Check serving size before opening the package. Some of those packages that seem like they are a single serving (and are for most of us) are actually 2 or 3 servings. It’s devious trickery on the part of food manufacturers but completely legal so always “read it before you eat it.”
My Favorite Birthday Cake!
March 10, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Today is my birthday!
That means I get to have BIRTHDAY CAKE!
Ever since I can remember I’ve requested the same cake for my birthday – angel food cake. As a kid I didn’t care that it was fat free and a low calorie dessert. I just liked its name (probably because “angel” was my Mom’s nickname for me but it was probably my nickname only because she couldn’t find a mug with my given name on it – too unique – and I had to have a “name” mug because my brother had one!). Oh, and I loved how the cake tasted – so light and airy!
Back in those days the cake had to be coated with 2 cans of cherry frosting to be sure it had the desired level of sugar loaded goodness (yep – more than made up for the low calories in the cake with the high calorie frosting I wanted smeared all over it to the point of the light cake sagging from the weight of all the frosting).
It was SUPER YUMMY!!!
Now that I’m a grown up and definitely do not need the gobs of corn syrup, saturated fat, and sheer number of calories (70 for 1 measly tablespoon) in packaged cherry frosting (can’t say “canned” anymore because it now comes in a plastic container) I opt for a more figure friendly topping. Plus, the cherry frosting in the store these days doesn’t taste as good as I remember from when I was a kid. These days it tastes like a gob of corn sweetened vegetable shortening with a chemical aftertaste – definitely not birthday cake worthy! 
My birthday cake today (there better be one and it definitely better be angel food!) will get topped with a dollop of real whipped cream (yes it’s loaded with fat but I don’t eat it every day and I can have 2 tablespoons for 50 calories), and some fresh raspberries (or raspberry sauce made with frozen raspberries and a little bit of sugar since it’s a “hit or miss” proposition when it comes to finding fresh raspberries in the store in March).
I can hardly wait for the cake (and there might even be a present or two for me!).
What’s your favorite birthday cake?
WEIGHT LOSS TIP OF THE DAY – Lighten Your Mocha Latte
March 9, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Can’t live without your daily mocha latte? Order it with skim, soy or almond milk to reduce calories; ask for half the normal amount of the regular chocolate syrup instead of going for the sugar free stuff that doesn’t taste as good; and skip the whipped cream on top.
Interested in Losing Weight; or Committed to Losing Weight?
February 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Do you want to lose weight?
I know I sure do but even though I’m constantly saying it, I’m not always doing something about it. (I seem to be something of a “bag of hot air at times.”)
But, wishing and hoping don’t make it happen (but I sure wish it did).
Doing something about it does.
Birthdays, weddings, unexpected meals out, chocolate cake, bad days, disappointments, stress and boredom happen to all of us. Some people can deal with life’s ups and downs without turning to food (and when I say “some people” I don’t mean me).
I’m the one that tends to deal with anything bad or upsetting or stressful or super exciting by eating; and I’m not pigging out on raw carrots.
When everything in my life is going well it’s not hard for me to eat healthy and exercise. But the second I hit a bump in the road and the littlest thing goes wrong there I am with my hand in the chip bag or my head in the freezer looking for ice cream.
So am I committed to losing weight? That’s pretty much a big fat “NO!” If I was committed to losing weight I wouldn’t use every little thing as an excuse to get off track.
The last 2 weeks I’ve been thinking hard about how my head and my emotions have control over my eating and how my stomach doesn’t because whether or not I’m hungry is often a non-factor in my decision to eat.
I’m most likely to eat something when I’m bored or depressed and let me tell you that living in frigid Wisconsin in the dead of winter can be very depressing. Dragging myself out of my warm bed in the morning is sometimes almost more than I can handle – forget about getting dressed up warmly and going outside to get some fresh air and exercise! (See how good I am at excuses?)
If I was truly committed to losing weight and not just giving it lip service I wouldn’t let anything get me off track; or at least not let it get me off track for long. I’d stick with my commitment to lose weight no matter what (meaning that slip up of a whole bag of chips – even though they’re baked – wouldn’t mean a backslide that lasts several months. Instead I would dust myself off, get over it, and get right back on track).
And that’s what I’ve decided to do. Starting today, no matter what, I’m not going to let the ups and downs of life get me off track with my efforts to lose weight. I’m sticking with it.
I’m going to be like the “Little Engine that Could” and repeat over and over again “I know I can, I know I can, I know I can!
Let’s do it together! I know we can!
To help us keep our focus here’s a poem that a friend gave me a couple weeks ago. I don’t know where she got it from, but it must have been written by a Weight Watchers member because it mentions points. I think the words in it are powerful.
COMMIT DON’T QUIT
When you’ve eaten too much and you can’t write it donw
And you feel like the biggest failure in town;
When you want to give up just because you gave in
And forget all about being healthy and thin;
So What! You went over your point a bit;
It’s your mext move that counts….do don’t you quit!
It’s a moment of truth. It’s an attitude change;
It’s learning the skills to get back in your range;
It’s telling yourself “you’ve done great up till now;
You can take on this challenge and beat it somehow.”
It’s part of your journey towards reaching your goal;
You’re still gonna make it, just stay in control.
To stumble and fall is not a disgrace
If you summon the will to get back in the race;
But, often the struggler’s when losing their grip
Just throw in the towel and continue to slip
And learn too late when the damage is done
That the race wasn’t over and they still could of won.
Life-style change can be awkward and slow
But facing each challenge will help you to grow;
Success is failure turned inside out
The silver tint in the cloud of doubt.
When you’re pushing to the brink, just refuse to submit
If you bit you write…but don’t you quit!
Will Being A Vegetarian Guarantee Weight Loss?
January 8, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Go to any local natural foods or organic store (or “hippie store” as my son calls them) and you’ll see slim and healthy looking people stocking up on fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, raw nuts, veggie burgers, veggie meat-like crumbles and tofu.
The logical thing to think is that being a vegetarian means a person will lose weight without having to “diet” right?
That’s what I used to think, but sadly I was wrong.
I personally know several people who are vegetarian and while I admire their willingness to forgo meat in protest of inhumane treatment of animals used to supply that meat or to have a more gentle footprint on our planet, they are not all slim “skinny minis.” In fact one of the fattest people I know is a vegetarian.
If a person becomes a vegetarian and focuses on healthy eating, which means lots of fresh fruits, and vegetables, along with whole grains, legumes, low fat dairy, nuts in moderation, eggs, and healthy soy products like soy milk and tofu; then they are on the right track to being a healthy weight and healthy overall.
But many times when a person becomes a vegetarian they replace the meat they used to eat with pasta, cheese, peanut butter, nuts, and bread. Those foods are all fine to eat – include chocolate in that list and I could happily live on those foods – but a diet high in those foods will not a thin person make unless said person is living on just a couple bites of those foods each day. Plus it’s hard to find a non-vegetarian food on the chips aisle, except for pork rinds. And the chip aisle is not exactly brimming with low calorie, nutrient dense food.
Losing weight, no matter if a person is a meat eater or not means focusing on lots of fruits and vegetables because they are filling and low calorie, with balanced amounts of other nutrients and yep, portion control (although I never worry about how many fruits and vegetables I’m consuming – that’s the one instance where I think “the more the merrier” but only in the case of ones not drenched in fat or sugar).
Vegetarian Times (great magazine on healthy living whether or not a person is a vegetarian and a wonderful source of recipes to help a person get more vegetables into their diet), has an interesting article in their January, 2010 issue about 5 pitfalls that people who decide to go vegetarian make. One is that carbs get overconsumed – often in the form of pasta – and that leads to weight gain.
If you want to become Vegetarian, by all means give it a try. I think it can be a great healthy lifestyle and I am seriously considering it myself (but can I truly give up bacon?). But, as the article in Vegetarian Times I mentioned above says, I will proceed with caution because I know I’ll have to carefully consider how I’m going to replace the meat I will no longer be eating and how I will deal with the sense of deprivation I’ll probably feel from giving up meat. I don’t want to replace it with tons of high sodium veggie burgers and other meat replacement products or with heaping plates of pasta with cheese (yum, yum and yum!); but instead with healthier choices such as beans which are high in protein and fiber and are filling (not that I’ll ever willingly give up pasta).
Go Foods and Slow Foods
December 17, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Do you remember being a kid and being told to “not put so much butter on your potatoes” because “it’s bad for you,” and to put the potato chips away because they’re “bad for you” and that you didn’t need to have any ice cream because it was “bad for you.”
I heard those exact words more times than I can count.
When I complained that I was hungry as I was reluctantly putting the ice cream back in the freezer (why the heck did we have it in the house if it was so bad for us?), I was told to “have an apple,” “peel yourself an orange” or “eat some carrots,” because they were “good for me.”
The Mom at Weight Watchers that shared the “go foods” and “slow foods” concept says it has dramatically changed how her kids view food. Sure, they still have some of the not so healthy choices but the kids willingly choose to eat less of it in favor of foods that are health and help them “go.”
How great is that?
Yeah, that was real motivation to want to eat the apples, oranges and carrots. NOT!
Being told I couldn’t or shouldn’t have something made me want it even more because it was now a forbidden and therefore more attractive food. I started to crave bad food and ate it on the “sly” anytime I could. Is it any surprise that I became a “chubby” child?
As for the “good for me food,” what kid really puts those words in a positive context? Good for me started to equate with “tastes bad” because I was never given any reasons why the food was good for me other than my Mother saying it was (and there comes a certain age where kids question everything their mother says).
Then someone at my Weight Watchers meeting yesterday mentioned how her child’s teacher had a great way of teaching kids about healthy foods and actually getting them to want to choose them over less healthy choices.
Because I think the concept is so great I’m going to shamelessly steal it.
It’s “GO FOODS” and “SLOW FOODS,” meaning healthy foods help you go and unhealthy foods slow you down. What kid doesn’t want to be able to run and jump and play as fast as possible? Kids love to be on the go and in constant motion!
That’s a concept I could have gotten my head around as a kid; equating those fruits and vegetables with energy and being able to “go” versus eating too much “slow” foods such as those chips and ice cream that aren’t so healthy and caused me to have the horrible nickname of “two-ton Tessie”.
Oscar Mayer Center Cut Bacon Is Surprisingly Low in Calories
December 2, 2009 By Leave a Comment
My son is a chef and he’s fond of saying “everything is better with bacon.” I almost agree but edit that statement to say that “ALMOST everything tastes better with bacon” because I tried chocolate covered bacon at the State Fair this year and it was pretty yucky.
After starting Weight Watchers last year I cut way back on my bacon consumption despite my Weight Watchers leader stating on several occasions that 1 slice of regular bacon is only 1 Weight Watcher point.
But to me bacon is like potato chips – I can never eat just one. Don’t bother putting any bacon on my plate if you’re going to tease me by only giving me 1 slice. If it’s not at least 4 or 5 slices, forget it. And 5 Weight Watchers points just for bacon is a little excessive unless I plan on eating tons of fruits and veggies the rest of the day which is probably not going to happen.
That’s why I was so excited to discover Oscar Mayer Center Cut bacon in the store. According to the nutrition information on the nearly empty package I currently have, 6 slices of the delicious stuff is 3 Weight Watchers points. That’s bacon heaven to me! (please always check Weight Watchers points on your own for any food because manufacturers are changing packaging and serving sizes and product recipes more frequently than you might think).
I now am back to enjoying my very favorite salad in the world with crumbled bacon on it. Yum, yum, yum! Bacon no longer has to be a once a year birthday treat for me.
BTW – my favorite salad consists of a huge amount of fresh baby spinach (an entire 5 ounce package) that I then toss with exactly 2 tablespoons hot bacon dressing made with about half the recommended amount of sugar and then topped with generous amounts of sliced sweet onion, sliced fresh mushrooms, half a can of sliced water chestnuts; and along with about 1 tablespoon freshly shredded parmesan cheese and best of all, perfectly crisp pieces of deliciously salty center cut bacon!
So go ahead and enjoy lean center cut bacon with your favorite foods, but in moderation because even the center cut stuff is not the healthiest in the worldit’s not the healthiest food in the world. Even though I love it I don’t eat it every day although I do have it 2-3 times a week.
My favorite ways to enjoy it besides on the aforementioned spinach salad:
- crumbled on top of broccoli and cauliflower salad
- crumbled on top of baked potatoes that also are topped with Tostitos salsa con queso
- BLT sandwiches
- as a side with whole grain waffles
- with eggs (1 whole egg with 2 eggs whites cooked in a non-stick pan with cooking spray) and with whole grain toast)
- bacon wrapped water chestnuts (soak whole water chestnuts in low sodium soy sauce for at least 30 minutes, then wrap with center cut bacon that has been cut in half both lengthwise and widthwise so that each slice wraps 4 water chestnuts. It’s a super delicious and low calorie appetizer)
- bacon burger (93 percent lean ground beef burger with topped with onion, lettuce, tomato, crispy bacon and ketchup on an Anrolds Thins)
How Was Your Thanksgiving Weekend?
December 1, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Last week I wrote about how I survive Thanksgiving dinner (and the rest of the day) without gaining weight. I wrote that little ditty thinking that if I wrote it I would remember to do everything I did last year to get through Thanksgiving Day (and the rest of the weekend) and not gain weight.
Sometimes I’m not so great at using my own advice and seem to be really good at sabatoging myself. The food I cooked was healthy. I just ate too much of it on Thursday; went to another Thanksgiving party on Friday where I didn’t eat so healthy; had yet another party on Saturday where I really went whole hog on eating everything in sight; and then decided to keep overeating on Sunday because I had ruined the weekend anyway.
I didn’t feel so great when I woke up really early (anytime before the sun rises is too early for me) Monday morning. I wasn’t surprised since I think I ate my yearly quota of sugar over the 4 day Thanksgiving weekend. In addition to huge meals I found myself unable to resist the junk food that I kidded myself into thinking I had purchased for my kids while they were home and consumed nearly an entire bag of Funyons and Cool Ranch Doritos by myself (my kids did manage to wrestle the bags away from me long enough to get a few for themselves). I also ate a whole box of chocolate cookies and a box of Cheetos Asteroiods cheese balls but I ate those in secret so I wouldn’t have to share (sad but true).
Lying in bed in the dark yesterday morning feeling like pooh warmed over wasn’t any fun. Then I decided I had enough of being back in my old habits of not eating healthy and exercising regularly so at 6:30 am me and my dog were out walking (pretty darn quiet on the sidewalks that time of morning because most people were smart and were inside where it was warm and where there was probably some delicious hot coffee).
It took every ounce of my resolve to actually get dressed warmly and walk. The walk wasn’t too bad. The dog only pulled the leash out of my hands once to chase a squirrel and she chose to not poop (yeah, no poop picker upper duty – it makes me gag) although she did decide to pee seven times (yes, I counted) and of course it had to be right in someone’s front yard each time in plain view of their picture window so she had an audience several times watching her (and obviously watching me to make sure I did do the doggy doo-doo pickup in case she decided to produce some).
After the walk I took my butt to Curves and worked out and then finally to Starbucks for a desperately needed jolt of caffeine (sometimes I wish I could just inject shots of espresso directly into my veins).
Then, because I was on a roll I decided that I was going to have a green salad for lunch (and was going to have one every day). Yesterday’s salad was: baby spinach (the entire 5 ounce container), sliced mushrooms, sliced sweet onion, sliced water chestnuts, 2 slices of crumbled center cut bacon, a small handful of slivered almonds, 1 tablespoon parmesan cheese and a couple tablespoons of hot bacon dressing made with half the sugar. Super delicious!
And, the best part of yesterday was that it wasn’t a “one day wonder” of eating right and exercising. I managed to get my sizable rear end out of bed to take the dog out for a walk again this morning (not quite as early though - the sun was actually coming up); went to Curves again this morning; and am currently blissfully enjoying a nonfat latte (extra shot of espresso) at Starbucks.
Today’s lunch salad is going to be: spinach, sliced sweet onion, dried cranberries, 1 or 2 slices of crumbled center cut bacon, a few slivered almonds and a homemade poppy seed dressing that I’ll make with half the recommended amount of sugar.
I’m getting hungry. Time for me to get to the store and see if I can snag a container of organic spinach.
Walking To Lose Weight – How To Walk Those Pounds Away
November 22, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Walking is a normal part of most people’s everyday lives. At least it used to be until most of us got so dependent on our motorized modes of transportation that it became normal to hop in our vehicles and drive 2 blocks to the gas station for a cup of coffee because who has the time or inclination to walk there and back.
Walking is so normal to our bodies and can be a great aid in our weight loss efforts. Plus there are tons of free “walking to lose weight” plans available online from reputable sources. Just Google “walking to lose weight” and you’ll get a bunch of options to choose from.
There’s two big mistakes that many people make when they embark on a “walking to lose weight” plan though.
1) They don’t walk briskly enough or long enough to effectively zap fat.
2) They don’t invest in a good pair of walking shoes.
Walking to lose weight is different than taking a leisurely stroll around the block. Work up a sweat and aim for 60 minutes of walking most days of the week. It should be hard to talk in full sentences, so if you can carry on a full bore conversation while walking it’s time to step up the intensity. Do it slowly though, building distance and intensity over time. Don’t expect to get sixty minutes of brisk walking in most days of the week if you’ve been a dedicated couch potato. And always talk to your health professional before starting any exercise program.
You say you don’t have a 60 minute segment of time to devote to walking each day? Then try for 30 minutes or walk in 10 minute increments throughout the day (during a break at work; during your kids soccer practice, after dinner, etc.). And don’t give up those leisurely strolls. Every step you take is good for your body and burns calories (and every calorie burned counts!).
Also, take the time to get yourself a good pair of walking shoes. New Balance and Saucony are my two favorite brands.
To making walking more fun and to help you stick with it, use these tips:
- Get a walking buddy (being accountable to another person will help you get your butt off the couch on those days that you’re feeling less than energetic).
- Get a dog, but only if you have the time to take care of and love a dog. My dog is my best walking buddy because she’s always ready to go for a stroll no matter the time of day or the weather. Dogs are a big commitment though. They need to be fed and bathed and loved.
- Get a pedometer to track your distance and time and to help you build up your speed and endurance. Optimally, work yourself up to 10,000 steps a day.
- Listen to music while walking (headphone in just one ear for safety though please). Good music makes the time fly.
- Get a change of scenery. Walk in different places; your neighborhood, a nearby trail, on a park trail, in the woods, and even while power shopping with friends (I racked up 7 miles during a shopping trip a few weeks ago).
- And, as mentioned above, invest in good walking shoes
Walking is the easiest and cheapest exercise to do because it can be done almost anywhere – no gym memberships required. All that’s needed are comfortable clothes, a good pair of shoes, and the will to get your butt out the door and do something good for yourself.
The Best Diet For Women – Tales Of A Chronic Dieter
November 21, 2009 By Leave a Comment
I’m pretty sure I could write a 600 page book on the best ways “to not lose weight” and how to “diet and gain weight and be a yo-yo” in less time than it takes to inhale a box of Twinkies.
You name the diet or diet pill and I’ve probably tried it (the grapefruit diet, Atkins, the popcorn diet, the three day diet, Nutri-System, Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, South Beach, Dexatrim, cleansing diets, dieting for dummies, liquid diets, fasting, raw food diet, Cabbage soup diet, Curves diet, LA Weight loss, the Zone diet, the chocolate diet, the apple cider vinegar diet, and many many more that would literally take pages of space to write).
But, to write you a condensed version of what I’ve learned: “the best way to lose weight, keep it off, and be healthy” is to do it the old fashioned way – diet and exercise.” Yeah, what a bore and what a blow to the multi billion dollar diet industry that little tidbit of news is.
To me, (and please keep in mind that I’m not a nutritionist or medical expert- just someone who has decades of experience trying to lose weight), I think the best diet for women is one that includes everything in moderation. Banning foods (especially chocolate and carbs) is, IMO (in my own opinion), a certain disaster. After all, women have that special time of the month (lucky us) and what do most of us crave then? Yep, it’s huge bars of chocolate and entire loaves of bread. That means if we are doing our best to follow one of those crazy diets that completely bans carbs or completely bans sugar (get real please) we get to the point when no amount of willpower is going to keep us away from that Hershey bar or delicious soft pretzel. Then, instead of having a single serving (aka – one normal size candy bar or just one soft pretezel) we typically say “Well I screwed up so I may as well eat the entire bag of chocolate candy or the entire box of pretzels. Then, the downward spiral to gaining the weight back starts.
Personally, I think us women need to take a look at guys to help us understand weight loss better because a guy typically can lose weight so much easier. Why? It’s a well established fact that men’s bodies have more muscle than women’s bodies and, pound for pound, muscle burns more calories than fat.
But I’ve also noticed that, given a choice, most guys at a buffet head right for the proteins while women give the bread and dessert sections longing stares before heading over to the salad bar for some greens and fat free dressing. A perfect meal to a lot of guys is a steak with a side of steak. For a lot of women the perfect meal is warm crusty bread with a side of warm crusty bread and a little chocolate for a sweet ending.
While both men’s and women’s bodies need both protein and carbs for good health (the chocolate is healthy too as long as it’s dark chocolate), protein is a building block for muscle and helps to muscle that’s been stressed (from working out) to repair and build itself.
Plus, protein is satisfying and helps us feel full longer (and who wants to go hungry and feel like they’re starving when they are dieting?).
So, doesn’t it stand to reason that a diet that includes generous amounts of protein would be perfect for women (okay not steak with a side of steak though). That doesn’t eating protein and excluding other food groups like the Atkins diet promotes. I’m talking about a diet that includes a broad range of healthy foods from every food group: proteins, fruits, vegetables, low fat dairy, whole grains, small amounts of healthy fat like olive and grapeseed oils; and treats here and there because everybody needs some wiggle room in their diet.
I’ve also noticed guys tend to never feel guilty if they eat something less than healthy. They’ll eat a piece of chocolate cake, enjoy the experience, and move on. Women, on the other hand, tend to feel guilty about possibly taking a tiny little bite of cake – whether or not they actually give in and eat any.
I’m not here to advocate a specific diet plan for women and that’s because I truly think there is no “one size fits all” diet plan. Just as each of us are different individuals with different personalities and different lifestyles; we have different diet plans that are a better fit with our lives and our likes and dislikes.
But, to help women find the best diet for them that gives them the best chance of long-term success here’s the things I think should be looked for in a weight loss/diet plan:
- promotes healthy eating and doesn’t ban entire food groups
- includes at least 2-3 servings of protein a day
- promotes a slow and steady approach to weight loss; no more than 1-2 lbs a week
- encourages physical activity (at least 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week)
- includes emotional support (whether it’s face to face meetings or online forums) because us women are nurturers by nature and we need nurturing and support of our own when facing the challenges of trying to lose weight successfully
- fits your lifestyle (for example, the odds of failing are high if you love to cook and have to cook for your family but choose a meal delivery program that doesn’t allow you to prepare your own meals; and vice versa – if you choose a program that asks you to prepare all your own food when you and your kitchen appliances, with the exception of your microwave are sworn enemies).
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