DON'T BE TOO HARD ON YOURSELF

You Were Not Given Good Information.
So it is not all your fault.

 "With more fat-free products than ever, Americans got fatter....this focus only on fat calories to the neglect of carbohydrate calories has contributed to this epidemic of obesity."

The quote you just read is from Dr. Walter Willet.

Here are his credentials:

"Walter Willett is professor of epidemiology and nutrition at Harvard School of Public Health, a professor of medicine at the Harvard Medical School, and the author of Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy: The Harvard Medical School Guide to Healthy Eating. He is also one of the principal investigators on the Nurses Health Study, one of the largest, long-term studies to look at the effect of diet on health. Willett explains how his research on the Nurses Health Study led him to become one of the USDA food pyramid's greatest critics. "The food guide pyramid that was developed in 1991 really is based on the idea that all fat is bad," he says. "This pyramid is really not compatible with good scientific evidence." In this interview, he explains the reasoning behind his revision of the food pyramid to include exercise at the base and to separate out "good" and "bad" fats and carbohydrates. This interview was conducted on Jan. 9, 2004."  (From the sidebar at the pbs link below.)

If you'd like to read the whole interview--and I suggest you do because not only is it informative, it is  important information. 

FAT IS NOT THE ENEMY.  

And it is easy to read, in lay terms. 

Go to this link:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/diet/interviews/willett.html

or 

CLICK HERE .

Tomatoes in the Garden

We grow Cherokee heirloom tomatoes.  They have a concentrated taste, reminds me of tomato paste.  And they are a dark, almost purple, color.  They are my favorites.  And they are getting ripe, ready to eat.

This time of year with tomatoes abundant I like BLT's. But the typical BLT is heavy on the fat and calories and slim on protein.

Instead I have BCT's--bacon, cheese and tomato

Toast two slices of your preferred bread. Add a layer of thin sliced tomato.  Then put down a slice of fat free american cheese.  Top with 2 slices of bacon  (I use the Oscar Mayer pre-cooked bacon-2 slices are 35 calories and 3 grams of fat) that you break in half yielding 4 pieces-- so it'll cover the bread.  Now add another slice of fat free american and a final layer of tomatoes.  Salt, pepper and light mayo are optional.

Calorie count for this yummyness:

2 slices of bread 120
1/2 tomato sliced 15
2 slices fat free cheese 50
2 slices OM bacon 35
Total = 220
If you add a half tablespoon of light mayo you're in for an additional 25 calories.  BTW...fat total on my BCM is 3 grams.  Protein is 13 grams, equivalent to almost 2 ounces meat.

If you want more protein add a side of fat free cottage cheese.  One half cup of Breakstone fat free cottage cheese will give you 12 grams of protein for 80 calories.  Top it with the other half of your tomato and you've added a veg serving.  Dust with salt and pepper.  Chopped cucumber would be nice too.  Healthier and more filling than a side of potato chips.

Later when your sweet tooth hits eat a peach or have some watermelon.  Both are in season and taste great right now and will do your body a world of good.

Note:  To date my favorite fat free american cheese single is the Kraft brand.

Knock Off Laughing Cow Light Cheese

 Edit:  I tried this using all fat free cream cheese.  With the fat free cream cheese I added a small portion of low fat buttery spread to give it the color of LCL and to add another layer of flavor.  The result was really good--my husband who is not a fan of anything fat free or very low fat liked this spread. This yielded an even lower fat/lower calorie spread.


If you like LCL cheese but don't like the price try this version.  My favorite is the French Onion.  Here is my knockoff.  Everything is to taste.

You will need:

• reduced fat cream cheese
• beef bouillon powder
• onion powder
• garlic powder

Begin by softening the cream cheese.  Next add beef bouillon powder.  This is salty so season accordingly.  Now add a generous amount of onion powder, since this is a French Onion knock off.  Finally add a little garlic powder.  Mix well to incorporate the seasoning.


Comparison

One ounce of reduced fat cream cheese, also called Neufchatel, has 70 calories.  Two tablespoons make an ounce so you'll end up with 35 calories per tablespoon.  A wedge of LCL is a about teaspoon more than a tablespoon.

You could reduce the fat grams by adding part or  all fat free cream cheese.

You probably have the seasonings in your pantry.  The block of cheese which is 8 ounces will cost around $1.25 plus tax.  The LCL cheese is 6 ounces and is $3 plus tax where I shop.  You can save about > 50% making your own version.

Note:  I might try adding a little fat free or low fat buttery spread with the cream cheese to get the consistency and color of the LCL cheese.

Using Fat Free Products

Short and sweet here.  Cutting back on fat so my body will burn my stored fat.  Have been using fat free cheese slices and fat free cream cheese--see previous posts for uses.  Yesterday I purchased brand name cottage cheese, fat free.  Yum.

Breakstone brand, half cup has 60 calories, 0 fat, and 12 grams of protein.  I've eaten it as a dip for Italian Herb crackers, and today I used it as a side.  Added half a banana, a few pecans and a tiny drizzle of caramel sauce.  Delish.  Have plans to make cottage cheese pancakes, which I have previously posted including recipe.

A week or so ago I bought a quart jar of l gram per tablespoon mayonnaise--big disappointment.  BUT.  I did find a good use for it.  Used it in a broccoli slaw recipe I made up last night.

Here's the method:

Half a bag of cabbage slaw mix.  Half a head of broccoli, prepped and sliced in longish pieces, including the flowerettes, plus some diced sweet onion.  Dressed with this:

• Equal parts of:  fat free yogurt, almost fat free mayo, and full fat mayo
• Garlic powder
• Onion powder
• Dill weed (dried)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Even the husband, who despises fat free foods (eats a ton of fat and has perfect cholesterol without meds) enjoyed it.

The take away here?  Things change.  Products change.  Your taste buds change.  Maybe it's time for you to give fat free products a chance.  Not because fat is bad for you, but so that there is room for the good fat in your diet.

Note:  I have often used equal parts of full fat yogurt and full fat mayonnaise with good results.  The fat yield is still pretty high though.  The use of fat free yogurt and fat free mayo to replace 2/3 of the full fat mayo is a lower fat option.  For comparison:

• full fat  mayo= 12 grams fat per T (100% fat)
• 1/2 full + 1/2 fat free= 6 per T (50% fat)
• 1/3 full +1/3 fat free + 1/3 fat free yogurt= 4 per T (33.3  fat)

Once I got my cholesterol down with meds I quit paying attention to fat percentages.  But of late I began to take note and I was eating, without realizing it, 50% or more calories from fat.  And this was not from the good fats like nuts, seeds, avocados, cold pressed oils.  Likely a big contributor to my inability to lose excess pounds.

Update

Not much to say here.  Still eating healthy and losing, albeit slowly.  Had some special eating including Mother's Day.  But the scale is going down, down, down, in two tenths increments...I don't count it though until it is a full pound, so I'm still at 11 pounds though I've lost more than 11...should be at 12 soon.

The thing that surprises me most is that the scale is down each time I weigh.  For the past 7 years it was down, then up considerably, then down, then up.  I kept losing the same pound or two over and over never making any progress.  There was no incentive to continue dieting.

My biggest change this time compared to the recent past is lower caloric intake overall, lots of fiber and trading out some foods for fat free foods.  Guessing my body is burning my fat since I'm cutting out some of the fat.  I still eat good fat, but small portions. 

I've learned to like mustard on my sandwiches as much as I like mayonnaise.  I haven't found a reduced or low fat mayo that is worth eating to me, so I go for the mustard.  Today I had a delicious sandwich for lunch--what could be simpler?--of 2 slices of 50 calorie high fiber bread, an ounce and a half of smoked turkey breast, a wedge of LCL cheese, lettuce, a sprinkling of dill weed and a smear of mustard.  All for 200 calories. 

Planning to report 12 pounds lost very soon.

Blah Here

Haven't been in the mood to post anything lately.  I get like that sometimes.  A slump I guess it is.  Have a lot of thoughts, stuff to say, but no interest in organizing my thoughts into a coherent assemblage.  If I could sum them up-- the flotsam and jetsam in my brain-- they'd be this:

• I don't suffer fools gladly
• Quit whinging--everybody's got it or had it bad or will have it bad at some point
• There is no magic weight loss bullet
• Over fat people are people who overeat.  You can bet that 300+ pound man or woman is eating 3000-5000 calories a day--or more.  That is a lot of food.  Oink.
• If you're a preacher and excessively fat, don't preach at me about personal discipline things.  Straighten up your own act before pointing the finger.  I tend to despise those who think they are 'better' when it is obvious they suffer from the same excesses that are common to man. It's fine to speak the truth, but not from a high place that looks down on my shortcomings while you ignore your own
• If I keep fooling myself, I will continue to be a fool or behave foolishly.  Wise up. 
• Quit making excuses.  No one wants to hear it.
• Cut the crap

And on and on I could go.  I'm in a no nonsense mood.  Maybe it's because I'm getting older.  I understand a lot of things now that I didn't before.  And I am getting to the point where I feel I must voice some of my thoughts--the ones that might not sound so nice.  But they need to be said.  Nice is not nice if it promotes error or harm or is indifferent.  I'll try to be diplomatic in what I say, because people do have feelings.

 But I'm even getting a tad tired of the feelings stuff too.  Focusing on how we feel puts us in the dynamic of being a victim. Instead of saying "what you did hurt my feelings"-wah wah-- how about saying 'that was rude'.  To the point, and pretty easy to understand.

Ah well, now I'm rambling.  Time to shut 'er up.

It's been another two weeks of mindful eating and I've lost another pound.  That makes a total of 11.  Think I'll keep on with the changes I've made. They're the closest thing I'll ever find that resembles a magic bullet.  Who knew it'd be eating small amounts of healthy food frequently and the other junk once in awhile?

Short and Sweet

Another two weeks has passed and I've lost two more pounds, for a total of 9 pounds. I will continue as I've been doing for these past 8 weeks. The way I am eating now is the way I will continue to eat 'for life'.

The one thing I have taken away recently is that if I want to be a 'little' woman--as in size--I must eat 'little' food.

Funny isn't it. And profound. The amount of food we eat is relative to the amount of weight we carry. Duh.

Whether we reduce our caloric intake by eating less food or eating less caloric food, the result is the same.

And we would do well to remember the Holocaust survivors when we reach a plateau and stall in our weight loss efforts. Those people existed on a tiny amount of food each day. The survivors were all, every one of them, skin and bone when they were released, which proves that starvation and the metabolic starvation mode our body supposedly enters will not stop weight loss if that starvation continues long term.

If I continue to eat little food in time I will be a little person.

One piece of chocolate. One bite of cake. One small portion of lasagna. A hot dog. Once in awhile. These types of foods can be eaten--if they are eaten infrequently and in small amounts.

I have a pretty good idea that all the 'small' people out there practice a lot of self control when they eat. They don't chow down, scarf the whole lot, pig out. They use reserve and self control--which cost nothing. Which require no special diets or programs.

Reserve and self control are functions of the will. And each one of us has a free will and the ability to exercise it as we wish.

Reserve and self control coupled with some brain power--i.e. using the knowledge we possess to make wise food choices that won't spike our blood sugar and insulin and affect our hunger-- are the key to long term success.

If I fail in this effort to become a 'little' person, it is my own fault. Owning that fact is critical. Blaming my failures on my past--the less than perfect childhood, the hardships and hurts-- is just an excuse, a cop out.

Watch That Fat

The scale is moving in the right direction. I'm doing the old stuff but have added something new.

• Still monitoring the calorie intake, aiming to average 1600 daily.
• Moving more--goal is 5 days per week.
• Doing "exercise" that is appealing in the given moment and deciding on the length accordingly. Mainly--just doing it--in some form and fashion.
• Trying to have more on target days--so they are the rule and not the exception.
• And focusing on Lyn's challenge--(water, fiber, veg/fruits, moving and eating slowly to date).
  

The new thing? Watching my total fat intake. Fat is necessary and it is satiating. And most importantly for health, good fat--monounsaturated --should be the primary choice. But...my doctor pointed out a couple of things to me.

He said for cholesterol I need to watch the kind of fat I eat, and for weight loss I need to watch how much fat I eat.

Hmmm...I'd been making a point to eat good fat, but I hadn't been watching the percentage of my calories coming from fat. I figured for weight loss the gold standard was calories, calories, calories.

So...I'm eating more fat free foods, so I can be sure to get the best fats and still stay within my desired calorie and fat percentage range.

• Example: I use fat free dairy--which eliminates the undesirable kind of fat and reduces the fat from calories to zero for this food. Then..... I can add some olive oil or almond butter to my meal or snack, enabling me to get in the good fat I need for my cholesterol issues and not exceed my desired percentage of calories from fat for the day.

My personal fat percentage goal is to not exceed 20% of my calories from fat. At 1600 calories that would be 320 calories from fat, or 35.5 grams of fat a day (320 calories/9 calories ). Note: One gram of fat is 9 calories.

This change seems to be working!! The scale is moving in the right direction: DOWN. I've lost one pound since implementing this change last Thursday. Hopefully this trend will continue and I'll soon be back to my pre-vacation weight.

If you're stuck you might try checking your total fat intake. It's likely that though I was in range with my calorie totals I may have been eating a 50% fat diet. I wasn't tracking how many of my calories were coming from fat.

And in the interest of improving my lipid profile I was eating lots of good healthy nut butters --among other things--which are almost 100% fat. That one tablespoon of almond butter which is 90 calories has 8.5 grams of fat..meaning that 76.5 of its calories are from fat! Translation: that almond butter is 85% fat!! Mayonnaise, which is 100 calories a tablespoon with 12 grams of fat, is 100% fat!! So...get this...that one tablespoon of almond butter, which is 8.5 grams of fat is almost 1/4 of my 20% fat allowance for the day!! And the mayo---it would be 1/3 though it's only 100 calories!!!

I'd given up most fat free foods because I don't like the taste, but I'm rethinking how I can use some of them in order to get in the good fats--the ones that will raise my HDL and lower my LDL--and still stay in that 20% of calories coming from fat range.

Slowing Down May Speed Things Up!

At the beach we'd gone out to eat--the whole family, which included my husband, both my children and their spouses. It was a special occasion and a very nice restaurant...one with linen tablecloths and heavy flatware, plus candlelight..on the beach under a gazebo.

I was especially hungry and knew from experience that unlike fast food this would be slow food...which is much nicer to share with family or friends. The waiter brought us menus and hot crusty bread with olive oil for dipping.

As I perused the menu I ate some of that delicious bread. After 3 smallish slices and about a tablespoon of oil I decided I'd quit, wanting to leave room for the main meal. When the waiter finally came to take our order a surprising thing happened-- I realized I was no longer hungry!

Whoops--I thought--not good.....I hadn't even ordered my meal yet. I was looking forward to the meal, but in light of the situation, I decided to order two appetizers instead of an entree (a small salad which included roasted beets, pecans and blue cheese on a bed of field greens and 2 giant grilled scallops accompanied by some roasted asparagus on a bed of grilled greens). The food was delicious and I didn't stuff myself.

Evidently my forced wait allowed my brain time to get the message from my stomach that I'd eaten and signaled that I was full. The fat I'd eaten (the olive oil) affects the leptin which is the hormone responsible for indicating fullness.

That being the case, it behooves us to eat some fat and to eat slowly--pausing if necessary. At the end of 20 minutes we should have a better idea if we're full, or not, in our stomach. This practice may not always be feasible, but when it is, it's a good one to follow.

It seems to me that our busy lifestyles, which necessitate quick eating all too often, correlate with the increasing girth of America. It may be, in part, responsible. Speed certainly contributes to mindless eating--we shovel it in without really even tasting it, let alone enjoying it.

So for our healths sake--and our waist--let's practice the 20 minute rule as often as possible. Slowing down may actually speed up our weight loss!