Surprise diet recipes for weight loss, metabolism boost, mood lifter and pain relief

Hello friends of this blog on how I lost 100 pounds without gastric bypass! Today, as part of my Spring into Weight Loss challenge, I'm sharing diet recipes that will not only help lose weight but also boost metabolism, lift mood relieve pain. The secret ingredients may surprise you. 

Number one ingredient in my metabolism booster-mood lifter-pain reliever recipe is...ba-duum-cha...Zammex Bone Broth! I've blogged before about how I lost 100 pounds eating high protein keto foods like bone broth. Bone broth is the schiznit for weight loss clocking in at 20 grams of protein per serving for a mere 85 calories! Plus it has tons of amino acids and potassium electrolytes for immunity and metabolism boost. It also strengthens bones so is great for nutritive pain relief. 

To my Zammex Bone Broth, I add nutritional yeast. I like Bragg's nutritional yeast which is chock full of B vitamins for metabolism and mood lifters. Nutritional yeast adds a salty, cheesy flavor and makes a perfect salt substitute for weight loss. I also add Bragg's Liquid Amino salt substitute. I'm an avid watcher of "My 600-lb Life" and bone broth with nutritional yeast would make an excellent pre and post gastric bypass calorie restricting food. It's surprisingly filling which is one thing "My 600-lb Life" folks say most diet recipes aren't. 

People on "My 600-lb Life" speak of chronic pain. Along with obesity, I've struggled with a lot of chronic pain issues (some not related to being overweight and not helped by weight loss.) I refuse to take any opioid pain relievers and avoid Tylenol and ibuprofen as much as possible. I did try the antidepressant Paxil which caused weight gain and obesity. Part of how I lost 100 pounds was to get off the Paxil. But I still need help with pain management. I use ginger, black pepper, red and white pepper and turmeric. All these forms of pepper have anti-inflammatory properties. 

I add turmeric, black pepper, ginger, ground multicolor pepper (white, pink, red and green) and paprika. Cayenne pepper which would be better for pain relief but I'm too much of a wimp and so opt for "little pepper" or paprika. All these are natural pain relievers and I've found that when pain is managed, it boost metabolism and energy and is a mood lifter. Garlic is for flavor and immunity boosting. 

Enjoy my Super Bone Broth diet recipe! Stay tuned for more on how I lost 100 pounds without gastric bypass! 

P.S. I use Zammex Bone Broth from Amazon because it's the best deal I've found. Plus with Amazon Subscribe and Save, I get 15% off!  

How I lost 100 pounds eating my favorite foods (truly!)

 Hello dear friends of this blog on how I lost 100 pounds without gastric bypass! In keeping with the weight loss challenges I began in January, in April we're doing Spring into Weight Loss and exploring ways to lose weight in healthy ways. Today I'll explain how I lost 100 pounds by eating my favorite foods. Really! 

The HAES (Healthy at Every Size) movement would have us believe that there's no such thing as overweight and that even obesity is healthy if you feel good about yourself. It's true that no amount of weight loss will help if you don't have a positive self-image. But being very overweight or even just a little can lead to low self-esteem, not because society tells me I'm fat but because excess fat is slowing me down. I sometimes wonder how much of HAES is about positivity and how much is about shielding eating habits that have lead to obesity. 

On the show "My 600-lb Life", people with morbid obesity must work to lose weight, before and after gastric bypass. One of the biggest roadblocks is "comfort food" and "comfort eating." "My 600-lb Life" patients will do anything to protect eating habits that got them to "My 600-lb Life." They are convinced, and try to convince Dr. Now that they need their "comfort food" and the tons of extra calories in it. 

So this may seem like an excursion from the point of my post on how I lost 100 pounds eating favorite foods. But that's just what I did: eat comfort foods just made differently with calorie restricting and keto food swaps. I did have to retrain my brain to appreciate subtle rather than intense sweetness or saltiness. Here are my best calorie restricting food swaps.

Refined sugar food swaps: I sub fruit (apples, bananas, berries, grapefruit) for sugar in recipes. I bake with bananas and apples and cut out refined sugar. In BBQ dishes, I use different berries, peaches, apples or pineapple instead of refined sugar. 

I swap Bragg's Nutritional Yeast for salt and cheese in dishes to boost nutrients and protein and cut sodium. I eat keto or light bread and olive oil butter for calorie restricting. I sub cauliflower for wheat, potatoes and rice. I wrap sandwiches in lettuce leaves instead of bread. I sub Greek yogurt for milk and sour cream. I add ground nuts to breads to ramp up protein and fiber. I sub blended cottage cheese for cream, sour cream, cheese and Velveeta in diet recipe versions of macaroni and cheese, Alfredo and cheese soups. I use bone broth for any kind of broth to up protein. 

There are so many ways to make diet recipes of favorite foods and best of all, I like my diet versions better than the originals! 

Bone broth for weight loss: Recipes to make bone broth not disgusting

Hi friends, day 3 of our No Junk January weight loss challenge finds me looking diet recipes and tweaks to make diet food palatable. The focus of No Junk January is not  just about what to avoid, but what to eat to lose weight and feel better.  Creating healthier weight loss friendly versions of favorite foods is how I lost 100 pounds 10 years ago (without gastric bypass). 

Today I'm exploring bone broth to lose weight. Now, let me just say, that I've tried bone broth before and if you can get it down without gagging, you're a better man than I, Gunga Din. Maybe it's the name, "bone" broth. I swear I can taste enamel or marrow or whatever icky stuff bones are made of. We're not just talking about the whiny fits folks on "My 600-lb Life" throw over eating foods like vegetables. Bone broth is flat out nasty. 

But it also crazy good for calorie restricting diets. One serving has 85 calories and a whopping 24 grams of protein and tons of nutrients. So how to make bone broth palatable enough to drink? Very simple. Learned this from our youngest daughter who offered us some for breakfast on our latest trip to visit her in Austin. Add spices. 

Here's a spicy recipes for chicken or beef bone broth. Ginger up (pardon the pun) chicken bone broth with ginger powder, garlic, turmeric, black and cayenne pepper and celery salt. If you can't stand the cayenne heat, try chili powder. For beef bone broth, add cumin, onion powder, celery salt and steep a bay leaf. For an Indian spin, add curry or garam masala. You can also add a little regular chicken or beef broth powder. 

Value added with these weight loss recipes is that all these spices are anti-inflammatory so help with pain relief. 

No Junk January Weight Loss Challenge: So what ARE we going to eat??

 

Hiya friends! Day one of my No Junk January weight loss challenge commences. And in preparation, I've discussed what I'm not going to eat: junk food, sweet and salty snacks and fatty, fried and fast foods. But then, queried my  husband, what ARE you going to eat? Like, just sticks and twigs?? (He's not usually such a food Philistine). He's been down this long and winding road to overweight, obesity and weight loss with me. His support was a big help in how I lost 100 pounds. And he's generally a pretty healthy eater and doesn't need to lose weight himself (he makes the exception for sausage. There will always be sausage, sigh). However, with age even "he can eat anything and not gain weight" is finding that it's harder to  keep the tummy trim than in years past. Welcome to my world. 

So he does pose a cogent question. Having identified triggers and purged everything that will lead us into temptation (see previous No Junk January weight loss posts) what are we eating? We can't just remove foods to lose weight. We can't just eat a 1200 calorie diet of the same problem foods. We have to replace with better options that still satisfy hunger. 

So just a bunch of "sticks and twigs" (see also rabbit food, etc)?? Well, yes. Or maybe to be more precise, leaves and seeds and stems (make of that what you will). I'll be eating as close to my ancient forebears hunter gatherer diet as possible. Aka paleo-ish. 

When writing about how I lost 100 pounds and beat obesity, without gastric bypass, some foods that frequently "crop up" (pun) are of course fruits, vegetables, whole grains, seeds and nuts. Also lean meat. I  used calorie restricting on the 1200 calorie diet, said calories consisting primarily of foods that fed our hunter gatherers. Yeah, most are produced now, but, are much closer to the source than processed junk. 

So my calorie restricting diet, (honey, here's your answer) will in fact be: seeds (pumpkin, chia, celery, poppy, sesame, and berry fruits: pomegranate, blueberries, raspberries and strawberries. High fiber fruits like apples, lemons and grapefruit. Nuts: almonds and peanuts (and some nut butter), leaves (lettuce, kale, spinach, collard greens, cabbage red and green) and cruciferous vegetables (broccoli and cauliflower). Some nightshades like mushrooms, peppers and tomatoes. Plant protein powder shakes. Lean meat: chicken and beef mostly. I make a mean beef jerky that is crazy satisfying. And spicy bone broth, pho and other nourishing broths. A lot of these are considered "superfood". I'll blog more about broths as a diet. 

After the crazy that was Christmas I literally need to detox from the cookies, candy, ham, cheese, etc. I'm excited to start No Junk January weight loss challenge. Even if I don't lose weight, I feel better already. For more ideas, keep your dial set on this "how I lost 100 pounds" blog. 

How I lost 100 pounds (and stay full!) with weight loss superfood bone broth

This blog explores how I lost 100 pounds and kept if off without bariatric surgery. Weight loss isn't just about the initial shedding of pounds. That's the easy part the easy part of losing weight. The hard part is, of course, keeping it off. It's about maintaining healthier habits but also upgrading. So I'm continually researching and trying new ideas. I recently test-drove bone broth, a superfood long-advocated for health. 

Now I know, in the west especially, we're always hearing about some new diet or miracle cure that's going to lose weight, burn fat, end obesity, etc. So you might be tempted to look askance at bone broth as just another fad. But in the east, broth is and has been a diet staple for, oh, probably forever! And by diet, I don't mean a weight loss plan. I mean a sustainable way of eating to be and remain healthy. 

On a visit to our littlest pet in Austin, TX, she served us bone broth for breakfast. I was onboard, but husband I could tell, was leery. Not that it would taste good (although the term "bone broth" is a little off-putting, admittedly) but that it would actually fill him up till the next meal. Truth told, I wasn't sure myself. But wonder of wonders, one cup of chicken bone broth, with a little judicious additions of happy-feel spices (turmeric, ginger and black pepper) satisfied hunger for several hours. 

Bone broth, whether chicken or beef, is a win-lose situation--win with appetite suppressant, fat burner, mood stabilizer, blood sugar boost and endorphin releaser plus lose weight naturally. If you go the gastric bypass route for weight loss, you'll be put on a liquid or broth diet for a period following bariatric surgery. And bone broth is far superior to regular broth in several ways. It gives 20 grams of protein per cup and only 85 calories plus all the -ines (amino acids). Adding spices in the pepper family--turmeric, black pepper, ginger--give the added benefit of inflammation reduction and pain relief. 

Bone broth can be a little pricey but since it's meal replacement, the cost isn't too bad. Zammex has the best price I've found for bone broth protein. It's available through Amazon. Stay tuned for more on how I lost 100 pounds and other diet recipes and health tips. 

Best wishes in your quest! 

#howilost100pounds #bonebroth