Wednesday, March 31, 2010

P.E.A.C.E.

The essentials I learned and practice for weightloss! You have to discover P.E.A.C.E. -
P- priority.
E- eat healthy.
A- accountability.
C- consistency.
E- eliminate excuses.
About 2 months ago.
I was asked to do a testimonial before the spin class and knowing how I can drag on and on... I made up this simple method to simplify what I learned to be the most important in this struggle. Keep it simple.
First learn to make yourself a priority. Give yourself, food preparation, and exercise the importance required. Eating: I learned if I was eating alot less- I must INCREASE THE QUALITY. I have a saying: now I eat with quality, not quantity in mind. Smaller, colorful, savory, healthy portions. Accountability: keep a food journal, you can find at barnes and noble (these have great tips and inspirational quotes to keep you focused) or a plain small notebook will suffice. You can track yor daily calorie intake. It is very easy to consume 2000+ calories on a burger, fries, apple pie, and coke @ lunch. Watch out for those lattes and whipped concoctions= sugar and fat.
Probably the most important, I learned was consistency: eat, sleep, exercise regularly. Develop a schedule to prepare your next days food cooler, get to the gym without fail. I remember in my testimonial- I said " I rememeber that when I started the gym, I remember thinking - those skinny bi.... I bet they never had a kid, I bet you they starve themselves, they have a fast metabolism", but what I discovered was that day after day I realized those skinny bi... were there every day regularly, every time i was there, they were there, doing there thing to stay in shape and look good. Drink water everyday. Finally eliminate excuses- eliminate negativity and find every reason to be healthy and live longer for yourself and loved ones. Research information and inspiration from positive people who keep you motivated. Be prepared with a gym bag and a healthy food cooler everyday. PEACE

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Multimedia message

Today's borrowed company slogan: Hellmann's -- "BRING OUT THE BEST" . This is an excellent one for every aspect of our life. Are you bringing out the best? Whether in work or personal affairs we must strive to achieve the best of our ability. Becoming overweight did not happen overnight... It took many, many moments of not making the BEST choices whether in foods or activities. Now is the time to make a choice to Bring out YOUR best. Any effort and sacrifice towards the improvement of health and weightloss is priceless in the long run. The contentment of reaching your goals is an awesome pay off. Bring out your best and enjoy your BEST LIFE.

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Multimedia message

Today's- copied company slogan is going to be from Cadence:
"How big can you dream" do you need to lose weight, 5, 10, 20, or more. The first step is having the idea of something, then enforcing it. Make the preparation needed to accomplish your task. Remove temptation. Replace with healthy options. Keep active. Keep focused on your goal.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Multimedia message

This is ridiculous- has to be at least 1000 calories- charleys got my order grilled cheesesteak wrong and I was handed this- I admit it tried a couple and the salty cheese sauce with the refreshing ranch dressing and crunchy bacon fit in for a sinfully  perfect combination. no wonder over 62% of our American population is overweight. Self control was in order!!!! OMG  

Multimedia message

 way to go me!!! I am going GREEN

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Thursday, March 4, 2010

lentil soup, meigouzi, the gabster jumprope for heart, and asparagus

my lentil soup
 chris and meigouzi
 jumprope for heart- gaby came in first place for all 4th grade - 6minutes total.  She redeemed herself from her 2nd place spot last year.  She has THE focus of an marathoner, the soul of a good friend, the competitive spirit of an athlete. 

She shared with me (secretly and quiet proudly) :  "the best part about it was beating ( __)"  Who sat there smuck as Gaby was getting cheered on by others.  She asked me to remove the post from my facebook where one of her best friends parents would see this because she didnt want her friend to be hurt further for not being able to do more than a minute.  She came home hunting for food-(carbohydrates) like a champion training for tomorrow's marathon.  Gaby has the sheer commitment and dedication that makes me proud.  It  amazes me that she could exhibit these qualities at this early age.  I told her that by the time she is a teenager i could see her doing a marathon. She has already done a 5k.  Girls on the Run- on November 15th 2009.  Go Gaby Go. !!! 





the after grub



and after a race, there is nothing more luxurious than ___ (fill in the blank.... anything is suitable to fall asleep)
  My asparagus... just found a easy recipe on Simply RECIPES.

masala and methi khakhra

 I love this - 100% veg. I was turned on to this by a veg. Coworker who we tease as eating rabbit food everyday. Thanks Bina! I really love it. A nice crispy addition to salad, hummus, or lentil soup.

some of my favorites

What I throw in my smoothies or protein shakes

premixed seasonings

Some of my easiest "pre mixed" seasonings

What do YOU eat?

Many people ask me, "what do eat?". Some request a list of what i eat to imitate. Others, i believe, think that there is some secret I must of found along this journey. Well, here is my big secret- that there is no secret. Magazine after magazine, book after book, article after article, I find that the information is the same. You must eat quality, nutritional food, lower your calorie intake, watch your fat intake and voila the pounds will fall off. Period.

Exercise is the plus. It gives me a greater sense of accomplishment and a focus that strenghtens me from within.

Do I ever eat treats?... Heck yeah! I have my treats, it gives me a FEELING of excitement and danger to round off the otherwise strict routine that i have set up for myself. I endulged yesterday in some "low fat" brownies, yeah right!. I have found that the trick is SUBSTITUTIONS. You substitute a healthy, or healthier choice, rather than one that just adds fat, calories, and guilt. My favorite treat comes in a little silver wrapper has 140 calories, 2.5 grams of fat and is round, dark chocolate and filled with a peppermint filling. PEPPERMINT PATTY. yuMMY!

You have to eat foods you like and love. You learn to season your food and prepare them to look appetizing and inviting. I repeat, as I have said many times,

when you limit the amount of food you consume, you must increase the quality

Most importantly I have found that if you increase the effort in preparation and presentation, you will enjoy it so much more. On Mondays and Thursdays that I work from home, my good ole fashioned oatmeal or grits is serving on a colorful plate. Therefore, my breakfast of 150-250 calories i worthy of a 4 **** setting. Remind yourself that you are so worth any money, sacrifice, and effort you put into losing and maintaining weight loss.

I am still having problems getting my daily veggie intake and looking into the consumption of V8 and odwalla drinks to assist me in getting my DV. As with everything that I am interested in, I take the obsessive approach: purchase books, research material and surf the web for information on the subject. I need to set up a routine as much as I hate the word- I repeat i must set up a routine for cooking. My paternal grandmother, when she cooked herself years ago, use to have a weekly schedule, not something she wrote out, but if you visited her on mondays, lentils, white rice, pork chops, and a green salad would be served. Tuesday was spaghetti with a carrot and red beet salad mix. Wednesday would be "7-layer" soup, and so on. This was a routine I admired, but dreaded repeating. Now I find that there is so much wisdom with it. I must accomplish a better routine with my family and the dinner schedule. Just as my routine of gym visits and following tosca Reno's cooler plan has ensured my success in losing and maintaining my weight loss. A better routine of preparation and planning in my families dinner will share the same accomplishments with my son, daughter and husband.

NOW TO THE ORIGINAL NOTE OF DAILY MENU:
BREAKFAST- my new morning staple:
grits with a poached or hardboiled egg and hot sauce, baby!!
instant grits- quick, filling- (real filling will hold you to lunch if needed) 



                                     my mid morning or afternoon snack or treat. substitutions a small substitution as low sugar jelly CAN take off hundreds of calories a week.



                                                   this is my CELEBRATION to my  hubby- he took it upon himself to buy the FAT FREE SKIM MILK.  We have done 2% milk since the kids turned 2 years old and I have snuck in 1% with a usual -- UGH from the kids and hubby...  I ussually get a half gallon of SKIM for myself, but so excited to find he did this without my prodding.  Good job honey!!!.  The creamer is my new yummy of the a.m.  Skinny vanilla latte- FAT FREE, 1tbsp: 30 calories, 0 fat, 6 sugars. Obviously, the trick is to not add sugar when preparing coffee.  If you do a flavored creamer SKIP the sugar.  I HAVE NOT HAD REFINED WHITE SUGAR SINCE JUNE '09
                                                    this is my new evening treat, when i want to ravege the kitchen cupboard in need of some comfort food, the warmth of a hot cup of tea- does the trick.  Its filling and rewarding.  Herbal tea is no calories, filling, and relaxing.

I post this because i am seeing more and more people eat this as a so-called "healthy" addition to lunch or breakfast. This tub IS NOT HEALTHY... WITH 380 calories and 32 g  of FAT (49% of calories from FAT)  this should as all peanut butter used sparingly.  I may eat one slice of wheat toast with a teaspoon of peanut butter after a hard workout. 

the wisest suggestions I have learned and followed:

1) JOURNAL FOOD INTAKE
2) READ LABELS

With all the "low calorie" fuss nowadays- its shocking to me that these companies get through the red tape with these bogus titles.  Low calorie foods are mistaken for an invitacion to eat more of them.  Be careful.  Have you noticed the size of the 100 calorie snack?... Dear lord, you cant survive on that.  Its the same fat laden snacks but with a jip of only 4 cookies or 4 small muffins... Whatever !

Find the healthier alternative to these EXPENSIVE jips.... i love cookies... I have found i am happy with Fig newtons as an alternative.  I love reese's pieces and reese's cup.... replaced nowadays with my steal deal at WALMART DEAL of  2/ $1.00 of my  beloved pp.    

i'm outta here.

find your passions, follow it, clear your mind, be healthy, be happy.... peace !

Two Simple Ways to Be a Happier Parent on Yahoo! Health

Two Simple Ways to Be a Happier Parent on Yahoo! Health