I don't really believe in "Plateaus" when it comes to losing weight. When partway through your weight loss efforts, you just slow down or stop losing weight, and "it's your body's fault." I think it's more of partway through the weight loss efforts, we get bored. We are seeing results and so we get a little lax in our eating/exercising regimen.
I have been struggling in my weight loss for the last few months. I have still been consistently losing weight, but it seems to be getting more difficult. I think I figured out why: food fatigue. I am bored with what I eat. Because food spoils, I will buy something and eat it every day until the package is gone, so that it doesn't go bad. I REALLY need to stop doing this. Because I'll eat the same thing every day for 3 weeks, and then I'm sick of it and don't want it anymore, and then I'll start going out to eat to find better food options. That's bad.
I've decided that I need to bring something different for breakfast everyday. I have plenty of options. I've come up with plenty of breakfasts that I like:
1. whole-wheat english muffin (4pts) with canadian bacon (1pt for 4 slices) and laughing cow cheese (1 pt per wedge). I eat each half of the english muffin separately, so I'm eating it slower and get to experience the flavors longer. This is a 7 point breakfast. Though that might be perceived as a lot of points for breakfast, it is extremely filling. I typically can't eat this all in one sitting, and I have to finish it about an hour later. I prefer the whole-wheat english muffin to the sourdough (my husband's favorite) because it has a sweeter undertone. It just seems more full-flavored to me. I savor eating the whole-wheat ones more. I've gotten burnt out on these before, but at other times, it's an absolute disaster if I run out and don't have time to go to the store for more. Interestingly, I used to think that english muffins were gross and awful and why would you eat one, but now I love them.
2. banana (0 points). I love bananas. I rarely experience banana burn out. Typically, if I don't have a banana, my whole day is thrown off. I love bananas. I don't know what it is about bananas, but I find them to be very filling. I think it is the sugars. Also, I don't like the way the sugars stay in my mouth as an after taste, so I drink a LOT of water to clear the flavor out, and who doesn't need more hydration? I also have add-ons to my bananas like peanut butter (5-8 points), or these 100 cal chocolate sauce or caramel packets (3 points)
3. yogurt (2-3 points). Sometimes I add this to cereal instead of milk to make it thicker/more filling/more flavorful. I have burned out on this twice now.
4. carrot juice (2 points per serving). When I was doing a much more ambitious job of making sure I got my servings of fruits and vegetables in, I would pair this with an english muffin for breakfast. I hate carrots, but I actually really enjoy carrot juice. I got really burned out on carrot juice though. :-(
I typically mix and match these items. Every once in a while I'll eat a frozen breakfast item. These breakfast items are great for me because they require very littler preparation. I can just grab them and prepare them once I've arrived at work. These items are also really good snacks for later in the day too.
I tried getting the Hostess Smart Bakes muffins/FiberOne muffins, but they are way too small for the points values (4 points) and they are not filling at all.
On the weekends my husband makes breakfast. He adores HUGE portions. The picture above is Furry Thom eating one of Jake's breakfasts. That's a pre-weight watchers breakfast. Now, there would be less/no cheese, a much smaller helping of hashbrowns (if at all) . Sometimes he does turkey sausage which is 1 pt per link. Another change is that now there's always some fruit on the plate too, whether it's a clementine or berries. There's also typically an english muffin on the plate too (in the old day's it'd be toast, which can be over 6pts depending on the bread). I should take a picture of a new breakfast plate sometime.
Oh Furry Thom! That looks like a tasty breakfast. :)
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean about getting bored with food. I rarely cook so sandwiches, cereal, mac and cheese, etc get old REALLY fast.
Maybe investing in a cooking class or clipping tasty new recipe's out of magazines would help liven your food selection. That way you could have healthy meals at home that are different without going out.
Kirsi has started making wheat-meat tacos that are very healthy and tasty! (I can ask her for the recipe.) She also has a lot of fresh salads with grilled chicken on top. The salads are good because the veggies are full of vitamins and can help increase satiety without being very heavy on calories. She is planting lettuce again this year and we can get together for a tasty meal!
I also really like whole wheat spaghetti. It has a grain-y taste but isn't too over the top. Sometimes I'll mix half white and half wheat spaghetti and have tomato sauce. I also really like light soy milk. It is high in protein and vitamin D and low in fat. Yummm. :)