Days of Tracking: 1/1
Today was the weekly weigh-in and self-evaluation. That experience will have to wait until tomorrow for blogging. I had typed this up yesterday, but will be posting it today. No idea why I typed it up on my computer only to save it to my hard drive instead of the blog. What makes it even stranger is that I usually type right into the blog.
*shrug*
Waste not, want not.
There are three interesting articles that MBWM brought home. They are in the September 23, 2013 issue of Woman's World. It is one of those grocery store checkout counter magazines. I bought one of that style of magazine a couple weeks ago and have yet to read it. I read the one MBWM brought home because she was interested.
The first article is "Misty Lost 100 Lbs". It says she and the Woman's World testers lost 8 lbs per week on her game plan. The success comes from reducing the caloric intake. Always a good idea. But she retrained herself by starting out with frozen meals from Health Choice, Smart Ones, etc. She limited her frozen meal selection to 220 calories for breakfast and 300 calories for lunch and dinner. She supplemented her meals with veggies, especially salads, using lite dressings. Once her stomach had shrunk and she trusted herself with being able to visualize a single serving, she switched to cooking her own food.
MBWM and I like this idea. We are going to try it for two days because that's all our food budget can afford. But it will help us visualize. We are hoping to be able to make freezer meals so we can have the advantage of a good portion size along with the helping our food budget while still providing everyone with food for the meal. After all, when we eat the frozen meals, we still have to cook for the kids and grandparents in the house. Maybe in the near future, we can afford to try an extended version of the frozen meal retraining. I have to say I am thrilled with the idea.
The next article concerns mushrooms. Here is the breakdown of the health information:
- White Hutton Mushrooms - Eat one cup daily to melt seven pounds of fat per week
- Enokis - Eat "a handful a day" to reduce your cancer risk by 42%
- Maitakes - Eat 2/3 cup daily to lower blood pressure and cholesterol
- Shiitakes - Eay 1/2 cup daily to ease arthritis pain and inflammation by 38% within 6 weeks
And to make a direct quote:
"Not a fan of mushrooms? High-quality mushroom extracts are widely available. One with five-star reviews: Jarrow Formulas' Mushroom Optimzer."
Now, I am not a fan of the mushroom. When it comes to pizza, my attitude is: No fish! No fungus! Other than that, I'll eat it. Actually, even if it has mushrooms, I'll eat it. We are talking pizza, after all. But I don't prefer to cook with them. Maybe I should develop a taste for them. I'm thinking I just may have to find some mushroom-laden recipes to try out. The article included a suggestion it called "slimming meatloaf." Add shredded mushrooms to your favorite meatloaf recipe. No harm in trying, although it may be a pain to calculate the points. That is still something of a slow-down in my tracking process. I will probably add shrooms to other, easier to point-compute recipes.
The third article concerns teas. Here is the breakdown of the health information:
- Clovers control cholesterol
- Cinnamon prevents diabetes
- Black Peppercorns rev energy and fat loss
- Cardamom prevents bad breath
- Black tea wards of heart disease
And to make a direct quote:
Make your own chai at home!
While you can find ready-made mixes at grocery stores, "making your own at home means you can tailor it to your own taste," says personal chef Kayla Sayegh, using less or more of each spice to get the perfect flavor.
Her favorite chai recipe:
Fill a saucepan with 5 cups water, 1 tsp. each ground cinnamon, cardamom, and ginger, and 1/2 teaspoon each ground peppercorns and cloves. Bring to a boil; let simmer for about 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat add 4-5 bags of black tea. (More bags lead to a stronger brew.) Steep 5-10 minutes. Return to low heat; stir in 1 cup milk; simmer 1 minute. Sweeten to taste with honey, agave syrup, or brown sugar. Serves 6.
Being LDS, I won't be using the black tea. I don't drink white, grey, or green tea either. Those are more of a personal choice in my relationship with my Father in Heaven than anything that has been taught to me. But I wonder if green tea has similar effects as black tea. You take green tea, rich in nutrients, anti-oxidants, and beneficial ingredients in abundance. You put it in the sun to be beaten up by the fermentation process. You end up with black tea. I bet green tea is better than black tea to ward off heart disease, but that's just a supposition at this stage.
There are many healthful options out there. I drink a tea twice a day (when I'm on target) that includes several incredible ingredients. Cinnamon is one of them. But I get the species of cinnamon commonly known as Vietnamese Cinnamon. Not only does it have the great health benefits common to cinnamon, it has them in greater concentration. And it has them without some of the worrisome side effects of most cinnamon species, namely blood thinning. I will have to write up more about the things I use as supplements.
Today has been a good day, for the most part. I made it to Weight Watchers. I made it to Overeaters Anonymous. MBWM saved me a couple times with the Auntie Em phrase. I am so very grateful for her influence. And when I have time, I will have to type up my notes from today's meetings.
Yours in the joyful abundance that is available in this life,
Eliot
P.S.: What the test should really state:
This has been a test of the emergency broadcast system. Had this been a real emergency, you would have heard lots of screaming as people ran for cover. This has only been a test.
Or, rewriting it for us dieters:
This has been a test of the emergency broadcast system. Had this been a real emergency, you would already have been pillaging your secret stash that you cleverly left hidden in plain sight at the nearest convenience store. The Hostess shelves wouldn't stand a chance. But this has only been a test. We now return you to your regularly scheduled carrot.
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