Quinoa

Contrary to popular belief, quinoa (pronounced keen-wa) is not a grain. It is a seed from a plant that’s related to beets! I think the reason that most people think it is a grain is because it looks like one. And it can certainly be served in place of a grain like rice or cousous as a base for a dish. As a South American plant, it goes particularly well with things like black beans and corn and the like.

Nutritionally, it has a much lower carb content than grains and is a good source of protein as well as a lot of other nutrients. The macronutrient profile of quinoa is roughly:

• 45% protein
• 40% carbs
• 15% fat, the biggest component being polyunsaturated, followed by monounsaturated fats

It is also a good source of fibre – 10g per cup, and iron – over 15mg (~87% of the RDA) in a cup.

My favourite quinoa recipe is actually a pudding, but it can also be eaten as a filling, nutritious breakfast. So here it is: Quinoa Pudding.

It’s official, and the benefits of keeping a food diary

Today is official weigh day and I weighed in at 14 stone 10.8 (206.8 pounds), down 1.4 on last week and my lowest weight in two years. I now feel comfortable about crossing off the first of my weight loss goals, to crack 15 stone, as I am sure that I am not going back that way, no way, no how!

Just six pounds to goal number two – 10% weight loss from my starting point in January 2009.

I have lost five pounds in the twelve days since I started the Turbulence Training 5th Transformational Contest (TT 5TC). I credit the majority of this loss to tightening up my nutrition by logging everything I eat on FitDay. This is a really good example of how important it is to keep a food diary. I am somebody who knows quite a lot about nutrition. I lost a stone in three months at the beginning of this year (mid Jan to mid April) just by cleaning up my nutrition and not worrying about anything else. Then I got a bit complacent and started grazing a bit, or nibbling on goodies at work, just a little, mind, but obviously enough to keep my weight at the 210 pound mark for about a month.

The only difference now is that I am logging what I eat. And I’ve dropped five pounds in twelve days! I haven’t changed my nutritional strategy. I am not worrying about my calorie intake – I mean, I can see what it is on FitDay, but I am not aiming for any specific number. Some days it is as low as 1300 cals and some over 2000. Mostly around 1600-1800, but that is by chance, not design. And the results are clear for all to see. The main difference is that it keeps me honest. I don’t just mindlessly put a cookie in my mouth at work knowing that I will have to go back to my desk and log it in, and thinking about what it will do to my totals. Although that’s not to say that if I really wanted the cookie I wouldn’t eat it. It just gets me to question if I really do want it.

Just as an example of the latter, hubby has just invented a new ice cream topping – melted 70% dark chocolate, mixed with a little Elmlea single cream (a cream replacement) and chopped hazelnuts. I am not sure he is taking this transformation contest as seriously as he could. LOL. Lord it tastes divine. And last night, after dinner – lemon sole, buttered courgettes, steamed broccolini and aspargus, small glass of wine – I really, really wanted it. So I had a single scoop of Wall’s Vanilla Soft Serve Light (the best tasting light ice cream I’ve come across, at least in the UK), plus a tablespoon of hubby’s new calorie-fest sauce. And it was goooood. So as you can see, I am hardly depriving myself here. And I’m down half a pound on yesterday. Fantastic. I’m deblubberising!

A new low

It isn’t an official weigh day today, but this morning I weighed in at 14 stone 11.4 and 44.3% body fat. If you glance over to my Blubber Reduction Journey on the right, you will see that that is the lowest weight I have been since starting this blog nearly two years ago. By 0.2 pounds!

On the one hand, it is quite disgraceful that it has taken me two years to get to this point, considering I weighed in at a mere 7.5 pounds more when I started the blog (although I have since been higher), but at least I am here now. And heading in the right direction. Official blog weigh day tomorrow.