Category Archives: food

My food philosophy

I wanted to talk a little bit about my food philosophy now. I do blog about food a lot and thought I would share what drives what I eat and how I view it.

1. First and foremost, I have to like the food I am eating and that food has to be good. If I were to have to eat dry toast, plain egg whites, lettuce and sugar free jello, I just would not be happy. (Not knocking anyone who loves these, it’s just not me). Yes, the scale would probably plummet down, but I would be miserable. I figure if the food I eat is satisfying to my taste buds, it will be satisfying to my mind. That means if I want a cookie, it’s the best *one* I can find, not a whole sleeve of Oreos to try to satisfy a craving. You really only get so much food in a day, so make it worth eating.

2. I don’t consider anything off-limits. Now, that doesn’t mean that I am going to eat a pound of chocolate a day or dive face first into cookies (although that has happened before), but I never tell myself that I cannot have something ever again. That is a sure-fire way to send me on a binge of said item. What I do is to give foods a nutrient cost, so to speak. More fat/calories gives the food a higher cost. So if you think of your daily foods as a bank balance, if you have a higher weight item, then the other items need to be of a lower cost (ie lean proteins, fruits, veggies, etc) to balance out. I think this way over a longer period as well. So, if I know we are going out for dinner one night, that means I need to rein it in a little bit a couple of days prior. This eliminates the guilt factor. This reason is why you see me eat bagels a couple times a week. I love them, I plan for them, I enjoy them. Yes, this requires thinking about food, but mindless eating got me up to 250 pounds.

3. I know where my food comes from. I am not a vegetarian, and am really not interested in becoming one (although I had thought about it for a while). However, I do care how the meat I consume is processed and raised. So, we purchase our meat locally from small farmers. We are pretty lucky that we are able to do this here and have a wide variety of products to choose from. It does make eating out a little difficult at times, but we do try to stick to those principles. There are other things we try to get locally, or at least make sure it is from the US. It’s apple time, but interestingly enough – a lot of apples in our store (Pink Ladies) come from New Zealand. ???? So we do a lot of label reading, even on produce.

4. Never feel guilty about eating. Ever. Foods are not inherently good or bad. Food does not have morals. It doesn’t judge you on how much you eat of it. We do that all by ourselves. I have those days where I eat more than I should of those costly nutrient foods, but you know what? There is always the next meal to be back on track again. I think it is worse to beat yourself up about it because then it makes what you ate not worth it (see #1), which compounds the problem.

Following these guidelines for me has helped me keep off over 100 pounds for more than a year and still enjoy food, because it really is worth enjoying!

I don’t know if you need to have a personal philosophy about food, but it really wouldn’t hurt you to take a hard look at why you eat what you do.

Not a good eating day

Yesterday I overworked it. After the 5K, we ended up riding bikes (DH wanted to go). So we rode for 1.5 hours. My legs were soooooooooo tired last night, and so was I!
Slept like a log.

So today, I ended up eating lunch out and had some onion rings, and some chips with my sandwich. Not the most on plan lunch. I am not used to this type of food and really don’t want any dinner tonight. Probably just something light, or some fruit.

If I gain this week, at least I can’t blame it on being on a plateau!

I do have some news toys to play with: free weights! My parents are moving up here, and brought up the free weights and a somewhat rickety bench up here, since they were going to get rid of them. This way I can do some exercises that I can’t do on the bowflex. I probably won’t use that bench, but the weights I am really excited about! I am working on a new routine at http://trainwithmeonline.com

It's Friday!

Yay!! The weekend is here!! I so look forward to the long bike rides with DH, and we are going to the farmer’s market tomorrow. Love that.

Doing really well on plan. I am surprised because my new tenants are driving me nuts and they just moved in! Constantly calling with questions like “How big are the windows?”. Well, gee – why don’t you measure them???
Or, this one today “I need to hide the anniversary cake from my husband, can we store it in your fridge for the weekend?”. No, not a good idea. I don’t think they get it. I am their landlord, not their friend. It has to be a business relationship, and that is it. They are nice and all – but it just has to be that way. Don’t want to open up any doors that would lead to them trying to take advantage of me. Sigh…. only 2 years to go LOL! Not gonna make me eat, though!

Today I jogged 2.5 miles in 37 minutes. Getting pretty consistent at that. Also walked a mile later, and then a short bike ride. Plus did upper body bowflex. My legs are tired.

Today’s stats:
Calorie goal: 1,400 • Consumed: 1,435 • Burned: 498
Net calories: 937
C/P/F ratio: 49/26/25 (yay me!!)

It's the weekend!

Yay! Friday! Glad to have the weekend with no construction going on outside the house! Most of our front yard was dug up this week. I was getting ready to yell holy hell at them, thought they had their machinery on my garden bed, but they were just right along side it. It’s a nice sight to see a back hoe sitting in your front lawn.

Anyway – started C25K Week 5 today. That was three 5 minute runs. I could do it with no problem! Probably by the end of May I will be able to do pretty close to the whole 5K, I think.
I am a bit worried about the 20 minute run, which will take place Tuesday or Wednesday.

Today’s Menu
Calorie goal: 1,350 • Consumed: 1,297 • Burned: 284
Net calories: 1,013
C/P/F ratio: 42/31/27

Brekkie:
Fage yogurt
granola
strawberries
honey
coffee with milk

Lunch:
Boca burger
Zone Double dark chocolate bar

Snack:
1/3 oz cashews
1% latte

Dinner

London broil
steamed broccoli
applesauce
soy chips

Snack
coffee with milk

Happy St Patty's Day!

Made a special dinner for St Patty’s day. Did shepherd’s pie, but a healthy version, using ground turkey, very little oil. The mashed potatoes on top were made with chicken broth instead of milk and no butter. I did add one egg yolk to help the potatoes brown under the broiler. Very good – and came in at 300 calories for a good size portion.

Not expecting too much for weight loss this week. I have lost for the last few weeks in a row, and generally I have a stall after that happens. But, who knows?!

Ended up getting extra exercise today, I did Hard Core Fusion from the Firm, then went for a walk downtown. Extra 30 minutes of exercise, guess I could have had a free ice cream cone that they were giving away at Stewarts! (But I passed 🙂 )

My own food today, tomorrow will be a nutrisystem day. If I continue to lose, I might switch over to 3 days a week of NS instead of every other day next month.

Fage yogurt

I tried greek style yogurt today. It was soooo good! Better tasting, creamier, fluffier than regular yogurt.
For breakfast I ate:

1/2 cup Fage 2% plain mixed with 1 tsp of cinnamon honey.
Stirred in 1 cup of chopped strawberries and 1/2 cup of Organic hemp granola (Nature’s Path). (aprox a 260 calorie breakfast)

I think I could eat this every day!

Dusted off my Slim in 6 dvds today for something different. Went right to Ramp it Up. I am used to doing lunges and squats from the Firm, but I definitely feel a little sore tonight. Bet I will really feel it tomorrow!

Met my sister for coffee tonight, and rather than be tempted by the sweet stuff there, I brought along my soy chips snack and had that with coffee. Very proud of myself!

Tomorrow is weigh in day!

Been busy, just about finished with my rehab house. Boy – that will burn the calories, I tell you!

Stuck to my plan really well since the beginning of the year.
Todays food:
1% Milk
Orange juice, freshly squeezed 1/4 cup
NS Apple Struedel Scone
Tuna – Lemon Pepper 2oz
NS Chocolate peanut butter bar
1/2 Zone Chocolate Peanut Butter bar
2 clementines
10 grams Cashew nuts, roasted (assume salted)
1 cup Broccoli,
NS Mac and Cheese
Applesauce 1/2 cup
NS Chocolate Peanut butter dessert
Milk skim 1/2 cup with coffee

Totals Cal 1326 Fat grams 36 carbs 181 protein 85