I Got Product! Some New Healthy Foods I am Trying

Tuesday's Math: Calories In: 1685    Calories Out: 2528

Well, I got product! My gorgeous husband and I went shopping last night and I got some good products for healthy eating and boosting up FIBRE!

Bistro Express Entree

This first one is from Dr. Ben's. I have used the Bistro Express products before and wrote a review about them. Last night I was looking at the entree products and noticed that these babies are high in fibre and within calorie range for a meal. They only take two minutes in the microwave and I think would be good in a pinch. I totally prefer to cook but some days are a rush and it's nice to some healthier alternatives than junk!

Bistro Express Nutrition Information

I apologize for the less than stellar quality photos. I got a different camera and I"m having trouble getting quality photos from it.  But if you can read this, the package contains 370 calories and 5 grams of fibre!

I know the sodium content is not that wonderful but I still find this to be a good "meal in a pinch" idea. I often use the Bistro Express packages for adding  rice to a meal I have cooked. I like these and look forward to trying them.

Toppits Pop Herbs

I am very excited about this next product. This is wonderful for cooking. I know the professional cooks, like Rachel Ray, use fresh spices in their food but i have never got around to doing that. I just haven't upped my cooking to that level, and my budget has usually meant dried spices in the bottle.

Well, last night, I found something that is going to get me to try fresh spices, well almost fresh, anyways. These are from a company in Israel and they are herbs flash frozen from fresh. You pop out a cube, enough for one meal and pop it in your dish. Hello! I can't wait to try this. They have all kinds of flavours but I just wanted to try one to see how it worked. I just checked out the Toppits Website and it looks good, with some recipes on there. I also see that these are completely preservative-free.

 Kraft Dinner Smart

Okay, another one. Yes, it's K.D., or Kraft Dinner. Kraft Dinner is my nemesis. I used to eat a package of those and then feel completely disgusting. That stuff is so deadly but yet so sinfully delicious.

Well, I dared to pick up a different kind of Kraft Dinner. My camera would not take an even half-decent picture of the front of the product but it's Kraft Dinner Smart High Fibre.

It has 5 grams of fibre and 175 calories per serving (which is a quarter cup). You are still getting 6 g of sugar, and it's still pretty high in carbs but much, much better. I am going to try it, at least, because it could be another good emergency, in-a-rush foods.

 Flax

And the last product I am going to share with you is my flax. I had forgotten about flax but am trying it again. This package is already opened but there it is. Again, sorry for the terrible quality of these pictures. This was taken at night and the lamp is shining off the package.

And the fibre, just for 2 tablespoons of this stuff is four grams. Not bad for a few mouthfuls! I have been adding this flax to my smoothies in the morning and I want to try to add to some cooked meals to up the fibre content.

So, there's some product. Yesterday, was a good day. I managed to stay under my calorie range and got some walking in (grocery shopping, which I feel funny counting but at least it's some movement). That was the third day that I have been under my calorie range. I am not trying to be way under but it's just worked out to be a bit under.

My lunch meal was a bit high. I went to Tim Horton's (it's a Canadian thing!) and had the large chili with a bun, and a coffee and that all ended up being over 700 calories. I was very hungry but it did feel like too much and I kept eating. Now I know that I need to order a small chili if I get that again.

Do you have any products for healthier eating you are trying? Feel free to share!

Tacos with Ground Turkey and Low-Fat Cheese

Calories In: 1177   Calories Out: 2185

Yesterday, I had 1177 calories! And I did not feel hungry at the end. It really seemed like another cleansing day from too high of calorie days during the week. It's funny how my body is starting to just regulate itself and to really want the calorie limit that I am trying to reach. 

I made tacos yesterday and managed to make them into a pretty healthy meal. Upon the suggestion of Susan at A Little Nutrition , I made them with ground turkey. I swear to you, I don't think my gorgeous husband even noticed! (They were spiced up quite a bit with the spice package.) And upon the suggestion of my coworker, I used the partly skimmed mozzarella cheese. I had 1/6 cup and it was only 58 calories. So, cheese, once in a while, is a possibility.  The whole meal, with sour cream, cheese, meat, salsa, two hard shells, salsa and veges was 398 calories. And I was full after two tacos! 

Tacos with ground turkey and low-fat cheese. Yay! 

To me, this is nothing short of miraculous because tacos ... man ... I can usually eat no less than four. I love, love, love tacos and anything Mexican that comes on a plate!  But my g.h. finished his portion, and then said, "no, that's enough for me. If I eat anymore, I'd be eating for taste." So, he inspires me! So, another binge trigger food is back. I now know I can eat tacos without blowing my day. It's just nice to have options. 

ONE bad thing, though! I woke up this morning and felt bloated. I didn't understand it, because I had only eaten 1177 calories yesterday! I thought maybe it was MSG, but I checked the package today, and there is no MSG in this package. So, I don't know what is causing the bloatedness. But I can eliminate over-eating from the causes. 

And to those who commented yesterday, thank you for the encouragement! I am having trouble with this comment section, so I didn't comment back in the comments. 

Nutriment Tuesday: Emotional Overeating

Today is the day I write about food and nutrition and I am going to talk about emotional eating. It fits into the nutriment category because it's an obstacle we have to overcome if they are going to eat nutritionally and feed our bodies properly.

I admit fully that I have struggled with emotional eating, and I still do. It has been a  big issue for me and something I am overcoming in order to lose weight. So what I am writing comes from personal experience. I do believe that I am overcoming this issue with God's grace. I sometimes will overeat but I catch myself before I go too crazy. I think it will probably always be something I need to watch myself on, to some degree.

Emotional overeating is when we eat for reasons other than nutriment, or being sustained. It is eating because we "feel" something and we need a way to react to it. Instead of reaching for alcohol or drugs, we reach for a food that will provide us with the same effect as a drug: to numb us.

A mother feeding baby is an experience of love ***

I want to make a careful distinction, though, between just emotional eating and emotional overeating. You see, it's not always wrong to eat for emotional reasons. Some of our best and earliest memories, hopefully, are of sucking at our mother's breast or being held while  we suckle on a bottle. Food is connected with love, and that in itself is not wrong.

Food has all kinds of good associations with family and connections, and that can be a beautiful thing! We eat and talk and feel close! I recently read an article that talked about the rituals associated with eating, and how those were a factor in maintaining weight. There is nothing wrong connecting food with emotions, as long as it does not lead to excess.

But for many of us, that line is easy to cross. We have learned to deal with emotions by eating, and eating turns into binging, which is being out of control.

Binging is the exact opposite of eating for nutriment. In order to feed ourselves properly, we have to learn to feed our emotions and hearts in different ways than with food. It is also about feeling stronger in our spirit and heart, so that we don't like we need to use food to deal with things.

For me, as a Christian, I believe that I have to let the LORD Jesus feed me, and to feast on the word of God. The Word is feeds us and sustains us.

This subject is a huge topic and I can't obviously cannot cover it in one blog post. There are many factors that lead to healing and I could probably write a book on it! But I just wanted to bring it up as an important part of learning to feed ourselves. 

I am going to recommend a book on the topic and post the link from Amazon. The book, "Hope, Help, and Healing for Eating Disorders: A Whole-Person Approach to Treatment of Anorexia, Bulimia, and Disordered Eating" by Gregory L. Jantz. Ph.d. This is one I read last summer but want to work through again. It is written from a Christian perspective and also deals with the related conditions of anorexia and bulimia. I have the old edition of the book but he has a newer edition that was published in 2010.

 This condition (binge eating) is something I am getting victory over, and I will continue to claim that victory, through the power of the cross. I am going to make it this time. I am not claiming I will never do it again, but I am claiming that, ultimately, the victory will be there and I will lose weight! This blog, which helps to keep me accountable and to share the struggles is part of getting the victory, too! Praise the LORD!

***Image by c r z

Physical Work Benefits

Physical work. Sometimes we do it, even when it's not formally classified as "exercise." That has been the case for me, the last couple of weeks. Last week, I helped to decorate for the graduation at the school, where I was teaching part-time. The four ladies and I first walked over the school (about a twenty-five minute walk) and then decorated for most of the afternoon. This was very physical, and I was tired by the end of the day. Not formal exercise, but I was still active.

Before that, on the weekend, I was painting my study, for a day and a half. I was exhausted by the end of the second day. Again, not formal exercise, but still calories were being used; I know that!

And then quite a bit of housework, which involved a lot of running up and down the stairs, bending and moving. Does this substitute for working out? No. Is it better than doing nothing? Definitely. I choose to rejoice in my small victories, and keep going forward.

My eating? Well, overall, better. I did have junk food a couple of time, but haven't really been binging. I did eat dessert three times, during the end of school, during grad, and then a last staff lunch. I don't usually eat dessert; so I know those are added calories. I have been eating pretty healthy at home, with reasonable portions, mostly.

As well, I have started to make protein shakes again, which are super-healthy. And a miracle? My husband has been on the shakes, now, for about two weeks! He suddenly started asking for them, and I was so surprised. God is good!

So, that's a quick update on my status. How is your week going?


"This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it."
--Psalm 118:24

World's Healthiest Foods

Well, since deciding to lose weight again, I have felt perplexed about how I am going to do this. The problem is,  have been reading diet books since I was thirteen years old. (The first one I ever read was Richard Simmons' book, "Never Say Diet," written way back in 1982.) And so from reading A LOT of books on dieting, exercise, body, and all of that, it still has not resulted in permanent weight loss. The amount of information out there can be overwhelming to me, and this discourages me, rather than encourages.

I have done the studying, but not the application. So, I feel like I need a fresh start, and a different approach. I admit it - it's a bit daunting to try again, so I want to do something different, to encourage myself. 

My last week

Well, this week has not been as successful as the week before. The ambush? One word: leftovers. Yeah, I made it through Thanksgiving (I'm Canadian, for those that don't know!) and managed to not eat that much over my limit. But .... leftovers!!!! I cooked up a crazy load of food to eat, and it was all in the fridge, all week, and it was there late at night, while my husband was at work. Mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, meatballs with sweet and sour sauce, dressing, turkey, ham .... apple crisp. MMMMmmm....!

Why would I do this to myself? Well, I really wanted to give my husband a special meal for Thanksgiving, even though it's just the two of us ... to start a Tradition for our family, being newly married. We were both bummed out at not going out for Thanksgiving anywhere, and decided to cook up a meal at the last minute. It was a wonderful meal! I had never cooked such a feast before mostly by myself. (My husband was doing some last-minute work on the house before winter while I cooked)

And it was so good. I left the table full but not grossly filled up in pigginess. Like I usually would at a meal like this. But afterwards, in the following days, all that food got to me. I just lost control this week. I admit it. And felt terrible ... terrified that I would gain it all back. I had a period of about three weeks where I felt great ... in control and not letting food control me.

This weekend, I am taking back the reins. Last night, we went to some friends to watch videos. There were LOTS of snacks. I had three carrots, all night, and water. Oh, and about 8 rice crackers. A bit high on salt but low-calorie. For supper, the boys and my gorgeous husband suggested A &W. I insisted on Quizno's (subs). I had an eight-inch Chicken sub. No A&W for this girl .... even though we were in a rush, and time was short.

But man, this is hard! I am fighting against my own tendency to want to give up. It  is so constant! And so easy to mess it up! It only takes a day or two of going off track to start those habits again. Yikes!!!

I have been teaching the kids character education at school, and this month's saying is:
Watch your thoughts. They can become your words.

Watch your words. They can become your actions.

Watch your actions. They can become your habits.

Watch your habits. They can become your character.

Watch your character. It can become your destiny.

And how quickly those little actions of greediness, of gluttony can become habits again! And how quickly those depressing thoughts can lead me to the actions of overeating!

On the other hand (always trying to find the positive side!), how quickly good actions can become good habits! Which will eventually lead to a destiny of healthiness and normal weight!!!

Yay!!!!

My week

Well, this week was a step in the right direction. I started teaching again this week, and I was at work very late getting things ready, and didn't get much sleep this weekend. Overall, the week was a step in the right direction. On Tuesday morning, I walked my hour before school, at 4:30 a.m. It was nice, and I really enjoyed the morning air. The unfortunate part was that it meant only getting about 2 hours sleep. I stayed up until two, just excited and nervous about starting work again, and then went into the school right after I worked out. So, I was very tired by that night.

The next morning, Wed, I got up and did about half an hour of Pilates, and then went to work. Well, by Thurs, I was exhausted that I slept in more, and got up in time to do 15 minutes of aerobic-type exercising on my own. And by Friday, today, I was so tired that I couldn't force myself out of bed until 45 minutes before work, and barely dragged my buns into the shower. Well, the week started well, but I petered out from exhaustion. I have to find a way to pace myself to stick with this on a consistent basis. I thought that exercising would give me more energy, but it's not enough yet to make me all energetic and dying to get up.

And my eating has improved. I joined the website, SparkPeople, and have started keeping track of my calories. This practise alone has really helped me to start being aware of what I am eating, and leading me to eat less. I did have a binge of macaroni salad on Wed night, but having to account for it was great for making me face it, and move on. I did not carry the guilt around with me all the next day, but instead let go, and forgave myself. This is a big improvement for me.

I am set up with SparkPeople to eat between 1800 and 2200 calories. I hope this is a right figure for me. I also am scheduled to do five hours of cardio a week. This week, I have almost reached this goal because of going with the P.E. Class at school, taking part in a bit of the tennis and walking to the tennis courts.

This month, my leg has been swelling up like crazy. I have had two blood clots and it swelling up like it did when I had my blood clots. I can't afford to get a blood clot right now, because I need to work, and to lose weight! I am wondering if it is my calves swelling up from the pressure of carrying all this weight around while walking.

It is just one thing after another. I take two steps forward, and one back. I am going a bit forward, though. I am far better than I was two months ago. It's just frustrating that it can't be faster.