Men vs. Women in Weight Loss

There is a nice summary of differences between men and women in dieting, and what they can learn from each other in Newsweek.

Why Guys Diet Differently

The summary includes that men tend to lose weight better through competitions and can say "no" to trouble foods more easily. Women are smarter about nutrition.

It Is The Calories, Stupid!

A new study came out on the effectiveness of various weight loss regimens. The conclusion is that multiple types of diets can work, so long as the dieter watches their calories. I didn't find this study particularly profound, but it does go to show that there are different diets that can work for individuals and their personal preferences.

In 4-Diet Study, All Lost Weight if They Watched Their Calories

Shooting for the Stars

My mom is definitely ignoring the moon and is shooting for the stars. She hit 10 pounds of weight loss today! Congrats, mom! You rock! She has even kicked her exercise up another notch. Wow!

My mom has decided now to keep on going and to try to match me on losing 1 pound per week for the 5 weeks of March. I have 5 pounds left, having dropped a pound last week. I won't have a weigh-in for another two weeks or so, because I am traveling (even through the weekends) for the next week and a half.

Some Catching Up to Do

There are 5 weeks left in our bet, and I have 6 pounds go to. My mom has only 3.5 pounds left. I have some catching up to do.

Overall, my mom and I have been stymied in our weight loss for the last two weeks. She, however, has been kicking up the exercise a notch and may come in with a super drop surprise at some point soon.

A cold got me down last week, but I am feeling better this week and walked for over an hour yesterday and today, and did some strength training. My mother reported that she has started to even throw a little bit of running into her exercise. Go, Mom!

Not the Best Week

Last week mom stayed steady. She had the flu, unfortunately.

I went up 1.5 pounds. Yikes. I did get in my exercise.

I am starting this week off on a much better foot and am rapidly hoping to turn things around. :)

Weight Loss Blogs

Mom's favorite weight loss blogs:

theantijared.blogspot.com

zeusmeatball.blogspot.com

mcc394.blogspot.com

My only comment on my mom's favorites, is that they are all men's blogs! Where are the women?!

Strategic Grocery Shopping

I received a request for tips on how to have enough healthy food at home to last through a work week. Here is my shopping strategy (when I am not traveling for work):

1. Figure out my meals for the entire week.
2. Check that planned meals meet my fruit and veggie quota.
3. Count the number of snacks I will need (e.g. 5 fruits, 7 yogurts for snacks, small bag of carrots and hummus).
4. Make a grocery list.
5. Go shopping at least once a week, with the list. Make it quick, just going to what I need.
6. Prepare meals as much in advance as possible, including pre-packing lunches and dinners for the week (such as on Sunday).

In my opinion two well-planned trips in two weeks is better than one long trip once every two weeks. The more often you shop, the more fresh food you are likely to have. I started to do more frequent grocery shopping while I lived in France. My husband is also good about picking up food for dinner on the way home if there was a gap in the planning.

For a second opinion, try this article on 10 Tips for Healthy Grocery Shopping.