Entries tagged with 'weight'
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"I know there are all kinds of theories out there about how often you should weigh yourself when you're trying to lose weight." [Photograph: Ed Levine] I returned from three days of cold and rain on Cape Cod to my beloved Thinner, though truth be told he did not welcome me with open arms. In fact he greeted me with a weight of 220 pounds. That freaked me out. So as the week progressed, I looked for signs of life. I got down to 218 pounds by Thursday, so I had a chance of at least minimizing the damage caused by not having Thinner with me. In fact, I really didn't go crazy on the Vineyard without Thinner. I managed...
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"The thing is, I'm not really fat any more." A couple of months ago I remember posting about my readjusted weight goals. Feeling confident and almost giddy with delight from all the success I've had in the last year and a half, I proclaimed that I was headed for 200 pounds or less. I still hope to be, but I see that the road to 200 pounds is filled with potholes, which in my case is a combination of pot roast and doughnut holes. Though there may have been one fluky week when I dipped below 210, my weight has been fluctuating between 211 and 216 for the last four months. It's been kind of discouraging because now I don't...
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"I intentionally scheduled my dentist visit for a Thursday afternoon so I could reap the benefits of not eating much for dinner." [iStockphoto: tolgakolcak] Yesterday I went to the dentist to have two crowns put on, one on an upper tooth and one on a lower tooth. I have an aversion to going to the dentist. I guess I associate the dentist's chair with pain, discomfort, and the whirring sound made by what I regard as an instrument of torture, the dentist's drill. And I feel this way even though I go to a first-rate dentist who is reasonably sensitive to my feelings of dentist dread. I was in that chair and shot up with a sufficient amount of novocain...
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"Many thanks, serious eaters, for all the shout-outs of support and encouragement." I scared myself into not eating last week, and not just because of what I ate on the road in Chicago. Erin pointed out that my real downfall was the double meal I ate last Tuesday night. It started with oxtail, shepherd's pie, jerk chicken, leg of lamb, and goat at The Islands with Erin and Carey. Then it was (and this was the killer) two pork roasts and two fried chicken recipes from Donald Link's and David Chang's books that Cook the Book's Caroline Russock made at her house for a cookbook competition we are participating in. So when you think about it, my two-pound weight gain...
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"There was more delicious Chicago food to be had, and I had it." Pizza from Great Lake. Read all about my visit here » I thought I had licked my road food problem—the one that gives me license to eat insane amounts of food when traveling. I convince myself I may never pass through that town again. Then I went to Chicago and the Windy City got the best of me. The first day, Robyn and I had barbecue at Honey1 BBQ, hot dogs and duck fat fries at Hot Doug's, frozen custard and Boston Shakes at Scooter's, pizza at Great Lake, and an espresso malt nightcap at Bobtail, a well-regarded Chicago ice cream shop. I tried to eat everything...
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Peanut butter is my weakness. Once I start eating it, I can't stop. Armed with a spoon or knife, a loaf of bread, some jam, and a glass of milk to wash it down,
I am a peanut butter-eating fool. But after losing more than fifty pounds over the last year and a half, maybe I'm finally able to eat just a little and still be content.
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"I was objectively chubby by age four, fat by age six, and was on the Atkins diet for the first time at age eight." —Frank Bruni Photographs by Robyn Lee For all of the serious eaters who overdosed on the hype surrounding Julie & Julia (hey, the back of my head was in the movie, so if I'm guilty as charged there's a good reason for that), I'm giving you a heads-up that the hoopla accompanying the publication of Born Round, now former New York Times restaurant critic Frank Bruni's memoir, is going to make Julie & Julia seem like it was an under-the-radar phenomenon. The book is in stores today, so let the Bruni media madness begin (it actually...
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"I have been feasting with impunity on fruits that are being grown responsibly 3,000 miles from my home." When you're a serious eater and a serious dieter you look for treats or snacks that you can eat with impunity at different times of the year. Yes, all you Michael Pollan and Alice Waters acolytes, I am talking about seasonal snacks that I can eat without worrying about my weight. Bananas have become a staple of my serious diet, but they are neither local nor seasonal unless you happen to live in a sub-tropical area. (I did have some killer baby bananas in Vieques, Puerto Rico, last December that tasted like they had been crossed with limes—banimas or limnanas, anyone?) Summer...
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"Moderation. Small helpings. Sample a little bit of everything. These are the secrets of happiness and good health."—Julia Child This famous quote from the late, great Julia Child has been the cornerstone of my serious diet. And that quote was on a sign for all to see, as the guests wandered into the ultra old-line, ultra New York Metropolitan Club for the post-premiere party of Julie & Julia, Nora Ephron's loveable movie that chronicles in parallel fashion the lives of cooking culture icon, cookbook author, and seminal food TV star Julia Child and writer-blogger Julie Powell. It was a good thing the sign was there, because the opportunities for excess were everywhere. New York restaurateur Drew Nieporent had put together...
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As many of you know, I have gone cold turkey on 100 calorie snack packs. Unfortunately, that doesn't mean my cravings for the occasional sweet or chocolate have gone away. Let's face it, serious diet or no serious diet, sometimes you need the spiritual, emotional, and physical boost only a piece of something chocolate-covered or nutty can provide. I find that is true any time of the year, even now, when I have been eating locally grown strawberries, cherries, peaches, and blueberries with great pleasure. Stone fruit and berries are amazing gifts from nature, but once or twice a week I need something a little more decadent. Given my weight, my body type, and my ability to metabolize such treats,...
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