Chicken or the Egg: Solving My Protein Dilemma
Now that I'm actively taking control of my diabetes, I noticed my blood sugars are extremely high in the morning after breakfast. So despite not being a morning person, I'm actually very sweet! =) Skim milk and whole grain cereal are great for weight loss, but damaging to diabetics. So what can I eat that is high in protein and low in carbs that will not raise my sugar?
Each article I find says make an omelet or boil some eggs. This sounds great, but what do I do if I don't like eggs? One of my YouTube homies gave a demonstration on chicken quesadillas I wanted to try, and JHud mentioned in her book that she eats chicken fajitas for breakfast. I also picked up a Natural Awakenings journal from the store and one article on Eat Breakfast to Shed Pounds read,
"A healthy breakfast, especially one high in protein, increases satiety and reduces hunger throughout the day, making it a valuable strategy to control appetite and regulate food intake... Eating protein-rich breakfast works to reduce the brain signals controlling food motivation and reward-driven eating behavior."Ding, Ding, Ding, Ding! CONFIRMATION!
I made these bad boys Saturday morning before dance class to see how much work it would take to make in the mornings. They were super easy! Awesome does not describe how good these were. Here is my low carb, high protein version:
Chicken Quesadillas
1.5 oz Southwest flavored chicken strips (slice them into smaller chunks to expand)
1 slice low sodium turkey bacon (chicken strips have more than enough sodium)
2 tbsp Rotel Original Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies
1 oz Mexican or taco style shredded cheese
1 tbsp olive oil
In a sauce pan, add olive oil and fry the turkey bacon. Once done, place on cutting board and slice into strips.
Add chicken strips to pan and add the bacon strips to blend until chicken is warm and well coated with turkey bacon "grease".
Add Rotel and stir until blended.
On tortilla, spread the cheese onto the top half of the shell.
Spoon the chicken mixture over the cheese.
Fold the bottom half over and bake in toaster oven at 350 degrees until toasted.
Slice into 3 triangles with pizza cutter and serve.
***They are spicy and very filling. My blood sugar was below normal an hour after this meal and it's only 7 points plus on Weight Watchers plan!!! I have pre-made the chicken mixture and placed them in 1/2 cp containers so I can make these up quickly every morning!
I file this under: WINNING!!!
Lent 2012
Last year I joined my mom and her church as they fasted for Lent. From Webster's Dictionary, in the Christian religion Lent is an annual season of fasting and penitence in preparation for Easter, beginning on Ash Wednesday and lasting 40 weekdays to Easter. People observe it in different ways and besides fasting from food, as I did last year, you can use the time to abstain from any negative habit or behavior.
Since I'm on Weight Watchers and cannot fast from food, I have decided to abstain from television. Now let me just say, that this may be harder than restricting certain foods. I do, however, have the faith that I will not even miss TV. I am excited about it because I can't wait to have more time to get things done in the evenings. I also have a mini goal of getting to bed by 11pm this month and this will be no problem with no TV to distract me.
I will miss The Young and the Restless and Nicholas Newman. I will miss The Today Show, but I will be taping my weekly shows. I can't go too long without The Game and TI and Tiny-LOL.
Get Your Mind Right: How to Get and Stay Motivated
How do I stay motivated? I get asked this question at least once a day since my first week on this journey. It is now week six and I am still just as motivated and excited about my future as I was on January 2nd. It was really the right time for me to make that change and look at the man in the mirror LOL. Just because it is my time, does not mean that you are a failure because you can't or won't stick to your plan. It may be that your head is just not in the game right now.
My mom study's her Bible every morning before work and found this quote in the The Word For You Today devotional book-
"We don't change until the pain of staying the same becomes unbearable, when it hurts so much that you have to, you learn so much that you want to, and you receive so much that you welcome it!"Wow!!! She put this on my lunch box for me and my best friend who was hospitalized last month and is temporarily bed ridden from complications with diabetes. These complications were enough to scare us straight and keep us motivated. Here are some other tips from Richmond Family Magazine that may help keep your head in the game too:
Six Workout Motivatiors
- Set a goal, and tell everybody about it. This is Accountability 101. If your weight loss goal was a secret, then no one can make you feel guilty about eating that box of Twinkies. Would you be so quick to ditch the gym if a workout buddy was waiting for you? Tell somebody and don't get made when they check you!
- Go shopping. Now this does not mean buying a new wardrobe in your future size, although I have made a few small purchases recently. This is referring to new things to keep your new lifestyle exciting. I purchased a Biggest Loser scale after my 11 pound weight loss in January. I can't keep myself off of that thing! Workout buddy #1 bought me a digital jump rope for Christmas and I can jump 26 times without stopping!! I'm buying a weighted hoola hoop at the end of February to celebrate my future 8 lb loss =) You get the picture. Just keep yourself excited a long the way.
- Figure out a reward system. Besides my long term goals, I created short term goals to reward my BL teammates and myself often. This month, my goals are from M-F, to get in bed each night by 11pm, drink 14 cups of water, and workout each day. The water is actually the hardest one, but I'm working on different strategies. If I achieve at least one goal, I place $1 into my Rewards Can. If I complete all three for the day, I can place $2 into the can. At $10 a week, that will be $40 to blow or I can keep saving until the end of the year with over $450!!! I'm thinking a vacation and I would've earned every bit of it!!
- Think about the future. At 35 I want kids, I want a long life with my boo, and I don't want them to have to take care of me. My fiance' always reminds me that he was raised to know how to take care of me if I can't do it myself. Now who talks like that unless this is really troubling him? I don't want him to worry about that ever again.
- Think of it as alone time. I discussed Me Time last week and it is all that and more.
- Try something different. I have decided to try out different activities to spice up my workout routine and keep my body from becoming comfortable. I don't want to experience any plateaus that will threaten my resolve. Now that I have tried line dancing, I am gearing up for an exotic dance class this Friday. I'm nervous and excited at the same time because I don't have any hips! I think they may be required for this class!! LOL
Steps -written by "Real Mom" Paige Tucker, Chester, VA
Richmond Family Magazine
Ideas- SlimShadee
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