Because I am a moderately nice person, and because I have been blown away by counting calories and by an obsession of finding out how many calories are in some of my adored foods, I have compiled a list of links to popular fast food restaurants. Remember, one combo meal can equal the majority of your daily caloric intake!! I’ll update the list as I think of new places!!
Starbucks
http://www.starbucks.com/retail/nutrition_info.asp
(Starbucks does offer “skinny” options)
McDonald’s
http://www.mcdonalds.ca/en/food/calculator.aspx
Wendy’s
http://www.wendys.com/food/NutritionLanding.jsp
Tim Hortons
http://www.timhortons.com/ca/en/menu/nutrition-calculator.html
Taco Time
http://www.tacotimecanada.com/nutrition.php
Subway
http://www.subway.com/applications/NutritionInfo/index.aspx
Quiznos
http://www.quiznos.com/subsandwiches/Products.aspx
Pizza Hut
http://www.pizzahut.com/Nutrition.aspx
Calorie Counters
(more for individual foods, some name brand items, etc)
Fit Day
http://www.fitday.com
The Calorie Counter
http://www.thecaloriecounter.com/
Showing posts with label loosing weight. Show all posts
Showing posts with label loosing weight. Show all posts
Saturday, 9 May 2009
Talking Fat 13: Ranting on Eating
During the past two weeks, there has been quite a bit about Kirstie Alley’s recent weight gain. You may remember that she was the face of Jenny Craig, while she struggled to whittle her body back to it’s former glory days. After her success, she was replaced by Valerie Bertinelli, who at 49, has just posed in bikini-perfect body thanks to the Jenny Craig system. Responding to Alley’s weight gain, Bertinelli stated (and this isn’t a direct quote) “I’m only one jalapeno popper away from gaining 80 pounds!” I completely understand it (though for me, it is a pound of chicken wings and mozzarella sticks).
I have never, ever stepped foot into a Jenny Craig or Weight Watchers – while the idea of a support system is kind of cool, I just don’t like having to pay extra to loose weight. I also know that Kirstie Alley is not alone in her weight gain; I have witnessed people struggle though Weight Watchers, only to gain all of the weight back shortly after quitting the program. Truly, there isn’t a 100% guarantee for any method. Part of me would like to believe that the harder you work at loosing the weight, the less likely you will be to allow it to return. That is why I am somewhat adamantly opposed to diet pills and gastric bypass (and yes, you can still get fat after gastric bypass!). Unless you are severely, severely overweight, pills and optional surgery kind of scare the hell out of me.
Unfortunately it doesn’t matter how hard you work at it – once you let up on yourself, or allow yourself to return to former bad habits…well…the weight comes back. Last month I decided that I was hungry. Wait, no…not just hungry…I was CRAVING cr*p. And so I ate it. The result? An almost instantaneous 6 pound weight gain. No time at all. The kicker? It takes no time at all to gain 5, 10, 15 pounds. It takes triple the time to loose it though. So, after two weeks of hard work, and the most boring diet ever, I have taken off about 7 pounds. Awesome! Unfortunately I had to waste time and energy to get back to where I was, so really there has been no progress made in the battle. A never ending cycle right?
Even after all of the work, all of the tears and struggling, I am still powerless against fighting the cravings that got me here in the first place.
And sometimes I would just like to forget; go ahead and buy those cute cake squares that Safeway sells. Or go to our neighbourhood bakery and stock up on pastries and Persians (the real Thunder Bay treat). How about swinging through Tim Horton’s on the way home and grabbing a couple of donuts? I love donuts.
What do I resent? There are people who could do this – just binge on whatever crap is thrust in front of their faces, and walk away none the worse for it. But those people are getting fewer and fewer.
The first time I went to the UK was in 1999. Ten years ago, I was fairly thin, but I felt like a beached whale in England. Everyone was beautiful and waifish (or so I thought). Unfortunately, as the American fast-food diet becomes more appealing in Europe, even Britons are starting to resemble the American physique they like to joke about. Hmmm….
I do partially blame evolution for our bad metabolism – as I have mentioned before, it is very hard to combat an evolutionary history that includes preparation for periods of famine. Our internal mechanisms are still hardwired to hold on to calories – the problem is, we don’t need to hold on to calories in quite the same way that we have throughout history. The fact of the matter is, 200 years ago we didn’t have had the number of people waddling around that we do now. And yes, I do mean waddling. Or jiggling. And yes, my belly still jiggles (but not in that cute Santa Claus way that our culture has learned to adore)
It isn’t just evolution that has screwed us. Nah, our eating habits have definitely helped us. I laugh that McDonald’s does the number of charity days they do – (I am not opposed to charity!) – here is what I think about McDonald’s and their children’s charities: “We’ll help the children, because we are killing yours by encouraging bad eating habits, trans fats, supersized portions, and clogged arteries!”. Now that’s what I call, “giving back”. Before I get hit with a lawsuit from McDonald’s (because I’m sure they care about my blog), I am in complete agreement that they have done beneficial things for children. I am just saying that they have also contributed to an international obesity problem, that continues, and have negatively impacted the diets of the past two generations. Not to mention their contributions to pollution (I’m not sure what their present policies are, but 5 years ago they were still using polystyrene containers in Eastern Europe – long considered passé in North America). I’m not here to discuss the environment though.
It shocks me to see parents allowing their children (toddlers included) to indulge in McDonald’s combo meals (or any other fast food chain) on a regular basis. Oh and the neighbourhood diner, that hasn’t come under international scrutiny and still serves up greasy crap hidden beneath mounds of gravy, extra fatty beef products, etc, etc….why? why? Why? I don’t understand it! Why are parents so eager to ensure clogged arteries in their children?
Ok…scenario…
Let me pass a cigarette to a toddler…
I’ll even teach the toddler how to properly smoke it.
Hell I’ll even buy the kid a pack.
Most parents wouldn’t like this.
Why?
Because smoking kills.
It doesn’t take long to get a smoker’s cough.
There is tangible proof.
And yet, the fact that there are eight year olds wearing adult sized clothing (due to obesity, due to bad eating habits) has no impact.
Smoking can have fairly fast negative consequences. Parents don’t like that. Encouraging poor eating habits; well the reprocussions are a lot slower (even though overweight 20 year olds periodically have hard attacks) and it takes a lot longer to clog an artery. Let the kids eat whatever.
Do you see what I am saying?
Smoking + fast results = bad
Bad eating habits + slow results = ok
So that’s the ranting portion of the blog.
As for my own diet confessions…
I am still trying to be meatless. Over the course of the past two months I have eaten meat twice, and regretted it both times. Again, I do not consider myself a vegetarian – I still believe that humans were meant to eat meat, and that we are evolutionarily hardwired to do so. If I were living in Europe, I likely would start eating meat again, because Europeans do not pump the hormones and chemicals in to their animals that we do in North America. While not eating meat, I am actually consuming more calories as a pseudo-vegetarian than I did as a hardcore omnivore.
Kirstie Alley switched over to vegetarianism and gained weight because she started eating breads. I can empathize because at the end of the day, I would eat an entire loaf of bread. Because I am fairly lazy, I’ve taken to preparing soups (heaven forbid I should actually make the effort to cook a proper meal!). My mishmash soup consists of vegetable broth, a mix of vegetables, fake chicken, canned diced tomatoes, oregano, lemon pepper spice, and diced garlic. It might sound gross, but I’m not really fussy about what I eat and I kind of like it. The switch to soups has also helped me loose that weight I gained a couple of weeks of ago (though I’m fairly positive that the caramel frapaccino that I’m presently drinking, is not a step in the right direction).
My time is up, and my interest has waned (I’m sure yours has too).
Link to Kirstie Alley
http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20276768,00.html
I have never, ever stepped foot into a Jenny Craig or Weight Watchers – while the idea of a support system is kind of cool, I just don’t like having to pay extra to loose weight. I also know that Kirstie Alley is not alone in her weight gain; I have witnessed people struggle though Weight Watchers, only to gain all of the weight back shortly after quitting the program. Truly, there isn’t a 100% guarantee for any method. Part of me would like to believe that the harder you work at loosing the weight, the less likely you will be to allow it to return. That is why I am somewhat adamantly opposed to diet pills and gastric bypass (and yes, you can still get fat after gastric bypass!). Unless you are severely, severely overweight, pills and optional surgery kind of scare the hell out of me.
Unfortunately it doesn’t matter how hard you work at it – once you let up on yourself, or allow yourself to return to former bad habits…well…the weight comes back. Last month I decided that I was hungry. Wait, no…not just hungry…I was CRAVING cr*p. And so I ate it. The result? An almost instantaneous 6 pound weight gain. No time at all. The kicker? It takes no time at all to gain 5, 10, 15 pounds. It takes triple the time to loose it though. So, after two weeks of hard work, and the most boring diet ever, I have taken off about 7 pounds. Awesome! Unfortunately I had to waste time and energy to get back to where I was, so really there has been no progress made in the battle. A never ending cycle right?
Even after all of the work, all of the tears and struggling, I am still powerless against fighting the cravings that got me here in the first place.
And sometimes I would just like to forget; go ahead and buy those cute cake squares that Safeway sells. Or go to our neighbourhood bakery and stock up on pastries and Persians (the real Thunder Bay treat). How about swinging through Tim Horton’s on the way home and grabbing a couple of donuts? I love donuts.
What do I resent? There are people who could do this – just binge on whatever crap is thrust in front of their faces, and walk away none the worse for it. But those people are getting fewer and fewer.
The first time I went to the UK was in 1999. Ten years ago, I was fairly thin, but I felt like a beached whale in England. Everyone was beautiful and waifish (or so I thought). Unfortunately, as the American fast-food diet becomes more appealing in Europe, even Britons are starting to resemble the American physique they like to joke about. Hmmm….
I do partially blame evolution for our bad metabolism – as I have mentioned before, it is very hard to combat an evolutionary history that includes preparation for periods of famine. Our internal mechanisms are still hardwired to hold on to calories – the problem is, we don’t need to hold on to calories in quite the same way that we have throughout history. The fact of the matter is, 200 years ago we didn’t have had the number of people waddling around that we do now. And yes, I do mean waddling. Or jiggling. And yes, my belly still jiggles (but not in that cute Santa Claus way that our culture has learned to adore)
It isn’t just evolution that has screwed us. Nah, our eating habits have definitely helped us. I laugh that McDonald’s does the number of charity days they do – (I am not opposed to charity!) – here is what I think about McDonald’s and their children’s charities: “We’ll help the children, because we are killing yours by encouraging bad eating habits, trans fats, supersized portions, and clogged arteries!”. Now that’s what I call, “giving back”. Before I get hit with a lawsuit from McDonald’s (because I’m sure they care about my blog), I am in complete agreement that they have done beneficial things for children. I am just saying that they have also contributed to an international obesity problem, that continues, and have negatively impacted the diets of the past two generations. Not to mention their contributions to pollution (I’m not sure what their present policies are, but 5 years ago they were still using polystyrene containers in Eastern Europe – long considered passé in North America). I’m not here to discuss the environment though.
It shocks me to see parents allowing their children (toddlers included) to indulge in McDonald’s combo meals (or any other fast food chain) on a regular basis. Oh and the neighbourhood diner, that hasn’t come under international scrutiny and still serves up greasy crap hidden beneath mounds of gravy, extra fatty beef products, etc, etc….why? why? Why? I don’t understand it! Why are parents so eager to ensure clogged arteries in their children?
Ok…scenario…
Let me pass a cigarette to a toddler…
I’ll even teach the toddler how to properly smoke it.
Hell I’ll even buy the kid a pack.
Most parents wouldn’t like this.
Why?
Because smoking kills.
It doesn’t take long to get a smoker’s cough.
There is tangible proof.
And yet, the fact that there are eight year olds wearing adult sized clothing (due to obesity, due to bad eating habits) has no impact.
Smoking can have fairly fast negative consequences. Parents don’t like that. Encouraging poor eating habits; well the reprocussions are a lot slower (even though overweight 20 year olds periodically have hard attacks) and it takes a lot longer to clog an artery. Let the kids eat whatever.
Do you see what I am saying?
Smoking + fast results = bad
Bad eating habits + slow results = ok
So that’s the ranting portion of the blog.
As for my own diet confessions…
I am still trying to be meatless. Over the course of the past two months I have eaten meat twice, and regretted it both times. Again, I do not consider myself a vegetarian – I still believe that humans were meant to eat meat, and that we are evolutionarily hardwired to do so. If I were living in Europe, I likely would start eating meat again, because Europeans do not pump the hormones and chemicals in to their animals that we do in North America. While not eating meat, I am actually consuming more calories as a pseudo-vegetarian than I did as a hardcore omnivore.
Kirstie Alley switched over to vegetarianism and gained weight because she started eating breads. I can empathize because at the end of the day, I would eat an entire loaf of bread. Because I am fairly lazy, I’ve taken to preparing soups (heaven forbid I should actually make the effort to cook a proper meal!). My mishmash soup consists of vegetable broth, a mix of vegetables, fake chicken, canned diced tomatoes, oregano, lemon pepper spice, and diced garlic. It might sound gross, but I’m not really fussy about what I eat and I kind of like it. The switch to soups has also helped me loose that weight I gained a couple of weeks of ago (though I’m fairly positive that the caramel frapaccino that I’m presently drinking, is not a step in the right direction).
My time is up, and my interest has waned (I’m sure yours has too).
Link to Kirstie Alley
http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20276768,00.html
Saturday, 18 April 2009
Talking fat Some More
I’ve been keeping up with this happy blog for over a year now. Considering I have major commitment issues, I would say that is pretty good! If you have been reading for any length of time, you might know that it was meant to chronicle my days in Banbury, England – however short they may have been.
Time out for a moment. I’m at my regular coffee watering hole, but I can’t concentrate. Thanks to a recent upgrade to my laptop, earphones are no longer recognized by the system. Part of my “blogging zone” includes listening to music. Instead I am now forced to listen to the girls on my right side talking about kidney dialysis and how stupid physiologists are (assumed med students), and the table of girls to my left discussing how fantastically awesome they are (oh to be young and full of ego!).
Needless to say, this isn’t going far.
Alright, so this blog started as my testimonials for life in Banbury. It has kind of adapted into a chronicle of my disaster zone and weight loss goals. I guess the weight loss thing is sort of relevant at the moment; it has kind of consumed my life for the past 16 months, and prevents me from seizing a life that I desperately want. Mainly I blog about the weight thing to help others struggling with the challenge; it’s not something I talk too much about in the “real world”.
Recently I was asked if loosing weight has made me happier. If I had to evaluate my happiness, from a year ago compared to today, I would have to say that I am far more unhappy (does that make sense?). Ok, yes, a large part of that has to do with the mass uncertainty surrounding many aspects of my life at the moment. But…But… Here’s the big but…the weight loss has made me far from happy.
The true confession is that I see myself far fatter today than I did in 2007. I look at my body and keep thinking… “God, that’s gross!”
Maybe I spent so long ignoring my size, that now I’m making up for it.
But then there is the notion of the 30 pounds – I can’t kick start my weight loss again. Even with cutting meat, and moving to a largely fruit and veggie diet, my body is in a “f*ck you” mode. And even once the 30 pounds is gone, will I really be satisfied?
Now here is the other side of weight loss…
I’ve worked so hard to get to this point – to be able to see muscle definition, bones, etc that it makes me fearful. As much as I want to go back to London, I live in fear that it could undo that work; that the muscles will go mushy, and the fat will return. That fear is justified – when I started piling on weight, it happened literally overnight. It can’t be the reason for living in fear, can it? Yet the fear doesn’t go away – I could never replicate my home workout in London, the hills that I climb every day do not exist in the metropolitan environment.
The most amazing thing is how I have managed to reach this point with the zero willpower that I have. I am still unable to control myself around my primary comfort foods. Wave chocolate in front of my face, and watch out! Throw in bread, beer battered chicken strips, wings, etc and it is a cataclysmic breakdown.
Now, if you are doing the weight fight, I can’t say that it is all bad. But loosing weight won’t change your life (unless you were on the Biggest Loser and happen to sign T.V. and book deals as a result. Or if you are Jared and you went to Subway to loose your weight. Neither apply to me). I would love to say that I had more direction, or some sort of stability thanks to the weight loss. I don’t.
The only really cool thing is my anonymity – people don’t recognize me now. And that’s a really positive affirmation. The encouragement and support that I receive are awesome. Initially when an individual begins to have noticeable weight loss changes, people are afraid to ask about it. Now, I have lost enough weight that friends, family, neighbours, etc, ask me about the process and want to talk about it. Consistently I am told that I must feel so much bett
er; but in reality I do not. I’ve always been active, the only difference is t
hat I eat
better.
Alright, so I’m running out of time for today, and too be honest, my head is swirling. I’m not sure if it is because I am getting sick or because I am hung over. It could be both.
Pictures: LEFT - Ottawa, March 2008 - side profile pic that made me cry ;p (I had already been on "diet" for four months and thought I was waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay thinner!); RIGHT - Thunder Bay, April 17, 2009 (first side profile pic that I was actually moderately OK with!)
Time out for a moment. I’m at my regular coffee watering hole, but I can’t concentrate. Thanks to a recent upgrade to my laptop, earphones are no longer recognized by the system. Part of my “blogging zone” includes listening to music. Instead I am now forced to listen to the girls on my right side talking about kidney dialysis and how stupid physiologists are (assumed med students), and the table of girls to my left discussing how fantastically awesome they are (oh to be young and full of ego!).
Needless to say, this isn’t going far.
Alright, so this blog started as my testimonials for life in Banbury. It has kind of adapted into a chronicle of my disaster zone and weight loss goals. I guess the weight loss thing is sort of relevant at the moment; it has kind of consumed my life for the past 16 months, and prevents me from seizing a life that I desperately want. Mainly I blog about the weight thing to help others struggling with the challenge; it’s not something I talk too much about in the “real world”.
Recently I was asked if loosing weight has made me happier. If I had to evaluate my happiness, from a year ago compared to today, I would have to say that I am far more unhappy (does that make sense?). Ok, yes, a large part of that has to do with the mass uncertainty surrounding many aspects of my life at the moment. But…But… Here’s the big but…the weight loss has made me far from happy.
The true confession is that I see myself far fatter today than I did in 2007. I look at my body and keep thinking… “God, that’s gross!”
Maybe I spent so long ignoring my size, that now I’m making up for it.
But then there is the notion of the 30 pounds – I can’t kick start my weight loss again. Even with cutting meat, and moving to a largely fruit and veggie diet, my body is in a “f*ck you” mode. And even once the 30 pounds is gone, will I really be satisfied?
Now here is the other side of weight loss…
I’ve worked so hard to get to this point – to be able to see muscle definition, bones, etc that it makes me fearful. As much as I want to go back to London, I live in fear that it could undo that work; that the muscles will go mushy, and the fat will return. That fear is justified – when I started piling on weight, it happened literally overnight. It can’t be the reason for living in fear, can it? Yet the fear doesn’t go away – I could never replicate my home workout in London, the hills that I climb every day do not exist in the metropolitan environment.
The most amazing thing is how I have managed to reach this point with the zero willpower that I have. I am still unable to control myself around my primary comfort foods. Wave chocolate in front of my face, and watch out! Throw in bread, beer battered chicken strips, wings, etc and it is a cataclysmic breakdown.
Now, if you are doing the weight fight, I can’t say that it is all bad. But loosing weight won’t change your life (unless you were on the Biggest Loser and happen to sign T.V. and book deals as a result. Or if you are Jared and you went to Subway to loose your weight. Neither apply to me). I would love to say that I had more direction, or some sort of stability thanks to the weight loss. I don’t.
The only really cool thing is my anonymity – people don’t recognize me now. And that’s a really positive affirmation. The encouragement and support that I receive are awesome. Initially when an individual begins to have noticeable weight loss changes, people are afraid to ask about it. Now, I have lost enough weight that friends, family, neighbours, etc, ask me about the process and want to talk about it. Consistently I am told that I must feel so much bett
er; but in reality I do not. I’ve always been active, the only difference is t
hat I eatbetter.
Alright, so I’m running out of time for today, and too be honest, my head is swirling. I’m not sure if it is because I am getting sick or because I am hung over. It could be both.
Pictures: LEFT - Ottawa, March 2008 - side profile pic that made me cry ;p (I had already been on "diet" for four months and thought I was waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay thinner!); RIGHT - Thunder Bay, April 17, 2009 (first side profile pic that I was actually moderately OK with!)
Saturday, 4 April 2009
Talking Fat: For You...
I notice that I haven’t posted in awhile…it’s not from lack of trying; mainly just from lack of interest – ya, my interest.
So first off, I know you read this blog. If you are still eating a 1000 calories a day, I will personally kick your *ss.
Here is why – and if you read my blog closely you will know – but a 1000 calories a day constitutes a crash diet. Your body will hit starvation mode, which means that instead of loosing weight, you will start to gain weight again. As soon as you introduce food to your body, your starved ass will attack it, and hold on to it like there is no tomorrow. At your height and weight, you can’t eat 1000 calories a day. You want to loose – not gain, right? I know that weight loss should be an overnight process. It’s not. Find a website that can calculate for you, how many calories you need to maintain your weight. Then work in a daily deficit of 750 calories. Two pounds a week is the MAXIMUM amount you should be loosing. I know it sucks. Especially when you can put on more than two pounds every week. Weight loss wasn’t meant to be fast. If you want to quicken the weight loss, then work out – it burns more calories, and converts fat to muscle, which makes you look lighter than you actually are. Also, muscle burns more calories just to maintain– it’s a good reason to work out.
Actually – here is the calorie maintenance calculator…enjoy!
http://www.caloriecontrol.org/calcalcs.html
So…I have been asked to keep talking about the fat burn. I can’t really say I’m a good authority on it at the moment. It is funny to be reaching this stage, and be doing the research that I should have done almost a year ago. No, I am mistaken. I am not really researching topics related to weight loss – the majority of my reading pertains to staying away from the ugly chemicals that inundate North American food. That sh*t scares me. Fortunately cutting all those chemicals out is actually beneficial for overall eating habits. Sort of.
I am pleased to say that I am over two weeks meat free. Now, that isn’t to say that I will stay entirely meat free on a permanent basis. I won’t give up my love for Chinese food for the rest of my life. Or chicken curry. Or beer battered chicken strips. Life is just too short to cut out so much enjoyment. But, for the majority of the time and for the health benefits, I will be meatless. No more mass quantities of animal hormones!
At the moment I can’t really write too much about healthy living and weight loss. Even though I have given up meat, I have eaten more food in the past two weeks than I have in the past year. I’d like to think that the veggies are making me hungry, but I know that the calories are chalking up. It doesn’t help that I have also rediscovered my passion for beer. Thank you to the Fox and the Hedgehog for carrying Leffe. Right now I feel bloated from a night of drinking, followed by overindulgence in vegetarian, but calorie-filled chilli. I have kicked up my workouts by several notches, but have been having trouble maintaining my daily workout regime. Yup, I am hitting the wall.
But listen, it happens. I am not excessively worried about it – just a little bit.
I repeatedly tell individuals, that changes need to be made gradually – November 2007, I started eating healthier and working out. In October 2008 I gave up refined sugars. In March 2009 I gave up meat and most dairy products. Over the same time, I have increased the intensity of my workouts. Gradual changes…not overnight.
Ok that’s it for weight right now – I need to step my butt on a scale and see what the damage of my recent indulgences has been. And I need to get my head out of the clouds. But don’t worry…I’ll talk more about the food process in future blog entries. And maybe about general life too. Who really knows these days…?????
So first off, I know you read this blog. If you are still eating a 1000 calories a day, I will personally kick your *ss.
Here is why – and if you read my blog closely you will know – but a 1000 calories a day constitutes a crash diet. Your body will hit starvation mode, which means that instead of loosing weight, you will start to gain weight again. As soon as you introduce food to your body, your starved ass will attack it, and hold on to it like there is no tomorrow. At your height and weight, you can’t eat 1000 calories a day. You want to loose – not gain, right? I know that weight loss should be an overnight process. It’s not. Find a website that can calculate for you, how many calories you need to maintain your weight. Then work in a daily deficit of 750 calories. Two pounds a week is the MAXIMUM amount you should be loosing. I know it sucks. Especially when you can put on more than two pounds every week. Weight loss wasn’t meant to be fast. If you want to quicken the weight loss, then work out – it burns more calories, and converts fat to muscle, which makes you look lighter than you actually are. Also, muscle burns more calories just to maintain– it’s a good reason to work out.
Actually – here is the calorie maintenance calculator…enjoy!
http://www.caloriecontrol.org/calcalcs.html
So…I have been asked to keep talking about the fat burn. I can’t really say I’m a good authority on it at the moment. It is funny to be reaching this stage, and be doing the research that I should have done almost a year ago. No, I am mistaken. I am not really researching topics related to weight loss – the majority of my reading pertains to staying away from the ugly chemicals that inundate North American food. That sh*t scares me. Fortunately cutting all those chemicals out is actually beneficial for overall eating habits. Sort of.
I am pleased to say that I am over two weeks meat free. Now, that isn’t to say that I will stay entirely meat free on a permanent basis. I won’t give up my love for Chinese food for the rest of my life. Or chicken curry. Or beer battered chicken strips. Life is just too short to cut out so much enjoyment. But, for the majority of the time and for the health benefits, I will be meatless. No more mass quantities of animal hormones!
At the moment I can’t really write too much about healthy living and weight loss. Even though I have given up meat, I have eaten more food in the past two weeks than I have in the past year. I’d like to think that the veggies are making me hungry, but I know that the calories are chalking up. It doesn’t help that I have also rediscovered my passion for beer. Thank you to the Fox and the Hedgehog for carrying Leffe. Right now I feel bloated from a night of drinking, followed by overindulgence in vegetarian, but calorie-filled chilli. I have kicked up my workouts by several notches, but have been having trouble maintaining my daily workout regime. Yup, I am hitting the wall.
But listen, it happens. I am not excessively worried about it – just a little bit.
I repeatedly tell individuals, that changes need to be made gradually – November 2007, I started eating healthier and working out. In October 2008 I gave up refined sugars. In March 2009 I gave up meat and most dairy products. Over the same time, I have increased the intensity of my workouts. Gradual changes…not overnight.
Ok that’s it for weight right now – I need to step my butt on a scale and see what the damage of my recent indulgences has been. And I need to get my head out of the clouds. But don’t worry…I’ll talk more about the food process in future blog entries. And maybe about general life too. Who really knows these days…?????
Sunday, 8 March 2009
Talking Fat #8: The Ultimate Confession
So I’ve talked a bit about the whole “cleaning up my act and eating healthy” transition that I’ve undertaken. Today I’m going to talk about the reversal – the moments where it is oh-so-easy to fall off the wagon and go on a food bender. I love food – specifically junk food. If it has calories, carbs, sugar, icing, or any other unhealthy component, it is right up my alley.
The five days that I spent in Vancouver and Edmonton were a testament to my lack of willpower. Let me break it down (warning: you may be disgusted).
Thursday (AKA Flight Day)
Started off not too badly – ok, I forgot eat breakfast.
Thunder Bay to Toronto: coffee
Toronto Airport: a really tasty sandwich layered with mayo, chicken, and other garnish, a large double double coffee, and a Tim Horton butter croissant, apple juice
Toronto to Vancouver: coffee, Bits & Bites, more coffee, cookies
Vancouver: Chinese food combo order (lemon chicken, noodles, and a spring roll), gelato (two scoops: toblerone, coffee flavour), cheese, wine, crackers, coffee
Friday (AKA Chris arrives)
Starbucks coffee (Americano), a Starbucks dessert (maybe a muffin or blueberry bar, I can’t be certain), Twix chocolate, a steamed pork bun, all-you-can-eat Indian buffet in the Punjabi market (and I ate, and ate, and ate – there was salad, desert, and copious quantities of food – the waiter actually looked shocked by my eating vigour), sweet rolls, and a rice cake, and I’m sure there was more coffee at some point
Saturday (AKA Food Meltdown)
Breakfast (pancakes with syrup, scrambled eggs, toast), coffee, a Japanese Bento box (California rolls, spring rolls, teriyaki chicken, noodles, miso soup, noodle salad), gyoza, wine, kokanee beer, corona (several), a chocolate and whip cream crepe, Starbucks berry chai tea (mmmmm: warm kool aid)
Sunday (AKA Flight Day to Edmonton)
Chris did the early morning coffee run to Starbucks, more coffee, bits & bites, Marble Slab ice cream (birthday cake flavour with strawberries mashed in), Cajun lunch (gumbo soup, sweet potato fries, and a pulled pork wrap), Tim horton’s blueberry Danish, Wendy’s chicken strip combo, and more coffee
Monday (AKA A day to myself)
Soup (something Cajun, I think), pulled chicken sandwich, fries, coleslaw, Tim Horton’s coffee, a blueberry Danish, baba ganouj, hummus, an Indian chicken wrap, more fries, coffee
Tuesday (AKA Flying Home)
Tim Horton’s coffee, Bits and Bites, coffee, more coffee, more Bits and Bites, a Tim Horton’s blueberry bagel with light cream cheese (because at this point, “light” is important!), more Tim Horton’s coffee, Special K cereal (wait??!! Was I getting healthier again), salad…I fell asleep at 9pm, so my eating day was cut short.
Appalled? Me too! First off, I didn’t know I could eat that much in the course of five days. Secondly, the highlight of my travels was apparently the food, or so it would seem. On the bright side, I wasn’t hungry again until Thursday.
So here’s the point: no matter how much you clean up your lifestyle – old habits die hard! I’m a junk food addict and have zero willpower.
The five days that I spent in Vancouver and Edmonton were a testament to my lack of willpower. Let me break it down (warning: you may be disgusted).
Thursday (AKA Flight Day)
Started off not too badly – ok, I forgot eat breakfast.
Thunder Bay to Toronto: coffee
Toronto Airport: a really tasty sandwich layered with mayo, chicken, and other garnish, a large double double coffee, and a Tim Horton butter croissant, apple juice
Toronto to Vancouver: coffee, Bits & Bites, more coffee, cookies
Vancouver: Chinese food combo order (lemon chicken, noodles, and a spring roll), gelato (two scoops: toblerone, coffee flavour), cheese, wine, crackers, coffee
Friday (AKA Chris arrives)
Starbucks coffee (Americano), a Starbucks dessert (maybe a muffin or blueberry bar, I can’t be certain), Twix chocolate, a steamed pork bun, all-you-can-eat Indian buffet in the Punjabi market (and I ate, and ate, and ate – there was salad, desert, and copious quantities of food – the waiter actually looked shocked by my eating vigour), sweet rolls, and a rice cake, and I’m sure there was more coffee at some point
Saturday (AKA Food Meltdown)
Breakfast (pancakes with syrup, scrambled eggs, toast), coffee, a Japanese Bento box (California rolls, spring rolls, teriyaki chicken, noodles, miso soup, noodle salad), gyoza, wine, kokanee beer, corona (several), a chocolate and whip cream crepe, Starbucks berry chai tea (mmmmm: warm kool aid)
Sunday (AKA Flight Day to Edmonton)
Chris did the early morning coffee run to Starbucks, more coffee, bits & bites, Marble Slab ice cream (birthday cake flavour with strawberries mashed in), Cajun lunch (gumbo soup, sweet potato fries, and a pulled pork wrap), Tim horton’s blueberry Danish, Wendy’s chicken strip combo, and more coffee
Monday (AKA A day to myself)
Soup (something Cajun, I think), pulled chicken sandwich, fries, coleslaw, Tim Horton’s coffee, a blueberry Danish, baba ganouj, hummus, an Indian chicken wrap, more fries, coffee
Tuesday (AKA Flying Home)
Tim Horton’s coffee, Bits and Bites, coffee, more coffee, more Bits and Bites, a Tim Horton’s blueberry bagel with light cream cheese (because at this point, “light” is important!), more Tim Horton’s coffee, Special K cereal (wait??!! Was I getting healthier again), salad…I fell asleep at 9pm, so my eating day was cut short.
Appalled? Me too! First off, I didn’t know I could eat that much in the course of five days. Secondly, the highlight of my travels was apparently the food, or so it would seem. On the bright side, I wasn’t hungry again until Thursday.
So here’s the point: no matter how much you clean up your lifestyle – old habits die hard! I’m a junk food addict and have zero willpower.
The irony is - for the past 15 months I've tried to stick to under 1500 calories a day (initially it was 1000 calories). I can't even imagine my daily calorie intake during my 5 day sojourn.
Monday, 16 February 2009
Talking Fat #7: More Calories Part 1
**This is another split entry**
Pic: Europe 2004**
This “dieting” thing has gone on far longer than I ever expected. As mentioned, I had seriously underestimated my starting weight. An ordeal that I expected to be over within ten months, has now dragged into month fifteen. I anticipate that I still have another five (plus) months to go. The deceptive part, is that even if I am “finished” in six months, I am not truly finished. This is a permanent lifestyle change; six months down the road I will have to start worrying about maintaining the weight loss – not just about how to kick start it.
The problem with weight loss for the clinically obese, is that there is always a substantial risk that the weight will pack back on. I don’t really understand the reasons for this. It is almost like our bodies suddenly became programmed to store additional fat; as soon as the opportunity materializes, our bodies become highly opportunistic. The larger problem is that the weight gain is never equivalent to the loss; it is usually accompanied by an additional 50 or more pounds. I have already realized that I have sluggish metabolism – at 30, a woman’s metabolism declines even more – so in 2 years my metabolism will clinically dead.
Unfortunately I have been down this road before. As a teenager I was fat – after my dad died of an apparent heart attack (he was obese, with high blood pressure), I had a wake up call. During my last two years of high-school, I went through a substantial period of weight loss, just by cleaning up my eating habits and working out constantly. I think I was more hardcore back then – cleaning up my eating habits was actually a literal period of starvation. I started this present ordeal by cutting back to 1000 calories a day. In high school I was eating far less than that on a daily basis. I worked out a lot, and it became a sickness. I really had no idea what I was doing, but it worked (or so I thought). The weight was pouring off, and I was finally getting the body that I had wanted. I didn’t matter how I did it, just as long as I got it done. Let’s face it though – 13 years ago, I don’t think we knew as much about eating healthy as we do now. Most people really did believe that low calorie diets were the only way to loose weight. That’s why the mentality is so engrained in us now.
At around the same time I knew several others who were going through the same ordeal. I had a co-worker who was using Weight Watchers, a friend who was using weight loss pills, another friend who was using starvation…and so it goes…It was all about getting to the end goal the fastest way possible. We each considered it healthier to be thin, with little consideration as to the unhealthy ways that we were achieving our goals.
Now here is the thing: we all gained our weight back. And then some…
None of us considered the long term aspects of weight loss. Basically speaking, which ever method you use to loose weight, is the method that you will use for the rest of your life in order to maintain that weight loss. Maybe there is a point at which you can splurge for prolonged periods; maybe your body does hit homeostasis after awhile; mine never did.
This is one of my biggest fears; I wake up daily with that gnawing fear of weight gain. I would love to go back to the freedom with which I used to eat. I would love to not work out tomorrow and maybe the next. Or get up in the morning, and not have to plan out my caloric intake for the day. Oh, and I would love to not feel guilty if I decide to not work out, or eat chocolate....TBC...
Thursday, 5 February 2009
Talking Fat #6: A Tale of Two Scales
As I’ve mentioned, I spent nearly eight months in complete ignorance of my weight. In retrospect that was probably a good thing. Had I known my starting weight, I likely would have driven myself crazy. I guess I am still shocked by what I likely weighed when I started. I never felt that overwhelmingly obese. Actually, about a week ago I found out the BMI of a 5’5 female weighing 300 pounds – I was politely told by a website that I was “extremely obese”. Thanks. Ok, so it hurts to hear, but it’s true – I was.
Having been active, and unimpeded by my weight, I just never felt like an ‘extremely obese’ person. Except on a plane – in a plane seat, I felt like a beached whale. In order to avoid embarrassment, I sucked it in so I never had to ask for a seat belt extension. I was riding dangerously close to extension territory though. Other than those ill fated plane trips, I was a thin person stuck in the body of an ‘extremely obese’ person.
During the initial weight loss, I actually took guidance from my clothes to the degree of my success. Starting at a size 24-26, it seemed to take no time at all to get down to a size 18. When I hit 18, it was like a mini party – I swore (and still do) that I would never cross that 20 threshold again.
Ignorant bliss can only last for so long. In July 2008, I finally had to let the walls come *shattering* d
own. After a heated discussion with the guy I am presently seeing, I knew I had to find out the real number (don’t worry, he’s supportive – I was being the difficult one!). But here is the problem – weight loss, especially extreme weight loss, is a highly emotional battle. There are times that you feel as though you are going nowhere. There are the moments that the fight is just too much to deal with, and the body and mind enter into a state of emotional exhaustion. In July I really thought I was well below 200 pounds. I had to be. I figured I was close to my initial goal of 180 pounds (which was actually supposed to have been crossed in April 2008).I hated our bathroom scale – a relic that is actually ten years away from being classif
ied as an archaeological artefact. So the following day I stumbled into Walmart (good old Walmart). Apparently scales have changed in the forty years – I was confronted by a number of models, each with fancy gadgets and various programmable features. Since my goal was strictly to weigh myself, and not to program it to play movies, make margaritas, or reach lunar orbit, I finally settled on a basic digital model. Hell, I thought digital was pretty high-tech.So that night was the grand unveiling – finally finding out the result of 8 months of hard work and emotional upheaval….
And then there was the shock that followed…
Ya. So as it turned out I didn’t weigh 180 pounds. I didn’t weight 200 pounds. Noooo…I was still over 210 pounds (and I’m not saying by how much). Now by July, I had already gone down a bunch of sizes….huh…surely it had to be wrong.
So I tried our old, archaeological specimen scale. And it had the exact same weight. huh. Not good.
I’m not going to claim that the fallout from this discovery was pretty. I’m also not going to claim that I handled it like a trooper. Oh no. I certainly did not handle it well. But that is when I knew that my starting weight had been well over what I had expected. WELL OVER (with emphasis). There were tears. There was stress and anxiety, and that nagging voice in the back of my mind that kept saying “You aren’t finished yet, not by a long shot!”
I am the first one to tell people not to live by the scale while they are dieting. You can’t. It’s too much of a mind game. For instance, I know that my weight naturally fluctuates by at least 10 pounds on a monthly basis. One day you step on the scale, and it reads 5 pounds heavier than it did the previous day. That little shock is then followed by an emotional breakdown. The longer you are on this path, the harder it is to accept those moments.
As a result of that initial weigh-in shock, I did live by the scale for quite awhile. Every day, multiple times a day, I would check the number. There was method to my madness though – the whole reason my weight got out of control was because I had quit weighing myself in 1999. Now I must never let my nerves get the better of me. Even if the reality is too difficult to deal with, it is better to know than to return to blissful ignorance. While in London, my one splurge purchase was a scale – I had to know that my weight wasn’t going back up (especially since I was living off sandwiches, and Tesco sandwiches are like the holy Mecca of unhealthy – thanks mayo)
A couple of nights ago, I was again confronted by the stress of a weight fluctuation. I cross referenced the two scales and realized there was a five pound discrepancy. Granted, five pounds isn’t a lot. But when you are working towards moving down, watching it go up is really disconcerting. So basically it is the battle of the scales- the old relic versus the newer digital one. The newer digital one is reading a lower weight, and it is the one that I will favour. And you know what? I’m ok not knowing which one is right – just as long as the number starts moving downwards again.
I have been praised for my conviction to this process, and the changes that I’ve made. Unfortunately you also reach a point that it doesn’t matter what you’ve done – all that matters is how far you have to go. Right now I am in one of those lulls. It is so close, and I could care less that I have gotten here – all I care about is the moment that I finally arrive. I know that I stand in a relatively tumultuous place. I fear the day that I return to London, and am too tired to work out on a routine basis. I won’t have a grill, so I won’t be able to cook as healthy as I have been. The fear of retur
ning to the Old Leanne, is overwhelming, and yet I haven’t fully arrived at the New Leanne. Oh if only this was somehow simple! The day after I weighed myself for the first time in nearly 10 years...I wasn't a happy camper :-p
Saturday, 31 January 2009
Talking Fat #5: Pictures
Remember back in the first entry when I talked about the picture that opened my eyes and made me realize that there were issues? I’m going to be unveiling it today.
Yep...that's me on the right. This is the picture that started the whole thing :) In the education semi-formal pic, I'm on the left (duh!)
I am so close to my final weight loss goal that I am being driven crazy. The problem with loosing a lot of weight, is the mental exertion and exhaustion that goes with it. Today I found my initial registration on fitday.com – November 25, 2007
While in Ottawa, March 2008
A night of sheep herding, July 2008
August 2008 with Kobalt and Simon
November 2008, just after returning from London; Marina Park
**For the record, it would appear that the majority of my pics involve my dogs!
Yep...that's me on the right. This is the picture that started the whole thing :) In the education semi-formal pic, I'm on the left (duh!)
I am so close to my final weight loss goal that I am being driven crazy. The problem with loosing a lot of weight, is the mental exertion and exhaustion that goes with it. Today I found my initial registration on fitday.com – November 25, 2007
While in Ottawa, March 2008
I found fitday.com about a week after I began this whole process. It kills me at times. Back then, I had no idea of my actual weight. I thought I weighed about 245 pounds, and set a monthly weight loss goal of 10 pounds. I also thought that I could have this whole process finished 10-12 months after I started. I just wanted to get it done quickly and efficiently. But that’s not how it works. Like I’ve mentioned, my actual weight was closer to 300 pounds. I had not counted on plateaus, and encountering periods that I just couldn’t “diet” anymore.
I actually managed to get through from November to April with relatively little disturbance. Except for those pesky moments of wondering if I was really making any progress. In April, when I moved over to England, I fell off the wagon, so to speak. During the 3 weeks I spent in Banbury, I returned to my former beer-loving ways. Then I started to panic that I would gain weight back.
A night of sheep herding, July 2008
From May until about August I was fairly good again. I think I had about a week in July that I was absolutely sick of eating healthy and always worrying. Plus with goose patrol, and spending my days in the parks, it wasn’t like I wasn’t getting enough activity. Then in August my plateau hit. I spent the next six weeks stagnating at the same weight. Talk about discouraging! Luckily I had gotten below the 200 mark, so I was moderately encouraged.
In October when I returned to England, I was again not eating as healthy as I should have been. The advantage to this problem was that the stress of being back in England, and the constant worries made me drop about 12 pounds almost instantly. The stagnation was over!! Of course, due to the nature of how I lost the weight, I was a bit worried that it would pack on as soon as I returned home.
In October when I returned to England, I was again not eating as healthy as I should have been. The advantage to this problem was that the stress of being back in England, and the constant worries made me drop about 12 pounds almost instantly. The stagnation was over!! Of course, due to the nature of how I lost the weight, I was a bit worried that it would pack on as soon as I returned home.
August 2008 with Kobalt and Simon
December came, and with it came Christmas. For the two weeks over Christmas break, I ate like there was no tomorrow. It was not entirely intentional. I was going out with friends, and indulging in foods that I had long forgotten. I actually quit weighing myself for the duration of Christmas, because I was afraid of the consequences.
Apparently the binge was what my body needed – I lost another 10 pounds between December and mid-January.
Apparently the binge was what my body needed – I lost another 10 pounds between December and mid-January.November 2008, just after returning from London; Marina Park
Now that my final goal is in sight, I am back to feeling the same way I did when I began this whole process. It has definitely taken me longer to arrive than I ever expected. But again, I didn’t know where I was starting from. Every day is a challenge. Today I was going to take the day off of working out, but still did 70 sit-ups, 50 crunches and 32 minutes of weights because I am pushing towards the finish.
The reality is still that this will never truly end. I read a great article the other day regarding weight loss – the underlying messages were things that I had realized shortly after I began. You can’t change your life overnight, and this has to happen in stages. You can't have a g
ood day every single day. And most unfortunately, there is no simple solution.
The reality is still that this will never truly end. I read a great article the other day regarding weight loss – the underlying messages were things that I had realized shortly after I began. You can’t change your life overnight, and this has to happen in stages. You can't have a g
ood day every single day. And most unfortunately, there is no simple solution. January 2009; training Panda, Ozker and Kobalt in my kitchen
**For the record, it would appear that the majority of my pics involve my dogs!
Tuesday, 27 January 2009
Talking Fat 4: Food Part 2
I am going to breakdown my intake based on what I eat now – though it hasn’t changed much from the beginning, except that I am up to about 1500 calories a day.
Breakfast:
1 yogurt (either the small cup of Yoplait, Danon, etc – 35-40 calories)
½ banana
Either a slice of whole wheat toast with peanut butter, or a cup of Special K cereal with a small amount of skim milk
Lunch:
This is fairly dubious. Sometimes I will eat a cup of soup (low sodium), sometimes its coffee & a muffin at Tim Horton’s. Sometimes it’s the other ½ of the banana. Other times it’s another slice of toast with peanut butter. And sometimes I don’t quite get there.
Dinner:
Salad – sometimes I garnish it with a small quantity of cheese; sprayed with salad spritzers (15 calories per 10 sprays!)
1 boneless/skinless chicken breast grilled (seasoned with either Mrs. Dash, bruschetta sauce, or whatever else I’m feeling)
Broccoli…lots and lots of broccoli (sometimes served with cheese)
Usually another vegetable (beans, corn, whatever)
I will also grill a pork chop periodically, but generally chicken is the food of choice.
Snacks:
Rule of thumb for snacking: cut it out at least 4 hours prior to bedtime or your body won’t have time to process the calories. Wasted energy.
These are the snacks that I regularly indulge in:
- coffee & muffin at Tim Horton’s – seems unhealthy but you have to select the “right” muffin; there is a lowfat blueberry muffin, and a wholegrain raspberry muffin. If I have eaten either of these, I adjust my caloric intake accordingly.
- Fruit: following my workout, I will often have a piece of fruit (generally apples or oranges). Remember though – fruits are high in sugars, and even though they are good sugars, they are still sugars.
Other Tidbits:
Because I am a snacker I have gotten into the habit of carrying candy – you have to be careful because candy can be detrimental – I choose sugar free werther’s, baskin robbins candies, etc. It gives me the illusion that I am eating a tasty and unhealthy treat. Ya. it’s about the mind games.
Water – often times you are hungry because you are thirsty. Drink lots of water.
Don’t buy it – the simplest lesson I learned: if you don’t buy it, you won’t have it to eat. Once I stopped buying cookies, chips, donuts etc, I couldn’t eat them!! So simple.
Don’t eat out every day…or even on a regular basis. Sheesh.
Oh and actually read the label on the foods you eat – look to see if there are trans fats, what the caloric breakdown is, etc. And cut out the frozen dinners. I don’t care how lean cuisinish it is…learn to cook for yourself.
Eating healthy is huge commitment. Initially I allowed myself a weekly splurge – on that day I ate everything “bad” that I could possible find. After a few weeks of doing this, I realized that it wasn’t worth it. I felt sick afterwards; and then I realized that for every day I splurged, I was adding on one or two days to this whole ordeal. Sure I have times that I don’t eat healthy – I go out to dinner with friends, there are the big holiday meals, etc. I think what you actually have to realize is that you must accommodate your splurges. I try to be careful – if I am going to have a calorie splurge, I try to compensate by either making sure I do my work out, or I forgo my coffee and a muffin, or do something to try and offset the impact.
Here is the other big thing – I try and stay away from grains, dairy, and starches (which I absolutely love!). I miss pasta, and alfredo sauces but in order to be successful it is just best that I don’t eat them. You need to realize what works for you.
After being on this “diet” for over a year, I do allow myself to eat some items that weren’t originally on my list. I will periodically indulge on chocolate – but I still need to leave it with my mom because I apparently lack self control! Once or twice a week I go to Starbucks and have their molasses cookie (mmmmmm) and a tall strawberries & cream with no whip – on those days, I adjust calories.
Oh…and green tea. I drink a ton of tea…copious amounts. You may hear that green tea is the “secret” to weight loss. I don’t really buy it – you need to drink A LOT of green tea to be able to boost your metabolism – but it is a zero calorie alternative to straight water, so I drink it.
Ultimately though, it is about finding out what works for you, and developing your own tricks and mind games. And about making healthy decisions. These are not short term changes and they aren’t applicable just for the duration of the so-called diet. When you make the decision to change your eating habits, you must maintain those changes. You can’t just eat healthy for a year and revert back to old habits. It’s hard, but it is worth it. I think anyway!
Breakfast:
1 yogurt (either the small cup of Yoplait, Danon, etc – 35-40 calories)
½ banana
Either a slice of whole wheat toast with peanut butter, or a cup of Special K cereal with a small amount of skim milk
Lunch:
This is fairly dubious. Sometimes I will eat a cup of soup (low sodium), sometimes its coffee & a muffin at Tim Horton’s. Sometimes it’s the other ½ of the banana. Other times it’s another slice of toast with peanut butter. And sometimes I don’t quite get there.
Dinner:
Salad – sometimes I garnish it with a small quantity of cheese; sprayed with salad spritzers (15 calories per 10 sprays!)
1 boneless/skinless chicken breast grilled (seasoned with either Mrs. Dash, bruschetta sauce, or whatever else I’m feeling)
Broccoli…lots and lots of broccoli (sometimes served with cheese)
Usually another vegetable (beans, corn, whatever)
I will also grill a pork chop periodically, but generally chicken is the food of choice.
Snacks:
Rule of thumb for snacking: cut it out at least 4 hours prior to bedtime or your body won’t have time to process the calories. Wasted energy.
These are the snacks that I regularly indulge in:
- coffee & muffin at Tim Horton’s – seems unhealthy but you have to select the “right” muffin; there is a lowfat blueberry muffin, and a wholegrain raspberry muffin. If I have eaten either of these, I adjust my caloric intake accordingly.
- Fruit: following my workout, I will often have a piece of fruit (generally apples or oranges). Remember though – fruits are high in sugars, and even though they are good sugars, they are still sugars.
Other Tidbits:
Because I am a snacker I have gotten into the habit of carrying candy – you have to be careful because candy can be detrimental – I choose sugar free werther’s, baskin robbins candies, etc. It gives me the illusion that I am eating a tasty and unhealthy treat. Ya. it’s about the mind games.
Water – often times you are hungry because you are thirsty. Drink lots of water.
Don’t buy it – the simplest lesson I learned: if you don’t buy it, you won’t have it to eat. Once I stopped buying cookies, chips, donuts etc, I couldn’t eat them!! So simple.
Don’t eat out every day…or even on a regular basis. Sheesh.
Oh and actually read the label on the foods you eat – look to see if there are trans fats, what the caloric breakdown is, etc. And cut out the frozen dinners. I don’t care how lean cuisinish it is…learn to cook for yourself.
Eating healthy is huge commitment. Initially I allowed myself a weekly splurge – on that day I ate everything “bad” that I could possible find. After a few weeks of doing this, I realized that it wasn’t worth it. I felt sick afterwards; and then I realized that for every day I splurged, I was adding on one or two days to this whole ordeal. Sure I have times that I don’t eat healthy – I go out to dinner with friends, there are the big holiday meals, etc. I think what you actually have to realize is that you must accommodate your splurges. I try to be careful – if I am going to have a calorie splurge, I try to compensate by either making sure I do my work out, or I forgo my coffee and a muffin, or do something to try and offset the impact.
Here is the other big thing – I try and stay away from grains, dairy, and starches (which I absolutely love!). I miss pasta, and alfredo sauces but in order to be successful it is just best that I don’t eat them. You need to realize what works for you.
After being on this “diet” for over a year, I do allow myself to eat some items that weren’t originally on my list. I will periodically indulge on chocolate – but I still need to leave it with my mom because I apparently lack self control! Once or twice a week I go to Starbucks and have their molasses cookie (mmmmmm) and a tall strawberries & cream with no whip – on those days, I adjust calories.
Oh…and green tea. I drink a ton of tea…copious amounts. You may hear that green tea is the “secret” to weight loss. I don’t really buy it – you need to drink A LOT of green tea to be able to boost your metabolism – but it is a zero calorie alternative to straight water, so I drink it.
Ultimately though, it is about finding out what works for you, and developing your own tricks and mind games. And about making healthy decisions. These are not short term changes and they aren’t applicable just for the duration of the so-called diet. When you make the decision to change your eating habits, you must maintain those changes. You can’t just eat healthy for a year and revert back to old habits. It’s hard, but it is worth it. I think anyway!
Saturday, 24 January 2009
Talking Fat #3: Food for Thought (PT 1)
Food…mmmmmm. Food has been my longest and most consistent relationship. There is nothing wrong with food – unfortunately there is a difference between eating “good” food and eating empty calories that just fill you up for the short term, but ultimately lead to binge eating.
Ok, so when I started this, I was clueless how to eat. Actually, I still am – I’m just not as clueless as I was then. Make sense?
Alright, so anyway – when I got fully underway, sometime in late November 2007, I decided initially to begin by eating 1000 calories a day. Ya. That’s not so smart.
Let me clear up a big fallacy about calorie cutting. First off- one pound is equal to 3000 calories. So let’s pretend that you do absolutely nothing one day – you don’t breathe, move, your body doesn’t do anything on the cellular level, and you use 0 calories – but you somehow consume 3000 calories. You have just consumed a ton more calories than your body needed – and you gain a pound because you are doing to burn those calories up Now this is a virtually impossible scenario, because you always burn calories, even while asleep.
Same deal – now let’s pretend that you eat one thousand calories, but expend 3000. Well, simple math: you have a 2000 calorie deficit. Tomorrow you eat another 1000 calories, and expend 2000 calories – you have another 1000 calorie deficit. A pound is lost over the course of 2 days.
These are very simplified scenarios, and it is nowhere close to being so cut and dry, but it is an illustration of how all of this works.
I have read a lot of different theories on weight loss - some people say that 1 pound a week is alright – some say 2. I hold true to the belief that your body will tell you if you are being an idiot.
During the first couple of weeks that you diet, you will loose a fair amount of weight – the beginning is really easy – sometimes deceptively so. You will find yourself in the this amazing euphoria, which can make it really difficult further down the road, when your weight appears to be stuck. I will discuss the middle, during another blog entry.
Now here is the problem with purposely trying to create a substantial caloric deficit: starvation. Your body eventually has a couple of different responses. It will either enter starvation mode, which means that it will hold on to every single calorie possible – which can ultimately lead to weight gain. Another response is muscle eating – you might loose weight, but that weight is coming from the muscle that your body can’t support – not really a good thing. Another potential risk of substantial calorie shortages (and associated weight loss) is rapid weight gain – you know the people who have lost copious amounts of weight, and then suddenly gain it all back (almost overnight) with an additional 50 pounds? Ya. This is partly why.
But you still do need to have a calorie deficit to loose weight – just not a substantial one. What you need to do is work out your BMI and what it would take to maintain your weight at your given height. So if you are 5’4 and weigh 120 pounds it will take far fewer calories to maintain yourself (depending on activity level) than it will take someone who is 5’4 and 280 pounds.
Alright so I started by severely cutting my caloric intake. And to be honest, it wasn’t that bad (but again, you shouldn’t do it). In order to keep track of my intake and output, I registered on http://www.fitday.com/; a site that does all of the calculating for you!! Nice deal.
K..I'm leaving it there for now...talk soon ;-P
Ok, so when I started this, I was clueless how to eat. Actually, I still am – I’m just not as clueless as I was then. Make sense?
Alright, so anyway – when I got fully underway, sometime in late November 2007, I decided initially to begin by eating 1000 calories a day. Ya. That’s not so smart.
Let me clear up a big fallacy about calorie cutting. First off- one pound is equal to 3000 calories. So let’s pretend that you do absolutely nothing one day – you don’t breathe, move, your body doesn’t do anything on the cellular level, and you use 0 calories – but you somehow consume 3000 calories. You have just consumed a ton more calories than your body needed – and you gain a pound because you are doing to burn those calories up Now this is a virtually impossible scenario, because you always burn calories, even while asleep.
Same deal – now let’s pretend that you eat one thousand calories, but expend 3000. Well, simple math: you have a 2000 calorie deficit. Tomorrow you eat another 1000 calories, and expend 2000 calories – you have another 1000 calorie deficit. A pound is lost over the course of 2 days.
These are very simplified scenarios, and it is nowhere close to being so cut and dry, but it is an illustration of how all of this works.
I have read a lot of different theories on weight loss - some people say that 1 pound a week is alright – some say 2. I hold true to the belief that your body will tell you if you are being an idiot.
During the first couple of weeks that you diet, you will loose a fair amount of weight – the beginning is really easy – sometimes deceptively so. You will find yourself in the this amazing euphoria, which can make it really difficult further down the road, when your weight appears to be stuck. I will discuss the middle, during another blog entry.
Now here is the problem with purposely trying to create a substantial caloric deficit: starvation. Your body eventually has a couple of different responses. It will either enter starvation mode, which means that it will hold on to every single calorie possible – which can ultimately lead to weight gain. Another response is muscle eating – you might loose weight, but that weight is coming from the muscle that your body can’t support – not really a good thing. Another potential risk of substantial calorie shortages (and associated weight loss) is rapid weight gain – you know the people who have lost copious amounts of weight, and then suddenly gain it all back (almost overnight) with an additional 50 pounds? Ya. This is partly why.
But you still do need to have a calorie deficit to loose weight – just not a substantial one. What you need to do is work out your BMI and what it would take to maintain your weight at your given height. So if you are 5’4 and weigh 120 pounds it will take far fewer calories to maintain yourself (depending on activity level) than it will take someone who is 5’4 and 280 pounds.
Alright so I started by severely cutting my caloric intake. And to be honest, it wasn’t that bad (but again, you shouldn’t do it). In order to keep track of my intake and output, I registered on http://www.fitday.com/; a site that does all of the calculating for you!! Nice deal.
K..I'm leaving it there for now...talk soon ;-P
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