Weighting for What?

The Vegan Cabin, Christmas 2011

2012-01-07T07:18:00.000-07:00

Tuesday 12/20/11

Baby, it's cold outside!

Dawn brought a winter wonderland scene of snow-flocked evergreens and a cloudless sky. Sometime in the night it had actually warmed up to 16 degrees -- a heat wave. It was clear that at least another inch of snow had fallen during the night, bringing the total to three or four inches over 24 hours. There is nothing quite so lovely as a blanket of freshly fallen snow, sparkling in the sun. It made me think of....waffles!

Shortly after leaving the cabin in October, I decided, after seeing the results of my dear friend, to try going vegan -- vegetarian but without eating any animal products at all...milk, cheese, or eggs. It was a bit of a shock to my husband who dearly loves my cooking, but he’s been a terrific sport and is “mostly” vegan, flexing a bit when we go out. On my new plant-based diet I returned to the cabin 10 weeks later and 10 pounds lighter and with several other physical indicators that this is a very good thing for me. Still, it gave me pause to think of cooking at the cabin. Last summer had been so full of bacon and eggs, butter by the pound, bratwursts, mashed potatoes with cream (I took to calling them Crack Potatoes...that’s how addictive they were), and homemade cookies by the score. But we’d been eating great vegan food in Tucson for over two months, so I provisioned carefully and we’re eating great vegan food here too -- hearty soups, chili, homemade breads, baked stuffed squash, sweet potatoes, and instead of Boston baked beans I’ll use my bean pot for slow-baked white beans with kale that practically caramelizes after hours in a low oven.

Tofu-veggie scramble (infinitely versatile)
with pumpkin biscuits

But this morning my thoughts turned to waffles. Waffles with real maple syrup. I have wisely invested in some great vegan cookbooks, and I turned to my favorite, Veganomicon. Up here, over an hour from the nearest carton of soy milk (I used to say “gallon of milk”), you need to a) carefully provision, and b) realize that you are not heading into town for fresh blueberries if you find yourself without, especially with nearly a foot of snow drifted over your roller coaster steep driveway, 4-wheel drive or not. But Veganomicon did not disappoint... there, on page 75, was a recipe for Banana-Nut Waffles. And yes, I had all the ingredients.

I love to cook, but I especially love it at the cabin. I have a smallish but well-equipped kitchen with good counter space, and a gorgeous wrap-around view across the valley and of the surrounding forest. While mashing the bananas and chopping the walnuts I watched the Mountain Chickadees cavorting in the bare aspens out front, and could see that the roof was starting to drip as the sun hit the snow. I got out my old Belgian waffle iron and plugged it in to heat and set the oven to low to keep the waffles warm. I put the maple syrup in a small hand-painted pitcher that was a gift from an Etsy.com shop I’d bought cabin things from (I love Etsy). We sat down to steaming waffles a few minutes later, spread a bit of Earth Balance across their pocketed surface, poured on the syrup, and took our first bite...oh, heaven! The absolutely best waffles I’ve ever eaten in my life, like a lighter banana nut bread, crunchy on all the surfaces, and moist and fragrant inside.

Veganomicon's Banana-Walnut waffles,
quite the breakfast treat!

Honestly, we eat better (and so much healthier) on this vegan diet than we have ever before, and that’s saying something.

Still Here (or There); Still Happily Vegan

2011-12-17T20:39:00.001-07:00

Somewhere in southern New Mexico, heading north on I-25

We’re on the road, half way to our destination -- our Colorado Rocky Mountain cabin. We’re overnighting in Albuquerque since I don’t do 14 hour driving days anymore. We’ll spend Christmas and New Years at the cabin, seeing some friends and family, but mostly happily on our own in front of the fire and hoping for a little bit of a white Christmas.

Vegan udon noodles

I’m just over two months into having adopted a plant-based diet and am loving it. I’ll go back to the cabin ten pounds lighter than I left it that many weeks ago, so I’m right on the mark of losing a pound a week. The longer I am doing the vegan thing, the easier and more natural it becomes...the new normal.

This is our first road trip since becoming vegan, and I was a little bit concerned about finding things I could eat without a lot of time-consuming searching. I shouldn’t have worried. From truck-stops to restaurants within a few minutes walk from the hotel, I’ve had great luck. The Love’s truck-stop we gassed up the SUV at had a Subway inside where I got a Veggie Delight footlong on 9-grain Honey Oat with all the cheese on my husband’s side (he "flex's" once in a great while), a huge pile of veggies with red wine vinaigrette -- quite yummy and pleasantly light for sitting all day long. We had dinner at an unimposing Mexican restaurant across the street from our hotel -- Little Anita’s. We sat in a booth by the front window with a view of traffic zipping by, not a fancy place, but they did have a vegetarian section. I ended up with a really good dinner, New Mexico-style flat enchiladas, three corn tortillas layered with sauteed onions, mushrooms, and zucchinis, smothered in a medium hot green chili sauce, hold the cheese. The vegetarian refried beans where quite good; the rice okay. So, so far, so good on the vegan traveling front.

As we all tend to do, you may be thinking about some resolutions for the New Year. If some of those involve changing your diet, for health or other reasons, consider giving the vegan diet a test drive. I experienced so many health benefits so quickly that it really was astonishing. And reliably losing a pound a week without being hungry, feeling deprived, counting points or weighing or measuring food is a terrific benefit. Health was, and is, my primary reason for leaving meat and fish and animal products behind, but there are many more important benefits, to the animals and to the environment, to be gained by eating a plant-based diet, and they resonate with me along with the improvements to my health. Dr. Neal Barnard is holding an online 21-Day Vegan Kickstart program starting January 2nd. It’s free, very informative -- from daily menu plans and recipes to rationale and tips, many of them on video clips -- and could be the start of something great. You can sign up for this 21 day guided vegan “kickstart” and take it for a spin. Sign up here: http://www.21daykickstart.org/

We’ll be back on the road tomorrow, at the cabin by mid-afternoon, and I’ll be making something wonderful, and vegan, for our dinner. I’m looking forward to putting up the Christmas tree, making vegan gingerbread cookies (I packed my cookie cutters), and taking walks in the ponderosa pine forest, hopefully with a few flakes of snow falling. It’ll be a great couple of weeks of quiet times, thick soups, and lots of interesting reading, including Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer (you can read about it here: http://www.eatinganimals.com/ ).

Wherever you spend your holidays, I hope they are healthy and happy. May the New Year bring you all good things. Maybe even a whole new direction in healthy eating.

Cravings

2011-11-28T06:37:00.001-07:00

Chanterelles on Toast (see link to recipe, and notes for "veganizing" below).
Trust me, so much better than a slab-o-turkey, and safe to crave.

In my last post, Thankful, I listed over a dozen health benefits that I'd experienced in just over a month of my new plant-based vegan diet. The next day I realized I'd left out a huge one, an albatross that has plagued and derailed me most of my life...cravings. Or more to the point, now the lack thereof.

I've been able to diet in the past successfully, many many times. It would be horrifying to calculate how many hundreds of pounds -- how many of Me -- I have shed in the last 50 years since I turned from knobby-kneed sprite to a latch-key kid that could only shop from the Chubby Girls section of the Sears catalog. All those false starts, with a pound or two shed before being seduced back into my comforting ways, to those longer grit-your-teeth periods of unsustainable deprivation and exercise routines that resulted in ephemeral losses of 40 to 90 pounds, all quickly regained. My life has been monopolized by cravings, and too much of my time and energy have been engaged in either beating them back or succumbing to them, and suffering the life-threatening consequences. And I won't even get into the ravaging emotional toll of being fat in America.

Simple Provencal Winter Squash Gratin
(see link below),
enjoyed by everyone!

One of the most stunning benefits of adopting a vegan diet has been, for me, the disappearance, almost immediately, of cravings. It took me, oddly, some time to notice this as I was so enthused about the new food direction and all the fresh opportunities. But one day upon entering a grocery and marveling that I was breezing right by the meat, cheese, and dairy cases, I realized that I wasn't even thinking about the areas that used to pull at me like an irresistable vortex -- the bakery and ice cream and prepared food sections. The cravings for carbohydrates, sweet and otherwise, the siren call and my nemesis so recently, were not only silent, but gone!

Imagine telling someone addicted to cigarettes or alcohol or drugs (and the list goes on, and includes food) that all they had to do was switch to a vegan diet and their life-long addictions, the one's that were costing them everything from money and time to relationships and health, would be gone. That's how it happened for me. The addiction to certain foods may well be partially psychological, but there are also certainly physically addictive issues. I don't pretend to understand how adopting a low-fat vegan diet broke that chain for me so completely, and so quickly, but I am extremely grateful that it did. It seems nothing short of miraculous, but I know that it is not.

Banana-Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding
from my favorite vegan cookbook, Veganomicon

If Thanksgiving didn't test me on my new plant-based diet, I figure nothing will. On the holiday with the strongest food traditions of the year, I was not at all tempted to eat turkey, and only slightly regretful that all those wonderful sides that others had prepared at events I attended (and that could so easily have been "veganized") were off the menu for me. I did what all vegans do who want to be well fed and good guests...I made a dish or two I knew I could eat as a contribution to the table. Trust me, I wasn't the only one with whom those dishes were popular.

I find a lot of wonderful recipes in the Health section of the New York Times online. Sometimes they're vegan, as was Martha Rose Shulman's Simple Provencal Winter Squash Gratin (click here for recipe).

Sometimes they need a bit of tweaking to move from vegetarian to vegan -- like my vegan adaptation of The New York Times Chanterelles on Toast. Click on the link for the recipe and substitute Earth Balance for the butter and skip the parmesan. And prepare to be wowed. This will be a special event meal for me from now on.

And you just need to go out and buy my favorite cookbook, Veganomicon, for the Banana-Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding recipe, a wonderfully satisfying treat that didn't send me into a more-more-more tailspin.

That's Tofurkey Italian sausage on our homemade pizza

My only cravings these days are for deliciously prepared plant-based foods. Like our homemade pizzas or chili. Now that my palate has changed, something as simple as chilled grapes can make me swoon. Roasted sweet potatoes elicit sighs of pleasure. And a well made salad is an exquisite eating experience. Far from being a slave to cravings, or having my food world diminished by giving up animal-based foods, my new vegan world is exploding with exciting -- and healthy -- eating opportunities.

You can have this homemade vegan chili on the table in 30 minutes flat.
It gets its deep flavor from cocoa powder as well as chili powder --
find the recipe in The Vegan Diner cookbook.

Thankful

2011-11-21T15:00:00.001-07:00

Thanksgiving is fast approaching. There's no turkey in my fridge, but there are golden chanterelle mushrooms, small heads of tender artisan lettuce, deep green chard with bright red ribs, purple tinged kale, and regal eggplants. My kitchen countertop platters hold crimson roma tomatoes, beige butternut squash, deep russet sweet potatoes, leathery skinned avocados, orange Clementines, rosy shallots, and papery white bulbs of garlic. We will feast on all of this and more this week, and somewhere out there there's a turkey that got lucky too.

I've been thinking about all that I am thankful for this fall...my dear friend Joan who suggested and inspired trying a vegan diet, my husband who [after a few hours of worry] has supported me and my vegan kitchen completely, as well as the enthusiastic interest/conversion of friends and family. I'm thankful for Dr. Neal Barnard whose 21-Day Weight Loss Kickstart book guided me through the first three weeks, and guides me still. I'm thankful for the documentary Forks Over Knives that clarified the scientific rational behind a plant-based diet for us. I'm thankful for all the great vegan blogs and recipes and cookbooks out there, from the New York Times to my absolute favorite, if-you-could-only-own-one-vegan-cookbook, Veganomicon. Their recipes make you forget there's anything but vegan.

Manzana Chili Verde from Veganomicon was dinner last night...yum!

I'm very thankful for all the wonderful positive changes a vegan plant-based diet has brought to me so far (I'm less than six weeks into this new journey). Let me share some of them with you:

Weight loss -- as promised in Dr. Barnard's 21-Day Weight Loss Kickstart book, I am losing a pound a week (or more) almost effortlessly
Decongested -- the first night after switching to a vegan diet I went to bed and could breathe easily through my nose, with none of the coughing that had plagued me for years
Snoring -- gone!
Sleep -- like a baby
Energy -- my body is humming with it, and I have much more endurance
Softer skin -- unexpected but wonderful change from chronic cracked dry skin
Indigestion and heartburn -- I was not often bothered, but now they are gone!
Peripheral neuropathy -- vastly improved, and this is huge for me as I was sometimes kept up for hours at night in true agony, feeling like someone was tazering my feet...now I barely notice a tingle
Mood -- much more even, elevated, and productive
Mind -- feeling sharp with no muddle-headedness
Pain -- essentially zero need for any med's for aches or pains
Foot swelling -- gone, and wow, do I have a load of "new" shoes that I've never been able to wear before!
GREAT FOOD -- I feel like I've rediscovered cooking (and I'm a cook)...everything is so colorful and appealing and delicious and you feel so terrific and satisfied after you eat it, and kitchen clean-up is a snap without greasy pots and pans and plates
Saving $$$ -- even focusing on organics, we are saving a lot of money at the grocery check-out

Gratitude comes easy with great results like these.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Finally. Something to say...

2011-11-13T11:05:00.001-07:00

It’s been 20 months since I last posted to this blog. Since then I turned 60, and then 61. Lots of good things have happened. I became a docent at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. My husband and I built a cabin, and when my husband retired in May we spent the summer there high in the Colorado Rockies, a peaceful and cool respite from the desert heat. And during all of that time I struggled with the conventional diet plan, yo-yo’ing up and down, but mostly up -- no surprise to most who are grappling with serious weight (and health) issues. I’d realized I had nothing to add to the weight-loss discussion that would be helpful or positive, so I clammed up.

Over our first summer at the cabin, four wonderful months, we worked and played hard. My husband finally had lots of time to work on clearing our overgrown forest, working with the local Healthy Forest Initiative folks, felling 60 foot trees and hauling the trunks into piles. We did a lot of hiking, and on our land just hanging out the clothes required a good descent to the clothesline and return ascent to the cabin, at 8,600 feet an aerobic feat in and of itself. Since it felt like a four month long vacation, we ate like lumberjacks -- bacon and eggs, bratwursts on the grill, mashed potatoes (I took to calling them "crack" potatoes due to their drug-like properties), and lots and LOTS of homemade cookies. Still, we both lost weight (even me), probably a combo of the physical work and exercise and the speeded up metabolism that is the gift of living at high elevation.

On the long two day drive home at the end of our summer hiatus I realized that the cabin diet would never fly back in the Sonoran desert. With two incredible places to live, I wanted to be around for a long time, and able to fully enjoy them. Besides, I was honestly tired of the greasy meats and too many sweets and we discussed getting back to more salads and fresh veggies and fish when we returned to the land of grocery stores a few minutes away instead of an hour’s drive on mostly dirt roads.

Shortly after we returned to Tucson one of my best friends (and one of the smartest woman I know) invited me over for coffee and a catch-up. I hadn’t seen her for over four months, and she looked remarkably well -- trimmer and glowing and full of energy. Influenced by a suggestion from a good friend of hers, she’d decided to try...wait for it...a VEGAN, plant based, diet. And it was working!!! She’d lost weight, but that wasn’t even at the top of her list of all the good things this seemingly radical change in diet had brought her. She had been guided by a book, Dr. Neal Barnard’s 21-Day Weight Loss Kickstart, that explained the Why’s and How’s of this three week trial vegan eating plan. She strongly encouraged me to borrow the book and read at least the first couple of chapters. So I did. And I was sold.

Dr. Barnard is an MD, clinical researcher, and health advocate. The book has pages and pages of references and citations from peer-reviewed research. The material is factual, not wishful thinking. It explains the scientifically proven links between consuming meat and other animal products, such as dairy and eggs, and disease. It explains how the damage done can be greatly improved or reversed -- diabetes, cholesterol, heart disease, hypertension, and yes, obesity. Not a miracle cure, but a scientifically based plan with proven results. I was ready to give it a try. Somehow it just seemed easier to completely quit eating some things rather than weigh and measure small amounts and count calories or points and keep food journals. Besides, I mean, c’mon, what’s three weeks?

Selling this idea to my husband was another matter. We were looking forward to cooking more together, now that he was retired, so when he suggested something we might make for dinner in a couple of days, I had to tell him we might have to revise that plan to not include meat or any other animal products. He was less than pleased. In fact he was concerned that this would impact our relationship. Cooking for him is something I’ve always done, and he likes what I make him. He was always ready to eat healthy, but this was a step too far.

A husband-cooked vegan Indian meal;
no deprivation here!

Another suggestion from my friend was to watch the documentary Forks Over Knives (go to their site and watch the trailer by clicking here) which explains why a vegan diet is a much healthier option, again backed up by serious medical studies over many decades. Luckily it was available in streaming video from Netflix, so we sat down to watch it. Within the first half hour of jaw-dropping information, my scientist husband had done a 180 and was fully supportive of my “trial” vegan run. We're now excitedly experimenting with vegan recipes and not only are we cooking together, he's cooking for me!

That was one exciting month ago. I hit the 21 day mark and never dreamed of going back to a conventional American diet. I feel too good in so many ways to even consider it, and besides, I have not missed meat or fish or milk or cheese at all (though I'd feared I would) -- there’s so much exciting food out there when you stop focusing on meat-based diets. Let’s face it, usually veggies are almost an afterthought once you’ve figured out what to do with the pork tenderloin or fish fillets. I’m a cook, and I feel like I’m discovering food all over again. My husband hasn’t once complained about the food -- it’s too delicious and gorgeous. Sometimes I’m so excited about all the things I want to make that I can hardly sleep at night -- except that now I’m sleeping better than I ever remember. Sleep and so many other wonderful benefits -- and yes, effortlessly losing weight (it’s almost just a wonderful by-product of all the other terrific things that are happening) -- all of which I’ll tell you about in future posts.

Finally, something GOOD to say! Stay tuned...

Salad Days

2010-03-04T13:31:00.005-07:00

Here in the Sonoran desert it's been spring for a month. Temperatures are warming, plants are leafing out, and daytime temps are often in the 70's. It's easier to be outside just about any time -- we even ate outside last night.

Our week of entertaining a house guest is over and life is settling back into our normal routine that we love so much. Pre-dawn walks, productive days, sharing those day's events over a simple healthy dinner, and time to relax with a book or a DVD in the evening before an early bedtime. We're looking forward to a weekend filled with time spent outdoors walking and gardening, and if the predicted rain materializes on Sunday, a quiet day inside with a chicken slathered in fresh herbs roasting in the oven for dinner.

Distractions and simple exhaustion had their consequences for me this week, but none too severe. A week of a house guest was followed by a very long eight hour day doing my once a week volunteer work as an animal keeper at the Desert Museum, work that I love but that is entirely done on your feet, followed that evening by hosting this month's meeting of our book club, something I also love, but the timing was bad. Nevertheless, it was fun, and I survived without going completely crazy -- I did join the girls (I won't deny myself an honest to goodness rare treat) for a piece of the Sandtorte pound cake I'd made from scratch with good ingredients, but the remainder was sent to work with my husband for him to share with his co-workers (anyone but me).

It is hard, perhaps more so for a woman who was a single mom for a good chunk of her life, to prioritize myself and my needs. It's easy to get sidetracked when life throws you out of your routine, be it a for something fun and wonderful or difficult and unpleasant or somewhere in between. But since there is nothing truly routine about life -- nor should there be -- the skill of keeping your eye on the prize and being true to your quests is worth honing. Practice, practice, practice.

Goody of the Day:

Salads.

One of my goals is to eat more whole foods in lots of colors; foods that look like they did when they came out of the ground. Salads are one of the easiest ways to achieve this so long as you stay clear of gloppy dressings. Choose several from lettuces, baby spinach, chopped veggies, fruits, nuts, herbs, beans, boiled eggs, low fat dairy, and lean meats. Coupled with a drizzle of healthy oil and vinegar, fruit juice or salsa, salads make for a kaleidoscope of flavors and textures for a delicious nutritious lunch or dinner. Here's what I had for lunch today:

Four cups of mixed baby greens including spinach, two kinds of tomatoes, green onion, half a cup of black beans, four ounces of grilled boneless skinless chicken, a quarter of an avocado (yes!), and a dressing of a heaping tablespoon of salsa, two teaspoons of olive oil, and a splash of cider vinegar.

Gobbling all this goodness took the better part of half an hour (of sheer bliss) -- the cool greens, pop of the cherry tomatoes, earthy black beans, creamy avocado, savory grilled chicken, tangy dressing with just a hint of heat. Entering all the ingredients and amounts into my Best Life food log showed that this lunch provided 14 grams of fiber (according to Dr. Oz the average woman in this country gets 7 grams a day -- 25 is the minimum recommended), 2.7 grams of saturated fat (of the good kind), 53 grams of protein, 43 grams of carbohydrate, and was under 500 calories. With the beans and meat and healthy oils it'll have real staying power. At least enough to see me through to my afternoon snack!

Come up with your own healthy creation, and rejoice in the season of spring, whether it's arrived in your part of the world yet or not.

Incautiously Optimistic

2010-03-01T09:44:00.004-07:00

I am quite familiar with the euphoria that accompanies a new diet plan that is working -- and let's face it, most any diet plan will work for a couple of weeks if you stick to it -- so I realize that's where I am at the moment with this Best Life plan. After a week of re-losing some "throw in the towel" weight last week, I am into new(ish) territory now, making headway again at last, and enjoyed seeing the digital 217 pop up on my scale this morning. Since I couldn't figure out how to un-burn my weight numbers a couple of weeks ago, I guess I'd better concentrate on not needing to from here on out. And I am incautiously optimistic that this new plan, geared to those with diabetes or pre-diabetes (and frankly, what significantly overweight person isn't potentially pre-diabetic?), which is working amazingly well on all fronts. There's plenty of good healthy food with snacks that keep you from ever going without food for more that a three hours during the day, I am not tormented with cravings so I feel sane and in control, and it's working great! I'm enjoying a huge sense of relief that I've found sound thing that I'm almost certain will work over the long haul for me. I'm already getting more instinctive about the correct balance of protein, fats, and carbs for me.

We've had a houseguest for the better part of a week, and while we've been doing some fun things, it does affect one's routine. I allowed my walking to be impacted -- though we did okay a few days I certainly could have excused myself for an hour a day to go for a daily solitary walk -- which would have benefited me in more ways than one. We've eaten out a few times, but with a little care I managed very well at a Vietnamese restaurant (bun -- rice noodles over shredded salad veggies with a bit of grilled meat) and a taqueria (three small soft tacos with freshly made corn tortillas -- to die for). Otherwise we cooked healthy foods at home from scratch -- oatmeal with blue berries, sauteed veggies, salads, grilled salmon and chicken breasts, sweet potatoes, brown rice with a measure of guinoa for a delicious nutty flavor, baked apples with pecans. It's not hard to cook simple things from whole foods. Everyone benefits, and it's delicious fare to boot.

This afternoon we'll head over to Tohono Chul, a gorgeous desert botanic gardens, and have a nice stroll taking in all the blooms. Spring has sprung in our desert, a month ago in fact, and there will be many flowering plants to lure us around the next corner of the path. It's not hard to find a reason to get off your backside and moving in the out of doors. I'll be concentrating on doing just that this coming week.

Goody of the Day:

Chocolate!!! On my Best Life eating plan there's a treat built in every day (in addition to the two snacks), best eaten shortly after dinner for those concerned with blood sugar while you have food in your stomach to mediate the effects of the carbs. It must be no more than 100 calories and no more than 10 grams of carbohydrates, which left out a lot of the foods I used to eat for treats, like Healthy Choice fudgesicles (too many carbs).

But chocolate is allowable if it is at least 70% dark chocolate. Trader Joe's has these great 100 calorie bars of 70% dark chocolate. With 7 grams of carbohydrates, they fit the bill. I am always amazed that after being satisfied all day on this diet with few to no cravings, I get to spend several minutes after dinner letting several bites of this luscious chocolate melt on my tongue, savoring the rich earthy cocoa flavor that last long after the chocolate is gone. And dark chocolate (in moderation) is good for you -- it's a potent antioxidant and can lower your blood pressure and fight heart disease. Being decadent is a bonus!

From Train Wreck to Training Wheels...

2010-02-22T13:07:00.005-07:00

I apologize for the radio silence. I've had a serious recurrence of the Yo-yo Dieting Syndrome that required some sequestrated plan overhauling. Time to go back to the wellspring.

After having given the ol' if "you can't make it, fake it -- I'm a normal person -- just eat rationally" approach an earnest try, I will admit to needing more guidance and structure than that. While coming completely off the rails and heading back to that endless loop of irresponsible eating because you feel bad about eating irresponsibly, I managed to regain most of what I'd lost in a matter of days. It was clear I needed a new tactic.

For many, especially those not yet in the obese category (fat enough to be detrimental your health and shorten your life), the relatively unstructured approach would probably work great. That's the position I was in when it was first suggested to me 40 years ago. But I've been over that line now, way over, for decades and am somewhere in the pre-diabetic to diabetic continuum. I'm not normal anymore and to expect myself to become normal as an act of will is probably unrealistic. My body responds to and processes food differently than someone without blood sugar problems -- as Dr. Oz says, sugar can be like crack to some people -- and I just have to admit that "normal" in terms of eating -- whatever that is -- is not something to which I can aspire to. With 60% of the population of this country now overweight, the new "normal" seems to be somewhat mindless.

Having watched the Oprah show about diabetes where she was joined by Dr. Oz and Bob Greene, I was sharply reminded that this is a disease not to be teased and trifled with. Bob Greene's The Best Life website now has a diabetic eating plan, complete with daily meal plans, exercise goals, and places to log both, including blood sugar monitor readings for those who take them. I'd signed up last December and then balked at the time it seemed it would take to learn and use -- more denial that winning this battle for my health would require (and deserved) my time and attention and willingness to learn. But now I was discouraged, ashamed, and scared I'd never, after decades of trying, get out of this death-spiral of failed dieting attempts. It's been a rocky road.

Like most people with chronic weight problems, I've signed up for plans and bought enough books to make a small library, so I was reluctant to try that route again. Still, it was clear I needed help so I returned to The Best Life website and bought Bob Greene's new book, The Best Life Guide to Managing Diabetes and Pre-Diabetes. It was written with a leading endocrinologist and a dietician and gives the best, most understandable description of what diabetes is, what it does to your body, and what you can do about it that I have ever read. It's must-have knowledge for anyone who has, or is heading towards, this usually preventable disease.

I started the program last Monday and have shed all the pounds I regained, but more importantly I've learned so much about how I need to eat and how normal, yes NORMAL, I feel when I do. Even when I was trying my best before to eat low glycemic foods and watch my caloric intake, I was eating WAY too many carbohydrates to control my blood sugar. Four whole grain Wasa crispbreads and half a cup of cottage cheese might have been a fine lunch from a caloric standpoint, but it was a disaster from a carbohydrate standpoint.

The Best Life plan spreads your carbs out over the day, essential to leveling out your blood sugar. And guess what happens then? You feel Normal. No crazy mood or energy swings, no cravings -- really, no battles of the will about having a plateful of cinnamon toast or bowlful of buttered pasta and parmesan cheese (having banished all goodies from the house one has to get creative). There are lots of recipes both online and in the book -- I've tried several of them and they're good! I haven't felt deprived, or more than a little hungry. The three phase eating plan insists on three meals, two snacks, and a daily treat, so you're eating every few hours and never get to that lose-control place. This plan has legs. I haven't felt this good and hopeful in a long time. It's like finally finding the key.

The Best Life website has a 30 day free trial going on right now. Visit the site, look around, give it a test drive. This is not a severely carb restricted diet at all; in fact every meal has a decent carb allotment. I have oatmeal, toast, couscous, rice, and pasta, but now I know that one Wasa with my cottage cheese and salsa and fruit is what's right for me. I was making stupid mistakes that lead me to make more -- this plan is an easy fix and worth the effort.

Goody of the Day:

Bob Greene's The Best Life Guide to Managing Diabetes and Pre-Diabetes and The Best Life website.

You can do the plan from the book alone, but the website allows you to play with quantities for your meals that teaches you the carb/fat/protein ratios in a very interactive way. It has a huge food database, or you can add your own foods and create favorite meals for easy logging. You can log your daily activity (I'm logging steps now and will add strength training), blood sugar results, goals, and weight. The site will run personalized reports from the data you enter for tweaking the plan to work best for you.

Either by book or by website, or both, after a few days of more intense learning the plan starts to become familiar and you can foresee it becoming second nature. Honestly, if you need a life line like I needed a life line, I can't recommend it too highly.

Monday, Monday

2010-02-08T09:38:00.004-07:00

The problem with going slow is that it's hard to keep up the momentum. I could say I got tackled by the Super Bowl party I went to, but honestly this was a week of sloppy old habits, and more "bad" days than good ones. I'm going to spend a chunk of today following my own advice, reviewing Dr. Oz's YOU on a Diet plan. I am absolutely determined to lose weight slowly and once and for all, but it is clearly going to take more than enthusiasm and good ideas and resolutions that are not adhered to. I skipped weigh-in today, but next week I will climb on the scale, regardless.

Actually the Super Bowl party was great as far as healthy food went. There was only really one unconscionable nibble -- oven warmed potato chips and a warm blue cheese dip, which I, of course, made a beeline for...my bad. There were big fat shrimp, roasted with Cajun spices -- go Saints (actually, I was rooting for the Colts, but who can resist carnival beads). I'd brought raw veggies and a white bean, roasted garlic and rosemary dip that was pretty tasty. There were ribs (sigh) and home roasted turkey breast (excellent) and a whole grain bread for sandwiches. I made two good-for-you and yummy (if I do say so myself) salads, so there was really zero excuse for going off the rails. Well, maybe those mocha chocolate chip cookies, but I could have stopped at one.

This is a week for review and renewed resolve. And a long walk with my dog, which I'll get to right after sharing something wonderful with you.

Goody of the Day:

Make that Goodies of the Day. Here are the two salads I made for yesterday's party. Click on the green links for the recipes.

The first one is Mark Bittman's Sweet Potato Salad that I fell in love with a few months back. I've made this several times since then and let me tell you, it is a carnival for your taste buds, and healthy to boot. Eating LOTS of colors is key, and you can see from the photo below that this salad accomplishes that goal nicely. Everything in it is low on the glycemic scale, and it is hardy and nutritionally complete enough to eat on its own for a meal.

The second is a new recipe from the New York Times Recipes for Health, Shredded Red Cabbage and Carrot Salad. Again, loads of color and lots of interesting tastes and textures with the veggies and herbs. This will become a standard at my house too.

But Seriously...

2010-02-05T12:08:00.006-07:00

A great and long time friend of mine emailed me this morning. The subject line of her email was "wake up call" -- she'd gone through a two day training on being a better presenter and part of that training including video taping. While she learned a great deal about presenting, the video footage brought her up close and personal with her own Battle of the Bulge. And it is strange that those of us with weight issues usually have terrible body images, and yet we are so literally shocked when we see photos or, heaven help us, a video of ourselves. Fat is not photogenic.

The experience provided a real kick in the pants and has motivated her to come up with a game plan for dealing with this eternal problem. It's not that she hasn't tried before, from Weight Watchers to medically supervised liquid fasts. They all worked, for a while, but extreme programs are unsustainable. Weight Watchers is a good program with much to teach folks about portion control and healthier eating, but I for one am not a "joiner" by nature and know there's no way I'll count points every day for life. Nor do I need to have advice that includes the purchase and consumption of Weight Watchers food-like substances. To each his own, but that's not for me. Believe me, I've tried.

My friend listed three steps to get started. One was about getting consistent exercise. Another was about healthy foods in healthy portions. The third one was the one that really caught my eye, especially for her (she works in a very demanding industry where a 60+ hour work week is the norm and would consume her completely if she allowed it):

"Stop putting everything else in front of my own needs and well being."

Wise advice for all of us. But I had some more for her, and I think it's also good advice:

Do not have unrealistic expectations!!! You are not going to suddenly start walking five miles a day and eating like a rabbit and losing three pounds a week, so don't set yourself up. Don't do the "by the time [choose an event] comes I'm going to weigh 20 pounds less," or you'll be setting yourself up for defeat. This is a huge struggle and there will be lots of skirmishes -- some you'll win and some you'll lose -- as the battle rages on.

Get Dr. Oz's YOU on a Diet -- from the library, used book store, whatever. It's the most rational long-term approach I've ever read, and really explains what's going on in your body. Knowledge is ammunition.

I truly want to learn to fix this myself, even if I have to pick myself back up a thousand times to do it. This is the most important survival skill I could learn. I can reverse this type-2 diabetes -- almost everyone can. Honestly, I'd certainly get out of the way of a semi coming at me full tilt, so I should be able to do this. Of course, the semi evasion is a one time thing. This is an hour by hour fight.

Bottom line, you can do this, but please take a measured sane approach -- one that will work for the rest of your life. I don't know about you, but I don't have a lot more "starts" in me. I need to persevere, even if that means getting back on track on an hour by hour basis. No more fooling around. If it takes me three years -- or five -- I'm going to succeed this time and stay "succeeded".

I have no excuses for my somewhat prickly and inconsistent week -- no overwhelming job (in fact no job at all except for volunteer work), nothing but good news (I got accepting into the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum's highly competitive docent training program), a sweet and supportive husband, and a dog (the proven best walking partner) that loves to walk fast. So falling off the wagon can happen in good times as well as trying times. It's sort of a willful inattention with me.

But seriously, I'm back at full attention, getting my 10,000 steps in, watching what I eat, snacking only on apples. We have a Super Bowl party to go to on Sunday and I have a strategy for that too. Luckily it's a bit of a potluck, so I'm taking two healthy salads and some veggies and a low fat dip, so I'll have no excuses for a lack of healthy options. Pictures and recipes with my next post.

Patience and perseverance will win the day. I'm a tortoise, not a hare.

Goody of the Day:

M.D.'s Mehmet Oz and Michael Roizen's YOU on a Diet, The Owner's Manual for Waist Management.

This is the best, sanest approach to getting to and staying at a healthy weight that exists -- I'm certain of it.

It is dedicated "To the millions who have dieted hard, so they can learn to diet smart."

Sections deal with The Biology of Fat, The Science of the Mind, and The YOU Diet and Activity Plan.

They inform you about the physical and mental aspect of weight issues, and give you a road map for getting to -- and staying at -- a healthy weight for life.

Go out and buy the new revised edition, read it from cover to cover, and get going!

Another Cremation

2010-02-01T08:55:00.004-07:00

Yes, I got back on track and lost another pound of myself. Looking forward to my ritual of setting any lost pounds (this week #219) on fire, the word cremation came to mind, and it's not as macabre as it sounds.

This stuff isn't rocket science. In order to lose a pound you have to burn more calories than you take in, about 3,500 of them. You can eat less, say 500 calories a day, which should result in a pound gone each week (500x7=3,500), or you can exercise to burn an additional 500 calories more than your normal daily activity. Ideally, it will be some combination of the two. Eat less and move more. But not so much less food that you're hungry very often, and not so much more exercise that it's unsustainable from either a physical or lifestyle standpoint.

I am never going to train for a triathlon, but I do want to build up my stamina for hiking, so longer walks and more of them is something I'm aiming for. My pedometer keeps me aware of how I'm doing in that regard, and also gives me some stats on what I did each day. I managed to walk my 10,000 steps most days last week, and some days I walked well over 10,000 steps.

Saturday afternoon my husband and I walked out our front door and headed for Sweetwater Preserve. It's a walk to get to the preserve, almost two miles, so by the time we got there (most of it through gorgeous desert anyway) and walked a couple of miles in the preserve and then home, we'd clocked almost six miles. over 15,000 steps, burning over 600 calories. But there's no way I would try to do that every day. I've done Obsessive while dieting, throwing myself into it with an unsustainable level of commitment, getting exhausted and discouraged and having my body holler 'nuff, and then comes the whiplash and the rebound weight gain and I'm just so over that.

This is a lifestyle change for me, not a diet. New habits take a while to get a toehold, but it's easier if the change is gradual, manageable, and rational. As much as we'd all like to transform ourselves overnight, it just can't happen that way. Four weeks ago when I first weighed myself for this blog, it was 223. Now it's 218. I used to lose more than that my first week at Weight Watchers (a program that has much to recommend it). But I am very satisfied with this rate of weight loss. I don't expect to lose a pound every week, though it would be nice. I've rarely been hungry, haven't felt deprived, and even had some bad days in the mix. I've walked more consistently, a little faster and a little farther, and it's felt great. My mood is much better and I'm not constantly grappling with myself about whether to eat something unhealthy or not (the apples only for snacks is working great), which goes a long way in the sanity department. I look better and feel better and am happy and encouraged and hopeful that this time is the last time.

Life is good, and I want a LOT of it.

Goody of the Day:

Sweet potatoes.

It is the strangest thing, but for someone worried about diabetes and trying to modulate glucose levels, it is counter-intuitive that sweet potatoes are better, way better, for you than white potatoes. But they are, by a huge margin. They are much lower on the glycemic scale than white potatoes, otherwise known to diabetics as "blood sugar bombs" -- you'd be better off eating table sugar than a white potato. One of the desirable colorful foods, they are full of carotinoids, as well as vitamin C, fiber, and have more potassium (known for reducing blood pressure) than a banana.

If I'm roasting a chicken I pop them in the oven too; otherwise they're almost as good nuked in the microwave. For a special treat I make sweet potato oven fries. Using one medium sweet potato per person, peel and cut them into wedges. I usually make mine finger sized, but large wedges are fun too. Toss in a bowl with a little olive oil and salt. Spread on a cookie sheet (I like to line mine with parchment paper for no sticking and easy cleanup) and roast in a hot oven (400-425 degrees) until a bit browned and tender. So good!

Snack SNAFU's

2010-01-27T14:05:00.002-07:00

I've been having a little trouble finding the reset button.

My husband rousted me out of bed this morning after I'd ignored my 5:30 alarm for the pre-dawn walk we'd agreed on the night before, before I'd laid awake for over an hour and then had a really aggravating dream. Getting out of bed and walking in the 40 degree dark was the last thing I wanted to do right at that moment, but I put my pedometer on and went anyway. It was, of course, the best thing to do. I was rewarded by a sweeping view of Tucson's city lights at the turn-around point and over 6,000 steps on my pedometer, all before my first cup of coffee. And somewhere along the way I found that reset button.

One hint that helped me find the reset button was Dr. Oz's show yesterday. There was a woman on who'd lost 70 pounds after a series of health issues that included cancer, but the one that put her over the edge was a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes. As a cancer survivor the threat of a controllable disease that could cause blindness and greatly increase her chance of having a stroke (and a lot of other serious problems) put her on the track to taking control of what she could take control of, diet and exercise. She completely reversed her type 2 diabetes. One of the things she'd done was to substitute apples for sweets.

I thought about what was tripping me up. It wasn't the meals -- they've been consistently healthy and in rational portions. But my husband, already trim, has lost more weight in the last couple of weeks than I have. I do believe that snacks are important, especially if you're concerned with blood sugar levels -- more frequent smaller meals are better than three larger meals a day. I just have been having trouble stopping eating when I start at snack time.

So at least for a few weeks my only snacks will be fruit. There's a saying, "If you're not hungry enough to eat an apple, you're not hungry." Something Mark Bittman (NY Times food writer) said came to mind as well, "If you're hungry, eat an apple. If you're still hungry, eat another one." Apples are lower on the glycemic index than tropical fruits like bananas and pineapples, making for less of a blood sugar spike, so I'm going to stick with them for a while.

Goody of the Day:

Apples.

Incredible varieties of apples are available, both conventionally and organically grown. Fuji, Gala, Braeburn, Granny Smith, McIntosh, Pink Lady (a real favorite of mine), Jona Gold, and Ambrosia just to name a few. Crisp and sweet and satisfying. Apple wedges with a couple of tablespoons of natural peanut butter for dipping make a great small meal.

Right on Schedule

2010-01-25T10:57:00.005-07:00

Third week in and my body and I are doing the balky thing, right on schedule. I had some good days last week, days filled with over 10,000 steps, like our Saturday walk along the Rillito wash running from our recent rain, and healthy and moderate eating. And I had some days that I reverted back to old habits. Or should I say they "tended" back towards old habits. Nothing full blown, but certainly off the rails of the track I am setting for myself.

There will be no smoke alarms set off at my house today from burning paper with my lost pounds. In fact, I didn't even climb on the scale this morning, knowing I would be lucky to have held my own. I do, in fact, reserve the right to give myself a one week pass from time to time. ONE WEEK being the operative phrase. I will weigh in next week and give you the news, be it Good, Bad, or Ugly.

I tried to pay attention to what set me off, important knowledge to have. I have NOT been starving myself during this, so it wasn't really reaching a genuine HUNGRY breaking point. Last Tuesday I was stressing over an interview for a volunteer job I've wanted for almost a decade; strangely it was post-interview I had the problem with. And I'd worn my next-size-down jeans too -- ta-da. But I was quite cranked up from the experience and my afternoon snack became a 24 hour snack. Sigh. I just never managed to push the reset button after that. Too many meals out (two healthy Vietnamese and one good ol' fat laden Costco hot dog). Then there was being unable to resist the leftover snacks my hubby had gotten in for his geezer poker game on Saturday night (I was out seeing Avatar in 3D with a girlfriend) -- peanut butter filled pretzels, chocolate covered peanuts, and some not-too-unhealthy cheese doodles from Trader Joe's -- though I did have him take what was left of them all to work for someone else to do damage on. I guess I just sort of blinked.

But my pedometer is on and I'm taking my dogs out, separately, for walks shortly -- Bump for the long loop through the desert, hoping to see the great horned owl in the saguaro again, and if not I'll settle for the view of snow on the Catalinas -- and that will cement the 10,000 steps deal. This week I have a real commitment to get my 10,000 steps in EVERY day, not just every other day. It's pick myself up, dust myself off, and get back on track week.

Heck, I never dreamed this would be effortless. Did you? Don't get discouraged, I'm not.

Goody of the Day:

Dried beans.

They're cheap, easy to cook, come in unbelievable variety, and are flat out delicious. On their own, in soups, chilies, added to pasta, salads, they're high in fiber, essentially fat free, a good source of protein, and are loaded with vitamins and minerals. And no, you DON'T have to soak most beans before cooking, only huge ones like garbanzos. Just make sure to cover them with plenty UNSALTED (they stay hard if you salt them at this point) water and simmer them on low until soft. Or boil them in lots of water for two minutes, turn off the heat, cover and let sit for an hour before cooking. So easy in a slow cooker -- I like to cook black or pinto beans (rinse well and look carefully for small stones) in mine with some chopped onion and float a jalapeno or two. The longer you cook them the creamier they get. If you're in a rush try lentils, so fast you need to be careful not to overcook them, but yummy drained and tossed with chopped red onion, chopped fresh herbs (parsley or cilantro), and dressed with a drizzle of good olive oil and lemon or orange juice.

These beans will be our dinner tonight, cooked into a thick soup with carrot, celery, onions, lots of parsley, and whatever else comes to mind this afternoon. Look in your grocery store for a mixed bean soup packet in the dried beans section -- a nice shortcut. Oh, and Beano does work if you're so inclined.

P.S.

Beware Complacency

2010-01-21T15:09:00.003-07:00

Sometimes re-entry is a little prickly after a really good trip. It was easy to keep moving while we were trying to see and experience all we could at Joshua Tree. Then we came home to the same routine; not a bad routine, but a routine. Or maybe not routine enough.

It took me until today to get out for a real walk. I ignored the whining dog yesterday, to both our detriments. I don't know why some lessons take so long to learn. The longer I go without walking, the moodier I get, the more my sleep suffers, and the more difficult it is to make good food choices. It really is so simple and so pivotal -- lots of activity makes life easier and happier, and unless I get hit by a beer truck, probably longer.

We hit the trail this morning, both because the earlier I get to my walk the more likely I am to do it and because we have storms coming through. Storms are always welcome here as we always need the rain in the desert. But these storms are bringing some serious wind with them, 20 to 30 miles per hour with gusts of almost 60 this afternoon as I write this (the wind is whistling outside), but just breezy and cloudy this morning. It made for a pleasantly cool walk with no chance of sunburn, so I took Bump on a nice long loop up into the foothills, across the bajada, and down into the arroyo -- about three scenic miles.

Walking with my younger dog Bump is more aerobic than walking either alone or with my husband. Bump likes to go fast and her enthusiasm is infectious, not to mention the almost constant gentle pull of the lead. The views across the valley to the Catalinas, cloaked in mountain gobbling clouds, were spectacular; the clouds ever changing. Walking down the wash was a bit easier than usual, the sand firmer underfoot from the recent rain. I returned home invigorated and fully awake. I had a healthy lunch of whole wheat pasta, garden peas, tomatoes, and tuna, drizzled with a good olive oil and dusted with parmesan. I felt healthy -- I ate healthy. Simple. So why is that so hard to remember?

Goody of the Day:

To help me remember, I have a new walking buddy. A pedometer. My goal is a minimum of 10,000 steps a day, and it's better not to leave it to chance. I've had a couple of okay pedometers, accurate enough, but with a pendulum inside that clip-clopped back and forth with every step...an aggravating accompaniment that always brought to mind those visualized mules in Grofe's Grand Canyon Suite. I did a little research on the best pedometers for 10,000 step programs and here's what I came up with, the Omron Pocket Pedometer.

They claim you can slip it in your pocket, or your bag, but it also comes with a clip and a lanyard (to prevent loss), and I wear it clipped to my pants pocket. You program it for your stride length and your weight, and calculates how many of your steps were aerobic (step speed), distance walked, and how many calories you burned. AND it keeps the records for one week, resetting itself at midnight for a new day of walking. There's also a clock readout. It's now 2:40 and I've taken 8476 steps, 4666 (and 43 minutes) of them aerobic, and burned 347 calories. The calorie readout is useful if you're trying to decide whether or not to eat that handful of Girl Scout cookies -- chances are the answer will be no.

I bought my Omron from Amazon for $22.97. Toss in Michael Pollan's Food Rules for $5.00 (I love this little book of food wisdom) and get free Super-Saver shipping.

I Left More than My Heart in Joshua Tree

2010-01-18T21:05:00.006-07:00

Goodbye 220's. Hello 2-teens.

We had a terrific time in Joshua Tree National Park. It's a huge place and we covered the high points and a bit more, both by car -- it's almost 70 miles from one end of the park to the other -- and by foot, logging over ten miles in the two full days we were there. Somewhere along the way I lost something...two pounds of myself.

Maybe it was the 3.5 mile hike to the 49 Palms Oasis with the a total of over 700 feet of ascent. I felt that one, but the oasis was it's own reward.

Or the hike to Skull Rock, or Barker Dam, or Hidden Valley, or down the wash behind our campsite.

Maybe it was sleeping outside through long winter nights under a star laden sky, marking the hours by the position of the constellations, serenaded by coyotes calling to each other across the valley, and the hoots of a lone great horned owl.

Oh, I ate healthy foods in healthy, but not skimpy, quantities. It's no good bonking half way through a fairly strenuous hike. Out there food was fuel, and it took a backseat to the wonders around me. My mind was on doing, not on eating. Activity trumped food, though the meals felt earned and needed. It felt, well, normal. And that's huge.

Goody of the Day:

America's best idea -- our National Parks. With hundreds to choose from, they offer so many opportunities -- to be in and move through unique natural beauty, to learn, to be amazed, inspired, and to put things in perspective. So many National Parks, so little time.

They say "leave nothing but footprints" -- I left a little more.

Kill Your Television; Then Go Camping

2010-01-13T10:26:00.005-07:00

There is something I know to be true that I am in denial about. The vast majority of my poor eating habits, habits of decades, have been witnessed by one thing and one thing only -- my television. I keep trying to tell myself I need a rule to never eat in front of the television, period. It shouldn't be hard as my husband and I essentially never watch television; we'll watch an episode of something on a DVD (we did West Wing and are now into ER) a few nights a week, maybe a movie on the weekend, that that's the extent of it. But I am home alone many hours during the week, and during the first year of my retirement spent too many them watching whatever was on one of the two channels we get (not TV people, we don't have cable). I picked up on a soap I've watched on and off for decades, Y&R, and sometimes the shows before and after it. Honestly, it felt like I was back in 6th grade, had convinced my parents I wasn't well enough to go to school, and was spending a glorious day home alone with I Love Lucy, Gidgit, and the Dick Van Dyke Show, plowing my way through a bag of Oreos. Well, I'm not playing hooky anymore, and while we don't stock Oreos, I can always find something to eat.

I came home yesterday from my one day a week volunteer job as an animal keeper at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum (more about the multiple benefits of volunteering in a later post) looking forward to my rice cracker and peanut butter with apple slices. I turned on the television to watch Dr. Oz, generally the only show I watch anymore (I have given up that depressing soap), and settled in with my healthy snack which was yummy and satisfying. But then my TV= Eating habit kicked in and I had a palmful of my husband's Oriental Snack Mix -- not great, but not horrible. But before it was over I'd had two thick corn tortillas with lots of cheese and hot sauce. There may have been more, because the one thing eating in front of the television -- even if it is watching Dr. Oz perform open heart surgery to scare some other seriously overweight people straight -- eating becomes a trance-like oblivious event. I for me, I think that's how I manage to fly in the face of doing myself harm -- the television provides the perfect distraction. Unfortunately my body is not fooled. Luckily, now that my blog has had the unintended outcome of basically outing my "secret" habits and struggle with my husband, I was able to say I'd screwed up with my eating, was full, and gave him dinner without having to "cover" and eat with him AGAIN, compounding the error.

Honesty is the best policy, and the most important person to be honest with is yourself. I do not think all rules are bad -- too many and of the wrong sort, yes, but ones that help you with the pitfalls, they're good. So, I hereby publicly state that I will not eat in front the the television. I've got the time spent in front of it honed down to an acceptable level -- Dr. Oz is an illuminating and inspiring show, provided you're not feeding your face during it. Now to eliminate my weakest link when it comes to poor eating habits. This one I CAN do cold turkey.

Another reason to limit the time in front of the boob tube (link to LA Times article by clinking below):

Watching TV shortens life span, study finds

Australian researchers find that each hour a day spent in front of television is linked with an 18% greater risk of dying from cardiovascular disease and an 11% greater risk of all causes of death.

Of course, sitting in front of a computer has a similar effect (though I have had my two mile pre-dawn hike). My husband has a five day weekend coming up so we decided to hit the road and...

Go Camping!

Tomorrow morning we'll head west across the Colorado River to Joshua Tree National Park for three nights of tent camping among the boulders and Joshua trees and under starry skies. We're going to camp in one of the more remote, least improved camp sites -- no water available and charming chemical toilets.

It poses some challenges about what to take that's simple and healthy and easy to prepare and clean up from. I refuse to go into the wilderness only to come out with a huge garbage bag of non-recyclable used paper products destined for the landfill, so we'll be hauling in water and doing our dishes.

Breakfasts will be oatmeal, Coach's Oats with dried berries and a little brown sugar. Lunches will be sandwiches of low fat sliced sandwich meats -- roasted turkey breast and rosemary ham -- with reduced-fat swiss cheese and mustard on Oroweat Sandwich Thins. We love Cattle Drive Gold Chicken Chili with Beans -- 99% fat free with tons of fiber; eating the whole can is less than 400 calories. I have some lentil soup in the freezer for another dinner and will take a frozen pound package of organic ground beef and make burgers one night. I have organic corn chips and a fat-free black bean dip, a jar of salsa, a jar of marinated mushrooms, white beans in a low-fat sauce, baby carrots, celery and many hues of bell pepper strips, and apples and grapefruit. Out in the middle of nowhere with nothing but healthy food and loads of hiking to do -- one of the palm oases I want to visit is an eight mile round trip -- it would be hard to go wrong. I'll report back on Monday with my weigh-in results and trip details. You have a fun and active Martin Luther King Day weekend too.

Goody of the Day:

Michael Pollan, author of In Defense of Food with its elemental mantra, "Eat Food. Not too much. Mostly Plants." has come out with a new clever and wise book, or booklet, Food Rules, an Eater's Manual. It's a 140 page small format paperback that has some memorable rules for eating based on cultural wisdom. Let's face it, we don't always have to know the Why, just the How. It's full of fun but valuable information, often with only a handful of words on a page to give you the only part of the message you truly need. A couple of my favorites:

"It's not food if it's called by the same name in every language. (Think Big Mac, Cheetos, or Pringles.)"

"The whiter the bread, the sooner you'll be dead."

I got my copy from Amazon for less than half-price, $5.24. Even if you only incorporate one or two of the 62 food "bullet points" into your personal food wisdom, it will be well worth it.

Monday Morning Weigh-in and a Final Farewell

2010-01-11T08:54:00.006-07:00

No, not a final farewell to you, or the blog, or the project.

A final farewell to 223 and 222. Two pounds of me are gone. I realized that I wanted to spend some time thinking about and acknowledging their departure. Maybe eviction would be a better word. I sat with my second cup of coffee this morning, after weighing myself straight out of bed, after a chilly 37 degree morning walk in the desert dark with my husband, after a breakfast of peanut butter toast and a pear, after getting him off to work. I sat just as it was getting light with these two numbers on pieces of paper in front of me and consciously considered how I got rid of them and that I never, ever, wanted them back in my life again. Then I burned them, a ritual I will continue each time I manage to send another pound packing.

Last Week's Take-away Message:
Have rational expectations, learn what it takes to achieve them, and forgive yourself quickly when you misstep.

I'd love to stand up from this chair and have my jeans fall down around my ankles because I magically lost 71 pounds while sitting here. But not only is that impossible, I know I need this journey, this work. I need to learn to listen to my body and give it what it needs, not what my habits and emotions are telling me I want. Like any relationship, it takes time and attention, a lots of it. Relationships never stop evolving, and if they matter to you -- and my relationship with my body and myself certainly does matter to me -- you put in the effort to make it successful.

I had a bad run-in with a smorgasbord of chocolate covered almonds sitting dead center in front of me at my book club the second evening of my week. Caught up in the joy of being with some of my best friends, lively, smart, and funny women, I had a glass of wine and then another and then adopted my old "what the hell" attitude. The next day I had trouble reining myself in (as well as digesting all those almonds). I needed to learn from the night before (one glass of wine, a few of those almonds and then move them to the other end of the table), and then forgive myself and move forward. Time, patience, and practice, YES -- self-recrimination and defeatism, NO. My ability to finally pull myself out of my mood, helped mightily by walking, always an attitude improver -- I have NEVER felt worse after walking, always better -- let me finish my week with more success than I expected.

A word about expectations. I do not expect to lose two pounds a week very often. In fact, that is not part of my plan at all. I fully expect that there will be weeks that I lose nothing, though I certainly hope that during this journey I do not regain weight, though as I know all too well, it could happen. And that's where the forgiveness, and the ability to push the reset button, would come in handy.

Thanks to all of you following my blog. You came to mind frequently when I was about to make an unwise choice, either about eating or getting my backside out for a walk. Those of you who will tune in from time to time either know and care about me, understand this sort of personal struggle (everyone has an issue, or several), or are working on weight and health issues of your own. While this is my struggle, I do hope to encourage and inspire you all on your own quests for wellness and happiness.

Goody of the Day:

Mustard! Or should I say mustards? The varieties are limitless and delicious, and even the cheapest yellow mustard provides a real kick and flavor boost to lots of foods. Slather them on sandwiches for an almost calorie-free addition that can completely replace the desire for mayo. Add them to your vinaigrette, or glaze your salmon fillets with a scant drizzle of honey and a spoonful of mustard (I like a grainy one for this) before grilling or baking -- a yummy way to get in those omega-3's.

Try Something New

2010-01-08T09:06:00.014-07:00

I met a friend for lunch yesterday at a recently opened Vietnamese restaurant that is attached to Lee Lee's, a new Oriental food market in Tucson. The menu went on forever, hundreds of variations on multiple themes -- pho, broken rice dishes, bun. Wanting something on the light side, we each selected a bun dish. The essentials of bun, a dish served in a bowl, are cool undressed noodles sitting atop a base of thinly sliced lettuce, crisp bean sprouts, and herbs, all crowned with the topping you ordered, and garnished with sliced green onions, cilantro, and chopped peanuts. Nuc mam, a watery sauce primarily of fish sauce and slightly sweetened water, lime, and some vegetable garnish, is served on the side for you to moisten your bun with. It is a delicious and refreshing dish. Out of the fifty or so choices, I had grilled shrimp and egg rolls, and it was heaven in a bowl.

After lunch and a lively chat -- never underestimate the value of time spent with a good friend -- we took a turn around the new market. Aisles were dedicated to Indian, Korean, and Japanese foods, in addition to the more expected Vietnamese and Chinese. Two aisles contained cookware and dinnerware; another decorative household items. But it was the perimeter of the store that was so fascinating. The produce was abundant and beautiful, and held huge bins of not only the expected -- from lettuces and bok choy to tomatoes -- but the "what in the world is that?"

There was an astonishing seafood market and should I ever need fresh baby octopus at less than $3 a pound (I won't), that's where I could get them. Uh, is THAT what a catfish looks like? I'm used to seeing fillets, not coming eyeball to eyeball with them. Down in the meat market I found a source for chicken feet and pick snouts, strange commodities until you realize what goes into hotdogs, and if you're trying to swear off hotdogs, I suggest a visit to this cold case.

But everything from rice to spice was plentiful and cheap, and that went for the produce as well. One of my favorite Asian food cookbook authors is Nina Simonds and I use her Asian Noodles and A Spoonful of Ginger books regularly. Stick to basics, your own Food Uniforms, by day, but in the evening experiment with healthy ethnic cuisines, or tweak your standard dinners to take on a more exotic flare. Eating can be an global adventure without going further than a nearby ethnic market.

A good friend and the best cook I know, Johanna, described her Middle Eastern take on turkey burgers to me years ago. Every time I make them, and I make them at least once a month, they're different. And that's the point. Deliberately try a new twist or simply go with what you have on hand. Here's how I made mine last night.

To two pounds of ground turkey I added:

a can of garbanzo beans, drained and well rinsed, that I'd whizzed just a bit in a food processor (you could do this in a bowl with a potato masher or your hands)
chopped Kalamata olives (get the ones without pits for this)
crumbled feta cheese
chopped sundried tomatoes (in oil or better still, reconstituted in water)
chopped mint
chopped parsley
freshly ground pepper
no salt as there's plenty from the canned beans, olives, and feta

Mix gently with clean hands and scoop in about half cup portions onto a nonstick griddle or pan, flattening the scoops with the back of a spatula when the pan is full (don't crowd). I have a griddle that fits over two burners and need to do this in two batches. Flip the burgers when the bottom is browned and finish them off. I serve these little sliders in warm quartered whole wheat pitas. A couple of them with a big green salad dressed with a drizzle of olive oil and lemon or orange juice makes a great meal that is something out of the ordinary.

If you prefer Mexican flavors use black beans, chopped cilantro, green onions, and red bell peppers with some minced jalapeno, and eat them in a warmed small corn tortilla with salsa and a cabbage salad.

Relax and have fun with it.

Goody of the Day:

I love these scoops for their functionality and ease. They come in several sizes -- this one is about half a cup -- and make it easy to scoop and release food that could be a real trial otherwise. Use one for your turkey sliders for speedy scooping and uniformity. This size is also perfect for scooping healthy muffin batter for gorgeous uniform muffins (try this Ellie Krieger's recipe for Apple Muffins).

Move early. Move often.

2010-01-07T16:19:00.003-07:00

For me it is hopeless to think about shedding pounds unless I embrace exercise. Motion. Covering ground.

I'm not a gym rat. I've tried it a few times and the only exercise I get after the first couple of weeks is writing the monthly check until the contract runs outs. Better for me to get outside and take a walk or hike. And best to get in a good start on my 10,000 steps (about four miles for me) early before projects, excuses, or inertia eclipse my best intentions.

Living in the desert makes an early sun-beating start essential for over half the year, and the habit lingers for the rest. That and the fact that my husband still works full-time and heads to his job at 7 AM. My alarm goes off most mornings at 5:30 and if I'm smart I'll roll out of bed and straight into my clothes and sneakers, grab my husband (already up, caffeinated, and surfing the web), and head out into the starlit pre-dawn night.

Eschewing the paths and sidewalks of the community we live in, we head out to a dirt road that winds through the desert, down the hill crossing an arroyo, and back up the other side to an aerobic inducing climb to our turn-around point. As we turn to catch our breath before the return trip, all of Tucson sparkles below us, the Rincon Mountains beyond dark with the first hint of sunrise behind them. At this time of the year with the longest nights, by the time we've retraced our steps it's 40 minutes and 2.25 miles later and just beginning to get light. Later in the morning, but not too much later, I'll take my ancient dog for a short quarter mile walk, about all my old friend can manage, and my feisty young dog out for what is usually a large loop through the neighborhood, 1.3 miles. By 10 AM I've completed 3.8 miles and will easily make up the rest of my 10,000 steps during the course of the rest of the day.

I'm at the use it or lose it age, as in basic mobility, so the time investment is a good one, and it gets me outside to enjoy the gorgeous views and wildlife. I plain feel better when I'm walking regularly and the bonus is that it allows you to eat a bit more and still lose weight. Win-win.

Goody of the Day:

One of my breakfast Food Uniforms is oatmeal. I love stone-ground oats, but seldom have the time or inclination to cook anything for 45 minutes for breakfast.. I've found a great alternative -- not quite as wonderful as the time intensive stone-ground oats, but a huge step above anything rolled, old-fashioned, or heaven forbid, instant.

Coach's Oats, which I get in a 4.5 pound bag at our local Costco (for a song!), is 100% whole grain oatmeal that has been cracked and toasted and cooks in five minutes. When I'm cooking more than one serving I use the stovetop. If it's just one serving for myself it is dead easy in the microwave; four minutes and you're eating. It's great plain, or you can jazz it up with some dried fruit cooked with the oats -- raisins, chopped dried apricots, or my favorite take on an Ellie Krieger recipe from Foods You Crave, with a some dried cherries. A few drops of vanilla stirred in before eating gives it a flavor and fragrance boost. Cinnamon is wonderful with the raisins and helps regulate blood sugar levels. Chopped walnuts scattered on top is a good-for-you treat. I can't resist a scant teaspoon of brown sugar on top. Some skim milk rounds it out. It's a good get you through to lunch breakfast. Enjoy!

Goals, Mini and the Big One...

2010-01-05T22:50:00.003-07:00

We now know the starting number. 223.

Time to think about the ultimate goal. And then almost as quickly, forget it. No matter what it is, it's too big to think about from here.

I dug out my old Weight Watchers materials to remind myself of what they said my goal should be. I'm 5'6" and medium build, which puts my goal range between 124 and 155. In Dr. Oz's YOU on a Diet the formula for a healthy weight for a woman is 105 pounds for five feet of height, and 5 pounds for every inch after, making my ideal weight 135 pounds. I haven't seen 135 pounds since I was 34, and frankly, I simply cannot imagine that now. When I was hovering in the 150's to 160's, I used to feel pretty darn good at anything under 150. I think I'm going to shoot for under 150 as an initial target. When I get there I can always reassess.

So that is the ultimate destination, but there are going to be some benchmarks along the way -- mini-goals, the one's I'm going to concentrate on in turn.

The first goal is having a weight that doesn't begin with a "2". I almost made it three years ago with a combination of Weight Watchers (my best effort with them) and having Valley Fever, during which I dropped almost ten pounds in a week (along with some less pleasant symptoms). Unfortunately I became so enchanted with the idea that I could eat whatever I wanted and lose weight that I failed to recognize when my body began to function normally again. I'm 20 pounds over that low now.

The second goal is to weigh less than my husband who, at 5'11" is a pretty trim 180.

As I was working on this post earlier I got a call from one of my oldest and best friends. We had a conversation that was quite illuminating. I was talking about my plans to expect a weight loss of a pound a week, not an unreasonable amount, at least not at this stage of the game. Her weight problems are rare and in the low single digits, but she does address them. She also spent several years working for Structure House, a leading residential weight loss center, and she cautioned me against such concrete "requirements". Her advice was to slowly tweak your habits, gently reforming your life-style, shaving a bit here and there, but not setting yourself up for failure. That was my downfall at Weight Watchers. Even though they didn't chastise me for failing to lose weight, it was a program that expected results, and if I wasn't perfect, I'd throw in the towel.

I sit here now after a long and raucous book club with a group of wonderful, smart, funny, wise and spirited women. The discussion of The Help was animated. The table was laden with five kinds of chocolate covered almonds, and chocolate covered raisins -- all right in front of me. Oh, there was wine, crackers and cheese, chips and salsa and quacamole, and I had those too. Not to mention the real plum pudding our hostess hand carried home from a holiday trip to England. Let's just say I have a little bit of a sugar buzz going on. And that I am far from perfect.

The phone conversation with my friend reminded me of my first OB/GYN, a kind and wonderful man, near retirement and probably in his late 70's. Towards the end of the visit he said I had a little pudge (about 15 pounds of it) that I ought to work on. He talked about just cutting down a bit on portions and making smarter choices, like using mustard on a sandwich instead of mayo, or buying one wonderful cookie from a good bakery instead of plowing through a pound of Oreos, or choosing a scotch and soda instead of rum and Coke. And he said, "If you lose more than two pounds a month, I want you to eat more, and when you've lost the weight you will have retrained yourself about eating and will never have another problem again." I was 18 at the time, and if I had listened to him I may well have been "cured" by my 19th birthday, 40 years ago.

So there are my goals: under 200, under 180, and finally under 150. I'll do the best I can each week without feeling deprived (willpower will only get you so far) and setting myself up to fail. I'm going to weigh myself only once a week, on Monday mornings, and report it here. It may take a long while, but my ultimate goal is to lose the weight one last time, no matter how long that takes.

Goody of the Day:

Rice cakes have been around forever, but they hadn't been on my radar for years until they were mentioned as a healthy and tasty snack on Dr. Oz's show. They're puffed and crunchy and the brown rice crackers actually taste like something. These Lundberg rice cakes are salt and gluten free, 70 calories apiece, have no fat or cholesterol, and one gram of fiber. Smeared with a half tablespoon of natural peanut butter (50 calories of a healthy food), it truly is a satisfying snack that will carry you through to lunch or dinner.

And the Number Please...

2010-01-04T17:22:00.007-07:00

Let's get right to it. 223. Horrifying yes, but actually I was quite encouraged, considering. I've been bobbing in the high 220's for months and this is a pleasant surprise, one I attribute to somewhat conscious eating over the holidays and a lot of walking. My daughter was here for Christmas and her request was healthy food and lots of hikes and we managed both. I'd guess our daily average for hoofing it was in the three mile range. Clearly it helped.

Here's my strategy:
Eat less food and be sure it's healthy. No fake food (like fat-free mayo or fat-free half and half). No white food (like refined flour products, sugar, white rice, or white potatoes). I try to eat a lot of different colors -- such as red, yellow, and green bell peppers, red cabbage, sweet potatoes -- to make sure I'm getting a good variety of nutrients. I can remember that blueberries, avocados, broccoli, and almonds are especially good for you (among many other whole foods), but not always why, so I try for variety. A couple of servings of fruit a day, several servings of veggies, whole grains, lean protein (and go easy on the animal products). I'm not going to count calories or points, or weigh or measure my food. I know what a reasonable portion of something is and I want to train myself to eat what I need, not more than I need. I'm going to listen to my body, remember that feeling "full" is a negative, not a positive. I'm shooting for three meals and two snacks per day, with nothing after dinner. I live in the desert, so water, and plenty of it, is especially essential.

I'm going to move more. I'm shooting for 10,000 steps a day. My stride is about 26 inches, or about 2,500 steps per mile, so to get my steps in I need to walk four miles. I walk between a 15 and 18 minute mile, so really, the time commitment is not that huge, and all your steps count -- walking around your house and yard, to and from your car, shopping, working, every step. It helps to have an enthusiastic walking buddy.

My dog Bump (I first saw her leaping out of the back of a pick-up truck in front of me going over 40 miles an hour, and she did go bump) likes to move out and my walks with her are faster than if I were walking alone or with my husband or friends. And she is relentless and insistent, the perfect walking buddy. We have a regular morning walk that takes us out a dirt road uphill into the desert where we always see some sort of wildlife -- coyotes, deer, hawks -- and the turn-around point rewards us with a sweeping near 360 degree view of Tucson and the surrounding mountains. The walk is 2.25 miles, and in about 40 minutes I have over half my steps in. In addition to the steps I take during a normal day other than my walk, I usually need to top it off with a walk around the block, or better yet, go for a bike ride for some variety.

I'm a big fan of Dr. Oz (check out his Two Week Reboot on the website) and what I am planning is closest to the regime he advocates in YOU on a Diet. I try not to get too creative with breakfast and lunch; a few standards or "food uniforms" as a friend of mine calls them, adaptable to what's in season and what I have on hand, but just a few basic choices.

Today breakfast was one egg cooked in a tiny drop of olive oil in a nonstick pan. I break the yoke and dust it with Mrs. Dash, flip it over, and serve it on a whole wheat sandwich roll (more info below in the Goody of the Day section) with good mustard and a couple of slices of tomato. On the side I had half a pear. Mornings for me include a couple of cups of coffee with lots (about half a cup each serving) of skim milk which I heat in the microwave and then froth with my battery powered whisk before adding the coffee. Frothing the skim milk totally transforms it into something with an almost creamy mouth-feel (sorry for the foodie speak), and it tastes like a treat! Often this is the only dairy I get in a day, so it's important. You can also get French press-like milk frothers, no batteries required, and get a little exercise for your arm.

Goody of the Day:

Oroweat Sandwich Thins. These yummy little skinny buns have 11 grams of whole grain, 100 calories each, have five grams of fiber, zero trans fat, no high fructose corn syrup, 2 grams of sugars. I use them for my morning egg sandwich, for turkey sandwiches at lunch, and turkey or beef burgers for dinner. Delicious.

Tomorrow I'm going to set some goals.

A Little History...and The Deal

2010-01-03T16:32:00.010-07:00

The history:

I am a serial yo-yo dieter.

I was a perfectly normal knobby-kneed kid.

My poor relationship with food was triggered by a personal loss. We'd lived with my paternal Grandmother my entire life until I was 9 years old. She was the quintessential Grandma -- unconditional love, doting attention, and a handmade organdy birthday dress every year. Every night I'd climb the dark, spooky stairs, stairs I knew Frankenstein was waiting for me on, to her bed upstairs. Cinnamon toast and sweet milky tea, peach cobbler, and fried chicken where her specialties, but served up with her love I never needed to overindulge. When my parents decided to move from Dearborn, Michigan to San Diego it was hard not to be excited, but Grandma wasn't making the move and I had no idea what I was about to lose. Our California move required both my parents, parents that had always taken a backseat to Grandma, to work and I was suddenly a latchkey kid, coming home to an empty house. Empty except for half a loaf of buttered toast and jam and as many Oreos as I thought I could get away with eating. At school I'd stay behind in the cafeteria and eat the remaining butter sandwiches left from the lunch service instead of going outside to play where I was becoming increasingly uncomfortable. It went from there, and despite a couple of years of therapy and literally hundreds, if not thousands, of pounds lost and regained, my food issues remain. Clearly they have now taken on a life of their own, moving on from the loss of a nine year old's support system. That's my story. I'm sure you have one of your own.

Which brings me to the myriad attempts to fix the problem. As a pudgy pre-teen I was coerced into a parental urged and doctor approved (!!!) 600 calorie a day diet. I remember a lot of Special K and fresh strawberries, but it was starvation, pure and simple, and didn't, couldn't, last. Nor should it have. That was my first foray into the shame and struggle of being overweight and the failure of trying to remedy it. Through my teens I was never more than 10 or 15 pounds overweight and I managed to stay somewhere in the near normal range by sheer willpower. I married early at 19, and shouldn't have, and began a cycle of gaining and losing weight in far greater amounts, with several significant swings of over 50 pounds. I lost 90 pounds in my mid-30's, motivated by anger at a dissolving marriage and wanting to prove that the problem wasn't all about my weight. Down to 130 pounds [pictured above with a bad perm and a finally proud dad] my then husband and I were further apart than ever. I lost (well, tossed) my then husband and yup, you guessed it, regained the weight. And more. "How in the hell is that possible?!" you ask, shocked. Let me tell you. All too easily.

The big question is how to fix a physical problem despite the emotional baggage? Whatever your motivation to shed pounds -- wanting to look good, be a fashion plate, prepare for an upcoming special event, a man, or fitness and health -- the struggle for self-knowledge and a commitment to make the required life style changes don't come easy. I have found myself incapable of taking, and sticking to, the simple steps required to fix this: EAT LESS AND HEALTHIER, MOVE MORE. It's not rocket science. But it requires patience. We all want our excess gone tomorrow. It requires more than patience as there is no end to this journey. It has to be a change in the way we live, the way we respect our bodies and our relationship to food. Food is fuel. It is also deeply ingrained in personal habit and culture. Breaking bread together is one of the ways we bond with and nurture our family and friends. Food is a power for good, an essential element of life...so long as it not abused.

Food is my drug of choice. And it's a tough habit to kick since we need to eat everyday to stay healthy and alive. There's no going cold turkey. I have never smoked, drink seldom and in moderation, and despite a brief foray into pot over three decades ago, food has been my only addiction. I have a serious weakness for sweets, especially those with refined flour and sugar, the worst possible thing for someone with Type 2 Diabetes, but I'm also a big (pun intended) fan of a lot of anything tasty. And my definition of tasty can include a Burger King Whopper with cheese (though thankfully I have kicked my once serious habit of fast food except for the rare road trip). A great deal of my excess weight is quality fat from eating too much of a good, and healthy, thing. That is just one of the perverse methods I use to sabotage myself. I have much work to do.

The deal:
I have a strategy in mind, one that I will share with you in the days to come. I'll use philosophies and techniques I've learned over time, things I know work for me, but that I haven't been able to fully embrace for the long haul. Yet. I'm sure as time goes on I'll struggle with them, dropping some and beefing up my arsenal with others, and will hold tight to the intention to make reasonable progress as the days and weeks and months and years progress.

I will always tell you the truth whether the news is good or discouraging. Mondays will be weigh-in days, first thing in the morning, post-pit stop and buck naked. Apologies for the visual. There is absolutely no room for the element of competition in this project. No one of us is alike and we must all find our own way. I am blessed with mobility and a decent metabolism and the knowledge that progress is possible. My goals will be modest and I will share them with you.

If you haven't guessed by now the primary benefactress in this is me. You are my accountability, my witness, and this blog is a way to clarify and document this "final assault." I do hope some of this is helpful to you. If so, that will be the icing on the cake a bonus.

Until tomorrow...

A Common Refrain

2010-01-02T19:56:00.001-07:00

In my late 30's I was going to be Fabulous by Forty. I wasn't.

In my late 40's I was going to be Fit by Fifty. I wasn't.

Now, in my late 50's, I'm thinking Survive your Sixties. Success is no longer an option. It is imperative.

I'm turning 60 in eight months, and I have no illusions that I can achieve my ultimate goals in so short a time. But for me, and for most with similar struggles, success is steadily moving in the right direction, not just reaching the final destination. The pace may vary, there may be rests, but heading back the way you've come is too great a price to pay.

I've been fighting this battle for most of my life. In grade school I chose my clothes from the Chubby Girls pages of the Sears catalog. Now I choose from the Plus Size offerings of the Lands End catalog. Along the way I've tried Overeaters Anonymous, Weight Watchers (more times than I can count), self-imposed starvation rations, fasting, online programs, and boot camp spa weeks. I've weighed more than I do now, by 30 pounds or so, but my weight hasn't started with a "1" for longer than I can remember.

At this point it's not so much vanity; it's health. I've been taking blood pressure medication for 30 years and in the last couple developed borderline Type 2 Diabetes. I have no real excuses. Sure, I can pinpoint the when and why of what started my unhealthy relationship with food, but knowing that hasn't helped me. I'm reasonably intelligent and informed. I have an understanding of nutrition and know how to cook. I ran one of the Whole Foods kitchens for a couple of years, and can't fool myself about what's healthy and unhealthy to put in my mouth, and how much of it is reasonable to consume. Doing the right thing where food is concerned is tough for me, but I'm running myself out of time with unhealthy eating habits and it needs to change, once and for all.

Let me say right now -- I am a very lucky woman. I grew up in San Diego, spent 15 years in the Caribbean (yes, even more wonderful than you're thinking), and now live in the gorgeous, lush Sonoran desert. When I moved to Tucson eight years ago, the first person I met was the man in the neighboring casita. We just celebrated our fifth anniversary, and he can still make me feel like we're on our honeymoon. I have a terrific, accomplished, and compassionate daughter; I consider her the best thing I've ever done in my life. I've been retired for a year and spend my time writing, walking, and volunteering at the Desert Museum as an animal keeper and at Saguaro National Park as a ranger leading hikes. We're building a cabin in the Colorado Rockies where we'll spend several months each year. While all this extra weight has slowed me down, it hasn't stopped me, and I don't want to give it that chance. Life is just too good.

I have family and so many friends struggling with weight issues. We are not alone. Food, both fabulous and total crap, bombards us from everywhere, constantly. It's difficult to find a healthy meal, in rational proportions, dining out. At home comfort food and convenience clash with healthy eating. I have the luxury of time; many of my working family and friends aren't so lucky. Yet somehow we all have to find ways to move more and eat less and healthier -- that is the one true algorithm.

I want to share my "final assault" on my battle of the bulge with you. While everyone has to find their own way, perhaps my strategies, successes, and even failures will be of some help, maybe a little inspiration, to you. I encourage your comments and feedback and stories of your own sorties in the struggle towards health.

What are we waiting for? Join me in the quest for a long, healthy, and joyful life.