I'm just getting ready to leave work (10:23pm--longest day ever!). My work life really sucks lately. I spent three days of my four-day weekend working. To say I'm sick and tired of work is an understatement. I had a three-week vacation scheduled starting December 10, but that's been delayed until December 15. I guess at least I have a job (somehow, that doesn't really help make me feel better right now).
Today was suppose to be our Rope Challenge Course team building event in Mt. Vernon. We got rained out. What a surprise, rain in the Pacific Northwest in late November. Instead we did a tour of the Everett Boeing factory. It was interesting for about ten minutes then I wanted to go back to the bus and sleep. Big airplane pieces being assembled. Big yawn. The only factoid I remember is that it's the biggest building in the world, and they build 747's. I work for an airline so I guess this tour should have thrilled me. It didn't. They didn't even allow cameras or cell phones so no pictures.
Afterwards I had to come back to the office at 3pm and work until now so I could get my work done. Something terribly wrong with this picture (remember, it was suppose to be a "fun" team building event).
My eating was okay today. We went out to lunch after the tour at Mongolian Grill. I had a ton of vegetables and maybe 3 ounces of chicken, with just a touch of sesame seed oil. It's the teriyaki sauce they poured over it after it was cooked that probably had a million calories. It tasted good but I was hungry by 4pm and I didn't bring any food with me today.
About two hours ago I snuck into the candy dish at a coworkers desk. First time ever. I had ten M&Ms and ten M&M coconut candies. Mainly because I'm at work and that's the only food available. I ate a Weight Watchers instant oatmeal first (been in my desk forever). It was really icky. Just for the record, I didn't really enjoy the candy either. 34 calories for the M&Ms and no idea for the coconut ones (and they really weren't good). I'd rather have had a big Honeycrisp apple.
I'm back on the Stairmaster for my cardio at the gym. It's killing me. I'm amazed how a twenty-five pound gain is making my workouts so much more difficult. When I was 155 I could do 140 flights of stairs in 30 minutes. It was hard but doable. I was doing it almost every day. Now at 180 pounds I'm really struggling to get 120 flights done in 30 minutes. Every morning I think I'm not going to make it to the 30 minutes. 25 pounds is a LOT of extra weight.
Not much else to write about. Just that I'm very tired and have to drive home now in the cold and the rain. Sucks to be me today.
New PointsPlus Plan - Weight Watchers
Oh my gosh! Before I walked out the door I wanted to quickly glance at the new Weight Watcher PointsPlus Plan on their website. Today is the first day of the new plan but my meeting is on Saturday.
They've really changed things around. They upped my PointsPlus to 29 (it was 22), but then they say food has more PointsPlus in it. Instead of calculating Calories/Fat/Fiber in foods, now they use Fat/Carbs/Protein/Fiber to get the PointsPlus.
I want to be positive about this but I can't help but feel like it's a marketing ploy. I hope I'm wrong. Supposedly, according to my lovely brainwashed Weight Watcher leader (can't help but thinking of "take me to your leader" every time I call her my "leader")....there's a lot of scientific research behind these changes.
I wonder if it's really that much better than the old plan.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Monday, November 29, 2010
Alert! Parasites Can Make You Fat!
Believe it or not, parasites are a major hidden source of weight gain. Here's how to get rid of them.
Fish or meat that's raw, rare or cooked in the microwave isn't exposed to the high heat needed to kill parasites like protozoa an worms.Once in the gut, these organisms absorb the nutrients needed to keep blood sugar balanced and energy high. And this often results in sugar cravings and chronic fatigue. Plus, they send biochemical signals to the digestive tract that the body registers as hunger, causing overeating.
To get rid of parasites, try an annual cleanse with parasite-killing herbs like black walnut and garlic. Two liquid extracts with proven herbs: Uni Key Verma Plus (a worm remover) and Uni Key Para Plus (a protozoa eliminator).
Outsmart Cravings with this Color!
This hue suppresses appetite and stress-related snacking, according to a study at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center in Baltimore.
Keep your sweet tooth from striking before bedtime by putting on pink pajamas after dinner.
Color therapists say the electromagnetic frequency of pink prompts the brain's pineal gland to release serotonin, a neurotransmitter that helps nix nibble.Sunday, November 28, 2010
One day down, 364 more to go
Yesterday was a pretty good food day. It was the first time in weeks that I didn't have a crazy late night binge. My binges these days aren't anything like they were three years ago when I weighed 240 pounds. I use to eat bags of candy, chips, cookies or whole cakes or pies, all in one sitting. I gave the word gluttony new meaning.
These days a binge is an extra chicken breast or a bag of light popcorn or a couple Weight Watcher ice cream bars. Or maybe all of that plus some, but all healthy foods (except the WW ice cream bars that are really junk food in disguise).
I still consider these binges, just a more healthy version of a binge. Last night I ate two WW ice cream bars and a piece of turkey breast (probably six ounces). It put me over my 22 Points (my 180 weight gives me an extra Point). Still, this is considerably less than I've been eating late at night these past weeks, hence the 6-pound gain in three weeks.
Even with an hour of cardio yesterday that was too much food. In order to lose weight I have to maintain my exercise of a minimum of an hour a day AND cut back on the calories.
One good thing is I've made peace with Dave's Killer bread, the thing that's been my downfall for a few weeks. I LOVE this bread. It's organic, tasty and full of healthy ingredients. It has 20 more calories than one of those sandwich thin things (130 calories, 3 grams fat, 4 grams fiber). It's two Points versus one Point but it's so much tastier and healthier than fake bread. I allow myself one slice a day, with my breakfast. It's really removed that "it's forbidden, I must eat it all" attitude I had about it.
After dinner tonight I'm going to try to totally resist eating anything. Just to see if I can do it. Tomorrow is going to be hell day at work so I have to go to bed early anyway. I deal with "hell days" better when I'm well rested. So I'll be in bed by 9pm, up at 5am for the gym, and physically at the gym by 5:30am. That's my normal gym time but I'm often not asleep until midnight.
Not much planned today except a few work things I have to get finished for tomorrow. I've been working on them for the last two days, and I'm almost finished with my project. Tomorrow is the start of alpha testing which is always extremely stressful for me. The work I did is for another team so it's a bit unusual for me. The people doing the testing are very experienced and are perfectionists, which is a good thing, but again, it stresses me out big time.
Other than that, I'm going to the gym at noon, home to shower and then hit a movie this afternoon. I really wanted to see Unstoppable, the train movie. I love trains. I know, I work for an airline, but really love trains. They've always fascinated me more than airplanes. My husband wants to see the Harry Potter movie. Since I almost always get to pick the movie (and usually a chick flick and he's good with those), I think I'll let him have this one. I'm not a huge Harry Potter fan, but the movies are usually okay (although the last one was horrid).
By the way, it's 364 days until I absolutely will be at goal. I know this is a lifetime thing, I'll always have food issues and will be fighting them to my dying day. That's pretty much a given, but it's 364 days to goal weight. That thought helps me focused.
These days a binge is an extra chicken breast or a bag of light popcorn or a couple Weight Watcher ice cream bars. Or maybe all of that plus some, but all healthy foods (except the WW ice cream bars that are really junk food in disguise).
I still consider these binges, just a more healthy version of a binge. Last night I ate two WW ice cream bars and a piece of turkey breast (probably six ounces). It put me over my 22 Points (my 180 weight gives me an extra Point). Still, this is considerably less than I've been eating late at night these past weeks, hence the 6-pound gain in three weeks.
Even with an hour of cardio yesterday that was too much food. In order to lose weight I have to maintain my exercise of a minimum of an hour a day AND cut back on the calories.
One good thing is I've made peace with Dave's Killer bread, the thing that's been my downfall for a few weeks. I LOVE this bread. It's organic, tasty and full of healthy ingredients. It has 20 more calories than one of those sandwich thin things (130 calories, 3 grams fat, 4 grams fiber). It's two Points versus one Point but it's so much tastier and healthier than fake bread. I allow myself one slice a day, with my breakfast. It's really removed that "it's forbidden, I must eat it all" attitude I had about it.
After dinner tonight I'm going to try to totally resist eating anything. Just to see if I can do it. Tomorrow is going to be hell day at work so I have to go to bed early anyway. I deal with "hell days" better when I'm well rested. So I'll be in bed by 9pm, up at 5am for the gym, and physically at the gym by 5:30am. That's my normal gym time but I'm often not asleep until midnight.
Not much planned today except a few work things I have to get finished for tomorrow. I've been working on them for the last two days, and I'm almost finished with my project. Tomorrow is the start of alpha testing which is always extremely stressful for me. The work I did is for another team so it's a bit unusual for me. The people doing the testing are very experienced and are perfectionists, which is a good thing, but again, it stresses me out big time.
Other than that, I'm going to the gym at noon, home to shower and then hit a movie this afternoon. I really wanted to see Unstoppable, the train movie. I love trains. I know, I work for an airline, but really love trains. They've always fascinated me more than airplanes. My husband wants to see the Harry Potter movie. Since I almost always get to pick the movie (and usually a chick flick and he's good with those), I think I'll let him have this one. I'm not a huge Harry Potter fan, but the movies are usually okay (although the last one was horrid).
By the way, it's 364 days until I absolutely will be at goal. I know this is a lifetime thing, I'll always have food issues and will be fighting them to my dying day. That's pretty much a given, but it's 364 days to goal weight. That thought helps me focused.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Weight Loss Shakes - What is it
Have you ever dream of laying down near the beach and lose your weight at the same time. The secret lies in refreshing drink you need to have while lying on the beach.It seems unbelievable for me at first. After I found out that there are many companies that produce these so-called weight loss shakes, this weight loss drink seems to be
truth. In this article, I will give you a brief explanation of this weight loss meal replacement shakes and the reason behind its popularity.
What is weight loss shakes? Like I stated previously, weight loss shakes is a drink that can help your reduce weight. This shake can replace your entire lunch. The reason why it can replace the lunch is that the shake contains many high energy nutrition such as protein. This protein can give you enough energy in each day. The weight loss shakes contains very little sweet which is the reason why you can reduce your weight while drinking it. No unnecessary nutrition will be injected to your body. You will decrease your weight because sweet is one of the major reason for fat people.
truth. In this article, I will give you a brief explanation of this weight loss meal replacement shakes and the reason behind its popularity.
What is weight loss shakes? Like I stated previously, weight loss shakes is a drink that can help your reduce weight. This shake can replace your entire lunch. The reason why it can replace the lunch is that the shake contains many high energy nutrition such as protein. This protein can give you enough energy in each day. The weight loss shakes contains very little sweet which is the reason why you can reduce your weight while drinking it. No unnecessary nutrition will be injected to your body. You will decrease your weight because sweet is one of the major reason for fat people.
DIY Although ,like I state previously, there are many instant weight loss shakes on the market. You can see most of them on your local supermarket. Unfortunately, most of them are not cheap and some of them have too much sugar which destroy the weight loss purpose we want to have. I suggest that you should start doing weight loss shake by yourself. This is possible because most ingredient such as frozen fruit and skim milk can be found at your fridge.
Delicious What people like most about weight loss shake is its deliciousness. Most weight loss diet will force you to eat healthy but gruesome taste which make weight losing become more or less a torture in itself. Weight loss shakes or weight loss protein shakes is different from these uneatable food because it made from fruit and milk, the taste of it will be similar to milk shake in the ice cream shop. And You can add more flavor by putting frozen fruit or peanut butter to the shake as well.
(Article Source: ArticlesBese, http://www.articlesbase.com/supplements-and-vitamins-articles/weight-loss-shake-what-is-it-1340634.html, Posted: Oct 15th, 2009, Author: jumboa7)
My weighin and feeling more positive
After my pathetic post earlier today about considering myself an epic failure in the weight loss arena, I almost blew off my Weight Watcher meeting. I was feeling like why should I even bother, I can't do this anymore. I'm sick and tired of trying and failing over and over.
I couldn't help thinking it doesn't do any good to go to the meetings anyway. I go, I listen, then I chose to ignore the advice. Thankfully I ignored my stupid girl voice and went to my meeting.
What was really cool about the meeting was our leader's excitement about the new program. She told us she wanted us to consider today the last day of our Weight Watcher year. This year was past and a new year was starting this week with the new ProPoints program and all new materials. She even played Auld Lang Syne at the end of the meeting and told us we had to hug each other (yes, the meetings are often a little touchy-feely, but they're fun).
After the meeting I sat in my car and looked at my weighin results. I knew it was bad and it was exactly as I had anticipated. I weighed in with a 6.2 pound gain at 180.8. No surprise. I gained it in three weeks. My last weighin was 11/6 at 174.6.
I looked back in my Weight Watcher weighin book and on January 9, 2010, I weight 180.4. Interesting. Basically, I stayed the same this year. That's a first for me. I've lost significant amounts of weight in the past but never kept it off for more than a few months.
Instead of feeling defeated about the weight gain and not making any real progress in a year, I feel energized. I've decided this is going to be my year. This is the year I'm going to make goal. After almost three years of Weight Watcher meetings, I tired of just sitting in meeting after meeting watching other people make goal. I want to make goal.
My year starts today, right this very minute. Not on January 1, but today, November 27, 2010. One year from today I will be at goal. I'm definitely feeling more positive.
I couldn't help thinking it doesn't do any good to go to the meetings anyway. I go, I listen, then I chose to ignore the advice. Thankfully I ignored my stupid girl voice and went to my meeting.
What was really cool about the meeting was our leader's excitement about the new program. She told us she wanted us to consider today the last day of our Weight Watcher year. This year was past and a new year was starting this week with the new ProPoints program and all new materials. She even played Auld Lang Syne at the end of the meeting and told us we had to hug each other (yes, the meetings are often a little touchy-feely, but they're fun).
After the meeting I sat in my car and looked at my weighin results. I knew it was bad and it was exactly as I had anticipated. I weighed in with a 6.2 pound gain at 180.8. No surprise. I gained it in three weeks. My last weighin was 11/6 at 174.6.
I looked back in my Weight Watcher weighin book and on January 9, 2010, I weight 180.4. Interesting. Basically, I stayed the same this year. That's a first for me. I've lost significant amounts of weight in the past but never kept it off for more than a few months.
Instead of feeling defeated about the weight gain and not making any real progress in a year, I feel energized. I've decided this is going to be my year. This is the year I'm going to make goal. After almost three years of Weight Watcher meetings, I tired of just sitting in meeting after meeting watching other people make goal. I want to make goal.
My year starts today, right this very minute. Not on January 1, but today, November 27, 2010. One year from today I will be at goal. I'm definitely feeling more positive.
Weight Watchers told me I'm new...maybe they're right
I tired to change my Weight Watcher payment information last night. This morning their website said I wasn't a member any longer. After being on the phone with them for twenty minutes I'm reinstated, but as a new member.
Well, sort of a new member. I had to re-enter all my personal information and set up a new password, just like I was a new member. Luckily it still had my old weight chart information back to February 2008 when I joined the first time, but it had my current weight as 185. Funny how that 185 number popped in there for today. I didn't enter it, maybe the guy on the phone did it (he didn't ask me my weight, maybe he just figured I'd gained 10 pounds since my last weighin). I haven't weighed 185 since June 2008.
In a way, I'm a little embarrassed that I've been in Weight Watchers for almost three years, and I'm still not at my goal weight of 135. Seriously, three years is a long time to spend trying to do something that should have only taken about one year. There's really no way to look at it except as a big failure. Sure, I can say I've kept off 60 pounds for over two years, but since the goal was to lose 100 pounds and keep it off, I'd give myself a C- for reaching my goal. Actually, in my work world not making a deadline is considered an epic failure. And for me, that's really not acceptable.
Maybe being new isn't such a bad thing. I'm going to weighin today and whatever that weight is will be my new starting weight. Since I've been drinking coffee all morning and chugging the water, I'll probably be up pretty high. That's okay though, I'm not really beating myself up. Just trying to be realistic here, accept my failure and move on.
The new program will be announced this coming week in the US. I read a little bit about it online at Facebook and other articles. I liked some of the things I read, and some others I wasn't too happy to read (I hope the "cheat" day of fast food is just a rumor).
Anyway, here's a few things I found on line in what appeared to be a legitimate articles:
•Instead of basing a food's Points on calories, fat and fiber, there will be more of an emphasis on the quality of the food. Brown rice will have fewer Points than white rice. A 100-calorie pack of cookies will have more Points than 100 calories of chicken breast, and so on.
•To encourage better food choices, fruit and most vegetables will have zero Points. Starchy vegetables, such as potatoes, corn and peas will not be in the free list.
•The minimum amount of Points assigned to people will be 29 Points, but they'll also be given a weekly allowance of 49 Points as "Real Living" Points to be used on snacky, boozy, party-type foods.
Plus, this article on the UK Weight Watchers 2011 plan gives even more information. I suspect the US plan is the same. This is just a sneak peek from some of the things I found online. We'll find out the real deal this week.
Just for fun, I also checked out the Weight Watcher UK message board on the ProPoints Plan. Since UKjust got it about two weeks ago, there's a lot of messages flying around on their boards about it. Sounds like everyone loves it because you get so many more Points with the new plan. By the way, you don't have to be a WW member to read the message boards. They're open to everyone.
Well, I have to get showered and ready for Weight Watchers. I'll post my weigh in later today. I'm sure it's going to be scary. For all my talk of losing weight, I know I'm up from my last weighin. I'd say no worries, but if I'm truthful here, I'm mad as hell at myself for screwing up when I was so close to goal. Oh well, I'm "new", what can I say?
Well, sort of a new member. I had to re-enter all my personal information and set up a new password, just like I was a new member. Luckily it still had my old weight chart information back to February 2008 when I joined the first time, but it had my current weight as 185. Funny how that 185 number popped in there for today. I didn't enter it, maybe the guy on the phone did it (he didn't ask me my weight, maybe he just figured I'd gained 10 pounds since my last weighin). I haven't weighed 185 since June 2008.
In a way, I'm a little embarrassed that I've been in Weight Watchers for almost three years, and I'm still not at my goal weight of 135. Seriously, three years is a long time to spend trying to do something that should have only taken about one year. There's really no way to look at it except as a big failure. Sure, I can say I've kept off 60 pounds for over two years, but since the goal was to lose 100 pounds and keep it off, I'd give myself a C- for reaching my goal. Actually, in my work world not making a deadline is considered an epic failure. And for me, that's really not acceptable.
Maybe being new isn't such a bad thing. I'm going to weighin today and whatever that weight is will be my new starting weight. Since I've been drinking coffee all morning and chugging the water, I'll probably be up pretty high. That's okay though, I'm not really beating myself up. Just trying to be realistic here, accept my failure and move on.
The new program will be announced this coming week in the US. I read a little bit about it online at Facebook and other articles. I liked some of the things I read, and some others I wasn't too happy to read (I hope the "cheat" day of fast food is just a rumor).
Anyway, here's a few things I found on line in what appeared to be a legitimate articles:
•Instead of basing a food's Points on calories, fat and fiber, there will be more of an emphasis on the quality of the food. Brown rice will have fewer Points than white rice. A 100-calorie pack of cookies will have more Points than 100 calories of chicken breast, and so on.
•To encourage better food choices, fruit and most vegetables will have zero Points. Starchy vegetables, such as potatoes, corn and peas will not be in the free list.
•The minimum amount of Points assigned to people will be 29 Points, but they'll also be given a weekly allowance of 49 Points as "Real Living" Points to be used on snacky, boozy, party-type foods.
Plus, this article on the UK Weight Watchers 2011 plan gives even more information. I suspect the US plan is the same. This is just a sneak peek from some of the things I found online. We'll find out the real deal this week.
Just for fun, I also checked out the Weight Watcher UK message board on the ProPoints Plan. Since UKjust got it about two weeks ago, there's a lot of messages flying around on their boards about it. Sounds like everyone loves it because you get so many more Points with the new plan. By the way, you don't have to be a WW member to read the message boards. They're open to everyone.
Well, I have to get showered and ready for Weight Watchers. I'll post my weigh in later today. I'm sure it's going to be scary. For all my talk of losing weight, I know I'm up from my last weighin. I'd say no worries, but if I'm truthful here, I'm mad as hell at myself for screwing up when I was so close to goal. Oh well, I'm "new", what can I say?
Friday, November 26, 2010
Black Friday - Part 2
If posting once a day is good for me, posting twice must be really good for me.
I went to the gym this afternoon and had all sorts of weird technical problems. First, I forgot my iPod, which I've only done twice in three years. I almost turned around and went home, instead I suffered through my workout. Without music it was pretty miserable. The gym music is horrible. I like really fast-paced, high volume music. The gym music was turned down really low and it sounded like elevator music. Really bad.
Then my Polar heart monitor went all wonky on me, telling me pulse was 58 when I thought I was dying and my heart was going to explode. Then it was 154 when I was barely moving. It does this every few months and then it'll be fine the next day. Annoying.
After 30 grueling minutes on the treadmill I thought I'd do another 20 minutes cardio on an elliptical. Unfortunately I picked an elliptical that had problems. It would only allow a maximum of a 10-minute workout. I could have used another elliptical (there are about 40 of them, all available), but I decided 10 minutes sounded fine.
Then my strength workout wasn't good. I felt weak and tired. I only did four upper body exercises, three sets each. Not really worthy of being called a workout.
I'm not sure why I had such a bad workout today, other than my weight gain. It seems like when I gain weight working out is extra hard. My body feels heavier and more difficult to move. I feel lethargic. I need to remember this the next time I think about eating something not on plan.
Speaking of plan, only three and half hours left in this day and I've been 100% perfect in my eating. I kept track of my water too, four 26-oz bottles of water, 2 12-oz mugs coffee, 2 12-oz mugs herbal tea for a grand total of 152 ounces of non-food liquids. It really does help with the hunger and helps me stay away from the bad stuff.
If I can just get this one day under my belt, the next one will be easier. That's just how it works, good days help create good days. I need a string of them together to lose this weight. I think I will be okay. :)
I went to the gym this afternoon and had all sorts of weird technical problems. First, I forgot my iPod, which I've only done twice in three years. I almost turned around and went home, instead I suffered through my workout. Without music it was pretty miserable. The gym music is horrible. I like really fast-paced, high volume music. The gym music was turned down really low and it sounded like elevator music. Really bad.
Then my Polar heart monitor went all wonky on me, telling me pulse was 58 when I thought I was dying and my heart was going to explode. Then it was 154 when I was barely moving. It does this every few months and then it'll be fine the next day. Annoying.
After 30 grueling minutes on the treadmill I thought I'd do another 20 minutes cardio on an elliptical. Unfortunately I picked an elliptical that had problems. It would only allow a maximum of a 10-minute workout. I could have used another elliptical (there are about 40 of them, all available), but I decided 10 minutes sounded fine.
Then my strength workout wasn't good. I felt weak and tired. I only did four upper body exercises, three sets each. Not really worthy of being called a workout.
I'm not sure why I had such a bad workout today, other than my weight gain. It seems like when I gain weight working out is extra hard. My body feels heavier and more difficult to move. I feel lethargic. I need to remember this the next time I think about eating something not on plan.
Speaking of plan, only three and half hours left in this day and I've been 100% perfect in my eating. I kept track of my water too, four 26-oz bottles of water, 2 12-oz mugs coffee, 2 12-oz mugs herbal tea for a grand total of 152 ounces of non-food liquids. It really does help with the hunger and helps me stay away from the bad stuff.
If I can just get this one day under my belt, the next one will be easier. That's just how it works, good days help create good days. I need a string of them together to lose this weight. I think I will be okay. :)
Interval Training is a great way to boost metabolism
Weight Loss Tips to lose weight fast
Interval Training is a great way to boost metabolism
Interval training is training using short bursts of high intensity exercise that are separated by recovery periods of low intensity exercise.You will push yourself beyond your comfort level for short bursts of time. For example walk 3 mins then run for 1 min and keep doing that until 45 mins or up. Gradually you'll be able to perform at the higher level for longer periods of time and burn more calories .
Eat smaller, more frequent meals
Instead of eating three large meals a day, try eating smaller, more frequent meals. Reduce portion sizes at your regular meals, and add small snacks in between each meal.Eating small frequent meals help to balance your calorie intake throughout the day and also keeps your blood sugar level balanced. It keeps your metabolism charged and prevents you from getting hungry.
Incorporate Strength Training into your workout If you are not doing strength training then you're missing a key component in your weight loss plan. Strength training increases metabolism by increasing lean muscle mass which helps in long term weight loss. Muscles burn calories and gives you more leaner look. It increases bone density. Strength training can be accomplished by using dumbbells, weight machines, push ups or squats etc.
Aerobic exercise Aerobic exercise refers to exercise that involves or improves oxygen consumption by the body. Aerobic exercise burns a lot of calories, so it directly contributes to weight loss. Start a workout routine . Try 30-60 minutes of physical activity a day . Examples of aerobic exercise : walking, jogging, swimming, brisk walking, running, ice skating, biking, aerobics, rowing, basketball, jumping rope, roller skating, dancing. Examples of stationary exercise machines for doing aerobic exercise: elliptical machine, stationary bike, treadmills, stair-steppers and rowing machines .
Eat fruits and vegetables
Increase your intake of fiber rich foods. Fruits and vegetables are high fiber foods and packed with vitamins and antioxidants. They are low in calories but high in fiber. Fiber is very important for your weight loss goals. Fiber is digested slower, keeps us feeling fuller longer and releases its energy slower which keep our blood sugar levels even and helps us avoid cravings. Increase your intake of fiber rich foods.
Virtual weight loss modelThere are sites offering free weight loss software where you can create your virtual weight loss model and get a mental picture of yourself at your goal weight. Virtual model can be used for inspiration as you can get a good idea of how you will look after reaching your target weight. You can visualize and mentally compare your before and after weight loss pictures.
Replace white rice, bread, and pasta with brown rice and whole-grain products
These products are less refined than their white counterparts and often have much more fiber in them which is digested slower, keeps us feeling fuller longer and releases its energy slower which keep our blood sugar levels even and helps us avoid cravings.
Drink more waterWater suppresses the appetite naturally and helps the body metabolize stored fat. The process of burning calories requires an adequate supply of water in order to function efficiently and dehydration slows down the fat burning process.
Increase your protein intake
Protein makes us feel full. It is also important in replacing and building muscle tissue. Remember, more muscles burn more fat. It helps to increase your metabolism - which burns calories.
Do not skip meals
Skipping meals makes you hungry which you tend to compensate by eating a lot later. Avoid that craving by eating small frequent meals which help to balance your calorie intake throughout the day and also keeps your blood sugar level balanced.
Try drinking a glass of water before a mealWater suppresses the appetite naturally .If you tend to overeat , try drinking a medium to large glass of water 10 to 15 minutes before your meal. It will partially fill your stomach and may reduce your hunger levels.
Eat breakfast everyday
Many people think skipping breakfast is a great way to cut calories, but they usually end up eating more throughout the day. Do not skip breakfast. If you're on a diet, it's not good to miss the most important meal of the day. Skipping breakfast makes you hungry which you tend to compensate by eating a lot later. Avoid that craving by eating a hearty meal in the morning.
It's okay to eat your favorite foods
Everyone has his or her favorite treats. Simply allow yourself a little indulgence, just do it in moderation. If you deny yourself your favorite food, you'll crave it more and eventually eat it more.
Spice up your food
Spices boosts metabolism, suppresses appetite, reduces fat absorption and add taste to your meal. You can replace high calorie condiments like butter or mayonnaise with garlic, chili, mustard, ginger. Saute vegetables and chicken in hot sauce as opposed to oil.
Eat Negative calorie foodNegative calorie foods are foods, which use more calories to digest than the calories the foods actually contain. For example, if you eat 200 calories of a food that requires 250 calories to digest, then you've burnt an additional 50 calories simply by eating that food. Some of the negative calorie foods are : Apples, Broccoli, Cantaloupes, Carrot, Cauliflower, Celery stalk, Celery root
Take the stairs and park your car further away from the shops
It will help increase the number of steps you take in a day and will burn a few more calories .
Eat slowly
It takes around 20 minutes for your stomach to tell your brain that it is full . Chewing your food longer will help prevent you from over eating.
Cut down the sugar intake
Excessive intake of sugar often results in weight gain and hence cutting down the sugar intake can actually work wonders for you. The more refined it comes, the more your body is going to react negatively to it. Try and substitute synthetic sugar with natural sugar sources like fruits or honey. Sugar in fruits are better for you than the sugar in candy bars, cakes and ice creams.
Don't beat yourself up over a bad dayYou are going to have moments of weakness and times when you overeat. Don't beat yourself up when you overindulge . Instead put yourself back on track the next day. Give yourself credit for everything you have been doing on other days. Every day is different, do the best you can do now. You can workout a little longer and burn some of those extra calories.
Get plenty of sleep
How much you sleep and the quality of your sleep affects food cravings. Studies have shown that sleep deprivation increases levels of a hunger hormone and decreases levels of a hormone that makes you feel full. Inadequate sleep triggers food cravings which may lead to overeating and weight gain. So get your full eight hours each night to stay healthy and fit .
Don't use the word diet as diets don't workIf you want to lose weight, the word diet should be banned from your dictionary. Most diets focus on weight loss rather than fat loss. Losing weight more rapidly means losing muscle tissue which is body's major fat burning component. Change the way you eat and CHANGE THE WAY YOU THINK. Don't ever say "I am dieting" because most diets fail. Diets don't work long term. On most of the diets, you are not eating stuff you will be eating for the rest of your life. You might lose a few pounds but once your diet is over, then you will most likely regain all of your weight again and chances are they'll bring a few pounds extra too.
Visualize yourself thin
Visualise success - Your mind can influence your actions, which can lead to healthy eating and motivate you to exercise and lose weight. Visualize yourself thin. When you continue to visualize yourself as a thin person, your subconscious mind will move you into the right direction and you will exercise to lose weight. Visualization influences your mind and your mind controls your actions. If you want to be thin, picture yourself thin. Think about things you would like to do but can’t do because of your weight. Visualize how you will look when you will lose weight and fit in to your favorite dress.
Cut down or stop any food or drink with high fructose corn syrup
High fructose corn syrup is made from genetically modified corn treated with genetically modified enzymes. High fructose corn syrup is cited by some nutritionists as a leading cause of obesity and is linked to diabetes. High-fructose corn syrup is fueling obesity epidemic.
Keep a positive attitude to maximize your success in weight loss
Negative self talk is our greater enemy than food .To be successful in weight loss, you have to change your attitude. Having the positive attitude is critical if you want to stick to your weight loss plan. Start thinking positive and take care of your mental state. Peace of mind is as important as exercise for weight loss because stress leads to over eating.The stress hormones cause cravings for high sugar and high fat foods.
Portion control
One of the key ways to maintain a healthy weight is to control your portion sizes. Long term weight loss is often achieved through portion control as calories do matter for your weight loss and learning how to control them makes the difference .You have to change the way you eat.
Artificial Sugar - Less Calories, More Side Effects
Google "Aspartame Side Effects"- Artificial sweeteners are just as evil as sugar itself. The best thing to do is to avoid all artificial and chemical sweetener substitutes. Aspartame is the most common form of artificial 'low calorie' sugar. It is found in most diet products and diet sodas. It is also found as a tabletop sweetener for coffee or tea. There is an endless list of side effects that you can get from aspartame. Just google "Aspartame Side Effects" and you will know.
Resolve To Lose Slowly - Set Realistic Goals
Successful weight loss doesn't happen overnight, it takes months and not days. Putting unreasonable pressure on yourself to succeed is not a good idea. When you tell yourself, "I must lose 50 pounds by my sisters wedding" you're setting yourself for weight loss failure. Be sure your goals are realistic.There's no use in trying to reach a 50 lb per month. Resolve to lose slowly. Set short term goals.Healthy weight loss occurs slowly and steadily. Remember, Slow and steady wins the race. Losing weight more rapidly means losing muscle tissue and losing muscle tissue means slow metabolism.
Find good reasons to lose weight
Find out what motivates you. It could be anything- wanting to fit into your favorite dress again , lose weight to feel better and look better or be healthy . Find out what inspires you and why do you want to lose weight? Do it for that reason. Do it for your self.
Reward Yourself
Rewarding yourself for sticking to your weight loss program is a good way to keep yourself motivated. Reward yourself when you accomplish your short term goals, but not with food. You might buy a new book, a new dress or go for a massage. When you reach your target weight reward yourself with something bigger like a vacation or a cruise .
Surround yourself with positive peopleSurround yourself with positive people who believe in you, they will support, encourage and motivate you to acheive your target weight.
Interval Training is a great way to boost metabolism
Interval training is training using short bursts of high intensity exercise that are separated by recovery periods of low intensity exercise.You will push yourself beyond your comfort level for short bursts of time. For example walk 3 mins then run for 1 min and keep doing that until 45 mins or up. Gradually you'll be able to perform at the higher level for longer periods of time and burn more calories .
Eat smaller, more frequent meals
Instead of eating three large meals a day, try eating smaller, more frequent meals. Reduce portion sizes at your regular meals, and add small snacks in between each meal.Eating small frequent meals help to balance your calorie intake throughout the day and also keeps your blood sugar level balanced. It keeps your metabolism charged and prevents you from getting hungry.
Incorporate Strength Training into your workout If you are not doing strength training then you're missing a key component in your weight loss plan. Strength training increases metabolism by increasing lean muscle mass which helps in long term weight loss. Muscles burn calories and gives you more leaner look. It increases bone density. Strength training can be accomplished by using dumbbells, weight machines, push ups or squats etc.
Aerobic exercise Aerobic exercise refers to exercise that involves or improves oxygen consumption by the body. Aerobic exercise burns a lot of calories, so it directly contributes to weight loss. Start a workout routine . Try 30-60 minutes of physical activity a day . Examples of aerobic exercise : walking, jogging, swimming, brisk walking, running, ice skating, biking, aerobics, rowing, basketball, jumping rope, roller skating, dancing. Examples of stationary exercise machines for doing aerobic exercise: elliptical machine, stationary bike, treadmills, stair-steppers and rowing machines .
Eat fruits and vegetables
Increase your intake of fiber rich foods. Fruits and vegetables are high fiber foods and packed with vitamins and antioxidants. They are low in calories but high in fiber. Fiber is very important for your weight loss goals. Fiber is digested slower, keeps us feeling fuller longer and releases its energy slower which keep our blood sugar levels even and helps us avoid cravings. Increase your intake of fiber rich foods.
Virtual weight loss modelThere are sites offering free weight loss software where you can create your virtual weight loss model and get a mental picture of yourself at your goal weight. Virtual model can be used for inspiration as you can get a good idea of how you will look after reaching your target weight. You can visualize and mentally compare your before and after weight loss pictures.
Replace white rice, bread, and pasta with brown rice and whole-grain products
These products are less refined than their white counterparts and often have much more fiber in them which is digested slower, keeps us feeling fuller longer and releases its energy slower which keep our blood sugar levels even and helps us avoid cravings.
Drink more waterWater suppresses the appetite naturally and helps the body metabolize stored fat. The process of burning calories requires an adequate supply of water in order to function efficiently and dehydration slows down the fat burning process.
Increase your protein intake
Protein makes us feel full. It is also important in replacing and building muscle tissue. Remember, more muscles burn more fat. It helps to increase your metabolism - which burns calories.
Do not skip meals
Skipping meals makes you hungry which you tend to compensate by eating a lot later. Avoid that craving by eating small frequent meals which help to balance your calorie intake throughout the day and also keeps your blood sugar level balanced.
Try drinking a glass of water before a mealWater suppresses the appetite naturally .If you tend to overeat , try drinking a medium to large glass of water 10 to 15 minutes before your meal. It will partially fill your stomach and may reduce your hunger levels.
Eat breakfast everyday
Many people think skipping breakfast is a great way to cut calories, but they usually end up eating more throughout the day. Do not skip breakfast. If you're on a diet, it's not good to miss the most important meal of the day. Skipping breakfast makes you hungry which you tend to compensate by eating a lot later. Avoid that craving by eating a hearty meal in the morning.
It's okay to eat your favorite foods
Everyone has his or her favorite treats. Simply allow yourself a little indulgence, just do it in moderation. If you deny yourself your favorite food, you'll crave it more and eventually eat it more.
Spice up your food
Spices boosts metabolism, suppresses appetite, reduces fat absorption and add taste to your meal. You can replace high calorie condiments like butter or mayonnaise with garlic, chili, mustard, ginger. Saute vegetables and chicken in hot sauce as opposed to oil.
Eat Negative calorie foodNegative calorie foods are foods, which use more calories to digest than the calories the foods actually contain. For example, if you eat 200 calories of a food that requires 250 calories to digest, then you've burnt an additional 50 calories simply by eating that food. Some of the negative calorie foods are : Apples, Broccoli, Cantaloupes, Carrot, Cauliflower, Celery stalk, Celery root
Take the stairs and park your car further away from the shops
It will help increase the number of steps you take in a day and will burn a few more calories .
Eat slowly
It takes around 20 minutes for your stomach to tell your brain that it is full . Chewing your food longer will help prevent you from over eating.
Cut down the sugar intake
Excessive intake of sugar often results in weight gain and hence cutting down the sugar intake can actually work wonders for you. The more refined it comes, the more your body is going to react negatively to it. Try and substitute synthetic sugar with natural sugar sources like fruits or honey. Sugar in fruits are better for you than the sugar in candy bars, cakes and ice creams.
Don't beat yourself up over a bad dayYou are going to have moments of weakness and times when you overeat. Don't beat yourself up when you overindulge . Instead put yourself back on track the next day. Give yourself credit for everything you have been doing on other days. Every day is different, do the best you can do now. You can workout a little longer and burn some of those extra calories.
Get plenty of sleep
How much you sleep and the quality of your sleep affects food cravings. Studies have shown that sleep deprivation increases levels of a hunger hormone and decreases levels of a hormone that makes you feel full. Inadequate sleep triggers food cravings which may lead to overeating and weight gain. So get your full eight hours each night to stay healthy and fit .
Don't use the word diet as diets don't workIf you want to lose weight, the word diet should be banned from your dictionary. Most diets focus on weight loss rather than fat loss. Losing weight more rapidly means losing muscle tissue which is body's major fat burning component. Change the way you eat and CHANGE THE WAY YOU THINK. Don't ever say "I am dieting" because most diets fail. Diets don't work long term. On most of the diets, you are not eating stuff you will be eating for the rest of your life. You might lose a few pounds but once your diet is over, then you will most likely regain all of your weight again and chances are they'll bring a few pounds extra too.
Visualize yourself thin
Visualise success - Your mind can influence your actions, which can lead to healthy eating and motivate you to exercise and lose weight. Visualize yourself thin. When you continue to visualize yourself as a thin person, your subconscious mind will move you into the right direction and you will exercise to lose weight. Visualization influences your mind and your mind controls your actions. If you want to be thin, picture yourself thin. Think about things you would like to do but can’t do because of your weight. Visualize how you will look when you will lose weight and fit in to your favorite dress.
Cut down or stop any food or drink with high fructose corn syrup
High fructose corn syrup is made from genetically modified corn treated with genetically modified enzymes. High fructose corn syrup is cited by some nutritionists as a leading cause of obesity and is linked to diabetes. High-fructose corn syrup is fueling obesity epidemic.
Keep a positive attitude to maximize your success in weight loss
Negative self talk is our greater enemy than food .To be successful in weight loss, you have to change your attitude. Having the positive attitude is critical if you want to stick to your weight loss plan. Start thinking positive and take care of your mental state. Peace of mind is as important as exercise for weight loss because stress leads to over eating.The stress hormones cause cravings for high sugar and high fat foods.
Portion control
One of the key ways to maintain a healthy weight is to control your portion sizes. Long term weight loss is often achieved through portion control as calories do matter for your weight loss and learning how to control them makes the difference .You have to change the way you eat.
Artificial Sugar - Less Calories, More Side Effects
Google "Aspartame Side Effects"- Artificial sweeteners are just as evil as sugar itself. The best thing to do is to avoid all artificial and chemical sweetener substitutes. Aspartame is the most common form of artificial 'low calorie' sugar. It is found in most diet products and diet sodas. It is also found as a tabletop sweetener for coffee or tea. There is an endless list of side effects that you can get from aspartame. Just google "Aspartame Side Effects" and you will know.
Resolve To Lose Slowly - Set Realistic Goals
Successful weight loss doesn't happen overnight, it takes months and not days. Putting unreasonable pressure on yourself to succeed is not a good idea. When you tell yourself, "I must lose 50 pounds by my sisters wedding" you're setting yourself for weight loss failure. Be sure your goals are realistic.There's no use in trying to reach a 50 lb per month. Resolve to lose slowly. Set short term goals.Healthy weight loss occurs slowly and steadily. Remember, Slow and steady wins the race. Losing weight more rapidly means losing muscle tissue and losing muscle tissue means slow metabolism.
Find good reasons to lose weight
Find out what motivates you. It could be anything- wanting to fit into your favorite dress again , lose weight to feel better and look better or be healthy . Find out what inspires you and why do you want to lose weight? Do it for that reason. Do it for your self.
Reward Yourself
Rewarding yourself for sticking to your weight loss program is a good way to keep yourself motivated. Reward yourself when you accomplish your short term goals, but not with food. You might buy a new book, a new dress or go for a massage. When you reach your target weight reward yourself with something bigger like a vacation or a cruise .
Surround yourself with positive peopleSurround yourself with positive people who believe in you, they will support, encourage and motivate you to acheive your target weight.
Weight Loss Motivation - Inspirational Quotes
Black Friday in more ways than one
I stepped on the scale this morning expecting the worse. I haven't weighed since Sunday when I was 175.6. Today, I was 181.6. Six pounds in five days. Who does that? Well, me, that's who. I've easily gained ten pounds in a week without even trying. I'm some sort of freak of nature and if I was on a deserted island I'm pretty sure I'd survive longer than anyone because of my body's unique way of holding on to calories.
180 is my freakout weight. Someone once asked me if there's a weight that scares me into sanity. 180 is that weight. The reason is because at 180 my size 12 clothes are tight. At 185 my face changes. I've seen it happen. I normally have a long, slim face, but at 185 it starts to noticeably change. Of course it changes before that, gradually, where I hardly notice it, but at 185 it's like wow, who is that woman in the mirror.
A word about Marie Callendar's pies. First, I made two pumpkin pies, one using a Weight Watcher recipe for 3 Points for 1/8 of the pie, and one with Stevia from an internet recipe. They were both disgusting. My husband went to the store on Thanksgiving Day and purchased two Marie Callender pies. One was Key Lime, one pumpkin. I can pass on pumpkin but I can't pass on Key Lime. 1/10 of that tiny pie was 320 calories, 16 grams fat and 45 grams carbohydrates (not to mention 35 grams of sugar). I ate three slices (1/10 each). That stuff is POISON.
Before that I ate the traditional dinner with the best ever organic turkey from Trader Joes. That turkey was worth every cent. I've never eaten such a tasty bird.
I could tell you more of what happened in detail, but it's pretty obvious. It wasn't just yesterday, but it was all week. I ate too much and didn't exercise enough. I worked from home two days in a row when I was feeling weak when it came to food. Even though I attempted to make Thanksgiving as healthy as possible it wasn't just Thanksgiving Day that was my downfall, it was the entire week. It was my "it's the holidays!" attitude that got me in trouble.
Now for the plan of action. Today I'm 100% back on plan. Counting Points because that's what I do best, drinking water by the gallons and a good solid gym workout for an hour and a half. Just knowing that I have my plan back in place makes me feel better.
Part of my plan is to get back to posting on a more consistent basis and reading blogs and commenting. Even though I've been reading, I haven't commented much. Mainly because I felt like a hypocrite. When I'm not doing well on my plan I drop the posting and commenting as well. Who wants to read about me eating Key Lime pie? How can I give any advice when I'm a dismal failure? Well, I need to change and get back to myself.
Just by posting this I feel 100% better. Weird, but sharing my failures makes me feel stronger and hopeful.
180 is my freakout weight. Someone once asked me if there's a weight that scares me into sanity. 180 is that weight. The reason is because at 180 my size 12 clothes are tight. At 185 my face changes. I've seen it happen. I normally have a long, slim face, but at 185 it starts to noticeably change. Of course it changes before that, gradually, where I hardly notice it, but at 185 it's like wow, who is that woman in the mirror.
A word about Marie Callendar's pies. First, I made two pumpkin pies, one using a Weight Watcher recipe for 3 Points for 1/8 of the pie, and one with Stevia from an internet recipe. They were both disgusting. My husband went to the store on Thanksgiving Day and purchased two Marie Callender pies. One was Key Lime, one pumpkin. I can pass on pumpkin but I can't pass on Key Lime. 1/10 of that tiny pie was 320 calories, 16 grams fat and 45 grams carbohydrates (not to mention 35 grams of sugar). I ate three slices (1/10 each). That stuff is POISON.
Before that I ate the traditional dinner with the best ever organic turkey from Trader Joes. That turkey was worth every cent. I've never eaten such a tasty bird.
I could tell you more of what happened in detail, but it's pretty obvious. It wasn't just yesterday, but it was all week. I ate too much and didn't exercise enough. I worked from home two days in a row when I was feeling weak when it came to food. Even though I attempted to make Thanksgiving as healthy as possible it wasn't just Thanksgiving Day that was my downfall, it was the entire week. It was my "it's the holidays!" attitude that got me in trouble.
Now for the plan of action. Today I'm 100% back on plan. Counting Points because that's what I do best, drinking water by the gallons and a good solid gym workout for an hour and a half. Just knowing that I have my plan back in place makes me feel better.
Part of my plan is to get back to posting on a more consistent basis and reading blogs and commenting. Even though I've been reading, I haven't commented much. Mainly because I felt like a hypocrite. When I'm not doing well on my plan I drop the posting and commenting as well. Who wants to read about me eating Key Lime pie? How can I give any advice when I'm a dismal failure? Well, I need to change and get back to myself.
Just by posting this I feel 100% better. Weird, but sharing my failures makes me feel stronger and hopeful.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Grilled Chicken With Kung Pao Sauce
Hello, healthy kung pao
We’ve all been there: After another long day at the office, you collapse onto the couch, hit speed dial, and order the couch, hit speed dial, and order Chinese takeout—with a large side of guilt. You know all that fatty fried meat smothered in sauce is a calories bomb, but it’s quick and easy—and you swear you’ll save half for tomorrow’s lunch.Well, we have a better idea (and you can eat the entire thing): a slimmed-down version of kung pao chicken, a Szechuan staple. Created by Chris Yeo, the owner and executive chef of Sino Restaurant + Lounge in San Jose, California, the recipe calls for grilled, skinless chicken breasts in place of the typical breaded and deep-fried stuff. “By flame broiling the chicken instead of cooking it in oil, you cut tons of fat,” says Yeo. “And since you’re using low-sodium soy sauce and unsalted peanuts, the sodium is also drastically reduced.”
So put down the phone and get grilling. We promise you won’t miss the greasy Styrofoam container—or all those extra calories.
Grilled Chicken With Kung Pao SauceBefore : 510 Calories(for 4 ounces), 36 Grams of Fat
After : 173 Calories(for 4 ounces), 5 Grams of Fat
Serves 6
Prep time: 5 minutes
Total time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
- 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, rinsed and patted dry
- ¼ cup plus 2 tbsp low-sodium soy suace
- 1 tbsp black or red rice vinegar (or red wine vinegar)
- 1 tbsp plus 1 tsp water, divided
- ¼ tsp sugar
- ¼ cup oyster sauce
- ⅛ tsp sesame oil
- ½ tsp cornstarch
- ¼ cup unsalted peanuts, chopped
- 1 scallion, slivered
- Grill chicken (you can use either a barbecue or 10-inch grill pan) over medium for about 7 minutes on one side and 3 on the other or until cooked through.
- In a medium saucepan, mix soy sauce, vinegar, 1 tbsp plus ½ tsp water, sugar, oyster sauce, and oil. Bring to a boil over medium.
- In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and remaining water; drizzle the mixture into the sauce. Return sauce to a boil and simmer for about 1 minute or until slightly thickened; remove from heat and set aside.
- Using a pastry brush, coat each chicken breast with sauce. Garnish with peanuts and scallions and serve immediately.
Weight Loss Recipes Amount per serving: 173 calories, 5 g fat, <1 g saturated fat, 5 g carbs, 29 g protein, 1 g fiber, 24 mg calcium, 1 mg iron, 071 mg sodium
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Better Than Green Bean Casserole
A couple of years ago I came across this recipe in Vegetarian Times and served it for Thanksgiving in place of traditional green bean casserole - you know the one with the canned soup and canned fried onions. This dish is so delicious and such a crowd pleaser I have been making it ever since. Here is the recipe direct from Vegetarian Times -- I hope it finds a way to your holiday table this year!
3 Resolutions That Really Work
More than 75 percent of people who make resolutions abandon them within months. But the problem isn’t a lack of willpower—it’s how you frame your goals. We asked experts to tweak common vows so you can finally reach your dream weight.
OUT WITH THE OLD I’m going to lose 10 pounds this month. “To drop a lot of weight in a short period of time, you have to drastically slash your calories intake,” says Elisa Zied, R.D., the author of Nutrition at Your Fingertips, And even if you shed those extra pounds, chances are you’ll eventually gain them back. “Most of the time, the weight you quickly shed reflects a loss of water and lean muscle mass,” she says.
IN WITH THE NEW I’ll trim 100 to 200 calories from each meal. “The easiest way to lose weight is by taking small, manageable steps,” says Zied. You might, for example, shave off a few hundred calories by measuring your morning cereal, swapping full-fat dressing for light, and leaving behind a few bites of your dinner.
OUT WITH THE OLD I’m kissing carbs good-bye. That whole-wheat pasta dish can fill you up and help you slim down. According to a recent study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, people who followed a low-carbs diet were more likely to be overweight than those who ate carbs regularly.
IN WITH THE NEW I’m going to add more whole grains to my diet. Whole grains are packed with antioxidants and fiber, but the majority of Americans get only one serving daily. Swap popcorn or whole-wheat crackers for potato chips and oatmeal or granola for your cornflakes.
OUT WITH THE OLD I’ll never eat _____ (insert favorite treat) again! “Banishing a food you love will only make you feel deprived and want it more,” says Elizabeth Ward, R.D., the author of Expect the Best. “So you’ll be more likely to binge.”
IN WITH THE NEW I won’t bring home _____ (insert favorite treat). Allow yourself to savor your indulgence a few times a week. “Just don’t keep it in your kitchen if you’ve polished off an entire container before,” says Ward. That way, you’ll have to make a trip to the store to satisfy your craving.
OUT WITH THE OLD I’m going to lose 10 pounds this month. “To drop a lot of weight in a short period of time, you have to drastically slash your calories intake,” says Elisa Zied, R.D., the author of Nutrition at Your Fingertips, And even if you shed those extra pounds, chances are you’ll eventually gain them back. “Most of the time, the weight you quickly shed reflects a loss of water and lean muscle mass,” she says.
IN WITH THE NEW I’ll trim 100 to 200 calories from each meal. “The easiest way to lose weight is by taking small, manageable steps,” says Zied. You might, for example, shave off a few hundred calories by measuring your morning cereal, swapping full-fat dressing for light, and leaving behind a few bites of your dinner.
OUT WITH THE OLD I’m kissing carbs good-bye. That whole-wheat pasta dish can fill you up and help you slim down. According to a recent study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, people who followed a low-carbs diet were more likely to be overweight than those who ate carbs regularly.
IN WITH THE NEW I’m going to add more whole grains to my diet. Whole grains are packed with antioxidants and fiber, but the majority of Americans get only one serving daily. Swap popcorn or whole-wheat crackers for potato chips and oatmeal or granola for your cornflakes.
OUT WITH THE OLD I’ll never eat _____ (insert favorite treat) again! “Banishing a food you love will only make you feel deprived and want it more,” says Elizabeth Ward, R.D., the author of Expect the Best. “So you’ll be more likely to binge.”
IN WITH THE NEW I won’t bring home _____ (insert favorite treat). Allow yourself to savor your indulgence a few times a week. “Just don’t keep it in your kitchen if you’ve polished off an entire container before,” says Ward. That way, you’ll have to make a trip to the store to satisfy your craving.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
It's 16 degrees right now, which for Seattle is really COLD!
I was out the door this morning at 5:30am headed for the gym (it was 20 degrees). I got to the end of our street, turned around and came home. Even though I grew up in Alaska and know how to drive in snow and ice, I don't have studded snow tires or 4-wheel drive. I decided only a fool would risk their life just to go work out.
I worked from home today because the roads were horrible so I went to the gym on my lunch. Not my best workout because I was rushed, but at least I went in spite of the roads. I increased all my weights by an extra five pounds. Even my concentrated bicep curls, I used a 25-pound dumbbell on the last set of 8. It wasn't as painful as I expected but I'm a little sore. I'm trying to amp up my strength training a little. I've been doing the same size of weights for too long, it's time to bump them up a little.
Not much else going on except that. I'm completely stressed out over a work project that is suppose to be code complete by tomorrow. It's not done. Almost, but not quite. Theoretically I still have the four-day holiday but it makes me sick to think about working over the holiday.
This afternoon when I was dealing with a particularly complicated problem I could actually feel my blood pressure going up. I have a blood pressure cuff and it was at 154/72. Yikes! Normally I'm 120/60, so this isn't good.
My eating isn't perfect, I tend to eat too much when I get stressed. I know, crazy isn't it? I haven't gone totally nuts on the food, just a couple slices of my favorite bread (remember, there were two loaves), and maybe too many grapes, and a handful of marshmallows. I don't even like marshmallows and they're only in the house because of Thanksgiving.
This is a weird post. Scattered. Boring. Sort of like how I'm feeling tonight.
I was out the door this morning at 5:30am headed for the gym (it was 20 degrees). I got to the end of our street, turned around and came home. Even though I grew up in Alaska and know how to drive in snow and ice, I don't have studded snow tires or 4-wheel drive. I decided only a fool would risk their life just to go work out.
I worked from home today because the roads were horrible so I went to the gym on my lunch. Not my best workout because I was rushed, but at least I went in spite of the roads. I increased all my weights by an extra five pounds. Even my concentrated bicep curls, I used a 25-pound dumbbell on the last set of 8. It wasn't as painful as I expected but I'm a little sore. I'm trying to amp up my strength training a little. I've been doing the same size of weights for too long, it's time to bump them up a little.
Not much else going on except that. I'm completely stressed out over a work project that is suppose to be code complete by tomorrow. It's not done. Almost, but not quite. Theoretically I still have the four-day holiday but it makes me sick to think about working over the holiday.
This afternoon when I was dealing with a particularly complicated problem I could actually feel my blood pressure going up. I have a blood pressure cuff and it was at 154/72. Yikes! Normally I'm 120/60, so this isn't good.
My eating isn't perfect, I tend to eat too much when I get stressed. I know, crazy isn't it? I haven't gone totally nuts on the food, just a couple slices of my favorite bread (remember, there were two loaves), and maybe too many grapes, and a handful of marshmallows. I don't even like marshmallows and they're only in the house because of Thanksgiving.
This is a weird post. Scattered. Boring. Sort of like how I'm feeling tonight.
2010 Limited Edition Classic Poultry Blend Seasoning - ON Sale Now!
LivingAfterWLS General Store
The low-sodium herb blend is shown here in the decorative tin. The 2-ounce container (1/2 cup volume) is plenty to flavor your favorite autumn roast poultry, pork and vegetables throughout the cold winter months and will stay fresh and flavorful stored in the functional reusable tin. Tin measures 4-1/4"x 2-3/4" x 1-1/4" deep. Spice blend is delivered in
The low-sodium herb blend is shown here in the decorative tin. The 2-ounce container (1/2 cup volume) is plenty to flavor your favorite autumn roast poultry, pork and vegetables throughout the cold winter months and will stay fresh and flavorful stored in the functional reusable tin. Tin measures 4-1/4"x 2-3/4" x 1-1/4" deep. Spice blend is delivered in
Holiday Pies: What Every Weight Loss Surgery Patient Should Know
By Kaye Bailey
We all know we shouldn't reach for the holiday pie after Weight Loss Surgery (WLS) - it's against the rules and the potential to make us sick is very high. If that's not enough to motivate restraint how about considering the nutrient analysis of some favorite American pies. Take a look and see if it is really worth it to taste that full-fat, full-sugar dessert:
(Based on a 1/8
We all know we shouldn't reach for the holiday pie after Weight Loss Surgery (WLS) - it's against the rules and the potential to make us sick is very high. If that's not enough to motivate restraint how about considering the nutrient analysis of some favorite American pies. Take a look and see if it is really worth it to taste that full-fat, full-sugar dessert:
(Based on a 1/8
Emergency Preparedness For WLS Patients
It looks like many of us in North America are about to face some pretty intense winter weather. In fact, there are numerous winter storm and blizzard warnings posted from the Pacific Northwest clear across the nation to New England. Now is a good time to make sure we are WLS-ready in the event we find ourselves without transportation, heat, and/or power. I'm checking my emergency rations this
8 Quick Tricks To End Emotional Eating For Good
- Rate how ravenous you areGetting into the habit of recognizing the difference between physical and emotional hunger can alert you to when you’re eating for the wrong reasons and help you resist those urges. “Just being aware that your craving has nothing to do with your appetite will help keep you from bingeing,” says Linda W. Craighead, Ph.D., the author of The Appetite Awareness Workbooks.
Do it She recommends making a mental note of how hungry you are on a scale of one to seven every time you eat, with one being stuffed and seven being starving. “Try to decide whether you’re really hungry, you’re craving a specific type of food, or you just
want to eat,” she says. “After a few weeks, this type of thinking will happen naturally any time you go to take a bite. When you’re on the verge of eating for emotional reasons, a warning bell will go off in your head, helping you hit the brakes.” - Tweak your treats“The trick to learning to step out of your comfort [food] zone is to gradually replace the high-calories dishes you fall back on with healthier versions,” says Brian Wansink, Ph.D., the author of the book Mindless Eating.
Do it Instead if handling a defeat with cheesecake, have a bowl of berries topped with lowfat ricotta and a drizzle of chocolate sauce. Keep doing that and soon you’ll associate the not-so-bad food with feelings of happiness. Another trick is to keep your levels of feel-good brain chemicals up. Be sure every meal contains a mix of high-quality carbs (like beans, whole grains, and fruit) as well as healthy fats (such as nuts, eggs, olive oil, and fish). This will help stabilize your mood and dampen those cravings. - Use the buddy systemOne of the reasons people emotionally eat is because they don’t feel supported. “Sometimes your friends are busy. Food, on the other hand, is always available, and you can always count on it tasting good,” says Ann Kearney-Cooke, Ph.D., the director of the Cincinnati Psychotherapy Institute.
Do it “Focus on improving your relationships and you won’t need food to lift your spirits,” she says. Try boosting the number of live interactions you have. “With the Internet, texting, and e-mail, you can spend a whole day without actually talking to anyone. Go to lunch once a week with your mom or call a friend instead of sending her an e-mail.” - Give yourself timeHow’s this for a solution: You can eat every single thing you want. The only catch is that you have to let at least 30 minutes pass before you can have it. “When you wait to eat, you put a buffer between you and the food,” says Spangle. “In that time, the temptation often goes away, saving you from a spontaneous binge you’ll regret later.”
Do it If you don’t think you can force yourself to hit the pause button on your own, make it harder to get to the comfort food. Avoid stocking candy at your desk and don’t keep loose change of dollar bills in your purse that can be sued for the vending machine. At home, keep chocolate in the freezer so it has to thaw before you can eat it, or store junk food down in the basement. These strategies won’t work every time, but having a few barriers in place will help cut down on how often you overindulge. - Reprogram yourselfYou’re used to eating when you’re upset, but you can rewrite your brain to feel comforted by other behaviors,” says Susan Albers, the author of 50 Ways to Soothe Yourself Without Food.
Do it Avoid waiting until you’re in the middle of a food craving to try out a new tactic; that would be like learning how to swim in the middle of rough waters,” says Albers. She suggests making a list of all the healthy things that pick you up after a tough day, like walking your dogs, taking a bath, doing yoga, or watching your favorite chick flick. Get in the habit of doing these things on good days so that when anxiety strikes, you automatically turn to them instead of the cookie dough that’s in your freezer. - Consider the consequencesChances are, when you eat too much or polish off something you think you shouldn’t have, you try to immediately put the binge out of your mind and forget about it. Turns out, this isn’t the best strategy. “You have to give yourself a good reason not to emotionally eat or you’ll keep doing it,” says Craighead.
Do it She recommends practicing negative reinforcement. “So when you have just downed a huge muffin because you’re stressed about the workday ahead of you, take a few minutes and focus on how uncomfortable you feel and how you wish you had chosen something else of hadn’t finished off the whole thing,” she says. “Really dwell on how your body is reacting. Do this a few times and soon, when you’re walking to work, pass by a coffee shop, and start craving a muffin, you’ll remember the aftermath and won’t want it as badly.” - Keep things in perspectiveIn the moment you’re considering scarfing that supersize candy bar, think about whether it’s worth felling bad about later on. “You want to eat the food, but you also want to feel good about yourself,” says Craighead. “You can’t have it all, and most splurges end up not tasting as good as you want them to.”
Do it You may need a visual reminder of why you’re holding back. “Have a jar with a picture on the outside of something you want, like a sexy pair of designer jeans,” says Albers. “When you’re craving a treat, decide whether you want to put the $4 for a Frappuccino in the jar instead. It’s incredibly motivating to know you’re working toward a more lasting reward.” - Don’t be so hard on yourselfIf you do devour a second slice of cake, beating yourself up over it is a surefire way to keep bingeing. “Thinking you’re weak makes you feel worse, which can send you searching for more food,” says Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., the author of The Complete Beck Diet for Life.
Do it Keep it in perspective: A single slipup won’t cause you to put on 10 pounds. And don’t let one lapse be an excuse to eat poorly all day. “If you went through a red light and got a ticket, you wouldn’t go through red lights for the rest of the day,” says Beck. “The more you prove you can quick get back on track, the easier it gets.”
Monday, November 22, 2010
It's been 14 years! Our special tradition.
Just thought I would share something personal today. Fourteen years ago, on November 22, 1996, my hubby and I got married and began our journey together. Along the way we have had four beautiful children we adore.
We believe in eternal families and since our family began the day we got married, we like to celebrate our special day with our kids. Every year they get excited for our anniversary, it's like a birthday for them since we always do something special together.
A tradition for the past few years has been going out to a fun restaurant where they cook dinner in front of us. Flying utensils and shrimp tails always get the kids giggling. My favorite part is when flames shoot out of a volcano of onion rings. I love to watch as they are motionless in their chairs, wide eyed with their mouths hung open. Afterwards, we always end the evening with ice cream at Baskin Robbins or Cold Stone.
Unfortunately this year, we all have the sniffles. We are doing something different while keeping with the spirit of doing something fun and special. For lunch, we all ordered our favorite dishes and doing take out from the best Thai place in existence. Following we are going to cuddle up and watch the movie, A Christmas Carol, that came out last year. (We haven't seen it yet)
The children are going to be surprised when we make homemade Oreo cookies. We saw this recipe awhile back and I wanted to wait for a special day to make them because will power only goes so far when you see these. For dinner we are having various appetizers, per the kid's request.
This has become a fun tradition for our family that will carry on for years. I'm interested in seeing how this tradition will play out as they grow older. Until then, I look forward each year to share it with them.
(This isn't a good photo, I took it with my iPhone from the original. We need to scan the original and make it digital. It's on my "to do" list.)
We believe in eternal families and since our family began the day we got married, we like to celebrate our special day with our kids. Every year they get excited for our anniversary, it's like a birthday for them since we always do something special together.
A tradition for the past few years has been going out to a fun restaurant where they cook dinner in front of us. Flying utensils and shrimp tails always get the kids giggling. My favorite part is when flames shoot out of a volcano of onion rings. I love to watch as they are motionless in their chairs, wide eyed with their mouths hung open. Afterwards, we always end the evening with ice cream at Baskin Robbins or Cold Stone.
Unfortunately this year, we all have the sniffles. We are doing something different while keeping with the spirit of doing something fun and special. For lunch, we all ordered our favorite dishes and doing take out from the best Thai place in existence. Following we are going to cuddle up and watch the movie, A Christmas Carol, that came out last year. (We haven't seen it yet)
The children are going to be surprised when we make homemade Oreo cookies. We saw this recipe awhile back and I wanted to wait for a special day to make them because will power only goes so far when you see these. For dinner we are having various appetizers, per the kid's request.
This has become a fun tradition for our family that will carry on for years. I'm interested in seeing how this tradition will play out as they grow older. Until then, I look forward each year to share it with them.
Outsmart Stress Eating with this Dish Switch!
With all that's on your figurative plate, it's easy to scarf down everything on your literal one without a thought.
To slow down, swap circular dishes of square ones.
According to feng shui practitioners, circles stimulate mental chatter that prevents you from focusing on your food.
But squares inspire ken gua, or self-awareness. Cultivating this quality allows you to tune in to your body's satiety signals, so you stop eating when you're full.
Lose Weight Without Trying!
It doesn't require hours of toiling away at the gym to get the benefits of exercise. In fact, all it takes is clipping on a pedometer:
Studies at California's Lindora Medical Clinic found that those who used a pedometer lost 60% more weight than nonwearers.
These gadgets provide immediate feedback and incentive to take more calorie-burning steps each day, says integrative medicine specialist Hyla Cass, M.D.
Don’t let your feelings make you fat
You may think your struggle with the scale is due to an insatiable appetite, but it’s more likely your head that’s to blame for your battle against the bulge.
WE'VE ALL HEARD THE PHRASE “emotional eating.” It brings to mind the heartbroken woman working her way through an entire box of chocolates after being dumped, the homesick college student finishing off a large pizza, or the recently laid-off friend making her way to the bottom of a bag of sour cream and onion potato chips while trying to pay her bills. But most emotional eating takes place on a far more subtle scale—which may be the reason you can’t drop those last 5, 10, or 25 pounds.
“About 75 percent of the people who come to see me for weight-loss advice eat to deal with their feelings.” says Jane Jakubczak, R.D., the coordinator of nutrition services at the University of Maryland. “But because it’s such an unconscious act, they often don’t even realize they’re doing it.” For many of us, that mindless munching can sabotage even the best-laid healthy-eating plans. “In my experience, emotional eating is the top reason diets fail,” says Linda Spangle, R.R., the author of 100 Days of Weight Loss. “You get into a pattern where every time you fell anything—sadness loneliness, anxiety, boredom, even happiness—you turn to food.”
While it isn’t realistic to think you can banish every single emotional eating episode (sometimes a chocolate cupcake really can help turn a bad day around), it is possible to cut back on the behavior and ultimately avoid piling on pounds. But before you can do that, you need to understand why your emotions are making you indulge in the first place.
Unfortunately, this tactic is a temporary fix at best. “After you’re done eating, you still have to deal with the original problem,” says Spangle. “It’s like when a baby is crying because he needs a nap. If you feed him, he may stop screaming. But once you’re done giving him his bottle, it won’t take long before he realizes he’s still tired and starts wailing again.” On top of that, bingeing can actually make you feel worse in the long run. “Afterwards, you beat yourself up because you feel mad and guilty about what you just did,” says Spangle. “And then you eat more to deal with that distress; it’s a vicious cycle.”
But you don’t need to let biology and what happened to you as a child stand between you and a flat tummy. You can put a stop to your emotional eating patterns. The key is breaking up the automatic connection between food and mood, learning to identify when you’re eating due to reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with your stomach, and retraining yourself to get pleasure from other things, like exercise and friendship. The following eight proven strategies will address these issues—and help you get slim for good.
WE'VE ALL HEARD THE PHRASE “emotional eating.” It brings to mind the heartbroken woman working her way through an entire box of chocolates after being dumped, the homesick college student finishing off a large pizza, or the recently laid-off friend making her way to the bottom of a bag of sour cream and onion potato chips while trying to pay her bills. But most emotional eating takes place on a far more subtle scale—which may be the reason you can’t drop those last 5, 10, or 25 pounds.
“About 75 percent of the people who come to see me for weight-loss advice eat to deal with their feelings.” says Jane Jakubczak, R.D., the coordinator of nutrition services at the University of Maryland. “But because it’s such an unconscious act, they often don’t even realize they’re doing it.” For many of us, that mindless munching can sabotage even the best-laid healthy-eating plans. “In my experience, emotional eating is the top reason diets fail,” says Linda Spangle, R.R., the author of 100 Days of Weight Loss. “You get into a pattern where every time you fell anything—sadness loneliness, anxiety, boredom, even happiness—you turn to food.”
While it isn’t realistic to think you can banish every single emotional eating episode (sometimes a chocolate cupcake really can help turn a bad day around), it is possible to cut back on the behavior and ultimately avoid piling on pounds. But before you can do that, you need to understand why your emotions are making you indulge in the first place.
Searching for comfort in all the wrong places
Most binges are connected with negative feelings—you’re upset, anxious, or angry, so you divert your attention from whatever is causing you angst (your nagging mother-in-law, perhaps) by eating. “Food can act like a drug,” says Geneen Roth, the author of Women, Food, and God. “It can take the edge off whatever is going on, similar to the way a drink does for alcoholics. People think to themselves, ‘I may be feeling upset, but at least I get to taste something good.’”Unfortunately, this tactic is a temporary fix at best. “After you’re done eating, you still have to deal with the original problem,” says Spangle. “It’s like when a baby is crying because he needs a nap. If you feed him, he may stop screaming. But once you’re done giving him his bottle, it won’t take long before he realizes he’s still tired and starts wailing again.” On top of that, bingeing can actually make you feel worse in the long run. “Afterwards, you beat yourself up because you feel mad and guilty about what you just did,” says Spangle. “And then you eat more to deal with that distress; it’s a vicious cycle.”
What you’re really craving
If we all soothed ourselves with crudités and fresh fruit, it wouldn’t be so bad. But we’re grabbing candy, cookies, macaroni and cheese, and French fries—and the reason comes down to biology, It turns out your body is hard-wired to make you pass right by the salad bar and head straight for the bakery aisle instead, “When we eat carbohydrates high is sugar of fat [like a brownie or cinnamon roll], our body releases the brain chemical dopamine,” says Karen R. Koenig, the author of The Food Feelings Workbook. “It stimulates the brain’s pleasure center, so you’ll want to keep eating to repeat the experience again and again.” And if you aren’t after carbs, you’re probably craving sugar and fat—overconsumption of which ups other brain chemicals linked to pleasure and euphoria, according to a recent study from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. But while science shows why you crave certain types of food, the specific dishes you gravitate toward are often ones you associate with pleasurable memories. “Something fabulous was going on when you used to eat that food, and you want to replicate those happy times,” says Roth. If you feasted on lasagna during fun meals as a child, for example, that’s what you’re apt to pile on your plate as an adult when you’re looking to feel better. If your mom soothed you when you were upset with a big bowl of chocolate ice cream, a pint of Ben & Jerry’s may very well be what you reach for when your job gets too stressful.But you don’t need to let biology and what happened to you as a child stand between you and a flat tummy. You can put a stop to your emotional eating patterns. The key is breaking up the automatic connection between food and mood, learning to identify when you’re eating due to reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with your stomach, and retraining yourself to get pleasure from other things, like exercise and friendship. The following eight proven strategies will address these issues—and help you get slim for good.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Pumpkin & Squash...OH MY!
This summer we grew a boatload of squash. Seriously. The amount we grew could have easily filled a small boat like this:
You think I'm kidding? I should have taken a photo.
Nevertheless, we have A LOT of squash to eat. Luckily, we love it so it will be a great to eat from our harvest over the winter.
I've often wondered if you could truly substitute squash for pumpkin. I've always assumed you could, but never got around to confirming my thoughts. Recently, my mom beat me to it. She substituted in a recipe and brought some over for us to try. It was very similar, but she also messed with sugar substitutions, so that might be why I'm a little reluctant in saying it was an easy swap--there was more than one variable.
I saw a recipe on Twitter today that I want to try HERE. I have all the ingredients minus the pumpkin and I'm craving something sweet. If I have enough time, I think I'm going to do a little subbing of my own.
You think I'm kidding? I should have taken a photo.
Nevertheless, we have A LOT of squash to eat. Luckily, we love it so it will be a great to eat from our harvest over the winter.
I've often wondered if you could truly substitute squash for pumpkin. I've always assumed you could, but never got around to confirming my thoughts. Recently, my mom beat me to it. She substituted in a recipe and brought some over for us to try. It was very similar, but she also messed with sugar substitutions, so that might be why I'm a little reluctant in saying it was an easy swap--there was more than one variable.
I saw a recipe on Twitter today that I want to try HERE. I have all the ingredients minus the pumpkin and I'm craving something sweet. If I have enough time, I think I'm going to do a little subbing of my own.
The week in review
Every day I think of something I want to post about, then every day I'm too exhausted to post. Today I'll give you the highlights of my week, and hopefully get back to regular scheduled programming tomorrow.
The weighin
My weighin wasn't great - 175.6. Up 0.6 pounds. This seems to be my destiny, and I don't like it one little bit. I'm super perfect on plan for two days and then totally blow it the next day. Wash, rinse and repeat.
What went wrong
Thursday it was a loaf of my most favorite bread. It's store bought, but perfect bread. Dave's Killer Seed Bread from Portland, OR. I love this stuff. It's very healthy, all organic and full of good stuff...but it's high in calories when you eat several slices with light Smart Balance and a drizzle of honey. I didn't eat the entire loaf, but I made a good dent in it. I don't buy it because I know I'm weak when it comes to bread. My husband (darn him anyway) brought it home from Costco. Same with the best tortilla chips I've ever tasted (the kind they serve in Mexican restaurants), another bad day. He's now on restriction, he has to buy from a list. If it's not on the list, he can't buy it. New rule (that he probably won't follow, but a girl can try).
What went right
To add insult to my gain is that I worked out like a maniac last week. I've started a new routine where I do ten minutes of warmup on the Stairmaster, then my weights for an hour and finish with an intense 20 minutes on the StairMaster. Since I detest cardio, this really works for me. It seems like that 10 minute hard warmup gets my heart rate up and then during weight lifting it stays up high. I also seem stronger when it comes to lifting by keeping my cardio at the end, like all the books recommend and I've been ignoring for years. My workouts are now a full hour and 35 minutes. Of course some of that is wiping down the StairMaster twice and walking to different areas of the gym. I figure a good hour and 20 minutes is solid exercise time.
I've also been forcing myself to really do the lower body strength exercises every other day (alternating with upper body). I hate the lower body strength training almost as much as the cardio (not quite, I don't hate anything like I hate cardio).
On the days I didn't eat bread or tortilla chips I actually tracked all my calories, four out of seven days. Not bad but the bread and tortilla chip days put me way over my calories.
Yard Work - Me!
I did yard work last weekend. Yes, me with a rake in hand. Probably the first time in ten years I've actually worked in the yard (maybe 20 years). We have the world's largest Maple tree in our backyard. It's actually eight trees that grew up out of one spot. Imagine the leaves from eight gigantic maple trees. You couldn't even see the lawn beneath the leaves. I raked for three hours. My husband and I switched chores last weekend. He went to Costco and grocery shopping (hence the two loaves of bread and two giant bags of tortilla chips). I chose the yard work because I wanted to be outside.
The coolest thing was when I discovered the ivy had climbed about 20 feet up the trees. Now that's not the cool part, ivy on trees is very bad since it kills them. What was cool was me climbing up the trees and pulling off the ivy. I'm a lot stronger than I thought (thank you 20 and 25-pound dumbbells).
When my husband saw all the ivy off the trees he asked me how on earth I got up there, he asked me if I had pulled over the ladder. I told him no, this 55-year old woman climbed up in the trees and held on to branches as I reached out and plucked ivy off the tree with the other hand. Some of the ivy stems were at least an inch thick and I had to use a screwdriver to force the ivy suckers off the tree. That's the first time outside of the gym that I thought wow, I'm pretty strong. Being strong really comes in handy in real life...like climbing trees and pulling off ivy.
Team event
Speaking of being strong, I have a team event (for work) on Nov. 30. At first I was super excited about it since it was my first pick of six choices. My coworkers (there are ten of us) are going up to Mt. Vernon for the day and doing the Eagle Rock Challenge Course. It's one of those corporate things to help build team trust and relationships.
It has things like walking on ropes high up in the air, a trapeze thing, and other similar activities. After I looked at some videos online I'm not so sure this is a good idea. I have a bit of a fear of high places. Not terrible, it's just not something I prefer to do. I guess I should have looked at the website and the videos prior to voting on my choice. I just hope I'm strong enough to do this. I work with mostly younger and very fit people. Most are late 20's or 30's and I'm by far the oldest and fattest person on my team.
We have to sign waivers that we won't hold the City of Mt. Vernon responsible for any injuries, and wear hard hats. It's not like I can say no, I don't want to go, then I'm not a team player and it's all about being a team player where I work. If you don't want to be on a team, well, there's the door...good luck in your job search. This isn't me in the video below, but I'll probably have a similar video after the 30th of our adventure (if I live to talk about it). Wish me luck! This is also part of why I'm upping my weight lifting time at the gym. I don't want to be the weak, 55-year old fatty that can't do this.
Quicken aficionado
I must mention my new hobby. Finances! Another thing I haven't done in 20+ years of marriage, looked at our finances. We both work, have decent jobs with decent salaries, no kids, yet there never seems to be enough money.
I purchased Quicken 2011 a week ago and have spent hours looking through everything and entering information, downloading all our bank stuff online (way cool). Yikes! I had no idea I was spending so much money on groceries. It's embarrassing. I can't even write it out here because we (I) have been spending more on food than most people probably spend on a family of six or more. I didn't know the price of anything because I don't look at prices when I shop. I know, I'm an idiot when it comes to money. But that's all changing. We have a budget! Now that I'm tracking everything in Quicken I'm much more aware of what I'm spending.
Plus all the crap I buy that I don't need. I found myself at the pharmacy yesterday picking up my asthma medicine strolling through their attached gift shop. I always buy some piece of junk when I go in there because "they have the cutest stuff". Emphasis on "stuff". I don't need any more stuff, I have plenty thank you very much. :)
Plans for the coming week
Stop eating bread and chips! I never eat these things, and I just went a little nuts with them in the house. It's like a crack addict knowing there's a bunch of crack sitting in their kitchen. Seriously, that's just foolish. If it's not in the house I won't eat it.
Yes, I know I live with another person. I know he should be allowed to have what he wants to eat, but...well, I guess there are no buts here. I should be able to resist. It's just really hard for me. He won't be doing it again if I can help it. He's always very supportive and he thinks I have things under control with food. I keep telling him I'm like an addict, but I really don't think he gets it. He never eats out of boredom or loneliness, he eats when he's hungry. What a concept.
I have real plans to track my food every single day. Even on Thanksgiving day. Stay within my 1400 calorie limit. Even on Thanksgiving Day. Tracking really helps.
Continue with the exercise and water. Both were great this week.
I know it's Thanksgiving week, but we're staying home and that helps. I'm in control of what's being cooked and I can cook a good, tasty, yet very healthy meal. Hopefully I won't go crazy on the healthy food...which I've been known to do.
Have a good week, and I shall be back tomorrow!
The weighin
My weighin wasn't great - 175.6. Up 0.6 pounds. This seems to be my destiny, and I don't like it one little bit. I'm super perfect on plan for two days and then totally blow it the next day. Wash, rinse and repeat.
What went wrong
Thursday it was a loaf of my most favorite bread. It's store bought, but perfect bread. Dave's Killer Seed Bread from Portland, OR. I love this stuff. It's very healthy, all organic and full of good stuff...but it's high in calories when you eat several slices with light Smart Balance and a drizzle of honey. I didn't eat the entire loaf, but I made a good dent in it. I don't buy it because I know I'm weak when it comes to bread. My husband (darn him anyway) brought it home from Costco. Same with the best tortilla chips I've ever tasted (the kind they serve in Mexican restaurants), another bad day. He's now on restriction, he has to buy from a list. If it's not on the list, he can't buy it. New rule (that he probably won't follow, but a girl can try).
What went right
To add insult to my gain is that I worked out like a maniac last week. I've started a new routine where I do ten minutes of warmup on the Stairmaster, then my weights for an hour and finish with an intense 20 minutes on the StairMaster. Since I detest cardio, this really works for me. It seems like that 10 minute hard warmup gets my heart rate up and then during weight lifting it stays up high. I also seem stronger when it comes to lifting by keeping my cardio at the end, like all the books recommend and I've been ignoring for years. My workouts are now a full hour and 35 minutes. Of course some of that is wiping down the StairMaster twice and walking to different areas of the gym. I figure a good hour and 20 minutes is solid exercise time.
I've also been forcing myself to really do the lower body strength exercises every other day (alternating with upper body). I hate the lower body strength training almost as much as the cardio (not quite, I don't hate anything like I hate cardio).
On the days I didn't eat bread or tortilla chips I actually tracked all my calories, four out of seven days. Not bad but the bread and tortilla chip days put me way over my calories.
Yard Work - Me!
I did yard work last weekend. Yes, me with a rake in hand. Probably the first time in ten years I've actually worked in the yard (maybe 20 years). We have the world's largest Maple tree in our backyard. It's actually eight trees that grew up out of one spot. Imagine the leaves from eight gigantic maple trees. You couldn't even see the lawn beneath the leaves. I raked for three hours. My husband and I switched chores last weekend. He went to Costco and grocery shopping (hence the two loaves of bread and two giant bags of tortilla chips). I chose the yard work because I wanted to be outside.
The coolest thing was when I discovered the ivy had climbed about 20 feet up the trees. Now that's not the cool part, ivy on trees is very bad since it kills them. What was cool was me climbing up the trees and pulling off the ivy. I'm a lot stronger than I thought (thank you 20 and 25-pound dumbbells).
When my husband saw all the ivy off the trees he asked me how on earth I got up there, he asked me if I had pulled over the ladder. I told him no, this 55-year old woman climbed up in the trees and held on to branches as I reached out and plucked ivy off the tree with the other hand. Some of the ivy stems were at least an inch thick and I had to use a screwdriver to force the ivy suckers off the tree. That's the first time outside of the gym that I thought wow, I'm pretty strong. Being strong really comes in handy in real life...like climbing trees and pulling off ivy.
Team event
Speaking of being strong, I have a team event (for work) on Nov. 30. At first I was super excited about it since it was my first pick of six choices. My coworkers (there are ten of us) are going up to Mt. Vernon for the day and doing the Eagle Rock Challenge Course. It's one of those corporate things to help build team trust and relationships.
It has things like walking on ropes high up in the air, a trapeze thing, and other similar activities. After I looked at some videos online I'm not so sure this is a good idea. I have a bit of a fear of high places. Not terrible, it's just not something I prefer to do. I guess I should have looked at the website and the videos prior to voting on my choice. I just hope I'm strong enough to do this. I work with mostly younger and very fit people. Most are late 20's or 30's and I'm by far the oldest and fattest person on my team.
We have to sign waivers that we won't hold the City of Mt. Vernon responsible for any injuries, and wear hard hats. It's not like I can say no, I don't want to go, then I'm not a team player and it's all about being a team player where I work. If you don't want to be on a team, well, there's the door...good luck in your job search. This isn't me in the video below, but I'll probably have a similar video after the 30th of our adventure (if I live to talk about it). Wish me luck! This is also part of why I'm upping my weight lifting time at the gym. I don't want to be the weak, 55-year old fatty that can't do this.
Quicken aficionado
I must mention my new hobby. Finances! Another thing I haven't done in 20+ years of marriage, looked at our finances. We both work, have decent jobs with decent salaries, no kids, yet there never seems to be enough money.
I purchased Quicken 2011 a week ago and have spent hours looking through everything and entering information, downloading all our bank stuff online (way cool). Yikes! I had no idea I was spending so much money on groceries. It's embarrassing. I can't even write it out here because we (I) have been spending more on food than most people probably spend on a family of six or more. I didn't know the price of anything because I don't look at prices when I shop. I know, I'm an idiot when it comes to money. But that's all changing. We have a budget! Now that I'm tracking everything in Quicken I'm much more aware of what I'm spending.
Plus all the crap I buy that I don't need. I found myself at the pharmacy yesterday picking up my asthma medicine strolling through their attached gift shop. I always buy some piece of junk when I go in there because "they have the cutest stuff". Emphasis on "stuff". I don't need any more stuff, I have plenty thank you very much. :)
Plans for the coming week
Stop eating bread and chips! I never eat these things, and I just went a little nuts with them in the house. It's like a crack addict knowing there's a bunch of crack sitting in their kitchen. Seriously, that's just foolish. If it's not in the house I won't eat it.
Yes, I know I live with another person. I know he should be allowed to have what he wants to eat, but...well, I guess there are no buts here. I should be able to resist. It's just really hard for me. He won't be doing it again if I can help it. He's always very supportive and he thinks I have things under control with food. I keep telling him I'm like an addict, but I really don't think he gets it. He never eats out of boredom or loneliness, he eats when he's hungry. What a concept.
I have real plans to track my food every single day. Even on Thanksgiving day. Stay within my 1400 calorie limit. Even on Thanksgiving Day. Tracking really helps.
Continue with the exercise and water. Both were great this week.
I know it's Thanksgiving week, but we're staying home and that helps. I'm in control of what's being cooked and I can cook a good, tasty, yet very healthy meal. Hopefully I won't go crazy on the healthy food...which I've been known to do.
Have a good week, and I shall be back tomorrow!
Whole-Wheat Crostini With White Beans
Tip: Combine any remaining bean mixture with pasta or brown rice for a quick and easy dinner.
Serves 2
Prep time: 5 minutes
Total times: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
Weight Loss Recipes Amount per Serving: 252 calories, 9 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 32 g carbs, 11 g protein, 8 g fiber, 137 mg calcium, 4 mg iron, 43 mg sodium
Serves 2
Prep time: 5 minutes
Total times: 15 minutes
Ingredients:- 2 tbsp olive oil
- ½ cup chopped onion
- 1 tsp cup low-sodium chicken broth ( or vegetable stock)
- 1 15-ounce can white beans, rinsed and drained
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 8 slices (½ inch each) whole-wheat baguette, toasted
- 2 plum tomatoes, cut into 8 slices
- ¼ cup pine nuts, toasted
- Combine olive oil and onion in a medium skillet. Sauté over medium for about 5 minutes or until onion is tender.
- Add rosemary, broth, and beans to the onions. Slimmer gently for another 5 minutes or until broth is reduced and thickened. Remove from heat and season to taste with salt and pepper, if desired.
- Fold in parsley and lemon zest. Top each baguette slice with a tomato slice and 2 tbsp of the bean mixture. Garnish with pine nuts and serve.
Weight Loss Recipes Amount per Serving: 252 calories, 9 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 32 g carbs, 11 g protein, 8 g fiber, 137 mg calcium, 4 mg iron, 43 mg sodium
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Glucose Tolerance in Non-industrial Cultures
Background
Glucose is the predominant blood sugar and one of the body's two main fuel sources (the other is fatty acids). Glucose, in one form or another, is also the main form of digestible dietary carbohydrate in nearly all human diets. Starch is made of long chains of glucose molecules, which are rapidly liberated and absorbed during digestion. Sucrose, or table sugar, is made of one glucose and one fructose molecule, which are separated before absorption.
Blood glucose is essential for life, but it can also be damaging if there is too much of it. Therefore, the body tries to keep it within a relatively tight range. Normal fasting glucose is roughly between 70 and 90 mg/dL*, but in the same individual it's usually within about 5 mg/dL on any given day. Sustained glucose above 160 mg/dL or so causes damage to multiple organ systems. Some people would put that number closer to 140 mg/dL.
The amount of glucose contained in a potato far exceeds the amount contained in the blood, so if all that glucose were to enter the blood at once, it would lead to a highly damaging blood glucose level. Fortunately, the body has a hormone designed to keep this from happening: insulin. Insulin tells cells to internalize glucose from the blood. It's released by the pancreas in response to eating carbohydrate, and protein to a lesser extent. The amount of insulin released is proportional to the amount of carbohydrate ingested, so that glucose entering the blood is cleared before it can accumulate.
Insulin doesn't clear all the glucose as it enters the bloodstream, however. Some of it does accumulate, leading to a spike in blood glucose. This usually doesn't exceed 160 mg/dL in a healthy person, and even if it approaches that level it's only briefly. However, diabetics have reduced insulin signaling, and eating a typical meal can cause their glucose to exceed 300 mg/dL due to reduced clearance. In affluent nations, this is typically due to type II diabetes, which begins as insulin resistance, a condition in which insulin is actually higher than normal but cells fail to respond to it.
The precursor to diabetes is called glucose intolerance, or pre-diabetes. In someone with glucose intolerance, blood glucose after a typical meal will exceed that of a healthy person, but will not reach the diabetic range (a common definition of diabetes is 200 mg/dL or higher, 2 hours after ingesting 75g of glucose). Glucose tolerance refers to a person's ability to control blood glucose when challenged with dietary glucose, and can be used in some contexts as a useful predictor of diabetes risk and general metabolic health. Doctors use the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), which involves drinking 60-100g glucose and measuring blood glucose after one or two hours, to determine glucose tolerance.
Why do we care about glucose tolerance in non-industrial cultures?
One of the problems with modern medical research is that so many people in our culture are metabolically sick that it can be difficult to know if what we consider "normal" is really normal or healthy in the broader sense. Non-industrial cultures allow us to examine what the human metabolism is like in the absence of metabolic disease. I admit this rests on certain assumptions, particularly that these people aren't sick themselves. I don't think all non-industrial cultures are necessarily healthy, but I'm going to stick with those that research has shown have an exceptionally low prevalence of diabetes (by Western standards) and other "diseases of civilization" for the purposes of this post.
Here's the question I really want to answer in this post: do healthy non-industrial cultures with a very high carbohydrate intake have an excellent glucose tolerance, such that their blood glucose doesn't rise to a high level, or are they simply resistant to the damaging effects of high blood glucose?
The data
I'm going to start with an extreme example. In the 1960s, when it was fashionable to study non-industrial cultures, researchers investigated the diet and health of a culture in Tukisenta, in the highlands of Papua New Guinea. The eat practically nothing but sweet potatoes, and their typical daily fare is 94.6 percent carbohydrate. Whether or not you believe that exact number, their diet was clearly extraordinarily high in carbohydrate. They administered 100g OGTTs and measured blood glucose at one hour, which is a very stringent OGTT. They compared the results to those obtained in the 1965 Tecumseh study (US) obtained by the same method. Here's what they found (1):
Compared to Americans, in Tukisenta they had an extraordinary glucose tolerance at all ages. At one hour, their blood glucose was scarcely above normal fasting values, and glucose tolerance only decreased modestly with age. In contrast, in Americans over 50 years old, the average one-hour value was approaching the diabetic range!
Now let's take a look at the African Bantu in the Lobaye region of the Central African Republic. The Bantu are a large ethnic group who primarily subsist on a diverse array of starchy foods including grains, beans, plantains and root crops. One hour after a 100g OGTT, their blood glucose was 113 mg/dL, compared to 139 mg/dL in American controls (2). Those numbers are comparable to what investigators found in Tukisenta, and indicate an excellent glucose tolerance in the Bantu.
In South America, different investigators studied a group of native Americans in central Brazil that subsist primarily on cassava (a starchy root crop) and freshwater fish. Average blood glucose one hour after a 100g OGTT was 94 mg/dl, and only 2 out of 106 people tested had a reading over 160 mg/dL (both were older women) (Western Diseases: Their Emergence and Prevention, p. 149). Again, that indicates a phenomenal glucose tolerance by Western standards.
I have to conclude that high-carbohydrate non-industrial cultures probably don't experience damaging high blood glucose levels, because their glucose tolerance is up to the task of shuttling a huge amount of glucose out of the bloodstream before that happens.
Not so fast...
Now let's turn our attention to another study that may throw a wrench in the gears. A while back, I found a paper containing OGTT data for the !Kung San (also called the Bushmen), a hunter-gatherer group living in the Kalahari desert of Africa. I reported in an earlier post that they had a good glucose tolerance. When I revisited the paper recently, I realized I had misread it and in fact, their glucose tolerance was actually pretty poor (come on guys, you have to call me on this stuff!).
Investigators administered a 50g OGTT, half what the other studies used. At one hour, the San had blood glucose readings of 169 mg/dL, compared to 142 mg/dL in Caucasian controls (3)! I suspect a 100g OGTT would have put them close to the diabetic range.
Wait a minute, these guys are hunter-gatherers living the ancestral lifestyle; aren't they supposed to be super healthy?? While I was mulling this over, I recalled a discussion on Peter's blog hyperlipid where commenters were discussing their diabetic OGTT values while on a low-carbohydrate diet. Apparently, carbohydrate refeeding for a few days generally reverses this and allows a normal OGTT in most people. It turns out this effect has been known for the better part of a century.
So what were the San eating? The study was conducted in October of 1970. The San diet changes seasonally, however their main staple food is the mongongo nut, which is mostly fat and which is available year-round (according to The !Kung San: Men, Women and Work in a Foraging Society). Their carbohydrate intake is generally low by Western standards, and at times of the year it is very low. This varies by the availability of other foods, but they generally don't seem to relish the fibrous starchy root crops that are available in the area, as they mostly eat them when other food is scarce. Jean-Louis Tu has posted a nice analysis of the San diet on BeyondVeg (4). Here's a photo of a San man collecting mongongo nuts from The !Kung San: Men, Women and Work in a Foraging Society:
What did the authors of the OGTT study have to say about their diet? Acknowledging that prior carbohydrate intake may have played a role in the OGTT results of the San, they made the following remark:
You can draw your own conclusions, but I think the high OGTT result of the San probably reflect a low habitual carbohydrate intake, and not pre-diabetes. I have a very hard time believing that this culture wasn't able to handle the moderate amount of carbohydrate in their diet effectively, as observers have never described diabetic complications among them.
Putting it all together
This brings me to my hypothesis. I think a healthy human body is extraordinarily flexible in its ability to adapt to a very broad range of carbohydrate intakes, and adjusts glucose tolerance accordingly to maintain carbohydrate handling in a healthy range. In the context of a healthy diet and lifestyle (from birth), I suspect that nearly anyone can adjust to a very high carbohydrate intake without getting dangerous blood glucose spikes. A low carbohydrate intake leads to lower glucose handling and better fat handling, as one would expect. This can show up as impaired glucose tolerance or diabetes on an OGTT, but that does not necessarily reflect a pathological state in my opinion.
Every person is different based on lifestyle, diet, personal history and genetics. Not everyone in affluent nations has a good glucose tolerance, and some people will never be able to handle starch effectively under any circumstances. The best way to know how your body reacts to carbohydrate is to test your own post-meal blood glucose using a glucose meter. They are inexpensive and work well. For the most informative result, eat a relatively consistent amount of carbohydrate for a week to allow your body to adapt, then take a glucose measurement 1 and 2 hours after a meal. If you don't eat much carbohydrate, eating a potato might make you think you're diabetic, whereas after a week of adaptation you may find that a large potato does not spike your blood glucose beyond the healthy range.
Exercise is a powerful tool for combating glucose intolerance, as it increases the muscles' demand for glucose, causing them to transport it out of the blood greedily after a meal. Any exercise that depletes muscle glycogen should be effective.
* Assuming a typical carbohydrate intake. Chris Kresser recently argued, based on several studies, that true normal fasting glucose for a person eating a typical amount of carbohydrate is below 83 mg/dL. Low-carbohydrate eating may raise this number, but that doesn't necessarily indicate a pathological change. High-carbohydrate cultures such as the Kitavans, Aymara and New Guineans tend to have fasting values in the low 60s to low 70s. I suspect that a very high carbohydrate intake generally lowers fasting glucose in healthy people. That seems to be the case so far for Chris Voigt, on his diet of 20 potatoes a day. Stay tuned for an interview with Mr. Voigt in early December.
Glucose is the predominant blood sugar and one of the body's two main fuel sources (the other is fatty acids). Glucose, in one form or another, is also the main form of digestible dietary carbohydrate in nearly all human diets. Starch is made of long chains of glucose molecules, which are rapidly liberated and absorbed during digestion. Sucrose, or table sugar, is made of one glucose and one fructose molecule, which are separated before absorption.
Blood glucose is essential for life, but it can also be damaging if there is too much of it. Therefore, the body tries to keep it within a relatively tight range. Normal fasting glucose is roughly between 70 and 90 mg/dL*, but in the same individual it's usually within about 5 mg/dL on any given day. Sustained glucose above 160 mg/dL or so causes damage to multiple organ systems. Some people would put that number closer to 140 mg/dL.
The amount of glucose contained in a potato far exceeds the amount contained in the blood, so if all that glucose were to enter the blood at once, it would lead to a highly damaging blood glucose level. Fortunately, the body has a hormone designed to keep this from happening: insulin. Insulin tells cells to internalize glucose from the blood. It's released by the pancreas in response to eating carbohydrate, and protein to a lesser extent. The amount of insulin released is proportional to the amount of carbohydrate ingested, so that glucose entering the blood is cleared before it can accumulate.
Insulin doesn't clear all the glucose as it enters the bloodstream, however. Some of it does accumulate, leading to a spike in blood glucose. This usually doesn't exceed 160 mg/dL in a healthy person, and even if it approaches that level it's only briefly. However, diabetics have reduced insulin signaling, and eating a typical meal can cause their glucose to exceed 300 mg/dL due to reduced clearance. In affluent nations, this is typically due to type II diabetes, which begins as insulin resistance, a condition in which insulin is actually higher than normal but cells fail to respond to it.
The precursor to diabetes is called glucose intolerance, or pre-diabetes. In someone with glucose intolerance, blood glucose after a typical meal will exceed that of a healthy person, but will not reach the diabetic range (a common definition of diabetes is 200 mg/dL or higher, 2 hours after ingesting 75g of glucose). Glucose tolerance refers to a person's ability to control blood glucose when challenged with dietary glucose, and can be used in some contexts as a useful predictor of diabetes risk and general metabolic health. Doctors use the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), which involves drinking 60-100g glucose and measuring blood glucose after one or two hours, to determine glucose tolerance.
Why do we care about glucose tolerance in non-industrial cultures?
One of the problems with modern medical research is that so many people in our culture are metabolically sick that it can be difficult to know if what we consider "normal" is really normal or healthy in the broader sense. Non-industrial cultures allow us to examine what the human metabolism is like in the absence of metabolic disease. I admit this rests on certain assumptions, particularly that these people aren't sick themselves. I don't think all non-industrial cultures are necessarily healthy, but I'm going to stick with those that research has shown have an exceptionally low prevalence of diabetes (by Western standards) and other "diseases of civilization" for the purposes of this post.
Here's the question I really want to answer in this post: do healthy non-industrial cultures with a very high carbohydrate intake have an excellent glucose tolerance, such that their blood glucose doesn't rise to a high level, or are they simply resistant to the damaging effects of high blood glucose?
The data
I'm going to start with an extreme example. In the 1960s, when it was fashionable to study non-industrial cultures, researchers investigated the diet and health of a culture in Tukisenta, in the highlands of Papua New Guinea. The eat practically nothing but sweet potatoes, and their typical daily fare is 94.6 percent carbohydrate. Whether or not you believe that exact number, their diet was clearly extraordinarily high in carbohydrate. They administered 100g OGTTs and measured blood glucose at one hour, which is a very stringent OGTT. They compared the results to those obtained in the 1965 Tecumseh study (US) obtained by the same method. Here's what they found (1):
Compared to Americans, in Tukisenta they had an extraordinary glucose tolerance at all ages. At one hour, their blood glucose was scarcely above normal fasting values, and glucose tolerance only decreased modestly with age. In contrast, in Americans over 50 years old, the average one-hour value was approaching the diabetic range!Now let's take a look at the African Bantu in the Lobaye region of the Central African Republic. The Bantu are a large ethnic group who primarily subsist on a diverse array of starchy foods including grains, beans, plantains and root crops. One hour after a 100g OGTT, their blood glucose was 113 mg/dL, compared to 139 mg/dL in American controls (2). Those numbers are comparable to what investigators found in Tukisenta, and indicate an excellent glucose tolerance in the Bantu.
In South America, different investigators studied a group of native Americans in central Brazil that subsist primarily on cassava (a starchy root crop) and freshwater fish. Average blood glucose one hour after a 100g OGTT was 94 mg/dl, and only 2 out of 106 people tested had a reading over 160 mg/dL (both were older women) (Western Diseases: Their Emergence and Prevention, p. 149). Again, that indicates a phenomenal glucose tolerance by Western standards.
I have to conclude that high-carbohydrate non-industrial cultures probably don't experience damaging high blood glucose levels, because their glucose tolerance is up to the task of shuttling a huge amount of glucose out of the bloodstream before that happens.
Not so fast...
Now let's turn our attention to another study that may throw a wrench in the gears. A while back, I found a paper containing OGTT data for the !Kung San (also called the Bushmen), a hunter-gatherer group living in the Kalahari desert of Africa. I reported in an earlier post that they had a good glucose tolerance. When I revisited the paper recently, I realized I had misread it and in fact, their glucose tolerance was actually pretty poor (come on guys, you have to call me on this stuff!).
Investigators administered a 50g OGTT, half what the other studies used. At one hour, the San had blood glucose readings of 169 mg/dL, compared to 142 mg/dL in Caucasian controls (3)! I suspect a 100g OGTT would have put them close to the diabetic range.
Wait a minute, these guys are hunter-gatherers living the ancestral lifestyle; aren't they supposed to be super healthy?? While I was mulling this over, I recalled a discussion on Peter's blog hyperlipid where commenters were discussing their diabetic OGTT values while on a low-carbohydrate diet. Apparently, carbohydrate refeeding for a few days generally reverses this and allows a normal OGTT in most people. It turns out this effect has been known for the better part of a century.
So what were the San eating? The study was conducted in October of 1970. The San diet changes seasonally, however their main staple food is the mongongo nut, which is mostly fat and which is available year-round (according to The !Kung San: Men, Women and Work in a Foraging Society). Their carbohydrate intake is generally low by Western standards, and at times of the year it is very low. This varies by the availability of other foods, but they generally don't seem to relish the fibrous starchy root crops that are available in the area, as they mostly eat them when other food is scarce. Jean-Louis Tu has posted a nice analysis of the San diet on BeyondVeg (4). Here's a photo of a San man collecting mongongo nuts from The !Kung San: Men, Women and Work in a Foraging Society:
What did the authors of the OGTT study have to say about their diet? Acknowledging that prior carbohydrate intake may have played a role in the OGTT results of the San, they made the following remark:a retrospective dietary history (M. J. Konner, personal communication, 1971) indicated that the [San], in fact, consumed fairly large amounts of carbohydrate-rich vegetable food during the week before testing.However, the dietary history was not provided, nor has it been published, so we have no way to assess the statement's accuracy or what was meant by "fairly large amounts of carbohydrate-rich vegetable food." Given the fact that the San diet generally ranges from moderately low to very low in carbohydrate, I suspect they were not getting much carbohydrate as a percentage of calories. Looking at the nutritional value of the starchy root foods they typically ate in appendix D of The !Kung San: Men, Women and Work in a Foraging Society, they are fibrous and most contain a low concentration of starch compared to a potato for example. The investigators may have been misled by the volume of these foods eaten, not realizing that they are not as rich in carbohydrate as the starchy root crops they are more familiar with.
You can draw your own conclusions, but I think the high OGTT result of the San probably reflect a low habitual carbohydrate intake, and not pre-diabetes. I have a very hard time believing that this culture wasn't able to handle the moderate amount of carbohydrate in their diet effectively, as observers have never described diabetic complications among them.
Putting it all together
This brings me to my hypothesis. I think a healthy human body is extraordinarily flexible in its ability to adapt to a very broad range of carbohydrate intakes, and adjusts glucose tolerance accordingly to maintain carbohydrate handling in a healthy range. In the context of a healthy diet and lifestyle (from birth), I suspect that nearly anyone can adjust to a very high carbohydrate intake without getting dangerous blood glucose spikes. A low carbohydrate intake leads to lower glucose handling and better fat handling, as one would expect. This can show up as impaired glucose tolerance or diabetes on an OGTT, but that does not necessarily reflect a pathological state in my opinion.
Every person is different based on lifestyle, diet, personal history and genetics. Not everyone in affluent nations has a good glucose tolerance, and some people will never be able to handle starch effectively under any circumstances. The best way to know how your body reacts to carbohydrate is to test your own post-meal blood glucose using a glucose meter. They are inexpensive and work well. For the most informative result, eat a relatively consistent amount of carbohydrate for a week to allow your body to adapt, then take a glucose measurement 1 and 2 hours after a meal. If you don't eat much carbohydrate, eating a potato might make you think you're diabetic, whereas after a week of adaptation you may find that a large potato does not spike your blood glucose beyond the healthy range.
Exercise is a powerful tool for combating glucose intolerance, as it increases the muscles' demand for glucose, causing them to transport it out of the blood greedily after a meal. Any exercise that depletes muscle glycogen should be effective.
* Assuming a typical carbohydrate intake. Chris Kresser recently argued, based on several studies, that true normal fasting glucose for a person eating a typical amount of carbohydrate is below 83 mg/dL. Low-carbohydrate eating may raise this number, but that doesn't necessarily indicate a pathological change. High-carbohydrate cultures such as the Kitavans, Aymara and New Guineans tend to have fasting values in the low 60s to low 70s. I suspect that a very high carbohydrate intake generally lowers fasting glucose in healthy people. That seems to be the case so far for Chris Voigt, on his diet of 20 potatoes a day. Stay tuned for an interview with Mr. Voigt in early December.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
The return of hunger
This morning I decided today is really a new beginning, square one, of me on a diet. Yes folks, it's a diet. You may call it a lifestyle change, but to me it is and always will be a diet when I try to lose weight. Lifestyle change sounds pretty and easy and sort of fun...lifestyle, nice word. Diet, on the other hand, has all sorts of negative connotations. Hunger, discomfort, frustration, anxiety, misery, a challenge. I suppose that sounds a bit negative, but I'm just calling it like it is. If it was so darn easy as some people would like us to think then we would all be skinny.
I worked out like a maniac this morning, 30 minutes on the StairMaster and 40 minutes of upper body weights. I pushed myself hard on the weights but I'm not sore yet. I was hoping for some triceps soreness with the 25-pound dumbell tricep presses. Maybe tomorrow. I define a good workout with a touch of soreness now and then, especially when I push myself like today.
My food had been good, with every bite weighed, measured, documented. 1,485 calories. It sounds like a lot to me, but it's almost exactly what I was eating following Weight Watchers Point system (I'm still in Weight Watchers, just trying the calorie counting for a while). The water has been extra good today. 117 ounces and one mug of coffee. I forgot how much all the water helps with the hunger.
About the hunger, yes, I've been hungry today. It's part of the diet, it's what happens when you cut back on your calories. My sister and I have said for years that hunger is a good thing. It means you're burning fat and losing weight.
Funny thing is that I've seen other bloggers posting about hunger recently. Allan had a good post about it today. I've noticed some people never talk about hunger. From reading their blogs it appears they never actually get hungry. They're few and far between but I've decided maybe they just feel things differently than the rest of us. They're very lucky because hunger isn't fun, but for some of us fatties, it's just a fact of life if we want to lose weight we're going to have to experience a certain level of hunger.
It's almost 11pm and I would call this one of my best days of staying on plan in weeks. I'm very tired, ready to hit the pillow.
I worked out like a maniac this morning, 30 minutes on the StairMaster and 40 minutes of upper body weights. I pushed myself hard on the weights but I'm not sore yet. I was hoping for some triceps soreness with the 25-pound dumbell tricep presses. Maybe tomorrow. I define a good workout with a touch of soreness now and then, especially when I push myself like today.
My food had been good, with every bite weighed, measured, documented. 1,485 calories. It sounds like a lot to me, but it's almost exactly what I was eating following Weight Watchers Point system (I'm still in Weight Watchers, just trying the calorie counting for a while). The water has been extra good today. 117 ounces and one mug of coffee. I forgot how much all the water helps with the hunger.
About the hunger, yes, I've been hungry today. It's part of the diet, it's what happens when you cut back on your calories. My sister and I have said for years that hunger is a good thing. It means you're burning fat and losing weight.
Funny thing is that I've seen other bloggers posting about hunger recently. Allan had a good post about it today. I've noticed some people never talk about hunger. From reading their blogs it appears they never actually get hungry. They're few and far between but I've decided maybe they just feel things differently than the rest of us. They're very lucky because hunger isn't fun, but for some of us fatties, it's just a fact of life if we want to lose weight we're going to have to experience a certain level of hunger.
It's almost 11pm and I would call this one of my best days of staying on plan in weeks. I'm very tired, ready to hit the pillow.
A Motivational Weight Loss Story Video
Ryan lost 135 pounds in 13 months with diet and exercise. He went from 308 pounds to 173.Someone had told him he could change a habit in 21 days. Within 21 days he had lost 18 pounds. This motivated him to keep going. Within five months he lost 100 pounds. He gets up at 4:45am each morning to exercise. See his very motivational video here.
Check out his story at his website Ryan in Boise.
Ricotta Cheesecakes with Berries & Pecans
Ingredients:
Weight Loss Recipes Amount per Serving: 140 Calories, 8 g Protein, 16 g carbohydrates, 3 g Fiber, 5 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 35 mg cholesterol, 125 mg sodium
- 2 cups fat-free ricotta cheese
- 1 cup (8 oz) light cream cheese
- ½ cup fat-free plain Greek yogurt
- ½ cup maple syrup
- 1 large whole egg
- 2 large egg whites
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1½ cups fresh barriers
- 2 tbsp chopped toasted pecans
- Fresh mint sprigs
- Preheat oven to 325 F. Lightly coat 3 mini-muffin pans (12 muffins each pan) with olive oil cooking spray and set aside.
- Combine ricotta, cream cheese, yogurt, syrup, egg, egg white, and vanilla extract in blender or food processor. Blend or process just until smooth. Divide batter among prepared pans. Batter will come to tops of cups.
- Bake 20 minutes. Cool completely, then chill. It is normal for the cheesecakes to fall.
- Place 3 cakes on each plate. Sprinkle each serving with berries and nuts, and garnish with springs of mint.
Weight Loss Recipes Amount per Serving: 140 Calories, 8 g Protein, 16 g carbohydrates, 3 g Fiber, 5 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 35 mg cholesterol, 125 mg sodium
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
A walk down memory lane
I'm typing this from my 1998 Dell desktop computer, Windows 2000. My beautiful, less than a year old Toshiba laptop hasn't been playing nice with my 23" monitor. I even bought a new monitor and new $40 HDMI cable for it, both big monitors are still red flashing lines at me. The laptop monitor is fine. I finally caved and asked my husband, the computer geek guy, to look at it. Something about the HDMI port on the laptop. Needs to be repaired. I have to take it in to the computer guys to be fixed. Bummer.
Since I can't live without a computer with a big monitor (for work stuff), I thought I'd turn on my old faithful 12-year old Dell. I hadn't really used it since my first laptop in 2004. Amazingly it booted up, connected to the internet and works with the new monitor. The grinding sound the hard drive keeps making is annoying me, but it works. Gotta love old technology.
I was looking at all the old files that I never bothered to transfer over to my laptops. Apparently I was much more career-driven in 2004. There are tons of work files, work goal setting documents and very few pictures. I found two pictures of myself sitting on the desktop.
2004 - 240 pounds
June 28, 2009 - 156 pounds (I think I added this one when my old laptop was dying last year).
Since I can't live without a computer with a big monitor (for work stuff), I thought I'd turn on my old faithful 12-year old Dell. I hadn't really used it since my first laptop in 2004. Amazingly it booted up, connected to the internet and works with the new monitor. The grinding sound the hard drive keeps making is annoying me, but it works. Gotta love old technology.
I was looking at all the old files that I never bothered to transfer over to my laptops. Apparently I was much more career-driven in 2004. There are tons of work files, work goal setting documents and very few pictures. I found two pictures of myself sitting on the desktop.
2004 - 240 pounds
June 28, 2009 - 156 pounds (I think I added this one when my old laptop was dying last year).
So where am I today? Sitting right where I've been for months. 175 pounds. Sixty-five pounds less than the top picture but 20 pounds heavier than the bottom picture (and I still thought I was fat at 156).
The reason I haven't been posting is because I've been in a slump lately. Just sick and tired of the whole thing, yet each day I start out full of hope that this will be the day I stay totally on plan, drink my water, and lose weight. Yet each day I fail. Not horribly because I'm not gaining weight, but still, I'm failing because I'm not losing weight.
These pictures stirred something up in me. A little bit of sadness that I didn't stick with it and get to goal. A bit of hope that heck, I did it before and got so close that I can do it again. A little bit of fear, looking back where I started and what IF I go back there?
I've printed both pictures and stuck them on the bathroom mirror. A visual reminder of where I've been, and where I want to go, but this time go even a step further and get to goal.
In other words, I'm back!
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