I hate not having a pc handy to me anymore. I really miss writing these blog posts. I share them, but look at them like a journal to see my progress, my highs, and my lows. The end of 2012 was really rough. After my shoulder surgery I lost a little motivation. I got "cocky" and started eating what I wanted thinking that I wasn't going to gain any weight back. The holidays came and went and after many cookies I found myself back up to 182 lbs again. I had gained back about 13 lbs from my lowest weight. I hate to focus on weight so much when there is SO much more to think about than weight, but I'm a woman...it's what we do. That "little" number on the scale seems to define us somedays. I try not to stress over it too much, but at the same time, you have to keep some account or you'll end up in the situation like I did and gain a lot back. When it comes back on slowly you don't think about it too much until you realize you're struggling to get a pair of pants on that fit very nicely only a few weeks ago! I knew it was time to do something about it. My shoulder is still giving me some trouble, but time for the "no excuses" approach. I downloaded myfitnesspal on my phone and decided to give it a try. I've really focused on eating "clean" or mostly clean in the past, lots of whole foods and the carbs I eat are all complex. I never really focused on calories. It put me on a 1200 calorie diet. TWELVE HUNDRED CALORIES!! What the heck am I going to live on lettuce? I flipped out a little when it gave me this number, but decided that maybe that's what I needed to do. I've plateaued with my weight for about a year, staying right around losing about 60 pounds. I know that I have much more muscle mass than in the past, due to the fact that I'm wearing clothing in a size I wore previously at about 15 lbs lighter than what I am now! (I find THAT extremely cool....again...don't focus so much on the number on the scale!) The diet really has NOT BEEN BAD! I have 300 calories for each meal and then 300 calories for snacks. If I exercise, it takes into acccount the calories I burn and it all gets added back into my allowance for the day. Some days I find myself training to eat, but that's ok if it gets my butt in gear! I'm now down about 10 lbs since starting a few weeks ago and almost back to my lowest recent weight. I'm PRAYING that I can keep losing and don't plateau again! You HAVE to keep track of inches when you are losing weight as well, and I am also doing that again. I've had to get a LITTLE creative with my meals and have really learned a lot about calories/fat/protein/carbs. I've done lots and lots of research in the past with nutrition, and also work in a doctor's office where I'm constantly talking nutrition to patients. I LOVE it! It fascinates me. There is SO much to learn about how your body uses food for fuel and what each little component does for you....or doesn't do for you! I also have a huge passion and love for cooking and took some time this weekend to prep some chili's to have on hand. I'm usually a "dumper" when I cook, a little of this, a little of that, not measuring anything as I go. I have found now that I need to keep track of every....little....thing....I eat, I HAD to measure everything out as I went and wrote it down. I can then load it into myfitnesspal in "create a recipe" and it calculates everything out for you! How freaking cool is that?!! I have 3 original recipes that I came up with that I'll share on here for you to try. They are all around 300 calories each and VERY filling at 1 cup serving sizes. The biggest thing to keep in mind is that food is fuel. You really don't need it for any other reason. Not to make you feel better, not for something to do when you're bored, not because you're having a get together with friends. It is to sustain us...nothing less, nothing more. The healthier the food, the better the fuel.
Some people "diet" thinking that the less they eat, the better and end up starving themselves. WRONG thing to do. Without enough calories your body goes into starvation mode and ends up holding onto fat which is counterproductive for weight loss. You NEED food, it's all about choosing the right ones! I hope these recipes are helpful and that some of you might try them. They are filled with beans for fiber which is very filling and 2 of them have chicken in them, a lean protein to also help you stay full longer.
Here they are.
Spicy
Black Bean and Sweet Potato Chili
1 medium sized sweet potato cut into inch size
chunks
1 TBSP EVOO
¼ tsp sea salt
½ tsp paprika
¼ tsp chili powder
Coat potatoes and bake at 450 degrees for about 12
minutes, or until soft, then set to side.
1 TBSP EVOO
1 cup green onion chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed by hand then chopped
1 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
1- 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
1-15.25 oz can of black beans
½ cup diced tomatoes
¼ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp oregano
¼ tsp crushed bay leaves
½ tsp paprika
¼ tsp sea salt
½ tsp chili powder
¼ tsp curry powder
¼ tsp black pepper
¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
Saute onion and garlic in evoo. Add remaining
ingredients and let simmer for about 10 minutes. Add sweet potatoes.
Makes about 4-5 servings
Serving size 1 Cup- Calories- 287
Total fat 7.9gm
Total carbs- 44.5gm Dietary fiber-12.7gm
Protein 10.8 gm
White
Chicken Chili
1 TBSP EVOO
1 cup chopped white onion
6 garlic cloves crushed
1 Swanson flavor boost packet in chicken flavor
mixed with 1 cup water
2 cans northern beans (1 can gets pureed with
water/flavor packet)
1 can pinto beans
½ tsp parsley
½ tsp oregano
¾ tsp ground cumin
¼ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp sea salt
1 tsp chopped jalapeño pepper
1 tsp chicken boullian
3 cups water
4 cups shredded chicken
Saute garlic and onion in evoo. Mix flavor packet
with water. In a blender blend 1 can of the Northern beans with flavor
packet/water. Add to pot. Mix in other ingredients and let simmer for about 10
minutes. ** for more "kick" add more jalapeno pepper**
Makes about 9 servings
Serving size 1 cup- 368 calories
Total fat- 6.1gm
Total carbs-34.4gm Dietary fiber-7.7gm
Protein-35.6gm
annnnnnd...my favorite, because it has "bacon" in it!!
3
Bean Bacon Chicken chili
1 TBSP EVOO
2 cups onion chopped
2 cups tri colored peppers chopped
7 garlic cloves crushed
2 cans 15.25oz black beans (drained)
1 can 15.25 oz pinto beans (drained)
1 can 15.25 oz dark red kidney beans (drained)
1- 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
2 cups diced tomatoes (about 1 ½ cans)
2 tsp taco seasoning
1 tsp worcestershire sauce
¼ tsp paprika
¾ tsp sea salt
½ tsp black pepper
¼ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp garlic powder
3 cups shredded chicken
10 pieces crispy turkey bacon crumbled
Saute onion, peppers, garlic in EVOO. Add the rest of ingredients and let simmer
for 20 minutes stirring occasionally. **To add more “kick” add in crushed red
pepper flakes, more chili powder, jalapeno pepper, hot sauce, etc.
Makes about 11 servings
Serving size 1 cup- Calories- 309
Total fat 6.0gm
Total carbs- 37.0gm
Dietary fiber- 10.3gm
Protein 25.3gm
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