So, I gave up wheat in July. Well, I started to give up wheat in July. Honestly, it was a bit of a tough journey. Because: I love bread.
But I was having some health issues and I traced them to (possibly) pizza, and I don't want it to be cheese.
Over the space of July I gradually decreased my wheat intake. I had a few slips. On vacation, my friends said "well, you will probably have to give it a few months to see if it really helps." Which, yuck. I was hoping for 2-3 weeks?
Anyway, I dedicated myself to it, with a caveat...I didn't read too many labels (I'm looking at you, Costco meatballs) for the first bit. And...I felt better. Very gradually, so the "wait a few months" was a good suggestion.
I happened to give up wheat at the same time I started training for my Pier to Peak uphill half marathon. So, I started to lose weight. I didn't actually notice - I don't get on the scale often. But a neighbor said something and I shrugged. Then my officemate said something and I said "hmm". Got on the scale, and I'd lost 4-5 pounds. Hey hey hey, that's why I needed that belt. This happened in about 6-7 weeks, so mid-August or thereabouts.
Fast forward to the race (which sucked, of course) and then the next month. When I had this goal to maintain my 3x a week running, and at least 6-8 miles for my long run. It didn't happen. In the first month I only ran 4 times, once a week, on a weekend. The "big" run was a 10k the week after the half. The other runs were 4.5 miles or less.
On a whim I got on the scale and it's dropped more! I made a comment on FB about the 8 lb loss. Of course, this results in the resident expert on my health, fitness, and body mansplaining to me (at work, no less) that of course it's the running. Nevermind that I actually live in this body, and have for 47 years, and track myself pretty well - my exercise, and food, etc. Anyway, with the eventual "half the weight loss was after the race, and no I'm not training anymore" he sort of shut up. He's just lucky I didn't have PMS that week.
(Seriously, what is up with that? I was so effing cranky and sarcastic at work this week, that I think I scared the "new guy" who has been there 9 months. I told him I think I have PMS. Turns out, I was right.)
Anyway, I'd like to try and reintroduce wheat/ gluten. The first attempt did not go well. Same issues. This weekend, I ate those Costco meatballs, same issue. And I had a beer. Boy, that was a mistake. I guess I'm going to give it a longer bit of time before I try again. And I bought some ingredients to attempt gluten-free baking (like Xanthan gum). I was holding off on that, hoping it was temporary.
So if you have gluten free recipes, hit me with them! Now what to do with a half a bottle of soy sauce in my fridge. Kids will eat the meatballs no problem.
Showing posts with label weight. Show all posts
Showing posts with label weight. Show all posts
Sunday, October 8, 2017
Tuesday, November 1, 2016
It's NOvember!
You know what that means folks! Okay, maybe you don't.
Two years ago (2014) I was in the throes of losing the baby weight (yeah, the baby was 2, but who is counting). I'd lost the same 15 pounds 3 times. I was steady at losing 2 lbs a month. For NOvember, I decided to do the following:
1. Maintain my calories and macros. For you 21-day fixers, that means the lowest 21-day fix category, aka 2 "yellows" (carbs a day).
2. Substitute the carbs...NO CHEATS. It's important to know that I wasn't cheating much (and for the record, you are allowed 3 cheats a week). I eliminated: wheat, alcohol (wine), sugar, and fried foods. So no swapping a yellow for wine, chocolate, or tortilla chips.
It's important to note that I wasn't eating MUCH of these already - no more than 4-5 servings a WEEK. And wheat, while allowed, I got rid of that too.
3. I didn't sweat the small stuff. If flour or sugar was an ingredient (to make a roux, or in a dressing or sauce), I didn't sweat it. I just avoided major sources of it all. So, no dessert, no pasta, no bread, no flour tortillas, no tortilla chips.
Instead I stuck to potatoes, oats, corn, beans, corn tortillas, sweet potatoes, popcorn, rice, quinoa.
4. I did allow Stevia in my coffee.
2014 November: down 7 pounds!!
2015 November: down 12 pounds!! (well, actually more like 5, then we all got the stomach flu. I looked like a deflated balloon).
Fast forward a year later, and I'm about 2 pounds down from 2015 November 1. So, it looks like while my goal weight might be a few pounds lower than I am right now (2, to be exact), it's MUCH easier to maintain with those extra 2 pounds.
These days, I'm quite happy with my weight, size, and health. But I'm still doing NOvember because honestly - it makes me feel great. It gets me out of my eating rut (yes, I do miss pizza!) It makes me a cheap date for December holiday parties. And it prevents holiday weight gain. Let's face it, from mid-October to early-Jan, it's one big eat fest with Halloween candy, fudge, holiday parties, Thanksgiving, etc.
Some of my friends suggest that maybe I should give myself a "day off" (like Thanksgiving). Meh, sure I guess, but honestly - I can live without stuffing and rolls if I have mashed potatoes. It works better for me to just not cheat. It's ONLY 30 days. (Truth be told, in 2015 the last month I lived on saltines and applesauce and plain pasta. So technically I didn't make it 30 days.)
ONE MORE THING! I'm giving up some electronics too! No more games on my tablet, and I'm actively avoiding facebook after I get home. This whole election is driving me BAT SHIT CRAZY. I don't want to hear about it. I don't want to talk about. No conversation is going to change my mind (I already voted!), and I'm not going to change anyone else's. I want to go to sleep on November 8 and wake up when it's ALL OVER.
A girl's gotta do what it takes to maintain her sanity.
Today's menu for NOvember 1: (so I can find ideas later!!)
Breakfast: a leftover sausage on a corn tortilla. A smoothie.
Lunch: salad (lettuce, cucumber, peppers, radishes, feta, olives, sunflower seeds, sun dried tomatoes, dressing), and a sausage.
Snack: veggies and hummus
Dinner: Meatballs, roast cherry tomatoes with white beans, roasted Indian cauliflower
Peace out.
Two years ago (2014) I was in the throes of losing the baby weight (yeah, the baby was 2, but who is counting). I'd lost the same 15 pounds 3 times. I was steady at losing 2 lbs a month. For NOvember, I decided to do the following:
1. Maintain my calories and macros. For you 21-day fixers, that means the lowest 21-day fix category, aka 2 "yellows" (carbs a day).
2. Substitute the carbs...NO CHEATS. It's important to know that I wasn't cheating much (and for the record, you are allowed 3 cheats a week). I eliminated: wheat, alcohol (wine), sugar, and fried foods. So no swapping a yellow for wine, chocolate, or tortilla chips.
It's important to note that I wasn't eating MUCH of these already - no more than 4-5 servings a WEEK. And wheat, while allowed, I got rid of that too.
3. I didn't sweat the small stuff. If flour or sugar was an ingredient (to make a roux, or in a dressing or sauce), I didn't sweat it. I just avoided major sources of it all. So, no dessert, no pasta, no bread, no flour tortillas, no tortilla chips.
Instead I stuck to potatoes, oats, corn, beans, corn tortillas, sweet potatoes, popcorn, rice, quinoa.
4. I did allow Stevia in my coffee.
2014 November: down 7 pounds!!
2015 November: down 12 pounds!! (well, actually more like 5, then we all got the stomach flu. I looked like a deflated balloon).
Fast forward a year later, and I'm about 2 pounds down from 2015 November 1. So, it looks like while my goal weight might be a few pounds lower than I am right now (2, to be exact), it's MUCH easier to maintain with those extra 2 pounds.
These days, I'm quite happy with my weight, size, and health. But I'm still doing NOvember because honestly - it makes me feel great. It gets me out of my eating rut (yes, I do miss pizza!) It makes me a cheap date for December holiday parties. And it prevents holiday weight gain. Let's face it, from mid-October to early-Jan, it's one big eat fest with Halloween candy, fudge, holiday parties, Thanksgiving, etc.
Some of my friends suggest that maybe I should give myself a "day off" (like Thanksgiving). Meh, sure I guess, but honestly - I can live without stuffing and rolls if I have mashed potatoes. It works better for me to just not cheat. It's ONLY 30 days. (Truth be told, in 2015 the last month I lived on saltines and applesauce and plain pasta. So technically I didn't make it 30 days.)
ONE MORE THING! I'm giving up some electronics too! No more games on my tablet, and I'm actively avoiding facebook after I get home. This whole election is driving me BAT SHIT CRAZY. I don't want to hear about it. I don't want to talk about. No conversation is going to change my mind (I already voted!), and I'm not going to change anyone else's. I want to go to sleep on November 8 and wake up when it's ALL OVER.
A girl's gotta do what it takes to maintain her sanity.
Today's menu for NOvember 1: (so I can find ideas later!!)
Breakfast: a leftover sausage on a corn tortilla. A smoothie.
Lunch: salad (lettuce, cucumber, peppers, radishes, feta, olives, sunflower seeds, sun dried tomatoes, dressing), and a sausage.
Snack: veggies and hummus
Dinner: Meatballs, roast cherry tomatoes with white beans, roasted Indian cauliflower
Peace out.
Saturday, December 27, 2014
25.8 pounds
That's what I've lost in the last 12 months. Yay me!
Now to keep it going and not let the holiday wine get to my hips.
Another 6 to 6.5 pounds and I will officially no longer be overweight.
I'm 5'2", you can do the math.
Now to keep it going and not let the holiday wine get to my hips.
Another 6 to 6.5 pounds and I will officially no longer be overweight.
I'm 5'2", you can do the math.
Saturday, November 29, 2014
11 Months of Weight Changes
You know me. Periodically, I go into weight and weight changes on this blog. It is a "healthy" blog, after all, and weight is one component of health (certainly not the most important component).
I have been struggling with baby weight #2. With my first baby, I was 35 when he was born and 37.5 when I finally was able to lose the weight. I had stopped nursing 6 months before and had gone part time. So I took it as a part time job to lose the weight. Cardio, calorie counting (with weight watchers on-line). 20 pounds in 3 months, all over the holidays (November 1 through Feb 1).
I had my second child at 42, and it's been a struggle. For one thing, I gained more weight (this is common - there is a memory effect to pregnancy weight. It's why you are 4-5 months pregnant before you can buy maternity clothing in your first pregnancy, but need to move into them almost right away with the second.)
The other thing is - I have been full time since he turned one, and I have two children, and I'm older. Okay, that's 3 things.
Here's what I have found:
1. What worked when I first lost weight in my 30's and after the first pregnancy, doesn't work now.
2. Weight watchers stopped working after about 39.
3. I cannot do the amount of cardio that I had done before - knee issues.
4. Fat is stubborn. I have finally gotten down to my *STARTING 1ST POST PREGNANCY WEIGHT* and I'm THRILLED!! (Meaning, my final weight after pregnancy #1 is a full 20 lbs less than I weigh now. My goal weight now is about 10 lbs down from now.)
5. I have to experiment.
The first several pounds came off pretty easily with calorie counting (and a stomach bug). But stresses have a huge effect on my weight - EVEN WHEN CALORIE INTAKE DOES NOT CHANGE. So, I'm an engineer and I love charts - I made a chart. And I labeled it.
There are labels for:
1. What program I was following (red ellipses and notes written below)
2. Notes on major life stresses (green arrows and notes written above)
One important note is that my work stress has gone down/ leveled off since the summer, allowing me to focus on my weight and my eating habits. Experimenting with different methods of eating takes BRAIN POWER and can be an added source of stress.
And I still eat 2 servings of fruit. One cup is a serving, except for bananas - one large banana is two servings.
A typical daily intake would be:
B: smoothie with protein powder and a banana
S: 1 cup carrot or celery sticks, 2 Tbsp hummus, 1/2 cup yogurt or cottage cheese
L: Salad with 2 Tbsp nuts or seeds, 2 hard boiled eggs, 1 Tbsp blue or feta cheese, a few olives, homemade vinaigrette, 1/2 cup beans
D: 3 oz protein (chicken, turkey, beef), and 1-1.5 cups cooked vegetables - steamed, roasted, etc. in olive or coconut oil. Or soup. And sometimes a carb, like potatoes or rice or beans. But this is generally only 1/2 the time.
Also, because I love beans and lentils, about once a month (so, 3 straight meals), I'll make a lentil or black bean soup, and that will be our dinner instead of meat.
My typical weekly workouts would be:
M: Burpees in the morning, 30 min walk at lunch
T: Swim 43 min in the morning, 30 min walk at lunch
W: Burpees, squats, pushups in the morning, 30 min walk at lunch
R: Swim 43 min in the morning, 30 min walk at lunch
F: Burpees, squats, pushups in the morning, 30 min walk at lunch
S: One hour walk
U: ?? Varies.
Ideally, I'd do at least 2 days of PiYo or 21DF videos a week, but the children. They are not letting me do that right now in the mornings. Burpees, pushups, etc. can be done in 30 second bursts and do not require a 30 minute commitment.
Here's to hoping I can take off those last 10 pounds! My plan is to continue NO-vember - avoiding wheat and alcohol, sugar and fried foods, for awhile longer. If I re-introduce them, I have to set a number of times a month or week. Unfortunately at my age and reduced metabolism, I have to assume I can only have 8 servings a month (TOTAL among the four).
I have been struggling with baby weight #2. With my first baby, I was 35 when he was born and 37.5 when I finally was able to lose the weight. I had stopped nursing 6 months before and had gone part time. So I took it as a part time job to lose the weight. Cardio, calorie counting (with weight watchers on-line). 20 pounds in 3 months, all over the holidays (November 1 through Feb 1).
I had my second child at 42, and it's been a struggle. For one thing, I gained more weight (this is common - there is a memory effect to pregnancy weight. It's why you are 4-5 months pregnant before you can buy maternity clothing in your first pregnancy, but need to move into them almost right away with the second.)
The other thing is - I have been full time since he turned one, and I have two children, and I'm older. Okay, that's 3 things.
Here's what I have found:
1. What worked when I first lost weight in my 30's and after the first pregnancy, doesn't work now.
2. Weight watchers stopped working after about 39.
3. I cannot do the amount of cardio that I had done before - knee issues.
4. Fat is stubborn. I have finally gotten down to my *STARTING 1ST POST PREGNANCY WEIGHT* and I'm THRILLED!! (Meaning, my final weight after pregnancy #1 is a full 20 lbs less than I weigh now. My goal weight now is about 10 lbs down from now.)
5. I have to experiment.
The first several pounds came off pretty easily with calorie counting (and a stomach bug). But stresses have a huge effect on my weight - EVEN WHEN CALORIE INTAKE DOES NOT CHANGE. So, I'm an engineer and I love charts - I made a chart. And I labeled it.
There are labels for:
1. What program I was following (red ellipses and notes written below)
2. Notes on major life stresses (green arrows and notes written above)
One important note is that my work stress has gone down/ leveled off since the summer, allowing me to focus on my weight and my eating habits. Experimenting with different methods of eating takes BRAIN POWER and can be an added source of stress.
Notes:
The 21-Day Fix seems to be a successful program for me. More successful on the second round, I think because I've come to terms with the lower carbohydrate intake. I was very resistant to cutting carbs in the first round (March). After reading What to Eat by Luise Light in the summer, I understand that I was eating way too many grains.
Understanding that you are eating too many grains and correcting that is a different thing. I used Chris Powell's Carb Cycling twice this year (it's only listed once because I do not remember when I used it the first time, but it was probably early Feb). The useful thing about this was I got used to planning meals that we low-carb. After that 5 weeks, it was MUCH easier to go back to the 21 Day Fix "moderate" carbohydrate plan.
The "21DF + NOvember" refers to the fact that I re-started the 21 Day Fix AND gave up: wheat, sugar, fried food (tortilla chips), and alcohol for November. I LOST 6 POUNDS IN 4 WEEKS doing this. My goal, really, was to be a total of at least 20 pounds down from last year's doctor's appointment, when I go next week. Looks like I did it! I had at least 5 pounds to go at the beginning of November and I was doubtful I was going to make it.
I generally eat 1-2 servings of high-carbohydrate foods (those would be the "yellow" containers, for you 21 Day fixers) these days. These tend to be (in order):
1. beans
2. potatoes
3. brown rice
4. oats
1/2 cup cooked is one serving.
And I still eat 2 servings of fruit. One cup is a serving, except for bananas - one large banana is two servings.
A typical daily intake would be:
B: smoothie with protein powder and a banana
S: 1 cup carrot or celery sticks, 2 Tbsp hummus, 1/2 cup yogurt or cottage cheese
L: Salad with 2 Tbsp nuts or seeds, 2 hard boiled eggs, 1 Tbsp blue or feta cheese, a few olives, homemade vinaigrette, 1/2 cup beans
D: 3 oz protein (chicken, turkey, beef), and 1-1.5 cups cooked vegetables - steamed, roasted, etc. in olive or coconut oil. Or soup. And sometimes a carb, like potatoes or rice or beans. But this is generally only 1/2 the time.
Also, because I love beans and lentils, about once a month (so, 3 straight meals), I'll make a lentil or black bean soup, and that will be our dinner instead of meat.
My typical weekly workouts would be:
M: Burpees in the morning, 30 min walk at lunch
T: Swim 43 min in the morning, 30 min walk at lunch
W: Burpees, squats, pushups in the morning, 30 min walk at lunch
R: Swim 43 min in the morning, 30 min walk at lunch
F: Burpees, squats, pushups in the morning, 30 min walk at lunch
S: One hour walk
U: ?? Varies.
Ideally, I'd do at least 2 days of PiYo or 21DF videos a week, but the children. They are not letting me do that right now in the mornings. Burpees, pushups, etc. can be done in 30 second bursts and do not require a 30 minute commitment.
Here's to hoping I can take off those last 10 pounds! My plan is to continue NO-vember - avoiding wheat and alcohol, sugar and fried foods, for awhile longer. If I re-introduce them, I have to set a number of times a month or week. Unfortunately at my age and reduced metabolism, I have to assume I can only have 8 servings a month (TOTAL among the four).
Saturday, August 30, 2014
Some Follow-up on The Pyramid and vacation review
Wow, some great comments on my last post! Just some notes:
I do not mean to bash grains. I love grains. I think whole grains are a healthy food. I don't even think white bread is going to kill you. Millions of Frenchmen and women (who eat croissants), can't be wrong, right? I think most foods belong in a healthy diet (in moderation), but we have to figure out what "in moderation" is? (Note: it's probably not daily.)
In fact, one of my favorite recent reads is The Blue Zones that chronicles the diet and lifestyle of the areas of the world with the most centenarians. Several of the areas eat whole grains. Corn tortillas, brown rice.
You will probably never see me go full-on Paleo or Primal because I love grains and beans. I've been very nearly vegetarian on many occasions. I have a shelf full of vegetarian and vegan cookbooks.
The issue I have is the Food Pyramid, and it's specification that we eat 6 servings (6-11 actually) of grains per day. Prior to it's release, we had "Basic 4". Well, for the last 20+ years, that's what I've based by eating habits around. Okay, to be honest, I didn't think much about what I ate until I woke up one day at 31 weighing 182 pounds. But that year, 2002, I put a lot of effort into losing weight via Weight Watchers, and have done really well maintaining that weight loss since. (With two excursions due to having babies.)
Over the years I've "control-checked" my diet with weight watchers, a dietitian, my fitness pal. or the USDA website, The thing they have in common is the Food Pyramid.
When I was younger, it was no problem.
When I was nearing 40 and training for races (half marathons), it was no problem.
When I had a baby at 42, and had a couple of years of lack of sleep, plus stress (layoffs at work), plus injuries (cannot do high impact exercise anymore) = problem.
I'm coming to terms with the fact that I cannot eat that much grain anymore, and still lose weight. I am not giving up grain - still eating 2 servings per day - generally a piece of toast for breakfast and perhaps 1/2 c. rice or quinoa for dinner, or maybe crackers in my soup.
What I find interesting about the whole thing is how personal it becomes. Some people never have a weight problem, and I find it's hard for them to understand. Several years ago I read Refuse to Regain by Dr. Barbara Berkeley (an obesity doctor). One thing that she has learned in her work is that people who are FOW (formerly overweight) metabolize food differently than people who were NOW (never overweight). Particularly carbs. So her recommendation for people to maintain their weight loss is to restrict carbohydrates. If you've been overweight, your body stores them more efficiently - you permanently changed how your body works. (Depressing, huh?)
When I read the book I was happily maintaining my weight loss (this is pre baby#2), so I figured that I was never hugely obese, so I didn't need to restrict carbs like that. I had some inklings however - I had one friend who I walked a lot with on weekends. When she was about 62 I noted how trim she'd always been. She said "I don't really eat that many carbs". She has oatmeal for breakfast and maybe the occasional bit of rice or potato for dinner.
Just last year I attended a women's retreat run by a personal chef and a personal trainer. The chef, who is 60, said "well once you are over 40, if you want to maintain a healthy weight, you cannot eat more than X number of carbs per day" (I wrote it down, but do not remember the number.) I ignored her, of course, because - Food Pyramid.
I have been very resistant to the idea of restricting carbs - but in reality, I'm not really "restricting". I still eat 2 cups of fruit per day. Yogurt. Lots of vegetables. Beans several times per week. Grains and/or potatoes 2 times a day. I've just now started to realize that 6 servings a day, at my exercise level and age, is not doable. And I've also found out that 6 servings a day is a MADE UP NUMBER BASED ON NO SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE.
Okay, on to the camping review. We camped 2 nights nearby - El Capitan SB. We booked in June and there was literally ONE site available. Man, we got a GREAT one! One neighbor, lots of shade, lots of space for the kids to run, not TOO close to the RR tracks (but let's face it, the whole campground is near the RR tracks), not near the ocean/cliffs/creek/roads (I have a toddler).
The kids had a great time sleeping in the tent (though the 2 year old slept with me a LOT), eating at a picnic table, and playing at the beach and in the waves. We used our new campstove that heats water for coffee WAY faster.
And the big hits foodwise? Nachos (tortilla chips, shredded cheese, and canned chili on top, with guacamole), and hard boiled eggs. We ran out of eggs.
Beach
Campstove
Zucchini bread and instant coffee
Our picnic basket which is GREAT for camping
Inside of the basket
The tent
Ahhh
I do not mean to bash grains. I love grains. I think whole grains are a healthy food. I don't even think white bread is going to kill you. Millions of Frenchmen and women (who eat croissants), can't be wrong, right? I think most foods belong in a healthy diet (in moderation), but we have to figure out what "in moderation" is? (Note: it's probably not daily.)
In fact, one of my favorite recent reads is The Blue Zones that chronicles the diet and lifestyle of the areas of the world with the most centenarians. Several of the areas eat whole grains. Corn tortillas, brown rice.
You will probably never see me go full-on Paleo or Primal because I love grains and beans. I've been very nearly vegetarian on many occasions. I have a shelf full of vegetarian and vegan cookbooks.
The issue I have is the Food Pyramid, and it's specification that we eat 6 servings (6-11 actually) of grains per day. Prior to it's release, we had "Basic 4". Well, for the last 20+ years, that's what I've based by eating habits around. Okay, to be honest, I didn't think much about what I ate until I woke up one day at 31 weighing 182 pounds. But that year, 2002, I put a lot of effort into losing weight via Weight Watchers, and have done really well maintaining that weight loss since. (With two excursions due to having babies.)
Over the years I've "control-checked" my diet with weight watchers, a dietitian, my fitness pal. or the USDA website, The thing they have in common is the Food Pyramid.
When I was younger, it was no problem.
When I was nearing 40 and training for races (half marathons), it was no problem.
When I had a baby at 42, and had a couple of years of lack of sleep, plus stress (layoffs at work), plus injuries (cannot do high impact exercise anymore) = problem.
I'm coming to terms with the fact that I cannot eat that much grain anymore, and still lose weight. I am not giving up grain - still eating 2 servings per day - generally a piece of toast for breakfast and perhaps 1/2 c. rice or quinoa for dinner, or maybe crackers in my soup.
What I find interesting about the whole thing is how personal it becomes. Some people never have a weight problem, and I find it's hard for them to understand. Several years ago I read Refuse to Regain by Dr. Barbara Berkeley (an obesity doctor). One thing that she has learned in her work is that people who are FOW (formerly overweight) metabolize food differently than people who were NOW (never overweight). Particularly carbs. So her recommendation for people to maintain their weight loss is to restrict carbohydrates. If you've been overweight, your body stores them more efficiently - you permanently changed how your body works. (Depressing, huh?)
When I read the book I was happily maintaining my weight loss (this is pre baby#2), so I figured that I was never hugely obese, so I didn't need to restrict carbs like that. I had some inklings however - I had one friend who I walked a lot with on weekends. When she was about 62 I noted how trim she'd always been. She said "I don't really eat that many carbs". She has oatmeal for breakfast and maybe the occasional bit of rice or potato for dinner.
Just last year I attended a women's retreat run by a personal chef and a personal trainer. The chef, who is 60, said "well once you are over 40, if you want to maintain a healthy weight, you cannot eat more than X number of carbs per day" (I wrote it down, but do not remember the number.) I ignored her, of course, because - Food Pyramid.
I have been very resistant to the idea of restricting carbs - but in reality, I'm not really "restricting". I still eat 2 cups of fruit per day. Yogurt. Lots of vegetables. Beans several times per week. Grains and/or potatoes 2 times a day. I've just now started to realize that 6 servings a day, at my exercise level and age, is not doable. And I've also found out that 6 servings a day is a MADE UP NUMBER BASED ON NO SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE.
Okay, on to the camping review. We camped 2 nights nearby - El Capitan SB. We booked in June and there was literally ONE site available. Man, we got a GREAT one! One neighbor, lots of shade, lots of space for the kids to run, not TOO close to the RR tracks (but let's face it, the whole campground is near the RR tracks), not near the ocean/cliffs/creek/roads (I have a toddler).
The kids had a great time sleeping in the tent (though the 2 year old slept with me a LOT), eating at a picnic table, and playing at the beach and in the waves. We used our new campstove that heats water for coffee WAY faster.
And the big hits foodwise? Nachos (tortilla chips, shredded cheese, and canned chili on top, with guacamole), and hard boiled eggs. We ran out of eggs.
Beach
Campstove
Zucchini bread and instant coffee
Our picnic basket which is GREAT for camping
Inside of the basket
The tent
Ahhh
Saturday, August 23, 2014
What to Eat (a brief review) and The Food Pyramid of 1992 - How it Probably F*cked Up My Life
Very deep title there, eh? Not my usual stuff.
Well the vacation went fairly well. We didn't sleep that much (it's hard to get the little guy to sleep in a hotel room). We had fun at Legoland, the Water Park at Legoland, Manhattan Beach, and the California Science Center (got to see the Space Shuttle Endeavor).
Vacation, to me, has always meant reading books. I love to read. So does my husband (our dating life was dinner out and then a bookstore, almost every week). So I took three books with me on the trip (I was reading four at once). This time around, they were all non-fiction:
Simple Food for the Good Life - Helen Nearing
Death by Food Pyramid - Denise Minger
What to Eat - Luise Light
I bought Death by Food Pyramid on my Kindle, and was in the early stages of it when she mentioned What to Eat. So I decided to order What to Eat on Amazon (used, for $1.00, plus shipping).
That book was eye-opening, to say the least. She has 10 simple rules for how to eat healthy. They make so much sense! And they would have been really helpful in 2006 (when the book came out).
The single biggest thing that I got out of this whole book is this: Luise Light was the nutritionist in charge of creating the USDA Food Pyramid in the late 1980s. She had a team of experts collecting data, reading the literature, studying results of tests comparing dietary factors and disease. She was very proud to submit her recommendations to the USDA.
And then...what came back bore little resemblance to her pyramid. So the experts did their due diligence, made their recommendations, and politics changed the food pyramid in response to industry pressures.
I am so disillusioned. Why, you ask? Well. The Food Pyramid came out when I was in my early 20's. It's been a HUGE part of my life - HUGE as I've been interested in health and fitness. And I have struggled with my weight. I have lost weight on Weight Watchers and by using a variety of other plans. Most of which were based on the food pyramid. Every dietitian I have worked with, or have read, discusses the food pyramid (low fat/ high carb). Lots of whole grains, low-fat cheese, skim milk, you get the picture.
In the last year or so, I've found alternative eating plans that have called for a major reduction in carbs. (For example: Primal Blueprint, 21-day fix). And while I followed them, or tried to, in the back of my mind I always thought "but 2-3 servings of carbs a day is NOT sustainable, the Food Pyramid/ USDA recommends 6! Eating vegetarian/ high carb is better for the planet, better for your health."
And it was all a LIE! The original food pyramid submitted to the USDA? 2-4 servings of WHOLE GRAINS per day. TWO (for most women, more for men and teenagers). In addition, the dairy recommendation was only 1-2 servings. Is it any wonder that I have a problem losing and maintaining weight? All of those people who eat "low carb" were pretty much right. I thought it was a fad - but really 2 servings of grain a day is a LOT closer to the Paleo/ Primal/ Low carb lifestyle than it is to the USDA recommendations of SIX servings.
So for fun, I went to the USDA website CHOOSE MY PLATE and put in my age, sex, and weight and said "I want to lose weight". It recommended a reasonable 1500 calories per day. Commercial programs recommend 1200 to 1400. It also recommended SIX servings of grain, THREE servings of dairy, etc. I decided to use the Supertracker to simulate a basic day's eating plan based on their minimum recommendations. What did I get? 2000 calories! Despite their recommendation of 1500 calories a day, if I eat six grains, three dairy servings, etc., I end up with almost 2000 calories. Is it any wonder I am fat?
So I played around with Supertracker and here is what I found:
Using the USDA recommendations 1951 calories - probably won't make me fat, but no wiggle room for anything extra.
Cutting grains down to 2-3 servings per day 1707 calories. Still probably not enough for weight loss.
Cutting grains down to 2-3 servings and dairy down to 1 to 2, 1458 calories.
And here was my actual intake for this particular day, 1455 calories.
So right now, this very moment, I am in mourning for my grains. I am trying to come to terms with 2 servings a day. At least Luise Light is a little bit easier than the 21 Day Fix. 21DF lumps beans/ legumes/ peas and potatoes in with carbohydrates. Luise Light allows for potatoes as a vegetable and beans as a vegetable or a protein.
How do you adjust? No more sandwiches! I mean, a single sandwich is both my grain servings for that day. What about a burrito? Yep, a burrito with rice would put me over. And pizza! Well, I guess pizza is an occasional food anyway. What is guacamole without chips? Bruschetta without the bread? I've been trying to focus on what I SHOULD eat, not what I SHOULDN'T eat. It's going to be a challenge, that's all I can say. And from a "frugal cooking" standpoint, even more so. Grains are cheap.
Even now, when I google "How Much Grain Should I Eat?" the first many many pages are based on the USDA recommendations. :(
How much grain do you eat?
Well the vacation went fairly well. We didn't sleep that much (it's hard to get the little guy to sleep in a hotel room). We had fun at Legoland, the Water Park at Legoland, Manhattan Beach, and the California Science Center (got to see the Space Shuttle Endeavor).
Vacation, to me, has always meant reading books. I love to read. So does my husband (our dating life was dinner out and then a bookstore, almost every week). So I took three books with me on the trip (I was reading four at once). This time around, they were all non-fiction:
Simple Food for the Good Life - Helen Nearing
Death by Food Pyramid - Denise Minger
What to Eat - Luise Light
I bought Death by Food Pyramid on my Kindle, and was in the early stages of it when she mentioned What to Eat. So I decided to order What to Eat on Amazon (used, for $1.00, plus shipping).
That book was eye-opening, to say the least. She has 10 simple rules for how to eat healthy. They make so much sense! And they would have been really helpful in 2006 (when the book came out).
The single biggest thing that I got out of this whole book is this: Luise Light was the nutritionist in charge of creating the USDA Food Pyramid in the late 1980s. She had a team of experts collecting data, reading the literature, studying results of tests comparing dietary factors and disease. She was very proud to submit her recommendations to the USDA.
And then...what came back bore little resemblance to her pyramid. So the experts did their due diligence, made their recommendations, and politics changed the food pyramid in response to industry pressures.
I am so disillusioned. Why, you ask? Well. The Food Pyramid came out when I was in my early 20's. It's been a HUGE part of my life - HUGE as I've been interested in health and fitness. And I have struggled with my weight. I have lost weight on Weight Watchers and by using a variety of other plans. Most of which were based on the food pyramid. Every dietitian I have worked with, or have read, discusses the food pyramid (low fat/ high carb). Lots of whole grains, low-fat cheese, skim milk, you get the picture.
In the last year or so, I've found alternative eating plans that have called for a major reduction in carbs. (For example: Primal Blueprint, 21-day fix). And while I followed them, or tried to, in the back of my mind I always thought "but 2-3 servings of carbs a day is NOT sustainable, the Food Pyramid/ USDA recommends 6! Eating vegetarian/ high carb is better for the planet, better for your health."
And it was all a LIE! The original food pyramid submitted to the USDA? 2-4 servings of WHOLE GRAINS per day. TWO (for most women, more for men and teenagers). In addition, the dairy recommendation was only 1-2 servings. Is it any wonder that I have a problem losing and maintaining weight? All of those people who eat "low carb" were pretty much right. I thought it was a fad - but really 2 servings of grain a day is a LOT closer to the Paleo/ Primal/ Low carb lifestyle than it is to the USDA recommendations of SIX servings.
So for fun, I went to the USDA website CHOOSE MY PLATE and put in my age, sex, and weight and said "I want to lose weight". It recommended a reasonable 1500 calories per day. Commercial programs recommend 1200 to 1400. It also recommended SIX servings of grain, THREE servings of dairy, etc. I decided to use the Supertracker to simulate a basic day's eating plan based on their minimum recommendations. What did I get? 2000 calories! Despite their recommendation of 1500 calories a day, if I eat six grains, three dairy servings, etc., I end up with almost 2000 calories. Is it any wonder I am fat?
So I played around with Supertracker and here is what I found:
Cutting grains down to 2-3 servings per day 1707 calories. Still probably not enough for weight loss.
Cutting grains down to 2-3 servings and dairy down to 1 to 2, 1458 calories.
And here was my actual intake for this particular day, 1455 calories.
So right now, this very moment, I am in mourning for my grains. I am trying to come to terms with 2 servings a day. At least Luise Light is a little bit easier than the 21 Day Fix. 21DF lumps beans/ legumes/ peas and potatoes in with carbohydrates. Luise Light allows for potatoes as a vegetable and beans as a vegetable or a protein.
How do you adjust? No more sandwiches! I mean, a single sandwich is both my grain servings for that day. What about a burrito? Yep, a burrito with rice would put me over. And pizza! Well, I guess pizza is an occasional food anyway. What is guacamole without chips? Bruschetta without the bread? I've been trying to focus on what I SHOULD eat, not what I SHOULDN'T eat. It's going to be a challenge, that's all I can say. And from a "frugal cooking" standpoint, even more so. Grains are cheap.
Even now, when I google "How Much Grain Should I Eat?" the first many many pages are based on the USDA recommendations. :(
How much grain do you eat?
Saturday, July 19, 2014
More Crockpot Meals and 3-day Refresh Results
It's SUMMER! Well, it's been summer for awhile. And I live in So Cal, so it's always warm. But summer to me means tomatoes and cucumbers, delicious salads. Grilling outdoors. Well, not so much on the grilling. I don't really know how to grill. I should learn though.
So this past week, on recommendation from my coworker, I tried the Beachbody 3-day Refresh. Since the layoff in April, I'd lost my mojo. Not only did my weight loss stall, but due to stress and lack of sleep, I gained back 8 of the 18 pounds that I've lost this year. My coworker tried the refresh and enjoyed it.
So two weeks ago, I got PiYo in the mail for my birthday. It's a pilates-yoga inspired workout that is no impact but really really hard. So the first week of PiYo (which I did even though I hurt my knee twice in two weeks boogie boarding with the kids) was great and hard, and I lost 1.2 lbs with the workouts and recommitting to my diet. I decided to start the 3-day Refresh cleanse on a Monday, figuring it would be easier to do it during a work week. Plus, Sunday was my anniversary, and we enjoyed lunch at the beach with the boys (18 years!)
Well, the results were stellar. I lost 5 lbs in 3 days, including an inch on my waist. I hope it stays off (it did for my friend). The Refresh is not cheap - but it was pretty easy to follow. Here's a summary of what it is:
First of all, half your weight in ounces of water. Start the day with water first thing.
Also, keep workouts light to moderate. I did 15 minutes of PiYo and 30 minutes of walking on day 1, and walking on Day 2 and Day 3.
Breakfast: Shakeology with fruit
Morning snack: green tea with stevia (there is NO COFFEE on this Refresh, so I started cutting back 5 days in advance. Of course, I'm back on the coffee. More on that later.)
Morning fiber drink
Lunch: a vanilla protein shake, a vegetable, a fat
Snack: a vegetable, a fat
Dinner: a protein shake, veggie broth with herbs, 3 vegetable servings, 1/2 fat
It's like a cleanse but with food. It is very low calorie, and it's vegan. I generally felt hungry right before lunch each day, but I did feel energized, even on little sleep. I am at least back to 16 lbs down. I really enjoyed the veggie broth, and plan to have that with dinner more often. Also, it's very heavy on veggies, and it's easy to get away from that because of the amount of work involved.
The idea is to use it to bust through a plateau, or get back on track after a bad spell, etc. Well, my eating went to crap right after. So I hope I can get back on track again. The final night, Wednesday, my 2 year old came home with a fever. That night I went to my quilting potluck (and didn't eat). Since Wednesday his fever has flared about every 12 hours. So I've been awake a lot. Tuesday morning from 3:30 to 5:30 am. Thurs from 1:30 to 3 am. Friday from 1:30 to 2:30 am. Friday night from 10:45 to 11:45 and again from 2:00 to 3:00.
Plus my husband had a busy work week so I took one for the team. Meaning I took two days off work, but tried to work during nap time. Do you know how hard it is to be at home full time with a toddler who is sick but energetic? Well, it's impossible. For one thing, he wants your constant attention, compared to normal when he can play independently for maybe 30 minutes. Next, he's sick with an as-yet-unknown illness. Roseola? Hand-foot-mouth? Something else? So you can't exactly take him to the park or the library. Or at least, you shouldn't. Because that's shitty to other parents out there. And except for the midday fever, he's still his energetic old self. And the fever means he doesn't nap long, and of course there is the nighttime wakeups. Did I mention my husband came home late yesterday? And that he went out for a beer with the neighbor (totally deserved, don't get me wrong), and toddler woke up then?
Ugh. Anyway, with those parameters it's really really hard to do anything, much less eat anything, much less keep to a reasonable diet. And of course I have almost no PTO left. Somehow I think when we come back from our August vacation I will have 14 hours (HOURS) of PTO and my husband will have 250.
On the plus side, I cooked dinner both nights and did the grocery shopping, because I was home. The second night I didn't cook until late because I was waiting for the husband, who didn't materialize until very late because of the last minute project.
First night: baked chicken tenders with Tuscan herbs. Bruschetta with fresh tomatoes, and steamed veggies. (I got really used to the steamed veggies on the 3-day refresh). I'm still not great with the chicken tenders. They were dry and overcooked.
Second night: stir fried onions and peppers with the leftover chicken, leftover veggies, and cooked flageolet beans. And corn on the cob. Which took an hour to husk. 5 ears. No pictures, but got two thumbs up from the hubby. Kiddos aren't eating much these days. The corn was delish, on sale for $1 for 5 ears.
Anyway, on to the meal plan and the use of the crockpot, because I suck at grilling:
Saturday: chicken tenders and TJ's Island Soyaki in the crockpot, with brown rice (pressure cooker recipe) and sauteed snow peas (leftover from Refresh) and broccoli.
Sunday: tri-tip with beans, peppers, onions, and salsa in the crockpot, with kale chips, leftover rice, and guacamole.
The rest of the weekly meals include:
sandwiches. It's hot. I bought turkey.
salads. See above. I have lettuce and radishes.
beet salad with feta
roasted vegetables. My niece in SC is a monster - you should check out her blog - she's lost a ton of weight and is training for a fitness competition. She's in the early phase of being a total cheerleader and a "no excuses" kind of attitude, and I totally remember being the same way. When I was her age anyway. Now I'm 44, with too many injuries to count, and not enough sleep. So. There's that. Anyway, Sunday is her meal prep day and her instagram last week had three large trays of veggies roasting, so I bought cauliflower and broccoli to roast this week.
So this past week, on recommendation from my coworker, I tried the Beachbody 3-day Refresh. Since the layoff in April, I'd lost my mojo. Not only did my weight loss stall, but due to stress and lack of sleep, I gained back 8 of the 18 pounds that I've lost this year. My coworker tried the refresh and enjoyed it.
So two weeks ago, I got PiYo in the mail for my birthday. It's a pilates-yoga inspired workout that is no impact but really really hard. So the first week of PiYo (which I did even though I hurt my knee twice in two weeks boogie boarding with the kids) was great and hard, and I lost 1.2 lbs with the workouts and recommitting to my diet. I decided to start the 3-day Refresh cleanse on a Monday, figuring it would be easier to do it during a work week. Plus, Sunday was my anniversary, and we enjoyed lunch at the beach with the boys (18 years!)
View during our anniversary lunch
Well, the results were stellar. I lost 5 lbs in 3 days, including an inch on my waist. I hope it stays off (it did for my friend). The Refresh is not cheap - but it was pretty easy to follow. Here's a summary of what it is:
First of all, half your weight in ounces of water. Start the day with water first thing.
Also, keep workouts light to moderate. I did 15 minutes of PiYo and 30 minutes of walking on day 1, and walking on Day 2 and Day 3.
Breakfast: Shakeology with fruit
Morning snack: green tea with stevia (there is NO COFFEE on this Refresh, so I started cutting back 5 days in advance. Of course, I'm back on the coffee. More on that later.)
Morning fiber drink
Lunch: a vanilla protein shake, a vegetable, a fat
Snack: a vegetable, a fat
Dinner: a protein shake, veggie broth with herbs, 3 vegetable servings, 1/2 fat
It's like a cleanse but with food. It is very low calorie, and it's vegan. I generally felt hungry right before lunch each day, but I did feel energized, even on little sleep. I am at least back to 16 lbs down. I really enjoyed the veggie broth, and plan to have that with dinner more often. Also, it's very heavy on veggies, and it's easy to get away from that because of the amount of work involved.
The idea is to use it to bust through a plateau, or get back on track after a bad spell, etc. Well, my eating went to crap right after. So I hope I can get back on track again. The final night, Wednesday, my 2 year old came home with a fever. That night I went to my quilting potluck (and didn't eat). Since Wednesday his fever has flared about every 12 hours. So I've been awake a lot. Tuesday morning from 3:30 to 5:30 am. Thurs from 1:30 to 3 am. Friday from 1:30 to 2:30 am. Friday night from 10:45 to 11:45 and again from 2:00 to 3:00.
Plus my husband had a busy work week so I took one for the team. Meaning I took two days off work, but tried to work during nap time. Do you know how hard it is to be at home full time with a toddler who is sick but energetic? Well, it's impossible. For one thing, he wants your constant attention, compared to normal when he can play independently for maybe 30 minutes. Next, he's sick with an as-yet-unknown illness. Roseola? Hand-foot-mouth? Something else? So you can't exactly take him to the park or the library. Or at least, you shouldn't. Because that's shitty to other parents out there. And except for the midday fever, he's still his energetic old self. And the fever means he doesn't nap long, and of course there is the nighttime wakeups. Did I mention my husband came home late yesterday? And that he went out for a beer with the neighbor (totally deserved, don't get me wrong), and toddler woke up then?
Ugh. Anyway, with those parameters it's really really hard to do anything, much less eat anything, much less keep to a reasonable diet. And of course I have almost no PTO left. Somehow I think when we come back from our August vacation I will have 14 hours (HOURS) of PTO and my husband will have 250.
On the plus side, I cooked dinner both nights and did the grocery shopping, because I was home. The second night I didn't cook until late because I was waiting for the husband, who didn't materialize until very late because of the last minute project.
First night: baked chicken tenders with Tuscan herbs. Bruschetta with fresh tomatoes, and steamed veggies. (I got really used to the steamed veggies on the 3-day refresh). I'm still not great with the chicken tenders. They were dry and overcooked.
Second night: stir fried onions and peppers with the leftover chicken, leftover veggies, and cooked flageolet beans. And corn on the cob. Which took an hour to husk. 5 ears. No pictures, but got two thumbs up from the hubby. Kiddos aren't eating much these days. The corn was delish, on sale for $1 for 5 ears.
Anyway, on to the meal plan and the use of the crockpot, because I suck at grilling:
Saturday: chicken tenders and TJ's Island Soyaki in the crockpot, with brown rice (pressure cooker recipe) and sauteed snow peas (leftover from Refresh) and broccoli.
Sunday: tri-tip with beans, peppers, onions, and salsa in the crockpot, with kale chips, leftover rice, and guacamole.
The rest of the weekly meals include:
sandwiches. It's hot. I bought turkey.
salads. See above. I have lettuce and radishes.
beet salad with feta
roasted vegetables. My niece in SC is a monster - you should check out her blog - she's lost a ton of weight and is training for a fitness competition. She's in the early phase of being a total cheerleader and a "no excuses" kind of attitude, and I totally remember being the same way. When I was her age anyway. Now I'm 44, with too many injuries to count, and not enough sleep. So. There's that. Anyway, Sunday is her meal prep day and her instagram last week had three large trays of veggies roasting, so I bought cauliflower and broccoli to roast this week.
Saturday, May 10, 2014
149.2
Just a quick update, since I started the 21-day fix (modified for my own lifestyle), I have dropped almost 9 pounds.
My weight last weigh in was 149.2. On December 27, it was 168, so I've lost almost NINETEEN POUNDS.
Only 15 more to go. ;)
Slow and steady...slow and steady...
My weight last weigh in was 149.2. On December 27, it was 168, so I've lost almost NINETEEN POUNDS.
Only 15 more to go. ;)
Slow and steady...slow and steady...
Saturday, March 15, 2014
Week 1, 21 Day Fix
Just a short update on my first week. I got the system on Wednesday of last week, started on Friday. I have been a little loose...gave myself a cheat day on Sunday, had a glass of wine on Thursday, had an extra slice of pizza today.
But overall, I'm still pleased. I've lost between 1.5 and 4 lbs in the last week (why the range? My weight fluctuates by a couple of pounds due to water. I went from 157 last Monday to 156.2 on Friday to 157 on Monday to 153 on Thursday to 154.8 on Friday.)
Anyway, I'm down a little bit, which is awesome! I really love the workouts, but I'm not gonna lie - I wanted to cry the day after the first full body cardio workout. My legs were so sore. Then I had to go into legs two days later. So far I've done all but the quick abs and yoga (I'm working it around my regular workouts). I have to do the "modified" versions of everything because my knees/ ankles still aren't able to take the pounding of running in place, jumping jacks, etc.
I'm eating a LOT of salad, pretty much because I'm getting two heads of lettuce a week from the CSA. BIG heads of lettuce. The hardest part, and the reason for the cheats, is that I only get two yellows - so only two servings of carbs a day (rice, beans, bread, etc.) And they are small servings.
I hope that I can maintain this pretty well for the next week when my husband is out of town. The week after is Spring break. Most of the week should be easy because we are off and my MIL is visiting so I'll have a lot more free time. But we are taking a family trip to Disneyland for two days- that will be the challenge.
On a surprising note, the chocolate shakeology is the BOMB. I mean, I still kinda can't believe that people pay $4 a serving for it (160 calories). But it tastes REALLY good and is filling. I will definitely stick to it as long as the weight is coming off.
The thing I like the most is the "if it ships, it fits". I stuff that little container full of...cottage cheese, strawberries, sunflower seeds, avocado (depending on the color) and then I'm good.
But overall, I'm still pleased. I've lost between 1.5 and 4 lbs in the last week (why the range? My weight fluctuates by a couple of pounds due to water. I went from 157 last Monday to 156.2 on Friday to 157 on Monday to 153 on Thursday to 154.8 on Friday.)
Anyway, I'm down a little bit, which is awesome! I really love the workouts, but I'm not gonna lie - I wanted to cry the day after the first full body cardio workout. My legs were so sore. Then I had to go into legs two days later. So far I've done all but the quick abs and yoga (I'm working it around my regular workouts). I have to do the "modified" versions of everything because my knees/ ankles still aren't able to take the pounding of running in place, jumping jacks, etc.
I'm eating a LOT of salad, pretty much because I'm getting two heads of lettuce a week from the CSA. BIG heads of lettuce. The hardest part, and the reason for the cheats, is that I only get two yellows - so only two servings of carbs a day (rice, beans, bread, etc.) And they are small servings.
I hope that I can maintain this pretty well for the next week when my husband is out of town. The week after is Spring break. Most of the week should be easy because we are off and my MIL is visiting so I'll have a lot more free time. But we are taking a family trip to Disneyland for two days- that will be the challenge.
On a surprising note, the chocolate shakeology is the BOMB. I mean, I still kinda can't believe that people pay $4 a serving for it (160 calories). But it tastes REALLY good and is filling. I will definitely stick to it as long as the weight is coming off.
The thing I like the most is the "if it ships, it fits". I stuff that little container full of...cottage cheese, strawberries, sunflower seeds, avocado (depending on the color) and then I'm good.
Saturday, February 1, 2014
Women's Wellness Retreat #2 and an Inspiration
I have been notably absent lately. It's the reality of life with a full time job and two kids (one of them 18 months old) - no time to myself and a computer that has been crashing for months. (Luckily we bought a new one yesterday, not yet hooked up). Mr. D (toddler) has been waking up in the night off and on, and that makes for bad sleep. Mostly I really have a hard time getting back to sleep.
Last fall when I was seriously at my wit's end with my job and family life I attended the first Winter Wellness Retreat at a beach house in Oxnard, run by an awesome running coach and personal trainer and a VERY good chef. This is her book. If you live anywhere near Santa Barbara/ Ventura/ Oxnard/ Thousand Oaks - she does classes up and down the coast. (I'm talking to you Kalli!) Alas, I was coming down with a cold that weekend (that turned into 3 weeks of bronchitis). What I took from that, besides the need to take care of myself, was the need to take care of one thing. So I focused on my mental state. Sure, I wanted to exercise more and eat right, but small steps...
Once I recovered from the bronchitis, I started taking more time off work. I have PTO - so if I felt like taking a long lunch or going home early, I did. In reality, that rarely happened. What I did do is take a lot of time off for sick time - my sick time, the kids' sick time, doctor's appointments, dentist's appointments, school holidays, company holidays. All in all I took 152 hours of PTO in 4 months. And I'm almost out of PTO. While this is not great for any future holiday plans, it really did help me relax - in past times, I would have tried to "make up" missed time at nights or on weekends. I seriously have not worked a full 80 hour pay period since September. (I really never should have gone back to full time work in July. I regret it mightily - so in reality, I'm not working full time anymore. I earn 10 hours of PTO a pay period, and seem to be taking an average of 5-10 each pay period).
The other thing I decided to do to relax is more meditative things right before bed. I started knitting and crocheting (which has meditative benefits). I started ending the day with a cup of hot herbal tea several days a week. I make it a point to try and read 10 minutes before bed. I am asleep most days by 9 pm.
Finally, I stopped setting the alarm to go to the gym at 5 am. My husband thinks we should start going again. I am really leery of it in cold and flu time. Because, I'm recovering from another cold. The advantage here is simply extra sleep. I wake up at 6:10 am when the baby wakes up.
A week and a half ago, I got an email that there were two cancellations for the next weekend retreat. I asked my husband, and he said, "it's a good time, work is normal, go". What a great guy. So, I went. Of course I had a cold again (but not bronchitis, so it was much better). And I ended up sharing a room, with a woman named Marsha. It was funny - on our door they misspelled my name so that it said "Marsha B" and "Marsha M" and I was a bit confused (because B is my maiden initial and M is my married initial). As a little funny story - M is her maiden initial and B is her married initial.
This time, I was happy that I had made so much progress on my mental state and was starting decluttering the house. I then had to decide "what next" - food or fitness. I still haven't figured out "what next" because I'm doing a little bit of both. I have started walking 30 minutes on my lunch break every day. I have also started eating more fruit for breakfast - smoothies mostly. These two things plus a bout with the stomach flu in mid-January (yes, a second bout) have helped me drop 10 pounds. So let's keep it going, shall we?
The wonderful thing about the women's retreat is the women - you get delicious meals, beach walks, beach yoga, meditation, massages - but the best part is connecting with other women at various stages in their lives and journeys and getting inspired by them. We spent an evening doing a "story board" of what we want in life this year, what is important to us (I did three of them). I need to find a place to hang them.
I think it's very important to find inspiration from many things and people. Last summer my sister told me that her daughter, my niece, had lost 30 pounds. I thought that was GREAT. She didn't really say anything about it. This week, my niece posts a link to her blog on her FB page. I was very impressed. Much of her experience matches my own. I am inspired. As she says "everyone has the same 24 hours". Now, of course this is true, but then everyone has different requirements for their 24 hours. So while it's good to get inspiration, it's also not good to do a direct comparison. I cannot work out 2x a day - I can barely get any exercise in because my kids are awake when I am, with the exception of about 15 minutes a day. (It's really Mr. D who is the problem - but you know, he won't ALWAYS be. He will soon be able to work out with me or just watch - not crawl under me when I do downward dog and reach up and poke my stomach.)
You can read her blog here. This is my favorite post so far. She goes a lot into nutrition, so it's very nice that she posted her blog right after my healthy living retreat. Here is an example of the food we had on the retreat weekend:
homemade granola, yogurt, berries
passionate breakfast cookies (from her book) - delish!
quiche
Baked parmesan tofu (this was really good)
Mediterranean quinoa salad (I have a version in the fridge right now)
Chicken piccata
Lentil soup
Egg and avocado salad
Kale and pumpkin seed salad
Arugula and baby spinach salad
Vegetables and hummus
Many of the recipes are in her book. She has a large forward on nutrition and how it saved her family's health.
Last fall when I was seriously at my wit's end with my job and family life I attended the first Winter Wellness Retreat at a beach house in Oxnard, run by an awesome running coach and personal trainer and a VERY good chef. This is her book. If you live anywhere near Santa Barbara/ Ventura/ Oxnard/ Thousand Oaks - she does classes up and down the coast. (I'm talking to you Kalli!) Alas, I was coming down with a cold that weekend (that turned into 3 weeks of bronchitis). What I took from that, besides the need to take care of myself, was the need to take care of one thing. So I focused on my mental state. Sure, I wanted to exercise more and eat right, but small steps...
The view from the patio of the beach house.
Once I recovered from the bronchitis, I started taking more time off work. I have PTO - so if I felt like taking a long lunch or going home early, I did. In reality, that rarely happened. What I did do is take a lot of time off for sick time - my sick time, the kids' sick time, doctor's appointments, dentist's appointments, school holidays, company holidays. All in all I took 152 hours of PTO in 4 months. And I'm almost out of PTO. While this is not great for any future holiday plans, it really did help me relax - in past times, I would have tried to "make up" missed time at nights or on weekends. I seriously have not worked a full 80 hour pay period since September. (I really never should have gone back to full time work in July. I regret it mightily - so in reality, I'm not working full time anymore. I earn 10 hours of PTO a pay period, and seem to be taking an average of 5-10 each pay period).
The other thing I decided to do to relax is more meditative things right before bed. I started knitting and crocheting (which has meditative benefits). I started ending the day with a cup of hot herbal tea several days a week. I make it a point to try and read 10 minutes before bed. I am asleep most days by 9 pm.
Finally, I stopped setting the alarm to go to the gym at 5 am. My husband thinks we should start going again. I am really leery of it in cold and flu time. Because, I'm recovering from another cold. The advantage here is simply extra sleep. I wake up at 6:10 am when the baby wakes up.
A week and a half ago, I got an email that there were two cancellations for the next weekend retreat. I asked my husband, and he said, "it's a good time, work is normal, go". What a great guy. So, I went. Of course I had a cold again (but not bronchitis, so it was much better). And I ended up sharing a room, with a woman named Marsha. It was funny - on our door they misspelled my name so that it said "Marsha B" and "Marsha M" and I was a bit confused (because B is my maiden initial and M is my married initial). As a little funny story - M is her maiden initial and B is her married initial.
This time, I was happy that I had made so much progress on my mental state and was starting decluttering the house. I then had to decide "what next" - food or fitness. I still haven't figured out "what next" because I'm doing a little bit of both. I have started walking 30 minutes on my lunch break every day. I have also started eating more fruit for breakfast - smoothies mostly. These two things plus a bout with the stomach flu in mid-January (yes, a second bout) have helped me drop 10 pounds. So let's keep it going, shall we?
The wonderful thing about the women's retreat is the women - you get delicious meals, beach walks, beach yoga, meditation, massages - but the best part is connecting with other women at various stages in their lives and journeys and getting inspired by them. We spent an evening doing a "story board" of what we want in life this year, what is important to us (I did three of them). I need to find a place to hang them.
I think it's very important to find inspiration from many things and people. Last summer my sister told me that her daughter, my niece, had lost 30 pounds. I thought that was GREAT. She didn't really say anything about it. This week, my niece posts a link to her blog on her FB page. I was very impressed. Much of her experience matches my own. I am inspired. As she says "everyone has the same 24 hours". Now, of course this is true, but then everyone has different requirements for their 24 hours. So while it's good to get inspiration, it's also not good to do a direct comparison. I cannot work out 2x a day - I can barely get any exercise in because my kids are awake when I am, with the exception of about 15 minutes a day. (It's really Mr. D who is the problem - but you know, he won't ALWAYS be. He will soon be able to work out with me or just watch - not crawl under me when I do downward dog and reach up and poke my stomach.)
You can read her blog here. This is my favorite post so far. She goes a lot into nutrition, so it's very nice that she posted her blog right after my healthy living retreat. Here is an example of the food we had on the retreat weekend:
homemade granola, yogurt, berries
passionate breakfast cookies (from her book) - delish!
quiche
Baked parmesan tofu (this was really good)
Mediterranean quinoa salad (I have a version in the fridge right now)
Chicken piccata
Lentil soup
Egg and avocado salad
Kale and pumpkin seed salad
Arugula and baby spinach salad
Vegetables and hummus
Many of the recipes are in her book. She has a large forward on nutrition and how it saved her family's health.
Sunday, October 6, 2013
Staying on track while eating out
I'm going to tell you a secret. I don't eat out very much.
Okay, maybe that's not much of a secret. I used to eat out a lot. I gained weight, spent a lot of money, and had high blood pressure in my late 20s.
As a short, stocky, 40-something mother of two, I just don't have the metabolism (or the budget), for frequent eating out. All my eating out budget goes to daycare. Plus, have you ever tried to eat out at a restaurant with a toddler (age 1 to 4?) Miserable. Not fun. For anybody. They just want to run around.
But sometimes, you just gotta. You are on vacation, on business travel. You have to eat lunch with your coworkers for a going away lunch. You want to go on a date with your husband. How do you navigate?
Here's how I navigate:
salad, paleo, vegan, sandwich, smoothie, let loose
You have to balance your intake with "how much" you are eating out. If you are training for a marathon, you can probably let loose a lot.
But if you are the average American? Maybe not so much.
On the few times that I eat out, I try to be healthy, and I go through the list above.
1. Salad. I pick this most often. In Southern California, you can get a salad pretty much anywhere. And because people like salad, it's generally good salad - not just iceberg or plain lettuce. You can get main dish salads with protein, roasted vegetables, raw vegetables, beans...you name it. And the best thing is that you actually get vegetables. Now, you will always hear "beware the salad", and sure, if you are going to top it with croutons, ranch dressing, and lots of cheese, it can be a calorie bomb. But if you get the dressing on the side and fill it with produce, you are on the right track.
2. Paleo. A lot of times, your salad will also be paleo. I am not personally afraid of proteins on my salad. Chicken, shrimp, eggs, beef - protein keeps me fuller longer. But if you are at a place where you cannot get a decent salad - aim for something paleo. Let's face it - some restaurants avoid fresh vegetables. They are hard to store, go bad, and if you want them to last, you are buying them from somewhere that grows them for shelf life, not for taste. Longer-living vegetables like hard squash, broccoli, and carrots can be your friend. It is pretty easy to get a paleo meal at an American place (fish, steak, or chicken and a side of steamed vegetables), or a Chinese place (stir fry, hold the rice!)
3. Vegan. I don't know about you, but there is something about rice, meat, and cheese together that just make life so delicious - whether it be a burrito or pizza, it's hard to say no to. So that's why sometimes, you best option is something vegan. This may be a bean and rice and salsa burrito, a vegetable taco, a tofu stir-fry, or a bean-based salad.
4. Sandwich. Have you ever been rushing through an airport and desperate for something to take on the plane? Enter the humble sandwich. Even if you are eating at a restaurant, it can be a good bet. Keep it simple with two slices of bread, a protein, and some vegetables. I'm not going to tell you to leave off the cheese and mayo either. If you pile it with tomatoes, lettuce, and onion, you are at least getting some produce. But you have to leave it at the sandwich. Unless you have fruit or a simple green salad as a side dish option, skip the side. Mac salad, potato salad, or chips are not your friend here folks.
I also loosely define "hamburger" as a sandwich. If you are jonesing for a burger, by all means, have one. But just the burger. "Do you want fries with that?" The answer is no.
5. Smoothie. This may be a California phenomenon, but there are smoothie bars everywhere here where you can get a few servings of fruits in a meal for about 350 calories. Especially good on a hot day.
6. Let loose. Everyone has birthdays and anniversaries and special occasions. As long as your special occasions are once a month? Who cares, eat what you want. Once in awhile, you just want to have a beer, eat some pizza, and dunk your hot wings in blue cheese dressing.
So what did I do this weekend? We went out for breakfast. I got a sandwich (a bagel), I only ate half of it, and I saved the other half for later. My side dish? Fruit.
Okay, maybe that's not much of a secret. I used to eat out a lot. I gained weight, spent a lot of money, and had high blood pressure in my late 20s.
As a short, stocky, 40-something mother of two, I just don't have the metabolism (or the budget), for frequent eating out. All my eating out budget goes to daycare. Plus, have you ever tried to eat out at a restaurant with a toddler (age 1 to 4?) Miserable. Not fun. For anybody. They just want to run around.
But sometimes, you just gotta. You are on vacation, on business travel. You have to eat lunch with your coworkers for a going away lunch. You want to go on a date with your husband. How do you navigate?
Here's how I navigate:
salad, paleo, vegan, sandwich, smoothie, let loose
You have to balance your intake with "how much" you are eating out. If you are training for a marathon, you can probably let loose a lot.
But if you are the average American? Maybe not so much.
On the few times that I eat out, I try to be healthy, and I go through the list above.
1. Salad. I pick this most often. In Southern California, you can get a salad pretty much anywhere. And because people like salad, it's generally good salad - not just iceberg or plain lettuce. You can get main dish salads with protein, roasted vegetables, raw vegetables, beans...you name it. And the best thing is that you actually get vegetables. Now, you will always hear "beware the salad", and sure, if you are going to top it with croutons, ranch dressing, and lots of cheese, it can be a calorie bomb. But if you get the dressing on the side and fill it with produce, you are on the right track.
2. Paleo. A lot of times, your salad will also be paleo. I am not personally afraid of proteins on my salad. Chicken, shrimp, eggs, beef - protein keeps me fuller longer. But if you are at a place where you cannot get a decent salad - aim for something paleo. Let's face it - some restaurants avoid fresh vegetables. They are hard to store, go bad, and if you want them to last, you are buying them from somewhere that grows them for shelf life, not for taste. Longer-living vegetables like hard squash, broccoli, and carrots can be your friend. It is pretty easy to get a paleo meal at an American place (fish, steak, or chicken and a side of steamed vegetables), or a Chinese place (stir fry, hold the rice!)
3. Vegan. I don't know about you, but there is something about rice, meat, and cheese together that just make life so delicious - whether it be a burrito or pizza, it's hard to say no to. So that's why sometimes, you best option is something vegan. This may be a bean and rice and salsa burrito, a vegetable taco, a tofu stir-fry, or a bean-based salad.
4. Sandwich. Have you ever been rushing through an airport and desperate for something to take on the plane? Enter the humble sandwich. Even if you are eating at a restaurant, it can be a good bet. Keep it simple with two slices of bread, a protein, and some vegetables. I'm not going to tell you to leave off the cheese and mayo either. If you pile it with tomatoes, lettuce, and onion, you are at least getting some produce. But you have to leave it at the sandwich. Unless you have fruit or a simple green salad as a side dish option, skip the side. Mac salad, potato salad, or chips are not your friend here folks.
I also loosely define "hamburger" as a sandwich. If you are jonesing for a burger, by all means, have one. But just the burger. "Do you want fries with that?" The answer is no.
5. Smoothie. This may be a California phenomenon, but there are smoothie bars everywhere here where you can get a few servings of fruits in a meal for about 350 calories. Especially good on a hot day.
6. Let loose. Everyone has birthdays and anniversaries and special occasions. As long as your special occasions are once a month? Who cares, eat what you want. Once in awhile, you just want to have a beer, eat some pizza, and dunk your hot wings in blue cheese dressing.
So what did I do this weekend? We went out for breakfast. I got a sandwich (a bagel), I only ate half of it, and I saved the other half for later. My side dish? Fruit.
Monday, July 22, 2013
On long term success
I've been thinking a lot lately about long term success. Mostly, I've been thinking about weight loss, but I think it applies to any long term goal...work, parenting, etc.
I am a member of the National Weight Control Registry. Sometimes, I feel like a bit of a fraud. I recently filled out my annual questionnaire and I'm not particularly happy about my current weight. Especially when I admitted that I hadn't given birth in the last 12 months. I took them literally because I got the survey 12 months and 11 days after the baby was born. What upsets me the most is that i was almost 20 lbs lighter last October and I backslid. It's one thing to stall, backsliding is something else.
My good friend the dietitian told me today that she knows I've made permanent changes and the baby weight is only temporary. How does she know? And why did I backslide? I know there were several factors...lack of sleep, stress, illness, husband traveling. It's just plain hard to keep it all together.
This week, I returned to work full time...I've been PT for the last 10 months. Except...today, my first day, the baby woke up with a fever. So I'm starting my first FT week not working FT. In order for me to lose weight, sadly, I have to count calories. I'm not one of the lucky ones.
I've lost weight I the past on weight watchers. The dirty secret about WW is that every few years, they change their plan. It is, in part, due to new information on health and diet. It is also, I believe, a way to get more money. Each change means you have to keep attending meetings, or continue your on line membership or buy new materials. Thing is? The last two iterations didn't work for me, so I cancelled my on line membership and decided to go with straight calories.
This, my friends, takes time. I have a hard enough time cooking dinner with a one year old underfoot. If I am counting calories, I basically need to know what I am eating a day in advance. I managed to make a pasta dish for dinner...tasty but looked awful...brown. Then I needed to plan tomorrow. After I got the baby to sleep, I
Scooped out pasta into three Tupperware.
Started boiling eggs...which is so bad with kids...so easily distracted, I've almost cooked them dry.
Made a side salad.
Oops, baby woke up again...picked him up, turned down the eggs, rocked him back to sleep, turned the eggs back on
Washed blueberries
Made soda water
Now I am sitting typing on the iPad because my kid and hubby have been fighting over the computer.
How can you be sure that you have what it takes long term? For one, you have to know what works. You have to be willing to stick with it over the long haul. For me this means planning my meals in advance, planning my exercise . When I recommit to my plan, at first I have to stay away from triggers...chips, alcohol, chocolate, eating out. This most recent time, I've decided to give myself a day off a week, at most, from counting. This doesn't mean I go hog wild, it means I get a day off from the tedium. It also means if I have two parties in one week, I have to be very careful at at least one and count calories.
It also means you have to go with it. There is nothing I'd love more right now than to be training for a triathlon or doing P90X daily. My life, my ankle, my knee won't allow it. They WILL allow me to lift, swim, bike, and do short walks, so that's what I do.
How am I looking long term? Only time will tell. Week one of my recommitment saw me down 3.2 pounds, so yay me! Only 37 more to go.
I am a member of the National Weight Control Registry. Sometimes, I feel like a bit of a fraud. I recently filled out my annual questionnaire and I'm not particularly happy about my current weight. Especially when I admitted that I hadn't given birth in the last 12 months. I took them literally because I got the survey 12 months and 11 days after the baby was born. What upsets me the most is that i was almost 20 lbs lighter last October and I backslid. It's one thing to stall, backsliding is something else.
My good friend the dietitian told me today that she knows I've made permanent changes and the baby weight is only temporary. How does she know? And why did I backslide? I know there were several factors...lack of sleep, stress, illness, husband traveling. It's just plain hard to keep it all together.
This week, I returned to work full time...I've been PT for the last 10 months. Except...today, my first day, the baby woke up with a fever. So I'm starting my first FT week not working FT. In order for me to lose weight, sadly, I have to count calories. I'm not one of the lucky ones.
I've lost weight I the past on weight watchers. The dirty secret about WW is that every few years, they change their plan. It is, in part, due to new information on health and diet. It is also, I believe, a way to get more money. Each change means you have to keep attending meetings, or continue your on line membership or buy new materials. Thing is? The last two iterations didn't work for me, so I cancelled my on line membership and decided to go with straight calories.
This, my friends, takes time. I have a hard enough time cooking dinner with a one year old underfoot. If I am counting calories, I basically need to know what I am eating a day in advance. I managed to make a pasta dish for dinner...tasty but looked awful...brown. Then I needed to plan tomorrow. After I got the baby to sleep, I
Scooped out pasta into three Tupperware.
Started boiling eggs...which is so bad with kids...so easily distracted, I've almost cooked them dry.
Made a side salad.
Oops, baby woke up again...picked him up, turned down the eggs, rocked him back to sleep, turned the eggs back on
Washed blueberries
Made soda water
Now I am sitting typing on the iPad because my kid and hubby have been fighting over the computer.
How can you be sure that you have what it takes long term? For one, you have to know what works. You have to be willing to stick with it over the long haul. For me this means planning my meals in advance, planning my exercise . When I recommit to my plan, at first I have to stay away from triggers...chips, alcohol, chocolate, eating out. This most recent time, I've decided to give myself a day off a week, at most, from counting. This doesn't mean I go hog wild, it means I get a day off from the tedium. It also means if I have two parties in one week, I have to be very careful at at least one and count calories.
It also means you have to go with it. There is nothing I'd love more right now than to be training for a triathlon or doing P90X daily. My life, my ankle, my knee won't allow it. They WILL allow me to lift, swim, bike, and do short walks, so that's what I do.
How am I looking long term? Only time will tell. Week one of my recommitment saw me down 3.2 pounds, so yay me! Only 37 more to go.
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Those sneaky "Special Occasion" Calories
I know you've been there. You are trying to watch your weight, or lose weight, and so are either carefully counting every calorie or are just staying away from high calorie and/or trigger foods.
And then. There they are. The "pushers".
The pushers come in many forms. Sometimes they are overweight friends who want company - they really don't want you to lose weight. Sometimes they are skinny friends, who see you as the "fat friend" and are threatened by the idea of you trimming down. Sometimes they are well-meaning, normal-weight friends who have never struggled with their weight. They can eat a brownie or piece of cake, and it never goes to their hips. Or they don't have food issues, so they can eat a single cookie or drink a glass of wine, and that's it. They can leave it after that.
A favorite comment from a "pusher" if you turn down that cake is "But it's a special occasion!"
This, my friends, for most of us, is total bullshit.
At some point, long ago, it really made sense. When I was a child in the 70's, we didn't eat out. Meals were mostly cooked from scratch (with some canned soup and bologna sandwiches). We rarely had chips or soda in the house. Cookies were baked from scratch. Special occasions were special - Thanksgiving. Christmas. New year's. Birthdays for the kids (most of the time, 3 of us). That's...5 special occasions a year. Add in the occasional party or other event and it was certainly still less than 12.
But these days, how special are they? I'll tell you how special.
Let's start with June 1.
1 year old birthday parties: 5. I have attended 5 of these and declined to attend at least as many.
My own baby's birthday dinner: 1
My birthday (I was on a plane, there was no cake involved): 1
Our anniversary: 1
Company BBQ: 1
Retirement party: 1
Friends visiting/ French festival: 1
Days where there was cake or cheesecake at work: 2
So in 6 weeks, there were 13 "special occasions" with the opportunity to eat sweets, cake, drink wine or beer, or eat fried/ unhealthy food. That's two per week.
That doesn't even factor in the school aged child. He attends at least 5-7 birthday parties a year. Cookies and chips are a regular thing at camp and school. Sometimes he feels that he should get dessert every night. Every night?? We've set it at 2x a week, but still there are "special occasions" like tomorrow's concert in the park. No, I'm not packing sweets, but if his friends are there and they have them, he will eat them.
This is why it's very important to define "special occasion" calories. After I had my second baby, I met with a dietitian online (she happens to be a friend). She defined various foods as "everyday", "once in awhile" and "special occasion". And "special occasion" foods are once a MONTH. How do you handle the "pushers" who don't get that?
I simply decline the cake and say "I don't like cake" (which is mostly true). If it's a good friend, I simply state that at my age, I simply cannot spare the calories.
Some people, however, will never get it. So be strong, friends. Understand "Special Occasion" calories and decide how often they will enter your life. Accept that we are all different. That 24-year old marathon runner will be able to eat a lot more than that 43-year old occasional exerciser. Try not to compare yourself to other people's options. It's just depressing. (It has gotten to the point that I don't even read any blog post that is a dessert. I will not make them. I will not eat them. I just press the delete button.)
And because I want to post a photo, here's a pic of my little sweet boy on his first birthday, eating his first piece of cake! And so far, only.
And then. There they are. The "pushers".
The pushers come in many forms. Sometimes they are overweight friends who want company - they really don't want you to lose weight. Sometimes they are skinny friends, who see you as the "fat friend" and are threatened by the idea of you trimming down. Sometimes they are well-meaning, normal-weight friends who have never struggled with their weight. They can eat a brownie or piece of cake, and it never goes to their hips. Or they don't have food issues, so they can eat a single cookie or drink a glass of wine, and that's it. They can leave it after that.
A favorite comment from a "pusher" if you turn down that cake is "But it's a special occasion!"
This, my friends, for most of us, is total bullshit.
At some point, long ago, it really made sense. When I was a child in the 70's, we didn't eat out. Meals were mostly cooked from scratch (with some canned soup and bologna sandwiches). We rarely had chips or soda in the house. Cookies were baked from scratch. Special occasions were special - Thanksgiving. Christmas. New year's. Birthdays for the kids (most of the time, 3 of us). That's...5 special occasions a year. Add in the occasional party or other event and it was certainly still less than 12.
But these days, how special are they? I'll tell you how special.
Let's start with June 1.
1 year old birthday parties: 5. I have attended 5 of these and declined to attend at least as many.
My own baby's birthday dinner: 1
My birthday (I was on a plane, there was no cake involved): 1
Our anniversary: 1
Company BBQ: 1
Retirement party: 1
Friends visiting/ French festival: 1
Days where there was cake or cheesecake at work: 2
So in 6 weeks, there were 13 "special occasions" with the opportunity to eat sweets, cake, drink wine or beer, or eat fried/ unhealthy food. That's two per week.
That doesn't even factor in the school aged child. He attends at least 5-7 birthday parties a year. Cookies and chips are a regular thing at camp and school. Sometimes he feels that he should get dessert every night. Every night?? We've set it at 2x a week, but still there are "special occasions" like tomorrow's concert in the park. No, I'm not packing sweets, but if his friends are there and they have them, he will eat them.
This is why it's very important to define "special occasion" calories. After I had my second baby, I met with a dietitian online (she happens to be a friend). She defined various foods as "everyday", "once in awhile" and "special occasion". And "special occasion" foods are once a MONTH. How do you handle the "pushers" who don't get that?
I simply decline the cake and say "I don't like cake" (which is mostly true). If it's a good friend, I simply state that at my age, I simply cannot spare the calories.
Some people, however, will never get it. So be strong, friends. Understand "Special Occasion" calories and decide how often they will enter your life. Accept that we are all different. That 24-year old marathon runner will be able to eat a lot more than that 43-year old occasional exerciser. Try not to compare yourself to other people's options. It's just depressing. (It has gotten to the point that I don't even read any blog post that is a dessert. I will not make them. I will not eat them. I just press the delete button.)
And because I want to post a photo, here's a pic of my little sweet boy on his first birthday, eating his first piece of cake! And so far, only.
Saturday, May 4, 2013
On Weight and how Vanity Sizing is NOT your Friend
I've been thinking a lot about weight lately, as I continue to work on taking off the baby weight. I am still quite a few pounds over my goal weight. A few stats:
Highest Weight Ever (non-pregnancy): 182 in early 2002
Lowest Weight (in my memory): 123 in late 2002 (this is too skinny for my frame, I had problems sleeping because my hip bones would dig into the bed).
Personal Happy Weight: 130-135
Highest Healthy Weight by BMI: 139
Max Pregnancy Weight #1: 170.5
Max Pregnancy Weight #2: 188 (yikes! But it's not like I was stuffing my face and sitting on the couch. I worked out regularly and ate a healthy diet. My body just had a good memory for weight gain. Plus he was a summer baby and I was retaining a lot more water.)
Minimum weight post baby #2: 152 lbs (late October 2012)
Current weight: 162.8.
So...I have a ways to go to hit that goal. Quite a story up there in my stats. I expect most people who lose a lot of weight have quite the story to tell.
When I read about weight or go to message boards on the topic, there tend to be camps of people. There is the "I can't believe how fat people are so lazy!" camp and "I have a genetic weight problem!" camp. And while of course both are true for some people, you just cannot make generalizations like. As someone who has lost a significant amount of weight (twice, now working on #3), I can say a few things:
1. It's possible (for most people) to lose weight.
2. It's hard work (for most people) to lose weight.
3. Unless you continue to work at it, it's not permanent (for most people)
I even have found myself judging overweight people on occasion, but have to catch myself. Maybe that overweight person in front of me has already lost a bunch of weight. Maybe they are injured or have a health issue. And maybe they are fit! 66% of Americans are overweight or obese, myself included. AND that includes a lot of people I see at the gym working out.
What does this have to do with vanity sizing? Well, I have found myself having to buy a few items of clothing to get through the summer while I start longingly at my closet. I am contemplating doing the triathlon again, but that will certainly require a larger wetsuit if I do. I got to thinking about how hard it is to buy clothing when all of the stores use their own measurements (and how I don't have the patience for that!), how I cannot even find what I want on-line. Then I got all nerdy and decided to do some research on vanity sizing.
I dug up some old patterns on the internet for dress sizes. I decided to compare them over various years, then I decided to pull up the current sizing for a few different brands. That alone was annoying so I just settled on The Gap (mostly because my sister works there). See the chart, which is based on dress patterns (these are less likely to go through the vanity size changes than store clothing):
A few notes:
1. Our weight as females has been gonig up, pretty quickly.
2. If you pick a relatively "standard" size of 34 inch bust, 26.5 inch waist, 36 inch hip, our sizing has gone from 14-16 to 12, and these are DRESS sizes from PATTERNS. These have not changed like clothing in stores. I have a memory of making some of my own clothing in the 80's and making a size 16, which would be about 36-37 inch bust, 31 inch waist, 39-40 inch hip, which is about normal for me. (I'm no waif.)
3. If you look at that same size on the GAP chart, it's a size 4!! Now, it's a healthy weight and size, but a size 4!
4. Conversely, a GAP size 8 of 36.5 inch bust, 28 inch waist, 40 inch hips would have been a solid size 16 in the 1940's, a "medium" (and pretty much the smallest I've ever been as an adult. Post baby #2, pretty sure the waist won't go below a 30.)
5. A Gap Size 10 today (a normal size, right?) would have been "large" in the 1940's.
So, the vanity sizing is simply fooling us into thinking we are "healthy", when we aren't. Note I included the average height of females in the same chart. We have grown a couple of inches in that time, which can account for some weight (10-15 lbs) and some of the size increase. But that much? I am 5'2.5" tall, so right there close to the average. I have several very slender friends who cannot even find clothing because they were a size 4 in high school and now a 0 is too big.
I could go into why we've gained weight in another post. I probably won't. There are books dedicated to the topic: sedentary lifestyles, stress, the abundance of fattening food, fast food, fake food, cheap carbohydrates, saturated fat, HFCS, you name it. But honestly? My mother was overweight most of her life. My grandmother was obese, back when it was less common. There is certainly a tendency to gain weight in my family, even back before processed foods were the norm. Truth of the matter is, once you've been fat, it's harder to maintain a normal weight than for someone who was never overweight.
Highest Weight Ever (non-pregnancy): 182 in early 2002
Lowest Weight (in my memory): 123 in late 2002 (this is too skinny for my frame, I had problems sleeping because my hip bones would dig into the bed).
Personal Happy Weight: 130-135
Highest Healthy Weight by BMI: 139
Max Pregnancy Weight #1: 170.5
Max Pregnancy Weight #2: 188 (yikes! But it's not like I was stuffing my face and sitting on the couch. I worked out regularly and ate a healthy diet. My body just had a good memory for weight gain. Plus he was a summer baby and I was retaining a lot more water.)
Minimum weight post baby #2: 152 lbs (late October 2012)
Current weight: 162.8.
So...I have a ways to go to hit that goal. Quite a story up there in my stats. I expect most people who lose a lot of weight have quite the story to tell.
When I read about weight or go to message boards on the topic, there tend to be camps of people. There is the "I can't believe how fat people are so lazy!" camp and "I have a genetic weight problem!" camp. And while of course both are true for some people, you just cannot make generalizations like. As someone who has lost a significant amount of weight (twice, now working on #3), I can say a few things:
1. It's possible (for most people) to lose weight.
2. It's hard work (for most people) to lose weight.
3. Unless you continue to work at it, it's not permanent (for most people)
I even have found myself judging overweight people on occasion, but have to catch myself. Maybe that overweight person in front of me has already lost a bunch of weight. Maybe they are injured or have a health issue. And maybe they are fit! 66% of Americans are overweight or obese, myself included. AND that includes a lot of people I see at the gym working out.
What does this have to do with vanity sizing? Well, I have found myself having to buy a few items of clothing to get through the summer while I start longingly at my closet. I am contemplating doing the triathlon again, but that will certainly require a larger wetsuit if I do. I got to thinking about how hard it is to buy clothing when all of the stores use their own measurements (and how I don't have the patience for that!), how I cannot even find what I want on-line. Then I got all nerdy and decided to do some research on vanity sizing.
I dug up some old patterns on the internet for dress sizes. I decided to compare them over various years, then I decided to pull up the current sizing for a few different brands. That alone was annoying so I just settled on The Gap (mostly because my sister works there). See the chart, which is based on dress patterns (these are less likely to go through the vanity size changes than store clothing):
| Year | Avg height | Avg weight | Size | Bust | Waist | Hip | |
| 1940s | 5'2" | 134 | SM (10-12) | 28-30 | 24-25 | 31-33 | |
| MED (14-16) | 32-34 | 26.5-28 | 35-37 | ||||
| LG (16-18) | 36-38 | 30-32 | 39-41 | ||||
| 1960s | 5'3" | 140.2 | 12 | 32 | 25 | 34 | |
| 14 | 34 | 26 | 36 | ||||
| 16 | 36 | 28 | 38 | ||||
| 1980s | 5'3.7" | 145.4 | 8 | 31.5 | 24 | 33.5 | |
| 10 | 32.5 | 25 | 34.5 | ||||
| 12 | 34 | 26.5 | 36 | ||||
| 14 | 36 | 28 | 38 | ||||
| 16 | 38 | 30 | 40 | ||||
| 18 | 40 | 32 | 42 | ||||
| 20 | 42 | 34 | 44 | ||||
| 2000s | 5'4" | 164.3 | 4 | 29.5 | 22 | 31.5 | |
| 6 | 30.5 | 23 | 32.5 | ||||
| 8 | 31.5 | 24 | 33.5 | ||||
| 10 | 32.5 | 25 | 34.5 | ||||
| 12 | 34 | 26.5 | 36 | ||||
| 14 | 36 | 28 | 38 | GAP 8 top | |||
| 16 | 38 | 30 | 40 | GAP 8 bot | |||
| 18 | 40 | 32 | 42 | ||||
| 20 | 42 | 34 | 44 | ||||
| 2010s | 5'4.5" | 164.7 | same as 2000's | ||||
| 2012 | GAP | 4 | 34.5 | 26.5 | 37.5 | ||
A few notes:
1. Our weight as females has been gonig up, pretty quickly.
2. If you pick a relatively "standard" size of 34 inch bust, 26.5 inch waist, 36 inch hip, our sizing has gone from 14-16 to 12, and these are DRESS sizes from PATTERNS. These have not changed like clothing in stores. I have a memory of making some of my own clothing in the 80's and making a size 16, which would be about 36-37 inch bust, 31 inch waist, 39-40 inch hip, which is about normal for me. (I'm no waif.)
3. If you look at that same size on the GAP chart, it's a size 4!! Now, it's a healthy weight and size, but a size 4!
4. Conversely, a GAP size 8 of 36.5 inch bust, 28 inch waist, 40 inch hips would have been a solid size 16 in the 1940's, a "medium" (and pretty much the smallest I've ever been as an adult. Post baby #2, pretty sure the waist won't go below a 30.)
5. A Gap Size 10 today (a normal size, right?) would have been "large" in the 1940's.
So, the vanity sizing is simply fooling us into thinking we are "healthy", when we aren't. Note I included the average height of females in the same chart. We have grown a couple of inches in that time, which can account for some weight (10-15 lbs) and some of the size increase. But that much? I am 5'2.5" tall, so right there close to the average. I have several very slender friends who cannot even find clothing because they were a size 4 in high school and now a 0 is too big.
I could go into why we've gained weight in another post. I probably won't. There are books dedicated to the topic: sedentary lifestyles, stress, the abundance of fattening food, fast food, fake food, cheap carbohydrates, saturated fat, HFCS, you name it. But honestly? My mother was overweight most of her life. My grandmother was obese, back when it was less common. There is certainly a tendency to gain weight in my family, even back before processed foods were the norm. Truth of the matter is, once you've been fat, it's harder to maintain a normal weight than for someone who was never overweight.
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