Thursday, March 5, 2009

ChaLean Extreme - Break Week - Thursday

I am feeling much better today, and my appetite is definitely back. My son is still home from school. He seems to be getting better but he overate and threw up yesterday so he had to stay home. I still haven't exercised, but I did do a Body Test on the Wii Fit. According to that, I need to lose 5.9 pounds to get out of the overweight category. I can't imagine being 6 pounds lighter and suddenly feeling normal weight. I'd love to get that fancy body fat testing done. That's all I care about.

I saw a commercial last night for a McDonald's fish sandwich and it really made me crave one, but not from them. Yesterday, I watched The Biggest Loser and there was a challenge with Chef Rocco DiSpirito, where the contestants had to make healthy versions of fast food dishes. So instead of saying, "Let's go to McDonald's for dinner tomorrow" I said "I can make that at home." So that's how I've spent the morning - looking for the right whole wheat bread recipe. We love homemade bread, but I wish I could make it lower calorie and higher fiber. I love the Nature's Own Double Fiber wheat bread, but it has HFCS in it. By the way, why the hell does my jar of Mt. Olive kosher pickles list HFCS as one of the ingredients? Pickles are quite simple - cucumber, vinegar. Done! WTF?

But back to my bread. As I was looking online for something that was 100% whole wheat (I'm about out of AP flour and can't get to the store today), I came across some good stuff, some of it using honey and/or molasses, some using sugar. But all natural ingredients. And it hit me - I don't need to identify myself as a low carb person or as a low fat person. I think I'd rather just eat things that I find to be healthy, and things that taste good. I can't think of any reason I shouldn't have whole wheat bread. A year ago, I would have freaked out about it. Overall, I think my diet is pretty good. I'll admit, ice cream and candy aren't healthy choices, but I have been limiting them. And as I learn to make them from scratch, I may have them more often. I'd like to get to the point where I can have an actual dessert every day, but for now I will settle for a couple times a week. In fact, I may have ice cream tonight.

Again, I digress. I found two recipes for whole wheat bread that would be good candidates. This one and one from Babycenter's Cooking For Your Family group (jtwinzz's post). I'm making the one from Babycenter, and instead of oil, I'm going to use golden flax meal. The oil/flax substitution ratio is 1:3 (one part oil = 3 parts ground flax, so as an example, a recipe calls for 1/4 cup of oil, use 3/4 cup of ground flax). Since flax has fiber, antioxidants and Omega-3s, I think it's the healthier option.

For tartar sauce, I'm going to use Paula Deen's recipe, but using light mayonnaise.

And before I forget, I must plug this blog - Savory Seasonings. The tag line is "A collection of our family favorite recipes made with pure and simple ingredients" Indeed! I love this site.

Speaking of The Biggest Loser, I never watched the show until this season. Aside from the blatant product placement, I love it. I have several of the workout DVDs and have done some on occasion, but I'm really looking forward to doing something with it when I finish ChaLean Extreme. I'm going to do 30 Day Shred with my friend, Jess. We haven't worked out any real details yet, but I'm excited to have a workout buddy, even if it's just online. I know there are groups out there doing P90X or Turbulence Training (which I will do when I reach my goal weight and can focus more on muscle development) but I want to do something with the friends I already have. My plan is do Shred 3x a week, and fill in the other days with some type of Biggest Loser workout. I was daydreaming about Biggest Loser Bootcamp yesterday. That's a great workout.

8:05 AM - apple & cottage cheese, coffee w/ half-and-half & Splenda

9:55 AM - toast w/ reduced sugar jelly

1:15 PM - coffee w/ half-and-half & Splenda, turkey bacon, scrambled eggs w/ onion, green peper & salsa

5:10 PM - a slice of the bread I made; It's not bad. A little on the dense side but I think that's how it is supposed to be with whole wheat flour

6:25 PM - carrots; Just waiting for my husband to get home so I can make dinner

7:30 PM - tilapia sandwiches w/ homemade tartar sauce & cauliflower

Calories - 1363
Carbs - 138 (23 fiber)
Protein - 116
Fat - 38
C/P/F Ratio - 40.7/34.2/25.2

6 comments:

Jess said...

"And it hit me - I don't need to identify myself as a low carb person or as a low fat person. I think I'd rather just eat things that I find to be healthy, and things that taste good."

I am SO with you on this! I like low-carb but I had sliced apples from Subway the other day and they were delicious! I miss fruit and whole grains like you wouldn't believe doing low carb. And sometimes the fatty stuff is just TOO fat for me anymore.

DH said that once he reaches his goal weight that he'd be open to adding some things like the aforementioned back in to our diet. I still have yet to check out Weight Watchers Core plan but I want to so I can see if some of the things I miss are allowed on there.

Truth be told about the shred, I'm glad that I've got time to work up to that. I've heard some 'horror stories' about how difficult it is and I definitely need to get in better shape before we start it. I can't wait though!

Becky said...

It's amazing how much my philosophy on food has changed over the last year or two. I fully support low carb, low fat, whatever. But for me, I'm finding that it's easier to handle something that's flexible but without real rules. I don't think I could do WW because I'd still obsess over what to eat, and points and all that. I'm not really watching anything now. I'm listening to my body and sticking with more natural foods is really, really working for me. I feel better and not as hungry when I eat the less processed stuff.

But I will not give up M&Ms.

Jess said...

I need to get away from the processed stuff. It's hard for me though since I'm constantly on the go and dragging ass 24-7. Plus, I'm so damn cheap when it comes to most of our groceries. I'm getting better though.

A work in progress - that's my mantra. :)

I'm one of those people that actually need a little structure but a little flexibility. I did great on WW; I just got way too hungry once I stopped nursing to be able to continue it.

M&Ms aren't my vice. I'm actually more of a candy girl (although I still LOVE chocolate). My BFF and I love all things candy. My all-time fave are Airhead extremes. I don't even want to think of the amounts of sugar or HFCS that are in those things! eek!

Sara said...

I came to comment and copy and paste the EXACT same thing Jess already did!

"And it hit me - I don't need to identify myself as a low carb person or as a low fat person. I think I'd rather just eat things that I find to be healthy, and things that taste good."

That's what hit me too! When I got those terrible cholesterol #s back in January, that was my exact thought.

It's so funny that all three of us don't consider ourselves to be "low carbers" but we totally dominate the LowCarb group! LOL!

I'm so glad that we all are on the same page and we are just trying super hard to be healthy, fit, and insanely gorgeous women.

Good thing we all already have that last one covered, whew!

LOL!;)

Sara said...

P.S. How did the homemade fish sandwiches and tartar sauce turn out? did everyone love them?

Jess~ WTF are those things!!?? I had to google your "Airhead Extremes", I had no idea WTF they were, still don't! LOL!

Becky said...

The sandwiches were pretty good. I was distracted trying to get Sebastian into bed so the fish fell apart. And next time I might toast the bread. Actually, I'm going to try making buns this weekend.