Eat More For Less

[Guest guest]

I was reading a fitness magazine this morning while eating breakfast. A

doctor (female) had lost 72 pounds by modifying her diet and adding exercise

to her life. Awesome! In a little box on the side of the article was a

section called " The Diet " .

The Diet:

Breakfast is a protein bar

Lunch: turkey on multigrain bread and an apple

Dinner: Grilled chicken, salad, couscous and asparagus

Snacks: protein bars and nonfat yogurt

I'm looking at that and I'm thinking, " No wonder people don't want to go on

'diets'! If this is all I ate in a day I'd starve. I'd honestly rather be

fat! "

Constrasting this article with an article I read in a recent Weight Watchers

magazine I wanted to say " Yay! Weight Watchers GETS it! " People need and

want to eat healthy food. They need to feel satisfied and fulfilled with a

meal. In the Weight Watchers article they do meal makeovers, taking a small

meal and making it larger and more satisfying by replacing higher calorie

foods with low cal foods, adding in 0 point value foods to supplement the

meal, and making the meal a real " meal " not just a snack masquerading as a

meal.

I'm all for big meals. I'm also all for meals many times a day. Having been

on Weight Watchers since February 2002 I have learned how to make the most

of my points. It's like creative budgeting when we're tight on funds. We can

go out and blow our last $20 on a new CD and a candy bar, or we can turn on

the radio (0 point foods), pick apples from the neighbor's tree (with

permission, of course), and spend our $20 on something more valuable.

I don't post my journals because I have had people " pick " at them in the

past. My journals are huge, but I tend to stay within a certain point range

for my meals/snacks.

Breakfast: 4-5 points

Lunch: 5-7 points

Dinner: 6-8 points

Snacks: 10-15

I always get someone sniping at me about " too many snacks " but in reality my

snacks are simply small meals in between my main meals that keep my blood

sugar level, my digestive system happy, and my energy up.

So let's take a look at some low point, high satisfaction meals that I

enjoy. I'd love to hear other people's low point, high satisfaction meals.

Breakfasts:

2 Special K Eggo Waffles (2)

1 cup blueberries split (1)

1/2 cup Fiber One (0)

8 oz. Fat Free No Sugar Added Key Lime Yogurt (2)

I heat up half the blueberries and add splenda and use that as the topping

on the waffles. The rest of the blueberries are mixed with the yogurt and

fiber one. Talk about a filling meal! All this for 5 points.

English muffin (2)

FF Margarine (0)

1/3 c egg beaters with some Mrs. Dash and chili powder (.5)

1/2 wedge laughing cow cheese (.5)

Put this together for a McMuffin type breakfast. Add a piced of fruit and

it's a 4 point meal.

Joan's Breakfast Bread Pudding is 4 points for the entire dish. It makes 2

servings.

Lunch:

Yesterday for lunch I had a HUGE sandwich...I mean huge. It was one of those

" Wow, do you think you can eat all of that " type sandwiches. Dagwood would

have been proud.

2 slices Sara Lee Delightful Wheat Bread (1)

4 oz 98% ff deli turkey (2)

1/4 avocado (2)

1/2 wedge Laughing Cow Cheese (.5)

lettuce, tomatoes, pickle slice, onion slice, mushroom slicse, and cucumber

slices

Added 1 cup grapes and 1 serving of fat free Pringles and we're talking a

HUGE 7.5 point meal

Smart Ones 3 point meal

Salad (0)

Fat free Italian dressing (0)

Piece of fruit (1)

Quaker lowfat peanut butter chocolate chunk granola bar (2)

Total 6 point meal, very filling

2 fat free hot dogs (1.5)

2 slices Sara Lee Delightful Wheat Bread (1)

1 serving FF Pringles (1)

Salad with FF Italian dressing (0)

Grapes (1)

Total 4.5 point meal

Dinners:

4 oz. lean chicken breast (2)

Salad with FF Italian dressing (0)

Vegetable serving (0)

1 cup white rice (4)

Delicious 6 point meal (if you add a little FF Italian dressing to the

chicken it's delicious!)

2 oz lean chicken breast (1)

double serving of salad (1 if you're being honest)

1 serving nonfat oriental dressing (1)

1 Tbs almond slices (2)

5 point HUGE salad that makes a meal

2 oz 4% lean ground beef (1.5)

1/2 cup black beans (1)

1/4 cup salsa split

2 Tbs fat free sour cream (.5)

2 small, thin, corn tortillas (1)

Taco seasoning

Double serving of salad (1 if you're counting)

Cook up the meat with the beans and seasoning. Mix half the salsa with sour

cream for the dressing. Spray the tortillas with Pam and chili powder and

bake to make " chips " and you have a HUGE taco salad meal for 5 points.

Snacks:

1/2 cup Dreyer's Fat Free Ice Cream (2)

1/2 cup strawberries (0)

1 small slice angel food cake (1)

Cool whip free (0)

2 slices Sara Lee Delightful Wheat Bread (1)

1 Tbs peanut butter (2)

Peanut butter toast...the original feel good food! Plus peanut butter is so

good for you.

Carrot sticks and 1 Tbs peanut butter (2)

Apple cored (1)

2 Tbs raisens (1)

Splenda

Stuff the cored apple with the raisens and sprinkle splenda, cinmamon and

maybe a touch of nutmeg on top, cook in microwave for 1-1.5 minutes.

" Diet " doesn't have to be a four letter word! After over a year at goal I

have found that the more I eat, as long as I watch serving size and point

content, the easier it is to stay on target and keep my goal weight. Ignore

those articles that tell you to eat less to lose weight...you need to eat

less CALORIES, not less FOOD. Eat more healthy, nutritious, delicious,

low-fat, low-calorie foods for better weight loss and higher satisfaction.

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'

Tory Klementsen, MCP A+

Career and Technology Educator

www.teechur.com

www.msteechur.com

-The successful person will do the things that the unsuccessful person will

not.