Still can't lose weight?

Are you still unable to lose weight?
Have you considered food allergies? Do some foods make you sick, your stomache hurt, feel all bloated or swollen?

Start by food journaling. Keep track of what you eat for a month. If you have any negative symptoms after eating, write it down. Do you find that you are gassy every time you have lunch at the deli by work? What did you eat? Did mom make your favorite dinner again and you went home to argue with your best friend while in tummy pain- just like last time?

These are all clues. Your body is talking to you. We just forget to stop and listen.

Remember that some foods are made up of several foods combined. For example, lasagna. Pasta, tomato sauce, cheeses,....all layered together for yummy goodness. Maybe there is an ingredient flavoring the meat or the sauce that is a problem for you.

Your food journal is your clue book to knowing your body.









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#cleaneating   #healthychoices   #diet   #lifestyle #strong #healthy    #health #eatclean #healthyliving #fitnessjourney   #gettingfit #fitmom #weightlossjourney  #healthydrink #healthyeating  #smoothie   #weightloss   #dinner #yogurt #determination  #lifestyle #newme   #weightlossjourney2014 #healthyfood #healthylife   #gethealthy #icaniwill  #dedication   #fatloss   #thin #fat #slimming 
 #fatty #howfaricame #lookatme

Diet Freedom

It is so easy to diet when you make your own diet. I have my protein shake every morning. During the morning I drink my coffee with something low calorie and high protein like a protein bar. Next I reach for another protein shake.
Every 2 hours. Protein with low calories.
Next is a "meal" such as cottage cheese and fruit.
Two more hours. A "snack" of Greek yogurt. Or 50 calorie Flax pitabread and peanut butter.
Two more hours and another "meal".

My point here is that I eat whatever I want-- no, I do not live on ice cream and brownies (mmmm, what an idea! One day I need to bake those brownies with the black beans in the recipe). When I shop, I look for the right foods. In my house, there are lots of foods that work for me. I have 25 -45 calorie ice pops and Yasso frozen Greek yogurt bars in my freezer. I have breads- Flax pita bread and others.

I have always believed that if you are hungry for something, then have a bite or two. Just eat something high protein beforehand so that you are not hungry. Control is impossible when you are really hungry!


#weightloss, #highprotein # wls #proteinshakes #lowcalorie #diet #yasso #greekyogurt #frozengreekyogurt #proteinbar  #preteindiet

Belly Fat

Ugh. Belly Fat. I think every pound I put on in the past 5 years is sitting in my belly. I had 2 severely stressful years and they didn't help.

Here are 5 important ways to resist belly fat as we age.
Drink more water
Eat whole grains
Watch the stress
Vitamins
Sleep

Water:
I have mentioned before that we need to drink plenty of water. I make sure that I drink three to four 16 ounce bottles every day.
 A study by the National Institute of Health of middle-aged and older participants, showed that those who drank 16 ounces of water before each meal lost 44% more weight while on a low-calorie diet than those on a low-calorie diet alone.

Grains:
 Eating whole grains can stabilize blood sugar levels, stave of hunger pains and lower cholesterol. The more whole grains you can add to your diet, the better. Oats are a good, easy choice. They are not only high in fat-fighting fiber but also a good source of magnesium, chromium and protein.

Stress:
The stress hormone is cortisol. Cortisol is released by our bodies when we're sick, frightened or even feel a lack of control over events in our lives.
High cortisol levels have been connected with an impaired immune system, heart disease, high blood pressure and even memory loss. When we are under stress the body releases more cortisol and we gain weight.
Find something that relaxes you to help lower cortisol levels. Yoga or music will help keep the weight off the belly!

Vitamins:
As we age, it is harder to get all the nutrients it needs from food. It becomes even more important to take supplements. Healthy weight maintenance includes Vitamin D, chromium, magnesium, Vitamin E, Beta-carotine, Vitamin C and many others.

Sleep:
Studies show a connection between weight gain and sleep. Be sure to get a good night's sleep to help resist belly fat. Eight hours is a good night's sleep for many people.

 

#weightloss, #weightgain, #cortisol,

Who I am (sort of)

I have Rheumatoid Arthritis and Lupus and Sjogrens and Raynauds. They are Autoimmune diseases. I will probably be told that I have others. They tend to multiply.

My outlook on these diseases is different than many people. I don't complain about the pain or crawl into bed and hide from life.

For me, my diagnosis is a blessing, a gift.

My legs and my hips hurt me from before I was a teenager. I would wake up at 2am crying in pain. Mom kept the special pills for my leg pain separate from everything else. I didn't have to bother her- just go take one and wait for it to work. I walked up and down the long hallway in our ranch home waiting and crying. As a mother, I now know she walked every step with me even though she never got out of bed. It was best. I learned to deal with it.

I remember Mom taking me grocery shopping with her. I knew all the place where I could move stuff aside to sit on those bottom shelves. By the time we reached the checkout line I was in tears and sitting on the little shelf where the paper grocery bags would sit to be filled.

I was about 13 when Mom went to the podiatrist for B-12 shots in her feet for pain (huh? for Mom?). The doctor was so nice and explained it all to me. I asked why I couldn't have them. He checked me out that day. The doctor made inserts for my shoes that gave me years of relief and he explained part of why my legs always hurt.

Some of my pain was 'growing pains' but some was from muscles working extra hard to compensate for bent bones.

The interesting thing was I heard that doctor quietly say to my mother, "it might be the beginning of rheumatoid arthritis".

I got those B-12 shots by the way. Imagine taking a pillow and wrapping it around your feet -- actually imagine shoes made of pillows. That is how it made me feel. I saw a podiatrist a few years ago that was wonderful. We discussed my mother's shots. He said 40 years ago those B-12 shots also had cortisone in them.

I have never worn very high heels or pretty shoes. I should have known this when I started out with saddle shoes as a child for many years. As a baby those shoes were attached with a steel bar to help my legs straighten. I am a sneaker person. Not cheap ones either! I wore New Balance for years. Every 5 weeks I had to buy a new pair. Now I wear Nike Cross Trainers because they actually last 3 or 4 months. They cost twice the price also!

My children are adults now but childbirth remains a vivid memory. Pain. Lots of it. In my hips!!! Yes, I labored in my hips. Every 30 minutes the doctor would call back. My water had broken, there should be stomach pain. After 8 hours of steady pain, screaming as my poor dog walked me up and down those halls again, the doctor called again. He asked me if I was in any stomach pain. My mother whispered in my ear, "LIE!" so i did. I described my 3 minute apart hip pain but claimed that it was in my stomach. I was told to hurry up and get to the hospital.....my baby was born very quickly once we got there.

My second child labored the same way but I was experienced already. I knew how to lie. The dog knew what was expected also.

I am now 53 years old. I have learned to live with my strange pains and the 6 hour viruses seem to get. Now the doctors tell me I have all these serious diseases.

Get blood drawn. Try penicillin. Go to the lab for blood work. Try the infectious diseases doctor. Successfully lose weight. More blood work. Now try a Rheumatologist. First one sees me crying and says I am depressed like many people in January. Take this pill for depression. Same thing with the next Rheumatologist. More antidepressants. I don't take them. I am crying because I am tired of living in pain all my life.

Finally, I get a referral to a different Rheumatologist. I am hopeful. She is younger than I am and a woman. No more little old men doctors for me.
I start with Plaquenil. Six months later, we add one pill a week of Methotrexate. One pill? A week? What will that do? I have never heard of this.

I was still taking my advil. I grew up taking a lot of aspirin. Advil became my wonder drug because it meant pills were taken every 6 hours instead of every 3. I still do not take any narcotics or Prednisone.

Hurricane Sandy hit NY. I was living alone. I sat on my bed in the dark texting my daughter safely in Florida throughout the storm. No power meant no Facebook friends.

One week later, I was back online. I had been checking in when I could but just my close friends, my timeline. Now I started reading the group pages.

I realized I had been without pain throughout the storm. All that pressure and no pain.

My plaquenil had started working. When my doctor was able to return to her office, she saw me. We agreed that my body was showing signs of relief. My mind was too!!

This was October 2012. I saw the first Rheumatologist in January of 2012.
I am now on a lot of vitamins and herbs in addition to my Plaquenil and 3 tablets of Methotrexate. I take Advil on bad days or when I injure something. I have had a cortisone shot in my knee Ocotober 31, 2013. I had a Hyaluronic acid shot 3 months later on January 31, 2014. It is now June and my knee is still doing good. My shoulders hurt. My knees are bad. My hips are no longer alone. I have a bad toe. I have a bad finger or two. My hands swell. My legs swell. I have been dieting and getting that awful weight down.

I have Rheumatoid Arthritis, Lupus, Sjogrens, Raynauds, and who knows what will be found next. I don't mind. These are all good things. With these strange words come solutions. I can plan my future. I know what to watch for. I wear a wrist support to sleep to prevent the progression of the diseases in my right wrist and hand. I am no longer fixing what is damaged but instead working to slow new damage.

For me, my diagnosis are a blessing. The medications I take help me to feel better than I have for most of my life.




 #Rheumatoid Arthritis, #Lupus, #Sjogrens, #Raynauds, #autoimmune

diet

When a blog is written, it is like a diary in that each day we add more. The problem is that in our little girl diaries, we wrote with a pen in a book. You could start at any point and continue to read the story.
This is my blog and you are reading what I wrote today. If you want to read what I wrote yesterday you need to look backward. To read what I wrote last month through today, you will need to start with that date and then work forward. In my opinion, this is all very complicated!

I began my dieting the first time around in 2011. To follow that diet section please read in date order starting from Jan 01, 2012. I restarted my diet the beginning of this year. In between are other health posts containing information that I wanted to hold onto.

PROTEIN JELLO!!

You can use whatever flavor of jello you prefer. This recipe is so easy and more importantly with all the flavor it packs, it will be your go to recipe for dessert.
Follow directions on the box, and right at the end mix the protein powder in.

1 scoop flavored protein powder of your choice
1 package sugar free Jell-O (any flavor)

Make Jello  

using the directions on the box. 

Just before you’ve finished, add the protein powder to the mixture.

Let stand as per box's directions.
 

Serves 4 

per serving:

Calories 40

Calories from Fat 3.4  

Protein 6.75g

 

 

 

 #weightlossrecipes, #diet, #proteindiet, #dietrecipes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Protein Hamburgers!

Need your burgers, but they don't work in your diet?
How about increasing their protein numbers?
Try these:

4 oz. ground beef
¼ scoop flavorless (or vanilla) protein powder
Mix ground beef and protein powder in a medium-sized bowl.
Form into patties,
then cook for 4-5 minutes on each side atop a non-stick skillet on medium heat.

Calories 249

Calories from Fat 75.3
Protein 39.08g

Very easy- you can add more protein powder if you like.

 

Protein Rice Crispies Treats!!

Rice Crispies Treats

INGREDIENTS: 

1 ½ cups Rice Krispies cereal, 

1 ½ tbsp. honey, 

2 tbsp. reduced fat butter, 

½ cup oatmeal, 

½ tsp. vanilla extract, 

2 scoops vanilla protein powder. 

 You can use whatever flavor of protein powder you like for this recipe.

Fiber powder can be used instead of the protein or half and half.
 

DIRECTIONS: 

Preheat oven to 325 F. 

Lightly coat a 9x9 baking pan with cooking spray. 

 Melt the butter and honey and vanilla over the stove until smooth.

Turn off the heat- add rice crispy and oatmeal and stir in the pan

Scoop onto the baking pan. 

Cook for 10-15 minutes or until the mixture is crisp.

Cool to slice and serve.

If you find mixture too dry to work with, add a little water by the tablespoon to thin it down. Careful - not too much.

Variation: While still warm, drizzle Hershey's Sugar free syrup over the top - adds just 15 calories per 2 tablespoons!!

#proteindiet, #highprotein, #lowcalorierecipe, #recipes, #lowcalrecipe, #diet

High Protein Recipes

I just found some recipes using protein powder- great for boosting protein without drinking a shake!!

FRUIT SURPRISE
1 cup fruit such as peaches or apples,
¼ cup fat free cream cheese,
¼ tsp. cinnamon,
½ scoop protein powder.
DIRECTIONS: Mix cream cheese, cinnamon and protein powder together in a small bowl.
Preheat oven to 500 F, letting the fruit cook for 8-10 minutes.
Add the fruit to the top of the protein mixture and enjoy.

OATMEAL

1 cup oats, 

½ - 1 cup 2% milk, 

1 cup fruit, 

1 scoop vanilla protein powder. 

DIRECTIONS: 

Microwave oats and milk for 2 ½ – 3 minutes. 

Mix protein powder into the oats. 

Add fruit on top and enjoy.

SCRAMBLED EGGS
6 eggs,
¼ cup 2% milk,
½ scoop flavorless protein powder
DIRECTIONS:
Mix eggs and milk together in a bowl.
Add protein powder, mixing until it is no longer clumpy.
Scramble as normal on LOW heat.
Salt & pepper to taste.






 #highprotein, #diet, #highproteindiet, #weghtloss, #diet

Losing weight is never easy!

I am still working at it. Just life sometimes interferes with writing about life!
Right now I have my coffee on my left and my protein shake on my right.
I start every day with 100-150 calories of protein shake which gets me going with a boost of 18 plus grams of protein.
How much protein is my daily goal?
According to the CDC, the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) for adult women is  46 grams of protein and adult men is 56 grams of protein each day.
WebMD suggests 10% of your daily calories need to be protein.....Standard nutrition labels base everything on a 2000calorie a day diet ( look at your vitamin labels or your favorite foods). 10% of 2000? that equals 200 calories of protein.
About.com uses this calculator

How to Calculate Your Protein Needs:
1. Weight in pounds divided by 2.2 = weight in kg
2. Weight in kg x 0.8-1.8 gm/kg = protein gm.
Use a lower number if you are in good health and are sedentary (i.e., 0.8). Use a higher number (between 1 and 1.8) if you are under stress, are pregnant, are recovering from an illness, or if you are involved in consistent and intense weight or endurance training.
Example: 154 lb male who is a regular exerciser and lifts weights
154 lbs/2.2 = 70kg
70kg x 1.5 = 105 gm protein/day

I believe we need double the protein that the CDC requires us to consume. Remember, they are concerned with us eating the minimum we need. Extra is not a concern. I personally try to have over 100 grams of protein every day. The important part is that those grams of protein - or protein calories are the majority of my calories.
I focus on low calorie foods with high protein calculations such as my protein shakes, protein bars, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, tuna, eggs, broccoli,....
Here is a list from WebMd:

1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese: 14

3 ounces tofu, firm: 13

1/2 cup lentils: 9

2 tablespoons peanut butter: 8

1 ounce meat, fish, poultry: 7

1 ounce cheese: 7

1/2 cup cooked kidney beans: 7

1 ounce nuts: 7

1 large egg: 6

4 ounces low-fat yogurt: 6

4 ounces soy milk: 5

4 ounces milk: 4

 More from various other sources:

Eggs  have 1g protein per 12 calories while 1 Egg White (33g) provides 4g protein, 1g protein to 4.4 calories.
 If you'd like to cut the cholesterol out of your omelets, one cup of egg whites has only 117 calories, provides more than 26mg of protein and has no cholesterol. Shellfish may have more cholesterol than you want in your diet. For example, a 3 oz. serving of crayfish, which has roughly 13g of protein, has 91mg of cholesterol, almost 1/3 of your daily DMV for cholesterol.

Chicken Breast (58g) provides 17g protein. 

Chicken Leg (69g) provides 18g protein. 

Chicken Thigh (37g) provides 9g protein
 

fish high in protein per fillet(3oz or 85g): 

Tuna (22g), Salmon (22g), Halibut (22g), Snapper (22g), Perch(21g), Flounder and Sole (21g), Cod (20g), Tilapia (17g).

cheese high in protein per ounce(28g): 

Low-fat Cottage Cheese (5g), Low-fat Swiss Cheese (8g), Low-fat Cheddar (6g), Parmesan (10g), Romano (9g). 

*Low or Non Fat Mozzarella and Cottage Cheese provide the most protein per calorie, full fat cheeses typically only provide 1g protein per 20 calories, and are less optimal sources of protein.
 Low or nonfat mozzarella has 1g protein per 4.7 calories

 

 

Do you like tofu?  It gives you 1g protein per 7.4 calories

 

 

There are many healthy, low calorie, high protein foods. Google will help you find amounts and recipes.

 

 

 

 

 

#highprotein,  #lowcalorie, 3highproteindiet, #diet, #weightloss, #wls,