I haven't used this blog for close to a year. I wanted to use it as a personal blog, but it was hard to keep it and my photography blog going at the same time. I will, however, try to keep this one more updated, and more geared towards personal posts.
I started a diabetic diet with my own spin about a week ago. Seeing as I still weigh what I did when Maddox was a newborn, I decided it was finally time to get my old body back!
I've had a TON of questions about what exactly I'm doing, so I thought I would post some info here. I've lost six pounds in a week so far! My goal is to weigh anywhere between 135-140 pounds, so I have about 15-19 pounds to go!
I'm basically doing low carb, low cal, no "whites" diet.
Low carb- pretty self-explanatory
Low cal- again, pretty self-explanatory
No whites- No white bread, no sugar, no potatoes, no rice.
"Diabetic" part of the diet? "Good" carbs only. 100% whole grains only, but eaten sparingly. So, whole wheat bread/pasta/even saltines have a whole-wheat option.
I'm trying to keep myself around 3-4 carb exchanges per day. 1 carb exchange = 15 grams of carbohydrates. So, around 30-45 grams of carbs per day.
Trying to eat every 3 hours...but that's hard for me to do, with work and the kids, but I'm trying!!!
Here's an example of a regular day:
breakfast- 2 eggs, scrambled with lunch meat chopped, 1-2 pieces of cheese (gouda is my fav!) and some scallions thrown in.
snack 1- a slice of cheese and an apple
lunch- salad with chopped chicken, lots of veggies, some cheese, ranch or balsalmic dressing
snack 2- 100 calorie pack
dinner- fish or chicken, cauliflower or broccoli or a salad
snack 3- 5 whole wheat saltine crackers with a thin layer of PB.
Eating frequently throughout the day jump starts your metabolism, and keeping the meals small helps with the weight loss, and also helps get you used to portion control.
Cooking meals at home will wreck havoc on your dishes...we run about 3 loads through the dishwasher daily! But what I love about it is that I am WAY more aware about what goes INTO my food, and pay more attention to what I'm putting into my body. I like it that way. I like preparing my own meals. Here are a few of my favorite "recipes:"
Roasted cauliflower- cut up a head of cauliflower into 8 sections. stick in foil. drizzle EVOO or regular vege oil over it, add some salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Cook in the foil in the oven on 450 for around 15 minutes or so. SO tasty, SO good for you, and SO easy!
Balsalmic chicken- bake 3-4 chicken tenderloins in the oven. Find Newman's Own Creamy Balsalmic dressing (not sold everywhere, I think we find it at Meijer and Walmart), pour about 3-4 tablespoons in a saucepan, heat until just boiling (you'll notice it start to reduce and get a little darker). Pour over your baked chicken, add a handful of scallions, and voila! One of the best tasting and simplest low-carb meals out there!
Cajun talapia- the easiest of them all! I put the tilapia filets on a baking pan (still frozen, even), and sprinkle a good amount of cajun seasoning over it, pop it in the oven at 400 or so for about 10-15 minutes. That's IT!
Broccoli and cheese is good too!
I buy LOTS of veggies at the grocery store weekly (green/red/yellow peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, celery, etc) and do all the prep at home. chop, slice and dice it all, so it's there, ready and waiting for me when snack time rolls around!
Ranch dressing is low carb (watch the serving size though, the calories can add up!), so I slice up a green pepper, dip in some ranch, and done. easy, low carb, low cal, and good for you!
If you have any recipe or meal ideas, please don't hesitate to share! I love new recipe ideas!
Find a friend that's eating healthy, too, and be accountability partners. I have a friend who started the "diet" the same day I did, and we text each other daily what we've eaten. It's easy to be "responsible" that way!
And good luck!
