Food Diaries = 2x Weight Loss

My mother passed an interesting article to me this morning. The article noted a study where the impact of keeping a food diary led to double the weight loss of not keeping a food diary.

Keep a Food Diary, Lose Twice as Much Weight

You can probably tell from my previous posts that I am pretty religious about keeping a food diary and tracking my calories. It worked the first time I dropped pounds, and, hopefully, it will get me to the finish line.

Hefty US States

I love when new data on hefty states is published each year. Do you notice the % of people who are obese? Does your mind register that (in most US states) 25% of the people you meet are obese and more than 50% of people are overweight!? That is huge (literally).

Sometimes I think that people's perception of weight can change because everyone else around them may also be chubby, so it becomes "okay" and even "normal." I relayed this in a previous blog post, as I have seen noticeable differences in the average weight of workers across different clients and mentioned a study that came out last year discussing how individuals' networks of friends can influence weight.

I was curious whether or not (mis)perception of weight had any more data behind it, so I did a little more research on the tubes and found a study that came out recently indicating that over the past ten years people's perception of weight has been changing. Obese and overweight people are less likely to identify themselves as being overweight or obese. That sounds like a dangerous trend.

Getting Closer to the Half-way Point (Weekly Summary July 13-19)

My weight dropped an amazing 3.5 pounds this week. I didn't do anything special, compared to prior weeks, but I did follow my plans pretty closely.

I was only 150 calories over my goal of averaging 1200 calories per day, but feel pretty good that I was able to keep that close to my goal, having gone out to dinner and to an engagement party. I hope to keep this weight loss rolling to hit my skinny by December goal. :)

Weekly Summary July 13-19:

Sunday:
Left over turkey bacon and cheese souffle
Rice crackers & cheese
Watermelon
Chicken & stuffed eggplant (onions, tomatoes)
Wine
Plum
Exercise: Walked 6 miles

Monday:
Rice and Shine with cheese (grits-style)
Watermelon smoothies (2 glasses)
Stuffed eggplant (onions, tomatoes)
Cheese
Stuffed eggplant (ground lamb, onions)
Coconut ice cream & chocolate sauce (no corn syrup, woohoo)
Wine
Exercise: Yoga and walking, I think. Forgot to record it in my tracker and presidentschallenge.com.

Tuesday:
Coffee with agave nectar
Banana
Yogurt
Salad (spinach, chick peas, olives, blue cheese dressing)
Cheese and crackers
Plum
Coconut ice cream
Exercise: Walked 6 miles

Wednesday:
Coffee with agave nectar
1/2 container of 0% Greek yogurt, sprinkle of gluten-free cereal for crunch, and 1/2 banana
Salad (spinach, chick peas, olives, blue cheese dressing)
Sparkling water with spash of orange juice
Cucumber, 1.5 cups
Crackers with cheese
Broccoli
1/2 chicken breast
Exercise: Walked 6 miles

Thursday:
Coffee with agave nectar
1/2 container of 0% Greek yogurt, sprinkle of gluten-free cereal for crunch, and 1/2 banana
Salad (1/2 chicken boob, 3 olives, spinach, chipotle ranch dressing)
Jicama
Artichoke
1/2 cup broccoli
Talapia fillet
Chocolate pudding and dab of coconut ice cream
Exercise: Ran 2 miles, walked 2 miles

Friday:
Coffee with agave nectar
1/2 container of 0% Greek yogurt, sprinkle of gluten-free cereal for crunch, and 1/2 banana
Yogurt beet salad
Jicama
2.1 glasses of wine
Muscles
Fries, 15 strips
Exercise: 1 hour yoga, walked 6 miles

Saturday:
Coffee with agave nectar
1/2 container of 0% Greek yogurt, sprinkle of gluten-free cereal for crunch, and 1/2 banana
Yogurt beet salad
Tuna
Jicama
Chicken & beef at dinner
Hummus & similar
Lima beans
2 stuffed grape leaves
Custard dessert thing
Exercise: Walked 6 miles

I am slowly starting to build running back into my routine to be prepared for the 10 mile race I am in October.

I am also starting to think of self-reward presents for making it 1/2, 3/4, and 100% to my goal weight. Perhaps a new 3G iPhone? Any other suggestions of mile marker gifts? I hope to stay on track, even though I will be traveling for the next three weeks in a row.

Hunger Can Make You Happy?

I came across an article that says hunger can make you happy. The article is pretty interesting... although they push some of the rats in their study into deep water! What is with that!? They couldn't figure out another way to test?

Hunger Can Make You Happy

Quick Little Food Quiz

I came across a fun little food quiz this morning on CNN Health. I scored 4 out of 6. Let me know if you beat my score!

Quiz: How Much Do You Know About Nutrition and Fitness?

Atkins and Mediterranean Diets Trump Others

All over the health news yesterday were the results of a large studying comparing the Atkins Diet, Mediterranean Diet, and a low-fat diet. The results were that those on the Atkins diet had the best results in terms of lowering cholesterol and losing weight, followed closely by the Mediterranean Diet. Sounded like the Mediterranean Diet seemed to work well for the women in the group. Here is one of the many articles on it in yesterday's news:

Low Carb Plan Best in Study

This article finds a slightly different conclusions - that losing weight is difficult - based on the study:

Healthy Diets Shown to Have Benefits Despite Modest Weight Losses

And, and this article questions how good the study was:

Never Ending Diet Wars

While, I have not tried the Mediterranean Diet, I have tried the Atkins Diet and found that it worked pretty well for me. I got really tired of having meat, but generally felt much better and did lose the pounds. But now, looking back, I wonder if I felt so much better because I was eliminating things I am allergic to (wheat, corn, soy) on the Atkins Diet, but didn't know that I was allergic to them at the time. That could account for why I felt so much better.

Favorite Health TV Show

On Saturdays my ideal activities include:

• Waking up,
• Eating breakfast while watching HGTV,
• Taking the dog out for a long walk or run,
• Returning/showering in time to watch my favorite Saturday morning TV show,
• Watching my favorite Saturday morning show on BBC America (12EST and 12:30EST)

You Are What You Eat is hosted by Gillian McKeith, a holistic nutritionist, who works with overweight and/or otherwise very unhealthy Brits. She coaches them for eight weeks.

What I like about this show:

• They do before and after body overviews of the people (difference in 8 weeks)
• She has people record what they eat (or their friends record it) over a week, and then shows it to them all on one table (usually disgusting)
• She gives people the equivalents of what bad food equals in good food (e.g. how many cups of sugary, milky coffee a week equal how many eggs you could eat for breakfast with those calories)
• She analyzes people's poo and even smells it (really)
• She has the participants blood work done which often leads to finding interesting deficiencies due to participants' unhealthy ways
• She makes people eat vegetables and fruits and exercise
• Entire families are often involved

This is a fun show to watch, and I am excited to get my Tivo hooked up soon so I can record it on the Saturdays when I have less domestic plans.

Anyone want to come over, have lunch, and watch some You Are What You Eat on Saturday?

Turkish Inspired Almond and Banana Dessert

My hubby just returned from a trip to Turkey, and I was inspired by some of the pictures of food that he took. (We both take pictures of interesting foods we eat when we travel.) The Turks use quite a lot of honey, almonds, and other nuts in their desserts, so I decided to use some of the almond meal and honey I have at home.

Ingredients:
Almond meal
Honey
Little pat of butter
Salt
Banana (optional)

I put the almond meal in a pan and began to heat it for a minute. I tossed in a little bit of salt. I then added a honey in slowly mixing it in until my almond meal formed one solid clump. I then began to wrap it into a log shape and added a pat of butter to the pan. I kept turning the log in the pan until it was a little browned on the outside. I then took it away from the heat, sliced the almond/honey log and served it with part of a sliced banana. I actually found that the banana was almost too sweet with it. But the log was tasty, and the husband doled compliments.

Egg, Cheese, Turkey Bacon Souffle

One of my creations this weekend included an egg souffle with cheese and turkey bacon. I used a recipe straight from mamashealth.com.

I substituted regular bacon with turkey bacon. (My turkey bacon is also nitrate and other bad things free.) I also substituted regular flour with gluten-free flour.

This is the second time I have made this recipe, and it has been tasty both times. The hubby approves as well. It is a good way to use several eggs if they are nearing their expiration date, as was the case with a batch I had in my refrigerator.

This recipe does "de-poof" as soon as it starts too cool, so it is fun to serve it right away. It also still tastes great when reheated later.

Weekly Summary (July 12) - The sweets monster on the prowl

This week my weight climbed by half a pound. The sweets monster came out toward the end of this week. There is no denying. I also wasn't tracking my calories at the beginning of the week when I wasn't feeling well, and when I started counting I was already well over for each day. I feel confident that I can do better this next week because I was able to do a bit better yesterday and am not feeling the cravings today. I also have my kitchen nicely stocked with veggies and have my hubby's support.

Very importantly, the hubby helps my motivation by telling me I look skinny and good and is very tolerant of the days when I need to cut back on calories because I realize I have some making up to do. :)

I did manage to get in my exercise, walking 2-6 miles every day with some weight training and yoga mixed in, but I did take it easy toward the beginning of the week (slower pace). I also had some fun experimenting with recipes and will be posting a few more later this week.

Weekly food summary (Sweets monster on the prowl late in the week)
Sunday (Yikes, mainly sugary, useless carbs):
Gluten-free pancakes
Mac and Cheese
Apple slices and cherries
Sparkling Pomegranate- Apple Juice

Monday (Pretty good day):
Gluten-free pancakes
Apple
Yogurt with black currant jam
Sparkling Pomegranate- Apple Juice
Egg ranchero (egg, cheese, dab of sour cream, fresh salsa) with 2 slices of turkey bacon
Figs with Greek yogurt, honey, and caramelized pecans

Tuesday (Pretty good day):
Sparkling pomegranate apple drink
Soup
English Muffin
Soup
Figs with Greek yogurt, honey, and caramelized pecans

Wednesday (Uh ohs, I bring home ice cream from the store...):
English Muffin
Rice & Shine made with water, sprinkle cinnamon and sugar
2% yogurt & jam
Soup
Chips
Ice cream
Strawberries

Thursday (...and rice pudding):
Strawberries
2 rice puddings
Ice cream
Plum
Chips
Hummus
Rice Crackers
chocolate pudding
Mango

Friday (...and chocolate pudding...thankfully child sized, but still):
Rice pudding and Strawberries
Banana
Cucumbers and Rice crackers with hummus
2% Yogurt
Chocolate pudding

Saturday:
Rice and shine
Egg, cheese, turkey bacon souffle
Watermelon
Mango
Banana, almond meal and honey dessert
Tom yum soup with shrimp
Plum wine

Exercise:
Sunday: Walked 6 miles and strength
Monday: Walked 6 miles
Tuesday: Walked 6 miles
Wednesday: Walked 2 miles and strength training
Thursday: Walked 6 miles
Friday: Walked 6 miles
Saturday: Yoga, ran 4 miles, walked 2 miles

Impromptu Summer Stew

While I was raiding my kitchen cabinets yesterday, I decided to make a stew. I wanted something that wouldn't be too rough on my tummy (still recovering from last week's bug), contained some veggies, and that I actually already had ingredients to make. I was very loooow on food stuffs in the house yesterday (which has now been rectified by a trip to Whole Foods).

I created an easy, impromptu stew that turned out quite nicely.



Ingredients:
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can water
1/2 can chick peas (drained)
1/2 can yellow squash (drained)
1/3 of a package of gluten-free rice noodles
Olive oil
Garlic
Salt
Parsley, onion powder, coriander, pepper to taste

I coated a little bit of the pot's bottom with olive oil and began cooking a little bit of minced garlic until it started to brown. Then I poured in the can of tomatoes, the water, the chick peas, the yellow squash, and added salt. I brought those to a boil. Once they were boiling I added the rice noodles and cooked the soup based on the rice noodle's timing (8 minutes for my noodles). I added parsley, onion powder, and coriander (only a little dash of each).

After pouring the soup in a bowl, I added some black pepper. Turned out to be quite yummy and approximately 3 servings. I love the days when I am not traveling for work and get a chance to experiment with cooking.

Figalicious

While grocery shopping last week, I spied an unusual fruit. A fig. I thought about it and realized I had never made anything with fresh figs before. I decided to purchase the pack and, yesterday, made my first fig dish.




Ingredients:
6 fresh figs
Honey
Greek yogurt
Pecans or other nut
Brown sugar
Salt
Butter

The recipe was very easy. Turn the oven to 350F. Next, make a tinfoil pouch for the figs. Then, cut off the stems and cut a cross deep into the figs. Put the figs upright in the tinfoil pouch. Pour honey across the tops. Put pouch, tightly sealed into oven for 45 minutes.

While that is cooking, I caramelized the pecans by heating them on a skillet for 2-3 minutes, then added the butter (just enough to coat the nuts), some brown sugar, and salt. I let them cool as the figs finished baking (and, of course, sampled the product).

When the figs came out of the oven, I topped them with Fage Greek 2% Yogurt and the caramelized pecans. This makes approximately 2 servings.

Enjoy some figs!

Frozen Summer Treats!

I love frozen treats in the summer time. However, I avoided many of them until recently due to their high sugar and sometimes high-fat content. Trader Joe's has a few great options... Caribbean Fruit Floes are one of my favorites... though I would have to check the ingredients again before purchasing.

I also have taken to making pops by freezing ripe bananas this summer. They make a creamy treat after they are frozen and only contain their natural sugar. You can coat them with chocolate or yogurt too before freezing for a fancier treat. I also came across a recipe that calls for rolling them in honey and then Rice Crispies on bakingbites.com.



I may try watermelon pop next. A few of the recipes call for blending and then freezing:
1 cup of watermelon
1 cup of orange juice
1 cup of water

Mmm... even a watermelon smoothy.

My favorite gluten-free/homeopathy blog also has a pops (or "lollies" as I guess they call it in the UK) recipe that looks delicious that I will have to try in the not too distant future:

Rose Pink Ice Cream Lollies

I will be grocery shopping again in the next day or two and looking forward to creating my next frozen treat! Please send any other frozen treat suggestions my way!

Continuing on the Path

I managed to lose another pound last week, so I am down 4.5 pounds into my weight loss. Closing in on 25% of my goal. The reasons for my weight loss last week are a toss-up. I got a bit of a stomach bug/ache that may have helped me more easily keep within my calorie goal. Hopefully, this week my stomach will repair itself, and I will be back on the path. (I think it was a stomach issue resulting from eating something I am allergic to without realizing it because it also came with hives...)

With the stomach issues, I didn't get in quite as much exercise as I normally do, but did get in several 6 mile walks early in the week. I also got in a 4 mile walk on Thursday and a bike ride on Saturday.

Yesterday, I started this week off right (joking a bit) with some gluten-free Trader Joe's pancakes. I mixed in real cocoa and a few of the allergen free chocolate chips, too! :)

I also walked 4.5 miles and a little strength training. I am still a bit in recovery, so I snuck in a late afternoon nap. As my stomach recovers, I am going to try to work back in more vegetables (which have been making my stomach queasy on sight) and less pure carbohydrates.