Lemon-Almond Loaf

(makes 16 servings)

Ingredients for recipe:

• Low-fat cooking spray
  
  


• 1¾ cups all purpose flour
  
  


• 2 tsp baking powder
  
  


• ¼ tsp salt
  
  


• 1 cup 1% low-fat milk
  
  


• ¼ cup vegetable oil
  
  


• 1 medium-sized egg, beaten
  
  


• 2 tsp grated lemon peel
  
  


• ½ cup sugar
  
  


• ⅓ cup almonds, chopped
  
  


• 1 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
  
  

Preparation:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  
  


• In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder sugar, salt and sugar. Using a spoon, make a small well in the center of the flour mixture then set aside.
  
  


• In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, lemon juice, lemon peel, oil and milk. Pour egg mixture in the well of the flour mixture then stir until ingredients are thoroughly moistened.
  
  


• Add almonds and mix thoroughly until combined.
  
  


• Spray an 8 x 4 x 2-inch loaf pan with low-fat cooking spray then pour in batter.
  
  


• Bake for 45-50 minutes or until loaf is golden and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool in pan on for about 10 minutes, then remove to wire rack to cool completely.
  
  

Make 8 Servings:

Weight Loss Recipes Amount Per Serving (1/16 of recipe (45 g)): 129 Calories, 3 g Protein, 18 g carbohydrates, 1 g Dietary Fiber, 5 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 1 mg cholesterol, 112 mg sodium

Getting my head in the game

My Weight Watcher meeting on Saturday was excellent. My leader is the best, and I never fail to learn something from her meetings. Even when I think I know it all.


She talked about the four stages of weight loss:


1. The honeymoon phase - we all know and love this phase. Several you reading this are probably in it right now. I was once there myself.

It's when it's all new and exciting. You follow the plan to the letter and the weight falls off. This is the phase where you are determined that nothing will lead you astray. You're tracking your food, drinking your water, taking your vitamins, and following the healthy eating guidelines. You are perfect and nothing will keep you from reaching your goal.


2. The honesty phase - this is the loser reality check. Is this worth it? Is all the hard work, the deprivation, the exercise, is it all really worth it? You either decide it is worth it and continue, or you decide it's not worth it and stop. This is the phase where a lot of people walk away. Our leader told us that in the fourth week is when most Weight Watchers never return to the meetings. They made the decision that it's not worth it.


3. The hunker-in phase - this is were you have renewed resolve. You've made it this far and darnit, you're going to do whatever it takes. The weight loss has dramatically slowed down from the honeymoon phase, and you have a gain here and there, but you're not giving up.


4. The "homey" phase - this is when you get cocky, where you think you know it all. This is when you consider leaving Weight Watchers. Maybe you're almost at goal, and you decide who needs to go to meetings. You've got it all figured out, there's no reason to go to the meetings anymore.

In three years I've hit every one of these phases more than once. When I was at 152 pounds a year and a half ago I was in phase #4. I thought I knew it all. Now at 180 pounds I realize I still have a lot to learn.

There was a comment on my post yesterday regarding my night time eating, which continues to challenge me. The comment was sweet, and she left some suggestions of things I could try to overcome my night binging. I went to her blog, and found she's in the honeymoon stage of weight loss. What struck me from her posts is how excited she is about the process of losing weight. She seriously has her "head in the game" as she put it.

This is what I've been missing lately. My head has not been in the game. I don't look forward to my weigh-ins. In fact, even though I went to my Weight Watcher meetings for all January I took a no-weighin pass for each meeting until yesterday. I finally realized that by not weighing in, I wasn't doing myself any favors.

My goal this month is simple. I need to get my head in the game again.

Losing Weight Before the Wedding

Sparkly_81 has lost 80 pounds in 13 months. In a discussion forum she says;

Last Jan I was feeling really down about being overweight. I was also was getting married and being a bridesmaid for my sister. I was really not confident at all about looking good and decided I had to do something about it. So I set about calorie counting and getting into fitness. 13 months later I have lost 80lbs. This takes me into the normal BMI range (I know; don't listen to BMI, but as a fat, relatively unactive woman it was probably quite accurate and psychologically this is a big milestone for me). I am working out regularly. I am pretty close to the point I can do a few pull-ups and I can run without killing myself.

She's had 130 people comment on her progress. See her workout and fitness details here.

Slip slidin' away

As soon as I posted last Tuesday that I was good at consistently exercising, I hit a brick wall. Suddenly, I didn't want to exercise anymore. The last five days have been a struggle, and one I didn't want to share with the world.
 
Not only was I struggling with food, which I've come to accept, but I felt myself slipping when it came to exercising. I woke up Wednesday and thought I really didn't feel like working out, so I didn't. I skipped the gym. Thursday was a huge struggle, but I forced myself to go. Friday I skipped the gym again. I didn't even walk at lunch or do the stairs this past week. This isn't my normal routine. It's almost as if patting myself on the back for doing a good job at something, somehow sabotaged myself.
 
I still managed to work out five times last week, for a minimum of an hour to an hour and a half each time. I suppose to most people that sounds like success, but because it was such an unusual struggle  for me, I tend to think of it as being a failure.
 
Yesterday I felt more like myself and got in an intense hour and a half workout. This past week made me realize how easy it would be, at any moment, for me to just stop working out, to simply give up. I'm not sure where these feelings are coming from. Maybe it's my lack of success at losing weight lately is now spilling over into the one thing I've considered a success, my exercise routine.
 
Whatever is going on in my head, I'm determined to overcome it. I'm back to the "just don't even think about it as an option, just do it" attitude towards exercising. If I think about anything too much, I tend to over anlyze it and ruin it for myself.
 
Exercise is like brushing my teeth. It's not optional. If I don't want my teeth to fall out, have a lot of pain as my teeth rot, and spend hours in a dentist chair (not to mention a lot of money), I have to floss and brush every day. If I don't want my body to fall in disrepair and become unhealthy, and spend a lot of money on doctors and medicine to only life a life of pain, I must exercise almost every day. There really isn't any other choice. That said, I feel like I'm back on track with the exercise.  
 
My eating and my weight
My eating is a continual battle for me. I'm still not at peace with food, and sadly, I doubt I will ever reach that place that so few seem to enjoy.
 
I went to my Weight Watchers meeting yesterday and weighed in at 180.4. Ugh! This is NOT where I want to be.
 
My biggest problem is the night time eating. Every time I think I have beat this problem, it comes back to haunt me. Nothing seems to work.
 
Things I've tried, that have worked temporarily:
 
1. Eat dinner super late, at 9 p.m. This helped, but then I don't sleep well with a full tummy.
 
2. Eat a late night snack of five Points. This helped too, but see #1.
 
3. White knuckle my way through it. This just makes me angry, and I can't sleep. Usually I cave a few hours of restlessness and binge.
 
4. Drink tons of water. Temporarily stops the hunger, but then I'm up several times going to the bathroom. Interrupts my sleep, which I already have problems sleeping through the night.
 
5. Go to bed earlier. Then I can't sleep, see #3.
 
6. Brush and floss before bed. This has absolutely no affect on me. I can always brush and floss again after eating.
 
I know this night eating is a mind game I play with myself almost daily. I know it can't be true hunger because I eat a lot during the day (all 29 Points plus some). In order to maintain my 180 pounds, I would have to eat a lot, so it's obvious I'm not starving myself.
 
Tonight I'm going to try something different. The thing that has worked on occasion is the late night snack of five Points. I'm going to try that again tonight, and if I find I can't sleep, I'm going to post about it in real time. Instead of remaining quiet about my failures, I'm going to share them with you. I don't want to be slip slidin' away.

Cinnamon Raisin Scones

(makes 8 scones).

Ingredients for recipes:

• 1¾ cups plus 3 tbsp flour
  
  


• 3 tbsp sugar
  
  


• 1 tbsp baking powder
  
  


• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  
  


• 2 tbsp butter
  
  


• 2 tbsp applesauce
  
  


• ½ tsp salt
  
  


• ½ cup 1% low fat milk
  
  


• ⅓ cup raisins
  
  


• 1 egg
  
  

Preparation:

• Preheat oven to 425° degree.
  
  


• In a medium mixing bowl, add 1¾ cup flour, 3 tbsp sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Mix together.
  
  


• Melt butter and place in a medium bowl with the applesauce. Add milk, egg and raisins. Stir until ingredients are blended.
  
  


• Add wet ingredients to flour mixture. Stir until moist. (Dough will be sticky.)
  
  


• Sprinkle the 3 tbsp flour on a flour surface. Flour your hands well and move dough from bowl to surface. Knead lightly 4 or 5 times with floured hands
  
  


• Place the kneaded dough on an ungreased cookie sheet or pizza pan. Pat the dough into an 8-inch circle. Cut dough into 8 wedges.
  
  


• Bake at 425º degree for 18 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.
  
  

Tip:

• Instead of raisins, try other dried, chopped fruit such as apricot, mango, apples, etc.
  
  

Make 8 Servings:

Weight Loss Recipes Amount Per Serving (1 scone (72 g)): 197 Calories, 6 g Protein, 35 g carbohydrates, 2 g Dietary Fiber, 4 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 32 mg cholesterol, 196 mg sodium

Nutrition and Weight Loss Pills

In all my years as a professional nutrition specialist, I have noticed that most people are shaken to hear some of my first pickings for fat burning foods is better for weight loss and good health.

I will not bore you with all the "healthy foods" typical that you find out all the time as fruits and vegetarian ... everyone knows those. Instead, I will show some scurrilous that most people do not realize they are super healthy foods for fat loss.

Incite yolks - yes, it is true ... egg yolks full fat full fat and cholesterol. By the way, has been mislead about the cholesterol in egg yolks - really raises your good cholesterol and helps balance proper proportions, and who is not afraid of fat and cholesterol in these nutritional power packed little gem. And if you choose cage-free eggs from hens free rides, the omega-3 content is higher with a more balanced fat profile.

Egg yolks are also one of the most nutritious foods dense foods on the planet in terms of vitamins, minerals function, and function of trace nutrients. Try to list all essential nutrients in egg yolks would take a whole page so I do not try that here. Realize that only those egg yolks should be avoided in favor of egg whites. Although the protein is more bioavailable when it includes the tips!

So do not be afraid to eat these delicious and healthy eggs and start burning belly fat faster.



2. Avocados - This is yet another "oily" is also one of the best fat burning food! Not only that, but just about everything avocados are creamier and more delicious. Are also power-packed with healthy fats, with the fiber, and antioxidants, and vitamins and minerals. The healthy fat in avocados also helps control appetite and fat burning hormones in your body.

Try avocado slices or guacamole adding all the eggs in the morning, salads, sandwiches, and burgers, and begin burning fat faster! Avocados definitely consider one of the best super healthy food.

3. Beef from grass-fed - While most of the beef you see in the grocery store is grain fed beef cattle are in poor health and have lower levels of nutrition and omega-6 to omega-3 fat proportions that are far annoyed, there is a better option ... and that's Beef Grass-Fed!

Beef from grass-fed is known to have much higher levels of healthy omega-3 fatty acids and lower omega-6 fats (most people get too much of anyway). The meat of grass-fed beef also contains higher levels of many vitamins and minerals as well as containing high levels of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), which is a healthy fat that is known to help build muscle and burn fat .

So do not be afraid to have fun and eat a little more beef, if you choose beef instead of grain fed healthy grass-fed beef. Enjoy and start burning more fat to these foods "greasy" so called!

If you want to lose fat fast, check out these 5 tips to Burn Stomach Fat the ready and effective way. Enjoy, and good luck with your efforts of health!

Assorted Thoughts About the 2010 Dietary Guidelines

In the past week, I've been rooting through the USDA's 2010 Dietary Guidelines (1). Here are a few of my thoughts.

Positive

One of the things I've been enjoying recently is watching health authorities shift away from a nutrient-oriented philosophy in favor of a more food-oriented philosophy. For example, I recently read a nice editorial by Drs. Dariush Mozaffarian and David S. Ludwig (not associated with the USDA) that encapsulates this (2). Here's a quote:

Nutritional science has advanced rapidly, and the evidence now demonstrates the major limitations of nutrient-based metrics for prevention of chronic disease. The proportion of total energy from fat appears largely unrelated to risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, or obesity. Saturated fat—targeted by nearly all nutrition-related professional organizations and governmental agencies—has little relation to heart disease within most prevailing dietary patterns. Typical recommendations to consume at least half of total energy as carbohydrate, a nutrient for which humans have no absolute requirement, conflate foods with widely divergent physiologic effects (eg, brown rice, white bread, apples). Foods are grouped based on protein content (chicken, fish, beans, nuts) despite demonstrably different health effects. With few exceptions (eg, omega-3 fats, trans fat, salt), individual compounds in isolation have small effects on chronic diseases. Thus, little of the information found on food labels’ “nutrition facts” panels provides useful guidance for selecting healthier foods to prevent chronic disease.

In contrast with discrete nutrients, specific foods and dietary patterns substantially affect chronic disease risk, as shown by controlled trials of risk factors and prospective cohorts of disease end points

Although this approach may seem radical, it actually represents a return to more traditional, time-tested ways of eating. Healthier food-based dietary patterns have existed for generations among some populations.

Tell it! Although he doesn't use the word nutritionism, that's basically what he's arguing against. Dr. Mozaffarian seems to represent the less reductionist school of nutrition, which is a more informed version of what nutrition pioneers such as Sir Edward Mellanby, Dr. May Mellanby, Dr. Weston Price and Sir Robert McCarrison advocated.

Although the 2010 guidelines are too focused on nutrients for my taste, they do spend some time talking about food groups and eating patterns, for example, recommending an increase in the consumption of vegetables, fruit, whole grains and seafood. They also recommend Mediterranean and plant-focused eating patterns. Although I don't think their recommendations quite hit the mark, they do reflect a shift in thinking.

Another thing I enjoyed about the Guidelines is the table on page 12 of chapter 2, which shows just how messed up the average American diet is. The number one source of calories in all age groups is "grain-based desserts". The next five in adults are yeast breads, chicken dishes, soda/sports drinks, alcohol and pizza. To see typical American food habits presented like this just blows me away. They call this the "obesogenic environment"; the idea that we're surrounded by tasty but unhealthy food and situations that favor the consumption of it. I agree.

The Guidelines also contain a surprisingly accurate one-sentence review of the glycemic index literature:

Strong evidence shows that glycemic index and/or glycemic load are not associated with body weight; thus, it is not necessary to consider these measures when selecting carbohydrate foods and beverages for weight management.

Negative

The first problem is the creation of the category "solid fats and added sugars", abbreviated SoFAS. With the creation of this term, they lump pastured butter together with Crisco and Red Hots. If they've been hiding the evidence that pastured butter, virgin coconut oil or red palm oil contribute to heart disease, I'd like to see it so I can stop eating them!

Another problem is their list of recommendations to curb the obesity epidemic. They say:

The current high rates of overweight and obesity among virtually all subgroups of the population in the United States demonstrate that many Americans are in calorie imbalance—that is, they consume more calories than they expend. To curb the obesity epidemic and improve their health, Americans need to make significant efforts to decrease the total number of calories they consume from foods and beverages and increase calorie expenditure through physical activity.

Looks like we have Sherlock Holmes on the case. Now that we have this information, all we have to do is tell overweight people to eat less and they'll be lean again! What's that, they already know and it's not working?? Someone should tell the USDA.

Jokes aside, I do think energy balance is a huge issue, perhaps even the central issue in chronic disease risk in affluent nations. The basic problem is that Americans are eating more calories than is optimal, and they have a very hard time stopping. It's not because they have less willpower than their stoic ancestors, it's because their bodies have decided that overweight/obesity is the new lean, and they defend that higher level of fat mass against changes. Simply telling an overweight person to eat fewer calories, without changing the dietary context, is not very effective in the long term, due to compensatory mechanisms including hunger and increased metabolic efficiency (fewer calories burned for the same muscular exertion).

What does the USDA recommend to lose fat or maintain leanness?

• Count calories. Doesn't work for most people, although I acknowledge that it is physically possible to lose fat (and lean mass) by restricting calories.
• Reduce sweetened beverages. Thumbs up.
• Serve smaller portions. As far as I know, this rests exclusively on very short-term studies that showed that food consumed at a single meal or three is reduced if portion size is smaller. I guess it can't hurt to try it, but I'm not convinced it will have any effect on long-term body fatness. I think restaurant portion sizes have probably increased because people eat more, rather than the other way around, although both could be true.
  
• Eat foods that are less calorie dense. I think vegetables are healthy, but is it because they're less calorie-dense? Why is dietary fat intake generally not associated with obesity if it's the most calorie-dense substance? Why do many people lose body fat eating energy-dense low-carbohydrate diets? Not convinced, but I'm feeling open minded about this one.
• Exercise more and watch less TV. Exercise is good. But don't let it make you hungry, because then you'll eat more!

Overall, I think their recommendations for fat loss are not very satisfying because they don't address the core reasons Americans aren't in energy balance. Eliminating sweetened beverages and exercising are the most solid advice they offered in my opinion. The rest strikes me as wishy-washy advice that's offered because they have to say something.

At one point, they talk about changes in the US diet that have corresponded with the obesity epidemic:

Average daily calories available per person in the marketplace increased approximately 600 calories, with the greatest increases in the availability of added fats and oils, grains, milk and milk products, and caloric sweeteners.

Let me edit that so it's more complete:

Average daily calories available per person in the marketplace increased approximately 600 calories per day, 250 calories of which were actually consumed (USDA and NHANES). Added fats increased, due to a large increase in seed oil intake, but total fat intake remained approximately the same because of a roughly equal decrease in fatty meat and whole milk consumption (USDA and NHANES). Grain intake, predominantly wheat, increased, as did the consumption of refined sweeteners, predominantly high-fructose corn syrup (USDA).

It reads a bit differently once you have a little more information, doesn't it? Animal fat intake declined considerably, and was replaced by seed oils, in parallel with the obesity and diabetes epidemics. Maybe it contributed, maybe it didn't, but why not just be forthright about it? People appreciate honesty.

Conclusion

Although the 2010 USDA Dietary Guidelines show some promising trends, and contain some good information, I hope you can find a better source than the USDA for your nutrition advice.