Making your bad habits a little bit better- post 4: Dessert

4. Delectable, but oh-so-devilish, desserts

We have reached the end of the guilty pleasure posts, because all great things must come to an end sometime. What better way to say goodbye than with desserts? The perfect way to end any meal is with a plate (or bowl) full of super sweet and mouthwatering, tasty goodness! However desserts are also the perfect way to ruin your health…

There really aren’t any straightforward, healthy alternatives to our favorite guilty desserts. However, with creativity and some modifications, there are delicious and more nutritious options. If you are a chocolate lover, my biggest suggestion is to avoid milk chocolate and stick with dark. Not only does dark chocolate have less sugar and calories, but it is also more natural and burns belly fat (like everything, in moderation!) At first, dark chocolate was a little bitter for me. I was use to the sugary sweetness of a nice piece of milk chocolate. I fought through my urges and stuck with the dark. Overtime, all I wanted was dark chocolate and now when I taste the other, it is way to sweet and sugary for my taste buds(except for M&M’s!…cheat days…. :-D)! Your body will adjust to the change. You just need a little motivation and determination to stick to it ;). With this I would like to reference Thomas Gorman (@healthybearcat.wordpress.com) who commented saying he also found that cutting certain foods get easier over time, eventually not even craving them at all. “I’ve cut out a lot of sugar from my diet (sweets such as chocolate, cake, candy, etc) and I don’t crave them at all,” said Thomas. “I think after awhile your body is turned off by them. It’s like smoking cigarettes. At first you crave them, but once you quit for awhile your cravings go down.” Thomas offered a very good comparison and he is exactly right. I was that way with fries. These may not be dessert they are dessert to me!  but I was addicted to them before Weight Watchers. I couldn’t enjoy them as much (besides the occasional waffle fry from Chic-fil-A because they are made with canola oil) so I eventually stopped craving them; and once I had them after months of not stuffing my face with their salty amazingness, I actually got sick! (Now if only I stopped eating them after that….again, cheat days my friends…) Now that I got off topic, let’s get back to some substitutions!

And what better transition into ice cream than with this quote from Andrew Gable:

“Guilty pleasures?” said Andrew. “Ice cream. Oh holy mackerel. It’s far too easy to tear open a pint of ice cream and destroy it like a Roman invasion. I’ve stopped eating it lately but the urge is satisfied from time to time.”

Instead of ice cream, why not try yogurt?. There are so many great yogurts now that, in my opinion, kick’s ice cream’s butt when it comes to being jam packed with flavor! I personally love Healthy Choice’s frozen yogurt. Their frozen Greek vanilla tastes as if I was dipping my spoon into a bowl of nicely churned ice cream. The creamy texture and delectable coldness against my tongue satisfies all my cravings. When it comes to self-serve yogurt locations be careful. They do offer low fat and sugar free options but when you add in all of the toppings, you really aren’t saving yourself any calories or fat. You might as well eat ice cream. If you have a weakness, like I do, for self-serve, I would suggest piling on the fruit and try straying away from the candies. Also be cautious of the serving size; most yogurt locations offer the nutrition facts above the yogurt dispensers. Check out what the serving size is and adjust accordingly. Another satisfying sweet is to buy plain, Greek yogurt. You can add honey or fresh fruit for extra flavor. I would be cautious of adding granola, because a lot are loaded in fat; if you want a parfait, just look for low fat options.

Side note: Weight Watchers and Smart Ones have AMAZING desserts in the ice cream aisle at the grocery store. I am INLOVE with Smart Ones sundaes (every flavor) and the ice cream bars by Weight Watchers 🙂

Remember: Desserts are still desserts, meaning they are still not good for you. You MUST eat sparingly, even if they are healthy substitutions, because they still have a lot of not-so-healthy qualities. Sad, I know, but with these suggestions, you can at least enjoy it a little bit more, right? 😉

Now because Thanksgiving is around the corner….

I wanted to do something a little different for this post because desserts are just so stupendous. Instead of offering websites or telling you what to search for online, I went through my Weight Watcher recipe books to find some dessert recipes that are not-so-guilty pleasures 🙂

I didn’t think I would find a recipe for cheesecake but with them piled high on my coffee table, I was on the hunt! Like an explorer discovering a new world, I ransacked through the stack, tossing aside pages, reading through ingredients as my tummy rumbled. I did this just so I could help find an alternative for a Miss Jayna Barker, who via Facebook, told me this intising dish was her favorite. “I know cheesecake isn’t the healthiest of foods,” said Jayna. “But once I start eating it… I just can’t stop. Favorite dessert, hands down.”

Well, this one is for you! (Click continue reading for the recipes)

Making your bad habits a little bit better- post 3: Pastas, pizza and other carbs

3. Nom, nom, nom! It’s pasta and pizza time! 

Well, hello again my friends! I have been very busy and unfortunately have abandoned this blog for a little longer than I would have liked. The good news is, it’s pasta and pizza time! As I stuffed my face with a delicious piece of greasy magnificance (aka a slice of Papa Johns, full of  meaty pepperoni and oozing cheese….yeah..that is pretty much impossible to resist) I contemplated on tonight’s blog post.  (Hey, it was a cheat day 😉  )

The truth is carbs, like pastas and crusts of pizza, are hard to turn into healthy but delectable dishes; not only because they are the dreaded “carbs”, but more so because of what is being added as enhancers. You have alfredo sauces, butter sauces, cheeses, red meats, more and more cheeses, etc. These may amplify the dishes, causing severe moments of mouthwatering greatness, but they also drastically pack on the negative effects of more calories, cholesterol, fat, etc…

I will begin first with the not so difficult part, the pastas and crusts themselves, first at home then at a restaurant. When selecting which pastas to choose to purchase from the store, without the healthy versions or whole-wheat, a good choice is angel hair pasta, capellini; capellini is thinner than spaghetti but offers, in my opinion, the same amount of substance. Not only does it seem like you are eating more because the noodles are smaller (well it tricks me at least) but you will probably feel  just as satisfied with capellini as you would with spaghetti. Linguine is also a good alternative, it is very thin and is also skinnier compared to the closely resembling and apparently famous, fettuccini. Besides opting for capellini or fettuccini, there are great brands that try to make your carb worries, disappear or at least lessen. I buy SmartTaste, a brand that is high in fiber, calcium, and vitamin D; there is also a lot of whole grain options, gluten-free, low fat, etc. Just browse the pasta aisle and find one that tickles your fancy – while supplying the nutritional elements you hope to gain. When it comes to the crust of a pizza, there are the same options, whole grain, gluten-free, high fiber, low fat, etc; I buy a brand called, “Flat-out”, that can be found at Kroger. It is not a pizza crust really, but a flat wrap. What I do, the few occasions I have time to cook,  is I  buy low-fat, skim milk mozzarella, turkey pepperoni and a heathy pizza sauce, spreading these ingredients on the wrap. I then add some spices, because everything is better with a little spice ;). I pop that sucker into the oven, heat it to around 400 degrees and watch it bake into a little piece of cheesy paradise. YUM!

Speaking of the ingredients that I would use to make my own pizza, brings me to my next topic: toppings! When it comes to selecting cheeses for pastas or pizza, again look at the nutritional factors you want to gain out of it. Do you want low fat, fat free or high calcium? Pick one that satisfies your needs; when it comes to other toppings like meat, if you like pepperoni, settle for turkey, it is just as delicious with about half to the naughty repercussions. If you are a vegetarian, or love veggie pizza, go nuts! Buy some fresh peppers, mushrooms, olives, tomatoes, anything; vegetables are not just a great way to intensify the flavors of your pizza, but also too add more healthy food groups to make a well-rounded meal! Talk about the cliche, hitting two birds with one stone! 🙂

Pasta toppings are a little trickier. Nikki Buckingham, via Facebook, when asked about her guilty pleasures wrote, “Most any kind of pasta,” explained Buckingham. “I love pasta ( red sauce, white sauce, butter garlic sauce, white wine sauce, mac and cheese, and other cheese sauces).”

Well, in reality, it is extremely hard to turn white sauce, such as alfredo, healthy. It is usually made out of heavy creams that just are impossible to successfully make a nutritious but delicious alternative. If you know of one, by all means, please share! I am sure you could do some research, checking your grocery store and perusing the web for some creative recipes, but it may be difficult. My suggestion to you, if you are an alfredo fanatic, is to try new sauces, or better yet, make your own! Maybe melt some low fat cheeses, add some skim milk, some spices here and there…it may not turn out great, but it is worth a try! As far as butter, garlic sauces… I am right there with you, DELICIOUS! Maybe try some olive oil, adding heavy garlic, fresh even, mixing in complimentary herbs like basil..let your creativity, and your tastebuds, explore! Wine enhances sauces, try a red wine or a healthy brand, like Skinny girl and again, spice it up. The good news is, most red sauces are healthier because the main ingredient is usually tomatoes. Just check the nutritional facts before purchasing a new sauce.

Okay, now its on to the restaurants! I work at Olive Garden, yes, Olive Garden…it is actually quite sad; why would I choose to work at a place that serves one of my biggest weaknesses in the world, italian food? Well, because I clearly want to torture myself. Anyway, again look up the nutritional menu – that is now fortunately offered by most restaurants. At Olive Garden I am happy to say we have added a “lighter” menu section, with an array of delicious, regret-free options like Linguine alla Marinara and Venetian Apricot Chicken.  However, some restaurants don’t offer the nutritional facts, then what? Like I mentioned earlier, a safe bet is capellini or linguine, when it comes to selecting the type of pasta, and a nice hearty red sauce like a marinara or pomodoro (usually a tomato blend with olive oil and spices). A great way to know how much of your dish to eat is to ask for a lunch portion or to cut your plate in half, to get a more accurate serving size. An actual good amount is one cup, so about the size of your closed fist.

With pizza, restaurants now usually offer wheat/whole grain crusts. These can be really good, just sometimes taste a little doughier. I found a good way to correct this is to ask for it well done. Always try to go for a thin crust, but if impossible, avoid eating the crusts to help save yourself some calories and carbs. Try a veggie pizza, to add more substance. Again, like I have mentioned before, there is an amazing pizza place called Naked Pizza. Click here for their website. Everything is organic, with zero preservatives and their crust is made out of probiotic fibers! Did I mention their pizza is absolutely AMAZING! Turn a 410 calorie slice of pizza into only an 80 calorie slice, without skipping on some seriously scrumptious flavor

I have rambled enough, so I will leave you with one quick little fact. Yes, the amazing mac and cheese may not be the best option in the world as far as health, but I still find ways to eat it. At the grocery store you can find little, personal serving sizes of Kraft brand. They are still the same as far as unhealthy, fatty, but amazing mac and cheese, but they are a correct portion. For a small lunch, or a once in a while snack, you could try one of these, maybe adding in a side dish of fruit or vegetables, like grapes and/or carrots, to help add more substance.

Like I say in almost every blog post, do not give up what you love. With moderation, and a little will power, it is possible to live a healthier, but still fulfilling, life.

Next time is dessert time! 😀

Farewell…

Making your bad habits a little bit better- post 2: Snacks

2. Scrumptious, but oh so scary, Snacks

In my opinion, one of the scariest types of food you can eat is snacks. Not so much because of the ingredients but more so due to the abundance usually eaten in one sitting. You can easily lose track of time sitting in front of the TV with a bag of chips, inhaling the salty treats without stoping to take into consideration how MANY you are actually eating. TV + Snacks = your weight’s worst nightmare. A good way to not get caught into the TV snack-time trance is to prepare your treat ahead of time. Hungry for chips? Okay, look at the back of the bag and figure out the serving size. Turns out it isn’t 50 chips at a time but more like 1 ounce or roughly 16 chips. Grab the correct portion and put the bag away! Don’t bring the entire bag with you, I know this seems like a challenging concept, but it’s not! All you do is: 1). Grab the desired serving size 2.) Close the bag 3.) Put it back into its proper location (no not on the couch next to you) 4.) Walk away with only the portion of chips you selected 5.) Eat only that said portion and not more because then that defeats the purpose. Simple right? What I do to try to convince myself that 16 chips is enough to feed my bottomless pit of a stomach is I will crack the chips into tinier pieces. This little trick makes me not only eat slower but seems to convince my brain that I am eating more than I really am.

Now on to some of your feedback in regards to your guilty habits when it comes to little naughty, in-between-meal goodies.

I had two people, Julianne Morgan via Facebook and Alan Lockwood via my blog say that chips were a weakness of theirs. Julianne also pointed out Chex Mix. First let me start off by saying that Chex Mix is a “healthier” option than chips –I used the quotes purposely because they are also tricky. Although they have less fat than chips(I believe they advertise 30% or around that) doesn’t mean they are any better for you. A serving size is usually only a cup. Now for some, this is enough, but if you eat Chex Mix a lot, you know that a cup really isn’t that much and most “snack size” bags of Chex Mix aren’t really only one serving size, but two! READ THE LABEL. If you follow the nutritional guide and have no problem eating only a cup, then by all means: keep eating it! Chex Mix is delicious!

Now on to chips. There are SO many healthier alternatives than the normal greasy chips (and they can even be tastier too!) I recently discovered a brand called Popchips and I LOVE them. I bought the chili limón flavor and once I popped one in my mouth -no pun intended- my taste buds were bombarded with blasts of flavorful kicks. NOM…NOM…NOM… Anyway, these can be located in the all natural section of Kroger (you could probably find it in the chip isle too depending on the grocery store). If these do not seem to tickle your fancy, there are many other brands that offer great taste for less fatty repercussions: Sun Chips -especially their multigrain line, Special K brand, Baked lays and more!

There was one comment that really stood out to me and it was from Ashley Davis. “My guilty pleasure is pretzels,” said Ashley. “I’ll start off by eating a couple, and then before I know it, I’ve eaten 20 or so. For drinks, it would have to be any kind of pop, although I’ve been good with cutting back on that recently.”

I might have helped this issue with what I discussed in the beginning of this blog about portioning and putting the bag away; however, another trick to keep yourself from eating too much of a snack is to find options that have loads of fiber in them. Fiber not only is a great tool to have in weight maintenance but it also helps reduce hunger. I eat fiber everyday and I love it! Anyway…A good way to make pretzels healthier are to get multigrain pretzels, rye pretzels or fat-free ones.

A lot of you mentioned pop as well and I also have a weakness for this bubbly refreshment. To help make this habit a little bit better I drink “zero” options: Coke Zero (my favorite even though I usually prefer Pepsi products), Pepsi Max, Dr. Pepper 10, Sprite Zero, etc… If you are trying to lower your pop intake, try mixing in mix packs to your water. There is one brand that is high in fiber ;)! If you are going to drink pop keep in mind the amount of sodium that you are bringing into your body. A good way to try to balance this is to drink LOTS of water!

Now it’s time for the challenge I came across when reading about your tempting food troubles….Skyline Dip!

Why anyone likes this heart attack of the mouth is news to me. I have only ever had Skyline once (I know, I know you can close your mouth now!). Here is the conversation I had via Facebook with my friend, Katlyn Merz.

“Skyline dip!” said Katlyn in response to what her guilty pleasure was.

“They have a dip? I have never been there before…”I reply.

“What is wrong with you?” asked Katlyn.

Well Katlyn, I can tell you what is NOT wrong with me–at least as a result of skyline– my arteries being clogged! Anyway I thought the idea of having Skyline dip all of a sudden become a healthy snack was like trying to turn my empty wallet into a bundle of cash: not likely. Yet I have thought about something you could do that not only would be delicious but also a fun project: make your own! Try a turkey chili as the base, add low-fat cream cheese and low-fat cheddar cheese to top it with; add some spices, maybe some of that fat-burning hot sauce also, and there you go! Use one of the healthier chip brands I mentioned earlier and you have yourself a more nutritious, less likely to kill you, version of Skyline dip!

I hope this snack section of “making your bad habits a little bit better” has given you some ideas for changing your diet habits. Next time we will discuss my personal favorite types of foods: PASTA AND PIZZA! YUMMAY! 😎

Until then…Stay healthy, my friends!

Making your bad habits a little bit better- post 1: Fried foods

The results are in!

Thanks to the abundance of comments via my blog and Facebook, I have some amazing feedback as to what your guilty pleasures are. After doing a lot of eating research, I have discovered healthy alternatives for most of your not so healthy treats; however, for some of your guilty pleasures, a more nutritious option appears to be close to impossible–but that’s okay! Although there may not be close to exact substitutions, there are always similar foods that can offer the same delicious qualities while keeping your tummy from adding layers of blubber.  Also, you -and your taste buds- will feel better about yourself if you give in to your indulgences every once in awhile, so it is okay to keep eating your favorite fatty foods, in moderation of course (typically twice a month is a good and safe amount).

While perusing through your comments, I realized that a lot of your tasty troubles fell into similar categories -fried, desserts, dips, etc.. To be more efficient –and add a little much needed organization to my life– I am going to separate these food-types into different categories and post them as separate blog entries; I want to try to give the best advice  I can give without boring you to death and the best way to do that, is to create different posts so there isn’t huge long one (as much as I would like to believe you are reading every word I write, I am realistic and know that sometimes there just isn’t time); this way you can read the posts specifically about your flavorful temptations.

1. A Fried Food lover’s paradise

We all know that when it comes to fried foods sometimes the grease is viewed less as a warning to our arteries and more like a seductive invitation to shove whatever dish it is down our throat; ignoring the cholesterol and listening only to relentless hunger, relishing in the mouthwatering cuisine. A lot of your comments were about fries, appetizers, fried chicken, etc. There are creative ways to turn your fried foods into baked foods at home. Giving up greasy treats was a huge challenge for me when I was on Weight Watchers. Thanks to my amazing mother, who saw my struggles and wanted to help, I found new ways to enjoy these foods without the unnecessary grease through Weight Watcher cookbooks she surprised me with. I know that most of you will not have access to the same recipes that Weight Watchers offers online, but you can go buy these cookbooks without signing up for their program; if spending money on cookbooks doesn’t seem feasible, the good news is that there is a wonderful tool called a search browser (where you type in what you are looking for and thousands of results pop up in seconds)! 🙂 There are great “fried” chicken recipes if you search for key words like “healthy fried chicken alternative recipes”. You can do the same for other fried options. A good substitute for fries would be to use sweet potato or other potato-like options such as polenta. Here is a recipe that I found online for “fried” chicken. This website looks amazing! It offers a tremendous amount of healthy recipes and advice–and for you vegetarians they also have vegetarian recipes ;).

Speaking of vegetarians, one of the comments that stuck out to me was from @doyoumemethat or fellow classmate Carli. When I asked what everyone’s guilty pleasures were, Carli responded in a comment via my blog.

“French fries, or anything deep fried really,” said Carli.  “I am a vegetarian so when I go to a lot of sportbar-like places, the only things I can get are on the appetizer menu…usually a heart attack on a plate.”

It is easy to find healthy recipes to make at home, but what if you are at a restaurant, like Carli, and your options are limited? Well you could always look up the nutritional facts to find your healthiest option but sometimes that isn’t provided. The best option is, if they have it, try sweet potato fries over regular ones; you could also look for chips and salsa. Yes the chips are not the healthiest option, but you could sit aside a portion amount (around 15 chips) and only eat those because the salsa is usually healthy and you get some veggies that way. You could also reserve your fried food indulgences for your cheat days, so you do not have to find healthier alternatives. The best advice when your options are limited is to be creative. Look at the appetizer list and make a mental nutritional guide in your head to figure out what to order. Also, never eat until you are full. Feeling full is actually a warning to your belly. You want to feel satisfied, not full. A good way to stop yourself from eating too much is to eat slow (personally, this seems like an impossible task for me) and/or ask yourself periodically, “Am I still hungry?” If the answer is yes, eat a little more then ask yourself again. When you can tell yourself that if you stopped eating you would no longer be hungry, you have reached a level of satisfaction. STOP EATING!

Now for a quick challenge: corn dogs. Facebook friend, Kachi Okoronkwo, commented on my status about guilty pleasures to give her own personal tasty temptations. “I really love corn dogs,” said Kachi. “I once paid seven dollars for a jumbo one at a car show. It wasn’t really jumbo, just slightly larger than the usual. But I really love that crispy, golden fried meat and batter on a stick food. Good luck finding a way to simulate meat dipped in honey batter and deep fried on a stick… With spicy mustard.”

Well Kachi, I too have a weird obsession with meat-and-batter on a stick type of food like corn dogs. The great news is that there are loads of recipes online on healthy alternatives. Just browse through them and find one that tickles your fancy. Here is one that made my mouth water. As far as the spicy mustard, regular mustard is surprisingly not that bad for you. Maybe you could try to make your own spicy mustard recipe adding in spices and hot sauce. Hot sauce has been said to actually help eat away at belly fat  –like with everything else, in moderation of course. 😉

Well my friends, I hope you found this post useful. Tomorrow (hopefully) I will discuss another guilty pleasure(…dun..dun..dun..): SNACKS!

Stay tuned…

What are YOUR guilty pleasures when it comes to food?

Hey all,

My last post discussed how to get through a restaurant as well as different ways of making “healthier” choices when it comes to drinking alcohol. At the end of the post I began to talk about guilty pleasures when it comes to food. I have been lucky enough to find ways of incorporating my not-so-healthy favorites into more nutritional options. Let’s be honest, even the biggest health nuts have temptations that may not be ideal. We all do. Our guilty pleasures do not have to be so regretful and they do not have to linger in the back of our minds tempting us to binge and spiral down the wrong path. We can need to give into them every once in a while, to not only keep our sanity, but to maintain our new and improved lifestyle because we depend on our guilty pleasures for balance.

Just like indulging to much on fatty snacks, not allowing yourself to eat them at all is also dangerous. The more you avoid the cravings the higher your temptations will become. If you try to block them out of your head you could end up dreaming about talking donuts and dancing Twinkies….and that is just wrong…

My last post made me wonder if it was possible to help you, my readers, find ways of making your guilty pleasures not so guilty; yes, it is okay to eat them once or twice a month but what if you want them a little more than that? What if you just want to eat them and not feel as if you condemned your arteries to a life of blockage? Well, anything is possible.

I am challenging myself to see just how creative I can be when it comes to food. I was successful in finding a healthy pizza and a I satisfied my very sweet, sweet tooth..but now it’s your turn..

So here is my question: What are your guilty pleasures when it comes to food/drinks?

Let’s try to make our bad decisions a little bit better…;)

Restaurants, Booze and Guilty Pleasures….OH MY!!!

In my last post I discussed the importance of portioning food as well as balancing how much you eat. Reading the nutritional facts on the foods you purchase is easy, straight forward and takes only two minutes away from your day. Also, once you know the facts, you know what foods are good choices and you do not have to keep referencing the nutritional guide. However, what do you do about a restaurant?

Restaurants can be scary with the unlimited options with cool names like “cajun chicken alla linguine” or “spicy jerk shrimp kababs” (I don’t know, the names came to my head and I went with it..) who wouldn’t be confused? What is healthy and what should be avoided? Some restaurants, the ones not scared to show what they have to offer, will put their health information right next to their food options, showcasing the calories and sometimes even the amount of fat, carbs, proteins and fiber. This is when it is easy, however, for most restaurants this isn’t right on the menu…yet. Before you go out to eat you should look up the nutritional guide of the restaurant and browse what items would be good choices, okay choices and heart attack choices. Sometimes this stupendous cheat sheet isn’t available, and then what? There are ways to figure out what to avoid in restaurants and the answers may surprise you. For starters, a safe bet would be to stay away from salads. YES, SALADS… Most fancy salads in restaurants are loaded with secret fatty ingredients that like to nestle in your belly, adding pounds of flubber and regret. You are probably safer eating a big mac with an extra large fry over most leafy dishes in restaurants. If you do not believe me, look for yourself. Bring up a menu that has the nutritional information and skim the salads…yeah, enough said. Strangely, besides my addiction to grease I seem to love salad (well, let’s be honest…there isn’t a lot of food I do not love)…Here is a video on making salads healthy!

What to look for on a menu are grilled options with light seasoning. Substitute the fries for a vegetable (steamed or fresh)… I know fries are better than veggies but you know what they taste like so pretend you are eating them as you shove the broccoli down your throat. If you cannot fathom the idea of eating vegetables during a wonderful dinner out, then try a sweet potato or even a baked potato. Next thing to consider once you have ordered your meal is the size of the plate. A good, and cheap, tool is your hand. Make a fist, this is about the equivalent of a cup and your palm compares to about four ounces. These are good portions. A trick besides your hand is to cut your plate in half. Here in the good ol’ U.S. of A, we like our hefty plates but sadly an actual serving size is usually about half what we eat. Look on the bright side, what you do not eat you can always reheat later, saving you time not having to prepare/buy a new meal…perfect for any college student!

Now on to booze. I am going to make this as simple and straight forward as possible. Good choices for lighter beers are : Miller lite: calories: 96    ; carbs: 3.2g, Mich Ultra: calories: 95; carbs: 2.6g and Natural Light: calories: 95; carbs 3.2g.

Good choices for other alcohol: Skinnygirl cocktails–They are actually really good; substitute diet pop for a chaser/mixer; red over white wine; clear liquor (vodka) over dark because it goes through your body easier and cleaner than others.

Most importantly, when drinking alcohol always drink lots of water or enhanced water like Gatorade because alcohol dehydrates you and rids your body of electrolytes; both are very important. A lack of water, means water weight and who wants that!?

Now, on to guilty pleasures. We all have slip-ups and the truth is, we need to. If we do not indulge in our cravings every once in a while, we are more likely to binge and then ruin our new healthier lifestyle. Enjoy what you eat! Health can be fun. I will treat myself to a burger and fries every once awhile (maybe once or twice a month). Also, when I cannot take the idea of not having a food I am craving every minute of the day (pizza for me), I find ways to make it healthy. I research! Naked Pizza is a carryout/delivery place that specializes in making pizza deliciously nutritious. They use prebiotic fibers for their crusts and all natural products with no preservatives. They are located right in Hyde Park! Click here for their website. A 80 calorie slice sounds way better than a 410 calorie slice to me. There are always ways to eat what you love and still be healthy. I also love chocolate and sometimes after a big meal, my taste buds are screaming for something a little sweet. I buy Dove’s dark chocolate and eat one square after a meal. This is a good way to satisfy my sweet tooth while being healthier (Dark chocolate, in moderation, can actually help burn away belly fat).

Well, that is all for now friends. You have to enjoy life and eating foods you love is a part of that. I will be posting a short little entry later this week so keep an eye out! 🙂

Portions and Balance

One of the most important (and challenging) part of maintaining a healthy weight is portions of food. You cannot continue to eat what you ate when losing weight, because you will continue to lose; losing too much weight is like gaining too much weight, it just isn’t healthy. If you go back to your old eating habits, you are jumping back into your old routine which got you in trouble in the first place.  So what do you do now? The truth is, there is no exact answer.

On Weight Watchers the maintenance program automatically adjusts your daily points. I was allowed 29 when I was losing and 35 when I wanted to keep my current weight. Well, unless you are a genius at math and have the time to calculate your own point system, this will not work out for you; however, there are things you can do when it comes to your portions: balance. You cannot eat as little as before or as much as your old habit, but you can find a healthy medium. The first thing, and the most time consuming thing, is to start a food journal. Yes, I said a food journal. I know being in college your time is already limited and the little free moments you have to spare will most likely go to drinking some booze  studying at the library. Most of you will shrug off the food journal idea; however, before you shove a greasy, wonderful burger down your throat you should consider what you have already eaten that day.  A journal shows you what you have been indulging on and allows you to see what you should and shouldn’t keep feeding your tummy.

If this journal idea completely seems like a waste of time, then try to keep a mental one in your head where you store what foods you have been gorging on. I must admit, I am far too lazy and too busy to keep an actual journal, so this mental one is what I do. I keep track by trying to balance what all I eat. If I had a small lunch, I know that I need to feed my body more nutrients and protein, so I have a large dinner. I have to make sure I eat the suggested calorie intake for my body a day. Click here for a website that has some “calorie calculators”.

I do not sit around counting the exact calories I feed my body a day, but I do research the basic nutritional facts of the foods I ingest to have a general knowledge. This is really important and takes only a couple of minutes a day. If you still are having trouble on how to  balance food, at least up the amount of protein you eat. If you work out, your level of protein has to increase or you risk losing more weight. This allows you to maintain, and tone quicker, and who doesn’t like that idea?

In a later blog post I will discuss tricks on what to do at a restaurant when it comes to selecting an entree and most importantly, I will give you ideas on what alcohol is less calories/carbs without having to drink  those nasty “healthy” versions, especially beers (no offense if you like them, but I discover that if I drink these, I have to have about five beers to match a normal one in order for them to have the same effect….and they taste like water).

I will leave you with this: Portioning your food is not as complicated as it may seem. Once you master this step, maintaining your weight is not as big of a challenge, and can even be fun. As I mentioned earlier, do not eat the same way you did when losing, and do NOT go back to your old routine. Find a medium and stick to it. Most importantly, when starting out on this weight maintenance journey, do not stop enjoying food. Being healthier has its benefits and can be nutritious while still being delicious. Slip ups can happen and it is important to eat your cravings, in moderation of course, otherwise you risk plummeting back into weight gain. I will discuss this further in my next blog entry.

Until next time my friends…Salud.

Why blog about weight maintenance?

I wish I could say that I am one of those people that does not care about weight, but I do care; in fact, sadly I may be somewhat obsessed. Let’s be honest, we all have wanted to change our outer image at one point or another; and if someone tried to tell me that he or she has never looked at a mirror without ever feeling discomfort or without ever wanting to change something, would be like me trying to tell someone that I could live my life without my favorite food, pizza. It just isn’t realistic. How we look on the outside, does in fact give a little insight on how we feel about ourselves on the inside. Think about it. If I walked down the street with messy hair, make up smeared all over my face and clothes hanging off my body, a stranger could think, and rightfully so, that I am lazy, unmotivated and that I just do not care about myself; yet if I walked down the street with confidence, clean hair and well fitted clothes, a stranger could think I was someone who had my life together. I know some of you could be thinking, “Okay Sherlock, that is obvious but what does that have to do with the weight of a person?” Well, it has a lot to do with it. If you are happy with yourself, you will inevitably have more confidence, and more confidence is easily reflected in how you carry yourself. So for me, being happy with how I look makes me feel happier overall. However, I wasn’t always happy with my outer appearance, and honestly now that the pounds are down, I still find myself picking away at things I do not like; yet everyday is a new day, and a chance to learn to love myself more.

If you take a look at my “about me” section, you will read about how I have struggled with weight my whole life. With that struggle came bullying, issues with self confidence and trying to find a balance between what I can and cannot eat. With college came the realization that my minor weight issue, well, wasn’t so minor anymore. I needed a change, and I found one: Weight Watchers.

Oh how I loved watching the pounds shed away and my self confidence slowly, yet steadily, increase. I loved learning how to make healthy, yet fun choices when it came to foods and discovering what exercises worked and didn’t work for me. Yet once I reached a weight I could be happy with, I couldn’t help but wonder what to do next? Weight Watchers has a maintenance plan but that costs money, and I didn’t want to pay for a diet plan for the rest of my life; I learned ways to maintain my weight through Weight Watchers and on my own and now I want to share these tricks with you.

So I am writing this blog to help people like me, college students who are living in a world full of beer, greasy foods and bad decisions, learn how to keep the weight off. After all, losing weight is surprisingly the easy part, it’s keeping the weight off that truly is the challenge.