Healthy Mediterranean Diet Recipes

Having diet-friendly options in the freezer can really help!

One of my goals for the new year is to be more consistent about sharing these Things I'm Thinking About on Tuesday posts, so I'm kicking off 2015 with something I should have shared long ago!  Above is a shot of my diet-friendly freezer, which is so helpful when I need a few days or weeks of more carb-conscious eating.  I always have heat-and-eat dinners in the freezer, and I love having labeled bins of leftovers that I've labeled for Phase One (lowest-carb) or Phase Two (carb-conscious but less strictly low-carb).  

Of course if you're a food blogger it's probably easier to keep the freezer stocked up like this, but cooking on the weekends and freezing things is how I started out on South Beach (back in 2004!) and it still works well for me.  (You can use the photo index page for Can Freeze if you'd like to know what recipes on this site will freeze well.)

August 2011 I was probably at my all-time high weight. I dont know exactly how much I weighed, since I stopped weighing when I reached 389 pounds. I am positive I weighed more than 400 pounds, but didnt want to know exactly how much over 400 pounds.

Currently, I weigh 180 pounds. People ask me the secret of my weight loss. I first acknowledge that I had gastric bypass surgery at Stanford Medical Center in August of 2012. My surgeon created a small pouch at the top of stomach and most of the food I ate was "bypassed" and sent straight to my small intestine. The pouch is the size of a walnut and can only hold an ounce of food.

Folks often confuse the various weight loss surgeries with each other and with liposuction. Some folks think having surgery to help you lose weight is cheating or taking the easy way out.

For me, at nearly six decades it was about being healthy. And as Al Roker says, anyone can eat their way out of a gastric bypass. Nothing is permanent. Everything takes work and discipline.

CNN.com recently featured me in their weekly weight loss story series:http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/09/health/weight-loss-akilah-monifa/

As to the "secrets" of my weight loss success, in no particular order of importance:

1. I walk a minimum of 10,000 steps a day. I keep track via my Fitbit device. I have rocked them all, currently wearing a violet Fitbit Flex. I usually start out with at least a 15-minute walk before my day starts.

2. I dont count calories, but I dont eat the same way I did when I weighed over 400 pounds. I have taken to heart the adage of the definition of crazy: Doing the exact same thing and expecting a different result. I eat small portions of food high in protein every few hours.

3. I do eat refined sugar, but not in the quantities I used to. I have a pint of ice cream that has been in my refrigerator for more than one year, for example.

4. I weigh daily. I gave myself a 10-pound cushion for the weight loss and I am below my goal, but as I see myself gaining weight I step up my fitness game.

5. I belong to two gyms, one near my office, and one near my home, a national one that I can use when I travel. If a gym is not available to me, thats not an excuse; I walk outside or inside is the weather doesnt permit.

6. I read a summary of The Four Agreements several times a day. For my fitness goals, the most important is the last agreement: "Always do your best." Sometimes my best falls short of 10k steps a day, but it is still my best, and I dont beat up on myself because I havent done my 10k steps.

7. I listen to inspirational music. It puts me in a better mood and helps me walk more.

8. I drink lots of walk. Any other drink is not as healthy and has empty calories usually.

9. I get up before sunrise.

10. I get the proper amount of sleep. For me this is between five and six hours a day. I do take naps.

I am so much more healthier and happier.

Peace and blessings.

By Elizabeth Ann Thompson

Source: Huffington Post