Weight Loss

I have lost 11 pounds and 6 1/2 inches around my waist in the last month or so. I am not on a diet. I think I would call it changing how I eat and how I cook. Changing my cooking habits was not difficult as I was not cooking. It seems that since I have lived alone, I have had no desire to cook....something I used to love to do. How I eat...what I eat...was more difficult. I cannot describe what I was eating as I dont know, really. I just kind of ate whatever was around...or stopped for food...or just got so terribly hungry that I would scarf down anything I could find. There was no plan.

My Plan

1...As Valerie says.."eat only what you cook"...which means actually cooking and no fast food.

2...Limit my meals to apprx 300 calories, with 100 calorie snacks, unlimited non-starchy veggies, fresh fruit...totaling not more than 1200 calories.

3...Walk 3 miles a day.

4...Yoga a couple times a week. This one has yet to be accomplished....I know it will be great for me and I love it, but I somehow fail to get to the classes as scheduled.

This new plan has been really fulfilling...fun. I am in love with cooking again. I purchased a couple of used books from Amazon...cookbooks featuring 300 calorie meals and cookbooks featuring 100 calorie snacks. One of my favorite books is one that Jessicah gave to me from Pampered Chef called "It's Good For You".

I start with picking a couple of menus...which usually serve 6-8 people. I have prepared some great meals and have divided them by portions and placed them in baggies. Being one person means they will last all week. I am able to grab a baggie for work. When I come home after 12+ hrs of work, there is little preparation time required, which protects me from eating out of extreme fatigue and stress. I always add some steamed veggies to whatever meal I have prepared.

In the last couple of years , I have purchased items from my Pampered Chef consultant (my daughter, Jessicah)....which, now that I am cooking again, are so convenient and useful and fun to use....making cooking an easier and more creative experience.

I have prepared some of the 100 calorie snacks and put them in baggies by portion size as well...so that I can grab a snack that is pre-calculated and prevents, again, over eating. Many times at work things get hurried, pressure and stress build...fatigue sets in....and it is easy to grab chocolate or cookies (which our kind patient families liberally supply). With my plan already in place it is easier to grab a snack that is good for me and limited in portion.

There is great snack I have found that is worth sharing with others. It is a pasta snack. While it is a carb, it is still just 100 calories per serving. Also, I have learned that pasta is more of a complex carb than we would expect...meaning that it doesnt immediately raise blood sugar, takes longer to digest....and thus more satisfying. It is not a perfect snack, but holds me longer than a 100 calorie bag of chips or cookies.

My Pasta Snack Recipe:

Pasta Chips...serves 4

Note: these should be crispy. I have noticed that putting them in baggies causes them to stay moist and chewy. Not ideal...but I have learned to like them that way. They would be better left to open air in a bowl, but I find it hard to keep track of portions that way. Also...instead of making just 4 servings, I adjusted the recipe so that I cooked the whole bag of pasta and had plenty of the chips on hand for work.

4 oz medium shaped pasta bowties or shells...cooked and cooled.
1 1/2 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp oregano
1 TBS grated Parmesan cheese

*Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper

*Place pasta, oil, salt, basil and oregano in a bowl and toss well. Pour pasta on the prepared baking sheet and transfer to oven. Bake until very lightly browned and slightly crisp..8-12 min. Sprinkle with cheese.

Note: I found it took longer to cook than the recipe says....and at the end I turned on the broiler to brown the chips.