Becoming a Butterfly

I am starting again on Monday.  I got discouraged, because the meal plan I was using stopped working, so I am going to try the Biggest Loser weight loss plan from the book I got recently.  

To help me get focused, I have retyped the whole plan and am sharing it with all of you!I am think I am going to make a spreadsheet that will help me plan and keep track of my meals.

They have a workout schedule too…but that will be for another blog.

The basics:  Steady state cardio and interval cardio.  And fat burning circuit workout (weights and floor exercises)

For starters I am going to switch between steady and interval cardio EVERY day and do weights (the same day I do the steady cardio) every other or at least 3xs per week!

I will do my cardio on the treadmill, elliptical, and outside walking.

Ex:

Monday interval for 60

Tuesday steady for 30-45 with 30 of weights/floor exercises

Wednesday interval for 60

Thursday steady for 30-45 with 30 of weights/floor exercises

Friday interval for 60

Saturday steady for 30-45 with 30 of weights/floor exercises

Sunday free day

Hope this helps someone.  I know it helped me just tying it out!

 

For starters

Write it all down, before and after.  Plan and then journal how well you did.

How many cals do I eat?

current weight x 7 = total cals to consume to lose

For me it will be

235 x 7 = 1645 cals to lose weight

Meal timing:  4-6 planned meals each day (breakfast, lunch, dinner and 1-3 snacks)

• Helps regulate your appetite and tames carb and sugar cravings
• Keeps you from feeling deprived
• Helps control blood sugar and insulin levels (insulin is a fat forming hormone)
• Leads to lower body fat
• Keeps you energized for exercise and activity
• Reduces stress hormones in the body that can contribute to fat accumulation
• Establishes a regular pattern of eating that help counter impulse eating

Breakfast

• ½ protein serving
• 1 whole grain serving
• 1 fruit serving

Snack

• ½ protein serving
• 1 fruit serving

Lunch

• 1 protein serving
• ½ whole grain serving
• 1 vegetable serving

Snack

• ½ protein serving
• 1 fruit serving

Dinner

• 1 protein serving
• ½ whole grain serving

• 2 vegetable servings

Extras

• 200 cals from additional foods, healthy fats and condiments

Serving sizes

1.  Fruits and Vegetables:  4 servings Daily, Minimum

(At least half of them from vegetables, do not have more fruit than veggies)

Fruit Serving size, 1 cup, one medium piece, or 8oz

Apple

Apricot

Banana

Blackberry

Blueberries

Cherries

Cranberries

Grapefruit

Grapes

Guava

Kiwifruit

Mango

Melon (all)

Nectarine

Orange

Papaya

Peach

Pear

Persimmons

Pineapple

Plantain

Plum

Pomegranate

Raspberries

Rhubarb

Strawberries

Tangerine

Watermelon

Vegetable Serving Size:  1 cup or 8 oz.

Choose these to lose:

Artichoke

Asparagus

Bamboo  Shoots

Beans (yellow and green)

Beet greens

Beets

Bell peppers

Broccoli

Brussels sprouts

Cabbage carrots

Cauliflower

Celery

Collard greens

Cucumbers

Eggplant

Kale

Dahlrabi

Leeks

Lettuce

Mushrooms

Mustard greens

Okra

Onions

Palm Hearts

Parsley

Peas

Peppers (all)

Pumpkin

Radishes

Shallors spinach

Sprouts

Summer squash

Sweet Potatoes

Swiss chard

Tomatillos

Tomatoes

Turnip greens

Turnips

Water chestnuts

Water cress

Winter squash

Yams

Zucchini

Pointers:

• You can eat more that four servings of most fruits and vegetables, excluding the starchier ones:  sweet potatoes, pumpkin, winter squash, yams.
• Fresh is best, but can also have frozen or canned (as long as they are not packed in sugar or syrup).
• Eat a vegetable salad most days of the week
• Cook veggies shortest amount of time
• Keep cut up veggies in a container in the fridge.
• Avoid White Potatoes
• Try a new fruit and veggie each week
• Choose different color veggies through the week
• Try to eat one fruit and veggie raw each day
• Avoid dry fruits: raisins, craisins, blueberries, dried cherries.  Too much sugar and less filling than the fresh fruit
• Choose whole fruits over juices

2. Proteins:  3 servings Daily

Three 8-ounce or 1-cup portions daily

Three types of protein:  Animal, vegetarian, and low fat dairy

Have it at each meal

Split up the portions and have a half at each meal

Animal Protein:  1 cup or 8 ounces

Beef (95% lean)

Pork (95% lean)

Veal (95% lean)

White chicken meat

White turkey meat

Egg whites

Fish (any type, but try to choose fish that is rich in omega-3s:  salmon, water packed sardines, herring, mackerel, trout and tuna)

Shellfish (any type)

Vegetable Protein serving size:  1 cup or 8 ounces

Beans and legumes (black, broad, lentils,
lima, navy, pinto, split, white, chickpeas, great northern, kidney, etc)

Miso

Soybeans

Soy bacon

Soy hotdogs and other natural soy products

Tempeh

Tofu

Low-Fat Dairy Serving size:  1 cup or 8 ounces

Buttermilk

Low-fat milk (1%)

Skim or fat free milk

Soy milk

Yogurt (plain)

Yogurt (no sugar added, fruit flavored) and reduced-fat cottage cheese

Pointers:

• Choose variety each day
• Menopausal women need extra calcium, so choose 2 from the dairy and one from the animal
• Consider soy foods for variety:  hot dogs, sausage, pastrami (no saturated fats)
• Remove skin from poultry, before you cook it
• Fish is best if wild caught not farmed—omega-3’s, vitamin E, and selenium
• Free range meats or poultry is best, less saturated fats and more healthy fats, no antibiotics and growth hormones
• Limit red meats to 2 times a week
• Avoid processed meats:  hotdogs, bologna, salami, pepperoni.  
  They have nitrates which cause carcinogenic compounds in your stomach

3.     Whole Grains:  2 servings Daily

Bread serving size:  2 slices (light) bread, 1 whole grain bun or roll, 2 light Wasa flatbreads, 1 whole wheat flour tortilla

Whole grain bread

High-fiber bread (45 cals/slice)

Ezekiel bread

Wasa bread

Whole wheat buns

Whole wheat pitas

Whole wheat tortillas

Whole wheat dinner rolls

Whole grain serving size:  1 cup cooked

Barley

Brown rice

Bulgar

Corn grits

Couscous

Cram of rice

Cream of wheat

Millet

Oat bran

Quinoa

Rolled oats

Whole wheat cereal

Whole wheat pasta

Wild rice

Pointers:

·         Go for the least processed grains

·         Make sure first ingredient on bread is Whole wheat/grain

·         Choose breads with 2 or more grams of fiber/serving

·         Look for the term enriched on bread or pasta

·         Avoid ready to eat breakfast cereals.  Exceptions:  Kashi Go Lean, Fiber One, and All-Bran.

·         Pick Cereal with 5 grams of fiber or more

·         Pick cereal with LESS than 5 grams of sugars

4.      The Extras:  Your 200 Calorie Budget

Fats, Oils and Spreads

·         Good fats:  olive oil, canola oil, flaxseed, or walnut oil

·         Reduced or fat free salad dressings/mayo

·         Reduced fat peanut/nut butters

Sugar-free Desserts and Sweets

• Sugar-free, fat-free puddings, and gelatins
• Reduced calorie jams, jellies, and syrups
• Sugar-free popsicles and fudgsicles
• Sugar-free, fat-free whipped topping

Reduced-fat foods

• Reduced/ fat free cheeses
• Fat free sour cream

Condiments and Sauces

• Low-cal bbq sauce
• Reduced sodium broths or boullions
• Low cal catsup
• Chili sauce
• Cocktail sauce
• Horseradish
• Mustard
• Picante sauce
• Salsa
• Lite soy sauce
• Steak sauce
• Tabasco sauce
• Tomato paste
• Tomato sauce
• Worcestershire sauce

Other

• Avocado
• Nuts and seeds
• Olives
• Pickles

Pointers

• Avoid animal fats and trans fats
• Reduced fat, sugar free, fat free and low card products should be used sparingly
• Use mostly whole foods
• Be careful with nuts and seeds
• Use low cal bbq, catsup, salad dressings, watch for corn syrup
• Use spices:  cumin, dill, garlic, ginger, lavender, mint, onions, oregano, parsley, rosemary, saffron, sage, thyme, and turmeric
• Avoid sodium, causes water retention that makes you look and feel fat and may hinder metabolism

Drink:

• Water
• No cal flavored water
• Diet sodas (one or 2 a day)
• Teas (all including herbal)
• Coffee

Had a long (and wonderful;) conversation with a friend today…and this came up…so I had to blog about it.

This person drank something called a “Mudslide”.   She was upset a little, because it had a bazillion calories. 

As we were talking, we both started to realize that maybe she chose this drink because the name was almost what she was doing. 

Let me explain.   She was going through a stressful situation that she couldn’t control.  Maybe she was starting to do things to sabotage her successes…so subconsciously she chose this drink because she was trying to communicate something…or (seemingly) gain control of her situation.

So that got me thinking…

When I was binging, I used to eat foods with meaningful names…maybe they were communicating something too.

I used to love ice cream, two of my favorite flavors…Heavenly Hash or Death By Chocolate. 

What was that REALLY saying?  Well, when I stop and think about it.  I think I was saying, I want to escape, get away from it all…I’d even die…and this is going to help me do it!   My life as a single mom was so stressful…I could see why.

I would also crave Dove Chocolates, and eat them by the bag full, but was it “peace” I was really hungry for?

Fast Food would also call to me, come on and “Have it Your Way” and “You deserve a break today”.  Why not “Make a run for the border?”

So let me know,

Are there are foods that are still calling your name?

Foods that you are still reaching for?

What are they saying to you, or about you?

What is it you are really hungry for!?