Protein All-Star Snacks

I received this from an email list I subsribe to and thought I would share:

The Biggest Loser Club eating plan encourages snacking, and fortifying a snack with protein will give you extra energy to go the distance. Here are some protein all-stars that our experts recommend:


1. Edamame (1/2 cup), buy frozen and follow cooking instructions (80 calories)
2. 5 celery stalks (4" long) and 1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese (95 calories)
3. 1 large dill pickle and 1 tablespoon natural peanut butter (125 calories)
4. WASA Rye Crispbread (1 cracker) with 1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese (115 calories)
5. Two slices turkey breast lunch meat rolled with 2 teaspoons cranberry jelly (100 calories)
6. Thinly sliced medium apple or pear with 1 ounce of cheese (150 calories)
7. Shrimp cocktail, 12 small shrimp with ¼ cup cocktail sauce (100 calories)
8. 1/4 can tuna with 1/4 cup non-fat plain yogurt and 1 miniature box of raisins (125 calories)
9. Cottage cheese, 1/2 cup low-fat + 1/3 cup canned pineapple (120 calories)
10. Veggie burger, soy-based, + 2 pickle slices and 1 tablespoon of mustard (110 calories)

Are you a fan of chocolate and peanut butter?

I love chocolate and peanut butter candy.  I recently discovered a lower calorie, healthier alternative.  Get chocolate crunch rice cakes (like Quaker brand).  Add a SMALL amount of all natural peanut butter, and presto, a tasty snack to satisfy any chocolate or peanut butter cravings.

Rice cake = 60 calories
1/2 tbsp peanut butter = 45 calories

A nice snack for less than 100 calories, only 5g of fat and 7g of sugar.  2 Reese's Peanut Butter cups will cost you 230 calories, 13g of fat and 20g of sugar!

Final Recap of Biggest Loser Round 1

Congrats to Cheryl for being our Biggest Loser with an overall total loss of 7.16%. Rounding out the top 3 losers was Dawn with 5.52% and Shanin with 4.60%. As a group, we lost a total of 45 pounds! I know not everyone met their personal goal, but everyone made some progress which is great. If you are not there yet, don't be disdiscouraged, it takes time to change your habits, and most importantly your lifestyle. So please, continue to be safe, have fun, eat healthy and keep moving!

Thoughts from Cheryl - The Highway's Round 1 Biggest Loser

As I know some or all of us have talked at some point about how great Miss Cheryl is looking, and wondered how the heck she is doing it, I asked her to provide some comments for us, as our Biggest Loser. As you'll see below, Cheryl has reached the 40 pound mark in just over 1 year's time! (Way to go Cheryl!) According to Cheryl...

"Well, since Jan 2009, I've lost 43 pounds. I try to exercise 3 times a week doing Wii Fit aerobics, yoga and strength training. When the weather is nicer, I go for walks. I try to take any chance to squeeze in some more active time. My main focus isn't on the weight loss, it's more about being active and trying to eat a bit better. I figured the rest would work itself out and results were bound to follow.

I would try to eat smart during the week - breakfast, lunch and dinner with healthy snacks at mid morning and mid afternoon. I would definitely let loose on the weekends so I wasn't feeling deprived. Pizza was the big treat or an occasional gyro, or chili cheese fries :)

I didn't buy a bunch of fat free stuff because the sugar in those items are usually very high. We try to buy things that are high in fiber (yes, we are getting old). Kashi has some very good granola bars, cereal bars and cereal which we love which has good fiber in them. I eat those a lot for snacks or breakfast. We switched to 100% whole wheat for our breads including pasta, tortillas, hot dog and hamburger buns. We also don't buy that many things now that have high fructose corn syrup in it, especially if it is one of the first five ingredients listed in the contents. It's not bad for you, but has higher calories.

I would say overall, it wasn't always easy, but once I got past those first 10 pounds, it became easier. It also helped to have encouragement of great friends :) I know this contest really helped get me back on track after Fritz and Megan's wedding. I'm just gonna keep plugging along and try to keep up with these good habits and hope to build some more."

Stress and Weight

I know we all get stressed from time to time.  And losing weight or even mantaining your current weight can be difficult even if you are eating right and exercising.  So, I searched for some insights on to why this happens.  Check out these articles about stress & weight:

Stress & Your Stomach

How Do I Control Stress Weight Gain?

Stress & Weight Gain - Can stress make you fat?

Eating Well website

Here's another website Ginny mentioned that she has gotten pretty good recipes from.  I'll add it to our links as well.

http://www.eatingwell.com/

New Website for Recipes

Ginny shared this website she found.  You can join for free and it's all healthy recipes. You can also enter your own recipe and it will calculate the calories.  Check it out!

http://sparkrecipes.com/

Caesar Salad Recipe - Mom Found This One

Crazy Mama tried this lower calorie caesar and recommends it.


Chicken Caesar Salad
by BeckyLifetime

Serves 2
Calories per serving: 445

For the salad:
8 ounces chicken breast, skinless
Olive oil to brush onto the chicken and on the toast
4 thin (melba thin) slices baguette on the diagonal
1/2 medium garlic clove
2 heads baby romaine lettuce
1 large, free-range egg
One handful of arugula and mustard cress
2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan
1 tablespoon sunflower seeds

For the dressing:
2 tablespoons fat-free Greek yogurt