Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category:
New Beginnings
So, while I managed to not veer wildly off course during my stay in lovely Baltimore, I did manage to get home and eat everything in sight. Seriously. Everything.
Today begins a new, starting with this week’s break of choice: the fruit smoothie. I have been noticing that every since I reintroduced Go Lean bars into snack repertoire, my diet has been noticeably lacking in fruit. Hence, the breakfast smoothie:
Breakfast Smoothie
1 medium banana (1.5 pts)
1 cup strawberries (0 pts)
½ cup plain, nonfat soymilk (1 pt)
Put it all in a blender, and blend until smooth. Add some ice if you want it look like you have 20 ounces of fruity goodness to consume. Total points: 2.5. Also, for those of you who are WW buffs, this smoothie is also CORE.
I’m finding the smoothie does a couple of things for me. First, it helps me get in two servings of fruit. Second, I can’t eat in three seconds flat, so I spend the majority of the morning sipping, which makes me feel consistently satisfied until lunch time.
Where You Came From
To know where you’re going…
Soldier Field 10 Miler 2008
You got to know where you came from…
Chicago Distance Classic 2006
I know I look ridiculous in that CDC photo. But I think it’s apparent to me that, in addition to running my most recent half marathon nearly 20 minutes faster than my first CDC in 2006, I have obviously lost weight and toned up. We still have a way to go, but progress is being made.
Business Trip Day 2
Breakfast: 4
English muffin
Peanut butter (less than 1 TBSP)
Snack: 3
Go Lean Bar
Lunch: 7
California Tortilla, Veggie Burrito Bowl with Spinach, no cheese, no sour cream
Snack: 2
Cheerios
Dinner: 16
Unagi maki (8 pieces)
Avocado maki (6 pieces)
Spicy scallop (8 pieces)
2 nigiri (one salmon, one tuna)
Total: 32 (23 daily points, 4 activity points, 5 weekly points)
Again, not too bad for being on a business trip. The snacking cost me those five points that I could have used for dinner, but I’d rather have a Go Lean bar and a couple of handfuls of cheerios than grab a cookie at the conference. I found the nutritional information for California Tortilla on their Web site, and I love this mid-Atlantic Chipotle-esque chain. For dinner, I stuck with sushi, mostly because I like the volume and that it takes a long time to actually eat it all!
Tomorrow is my final day in Baltimore. I have a flight home in the evening. Hopefully I can get through one more day so I have a few extra weekly points to have some drinks on Saturday.
Business Trip Day 1
And… we’re back. Here’s how the day’s eating panned out:Breakfast: 3 pts
Go Lean bar
Lunch: 9 pts
Great American Bagel, whole wheat bagel with light chive cream cheese
Dinner: 17 pts
Spicy Tuna Roll (8)
Rainbow Roll (8)
Unagi Maki (8)
Snack: 1 pt
Hard candy, 1 piece
Activity: 4 pts
28 min jog on treadmill
20 min strength training, free weights
Daily Total Consumed: 30 pts (23 daily pts, 4 activity pts, 3 weekly pts)
Overall, not perfect, but not terrible.
Lunch at O’Hare airport wasn’t the best choice, but before I went to the Great American Bagel, I found their nutrition information online at Calorie King (oddly, the Great American Bagel Web site does not post this information). Despite the fact the bagel was pretty hefty in points, I’d rather know all the facts then just randomly choose something from an airport kiosk and guess at what I’m actually eating.
Sushi is a great dinner option for me when I’m on the road. It feels like I’m splurging because I can eat it in mass quantities. And, bonus, it’s one of my favorite foods. I try my best to stick with rolls that are pretty standard. Special rolls tend to vary restaurant to restaurant making them harder to track.
Tomorrow will bring new challenges; first and foremost, avoiding the free breakfast available downstairs. However, I may scope it out to see if fresh fruit is available — good to steal for snacks. Stay tuned for tomorrow’s exciting report!
Old School
Yes, so I’ve neglected Reading Cookbooks for days… no weeks… fine, a month… but, I’ve done some thinking about the “creative direction” of this blog. First of all, I bagged the whole vegan thing, for a variety of reasons, but mostly because I couldn’t experiment and talk about it without certain people (specifically my mom) making a huge deal about what they were going to feed me come the holidays. Seriously. Don’t ask.
So that was fun while it lasted.
But now it’s back to the reality of WeightWatchers, which I seem unable to follow for more than a week. I have decided to challenge myself to update this blog with my daily eating habits, new meal ideas, product finds, recipes, and my progress (numbers!) as much as possible, in the hopes that it will spur me to be a bit more motivated. We’ll see.
We begin this journey today with a big weight loss obstacle… the business trip.
I’m sitting in O’Hare Airport faced with three days of eating in a strange city, in a hotel room, in a convention center — a recipe for disaster.
So let’s get started, shall we?
The back story: I’m going to Baltimore for a marketing convention. This makes a few things a lot easier. First, I won’t know anyone, which means, as long as I keep to myself and don’t do any of that silly networking, I can easily bypass 1) happy hours and 2) group dinners. This makes eating on the WeightWatchers plan a million times easier — no appetizers, no alcohol, and no desserts. From there, it’s planning, planning, and more planning. Here are the business trip strategies I will try to live my next three days by:
- Workout - WeightWatchers’ point system has a simple rule: If you exercise, you get more points. Meaning… you can eat more. In reality you are supposed to limit yourself to four activity points a day. Running is the simplest way to earn these points, and lord knows I’ll need them on a business trip. Just 28 minutes jogging on the treadmill each day will do the trick.
- Research, research, research - Since I’m eating alone, I’ve already mapped out the restaurants within a few blocks of my hotel. Two words that will make dinner a snap: Takeout sushi!
- Breakfast - I brought mine with me. A couple of low point Go Lean bars will help me sidestep massive morning meals, and help me start my day off without blowing it before noon.
- Gum - Simple, I know. This is an old school strategy that used help curb cravings for sweets. The minute I want ice cream delivered to my hotel room, I know it’s time for a piece of gum.
For the record, I am allotted 23 points a day (27 if I manage to get a short run in). I’ll check in later today a day one report.
Another Burn
I’m cross posting today because shit like this really pisses me off.
First of all, the link to “The Great Burn” Web page showed up in an email from Shape Magazine. At first I thought it was some Shape-sponsored event, like when they do the workouts in Lincoln Park. No. Not exactly. This site is about Enviga, a new “sparkling green tea” beverage from our friends at Coke and Nestle. But, as best I can tell, this site is dedicated to further confusing the hell out of people who want to lose weight.
Basically, Shape, Men’s Fitness, Coke, and Nestle are all putting their stamps of approval onto a drink that they claim burns “negative calories.” Yes. Simply drink Enviga, and you’ll loss weight. From the email:
When it comes to burning calories, you’re not going to find a better partner than this one. See, Enviga is more than just a refreshing sparkling green tea. It has ingredients like caffeine and the mighty antioxidant EGCG, which are proven to burn extra calories by gently boosting your metabolism. Of course, weight loss requires a reduced calorie diet and regular exercise*. Enviga is just a little something extra to complement the things you do already.
Vomit.
Soft science at it’s best (worst?). First of all, if you want the benefits of green tea, then drink green tea! Don’t drink this crap. Second, when you separate nutrients from the original source the benefits are not as great. That is why taking vitamins are a distance second to eating fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes as a source for nutrients.
As for the caffeine… Here’s what Jillian Michaels, the Biggest Loser trainer has to say about caffeine and weight loss.
Lately there’s been a lot of talk about caffeine and exercise. Studies have shown that consuming caffeine before working out enhances performance and helps to burn fat. Hey, don’t down that pot of coffee just yet! You need to hear the whole story behind caffeine and exercise
First of all, coffee and Diet Coke isn’t going to do it. As a fitness aide, caffeine is only effective when taken in pill form in conjunction with aspirin. When you drink coffee, tea, and soda, caffeine gives you short-term energy. That’s because caffeine stimulates your adrenal glands. These glands dump adrenaline into your bloodstream like it’s going out of style. When the caffeine leaves your system, your adrenal glands will be depleted for a while. This will leave you feeling weak and tired from low adrenaline levels.
What abotu EGCG?
One-A-Day WeightSmart vitamins advertised EGCG as the active ingredient that promoted weight loss.
I swear, you read something different every single day about weight loss, but this kind of soft science, magic bullet crap does far more harm that good. I don’t give a shit that the entire Enviga clinical study has been posted. The University that researched this product was paid by Nestle. Of course the findings are positive. Big business and powerful lobbies (think dairy, meat, artificial sweeteners) are behind much of the weight loss and health information that is disseminated into our American culture, which means the information is biased at best, and outright lies at worst. Keep that in mind. We should be nothing short of outraged that companies are willing and able to make outlandish claims like this one.
Update: I was infuriated enough that I decided to email Shape customer service just to tell them I would be removing my email from its lists and would never again subscribe to Shape. I understand how advertising dollars work, which is why I get the diet pill ads in the back of the magazine (though it would be great to see a magazine ixnay that kind of BS). But to actively endorse a beverage as a diet aid, I mean, come on… it’s just impossible for me to consider Shape a reliable source of health and fitness information anymore.
*Whaaaaaaa?
Vegan Product Review
While I love trying recipes, I also crave convenience, and I regularly try new products to up the convenience factor — especially when I’m attempting to keep a vegan kitchen. Sometimes, when I’m wandering through Whole Foods I find a product that appears as though it may be an answer one of the my many questions about vegan living. Like, “Uh what about ranch salad dressing dude?”
Important, yes?
Yes.
Enter NASOYA. Last week I purchased a bottle of Creamy Dill Vegi-Dressing. I was skeptical.
Sure, it’s not full fat buttermilk ranch dressing, but this dressing has found a home in my refrigerator. It’s creamy and slightly sweet, totally satisfying if you’re someone like me who needs a little bit of persuasion to eat a salad. It’s not the lowest fat salad dressing, but two tablespoons are 2 WeightWatchers points. But again, in my opinion, if it convinces me to eat a salad, those points are well spent.
Try it.
Controlled Freak
Sometimes I believe that if I could just control my environment, I could control my eating. For me, making healthy choices Monday morning through Friday afternoon is pretty easy. Sure, there are midday moments when I’d trade my firstborn for a cookie, but the cravings often pass quickly with the help of a piece of gum or some whole grain crackers. The truth is, if I grocery shop, stock up on healthy foods, and pack my lunch every day, I’m pretty good to go for the work week.
Enter Friday afternoon and life’s little variables.
No one wants to give up having a social life — friends, a boyfriend or girlfriend, events, restaurants, bars — for an all healthy, all the time lifestyle, but some days I think if I could just skip… well… everything fun… I’d lose weight quickly and without much effort.
So, that’s one issue.
Here’s another one: I don’t want to be the whiny friend-on-a-diet who makes requests of others — be it specific restaurants, or no dessert, or whatever. No one else should be “punished” because I think I need to lose a few pounds.
This is particularly a problem if you are dealing with people who love and accept you for you are, at any weight. Plain and simple, they just don’t get it. Those of us who are truly only ten or so pounds overweight, or ten or so pounds away from being comfortable with our bodies, probably have it the hardest. Sure, we may not be “fat” or “obese,” but our goals are our goals and sometimes I think I sabotage myself just because I don’t want to make “big deal” out of my weight to those who may say they support us, but don’t actually know how to support us.
It took me a long time to come out to my boyfriend that I am a WeightWatcher. I knew he wouldn’t be judgmental, but I think part of me didn’t want to bring it to his attention that I was unhappy with my body. Maybe I thought that if he knew, he’d suddenly realize I was overweight, and he’d be unhappy with my body. Considering that I’m not dating a complete ass, this was not the case. I broke “the news,” and he responded with a nod and, “OK.”
He tries his best to be supportive, but the situation remains the same: he doesn’t get it because he’s never been where I’ve been. Sure, I think there’s been times in his life when he hasn’t been particularly happy with his weight, but this is a guy who sneezes and gains muscle mass; this is a guy who, as long as he’s training for a marathon or a triathlon, can eat his body weight in meat and cheese and bread and sweets, and not gain an ounce.
But that’s just it. I can’t do that. Some people start working out and the weight — whether they were trying to lose it or not — just melts off of them. He’s one of those people. I’m not sure he had any weight loss goals when he decided to train for his first marathon six years ago, but — like magic — 30 pounds gone.
Sadly, when I started running and training for distance events, I initially gained weight, and no, my clothes didn’t fit that differently. But, for me, that’s reality. I cannot workout like a maniac, train for endurance events, and eat whatever I want. I just can’t. It sucks. Let me tell you.
I am reading Learning to Drive by Katha Pollitt, which has nothing to do with weight loss, but this passage made me laugh out loud:
Gradually, I forgot what I knew and lost the confidence to try new recipes, nor did I ever learn to use any of the numerous appliances he collected: the espresso machine with cappuccino attachment, the Cuisinart mini-prep, or the deep-fat fryer he bought the day after I said I was going on a diet.
Now, the ex-boyfriend she’s referring to in this passage is probably a bit of an ass in real life, but it made me think about a day not long ago, when I was feeling particularly unhappy with body and my ability to motivate myself to lose weight. I spent a decent portion of the day making demeaning comments about myself and my body to my boyfriend, who decided at dinner, to order a piece of cake. I don’t think he in any way wanted to sabotage my efforts, but he wanted cake and frankly, he can eat cake without repercussions. I, however, cannot. It’s not his job to monitor what I eat, and I realize that, but it just makes it… harder… my weaknesses are exploited in those moments. And, it’s not always easy to rely on shear willpower and determination.
Tonight, I made plans to eat at a tapas restaurant. I’m preparing myself because going in with a game plan is really my only defense. It must be an amazing feeling to not have to plan to “be on the defensive” simply because you are eating out at a restaurant. And, I’ll be honest — this “defense” often fails. Regardless, I’m scouring the Internet, reading the restaurant’s menu, searching for nutritional content, trying to figure out what the best choices are, and kind of kicking myself for feeling as though it’s not my place to burden other people with my weight loss issues.
And, of course, I do love me some tapas.
Once More with Feeling
At what point do you consider a recipe officially part of your meal repertoire? I have decided – today – that I have to make the recipe three times, in a reasonable amount of time, like say a month or so, in order to consider it an old stand-by. The first time I made Chickpea Noodle Soup from Veganomicon, I raved about it on A View from the Park. I’m not sure anyone was listening, except perhaps, my sister, who now also makes this soup on a nearly weekly basis.
Seriously people, would I keep making the soup if it wasn’t fantastic?
Check out the original recipe.
This soup has so much going for it – beans, buckwheat soba noodles, veggies, the option to add some greens. It’s a no-brainer, health-wise, but for the sake of too many snacks pre-run tonight, I decided to WeightWatcher-ify the recipe tonight. Look at that, I made a new word.
Here’s what I did:
2 tablespoons olive oil –> I reduced this to 2 tsp, and to compensate, I used a few splashes of vegetable broth as needed to sauté the vegetables.
6 cups water or vegetable stock –> I actually up the amount of liquid in this recipe to approximately 8 cups, sometimes I use all vegetable broth (store bought), but last night I used half water, half broth. The effect was a somewhat lighter soup.
6 ounces soba noodles –> Soba noodles expand a lot once cooked. Six ounces isn’t necessarily too much, but I reduced this to four ounces and still felt like I had noodle-palooza going on in my soup.
Finally, I added a handful or two of spinach at the end of the cooking process (at the same time as the miso).
Based on six servings, the WW points value of this soup is 3. That’s approximately one and a half cups of soup per serving. Keep in mind, the original WW points value of this soup is only 5, still very low, so go on with your bad self and make yourself some soup. Either way works!
Tuesday Training Update
Apparently, the Flying Pig race organizers over in Cincinnati think it’s a good idea to send me an email each morning to remind me how many days are between today and the half marathon.
Yesterday it was 26.
Today it’s 25.
What would I do without mass email blasts? Why, I’d be expected to perform elementary functions manually — like count, or look at a calendar — if I didn’t receive an email every day.
So, in the interest of alliteration, I thought Tuesday’s would be a prime day to update the world on my training, which currently, is for the Flying Pig Half Marathon in Cincinnati on May 4 (25 days from today).
Training Schedule March 31-April 6
Monday
Cross training — Generally I like to do a circuit workout (weight training with short cardio intervals, but I was so exhausted from my weeklong business trip, it was all I could do to get myself to the gym. Luckily, my running buddy persuaded me and she and I walked on the treadmills set to a steep incline for 40 minutes.
Tuesday
2 mile run — If I remember correctly, this sad little run was a little rough, but we managed to get it done.
Wednesday
Cross training — I workout with my trainer on Wednesdays, which usually means a lot of heavy weights. I began questioning his methods when he handed me two 20 pound dumbbells with which to do biceps curls. I was sore with a particularly achy back and neck for a few days after.
Thursday
2 mile run — It started raining, and I totally skipped this run.
Friday
7 mile run — My running buddy and I both took Friday off so we set off around our neighborhood on Friday morning. Originally we planned to do a nine mile run on Friday and a seven mile run on Sunday, but it became evident that we were struggling. After a few walking breaks, we decided to cut it short and rearrange the schedule.
Saturday
Nada.
Sunday
9 mile run — Hooray for sunshine and temperatures that do not make you want to curl up into a little ball and die. The nine mile run wasn’t the greatest, but it was good enough, and frankly, after a spotty training schedule over the winter, good enough is good enough. And honestly, it didn’t get tough until we reached about seven miles. Sometimes I forget that nine miles is still a long distance to be running and getting tired is acceptable.
So there you have it. If it’s Tuesday, it’s the training update.
