I keep meaning to do this since chiky suggested sharing our menus, I'll share mine for the rest of the week and next week:
My breakfasts are all variations on the same theme, either rolled oats with fruit, scrambled eggs (1 whole, 1 white), yogurt or cottage cheese with fruit.
For Lunch I have planned variations of the following:
Low GI sandwich with horseradish, lots of veggies and lo fat turkey
Veggie burger and salad (I love veggieburgers and I'm banking on the fact that they can't be too high gi, cause I haven't been able to find info on them)
Salad with fish or chicken.
Leftovers!!!
Dinners are more varied:
Glazed chicken with sweet potato mash (from the Low GI book)
Couscous with ethiopian lentils (I like spice!!)
Minute steak with sweet potatoes and vegetables
Pasta with vodka sauce and sausage, big salad!!
Pork and cashew stir fry and basmati rice
Rice and beans and grilled chicken breast with salad
Shrimp stir fry with basmati and salad
One thing I've discovered since I've started this plan is that I've gotten pickier about what I eat. I don't want to waste time eating something mediocre. If it's not yummy, I'm not going to bother with it. Which is a good thing, because convenience foods are not that yummy to begin with! LOL I got to thinking about this today because I bought some yam chips to try them out and they were just kindof bland. I just got rid of them. Why bother eating something (especially something higher in fat) if it's boring and insipid??
This also makes me feel like I'm taking good care of myself rather than depriving myself. I like to present my meals nicely, to use fresh ingredients and to have meals be like small and healthy feasts!
Of course, that means planning and shopping, which are less fun! LOL
I bought a new exercise video and hand weights as a reward for my exercise goal. I'll be buff in no time!
Leticia, you sound like you're really motivated right now ... good for you, keep it up!! I've really got to start getting my act together as far as exercise is concerned ... I know that this weight isn't all going to shift with just diet alone ... and my stomach muscles are sooooo flabby, I'm going to be left with huge flaps of hanging, loose skin if I don't start to get serious about it!
Sadly, I weighed-in yesterday and haven't lost anything this week ... I'm a bit disappointed as I thought I'd done rather well 'diet-wise'. However, I must confess that I am feeling rather bloated, perhaps it's water retention. I've noticed that around the middle of my monthly cycle is when I start to feel like this ... (and my boobs feel enormous and very sore!! ... shhhhh!) ... it's probably when I'm ovulating ... sorry, I know you don't want to hear all the technical details of my monthly cycle!!LOL Just trying to find a reason for having no loss!!
Anyway, I'm not letting it get me down, I'm still very much into GIing and will keep at it for as long as it takes. One thing that I have achieved this week which I'm very pleased about, is the fact that I've not had ANY wine to drink AT ALL since last weekend!! Wine is one of my downfalls ... I just love it!! Very often hubby will come home from work and we'll open a nice bottle of red to drink with dinner. Or sometimes I decide to 'just have the one glass' ... then realise that the bottle's empty!! I know alcohol is empty calories and such a diet breaker, but I know I can't give it up comletely ... and don't want to! My plan is not to drink during the week (except for a special occasion) and then enjoy a few glasses at the weekend ... hopefully it won't ruin my chances of losing weight.
Yesterdays menu was:
Breakfast: Yogurt/strawberry smoothie
Lunch: Turkey/Salad with balsamic dressing
Snack: 10 almonds/peach
Dinner: Good old baked beans on 2 (small) slices wholemeal toast ... very boring but hubby was out last night and the kids wanted pizza so I didn't want to bother cooking just for myself!!
Snack: Cherries
This evening we are taking a new collegue of my husbands out to dinner to a Chinese Seafood restaurant ... this will be a challenge ... I will have to make sure that I stick to the steamed fish/shrimp/vegetable dishes and steer clear of the yummy fried rice/deepfried crispy squid/and all the other tasty things that we usually order in sauces that I'm sure I shouldn't be having!!! ... Wish me luck!!
Hi Ladies
Thanks for posting menu's gives us an idea if we are on track at least me anyway lol. And other suggestions for foods. Well this week was not the greatest plus it's TOM time and bloated like crazy.
This was my menu yesterday
B=Tofu (almond) and fruit smoothie w/whey protein
S= Yogurt
L= LF chicken on wholegrain bread with mustard and 2 sl cheese nectarine
D=Large salad w/feta and olives. olive oil/apple cider dressing and flax meal
S=Apple and 2 Nila cookies
Coffee and raisin bran muffin waiting for bus before work.
Liquids=2 bottles water oj tea and decaf w/english toffee (Tims)
Today I have to work until 10pm so have to bring stuff which is harder so this is the plan so far
B=2sl turkey bacon 2 eggs 1 toast w/becel bowl fruit coffee w/cream (bad)
S=yogurt
L=Homemade leek and veggie soup 1 sml slice bread pce of fruit
(the farmers market here sells really great mini loaves of various types of wholegrain bread nice sml sizes for lunch etc so I stock up on them and usually purchase one loaf of normal size)
S=muffin homemade lf
D=Fish w/brown rice and beets
Liquids (hopefully more water) herbal teas various
I'm having a struggle with the exercise too right now my plan is to walk to work as I don't have a car anyway and its nice out so just going to walk normal about 45mins I'm going to bring a walking tape with me that I picked up see if I can do that today or tomorrow as I work at same place tomorrow. I have the same problem with stomach muscles Nichola from losing weight before and not exerciseing something I'm going to have to live with as I know I can never get them gone unless i splurge for surgery which I can't afford anyway. So do the crunches I'm going to try and get in atleast 10 mins a day or every other day of those. Amazing actually how it helps. I was pretty good at doing exercise tapes last year pilates for dummies is a good one and abs for dummies short and simple. But again the motivation to get going again is the problem but I have had a few inspirations happening one being a good friend discovering breast cancer and at 4th stage so it really opens up your eyes as she is in the same position as us needs to lose weight and diabetes etc. Anyway I'm confident we can all do it even if it takes awhile and stops and starts. So lets GI girls and look good for winter lol...since summer is passing quick my new goal is a nice fitting winter jacket maybe a size or two smaller than last years.
Nichola: Don't be discouraged that you didn't lose, look at it this way, you didn't gain and that's excellent! LOL Weight can fluctuate so much that it's only natural to stall every now and then!
Good luck with the chinese food! Major temptation I know!!
Chicky: Sounds like a great way to get your exercise in! Good luck!
I am 1/2 a pound away from my mini goal of 245 so I'm really excited. I can't wait to meet it! Exercise really does make a difference not only in the loss but in how I feel. Even when I hate it LOL I feel so proud of myself for doing it!! I'm less worried about my abs than my flopsy arms . I'm using weights to help with that but I also do some core exercises 3-4 times per week. I'm already down two sizes which is great! I bought some new jeans and it really makes a difference wearing clothes that fit. LOL
Nichola,
Sorry it took me so long to reply, i thought that i would get e-mailed if someone replied to my post but now i know different. Thanks for the words of wisdom. I am starting on Monday aerobics classes at the local YMCA. I am starting to think that i am just not doing enough with walking alone. I do weigh myself once every morning and i don't think at this moment i can let that go until i am safe enough away from 200 lbs. I am obsessed with the scale.
This is a typical days eating for me. Tell me what you think.
BREAKFAST= either a bowl of kashi cereal with skim milk or egg beaters omelet
LUNCH= one serving of 1 % cottage cheese, a light and fit yogurt and a balance bar
DINNER= chicken with tons of veggies and a salad or usually the meat and veggies NEVER RICE OR PASTA.
DESERT= LF no sugar added ice cream or skinny cow sandwich
I either drink fruit h20 all day or i will have crystal light (I heard that is not the best to drink all day)
So that is a typical day....what am i doing wrong?!? I really get depressed when i am really trying and i don't lose . I don't have a tape measure so i can measure my sizes. I will go to wal-mart today and get one. Thanks for the support ladies. I really am one who looks forward to it. If anyone ever needs a buddy my e-mail is [email protected]
Thanks again
MrsZebs, if you suscribe to the thread you do get email notifications. Next time you post just make sure you select instant email notification. Good luck!
Hi Ladies
Bella I like the idea of short goals that worked for me before. In the exercise dept I'm gonna set my goal as walking (exercise walking) not general all over town stuff lol..at 3 times a week minimum 30 mins briskly. I walked home from work tonite took me an hour i did the brisk walk for about 30 mins then just strolled quickly after that worked up a sweat lol. Oh ya I viewed that tape I mentioned man that denise has energy lol i got tired watching her. I tried it out for the first 15 mins and i was winded big time but it looks good first half is equivalent to 1 mile of really brisk walking i think so its there if i want to use it on days that are bad weather or i want something more.
I'm going to walmart to get a pedometer and a skipping rope I always loved skipping as a kid so going to try that.
Slim that squash goulash sounds good can you post the recipe I love squash of any kind. Your menu looks good Mrszeb but I was wondering if your getting enough calories I know that sometimes gets you into stall. I have decided not to get a scale i was a slave to it before every morning and drove me crazy when I stalled. So Im basing myself on clothes fitting to me that always a good sign I haven't bought anything new in a long time. And I have to say that I have already noticed a difference around the waist and hips. So it's happening just slow which is ok. Geez im writing a book here guys sorry but its good to get all this stuff out and help each other.
Ok yesterdays menu i posted the dinner plan and it did go accordingly until I got home. Watched some tv TIN CUP I love Kevin Costner and the popcorn craving set in so I had a bag with the cheese thats the last in the house so not buying anymore of that kind anyway (just air popped or lite) then the icky taste thing happens so had to replace that with a sweet taste 1/2 of a Max 5 bar frozen 110cal per (sooo yummy) pretzels and peanuts and caramel in choc. I'm thinking not bad once in awhile.
Ok todays menu
B=2pcs peameal bacon 2 eggs 2 whole wheat toast (out with gf )
coffee
S=muffin lf/homemade handful blueberries and 4 strawberries water
L=Leek soup w/1sml slice whole grain bread w/1tbsp pb water
S=Yogurt herb tea
D=Fish 1/2cp brown rice w/okra 1scoop of lf yogurt ice cream w/ fruit
water x2
1/2Max 5 Choc bar. herb tea
Well thats it for now gonna post all this in fitday see how i have done on calories cross my fingers.
Hope you all had a good weekend. Mine was a bit too good ... or should I say I was bad?! Probably ate too much a the Chinese restaurant on Saturday night ... although most of it was steamed fish/seafood ... the problem was that I succumbed to a very small bowl of fried rice ... and some Singapore noodle!!! I can only hope that the fact that I had no lunch (I got up late and had breakfast for lunch!!) will have made the damage not quite so bad!! Yesterday wasn't much better either ... got up late so we'll call it brunch ... had 2 poached eggs on toast ... skipped lunch and had early dinner out ... which was Lamb Saag curry (spinach) with rice, but only ate half the portion of rice and a quarter of hubby's naan bread!! I'm back on track properly today though!!
Does anyone else struggle to stay on track at weekends? I find it so difficult ... my whole social life seems to revolve around eating out/drinking!! It's very difficult when everyone else is eating the things that you love but know you shouldn't be eating ... and drinking wine!! Hope it will get easier. I haven't been brilliant over the past couple of weekends, but I really am trying to make better choices and I guess that any little improvement is better than none. I've stopped drinking wine during the week, changed to basmati or brown rice and only have a very tiny portion, trying not to have pasta because I always over-induldge! ... have only had it once since starting Gi ... have not had ANY chocolate or chips, eating more fruit/salad/veg etc. So I must be doing something right!
Leticia, you are doing brilliantly ... that mini goal will be reached this week!!
Wendy, sounds like you've got your exercise routine all planned ... I'm feeling a bit lazy listening to all you girls so I really am going to make an effort this week to get started properly ... regular walking, although it's so hot/humid here at the moment, but I guess I should be working up a sweat anyway so why worry?! And some regular sit-ups/crunches ... for the flabby tummy/abs!!
Mrszebs ... I wondered the same as Wendy about whether or not you are consuming enough calories ... have you worked it out all? Sounds a bit strange doesn't it, that when we're 'on a diet' we can actually consume too few calories which will slow down our weight loss! Your overall plan looks pretty good to me though, so I'd just persevere and keep doing what you're doing ... but I would check out your calorie intake for a couple of days just to see.
Slim, I would also like that Squash Goulash recipe, it sounds yummy so please post it.
I'm off to work out my food plan for today ... will post it tomorrow. Have a good week everyone!
All this talk about exercise lately made me get back into it yesterday. I had been slacking something awful. I reeaaallly didn't want to do it yesterday but made myself. So I popped in a 1 mile Walk Away the Pounds tape and had a blast! I always moan and groan about having to do it but Leslie Sansone always gets me going and I never regret it afterwards.
I have to report - and very happy to do so - that I've lost 1 1/2 pounds. My tracker says 1 pound, but I've gone from 263.5 to 262. So I'm claiming that half pound!
My weekend was nice and relaxing. Didn't do much at all. Didn't even leave the house. It was wonderful! I do have some revisions to yesterdays menu, and it ain't good! For breakfast, I had an extra hard boiled egg - not so bad. For my snacks I didn't have the clementines or cherries I had planned, but had 2 popsicles instead. And also had 2 Super Donuts. Remember those from school? They're so hard to resist! That was it though. For me, that's a pretty good day because when I go off plan, I really go all out and binge like you would not believe! I'm not going to worry about it though.
One thing I wanted to run by everyone here. I'm going to start eating more lower carb with just a sprinkling of Low GI foods included. I lose best when I eat low carb and also get a better handle on my cravings that way. If this bothers anyone here, let me know and I won't post my menus anymore. I don't want to confuse any new folks joining this thread, thinking they have to eat low carb.
Wendy - I was going to ask you where to get those Max 5 bars, but uh uh, I don't wanna know! If they're as good as you say they are, I could see myself becoming addicted quick!
Ok, my Squash Goulash. This recipe expanded from my grandmother's recipe of simple squash and onions. She always made a simple veggie mix with a thin broth... Squash, cucumber, onions. For the longest time, I'd try to make it like her's and it just didn't taste the same, until I asked her. I was leaving out the cucumber. It makes a big difference in the taste, so don't leave it out! Since then, I started adding other things in and my mother coined it Squash Goulash.
Squash Goulash
4 Summer squash, quartered and sliced
3 zucchini squash, quartered and sliced
1 cucumber, quartered and sliced
4 medium size onions, sliced
2 slices of Jowl bacon (or 1 smoked turkey drumstick)
1 bell pepper, chopped (I use half a green and half a red)
1 clove garlic
a couple light sprinkles of crushed red pepper
2 Tablespoon of chicken soup base, or you could do half water, half chicken broth
1 cup frozen corn
2 cups okra
Water
In a large pot, add the squashes, cucumber, onion, Jowl bacon, garlic, bell pepper and crushed red pepper. Cover with water. Bring to a boil for about 10 minutes, then turn it down low and let it simmer for about 20-30 minutes, til the water cooks down a bit. Add the okra and chicken soup base, cook about 10 minutes more. Last, add the frozen corn and cook til the corn is just done.
Sometimes, I'll add a large potato, cut up. In the winter, I'll add a variety of winter squashes. My picky 4 year old loves this. And anyone who doesn't like squash will like this recipe. I've tried it on 3 others who said they hated it and was like wow, that's really good. Enjoy!
Well today is my actual weigh in day. I am up by 1 pound... i am so frustrated! I told myself no more scale except on Mondays! I am not sure if it is from muscle because i have been walking and going to the ymca working out? but i am starting to count my calories today to see what i am taking in. talk later
Kay
Just posting a quick recipe I wanted to share cause it was sooooooooooooooo good!!!
Mango Chicken
Sesame Oil 1 tbsp
2 large mangos, sliced thin
2 boneless chicken breasts, sliced thin
1/2 cup green onions
1 red pepper
2 cups broccoli
1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2tbsp soy sauce
1/4 cup orange juice (or passionfruit)
Juice of 1 lime
1 tsp chili flakes
Cornstarch (optional)
Prep everything before starting (slicing and dicing).
Combine juice (I used passionfruit) with soy sauce and chili flakes
Stir fry chicken in sesame oil (I used less than 1 tbsp and it was still good) until cooked. Add ginger and garlic and stir fry a few minutes till fragrant.
Add red pepper, broccoli and green onions.
Add soy sauce mixture and stir fry the whole lot.
Add mangos and give it a few more minutes.
Add starch (if desired, I opted not to use it and it was great but if you like your sauces thicker add it)
Serve over basmati or couscous.
This was spicy, fruity and just absolutely delicious. This is a recipe I'll be using for entertaining I'm sure!
I don't want to waste time eating something mediocre. If it's not yummy, I'm not going to bother with it. Which is a good thing, because convenience foods are not that yummy to begin with! LOL I got to thinking about this today because I bought some yam chips to try them out and they were just kindof bland. I just got rid of them. Why bother eating something (especially something higher in fat) if it's boring and insipid??
I can't wait to meet it! Exercise really does make a difference not only in the loss but in how I feel. Even when I hate it LOL I feel so proud of myself for doing it!! I'm less worried about my abs than my flopsy arms 
. I'm using weights to help with that but I also do some core exercises 3-4 times per week. I'm already down two sizes which is great! I bought some new jeans and it really makes a difference wearing clothes that fit. LOL
. I don't have a tape measure so i can measure my sizes. I will go to wal-mart today and get one. Thanks for the support ladies. I really am one who looks forward to it. If anyone ever needs a buddy my e-mail is 
