MyWeightLossForLife.com

Big Breakfast for Weight Loss

You may have already read, but doctors have found that in one study, people who ate about half their calories for breakfast lost, and kept off, more weight than people who followed a more traditional low carb diet.

Here’s the gist of it…

• Participants ate around 1200 calories a day
• They ate around 600 calories for breakfast
• At breakfast, they ate carbs as well as protein and fat
• For the rest of the day, they stuck with a low carb diet

These participants lost more weight than people who followed a traditional low carb diet.

One problem I see with this is the practicality. I think it would be hard to get that many calories for breakfast in a healthy way (no, donuts don’t count.) I don’t normally have time to cook in the mornings, so I’d miss having a hot meal at least once a day. Since dinner is very low calorie, it’s not going to be easy to cook for that meal.

Has anyone tried anything like this? I don’t doubt that it works, but I just don’t think it work work into my lifestyle very well.

Habit Update

A couple weeks ago I mentioned that I wanted to work on two new habits: weighing every day and avoiding sweets at work.

While I haven’t been entirely successful, I have done better lately. I’m weighing more often, but I’m still not in the habit of doing it every day.

As for the sweets, I fell off the wagon once last week. That’s not bad, considering I had grown used to sweets almost every day. Unfortunately, our cafeteria always has a big selection of desserts, and it’s tough for me to resist those. Add to that the vending machine across the hall, and I have a lot of temptation to deal with.

One thing that helps is packing lunch. That helps me avoid the cafeteria, and the dessert bar. I also keep some diet hot chocolate mix in my office for a sweet treat for the afternoon. It’s not a candy bar or slice of pie, but it usually does the trick.

I think it’s important to work on habits for at least 2-3 weeks. It’s easy to fall into old habits during that first week or two, but I try not to beat myself up. I didn’t get the habit in a week, so it’s not likely that I’ll break it in a week either.

What habits are you trying to change?

Bean soup recipe

This is a hearty soup good for summer or winter. Serve by itself or with salads or sandwiches. It goes particularly well with hush-puppies. This recipe uses dried beans, not the canned variety. It’s not much work since you use your crock pot, and it’s well worth it!

• One 16 ounce pack of white beans (northern or navy), pre-soaked or parboiled according to package directions.
• 1 ½ cups cubed ham
• 1 15 ounce can of diced tomatoes, with juice
• Half a stick of margarine
• Small diced onion
• One carrot, finely diced
• 6 cups of water
• Salt and pepper to taste

Put all ingredients in your crock pot and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or until beans are tender. If you prefer a thicker soup, transfer some or all of it to a pot and boil hard on the stovetop until it thickens – about five minutes. If the soup doesn’t appear to be thickening well, add about a teaspoon of sugar.

This soup reheats well; if fact, it probably tastes even better the second day. Make a big pot and take some for lunch or reheat for leftovers.

Toss your Skinny Clothes

Asithi left an interesting comment to my recent post, Declutter Yourself, about keeping skinny clothes.

While you may think about whether you still like them, if they’re in style, how old they are, etc. I think there’s a more important question to consider.

How do you feel every time you open the closet and see clothes that don’t fit you? 

I’m guessing that doesn’t feel great. I know when I used to keep my smaller clothes (I never really had “skinny” clothes), I felt awful each time I looked at them. My favorite pants, that no longer button. That shirt I only wore a few times. Each item reminded me how I’d failed to keep my weight in check.

Why would you keep something that doesn’t fit you? You’re getting no more use from it than if it were torn or stained and unwearable for that reason. Yes, you’re trying to lose weight, and you very well may be able to fit into it again. I’m all for being frugal, but I think you have to weigh what you gain with what this kind of behavior costs.

You save some cash by not buying new clothes. That is, if you get back into those clothes. And if you still like them. And if they’re still in style. And if… you get my point.

In the meantime, each time you open your closet you’re reminded of your weight. Does that make you feel good? Does it encourage you to lose weight? I don’t think so. I believe that in order to lose weight, you have to feel good about yourself as you are now. Holding on to too-small clothes isn’t going to help you do that.

And here’s a final rant… Let these clothes do some good. Pack them up and give them to a charity where they’ll be used and appreciated. You’re doing yourself harm by keeping them, and you’re denying those in need as well.

When you’re finished cleaning out your closet, go buy yourself something nice that FITS and makes you feel good about yourself. You’ll be one step closer to a healthy weight.

Chicken and rice recipe

This is a great recipe that’s very versatile. Use whatever meat and vegetables you have on hand, and you can get a unique meal each time.

Cook one cup of dry rice (either brown or white) as you normally would. While that’s boiling, work on your meat and vegetables.

I like to do this dish with chicken or with only vegetables, but you could use beef or pork too. A lean cut of meat works best.

1. Slice one chicken breast thinly and stir fry in olive oil. Remove it from the skillet when it’s done.
2. Add any vegetables you like to the skillet and stir fry those as well. I like to use onions, red and green peppers, corn, celery, broccoli and spinach. If you’re in a hurry, use a bag of frozen vegetables instead.
3. When they’re almost done, add a can of diced tomatoes with the juice. If you like spicy food, use tomatoes with green chilis.
4. Add the cooked rice and chicken.
5. Add a little chicken stock or water with a bullion cube.You’ll want just enough liquid to allow the dish to simmer for a few minutes without boiling dry.
6. Add salt and pepper to taste. I like to also add a bay leaf and parsley and some hot sauce.
7. Cook until everything is heated through and most of the liquid has boiled out.

I like to fix a big batch of this and take if for lunch two or three days. It’s a great way to get plenty of vegetables for lunch, and if you use brown rice, it’s also okay for diabetics to eat.

Take this for lunch, and you’ll have people asking what smells so good!

Declutter yourself

Getting to a healthy weight isn’t just about dieting and exercise. Many things in your everyday life contribute to your weight and your health. Clutter is one of them. Whether it’s the clutter in your floor, in your head, or on your hips, all have a similar source and need to be dealt with.

Physical clutter

Is your clutter a result of trying to keep too many things? Things you don’t need, use or even want any longer? Have you ever thought about why you keep so many things? Sometimes people tend to hoard items that have sentimental value. Or perhaps you grew up poor and are afraid to throw anything away. Maybe there are gifts you don’t like, but you can’t give them away because someone you care about gave it to you.

I doesn’t matter WHY you’re keeping too much stuff. The important thing is that you think about why you’re keeping it. If you’re not sure, start throwing things away and listen to the mental “chatter” that goes on as you resist getting rid of your things. As you go through this exercise, you’ll start to get a better idea of why you’re having trouble getting rid of things.

You’ll hear yourself thinking things like

• I may need it
• It’s my favorite (shirt, skirt, shoes, etc.)
• My (friend, mother, husband, etc.) gave it to me, so I want to keep it
• My (friend, mother, husband, etc.) gave it to me, and I’ll hurt their feelings if I get rid of it
• I paid too much for it to get rid of it

Mental Clutter

Once you recognize why you’re plagued with physical clutter, think about how that affects you mentally, particularly with your weight. Do you hoard because you’re afraid you’ll be without them some day? Could that be a reason you overeat?

Or maybe you keep items for sentimental reasons, or because they were gifts. Do you eat to please others (socially). Of do you eat certain foods because they bring back memories or good feelings?

Here’s a big one… Do you fear the changes that decluttering may bring? Are you afraid of what your life will be like if you lose weight?

When you resist giving away clutter, use some of these techniques.

• If you haven’t needed it in the last year, you’re not likely to. Put them in a box, date the box for three more months if you feel you have to, and then throw the whole thing away when the time comes.
• Even favorite items stop being useful eventually. Get rid of it to make room for a new favorite.
• You don’t have to keep every item a loved one gives you. Choose only items that are really meaningful. Take photos of any others if you like.
• You don’t have to tell loved ones that you’ve gotten rid of one of their gifts, just quietly do so and don’t feel guilty about it.
• How much you paid for something doesn’t matter. The money is gone regardless, and if you don’t like it and aren’t using it, it’s clutter.

I tend to keep things for sentimental reasons, and that goes hand in hand with my emotional eating. I eat to comfort myself, particularly when I’m stressed, and I keep things around me that comfort me as well, often long past their usefulness.

Look around your house and think about how much you own and whether you’re hoarding or not. As you examine why you tend to keep things, you’ll get clues as to why you tend to gain weight. Working on one will often help you with the other.

Improving Habits

I need to get back on track developing my habits, so I’m going to bring back the monthly habits post here on the blog.

For this month, I want to do two things.

1. start weighing again daily
2. stop eating sweets at work

Unfortunately, I’ve gotten back into the habit of eating sweets with lunch and/or from the vending machine. My goal this month is to give that up.

I’ll post periodic updates to let you know how that’s coming for me.

If you’ve been reading for a while, you know that I believe that dieting isn’t a very productive thing to do. Instead, I’ve worked on changing my habits gradually, and I’ve taken off about 30 pounds in the last year.

My advice on starting a new habit? Pick one and work on it for an entire month. Anything more than that is going to be overwhelming. Choose something that’s doable. Notice that I didn’t say I’d give up sweets entirely for the month, just not while I’m at work. That’s better than what I’m doing now, and it’s a good step along the way without being too much at once.

New Direction

I’ve been thinking a lot about what I want to do with this blog. To be honest, I just don’t have a lot to say about diet and exercise that’s not old news for most people. If you’re interested in this topic, then you probably know HOW to lose weight. It’s the doing that gets tricky.

So… I’m planning on branching out a bit. As I’ve talked about before, I think our attitudes play a big role in our weights, more so than our diet and exercise habits really. I plan to start writing more about those types of issues, which I think will give me better fodder for the blog. 

You’ll still see the tips and recipes just like now, but you’ll be seeing more articles about other issues like stress management, positive attitudes, dealing with negative people, etc., with a weight loss slant.

I’m looking forward to the new direction, and I hope all my readers enjoy it too.

I’m back

The last few weeks have been busy. Knitting for my Mom’s Mother’s Day present has taken up practically every spare moment. And no, I still didn’t finish it in time.

I do have quite a few updates. We have two new kittens, I had a birthday, and lots of other things are going on. I’ll do a “real” update as soon as I can.

Joining a Gym?

As you all know, exercise is a real struggle for me and my husband. Where we work we have a gym available for our use, for about $500/year for both of us.

I’ve toyed with the idea of joining for some time now. I’m hoping that it’s just the extra push we need to start exercising. I’m hoping two things.

1. That joining (and paying for) a gym membership will help motivate us to exercise.

2. That I’ll enjoy exercise more when there are so many different options available.

I’m curious though, does anyone have any thoughts on it?  Have you joined a gym and had good results, or bad ones?