eG Foodblog: CaliPoutine, MarketStEl & mizducky - The Shrinking

[mizducky]

So far today I've been busily doing work at home--some of my paid contract work, some volunteer work, and some plain ol' housework. Interspersed with it all, I've been successfully doing my small light meals thing, which really does feel good when I get into a flow with it. However, posting of photos of those meals will have to wait for a bit, because I need to head out for a whole afternoon/evening of committee meetings at my beloved hippy-dippy church--plus partaking of the church's weekly community dinner, which I shall also document for you all.

(Mr. E is already gone for the day--he's got a group meeting at our church too, then he's dining out with a friend.)

Type to you all later!

[CaliPoutine]

Dinner tonight was a clean out the fridge salad. When Robin came home from work, she asked me what we were having for dinner. I told her and she said " I'm sick of dieting". When we discussed it further, she said she was a little hungry today. I think I might have to give her another snack for late afternoon.

I have the same salad spinner that Sandy has. Its a good grips by OXO.

Love it!!

I used the leftover chicken, the black beans, some kraft 2% crumbles, some crushed up blue corn tortilla chips and a load of veggies.

robins salad

I had some Paul Newman's Italian dressing. I'd planned on making my own ranch dressing with the buttermilk I bought the other day, but I ran short on time.

I drank this.

Since we had a "light" dinner, I thought I'd make us some dessert. LOL. Here is another product that General Mill's sent me.

It tasted just as I expected. HORRIBLE!! Total waste of 3 points.

Whoops, I guess I didnt drizzle the caramel in pretty lines like I was supposed to.

I served it with 1/4 cup of breyers vanilla ice cream.

Edited January 10, 2008 by CaliPoutine (log)

[demiglace]

randi i have to try some of those ideas you have provided since i pack breakfast/lunch and many times dinner for john. where did you get those multi patitioned containers? sandy

I was hoping someone would ask about the container. Its a lock and lock container that I bought on Clement Street in San Francisco. Target has a good selection of Lock and Lock's too and you might be able to find the divided container there. QVC also has a great selection, a lot of different items you wont find in the stores. I have a great set of 3 round bowls that nest that I like to use when I make salad for Robin.

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Hey Cali..are those the Starfrit ones? Your lunches look great by the way!

[CaliPoutine]

randi i have to try some of those ideas you have provided since i pack breakfast/lunch and many times dinner for john. where did you get those multi patitioned containers? sandy

I was hoping someone would ask about the container. Its a lock and lock container that I bought on Clement Street in San Francisco. Target has a good selection of Lock and Lock's too and you might be able to find the divided container there. QVC also has a great selection, a lot of different items you wont find in the stores. I have a great set of 3 round bowls that nest that I like to use when I make salad for Robin.

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Hey Cali..are those the Starfrit ones? Your lunches look great by the way!

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Yep, those are the ones!!

Thanks.

[CaliPoutine]

Robin's snack for tomorrow

I gave her a piece of dark chocolate too( its under the cashews)

Leftover tilapia and 1/2c of whole wheat couscous( with a pat of butter). She'll also take the leftover salad from tonight's dinner.

I have to be at work at 8am so I won't be able to post until I get home.

nighty night!!

[prasantrin]

Randi--Do you think Robin ever sneaks some forbidden snacks in while she's at work? I love her "I'm sick of dieting" comment! Sounds like something I would say! Do you think a time will come when she starts to think of your eating habits as a lifestyle change rather than a "diet"?

[MarketStEl]

OK, what did Satchel Paige say about fried foods?

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Wasn't it something about "don't look behind you" or "don't look at your behind," or something on that order?

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That statement had nothing to do with fried foods, but it's probably the best of all the wise advice in Paige's collection.

The one about fried foods is:

Avoid fried foods; they angry up the blood.

The more famous admonishment is:

Don't look back -- they might be gainin' on you.

Tonight -- the first PGMC rehearsal of the March concert cycle -- was one of those nights that illustrate why it's a bad idea to try to lose weight by going hungry, even though that was not by design. However, you'll all have to wait until later today to find out why, or about the rest of the day.

[chardgirl]

Hello, I'm loving this blog: thanks to all three of you for sharing. I love food and think about it way too much: and my doctor has been on my case for 4 years. (!). (my own special reason is that fat cells have estrogen and I had breast cancer at 35 years young and now 7 years later my doctor and I continue to plot how to NOT have it again!) I've got 20# to lose, maybe 15, but at 5' tall it's a fairly big chunk. ARGH. So you are all inspirational.

Question about Breakfast: anyone?:

I'm also not hungry in the am, but 'conventional wisdom' is adamant about this being an important meal so I try to eat something healthy and include a protein every morning.

Finally the question:

If I rise at 6am and don't get to my forced breakfast until 9am does it count for the 'helping your metabolism throughout the day' theory??

I don't want to highjack this great blog so I'll just briefly say that what has worked for me (I've lost 20 pounds and kept 10-15 off, just need to lose more) is making homemade food rich with vegetables and eating meat or protein everyday. And I'm a lucky one: I love lots and lots of regular water. oh: and lots of walking. and not keeping any sweets in the house!

I'm enjoying the practical thoughts/advice, and the delving into the issues too: again a big thanks!

-julia aka chardgirl

[mizducky]

If I rise at 6am and don't get to my forced breakfast until 9am does it count for the 'helping your metabolism throughout the day' theory??

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Again, I want to preface this with the "do what works best for you" mantra.

However, since you asked ...

The rule I was taught by the instructor I was working with through my HMO's wellness program was that one should never go more than five hours between meals, because much longer than that, and your body starts thinking you're fasting. And in fact, while you're asleep, you're fasting--the fact that the English word for the morning meal is "break-fast" reflects that. So, when you wake up in the morning, your body is already a little behind on nutrition from the night's fast. So ideally, you'd want to get at least something into your tummy pretty soon after you wake up ... waiting for three hours is kind of pushing the limit, there.

So there's my two cents on that, for whatever that's worth.

[mizducky]

So ... here's what happened with the rest of my day's food.

As I said before, I was working away at home--working on the computer, doing laundry, etc. etc. ... and every now and then, getting up to fix myself another little meal.

Apropos of our breakfast discussion, I awoke at something like 9:45am, and wound up eating the breakfast I posted earlier (turkey roll, pita, banana) by 10:30am.

I think it was around 1pm that I had the next little meal: the last of my leftover batch of collard greens that I'd made just before the blog started, with a bunch of pot liquor. I assure you this tasted a lot better than it looks!

When I fixed myself the bowl of greens, I also put together some soup to cook: made broth with the Better Than Bouillon vegetable base I'd bought yesterday, added some broken-up shiitakes and black ear fungus, plus some leftover rice from last night. Kind of a lazy person's congee. By 3pm I was hungry for it, and it was ready:

Again, I swear this tasted much better than it looked! I'm not doing so well with the photogenic foods today, am I?

(to be continued...)

[mizducky]

Then I was off to church for meetings and supper. My church has taken to serving a weekly community supper on Wednesdays, encouraging church committees and groups to schedule their meetings for that night. They also hire childcare for that evening so that families will be encouraged to take advantage of the evening for socializing as well as meeting-going. By the time I got done with my first meeting, the supper was already served, and people were having at it:

Here's my plateful of food:

Green tossed salad, some turkey and a little ham, some pasta, and a little bit of what turned out to be split pea soup--it was thick enough to spoon like a side dish. All quite tasty.

In fact, when I went back to the buffet line to try and get a better shot of the offerings, I found there was almost nothing left to photograph! Guess everybody liked it!

There was still plenty of green salad left, so I did have seconds of that. There was also some baked goods for dessert. I managed to kind of ignore that stuff, as well as the dangerous-looking cookies that someone had brought to the meeting following dinner.

Once I got home after the second meeting, I was feeling hungry. I calculated everything I'd eaten today and discovered I was still short about 4 oz of protein and 1 serving of carbs. So ... I had myself *another* mini-meal of turkey roll in half a pita. And I still need to get in the rest of my fruit. Time for some ... dried plums, yeah, that's what they're calling 'em now, eh?

See, this is part of how I've been able to manage this for as long as I have. I'm not eating a lot at any one meal, but because of the many-little-meals approach, I'm seemingly eating continually at every waking hour. For someone like me, who really used to bum out over the deprivation feelings accompanying traditional dieting, this approach is so much kinder to my psyche as well as my metabolism!

This does *not* mean that I don't occasionally juggle my food around so that I can have a big dinner. I do that fairly often too--in fact, I think I've got a couple of opportunities for that scheduled for later in the week, so you can see how I handle that (or not). Sometimes, when it's dining out or a special occasion, or just because, I just want to leave room to enjoy a fuller meal.

But as I experienced over the holiday season, there's only so many times I can do that in any given period of time before I can start feeling it messing with my head as well as my bod. So--for me, it's a balancing act between tighter and looser discipline. I find I need both to keep me happy in this whole process.

[christine007]

MizDucky, you are spot on!

That's exactly how I eat, in fact the ONLY way I can eat!

bite of this, some of that, glass of chocolate milk, a bag of peanuts, a small burger, half cup cottage cheese.

you are getting into your body everything it needs, yet not suffering unduly from hunger pangs.

My hat's off to you, girl!

[gini]

If I rise at 6am and don't get to my forced breakfast until 9am does it count for the 'helping your metabolism throughout the day' theory??

-julia aka chardgirl

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I'm not a nutritionist or a doctor, so these comments are just that - comments. I really think you should just do what works for you. If your body's telling you that it doesn't want to eat, I'm not really sure you should force it. I'm also not a breakfast person, at all, but in the past few years I've switched my running from late afternoon to pre-dawn and find that I'm ready to eat about 2 to 3 hours later - still not what "they" say I should be doing, but it works for me!

[chardgirl]

I assure you this tasted a lot better than it looks!

I think this bowl of brown/greens looks great. My favorite breakfast is leftovers. My family just pretends they don't know me at breakfast...

thanks for the breakfast timing thoughts, I'm going to try to be better about this.

cg

[Betts]

Randi - Great blog -  it takes a lot of energy to get into physical and mental shape.  I drove through Goderich in November and thought about you.  Had a cup of tea at the McDs and told my sisters a bit of your story.

[JanMcBaker]

I hope that means you'll still be available to join me on pizza runs, Jan.

No worries there, Sandy. It didn't keep me from prior pizza runs, or from the meat fests! And that's part of what I had to figure out for me. I've been willing to make some adjustments but, for the most part, my new way of eating had to fit easily into my life. I knew that if I tried to make major changes, or deprive myself, that I could not stick with it. Take the pizza runs, for example. I'm willing to compensate a bit by eating lighter the rest of the day, but no way am I giving up pizza!

Also, your writing about exercise made me think of something else I recently decided about exercise. I'm not going to worry about exercising for weight loss. It takes so much exercise to burn off any significant amount of calories, and I'm just not one to exercise for hours in a day! A number of years ago I did basically that-- exercised for 2-3 hours a day, 4-5 days a week. I did lose a lot of weight but that pace was impossible to keep up, and have a life. Oh, and my high blood pressure DID NOT come down! No one had ever told me that it might stay high no matter what I did. That was a major PITA. So-- I recently decided that I'll walk, or march in place watching TV-- my major forms of exercise, because I feel the need to move around, or to get my knees loosened up, or to help my heart and lungs, or it's a nice day for a walk. That's my view and I'm sticking to it!

One more important thing, Sandy-- I noticed in one of your pictures there was a can of Hershey's syrup with what looks like a pry-off lid. Is that right? If so, I've never seen that kind! Where did you get it?

[Kouign Aman]

Morning food.... our bodies arent all that picky. If you're getting up and having a cup of coffee with a bit of milk or sugar, your body thinks you've broken your fast. So, if you dont get hungry for 'real food' til later, but you are feeling energetic, you've probably knocked your body out of 'fasting' mode.

One way to check is to check your pulse. When I was dieting drastically, my bod would hit a point where it decided we were in famine/fast, and my pulse would drop nearly 20 beats per minute. This is not a subtle change. And all it took was a few bites to bring it back up to its more energetic self. Since I read about that technique somewhere, the symptom cant be unique to me.

Baseline non-fasting resting pulse rate is easy to get: check your pulse after lunch or dinner, before standing up from the table. Do it a few different times to get a feel for where it sits. Then you can use it to check yourself in the morning before and after breakfast.

It wouldnt surprise me if you (chardgirl) found that your pulse dropped just about the time you decided you had time to eat. Your decision could well be triggered by the change in the way you feel, due to the change in metabolic rate.

caveat: I was a college student at the time, and all this pulse monitoring took place during classes. I have no idea how its affected by activity such as bending, lifting, carrying etc. all of which raise the pulse rate.

My body/lizard brain works differently from mizducky's. I do best eating 3 meals in 2 days. I need to get good and hungry so that I know when to stop eating because I am really good at feeling the difference between hungry and not hungry, but I suck at telling the difference between not hungry and not-quite-full-to-the-point-of-pain. And I prefer substantial meals to small ones. As the lady says: whatever works for you!

[CaliPoutine]

I'm home from work and I can finally post. Before I left this morning, I fixed Robin's breakfast. I let it sit for awhile to soften up the museli. Btw, I used 2 servings of museli, because 1/4 just isnt enough for her. I also used half a cup of plain yogurt, a squeeze of agave syrup and some blackberries. Total for breakfast is 6 points. She drank coffee too.

I packed her one of these in case she got really hungry later. I also had one today. 4 points. Pretty good for .67

My lunch. I worked for the Seniors today and I made Sheppard's pie. I don't eat red meat so I usually bring my own lunch. I bought this flavor in the states as I havent seen it here. They even put the WW points(5) on the box. I had a bowl of salad with it.

Now, if you want to see what I cooked today, come on over to the Senior Dining Thread.

I stopped at the turkey farm on my way home because I'm going to make us a sheppard's pie with ground turkey breast.

Edited January 10, 2008 by CaliPoutine (log)

[CaliPoutine]

Randi--Do you think Robin ever sneaks some forbidden snacks in while she's at work?  I love her "I'm sick of dieting" comment!  Sounds like something I would say!  Do you think a time will come when she starts to think of your eating habits as a lifestyle change rather than a "diet"?

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Oh Rona, you always make me laugh. Robin has a lot of willpower and she's very stubborn. She's also very competitive. She wants to lose more weight than me this week. I'm sure she will too. My metabolisim is so screwed up from too many years of dieting. To answer your last question, honestly I'm not sure. She's really improved her eating habits since we've been together. She hardly ever eats fast food, she cut way way back on alcohol and she also stopped eating red meat. She has a user ID here on Eg, maybe she'll weight( no pun intended) in.

[MarketStEl]

One more important thing, Sandy-- I noticed in one of your pictures there was a can of Hershey's syrup with what looks like a pry-off lid.  Is that right?  If so, I've never seen that kind!  Where did you get it?

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Actually, that's a chocolate-scented candle I purchased in the Hotel Hershey gift shop. I'd brought it back as a souvenir for the roomie when I attended the CUPRAP conference there back in March. (CUPRAP is the College and University Public Relations Association of Pennsylvania, AFAIK the only state-level association of academic PR professionals in the country; its membership includes institutions beyond the Keystone State, though, including a public university in Arkansas. I need to join some of the nonacademic associations now, such as the local chapter of the Public Relations Society of America.)

Today's been pretty busy -- what was to have been a "success story" interview turned out to be an unhappy-camper call, and I've been in a marketing presentation to some new sales reps. I've been noshing on nuts and cookies throughout the day and thus don't feel ravenous, but will probably try to work in the salad I packed this morning before I leave early to catch the 4:05 inbound to make a 5-9 pm fundraiser, followed by a Landmark Forum seminar from 7 to 10. (You've all gotten used to my jam-packed life, right?) I will have a couple of days' worth of photos to post much later.

[CaliPoutine]

Randi - Great blog -  it takes a lot of energy to get into physical and mental shape.  I drove through Goderich in November and thought about you.  Had a cup of tea at the McDs and told my sisters a bit of your story.

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You should have let me know you were coming, I'dwould have loved to meet you for coffee. My MIL lives in Goderich and I work there too sometimes.

Edited January 10, 2008 by CaliPoutine (log)

[tammylc]

I like that Ginger Garlic meal quite a lot. All the Lean Cuisine meals here have WW points on them - I loved that when I was counting points - it made it very easy. Another tasty one to look for when you're over here is the butternut squash ravioli - it's tasty too. And the roasted garlic chicken pizza - YUM!

Since a lot of people on this thread have chimed in with their experiences and tips for WW, I thought I'd do the same. Somewhere one of you posted about estimating a tablespoon or two of mayo or another condiment - one of my rules for myself was to always always measure that sort of thing out. Because at 3 pts/tbsp for mayo, an extra half a tbsp is a big deal. So i always measured things like peanut butter, butter, etc.

I didn't use the Weight Watchers site, so I kept a Google spreadsheet that I could update from home or work. I would usually plan out my days in advance - I'd know how many points I had for breakfast and had planned for lunch and snacks, then I could figure out what I could eat for dinner based on what I had left and adjusting for any extra snacks.

As often as possible, I'd try to stick to my base points, and not dip into my flex points. I usually had flex points leftover at the end of the week. Usually I'd do base points only during the week, and then use flex points for dinners out or whatever on the weekend. I've since heard of other diet programs that purposely build in "splurge days" to tell your body it's not starving, and I think that pattern had a similar effect on my body and let me keep consistently losing.

And my last "critical success factor" was to always round up when point counting. The salad dressing I use is 1 pt for 2 tbsp, but I counted it as 1 pt even though I used less than that.

It sounds like y'all have similar tricks and systems in place for your programs, and I wish you the best of luck in meeting your weight and health goals!

[daniellewiley]

randi i have to try some of those ideas you have provided since i pack breakfast/lunch and many times dinner for john. where did you get those multi patitioned containers? sandy

I was hoping someone would ask about the container. Its a lock and lock container that I bought on Clement Street in San Francisco. Target has a good selection of Lock and Lock's too and you might be able to find the divided container there. QVC also has a great selection, a lot of different items you wont find in the stores. I have a great set of 3 round bowls that nest that I like to use when I make salad for Robin.

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We love them too, especially for my daughter's lunches. We got ours at Target, but when I recently visited the Korean market here in Chicago, they had about 50 different sizes and shapes of Lock and Lock. Perhaps other Asian markets are the same?

[CaliPoutine]

randi i have to try some of those ideas you have provided since i pack breakfast/lunch and many times dinner for john. where did you get those multi patitioned containers? sandy

I was hoping someone would ask about the container. Its a lock and lock container that I bought on Clement Street in San Francisco. Target has a good selection of Lock and Lock's too and you might be able to find the divided container there. QVC also has a great selection, a lot of different items you wont find in the stores. I have a great set of 3 round bowls that nest that I like to use when I make salad for Robin.

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We love them too, especially for my daughter's lunches. We got ours at Target, but when I recently visited the Korean market here in Chicago, they had about 50 different sizes and shapes of Lock and Lock. Perhaps other Asian markets are the same?

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Hey Danielle,

I think I first saw that divided container on your foodblog. So when I saw it in SF, I grabbed it up. I'm only sorry I didnt buy a few more.

[CaliPoutine]

I like that Ginger Garlic meal quite a lot. All the Lean Cuisine meals here have WW points on them - I loved that when I was counting points - it made it very easy. Another tasty one to look for when you're over here is the butternut squash ravioli - it's tasty too. And the roasted garlic chicken pizza - YUM!

Since a lot of people on this thread have chimed in with their experiences and tips for WW, I thought I'd do the same.  Somewhere one of you posted about estimating a tablespoon or two of mayo or another condiment - one of my rules for myself was to always always measure that sort of thing out. Because at 3 pts/tbsp for mayo, an extra half a tbsp is a big deal. So i always measured things like peanut butter, butter, etc.

I didn't use the Weight Watchers site, so I kept a Google spreadsheet that I could update from home or work. I would usually plan out my days in advance - I'd know how many points I had for breakfast and had planned for lunch and snacks, then I could figure out what I could eat for dinner based on what I had left and adjusting for any extra snacks.

As often as possible, I'd try to stick to my base points, and not dip into my flex points. I usually had flex points leftover at the end of the week. Usually I'd do base points only during the week, and then use flex points for dinners out or whatever on the weekend. I've since heard of other diet programs that purposely build in "splurge days" to tell your body it's not starving, and I think that pattern had a similar effect on my body and let me keep consistently losing.

And my last "critical success factor" was to always round up when point counting.  The salad dressing I use is 1 pt for 2 tbsp, but I counted it as 1 pt even though I used less than that.

It sounds like y'all have similar tricks and systems in place for your programs, and I wish you the best of luck in meeting your weight and health goals!

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Thanks for the tips. It was me who mentioned estimating points for Mayo. I know I should probably use measuring spoons, its just shear laziness that keeps me from it. I do use light mayo though. I think thats 1 point per tbls.

We're totally saving our flex points for this weekend. We've already discussed where we want to eat out on Saturday. We're aiming for Prince Albert Diner in London. They have wonderful veggie burger's( Yves) that will somewhat fit into the plan. THe majority of our points will be used on fries( and maybe some onion rings).