What to eat???

After posting via Facebook that my family and I were having salmon, mocked mashed potatoes, and asparagus for dinner, a friend of mine commented that she wished she could buy meals from me to help her along in losing "it".  I thought this compliment was a great opportunity to share some tips/tricks/meal ideas with my friends.  Remember, I'm not a dietitian, weight loss expert, and don't have nearly the cooking skills of my mother. 

Changing an entire way of eating seems like an insurmountable task, but what I realized was that small substitutions and changes added together equals huge results.

So... here we go with a few of my tips/tricks/substitutes etc.

BREAKFAST:
ALWAYS EAT BREAKFAST....

I almost ALWAYS have an eggwhite omelet with veggies and some sort of complex carb each morning.  This may sound like a lot of work to do, but it's very quick, especially if you prepare a week's worth of veggies at a time.  On Monday morning, I usually saute onions, bell peppers, and mushrooms in REAL BUTTER.  Let's be clear... not a TON of real butter, but maybe 1/2 Tbsp or so.  When I was in college, I took an economics class.... for some reason the professor got on the topic of margarine, and informed us that margarine is actually gray in color.  When it was first "tested" people in test groups wouldn't eat it as a butter substitute because of it's bland color.... so they added yellow food coloring.  For some reason that just stuck with me. 
Here's a picture of the butter I use. 

For a while, I was using whole eggs for my omelets, but simply because of time, I started using eggwhites. 

Sometimes, I'll add a little bit of cheese in there as well, and lately I've been adding Chia seed.  LOOK UP ITS BENEFITS!!! It's the "new" flax.

For my morning carb (and sandwiches when I have them).  I started using the "Hungry Girl" Flat Out bread.  It's only 90 calories and high in fiber

Oh, and of course, I have iced coffee with a splash of unsweetened almond milk (less fat, carbs, more calcium than regular dairy milk) and sugar free vanilla syrup. (yes... it's splenda based, but I only have a little once a day....)

LUNCH:

Usually a wrap with again, lots of veggies, turkey or chicken, and maybe edamame.  The key is to find a wrap that's low in calories and high in fiber (some wraps have over 250 calories!!!!)  This one is my fav (thanks to my Mom who told me about them!)  They only have 100 calories and have 12 grams of fiber (6 net carbs).  I also use them for taco night.

TIP ALERT:  Substitute fresh spinach for lettuce!  We use it for everything.  Cut it up to use for tacos.  Way more nutrients than lettuce!

SNACKS:

I try to stick to cut up veggies/fruit.   Cheese sticks are always go (try the Weight Watchers smoked Gouda ones!) but I've been trying to stay away from dairy as much as possible lately.  Now I opt for Almond butter and celery or sometimes will have a protein drink.  I usually use the Jillian Michaels version. 

DINNER:

I've found that the key is to keep it simple.  A lean protein and 1-2 veggies.  Most of our meals seem pretty boring to most, but again, it's about making it work for your lifestyle.  Little substitutions help out a ton.  We have completely stopped cooking red meat.  I use ground turkey or ground chicken for everything.   Also, we've incorporated more fish into our diet, especially salmon. 

Try to make your favorite foods rather than ordering in.  Even if you make a pizza at home and use full fat cheese, etc. it'll still be healthier than anything you'd order.  When we make pizza, we use the already made thin pizza crust and turkey pepperoni.

TIP ALERT: Cauliflower is AMAZING.  I've used it for "potato" soup, "mashed potatoes" and even fried rice. 

Also, I try to modify things my family already loves (like Spaghetti).  I usually add veggies like shredded carrots and zucchini to my spaghetti sauce, and I have my serving over sauteed onions or spaghetti squash (the rest of the family eats it over whole wheat angel hair pasta).

OTHER TIPS: 

Stay away from boxed dinners and canned veggies.  They have a TON of sodium and will make you retain fluids.

Speaking of retaining water.  Other than my coffee in the morning, I stick to water or green tea for the rest of the day.  I also have 1 serving of Dandelion Root tea a day (I brew it with Mint Green

. tea because it's pretty bitter on its own).  I usually sweeten it a bit with honey.  Dandelion Root is supposed to be good for liver function and help with water retention.

 Stay away from Low or Reduced fat processed foods.  They usually add carbs to these foods to make them taste decent.

Try to reduce the amount of salt you use in what you're cooking.  Explore other spices instead.

I think that's all for now... I'm sure I'll think of more soon.

It may sound overwhelming, but even if you try one or two of these things, you'll see results in how you feel!

The key.

Thought I'd give an update on how the week went. The hubby was off this week, which would usually have meant trips to eat out, junk food, etc.  In other words, things would have been a lot more lax than normal, but one thing that I am learning is that in order for this weight loss to really stick and have it become a manageable lifestyle, there has to be BALANCE.  It's impossible to stick on a completely healthy eating plan 24/7 FOREVER. (at least for me it is)...

In starting this process and giving myself 2 years to get to my goal, I was giving myself permission to eat off plan for a meal and not breakdown because of my possible perception of completely thwarting my efforts.  Balance is key.  Balance is something, however, that is SOOOOO contrary to the messages that we are fed via the media about everything, be it food, alcohol, sex, possessions, etc.  On one hand, we are given the "perfect" body images to aspire to, but on the other, there is little to no element of self-control honored or respected by our culture.  Give me what I want, when I want it.  I "deserve" it.  No one can attain a weight loss goal if constantly listening to the messages screamed around them.  Watch TV for five minutes and you'll be bombarded with fast food and candy commercials, only interrupted by commercials for lingerie with women who look nothing like most of the women I encounter in real life.  This system is designed to keep us from succeeding.  Give in to the cravings (why deny yourself???) BUT AFTER YOU DO.... FEEL HORRIBLE about yourself.  You're worthless for giving in.  How could you???  Of course this leads to more eating, more self-loathing, more eating.....

So the key?  Balance.  Something Americans no little about.  Delayed gratification.  Something we know even less about.

Yes, we ate out this week.  Twice to be exact. (which is a lot less than we have in previous "vacation" weeks).  The first time, we took the kids to a popular chain restaurant.  We did get an appetizer (spinach dip) and guess what.  I had some.  But instead of ordering whatever I wanted for my meal (probably would have been a burger), I had grilled chicken (minus the rice that it came with) and added extra broccoli. 

Second meal "out" was actually an order in Sushi dinner.  This was my one "splurge" meal of the week.  It was something that I looked forward to all week.  Having it in mind at the beginning of the week gave me reason to be cautious in what I was eating because I knew I'd be having a treat later in the week.  All in all, I had a loss of about 1lb this week whereas in previous vacation weeks, I've gained up to 5lbs.

Next thing to work on:  Get my butt back on my treadmill.....

What I'm doing

Alrighty, the kids are taking a nap (yes, both of them!!!!!) so I decided it would be a good time to write.

Picking up where the last post left off...

After I made the decision to lose the weight, and to allow myself 2 years to lose the 110lbs, I had to figure out what "method" was going to work best for me.  My mom (who has also battled the scale her whole life) joined Weight Watchers and began going to meetings.  Attending meetings was impossible to fit into my schedule, so I decided to join online.

I did well for the first couple of weeks and lost about 20 lbs right away, but for me, the freedom of the points system was leading me to make not so great choices.  Because of my weight, and the fact that I was breastfeeding a newborn, I was allowed a TON of points each day. (I think 57!!!!)  Eating that much during the day and making sure they were healthy choices wasn't easy.  I remember actually eating Nutella on crackers simply to make sure I got all my "points" in.  Needless to say, it wasn't working for me.

A few years ago, before I even met my husband, I had lost a bit of weight on South Beach diet.  From that personal experience as well as through my research on PCOS (Polycystic ovarian Syndrome----- diagnosed at age 18), I determined a low carb, lean protein diet would be best.  I wasn't able to cut out ALL carbs, again, because I was breastfeeding a newborn and carbs are VERY important in milk production.

My plan was (and still is) to have my carbs before 2pm (low calorie/high fiber bread).  LOTS of veggies and lean proteins.  I also cut out most of my dairy.  Our family is on Almond milk completely, and I have the unsweetened original type in my coffee in the morning. 

I also try to follow a couple of key rules

Drink plenty of water
Take a multivitamin
Stay away from anything white
Stay away from anything boxed or canned (the amount of sodium in these processed foods is unreal!)
Try to add extra veggies to anything possible (I add shredded carrots and zucchini to spaghetti sauce)
Get rid of red meat (we use ground chicken/turkey)
Eat more fish (especially salmon)
Don't eat after 7:30pm
Leave room to "cheat" one day a week

I'll talk about exercise in another post, but I really believe something that I heard a Dr. say in the HBO documentary The Weight of the Nation.  Exercise is important, of course, but the MOST important part of LOSING weight is and has to be diet change.