Halloween Goal - Diet Update

Click on the Green Smoothie link on the right to read about Green Smoothies for weight loss and continued health and well being.

Happy Halloween Diet Update. My goal was to lose 30 lbs by Halloween (today) on my Green Smoothie diet. After 10 weeks, the total was 27 lbs lost. My birthday is 10 weeks from now. I'd like to think I'll see my abs by then. I'm probably dreamin', but goals are good.

Last night, I picked up supplies to begin germinating lettuce and spinach seeds so I can grow my own leafy greens hydroponically this winter. Come back for updates on that. Subscribe to follow my step-by-step process for growing lettuce indoors this winter (Go ahead, please subscribe >>>>> that button on the right).

Diet Update: I've lost 23.5 lbs (10.6 kg)

This is week 9 of the Green Smoothie diet, and, as of today, I've lost 23.5 lbs (10.6 kg).

I don't feel right calling this a diet, because that usually implies a temporary way of eating. I really do feel like I've made a change in lifestyle. I plan on eating more raw food for the rest of my life, and Green Smoothies at least once a day is an easy and healthy way to go.

One nice thing about dropping more than 20 lbs is that cardio is easier to do. I can now run a for 30 minutes without much trouble. I guess that's bad too. Increasing my running speed and distance in such a short time has resulted in several repetitive stress injuries. Live and learn, I guess.

Hydroponics and the Green Smoothie

Green Smoothies have renewed my interest in having a green thumb. I've grown my own vegetables in the past, but I stopped when I was constantly racing the clock to finish my graduate program. It's time to return to growing.

Last time, I grew hydroponic tomatoes outdoors. The system consisted of six large plants, each in their own growing medium, feed by a 30-gallon reservoir of nutrients. Best tomatoes ever.

I wanted to grow hydroponically because I wanted to control as many variables of my growing as possible (and partially because I'm just a little geeky like that). This system worked pretty well. Still, I fought flying and crawling bugs that also wanted to eat my plants. I really disliked that. Also, I've built a shed in my garden area, and there's now a growing family of rabbits that live under the shed. I'm sure my garden would be a feast for them.

So, this year I'm making two major changes. I'm going to grow lettuce, spinach and kale indoors hydroponically, and I'm going to invest in a plastic greenhouse for the outdoor season. You can get a 12' x 7' x 7' greenhouse on Amazon for just over $100.

Why hydroponics? I'm motivated by the knowledge that I'm eating pesticide-free food. I'm motivated by the internal reward of eating food I created, and I'm motivated by having a hobby that also provides tangible results that benefit my whole house.

Also, I can grow indoors cheaper than I can buy lettuce, kale and spinach, and that's what I will start after Halloween.

If you're interesting in growing your own indoors, check out this guy's blog.

http://frugalhydroponics.blogspot.com

Green Smoothie Tips

Please add your own tips. Thanks!

Tip 1: If your green smoothie is too bitter for your taste (because of a strong-flavored vegetable), adding one or two bananas to the mix will often cover the bitter flavor.

Tip 2: There are some fruits you can use in a green smoothie that you may not eat normally. For example, grapes with seeds. In a powerful blender, like the Blendtec, the seeds are pulverized. Grape seeds are an excellent source of antioxidants.

Tip 3: Bulk stores, like Sams Club and Costco, are good places to get bags of frozen fruit for less money.

Tip 4: If you buy frozen strawberries, look for strawberries that are already sliced to reduce time needed in the blender.

Tip 5: If you have more vegetables or fruit than you can use before it spoils, chop them into useable amounts and freeze them. Ideally, use freshly frozen vegetables within a few days of freezing.

Tip 6: When making smoothies, build the smoothie so that the items with the most liquid are at the bottom. Things like water, grapes, and watermelon should go on the bottom, leafy greens in the middle, and frozen fruit on the top. This will provide the shortest blend cycles and reduce frozen pockets that cause the blade to spin without the contents falling down onto the blades.

Low-calorie balsamic dressing

Have you ever calculated the calories that are in the meal you're eating, thinking it was a healthy meal, only to find that it was loaded with calories? There's a meal that I've been eating for a long time--even before I started trying to increase the ratio of raw foods in my diet: A large salad of romaine lettuce.

For this meal, I take a whole bag of romaine lettuce, chop it up and add my homemade dressing of olive oil, vinegar and spices. I like to add like a cup of dressing to a whole bag of lettuce and just feast on it. Well, you can see where this is going.

I knew that a cup of dressing made with olive oil, which is 120 calories per tablespoon, must be high in calories. I had never factored it out, but I knew I needed to change it. So, I tried a store bought balsamic vinegar. However, even that was 90 calories per 2 tablespoons, mean my big salad was still a whopping 720 calories.

So, last night, I set out to make a low-calorie dressing that would still have the flavor but not all the oil. I used my Blendtec blender to make this, and I thought it turned out excellent. Here's how to make it.

Mix all of this in the Blender (makes 1.5 cups):

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar - 40 cal
2 tbsp soy sauce - 20 cal
2 tbsp brown sugar - 50 cal
3 red chili peppers (remove some seeds to reduce heat if desired) - 30 calories.
1 or 2 gloves garlic - 4 or 8 calories
2 - tbsp splenda - 0 calories
2 - tbsp water - 0 calories
3 - tbsp - lite zesty Italian dressing - 45 cal
2 - small tomatoes - 32 calories
1 - lime - squeezed - 15 calories

Total calories for 1.5 cups: 236

This is so flavorful that I only needed about half a cup of this dressing for a whole huge salad, which is 76 calories plus lettuce! Compare that to the salad of 720 calories plus lettuce.

Green Smoothie Resources

What is a green smoothie?

A green smoothie is made in a blender. By volume, it’s about 40% green leafy vegetables, like spinach, kale, romaine, mixed spring greens, etc., and about 60% fruit. The main reason for the mixture is to make eating a large serving of vegetables palatable. You might say, well I’ll just eat a salad. That’s fine. I still eat salads, but there’s just no quicker and easier way to consuming this many servings of fruits and vegetables. Also, clean up is a breeze.

I’ve posted several videos here on how I make my smoothies. These videos are just the basics of a green smoothie. The variations are endless.

What type of blender do I use?

I use a very powerful blender made by Blendtec, which was made famous by the YouTube videos, “Will It Blend.” This is a $400 to $500 blender, depending on specials (just make sure you get the 96 oz container model). Most people will find this pricey, and it is, but the impact it will have on your daily life will make it worthwhile. This is the start to a change in lifestyle.

Amazon sells them. Costco sometimes runs a sale when they have demonstrations.

The major competitor to Blendtec is Vita-Mix blender. It is comparable in power, but it only has a 64 oz container, and the container is very high and narrow. Because of its height, it will not fit under my cabinets. This was the main reason I did not consider it. I feel both are of similar quality.

You can use less powerful blenders, but you may have more difficulty with frozen fruit, and you may need to blend longer to achieve the desired texture. You may also have issues with overheating with longer blends using some foods. Still, it’s not impossible.

How much do I eat per meal?

I eat (or drink) 4 cups of green smoothie for a meal replacement. On the blender markings, that’s about 32 ounces (or 1 quart). I purchased some large plastic glasses from Target for a $1.00 each that hold exactly 4 cups when filled to a half inch from the top of the glass.

How many calories are in a green smoothie?

It depends on the type of fruit you use, but it averages between 375 to 500 calories per 4-cup serving.

What about all the carbs in fruit?

I’ve lost weight on low-carb diets– a lot of weight. However, I’ve also lost a lot of weight on low-fat diets. During my life, I’ve lost 60 lbs at least three times. This is not the place to discuss why I’ve put the weight back on each time, except to say that it really does require a lifestyle change. In my experience, which is backed up by research, you can lose weight on any diet where you expend more energy than you consume.

I believe that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables is healthier than one rich in fatty meats. I realize this topic is not without debate, but I have considered the studies, and I feel the rationale for more fruits and vegetables is stronger and will provide my body with better health in the long run. I will explore these topics on this blog. Please subscribe if you’re interested in such things.

Will the sugars in fruit cause my blood sugar to spike?

Probably not as much as you’ve been led to believe. In fact, fructose, one of the main sugars in fruit, cannot convert directly to glucose (blood sugar). Read my article on the myth of simple carbs here in this blog (under blood sugar).

Where can I get green smoothie recipes?

I suggest that you start simple using one type of green leafy vegetable and no more than three types of fruit. Frozen fruit makes a great smoothie (tip: Frozen strawberries are low calorie, high nutrition and flavor, and you can buy them cheap in bulk at Sams Club). If you’re going to add protein powders, keep in mind this increases the calories and, in my opinion, detracts from the lovely fruit flavors.

Here are some links:

You can also search YouTube for a lot of video recipes.

http://www.facebook.com/IncredibleSmoothies
http://www.incrediblesmoothies.com
http://www.rawfamily.com/recipes
http://www.rawsmoothierecipes.com
http://gotgreensrevolution.com/green-smoothie-recipes.html

Diet update: I've lost 18 lbs

Sunday mornings are my weigh-in days. I’ll sometimes weigh in on other days, but this week I was dreading the scale, as I had over indulged on Friday night and had skipped exercising on Friday too. I was hoping for 197, or at least not more than last week’s 198. I stepped on the scale and waited for my magic number. When it blurted out 194.5 in all its LCD glory, I air pumped a “YES” with my fist. That means I’ve lost 18 lbs now.

In addition to my green smoothies, I think one reason I lost a lot of weight this week (relatively speaking), is that I was finally able to jog a considerable distance. It’s about 3.5 miles from my house, around Lake Nokomis, and back to my door. It’s a path I’ve walked and ran many, many times. As I’ve been getting back into cardio shape, initially I had to walk, run 100 yards, walk, run another short distance, and repeat. In doing this, I’ve gradually been able to increase my running distance.

One mistake that I’ve made is to forget that I’m prone to plantar fasciitis. I do stretch nearly every day, but I need to give special attention to this. The tendons from my calf to my heel seem to be shorter in my left leg than my right. After a particularly great run this week, I awoke to discover I tore a tendon that connects to my heel. I could hardly walk for a couple of days. I’ve been icing it, stretching it, resting it, and I’m wearing a medical boot to bed that keeps my calf tendons from contracting at night. I’ve signed up to run a Halloween 5K race, and I really want to be ready for it. I’ve battled this injury for the last 10 years.

Regarding green smoothies, I was worried that I might grow tired of them, but I have not. I continue to experiment with different green leafy vegetables and different fruits. Eventually, I’ll experiment with spices, such as cinnamon, but for now, I’m just enjoying the natural sweet fruit flavors. I’ve been very consistent in using the green smoothie for a meal replacement. I always have one for lunch. I sometimes have one for breakfast, but sometimes I enjoy just slicing up tomatoes and fruit on a plate for breakfast.

In fact, my favorite snack is sliced tomatoes that are salted and peppered with balsamic vinegar drizzled over them. You know you’re on the right track when you think of sliced tomatoes and your mouth waters. Seriously, this freaked me out the first time it happened.

Another challenge to my diet is that we go out to eat a lot. To address this, I’ve decided that I will always order a salad when I go out to eat, and I’ll try to avoid salads that have a lot of the white carbs in them. This is meeting with success in my diet plan for weight management and in my health plan for more nutritious eating.

With my heel injury and substantial weight loss this week, I’m not expecting next week to be as good, but I’m going to stay the course the best I can.