for the calories you eat as you can. That includes as much nutrition, and enjoyment. I don't want something that "tastes just like", or "Isn't that bad". Life is too short! You need your fat, proteins, carbs, fiber, fruits and veggies! Don't forget those! Very important!
Wednesday, September 27, 2017
Full disclosure here...
I went for my yearly check up today at my endocrinologist office. Just wanted to share a few specs with ya.
2015- BEFORE I STARTED ALL THIS
WEIGHT- 230 LBS
A1C- 5.5 (5.7 IS PREDIABETIC RANGE)
CHOLESTEROL- 186 NOT TOO BAD, STILL LESS THAN 200 WORRY RANGE
GLUCOSE- 93- BIT HIGH, BUT IN RANGE
2016- 9 MONTHS INTO THIS
WEIGHT- 190 LBS
A1C- 5.10 ( NO LONGER PREDIABETIC)
CHOLESTEROL- 169 (COMING DOWN)
GLUCOSE- 87 (COMING DOWN)
TODAY 9/27/17
WEIGHT- 168.6
A1C- 4.8 (COMING DOWN)
CHOLESTEROL- 178- A LITTLE UP, BUT STILL GOOD
GLUCOSE- 59 (WOW WAY DOWN!)
My doctor was over the moon. She said whatever I was doing to keep it up. We discussed my diet thoughts and she said "All diets work, it's basically calorie in calories out" and she's right, but here's the thing. All diets work if you can stay on them. We did agree on this and that is that 1200 calories of real food keeps you filling fuller longer than 1200 of diet food. She also told me that protein can help suppress appetite. Good to know. Also she stated (so my thoughts on artificial sweetener are no longer anecdotal)that artificial sweeteners can trigger your brain to crave sugar!
Then to top off the day, I went with my mom to Costco to get some groceries and while there bought a pair of jeans without trying them on and took them home. The surreal part of this is the fact that they are a sz 14. WOOHOO!
2015- BEFORE I STARTED ALL THIS
WEIGHT- 230 LBS
A1C- 5.5 (5.7 IS PREDIABETIC RANGE)
CHOLESTEROL- 186 NOT TOO BAD, STILL LESS THAN 200 WORRY RANGE
GLUCOSE- 93- BIT HIGH, BUT IN RANGE
2016- 9 MONTHS INTO THIS
WEIGHT- 190 LBS
A1C- 5.10 ( NO LONGER PREDIABETIC)
CHOLESTEROL- 169 (COMING DOWN)
GLUCOSE- 87 (COMING DOWN)
TODAY 9/27/17
WEIGHT- 168.6
A1C- 4.8 (COMING DOWN)
CHOLESTEROL- 178- A LITTLE UP, BUT STILL GOOD
GLUCOSE- 59 (WOW WAY DOWN!)
My doctor was over the moon. She said whatever I was doing to keep it up. We discussed my diet thoughts and she said "All diets work, it's basically calorie in calories out" and she's right, but here's the thing. All diets work if you can stay on them. We did agree on this and that is that 1200 calories of real food keeps you filling fuller longer than 1200 of diet food. She also told me that protein can help suppress appetite. Good to know. Also she stated (so my thoughts on artificial sweetener are no longer anecdotal)that artificial sweeteners can trigger your brain to crave sugar!
Then to top off the day, I went with my mom to Costco to get some groceries and while there bought a pair of jeans without trying them on and took them home. The surreal part of this is the fact that they are a sz 14. WOOHOO!
Tuesday, September 26, 2017
Curve balls
I don't do cheat days, and I'll tell you why. Life is already pre-programmed with cheat days already included. You get those curve balls thrown at you where it is hard to follow your eating plan regardless of what plan you're on. Case in point. When Irma came through Georgia just recently as a Tropical storm, we lost power for 2 1/2 days. That meant not only did I not have Spark people to record what I ate, but we also were relegated to eat what was already in the fridge in order to keep from opening the freezer. I shrugged it off. I did the best I could do to mitigate the damage, but other than that, just got through that bump in the road.
Holidays, evenings out with that special someone, family emergencies, etc. There are times when you won't be able to eat how you should. Shrug it off. Allow it. With full knowledge that once this is past, it is right back to taking care of yourself. Then get back on! regardless of the number of days this curve ball has, don't wait til the following Monday; "I'll start then my weeks blown anyway". Immediately after the curve ball is past get back on track. Your week may be blown, but the damage doesn't have to be added to. Many times, by getting right back on track, you can lessen the blow. I gained .8 pounds back that week. That is much easier to lose than the weight I used to be adding back in the day. For example, it used to be the holidays would just be a free for all with the idea that Jan 1st I would start over. I could put on 6-8 pounds just in those 2 months. Now, I still have the party days, but I am right back on the next day.
TIP: I've found that many times at a party or event, just a taste of something to try it has been enough for me. This helps during the holidays.
The point is to remember You are in charge. Not the food. You are in charge of these curve balls. The decisions you make during these times are the ones that control what happens. You are not helpless in the presence of cookies, or in times of stress. You are still in control of what goes in your body. If you want it, have it with no regrets, realizing there are consequences, but knowing you are gonna accept and reverse those consequences.
TIP: The stricter the diet plan, the farther you will go before getting back on track. If you know what a sling shot is, then you will know this analogy. The further back you pull that band, the further your sling shot will shoot. Same with a diet plan. If you are on a really strict diet with severe limitations: no carbs, fat, beans only (yuck) etc. Once you open the flood gates, it's gonna be hard to close them back. That's why it's so important for minimal disruption in your life. Your eating needs to be on a level where you are eating anything you want in moderation. Don't deny yourself anything, just eat less of it!
Holidays, evenings out with that special someone, family emergencies, etc. There are times when you won't be able to eat how you should. Shrug it off. Allow it. With full knowledge that once this is past, it is right back to taking care of yourself. Then get back on! regardless of the number of days this curve ball has, don't wait til the following Monday; "I'll start then my weeks blown anyway". Immediately after the curve ball is past get back on track. Your week may be blown, but the damage doesn't have to be added to. Many times, by getting right back on track, you can lessen the blow. I gained .8 pounds back that week. That is much easier to lose than the weight I used to be adding back in the day. For example, it used to be the holidays would just be a free for all with the idea that Jan 1st I would start over. I could put on 6-8 pounds just in those 2 months. Now, I still have the party days, but I am right back on the next day.
TIP: I've found that many times at a party or event, just a taste of something to try it has been enough for me. This helps during the holidays.
The point is to remember You are in charge. Not the food. You are in charge of these curve balls. The decisions you make during these times are the ones that control what happens. You are not helpless in the presence of cookies, or in times of stress. You are still in control of what goes in your body. If you want it, have it with no regrets, realizing there are consequences, but knowing you are gonna accept and reverse those consequences.
TIP: The stricter the diet plan, the farther you will go before getting back on track. If you know what a sling shot is, then you will know this analogy. The further back you pull that band, the further your sling shot will shoot. Same with a diet plan. If you are on a really strict diet with severe limitations: no carbs, fat, beans only (yuck) etc. Once you open the flood gates, it's gonna be hard to close them back. That's why it's so important for minimal disruption in your life. Your eating needs to be on a level where you are eating anything you want in moderation. Don't deny yourself anything, just eat less of it!
Monday, September 25, 2017
I HATE, yes I said Hate Treadmills
Before you start, no this is not a "You don't have to exercise with my plan" post. Activity is vital. I don't believe God created us to be sedentary. We may like nothing more than to be slugs, but our bodies need more. We may eat like our ancestors here in the south, but many times we don't work as hard as they did. Great Grandma might have had ham and biscuits with gravy and all the fixins (yea that's a word here in the south), but then went out and washed the weeks laundry with a wash board and a cast iron pot(those things are heavy).
Now I'm not going to say do THAT!, but you have to move.
In my case I would rather do anything other than get on a treadmill or other type of exercise equipment. Well I take that back. There is one thing that comes after getting on a treadmill. Cutting the grass with a push mower. I've done this all season as part of my "workouts". After a complete spring and summer of constantly getting bitten by ants EVERY. TIME. I CUT THE GRASS!. I've determined a riding lawnmower would be nice and I'll just do a workout routine instead. But if you don't have ants in your yard, have at it! Here's some other examples of movement (exercise) that burns calories! Digging a raised bed with a shovel (or just digging), Heavy duty house cleaning, Hiking, joining your kids on a bike ride. Anything that causes you to move and use energy. Uh making the bed doesn't count. FYI.
That's me and my grandson in the pic above. My workout that day was a trip to Tallulah Gorge in North Georgia. DH is taking the picture. It is 1062 steps down to the bottom of the gorge. That means it's 1062 back up to the top. Needless to say both my workout and my prayer life increased that day. My rambunctious grandson RAN up the steps and at each landing would...ahem, encourage his grandma with wonderful phrases like "NO MERCY GRANDMA!". This was about 20 lbs ago.
My main problem with having to do a structured workout is the fact that I'm accomplishing nothing for 45 minutes. I know "but your accomplishing health!". That doesn't work for me as a motivator. For you guys who work a 40+ hour week and your trying to decide between being healthy and having well adjusted kids or a clean house; it's even less of a motivator. Let me say it doesn't have to be a choice. You have housework that needs doing? Set a timer and move around the house for 45 minutes; sweeping, mopping, cleaning the bathroom, whatever as long as you are moving at a good pace. Want to spend time with the kids? Do something physical either outside or inside depending on weather. Play tag with your kids, hide and seek, etc. You are substituting these tasks for a workout. Look for ways to move. You don't have to have a gym membership to be successful. I stopped trying to make myself an athlete a long time ago.
If you're at a desk job, it's good to get up and walk around every 15-30 minutes. Not necessarily for weight loss as much as aiding in circulation. And not for a long time, just enough to aid blood flow. They say sitting is the new smoking.
If you're already in an active job with a lot of walking, lifting etc, then you're ahead of the game, just watch your calorie intake.
There are days where I'm not cleaning house or working in the yard. In those times I know I need to add something to continue moving. By the way, days off from work are a great time to do a structured workout, just to hush up all the nay Sayers. Lol. I do get on the treadmill some, but my favorite thing to do is step aerobics. I've learned enough moves over the years of dieting that I just downloaded very upbeat music to my MP3 player and worked out a routine. Even if all you can do is step up and down on a step to your music, it counts. My point is to choose what YOU like best. What you can look forward to. I have discovered this as well; walking beats nothing, but walking in and of itself doesn't burn many calories. The only way I'm burning a significant amount of calories on a treadmill is if I'm on at least a 5% incline. Whatever you choose to do, make sure you get the most calorie burn for your time.
Remember for this to work for the long haul, your life needs to be minimally disrupted. Additional costs for a gym membership or special foods, can derail a healthy eating plan. Having to find time in an already busy day to add a workout, can derail a diet plan. You need to be able to easily adapt to the fun changes (ahem sarcasm here) life throws at you.
Now I'm not going to say do THAT!, but you have to move.
In my case I would rather do anything other than get on a treadmill or other type of exercise equipment. Well I take that back. There is one thing that comes after getting on a treadmill. Cutting the grass with a push mower. I've done this all season as part of my "workouts". After a complete spring and summer of constantly getting bitten by ants EVERY. TIME. I CUT THE GRASS!. I've determined a riding lawnmower would be nice and I'll just do a workout routine instead. But if you don't have ants in your yard, have at it! Here's some other examples of movement (exercise) that burns calories! Digging a raised bed with a shovel (or just digging), Heavy duty house cleaning, Hiking, joining your kids on a bike ride. Anything that causes you to move and use energy. Uh making the bed doesn't count. FYI.
That's me and my grandson in the pic above. My workout that day was a trip to Tallulah Gorge in North Georgia. DH is taking the picture. It is 1062 steps down to the bottom of the gorge. That means it's 1062 back up to the top. Needless to say both my workout and my prayer life increased that day. My rambunctious grandson RAN up the steps and at each landing would...ahem, encourage his grandma with wonderful phrases like "NO MERCY GRANDMA!". This was about 20 lbs ago.
My main problem with having to do a structured workout is the fact that I'm accomplishing nothing for 45 minutes. I know "but your accomplishing health!". That doesn't work for me as a motivator. For you guys who work a 40+ hour week and your trying to decide between being healthy and having well adjusted kids or a clean house; it's even less of a motivator. Let me say it doesn't have to be a choice. You have housework that needs doing? Set a timer and move around the house for 45 minutes; sweeping, mopping, cleaning the bathroom, whatever as long as you are moving at a good pace. Want to spend time with the kids? Do something physical either outside or inside depending on weather. Play tag with your kids, hide and seek, etc. You are substituting these tasks for a workout. Look for ways to move. You don't have to have a gym membership to be successful. I stopped trying to make myself an athlete a long time ago.
If you're at a desk job, it's good to get up and walk around every 15-30 minutes. Not necessarily for weight loss as much as aiding in circulation. And not for a long time, just enough to aid blood flow. They say sitting is the new smoking.
If you're already in an active job with a lot of walking, lifting etc, then you're ahead of the game, just watch your calorie intake.
There are days where I'm not cleaning house or working in the yard. In those times I know I need to add something to continue moving. By the way, days off from work are a great time to do a structured workout, just to hush up all the nay Sayers. Lol. I do get on the treadmill some, but my favorite thing to do is step aerobics. I've learned enough moves over the years of dieting that I just downloaded very upbeat music to my MP3 player and worked out a routine. Even if all you can do is step up and down on a step to your music, it counts. My point is to choose what YOU like best. What you can look forward to. I have discovered this as well; walking beats nothing, but walking in and of itself doesn't burn many calories. The only way I'm burning a significant amount of calories on a treadmill is if I'm on at least a 5% incline. Whatever you choose to do, make sure you get the most calorie burn for your time.
Remember for this to work for the long haul, your life needs to be minimally disrupted. Additional costs for a gym membership or special foods, can derail a healthy eating plan. Having to find time in an already busy day to add a workout, can derail a diet plan. You need to be able to easily adapt to the fun changes (ahem sarcasm here) life throws at you.
Saturday, September 23, 2017
Food as an investment
I will be the first to stand up here and say I do have the occasional junk food. M&M's are a weakness, and I do snag a chip here or there. As a general rule, though, my outlook on food has changed over the last 18 months. I should say improved over the last 18 months. With the knowledge that "I need to get my protein, get my veggies, fruits, etc" came the need to get more bang for my buck.
I know if I eat something with white flour, as good as it tastes, it won't last. I will get hungry sooner.
If something is going to have a lot of calories, I want to make sure it has more nutrition as well. For example: Sometimes I'll substitute peanut butter on toast as opposed to just butter. Not always, but sometimes. Gram for gram, peanut butter gives me a little more protein, a little less fat, and a few less calories. Along those same lines, if I'm gonna pay for something, I don't want any fillers in it. Hence I buy all natural peanut butter. Have for years, even before the weight loss journey.
I stay away from highly processed foods. I try to eat as close to the natural form of food as I can. Now as stated in the beginning of this post, I do periodically have my candies, and such, but as a general rule I eat unprocessed. Even though I have my occasional bite here and there, there are things I stay away from: Sodas, ramin noodles, lunch meat, boxed cereals(boxed anything except maybe pasta), american cheese, margarine, anything hydrogenated, anything made of soy, etc.
Fat is important for body functions. Fats help with the absorption of certain vitamins, help with brain development, workouts, etc. Check out this article from Medline. You need fat! Good fats; butter, olive oil, sesame oil, coconut oil, (real) lard (not the hydrogenated stuff). I don't care what the diet gurus say, natural fats, which include saturated, are the best. Your body knows what to do with it. Trust me on this. Just, as in everything, In moderation. That doesn't mean frying chicken all the time or deep fried Oreos. It means a little is good. It also means it will help you get and stay fuller. Stay away from ANYTHING hydrogenated. I don't care if it says organic, all natural, etc. Out it goes: corn oil, canola oil, vegetable oil, shortening, margarine. Say BYE! Also say Bye to whatever foods have these types of fats in them. Cooking sprays, I don't use them. It makes whatever oil you're using waaaay more expensive. Just coat your pan or cookie sheet with one of the above good fats and off you go. I usually use butter, lard, or bacon fat to coat my pans. Yes I have bacon. I brush the oils on with a pastry brush, or toss my veggies in a little (bout 4 gms)olive oil or sesame oil before I roast them (just about all veggies are good roasted).
Full fat dairy is AWESOME! Even before I started losing weight, I had switched to whole milk. I'm on the verge of trying raw whole milk. Just have to go get it, but for now I use whole milk. If calories are a concern, dilute it half and half with water. It will still taste like 2% but only have 75 calories per cup which is less than skim. FYI, Skim milk is a product of processing milk. It's naturally blue in color. Ummmm Ewww. I use only full fat products including cheese (american cheese is not cheese. Just sayin), Eggs (the whole thing. Egg whites are nasty alone). I'm not saying go organic or any of that stuff, but I do read my labels to make sure I'm only getting sour cream, or yogurt, and not a lot of filler. See? So try this. Instead of a 6 oz carton of fat free/ sugar free yogurt for 90 calories. Have 2 oz of french vanilla whole milk yogurt (57 calories) and 1 cup of berries or other fruit. Mix it all together and voila! The amount of calories will depend on the fruit, but it's way more food than a 6 oz carton of yogurt and the calories are still only around 130 at the highest.
SUGAR. Yes, I do eat sugar. I have sugar in my coffee. I have sweets. I like sugar. I also use molasses, and maple syrup. Raw honey is only used when making cough syrup or in unbaked items. Raw honey not only loses it's benefits when heated, but it's glycemic index changes and it becomes no better than table sugar. Molasses and maple syrup retain their goodness in baking. I make my bread with molasses now. While I do like my sugar, I have reduced it's use in my scratch baking. I love my sweets, but In Moderation. What I don't use is anything artificial. No splenda, sucrolose, nutri-sweet, aspartame, etc. Zip, zilch, nada. Bad, very bad stuff AND studies are now showing that using products that contain this stuff can make you GAIN weight.
In the midst of all this great stuff you fill in with meats, veggies and fruits. Find ways to incorporate them into your diet.They are the most important part of this. If you just eat the fun stuff, it doesn't work see?
Portions and calories are important. Don't let anyone tell you different. Find your calorie range and stay there. If you use these tips, I promise you, you will be satisfied. Like I've said before, getting your calories from real food is way more filling and satisfying than the same calories in empty processed foods. So what do you think?
I know if I eat something with white flour, as good as it tastes, it won't last. I will get hungry sooner.
If something is going to have a lot of calories, I want to make sure it has more nutrition as well. For example: Sometimes I'll substitute peanut butter on toast as opposed to just butter. Not always, but sometimes. Gram for gram, peanut butter gives me a little more protein, a little less fat, and a few less calories. Along those same lines, if I'm gonna pay for something, I don't want any fillers in it. Hence I buy all natural peanut butter. Have for years, even before the weight loss journey.
I stay away from highly processed foods. I try to eat as close to the natural form of food as I can. Now as stated in the beginning of this post, I do periodically have my candies, and such, but as a general rule I eat unprocessed. Even though I have my occasional bite here and there, there are things I stay away from: Sodas, ramin noodles, lunch meat, boxed cereals(boxed anything except maybe pasta), american cheese, margarine, anything hydrogenated, anything made of soy, etc.
Fat is important for body functions. Fats help with the absorption of certain vitamins, help with brain development, workouts, etc. Check out this article from Medline. You need fat! Good fats; butter, olive oil, sesame oil, coconut oil, (real) lard (not the hydrogenated stuff). I don't care what the diet gurus say, natural fats, which include saturated, are the best. Your body knows what to do with it. Trust me on this. Just, as in everything, In moderation. That doesn't mean frying chicken all the time or deep fried Oreos. It means a little is good. It also means it will help you get and stay fuller. Stay away from ANYTHING hydrogenated. I don't care if it says organic, all natural, etc. Out it goes: corn oil, canola oil, vegetable oil, shortening, margarine. Say BYE! Also say Bye to whatever foods have these types of fats in them. Cooking sprays, I don't use them. It makes whatever oil you're using waaaay more expensive. Just coat your pan or cookie sheet with one of the above good fats and off you go. I usually use butter, lard, or bacon fat to coat my pans. Yes I have bacon. I brush the oils on with a pastry brush, or toss my veggies in a little (bout 4 gms)olive oil or sesame oil before I roast them (just about all veggies are good roasted).
Full fat dairy is AWESOME! Even before I started losing weight, I had switched to whole milk. I'm on the verge of trying raw whole milk. Just have to go get it, but for now I use whole milk. If calories are a concern, dilute it half and half with water. It will still taste like 2% but only have 75 calories per cup which is less than skim. FYI, Skim milk is a product of processing milk. It's naturally blue in color. Ummmm Ewww. I use only full fat products including cheese (american cheese is not cheese. Just sayin), Eggs (the whole thing. Egg whites are nasty alone). I'm not saying go organic or any of that stuff, but I do read my labels to make sure I'm only getting sour cream, or yogurt, and not a lot of filler. See? So try this. Instead of a 6 oz carton of fat free/ sugar free yogurt for 90 calories. Have 2 oz of french vanilla whole milk yogurt (57 calories) and 1 cup of berries or other fruit. Mix it all together and voila! The amount of calories will depend on the fruit, but it's way more food than a 6 oz carton of yogurt and the calories are still only around 130 at the highest.
SUGAR. Yes, I do eat sugar. I have sugar in my coffee. I have sweets. I like sugar. I also use molasses, and maple syrup. Raw honey is only used when making cough syrup or in unbaked items. Raw honey not only loses it's benefits when heated, but it's glycemic index changes and it becomes no better than table sugar. Molasses and maple syrup retain their goodness in baking. I make my bread with molasses now. While I do like my sugar, I have reduced it's use in my scratch baking. I love my sweets, but In Moderation. What I don't use is anything artificial. No splenda, sucrolose, nutri-sweet, aspartame, etc. Zip, zilch, nada. Bad, very bad stuff AND studies are now showing that using products that contain this stuff can make you GAIN weight.
In the midst of all this great stuff you fill in with meats, veggies and fruits. Find ways to incorporate them into your diet.They are the most important part of this. If you just eat the fun stuff, it doesn't work see?
Portions and calories are important. Don't let anyone tell you different. Find your calorie range and stay there. If you use these tips, I promise you, you will be satisfied. Like I've said before, getting your calories from real food is way more filling and satisfying than the same calories in empty processed foods. So what do you think?
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