If you are one of these people who is always blaming someone else for your current less-than-satisfactory physical condition, it's time to give it a rest.
The fact is that I've never seen one person successfully reach their weight loss goals blaming someone else for them being overweight and out of shape. I suspect this has something to do with the fact that when you start pointing the finger at yourself, all your excuses go out the window.
Look, I know I sound harsh. But I have the right to say these things because I know of which I speak: I used to be a blamer.
My favorite person to blame was my husband. I'll still say to this day that the man is hard on a diet. He's not trying to be. Truly. But focusing on eating as a prime source of entertainment and bringing goodies into the house "for the kids" does NOT help keep me in a mindset to maintain my goals. However, it is ME who allowed myself to eat garbage once I was tempted with the yummy foods he exposed me to. I had options: Ask to go to restaurants that have guilt-free foods I can eat; Saying no to junk at the movie (even if he IS holding that delicious-smelling popcorn right next to me); Telling him to please take the kids away from the house to eat the goodies RIGHT NOW; Removing myself from the house until the tempting foods were eaten..... I'm sure there were other solutions, but the fact is that it's me who was to blame, not him. After all, I am the one who lives in my body.
I know people who are so busy blaming others as an excuse for their current condition that they are almost obsessed with it...... Mired down in the depressed state of victim,....... looking for sympathy from anyone who will listen as to their woeful tale of why being so fat and out of shape is not their fault.........
I think they feel like if enough people say "It's Okay- You can't help the way you are", they will suddenly feel accepted and the world will be Okay with them being overweight and out of shape, and somehow that will make them happy.
If this is you........, Guess what? Even if everyone were to pat you on the head and tell you what you want so desperately to hear, you would still look in the mirror and see exactly what you saw five minutes before they told you that. And would that image make you happy?
Didn't think so.
A lot of folks like to blame their upbringing. Okay, so I will give it to many of you that you were brought up in homes with very few good food choices and forced to clean your plate. I see a lot of kids whose overweight condition I do indeed blame on the parents. How can kids eat right if they aren't given right food choices? If you are feeding your kids garbage, it's time to accept the blame for where they are and start feeding them healthy foods, even if you don't like healthy foods yourself. Suck it up and set the example.
HOWEVER, if you are an adult who is out of shape and still blaming your parents, it's time to grow up and assume the responsibility for the way you look. Even if they locked you in a closet and fed you nothing but Twinkies your entire upbringing, NOW you are able to make you own choices. NOW you can reverse what they have done. NOW is the time to change your habits. Besides, how long is it that you have you been out from under your parents jurisdiction?
Sorry- The Mommy Excuse just doesn't hold water.
The fact is that in order to maintain a body that is too big, you have to eat too much food. I don't care how you got that body: To maintain it you have to be eating enough food to sustain it. Make every excuse you want, but that's a fact no one can dispute. Well, you could.... but you'd look pretty stupid to the rest of the world if you did.
Unless you lay claim to your own health, you will never own a healthy body. That's just the way it is. As long as you are deflecting the responsibility for your current state on someone besides you, you are nowhere near obtaining the healthy body you deserve to have. YOU have all of the power in this. YOU made choices that got you where you are today, whether you became unhealthy on your own or entered into adulthood that way. And only YOU can get yourself out of it.
How? Start with accepting. Phrases like "I am the one who is responsible for being here." "My dissatisfaction with my body is because of me, not anyone else." "Sure, other people may not have been supportive, but I make the choices that keep me here."
Believe it. Let it sink in. Feel it.
And then? Cast it away. Forgive yourself. Move forward, making better choices. (I blogged about that here: http://itallmakesadifference.blogspot.com/2010/04/love-yourself-in-your-current-condition.html)
And enjoy life. You have gone way too far being miserable. It's time to forgive everyone, including yourself (read the above blog link), and live life out from under the cloud of blame. When you do that, you are ready to take care of yourself the way you deserve.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Protein Pancakes I Actually Don't Mind Eating!
After trying many recipes for protein pancakes and finding nothing I considered short of gag-inducing, I came up with my own recipe in sheer desperation of wanting a different way to combine my traditional oatmeal-and-eggs breakfast.
The two key differences in my protein pancakes is that I cook the oatmeal first, and I add baking powder. I think this helps the texture a great deal.
I will be the first to tell you that I am not a purist when it comes to clean eating. It's probably because I am lazy. At any rate, if this recipe does not measure up to someone's clean-eating standards, I apologize in advance, but making a super "clean" recipe wasn't my goal: Making a quick high-protein low-fat thing I cooked in a pan like a pancake and could put sugar-free syrup on was.
One more note before I share the recipe: While I love them and they take care of my pancake cravings, this is NOT going to taste like anything like the fluffy white pancakes you get at IHOP. They are a different kind of pancake altogether.
Nancy Anne's Oatmeal Protein Pancakes:
First, cook 1/3 C oats in just enough water to make them really thick.
Next, spray a pan with non-stick spray and heat on Medium-high. (My burner goes from 1-10 and I put it on an 8.) OR you can spray a griddle and heat it to 400.
While the pan or griddle is heating, mix into the cooked oats:
- 1 scoop vanilla protein powder (I always use Beverly International's UMP. Just seems to cook up the best without that weird taste protein powders can get when you cook with them)
- 1 egg white (This would be about 3T liquid egg white)
- 1 Tablespoon ground flaxseed (optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, or to taste (optional)
- Small splash of vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
Mix well, then stir in just enough water to make it pancake batter consistency.
By now your pan should be good and hot. Pour about 1/3 of the above mixture into the pan. It should spread out by itself, but if it doesn't push it around until it's a round shape. Cook until the edges look dry, then flip and brown a little on the other side. (At this point it is mostly done, so no need to leave it sitting as long on the second side. You are just trying to make it un-gooey.)
Plate the pancake, and, if your pan is not non-stick, take it off the heat, spray with non-stick spray again, and repeat two more times. (If you spray it on the heat your spray will scorch and make the pancake taste not-as-good, never mind make the pan more difficult to clean.) If it's non-stick there's no need to re-spray and can just pour more batter in there.
If you are using a griddle, just make 3 pancakes.
When you are done, you will have three Oatmeal Protein Pancakes- it's a good sized plate of food! You can top with whatever you want. I use sugar-free syrup heated in the microwave and sometimes Smart-Balance light margarine.
Here's a pic of my finished product:
The two key differences in my protein pancakes is that I cook the oatmeal first, and I add baking powder. I think this helps the texture a great deal.
I will be the first to tell you that I am not a purist when it comes to clean eating. It's probably because I am lazy. At any rate, if this recipe does not measure up to someone's clean-eating standards, I apologize in advance, but making a super "clean" recipe wasn't my goal: Making a quick high-protein low-fat thing I cooked in a pan like a pancake and could put sugar-free syrup on was.
One more note before I share the recipe: While I love them and they take care of my pancake cravings, this is NOT going to taste like anything like the fluffy white pancakes you get at IHOP. They are a different kind of pancake altogether.
Nancy Anne's Oatmeal Protein Pancakes:
First, cook 1/3 C oats in just enough water to make them really thick.
Next, spray a pan with non-stick spray and heat on Medium-high. (My burner goes from 1-10 and I put it on an 8.) OR you can spray a griddle and heat it to 400.
While the pan or griddle is heating, mix into the cooked oats:
- 1 scoop vanilla protein powder (I always use Beverly International's UMP. Just seems to cook up the best without that weird taste protein powders can get when you cook with them)
- 1 egg white (This would be about 3T liquid egg white)
- 1 Tablespoon ground flaxseed (optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, or to taste (optional)
- Small splash of vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
Mix well, then stir in just enough water to make it pancake batter consistency.
By now your pan should be good and hot. Pour about 1/3 of the above mixture into the pan. It should spread out by itself, but if it doesn't push it around until it's a round shape. Cook until the edges look dry, then flip and brown a little on the other side. (At this point it is mostly done, so no need to leave it sitting as long on the second side. You are just trying to make it un-gooey.)
Plate the pancake, and, if your pan is not non-stick, take it off the heat, spray with non-stick spray again, and repeat two more times. (If you spray it on the heat your spray will scorch and make the pancake taste not-as-good, never mind make the pan more difficult to clean.) If it's non-stick there's no need to re-spray and can just pour more batter in there.
If you are using a griddle, just make 3 pancakes.
When you are done, you will have three Oatmeal Protein Pancakes- it's a good sized plate of food! You can top with whatever you want. I use sugar-free syrup heated in the microwave and sometimes Smart-Balance light margarine.
Here's a pic of my finished product:
Let me know what you think!
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