South Beach Blah

My husband told me a few weeks ago that he had a desire to start eating healthy because Rite Aid's blood pressure machine told him he was 'pre-hypertensive'. I immediately thought of South Beach, since the diet was originally created for people with heart ailments, so I started making weekly menus based on phase 1(for myself) and phase 2 (for my hubby). Phase 1 was very successful for me. I lost 7 lbs in 2 weeks. My husband started feeling better in general, so I continued cooking SB meals, weaning myself off of phase 1. Unfortunately, I've gained most of the 7 lbs back, so I guess maybe South Beach in its entirety really isn't a good fit for me. I'm starting to realize that maybe I have to count carbs as well. Overall, I think I might be over South Beach, because nothing but phase 1 works for me. And I'm not going to live life eating like that.

Just in time for me to start planning mostly low carb meals, my 3 new low carb cookbooks arrived today! These are going to be soo much more helpful (assuming  the recipes are actually decent without too many changes). The main reason I can't live off of phase 1 is because there are only so many recipes for it in the SB cookbooks. These 3 new cookbooks are packed with so many more side dishes and snacks! I can't wait to try them all. This isn't an actual review of the books, since I won't be cooking from them til next week. So watch out for that post.

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Posted in: low-carb,south beach

Eat This, Not That - Louvre Chocolate Cake, Shepherd's Pie and Eggnog

Today I found out that my two Eat This, Not That books that were ordered for me by my hubby were supposedly delivered last week. They are not here. So we've been bugging USPS about it, and while being all stressed out I started looking up recipes and treats for the holidays. NOT A GOOD IDEA. I've been pretty good about my portions recently (lost 8 lbs so far) so I tried to figure out what I could do to curb the cravings I'm having for holiday yummies.

First is the Louvre chocolate cake, http://www.payard.com/louvre-cake.aspx which I found out about when my sister showed me the link to their Pain Surprise, a French appetizer that we've been looking for in New York for sometime now. This cake was featured on Sex and the City I believe. It was the $70 cake that Miranda couldn't get herself to buy, and so bought a box of easy to make chocolate cake.

My take on it was to devour a 100-calorie pack of Hostess chocolate cupcakes. They're sweet, they're delicious, they're chocolate, and you know exactly when you should stop. They can be found at most grocery stores.

My second craving was for a Shepherd's Pie. I wanted to make one with turkey today because I had some leftover turkey and instant mashed potatoes and found this recipe: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/The-Humble-Shepherd/Detail.aspx. Unfortunately it's more than 500 calories per serving, and my hubby wasn't even that into the idea since he just made a huge batch of mac & cheese.

So I rummaged through the freezer and found the Smart Ones Slow Roasted Turkey Breast frozen entree. It has turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, for only 200 calories. I'm telling myself it'll be just as good, and I'm sticking with it.

My last craving was for eggnog. Most mixes are about 400-500 calories a cup. YUCK. So, unless you're planning on having eggnog as a meal, go with this recipe from hungry-girl, which is at 88 calories a cup.



Low-Calorie Eggnog

Ingredients:


5 cups 8th Continent Light Vanilla Soymilk (or another light vanilla soymilk**)

1 small (4-serving) package Jell-O Sugar Free Fat Free Instant Pudding mix, Vanilla

6 no-calorie sweetener packets (like Splenda)

1 tsp. rum extract or imitation rum extract

1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg



Directions:

In a blender, combine all ingredients and blend on high until mixed thoroughly. Refrigerate for a few hours to allow it to thicken. Makes five 1-cup servings!

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Posted in: eat this not that,low calorie

I Can Eat Indian Food Without Feeling Guilty Now!!

My hubby was craving Indian food today and asked me if I wanted to order some for dinner. I groaned inwardly since I knew I would not be able to resist, and I ALWAYS end up bingeing and going into a food coma after. He suggested I get the small portion and just eat that. I thought about it a little and went even further. I researched the calorie content for basmati rice and lamb rogan josh, and portioned them with the help of my always helpful kitchen scale. Here are the numbers:

Basmati Rice, Cooked - 1 cup - 205 calories
Lamb Rogan Josh - 150 grams - 250 calories

That was a total of 455 calories, which was well under my calorie budget since I had a light breakfast and lunch.  For the first time ever, I ate Indian food at home without overeating and taking a nap 5 minutes after the meal. This is a huge step for me, since I mostly attribute my being overweight last year to too much naan and basmati rice. Small triumphs like this help keep me going :).

Speaking of triumphs, I finished the entire Jillian Michaels Banish Fat, Boost Metabolism workout for the first time ever the other night without stopping for more than 5 seconds. This is another big thing because I have NEVER finished this workout and I have been trying to for a long time. One review for it says:

"If there is one consensus about the Banish Fat, Boost Metabolism DVD it is the difficulty of the full on workout. Some users have been completing gym workouts, running and intense cardio for long periods of time and still have difficulty completing the entire 40 minutes non-stop, without alterations."

I have to admit, I still do a few alterations such as "girly" push-ups, but I still feel great about finishing it. Hopefully I can continue to be as motivated as I am now.

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Posted in: low calorie,workouts

AARrrggHHH

I maintained today. Despite the fact that I went to the gym yesterday and ate well (calorie-wise). I'm a little pissed about that. The only thing worse is if I had gained.

I added The Biggest Loser to my DVR show list. Maybe if I constantly watch Jillian Michaels yelling at overweight people I'll subconsciously think I'm one of them and stay true to my diet.

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Posted in: low calorie,why i hate dieting

Calories, Calories, Calories

I've lost about 4 lbs so far since I started dieting again. I know. Some of this is probably water weight since it hasn't even been a week. But I'm definitely deep into a calorie-counting frenzy. Due to a recent aversion to cooking vegetables (my hubby doesn't eat them anyway), I've been taking multivitamins everyday. My desserts have mostly been 100-calorie packs from Hostess and other such brands (ala Mark Haub's Twinkie diet).  I toss in some 100-calorie Sun Chips once in awhile as well. Main meals have been from Smart Ones, Lean Cuisine and Healthy Choice. Some of the meals have vegetables, so I can force them down and feel a little less guilty about not buying and cooking them separately.. I especially love the Smart Ones Mini Cheeseburgers, because they're deliciously similar to White Castle burgers. I'm thinking of buying the following books, which are guides to getting what you're craving for, for less calories:

Eat This, Not that
Cook This, Not That

However, I'm a little low in budget this coming month, and I really wanted to get some outfits for my upcoming vacation (woot! woot!). So I might settle for using my Jenny Craig "Dining Out Success Guide" book (which has been busy gathering dust in the bookshelf) and "The Calorie King Calorie, FAT & Carbohydrate Counter" (the title literally has fat in all caps,  I'm not sure how I feel about that). Both of these list nutrition facts for the most popular fast food and restaurant chains in the US. The Jenny Craig guide is good for when I want to make a fast, easy choice, since they only list the things they approve of, while The Calorie King is better for when I want something specific, and decide to eat only half of it since it's way too many calories. For everything else, I'll have to use my LoseIt! app, which is still as helpful as always. I guess Eat This, Not that will have to wait 'til the new year.

I've been working out a lot too. This week was hard schedule-wise for going to the gym, although I did get one gym visit in last Thursday. However, when I did one of my workouts tonight that I usually could only do half of, I ended up making it through the entire 1 hr and 15 minutes. Those New York Sports Club classes have really been helpful with pushing me past my comfort zone. I just feel too embarrassed to stop when I'm with a bunch of people, and it's helped with my at-home workouts as well!

I've been working on the psychological side of things as well. Mostly about my perspective with regards to eating. Recently while reading Unbreaded, my friend and her best friend's blog about a low-carb lifestyle, I got into thinking about 'eating as entertainment'. I think this is the thing I have a problem with more than stress eating, even. I always think of what I could eat when I'm bored. Heck, I've planned out almost every single meal for my vacation in December. So whenever I'm bored, I try to think about what I could do that does not involve eating now. Due to this, I've achieved the following things:

1. A very clean sock drawer
2. Gotten ideas for outfits I want in the future (yes, online window shopping has been essential)
3. Taken very relaxing naps (yes, naps are helping me lose weight)
4. Exercised more

I expect I'll find more ways to pass the time without eating. But so far, just identifying this problem has helped a lot.

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Posted in: goals,low calorie

Panic Dieting

After about a month and a half of trying to count calories I am now 4 pounds heavier than when I originally started this blog, which was around 4 months ago. If you think about it, I guess gaining 4 lbs in 4 months is not that terrible. I seriously feel better about it, coz I've actually been feeling out of control most of the time. Especially regarding those post-dinner chocolate binges (Damn you Twix!).

But now it's time to PANIC. It's about 5 weeks until my best friend's wedding, and a much needed tropical beach weekend.

That's right. Be jealous.

I have about 25 pounds to lose.

I know. That sounds insane. Considering Thanksgiving and Christmas are both in those five weeks... So maybe my goal will be 15 pounds. Although I will keep in mind that Jillian Michaels got some people to lose 15 pounds in a week.

I started going to the gym last week. It was pretty brutal, but I surprisingly got through 2 classes without giving up. I'm going to one today, and hopefully that will kick off five weeks of unswerving dedication to losing weight.

I'm giving myself 2 days off. Thanksgiving and Christmas. Wish me luck!

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Posted in: goals,low calorie,why i hate dieting

LoseIt!

I've been so exhausted recently that I've barely had anytime to prepare food for myself. I've been cooking once in awhile but I don't have the energy to do the dishes. It's either all my energy is being sapped by work, or it's because I haven't worked out in so long. Which makes me think I should start counting calories again, and say goodbye to Low-carbing for awhile. :( I thought I would have the time and energy to do it once the wedding was over, but it doesn't seem like it. And I don't want to look the part TOO much when I'm the Matron of Honor at my best friend's wedding (I did my measurements last weekend, and the numbers were quite horrifying). So I'm going back to frozen entrees, which really aren't that bad especially when I get a lot of Amy's frozen meals. This will give me the time to start working out again as well. It will also be cheaper and will give me more options than if I went back on Jenny.

I use a very handy iphone app for my calorie counting called LoseIt!. It has a basic database of ingredients and common grocery items. You can also add your own items if you can't find them in the app. It shows your weight trend, and also calculates how many calories you should have every day depending on your age, your weight loss goal, your current weight and your target date. You can add friends as well and see how you're stacking up to them diet-wise. I friended my old roommate and we had a bit of fun comparing what we'd eaten and what exercises we'd done. I'm still deciding whether I should be completely shameless and tell everyone about my daily menu.

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Posted in: low calorie,technology,why i hate dieting