Weight Loss and Exercise Stories from the front lines

A healthy filling breakfast is a key to losing weight, some doctors say. A study showed that when obese people ate a 600 calorie breakfast of healthy protein and carbs, they lost more weight than dieters who ate half that amount of calories. The reason is speculated to be that eating a large healthy breakfast will help keep away later day carb cravings.
It is best to eat breakfast within an hour or two of waking up. This will help curb sugar cravings later in the day. Eating breakfast at a regularly scheduled time every morning is best if you are looking to lose weight. Also, try to eat complex carbohydrates such as whole-grain cereals, steel-cut oats, high-fiber fruits, etc. The fiber keeps blood sugar on an even keel and helps you feel full longer. Also, it is recommended that you get a third of your daily protein at breakfast. Protein slows digestion, helps prevent spikes and dips in blood sugar, and can even give you a dose of depression-fighting tryptophan. Eggs are a good source of protein at breakfast, and are considered to be a health food once again.
Eating healthy at breakfast is a great way to jumpstart your diet resolutions for the New Year, and get your health on track as well!

This is what I had for dinner tonight. I received a new non-stick pan for Christmas yesterday and was eager to try it out today. I loved it. My chicken didn’t even stick! This encourages me to cook more often since healthier food is easier to make when you have nice tools to do so.

I had some marinated italian chicken in the freezer. I pulled those out and let thaw for a couple of hours. Then I threw them in the pan over olive oil. Half way through cooking, I removed the chicken, cut into strips, and returned to the pan. When 90% done I added in some more olive oil and a drizzle of italian dressing.

While cooking the chicken I made some instant brown rice in the microwave. It takes about 8minutes. I took out a small bag of veggies in a steaming bag. They are from Green Giant, under the Healthy Weight brand. I got to tell you, they are SO delicious!

After everything was cooked, I placed the sliced chicken and veggies over the brown rice and ate. Very good and healthy meal!

There is no calorie counting or portion control, poorly combining foods and not overeating or lack of exercise causes weight gain. The diet claims that eating foods incorrectly will cause them to become rotten and not be digested properly causing fat to be stored and wasting the bodies energy. So by following the proper food combining rule and timings the outcome will be better health, more energy and significant weight loss. There will be weight loss on this diet but it is due to the high proportion of fruits and vegetables which are low in calories.

I love iced tea so when I tried this drink, I fell in love with it. It is so easy and simple to make that you can easily go through a pitcher a day because it tastes so good.
You will need the following for the recipe: 2 1/2 cups hot water, 5 tablespoons Nestea Iced Tea mix with sugar, 1/4 cup strawberry preserves, 1 cup ice cubes.
Combine the water with the Nestea then add the strawberry preserves. Refrigerate 2 hours. Strain before serving over a tall glass of ice.
I have never tasted a flavored tea that was so good. You could experiment as well and use say Raspberry preserves if you wanted to. Or try buying the Nestea mix with sugar and lemon to give your iced tea a double flavor. You could even serve this tea hot. Just pour in a mug and throw it into the microwave for a few minutes.

I love coffee and different flavors of it. But in the summer I tend to like my drinks colder, served with ice or blended. Here is a great recipe to try if you like coffee or cappachino. It is simply to die for.
You will need 3/4 cup of milk. Feel free to use whatever kind you have- skim, 1 percent or 2 percent. Of course to be the healthiest you should use skim milk. You will also need 1 teaspoon of vanilla, 3 tablespoons of sugar (you can try sugar substitute as well) 3 tablespoons of Mocha instant coffee, and 1 cup crushed ice. Combine all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.
I like this recipe because you can control the fat content by using skim milk and sugar substitute. You can also use a different flavor of coffee if you want a different taste. Plus there is no fat in vanilla extract or the ice so it is a perfect summers drink without lots of fat. Enjoy!

Here is a recipe for a soup that is very good and really does not have lots of fat unless you load it up with cheese and sour cream or eat it with the corn chips like it is recommended to.
You need the following: 1 pound of ground beef, 1 package of taco seasoning, 24 ounce can tomato juice, 1 can chopped tomatoes, 1 can chili beans, 1-2 teaspoons chili powder, a bag of corn chips, sour cream and shredded cheddar cheese.
Brown the hamburger. Drain. Stir in the seasoning. Add the juice and the tomatoes, beans and chili powder. Bring to a boil and then cook for 30 minutes. You can also make this in the crock pot.
Top each serving with sour cream and cheese. Serve with corn chips. May use low fat cheese and sour cream to lower the fat. Very good on a cold winters day. It will really warm your soul.
You can also add onion to the meat when you cook it to give it a little more flavoring. I also like to add more than 1-2 teaspoons of chili powder because I like mine spicer. You can decide on your own how you like it.

Breakfast
Fruity Cottage Cheese
Top 3/4 c. low-fat calcium-fortified cottage cheese with 1/2 banana, 5 strawberries, sliced, and 2 Tbsp. chopped walnuts.

Lunch
On 1 slice whole-grain bread, spread mixture of 2 tsp. reduced-fat sour cream and 1 tsp. prepared horseradish. Top with 3 oz. deli-sliced lean roast beef, 2 to 3 slices tomato, and second slice of bread. Drink 1 c. fat-free milk.

Dinner
Minestrone Soup
On the side: 1/2 c. plain nonfat yogurt and 1/4 c. raspberries.

You can still make a really great tuna sandwich with many ingredients in the fridge! Here’s what I put in my tuna sandwich and believe me, it is SO good! Not to mention really healthy!!

Can of drained tuna (not albacore or salmon for me. And get the kind in water, not oil.)
mustard
lite mayo
chopped tomatoes
chopped celery
lots of lemon juice (or lime if needed)
chopped spinich or lettuce
shredded carrots
sunflower seeds
chopped cucumbers

combine all those with the amounts of your liking, along with any other veggies you have on hand. Or you can be adventurous and add some fruits like chopped apples, grapes, or cranberries. I don’t in tuna salads, only chicken, but you can.

sprinkle sea salt and ground black pepper on top

Then this part really makes the dish for me, add shredded cheese!! I like to put colby-jack but any cheese of your liking will do.

Serve over whole wheat pitas or whole wheat tortillas, whole wheat toast, or whole wheat crackers, or all of the above. I like variety! Pair with tomato soup if you’d like.

I didn’t have much in the fridge and didn’t want to open a can of something so I used what I had. I was craving a small meal that would fill me, not just something like a string cheese or grapefruit. What I decided to make was a grilled cheese. Even grilled cheeses can be made in healthy ways if you know how. Here’s how I made it:

I took two pieces of whole wheat bread. I buttered them on each side with lite butter with canola oil. American cheese is OK but, in my opinion, does not compare to the great taste of cheddar cheese. So I used a slice of cheddar cheese made with 2% milk. If you use cheese made from 2% milk it is still low fat and if you were to use 1% or fat free, you would have a really hard time melting it. So use 2% for the best balance.

So I toasted one slice of bread in the pan and stuck a cheese on top until a bit melty. I threw the other piece on and let both sides brown evenly. Eating it was nice and toasty, buttery, flaky and melty. Very delicious and pretty healthy with that whole grain and protein from the cheese!

How many times have we decided that we are just too tired to exercise? We think I will do it later and then when later rolls around, we don’t want to do it either. So we say we will do extra tomorrow. But we never do.
Try exercising as soon as you get up in the mornings. If you are not a morning person, then set the alarm for 5 minutes before you usually get up. Get up and in those five minutes, so a few stretches. Gradually add time to your wakeup time and before you know it, you will be up 30 minutes before you usually are, enough time to get a workout in. That way you can exercise right away and the rest of the day will be yours to do whatever you want to.
Or if you just can not do mornings, then just put on your shoes and say I am just going around the block. Or I will do just 10 situps. Often after you get started you do not want to stop.