This is a short but good article that offers healthier options to such fried foods as French fries, fish & chips & fried chicken:
From the article…
The Bottom Line
“With a bit of creativity, we can revamp our favorite fried foods so they can be enjoyed guilt-free. Try baking with a coating of bread crumbs or panko instead of deep-frying. This is a great way of mimicking the crunchiness and preserving the tender texture!”
So, I have been unhappy with my weight for a while but I have a pretty strong personality (or so I’ve heard, LOL) and have always been a relatively confident person. I have not felt the need to be super skinny and I have accepted that I will always be curvy and “big-boned”. I am realistic when it comes to what looks good on my body and what doesn’t and always wear clothes that accentuate the best of what I have, always buying the correct size and simply accepting it. Heck, I’ve even been proud of the fact that people are typically surprised at how much I really weigh since I mean I must not “look” as big the number.
Unfortunately, I am also inherently lazy, hate exercise and love food. Bad combination as I hit my late 30′s and start to see 40…
Now I *do* feel as big as the number on the scale and I don’t like it. I typically never had an issue with seeing myself in pictures. Now I dread seeing myself tagged in some of those Facebook photos. I have also felt gastrointestinal changes too that I do not like (won’t go into any more detail there).Add to that the fact that we are considering starting a family, I know I need to get healthier. I am still relatively healthy as far as the bloodwork is concerned – good blood pressure, decent cholesterol levels - but I see the numbers slipping. For example, my “good” cholesterol levels are too low this year for the 1st time.
What finally hit the final nail in the coffin though was reaching 200 lbs. With clothes on, I am over 200 lbs (according to my last doctor’s visit). At home with minimal clothes, I am coming in at 195.4… under 200 but way too close for comfort.
So I am taking the 195.4 and using that as my starting point and I am taking baby steps towards a more reasonable number. I won’t state an ultimate goal here but I will state my initial goal: 170 lbs.
That is 25 lbs to start off with. I’ll worry about losing more once I reach that 1st daunting goal.
As for a time line – let’s say July 1st – that is 5 months from now and also the start of our island vacation to Caye Caulker, Belize.
Come along for my dieting adventure and please, send me encouragement along the way since I’ll need it!! Thanks!
Posted by a friend on Twitter today…
For a lot of folks, a new year inspires renewed attention to diet. But all food-related resolutions don’t have to be about just losing weight! Why not let the opportunity for a fresh start encourage simple changes and meaningful improvements to the quality of your diet? And if you drop a few pounds, bonus for you! An easy way to get started is by adding healthy snacks to your day.
How Healthy Snacking Helps Your Diet
Manage hydration
Staying properly hydrated is critical to general healthy body function – and weight loss, too. But if you’re busy with other things during the day (and who isn’t?) it can be hard to remember to stop and sip. While keeping a BPA-free water bottle by your side is helpful, adding a cup or two of water or seltzer to mid-morning and afternoon snacks ensures more opportunities for hydrating. Think of it this way: if you drink water with three meals and two snacks a day, you’ll make a good dent in your daily water intake – and that’s not even counting the foods that healthy snacking can add to your hydration goal! Snacking on low-sodium soups, or fruits and veggies, for example, can help you stay hydrated, too.
Squeeze in key nutrients
If it feels daunting to take in the recommended daily 5-9 servings of fruits and veggies – let alone the three suggested servings of dairy – why not allow healthy snacking to help you fit them in? By choosing wholesome snacks (think string cheese and red pepper strips, a crunchy apple with a smear of almond butter, or carrot sticks and hummus) you’ll get a powerful nutrient punch that adds to your tally. The best snacks boast protein plus carbohydrates, and stick to about 100-200 calories. Leave empty calorie snacks – like 100 calorie cookie packs – on the shelf; they’ll only leave you hungry for more and won’t help add important nutrients to your diet.
Make better decisions
Everybody’s done it: let too much time pass between meals or snacks only to overeat at the next opportunity. With strategic, healthy snacking, you’ll likely take in fewer calories during meals since you won’t give your body an opportunity to get outrageously hungry. Aim to eat a meal or small snack every 2.5-3 hours to keep your blood sugar on an even keel; when mealtime rolls around, you’ll make smart choices with your head, not decadent ones with your stomach.
Motivate physical activity
If you’re feeling hungry, how will you find the motivation to work in exercise? If losing weight is your goal, it may seem counterintuitive to eat more to lose more. But the truth is, sending a steady stream of the right kind of nourishment through your body keeps your energy levels up, and can nudge you to lace up your sneakers. Great pre-workout snack options include a yogurt and fruit smoothie or a simple banana. Plus, healthy snacking provides the fuel you need to push your body at a higher intensity for a longer period of time – and that means you’ll burn more calories!
Take pressure off mealtime
Based on several studies, most nutrition experts agree: Breakfast eaters tend to eat fewer calories during the day, plus they’re more likely to have a lower body weight than those that skip the morning meal. But if you’re not often hungry for breakfast, what to do? Instead of thinking of breakfast as a sit-down meal, think in terms of two small snacks, like a whole grain cereal bar on your way to work, then a small banana and fat-free milk mid-morning. By eating breakfast, even if you “snack” your morning meal, you’ll have something satisfying in your belly, which protects against the sway of a disastrous fast-food lunch.
The Bottom Line
Improving your diet can be accomplished through small, easy-to-manage steps. Adding in a couple of snacks can be a great start to your new year’s goals! As long as you keep portions in check and the foods you choose healthful, you may be surprised to see how just a couple of thoughtful snacks can jumpstart positive changes to your intake!
From Yahoo! Health, written by David Zinczenko from “Eat This, Not That”:
The Worst “Free” Restaurant Food
“Remember the story of Hansel and Gretel? How the witch of the woods lured them into her edible candy hut and gave them piles and piles of free food—just so she could fatten them up and turn them into stew?
Well, think about that old fairy tale the next time a waiter drops a plate of “free” food on your table. For years I’ve been recommending the best foods to buy, and warning about menu items that might make you fat. But our newest Eat This, Not That! research reveals that some of the worst dietary sins aren’t ordered at all. They just come to your table for free!
Plenty of mischievous food peddlers are happy to give you free food—food that’s certain to fatten you up plenty, if not land you in a big black cauldron. Whether it’s “bottomless” buckets or “endless” entrees or the breadsticks and salad at Olive Garden, freebies almost always consist of high-fat, high-carbohydrate munchies that won’t fill you up—after all, the restaurant wants you to buy more food!—but will fill you out.
Of course, I wouldn’t recommend shoving the waiter into an oven; restaurants do sort of frown on that kind of thing. But I would recommend shoving these free plates to the other side of the table, before you create a dietary fairy tale of your own: ‘Hansel and Regrettal.’”
This is a nifty site where you can nutritionally compare various food items such as breads, chips, cereals, ice cream, yogurt and salad dressings…
Another great article on ice cream from the Weightwatchers website, perfect for these hot summer days…
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Come on, who doesn’t scream for ice cream? If you’ve been avoiding it, we’ve got good news: There are many satisfying ways to enjoy this warm-weather favorite that won’t derail your weight-loss efforts. The more you know about this treat, the easier it is to make good choices. So here’s your must-have guide for summer ice cream runs.
Ice cream
The one-size-fits-all term of old now has several sub-categories, with varying degrees of waistline-friendliness.
The rich, decadent flavor of superpremium ice cream comes from an abundance of milkfat (at least 14 percent) and very little added air—and denseness means more calories. Premium is a step down from there (11- to 15-percent milkfat, and a bit more air), but still packs plenty of POINTS® values. Both varieties tend to come in more unusual, “gourmet” flavors. Regular contains at least 10-percent milkfat, and has even more air than premium. Compare nutrition facts labels—you’ll be surprised by how well some regular ice cream fits into the program. Reduced Fat contains at least 25-percent less fat than its regular counterpart. Light and low-fat has less than 30 percent of calories from fat or no more than 3 grams of fat in a half-cup serving. Non-fat has less than 0.5 grams of fat. That said, always check the nutrition facts: the “light” variety of a superpremium brand may have more POINTS values than the “regular” from another brand.
A few words about milkfat: Because the amount of air pumped into different brands varies so greatly, the percentage of milkfat doesn’t correspond precisely to the number of fat grams per serving. For example, if a superpremium vanilla has 16-percent milkfat and 12 fat grams per serving, the regular might have 10-percent milkfat and 7 grams of fat in a serving, and the light could have 4-percent milkfat and 4 fat grams. That’s why it’s so important to calculate the POINTS values for each specific brand you try.
Slow-churned, cold-churned or double-churned
Three names for the same thing, this is a revolution in reduced-calorie ice cream production, a new process that disperses the tiny globules of milk fat more thoroughly. The basic recipe—and the milkfat content—is the same as other low- and reduced-fat ice creams, but the technique used to make it creates the illusion of richness. These products can offer the satisfaction of premium ice cream with far less fat and calories. One brand, for example, has a POINTS value of only 3 per serving, but it still feels indulgent. Note that “no sugar added” doesn’t always equal a big difference in calories (or POINTS value).
Soft serve
Surprise! Those sweet swirls are almost always reduced-fat—most recipes call for only 3- to 6-percent milkfat. Plus its soft texture comes from churned-in air, which yields fewer calories by volume. Frozen custard is not the same as soft serve—it’s got added egg yolks, plus a higher percentage of milkfat.
Gelato
Similar in texture to soft serve but with a much more intense flavor, gelato can be an occasional treat. It usually has more milk than cream, meaning a lower fat count than regular ice cream, but with much less air—so there are more calories in less volume. Stick to small servings.
Frozen yogurt
With a taste and calorie count that’s similar to light ice cream, this is usually a good choice—but don’t forget to read the nutrition facts! Some frozen yogurts have a higher POINTS value per serving than slow-churned ice cream.
Non-dairy frozen desserts
If you’re a vegan, lactose intolerant or watching your cholesterol, you can still enjoy a creamy treat. Frozen desserts based on soy or rice are plan-friendly—relatively low in calories and fat—and, while they may not taste exactly like the real thing, they’re a whole lot better than nothing.
Sherbet and sorbet
Sherbet has less milkfat and more sugar than low-fat ice cream, and its POINTS value is relatively low. Sorbet has no dairy in it at all, so it’s usually fat-free—but the high sugar content means that it may have just as many calories as some ice creams. But texturally it’s entirely different: more icy and refreshing, but less decadent.
Found this great article in the latest Weight Watchers Newsletter…
A frothy daiquiri, a crisp gin and tonic or a sweet Long Island iced tea sipped outdoors among friends is as much a part of warm-weather seasons as daylight savings. But are these drinks slowing your weight loss?
Here’s a buzz kill: A piña colada packs a caloric wallop. Your average eight-ouncer can set you back more than 400 calories. Follow our strategies to help you avoid drink disasters like this one.
Six Smart Summer Sipping Tips
Swear off fun, fruity beverages? Never! Just follow our tips to help lighten up these summer classics.
1. Never come to happy hour hungry.
“Skipping lunch to compensate for the calories you plan to drink is not a good idea,” says Molly Gee, RD, weight-loss counselor and researcher at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. “Alcohol does not satisfy hunger.”
Arrive with a growling belly and you may find yourself downing a few handfuls of bar nuts (about 600 calories), or worse, falling prey to the cheese-covered nachos. A better choice: Eat how you normally would during the day, work in some extra exercise, and munch a piece of fruit before you go to take the edge off.
2. Be mindful of mixers.
Hard liquor runs 100-200 calories per shot, but add a sugary or creamy mixer and you’ll double or triple the calories, says Lisa Drayer, a New York City-based dietician. Her tip: Order what you love, just make it lighter—a rum and Coke using diet cola, a gin and tonic using low-calorie tonic. Or, skip mixers altogether and sip a light beer (one-third the calories of regular) or a glass of red wine (just over 100 calories). Incidentally, light beers have always been low in carbs. “A Miller Light versus a Michelob Ultra is really only a caloric difference,” says Drayer.
3. Make the cocktail your dessert.
If you can’t resist a piña colada or daiquiri, drink seltzer during your cocktail hour and savor the mega-calorie libation instead of dessert, suggests Drayer. “Negotiate with yourself.” But exercise moderation. “If you drank a piña colada or any 500-calorie drink every day in excess of what your body needs to maintain your current weight, you’d gain a pound a week,” says Drayer.
4. Enjoy alcohol every other round.
Alternate each alcoholic beverage with seltzer or water. It’ll cut down on calories and help you keep count of how much you’re drinking. And because alcohol has a diuretic effect, the water will hydrate you, says Drayer. Or, follow Gee’s lead and order a glass of water along with your cocktail. You’ll sip the hard stuff more slowly.
5. Focus on the conversation, not the cocktails.
When you find yourself alone at a fête, you may swig more swiftly out of anxiety or a need to look occupied. “Food and drink become substitutes for conversation; don’t fall into that trap,” says Gee. “If you don’t want to look like you’re standing there doing nothing, drink seltzer.”
6. Go for volume.
A platter of healthy food can satiate you more than a couple of high-fat morsels; it’s the same way with cocktails. “The taller the drink, the longer you’ll have it in your hand and hopefully drink a little less,” says Gee. “Make it last by adding lots of ice and soda water.”
Drink slim.
Sip skinny with slimmed-down versions of your favorite cocktails, concocted by master mixologist Dale DeGroff, author of The Craft of the Cocktail (Clarkson Potter, 2003).
Caipirinha
Cut a room-temperature lime into quarters and drop it in a shaker. Add one packet of sucralose sweetener (such as Splenda) and one tablespoon water. Mash the mixture very well with a wooden spoon, dissolving the lime into mush. Add a shot (1½ ounces) of white rum and enough ice cubes to fit in an old-fashioned glass. Shake well. Pour mixture (including the peel) into a glass. Variation: Add slices of mangos or a few cherries along with the lime.
Mojito
Pour 3/4 of an ounce (about half a shot) fresh lime juice into a glass. Add one packet of sucralose sweetener (such as Splenda) and four or five mint leaves. Stir until the sweetener dissolves. Add a shot of light rum and several ice cubes. Top with 2 ounces club soda and a sprig of mint.
Margarita
To shaker, add 3/4 of an ounce (about half a shot) fresh lime juice, 1 to 1½ ounces low-calorie triple sec and 2 ounces tequila. Add ice. Count slowly to 10 while shaking. Rub a lime halfway along the glass’s outside rim, then roll the moistened part of the rim in kosher salt. Pour margarita into the glass.
Long Island Iced Tea
To shaker, add 1/4 shot vodka, 1/4 shot rum, 1/4 shot gin, 1/4 shot tequila, 3/4 ounces fresh lemon juice and two packets of sucralose sweetener (such as Splenda) dissolved into 2 tablespoons of water. Shake. Pour into a tall glass filled with ice and top with diet cola. Squeeze lemon on top.
Sangria
Dissolve four packets of sucralose sweetener (such as Splenda) into 4 tablespoons of water. Pour into pitcher. Add slices of oranges, lemons, limes, peaches, plums or nectarines as well as grapes (for white wine sangria, red grapes; for red wine sangria, white). Add a bottle of red or white wine. Stir, then let sit. Before serving, top pitcher with a drizzle of club soda.
Rub it Down: Spice Mixes for Grilling
Article By: Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough
Stop larding up meat on the grill! There’s no need for oil, bacon or other fat-heavy additions. Dry rubs add tons of flavor without adding fat.
Getting Started:
Here are six dry rubs for pork, beef, chicken, fish, or even tofu. Whisk any one of them together in a large bowl.
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All-American Barbeque Rub #1
2 tablespoons mild paprika
2 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon dry mustard
1 tablespoon chile powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
All-American Barbeque Rub #2
1/4 cup chile powder
1/4 cup mild paprika
2 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
Southwestern Rub
2 tablespoons chile powder
2 tablespoons garlic powder
2 tablespoons dry mustard
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon mild paprika
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground coriander
2 teaspoons salt
Jerk Rub
1/4 cup dried crushed rosemary
1/4 cup dried thyme
2 tablespoons dry mustard
4 teaspoons salt
4 teaspoons ground black pepper
4 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons celery seed
2 teaspoons ground cloves
1 teaspoon cayenne
Curry Rub
3 tablespoons yellow curry powder
2 tablespoons ground ginger
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon mild paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground allspice
Szechwan Pepper Salt
2 tablespoons coarse-grained or kosher salt
2 tablespoons ground Szechwan peppercorns
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
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What To Do:
Use the best spices you can find. Only freshly ground black pepper, please.
Dried herbs have a shelf-life, usually about a year. Don’t use dried spices that have taken on a bland, tea-like smell.
To grind Szechwan peppercorns and the like, use a cleaned-out coffee grinder, a mini food processor, or a spice grinder.
Use between 1/2 tablespoon and 1 tablespoon per cut, whether steak, fish or chicken thighs.
Now, how do you get it to stick? Rub each cut with about 1 teaspoon unsweetened apple juice, lemon juice, cranberry juice, balsamic vinegar or white wine vinegar. Pat the rub in place to make a thin coating on all sides and you’re ready to roll.
For a deeper taste, coat with the rub, then cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or up to 24 hours.
After that, you’re ready to roll. Fire up the grill and cook the meat, fish or tofu until done.
These rub recipes make a lot, more than you’ll need. Cover the rest in a tight-fitting jar for the next time you’re over the heat.
From the Weight Watchers website I saw this helpful article (click here for link):
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One of our Community users asked for advice on what to do after she comes home from work and waits for her significant other to arrive a few hours later so they can eat dinner together.
She hit a nerve on the boards: Wanting to eat as soon as we get home from work is something a lot of us can relate to. Read some of our favorite tips and strategies from the posts (seven pages!) on the Message Boards.
Grab a healthy snack!
“Have some no or low POINTS value snacks available, so you’re not famished when you finally eat dinner,” says BUSYBLONDE1. “Try fresh fruit or veggies, a half of a sandwich…the possibilities are endless. Stay in the comfort zone—don’t let yourself get to the point where you’re so hungry that you lose control of your eating.”
She hit a nerve on the boards: Wanting to eat as soon as we get home from work is something a lot of us can relate to. Read some of our favorite tips and strategies from the posts (seven pages!) on the Message Boards.
“Drink hot tea, eat a piece of 2-percent cheese, a single serving of raw almonds, yogurt, or go for a walk around your neighborhood,” suggests Community user JACMIC.
Community user ROBIN811 says, “One of my favorites is a Wasa cracker spread with a wedge of Light Laughing Cow [cheese]. You could spread on some hummus, too, or have some hummus with assorted veggies. I also love grape tomatoes as a snack. And the various 100-calorie packs, if you can eat them slowly, are also good. The Vitatops are good too.”
How about a steaming bowl of soup? Community user TINA@HOME enjoys a bowl of the Weight Watchers Zero POINTS value soup with one tablespoon of grated parmesan cheese to boost the flavor. TINA@HOME also said, “Another member suggested a thinly sliced Granny Smith apple sprinkled with sugar-free cherry Jell-O. It really does remind me of a candied apple.”
“My sister used to teach and said this was the worst time for her too. She always kept egg whites around and would make an egg-white omelet for a POINTS value of 1 to tide her over, and this was her favorite snack. I have also tried this and it really takes the edge off your hunger,” said BOGEY82.
Pack an afternoon pick-me-up.
A lot of Community users suggested a late-afternoon snack, either at work or on your commute home. User PSOYSAL said, “You sound just like me! After walking in the door after work, I was starving and would grab the first thing I saw—like cookies, an ice cream bar, etc. Now I bring a giant apple with me in the morning and keep it in the car. On my commute home, I eat my apple. It really has worked for me.”
“I take a bag of baby carrots with me to work, and eat them on the way home. At home, carrots never seem like they would [satisfy] my hunger, but when they’re all you have, you eat them and realize that they really do help,” said JESSWOO.
Engage in a non-food related activity.
How about doing something else to take your mind off of eating? Community user AIDYD67 suggests, “Take a long bubble bath, join a fitness class, surround yourself with non-food activities, read a book or crochet.”
“Since you have time, after work would be a great time to get some exercise in. Go to the gym, find a workout tape you enjoy or go for a walk. Then, have your tea and maybe some veggies, a salad a low POINTS value snack,” said UNADILLASC.
“Even though I am in my mid-30s and a female professional, I bought a Wii video game system which requires that you move around while playing it, and I placed it in my basement. I really don’t like to eat down there so that distraction helped a lot. No amount of willpower worked as long as I was sitting on the couch,” said Community user MILLS379.
Eat dinner right away!
It’s OK to eat a portion of your meal—or all of it—first and still spend quality time with your significant other at the dinner table later. Community user JOIELANE said, “I have the same issue. I get home at 5:30 p.m. and my husband doesn’t get home until 7 p.m. I go to the gym after work, but on the nights I don’t, I cut my dinner in half, eat half of it before he gets home and save the other half to sit and have dinner with him. Sometimes I walk the dog between my mini meals to help jump–start my metabolism! It’s worked so far, and I seem to eat less of the second half of my dinner because I’m not famished.”
“Frankly, I would have dinner. I am also up at 4:30 a.m. and we have dinner at 5:00 p.m. This isn’t a case of the boring munchies, this is hunger. There are very few meals that cannot be reheated for [your guy]. You can sit with him and have a cup of tea,” suggested OATMEALLUNCH.
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