The egg is a low-calorie powerhouse. The egg is a great source of nutrition and brain food, with only 80 calories per large egg and a useful 6 grams of protein. Even scrambled or fried in butter, they are still … Continue reading
Under normal daily stress conditions, normal cortisol levels (stress hormones) help the body control blood pressure, blood sugar levels, and even inflammation. But, in prolonged stress. When stress becomes chronic, too much cortisol in the body wreaks havoc.
Chronically elevated cortisol levels may contribute to:
Do you think you’re a victim of increased cortisol levels. Speak to your doctor, but the following questions may help you discern if you’re suffering from a cortisol imbalance.
If you answered yes to more than one of those questions, you may have a cortisol imbalance.
Your doctor can conduct a 4-point salivary test. Saliva has been proven to be a better source of cortisol testing over blood and offers concrete results.
You should always consult your physician when it comes to achieving healthy cortisol levels.
However, these lifestyle changes may be of help when dealing with a cortisol imbalance.
Your doctor can conduct a test, but there are some saliva tests you can do yourself through online services like this one.
11 Steps you Can Take to Lose and Manage Your Weight:
A Skinny-Rules reader asked a good question about what to do as a vegetarian! Thank you for this question!
The Skinny-Rules follows mostly a Paleo diet, but it is basically a high-protein, low carb diet. So, this can be done as a vegetarian.
Being a vegetarian is a sticky issue with weight loss. You have to eat veggies that are lower on the carb scale. Here is a site that shows vegetables from lowest to high in the carbs.
http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/whattoeat/a/whatveg.htm
Also, remember that starches that grow underground have a lot of sugar/starch. And stick with vegetables highest in protein, like broccoli and spinach.
http://www.healthaliciousness.com/articles/vegetables-high-in-protein.php.
Watch soy. It is genetically modified. ALL of it. You can have beans, but watch the carb content.
GREAT SOURCES OF PROTEIN FOR VEGETARIANS:
Everyone is different in their protein needs. For someone my size, I need about 43-97g of protein per day. You can calculate your own needs with an online calculator.
http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/library/blproteincalculators.htm
So, learn about what foods are high in proteins and make sure you get them daily. I would think that if you had Egg Beaters or egg whites mixed in with regular eggs (Egg Beaters 3 tbsp is 5g of protein, less than 1g of carbs)….you could make a nice spinach and low-fat cheese omelette and get a lot of protein in that. In a small omelette, you can get about 13 grams of protein and only a few carbs.
Remember: The meat-eater has to eat 6 times a day, every 3-4 hours to keep the metabolism going. The vegetarian might have to do it even more often to keep up with the need of protein to keep the metabolism going.
I am reposting a great, quick and easy LOW carb chocolate cake that I had put up before. I made these again tonight (makes for 4 small chocolate cakes in mugs).
Dr. Oz had a guest, who spoke about the importance of low sugar in a diet. Jorge Cruise has great recipes on his site, Jorgecruise.com. But, he has a recipe for no-sugar, low-calorie chocolate cake. It is small, it is quick and you cook it in the microwave for 60 seconds. So, I tried it and even my husband liked it. I recommend it for those with a sweet or chocolate tooth!
1 minute chocolate cake recipe:
1/4 cup Truvia Baking Blend
1.2 cup almond flour
3 tablespoons unsweetend cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 egg
2 tablespoons half and half
DIRECTIONS:
Mix all ingredients in a bowl, mix, pour 1/4 of mixture into a mug (can make 4 mugs, filled up about 1/5 of each cup because it expands). Cook mug in microwave for 60 seconds.
trim a little around the edge of the mug and then pour out onto a plate. Then put whip cream on top.
Here are pictures of the process. I would say there is about 2-3g of carbs in this little delicacy for the day!
The pics are posted on my blog: https://skinny-rules.com/2013/05/28/you-can-have-your-cake-and-eat-it-too/
The claim of ‘Fat-Free’ is actually the truth in products such as Mike and Ike and Good & Plenty candies, where you’ll find the claim: “fat-free.” They’re not lying—these empty-calorie junk foods are almost 100 percent sugar and processed carbs. But the makers of such junk, calorific “food” don’t tell you that their product is loaded with sugar and are digested rapidly, sending your blood sugar soaring; as soon as it drops again, you’ll crave more “fat-free” empty calories. In fact, skimmed milk has additives that aren’t even healthy and it has carbs, which will add weight on you, if you don’t count your carbs daily and keep them at a minimum.
There are many products that claim to be fat-free, but that means little in the weight loss realm.
If you want to lose weight or maintain weight, you have to carefully read labels and consider sugar and carb content. If you have a product that has little to no fat, but is high in carbs, your weight loss will be taking a huge hit. You do want to aim at low-fat products, like low-fat cheese, but you MUST look at carb content and also look at how what is showing on the label and notice the portion size of your food product.
Misleading Labels
For example, let’s say that you are looking at a jar of peanut butter, and the label says “8g of carbs.” Sounds good, but 8g of carbs per what? Usually that covers 2 tablespoons. To says so at the top of the label.
Here is an example label, let’s say it is for cereal in a small box. Oh, the box is only “22g of carbs?” No!! Look again. It says per “cup” and there are TWO servings in the box. So, if you eat the whole thing, then it is 44g of carbs.
I see misleading labels like this all of the time. I see it on sugary drinks- even energy drinks. The bottle might say, “12g of carbs,” but two servings might be in one bottle…so double those carbs if you drink the whole thing. I am pretty wise to this trick, but every now and then a small item, which shows two portions and then the numbers gets me because the product was so small, I forgot to notice the portion size. They tricked me I to thinking the product was low on sugar and carbs.
Remember, I have between 50 and 100g of carbs per day to maintain my weight and the closer to 50g, the more I will lose. Some people can easily go over 100g, but you have to weigh daily and when you see the numbers going up, adjust accordingly on your carb intake and/or increase exercise output.
Read carefully or you won’t lose weight and you will wonder why!
Does going to a picnic mean we are stuck with potato salad, coleslaw and chips? My husband, sister-in-law and friend are joining me tonight in an outdoor concert, where we will “picnic’ in our seats before the concert. In the past, we would order food, which was delectable, but devilish in calories. But, that was 40 pounds ago. And my family and friend are all on board with eating and living a better lifestyle (very important to surround yourself with people like that) and if not, then you have to prepare your own food your way). However, in this case, we all decided to order food that was good for us, as well as good-tasting.
We could make them ourselves, but we are ordering salads with veggies and chopped grilled chicken and my vegetarian friend will be having the salad with sautéed tofu. We will also have sparkling and regular water, coffee and I am bringing a long Low-Carb chocolate cookies for dessert.
Here is what the salad looks like, but without the grilled 4 ounces of chicken. And also here is a picture of my Kot chocolate crackers. (13g or net carbs, from Lindora.com) Looking forward to my meal and my coffee!!
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!
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!
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.
So, you think you don’t have time to walk, even just 15 minutes a day! Well, thanks to Purdue University, there is a converter of every day activities and sports that can be converted from time alloted to the activities into steps. Remember, that if you do more than 10,000 to 12,000 steps a day, you are doing great and on your way to skinny (as long as you eat a healthy balanced diet, based on the “rules.” If you are eating starches, sugar, more than 6 fist-sized, low-fat proteins a day, more than 4 smalls servings of veggies and 2 small servings of fruit a day and going over the 50 to 100g of carbs per day limit–then you will have to step a lot more to lose that weight.
Here is the list:
Use this chart to convert activities that are not easily measured by a pedometer. Multiply the number of minutes you participated in the activity by the number indicated in the chart. Use only the timed, converted steps for your step count. Do not also include the pedometer steps if you were wearing your pedometer while performing the activity.
PLEASE NOTE: Conversions are estimates; your actual steps may vary
| Activities | Steps/Minute* | Activities | Steps/Minute* |
| Aerobic dancing class | 127 | Mowing lawn | 120 |
| Aerobic fitness class | 181 | Painting (a room) | 78 |
| Aerobics, low impact | 125 | Pilates | 91 |
| Aerobics, step | 153 | Punching bag | 180 |
| Backpacking | 181 | Raking lawn/leaves | 121 |
| Badminton, casual | 131 | Racquetball, casual | 181 |
| Badminton, competitive | 203 | Racquetball, competitive | 254 |
| Ballet dancing | 120 | Rock climbing | 244 |
| Baseball | 130 | Rollerblading | 156 |
| Basketball, game | 145 | Rowing | 147 |
| Basketball, recreational | 130 | Rowing machine | 212 |
| Bicycling, easy pace | 130 | Rugby | 303 |
| Bicycling, moderate pace | 170 | Running, 12 – minute mile | 178 |
| Bicycling, vigorous pace | 200 | Running, 10 – minute mile | 222 |
| Billiards/pool | 76 | Running, 8 – minute mile | 278 |
| Bowling | 71 | Sailing, boat and board | 91 |
| Bowling on the Wii | 61 | Scrubbing floors | 71 |
| Boxing, non-competitive | 131 | Scuba Diving | 203 |
| Boxing, competitive | 222 | Shopping | 70 |
| Calisthenics | 106 | Shoveling snow | 145 |
| Canoeing | 91 | Skateboarding | 102 |
| Cheerleading | 100 | Skeeball | 52 |
| Children’s playground game | 136 | Skiing, light/moderate | 109 |
| Circuit training | 199 | Skiing, cross-country | 114 |
| Climbing, rock/mountain | 270 | Sledding | 158 |
| Cooking | 61 | Snowboarding | 182 |
| Croquet | 76 | Snowmobiling | 106 |
| Dancing, class | 109 | Snowshoeing | 181 |
| Dancing, salsa/country/swing | 109 | Soccer, recreational | 181 |
| Dancing, party | 109 | Soccer, competitive | 145 |
| Drill team | 153 | Softball | 152 |
| Electronic sports, Wii/PS3 | 91 | Spinning | 200 |
| Elliptical trainer | 203 | Squash | 348 |
| Fencing | 182 | Stair climbing, machine | 200 |
| Firewood-carrying/chopping | 60 | Stair climbing, down stairs | 71 |
| Fishing | 91 | Stair climbing, up stairs | 181 |
| Football | 199 | Stretching | 15 |
| Frisbee | 91 | Surfing | 91 |
| Gardening | 80 | Swimming, backstroke | 181 |
| Golf, carrying clubs | 109 | Swimming, butterfly | 272 |
| Golf, powered cart | 80 | Swimming, freestyle | 181 |
| Grocery shopping | 67 | Swimming, leisure | 174 |
| Gymnastics | 121 | Swimming, treading water | 116 |
| Handball | 348 | Table tennis | 120 |
| Hiking | 172 | Tae Bo | 250 |
| Hiking, orienteering | 232 | Tae Kwon Do | 290 |
| Hockey, field and ice | 240 | Tai Chi | 40 |
| Home/auto repair | 91 | Tennis | 200 |
| Horseback riding | 90 | Trampoline | 90 |
| Horseshoes | 71 | Vacuuming | 94 |
| Housework, light | 72 | Volleyball | 91 |
| Ice skating, general | 84 | Walking, stroll | 61 |
| Ice skating, moderate | 122 | Walking, average | 84 |
| In-line skating | 190 | Washing a car | 71 |
| Jogging | 181 | Water aerobics | 116 |
| Judo & Karate | 236 | Water polo | 303 |
| Jumping rope, fast | 300 | Water skiing | 145 |
| Jumping rope, moderate | 250 | Waxing a car | 80 |
| Kayaking | 152 | Weight lifting | 67 |
| Kickball | 212 | Wrestling | 145 |
| Kickboxing | 290 | Yard work | 89 |
| Lacrosse | 242 | Yoga | 45 |
| Miniature golf | 91 | ||
| Mopping | 60 |
* Steps/Minute equals steps per minute.
Use a pedometer to measure steps if you desire.
http://www.purdue.edu/walktothemoon/activities.html
What a great excuse to enjoy cleaning your house now!
Skinny-Rules 