I had an even week, too. I don't know if anyone else out there has this problem, but I eat when food is in front of me, so parties and buffets kill me every time, as do places with huge portions. I avoid buffets now, but I need/want to go to parties. Any thoughts?
Ed,
Way to go. I've been away for a bit as well, so I'll skip the weeklies and go straight for the overall: I'm down 16.5lb in 9 weeks. Back to weekly numbers next week.
My wife is in bleu cheese withdrawal. Anybody have any thoughts on that? Does it fall into the category of "ok if pasteurized" or "no dice?"
I'm down 2 pounds this week. No idea how. I think it's the consistent exercise.
I have nothing to add to the comments above on 100 calorie packs, except that you can buy something similar for popcorn. I find that very filling and as we all know, has little downside. Not much nutrition, tho.
I'm down 2lb this week. Keep up the good work.
I'm going to try to add more flavor intensifiers myself. Anything fruit or veggie based sounds like a winner.
I agree. You can't buy romance, but the only thing required to make it is some imagination and genuine affection.
Down a pound and a half this week. Super Bowl was tough.
I have to agree with HeartofGlass. The only time I have success losing weight is when I log what I eat and stick to my counts. I've done it with calories, and I'm trying WW points this time. Doesn't seem to make any difference.
I eat whatever I want, but control portions. The key is the consistent feedback. I rarely eat too much when I know where I stand, calorie-wise for the week. It's annoying, but it works for me.
Could be worse. I had a big shovel-in at a party on Saturday, but by budgeting points (Weight Watchers) managed to stay on target for the week.
Weight was down 2.5 lbs (5.5 total)
It's the middle of week 2 for me. My weigh-ins are on Tuesdays, so those are the numbers I'll send.
Week 1 - down 3 pounds - still in the diet honeymoon.
Keep up the good work!
My mom has always been petite (about 110 pounds on a 5 foot frame) but she never seems to diet or go hungry, which I didn't understand because our family eats rather fat-laden ethnic food, and my father, while a healthy weight, has always had a belly. I never noticed my mom's unique eating habits until I myself became conscious of eating healthy, in my later teens. I suddenly noticed her eating habits and I can't say I was surprised anymore about her healthy build. My mom always ate at regular mealtimes, never ate between meals, consumed her food very slowly and deliberately, flavored her food strongly, never skimped on fat and grease, ate smaller or fewer portions than the rest of us, and always had a small, rich dessert before bed.
I will never be a slow eater, and I skip way too many meals to adhere to regular mealtimes, but I've learned a couple useful things from watching her (she always encouraged us to eat frequently and didn't teach us her eating style, so I learned most of it from watching). I've learned from her not to eat between meals, so I get good and hungry before mealtimes. I then try to make large, full-fat, complex meals that satisfy me at breakfast, lunch, and dinner.The rule of thumb I learned from her was, If you're hungry between meals, you didn't eat enough to satisfy yourself at mealtimes, so don't skimp during meals because it'll backfire.
I don't think her advice fits everyone, though. It is truly suited to a particularly Asian style of cooking and eating: long, multi-course family meals with several helpings of rice to fill you up and a variety of heavily flavored, non-low-fat toppings, sauces, curries, and stews to satisfy all your taste buds, heavy on vegetables with meat or seafood served once a week.
My kids used to laugh about my mother in law's fretting that she wouldn't have enough food on the table, and then pushing more on everyone because there were left-overs. It's definitely a cultural thing. Hopefully the 'clean plate club' will be disbanding at some point in the near future. As one of my friends is fond of saying, if you want a little behind, you have to leave a little behind. And while I'm dishing out platitudes, I'll just add the one I found in a fortune cookie. "Life is a journey, not a destination." It's like that with managing food intake. You can't expect the issues to go away just because you meet a weight goal. It's something you're going to live with forever. And Ed, it seems as though you've made a breakthrough. Congrats!
I think there's an important connection missed here that relates more to generation gap than portion size. Our parents - those raised in the earlier part of the century - who struggled to attain even middle class status, would always comfort themselves that they had enough food on the table for their family. Although the quality was great - like my own Jewish mother's home cooking - if you didn't leave the table "full" you weren't fed enough. And at family gatherings, that same Jewish mother would be scooping out and dropping another large dollop of mashed potatoes with onions on yur plate even as she asked "would you like more?"
To take less was an insult to the cook and the house!
Food to them was not "art" - it was life, wealth, happiness.
And here comes Passover!
I happened to catch "I can make you thin" on TLC the other night. I've followed this guy's advice to eat at the table-no TV, reading, or internet. After each bite, PUT THE KNIFE & FORK DOWN!" and chew each mouthful at least 20x. No alcohol with the meal. Eat what you want & like until full & don't save the leftovers. The pants I couldn't zip up on Monday sild on like a dream yesterday! (2 days!)I am never hungry, but realize now that my eating habits were the worst. At home, meals were just an aside to crosswords, the news, TV and surfing the net. Now I really apreciate what I eat and can leave something on my plate. I think there are more points to his program, but he said this method is enough for some. Lucky me!
@Dave try concentrating on mingling with friends at parties and always have a glass of mineral water in your hand, this way if you want to pick at the food you have to conciously put down the glass. ;)
Congratulations on being able to box up half of a delicious meal. I don't know how you do it. I'm going to go on the record here with the only diet that's worked for me, even though everyone will attack me for it: being hungry for a bit of time each day, but having a really good meal during the "not hungry" part of the day.
My thinking goes like this: the concept of modern nutrition came about in the 70s, 80s, and 90s. This timing corresponds with everyone becoming fatter, less healthy and more tired. Clearly what they are telling us to do does not work.
Why would the body burn fat when it isn't hungry? I know what they say about eating five times a day leading to weight loss, but it's illogical at a basic level, at least to me - and I admit being pretty twisted now and then.
So, now I go out and have a great, massive lunch - usually a soup and a large entree, and desert, and then have at most a few pistachios nuts or a piece of bread (and plenty of fluids) to hold me over the rest of the day. By the time I'm going to sleep, I'm becoming a bit hungry. While I'm off in dreamland being assaulted by my peers and mentors, my body is burning its stored fat reserves.
I started to lose weight with this almost immediately. I can see the result when I cheat and get back on the program within one to three days. I feel better than I have in years, and my self esteem has taken a huge boost. If anyone out there is feeling adventurous, try it out for a week. You've got nothing to lose.
p.s. Nice site Ed. It seems really well put together in the little details. You may remember my name: we worked together in the late 90s on a web project similar to this that fizzled.
Hey,
I have been a reader off serious eats since it's inception. As the readership of this blog has grown so has my waistline. My recent move to Texas hasn't helped anything, now that I can just get in a car and drive everywhere. It got very bad lately with a lovely potbelly, I got lasik on Thursday, and promised myself that if I was going to blow 3 grand on vanity, then I will actually look good.
Now that I can see, diet starts now. I am reading your back columns on this subject for tips.
My diet strategies have been similar to yours and Blue Diamond BOLD flavor roasted almonds have done more to keep me on track than almost anything else. I love the Wasabi & Soy Sauce, Lime n' Chili, and Jalapeno Smokehouse flavors. Even more intense are the Maui Onion and Garlic almonds. Not great as a snack before you enter a close-talking situation, of course.
I gained a lot of weight from eating out and from learning to cook well, but snacking was a major factor in my weight gain too. Knowing that, I keep jars of almonds all over the place because I never know when hunger pangs will strike. Seriously, these almonds are so flavor intense that you don't even need to eat a full serving to satisfy your fat and umami flavor cravings. I'm not great about self-control, but with these, I've learned to eat only half a serving (14 almonds out of 28) whenever I have any. At 170 calories per 28 almond serving, I even end up feeling more satisfied than when I eat those 100-calorie snack packs while consuming fewer calories. Plus, they're also really good for you. They provide more nutrition than most other snacks; Manganese? Check. Calcium? Check. Vitamin E? Check. They are also surprisingly low-sodium although coated in what I thought was salt/flavor crystals. I checked this morning, knowing I was going to recommend them to you, and I saw that they've got 7% RDV sodium per serving. Not bad, even if you're watching your salt intake.
Anyhow, good luck. You're doing all the right things. I've lost 13 lbs tracking my calories religiously since the beginning of the year and plan to lose another 15 or so, all without sacrificing my propensity toward serious eats!
Isn't is amazing that any of us are here today? Our mothers probably ate every single item on the current "do not eat" list and yet we're all alive and kicking.
I am currently pregnant and, thank the maker, can't stand bleu cheese and can only eat feta in small amounts so I'm not suffering from withdrawal. I have WAY more food aversions than cravings right now but that may change! I do love brie but only ate it on occasion before getting pregnant - if I get the urge I'll bake it in puff pastry until warm and gooey....oh now I want some. Drat.
I'm not missing any luncheon or deli meats right now and quite frankly the thought of eating either product hot makes my stomach churn. Hot pickle loaf sandwich? Nooooo thank you.
I'm so thankful I didn't know most of this when I was pregnant. I drank wine occasionally and ate anything I wanted that sounded appealing.
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