Tag Archives: weight loss

What? Pancakes on a diet?

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Yesterday, I talked about cheating and how sometimes you can make a meal that is a cheat, but technically NOT.

So, today, I am sharing with you a picture of my CHEAT for Thursday.

Lindora pancake mix.  12g of net carbs for what you see in the picture, with lite syrup that is 1g of carb for 1/4 cup.  I barely used two tablespoons.

HOWEVER, if I had used regular maple syrup at about 50g of carbs per 2 tablespoons, I would have ruined my diet for the day for sure!

Same amount of pancakes with regular mix is about 33g of carbs, so almost triple what these have.

So, I had a tiny bit of butter on my cakes, they were low-carb and low sugar cakes and sugar free syrup. (look on labels, some of the low sugar syrups are still high at 20g of carbs per 2 tablespoons.  That is not low, just half of regular syrup.  So, buyer beware.  Compare!  There are some good sugar free syrups out there.  Makers of those include the one in the picture, Cary’s, Log Cabin has one, Mrs. Butterworth makes one and Walden Farms.

If I ate regular cakes with regular syrup, instead of having about 13g of net carbs for my meal, I would have been eating for the cakes and syrup, 33+50 (two tablespoons)=83g of carbs.

13g vs. 83g of carbs.  See why this could be seen as a cheat, but it isn’t!?  They tasted JUST as good to me and I saved 70g of carbs.  That could have caused me to not lose weight for the week.

 

You can also find low carb pancake mixes on websites like Carbessentials.net and Netrition.com, and even Amazon.  Just Google it!

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Five Diet Cheating Rules

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Congratulations to my friend, S.H. (you know who you are!) for losing all of her weight through the rules I write about!  She has finally made goal due to determination and motivation to do it.  She didn’t half-ass it and she followed the rules.  Right on S.H.!

Then, I had another friend who lost a lot of weight, but was stuck.  When we dug into what she was doing, it was because she had TWO cheat days a week.  Well, my diet rules do NOT include cheat days, so why she decided that two cheat days was a good idea is beyond me, but in my mind it was her way of coming up with an excuse to CHEAT.  These cheating excuses is why we get fat in the first place.

What is a cheat?  A cheat meal is when you allow yourself something that you normally abstain from.

You should follow the rules about protein and vegetable and fruit portions at least 6 days a week, but once a week usually works for a cheat, if you must do it.  This is where you eat properly for all of  meals except  maybe a Friday dinner out. When you eat right for 6 days a week, one cheat meal on the 7th day will still allow you to reach your goals.  But there are rules!

RULES to CHEATING:

1.  ONE cheat meal a week.

2.  Stick to a cheat meal, rather than a cheat day. An entire days worth of binging can create unhealthy patterns and actually lead to weight gain, spiked blood sugar levels and a generally unhealthy relationship with food. Reserve “cheat days” for 4 times a year – your birthday, Thanksgiving, and two holiday get-togethers, where you have little control over what’s put in front of you. If your cheat days number more than 4 a year, you are not in control.

3.  As for the cheat meal itself, your weekly cheat meal should still be within the confines of your daily calorie count or CARB count. Yes, even your cheating needs to be recorded in a food diary or you could undue an entire week’s work.  If you eat carbs, keep your count under 100, whatever the cheat is or you will not lose weight and you could actually undue a week of hard work all in one day.

4.  The easiest way to stay within your calorie or carb count is by limiting your portions. Say Chicken Parmesan is your cheat; have one small plateful, with a side of vegetables, and freeze any leftovers you may have for use on your next cheat meal.

5.  Whatever you do, exercise!  It helps burn the cheat away.

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Some people need a cheat to give them the willpower to continue the diet.  I did not want to stray because I was so determined and on a mission to get to my goal, but I realize that not everyone can do it and need to have something to look forward to doing.  Just follow the rules on the cheat though!

The best part about cheat meals is that the longer you stick to your healthy diet, the less sinful the cheat meals will become. You’re going to find you’re no longer lusting after that greasy boston creme donut, that you’d rather save the calories. You’ll find you’d rather have fruit and yogurt than an ice cream cone. Trust me, your tastes start to change for the better, and so will your body.

My cheat (daily) that isn’t really a cheat at all is my 8 ounces of Carbolite at 13-17 grams of carbs per serving.  I use it as one of my six daily proteins, so it isn’t really a cheat, but tastes like one–thereby eliminating my “need” to cheat.  However, if you don’t have something like that, then I can see how a cheat would be desired.  My other fake cheats are Greek Yogurt and Strawberries.  YUM!  There are also chocolate type low carb items that I have that could be a fake cheat too, like my Nature Valley Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate protein bar at 11g of carbs and my Power Crunch bars at 10 g of carbs.  Because I eat those, my desire to cheat is less.

I also make a caulflower-based pizza and eat Skinny noodles with pasta sauce now and then.  And I also have the Lindora.com pancake mix as a “cheat”, even though it isn’t.

So, you get my point?  You can stay on the diet and still feel like you are cheating…so what is the point of cheating to the point of putting your hard work back on your body?

You have to be creative and do your research–or just read my blog!  I have the best suggestions!

Pictures below are my faux cheats.  My yogurt and strawberries at 16g of carbs, cauliflower-based pizza less than 10 g of carbs, and my low-carb chicken burrito with  9 g of carburritos2bs each.yogurtcauliflowerpizza

 

 

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

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  • 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.

How to Determine How Many Calories to Eat to Lose Weight and What Exercises Burn More Calories Overall

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You burn most of your daily calories with little to no conscious effort.  The calories used to maintain basic bodily functions throughout your day add up to your basal metabolic rate, or BMR.
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“These are couch-potato calories.  Your body uses amounts to 60 to 75 percent of the total calories you use daily, and there’s no physical activity required for this.  In other words, this is what you burn without lifting a finger. That’s why BMR is also is called the resting metabolic rate.

Knowing your BMR can help you create a more effective strategy for weight loss, allowing you to better keep your track of your calories and better understand the effect exercise will have on your waistline.

Calculating Your BMR  (get out the calculator)

The easiest way to measure your BMR is to use an online calculator, like the one at My Calorie Counter. This calculator factors in your height, weight, gender, and age, and activity level, then assesses how many calories you need to eat daily just to maintain your current weight.

You can do the math yourself, using the appropriate equation:• If you’re a man, your BMR is equal to: 66 + (6.23 x weight in pounds) + (12.7 x height in inches) – (6.8 x age in years). For example, if you’re 170 pounds, 5’11”, and 43, your BMR is 66 + (6.23 x 170) + (12.7 x 71) – (6.8 x 43) = 1734.4 calories.

• If you’re a woman, your BMR is equal to: 655 + (4.35 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) – (4.7 x age in years). For example, if you’re 130 pounds, 5’3”, and 36, your BMR is 665 + (4.35 x 130) + (4.7 x 63) – (4.7 x 36) = 1357.4 calories.Next figure out your total daily calorie requirement by multiplying your BMR by your level of activity: • If you rarely exercise, multiply your BMR by 1.2.
• If you exercise on 1 to 3 days per week, doing light activity, multiply your BMR by 1.375.
• If you exercise on 3 to 5 days per week, doing moderate activity, multiply your BMR by 1.55.
• If you exercise 6 to 7 days per week, doing vigorous activity, multiply your BMR by 1.725.
• If you exercise every day and have a physical job or if you often exercise twice a day, multiply your BMR by 1.9.z

This calculation gives you the number of calories you burn in one day at your current level of activity; in other words, this is the number of calories it takes to stay at the weight you are if you don’t change anything.

Applying Your BMR Calculation to Weight Loss

Once you know your BMR and the number of calories you burn for your activity level, you can improve your weight-loss efforts by setting a lower daily calorie-intake limit and crafting a plan for increasing your physical activity:

Set your daily calorie limit. To lose weight, you need to reduce your caloric intake below your total daily calorie requirement indicated by your BMR + activity level.

Putting yourself in a 500-calorie deficit every day should result in the loss of one pound per week (since there are 3,500 calories in a pound)

Adjust your exercise output. Our BMR calculator asks you for your level of physical activity for a very good reason. You can influence your BMR through exercise, spurring your body to burn more calories even after you’ve finished and are just lounging about.

• Aerobic exercise provides a temporary boost to your BMR, an effect sometimes referred to as after-burn or excess post-exercise oxygen consumption.  Your BMR will return back to its normal level anywhere between 15 minutes and 48 hours.

• Strength training provides a more-lasting boost to BMR by altering your body’s composition. Muscle at rest burns more calories than fat at rest. That’s why men enjoy a naturally higher BMR than women, as they tend to have more muscle mass.

• If you cut calories and increase your BMR by exercising, you’ll see results even faster. Increase the amount of calories you burn by 250 each day, and you’ll lose a half-pound more on top of the calorie cuts made in your diet. You could exercise longer or you could increase the intensity of your workouts to burn more calories — either way will increase the calorie deficit.

The advantage of knowing your BMR is that you can learn the number of calories you need to consume and expend to meet your personal goal for weight.

Look at the SKIN of SKINNY!

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There are foods that are not only bad for your waistline, but also for your SKIN!  The first three are not that bad for weight loss, but 4 through 7 are really bad!

skin

1.  Salt.   It will leave you puffy around the eyes and keep water retention and a bloated look.  It also is terrible for hypertension.  Try to cut down on salt.

2.  Shellfish.    Shrimp, crab, lobster — and also certain leafy greens like seaweed and spinach — are naturally high in iodine, and a diet with too much of this element can lead to acne.   Ok, this one is not high in carbs and you can maintain weight loss, but you could get acne.

3.  Milk.  There is a correlation with Milk and acne and rosacea, specifically skimmed milk.  Now, milk is a protein and you must have it in small quantities over the day.  Not bad on carbs, but it can cause skin issues.

4.  High Glycemic Foods (starches like white breads, pastas and cakes, and even corn syrup) are best avoided for good skin and for weight loss.  Foods that are considered high glycemic can cause rapid spikes in blood sugar.  You also may find yourself breaking out after eating something like French fries, it may be due to the starchy insides of the fries.

5.  Sugar.  If starchy foods that break down quickly into sugar are an issue, it’s no surprise that straight sugar can be problematic for the skin in much the same way.  High blood sugar can , weaken the skin by affecting tissues like collagen,  and leave you more vulnerable to lines and wrinkles.  It also causes a surge of carbs in your diet.

6.  Alcohol.  Not only does it trigger rosacea, but Alcohol is a diuretic, which means the more you drink, the more dehydrated you become. It saps the natural moisture from your skin as well, which can make those wrinkles and fine lines look worse.  Plus, alcohol has carbs and is terrible for weight loss.  You also don’t burn fat when your body is busy burning off the alcohol.

 

Sick of Grilled Chicken? How About Easy Tandoori Chicken?

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I have grilled chicken or turkey every day. I have to have 6 protein-based small meals a day to stay skinny, so sometimes things can get a little bland. There are things you can do to spice things up. I have done GRILLED chicken parmesan and other versions of chicken, but today I did easy Tandoori chicken to throw into a salad for my lunch. This took less than 10 minutes to do.

Chicken Tandoori made easy:


Get chicken breasts, Tandoori mix (I got this one from Target, in their Mediterranean food section) and Fage Greek Yogurt.

As the package instructed, I mixed the Tandoori mix with the yogurt, and covered all of the chicken breasts in it. Then, I llet them marinate in it overnight. But, you don’t have to wait that long. I have marinated for a short time and cooked them too.

So, today, I put them breasts (covered in yogurt and mix) on a pan and pan fried them in Pam. After a few minutes, I turned them over and did the same thing to the other side and POOF–you have Tandoori chicken in no time at all. I cut it up and put it in a salad. The following are some of my pictures in the order of how you do it. I recommend this highly. Tasty and low carb. Tastes really good with Tahini as salad dressing (also at Target). I love Target.

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

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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.

Jamba Juice. Can you stay skinny?

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Jamba Juice smoothies are made with sherbert, fruit, etc.–so there is a lot of sugar in them.  Some have more than others.  Here is a better one, and even a better one has a LOT of sugar.  You can order a Fit N Fruitful version http://www.jambajuice.com/menu-and-nutrition/menu/smoothies/fit-n-fruitful , which has this nutrition info for its Berry Blend Smoothie.

Calories 290
Total Fat 4.5g 7%
Saturated Fat .5g 3%
Trans Fat 0g 0%
Cholesterol 25mg 8%
Sodium 65mg 3%
Total Carbohydrates 52g 17%
Dietary Fiber 6g 24%
Sugar 37g
Protein 11g

That is a good amount of protein.  This has 52g of carbs and 6g of fiber.  So, that is 46g net carbs.  It is 37g of sugar.  That is like eating 9 sugar cubes.  Yes, it is better food, but it is still  fattening and too much sugar.  You are better off eating a piece of fruit and getting a 12g net carbs for an orange.  And this is the smaller cup at 16 ounces, not their regular cup.

jamba

They have a new Make It Light option that you could request, where supposedly it is 1/3 lighter in everything.  So, even if that is true.  It would still be about 32g of carbs in a drink.  Now, if you are only allowed between 50g and 100g of carbs a day to stay thin, then your options for the rest of the day are small.

Again, if you had an orange and two low-fat string cheese sticks–you are looking at 14g net carbs vs. the 32g of net carbs for the Jamba Juice.  There are other options too for protein and carbs, but keep in mind that Jamba Juice should not be part of your diet unless you factor in the carbs for the day and you are exercising heavily.

That is my opinion.  I haven’t had Jamba Juice in over a year and I could have a few sips, but I would rather eat an In and Out protein style cheeseburger for 11g of carbs  and 18g of protein (there are chicken burger options out there too).  There are 7g of sugar in it or about 1 1/2 sugar cubes vs. the 9 sugar cubes or possibly 6 with the lighter option.

Seriously, which one will leave you feeling more full and satisfied?  Which one will leave you with a sugar high and a huge crash and a desire to pig out later?  (I hope you answered the burger for the first question and the juice for the second one)

It is all about knowing what is in what you are eating if you want to stay thin.  Healthy juice sounds good, but it can be fattening.  Just sayin….

 

inandout

EAT PIZZA, LOSE WEIGHT

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Pizza!

Yes, it is delish and you don’t want to miss out on eating it on a diet.  There are ways to eat pizza and stay skinny.  You have two choices:

1.  Exercise like crazy before and after you eat it.

2.  Be careful about your choices, where you buy it and how much you eat.

I exercise, but I will not exercise like a madwoman over pizza…so I am careful.

First thing you have to know, is WHAT ARE YOU EATING?

A slice of Costco Pizza is one of the worst.  70g of carbs.  Domino’s Thin Crust Cheese Only Pizza from a medium pizza is one of the best at 15g of carbs.

So, where you get your pizza from is important.  If you go to a ma and pa neighborhood pizza joint and eat pizza, you might not know what the contents are in that slice.

Remember, wheat is involved, so you have to be careful.  This should be a treat, not a regular food choice.

Second thing is that you find places you want to go to and ask for info on their nutritional content if you can’t find it or get it easily. I found a place nearby called Pizza Rev.  They have gluten-free pizza (which is getting more popular). I contacted the company because they don’t have their nutritional content available yet.  The company said that their gluten-free standard personal cheese pizza is 40g of carbs.  So, if I eat half of that and some salad, I am doing great.  So, I have been there now 4 times and I haven’t gained weight, in fact, I worked it in with my 50 to 100g of carbs a day and I actually went down a few ounces.  I only add certain veggies and meats, which are low in carbs.

Here is a site where they give a lot of the carb and calorie content:  http://www.calorieking.com/calories-in-pizza.html  So do your HW before you eat.  Losing weight and staying skinny is about not being lazy about food choices.

Here is an example of something that could fool someone.  California Pizza Kitchen.  The thin-crust Margherita pizza.  You would expect it to be low (not gluten-free).  The entire little pizza is 1038 calories, 98g of carbs.  Even if you only ate half–that is 519 calories and 48g of carbs all in one go.  You will not lose weight, you might even gain that day depending on what you eat the rest of the day.

Subway has a 6 inch pizza (who knew?).  It is 680 calories and 96g of carbs in that little pizza.    But, here, for the kids at Olive Garden, the Kid’s Pizza.  Should be light and not that bad, right?  No– it is 420 calories and 64g of whopping carbs for the kiddies.  No wonder why America is getting so large.  ONE slice at Chuck E Cheese is 169 calories and 24g of carbs.  That isn’t bad, but what kid only eats ONE slice?  How lean is a Lean Pocket pizza?  41g of carbs for the whole pizza sandwich.

So, you can eat out, but be careful where and what you eat.

And if you eat at home, you can make your own.  It isn’t hard and fairly easy. I have a recipe that I have used to make a pizza with Cauliflower crust.  It is really good.  http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2012/08/the-astonishing-cauliflower-pizza-crust-you-have-to-taste-it-to-believe-it.html

Here is one that is easier pizza crust and I want to try and will follow up on it soon.  http://www.genaw.com/lowcarb/thinandcrispy_pizza.html

Below was my caulfilower-based home-made Margherita pizza and salad that I shared with my husband.  Less than 5g of carbs per half of that 9 inch pizza.  Totally delish and low carb.  The base was delish and didn’t miss the pizza crust.  But, if you have to have pizza crust–go online and type in low carb pizza crust and up pop a lot of sites that sell them online.  Even try Amazon.com–they sell everything.

pizzanight

Sleepiness related to Weight Problems

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If you find yourself hungry all day (and not because you skipped breakfast or have recently amped up your gym routine) it might be because  you haven’t gotten enough sleep!

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Research presented at the 2010 meeting of the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior linked little shuteye with higher levels of the hormone ghrelin, the same one that triggers hunger, HuffPost reported.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/10/sleep-hunger-deprivation-_n_1659954.html

The study basically says that if you stay up longer, you are more likely to eat more unhealthy foods and you are more tired the next day, leading to less physical activity.  And when you are tired, you are more likely to be so tired, that you make poorer choices.

So, try going to bed earlier, especially if you are one of those people who get the late-night munchies.