I gained a couple of pounds and I want them GONE.  My body doesn’t want to let go this month, so it is time for the PLATEAU diet.

Breakfast:  Half a grapefruit, and an egg.
Snack:  Liquid protein
Lunch:  Salad with grilled ahi (white fish), some cooked spinach, half a grapefruit.
Snack:  Liquid protein
Dinner:  Same as lunch.
Snack:  Liquid protein.

Sometimes this is a bit hard, but I supplement with a lot of coffee!  I should lose weight by tomorrow.  I will post how I did.

SO, here is the skinny on the test of my motivation and ability to say “NO” today!!   I went to Poquito mas for my salad and fish.  They threw some delish looking chips in my bag.

Guess what I did with them?

Yep!  I grabbed them before I would make the huge mistake of sabotaging my diet and I tossed them in the trash.

Before you cry and think–what a waste of chips!  I will tell you something!  Wasted carbs and no nutrition.  They are USELESS.  (by the way, that is a building garbage bin and that is NOT my pizza box)

CHIPS:  

1 tortilla chip is almost 2 whole carbs.

DID YOU HEAR THAT?  ONE chip is almost TWO carbs.  That is INSANE!  No wonder why I was fat.  I used to love tortilla chips.  So, they are now in the TRASH.  http://www.fatsecret.com/calories-nutrition/food/tortilla-chips/carbohydrate

You have to want to be thin.  This means that there are SACRIFICES to be made.  I ate today, but it is limited and measured.  I will have to do this again for one or two days depending on how the scale looks tomorrow.  If I went down a pound or two from what I saw this morning–I can give it up, but if not, I will do it again tomorrow.  It is not forever and I will live.

Why did I pick election day to be disciplined?  I don’t know.  It has been a stressful day, but I want to stay thin!

NEVER SKIP BREAKFAST

Skipping breakfast is not only a bad idea because you will find that you will have no energy to get the things you need done for the day–done….but it also wreaks havoc on your metabolism.  If you want to lose weight, you have to kick start your metabolism every morning with protein and high fiber, low carb food.  If you grab some cereal, pop tarts, a latte, a donut, a muffin, regular carb toast–you are setting yourself up to be a fat-storing machine, who will crash later from the surge of sugar with little protein or good nutrients to sustain your body or your mind for the day.  If you skip, you will continue to be on a sugar roller coaster!  You will feel sick and you will have weight issues.

Also, parents, don’t send your kids to school with no breakfast in their tummy or give them what they like (as if they know what is good for them) and give them cereal, pop tarts, a big glass of sugar (I mean OJ or other juice or milk).

**And by the way, if you suffer from immune deficiency diseases like CFS or Fibromyalgia, try to force yourself to get up before noon if you are a late sleeper and eat something so you can fight your condition.  This roller coaster affects you more than you know.  You can always go back to sleep afterwards….but eat something!

Some breakfast examples:

Quickies: Most of this is good for vegetarians as well.

1.  If you are in a hurry, make sure you have hard-boiled eggs to grab.  They are easy to make and some stores like Trader Joes has ones that are done and peeled in bags.

2.  Protein drinks in cans that are low in carbs. Check labels.  Trader Joes has two that are excellent.

3.  Low carb, high protein energy bars.  NOT high carb granola bars!  I mean like Oh Yeah, Power Crunch, Nature Valley Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter bars, etc.

4.  Two tablespoons of almond or peanut butter on some Paleo Bread by Julian Bakery (Julianbakery.com)

5.  A couple of mini low fat baby bells or some low fat cheese and for some, you could use some turkey slices rolled up.

(fast food emergency:  No pancakes and syrup!  Why don’t you just hook the kid up to a sugar drip instead? Just get eggs and bacon.  Even the white bread English muffins are no good–sugar spikes! and how do you expect them to stay focused at school, especially the ADHD ones with a sugar spike and then fall of energy?)

Not so quick, but not hard to do:

1.  Make a smoothie.  Put in some coconut, almond or rice milk in a blender with some protein powder and berries.  Now you have a nice energy drink.

2.  Greek yogurt with some berries (and even a spoonful of almond or peanut butter)

3.  Chicken sausage, or an egg or egg whites or an omelet with some spinach, tomato and feta cheese or whatever you like.

4.  Make low carb pancakes.  Simple new recipe I found out about:

**Two tablespoons of oat bran, two tablespoons of greek yogurt, egg whites and cinnamon for taste.  Cook in pan.**

5.  Last choice!  Oatmeal is higher in carbs, but if you eat it, no more than 1/2 cup of it.  OATMEAL IS A HIGH CARB FOOD.  Half of a cup is 27 carbs.  Make it larger than half of a cup by putting in for the protein–walnuts and almonds are good and some blueberries or other berries are good too.

REMEMBER:

YOU DON’T NEED GRAINS IN YOUR DIET TO SURVIVE.  YOU NEED PROTEIN, VEGETABLES, FRUITS AND WATER!

If you want to lose weight and feel great, you have to eat a small or normal proportion of food at every meal, including snacks.

You have to breakfast, lunch and dinner with a protein snack between them and one after dinner.  If you skip, your metabolism gets messed up.  Try to find time the night before to prepare your six meal choices for the day, but make sure you don’t skip breakfast!

Just weighed myself in at Lindora today.  I was holding an extra couple of pounds and was happy to have lost it, according to the scale.  It took some work because I really watched my carb intake and went on the elliptical two days in a row already.  You have to exercise!

But, I want to discuss HALLOWEEN and other holidays.

Halloween!  Oh, the pressure to eat candy!

A client of mine, one who KNOWS that I don’t eat candy anymore, gave me this candy in the picture.  However, my version of candy is a chocolate protein bar.  I don’t want empty carbs, extra sugar to give me that sugar rollercoaster of the high and then the low crash of fatigue that follows it.  I am done with that ride.

I immediately flung this candy into a jar at my office and out of sight.  I thanked my client, but informed her that I do not eat candy like this anymore.  She said, “maybe your husband would want it.”  First off, my husband HATES candy corn.  Secondly, he is health conscious now too and will not eat candy.  The only candy that we touch are Nature Valley Protein  Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter bars or Power Crunch bars, which have 14 and 10g of carbs, in the order mentioned.  They also have 10g of protein and 5g 13 g of protein in the order mentioned.

People who give me candy or try to get me to eat their candy are usually heavy, but many of them are SABOTEURS–whether it is subconsciously or consciously done.  They want to derail my diet so they can feel better about their candy eating and then say, “See, even she eats candy.”   I don’t like that and I don’t fall into that trap.

Yes, I could have candy and work it in with my carb count to not gain weight, but I want to keep healthy and still enjoy my food.  It has taken a lot to feel better than I used to and I don’t want to mess it up with this “drug of choice.”  I can still have my delicious protein bars or delicious frozen yogurt, which is made with Splenda or low sugar and not go through the sugar highs and lows, leading me into cravings for more sugar.  It is a vicious cycle and it i s a roller coaster ride I am glad that I got off of because it was destroying my health and how my body looked.

The nurse at Lindora told me that MOST people broke their diet and ate Halloween candy and they gained weight this week.  How sad that the excuse of some stupid goblin holiday made people sabotage their efforts and their money.  It isn’t cheap to go to Lindora and that was one or two more weeks that they have set themselves back….but it was their bad food habits that got them into trouble in the first place!

There are TONS of sabotage and excuses for Thanksgiving and Christmas too.  Everyone thinks they have to eat all of the crap that comes out during those holidays.  What a bunch of rubbish.  I will put up recipes soon for healthy Thanksgiving and Christmas items.  It is total B.S. that you have to ruin your diet and gain weight for the “holiday season.”  I think the pilgrims and God will forgive you for eating a more healthy diet for the holidays!  Whoever said you have to eat crappy fattening foods for the holidays was a sugar junkee!

Here is a list of “fun” (ya, gaining weight is fun!) sized candies for Halloween.  Check out the carb contents for these itty bitty candies.  Taken from:  http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/carbcounts/a/candycalories.htm

Chocolate Bars and Kisses (Mostly Chocolate)

Dove Milk Chocolate Promises or wrapped squares (8 g) – 42 calories and 6 g carb

Hershey Kisses – 26 calories and 8 g carb each kiss

Hershey Kisses with Almonds – 23 calories and 2 g carb each kiss

Hershey Kisses filled with Caramel – 21 calories and 3 g carb each kiss

Hershey Candy Corn Kisses – 27 calories and 3 g carb each kiss

Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bars – Fun size (14 g) – 67 calories and 8 g carb

Hershey’s Miniature Bars (mixed) – average of 42 calories and 5 g carb each bar

M&Ms, plain, Fun size (18 g) – 88 calories and 12 g carb

M&Ms, peanut

• Fun size (18 g) – 93 calories and 11 g carb
• 1/4 cup candy – 220 calories and 24 g carb

Miniature Bars (Milky Way, Snickers, Twix, 3 Muskateers) – average 38 calories and 5 g carb each bar

Mr. Goodbar Snack size (17 g) – 90 calories and 9 grams carb

Nestle’s Crunch Bars Fun size (10 g) 50 calories and 7 grams carb

Nestle’s Crunch Caramel Bars – Fun size – 70 calories and 9 g carb

Palmer Peanut Butter cups, small – 6 g carb

Three Muskateers bar

• Fun size (15 g) – 64 calories and 11 g carb
• Mint, Fun size (15g) – 64 calories and 11 g carb

Tootsie Rolls

• Small bar – 50 calories and 10 g carb
• Midgee – 23 calories and 7 g carb
• Mini-Midgees – 11 calories and 2 g carb

Peanut and Peanut Butter Candies

Pay Day – Snack size (19 g) – 90 calories and 10 g carb

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups

• Miniature (about 9 grams each) – 44 calories and 5 g carb per cup
• Snack size (17 g) – 88 calories and 10 g carb
• Snack size (21 g) – 100 calories and 12 g carb
• White, Snack size (21 g) – 100 calories and 11 g carb

Reese’s Peanut Butter Pumpkins (34 g) – 180 calories and 17 g carb

Reese’s Crispy Crunchy Bar, Snack size (17 g) – 95 calories and 9 g carb

Reese’s Nutrageous Bars, Snack size (17 g) – 88 calories and 9 g carb

Reese’s Whipps Bar, Snack size (14 g) – 60 calories and 10 g carb

Mixed Candy Bars

100 Grand Bars

• Fun size (11 g) – 50 calories and 8 g carb
• Fun size (21 g) – 95 calories and 15 g carb

Almond Joy Snack size (15 g) – 80 calories and 10g carb

Baby Ruth Bar, Fun size (18 g each) – 85 calories and 13 g carb

Butterfinger Bar, Fun size (18 g each) – 85 calories 14 g carb

Butterfinger Crisp Bar, Snack size (20 g) – 100 calories and 13 g carb

Heath Bar, Snack size (13 g) – 74 calories and 9 g carb

Kit Kat, Fun size (14 g) – 73 calories and 9 g carb

Milky Way bar, Fun size (17 g) – 75 calories and 12 g carb

Mounds bars, Snack size (17 g) – 83 calories and 9 g carb

Rocky Road, Snack size (10 g) – 45 calories and 6 g carb

Snickers Bars, Fun size (17 g) – 80 calories and 10 g carb

Snickers Almond Bars, Fun size (17 g) – 80 calories and 11 g carb

Snickers Creme Pumpkin (1 oz) – 150 calories and 16 g carb

Take Five bar, Fun size (15 g) – 10 g carb

Twix, Snack size (10 g) – 50 calories and 7 g carb

Taffy and Caramel

AbbaZabba, small (12 g) 50 calories and 11 g carb

Charleston Chew bar, Fun size (10 g) – 45 calories and 8 g carb

Laffy Taffy, Chocolate, small bars (8 g each) – 32 calories and 7 g carb

Milk Duds Snack size (12 g) – 54 calories and 9 g carb

Milk Maid Caramels, Brach’s – 40 calories and 10 g carb per piece

Fruity and Gummy Candies

Jujyfruits – 9 pieces – 60 calories and 16 g carb

Lifesavers Gummies (2 rolls per ounce) – 52 calories and 13 g carb per roll

Mini Dots (2 small boxes per ounce) 70 calories and 17 g carb per box

Skittles

• Original Fruit, Fun size (20 g) – 80 calories and 18 g carb
• Chocolate Assortment, Fun size (20 g) – 80 calories and 18 g carb

Starburst, Fun size (2 pieces per stick) – 40 calories and 10 g carb

Twizzlers

• Mini-bars (14 g) – 11 g carb
• Strawberry Twists, Short (9 g) – 32 calories and 7 g carb
• Cherry Pull-N-Peel (12 g) – 40 calories and 9 g carb

Hard Candies and Pops

Blow Pop, Junior – 50 calories and 14 g carb

Jolly Rancher

• Hard Candy (6 g) – 23 calories and 6 g carb
• Lollipops (17 g) – 60 calories and 16 g carb
• Hard Candy Sticks, Small (11g) – 43 calories and 10 g carb
• Double Blasts (4 g) – 13 calories and 3 g carb

Tootsie Pops – 60 calories and 15 g carb

Tootsie Caramel Apple Pops – 60 calories and 15 g carb

Wonka Nerds – small box (13 g) – 50 calories and 12 g carb

Other Candies

Candy Corn, Brach’s – 11 pieces – 70 calories and 18 g carb

Hot Tamales – small pkg (14 g) – 50 calories and 12 g carb

Jr. Mints, Fun size (10 g) – 50 calories and 12 g carb

Mike and Ike small box (14 g) – 50 calories and 12 g carb

Pop Rocks – small packet (10 g) – 7 g carb

Raisinettes, Fun size (16 g – about 16 pieces) – 56 calories and 11 g carb

Smarties Candy, Roll – 25 calories and 6 g carb

Whoppers

• 1 small tube – 30 calories and 5 g carb
• 1 small pouch (21 g) – 100 calories and 16 g carb

York Peppermint Patties

• Regular small patty (14 g) – 53 calories and 11 g carb
• Pink Peppermint Patties, small (14 g) – 53 calories and 11 g carb
• Peppermint Patty Pumpkins (14 g) – 50 calories and 11 g carb

Sometimes, I miss pasta.  So, I had to try the Shirataki noodles I have heard about.  There are many types.  There are ones called “Miracle Noodles”.  They are ZERO carbs.  I went to my local store to get them and they only had the Miracle Rice at Ralphs, but they had another brand that had 3 g carbs, so I thought it was low enough and I bought the Angel Hair kind, the fettucini   kind and the spaghetti  kind.

I followed the instructions and I opened the bag and drained them (they are stored in water).  Then, I microwaved them for a minute (they kind of smell and the cooking helps rid of the smell).  Then, I put the topping of my choice on them (some do Japanese things….I did pasta sauce and parmasan cheese because I love that).  Then, I put it back in the microwave for another two minutes.  I have to say, it was really good! I don’t need pasta anymore if I have this.  A bag is about $2.  Two servings per bag.  No gluten or anything to be allergic to in this.

I would probably eat it with meatballs any other time, but this was for just a quick snack.  I ate half of what is on the plate and the other half is for later.  I had a slice of paleo bread (1 net g carb).

I recommend this and you can order them online if you can’t find them.  The cheapest place is Ebay.   They are cheap enough.  Try them!

http://www.bestwaytoloseweight4u.com/2010/07/where-to-buy-shirataki-noodles/

http://www.asianfoodgrocer.com/category/shirataki-noodles