Substitutes: Yes You Can (part 3)

I usually eat dinner at home during the week. I keep chicken, shrimp, and meats in the freezer as I buy them in bulk. I usually buy fresh seafood when I am really in the mood for something specific, and I cook it that night. I like fresh veggies but they go bad fast so I only buy what I will use for about a week at a time. I always have a bag of broccoli florets, baby spinach, grape tomatoes, and onions in the fridge. During the winter I like soups and casseroles; comfort food. I like to make my own but I do buy cans to have on hand when I don’t have time to cook or I am just getting home from the gym and want something fast and easy. Some of the soups I buy are Amy’s organic soups; lowfat split pea, black bean vegetable, black bean chili, vegetable barley. They are very healthy and flavorful but be careful of the fat content in some of them. My son is a vegetarian and he loves her chili made with vegetable protein. The consistency is just like meat but it’s a little high in fat. I also buy the Campbells Healthy Request soups; Chicken and Sausage Gumbo, and Italian Wedding Soup. These are my favorites but there are many choices. You have to buy what you like or you will not eat it. I also love little smokie sausages. When I was a kid we would make sausage sandwiches all the time. I was so excited when I found Hillshire Farms turkey smokies. They are great and the fat content is so much less than the pork or beef smokies. Recently I found chicken smokies and they are even better, with the same fat content. Substitutes, substitutes, substitutes. I add the smokies to the split pea soup and it is great, as well as adding a boost of protein. Grab a handful of reduced fat wheat thins or a peice of wheat or pumpernickel bread and you have a quick balanced meal.  I also buy the Indian vegetable packages such as Spinach Channah, or Madras Lentils. These are great to add to your meal as a side dish or a topper for fish, chicken or meat. I forgot to mention that I do go to Nawab, the Indian restaurant, for lunch about once a month. The food is fresh, with lots of veggies, good spices and sauces, meats and chicken. I don’t go more often than that because it is a buffet and I always tend to eat to much and want to take a nap by the time I get back to work. Everything in moderation.

I do like to go out on the weekends since I have eaten home all week.  I can find just about anything I want at any resaurant and fit it into my food plan. Once again I try to only order what I will eat, unless I am going straight home and I can take the leftovers, or I can split the dish.  I order what I like, keeping in mind the basic food groups; protein, carbs, veggies, as well as lowfat items. I do let myself go sometimes if there is something I really want that I would not otherwise eat on a regular basis. About every 6 to 8 weeks I get a pedicure in the evening, and next door to the nail place is an Uncle Al’s Hot Dogs. It’s usually around 7:30pm when I’m  done with my pedicure, and I am hungry, so I go next door for my usual indulgence; one hotdog with hot mustard, chili, and onions, and an order of sweet potato fries with an unsweet tea. It is just enough and I do not feel guilty as it is only once in a while. EVERYTHING IN MODERATION!!

You shoud always enjoy eating. I was raised to appreciate good food, and have been exposed to the worst and the best. The point is that there are good, healthy, satisfying, flavorful choices that will fit into your lifestyle.  Stick with what you like, but be willing to try new things. You never know what you might be missing!!

Living and Loving Food

To Eat Or Not To Eat

So I have decided to log my food into the activtrax online system.  Now the questions are;  what do I eat, how much, and how often.  I am continuously reading articles and books about food, and what benefits are derived from eating certain foods.  I’ve read diet books such as “The Abs Diet for Women”,  “Harnessing the Healing Power of Fruit”, “The South Beach Diet”, and various articles that I find online and in health magazines.  As I said in  “The Weight Gain Dilemma”; I thought I was eating healthy.  I was just not as disciplined as I needed to be.  I knew this needed to change. I really had to get serious and apply more of this knowledge to my everyday eating habits.  As I logged in my food everyday and noticed how much fat was in everything, I focused on eating basically no fat.  That’s pretty much what you have to do in order to fit into the 20% a day category. Let me backtrack on that.  I was set up on activtrax to eat 20% fat, 50% carbs, and 30% protein.  I have always tried to eat balanced at every meal; protein, carbs, and veggies. I read that half of your plate should be filled with vegetables.  Also you need at least 7 to 9 servings of fruits and veggies a day; maybe 9 to 13 by now.  My goal was to eat my 3 meals a day with a morning and afternoon snack.  I was careful to keep all  my food intake to one serving size of everything. That included sauces, condiments (butter, mayo, dressings, etc. ), EVERYTHING.  I would also concentrate on drinking as much water as possible to get to the 64 oz a day.  This is not the first time I have tried to lose weight, and I know how my body will react to drinking more water, and eating less at each sitting, but more times a day.  At first you feel hungry because you’re stomach is used to having more, and it has to shrink.  You also don’t feel like eating every time you should. You have to give your body time to adjust to this new way of eating and drinking. After a couple of weeks, I started feeling hungry when it was time to eat, and I was eating or drinking all the time.  I brought healthy snacks with me to work; fruit, nuts, hummus and crackers, or celery, protein bars, etc. I made sure that I ate enough protein before going to exercise.  My body was changing quickly due to the change in what I ate, when I ate, and how much I ate. The exercising everyday was really making a difference in how I felt, as well as reducing the inches around my hips, legs, and belly.  I ventured into my closet to see how my old clothes would fit.  The results were amazing.  I was only losing about 1 to 2 lbs a week, which is what I was told when I was setup, but where I really noticed a difference quickly was how trim I was looking and feeling.  This was my incentive and motivation to keep on going.  IT WAS WORKING!!!  

Please read on to the next article “Getting Over The Plateau”.

Getting Over The Plateau

I am feeling great!!  I have lost about 15 lbs and most of my old clothes are fitting me again. Its amazing how well your shirts fit when you don’t have the extra rolls. I am also noticing my bra feeling bigger as my back is getting smaller. I never imagined that would happen.  I am thrilled with my progress and it leaves me wanting more.

I am doing the same things I have always done but I start adding more and more Lean Cuisine type meals, as they are easier and it is just me at home these days. I am maintaining my current weightloss but not losing anymore. I had hit a plateau and realized that it was time to make another change. I read that you should eat more real food rather than processed foods. You know, cook it yourself, instead of buying it already prepared with whatever they decide to put in it as far as preservatives, taste enhancers, etc. I decided maybe this would help me lose more weight. I left the rest of the box dinners in the freezer as back up and bought more fruits and veggies, hummus, avocados & nuts, and started getting back in the kitchen. I had fish, chicken, and shrimp in the freezer. I would eat this with my veggies and whole grains for dinner. I have always tried to eat whole grains, wheats and oats as opposed to white breads, pastas, and rice. I do believe it makes a difference. I also decided to put the healthy fats  back in my diet such as olive oil, avocado, nuts, etc.  It’s funny how reading something that you know makes sense, doesn’t resonate until you really need it. As I said before, I always read the health articles that come up when I go online. I find them very useful and full of great tips. It didn’t take long to notice that this change in diet from boxes to homemade was making a difference. The weight slowly started coming off again and I was feeling even better. Once again, THEY were right. Who are they, you might ask. Well, it’s always been a joke in our house that “they” are, you know,  ”them”. 

My doctor told me not to drink so much milk due to the large amount of sugar. I never realized how much sugar was in milk and I was drinking 2-3 glasses a day. They also suggested eating greek yogurt which I immediately turned my nose up. I have never been a yogurt person unless it was frozen. I had been hearing about how much protein was in greek yogurt with little to no fat. I tried a blueberry Chobani and it was great. Didn’t taste like the yogurt I remember.  I am hooked. It literally tastes just like sour cream, which I love. I decided to buy the plain which only has about 7 grams of sugar as opposed to the fruit flavored which has about 20 grams of sugar. I kept more blueberries on hand to mix in and add some sweetness, but any real fruit, nuts, or granola will enhance this healthy snack. The different textures  is also nice between the blueberries and the yogurt.  This has become a very commom everyday snack for me. I forgot to mention that each serving of this yogurt has 18 grams of protein and no fat. It’s also a good source of calcium which is very important to us gals. Try substituting it for sour cream in any recipes or as a topping for soups and chili. You will love it. I decided to switch to Almond Milk to replace the 1% milk I was drinking.  It tastes great. The unsweetened is only 40 calories but is very bland. I recommend the original which is 60 calories with a little sugar added. I like the Blue Diamond brand, however Silk makes it as well. The sugar grams are almost half of what’s in milk, and the calcium and other vitamins are double that of milk. It didn’t take much to make the decision to switch. I use it in my oatmeal every morning and it’s great. I also find it easy to drink on its own. V8 juice is also a good way to get a couple of veggie servings in during the day. I drink it in the morning with one of my powdered supplements. Buy the low sodium. You won’t notice the difference after a few days and the reduction in  sodium is considerable.

So to wrap up, while checking the labels for serving size, fat, carbs, and protein, add sodium and sugar. Eat lots of veggies and fruit, lean meats, fish, and chicken, whole oats, grains, and wheat, and drink lots of water. Try to stay away from processed foods if possible. It’s just as easy to grab a piece of fruit, or a handful of nuts. If you are eating healthy you will not need to worry about your calories. The food will speak for itself.

 Happy and Naturally Homemade

The Weight Gain Dilemma

So now that my hormones were somewhat on track it was time to get rid of this extra 30 pounds or so.  I really thought I was doing everything right; playing racquetball 2-3 times a week, and eating what I considered to be healthy. I had heard a couple of people talking at the Y about a new computerized system called Activtrax. Apparently you could log your food in and it would calculate how many calories, fat, carbs, and protein grams you ate. You could also get set up on the computer based on your goals for weightloss, and exercise. I had been searching for something to help me lose this god awful extra weight. I was getting ready to go up another size and I was not willing to let that happen. It was enough!!

I decided to take the plunge. What did I have to lose? Some weight, maybe? I got setup on Activtrax with a goal of exercising at least 30 minutes a day, and losing at least 30 pounds. My workout included all the weight machines, a few exercises on the mat with the ball, and the other exercise bars, belts, etc. I also warmed up on the treadmill and finished on the eliptical.  I decided that I would go to the gym on the nights that I was not playing racquetball. The computer spit out my workout everytime I came. It was great. I also started doing the 8 minute Ab workout every morning. I have been using this for many years off and on. I have to be really motivated. Anyway, there are about 12 different ab positions and with 20 reps each that comes to about 240 total crunches. I also do 20 leg lifts on each side, as well as some knee and lower back stretches. I know this sounds like alot but you can knock it out in 15 minutes or less. I do breath in between, so I am not doing the crunches continuously. Believe me, I am no great exerciser, so if I can do this, I know you can. I was really challenged by the logging in of the food. They have alot of choices with breakdowns of each item. I had my breakdown of 20% fat, 50% carbs, and 30% protein. It was very interesting seeing what I thought would fit into these categories and what I actually ended up with. This taught me alot about looking at the labels for these breakdowns. I also found out that it takes about 3-5 times more protein to get to 30%. In the beginning I measured everything to make sure I was only eating a serving size. Its important to do this. You think you are only eating a certain amount of butter, or mayo, or peanut butter until you start to measure. I became very aware of how much fat was in everything. I starting buying lite and lowfat dressings that I thought I would like as well as some bags of frozen fish, shrimp, and chicken breasts.  I like fresh vegetables, so I only bought what I thought I would eat for about a week at a time so as not to waste the food and have to throw it away. I hate throwing away food because it went bad. I was on my way and it felt good to start this new journey. I was very motivated and determined. Please continue to “The Weight Loss Success”.

The Weight Loss Success

So I am really getting into this new exercising I am doing. Alot of it was not easy but very challenging. I got the rower that my ex husband had when we were married a hundred years ago.  I thought if I can row at home I won’t have to go to the Y every night. That was the plan, however I pushed my right knee too far and tore my meniscus. I found out quickly that I could not play racquetball. This put a wrench into my exercise plan. I had to figure out how to get the exercise in without playing racquetball. What else am I going to do. Thank god it was April and starting to get nice outside. I started playing golf about a  year and a half ago. I would play more golf instead. I needed to get better anyway. I would also walk as much as possible; on the course, with the dog, anywhere I could.

The food logging and learning is going good. I start to realize that I need a certain amount of fat and that it’s ok to eat the good fat from eggs, avocados, nuts & olive oil.  It also helps my digestion, if you know what I mean. I start to notice that my clothes are feeling a little big and this gives me incentive to continue, realizing that everything I am doing is making a difference. I bought a small scale to keep in the bathroom and I do weigh myself every morning. It keeps me on track. But don’t be alarmed if your weight fluctuates by as much as 3-5 pounds in a week. Just be alarmed if your weight keeps going up and not back down again.  This particular method that I have chosen to lose the weight is a slow process with me only losing about a pound a week. I noticed the inches coming off before much weight. I think that was from the exercise and my trusty ab workout in the morning. I also forgot to mention that I started drinking more water again as well. I have always read that you should drink at least 64 oz a day (8 8oz glasses). It’s not really that hard if you spread it over the day and night. It’s still a challenge for me to get it all in but I keep trying. Other drinks count as well. The point is just stay hydrated.

The next articles will go into much more details about eating and food, and the exercises which have made a difference for me. Please stay tuned!!

Happy, Healthy & Thinner

Fighting The Over Fifty Blues

This is the first in a series of articles that I will write about my experiences trying to lose weight after 50. I have always been a very active, independent woman. I have raised 2 kids as a single mom and all this time I thought I was eating healthy and exercising enough to maintain my weight and size. A few years ago I went up another size which was now two sizes larger than I have been since I was about 30. I stopped wearing anything that was clingy or showed off my belly fat. Thank god smocky shirts came back in style, even though I have always been told that you should not wear big clothes as they make you look bigger, it was still more comfortable for me. I finally got my hormones somewhat under control after  years of unbearable hot flashes, and now it was time to get back to my more desirable size. I started in February of this year and after about 6 months I have lost 20 pounds and enough inches to be able to wear my old clothes very comfortably.  I have even lost weight in my feet and hands which I find incredible.

In the coming articles I will go into much detail about how I did this without killing myself with exercise and giving up all the foods I really enjoyed.  In otherwords making a lifestyle change.
Stay Tuned!!

Happy, Healthy, and Thinner