Categories
General Weight Loss Tips

Hand Me a Tissue

I don’t want to start this blog out by saying “I’ve been sick”, because that’s just not fun. It’s April and like clockwork, I’ve got a stuffy nose, itchy ears, piles of tissues everywhere and a cough to come. I haven’t tasted or smelled food in days. Many, many days. It takes the fun out of eating. Lately I just eat because I’m hungry and I have to. That’s a concept!

Last week I started emailing my daily food and calories to my dear friend of a million years and it felt so refreshing to say to someone “guess what? I had two smoothies and a subway sandwich today” without a return comment about balance, or how I should be eating more of this or less of that. Sometimes that’s all I want, peace with imperfection and less justification.

I know that for me, as soon as I start creating rules and rituals about what I should and should not eat, I get into obsessive eating trouble. Not that I don’t aim to have better eating habits, it’s just that so often I find that I create them more out of the approval of other people rather than my own belief system which is balance and moderation.

And that’s that. Moving on.

Edit: And of course, after writing this I go and read this wonderful post by Andie from Can You Stay For Dinner? Her post is so good, and so well written that I want to go to Seattle and give her a parade. Read: The Weight Loss Dilemma. 

My favorite line:

“Please know that there is nothing wrong with eating as cleanly as one can. (If you do and if you strive to- I applaud you.) There is similarly nothing wrong with having Skinny Cow ice cream bars in your freezer beside organic frozen vegetables. (Tell me you have Cool Whip?) There’s nothing wrong with any of it and my bottom line remains: Judging others’ eating styles and deeming food choices as inherently ‘good’ or ‘bad’ only leaves us feeling and looking ignorant and unenlightened. 

The point of this post, as always, is to let you know that there’s middle ground. And also that I don’t want this blog to exclude anyone who’s hungry. My table serves Kit Kats and kale chips in varying amounts.”

Thank you Andie!

Related Blogs

  • Related Blogs on fat
Categories
Weight Loss Exercise

Another 25 tips for a Healthy Lifestyle


Renee has done it again. She promises on Saturday to let us know where she got these top 100 tips:

  1. Have a V8 or tomato juice instead of a Diet Coke at 3 pm.
  2. Doctor your veggies to make them delicious: Dribble maple syrup over carrots, and sprinkle chopped nuts on green beans.
  3. Mix three different cans of beans and some diet Italian dressing. Eat this three-bean salad all week.
  4. Don’t forget that vegetable soup counts as a vegetable.
  5. Rediscover the sweet potato.
  6. Use prebagged baby spinach everywhere: as “lettuce” in sandwiches, heated in soups, wilted in hot pasta, and added to salads.
  7. Spend the extra few dollars to buy vegetables that are already washed and cut up.
  8. Really hate veggies? Relax. If you love fruits, eat plenty of them; they are just as healthy (especially colorful ones such as oranges, mangoes, and melons).
  9. Keep seven bags of your favorite frozen vegetables on hand. Mix any combination, microwave, and top with your favorite low-fat dressing. Enjoy 3 to 4 cups a day. Makes a great quick dinner.
  10. The best portion of high-calorie foods is the smallest one. The best portion of vegetables is the largest one. Period.
  11. I’ll ride the wave. My cravings will disappear after 10 minutes if I turn my attention elsewhere.
  12. I want to be around to see my grandchildren, so I can forgo a cookie now.
  13. I am a work in progress.
  14. It’s more stressful to continue being fat than to stop overeating.
  15. Skipping meals. Many healthy eaters “diet by day and binge by night.”
  16. Don’t “graze” yourself fat. You can easily munch 600 calories of pretzels or cereal without realizing it.
  17. Eating pasta like crazy. A serving of pasta is 1 cup, but some people routinely eat 4 cups.
  18. Eating supersize bagels of 400 to 500 calories for snacks.
  19. Ignoring “Serving Size” on the Nutrition Facts panel.
  20. Snacking on bowls of nuts. Nuts are healthy but dense with calories. Put those bowls away, and use nuts as a garnish instead of a snack.
  21. Thinking all energy bars and fruit smoothies are low-cal.
  22. A smoothie made with fat-free milk, frozen fruit, and wheat germ.
  23. The smallest fast-food burger (with mustard and ketchup, not mayo) and a no-cal beverage. Then at home, have an apple or baby carrots.
  24. A peanut butter sandwich on whole wheat bread with a glass of 1 percent milk and an apple.
  25. Precooked chicken strips and microwaved frozen broccoli topped with Parmesan cheese.

Related Blogs

  • Related Blogs on Baby Spinach
  • Related Blogs on Bean Salad