Taking asthma medications has resulted in my gaining about 15 extra pounds over the past couple of years. I eat well, lots of whole grains, veggies and fruits. I don't eat sweets or fatty snacks, I eat low fat cheese and meats. I do drink a cup or two of coffee with sugar every morning and a half of a small glass of OJ and I like to drink wine. I recently stopped drinking lemonade and went to water. No matter how much I cut back the weight remains. Steroids create belly fat, I think it has to do with cortisol production because they are corticosteroids. They're not the same steroids that body builders take...or I'd be buff instead of puffy! It's also hard to do cardio when you can't breathe...so I'll be doing resistance training again.
The weight gain has made me increasingly frustrated and I decided to suck it up and try the South Beach Diet. Many of the meals I make are already South Beach friendly because my husband was on South Beach for two years before going to Burn the Fat. He doesn't like me to discuss his diet...so I'll leave it at that. Let's just say he's living proof that it works.
For the first two weeks I can't eat any whole grains or drink coffee or wine. I'm not really excited about the next two weeks to be honest, but it's two weeks. I can do it. After those two weeks I can add in whole grain rice, pasta and bread and enjoy wine again and I'm thinking I'll just give up coffee because I don't like it without sugar and I'm having to bid sugar goodbye and I refuse to eat fake chemical sugar. I'm blogging this so I'm accountable to someone besides myself and my family. I'll keep you posted! I just want to lose 15 pounds, which seems like not very much but when you're small boned like I am, it makes a big difference in the way your body looks. I like curves, I just don't like cellulite and muffin tops. Well I like muffin tops, but not the ones at the top of my pants.
This is a Phase 2 recipe that I made on Saturday which I'll be able to enjoy again in two weeks. We have pizza once a week and this is a way to do that and not be totally indulgent. Use a whole wheat flat bread of some kind (naan, pita, whole wheat thin pizza crust) and load it up with roasted veggies and a smattering of low fat or fat free cheese. (Make sure you check the ingredients on your breads and crackers, it's important to avoid processed and enriched flours. You want 100% whole grains.)
Roasted Veggie Whole Grain Pizza
South Beach Phase 2 Friendly
Margot Potter
Serves 2-3 People
Ingredients
2 Whole wheat or whole grain flat bread (I used a Wegman's naan)
1 Red, green or yellow bell pepper
1/2 medium sweet onion
3 cloves garlic
5-6 campari or other slicing tomatoes
Fresh basil
Lo Fat or Fat Free Shredded Mozzarella
1oz. Lo Fat Goat Cheese (if you can't find lo fat, full fat is okay since it's such a small amount)
1 tbs. Extra Virgin or Light Olive Oil
1. Slice onions and bell pepper into thin strips. Mince garlic. Toss veggies and garlic into a mixing bowl, add olive oil and toss. Place veggies in a thin layer on a baking sheet. Roast in a 450 degree oven until they begin to brown, turning once.
2. Use about 1 cup of mozzarella and spread on top of the flat breads.
3. Thinly slice tomatoes and arrange on top of cheese.
4. Liberally sprinkle roasted veggies on top. Dice or cut strips of basil and scatter across top of veggies.
5. Break goat cheese into small clumps and dot across top of veggies on pizzas.
6. Place pizzas on a baking tray in a 450 degree oven and cook for approximately 10-12 minutes or until crust begins to brown.
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