Hey, there! 😎
Mid-morning, I got my Body Pump on, and then headed home for lunch. A reader sent me samples of a few vegetarian meat mixes, which, at first, I had zero interest in trying. Meat mix? Ewww! But, then I figured, why not? It can’t hurt to at least try it.
I was in the mood for an egg sandwich for lunch today, so I tried the Breakfast Sausage Mix first.
The Sausage Mix was really easy to make”” just add water, refrigerate for 15 minutes, and cook.
The consistency of the mixture was pretty close to that of ground beef, but the flavor was much more seasoned”” very similar to regular breakfast sausage.
Then, I formed the mixture into patties and cooked them until they had a nice brown on each side. They smelled just like real sausage patties.
The ingredients and nutritionals weren’t awesome, but not terrible either.
When it comes to fake meat, I’ve definitely seen worse!
My egg sandwich included the vegetarian sausage, an egg white patty, and buffalo sauce on a toast Bagel Thin. It was quite delicious.
I liked this vegetarian sausage”” it was much better than I thought it would taste– but I’m not sure that I loved it. I guess I’m just not a fan of fake meat (except the Gardein Crispy Tenders, which are insanely good); I’d rather eat the real thing. But, if you’re vegetarian and generally like these meat-like products, I think these mixes are a good option. I’m just not sure they’re for me.
Feel Great Weight
From time to time, I receive questions from blog readers about what helped me lose weight and how I’ve maintained my Feel Great Weight for so long. Over the years (and through plenty of trial and error), I discovered what worked for me. Here’s a list of my top 10 weight-loss tips!
Speaking of my Feel Great Weight (FGW), a few of you wanted an update on my post-marathon weight loss progress. Well, I’m pretty darn close to losing all of the weight that I gained. All of my jeans fit again (hooray!) and when I visited my primary care doctor a couple of weeks ago, I was three or four pounds away from my FGW, which is totally cool with me. Close enough!
So, at this point, I’m not trying to lose any more weight. I’m happy with my body right now and, honestly, I’m just trying to keep myself strong, healthy, and injury-free for my full race schedule this spring and summer”” and, of course, the NYC Marathon in the fall.
To lose the weight, I took a laid-back approach. Basically, I watched what I ate (fewer desserts and less beer) and waited patiently. I ran the marathon in early January and now it’s May, so it took me a solid four months to lose the weight. Sometimes, waiting is the hardest part, but you just need to keep truckin’!
P.S. Check out this interesting article about How Much People Pay for Food Around the World. It’s a photo comparison of the quantity and price of food in different countries. Thanks for tweeting, AR!
73 Comments
Your patience paid off, Tina! Congrats at being at your FGW 🙂
A slave to the scale…ummm, you should read my latest post. :/
Great tips, I’m finding them all to be true too. As for the sausages, I was a lacto veggie for 7 years so I love my veggie products. My favorite morning sausages are the Morning Star brand in the green box. I wouldn’t like to mix stuff…just like to unthaw in microwave or throw them on a pan. Try them, they’re good for you and so yummy!
runningtobeskinny.com
Fake meat still scares me. And I love the laid-back wt loss approach-when appropriate!
I think slow and steady is the best way to lose weight (and keep it off), especially if you’re just trying to lose a few to get back into your skinny jeans… no point crash dieting or doing something extreme when you’ll end up just gaining it all back anyway once you start eating normally again. Your approach is much more sensible.
Nice work on being so close to your FGW! Being laid back is definitely better than being OCD and stressed out about losing it.
Congrats on being where you want to be with your weight! Patience is definitely the way to go. 😀
Congrats on getting back to your feel good weight. I agree that slow and steady is the way to lose it, but the waiting is hard. I have a long way to go and have definitely found that waiting is the hardest part.
Congrats, Tina. I’m 5 lbs from my FGW and I’m not actively trying to lose either. Where I’m at feels pretty great, too.
Thanks for sharing! I appreciate your honesty about weight gain…I find it so inspiring that you keep it real and tell it how it is….weight maintenance is downright TOUGH sometimes!
Thanks for the great tip about the faux-meat mix. I’m recently vegetarian and I’ve always been super skeptical about those types of things and I’ve pretty much just assumed they were all pretty gross and not something to waste calories on. But thanks for reviewing this one – I might try it 🙂
Does that comparison take into consideration that bananas currently cost about $2.50-3 each in Australia?!
That photo-essay by Peter Menzel is actually part of a great series (and now a book) called “Hungry Planet”. Those pics are partially about food cost, but actually are also meant to show what a typical family eats in a week, as well as what a “family” means (8 people in Kuwait, vs 4 in US!)
One of my favorites….glad you’ve included it in your blog!
Congrats about reaching your FGW! Slow & steady always wins, even if the waiting process drives u nuts!
Ewww! Sorry, but fake meat (or anything!) creeps me out!
Yay that you hit your FGW! I’m finally feeling good myself after four months of consistent gym time. Losing those extra baby pounds I’ve been holding on to!
Such a healthy approach, Tina! I’m glad you were gentle with yourself about it–that’s what seems to really work! YAY for FGW!!!