Food

[papsrus]

Until recently, I didn't pay any attention to the nutritional value (or lack thereof) of what I was eating. Truth be told, I ate pretty much like a teen-ager at times. Lots of fried foods, salty and sweet things. Real sweet tooth. Way too much soda. High carb intake. High fat intake.

Well, I finally became too disgusting for even myself. I was experiencing what I think were fluctuations in glucose levels, or insulin production, where you get a little weak and shaky, usually (for some reason) in the late afternoon, and so I'd pound some sugar to remedy that. But that's a trip down the path to Mr. diabetes, I think. Plus I was easily 30 pounds or more overweight, all in the stomach.

Pretty nasty picture, right?

So, I made a drastic change in diet and began paying attention to my calorie intake, cutting it to a pretty low level (1,500 calories / day), drastically cutting the sugar and fat intake. More greens and beans and proteins, less carbs and soda and sugar and fat. Eating smaller portions. No constant snacking. When I do snack, it's popcorn -- 100 calories -- or rice crackers, low fat yogurt, fruit ... foods like that.

Anyways, began feeling noticeably better almost immediately. Dropped about 3 pounds a week, which is fairly aggressive weight loss. I'm 53 and went from about 220 to just under 200 (as of yesterday) in about six weeks. And all this without a lick of added exercise, which is the next step. Honestly, I describe my lifestyle right now as sedentary, even though I think of myself as reasonably fit, compared to the general population. I was basically a lean person who grew a big old belly in middle age.

So, I'm sure I'm not alone (especially judging by what I see walking around on the streets) in not paying attention to what I was eating. Not even being aware of, or caring about, calories, fat, etc. (I had no idea, for instance, that there are 866 calories in 5 measly Hooters chicken wings? I could easily pound 12 - 15 of those suckers in one sitting, with a whole lot of blue cheese dip flying, too. Not to mention the soda to wash 'em down. That's closing in on 3,000 calories right there (way more than someone like me should consume in an entire day). And just those 5 wings pump in 96% of your daily recommended fat intake. Loaded with saturated fat. Shit! ... or No Shit, as the case may be.)

Anyways, I guess the point is, for those of you who do pay attention to your weight and, more importantly, what you eat, what are some of the habits you follow to maintain your health/weight/sense of well-being, and what are some of the foods and recipes you might recommend?

As a sort of post-script, I have found that by eating less, I no longer want (crave isn't the right word) food as much as I did before. Don't want sweets. Don't long for fried chicken. Not constantly reaching for something to snack on, etc.

[BeBop]

Fundamental answer to your question is "I'm vegan" (32 years), so yes, I'm watching. But more importantly, I'm watching my food to make sure I get some diversity and reasonable nutritional balance.

Vegetarian and vegan diets can be gawdawful unhealthy, especially as practiced by people mainly or exclusively interested in animal rights.

Edited October 28, 2010 by BeBop

[Guy Berger]

I'm pretty skinny and a cardio-freak so I don't have any serious issues, but I have reached the age where I can't eat anything I want anymore. One thing I've found for those with a sweet tooth like myself is to replace candy or soda with fruit. Those still have the sugar (and tartness for those like me who like that), but are at least much better for you.

Guy

[kinuta]

I eat very little red meat, but lots of fish and chicken, veggies, tofu, rice and pasta. I'm a passionate fan of Indo-Paki food and eat dal, chana, vegi curries of various types several times a week. We eat fruit twice a day and although I love ice cream and chocolate I usually manage to stay away from them. I run about 6 k's every day and my weight has been 65 kilos for as long as I can remember.

[papsrus]

I eat very little red meat, but lots of fish and chicken, veggies, tofu, rice and pasta. I'm a passionate fan of Indo-Paki food and eat dal, chana, vegi curries of various types several times a week. We eat fruit twice a day and although I love ice cream and chocolate I usually manage to stay away from them. I run about 6 k's every day and my weight has been 65 kilos for as long as I can remember.

Rice, yes. I like to concoct stir fries using mostly veggies, sometimes with some chicken or pork. Course, we all know to boil the rice and put it in the fridge for a while first, right? Take some of the moisture out of it so it doesn't turn to mush in the stir fry.

65 kilos = 143 pounds. Lean. That's great (as long as you're not 6 foot 5 (1.9812 meters -_- )

[kinuta]

I eat very little red meat, but lots of fish and chicken, veggies, tofu, rice and pasta. I'm a passionate fan of Indo-Paki food and eat dal, chana, vegi curries of various types several times a week. We eat fruit twice a day and although I love ice cream and chocolate I usually manage to stay away from them. I run about 6 k's every day and my weight has been 65 kilos for as long as I can remember.

Rice, yes. I like to concoct stir fries using mostly veggies, sometimes with some chicken or pork. Course, we all know to boil the rice and put it in the fridge for a while first, right? Take some of the moisture out of it so it doesn't turn to mush in the stir fry.

65 kilos = 143 pounds. Lean. That's great (as long as you're not 6 foot 5 (1.9812 meters -_- )

Everyone uses a rice cooker here. Can't beat good quality Japanese rice. The western idea of a ' stir fry' is a bit different to what we make. Rice is fried with only long onion, egg, salt and touch each of chicken stock powder, sake and oyster sauce. The secret is to use a red hot wok, keep it moving and cook well. Vegs and meat are never cooked with rice but as a separate dish.

[mikelz777]

Paps, congratulations on the weight loss. Your's is the path I need to go down. At 6' and 240 lbs, I'd like to lose 40-50 lbs. I've got broad shoulders and fairly muscular arms so looking at me straight on isn't bad but if I turn sideways or take my shirt off it's YIKES! time.

A good diet/calorie intake is at least 80% of the battle. My weaknesses are Chinese food/buffets, beef burritos with rice and beans, pizza, salty snacks. I really like spicy and flavorful foods so eating the "right stuff" is kind of boring to me and my biggest challenge in trying to make changes. I've been thinking about making another go at it. Perfect time huh? Right around the holidays.

I'd be interested in hearing what a typical day of food would be for you. Are you eating 3 times a day or do you work snacks in there as well? I know that only 1500 calories a day adds up pretty fast.

[papsrus]

I'd be interested in hearing what a typical day of food would be for you. Are you eating 3 times a day or do you work snacks in there as well? I know that only 1500 calories a day adds up pretty fast.

There are calorie counters online. Here's one I used for the first month or so to get a handle on calorie intake.

Right now I'll typically eat a cup of cereal with skim milk and some fruit on top in the morning. Cup of coffee with low fat cream and real sugar (can't cotton to substitutes, so I allow myself that).

Cereal = 130 calories

Strawberries = 50 calories (1 cup)

Milk = 90 calories

coffee = 55 calories

--------------------

325 calories

From then until my main meal of the day, I may or may not have some low calorie yogurt with more fruit -- about another 180 calories, and other than that, it's water, diet soda (some other bad stuff there, but no calories), maybe another cup of coffee.

So I'm at about 500 - 600 calories by my main meal. At first I was eating a lot of salads for my main meal. Romaine lettuce, tomatoes, onion, olives, beans and a couple of tins of tuna thrown in. Low calorie dressing. Big, big salads.

But the key for me is, no food after that. No snacks, just diet soda, water or coffee.

For warm dishes, stir fries, or rice with boiled or baked veggies -- asparagus, broccoli, Brussels sprouts. Most of that stuff is super low calorie.

If I get takeout now, say from Chipotle Grill, I'll skip the tortilla (200 calories) and just get a veggie bowl, with beans and all the good stuff. There's a calorie counter for their food here. You can get a nice mound of rice, beans, fajita veg., tomato, corn, even sour cream and guacamole and that's about 640 calories. If that's my main meal of the day, I'm good.

If you like to make your own wraps, there are low calorie tortillas in the supermarket. I found some that are 81 calories per.

Really, bottom line is, just start looking at the labels of the stuff you shop for and try to find lower calorie substitutes. Eliminate most snacking and sweets, and eat more fruits and veggies instead.

Once you start dropping the pounds, you'll feel better, and just function better.

Some diet experts recommend varying your calorie intake to sort of trick your body into not adjusting to a lower overall calorie intake. 1500 one day, 1900 the next, 1400 the next day, 2000 the next. But I just tried to keep it as close to or under 1500 as I could and because I had so much excess, it seemed to start coming off pretty fast.

But I had some bad habits, so in a sense it was easy (so far).

Couple of things: When losing weight, you will hit a point where you plateau for a while. Your body just adjusts -- metabolism slows, I guess -- and at some point you will stop shedding pounds for a while. But then it'll start to drop again.

Also, some foods help your body retain water more than others, so that can lead to slight fluctuations as well. I think it's proteins that help you retain water.

Lastly, the less you eat, the better you'll feel and you'll find that you don't need to eat as much as you did before. That's been my experience, so far. I was just over-eating and eating the wrong stuff, not paying attention to what was in the food.

Edited October 29, 2010 by papsrus

[papsrus]

The other thing is, if you are a meat-eater, meat doesn't have to be high calorie. Just watch the size of the portion. Broil instead of fry. There are low-calorie lunch meats, and low-calorie breads, so if you like sandwiches you can still have them. just make one instead of two. Skip the potato chips. Use low calorie mayo. That kind of thing.

[rostasi]

Congratulations!

I'd recommend looking at the series of books called "Eat This Not That"

to see what it is you're really getting in your typical store-bought food.

Here are a few from Amazon.

If you have time to thumb thru them, you can usually see them at the

major book retailers. Sit and look up some of your favorite foods and drinks

to see if they're on the "Eat This" left-side page or the "Not That" right side page.

You may be surprised!

BTW: I've been vegetarian bordering on vegan for 37 years.

A little over 6 feet and 180 lbs./82 kilos

[ejp626]

Don't watch it enough, that's for sure. My main problem, however, is I consistently cheat myself out of sleep, and they have now found strong evidence showing that you lose some hormone (leptin) that helps regulate your appetite when you don't sleep enough. Sounds about right for me; I definitely snack too much. I've made some improvements in snacking on fruit at work, but I definitely need to do more.

[sidewinder]

Those potato chips/crisps are the worst. And the way companies host machines full of them just to tempt you during the day. I caved in once this week but it was the first time in 5 years plus.

Avoiding ready meals and cooking the stuff yourself is an affective strategy too. As is a salad binge during the Summer months.

[papsrus]

Those potato chips/crisps are the worst. And the way companies host machines full of them just to tempt you during the day. I caved in once this week but it was the first time in 5 years plus.

There is literally nothing in those munchie machines that you can eat. Even a small bag of harmless peanuts is 200 calories. And I like peanuts. But I'd rather have something more substantial to get those 200 calories. Maybe a cup of low fat cottage cheese and sliced tomato. Some celery sticks. More filling. Better for you.

A lot of these things like low calorie mayo, fat free yogurt, low calorie salad dressing, even low cal cottage cheese, they taste just as good as the high calorie stuff.

Edited October 29, 2010 by papsrus

[sidewinder]

And not to forget that they are packed to the gunnels with salt too. That stuff is the hidden killer !

The one thing I do enjoy though is the occasional fish & chips. Delish ! Not to be eaten every day though.

Edited October 29, 2010 by sidewinder

[Dan Gould]

James story almost gives me some encouragement, since he's a bit older than I am and sedentary like me. But right now, the only accomplishment I can show is that this year, I won't need to buy new pants before my trip to see the parental units - unlike the last two or three years. So weight stabilization has to be something to build on, right?

One positive is that snacking is way down ever since I rejoined the commute-to-the-office masses. But on the other hand one of the bosses has a major sweet tooth and keeps the candy dish on the front counter full. I don't partake that often - maybe 2-3 times a week - but its empty calories I wouldn't otherwise consume. Another advantage is being ina storefront office rather than an office building with the nefarious vending machines.

But the problem is that I really feel as though we eat reasonably healthily. The occasional restaurant or take-out meal aside, reasonable portions of chicken, pork or steak, veggie side dish, salad most nights. Pasta once a week. And yet, until this year, the waist measurement steadily increased.

Since I've stabilized my weight, maybe I just need to make a few additional changes and I'll start going in the right direction?

[A Lark Ascending]

Food Do you watch what you eat?

Given my cooking skills I prefer to eat blindfolded.

********************

I stopped eating chocolate on a whim in 2001 and haven't touched it since. Had the effect of reducing the craving for sweet things in general - I used to have a very sweet tooth. Now I rarely eat more than a slice of cake in a day.

I rarely eat fast food - one trip to the chip shop a week, maximum.

My two weaknesses are exercise - I've never been sporty so only really do walking (a lot of that in my job!); and lack of fruit and vegetables. I'm no-where near 5 a day!

Oh, and alcohol. Don't drink to excess but like a couple of bottles of strong beer on a Friday/Saturday.

[Pete B]

At my wife's suggestion I went to a consulting pharmacist. At her suggestion I went on a high-protein, low carb diet. Also cut down on caffeine and increased my intake of water. She explained that the caffeine and the carbs were playing havoc with my blood sugar and adrenalin levels, and that I was probably constantly dehydrated from not drinking enough water. Also, she emphasized the importance of healthy snacks every 2 or 3 hours to help regulate blood sugar - I eat greek yogurt, small quantities of nuts and lowfat cheese, and protein bars. I feel much more energetic and I've lost 20 lbs in the last 6 months. She also suggested some blood tests and I found that I was low in Vitamin D, a problem easily rectified with supplements. With a return of energy I have been able to resume regular exercise which has helped with the weight loss. My ultimate goal is to lose another 20 lbs in the next 6 months.

Edited October 29, 2010 by Pete B

[papsrus]

Great Pete. I agree also that a daily multi-vitamin is important. I also take two fish oil capsules each day now -- about 2400 mg. Not only do they help lower stuff like triglycerides, which were a problem for me, but I've also heard from doctors that they contribute to an overall sense of well-being, mentally. You feel better, more positive, etc.

I'm all for that!

PS -- just to show how nuts I was about counting calories when I started all this, I even included the calories in the fish oil capsules in my daily total. Two capsules = 25 calories.

Now that I have a general idea about the calorie content in various foods, I'm no longer counting.

[Quincy]

Like the song says, "you gotta move."

Over last fall & winter I ended up putting on 15 lbs. too many because I stopped exercising regularly and felt compelled to try every beer release from our own 3 breweries plus others in the region. The Pacific Northwest has far too many tasty alcohol temptations.

Like others I now pay attention to calories, fat & sodium levels, try to avoid or cut way back on sugar and refined flour and overly processed foods. If I snack I use a 1/2 oz. metal condiment cup and partially fill it with pumpkin or sunflower seeds or a few unsalted almonds. Seaweed snacks are low cal too. I'm not a saint though and occasionally get untracked. That's where exercise can help.

Drinking water is good as it will fill the stomach. There was a recent study that showed that simply drinking either a cup or pint before dinner results in people eating less at the meal and thus losing weight vs. those who don't. I guess if you're cooking portions for yourself perhaps that's not as important, but the idea is sound enough. If you don't like the taste of your water buy a Brita water filter pitcher (their faucet mounts are cheap plastic and wear out too quickly in my opinion) or look into some other brand or system.

I would recommend getting some exercise in though. I never cared for the gym so I cycle a lot and add in some yoga. Situps are free and very necessary if you have a gut. Start with 25 a day for a week or however long it takes and keep adding to the total. Experiment with different music from your collection to make this more tolerable. And if you have a used sporting goods store think about picking up some dumbbells of varying weights. Weight work keeps burning calories for awhile after you stop exercising, or so I've read. Google around for ideas on what to do with them.

[Sundog]

I'm pretty careful about what I eat (6'2", 166 lbs). No real secrets... I eat lot's of lean meats, fish, veggies, pasta/grains, nuts, and fruit. I probably eat vegetarian dishes 10 times a month. I tend to like Mediterrean style dishes, very healthy with lot's of wonderful flavors. I avoid/don't eat anything fried. Also no soda. I'm a bit of a cycling nut, so it's not uncommon for me to burn 7000 calories a week during the season. That said, I have to eat really well to keep the engine going.

[T.D.]

I'm very careful about what I eat (vegetarian except for certain social occasions), but I voted for #3 instead of #4 because I will occasionally have dessert. But even my desserts aren't very extreme (Fig Newtons are a recent example). Haven't drunk alcohol for over 12 years (but drank far too much beer up to that time). Started turning the diet over 7-8 years ago, and have gradually gotten stricter. I've always exercised a lot, and have never been overweight. [Added] I'm 6 foot 2-1/2 (may have once been 6-3 before age started shrinking the spine ), don't weigh myself (or own a scale), but probably average in the 170-175 pound range. Probably was well below 170 as a marathon runner, up around 190 when playing recreational hockey.

Edited October 30, 2010 by T.D.

[kenny weir]

Interesting thread ...

My first reaction was to not read it at all because it would just make me feel guilty.

After a little more thought, I realised I have been making changes.

One of the best, inspired by my late dad's bowel cancer and my own issues wit lack of fibre, is to have made our own homemade muesli/porridge for the past year or so.

Basically:

2 x 1kg bags generic brand rolled oats

1 x 1kg gb crushed oats

1 x 500g gb dates, chopped

1 x 250g gb almonds chopped

1 x 250g gb sultanas.

Mix all and store. Soak two handfuls per person overnight with lite milk. Eat, heated or not, with chopped fresh fruit and topped with low-fat yogurt and cinnamon.

Having this every day - and it's become such a mainstay I don't even think about going out for breakfast, something that used to be common - has improved my quality of life A LOT. As well, it's cheap - it's frightening how much packaged and pricey breakfast cereals a 54yo dad and 10yo son can go through.

I was also, at first, inclined to consider the fact that I finally got 'round to starting a blog dedicated to the mostly ethnic cheap eats found on our western side of Melbourne.

(Melbourne's west is what in America is referred to as the wrong side of the tracks. We have plenty of tracks; also a lot of trucks, industry, pollution, poverty and associated social ills. But it's home now. The idea of living on the "better" side of town seems absurd - as does the idea of living more 15 minutes drive from the nearest bowl of pho.)

But the truth is, blogging-related meals average about two a week, and while they can be wildly unhealthy, they can also be real healthy (pho).

Got to be careful, though - when it comes to butter, oil and fat of all kinds: My Indian, African (Ethiopian, Sudanese, Eritrean, Somalian), Middle Eastern and multi-Asian neighbours are devoid of fear or - frequently - any restraint at all!

At home, vegetarian Indian and non-vegetarian Italian are our mainstays, mostly very healthy and again made easy by the resources in our back yard.

[Tom 1960]

I'm careful of what I eat although I don't try to feel too guilty about it when I indulge on things I know aren't the best for me. I'm what you call an exercise fanatic. I work out 6 days a week. 4 days with the weights, 2 days on the road bike. I'm 6 foot 2 1/2 and currently 185. I lost 15lbs. recently due to some serious training this past summer for a century ride(100 miles) which I completed for the first time in September. At this point heavens forbid, I'm looking to gain some(most) of the weight back. Yeah back, imagine having that sort of problem? I could cheat and eat alot of fatty foods in order to accomplish that, but that's not a route I'm comfortable with. I'll probably drink more protein shakes and eat small but more frequent in between meals in order to get back to where I want to be. In terms of my everyday diet, I would never consider myself any sort of fanatic, although others do. I eat normal foods like most people. I'm a meat eater. I enjoy cooking on the grill. Steaks, burgers, chicken breast(skinless) are the norm. 1 big pasta meal once a week. Fish once a week. Salads are pretty much a regular staple, although I've recently converted away to some extent on the creamy salad dressings. Love my blue cheese dressing. Breakafast is usually 2 eggs, oatmeal and coffee. Coffee is probably my one vice in life. I really enjoy my coffee. Lunches are pretty much standard since I eat at home everyday. I have a couple of sandwiches with usually hopefully good quality lowfat/low sodium meats. Like my cheeses too although I try not to go too overboard with that. My cholesterol was borderline up to a few years ago, but has since been on the decline. Desserts? Not really, although the wife on occasion will make something up when we have company over or if we happen to go out for dinner and the wife wants to split something with me.

Edited October 31, 2010 by Tom 1960

[papsrus]

Everyone uses a rice cooker here. Can't beat good quality Japanese rice. The western idea of a ' stir fry' is a bit different to what we make. Rice is fried with only long onion, egg, salt and touch each of chicken stock powder, sake and oyster sauce. The secret is to use a red hot wok, keep it moving and cook well. Vegs and meat are never cooked with rice but as a separate dish.

Fried up some rice tonight using a red hot pan (no wok), with an egg mixed in, some chopped green onions and a splash of soya sauce (no oyster sauce on hand). I fried it separately from the other stuff I was throwing in with it, and I kept it moving as it fried. Worked beautifully! Thanks for the tip.

I think my mistake earlier was frying it too slowly at too low a temperature.

I was married to a Korean woman who was raised in Tokyo and the rice cooker was in pretty steady use back then. She would get care packages of rice and other 'necessities' from home pretty regularly. We visited Tokyo some years ago and the variety and quality of food 'experiences' there was amazing.

[kinuta]

Everyone uses a rice cooker here. Can't beat good quality Japanese rice. The western idea of a ' stir fry' is a bit different to what we make. Rice is fried with only long onion, egg, salt and touch each of chicken stock powder, sake and oyster sauce. The secret is to use a red hot wok, keep it moving and cook well. Vegs and meat are never cooked with rice but as a separate dish.

Fried up some rice tonight using a red hot pan (no wok), with an egg mixed in, some chopped green onions and a splash of soya sauce (no oyster sauce on hand). I fried it separately from the other stuff I was throwing in with it, and I kept it moving as it fried. Worked beautifully! Thanks for the tip.

I think my mistake earlier was frying it too slowly at too low a temperature.

I was married to a Korean woman who was raised in Tokyo and the rice cooker was in pretty steady use back then. She would get care packages of rice and other 'necessities' from home pretty regularly. We visited Tokyo some years ago and the variety and quality of food 'experiences' there was amazing.

I forgot something important that is obvious to me but probably not to you . The beaten egg is fried first, then put in the rice and chopped scallions, then the salt, pepper and soy last. If you put the beaten egg and rice in together it will be a disaster. One of the vital points I've picked up in the kitchen is that nearly all Chinese dishes call for the ingredients to be cooked separately then combined with the seasonings for a final 'stir fry'. For a luxury touch add some fried shrimp or, better still, crab meat.Put them in last.