Food Rules by Michael Pollan

I just finished Michael Pollan's Food Rules for the second time.  I also read The Omnivore's Dilemma several months ago.   I really like the concepts that he presents in the book - eating natural, clean, whole foods.  

I'm not giving up the structure of WW just yet - but I am starting to incorporate the following "policies" into my food decisions.  These are less about following a diet (like WW) and more about choosing to eat differently as a lifestyle choice.  

And that feels like a much better way to approach my weight right now. (Especially considering hopeful/impending pregnancy as part of 2011)

 The basic summary is: Eat Food.  Not too much.  Mostly Plants.  These concepts are explained in detail in the Omnivore's Dilemma.  In Food Rules, he collects different ways of saying basically the same thing - so that you can choose the policies that feel right to you. Here's what spoke to me.  (The top 3-4 in each category)

Eat Food

First 3 ingredients: No form of sugar

No HFCS

Don't eat anything your grandmother wouldn't recognize as food

Avoid food pretending to be something its not (margarine)

Not too much

Put fork down between bites

Sit down during meals at the table

Eat until 75% full

Mostly Plants

Snacks – Fruit/Veggies only

Yogurt daily

4-6 oz of meat daily

Whole wheat grain products (bread, pasta, rice)

Weight Loss

I decided to start the new WW program.  I am using their 7 day online free trial right now and I'm planning to buy a points calculator and an "essential member kit" and then just do it alone.  Its a new program that I think will be very good for me based on what I've read of it. I'm pretty excited about it.

Today is Day 3.  Sort of.  I haven't really changed what I'm eating, but I have been tracking.  I planned to get back into yoga this week, but its Friday and I still haven't. Maybe next week.

So um, so far I haven't made any changes, except I'm learning the points values of things again and starting to make better/healthier choices. I still ate too much chocolate today, but soon I'll get into a better place with that.

I am drinking water again, so that's good.  I bought some Bach Flower Remedies that I'm adding to my water which is a bigger push to drink for me.

Wednesday = Weigh In

I stayed the same this week.  All in all, that's OK with me.

With Halloween and the extra sweets that brought, plus a couple of days of eating too much cereal for a snack... I'm pretty happy that I simply maintained, rather than loosing ground by gaining. 

I only woke up early for yoga once.  Definitely a slew of poor decisions there, just didn't make a priority to get to bed early enough to make it up for than 6:30 a.m. wake up call.

This coming week I'm extending my hours in the morning for a family in a bind.  The kids are arriving between 6:30 a.m. and 7:00 a.m.  That means that for yoga - I have to wake up (at least!) at 6:00 a.m., to be finished and ready to greet them at 6:30 a.m. Hopefully my husband and I can work out some agreements on that, so it doesn't have to be any earlier than 6:00 a.m.  I'll be heading to bed most nights around 9 p.m. at this rate. 

Wednesday Weigh In

A day late... oops.  I've been, um, sidetracked this week. 

I lost 1.5 pounds this week, for a total of 3.5.  Seems silly to celebrate - but perhaps I ought to celebrate the healthier habits and the more conscious eating that I've been working towards.

From here forward however, I won't be counting points.  I'm going to work on clean eating, much like WW Core foods.  However, with WW Core there is a strong push towards fat free dairy, and sugar substitutes - which I won't be consuming.

I'll be focusing on whole, clean, unprocessed foods as much as possible.  With a little Frosted Mini-Wheats thrown in for sanity.

Wednesday = Weigh In Day

Official Week One Results - 2 pounds lost.

I'm OK with it.  Not thrilled, I feel like I could have done a lot better.  Usually week one yields such a high loss.

But I did make better choices eating, drinking water and did yoga 4 out of 5 mornings.  Those are all good behaviors that I'd like to turn into habits.

I had a few times this week that I overate - knowing that I was overeating.  Overindulgence is what got me to the weight that I'm at now - so its not a behavior that I'd like to continue.  I'm going to work a lot more consciously at stopping when I'm full/satisfied and only eating when I'm hungry. 

 

 I'm going to continue to drink lots of water. We just bought an under the sink water osmosis filter, I've wanted one since I worked at Mary's house in Hurricane.  They had one and I loved the water.   So... lots of water next week.

And I'm going to continue to wake up early for yoga daily.  I'm feeling a lot more energy in general, which is a really fantastic plus.   I've been doing podcasts from a new yoga teacher - Dave Farmar.  He brings so much lightness and fun into what can turn into such a serious practice.  Makes the time fly by - -- except for when he leaves us in utkatasana (chair pose) for 3 or 4 minutes. 

 

Wednesday = Weigh In Day

Yep, I've started again.  With the weight loss thing.  I know, its the one millionth time. Believe me, I get it.

No, I'm not posting my weight.  Just what I've lost each week.  But, uh starting next week - obviously because... as of today, I've been following the WW points plan for 3 days... Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

I just keep telling myself that the worst part is over.  The first 3 days are always the damn hardest.

Change vs. Comfortability

I read this quote a few days ago on facebook.

Nothing can change when you are comfortable because comfort implies familiarity and the absence of change! But, when did anyone say that uncomfortable = unpleasant? Being willing to stretch beyond what is familiar to us to have something extraordinary could be called uncomfortable or it could be WILDLY EXCITING and ABOUT TIME!!

I thought it was well timed for me.  (As many of these quotes often are from this fanpage.) Its well timed because I read it as I was preparing myself for another round of WW.  I have a lot of self doubt rolling through my head over the last two days.  Before I start I'm always weighed down by thoughts of how hard its going to be, and how much work its going to be.  I question whether its worth the time and effort.   

This has got to be the 678,498,203th time that I've started WW, or something similar.  I'm sure many would argue that is the first indication that it doesn't work.  And maybe they're correct, its a possibility.  

But what I do know and know for certain - is that its worth taking that risk.  This time I'm focusing one day at a time and realizing that I can't change without being uncomfortable. This time I'm taking a risk.  I'm putting out the energy to create lasting change; not just physically but mentally, emotionally and spiritually as well.  

Today. Friday.

Barf.   I just want it to be Saturday.  And we've got a busy day.  Footprint Hearts.  Valentine's Day "Party".  (Which I might go get a Costco Pizza for... we'll see)  I might look into Dominoe's because they'd deliver. :)

Anyway, yesterday.  My plan was:

Breakfast:   Muesli (yogurt + oatmeal + fruit), coffee with skim + splenda or SF hot chocolate

Lunch: Chicken, apple & cranberry salad

Dinner: Orange Chicken with brown rice and fresh green beans.

Snacks:  Fruits; apples, oranges, bananas?  Fresh fruit salad?

Dessert:  Graham cracker + (FF cool whip + SF/FF pudding) = frozen treat

64 oz of water throughout the day.

I did pretty good.

Breakfast? Good.  The muesli was... interesting.  I made it with apples, pears and strawberries, which is all I could find.  I think it would be much much better with bananas, blueberries and strawberries.  Or something.  I'm going to eat what I made yesterday, because it was still very good.  And then next week, or later this weekend I'll make another batch.

Lunch? Good.  I did eat a single english muffin pizza, but really filled up on salad.

Dinner? Good.  I made over breaded chicken, green beans and white rice.  I didn't make the brown rice, but it was still a pretty healthy low fat dinner.

Snacks... I snacked on celery & peanut butter, so not the best choice there.  But I didn't end up eating dessert.

I didn't get any exercise.  And I drank about 32 oz of water.  Not great.

Today, I didn't exercise.  My eating plan:

Breakfast: Muesli  w/SF FF Hot Chocolate Coffee

Lunch: Chicken, Apple, Cran Salad

Snack:  Fruit and/or Veggies.  Maybe more muesli?

Dinner:  Not sure. Depends on Ian.  If I had to say right now I would say that I'd be cooking pancakes for me and the kids.  I'll rock it with lots of bananas and blueberries and light maple syrup.

No dessert after pancakes.  Just doesn't seem right.

Some New Thoughts....

The weight has been here for a long time... some since I was a kid.  Most since Cross Creek.  A bit since then, I suppose too.  Its been a long time to get fat.  While I'm doing feeling fat, done being fat, etc.  I think I'm done thinking about dieting and my constant struggle to lose weight.  I want to change my habits long term.  I want to stop focusing on the number on the scale and start focusing on my behaviors.  My emotions.  My choices.  My patterns.

So... my goals.  Here are the things that I want to be doing:

• Exercising 5 times a week


• Drinking 64 oz of water daily


• Eating only whole grains (no processed white flour)


• Eating 5+ servings of fruit and vegetables daily


• Sleeping 8 hours per night

My original thought was that I needed to start slowly.  Work up to all of this stuff... you know *not* burn out.  And I think that's somewhat true.  I'm not going from exercising basically never to exercising 5/weekly overnight.

But everything else?  I can just *DO*.

Tomorrow.... I'm up early for Gabe and its already late, but I think I'll plan to do 20 minutes of shredding anyway.  Why skip exercise?  If I go to bed now I'll get 7.5 hours of sleep.  That is plenty.

I need to commit. Pretty soon here I'm going to weigh more than Ian.

Eating Plan:

Breakfast:   Muesli (yogurt + oatmeal + fruit), coffee with skim + splenda or SF hot chocolate

Lunch: Chicken, apple & cranberry salad

Dinner: Orange Chicken with brown rice and fresh green beans.

Snacks:  Fruits; apples, oranges, bananas?  Fresh fruit salad?

Dessert:  Graham cracker + (FF cool whip + SF/FF pudding) = frozen treat

64 oz of water throughout the day.

That's my plan.  I'm checking back in tomorrow to report how much I really ate.  Maybe this bloggy blog will turn into a food journal.  Hahaha

Time for *Real* Post

Today is Day 3.

Day 3 of starting over. I'm forced to admit to myself that this get healthy effort lately is a series of starts, stops and restarts. And its disheartening. And its embarrassing. And I'm going to have to move on from this pattern.

So, today is Day 3. Tomorrow will be day 4.

I weighed in Tuesday, I gained the 3 pounds I lost a few weeks ago and .5 more. Nice, huh? Now I'm higher than my starting weight. Perfect. But again, I'll have to keep reminding myself. Today is a new day. Tomorrow is a new day. Tomorrow is day 4. Its not day 1, and I only can go up from here.

Tonight, I went for a walk with both my kids. Ethan rode his big wheel, which did not work out so well. It was loud, we couldn't hear the cars coming and he had a hard time keeping up with me. That's not good. But, we got about an hour of walk/ride in and that's good for something.

I think I'll keep up the walks, I just have to figure out a different way to get them accomplished. Pushing Emma in the stroller definitely worked. Maybe the answer is to leave Ethan at home? Force him to ride his normal bike? Exercise in the morning before they wake up? Lots of options, I'm just going to have to figure out what works best for me.

Truthfully right now, I'd love to put Emma in the mei tai, have Ethan ride his bike - walk in the morning after the babies have gotten to my house, push them in the stroller. I bought stroller connectors today, to connect two umbrella strollers together. Hopefully they work out for me and this whole scenario works out. At least until I take on more kids.

I am planning on starting a couple new challenges.... the 100 push-ups challenge, 200 squats and 200 sit-ups. Its three separate challenges with the same author/creator. They should take about ten minutes each three times a week... so 30 minutes 3x/week. That's doable and I think it will help me build more muscle and get a lot stronger. I'm looking forward to that. :) I'll post progress here, I'm sure.

Oh and I finally bit the bullet and joined Weight Watchers on Monday. I decided for a little while I'll take advantage of the online program, so I plunked down my credit card and paid. I'm hoping that in times of struggle, the money that I've spent helps me to make the best decisions available to me at the time.

Weekly Weigh In

I'm posting a 3 lb loss this week.  

And I'm super excited about it.  I weighed almost every morning until the Holiday weekend and I just wasn't losing.  I was getting pretty frustrated, I guess that's why "they" recommend that you don't weigh in everyday.  (Note to self: hint, hint)

But this morning, I realized it was Tuesday, so I stepped on the scale to show a 3 pound loss.  I was amazed and stoked. Yay! For me!

This week, I have several challenges coming up.  First, even tonight there is a birthday party.  Not with cake - with ice cream sundaes.  Oh the joy.  :)  And then Saturday, I'm flying with both kids to go visit my parents in Colorado.  I'm hoping I have a chance to get on the computer sometime Monday or Tuesday of next week to post my next week weigh in.

BBQ Ideas

I'm going to a BBQ this afternoon, last minute at best, I just found out this morning.

My game plan is simple.  Eat fruit in the car on the way over.   Its a reasonably health conscious couple, so I can't imagine the side dishes will be horrible.  But go easy.  Take one serving/small portion and leave it alone.  Then, when I'm done with my plate, pop in a piece of gum.  You know, to close the meal.

If they were allowing us to bring something, this is what I'd bring:

Mandarin Chicken Pasta Salad

• 1 teaspoon finely chopped, peeled fresh ginger
• 1/3 cup rice vinegar
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 1 (1 ounce) package dry onion soup mix
• 2 teaspoons white sugar
• 1 clove garlic, pressed
•  
• 1 (8 ounce) package bow tie (farfalle) pasta
• 1/2 cucumber - scored, halved lengthwise, seeded, and sliced
• 1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped red onion
• 2 diced Roma tomatoes
• 1 carrot, shredded
• 1 (6 ounce) bag fresh spinach
• 1 (11 ounce) can mandarin orange segments, drained
• 2 cups diced cooked chicken
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted

DIRECTIONS

1. To make the dressing, whisk together the ginger root, rice vinegar, orange juice, vegetable oil, sesame oil, soup mix, sugar, and garlic until well blended. Cover, and refrigerate until needed.
2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the bowtie pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain, and rinse under cold water. Place pasta in a large bowl.
3. To make the salad, toss the cucumber, bell pepper, onion, tomatoes, carrot, spinach, mandarin oranges, chicken, and almonds with the pasta. Pour the dressing over the salad mixture, and toss again to coat evenly. Serve immediately.

 

Hey Team Dancer:

Anyone want to become Facebook friends? My facebook badge is at the bottom the page.


It might be a fun way to keep up with each other. (If there are other facebookers out there) Just a thought!

Give A Gift Challenge Team Dancer

For the GAG Challenge, Sheila (the challenge host) assigned us teams this afternoon. I'm freakin' excited to get to know these women on the weight loss road with me.

TEAM DANCER
Nancy
Teresalyn
Erin
Aliflowergrl
Vanessa
Mandie
Lucrecia

Please, friends, stop by and say hi to these wonderful women, they'll be listed in my blog roll soon.

August Goals: Month End Recap

August Goals

1. Stick to WW points, make it a habit.

I feel like I really mastered this goal in August. Sure, I had days that I went over and some days that I was under. Overall, I feel like I made the changes that I intended to make with this goal.

2. Exercise 3/weekly each week this month.

I definitely did well with this goal, I made a huge improvement over July, without any exercise. I feel there is room for improvement in the coming month.

3. Complete "Sister Reunion" gifts.

Incomplete. I still have the month of September, so not a huge deal. I'm slightly worried that I will continue to become more and more busy with new daycare kids enrolling. But I'm sure I'll find time to do these. I decided on a much more simple project, and took 7 yards of fabric back to Joann's. (Go Me!) So I'll be hitting this one somewhat quickly, but I'm not stressing yet.

4. Sew trainers for Zach. (I think I committed to this in June)

Removed this commitment.

5. Sew Hooter Hider for my mom, for a shower gift.

Not needed, afterall.

August Goals: Week Four

A week four update...

_____________

August Goals

1. Stick to WW points, make it a habit.

I'm doing pretty good with this. I'm struggling through some days, eating poorly then wishing I hadn't. But all in all, I'm slowly moving towards much healthier eating on a daily basis.

2. Exercise 3/weekly each week this month.

Of all my goals, so far - I'm rocking this one the best. Its been yoga all the way. I love my yoga mornings. I find the whole day I have a better attitude and overall I'm happier. On the days I sleep in, I'm not so happy, I tend to have a worse day.

3. Complete "Sister Reunion" gifts.

No real sewing yet this month. This morning I finally made the time to use the embroidery applique that I bought from Little Sugar Britches via Etsy. So now, I'm feeling a whole lot more motivated.

4. Sew trainers for Zach. (I think I committed to this in June)

No, and this morning I gave the fabric, pattern and my PUlL scraps to Zach's mom. So she could sew these, because I really don't want to. And my time is becoming more precious.

5. Sew Hooter Hider for my mom, for a shower gift.

While I was prepared to sew this earlier in the month, the mom who this gift was intended for ended up delivering at 30 weeks. The baby boy is still in the NICU and its not clear whether or not breastfeeding has been, or will be established, so this gift is on hold. Because what formula feeding mom wants to receive a hooter hider as a gift, you know?

Looking forward into September, I'm struck by a few emotions that have reigned the past few days weeks. I've been overwhelmed. I've felt out of control; in general, with my life, my marriage, my kids, my days seem to drag together and run into one big pile of nothing. I've been feeling lonely. I haven't been fostering any relationships. I've let old ones die, I've let new ones die. And then I turn around and complain. Its really no bueno.

This week I'm going to continue with my WW points, yoga and I'm going to get those Sister Reunion gifts done. I'm going to take the week and choose my goals for September. I'll be thinking about how I can best move forward, how I can best serve myself and my family.

Healthy You Challenge: Week 2

I'm hanging in there.

Well, maybe I deserve more credit. I'm rockin' my exercise goals - yoga 4 mornings this week... and I've stuck to my WW points everyday. And I'm getting in AT LEAST four serving of fruits and veggies a day. I know its not ideal, but its not like I'm eating processed garbage, I'm eating really clean, whole, natural foods. So, I've done better with my water in the past. But I really stepped it up the past few days, I've downed more than 64 ounces each day. Really, I've hit closer to 70 ounces for the last two days.

But I'm hanging in there on the scale. No loss for me this week. Not a single measy half pound. Nothing.

I do have an extra visitor hanging around as of yesterday: Miss Aunt Flow. I could blame her on my non-loss for the week.

Or, I could just keep drinking water, hitting the yoga mat and eating well. And consider having had an awesome week - regardless of the scale reading.

Yesterday wasn't great

And I didn't weigh in this morning because of it.  Well, I normally weigh in everyday, so its not that big of a deal.  But I decided that I refuse to have a bad day today because my scale reading is higher this morning.

Anyway, I have some confessions to make.  Mostly to myself, but you know...

1. My kids do not like cereal. 

2.  When I buy cereal "for the kids", its for me.

3.  Cereal of any variety is a huge red light food for me.  I can't seem to handle normal amounts of cereal. 

4.  I eat it when I'm not hungry and when I am.  When I am hungry, cereal does nothing for my hunger.

5.  I'm not buying more cereal for quite some time.  I'm the only one that wants it around, and frankly I don't need it around.  I should be eating more protein in the morning... and not late night snacking.  If its midnight and I'm hungry, it should be cue to go to bed.



This morning, I'm feeling resolved to lay off the cereal.  I'm also feeling pretty good that instead of feeling super sorry for myself, I stepped back and learned.  Actually looked at my choices and how they impact me, my health, my weight loss and my self esteem.

Today will be a great day.  I'm doing bracelets with the kids.  I am thinking that I'll be making a couple of WW points bracelets.

I did yoga yesterday morning and I'm a little sore in the shoulders from the chaturangas in my sun salutations.  I thought the kids that I am supposed to watch today would be here around 8 a.m., but it will really be 10 a.m., so maybe I can get some more yoga or a walk in before they get here.  I have to eat breakfast pretty quick, I'm getting really hungry.

Healthy You Challenge Week One

Well, here I am. I'm starting this challenge a week into actually starting WW again. I'm also planning on the "Give A Gift" (GAG) Challenge starting September 1st. That one is a bit scary. I'm supposed to post a picture of my scale reading AND (as if that wasn't enough) starting body shots.

But I'm really excited to get into a community. Its part of what works with WW, going to the meetings, getting the support. But, this time around, we simply do not have the money to pay for it. Its not a matter of priorities, its a matter of necessity. Its just not there.

So, my first of WW, I lost 3 pounds, for a total of 9 pounds total. My ticker doesn't change. I lost a little more, but camping, I did gain it back.

To start a new week, I'm making sure to journal, stay within my points, eat lots of fruit and veggies. I need to focus on water this week to. I've fallen into a bad habit of drinking too much coffee and diet soda. Need to push the water.

I started my day today with some yoga. Felt so great. I always forget how much I love sweating through a yoga sequence. Love it. I'll definitely make it up by 6:30 a.m. tomorrow.

Hoping for a good WW week!

I love my coffee

Yes, I love coffee. Love it. I would drink all day long if I didn't know any better. I used to drink brewed coffee from home, although there have been times when I was a daily Starbucks customer. Back when I was a new mom and working full time.

Last year, my mom was also a daily Starbucks customer... I sort of got on her case about how was wasteful. So she started looking for alternatives. She basically figured out how to make her own lattes without an espresso machine for very cheap. And as if that were not cool enough, she figured out how to make it WW Core Friendly.

So, she gave me the *best* Christmas gift. She gave me all the things that I need to make lattes for myself at home! Yay!

First, you boil some water and use the french press to make really really strong coffee. I've been using regular coffee grounds, but I assume you could use espresso grounds if you wanted to. Then you heat some fat free milk until its to your liking, then you use the aerolatte to froth the milk. Add your strong coffee and your steamed milk to a cup, add in your favorite flavors of sugar free coffee syrup. You use the shot glass to measure the syrup. Or I guess you could add a little something extra with it too. :)

Voila! A homemade fat free, sugar free latte. Its WW Core, its cheap, its good. Its my daily little piece of heaven.