Brief Update

I don't have time for a long post...but wanted to say thanks for the comments in the previous post and....I've lost another 1.4 pounds!!! That puts my total weight loss to date at 15 pounds!!!! Yay!!! Granted slow, but less painful.

Intuitive Eating is a great book and I've been using the hunger scale instead of counting calories...a little scary at first, but works so well for me...and I don't find myself eating up to my calorie allotment. In fact, I don't think about food as much at all. My focus is more on figuring out what sounds good to eat so that I can honor my hunger and my health and eat the amount that respects my fullness level. (More about this later.)

Got to run...plan to post some more on the Intuitive Eating method...maybe tomorrow or the next day. If you are one of those people that have tried every diet or are sick of diets, this might be the book for you. I heartily recommend it!

Stay tuned...

Intuitive Eating

I'm currently reading the book Intuitive Eating. I decided to do so because much of what it teaches concurs with many of the changes I made beginning in January 2007 in order to transform my relationship with food. Here I'm sharing an excerpt that I think covers an issue we all, who "diet", deal with.

"We have become a nation riddled with guilt about how we eat. Even non dieters experience eating angst."

"The thought of stealing or lying would instill a sense of guilt in most people. Yet, most dieters are able to create an equivalent level of guilt when they've eaten french fries or a hot fudge sundae. The quantity of any of these "bad" foods has almost nothing to do with the level of despair that is felt when they are eaten. The first bite often evokes a sense of having failed or being bad. Wanting a "bad" or "illegal" food then becomes a morality issue. The subsequent guilt that builds is enough to initiate a period of overeating that can destroy any previous successful weight loss." Copied : page 93-94 of Intuitive Eating

The authors explain that the act of rebelling against a personal belief, as in "cookies are bad" or "I shouldn't eat that" can make us feel like we are out of control. (That's when the panic, at least for me, sets in!) Once the (food) rebellion is unleashed its intensity reinforces feelings of lack of control and the belief: you don't possess willpower! You drown in a sea of self-doubt and shame. In other words, rebellious eating equals "forget you eating" (implying "I'll do as I darn well please and the consequences be @##X*@".

I've found this to be true in my own life and self defeating. That is why I finally understood that I must change the way I "thought" about food. (A person's way of thinking/believing leads to his way of acting/behavior. The ancient writings contained in the Bible teach us that "as a man/woman thinketh, in his heart so is he." )

What to do? How can I...how can we end this destructive cycle? Is is possible to end it? I believe it is because I've been doing it for over a year now and it has made a huge difference in me being able to slowly accomplish my goal of losing 20 pounds.

My suggestion is that you run, don't walk, to the nearest book store or library and obtain a copy of this book. In the meantime you can do what I did on January 1, 2007 for my New Year's resolution: give yourself permission to eat any food you like. Rid yourself of the "banished" food list. You may find as I, that initially you'll be eating those foods that have been forbidden---possibly quite often .... and you'll have to tell the "voices" (not literal) in your head to "shut up" when they declare you "bad, bad, bad!"..... but in time it will get easier and the dynamic will change: those foods will not be nearly as desirable as they were when forbidden.

Getting free from the bondage of food do's and dont's is the first step to putting yourself on the path of eating normally, possibly for the first time since you were a baby: eating when you were hungry, stopping when you had eaten the amount of food your body needed for sustenance.

The book: Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Tribole, M.S., R.D and Elyse Resch, M.S., R.d, F.A.D.A.
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I "speak" as one who has lost 50 pounds twice, and regained it twice. For years I considered myself fat (even when I was not fat) and suffered food angst every time I ate...every morsel of food I put into my mouth became "bad" in some way: too much fat, saturated fat, too many calories, not enough nutrients, cancer causing preservatives, too many carbs, the wrong omega balance, not enough protein, not enough fiber, yadda, yadda, yadda.

Eventually I got to the point where I could not budge the weight off. And I was fed up, disgusted and assumed I'd be "fat" the rest of my life (for now I truly was "fat"). But I tried one more time, and discovered a better way. Believe me---losing 20 pounds slowly is no easy feat. But I am convinced I will keep this weight off forever. And that's the goal... isn't it?

DO THE MATH

I've recounted on my blog how I gained 20 pounds in 10 weeks. My husband had a job transfer and we were living in a motel during the work week, then driving home on the weekend. My routine totally changed and I was getting no exercise. My calorie needs at that weight and acitivity level were, I'd say, 1500 calories a day.

Because we were in a motel and had no way to cook we were eating all of our food out. To save money I was eating fast food during the day while my husband worked. Lets do the math.

Right next to the motel was a gas station with great cappucino---the gas station kind, not the real deal. I'd get a medium---it was only 10 cents more than a large! No nutritional info was available but I'd guess it was about 200 calories.

Next, breakfast at Mickey D's which was right across the street. It inculded a Bacon, Egg and Cheese Biscut (430), a small orange juice (140--I need my vitamin C!), a small milk (100---calcium!!) for a grand total of 670 for breakfast--870 for the day...and it's only 9:00 a.m.!!

Lunch would again find me at McD's...you can't beat the $.99 cent menu when you are watching your spending (and we were dealing with double living expenses, plus fuel both ways---500 miles round trip).

Lunch was a Quarter Pounder (410--I needed my protein! and didn't want to spend $4.00+ on a salad), a small order of fries (230), a yogurt parfait snack (160---again, calcium and some fruit!) and a diet Coke. Calorie tally: 800/1670 for the day!

Since I was spending my day exploring the area, and hubby didn't get off work until 7pm, I'd have a late afternoon snack...maybe ice cream from the Marble Slab Creamery---hey...I know I was counting my pennies and a $4.00+ treat didn't fit---but I needed it to give me a mental boost...we hadn't wanted to move this time, so anything that would "cheer" me was embraced. That "little" indulgence was approximately 400-600 calories. Now the calorie tally is 2070/2270 for the day.

And finally--supper time. We'd both be wiped out, so didn't give a lot of thought to our meal..just got what sounded good, was quick and convenient. I don't recall what our evening meals were, but you can bet they cost me at least 500 calories. Tally for the day calorie wise: at least 2570 or higher.

Time to do more math. I stated my calorie need was 1500, but I was eating 2500+...that's 1000 calories a day above my need. Times that by 7 days and you come up with an excess 7000 calories a week. Since it takes an excess of 3500 calories to increase fat by one pound, and I was twice that, I was eating to the tune of a 2 pound increase every week!

This was my situation for 10 weeks.....hence ( more math here) 10 weeks x 2 pounds weight gained per week= 20 pounds gained in 10 weeks!!!

At the time I just couldn't figure out why I was gaining weight. I was sure I had a thyroid problem. But since I've started monitoring my food intake by counting calories it's been pretty easy to see I was overeating. Mystery solved. Case closed.

If you have gained weight, or are gaining...do some math. It may shed some light on the situation.
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Silly me: all that money I "saved" at McD's and the like....I ended up spending, plus more, to buy new clothes because the 20 pounds made me so fat I couldn't fit into anything. The "penny wise, pound foolish" principle applies here, eh?

Eat More.. Lose More..Keep More Off...

The old saying "less is more" holds true most of the time. But not for weight loss---at least not for me.

In the past, I'd eat "less" wanting to get the diet over, the pounds off and get back to "normal" eating---which is what got me in trouble pound wise in the first place.

Getting to the point where eating less wouldn't even budge the weight, I got discouraged and gave up. That lasted a couple of years. Then I decided to try a new approach---monitoring my food intake.

As I did, I became aware of how many calories I was actually taking in. And I noticed that some days the same number of calories left me very hungry and others not hungry at all. That's when I realized making better choices helped hugely with the hunger monster.

Eating enough calories to feel "full" but a deficit range that would allow my body to shed some of its fat is working wonderfully. I can live with slow and steady. And slow it is, but the "steady" makes up for it.

I've found a way to live and eat for the rest of my life. That is the "golden nugget"---the truth kernel.

Most all of us been told we must make lifestyle changes if we want to lose and keep it off. And then we're handed a diet plan---we thinking/hoping/wanting to believe we can do it for life. But deep down we don't believe it. And at some point in time we feel like a failure---again.

We are not the failure. We are the one with a problem seeking a solution. If we had the solution we wouldn't go searching for an answer.

The answer is so simple we miss it: eat less. That's it. Now---figure out how you can do that for the rest of your life and you will be set for life.
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I didn't arrive at my solution overnight. It was a process. But my little sister, who had lost 30 pounds, gave me some advice: forget diets, just cut back...eat a little less. That got me to thinking. I couldn't eat less unless I had a way to measure what I was eating to maintain my fat weight. Once I'd done that, I could then proceed to eat less. Which I did. Which I am doing. My goal to lose 20 pounds is less than 7 pounds away. When I get there, I plan to continue eating the same amount I am currently eating....it should keep me at my desired goal weight.

Xanthan Gum Powder

I rarely use purchased salad dressings preferring to make my own. Doing so, I am able to control the ingredients. Because I want to minimize the number of calories in my salad dressing I use less fat than the typical 2/1 or 3/1 ratio of oil to vinegar. To keep my dressing from being too tart I generally use some water to replace some of the oil.

I discovered that by using xanthan gum powder, which is a natural substance and common ingredient in most bottled salad dressings---including Annie's Naturals line ---I could get a nicer consistency and thicker emulsion. I decided to bite the bullet and buy a package. It "weren't" cheap. Eleven dollars plus tax. But well worth the investment, because the package I purchased will last ages.



It only takes 1/4 teaspoon to bind one cup of dressing. The trick to getting it to work is this: you must flagellate it with metal. You can use a whisk and beat it hard for about 3 minutes, or you can use a blender or mixer. Once it binds it won't separate.

I've been using it in "ranch" dressing too. On the Internet I found a good recipe, tweaked it a bit and reduced the amount of mayonnaise by half and replaced the reduction with additional buttermilk/water plus yogurt/plain milk. The xanthan gum powder thickens it up and binds it together making a nice dressing.

You can use the powder as well in smoothies. I checked several protein powder smoothie mixes and they too have xanthan gum powder.

Mine was purchased at my local Kroger's in the health food section. It is the Bob's Red Mill brand. I imagine you can find it, too, at Whole Foods. If you can't find it locally you can order it online from Bob's Red Mill website.
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Note: When using it combine with the dry ingredients like the salt, spices, sugar, then add the liquid/wet ingredients. 1/4 teaspoon is plenty for one cup of dressing. I estimated my package will do 275 batches of salad dressing.

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For more information on xanthan gum powder check out these links: here and here.

More on the ND Button And Rice Cakes Revisited

I recently did a post on the Nutrition Data button that is available on the Google Toolbar. Even if you aren't interested in having the button on your tool bar---which by the way is very handy if you count calories or need nutrient information for what you intake--you may want to use the site. At first it can be a little confusing. But once you figure it out, it is easy to use and gives some really good information if you're concerned about eating healthfully.

For example, I had some zucchini for lunch and was checking the calorie info and noted that the food summary provides an inflammation factor for each food. Having heard so much about the role inflammation plays in heart disease and health in general I looked a little closer. It appears zucchini is mildly anti-inflammatory.

As well, the food summary includes the estimated glycemic load -- useful information to a lot of us who prefer to eat foods with a lower GL. My zucchini was a 2. Note: Glycemic load is a way of expressing a food or meal's effect on blood-sugar levels.

Probably the most useful information in the summary is the Nutritional Target Map which categorizes foods relative to weight loss--foods that are lower in calories and will make you feel fuller.

For some this is a bit too much information---and we all do for the most part suffer from information overload....which can tend to be mind numbing. At any rate, some of the information may be a tool that will aid us in making better choices.

By the way--I gently cooked my zucchini and topped it with one wedge of Laughing Cow Light cheese--the French Onion flavor---(I broke the wedge into pieces), salt and pepper and buttery spray. I must say it was so delicious and the calorie count was 55 for that big bowl of yummy goodness. With it I had a couple of brown rice cakes spread with a dab of almond butter and topped with fresh spinach---that combination is almost an addiction for me currently. It's a little tricky to eat---the spinach wants to fall off---but the flavor and crunch is worth the messiness.

I'd never been a fan of rice cakes in the past, and still am not with the exception of the plain brown rice cakes...they are 35 calories each and, for me, it seems that almond butter was made for them. You may want to give them a 2nd chance if you've previously written them off.

MUESLI

I've been eating a bowl of oatmeal plus for weeks and weeks with the occasional poached egg or waffle as a variation. Since it's gotten hot outside and sort of losing its appeal, I decided it was time to try some Muesli.

My bowl this morning was quite delicious. Here is what it included:

1/4 cup quick raw oats

6 ounces of unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze

1/2 of an organic nectarine, peel on (they were on sale at Kroger's)

15 dried cherries (these as so worth the money!)

1/2 of ounce of walnuts (good fat--source of omega 3's)

approx. 3 tablespoons of cooked wheat berries

Had I remembered I'd have added a teaspoon of flax meal. Since I used quick oats they softened up fast.

If you're inclined to give Muesli a try, just begin with the oats and milk, and take it from there---be creative---any fruit, nut, grain addition will work. How about some cranberries, coconut, and almonds? Or blueberries, banana, and pecans? Just be judicious in your measure of higher calorie items if you're trying to slim down.

Persistence Pays Off !!

I weighed this morning and I've lost another .6 pounds, making my total weight loss 13.6 pounds. Yay!!!

For the past couple of months complex carbs have made up a large part of my eating, along with a moderate amount of good fat: EVOO, unrefined organic virgin coconut oil, walnut oil, almonds, walnuts and natural peanut butter; and small amounts of lean animal protein---mostly seafood, a little chicken or pork loin and, on the rare occasion, beef--organic, antibiotic and hormone free when eaten at home.

I'm eating lots of beans which I enjoy tremendously and, a huge plus , not only are they filling they are cheap!

I think I've found the perfect combination of calories and food that allows me to lose excess weight, feel full, and diminish my cravings. For the most part since I've been eating more whole foods I find I don't have the cravings I've had prior. Note though, I at no time forbade any food. I just made choices whose effect was to aid instead of hinder my efforts.

Jenna at Eat,Live,Run has been an inspiration when it comes to my food choices, as is Kath at Kath Eats Real Food. Both of these young women post pictures of the foods they eat daily and give descriptions. I "see" those healthy foods, and as is my nature, I want to eat them. If you aren't already reading their blogs you may want to check them out.

This Just In......

If you have a Google Toolbar you may want to add a Nutrition Data Button. If you go to the link you'll find an explanation of how to add the button and how to use the button.

I resisted adding the Google Toolbar but once I did I was glad. Just the highlight feature that finds words on a web page and highlights them is huge time saver when you are searching for specific information.

A nice feature of the Nutrition Data button is that it links to the ND Target Map which provides input as to where a particular food fits, in regard to calories, nutrients and how filling the food is.

Should you not have nor desire to install the Google Toolbar , my favorite site for good nutritional information is the USDA Database. Once you get the hang of using it you'll find it an invaluable aid.

Wheat Berries

A few days ago I cooked some wheat berries and have enjoyed them several times in the interim. I purchased mine in a health food store. An 8 ounce measure was $.89 plus tax. I cooked one half cup dry and have most of the package left.

The cooking method is similar to dried beans. It is best to soak the berries overnight. Whatever amount you decide to prepare, just cover them with water times 3- ish...the longer they soak the shorter the cooking time. I washed mine in a colander prior to soaking.

Next day I drained the water in case it had any dirt, re-rinsed the berries and then covered them with water in a saucepan and brought them to a boil, turning them down to a steady slow boil, adding water as necessary to keep them from boiling dry. It took about 45 minutes for them to reach the done stage.

Lastly I drained them thoroughly and stored them covered in the fridge. For longer storage they can be frozen.

I've added them to my morning oatmeal for more chew, to my yogurt for the same reason, but my favorite use is in a salad: combination of baby spinach leaves, diced tomato, diced red onion, cucumber or jicama, and wheat berries, all dressed with Annie's Goddess dressing, which is a tahini based salad dressing. Note: I found if you make your personal salad in a Tupperware type container, you can add a tablespoon of dressing then shake it like crazy--the dressing will disperse "abroad" and a little goes a lot further...more taste too than dipping your fork.

Here's another link for a recipe that sounds good: Wheat Berry Salad. I plan to try it soon. Note that the web page has several recipes for legume dishes. I'm also planning to make the corn pea salad today---we'll eat it with blue corn chips which will replace the bread and butter to our accompanying salmon salad supper.