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

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.

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.

Vegetables for Weightloss

My most successful weightloss clients find creative ways to add vegetables to their day. It's critical to our weightloss but it's ESSENTIAL for our long term health. Remember, it's all fine and good to lose your weight but if you do it in a way that doesn't put you on the earth looking HAWT a long time...well, what's the point?

I work hard at making sure that veggies get into not only my menu, but also Chris and Logan's menu. Too often I read where my clients work hard at eating right and then forget to start changing some of the habits of those around them.  No wonder so many people have a hard time staying on the weightloss wagon. You eat super healthy while everyone around you continues to live it up on sugar bombs and fried pies. By slowly changing the habits of your loved ones you make their health better and you rid yourself of tempting no-no's.

Today I want to focus on ways to get those vegetables in your daily diet. I routinely eat my 5-9 servings a day. It's much easier than you think if you get creative about adding them to your day.

Adding Vegetables Is EASY!

• Start your day with a vegetable omelet.
• Drink V8 with your oatmeal.
• Eat a huge salad with loads of mixed vegetables every night with dinner.
• Do like Mammy! Eat veggie soup with your dinner if you don't like salads.
• Buy spaghetti sauce and add in stir fried peppers, spinach and broccoli. Serve on top of a potato, whole grain pasta, or quinoa.

This is Asian Weight Watcher Veggie Soup. It looks delicious and you can easily pair this with some grilled chicken or a veggie burger.

This website, A Veggie Venture, actually has several wonderful recipes for soups and vegetable dishes.

One of my own favorites is Roasted Brocolli.

Simply take one bag of broccoli. It needs to be dry. Using a spritzer, spray the broccoli a couple of times with EVOO. Use salt, pepper, and diced garlic and mix the broccoli. Place in shallow cooking dish and cook for 15-20 min. at 425 degrees. Toss one time in middle of cooking. When it comes out, spray a little lemon juice on top. DELICIOUS.

Anyone have good ideas or recipes for incorporating more vegetables into your day?

Mammy Goes Out of Town

Mammy went to Louisville this weekend to pick up my niece from some summer vacation. She stayed at a hotel and did a great job. She's lost 37 lbs now and is going to my women's retreat and fitness camp this weekend. We've worked HARD getting her ready and making exercises she can do to work around her shoulder and ankle injuries. I'm so excited to be able to show off my mom at camp as my next big success story. If Mammy can do it....SO CAN YOU!

Click here to see a message from Mammy!

Here's what Mammy had to say about her weekend.

I did well on the weekend.  On the way, we stopped at Arby's and I just ate a snack that I brought in my purse (no sugar applesauce with a handful of walnuts).  We got to the hotel, and there was a Subway within walking distance.  I unpacked, and walked to Subway. I got a chicken sandwich with no mayo or cheese, but all the veggies I like (lettuce, tomato, onion, bell pepper, cucumber, and pickles) with spicy mustard, oregano,  and black pepper. 

The convenience store next to Subway I decided to pick up some Slim Fast, water, pretzels.  I ate 1/2 of the sandwich for supper and the other half for lunch on Saturday.  I drank the Slim Fast after my workout in their gym.  I actually got on a treadmill and walked 30 minutes.  I could have gone longer but it was so hot in there.  The AC was set and locked on 85 degrees.  I was sweating like no other. 

There was a Cracker Barrel a little further down the road. I walked to it for breakfast both mornings and had two Poached eggs, plain grits, grilled chicken, dry whole wheat toast.  The only "treat" was I got hash brown casserole.  Like you, I love the potato!  

On Saturday night we went to a Hibachi place and I got the Sirloin and Lobster entree (where the cook it in front of you) and instead of fried rice, I got the plain steamed rice and ate my veggies: mushrooms, onion, zucchini.  Orange for dessert.  After dinner, everyone wanted to go to Dairy Queen.  They all had ice cream but me. 

The other exercise I did was swimming.  I swam Friday night after supper and most of the day on Saturday. I was puffy this morning I guess from the long car ride or sodium rich foods but I still lost 0.6 lbs.  Not much but it's a loss and not a gain. 

Here's a recipe from Mammy that she included in her menu this week.

Penne Pasta with Shrimp and Asparagus

Ingredients:

3/4 Package of Whole Wheat Penne Pasta
Drizzle of olive oil
1/4 cup chopped red onion
2 bunches of asparagus (cut into bite size pieces)
Fresh basil chopped
2 TB of minced garlic (more or less depending on your taste)
1/8 Teaspoon of Cayennne Pepper (more or less you decide)
1 TB of Italian seasoning
1/4 cup white white (can substitute chicken broth)
2 14.5 ounce cans diced tomatoes
1 pound of peeled, deveined shrimp
Grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Cook pasta 8 to 10 minutes (al dente; drain).

Heat oil in skillet over medium heat, stir in onion, garlic, asparagus, basil, red pepper, Italian seasoning until veggies are just tender.  Mix in wine and tomatoes, and cook for 10 more minutes, stirring occasionally.

Mix shrimp into the skillet and cook 5 minutes or until shrimp is opaque.  Toss with pasta and top with Parmesan cheese.

Makes 6 servings and is about 450 calories per serving

 

I hope to have a few videos and pictures of her progress after this weekend. She's been doing an excellent job and this weekend will be a first for her. Wish her good luck!

What's So Great About Asparagus?

You see asparagus in competitor diets for several reasons: it's a mild diuretic, low in calories (24 calories per cup or raw), and provides some electrolyte balance since you sweat your tail off hours a day with cardio!

Runner's World sent an email today with even more information about asparagus...things I didn't even know. I'm definitely putting it into my post-surgery menu. Now to just teach Chris how to bake it for me. Hmmmm...does this guy look like a cook?

From Runner's World...

GOOD: As a side dish
One cup of asparagus spears supplies 115 percent of your Daily Value for vitamin K, which is vital for bone health, and 65 percent of your Daily Value for folate, a B vitamin that promotes healthy blood cells and helps prevent birth defects.
GET IT: Steam asparagus spears for about five minutes, or until tender. Drizzle with olive oil and a squeeze of fresh lemon.

BETTER: In a salad
Many runners--especially those who avoid meat--don't get enough iron; that's because nonmeat sources of the mineral, such as vegetables and grains, are not as readily absorbed. But eating foods high in vitamin C, like asparagus, increases iron absorption from nonmeat foods.
GET IT: Add raw asparagus tips to a salad of spinach, arugula, and radicchio to get the most benefit from the iron in the greens.

GREAT: With your dinner
Asparagus is loaded not only with folate but also vitamin B6. When combined with vitamin B12, this trio works together to lower circulating levels of homocysteine, an amino acid that wreaks havoc on artery walls, leading to heart disease.
GET IT: Stir-fry one-inch pieces of chicken or lean beef, which are high in vitamin B12, with 1 1/2-inch pieces of asparagus spears. Serve over brown rice for additional B vitamins.

 

I also like to to take fresh asparagus and stir fry in PAM a little bit but keep a lot of the crunchiness. I then dip it in spicy brown mustard and add salt to it. Yummy!

Lose Weight CHEAP

No one take this personally but I get so out done when people make this harder than it needs to be. Again, let's go over some basic rules of eating cheap.

It's only expensive to go on a diet if you buy all the pre-packaged goodies, buy healthy stuff and throw it out each week after not eating what you didn't prep, and (my favorite) have plenty of money for the vending machine but not enough for a box of oatmeal.

You can lose weight eating only these things if you are broke.

1. Eggs - 3 of them are great cooked with frozen GENERIC red peppers and onions. Pair it with a Kroger Carb Master yogurt (5 for $2 most weeks) and you have breakfast for less than a dollar a day.

2. Oatmeal - 1/2 cup mixed with 1 tbsp of PB and a cup of skim milk and WOOT WOOT you got a breakfast or a snack. Hell, have it for dinner if you like.

3. Chicken Breast - buy some breasts (they are cheap, cheap, cheap compared to those frozen dinners, vending machines, convenience stores, and Subway stops you make a few times a week), cook in crockpot with a jar of Ragu, and mix with brown rice. If you want to get crazy add in a bag of frozen spinach (dirt butt cheap) to boost the veggie content. You now have dinner for a week. Want to get super crazy and dump the rice for a baked potato and use the chicken to top the tater. Nummy.

4. Nothing like you buying a big bag of generic pretzels, bagging it up into single servings and enjoying with some peanuts. They are cheap and if PB is good for you then I'm sure peanuts are, too. You don't have to buy the most expensive nut in the bunch.

5. Lettuce...get you a couple of heads, wash and chop and toss into a big bowl. I like to chop a few things of celery and green onions for flavor and they are really cheap. Get a lowfat generic dressing and eat a big salad with lunch and dinner.

6. Stew Meat - it's cheap. I cook mine in generic beef broth and half a white onion for flavor in the crock pot. I then bag it into 4 oz servings and throw it on top of a salad.

7. Cottage Cheese - cheap protein that gives you dairy and can be made into a lot. I like to cut up tomatoes, cukes, green onions and mix it with a little lite Miracle Whip. Snack time! You can also blend it with some ice, water and sugar free pudding mix for dessert. Booyah - you are on your way to putting money in the bank to buy new clothes when you lose weight.

8. Vegetables - I've named a few but green beans in the can are cheap, beans can be a quick side item, and a baked sweet potato is great as a morning snack.

9. Last but not least - FRUIT - bananas, apples, and oranges are cheap almost year round. Buy a few and eat a piece each day.

Hey, this ain't fancy but if you are broke and overweight you gotta put up with not being fancy. I just gave you CHEAP ways to eat every meal, spend next to nothing at the store, spend minimal time prepping food, and getting in a healthy diet.

Besides, if you are really broke you should have time to prep a little to save money because you can't go out and shouldn't have cable. Right?

Now, park far away from the grocery store and get to shopping. I just gave you a bonus workout.