Crunches: Time, Not Stomach this Week

I am fully aware that a commitment to weight loss has two parts--a proper diet and exercise.

In my previous blog I noted that I was going to go back into my old Spark People account and record what I was eating.  I didn’t.  I’m going to be honest here, it was a tough week.  When I’m not working on freelance writing for Patch or some other project, then I’m caring for my two kids.  On top of that, it’s summer and there are family commitments on the weekends, which is when my husband is more available to help with the kids.

I’m not making excuses, I’m just telling it like it is.  

I’ve decided to work on improving what I’m doing.  One goal is to try to eat something for breakfast every day.  I mostly will microwave Eggbeaters with a slice of cheese and put it on reduced calorie whole wheat bread.  I like it and the protein keeps me full through lunch.

In terms of exercise, I haven’t been able to do a regular gym schedule, however, I have made an effort to do something outside of my routine every day.  I recently got my kids “The Wiggles” CD, which has a collection of very uptempo songs that both the toddler and the 8-month-old get very excited about.  We jump and dance around doing that, in addition to trying to go for more walks with the stroller.

I do make dinner every night and I’ve been focused on lowering carbohydrate totals in meals.  For instance, on Monday of this week I made grilled chicken with steamed broccoli and just a little brown rice.  Last night, I re-purposed the leftover grilled chicken and included it in a big spinach salad dressed with oil and vinegar.

I'd like to share a recipe I adapted from Rachael Ray, which can have few carbs depending on how you make it and includes lean meat, reduced-fat dairy, veggies and beans all in one.

Mexican Lasagna

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 2 pounds ground turkey or chicken
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained
• 1 cup medium heat taco sauce or 1 (14-oz) can stewed or fire roasted tomatoes
• 1 cup corn kernels (I used canned, but recipe said frozen)
• Salt
• 8 tortillas (whole wheat is good-I skimped here and used around 4 to save calories)
• 2 1/2 cups reduced fat shredded cheese 

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.  I use my convection oven in the summer--it doesn't heat up the house and cooks a bit faster.

Preheat a large skillet over medium high heat. Coat with cooking spray. Add meat and season with chili powder, cumin, and red onion. Brown the meat, 5 minutes. Add taco sauce or stewed or fire roasted tomatoes. Add black beans and corn. Heat the mixture through, 2 to 3 minutes, then season with salt to taste.

Coat shallow baking dish with cooking spray. Cut the tortillas in half or quarters to make them easy to layer with. Build lasagna in layers of meat and beans, then tortillas, then cheese. Repeat: meat, tortilla, cheese again. Bake lasagna 12 to 15 minutes until cheese is brown and bubbly.

The original recipe is here.

Aside from meals, I’ve been including yogurt in my snacks, since I read that low-fat dairy can help burn fat. I always have coffee and a cup of green tea in the morning, both of which are said to rev up metabolism.

I’m hopeful that I can begin to commit to a more regular exercise routine soon.  I’m lucky that I’ve been able to find enough freelance projects to keep me very busy.  The kids don’t make it easy to fit in the work that I have. My baby regularly wakes up at 12 a.m., 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. That, combined with the fact that my 3-year-old goes to bed around 9 p.m., leaves me a three-hour window of writing if I go to bed at midnight.  I am always exhausted.

Sleep is actually more important to me right now than exercise, especially since I had read this article that sleep deprivation slows your metabolism.  I’m going to see if I can possibly nap when the kids nap during the day, at least until the little one decides to sleep through the night.