Dressings are a great source of healthy fat

One of the keys to eating well and losing/managing weight–with protein, carbs, and fats in balance–is to eat foods that taste really good. That’s where Penzeys spices come in. Over the past few months, I have been experimenting with various spices to make my food taste better and be more satisfying. Needless to say, I am so impressed with how good their spices make the most common of dishes taste.

My salad dressings in particular had become so boring, I had almost stopped eating salads all together. I discovered Penzeys salad dressing starters about a month ago–and salads are again a big part of my diet. I love their Green Goddess dressing (most store-bought green goddess dressings are horrid slurries; this starter helps you make one that is divine), and their ranch is to die for.

What is so great about these starters (really just herb mixes) is that you can mix them with healthy fat (like Hain mayo or olive oil), to make them unlike the gross soybean oil and trans fat-laden dressings at the grocery store. They taste so good with cut up veggies as a dip (add 2 ounces of protein and you have a perfect balanced snack).

I can’t tell you how much of a difference it has made for me to have really tasty, well-seasoned meals and snacks to look forward to. It helps me stay on track and not feel like I am missing out. When people have to give up gluten, dairy or other foods to improve their health, they often feel somewhat depressed about it. But when you start to experience how wonderful vegetables and meat can taste, those foods seems much less appealing.

Share your favorite dressing recipe by leaving a comment!

I will be a guest on Dishing Up Nutrition this weekend, Saturday, January 14 at 8:00 a.m. (download the podcast on iTunes). We will talk about the new science of weight loss, and how it is more than eating off of smaller plates. We will talk about how overly simplistic advice, like “eat off of smaller plates,” ultimately sabotages people’s weight loss efforts. This is because people are not taught to manage the overwhelming cravings that cause them to “eat the kitchen” and gain weight.

To give you a taste of what we will discuss, I have listed a couple of the crappy bits of weight loss advice received over my 25 years of dieting (and my commentary):

• Take a bubble bath when you feel hungry. (why not eat)
• Don’t eat after 6:30 pm. (a healthy, fat-ladened bed time snack will balance your blood sugar and help you sleep; sleep is key to weight loss)
• Take a bite, then put your fork down; take a sip of water, and then cut your next bite; take another bite and repeat (lesson: what you are eating is so unsatisfying that you must follow this torturous procedure to eat it, only to give you the illusion that you are satiated)

All of this advice contributes to fat people’s already heightened state of anxiety around food and eating. Most importantly, it is necessary because the food most diet plans recommend you eat is so unsatisfying, and unable to deliver the feeling of being satiated, that they have to tell you something to curb the out-of-control cravings that result from what and how they are telling you to eat.

So, listen to the show and call in if you can!

It is in the beginning of the article, where the author describes how the experiment was conducted, that I knew what the outcomes for these obese people would be without having to read another word. Here is an excerpt that lays out how the experiment was conducted:

“Beginning in 2009, he and his team recruited 50 obese men and women. The men weighed an average of 233 pounds; the women weighed about 200 pounds. Although some people dropped out of the study, most of the patients stuck with the extreme low-calorie diet, which consisted of special shakes called Optifast and two cups of low-starch vegetables, totaling just 500 to 550 calories a day for eight weeks. Ten weeks in, the dieters lost an average of 30 pounds.

At that point, the 34 patients who remained stopped dieting and began working to maintain the new lower weight. Nutritionists counseled them in person and by phone, promoting regular exercise and urging them to eat more vegetables and less fat. But despite the effort, they slowly began to put on weight. After a year, the patients already had regained an average of 11 of the pounds they struggled so hard to lose. They also reported feeling far more hungry and preoccupied with food than before they lost the weight.” (The Fat Trap from the New York Times)

Of course these obese people started gaining weight back immediately–they were STARVING. On top of that, they were not educated about how to manage their cravings and how healthy fats are the key to maintaining blood sugar. Instead, this cutting-edge research that attempts to go deeper than the clap trap peddled as solid nutrition advice and obesity research (basically the law of thermodynamics applied to a biochemical process a la “eat less, move more”). They completely miss the boat by using the old, tired low-fat, starvation diet approach with obese people who need to be nourished with ample protein, carbs and FAT to lose weight, not to be starved.

While I think it is great that these obesity researchers are attempting to go deeper and explain the complexities of obesity (and that it is not just a matter of will power), I am so disheartened that they are using nutrition advice that has so clearly failed the obese. We need to get the fresh ideas around the new science of weight loss (read Darlene Kvist’s article about this new approach) to these researchers so that they don’t add to the hopelessness so many obese people already feel about their weight.

I would love to hear what you think of the article! Leave a comment.

Hello dear readers! It has been awhile. I have to say I have been avoiding you. Please don’t take it personally though. It’s not because I don’t value every one of you. I do, and I love that my posts help many of you. My absence in the blogosphere as been because of my old friend, shame.

Starting back in late September, I started on a relapse with my weight loss. It started innocently enough with a drink here and a cookie there. Nothing I couldn’t control, right? I started to participate vigorously in after work happy hours, not to mention the taco bar lunch complete with another old friend, queso dip (and not the “healthy” version, but the nasty Velveeta and Hormel chili variety).

Queso dip and chips--an old friend

Gradually, my rabid cravings for carbs came back. It happened so slowly that I didn’t even realize it. I stopped my regular weigh ins–a sure sign that I knew in my heart something was not right. I stopped my monthly yoga membership. And eventually, I even stopped walking daily. And guess what? Ten pounds came back on in less than a month. And, voila, the shame came with it.

I was pretty devastated. All I could think was, “Here I go again! What is wrong with me that I can’t keep this weight off!” My mind searched for every possible explanation–the water at work could be killing my gut flora! Maybe I am going through early menopause! Maybe I am just not meant to be thin! Every explanation ran through my mind except for the one that made the most sense: I started introducing excess sugar and carbs into my diet, and my unstoppable cravings caused me to eat foods that I must avoid to lose and/or maintain my weight.

I didn’t want to face it. Instead, I wanted an easy answer. I wanted to believe that now that I had lost 90 pounds and was happy with my appearance and health, I could slack off where planning and food were concerned. I could ease up on this routine that had gotten me so far in my weight loss journey. So much for that.

Before things got too far out of control, and before more weight could come back on, I leaned on my support system. Her name is Anna, and she is my nutritionist. An hour spent with her brought me encouragement and support. I was reminded of those foods to avoid and those that would kick start my metabolism. I was also reminded that I need ongoing support to contend with a condition I will have all of my life.

I have lost three of those 10 pounds since my appointment with Anna two weeks ago. Most importantly I realized that I can do this for the long haul. Maybe I just needed a little break from wellness, and fitting into my jeans, to remind myself of just how awesome life can be when I am on track, eating protein, carbs, and fat IN BALANCE.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Real fat will help kids feel satiated so they can lose weight.

Yesterday, my sister told me a very sad story about my niece, who is carrying a lot of extra weight for her age. She was trying on the leotard for her dance recital, amidst all of the other girls, and she couldn’t get it over her thighs. She was humiliated, and she cried and cried.

I immediately had a flash back  to all of the humiliating times from my girlhood that centered around my weight. The comments from my ballet teacher that I was too chubby to be a ballerina. The time my friend’s father warned me not to eat his food while he was in the bathroom at the McDonald’s we had stopped at on the way to a science competition. And on, and on…

Fortunately, my sister and I have the knowledge my mother didn’t have to help my niece lose the weight (see blog post about what to eat). I know my niece shares my struggle with cravings for sugar and high-carb foods. I know she needs to stay away from grains and processed foods, while eating protein, good carbs, and fat in balance through out the day to stave off cravings for cake, cookies, and candy. And by fat I mean butter, nuts, avocadoes, and heavy cream. These fats are her only defense against serious cravings that she can’t control.

So imagine my horror when I heard that a government panel is now recommending that kids as young as 9 be screened for high cholesterol (Doctors: Test all kids for cholesterol by age 11 ) because of the rise in childhood obesity. I think this recommendation means that fat, and specifically healthy saturated fat, will continue to be vilified in the media and in the information dispensed by most doctors. So the one substance that is crucial to helping kids feel satiated so they can lose weight will be off limits to them.

People continue to make the incorrect assumption that fat in the diet means high cholesterol. Tamara Brown, a nutritionist with Nutritional Weight and Wellness, recently wrote an article that dispels this myth. She tells the history of how saturated fats got a bad wrap in the first place, and she continues with the truth about the healing properties of saturated fat.

What really got to me about this testing recommendation is that because it comes from a government panel, the testing will likely be covered by Medicaid and other insurance providers. But the nutrition counseling that children like my niece so desperately need continues to be uncovered by insurance (that is until they get diabetes, then it is covered). My sister will need to pay the full cost of the nutrition counseling appointment–an appointment that will give her health-saving nutrition information for her whole family. The irony is that this information will likely save her insurance company thousands of dollars in future medical costs (see my post about how much I save a year because of good nutritional advice). It will also eliminate the need for her to be tested for high cholesterol.

What do you think of this new recommendation? Leave a comment.

"Keeping it off is going to be the hard part."

am in the middle of trying to lose this weight. That’s the hard part.” How wrong I was.

When I was losing the weight, I had very tangible goals in mind:

• Fit into regular sizes, not plus sizes
• Lose at a slow and steady rate
• Fit into some great jeans
• Be able to do hot yoga three times a week
• Etc.

Without the forward momentum and the goals, I’ve lost my way a bit. I have let things slide. I’ve slacked off on my physical activity, namely not keeping up with yoga. I’ve also gotten really slack about my diet. The times when I go off my food plan have started to blur together, rather than being isolated incidents.

The result: A slow, but steady, weight gain and loss of muscle tone. I am getting soft again. What a colossal bummer. And I have to admit the diet experts are right on this one.

So, what now? Well, I am taking heart that I know eating protein, carbs and fat in balance is my way back to maintaining my 90 pound weight loss and feeling better in my clothes. I am also planning on going back to my nutritionist (weightandwellness.com) for guidance. I also have thought that doing a cleanse with Metagenics Ultra Clear may help get me back on track. I also know I need to start doing yoga consistently for tone and well-being.

The main thing though will be to slowly get back to my program, rather than trying to be heroic and do everything perfectly right away. The all or nothing thinking that caused me to fail at weight loss so many times before is at the root of this latest setback. So, being accepting of failures will be key to getting back on track.

I would love to hear your comments as always!

M&Ms in a large bowl tempt me to no end.

Two posts ago, I started a conversation about relapses and setbacks in long-term weight loss. I am in this weird place where I am doing really well for short stretches; making the right choices and eating well. Mainly this means I am eating protein, carbs, and fat in balance five to six times a day. Doing well also means taking my supplements and getting enough sleep.

Then, after days of great eating, I find myself eating handfuls of M&M’s during a Friday afternoon meeting. Not just a few. But HANDFULS. This precipitated a severe headache that lasted for two days. I felt really gross after doing this.

When this type of setback happens, it drudges up a lot of old feelings and habits. I think, “Who cares? I screwed up, so I am just going to forget it. I will eat pizza for dinner because of the mistake I made this afternoon. It really doesn’t matter anyway.” We all know where this all or nothing thinking leads to. It was a big part of why I gained an extra 100 pounds in the first place.

How I was successful this last of many times to lose weight was by getting excellent nutrition advice coupled with allowing myself the occasional food setback, so that a full blown relapse (of the sort I am contending with now) wouldn’t come. This worked really well. The few times I “fell off the wagon” were minimized by all of the good eating and living I was doing. And low and behold, 90 pounds is gone.

So, it is weird to me that when I have only a bit more to go, I have a full blown relapse. Of the kind I haven’t experienced for two years (i.e., eating until I am literally sick).

I think what this relapse is trying to teach me is that it is necessary and serving an important function. It is reminding me of what worked in the first place. Rather than trying to control it, I am trying to make peace with the relapse. It is giving me a change to revisit my issues with weight and eating and to deal with it all over again, just at the point when I was feeling I had this problem licked. I think the relapse will help me reinforce the skills I have gained to manage my weight problem over the long term. I think without this period of time, I may be stalled in my progress for a long time.

To support my ongoing inner dialogue with myself and my body, I need to eat foods and take supplements that will support my brain and help me manage my cravings.

What are your struggles with setbacks and relapses? Leave a comment.