Update

Hey, everyone. I apologize for not keeping up with my blog. Things have been a little hectic with my work schedule. I got a new job and I work third shift, so my sleeping schedule is a little screwed up and I haven't had much time to work on my blog. I will be taking new pics soon and I will update all my progress posts within the next few days. I will also post my first recipe post. So keep a look out for those. I've taken a little hiatus, but "Through Thick & Thin" is back, up, and running!!

The Best & The Worst #1: Chinese Food

When we order out or eat out, we have multiple items and dishes to choose from. Some are better than others and some are worse than others. Today's menu of topic: the average Chinese Menu.

INTRODUCTION: Chinese food is great. It is one of my favorite types of food to eat. And of course, I eat two of the worst things that Cooking Light magazine mentions. Two of the worst things you can order off of a Chinese menu include Pork Lo Mein and Sweet & Sour Chicken when compared to four other dishes, according to an article in the November 2009 issue of Cooking Light magazine. Two of the things I usually order are Pork Lo Mein and either Orange Chicken or General Tso's Chicken (which I imagine probably aren't terribly far from Sweet & Sour Chicken nutrition facts).


BEST-

Ma Po Tofu: 650 Calories
*Probably in the vegetarian section
*If it comes with ground pork and is not in the vegetarian
section, order it without the pork to make it healthier
*The ground pork adds calories and saturated fat

Shrimp w/Garlic Sauce: 700 Calories
*Shellfish and vegetables are a good choice to go with
*Served in a low-fat sauce
*Ask them to minimize the amount of cooking oil they use
to make it extra healthy

MODERATE-

Ginger Chicken w/Broccoli: 849 Calories
*Filled with vegetables
*Usually made with white meat chicken
*If you're overly concerned about the calories, try
reducing the serving size

Mu Shu Pork: 858 Calories
*"Stick to two filled pancakes of this
vegetable-packed dish and cut calories by half." --Cooking Light (quoted directly)
*Not sure what this means exactly....

WORST-

Sweet & Sour Chicken: 1,032 Calories
*Contains batter-coated and deep-fried chicken
*Cooked in a sauce that's contains a lot of sugar
*Tastes great but side effects include seeing higher
numbers on the weight scale, among other things

Pork Lo Mein: 1,419 Calories
*Contains oily noodles and fatty meat
*Seasoned with sodium greater than 100% of
your daily value!
*Once again... delicious. But it comes at a price!


REMEMBER: Chinese food is delicious, don't get me wrong. But remember, there are good choices and not-so-good choices you can make when eating out.

THANK YOU: I would like to thank Cooking Light magazine, their researchers, writers, and publishers for such a great source of knowledge, the subscription of which is going to be on a certain blogger's Christmas list, I can assure you!!

Trick #5: To Help Burn Calories...

HERE IS A LITTLE TRICK THAT HELPS ME TO CONTINUE EXERCISING: I Go To The Gym No Matter How Much Time I May Have To Do It!

Okay.... so, here's the thing-- yesterday, I left my house a little late because I was looking up video games that I may want for Christmas. I left probably around 4:00 PM, give or take a half hour; and I wanted to be back by 6:00 or 6:30 at the latest. In addition to that, it takes about 15-20 minutes to get to the gym. This didn't leave me a whole lot of time to get in a decent workout.

Here's what you need to think about, though: I only burned about 300 calories on the elliptical. My question to you is, "How many calories would I have burned on the elliptical had I not gone to the gym at all?" Well, considering the fact that I don't own an elliptical at home, the answer is a resounding "None." I was also able to do some stretches and work out on a few machines. So I'm keeping my muscles active so that I don't regress too much and get weaker. I'm also keeping my metabolism up.

CONCLUSION: Some exercise is better than no exercise. Even if you go to the gym for a little bit, it's that much more exercise that you probably wouldn't have done if you didn't go at all. In the end, I was at the gym for 1-1.5 hours yesterday. That's a lot more exercise than I would have gotten if I didn't go at all because I felt I "didn't have enough time to go to the gym." The fact of the matter is, if you think you don't have enough time to go to the gym, you do. If I'm wrong and you honestly don't, you could do something like crunches or stretches or go for a walk. As a warning, don't forget-- please be careful. Don't go for a walk when it is dark out or if you think that it will get dark before you return from your walk. Be sure that you know how to stretch properly so you do not hurt yourself. And be sure you know the proper techniques for any exercises you do so you do not hurt yourself and so that you can do them efficiently, obtaining the best results. Stay safe, people!!

Trick #4: To Help Keep Yourself From Giving Up...

HERE IS A LITTLE TRICK THAT HELPS ME TO CONTINUE EATING WELL AND EXERCISING: Think About The Future!

Sometimes, I have a bad day. Maybe I didn't exercise, maybe I binged, maybe I ate unhealthy snacks or meals. When this happened in the past, I would want to give up and decide that I had ruined my "diet," so I was just going to ignore how healthy or unhealthy my food choices were from then on. Has this ever happened to you?

First of all, keep in mind the voice of Scarlett O'Hara (Gone With The Wind): "Tomorrow is anotha day." In other words, just start fresh tomorrow.

But what I'm about to tell you now is VERY important!! What I will ask myself is, "Are you are not so overweight that it will cause health issues in the future and 100% COMPLETELY content with your body and your image?" That answer to my question is a big, "obese" "No!" I realize that if I give up now, I will want to lose weight in the future. How much weight will I gain before I realize I want to go on another "diet?" When that happens, I my goal from before I quit my efforts will not be the same. My goal will still be to get down to about 200lbs. (+/- 30lbs.).

So what did I do in giving up and going back to eating the way I was before I made this lifestyle change? I put myself farther away from my goal. Now I'm going to have to lose all that weight all over again and then lose the weight that I wasn't able to lose to reach my goal before I gave up!

In other words- let's say I gave up now. My goal weight is 200 pounds and I'm 321 pounds. I had a bad day and figured, "I just ruined everything, now. I'm just going to throw in the towel and give up." And then I went for 6 months before wanting to lose weight again. In that 6 months, let's say I gained 40 pounds, putting me at 361 pounds. I know I still want to be about 200 pounds. So that hasn't changed. But now, not only do I have to lose the 40 pounds just to get back to where I was before I gave up, but then I need to lose the other 121 pounds that I didn't give myself the chance to lose before. So now, instead of just needing to lose 121 pounds, I now need to lose 161 pounds to reach my goal.

So put yourself in that hypothetical situation and ask yourself, "Is my goal going to change if I give up now? And is giving up going to bring me closer to my goal or take me farther away from it?" If I have a bad day, the needle may creep 5 pounds on the scale. But would I rather have it go up 5 pounds from having a bad day, or 40 pounds from giving up and having a bad 6 months?

CONCLUSION: If you are considering giving up, think about the future and if you're going to want to lose weight again. Then think about how far back you are going to put yourself by giving up instead of just having one or two bad days? Honestly, this is how I keep myself from giving up and I think it may help you as well.

Blog Help?

Can you help? I'd like to remind readers to look for updates on older posts by creating a signature that is left after every post. Can someone tell me how to do that?

I would like to remind readers that my Weight Loss Progress post will be updated weekly and the chart will be updated every two weeks. My Physical Progress post will be updated monthly and my Workout Progress post will be updated once every couple days.

Thank You. :)

SUBSTITUTE #1: Butter vs. "I.C.B.I.N.B." Spray

HERE IS A HEALTHIER SUBSTITUTE THAT I ENJOY USING INSTEAD OF A MORE COMMONLY USED ITEM: I Use "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" Spray Instead Of Melted Butter.

Last night, I put on The Nightmare Before Christmas and made myself a 100-calorie bag of popcorn. I don't really like plain popcorn, personally. I like some flavor. So I decided to try out the "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" spray that I bought a little while back and tried it out. Result? AMAZING!! It's delicious and a MUCH better alternative to putting melted butter on your popcorn instead!! And it's gluten-free for those of you who need to maintain a gluten-free diet!


I guess there are two settings, "Cooking Spray" and "Topping."

The Nutrition Facts Label Gives This Information:

Serving Size 1 Spray (0.20g) Cooking Spray 5 Sprays (1g) Topping
Servings Per Container 1130 Cooking Spray, 226 Topping
Calories: 0
Calories from Fat: 0
Total Fat:
Cooking Spray: 0g (DV=0%)
Topping: 0g (DV=0%)
Sat Fat:
Cooking Spray: 0g (DV=0%)
Topping: 0g (DV=0%)
Trans Fat:
Cooking Spray: 0g
Topping: 0g
Cholesterol:
Cooking Spray: 0mg (DV=0%)
Topping: 0mg (DV=0%)
Sodium:
Cooking Spray: 0mg (DV=0%)
Topping: 15mg (DV=1%)
Total Carb:
Cooking Spray: 0g (DV=0%)
Topping: 0g (DV=0%)
Protein:
Cooking Spray: 0g
Topping: 0g
NOTES: Not a significant source of dietary fiber, sugars, vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium and iron. Percent Daily Values (DV) are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Refrigerate for quality. Best when used by date printed on container. Questions? Call 1-800-634-0302.
INGREDIENTS: water, liquid soybean oil, salt, sweet cream buttermilk*, xanthan gum, natural soy lecithin, polysorbate 60, lactic acid, (potassium sorbate, calcium disodium edta) used to protect quality, natural and artificial flavors, Vitamin A (palmitate), bea carotene (color).

*adds a dietarily insignificant amount of cholesterol


It tastes great!! I love it!! Popcorn can be a very healthy snack and this helps keep it that way without sacrificing taste!!

TRICK #3: To Help With Portion Control...

HERE IS A LITTLE TRICK THAT HELPED ME ESTABLISH BETTER EATING HABITS: I Use Smaller Plates To Put My Food On Before Eating.

In an article I read from an issue of Cooking Light, putting food on a smaller plate helps with portion control. The amount of food on a plate can play tricks on a person's mind depending on the size of the plate. So I fought fire with fire.

When I have a large plate, I feel the need to cover the plate (as many people do). Depending on the size of the plate, this can become a problem. So when I am trying to watch my portion size, what I do is I grab a smaller plate out of the cabinet. Instead of the large dinner plates, I'll use a plate that is probably meant for a relatively modest-sized serving of dessert. But instead of using the plates for a slice of pie, I'll use them to eat a small meal, helping to establish portion control.

The same goes for drinks and the glasses you pour them into. When I am trying not to consume too many empty calories by drinking a lot of orange juice, I'll use a short coffee mug instead of a tall beer mug.

CONCLUSION: When I want to consume smaller portions but still feel like I ate enough, I use smaller plates and glasses so when I fill the plate up, it still looks like I'm getting a full meal.