3 posts tagged “health”

Lifetime is airing a new cooking show called "Cook Yourself Thin" which shows you how to make all of the foods you love, but in a healthier, lighter and even tastier variation. The idea is that if you can make your favorite foods healthier, then you can stick with changes and therefore see long-term results. Intrigued by this idea, I have decided to give it a shot. There are a ton of recipes on their website already that I really want to try, so it should keep me preoccupied for awhile. Here, I'm going to review a few of the recipes and provide some additional insight and modifications that I did.

Side note: It seems like all I ever write about on here is food, but I'm not sure I am quite ready to bite the bullet and pronounce it a food blog, per say. *shrug* Anyway, on with the deliciousness!

Look Ma, Steak and Mashed Potatoes!

Last night I tried the Steak and Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes. I am pretty sure that I am not eating the right serving size of the potatoes, so I need to measure it and figure it out instead of just slapping two heaping spoon fulls on my plate. It doesn't matter what diet you are on if you ignore portion control. Keep that in mind when you are preparing any Cook Yourself Thin recipes.

LEVEL: Easy, 1hr
This recipe was very easy to prepare, though a bit longer than a recipe I make reguarly. The food processor we have is apparently not very powerful nor big, so I ended up dividing the cauliflower into about 4 different batches. Next time I will put everything into the blender, which should save some time. I also had to cut the flank steak in half because it was too large to fit in my skillet, which also added some minutes. Without those issues, it would have been a more reasonable 30-40 minutes.

I attempted to make the balsamic sauce, but it didn't quite work out in my skillet (let's just say I am glad the fire alarm didn't sound). Instead, I took the juices from the meat and poured them into a small cup and mixed in a little balsamic vinegar and the tiniest drop of olive oil. Whisked it all together with a fork and stuck it in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds. I also used dried rosemary for the salt rub because I don't keep any fresh herbs in the house. I also did not want to have half a head of cauliflower go bad, so I doubled the potatoes recipe and omitted the buttermilk. I also skipped the cherry tomatoes mostly because I just forgot about them and didn't get any in the store.

TASTE: Delicious
Okay, so the potatoes were not quite the same, but it was not necessarily a bad thing. It had the same creamy texture with mashed potatoes, and the hint of butter, scallions, salt and pepper actually flavored it really well. I also sprinkled a tiny bit of shredded cheddar cheese on top (approx 2tsp). The steak was fantastic, but if you don't like medium rare steak you may want to cook it longer. I am typically an A1 girl, but it is seriously not necessary - the rosemary, salt and pepper seasoned perfectly. I typically add garlic to everything, so it was with great restraint that I did not add any garlic in the potatoes or steak, but I may try it next time. I wanted my initial trial to be consistent with the recipe as much as possible, though on the show they encourage you to change the spices out to your favorites and play with some new ones.

OVERALL: Success
Hey, even the hubby liked it, and he doesn't usually like "diet food." He has said before that I can make whatever I need to and he can fend for himself, but I think it's important for him to eat healthy too, even if he doesn't have any extra pounds to lose. My gut (no pun intended) is that most people wouldn't realize it was supposed to be diet food. Now, if I can just make sure to follow the recommended serving sizes I may get somewhere with this.

Taking the step to making a lifestyle change is by no means an easy road to travel.

I'll let that sink in.

I'm not dieting -- a diet is something you do when you want to lose 10 or 15 pounds to fit in that new dress you bought for your Aunt Ida's wedding or Prom or the Christmas party. It's where you restrict the amount of calories you eat to a ridiculously low amount that your body simply cannot sustain properly on (i.e. 800 - 1000 calories), which eventually leads to "binging" -- because your body is telling you quite plainly that you just do not have enough food.

I am attempting to completely rewire how I provide nutrition and activity for my body, and that does not involve starving myself. If I am really hungry after I have eaten my food for the day, it's because I'm doing something wrong. Either I am not using my calories wisely with dense, nutrition packed foods, or I am not eating enough and I need to raise my daily caloric intake. That is easy to understand, and really, is not that difficult to follow, but I have 22 years of bad habits I need to reform, from the obvious to the subconscious that makes a simple equation something much more complex.

Obviously the first move was to actually write down every gram of food I consumed and how many calories it consisted of, tallying it up and limiting what I eat. At this time a serving size becomes painfully obvious -- it's about as big as a cupped palm -- not heaping, either. The first week I was surprised how full I felt, but it was still difficult not to eat more, as my stomach shrank, I became full faster. I also realized what foods I could easily do without to save calories -- like regular sour cream, cheese, etc. A lot of things with the label "light" started appearing in our refrigerator and pantry, though I typically stay away from the fat-free varieties because they usually suck and have no nutrition at all. I started eating more wholesome foods like salads, soup, nuts, fruit, etc. Instead of a candy bar, I'd get pudding and mix it with peanut butter (full fat!), or nibble on some dark chocolate for a treat.

So far, my biggest trouble has been on the weekends when we get together with friends and go out, or whatever. I pretty much go with the flow and try to get something healthy wherever we go but burn out on willpower and succumb to my temptations, which starts the vicious cycle, that, and my lackluster enthusiasm for exercising consistently. During the first month I lost 17lbs, then over the next 3 months I lost about 4.33lb a month. The change was exercise, and some slip-ups with food. I'm getting back on exercising with the same intensity as I did the first month, and being consistent with my food -- maybe even raise my calories -- perhaps the temptations are easy to give in because I need to be eating more. Seems counter-productive but it could work.

At any rate, if I could lose another 30lbs in 4 months, I would be ecstatic. There's no way I'm going to make my new years goal (I would have to lose about 20lbs between now and the new year...uh yeah, not happening), but I'm not going to let myself get discouraged. This sort of thing takes time, and if my main goal is losing weight, well that can be done easily enough, but I might gain it all back once I've reached goal. If taking my time and really figuring out why I am not succeeding and why I mess up then I'll be better off in the long run.

I have already noticed a ton of great things about my success so far:

• I have more stamina, though that could be misleading. I still have a long way to go, but I had gotten so bad that any amount of walking that was farther than walking from the front door to my car was more or less causing me to breath heavily. Now I can walk much easier!
• My clothes are fitting much looser, and I'm already starting to fit in smaller sizes. Some things I can put on, but they are too tight to actually be able to move around, sit, etc in, but I'm about 5 or 10lbs from fitting them well.
• It has taken awhile, but I am starting to see a difference in my face and belly, especially when comparing my current body to my before photos.
• Other people, however, ARE noticing, which is always uplifting and encouraging.
• My stomach has shrunk some and I just can't eat like I used to. Even at thanksgiving I ate 2 modest plates (nothing overlapping and stacked high), where everyone else filled theirs to the brim. I get full faster.
• I have lost my taste for some foods I used to love simply because they don't make me feel as good.
• I actually FEEL better and less drowsy during the day.
  

I have some good news to report regarding my "wellness plan" -- while even being bloated and on my period, I've still managed to loose another 1.5 since last week, AND another inch off my measurements. My bra's are fitting better (in fact, I can wear some of them on one of the inner hooks -- a novel concept since usually I am just barely hanging on to each bra and sometimes have to use extenders), my face is looking slimmer, and my engagement ring is moving around a lot on my finger, a problem I did not have before (but one I am not upset about having ;).

All in all, I'm really happy with the results so far and feel encouraged to press on. I've tried to do this many times but for whatever reason felt discouraged and gave up shortly thereafter. But this time, I have John to help me, to encourage me, to keep me accountable for what I eat and my exercise regimen, and so far it's working!