There's nothing like getting a warm fuzzy to keep one motivated to reach a goal.
On Saturday, Keith and I went to the market. I decided to do a few days of chicken, a pork recipe with a decent calorie count, and the Baja Lasagna again.
So, I weighed myself not only on the scale outside the market, but also at the one near the pharmacy. That one is a "sit down" and weigh, blood pressure station. The scale outside the market is a huge "stand on" thing.
The outside scale reported 244. What? One pound lost? In a month? Ha.
The BP/Weight station inside reported 239. Even though my start weight was weighed on the outside scale at 245, a conservative number would be about 248, give or take. My calculations (if the station inside is accurate) would be a weight loss of about 6 to 10 lbs.
While we were loading groceries in the dinghy, a buddy of Keith's walked by. He watched me get in the dinghy and said, "you've lost weight". I was surprised. I had taken a look in the mirror when I had my shower, and I didn't notice or see any changes (a disappointing thing, I might add). I responded with a surprised, "you can tell?". He said, "oh yeah. You've lost weight".
Woohoo! Progress! And it's showing, too.
There's nothing like a warm fuzzy to keep one motivated to achieve a goal.
Monday, May 30, 2016
Friday, May 27, 2016
Using eReaders for Weight Loss
This is a Kindle Paperwhite from Amazon, similar to the one that I purchased last year.
I bought it because living on a boat does not afford me a huge bookcase full of books. And I've never lived anywhere that I didn't have some type of bookcase without a minimum of three shelves of reading materials.
Little did I know when I bought my e-reader that it would come in handy for cookbooks. And not just any cookbooks (although I do have a select number of various cookbooks), but cookbooks geared toward health and weight loss.
A few of these books I bought at very reasonable prices (99 cents to 4.99), but I often scour Amazon's Kindle Store for free books. It's amazing the number of free books you can order. I have diet cookbooks, juicing cookbooks, smoothie cookbooks, etc.
Now, reading recipes from a Kindle can get a bit difficult. I have Kindle on my laptop, too. And whether on my e-reader or my laptop, I can bookmark the pages with recipes that interest me. I can either write them down or display them on my laptop as I'm cooking.
And, once everything is cooking, and I have a few minutes to spare, I switch over to my favorite book and read.
I've been doing fairly well with my eat-style program. I say fairly well because, although I'm keeping my calorie intake well below 1800 calories, and I'm staying away from soda, sweets, and the like; I'm having a bit of trouble getting lunch included in my program. This makes my calorie intake too low, and I am losing too fast.
I have my porridge in the morning, followed by water and vitamins. Then I get so busy with computer work that when I finally "look up", it's getting close to dinner time. I need a time management adjustment, I think.
We finished off the rest of the Turkey Meatloaf last night. Keith and I both agreed that it was our least favorite, so far. I will make it again as it cooked up wonderfully in the Stove Top Oven, but I will be adding more spices to it. Ground turkey is very, very bland. The only way to eat it is to spice the heck out of it.
I'll be heading to shore for shower and store shortly. Until I decide on another new recipe, I'll just be getting some boneless, skinless chicken breasts and season them up.
I've been having the Mandarin Orange porridge for the past week. Since Keith picked up another bag of frozen blueberries, I'll be switching over to the Maple Blueberry porridge. Our favorite.
And I'm hoping to get those lunches back in gear, too, and trying out new recipes for that.
This month will be the start of the fitness center, too.
Wednesday, May 25, 2016
Loose Skin?
My internet research on losing weight, and healthy eating led me to something I had never heard of before in my life. Loose skin.
What the blazes is loose skin?
Allegedly, loose skin is what you get for all your eat-style changes, weight loss, etc. etc.
How nice.
But there was one thing that bothered me in all of the photo's of people with "loose skin".
They still looked "fat".
If you listen to the doctors, the ONLY way to get rid of "loose skin" is to have surgery. Ooooo, more money in their pocket.
Sorry, sounds like a racket to me. You must lose weight, they say. Gastric bypass or any other high cost surgical procedure is what you need (more money). Oh, now you've lost it too fast and the skin is not toning to the loss. Now, they say to have surgery to remove the "excess" skin. More money - for them.
Look, common sense tells me to lose weight slowly. Common sense tells me to eat healthy (uh, that's food that's good for the body).
Common sense tells me that while I am losing weight to take care of the body - inside and out. That includes hair, nails, eyes, and skin.
For healthy skin limit sun exposure, drink plenty of water, increase your vitamin E intake (and/or use skin creams with vitamin E added), increase your vitamin C intake, too. Definitely eat fruits and vegies. And exercise. Lose weight gradually and exercise that skin. Focus a portion of your exercise that pertains to thighs, stomach, upper arms.
I only see this whole "loose skin" worry as something concocted by doctors for more money out of your pocket - and into their pocket.
Skin is actually thin. The photo's that I see claiming "loose skin" is just plain fat.
If you reach your weight goal and you see "loose skin", stay on your eat-style program. Lose some more. It's fat you're seeing. Not "loose skin".
Last week, Aunty Acid (from Facebook) posted about a couple from Michigan who, combined, weighed 704 lbs. The article was a little confusing. They met in 2013. At the time, he had already lost 72 of his original 420 lbs. She weighed in at 282. They each already had a tummy tuck to remove the "loose skin", but it wasn't enough. They had a GoFundMe page to raise the 8000 dollars it would take to pay for another tummy tuck for both of them.
One part of the article stated that to help lose the weight they took long walks and rode bikes.
(I don't know about y'all, but I tried riding my bike last year. I had a difficult time of it, and when I saw my reflection - my first thought was a cartoon hippo on a bike at the circus. I quit riding).
Later in the article, the woman said that she noticed the "loose skin" kept slapping her as she tried to do her sit-ups.
Honey, that "loose skin" is fat.
A tummy tuck is cosmetic surgery to get rid of fat (and, now, they've added the "loose skin" angle). It is losing weight quickly, similar to crash diets. Your skin has not adapted to the missing fat. And as fast as it was removed, the skin will not ever adapt to it. It disappeared too fast.
I can almost bet that they were only focusing on losing weight as fast as possible, and not on the other aspects of their body i.e., skin, hair, nails.
Oh, and their photo's of "loose skin"? It was quite obvious that it was pockets of fat that they still needed to lose.
Losing weight is more than just shedding fat. And the body is made up of more than just size.
Pay attention. Use common sense. Take your time. And treat your whole body, not just the size of it.
What the blazes is loose skin?
Allegedly, loose skin is what you get for all your eat-style changes, weight loss, etc. etc.
How nice.
But there was one thing that bothered me in all of the photo's of people with "loose skin".
They still looked "fat".
If you listen to the doctors, the ONLY way to get rid of "loose skin" is to have surgery. Ooooo, more money in their pocket.
Sorry, sounds like a racket to me. You must lose weight, they say. Gastric bypass or any other high cost surgical procedure is what you need (more money). Oh, now you've lost it too fast and the skin is not toning to the loss. Now, they say to have surgery to remove the "excess" skin. More money - for them.
Look, common sense tells me to lose weight slowly. Common sense tells me to eat healthy (uh, that's food that's good for the body).
Common sense tells me that while I am losing weight to take care of the body - inside and out. That includes hair, nails, eyes, and skin.
For healthy skin limit sun exposure, drink plenty of water, increase your vitamin E intake (and/or use skin creams with vitamin E added), increase your vitamin C intake, too. Definitely eat fruits and vegies. And exercise. Lose weight gradually and exercise that skin. Focus a portion of your exercise that pertains to thighs, stomach, upper arms.
I only see this whole "loose skin" worry as something concocted by doctors for more money out of your pocket - and into their pocket.
Skin is actually thin. The photo's that I see claiming "loose skin" is just plain fat.
If you reach your weight goal and you see "loose skin", stay on your eat-style program. Lose some more. It's fat you're seeing. Not "loose skin".
Last week, Aunty Acid (from Facebook) posted about a couple from Michigan who, combined, weighed 704 lbs. The article was a little confusing. They met in 2013. At the time, he had already lost 72 of his original 420 lbs. She weighed in at 282. They each already had a tummy tuck to remove the "loose skin", but it wasn't enough. They had a GoFundMe page to raise the 8000 dollars it would take to pay for another tummy tuck for both of them.
One part of the article stated that to help lose the weight they took long walks and rode bikes.
(I don't know about y'all, but I tried riding my bike last year. I had a difficult time of it, and when I saw my reflection - my first thought was a cartoon hippo on a bike at the circus. I quit riding).
Later in the article, the woman said that she noticed the "loose skin" kept slapping her as she tried to do her sit-ups.
Honey, that "loose skin" is fat.
A tummy tuck is cosmetic surgery to get rid of fat (and, now, they've added the "loose skin" angle). It is losing weight quickly, similar to crash diets. Your skin has not adapted to the missing fat. And as fast as it was removed, the skin will not ever adapt to it. It disappeared too fast.
I can almost bet that they were only focusing on losing weight as fast as possible, and not on the other aspects of their body i.e., skin, hair, nails.
Oh, and their photo's of "loose skin"? It was quite obvious that it was pockets of fat that they still needed to lose.
Losing weight is more than just shedding fat. And the body is made up of more than just size.
Pay attention. Use common sense. Take your time. And treat your whole body, not just the size of it.
Saturday, May 21, 2016
New Dinner Dish
So, last night I made R.S.'s Baja Lasagna. Well, sort of....as Keith missed getting the green chilies needed for the recipe. Uh oh....substitution time.
If you are like us (and I hope you aren't), a trip to the store is an all afternoon, slightly different affair than most people. Living on a boat, and not owning a car, we need to be creative in the way we do things when ashore. Such is the case with grocery shopping.
First, a list.....always a list. For living on a boat, the list is important as it keeps from overbuying for all that limited space. For losing weight, I make that list, than I go back and note items that I can save calories by marking low-fat, no fat, non fat, reduced fat.......well, you get the idea.
I also note on my list the exact measurement of what I need.....8 oz., 1 lb., etc.
Controlled buying and controlled portions go hand in hand.
So, no green chilies, and he bought canned whole tomatoes instead of canned ready cut. I could have worked around that, but since I didn't have the chilies, I opted for a jar of mild Picante sauce.
He also, with his eye sight as bad as it is right now, picked up regular shredded cheese instead of reduced calorie. Gotta work with what I got, now.
We both liked it. I portioned it out to the 8 servings it stated on the recipe, so we will be having it for the next 3 nights besides last night.
This was also a no meat dish which didn't sit well with Keith until he ate it. Aside from the fact that he thought there were too many beans in it (I used Red Kidney, but pinto can be used, too), he thought it was good. We had lo-cal cottage cheese with it, too.
Tonight, I'll add a vegie with it, and fruit. Tomorrow, I'll do up the Spanish rice.
My plan for when the Baja Lasagna is gone, is to do a Turkey Meatloaf from R.S.'s Food Mover Cookbook.
I sent Keith to the store for some of the ingredients.
I'll let you know if I have to modify the recipe or not.
If you are like us (and I hope you aren't), a trip to the store is an all afternoon, slightly different affair than most people. Living on a boat, and not owning a car, we need to be creative in the way we do things when ashore. Such is the case with grocery shopping.
First, a list.....always a list. For living on a boat, the list is important as it keeps from overbuying for all that limited space. For losing weight, I make that list, than I go back and note items that I can save calories by marking low-fat, no fat, non fat, reduced fat.......well, you get the idea.
I also note on my list the exact measurement of what I need.....8 oz., 1 lb., etc.
Controlled buying and controlled portions go hand in hand.
So, no green chilies, and he bought canned whole tomatoes instead of canned ready cut. I could have worked around that, but since I didn't have the chilies, I opted for a jar of mild Picante sauce.
He also, with his eye sight as bad as it is right now, picked up regular shredded cheese instead of reduced calorie. Gotta work with what I got, now.
We both liked it. I portioned it out to the 8 servings it stated on the recipe, so we will be having it for the next 3 nights besides last night.
This was also a no meat dish which didn't sit well with Keith until he ate it. Aside from the fact that he thought there were too many beans in it (I used Red Kidney, but pinto can be used, too), he thought it was good. We had lo-cal cottage cheese with it, too.
Tonight, I'll add a vegie with it, and fruit. Tomorrow, I'll do up the Spanish rice.
My plan for when the Baja Lasagna is gone, is to do a Turkey Meatloaf from R.S.'s Food Mover Cookbook.
I sent Keith to the store for some of the ingredients.
I'll let you know if I have to modify the recipe or not.
Friday, May 20, 2016
Sometimes, You Just Gotta Muddle Through The Day
Every so often (or maybe more often than not), the day just doesn't work out the way you planned it....or, in my case, the night.
I usually make up my summer porridge at night, when Keith is asleep and I can actually do it without me getting in his way and vice versa (it's a small boat).
I had been diligently making them because we've been getting some pretty hot weather. Day before last, it had reached 109 degrees F on the heat index. The heat index is the "it feels like" temperature, and I pay more attention to that than the actual temperature.
So, the evening of this 109 day, I'm at the computer and I hear thunder. Oh great....here comes the weather that's been predicted for the past four days. I switch over to NOAA's website and, sure enough, it's almost here.....and a lot of it.
Dress, scurry, batten down, put out the pots for our various leaks, close hatches and port holes.....a normal routine for thunderstorms. Only this time is a little extra.
Keith's been working on a new dinghy topside. He's now bringing down every power tool he has....with cases. And all materials that can't get wet. Oi.......no room. So, it's piled on the floor in the galley. Uh oh. Now, I can't get in to make the porridge. Well, I'll think of something for tomorrow's breakfast. Adapting, changing, doin' without.....it's the nautical way.
Even though the weather was to improve by morning, it actually didn't improve until early afternoon.
Breakfast was a bottle of water, and I didn't get my vitamin pill until lunch (which was about 1/2 cup of tuna mix - no bread - and some fruit).
Fortunately, by dinner, all was well. The cabin was back to normal, and we had the last of the chicken breasts with Spanish Rice Rice-a-Roni (1/2 cup), and summer crisp corn. Well, I thought it was the last of it, but, as it turned out, we had enough for last night, too....same meal. Only this time, after we ate, I accidentally knocked the left over rice on the floor while cleaning up. Ugh!
So, I finally got the porridge made last night, and tonight will be a new dish - Baja Lasagna from R.S.'s cookbook.
So, what's my point?
Sometimes, under circumstances not good for meal planning, or it just messes up your plans - adjust, adapt. But always, always keep portion control in mind, even if you have to guesstimate the calories. If you know your food, the guess should be close to reality.
Adjust. Adapt. But only until the situation gets back to normal.
I usually make up my summer porridge at night, when Keith is asleep and I can actually do it without me getting in his way and vice versa (it's a small boat).
I had been diligently making them because we've been getting some pretty hot weather. Day before last, it had reached 109 degrees F on the heat index. The heat index is the "it feels like" temperature, and I pay more attention to that than the actual temperature.
So, the evening of this 109 day, I'm at the computer and I hear thunder. Oh great....here comes the weather that's been predicted for the past four days. I switch over to NOAA's website and, sure enough, it's almost here.....and a lot of it.
Dress, scurry, batten down, put out the pots for our various leaks, close hatches and port holes.....a normal routine for thunderstorms. Only this time is a little extra.
Keith's been working on a new dinghy topside. He's now bringing down every power tool he has....with cases. And all materials that can't get wet. Oi.......no room. So, it's piled on the floor in the galley. Uh oh. Now, I can't get in to make the porridge. Well, I'll think of something for tomorrow's breakfast. Adapting, changing, doin' without.....it's the nautical way.
Even though the weather was to improve by morning, it actually didn't improve until early afternoon.
Breakfast was a bottle of water, and I didn't get my vitamin pill until lunch (which was about 1/2 cup of tuna mix - no bread - and some fruit).
Fortunately, by dinner, all was well. The cabin was back to normal, and we had the last of the chicken breasts with Spanish Rice Rice-a-Roni (1/2 cup), and summer crisp corn. Well, I thought it was the last of it, but, as it turned out, we had enough for last night, too....same meal. Only this time, after we ate, I accidentally knocked the left over rice on the floor while cleaning up. Ugh!
So, I finally got the porridge made last night, and tonight will be a new dish - Baja Lasagna from R.S.'s cookbook.
So, what's my point?
Sometimes, under circumstances not good for meal planning, or it just messes up your plans - adjust, adapt. But always, always keep portion control in mind, even if you have to guesstimate the calories. If you know your food, the guess should be close to reality.
Adjust. Adapt. But only until the situation gets back to normal.
Wednesday, May 18, 2016
Pinterest and Recipes
I love pinterest. I call it the clearinghouse of the Net. You can search for anything on Pinterest and have a gizzlion websites at your fingertips zeroing in on exactly what you're looking for. Love it.
That's why I use it for a weight loss, healthy eat-style tool. Most of everything from my last post came from finding it on Pinterest. Diet, weight loss, healthy recipes, low-calorie recipes, exercise, meal prep containers, summer porridge (aka refrigerator oatmeal or overnight oatmeal), and the list goes on and on. Find a pin, click on the pic to hi-lite, click again to the origin of the pin. There you can find more ideas, info, etc.
There are some recipes that I veer away from that claim low-cal, healthy, or great for losing weight.
First, anything with sugar. Even a little sugar goes a long way with body fat for me. Now, I'm not talking about natural sweeteners, such as pure honey. I'm talking about refined, such as granulated sugar. I also steer clear of confectioner, powdered, etc.
Second, any recipe that takes a weight loss substance, such as protein powders. I'll be more specific. Any program that claims their specially designed (with the "help" of nutritionists worldwide - think Herbalife) protein or weight loss powders added to a recipe will shed the pounds miraculously in a matter of days or weeks.
A lady I once knew gave me these flavored powder packets and protein powders once. She said she lost weight with them. Okay, she wasn't as big as I was, but if she did lose weight with them, she stopped too soon. Just sayin'.
Anyway, these packets claim the "scientific" method for losing weight. So, I did try them - once. A half hour after I had added one to my smoothie and drank it, I was in the bathroom (sitting, not standing). It came close to dehydration. Scientific, huh? I threw it all out.
Third is nut butters. Granted there are nuts that are high in protein - but also high in calories. Any thing, like nut butters, that come with a "general rules" list to watch out for, isn't worth my worry. I like the KISS system. Here's a chart for nut butters that I got from wikipedia:
That's why I use it for a weight loss, healthy eat-style tool. Most of everything from my last post came from finding it on Pinterest. Diet, weight loss, healthy recipes, low-calorie recipes, exercise, meal prep containers, summer porridge (aka refrigerator oatmeal or overnight oatmeal), and the list goes on and on. Find a pin, click on the pic to hi-lite, click again to the origin of the pin. There you can find more ideas, info, etc.
There are some recipes that I veer away from that claim low-cal, healthy, or great for losing weight.
First, anything with sugar. Even a little sugar goes a long way with body fat for me. Now, I'm not talking about natural sweeteners, such as pure honey. I'm talking about refined, such as granulated sugar. I also steer clear of confectioner, powdered, etc.
Second, any recipe that takes a weight loss substance, such as protein powders. I'll be more specific. Any program that claims their specially designed (with the "help" of nutritionists worldwide - think Herbalife) protein or weight loss powders added to a recipe will shed the pounds miraculously in a matter of days or weeks.
A lady I once knew gave me these flavored powder packets and protein powders once. She said she lost weight with them. Okay, she wasn't as big as I was, but if she did lose weight with them, she stopped too soon. Just sayin'.
Anyway, these packets claim the "scientific" method for losing weight. So, I did try them - once. A half hour after I had added one to my smoothie and drank it, I was in the bathroom (sitting, not standing). It came close to dehydration. Scientific, huh? I threw it all out.
Third is nut butters. Granted there are nuts that are high in protein - but also high in calories. Any thing, like nut butters, that come with a "general rules" list to watch out for, isn't worth my worry. I like the KISS system. Here's a chart for nut butters that I got from wikipedia:
The calorie range in these are about what my snack calorie range equals out to. I don't need these in my recipes as I find so many other good recipes without them. Sometimes, it just has to be handled like a store sale. Why are you buying 10 of the same item on sale if you've never used or will EVER use that item to begin with? It's not a savings if it's not used. It's a waste of money. Same here. You're not losing calories, you're gaining them.
Common sense tells me that I am not going to lose weight with every weight loss claim on the market. I go with what works for me, what makes sense to me. Balancing the nutrition I need with a controlled caloric intake is what works for me.
The past few days, I haven't recorded my food intake. Let me summarize. Breakfasts have been Summer Porridge, followed by water with my daily vitamin. Some of these porridges are quite filling actually. When lunch rolls around, I'm not hungry. However, some do wear off by lunch time, so I'll have a slice of bread with my tuna and either a couple of tablespoons of low-fat cottage cheese OR some chunks of watermelon OR about 6 grapes.
Dinner has been boneless, skinless chicken breasts seasoned with these Grill Maker seasoning packets that a friend sent me. Since our grill on the stern doesn't work right now, I just rubbed the seasoning on the chicken, wrapped them in aluminium foil and cooked them up in the Stove Top Oven. They came out very good. I liked the fact that all the fat juices ended up outside of the foil wrapped chicken into the bottom of the oven container. The chicken was very moist. However, if you heat them up in the microwave, place a wet paper towel over them to retain the moisture. And heat it slowly, maybe 30 seconds at a time. Heating all at once just covered in a dry paper towel will dry it out.
I drink water all day, but I'm still not up to what I should be drinking - 4 eight ounces instead of the 8 eight ounces required. I was just never a big water drinker, so I am struggling a bit with this.
Monday, May 16, 2016
Know What You Eat
I found if you're going to do all of that, at least know your food.
These are some of my favorites from around the Net. Most of them have the website they came from. I recommend a visit to the sites for more information.
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