PrintEd Levine's Serious Diet: Week 2
Week 2 was filled with many diet challenges unique to people who eat and then write about what they ate for a living. Sometimes I think there's nothing more pathetic than a food writer and lover—a serious eater—on a diet. Then I conclude that it's not pathetic, just hard and worthwhile.
I was in Minneapolis for two days this week on business (thanks, everyone, for all the excellent dinner and breakfast suggestions). Whenever I'm traveling on business I feel compelled to explore the food culture of that city with local food writers and restaurant critics leading the way. Actually, it's much more than a compulsion. It's a source of great pleasure. I don't like to waste meals on mere fueling up. So my meals were charted out with the idea that each of them would be grist for my blogging mill.
Tomorrow I will give you my take on what I ate in Minneapolis, but suffice to say it was a challenging time to be on a diet. I did practice extreme portion control, except for a second extra polenta-crusted fried prawn I absolutely didn't need (it wasn't even very good). And I did miss an opportunity to exercise when I neglected to bring my workout clothes and running shoes.
How did I fare in general when it came to exercise, food, and self-control?
In New York, I did get off the subway a few times one stop earlier and walk the rest of the way to either the office or home. I even took the opportunity to walk to the gates my flights took off from rather than take the people-movers. I played squash twice and, according to my heart-rate monitor, worked off 700 calories the first time I played and 600 the second time.
I even managed to roast some not very fresh carrots I found in our fridge. They didn't get very sweet, but the onions I roasted alongside them did. I made a single pork chop to serve with the carrots and onions. My wife made a low-calorie cauliflower and sausage dish from my friend Faith Willinger's great Italian vegetable cookbook, Red, White, and Green.
On the eating front, I discovered that having many different kinds of 100-calorie snack packs at my fingertips is both a blessing and a curse. It turns out you can go through four or five of those little bags of temptation without even thinking about it. Now I try to limit myself to one sweet and one savory 100-calorie snack bag a day.
I had another business dinner in New York with a couple of folks from Minneapolis who really wanted to eat classic New York pizza. I took them to Lombardi's, where we sampled three different small pies. Again, I tried to limit myself to one slice of each.
In stressful moments I, like many folks who struggle with their weight, tend to eat anything I can get my hands on. So now I realize that I have to keep some guilt-free kinds of food and drink around when those moments occur. And the answer is not 100-calorie snack packs. I've taken to eating satsuma Mandarin oranges or half a banana in stressful moments. The California satsumas have been really good this year.
Anyway, the struggle continues. When you know where you can get your hands on really, really good food any time you want it, losing weight is not going to be easy.
I forced myself to get on the scale the morning I came back from Minneapolis (yesterday, Wednesday) and I was even for the week. I played squash yesterday and ate judiciously, so I am cautiously optimistic that I might be down a pound for the week or at the very least even when I get on the scale this morning.
Here goes...
YES! I'm down a pound for the week. Minneapolis didn't get the best of me. Talk to you next week, Serious Eaters.
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13 Comments:
When I was pregnant and trying desperately to not gain more than 30 pounds, I ate cherries. I would go through a pound of them a day, but because I had to chew around the pit, and then spit the pit out (which was a fun game in and of itself), it would take me an hour or so to eat my snack. I am a firm believer in snacking on food that takes work (if you have to shell your pistachios as you snack on them, you know what I mean).
sarahbeam at 8:41AM on 01/17/08
A few of my favorites, along the lines of working to eat - a nice pink grapefruit eaten a section at a time - takes a while to get the membrane off. I also love frozen fruit, especially peaches and strawberries. Sometimes I thaw them partially in the microwave, but if I really want them to last, I just have a bowl full of little fruit popsicles. And if you've really got some time on your hands, a pomegranate!
maryannm at 9:09AM on 01/17/08
I realized one that no one mentioned. Frozen grapes. You read about them in all the parenting magazines, and they're actually really good - especially the green ones.
synaesthesia.dc at 9:17AM on 01/17/08
Here is a month's worth of recipes for 100-calorie snacks.
Any of them would make me feel fuller than any snack-pack simply because of the variety, the freshness, and the sense of being pampered - being cared for - which is what a big part of wanting to eat is all about, for many people.
Snack-packs don't give the sense of being pampered or cared for regardless of the fact that TV ads seem to be constantly declaring in glowing terms that that is what they are all about. :)
Karen Resta at 10:27AM on 01/17/08
Keeping some sugar-free chewing gum might help, too! Though then you might develop a gum-chewing habit. =P
Congrats on your latest pound!
OneWallKitchen at 10:47AM on 01/17/08
Congratulations on your weight loss!
Healthy snacks I like to eat: fruit (blood oranges, these days), but I go for a variety of fruits to keep things interesting; vegetables (although I usually "forget" about them); yogurt, either with fruit and some low-fat granola (or just plain); bread (good bread), fuit/veg, and cheese; baked tortilla chips and salsa; a muffin or tea biscuit with jam; a handful of nuts, handful of goldfish, etc.
Marilyn at 11:55AM on 01/17/08
Even though it is really hard for a food person, don't eat if you are not hungry, and don't snack on stuff you don't really really like. Many of us never stop eating long enough to feel hungry - but don't eat even 100 calories if it is out of boredom, anxiety, deprivation, or because someone offers you something to eat. Losing weight is hard (I lost 40 pounds over 3 years via gym, reducing unconcious eating, and reducing wine consumption on weekdays) and keeping it off is harder. The hardest thing for me to accept was that when I really got my weight down, I needed to eat less to keep it at 140 lb, then I did when I was at 180 lb (it makes sense but it still came as a shock. Keep at it.
bauwau2u at 2:14PM on 01/17/08
Bauwau2u said, "Many of us never stop eating long enough to feel hungry..."
How true. I've had to learn how to let myself be hungry. It's one of the hardest things I've done. You can do it, too!
AdamH at 9:13PM on 01/17/08
Ed- I asked a question a week ago about Ellie Krieger. I have bought her new book since then and made a couple of chicken dishes. They are excellent. Maybe you should try them, as I believe you implied you owned the book. I have found that temporary dieting never works on a long term basis. If you eat correct portions of REAL food, limiting processed food, and eat healthily, the weight comes off slowly, but surely. As far as exercise, if you don't have time for the gym, walk everywhere!!! You live in NYC, and there is no better place to explore and observe, while getting in your cardio.
Mich23 at 8:30AM on 01/18/08
I have the book at home, and I plan on cooking from it next week. Which recipes have you found particularly delicious?
Ed Levine at 8:32AM on 01/18/08
Not to depress you, but for 5 100 calorie packs, you could have one extra slice of far more filling pizza.
Eating something with protien--nuts, yogurt with Splenda (sorry) or sugar free jam, hummus and celery--will be much more satiating.
I think all of us 'feel for you' how hard it is, being in your profession, but look at it this way--since you know good food is always there, you don't have to eat too much of what you have, because you need to save room for the next few bites--food always tastes better when you're a bit hungry, anyway.
HeartofGlass at 6:52PM on 01/18/08
Congratulations on your loss this week. I know other people have suggested it, but weight watchers can be really helpful, especially in regards to guidelines. (I did it last spring and lost 30 pounds then fell off the wagon.) Its nice because it helps you to get in the habit of how much you should be eating vs. how much you want to eat.
If you like thai food here is a lightened version of green curry http://thekitchenscale.typepad.com/the_kitchen_scale/2007/06/my_kind_of_fast.html
I have a large portion of it with brown rice (about two bowl fulls) and it is so filling, especially if you use more vegetables and you can even stretch the curry with a little more broth. Anyways, I suggest it just because it freezes well and fills me up.
Good luck and keep up the good work!
lola27 at 3:00AM on 01/20/08
Dear Ed,
Congratulations on losing another pound. I know how difficult it is to drop weight. I am a Weight Watchers member and believe in their program. Last year I lost 30 pounds, hope to lose a lot more this year.
All the best,
Linda J Atamian
LadyLinda at 5:31PM on 01/21/08