Resources for healthful eating

This tiny book contains a wealth of helpful hints for weight control.

 As I’ve journeyed through the struggles of weight loss and am hanging tenaciously to maintenance, I’ve picked up some of my favorite reads to peruse again for support and encouragement.

Found in a local thrift story, “Dieting in Real Life: 101 Tips and Inspiration for a Healthier You”, by Ellen Sanna, quickly came one of my prime resources. I kept it by my bed, so I could read one or two of the author’s 101 tips daily. The book, about the size of my hand, contains much wisdom and knowledge (both spiritual and secular) condensed into quick-to-read topics. It is divided into five sections: Changing our attitudes, Changing our eating habits, Curbing our desires, Spending more calories, Dieting and our emotions.

Related quotes add emphasis and clarity, and data from pertinent studies and accepted nutritional data help readers make appropriate lifestyle modifications. She introduces each tip with a sentence overview, and then adds a paragraph or two of details. Here are a few of her intros:

• “Keep your hunger from becoming overwhelming by eating small meals and snacks evenly distributed throughout the day.”
• “Stop focusing only on your weight; focus on the rest of what life has to offer.”
• “See your body as a valuable tool God has entrusted to you.”
• “Only eat when you’re hungry, and stop eating when you’re full.”
• “Don’t cut breakfast.”
• “Keep a journal of what you eat.”
• “Pray before you eat.”
• “Don’t clean your plate.”
• “The next time you are tempted to binge, imagine that someone you respect is watching you.”
• Exercise when you get the urge to eat.”
• “Don’t waste time feeling guilty.”

If you are interested in purchasing this book, which was written in 2003, you’ll probably have to check some place like eBay or Amazon. However, it’ll be well worth the effort to track down!

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Visuals help!

Are you a visual learner? Sometimes, what we see has more of an impact that what we read. Case in point: After almost two months of not eating as well as I should and not exercising as much as I had been, my weight has incrementally crept up a few pounds above my goal. After working so hard to reach my goal, I’m back on track…the walking track, among other calorie-burning workouts! Another track I plan to implement again is the food-tracker. Knowing if it goes in my mouth, it goes on my chart makes me better able to say “no” to less-than-the-best choices.

Now, back to the visuals: For Christmas, I bought myself a pair of five-pound weights. They are pretty diminutive to look at, but when I pick them up, I have to brace my arms and shoulders for the extra stress. And just that ten pounds puts extra pressure on my legs as well. But another visual today really hit home. Our local store had ground chuck on sale, and as I looked at the “family packs”, most of which were three pounds or more, I saw a lumpy glop of meat about the size of what I’ve regained. Visualizing that on my backside has helped steel my resolve.

If you’re carrying excess weight, it may help to get some visuals in your mind; not only what you need or want to lose, but of smaller weights as well. Next time you’re shopping, pick up a five-pound roast or a ten-pound sack of sugar. Feel the weight in your hands. Then set a short-term goal to lose that five or ten pounds. Later, as you handle the comparable object again, you will be excited and encouraged that,  just as you can put down that bag of sugar, you’ve put off that much weight!

I hope you’ll join me in looking  forward to (and planning for)  a new year of becoming healthier, not only physically, but mentally, spiritually and emotionally. More to come on these thoughts in upcoming days!

Eating at MacGreasy King with friends

 A contributor on Sparkpeople.com mentioned it was hard going to eat out with friends; she either felt intimidated by their comments when she made healthy choices, or she ended up over-indulging. As I mulled over her thoughts, I began to write down these responses one can make. We know our friends and family, so we realize which ones we can get by with, but if said with a smile and a twinkle in the eye, I think they’d be well-accepted!

•  “I’ve decided to turn over a new leaf, a lettuce leaf.”
• “I’ve made a plan to only eat fried or fatty food on days of the week that don’t have a ‘Y’ in them.”
• “As an American citizen, I’ve decided it’s my patriotic duty to do my part to help stave off the burgeoning health-care crisis.”
• After hearing a comment on your choices, pretend to look around. When others ask what you’re looking for, say, “Oh, I was searching for your Food Police badge; it must have slipped off.”
• “Well, I recently noticed a tag on my birthday suit; it said: Limit of one per customer, no exchanges permitted, so I thought I’d better engage in some quality control measures.”
• “My lily-white cellulite has become quite a fright.”
• And for those who follow biblical principles: “Scripture says that my body is the ‘temple of the Holy Spirit’, and as such, I’m choosing to treat it with the respect and care God desires.”

 Do you have any favorite responses?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The crawling swimmer – what an inspiration!

Went with my husband to the YMCA this evening; he hit the pool while I was doing my thing in the gym. When I came to the pool area, showered off my sweat and donned my bathing suit, he was in the whirlpool, but got out to swim again with me.

While catching my breath between laps, I noticed a very overweight middle-aged guy on hands and knees, crawling across the concrete surrounding the pool. Determined not to stare, I swam another lap. As I got back, I noticed he was reaching up and opening a certain door, through which he disappeared.

“Wonder what that was all about?” I asked my husband. He said the man didn’t have good use of his legs. He had seen him crawl out of the room (obviously a specially-equipped dressing area) and laboriously make his way to the end of the pool, where the life guard helped him with a special seat that lowered the man into the water. Once in the pool, he was able to do a form of swimming unassisted.

Chlorinated water was dripping from my wet head, but that wasn’t what burned hot in my eyes at that moment. I realized I was getting a great visual of someone who was going all out – doing whatever it took (no matter how little that may seem to others) – to get as fit as possible. The next time I want to whine (externally or internally) about what’s involved in my fitness routine, I hope this man’s “just do it” determination will quickly come to mind, giving me the needed impetus to follow his powerful example.

Just some thoughts from Slimvictory:)

Planning a healthier Easter basket

Great news…you can assist the Easter Bunny this year! Just a little creative planning  can change a traditionally sugar-charged holiday into a healthier one.  Check my blog (written for my Sparkpeople.com page) below for some ideas, and then add your own.

http://www.sparkpeople.com/mypage_public_journal.asp?id=JUSFOLK.

Smiles from Slimvictory:)

Eye-foolery

Simple tricks can help us eat less. Here’s a blog I published about the topic on my Sparkpeople.com page. If you’ve never checked out Sparkpeople, I highly recommend it – the nutrition/weight-loss/healthy-lifestyle tools are incredible!

Smiles from Slimvictory!

http://www.sparkpeople.com/mypage_public_journal.asp?id=JUSFOLK.

How to NOT Talk About Someone’s Weight Loss

Below, you’ll see a link to a blog written by a fellow WordPress blogger, “Goodbye, Mr. 300″. I thought it was so incredibly well-written, I had to share it with you. Whether you are trying to lose weight, are a maintainer, or are just watching from the sidelines, I think you’ll enjoy it!

Smiles from Slimvictory:)

How to NOT Talk About Someone’s Weight Loss.

Good-for-you oatmeal pancakes

This magazine recipe caught my eye. With only 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, I wasn’t sure it’d be tasty, but, with its oatmeal base,  it certainly looked healthy. With a touch of cinnamon and just one tablespoon of sugar divided among eight pancakes, it’s a winner in my book. Next time, I’m going to double the recipe to have some to freeze.

Oatmeal Pancakes

• 1 cup quick-cooking oats*
• 1 cup low-fat buttermilk 
• 1 egg
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• ½ tsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp. baking soda
• ⅛ tsp. cinnamon
• 1 Tbsp. canola oil

Mix oats and buttermilk together; refrigerate overnight (*I used old-fashioned oats and they did fine). Stir in remaining ingredients and blend well, adding more milk or water if needed for proper consistency. Spoon by ¼-cupfuls onto hot griddle. Cook until bubbles begin to break, flip and cook until golden brown. Makes about 8 pancakes. (For food-journaling purposes, I’d say three of these pancakes would count as two breads and 1/2 milk).

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When does 100 equal 10? (small changes matter)

You never know when you’re going to hear a brief tidbit of info that can be of significant importance. Recently, our local YMCA offered a program on healthy lifestyles with a focus on weight loss. As the dietician shared, I wrote down her info, much of which I already knew. One thing, however, stood out.

If we are overweight, most of us want to lose it quickly without much being required in the way of change, right? But if we’re honest, we could probably look back and see that our weight gain didn’t happen over a three-month period, or even a year’s time. You might notice that you added ten pounds every year or two, which didn’t make a noticeable change because it was so gradual (“Hmmm, these old pants are out of style anyway, I’ll go find some new ones that fit better”). Years ago, I came across a couple of my maternity outfits, and decided to try them on. To my chagrin, I couldn’t even zip up the back of the dress, and the pants wouldn’t fit over my thighs!

Ten pounds annually over a four to  five-year period…the simple math shows that to be a noticeable weight gain. But the truth is (as the dietician pointed out), we can easily lose ten pounds a year without any significant lifestyle change. How is that possible? Two ways: Cut 100 calories a day out of your food consumption or burn 100 extra calories daily through exercise (depending on your current weight that could be as little as a 15-minute walk at a decent pace).

100 calories is just about nothing! Serving sizes and calorie counts vary by brand, but here’s a rough estimate of items that are about 100 calories each: a piece of toast with spread, eight ounces of regular soft drink, ¾ ounce of a chocolate candy bar, two hot wings, ¼ cup ice cream, or (gasp!) ⅓ of a slice of pepperoni pizza.

So, since 3,500 calories equals a pound, if we do the math, subtracting this amount from our daily calorie intake will allow us to lose around 10 pounds in a year, or…adding these extra calories daily will make the scale show a 10 pound increase this time next year (and the next…). Just a little bit of time learning about calorie counts of your favorite foods can help you make wise decisions that’ll whittle the waistline; an easy-to-navigate site I often use is www.calorieking.com.  What choices will you choose to implement this week?

Note from Slimvictory: if you’d like to receive new articles as they post, you can subscribe on my homepage. Your comments are welcome and appreciated.

LIGHT food on A&E show “HEAVY”?

As many of you are surely doing, I again tuned in for “Heavy” on A&E last week. Reasons for being overweight run the gamut, but it boils down to regularly overeating and/or eating too much of the wrong variety of foods.

Well, I’ve been waiting to see participants actually sit down to a meal, and on this latest show, it finally happened. After pushing themselves to the limit with gym exercises, walking and swimming, the featured guy and gal sat down to a spartan  dinner.  We were just given a quick glance at the plates, but the discouraged expression on the faces of the two diners was certainly evident. A glimpse at the meal showed what looked to be an average-size bowl of greens-based salad, about a half-cup scoop of  something I’m assuming was a protein source or possibly a protein/grain combo, a tiny serving of vegetables, and a drink. Perhaps this was not the whole meal, but that’s all viewers were shown. (One of the elite spa’s employees did mention that participants’ daily calorie quota ranged between 1200 and 1800 calories, which is certainly a reasonable amount for those wanting to lose weight.) 

But from my perspective, those who see this kind of meal, and think such a strict regimen is what is required to rid themselves of excess poundage are being given an unrealistic model.  My calorie goal is 1400 daily, and my lightest meal of most any day is around 350 calories, which, well-planned, provides me nourishment and satiety for a few hours. Here’s an example of two meals that add up to around 750 to 800 calories, leaving around 600 calories for the other meal and a couple of snacks:  Breakfast - 2/3 cup oatmeal, 1 slice 50-calorie whole wheat toast, 2 tsp. vegetable-oil spread and a bit of jelly, 1 cup 1% milk, coffee, and a piece of small fruit. Lunch - about 3-ounces lean protein, 1 fat serving, 2 non-starchy veggies (half-cup servings), 1 to 2 grain/starch servings and a fruit.

It has been exciting and impressive to see the results and changes in both weight and attitude in “Heavy” participants at the end of 6 months, but the process being a role model on how weight loss is done wouldn’t be one that’d draw many devotees. I’m hoping, on future shows, to see meals that would give encouragement to the everyday Joe or Joni, that calorie-reduction does not have to equal deprivation.

Surely one of the program’s goals is to see participants lose as much as possible in the 6-month time frame. However, for those who – armed with knives and forks - are doing daily battle in kitchens and cafeterias across the country, there is hope: by eating wisely and healthfully, and exercising most days, a person could realistically expect to shed around two pounds a week (over 50 pounds in six months, which is a great accomplishment), and provide a LIFESTYLE one could live with. Your thoughts?

 (A note from Slimvictory: if you’d like to receive new articles as they post, please sign up on my home page. Your comments are welcome and appreciated.)