There are seemingly as many diets as stars in the Milky Way, and a new one pops up every week. “Don’t eat carbs. Eat more protein. Eat grapefruit. Don’t eat grapefruit. Drink 8 glasses of water. No, maybe not. Avoid sugars. Foods have points – eat 22 points a day. Eat lean meat. Eat fish. Take Fish Oil Pills. Don’t eat bread, etc., etc., etc.”
Wouldn’t it be nice to have a diet where you make the rules? Well you can, you know and there is only one rule. Get a good set of digital scales, weigh every morning and write down how much you weigh down to two-tenths of a pound.
How is that going to help you lose weight? Easy. It puts you in touch with your own body and if you truly want to lose weight, you will quickly find out what you can eat and how much of it you can eat without gaining weight. You can eat anything you want, but take notice of how it affects you and adjust. If you feel like eating a box of Kentucky Fried Chicken, go ahead. But when you face the scales the next morning, you will clearly see that one or two pieces of chicken would have been the better option.
I have been on this diet – lifestyle, really – and have lost nearly 50 pounds. When I find things that I enjoy that don’t hurt me weight-wise, I eat more of them. One thing I enjoy, which I can eat and still lose or maintain my weight, is a healthy muffin. Recently I baked a batch of Buttermilk Cinnamon Muffins, They are scrumptious and not fattening. A muffin (or two) along with a glass of juice is a great and healthy way to start the day and you can lose weight at the same time.
Here’s the recipe:
Muffins
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. ground nutmeg
7 Tbs. butter, softened
2/3 cup Splenda
1 egg
½ cup buttermilk
1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract
Topping
2/3 cup of Splenda
1 Tbs. ground cinnamon
6 Tbs. butter
For the muffins, mix flour, baking powder, soda, salt and nutmeg. Beat the butter and sugar in a bowl with mixer until fluffy. Add egg and beat well. Stir in dry ingredients gradually along with buttermilk and vanilla. Coat then muffin tin with Pam and fill the cups (makes about 9 muffins) ¾ full with batter. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes, Cool in the pan for 5 minutes then remove muffins to a wire rack to cool slightly.
For the topping, combine sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and mix well. Melt the butter in the microwave in another small bowl. Dip the top of each muffin into the melted butter, then into the cinnamon-sugar mix and coat evenly. Place the muffins on the wire rack to cool completely.
Yumm! When you can eat things like this, it’s fun to go on a diet.
