Show Us Your Life: Diets, Exercise Programs, Weight Loss

Kelly at KellysKorner (see blog list in right hand tool bar) does a Show Us Your Life post every Friday. Last week's was New Year's Resolutions. This week's is Diets, Exercise Programs and Weight Loss. I'm certainly no expert and I've gotten off the wagon the same number of times I've climbed ONTO that wagon, but this is what I TRY to stick to. OK, OK. This is what I know I SHOULD stick to. Some days I do better than others. :)

Weight Loss is divided into 2 categories: Food and Exercise

So I'll break my post into those 2 categories. Then I'm including a YUMMY recipe. I don't have any pics on my work computer, but may be able to add one (some) when I get home.

Food stuff:

~25% of your daily caloric intake should be at breakfast
~50% of your daily caloric intake should be at lunch
~25% of your daily calorie intake should be at dinner

~NO CARBS AFTER 3PM

~No rice, no refried beans, no flour tortillas, and ABSOLUTELY no chips.

~You need a high amount of protein. The total grams needed is decided based on your BMI.

~If you're going to drink, stay with red wine, white wine has more sugar. Margaritas are almost entirely sugar. If you're going to 'splurge' and have a margarita, do it before 3pm!

~Eat every 3 hours. Try to have some kind of protein for your snacks...(nuts, light cheeses, yogurt)

Exercise Stuff:

~The best time to work out is first thing of a morning, on an empty stomach. Do 20min of cardio, then drink a tall glass of water with lime or lemon squeezed in it. Then eat breakfast (a really good breakfast is oatmeal and two egg whites. I hard boil several eggs at once, then peel two as I need them) A really good cardio workout is jumping rope (It's HARD! I can't do it for twenty minutes yet...but I'm working up to it!!!)

~Work out 5-6 days a week. two days with weights and cardio, three days of just cardio (at least)

~Crunches can be everyday! (there are all different types of crunches, you want to work your lower abs, your obliques and your upper abs in each ab routine....the whole routine can be just five minutes)

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Some food tips...

~buffalo burgers are really good, really high in protein and taste a lot like beef (and can be found at most burger chains...Fuddruckers has them, etc.)

~I have an absolutely delicious vegetarian chili recipe that I'm including below. The first time I heard about it, I wrinkled my nose. I promise, it's really good!! (Men and women I've served it too all rave about it!)

Are you familiar with Which Wich? (a sandwich restaurant) They have really good vegetarian sandwiches. I get the one with a black bean patty and add salsa for my 'dressing' and lettuce and pickles....it's delish!

I'm not the 'vegetarian' type of eater, but really and truly these meals are good...and if I can enjoy eating the food and it's healthier for me, then I'm all for it!

~ Snacks:
Yoplait light yogurt
light baby bel cheese (they're round and covered in wax, found with the sliced cheeses/cream cheeses in the grocery store)
almonds

~The key is preparation! I cook on Saturdays or Sundays for lunches for the week. Fish is a really good meat, a good source of protein, too! You can buy frozen fish fillets at Kroger or HEB (At mine, they're in the freezers directly beside the meat department, not with the other freezers where the ice cream and frozen meals are found) They're super easy to bake and taste great warmed up!

~Fresh spinach is yummy. I buy two big bags of it (found with the bagged salads) wash the spinach in cold water (basically, just dump the bags in a sinkful of water and swish) then pick up the leaves with your hands, let most of the water drain off and stick it in a dutch oven. Put the lid on and make sure its sealed; then cook with just the water on the leaves! The spinach steams this way. and only takes maybe ten-fifteen minutes!

~Sweet potatoes are one of the best vegetables, high in all the nutritional value, but low in all the bad stuff HOWEVER it is still best to eat before 3pm!

~If I'm not doing fish, I'll cook chicken in a skillet on the stove, choose a seasoning (I like basil/oregano) and brown the chicken. Then I'll have it for lunches served on a bed of spinach with a sweet potato. If i don't have spinach, I'll do asparagus.

~Best vegetables:
broccoli
cauliflower (um, I don't eat this)
sweet potatoes
squash
zucchini
black eyed peas
red/yellow/orange/green bell peppers (R/Y/O are really expensive and I don't like green....so I don't do much of these)
cucumbers
spinach


OK, that's what i can think of for right now.

Vegetarian Chili Recipe
2 T canola or olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium celery stalk, chopped
1 medium carrot, chopped
2 garlic gloves, minced
2 cups whole kernel corn
3 (15 oz) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15 oz) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
2 (14 oz) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (10 oz) can Ro-tel, undrained
1 cup medium salsa
1/2 cup ketchup
1 (14 oz) can reduced sodium vegetable broth
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1 (1 oz) package chili seasoning
1 t chili powder
1 t ground cumin
1/4 t paprika

Heat oil in a stockpot over medium heat. Add onion, celery, carrot and garlic; cook until onion is translucent, about 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Increase heat to high, add remaining ingredients.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, stirring frequently, until vegetables are tender and flavors are blended, about 40 minutes.

Flavors improve if the chili is refrigerated overnight. It also freezes well!

(My own tips: I don't put in carrots or kidney beans. I let simmer a little longer, but keep it on low instead of medium. I like corn, so I put in a little more than 2 cups. I usually do 2-3 stalks of celery.)