January 2007 Archives

At 4 Weight Watchers points per 6oz container Stonyfield Farm Whole Milk Yogurt with Cream on Top (French Vanilla flavor) is totally decadent and indulgent and totally worth it. Like the name says it's whole milk yogurt with a nice layer of cream on top. This makes it super sweet and creamy. It makes a really nice evening snack, it's thick and creamy and a nice change from say light ice cream. My favorite way to eat it though is for breakfast with a nice, ripe banana. I like to dip the banana in the yogurt. It's a fantastic 6 point breakfast that covers a serving of dairy and a serving of fruit. Very recommended.

I've lost 67 pounds since August. I've still got a lot I need and want to lose but 67 pounds is a pretty sizable number & it's made a pretty significant difference in the way I look and feel. When people who haven't seen me in a while start to comment on my weight loss I really try to change the subject. I'm not sure why, but I'm really not comfortable discussing it in person. I think perhaps because this is primarily about health for me and not appearance whereas I think most of the people commenting have the opposite focus. It's all about how I look and not about how I feel. One exception to this is my mother who frequently says "I know you just feel great don't you?" and I answer truthfully that yes, yes I do feel great.

If I can't change the subject the conversation usually takes a well-worn path. First it's the "how have you lost so much weight route?" to which I respond I eat well, exercise regularly and try have a healthy lifestyle. That doesn't satisfy many people. It's all I've got though so eventually they give up. Until it's time to eat. Then comments come out about how oh they bet I don't eat this or that and how they could never give up such and such and how food x is their absolute weakness. Again, I don't have any real response to this so I just eat whatever it is I want to eat and move on.

I've been thinking about these conversations a lot though. I've also thought about two pieces of writing that were very helpful and inspiring to me when I was making the decision to actively start losing weight and transitioning to a more healthy lifestyle. These pieces are Lance Arthur's Fat Headed and Ariel Starling's Fat is a Feminist Issue. I've decided (partially based on emails I've received) that perhaps some more detailed and personal answer from me about what I'm doing will be helpful to someone else at some point. So I gave it some thought and here is what I came up with.

I think about what I'm putting into my body and what I'm going to do with my body every single day.

I very rarely thought about those two things before I started on this path. At least not consistently and at the same time. Now I know what I'm going to eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks when I get up in the morning. Or if I don't know, before I eat a meal I put that meal into context for the rest of my day. If I really want Food X for lunch I'll think about what I had for breakfast and what I'm planning to have for dinner to figure out how to fit that food into my eating plan for the day. I say again, I never eat anything without putting it into the context of my day or more directly, I never eat anything without thinking about it first. I'm also conscious of how many fruits, vegetables, dairy products and ounces of water I consume each day. Previously I never thought about how many fruits and veggies I was eating. Now I try very hard to eat 5 servings of fruits and vegetables every day and succeed probably 85% of the time. I try to get 2-3 servings of dairy each day and succeed 95% of the time and try to drink water all day long (60 ounces or so) and succeed probably 90% of the time. I also haven't had a real Coke since July. Coke Zero is my friend. Not my best friend or true love but it's a pretty good pal. I still bake and make sweet and yummy treats but mostly I make good choices. I say thrice, I put whatever it is I make and want to eat into the context of the rest of my day. Cooking Light is my friend. Some recent dishes I've made that have been wonderful and that I've enjoyed without guilt, issue or halting my weight loss progress include chocolate cupcakes with peppermint icing, chocolate truffles (very fun to make), spinach and artichoke dip, mini bacon Parmesan frittatas, butternut squash casoulet and a really excellent blueberry coffee cake. A few nights ago I had cheap Chinese food for dinner. I do that probably once a month. I have a pizza once every few weeks and have a nice steak dinner once every 6 or 8 weeks. When I eat out for lunch (maybe twice a week) I eat Subway most of the time. That's because I know the nutritional information of their offerings and I can eat vegetables in a form I really enjoy, namely on a turkey sandwich. I can't remember the last time I had more traditional fast food (McDonald's, Wendy's, etc) and I don't miss it. If I were to really get a craving for fast food it would be fine. I'd fit it into my eating plan for the day and move on. When I eat out at restaurants I do my best to estimate the Weight Watchers points for what I'm eating. I try to be pretty conservative and round up, just to cover my bases. I've done this as very nice restaurants where I'm having roast duck and roasted root vegetables with goat cheese and my favorite tavern where I'm having a burger and steak fries. It's never failed me yet. I don't feel like I have to live and eat in a cave. I have a handle on what's good for my body and what isn't so great. I don't eat burgers every day or even every week but when I really want one I can have one and it's A-OK.

I exercise almost every single day in some capacity. Three days a week that means 30 minutes on the treadmill plus 30 minutes of strength training. A couple days a week I do 30 minutes on the treadmill and run around the basketball court like an idiot doing dribbling drills, jump shots, wind sprints and free throws. In addition, weather permitting, I walk two miles every day with my dog and 2-4 miles a day on the weekends. I do these things whether I want to or not. I've come to understand that exercise has to be as much a part of my life as brushing my teeth and watching Veronica Mars on Tuesday nights. That is to say, it's totally automatic and totally not optional.

So yes, I think about food and exercise a lot. But I was thinking about food and exercise just as much before I changed my lifestyle. Back then it was in terms of guilt or depression or tiredness or general lack of energy. I know that I feel much better when I'm eating well and exercising so I want to do those things. It's a rewarding cycle. Do good things, feel better. Feel better, want to do more good things.

So that's what I do. It isn't rocket science of course but reading other people's thoughts when they started a similar path was very helpful to me. If what I do is helpful to someone someday then it was well worth putting it in to writing.