Lifestyle Change Thread (NOT *dieting*!) Come join me!!

[SpringChickens]

I am so excited that you are going to come join me

Saddina, that link was awesome! They have a great program there! I especially liked the meal planner... I will start using that ASAP.

Rosljo, we eat healthy as well, for the most part. We don't buy any junk food like potato chips or soda, unless we eat out. I personally try to drink water 95% of the time... too many empty calories in soda and juice. We DO eat out too much, especially when neither one of us wants to decide what to make for dinner!

I would love to have the recipe for some of these treats you mentioned!! Healthy treats that still taste good ??

Amazing!!

OK, here's my food since last night:

I had 1 chicken enchilada for dinner (homemade) with some more ham and beans.

AND

2 packets of instant oatmeal this morning...

 

[hearthnsoul]

I know your not dieting, but south beach diet is fantastic. The food mwah.

 

[Blue Skys]

I have been attempting to do this same thing for a while now. I will be very good and stay on track with eating and exercise and then just lose motivation and any progress that was made. I have a sweet tooth that needs to be gotten under control ASAP. I have started jogging again (well, walk/jog - started back yesterday). My goals are to walk/jog or someother form of exercise every day (so I have no excuse not to do it) and cut out the sweets. We eat fairly healthy, but there is room for improvement. I make menu's weekly, so there is no deciding what's for dinner - it's on the calendar. I would love to have some healthy sweet treat recipies. As it is now - I eat lots of fruits, which still have lots of sugar, but at least they aren't processed. I have a weight goal (which I have on my calendar and will check once a week), but more importantly, I just want to get healthy and maintain that health livestyle.

what I eat yesterday - bowl of cheerios for breakfst with milk

midmorning snack - baby carrots and hummus

lunch - 6" subway turkey breast sandwich loaded with veggies

snack - plum

dinner - leftover steak, white beans, and whole wheat pasta with evoo and parmasean


Today so far - breakfast - cheerios with milk

on the menu: snack - handful of red grapes

lunch PB&J on whole wheat bread & carrots with hummus

snack - plum

dinner - grilled catfish, green beans and side salad with oil and vinegar

sorry to write abook, I'm just excited!

 

[Rolsjo]

My hubby and I have been using the calorie counter at about.com to help us get a handle on how much we are eating. It has been very helpful.

As far as healthier treats go, I have been using some of the recipes at Golden Blossom Honey. The muffins and breads are especially good and have a nice texture and sweetness without the processed sugar.

I've also, on my own, started altering recipes and replacing half of the sugar with honey. For example, here is the standard One-Bowl Chocolate Cake recipe:

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups white sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water


DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour two 9 inch round pans.
2. In a large bowl, combine sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Make a well in the center and add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Beat for 2 minutes at medium speed. Stir in boiling water.
3. Pour into two 9 inch pans. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a wire rack and continue cooling.

And here is my altered recipe:

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 cups honey
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (or 1 cup white flour, 3/4 whole wheat flour)
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil (or a light olive oil if the flavor is too strong)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup hot coffee (this just gives the cake a rich, dark chocolate flavor, and I love coffee!)

It's all about trying to improve the nutritional value of traditional foods.

Now I need to just get up and get exercising. Since this is likely the only day in the next week we will not have rain, I'll be outside staking tomatos, replanting everything the slugs ate, digging up more sod to enlarge my herb/flower garden, and playing with the chickens, of course.

Have a healthy day!

 

[seismic wonder2]

I've helped several people loose weight and by far the best method for controlling eating habits is a food diary.

Keep the food diary for three days, eating normally, be very maticulous. every class of water, every potato chip, everything goes into the log.
At the end of the three days, go to Calorie King.com and add up all the calories per day and devide that by 3 to get you average per day.
THEN reduce that by 10% and ONLY 10% That is your daily goal for the next 7 days. By substituting healthy foods. ONLY 10 %!!!
(still maintain your food diary every day)
You will find that with a LITTLE exercise 3 times a week YOU WILL LOOSE WEIGHT. Not a lot but it will begin to fall off.

At the end of the 7 days, go back 3 days and get your daily average again and again reduce it by 10%. Again, go for 7 days and monitor your weight loss.

Do NOT reduce calorie intake below 1500 for men and 1000 for women. If you get to these numbers (and aren't cheating) and don't have weight loss, you need more exercise, increase exercise time by no more than 10% per day per week.

My deal is there is no off limits foods. You want devils food cake for breakfast? Go for it, but remember it counts for your total calorie count for the day and that means celery sticks and ice cubes for dinner.

Never skip a meal, eat small meals 6 times per day.
Change your eating habits and exercise a little more, you'll loose weight.

 

[Iowa Roo Mom]

Ok, so today I ate:

2 bowls of raisin bran cereal for breakfast

I know, I know... 2 bowls is too much. But anyhow...

2 string cheese sticks
Grapes

Planning on a BLT for supper- made with turkey bacon. Also, some yogurt and some baby carrots

Maybe a homemade blueberry smoothie for desert and some "go juice" for work tonight

 

[maplesky7]

April 6th, '09 at the tender age of 35...I had a heart attack and had to be taken by ambulance and had angioplasty--ballooned & stent placed in my left ventricle.

If I were to encourage anyone it would also to count your salt intake and do low fat. Drink more water and exercise at least 3x a week for 30 min. to an hour.

Here's a link to sodium in common foods...

http://oto2.wustl.edu/men/sodium.htm



on a hand out from my cardiac rehab:

The avg. american takes in 1-2 teaspoons of salt each day.

But the body needs less that 1/8 of a teaspoon of salt a day for good health.

What's wrong with taking in more? Salt holds in water. Too much salt in the diet can mean too much water in the body..extra work for the heart and high blood pressure.

Hope this helps.

me,
g

 

[saddina]

I really liked the planner, as it put everything in one spot for me; my mum can somehow manage weight watchers meetings, and juggle 3 gym classes a week, without writing anything down. I have to have a plan in one place that covers everything or else I space off something.
This month we've added in a family walk after dinner, nothing big, just a mile thru the neighborhood, that joins twice a week yoga (dvds) and some light weights. But that was a year long routiene to form, one step/activity at a time will get you there.

 

[chickeypoo]

5 foot nine? and only 185.. i am only 5 foot..and haven't weighed 185 in six years except after i had my last baby and then my weight shot back up over 200.. again. i have decided to quit drinking the pop

and i havent' been drinking a whole lot. one day i didn't drink one at all and i ended up with a migraine but i feel better not drinking as much. i only had one today... and i am drinking more iced tea(sweetened yes i know.. but it's gotta be better than the stuff i can't pronounce in pop lol) good luck is all i hafta say. takes a whole lotta guts to do it

we need a lifestyle change.. no more pop or chips and stuff like that. i hate shopping when i am not hungry cuz i don't feel like it then.. but if i shop on an empty stomach i buy all kinds of crap..

Sue

 

[SpringChickens]

Good job, Iowa Roo Mom. I think you ate better than me today lol

Here's my tally for the day:

2 packets of instant oatmeal this morning.

A sweet & salty peanut granola bar for a snack (yea... real healthy I'm sure

)

1/2 a chicken enchilada for lunch

1 piece of bacon (making more ham and beans)

ham and 2 eggs and asparagus for dinner... yum

Don't worry Maplesky! I'm sure that my sodium intake was very low today... ham doesn't have much salt, does it?

Very good point, well taken.

Good job!! Thanks everyone!!!