Question from a reader....

I received a question from a reader, so I thought it was best to answer it here. Other people may have the same question, so answering it this way gives everyone an opportunity to see the questions and answers.

If you have questions for me, please post them in the comments section after each post. I will answer questions a future blog post.

Question:

Hi Lori.
I just found your blog from Body Bugg.com and I wanted to get in touch with a fellow newbie to the most amazing contraption known to dieters! I'm on week two. I'm keeping to my calories, working out like crazy and I'm GAINING weight! Ugh! I decided to set my calories lower this week to see what happens. I'm also upping the water to help flush the fat off!

My question to you is.....what are you eating? I tend to stick with the same types of food every day...just don't want to get bored...AND I do want to loose the weight. Also, do you remove your bugg when you sleep? Do you have set hours it's on?

I go from 6:30 am to 11:30 pm and then I take it off at night. I just went from 1750 calories consumed to 1600. I thought I'd be more hungry with less calories, but I was able to spread it out throughout the day and the liquids helped trick my mind.

Thnx,
Viki

OK...First of all, THANKS for reading, Viki! It's awesome to know there are people out there reading my ramblings!

The first question Viki had was what am I eating. Well, I am a creature of habit, so my breakfast and lunch menus are pretty much the same 2 or 3 things in rotation. I eat either Special K, Cooked Oatmeal with blueberries, or an egg beater omelet for breakfast pretty much every day. Let me say, though, that I have never been a big fan of breakfast unless it's a big Sunday breakfast with bacon, eggs, pancakes....the whole 9 yards! But, I know it's important to eat breakfast so I stick with these few items.

For lunch I either have a salad, sandwich (or wrap), soup, or a frozen meal. I make my own salads. Sometimes I toss in leftover chicken from the previous night. One of my favorite salads (and pretty low cal) is romaine lettuce, black beans, chicken, and salsa. You could also toss in some corn for another tex-mex kinda feel. I make my own wraps...a tortilla, deli turkey, lettuce or fresh spinach, maybe some hummus or avocado....roll and eat! With a sandwich or wrap I'll also have fresh, raw baby carrots, or other veggie that I have cut up and ready to serve in the fridge. For frozen meals I have some Schwan's meals that I keep on hand and then normally eat that with a can of Progresso lite soup.

Dinners are the most difficult for me because I have a husband and 2 kids and they're NOT on a diet! They're not big fans of whole wheat pasta, but I'm trying. If I make pasta I will make regular for them and whole wheat for me. It's really not that much effort. When I make pasta sauce I get sneaky! I chop (really, really chop...or maybe pulverize is the word) a zucchini and a green pepper) and add that to ground chicken to cook. Once the chicken's all cooked and the veggies are soft, I add some Italian seasoning and a can of plain-old-off-the-grocery-shelf-cheap-marinara sauce. The kids love that over penne or with spaghetti.

Meat at dinner time can get me in trouble. I eat WAY more than a serving. So, what I've been doing is using a food scale to measure out what I'm tossing on the plate. I'll put 3, 6, or 9 oz. on my plate, depending on where I'm at with calories consumed for the day. I usually have some kind of veggies cleaned, cut, and ready to use in the fridge. I'll either saute those or steam them for an easy and healthy side dish for me.

For snacks, again, I have a few staples that I rotate between. I buy the lite Kroger yogurt. 80 calorie snack. I will make a smoothie and toss in the whey protein powder that my trainer urged me to start. I was craving meat and feeling very lethargic when I started working out, and the whey has helped a LOT! Fresh fruit is always on the bowl on the counter...apples and bananas and whatever else looked good at the store! That's a quick, grab-and-go snack. I like sweets....I really do! So, sometimes I will stir one scoop of the vanilla protein powder into the yogurt...like an apple pie one, or pina colada one....that is a seriously sweet treat! And, at 180 calories, it's not hard on the calories consumed.

Sorry that answer is a bit long....on to the next questions! Do I remove the bugg when I sleep? YES, I do. I wore it the first 2 nights and then decided I could go w/out it at night. I put it on first thing when I get out of bed and take it off when I climb in at night.

That's all of Viki's questions...I hope the answers help. Remember, if you have questions for me, just post them in the comments and I'll be happy to answer them in a post.

~Lori~