Monday, February 28, 2011

Sweet Potato Cookies

(makes 24 cookies)

Weight Loss Recipes : Sweet Potato CookiesIngredients:

  • 2½ cups flour


  • ¼ tsp salt


  • ½ cup unsalted butter or margarine


  • 1½ tsp baking powder


  • ½ tsp baking soda


  • ¼ cup sugar


  • 1 tsp nutmeg


  • ¼ cup honey


  • 1 tbsp grated lemon peel


  • 1 medium egg, room temperature, slightly beaten


  • 1 cup grated, raw sweet potatoes


Preparation:

  • In the medium-sized bowl, sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.


  • In a large-sized mixing bowl, cream butter the sugar


  • Mix in lemon peel, nutmeg, honey, and egg. Then stir in the grated sweet potatoes.


  • Blend the flour mixture into the sweet potato mixture.


  • Place rounded teaspoonfuls of the cookie dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet, leaving about 1½ inches between them


  • Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F oven for about minutes or until lightly browned.. Remove cookies from sheet and put on a cooling rack.


Make 24 Servings:

Weight loss recipes Amount Per Serving(1 cookie (32 g)): 110 Calories, 2 g Protein, 16 g carbohydrates, 1 g Dietary Fiber, 4 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 19 mg cholesterol, 95 mg sodium

Free App for LivingAfterWLS Neighborhood

(by Scoop - LivingAfterWLS Technical Administrator)

If you have an Apple device then we have the app for you.
You can download the app to run any Invision message board, including this Neighborhood. Here is what you do.

Login to your Apple iTunes account and go to this link: IP Board Communities

Download the app. Then select the Neighborhood from the directory and take it from there.
 

Blue Monday

I'm not in a happy place this morning. There are many reasons:

1. Still no sign of Hank (see yesterday's post below). Each time I check the live animal traps for him (three times in the last 12 hours, I feel my heart sink. I just can't believe this dog has gone through so much, was lucky enough to get adopted by a loving family in Taiwan, then loses everyone in a house fire. Then lucky enough to get shipped to the United States so he doesn't wind up on someones dinner table in Taiwan, and gets adopted immediately here in the States. Then this happens. He's lost ten minutes after being in his new home. It just breaks my heart.

2. I had an emergency call at midnight for a work problem. After fixing it I tossed and turned for what seem like forever. I was hungry (of course). I finally got up and ate strawberries with real whip cream (in a can but it's the real stuff, not light, and I ate a lot of it). I think I finally fell asleep around 2am with the alarm going off at 4:30am. I had to check Hank's traps at 5am then go to the gym. Of course the traps were empty.

3. My gym workout was lackluster to say the least. Probably because I'm so tired. I used the five-minute rule six times while I was on the Crossramp. Seriously, every five minutes I'd tell myself just five more minutes then I can leave. It was the longest 30 minutes of my life. Afterwards I did upper body weights which normally I love. I didn't seem to have any strength. It's like someone pulled the plug on my energy. After only four exercises (3 sets each), I gave up. Normally I do a minimum of six different exercises, three sets each. I just didn't have it in me this morning.

4. I have my performance review today at work It's not something I'm looking forward to. Especially because I'm so tired, and I never take constructive criticism well even under the best of circumstances. Given how I feel right now I'll probably wind up in tears.

5. It's snowing giant snowflakes right now. Thirty-five degrees with gray skies. Normally I love snow, but it makes me sad to think of poor Hank out there, alone, cold, hungry and scared.

I know all this will pass and everything will be okay. No one is going to give up on Hank. I probably won't get fired from my job. So I had a bad workout this morning, it happens.

I'm sure tomorrow will be a better day (heck, can't get much worse than how I feel right now).

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Mediterranean Fruit Parfait

(makes 6 servings)

Ingredients:

  • ¾ cup 1% milk


  • ½ cup non-fat sour cream


  • ½ cup plain or lemon low-fat yogurt


  • ⅓ cup couscous (preferably whole wheat)


  • 1 tbsp honey


  • 1 tsp lemon zest


  • ½ cup strawberries, hulled and sliced


  • ½ cup fresh raspberries


  • ¼ cup dates, chopped


  • ½ cup fresh blueberries


  • ½ cup sliced nectarines


Preparation:

  • Bring milk to a boiling then stir in couscous in a medium-sized saucepan. Simmer, covered for 1 minute then remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and let stand 1 minute.


  • Combine sour cream, yogurt, lemon zest and honey in a small-sized bowl. Add couscous and mix well.


  • Combine fruit in a separate bowl.


  • Using 6 clear glasses, layer the bottom of each with fruit followed by a layer of the couscous mixture, then another layer of fruit.


Make 6 Servings:

Weight loss recipes Amount Per Serving(1/6 of recipe (139 g)): 133 Calories, 5 g Protein, 27 g carbohydrates, 3 g Dietary Fiber, 1 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 4 mg cholesterol, 47 mg sodium

Chasing Hank

Meet Hank, a two-year old, 35-pound Formosan Mountain Dog:




I spent most of my weekend volunteering with a dog rescue group, Saving Great Animals, trying to track down Hank in my neighborhood.

This poor dog has the saddest story, but I'm praying for a happy ending. He's from Taiwan and has only been in the United States for five days. He is one of forty dogs rescued from Taiwan. Hank's breed, the Formosan Mountain dog, and the fact that he's solid black, put him at high risk to become dog meat in Taiwan. In 2004 the Taiwanese government made selling dog meat illegal, but of course, people still do it. The Formosan is a favorite, and an all black dog is considered a delicacy.

Hank was a beloved family pet in Taiwan until a recent tragedy. His family's house burned down, and all of his family died in the fire. Somehow Hank got out of the house, and was sent to the Saving Great Animals sister shelter in Taipei. They wanted to get him out of Taiwan since he's solid black. The risk of someone eating him was too high. I don't know about you, but this just horrifies me.

Hank was picked up at the airport five days ago by his new foster mom. He'd just flown in on a flight from Taiwan. She said he has the sweetest personality and played with her dog (a rescue from Mexico that I fell in love with). Hank even let her two-year old pet him.

Two days after Hank's arrival, he was adopted by friends of his foster mom. This is where we should have a happy ending. Unfortunately, more tragedy struck. Within ten minutes of having Hank in their house, the new owners accidentally let him in the garage with the garage door open. Hank has been on the run for three days, in the coldest weather on record in Seattle (in the teens at night).

Last night there was a sighting about a mile from my house, so we searched from 9pm until 2:30am. We finally gave up and went home. This morning there was another sighting a half block from my house. I ran over to where Hank was spotted, and met the guy that had seen him. There's a huge reward for this dog so the guy was really trying to help us find him. No luck.

About two hours later a lady called and said he was in her yard. It was a fenced yard about a half mile from my house. There were eight of us, including a woman from Pet Partnerhip, a searh and rescue for lost pets group. She had a snare pole and was using her own dog as a "magnet" dog, to be used to lure Hank over to her so she can collar him. Unfortunately Hank freaked out. We ran after him, but we couldn't catch him. I was in tears. I couldn't believe we were so close to catching him, and he got away from us.

The rescue folks finally decided to set live animal traps for him, with food inside. One is a block from my house and the other one about 1/2 mile. They have to be checked every two to five hours. I hope we catch him.

The new owners that let Hank escape aren't going to be able to adopt him. They're not fit to be dog parents. I know they must feel awful, but they haven't helped us at all to try and find Hank, and their mistake was pretty big.

Send a little prayer out for Hank. :)

Back to my regularly scheduled program, weight loss
I attended my Weight Watchers meeting Saturday, and I weighed in at 182.6. Not fantastic. Heck, not good at all, but what I failed to mention is about ten days ago I saw 187.0 on my home scales. That was the first thing in the morning, naked. At Weight Watchers I had clothes on (I'm pretty sure you already knew that). I'm going in the right direction, but I still have a really long way to go.

Saturday night after walking around in the freezing cold until the wee hours of the morning, I came home starving to death. I had purchased a box of two-Point Lemon Mousse Pie bars at my meeting (never again). I ate the entire box when I got home. I think there were ten, at 70 calories each.

I was furious with myself afterwards. I'd spent an hour at the gym earlier in the day, 30 minutes StairMaster and 30 minutes crossramp. One hour of high intensity cardio. Then I'd traipsed through the woods for five hours looking for Hank. I burned a lot of calories but not enough to compensate for a 700- calorie binge.

What can I say? Not much. I started over today, again. So far, so good but it's only 9pm. I have to go check Hank's traps before I can go to bed. I'm totally exhausted from this weekend. It ws physically and emotionally challenging.

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Lime and Watermelon Granita

(makes 6-8 servings)

Weight Loss Recipes : Lime and Watermelon GranitaIngredients:

  • ½ cup fresh limes juiced


  • ½ cup water


  • ¼ cup sugar


  • 4 cups cubed seedless watermelon


Preparation:

  • Bring water and sugar to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool.


  • Using a blender, purée the watermelon.


  • Stir in the watermelon, sugar-water and lime juice in a medium bowl.


  • Pour watermelon mixture into a 11 x 7-inch baking dish, cover and freeze at least 3 hours.


  • Remove from freezer, let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes.


  • Scrape the entire mixture with a fork until crystals are fluffy. Serve in chilled glasses or bowls.


Make 6 Servings:

Weight loss recipes Amount Per Serving(1/6 of recipe (147 g)): 73 Calories, 1 g Protein, 19 g carbohydrates, 1 g Dietary Fiber, 0 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 6 mg sodium

How to Lose 20 Pounds in 29 Days Without Fad Diets, Pills and the Gym

It is well documented that the incidence of human obesity has been increasing steadily with each generation since about the time of the industrial revolution. As societies became more specialized, with constant advances in the fields of science, technology and agriculture, we became increasingly fatter. In addition, we now have alarming rates of child obesity essentially in all Western cultures

Friday, February 25, 2011

Honey Popcorn Balls

(makes 6 popcorn balls)

Weight Loss Recipes : Honey Popcorn BallsIngredients:

  • ½ cup honey


  • ¼ cup sugar


  • 1 tbsp butter or margarine


  • ½ tsp cinnamon


  • 5 cups hot-air popped popcorn


Preparation:

  • Place air-popped popcorn in a large-sized bowl and set aside.


  • Combine honey, cinnamon, sugar and 1 tbsp butter in a 2-quart microwave-safe bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave at 275 degrees F about 5-7 minutes.


  • Pour honey mixture over popcorn and stir to coat, then set aside to cool.


  • With buttered hands, shape into balls.


Make 6 Servings:

Weight loss recipes Amount Per Serving(1/6 of recipe (48 g)): 176 Calories, 1 g Protein, 36 g carbohydrates, 1 g Dietary Fiber, 4 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 10 mg cholesterol, 44 mg sodium

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Cottage Cheese Crab Salad

This salad is quick and delicious. There are two ingredients my husband refuses to eat: cottage cheese and sour cream. Funny thing, he ate two servings of this salad saying it was 5-Star top-notch delicious! HA!! I'll never tell.

I used plum tomatoes, the only fresh fruit I could find this time of year. The seeds and membrane were bitter so I seeded them and sprinkled a pinch of sugar on the

You never see a tubby smackhead

I was watching this show yesterday and this guy was talking about diet pills which just cracked me up!

I think the highlight of the one liners last night was "Forget diet pills. Just take Heroin! You never see a tubby smackhead!"  Oh man if it that was socially acceptable hobby I would give it a go for sure! Another great ones was "How can a man who spends his days pumping cream into buns be homophobic?" ahh man it was so funny.

I had never seen it before, but its really good. Its a stand up comedian just doing jokes about the current week of news and topical subjects. I posted one of his little funnies I found on You tube just below. If you get a chance check it out - Russell Howard's Good News.

Anyway, onto band news... well things have moved a little bit in the right direction. I am currently 117.4kgs and holding. So that's nearly 5kg since October. I have made a few conscious mistakes just because I wanted succor in the form of chocolate and crackers and crisps but still managed to lose. Wine has also be partaken of, and obviously that wont help the weightloss either, but I have enjoyed myself.

I think that if I hadn't been going to the gym, I wouldn't have lost weight though. I think that 350 -400 calories I burn there 3 times a week has got to help me out really. It is my fourth week now. TB and I started on Friday 28th January so we have gone 3 times a week for a month without skipping or missing a session. The one week I couldn't do our regular day, we went the next one to make up for it.

We go Monday, Wednesday and Friday for about 1 hour to 1 hour 30mins each time. I definitely feel fitter and am still as up for it as I have ever been. We are going a bit later today but we usually go about 10 as that fits with work and stuff. I will take a video of the gym session today and show you around our health club!

Last night I made a scrummy band friendly dinner.

I have no idea what to call it, and most of the names I can come up with sound rank and yuk but here it is:

This is vegetarian and serves 6 healthy appetites!

1 bag of Kale (or strong Greens/Cabbage)
2 cooking apples
1 onion
10 spring onions (green onions)
4 sticks celery
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons sunflower seeds
salt and pepper
2 teaspoons mustard
1 tablespoon of sugar
1 package of ready rolled Pastry

Fry the onion and celery together in a little olive oil/butter or even water until soft



After frying and softening the onion and celery add the cooking apples to the mix and stir continually as they stick easy and burn easier!


  After the apples start to moosh a little add the rest of the stuff - kale, spring onion, garlic, mustard, seeds, salt, pepper and sugar and mix that baby until it looks a little like this:

Then get your pastry and divide it into two. Roll both pieces out separately into an oblong shape - it should already be big enough in width, so just roll it so its a bit longer - about the length of your baking tray. As it will be thin, put it on greaseproof paper and then dump half the mixture onto one side of the pastry like this:

fold the pastry over to cover it and stick all the edges together and you should end up with a kind of strudel shaped thing. Do the same with the other one and then put them in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes on about 175 deg C (fairly hot - like what you would bake stuff at) and you should end up with 2 of these beauties:
these cut up into 4 reasonable portions or 3 generous portions depending on how many you have to feed/ how hungry they are!! But it looks like this on the plate:

I served this with boiled carrots and mashed potato and it was scrumptious! Calories - in the mixture there was about 300 for the whole lot (as I used olive oil to fry with) and the pastry when divided into six portions was just under 300 cals so a lovely scrummy pie suitable for bandits was 350 cals! 

Right, I am off to the gym, see ya'll later x

Russell Howard's Good News - Homophobic Baker

Thursday, February 24, 2011

My head has been buried in the sand


I've been really good lately about ignoring the the one thing I don't want to talk about. Recently, another blogger mentioned that you can tell when someone is doing poorly on their weight loss plan. It's when they talk about everything except their weight loss plan.

I know that blogger was talking about me (actually, I don't think they even know I exist...but still, that's me). I talk about my cat, about being sick with a cold, my toothache, and recently I've even been chatting about the weather. Really, the weather?

Sorry dear readers. To the few of you that still remain faithful, I haven't exactly been open and honest about my weight loss, or rather, my lack of weight loss.Or in reality, my weight gain. It's very apparent I've been avoiding the obvious. Even if I should happen to even mention trying to lose weight or talk about getting healthy, I quickly gloss over it  hoping you don't notice that I really haven't been into it lately.

About that blogger I mentioned above, they were right in their analysis. The weight loss hasn't been going well for me. I have a lot of reasons, or rather excuses. They really aren't even worth mentioning, but here they are: I've been sick, I'm tired all the time, it's cold outside, I've lost desire, I don't care anymore, my work is stressful (some things never change), or, and you've got to love this one because it's my favorite...I just don't feel like it.

It's time
Time for what? It's time that I do something about this very unfortunate situation I've put myself in. I have to lose weight. I have to stop talking about it and do it.

I just counted the days until the Seattle Big Climb. My heart sank when I realized I only have 24 DAYS before I have to climb 69 floors. There are 20 people on my Big Climb team. I am the team captain. One of the people on my team is the president of my company. I've heard he's a very nice person. Although we've met a few times, he doesn't know me, but he knows the person we're honoring with our climb. The president went to high school with one of the guys on my team (on my work team and my Big Climb team). They're good friends.

So it's not like I can say I'm not doing this thing. That's not even within the realm of possibilities. I have to go, put on my cheerleader hat and literally, take one for the team. Or in this case, take 1,311 stair steps for the team. Really though, this isn't about me. It's about raising money for research for leukemia and other blood cancers. Reading this guy's blog reminded me once again of why I'm doing this (it's not for me or about me, it's for a greater good).

About my weight gain
I weighed two days ago at home, no clothes, in the morning before breakfast. I was HORRIFIED to see 183.4 on the scales. I practically ran screaming from the room. How on earth did I let this happen? And now, of all times, with a very difficult, physical challenge facing me on March 20. I don't know. I just know it happened. Excuses are acceptable, and none would help at this point anyway.

Setting a goal with fierce resolve
I have exactly 24 DAYS until B.C. DAY (Big Climb Day = March 20). I can either throw in the towel and say there's nothing I can accomplish in that short amount of time, or I can give it 110% of my effort. I'm choosing the last one. I'm going for it. I know I can at least make a dent in the damage I've done.

My goal is pretty aggressive, but here it is:

Ten pounds in 24 days

Fierce resolve is a desirable quality in an employee. It's referring to intense professional will. It's something that's encourage where I work. Why can't I apply this concept to weight loss? What if I have fierce resolve to lose this weight? An intense will to lose weight. Imagine what I could do with this. I had it at one time, then I quietly and conveniently let it slip away from me.

It's really easier to not have fierce resolve about weight loss. Fierce resolve is hard work, especially for someone like myself, that has struggled with my weight my entire adult entire life.

I was reading about fierce resolve on the internet, and came across an interesting article. I borrowed this paragraph from the article:

Reality can and does bend at our will. This is where the phrase fierce resolve clarifies itself. When you are firmly decided upon a goal, you cultivate the resolution to achieve. You don't do this half-hearted.

My head is out of the sand.

Grilled Peaches on the Half Shell

(makes 4 servings)

Weight Loss Recipes : Grilled Peaches on the Half ShellIngredients:

  • 4 ripe peaches


  • 1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries or blueberries


  • 2-3 tbsp brown sugar


  • 4 tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice.


Preparation:

  • Prepare grill. Wash and halve peaches. Remove pits and discard.


  • Place one halved peach, cut side up on a square of aluminum foil. Fill cavity with berries.


  • Sprinkle berries with brown sugar then drizzle with lemon juice.


  • Bring sides of foil up and wrap over top and sides of the peach. Repeat process with other peach half.


  • Grill about 15-20 minutes. Serve warm


Make 4 Servings:

Weight loss recipes Amount Per Serving(¼ of recipe (144 g)): 86 Calories, 1 g Protein, 22 g carbohydrates, 3 g Dietary Fiber, 0 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 5 mg sodium

Polyphenols, Hormesis and Disease: Part II

In the last post, I explained that the body treats polyphenols as potentially harmful foreign chemicals, or "xenobiotics". How can we reconcile this with the growing evidence that at least a subset of polyphenols have health benefits?

Clues from Ionizing Radiation

One of the more curious things that has been reported in the scientific literature is that although high-dose ionizing radiation (such as X-rays) is clearly harmful, leading to cancer, premature aging and other problems, under some conditions low-dose ionizing radiation can actually decrease cancer risk and increase resistance to other stressors (1, 2, 3, 4, 5). It does so by triggering a protective cellular response, increasing cellular defenses out of proportion to the minor threat posed by the radiation itself. The ability of mild stressors to increase stress resistance is called "hormesis." Exercise is a common example. I've written about this phenomenon in the past (6).

The Case of Resveratrol

Resveratrol is perhaps the most widely known polyphenol, available in supplement stores nationwide. It's seen a lot of hype, being hailed as a "calorie restriction mimetic" and the reason for the "French paradox."* But there is quite a large body of evidence suggesting that resveratrol functions in the same manner as low-dose ionizing radiation and other bioactive polyphenols: by acting as a mild toxin that triggers a hormetic response (7). Just as in the case of radiation, high doses of resveratrol are harmful rather than helpful. This has obvious implications for the supplementation of resveratrol and other polyphenols. A recent review article on polyphenols stated that while dietary polyphenols may be protective, "high-dose fortified foods or dietary supplements are of unproven efficacy and possibly harmful" (8).

The Cellular Response to Oxidants

Although it may not be obvious, radiation and polyphenols activate a cellular response that is similar in many ways. Both activate the transcription factor Nrf2, which activates genes that are involved in detoxification of chemicals and antioxidant defense**(9, 10, 11, 12). This is thought to be due to the fact that polyphenols, just like radiation, may temporarily increase the level of oxidative stress inside cells. Here's a quote from the polyphenol review article quoted above (13):
We have found that [polyphenols] are potentially far more than 'just antioxidants', but that they are probably insignificant players as 'conventional' antioxidants. They appear, under most circumstances, to be just the opposite, i.e. prooxidants, that nevertheless appear to contribute strongly to protection from oxidative stress by inducing cellular endogenous enzymic protective mechanisms. They appear to be able to regulate not only antioxidant gene transcription but also numerous aspects of intracellular signaling cascades involved in the regulation of cell growth, inflammation and many other processes.
It's worth noting that this is essentially the opposite of what you'll hear on the evening news, that polyphenols are direct antioxidants. The scientific cutting edge has largely discarded that hypothesis, but the mainstream has not yet caught on.

Nrf2 is one of the main pathways by which polyphenols increase stress resistance and antioxidant defenses, including the key cellular antioxidant glutathione (14). Nrf2 activity is correlated with longevity across species (15). Inducing Nrf2 activity via polyphenols or by other means substantially reduces the risk of common lifestyle disorders in animal models, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer (16, 17, 18), although Nrf2 isn't necessarily the only mechanism. The human evidence is broadly consistent with the studies in animals, although not as well developed.

One of the most interesting effects of hormesis is that exposure to one stressor can increase resistance to other stressors. For example, long-term consumption of high-polyphenol chocolate increases sunburn resistance in humans, implying that it induces a hormetic response in skin (19). Polyphenol-rich foods such as green tea reduce sunburn and skin cancer development in animals (20, 21).

Chris Masterjohn first introduced me to Nrf2 and the idea that polyphenols act through hormesis. Chris studies the effects of green tea on health, which seem to be mediated by polyphenols.

A Second Mechanism

There is a place in the body where polyphenols are concentrated enough to be direct antioxidants: in the digestive tract after consuming polyphenol-rich foods. Digestion is a chemically harsh process that readily oxidizes ingested substances such as polyunsaturated fats (22). Oxidized fat is neither healthy when it's formed in the deep fryer, nor when it's formed in the digestive tract (23, 24). Eating polyphenol-rich foods effectively prevents these fats from being oxidized during digestion (25). One consequence of this appears to be better absorption and assimilation of the exceptionally fragile omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (26).

What does it all Mean?

I think that overall, the evidence suggests that polyphenol-rich foods are healthy in moderation, and eating them on a regular basis is generally a good idea. Certain other plant chemicals, such as suforaphane found in cruciferous vegetables, and allicin found in garlic, exhibit similar effects and may also act by hormesis (27). Some of the best-studied polyphenol-rich foods are tea (particularly green tea), blueberries, extra-virgin olive oil, red wine, citrus fruits, hibiscus tea, soy, dark chocolate, coffee, turmeric and other herbs and spices, and a number of traditional medicinal herbs. A good rule of thumb is to "eat the rainbow", choosing foods with a variety of colors.

Supplementing with polyphenols and other plant chemicals in amounts that would not be achievable by eating food is probably not a good idea.


* The "paradox" whereby the French eat a diet rich in saturated fat, yet have a low heart attack risk compared to other affluent Western nations.

** Genes containing an antioxidant response element (ARE) in the promoter region. ARE is also sometimes called the electrophile response element (EpRE).

The Joy of Gelatin

This year we introduced a new feature in our Cooking with Kaye weekly newsletter titled "All in the Family." The focus is preparing family friendly meals that support our high protein, complex-carbohydrate diet so that we can enjoy meals together eating the same things. We seek to find a way for the entire family to eat delicious, affordable meals that are mindful of our diverse health

Find A Friend in the Neighborhood

 Find a Friend in the Neighborhood
.







The LivingAfterWLS Neighborhood is your compassion-driven online social space for sharing your weight loss surgery and learning about others with weight loss surgery. We welcome Neighbors with any surgical procedure (or not) and at any stage in their weight management. This is our safe haven circle of friends. Below are quick links to some great

Understanding Ketosis in the Weight Loss Surgery High Protein Diet

Often when we hear about a diet that puts the body in a state of ketosis we are fearful having heard that ketosis is a potentially dangerous imbalance of blood glucose, the result of a low carbohydrate, high fat high protein diet. Ketosis results when the body switches from burning glucose for energy to burning ketones for energy. Glucose comes from carbohydrates which are the bodys first choice

2011 Four Rules Refresher Course

In the spirit of the New Year we are taking a closer look at the Four Rules - starting with Rule #1 Protein First. In short - Protein First means it should be the first nutrient we eat at any meal and it should account for the highest percentage of nutrients eaten over fat, carbohydrates and alcohol. (More detail on this in the articles below)

Before surgery most of us were taught the Four Rules

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Fruit Crisp

(makes 8 servings)

Weight Loss Recipes : Fruit CrispIngredients:

  • 3 large apples, unpeeled, cored and sliced thin


  • ⅓ cup sugar


  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon


  • ¼ cup all-purpose flour


  • ¾ cup rolled oats (regular or quick)


  • ¼ cup butter melted


  • ¼ cup raisins (optional)


  • ½ cup walnuts (optional)


Preparation:

  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C)


  • Combine the apples, sugar, cinnamon, raisins, and 1 tbsp of the flour in a large-sized bowl. Stir well to coat the apples with dry ingredients. Transfer mixture to a greased shallow baking dish.


  • Combine the remaining flour, nuts, and oats in the same bowl. Stir in the melted butter, and mix the ingredients well. Sprinkle the oat mixture over the fruit mixture.


  • Bake the crisp in a preheated oven for 40 minutes or until the crisp is lightly browned. Serve warm.


Make 8 Servings:

Weight loss recipes Amount Per Serving( ⅛ of recipe (116 g)): 221 Calories, 3 g Protein, 33 g carbohydrates, 4 g Dietary Fiber, 10 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 12 mg cholesterol, 48 mg sodium

The gym and a snow day

This will be a short post because I have a cat in my lap, with his head draped across my left arm. It's my cat Mickey (a.k.a. Mickey Mouse), a white and orangeTurkish Van. He's a cat that thinks he's a dog that's named after a rodent. Anyway, it's hard to type and keep my arm still so as not to disturb him. He looks annoyed here because I woke him up to take his picture.


My toothache finally subsided last night until 2:30 a.m. when the Vicodin wore off (it's only good for four hours). I woke up in agony. I took two more Vicodin and went back to sleep.

Since my toothache didn't come back, I made it to the gym by 6 a.m. and worked out for an hour and 45 minutes. My lungs burned so bad while I was on the StairMaster that I thought they were going to catch on fire. After my strength training I went home and was so nauseous that I threw up, and I hadn't eaten anything since the night before at about 9 p.m.. Maybe too much too soon.

Pictures through my office window today at 12:30 p.m., and then twenty minutes later. The sun came out and about an hour later it was all melted, but it was beautiful while it lasted.



Tomorrow's goal...to set some goals. :)

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Toothache from hell and pictures from my day

I woke up this morning thinking I either have bronchitis or maybe pneumonia. Every time I cough, my lungs burn and hurt, and my throat is raw from all the coughing. I even thought about canceling my delivery aircraft flight but since it was very last minute, and it's considered a great opportunity and an honor, I took a shot of DayQuil and headed off to the office. I skipped the gym because just showering and getting dressed pretty much sapped all my strength.

The day was sort of fun. We took a bus from Sea-Tac up to Boeing Field. We were able to take pictures of our brand new aircraft, and we took off for an hour and a half sightseeing flight around Puget Sound landing back at Sea-Tac. It was cloudy but there were patches of open sky.

The best part of the day was when we got to 15,000 feet they let each of us take a turn sitting in the Captain's seat with our hands on the "steering wheel" (I think it's called a "yoke" but I'm not sure). Then the Captain took our picture. That was really cool. Unfortunately, we were warned to NOT post the pictures on the internet. I'm not sure why exactly, but we were told it wasn't allowed.

The only pictures from my day where you can't see the name of my company (!):

Me holding up the aircraft


A view from the window. Notice the sunshine on the engine, where it was
sparkling clean and shiny. The entire aircraft had a new car smell, or I guess,
a new airplane smell.



The toothache from hell
Tonight I have major, excruciating pain in a lower molar. I had my first crown about a year ago, and it's hurt from the beginning. Tonight it started throbbing and the pain kept getting worse. On a scale of 1 to 10 where 10 is when you would rather just die than to keep feeling the pain, about an hour ago it was at least an 8. I'm a wuss when it comes to pain, but boy does this ever hurt! I've taken two aspirin and two Vicodin and the pain is now down to about a 7. I hope I make it to the morning when I can get in to see the dentist.

The only positive here is that I have no desire to eat. None. The thought of trying to chew anything makes me cringe. I can't remember the last time I had a toothache. Probably when I was a kid. I never had tooth pain, until this crown, which was probably the biggest mistake I've ever made. The darn tooth didn't even hurt until the crown. I forgot what tooth pain felt like, and let me tell you, it is miserable.

At least the Vicodin fixed my sore throat and cough. Its weird it's not doing much for the toothache.

Weight this morning...183.4. Not good. Working on it the best I can, but with the cold and now a toothache, I haven't been in the gym in four days, nor have I been tracking my food. Hopefully I'll be well soon and get back on track. I haven't given up and the Big Climb in in 29 days!

Fruit Compote with Honey Yogurt

(makes 4-6 servings)

Weight Loss Recipes : Fruit Compote with Honey YogurtIngredients:

  • 3 cups unsweetened apple juice or cider


  • ½ cup plain, low-fat yogurt


  • 1 tbsp honey


  • 1 slice (about ¼”) fresh ginger


  • 2 ripe pears


  • 2 Golden Delicious apples


  • 2 tbsp sliced almonds


  • 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice


  • ½ cup dried apricot halves


  • 6 pitted prunes


  • Julienned strips of lemon zest


Preparation:

  • In a large heavy saucepan, Combine apple juice and ginger and bring to a simmer.


  • Peel, quarter and core the pears and apples and toss with lemon juice. Add to saucepan. Cover and cook over low heat for 10 minutes or until pears are just tender.


  • Add apricots and prunes and then cover, cooking for 5 minutes on low heat.


  • Transfer the fruit to a serving bowl.


  • Increase heat and boil the apple juice mixture, uncovered until it reduces to 1-¾ cups. Cool liquid slightly then pour over the fruit.


  • Stir the yogurt and honey together in a small-sized bowl and set aside. Toast the almonds in a small skillet over low heat about 2 minutes or until golden


  • Drizzle the fruit with a spoonful of the yogurt and honey mix. Garnish with strips of the lemon zest and sprinkle with the toasted almonds.


Make 6 Servings:

Weight loss recipes Amount Per Serving(1/6 of recipe (274 g)): 206 Calories, 3 g Protein, 47 g carbohydrates, 5 g Dietary Fiber, 2 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 1 mg cholesterol, 21 mg sodium

Day 43: Last night I vlogged about a few things...

I mostly blog about my weight loss efforts here, but sometimes I like to talk about the things going on in my life. I made a vlog last night about a few things I've been busy with. I thought I would share here since it's part of my journey. My natural reaction to stressful things is eat, but when I started to write, I found the substitution I needed so I wouldn't be eating my stress. Writing has been a wonderful outlet for me, and has saved me many calories. :)



Monday, February 21, 2011

Citrus, Ginger and Green Tea Sorbet

(makes 6 servings)

Weight Loss Recipes : Citrus, Ginger and Green Tea SorbetIngredients:

  • 2 tbsp fresh ginger, chopped


  • ¾ cup water


  • 1 green tea bag


  • 1 cup fresh squeezed orange juice


  • ½ cup fresh squeezed lemon juice


  • ½ cup water


  • ¼ cup honey


  • Snipped fresh mint for garnish (optional)


Preparation:

  • Add the ginger and water in a small-sized saucepan. Bring to boil over medium heat then turn off. Add tea bag and allow to steep for 2-3 minutes. Using a fine mesh sieve, strain the liquid into a freezer-safe medium-sized bowl (non-metallic) and discard the solids. Let cool for 30 minutes.


  • Stir in the orange and lemon juices, water and honey and mix thoroughly. Cover and freeze for about 3-4 hours.

  • Using a wooden spoon, break the semi-solid mixture into chunks. Pour the mixture into a medium-sized mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until smooth. Pour back mixture into freezer bowl, cover and chill for 2 hours before serving.


  • Use an ice-cream scoop to serve the sorbet topped with fresh mint.


Make 6 Servings:

Weight loss recipes Amount Per Serving(1/6 of recipe (78 g)): 68 Calories, 0 g Protein, 18 g carbohydrates, 0 g Dietary Fiber, 0 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 1 mg sodium

Rising from the ashes

Where have I been?
I've been right here, even though I've been away from my blog for over a week. It wasn't a planned or intentional time away. It just sort of happened.

It started out with thoughts that maybe I was becoming a little too obsessive about my food and exercise. I was tired of constantly worrying about it, thinking about it, and condemning myself for my bad choices. I was even more tired of writing about it. Surely this couldn't be of any value to anyone who might read  this blog. Failure after failure. It was disheartening to say the least.

I decided to "relax" a little on the food front. That didn't mean I would go crazy, eating whatever and whenever I wanted. Instead I thought I could take a step back and try to figure out exactly what was wrong with me. Why do I have the compulsion to overeat?

I stuck with the exercise all last week, but Thursday and Friday were difficult days. I had to really push myself at the gym. When I was on the StairMaster Friday morning I felt like my legs were stuck in mud. Every step was torture. My lungs felt like they were on fire and going to explode. It felt about ten times worse than ever before. I couldn't figure out what was wrong with me. Late Friday I knew what was causing the problem. I had a cold.

It's not the flu, and I don't even have a fever. It's just a simple cold. Sneezing, painful sinuses, and coughing, and I feel like hell. Today is day three so I'm started to feel a little bit better. It's the first day I actually got up, showered, and put on real clothes.

I felt a little better after the shower, but now I'm exhausted and just want to crawl back into bed. I'm going to try to stay awake for most of the day because I had a terrible night of trying to sleep last night. Apparently my body had enough bed rest. At 1 a.m. I was tossing and turning, going in and out of various nightmares. It was a very bad night.

Zicam doesn't work for everyone
I tried Zicam for the first time because my girlfriend said it wonders worked for her. Every three hours for the last three days I've put one of those icky mint Zicam melt-away lozenges on my tongue, let it melt, then waited fifteen minutes before I could have a drink of water. Each time I was practically gagging at the chalky, icky, sickly sweet mint taste. I can't tell that I felt any better. In fact, I almost think waking up every three hours to take the lozenge may have made me feel worse. I expected a miracle. I didn't get one. I was still just as sick as the last time I had a cold.

A&E Heavy and rising from the ashes
This morning I watched two old episodes of "Heavy" On Demand. These were episodes I had missed. There was one line that has stayed in my head. One of the guests on the show, Sharon, said she realized she'd "have to be stringent about what she put in her body for the rest of her life".

I realized that's me. I'm not being obsessive when I track my food and worry about what I'm eating. I'm just trying to be healthy. There's nothing wrong with being "stringent". Because of my past and my compulsive tendencies with food, I have to try to be in control all the time.

It's really not such a bad thing to be vigilant about what I'm eating. Not everyone has to live like this, but just like the crack addict or the alcoholic, I have to be careful of what I'm putting in my body.

Stringent: rigorous: demanding strict attention to rules and procedures.

That pretty much defines what works for me. Following the rules, paying strict attention to what I eat. As far as what's driving me to overeat, I know what it is but it's not something I want to share here, at least not yet. It's deeply personal, and a little sad to admit. For now, I prefer to keep this part of myself private.

Even though I know why I overeat, it's still a challenge to stop it. It's something I've been doing for a very long time, and changing an old behavior is difficult, but not impossible.

My plan for my week is to gently ease back in to exercising tomorrow. It's been three days, and I'm itching to get back to the gym. Tomorrow morning will be a light workout.

On the food front, "stringent" will be my keyword. Weighing, measuring, tracking every bite. It's really not that hard. I've been doing it for over three years now. What's another twenty or thirty years? :)

Fun day tomorrow
Tomorrow I get to do something fun at work. Most of you know I work for an airline. Tomorrow I get to ride on a brand new Boeing 737-800 as it's flown from Boeing Field to Sea-Tac airport, and the airline takes delivery of the new aircraft.

We usually get a few new aircraft each year. This year there will be three new 737-800's added to the fleet. It's a very big deal when we get a new aircraft. The price is somewhere in the range of $80 million, and there's a lot hoopla surrounding the delivery. It means the company is doing good and growing. 

As a special treat for working on a difficult project, myself and 107 of my closest coworkers (kidding, I only know a few of them), will get to ride around for a couple hours, sightseeing Mt. Rainier and the Cascades. Of course, after two gorgeous sunny days here in the Northwest, the forecast is rain for tomorrow (darn it!).

It will still be fun to fly on a brand new aircraft and be part of the festivities. After 28 years with my company, I'm still very excited about a new aircraft.

Weight Loss Before After

weight loss before and after (18)
"Do a little more each day than you think you possibly can." ~ Lowell Thomas
weight loss before and after (19) "Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out." ~ Robert Collier
weight loss before and after (20) "Impatience never commands success." ~ Edwin Chapin
weight loss before and after (21) "To climb steep hills requires a slow pace at first." ~ Shakespeare
weight loss before and after (22) "Just Do It!" ~ Nike
weight loss before and after (23) "Do it or not. There is no 'try'." ~ Yoda
weight loss before and after (24) "Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going." ~ Jim Ryun
weight loss before and after (25) "Nothing was ever achieved without enthusiasm." ~ Emerson
weight loss before and after (26) "Success is the good fortune that comes from aspiration, desperation, perspiration, and inspiration." ~ Evan Esar
weight loss before and after (27) "Nothing happens until I make it happen." ~ Scott Wilson
weight loss before and after (28) "The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing." ~ Walt Disney
weight loss before and after (29) "People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing." ~ Dale Carnegie
weight loss before and after (30) "Happiness is more a state of health than of wealth." ~ Frank Tyger
weight loss before and after (31) "A desire can overcome all objections and obstacles." ~ Gunderson
weight loss before and after (32) "One way to get thin is to re-establish a purpose in life." ~ Cyril Connolly
weight loss before and after (33)"More die in the United States of too much food than too little." ~ John Kenneth Galbraith
Keep up the hard work. Who knows the next before and after picture might be yours?
Click here to return to the Weight Loss Before And After article.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Citrus Cheesecake

(makes 12 servings)

Weight Loss Recipes : Citrus CheesecakeIngredients:

  • Non-fat cooking spray


  • 2 tbsp brown sugar


  • 1 cup graham cracker crumbs


  • 2 tbsp butter or margarine, melted


Ingredients for filling:

  • ⅔ cup sugar


  • 1 tsp vanilla extract


  • ⅓ cup all-purpose flour


  • 2 (8oz) packages non-fat cream cheese


  • 2 medium eggs


  • 3 medium egg whites


  • ½ cup 1% low-fat milk


  • ⅓ cup non-fat sour cream


  • 1 tsp lemon peel, grated


  • 1 tsp lime peel, grated


  • 1 tsp orange peel, grated


  • 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice


  • 1 tbsp fresh lime juice


  • 1 tbsp fresh orange juice


  • ¼ cup sugar


Preparation:

  • Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.


  • Prepare the crust: Coat a 9” springform pan with cooking spray. Mix crumbs, butter, and brown sugar in a medium-sized bowl, then firmly press mixture into bottom and 2” up the sides of the pan.


  • Prepare the filling: In a large mixing bowl, combine flour and sugar then add cream cheese, vanilla, eggs and beat until smooth. Add milk, sour cream, citrus juices and peels and beat until smooth.


  • In a separate mixing bowl, using clean and dry beaters, beat egg whites at room temperature at high speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add ¼ cup sugar, 1 tbsp at a time and beat until stiff peaks form. Gently fold egg white mixture with cream cheese mixture.


  • Pour into prepared crust and bake at 300 degrees F about 1 hour or until set.


  • Remove from oven and let completely cool on a wire rack. Cover and chill for 4 hours or overnight.


  • Sprinkle with lime, orange zest, and grated lemon before serving (optional.)


Make 12 Servings:

Weight loss recipes Amount Per Serving(1/12 of recipe (89 g)): 118 Calories, 9 g Protein, 16 g carbohydrates, 0 g Dietary Fiber, 2 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 39 mg cholesterol, 285 mg sodium

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Caramelized Pears with Toasted Almonds and Yogurt

(makes 4 servings)

Weight Loss Recipes : Caramelized Pears with Toasted Almonds and YogurtIngredients:

  • 3 ripe pears, scrubbed, quartered, cored and thinly sliced


  • 1 tbsp firmly packed brown sugar


  • 1 tbsp unblanched almonds, sliced


  • ½ cup low-fat vanilla yogurt


Preparation:

  • Place a broiler rack about 3“ from source of heat. Heat the broiler.


  • Arrange the pears in a shallow, flameproof dish in concentric circles, slightly overlapping each other. Sprinkle with the brown sugar.


  • Broil until the brown sugar has carmelized and pears begin to brown, about 5 minutes.


  • Sprinkle with the almonds and broil for about 1 minute or until almonds turn golden.


  • Serve warm, topping each serving with a dollop of vanilla yogurt.


Make 4 Servings:

Weight loss recipes Amount Per Serving(¼ of recipe (160 g)): 121 Calories, 2 g Protein, 27 g carbohydrates, 3 g Dietary Fiber, 2 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 2 mg cholesterol, 22 mg sodium

Friday, February 18, 2011

Blueberry Coffee Cake

(makes 8 servings)

Weight Loss Recipes : Blueberry Coffee CakeIngredients:

  • 1½ cups fresh or frozen blueberries


  • 1 cup lemon low-fat yogurt


  • 2 medium egg whites


  • 3 tbsp vegetable oil


  • ½ cup sugar


  • 2 tsp baking powder


  • ½ tsp baking soda


  • 1½ cup flour


  • 1 tbsp grated lemon peel


  • ¼ tsp salt


  • Non-fat cooking spray


Preparation:

  • Heat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Spray a 9x9x2" square pan with non-fat cooking spray.


  • In a large-sized bowl, beat egg whites, vegetable oil, yogurt and sugar. Stir in remaining ingredients except blueberries.


  • Carefully stir in blueberries.


  • Spread all ingredients in pan.


  • Bake for 45 minutes or until cake springs back when touched lightly in center. Let cool.


Make 8 Servings:

Weight loss recipes Amount Per Serving (⅛ of recipe (110 g)): 184 Calories, 8 g Protein, 33 g carbohydrates, 1 g Dietary Fiber, 2 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 57 mg cholesterol, 108 mg sodium

49/365: Dinner on a Budget: Easy Chili

I love to cook and I especially love swapping tried and true recipes.  You know, the kind of recipes that always turn out, instantly satisfy and most of all, are easy. My favorite recipes are those that take a little while to cook so you have time to clean the kitchen while it's doing it's thing.  Nothing is more refreshing to the busy mom's soul than to have a clean kitchen after everyone leaves the table.  I'm instantly happy when it takes all of five minutes for everyone to participate in dinner clean up. 


Right now we are tightening up our budget and I'm on the hunt for meals that aren't only quick, easy and healthy, but are also cheap. It's pretty easy to find fast recipes, but if it involves cheese whiz, Velveeta or any other highly processed foods, I don't consider that reasonable to feed my family. Actually, I don't even consider that stuff food. It's a challenge to satisfy all four of my requirements, but even with a budget, I have standards.

This recipe was given to me from my dear friend, Staci. She and I share similar palettes, so I always get wonderful recipes from her. Here is one our favorite meals when it's chilly outside. ;)

Did I mention it's also low calories if you don't add any toppings? (I always enjoy the toppings though, I use a light hand when applying.) Yep, super filling and great for the weight loss efforts.

EASY CHILI
(I forgot to take a picture the other night--but it basically looks like...chili.)


1 lb. ground beef, lean
1 lg onion, chopped
6-8 garlic cloves
2-3 Tbs. dried basil
2 cans kidney beans, drained
1-15oz can tomato sauce
1-14 1/2 can diced tomatoes (seasoned or zesty are best)
1-6oz can tomato paste
>1oz chili powder (about 1/3 of a 2.5oz sized bottle)
2 Tbs sugar
2-3 jalapeño, chopped *optional
salt, pepper, garlic salt, to taste

-Brown beef, onion and garlic together is olive oil.
-Add remaining ingredients and cook on stove top, covered, for 1-2 hours on low.
-Top with:
  grated cheese
  green onions <--favorite part
  sour cream
  Fritos chips

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Baked Rice Pudding

(makes 4 servings)

Weight Loss Recipes : Baked Rice PuddingIngredients:

  • 3 medium egg whites, lightly beaten


  • 1 medium egg, lightly beaten


  • 1½ cups 1% low-fat milk


  • 1 tsp vanilla extract


  • ⅓ cup dates, chopped


  • ⅔ cups cooked rice


  • ¼ cup sugar


  • Pinch of cinnamon or cinnamon


Preparation:

  • Preheat oven at 325 degrees F.


  • Combine egg, egg whites, milk, vanilla and sugar in a medium mixing bowl. Beat until combined but not foamy.


  • Add cooked rice and dates and mix well.


  • Pour rice mixture into a baking dish. Place baking dish in a large pan then place in oven. Pour boiled water into large pan around the baking dish to a depth of about 1-inch.


  • Bake uncovered at 325° degrees for 45 minutes or until a knife inserted halfway between the edge and the center comes out clean.


  • Serve warm or chilled with a sprinkle of cinnamon or nutmeg.


Make 4 Servings:

Weight loss recipes Amount Per Serving ( ¼ of recipe (180 g)): 184 Calories, 8 g Protein, 33 g carbohydrates, 1 g Dietary Fiber, 2 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 57 mg cholesterol, 108 mg sodium

Fucking peeved

I notice that this months posts have all been rather down and the mouth, sorry. I am not particularly down at the mouth, nor down at the scales it would seem. I am 117.9kgs today. Yay.

NOT YAY!

I cannot work out what the heck-a doodle is going on in my body but it would seem, against all scientific studies on earth, that my metabolism works backwards. If I eat a full pile of shit and sugar all week - I lose weight or stay the same. If I exercise like a sweaty pig and eat less - I gain.

Well what does that suggest to one that is trying to eat less and exercise. Yeah, seems like its not worth it.

God! What the FUCK???????????

Man I know you guys are all awesome and stuff but I have absolutely no idea why you bother to follow this blog as its such a pile of utter drivel and self loathing.

Even I don't have any idea why I write it!! I mean seriously? What IS the point of it.

*Death Sigh*


I just took a minute there to cover my face with my hands and rub it. I just don't know what to do any more. I am sitting here trying to be positive. I CAN'T. What can I be positive about. I busted my ass for 3 and a half weeks and I am heavier now than I was at the start.

Oh jeez. I need help and I have pretty much exhausted all possibilities.

I know that unbanded is not the way to go. I put on a lot of weight real quick so I know it's not the answer. But banding isn't either. Something MUST BE WRONG WITH ME. Like INSIDE.

Its not physically fucking possible to expend more calories than you consume and NOT lose weight.

Maybe I am am the right person to send to the Amazon or Sahara or Himalayas or Antarctica. I would get fatter and fatter as I ate less and less and exercised more and more. I am a scientific DREAM! I should be studied. People can write their thesis' on me. COME ON! Contact me scientists!!! Old Captian Scott would have took me on the team. I dunno about them, but I woulda defo made it home right?!!!! 

I am not going to stop because I can't. I can't afford an unfill or a fill (and I am as tight as the proverbial D.A. anyway). I can't stop going to the gym as I have to do it for TB. I also


Enjoy it!!!!!


There I said it, but really small just in case anyone hears!

I am committed to shifting this bulk, but I just don't know how to do it any more chapettes.

HELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLP!
(and that's just a scream cos I am fucked of right? I'll be ok in a few days..weeks lol)

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Applesauce Carrot Cake

(makes 16 servings)

Weight Loss Recipes : Applesauce Carrot CakeIngredients:

  • 2 cups white flour


  • ⅔ cup sugar


  • 2 tsp baking soda


  • ½ tsp nutmeg


  • ½ tsp salt


  • 1½ tsp cinnamon


  • 3 eggs


  • 3 cups carrots, coarsely chopped


  • ¾ cup unsweetened applesauce


  • ¼ cup vegetable oil


Preparation:

  • Mix flour, baking soda, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a large mixing bowl. Set aside


  • In a separate small-sized bowl, combine the applesauce, vegetable oil and eggs. Add to the flour mixture, stirring until the ingredients are well blended. Add carrots and mix well.


  • Pour into greased 9 x 13 inch pan, or two bread loaf pans, or a cupcake pan.


  • Bake about 1 hour at 350 degrees., or until a toothpick inserted in the thickest part of the cake comes out clean. Set the cake on a wire rack for five minutes. Then, run a knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the cake.


  • Turn the cake out onto the rack to cool.


Make 16 Servings:

Weight loss recipes Amount Per Serving (1/16 cake (73 g)): 147 Calories, 3 g Protein, 24 g carbohydrates, 1 g Dietary Fiber, 5 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 40 mg cholesterol, 254 mg sodium

450 cals

Not bad. That's like my whole lunch gone in one gym session.

I have been keeping up with the 3 times a week gym routine. I havent a clue if its doing me any good, but seem to be getting quicker, further round the track and burning more calories every time I go... We normally go for an hour. I have definitely upped the pace and graduation on the treadmill and makde it tougher on the bike so I guess it must.

Weigh in tomorrow am. Be there or umm not. :-)

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Acorn Squash Cookies

(makes 24 cookies)

Weight Loss Recipes : Acorn Squash CookiesIngredients:

  • ¾ cup firmly packed brown sugar


  • ¼ cup margarine, softened


  • 1 egg


  • ¾ cup mashed, cooked acorn squash


  • 1¼ cups whole wheat flour


  • ¼ teaspoon baking soda


  • ½ teaspoon baking powder


  • ¼ teaspoon salt


  • ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg


  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon


  • Low-fat cooking spray


Preparation:

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.


  • Cream sugar and margarine at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add egg and mashed squash; beat well.


  • In a medium-sized bowl, combine baking powder, whole wheat flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt, then add dry ingredients to the squash mixture, mixing well.


  • Drop dough by heaping tablespoonfuls 2-inches apart onto cookie sheets sprayed with low-fat cooking spray.


  • Bake at 350ºF for 15-18 minutes.


  • Makes 20-25 cake-like cookies.


Make 24 Servings:

Weight loss recipes Amount Per Serving (1 cookie (28 g)): 101 Calories, 1 g Protein, 12 g carbohydrates, 1 g Dietary Fiber, 6 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 118 mg sodium

Monday, February 14, 2011

Blueberry Muffins

Makes 6

Prep times: 12

Total time: 50 minutes

Weight Loss Recipes : Blueberry MuffinsIngredient for the muffins

  • 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour


  • 1/4 cup plus 1 tsp sugar, divided


  • 1/4 cup quick-cooking oats (not instant)


  • 1 tsp baking powder


  • 1/4 tsp baking soda


  • 1/4 tsp salt


  • 2/3 cup lowfat buttermilk, plus


  • 1 tbsp lowfat buttermilk


  • 1 medium egg


  • 1 tbsp canola oil


  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract


  • 3/4 cup fresh blueberries, washed and dried


  • Lowfat cooking spray


Ingredient for the topping

  • 1/8 cup blueberry all-fruit spread


  • 12 fresh blueberries, washed and dried


Preparing

  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.


  • In a large-size bowl, combine flour, 1/4 cup of sugar, oats, baking powder, baking soda, and salt


  • Whisk together buttermilk, egg, canola oil, and vanilla in a separate bowl


  • Toss blueberries with flour mixture. Pour wet ingredients into flour mixture and stir gently.


  • Spray a non-stick pan with cooking spray, line a 6-count muffin pan. Divide batter evenly; sprinkle with remaining sugar.


  • Bake until tops are just set (about 12 to 15 minutes). Remove pan from oven and top each muffin with 1/2 tsp fruit spread and 1 blueberry.


  • Bake until golden (about 3 to 5 minutes). Cool in pan for about 10 minutes and serve.


Nutrition score per serving (1 muffin): 173 calories, 4 g fat, < 1 g saturated fat, 31 g carbs, 4 g protein, 3 g fiber, 46 mg calcium, 1 mg iron, 215 mg sodium

Male Weight Loss Transformations


Check out this page, which has four inspiring stories of men losing weight. Here's an exerpt from Calle's story, he lost 136 pounds and was asked;

If someone reading this has repeatedly tried and failed to change their life for the better and they are considering giving up do you have any words of encouragement for them ?

I can only speak from my experience, I was a healthy morbidly obese person, but for how long? I used to hate pictures of myself, I was really mad when i looked myself in the mirror.

I´ve been alone for years, no girlfriend and not going out because i was ashamed of myself. If you identify with these things, well, you need to change. The best feeling in the world is when people see you on the street and make this big amazing surprised face because you are looking younger, great and healthier. Another great feeling is to fit in normal size modern clothes.

Are you demotivated? Find the reason! Take a picture of yourself every month so you will see the changes and be motivated every time. Know that you are eating to keep your body healthy and fine. Just think in long term, your body will thank you for that.

When you reach your goal, you will feel powerful, invincible, that you can achieve whatever you want in life. Let me tell you that this feeling leaves you speechless and so happy every second of your life. It will worth the fight and the sacrifices, just keep doing it and results will come.

Sunday, February 13, 2011

First bike ride of 2011

Today was a gorgeous day in the Pacific Northwest. I pulled my bike out of the garage, dusted off the cobwebs, pumped up the flat back tire and went for my first bike ride of the year. It was sunny and 50 degrees. Gorgeous!

I forgot how much I love riding my bike. It's hard to describe flying down a hill at 25 mph and feeling completely in control, yet free as a bird at the same time. I totally love it. Of course, going back up those hills with my extra twenty pounds was horrible. I thought I was going to have a heart attack for sure, as I was panting like a dog. It was really hard!

I biked to the gym, worked out with weights, upper body for an hour and then biked home. It took me about 25 minutes each direction. Much slower than my old 20-minutes I was doing last summer.. In almost two hours I burned 699 calories (Polar heart rate monitor).

Right now I'm totally and completely exhausted.

Watching the Grammys. Worst show ever! Right now I'm watching Cee-Lo Green in a goofy feather outfit singing the F--k You song (which I hate), but he's singing "Forget You" and he has some puppets and Gwynth Paltrow singing with him. Really? This is the best they could do? As soon as I finish this post the TV is going off. I'm reading a really good book, Minding Frankie by Maeve Binchy. Love this book.

Plan for my week
Lots of exercise, as usual. Lots of stairs this week too, since the Big Climb is in less than five weeks (yikes!).

About my food, I'm going to stop freaking out about it so much. I'm really getting sick of being so worried about what I eat all the time. A piece of cake a couple times a year isn't going to kill me. Or even two pieces of cake a couple times a year. I just want to be healthy.

I eat very healthy about 95% of the time. That's about 90% more than I was doing three years ago. My biggest problem is that I eat too much of the good stuff. I rarely eat junk. I just need to eat less. Sounds easy. It's not.