Category: weight loss

The Dieting Teacher

Posted on by Tracy Livingston M.Ed.

The word dieting is negative. I prefer healthy. I have done it all and still am about twenty pounds overweight. The “about” is due to my perennial fear of the scale. More of a clothes gal who teeters between loose, tight, and oops a new size is needed. This last category is mind-numbing. So I diet. I also teach. The two do not go hand-in-hand, unless you are supremely organized, or have a fabulous metabolism. My tips, tricks, and attempts at cooking in the real working world coupled with being over 50. Ok, actually 59. My ideas are also designed to guide those that are as inept as I am in the kitchen or just want a few shortcuts.

So here we go. First of all, I am using Weight Watchers (I left Noom due to cost) as my primary plan and tracker, but have also added a new “health” component. I am using frozen vegetarian meals from a variety of sources to quickly have a healthy meal under seven points, eat less meat, and have a higher count of daily veggies. Why frozen? Unlike so many bloggers, I can’t cook. So I bring you the simplistic reality of those that can’t create insta worthy meals or just don’t have time. Lucky for me I am low in sodium so the extra salt is ok for my intake. But yes, watch your salt. Please.

On my plan, I have twenty-three points a day. I choose to divide them up fairly evenly. Breakfast is five or under, lunch is seven or under, one snack with three points or under, and dinner is at eight or under. This is twenty-three. Boom. Obviously, these numbers are at my high totals. But it is a plan I can live with as I have tried living on zero points. It does not work for me at all.

This week I am sharing my teacher breakfast and lunch planning. Why? I eat in my car (I am not alone) in the morning so I can create time for my Peloton and have thirty minutes for lunch. It’s a race and my total day can go off the rails if these two meals are not thought about carefully. Ever wander around a school cafeteria with no breakfast or lunch prepared. I have. Your options are thousands of calories. So, here are my after winter break, back to school lunches! Beware. I do not mind eating the same thing daily. I know I just lost all of you foodies. Note you can add all different veggies to your burger to make it different. Let’s see what I come up with this week.

This week is week one back to school after winter break. I will be cooking Boca burgers/chicken for my weekly lunches. At two points a burger OR the chicken at three points. These are winning alternatives. This week I am cooking both and switching it up. You cannot go wrong. Cooking lunch on Sunday for the week is a plus (keep it simple) as are the low points of the veggie alternatives and decreased meat and saturated fat. I keep a small jar of mustard in my frig (or grab a pouch from the cafeteria) and ta dah we have lunch. Pair this with a favorite fruit, grapes in my case, for zero points. If you want a bun use a sandwich thin by Oroweat for an additional two points. Lunch under six points. Winning. For a simple storage idea, I throw everything in a separate ziploc for each day and store in the frig on Sunday afternoons for my nightly quick packing. Fancy. Need a snack throw in a sugar free jello or some carrots or keep a secret protein bar/shake stash for emergencies when starvation hits and sweets sound delightful. The two lowest protein bars are the Protein One bar for two points or the Built Bar at three points. The lowest convenience shake is premier protein is at three points and worth it! Even if you have a bar/shake you are at nine points, which included your “special” afternoon snack. Not bad.

As for breakfast. I am as dull as they come. This week I am sticking with my faux chocolate muffin stuffed with veggies. Yum. Veggies Made Great has healthy muffins, saturated with vegetables, that I can’t taste. A plus. All for five points. I pair this with fruit and a quickly toss this into my lunch bag for a nice easy breakfast of champions as I head to school.

Here are my links for quick reference. Please note this is not a sponsored blog. These are my own ideas, thoughts, and of course my truth on taste, texture, and ease.

http://www.bocaburger.com

http://www.oroweat.com

http://www.proteinone.fiberone.com

http://www.built.com

http://www.veggiesmadegreat.com

Next week, my blog will focus on how my burger trick worked and tasted. Will I do it again? Do I suggest it? Did I add veggies to sharpen the taste? Also, did my breakfast, lunch, fruit, and veggie snacks keep me on a healthy track and cause my clothes to wiggle a little bit more.

Have a great week!

Nooming Part 2

Posted on by Tracy Livingston M.Ed.

I am back on Noom. I left. I did. Which makes this post worthy of a prize or an escalated Noom blogger award. 🤔 I left because I could do this on my own. Suddenly cocky with eight pounds gone. This was my inner thought and money saving idea. Suddenly after fighting since childbirth (thirty-one years ago) I could do this alone and save the money and annoying check-ins from my personal person or bot. Not sure which, but in this age of technology and with eight pounds lost, why did I care, if there is a real face with my consults? I don’t. Eight pounds lost and now eight pounds gained left to my own devices and fell through a mushroom cloud of stress and the outward “I am O.K” that I gave out to my world aka my seventh grade classroom.

I am back. Why? Noom works. There I said it. It really does for those that need their hands held while foods, friends, stress, and life let us down. Noom works.

So onward with the color system, quizzes, and chat check-ins with my mysterious coach or a brilliant bot. Again, who knows or cares. Weight loss is about buy-in, desire, cheerleaders galore, recipies or direction etc. After you find that in your form, whatever that looks like, the rest is up to you.

Thank you Noom. I have come back to shake the weight for good and reap the benefits for myself and my family which is priceless.

Now I have to learn to cook, better. Much better. Got an app for that? Readers if interested head over to Noom. No, I am not paid. It just works. Feel free to share, follow, and of course like if health and weightloss is your “jam.” Be on the lookout for more from me as I dive deep into essays on my successes and failures to keep me on the straight and narrow. And as always be prepared for the truth and a chuckle. https://www.noom.com

Nooming…

Posted on by Tracy Livingston M.Ed.

No, this is not a paid Noom promotion. I have a handful of dedicated followers but that does not create #paidpromotion.

A girl can dream!

I began Noom about two weeks ago due to a high salt content in my diet creating havoc on my blood pressure and causing additional weight gain. I have struggled with this since July 1991 directly after my sons birth. We all have this story in a variety of shapes and sizes and the clothes to boot. So, I won’t bore you with the countless attempts with my arch nemesis Weight Watchers. Now, it does work for many and it worked once for me and I still have the sacred ten pound token saved and in written into my will. My son will cherish, I am sure. But more often than not, I cheated the system, time and time again. It was easy as they have become more holistic centered rather that weight centered. I needed a boot camp mentality instead of an it’s ok, try again tomorrow. Just me.

Enter Noom. It is pricey. Very, and still not boot camp. But worth every penny. It keeps me accountable in a way like no other. While the Noom coach is not saying “get off you ass” or “close that refrigerator door.” I hear those phrases as they are subtlety weaved into our daily text exchange. The program is designed to teach, applaud, and turn you around if floundering on a dime. It is based around the psychology of eating through a series of daily lessons and charting foods based on colors and overall calorie content. Green=Good, Yellow=So, so, Red=Watch it! This stop sign method works for me as it is easy. The focus lies in the color groups but you have a calorie bar at the top. My limit is 1400 calories. I have only gone over by sixty on one day and it was with a green food. I felt fine with that decision. All while inputting my meals in the dashboard app, as well. This measures my sodium. I must stay under 1500 MG a day. Side note, a simple salad at Pei Wei is a challenge but it can be done. Sodium lives everywhere and this is a challenge. But my goals have been met with one or two days slightly over. Truly on good foods, that I learned to take out of my arsenal. Good bye chicken thighs and roast turkey breast. Who knew? Hello Mrs. Dash and low sodium Ezekiel bread. It is sprouted, must be frozen, pricey, but worth it. It gives me bread without the extra preservatives. Overall, very pleased but it is work and if you are not ready to work. Don’t do it. I was ready.

Two weeks later down 5 pounds and 8 ounces. Everything counts. Will I continue? You betcha. Is it still hard? Eh, getting into the good habits for this thing called health, so much easier. Is it better than Weight Watchers? For me, yes. No one has the right answers but if you want success you will find what works!

Please note I would do paid ads, thank you very much, because we all need another fifty something with grey hair to save the day on the great mascara debate. Sure we do. But seriously, just message me!