5 foods that helped me lose 44 Pounds

I didn't have a personal trainer nor did I follow a diet. Thank God I was still able to lose  44 pounds the old fashion way. Today I wanted to tell you about 5 foods from the traditional food groups that I eat on a regular basis. Food was part of a winning combination of education, mind renewal, behavior modification,  stress management and flexibility which resulted in weight loss. Here's my list:

Real Food rocks!

5 • Banana - I buy a lot of bananas for our family. I like the way they taste and they are my go to food before my runs. It turns out they are also packed with B6 and vitamin C. Read about other benefits of Bananas here.
4 • Cabbage - I got in the habit of buying them because they are really cheap and they make a great basis for my vegetable soup. I started doing this 2 years ago and it just works for me. Most of the soup is cabbage and the rest is either mixed veggies, beans or whatever else we have. Cabbage has a lot of vitamin K and vitamin C. You can read about other cabbage benefits here.
3 • Black Beans - a Brazilian staple, these Beans have a winning protein/fiber ratio. We eat Black Beans most days at our house, I only stay away from it when I'm expecting. I guess my stomach couldn't take it for some reason. I add it to soups, we eat it with rice and we occasionally make Black Bean burgers my husband loves. Read about the benefits of Black Beans here.
2 • Almond Milk - I was very sensitive to dairy during my pregnancy so Almond Milk was my main source of dairy. I use it as coffee creamer because is super low in calories. I also drink dark chocolate almond milk as a recovery drink after running. Here are other benefits of Almonds here
1 • Oatmeal - I didn't grow up eating oatmeal but I acquired this great habit almost 7 years ago. The kids and I love it for breakfast and honestly for snacks too. It' is super filling if you don't want to be hungry in the morning. I almost never use instant oatmeal because I don't like the taste of it or the amount of sugar. I cook it fresh and we enjoy it most days of the week. Learn about the benefits of oats here.

I am thankful that God is such genius and created fresh food. I am aware that it is a lot of work to cook fresh food but oh the benefits! I feel better overall when I enjoy fresh fruits and vegetables. This past year I also enjoyed cakes, pies, sweet tea, chips, etc but on a very limited basis. Our family eats pizza once a week for dinner and I was still able to lose the weight. My point is to find the best quality foods for my body allowing myself the occasional treat.

I hope you enjoyed my list! What are some of the foods that helps your health journey?

Video Series:
• My Weight Loss in 60 Seconds (Complete Video Archives)

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Snow = Neve

It's snowing a lot, it started when we were in church  :) It's been fun to watch it from inside. We worked some yesterday, so I'm keeping my feet up today. 

We cut our cable but we still get 4 channels. If it's digitally or not, I don't know because they're odd: local abc affiliate; the style network (???); CSS and National Geographic. We are Good Morning America fans so ABC is great. We also dig 'Life in Mars' but I don't even know if that's still on. I like 'Whose Wedding is it Anyway' but I can't tell you when this show comes on Style. We're not huge sports fans except for now (today to be exact). I'm watching the Lakers (my team) play the Suns. Come to find out there's a Brazilian player in the Suns but no way I'll change my team, I've been a Lakers fan since the late 80s. Zeke can care less, we skip every super bowl festivities for a couch to sleep. I've been telling him I want to see the Lakers play one day, he said he totally go. We'll see :) 

A lot of people were in church today so I gave out most of the baby shower invitations out. It was fun. You have to have that conqueror attitude to find people between two services, pass that invite and move on to the next person. I have the invites in alphabetical order (that's very much like me), that made my task much easier. Most people mail their invitations which cuts down on the running around and the oddness (not everyone gets invited, etc) but sister girl was trying to save and make things easier. Oh, we also had some envelopes from our wedding invitation days we needed to use so, there you have it :) I have my blog on my invite, hopefully I'll pick up on some new readers. 

Today is my mother-in-law's birthday, we gave her a call after church. Being 60 should be a huge accomplishment, I think. When I'm 60, let's see, my first born will be 31! Wow, that's pretty cool. 

Baby boy is doing great. We're looking forward to our 3D ultrasound in a few weeks. I felt the baby move while I walked yesterday, that was new :)

We'll probably have delays tomorrow, that will be cool. I'll work from home and still keep my feet up :) 

That first photo is of Brazilian sweet popcorn. I found it in Charlotte, so I had it this weekend. Good stuff, great childhood memories.

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Snacking

So, I'm pregnant. I'm very pregnant. I'm as pregnant as I will ever be LOL. It does change the way I live life. There's life growing inside of me and guess what? This life needs to eat too!
I don't believe in eating for two, I believe in eating for nurture. It seems that most people out there (my doctor included) believe that at some point during pregnancy you are supposed to add only 300 calories to your existing diet. 300 calories, that's it?
You can add 300 calories any way but the wise way is to be sure they are packed full with nutrients and good stuff for me and the baby.

If you are wondering what 300 calories look like, the Diet Blog has an awesome picture blog that demonstrates that

Here's an article on the best 300 calorie meals if you are eating frozen meals or fast food.

I rejoice any time I find out I can eat more. I'm not using my pregnancy as a reason to eat the whole world. Self-control is something God has given me and trust me, it's still being developed through this pregnancy.

My feeling of hunger has changed twice. When I was overweight I used to feel desperation (not hunger) and I'd eat til I could eat no more. Before getting pregnant I could hear my stomach growl and I'd eat a snack but now it feels like my whole body is screaming HURRY UP AND FEED THE BABY!

I've always been an advocate to snacks. I love snacks, especially the ones that are tasty and packed full with nutrition. Now that I'm expecting I make sure I snack every day. Last Sunday for example, I ate a small apple between worship services (we have two at our church) and I was good to go until we went home and had salad and vegetarian lasagna with cinnamon cornbread.

I eat all sorts of snacks but it depends on what I need for the day. If I'm going to work out, I make sure I eat something that fills me up like peanut butter. If I'm just waiting for lunch, I eat fruit and/or cheese.

Snacking has helped me stay in track with the amount of nutrients I need for the day. When I plan my meals I start by planning how much protein and veggies I will need for dinner then I divide grains, dairy and fruit throughout the day.

There is such thing as bad snacking. Foods filled with trans fats and sodium are horrible choices of snacks. A German chocolate cake is bad snacking for me because it doesn't do anything for me nutritionally. It might actually sabotage my day because it doesn't give me the strength I need to hold on til the next meal.
Do you snack often? What are good and bad snacks in your opinion?

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