Waging War on Weekend Weight Gain

With the weekend looming merely hours away, I am wrought with fear that I'll remake all of the same mistakes that I've made the last 6 or so weekends, sending my weight back on the upswing. Having accomplished a major weight loss goal this week, I am determined to keep it together food wise, and was thinking that some of my health conscious friends might benefit from the encouragement and suggestions that I have to offer.

DISCLAIMER: Any suggestions that I may offer are simply my own. I am not a health care professional, nutritionist or personal trainer (yet ;) ), just a girl whose been on this journey for almost 2 years now and has picked up a few things along the way that seem to work. Take it or leave it :)

So, as I was making my breakfast this morning and whipping up a little concoction that has become one of my favorite healthy morning treats, I got to thinking that others might like it too...I know my family does. You see, I have this passion for all things crunchy and in my journey that has been a major struggle, while there is crunch in a fresh apple, or celery or baby carrots, it simply does not satisfy the same way as those pearly whites crashing through a potato chip or nice hard pretzel rod or even the crispy coating on a freshly fried chicken tender. Beyond that, I am a carb freak, I mean honestly, what woman isn't? What I'm getting at by telling you this is that several months ago I had a devastating craving for a crispy fried potato pancake...which of course is DEFINITELY NOT on my meal plan. So, I got to thinking about what I might do and came up with this delectable little treat.

Savory Oatmeal Pancake. Now I know that doesn't sound very tasty when you think of the gummy blob in your breakfast bowl that honestly only tastes good if it's loaded down with butter and brown sugar, but trust me and keep reading. This went through several experimental phases and lots of modifications and didn't wind up coming out much like a potato pancake but it sure is tasty. Anyway, this is what it boils down to. For quite some time I've been using oatmeal as a healthy replacement for breadcrumbs in things like meatballs or meatloaf and go the idea to grind and season it so that it took on the same general consistency as bread crumbs...it worked. So busting out my trusty Magic Bullet, I dumped in some oats and a good few shakes of the Mrs. Dash Tomato Basil Garlic seasoning and pulsed away. Still slightly suspect, I decided to throw caution to the wind and follow through with my original concept. I sauteed up onions, and green peppers and set them aside. Then I took 2 egg whites, scrambled them up with some of the oatmeal "bread crumbs," mixed in the veggies and dumped it back into the skillet with some cooking spray. About a minute on each side and it forms together like a delicious savory pancake, which I like to top with some fresh salsa or diced tomatoes. It doesn't come out particularly crispy but it is hearty and filling and healthy! The one that I made for myself this morning with turkey bacon, onions and mushrooms and topped with salsa was right at 120 calories! Eat that with some fresh fruit or toss in some shredded cheese and you've got a seriously delicious and healthy meal, that will not leave you feeling like you're starving in 20 minutes! Plus, you can put practically anything in it!

Anyway, I threw out that story and "recipe" if you will, to get at a certain point. There are plenty of foods that with a simple modification can chop your calories and especially your sodium content by more than 1/2.

Suggestion 1: Always be thinking of simple modifications to make your foods healthier. Swap oatmeal for breadcrumbs or other binding agent in some of your more caloric dense foods. Use a low fat or fat free ranch dressing in place of mayo for an even healthier tuna or chicken salad.

Suggestion 2: Always be prepared! The weekend is the worst time for spontaneous restaurant stops or meals on the go, but if you have the opportunity to know where you are going to eat before you pull into the parking lot, do your research. Take some time to look up the menu and nutrition information online before you go the restaurant. Have in mind exactly what you are going to order and stick to it.

Suggestion 3: When eating out, avoid the extras. Ask the server not to bring bread rolls, or chips and salsa so that you don't take in all of those extra calories! Not even having them on the table keeps you from having to resist the temptation.

Suggestion 4: Don't be afraid to ask for modifications to your meal. Ask for your protein to be grilled without butter or oil, for no salt to be added. Ask for your vegetables to be steamed rather than cooked in a butter bath...ACTUALLY EAT YOUR VEGETABLES! Ask for the dressing on your salad to be served on the side, that way you control the calories, not the sauce happy server.

Suggestion 5: When out and about on the weekend bring healthy snacks with you. This will keep your metabolism high and will keep you from being so hungry that when you pop in at a random restaurant you over eat.

Suggestion 6: Avoid eating in front of the television or at the movie theatre. When you are preoccupied you aren't aware of how much you are eating and are more prone to over eat. When watching a movie at home, if you must snack, make it a healthy one and only take the portion that you intend to eat out of the kitchen.

Suggestion 7: This is perhaps the most important suggestion that I can offer you, for the weekend or any other day of the week, especially if you are actively trying to lose weight. WRITE IT DOWN! Everything that you eat keep in a food journal, there are ones that you can use online or do the pen and paper method. My personal choice is the lovely LoseIT app on my iPhone which keeps it all together for me, and I ALWAYS have it with me. It may seem tedious, and in a great many ways, it is, but the fact of the matter is this, if you aren't writing it down it's easy to develop that food amnesia where you forget about that bite of pizza or handful of cereal, the M&Ms here or cookie there.

Set realistic goals for yourself and strive hard to achieve them. Make them realistic and regularly check your progress on achieving them. If you aren't on track to meet them by your deadline consider pushing your deadline back, but work hard to achieve the goal and don't beat yourself up over not meeting the goal or having a bad day, or even a bad meal, just start fresh the next meal or next day, don't wait for a new week or use one mistake to sabotage yourself further.

My goal is to be healthy and inspire those around me to become more healthy as well.