Tag Archives: fiber

Thanksgiving Does Not Have to Ruin Your Diet or Have You Gain Weight

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This is a re-post of my talk about Thanksgiving meals.  However, I want to add that I am making a delish low-carb and healthy side dish this year that is different.  I am making the Barefoot Contessa’s Balsamic-Roasted Brussels sprouts with Pancetta (ham).  It looks amazing.  I had something similar at my favorite Italian restaurant and I loved it.  I will  let you know how it came out !  DELISH roasted brussels sprouts and here is the video of her making it.  the video  There are 8 g of carbs in brussels spouts for a cup of them.  There are 3.3 g of fiber in a cup of Brussels sprouts.  So, net carbs is 4.7 g per cup.  So much healthier than pumpkin pie and so filling and delish, you won’t have room for the pumpkin pie.

So, the rest of the Thanksgiving Blog…..

I have talked to many people about Thanksgiving food. I am not sure how it came to be that a holiday designed to give thanks and spend time with relatives–has now somehow turned into a carbolicious food fest.

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A few years ago, I went to my husband’s cousin’s house for Thanksgiving. I had a tough time finding something decent to eat. The turkey was ok, but there was no salad.  There were green beans, but they were smothered in horrible bad GMO Velveeta cheese and not some kind of low-fat bovine growth hormone-free cheese. And there were those horrible processed onion things were on top. There was white bread in unhealthy fattening stuffing, cranberry sauce (sugar fest), white GMO dinner rolls, margarine (where is the organic butter?) and nasty box-made mashed potatoes. No wonder people get fat. Then, there is pie! One small slice of pumpkin pie alone is 300 calories. I think the average amount of calories eaten at Thanksgiving dinner tops 1500, easy.

AND DON’T GET ME STARTED ON THE SUPER-SIZED PORTIONS THAT PEOPLE SERVE THEMSELVES, AND MORE THAN ONE!

Here is what most of the portions looked like at the cousin’s house (throw in a non-nutritious dinner roll):

thanksgiving-dinner-plate

Next is the proper size of a “Traditional Thanksgiving Meal–made in a more healthy way–and the right measured out portions.  At least if you eat this, you will not gain a lot of weight. (4 ounces of protein and keep in mind, only 50-100g of carbs per day.  More on the veggies, less on the stuffing and potatoes.  In this picture–turkey, a touch of stuffing with mushrooms, just a splash of cranberries (not the canned stuff), and a serving of veggies.  Perfect!

Mike Coppola/Getty Images for Bethenny

It takes 30 minutes of running fast for 3 miles to burn 300 calories, and about an hour to do fast walking to lose 300 calories. You would have to walk for 5 hours to burn off that dinner.  It could take many days of exercise to burn off that meal.

What I had for Thanksgiving:

For breakfast, I had a Western Bagel Perfect 10 low carb bagel with egg and cheese on it.

I made turkey meatballs and sauce with spaghetti squash for lunch.

For dinner, my husband and I had the sliced turkey breast that we bought the day before. We had a little gravy and had some great grilled asparagus and baby broccoli, with a great salad with cheese.  A nice normal sized portion too.

And my snacks in between were nuts and a protein bar.

For after-dinner dessert, I had low carb ice cream.

I was full, satisfied and happy. I didn’t gain a pound. I will do something similar for Christmas.

 

If I am stuck at a person’s house again:

I will either eat before I get there and just have some turkey.

I also could ask the host in advance if there are going to be vegetables and salad, and if not, I will bring my own.

**I have NO qualms or embarrassment that I have to eat a certain way. If you are embarrassed, you can just say it is for “doctor’s orders for more greens.”**

You should never have to gain weight or make yourself sick with wheat products, gluten or excessive carbs to make others feel comfortable.

If someone gets their panties in a twist over it, they either do NOT give a damn about you and your quest to be skinny, of they feel guilty because they wish THEY could go on a proper diet and they are either too stubborn, too carb-addicted or afraid to rock the boat in their relationships.

Any way you look at it, YOU have to take care of YOU! There is a good chance that you gained weight because you have trouble saying NO!  Learn healthy boundaries for your own happiness and stop worrying about others.

There are always food saboteurs out there. Like the man in my Pilates class, who is thin and brings the class (who are there to get in shape) brownies or chocolate cake. I think he gets some sick, twisted enjoyment out of watching them eat his stuff. He never knows what to do with me, because, I always tell him, “No thank you. I don’t eat sugar anymore.” And the fact that he still asks me, shows how manipulative he is!

What if the problem is your cravings cause the problem with eating fattening things?

Yes, it is hard to get over cravings, but it is possible. I did it!  Takes a few weeks, but you have to stick to it and find healthy alternatives (I write about that all of the time in my blog, just do a search).

If someone is having onion rings, I sometimes will allow myself to eat ONE, then I am done. Fried food with breaded batter=unhealthy and fattening.

You have to learn this and get over what McDonalds got you addicted to eating. Those carbs are killing America-and you and me. We have to take charge of our bodies, our mouths and our lives.  Eating potato starch, pie sugars, fatty cheese, white breaded stuffing carbs and sugars–even once or twice a year is not showing respect for your body.  Even ONE cheat is do-able, but it is nothing but bad food city all the way through on this crazy holiday food fest.

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Feeling full!

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I read a post by a woman in a room where there is a weight loss challenge.  In the challenge, there are no chips.  That is because potatoes are so high in carbs.  In fact, I don’t even do potatoes anymore for two reasons:

1.  High in carbs.

2.  Terrible on the glycemic index for the sugar rollercoaster, which causes addiction.

This lady ate at Wendy’s.  The fast food places do not have the best choices for food.  Definitely not organic or hormone-free, but not many diet-friendly choices.  However, she had the BLT salad there and I was surprised to see that it only had between 10 and 13g of carbs.  That is really good.  If you want to lose weight, keeping your carbs between 50 and 100g is the way to go.  So, 10g for a meal is awesome.  But, the lady might be addicted to sugar, because she felt the need to get a baked potato too.  Many people think of baked potatoes as healthy.  I know that I did.  However, root vegetables are HIGH in starch, meaning sugar.  So, the carb count on a medium baked potato is 37 grams.  A lot for one half of a meal.  Also, terrible for trying to get over cravings.  She said she got the potato to feel full!

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I get the whole, “wanting to feel full” thing.  That is what kept me addicted to bad foods.   Dr. Mark Hyman talks about how to get through the addiction and withdrawal in his book, “The Blood Sugar Solution. ”

“When you eat simple carbohydrates, whether as sugar or as starch, they pass almost instantaneously from the gut into the bloodstream. Within seconds, blood sugar levels start to rise. To counter the increase in sugar, the body releases insulin. Insulin is the key that unlocks the cells and allows sugar to enter. As sugar enters the cells, the amount of sugar in the blood declines and the body restores homeostasis.  An abundance of simple sugars in the diet goads the body into releasing more and more insulin. Eventually, the cellular locks get worn down from overuse. Like a key that’s lost its teeth, insulin loses its ability to easily open the cellular door. The cells become numb to the effects of insulin. As a result, the body pumps out more and more of the hormone to keep its blood sugar levels in check. Eventually, this cycle leads to a dangerous condition called insulin resistance. Insulin resistance—at the root of diabesity—causes you to gain belly fat, raises your blood pressure, messes up your cholesterol, makes you infertile, kills your sex drive, makes you depressed, tired, and demented, and even causes cancer.”

3 Ways to Reprogram your Brain

Luckily there are ways to rewire the primitive parts of your brain by making good food choices.

1.) Balance blood sugar.

Blood sugar highs and lows drive primitive food cravings. If you get famished between meals, that’s a sign that your blood sugar is crashing. When blood sugar is low, you’ll eat anything. To better balance blood sugar, eat a small meal or snack that includes healthy protein, like seeds or nuts (measured out because they are high in carbs) , low-fat Greek Yogurt, two tablespoons of almond or peanut butter, or eat any meat, a protein bar or drink (check on the ones that are lowest in carbs) and cheese, every 3 to 4 hours.

2.) Eliminate liquid calories and artificial sweeteners.

Early humans didn’t reach for soda or fruit juices when they got thirsty.  Sodas are full of chemicals and high fructose corn syrup. Processed fruit juices are awash in sugar. Try sticking with water and green tea. Green tea contains plant chemicals that are good for your health. And, last but not least, don’t succumb to the diet-drink trap. The artificial sweeteners in diet drinks fool the body into thinking it is ingesting sugar, which creates the same insulin spike as regular sugar.  I have to admit, I use artificial sweetener in my coffee and soda and I still lost weight, but this can spike cravings….just sayin’.  Reason why I also take fiber to feel full.

3.) Eat a high-quality protein at breakfast.

Ideally, you’re eating quality protein at every meal, but, if you need to prioritize one meal, choose breakfast. Studies show that waking up to a healthy protein, such as eggs, nuts, seeds, nut butters or a protein shake help people lose weight, reduce cravings and burn calories.  This is actually very true and important!  I also found that the low carb version of pancake mix from Lindora.com or Netrition.com, and sugar-free maple syrup helps with that need to sometimes have something a little more substantial without killing my diet.  Using alternatives and learning new tricks to eating and enjoying food is what you need to do to lose weight.  This is why I started this blog.  This blog is to put out there for others all of the work I have done to discover how to lose weight and keep it off!

Ultimately, you may not control your genes, but you do control what and how you eat.  Since taking control and changing my diet, my brain no longer caves into the cravings and urgings that seduce the reptilian brain. The most powerful tool you have to transform your health is your brain and your fork!

Sugar Cravings

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Getting off of grains, most fruits and sugar products is very hard.  As you do it, your body and  MIND have been trained to look for the “hit” at the pleasure point in your brain.  In a way, you conditioned or brainwashed your brain to want and need the sugar, but over time,  you can get over it.  You allowed the foods that you were conditioned to eat do this to you and you have no idea that this was happening.  You were conned into buying and eating those foods, without realizing how they would have control over you like an addict has no control over their need for their drug of choice.  So, fight back.

How to get through the cravings.  

  • Drink lots of sugar-free fluids.
  • Get enough lean protein and fiber.   There have been studies.  The people who eat more protein report feeling less hungry.  When I am hungry, I get a protein bar, protein drink, some meat or a piece of cheese and it satisfies the cravings.  The second thing that fills me up is fiber.  That is in vegetables, but also in protein bars and protein drinks.  A lot of people will eat cereal to fill them up and that has fiber, but it also is mostly carbs and not only will you gain weight or not lose any weight, but you will be hungry again very soon after and go through a sugar rollercoaster.
  • Eat a rainbow of fruits and vegetables.  The more fruit and vegetables that are in the diet, the greater the weight loss and you are less likely to say that you feel hungry on any given day. Have you ever tried to eat a lot of vegetables?  You get full fast, right?  It is the fiber!

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Studies have show that changing your habits to focus on protein, water and fiber-rich foods helps maintain weight loss for many years.  I try to stay away from sugar.  If it is natural and in my fruit, etc.–that is fine, but if you have a sugar product, your brain will want more.  It is a lot of work fighting the pleasure center of your brain.  Consider alternative products without a lot of sugar, corn-syrup, etc.

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Cancer and Sugar!

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Another reason to keep your sugar levels down is to consider the new evidence that links colon cancer to high glycemic index foods and low fiber foods in the diet.  And a low glycemic diet is great to be skinny!

http://www.naturalmedicinejournal.com/article_content.asp? edition=1&section=3&article=405&utm_source=Natural+Medicine+Journal+List&utm_campaign=e0793423cb-March+2013&utm_medium=email

Foods that are low on the Glycemic Index:  Here is a list http://www.the-gi-diet.org/lowgifoods/

Again, I will state that you should eat things like low fat cheese, low-carb protein bars, nuts, eggs, meat, low carb Greek Yogurt, vegetables, mostly citrus fruits and berries (two small portions a day), salads and lettuce mixes with low carb dressing.  Anything else–only in moderation.  If you need fiber, stick to nuts, seeds (especially flaxseed), fiber supplements and vegetables.  Choosing fresh, non-starchy vegetables you can help increase your fiber intake while keeping your carb intake low. One cup of raw broccoli contains about 6 grams of total carbs, including 2.5 grams of fiber, and 1 cup of raw cauliflower provides about 5 grams of total carbs and 2 grams of fiber. Examples of other non-starchy vegetables include leafy greens, tomatoes, bell peppers and celery.  You do not need to eat wheat to get fiber.  Most cereals are high in sugar and carbs.

Low Glycemic Diet Guide