Lentil Stew Recipe

My lentil stew has become a favorite in my house on cold days, and makes enough leftovers for several lunches. I originally got this recipe from http://www.cleaneatingmag.com/ , and made some adjustments as I found it to be a bit bland.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 yellow pepper
1/2 orange pepper
1/2 red pepper
1/2 medium sized onion

1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tbsp chili pepper flakes (I like this dish a bit spicy - decrease if you prefer a milder dish)
1 tsp pepper

1 cup water
4 cups low sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup brown rice (I use 10 min rice)
1 cup split red lentils

2 cups chopped celery
1 tbsp lemon juice

1. In a large pot over medium heat, sate peppers and onion in olive oil for 3 minutes.
2. Add seasonings and cook for an additional 1 minute.
3. Add water, chicken broth, rice and lentils. Increase heat to high until broth begins to boil. Cover and reduce heat to low. Cook at low for 10 minutes.
4. Add celery. Increase heat to high until broth again begins to boil. Cover and reduce heat to low. Cook at low for an additional 10 minutes.
5. Add lemon juice. Stir.
6. Enjoy :)

Food Journal - Day #2

Yesterday's meals:

oatmeal w. flaxseed, wheat germ, cinammon, raisins
1 sc. vanilla prot. powder in water
black coffee

apple
1.5 tbsp natural peanut butter

lentil stew
cucumbers

protein bar (eaten while grocery shopping. Waited too late to eat my PM snack and was starving!)

chicken grilled with olive oil + Jamaican jerk spice
steamed brocolli + cauliflower

No treats! :) Feeling so strong today!

Lead by example

Here we go. Day #1 of my my brutally honest food journal. I'm putting it out there for all to see (treats/sneaks/slipups and all). In fact, I'm going to take this one step further and publish my stats as well. Although I have a sneaking suspicion I may live to regret this. Yes, even a 'fit' chick will break into a sweat at the thought of disclosing their real weight to the world.

5'5
Current weight: 127 lbs
Goal weight: 124 lbs

Side note: Feeling really good about these numbers right now, as I looked back in my food/weight logs last night and realized I weighed in at 144 lbs in August 2008. That's a loss of 17 lbs! Only 3 left to go :)

Yesterday:
30m. cardio (level 4 on elyptical)

oatmeal (w. flaxseed, wheat germ, cinammon, raisins, and walnuts)
protein shake (1 banana, 1 sc. vanilla protein powder, water)
black coffee

1/2c. mandarin oranges
1 sc. protein powder, water
mint green tea

lentil stew (homemade) * watch for recipe soon
spinach leaves w. raspberries, raspberrry vinigrette
v. small pc. candycane cheesecake

1 apple
natural (Adam's) peanut butter

1 handful nuts+ bolts

grilled chicken breast w. olive oil + cajun spice
spinach .w. raspberries, raspberry vinigrette

1 apple

Lies & 'Sneaking' Treats vs. the Food Journal

How often do you eat junk food? How many drinks/week do you consume? How much sodium are you adding to your food? Are you eating as many servings of (green) veggies/day as you need? Are you drinking as much water as your body needs? How often do you break a sweat?

This is not a skill testing quiz. Most of us know what our bodies need, to allow us to be our best possible selves. But if you feel like you're really trying, and just not making the progress you would like, it's possible you're not being honest with yourself.

How many times have you eaten just a handful of something you shouldn't, while standing in your pantry? Have you ever hidden the wrapper from say, a chocoate bar, at the bottom of the garbage can?

The problem with 'sneaking' treats is that the only person you're hurting is yourself. You can't lie to your body. It is an incredible accountant - tallying exactly the number of calories/fat/sodium you're putting into it, vs the number you're burning throughout the day. That's why one of my favorite tools for fat loss is my food journal. It's nothing fancy - just a spiral notebook where I write down everything I eat/drink in a day. Sounds scary right? Honesty can be an intimidating thing. The idea is to get a good idea of what you're doing wrong, so that you can see where improvements can be made. It's not about beating yourself up over your mistakes. It's about being honest with yourself. I challenge you to try it for 1 week. No need to document measurements, calories, etc. Just write down everything you eat. That includes the handfuls of M&Ms from the treat bowl on your coworkers desk. You may be surprised at the number of things you 'didn't realize' you were eating.

Balance

Damn it - weighed in today and I'm up by 1 lb. Yes, I know that weight naturally fluctuates from week to week but there's this nagging voice telling me there's nothing 'natural' about this 1 lb.

Last Saturday was our office Christmas party @ Stage West. With the best intentions, I started off so well - with a workout that morning, and of course eating a snack before leaving the house. Only 1 glass of wine - good :) 1st trip to the buffet: lean meats (turkey, cold shrimp, sashimi), raw veggies, sweet pototoe - awesome :) Then came dessert: black forrest cake (weakness), cheesecake (huge weakness!) and a small plate of cheese - bad, bad bad!!! :(

All week there have been temptations. Patients have been bringing in homemade cookies, boxes of cholates, etc. for Christmas. Oh, and the new chocolate shop that just opened down the street from my office. Thankfully, at $7 for a very tiny chocolate bar, I can't justify buying there except for special occassions. Even the odd small nibble of such indulgences add up, of course.

Here's where the balance comes in. I've been up every day @ 445am to allow time to increase my daily cardio session to 35 mintues (from 20). Also, I've only allowed myself to pack the healthiest, leanest items in my lunch. So maybe I won't lose any more weight over Christmas. But I won't lose my sanity either, trying to not allow myself ANY indulgences that naturally go hand in hand with this time of year.

Solution:

I threw them in the garbage. With dishsoap on them - just in case ;)

I will NOT....

eat the chocolate covered raisins in my lunch cupboard. I will not, I will not, I will not! 4pm is officially the hardest time of day to stick to my plan.

Motivation

Finding different forms of motivation can be the difference between success and failure. Motivation is the force that pulls me out of my warm bed at 5am (when it's still dark and the house is asleep) to fit in a workout before the workday. It's the little voice in my head telling me that pastry on the counter will only make me happy while I'm eating eat, then I'll be full of regret - and empty calories.

So....how to stay motivated when your 'diet' is actually a lifestyle change?

~My blog.

~Fitness / Nutrition books & magazines: By reading about how the choices I make impact my health (and waistline), I ensure that this is always on my mind. When tempted to make an unhealthy choice, it can be a lifesaver to remember a quote from a Dr/nutritionist/fitness expert on why I should make the effort to take care of myself

~Weekly weigh-ins: No nasty surprises at my yearly physical! By weighing myself weekly I notice changes before they get out of hand. Bonus if the number has gone DOWN since last week. I wouldn't want to ruin all my hard work!

~Discussing fitness & nutrition with like-minded people.

~Morning workouts: Starting my day off with a cardio session, before I've even had breakfast! This has to be one of the best motivators for me. It's so important to put myself into the right mindset from the moment I wake up.

And the biggest motivator of all? Reminding myself that I'm doing this for ME. If I make unhealthy choices, I'm only depriving myself of feeling/looking the best that I possibly can.

I would do much better without weekends!

It's so difficult to eat clean away from home. During the workweek I can do just fine, by packing myself a cooler with 2 snacks and a lunch. This allows me to make sure I always have a large supply of the food I need, easily accessible at all times. Weekends test my willpower for sure.

Friday: Went straight from work to the mall to get my hair done. Try finding healthy eats at the food court! For dinner I'm supposed to eat lean protein, and 2 servings of green veggies. Closest to be found was at Bourban Street. I had chicken, brocolli, and green beans. The problem: it was obviously all cooked in some sort of oil. And you just KNOW it wasn't extra virgin olive oil ;) Had this with lots of water, and a pepermint tea while I was having my hair done.

Saturday: Oatmeal for breakfast w. flaxseed and 1 scoop vanilla protein powder. I brought an apple and some almonds with me to the mall, as I was spending the day shopping with my mom. Lots of water again. Then there was the pizza for dinner at my girlfriend's house - which I ate and REALLY REALLY enjoyed. So I realized I will have to make peace with not being able to control what food is available to me when I'm not at home. I refuse to be that person who forces their dietary restrictions on other people when they're at their house. Or worse (or maybe just as bad) the one who just doesn't eat when they're at other people's houses - which would just make me look like such a snob. I figure if I'm really careful the rest of the time, then I can allow myself these little indulgences.

Sunday: Back to normal, since I was at home all day, decorating for Christmas :)

This was a real accomplishment for me. Eating something that's outside of what I'm allowed, and getting right back to working hard to accomplish my goals. Lesson learned, and now I can start off my week confident that one slipup doesn't have to mean completly throwing in the towel.

Back on Track - Day # 2

Okay, so summer is a terribly difficult time for me to follow my own rules for a healthy diet. In typical 'all or nothing' fashion, I used a few small slip ups as an excuse to completely derail my efforts.
Obstacles over the summer:
-Stampede
-BBQ's
-Weddings
-Baby Showers
-2 weekends at my uncle's cabin

I've decided I need to whip myself (back) into shape quickly before the Christmas holiday season starts. Of course, that will come with a new set of hurdles to overcome without betraying my body. I figure by starting now, rather than an empty 'resolution' in January, I'll be in a better mindset to say no to more of the indulgences that Christmas brings. It's backwards, yes, but my mind works like this "I'm already __lbs away from my target, so what's a few more ____?"(insert Christmas treat here) or "I've been working my butt off and am feeling really good. There's no way I'm going to ruin that by eating ______" Like I said, all or nothing.

With this in mind, I'm back on Tosca Reno's Eat Clean Diet (Cooler # 1) - starting yesterday. This is to be followed for a max 1-2 weeks, and promises dramatic results.
Rules:
-1 serving/day oatmeal or brown rice or quinoa *topped w. 4 tbsp flax seed
-1 serving/day sweet potato or regular potato
-1 /day apple or pear
-4-5/day green veggies (cucumber/spinach/green beans/broccoli/etc)
-16 cups water/day
NO: sauces, dressings, oils, butter, juice, dairy

Yes, it's terribly difficult to maintain willpower. However, I know it's only 1-2 weeks so that helps. Surprisingly, I'm not hungry - just so bored from the lack of food choices. I'm on day # 2.

Yesterday's Meals

Breakfast - oatmeal w. flaxseed, wheat germ, blueberries, walnuts, and vanilla protein powder
Snack - apple & PB
Lunch - lentils & rice, applesauce, kiwi, banana tofu
Snack - apple & PB
Snack - granola bar
Dinner - whole wheat tortillini, steamed edemame beans

Step # 3 - Honesty

I did a bad thing. A combination of stress, and a lack of groceries lead to a very bad meal choice that I wish I didn't have to admit to. I started the day not too badly, (although looking at it now makes my mistakes more obvious. 1. Lack of carbs at breakfast 2. Lack of veggies all day!

Breakfast - yogurt
Snack - apple + PB
Lunch - rice + lentils, applesauce
Snack - apple + PB

And then for dinner.......KD! I know, I know, I just wish the stuff wasn't in the house at all to tempt me when I'm weak. After a terribly stressful day I came home and started re-arranging my office. God only knows why I channel negative energy into cleaning but I just felt like this HAD to be done. By the time I was done, it was 8pm and I suddenly realized I was starving and craving comfort food.

There, I've admitted to making a mistake and now it's time to move on. I started today with a healthy bowl of oatmeal with flaxseed, wheat germ, blueberries, walnuts, and vanilla protein powder. So at least today I'm off to a good start!

Step # 2 - Set your own expectations

No, I'm not obese. Technically, at 5'5 and 133 lbs, I'm not even overweight. According to various BMI (body mass index) calculators my BMI is 22.1 which places me in the 'normal' range. Of course this isn't the only way to gauge personal fitness, but this is the first number I usually calculate when giving my body a once over. If you're interesting in calculating your BMI there are various calculators and in depth explanations of the purpose of calculating BMI online. The one I used is http://www.bmicalculator.org/

Here's the problem. I know I can do better than 'normal'. My jeans fit a bit tighter this year than last, my once-tight abs have been smoothed over by a layer of that dreaded f-word, and my energy levels aren't nearly what they used to be. Most women I know who weigh more than me have, and will say again, "but you don't NEED to lose weight - you're not FAT!!!" True. I never said I was. However, I'm not at my personal best either. Now, this logic goes both ways. If you're 5'5 and 150 lbs, then 133 lbs may be your ideal weight. It's not up to anybody else to tell you what shape is acceptable for your body to be in.

That said, my personal goal is to reach 120 lbs exlusively by healthy, safe methods. This means no starvation, no diet pills, and no artificial sweeteners. I want all the benefits of a healthy, lean body.

Step #1: Stop procrastinating!

Q: What is the most common day for someone to start a diet? A: Tomorrow

Problem is, life gets in the way of reaching 'tomorrow'. Today I had an epiphany. There is NO good day to start a diet! Something always seems to get in the way. A holiday, party, summer, stressful event, PMS, 'treat day' at the office - life is FULL of obstacles. That is, if you're looking for them. I could think of 1,000 reasons why today is not a good day to go in for a root canal and none of them would make my tooth stop hurting. The bottom line is, this layer of fat isn't going away on it's own any more than a cavity would.

It's easy to get overwhelmed by such a daunting task. So I'm starting small, (but at least I'm going to start TODAY) by vowing to make my next meal a healthy one.