I have not posted in the past few days, mainly because I have not had much to post about and have not really had the time. Tomorrow is my one week weigh in, I am a little anxious to see my progress. It is like a double edge sword on the one hand I want to see if I have lost any weight, on the other hand i am worried I have not (after all it has only been one week), and that will lower my enthusiasm. I guess there is only one way to find out.
I have been trying to exercise every day, and so far I have been fairly successful. I have put in a minimum of a 2 mile brisk walk (slowly working my way up to running) every day. I have also started some weight training (using a dumbbell for now, once I get the confidence up I will hopefully go all out). I slacked off on Saturday though, not sure why, but I did not do any form of exercise activity, and I felt guilty about it. To make up for it, I walked extra Sunday, and yesterday, in the pouring rain, I guess I am dedicated for now.
When I first found out about my health and realized I needed to change my eating habits I thought it was going to be far more difficult then it has been thus far. My main concern was not enjoying my food any more, after all I can only eat salad so many times before it bores me to death. That is why one of the first things I did was go out and buy a cook book, I decided on the American Heart Association cook book. It is loaded with recipes all designed to help reduce cholesterol, blood pressure, and maintain a healthy heart life style, and still taste good. I have discovered the key is variety, and you can enjoy most of the foods you always have, with a few modifications to them. For instance, I thought I was going to have to cut out red meat, after all that is the food that is highest in cholesterol and saturated fat (the two big things I need to avoid). Instead I need to cut back on the red meat, and choose leaner cuts. Instead of eating it several times a week, I have cut back to once or twice, and I just need to pay closer attention to my cholesterol/saturated fat intake for that day (make sure I cut back else where). Granted, leaner cuts of meats tend to be slightly less flavorful then their fatty brethren, however with the right low fat marinade they can be just as delicious. I am also trying to substitute meat with fish a few times a week, they say atleast two times a week. This is a tough one for me because I am not the biggest fan of fish (I like fried haddock, but that is a no no). As I find more fish recipes I enjoy I will post them, for now I have found the tuna recipe previously posted (week one, well almost).
The big key is to mix up what you eat. Eating a garden salad for lunch every day is very good for your waist line and health, however it can also get very boring. You can fix this by changing up the salad dressing you use. I have been switching between Italian (not low fat either), Catalina, and for the days I want to indulge, green goddess. I also find mixing up the vegetables you use makes a huge difference. Some days I will add Garbanzo beans (chick peas), or black beans, olives, even hot peppers. I try to use at least one or two different vegetables every day. Using different types of lettuce or spinach can make a difference as well. Some days add nuts or fruit, I like apple in my garden salad with Catalina dressing for instance. The key is to change the flavor profile of the salad, and not let it get boring. This is the key with all meals, eating healthy does not mean you need to eat boring. Have several different vegetables with your meal (just pay attention to portion sizes). Try the Japanese mentality when it comes to eating. In Japan it is not uncommon for them to server upwards of 20 different things with a single meal. This present a huge variety of choices and keeps meal time from getting boring. the key is to eat small portions of everything and do not over indulge. If you mix it up and have a variety of different foods you will find with a little experimentation eating healthy can be just as enjoyable.
For today's recipe I present Butterscotch Brownies. I am still struggling with finding a snack cake replacement. I like fruit, but it is not the same as a brownie, or swiss roll and does not appease my sweet tooth. This recipe does the trick, I get my cake and can eat it to, so to speak.
For this recipe you will need:
Vegetable oil spray 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons acceptable margarin
1 egg or equivalent substitute (I like egg beaters)
2 table spoons unsweetened applesauce
1/2 tsp imitation butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup flour 1 tsp baking powder
Set oven to 350°F
Coat 8" square pan with vegetable oil spray
In a large bowl cream brown sugar and margarine with an electric mixer set to medium
Add the egg, applesauce, imitation butter, and the vanilla extract. Mix with hand mixer on medium until smooth.
In a separate bowl sift the flour and baking powder then add the flour and baking powder to the brownie mixture mix with hand mixer on medium until combined. Evenly spread the mixture in the 8" baking pan, bake in oven for 20-25 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.
I like to add 1/2 Cup Flaxseed to the flour/baking powder mixture. This adds a little more texture, and flax seed is one of the few non fish products that are high in Omega-3 Fatty Acids, not to mention it is high in dietary fiber.
I will be trying a chocolate brownie recipe coming up, I will report on it once I do.
Remember, variety is the spice of life in all things.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Friday, April 1, 2011
Week one, well almost
It has been almost one week since my quest began, some things have been a little longer. Changing my eating style has not been nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Some of my old habits are hard to break, so far snack foods have been the hardest. I have always enjoyed Little Debbie style cakes (swiss rolls anyone), candy bars, just about anything from hostess, cakes, cookies, pies, basically if it is sweet I enjoy it. Unfortunately as good as they taste, they are high in saturated fats and cholesterol, a bad combination. If you eat just one occasionally it is not horrible, but they always put two or more in a pack so stopping at one is hard. Couple that with late night snacking, and that is one part of my problem.
A decent substitute so far has been nuts (currently peanuts and almonds) with raisins or dried cranberries. Though nuts are high in fat, they have no trans fat (this is the killer) are low in saturated fat (the bad kind ) and high in polyunsaturated and mono-unsaturated fats. These help reduce cholesterol in the system by transporting it through the blood to the liver where our bodies can dispose of it. Raisins are loaded with antioxidants, only beat by prunes, not sure if I am ready to go down that road yet. This combination so far has been successful at taming my sweet tooth. I have been eating nuts for a while now, but never really paid attention to serving size. Come to find out what I thought was a single serving was more like 3 or 4, I have this issue with most foods. Nuts are a double edge sword, though they are high in good fat, it is still fat, so from a weight loss standpoint they are not the best choice. If you need to shed a few pounds, or do not want to have to buy the next size up pants, I would stick to one serving of nuts (1 oz, about a handfull) a day. The first time I measured out a single serving of nuts I really did not think it was going do the trick. I was wrong however, once you add a single serving of raisins (1/4 cup) you have a healthy fulfilling snack.
That brings to me the one thing I probably enjoy the most about a major diet change, getting to try new foods. I feel the biggest part of my problem is I like food, I enjoy all types of food. The downside is I apparently have an issue with portion control (really started to notice this when I started measuring portion sizes). What I thought was a portion of food was actually two or three, this is fine if it is fruits and vegetables. When it is fried foods or fatty meats, ribeyes how I will miss thee, the calories and pounds start adding up. Not to mention how bad it is for your cholesterol levels and your heart. A serving of meat is about the size of a credit credit card (well not thickness wise that would be insane).
I am finding that I can cut out all the "bad" foods and still get the same enjoyment from eating. The difference is the food I choose to eat (well so far anyway) is healthy and beneficial to me, not full of fats and cholesterol and detrimental to my health. I also get to try lots of new things, and this has been a very enjoyable part of the experience. I am also finding that a single portion can be very filling. You need to slow down while you eat and enjoy the food, this gives your brain and stomach a chance to get in sync. As a society we tend to eat fast, this in turn causes us to eat larger portions with out realizing we are full (hence the over stuffed feeling after most meals). The full response is not instantaneousness it takes time for the stomach to relay to the brain that we are full. Then there is the visual response, if you are eating fast, you are taking larger bites, this makes you mentally think you ate less then you really did. It is like cutting a pizza, if you cut it into 4 slices you will think there is less then if it is cut into 8 slices. Either way you are eating the same amount of pizza, our brains however think we ate more if we eat more slices. Take smaller bites and enjoy the food, use the time to have quality family time, talk about your day. I have found if I slow down while I eat I enjoy my meal a lot more, and I eat a lot less.
I will leave with a recipe I created last night, that I rather enjoyed. Recently I picked up some tuna steaks, I have read many times they are a good replacement for beef steak. They are much lower in cholesterol and saturated fat and very high in Omega-3 fatty acids (this is known to lower cholesterol and boost mental capacity). I am not a huge fish fan, but you should eat fish twice a week. When it comes to eating fish, traditionally I would eat fried haddock, fried catfish, or any fired white fish (cod, pollack, etc). Though i was eating fish, it lost all the health benefits in the bread coating of fat, and was instead detrimental to my health. I was eating one kind of fish correctly, sardines or kippered snacks (herring). This surprised me, I always figured they were not good for me because they came in a can, and did not seem like a healthy snack (this did not keep me from eating them however). I was wrong, as long as they are not in oil, they are actually rather good for you and are a low price way to supplement your Omega-3 intake (you should get 1600mg a day). The best ones for you are the ones packed in tomato sauce. You can eat these twice a week in the place of fish, however watch your sodium intake, canned fish are high in sodium, try to get a low sodium kind if possible. Now for the recipe, if you are looking for a steak replacement I recommend this, just as good.
Tuna Steaks
You will need:
Tuna steaks
Lemon juice (fresh squeezed preferably)
Salt
Pepper
Garlic clove (minced)
Celery (finely chopped)
Scallions (finely chopped)
2tbsp White wine vinegar
1tbsp Soy Sauce (low sodium)
1tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Heat stainless steel skillet.
Rub lemon juice, pepper, & salt on tuna steaks
Cook until desired doneness (2 to 3 minutes per side, I prefer them a little pink like a medium well done steak)
Remove tuna steaks from pan and set aside
Lower heat to medium high and add remaining ingredients in order listed, cook for about one to two minutes (until the sauce thickens some)
Put sauce mix over the top of the tuna steaks and serve with your favorite rice dish and a vegetable side (I liked baked asparagus or a cauliflower).
A decent substitute so far has been nuts (currently peanuts and almonds) with raisins or dried cranberries. Though nuts are high in fat, they have no trans fat (this is the killer) are low in saturated fat (the bad kind ) and high in polyunsaturated and mono-unsaturated fats. These help reduce cholesterol in the system by transporting it through the blood to the liver where our bodies can dispose of it. Raisins are loaded with antioxidants, only beat by prunes, not sure if I am ready to go down that road yet. This combination so far has been successful at taming my sweet tooth. I have been eating nuts for a while now, but never really paid attention to serving size. Come to find out what I thought was a single serving was more like 3 or 4, I have this issue with most foods. Nuts are a double edge sword, though they are high in good fat, it is still fat, so from a weight loss standpoint they are not the best choice. If you need to shed a few pounds, or do not want to have to buy the next size up pants, I would stick to one serving of nuts (1 oz, about a handfull) a day. The first time I measured out a single serving of nuts I really did not think it was going do the trick. I was wrong however, once you add a single serving of raisins (1/4 cup) you have a healthy fulfilling snack.
That brings to me the one thing I probably enjoy the most about a major diet change, getting to try new foods. I feel the biggest part of my problem is I like food, I enjoy all types of food. The downside is I apparently have an issue with portion control (really started to notice this when I started measuring portion sizes). What I thought was a portion of food was actually two or three, this is fine if it is fruits and vegetables. When it is fried foods or fatty meats, ribeyes how I will miss thee, the calories and pounds start adding up. Not to mention how bad it is for your cholesterol levels and your heart. A serving of meat is about the size of a credit credit card (well not thickness wise that would be insane).
I am finding that I can cut out all the "bad" foods and still get the same enjoyment from eating. The difference is the food I choose to eat (well so far anyway) is healthy and beneficial to me, not full of fats and cholesterol and detrimental to my health. I also get to try lots of new things, and this has been a very enjoyable part of the experience. I am also finding that a single portion can be very filling. You need to slow down while you eat and enjoy the food, this gives your brain and stomach a chance to get in sync. As a society we tend to eat fast, this in turn causes us to eat larger portions with out realizing we are full (hence the over stuffed feeling after most meals). The full response is not instantaneousness it takes time for the stomach to relay to the brain that we are full. Then there is the visual response, if you are eating fast, you are taking larger bites, this makes you mentally think you ate less then you really did. It is like cutting a pizza, if you cut it into 4 slices you will think there is less then if it is cut into 8 slices. Either way you are eating the same amount of pizza, our brains however think we ate more if we eat more slices. Take smaller bites and enjoy the food, use the time to have quality family time, talk about your day. I have found if I slow down while I eat I enjoy my meal a lot more, and I eat a lot less.
I will leave with a recipe I created last night, that I rather enjoyed. Recently I picked up some tuna steaks, I have read many times they are a good replacement for beef steak. They are much lower in cholesterol and saturated fat and very high in Omega-3 fatty acids (this is known to lower cholesterol and boost mental capacity). I am not a huge fish fan, but you should eat fish twice a week. When it comes to eating fish, traditionally I would eat fried haddock, fried catfish, or any fired white fish (cod, pollack, etc). Though i was eating fish, it lost all the health benefits in the bread coating of fat, and was instead detrimental to my health. I was eating one kind of fish correctly, sardines or kippered snacks (herring). This surprised me, I always figured they were not good for me because they came in a can, and did not seem like a healthy snack (this did not keep me from eating them however). I was wrong, as long as they are not in oil, they are actually rather good for you and are a low price way to supplement your Omega-3 intake (you should get 1600mg a day). The best ones for you are the ones packed in tomato sauce. You can eat these twice a week in the place of fish, however watch your sodium intake, canned fish are high in sodium, try to get a low sodium kind if possible. Now for the recipe, if you are looking for a steak replacement I recommend this, just as good.
Tuna Steaks
You will need:
Tuna steaks
Lemon juice (fresh squeezed preferably)
Salt
Pepper
Garlic clove (minced)
Celery (finely chopped)
Scallions (finely chopped)
2tbsp White wine vinegar
1tbsp Soy Sauce (low sodium)
1tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Heat stainless steel skillet.
Rub lemon juice, pepper, & salt on tuna steaks
Cook until desired doneness (2 to 3 minutes per side, I prefer them a little pink like a medium well done steak)
Remove tuna steaks from pan and set aside
Lower heat to medium high and add remaining ingredients in order listed, cook for about one to two minutes (until the sauce thickens some)
Put sauce mix over the top of the tuna steaks and serve with your favorite rice dish and a vegetable side (I liked baked asparagus or a cauliflower).
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