Finally Getting Fit

I was raised with the belief that cravings are an okay thing. Obey them because if you are craving something, that meant there is something in the food you’re craving that your body needs. However, when I got older and people talked about craving foods that were less than ideal for them, I began to think that cravings were a little more than what I’d been told.

I decided to do a little research because I have not been able to get enough yogurt lately. However, I’ve also been feeling sick to my stomach off and on, which may or may not be caused by being lactose intolerant. So, in theory, if cravings truly are what I was raised to believe, I should be able to replace the yogurt with something else that will give me what my body needs…

According to WebMD, “Surveys estimate that almost 100% of young women and nearly 70% of young men had food cravings during the past year. That covers most of us, doesn’t it?”

Well it’s certainly good to know that I’m not alone! But what does that mean exactly?

According to this article, food cravings pretty much are mostly in your head. Take away the pregnancy cravings side of things, and you’re most likely craving things because you want to calm down, comfort yourself, or are addicted to what you’re craving.

If you’re struggling with food cravings, read the article. It has seven facts about cravings and well as ideas on how to deal with them

As for me, I’m not too worried about yogurt cravings but will be taking a break from it nonetheless so I can see if I’m lactose intolerant.

And you shouldn’t be worried if you’re craving healthy foods. Just take things in moderation.

Even though I no longer live in the United States, that doesn’t mean I have forgotten about one of the biggest traditions held there.

Celebrating the Fourth of July!

As with more holidays, food is a huge part of this celebration. With potato salad, hot dogs, grandma’s pies and all kinds of other goodies, it’s easy to overload and be groaning at the end of the night instead of ‘oooing’ and ‘ahhing’ when the fireworks are going off.

I’m not here to warn you to be careful about eating too much, though. If you’re going to do it, you’re going to do it. You know the consequences and only you will know how you will feel tomorrow morning.

No, I’m here to talk about the interesting benefits of one of the traditional fourth of July celebration foods: Watermelon!

If you haven’t heard the news, it turns out this tasty little fruit has a lot more going for it than a sweet demeanor and seeds that are fun to spit all over the place.

As it turns out, watermelon might be the new aphrodisiac on the ‘makes you hot’ list.

Scientists say that watermelons pack an interesting punch for you blood vessels and very well could increase your libido. Not only that, but there is a large list of other health benefits too.

The unfortunate part of this whole thing is that I don’t like watermelons. Back to oysters and green M&Ms for me.

Have a safe, happy, and fun holiday to those who are celebrating.

I received an email today that linked to a page (it was just a question, so no link) that asked:

“What does overeating and being overweight giving you?”

I was a bit puzzled about the question at first until I realized it was the basic question of why overeat. And I haven’t stopped thinking about it all morning.

When I first started my weight loss journey, it was easy to figure out why I overate. I was abused as a child and shut down a lot of myself and my personality. I used to eat as much food as I could get my hands on until I would ache with being full. It was my way of feeling something without the fear of having something bad happen because of my feelings. I could eat until I hurt and no one would know it but me.

I’m in a much better place now with much better circumstances. Those reasons no longer apply, so it was a bit harder to think of what I was getting from being fat.

These days, I think food being a comfort thing plays a big part in things. I was betrayed and hurt by people I trusted with my life from an early age, so it’s very hard for me to trust people. Food has never betrayed my trust and has never failed to be there.

So that’s the food side of it, but what about the being overweight?

For right now, you’re guess is pretty much as good as mine. I think part of me thinks that fat equals unattractive equals safe as far as men goes, but I feel like I’m still missing a key element that will answer the question better.

So, what does overeating and being overweight give you?

Or is it round three? I can’t quite remember.

I was roaming the weight loss part of the blogsphere yesterday and read on Irish Mom’s blog that one of her goals for this week is to keep a food diary. “If I bite it, I’ll write it,” as she says. (I love that little saying.) It got me thinking that maybe it’s time I get back into keeping a food diary.

When I first started on the ‘I’m in Australia now’ leg of my weight loss journey, it was a big kick in the head. I couldn’t believe how much food I would shove in my mouth (or rather, would have shoved in my mouth without the food diary) on any random day. Keeping the food diary made me think about what I was eating.

But I sort of grew out of it. I was more aware, more careful and all the better for it. I could easily recall everything I had eaten in a given day and I thought before I ate.

Now, as I skip the scale, it will be all too easy for me to fall back in to bad habits. Having a food diary would help me out at least a little in that area because it would at least keep me aware and away from ‘mindless munching’. Mindless munching is a bad, bad habit for me that I definitely don’t want to get back into.

So I’m thinking about taking it up again.

Do you use a food diary? Do you find it useful?

No, I’m not talking about the mystery dish Aunt Ethyl always brought to Christmas dinner that everyone was always too afraid to try.

When I was growing up, I hated the beans my mother bought for us. The beans were gross, whatever they were packed in was almost sweet (not a taste I think should be associated with beans, that’s for sure), and the beans were really small. I avoided beans at all costs unless it involved a burrito (that my mother didn’t make).

When I started on the South Beach diet, I saw that I could have beans. Kidney beans, butter beans, chickpeas, soy beans, etc. Seeing as I could obviously well and truly indulge in the bean side of things, I decided I would give them another go. After all, since coming to Australia I have tried a lot of things I ‘didn’t like’ only to find I like them a lot. (Broccoli, mushrooms, pumpkin…)

There are cans of ‘three bean mix’ that I get for less than a dollar a can at Aldi’s and they are fantastic! (Well, as fantastic as beans go, anyway.) A little bit of soy sauce or sesame oil can give me a bit more flavor if I want it. I can add in mushrooms to bulk it up a bit or even melt cheese on top.

I now absolutely love beans and it’s such a good thing!

Beans are great for a number of reasons:

*Low GI
*High protein (which makes them excellent for vegetarians)
*High iron
*High calcium

…and oodles of other things.

So even if you didn’t/don’t like beans, I urge you to try some different kinds. They’re great!

Weight Watchers taught me that muffins aren’t the way to go when you are trying to lose weight. My high school biology teacher taught me that white bread has no nutritional value and that I’m much better off eating grain breads. Life has taught me that a bowl of nutritious cereal isn’t something I always have time for. Life has also taught me I have a bit of a sweet tooth.

Solution? Banana bread, of course!

I love banana bread. Good banana bread is soft, moist, sweet and good for you. Right? After all, it’s made with bananas.

I had a rude awakening reading the food section of the newspaper the other day. Banana bread, my preferred sweet treat on special occasions, wasn’t the great, healthier sweet treat that I thought it was.

As it turns out, according to the article I read (no link; it was in an actual paper newspaper), a single slice of banana bread at a café can have twenty to thirty grams of fat in it!

I was disappointed, to say the least.

Even the low-fat banana bread is said to have about the same amount of carbohydrates as three or four slices of regular bread.

So today I say goodbye to my beloved banana bread and go on the search for something else that’s healthier…

Has this ever happened to you? Have you ever had a treat or dish that you thought was healthy or ‘not so bad’ and it turned out that it was bad?

I would love to hear your story!

There is nothing like a good reminder of why you’re on a quest to improve your health. I got one of those reminders last night.

I have completely taken rice out of my diet because of how it makes me tired. I’ve kicked pasta and now use bean curd noodles. I have had rye bread in the last couple of days, but I have otherwise kicked out bread. The same goes for potatoes.

All in all, I have made a lot of positive changes for my diet in response to the insulin resistance side effects I was having before.

But I dropped my guard last night.

My husband and I went out to eat last night and I ordered an extra bowl of veggies on the side. When it comes to craving things that are good for me, I obey my cravings. My meal already came with some veggies, but I had a desperate craving for broccoli and, well…

The veggies in my meal included two small potatoes. Now, I haven’t had potatoes for a few months now. Time obviously liberally dusted my mind with ‘forget potion’ because I figured I’d give the potatoes a go and see how it went. I wasn’t sure if I’d actually react to them or not.

Well, I did.

Potatoes don’t knock me out with quite the force rice does, but those two little spuds were certainly the next best thing. About five minutes after we finished eating, I was yawning and ready for bed.

Why do I always have to test things? Why can’t I just leave things alone when I’m told no? Bleh. Ah well. I have been well and truly reminded why I don’t eat potatoes. (Or rice, or pasta, or…)

How about you? Are you insulin resistant or battling other factors that make getting fit that much more difficult?

If you’re at all like me, then at least at one point in the past you have rewarded yourself (and probably others, too) with food rewards. A cake. A pie. Sweets. A night out. His/her favourite indulgence.

And why not? It usually tastes excellent, isn’t something s/he eats every day, and makes the person feel good.

Well, that sort of thing isn’t so great for those of us trying to have a healthier lifestyle. While having a treat every now and then certainly isn’t the end of the world, it would make things easier if we just changed the behavior habits…

1. If you must make a food something, then make it healthy. Things like fruit pizza are usually very yum without as much of the bad stuff to worry about.
2. If you must go out for a meal, choose a place with a lot of healthier choices. Or a place the focuses on healthier food. That makes it easier.
3. Try a non-food outing. There are parks, theme parks, tours, market days… If you go out, it doesn’t mean you have to eat.
4. Try a CD or DVD. This can mean a lot more than food because it shows you pay enough attention to know what the person likes.
5. Gift cards. People think they are impersonal, but I think they’re nice. What’s better than letting someone pick out what they really want?
6. Go to the movies.
7. Spa day. While this might not work as much for the guys, it’s still a great idea. If you’re willing to spend money on the person, why not do something to enhance their life instead of hindering it (with not good for you food)?
8. Other shopping. Has the person got a new job? Clothes shopping. Has the person accomplished something tough? Maybe a new something to symbolize getting through that struggle.
9. A weekend holiday. Go somewhere new and have a little fun.
10. A lazy weekend. Declare a lazy weekend where you don’t answer the phone, wear your pajamas all day, and just relax.
11. Go out with a group of friends. Maybe shoot some pool, go for a drive, or do something else with your group.
12. Go to a sporting event or concert.
13. And sometimes a hug and a kiss is all that’s needed to make someone else feel great.

Check out my other Thursday Thirteens at Fiction Scribe, Write Anyway, and The Book Stacks

When it comes to chocolate…

…I feel like a drug addict.

Does anyone else feel this way? I’m almost ashamed to admit it, but it’s how I feel. Sometimes I truly feel a little uneasy, a bit cranky, a bit whatever if I don’t get some chocolate. I am usually okay, but on some days…

Are you like this? Do you have an addiction to chocolate? A passion for pasta?

I think the predominant addiction is chocolate, and I’m not the only one who things so. According to this study from Northwestern University, “Many food scientists have reported chocolate to be the single most craved food. Some researchers have even argued that chocolate is addictive.”

So what can you do about it? There are a few things:

1. Ease yourself off it. If you eat a chocolate bar a day (which I hope none of you actually do), try cutting it down to half a bar for one week. Then a quarter of a bar for the next week and after that, try cutting daily down to every other day and so on.

2. Go cold turkey. That’s probably the hardest way and the one that will see you with some side effects, but it might be the only way that helps you.

3. Give yourself strict limits. This only works if you have enough will power, but while I was cutting down my sweets but not ready to go completely without it, I limited myself to two squares (about the size of the tip of my pinky) of dark (healthier) chocolate.

Do you have any food addictions? What do you do to save yourself from overindulgence?

I’m posting this a bit late, but I reckon you all will forgive me.

This week turned out to be a lot of crazy in a basket as the anniversary weekend ended and road trips and volunteering began. I feel like I haven’t really had the chance to sit and relax since last week. Even now I’m not really relaxing because I am working on getting all my blogs up to date. (I’ll be doing some back posting, so don’t be surprised to see posts from earlier this week that weren’t actually up earlier this week.)

The good news is that I had a lot of fun last weekend. You can read about how the anniversary went here.

The not so great news is that I’m not looking forward to stepping on the scale this Monday. I felt okay at the end of the weekend because I enjoyed myself but didn’t go overboard, but since then I have really been feeling the stress. Stress is definitely not good for weight loss.

I have been feeling stressed because I work at home and love what I do, but it’s frustrating because I wish I could pay the bills off faster. There is a job I can apply for, but it could mean that I don’t get to post as much and might even have to give up one or two of my blogs.

Not good.

I have been having such a hard time staying away from my comfort foods, but the good news is that I have succeeded in still staying away from bread and pasta.

So, slowly but surely, I am getting back to the nitty gritty of work. How are you doing?

Today marks the first official day that I can have (granary) bread again. And (wholemeal) pasta. And sweet potatoes, fruit, light yogurt, skim milk, red wine…

…but I don’t want to. Except for possibly the light yogurt, I find myself reluctant to come off phase one of the SBD. I don’t really want to start integrating those sorts of things back into my diet. Not yet, at least.

This feeling is actually quite a common phenomenon for people on the SBD and Dr. Agatson acknowledges that. Thankfully, he says it’s not a big deal if you want to stay on phase one longer than the minimum two weeks. The only danger is that you might get bored with the strict phase and lean back toward your previous eating habits.

I’m honestly not worried about that. Getting so addicted to the carbs and sweets last time has pretty much scared me enough to keep me on track. For a long while, at least.

I’m glad to have a bit more freedom back when it comes to eating for when I eat out, but honestly? They have some fantastic salads in my local venues as well as a lot of accommodating places that will adjust the menu. All of which makes it easier to stay on phase one.

I am happy to get some of the dairy products back. I haven’t been drinking coffee because I only like it with milk in it, and I like yogurt a lot, so those will be two things I will enjoy having the option of once again.

All in all, I’m very glad I got through phase one without ‘tripping up’. I feel better than I was, I’m not getting so tired all the time, my digestive system is doing a lot better, and I’m no longer having skin reactions to my food.

I haven’t been on the South Beach diet long, but I have already begun to take advantage of some of the recipes offered in the back of the book (along with meal plans). I have a hard time with my sweet tooth (among other things) so when I saw you could have dessert even on the strictest phase…

Well…

All the desserts in Phase One involve ricotta cheese, but that’s not too bad. I’ve found that the lemon and lime desserts didn’t have enough flavor for me to feel like I was truly having any sort of ‘dessert’. However, I am someone who likes coffee and I love the mocha ricotta crème.

As you can probably find the recipe all over the internet already, I don’t think it’s a bad thing if I share…

Mocha Ricotta Crème

110g (4 oz) low-fat ricotta cheese
½ teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 sachet sugar substitute
Dash instant espresso powder
5 mini chocolate chips

Mix together the ricotta, cocoa powder, vanilla extract, and sugar substitute in a dessert bowl. Serve chilled with a dusting of espresso powder and sprinkle with the mini chocolate chips.

Personally, I skip the sugar substitute and the mini chocolate chips as well. The first because I don’t do sugar substitutes and the second because I didn’t have any mini chocolate chips (or regular, for that matter) in the house. I also add in some slivered almonds.

This little dish satisfies my taste for coffee and my ‘need’ to be a little ‘naughty’ and have dessert.

Mind you, it’s not sweet and doesn’t taste like chocolate, but out of all the recipes there, this is the one I prefer.

Well, after a sort of slap in the face reminder about how serious insulin resistance is, I have decided to give the South Beach diet a go.

I went on the South Beach diet a few years ago and got pretty good results while I was on it. I didn’t have any sort of support system though, so I ended up stopping and wondering what the point of it all was anyway.

South Beach is the diet recommended for everyone, but especially for people with blood sugar problems, be them diabetes or insulin resistant (prediabetes) related. The creator of the diet is also very up front and honest, which I like. He’s also very focused on the eating six times a day thing, which gives South Beach a lot more brownie points in the ‘making sense’ department in my opinion.

I have realized lately that something has to give. I’m not losing weight like I should be. And while that’s not to be unexpected of me with insulin resistance and possible PCOS, it doesn’t mean that it’s impossible for me to lose weight. I just need to find the right way for my body to do it.

I’m going with South Beach because I have an addiction to bread. Bread, pasta, rice, more bread, and then even more bread. I have also been having problems with chocolate cravings, and I recognize that I am getting myself well and truly addicted to the stuff.

So wish me luck. I will definitely be reporting how it goes here. I’ll be starting next Thursday. (Why? So I can have a few days to clean up my eating before hitting the strict phase.)

Best of fitness to all of you.

Having the option of coffee (caffeine), chai (caffeine), or tea (wholesome goodness of grossness) to drink this afternoon while working my arse off to cover blog posts while my husband and I are away on vacation, I immediately disregarded coffee. I have yet to figure out how to operate our new coffee maker.

Between chai and tea, my choice would usually be chai. So you can imagine my surprise when I found myself reaching for the sample of tea I received in the mail last week. I paused to consider a chai once more, but I yawned and figured that tea of any kind would probably be better for me.

Now that’s what I call living the lifestyle.

I didn’t think about how the caffeine/sugar in chai would probably be bad for me and my diet and how I would have to watch what I ate for sugar content for the rest of the day. No, I just figured tea would be better for me.

Too often I, and many others, forget that weight loss – true weight loss – isn’t about the temporary fix. It’s not all about doing whatever it takes to get to that ideal weight regardless of the consequences. Those sorts of diets and actions will get you nowhere but gaining back all your weight and then some after the goal is achieved.

That is, if it is achieved at all.

Given that this is something you will ideally be doing for the rest of your life, it’s good to celebrate the small changes you make. The automatic habits you develop when it comes to your health.

Celebrate because you’re doing one of the hardest things out there – changing your life.

There is so much out there to read when it comes to health. I catch myself letting hours slip by as I read this about weight, that about food…

Instead of doing a post for each cool/interesting/whatever link I find, I am going to put up “headlines” posts every now and then full of links I’ve found in the past whatever.

I hope you enjoy and find things that interest you.

Junk-Food Dieters – An article talking about the new wave of junk food dieters and what the cost of diet soda, sugar free gum, and other junk food do to your body even if you don’t put on the pounds. “According to their credo, low-calorie is good; no-calorie is better — even if the food contains more chemicals than a can of hair spray.”

20 Worst Foods When Eating Out – While some things are obvious when it comes to the calorie load, your ‘low calorie’ choices might not be as great as you think. Going beyond just the calories as well, you can see even the best of the worst of the list are very bad.

A New Diet Equation – We all know the bottom line to losing weight is to burn more calories than we consume. But there’s also the fact that we’re all different and that’s why one diet never works for everyone. So what can you do? Where you pack on the pounds could be your answer to finding out what works best for your body.

That’s it for today. If you have any links you think I and the readers here would like to read, feel free to send me the link using the ‘contact me’ button under the site description on the right.