Tag Archives: protein

skinny fat

Working to Avoid the Skinny Fat

skinny fatFor those that follow me on my and my husband’s blog Far Away Reasons, you know that we’ve hit New Zealand and were immediately shocked to discover how ridiculously high the cost of living in Aucklund is.

Keeping with the theme of my post last week, I have since become my own worst client having every excuse in the book not to follow my own healthy eating plan.

In trying to stick to my budget, I’ve found it nearly impossible to eat as frequently as I would like, nor maintain the food quality nor macro nutrient consistency I would like.  That being said, here are my solutions to eating cheap and sticking to plan.  

skinny fatThe first night we were in town we strayed away from restaurants, not because of the food quality, but because of the cost.

Thinking we would do better buying our own food and cooking in the hostel, we headed to the grocery store.

We quickly discovered the options weren’t much better there.  Produce and Proteins were scarce.

Feeling discouraged about our ability to stick to budget and feed ourselves for the next couple months, we settled for some cheap Ramon ($5.99 for 5 bags) and splurged for some steak ($12 for 1/2 a lb) –the only protein we could find.

This was obviously an attempt to stick to our 1:1 or 1:2 protein to carbohydrate ratios,  and while we were successful, I normally wouldn’t recommend eating Ramon noodles.  The sodium content is much too high and Ramon noodles are far from the healthy types of carbohydrates that I normally like to consume.

We quickly learned our lesson from our poor eating choice, when my husband got food poisoning after this meal.  We cleaned up our cooking by instead making a stir fry of eggs, frozen veggies, and steak.  This may not sound like the most glamorous meal, but our bellies thanked us.

Another solution I’ve found to sticking to my budget is to eat the local meal deals, filling up on one to two large meals a day.   I’ve found $4 pizzas and $10 Indian Meal combos.  These deals, however, do come at a cost–THEY ARE NOT ON PLAN.  Both meals are run heavy in carbs and either lack or contain very little protein.

I’ve found the days that I eat out, my calories are actually pretty low.  Remember though, maintaining a too-low calorie diet isn’t good.  The body needs fuel to function.  If you don’t provide the body the fuel it needs, it begins to break down your muscle for fuel since muscle costs more calories to maintain than fat.

I’ve found low calorie/bad nutrient diets to be the general trend here in Aucklund which would explain the very large population of “skinny-fat” I’ve noticed.

skinny fatFor those of you who haven’t heard the term “skinny-fat” before, urban dictionary defines it as:

“1. When someone is thin and looks great in clothes, but is all flabby underneath

2. A physique, while not overweight (and possibly underweight), lacks any visible lean, striated tissue. The term is often NOT used or understood by the uneducated, untrained eye. To the uneducated, untrained eye, a skinny fat female may appear to have a physique of the same caliber as an individual who is comprised of significantly more lean tissue. The term is particularly relevant  while eating at Denny’s and discussing how unappealing the waitress is. You can always resort to getting traditional weight loss surgery mexico, but going out and using the gym is the best alternative to avoid the issue.

skinny fat

Miley Cyrus at the VMA’s: another example of skinny fat

3.  A person who is not overweight and have skinny look but still have a high fat percentage and low muscular mass. Usually those people have a low caloric diet, that’s why they are skinny, but are not involved in any sports activities or trainings and that’s why they don’t have any muscle. Since between the bone and the skin those people only have fat, the skin can be deformed easily because the skin layer is located on an unstable matter (fat).
Skinny fat woman look sexy from a certain distance but they have soft jelly skin and still have some cellulite even if they are in there early 20.”

Skinny Fat does have an official medical term, metabolically obese normal weight or MONW, but according to the dr grawe reviews it is not easy to change, specially if the person decides to undergo surgery.

Besides the physical appearance ramifications one runs risk of by becoming skinny fat, being such is also one step away from Type II diabetes.  (I realize there is a comical air to what I’m writing, but this is a serious topic.  Check out Mark Hyman, MD’s post.)

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Besides diet, one way to combat the skinny fat is exercise.

Since arriving in Aucklund, I have been able to stay on track with my exercise, averaging over 20,000 steps a day.  There are gorgeous parks all over the city, but the trick is to taking advantage of these parks and getting outside.

I’ve loved having access to so many trails to run, but even walking around these areas is good for combating skinny fat. I recommend getting a fitbit so you can start monitoring your daily activity!  You should aim to have at least 5,000 steps a day, even if you exercise regularly and 10,000 a day if you don’t.

20131006_172448[1]Unfortunately, I’ve noticed most people choose to drive around the parks and craters we’ve visited rather than explore them on foot.  Once again explaining the skinny fat population here in Aucklund.

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In a more optimistic light, I can gladly report that Bikram Yoga East West in Aucklund has a very large population of regular practicing yogis.  I saw by far the largest population of fit people that I had seen in the city dropping in to take yoga classes at their studio!

Luckily for me, I’m leaving Aucklund tomorrow and heading up North.  I’ve been told that once out of the city, fresh veggies are much more abundant.  I’m hoping there will also be a better selection of protein, but even if there isn’t we could eat better just with some more fresh vegetables.

Regardless, the good news is a couple days of poor diet won’t kill me, especially since I’ve kept my exercise up!

It can be very easy to allow yourself to become skinny fat, but if you follow these simple rules you can quickly avoid this.

Simple Rules to Avoid the Skinny Fat:

  • Eat Protein as much as possible!–Remember, if you are traveling, a couple of days of a poor diet won’t kill you, but do the best you can to pick nutrient rich options.  If you can’t eat healthy one meal, don’t use that as an excuse to eat poorly the next.  Each meal is an opportunity to fuel the body to be strong!

    photo travel workout card

    Click here to get a workout for home or travel!

  • Maintain your exercise!  Hit up local classes such as yoga, crossfit, and cycling!  If you can’t afford them or the times don’t work with your schedule do a workout you can do in your own home or in a hotel room if you’re traveling!
  • If you still can’t find the time to workout, make sure you maintain a high level of activity.  Track this with a pedometer, or Fitbit.  This is a great tool to keep you on track in your daily life, especially if you travel frequently.
  • Eat frequently so your body relies on healthy food to fuel itself so it can build muscle, not eat away at it!  If you don’t know how to do that, here is a meal plan you can follow!

What’s your favorite way to avoid the skinny fat?

 

green smoothie

Tropical Green Smoothie

green smoothie

Ingredients:

  • 1 mini persian cucumber
  • 1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder
  • 6 frozen pineapple chunks
  • 6 frozen mango chunks
  • 1/2 cup coconut water
  • 1/2 cup kale

Prep:

Blend and enjoy this Tropical Treat Green Smoothie!  It makes the perfect snack on a hot day while also keeping you within your ratios!

 

Calories 230 Fat 1.9g, Carbs 34.2g, Fiber 6.5g Protein 26.4g

Funky Monkey Protein Smoothie

protein smoothie

Ingredients:

  • 1 Banana
  • 2 scoops protein
  • 1 tbs Sunflower Butter
  • 1/2 cup Coffee
  • 1 cup ice

Combine in a magic bullet and you have an awesome 320 cal 31g Protein, 31g CHO, and 10g Fat protein smoothie to refuel your body and keep you awake for boring office meetings or in late night lectures!

Quinoa Salad

When you live in a hotel, it is hard to find real foods that you can cook and eat!  One of my favorites is Quinoa.  It has more protein than most rice and noodles, but is still easy to make with just an electric kettle!  Plus, if you cook it on Sunday you can store it in the fridge for easy salad making throughout the week!image

 

When I’m really lazy I go for just Greens, Quinoa, Chopped Turkey Breast, and some Trader Joe’s Green Curry to add flavor.

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When I have more time I can chop peppers and cucumbers, and add garbanzo beans to the above mix to make a tasty salad!  Super easy and great for nutritional value!

 

This salad is 450 calories, 41g Protein, 39g Carbs, 10g Fat, and 11g of fiber.  A good filling meal within your ratios and easy to make!

 

One more option would be to mix Trader Joe’s Madras Lentil (again another food that cooks well in the electric kettle.  Just put the pouch in the boiling water), with your premade quinoa, some canned salmon, garbanzo beans, peppers, and spinach for another Quinoa Salad variation.

This meal has 450 calories 1og Fat, 58g Carbs, 32g Protein, and 15g of fiber!

 

1 staple food with 3 easy options!  Good for hotel living or easy lunches during your work week! 🙂

 

 

 

Quick and Easy Stir Fry

Part of the reason so many people eat out, is they think cooking has to be tough.  Here is a simple recipe for a stir fry that you can make in 30 minutes.

What You’ll Need:

  • Chicken
  • Green Pepper
  • Onion
  • Meat Rub
  • Coconut Oil
  • Carrots
  • Zucchini
  • Low Sodium Soy Sauce
  • Sriracha
Optional for side salad:
  • Romaine
  • Low Fat Feta
  • Tomato
  • Cucumber
  • Left Over Dressing from Greek Salads

 

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If you can marinate your chicken an hour or 2 before with melted coconut oil mixed with your meat rub.  Set aside and let sit in the refrigerator.

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Saute Carrots, Green Pepper, Onion in wok with a teaspoon of coconut oil.

Add the soy and sriarcha when the veggies start to soften.

Add Chicken and finally Zucchini.

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Chop Romaine, Tomato, Cucumber and place in bowl with low fat feta.

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Ta da, a dinner ready in less than thirty minutes!  Real food is always better than takeout!

Paleo Food Pyramid

Weight loss is as easy as Simple Math!

At some point in elementary school most children ask themselves during math class, “When will this ever be applicable in my life?”  One practical application is meal tracking.

We would all like to take the easy way out and keep the equation to calories in/calories out, simple addition and subtraction.  Diet, however, is a little more complicated than that.  We should instead go back to those math days and break out our past knowledge on ratios.  Instead of focusing on how many calories we consume, we should instead focus on the percentages of macro-nutrients we eat.

The latest studies are showing ratios of CHOs to Protein are much more powerful than strict calorie restriction. The problem with calorie restriction, is over time your body adjusts to what you give it. If you calorie restrict your body will begin to shut your metabolism to live off those reduced calories. If you stick to the proper ratio of CHOs to protein, however, your body will burn fuel more efficiently.  You still need to watch total calorie intake, however, you will have more room to have higher intake days if you keep your ratios in check.

So what are these ratios? To put it simply if you’re looking to lose weight you should keep your diet at a 1:1 grams of protein to grams of CHO ratio. If you’re looking to maintain you should keep these ratios at 1:2. If you just can’t say no to carbs you are probably like the average American and your ratio is probably 1:3 or higher and you are steadily gaining weight, this is one of the main reasons why most people opt to look for the best plastic surgeon in boston in order to lose all the weight.

Once you begin to track for ratios, it becomes easier to diet. It is hard to track when your focus is to eat less. Ultimately, because you are thinking about limiting food; all you can think of is food. This leaves you hungry all the time because food is your focus.  Food is always on your mind. If you focus on eating the right foods, once that goal is met you can shift your focus to other tasks in your life. Learn about Delaney Park Dental professionals, who recommend such eating habits for your healthy smile. Eccella Smiles website also offers useful tips for your oral health.

So what does a 1:1 or 1:2 ratio diet look like?

A 1:1 ratio diet is very similar to a Paleo diet. Most carbs should come from fruits and veggies with protein coming from lean meats and fish. The nice thing about tracking your ratios is you have the luxury to add in fattier meats, such as steak and bacon, on occasion you can take this prevail 24/7 carb burner to help you loss weight . (If you are worried about cholesterol or blood pressure unfortunately these meats shouldn’t be an option, but if weight loss is your main goal then you can look forward to enjoying those often taboo meats.) Once you find foods you like that help keep you within your ratios, start looking forward to what you can eat. When you focus on what you CAN eat versus what you shouldn’t eat you will have a better chance of establishing new eating habits.

If you are looking to maintain, you can even throw back in breads and grains.  The key, however, is to keep your meals based around proteins rather than based around carbs.  Pasta for example is a meal based on a carb.  You may put protein in it, but the main component is carb.  Stir frys on the other hand can be based on veggies and meat with rice (a carb) added as an addition to supplement the veggies and protein.

The math may be slightly more complicated, but tracking for ratios is a great focus to help keep your diet on track.

26g of protein for 360 cals on the go

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If you need a quick go to lunch for work; check out traders Joes for some tasty, warm, convenient, and healthy lunches. One if my latest favorites is the Lamb Vindaloo. If you want to save 100 calories you can serve it over spinach instead of the rice.

(Rice is separate from the Lamb in package therefore that calorie estimate come from the assumption the majority of the carbs come from the rice. 128 calories come from the total carbs.).

That makes this a 260 calories power snack to carry you over if you will be suck at the office late.  Much better than grabbing a bag of chips or a burrito from the cafeteria!

This is one of the higher calorie options.  There are ones with less they just don’t pack the same protein punch!  Stock up your freezer at work to save you from temptation.   😉

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