This is the perfect giveaway for the upcoming Holidays! I am giving away a...
one-month custom meal plan.
I have created these for several ladies and they have had a huge success rate with weight loss! The plan will be tailored to your specific goal weight, current body type/weight/makeup and your food preferences. The plan comes complete with 4 weeks of recipes - 7 breakfasts, 7 lunches and 7 dinners (28 recipes total) + snack ideas! I calculate all the calories for you! Easy peasy!
Don't let the Holidays pack on the pounds!
How do you get in the running to win? Just become an official follower and you are automatically entered to win! I will choose the winner using random.org on Thanksgiving Day! So you can start the plan right after the eating Marathon weekend that is Turkey Day!
Friday, November 5, 2010
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
How many times a day do you think about food?
They say that men think about sex every three minutes. Well, I think about food (or the lack thereof) about every two minutes. So take that sex!
I think about what I'm going to eat. When I'm going to eat. When is it ok to eat again? Can I eat that? Or can I eat this? Should I eat this? What should we have for dinner? What should I feed Baby E for lunch? What should I have for lunch? Do we have anything sweet in the house? How many calories are in that? How many calories have I had today? Maybe if I chew gum I won't be hungry anymore....it goes on and one. Probably every two minutes.
And you know what? I don't think that I'm dissimilar to any of you. I am not on a "diet" per se. Just living a lifestyle of moderation. I don't have an unhealthy relationship with food. It's just pretty central to life. And this constant inner dialogue is what keeps me in check. I don't consider it unhealthy or an obsession. It's just who I am and how I keep myself steady.
So I'm your average woman, muddling through the day thinking about food.
I'd actually prefer to think about sex every three minutes instead. Wow, that is lot, though, huh?
So how often do you think about food? Or sex? Or both?
I think about what I'm going to eat. When I'm going to eat. When is it ok to eat again? Can I eat that? Or can I eat this? Should I eat this? What should we have for dinner? What should I feed Baby E for lunch? What should I have for lunch? Do we have anything sweet in the house? How many calories are in that? How many calories have I had today? Maybe if I chew gum I won't be hungry anymore....it goes on and one. Probably every two minutes.
And you know what? I don't think that I'm dissimilar to any of you. I am not on a "diet" per se. Just living a lifestyle of moderation. I don't have an unhealthy relationship with food. It's just pretty central to life. And this constant inner dialogue is what keeps me in check. I don't consider it unhealthy or an obsession. It's just who I am and how I keep myself steady.
So I'm your average woman, muddling through the day thinking about food.
I'd actually prefer to think about sex every three minutes instead. Wow, that is lot, though, huh?
So how often do you think about food? Or sex? Or both?
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Can you eat healthfully at Cheesecake Factory?
As I opened the menu, I was greeted with pages and pages of options - all which sounded delish. Now this is not my first rodeo at CF. But we hadn't been there in a while and it seemed as though there were even MORE options than I remembered. Excess. Huge portions. Yep, that's the Cheesecake Factory!
As I thumbed through the menu I found very little that was healthy. Pages of appetizers, "glam burgers," pastas, pizzas, salads, drinks and even breakfast. Whew!
What I did find was that they had some tapas style small plates at the front of the menu and some "weight management salads." All very questionable when it comes to eating healthfully. You just never know what is in that stuff - hidden oils, creamy ingredients, butter, etc.
As all the choices loomed ahead, I just panicked and went with a favorite versus really studying ingredients and what might have hidden calories. I ordered the sweet corn tamale cakes. And Ad Man, not caring a lick about healthy, ordered the Memphis burger.
Here is the Memphis burger in all it's glory. A burger topped with mayo, cheese, pulled pork, pickles, bbq sauce and coleslaw + fries.
When I got home, I wanted to check in on how many calories I consumed and was curious about the damage that Ad Man had done. I was appalled and quite frankly disgusted. I knew it wasn't great, but oh dear, it was worse than I thought.
My sweet corn tamale cakes were 1500 calories! Thank goodness I had only eaten half. So a whopping 750 calories for my lunch. And I did eat a slice of bread, too.
Ad Man's was 1,970 calories! Eeek!
Oh and did I mention that we split a piece of cheesecake? Well it was splurge day since I taught two classes that morning and burned 1,072 calories.
Our lovely spice of heaven was 861 calories and 62 grams of fat! Argh! So we packed about 430 calories a piece.
We ate this lunch pretty late and did not eat dinner, but still. Astounding.
Ok, so what are your best bets when eating at Cheesecake Factory? Know before you go so that you don't get a big shock and realize that you undid all the good from your workout. Here's what I found...
Appetizers
Ahi Carpaccio (serves 2), 260 cals per serving
Edamame (serves 204), 320 cals per serving
Salads (and these are big, they totally serve a whole meal!)
Boston House Salad, 310 cals
Endive, Pecan & Blue Cheese Salad, 330 cals
French Country Salad, 390 cals
Tomato & Mozzarella Salad, 490 cals
Tossed Green Salad, 190 cals
Vegetable Chopped Salad, 280 cals, with chicken 390 cals
Lunch
Simply Grilled Salmon, 480 cals
One half chicken sandwich, 550 cals
Chinese Chicken Salad, 540 cals
Cobb Salad, 570 cals
Luau Salad, 510 cals
Santa Fe Salad, 540 cals
One hald turkey sandwich, 470 cals
Caesar Salad sandwich, 450 cals
Dinner
Weight Management Grilled Chicken (not including sides), 580 cals
Grilled Mahi (not including sides), 470 cals
Grilled Tuna (not including sides), 520 cals
Dessert
Low Carb Original Cheesecake Sweetened with Splenda, 570 cals
Goblet of Fresh Strawberries, 110 cals
Dish of Ice Cream. 280 cals*
Slim pickings, I know. I didn't find any nutrition facts for their new small plates. But my guess is that they are just smaller portions of heavy items.
So what do you eat? My recommendation is to order a simpled grilled item - chicken or fish - and ask for sauce on the side. You can always dip a little. Add the green salad per above (with dressing on the side) and you have a lovely meal. If you need a treat, get the strawberries or ice cream. *Although the dish of ice cream surprised me. With their portion sizes, I'd be shocked if it was a small dish. Use your judgment!
And if it is a special occasion. Opt for a light dinner and then get your cheesecake.
Don't be surprised the next time you go out to eat. Look up the nutrition facts first!
Monday, November 1, 2010
Halloween Damage
So what's the damage? How much candy did you eat?
About this much?
Well that yields only 230 calories. Not too bad. Way to go with your will power!
Or was it about this much?
That stash is about 410 calories. Hmmm...well I guess it's your treat day.
Maybe it was this much?
Oh dear, you packed in about 1,000 calories. Yikes!
And please don't tell me it was this much!
And for heaven's sakes, please don't tell me you ate candy for breakfast this morning. Even though Reese's Peanut Butter cups go really well with coffee, I don't think it's the right food to get you fueled for the day.
Ok even if you did eat some for breakfast, the good news is you can STOP now! Load up all the candy with the exception of 7 fun size pieces for your little one (that's one piece a day for the week following Halloween). After 7 days likely they will have forgotten about it. Take all the remainder and put it in a sack and bring it to the office. Bring it to a food pantry. Get it out of your house.
Be done with it already.
Start thinking about all the lovely things you'd prefer to do while the weather is gorgeous - take a walk, take a jog, go to the park, go to an outdoor festival or outdoor shopping mall. All of those things are much more fun than the guilt of eating a whole bunch of candy.
How did I do yesterday? Well the sweet tooth was in full force, but I didn't do too badly. I had 2 mini Twix bars and 2 mini Snickers bars. But I ate light all day (and of course taught class in the morning), knowing that I was going to have some candy. And you know what? I sent the remainder to work with Ad Man. Baby E won't remember his candy. He had more fun walking up to people's doors and grabbing candy out of the dish.
He thought it was pretty great. After 3 houses, he totally "got" it. He walked right up, waited patiently for someone to answer the door, grabbed his candy, ran back to his wagon and dumped it in. The event itself was WAY better than the candy. Wouldn't it be great if we all felt that way?
I did give him about 5 M&Ms, which were a hit. I might save one mini M&M bag. But that's it. All that sugar and empty calories have no place in my house.
Thank you Halloween, it was fun, but now we are done.
About this much?
Well that yields only 230 calories. Not too bad. Way to go with your will power!
Or was it about this much?
That stash is about 410 calories. Hmmm...well I guess it's your treat day.
Maybe it was this much?
Oh dear, you packed in about 1,000 calories. Yikes!
And please don't tell me it was this much!
And for heaven's sakes, please don't tell me you ate candy for breakfast this morning. Even though Reese's Peanut Butter cups go really well with coffee, I don't think it's the right food to get you fueled for the day.
Ok even if you did eat some for breakfast, the good news is you can STOP now! Load up all the candy with the exception of 7 fun size pieces for your little one (that's one piece a day for the week following Halloween). After 7 days likely they will have forgotten about it. Take all the remainder and put it in a sack and bring it to the office. Bring it to a food pantry. Get it out of your house.
Be done with it already.
Start thinking about all the lovely things you'd prefer to do while the weather is gorgeous - take a walk, take a jog, go to the park, go to an outdoor festival or outdoor shopping mall. All of those things are much more fun than the guilt of eating a whole bunch of candy.
How did I do yesterday? Well the sweet tooth was in full force, but I didn't do too badly. I had 2 mini Twix bars and 2 mini Snickers bars. But I ate light all day (and of course taught class in the morning), knowing that I was going to have some candy. And you know what? I sent the remainder to work with Ad Man. Baby E won't remember his candy. He had more fun walking up to people's doors and grabbing candy out of the dish.
He thought it was pretty great. After 3 houses, he totally "got" it. He walked right up, waited patiently for someone to answer the door, grabbed his candy, ran back to his wagon and dumped it in. The event itself was WAY better than the candy. Wouldn't it be great if we all felt that way?
I did give him about 5 M&Ms, which were a hit. I might save one mini M&M bag. But that's it. All that sugar and empty calories have no place in my house.
Thank you Halloween, it was fun, but now we are done.
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