Protein Pancakes

These are soooo good! They are still in the experimenting stage, but until I get them the way I want them, this is what I'm making and it works. They fill me up and taste great!

Protein Pancakes
1/4 to 1/2 cup almond milk
4 egg whites (beat until frothy)
1/4 cup or 30 grams protein powder
(click on link above for the protein that I buy. I love this stuff!!! It is unsweetened, so I can make into anything I want!)
1/4 to 1/2 cup Oatmeal (how much you add really doesn't make a huge difference, just adds more volume)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 small packet or 1 teaspoon Stevia in the Raw or any other low cal sweetener.
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2-3 teaspoons baking powder (add a little more if they aren't very fluffy)

Beat eggs until frothy, whisk in almond milk, set aside. Mix together dry ingredients. Pour into wet ingredients and whisk only until mixed well. Set aside a few minutes until batter thickens a little. Use a large skillet and pour into pan when hot. Cook on a medium low temp as the egg white can burn quickly. They will puff up, wait until the pancakes "jiggles" (haha) and then flip. Use a large spatula. Makes 2 large pancakes.

Meeting My Goals...How I Did It.

I have lost 40 lbs...I am a size 10, with room!!!!!! WOOT!!! I want to shout it from the rooftops, jump up and down, do the victory dance....THIS IS SO HUGE! I haven't been here since marriage with my weight and I haven't been this size since Junior High!!!!!

September was rough with more cheats than I wanted to have, but I survived and just this first part of October the weight and inches are just falling off again. This has been my goal since...well, since after I had Hailey. It's taken me so long to figure out how to lose it. Really. I have no problem with the exercise thing, although when I began that years ago, it was really tough. The habit with exercise was established but eating right has been the hard thing. I love to eat healthy, but I'm realizing I've been eating too much food. It really comes down to calories in and calories out, but more importantly what kind of calories you are putting in and putting in the right combinations. I've struggled with the "carb" and "fat" issue for years. Do I eat carbs? Do I eat fat? For years the NO FAT thing was huge, but that is so WRONG! So, I added in fat, but then I was eating too much (nuts, cheese, good oils). As for carbs, I lost weight many times before cutting out my carbs. That works temporarily but there is no way you can maintain that, so I would add back in my carbs, but too many carbs, and would then gain back the blasted 10-15 pounds I was always trying to get off.

I'm very grateful for my friend Melanie, who gave me her "formula". She competed in a Naturals Bodybuilding show and trimmed 30+ lbs. She looked amazing! If I could lift weights with her for a year and she could trim down, then so could I, right?! I am grateful for her motivating me.

So, I will give you the formula...it's simple really, but may seem sort of technical. Do with it what you will. I will also post on here a couple of books I've been reading that encourage the same way of eating, plus also have some great ideas for exercise. Check them out at the library! (Look at bottom of post for book titles)

Calories each day: 1500 (to trim last 10-15 lbs, reduce to 1200 calories, this is where I am now)
Fat grams per day: 1.5 grams of fat per body fat percentage you are...so if you are 30% body fat, then you should eat no more than 45 grams of fat each day.

AVOID eating Fat around your workout!!!

Carbohydrate Intake Daily: NO MORE than what you weight...in grams. So if you weight 200 lbs., then eat NO MORE than 200 grams!! I would try to keep my carbs around 100 grams per day. It's important to eat less carbs, but DO NOT cut them out of your diet. You need them for energy. DO NOT eat less than 50 carbs per day. Your brain needs carbs to function ;) It is important to cut back on carbs in order to lose. If you find that you are not losing weight, then really watch where your carbs are coming from and when you are eating them.

EAT CARBS EARLY IN THE DAY!!!! DO NOT eat carbs before bed...why do you need energy to sleep?! You need carbs around your workout, so, if you workout in the evening, eat your carbs (1/2 cup rice, 1 slice whole grain bread, 1/2 cup oatmeal, sweet potatoes, fruit) ONE hour before your workout in the evening. This will ensure you have the energy you need to not die out there!

My husband put together a great template in Excel where I could track all of these things, if you would like a copy, then email me at jen78johns@yahoo.com. I would be happy to answer any specific questions that way as well!

I am on a quest to get to my "ideal" weight, so that is another 15 pounds. I would like to see if I could be a size 4-6. I had a friend on Facebook say to me " be happy where you are, don't keep dangling the carrot in front of yourself, when you've accomplished so much". I agree with her, but then again, this is a lifestyle change for me. I AM happy where I'm at...soooo happy! If I continue eating right and exercising, then it will come off, if need be...and if not, so what?!

Stay tuned....I have a AWESOME Protein Pancake recipe you'll love!

Books:
Body at Home by Jorge Cruise
Body for Life by Bill Phillips

Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal

I'm not kidding. This is truly the BEST frickin oatmeal I've ever eaten and my new favorite treat every morning for breakfast!!! I got this amazing recipe from THIS site.

Pumpkin Pie for Breakfast

1/2 cup dry oatmeal (instant or rolled oats)
1 cup water
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
2 packets or one dropper Stevia
1/2 to 1 teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice

Put Oats and Water in a large bowl. Microwave on high for 2 minutes. Stir in pumpkin, Stevia, and spices.

The original recipe calls for vanilla extract, I omitted that and I used Almond milk to make it more creamy. Feel free to experiment :)

Enjoy!!!