The Incredible, Edible Egg

I eat eggs for breakfast, lot of eggs. Michael eats eggs for breakfast. Between the two of us, each morning we go through a whole dozen. Yep, you read that right... a whole dozen! When I first heard from our trainers that this was how we'd start each day, two things went through my mind. First, wow, that's a lot of eggs. Second, I am going to get so sick of that.

Well, we are three weeks in and the only thing I can say is that if I don't have my egg whites, I sure crave them! I do switch it up on the weekends, but during the week it's pretty much hard boiled eggs every morning. We boil them the night before and get them all ready to go so that we can just grab our breakfast on the way out the door. On the weekends, we get creative with omelets and scrambled eggs filled with spinach, onions, bell peppers and sometimes mushrooms (for me). If we really feel like being spoiled, we'll add ham and cheese.

So here's why they are so good for Michael and I:

Egg Whites

Calories: 17 (only 17 calories per egg!!)

Protein: 3.6 g

Carbohydrates: 0.21g

Total fat: 0.06 g

Whole egg

Calories: 75

Protein: 6.29 g

Carbohydrates: 0.39 g

Total fat: 4.97 g

We mostly eat egg whites which keeps the calories and fat low and the protein high. So, my egg breakfast is 143 calories, 20.60 g of protein, 1.23 g of carbs and 5.21 g of fat. Plus all the vitamins! On the weekends, these numbers go up depending on which vegetables I add, but mostly that just adds more vitamins and minerals!

Michael's egg breakfast is 177 calores, 27.89 g of protein, 1.65 g of carbs and 5.33 g of fat.

The high-quality protein in eggs helps you to feel full longer and stay energized, which contributes to maintaing a healthy weight. In fact, research* shows that eggs eaten at the start of the day can reduce daily calorie intake, prevent snacking between meals and keep you satisfied on those busy days when mealtime is delayed. I personally have to set reminders for myself to make sure I don't skip meals, because I really do feel satisfied longer and the urge to snack just isn't there.

Research indicates that high-quality protein may help active adults build muscle strength and middle-aged and aging adults prevent muscle loss. Why is this good for me? Lean muscle burns more energy (calories) than fat does so the more lean muscle mass, the more of a burning machine I'll be. Eggs are just part of equation, but I'm all for anything thats helping me.

For more information check out the offical home of the incredible edible egg!

* Vander Wal JS et al. 2005. Short-Term Effect of Eggs on Satiety in Overweight and Obese Subjects. J Am Coll Nutr. 24(6):510-515.

Week Two Results

This just keeps getting better and better! Following week two, Michael has lost a total of 10 pounds and 6.5 inches!!! Michael felt like he hadn’t followed his diet and exercise plan as closely as he would have liked, but kept on top of the Dub Nutritional Supplements and as you can see he is still seeing great results. I did marginally well with the diet and exercise plan that was outlined for us and I can somewhat happily report that I’m still maintaining my weight and have lost another 1 ½ inches (from the weight lifting). I am still struggling with giving up soda and this week was a bad week for sugar cravings!! I’m pushing hard this week to eat better and make sure that I get to the gym, even when I’m tired and have a million things left on my to-do list. I definitely have to work a lot harder than Michael to see the results I want, but I’d like to push past this plateau and see at least another 2 lbs off me by the end of the week. Given the results of the past two weeks, that will be a cakewalk for Michael and he will likely double that number.

On the way into the office this morning, I kept noticing that Michael was repeatedly flicking his wrist to move his watch back into place. I pointed this out to him and asked if his watch was fitting too loosely. Sure enough, after just two weeks we already need to take a link out of his watch. His workout shirts that were fitted are hanging loosely off of him, his brand new jeans are extra baggy, and essentially everything in his wardrobe is fitting differently. Fortunately for my pocketbook, Michael likes his clothes loose (that Bronx upbringing I’m guessing) so I’ve got a few weeks I think before we have to go shopping. But this is money I’d happily spend because I know it’s an outward sign that… health is happening!

Week One Results....

I have been itching to share the results of week one with Michael on the Dub Nutritional supplements. He has lost 7 lbs and 3.75 inches!! Yes, in one week!! Now, for me, I actually started on this journey about 5 months ago. Although in the first week of tracking our results as a family I was “only” able to maintain my weight and lose ½ an inch, during the past 5 months I have lost 16 lbs and 2.5 inches. For both comparative and monetary reasons, only Michael has been in the supplements, but after one week I’m already trying to figure out what I don’t need to be buying in order to do the supplements as well… we don’t really need to buy food right? Oh wait, yeah, food is fuel and therefore important (as long as it’s the right fuel).

The products I have been using over the past 5 months have been fabulous and I obviously have seen some great results. But, I’d also love to see the kinds of results Michael is seeing so I’ll probably add or replace something I’m already doing with the supplements; I will for sure write an update when that awesome day comes.

With the kids… well I spoke too soon in my last post about them not even asking for McDonald’s. Literally the day after I posted that, they begged for me to take them and given that it was the end of a hectic week, I gave in… I did get them the apple slices and made a compromise with chocolate milk. My giving in wasn’t necessarily born of laziness following a hectic week however; I did actually put thought into this decision and what I came up with is that I want them to know there is moderation in all things. They can have the unhealthy as long as it is only every once in a while and you balance it out. I’ve heard the stories of children who grow up to overindulge or go to their friends houses to eat crap and end up eating too much of it simply because they can’t get it at home. I want my children to grow up with a healthy relationship with food and activity. I want them to have as much fun with this as I am!

The rest of the story...

Michael and I are lucky enough to have 3 young children. All of them are WAY too young to diet or be put on a formal exercise program! Even if I didn't have an educational background in health, my common sense would have kicked in and told me that. But, no one is too young to eat healthy and be active… seriously, it can be that simple (some medical conditions aside).

That being said... I'm not a blind mother (seriously, I think some people don’t see their children accurately. I don’t think anyone knowingly endangers their children’s lives and let’s them get overweight, but again, I digress). I could see what was slowly happening in my own household; the cute little tummy pooches and adorable pinchable cheeks. But, a recent family vacation with extended family brought me to tears when I found out some things. Before I get into this story, let me preface by saying that my children are not obese, they don't spend all day on video games, they do get outside to play and they most certainly don't eat all junk food. They actually like vegetables and simply adore playing at the park.

Now, back to the story. As mentioned in the post about me, I am a working mother, which means I am very busy. So, when the annual Bear Lake vacation was coming up, I was so touched that my mom offered to take my oldest girl up to the lake so she could enjoy the whole week and then the rest of my little clan would come up on the weekend to join her.

Apparently during that week some very startling events occurred. First of all, my daughter (who is 6, by the way) started noticing her older, taller and thinner cousins and would say that she wanted to look like them. She took notice of what they were eating and would ask my mom that if she ate salad too, would she be as skinny as “Jane?” She started noticing the Nutri-System commercials and said she wanted to eat the food that made you skinny… yes, advertising works.

On one of the afternoons, my sister-in-law decided to go for a walk with her 3 youngest kids and my daughter went along as well because her cousin that is her exact age was going. My sister-in-law had noticed that while the other kids were running around and back and forth, my daughter kept pace with her and didn’t play with the other kids. You would think she was just being obedient and mild mannered except for the fact that halfway through the walk, my daughter stopped, bent over with hands on her knees, winded and said “I don’t think I’m going to make it, do you think the baby could walk and I could ride in the stroller?” Yep, that’s the moment that got me too…

I can’t control what happens at daycare, but I can certainly implement changes at home to encourage healthy behaviors. This blog won’t be about my children, but as parents become healthy, children naturally follow. We are making changes that are for our whole family. I don’t fix a separate meal for us and then something “kid-friendly” for the kids. We don’t have a yard, so we go to the park around the corner regularly and let the kids run around. We play games, have foot races and chase each other around.

I cook chicken breasts, broccoli and salad for the kids too and guess what? I don’t get a single complaint at dinner. Children want to eat healthy! Admittedly, my children surprisingly have always liked most vegetables. But we ate fast food A LOT more than we should have and they used to prefer eating a Happy Meal over eating at home (they got their way a lot too). Implementing change in your home might be a little more difficult, but then again you might be surprised. One of the most effective changes I have made was that I put a big fruit basket on the kitchen counter and bottles of water in the fridge. Healthy food is readily available, ready to eat and on display. It’s an obvious, conscious reminder that we are focused on fueling our bodies with good, nutritious food!

As a side note, I can’t even recall the last time we drove past McDonald’s and my kids begged to go inside. They do however BEG us to go to the park ALL the time… I’d take that trade any day!

A little about me...

I come from a large family; the 6th of 8 kids to be exact. I was the first girl following 5 boys which means I spent my formative years watching teenage boys eat and was pretty sure I needed to eat that much too (I know... that thought scares me now too). It only made matters worse that I didn’t have an “off” switch to signal when I was full. As a young girl, that was a seriously unfortunate set of circumstances.

The summer I got a bike was apparently the summer I worked off the “girly roundness" <insert heavy sarcasm> one gets when trying to eat like someone twice her age with a totally different metabolism. As I got older, I loved soccer and ballet and being active. What I didn’t love is that I never looked like my friends. I look back at pictures now and realize that I looked like a normal girl and I just had the unfortunate luck to have two exceptionally tiny friends. But, between being constantly reminded that “girls don’t eat like that”, “you’ve probably had enough” and constantly comparing myself to my two tiny best friends, I developed a serious complex that I have carried with me for as long as I can remember.

In high school, I started to gradually gain weight and considering how busy I was both academically and socially I would get up at 4:45 a.m. to work-out and was watching everything I ate; I also found my “off” switch or at the very least learned to read the signals that told me that I’d had enough. As any girl knows, image is already a big deal at that age. You want the boy to notice you, like you… date you and I was slowly gaining weight despite all my efforts. I was so discouraged! It was the Christmas of my freshman year in college that I found out why. I had Type II diabetes. I probably actually had insulin resistance to begin with, which would explain the unwanted weight gain during high school; but not only did I not know to watch for the signs; it wasn’t something that was diagnosed as prevalently as it is now.

I began studying nutrition and declared my major in Community Health Education with an emphasis on Health Promotion. My desire and motivation was that I wanted help others, specifically those that been through the struggle with weight. My career ended up in Human Resources with Corporate Wellness programs being one of many job functions.

In the years since college, I have become a wife and mother and have continued to grow professionally. Unfortunately, this also put me in the rut that many women find themselves in… my life became about other people. Although I have the knowledge and background, my health has taken a back seat for the past 10 years… that is, until now. It isn't easy for me to be so open about my past struggles and I venture to guess that there will be more ups and downs in my future, many of which I will probably struggle to want to share. That being said, I have learned the hard way that being open and honest is very freeing and even more importantly this blog isn't really about me. It's about you! Let my experiences be the ones to help and motivate you. Join me on my journey to Health Happening!

New Beginnings

You know the saying that "life is a journey, not a destination?" Well, the same can be said for health. It's all about the journey, the lifestyle changes, the commitment to enjoying the good things; it's not about making drastic changes just so you can look good for the next event (you know the crazy thought to stop eating altogether until you are your dream size has fleeting crossed your mind in a brief moment of desperation).

I can't tell you how many times I've thought that I was commited to turning my health around because of an upcoming hot date, wedding, class reunion, job interview... you name it. The problem always is, the date of the event would come and go and I'd either hit my goal (or wouldn't) and I'd go right back to my old habits. Someone once said that the definition of insanity is doing what you've always done expecting different results. Well, I'm pretty sure I'm not a crazy person, so I guess it's time to change what I do so that I can get the results I want.

Let me tell you about my defining moment...

Christmas was fast approaching and I was in charge of the company Christmas social. The social was a huge success and seeing as how much I love a good party, I was thrilled that everyone had a great time and I was feeling pretty darn good about the outcome (okay, there was a little pride involved). I had finished cleaning up and was heading down the stairs with a group of employees that had stayed behind to help and we were laughing and talking about our holiday plans. We were about halfway down the stairs when I glanced up into the mirror lined wall opposite the stairs and had to take a closer look because I didn't recognize one of the people coming down the stairs.

That woman was ME! And she didn't look anything like how I pictured myself. All the happiness that I had felt only moments before was instantly gone as the realization sunk in. Now, like you, I see my reflection in the mirror every day, but when I saw myself in relation to those around me, I was forced to see my true reality. And let me tell you, I didn't like it.

Way back in my college days I majored in Community Health Education so knowing what to do has never been the problem, but actually living it is. I joke around with my mother that I'm much better at helping other people do things and organize things than I am at doing it myself. Those that can't do, teach, right?! :) I have had many defining moments during the past few months, not only in relation to myself, but my family also, that has made me realize that if I want to have the type of life (and body image) that I envision, then I have some changes to make.

The purpose of this blog is to share my journey and the journey of my family. Perhaps you can relate to myself, my husband, or my whole family. Maybe some of the changes we have made and are making will be the same changes you need to make. Or maybe they will just inspire you to find your own path to health; after all, if you're doing the right things.... Health Happens!