Have you ever purchased vitamins that PROMISED you a boost in your energy levels, while giving your body the nutrients it needs, only to find out they were a complete BUST?
Was it in liquid form or pill form?
IS one better than the other?
Before we can answer that, there is something that needs to be understood…
The reason I titled this, The 7 MOST COMMON Hunger Busters ” is because upon doing my research, I discovered that some listed foods that others did not, and vice-versa.
But there were some that were very common among each of them or at least, most of them.
So let’s get right into…
[Read more…] about Foods That Curb Appetite Naturally: The 7 Most Common Hunger Busters
If you find yourself feeling insatiably hungry or you simply want to not feel hungry too soon after you’ve eaten, you could definitely benefit from an appetite suppressant.
Did you know? You have two main hormones that are responsible for your appetite. Ghrelin: tells your brain you’re hungry, and Leptin: tells your brain you’re full.
But the unfortunate part is that, in many people these signals get crossed and there are many factors that can cause this – stress being a major one.
Also, it’s been found that people who are obese tend to build up a resistance to Leptin – the one that decreases appetite and says, “Hey buddy, you’re FULL, so stop eating!“
And while there are many out there to choose from, you want a non-stimulant appetite suppressant that isn’t going to be dangerous or harmful to you any way.
Don’t worry, I understand and got you!
The non-stimulant appetite suppressant that I, personally, use is not a pill and it’s definitely not dangerous because it has very healthy, natural, good-for-you ingredients.
***Prefer to watch or listen to this information via video? Click “Play” on the video below***
Shhhh…
Don’t tell my kids (ESPECIALLY my youngest son) but I’ve been doing something sneaky with their pancakes in order to make them healthier.
And the best part is… I did it using only TWO additional ingredients!
There was a time when I ONLY made homemade pancakes. But here lately, I must’ve lost my touch because the last time I made ’em… yuck.
So nowadays, when we have our weekend family breakfast, I only do the store bought, prepackaged pancake mix… with a slightly healthier twist.
Now before I get into why, let’s first clarify a few things about what KIND of yogurt to use.
First of all, you want a plain, full-fat (or as close to full fat as you can get) yogurt and yes, I said FULL -fat. Don’t let me come to your house and see low or no fat yogurt in your fridge.
But seriously, low or no fat does NOT equate to healthier. You NEED healthy, good fats in your diet, contrary to what you may have heard against fat.
The SUGAR is what you want to watch out for!
So again, look for a full (or at last high) fat yogurt that is HIGH in protein & LOW in sugar – as low as you can find, as there will be some sugar content, but you don’t want the sugar to be too high.
This is why I recommend plain yogurt – the less ingredients it has, the lower in sugar it will be.
The reason for the yogurt is to add in more protein than is typically found in most boxed pancake mixes.
The protein amount is only 4 g per serving in the brand I buy and just so you know, two 4″ pancakes is considered a serving.
Granted, 4 grams of protein isn’t terrible, but considering the fact that we’re talking (super high-carb) PANCAKES here; the amount of protein can definitely stand a good boosting!
The yogurt I use has 11 g of protein per 1 cup serving.
Now, I don’t expect you’d be using a full cup of yogurt unless you’re making a huge batch of pancakes, but even at 1/4 c. (4 tablespoons) that boosts the protein count up another 3 grams, for a total of about 7 grams when you add in the protein that is already in the mix itself.
Other protein sources to add
Not all protein types would work well with pancake mixes, but yogurt seems to work just fine. But other protein sources that could be added are:
protein or meal replacement powder
nuts (example: pecans for pecan pancakes)
eggs or egg whites – this may change the texture of the pancakes and make them “eggier” UNLESS you use the kind of mix that requires you to add eggs, milk and oil. Otherwise, if using the “just add water” mix, then again, adding eggs may make the pancakes noticeably different in texture.
oats – Like eggs, oats may change the texture of the pancakes. If your kids are anything like mine and don’t like the “nutty” texture, you may wish to forgo this addition if you’re trying to be “sneaky” about it! But if they don’t mind, oats do have 5 grams of protein per 1/2 cup dry. If I were to add oats, I’d probably grind them up as much as possible in the blender to make it more “flour-like”.
You saw how low the protein content was, right? Well, the fiber content was even LOWER at a whopping ONE gram!
Pancakes can raise your glucose levels considerably and even more so if you top them with sugary syrup.
Adding fiber can aid in slowing down the absorption of sugar into your bloodstream.
Fiber also adds bulk to your stool so that it can move through your digestive system better – but you must drink water to help it along or else you may end up blocked & bloated!
The fiber I use is a psyllium seed husk-based fiber that has 5 grams of dietary fiber and 3 grams of soluble fiber, for a total of 8 grams of fiber in one teaspoon serving!
I don’t add a lot and honestly, I don’t measure… I just sprinkle a little bit into the mix before adding water.
The reason I don’t overdo it with this is because, when it gets wet, it gets this slimy consistency and as I mentioned before, you don’t want to change the texture of the pancakes so much to the point where it’s noticeable IF you’re sneaking this stuff in, as I’m doing.
Using too much of the fiber could make them become all gooey on the inside. Oats can do the same thing if you use too much of that.
Other fiber sources to addI did some research on high fiber foods and the ones that had the highest amounts of fiber… I wasn’t too sure they would go over well in pancakes! lol
Things such as split peas, avocado (hmmm… perhaps), and lentils topped the charts. So, if you can figure out a way to incorporate those items into your pancakes, have at it and be sure to let ME know how that worked out!
Otherwise, the following should suffice:
oats – remember, if you use too much it might make your pancakes mushy in the middle and nutty in texture, so use sparingly unless you and/or your family don’t mind!
bran – might give that nuttiness we talked about earlier
apples (skin included) if you wanted to do perhaps an apple-cinnamon variety
almond meal (meal has the skin, which has most of the fiber… almond flour does not)
raspberries are very high in fiber (8 grams in 1 cup) if you don’t mind raspberry pancakes, however; one common way to enjoy raspberries with your pancakes, is to make a topping such as jam or syrup.
Now, if you’re making them healthier for yourself, you probably don’t have to worry as much about texture changes, etc. unless YOU don’t want them gooey/nutty either! lol
But play around with the measurements, adding only a small amount of each item. Then, work up to more the next time until you find that perfect balance that is just right for you.
So now that you know how to make your boxed pancake mix at least a little healthier, the next step in making pancakes healthier would be making your own from scratch… or not, if yours comes out dry & yucky like my last batch did! lol
But making these few adaptions is definitely a step in the right direction towards improving your health one day… one step… one bite at a time! 🙂
You’re gonna LOVE my (free) Baby Steps To Getting Healthier tips sheet with even more ways to sneak the good stuff in, along with other helpful ways to get on the road to improving your health.
Inside: If you’re disappointed that Valentus Coffee is NOT working for you as it seems to for others, don’t worry. These 4 tips can help you get the best results.
Ugh. It was so annoying, it was intriguing.
“Try my tasty, healthy weight loss coffee!”
That’s ALL I kept seeing my friend post on Facebook and after a while, I couldn’t take it anymore. So I did the only thing a person could do.
I asked for a sample.
She obliged and sent me two sticks of Italian Roast – the only flavor available at that time.
I couldn’t WAIT to try it! Drink yummy coffee AND trim some of the fat off of my waist? YES, please!
I. hated. it.
The Italian roast had this… “nutty” flavor that, to me, tasted like what you’d expect sweaty socks to taste like. No matter how hard I tried to love like this coffee, I just couldn’t get with it. 🙁
Oh well, back to Maxwell House I guess. *shrug*
(NOT!)
She followed up with me and when I informed her of my plight, she suggested mixing it with something, so I mixed it with my regular coffee and that was MUCH better.
I placed an order, drank the coffee daily, and the results were in…
Nutty foot taste aside, that s**t WORKED!
My body fat percentage started dropping like it was hot and then Valentus went & did it.
They created the Brazilian Roast flavor and THAT sealed the deal because… huneey, it was DEE-LISH!
While I loved the flavor of Brazilian Slim Roast, my results were NOT the same. I stopped losing weight and burning fat like I was before, which really bummed me out.
“Awww man. I gotta go back to the foot-flavored stuff to keep getting results?!“
Nah… I was just using it wrong.
(More on that in a minute.)
Thirsty for inspiration, I joined a Facebook group dedicated to sharing success stories and, ironically enough, quite a few of the group members weren’t having success.
After observing the experiences of the ones who did, (along with my own experiences) I learned a few things.
As I mentioned previously, I LOVED the taste of Brazilian roast, but the results were waning… at first. It didn’t take long before I figured out what the problem was and once I corrected it, the results came back with a vengeance!
The corporate instructions (for the Brazilian roast) suggest to drink the coffee 30-60 minutes before a meal. Those instructions, however, do NOT specify whether that meal should be breakfast, lunch or dinner.
But most people choose to prepare and drink it first thing in the morning.
Now, I’ve heard one person (who was very successful with getting results with this coffee) recommend waiting 60 min. before eating so that the appetite suppressing ingredients can REALLY kick in.
Personally, I DO find it to be true that if I wait a little longer than 30 minutes, I am not as prone to eat a whole lot during my meal. But if you already have a small appetite, then 30 min. before a meal should suffice.
Consider the time(s) of day you feel you’d need craving & appetite control the MOST and have the coffee around that time. If drinking it in the evening, I recommend no more than 3-4 hours before your bedtime, as it might boost your energy and keep you up!
Depending on how strong or weak you like your coffee, use anywhere from 4 to 8 oz of hot (NOT boiling) water.
The original formula (Italian) said you could use 10-14 oz. of water, however; when I used that same measurement with the Brazilian formula, I found that using 10-14 oz. of water made the coffee taste too weak (almost to the point of tasting more like tea than coffee) and did not produce the results I was accustomed to getting when I first used the original.
But once I realized that the packaging of the Brazilian version said to use 4-8 oz. of water, I used about 6 oz. and noticed that when you use less water, you get a better tasting coffee and (in my opinion) better results since it’s not so diluted.
My personal suggestion to better dissolve the coffee is to put the hot water into your cup FIRST, then add and stir in the coffee. Stir well. There still may be a small amount of undissolved settlement left at the bottom when you’re done, that is common and nothing to be alarmed about.
Now, if you prefer a cold coffee, feel free to use cold water although, the coffee may not dissolve well in cold water.
What you CAN do is stir it into a little bit (an ounce or so) of hot water, THEN add cold water.
Or… you could prepare the coffee using half the amount of hot water you normally would to make it more ‘concentrated’, then add ice and stir – kind of like how iced coffee is typically prepared.
Add creamer and sweetener of choice BUT, you’ll get better results if you use something other than white, refined sugar such as: stevia, xylitol, raw honey, evaporated cane juice, etc and even those in moderation.
In terms of creamer; if you prefer dairy, I recommend using heavy whipping cream, or half and half.
For flavored creamer, I suggest using Coffee Mate Natural Bliss, as they have fewer ingredients and are a little more “natural” as compared to the regular Coffee Mate creamers AND (according to their website) they also offer almond or coconut milk creamers if you don’t do dairy.
Check your local store for availability, although you can still use regular almond, cashew, coconut, etc. ‘milks’ if you don’t want to use dairy products.
The instructions on the packaging do not specify how many times a day to drink SlimRoast (Brazilian Roast), however; the corporate website says: “For maximum weight management results, drink one SlimRoast 2 times per day.“
But many people drink just one per day and still have great success!
Find what works best for you. If one packet per day isn’t producing the desired results, try 2 packets.
Some even choose to add half a packet of SlimROAST to half a serving of their regular coffee and do two cups of that each day. Again, find the variation that works best for you.
The last thing in the world you need is some device constantly insisting you’re not getting results when, in fact, you are! I’m talking about none other than… the scale.
That thing has made so many people cry, cuss, and toss it clear across the room with it’s lies and deceit. I mean, it does tell “a” story, but it doesn’t tell the FULL story.
It doesn’t tell you if the number reflects fat, water retention ’cause it’s “that time” of the month and it certainly doesn’t tell you that you need to do a colon cleanse because you’re literally full of… you know.
So, I always advise my weight loss customers & clients to do a starting weigh-in and then ditch that scale.
Instead, opt for:
Because truth be told, oftentimes you may think you’re not getting results from Valentus Slim Roast Coffee but you just have tunnel vision and only see what the scale tells you.
But if you utilize other means of measuring your success, you just may find that you’ve gotten further ahead than you thought!
