MOVED ON TO 2011!!

My new blog is here.  Go there.

Thanks!

THE END OF THE YEAR - BUT NOT THE END

I read a quote by someone about the fact that we worry about what we are going to eat during the holidays when what we should really worry about is what we are eating the other 50 weeks of the year. So true. We do get very concerned about the opportunities to overindulge over the holidays and there is talk about being unwilling to give up the pleasures of the traditional meals, cookies and cocktails versus all the many ways we can avoid adding calories and pounds and still enjoy ourselves.


In truth, if we have been paying attention the rest of the year - is it really such a big deal to indulge during these special occasions? Beyond the question of forbidden foods and falling off the wagon and all the other ways we label our behavior around food, I think the fear is that we just plain will not stop eating once we start!

In a way this is true of me. There are so many foods I can ignore all around me much of the time. I can eat out in a restaurant and not reach for the bread basket or the chips and salsa. I can say no to dessert without a qualm, I can cheerfully choose the scrambled eggs over the french toast and navigate a buffet spread selecting the healthy items. However...if I have made monkey bread for my family for Christmas morning, I will pick at it all day until the tiny portion I served myself at breakfast has ballooned into hundreds of calories. I will not even consider eating a single cookie from the huge tin delivered to us a week before Christmas, but put a little box of See's peanut brittle in my stocking and I am fixated on it until I can eat it all in one sitting.

So, yes, I indulged. I did the dreaded holiday eating. I only ate 1 roll with dinner and skipped dessert, but came home and ate some of my own homemade cookies while I stuffed the stockings. But guess what? I didn't instantly return to my old ways. I got back on track and within a couple of days I was counting my calories and back to the gym (I admit I did not go to the gym on the Monday after Christmas - I have done that before and it is sooo crowded with guilty people working off their own splurges that it is not worth fighting over the equipment!)

And the bottom line on the No Gain Holiday Challenge so far - I am still in minus territory,  having lost weight since Thanksgiving.  I'll do my weigh in for my January post on the new site.

My new calendar is up in the kitchen, my new blog site is up and I am ready for a successful 2011.  Looking forward to spending it with my bloggy friends.  Happy New Year to us all.

TIME TO CHANGE

When I named this blog "Diet Again - 2010"  I was not thinking about the fact that it would only be a good title for a year.  I was thinking about something that rhymed with 2010.  I am only sort of creative like that!  When I started my "diet" earlier this year, I knew that it would be an ongoing thing.  One year was not likely to be enough time to meet my goals and really, it is a lifelong thing if I am doing it right, isn't it?

So I need to change the name and change the URL because I am not at all sure why I have that "customer service" title in my URL?!

I thought of using "Shrinking Susan" as my new title, but there is someone out there with some sort of book and blog around that title.  I couldn't think of anything else that sounded like me, so I finally just decided on "Fit, Food, Life".  It works now and in the future and it covers the bases even if it isn't clever.   I created a new blog on Blogger and have a new URL:  http://fitnessfoodlife.blogspot.com/.  So if you are so kind as to have me in your favorites or on your blog roll, please change me over for the new year!

GETTING THERE

I have been restoring my photos which had all disappeared from their folders on my computer.  My husband is very into backing everything up, thank goodness, so I have not lost anything. I came across this photo.

This is the only picture of me from last Christmas.  It serves well as a before picture.  Although I have not lost anywhere near as much weight as I would have wished  this year, even I can see that there is a big difference  from then to now.

So this isn't so much a before and after, but a before and getting there...

THE HOLIDAY DASH



Dangerous little buggers!!

 This is the week I needed to pack up all the boxes that must go in the mail.  I made the biscotti - as you may have seen at Cammie's Holiday Potluck - and I have wrapped some of it up in bubble wrap to send to  friends and family far away.  I ate a few end pieces of those tasty things and that may have contributed to my 0 weight change this week - that and the ham croquettes I made for my husband's birthday on Sunday. 

I have never made them before and after all the work I put into making them I was going to try ONE - breaded and fried or not!!  They were delicious.  Too delicious and too many of them leftover.  I finally tossed them out today because they were beckoning me from the frig every time I opened it!!  Why is it that Tom has been asking me to make them for him for months - he has 3 or 4 of them and then ignores all the leftovers... and they haunt me? 

So this week I am clamping down a bit harder.  I packed up all the biscotti, did my shopping so there are lots of  healthy snacks and meals and I am up to 3 gym trips already. 

MY VIRTUAL POTLUCK CONTRIBUTION!

These are decadent!  I package them up to send to friends.  Great with a cup of coffee or tea after a nice meal.

My contribution to Cammy's Virtual Holiday Potluck.




MACADAMIA NUT BISCOTTI

1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter, soft
2 1/4 cups sugar
5 large eggs
5 cups flour
4 cups macadamia nuts ( 2 bags from Trader Joe's)
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons vanilla
3 tablespoons Myers Dark Rum

Heat oven to 325

Cream butter and sugar.  Add eggs, then vanilla and rum.  Add dry ingredients and mix until blended.  Add nuts by hand.  Batter will be thick.

Divide into 4 parts onto parchment paper covered baking sheets and shape into logs 1 1/2 inches in diameter by 12 inches long.  Wet your hands with water to make shaping the logs easier.  (Since these spread when cooking, I just put 1 log on each sheet.)  Bake approximately 30 minutes until golden brown. 

Let cool a bit, then cut into slices 1/2 to 1/3 inches wide. 

Reduce oven heat to 250.  Arrance biscotti cut side down and bake 15-20 minutes more on each side until crisp and dry.  You may also stand them upright to bake them, just make sure there is room for air to circulate around each cookie.

Cool completely, store airtight.

IMAGINE AWAY YOUR CRAVINGS?

Drawing on research that shows mental imagery and perception affect emotion and behavior, A Carnegie Mellon research team - led by assistant professor of social and decision sciences Carey Morewedge - found that repeatedly imagining indulging in a treat decreases the desire for it.

"These findings suggest that trying to suppress one's thoughts of desired foods in order to curb cravings for those foods is a fundamentally flawed strategy," Morewedge said in a statement.  This study goes against the ages old idea that we must banish thoughts of the foods that tempt us into excess.

The researchers conducted five experiments in which 51 people were asked to imagine themselves doing a series of repetitive actions - including, in one experiment, eating different amounts of M&Ms. A control group imagined putting coins into a washing machine.   Subjects were then invited to eat their fill of M&Ms. Those who had imagined eating the most ultimately ate fewer candies than the others. Further experiments confirmed the results.

So go ahead.  Imagine the experience of unwrapping your favorite candy bar and tasting that rich chocolate in your mouth.  Or the tart sweetness of the cherries wrapped in the perfect pie crust.  Or the buttery richness of some homemade holiday shortbread.  Or...

MARCHING TOWARD THE HOLIDAYS

I am finally finished with my training on my new job, so my weekdays are again my own.  I got over to the storage unit and lugged all our holiday decorations home and today I started putting things up (and cleaning while I went.)  No excuses, but I skipped the gym knowing that I would get my exercise going up and down the stepladder, hauling boxes around and moving furniture. 

My weigh in at the gym on Sunday shows I am remaining steady at my 2 pounds a week weight loss.  The next two weeks will be critical because I am going to do some baking.  As I mentioned before, I am going to be making some biscotti to send to friends.  I am also going to share that recipe on Cammy's Potluck.  It is such a cute idea - we all share our recipes in a post on our own site which is linked in to her potluck page!

My recipe is not a low cal recipe - it is very rich and yummy:  Macadamia Nut Biscotti made with lots of butter and Myers rum.  I found macadamia nuts at Trader Joe's so I am ready to bake - photos and recipe soon.  Wish me massive amounts of willpower to get through this!!

MY BIRTHDAY LUNCH

I had one of those interesting experiences I think we all have after working on our diets for some time.  It is my birthday and my sister took me out for a nice lunch.  I have been diligent about following my rules and making very good choices and intended to do so today.

Then the waiter described the risotto special.  I love risotto.  No one else in my family likes it, so I never make it at home anymore.  I can honestly say I can't remember the last time I had risotto - and the special was made with saffron and shrimp.  I looked through the entire menu and decided.  I am having the risotto. 

I was relieved when it arrived and it was a small serving.  (It flitted through my mind that I would have been annoyed in years past. But in years past I would have been taking advantage of the basket of amazing breads on the table.)  I took one bite and I knew it was not only the right choice for a special lunch, it was worth breaking the no white rice rule!  OMG.  It was so good. 

And guess what?  I couldn't finish it.  I got full and I stopped eating.  That certainly wouldn't have happened in years past!

THANKS FOR NO GAIN THANKSGIVING!

I managed not to gobble gobble, as planned.  I have lost another 2 pounds this week.  I did get very silly on champagne and had a great time on Thanksgiving!  For dinner I ate only the broccoli rabe and the turkey with a little gravy, one small whole wheat roll and one bite of my sister's luscious lemon cake. 

I have still been avoiding the gym - which is strange.  I was there today and I was completely enjoying myself.  I was thinking about what has been holding me back from getting back into going daily and I honestly don't know what it is.  So I am just going to get up and go every morning - no excuses, no delays, no I'll go later with Ally - because then she doesn't want to go so I don't go...

That is my number one goal for this week.

MY HOLIDAY PLEDGE

Sarah over at Low Stress Weight Loss is hosting another "No Gain Holidays Pledge Group" for this holiday season and I have joined up!  She and I are both hoping to not only not gain - but to lose during the next 7 weeks of merry making. 

My Goals

1.)  I have already determined that I am going to minimize my usual Christmas cookie baking frenzy.  I am going to make some biscotti to give as gifts and make only a couple of single recipes for my family at home.  (When I am being honest - my daughter and I are the ones who eat most of the cookies and the ones who need them the least!  No gingerbread this year...)

2.)  I am going to forgo treats at events I attend.  So far that will be a work party and my family gatherings and they understand and support my efforts.  My allowed treat will be the cocktails I will drink with my family.  Usually champagne!

3.)  I will increase my gym attendance and start taking some classes.

The info is on Sarah's blog.  Basic rules :


No Gain Holidays is a commitment to yourself to hold the line on your weight from before Thanksgiving until after New Year’s Eve.


Runs 7 weeks (November 22nd – January 3rd)


You can join anytime


This is self-reported : you can post your weight or your weight loss or keep it totally to yourself. Your pants will know even if we don’t.


Join by linking up your blog (or leave a comment) on Sarah's blog!

Come on - join up we will feel so good in January when everyone else is trying to get the holiday weight off and we are ahead of the game!

UPDATING MY STATS

I realized that in addition to neglecting my blog I have been neglecting my statistics.  So I had to post that weight gain.  I am not a math person, but even I know that was a statistically significant amount to have gained back.

Today, though,  I could post the loss (again) of some of it. 

I have not been particularly diligent with my food journal.  I have been spotty at best in my gym attendance.  I am headed in the right direction and with additional effort I will pick up steam and be back to where I was in the next three weeks and then I will just have to hold on through the holiday season - as we all do.

My extra incentive is that I have a uniform to wear for my new job at a small hotel front desk.  (A blouse and vest with my own black pants or skirt.)  The blouse fits fine but the XL vest they had does not button.  It is fine to wear it open, but with my big tummy, I would look better with it closed - so...that 10 pounds I put back on would have made a difference.  Actually I am  just soo relieved that the XL blouse fit! 

HUNGRY ALL THE TIME

I had a good weekend.  Ally was out of school for a long holiday  break and we went to the gym together a couple of times and went  grocery shopping one afternoon.  Ally is also trying to drop some weight.  She is confused about how to approach it.

 She is a bit resistant to making an effort to become educated about nutrition and different approaches to weight loss.  She just wants to know what is "good' and "bad" and gets mad when I won't labels things that way.  Ally is like me, she is carb carb sensitive and more of an emotional eater.  Unlike me, she has a limited palate.  (Or perhaps she still needs to grow into it.)  With her limited likes and stubborn nature, it is hard to direct her easily to a good weight loss plan. 

We went through the grocery store aisle by aisle talking about options and choosing foods to buy and how to fit them into her schedule and not look weird at school and if she should try to count calories or cut out fat or carbs or what to do.

And she said to me "But eating this is not going to make me full, I am going to be hungry.  So I am just going to have to be hungry all the time?"  That made me think of those actresses who talk about being hungry all the time to stay thin.  It made me feel so sad and helpless because, yes, we can alter our appetites.  Our stomachs can "shrink" and we will feel full with less. I know that there is a difference between mouth hunger and stomach hunger.  Between wanting to eat and needing to eat.

 But really?  During most of this year that I have been losing weight, I have been hungry.  I have done things to distract myself because I don't think I should be hungry.  I ignore the feeling.  I try to embrace the feeling . But I am hungry.

So how do I tell my child she has to feel hungry to get healthy?

STALKED BY SPARK PEOPLE

I really like the convenience of online food journals.  I started a long time ago using one that charged per month.  It is still the one I like the best, but I have gotten to the point that I don't want to spend my limited resources on that when there are free options.

Unfortunately, you get what  you pay for.  All of the sites I have tried have downsides.  I was using Fitday for quite some time but suddenly it won't let me log on and won't send me an e-mail so I gave up even though it is full of my personal data.

The latest one I am trying is SparkPeople because I saw that a favorite blogger, Cammy, uses it.  But geez Louise!  In four days I have gotten , and I counted them up, 15 e-mails from them.  I have gone back in and readjusted some of the preferences that I missed the first time in, so it should get better.

Also, it is hard to find the content through all the ads.  I am sure my eyes will adjust to that, too.  When I have a month worth of entries I will evaluate the site and see if I like it.  At this moment, I am thinking that paying the $9.00 a month for myfooddiary.com isn't so bad!

Anyone else using online journaling?

SURPRISE! ...not in the good way

My absences from blogging here run pretty much along with my absences from the gym and complete adherence to my diet program.  I weighed in at the gym last week and was not thrilled but not too upset to see I had gained 7 pounds.  It seemed reasonable considering that I have been slip-sliding for about 2 months.  I am feeling very jiggly and out of shape, my legs hurt like they did before I started working out regularly.  I really am back to a starting point.

So I started back on program on Monday and finally weighed in again today.  Surprise!  I am actually up 14 pounds!  When I thought about it I recalled 2 things.  1.) I weighed in on a different scale than I usually do, and 2.) I was naked.

I usually use the scale upstairs on the gym floor fully dressed, including shoes because that is where and how I was weighed when I first started last February.  So, I guess the difference between adding  my clothes and the different scale is double!  Oh, my.  (No wonder the locker room scale is the one my daughter likes to use!)

So it is going to take a bit longer to get back to where I left off than I originally thought.  I am back to the weight I was in June.  Yikes.   If it was just the 7 pounds I thought I could be back on track by December 1, but 14 will be tough to do even by Christmas because I am going to be realistic. 

So, I am back.  Climbing up the slide I slid down!

WHAT'S IN A NAME?

We have all heard a lot of negative talk about high fructose corn syrup.  Companies have been removing it from their products and advertising that their products do not contain this ingredient because of the public perception of high-fructose corn syrup as unhealthful,  including Hunt’s Ketchup, Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice and Wheat Thins crackers.

However, the food industry is now attempting to get around the bad publicity of HFCS by asking the FDA for a name change to corn sugar.  Why is the food industry so intent on using this product? 

Compared with sucrose, high-fructose corn syrup doesn’t mask flavors, has a lower freezing point and retains moisture better, which is useful in making foods like chewy granola bars. And because the corn crop in the United States is heavily subsidized, high-fructose corn syrup is also cheap. As a result, it’s now used in so many foods that it has become one of the biggest sources of calories in the American diet.

The reality is that HFCS is not any more unhealthy than other sources of sugar, it is unhealthy because it is possible to put it into so many different food products, often in addition to sources of  sugar.  It is found in products where we don't think to look for sugar.  Like Stovetop Stuffing, Cough Syrups, salad dressings,  canned soups and  tomato sauces and  virtually every cereal, cracker and bread product. 

At least for those tings there is a label to read, the problem gets worse in restaurants where the use of "layered" flavors has become state of the art in attracting diners and getting them to return for more.  The use of fat and sugar in combination is known to become "irresistible"  for some people and restaurants and fast food outlets rely on this unhealthy combination to keep customers coming back for more.

The F.D.A. has six months to respond to the name-change petition. If the agency accepts it, the decision on whether to allow the name “corn sugar” on food labels may take another 12 to 18 months. 

LIFE

I have been silent for a bit - things going on in real life.  I have not gone off the rails, still pretty much on plan.  I'll be back online next week.

A NEW RECIPE

I have not been inspired to write much about my progress - there has not been much of that lately.  I have been firmly in a 3-4 pound see-saw for a month.  I have to get myself back to the gym more than 3 times a week and cut out the extra calories I have been eating.  I can't really blame it on the work schedule.  I think it is just overall boredom and the need to shake things up and get motivated again.

I have been cooking some new things in response to the boredom an this recipe was really tasty and  fairly low calorie.

It would have looked better with the scallions!

STIR-FRIED GINGER TOMATO BEEF

12 oz lean flank steak
2 T minced ginger
1 T soy sauce
2 T rice wine or dry sherry
2 t cornstarch
3/4 t sugar
1/2 t salt
1/4 t ground pepper
3 t toasted sesame oil
1 t dark soy sauce (I used regular)
1 T peanut or veg oil
1 14.5 oz can whole peeled tomatoes
4 scallions, halved length wise and cut into 2-inch sections ( which I forgot to use!)

Slice thin pieces of flank steak across the grain.  (The flank steak is easy to cut when it is slightly frozen. Flank steak can be tough, so the thinner the better.)

In a medium bowl, combine the beef, ginger, 1 T soy sauce, 1 T rice wine, cornstarch, 1/4 t of the sugar, salt and pepper.Stir to combine.  Stir in 1 t of the sesame oil.

In a small bowl combine the dark soy sauce, the remaining 1 T rice wine and the remaining 2 t sesame oil.

Heat a 14 inch flat bottomed wok or 12 inch skillet over high heat until a bead of water vaporizes within 1 or 2 seconds of contact.  Swirl in the cooking oil and then add the beef.  Spread the slices out so they are in one layer in the pan.  Let the beef stay undisturbed in the pan for about 1 minute, letting the beef begin to sear. Then use a spatula or tongs to turn the pieces so the other side can brown, too.  Remove from the pan.  Add the can of tomatoes with the juice to the pan, sprinkle with the remaining sugar and bring to a boil.  Break the tomatoes into 2 or 3 pieces.  Swirl in the remaining soy mixture and then add the beef back to the pan.  Add the scallions and cook for 3 minutes or just until the beef is heated through and the sauce is slightly thickened.  (I found the sauce pretty watery.  If you want the sauce to be thicker, add 1 t cornstarch to the soy mixture added to the tomatoes.)

I served this over brown rice.

Per serving (w/o rice)
473 calories
38g protein
16 g carbs
28 g fat
3 g fiber

I think this could be made lower in fat by reducing the sesame oil and increasing the ginger to make up for the flavor. 

WORKING LATE

I need advice and wisdom on how to deal with the nights I work.  I leave for work at about 4:30 pm.  I usually eat lunch and then a large snack before I go to work.  I take something I can eat quickly and discretely during the evening as I do not get an actual dinner break.  I have taken things like salad or fruit, cheese and whole wheat crackers.  I also take an Atkins bar in case I am really hungry or want something a bit sweet.

I generally eat my "dinner" in two parts during the night before I leave at 1 am.  When I get home, I have a cup of tea to unwind.  I am frequently very hungry again by this time.  I have tried going to bed hungry.  I have tried having a little whole grain cereal or an Atkins bar but what I am really craving is some major carbs.  I realize that is because this is a comfort food for me and I and trying to de-stress from work and get settled enough that I can go to sleep - so this have been a slip sliding area a couple of times.

So - what to do in the middle of the night?  If I save calories for it, I think I will really be hungry during the day but having veggies in the middle of he night is not going to satisfy part of the "hunger" going on.  I don't sleep late enough the next day to make up for the "late night meal."  Do I just make allowances for extra calories 3 nights a week? 

SOME POSITIVE RESULTS



A woman can dream...

 I have been noticing some little differences in my life that I must add up and say are a nice list of positives from my weight loss so far.  I tend to see how far I need to go and lately I have had the opportunity to notice how far I have come.

I no longer have to worry if I am going to fit into a booth when we go out.  For a while I asked for a table because, if I could even slide into the booth the table was usually pressing into me.

When I took my daughter to the doctor, I noticed that the arms of the chair no longer touch my hips when I sit down.  There was a time that I shimmied in and out of those chairs or sat on the edge so I wouldn't be wedged in.

I am now ordering 1X size tops.  That means I got 6 new tops on clearance for between $6.-10.00 each.  In the past my size was rarely available on clearance.  Even better, this puts me really close to shopping in the regular sized stores.

When we were on our trip and had to climb up the hill from the beach to the bluffs, I didn't have to stop to rest or catch my breath. 

The towels at the gym almost cover me when I wrap them around me coming out of the shower. I admit that the first time I noticed this I thought they must have gotten bigger towels!  Then it dawned on me that I am actually getting smaller...

Sothere are some of the little positives in my life - how about yours?