Maintaining weight loss

I like to say that losing weight is easy but maintaining weight loss is really hard. It is easy to manage what you eat and to exercise when you see the instant gratification of losing weight. Maintaining that weight loss is really, really hard, which is why so many people that lose weight end up gaining a large portion of it back.

The first thing that helps with this problem is to not go on a "diet." When you start following a trendy diet, like Atkins or the South Beach diet, you are completely restricting yourself in a given area. This type of dieting is not realistic for the long term. Instead, you need to change your lifestyle in healthy ways similar to those I have discussed in previous posts. If you make small changes that are easy to continue for the rest of your life, you are more likely to maintain a healthy weight.

The second thing that I found to be really helpful was to lose a little bit of weight, then maintain for a few weeks or months, then start to lose weight again. There are so many emotional and physical changes occurring in your life when you are losing weight and it is important to stop and let your mind and body get used to the new you. If you have been big your whole adult life like I was, it can be very shocking to look in the mirror and see a skinny stranger. It was very good for me to take a couple of weeks to get used to the new Rachel and to learn who I was on the inside and the outside. Then, it was a bunch of small shocks instead of one huge, overwhelming shock.

It is also good to learn what it is like to maintain a smaller weight when you are still not at your goal weight. The change in portion size and number of calories you can have during a day can be overwhelming. When I was first losing weight, I was eating 1600 calories a day. To maintain my weight at 190 pounds, I had to eat 2100 calories. That is a lot more food than I was used to eating at that time. I needed the time to learn how to fill the calories with good, healthy foods, instead of going back to the old standbys that I used to eat. Since I knew that I was going to start losing weight again, it was less stressful to gain 5-10 pounds at that stage than when I was at my goal weight.

The third thing to do when losing weight is to throw your old clothes away. The worst thing you can do is hold onto clothes that you can no longer wear. It is much harder to justify gaining weight back if it means you have to go buy a new wardrobe.

The most important thing you can do is to not beat yourself up. This is a struggle that you will deal with for the rest of your life. That means, sometimes you will gain weight and that is ok. It does not mean you are a failure in any way. Beating yourself up when things go bad is what got a lot of us here in the first place. If you gain weight, its ok, just go back to the basics.

A couple of recipes

Sorry for not posting as much as I wish I could. I wanted to put up a few recipes that my husband and I have been making a lot lately and really enjoy.

The first is for homemade, whole wheat English muffins. These are really good to have on hand for an easy breakfast or for quick sandwiches.

English Muffins

·       1 package dry active yeast

·       1 cup warm water (105 to 120°F)

·       1 cup milk

·       1/4 cup butter

·       2 tablespoons sugar

·       1 teaspoon salt

·       6 cups flour, 3 cups whole wheat flour and 3 cups bread flour mixed well, divided

·       1/2 cup white corn meal

Dissolve yeast in warm water in large bowl. Heat milk and butter in small saucepan until butter melts. Add sugar and salt to milk mixture.

Stir yeast mixture, milk mixture and 3 cups flour together until smooth. Add enough remaining flour to make a stiff dough.

Turn onto lightly floured surface; knead 2 minutes. Spray a large bowl with no-stick cooking spray. Place dough in bowl, turning to coat surface. Cover with damp cloth or plastic wrap; let rise in warm place until double in size, about 1 hour.

Heat oven to 350ºF. Cover rolling surface with corn meal. Punch down dough; divide in half. Roll each half out to 1/2-inch thickness on prepared surface. Cut into 3-inch rounds; place on baking sheets about 1 inch apart.

Bake 6 minutes on each side, or until browned. Cool on wire racks. Serve split and toasted.

This next recipe is for Cinnamon Roll Scones. They are so good. They might not be really healthy, but they are much better than an over-iced cinnamon roll from a store. You can also make them healthier by using half whole wheat flour and half unbleached all-purpose.

Cinnamon Bun Scones

·       2/3 cup light brown sugar

·       1 stick (4 ounces) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch dice, plus 2 tablespoons softened

·       1 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon

·       3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

·       1/3 cup granulated sugar

·       1 tablespoon baking powder

·       1/2 teaspoon salt

·       1 cup heavy cream

·       1 large egg

·       1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 425°. Line a large, heavy baking sheet with parchment paper. In a food processor, pulse the brown sugar with the 2 tablespoons of softened butter and 1 teaspoon of the cinnamon until soft crumbs form. Transfer the mixture to a bowl.

In the processor, combine the 3 cups of flour with the granulated sugar, baking powder, salt and the remaining ¼-teaspoon of cinnamon and pulse to blend. Add the diced butter and pulse until the mixture resembles small peas. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and make a well in the center.

Add the cream, egg and vanilla to the well and stir to combine. Using a wooden spoon, gradually stir in the flour mixture until a firm dough forms. Crumble the brown sugar mixture over the dough and knead it into the dough, leaving some streaks.

Lightly dust a work surface with flour. Turn the dough out onto it and knead 3 times. Pat or roll the dough into an 8-inch round, about 1 inch thick. Cut into 8 wedges, then transfer the scones to the baking sheet and refrigerate for 10 minutes. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until browned. Let cool slightly on the sheet, then transfer to a wire rack.

Fruits and Vegetables

It is very important to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables when you are eating healthy. Vegetables are the most efficient way to take in energy since they get their energy directly from the sun. I love all vegetables (except beets and okra...) but they can be really expensive. I usually only buy bananas, one fruit that is on sale, onions, potatoes, carrots, celery, green onions, kale, sprouts, parsley and cilantro fresh. I buy all other fruits in cans. This can seem "wrong" because so many canned fruits are processed in a ton of sugar. Since this is true, you just need to make sure you buy canned fruit that is in 100% juice or labeled as having no sugar added. If you do happen to have fruit that is packaged in syrup, rinse the fruit really well before serving. This will help to wash off a lot of the extra sugar. For vegetables, I buy frozen. Frozen vegetables are very inexpensive, especially if you buy the store brand instead of a national brand. They are also frozen without any additives at peak freshness so they are as healthy as fresh. I always have a bag of green peppers, peas, corn and green beans in my freezer. I also like to have a bag of frozen stir fry vegetables to be able to make a fast dinner. The stir fry vegetables mixes are really great deals. For less than $2, you can get a large volume of vegetables for less than the cost of one individual item in the mix. I also use canned tomatoes when I do not have a stock of homemade in my freezer (yes, my husband and I process and freeze or can our own tomato sauce and diced tomatoes). With these (or any other canned vegetables you buy) make sure you get something that is labeled as no salt added. If you are not able to find no salt added vegetables, again wash them thoroughly before eating.

A lot of people I know do not like vegetables. If you are one of these people, it is important to "hide" vegetables in your food. I always have carrots, celery, onions, and (frozen) green peppers on hand. I include these (and others) in almost every meal I make. If we are having spaghetti, I make the sauce from scratch with onions, peppers, carrots and celery diced and browned with the meat. If we are having tacos, I include onions, pepper, carrots and corn. These vegetables add very little "bad" flavor but add a lot of nutritional value to your meal.

Exercising

Let’s start by getting something out in the open: I HATE to exercise. I don’t like to be sweaty, I don’t like to be hot, I don’t like to be sore, I don’t want to wake up early… This list goes on and on. I talked in a previous post about the need to make changes slowly so that you do not overwhelm yourself. For that reason, I started my weight loss journey making little changes to my daily life instead of starting to truly exercise. The little things that I do to exercise everyday are:

·      Park towards the back of a parking lot so the walk to the store is longer

·      Always take the stairs down. Gravity does most of the work for you so it is basically free exercise. I work on the 7^th floor and still take the stairs down every time I leave.

·      Take the stairs up when you can. In the beginning I took the stairs when I had to walk up one or two flights. I slowly added flights as I felt more fit. Now, I will always take the stairs if it is four flights or less.

·      When you can, walk. Since I work at a university, this is really easy for me. I walk everywhere, including the 0.5 miles to Franklin Street whenever I go to downtown Chapel Hill.

After the first year of my weight loss journey, I knew it was time to get serious about exercise. I tried going to the gym for a few weeks but I had a hard time fitting that into my strange schedule. Now I work out in my living room first thing in the morning. I have a set of dumbbells (3, 5 and 8 pounds) and Exercise TV On Demand. That is all I need. During weeks when my husband and I do not have our stepson, I do an hour-long workout every morning called “Quick Trouble Zones.” During the other weeks when I have less time in the morning, I do a 20-minute workout from the “10 Pound Slimdown” series. This is the schedule that works best for me but you definitely need to make sure you find a schedule and workout that works for you. You are not going to stick to a workout plan if it is a struggle just to get to the gym.

Eat breakfast

One of the most important lessons I learned during my weight loss journey was that you must eat breakfast. Sometimes if I have a really intense workout in the morning, I will even eat TWO breakfasts, one before my workout and one after. Breakfast is really important because during the night you are fasting and you need to jump start your metabolism first thing.

Also, eat breakfast at home. Even seemingly healthy options at most restaurants are not as healthy as what you can make at your house. I typically rotate between three options for breakfast: cereal with 1% milk, oatmeal, or toast with peanut butter and jelly. I take certain steps to ensure that these are healthy options. For the cereal, I eat out of a coffee mug. This limits the serving size to a cup. For the toast with peanut butter and jelly, I make the bread myself so I know what ingredients go into the bread. I also use Polaner's sugar-free jelly to make sure that there are not too many empty calories coming from the jelly.

Finally, one of the places where calories tend to hide is in morning coffee. It is really important to remember that the milk/cream and sugar that you put in your morning coffee has calories too. Over half of my breakfast calories come from coffee (185 for my travel mug). I really enjoy the process of drinking my coffee on the way to work and am willing to "waste" that many calories there. If you are not, there are a lot of great sugar-free syrups available in the coffee aisle of most grocery stores.

Menu, groceries and recipes for 04/09-04/22

Sorry for the delay in the biweekly menu and grocery list. It was a busy week for us! After looking through the online circulars for Food Lion and Lowes Foods, I had the following list of things that were on sale that we would like.

Lowes Foods		Food Lion
Bush's baked beans	$0.69 ea	Pepsi 12 pack	3/$9
Suave shampoo	$0.69 ea	Tuna	2/$1
Tilapia	BOGO	Shrimp	BOGO
Pork spare ribs	$1.99/lb	Whole picnic pork	$1.49/lb
Charmin	$5.99 ea	Grapes	$0.99/lb
Grape tomatoes	BOGO	2lb carrots	$1.49 ea
Iceberg lettuce	BOGO

There were very few meats on sale this week. My husband and I are lucky to have another “store” to grocery shop at when there are not many things on sale, aka my dad’s garage. I made the menu using shrimp, canned tuna in water, tilapia, boneless skinless chicken breasts and a whole roasting chicken.

Saturday 04/09/11	AVETT BROTHERS SHOW!!!!
Sunday 04/10/11	Homemade chicken nuggets
	French fries, fruit
Monday 04/11/11	Crispy fried fish tacos
	Pickled cabbage and onions, guacamole
Tuesday 04/12/11	Pesto tuna and pasta salad
	Bread
Wednesday 04/13/11	Taco Wednesday
Thursday 04/14/11	Quick shrimp Pad Thai
Friday 04/15/11	Couscous with Italian chicken and veggies
	Bread
Saturday 04/16/11	Egg salad sandwiches
	Tomato, kale and bean soup
Sunday 04/17/11	Roast chicken, potatoes, carrots
	Bread
Monday 04/18/11	Spicy ground pork in lettuce leaves
	Rice
Tuesday 04/19/11	Hoisin chicken with cucumber salad
Wednesday 04/20/11	Taco Wednesday
Thursday 04/21/11	Spicy tuna wraps
	Fries, fruit
Friday 04/22/11	Italian chicken and chickpeas
	Bread

I usually try to plan meals that I can make all in one weekend but I knew I would be busy the whole two weeks of this menu, so I chose recipes that were really quick and that I could make during the work week.  The list of groceries for the above meals, along with lunches for the week and household items, is below. Again, I only spend around $150 every two weeks. If you are following along at home, feel free to add more fresh fruits and vegetables.

Need

shampoo	dishwasher liquid	diced tomatoes	lemons	From Dad
conditioner	toilet paper	pesto	cabbage	roaster chicken
soap	ziplocs	pasta	avocado	chicken breasts
soap - C	kosher salt	water chestnuts	tomatoes	potatoes
litter	oil	tortillas	cucumbers	Frozen Thai chiles
air filter	Bread flour	taco shells (2)	limes
socks - Rachel	panko	cherry jelly	green onions
eggs	honey	rice wine vinegar	jalapeno
crackers	shake em ups	wraps	carrots
coffee creamer	crystal light	pizzas	celery
milk	Canned fruit	pizza rolls	cilantro
soda	chickpeas	French fries	onions
tortilla chips	white beans	tilapia	red onion
pretzels	fried rice	shrimp	shallots
dryer sheets	tomato sauce	thyme

Recipes

Homemade chicken nuggets

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Spray large baking sheet with cooking spray.

In a shallow dish beat two eggs with 1 tbsp milk or cream. In another shallow bowl combine unbleached all-purpose flour, fine ground cornmeal, salt, pepper and seasonings*. Cut chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces. Coat chicken with egg wash then flour mixture and put on baking sheet. Spray chicken with more cooking spray. Bake in 400° oven for 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

*This week I wanted a Mexican flavored nugget so I used paprika, chili powder, onion powder and garlic powder. Other options: thyme, oregano, and basil; cumin, coriander, and chili powder; basic salt and pepper.

Crispy fried fish tacos

·         1 cup all-purpose flour

·         1 teaspoon garlic powder

·         1 teaspoon onion powder

·         1 tablespoon kosher salt

·         1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper

·         1 pound tilapia fillets, cut into 4-by-1-inch strips

·         2 large eggs, beaten

·         3 cups panko (Japanese bread crumbs)

·         3 cups vegetable oil, for frying

·         12 tortillas, warmed

In a bowl, whisk the mayonnaise with the hoisin sauce, pickle relish and lemon juice.

In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the flour, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and white pepper. Seal the bag and shake. Add the fish and shake to coat.

Put the eggs and panko in separate shallow bowls. Dip the fish in the egg and then in the panko. Transfer the fish to a wax paper–lined platter.

In a large, deep skillet, heat the oil to 350°. Add half of the fish and fry over moderate heat, turning once, until golden, about 3 minutes. Drain the fish on a paper towel–lined platter. Repeat with the remaining fish. (I do this in the oven to save calories from frying. Preheat oven to 300°. Coat cookie sheet with cooking spray. Put coated fish on the cookie sheet and spray with cooking spray. Bake for 5-10 minutes or until cooked through.)

Serve the fish in the tortillas, passing the hoisin mayonnaise, cabbage, lettuce, cilantro and scallions for serving.

Slaw

Slice cabbage and onion and put into large bowl. Cover with vinegar (I use rice wine). Add sugar and salt to taste. Put in the fridge and let pickle for a couple of hours.

Guacamole

Mash avocado in a large bowl. Add minced garlic (I like to use a hand grater to do this), salt, pepper, minced tomatoes, minced jalapeno and minced onions.

Pesto tuna and pasta salad

Cook any variety of pasta according to the boxes directions and let cool. Combine with a little bit of light mayonnaise, store-bought or homemade pesto, canned tuna, sliced tomatoes, sliced celery and sliced cucumbers. Put in fridge for 30 minutes to let flavors combine.

Quick shrimp Pad Thai

·         8 ounces whole wheat spaghetti

·         2 tablespoons Asian fish sauce

·         3 tablespoons light brown sugar

·         1/4 cup fresh lime juice, plus wedges for serving

·         2 Thai bird chiles or 1 serrano with seeds, stemmed and thinly sliced

·         1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon canola oil

·         3 large shallots, thinly sliced (1 cup)

·         3 large garlic cloves, minced

·         12 ounces shelled and deveined medium shrimp

·         2 large eggs, beaten

·         4 scallions, thinly sliced

·         Roasted peanuts, chopped cilantro and bean sprouts, for serving

Cook pasta until just under al dente.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk the fish sauce, brown sugar, lime juice and chiles.

In a large nonstick skillet, heat 3 tablespoons of the oil until shimmering. Add the shallots and garlic and cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Add the pad thai noodles and stir-fry until heated through, about 2 minutes. Add the shrimp and cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to curl and turn pink, about 2 minutes. Scrape the noodles and shrimp to one side of the pan and add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil to the empty side of the skillet. Add the eggs and cook, stirring occasionally, until nearly set, about 1 minute. Add the scallions and toss everything together, keeping the eggs relatively intact. Add the fish sauce mixture and stir-fry until the noodles are evenly coated, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the pad thai to a platter. Top with peanuts, cilantro and bean sprouts and serve with lime wedges.

Couscous with Italian chicken and veggies

·         1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs, patted dry

·         ½ medium onion, chopped

·         1 cup frozen mixed vegetables, thawed

·         2 cloves garlic, sliced

·         Salt and pepper

·         One 32-ounce container (4 cups) chicken broth

·         1/2 cup couscous

·         Grated peel and juice of 2 lemons

·         1/4 cup chopped parsley

In a dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Working in batches, add to the pot and cook, turning once, until golden, about 5 minutes; transfer to a plate.

Add the onions and frozen vegetables to the pot and cook, scraping up the browned bits, until browned, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and brown until fragrant, 10 to 15 seconds. Add the chicken broth, 2 cups water and the chicken and bring to a simmer; transfer the chicken back to the plate. Add the couscous and lemon peel to the pot, lower the heat to medium-low and simmer for 5 minutes. Shred the chicken into bite-size pieces and return to the soup along with any juices. (This can be made with precooked chicken. Just skip the first bit and add precooked, shredded chicken at this point.)

In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs and lemon juice. Slowly whisk about 1 cup of the hot soup into the egg mixture, then stir the egg mixture into the soup (the soup will thicken immediately). Remove from the heat and stir in the parsley.

Tomato, kale and bean soup

·         2 tsp olive oil

·         1 medium onion

·         2 large carrots, sliced

·         2 sticks celery, sliced

·         1 tsp dried thyme

·         1 tsp dried oregano

·         1 bunch kale, washed, stripped from stem, and chopped

·         1 14.5-counce can petite diced tomatoes

·         4 cups fat-free, low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth

·         1 15-ounce can white beans

Heat oil on medium heat in large Dutch oven. Sauté onions, carrots and celery for 5 minutes. Sprinkle herbs and cook for 2 minutes. Add kale, followed by canned tomatoes, and broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, add beans and simmer for 20 minutes.

Roast chicken, potatoes, carrots

This is a great recipe. There is always leftover chicken to use in other recipes and the carcass is great for making stock.

Preheat the oven to 450°F for at least 2 hours.

Rinse the chicken and dry really well. Season liberally with salt and pepper. Put in a cooking dish and put on the middle rack of the oven. Cook at 450° for 50-60 minutes or until cooked through. Once the chicken is done, pull it out and let it rest. While chicken is resting cook vegetables.

Cut up potatoes, carrots, celery, and onions. Doss in 1 tbsp canola oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 30 minutes or until cooked through.

Spicy ground pork in lettuce leaves

This is a meal made with my infamous Asian sauce. I have a lot of Asian ingredients that I combine. I am not sure what the proportions are I only know what I add. This list of ingredients is:

Low-sodium soy sauce, hoisin sauce, fish sauce (yum!!), chile-garlic sauce, sweet chile sauce, duck sauce, mirin, rice wine vinegar, brown sugar, fresh ginger, fresh garlic.

Different meals have different subsets of these ingredients. I just add stuff until it tastes yummy. This is an important thing to know, always taste things. You will know when they are done.

For this specific meal, I browned ground pork, onions, peppers, and edamame until brown. Then I added my sauce made of low-sodium soy sauce, hoisin sauce, fish sauce, chile-garlic sauce, sweet chile sauce, mirin, rice wine vinegar, brown sugar, fresh ginger, and fresh garlic. I let it thicken up then served it over rice.

Hoisin chicken with cucumber salad

For the Chicken:

·         3/4 cup hoisin sauce

·         3 scallions, coarsely chopped

·         5 cloves garlic

·         1 2-inch piece fresh ginger, sliced

·         1 jalapeno pepper, stemmed and halved (remove seeds for less heat)

·         Zest and juice of 2 limes, plus lime wedges for garnish

·         2 tablespoons rice vinegar

·         Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

·         2 pounds skin-on chicken thighs and drumsticks (separate pieces)

For the Salad:

·         1/2 cup rice vinegar

·         2 tablespoons sugar

·         Kosher salt

·         1 seedless cucumber, thinly sliced

·         1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

Prepare the chicken: Preheat a grill to medium on one side. Combine the hoisin sauce, scallions, garlic, ginger, jalapeno, lime zest and juice, vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste in a mini food processor or blender; process until almost smooth. Season the chicken with salt; toss with the hoisin mixture in a large bowl.

Make the salad: Bring the vinegar, sugar and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring. Remove from the heat; stir in 1/4 cup ice cubes until melted. Toss the cucumber and red onion in a serving bowl with the vinegar mixture; place in the refrigerator.

Grill the chicken over direct heat until the skin is crisp, 5 minutes per side, basting with extra marinade. Transfer to the cooler side of the grill; cover and grill until cooked through, 10 to 15 more minutes. Serve with the cucumber salad and lime wedges.

Spicy tuna wraps

·         2 5- to 6-ounce cans chunk light tuna (see Notes), drained

·         1/3 cup low-fat mayonnaise

·         1 tablespoon hot sauce, such as Sriracha (see Notes)

·         1 scallion, chopped

·         2 cups cooked brown rice (see Tip), cooled

·         2 tablespoons rice vinegar

·         4 10-inch whole-grain wraps

·         3 cups watercress leaves

·         1 ripe avocado, cut into 16 slices

·         1 small carrot, cut into matchsticks

·         Reduced-sodium soy sauce for dipping (optional)

Combine tuna, mayonnaise, hot sauce and scallion in a medium bowl. Combine rice and vinegar in a small bowl.

Spread one-fourth of the tuna mixture over a wrap. Top with 1/2 cup rice, 3/4 cup watercress, 4 avocado slices and one-fourth of the carrot matchsticks. Roll up and cut the wrap in quarters or in half. Repeat with the remaining filling and wraps. Serve with soy sauce for dipping, if desired.

Italian chicken and chickpeas

·         2 tablespoons olive oil

·         4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

·         2 tablespoons dried rosemary

·         1 tablespoon olive oil

·         3 cloves garlic, minced

·         1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce

·         1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

·         1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

·         1 1/2 teaspoons white sugar

·         1 bay leaf

·         1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

·         1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Season the chicken with the rosemary on both sides; cook the chicken in the hot oil until browned evenly, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.

Pour 1 tablespoon olive oil into the skillet. Cook and stir the garlic in the hot oil until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, cayenne pepper, sugar, bay leaf, and red pepper flakes to the skillet; stir. Return the chicken to the skillet; cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer until the chicken is no longer pink in the center and the juices run clear, 10 to 12 minutes.

Stir the garbanzo beans into the skillet; continue cooking until the beans are heated, 2 to 3 minutes more.