When Complex Is Good!

 Since several of us were wondering what exactly IS a Complex Carbohydrate I decided to do a little research of my own.  What I will lay out in the next few minutes is my mini-version of what I found.  I do not claim to know anything about this subject other than what I have found along the information hi-way!  (and even with that...Do Not take what I'm writing here as the truth...as we all know we can't believe everything we read on the internet!)  So please do some research also if you are interested in knowing more and then we can compare notes!  =D 


So with my mini-disclaimer out of the way...this is what I found! 


Basically, Complex Carbohydrates are foods in wholegrain form.  Some of these would be wholegrain bread, muesli, oats, and brown rice just to name a few.  Since they are in this "wholegrain" form...they take longer to break down into glucose within our bodies...this slow process provides us with a gradual, more balanced stream of energy as the day goes by.  On the flipside, Simple Carbohydrates, such as processed convenience foods...quickly turn into glucose, causing a spike in our blood sugars...and sending some of us to the moon, only to come crashing back down again 30 minutes later!  Raise your hand if you can relate!

Side Note: Complex Carbs are not only found in Grains but also in Fruits and Veggies too... You will see many familiar favorites in the list below and perhaps a few that will surprise you!  (Be sure to watch for those sugars and check your portions!)  The point is... it's a Whole Food...not processed into an unrecognizable mess!

Just this information alone makes me want to be very careful of my Carb choices!    The vitamins and minerals found in Natural Complex Carbs also play an important role, helping our body to properly utilize the energy the carb is supplying.  Simple carbs are usually so processed that they no longer even contain any useful vitamins and minerals..they are what are called "empty calories"...they lack anything of use to our body and actually could be destructive to healthy cells.  Ok...I don't know about your body...but mine is exhausted from fighting the WWIII sized war inside from me feeding it all the Simple carbs I have over the past 53 years of my life!  Dang!  Why do those simple carbs have to taste so good!  But I digress!  Let's move on...it gets better!


If the Carb does not have any nutrients to help the carbs to give us more energy...guess what?  Our bodies take the lack luster carb and converts it into FAT and STORES IT!   (Perhaps you've seen the commercial where the lady is walking around and she has a honey bun stuck to each hip! Very Graphic and True!)  I do not want to be that lady anymore!  


The sad truth is that many of us were fooled into believing that all these wonderful tasting goodies were good for you...especially if they were made at home and by your loving mom!  Heck!  I grew up having Peanut Butter and White Sugar sandwiches in my lunch box!  And of course I had a bag of chips and a cookie too!  My "milk ticket" I used on Orange Drink!  No wonder I was falling asleep by 1:00 in the afternoon!

So "bottom" line is...Reach for the the Healthy, High Fiber, Vitamin and Mineral Rich Complex Carbohydrates when filling your daily SIX BFC Carb points!  And for a nice dose of sustain daily energy... Spread those Good Carbs out throughout the day for a more balanced blood sugar and say "Good Bye" to those Hi's and Lo's!

Hope this helps...there's so much more...so I've attached 2 of the many articles I read today at the bottom of this post.

The following list is one I compiled during my research.  Although extensive, it is by no means conclusive!  I did not include the BFC points so you will need to look those up on your own.  I tried to mark those items which would have High Sugar Content...but may have missed some along the way...so be watchful for those sneaky hidden sugars that seem to hide in the most surprising places! 

• All-Bran cereals
• Almonds
• **Apple w/ skin
• Artichokes
• Asparagus
• Avocado
• Bagel
• Baked beans non sugary
• Beans
• **Beets
• Beet Greens
• **Blueberries
• Bok Choy
• Broccoli
• Brown bread
• Brown rice
• Brussels Sprouts
• Buckwheat
• Buckwheat bread
• Cabbage
• **Carrots
• Cashews
• Cassava
• Cauliflower
• Celery
• Chick peas
• Coleslaw
• Collard Greens
• **Corn
• Cornmeal
• Cucumbers
• Dill Pickles
• **Dried apricots
• Eggplant
• Flax Seeds
• Garbanzo beans
• Granary Bread
• **Grapefruits
• Green Beans
• High fiber breakfast cereals
• Kale
• Kidney beans
• Lentils
• Lettuce
• Low fat yogurt
• Macaroni
• Maize
• Muesli
• Multi-grain bread
• Navy beans
• Oat bran bread
• Oat bran cereal
• Oatcakes
• Oatmeal
• Okra
• Onions
• **Oranges
• Other root vegetables
• Pastas
• Peanuts
• **Peas
• **Peppers, sweet
• Pinto beans
• Pistachios
• Pita bread
• **Plums
• Pop Corn Air popped
• Porridge Oats
• Potato w/skin
• **Prunes 
• Pumpernickel bread
• Pumpkin seeds
• Radishes
• Ryvita crispbread
• Shredded wheat
• Skim milk
• Soy milk
• Soybeans
• Spaghetti
• Spinach
• Split peas
• Sprouts
• **Strawberries
• Summer Squash
• Sunflower seeds
• Sweet potato
• Swiss Chard
• Tomatoes
• Turnip Greens
• Walnuts
• Water Cress
• Weetabix
• Whole Barley
• Whole grain flours
• Whole meal bread
• Wholemeal spelt
• Wholegrain Bread (sugar free is best)
• Wholegrain Cereals
• Wild rice
• Winter Squash
• Yam
• Zucchini

** WATCH FOR HIGH SUGAR CONTENT

CREDITS: Weighlossforall.com

                  Buzzle.com

 

 Important Update:  

Robin feels 10 lbs lighter today....

and is smiling again! 

Nuff Said!   

=D

I Do Solemly Swear...

Ok...some of you may have read my rant on Rosalie's blog...but in case you didn't here is the jist of it:
"Good Morning Rosalie!!! Dang it...you did it again..encouraged me to stick to it one more day! Ok, Ok... I'm going to stick with this thing...I can doooo it! But I've been stuck at the same weight now for 3 weeks! I'm so frustrated right now I could bust! (or is it burst?) I'm not cheating, I'm eating right...but still dealing with the "ISSUE" and all I can think of is I'm just full of S***! I keep telling hubby...if I ever get this part "normal" I'll drop 10 lbs instantly! Ok..thanks for the opp to spew my frustrations! Today on my blog I'm gonna make a commitment to myself and to ya'll...and face some skeletons I have still hanging in my closet! =O Love ya girl!"

So here goes my commitment to myself and YOU...my BFC friends!

I do solemnly swear that I will make sure I keep my frig stocked with healthy on the go, easy to grab, food and snacks so I won't go without or grab something that isn't on the BFC plan!

               Part of my problem I believe has been not eating all of my 6 servings of Healthy Carbs!  So I will make an extra effort to keep up with this in the future.

I do solemnly swear that I will STEP AWAY FROM THE COMPUTA!

         Eeek! This one's a tough one!  It's so easy to get lost following the infamous Rabbit Trails you are bombarded with each time you check your email, Facebook, your Blog List, and Forums!  I will even determine a time at which I will shut it down and find that I've gone over that by an hour or two!  Insane!
Some may wonder what this has to do with my BFC plan.... well my BUTT is spreading from here to there just for sitting hours at a time at this machine!  So I am making a plan to only check my email, FB, Blogs and Forums first thing in the morning and limit my time to 1 hour period!  Email one more time in the evening when I write my BFC post for the day.  The rest of the time will be spent doing creative and active things!

I do solemnly swear that I will kick the monkey off my bike and use it myself TWICE everyday!
          A friend of ours gave us the coolest exercise bike that sits not even 5 feet away from me in my art studio!  It even has one of those great cushy seats and computerized riding plans giving you a choice of challenges and resistance!  It even tells you how many miles you've gone,  how long you've ridden, and how many calories you burned!  So what is it that keeps me off of that wonderful riding machine...besides the monkey!  Well...here's one of my skeletons I referred to earlier... It's called SWEAT!  I hate sweating!
It makes me feel so yucky and sticky and more yucky and sticky!  I truly HATE it!  But I'm just going to have to face that sweaty skeleton and move past him...he's merely a fog and one that can be showered away! So I am committing today to ride twice a day and post my results so you and I will see that I'm doing what I promised. (Hubby reads the blog...so there's my accountability!)

I do solemnly swear that I will attend my NIA classes at least TWICE a week!

          Last week I was supposed to start my regular schedule of NIA classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  Well, it never happened... First we had a monsoon rain on Tuesday and I also went to help my mom move to her new apartment...so Ok... I had a fairly good excuse... but Thursday rolled around and I just flat out chose NOT to go.  Why?  Remember Skeleton number 1 above?  Yep...SWEAT!  I didn't want to go out and sweat!  So I didn't!  Even though I LOVE the NIA classes and have a blast while dancing my heart out of my chest...I just wouldn't make myself DO IT!  So, I am confessing and committing all at once here... This week I'm gonna kick some skeletal A$$ and GO to my NIA classes!

Lastly... I do solemnly swear I will NOT use Ready Whip as an millinery adornment anymore and only use Ready Whip for occasional Sweet Splurges!
          Do I really need to explain my reasonings here?  Seems it's pretty obvious!  =D


I feel my lack of movement is causing my system backup as I mentioned in an earlier post and on Rosalie's blog today.  Even though I'm eating healthily, using the recommended methods for easier elimination, etc... I have had a serious problem and I feel that the only thing I haven't been doing to help things along is MOVEMENT! I truly believe it's a simple as that!  So now that my Sweat Skeleton has been exposed, hopefully I will be able to move on...get it over with... and shower it off!  I know I'll be better for it...in the end!   

ICBIF and Then Some!

I Can't Believe It's Friday!

What a wild week we've had here in Central Texas!  Some crazy storms coming from tropical storm Hermene dropped nearly 11.5" of water on top of the parched land of Austin... Although we desperately needed some rain...this amount in less than 24 hrs causes all kinds of havoc in our area!  The creeks, rivers, and lakes all overflowed...the water was rushing down all the hills like waterslides...and nobody here knows how to drive in rain, sleet or snow...so the roadways were a mess of mushed up metal!  Crazy!  

AND...to top it all off during the fury of the first deluge we were helping my 83 yr old mom move into her new apartment!  Thank the heavens above for my sister and Blue Whale Movers here in Austin, as they did all they could to keep her furniture dry!  So its been an exciting week for sure!

Haven't posted due to sheer exhaustion! But kept up with the diet through it all!

I made pizza on Naan bread (Sprouts Grocery) for hubby and I today.  If you haven't tried it on naan...you really are in for a treat!  The bread is only 1 carb point!  YUMMY!!!  This one is covered in chopped veggies and cheese but you can do all sorts of fun things with these pizzas!  Be creative and I promise you will not be disappointed!

How I make my Naan Bread Pizza:
Take one piece of Naan Bread and spread a tablespoon of low sugar pizza sauce on it.  I also add pesto on top of the bread.  Then top it with chopped veggies and meats of your choice (even pepperoni or bacon!) finishing it off with a little drizzle of olive oil, Italian seasoning, a little salt and a handful of grated cheese of your choice ...I used mozzarella. Put in preheated oven at 425degrees for 8-10 minutes and VIOLA'!!!!  Some of the best pizza you'll ever stick in your mouth!   Enjoy!
.

Also...today, while at Sprouts, I picked up a new tea.  It is called: GUAYAKI Yerba Mate "Mate Chocolatte".

After having my first cup tonight my conclusion is that it tastes just like Chi Tea!  I personally cannot detect the flavor of Chocolate in it, but I still like it very much!  It is a blend of Yerba Mate, Cocoa, Nutmeg, Cinnamon, Stevia, and Clove.  It states that it helps to stimulate focus and clarity (which I need all I can get!), boosts your physical energy, aids in elimination!!!!!!!!(and we all know who needs THAT!), contains antioxidants and "traditionally used to support weight loss programs".  Truly a delicious tea that will delight your senses as well as your intestinal tract!  =D

I am hoping to have a productive day painting tomorrow...soon I'll post some pics for you all to judge...I mean see! 

Love you all! Bon Appetite and Have a Wonderful Weekend!

CARTOON NIGHT!!!

I hope everyone has a fabulous hump day!  The middle of the week is always my favorite day!  Such a great time to re-group!  So take some time on Wednesday to rethink your strategies, rewrite your goals, remove your negative thoughts, and review your blessings!  Then you have a whole half a week to make the best week possible! 

I Lost A Puppy!

ZOLA @ 2.5 lbs

Yes...It's true! I just lost a whole puppy and I'm looking forward to losing a whole lot more puppies!

This is a picture of Zola our dog @ 2.5 LBS! I know it doesn't sound like much but I just lost a whole puppy size this last week! YaY! I'll take it!

The week before I was really struggling with the "Waste Dept" and I didn't lose any weight that week... Actually I'm surprised I had not gained weight that week...but at least I maintained my original first week weight loss of 5.6 lbs. Now this week I've lost 2.5 more lbs. Wish it were more but I'm still having "issues" and I know once all that is down the drain and behind me... so to speak ...my weight will show a more productive loss. For now...I'm happy and that's all that matters!

How was everyone's Labor Day Weekend? Ours was great! Hubby cooked out yesterday for all the kids and it was delish! We had Grilled Steak, New Potatoes, Broccoli, and Spaghetti Squash...not to mention all the fresh veggies and artichoke dip and spinach dip. I was good and maintained my sanity with the spread before me...I sampled most everything but didn't overdue any of it. Didn't even want dessert when I served up the Sugar Free Ice Cream and SF Cookies to everyone. Amazing what good food does for ya!

This morning we made the Parker Pancakes (recipe in the BFC book) and bacon for breakfast. They were not bad....Hubby thought they tasted like corn cakes. I'm still trying to decide if I would make them again. I think I'll probably opt to make the French Toast next time instead. I don't really enjoy cooking and the pancakes were pretty labor intensive for me! (no comments from the cooks in the peanut gallery out there!) Oh, by the way, the batter for the pancakes is supposed to make 16 pancakes (4 servings)...I was able to get 14 out of it. I was only able to eat 3. So probably still came out to 0/2 for the pancakes.

Lunchtime for me was a couple Tablespoons full of Pimento Cheese with some Pig Skins! Yes! I really love pig skins! AND they are 0/0! I really wasn't very hungry from the big breakfast we had.

Dinnertime I made a huge salad with mixed greens (no iceburg) tomatoes, celery, avocado, broccoli slaw (dry out of bag), croutons, Ranch dressing, salt and pepper...topped off with grilled chicken that Hubby made last night! Finished it off with a Sugar Free York Peppermint! Simply divine!

I meant to take pics of everything...but only remembered to do so after we ate it all!  Will try to do better!

Like I said in the beginning... I wish I had lost more than a puppy's worth of weight... but I'm so happy I LOST!

Going to my NIA class in the morning if this Tropical Storm doesn't wash us away during the night! Hope you all have a great day!

Here's to losing a whole bunch more puppies!!!

Do You Dream?

How Big Are Your Dreams?

Do you Dream?  I do...all the time...in the night...in the wee hours of the morning right before I'm fully awake...during the day...while painting....while driving...even while shopping!  Yes, I Dream...and sometimes I wonder...Are My Dreams Big Enough?

In my subconscious rendezvous in the middle of the night I have to say...I'm dreaming pretty darn BIG!  I sometimes wake in the morning, almost with a chuckle at the magnitude of what I had just been dreaming.  "Visions of Grandeur" I call them...then quickly dismiss them as frivolous and impossible....but are they?

In my art room minding my own business....utilizing my right-brained creativity to create something colorful and a seemingly non-connected thought crosses my airwaves and if I allow it to enter into my "zone", I'm surprised by it's frankness and purity.  I see myself walking on a beach in a gauzy dress as the wind whips through me and the waves tickle my ankles as my toes sink into the wet sand.  "What was that?", I think or say outloud to myself.  A completely random "dream" has just entered into my space and caused me to stop and ponder the very essence of it.  At this very moment...I have a choice.  I can sweep it under the proverbial rug or I can spend a few more moments realizing this beautiful "reality".   If I looked up and into the mirror that encompasses a whole wall of my art room, I would see, Ha! tis but a dream!  But if I take those moments and allow this "vision" to set, to permeate my being, to see myself truly walking on that beach, to feel that breeze, to smell the salty air, to feel my toes sinking into the wet sand.... I'm more than half way there!

Too many times we scurry quickly away from those Big Dreams...those Impossible Dreams...those Dreams that surely will never happen!  Instead...we should capture them...stick them in a bottle...save them...treasure them...dare to take another look at them!  And we tend to embrace those Little Dreams that seem doable...all the while fooling ourselves into believing we are not worthy to believe the Big Dreams!  Therefore we stop ourselves just short of achieving those Big Dreams...(which is aptly called self-sabbotage!)  

In my Big Dreams, I have unbelievable energy... I can scale mountains, I can play concert piano, I can jog, I have huge houses, I'm a speaker at conferences, My artwork displayed in collectors homes, I have a beautiful body and can wear most anything, I own my own art studio where many come to create, I travel all the time....  and on and on and on!!!

These may seem BIG...but ALL are all obtainable...I believe it so....and so it will be.  I believe in God...and I believe in the Dreams he gives me.  They are so Big sometimes that, like I said earlier, I just chuckle and actually try to suppress them...applying the Big "But" to most of them!  When in actuality, if I would just receive them, embrace them as mine to have, mine to obtain, possible to live... then nothing... NO THING ...can stop me from obtaining and living them out.

My Big Dream focus right now is my weight as it is connected to my health.  Yes, of course, I want to look good and buy clothes that I can tuck in, from the Ladies Dept and not the Women's World department...but my health is being affected by my weight and it is my health that will keep me living so I can enjoy my family, traveling, shopping, LIVING!  Time and time again I have tried to lose weight so I can look better...be cute in my jeans...wear a bathing suit...go to a school reunion (which I have not done ever because of my weight!).  But this time is different... I SEE myself healthy...running...climbing...swimming...and for that reason I have chosen to follow the BFC plan to accomplish this DREAM.  And It's happening!  All the other times I failed because my dream just wasn't BIG ENOUGH to keep my focus!  This time its BIG!!!  REAL BIG!!!  and This time I know it will be reality before I know it!

Some of us follow Rosalie on her blog Healthy Me Doing the Belly Fat Cure... and yesterday she posted about seeing herself in a reflection at the mall and took a double take at what she was seeing...or rather what she no longer saw!  She shocked herself at seeing herself slim for the first time in ages!  She is accomplishing her DREAM...her BIG DREAM!  She's living it right now, as we ALL are, and seeing the results in believing she can do it!  I'm so proud of her!  I'm so proud of YOU... and of ME!  We are ALL accomplishing that which we are setting our minds to do.... and that is BIG DREAMING!  

Keep those dreams alive!  Find a way to capture them!  Put them down on paper, paint them out, cut them out of magazines, find pics to remind you, make a mantra out of it, write a song with it in it and sing it out loud...DAILY!  Don't just write it down or paste it on your refrigerator and never look at it again!  Touch it, Feel it, See it, DO IT!!!  Believe me...if you believe it...you will be it!!!  What you think...You are!

DREAM IT

LIVE IT

BE IT!

"The best thing about dreams is that fleeting moment, when you are between asleep and awake, 

when you don't know the difference between reality and fantasy, 

when for just that one moment you feel with your entire soul 

that the dream is reality, and it really happened." 

"The only thing that can stop you from fulfilling your dreams is you!"

  

Laugh It Off!!!

I watched the cutest little video clip last night that made me laugh and laugh!  After it was all over I felt great and sort of euphoric! So I had a little fleeting thought... "I wonder if I had burned any calories laughing?"  Silly thought...I thought...until I Googled it!  (seriously this dictionary needs to recognize the word Google and it's counterparts!)  Anyway, sure enough, you can use an average of 1.3 calories per minute laughing!  Let's see... that would mean you would need to laugh approximately 76.92307 minutes in order to burn off that 100 calorie snack you just ate!  BUT WAIT!!!

Before you go all postal on me and put away your giggle box...you need to know that Laughter truly is the Best Medicine!  Look at all these amazing benefits to having a little chortle every now and then!

Laughter first and foremost helps to relieve emotional stress!  And who doesn't need a little of THAT removed from their everyday lives?  It does so by helping to reduce the level of stress hormones such as cortisol, adrenaline, dopamine, and growth hormones.  It's also responsible for helping to release the health enhancing hormones such as endorphins and neurotransmitters...causing you to feel happier and healthier!
Wow!  Little did I know what all is going on when I laugh!  

In fact, I think we should all test this out right now and watch this little video...all the while using up a few calories and releasing some goodness into our bodies!  I promise you wont regret it!



(disclaimer: No animals have been hurt while filming this video...but my dogs did get a little excited when they heard me laughing out loud while watching it in the middle of the night!)

Great!  How's everyone feeling? Hopefully a bit more cheerful!!! I just loved watching this little cutie trying to get around in those booties and funnel hood!  We just went through having our puppies neutered and watching them having to maneuver with those hoods on was just too much...they didn't stay on for long!  But I digress...

No only does laughing do all kinds of magic with our hormonal system but also to our internal organs!  Yes, it's true!  It helps work out our diaphragm, our abs and even our shoulders if it's a good hearty laugh...leaving all these muscles less tense after a great workout!  


So tell a few jokes with friends and laugh at yourself!  Or rent the funniest movie you've ever seen! (would love to know what that is for you!)  Read the comic strip!  (remember those?)  Go to YouTube and spend some time watching home vids! 


Or...you can just Craft Yourself into Laughter like these ladies did!

So Whatever makes you Laugh... 

Do It...Watch It...See It...Feel It!!!

Go Ahead Do Your Body Good........

Have a Good LAUGH!!!

TODAY!

I love this dog too!  Thanks for reminding me MFE!  Best part is it's in a convenience store parking lot! It so inspires me that I need to be much more spontaneous with my dancing!  LOL