Your Diet Could Be Causing Your Depression

Posted on November 1, 2013 by therapysoup

Research was done that shows us that carbohydrates can cause inflammation (besides your waistline)–causing depression!!!

http://www.medicaldaily.com/pasta-and-depression-grains-and-other-carbs-could-be-affecting-your-mood-261266

Results indicated that women who ate red meat and refined grains such as bread, pasta, and chips were at a 29 to 41 percent increased risk of being diagnosed with or receiving treatment for depression. Prolonged use can cause damage to parts of the body and the brain.

The good news is that there are certain foods which boost mood and control inflammation: Olive oil, coffee, wine, fish, and certain vegetables.

So, for those of you who have been fighting to get off of refined flour products and bad carbs, does this information help you want to do it?

If you choose to do it, follow the rules:

https://skinny-rules.com/?s=rules&submit=Search

Losing Weight Means Stepping Out of Your Comfort Zone–COOKING!

Posted on October 28, 2013 by therapysoup

On Saturday, I went shopping and bought supplies so that I have decent things to eat next week, things which are low-carb, but delish.

Why? Because I love myself and I love my family.

I bought organic chicken breasts from Trader Joes and made chicken tenders–enough for the whole week (4 ounces a day). I used the recipe that was on my blog and added hemp seed to it (found it at Costco, actually and it is low-carb, high protein). https://skinny-rules.com/2013/08/27/low-carb-almond-and-flax-seed-chicken-tenders/

I never cooked. I spent the first 30 something years of my life only baking. Baking is fun and smells good. Baking is easy.

I have stepped outside of the comfort zone that made me fat and ill–and I am forcing myself to learn. I have started with easy recipes and if I need help, I ask for it. It isn’t hard. The first few times is hard, but what isn’t at first? Having children or a job is hard–did that stop you? Are you conditioned by your family to go out to eat?

Low-carb chicken tenders, made from almond meal, flax-seed meal, hemp and Organic chicken is WAY healthier than getting some Who-Knows-What-It-Is-Made-Of and high sodium bread encrusted so-called chicken from a fast food place or a restaurant. I know so many people, especially parents who don’t take the time to learn to do these things at home for the love of themselves or their children. Saying you “love” and showing that you “love”–are two different things.

Cooking this is so easy–dipping the pieces in the meal and coating them, placing them on tin foil, baking for 10 minutes, turn them, and 10 more minutes and then you can heat them up over the week because you can make a batch of them. And you then know what you are putting into your or your kid’s body. How much love can you have for yourself or your child if you are putting nothing but antibioticed non-organic chicken, encrusted with Frankenwheat and carbs in their mouths?

I just did a batch and they are cooling. They taste good and it wasn’t hard.

Step outside of the box, and start cooking basics like this one. I will put up more easy recipes from time to time, or Google them. When was the last time you ever even tried to turn on your oven and cooked fresh foods that didn’t come already done or out of a box? Or the last time you cooked at all because you bring in (unhealthy) food all of the time?

Could this be part of the reason someone in your home might have medical or weight issues? Think about cooking with love, for love. (And save money too!)

11 Ways To Deal With Cravings When On A Diet!

Posted on October 24, 2013 by therapysoup

I hear this all of the time and I went through it too. I sometimes still do. How do you get through cravings, especially at home at night. or mid-day?

11 Ways to get you through cravings:
1. You have to set a goal.

I told myself every morning that I was on a MISSION and that mission had to be done, no matter what. I set a goal to lose a certain amount of weight.

2. Recognize that cravings mean something and fix the problem before it becomes a problem.

First off, sometimes you will crave things because you are deficient in a vitamin or mineral. People who crave steak are low in iron, bananas–potassium,chocolate-magnesium, etc. So, take a MULTIVITAMIN AND MULTIMINERAL all through your diet and after to help with unnecessary cravings.

3. Go shopping and only buy the foods you are going to eat on the diet. Do not buy junk.

Oh, you have kids?
You want junk for the kids and you are afraid you will eat it too? Well, I have something controversial to say here. Screw that!
That junk hurts your body and mind, and it is not only BAD for your kids (they need white flour and sugar like a hole in the head), but you are also setting them up on a path of weight gain in their future too by allowing them to get hooked on pure sugar crap! Teach them to enjoy healthy, tasty options for their snacks. Nuts, fruit, cheese, protein bars. The Nature Valley Protein Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter bar (for instance) or their other Protein bars or any of the Power Crunch bars are low in carbs, high in protein. What the heck is wrong with those options? Cheetos, Doritos, Tortilla chips, candy, cheese balls–are all BAD, BAD options and will only make you sick. Buy low-carb baking books, look it up online, buy low carb food books, buy low-carb options at the market or online at places like netrition.com or low-carb stores online. Some items are at speciality stores.
4. Stop baking BAD stuff (look up better low-carb options online.

No more baking crap white flour nonsense in the house. Just knock it off. You don’t need it. Oh, your kid enjoys it? Well, too bad. You all need to find a healthier hobby or learn sugar-free options for baking and look at number one (set a goal) and go shopping (rule 3) and get new stuff to bake. Having bad food baking and wafting through the house is torture on a diet. It will just pull you back into the dark side of bad fattening food. If it is made with white flour–NO! You or your kids have to find recipes using coconut, almond or flax meal and make those things. Step outside of your fattening comfort zone and learn new tricks. Teach your loved ones to eat better WITH you.

YES! YOU WILL HAVE CRAVINGS THAT ARE DIFFICULT THE FIRST WEEK AFTER GIVING UP SUGAR AND SIMPLE CARBS. IT IS THE BODY DETOXING. YOU WILL GET THROUGH IT. JUST KEEP DRINKING WATER (COFFEE WAS MY SAVIOR). IT WILL EVENTUALLY STOP. YOU WON’T DIE. AFTER AWHILE, YOUR BODY WILL JUST CRAVE THE GOOD FOOD. IT IS LIKE GETTING OFF OF ANY DRUG. PEOPLE ARE ADDICTED TO SUGAR. IT IS NOT GOOD FOR YOU AND IT IS MAKING YOU FAT AND UNHEALTHY. GROW SOME BALLS AND DEAL WITH IT. 🙂

5. Tape a picture of yourself looking fat on the refrigerator so that you will be reminded why you are on the diet in the first place.

6. Throw out the bad food or give it away.

If it is there, you are gonna eat it!

7. Drink water and have lots of sugar-free options to drink.

Drink every time you are hungry, to help stop cravings.

8. If you are desperate and it is in between the time of 3-4 hours from your last protein meal (out of six for the day), then have a protein “hit.”

–a piece of low-fat string cheese, a slice of turkey, an egg, a protein drink with few carbs in it–but have a protein “hit”, so you get through the cravings, until your next meal.

9. Find a distraction.

Read, get online, call a friend, or go exercise. Exercise or walking the dog helps me. Exercising at least 30 minutes a day, 3 times a week, not only burns calories, it helps reduce cravings. So, move!

10. Find ways to de-stress.

Meditation, yoga, listening to music. Anxiety can make people eat. They have “emotional” eating. Most emotional eating is from anxiety. This is why I love yoga–between the exercise and the wind down meditative time, I am pretty chill. Take an L-Theanine 200 mg (a totally natural amino acid that
lowers anxiety like nothing I have ever tried and there are NO side effects. Look it up.)

11. Keep a diet journal showing what you ate and the number of carbs per meal and tally it all up daily. Also, use that journal to write when you are emotional and try to process what is bothering you instead of eating.

Consider therapy or a group like Overeaters Anonymous. Or, if you must eat, follow rule number 7 and avoid so-called, “comfort” foods. Those foods will only make you feel UNcomfortable tomorrow when you gained weight!

Stuck Weight Loss

Posted on October 2, 2013 by therapysoup

Looks like a miracle happened. My dog, Charlie, is doing better, his cytology test came back clean–no cancer. So, it might have been a bug bite. Makes me appreciate him even more because I feel like I got a second chance.

Now, back to business…..

While all of the worry and stress about his living or not was going on, I decided to do something about my weight plateau. My body does not do well on carbs and wants to gain weight easily (with having fibromyalgia and hypothyroidism). So, I had to get closer to 50g of carbs per day because closer to 100g per day, was putting the weight SLOWLY back on. So, this is what I did to break it and so far, since Sunday, down 2 1/2 pounds. I am 5 pounds from goal.

1. Lots of sugar-free fluids.

2. Only proteins at breakfast and for snacks. I was having eggs and omelettes with mushrooms, spinach and some low-fat cheese. I was also having protein shakes that were low carb. So, basically for breakfast, snack, after lunch snack–hardly any carbs. For lunch, salad with meat and a few veggies and same for dinner. I would allow myself to have either two tablespoons of almond butter on two squares of low-carb chocolate https://skinny-rules.com/2013/04/26/power-crunch-choklat-is-da-low-carb-bomb/ or a small Carbolite (low-carb frozen desert) a few hours after dinner.

3. I made a lot of things that are protein-based to keep me happy. I cooked taco seasoned ground turkey, turkey sausages, almond crusted chicken https://skinnyrulesdotcom.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=1904&action=edit&message=6&postpost=v2

4 One piece of fruit or small bowl of berries.

5. Thank God for coffee (remember to use non-dairy creamer instead of milk).

6. Don’t forget take vitamins including minerals, especially potassium and Omega 3 fish tabs.

7. Exercise. Pilates, elliptical, walking the dog–what ever it takes!

8. Sacrifices on the more carby protein things until you break your plateau.

Diet Jealousy

Posted on September 15, 2013 by therapysoup

You’ve given up most of those high-calorie foods you used to love. Exercised every day–even when you didn’t feel like it. And finally, it’s all paying off–you’re edging toward your weight loss goal — and looking pretty great!

At the same time, you’ve encountered what seems like a surprising lack of enthusiasm or irritating remarks from some of your family and friends — maybe even your partner — about your new look.

As unusual as this may seem, experts say it’s actually quite common to receive some unexpected reactions when you dramatically change your appearance.

“Human beings are hard-wired to resist change, so it’s not uncommon to encounter some resistance whenever change occurs,

When we accomplish a goal — particularly something as difficult as losing weight– it may serve to remind friends and family of their own failed attempts. That, too, can spark a bad reaction.

MY OWN EXPERIENCE OF JEALOUS NEGATIVE REACTIONS:

I work harded hard at my weight loss and maintenance is a daily routine. If I lose sight of it, I would gain it back. So, I have found ways to eat that I enjoy and I embrace my new way of life. The old way didn’t make me happy. I left restaurants feeling bloated and stuffed. I felt bad trying on clothes and I didn’t like how I looked in my clothes. I spent times not wanting to go out to social occasions because I didn’t want to be the fat lady at the party.

I worked hard to lose the weight. I learned the rules, learned how to look at carbs and learned what foods had proteins, fiber and carbs. I work them daily into my diet. This took time and effort. It was not an overnight success. It wasn’t like after a week of hard work, that I suddenly lost the weight. I also had to kick my exercise up a notch to burn off calories. I work out more now than I ever have and I do it because it makes me feel strong and it helps me stay skinny.

Sometimes, I will run into someone who remembers me being fat. They knew I was on a diet and saw me losing and they even asked me how I did it. I freely shared the information, but some thought that there was no way they could do it and they gave up before they even tried to do it. This is an issue in that some people grow resentfu that you could do it and they didn’t have it in them to try.

So, then, in some ways, my weight loss becomes a symbol of their inability to accomplish their goals, so they may begin to act resentful — or even act mean to me — even if it is not intentional. And if their goes involved weight loss, then the resentment can be twice as strong.

If it is a friend who is resentful, you may find that they are suddenly excluding you from activities,. Some friends or family can even say mean things, taunt you about your new body or even your new clothes. And some people who are servers at restaurants or work in exercise studios–or even are members of the same gym you belong to, can treat you in a resentful mean way.

TODAY’S JEALOUS NEGATIVE REACTION:

I went to Western Bagel today for and had a post-Pilates Perfect 10 Egg a la Bagel (Egg, cheese, meat and a 10g net carb bagel). My special treat for breakfast. I used to have these all of the time, but I now only allow myself something this large once a week and after a hard workout. I need energy for the morning because I have clients coming in for the next four hours straight. This woman, asked me tons of questions about how I was losing at the time I was losing weight. But, then I lost it, and following that for the next 18 months, she always asks me, “So, you are still on that diet???” I remember her saying she wanted to lose weight when I was slowly losing, but after seeing me keep it off for two years now, she is pissed off seeing me thin. It was great when I was fat and trying to lose, but being thin and keeping it seems to be pissing her off.

I find myself wanting to tell her to shut up already. I want to go in and just order my f’ing bagel. I now find myself hating going there because she might be there and sure enough, she was there. She asked me again today about, “So, you are STILL on your diet?” I answered (for the fourth time now), “I am not on a diet, this is my lifestyle and how I eat and how I want to look.” She then made a face at me like she was in horror! And she said as she grabbed her two belly folds, “Well, I like how I look and I feel good, so I am ok.” It was then apparent to me that it was an issue about her, not me. She doesn’t give a crap about me. She is a lady at the bagel shop. She doesn’t even know my name. There is no happiness or concern for me. She is feeling resentful and frustrated with herself. So, I said, “I had reflux, I lost the weight, and it is gone now. I can’t have a belly or I get sick. I am happy this way and I want to stay this way.” So, that was my end of story comment and she nodded.

Will she bring it up again if I go back? I think she might! However, I have to remember this is about her. not me. I will be prepared in the future and say, “I think we shouldn’t discuss my diet anymore. It is what it is. I am happy and healthy and that is all that matters” Because I am sick of it and she should be too. What can I do? I will not put on weight for her to feel happier with her issues. I am very happy with my body and my work. My husband compliments me and I know that the people who really care about me and don’t have issues say I look good. My clothes fit well and that was the goal!

HOW TO COUNTERACT JEALOUS NEGATIVITY:

I just have to remember how I would feel in a similar situation, or maybe how I felt when others lost weight and you couldn’t, If I put myself in their place, then I can see that the resentment is all about them and not about me. I am just a mirror of what they did not commmit themselves to do.

If you ever find yourself being one of the resentful ones, you have to ask yourself what is holding you back. Anyone can lose weight. You have to follow the rules. Stop saying you can cheat once a week and eat a whole slice of cake. Stop baking cakes in your house, because you will be tempted to eat more than a small piece. If you have to cheat, there are alternative ways to bake items using almond flour, unsweetened cocoa, coconut oil, Truvia, Stevia, etc. You can make these things. Google recipes. Don’t be lazy.

You can also buy a small piece of something bad to have once a week. However, I have seen some people on diets recommend to people to have these cheats in the house and it is a terrible idea. It sets you up for temptation. And the people who recommend these things are usually still overweight. I am at goal, I stay at goal. I think I know what it takes. And if you don’t follow these rules, then don’t get mad at me when I come up to you and order an Egg a la Bagel! It is not my fault that you put a batch of brownies in your house and they are calling your name!

Mexican Food, Si or No?

Posted on August 19, 2013 by therapysoup

I rarely step into a Mexican restaurant since I started my life change (diet). What is there to eat there? Dozens and dozens worth of carbs in almost every meal. Everything is tortilla, taco shell or chip based. I am trying to avoid wheat products and corn products. They make me sick (and Corn is mostly genetically modified now) and they are full of carbs.

Let’s look at a few popular places (some healthier than others) and the carbs in each chicken burrito.

El Torito: 123g of carbs.

El Pollo Loco: 63g of carbs.

ONE flour tortilla is anywhere from 14g of carbs to 35g of carbs…all by itself. The beans and rice only add cobs more. If you want to gain weight, this is the way to go. Whole wheat is healthier, but unless it is “low-carb”, it is still a lot of carbs.

MY SOLUTION:

So, I went to a local hangout, Mission Burrito and to a fast food place, Taco Bell. I ordered a tostada or taco salad (depending on the place) and asked for no beans, rice or tortilla. I got beef, lettuce, cheese, tomato, (guacamole or sour cream) and some taco dressing. The carb count was about 8 grams and it was still delish. It is kind of like a tostada PROTEIN style. And this is GLUTEN FREE!

If you do it at home, and you get a low-carb tortilla (like they have at Trader Joes and Costco), you are looking at about 4g net carbs for the whole shell vs. 14-35 for a regular one and it tastes just as good.

TACO SALAD without the shell: 8g of carbs–Shut the front door! Beef or chicken! DELISH!

TACO SHELLS

And taco shells? About 20g of carbs per three. You can have one or two, or if you have three, you need to watch your carbs the rest of the day. AND for SOFT taco shells? It is about 20g of carbs for only ONE! So, watch it.

So, you can eat at a Mexican food place if you go this route. Those shells will kill your diet. Remember: You need to stick between 50 and 100g of carbs per day to lose weight, with 6 protein meals a day, 2 small salads a day, 2 small fruits a day, 4 small servings of veggies per day….and if you go over 100g per day, no weight loss for sure!

Sonic Juice Carb Boom

Posted on August 12, 2013 by therapysoup

So, today, I mentioned to a friend that her not having a Sonic Fast Food joint in her neighborhood is maybe a blessing in disguise. She was lamenting that there is one where she visits, and she likes to one near her home so she can go there for their fruit slush. I looked it up online. It is shocking! As many people believe it to be true, she thinks that “juice” is a better choice to the fast food. But, as I discussed in yesterday’s blog, it isn’t.

Look at the comparisons:

Sonic Cheeseburger with mayo: 8g of sugar, 35g of protein, 44g of carbs. Now, I know that if I don ‘t eat the bun, I will lower the sugar content and the carbs. The carbs without the bun–about 12g.

Sonic MEDIUM Strawberry “Fresh Fruit” Slush: 76g of sugar, 1g of protein, 82g of carbs. The only good thing is has going for it is less sodium and calories than the burger.

Sonic LARGE Strawberry “Fresh Fruit” Slush: 120g of sugar, 1g of protein, 128g of carbs.

If you want to gain weight, you have to eat more than 100g of carbs a day. Unless you exercised hardcore for a few hours, I wouldn’t recommend this much sugar and carbs.

The sugar content of 120g of sugar is equivalent to 30 sugar cubes. Would you eat 30 sugar cubes? (There are about 28 cubes in this picture.)

SOLUTION:

Choice A: Eat the burger without the bun.

Choice B: Go to the store and get some fruit and water.

Choice C: Get a SMALL slush and only drink about half of the small and split it with a friend or spill half of it out. Half of a small is about 22g of carbs, about 20g of sugar or 5 sugar cubes. Not great, but better if you see it as a treat and your fruit for the day, but don’t make a habit of it. It isn’t really your fruit because the fiber and nutrients are in the pulp and that is not here. This is really just pure sugar.

Short Walks to Weight Loss

Posted on August 4, 2013 by therapysoup

Exercise Doesn’t Have to Be Intense or Long

I have met a lot of people who say that they have NO time to exercise. They get up really early for work, work hard all day and then by the time they get home (with their long commute), then it is dark out, their kids need help with HW, they need to make dinner, etc.

But, here are my thoughts. If you don’t exercise at all, you will wear down your immune system, metabolism, your mood, your libido and eventually–this will all affect your relationships with family, spouse and friendships. You will be out of shape and have medical issues and this will also lead to mental health issues.

If you want to feel happy, feel good, you need to exercise to help with the production of serotonin, but you also have to eat right in order for serotonin to be produced properly. If you eat bad foods and have a bacterial imbalance in your gut, then your serotonin will be off too! I have noticed that people who don’t exercise, get sick more often, as well.

According to Livestrong, “Approximately 75 percent of this chemical is located in cells of the gut, where it regulates intestinal movements. The rest is synthesized in neurons of the brain; it’s here that serotonin influences mood. High levels are associated with an elevated mood while low levels are associated with depression. Though many neurotransmitters work in harmony to influence mood, serotonin is one of the most important. Its levels are influenced by external factors, such as sunlight, diet and exercise.” http://www.livestrong.com/article/22590-effects-exercise-serotonin-levels/

So, if you want to control your intestinal issues, mental health, your heart, blood pressure and more–and live longer and be there for your family (the ones you are killing yourself for), you have to find time, 5 days a week for at LEAST 15 minutes a day. You don’t have 15 minutes?

Walk For 15 Minutes a Day

Some think to get the full benefit of a good workout, you need to be sweating for a full 30 minutes — or longer. But with so many people struggling to find a spare 30 minutes, researchers have begun to investigate if a shorter sweat session could be just as good.

A 2011 study found when compared to sedentary people, 15 minutes a day of activity, like brisk walking can add 3 years to life expectancy, according to Reuters.

Kick It Up a Notch

Intense aerobic activity may double the years of life expectancy added by moderate exercise, according to a 2005 study. Five days a week of walking for 30 minutes led to 1.3 to 1.5 additional years, The Washington Post reported, but intense exercise, like running half an hour five days a week, resulted in almost 4 extra years.

So, instead of eating at your desk or out with people, WALK somewhere. You can even walk to get your food or coffee, but walk. If you can’t find this time at all when you are at home, then minimally, take 15 minutes a day for a brisk walk. Do it at lunch or one of your breaks at work.

My sister-in-law wears a pedometer and she counts her steps in a day. It is said that in order to be healthy, you need to step around 12,000 steps a day or more. This can be counted from just walking to your car, to your desk, to the bathroom, going around your house picking up toys. It doesn’t have to be counted all at one time, in one place.
Here is a link to a site that will show you how walking helps you lose weight and how to keep track of it for your personal goals. http://www.pbs.org/americaswalking/health/health20percentboost.html

Keep walking! In fact, I am ending todays’ blog and going right to my elliptical for an hour. But, I have done less time on it…..the idea is to do something!

I Was On Vacation, But I Experimented With Wheat and Made a Discovery…

Posted on July 22, 2013 by therapysoup

Sorry for my absence, Skinny-Rules readers. I took a week off for my first vacation in years. In fact, it was my first vacation since I lost weight and my bathing suits (which are customized to my old body) looked ridiculous on me. I wore them and went to Arizona, hoping that the lady who made them would be there (Customized Swimsuits in Scottsdale), and sure enough–she was on vacation the SAME week as me. So, I still never got measured for a new suit. I am bummed. Off the shelf ones just don’t do it for me because I like a suit to fit a certain way and the suits now just don’t do it for me. I may have to go back soon to get this done!

However, it was nice to look decent in a suit for a change!

So, how did I manage my DIET LIFESTYLE on vacation for 6 days in a place that has the best Italian restaurant!? I gave up wheat as a choice to limit carbohydrates and because I felt that wheat was causing me stomach bloat and big fat wheat belly. So, I decided to experiment in Scottsdale a little bit.

1. I exercised every day! (One hour of elliptical and about 20 minutes of weights and Pilates)

2. We utilized the room’s fridge, and I went to the local Trader Joes and stocked up on:

Lite String Cheese

small bags of almonds

Peanut Butter Power Crunch bars

strawberries

Lite Greek Yogurt

almond butter

turkey slices

diet soft drinks and water

3. We ate breakfast at the Hotel Spa (breakfast package) and twice at local breakfast places. I completely recommend eating at the Breakfast Club in Scottsdale. So fun, nice and the food is amazing.

At breakfast: I had veggies, eggs, bacon, sometimes a little bit of fruit with GOBS of coffee, where I discovered the French Press (will blog about that soon).

4. Drank water all day long out in the sun, and brought snacks up to the pool and kept some in my locker. At snack times, we ate things like the almonds, the protein bars, or I brought with us strawberries and yogurt.

5. For lunch, we went out for a salad in the fridge from the night before, and put some turkey slices and/or cheese in the salad. Again, had one of our snacks later too and then went out to dinner.

6. For dinner, we went to my favorite Italian place, Oreganos. I couldn’t resist. I had not had regular pasta (except the low carb kind) in almost two years. I love this restaurant and their salads are great too. So, we shared a large salad and we either split a small pizza with veggies on it or a Garlic Chicken Lasagna. I did not eat the delicious looking garlic toast that came with it. I would not be surprised to find out that the half of a small pizza or half of the lasagna was minimally about 50g of carbs for me. I was careful the rest of the day and I did exercise my face off earlier, but I just knew that I was flirting with either putting on a pound or two on this trip or leaving about the same…but I took the chance and did it three days in a row. I even had a Carbolite-type desert as a sixth protein some days and on my last night, our meal was a salad with chicken and then we had the Pizzookie, which is a large melted chocolate chip cookie in a deep dish pizza pan, with vanilla ice cream and chocolate chips on top. It is decadent and I had not had one in 7 years.

I did enjoy my slight intentional derailment, although I tried to manage it with exercise and eating right the rest of the entire day and drinking tons of water and coffee. But, I do think that I was right about how bad sugar and wheat is for my body (and everyone’s). I went into this trip with a flat belly. I do Pilates 4 days a week, I do yoga two times a week and I am on the elliptical around 4-5 hours a week. My BMI is 20, so this is what my belly looked like by night 3 (and I only gained one pound on this trip and lost it as soon as I cleansed the day after I got home)…..

this is what my belly swelled to and took 24 hours or more to go down, until it got wheat again….

this was what I looked like before I digested wheat products!

I am happy to say that I look more like picture number two now, but mostly because it was a temporary eating thing….but this is exactly why I am now staying away from wheat products until maybe I go to Arizona, once in a blue moon. If it makes my bowels distend like that, what else is it doing to my body? (Number two became very irregular, and that also was painful).

So, I am back to my new normal of 6 proteins a day, two salads a day, two servings of fruits a day, four servings of veggies a day. My body is thanking me and I have more energy too and the weight is stabilizing.

Low Carb/High Protein Snacks (in between your daily three meals)

Posted on July 14, 2013 by therapysoup

You should be eating breakfast, lunch, dinner–all low carb/high protein. However, you are supposed to eat every 3-4 hours, so you need a snack before lunch, before dinner and after dinner…..6 protein meals in all for the day. What could you have as a protein snack?

15 Protein Snack ideas:

1. Skim or low-fat cheese sticks or mini Baby Bells. No carbs and about 80 calories in one.

2. Hard-boiled egg. No carbs and about 70 calories in one.

3. Turkey slices. 4 ounces. About 2-4g carbs and about 140 calories.

4. A quarter cup of nuts. About 4-9g carbs. About 180-200 calories. (25 pistachios is about 100 calories)

5. Cottage Cheese with Nuts or Flaxseed. Cottage cheese is packed with energy-boosting lean protein. Sprinkle two tablespoons of ground flaxseed or one tablespoon of nuts on a half cup of fat-free or 1 percent reduced-fat cottage cheese for a nutritious, filling snack. 4-7g of carbs. 130-140 calories.

6. Two tablespoons of peanut butter or almond butter (on celery or on a spoon). About 6g of carbs, 150 calories.

7. A cup of Edamame. About 12g of carbs. About 15o calories.

8. Veggies with Guacamole or Hummus
Guacamole and hummus (made from nutrient-rich, high-fiber chickpeas) both make great snacking dips. Try a quarter cup of either with sliced vegetables for your next mid-afternoon pick-me-up. 13g of carbs, 120-150 calories.

9. Sunflower seeds, half a cup of shelled ones— is a good snack-sized portion. 4g of carbs, 120 calories.

10. Sliced cucumbers, baby carrots, or pepper strips and pair with a half cup of nonfat or low-fat cottage cheese. 10g of carbs (the veggies mostly) and 110 calories.

11. Sliced small apple and topping it with a level tablespoon of natural peanut butter. 22g of carbs (the peanut butter is 3g per tablespoon..it is the apple that carries the carbs here. 166 calories.

12. Six-ounce container of calcium-rich non-fat plain or artificially sweetened yogurt with two tablespoons of ground flaxseed . For added variety, swap the flaxseed for 1 tablespoon chopped almonds, pecans, or walnuts. Greek Yogurt (depending on the brand, has less carbs–like Dannon Lite and Fit GREEK. 150 calories, 20 g carbohydrates. And most PLAIN Greek Yogurts are very low in carbs.

13. Sugar-free ice popsicles. 4g of carbs, 15 calories.

14. Sugar-free baked items. Examples: http://www.joybauer.com/healthy-recipes/chocolate-angel-food-cake.aspx, http://www.joybauer.com/healthy-recipes/sour-cream-coffee-cake-with-cinnamon-and-walnuts.aspx and http://www.joybauer.com/healthy-recipes/chocolatehazelnut-biscotti.aspx and my recipe https://skinny-rules.com/2013/05/28/you-can-have-your-cake-and-eat-it-too/

15. Smart Carb frozen dessert (ice cream)

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Exercise Doesn’t Have to Be Intense or Long

Walk For 15 Minutes a Day

Kick It Up a Notch

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