I was pleasantly surprised, this week, to find out that my mother and my sister will be coming to town this next weekend. As a result, we are only planning for half a week, this week. They will be in town late Thursday night, so we are planning Monday through Thursday. I have two other siblings who live in town, and between the three of us we will certainly each have a hand in providing meals between Friday night and Sunday night, but none of us have really planned all too much what this weekend will look like yet. We will probably end up doing something kind of potluck-ish.
The pork chops on previous menu plans keep getting pushed off and out of the way for other things. Not that we dislike them, but things keep coming up. Today, for example, is Father's Day, and my dear husband (who is already such an incredible father and our little Joshua is still 4 months away from joining the party) really wanted to roast one of our chickens today. He worked very hard this week at getting our meat birds out of the coop and into the freezer, so instead of pork chops we're having a delicious roast chicken, stuffed with a mix of apples, oranges, celery, garlic, honey, and a little white wine. So the pork chops are kicking off this next week, instead.
Monday - Pork Chops, Summer Squash Sautee, Multigrain Rolls
Tuesday - Breakfast for Dinner (whole wheat pancakes, eggs, bacon)
Wednesday - Chicken & Biscuits (with homemade whole wheat biscuits & leftover chicken from Sunday)
Thursday - Hot Dogs (Nitrate & MSG Free) w/whole wheat buns, steamed veggies
And that is our (short) week!
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Sunday, June 13, 2010
More Iron-Rich Menu Planning
So last week dh had the dreaded summer sinus bug that has been going around in our community, and he had no clue what he wanted to eat. Add to that the fact that during this pregnancy I have almost never known what I want to eat ahead of time; and you get a complete lack of a menu plan last week. Ah, well. At least I got started the week before, after far too long of an absence.
This week, though, I have some things I need to try. My ever wonderful and completely amazing managed to score some grass-finished liver from our local dairy guy...woohoo! I know that I need to try to get more iron in my diet; and I know that traditional foods like organ meats are ridiculously good for you, now I just needed to find a recipe I thought I might like. At some point I would love to try Kelly the Kitchen Kop's recipe as an appetizer for an event or something; however since my goal is loading up on iron and there is so much cheese in her recipe (read about why you should not combine dairy and iron rich foods during pregnancy), I figured it would be better to leave off on that for now. It looks delicious, though, and I can't wait to try it out sometime!
So, without further ado, this week's menu plan. I am pretty excited about it.
Monday - Calves Liver with Sherry (We're actually using just normal beef liver from grass-finished cattle)
Tuesday - Pecan Breaded Chicken Breast (This is not an iron rich recipe, this is a calcium rich recipe, but my growing baby needs that, too!) NOTE: We are not using the butter/veggie oil combo recommended here, we are using all butter instead.
Wednesday - Serbian Ground Beef Veggie & Potato Bake (I think we're going to be subbing in Sweet Potatoes instead. They are iron-rich, much tastier, and much healthier than plain ol' potatoes)
Thursday - Smoked Sausage Fritatta (We are subbing in some venison sausage in its place. It doesn't get any more "free range & grass finished" than that, right?)
Friday - French Bread Pizzas (my late night at work, so it is a low key dinner. We are going to use homemade, fresh mozzarella from real milk that I'll make on Wednesday.)
Saturday - Huo Guo (This is Chinese for hot-pot. I know it is not really soup season anymore, but I've been learning a bit about Asian cooking because I have learned that I really miss Chinese food, and the only way to really get it MSG free is to make it at home with Tamari instead of regular soy sauce. I'll be using my homemade chicken stock as the soup base.) The recipe for this can vary from time to time, but this time we will be using thinly sliced beef, perhaps some chicken (also thinly sliced so it cooks well in the broth), Chinese broccoli (aka kailaan), carrots, taro, green onions, and whatever other veggies we can think of at the time, as well as rice noodles, and dried shiitake mushrooms.
Sunday - Pork Chops, Mashed Potatoes, and Steamed Vegetables (This is a carryover from the other week, dh got sick and wanted soup, so we ditched the pork chops)
And that is that! This post is a part of Menu Plan Monday at Org Junkie. Visit her for more great menus!
Monday, May 31, 2010
Menu Plan Monday May 31
Well, pregnancy exhaustion and food aversions have kept me from menu planning for most of my pregnancy to date, but I am finally back at it. Why? Well my midwife took one look at me the other day and said, "You look really pale. Are you getting enough iron?" A quick peek behind my lower eyelids confirmed her suspicion. "You need more iron."
It is not so hard to get more iron, is it? Well, I learned from my midwife that calcium binds with iron and pulls it out of your body, so that iron-fortified Ovaltine I've been chugging is absolutely useless. Putting calcium-fortified cheese on my burger, again, useless. So realizing that I need to plan more which foods go with which, I decided it was time to put an end to this pregnancy-induced laziness and get back on the meal planning track. Without further ado...
Except for today, I'll include Breakfast & Lunch, I have yogurts and such as snacks throughout the day as well; since I'm needing to keep calories up as well as needing a calcium boost.
Monday - Beef & Barley Burgers
Tuesday -
Breakfast: Soaked Oatmeal w/Bananas and Honey
Lunch: Ravioli
Dinner: "Ken's Scallops" & Non-Dairy Quinoa Risotto (The recipe is actually "Vegan," but we're using chicken stock instead of vegetable broth. My interest was not in something meat-free so much as in having iron-rich quinoa with no dairy to steal the iron)
Wednesday -
Breakfast: Soaked Oatmeal w/banana and honey
Lunch: Dinner Leftovers
Dinner: Tacos w/grass finished beef, homemade guacamole
Thursday -
Breakfast: Creamy Quinoa Porridge with Raisins and Honey
Lunch: Egg Salad Sandwich on homemade Whole Wheat Bread
Dinner: Out with friends
Friday -
Breakfast: Creamy Quinoa Porridge with Bananas & Honey
Lunch: Egg Salad Sandwich on homemade Whole Wheat Bread
Dinner: (My Late Night @ Work) Nitrate-free and MSG-Free hot dogs, Baked Sweet Potatoes
Saturday -
Breakfast: Pancakes, eggs, bacon
Lunch: Tuna Salad Sandwich on homemade Whole Wheat Bread
Dinner: Homemade Chinese Dumplings (fried in Lard) We are using a fermented soy sauce called Tamari that is MSG Free.
Sunday -
Breakfast: Banana Muffins
Lunch: Leftovers from Dinner
Dinner: Pork chops, Mashed Potatoes, and Vegetables.
This is part of Menu Plan Monday. Find more great menus at Org Junkie.
Edit (Tues Evening): Because the scallops and the risotto are brand new recipes for me, I wanted to let you all know how incredible it turned out to be. So filling, so delicious; I highly recommend making either or both recipes. The only "problem" is that the risotto recipe has a much higher yield than I realized. We're freezing some, and we still have copious leftovers. If you have a big family, this is a great dish!
It is not so hard to get more iron, is it? Well, I learned from my midwife that calcium binds with iron and pulls it out of your body, so that iron-fortified Ovaltine I've been chugging is absolutely useless. Putting calcium-fortified cheese on my burger, again, useless. So realizing that I need to plan more which foods go with which, I decided it was time to put an end to this pregnancy-induced laziness and get back on the meal planning track. Without further ado...
Except for today, I'll include Breakfast & Lunch, I have yogurts and such as snacks throughout the day as well; since I'm needing to keep calories up as well as needing a calcium boost.
Monday - Beef & Barley Burgers
Tuesday -
Breakfast: Soaked Oatmeal w/Bananas and Honey
Lunch: Ravioli
Dinner: "Ken's Scallops" & Non-Dairy Quinoa Risotto (The recipe is actually "Vegan," but we're using chicken stock instead of vegetable broth. My interest was not in something meat-free so much as in having iron-rich quinoa with no dairy to steal the iron)
Wednesday -
Breakfast: Soaked Oatmeal w/banana and honey
Lunch: Dinner Leftovers
Dinner: Tacos w/grass finished beef, homemade guacamole
Thursday -
Breakfast: Creamy Quinoa Porridge with Raisins and Honey
Lunch: Egg Salad Sandwich on homemade Whole Wheat Bread
Dinner: Out with friends
Friday -
Breakfast: Creamy Quinoa Porridge with Bananas & Honey
Lunch: Egg Salad Sandwich on homemade Whole Wheat Bread
Dinner: (My Late Night @ Work) Nitrate-free and MSG-Free hot dogs, Baked Sweet Potatoes
Saturday -
Breakfast: Pancakes, eggs, bacon
Lunch: Tuna Salad Sandwich on homemade Whole Wheat Bread
Dinner: Homemade Chinese Dumplings (fried in Lard) We are using a fermented soy sauce called Tamari that is MSG Free.
Sunday -
Breakfast: Banana Muffins
Lunch: Leftovers from Dinner
Dinner: Pork chops, Mashed Potatoes, and Vegetables.
This is part of Menu Plan Monday. Find more great menus at Org Junkie.
Edit (Tues Evening): Because the scallops and the risotto are brand new recipes for me, I wanted to let you all know how incredible it turned out to be. So filling, so delicious; I highly recommend making either or both recipes. The only "problem" is that the risotto recipe has a much higher yield than I realized. We're freezing some, and we still have copious leftovers. If you have a big family, this is a great dish!
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Real Food Wednesday - MSG-Free Taco Seasoning
We make the food decisions we make for various reasons. For some it is health, for some it is cost, and for some it is taste. Although there are many good reasons - from a health point of view - there are myriad reasons to avoid MSG, I have the added incentive of being allergic (as many of you know). Since learning that - even when the name is different - most of the seasoning packets for making just about anything contain MSG, I've been striving to restock my collection of seasonings with good MSG-free options. No one wants life to be flavor less, and I am particularly un-fond of migraines and stomachaches, so something had to be done.
Before I get to this great recipe I stumbled upon, a few MSG-related facts.
Aside from MSG, you may see it listed on an ingredient label as autolyzed yeast extract, hydrolyzed soy protein, maltodextrin, sodium caseinate, or the ever ambiguous, "natural seasoning." The way they made it may vary, but the end result is just the same.
Aside from allergy, some other reasons to avoid MSG are that it is known to assist in weight gain (and, really, who wants help with that?), and has also been shown to exacerbate conditions such as lesions on the brain.
Alright, so that is the real deal about MSG and why it should be avoided at all costs. Now here is the recipe.
What we do differently: We do not add onion powder or garlic powder. Instead, when we cook the ground beef (preferably grass finished), we saute freshly minced garlic and onions along with it. We feel like it is much better flavor, and of course you get the health benefits of onion and garlic that simply are not present in the powdered form.
This post is part of Real Food Wednesday. Visit Kelly the Kitchen Kop for more great posts!
Before I get to this great recipe I stumbled upon, a few MSG-related facts.
Aside from MSG, you may see it listed on an ingredient label as autolyzed yeast extract, hydrolyzed soy protein, maltodextrin, sodium caseinate, or the ever ambiguous, "natural seasoning." The way they made it may vary, but the end result is just the same.
Aside from allergy, some other reasons to avoid MSG are that it is known to assist in weight gain (and, really, who wants help with that?), and has also been shown to exacerbate conditions such as lesions on the brain.
Alright, so that is the real deal about MSG and why it should be avoided at all costs. Now here is the recipe.
What we do differently: We do not add onion powder or garlic powder. Instead, when we cook the ground beef (preferably grass finished), we saute freshly minced garlic and onions along with it. We feel like it is much better flavor, and of course you get the health benefits of onion and garlic that simply are not present in the powdered form.
This post is part of Real Food Wednesday. Visit Kelly the Kitchen Kop for more great posts!
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Real Food Wednesday - Great News (and a Great Giveaway)
OK, so last week I posted about the whole weight loss endeavor, and I failed to mention (intentionally, actually) that part of the other reason that I am very satisfied with slow weight loss is...
We are pregnant!!!!!
We were waiting until we saw the little one on screen to say anything. And at this point, while I realize I am still only 20% of the way to my weight loss goal, I'm giving up on having any kind of focus on it. Still going to be eating well, still going to be using my treadmill desk, and hopefully anything unnecessary will slip away while I retain what I need for Baby, but no weight loss focus anymore.
Eating right for Baby
DHA is an essential omega-3 fatty acid that is essential for brain development in children. Naturally, this speaks to a need for moms-to-be (and those trying to conceive) to get a lot of DHA in their system. How do you do this?
One great source of DHA that is also an amazing source of Vitamins A & D is fermented cod liver oil (fclo). I have used fclo because omega-3s are also great for persons with ADHD, and can attest that it was a huge benefit to my health and to my focus as well, not to mention that Vitamin D helps prevent just about every type of cancer, because it is essential for cell regulation (cancer = growth of abnormal cells, so that makes sense). So, even if you are not pregnant, there are plenty of good reasons to start taking fclo.
Energized by returning home from my trip to the doctor's office, clutching the ultrasound picture of my still minuscule baby, I was thrilled to see that Kelly the Kitchen Kop is hosting a giveaway on her site for FCLO!! Of course I already take it, but being stocked up throughout my pregnancy is a priority for me, and it an be expensive. Though it seems that, health wise, it could more expensive to go with out it.
If you're at all interested in trying cod liver oil, you should definitely head over to the giveaway and check it out!
Other Ways to Get DHA
Other foods you can eat that are high in omega-3 oils in general - including DHA - are eggs, certain fish, and flax oil supplements (not as high as fclo but still a good source). The eggs should be from pastured hens, because chickens that are able to eat grass and protein-rich insects are the healthiest chickens, and healthy chickens lay healthy eggs. Good omega-3 rich fish include salmon, cod, and tuna. If you are pregnant, you should not eat these fish more than 2-3 times a week (largely because of mercury levels), and there are certain types of fish you should not eat. Talk to your health care practitioner, be it midwife, doctor, or other. If you want to take flax oil, and you prefer to take the liquid to capsules, do not cook the liquid, as heat is likely to make the oil go rancid, and even create free radicals that are very harmful to your system.
This post is part of Real Food Wednesday hosted by Cheeseslave. Check out the other great posts here.
We are pregnant!!!!!
We were waiting until we saw the little one on screen to say anything. And at this point, while I realize I am still only 20% of the way to my weight loss goal, I'm giving up on having any kind of focus on it. Still going to be eating well, still going to be using my treadmill desk, and hopefully anything unnecessary will slip away while I retain what I need for Baby, but no weight loss focus anymore.
Eating right for Baby
DHA is an essential omega-3 fatty acid that is essential for brain development in children. Naturally, this speaks to a need for moms-to-be (and those trying to conceive) to get a lot of DHA in their system. How do you do this?
One great source of DHA that is also an amazing source of Vitamins A & D is fermented cod liver oil (fclo). I have used fclo because omega-3s are also great for persons with ADHD, and can attest that it was a huge benefit to my health and to my focus as well, not to mention that Vitamin D helps prevent just about every type of cancer, because it is essential for cell regulation (cancer = growth of abnormal cells, so that makes sense). So, even if you are not pregnant, there are plenty of good reasons to start taking fclo.
Energized by returning home from my trip to the doctor's office, clutching the ultrasound picture of my still minuscule baby, I was thrilled to see that Kelly the Kitchen Kop is hosting a giveaway on her site for FCLO!! Of course I already take it, but being stocked up throughout my pregnancy is a priority for me, and it an be expensive. Though it seems that, health wise, it could more expensive to go with out it.
If you're at all interested in trying cod liver oil, you should definitely head over to the giveaway and check it out!
Other Ways to Get DHA
Other foods you can eat that are high in omega-3 oils in general - including DHA - are eggs, certain fish, and flax oil supplements (not as high as fclo but still a good source). The eggs should be from pastured hens, because chickens that are able to eat grass and protein-rich insects are the healthiest chickens, and healthy chickens lay healthy eggs. Good omega-3 rich fish include salmon, cod, and tuna. If you are pregnant, you should not eat these fish more than 2-3 times a week (largely because of mercury levels), and there are certain types of fish you should not eat. Talk to your health care practitioner, be it midwife, doctor, or other. If you want to take flax oil, and you prefer to take the liquid to capsules, do not cook the liquid, as heat is likely to make the oil go rancid, and even create free radicals that are very harmful to your system.
This post is part of Real Food Wednesday hosted by Cheeseslave. Check out the other great posts here.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Menu Plan Monday
Okay, I know everyone is saying this, but is it really March already??? I know February is the shortest month and all, but where on earth did it go? On Saturday I am hosting a friend's baby shower in my home (my friend asked me to help her plan it, along with another friend, and of the three of us I have the largest home - which, sadly, isn't very big - so we're having it here). I am very excited about it, but I cannot believe it is in 5 days! I have so much to do to prepare!!!
I had been asking the guy we get real milk from if he had any cream available, and he's always telling me no. So I have been frustrated because the only options nearby are "ultra pasteurized" cream, and I know that is not optimal. Well, apparently I just needed to send my husband. Jeff went out to pick up the milk this time, drove up in his ginormous truck and talked farm animals for a moment. Asked him if he ever just skimmed cream for anyone and now he'll have 2 gallons for us on Friday. I know that seems like a lot, but I'm hoping to experiment in making cultured butter, and freezing some. As well as keeping some on hand to make sour cream and such. soooo excited about that!!
OK, so on to the menu plan:
Monday - Stroganoff with Venison cubed steak, steamed veggies.
Tuesday - Wild caught cod. We're actually doing our version of fish n chips in our continuing to learn about frying with lard. Instead of normal "chips" we'll be doing Sweet Potato Fries.
Wednesday - Pizza! Great whole wheat crust recipe I got from Passionate Homemaking.
Thursday - Chicken & Biscuits
Friday - Stirfry (a la Jeff), with MSG-free organic Tamari. mmmmm.
Saturday - Beef & Barley Burgers with grass finished beef. A low key meal for a busy day!!
Sunday - Pork Roast (also a la Jeff. He loves his roasts).
For Saturday's shower I am making my classic guacamole, as well as getting a fruit tray with a yogurt dip (I will admit, I cannot get enough of them), making coffee punch (not a health food, but so yummy. Decaf for the mommy-to-be), and I think that's it. I cannot post the recipe for the coffee punch, sadly, but my recipe for my easy and awesome guac is as follows:
5-6 Avocados - very ripe but not overly mushy
1/4 of an average sized onion
1 tomato
3-4 cloves garlic
salt & pepper to taste
fresh chopped cilantro (to taste)
Juice of half a lime
(optional) 3-4 small chili peppers (I generally leave this out because it is a little too spicy for me)
Chop avocados, onion, tomato, garlic in a bowl. Juice lime, add cilantro, salt, pepper, and chili peppers. Blend with a fork until mashed, but avocados are still chunky. This almost ends up more like an avocado salsa than a standard smooth guacamole.
This has been a part of Menu Plan Monday. See more great menu plans at Org Junkie.
Last Minute Edit: Wanted to share a picture of my incredibly delicious pizza! Chicken, spinach, and mushroom.
I had been asking the guy we get real milk from if he had any cream available, and he's always telling me no. So I have been frustrated because the only options nearby are "ultra pasteurized" cream, and I know that is not optimal. Well, apparently I just needed to send my husband. Jeff went out to pick up the milk this time, drove up in his ginormous truck and talked farm animals for a moment. Asked him if he ever just skimmed cream for anyone and now he'll have 2 gallons for us on Friday. I know that seems like a lot, but I'm hoping to experiment in making cultured butter, and freezing some. As well as keeping some on hand to make sour cream and such. soooo excited about that!!
OK, so on to the menu plan:
Monday - Stroganoff with Venison cubed steak, steamed veggies.
Tuesday - Wild caught cod. We're actually doing our version of fish n chips in our continuing to learn about frying with lard. Instead of normal "chips" we'll be doing Sweet Potato Fries.
Wednesday - Pizza! Great whole wheat crust recipe I got from Passionate Homemaking.
Thursday - Chicken & Biscuits
Friday - Stirfry (a la Jeff), with MSG-free organic Tamari. mmmmm.
Saturday - Beef & Barley Burgers with grass finished beef. A low key meal for a busy day!!
Sunday - Pork Roast (also a la Jeff. He loves his roasts).
For Saturday's shower I am making my classic guacamole, as well as getting a fruit tray with a yogurt dip (I will admit, I cannot get enough of them), making coffee punch (not a health food, but so yummy. Decaf for the mommy-to-be), and I think that's it. I cannot post the recipe for the coffee punch, sadly, but my recipe for my easy and awesome guac is as follows:
5-6 Avocados - very ripe but not overly mushy
1/4 of an average sized onion
1 tomato
3-4 cloves garlic
salt & pepper to taste
fresh chopped cilantro (to taste)
Juice of half a lime
(optional) 3-4 small chili peppers (I generally leave this out because it is a little too spicy for me)
Chop avocados, onion, tomato, garlic in a bowl. Juice lime, add cilantro, salt, pepper, and chili peppers. Blend with a fork until mashed, but avocados are still chunky. This almost ends up more like an avocado salsa than a standard smooth guacamole.
This has been a part of Menu Plan Monday. See more great menu plans at Org Junkie.
Last Minute Edit: Wanted to share a picture of my incredibly delicious pizza! Chicken, spinach, and mushroom.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Losing Weight With Real Food (and regular exercise)
Through a series of events beginning with when I got married, I gained about 20 lbs over the last year and a half. Definitely nothing to qualify me for The Biggest Loser or anything, but certainly enough to shock yours truly - who formerly belonged to the club entitled, "I can eat anything I want and still lose weight. In fact, when I overeat, I somehow lose weight."
Before getting to weight loss, we should address what caused the gain:
1) I am not in college anymore. By this I mean, instead of a fresh faced 19 years old with a metabolism that resembled a speeding bullet, to being 27 years old, very near to the "big 3-0." Not a huge factor, I don't personally think, since none of my family members seemed to gain weight until they were having children, and I have yet to experience that.
2) Birth control. When dh and I first got married I went on The Patch. I figured it was the best means of birth control that would also be reliable. I was wrong. While on the birth control, I gained about 15 pounds. Then I gained 5 more when I got off the birth control. I learned that this is because women and their fat retention are directly related to estrogen production. An excess in estrogen means your body will "collect" fat. A sudden drop in estrogen such as what happens when you get off birth control causes your body to automatically "cling" to that fat, in case you run out of estrogen. So getting on and then off of birth control caused issues there.
3) Depression eating. When we had been off the patch 4 months, we started trying to start a family. We got pregnant pretty much right away, and because that whole time I had been exercising and trying to eat in ways that were better for fertility, I actually lost 6 of those 20 lbs in 6 weeks on my treadmill desk. Losing the baby a month later, though, I gained all 6 of those lbs plus 4 back because I could not stop eating. I have struggled for a long time with overeating in the past (of course, it really never affected my weight. Somehow back then I ate with supposed impunity).
OK, so now on to what I've done to lose weight, and what it has to do with Real Food:
First of all, I cannot neglect the important factor of exercise. As I briefly mentioned above, I work on a treadmill desk. I walk at a slow pace (1-2 miles an hour) for the majority of my work day, Monday-Friday. This averages about 8-10 miles a day. This has definitely played a part in my weight loss, but it is important to note that I was on this same treadmill desk while I was stuffing my face over depression in the winter, so the treadmill desk alone is not enough.
When the new year began, I new I needed to take drastic action. I wanted to get down to a reasonable weight before we got pregnant again. I had just watched the documentary Fat Head with my husband, and we decided we needed a lot more protein in our lives. Particularly because I had been hypoglycemic in the past (though our use of sucanat instead of sugar, as well as our switching to real milk, both seem to have played a role in balancing my sugar), I thought it was important to try and implement some of these things.
Protein Based Snacks.
Usually I bring granola (complex carbs and some protein) to work with me as a snack. I did an experiment for a few weeks (which I have sense tempered as I will describe). I only brought hard boiled eggs and mozzarella cheese with me for my snacks. Lunches were salads with chicken. I felt so full during those days, and had ridiculous amounts of energies, but I had to work hard to get up to 1600 calories. Amazing. Who knew low calorie could be so satisfying, and so easy??
I tempered it a little bit for the sake of avoiding monotony. I do also bring my homemade granola for one of the snack items. We have started eating eggs and /or bacon many mornings for breakfast. Recently I switched even that up to full-fat yogurt, a hard boiled egg, and granola with real milk.
I am eating full fat of real fats, fewer carbs (but not eliminating them entirely). When I do eat any grains or other carbs, I try to combine so that I am eating them with high protein foods. We have switched to frying our fried foods in pork lard.
These are all things that the mainstream food media tells us will make us fat, and what are the results?
I have lost 4 lbs in six weeks. It does not sound like much, I know, but it has been consistently down. On the treadmill desk before, I lost an average of a pound a week, which is exactly what the average is for work-walkers. based on my weighing in, it took me about 3 weeks to lose the first pound. That is, I think, partly because while I was implementing the new eating habits, I wasn't exactly doing away with the junk food I had grown so accustomed to while I was depression-eating post-miscarriage. Took me a few weeks to wean myself off of the chocolate. Regular weighing showed, though, that I was at least not gaining any more. Then, when the weight started to come off, it came off consistently at about 1 lb per week, just like before.
I will certainly keep periodic updates on the progress, but I am thrilled that I have already lost almost half of what I gained in the winter, and exactly 20% of what I gained overall. And I am not feeling deprived. I am not craving anything because I am feeling satisfied. This is a "diet" I can live with and not yo-yo on. And - in addition to slowly but surely losing the weight I gained - I feel amazing. More protein has meant more energy for me, and who couldn't use more of that?
This post is a part of Real Food Wednesday, visit Kelly the Kitchen Kop for more great posts!
Before getting to weight loss, we should address what caused the gain:
1) I am not in college anymore. By this I mean, instead of a fresh faced 19 years old with a metabolism that resembled a speeding bullet, to being 27 years old, very near to the "big 3-0." Not a huge factor, I don't personally think, since none of my family members seemed to gain weight until they were having children, and I have yet to experience that.
2) Birth control. When dh and I first got married I went on The Patch. I figured it was the best means of birth control that would also be reliable. I was wrong. While on the birth control, I gained about 15 pounds. Then I gained 5 more when I got off the birth control. I learned that this is because women and their fat retention are directly related to estrogen production. An excess in estrogen means your body will "collect" fat. A sudden drop in estrogen such as what happens when you get off birth control causes your body to automatically "cling" to that fat, in case you run out of estrogen. So getting on and then off of birth control caused issues there.
3) Depression eating. When we had been off the patch 4 months, we started trying to start a family. We got pregnant pretty much right away, and because that whole time I had been exercising and trying to eat in ways that were better for fertility, I actually lost 6 of those 20 lbs in 6 weeks on my treadmill desk. Losing the baby a month later, though, I gained all 6 of those lbs plus 4 back because I could not stop eating. I have struggled for a long time with overeating in the past (of course, it really never affected my weight. Somehow back then I ate with supposed impunity).
OK, so now on to what I've done to lose weight, and what it has to do with Real Food:
First of all, I cannot neglect the important factor of exercise. As I briefly mentioned above, I work on a treadmill desk. I walk at a slow pace (1-2 miles an hour) for the majority of my work day, Monday-Friday. This averages about 8-10 miles a day. This has definitely played a part in my weight loss, but it is important to note that I was on this same treadmill desk while I was stuffing my face over depression in the winter, so the treadmill desk alone is not enough.
When the new year began, I new I needed to take drastic action. I wanted to get down to a reasonable weight before we got pregnant again. I had just watched the documentary Fat Head with my husband, and we decided we needed a lot more protein in our lives. Particularly because I had been hypoglycemic in the past (though our use of sucanat instead of sugar, as well as our switching to real milk, both seem to have played a role in balancing my sugar), I thought it was important to try and implement some of these things.
Protein Based Snacks.
Usually I bring granola (complex carbs and some protein) to work with me as a snack. I did an experiment for a few weeks (which I have sense tempered as I will describe). I only brought hard boiled eggs and mozzarella cheese with me for my snacks. Lunches were salads with chicken. I felt so full during those days, and had ridiculous amounts of energies, but I had to work hard to get up to 1600 calories. Amazing. Who knew low calorie could be so satisfying, and so easy??
I tempered it a little bit for the sake of avoiding monotony. I do also bring my homemade granola for one of the snack items. We have started eating eggs and /or bacon many mornings for breakfast. Recently I switched even that up to full-fat yogurt, a hard boiled egg, and granola with real milk.
I am eating full fat of real fats, fewer carbs (but not eliminating them entirely). When I do eat any grains or other carbs, I try to combine so that I am eating them with high protein foods. We have switched to frying our fried foods in pork lard.
These are all things that the mainstream food media tells us will make us fat, and what are the results?
I have lost 4 lbs in six weeks. It does not sound like much, I know, but it has been consistently down. On the treadmill desk before, I lost an average of a pound a week, which is exactly what the average is for work-walkers. based on my weighing in, it took me about 3 weeks to lose the first pound. That is, I think, partly because while I was implementing the new eating habits, I wasn't exactly doing away with the junk food I had grown so accustomed to while I was depression-eating post-miscarriage. Took me a few weeks to wean myself off of the chocolate. Regular weighing showed, though, that I was at least not gaining any more. Then, when the weight started to come off, it came off consistently at about 1 lb per week, just like before.
I will certainly keep periodic updates on the progress, but I am thrilled that I have already lost almost half of what I gained in the winter, and exactly 20% of what I gained overall. And I am not feeling deprived. I am not craving anything because I am feeling satisfied. This is a "diet" I can live with and not yo-yo on. And - in addition to slowly but surely losing the weight I gained - I feel amazing. More protein has meant more energy for me, and who couldn't use more of that?
This post is a part of Real Food Wednesday, visit Kelly the Kitchen Kop for more great posts!
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