Phit-N-Phat...Making Fitness and Weightloss a Lifestyle

Are You Smarter Than Your Kid?

I received a blog today that was so great for discussing the idea of treats versus snacks with your kids. If you have a chance, take time to read it!

The author defines a snack as...

Healthy snacks are a good part of a healthy, balanced diet and include whole fruits, vegetables, whole grain breads, low fat cheese, low fat yogurt, nuts and many other delicious, real foods in reasonable portions that are good for us.  Healthy snacks don’t fill us up, but satisfy us enough to make it to the next meal.  Portions are small and controlled.

Then the author defines a treat as...

Treats on the other hand are usually high-sugar, high-fat, processed and/or fried foods that should be eaten very sparingly.  Treats are often served for dessert after lunch or dinner, but also come in the form of muffins (aka CAKE!), sugary breakfasts, donuts and soft drinks.  Treats should be eaten no more then once a day- and preferably much less!

After reading this I thought about all the people that apply to PNP and their applications. I ask them for a sample of their REAL diet...what are you eating routinely that brought you to me AND give the HONEST truth about your weekends.

I am not picking on one person because anyone who needs to lose weight has done this (raising hand WILDLY here), but our life is a big-ass treat! We toss in some healthy stuff and think we should lose weight instantly. Notice I said SOME healthy stuff and not a rare treat.

That's the problem today. We forget in this country just how much of life is made up of treats. We have been conditioned that life is a system of constant reward. We watch whatever we want on TV, surf the net, and have privileges others don't, You want to know why other countries are thinner? They don't have access to as much crap, TV, computers, games, and cars as we do.

People, the things you aren't willing to give up to lose weight aren't owed to you; you have forgotten something as simple as the difference between a snack and a treat. Or, walking versus exercise??? We got legs to move our bodies. Walking isn't exercise...it's what you are SUPPOSED to do or you lose your life.   

I'm not saying tomorrow you go whole hog black and white thinking. What I am saying is that each time you look at a cookie think about everything and anything else you are eating that day. Is your cookie really a treat or is it the treat for that one meal?

It still comes down to this: you don't have to count calories, wear a heart rate monitor, or have elaborate equipment. You make sure what you put in your mouth is healthy, move your legs daily, and you are winning the battle.

Holiday Lifestyle: Quick Grocery Tips for the Family Dinner

We are all so busy in the holiday season! Running around, shopping, dropping off gifts, visiting family all can lead you to hitting the drive-thrus, having one too many chocolate Santas, and forgetting just where the gym is located. Well, ladies, let me teach you how to have a hectic holiday season and still wear your pre-holiday pants by New Years.

The next few weeks I will feature some holiday blogs and my PNP clients from the forums are helping me by giving you the gift of their best tips. I also invite you to spread the cheer by commenting on your own ideas and questions. Let's make this a season of celebrating and love, not calories and chub.

Drive Thru or Grocery Store
Many people will opt to run by a drive-thru and get food versus running into the grocery store to pick up a pre-cooked dinner. It might take a few extra minutes (maybe not with some drive-thru lines) but you get so much more healthier food than for CHEAP!

A client of mine just recently did this. She was soooo tempted to stop and pick up a bunch of burgers for her family. She's tired and had a long day. Knowing that this would be the easiest thing to do she decided it wouldn't be the thing in two hours she would feel good about. We all know how it goes; what's easy is often the same thing you will re-hash in disgust for the next twelve hours.

Now THAT is some wasted time.

So, she ran into the grocery store. If it was you going into the store, what would you grab that you can put on the table in less than ten minutes? I would grab:

• a rotisserie chicken fully cooked and ready to go
• a bag of mixed lettuces for a salad and some baby carrots bagged to put on top
• a can of veggies (Logan loves green beans, black beans, and corn so one of those)
• a bag of frozen brown rice
• lowfat vanilla yogurt and fresh berry or frozen berries

When I get home I would:

• Throw the brown rice in the microwave.
• Put the canned veggie on stove on medium with a touch of EVOO for a healthy fat.
• Pull off the skin of the chicken and toss and then make a bowl of the meat quickly stripped off the bone.
• Throw the lettuce in bowls and top with carrots and dressing.
• Pull out the rice, mix in 1 tbsp of Smart Beat Butter, a touch of salt, put on plate and top with chicken.
• Put veggie on side.
• Call everyone to eat and while they make their way to the table mix the berries into the yogurt and sit out for dessert. (If the berries are frozen I would nuke for a couple of minutes then mix with yogurt.)

Ummm...this meal is about $15 for everything. You probably have leftovers for your lunch tomorrow. A nice big chicken salad with some black beans or corn would be great!

I can have all of that done in less than 10 minutes and feel good about what I am eating, what my family eats, and know my body will appreciate the effort. :)

So, do you have ideas for drive-thru alternatives OR HEALTHY things to ORDER in the drive-thru? Remember, a lot of items can be made healthy with some creativity.

Don't Give the Gift of Fat: What to do with unwanted candy and goodies

Oh my. It's that time of year again. EVERYONE is unloading all that candy they don't want in THEIR HOUSE into the offices. Maybe your kids are fighting, demanding too much of it, or you can't control yourself; whatever the case, you want the candy out.

And, let's not forget, this is the time of year everyone thinks baking for the office is such a "sweet gesture." PUHLEASE SISTA! Don't kid yourself. Most women think this...

"Ooooohhh...something smells good. I'm getting some of that." That's at noon.

"Ohhhhh...I shouldn't have ate the fresh cookies in the kitchen. I've blown it." That's at 4:00 p.m.

"Grrrr...that B!tch who brought in all those goodies. She got me off my diet! Now I'm going to have a gain so I might as well eat XYZ tonight." That's at 5:30 p.m.

"Sob, sob, sob (this is tears). Honey, that woman brought all that stuff in today and I just know there will be leftovers tomorrow. I am going to have to be strong AND I'm not going by her desk either. No telling what she's got over there." That's 10 p.m. and BTW...the hubby doesn't care for your gift of fat either!

Stop the madness! You want to do something for the office? How about organizing a charity walk, a toy drive, or collecting the leftover candy for an overseas military charity? TRUST ME...people would be better off and more impressed with than the endless bunch of junk you are carting into the office.

So, let me help you out.

• Operation Gratitude - Ship by Dec. 5 to Operation Gratitude/California Army National Guard, 17330 Victory Blvd., Van Nuys, CA 91406. Attn: Charlie Othold.
• Homeless Shelters are always in need of food. If you want to bake brownies, cookies, etc., ask people in your office to have a day everyone brings in holiday cooking and you take to a women's shelter or homeless shelter.
• Senior homes need company and treats, too. Rather than bringing donuts to the office, take them to the senior home and visit in the common room 30 min. before work.
• Tell your kids the candy fairy will visit them and give them 10 cents for every piece of candy they leave in their basket. Then ship off that candy to the troops!

The point I am making is that holidays have somehow become food-days. I'm not saying eat carrots and chicken. I am saying it TWO DAYS. Thanksgiving and Christmas. Enjoy those days. The rest of the days let's remember those who will not have family, friends, and loved ones to celebrate.

Recognizing Your Successes in Weightloss

Recently I had a client journal her thoughts about an evening she had. In her mind it wasn't a success. Here's the discussion and you tell me if you agree with my assessment. I hope you learn about some of the changes you can make that can add up quickly. She's lost five pounds her first month with just dropping a few old habits.

Today is day 21 for me.  Last night was not good.  I just wanted to eat but I ate my planned meal.  I was not physically hungry and just wanted that full feeling.  I did not have any of my old unhealthy snacks in the house like cake, frozen pizza or pizza rolls.  I know I cannot just have a serving of those so I've stopped buying them. 

I resisted the feeling at first. It wasn't a craving because it was not for anything in particular.  I just wanted to feel full knowing I was satisfied with my planned dinner.  I ate a bowl of cheerios with fiber one and crasins and that didn't do it. Later I ate the skinless chicken thighs that I had pre-cooked for my dinner on Friday. 

Afterwards I felt full, physically and emotionally I felt like crap.  I let myself down by giving in when I knew I was not really hungry.  Hopefully, by writing this I'll remember for next time.

On the positive I did write it in my journal and calculate it.  I was 715 over my calories for the day.  I'd have been fine if I'd stuck to my plan. 

Today is another chance. Good thing I don't have to lose it all overnight.

 

From Me!

You know, you have a lot to be proud of here. Let me spell it out for you. :)

1. You stopped buying the high calorie, empty nutrition junk! That means you avoided double the calories I'm sure you would've consumed. Good for you!

2. You thought about what you were doing. This means you are breaking an old habit of just eating to feel full even when you don't care if you do. Another huge step. It was probably a nightly habit to do it and now you notice when you are falling into an old habit.

3. You journaled and admitted it. AMEN! Now you will remember it. If you don't get the loss you want this week you will know why. I can promise you in a week from now you will only remember all the RIGHT things you did and not little things that might slow you down. EXCELLENT GIRL! I wish everyone would do this.

4. You ate good stuff for you. You got in protein, a fruit, some fiber, etc. Maybe you did eat more calories and only wanted a feeling but you AT LEAST put in something other than empty sugar carbs.

5. I am going to bet your body is looking to lose some weight. VERY OFTEN when you feel this way suddenly one night it's because your body is looking to burn off some fat. Especially when you have more to lose your body will start kicking up the metabolism. Be aware of it and just feed it a little more food on those days. Keep it healthy and you will be fine.

Last, I'm a full kind of gal myself. I like volume and I enjoy the feeling of full. It's not a good thing to want to just feel like busting out the seams when you eat, but every now and then it's OK to satisfy the full feeling if you are willing to do it with healthy food.

What I do is slow my eating down (I'm a woofer), drink a lot of water with my meal, and try to remember each meal that I don't need to feel bloated to be satisfied. Most of the time it works. Sometimes it doesn't. But what does happen is that I cut a lot of calories by sometimes be strong enough to stop.

Good work girl.

Help Prevent Loose Skin While Losing Weight

Lord knows after losing 110lbs I've done a ton of research on loose skin. There's a lot to it and this post is about what to eat and do while you LOSE weight so you will have the least amount of damage at the end.

Unfortunately, I waited too long to start a lot of this and that's why I've had plastic surgery to get to the latest eight week post op pics. I'm not ashamed for taking this route of surgery; I am ashamed it took me 30 years before waking up and doing something about my health! For those who are knew to my blog - I worked five years at trying to tighten up and then went to my wonderful plastic surgeon for help.

You can see I still got some swelling going on and that is supposed to only last SIX MONTHS! I've have patience though.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These days, I practice a lot of the suggestions I'm giving you because I do have pockets of skin left. Not much but I am all about doing all I can to make things as tight as possible. This blog I discussed things like exfoliation, vitamins, etc.

Strength Training: Girls this is your number ONE defense against loose skin. Cardio queens you are simply eating muscle away and not burning off fat. ST is what burns the max calories in your body and gives your body shape. Do enough of just cardio and you will find yourself a big mess of loose skin and you will wonder why you look FAT at goal weight.

In the two photos below I weighed 145lbs, 140lbs and today I weigh 140lbs. It took me a lot of wasted hours to rebuild what I could have done while losing weight. 

 

My 5 In 45 Minute Workouts will help you. I have beginner and intermediate versions. I also have a GREAT Treadmill Bootcamp for those who need the cardio and strength combined in the same session.

Foods: EAT THIS WITH YOUR DIET!

I can't say enough about eating healthy foods. It makes me feel good and it makes me PROUD to see what good I am doing my body. It wasn't always the case in my weightloss and since cleaning up my act I can attest my skin, muscles, and face look 100% better.

Your most important foods based on what they do for clarity and elasticity:

Omega 3 Fatty Acids: Your body needs the oils to help the skin build more collagen and to keep tight. It also helps keep whiteheads and blackheads at bay! Add things like walnuts, pecans, almonds, salmon, flax seed, chia seeds, and fish oil caps to your daily intake.

Silica: Silica is a trace mineral that strengthens the body's connective tissues and is vital for healthy skin. Silica deficiency can result in reduced skin elasticity and can hamper the body's ability to heal wounds. Food sources of silica include leeks, green beans, garbanzo beans, strawberries, cucumber, mango, celery, asparagus and rhubarb.

Water: You got to drink it!!!!

Some other foods that are good to add in your menus simply for their skin elasticity properties: spinach, berries, artichoke hearts, kale, collard greens, broccoli, corn, and egg yolks.

LOSE SLOWLY!

I know we all want our body TOMORROW, but losing slow with strength training WILL HELP you the MOST to love what you end up with. Honestly, most of us will have loose skin. If you have stretch marks you will. It's the price you pay for pleasure today.

Just keep in mind you can minimize it some. 50 extra pounds is a lot harder to hide than 10lbs of loose skin. Good luck and ask me questions. I'm an amazing resource for what it is like to be on the other side of a lifetime of fat.

Snacks Are Your Lifeline to Losing Weight

Man, when I was in the 200's for most of my life I honestly didn't snack much. The only time I ate a snack was when I would skip McDonald's on the way to work. Then my snack was walking across the street with a co-worker for gas station cappuccino, and a package of Snackwell Fat Free Cookies or a big ole plastic wrapped cookie.

This was before Starbucks and when I look back it is NO FREAKING WONDER I felt miserable all the time. That cappuccino at the gas station is a straight up sugar bomb - fat free or not - and both of the cookies are, too. Heck the regular cookie is probably better because there is some kind of fat in there to blunt the sugar coma coming up.

Now a days I am big advocate of eating five to six times a day. I live by it. Depending on my day, sometimes my snacks are more like little meals in the 250 calorie range. That's when I'm going to be working for most of the day at home and can graze more. The days I will be on the road all day working remotely I like to make my main meals larger and my snacks light, grab-and-go stuff in the 150 calorie range.

These are my ideas and what I eat.

Fruits: I eat fruit all the time. I often eat a 1/2 cup of fruit before I start making dinner, an apple in the car, a small bag of grapes after a cardio workout, etc. NEVER feel guilty about eating some fruit. My favorite question to people is always this: Did you seriously put on your weight because of an addiction to fruit? HELL NO! You got fat because you didn't TURN TO FRUIT and you went for shiny wrapper.

Nuts: I pre-bag them when I get the can at the store. The most healthy yet lethal snack can be a can nuts. Have them portioned so when you are hungry you have the calorie control built right in to your snack. I pair nuts with protein shakes because it tends to fill me up nicely.

Protein Shakes: I make my own with Optimum Nutrition and Lean Dessert. Those are my favorite brands. I often mix it with water, ice, a tbsp of sugar free pudding to make thicker, and some fruit. I also buy EAS Carb Control shakes when I'm rushing and I keep Slim Fast Shakes for when I am caught needing something to hold me longer in between a snack and meal.

Protein Bars: I keep a few on hand for emergencies! To me a protein bar is a treat like a candy bar. In a pinch or at TOM they are great to keep you from eating worse but I hate when I see people build a daily protein bar into their plan. Only if you have no other choice do I advise this. Eat food. Get used to eating REAL FOOD.

Now, these are some things I combine.

• Banana Nut Protein Muffins with one tbsp of peanut butter on top or 100 calories worth of nuts
• Corinne's EZ Protein Bars with 8 oz. of unsweetened almond milk
• Cucumber Red Pepper Salad tossed with 3/4 cup of cottage cheese
• 1/2 cup of cottage cheese, 1 tsp of peanut butter, 1/4 cup of dry oats mixed with 1 packet of Splenda
• 3/4 cup of cottage cheese, 1/4 cup of berries, 1 packet of Strawberry Crystal Light
• Protein Pudding
• 100 calorie bag of popcorn and 1/4 cup of pumpkin seeds
• 1 pc of Ezekial Bread with 1 slice of 2% cheese, sliced tomatoes, 1 tsp of Light Miracle Whip
• 1/2 cup of brown rice, 1 tbsp of light cream cheese, 1/4 of blueberries, 1 packet of Splenda

I also like greek yogurt with fruit, a turkey sandwich, 200 calories worth of salad topped with cottage cheese, beef jerky, Fiber One with greek yogurt, small low carb wrap stuffed with cut veggies and 1 tbsp of hummus and a drizzle of light dressing, and just some chicken breast with a half sweet potato.

In the end, my goal with food is to make the WORST choices be things like a little Splenda, leaning on a protein bar in an emergency, and such. I try hard to keep my food healthy as possible so I don't have to get caught up in counting calories and macros. To look good and lose weight you WILL be successful if you cut out crap. It doesn't have to be overnight but you have to start making the effort.

I hope this helps and if you have your own ideas feel free to post them in the comments. Questions are welcome, too!

Clean Eats...It's What for Dinner

Now we are at dinner time. Ring the bell because here's what I eat a lot. Ya'll know it can be tough for me to cook dinner at night. Often Logan has therapy that runs into dinner hour and when my boy is ready to eat...HE IS READY TO EAT. A lot of what we eat is what I call fast-clean-food.

Let's start with when I do cook. Now, before you say, "My kid won't eat that," MINE does. Why? I don't offer anything else. Sure he gets to have fun stuff, too, but when we do healthy dinner that's what we have. When we do "junk" that's what we have. I don't make a second dinner and Logan has learned eat what Momma gives you or you don't eat.

By the looks of his plates he eats what Momma gives him. Score!

• Salmon, Atlantic Cod, Shrimp - I just grill it or broil it with some Kroger Grilling Time for Seafood.
• We usually pair these with brown rice, sweet potato, baked potato, fresh salad (light dressing), fresh cut tomatoes, peas, black beans, green beans, or white beans. I typically will have some type of fresh fruit on the plate, too, for Logan.

Normally, I will pick a rice/potato, serve salad or tomatoes, and then choose a bean. Logan loves beans. We do fruit as a dessert.

• Breakfast for dinner. Anything I put out for breakfast we do.
• Kashi GoLean Waffles and eggs (egg whites for me), Oatmeal with greek yogurt and fruit mixed, Eggs and peanut butter toast, and protein pancakes and fruit.

Breakfast is a favorite in our house so it is EASY, QUICK and Logan's favorite meal. I can get good calcium, protein, and fruits in quite easy. If he's in a great mood I mix in some tomatoes and spinach to the eggs.

• Big Salad with a protein of choice. That's mainly just me. I do a salad that has loads of vegetables in it that I make up on Sunday and toss in a variety of protein based on the calories I have left for the day.
• Grilled chicken, grilled fish leftover from when I cooked, can of tuna mixed with spicy mustard and a little cottage cheese, serving of chic peas with 1/2 cup of cottage cheese, packet of Starkist's Salmon Creations Chipolte Mango, or two Boca Burgers cooked and diced up to toss on top.

Sometimes I will stick some leftover roasted vegetables on there, too, with some reduced fat feta cheese. That's tasty.

Stuff I cook that we like...

• Chicken and Black Bean Soup
• Power Chicken
• Protein Chili
• Stuffed Peppers

Easy cook things we like also...

• Laura's Lean Hamburger patties on Whole Grain buns with green beans or a salad.
• Turkey Burger patties with cheese and beans.
• Macaroni and Cheese (I eat Weight Watchers and the boys eat Easy Mac) and we have it with green beans, tomato slices and a fruit for dessert.
• Ezekial bread egg sandwich with cheese and tomato served with fruit bowls.
• Hamburger Helper made with almond milk, no butter, and just use extra water. I also use ground turkey breast and will make a vegetable or salad for the side dish.
• Egg salad (just mustard, light MW, cumin, celery seed to taste) on Ezekial break toast or Wasa Crackers, raw baby carrots, and fruit and yogurt.

Lots of vegetables I keep cut up are red peppers, zucchini, yellow peppers, and baby carrots. I also roast each week two to three pan-fulls of cut up vegetables (zucchini, squash, broccoli, egg plant,white onion, and anything else that looks good). To roast I mix 2-3 tbsp of EVOO, 4-5 tbsp of Balsamic Vinegar, salt, pepper, oregano, basil, red pepper, stir it up and toss with raw veggies. Throw into the roasting pan on 400 for about 40 min. Delish! I do it all to taste. The amount of stuff I mix together depends on how many vegetables we're eating.

Hope this helps! Tomorrow is snacks and we're done with what I eat.

Lunch Bunch!

We talked about what I like to eat for breakfast, so now we will talk about lunch. On Sunday during my big prep day I make a huge bowl of salad. I use it for lunch and dinner and it's the spring board for many things I cook. What I love about the salad is that it knocks out a lot of vegetable for the day. Even if I'm not eating a "salad" for lunch I at least have a side salad of this base to start because it just makes getting vegetables in so simple.

Salad Base
2 heads of Red Leaf Lettuce
1 bag or bunch of spinach leaves torn
1 head of other lettuce that looks good
1 bunch of fresh cilantro OR parsley chopped
1 container of cherry tomatoes halved
1 cucumber diced
1 bunch of green onions
1 red pepper diced
1 zucchini diced

You can add any vegetables you want to this. I try to use what's the best looking when I'm shopping. Don't put dressing on until you are ready to use! I made that mistake one Sunday and by Friday I was eating salad soup.

Dressing
1/2 tbsp of EVOO
2-3 tbsp of Balsamic Vinegar
1 packet of Splenda
1 tsp of Ground Mustard
Dash of Chili Powder

I make some of this to use as a dressing. I also like to use Kraft Done Right dressings in a pinch. Roasted Garlic and Pepper is good and Chris and Logan like it. I'm not much of a dressing girl, though. MOST of the time I just use some balsamic vinegar and go.

Another good way to make dressing is to take a 1/4 cup of cottage cheese and mix it with some type of Sweet and Spicy type mustard. Just stir and then put on salad and toss. Gets you a little protein and calcium without trying really hard.

Lunch Ideas On the Go and Fun!
I keep frozen food because I never know when I have to run out the door or I'm wanting something fun versus what I have cooked. Honestly, ya'll, I do a prep each week but I am not above wanting Mexican, pizza, and other things you love, too. The difference is that when I want it I have planned ahead for those cravings by keeping a suitable fall back in the kitchen.

That keeps me from running for the border and trust me, I can put a hurt on Nachos Bell Grande with some Supreme Tacos on the side. Seriously, I WILL ALWAYS WANT JUNK FOOD but I CHOOSE to eat other things because I HATED myself back then.

So, if you like to eat crap food like I do you HAVE TO FIND things that are going to see you through these times that are easy to get your hands on and that you will feel successful when you have it. Here's some of those things.

 

Cedarlane Products- Beans and Rice and Roasted Veggie and Cheese are my favorites! The Cedarlane brand is by Dr. Sears who is the author of The Zone. They have solid products and many organic versions. I like them because I don't feel like I'm getting a bunch of junky stuff when I want to eat something easy.

 

You will still want to look at the calories. Not everything is low calorie but a lot of it is.

Pizza wise I love South Beach Diet Pizzas. I just haven't found another brand that can rival the taste and the protein in them. Not clean but they are certainly good and beat dialing up Domino's. I've even ate two when I was super hungry and wanted to "splurge". 700 calories for two and let me tell you, when I want to eat and want to eat a splurge it wouldn't be anything for me to put down a half to full pizza. I didn't get to 250 by half-assing my eating just like I didn't get to 140 by being unrealistic with my habits and desires.

The other awesome trick I have with the SBD is that I cook it up for road trips and eat it cold several hours later. I just put in a Ziploc sandwich bag and toss in the cooler. Makes me feel like I'm having a treat when everyone else is having McDonald's.

What I Eat Routinely
I keep the following in the kitchen and rotate these things each week:

• Big salad topped with can of tuna mixed with 1 tsp of Light Miracle Whip and 1 tbsp of mustard, 1 apple
• 5 oz. of Chicken cooked in either salsa or terriyaki marinade over 2 cups of roasted vegetables
• 5 oz. of Chicken in a low carb wrap with spinach leaves, 1 cup of baby carrots dipped in Sweet and Spicy Mustard
• 3 oz. of grilled Salmon on big salad
• 2 hard boiled eggs mashed with mustard and celery seed and cumin, red pepper strips, and toasted Ezekial Bread made into a sandwich and have salad with it
• 4 egg white spinach and onion omelet (made in microwave) on toasted Ezekial Bread, 1 slice of 2% cheese, 1/2 sweet potato
• 1 baked potato with 1/2 cup of cottage mixed in and topped with salsa. I eat this with a salad
• Big salad tossed with 1/2 cup of black beans and lentils mixed, feta cheese, and a few nuts of choice

Normally if you look in my fridge or panty I have:

• Hardboiled eggs
• The Big Salad
• Apples, strawberries, blueberries, grapefruit, and grapes at minimum
• Pre-bagged 4-5 oz. chicken breasts cut up and cooked already for salads and sandwiches
• Low Carb Wraps, Ezekial Bread
• Baby Carrots, Spinach, Red Pepper Strips, Chopped Green Onions
• Salmon and Cod we have for dinner almost every Sunday night so I have leftover fish for a day or two for salads and wraps
• Cans of tuna
• Cartons of egg whites, cottage cheese, and 2% cheese shredded and sliced
• Cooked and bagged cold sweet potatoes (great to chase with protein shake after a workout)
• Baking potatoes to pop in the microwave
• Salsa, mustard, lite MW, Crystal Light, Splenda, Protein Powder, Sugar Free Pudding and Jello Powders
• Cans of beans and other vegetables for quick sides (I often will want Macaroni and Cheese and eat a WW version with a can of green beans mixed in - sounds weird but it's good)
• Nuts already bagged into 1 and 1/2 oz portions

What Does Corinne Eat To Keep Her Weight Off?

I had someone ask me what does my food look like now that I am not using Weight Watchers. Good question! Amazing how so few of you ask me specifically about stuff I do or do not do to keep 110lbs off my body. I forget you all don't live with me even though I feel like I live and know all of you!

I thought this week I would do one meal part each day. I hope you guys enjoy!

Breakfast
First, here's a great post I wrote awhile back about it.

I don't vary a lot because I LOVE me some oatmeal. Literally, I eat it almost daily and just change up what goes in it. I even make a bowl and eat it in the car because it's so good.

With a base of a 1/2 cup of cooked oats (I use old fashioned and microwave for three minutes):

• 1/2 cup of cottage cheese, 1 container of Carb Control yogurt (from Kroger), 1/2 cup of berries to compliment whatever yogurt I'm using for the day
• 1 yogurt, 1 oz of nuts
• 6 egg whites chopped up on top, 1 packet of Splenda, 1 tsp of cinnamon
• 1 tbsp of peanut butter, 1/2 scoop of chocolate protein powder
• 1/2 banana, 1/2 oz of pecans
• 1/2 cup of pumpkin, 1 tbsp of sunflower seeds, 1 tsp of nutmeg
• 1/2 cup of cottage cheese, 1/2 cup of Fiber One (when I need more regularity)

If I'm not doing oatmeal I must be in a huge rush and I grab an EAS Carb Control shake, an apple, and a hardboiled egg. I keep at least five in the drawer at all times. They are quick and easy to grab and get healthy fat and protein in me.

Sometimes I will make french toast out of 4 pieces of low calories Nature's Own bread. I mix up some egg whites with all spice, 1 packet of Splenda and then dip my bread lightly. I "fry" it in non-stick. If you like sugar free syrup you can use it but I don't. I take some blueberries and strawberries, mash them with a fork then microwave them to get them juicy. 30 seconds at a time.

I also love Fiber One. I will do 1.5 cups of it with 8 oz. of Unsweetened Almond Milk and I mix in the Almond Milk a 1/2 scoop of Lean Dessert Cinnamon Roll protein powder.

Breakfast is my FAVORITE meal of the day. I wake up GIDDY to eat it. Seriously, it's the one meal that I truly love. When I was growing up and into adulthood, I didn't eat breakfast. I felt miserable and overate at night. I know now that starting my day with 300-400 solid calories starts my day right and helps me stay healthy and on the wagon the rest of the day.

Teach Your Loved Ones Portion Control

In our PNP client forums, one of my BRILLIANT girls (Jill - she's in the middle of our HAWTMESS) posted something today so worthy of a blog. Here it goes...

 

Normally I only portion out 'my snacks' which can get me in trouble when I get into John's snacks. So I  portioned out his, too. He wasn't really happy when he saw how SMALL a portion was of trail mix... BUT I said 'dude take 2 or 3 packs if you want.' I also said, 'that's a weighed portion of 160 calories'.

 

 

When I read this I IMMEDIATELY thought how smart this is on several levels.

 

1. She realized a weakness...her family's food.

We all eat OUR food just fine most days. It's the STUFF that is off limits that we end up bingeing with. If we ate a portioned amount of "crap" it could be called a treat rather than a fall off the wagon and landing in a pile of Cheetos experience.

 

 

2. She isn't demanding anyone to do her "diet."

The great thing in this lesson is that although she is ready to change her lifestyle her family isn't. That's OK. Rome wasn't built in a day. Jill is allowing tempting foods in the house in a way she can control. Both people win.

 

3. She is SUBTELY teaching the ideas of portion control and acknowledging calories.

WOW! This is the best part to me. Our husbands and kids typically have no idea what is a true serving. They don't care most of the time, either. The last thing they want is a lecture about it.

A NON-THREATENING way to teach them is to have foods bagged. They SEE what portions are. You can even write the calories on the bags. Say YOU need it in the event you eat some. Talk about teaching nutritional lessons without being preachy.

It's cheap, too! You can bag something pretty quick and save a ton of money versus 100-calorie snack packs.

This is such a good start to teaching a healthy lifestyle to our loved ones. It's a great start to ridding the house of foods NO ONE should be eating. Making them aware of the portion sizes of the junk and then having the good stuff you are eating portioned out might make them think about making a healthier, larger portioned choice.

Let's discuss this in comments because I think this is such a good topic.

 

 

 

 

How many of you are MORE tempted by what your family eats?

Have you ever had your family get mad at you for making them all go on diet?

Has your family ever "beat you down" to get "good food" when you are trying to lose weight?

What things can you start portioning to save you and them some calories and what things of YOUR DIET FOOD might make them switch what they eat?

 

Let's get talking and creative because I think this can help a lot of women out there.