I was thinking about my previous post 90 Salads in 90 Days (http://losingweightafter45isabitch.blogspot.com/2009/07/90-salads-in-90-days.html)
The woman who wrote that piece, hopefully, took a small step to long term weight loss and maintenance just by committing to eating a salad a day. The point is that she was willing to make a small, permanent, change to her overall dietary habits, as opposed to just following some fad diet for a few weeks and months.
It's small, permanent steps that will ultimately lead to real weight loss and maintenance of that weight loss. There's no going back to your old eating habits.
So, think of some small permanent step you can take, and then just do it.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
No, You Can't lose 10 pounds in a Week
As I explained here: http://losingweightafter45isabitch.blogspot.com/2009/06/why-you-cant-lose-30-pounds-in-30-days.html, losing more than 1 or 2 pounds a week of real fat (as opposed to water) is just impossible.
This article explains further: http://weight-loss-methods.suite101.com/article.cfm/can_you_lose_10_pounds_in_1_week
This article explains further: http://weight-loss-methods.suite101.com/article.cfm/can_you_lose_10_pounds_in_1_week
Have a Little Fiber with that . . . .
Queen of My Domain has a great post on how adding fiber can help you lose weight. Check it out here: http://www.queenofdadomain.com/2009/07/how-do-you-fee-about-fiber.html#comment-form
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
90 Salads in 90 Days
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/hillary-fields/90-salads-in-90-days-how_b_247155.html
The writer challenged herself to eat 90 salads in 90 days. Before that she was a vegetable-phobe.
She didn't lose any weight but she went from a couch slug to: "Then, a second little miracle. In the first month -- actually, in the first couple weeks, I noticed a remarkable physiological change: my energy levels shot through the roof. No longer did I feel like Rip Van Winkle after every meal; food coma wasn't mandatory anymore. Weirdly, I also started to crave a lot more fruits and other types of veggies that weren't part of my crazy commitment, and wanted far less in the way of sugar and carbs. (Perhaps the diet guru did know what he was talking about.) "
So if she would just divert some of that new extra energy to exercise (and cut out more of the carbs, meat, etc) she may actually lose weight.
But it's a start, and that's what's important.
The writer challenged herself to eat 90 salads in 90 days. Before that she was a vegetable-phobe.
She didn't lose any weight but she went from a couch slug to: "Then, a second little miracle. In the first month -- actually, in the first couple weeks, I noticed a remarkable physiological change: my energy levels shot through the roof. No longer did I feel like Rip Van Winkle after every meal; food coma wasn't mandatory anymore. Weirdly, I also started to crave a lot more fruits and other types of veggies that weren't part of my crazy commitment, and wanted far less in the way of sugar and carbs. (Perhaps the diet guru did know what he was talking about.) "
So if she would just divert some of that new extra energy to exercise (and cut out more of the carbs, meat, etc) she may actually lose weight.
But it's a start, and that's what's important.
Determining Your Daily Calorie Needs
Determining how many calories your body needs a day to lose weight really has to be the first step in losing weight. Although you've often seen written that the "average" person needs 2,000-2,200 calories a day, those number are too high for many people. As I've previously written here: http://losingweightafter45isabitch.blogspot.com/2009/04/you-probably-can-consume-far-fewer.html, because I'm 5 foot 2 inches and pretty small boned, I can only consume 1,700 calories a day.
So, if I was on that "average" diet of 2,000 calories a day, I'd be putting on a pound every fifteen days or so (an extra 3,500 calories equals one extra pound).
So forget the averages, and try to figure out approximately what YOUR daily caloric needs are, not some mythical person. I like the Revolution Health calculator, but this article also gives a good summary for figuring it out: http://www.dietsinreview.com/diet_column/07/how-to-determine-your-daily-calorie-needs/
Once you know how much you need, you can then determine how many calories to cut/how much exercise to do to lose weight.
And, remember, the more weight you lose, the fewer calories you need to sustain that new weight. So the more you lose, the more you have to cut calories/exercise, to continue to lose weight.
So, if I was on that "average" diet of 2,000 calories a day, I'd be putting on a pound every fifteen days or so (an extra 3,500 calories equals one extra pound).
So forget the averages, and try to figure out approximately what YOUR daily caloric needs are, not some mythical person. I like the Revolution Health calculator, but this article also gives a good summary for figuring it out: http://www.dietsinreview.com/diet_column/07/how-to-determine-your-daily-calorie-needs/
Once you know how much you need, you can then determine how many calories to cut/how much exercise to do to lose weight.
And, remember, the more weight you lose, the fewer calories you need to sustain that new weight. So the more you lose, the more you have to cut calories/exercise, to continue to lose weight.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Setting the Example
My son is leaving for sleep away camp in August, and my husband will also be away for part of that time on a business trip. With both of the "men" away, I thought it would be the perfect time for a Mother/Daughter "spa" get away.
So I'm taking my daughter August 10-12 to the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, NY (http://www.eomega.org/). Omega is not really a "spa" in the classic sense. It's more of a destination get away for the health conscious. The meals are vegetarian, and there's plenty of swimming, canoeing, yoga classes, hiking etc.
Because we're going mid-week I signed up for a "rest and retreat" program for myself, and my daughter will is signed up for the children's program. We'll have plenty of time together, but I'll also get some time off to go for a hike, take a class or get a massage.
When we're together, I plan to take her canoeing, swimming or hiking. The point is to introduce her early to the idea that exercise is both important and fun.
My other motivation for going to Omega is to try to get her stubbornness to eat a bit better than she currently does. Like many eight year olds, she feels that ingesting fruits and vegetables in anything close to their natural form is gross.
She may only be eight now, but I know her teen years are a blink away. I'm hoping that some day, when her friends are struggling with their weight issues, that she'll thank me for promoting healthy eating and exercising. habits (at least I can dream that).
So I'm taking my daughter August 10-12 to the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, NY (http://www.eomega.org/). Omega is not really a "spa" in the classic sense. It's more of a destination get away for the health conscious. The meals are vegetarian, and there's plenty of swimming, canoeing, yoga classes, hiking etc.
Because we're going mid-week I signed up for a "rest and retreat" program for myself, and my daughter will is signed up for the children's program. We'll have plenty of time together, but I'll also get some time off to go for a hike, take a class or get a massage.
When we're together, I plan to take her canoeing, swimming or hiking. The point is to introduce her early to the idea that exercise is both important and fun.
My other motivation for going to Omega is to try to get her stubbornness to eat a bit better than she currently does. Like many eight year olds, she feels that ingesting fruits and vegetables in anything close to their natural form is gross.
She may only be eight now, but I know her teen years are a blink away. I'm hoping that some day, when her friends are struggling with their weight issues, that she'll thank me for promoting healthy eating and exercising. habits (at least I can dream that).
Want to avoid 17 Pounds of Weight Gain?
Just find some way to walk 30 minutes a day: http://blog.nutritiondata.com/dieting_weight_loss_blog/2009/07/women-avoid-17-pounds-of-weight-gain.html
Monday, July 27, 2009
Buggy
Yesterday, I took the kids for a hike. I had planned a nice four mile loop with a few breaks for rest in a nearby nature conservancy. I knew it would be stretching my eight year old daughter's limits, but I really wanted to set a good example that exercise could be fun.
We had to cut the hike short. We barely made it half-way through my intended route.
We've had an incredibly wet and cold Spring and summer here in Connecticut, and we're starting to see the effects. Despite liberal application of bug spray we were inundated with what must have been thousands of buggy attackers. Anything that could bite was on us.
My poor daughter didn't ask to end the hike early, but kept pleading "Mommy, can we not do this again after it rains." After hiking and slapping ourselves for about 2 miles, I decided we had enough, and took the kids back to the car.
Despite our failed attempt, I do try to take my children hiking at least once or twice a month. I also downhill ski, cross country ski, ice-skate, snowshoe, canoe, kayak, and roller blade with them. I think it's important that the whole family exercises together. It sets up a good example for them to see you active, and anything that gets me moving means I'm burning calories.
And, the kids generally love it (my daughter protests from time to time, but my son can't get enough).
Plus, there's nothing as wonderful, as spending hours hiking, skiing, etc., with my children. Away from the TV and video games, you can really connect with them, and they can't tell you they're bored because they're moving.
We had to cut the hike short. We barely made it half-way through my intended route.
We've had an incredibly wet and cold Spring and summer here in Connecticut, and we're starting to see the effects. Despite liberal application of bug spray we were inundated with what must have been thousands of buggy attackers. Anything that could bite was on us.
My poor daughter didn't ask to end the hike early, but kept pleading "Mommy, can we not do this again after it rains." After hiking and slapping ourselves for about 2 miles, I decided we had enough, and took the kids back to the car.
Despite our failed attempt, I do try to take my children hiking at least once or twice a month. I also downhill ski, cross country ski, ice-skate, snowshoe, canoe, kayak, and roller blade with them. I think it's important that the whole family exercises together. It sets up a good example for them to see you active, and anything that gets me moving means I'm burning calories.
And, the kids generally love it (my daughter protests from time to time, but my son can't get enough).
Plus, there's nothing as wonderful, as spending hours hiking, skiing, etc., with my children. Away from the TV and video games, you can really connect with them, and they can't tell you they're bored because they're moving.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Moving in the Raw Direction
As I've written before, the biggest single factor I attribute my weight loss and maintenance to is switching to eating a mostly raw/vegan diet. I don't say eat only raw, vegan, but try to move in the direction so that, eventually, the majority of your diet is raw/vegan.
I generally aim for my diet to be 60-70% raw vegan. My basic mantra is "raw until dinner," although I do make exceptions. The point is that you need to be flexible, so that if you're invited to that afternoon barbecue, brunch, or lunch out with the girls, you can enjoy yourself, and not be a pain in the ass to your friends and relatives.
Here's the deal, I generally try to eat fruit for breakfast, and a salad consisting of only raw ingredients for lunch (although I also like raw veggies and dip for lunch as well). I try to exclude all meat, fish, eggs and dairy for my first two meals of the day. For dinner, I try to incorporate a raw element, such as a salad or making a pasta dish with a raw sauce, but I generally allow myself to enjoy cooked food, meat, fish, dairy and eggs.
If I go out to restaurants, I try to always start with a salad with a vinaigrette dressing, and stick to lighter fare such as fish, grilled meat or vegetarian dishes.
And, while I generally try to avoid processed sugars, corn syrup and artificial sweeteners, I do actually love dessert from time to time (who doesn't). I just try to save it for those times when I know the dessert is really worth the calories or if I'm at some one's home and it would be rude to turn down their home-made confection (although I usually just ask for a small sliver.)
On those occasions when I "cheat" and have cooked food and/or meat, fish, dairy, or eggs, for breakfast or lunch or have dessert, I look for ways to go completely "raw" later in the week for dinner. Perhaps I'll make hot dogs for the family (which I don't eat) while I have a raw salad for dinner.
Besides weight loss, eating raw offers a lot of health benefits. If you want to read up on the benefits of going raw both "The Raw Food Detox Diet" by Natalia Rose, and "Rainbow Green Live-Food Cuisine," by Gabriel Cousens are good reading.
I'd probably never go to the raw food extremes that both those authors recommend (I don't see myself substituting raw zucchini for pasta anytime soon or making "cheese" from nuts), but you can achieve both the weight loss benefits and health benefits just by eating more fresh fruits and vegetables.
And, I also don't recommend going "cold turkey" and drastically changing your diet either. That's how you feel deprived.
Instead, move in the direction of going raw. Perhaps start out by singling out one or two days a week to eat fruit for breakfast or having a raw salad for lunch. If you're not eating any raw food meals right now, perhaps aim, initially for 20% of your weekly diet be raw/vegan. Over time, increase the number of times a week you do this. Substitute fresh fruit, dried fruits and nuts for processed snacks (only by careful with the dried fruit and nuts because they contain a lot of calories).
Over time, you'll find you will lose weight, and feel better too.
I generally aim for my diet to be 60-70% raw vegan. My basic mantra is "raw until dinner," although I do make exceptions. The point is that you need to be flexible, so that if you're invited to that afternoon barbecue, brunch, or lunch out with the girls, you can enjoy yourself, and not be a pain in the ass to your friends and relatives.
Here's the deal, I generally try to eat fruit for breakfast, and a salad consisting of only raw ingredients for lunch (although I also like raw veggies and dip for lunch as well). I try to exclude all meat, fish, eggs and dairy for my first two meals of the day. For dinner, I try to incorporate a raw element, such as a salad or making a pasta dish with a raw sauce, but I generally allow myself to enjoy cooked food, meat, fish, dairy and eggs.
If I go out to restaurants, I try to always start with a salad with a vinaigrette dressing, and stick to lighter fare such as fish, grilled meat or vegetarian dishes.
And, while I generally try to avoid processed sugars, corn syrup and artificial sweeteners, I do actually love dessert from time to time (who doesn't). I just try to save it for those times when I know the dessert is really worth the calories or if I'm at some one's home and it would be rude to turn down their home-made confection (although I usually just ask for a small sliver.)
On those occasions when I "cheat" and have cooked food and/or meat, fish, dairy, or eggs, for breakfast or lunch or have dessert, I look for ways to go completely "raw" later in the week for dinner. Perhaps I'll make hot dogs for the family (which I don't eat) while I have a raw salad for dinner.
Besides weight loss, eating raw offers a lot of health benefits. If you want to read up on the benefits of going raw both "The Raw Food Detox Diet" by Natalia Rose, and "Rainbow Green Live-Food Cuisine," by Gabriel Cousens are good reading.
I'd probably never go to the raw food extremes that both those authors recommend (I don't see myself substituting raw zucchini for pasta anytime soon or making "cheese" from nuts), but you can achieve both the weight loss benefits and health benefits just by eating more fresh fruits and vegetables.
And, I also don't recommend going "cold turkey" and drastically changing your diet either. That's how you feel deprived.
Instead, move in the direction of going raw. Perhaps start out by singling out one or two days a week to eat fruit for breakfast or having a raw salad for lunch. If you're not eating any raw food meals right now, perhaps aim, initially for 20% of your weekly diet be raw/vegan. Over time, increase the number of times a week you do this. Substitute fresh fruit, dried fruits and nuts for processed snacks (only by careful with the dried fruit and nuts because they contain a lot of calories).
Over time, you'll find you will lose weight, and feel better too.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Turn Off that Damn Air Conditioning
When we moved into our 1825 New England Farmhouse fifteen years ago, there was no central air conditioning. The window units we purchased, we soon discovered, didn't do much to cool down the place because the antiquated electrical system didn't give them enough juice to get the job done.
So, we adapted. We just got used to the heat. We got fans, got used to taking cool showers and, we spent a lot of time outdoors because it was cooler, particularly in the late afternoons and early evenings.
Outside, my son would play on the swing set, and run around in the yard (my daughter was not born yet). I'd putter around in the yard and garden. On particularly hot days, I'd take my son to the local swimming hole.
Then nine years ago we renovated and added on to the house, upgrading the electrical system and adding central air in the process.
A funny thing happened once we got the central air. We no longer went outside in the summer, we'd even declare it "to hot" to go swimming. The kids sat around the house playing video games and watching TV.
I also sat around the house. Instead of working off calories puttering around the yard, I sat on my ass watching TV (which subsequently got bigger).
Two years ago I said no more. I turned off the air conditioning on all put the hottest days (when the temperature approached 90 and above). Even then I keep the thermostat set at 85. The end result is that we all go outside again (not to mention the savings on our fuel bills).
My husband didn't like turning off the air conditioning, initially, but the soaring costs to run the system brought him quickly on board.
I bring this up today, because there's an article in the New York Times today on turning off air conditioning. You can find it here: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/23/garden/23air.html?_r=1&8dpc
Besides the issues brought up in this article, I firmly believe that turning off air conditioning helps you to lose weight. First, it's the getting outside and moving issue. If you move, you burn more calories then you would sitting inside watching TV.
But, sweating also helps you to lose weight, and I mean actual weight not just water weight. Sweating helps you to detox, and when you detox, your body is more willing to shed fat. If you're one of those people who can never seem to lose weight, then I bet dollars to dimes you're someone who doesn't let them self sweat.
So, if you want to lose weight, turn off the air conditioning, get outside and move, and sweat.
So, we adapted. We just got used to the heat. We got fans, got used to taking cool showers and, we spent a lot of time outdoors because it was cooler, particularly in the late afternoons and early evenings.
Outside, my son would play on the swing set, and run around in the yard (my daughter was not born yet). I'd putter around in the yard and garden. On particularly hot days, I'd take my son to the local swimming hole.
Then nine years ago we renovated and added on to the house, upgrading the electrical system and adding central air in the process.
A funny thing happened once we got the central air. We no longer went outside in the summer, we'd even declare it "to hot" to go swimming. The kids sat around the house playing video games and watching TV.
I also sat around the house. Instead of working off calories puttering around the yard, I sat on my ass watching TV (which subsequently got bigger).
Two years ago I said no more. I turned off the air conditioning on all put the hottest days (when the temperature approached 90 and above). Even then I keep the thermostat set at 85. The end result is that we all go outside again (not to mention the savings on our fuel bills).
My husband didn't like turning off the air conditioning, initially, but the soaring costs to run the system brought him quickly on board.
I bring this up today, because there's an article in the New York Times today on turning off air conditioning. You can find it here: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/23/garden/23air.html?_r=1&8dpc
Besides the issues brought up in this article, I firmly believe that turning off air conditioning helps you to lose weight. First, it's the getting outside and moving issue. If you move, you burn more calories then you would sitting inside watching TV.
But, sweating also helps you to lose weight, and I mean actual weight not just water weight. Sweating helps you to detox, and when you detox, your body is more willing to shed fat. If you're one of those people who can never seem to lose weight, then I bet dollars to dimes you're someone who doesn't let them self sweat.
So, if you want to lose weight, turn off the air conditioning, get outside and move, and sweat.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
The Food Pyramid is Making You Fat
Another example of the bad influence of the corporate food industry on our weight: http://metablitz.wordpress.com/2009/07/22/the-food-pyramid-is-making-you-fat/#comment-553
"For years, you and I have been led to believe that good health is attained by practicing the lifestyle advocated in the age old food pyramid. The food pyramid was and is considered the holy bible of nutritionists, dietitians and doctors.
The food pyramid was the foundation of health. But what if the very foundation of health itself was built on a false foundation? Obesity is a major epidemic in our times. People are becoming overweight to the point of obese. Is the food pyramid a contributor to this epidemic?
“The famous food pyramid is wrong and hurts both waistlines and health”, claims Dr. Walter Willett, in his new book Eat, Drink and Be Healthy: The Harvard Medical School Guide to Healthy Eating."
101 Simple Salads for the Season
Today, vegetarian until dinner, and New York Times Food Critic, Mark Bittman, gives recipes for 101 Salads for the season in his weekly column. Broken down into the categories of vegan, vegetarian, salads with seafood, salads with meat, salads with noodles and grain salads, there are plenty of ideas to up your raw percentage for both lunch and dinner. The recipes are here: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/22/dining/22mlist.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=bittman%20salad&st=cse
As you all know, I generally try to eat a raw, vegan diet until dinner. But even at dinner time I try to up my raw percentage (which I generally try to aim at 60-70% for the week) by either having a salad with dinner or making a salad the centerpiece for my dinner.
The raw asparagus salad (recipe number 4) definitely seems worth a try as does the radish/jicama salad with mango (recipe number 5).
Tonight I'm making a version of Bittman's more vegetable, less egg frittata which I wrote about here: http://losingweightafter45isabitch.blogspot.com/2009/07/more-vegetable-less-egg-frittata.html
As you all know, I generally try to eat a raw, vegan diet until dinner. But even at dinner time I try to up my raw percentage (which I generally try to aim at 60-70% for the week) by either having a salad with dinner or making a salad the centerpiece for my dinner.
The raw asparagus salad (recipe number 4) definitely seems worth a try as does the radish/jicama salad with mango (recipe number 5).
Tonight I'm making a version of Bittman's more vegetable, less egg frittata which I wrote about here: http://losingweightafter45isabitch.blogspot.com/2009/07/more-vegetable-less-egg-frittata.html
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Losing Weight Isn't Just about Looking Good
I was reading this piece in the Washington Post, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/14/AR2009071400671.html when I was reminded that losing excess fat is about more than just looking good (although it can be a primary motivator).
When I set out to lose weight, I was unhappy with how I looked. But I was probably even more unhappy with my health and my lack of energy. It seemed to be a self-perpetuating cycle. I was too tired to do anything, and because I moved less, I gained weight. And, I was constantly sick, everything from minor colds and head-aches to pneumonia.
But, as Ezra Klein points out, counting calories is a public health issue. He seems ambivalent to the idea of posting calorie counts at restaurants, but I really think they should be blatantly posted. Not only would it encourage all of us to consume fewer calories, but it may even induce restaurants to reduce portion sizes, fat, sugar, etc. to reduce calorie counts.
We wouldn't just be thinner, we'd all be healthier.
When I set out to lose weight, I was unhappy with how I looked. But I was probably even more unhappy with my health and my lack of energy. It seemed to be a self-perpetuating cycle. I was too tired to do anything, and because I moved less, I gained weight. And, I was constantly sick, everything from minor colds and head-aches to pneumonia.
But, as Ezra Klein points out, counting calories is a public health issue. He seems ambivalent to the idea of posting calorie counts at restaurants, but I really think they should be blatantly posted. Not only would it encourage all of us to consume fewer calories, but it may even induce restaurants to reduce portion sizes, fat, sugar, etc. to reduce calorie counts.
We wouldn't just be thinner, we'd all be healthier.
The Days of Eating a Bag of Cookies and Still Fitting into My Jeans are Over
And, forget about eating that pint of Ben & Jerry's. Now that I'm almost 50 it's truly amazing how fast I can put on weight and how slowly it comes off.
I slacked off my exercise routine just a tiny bit because, you know, I had surgery on Friday. I still watched my diet, and probably the only indulgence I've had since the surgery was sneaking a few pieces of black liquorice in the candy/ice cream store we stopped by on Saturday to get the kids a treat.
Pre-op I was 125.2 pounds. Today I'm 127.4. Hopefully it's just water gain, but its still disconcerting.
I slacked off my exercise routine just a tiny bit because, you know, I had surgery on Friday. I still watched my diet, and probably the only indulgence I've had since the surgery was sneaking a few pieces of black liquorice in the candy/ice cream store we stopped by on Saturday to get the kids a treat.
Pre-op I was 125.2 pounds. Today I'm 127.4. Hopefully it's just water gain, but its still disconcerting.
Cooking from the Garden and Farmer's Market
Thus far, I've gotten only two cherry tomatoes off the vines in my garden. But, I've been buying big, beautiful, luscious tomatoes at the farmers' markets for a few weeks now (mostly generic early beefsteak types).
Last Thursday at the Farmers' Market in Westport, however, I bought my first heirloom tomatoes of the season--a few nice Brandywines. I knew I couldn't use them for a few days, so I bought them under ripe, and let them ripen up on my kitchen counter (you should never, ever refrigerate tomatoes). Yesterday, they were perfect and ready to go.
In the summer, I make a raw tomato sauce with pasta at least once a week. It's a perfect way to take advantage of all the flavorful, fresh tomatoes and to up my raw percentage for the week.
I must have at least a dozen different raw tomato sauce recipes, but last week in Westport, I also bought some fresh chevre from a vendor who makes his own goats milk cheeses from his own herd of goats. A walk out to the garden produced a colander full of fresh parsley and basil, and fresh garlic and extra virgin olive oil are constant staples in my pantry (being that I'm a nice Italian girl). So last night I whipped up a dinner of pasta with Raw Tomato Sauce with fresh Herbs and Chevre.
What made this dish even more perfect is that my son had a 4 O'clock piano lesson, so I didn't get home until after 5. But I prepared everything in advance, and when I walked in the door, all I had to do was boil the water, cook the pasta and toss. Easy peasy.
Raw Tomato Sauce with Fresh Herbs and Chevre
3 large tomatoes (preferably an heirloom variety like Brandywine), cored and chopped
1 to 2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
4 ounces fresh Chevre
2 cups chopped fresh Parsley and Basil
1 pound whole wheat Angel Hair pasta
In a large bowl, mix together the tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. Set aside, at room temperature, for at least 2 and up to 8 hours.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add pasta. Cook until the pasta is al dente. Meanwhile, break up the chevre and add to the tomato mixture and mix in the parsley and basil.
Drain the pasta and add to the tomato/chevre mixture and serve.
Last Thursday at the Farmers' Market in Westport, however, I bought my first heirloom tomatoes of the season--a few nice Brandywines. I knew I couldn't use them for a few days, so I bought them under ripe, and let them ripen up on my kitchen counter (you should never, ever refrigerate tomatoes). Yesterday, they were perfect and ready to go.
In the summer, I make a raw tomato sauce with pasta at least once a week. It's a perfect way to take advantage of all the flavorful, fresh tomatoes and to up my raw percentage for the week.
I must have at least a dozen different raw tomato sauce recipes, but last week in Westport, I also bought some fresh chevre from a vendor who makes his own goats milk cheeses from his own herd of goats. A walk out to the garden produced a colander full of fresh parsley and basil, and fresh garlic and extra virgin olive oil are constant staples in my pantry (being that I'm a nice Italian girl). So last night I whipped up a dinner of pasta with Raw Tomato Sauce with fresh Herbs and Chevre.
What made this dish even more perfect is that my son had a 4 O'clock piano lesson, so I didn't get home until after 5. But I prepared everything in advance, and when I walked in the door, all I had to do was boil the water, cook the pasta and toss. Easy peasy.
Raw Tomato Sauce with Fresh Herbs and Chevre
3 large tomatoes (preferably an heirloom variety like Brandywine), cored and chopped
1 to 2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
4 ounces fresh Chevre
2 cups chopped fresh Parsley and Basil
1 pound whole wheat Angel Hair pasta
In a large bowl, mix together the tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. Set aside, at room temperature, for at least 2 and up to 8 hours.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add pasta. Cook until the pasta is al dente. Meanwhile, break up the chevre and add to the tomato mixture and mix in the parsley and basil.
Drain the pasta and add to the tomato/chevre mixture and serve.
It's all In how you see it
Another fantastic inspirational post: http://jackfit.blogspot.com/2009/07/reversing-it.html
Monday, July 20, 2009
Shopping the Perimeter
Good post from fellow weight loss blogger, Queen of my Domain: http://www.queenofdadomain.com/2009/07/grocery-shoppingpicnic.html
America is Getting Fatter
There's a great piece in the New Yorker this week (I especially love the cover art): http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2009/07/20/090720crbo_books_kolbert?printable=true
This part is particularly interesting:
"Men are now on average seventeen pounds heavier than they were in the late seventies, and for women that figure is even higher: nineteen pounds. The proportion of overweight children, age six to eleven, has more than doubled, while the proportion of overweight adolescents, age twelve to nineteen, has more than tripled. (According to the standards of the United States military, forty per cent of young women and twenty-five per cent of young men weigh too much to enlist.) As the average person became heavier, the very heavy became heavier still; more than twelve million Americans now have a body-mass index greater than forty, which, for someone who is five feet nine, entails weighing more than two hundred and seventy pounds. Hospitals have had to buy special wheelchairs and operating tables to accommodate the obese, and revolving doors have had to be widened—the typical door went from about ten feet to about twelve feet across. An Indiana company called Goliath Casket has begun offering triple-wide coffins with reinforced hinges that can hold up to eleven hundred pounds. It has been estimated that Americans’ extra bulk costs the airlines a quarter of a billion dollars’ worth of jet fuel annually."
What's been going on since the 1970's that could have lead to Americans gaining so much extra weight? The article discusses "upsizing" or portions, but my guess is that instead of focusing on just eating less and exercising more, we've become obsessed in chasing the latest miracle fat loss diet. The end result is that we've gained weight overall instead of losing it.
This part is also interesting:
"Although no one really knows what life was like in the Pleistocene, it seems reasonable to assume that early humans lived, as it were, hand to mouth. In good times, they needed to stockpile food for use in hard times, but the only place they had to store it was on themselves. Body fat is energy-rich and at the same time lightweight: when the water is taken out, a gram of fat contains 9.4 kilocalories, compared with 4.3 kilocalories for a gram of protein, and when the water is left in, as it is on the human belly, a gram of fat still contains 9.1 kilocalories, while a gram of protein has just 1.2. As a consequence, a person with a genetic knack for storing fat would have had a competitive advantage. Power and Schulkin are both researchers at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and they argue that this advantage would have been especially strong for women. Human infants are unusually portly; among mammals, only hooded seals have a higher percentage of body fat at birth. (Presumably, babies need the extra reserves to fuel their oversized brains.) Tellingly, humans, unlike most other animals, have no set season of fertility. Instead, ovulation is tied to a woman’s fat stores: those who are very thin simply fail to menstruate.
Of course, for early humans putting on too many pounds would have been a significant disadvantage; it’s hard to chase down a mastodon or track through a forest if you’re tubby. Thus, there would appear to be a Darwinian argument against obesity as well. Power and Schulkin get around this problem by noting that, as a practical matter, opportunities for eating too much were limited. Austerity was the rule for hunter-gatherer societies, and that didn’t change when people started to form farming communities, some ten thousand years ago. In fact, human remains from many parts of the world show that early agriculturalists were less well fed than their Paleolithic forebears; their skeletons are several inches shorter and often show signs of nutrition-related diseases, like anemia. Genes that controlled weight gain wouldn’t have been selected for because they simply weren’t needed.
In America today, by contrast, obtaining calories is very nearly effortless; as Power and Schulkin observe, with a few dollars it’s possible to go to the grocery store and purchase enough sugar or vegetable oil to fulfill the average person’s energy requirements for a week. The result is what’s known as the “mismatch paradigm.” The human body is “mismatched” to the human situation. “We evolved on the savannahs of Africa,” Power and Schulkin write. “We now live in Candyland.” "
See, as I been writing, NOT EATING for a period of time is actually quite natural-- contrary to what food companies want you to believe. Our bodies evolved to go through famine periods by using up the fat stores in our bodies. What is actually NOT NATURAL is eating three caloric dense meals a day, 365 days a year.
This part is particularly interesting:
"Men are now on average seventeen pounds heavier than they were in the late seventies, and for women that figure is even higher: nineteen pounds. The proportion of overweight children, age six to eleven, has more than doubled, while the proportion of overweight adolescents, age twelve to nineteen, has more than tripled. (According to the standards of the United States military, forty per cent of young women and twenty-five per cent of young men weigh too much to enlist.) As the average person became heavier, the very heavy became heavier still; more than twelve million Americans now have a body-mass index greater than forty, which, for someone who is five feet nine, entails weighing more than two hundred and seventy pounds. Hospitals have had to buy special wheelchairs and operating tables to accommodate the obese, and revolving doors have had to be widened—the typical door went from about ten feet to about twelve feet across. An Indiana company called Goliath Casket has begun offering triple-wide coffins with reinforced hinges that can hold up to eleven hundred pounds. It has been estimated that Americans’ extra bulk costs the airlines a quarter of a billion dollars’ worth of jet fuel annually."
What's been going on since the 1970's that could have lead to Americans gaining so much extra weight? The article discusses "upsizing" or portions, but my guess is that instead of focusing on just eating less and exercising more, we've become obsessed in chasing the latest miracle fat loss diet. The end result is that we've gained weight overall instead of losing it.
This part is also interesting:
"Although no one really knows what life was like in the Pleistocene, it seems reasonable to assume that early humans lived, as it were, hand to mouth. In good times, they needed to stockpile food for use in hard times, but the only place they had to store it was on themselves. Body fat is energy-rich and at the same time lightweight: when the water is taken out, a gram of fat contains 9.4 kilocalories, compared with 4.3 kilocalories for a gram of protein, and when the water is left in, as it is on the human belly, a gram of fat still contains 9.1 kilocalories, while a gram of protein has just 1.2. As a consequence, a person with a genetic knack for storing fat would have had a competitive advantage. Power and Schulkin are both researchers at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and they argue that this advantage would have been especially strong for women. Human infants are unusually portly; among mammals, only hooded seals have a higher percentage of body fat at birth. (Presumably, babies need the extra reserves to fuel their oversized brains.) Tellingly, humans, unlike most other animals, have no set season of fertility. Instead, ovulation is tied to a woman’s fat stores: those who are very thin simply fail to menstruate.
Of course, for early humans putting on too many pounds would have been a significant disadvantage; it’s hard to chase down a mastodon or track through a forest if you’re tubby. Thus, there would appear to be a Darwinian argument against obesity as well. Power and Schulkin get around this problem by noting that, as a practical matter, opportunities for eating too much were limited. Austerity was the rule for hunter-gatherer societies, and that didn’t change when people started to form farming communities, some ten thousand years ago. In fact, human remains from many parts of the world show that early agriculturalists were less well fed than their Paleolithic forebears; their skeletons are several inches shorter and often show signs of nutrition-related diseases, like anemia. Genes that controlled weight gain wouldn’t have been selected for because they simply weren’t needed.
In America today, by contrast, obtaining calories is very nearly effortless; as Power and Schulkin observe, with a few dollars it’s possible to go to the grocery store and purchase enough sugar or vegetable oil to fulfill the average person’s energy requirements for a week. The result is what’s known as the “mismatch paradigm.” The human body is “mismatched” to the human situation. “We evolved on the savannahs of Africa,” Power and Schulkin write. “We now live in Candyland.” "
See, as I been writing, NOT EATING for a period of time is actually quite natural-- contrary to what food companies want you to believe. Our bodies evolved to go through famine periods by using up the fat stores in our bodies. What is actually NOT NATURAL is eating three caloric dense meals a day, 365 days a year.
Post-Op--Getting Back into the Exercise Routine
I'm still not 100% up to speed following my surgery on Friday. I took a couple of short, easy walks this weekend on the treadmill, but otherwise I basically slept through most of the weekend.
Today was the day the doctors said I could drive and return to my "normal routine." I've always found, however, that "normal routine," essentially means sitting at a desk and emptying a dishwasher, not training for a marathon (if that's part of your "normal routine"), and certainly not doing a full Ashtanga primary series practice.
Still, I wanted to start to get back to my normal exercise routine. I didn't, however, want to risk overdoing it and injuring myself. So, this morning walked my normal 3.5 mile outside route, sans the 2 pound weights I normally carry. I also went at a slower pace and gave myself more time to complete the walk.
I also did my normal Monday morning yoga practice. I only did, however, about half of what I normally do. Over the week, I'll gradually work myself back up to my normal work-outs.
I think it's better to do something, exercise-wise, than nothing. I may have only did a fraction of my normal yoga practice, but by going back and even doing that little bit, I set the wheels in motion to getting back to my normal routine faster.
Today was the day the doctors said I could drive and return to my "normal routine." I've always found, however, that "normal routine," essentially means sitting at a desk and emptying a dishwasher, not training for a marathon (if that's part of your "normal routine"), and certainly not doing a full Ashtanga primary series practice.
Still, I wanted to start to get back to my normal exercise routine. I didn't, however, want to risk overdoing it and injuring myself. So, this morning walked my normal 3.5 mile outside route, sans the 2 pound weights I normally carry. I also went at a slower pace and gave myself more time to complete the walk.
I also did my normal Monday morning yoga practice. I only did, however, about half of what I normally do. Over the week, I'll gradually work myself back up to my normal work-outs.
I think it's better to do something, exercise-wise, than nothing. I may have only did a fraction of my normal yoga practice, but by going back and even doing that little bit, I set the wheels in motion to getting back to my normal routine faster.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Is the Cheesecake Factory Gross?
Ezra Klein of the Washington Post has an interesting column in an ongoing series of columns related to calorie labeling here: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2009/07/is_the_cheesecake_factory_gros.html
I found this bit particularly interesting:
"If I had gone to the Cheesecake Factory with the intention of ordering relatively healthfully, it's pretty likely that the miso salmon would have ended up on my plate. A heart-healthy fish with a soy-based glaze? What could be better?
A lot, as it turns out. On first glance, I would have figure the salmon for the lightest entree, followed by the chicken piccata, the carbonara, and the crispy beef. Not so. The salmon weighs in at 1,673 calories -- which is to say, a bit more than 75 percent of the food an adult male should eat in a day. The piccata is a comparably slim 1,385 calories. The crispy beef is 1,528 calories. And the carbonara? 2,191. The answer might be that someone looking for a healthful meal shouldn't go to the Cheesecake Factory. But insofar as you're already there, or your family wants to go there, making a good decision isn't a particularly straightforward proposition.
This is why the obesity crisis is such a tough issue: Calories are delicious. The Cheesecake Factory isn't doing anything wrong, either ethically or culinarily. Human beings are wired to prefer abundance, salt, fat, sugar, and value. The Cheesecake Factory is giving people the whole package. Changing people's eating habits so that type two diabetes don't become the new chubby would be easy if the food was actually repulsive or the value was bad or it was all, in some other way, a trick. But it's not. The food is enjoyable. The value is incredible. The cost is long-term, and remembering that we might get diabetes down the road is pretty hard when eons of evolutionary wiring are telling us to eat this stuff now now now now it's right here now now!"
Who would have thunk that if I ordered salmon I'd blow my entire Caloric "wad" for the day?
Another columnist, James Joyner further discusses the Klein piece here: http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/archives/its_got_cheesecake_right_in_the_name/.
Both articles are thought proving and worth a read.
I for one would love to know the calories I'm consuming when I go to restaurants, even if it was a "range" if the exact count couldn't be specifically nailed down. With the obesity epidemic what it is in the country, not to mention those of us just trying to keep our weight down, knowing the caloric content of the foods we eat would be invaluable information.
I found this bit particularly interesting:
"If I had gone to the Cheesecake Factory with the intention of ordering relatively healthfully, it's pretty likely that the miso salmon would have ended up on my plate. A heart-healthy fish with a soy-based glaze? What could be better?
A lot, as it turns out. On first glance, I would have figure the salmon for the lightest entree, followed by the chicken piccata, the carbonara, and the crispy beef. Not so. The salmon weighs in at 1,673 calories -- which is to say, a bit more than 75 percent of the food an adult male should eat in a day. The piccata is a comparably slim 1,385 calories. The crispy beef is 1,528 calories. And the carbonara? 2,191. The answer might be that someone looking for a healthful meal shouldn't go to the Cheesecake Factory. But insofar as you're already there, or your family wants to go there, making a good decision isn't a particularly straightforward proposition.
This is why the obesity crisis is such a tough issue: Calories are delicious. The Cheesecake Factory isn't doing anything wrong, either ethically or culinarily. Human beings are wired to prefer abundance, salt, fat, sugar, and value. The Cheesecake Factory is giving people the whole package. Changing people's eating habits so that type two diabetes don't become the new chubby would be easy if the food was actually repulsive or the value was bad or it was all, in some other way, a trick. But it's not. The food is enjoyable. The value is incredible. The cost is long-term, and remembering that we might get diabetes down the road is pretty hard when eons of evolutionary wiring are telling us to eat this stuff now now now now it's right here now now!"
Who would have thunk that if I ordered salmon I'd blow my entire Caloric "wad" for the day?
Another columnist, James Joyner further discusses the Klein piece here: http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/archives/its_got_cheesecake_right_in_the_name/.
Both articles are thought proving and worth a read.
I for one would love to know the calories I'm consuming when I go to restaurants, even if it was a "range" if the exact count couldn't be specifically nailed down. With the obesity epidemic what it is in the country, not to mention those of us just trying to keep our weight down, knowing the caloric content of the foods we eat would be invaluable information.
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