Archive for category What I Eat
By Jason (a.k.a. Gina’s fiance)
Most of the time, it seems that the snacks that are the least expensive tend to be not so good for you. There’s the chips, the cookies, the candy, and many others that are very tasty, but also packed with calories, sugar, fat, preservatives, or many other things that, in excess, can be detrimental. So what to do?
Of course, with any kind of food, you will always want to consult the nutrition facts to see if the following ideas will work for you. One quick and easy way to find this information for virtually any kind of food is to visit CalorieKing. I used this to help gather the calorie content and nutritional value of the foods I discuss below. It is a great tool to use anytime!
And don’t forget to keep allergies in mind when trying something new!
But without further ado, check out this list of 10 healthy, easy, and inexpensive snack ideas…
Bananas – At about only 100 calories for medium-sized ones, which are also packed with many beneficial nutrients, and no fat or cholesterol, they make for a great place to start! Not only are they quite portable for convenience, they are easy to eat. And at around 60 – 70 cents per pound, they are cheap! Compare that to a bag of chips bought from a snack machine.
Popcorn – To start, keep in mind that there are many ways to pop it (with oil, with butter, without), and many ways to consume it (no butter added, drenched in butter, etc.), which will affect the calorie and fat content. The great thing is though that when these additives are used sparingly or in moderation, then you can pretty much count on regular, air-popped popcorn to have around 30 calories per cup. You can pop some in bulk, and easily portion it out in plastic bags, which you can just grab and go! And a bag of popcorn kernels is super inexpensive! Even certain brands of microwave kinds are low on price!
Low fat cottage cheese – You may not have thought of eating this as a standalone snack before, but it is quite tasty, satisfying, and has minimal calories. One four-ounce serving has around 100 calories, and the saturated fat content is on the low end of the spectrum. Just keep track of what constitutes a serving by measuring it out for the first time, so you can get an idea of what makes a four-ounce serving, so you don’t end up consuming more than you think!
Carrots – Another idea packed with nutrients, but extraordinarily low in calories and with no fat, they are very easy to eat on the go. Baby carrots are sold by the bag in the produce section, with no preparation needed, aside from washing. They keep for a long time in the fridge, and can be quite satisfying as well. Try them with your favorite dip to make them even more flavorful! Just don’t douse them in ranch or another high-fat, high-calorie dressing. This will negate the healthfulness of them.
Cheddar-flavored rice cakes – Don’t be shy about trying these because of what you may have heard – they are quite tasty! At about 45 calories a piece, you can eat three of them, get a good feeling of sustenance, and only top out at 135 calories! At only around $2 a bag, they’re easy on your wallet too!
Celery – Similar to the nutritional value of carrots, these are just as easy! You can buy a bunch in the produce section for a small cost per pound, cut them up into smaller servings, and package them in small plastic bags to reach for on the run! They’re great for dipping to!
Wasa Brand Fiber Crispbread – Come on now, not everything has to have a tasty title to be flavorful! Don’t let the name fool you – these, especially with just a touch of cream cheese spread on them, are awesome. Quite hearty, these will fill you up, but without the high calorie count to boot! They are 35 calories per cracker, are made from whole grains, have no preservatives, and pack a punch of fiber! And at about $2 per package of 22, they will last a long time for little cash! They can be found in the cracker section of virtually every grocery store in my area – hopefully they’ll be in yours too!
Whole-grain tortillas and salsa – On the heartier spectrum, a couple of these will fill you up right quick! At about 150 calories, and usually a good deal of fiber, they taste great dipped in your favorite salsa!
Whole, raw almonds – When purchased in bulk at your local whole food store (in my area, that could be Sprouts Farmers Market), you can usually get a pound for around $5. Even Wal-Mart sells Blue Diamond brand, with a pre-packaged bag costing about the same. A one-ounce serving contains about 165 calories, with minimal saturated fat. They do have a higher amount of fat than other snacks, but it is generally in the form of the unsaturated kinds, many of which experts say may help reduce your cholesterol, when incorporated into a balanced diet. With the loads of other important minerals and nutrients, almonds may become a staple in your snack arsenal. Just be sure to also measure these out a couple times before you start eating them regularly, so that you can get a good idea of what a serving size consists of. You can pre-portion them in snack bags, so that you can take them to work, etc.
Raisins – You can’t forget about this old stand-by! A 1.5-ounce serving contains about 130 calories, no fat, and lots of nutrients to help keep you going throughout the day! And if you buy them in bulk or in larger containers, and avoid the boxes of individual servings, then they will be quite friendly to the bank account as well!
So next time you get hungry between meals, try one of these instead of going by the old snack machine. Your wallet and body may thank you for it!
I haven’t posted in weeks.
Why? Because I’ve been too ashamed of myself to write to you.
I’ve been struggling with my weight loss plan for weeks – months even – and have been constantly gaining and losing the same few pounds.
Its been so depressing to me and as a result of this disapointment, I’ve binged on junk food several times in the past few weeks.
I’m talking nachos, soda, chocolate, fried chicken and pizza binges – and yes, all in one siting.
And of course the binging only made me feel worse about myself.
While this all was going on I literally was too afraid to blog. I was too embarrassed and ashamed of my actions to post it for all the world to see.
And then an obvious light went off in my head.
This is exactly the kind of situation that I should be blogging about. What’s the point in a weight loss blog if I don’t share the most challenging aspects of losing weight?
The emotions and fears that I’ve been experiencing the past few weeks are the exact reasons why so many people give up.
I owe it to you and to myself to document how I cope and get through these insanely hard times. If I can learn to get through these moments then so can you.
So I am back. Imperfections and all.
Ok, love is not the right word. Hmmm…..obsessed, yes that’s about right! I’m totally obsessed with the new Iced Berry Chai Infusion drink from Starbucks ™.
Here’s why…
I love chai tea – especially iced – and I love anything involving berry juice. Mix the two together and I’m in heaven.
Its a rather simple taste, berry juice, with a twist of spicy cinnamon – that’s the chai. This makes for an absurdly refreshing drink.
My fiance couldn’t stand it however, but he doesn’t like chai. So if you do like chai tea or you want to try a totally new flavor, I’d definitely try it if I were you.
Please Starbucks ™ – keep this on you menu forever!
Ok, here’s the calorie breakdown courtesy of the Starbucks ™ website. It does sting a bit because there’s a lot of sugar in it, but I will gladly save up calories and plan this in my day to have a splurge.
Tall – 190 calories
Grande – 250 calories
Venti ™- 310 calories
Enjoy!
Have you tried any of their new Chai Infusions?
I had a really good week. I lost 2 pounds bringing me to a total weight loss of 39.5 pounds, yay! I can’t wait until I get to minus 40.
All week I was really diligent about tracking everything that I ate…this really does make an enormous difference.
I walked 3 nights out of the week, which is definitely lower than I’d like. My goal is to walk at least 5 nights out of the week. I’m going to work on that this coming week for sure.
I did eat out quite a bit this week like I usually do. In order to incorporate eating out a lot into my ‘diet’ plan, I always plan my day around it and when I’m at the restaurant I try my best to eat the healthiest thing I can find.
For example, yesterday I knew that I was going to a Mexican restaurant with my Mom and sister. The rest of the day I ate as little as I could and ate more fruits, veggies, and lean protein. I chose these foods to eat at home because I knew that at the restaurant I’d probably have something very starchy (chips and tortillas) with a lot of cheese.
So I tried to just balance out my day that way. This is what I’ve done for the past few months and it seems to be working out pretty good.
Today I’m so excited because I just started the new Weight Watchers ™ Momentum Plan ™ today. I bought the ‘At Home’ kit and it arrived the other day. Now I’ve been following the previous WW plan at home but I finally decided that I should check out their new material.
After skimming through it and getting started on my first day, I’m pretty impressed. I really don’t know how WW could possibly make this healthy eating plan any better.
Well I hope you all have a wonderful week! I’m aiming for my 40 pound milestone next week – wish me luck!
How was your week?
Ok, so I totally had a moment of weakness today and I’m totally feeling guilty.
On my way home I decided to stop at Starbucks and get their new iced Berry Chai Infusion that I’m totally obsessed with. I planned for the calories and everything was going to be just fine.
Then I walk in to place my order and this giant, gooey, chocolate chip cookie just starts staring at me. I was hoping it was looking at someone else, but after I looked around the room and saw I was the only one there, I realized, yeah the cookie was eyeing me.
Well I did the math in my head and thought that I could afford this splurge since it looked so good just sitting there all alone.
So I went ahead and bought the damn cookie and ate it in the car ride home. It was so freakin’ good!
So after I totally scarfed every last bit I totally realized that it was probably a lot more calories than I originally guessed and I started to feel majorly guilty. Why oh why did I do this yet again?
When I got home I looked up the calories and my worst fears came true…380 calories!
I accounted for it in my daily calorie intake and I’ll just eat less the rest of the day. So lesson learned .
At least it was superbly delicious…hehehe.
What I Eat
Feb 19
Ok, so I’ve realized that I haven’t really posted on what I eat. And since that’s a pretty important component to weight loss, maybe I should do that!
What I’ll do is break it up in two parts – a typical week day and then a typical weekend day. I won’t go day by day (unless you want me too then please let me know in the comment section) but I’ll give you my mix-n-match menu items. Oh and in case you can’t tell, I’m pretty boring! I really enjoy eating the same things over and over again. I’m sure I’ll get bored with my typical menu soon, but then I’ll find some comparable ideas and post them in the future.
Typical week day:
Breakfast
2 Wasa Crispbread Fiber Crackers with 2 tablespoons of light cream cheese and 2 pieces of fruit
Or
½ cup of low fat cottage cheese and 2 pieces of fruit
Lunch
Pre-cooked chicken strips
Or
1 can of tuna with light mayonnaise and 2 Wasa Crispbread Fiber Crackers
Plus
2 pieces of fruit, 12 raw almonds, ½ cup of low fat cottage cheese
Dinner
Turkey sandwich on 2 slices of wheat bread and low fat ceasar salad
Or
Oven-baked pizza
Or
Broth-based soup and low fat ceasar salad
Or
Grilled chicken breast with baked potato (topped with spray margarine) and rice
Or
Fast food grilled chicken salad
Or
Fast food grilled chicken sandwich and small fries
Or
Meatless tacos made with MorningStar Farms Crumblers and taco seasoning
Plus
1 Nonni’s Biscotti for dessert
Typical weekend day:
Breakfast
2 Wasa Crispbread Fiber Crackers with 2 tablespoons of light cream cheese and 2 pieces of fruit
Or
½ cup of low fat cottage cheese and 2 pieces of fruit
Lunch
Chinese food from restaurant – Lean meats, rice, steamed veggies, egg rolls, egg-drop soup, and fruit
Or
American food from restaurant – Grilled chicken sandwich and either broth-based soup or salad
Or
Any of the lunches from my ‘week day menu’ above
Dinner
Lean cut of steak, baked potato (topped with spray margarine), veggies or salad
Or
Pizza
Or
Any of the dinners from my ‘week day menu’ above
I only drink water, tea, or occasionally Vitamin Water
There ya have it. I’m still able to eat my favorite foods, not feel totally deprived, actually enjoy myself while “dieting.”
Do you have any favorite foods that you eat all the time?
I had the weirdest and most unpleasant thig happen to me the other day.
I decided that since I’ve been so good lately – eating super healthy, exercising, losing 30 pounds – that I’d splurge and get my favorite fast food hamburger as a special ‘I deserve it’ treat. You know, a really greasy delicious one with bacon, double cheese, and mayonnaise.
Well when I took it out of the bag my first clue should have been the grease dripping off the wrapper.
My second clue was the stabbing stomach pains I endured about 2 hours after I ate it.
Yes, that sucker was super tasty, But I was sooo sick for the next 24 hours. My stomach was all gurglely and painful and I felt like my stomach has a brick lodged inside of it. I had heartburn and was lethargic and super cranky after that, and I couldn’t sleep that night or the next day.
So I’ve come out of this with 2 lessons:
1. Don’t reward yourself with food
2. Don’t eat anything that drips grease and is 710 calories in one sitting
So what do I think happened?
Well I’m pretty sure that my body has gotten used to eating healthy foods these past few months. I mean most of what I’ve been eating is fruit, veggies, lean protein, low fat diary, and whole grains.
My body likes these healthy foods and has become used to the low amount of work it takes to digest them.
Then I go and have a stupid moment, throw a heart-attack-on-a-bun in my mouth and my stomach was like whoa…why did you do that?
I think this really illustrates how bad our Standard American Diet is for us. Well I’ve certainly learned my lesson.
Has anything like this happened to you?
I have battled with this subject for years. I’ve tracked my food while ‘dieting’ in the past and whined every step of the way. I absolutely used to hate keeping a food journal.
But no more.
Usually after the ‘honeymoon’ of the diet was over I’d start to slack on keeping my food journal. At first I’d skip a meal here or there, then a day, then a week, then I’d totally lose control and be off of the diet.
I’d justify this in my head saying ‘well, normal people don’t track everything they eat, so if I’m trying to be normal, then why should I track?’ Or I’d say, ‘well I won’t be doing this for the rest of my life, so why should I do it now?’
Then I had an epiphany and everything became so much clearer. I am not normal and I never will be. Therefore, I need to keep a food journal and I do need to keep it for the rest of my life.
‘Normal’ people have a normal and sane relationship with food and I definitely do not. I binge eat, compulsively overeat every chance I get, I turn to food for everything. That’s not normal.
So now that I’ve realized that, I feel like this big weight has been lifted off of my shoulders. I feel like now that I’ve accepted that I have some major issues with food, I can now move on and finally deal with them.
So ok, back to the food journal.
I’ve realized that I have to stay accountable to myself with every single bite of food that I put in my mouth. I have to keep track of what I eat and how many calories I should consume everyday. If I don’t I will overeat, it’s as simple as that. If I force myself to write everything down, I’m constantly on track and moving forward towards my weight loss goals.
And I know that since I will always have a completely abnormal relationship with food, I will need to keep a food journal every day, forever: even after I maintain my weight. This will be to stop me from reverting back to old habits.
Now most people might not need to be that strict and vow to keep track of food intact for the rest of their lives…and that’s ok. I just know that I have so many severe issues that I have to do it if I want to break free from the painful cycle of losing weight and gaining it all back again.
My advice is to keep it simple and just get in the habit that as soon as you eat something, you write it down. That way you don’t forget and you don’t feel overwhelmed if you have to write everything down at the end of the day.
(I wrote this Decemeber 29, 2008. Sorry for posting late!)
Ok so I’m finally over the Christmas holiday. I totally blew it, stuffed my face for days before and after, and threw tracking out the window. Oops!
But its ok I promise. Because today I got a hold of myself and let it all go. I told myself that I splurged for the holiday and that was fine, but its now time to move on and get back on track. And guess what…I’ve had a fabulous day.I’ve eaten very healthy today and kept track of everything I’ve put in my mouth. I feel good about myself again and my attitude is back to being positive.
So my conclusion is….
That mindset is everything!
The holidays are so hard to get through. There’s temptations everywhere and it seems so impossible to stay focused on healthy eating. Especially when you have so many parties, gifts, and just general opportunities everywhere for eating goodies.
But why is it so darn hard to snap out of it once they are over?
For me I’m thinking its all part of my food addiction and in a way I start to feel sorry for myself on the holidays. What I mean is that the holidays allow me to splurge a bit, but then once I get the thrill of splurging I don’t want to stop. I almost feel entitled to splurging day after day and I get mad once I realize that I can’t continue.
So it takes a heaping mound of motivation to snap out of it, realize that I’m never going to accomplish anything if I keep whining about not being able to eat all I want, and just stop going crazy.
So that’s where I’m at today. I have absolutely snapped out of it. It almost feels like I was in this sugar-induced stupor for the past week or so – clouding my judgment.
Well anyways, I’m good now and I feel confident in my ability to keep track for the rest of the day and then do it all over again tomorrow and the next day and the next day…
As a recap, here’s what I’ve eaten so far today:
Breakfast – 2 Wasa Crispbread fiber crackers with 2 tablespoons of light cream cheese and 1 apple
Lunch – Grilled chicken strips, low fat cottage cheese, 1 banana, 1 apple, 23 raw almonds
Dinner – I’ll probably have a low fat Ceasar salad and some low fat chicken tortilla soup
Oh, and I forgot to mention that I did take a walk this weekend. My fiancé and I took the dogs for a 30 minute walk in the desert. It was a lot of fun, but that’s about the only exercise I’ve gotten in the last week. Oopsies…I’ll have to take a couple more walks at the end of the week.
(And I wrote this December 30, 2008. Again so for posting late!)
Today has been a great day. Yesterday I had finally snapped out of the holiday food daze and got back on track with my healthy eating plan. Today I followed suit and I really do feel in control again…what a relief!
My food diary is pretty uneventful since I usually eat the same stuff on the days I work. But here goes…
Breakfast – 2 Wasa Crispbread fiber crackers with 2 tablespoons of light cream cheese
Lunch – chicken strips, low fat yogurt, 23 raw almonds, 1 banana, 1 pear
Dinner – turkey sandwich with a low fat Cesar salad
Wow, boring! But hey its working so I can’t knock it. And I do actually enjoy eating this way everyday. As a bonus I know that if I eat these foods I’ll lose weight at the end of the week.
I am a bit worried about tomorrow though. My coworkers and I are getting breakfast in at this fancy little café and everything looks so delicious! I was so tempted to order the Quiche Lorraine until I looked up the calories online…holy cow…600 calories per slice! I think not!
So instead I’m going to order just straight up scrambled eggs with whole wheat toast. That will keep me on track and eggs are always yummy.
New Year’s Eve won’t be too hard to get through. I am going out with my fiancé to a comedy show (Lewis Black rocks!), but we’re not planning on going out to dinner or to any parties afterward. And since we’re both consciously eating good now, we’ll probably just have a healthy dinner and some sparkling cider at midnight. I can handle that!
If I don’t get the chance to post tomorrow, I wish everyone a very Happy New Year!
