Categories
General Weight Loss Tips

On The Mend

I’ve been on the couch since Thursday afternoon nursing a sprained knee. Picture me tripping over and ON  a dog. Who does that? I laugh because it’s pretty ridiculous. Thursday was the worst of the pain, Friday was better and today, while it still hurts a lot to bend my knee, I can move much better. Luckily, I’ve had these two to keep me company:

babyman On The Mend

googie On The Mend

I’ve been keeping a food journal these past couple of days and would like to move that documentation on the blog. I always say that though so we’ll see what happens!

Yesterday mid-morning I was starving and needed something quick, easy and filling to make. My friend Courtney’s Tamale Pie came to the rescue! Oh my, this was glorious and so darn easy…

tamalepie On The Mend

To make this all you need is a roll of prepared polenta, diced tomatoes, salsa (optional), black beans (one can), salt, cumin, garlic, green onions and cheese. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Crumble warm polenta in the bottom of a medium to small casserole dish. Top with black beans. Sprinkle with salt, cumin, and garlic. Add a layer of diced tomatoes (I used 3/4 of a very large can), then sprinkle with seasoning again. Finish with green onions and cheese. Bake for 30 minutes.

I ate two plates of this and another serving a few hours later with a turkey sandwich. Snacks included three clementines, a bite of turkey, and a little feta. I drank tons of water. I’m drinking about 12 oz. every hour which I believe is helping with the injury swelling. I like to think so at least.

And then later on in the evening I made vegetable fried rice and ate about a cup.

****

This morning I gave myself a little spa treatment. I was feeling gross and restless and desperately needed to shave my legs. The miracles of a hot shower!

I had a banana in the early morning and then made this plate before noon:

breakfast2 11 12 On The Mend

A slice of oatmeal bread with butter, three slices of local/nitrate-free bacon, and scrambled eggs with feta, green pepper and green onion. And more water!

I’m working really hard on not eating out of hunger. Some days are better than others and I’m finding comfort and control in a daily food diary and weekly weigh-ins. Yesterday was a hard day. I wanted to snack on everything, and I just had to sit with it. I remind myself every day that it will get easier. Admitting that it’s not going to always be effortless is important to me. At some point yesterday I wanted to eat so bad that I was literally biting down on my hard plastic straw and I knew then, that these are the hard days of breaking a habit.

I think before I would have thought that my desire to eat more was caused by being bored, lonely, sad or deserving. I would have believe it was because I wasn’t getting enough of one type of food or another. And the more I do it and the more I practice, the more I realize that I’m beating a bad habit and nothing more than that. I’m breaking a 20+ year habit of eating despite of hunger.

Today is much better, I am getting restless though. I’m making sure to move every hour and to stretch my legs to prevent them from getting stiff. Do you guys have any recommended exercises that I can do for the next week or so while I’m on the mend? Something that I can do at home with my upper body and good leg without impact on the bad knee? I’d love to hear!

 

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Categories
Weight Loss Exercise

Food Journal and Menu Planner



One of the most important things that we can do for ourselves is to stay on track. This I have found is the toughest thing to ever do. We get so excited about making changes and then we realize that there are so many things to keep track of and it becomes very difficult.

I want to try and help you through this of course and one of the things that I have always found about Weight Watchers or Jenny Craig is the tracking and accountability to yourself. To try and help you through this I have created a food journal and found a menu planner that should help you.

Menu Planner

We try to do menu planning for our dinners every Sunday so that we can make sure that we can get our eating figured out for the weeks dinners. This is a job that my daughter and I have taken on after years and years of my wife figuring out and making dinners. This Menu Planner that I have here will help you by giving you space to decide what you are going to eat ahead of time so that you don’t just wing it (always bad).
http://www.fitnesstipsforlife.com/goto/menu-planner

Food Journal

I created this food journal so that you can track every day what you eat, and make sure that you track your water, fruits, vegetables, and protein. I have also added a couple of lines for energy and attitude (rate yourself on a scale of 1-10) and there is a bottom section that is to track your exercise. Remember this is for tracking. You can learn all over my blog what to eat and when but I will get into that again in another email for you. The last thing that I think is really helpful is journalling, Try and journal how you are feeling and what you did well or poorly with by just writing it on the back of the paper. Each page has three days worth so you will have to cut it in three.
http://www.fitnesstipsforlife.com/goto/food-journal

These are critical I think to help you eat and exercise better and stop those starts and stops that really break your motivation. I hope they help and if you have any questions or ideas to make them work better for you please let me know, I want the best possible stuff out there to help people.

Categories
Weight Loss Exercise

10 Easy Ways to Lose Weight


Many people are skeptical when someone talks about easy ways to lose weight. For most of us, losing extra weight is one of the hardest things to do. It takes a lot of willpower, motivation, and hard work to achieve a trim and toned body. This may be true but there are ways to help you shed pounds painlessly. The secret to a successful weight loss program is to make small lifestyle changes that reduce your caloric intake and increase your physical activity. Here are 10 easy ways to help you lose weight and keep it off permanently

Easy Ways to Lose Weight

10 Easy Ways to Lose Weight

Easy Ways to Lose Weight

Eat more fruits and vegetables – Fruits and vegetables are rich in nutrition but low in calories. If you want to lose weight easily, substitute high-calorie foods with fruits and vegetables. Don’t make the mistake of eating fruits or vegetables in addition to what you usually eat. It will only add more calories and make you gain weight. So instead of having a doughnut for your snack, eat an apple or a cup of carrot sticks.

Stop drinking high-calorie beverages – Carbonated drinks, sweetened fruit juices, and alcoholic drinks deliver calories that you may not even be aware of. Even your morning latte can pack a whopping 200 calories. If you’re thirsty, drink water instead.

Keep a food journal – Keep a small notebook where you write down everything you eat for the day. Use the journal to help you control your caloric intake for the day. Studies have shown that people who maintain a food journal are more likely to consume fewer calories than those who don’t.

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Control portion size – Find out the correct portion size for different kinds of foods and don’t eat more than you should. Use a smaller plate to help you control your portions.

Eat more slowly – It takes up to 20 minutes for the brain to recognize that your body is full. If you eat too quickly, your stomach may already be full but you’ll still want to eat. Put your fork down between bites and chew your food properly. This is an easy way to keep you from over-eating so you can lose weight.

Walk every day – Get into the habit of walking every day to help burn calories and reduce body fat. Even a 15-minute or 30-minute walk will help you lose weight over time.

Get active – Just because you’re watching television does not mean you can’t burn more calories. During commercial breaks, try doing crunches, stretching, or lifting dumbbells.

Walk or bike to your destination – Consider biking or walking to your destination instead of driving, especially if it’s only a few blocks away. You’ll save on gas, help protect the environment, and have a healthier body too.

Take the stairs – Instead of the elevator, walk up (or down) the stairs. You can burn a lot of calories this way. Best of all, you’ll improve your cardiovascular health. While you’re at it, complete your tasks while standing or walking instead of sitting all the time.

Do strength training – Strength training is an easy way to lose weight. The muscles you build will allow your body to burn more calories even when you are resting.

These easy ways to lose weight should get you started. Once you are moving well and eating right you will start to pick up even moreeasy ways to lose weight

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