179.4 Are Lollipops A Food Group?

Since I have been procrastinating about going over to the gym, I decided to go on line and see what I could learn about the way to do exercise to lose fat. Am I looking for a rule:)? Not exactly, but here's what I have come up with as a gem of the day:

Interval training, strength training (weights), and proper nutrition are the essential ingredients to achieve weight loss from all areas of the body while maintaining important muscle mass.

One of the most obvious things I've noticed during this weight loss journey compared to past quick loss programs is that I do actually look and feel stronger. I know I have greater, rather than less, muscle mass and I attribute that to losing weight at a much slower pace while at the same time slowly but surely increasing the amount, and type of exercise that I do. I've also been eating foods from all of the food groups and not starving myself of any nutrients. I'm laughing to myself as I write this because a friend on Facebook just wrote that her 3 year old son has been working very hard to convince her that lollipops are a food group!

Now let's see those numbers just left of the title continue to fall.

182.6 A New Look of Comfort Food

My weight's at another all time low! Now only 12 more pounds to go!

It's not even 9 AM and I'm writing this post. Usually, I don't get to it until much later in the day, but I am really excited to write this one. I woke up early and went out on the back patio to enjoy the beautiful morning and to look at a cookbook that our son and his family sent my husband for Father's Day. (Yes, healthy eating has become a family affair!) Perhaps you've seen it. It's title is Now Eat This, by Rocco Dispirito.

This cookbook is geared to folks who want to "have their cake and eat it, too". These are basically comfort food recipes for dishes like macaroni and cheese, meatloaf, even my favorite dessert, tiramisu. Working with a nutritionist, the author has come up with healthier, lower calorie versions of favorites. As he writes in the front of the book, "My goal for this book was to take the foods we love--no matter how bad they are for us--and make them healthy and flavorful, something I really want to eat." A couple nights ago Jeff made an absolutely delicious fish recipe, and I know I am going to want to prepare a lot of the recipes that are included in the book. One of the features I find motivating is that the author compares the calories and fat found in traditional recipes with those in his versions! He also explains why substituting things like whole wheat flour for white flour, using Greek yogurt rather than any other really makes a difference in the food value and encourages weight loss.

Since I haven't been eating desserts or many carbs except for fruit during this weight loss journey, I probably won't start eating them now. But I am thinking that once I reach my goal, I may use recipes in this cookbook to start adding a little more variety as I wend my way through the minefield called maintenance. As I was reading it, I kept wishing I had learned to cook with this cookbook years ago.

195.2 Salad Is Delicious Anytime! But...

Well, I kept waking up during the night, almost like a kid waiting for Christmas morning. Was I really going to eat salad for breakfast? I got up feeling groggy from the missed sleep and asked myself that same question again. Of course I was because I blogged about it. And so I did. I cut up strawberries, threw in blueberries, pine nuts, and kidney beans. I sliced and diced a red pepper, chopped up romaine to add along with some exotic lettuce combo, drizzled on some salad dressing and sat down to eat salad with my coffee. Honestly, it was delicious. I didn't miss my usual breakfast food and I was pretty pleased with myself. However, within an hour I was starving! I'm going to add more kidney beans tomorrow morning.