Tame Your Inner Octopus!

If you’ve been reading my posts, you’ve heard me repeat many times over that our bodies only need a certain amount of food each day to operate efficiently. If we eat more than our bodies require, it is stored as extra fat. Experts have stated that the average woman needs around 1,800 calories per day. It’s as simple as that in the average case.

If we stop and think about it, we might all agree that it would be awesome if we learned how to put the correct amount of food into our body each day. We might further agree it would be great if we chose the healthiest foods and spaced them out over the course of the day so that we could set up a healthy eating pattern for life.  It would wonderful it we learned to eat this way 95% of the time.

This all sounds so simple but the fact remains that the majority of our nation continues to struggle with overeating. Why do so many millions among us still operate as if overeating is not that big a deal? There are several reasons and here are my top five.

1) Eating without accountability is fun. We don’t want to count calories and learn how many calories we’re actually eating each day.  It would take the fun out of anticipating what we were going to eat next.  We like that element of surprise.  If we took the time to count calories and learn how many calories we’re eating, we would realize we’d have to become accountable in order to lose weight and keep it off on a permanent basis. If we don’t know how many calories we’re eating and never take the time to find out, we can continue to throw complete abandon and know that we’re with the majority of the approximate 68% of our nation that is either overweight or obese.

2) Eating without accountability fills voids that we wish to ignore or don’t wish to face. Eating takes our mind off of the voids in our lives.

3) Eating without accountability temporarily relieves our everyday stresses in life.  Many times, we eat for comfort.

4) Eating without accountability can make us feel as though we’re temporarily lifting our spirits when we’re depressed.

5) Eating without accountability is a habit that we have ingrained into our systems over the course of many years. In many cases, it is a part of our culture.  Food is almost everywhere we look throughout the course of the day!

These are my five top reasons why many of us overeat in America. I say this because I personally experienced each and every one of them before I set up a healthy eating pattern and learned how many calories I actually needed to eat each day.   Please realize, once I learned this, I did not have to continue to count calories on a daily basis.  I did it all while I was in weight loss mode and shortly thereafter in order to learn to maintain my proper weight. 

We have the power within us to take the time and ask ourselves one important question each time we pick up a piece of food: What is the true reason I am considering eating this at this moment?

If it’s for any of the top reasons above, put the food down and make the choice to distract yourself in another area.  Remember, you’re breaking a habit.  When I first learned to do this, I had to actually take food away from my mouth, put it down and walk away.

Setting up a structured healthy eating pattern throughout the course of the day at scheduled times can prevent overeating. It can become your daily “go to plan”.  It can become how you choose to eat in a healthful manner on a daily basis 95% of the time.  Choosing the best foods possible to eat at breakfast, lunch and dinner each day is a great way to break unhealthy habits. Eating healthy mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks can prevent us from becoming overly hungry before our scheduled times of eating.

Learning how many calories we need to eat in weight loss mode and maintenance is a great basis for losing and maintaining weight permanently. The knowledge we gain can prove invaluable for life.

We can do it; we simply have to face the facts and create new habits for life!

Have a great day!

We’ve just returned from our annual vacation to Key West.  If you remember, I’ve recently discussed that Key West is known for its great Key Lime Pie.  They even have a Key Lime Pie Contest.  Since I apparently have some sort of fascination with Key Lime Pie, I thought it would be wonderful to take the time to share the best Key Lime Pie recipe I’ve been able to put together.

Of course we all know by now that this blog, for the most part, focuses on eating in a healthful manner.  That’s a fact but there are times in our lives where we go on vacation or eat “off track” for special occasions in our lives.

In the past week, our family has had two of these occasions and they were back to back.  Our vacation was great and right after we returned we had relatives from Louisiana visit for a few days.  It was wonderful and I had two occasions and excuses to eat Key Lime Pie! 

Now it’s back to my everyday eating “on track” pattern.  I’ve already steamed broccoli and cauliflower.  I’ve made a big batch of split pea soup.  I love having a healthy eating pattern in place.  It’s made a huge difference in my life.  Just this past week it dawned on me that I once had an out of control eating pattern where everyday seemed to be a “special occasion” to eat “off track”.  I don’t live that way any longer.  That’s why I’ve been able to stay in shape for over two years now.  That’s why I thoroughly enjoy the special occasions where I do eat “off track” in my life.

Now, let’s get back to the great recipe for Key Lime Pie!  It’s wonderful to have around for “special occasions” in your life.  I hope you enjoy it also.  If you have any questions just write me back and I’ll fill you in!  Please note, I will be including recipes in the future in my blog posts.  I will also be sharing a new great recipe for pulled pork!  Make sure you subscribe to my posts and have your friends and family hop on board also.  Some great things are coming!

Key Lime Pie

Crust
1 1/4 cup of graham crackers crumbs
2 tablespoons granulated white sugar
6 tablespoons melted butter

Filling
2-14 ounce cans of condensed milk
6 egg yolks only
1/2 cup of Kermit’s Key Lime Juice or the juice of around 20 little key limes (I suggest you order the key lime juice on line at www.keylimeshop.com) You can make four pies from one bottle.   It’s called Kermit’s Key West Key Lime Juice.

Topping (optional)
1/2 cup heaving whipping cram
1 tablespoon of granulated sugar

Use a 9″ pie pan only.

Make the crust and press it into the pie pan on bottom and up all sides.  You don’t have to make it go over the top perfectly.  Take a large spoon and press it firmly into the pan.  I then bake the crust for 10 minutes at 350.  This makes it harden slightly and it firms it up.

Take the crust out and set it aside.  Lower the temperature of the oven to 300.

Begin to beat the egg yolks with an electric mixer with the whisk attachment until pale and fluffy.  About three minutes.  Slowly blend in the condensed milk and beat until you have a light and fluffy mixture for a couple of minutes also.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat in the key lime juice.

Pour the filling into the crust and bake for 15 minutes at 300.  The pie should be firm after this amount of time.

Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.  Once it has been cooled you can cover it loosely and store in the refrigerator to chill.  You can serve it after it has chilled.  It can be made a day or two before.

I like to make small rosettes with the whipping cream.  Just beat the whipping cream until soft peaks form.  Add in the sugar and beat until stiff peaks form.  You can purchase the little tips made by Betty Crocker in the decorating section of the grocery store.  You can make your own decorating sleeve by snipping a small hole out of the tip of a small plastic sandwich bag.  Insert the small rosette tip and simply fill the plastic bag with the whipping cream.  You can proceed to make the small rosettes all around the top edge of the key lime pie.  Truthfully, I tried this method once and it works but it was sort of a mess.  I know it will be easier next time but it was a heck of a lot of fun and it came out so pretty!  I’m considering upgrading to a professional type tip/bag for the future.

Have a great day!  You have to make this pie!  Everyone will absolutely love it!  Trust me!

These are great top tips for the first five steps to permanent weight loss while setting up a healthy eating pattern for life.

1)  Create the right “Mindset”.  It is best not to think of this is as a “diet”.  It is best to realize from the onset that you are setting up a healthy eating pattern for life.  This will be a lifestyle change.  This eating pattern will be your “go to” plan of eating on a daily basis 95% of the time.  This does not mean you will never eat another “brownie” in your life.  It simply means you know it would be hard to eat them everyday of your life and expect to reach and maintain your goal weight.  Realize, if you wish to lose weight, you will need to create a deficit of eating fewer calories each day.  Many experts suggest that the average woman requires approximately 1,800 calories a day.  If you are overweight, you are probably eating more than that each day in order to maintain your weight.  This is where the deficit of calories comes in.  Many experts suggest creating a deficit of 500 calories each day in order to lose one pound by the end of a week.  It takes approximately 3,500 fewer calories in order to lose one pound.

Sure, you can simply trim off 400-500 calories and set up a 1,400 calorie per day plan of eating.  That’s a nice spot. You can do this by eating 400-500 calories less each day or by a mix of exercising off 200-250 and eating 200-250 less.  It’s all up to you.  All that really matters is that your cutback or deficit equals 3,500 calories by the end of the week.  Remember, if you’re eating way more than 1,800 calories like I was before I created a deficit to lose weight, you’ll probably lose more weight initially.  It’s widely known that there’s no fast way to lose weight properly.  That’s why 1,400 is a nice spot to start for the average woman, you can even go up slightly higher to 1,500 or 1,600.  It may take a little longer but it’s all up to you.  It’s good to note that experts do not recommend women go lower than eating 1,200 calories per day. One of the reasons is that your body could think that it’s in some type of “starvation mode” and hold onto to fat for protection.  This is what happens at times when people hit a plateau.  Sometimes they are too low and don’t know it because they don’t know how many calories they are actually eating.  Eating way too few calories can work against your goals in weight loss.  That’s why counting calories is an awesome way to know in your mind that you’re doing all you can do in the correct manner in order to achieve your goals.  You don’t have to do this for life but the information you get from learning what 1,800 calories looks like is invaluable for success in maintaining your weight for life.  You will no longer be searching for the latest or greatest diet; you’ll know how to take off a large amount of weight or the last five pounds you’ve always wanted to lose.

2) Get rid of the junk food in your home or hide it away and out of your sight until you are strong enough to resist and after you’ve become comfortable with your new healthy way of eating.  This may take up to a month or two.

3) Compile a list of healthy foods you enjoy from the basic food pyramid, located at www.mypyramid.gov.  This site spells out what your body needs each day in order to form a healthy balanced diet.  This is a great place to pull from while creating your healthy grocery list.  It’s awesome, you can see what your entire family requires based on their gender and age!  Go to the grocery store and purchase all of the healthy foods you enjoy eating on a weekly basis.  Realize this list will grow over time and it is perfectly fine to eat the same things over and over but always in the correct proportions in order to stay within the deficit you’ve created in order to lose weight while in weight loss mode.  You can find out how many calories are in the food you eat by purchasing a book or looking on the web at sites like caloriecount@about.com. Remember, to always write down what you eat throughout the day on a tablet or in a composition book.  This is a way of making yourself accountable for every article of food that you choose to put into your mouth!  This one habit in weight loss mode has been greatly proven to assist you in losing every last pound you’ve ever wished to lose.  Trust me!  I did this and it works!

4) Eat at the right times and in the right amounts.  If you know you have only a certain amount of calories you can eat each day in order to stay on course so that you will continue to lose weight until every last pound you’ve wish to lose is gone, make sure you eat at regular times throughout each and every day.  This is the key in preventing yourself from overeating by not allowing yourself to get to the stage of becoming famished.  Here’s a sample guideline to follow.

Breakfast  Between 7:00 and 8:00 am
Mid morning snack  10:00 to 11:00 pm
Lunch 12:30 to 1:30 pm
Mid afternoon snack 3:00 to 4:00 pm
Dinner 6:00 to 6:30 pm

5) Exercise.  Week by week the weight will continue to drip off of you.  It only helps the situation if you can begin to walk or do some condition type exercises on a daily basis.  You don’t have to join a gym; you can slip in a 20 minute yoga or Pilates DVD and/or begin walking by opening your front door each day.  It’s all good and it all works towards reaching your goal.  Remember to stick with your healthy eating plan and look for new ways to introduce more healthy items into your daily eating pattern by adding them to your healthy grocery food list each week.

Do these top five things while in weight loss mode.  It’s best to stay away from special “eating occasions” when you’re in weight loss mode.  It’s best to stay away from eating out often.  If you must, then choose widely.  Ask for your fish to be prepared with a small amount of oil.  Order two sides of healthy vegetables or salad.  Skip the rolls, desserts and appetizers.  It’s all good if it all works in your favor and it will over time.

If there is a get-together that you feel you can’t or don’t wish to miss, make sure to bring your own healthy foods or eat before you and make small healthy choices once you get there.  This way you don’t have to miss these special occasions; you can enjoy them without focusing on food items that work against achieving your desired healthy goal weight.

Later, we’ll discuss how to incorporate “off track” eating into your healthy eating pattern.

Always remember it is widely recommend to consult with your Dr. before beginning a new diet or exercise program if you have any concerns.

Have a great day!

OK, I guess it’s obvious, I happen to like Key Lime Pie!  This is the second post I’ve written on the subject.  I ate “off track” slightly Saturday.  It was a “special occasion” because a relative came into town and we took her out to eat.

It was lunch and I knew we would be eating “off track” Sunday due to it being Father’s Day, so I didn’t go overboard and I ordered a cup of soup and a half sandwich.  Trust me, there was nothing low cal about my meal but it was better than a burger with fries.  My husband ordered that; it’s one of his safe favorites.

At the end of the meal, I asked, OK, I pleaded with everyone to have a dessert that we could all share at the table.  No one bit, so I did the next best thing and ordered it “to go” for myself.  Yes, it was the slice of Key Lime Pie again.  I took it home and I asked my husband to share it with me.  It always makes me feel better to split something when I know it’s not in my best interest to eat it alone.  It’s sort of like having a partner in crime and my husband is always up for a challenge of this type.

I discovered that this particular version of Key Lime Pie tasted more like a light cheesecake.  In fact I had to take a couple of bites before I found the little key lime distinctive taste.

My husband agreed.  I pondered a bit and realized that I need to be very selective about what “off track” type “high caloric” item I’m going to purchase.

I’ve decided, from now on, it’s going to have to be worth it or it’s simply not worth eating.  Who needs to eat an extra, not particularly healthy item for 400 calories or more and have it not be worth it?  Not I, said the pig…

I didn’t finish off this slice of pie.  I passed it on to my husband.

I did learn a valuable lesson.  Make “Key Lime Pie” yourself or go to where you know you can get a great piece of Key Lime Pie that’s worth eating “off track” for in life.  I have an awesome recipe by the way but it takes FOREVER to squeeze 20 of those little key lime suckers!

I also have an upcoming trip to “Key West” planned.  If my memory serves me correctly I think Key West is known as the home of the “Key Lime Pie”.  I saw a special on TV about it. They even have a contest for the best Key Lime Pie where people compete from all over the place.

I’m going to the same restaurant I went to last year where I know they serve an awesome piece of Key Lime Pie.

As far as today.  I’m going to exercise and get right back to my 95% way of eating healthy on a daily basis.

But somewhere, in the deep recesses of my mind, I’ll be dreaming of my next “off track”, special occasion (vacation) type eating, where I will once again partake in the eating of a slice of Key Lime Pie!

Have a great day!

One way to lose weight and keep it off permanently is to de-emphasize food on an everyday basis. Food is basically fuel for our body and we only need a certain amount of it each day. If we eat more than our body burns off it shows up as excess fat on our body. It’s as simple as that in most cases.

It goes back to “Eating to Live” versus “Living to Eat”. Yikes! That’s a mouthful if you stop and think about it. I can still hear myself saying the following: “I’m starving! Let’s go get something “good” to eat. Where do you want to go?” Let me tell you one thing, ultimately the place I chose was not a place where I ate a simple, healthy, and in the right proportioned meal.

There’s nothing wrong with enjoying food. I love to eat but I realized over two years ago that my thoughts cannot be centered around what I am going to eat next throughout the course of a day. I have to always have my basic plan in place. Food used to control me; now I control what I eat. I now realize why I gained 40 pounds of excess weight in the first place. I now have the knowledge of how to keep the extra weight off and under control. I know food is important in my life but I acknowledge that I must always aim to keep it “simple” most everyday of the week. I call that my “on track” daily eating habits. I try to go straight through the weekend eating this way. Guess what, keeping it simple and eating many of the same foods each week but in a slightly different manner at times is perfectly fine because it works and if it works, keep doing it!

It’s OK to stick to meal plans that work for both you and your family. It’s OK not to bring foods into your home that are known to be high in sugar and fats. This way, no one will be tempted to eat them because they won’t be hanging around staring at you in the face each day. It’s great to continually be working on healthy “replacements” for the high fat and sugary items in your life.

There’s nothing wrong with eating “off track” every now and then. My gosh, we have enough birthdays, holiday celebrations, or special occasions all throughout the year to eat “off track”.

It’s best not to treat each day as if it were a holiday or special occasion in our lives when it pertains to what we choose to eat. We can’t continually be rewarding ourselves with foods we know prevent us from losing weight or maintaining our “ideal” weight.

It’s best to keep it simple, eat in a healthful manner and aim to eat what our body is capable of burning off each day. Doesn’t that make great sense for all of us?

Have a great day!

Hey, let’s be realistic here! We’ve all celebrated the feeling of eating well all during the week and thinking it’s OK if we eat “off track” all throughout the weekend. If you stop and think about it, it doesn’t make great sense to nullify what we do all week long and simply blow it over the weekend. We end up being right back where we started on Monday if we “choose” that type of mentality.

Why not take on the “mentality” that we’re going to attempt to stick to a plan throughout the weekend just like we do during the week? We’re all constantly bombarded with new opportunities to “eat” for various reasons. At some point, we need to re-focus our energy on making the best “choices” so that we can always be in a great position to achieve the goals we wish to reach in this area of our lives.

We want to be in control of the “choices” we make as they pertain to the foods we “choose” to put into our mouths. We don’t want to live the life of the “grabby Octopus” that shovels food into its mouth at any point in time throughout the day or course of the week.

We can do it! We can learn to eat well and accomplish our goals throughout the entire week!

That includes the weekends too!

Have a great day! Have a great weekend!

Walking for 30 minutes a day sounds too easy. The truth is, it is easy and it’s something you can easily fit into your daily routine. You can break it into two 15 minute outings. You don’t have to hop in a car and go to a gym. You don’t have to schedule it at any certain time. You can simply grab your I-Pod and walk out the door whenever you find that window of time. It’s like anything else that’s important in our lives, it needs to become a PRIORITY!

Make it a goal to slip into your workout clothes first thing in the morning or as soon as you arrive home after work. I know this tip sounds simple but this single tip automatically puts you in the best position possible in order to get your workout in on a daily basis. You don’t have to stop to change your clothes; you’re ready to go whenever you create or find that window of time!