Tag Archives: carbs

Discipline is Better Than Potatoes

Posted on by

0

Discipline quotes:

“Discipline weighs ounces, regret weighs tons.”  ~Author Unknown

“Everyone must choose one of two pains: The pain of discipline or the pain of regret.”  ~Jim Rohn

“Self-respect is the root of discipline:  The sense of dignity grows with the ability to say no to oneself. “ ~Abraham Joshua Heschel, The Insecurity of Freedom: Essays on Human Existence, 1967

One of the hardest parts about dieting is getting over past eating styles, styles which got you into the shape you are in right now.  You have to come to realize that you ate crap, didn’t exercise enough and learned BAD habits.  It might have been no fault of your own, but it happened.  You are a grown person, so you have to deal with it.

You have to learn to eat a different way, but like with anything, if you learn how to do it in a way that you don’t find boring, you find things that you like to eat that are better for you and you do it all long enough, it is a lifestyle change and not a diet.

Do you want to be skinny?  Do you want to stop feeling bad that you say you want to do it or you will start tomorrow and never do it?  Then just start.

Go shopping and find all of the necessary ingredients.  Read my past blogs and find out what you can do to make it happen.  Ex:  6 proteins a day (I write all about lists of them), only 50-100 g of carbs per day, 4 small servings of veggies, 2 small servings of fruits (each has different carbs, research…berries and citrus are the lowest), and two small salads a day.  Eat every 3-4 hours and don’t let yourself get too hungry or thirsty.  Drink your non-sugar beverages.  Look at labels.  Count carbs.

Stop procrastinating.  How much do you want to do it?  Do it and stop whining.  It is not hard.  I will answer any questions that you might have, but start it.   Realize that you have the discipline to say “no.”  When I go out to eat and I order my protein meal (meat and salad, eggs and bacon, etc.), I ask for grilled veggies or tomatoes instead of potatoes and I ask for fruit instead of toast or bread.  It is habit now.  I always turn free bread away before they put it on my table.  You have to learn to do it or to just have one.  Don’t let them bring the never-ending bowls of carbs to your table.  JUST SAY NO!

I spent years wondering why I was overweight.  I was overweight because I ate  those bread baskets, and ate the fries, hash browns or the chips that came with a meal.  I don’t allow those in my life anymore.  There is a Russian lady who makes my salads and I told her that I noticed that everyone that came in who was overweight ate a healthy sandwich or salad and had a bag of chips with their meal.  She said, “American’s love potato chips.”  That is true, and there is also a correlation with the potato lovers and that our society is so obese right now.  You want a fry?  Have one or two.  You can’t be thin and eat a serving of potato chips, hash browns, baked potatoes or fries.  I don’t do potatoes, rice and my wheat is limited (no bread or cereal–although, once in a while, I have Western Bagel’s Perfect 10 bagel at 10g net carbs and a low-carb burrito tortilla at about 7 g net carbs–ONCE in AWHILE.).

At first, this all seemed like a sacrifice, but it was actually not so bad after a few weeks.  Now, I feel very disciplined and good that I watched about 40 pounds fall off of me and I will be damned to put them back on.  So, I still follow all of those rules.  My husband backs me and when anyone tries to sabotage me with trying to get me to order something against my rules, I tell them quite frankly, “No, I don’t do sugar or wheat.”  I am proud of it and it makes me feel even better about my self-esteem.  Losing weight and being able to say no are very empowering.  If no one else likes it, too bad.  This is my health, my life and my body.

Now, it is your turn to feel this way!  JUST SAY NO.  You won’t die with low carbs and no potatoes in your life.

nopotatoes

REPLACEMENTS OF POTATOES:

There are tons of cauliflower recipes out there where you can make faux pizza crusts, faux mashed potatoes, etc and they taste great–instead of potatoes.  You can make baked Kale chips instead of eating potato chips.

So learn NEW ways to make things, enjoy them and they will become part of your new skinny lifestyle.  Or you will start to look like a potato.

potatohead

Non-Starchy Vegetables vs. Starchy Vegetables

Posted on by

0

When wanting to lose weight and maintain your weight,  you need to be conscious of how many carbs you get into your diet daily.  YES, you want vegetables, but many people mistakenly think of potatoes of any kind as an innocent vegetable.  You need to get 4 small servings of vegetables a day (about half a cup of each serving), but if it is a STARCHY vegetable, not so much.  You need to cut down the serving by half if it is carrots and you have to be aware that I gave up starchy vegetables altogether.  Now, you can have them if you like, especially in maintenance, but be aware of what they do to your body.

First, the good they do.  Potatoes are a very good source of vitamin C and potassium and a good source of folate, vitamin B6, and manganese. They also contain a fairly high concentration of antioxidant phytonutrients.

The problem with potatoes is that they are high on the glycemic index.

Estimated Glycemic Load of Potatoes

  • ½ cup diced raw potato: 6
  • 1 medium potato (2½ to 3½ inches in diameter; about 7.5 oz):17
  • 1 large potato (3 to 4½ inches in diameter; about 13 oz): 29
  • ½ cup mashed potato made with milk (no butter): 8
  • ½ cup mashed potato made from dehydrated (instant) potatoes with milk: 7
  • The glycemic index gives us an idea of which foods raise our blood glucose fastest and highest.
  • BY COMPARISON:  one serving of broccoli is 8, one serving of cauliflower is 1 , and spinach is 0.

  • Why is this important?

    Many people have problems processing large increases in blood glucose.  Having blood glucose that is too high, is on the road to diabetes and the way to correct this is to cut carbs and eat foods lower in glycemic index numbers.

  • Eating pure glucose is given a ranking of 100 — all other foods are in relation to this. So a food with a glycemic index of 95 raises blood sugar almost as much as pure glucose, but a food with a glycemic index of 20 doesn’t raise blood sugar much at all. It’s important to keep in mind, though, that the glycemic index does not take portion size into account. The actual amount any food raises blood sugar has to do both with how glycemic it is, and how much of it you eat. The glycemic load attempts to combine these concepts, and some diets are using the glycemic load for this reason.


 lowcarbveggies

Vegetables LOW in carbs:

  • Sprouts, alfalfa and other small seeds (sprouted legumes have more carb)
  • Greens – lettuce, spinach, chard, etc.
  • Hearty Greens – collards, mustard greens, kale, etc.
  • Radicchio and endive count as greens
  • Herbs – parsley, cilantro, basil, rosemary, thyme, etc.
  • Bok Choy
  • Bamboo Shoots
  • Celery
  • Radishes
  • Sea Vegetables (Nori, etc)
  • Mushrooms
  • Cabbage(or sauerkraut)
  • Jicama
  • Avocado
  • Asparagus
  • Okra
  • Cucumbers (or pickles without added sugars)
  • Green Beans
  • Fennel
  • Cauliflower
  • Brocolli
  • Peppers
  • Zuchinni
  • Summer Squash

So, eat your VEGGIES and choose wisely.

P.S.  The carb content of the above mentioned items per serving:

cauliflower, brocoli  1-3g of carbs, spinach is 0-1 g of carbs and a potato is 35g for a medium potato.  See the difference?  If you want to stay skinny, you can’t have more than 50-100g of carbs a day.  35g is a lot for ONE item for the day.

Weight Plateau War

Posted on by

0

Diet_Plateau_cartoon (1)

I had to go on steroids over a month ago for allergy-related itching and it set me back.  I gained a few pounds and they started to go off, but they came back.  I am stuck.  So, now I have to set myself into a new schedule to fight back this plateau.  My body seems to like where I am at right now.  This  happened every now and then when I was first losing the weight.  It happens all of the time and you have to then change your food and exercise routine to fight the body’s weight plateau.

THIS IS WAR.

I just went shopping and bought some grapefruit.  So, here is the schedule, starting tomorrow.

1.  Breakfast.  An egg.   Half of a grapefruit.

2.  3 hours later, a protein snack.  preferably, a liquid protein snack or a LOW carb protein bar.  I will probably have a Protein Crunch.

3.  Lunch.  Salad with either turkey, chicken or fish.  No starchy veggies like carrots. Some steamed or cooked spinach and a half of a grapefruit.

4.  3 hours later, same as number 2.

5.  Dinner.  Same as lunch.

6.  Same as number 2 again, but most likely a Carbolite.

No nuts, no other snacks, no matter how low-carb.  I have to do this to lose those pounds.  I probably will be drinking a lot of liquids to combat hunger issues and I will always remember to eat every 3-4 hours.  Coffee will be my friend.

Goal:  5 pounds from today.  I will keep you informed.

weight-loss-success

Your Big Belly Is a Product of Carb Consumption, Not Fat Consumption

Posted on by

0

I used to get asked when my baby was due and I was never pregnant.  I cut down my carbs and I lost “the baby” (my gut)!  Carbs is the problem!

As Americans cut fats from their diet (an unknowingly–protein as well), they replaced them with bad carbohydrates (good carbs are in vegetables).  This is partly a result of Americans’ reliance on unhealthy carbs — bagels, pasta, pretzels, rice, potatoes, etc.  So, now a full two-thirds of the U.S. population is overweight or obese, and nearly one of out four Americans is overweight.

The idea that cutting carbs from your diet can lead to weight loss is beginning to catch on and even moderate reductions in your carb consumption can help you shed extra pounds.  When I finally cut down my carbs to between 50-100g a day, I finally lost my long-held weight gain.

An important point is that a reduced-carb diet promotes the loss of deep belly fat, also known as “visceral fat,” even when no change in weight is apparent.

Visceral fat is strongly linked with type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and other chronic diseases. It is thought that visceral fat is related to the release of proteins and hormones that can cause inflammation, which in turn can damage arteries and enter your liver, affecting how your body breaks down sugars and fats.

While it’s often referred to as “belly fat” because it can cause a “beer belly” or an apple-shaped body, you can have visceral fat even if you’re thin. So even if you aren’t trying to lose weight, cutting unhealthy carbs in your diet could have a positive impact on your levels of visceral fat, and thereby potentially reduce your risk of chronic disease.

People on low-carb diets lose weight in part because they get less fructose that can be made into body fat quickly. Although fructose is naturally found in high levels in fruit, it is also added to many processed foods, especially in the form of high-fructose corn syrup. If your only source of fructose came from eating an apple or orange a day, keeping your total grams of fructose to below 25 per day, then it would not be an issue.

But what many completely fail to appreciate is that fructose is the NUMBER ONE source of calories in the United States and the typical person is consuming 75 grams of fructose each and every day. Because fructose is so cheap it is used in MOST processed foods. The average person is consuming 1/3 of a pound of sugar every day!

Evidence is mounting that excess sugar, and fructose in particular, is the primary factor in the obesity epidemic, so it’s definitely a food you want to avoid if you want to lose weight. This means you have to  keep your fruit amounts down each day, but avoid added fructose in your food.

Many dieters snack on pretzels in lieu of potato chips and other salty snacks, believing them to be healthier alternatives. But eating pretzels is just as bad as dipping a spoon straight into a bowl of sugar.

Don’t be fooled by the fact that they’re “fat-free” – remember it’s the carbs that are the culprit.

Your body prefers the carbohydrates in vegetables rather than grains because it slows the conversion to simple sugars like glucose, and decreases your insulin level. Grain carbohydrates, like those in pretzels and bread, will increase your insulin resistance and interfere with your ability to burn fat — which is the last thing you want if you’re trying to lose weight.

Even cereals, whether high-fiber, whole-grain or not, are not a food you want to eat if you’re concerned about your weight. If they contain sugar, that will tend to increase your insulin levels even more, regardless if they are so-called “healthy” cereals or not.

WHAT SHOULD YOU EAT?

A “healthy diet” is qualified by the following key factors:

  • Unprocessed whole foods
  • Often raw or only lightly cooked
  • Organic or grass-fed meat/eggs, and free from additives and genetically modified ingredients
  • Come from high-quality, local sources
  • Carbohydrates primarily come from vegetables (except for corn or potatoes)
  • Good-Carbs-vs-Bad-Carbs

Need a Healthy Snack?

Posted on by

0

image

I went to Pilates this morning (after downing a hard boiled egg) and I was hungry afterwards. So, besides my coffee, I took out my Carbmaster yogurt. 4 grams of carbs –just enough to get me by until my next protein snack in a couple of hours. The worst thing that you can do on a diet is let yourself get too hungry and then you wind up eating too much of the wrong stuff. So, after a workout it’s good to get some protein with a little bit of carb. I probably would have had eggs, but I am at work and because I prepare, I had yogurt in my fridge. It is just enough to sustain and satisfy.

Remember, if you are on a diet or you just want to maintain your figure, you need to always a certain amount of low carb high protein snacks available to you all the time. I carry sunflower seeds in my purse, in case I get hungry. Always be prepared.

Bad Carbs (Refined) are Worse than Good Carbs. Why is that??

Posted on by

0

 

  • Refined carbs are considered unhealthy carbohydrates (bad carbs).  Good carbs that had the fiber stripped away so they act as simple carbohydrates do in the body as they are digested rapidly.  This in turn causes a spike in blood sugar followed by a crash. They are empty calories!

refined-carbs

List of REFINED CARBS

Sweeteners

Table sugar and syrup other than natural maple syrup are refined carbs.

Natural maple syrup and honey are not refined carbs, but they are simple carbohydrates, and therefore, have an effect similar to refined carbs upon blood glucose.

Beverages

Any beverage that contains sugar or refined syrup is a refined carb food.

  • sweetened fruit juice, beer, wine, soft drinks and sweet tea.

Although 100 percent fruit juice does not have refined carbs, it does contain a high amount of carbs per serving size, which is why whole foods are preferred over their juices.

Fruits and Vegetables

Raw fruits and vegetables are an excellent source of good carbs, however, when canned or frozen, sugar is often added,  which turns them into bad carbs.

  • Examples of refined carbs in fruits and vegetables include canned fruit pie filling, applesauce with added sugar, frozen fruit with sugar added and sweetened canned fruit. Some canned or frozen vegetable blends may have sugar included along with other seasonings.

Grains

White flour is a refined carb, and anything made from white flour should be limited in your diet.

  • This includes bagels, bread, muffins and most packaged cereals.
  • White flour combined with sugar adds even more refined carbs to foods like cookies, cakes, cupcakes and donuts.

YOU COULD BE TRICKED!  To be certain grain based foods are not made from refined grains, look for the words “whole wheat” or “whole grain” on the label.

  • Foods with these words on the label are probably made from refined grains: “wheat flour,” “stoned wheat,” “cracked wheat,” “100% wheat,” and “multigrain.”
  • Other refined carbs in this category include white rice and pasta.

Snacks

Snacks are commonly high in refined carbs since they contain white flour or sugar.

  • This includes sweets like pie, candy, candy bars, fudge and jelly,pretzels and potato chips.

I personally keep ALL carbs down to between 50-100 daily to lose weight and higher near the 100 to maintain.  But, I try to just do the unrefined more natural carbs because they tend to put weight on you easier, regardless and the spike in my blood glucose and then the crash is an awful feeling, makes me tired, but then makes me want to eat more crap.  If you want to stay thin, then you have to give your body the ability to fight cravings.  Refined carbs cause cravings.  So, if you do carbs, stick with the good ones and keep grains to a minimum!  But, if you have them, count the carbs on them (Rice, cereal and bread has a lot!) and keep them whole grain or whole wheat.

10 Rules So You Can Lose About 10 pounds a Month.

Posted on by

2

If you look at my blogs, especially the ones that I wrote in Sept, 2012 , you will read a lot about the rules in what to do in order to lose weight. I lost 40 pounds in 4 months with these basic rules.  But, some people are new and need to know the rules and some people might have forgotten or need a refresher.  So…..

rulessign

To recap what some of the rules are:

1. You have to eat 6 small protein based meals a day, about 4 hours apart.  Basically, 3 meals a day, 3 snacks a day, but all protein-based.  Meats are about 4-6 ounces per serving.

2. It is easy to find low carbs proteins in eggs, all types of meat, protein bars, protein shakes, nuts, seeds, cheese, low carb dairy treats, cottage cheese, and Greek yogurt.

3. You should only have between 50g and 100g carbohydrates a day.  So, as far as measurements go, look at labels.  If something is more than 15g of carbs per serving, then that might be too much.  You need to average out about 10g of carbs per serving and if you are eating something that is more than that, then you need to take it away from something else during the day. Do not do less than 50g of carbs a day.

4.  Buy a carbohydrate guide or use the internet and look online to see what amount of carbohydrates are in certain things. After while you will just remember things like that there is only 1 g of carbs in an egg.

5.  Take Potassium Gluconate 19g mg twice a day or  99mg, two orally twice a day.

6.  Fruit, twice a day.  About half a cup on most fruits, 1/2 a banana (high in carbs), a medium orange, etc.

7.  Vegetables, twice a day.  About a cup on most vegetables, except for items like carrots (starches).  Avoid starchy veggies like potatoes, yams and sweet potatoes.

8.  A cup of lettuce each time, twice a day.  And low-carb salad dressing.

9.  80 ounces of water or sugar-free drinks a day.

10.  Get in some form of exercise at least 3 times per week.

Bread! Carbilicious and Dangerous to the Waistline

Posted on by

0

So, you want to lose weight.  But, are you aware how many carbs is in a slice of bread?  How about if you have a sandwich.  The average slice of bread has about 14g of carbs.  Now, if you have two slices in a sandwich, that means you are eating 28g of carbs–minimally.  If you want to have between 50 and 100g of carbs a day to lose weight…then bread can be a problem.

I pretty much gave up bread.  I only have it once in a blue moon and when I do, it is carefully selected.  I found that I am wheat sensitive and gluten sensitive, so with the way that wheat is made now (Google Frankenwheat or look at my blog on it  http://wp.me/p2I06z-a0), I try to avoid it.

bread

My top 5 choices of bread.

1.  Western Bagel’s Perfect 10 Bagel.  10 net grams of carbs vs. 45 of a regular bagel and about 30-35g of their alternative bagel.

2. Western Bagel alternative Pita and English muffins are lower in carbs, but I would not eat them often.

3.  Tortilla shells that are low carb in the 4-7 net grams of carb range.  Trader Joes and Costco does sell them.  Markets sell them.

4.  Julianbakery.com has breads that are Smart Carb (in the 3 to 5 net gram area) and Paleo Bread that is Zero Carbs.  The zero carb ones are pretty bland, but are ok if you make french toast out of them or use them with cold cuts.  Toasted is really boring.  But, you can go gluten-free this way.  Whole Foods and specific low carb food places sell them.  Google them.  LoCarbsU.com sells them too.

5.  Sara Lee 45 Calorie Whole Wheat Bread.  Not gluten free, but only 7g of carbs per slice and it is tasty.

So, you can’t complain that you can’t find decent bread choices.  But, if you choose to continue to eat regular bread, you might never lose the weight.  Most people who I know who have weight isssues seem to continue to eat taco shells, burrito shells, toast, cereal, sandwiches.  Maybe they would lose it like I did if they remove it from their diet and only insert one of the above only once or twice a week?  It worked for me.

Happy Thanksgiving and a Thanksgiving Food/Exercise Match Up Chart

Posted on by

2

I want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving.  Remember, it is about family and fun.  It doesn’t have to be about BAD food, it can be about good food.

3 helpful blogs to help you through the holiday food issues:

1. What I recommend to eat and what I will be eating.  https://skinny-rules.com/2012/11/12/delicious-substitutions-for-thanksgiving-dinner/

2. How not to pig out at Thanksgiving.  https://skinny-rules.com/2012/11/15/8waystohelpyourselffrompiggingoutatthanksgiving/

3. How people sabotage at holiday dinners.  https://skinny-rules.com/2012/11/14/holiday-sabotage/

BUT if you do pig out, here is a chart to help you exercise off that pie and whatever other carbliicous things you ate.

 

A thought… If you skipped the pie, the marshmellow/sweet potato casserole, the bread (roll and stuffing) and the cranberry sauce, you will save yourself almost half of the calories from your meal and most of the carbs.  Your pancreas will thank you too for not having to work so hard and send out so much insulin to deal with all of that sugar!

If there are no vegetables that aren’t smothered in cream, then eat those (or eat those and wipe away the breaded onion) and eat the turkey and maybe just a little of the potato and gravy and you will be doing a lot better.

Worse case scenario, I will not be eating pie unless it is made with Splenda, but if you do, only have half of a slice.  Bring it down to 30g of carbs vs. 60 or 70g grams with a big slice.  And you could  do some exericse to burn off some of those carbs!

Happy Gobble Gobble!