I have finally started the breakfast routine. There are some important things to know and understand about breakfast. I'll try to explain, but the book explains it so much better.
If you are serious about losing weight, then you must eat breakfast every day. No exceptions whatsoever. You will never keep your weight off after losing it if you skip breakfast. Going into why this happens will take too much time. Go read about it and learn why it is so important. I eat breakfast every day....usually oatmeal. This is very healthy, but it's not very conducive to losing weight.
I will share just a few things I have learned. First, when you want to lose weight, your breakfast needs to consist of protein. I have eaten oatmeal for a very long time because I am very concerned about my heart. It's important that I take care of my heart because the disease I have can have adverse effects on it. Oatmeal is very filling and I never feel hungry after breakfast. I don't feel the need to snack. And because I feel full and don't snack needlessly, I have been able to maintain the same weight for over two years. The problem with that, is that I want to lose weight. Therefore, it's necessary for me to change my breakfast habits.
What difference does protein make? Well, one thing is that it keeps you feeling full and from eating needlessly until lunch. But the most important thing is that it keeps you from eating more later in the day. It has an effect ALL DAY LONG. How does that happen? Well, you are going to have to buy the book or just trust me. Another important thing to remember about protein is that it builds muscles and your body does not turn it into fat like carbs do.
This is not a low carb diet like Atkins. You just need to be wise and get your carbs from fruit and vegetables. Breakfast ideas that I like are omelets, protein shakes, cottage cheese with fruit and other stuff like that. Stay away from bread. You don't need it and it will just make you hungrier later on. If you don't have time for breakfast then you can drink a meal substitute like the Atkins drink or the Slimfast drink...but they have to be the LOW CARB ones. One thing that Dr. Aronne mentions is that one drink does not have enough calories in it to keep you satiated. You will have to drink another one later in the morning. About 2 or 3 hours later.
There is a lot of stuff to understand. Most of it is just common sense. 1. Eat Breakfast every day. 2. Make sure it consists mostly of protein, but you can add good carbs too like fruits and vegetables (DO NOT DRINK JUICE). Juice has too much sugar and even though it's the good kind of sugar it still tricks your body into thinking it's hungry. 3. Stay with this breakfast routine until you have lost the desired amount of weight.
Okay, that's basically it. I have learned a ton more, but making small changes is good. These changes will remain permanent until we are where we (I) want to be. In a week or so, I will talk about lunch and how I have made changes to that. These will be pretty drastic for me, so I am taking my time because I want the changes to last.
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Every now and again when I make a really good dinner, I will share it. I cook pretty healthy meals which can be changed according to your own tastes. I change a lot of things about a recipe if I think it will make it healthier and taste better, but I don't freak about fat and carbs and all of that. I don't quite know how to use this site so if I can figure out how to put all of the posts about recipes in one place, I'll do it, otherwise, you'll have to read everything.
We had this for dinner. YUM YUM. Everyone liked it, except for the tomatoes, but who cares if my kids don't like their veggies? Too bad for them. Oh and one more thing. We had a pretty big garden last year and I can't wait to plant one this year. Of course, it needs to stop snowing, but I am already planning it. Anyway, I always look for recipes that I can use during the summer months too. Here it goes:
Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
Tomatoes with Vinaigrette
French Bread
As you can see, it was a simple meal, but delicious. I almost ALWAYS cook simple meals. There is no reason whatsoever to spend more than an hour a day in the kitchen cooking. Now some of you may think that's too much, but that's too bad. Our family dinner time is important to me and I want them to be happy and healthy. An hour a day is a paltry investment when you compare it to eternity.
I changed the soup a bit. I did not add any extra salt and I used whole milk instead of cream. The ratio for making a roux is 1:1. Meaning if you use 1/2 C of butter, you'll use 1/2 a C of flour. If you want your soup thicker, then use a bit more flour. I only used 1/3 C of butter and 1/3 C of flour for this recipe because I didn't think it needed all of that fat. If you use 2% milk, definitely add more flour. Your soup won't be creamy enough if you don't. Another thing I did was saute 1/2 C each of onion, carrots and celery to add to the soup. It was delicious. You can easily make it more healthy by buying unboxed wild rice and cooking it beforehand, but you'll add almost an hour to the prep and cooking time. You would also need to add more spices since the spice packet in the boxed rice (Uncle Ben's or Rice a Roni) added a lot of flavor.
The only change I made to the tomatoes was to add some feta cheese after pouring on the dressing. These were so good. I can't wait to make this when we have our own tomatoes and lettuce.
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Why would I buy a diet book when I am promoting a healthy lifestyle? Well, approximately 3 years ago when I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's, I gained 20 pounds in just a short amount of time. My body stopped working right and the effects were not only internal but external. It was and has been very hard. I didn't an don't like the way I look or feel.
Some may ask, "Well why don't you exercise?". I do. Almost every day for nearly an hour or more. "Why don't you eat right?" I do. And have, for the most part, always. "Then why can't you lose weight?" I have no idea.
It's frustrating. I know that there are a lot of reasons why women my age and with my disease have a hard time losing weight, but I refuse to accept it. Maybe I am in denial, but so what?
I read as much as I could on the internet about this book (saw it on Letterman too) before buying it and I thought I would give it a try. I don't expect miracles, but I do expect to feel better and therefore look better. Remember: Mind, Body and Spirit. They all work in unison and when you feel good it is only natural to externalize it.
Should you go out and buy this too? I don't know. Maybe. I'll post some things I learn and how I implement them. One note of interest: The ideas in this book are meant to be taken and implemented slowly. The author mentioned in interviews that the reader is supposed to take her time instituting the ideas and be successful at them before going on. Good advice. He starts with breakfast and then goes from there. Anyway, you can read along or you can come back here and read what I am doing.
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