Category: Uncategorized

What’s For Dinner: Protein Enchilada Pasta

Simple changes to recipes you make can have a HUGE impact on the amount of calories along with the macro and micronutrient profile of the recipe. The original recipe link can be found at the end of this post.

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound chicken breast 
  • Salt and ground black pepper
  • 1 box (14.4oz) Protein Pasta
  • 3 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
  • ¼ cup all-purpose flour
  • 28 ounces enchilada sauce, mild
  • 4 ounces non-fat Greek yogurt or light sour cream
  • 1 medium red bell pepper, chopped 
  • 6 green onions, chopped 
  • 1 ½ cups 2% Mexican blend shredded cheese

INSTRUCTIONS 

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  • Salt and pepper chicken. Spray a large skillet with non-stick spray and cook chicken over medium hear until fully cooked(170deg temp). Remove chicken from skillet, let rest for 5 minutes, then cut into bite-sized portions.
  • While the chicken is cooking, bring a large pot of water with a dash of salt in it to a boil. Cook the pasta for about 5 minutes then strain and set aside. The pasta will finish cooking in the oven.
  • In the skillet, add the applesauce, flour, and enchilada sauce. Bring to a simmer, stirring until all ingredients are mixed and the enchilada sauce begins to thicken.
  • Reduce the heat to low. Add Greek yogurt or light sour cream.
  • Add the red pepper, green onions, and chicken to the sauce.  Stir until everything evenly coated.
  • Evenly layer pasta into a 9×13-inch glass baking dish. Pour the sauce with chicken and vegetables onto the pasta and spread evenly.  Sprinkle with the cheese and bake for 20 minutes.

NUTRITION

Servings: 8

Nutrition Facts/Serving:

Calories: 395kcal Carbohydrates: 47.1g Protein: 34.4g Fat: 9.3g Saturated Fat: 3.1g Cholesterol: 57.2mg Sodium: 1002mg Potassium: 142.1mg Fiber: 7.1g Sugar: 6.3g Vitamin A: 15.7mcg Vitamin C: 0mcg Calcium: 8.6mg Iron: 0.8mg

*Nutrition facts calculated from third party source

Original Recipe: https://www.simplylakita.com/cheesy-chicken-enchilada-pasta/

Diet Pills: They’re Not Your Alli

When I was in the eighth grade, I read a magazine article about how sitting naked in front of a mirror while eating would help you lose weight. This was the same year I started sneaking my mom’s little blue diet pills. These were my first disordered tendencies towards losing fat, but they definitely weren’t my last. Ya’ll, I was thirteen years old. THIRTEEN. I had no idea what was in those pills at the time, and I’m sure many still don’t…so let’s take a look.

Alli

Alli was the first diet pill I took. I snuck it out of the cupboard because I saw my mom taking them in an attempt to lose weight. Alli is a form of Orlistat. Orlistat inhibits the breakdown of fat in the gut, causing your body to absorb less calories. It’s been shown to decrease weight by roughly 6lbs on average, decrease blood pressure, and decrease type 2 diabetes, but this comes at a cost. As your body is no longer breaking down ingested fat, it is missing out on a lot of the great fat-soluble vitamins and can have some nasty side effects that can come out of your behind quite forcefully.

Thermogenics(Fat-burners)

The next(and last) diet pill that I tried was a “Thermo”. Thermos are usually a stack of ephedrine, caffeine, and asprin. Ephedrine is now restricted for sale due to its health complications. When ephedrine and caffeine are combined they can decrease appetite and increase metabolism for temporary weight loss.

Caffeine alone can increase metabolism by 3-11% and can increase fat burning by up to 29%. Caffeine is one of the most researched substances for performance and weight loss.

Side effects to both caffeine and ephedrine consist of increased heart rate, increase in anxiety, sleep issues, irritability, jitteriness, and more. Caffeine is an addictive substance, as well; whereas, ephedrine is not labeled as addictive.

CLA

Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) is a pretty common weight loss supplement. It’s marketed at reducing appetite, boosting metabolism, and breaking down fat; however, a study posted in 2012 showed that it causes only ~3lbs of weight loss compared to a placebo pill.

Side effects include some pretty severe digestive issues, insulin resistance, and fatty liver. Its potential side effects aren’t worth 3lbs of weight loss, in my opinion.

Green Tea Extract

Green tea extract can be found in many weight loss supplements and even some multivitamins. The primary antioxidant in green tea extract has been shown to aid in fat burning by increasing norepinephrine. Multiple studies support its effectiveness in increasing fat burning and fat loss. Two controlled trials found that people lost 3lbs on average with green tea supplements. Green tea extract has few side effects, but may present as mild side effects being similar to caffeine.

Summing It All Up

Although some diet pills have research showing they may cause weight loss, the weight lost is not significant and could easily be water weight. It appears that the risk is greater than the reward. Since diet pills cause little to no lifestyle change, the likelihood of keeping any weight lost off in the long run is very low. Your energy and finances are likely better spent on learning how to balance your energy intake through proper nutrtion and staying consistent. One of the best ways to stay consistent is through hiring a coach. Email prtrainingstrong@gmail.com to get started


Resources:

Hursel, Viechtbauer, Westerterp-Pkantenga. The effects of green tea on weight loss and weight maintenance: a meta-analysis.

Onakpoya, Posadzki, Watson, Ernst. The efficacy of long-term conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) supplementation on body composition in overweight and obese individuals: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials

Dullog, Geissler, Horton, Collins, Miller. Normal caffeine consumption: influence on thermogenesis and daily energy expenditure in lean and postobese human volunteers

Padwal, Li, Lau. Long-term pharmacotherapy for obesity and overweight.

The Magic Pill

What if I told you there was only one thing you had to do in order to lose fat, put on muscle, get stronger, get a promotion, find true love, or to achieve anything else you desire in life? Would you do it?

Most people would respond ‘yes’, but few people actually will follow through. You see, the only thing you need to do in order to achieve any of your goals is be consistent. That doesn’t sound too challenging, right? Losing weight doesn’t take a special, fancy diet with certain foods being restricted or removed. It doesn’t take flashy workouts, expensive workout gear, the latest and greatest supplements, or even a gym membership. It takes showing up each day, consuming your calories lower than your energy expenditure majority of the time, and being consistent with those two things.

Putting on muscle and getting stronger require similar steps. Getting a promotion requires similar steps. Finding a partner requires similar steps. Show up each and every day with consistency. You’re not going to reach your goals doing what you’ve always done in the past. You’re going to reach them by showing up every single day with consistency in your habits.Be consistent. Be patient. Be relentless.

Why You’re Not Reaching Your Goals

It doesn’t matter if your goal is to lose weight, make more money, or even to finish a small project. If you’re struggling to reach your goals, there’s likely just one culprit: You’re patience sucks.

I know, no one likes to hear that they’re the reason they’re not achieving their goals. It’s easier to blame it on genetics or your kids crazy schedule, but at the end of the day the only one that can achieve your goals is you. We live in a world of instant gratification and convenience. That’s not all bad; however, when your goal is something that’s going to take months (or maybe even years), the instant gratification model isn’t going to work.

So, we’ve identified the problem, now what? How do we undo the lack of patience?

Long-term goals are best achieved through smaller, short-term goals. Is your goal to lose 100lbs? That’s awesome! However, that’s also pretty intimidating when you step on the scale and have lost 5lbs and think to yourself, “Ugh, 95lbs more to go”. This mentality often leads to us giving up on our goals. Instead, we set short-term goals as bench markers and something we can celebrate on our way to our long-term goal.

So your long-term goal is to lose 100lbs? Let’s set your first bench marker at 10lbs of fat loss. Going from 300lbs to 200lbs felt overwhelming, but going from 300lbs to 290lbs seems more manageable. Once you reach 290lbs, we get to celebrate that you’ve reached a goal and we set our sights on our next goal. Maybe this time we set it for 15lbs of fat loss.

You’ll be to your long-term goal sooner than you realize while enjoying the process, adhering to your program, and celebrating your journey.