Ed Levine's Serious Diet Week 33: Trying to Put the Kibosh on Unworthy Calories
I've decided that certain foods and their calories are beneath me. Bad 100-calorie packs of faux snack foods and even regular Chips Ahoy insult my palate and my intelligence, and jeopardize my longevity and continued good health. So I'm going to try to quit ingesting wasted calories cold turkey.
No more light, no more Oreos, no more generic crap that satisfies my basest, most wanton cravings. Up with deliciousness in all its forms, down with easily accessible reduced calorie junk food.
I arrived at this inescapable conclusion yesterday. I will have a ritual cleansing of my pantry this morning, throwing out boxes of 100-calorie bags of Sensible Portions Multi Grain Mini Crisps I bought a few days ago. Of course, all this will not have any effect on my weigh-in this morning. But it may help me in the future. The weigh-in, after the jump.
The scale is not being kind to me today. I weigh 248. Wait 'til next week.
Add a comment:
Previewing your comment:
HTML Hints
Some HTML is OK: <a href="URL">link</a>, <strong>strong</strong>, <em>em</em>
Comment Guidelines
Post whatever you want, just keep it seriously about eats, seriously. We reserve the right to delete off-topic or inflammatory comments. Learn more at our Comment Policy page.
If you see something not so nice, please, report an inappropriate comment.
10 Comments:
. . . can I have you 100 calorie snacks? They may help me in the future.
unarata at 8:55AM on 09/12/08
Ed I'm proud of you for finally coming to that conclusion!!! of course I've been saying that since the first weigh in ;-) Eat the Real food and you will be satisfied with alot less than you would be with the garbagy stuff. Don't give up because of a bad weigh in hun, just try to be aware of EVERYTHING you eat, and make it worth the calories.
huneybumper at 9:18AM on 09/12/08
Good for you, Ed! I've also come to the realization that a little bit of the real stuff goes much further in terms of satisfaction than a lot of the diet (or any mass-produced) stuff. Been good for the wallet, too.
IndyGal at 10:24AM on 09/12/08
I went from 179 to about, well, today 100 or so by eating REAL food. I've kept it off over 5 years eating REAL food.
100 calorie packs are for sad losers not ready to give up junk so full of chemicals, you'll die early from poisoning!
And yes, Ed, you have to be able to eat desserts and treats now and again. Have an Oreo once in a while, but not from a 100 calorie pack. Better yet, make yourself a cookie from scratch.
Here is the true key:
1. Accept responsibility. YOU weight it, YOU got up there, YOU can get down. Forget blaming "society" for "not accepting" you! Point the finger where it should go, at yourself (I did this after years of gimmick dieting)
2. Don't "diet". Learn to eat right. Change forever.
3. Portion control, variety, veggies, whole grains, lean meats, healthy oils, indulge now and again.
4. Exercise. Every day. You eat every day, right? And I don't mean some silly half-hour walk in sweatpants with an ipod. Get a set of freeweights and pump iron. Muscle burns more calories. Join a gym and pay a year in full. Go every day. Jog. Join a softball team. Ride your bike or walk if you have an errand to do within 5 miles.
The "half hour a day of exercise" is for beginners! Work your way up to an hour. You'll find it gives you energy and is fun.
Don't tell me you don't have time. There are 24 hours in a day. One of them can be for treating yourself right.
5. No pill, or food, or vitamin, or drink will make it happen faster. Take your time. Shoot for 1-2 pounds a week. Loose it slow, and it won't come back.
Don't give up. You don't quit when you fail, you fail when you quit. Never quit, never fail!
6. Drink plenty of water. WATER, not diet coke, not energy drinks, not calorie burning fake drinks. Water!
It took me a little over two years to lose it. It was hard work. I remember days the scale went the wrong way, it happens. Don't feel bad! I'm now a hard body who enjoys tasty real food and exploring the world of cuisine. Cause I do it sensibly. I never eat those calorie packs or anything like that.
YOU CAN DO IT!
wavewench at 10:55AM on 09/12/08
Hooray, Ed! Like all of us who are fighting the battle of the bulge, I'm glad you're finding what works for you in your own way and not giving up. =)
OneWallKitchen at 11:19AM on 09/12/08
I meant to also say that after a while away from the diet/mass produced stuff I found it tastes awful. I took a bite and wondered how I'd ever enjoyed it previously. Most of it tastes like chemicals to me now. It's not at all enjoyable.
IndyGal at 11:27AM on 09/12/08
"Sad loser" here who eats an occasional 100-calorie pack of wafer-thin flavored rice cakes. Said packs should not be consumed instead of other healthy "real" food but instead are for those people that occasionally want a treat now and then and have actual reserve when it comes to snack foods i.e. those with the ability to eat one bag occasionally. Rather than buy a big bag of something that will either go bad if you only eat a small portion every blue moon or will sit on the shelf and mock you into eating the rest so you don't throw it out and waste money, small packs can work for normal people.
holdthemayo at 11:31AM on 09/12/08
Congrats, Ed, for sticking with your new healthy lifestyle.
beth1 at 1:44PM on 09/12/08
Holdthemayo- Instead of buying one bag of the fake, chemical laden 100 calorie packs, go to a bakery and buy just one of the real things now and again.
Then, enjoy tasting fruits and such for sweet treats. Hey, I eat cookies, pancakes, cakes sweets and non whole grain bread, now and again. If I'm going to spend calories on a treat, I'd rather have a real one!
I also find that after getting away from the fake food, my body has cleansed it's tasting equipment. I'm blown away, sometimes, by the taste of really good fresh fruits.
See, snack packs aren't for people with "real reserve". people with real reserve can go into a bakery and buy one cookie, and can limit the real treats to now and again. I have a stash of chocolate in the back of my closet with my homebrewing husband's fermenting beer. (keeps best int he cool and dark, you know). I hit it for a little nibble probably once a month, and I do mean a nibble.
I think hundred calorie packs are like getting the world's cheapest pron as opposed to having the most mindblowing sex. Mindblowing sex, sadly, doesn't happen as often as we would like. When you want it, you deserve the real thing!
There was a time when "normal" people managed to stay in shape without "snack packs" of fake 100 calorie food. They ate REAL food in sensible portions and got exercise.
Finally, have you seen the size of those snack packs. that little teeny amount of food is 100 whole calories? Do you know what 100 calories of salad looks like? 100 calories of strawberries, or apple? 100 calories of air-popped popcorn? I'd rather have 100 calories fill me up!
wavewench at 4:24PM on 09/12/08
@Wavewench - No need to be preachy. Like you, I love "real food" - fresh produce, home-baked goods, real dairy.
But I also love the All-Bran 100-calorie snack packs: they taste good, they're pretty healthy, and they come in a perfect serving size when I'm just peckish. (Plus, they keep well in a purse or desk drawer, for snack emergencies.)
Sure, they shouldn't make up the bulk of anyone's diet. But they're not evil. So ease off on the snobbery, would you?
piccola at 7:13PM on 09/12/08