Secrets of My Success

Yesterday was my two week weigh-in and I'm pleased to report that I have successfully busted through the plateau with a weight loss of 6 pounds! I now weigh 231 with a current BMI of 44. My total weight loss thus far is 17 pounds in less than 2 months and I've dropped a total of 3 points off my Body Mass Index!

I've been enjoying some of my favorite foods again now that I'm in Phase III (such as pizza, cheese and chocolate). It's all about finding better solutions to eating the foods I love. When I start craving a particular food I challenge myself to think about how I can eat this and still make it a good choice. Sometimes there is no alternative and the solution is to eat it in moderation and double up on the exercise or lighten the meals around it. But experimenting and discovering alternatives that are equally as satisfying is turning out to be a worthwhile venture. Someone once said to me why eat an alternative if I can have the 'real thing'? My answer to that is this: just because you can have a more fattening, less healthy version of something doesn't mean you should. It's like a system of Good-Better-Best, and smarter food choices reap additional health and nutritional benefits over other ones. I like to think of my body as a "machine", and there are different food choices or "grades of fuel" I can put into my machine (Good-Better-Best). All of the fuel grades will allow my machine to run (even the "bad" stuff); however the better the fuel choice is equates to better performance of my "machine".

Now I realize that finding alternatives and choosing to give your body the best fuel you can may not be for everybody. Some people have themselves convinced that alternatives won't taste good or aren't as satisfying. I agree that not everything in the healthy food section tastes good; some things taste more like particle board and sawdust! However, the healthy food movement has come a long way over the years. If you give something a chance and experiment with different foods and brands, you'd be surprised at how good healthier foods can taste and make you feel.

Here are a few alternatives that I am finding success with and I recommend to all:

CHEESE: Oh I LOVE cheese! Depending on what I want to do with the cheese determines which brand I choose. For sandwiches I like to use Veggie Slices; only 40 calories per slice and soy based. My favorite is the Yellow American flavor - yum! For crackers or just snacking on thick slabs of cheese, Cabot sells bricks of 50% and 75% reduced fat cheddar and pepper jack cheeses. I don't recommend going straight for the 75% reduced fat; start with the 50% and get used to that. Then if you want to shave off even more fat and calories it will be less shocking to go to 75% reduced fat. Keep in mind that less fat is not going to have the same consistency as regular cheese; it will seem a little drier and not as creamy but all the taste is still there. For soups, pizza, nachos and anything else that goes good with melted cheese I recommend Cabot's 50% Reduced Fat Shredded Cheddar or Weight Watchers Mexican Shredded Blend. Both of these melt well and taste great. For salads I like Athena's Reduced Fat Feta Cheese crumbles. These are all better choices for people like me who like to eat cheese every day, and then when you do have 'regular' cheese on occasion it's like having a rich treat!

PIZZA: I recommend two very simple ways to enjoy pizza without sacrificing health. The first way is to use whole wheat pita bread (Weight Watchers makes good whole wheat pita bread, tasty and lots of fiber!). Take the whole pita pocket (do not cut it open), spread 2T of your choice of tomato sauce, 6-10 slices of Turkey Pepperoni and 1/4C 50% Reduced Fat Shredded Cheese. Bake in 350 degree oven for 8-10 minutes and enjoy! Another delicious option is to use fresh spinach, thinly sliced tomato, chopped garlic, and reduced fat feta cheese crumbles. Be creative with your toppings - there's lots of vegetables and meat alternatives to choose from! If you are really short on time or looking for an even quicker lunch, use light wheat English muffins instead of pita (Market Basket makes a good house brand as does Weight Watchers - both have lots of fiber!). Toast the English muffins to desired crispness, then put toppings on and microwave for 30-45 seconds to melt the cheese. Quick and delicious! Round out your meal with a tossed salad and your pizza cravings are satisfied!

CHOCOLATE: I'm discovering many ways to enjoy chocolate every day! I LOVE the line of organic baked chocolate crisps by O'Coco's. With rich chocolate flavor and a crispy crunch, these beauties have only 90 calories and 2 grams of fat per serving (no saturated fat and cholesterol free). Best of all they come in individual serving bags so they're great to grab-n-go! Flavors are Original, Mocha and Cinnamon (my personal favorite!). Another amazing little treat I found at the grocery store is Walden Farms fat free, calorie free, sugar free fruit dips. I've been enjoying chocolate dipped strawberries, bananas and grapes - it tastes so good my husband has been eating these yummy dips too! The caramel dip is great with apples slices, especially this time of year! When it gets a little colder I'm going to try their marshmallow dip scooped on top of a cup of Swiss Miss or Nestle diet hot cocoa. They have lots of other no calorie products that I am eager to try too including a Peanut spread??? I'll let you know how well their other products fare... Last but certainly not least I highly recommend No Pudge Brownies for satisfying even the biggest chocoholic's cravings. I made a batch of these and everybody in the household enjoyed them - no one knew what they were missing - all the fat!!! If you haven't tried any of these desserts yet you simply must see for yourself how wonderful indulgence can be, guilt free!

So there you have it, my secrets of success for enjoying some of my favorite foods while keeping it healthy, real and losing weight in the process! If you do try any of my recommendations I'd love to hear from you, let me know what you think or if you have any recommendations of your own I'd love to try them as well!