Got bored.

sorry SMC fans--this blog is a little bland for my taste.

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Comfort Food

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 Photo credit: Penny Matthews

Tweaking

I started my latest weight loss quest on March 28. I haven't really wanted to talk about this; however, I'll tell you now. For the first two weeks I lost NOTHING. In fact, I may have even gained a little.

I cannot tell you how frustrating this was.

But perhaps you've experienced it.

I followed my plan to the letter. NO cheating. Really, for the first two weeks I did not cheat. In fact, I consumed fewer calories than the minimum. But the scale didn't budge.

In the past I've given up at this point. One time I lamented to a friend in the grocery store...I can't do it, I told her. I can't lose weight. She was older than me--probably by ten years, which meant at the time she was in her mid-40's. Her advice?

Buy bigger clothes.

I think of her a lot, beautiful 40-something lady that she was, in her bigger clothes. I'm in my mid-40's now and here's the thing: I am NOT ready to buy bigger clothes (or frankly, any clothes right now...)

So I tweaked...my food diary that is.

Given that I was obsessive about following the plan and sure I wasn't cheating, I wondered if perhaps I wasn't consuming enough calories.

Scary, but I increased the percentage of everything--calories, fat, protein, carbs--and watched, and waited. For a week.

And guess what?

I lost some weight. The darn wii has stopped being so snarky and for the first time in six months or so, my bmi is in the "normal" range. Just barely. But it's worth celebrating.

So here's the moral of the story: if your weight loss efforts aren't working, don't give up.

Just tweak.

And in celebration, here's a recipe I like:

Oriental Salad

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons soy sauce
cooking spray
1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted
2 tablespoons sunflower seed kernels
2 packages Ramen noodles, broken up
8 cups cabbage, shredded
2 cups carrots, shredded
1 8 ounce can mandarin oranges
2-3 grilled chicken breasts, sliced into strips

Combine first five ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Transfer to a small bowl and chill, covered.

Spray large nonstick skillet liberally with cooking spray. Add almonds, sunflower kernels, and Ramen noodles. Cook three minutes or until lightly toasted--watch carefully.

Combine cabbage and carrots, top with dressing, Ramen mixture and mandarin oranges.

Weight Loss Strategy: Keep a food diary

When I am serious about weight loss, the first thing I do is pull out my food diary. In it I track calories, fat, carbohydrates and protein. It's boring, tedious and not much fun.

But it works.

In a U.S. study that followed 1,700 overweight men and women over a 6 month period, people who kept a food journal lost twice as much weight as those who did not.

This time around I've created a little spreadsheet to do the math for me, which is a time-saver and makes it a little more bearable.

Among other things, keeping a food diary forces me to read labels. I made a little bargain with myself--I can eat whatever I want--as long as I read the label first. This means downloading nutrition information from restaurants or looking up the comparable information in a calorie counter if I've made something at home.

There are also websites that will do the calculations for you, so long as you're willing to enter all the ingredients. (Here's an example.) This was a very sobering exercise when I once calculated the calorie, fat and carb content of my Caramel Cookie Oatmeal Bars.

Keeping a food diary works best in conjunction with regular exercise, another thing I sometimes find to be boring, tedious, and not much fun. However, when I think of the alternative: obesity, chronic health problems and pain...exercise becomes the lesser of the evils.

Here's a simple and good recipe:

Chicken Wraps (Makes 2)

Combine

• 3 ounces white meat chicken, steamed and shredded
• 1 tablespoon avocado, finely chopped
• Sprinkle of low-fat cheese, shredded
• Salsa to taste
• Cilantro!

and spread on 2 small Mission Carb Balance tortillas.

Nutrition info (doesn't include salsa):
Calories: 307
Carbs: 26
Fat: 6.5 g
Protein: 35 g.

If you give a mouse a cookie...

I've been looking for studies about bed-making and productivity. It's just a little theory I have and I can't find one piece of empirical research to back it up, but I think people who make their beds every morning might be more productive.

For me it's about momentum. Something about that made bed gives me a feeling of satisfaction. Of getting at least one thing accomplished, something that won't be undone (as opposed to cleaning the kitchen) within just a few minutes.

It's like giving the mouse a cookie...the glass of milk follows. And so on and so on. That made bed inspires me to put away a load of laundry. Which inspires me to clean my closet which inspires me to drag on my yoga pants which inspires me to get my bike out (no, wait, that's the sun).

But you get the picture.

In my weight loss journey, I'm learning that momentum is everything. And for me that begins with making the bed.

The Big Weight Loss Challenge

Okay, so week one is coming to a close. In honor of 5 full days of not cheating, here are my secret weight loss weapons:

1. Cilantro-Michael puts barbecue sauce (Sweet Baby Ray's) on EVERYthing, but my choice is fresh cilantro, hands down. It makes just about everything taste better.
2. Fat Free Cool Whip-This week I froze individual portions of Trader Joe's Plain yogurt. Before work I added a tablespoon of Cool Whip. By the time I'm ready to eat it for a snack it's just-enough thawed and almost tastes like ice cream. I also like adding fat-free Cool Whip to other things to make it go further such as...
3. Culver's Lemon Ice-One of my favorite treats in all the land is Culver's frozen custard + Heath bars. For obvious reasons, not a good snack choice (download nutrition information before you eat it if you're not convinced). This week I discovered their Lemon Ice and it's no frozen custard, but it's very satisfying and delicious.

4. The Panini Maker-Low cal bread + thin sliced meat + 1/2 slice swiss cheese + 1 tablespoon avocado, mashed= a pretty darn good sandwich. Especially if you cut the cheese in little pieces. The meltiness makes it seem like you're eating more than you actually are.
5. Wii Fit-Aside from its being a little snarky (wow, Mom, it's been 7 days since you last worked out...been busy lately?) I like tracking my weight on the wii fit and I like doing the yoga and "strength" training exercises. I also like, "If you feel unsteady, don't be afraid to lean on objects or people to help you." Good advice.
6. Dr. Joe-his plan really works and his aforementioned oatmeal starts my day out right.
7. My Excel Spreadsheet-I made this up to keep track of my calories, fat, carbs and protein. It does math for me and I can cut and paste things I've eaten in days' past. It gives me a sense of accomplishment to see all the day tabs lined up across the bottom.
8. Chamomile and Lavender tea-I have this in the evening before bed and it makes me feel cozy. And also get up in the night to go to the bathroom.

9. Planning ahead-most of my eating disasters come from allowing myself to get too hungry and not planning ahead. Planning meals and snacks and taking food to work with me helps prevent this from happening.

Sighing heavily

Sigh. Just so you know, there are two things I can't do when I'm depressed.

1. make my bed
2. blog

Fortunately, neither of these things generates income. It's been a long few weeks, and I can count the number of days of my mid-winter slump based on when I last posted on SMC. Today the sun is shining, and I doubt it's warm, but the sunshine and blue skies are definitely a step in the right direction.

Now that I'm climbing out of the pit, I have an announcement to make: I'm losing weight.

I mean, I'm not currently in the process of losing weight, but one way or another, in the next few months, I'm going to shed some pounds. A little over four years ago I lost about 20 and dang it if those and maybe a few more haven't crept back on.

I'm a stress eater and definitely a little stress x 3 years in my corner of the world.

But no more.

SO...although I reserve the right to change my mind at any time, I've decided to chronicle my weight loss journey on SMC. In the months that follow, I hope to be sharing recipes, tips and tricks for feeding a busy family AND losing weight.

No small feat.

Today I'm sharing my magical Power Oatmeal, compliments of my sister and Dr. Joe. It looks like baby food, but if you close your eyes you can pretend it's fruit cobbler. When I am in weight loss mode I eat it for breakfast every single stinking morning. When I am not in weight loss mode, I eat it to help maintain my weight. Three years ago I quit eating it consistently, and I can't help but wonder....

Anyhoo, here it is:

1/4 cup quick-cook oatmeal
1 cup mixed frozen berries
a little water

Microwave this on high for 1 minute. Stir, and microwave for 1 more minute. Add one scoop protein powder. I like Body Fortress Vanilla. All the others I've tried generally go stale and end up in the garbage.

And here is my weight loss tip of the day: make your bed.