ONLY IF they are REAL fat and calories.
We are trying to change our eating to all real foods as you know and although we slip on more than one occasion, we are doing fairly well. One great thing that has come from our change of eating lifestyle is the weight loss. OH YEAH!
I've lost 13 pounds since changing the way I eat. And believe you me, I still eat! Again, I am in no way a perfect eater (says the woman who just made cake pops last night with a box mix and canned frosting) but the bulk of our eating is now real food. Many are amazed to learn that I've lost 13 pounds by simply changing my eating, but it's so very true. And the best part - I now eat bacon...and real butter....and full fat dairy. I love every bit of it!
The best book I've read so far is Nina Planck's book "Real Food." It tells in plain language (except when it comes to the meat section - kind of lost me there) the benefits of eating real food, including fats. I recommend it as an easy read to introducing you to real food again. She has also come out with a new book about real baby food that I can't wait to read. Although my son is no longer a baby *sniff*, I still am very interested in food in our society today.
So, we have switched to full fat dairy. Raw milk is SO good. We still have to get our raw milk from South Carolina though. It's our turn to drive the 2 hours each way to get it tomorrow for our small group. We drive once every 5 months, so it's not bad. We have come to learn to enjoy milk as a food and not a beverage. We use only full fat cheese and yogurt, although the yogurt is a bit tough to find and you have to be careful not to grab the "light" yogurts because they have even more fake stuff because there is no sugar added (not that I'm saying sugar is good). I did find that Stonybrook has an organic cream-top yogurt. So freaking good. Of course, I should be making my own yogurt from my fresh, raw milk, but that's another learning project for another day. Oh, and butter. How could I forget wonderful butter? Again, no margarine for us. We want the real thing. That does not mean that we eat a stick of butter a day, but if I want to butter my toast, I do it. Again, I should be making my own from my raw milk, but I need 4 more hours per day please!
We eat real meat.
Meat is one of those things that we believe you should spend money on. You have GOT to buy pastured meat, period. Obviously look for meat that has not been given growth hormones as well. I've recently discovered that we have a farm near where I grew up that the beef is $3.50/pound and you don't even have to buy the whole cow! Many places that sell this type of beef sell a whole cow, a half or a quarter. Usually the smaller quantity you buy, the more per pound you pay. But not this place! It's $3.50/pound even if you buy a quarter of a cow!
Chickens also must be pastured and let alone to feed on their natural diet. I grew up in chicken country with long, stinky chicken houses at every turn. I knew it was how the farmers made money but it never sank in until recently that those chickens were the ones that were processed and sold in our local grocery stores for us to eat. I wish I had pictures to post of these absolutely horrible living conditions for the chickens. They see no sun, no grass, no bugs. They are pumped full of feed and I'm sure full of hormones. After a shorter than should be maturity cycle, they are then shipped to the processing plant to be made ready to put on grocery shelves. After my realization that those same chickens that I knew we smashed into those chicken houses wing to wing with no room to move were the same chicken packages we bought to bring home and eat, it was definitely enough for me to rearrange my budget and add more to the grocery column.
Wild game. Mainly venison. Yes, deer. We eat deer. And we like it. After my husband shot his first deer this past fall, he was amazed at how lean the animal was. We then realized that although we live in a polluted world, that deer is probably the most natural meat we've consumed in a long time. The deer had not been caged without access to fresh air, grass, water. It had not been fed supplemental "fattening" food. It was as it should be. And if you are a meat eater, which I'm sure most of you are, you should start paying very, very close attention to the type of meat you are buying and consuming. I'm not saying become a hunter and go shoot your own. But perhaps make friends with a hunter! Pack your freezer full of ground venison that is easily interchangeable for beef in all the recipes I've ever tried.
The one issue we are having is sugar. I love sugar. I know how bad white sugar is for you. I'm really trying to cut it out. I've even tried alternative sweeteners and so far nothing is working for me. However, I am getting better. I used to go by McDonald's for the giant sweet tea for $1 several times a week. Now, I cannot drink the stuff. It's like syrup to me. I haven't had one in months. And at Starbucks, I used to get a grande vanilla latte and add 2 splendaewww, fake stuff that we do not touch anymore). Now if I get a grande vanilla latte, I ask for only 2 pumps of the syrup instead of 4. I think I'm to the point I can now ask for only one! This is a challenge area for us and we are constantly working at it.
So after my success at losing the weight by simply eating real food, I'm even more of a believer of READING THE LABELS! I've become quite good at it and although we aren't perfect and still buy crappy stuff (hello...boxed cake mix and canned frosting) we have definitely changed our eating lifestyle and love it.
Showing posts with label weight loss. Show all posts
Showing posts with label weight loss. Show all posts
Friday, May 14, 2010
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Portion Control...a learned habit
I struggle greatly with portion control. Seriously, the other night I ate two, count them, TWO dark chocolate candy bars. At least they were dark chocolate, right? Oh, and it was New Year's Eve...celebrating right? I deserve it, right? Ugh, although they taste SO good, it's so not worth it immediately after. Wes has a saying that I despise, but love at the same time. "Nothing tastes as good as being skinny feels." Well, I'm not so sure I necessarily want to be skinny, but the saying still stings when I hear it or say it. Because it's true...although I think I want to change it to "Nothing tastes as good as being healthy feels." When I was in shape, eating foods that weren't good for me wasn't satisfying...no matter how good they tasted. Because I was in the zone...I knew that immediately after I would totally regret it.
So, how do I get back to that point? I don't know really. As I mentioned before, I have several tubs of clothes packed away that I cannot fit into and I paid good money for those clothes! As my friend Anne said after having her son, "It's not an issue of vanity, but an issue of economics!" SO true. Since we're adapting our life to a less wasteful, more resourceful way, this is helping to motivate me to get into better shape so I don't have to buy another entire wardrobe at the size I am now. Which, by the way, is no fun. I hate even shopping for a shirt or pair of pants. And the bathing suit top I just had to buy the other day for our upcoming cruise...nauseating. Not just because I'm at the weight I am or the shape I'm in, but because I actually had to spend money on an article of clothing that is 3 sizes bigger than what I used to be. It was on clearance, but still $9.00 is too much money to pay for a swimsuit top when I have about 10-12 in a box packed away.
I've read somewhere that it takes anywhere from 11 days to a month to develop a habit. So that's my goal for the first two weeks of the year. To limit the portions I allow myself when eating meals or snacks. I know I can do it, I've done it before. I actually counted calories once. I tracked it with an online calorie counter so it made it look nice and pretty. I was aiming for 2000 calories a day because of still breastfeeding. It was so hard to do that first week, but guess what? I lost three pounds! THREE...in one week...eating 2000 calories! I was not only eating less calories obviously, but choosing better foods. Who says you have to only eat 1200 calories to lose weight? We need to focus more on WHAT those calories are.
Our society has continuously encouraged larger and larger portion sizes. We all know how fast food restaurants serve. But what about the nicer restaurants? Ever been to a steakhouse? Fine dining or Texas Roadhouse, it doesn't really matter because they often have 12-16 ounce steaks on their menu. What does the average person need with a steak that big? How does their body handle it? And that's probably not the only thing that person eats at that meal, I'm willing to bet. I'm sure there is a baked potato on the side, broccoli if we're lucky and I'm sure there's always the fried onion appetizer before.
My family has done pretty well in sharing meals when we go out. The other day, my husband, son, niece and I all shared one entree and one sushi roll and it was more than enough. We're also going to attempt to adopt the practice of as soon as our food is brought to the table, immediately box up everything over what we should eat in one sitting. Then we've also stretched our dollar that way because we then have at least one, possibly two, meals for the next day's lunch!
So, portion control is going to be my first focus as far as eating healthy goes. Yes, I'm still going to be choosing healthy, natural recipes and increasing our veggie servings, but I think portion control is a key factor is healthier eating. Basically we're going to use our hand as our guide.
Open hand with fingers spread - veggies
Palm of hand - protein
Quarter of palm - good fats
Note - we do not have grains/starches. The Paleo/Zone diet Wes likes to follow doesn't really focus on it. Although on the Zone diet, it does allow for grains, but the Paleo doesn't. Wes really likes the huge focus on the veggies. But, for breakfast we will do oatmeal. Never instant, always old-fashioned or steel-cut oats. We're still deciding on what we think is right for our diet. We are not telling anyone to eliminate anything from their diet, only to do your research and read as much as you can and decide for yourself!
Recipe share:
borrowed from http://cfscceat.blogspot.com/
Paleo Mediterranean Chicken
Ingredients:
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (trimmed, cut in half and pounded)
almond meal - we used wheat bran (just don't use white flour!)
14 oz can quartered artichokes - drained if in oil
dried parsley
14 oz can fire roasted diced tomatoes
2.25 can sliced black olives
1 yellow onion
8 ounces of mushrooms
1 cup chicken broth (make your own one day!)
2 tsp olive oil
2-3 T fresh Italian parsley
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix about 1/2 C almond meal with 2 T dried parsley.
After pounding chicken breasts, sprinkle both sides of chicken breasts with almond meal mixture
Heat olive oil in a skillet
Brown chicken breasts on both sides - about 3 minutes per side
Add to baking dish when finished
After all chicken breasts are browned, add chicken broth to skillet and deglaze pan
Add all other ingredients to pan and bring to a quick low boil, then pour over chicken
Sprinkle top with fresh Italian parsley and bake for about 30 minutes.
I'd give this 2-3 stars out of 5. I probably won't be making this again. It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't my favorite either. The chicken will be fine leftover chopped in a salad or wrap though. I'd rather have the Mustard Agave Chicken again!
So, how do I get back to that point? I don't know really. As I mentioned before, I have several tubs of clothes packed away that I cannot fit into and I paid good money for those clothes! As my friend Anne said after having her son, "It's not an issue of vanity, but an issue of economics!" SO true. Since we're adapting our life to a less wasteful, more resourceful way, this is helping to motivate me to get into better shape so I don't have to buy another entire wardrobe at the size I am now. Which, by the way, is no fun. I hate even shopping for a shirt or pair of pants. And the bathing suit top I just had to buy the other day for our upcoming cruise...nauseating. Not just because I'm at the weight I am or the shape I'm in, but because I actually had to spend money on an article of clothing that is 3 sizes bigger than what I used to be. It was on clearance, but still $9.00 is too much money to pay for a swimsuit top when I have about 10-12 in a box packed away.
I've read somewhere that it takes anywhere from 11 days to a month to develop a habit. So that's my goal for the first two weeks of the year. To limit the portions I allow myself when eating meals or snacks. I know I can do it, I've done it before. I actually counted calories once. I tracked it with an online calorie counter so it made it look nice and pretty. I was aiming for 2000 calories a day because of still breastfeeding. It was so hard to do that first week, but guess what? I lost three pounds! THREE...in one week...eating 2000 calories! I was not only eating less calories obviously, but choosing better foods. Who says you have to only eat 1200 calories to lose weight? We need to focus more on WHAT those calories are.
Our society has continuously encouraged larger and larger portion sizes. We all know how fast food restaurants serve. But what about the nicer restaurants? Ever been to a steakhouse? Fine dining or Texas Roadhouse, it doesn't really matter because they often have 12-16 ounce steaks on their menu. What does the average person need with a steak that big? How does their body handle it? And that's probably not the only thing that person eats at that meal, I'm willing to bet. I'm sure there is a baked potato on the side, broccoli if we're lucky and I'm sure there's always the fried onion appetizer before.
My family has done pretty well in sharing meals when we go out. The other day, my husband, son, niece and I all shared one entree and one sushi roll and it was more than enough. We're also going to attempt to adopt the practice of as soon as our food is brought to the table, immediately box up everything over what we should eat in one sitting. Then we've also stretched our dollar that way because we then have at least one, possibly two, meals for the next day's lunch!
So, portion control is going to be my first focus as far as eating healthy goes. Yes, I'm still going to be choosing healthy, natural recipes and increasing our veggie servings, but I think portion control is a key factor is healthier eating. Basically we're going to use our hand as our guide.
Open hand with fingers spread - veggies
Palm of hand - protein
Quarter of palm - good fats
Note - we do not have grains/starches. The Paleo/Zone diet Wes likes to follow doesn't really focus on it. Although on the Zone diet, it does allow for grains, but the Paleo doesn't. Wes really likes the huge focus on the veggies. But, for breakfast we will do oatmeal. Never instant, always old-fashioned or steel-cut oats. We're still deciding on what we think is right for our diet. We are not telling anyone to eliminate anything from their diet, only to do your research and read as much as you can and decide for yourself!
Recipe share:
borrowed from http://cfscceat.blogspot.com/
Paleo Mediterranean Chicken
Ingredients:
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (trimmed, cut in half and pounded)
almond meal - we used wheat bran (just don't use white flour!)
14 oz can quartered artichokes - drained if in oil
dried parsley
14 oz can fire roasted diced tomatoes
2.25 can sliced black olives
1 yellow onion
8 ounces of mushrooms
1 cup chicken broth (make your own one day!)
2 tsp olive oil
2-3 T fresh Italian parsley
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix about 1/2 C almond meal with 2 T dried parsley.
After pounding chicken breasts, sprinkle both sides of chicken breasts with almond meal mixture
Heat olive oil in a skillet
Brown chicken breasts on both sides - about 3 minutes per side
Add to baking dish when finished
After all chicken breasts are browned, add chicken broth to skillet and deglaze pan
Add all other ingredients to pan and bring to a quick low boil, then pour over chicken
Sprinkle top with fresh Italian parsley and bake for about 30 minutes.
I'd give this 2-3 stars out of 5. I probably won't be making this again. It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't my favorite either. The chicken will be fine leftover chopped in a salad or wrap though. I'd rather have the Mustard Agave Chicken again!
Friday, January 1, 2010
"Before" pictures...a scary beginning
Happy New Year!
I have a feeling that 2010 is going to be a great year for my family! We have so many possibilities in front of us and that's exciting! We haven't officially set goals. I'm not sure if we really will. We have a lot of fun things planned - a 7-day cruise this month (first time we'll be away from our son - yikes!), several CrossFit competitions for Wes, a CrossFit certification class for Wes so he can become a coach, a move back to our home in Savannah, a possible vacation to Michigan in the late summer with my in-laws (when it's 100+ degrees here), continuing to watch Smith learn and grow and become even more wonderful, watch our friend's children do the same and just continuing to find good, wholesome, natural ways to improve our quality of life.
So, how should I start the new year off so I can gauge my progress with my health and fitness level? "Before" pictures, of course. Doesn't that sound awful? I'm putting it off, but will definitely be doing it today and NO, I will NOT be posting these. :) Perhaps in 6 months when I'm lean and confident I'll then share them, but I'm thinking probably no! Pictures tell no lies and are often motivation for many to want to lose a couple or 20 pounds. I plan to take my photos weekly and in the same clothes so I can really tell the difference. It's funny...I took weekly photos of myself when I was pregnant so I could see my belly grow. That was so much more fun that this!
I also have my "skinny" jeans. I'm still deciding if I should use these as my goal. I could care less about size, I just want to feel good in my clothes and those jeans represent a time in my life where I was very active and felt great with a lot of energy. I did put them on the other day and the button and button hold did not even come close to meeting! I think I'll also take a picture of me in those weekly.
As far as my actual weight - I'm not sure if I should go by my scale weight. I'll keep up with it because it'll be nice to see the number go down, but as far as the goal goes - I think it's just to get back into my 3 HUGE rubbermaid containers full of a past wardrobe of mine!
I'm going to weigh myself weekly only....or I'll try....perhaps I'll have Wes hide the scale and only bring it out on Sunday's. Ugh, I'm getting a sick feeling to my stomach. Why in the world did I choose to share this on this public blog? Now I really have to uphold my goals. Blah.
Off to weigh and take a picture and do my 3rd CrossFit workout - my legs are still rubber from my first workout a week ago - squats. Only squats. Without weights. Perhaps I'll get to the point I can actually use weights by summer...or at least the end of the year.
I have a feeling that 2010 is going to be a great year for my family! We have so many possibilities in front of us and that's exciting! We haven't officially set goals. I'm not sure if we really will. We have a lot of fun things planned - a 7-day cruise this month (first time we'll be away from our son - yikes!), several CrossFit competitions for Wes, a CrossFit certification class for Wes so he can become a coach, a move back to our home in Savannah, a possible vacation to Michigan in the late summer with my in-laws (when it's 100+ degrees here), continuing to watch Smith learn and grow and become even more wonderful, watch our friend's children do the same and just continuing to find good, wholesome, natural ways to improve our quality of life.
So, how should I start the new year off so I can gauge my progress with my health and fitness level? "Before" pictures, of course. Doesn't that sound awful? I'm putting it off, but will definitely be doing it today and NO, I will NOT be posting these. :) Perhaps in 6 months when I'm lean and confident I'll then share them, but I'm thinking probably no! Pictures tell no lies and are often motivation for many to want to lose a couple or 20 pounds. I plan to take my photos weekly and in the same clothes so I can really tell the difference. It's funny...I took weekly photos of myself when I was pregnant so I could see my belly grow. That was so much more fun that this!
I also have my "skinny" jeans. I'm still deciding if I should use these as my goal. I could care less about size, I just want to feel good in my clothes and those jeans represent a time in my life where I was very active and felt great with a lot of energy. I did put them on the other day and the button and button hold did not even come close to meeting! I think I'll also take a picture of me in those weekly.
As far as my actual weight - I'm not sure if I should go by my scale weight. I'll keep up with it because it'll be nice to see the number go down, but as far as the goal goes - I think it's just to get back into my 3 HUGE rubbermaid containers full of a past wardrobe of mine!
I'm going to weigh myself weekly only....or I'll try....perhaps I'll have Wes hide the scale and only bring it out on Sunday's. Ugh, I'm getting a sick feeling to my stomach. Why in the world did I choose to share this on this public blog? Now I really have to uphold my goals. Blah.
Off to weigh and take a picture and do my 3rd CrossFit workout - my legs are still rubber from my first workout a week ago - squats. Only squats. Without weights. Perhaps I'll get to the point I can actually use weights by summer...or at least the end of the year.
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