I really want to show how a woman can eat, not starve herself for one moment and lose weight. This is what I eat in a pretty typical day
Breakfast usually around 6am
Honey nut cheerios, skim milk and a banana. I dont measure my cheerios out anymore. I used to do it everyday when I was watching my calories- I guestimate I pour about a cup and a half. Some mornings Im famished so I pour a bit more.
Snack at 10 am, my oldest is in school, my youngest and I usually share a bagel with jelly or cucumber and fat free mayo, sometimes hillshire farms pastrami if Im super hungry. a glass of sugar free peach tea or skim milk. I may score a fruit snack or two if my son is feeling generous.
Lunch 12-12:30
Fat free cottage cheese with strawberry or pineapple preserves (or topping)
I know my snack and lunch seem backwards, but it seems to work best for me. I can prepare my bagel and sit down and enjoy it with my youngest having his snack quietly, but at lunch things get a bit wild with two little boys so I usually throw the cottage cheese and fruit in a bowl and eat between refereeing fights between the boys.
Snack around 3 or 4
A bunch of dried pinapple
Dinner at 6
Usually some form of pasta ,chicken or veggie stir fry with rice. Today was the Low Fat KFC recipe, mashed potatoes (made with potatoes,skim milk) and corn.
Honestly this usually keeps me full till bedtime and I wake up in the morning hungry for some breakfast. Ive been losing steadily eating like this. I eat till Im full and I eat whenever Im hungry! I do need to eat more veggies but thats always been an issue for me.
Ive decided to go with an idea I read about in Susan Powters Stop the insanity book and eat under 30% fat. I looked at my diet, looked at some foods I like and figured I could happily live with limiting my calories from fat to 20%. How do you figure out the calories from fat? Its actually easier than it seems. Go grab any food from your pantry or fridge- take the fat grams and multiply it by 9. Got that number? now divide that by the calories in the serving thats your percentage of calories from fat. Did I lose you? I had to read it half a dozen times to process it. Numbers arent my strong point. So here are a couple of examples of foods I eat very often:Lenders 100% whole wheat pre-sliced bagels 270 calories 1.5g of fat
1.5g of fat x 9=13.5 13.5/270 =0.05 which means only 5% of the calories are from fat! WOO!
safeway chunky style spaghetti sauce 1.2cup 80 calories 2g of fat
2×9=18 18/80=.225 which means 22.5% of calories from fat I love me some pasta so I let this one squeek by-the noodles help redeem the sauce
spaghetti noodles-Barilla brand 2oz uncooked 200 calories 1 g of fat
1×9=9 9/200=.045 or 4.5% of calories come from fat! yay!
hillshire farms deli select Pastrami 7 slices 60 calories 1 gram of fat
1×9=9 9/60=.15 15% of these calories come from fat!
Lean Cuisine Butternut Squash ravioli (OMG this is SO good) 350 calories 9 grams of fat per container
9×9=81 81/350=.23 23% of these calories come from fat I let this one slip by because its seriously yummy!
I love peanut butter, but these days Im avoiding it.
skippy creamy peanut butter 2tbs 190 calories 16g of fat
16X9=144 144/190=.757 ouch 75.7% of the calories come from fat.
A good friend of mine asked me lastnight what Im eating these days. She and I met when we were pregnant with our now three year old sons. So she was with me through this entire journey. She watched me find running and saw me transform my body. She has decided to follow in my footsteps and begin the couch to 5k program! So now that she is running she wanted to know what I was eating. In the beginning I tried the atkins diet. I did experience ketosis and the loss of appetite but I also experienced the loss of some of my hair. I had long beautiful hair and it was coming out at an alarming rate, well after the regular post-pregnancy shedding that many women experience. My body just couldnt handle what I was putting into it, I was absolutly exhausted and as soon as I put a carb in my body Id bloat up like a balloon. So I went along my way dabbling in a few different diets, but I always ended up back with my bad habits. So I tried to just eat healthy. Eating healthy is totally subjective and looking back I can see the effort I put into it but I can also see many places where I could have any needed to do better. Recently a good friend turned me onto the Susan Powter way of getting fit, lean and healthy. Now that sounds right up my ally!! I really dont care about how much I end up weighing, I just want to be healthy and HOT! I know you’re thinking Susan Powter…hmm…the chick with the white buzz cut from late night infomercials circa 1992? Yep, thats the one! I encourage every woman out there to read Susan Powter’s book ‘Stop the Insanity’ it just makes sense! There is a lot of filler in the book- about her failed marriage and what not but it aides in seeing where, when and how she gained and ultimately lost the weight and got fit and healthy. So, what am I eating these days? Low fat! Ive decided that no more than 20% of my daily calories will come from fat. Nothing I put in my mouth has more than 20% of its calories from fat. But what about carbs Shelley?! What about Calories!? Results speak for themselves. I measure myself monthly, but this month I had seen a weight gain on the scale. A few mornings ago I was getting discouraged with my weight. I decided if I weighed over 160lbs I would measure myself a week early. I weighed in at 161lbs. I measured myself and I was shocked. I had lost over an inch from my waist (In three weeks!!) an inch and a quarter from my stomach and just a smidge from my hips (I dont carry much wieght in my hips, Im all tummy) I also lost fat around my back and bust. I didnt measure but I moved from a 38C to a 38B! The most noticable difference though wasnt just in my clothes fitting looser it was in my power while running. Im a slow runner, Im happy with a 12 or 13 minute mile and I usually struggle through that but after just a couple of days of eating low fat and throwing away the notion of counting calories I started to fly. I felt like I had so much more power and energy. I felt like I could blast through my training runs without hardley blinking. Now honestly my times havent improved much but its the feeling that has blown me away. I have energy to spare after my runs, I can come home and be ready to be MOMMY! right away. I dont need to sit down and rest, I usually ice my knees but I do that while tending to my family’s needs.