My Husband Is On A Diet - Sort Of

I know that I have read that men lose weight more easily than women. It has something to do with their bodies being comprised of more muscle and less fat and also a higher metabolism. Recently my husband was complaining about weight gain. He had a physical for work, the report had all of his numbers for cholesterol, blood pressure, weight, etc. from last year down one column and all the new stats lined up right next to them. So, my husband has put on a lot of weight in the last year due to a job change. It crept on slowly and I don't think I really noticed it that much. Looking at the report, however, numbers can't lie. I want to make it clear that I am not one of those superficial women that insists her husband looks a certain way or ever criticizes people - even those unrelated to me - for being fat. I understand some people have a harder time than others. But he had gained over 20 lbs, and I am being conservative. I am guiding him to manage what he eats and its totally working! As a matter of fact, I'm a tad jealous.

But, my husband works out all the time. It's part of his job actually. We know to some extent his weird schedule and crazy hours can contribute to the way he metabolizes his food. But mainly to blame is the food he is actually eating. Fact. Chip's problem is that he goes for long periods of time without eating because he is so busy and then by the time he is able to eat, he will eat wherever "the guys" are eating and order something bad (read: Southern Smokehouse Burger from Chili's and fries) and eat it all. Sorry if it sounds mean, but he has admitted to this. For years I have been telling him how bad soda is (he drinks regular Coke) and have been baffled by his sweet tooth. He is a big guy in general (over 6 feet and 200+ lbs) and it does take a lot to fuel him. But he just got off track and fueled himself with the wrong things.

A small start, but a start nonetheless, is instead of having full gallons of ice cream in the house that is supposedly "for the kids" I broke down and bought many single serving containers of ice cream that you can buy for $1.00. They are so much easier to fit in the freezer. And Chip is less likely to open the carton when he gets home at 1:00 am when he's jonesing if the carton isn't already open. But at least if he does, it's a small serving. I felt it necessary to have something sweet, because deprivation makes us all crazy. We do know that.

Previously he was good about taking his lunch, and he would always be following some type of diet plan (think Paleo, not Scarsdale) and make his own food. That was when his hours were predictable and steady. I didn't realize he had stopped doing this as much til a few months ago. Once we got the physical results back, I decided to pitch in and help. I told him I would buy all the food for his lunches and make them for him.

He does really well with diets that involve many small meals throughout the day. So I have basically provided him with lunches and snacks that are low in calories and easy to eat. He usually works 10 hours or more so has a lot to choose from in his cooler, and whatever he doesn't want he can just bring home. He has cut out the soda and lost 10 lbs in one week just from taking his lunch to work!

This is more or less what he takes to work with him:

We get peach, vanilla and strawberry/blueberry

Yoplait 100 Calorie Greek Yogurt
Small container of raw almonds or trail mix
Fruit, such as a peach, apple, or some berries
Pre-made salad, that vary in ingredients.

These salads are a lifesaver!

Turkey or chicken or ham sandwich with 1 slice of cheese, lettuce and mustard on 100 cal sandwich thin

Oops upside down, but you get it

 I am in love with this new brand of deli meat I have discovered at my store called Applegate. These are healthy meat products without all the scary ingredients. I read about them on their website, and feel that I can totally related to how they feel about meat, and their mission. So yep, that is what goes in hubby's sandwich:

Tastes so good! And I don't feel guilty giving it to my kids!

Since he starts work in the afternoon and gets off around midnight, he does eat a small breakfast at home first, but essentially this is what he eats all day. There is some variety in the yogurt flavors as well as the salads to keep things from being too monotonous. I am proud of him and wish him continued success!  I would love to lose 10lbs!

Going Greek - Yogurt, That Is!

 

 I wrote this post while participating in a blog tour conducted by Clever Girls on behalf of Dannon. I have been compensated for my time commitment to the program but my opinions are my own. For more information and recipe ideas, visit www.oikosyogurt.com or www.Facebook.com/oikos. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

 When I received the opportunity to review Dannon's new Oikos® Greek Yogurt, I couldn't have been more excited. Well, first I just love plain Greek Yogurt. It is often my go-to mid-morning snack. On its own...or with granola, nuts, honey or fruit mixed in.I also love how versatile it is. I have used it in place of sour cream - most recently to top a Mexican dish. I have used it in my morning smoothies to make them rich and creamy.  The flavors available for me to try in my local supermarket were fat free plain and vanilla, fat free fruit-on-the-bottom peach and fat free fruit-on-the-bottom blueberry.  I loved the vanilla, and can see myself keeping it on hand for snacks and using it in my smoothies. Both fruit-on-the-bottom flavors were delicious, not too sweet, and I couldn't believe that they were FAT FREE.

Plain Greek Yogurt on Zucchini Enchiladas

You all know I try my hardest to eat healthy whenever possible, but I don't want to suffer with boring taste. This was some pretty yummy stuff. And this yogurt has twice the protein as most regular low fat yogurts! Dannon® Oikos® is created through an authentic Greek straining process which gives it a rich and creamy-thick texture. Hard to believe something so filling was so low-cal! Dannon® Oikos® 0% varieties contain active yogurt cultures and range from only 80 calories (Plain) to 130 calories (Fruit on the Bottom) per 5.3 oz. cup. This snack definitely got me through my morning and I survived until lunch time.

Snack Time at Work

I can't wait to try some of the recipes on the website - Blue Cheese Avocado Dip or Mac n'Cheese, anyone? I froze my peach fruit-on-the-bottom container for a little while, just until it was not quite completely frozen and it was an almost-frozen-yogurt delite! How easy was that??

 Are you interested in giving it a try yourself? Dannon Oikos is offering a coupon for a free cup on www.facebook.com/oikos.

I have partnered with Dannon to help promote the Dannon Oikos Greek Yogurt Series.  I have been compensated for my time commitment to the program, which includes writing about the promotion and product.  However, my opinions are entirely my own and I have not been paid to publish positive comments.

I'd Rather Take 5 Seconds to Read the Label than Pad My Booty

I never used to want to take the time to read labels. I figured if I exercised enough and ate moderately healthy that was enough. Well, that probably worked ok when I was 25, 30...well now I'm 40 and...not so much. Gone are the days when I'd buy frozen Healthy Choice meals on a regular basis because they were under 300 calories, and well after all the word "Healthy" was right there in the title!! Pay no mind that the sodium milligrams would be enough to keep your tropical fish going in a fresh water tank!

My latest favorite thing to eat as my mid morning snack at work is Greek yogurt. When comparing labels I was shocked to find that across several brands, any "flavor" that had fruit on the bottom were at least 16 grams of sugar. Maybe everyone has a little different threshold for sugar grams, but in all honesty when I tried these yogurts I felt that they were too sweet. Rather than immediately stirring the fruit into the yogurt before eating it, I would dip my spoon in vertically and take just a little dab of the fruit to slightly flavor the yogurt. After the fruit-on-the-bottom yogurt supply that I had purchased was gone, I went back to the store. This time I came back with a very large container of  Fage plain Greek yogurt.  I actually took it to work and put it in the refrigerator, so I don't have to worry about having to bring an individual serving size yogurt with me every day. I just bring a hand full of fresh blueberries or strawberries in a container with me to the office in the morning. Now I don't have to worry about over indulging in some fake-tasting high fructose corn syrup soaked fruit. The fresh stuff isn't just better for you, it tastes better! The 20 grams of protein per serving will keep you going until lunch time too. You also gotta love the fact its 100% natural.