I just love crushed ice, or ice cubes. I love to suck on them while I'm working on the computer!You can FREEZE CUBES OF CRYSTAL-LITE FRUIT FLAVORS; INSTEAD OF DRINKING ALL OF THAT GREAT LIQUID, FREEZE SOME AND 'MUNCH' - BETTER THAN AN EXPENSIVE SORBET, AND KILLS HUNGER TOO.
For anyone who worries about the effects of artificial sweeteners, remember you only use about one tablespoon for the entire tray; a 'trace' amount. You can also freeze your favorite fruit juice - it won't be 100% calorie-free, but if you reduce the liquid (such as grape juice which is super-tasty) by 50%, you put in 50% juice; 50% water, and it 'flavors' the cubes (actually I'm quite fine eating crushed or cubed ice with nothing in it - but some aren't quite so keen on that 'bland' taste).
WAY AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE, I PUT MY 'CORE 750' (as I call it) DIET TO START ADDING TO AFTER YOU FOCUS ON GETTING THOSE FIRST 750 CALORIES IN!
I figured I should keep bringing this 'up' - as a new entry, so you don't have to kill your wire-less mouse batteries looking for it.
I also figured I'd better 'lower my type' - upper case is 'yelling', but sometimes I just get so excited over what I know has worked so well for me for 65 years, that I forget....
The reason I call it CORE750 (and have a copyright on the diet as well), is because many people have food preferences - not all the same. Many people have food allergies; we have to recognize this before we assume that just any 'diet' is going to work for everyone.
I was born with a myriad of food allergies; have them still - this is why I worked out this diet to suit me. I also have IBS and need to keep 'regular', so this is how I build my 'core' first.
After the core, ADD and count the calories you add. There are calorie-counting web-sites; I like the one at ABOUT.COM (it's listed on the side-bar where other valuable links are also provided).
LET'S DO CORE 750 NOW:
EVERY DAY AT BREAKFAST: One apple; Granola or Oatmeal, and 1/2 cup of cottage cheese.
EVERY DAY AT LUNCH: One pita - whole-wheat; 2 ounces of a lunch-meat, and 1 CUP of raw carrots.
EVERY DAY AT DINNER: Another cup of RAW carrots - Peas (about 12 pea pods - we like the sugar peas) - cooked, OR FRESH/RAW. One small red potato. There, now we're at 750 calories; I prefer to eat vegetarian, so I can finish off the rest of my 600 calories with 'more' of the same type of good fresh produce.
If you want meat: Three ounces of your favorite meat; grilled, roasted - broiled, just not 'doused' with anything except seasoning!
SNACK: 15 seedless grapes - only about 30 calories; won't hurt a thing!
As you can tell, these are the foods that I am NOT ALLERGIC TO.
NOTE: For years I was allergic to wheat, so I couldn't eat such things as bread; tortilla, or whole-wheat pita as I do now.
LUNCH MEAT: I always eat TUNA - WHITE ALBACORE; mix in a bit of YOGURT; season with celery salt and lemon juice; cut up some celery and mix it in. If I've got left-over soft-boiled eggs (I love these), I add some of that too. I rarely put in onion because after a day or 2, it doesn't taste all that great. Of course if you make each portion up fresh, then a bit of RED ONION is very tasty.
WHAT I ADD TO THAT CORE OF 750: I focus on lots of vegetables (raw); love red grapefruit slices (I get the ones in the Delmonte jar), and chow down on lots of BEETS.
FOR REGULARITY: I add 6 prunes - eat 2 in the morning; 2 with lunch, and 2 around 8:00 p.m. Prunes are like 'candy' - make that your evening snack; very low in calories as well.
I have only one serving of the pita bread - and my oatmeal or granola cereal at breakfast. With the prunes and these 2 servings, I stay regular and keep calories from fiber foods minimal.
I have dessert only ONCE A WEEK (when we eat out). My dessert normally is either the frozen cubes that I flavor with one of the Crystal-Light powders, prunes, or blackberries (I eat them slightly frozen and with a tiny amount of half and half).
I tell myself I 'hate sweets' - the more I say this, the more I actually do.
WE HAVE TO THINK HEALTHY, TO BE HEALTHY. THE POWER OF THE MIND IS WHAT WE EMPLOY IN ANYTHING WE DO!
If you succeed in your career, you can definitely succeed in maintaining or losing that weight!
THINK 750 TO LOSE AS WELL: Your exercise program should target losing 750 calories through a variety of activities (including house-work; gardening, and other things you do throughout the day. You don't have to go to the gymnasium or health club to 'burn' calories. There weren't any fancy machines like we have now, 400 years ago but people kept their weight off by working their 'butts off'. Yes, we often say this - that phrase came into being because people really did WORK HARD - remember that, and KEEP ACTIVE.
Again, refer to ABOUT.COM's activities tool if you join this group. They will show you what you 'burn' on a variety of activities - it's a great instrument to quickly calculate what you need to burn, or have burned.
HOW DO YOU ADD TO THIS CORE 750? If you like vegetables, by all means that's the first 'big step' because they are inexpensive; so good for you, and you're almost a vegetarian if you limit your meat as I do.
NEXT ADD FRUIT: I love grapefruit juice; however, it has many more calories than the FRUIT ITSELF. So, grab up those apples; those pears - lots of grapefruit and grapes. Bananas - 1; more than that, and you're taking in higher calories compared to the size serving you might be looking for. GRAPES AND STRAWBERRIES - they're low in calories; tasty - they are your dessert and your snack.
TRY NEXT FOR SOME GOOD CHEESE AND NUTS: A great plate for a meal is a pile of raw vegetables; some good cheeses (medium-hard); grapes and cut apples with chunks of fresh pineapple. You've got your protein in the cheese - it's all easy to 'cut and place' - napkins; iced tea (or 4 ounces of white wine), and there's not stove to clean in the kitchen!
STAY AWAY FROM: All things highly 'pickled' or 'spiced' - you'll add water-weight; that 5# of 'bloat' doesn't look good on anyone.
AVOID: Fast-food restaurants like the plague - and save your money by eating at home more of the time. If you start thinking "I can put on a decent meal in 20 minutes", you can. By keeping those fresh fruits, vegetables, and cheese handy you've always got a meal - add a few whole-wheat crackers and sneak another quick dinner past your family with a smile!
After everyone has 'eaten', you can fix up something in the kitchen while they're settled in doing 'other things'. Get the washer going with that load of whites; chop up some of those vegetables and make a great soup. If you're feeling 'guilty', make up a big batch of fruit smoothies; pour into glasses, and hand them out to your loved ones - it's time for a 'shake', and they'll love it!
There are so many recipes for fruit smoothies, I'm not even going to bore you by putting another one here. You just raid your fruit supply; throw in some milk and cottage cheese - a bit of vanilla extract for taste, and start that blender!
LADIES, HAVE WE STARTED OUR BLENDERS YET? Okay, maybe a few guys might be doing this too, but more often they're out in the garage souping up their cars while you're making the soup in your kitchen.............
