Day 65 (prolly) of Phase 5: Are you REALLY eating your veggies? They love you. Love them BACK! and a Link to Veggies for April...

Tanita-san = 211.4


That's .4 down from yesterday. I think I can skip weigh-ins until the official one. It's clear the movement continues. Been nearly a week since the plateau busted, and I was fearful it would come back. Hah. But it's been .2 to .8 losses from day to day, so I can ease off the scale. I was 216 last Tuesday. That's 4.6 lbs since the height of the plateau.

Yesterday was Pilates and my cardio walk in the evening. All is well in the eating and exercise fronts.

Anyway, about VEGETABLES:

To some, that's a dirty word. Well, yeah, they grow in soil, so I guess. I had gunk on my fingers yesterday from selecting baby bellas at the Farmer's Market yesterday. Good dirt growing yummy mushrooms.

If you shudder at the word vegetables, it's time to retrain your brain and mouth. You really need to make your palate veggie-friendly. With the exception of some folks with particular intestinal/digestion issues, we benefit greatly from eating our veggies. This is not news. You know this.

Anyhow, the way the challenge plan got tweaked by my R.D. was simply to replace starches (except I'm allowed 1 starch serving) with veggies, pretty much. So, I eat a lot of veggies. This is not a bad thing. Vegetables are powerhouses of nutrition, and the more colorful and varied, the better. There are some fruits and veggies I can't eat (allergies to them, along with my vile allergy to all seafood, which is frustrating as heck). But the variety of produce is huge in the US, and we should make a point to try new stuff and enjoy vegetables at all meals. Yep. Even breakfast. :)

I go to the Farmer's Market 2x a week to keep stocked. I keep happy persimmon-red Baggu reusable totes in my trunk, so I am always ready to get produce when I'm out and about on errands or even on date nights. Yep. We've gone from dinner some nights to Whole Foods.

Yesterday, I consumed a huge variety of veggies. Veggies at every meal. Here is a list of what I had from the veggie kingdom (and I'll include my two fruits--as I get 2 servings of fruit a day, sometimes 3, but she prefers I stick to 2):

spinach
olives
tomatoes
cucumbers
onions, red
onions, sweet (adore those, had 1/3 of a huge one)
baby zucchini
asparagus
carrots
cabbage
baby bella mushrooms
avocado
jalapeno peppers
green bell peppers
Cubanelle peppers
iceberg lettuce
papaya (squirted with lime juice)
watermelon (dessert at dinner)
~about three raspberries and 2 blueberries (just a quickie sampling before stowing them in the fridge)

In all, I had 12 servings of 21 different fruits and veggies. 

Now, tell me I didn't get my phytonutrients and antioxidants. Tell me I wasn't FULL when I was done eating. You can't eat a bunch of cups of fiber-filled and water-rich foods and not feel comfortably stuffed :)

I always try to cook my veggies minimally. I eat at least one salad a day, so I get some raw. Fruits are raw (generally, unless I get a yen for homemade compote or a baked apple). I saute lightly the others with some healthful oil (not tons of it). I use herbs liberally.

Today, I have blueberries, raspberries, broccolini, and mixed organic baby lettuces, and a mango ready to be consumed, along with some regulars--spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes, onion, peppers. I might add an apple today, if I need crunch.

Freggies are filling. Freggies are good for your body and digestion. Freggies are the dieter's BESTEST pal. You can eat a LOT LOT with not a lot of calories. I mean, seriously, if you slice up a fresh, organic, chilled cucumber and sprinkle with herbs and some nice vinegar, it's a snack for almost NOTHING calorically. But it has a sparkle and a crispiness that can kill a snack urge. Bite into a small, fresh, gala apple...and chew. And chew. It will stop you from reaching for something that's utter crap.

As more than one fatfighter has said: You didn't get fat eating a lot of broccoli and cucumbers and plums.

Wanna try something in season every month of the year. Lookee here for ideas.

My insulin resistance makes it not possible for me to safely eat grains, beans (which I adore), and assorted starches. I have to keep an eagle eye on how much I ingest. If you're diabetic or insulin resistant, you know how it is We get groggy and dozy and less energetic from these. Blood pressure goes up. Cholesterol goes up. AND... My eyesight can even blur if I go on a starch binge.

When I watch starches and keep them low to nil, I have more energy and my weight loss is less impeded. In fact, it flows much better for someone with my whack metabolism.

But I do eat carbs. I am not carbphobic. I am starch-avoidant.

I eat fruit.
I eat some yogurt (not tons).
I drink (occasionally) some milk.
I eat a lot of veggies.
I am not in ketosis.
I eat plenty of carbs...

...though I do better keeping them under 100 g a day, and at 80 g a day, my weight loss is nicer, steadier.

So, definitely take a veggie inventory. How many servings do you eat a day of NON-STARCHY veggies (ie, don't fall back on potatoes, corn, etc). The colorful stuff. The low-cal stuff. How many?

How much variety do you get in your fruits and veggies? Are you in a rut?

Maybe it's time to try a new fruit or veggie? :) Make a new buddy...