Sorry folks, Life gets in the way sometimes. I am still around but very busy. Any comments are forwarded to my In box. I have 3 protégés who have either lost the weight they wanted or are well on their way (or is that weigh? ;-) ) Each is doing it their own way but every one who has started quickly finds that the psychological boost they get from just focusing on maintaining a steady blood glucose level keeps them up and enthusiastic and they do not suffer from out of control hunger. No diet works if you have uncontrollable hunger and most of all you cannot maintain it for life.
People may start to think you are picky - and you are but you don't have to eat things you don't like. Just leave out a few things that you learn not to crave any more.
I just got back from a visit with friends and we ate out quite a few times. They like Mexican food. I could not believe the portion sizes (4 tacos!) with tons of cheese on the plate! Enough for 3 people and a doggie bag!
Have you seen the TIME magazine special? June 23 2008. It is titled "Our Supersized Kids". It gets it right. I hope you can find a copy. It applies to adults too. After all we have to set the example. Fat parents raise fat kids and they are going to die younger than the last generation of preventable illnesses. Very sad.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Friday, May 9, 2008
Mindful Eating
I started this blog with the statement that losing weight is 90% in the mind. There is some scientific research along the same line at Duke University.
NBC did a report this week on an experiment at Duke in a series called Mindful Eating. It is really about being conscious of what and why you eat. I recommend the video at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22601899/
This is not about dieting per se but just getting in touch with our hunger and how we feel about food and its relationship to stress. One study shows a link between eating comfort food and hormone levels that calm us. It should not be very surprising to anyone who has failed at dieting.
For myself it occurred to me during my diet that 1 spoonful of a favorite food is just as good as a dish full. It helped me keep away from going back for a seond serving. I also realized that if I got up from the table when I finished eating I would be less tempted to eat more. I still felt like I wanted to eat more but in a short time - maybe 15 minutes - the thoughts of food would pass as I kept busy doing something else.
.
NBC did a report this week on an experiment at Duke in a series called Mindful Eating. It is really about being conscious of what and why you eat. I recommend the video at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22601899/
This is not about dieting per se but just getting in touch with our hunger and how we feel about food and its relationship to stress. One study shows a link between eating comfort food and hormone levels that calm us. It should not be very surprising to anyone who has failed at dieting.
For myself it occurred to me during my diet that 1 spoonful of a favorite food is just as good as a dish full. It helped me keep away from going back for a seond serving. I also realized that if I got up from the table when I finished eating I would be less tempted to eat more. I still felt like I wanted to eat more but in a short time - maybe 15 minutes - the thoughts of food would pass as I kept busy doing something else.
.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Tuesday
Breakfast:
Coffee
1/2 banana
Bowl of plain "Curves" cereal - about 1 1/2 cups. A level salad bowl size with 1% milk - about 1/2 cup. It is sort of like Rice Chrispies but tastier.
This cereal has 4 g sugar per serving - the max I go. But usually I choose one of the 0g or 1g sugar cereals. It has a sweet taste, no sweetener needed, and there is not enough sugar to give me a high/low reaction before lunch. I will be eating a slightly early lunch anyway because I have an appointment with my husband at 12:30.
Lunch:
Asian salad Kit: all the greens with 1/2 the dressing, 1/2 cup egg noodles and 1/4 cup sliced almonds added.
Snack: Tried nonfat yogurt with 1 TBSP of salted melon seeds (pepitas) found in bags with plain dried nuts and seeds in the grocery store (not the snack nuts which are roasted with oil (sometimes sugar added) and heavily salted - even the "dry-roasted" kinds have stuff added.
I think I like sunflower seeds and cottage cheese better - sometimes with a small can of low sugar peaches or pears.
Dinner: Cooked rotissieri chicken from the store with cooked veggies and a small amount of Texmati organic brown rice. This is a much more tender brown rice than brown rice used to be.
Coffee
1/2 banana
Bowl of plain "Curves" cereal - about 1 1/2 cups. A level salad bowl size with 1% milk - about 1/2 cup. It is sort of like Rice Chrispies but tastier.
This cereal has 4 g sugar per serving - the max I go. But usually I choose one of the 0g or 1g sugar cereals. It has a sweet taste, no sweetener needed, and there is not enough sugar to give me a high/low reaction before lunch. I will be eating a slightly early lunch anyway because I have an appointment with my husband at 12:30.
Lunch:
Asian salad Kit: all the greens with 1/2 the dressing, 1/2 cup egg noodles and 1/4 cup sliced almonds added.
Snack: Tried nonfat yogurt with 1 TBSP of salted melon seeds (pepitas) found in bags with plain dried nuts and seeds in the grocery store (not the snack nuts which are roasted with oil (sometimes sugar added) and heavily salted - even the "dry-roasted" kinds have stuff added.
I think I like sunflower seeds and cottage cheese better - sometimes with a small can of low sugar peaches or pears.
Dinner: Cooked rotissieri chicken from the store with cooked veggies and a small amount of Texmati organic brown rice. This is a much more tender brown rice than brown rice used to be.
To weigh or not to weigh, that is the question!
This is a question you have to ask yourself. Only you know your personality well enough.
When I was at my top weight "somewhere around 200 pounds" I was not weighing myself at all. I did not want to abuse my ego that badly. Fatties avoid reality. Also if they are depressed it only makes them eat more.
But don't let that deter you from getting started. You can start dieting not knowing what the exact poundage is (or "kiloweight"). Maybe pull on one of those tight pairs of jeans that you can barely button at the waist. Try them on every 2 weeks or so and see if the waist band is feeling more comfortable. Maybe even try on the clothes in your closet (I did) and put the ones that fit or barely fit in one place and the ones that are a little too tight in another place and the ones that are really too small in another.
I don't recommend running out and buying your dream outfit as an incentive. But you are you. For me, that would be too much pressure. Just getting into some old clothes that have not seen daylight in a year or more was cool enough to be my inspiration.
I am not against going out and getting something new as a reward WHEN the weight comes off. Hey, htat's what you do with the money you saved by not eating Jenny Craig meals. You go out and buy something that will make you look less baggy and slimmer. But don't do it before you are ready and know that there is an incentive to looking through smaller sizes on the rack.
At some point you probably will want to weight yourself. Or if you go to the doctor you are going to be weighed. Remember a doctor's scale is a weight scale. They are more accurate than your typical home spring scale. I have never had a home scale that wasn't at least 4 pounds lighter than a doctor's scale. Sigh............
But any scale will tell you if you are losing. Don't worry about the numbers as much as seeing a change in the numbers. You can weigh every day, once a week or once a month. Doesn't matter.
If you are very heavy you will see more drop in weight in a short time than you will if you are slimmer. That is because you lose a percentage of your body weight. When you are heavier your body has a lot more work to do. The same diet takes off more pounds when you are heavy than when you are skinny. When you are skinny you don't lose as many calories unless you increase your energy output. At some point ANY diet will reach a plateau. That is when your calorie intake equals your calorie output. You will either have to eat a little less at that point or exercise a little more to lose more weight.
Good idea to weight yourself at the same time of day. If you do it at night you are going to be factoring in your dinner and all the fluids you have drunk during the day. Just keep in mind that pounds are lost through your urine. Some times of day you are going to be more hydrated than others and the scale can move up and down a pound or two depending on how much water is in your system.
Be sure to calibrate your scale to zero carefully. There is a little wheel somewhere under the dial. Press on it a little and see if it comes back to zero again. Do it a couple times to get as accurate a reading as possible. Then weigh yourself without holding onto anything and be sure to center your feet. If you have a weight scale you don't have to do this. Digital scales need to have batteries replaced occasionally.
Me? After I started weighing myself, I started doing it every morning before my shower but after breakfast. I use a cheap spring scale. You have to have faith in your diet sometimes because you will see the scale bounce up and down and back from day to day. You probably will not see weight loss in a steady decline. I would say that I see some substantial loss about once every 2 weeks - enough to know it is not just a fluctuation in the water or food in my gut. If this is too frustrating - don't weigh as often. Just do not be perturbed if you do not see positive results as often as you would like.
If you see negative results - say in about 2 weeks, you are going to have to sit down with yourself and have a little discussion. Start analyzing where you are over eating and cut down more.
I set little goals for myself. Since the 5 and 10 pound marks on the scale are larger, passing one of them is a big deal. But I insist that the goal stays past for a few days before I celebrate - say with a frappochino at Starbucks (lite, no whip). 10 pounds may be worthy of a new set of walking shorts.
At that point any downward movement on the scale is a delightful milestone and will make you feel fabulous. It makes it easier to stick to what you are doing right and maybe even back off a little more if necessary to keep the decline going or speed it up just a little.
2 pounds a week is about right for an average size woman. I am 5'6" with average frame. I was wearing a size 18 and now I am down to a size S (6-8) in pants and a size 10 dress or 12 jacket. Gone from a X large T shirt to a Medium or Small. I have no desire to reach a smaller size just for the sake of being able to say I wear a 4 or under. I am close to the bottom of my normal BWI range and my waistline is below 34" - both standards of normal weight for my age and body type. I also bore 3 large babies and have a flat tummy again. I like me a little saftig, not boney. When my wedding ring started slipping off at 128 pounds I knew that I had reached my goal.
When I was at my top weight "somewhere around 200 pounds" I was not weighing myself at all. I did not want to abuse my ego that badly. Fatties avoid reality. Also if they are depressed it only makes them eat more.
But don't let that deter you from getting started. You can start dieting not knowing what the exact poundage is (or "kiloweight"). Maybe pull on one of those tight pairs of jeans that you can barely button at the waist. Try them on every 2 weeks or so and see if the waist band is feeling more comfortable. Maybe even try on the clothes in your closet (I did) and put the ones that fit or barely fit in one place and the ones that are a little too tight in another place and the ones that are really too small in another.
I don't recommend running out and buying your dream outfit as an incentive. But you are you. For me, that would be too much pressure. Just getting into some old clothes that have not seen daylight in a year or more was cool enough to be my inspiration.
I am not against going out and getting something new as a reward WHEN the weight comes off. Hey, htat's what you do with the money you saved by not eating Jenny Craig meals. You go out and buy something that will make you look less baggy and slimmer. But don't do it before you are ready and know that there is an incentive to looking through smaller sizes on the rack.
At some point you probably will want to weight yourself. Or if you go to the doctor you are going to be weighed. Remember a doctor's scale is a weight scale. They are more accurate than your typical home spring scale. I have never had a home scale that wasn't at least 4 pounds lighter than a doctor's scale. Sigh............
But any scale will tell you if you are losing. Don't worry about the numbers as much as seeing a change in the numbers. You can weigh every day, once a week or once a month. Doesn't matter.
If you are very heavy you will see more drop in weight in a short time than you will if you are slimmer. That is because you lose a percentage of your body weight. When you are heavier your body has a lot more work to do. The same diet takes off more pounds when you are heavy than when you are skinny. When you are skinny you don't lose as many calories unless you increase your energy output. At some point ANY diet will reach a plateau. That is when your calorie intake equals your calorie output. You will either have to eat a little less at that point or exercise a little more to lose more weight.
Good idea to weight yourself at the same time of day. If you do it at night you are going to be factoring in your dinner and all the fluids you have drunk during the day. Just keep in mind that pounds are lost through your urine. Some times of day you are going to be more hydrated than others and the scale can move up and down a pound or two depending on how much water is in your system.
Be sure to calibrate your scale to zero carefully. There is a little wheel somewhere under the dial. Press on it a little and see if it comes back to zero again. Do it a couple times to get as accurate a reading as possible. Then weigh yourself without holding onto anything and be sure to center your feet. If you have a weight scale you don't have to do this. Digital scales need to have batteries replaced occasionally.
Me? After I started weighing myself, I started doing it every morning before my shower but after breakfast. I use a cheap spring scale. You have to have faith in your diet sometimes because you will see the scale bounce up and down and back from day to day. You probably will not see weight loss in a steady decline. I would say that I see some substantial loss about once every 2 weeks - enough to know it is not just a fluctuation in the water or food in my gut. If this is too frustrating - don't weigh as often. Just do not be perturbed if you do not see positive results as often as you would like.
If you see negative results - say in about 2 weeks, you are going to have to sit down with yourself and have a little discussion. Start analyzing where you are over eating and cut down more.
I set little goals for myself. Since the 5 and 10 pound marks on the scale are larger, passing one of them is a big deal. But I insist that the goal stays past for a few days before I celebrate - say with a frappochino at Starbucks (lite, no whip). 10 pounds may be worthy of a new set of walking shorts.
At that point any downward movement on the scale is a delightful milestone and will make you feel fabulous. It makes it easier to stick to what you are doing right and maybe even back off a little more if necessary to keep the decline going or speed it up just a little.
2 pounds a week is about right for an average size woman. I am 5'6" with average frame. I was wearing a size 18 and now I am down to a size S (6-8) in pants and a size 10 dress or 12 jacket. Gone from a X large T shirt to a Medium or Small. I have no desire to reach a smaller size just for the sake of being able to say I wear a 4 or under. I am close to the bottom of my normal BWI range and my waistline is below 34" - both standards of normal weight for my age and body type. I also bore 3 large babies and have a flat tummy again. I like me a little saftig, not boney. When my wedding ring started slipping off at 128 pounds I knew that I had reached my goal.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Monday Menu (a day of indungence!)
I am going to eat lightly for breakfast and lunch because I have a meeting tonight and there is going to be a catered snack table. My calorie count will be up for sure - but I have not splurged since Christmas and can handle one too big meal of treats. I will decide tonight what things I would really like to taste that I have not had in a long time before I fill my plate.
Breakfast:
[ note on beverages: I am going to stop adding the details of my beverages. Coffee is always with 1 % milk and sweetener. Decaf after 3. I have one with or after meals and one or 2 more between meals. Hot in the morning but often iced in the afternoon.
Sometimes tea with sweetener, no lemon but OK. I am just allergic to lemon. No bubbly drinks. Water if I am thirsty but I do not drink a lot of fluid. It does not fill your stomach up and the medical studies say that 8, 8 oz glasses a day is an old wives tale that is difficult to get out of the American diet psyche (google it). But it sure will keep you in the potty. Thirst is enough to tell you when to drink under normal conditions. If you exercise strenuously and sweat a lot you will need more. Drink before and after exercise. ]
coffee (as usual)
1/2 apple (out of bananas)
1/2 sandwich of 1 slice of whole wheat bread and 2 slices of sandwich turkey.
Lunch:
Small salad with taco dressing (1/2 saved from the Dole kit)
1/4 cup of mixed sunflower and melon seeds.
1 cup of carrot/cashew/ginger soup. 120 cals.
No snack.
Dinner: before I leave for the meeting (which starts well past my normal supper hour} I had a small bowl of left-over pot roast from Sunday. Just enough to be sure I am not famished at the snack table.
I have 6 crackers with brie (like sandwiches)
About 10 black and green olives (not very good ones unfortunately)
A few grapes
1 cracker with a veggie dip
The carrots were slimy so I passed on them
3 big radishes
Krupuch (spelling?) These are a crisp fried chip made from ground shrimp shells. I know, I know - sounds weird. They are more delicious than a potato chip but probably no more nutritious - not fishy tasting at all. They are very light puffs like some corn snacks. I had a dear Dutch friend raised in Indonesia who always served these as a before dinner treat and the taste always reminds me of some fun times.
Dessert: a cranberry coffee cake and another brie/cracker sandwich.
Tomorrow I will go back to the diet - no problem. It was a day off and I deserved it.
Breakfast:
[ note on beverages: I am going to stop adding the details of my beverages. Coffee is always with 1 % milk and sweetener. Decaf after 3. I have one with or after meals and one or 2 more between meals. Hot in the morning but often iced in the afternoon.
Sometimes tea with sweetener, no lemon but OK. I am just allergic to lemon. No bubbly drinks. Water if I am thirsty but I do not drink a lot of fluid. It does not fill your stomach up and the medical studies say that 8, 8 oz glasses a day is an old wives tale that is difficult to get out of the American diet psyche (google it). But it sure will keep you in the potty. Thirst is enough to tell you when to drink under normal conditions. If you exercise strenuously and sweat a lot you will need more. Drink before and after exercise. ]
coffee (as usual)
1/2 apple (out of bananas)
1/2 sandwich of 1 slice of whole wheat bread and 2 slices of sandwich turkey.
Lunch:
Small salad with taco dressing (1/2 saved from the Dole kit)
1/4 cup of mixed sunflower and melon seeds.
1 cup of carrot/cashew/ginger soup. 120 cals.
No snack.
Dinner: before I leave for the meeting (which starts well past my normal supper hour} I had a small bowl of left-over pot roast from Sunday. Just enough to be sure I am not famished at the snack table.
I have 6 crackers with brie (like sandwiches)
About 10 black and green olives (not very good ones unfortunately)
A few grapes
1 cracker with a veggie dip
The carrots were slimy so I passed on them
3 big radishes
Krupuch (spelling?) These are a crisp fried chip made from ground shrimp shells. I know, I know - sounds weird. They are more delicious than a potato chip but probably no more nutritious - not fishy tasting at all. They are very light puffs like some corn snacks. I had a dear Dutch friend raised in Indonesia who always served these as a before dinner treat and the taste always reminds me of some fun times.
Dessert: a cranberry coffee cake and another brie/cracker sandwich.
Tomorrow I will go back to the diet - no problem. It was a day off and I deserved it.
Sunday
Not feeling swell and have not kept up the daily menu. But there are no more than minor changes in the previous menus.
The pot roast dinner was outstanding. I freeze some for another meal and save some for tomorrow or the next day.
Breakfast:
The usual coffee with 1% milk and sweetener,
A multigrain tortilla 8", 120 cals
3 slices of sandwich chicken slices, 50 cals. each
1/2 banana
Lunch:
Big salad with Asian dressing, about 1/2 cup of mixed sunflower and mellon seeds.
Snack: 1/2 an apple.
40 minute walk.
Dinner:
home made pot roast with tomato and wine sauce and herbs.
1 bottom round roast, sliced in 1 inch slices or cubed.
1/2 box (a cup) of Campbells Select Gold label tomato parmesan soup
1 cup spaghetti sauce (from a jar or left over home made is fine)
1 cup of salsa
1 small can of consomme.
1 cup of chianti
1/2 bottle roasted red peppers
(no onion this time and I did not miss it!)
Salt, pepper, garlic salt; allspice; thyme and oregano
Brown the meat in a deep pot. Add the other ingredients to taste. Remove chunks of meat and remove the layer of fat from the bottom round when it is cooked. I like to chunk it up after it is cooked. You can remove any floating fat if you chill it before serving. It only gets tastier when reheated the next day. .
I had @ 1 cup of meat and sauce served with 1/2 cup cooked brown rice.
Very satisfying.
Decaf with milk and sweetener for dessert.
The pot roast dinner was outstanding. I freeze some for another meal and save some for tomorrow or the next day.
Breakfast:
The usual coffee with 1% milk and sweetener,
A multigrain tortilla 8", 120 cals
3 slices of sandwich chicken slices, 50 cals. each
1/2 banana
Lunch:
Big salad with Asian dressing, about 1/2 cup of mixed sunflower and mellon seeds.
Snack: 1/2 an apple.
40 minute walk.
Dinner:
home made pot roast with tomato and wine sauce and herbs.
1 bottom round roast, sliced in 1 inch slices or cubed.
1/2 box (a cup) of Campbells Select Gold label tomato parmesan soup
1 cup spaghetti sauce (from a jar or left over home made is fine)
1 cup of salsa
1 small can of consomme.
1 cup of chianti
1/2 bottle roasted red peppers
(no onion this time and I did not miss it!)
Salt, pepper, garlic salt; allspice; thyme and oregano
Brown the meat in a deep pot. Add the other ingredients to taste. Remove chunks of meat and remove the layer of fat from the bottom round when it is cooked. I like to chunk it up after it is cooked. You can remove any floating fat if you chill it before serving. It only gets tastier when reheated the next day. .
I had @ 1 cup of meat and sauce served with 1/2 cup cooked brown rice.
Very satisfying.
Decaf with milk and sweetener for dessert.
Weight Loss Fraud
If you are tempted to try a quick fix check out this information on weight loss fraud.
http://www.aces.edu/dept/extcomm/newspaper/creditscams5.html
People get desperate to lose weight and waste money they could better use elsewhere.
If you have read how I lost weight you can see that I have NO gimmicks. You don't pay anything. I don't get anything except the satisfaction of helping someone.
Yes, dieting may seem repetitious or even boring at first. Even liking what you are eating too much can be a problem - you want more. But that does not mean we have to deny ourselves really good food.
I won't kid you that you can eat anything and lose weight. You can, but you would have to restrict the quantity. Like maybe you would have 1 Mickey D quarter pounder and fries and you are done for the day? I don't think so. You would be too hungry to sustain a diet like that.
We get used to a lot of sauces that you have to learn to live without or alter to make them fit into your new "for-life" style. But you adjust - IF YOU WANT to. I was determined. Until you lose the weight you want I would suggest avoiding temptations. No cake - just once a week. You will be eating too much the next day - I guarantee it. And more the day after. Did I say forever no cake? NO - but not for a while.
It takes time to adjust and get the desire for rich food out of your life style and thinking. Remember over eating IS an addiction. Most people who "just take a little drop" slide right off the wagon.
http://www.aces.edu/dept/extcomm/newspaper/creditscams5.html
People get desperate to lose weight and waste money they could better use elsewhere.
If you have read how I lost weight you can see that I have NO gimmicks. You don't pay anything. I don't get anything except the satisfaction of helping someone.
Yes, dieting may seem repetitious or even boring at first. Even liking what you are eating too much can be a problem - you want more. But that does not mean we have to deny ourselves really good food.
I won't kid you that you can eat anything and lose weight. You can, but you would have to restrict the quantity. Like maybe you would have 1 Mickey D quarter pounder and fries and you are done for the day? I don't think so. You would be too hungry to sustain a diet like that.
We get used to a lot of sauces that you have to learn to live without or alter to make them fit into your new "for-life" style. But you adjust - IF YOU WANT to. I was determined. Until you lose the weight you want I would suggest avoiding temptations. No cake - just once a week. You will be eating too much the next day - I guarantee it. And more the day after. Did I say forever no cake? NO - but not for a while.
It takes time to adjust and get the desire for rich food out of your life style and thinking. Remember over eating IS an addiction. Most people who "just take a little drop" slide right off the wagon.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Thursday menu
1 cup of coffee with 1%milk and sweetener
1/2 banana
small piece of Colombian white cheese (see previous menu for more detail). about 1/2"x 1/2" x 1"
1/2 cup 1 minute oatmeal (dry measure); 10 raisins; cinnamon microwaved for 1 minute - with a little 1% milk and spray butter substitute.
Lunch: Dole Asian salad kit using half the dressing.
Coffee with milk.
Mid afternoon snack - hot chocolate made with 1 cup 1% milk warmed in the microwave; then added 1 TBSP unsweetened cocoa and sweetener.
1/2 apple before 40 minute walk.
Dinner: salmon with dill from the deli; quinoa and garbanzo salad with sweet onions and red peppers, fresh chopped basil, 1/2 TBSP olive oil, vinegar (can use lemon but I am allergic to it), salt and pepper.
Decaf for dessert.
Note: quinoa is a tiny grain (white or red) from the Andes which is the only grain with complete and properly proportioned amino acids (basic building blocks of proteins) necessary for humans. It cooks in 10- 15 minutes and is more nutritious than brown rice. It is very easy on the digestion. It is also glutin free which is good for people who cannot tolerate glutin found in other grains especially wheat products and flour. The taste is good, nothing strange. Something like brown rice or farina. The grains remain clean and separate so they do not get gooey when mixed into salad. It can be eaten as a morning cereal like grits. I do not care for the texture mixed with milk.
1/2 banana
small piece of Colombian white cheese (see previous menu for more detail). about 1/2"x 1/2" x 1"
1/2 cup 1 minute oatmeal (dry measure); 10 raisins; cinnamon microwaved for 1 minute - with a little 1% milk and spray butter substitute.
Lunch: Dole Asian salad kit using half the dressing.
Coffee with milk.
Mid afternoon snack - hot chocolate made with 1 cup 1% milk warmed in the microwave; then added 1 TBSP unsweetened cocoa and sweetener.
1/2 apple before 40 minute walk.
Dinner: salmon with dill from the deli; quinoa and garbanzo salad with sweet onions and red peppers, fresh chopped basil, 1/2 TBSP olive oil, vinegar (can use lemon but I am allergic to it), salt and pepper.
Decaf for dessert.
Note: quinoa is a tiny grain (white or red) from the Andes which is the only grain with complete and properly proportioned amino acids (basic building blocks of proteins) necessary for humans. It cooks in 10- 15 minutes and is more nutritious than brown rice. It is very easy on the digestion. It is also glutin free which is good for people who cannot tolerate glutin found in other grains especially wheat products and flour. The taste is good, nothing strange. Something like brown rice or farina. The grains remain clean and separate so they do not get gooey when mixed into salad. It can be eaten as a morning cereal like grits. I do not care for the texture mixed with milk.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Wednesday
Breakfast:
Cup of coffee with milk and sweetener
1/2 a banana
2 scrambled eggs. Sometimes I add milk and sometimes I don't.
Eggs have gotten a bad rap because they are supposed to raise cholesterol level. But now eating eggs in moderation is not considered much of a concern and they are great for stabilizing the appetite, high in protein and lots of other good things. Indeed, the new organic, free range eggs are supposed to have less cholesterol in them. I may eat 1 or 2 eggs 2 or 3 times a week. What will reduce your health risk more is the big picture - something that helps get that excess weight off or eating a few eggs?
Mid-morning snack: 4 oz can of V8 low salt.
Lunch:
Dole taco salad kit. All the greens but only half the dressing (save the rest for another salad without the kit). I thin the dressing with a little milk to make it cover the greens better - tastes just as good. It comes with corn chips and a little shredded cheese.
Coffee with milk and sweetener.
Snack: Cup of brown rice with butter substitute
Not feeling good (not related to diet) so no walk.
Small piece of homemade pizza. Made with veggies and turkey sausage and just a little cheeses.
Late snack: small bowl of low sugar cereal because meds should be taken with food.
Cup of coffee with milk and sweetener
1/2 a banana
2 scrambled eggs. Sometimes I add milk and sometimes I don't.
Eggs have gotten a bad rap because they are supposed to raise cholesterol level. But now eating eggs in moderation is not considered much of a concern and they are great for stabilizing the appetite, high in protein and lots of other good things. Indeed, the new organic, free range eggs are supposed to have less cholesterol in them. I may eat 1 or 2 eggs 2 or 3 times a week. What will reduce your health risk more is the big picture - something that helps get that excess weight off or eating a few eggs?
Mid-morning snack: 4 oz can of V8 low salt.
Lunch:
Dole taco salad kit. All the greens but only half the dressing (save the rest for another salad without the kit). I thin the dressing with a little milk to make it cover the greens better - tastes just as good. It comes with corn chips and a little shredded cheese.
Coffee with milk and sweetener.
Snack: Cup of brown rice with butter substitute
Not feeling good (not related to diet) so no walk.
Small piece of homemade pizza. Made with veggies and turkey sausage and just a little cheeses.
Late snack: small bowl of low sugar cereal because meds should be taken with food.
Tuesday
Breakfast:
2 cups coffee with 1%milk and sweetener
1/2 banana
Whole grain 8" tortilla with 3 slices sandwich turkey (30 cals each) for a total of @ 200 cals.
Lunch:
Big bowl of mixed greens with 1 TBSP Asian dressing.
Can of sardines, drained (packed in olive oil) 200 cals
5 multigrain Club crackers. (a "serving" is 4 crackers so 5 is about 100 cals)
Snack: 3/4 cup of brown rice (cooked) with butter substitute;
1/2 apple. Cup of coffee with milk and Splenda.
Note: this was a satisfying snack and I was not especially hungry at dinner.
[Texmati organic brown rice is super good and tender. The aroma of brown or basmati rice cooking is as great as baking bread. It takes 10-15 minutes longer to cook than white rice. NEVER wash rice. In a sauce pan you need 2 cups of water to a cup of rice. In my rice cooker I need to add more water - 3 cups to a cup of rice. I add a drop of olive oil to keep the grains separate and not boil up and a LITTLE salt.]
It rained with thunder, so no walk today. I don't get bent out of shape if I miss a walk a couple times a week. I sometimes walk up and down 6 flights of stairs (one time) at the hospital while I wait for my husband during his physical therapy (twice a week).
Dinner:
1 small slice (about the size of a deck of cards) of curried chicken cutlet from previous dinner.
Just 1/4 cup brown rice because I had the rest as a snack.
2 slices of sauteed eggplant. (1 sliced (1/2 inch) eggplant sauteed with spray olive oil and 1 TBSP of the real thing, salt and pepper. You need a large fry pan to cook a whole eggplant.).
[Eggplant absorbs too much oil if you dip it in crumbs but it is really great without. just brown it and then put on a tight cover and keep heating on medium heat until soft all the way through. If you just boil or steam your veggies, try sauteeing them with spray oil with or without a few drops of flavored oil. It brings out lots of good flavor. One of my other favorites cooked this way is zucchini.)
Cup of decaf with milk for dessert.
Note: No longing for a snack after dinner tonight. Maybe the rice? - a whole grain carb at the right time?? I'll have to try this gain.
2 cups coffee with 1%milk and sweetener
1/2 banana
Whole grain 8" tortilla with 3 slices sandwich turkey (30 cals each) for a total of @ 200 cals.
Lunch:
Big bowl of mixed greens with 1 TBSP Asian dressing.
Can of sardines, drained (packed in olive oil) 200 cals
5 multigrain Club crackers. (a "serving" is 4 crackers so 5 is about 100 cals)
Snack: 3/4 cup of brown rice (cooked) with butter substitute;
1/2 apple. Cup of coffee with milk and Splenda.
Note: this was a satisfying snack and I was not especially hungry at dinner.
[Texmati organic brown rice is super good and tender. The aroma of brown or basmati rice cooking is as great as baking bread. It takes 10-15 minutes longer to cook than white rice. NEVER wash rice. In a sauce pan you need 2 cups of water to a cup of rice. In my rice cooker I need to add more water - 3 cups to a cup of rice. I add a drop of olive oil to keep the grains separate and not boil up and a LITTLE salt.]
It rained with thunder, so no walk today. I don't get bent out of shape if I miss a walk a couple times a week. I sometimes walk up and down 6 flights of stairs (one time) at the hospital while I wait for my husband during his physical therapy (twice a week).
Dinner:
1 small slice (about the size of a deck of cards) of curried chicken cutlet from previous dinner.
Just 1/4 cup brown rice because I had the rest as a snack.
2 slices of sauteed eggplant. (1 sliced (1/2 inch) eggplant sauteed with spray olive oil and 1 TBSP of the real thing, salt and pepper. You need a large fry pan to cook a whole eggplant.).
[Eggplant absorbs too much oil if you dip it in crumbs but it is really great without. just brown it and then put on a tight cover and keep heating on medium heat until soft all the way through. If you just boil or steam your veggies, try sauteeing them with spray oil with or without a few drops of flavored oil. It brings out lots of good flavor. One of my other favorites cooked this way is zucchini.)
Cup of decaf with milk for dessert.
Note: No longing for a snack after dinner tonight. Maybe the rice? - a whole grain carb at the right time?? I'll have to try this gain.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Monday
Breakfast:
2 cups of coffee with 1% milk and sweetener.
1/2 banana
Oatmeal (made with 1/2 cup minute oatmeal), @ 10 raisins, cinnamon, 0 Cal butter substitute, sweetener. I put it all in a bowl with a half cup of water and put in the microwave for @ 1 minute or until hot and liquid absorbed. (sometimes I add a half cup of 1 % milk and sometimes I eat the oatmeal without milk - just the butter substitute makes it good - like grits with butter)
[You can use instant oatmeal, but why spend extra just because they package it for you? How much time does it take to put 1 minute oats and other ingredients to taste in a bowl and microwave it - just keep the stuff you like together in your breakfast spot. And read the label - Instant cereals are more processed and that often means more unnecessary ingredients including sugar]
A small cube of whole milk (not cream) white cheese. I use a Colombian white cheese available in my market near the feta cheese. It is very much like feta but neither stinky or salty. Queso blanco is somewhat different Mexican variety. Try different ones. Farmer cheese is unsalted and basically a compressed cottage cheese, more tangy than the above.
Lunch: A big Dole Asian salad, all the greens but with half the salad dressing (save the other half for the next day). I put in the whole baggie of crisp noodles. I use the 'Kit' because I just like this salad dressing but you could make your own or any other dressing you prefer, and put together your own favorite ingredients as long as you use just a little of each thing. At least the kits are premeasured for you.
Small bowl of Golden summer squash soup (100 cals per serving/1/2 box). I really love Campbells Select Gold label soups that come in a box! I don't plug any particular brands unless I like them but these are good for you, no additives, around 200-225 cals per box. Won't kill any diet and very satisfying. The whole box was a meal yesterday/ half a different one today with the salad. No croutons today because of the noodles in the salad (you might call this a carb exchange!) .
Snack: Half an apple and 10 whole almonds.
40 minute walk before dinner. Rice cooks in the rice maker while I am gone. I put the boneless, skinless breast meat chicken cutlets in the micro for 2 minutes on low (5) setting. It won't be completely defrosted when I get back so no worry about spoilage but I will be able to pry them apart.
Dinner (prep time about 15 minutes):
Curried chicken - per serving: (1 breast cutlet) with brown rice (1 cup cooked).
Put the semi-thawed chicken cutlets (about 5 to a pack); in a pan and saute using spray oil and 1 TBSP olive oil (remember this oil is for flavoring. It is only a little bit because it will be distributed over 4 or 5 servings); When lightly browned, remove chicken and saute a sliced onion and a sliced red pepper, zucchini (you can add any vegetables and/or an apple or a small can of pineapple) a few minutes or until softened. Put the chicken back in the pan with a can of chicken broth. Season with garum masala (a curry spice mixture available in most grocery stores now). I use a lot. You can use old fashioned "curry" powder but I much prefer the more authentic garum masala. Salt lightly. Cook until chicken is cooked through and cook down the liquid to about half.
To serve, put a piece of chicken and some veggies on the rice and spoon over some sauce. [I made enough to freeze or eat tomorrow - I always cook a few meals at once - a good way to avoid cooking on a busy week night]
I serve a couple TBSP of my homemade mango chutney on the side. It is made with lots of fruits, raisins and vegetables, brown sugar and vinegar.
You can make a fresh fruit chutney of almost any fruits (including cranberries, pineapple, apricots, peaches and onions, peppers and just gently cook them down in a little water and lemon or vinegar. Sweeten with sweetener if you like. Tamarind juice and ginger would make it more authentic.
Decaf for dessert.
My weight is down 2 pounds for the week!!!
2 cups of coffee with 1% milk and sweetener.
1/2 banana
Oatmeal (made with 1/2 cup minute oatmeal), @ 10 raisins, cinnamon, 0 Cal butter substitute, sweetener. I put it all in a bowl with a half cup of water and put in the microwave for @ 1 minute or until hot and liquid absorbed. (sometimes I add a half cup of 1 % milk and sometimes I eat the oatmeal without milk - just the butter substitute makes it good - like grits with butter)
[You can use instant oatmeal, but why spend extra just because they package it for you? How much time does it take to put 1 minute oats and other ingredients to taste in a bowl and microwave it - just keep the stuff you like together in your breakfast spot. And read the label - Instant cereals are more processed and that often means more unnecessary ingredients including sugar]
A small cube of whole milk (not cream) white cheese. I use a Colombian white cheese available in my market near the feta cheese. It is very much like feta but neither stinky or salty. Queso blanco is somewhat different Mexican variety. Try different ones. Farmer cheese is unsalted and basically a compressed cottage cheese, more tangy than the above.
Lunch: A big Dole Asian salad, all the greens but with half the salad dressing (save the other half for the next day). I put in the whole baggie of crisp noodles. I use the 'Kit' because I just like this salad dressing but you could make your own or any other dressing you prefer, and put together your own favorite ingredients as long as you use just a little of each thing. At least the kits are premeasured for you.
Small bowl of Golden summer squash soup (100 cals per serving/1/2 box). I really love Campbells Select Gold label soups that come in a box! I don't plug any particular brands unless I like them but these are good for you, no additives, around 200-225 cals per box. Won't kill any diet and very satisfying. The whole box was a meal yesterday/ half a different one today with the salad. No croutons today because of the noodles in the salad (you might call this a carb exchange!) .
Snack: Half an apple and 10 whole almonds.
40 minute walk before dinner. Rice cooks in the rice maker while I am gone. I put the boneless, skinless breast meat chicken cutlets in the micro for 2 minutes on low (5) setting. It won't be completely defrosted when I get back so no worry about spoilage but I will be able to pry them apart.
Dinner (prep time about 15 minutes):
Curried chicken - per serving: (1 breast cutlet) with brown rice (1 cup cooked).
Put the semi-thawed chicken cutlets (about 5 to a pack); in a pan and saute using spray oil and 1 TBSP olive oil (remember this oil is for flavoring. It is only a little bit because it will be distributed over 4 or 5 servings); When lightly browned, remove chicken and saute a sliced onion and a sliced red pepper, zucchini (you can add any vegetables and/or an apple or a small can of pineapple) a few minutes or until softened. Put the chicken back in the pan with a can of chicken broth. Season with garum masala (a curry spice mixture available in most grocery stores now). I use a lot. You can use old fashioned "curry" powder but I much prefer the more authentic garum masala. Salt lightly. Cook until chicken is cooked through and cook down the liquid to about half.
To serve, put a piece of chicken and some veggies on the rice and spoon over some sauce. [I made enough to freeze or eat tomorrow - I always cook a few meals at once - a good way to avoid cooking on a busy week night]
I serve a couple TBSP of my homemade mango chutney on the side. It is made with lots of fruits, raisins and vegetables, brown sugar and vinegar.
You can make a fresh fruit chutney of almost any fruits (including cranberries, pineapple, apricots, peaches and onions, peppers and just gently cook them down in a little water and lemon or vinegar. Sweeten with sweetener if you like. Tamarind juice and ginger would make it more authentic.
Decaf for dessert.
My weight is down 2 pounds for the week!!!
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Today's intake (Ap 6)
Breakfast:
2 cups coffee with 1% milk and sweetener
1/2 banana
1 piece of 100% whole wheat bread (Pepperidge) with spray, 0 cal liquid butter substitute ('I can't believe its not butter spray' - careful some liquid margarine has plenty of fat and cals)
1 large egg, hard-boiled (shared a little with my parrot ;-) )
Note: could be any kind of egg if fried in spray oil, poached, etc.
Lunch:
Bowl of Campbell's Select soup (in a box) Portobello Mushroom. One serving is 100 cals. I had the whole box - 200 cals.
1/2 cup croutons (OK I could have left these out but ......) As long as you can stop!
Cup of tea with milk and sweetener
Snack: half an apple before my walk.
Dinner:
1/4 lb fish (I had snapper) moistened with water and dipped in bread crumbs; fried in olive oil spray + 1 TBSP of basil flavored olive oil .
Note: the oil was spread over 4 portions!
Sauteed eggplant. 3 slices (see how I prepare it on Tuesday next menu where I had some left over slices.)
Salad with 1 TBSP reduced fat ranch dressing thinned with a little milk.
Cup of decaf with milk and splenda for dessert.
2 cups coffee with 1% milk and sweetener
1/2 banana
1 piece of 100% whole wheat bread (Pepperidge) with spray, 0 cal liquid butter substitute ('I can't believe its not butter spray' - careful some liquid margarine has plenty of fat and cals)
1 large egg, hard-boiled (shared a little with my parrot ;-) )
Note: could be any kind of egg if fried in spray oil, poached, etc.
Lunch:
Bowl of Campbell's Select soup (in a box) Portobello Mushroom. One serving is 100 cals. I had the whole box - 200 cals.
1/2 cup croutons (OK I could have left these out but ......) As long as you can stop!
Cup of tea with milk and sweetener
Snack: half an apple before my walk.
Dinner:
1/4 lb fish (I had snapper) moistened with water and dipped in bread crumbs; fried in olive oil spray + 1 TBSP of basil flavored olive oil .
Note: the oil was spread over 4 portions!
Sauteed eggplant. 3 slices (see how I prepare it on Tuesday next menu where I had some left over slices.)
Salad with 1 TBSP reduced fat ranch dressing thinned with a little milk.
Cup of decaf with milk and splenda for dessert.
Link on MSNBC, Diet and stress
Here is an article that tends to corroborate my experience on this diet. Stress is associated with eating too much. My main objection would be to limit fruits severely because of the sugars but eat more raw and/or cooked veggies instead. Never drink fruit juices because they have no benefit over veggies and have way too much sugar and no fiber to offset the antioxidants and vitamins.
By Dr. Rovenia Brock
TODAY (NBC, Ap 4)
Whether you're a stay at home mom, a busy executive, a student, or just one more person trying to put food on the table for your family in a declining economy, getting through your day can be stressful. The fact is, too many Americans are time-starved and coping with that fact can be tricky if you don't have the right fuel in your body to do so calmly.
According to the National Center for Health Statistics, over two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese and I would add to that, many of them eat mindlessly in order to cope with the pressures of the day. But stress in your life can manifest itself in your body in detrimental ways that compromise its very ability to function normally. Living with stress in your body has been linked to health problems such as heart disease, hypertension, peptic ulcer, asthma, and you guessed it—obesity.
But did you know that you can de-stress your life by practicing effective coping skills and by eating a low-fat, nutrient-dense diet? Here are my top food tips to help you cope:
The three nutrients that soothe your nerves 1. Eat more foods that contain Folic acid (also known as Folate), a B-vitamin which enhances your mood.
2. Increase foods that contain Vitamin B-12, which boosts your energy when blowing your top causes you to run out of steam.
3. Choose foods with greater amounts of antioxidants such as Vitamins C, E, and the mineral, selenium, which help to repair damage to cells caused by stress.
Foods to enjoyFood sources & nutrients they contribute as stress reducers:
Include more turkey in your diet for its selenium content, which raises serotonin levels— a calming hormone. Try it in sandwiches, on salads, soups, or as snacks
Eat clams (in soups, spaghetti sauces, as appetizers) which are rich sources of Vitamin B12
Include more lentils (in soups, with whole grains such as quinoa—sounds like keen-wa) Lentils contain the B-vitamin, Folate
Try Chickpeas, also good source of Folate, on salads or in hummus, with baby carrots, bell peppers, cucumber slices, or on whole wheat crackers
Include black-eyed peas, which also contain Folate—add tomato, or shredded carrot, with basil for a tasty twist on a stress-buster dish. Serve them over a cup of brown rice and you've got a nutritious entree
Eat more papaya, which contributes more Vitamins A and C, and the B-vitamin Folate to your diet
Eat more red bell peppers which also contributes good amounts of Vitamins A and C and Folate. Try them roasted as a side dish, on salads, in sandwiches, soups, and in casseroles
Eat sunflower seeds, which add more Vitamin E and folate to your diet. Try them on salads, as snacks, even as ice cream toppings. Be sure to use dry-roasted seeds without salt, because the added sodium defeats the stress-fighting purpose
Stress-reducing herbs
Arugula, a peppery, nutty-tasting herb, is a good source of folate and great in salads, soups, or on pizzas and sandwiches
Try basil, a fragrant herb that's delicious in any tomato or seafood dish, or on chicken, turkey, in salads, and sandwich wraps. It calms your nerves by helping your body resist stress and by increasing physical endurance
Foods to avoidCaffeinated beverages: By all means, skip the morning latte. Caffeine, found in beverages such as coffee, tea and sodas and in chocolate, can cause anxiety and raise stress hormone levels.
Trans-fatty acids: Steer clear of trans-fatty acids found in baked goods such as cakes, pies, cookies, and other boxed foods, which compromise the immune system and increase your risk of heart disease. Read food labels and avoid foods that contain hydrogenated vegetable oil.
Sugar: Skip sugar, which causes spikes in blood sugar levels, increasing insulin production and eventually causes your blood sugar levels to plummet. This process robs your adrenal glands of their ability to do their job—which is to regulate your stress hormones and to protect the body against stress and to help the thyroid gland to regulate your weight.
Alcohol: Put the cork back in the burgundy. Excessive alcohol consumption (it puts more sugar in your diet—known as a super sugar) and is harmful to adrenal glands.
By Dr. Rovenia Brock
TODAY (NBC, Ap 4)
Whether you're a stay at home mom, a busy executive, a student, or just one more person trying to put food on the table for your family in a declining economy, getting through your day can be stressful. The fact is, too many Americans are time-starved and coping with that fact can be tricky if you don't have the right fuel in your body to do so calmly.
According to the National Center for Health Statistics, over two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese and I would add to that, many of them eat mindlessly in order to cope with the pressures of the day. But stress in your life can manifest itself in your body in detrimental ways that compromise its very ability to function normally. Living with stress in your body has been linked to health problems such as heart disease, hypertension, peptic ulcer, asthma, and you guessed it—obesity.
But did you know that you can de-stress your life by practicing effective coping skills and by eating a low-fat, nutrient-dense diet? Here are my top food tips to help you cope:
The three nutrients that soothe your nerves 1. Eat more foods that contain Folic acid (also known as Folate), a B-vitamin which enhances your mood.
2. Increase foods that contain Vitamin B-12, which boosts your energy when blowing your top causes you to run out of steam.
3. Choose foods with greater amounts of antioxidants such as Vitamins C, E, and the mineral, selenium, which help to repair damage to cells caused by stress.
Foods to enjoyFood sources & nutrients they contribute as stress reducers:
Include more turkey in your diet for its selenium content, which raises serotonin levels— a calming hormone. Try it in sandwiches, on salads, soups, or as snacks
Eat clams (in soups, spaghetti sauces, as appetizers) which are rich sources of Vitamin B12
Include more lentils (in soups, with whole grains such as quinoa—sounds like keen-wa) Lentils contain the B-vitamin, Folate
Try Chickpeas, also good source of Folate, on salads or in hummus, with baby carrots, bell peppers, cucumber slices, or on whole wheat crackers
Include black-eyed peas, which also contain Folate—add tomato, or shredded carrot, with basil for a tasty twist on a stress-buster dish. Serve them over a cup of brown rice and you've got a nutritious entree
Eat more papaya, which contributes more Vitamins A and C, and the B-vitamin Folate to your diet
Eat more red bell peppers which also contributes good amounts of Vitamins A and C and Folate. Try them roasted as a side dish, on salads, in sandwiches, soups, and in casseroles
Eat sunflower seeds, which add more Vitamin E and folate to your diet. Try them on salads, as snacks, even as ice cream toppings. Be sure to use dry-roasted seeds without salt, because the added sodium defeats the stress-fighting purpose
Stress-reducing herbs
Arugula, a peppery, nutty-tasting herb, is a good source of folate and great in salads, soups, or on pizzas and sandwiches
Try basil, a fragrant herb that's delicious in any tomato or seafood dish, or on chicken, turkey, in salads, and sandwich wraps. It calms your nerves by helping your body resist stress and by increasing physical endurance
Foods to avoidCaffeinated beverages: By all means, skip the morning latte. Caffeine, found in beverages such as coffee, tea and sodas and in chocolate, can cause anxiety and raise stress hormone levels.
Trans-fatty acids: Steer clear of trans-fatty acids found in baked goods such as cakes, pies, cookies, and other boxed foods, which compromise the immune system and increase your risk of heart disease. Read food labels and avoid foods that contain hydrogenated vegetable oil.
Sugar: Skip sugar, which causes spikes in blood sugar levels, increasing insulin production and eventually causes your blood sugar levels to plummet. This process robs your adrenal glands of their ability to do their job—which is to regulate your stress hormones and to protect the body against stress and to help the thyroid gland to regulate your weight.
Alcohol: Put the cork back in the burgundy. Excessive alcohol consumption (it puts more sugar in your diet—known as a super sugar) and is harmful to adrenal glands.
Do it with me.
OK, I gained a few pounds. So I am back on my own diet again. When I see the scale tick up or the pants get a little tight, I get right back on it. Maybe the holidays, maybe some meds I have been taking. First I just cut back a little but no results. So time to get back big time. So last week I started to eat the way I did before and already a couple pounds are off and that fearsome number I simply will not pass is slipping further away.
So I am going to post what I eat each day. Why not do it with me?
Yesterday:
Breakfast: 2 cups of coffee with 1% milk and Splenda
1/2 banana
2 scrambled eggs
Lunch:
Big serving bowl of mixed lettuce with 1/3 cup slivered almonds and 6 crumbled whole grain Club crackers. Half a packet, about 1 TBSP of taco salad dressing (comes with Dole's Taco Salad mix) thinned out with a little 1% milk so it will cover the lettuce better. You can substitute any salad dressing you like as long as it's no more than 1 TBSP. If it isn't a creamy dressing thin it with water and vinegar to taste. Add a little salt and pepper if you want.
Cup of tea with milk and sweetener.
Snack: 6 walnut pieces, 6 whole almonds. Cup of coffee with milk/sweetener, teaspoon of unsweetened cocoa..
Exercise: Did some light work in the garden. Ran a couple errands.
Company came just as I was planning to take my 40 minute walk. So missed that yesterday. It delayed dinner an hour but the snack carried me through. My husband was more impatient to eat than I was.
Dinner: fajita with 6 strips of round steak (cooked in spray olive oil with 2 TBSP or basil flavored olive oil, flavored with garlic powder and pepper, lightly salted), 1 TBSP labna (whole milk yogurt from the Middle East - very similar to sour cream but not as much fat); 1/3 Haas (small California type) avocado with a little olive oil and vinegar, salt, pepper. A couple TBSP of salsa. Wrapped in an 8 inch high protein wheat tortilla.
Note: the total oil that I consumed was about 1/3 of what I used to prepare the meat because I divided it into 3 portions to share.
Cup of decaf with milk and sweetener for dessert.
I take a regular multivitamin every day. A glass of tomato juice in mid morning would have been OK but I forgot ;-)
Some other dinners I like:
A slice of frozen turkey cutlet with stir fry sauce, small amount of sesame oil for flavor (used spray oil for the rest) and a package of stir fry vegetables. Soy sauce. Sundry cooked vegetables on the side like corn or broccoli. I cook enough to have 2 days in a row and share.
Turkey burger - a big patty mixed with a couple spoonfuls of salsa before pan frying (could be done on the grill) on one piece of 100% whole wheat bread. Any cooked vegetables on the side or a salad with no more than 1 TBSP dressing, diluted as above.
So I am going to post what I eat each day. Why not do it with me?
Yesterday:
Breakfast: 2 cups of coffee with 1% milk and Splenda
1/2 banana
2 scrambled eggs
Lunch:
Big serving bowl of mixed lettuce with 1/3 cup slivered almonds and 6 crumbled whole grain Club crackers. Half a packet, about 1 TBSP of taco salad dressing (comes with Dole's Taco Salad mix) thinned out with a little 1% milk so it will cover the lettuce better. You can substitute any salad dressing you like as long as it's no more than 1 TBSP. If it isn't a creamy dressing thin it with water and vinegar to taste. Add a little salt and pepper if you want.
Cup of tea with milk and sweetener.
Snack: 6 walnut pieces, 6 whole almonds. Cup of coffee with milk/sweetener, teaspoon of unsweetened cocoa..
Exercise: Did some light work in the garden. Ran a couple errands.
Company came just as I was planning to take my 40 minute walk. So missed that yesterday. It delayed dinner an hour but the snack carried me through. My husband was more impatient to eat than I was.
Dinner: fajita with 6 strips of round steak (cooked in spray olive oil with 2 TBSP or basil flavored olive oil, flavored with garlic powder and pepper, lightly salted), 1 TBSP labna (whole milk yogurt from the Middle East - very similar to sour cream but not as much fat); 1/3 Haas (small California type) avocado with a little olive oil and vinegar, salt, pepper. A couple TBSP of salsa. Wrapped in an 8 inch high protein wheat tortilla.
Note: the total oil that I consumed was about 1/3 of what I used to prepare the meat because I divided it into 3 portions to share.
Cup of decaf with milk and sweetener for dessert.
I take a regular multivitamin every day. A glass of tomato juice in mid morning would have been OK but I forgot ;-)
Some other dinners I like:
A slice of frozen turkey cutlet with stir fry sauce, small amount of sesame oil for flavor (used spray oil for the rest) and a package of stir fry vegetables. Soy sauce. Sundry cooked vegetables on the side like corn or broccoli. I cook enough to have 2 days in a row and share.
Turkey burger - a big patty mixed with a couple spoonfuls of salsa before pan frying (could be done on the grill) on one piece of 100% whole wheat bread. Any cooked vegetables on the side or a salad with no more than 1 TBSP dressing, diluted as above.
Monday, March 24, 2008
What I eat for Lunch
I try to vary lunch but you can eat one thing that works for a while and vary it a little.
Salad (of course). I choose from a selection of what to put with it.
1. Ceasar salad with just a few croutons and a light Caesar dressing. I get the Dole kit and use half the dressing. Parmesan or Romano cheese sprinkled over is OK.
2. I like Dole's Asian salad. Half the dressing, half the noodles. I add 14 cup of slivered almonds.
3. a baby lettuce mix with 1/2 2% or 4% cottage cheese, a spritz type salad dressing and a slice of whole wheat bread.
4. tuna ON salad using a spritz of salad dressing (new low call spritzers are made by a couple companies now) - or the more typical tuna "salad" IF you make it with only a dab of light mayo, with lots of chopped onion and celery. Could be a half sandwich or as a salad without bread.
If not salad I eat:
1. A Lean cuisine - any less than 300 calories. I don't care for the ones with garlic in them (garlic gets a weird taste when frozen) and I avoid the high carb ones with lots of noodles. I would eat other brands but don't like them as much.
2. left over meat from the night before such as sliced chicken - either on a salad or in a half sandwich.
3. half a sandwich. No cheese or mayo. Meat low fat. I use spicy mustard and whole wheat bread. Lots of lettuce to make it moist. I am allergic to tomatoes but they would be fine.
4. a large bowl of soup as long as it is under 300 calories. I like the boxed Campbells such as portobello mushroom, corn chowder and my fav is summer squash. A piece of whole wheat bread. No crackers!
5. a tin of sardines packed in olive oil - drained. A piece of whole wheat bread. Small salad on the side.
More with special recipes later.
Salad (of course). I choose from a selection of what to put with it.
1. Ceasar salad with just a few croutons and a light Caesar dressing. I get the Dole kit and use half the dressing. Parmesan or Romano cheese sprinkled over is OK.
2. I like Dole's Asian salad. Half the dressing, half the noodles. I add 14 cup of slivered almonds.
3. a baby lettuce mix with 1/2 2% or 4% cottage cheese, a spritz type salad dressing and a slice of whole wheat bread.
4. tuna ON salad using a spritz of salad dressing (new low call spritzers are made by a couple companies now) - or the more typical tuna "salad" IF you make it with only a dab of light mayo, with lots of chopped onion and celery. Could be a half sandwich or as a salad without bread.
If not salad I eat:
1. A Lean cuisine - any less than 300 calories. I don't care for the ones with garlic in them (garlic gets a weird taste when frozen) and I avoid the high carb ones with lots of noodles. I would eat other brands but don't like them as much.
2. left over meat from the night before such as sliced chicken - either on a salad or in a half sandwich.
3. half a sandwich. No cheese or mayo. Meat low fat. I use spicy mustard and whole wheat bread. Lots of lettuce to make it moist. I am allergic to tomatoes but they would be fine.
4. a large bowl of soup as long as it is under 300 calories. I like the boxed Campbells such as portobello mushroom, corn chowder and my fav is summer squash. A piece of whole wheat bread. No crackers!
5. a tin of sardines packed in olive oil - drained. A piece of whole wheat bread. Small salad on the side.
More with special recipes later.
New England Journal of Medicine article
1. Why exercise alone does not help most lose weight. Yes, you should exercise but because it increases your appetite you tend to eat more.
From what my experience tells me - you eat more because your blood sugar is lowered by exercise. My solution is to exercise (a brisk 40 minute walk) late in the afternoon - just before dinner. I have a half an apple or pear before I leave. That keeps my blood sugar fairly level. I prepare dinner before going out to walk and just have to heat it up on my return.
2. You tend to put on weight if your friends are fat. That makes sense if you eat together. But I think it has more to do with eating too much in the company of others who eat more than you do - for whatever reason. If the person you eat with has a much larger body size then your own, you tend to eat bigger portions which may be normal for that person. If they have dessert, you will too. If they offer you snacks you will eat with them. That goes for munchers at work too.
If these people are really your friends you can ask them to cooperate with you. They can either serve something you can eat or avoid situations when they eat. Keep their company while doing something such as taking a walk. Go shopping. Stop for coffee, not a snack.
Avoid enticing smells. Nothing worse than the smell of hot buttered popcorn in a theater. If you can't get past the concession stand, rent a movie. If you go for fast food, don't go inside and smell the French fries - go through the drive through and get a salad with grilled chicken (dressing on the side and just stick the tines of your fork in it - don't pour it on), or a taco salad (Wendy's offers a small pack of corn chips - not a taco bowl) with chili, no cheese.
From what my experience tells me - you eat more because your blood sugar is lowered by exercise. My solution is to exercise (a brisk 40 minute walk) late in the afternoon - just before dinner. I have a half an apple or pear before I leave. That keeps my blood sugar fairly level. I prepare dinner before going out to walk and just have to heat it up on my return.
2. You tend to put on weight if your friends are fat. That makes sense if you eat together. But I think it has more to do with eating too much in the company of others who eat more than you do - for whatever reason. If the person you eat with has a much larger body size then your own, you tend to eat bigger portions which may be normal for that person. If they have dessert, you will too. If they offer you snacks you will eat with them. That goes for munchers at work too.
If these people are really your friends you can ask them to cooperate with you. They can either serve something you can eat or avoid situations when they eat. Keep their company while doing something such as taking a walk. Go shopping. Stop for coffee, not a snack.
Avoid enticing smells. Nothing worse than the smell of hot buttered popcorn in a theater. If you can't get past the concession stand, rent a movie. If you go for fast food, don't go inside and smell the French fries - go through the drive through and get a salad with grilled chicken (dressing on the side and just stick the tines of your fork in it - don't pour it on), or a taco salad (Wendy's offers a small pack of corn chips - not a taco bowl) with chili, no cheese.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Breakfast
I posted a web site in an earlier thread on this blog to calculate how many calories you need to maintain your weight based upon height, age and exercise. I did not do this before I went on my diet and lost the weight but it may give you a rough estimate where to start.
If I use moderate as my exercise entry, it comes out to 2000 cals per day. I would consider walking 40 minutes at a very brisk pace moderate exercise (at least for a senior) but maybe not. But I know if I ate 2000 calories I would actually gain weight. But it is a good starting point if you are counting calories. I have a good idea of what the calories are in the ordinary foods I eat and make rought estimates - actually I round the calories off to the next 50 or 100 in my head. Say a banana is about 80 cals and I round it off to 100 - over estimate a bit but then maybe not count the bit of milk I put in my coffee.
If I am going to LOSE weight I know that I have to keep the calories down to 1000-1200 a day. Listen, I know, that is eating "like a bird"! But someone wrote that for every decade of life you have to reduce your intake by 100 calories a day JUST TO MAINTAIN your weight. Phew!
So now you see why it is SO important to get the appetite under control before beginning. I can live with this low intake pretty comfortably believe it or not. I do that by just keeping my blood sugar steady and avoiding anything that would make it spike and valley. I am pretty ridgid about that. It is like a life line that you don't dare let go of. So those people who say it is OK to treat yourself once in a while - well, not for now. Will rant on that at another time.
I also know that I can't eat much more than 1200 cals on a daily basis or I will lose ground and go back to gaining. I think of that as taking money out of the bank account. Actually a negative account when it comes to weight. That is where you have to have the mental attitude necessary to eat the right things. I wrote a little about that in another thread.
Now it's time to get down to the nitty gritty of what to eat if you are on a diet. If you have been reducing your sugar intake as low as possible for a week this is going to be easy.
You know you have to cut back so you just start cutting back at each meal. If you don't lose a pound or 2 in a week then you know you have to cut back more. You keep track of what you have been eating and see what you can cut back on - low quality foods or quantity - your choice.
Well, you can eat anything you want as long as it comes out to 1/4 of your daily calories. You can have another 1/4 for lunch and dinner. The other 1/4 you can divvy up between snacks and a little more for one meal. (e.g. 400 cals for dinner and 2, 100 cal snacks).
Now choose the foods YOU like that add up to 300 cals for breakfast. It can be breakfast food or lunch food or dinner food. Just you should not skip breakfast. That's because after a night's sleep your blood sugar is at its all time daily low. As soon as you begin moving around it is going to drop more. If you don't eat something to gradually bring the level up you are going to get really hungry in mid morning. It is OK if you divide your breakfast in half if you absolutely "can't eat breakfast" but if you are really dieting, you can adjust yourself to eating a light breakfast. Remember light is where it's at when it comes to diets anyway.
I advise against eating many so-called "diet" foods unless you actually like them. I like my coffee and cereal sweet so I use Splenda (the others have a bad after taste to me). The other is 0 fat and 0 cal liquid margerine spray (like I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spray). I don't mind them at all now. In fact Splenda tastes sweeter than sugar now and the spray margerine is like a nice sauce on veggies (that's what my husband said when he tried mine and he actually likes it and he's not on a diet!).
These are examples of what I have for breakfast. Note - that's what I eat. You choose your own according to you taste but obviously you hve to forget the white starchy things like doughnuts or regualr pancakes. Syrup? You gotta be kidding! You can write them off for a good long time.
I always have a cup of coffee with 1% milk.
1/2 a banana and/or 1/2 a pear (there is some sugar here and that is all you need). Any half fruit is OK but I avoid the sugary ones except the banana because it has so many good nutrients. You can have a small glass of tomato or V8 juice instead. I never drink orange juice or citrus because they are mostly sugar. When you are on a diet you have to weight the number of grams of sugar against the nutrients.
The combination of the above comes to about 100 calories or less.
Then for the rest of my breakfast I choose among:
1)
2 any kind of eggs (a large egg is about 70 cals). If I scramble I add a little 1% milk; fried in a non stick pan with olive oil Pam or store brand spray; fried poached or boiled.
+ a piece of 100% whole wheat toast or bread.
(that comes to about 200 cals more).
If I am really cutting back, I have only have 1 egg and save the calories (or the other hard boiled egg) for a late morning snack.
OR
2) a half sandwich or low carb wrap with some low fat sandwich meats - any kind as long as it adds up to no more than 200 cals. I warm it up slightly but do not add any sauces. A spoonful of salsa might be good or a few slices of tomato could be your fruit selection.
OR
3) a large bowl of whole grain cereal - any kind as long as the sugar is 3 g or less per serving. Those are mostly the old fashioned cereals like Cheerios or unfrosted Mini-Wheats. Fill the bowl to approximate 200 cals including the milk. Sweeten with Splenda. Don't let the designer cereals fool you - check the sugar grams and you will often find they are at least 6 grams of sugar per serving.
OR
4) hot oatmeal. I use Quick Oats which I keep with the fixings in the breakfast nook. You can fix it just as fast as the instant. I add a dash of salt, several big dashes of cinnamon and 10 raisins/serving (mostly for flavor). [Many prepared cereals add a lot of sugar with excess raisins so avoid them.] I bring it to a boil on the stove or in the micro and let it sit a half minute. Stir and add some milk and a dash of spray margarine which makes it creamy. (My sister like real Scottish oats that take a half hour to cook but it doesn't matter to me and I prefer saving the time) you can always make oatmeal the night before and warm it up in the morning if you want to save a few seconds more.
If I use moderate as my exercise entry, it comes out to 2000 cals per day. I would consider walking 40 minutes at a very brisk pace moderate exercise (at least for a senior) but maybe not. But I know if I ate 2000 calories I would actually gain weight. But it is a good starting point if you are counting calories. I have a good idea of what the calories are in the ordinary foods I eat and make rought estimates - actually I round the calories off to the next 50 or 100 in my head. Say a banana is about 80 cals and I round it off to 100 - over estimate a bit but then maybe not count the bit of milk I put in my coffee.
If I am going to LOSE weight I know that I have to keep the calories down to 1000-1200 a day. Listen, I know, that is eating "like a bird"! But someone wrote that for every decade of life you have to reduce your intake by 100 calories a day JUST TO MAINTAIN your weight. Phew!
So now you see why it is SO important to get the appetite under control before beginning. I can live with this low intake pretty comfortably believe it or not. I do that by just keeping my blood sugar steady and avoiding anything that would make it spike and valley. I am pretty ridgid about that. It is like a life line that you don't dare let go of. So those people who say it is OK to treat yourself once in a while - well, not for now. Will rant on that at another time.
I also know that I can't eat much more than 1200 cals on a daily basis or I will lose ground and go back to gaining. I think of that as taking money out of the bank account. Actually a negative account when it comes to weight. That is where you have to have the mental attitude necessary to eat the right things. I wrote a little about that in another thread.
Now it's time to get down to the nitty gritty of what to eat if you are on a diet. If you have been reducing your sugar intake as low as possible for a week this is going to be easy.
You know you have to cut back so you just start cutting back at each meal. If you don't lose a pound or 2 in a week then you know you have to cut back more. You keep track of what you have been eating and see what you can cut back on - low quality foods or quantity - your choice.
Well, you can eat anything you want as long as it comes out to 1/4 of your daily calories. You can have another 1/4 for lunch and dinner. The other 1/4 you can divvy up between snacks and a little more for one meal. (e.g. 400 cals for dinner and 2, 100 cal snacks).
Now choose the foods YOU like that add up to 300 cals for breakfast. It can be breakfast food or lunch food or dinner food. Just you should not skip breakfast. That's because after a night's sleep your blood sugar is at its all time daily low. As soon as you begin moving around it is going to drop more. If you don't eat something to gradually bring the level up you are going to get really hungry in mid morning. It is OK if you divide your breakfast in half if you absolutely "can't eat breakfast" but if you are really dieting, you can adjust yourself to eating a light breakfast. Remember light is where it's at when it comes to diets anyway.
I advise against eating many so-called "diet" foods unless you actually like them. I like my coffee and cereal sweet so I use Splenda (the others have a bad after taste to me). The other is 0 fat and 0 cal liquid margerine spray (like I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spray). I don't mind them at all now. In fact Splenda tastes sweeter than sugar now and the spray margerine is like a nice sauce on veggies (that's what my husband said when he tried mine and he actually likes it and he's not on a diet!).
These are examples of what I have for breakfast. Note - that's what I eat. You choose your own according to you taste but obviously you hve to forget the white starchy things like doughnuts or regualr pancakes. Syrup? You gotta be kidding! You can write them off for a good long time.
I always have a cup of coffee with 1% milk.
1/2 a banana and/or 1/2 a pear (there is some sugar here and that is all you need). Any half fruit is OK but I avoid the sugary ones except the banana because it has so many good nutrients. You can have a small glass of tomato or V8 juice instead. I never drink orange juice or citrus because they are mostly sugar. When you are on a diet you have to weight the number of grams of sugar against the nutrients.
The combination of the above comes to about 100 calories or less.
Then for the rest of my breakfast I choose among:
1)
2 any kind of eggs (a large egg is about 70 cals). If I scramble I add a little 1% milk; fried in a non stick pan with olive oil Pam or store brand spray; fried poached or boiled.
+ a piece of 100% whole wheat toast or bread.
(that comes to about 200 cals more).
If I am really cutting back, I have only have 1 egg and save the calories (or the other hard boiled egg) for a late morning snack.
OR
2) a half sandwich or low carb wrap with some low fat sandwich meats - any kind as long as it adds up to no more than 200 cals. I warm it up slightly but do not add any sauces. A spoonful of salsa might be good or a few slices of tomato could be your fruit selection.
OR
3) a large bowl of whole grain cereal - any kind as long as the sugar is 3 g or less per serving. Those are mostly the old fashioned cereals like Cheerios or unfrosted Mini-Wheats. Fill the bowl to approximate 200 cals including the milk. Sweeten with Splenda. Don't let the designer cereals fool you - check the sugar grams and you will often find they are at least 6 grams of sugar per serving.
OR
4) hot oatmeal. I use Quick Oats which I keep with the fixings in the breakfast nook. You can fix it just as fast as the instant. I add a dash of salt, several big dashes of cinnamon and 10 raisins/serving (mostly for flavor). [Many prepared cereals add a lot of sugar with excess raisins so avoid them.] I bring it to a boil on the stove or in the micro and let it sit a half minute. Stir and add some milk and a dash of spray margarine which makes it creamy. (My sister like real Scottish oats that take a half hour to cook but it doesn't matter to me and I prefer saving the time) you can always make oatmeal the night before and warm it up in the morning if you want to save a few seconds more.
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Mind over Munchies
The basic concept of this blog is that the mind has the biggest role in weight loss. This is not advanced psychology! Listen to the reasons you hear from people who are having problems. They diet and can't stick with it. List your own reasons. They are probably because of issues that have something to do with appeasing your appetite but most of them aren't. Some are personality issues and some are social issues, some may be very personal. You may not want to deal with some of them (but you can figure out what they are) and others are relatively easy to handle. Problem being they have probably become habits and habits are hard to break. Well, habits CAN BE hard to break if you make it hard. Substitute new habits, new ways of thinking. It's your personal mind control program. Don't make it a chore. Have fun. Be creative. Is the diet plate half full or half empty.
My first objective was to get my biggest "reason" (excuse!) down to a manageable size - appetite. So that is what I have been focusing on here up until now. That's because you can climb little hills a whole lot easier than mountains. And it is easier to keep from falling off little hills than mountains too. If dealing with your appetite seems insurmountable then you are likely to think you need ropes and crampons to get it under control. Actually real appetite may be easier to get under control than PERCEIVED desire to eat something.
You know, you have eaten dinner and you have collapsed on the couch in your best potato pose. You are not hungry but you keep picturing the bag of pretzels or potato chips in the cabinet. Your start getting little video clips that keep looping in your head about getting up and getting a handful, maybe one, maybe the whole bag. Can you relate this to an addiction?
Well, what about an addiction that you can't keep out of the house. You can't pour it down the drain. You have to go to the store and sort out the good stuff from the bad stuff. Or worse, you don't have much control over what gets into the house unless you are the one who stocks the pantry.
If you are an adult who controls what is in the house, you still have to deal with what other adults in the family want - not necessarily what you should be eating. It would be a whole lot easier if everyone were on the same diet - but that may not be realistic.
A young person with a weight problem must first enlist a parent to help. That can be a big hurdle unless you have very good relationship with your parents or caregivers.
In most cases people have to diet in spite of everyone around them. Most of us have to diet in spite of others around us. We cannot expect or force them into being supportive. That was certainly something I faced. I had adult children living with me who helped with the marketing as well as the cooking. They were not seriously into managing their weight. My husband never has had a weight problem.
In addition I was dealing with my own health problems as well as that of a a member of the family. Not going to discuss person issues on line but, trust me, there are big issues that I have to deal with. I don't have a lot of control over my life.
But what I DO HAVE control over is myself and my body. That turns out to be the best reason of all for losing weight and getting my health back. No one is getting any younger and you do NOT want to look back at the last decade and say to yourself - "what the hell, I COULD have spent it feeling and looking a hell of a lot better". What a waste of a part of your life! Are you going to regret the next decade later too? You can't go back and get those years back.
Step#1. I proposed taking an hour or so having a talk with yourself and setting your priorities. If you decide you want to lose weight and you are going to, you can start immediately. If you don't - don't bother. Maybe some day. It's your choice. But I am writing this on the assumption that anyone who reads it is at least half way convinced that they must diet.
Step #2 Seriously restricting your sugar intake and manage unreasonable pangs of hunger.
Step #3. That is what this post is about. Become conscious of your mind playing tricks. Bring them into the front of you mind. Don't let them fester in your subconscious. You can't deal with nagging temptation by just trying to suppress it. Get it out there where you can deal with it.
Make yourself a mental picture album. Deliberately and purposefully substitute visions. Make your own. I push away the thoughts of a snack with a vision of being thinner or wearing a smaller size pair of jeans. I think of my double chin in a terrible photo or the belly. You can picture anything other than food. Somewhere you would like to go. Pick up a magazine - even if you are watching TV - and distract yourself. Or if not completely thrilled with the program, get up and do something else.
Then there are motivational thoughts: "do I really want to see the scale ease down a notch tomorrow?" or "do I want to spoil all the hours of careful eating I have done all day with a quickie snack?". Can I make it to bed knowing that this has been a losing day?
If you ARE truly hungry and it has been at least 2 1/2 to 3 hours since your last meal - get a low sugar/low salt snack. Something not too tantalizing. A small bowl of cereal works for me (Chinese rice bowls are just under a cup - a good snack size). A salad as long as there is no more than 1 tablespoon of dressing or some cottage cheese with string beans or celery; some lightly cooked veggies (could be prepared ahead for the next meal). It should be somewhat filling but not heavy. You ARE eating so the munchies urge can be satisfied without indulging in foods that will increase your need to eat. If you are counting calories, 100 is a good round number to aim for with a snack. Portions can be controlled with a measuring cup or a premeasured dish.
When you fill that bowl with whatever, think about exactly how much is enough and how much you would prefer not to add to the days calorie count. Weigh weight loss and eating deliberately. Don't eat casually. Think about it. Eat slowly and deliberately thinking about it. Then stop when you feel the urge to munch stop - immediately.
Become very conscious about what you tell yourself when you don't succeed. Don't let yourself push g00d thoughts about dieting to the back of your mind at the critical moment.
I am certain that there are people out there who need professional help with the problems that lead to obesity. But most of us can figure ourselves out - IF we try. Just as you can figure out why a neighbor or friend has some issue or dysfunction does not take a shrink. We practice psychology every day. You don't really need Ann Landers to figure problems out. It's mostly common sense. There is usually more than one solution. But it is always harder to be objective with ourselves.
Different personalities call for different solutions. If you are a Marine or a shrinking violet you may have the same issues of overweight but different ways to deal with it.
The Marine may think he can just tackle it by brute force. It may work - and it may not. The marine may avoid the little talk with himself or herself. Too tough for that "stuff". Pretend you are reading the Marine manual then. But do it!
The shrinking violet may keep saying "this is too hard, I can't do it". But you can take charge in your own quiet way. Just become a passive-aggressive when it comes to eating. You can stay out of stressful situations by just quietly doing it without a lot of fanfare.
Me, I'm a would-be control freak. As I said, I have very little control over my life but I do have control over my diet. I do have control over my appetite. I do have control over my health. I do have control over my mouth. I do have control over what is available for me to eat. I can control the amount of what I eat. I don't have to eat like anyone else. A mouthful of something tastes no better than a large plate of it. I can stop eating when I have had enough even if I am not "full". I am me. I like being skinny. I will not be fat. Munching at this moment is less important than looking hot tomorrow and the next day.
My first objective was to get my biggest "reason" (excuse!) down to a manageable size - appetite. So that is what I have been focusing on here up until now. That's because you can climb little hills a whole lot easier than mountains. And it is easier to keep from falling off little hills than mountains too. If dealing with your appetite seems insurmountable then you are likely to think you need ropes and crampons to get it under control. Actually real appetite may be easier to get under control than PERCEIVED desire to eat something.
You know, you have eaten dinner and you have collapsed on the couch in your best potato pose. You are not hungry but you keep picturing the bag of pretzels or potato chips in the cabinet. Your start getting little video clips that keep looping in your head about getting up and getting a handful, maybe one, maybe the whole bag. Can you relate this to an addiction?
Well, what about an addiction that you can't keep out of the house. You can't pour it down the drain. You have to go to the store and sort out the good stuff from the bad stuff. Or worse, you don't have much control over what gets into the house unless you are the one who stocks the pantry.
If you are an adult who controls what is in the house, you still have to deal with what other adults in the family want - not necessarily what you should be eating. It would be a whole lot easier if everyone were on the same diet - but that may not be realistic.
A young person with a weight problem must first enlist a parent to help. That can be a big hurdle unless you have very good relationship with your parents or caregivers.
In most cases people have to diet in spite of everyone around them. Most of us have to diet in spite of others around us. We cannot expect or force them into being supportive. That was certainly something I faced. I had adult children living with me who helped with the marketing as well as the cooking. They were not seriously into managing their weight. My husband never has had a weight problem.
In addition I was dealing with my own health problems as well as that of a a member of the family. Not going to discuss person issues on line but, trust me, there are big issues that I have to deal with. I don't have a lot of control over my life.
But what I DO HAVE control over is myself and my body. That turns out to be the best reason of all for losing weight and getting my health back. No one is getting any younger and you do NOT want to look back at the last decade and say to yourself - "what the hell, I COULD have spent it feeling and looking a hell of a lot better". What a waste of a part of your life! Are you going to regret the next decade later too? You can't go back and get those years back.
Step#1. I proposed taking an hour or so having a talk with yourself and setting your priorities. If you decide you want to lose weight and you are going to, you can start immediately. If you don't - don't bother. Maybe some day. It's your choice. But I am writing this on the assumption that anyone who reads it is at least half way convinced that they must diet.
Step #2 Seriously restricting your sugar intake and manage unreasonable pangs of hunger.
Step #3. That is what this post is about. Become conscious of your mind playing tricks. Bring them into the front of you mind. Don't let them fester in your subconscious. You can't deal with nagging temptation by just trying to suppress it. Get it out there where you can deal with it.
Make yourself a mental picture album. Deliberately and purposefully substitute visions. Make your own. I push away the thoughts of a snack with a vision of being thinner or wearing a smaller size pair of jeans. I think of my double chin in a terrible photo or the belly. You can picture anything other than food. Somewhere you would like to go. Pick up a magazine - even if you are watching TV - and distract yourself. Or if not completely thrilled with the program, get up and do something else.
Then there are motivational thoughts: "do I really want to see the scale ease down a notch tomorrow?" or "do I want to spoil all the hours of careful eating I have done all day with a quickie snack?". Can I make it to bed knowing that this has been a losing day?
If you ARE truly hungry and it has been at least 2 1/2 to 3 hours since your last meal - get a low sugar/low salt snack. Something not too tantalizing. A small bowl of cereal works for me (Chinese rice bowls are just under a cup - a good snack size). A salad as long as there is no more than 1 tablespoon of dressing or some cottage cheese with string beans or celery; some lightly cooked veggies (could be prepared ahead for the next meal). It should be somewhat filling but not heavy. You ARE eating so the munchies urge can be satisfied without indulging in foods that will increase your need to eat. If you are counting calories, 100 is a good round number to aim for with a snack. Portions can be controlled with a measuring cup or a premeasured dish.
When you fill that bowl with whatever, think about exactly how much is enough and how much you would prefer not to add to the days calorie count. Weigh weight loss and eating deliberately. Don't eat casually. Think about it. Eat slowly and deliberately thinking about it. Then stop when you feel the urge to munch stop - immediately.
Become very conscious about what you tell yourself when you don't succeed. Don't let yourself push g00d thoughts about dieting to the back of your mind at the critical moment.
I am certain that there are people out there who need professional help with the problems that lead to obesity. But most of us can figure ourselves out - IF we try. Just as you can figure out why a neighbor or friend has some issue or dysfunction does not take a shrink. We practice psychology every day. You don't really need Ann Landers to figure problems out. It's mostly common sense. There is usually more than one solution. But it is always harder to be objective with ourselves.
Different personalities call for different solutions. If you are a Marine or a shrinking violet you may have the same issues of overweight but different ways to deal with it.
The Marine may think he can just tackle it by brute force. It may work - and it may not. The marine may avoid the little talk with himself or herself. Too tough for that "stuff". Pretend you are reading the Marine manual then. But do it!
The shrinking violet may keep saying "this is too hard, I can't do it". But you can take charge in your own quiet way. Just become a passive-aggressive when it comes to eating. You can stay out of stressful situations by just quietly doing it without a lot of fanfare.
Me, I'm a would-be control freak. As I said, I have very little control over my life but I do have control over my diet. I do have control over my appetite. I do have control over my health. I do have control over my mouth. I do have control over what is available for me to eat. I can control the amount of what I eat. I don't have to eat like anyone else. A mouthful of something tastes no better than a large plate of it. I can stop eating when I have had enough even if I am not "full". I am me. I like being skinny. I will not be fat. Munching at this moment is less important than looking hot tomorrow and the next day.
Friday, February 8, 2008
See How They Try to Fool You!
The people who create ads and food packaging are in business to sell a product. The actually COUNT on you to be gullible. They HOPE you are too busy to read labels. They appeal to you thinking that certain words appeal to you or are hip at the moment. They USE you to make you choose their product and they are very very calculated about it. Marketing is a science. Your fat hips is money in their pockets. How do you fight back? Buy products that help you - not ones that defeat you. They go where the market is. They follow the money. It's a complicated world out there. There IS lots of good stuff out there but you can't believe what it says in big letters. Just because something uses pitch words and diet guru names, the products are still out there marketing to your weak side.
If its not in the fresh food department without packaging - READ the label! Remember the principle ingredient is always first. If something is down the list it may only be a small percentage of the total ingredients - and they don't have to tell you how much.
Here is a good example: You are looking for whole grain bread. Is it:
Oatmeal bread?
Nutty Oat bread?
Whole Grain bread?
Enriched flour?
Unbleached flour?
Rye bread?
Pumpernickle Bread?
100% whole wheat flour?
All these breads except the last one may have very little oat or whole wheat flour. They are made with at least half or more plain white flour. White flour is used to make the bread softer and bake up smoothly.
Even 100% whole wheat flour contains other ingredients like water, milk, eggs and oil. The important thing is that it is mostly whole wheat flour.
Check how much meat is actually in a frozen meal and how much is starchy carbs. Trust me it is cheaper to put noodles in a can of soup than chicken.
If its not in the fresh food department without packaging - READ the label! Remember the principle ingredient is always first. If something is down the list it may only be a small percentage of the total ingredients - and they don't have to tell you how much.
Here is a good example: You are looking for whole grain bread. Is it:
Oatmeal bread?
Nutty Oat bread?
Whole Grain bread?
Enriched flour?
Unbleached flour?
Rye bread?
Pumpernickle Bread?
100% whole wheat flour?
All these breads except the last one may have very little oat or whole wheat flour. They are made with at least half or more plain white flour. White flour is used to make the bread softer and bake up smoothly.
Even 100% whole wheat flour contains other ingredients like water, milk, eggs and oil. The important thing is that it is mostly whole wheat flour.
Check how much meat is actually in a frozen meal and how much is starchy carbs. Trust me it is cheaper to put noodles in a can of soup than chicken.
Monday, February 4, 2008
The Sugar Challenge
If you have read my experiences up to here about things that affect your appetite you can actually test it on yourself!
If you are especially carb sensitive you will have a positive response. Look for a drop in episodes of severe hunger in a couple days. For some folks it may take a little longer as your body will respond more gradually.
You can eat as much as you feel like AT MEALS as long as you strictly reduce carbs. I don't mean stuff yourself. Just enjoy your meal and stop when you are reasonably satisfied. The idea is to begin to see if you can adjust your appetite response which will make weight loss easier. Excess appetite defeats the best of weight loss intentions so you have to get in charge of it.
Look for foods where high amounts of sugar slip into your diet - Boston baked beans, fruits, BBQ and other sauces, sweet potatoes, sweetened cereals etc. Avoid them strictly.
Whatever you eat the idea is to remove as much sugar from your diet as possible for a minimum of 3 days. You defeat the purpose of the test unless you seriously reduce the sugar you eat and things that convert quickly to sugar like highly refined carbs.
Restrict white carbs and things made with white carbs (rice, flour, corn starch) to very limited amounts - no more than half a cup a serving (half a baked potato, half a cup of pasta or rice, grits, corn meal) . White carbs are only slightly modified sugars that plants use for storage. They are insoluble but designed to convert to soluble sugar quickly so they can move around the plant for energy. Our bodies do the same thing - change white carbs directly into sugar for energy. They will convert into sugar within minutes, be absorbed quickly and will make your insulin levels spike and plummet back down to earth within hours.
It is impossible to avoid sugar in fruits and veggies but you can restrict yourself to the less sweet ones. Also the timing is critical. Since sugar levels tend to come down within 2 hours, eat veggies like carrots or a half a pear or apple within an hour of the next meal. Your blood sugar will not go up and down so much because it is not very sweet and because you are going to eat.
Highly refined whole grains may or may not be absorbed less slowly - the Jury is out on that - but they do contain some insoluble fiber that "may" stick around a little longer in your stomach and is good for your gut at least. They are OK if you limit yourself to 1 slice of whole grain bread in a half sandwich (100% whole wheat). I eat Pepperidge Farm because it is soft but there are other choices. You can have a big salad with salad dressing and a sprinkling of nuts. I eat a big Dole Asian salad from a kit (because I like the dressing!) using half the dressing and rice noodles and adding sliced almonds. You can have Cheerios or unfrosted Mini Wheats for cereal or hot oatmeal for breakfast or a snack. Use sweeteners if you like it sweet. You can drink all the unsugared drinks you like. If you get hungry before meals snack on unsalted nuts. Unlimited veggies - raw and cooked. There is some sugar in veggies but at least it comes with lots of goodies. I have found that winter squashes are particularly filling. My favorites are butternut and the Caribbean squash, calabaza, which can cooked in about 20 minutes in boiling water or baked for longer. Cook, peel and seed. You can combine them in different dishes or eat mashed with a little butter (I use 0 fat butter spray), salt and pepper - instead of mashed potatoes.
If you get hungry before the next meal have some cereal. Stay away from salty snacks because they are usually combined with carbs. Some snacks have a bit of natural sugar but that is OK if you are going to eat within an hour anyway. Carrots, half an apple or pear.
Avoid yogurt. . Ever wonder why it does not satisfy your hunger? Check out the sugar content. It is full of milk sugar (lactose) and often has sweet fruit added. Cottage cheese is a little better but eat it as a snack only within an hour of the next meal.
You can eat eggs for breakfast. Canadian bacon - try to avoid the greasy strips. Omelettes with salsa. Rancheros with goodies. No hash browns.
If you are busy at lunch or dinner you can choose frozen low carb meals like low carb Lean Cuisine. No, my dear, forget the Pizza for now. A low carb tortilla with chicken and salsa are fine. Guacamole is great.
Desserts can be tough if you eat them regularly because they usually contain a lot of sugar and fat. But you can come up with a substitute like a half cup of cottage cheese with a half a pear. Maybe save it for an hour after dinner or before bed if you get the mid night munchies.
This is not so hard and good training for the real thing. The idea is to start to feel like you have conquered the hunger monkey on your back that is caused by spikes and valleys in blood sugar. The idea is to keep it steady, level and low.
Not eating salty snacks will remove temptation because they often come with low quality carbs like corn, rice and wheat starch. You can eat pop corn if it has NO salt. Reducing bad fats is optimal in any diet but small amounts of the right kinds may actually help control your appetite. More on that in another post.
The idea is to start making an effort to become very alert to everything you put in your mouth. Start reading labels. Check a book or on line for sugar content. I found this site helpful (or use any one you like) and you don't have to sign in to use the calorie and nutrition finder at the very top of the page: http://www.nutritiondata.com/
You may feel immediate benefits of less hunger even before the very next meal or at bedtime. Or it may take you a few days. You may still have a habit to overeat so try to be conscious of your actual appetite. You are not trying to lose weight yet. Just remember - you can get something to eat if you make the right choice.
Don't forget the old saw is that if you cheat you are cheating yourself. You have to give you body and mind the chance to adjust. If you eat something you shouldn't, then restart the 3 day timer with the next meal. But if you are not ready to begin, don't play games. You can do the diet/cheat/diet/cheat thing forever and never get your appetite under control. Don't blame the test. A fair try is at least 3 days.
Make it a 3 day weekend affair if you want. Stay away from people and places that tempt you. Get out somewhere on your own for a while. Go to the movies or for a walk in the park. Take the dog for a couple walks a day.
Get your mind off eating when you are away from the table and concentrate on WHAT you are eating when you are AT the table.
If you take it seriously, you should start to feel more control within days. As you feel something happening, you can keep it going a full week to convince yourself you are onto something.
Don't skip meals and try to keep to a regular mealtime! Your sugar will drop if you postpone a meal more than 3-4 hours. You could eat 5 small meals a day if that works.
Don't skip breakfast even if it is just a half a whole wheat sandwich. or 2 soft corn tortillas with a slice of lunch meat, an egg of any kind, a small bowl of low sugar cereal. You can postpone it an hour after you get up but don't skip it and plan on lunch at a normal time. Set your meal times at even intervals. This is important to even out fluctuations in your blood sugar levels. That is why diabetics are very precise about eating on time.
If you are really getting the sugar in your diet down, you may start feeling a little high mentally. You should not feel those sugar lows when you feel wiped out in the late afternoon. You have just discovered that sugar swings affect your mood negatively and that keeping it steady makes you feel more positive. You don't need me to tell you that gaining control of your appetite and a terrific mood will help make weight loss a lot easier.
Is this hard work? Not really. It may seem different from your normal diet/guilt routine but you are not starving. Does it take self-control? A little but it's mental, not physical. It's about changing your priorities. Look at it as a challenge or a hobby.
Try it and see what happens for you! Whatever the details, I believe that you will be pleasantly surprised.
If you are especially carb sensitive you will have a positive response. Look for a drop in episodes of severe hunger in a couple days. For some folks it may take a little longer as your body will respond more gradually.
You can eat as much as you feel like AT MEALS as long as you strictly reduce carbs. I don't mean stuff yourself. Just enjoy your meal and stop when you are reasonably satisfied. The idea is to begin to see if you can adjust your appetite response which will make weight loss easier. Excess appetite defeats the best of weight loss intentions so you have to get in charge of it.
Look for foods where high amounts of sugar slip into your diet - Boston baked beans, fruits, BBQ and other sauces, sweet potatoes, sweetened cereals etc. Avoid them strictly.
Whatever you eat the idea is to remove as much sugar from your diet as possible for a minimum of 3 days. You defeat the purpose of the test unless you seriously reduce the sugar you eat and things that convert quickly to sugar like highly refined carbs.
Restrict white carbs and things made with white carbs (rice, flour, corn starch) to very limited amounts - no more than half a cup a serving (half a baked potato, half a cup of pasta or rice, grits, corn meal) . White carbs are only slightly modified sugars that plants use for storage. They are insoluble but designed to convert to soluble sugar quickly so they can move around the plant for energy. Our bodies do the same thing - change white carbs directly into sugar for energy. They will convert into sugar within minutes, be absorbed quickly and will make your insulin levels spike and plummet back down to earth within hours.
It is impossible to avoid sugar in fruits and veggies but you can restrict yourself to the less sweet ones. Also the timing is critical. Since sugar levels tend to come down within 2 hours, eat veggies like carrots or a half a pear or apple within an hour of the next meal. Your blood sugar will not go up and down so much because it is not very sweet and because you are going to eat.
Highly refined whole grains may or may not be absorbed less slowly - the Jury is out on that - but they do contain some insoluble fiber that "may" stick around a little longer in your stomach and is good for your gut at least. They are OK if you limit yourself to 1 slice of whole grain bread in a half sandwich (100% whole wheat). I eat Pepperidge Farm because it is soft but there are other choices. You can have a big salad with salad dressing and a sprinkling of nuts. I eat a big Dole Asian salad from a kit (because I like the dressing!) using half the dressing and rice noodles and adding sliced almonds. You can have Cheerios or unfrosted Mini Wheats for cereal or hot oatmeal for breakfast or a snack. Use sweeteners if you like it sweet. You can drink all the unsugared drinks you like. If you get hungry before meals snack on unsalted nuts. Unlimited veggies - raw and cooked. There is some sugar in veggies but at least it comes with lots of goodies. I have found that winter squashes are particularly filling. My favorites are butternut and the Caribbean squash, calabaza, which can cooked in about 20 minutes in boiling water or baked for longer. Cook, peel and seed. You can combine them in different dishes or eat mashed with a little butter (I use 0 fat butter spray), salt and pepper - instead of mashed potatoes.
If you get hungry before the next meal have some cereal. Stay away from salty snacks because they are usually combined with carbs. Some snacks have a bit of natural sugar but that is OK if you are going to eat within an hour anyway. Carrots, half an apple or pear.
Avoid yogurt. . Ever wonder why it does not satisfy your hunger? Check out the sugar content. It is full of milk sugar (lactose) and often has sweet fruit added. Cottage cheese is a little better but eat it as a snack only within an hour of the next meal.
You can eat eggs for breakfast. Canadian bacon - try to avoid the greasy strips. Omelettes with salsa. Rancheros with goodies. No hash browns.
If you are busy at lunch or dinner you can choose frozen low carb meals like low carb Lean Cuisine. No, my dear, forget the Pizza for now. A low carb tortilla with chicken and salsa are fine. Guacamole is great.
Desserts can be tough if you eat them regularly because they usually contain a lot of sugar and fat. But you can come up with a substitute like a half cup of cottage cheese with a half a pear. Maybe save it for an hour after dinner or before bed if you get the mid night munchies.
This is not so hard and good training for the real thing. The idea is to start to feel like you have conquered the hunger monkey on your back that is caused by spikes and valleys in blood sugar. The idea is to keep it steady, level and low.
Not eating salty snacks will remove temptation because they often come with low quality carbs like corn, rice and wheat starch. You can eat pop corn if it has NO salt. Reducing bad fats is optimal in any diet but small amounts of the right kinds may actually help control your appetite. More on that in another post.
The idea is to start making an effort to become very alert to everything you put in your mouth. Start reading labels. Check a book or on line for sugar content. I found this site helpful (or use any one you like) and you don't have to sign in to use the calorie and nutrition finder at the very top of the page: http://www.nutritiondata.com/
You may feel immediate benefits of less hunger even before the very next meal or at bedtime. Or it may take you a few days. You may still have a habit to overeat so try to be conscious of your actual appetite. You are not trying to lose weight yet. Just remember - you can get something to eat if you make the right choice.
Don't forget the old saw is that if you cheat you are cheating yourself. You have to give you body and mind the chance to adjust. If you eat something you shouldn't, then restart the 3 day timer with the next meal. But if you are not ready to begin, don't play games. You can do the diet/cheat/diet/cheat thing forever and never get your appetite under control. Don't blame the test. A fair try is at least 3 days.
Make it a 3 day weekend affair if you want. Stay away from people and places that tempt you. Get out somewhere on your own for a while. Go to the movies or for a walk in the park. Take the dog for a couple walks a day.
Get your mind off eating when you are away from the table and concentrate on WHAT you are eating when you are AT the table.
If you take it seriously, you should start to feel more control within days. As you feel something happening, you can keep it going a full week to convince yourself you are onto something.
Don't skip meals and try to keep to a regular mealtime! Your sugar will drop if you postpone a meal more than 3-4 hours. You could eat 5 small meals a day if that works.
Don't skip breakfast even if it is just a half a whole wheat sandwich. or 2 soft corn tortillas with a slice of lunch meat, an egg of any kind, a small bowl of low sugar cereal. You can postpone it an hour after you get up but don't skip it and plan on lunch at a normal time. Set your meal times at even intervals. This is important to even out fluctuations in your blood sugar levels. That is why diabetics are very precise about eating on time.
If you are really getting the sugar in your diet down, you may start feeling a little high mentally. You should not feel those sugar lows when you feel wiped out in the late afternoon. You have just discovered that sugar swings affect your mood negatively and that keeping it steady makes you feel more positive. You don't need me to tell you that gaining control of your appetite and a terrific mood will help make weight loss a lot easier.
Is this hard work? Not really. It may seem different from your normal diet/guilt routine but you are not starving. Does it take self-control? A little but it's mental, not physical. It's about changing your priorities. Look at it as a challenge or a hobby.
Try it and see what happens for you! Whatever the details, I believe that you will be pleasantly surprised.
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