Why am I always hungry?

Here is a great new post from our dear friend Dee–please check out her site http://www.gettingthebestoffood.com She shares her journey and includes a realistic attitude that accounts for all the daily struggles, stress, and obstacles that sabotage us relententlessly. You go Dee!!!

The first time I saw this diagram was nearly a year ago and it has never left my memory. Over the past few months I have noticed how refined foods such as white bread and sugar have effected hunger throughout the day. This simple illustration shows how all highly processed foods, fats and oils look in the stomach. I’ll be right back, gotta grab an apple.

OK, I’m back, less starving than I was a minute ago. If you look at all of the diets that have been successful and popular, most of them have fruits and veggies in common. Atkins, not so much because it’s an all-protein diet. The challenge that I’ve found is getting veggies to taste good. Fruits are naturally delicious without anything added, but veggies are usually better when you make them bad…like broccoli with cheese sauce, fried green beans with butter, creamed peas, spinach au gratin. At this point, I’m finding it more challenging to make veggies fun. Well, fun is a strong word. I don’t know if they’ve ever been fun. Here are some tricks I’ve learned:

Bake kale with a spritz of olive oil for crispy chips with a touch of sea salt
Hide spinach in smoothies, soups, baked eggs
Mash sweet potatoes with a touch of cinnamon, almond milk and agave nectar and bake for fake pumpkin pie
Use romaine or Boston lettuce leaves to wrap the healthy ingredients you would normally put on bread, like tuna salad, grilled chicken, lean steak
Soak dates — use the water as a healthy natural sweetening liquid and puree the soaked dates with water to make a paste as a solid sweeter for recipes (paste with spaghetti squash and cinnamon is great.

Posted on January 22, 2013 by Angela in Body, Diet, disease, Green Living, Guest Blog, Nutrition, Weight Loss, Whole Food Leave a comment

Guess Who’s Back? Back Again? Dee is back–tell a friend!

Remember Dee?

Dee fell off the wagon for a while–heck don’t we all? I’m not sure I’ve had a CLEAN eating day since Thanksgiving! That’s not even mentioning the half a bottle of wine I probably polished off that day. How is that for toxic calories? But remember, it doesn’t have to be black or white and all or nothing. It’s about meaningful eating and wanting to be a better version of yourself. This counts in all aspects of life, not just eating and exercising. It’s about individual behaviors, decisions, and not about outcomes. I am responsible for how I look and feel today! Nobody else forced me to eat badly, skip exercise, or allow negative thoughts to arise. I did that all myself. There is no quick fix in the game of life and dieting isn’t just a hobby! Or at least it shouldn’t be–save that for something that is actually fun and not such hard work! Our good blogger, hilarious writer, and real friend Dee emailed me that she is back in the game! She missed the team spirit and wants to play–so let’s get inspired by her spirit and rededicate ourselves as well.

Dee writes:

Taking a quick-lunch break to check in. I have been AWOL again but I just noticed that Dr. Angela re-linked my blog and I have a co-worker who has agreed to work with me in the area of accountability. There is a saying that people don’t do what’s expected, they do whats inspected. This is true for me. So, thanks to Dr. Angela and my new accountability partner (you know who you are) for helping me help myself.

This blog has really been a blast for me, and was a great tool in helping in my weight loss efforts. Last November/December I lost nearly 20 pounds and plan to do it again. Actually, if successful, I’ll be losing the same 20 pounds. Frustrating to admit, but I will never give up. I will make better choices and I will get control of my weight.

I shouldn’t admit this, but I really love Dr. Phil-isms. As much as I try, they always pop into my brain when relevant. So, I have to say that “the only way to fail, is to quit trying.” Check back for new posts this weekend.

Posted on December 4, 2012 by Angela in Body, Diet, Exercise, Nutrition, Weight Loss, Whole Food Leave a comment

Dee’s Flatbread

Time: A bout 45 minutes, largely unattended (longer for resting, if time allows); NOTE: the recipe on the website doesn’t list water as one of the ingredients but it is listed in the instructions for preparation

1 cup whole wheat flour or cornmeal, or chickpea flour (also called besan; sold in Middle Eastern, Indian, and health food stores)
1 1/2 cups of water
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons olive oil (see the headnote)
1/2 large onion, thinly sliced (optional)
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves (optional)One thing on in my new eating plan is to use whole grain breads. My grocery, Publix, makes an Italian Five Grain baguette that I could eat completely by myself in one sitting. It’s soft inside with a crunchy crust, topped with sunflower, sesame and poppy seeds. It has 90 calories in a slice though, and I know that most really good whole grain breads are a combination of whole wheat flour and enriched wheat flour or white flour. That’s why they taste good. I haven’t tried this recipe yet, but I am looking for a good flatbread recipe because when I buy it pre-made it tends to have a short shelf life. There are so many things you can do with a good flatbread or pita: top it with sauce and veggies for a pizza, dip it into hummus, spread it with tuna or tzatziki, use it instead of croutons in a salad or make breadcrumbs with it for turkey meatballs.There are about 400 calories in a cup of whole grain wheat flour so that will give you an idea of the calorie count for this recipe. It’s about 50 calories per wedge plus a bit for the oil.

Posted on May 27, 2012 by Angela in Body, Diet, Guest Blog, Organic, vegan, Weight Loss, Whole Food Leave a comment

Let’s be Real

Dee–you are so wonderful, I can hardly believe you are actually human–Any person that can put themselves out there being real and honest deserves to be praised! Let us all learn a good lesson from Dee–it’s ok to be human, we are all imperfect. Trying to be something that you aren’t never actually pays off in the long run! Be yourself, accept your flaws, and flaunt your positive attributes! We all have something to offer this crazy world!

Dee writes:

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been more focused on diet and nutrition than ever before. I’ve been publicly posting all of my ups and downs with some helpful tools and informative stats along the way. Unfortunately, I have not lost weight yet. I do, however, know why and what needs to happen for that challenge to be successful. I’m a bit discouraged, but I warned you that this journey would be real and — most importantly — I will not give up.

Here is what I have learned and what I’ve done RIGHT:

Made fruits and veggies the primary part of my diet
Greatly reduced sugar, white breads, fats, alcohol
Eliminated white pasta and white rice (except for a bit of sushi)
Started walking and AM yoga, barely, but started
Started reducing beef and pork
Switched from dairy milk to almond, rice and coconut milk

Here is what needs to CHANGE:

Still getting too many calories by eating crap at night after a good day of healthy eating
Still drinking beer, although half as much, still too much
Still eating/drinking out of boredom and stress
Still craving and eating salty late-night snacks
Not enough exercise
Not enough water

Bottom line — make good nutritional choices, exercise and watch portion control! If you do one or two of these things but not all three, you will not be successful. I’ve had days where I’ve eaten a very healthy diet OR days where I’ve limited calories to 1200 OR days where I’ve squeezed in aerobic exercise. But the only days where I’ve had some fleeting results were those when I managed to tackle all three.

We all face challenges. The journey is never easy. Many are picked, few are chosen to succeed. You can be the difference. Why? Because you are smart, you are kind, and YOU are important!