What am I eating?

Laurie inspired me to talk more about my healthy lifestyle changes...maybe I can give someone some ideas or perhaps you have some great ideas for me!

Did I mention that I started the Curves 6 weeks weight loss class a few weeks ago? I think I did. Our first week began October 13. Because I'm kind of a carb addict, I am on the higher protein version of the plan. The first week we had to stick to 1200 calories per day, with a certain percentage of protein/carbs/fat...mostly proteins. The second week we were allowed to bump up to 1600 calories per day still adhering to the percentages of protein/carbs/fat as the first week which is a higher number of grams since we're eating more calories. Anyway, the first week of the class I dropped 4.5 pounds, which is kind of normal they said. Then each week since I've dropped more and have lost 8 pounds since starting. Woo-hoo, right?

It's actually been quite difficult to reach 1600 calories per day like I'm supposed to. What's more difficult is reaching my protein goal - 185 ounces! That's a whole lotta meat, let me tell you. Protein shakes and bars have become my new best friend, but I have to be careful about those because some of them (mostly the bars) have a tremendous amount of carbs. I've been drinking the whey protein shakes (chocolate) from Wal-Mart. I mix it with skim milk and sometimes add a tablespoon of Peter Pan sugar free peanut butter just to give it a little more flavor (and protein!). I only use one scoop though...two scoops is recommended for those body builder dudes, one of which I am not.

Anyway, in addition to all this we've pretty much stopped eating beef, although I have a sirloin every now and then. We use turkey meat for a lot of stuff...ground, cutlets, sausage, bacon, tenderloins, even turkey ham. Honeysuckle White and Jennie-O are both excellent brands. If you're going to turkey bacon, might I suggest that you stay away from the Jennie-O brand because it's kind of rubbery. Butterball is the best, Oscar Mayer is not bad but not as great. I also switched to MorningStar Farms veggie sausage patties in the mornings. I don't care for the links, but the patties are excellent and taste like the real thing to me, without the heartburn. If you must have a corn dog, the MorningStar Farms veggie corn dogs are great but carry a lot of carbs. We eat a ton of chicken, but that's all good because I love me some chicken. We do not fry anything anymore.

We use Sara Lee 45 calorie wheat bread (45 calories for 2 slices!). It's delicious. I buy Weight Watchers brand shredded cheese. We even found a barbeque sauce that is low carb, although I can't remmeber the brand right now. I don't like it as much as my Sweet Baby Ray's, but my husband eats barbeque sauce like crazy so it was necessary to switch. I've switched to sugar free grape jelly (less sugar, less carbs and calories) as well as sugar free canned peaches. Pretty much if I can buy it sugar free, I do. I figure it's only going to be healthier, so why not? We stopped making our sweet tea with sugar and only use sweet 'n low now.

I have finally found a soup that is lower carb and lower calorie. Soup is usually way up there, but I've found that the new Select Harvest brand by Campbell's is quite good. I eat 1/2 cup servings (there are 3 per big can). So far i've tried the Italian wedding, southwestern veggie, and chicken noodle. They still carry a lot of sodium so I wouldn't recommend eating a huge can.

We both take our lunch to work every day. This includes all our snacks/meals. I eat at least 6 times a day, sometimes more if I need to reach my 1600 calories. I feel this is vital because I don't eat as much at each meal because I am not going so long in between meals. I'm also working on drinking enough water. This is a big issue for me because I've just never been a huge water drinker. I have a 32 ounce refillable bottle now and I'm forcing myself to down 2 a day. I tend to just forget it's sitting there so I don't take a sip. It's something to work on.

So...that's what I've been eating. Of course I'm still going to Curves three times a week, and I'm trying to do stuff on my non-Curves days but that doesn't always happen. I'm a work in progress.