Sunday, July 11, 2010

Here's The Skinny:

I am fat. I weigh as much or more now than I ever did pregnant.
I have made a couple of lifestyle changes recently. First, I gave up caffeine. Not because caffeine itself is so bad (it is), but because I only like my caffeine loaded with sugar. No more pop or foofoo coffee for me.
The second change is that I was given an elliptical machine and I have been using it almost daily for at least 25 minutes, for the last 2 1/2 months.
So, the reason I am even telling you this is that I need some suggestions. I want to start Weight Watchers again as I have had success with their "points" system in the past, but I get SOOO incredibly bored with diet food. I would like your suggestions about what to eat that won't keep me fat!
Ah, and one more thing- I am not a short order cook, so whatever I make, everyone has to eat. I don't have incredibly picky kids (well, they don't eat hot dogs or plastic cheese), but they do have limitations.
OK, leave me a comment!

14 comments:

Gramma 2 Many said...

I'm waiting for you to get some useful comments.

Unknown said...

Ummm... I got nothing other than my Jello Chocolate Mousse temptations that are only 60 cals for a cup. But I don't know about how many points it is.

And... portion size... that's a biggy.

Um... chicken... chicken is good.

Eat some fish.

Yeah... i'm not helpful. Sorry.

Gina said...

Gina
Being thin is easy. It’s just no fun unless you adhere to the theory that nothing tastes as good as being thin feels.
Good work on the exercise not that a mother of 5 wouldn’t get five miles in every day any way. They just aren’t measured.
Keep drinking the coffee. Quit using sugar. I’ve used equal for years and look at how fat and sassy I am. Don’t worry about it hurting your long term health. All any of us are sure of is the day. And when is that Rapture going to occur?
Here is what will make you and keep you thin. Do NOT eat more than 30 fat grams a day.
Write down every bite that goes in your mouth so you can see why you are over the weight you desire to be.
If you will do the fat grams and not going over 1500 hundred calories, you will achieve your desired weight in less than six months and that much I promise you.
From memory, I know that being with children all day long causes one to nibble. Nibble on carrot sticks and popcorn without butter.
The best way to secure your success in to lay it all on the ‘table’ for GOD and let Him give you the strong encouragement of self control.
All that said, I love you just the way you are and when I look at you, the first thing I see is not your size. I see my Gina.
Blessings from mayran
I believe!!
p.s. never measure the amount of salad you eat. You never saw a fat rabbit did you???
p.s. again…..you might be wondering if since I have all this good advise why am I not thin? Refer yourself back to the subject line. I’ve lost that 100 pounds at least three times (or is it 4?). I do know how to lose it. I just haven’t given the food plan what it takes to keep it off.

Lee Ann said...

I'm not fat. But, I did gain a freshman 20, and 40 pounds with 1 baby. So, I have had to lose.

I've done low fat, and low carb. They both make me incredibly irritable. You need to know your body. Some people do low carb just fine.

I try to eat only "real" food. Food that I can pronounce every ingredient. I eat sugar. I drink non-fat milk. I try to eat a salad every day - with walnuts and feta cheese. I eat 5 dark chocolate chips when I need them.

You must have protein for breakfast. I alternate between an egg and oatmeal. I have a mocha for snack. Made with real cocoa and a bit of maple syrup. Lunch salad. Snack, string cheese, or maybe a couple of mini pumpkin muffins, banana with peanut butter. Dinner - real food. I don't fry or cook high fat meals. I have recently cut out my before bed cereal and have dropped 3 pouns.

I do find that if I eat the same things over and over again, I don't eat as much because it's boring. And then sometimes I just attack some nachos :) Just sayin'.

Moments 2 Treasure said...

Enjoy what you eat.

TASTE everything you eat.

Pay attention.

You can have it all, just not all at once.

Stop using giant plates and use an 8" plate instead.

When you are out, poor a little water over the rest of your fries so you don't just mindlessly eat them all while enjoying conversation.

Soup is good! You can make delicious ones or they have amazing ones in the store - so much food for so little calories.

When eating a treat like ice cream or chips, use a ramekin. It will help with portion control.


Zesty, Cheesy, Healthy Mac and Cheese

12 ounces whole wheat mini pasta shells (these hold the cheese better than elbows)
1 cup soy milk
1 cup freshly shredded Parmesan
1 cup reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup frozen butternut squash, thawed
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dry mustard
½ teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
½ tsp. chili powder or a few dashes of Tabasco sauce
2 tablespoons whole wheat bread crumbs
2 tablespoons reduced fat Monterey jack cheese, shredded

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Boil pasta shells in salted water until slightly firm, according to package directions.

In another saucepan, combine the soymilk, Parmesan, cheddar, and butternut squash over medium heat until melted and combined. Turn off the heat. Add salt, mustard, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and chili powder or Tabasco.

Drain the pasta but don’t rinse it. Add it to the cheese sauce (use a large bowl if necessary) and toss to coat the pasta. Taste and add more salt or pepper, according to your taste.

Spray a shallow baking pan with cooking spray and put the pasta-cheese mixture in it. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs and Monterey jack cheese. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.


Healthy Ranch Dressing

1 tsp. vinegar
1 tsp. garlic salt
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. fresh pepper
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 cup Greek yogurt
½ tsp. mayonnaise
1 tsp. fresh parsley
2 tbsp. grated Parmesan
1 tsp. water
½ tsp. lemon zest
½ tsp. Dijon mustard

Combine all ingredients and chill before serving.


Sloppy Joe's

Ingredients
16 ounces ground turkey (the crazy lean ground beef, the 94/6% stuff usually has lower calorie & fat)
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 red onion, chopped
8 ounces tomato sauce, canned
1/2 cup ketchup
1 tsp chili powder
1/4 cup
Directions
In a skillet, combine ground turkey, black pepper, and onion. Cook until no longer pink.

Stir in tomato sauce, ketchup, BBQ sauce, chili powder, and hot pepper sauce to taste. Simmer for about 10 minutes.

Serve on a wheat bun with lettuce.

Moments 2 Treasure said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Heidrun Khokhar, KleinsteMotte said...

Take the corn sugar out of what you buy by reading labels. Fructose is usually corn sugar. Research is showing that that sugar is the most addictive and harmful yet it's in so many products. Use cane sugar in low amounts. Our ancestors had extremely little sugar in their foods.Do that for the whole family. Breads you buy are a big part of this issue. Cheese is one of the worst items because of the fat content.Look for the lowest fat type. Your entire family can help prepare meals. You make them more aware of the process and they'll have better life skills. Eat greens,lots of garlic and probiotics to improve digestion. Eat small portions and tiny snacks. You are worth that extra effort. Reward yourself for being great. Be spiritual. Connect to inner peace.

Frizzy said...

I have the same struggles my dear. I wish I could share some words of wisdom.

I too have recently stopped the caffine habbit. I also stopped eating sugar. The only sugar I eat or drink is from natural fruits and berries. I lost 10 pounds pretty quickly. That said, I've not made much more progress since the initial 10. FRUSTRATING!

One thing about not getting bored is finding new recipies you know your family will like or you will enjoy trying out on them. I find Bird and Yaya like new foods as long as there are familiar items in them.

Kelly Schlichtmann said...

Its not about diets. Its about making a lifestyle choice. Diets end, and then we gain weight. Or we get skinny and get super comfortable in our new sveltness that we start eating whatever because we are not motivated by the scale or the way our clothes fit. We add 5 pounds here or there and then we weigh more than when we started the diet. If you make a commitment to just being healthy and making smart food choices then you begin a path that will help you achieve your goals. But you must address why you gain weight in the first place. You will loose weight, but still be a "fat skinny person" on the inside if you don't look the why. We can joke about our food choices as the why, but its in your head. Get around that, and watch the pounds melt away. Come out and walk with me tomorrow night!

Kris said...

I think that Kelly has much of the answer! I wanna walk with Kelly.
I hate to exercise, but walking with friends does not feel like exercise, it feels like quality time.
I find that eating good food is so much more work! But so worth the effort. The food tastes better and I feel better.

Kely said...

You are right Kris, if excercise is something you hate, than why do it. Do something you love and do it everyday. Think about how you feel after a big ol' cheeseburger, and then after eating something healthy. I still like to eat cheeseburgers, and ice cream just not everyday. I do Zumba, and LOVE it, and Body Pump for weight lifting. When you are in your 40's your body does not want to loose any weight, you have to eat way less, and move a lot more. I really miss my twenty year old metabolism.

Julie said...

I am with you, right before our English camps I was working out doing P90 and did it for 2 months... then I went to the camps (which are 4 weeks with Hungarian camp food...yuck) and then ending up not working out for various reasons mostly because it was 98 with no AC and just too hot do anything and ordering pizza almost daily the last night. I am afraid of what the scale says. I lost almost 13 pounds before and it takes NOTHING for me to gain, I am sure it is all back and I am a bummed by it. BUT.. I am getting my mind around it again and now that I am home and can do WW, I am... and it is much better. Here is a site that I LOVE....
http://www.skinnytaste.com/
All WW recipes with their points... so many good ones and just awesome. I pray you enjoy it and maybe we can encourage each other... :)


Oh and I wanted to share with you that we sent a group from SpeakOut (the english camps) to Erdei, Romania to do missions this summer for a week and it was so amazing. Thought you and your hubby would love that!

Frizzy said...

Will you be making the treck down here this year again? It's been about a year since we met hasn't it? As I drove to San Francisco I thought of you all and the couch incident. LOL

missy lee said...

I love eating fresh fruits and vegetables.

If you're not too keen on veggies by themselves, dish yourself up a serving size of ranch dressing (it's probably around 2 tablespoons) and don't use any more than that.

Fresh and frozen vegetables are also pretty good, but I stay away from the canned stuff (yuck!).

As was mentioned earlier, you really just have to watch serving sizes. You need a good variety of all sorts of foods, but overloading on anything (even fruits and veggies) can be bad for your health, weight, and size. www.webmd.com has some really great and useful information, so I encourage you to check it out!

Also, the suggestion earlier about using smaller plates is a great idea!

Good luck to you as you journey on the path to better health! It's great to see people making the effort to improve their well-being!