So most of you know I'm working on a new book...

I'm working on a section about teaching us how to cut out excess calories...what kind of information will be the most helpful to you?

What do you need to know? What do you want to know? What do you WISH someone would tell you or invent?

quote:

Originally posted by Brie:
KD - I think some of the best advice you give is to measure out the high fat/high calorie items.

I agree. I have grabbed hold of that advice and it has served me super well. Load up on veggies and cut back on fats, cheeses and pasta. You've always had such a beautiful way of making a plate of food that's low/moderate in calories look rich and full and inviting.

quote:

Originally posted by kd:
It's for a section on how to trim calories out of your diet. There are so many books on the subject that I don't want to bombard you with the same information....

KD, Books on this subject that I have found to be very helpful:

1. Volumetrics by Barbara Rolls

I found her research to be both interesting and very helpful. People eat about the same amount of food every day… I think that it is about 2 lbs. And even if you stand there with your food scale and measure out 1 oz of cheese and 12 crackers (like 300 calories worth) for a snack… you may very well be hungry after eating it… because it weighs about 2 oz. But if you have a giant bowl of veg soup with ¼ oz of parm cheese on top… you eat about 150 cals… and be REALLY full.

Calories count… but if all of your calories during the day don’t add up to about 2 pounds of food… you still may be physically hungry… even if you are eating enough. And snacks like pretzels or 100 calorie Nabisco Snack Packs… even portion controlled… may very well back fire on you.

I also know that MANY, MANY people start a diet and go and stock up on 100 calorie packs or stand at the counter, putting low fat potato chips into baggies… and then get frustrated because:

a) Those calories add up FAST… if you are counting calories… you can use up a good percentage of them pretty quickly on 2 or 3 baggies of dry food. And it can make counting calories pretty depressing.

b) they are not filling

c) They are the kinds of foods that you can eat about 1,500 calories worth and still be hungry and want MORE. Most of the time… you eat half a package of froz vegs… you don’t go back and cook up the rest of the bag.

But this book REALLY changed how I think about SNACKS and what is a good snack. Because conventional calorie counting wisdom is that it is all about calories in and calories out. And as long as you measure and portion out your food… nothing is off limits… and that IS TRUE. But, I also know that if I choose to eat 200 cals of pretzels for a snack… I’m going to be hungrier than if I have an apple and bowl of oatmeal.

2. Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think by Brian Wansink

I know that I’ve cut back on calories in restaurants after reading this book… but it isn’t about “Order the steamed vegs and not the fried”… it is all about the marketing. It is very hard to describe… but I’ll think to myself… ok, I’m having the urge to eat more calories because _________. And it might be something like the description of the food or the price of the food. Like if we are on vacation and eating breakfast, and I decide I’m eating oatmeal… and then I look at the menu and it says:

The Deane Family Farm Omlette $16.95
3 fresh farm laid eggs from free range chickens; our lean country cured ham, hand smoked; 5 artesian cheeses selected by our chef; organic vegetables in season; all served with our country hash browns with the Deane House seasoning blend and San Francisco sour dough toast and fresh creamery butter.

Plain Oatmeal $3.55

I cave in and get the omlet, because it sounds sooooo good! and then it comes and it is a shiny ham and cheese omelet (and being a good WW’er… I dab the extra "shiny-ness" with a paper napkin) and with some previously frozen potatoes and the “organic vegetables in season” is a tablespoon of cooked onion and a sprig of parsley and the “Deane House Seasoning” is salt and pepper and garlic powder… and I eat it, AND really enjoy it!! because I’ve been sold that it is “special” and even healthy. Not to meantion... almost $17 for a BREAKFAST... it MUST be good!

And I get home and plug it into Fitday:
3 eggs (but I only ate 2) 160 cals
2 oz Ham - 120 cals
1 oz Cheese - 100 cals
1.5 slices of toast - 120 (according to Fitday… even if the slices are the size of a twin mattress…)
1 tsp Butter (already melted on to the toast) 40
Potatoes 70

Total = 610 cals (whoa!! Almost half of my days total!!! But it is ok… because it was brunch and was two meals)

But nobody counts up the 8 TBS of clarified butter the cook used… or that he threw in 6 oz of cheese which is pretty hard to measure when it is melted into the omlet. And 6 oz of ham.
And in reality, I started out with 2,700 calories on my plate and 94 fat grams and two days of sodium, but I only ate 3/4 as I stopped when I was full... So it was really, “only” 2025 calories.

But this book has sold me that there are LOTS and LOTS of reasons why we over eat in restaurants… and we don’t even know that we are over eating… and when people are asked afterwards they ALWAYS say that they didn’t eat that that much more than usual. And it is virtually impossible NOT to eat more calories in a restaurant… and it is virtually impossible to accurately count up the calories… because we didn‘t make it.

3. Small Batch Baking

Hey, I’m so glad to be able to make 3 cookies… Has saved me lots and lots and lots of calories.

KD - I think some of the best advice you give is to measure out the high fat/high calorie items. It's amazing how quickly even good, healthy, olive oil like calories can add up when you are just pouring it from the bottle vs measuring it out. Same holds true for cheese! Those are easy calories to cut back on without sacrificing flavor when you are using the right stuff at the right point in the preparation process.

Cheese. It's a super easy protein source. It's just way too easy to grab a string cheese (reduced -fat) or make a grilled cheese.

I can't eat peanut butter. It's hard to find a late afternoon snack with a bit of protein that's quick and easy. Cheese is easy, but maybe not the best choice. Any alternatives?

THANK YOU!! Your responses are REALLY insightful. I truly appreciate the time that you have taken to formulate and post your thoughts. Despite my lack of posting sometimes, I'm here.

I'm engrossed in this book right now. I want it to be a USEFUL tool for you guys. I want it to speak to your everyday needs and to really and truly SERVE you, because you deserve it. You don't need any more door stops!

Your insights are truly helpful. They focus me and they help me make a case for my editors. We all want to deliver you the best book possible.

I'm going to start a new thread on diet books you like....but please, as new thoughts come to you on foods you need help cutting out of your diet - list them here.

It's for a section on how to trim calories out of your diet. There are so many books on the subject that I don't want to bombard you with the same information....For instance, did you find EAT THIS NOT THAT TO BE HELPFUL?

I don't know of anything in particular that I eat too much of now.

It used to be chocolate but now that I know that was what was causing those horrible burning pains, I have no problem leaving it alone.

And it used to be watergate salad but now the pineapple in it also causes severe pain due to acid reflux so I have learned to limit that also.

If I had it readily available (and didn't have to go somewhere & pay for it) I could very easily eat way too much biscuits & gravy (and not just at breakfast).

I wish someone would tell me what the "magic" weight is. I know what I weighed in college. I know what I weigh now. I know what my goal is...but is it low enough? High enough? Can I maintain at it? Will I look okay? Will things start sagging, or tighten up? What is that MAGIC number where my health, looks, and attitude align?

quote:

Originally posted by iz:
and you don't think you give good advice about TOM and PMS?????? denise....you DO ROCK!!!

LOL! I thought you must have had me confused with somebody else, since I think that "good" advice is kind and empathetic and includes, "I really feel for you... here is what has worked for me..."

Not, "I have now read 785,493 posts about PMS and chocolate cravings and salt cravings and bloat and weight gain and being too tired to exercise... and just snap out of it!!!"

quote:

Originally posted by kd:
What do you WISH someone would tell you?

I’m thinking back to the times in my life when I’ve gained weight… or when I’ve struggled and what do I wish I’d known (or things I see others struggle with...).

1. When I was 19... I weighed EXACTLY what I do now… (I’m 5’2” and about 122ish) and I spent YEARS and YEARS wishing that I weighed less. I wish that it didn’t take me 27 %$#*& years to figure out that I look GOOD and I needed to diet like I needed more rocks in my head. I think that many people’s food and weight problems probably start like mine. Go to the WW site and check out the “Less to Lose” Board and it is FILLED with people who are a good, healthy weight… people who are THIN even… and want to lose 3 or 5 or 10 or 15 lbs. And it isn’t just 19 year olds. Women (mostly women) in their 30’s, 40’s, 50’s and even 60’s. It is very sad, I think.

2. I gained about when I turned 30... I THOUGHT, “Oh, I’m getting older… that is what happens.”
I wish somebody had given me a wake up call and I had known that turning 30 or 40 does NOT automatically mean that you gain 15 or 20 lbs.

When I turned 30, we had more money (I think that happens to many people)… we bought a second car and stopped walking to the grocery store, and the bus stop; started eating out more; moved to the suburbs; got married and stopped going on dates that involved dancing for 4 hours on Friday and another 4 hours Saturday night; and started sitting on the couch (while eating), watching Seinfeld instead… THAT is why I gained weight… it wasn’t some flip of the calendar. I wish I had a better grip on reality and didn’t blame “getting older”. (And ha, ha, ha… that I thought turning 30 was “getting older! What was I thinking?!?!!? )

I also lost about 40 lbs in my mid 40‘s. My mom lost 40 lbs at age 63. As far as I can tell, it is not harder to lose weight as you get older. If I eat about 3500 calories less than I burn… I generally lose about 1 pound of fat. And as far as I can tell... perimenopause is NOT causing some mysterious slow down of my metabolism or some weight creep of unknown origin. I gained a couple lbs (of FAT… wasn’t any water weight) over the holidays… but eating out 9 times in 13 days will do that to a person… and when I got back on track… they came right off in a couple of weeks.

Not to say you are “old” or anything… but, KD you've been doing this a couple of DECADES now, and you are in a good position to bust the “I’m gaining because I’m getting older… and it is beyond my control” myth. PLUS, about age 40 or 50 is when doctors start really hounding people to lose weight… and it is very do-able.

3. THE BIGGIE!!! I wish that I had learned to cope with stress in a healthier way and that stress eating is actually a REALLY krappy way to cope with stress, depression and grief. I gained 40 lbs in 4 months when I turned 40 (and then gained another 15 over the next couple of years)... And the weight gain wasn’t caused by that flip of the calendar into a new decade. It wouldn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out why I gained so much, so fast. I got really depressed and self medicated with chocolate cake. In my case, we are talking whole entire cakes for breakfast. But even more “normal” stress eating… like a pint of Ben and Jerry’s… can REALLY wreck havoc with weight control. Or being “too tired to cook” or “no time too cook” because of some stress… and driving thru for fast food… is the fast track to weight gain.

I’ve read that stress eating is a SIGNIFICANT indicator of weight re-gain in other wise successful losers… but it is not a particularly effective way to cope with periods of stress or grief or depression that virtually ever person goes thru in their lives.

But if a person is saying to themselves 1, 2, 6 or 17 times a week, “I need/deserve/have to have ______, because I’m so sad/angry/tired/frustrated/over worked/under appreciated/anxious/PMS-ing, etc, etc.” they REALLY, REALLY need to acquire so new/better coping skills or they are doomed to a lifetime of weight struggles and scale anxiety.

I think that you are really in a good position to write about that with the past couple years you had with Miho and you tripping over her cat and breaking your back and career/income challenges.

4. BIGGIE number 2... The average person who does Weight Watcher’s for two years loses (drum roll, please…) 6 lbs. I’m willing to bet that the average person who is losing an average amount of weight REALLY WISHES somebody could or would tell them how not to be sooooo frustratingly “average”. On the other hand, the “average” WW’er is losing an average of .25 lbs per month… and I know people that would actually LOVE to loss “that fast”.

I was “lucky” and only needed to lose about 40 lbs. Took me 40 stupid months to lose 37 stupid pounds and then I lost another 2-3 over the next couple years. I thought that my weight loss was some of the most pathetic in the history of the world. It NEVER occurred to me that I was losing 3 or 4 times faster than the average person. (Of course, I went 19 months and didn’t lose anything at all.)

I THINK that most people believe that the average person loses 1-2 lbs a week… but if that were the case… there would be no overweight people at all. 1-2 lbs a week is actually the suggested HEALTHY weight loss. There is something very IRONIC that people WANT to lose BIG, BIG numbers like on the Biggest Loser… and are warned that 1-2 lbs a week is a healthy weight loss… and the average person, who is actually losing weight is losing ¼ lb… a month.

PS… my tip would be that if you go into weight loss mode and lose some weight (or even accidentally lose some weight) set a RED line and decide that you are NOT gaining that weight back. And if you do gain 2-3 lbs back… JUMP on that weight gain and take it off.

5. I think that many people are actually pretty good at losing weight… but don’t know how to keep it off. I know that there is a large group of people who have lost weight or know how to lose weight and wish that they knew how to keep it off. I know people that have lost weight several times… SHOOT! I know several people (women) that lose 20-50 lbs EVERY SINGLE SPRING. Every January 1st, they go on a diet and lose the weight by April… and by the end of Dec, they are back to where they started. I know other people who weight cycle by 50-100 lbs every 2-4 years. I know several people (guys) who have lost 100+ lbs and then gained it back… and now are losing it again… and I’d LOVE to give them a book with a chapter that includes, “Now that you have taken off your weight… what now???”

And also some hints for “treading weight”… OK… you’ve lost 50 lbs… and still have 75 lbs more to lose… but hey, I just have to maintain that 50 pound lost for a while… and I’ll revisit the next 75 lbs in a while.

6. Ain't nothing special about Mondays. I spent about 4 years telling myself that I'd get back on track "on Monday". Years, and years ago, KD, you posted a homework on a Friday that said, "Do you really want to get up on Monday morning behind the eight ball????" I don't play pool... and didn't know what behind the eight ball was... but something clicked.

Realistically, MOST people do eat more on weekends. I do. I eat desserts on weekends and don’t eat them during the week. But it is PLANNED… and I know longer say, “I’ll start again on Monday” and even 4+ years later… I still remember that homework, “Do you really want to wake up, behind the eight ball?” I actually walked into WW on a Friday at noon… and I’m sure that it was because of your Monday Eight Ball homework… and nothing special about Mondays. And you can get back on track on Friday, or Saturday or in August or November. Nothing special about New Years, either.

7. Help me! I’ve lost my motivation… I know a gazillion people who wish they knew where they had misplaced their motivation or “I know what to do, how come I’m not doing it???”

If you can answer this… you’ll have Oprah Money, KD.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: GoingSkiing,

i think we read the same article, girlfriend...
i like your radishes idea!

quote:

Originally posted by iz:
all the tasting that goes on while you are cooking. i know you are supposed to make sure the food tastes good before you serve it--at least that is what aunties and other females in my family have always taught me.

i remember reading an article about this chef who had put on 20-30 pounds. a nutritionist followed him around for one day and watched (measured, collected, analyzed) everything he had to taste and lick thru-out his work day. it was almost 3000 calories. and this was without sitting down and eating a real meal the whole day. she worked with him to reduce the number of tastes, the size of the tastes and getting some of the sous chefs to do the tasting for him, and the weight came off naturally. he was already very active, on his feet all day, running around (and being in charge of) a very demanding kitchen. i am sure i am not consuming 3000 calroies worth of tastes but they do add up before you know it! yikes! i guess if a chef can do it, us non-chefs can do it too!

I read an article about this in Gourmet magazine a few years ago. I started a new thing while making dinner. I eat radishes before and sometimes during the cooking process. They are crunchy and have a little zing of flavor and it keeps me from doing more than taste testing. All it really takes is a little tiny dip into a broth, sauce, etc. to get a good taste. I've gotten so much better about this in the last few months.

When I went to WW, our leader always said "If you bite it, write it". Which meant even if you ate one tsp of hamburger meat for tacos to "taste-test" it, you need to write it down in your journal. I think this is a good motto to follow.

Jill

all the tasting that goes on while you are cooking. i know you are supposed to make sure the food tastes good before you serve it--at least that is what aunties and other females in my family have always taught me.

i remember reading an article about this chef who had put on 20-30 pounds. a nutritionist followed him around for one day and watched (measured, collected, analyzed) everything he had to taste and lick thru-out his work day. it was almost 3000 calories. and this was without sitting down and eating a real meal the whole day. she worked with him to reduce the number of tastes, the size of the tastes and getting some of the sous chefs to do the tasting for him, and the weight came off naturally. he was already very active, on his feet all day, running around (and being in charge of) a very demanding kitchen. i am sure i am not consuming 3000 calroies worth of tastes but they do add up before you know it! yikes! i guess if a chef can do it, us non-chefs can do it too!

quote:

Originally posted by D in St Pete:
Along those lines, a useful invention might be a call block to pizza places, until disabled by answering certain questions:
"Is pizza on your plan for today? Press 1 for yes, or hang up."

"Did you even make a plan today? Press 1 for yes, or hang up."

"Are you giving in to pressure from family? Press 1 for yes, and be prepared for a power outage."

"Will you feel guilty about eating this as soon as you finish? Press 1 for no, or hang up and take a walk."

"Please hold while we order a thin-crust, light-on-the-cheese medium pizza with extra mushrooms, bell peppers, and onions from the nearest pizza parlor. Thank you for ordering!"

hehehe, I can't stop laughing long enough to eat my dinner .

Yes, I am eating in front of the computer

Along those lines, a useful invention might be a call block to pizza places, until disabled by answering certain questions:
"Is pizza on your plan for today? Press 1 for yes, or hang up."

"Did you even make a plan today? Press 1 for yes, or hang up."

"Are you giving in to pressure from family? Press 1 for yes, and be prepared for a power outage."

"Will you feel guilty about eating this as soon as you finish? Press 1 for no, or hang up and take a walk."

"Please hold while we order a thin-crust, light-on-the-cheese medium pizza with extra mushrooms, bell peppers, and onions from the nearest pizza parlor. Thank you for ordering!"

Pizza on "tired nights"

$0.99 double cheeseburgers on the run

What I wish someone would come up with?.... how about a Grilled chicken sandwich on the $0.99 menu!!! They've got the fried ones!

more for denise...

you remind me of Cher in Moonstruck when she says (quite adamantly) "snap out of it!!!"

gives me a good chuckle!

and you don't think you give good advice about TOM and PMS?????? denise....you DO ROCK!!!

I have learned the hard way that "one is too many because 100 is not enough," especially when it comes to certain sweets. If I can just white-knuckle my way past the M&M jar all day long or resist buying Girl Scout cookies or stay out of certain aisles in the grocery store, then I'm OK. But just let me have one, and suddenly they are absolutely flying into my mouth. And it's not so much that I'm thinking I've already blown it, why not go whole hog. It's more that I just WANT more.

I wish Willy Wonka were real so he could invent a chocolate Everlasting Gobstopper. Then I could just keep the flavor in my mouth, and I wouldn't be tempted to make multiple trips to the Hershey kiss dish.

quote:

Originally posted by iz:
i do seem to want more salt or chocolate during TOM. I think Denise has written some great tips on addressing these. go Denise -you rock girl.

ROTFLOL! I have given good tips?? ABOUT TOM cravings???? I rock???? LOL! I feel like I'm very mean and totally intolerant around TOM cravings. I pretty much feel, "I don't want to hear about your period and get over it, already".

My son is a 16 year old boy and has NEVER had a period or PMS and has cravings all the time. Ditto my husband. Maybe we are all cycling together from living together too long.

My mom has chocolate and salty nut cravings pretty much EVERY night and hasn't had a TOM since Nixon was president.

I turned 50 this year and totally going into WAY TOO many details that involve WAY TOO MUCH INFORMATION... I NEVER know when TOM is coming or how long it will last or when I will miss it or if it will last 2 days or 22 days... or come back in 5 days or in 55 days.

And if I ate chocolate or pretzels or chips EVERY time I thought about them or "craved" them... I'd gain about 80 lbs. There is no more "time of month"... it is "time when ever it feels like coming and stays as long or short as it wants to stay".

Ditto PMS... Both my dh and ds get moody and b*tchy sometimes... and have NEVER been able to blame PMS... (unless it is mine ) but it is pretty darn difficult to determining when you are PMS-ing when you have NO idea what-so-ever when or if it is coming.

I used to ask my mom and grandmother to write a note to get me out of PE for TOM reasons... and they never did... they would say, "Exercise is good for TOM. Get used to it... because you've got a lot of years of TOM ahead of you".

So my best advice is to say, "Yeah, some chocolate would be nice right now. Oh well. I guess I'll have an apple" and get over it already.