Yesterday, I mentioned about not having nuts and I think I need to clarify that, given I'm doing my best to eat to (my interpretation of) Mediterranean principles.
Ages ago, I worked hard to deal with my evening snacking which was really not helping the weight loss. Adopting the 16-8 intermittent fasting habit really helped to knock that on the head and I proudly announced that I no longer snack.
That, of course, is nonsense.
I have a snack between each meal so two snacks in total and, occasionally, something like an apple before a fitness class.
I no longer snack in the evenings but I do snack between meals. Fruit - just fruit - is what I aim to snack on, specifically speed fruit such as apples, pears and oranges.
Recently I started having a few nuts to snack on instead and this has proved to be a bit of an issue. Nuts are a healthy extra B but in pretty small, carefully measured amounts.
As a snack, a healthy extra B amount does not satisfy me completely. As part of a full meal, it does. So I am not avoiding nuts, far from it, as they are great for protein and healthy fats and full of good stuff. I'm just avoiding them as a snack and I am going to stick to fruit.
(This is just how I apply Med/SW principles - you may find different things work better and that's OK. We make these things work for us, we don't work for them; they are not tablets of stone. You go with what works best for you. 😊 )
The usual with raspberries, a nectarine and a kiwi.
I mashed up leftover mixed beans with onion, pepper and seasonings to make this quesadilla with some grated cheese.
What I ate today
One syn for a tsp chia seeds. I love how the seeds make the yogurt go all thick, almost like whipped double cream.
Afters was a nectarine.
One healthy extra A, one healthy extra B and three syns for evoo.
Later on, I had an apple.
Well, what can I say? It was absolutely delicious and here is the recipe. I used maple syrup instead of honey and bulgur wheat instead of rice and sliced some garden tomatoes for speed and wow!
Both fillets was a lot though - next time I will just have one unless it's very small.
Afters was a couple of plums and you know what - I think spiced plums would be really nice with the fish.
One syn for maple syrup, one syn for some evoo in the bulgur wheat and two syns for some dressing over the sliced tomatoes.
Summary:
one healthy extra A
one healthy extra B
eight syns, six for evoo
My meal plans for tomorrow:
B: fruit, yogurt and seeds
L: avocado on toast with asparagus and a side salad; fruit
D: fennel and tomato gratin, maybe a salad; fruit
A completely new one to me. I got some fennel in my last shop so I will find out if I like it, won't I?
Exercise: Groove class and the walk there and back
The Extra Bit
I looked up about body fat and found this:
What is a healthy body fat percentage for women? A range between 16% (I wish!!) and 33% is considered healthy for women, depending on age. As you age, body fat increases.
(to be fair, numbers differed depending on where I looked - this range is Joy-friendly!)
Mine read as 35.3% Bearing in mind I am not tall, this is definitely an area to be aware of so I think I'm on the right track in these next three months - well, a bit less than two now - if I want to go for optimum health. However, the aim is to build muscle as I reduce body fat (if that is possible) while keeping my overall weight pretty stable.
A healthy diet and regular exercise, including cardio and strength training, is the best way to burn fat and build muscle says Google. Tick, tick, tick says Joy.
Nothing to stress about though . . . it is still the bad cholesterol reduction that is the main focus.
I love the picture of nuts. I love nuts altogether. So good for us but also high in calories (at least in the quantity I want to eat)!
ReplyDeleteVery strongly recommended on the Med diet, of course, but . . . I will just have to treat myself on my extra-syns days.
DeleteLike you, I always want more. xx