For past 3 years, I order my own entrée or sandwich instead of splitting one with my husband—bring on extra French fries please–and of course my weight has continued to increase. I even stopped weighing myself because I was afraid to look at the scale. In fact, I have gained over 4 pounds in the last few weeks. And, here I was trying to diet so I could get into one of my dresses for my nephew’s wedding which I did not do. I started “dieting” in January 2011 which was more than enough time to lose the excess baggage. It is now January 2013 and I have gained an additional 15 pounds. Yuk!!! Nowadays we hear that we are not supposed to call weight loss “dieting”, but in truth no matter how much you cover it up with fancy terms it is still about taking in less calories and fats and of course incorporating exercise into your daily routine. I truly believe that it should be about changing bad eating and exercise behaviors, but in the beginning we still need to restrict calories as well as include more exercise in order to realize a weight loss.
Maintaining your new weight is another story. To maintain, you need to adapt healthy eating and exercise habits for life and stick to them. Can we splurge? In my opinion and from my experience, yes we can splurge and eat that steak and fries once in a while. Actually, you can make your own fries that are much more nutritious and less fattening. In the past I was able to eat and enjoy food–within reason-–and still maintain my weight as long as I paid attention to portions. Portion control is huge. As many times as I have dieted, I always realize that a kitchen scale and a set of measuring cups and spoons bring me back to the reality of what a serving really is. It is amazing how quickly I forget. I remember a few years back I thought I was eating well but I was not losing weight. I ate all of the right things, but when I pulled out the measuring cups and scale I realized that I was eating two, three, or even four servings instead of one serving. No wonder I could not lose the weight!!!
Portions make a huge difference even if the food is “healthy”. So, what constitutes a healthy food? In my opinion, it is about cooking from scratch. Our convenience foods have too much added salt, sugar, fat, and preservatives. I honestly believe that even though the calorie content of a serving of home made stuffing is the same as a serving of boxed stuffing, you are better off eating the homemade stuffing. Simply put, there are less ingredients in the homemade stuffing and in addition, I can pronounce the ingredients in my homemade stuffing. Try pronouncing the ingredients in a box of stuffing. Do you know what these
ingredients are? How does our body metabolize all of these ingredients? This is not the place to discuss the chemistry, but I do address all of these issues in my chemistry courses. For now, I think it is important we consume foods that are less processed. Another example I like to use is that of beef and chicken stocks. Many of the canned varieties list ingredients such as wheat. I have never used wheat in my homemade broths. They contain meat, celery, carrots, onions, salt, pepper, bay leaves, garlic, and thyme. There is no reason for me to add wheat to these broths. So why are these extra ingredients used?
I have always believed that anyone can be a good chef if they cook with loads of butter, cream, msg, etc. But, I have always taken pride in being able to cook tasty food without all of the unnecessary fat and calories. Food is my passion, and I love to experiment and cook food that not only tastes great but is nutritious and healthy. Losing weight is very important for me now if I want to maintain my health. With a cholesterol level of over 260, it is time to exchange bad habits for good ones. That means healthier foods, smaller portions, and more exercise. It is certainly more fun gaining the weight than it is losing it, but it is much better to feel healthy. I will keep everyone updated on my progress.
