Food, Diet, Exercise…but not from experts, just those who have lost 100lbs combined.
We’ve gravitated to the Weight Watcher chocolate snacks. They taste amazing and are just enough to get us by without sacrificing too much. This 1000% looks like a Weight Watchers advertisement but finding a sweet treat that doesn’t break the bank can be a bit taxing. They often have sales and free shipping so it’s easy. Below are some of our staples.
This isn’t a totally zero point food, but it’s very low in points and calories. Compare to any shelf variety jam and you’ll see how low this is and you know everything that’s in it!
It’s important to use frozen fruit as the moisture is needed to prevent sticking and give the fruit room to breakdown. Feel free to substitute any frozen fruit you’d like. I make this for Father Foodie with frozen cherries.
Ingredients:
Combine frozen strawberries, maple syrup and salt in the instapot. Close the steam valve and pressure cook on manual for 1 minute.
When cooking cycle is done let the pressure naturally release for 10 minutes then release.
Press cancel to stop the cooking cycle and turn on sauté. Add chia seeds and stir often to prevent sticking. I use this time to break the strawberries up more.
Once slightly thickened press cancel and transfer to 16 oz jar with a lid. It will thicken more as it cools in the refrigerator. Jam should keep for 2 weeks.
1 Tablespoon is 0 points
2 Tablespoons are 1 point
21 calories per serving
Recipe from: The Fresh and Easy Instapot Cookbook by Megan Gilmore
You’re going to love this, put it all in the instapot. Cook on manual for 20 minutes then slow release for 10 minutes. Release steam, stir and serve.
So we’re tracking our food. Focusing on WHOLE foods, simpler and cleaner eating. But what are you missing? Snacks, chips, junk food…. Nothing will beat Oreos for Father Foodie or queso blanco and tortilla chips for me but we’ve found some things that take the edge off and taste good! We all miss something so I hope to give you some substitutes we’ve found that help the cravings over the next few weeks.
Most of these items will be found on the aisle with the organic food and health snacks…for me it wasn’t an aisle I frequented until recently.
Tortilla chips up first, the substitute is plant based and pretty low in points compared to their restaurant or bagged counterparts. These come in three flavor options: sea salt, nacho and lime. Ten chips are 4 points.
Regular “potato” chips are missed from time-to-time. These will fool you easily and satisfy the craving fast! They also have a variation that are straws. We don’t gravitate to these but they do have snack bags for on the go in sea salt and zesty ranch. The snack bags are 3 points per bag. In the large bag you get 38 chips for 4 points!
Another chip variant we like are these cauliflower stalks. They’re crunchy and puffy with a little bit of salt. 13 stalks for 2 points.
You’ll notice on all of my posts that I’ll try to note several things. Whether it’s calories or Weight Watcher Smart Points. These are TOOLS in this weight loss journey. I’ll hyperlink some tools below. This is not meant to advertise but just items that help us with accountability and getting us this far on our journey.
I’m not a nutritionist, dietician or doctor. Before starting any program you should visit with your doctor and get their recommendation. This entire blog is dedicated to our experiences.
To be completely transparent I may benefit in some small way from some of those links. Noom and Weight Watchers do not have free options that I’m aware of but other platforms do.
Tracking Tools:
Noom: This is the first program I used in 2018 that really helped my relationship with food. It can be pricey but it does include a mentor and groups to participate in throughout your journey. This is based in calorie counting with a focus on caloric density of foods that get ranked red/yellow/green with associated calorie limits. The lessons are meaningful and short so it’s easy to learn and track your food. Noom
Weight Watchers: We all know our grandma’s weight watchers. Reality is you can reset your relationship with food and be accountable. The new program is a bit more flexible. You have access to coaches online. You don’t need to go to group meetings like grandma did, unless that’s your thing. Weight Watchers
LoseIt: app based calorie and fitness tracker
MyFitnessPal: app based calorie and fitness tracker
MyPlate Calorie Counter: app based calorie and macro counter, if you’re concerned with protein versus carbs or fat this is your best FREE option.
Kitchen and household Tools:
Instant Pot – I advise when you get these marvelous cooker that you order the extra insert with the non-stick lining and the silicone lids. This is how I cook two soups in a couple of hours. While one is cooking I prep the other insert and just put it in the machine when I pull the other out to cool, more to come on this.
Food scale – this isn’t 100% necessary but is handy if you tend to underestimate portions. This will help you zone in on how much food you’re eating for accuracy in your entries. You can easily find digital food scales at Wal-Mart or Target for under $20.
Spiralizer or Mandolin – If you want to make green veggies more accessible you can turn zucchini and squash into noodles with these tools. You can use them with several vegetables including potatoes but we’re not eating a lot of those these days.
Bathroom scale – do you remember what year you bought the one you have now? If not, order one. I have a Bluetooth scale from Amazon that has multiple profiles. Bluetooth Scale
Fabric or Body Measure Tape: Oh how I wish both of us had taken measurements before we started this journey. Fact is there are going to be plateaus…and you’ll be mad, like mad mad. But some things will be changing, just not the scale. It’s good to be able to measure and see the changes as well.
Garbage Can: Toss the junk food. Don’t wait to start on Monday, or next month. Start now and get rid of the crap you know you shouldn’t be eating. We’ll give you some great substitutes real soon that satisfy cravings and are a bit healthier for you.
Big Water Cup: If it helps you drink more water order one on Amazon with all of the lines on the side for the times you need to meet in drinking your water. But reality is if you’re getting serious you need to cut back on the sugary stuff and get more water. What you need depends on your body but 3-4 bottle or foundation sodas a day is most of my calorie count in a day for food. This includes watching what you put in your coffee…or tea.
Motivation Items:
Take a picture, right now: Save it in a special folder and use it in the future. You won’t always see the changes your body is making while it’s happening. Before and after pictures are POWERFUL. They show progress you don’t see in the mirror, don’t take them for granted. Get real and take a picture.
Goals: Write them down. Make small goals at first, 10-15 lbs at a time. Do NOT aim for more than 2lbs per week, that’s just not healthy, attainable or able to be maintained long term.
Podcasts: I’ll probably quote the “Cut the Fat” podcast a lot. They’ve taught me so much. More about cutting the fat and being strong than just being “skinny fat”.
Comment below if you think there is something I forgot.
This post will get added to as frequently as I think of anything. So subscribe and drink some water!
Thanks for joining us!
Since April 1, 2018 I’ve been on a journey to get rid of some fat. In 2018 Easter fell on April 1st and in an awful joke there were family pictures, I cried that night. I felt like I looked awful. I was doing my best to cover up and hide what I didn’t like, but reality was I was about to go up a size of jeans. So I cried and then I started research to see what I could do that would last, and not be so restrictive. I’ll talk about programs later.
I did pretty well in 2018 and took of 35 pounds. Then in 2019 I dealt with some health issues and maintained the entire year while working on increasing my fitness later in the year. Now in 2020 my husband, Mike, decided that he was ready to do something with his weight and hope to kick his type 2 diabetes.
As of this post I am down 60lbs and he is down just over 50. He has been taken off of insulin and is still working hard to remove other medications from his daily routine.
April 2018 to August 2020
December 2019 to May 2020
Much of our weekly routine is me getting in the kitchen for a couple of hours and meal prepping on Sunday afternoons. We LOVE soup…so it’s easy to prep a couple of soups and other foods to keep the planning in place and leave easy choices remaining.
We’ve removed most of the “bad” things in the house and try to think with a lifestyle in mind. There’s also a whole lot of substitutions that we’ve found that make it feel like you’re treating yourself while not being so bad to your goals.
So keep visiting often as I post recipes, exercise inspirations and references I use for improving our eating habits.
Father Foodie and Sister Slim 