the unintentional vegetarian.

it’s raining, it’s pouring, randy is snoring.  my dogs both have a ridiculous snoring habit.  i guess i can’t really judge them, from what i am told, i snore quite a bit myself.

i was recently sent a copy of this book to read and review here on the blog:

 

this is why you’re fat (and how to get thin forever) by jackie warner

i am about 1/4 of the way in and i am really liking it. i want to give a good review of the book, but i am afraid i will forget all the things i want to mention if i wait until i am totally done with the book before talking about it.

let’s face it people.. i sometimes take three weeks to read a magazine. i am a busy girl, this book could take awhile.

so.. in order to give you guys the review that i have been writing down on the notepad in my head while walking on the treadmill at a 15% incline, i have decided to do the review in installments. i finished off part one of the book tonight and so this post will include my thoughts on part one! with meals & moves of the day woven in, of course.

meal 1: eggbeaters + oatmeal + coffee @ 8:30 AM

~270 calories, 3g fat, 31g carbs, 29g protein

good news. i got the genius idea to ask if the original pancake house (where i have to eat breakfast every monday) had sugar free syrup. turns out.. yep! they do. so i put the SF syrup and cinnamon in my oats today.

*book review time*

part 1: this is why you’re fat

• chapter 1: “it’s all about chemnistry, baby”

jackie starts the book out by talking about the role chemistry plays in determining our physical appearance. 

first, she talks about the hormones that make you thin:

1. the human growth hormone (forces your body to draw fat from your fat reserves first)
2. testosterone (muscle builder)
3. progesterone (high levels of this hormone cause you to burn more calories~ up to 100-300 more per day!)

and then, the hormones that make you fat:

1. insulin (if you have too much in your system, your body will store fat)
2. estrogen (too much can lead to weight gain, cellulite & some female cancers
3. cortisol (stress causes this to elevate, high cortisol levels lead to around the clock appetite~ typically for sweets & fatty food)
4. leptin (when you have the right levels, it works as an appetite suppressant, it tells you when you are full. if you are low in leptin, your body thinks it needs to store fat.)

jackie elaborates on each of the seven hormones listed above, talking about how we can learn to control each hormone (through proper diet and exercise, not through medication) and also explains what foods to eat and what foods to avoid in order to establish a harmonious balance of hormones. 

i learned a ton from just the first chapter in the book.  she suggests several tips which i have already started putting to use in my own life, such as taking a b vitamin, getting more sleep, cutting back on carbs at night, reducing my caffeine intake, eating slower and incorporating more zinc and folic acids into my meals.

meal 2: hard boiled egg white wrap @ 1:30

~250 calories, 5g fat, 27g carbs, 30g protein

yes. you read that right. FIVE hours later i ate lunch. i was really consumed with my work today and by the time i looked at the clock, it was way past lunch time.  and while i was hungry.. i wasn’t starving.  i think the extra calories from the weekend caught up with my appetite and my body was balancing it all out somehow.

this was awesome! it contained:
• 4 hard boiled egg whites, chopped
• 2 TB low fat cottage cheese
• 1 TB nayonaise
• 1 wedge laughing cow light cheese
• 1 tsp annie’s honey mustard
• sprouts
• tomato slices
• frank’s hot sauce

all wrapped up into a flatout multi grain wrap!

*book review time*

• chapter 2: “you are a sugar addict”

in this chapter, jackie explains the evils of sugar and the misconception that sugar does not make you fat.  often times, people will opt to buy a “fat free” product but not recognize the grams of sugar in the product.  while it may have no fat, that does not mean it won’t make you fat.

jackie also goes into where a lot of hidden sugars can be found. the majority of this chapter contained information i already knew.  i am aware of my sugar intake and i have learned that i would rather eat something high in fat than high in sugar.

there were a lot of fun facts and statistics that she mentioned in this chapter, i thought i would share these with you guys since most of you are like me and already avoid refined sugar.

• the average american downs 30 teaspoons of added sugar daily-that is 480 (empty) calories of added sugar alone!
• refined (white) sugar was once scarce and very expensive, actually it was a luxury! early devotees called it “white gold”.
• when ingested, sugars such as white sugar, HFCS or the typical sugar found in candy actually eat up the nutrients your body needs to stay healthy, which in turn depresses your immune system and you are more susceptible to illness. (tell THAT to the person repping HFCS on those lame commercials!)
• too much sugar consumption can contribute to causing the following cancers: breast, pancreatic, colon, stomach & endometrial.
• sugar gives you wrinkles! in a process called glycation, eating sugar attacks collagen & elastin, making them less elastic and more brittle so they break.  that is when wrinkles appear. (i had no idea)
• one cup of raisin bran contains the same amount of sugar as NINE hershey’s kisses!
• in a 2008 analysis, it was found that 11 popular breakfast cereals contain at least 40% sugar by weight! which is the equivalent of how much sugar that comes in a glazed doughnut.
• bagels that are not whole wheat or multigrain can contain up to 33 grams of refined sugars~ the same amount that is in a piece of chocolate cake.

crazy, right? the rest of this chapter goes on to talk about how to reduce your sugar intake and also how to wean yourself off a sugar addiction.  remember: you can be addicted to sugar and not even know it. binging on breads, pastas, cereals and other carbohydrates is a sure sign of a sugar addiction. it doesn’t have to be in the form of sweets and treats.

at the end of the second chapter, jackie outlines three vital tips to make you lose weight without even walking into a gym.

HIIT on the treadmill!

i am not sure if i told you guys, but i am running a 5k on saturday with my bestie, kristen.  i wanted to see if i could finagle 3.1 miles :)  i did a 30 minute long HIIT routine that consisted of three seven minute intervals, one eight minute interval and a one minute cool down.

here are the deets:

minute #	speed (MPH)
0-1	6.0
1-2	6.0
2-3	6.5
3-4	7.0
4-5	7.5
5-6	8.0
6-7	8.5
7-8	6.0
8-9	6.0
9-10	6.5
10-11	7.0
11-12	7.5
12-13	8.0
13-14	8.5
14-15	6.0
15-16	6.0
16-17	6.5
17-18	7.0
18-19	7.5
19-20	8.0
20-21	8.5
21-22	6.0
22-23	6.0
23-24	6.5
24-25	7.0
25-26	7.5
26-27	8.0
27-28	8.5
28-29	9.0
29-30	4.0

total time: 30 minutes, total distance: 3.5 miles

not bad! i think i will be fine for the 5k on saturday.  i finished up my workout with 23 minutes of walking on a 15% incline at a 3.5 MPH speed while reading my book.

total distance: 5 miles, total time: 53 minutes

ended with a nice stretch :)

meal 3: kashi trail mix bar @ 5:30 PM

140 calories, 5g fat, 20g carbs, 6g protein

boring, i know. i was on the go. and it was RAINING. and i had to go to costco. and sunflower market. don’t worry, i was fully equipped with a hood :)

*book review time*

• chapter 3: “three organs that make you fat or skinny”

in the third chapter, jackie talks about your internal organs. specifically, these three organs:

1. your liver
2. your thyroid
3. your adrenal glands

this chapter really had me interested.  i was in the ZONE and probably almost fell off my treadmill a few times. i was learning a lot more about what roles my internal organs play in my metabolism and weight loss. good information, folks.

first up: your liver.

did you know your liver burns fat?  it manufactures bile acids that work as “laundry detergent” and the acids break down your food for you.  the liver also detoxifies everything you eat, drink, swallow, smoke, rub into your skin.. you get the idea.  it removes all th junk.  if it is not in proper condition, it won’t remove the junk.  and no, you don’t have to be a booze hound to have a clogged up liver!  chemicals in our food and hormones in our meat can gunk up our liver.

there are tips in this chapter that tell you what foods to eat and what foods to avoid in order to maintain a healthy liver.  jackie also touches on liver detox which is something i never really knew about (but have always heard about).

second: your thyroid.

i knew that your thyroid levels have a lot to do with your metabolism, but i really didn’t know all the warning signs of a sluggish thyroid.  these signs include weight gain, cravings of refined carbs, dry skin, muscle cramps, poor fingernail growth and a slow heart rate (among several other things). 

jackie talks about how to maintain a healthy thyroid level without medication.  she stresses the importance of NOT relying on a prescription to have a healthy thyroid.

third: your adrenal glands.

these glands produce a whole lot of things that help your body cope with stress naturally.  it produces DHEA, which is a sex hormone and a natural fat burner which decreases with age.  jackie tells you how you can take care of your adrenal glands~ the number one tip being to cut the caffeine to two cups of coffee each day. 

there is also a neat table that shows you how much caffeine is in beverages ranging from coffee and tea to energy drinks to soda, there are even over the counter drugs listed on the caffeine table.  did you know that excedrin contains 130 mg of caffeine?

the third chapter is wrapped up with explaining how curing organ dysfunction can turn you into a fat burning machine! jackie suggests what foods to consume and what vitamins are necessary to support healthy organ funtion.  she also points out a number of “organ destroyers” to avoid.

meal 4: grilled muenster, pear & almond butter sandwich and protein ice cream @ 7:30 PM

 

as i mentioned in my last post, today was national grilled cheese day.  i didn’t want to let this day go uncelebrated!  and i also didn’t want an average grilled cheese sandwich.  i took a cue from lauren and made a GC with almond butter and pear!

i am not sure if you guys remember, but back in october, allie hosted the BSI and it was almond butter.  lauren submitted a sandwich with goat cheese, pear and almond butter. i have been thinking about it SINCE OCTOBER, people!!

i didn’t have any goat cheese so i subbed muenster and grilled that gloriousness between two slices of multigrain bread.

 

gooey, sweet, salty, savory goodness. it was perfection between bread.

 

obviously this did not tote too much protein, so i supplemented that factor with protein ice cream eaten after savoring every last morsel of the cheesy goodness.

YOU GUYS. this tasted 100% like a wendy’s frosty!

[source.]

put this in a wendy’s cup and sell it in the drive through, you would not know the difference!

but, of course, there IS a difference.. my version is good for you!

in the bowl:

• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder
• 1 TB unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 packet stevia in the raw
• TONS of ice
• 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
• 1/4 tsp guar gum

i blended the above mixture in my vitamix and then popped the ice cream in the freezer while i made & ate my sandwich.  when i pulled it out of the ice box, it was a frosty, chocolaty bowl of DELICIOUS.

mmmm. i want more.

 

~500 calories, 22g fat, 42g carbs, 40g protein.

dinner totals were pretty high in calories because my meal 3 was lacking (only 140 cals!). you may also notice the fat grams are ridic. well, half of them were from the almond butter but the other half came from the full fat cheese on my sandwich. this is not technically BFL approved, but it is janetha approved, so i am not sweating it. grilled cheeses just aren’t the same when they are low fat ;)

marshall ALSO celebrated national grilled cheese day at his house! he is a sweetie and sent me a photo:

love his presentation :)

marshall said: “Make sure you tell em that for maximum soup dip ability, the diagonal cut is key.”

looks CHEESY!

*book review time*

SO.. the first part of this is why you’re fat by jackie warner has been nothing short of impressive and informative. i can’t wait to read part two: “this is how you eat to get hot and healthy”!  once i have conquered that section, i will be sure to post another review.

next on my list of events for the night was baking!  because i definitely don’t bake often enough (insert sarcasm here). i guess i just love to bake!

i spotted mama pea’s vegan carrot cake bars this morning and knew i had to whip them up for my vegan boys.  (aka: marshall’s roomies) well, i just so happen to be making the journey north to marshall’s house tomorrow, so i decided to take this cream cheese covered treat with me.

you can see the recipe here.

i will be sharing those shenanigans with you tomorrow.  i am not icing the bars until tomorrow so i wouldn’t want to display an unfinished product :)

i am about to fix meal 5 and then hit the sack.. sorry but photos won’t make the cut of this post. just take my word for it :)

meal 5: banana protein cake + chobani greek yogurt @ 10:15 PM

200 calories, 2g fat, 19g carbs, 27g protein

yum. i don’t want to post the recipe to this cake yet because i still don’t have it perfected.  it is a tad on the sweet side right now and i want to up the protein content, lower the carbs and somehow balance it out to a more perfect 40/40/20 ratio.

for now, the stats per slice are 100 calories, 2g fat, 12g carbs and 9g protein.. which is a protein/carb/fat ratio of 35/47/13.  i can tell you this.. the texture and moistness level are AMAZING.. so once i get the recipe nailed i will be sure to post it and you better be sure to make it!

oh, and about my title? did you notice that i didn’t eat a drop of meat today?  i just finished off meal 5 and realized it myself.  i was able to consume 134 grams of vegetarian protein!  not bad, not bad at all.

today i was an unintentional vegetarian!

but, not really.. since i bought $50 worth of chicken breasts and ground turkey at costco earlier today ;)

by the way, my total ratios today ended up at 38/38/24.. so yes, a tad higher in fat, but i can vouch that it was totally worth it. did you see that grilled cheese?!

wow, long post, right? hope you enjoyed all the information!

Qs~

1. what book are you reading right now/did you last read? how is/was it? see my book review above.. in case you missed it.

2. favorite vegetarian form of protein? greek yogurt takes first place, with eggs coming in second. protein powder is pretty up there on the list as well!

bonus Q! what is the most creative grilled cheese you’ve ever eaten?

xo. janetha b.