Tag Archives: diet

Costco brought back my favorite yogurt! Dannon Greek Light and Fit!

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I just came back from Costco and I am so happy.  Less than $10 for a box of 12.  Only 8g of carbs per container.  Only 80 calories and 12g of protein (more than double than that of just regular yogurt) and half the carbs!  A win-win!

danon dannon

The price is great, the protein content is great and the carbs are excellent.  What a great breakfast, snack, lunch or dessert.  Put a few strawberries or blueberries in it and it is a true filling, delish dessert.  It is so creamy and tangy compared to plain boring ole yogurt.

MIDDAY SLUMP: You Have To Eat A Snack Between Lunch and Dinner

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slump

Ever catch yourself nodding off about an hour or two after lunch?  “If you started your day with nothing more than a cup of coffee or a bowl of cereal, you’re bound to feel your energy start to drop sooner in the day.”  Protein six times a day helps this from happening.

And if your lunch mainly consisted of carbs, then after a meal later on,  there is a huge drop in blood sugar.  However, after any meal, your blood sugar rises for about two hours—and then it drops off.   Your lunch has to contain enough protein and fiber, and if not, then your blood sugar can rise and drop even more quickly, causing you to feel groggy.

Even if you eat a substantial breakfast and a lunch that combines carbs and protein, you might still have the midday slump. Eating raises your body’s core temperature as the body works to digest and metabolize your food.  After you eat a meal, a few hours later, your core body temperature drops, signaling your brain to release melatonin, which causes you to feel tired.

One thing that can help is to exercise.  Regular exercise has been shown to provide more energy throughout the day. If you aren’t able to get in an early-morning or lunchtime workout, try a 15-minute power walk around the time you usually start your slump.   Snacking helps to control blood-sugar levels.  The ideal snack is around 200 to 300 calories and contains a balance of carbohydrates and protein.

If you want to lose weight and keep your metabolism going AND you want to stay awake during the day and be productive, you need to eat your midday snack.

8 suggestions for a snack:

1. A piece of fruit and two tablespoons of peanut butter (or another nut butter).

2. One ounce of almonds and a handful of grapes or a piece of fruit.

3. One ounce of cheese with a few whole-wheat crackers.  Watch the carbs in the crackers.  Look at the box.

4. Two ounces (a moderate handful) of trail mix.

5. Six ounces of greek yogurt with fruit.

6.  A low carb protein bar

7.  A hard boiled egg and a piece of fruit.

8.  A couple of slices of meat, cheese and a piece of fruit.

Stop Your Yo Yo Dieting Already!

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If you want to lose weight, you have to do it the right way. Skipping meals, not starting your day out with breakfast, or following an extremely low-calorie diet is not in any way going to help you lose weight. Calorie deprivation only sets you up for yo-yo dieting, or “weight cycling.” Your weight will continue to go up and down for the rest of your life.  You need to learn what to do to have permanent weight loss.

You might have initial success on one of these extreme diets, but the toll it takes on your body is not at all worth it. Extreme diets that promise big weight loss in a short amount of time cut out macronutrients like carbs and fats — which is horrible for your hormone balance and your metabolism.  I do not worry too much about fats and my carbs are just kept low and healthy carbs is the way to go.

Some people want to desperately want to lose weight for a special occasion and figure that only a couple of weeks at 800 calories a day can give you results you want. And maybe it does…but when you go back to a normal eating pattern, your body is messed up.  According to Jillian Michaels, “While you weren’t taking in enough calories, your levels of T3, the thyroid hormone that boosts your metabolism, plummeted and you slowed down your metabolism. Also, your response to insulin has taken a hit, so instead of glucose entering your cells, where it can be used for energy, your body lets it roam around in your blood, where it can cause trouble. Your sensitivity to leptin (which regulates appetite) is also reduced, so you’re never quite sure when to say, “Enough!” at the table. Plus, the hormone that tells your brain you’re starving, called ghrelin, shoots higher than ever. That is just the beginning of your problems. When you inevitably start gaining back weight, you start the cycle of yo-yo dieting all over again. It gets more and more frustrating every time you do it.”

http://www.jillianmichaels.com/fit/lose-weight/quit-yo-yo-dieting?xid=nl_EverydayHealthHealthyAging_20130331

yo-yo-dieting (1)

So, stop calling it a diet and start looking at your choices in eating as a lifestyle change. Shift your thinking from merely “cutting back” to simply eating proper portions of the right, nutritious foods. Whole  foods will repair, nourish, and support every cell so that your body will work for you and not against you.

Discipline is Learned, Not Eaten

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At the end of the week of 4 days (usually only 3) of a restricted diet, and one all protein day, I lost 5.5 pounds. I am back to normal carb controlled eating. I will work hard to restrict myself to closer to 50g of carbs a day and try not to go to the upper level of 100g a day because I still want to lose 3 pounds in order to be closer to my all-time weight goal. It is always work. You can’t just give up. If I can lose weight, anyone can. I lose very slowly and my body LOVES holding onto the weight with my sluggish thyroid.

At the end of the day, you have to work on your motivation. It is KEY in weight control.

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It is Easter and I am not going to indulge in traditional Easter candy. I have no idea who came up with the idea as candy being attached to high holy holidays. “It is the day Jesus was born–have some chocolate.” “It is the day he has risen, have some chocolate.” And then, “it is your birthday, so have some cake.” We should focus more on spending time on things that we can do physically. “It is a holiday, let’s meet up with family or good friends and go for a walk and talk.” That is so much better for everyone involved.

Do something fun. Change the way you do things. Don’t teach children that when it is a holiday, they have to get a basket of candy or chocolate. They can color eggs and have fun, but come on everyone. Let’s change the way we do things in order to teach ourselves and our children better HABITS.

There is a lady in my Pilates class who discusses holiday foods like they are part of her holiday orgasm, but she also is very heavy and used to be even heavier–plus her husband suffers from diabetes. How has candy and chocolate associations to holidays helped out her life? Everyone who I know who is into all of this candy, has someone larger or ill in their home. So, think about it. What is wrong with special Easter omelets and turkey sausage with some delicious coffee?

If you want to look good and feel good, and teach your family to do the same….take a chance and change the way you do things. Change traditions. Not all are good. Teach motivation and discipline. I often get told that I have amazing discipline. You just have to teach yourself and coming from a disciplined father, I am sure a lot rubbed off on me. Do the same for your family.

Skinny Italiany

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Every now and then, I miss pasta.  So, I have been working hard to get back down a few pounds to my goal weight.  Today is day two of two hours of exercise (Pilates and Elliptical).  I should get to goal soon enough, so I ordered some low-carb lasagna noodles.  I am going to attempt to make a low-carb lasagna with these noodles.    I ordered them from FiberGourmet.com.  2 ounces of the noodles is 42g of carbs, but the fiber is 18g, making the net total to be 24g of carbs.

However, in the meantime, my caulflower-based pizza was so delish (haven’t done the delish zuccini-based one yet), I am going to attempt to make a low-carb zuccini (replacement of pasta) lasagna this week, since I am taking some time off to do things for the holiday week.

Here is the recipe that I found.  If anyone does it first, let me know how it came out.

This low-carb lasagna uses zucchini “noodles” instead of lasagna noodles. The trick to making this work is to take some of the water out of the zucchini first by salting the “noodles”. Then they firm up and are more noodle-like, instead of mushy. This recipe can be made with or without meat.

The picture is what I am HOPING for!

lasagna

Ingredients:

  • 1¼ – 1½ pounds of zucchini
  • salt – enough to lightly salt the zucchini – between ¼ and ½ teaspoon
  • 1 lb. ground beef (can be made without the meat)
  • 1 lb. ricotta cheese – whole milk preferred
  • 2 eggs
  • ½ cup chopped fresh basil or 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
  • 2 cups jarred pasta sauce (any variety with no added sugars)
  • 8 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded
  • 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded (not dried/powdered)

Preparation:

1. Slice the zucchini into strips, length-wise. The strips should be about 1/8 inch thick. I find the best way to do this is with a mandoline. See a vegetable being sliced with a mandoline and find out more about them. Discard any pieces that are mostly peel.2. Put the zucchini strips into a colander and sprinkle the salt on them. Toss to coat. Put the colander over a bowl to catch the juice. After 10-15 minutes, toss the strips again so that the brine will more-or-less evenly coat the strips. Drain for at least an hour.

3. While the zucchini is dripping, cook the meat. Then, combine the ricotta, eggs, and basil or parsley.

4. Spread the zucchini strips on paper toweling or a cotton tea towel to take away most of the surface liquid.

DIRECTIONS:

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

1. Put ½ cup of the pasta sauce into the bottom of a 9 X 13 pan, and combine the meat with the rest of the sauce.

2. Begin layering by covering the sauce with a layer of zucchini. Then cover the zucchini with about one third of the ricotta mixture, one third of the sauce, and one third of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat, only arrange the zucchini strips in the other direction, e.g. if in the first layer the strips are lined up along the length of the pan, for the next layer line them up across the width of the pan. Alternate again for the third layer. After the third layer, finish with the Parmesan cheese.

3. Bake until the cheese is golden brown, about 30 minutes. (Note, if you refrigerate the lasagna before baking, cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes covered, then remove the foil and cook an additional 30 minutes, or until cheese is golden brown.)

Makes 8 Servings.

Nutritional Information: Each serving has 8 grams effective carbohydrate plus 2 grams fiber (10 grams total carbohydrate), 25 grams protein, and 408 calories.

For Meatless Version: Each serving has 8 grams effective carbohydrate plus 2 grams fiber (10 grams total carbohydrate), 17 grams protein, and 242 calories.

LOW CARB is a LIFESTYLE, NOT A DIET!

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Handy chart to help you remember what is low-carb.  Cut it out and hang it on your fridge.

lowcarblifestyle

Weight Plateau War

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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

Do I Do My Chores or Do I Exercise?

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I was faced with a tough decision yesterday.  I had a ton of chores to do and I am under stress to do them.  Do I give up my nightly exercise to do it?  What is one night?

Well, I decided to exercise because I had spent years neglecting myself, which is how I gained weight in the first place.  There will always be something to do, so why neglect myself any more?  I want to stay skinny and you can’t if you let yourself fall back on old bad habits.

You have to prioritize yourself.  You can have a nice car and a nice house.  You can have a nice Chanel bag….but what difference does it make if you look like crap?  Your body and the shape it is in says a lot about a person.  It says a lot about your sense of self-control, a sense of self-love and self-respect.  It is the FIRST thing that people notice about you.  They might never see your car or your house, but they will see YOU.  And how good does a nice expensive outfit look on a flabby person?  Not so good.  I can wear nice selections from Target in my skinny-toned body and they look better than some expensive outfit on a bigger, sloppy, untoned body.

There is weight prejudice out there.  People look at you and make assumptions based on your body.  I used to get asked if I was pregnant all of the time because the wheat products gave me girth and belly fat.  (I gave wheat up!)

If you spend a few extra minutes a day working on your body, it will pay off in dividends.  You will look better, feel better (mentally and physically), be healthier, your shopping for clothes will be easier and more fun, your partner might be happier with your look, you won’t get teased about your weight,  it is easier to get hired (there are studies about this), and you might get more appreciative (and sometimes jealous) looks from others.

And for you selfless types out there….remember this….on the planes, when the oxygen masks are released, what do they tell parents to do?  They say to put on the mask and breathe FIRST and THEN let your child breathe because if you pass out first, your kid has no one to help them.  If you get sick from being out of shape and large, who will be there for your family, friends or children if you fail?  You have to take care of yourself FIRST to be there for the family.  We have a friend who just died because he was so busy caring for his family and work and forgot to take care of himself.  He died at the age of 56 from a heart attack and left behind a widow and a 13-year-old girl.  I don’t want that to happen to me or anyone else.

So, I chose the exercise.  I felt better afterwards and my stress level lowered.  Exercise is great for stress.  It is a vicious cycle, you have stress and don’t feel like exercising, but if you exercised, you would feel less stress.  So, just do it and get that ball rolling.  And after you exercise, if you have time leftover, then do some chores.  You will do them feeling less guilty that you neglected yourself and you will have more energy too, believe it or not.

http://www.adaa.org/living-with-anxiety/managing-anxiety/exercise-stress-and-anxiety
Exercise relieves stress

Ten Nutshell Rules on How to Get and Stay Skinny

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Someone I know has been doing low carb and wrote me for advice.  Most of what I tell people to do is on Skinny-Rules, if you scroll back to September, 2012 and just keep reading.  This person who wrote me said that they need recipes and ideas.

 Ten Nutshell Rules on How to Get Skinny and Stay Skinny!

1.  LOW CARB:  Get a few basic decent easy low carb recipes.  I have written about them.  Cauliflower-based pizza, chicken burrito in a low carb tortilla, greek yogurt (Dannon Lite and Fit), protein bars like Nature Valley PROTEIN Dark Chocolate and Peanut Butter (at Target and Amazon.com), Power Crunch (online, Trader Joes, Smart and Final), cheese, eggs (omelette), chicken or turkey sausage, bacon, turkey patties to grill, turkey meatloaf (on blog too), different variety of salad with meat, cheese, sunflower seeds, veggies.  Finding restaurants that have good protein-style salads, good meat and veggies (no pasta or rice).  I made my own Chicken Masala with Splenda instead of sugar.

2.  There are a ton of low carb cookbooks on Amazon.  Get one.   Here is one.  http://www.amazon.com/500-Low-Carb-Recipes-Snacks-Dessert/dp/1931412065/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1363127323&sr=8-2&keywords=low+carb+cookbook.  You can Google recipes too.  And for God’s sake, go back and read my blog entries.  I write it all.  Recipes, ideas, how-tos, inspiration.  It is all there.  I worked hard on this to help others.  I don’t get anything for it.

3.  Plan like when you have a baby and are leaving the house or when you are in school and prepping for class.  PLAN!  Plan and prep what you need every week (shop) and prepare the night before or get up extra early and plan what you will bring with you to eat every 3-4 hours or plan where you will go to get what you need.  Even Chick Fil A has a healthy chargrilled chicken salad.  I always carry sunflower seeds or a protein bar in my purse for emergencies where I need food.  Don’t let yourself starve and mess up your metabolism and don’t put yourself in the position to have to succumb to bad food.

4.  Always drink fluids.

5.  If all you have in front of you to eat  is high carb food, try to work with it.  Get a burger, either protein style it in a lettuce wrap or just throw out the bun.  If you have pasta with meat in it, eat the meat and not the pasta.  Fill up on salad if it is there.  Try to find out what meals you will be around and prep if you can, bring something to eat if you have to do it.  You don’t have to eat crap, wherever you go!

6.  Don’t have more than 4-6 ounces of meat at each of your daily 6 protein servings.  Get a scale and weigh food for a while to get a handle on what that amount looks like so you can just look at meat and guess the ounces on it.

7.  Twice a day, have salad and veggies with a meal.  Small portion sizes.

8.  No alcohol on a diet.  Messes up your fat burning and gives you extra carbs.

9.  Don’t let your friends/family sabotage you.  This is your diet and tell them to knock it off.  It is just like having someone try to get you to take heroin when you are in recovery.  It is called “enabling” and “sabotage”.  This is not friendship or love.  This is them trying to suck  you back into their dysfunctional hole.  Don’t go there.  You worked too hard to get out.

10.  Exercise and no excuses.  People keep asking me to do things and I only do things when they don’t interfere with getting in my exercise or it is a special occasion.  I have to be disciplined to stay skinny.

Need a Healthy Snack?

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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.