The Down & Dirty on Dumping

Today's article section links to several important and helpful articles about dumping syndrome. Take a look and see how you fit in a generalized picture of this phenomena that many of us consider both a blessing and a curse. Remember there is power in knowledge and we are all in this together!

Gastric Bypass Dumping Syndrome - Three Foods that Cause It
As pre-op weight loss surgery patients we

10,000 Pounds of Tomatoes (Part 2)

So what did I end up doing with my 10,000 pounds of tomatoes? 

A plateful of home grown tomatoes served with salt and pepper is absolutely delicious. There isn't enough salt, pepper, spice or sauce in the world that can make store-bought, anemic tomatoes edible. 

Fantastic on BLT's, cold cuts or just plan bread.  We'll even chop them up in a bowl, add some balsamic vinegar, blue cheese and call it lunch.  There are endless serving suggestions for these gems.

My husband made these for dinner the other night and I've been craving them ever since.  Just a tad bit more involved than slicing tomatoes, but the flavor is worth the little extra effort that is needed.

Slice and toast Dutch Crunch bread.  Dip bread onto a plate drizzled with balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper.  Cover with sliced tomato sprinkled with a dash of salt and pepper, mozzarella cheese and basil leaves.  So good--now I want to make some for lunch!

Earlier in the week, I cut up as many tomatoes that would fit in my pot.  When it boiled down a few inches, I added more until it reached the top.  I cooked the sauce for several hours until it got thicker and cooled it down so I could put it in the fridge.  

The following day, I fried up ground beef with onions and garlic.  Then I added enough sauce to make a batch of spaghetti sauce.  While I let the flavors merge into each other, I added the flavorings and seasons to make it taste yummy. 

I made spaghetti twice that week and the left-over plain sauce was frozen for a later time.

There is no way to photograph these, because they are ugly no matter what.  I dried the rest of the tomatos that I had in my dehydrator and this is what they look like.  They may be ugly, but they are tasty little snacks that can only be made with home grown tomatoes.  

Graciela...Grace...where are you?

Help! Does anyone know how to contact Grace? She had two blogs, 55 and Losing It, and a newer blog, Grace Notes. She hasn't posted anything since August 24. I miss her blogging, but I really need to talk to her.

We were suppose to meet up at the Geneen Roth workshop in Seattle this weekend (the Women Food God workshop). Unfortunately after searching my emails I can't find the email with her contact information. Which is odd because I rarely delete emails, and I remember specifically when we exchanged emails (I was on vacation in July).

If you know how to contact Grace, please let me know. I'm actually more excited about meeting Grace than hearing Geneen talk.

Speaking of the workshop, I'm not as over the top about the book God Food and Women as I was back in July. I wrote several posts about how wonderful it was and how I felt like Geneen was speaking to me.

Perhaps at the workshop I'll gain some new insight I didn't get from the book. I think it'll be interesting, but after giving the intuitive eating a try for a month, I'm not so sure this old dog can learn that new trick. It seems to me that eating exactly what I want when I really want it has been my problem my entire life and what helped me gain 100 pounds. Yes, I know there was a lot more in the book than what I just put in that one sentence, but that's the jest of what I remember (perhaps I should review the book before this weekend).

I'm sure I wasn't doing the intuitive eating thing right because it seems to work for a lot of people. The people in Geneen's book, and people in blogs that I read, it just didn't work out very good for  me.

Maybe it's 40 years of guilt I've felt from eating "forbidden" food. I just can't get past the idea that it's okay to eat a cookie when I really want it, because in all honesty, I ALWAYS want a cookie. With me one cookie turns into a dozen cookies. I especially can't get past the idea it's just wrong to eat cookies when I need to lose 40 pounds to get to my ideal weight (175.6 this morning...ugh!).

I'm still excited about the workshop. Hearing a famous author speak is always interesting, especially when it's about something that seems to be my life's work...weight loss. Kind of sad that I even think that way. One's life's work should have a higher purpose.

Not much else to report. My cold was almost a non-event. I was only sick for two days. I drank NyQuil and stayed in bed. I slept about 20 hours Sunday and Monday. Tuesday I was almost back to my old self and went back to work.

I was actually going to the gym this morning after a three-day absence, but after a bout of insomnia last night I decided to sleep in for an hour. Then when I realized I can't find Grace, I'm hoping someone out there can help me find her. It would be very sad if I miss the opportunity to meet her at the workshop.

Today's our beta software release, after a week delay. It's the one we've been cranking on for the last few months. Beta for us means pushing the software to production in one city. It's nerve wracking to say the least. I always worry about what if the testers didn't catch some big, bad bug. Something that could delay flights and bring some very unwanted attention to our team. It's happened before. It's not the end of the world when that happens, although it kind of feels like it when you're in the moment. I'm hoping for the best.

I also have my mid-year performance review today with my manager. And I have my Toastmasters meeting. I'm VP of membership now which means I have a bunch of new responsibilities. Does it sound like I wish this day was already over? :)

Huevos Rancheros

Ingredients:

Ranchero sauce:

• 2 tsp olive oil


• 1 small yellow onion, chopped


• 1 Tbsp chopped garlic


• 1 can (14 oz) diced fire-roasted tomatoes


• ½ tsp ground coriander


• ½ tsp ground cumin


• ½ tsp dried oregano


• ½ tsp salt


• ½ tsp dried chipotle chili powder (optional)


• ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Huevos Rancheros:

• 1 corn tortilla


• 2 Tbsp fat-free refried beans


• 2 egg whites


• 1 Tbsp shredded low-fat Cheddar cheese

Preparation:

• Heat oil in nonstick skillet. Add onion and cook 5 minutes, or until softened. Add garlic and cook 1 minute longer, but do not allow garlic to brown. Add tomatoes, coriander, cumin, oregano, salt, black pepper to taste, and chipotle chili powder, if using, and cook a few minutes longer.


• Transfer sauce to blender or food processor and blend or process briefly. The finished sauce should be a bit chucky. Stir in cilantro.


• Warm tortilla and refried beans and set aside.


• Coat small nonstick skillet with olive oil cooking spray. Add egg whites and cook 2 minutes, or until nearly set. Turn eggs with spatula and cook 1 minute longer.


• Place tortilla on plate and top with beans. Place cooked egg whites on beans. Top with ½ cup hot Ranchero sauce and cheese and garnish with cilantro.

Amount Per Serving(1/2 cup each sauce only):50 Calories, 1 g Protein, 6 g carbohydrates, 2 g Dietary Fiber, 0 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 530 mg sodium





Weight Loss Recipes Amount Per Serving(Huevos Rancheros): 180 Calories, 14 g Protein, 24 g carbohydrates, 4 g Dietary Fiber, 3 g fat, < 1 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 530 mg sodium

Well I never!

What's more fattening?

Jacket Potato, beans and cheese...

or

2 large cheese and ham filled pancakes with peas...?


Well !!!!! It is actually the Pancakes, but only by 100cals!!!!!!!! I was absolutely amazed at this as I thought this was going to be a heavy HEAVY calorie loaded dinner, so I didn't even have my PM snack because I thought I was going to go overboard a little with tonight's tea.

295g potato (which is reasonably big)
200g baked beans (i.e. half a can)
30g cheddar cheese (poxy amount)
10g margarine (also poxy)

Total cals 519

Pancakes: (harder to work out cos it made 8 of them equally divided)
2 pancakes cooked with frylight spray =
0.5 of an egg
47.5g flour
100mls skimmed milk
60g mature cheddar cheese
50g of chopped ham
100g peas.
8 sprays of frylight (yeah, lets be completely anal!! Love it!)

Total cals 618

Oooh so thrilled am I

Its given me a real buzz because I really thought that pancakes filled with yummy were off the menu. This means that my cannelloni will be defo back on the menu for the weightloss phase! The cheese was actually the highest calorie item in them, so if they were filled with low fat ricotta & spinach for example and smothered with a salsa... Ooooh the possibilities are endless.

That's even better is that this has been my weeks lowest caloried dinner. Even yesterdays chilli was knocking around the 800cals mark!

If i analyse it a little more, it means that if you have 2 pancakes for breakfast - its less calories than porridge!! hurrah!

Here are the tasty beauties which i added a dollop or two of wholegrain mustard to. Mmmmm

So guess what I had for lunch then..? LOL yeah a jacket with beans. Nevermind, it means I get to have my favorite snack of choice this evening while watching the Inbetweeners - DAIM BAR. I love them. they are so yummy and so low in calories too which is the main thing. Its just awesome being able to enjoy myself in such a wicked fashion and know I will lose weight!

Although I haven't been aiming to keep my protein up, I do seem to be having a fairly protein rich diet, without trying, which is great. I have never felt, at any time that my nails weren't growing or my hair was falling out so this must be why.

Here's my chart
1st Oct - 95g
2nd Oct - 109g
3rd Oct - 69g
4th Oct - 72g
5th Oct - 86g.

So this is great I think

Its TOTM at the mo, so I think I timed this re-start at exactly the right time. I think being honest it would have been more of a trial had I resumed the fight and then had a week's weigh in where I went up a kilo or two because of the curse. It ticks me off so bad hen that happens. I need all the willpower I can get at the moment so that I see those first few kilos start to come off and feel like I am starting to get somewhere.
I know that I will struggle on Friday when I weigh in because its always the same when I start something. Its like the goal is Friday, not the goal is next year! LOL. Something in my brain thinks that the race is over on the weigh in day and it can sit back and relax, so I need to get myself over that - I think that will be the first problem I encounter.

So my friends, take care and see you tomorrow

Blueberry Pancakes

Tip: This better will keep in your refrigerator for up to 3 days

Ingredients:

• ½ cup reduced-fat buttermilk


• ½ cup whole grain oat flour


• 1 large egg white, lightly beaten


• ½ tsp baking soda


• ½ tsp vanilla extract


• ½ tsp salt


• ½ cup fresh or frozen (not thawed) blueberries

Preparation:

• Preheat oven to 200 F


• Combine buttermilk, flour, egg white, baking soda, vanilla extract, and salt in bowl. Whisk just until blended. Stir in blueberries. Let stand 10 minutes.


• Heat large nonstick over medium heat until it is hot enough for a spritz of water to sizzle. Wearing oven mitt, briefly remove pan from heat to mist lightly with olive oil cooking spray. Return pan to heat.


• Pour batter in 1/8-cup dollops onto skillet to from 3 or 4 pancakes. Cook about 2 minutes, or until bubbles appear on tops and bottoms are golden brown. Flip. Cook 2 minutes more, or until browned on bottom.


• Transfer to ovenproof plate. Cover with aluminum foil. Place in oven to keep warm. Repeat with cooking spray and remaining batter to make 8 pancakes total.


• Place 4 pancakes on each of 2 serving plates. Serve immediately with syrup, if desired

Weight Loss Recipes Amount Per Serving(4 pancakes): 140 Calories, 8 g Protein, 20 g carbohydrates, 3 g Dietary Fiber, 3 g fat, < 1 g saturated fat, 5 mg cholesterol, 687 mg sodium

The Big Sleep

This blog usually focuses on diet, because that's my specialty. But if you want Whole Health, you need the whole package: a diet and lifestyle that is broadly consistent with our evolutionary heritage. I think we all know that on some level, but a recent paper has reminded me of it.

I somehow managed to get on the press list of the Annals of Internal Medicine. That means they send me embargoed papers before they're released to the general public. That journal publishes a lot of high-impact diet studies, so it's a great privilege for me. I get to write about the studies, and publish my analysis at the time of general release, which is the same time the news outlets publish their stories.

One of the papers they sent me recently is a fat loss trial with an interesting twist (1; see below). All participants were told to eat 10% fewer calories that usual for two weeks, however half of them were instructed to sleep for 8 and a half hours per night, and the other half were instructed to sleep for 5 and a half hours*. The actual recorded sleep times were 7:25 and 5:14, respectively.

Weight loss by calorie restriction causes a reduction of both fat and lean mass, which is what the investigators observed. Both groups lost the same amount of weight. However, 80% of the weight was lost as fat in the high-sleep group (2.4/3.0 kg lost as fat), while only 48% of it was lost as fat in the low-sleep group (1.4/2.9 kg lost as fat). Basically, the sleep-deprived group lost as much lean mass as they did fat mass, which is not good!

There are many observational studies showing associations between insufficient sleep, obesity and diabetes. However, I think studies like that are particularly vulnerable to confounding variables, so I've never known quite what to make of them. Furthermore, they often show that long sleep duration associates with poor health as well, which I find highly unlikely to reflect cause and effect. I discussed one of those studies in a post a couple of years ago (2). That's why I appreciate this controlled trial so much.

Another sleep restriction trial published in the Lancet in 1999 showed that restricting healthy young men to four hours of sleep per night caused them to temporarily develop glucose intolerance, or pre-diabetes (3).

Furthermore, their daily rhythm of the hormone cortisol became abnormal. Rather than the normal pattern of a peak in the morning and a dip in the evening, sleep deprivation blunted their morning cortisol level and enhanced it in the evening. Cortisol is a stress hormone, among other things, and its fluctuations may contribute to our ability to feel awake in the morning and ready for bed at night.

The term "adrenal fatigue", which refers to the aforementioned disturbance in cortisol rhythm, is characterized by general fatigue, difficulty waking up in the morning, and difficulty going to sleep at night. It's a term that's commonly used by alternative medical practitioners but not generally accepted by mainstream medicine, possibly because it's difficult to demonstrate and the symptoms are fairly general. Robb Wolf talks about it in his book The Paleo Solution.

The investigators concluded:

Sleep debt has a harmful impact on carbohydrate metabolism and endocrine function. The effects are similar to those seen in normal ageing and, therefore, sleep debt may increase the severity of age-related chronic disorders.

So there you have it. Besides making us miserable, lack of sleep appears to predispose to obesity and diabetes, and probably sets us up for the Big Sleep down the line. I can't say I'm surprised, given how awful I feel after even one night of six hour sleep. I feel best after 9 hours, and I probably average about 8.5. Does it cut into my free time? Sure. But it's worth it to me, because it allows me to enjoy my day much more.

Keep your room as dark as possible during sleep. It also helps to avoid bright light, particularly in the blue spectrum, before bed (4). "Soft white" bulbs are preferable to full spectrum in the evening. If you need to use your computer, dim the monitor and adjust it to favor warm over cool colors. For people who sleep poorly due to anxiety, meditation before bed can be highly effective. I posted a tutorial here.

1. Nedeltcheva, AV et al. "Insufficient Sleep Undermines Dietary Efforts to Reduce Adiposity." Annals of Internal Medicine. 2010. Advanced publication.


* The study was a randomized crossover design with a 3 month washout period, which I consider a rigorous design. I think the study overall was very clever. The investigators used calorie restriction to cause rapid changes in body composition so that they could see differences on a reasonable timescale, rather than trying to deprive people of sleep for months and look for more gradual body fat changes without dietary changes. The latter experiment would have been more interesting, but potentially impractical and unethical.