February 01, 2013

Food For Thought

Since I've embarked on my recent food-tracking frenzy I'm happy to report that (a) I seem to be slowly but surely dropping a bit of the weight I gained recently and (b) I am even more bat-shit crazy than I anticipated.

But it's a Happy Crazy, I swear!

It's not that I'm so starving that all I can focus on is food.  Au contraire! It's just that I'm so obsessed with strategizing, scheming, and optimizing that I find anything food-related to be incredibly fascinating and compelling.


OK, so there are limits.

But This Is Not About My New Eating Approach Which We Shall Not Call A "Diet."

I will bore you at length later on with further details of my low-carby-not-quite-primal quest to become a Fat-Incinerating Superhuman.  It's another one of those posts like the Best Food Tracking Apps, the Self-Hypnosis Experiment, several new giveaways, and approximately 8500 other Must Write Soon posts on the list which means I should get to it, um, any decade now.

(For a pathetic example, I never even followed up on my freakin' colonoscopy last year. How many smartypants trying-to-be-funny health bloggers would be so lazy as to pass up that opportunity? The combination of important medical advice for gravitas, along with details about diarrhea, heavy sedation, laxatives that go down like lemon-flavored motor oil, flatulence, and a huge tube stuck up your ass? It's almost pre-written!)

This Sort of Nuttiness is Temporary, Part of My Own Weird Cycle, And Not Recommended For Others.

I'm adding this paragraph because a couple of commenters wisely pointed out that a focus on losing weight for the sake of losing weight, apart from health concerns, is kinda f--cked up.  (Not their exact words, obviously). And it's ironic, because the overall message of this site is very much in accordance with that view.

And yet, it's also a personal blog, and I am a fallible person, and I go through funny cycles. I am not  eating-disordered.  Yet there are times I start to build up unhealthy habits of unlimited portions and too many treats.  I start feeling crappy about my lack of control, yet urging myself to "eat healthy" and "eat reasonable portions" does not in itself restore balance.  If I start to overindulge and gain weight, it works much better for me to go through a semi-dramatic Food Tracking and Re-education phase and let myself get a little bit FOC'D, then segue into a more sensible maintenance lifestyle once I've hit the reset button. To make this process easier and more fun, it helps to let all the crazy out and make the venture into an Exciting Obsessive Quest. How can I still eat a bunch of delicious healthy things without continuing to add unwelcome pounds, which tend to concentrate in my belly which is not an optimal place to carry them? It's fun to experiment! But I am not recommending anyone else do this.

Anyway.  Because of my recent fixation I seem to have a few food-related links kicking around to share.

The Fit Bottomed Girls Have a New Foodie Site!

If I were smarter, this image would be a clickable link.

The site is especially handy for those of us who cannot go to conventional foodie sites without feeling homicidally resentful that so many of the tantalizing pictures and recipes are Off Limits for health reasons or because we're insane.

For example, Fit Bottom Eats has a whole compendium of Healthy Super Bowl Snacks you can eat while watching the awesome San Francisco 49er's play some other team on Sunday!

Yum Yucky is Hilarious



If the video doesn't embed properly here, go to Yum Yucky's site to view the soon to be world famous Cake Kabob Infomercial .

The Awesome Jen Sinkler Has A New Site!

I'm a long time admirer of Jen's from her Experience Life days, and now she's got a cool new website called Thrive.

And in keeping with the food theme, in addition to all her great exercise tips she shares recipes.  This one looks promising even if it's a bit too high carb for me at the moment when I'm in the Hopefully Changing My Metabolism state, but it's paleo-ish and sounds totally delicious:

Sweet Potato Pizza with Figs and Prosciutto



Another Random Low Carb Recipe:

Haven't tried this one yet either but it caught my eye because I love beef stew and am intrigued by the notion that radishes become more mellow and friendly when stewed, since I do too!  Thanks Lyn!

Low carb beef stew recipe:



Still Working On Eating Healthier?

If you're here at a health blog, be assured that you are are a certified Healthy Living Freak when compared with the rest of the country.  According to a Report of the DGAC on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (not that I remember what the hell the DGAC is or where I even got this from, sorry):

What Americans Eat: Top 10 sources of calories in the U.S. diet

1. Grain-based desserts (cakes, cookies, donuts, pies, crisps, cobblers, and granola bars)
2. Yeast breads
3. Chicken and chicken-mixed dishes
4. Soda, energy drinks, and sports drinks
5. Pizza
6. Alcoholic beverages
7. Pasta and pasta dishes
8. Mexican mixed dishes
9. Beef and beef-mixed dishes
10. Dairy desserts

Feel better now?

Anyone else having Thoughts About Food?


Images: Cake Sandwich: Natalie Dee
Disgusting Bean Thing: Lileks
Pizza: Thrive
Beef stew: Escape from Obesity

43 comments:

  1. I'm all for healthy eating, and since I hate to cook, I love that you can now buy vegetables pre-cut and washed, that you can even just throw in the microwave. They are expensive compared to un-prepared veggies, but since, for me, it's often the difference between eating veggies and not, it's well worth it. Ditto on pre-made salads from the grocery store.

    That said, I am so attuned to the psychological and physical harm caused by the obsession with thinness that I have to at least mention the Health at Every Size movement, and how exercising and eating nutrition-dense foods are better for healthy living than weight-loss per se.

    http://www.haescommunity.org/

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    1. Excellent point Trabb's Boy, and I'm a big fan of the HAES movement even as I myself go through occasional bouts of crazypants portion-obsession. I seem to have a cycle of 75% healthy balance, 15% gratuitous self-indulgence, and 10% over-the-top nuttiness to correct myself when I get out of balance. Weirdly, it works for me. So that's the context due to my own odd cycle, but I should be mindful that the weight-loss focus (especially for someone not obese) could send the wrong message, and one that is not actually consistent with the stuff I say over and over about Health versus Vanity.

      Thanks for that in put, and if I get a few minutes later on I may edit the post accordingly!

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  2. I want a cake kabob! Mmmmmmm, cakkkkeeeee.

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    1. Cake is a particular weakness of mine Shellye, I will never NOT want cake. I dream about cake! (On good nights. More often I dream about having a dozen or so cats I've forgotten to feed but that's a whole different crazy.)

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    2. You could feed them cake, and have both dreams at once.

      Mary Anne in Kentucky

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    3. Hey great idea Mary Anne as long as they leave some for me!

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  3. It never occurred to me to cook radishes. So very cool. Must do. I'm always looking out for gluten free recipes. May try the yam based crust or something similar soon. Since I've been respecting my gluten intolerance I have lost weight. About 15 lb. since late last June and I feel better in general. That said, it ain't about the weight. I find the obsession with thin silly to the point of harmful. It's okay to lose weight if that's what you need, but going skinny for the sake of being skinny? I wonder about it. Life is for living. Food--real food-- is for eating.

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    1. Interesting about the gluten free, and yeah, time for me to tone down the weight loss stuff. Thanks Leah!

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  4. I feel GREAT after reading the top 10 list! It gave me the opportunity to take a moment and reflect on how much my eating habits have changed. I looked at the list and thought "yep, that's pretty much what was in my kitchen a few years ago". I've made the changes so slowly that sometimes I forget how far I've come on my quest for health and fitness. Thanks for the reminder!! :)

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    1. Wow, that so cool that you've come so far Theresa! Who says incremental changes don't add up? Hope you feel pretty proud of yourself!

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  5. Ugh that cake kabob will put me off food for a while. I don't know why but I am a little phobic about people playing with their food. I think it has something to do with my days as a camp counsellor.

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    1. Too funny Cindy. While I personally prefer a fork, I am fortunate in never having been a camp counsellor who had to witness various playing-with-food atrocities.

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  6. 3,7 & 9...I feel pretty good about that. The rest? Meh, rarely! Some of my bad things are not on the list, but I am doing so much better than I had been doing. And I went to the gym for the 2nd time! Still not sure if it is something I want to sign up for, but, I really need to get my leg working and I am really bad at doing exercise at home.

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    1. Hooray about the increasingly better food choices and the second gym visit, Reb!

      Does your gym have temporary memberships or do you have to commit to a whole year? Because sometimes if you can commit to a month or two, you can find a lot of new ideas and motivation and then consider other options later on, once you've built a foundation of some great new habits around exercising. But during those crucial habit-building weeks in can be helpful to use ANY resource that helps.

      Way to go!

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    2. Tracking may be wonderful, but the bat-shit part relates to me :D It has been great for me, whether it be workouts, wasted time, writing or whatever, but I have been a bit obsessive sometimes...

      I agree with the f'd up opinion, there should definitely be a bigger and better 'why' out there.

      I wish you diligence with your endeavour!

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    3. Thanks Nick! And yeah, health concerns are a much better "why" for getting a wee bit obsessive than just weight loss for the sake of weight loss!

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  7. I just had time to take a look at Fit Bottom Eats compendium of Healthy Super Bowl Snacks. GREAT link the recipes look tasty. I'm not a football fan, but I am a snack fan!

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    1. Hooray for snacks! And for commenters brave enough to click links!

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  8. First, I think you should talk about your eating, tracking, not eating or whatever as much as you feel like - this is your blog!!! We are all just your guests!!
    I'm enjoying hearing about the changes you are making and the things you are trying! I think we all go through different times when we feel the need to scale back or watch the intake a little more closely.
    Thanks for listing some healthy eating blogs!!!
    Now I'm off to pour another glass of wine!!!

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    1. Cheers Kim!

      And yeah, I just have to remember that my own admittedly nutbasket behavior can easily be taken out of context if I don't remember to provide one, especially if I just prattle on as if losing weight is some sort of holy grail. Because I do think our society has this twisted insistence that women be concerned about looks above all else, which normally drives me crazy and which I frequently rail about. So I AM a bit of a hypocrite sometimes. Ah well.

      But thanks for the support and glad you don't mind hearing about all the weirdness that goes on in my head!

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    2. If you're weird in the head, what does that mean I am? Remember, I hear those voices of Polly, Nelly, and Sally in there. :D


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  9. Ick to the cake kabob. That looked like a store-bought cake and nothing is more disgusting to me! Homemade cake...oh ya, I need an extra dose of willpower for that. Do they still make frosting with Crisco and powdered sugar? Did you know that is how they used to make it at one time?

    So how many of you that DO track your foods/calories, cheat? Do you ever change the amounts so it looks better, or "forget" to write down something, even though you don't share your food journal with anyone else but your own inner voices?

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    1. I always made icing with butter and powdered sugar. That's the One True Way.

      When I was tracking food (very frustrating, trying to figure out how much I was getting in the way of vitamins and minerals) I wasn't interested in calories, but it was so hard to figure out how to fit what I was eating into the portion sizes you could choose from that I often said "to hell with accuracy" and just picked something.

      Mary Anne in Kentucky

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    2. On rare occasion I have attempted food journals, etc. I totally laughed about "forgetting" or the inner voices. Usually what happens is about midway through the day I realize I have already eaten a ton and don't feel like dealing with the journal anymore. :) Forgetting problem is solved.

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    3. Oh yeah, the temptation to fudge (mmm, fudge...) is HUGE and silly, when you're only fooling yourself. Yet so human.

      I used to "forget" things sometimes, but on doing subsequent rounds I've discovered I feel much better OVERESTIMATING, and feeling on track with tracking even if it's a bad day for overeating, rather than underestimating and feeling vaguely slimy about the whole tracking enterprise.

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  10. I love that granola bars are grouped with "grain-based desserts." So true in the vast majority of cases.

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    1. Exactly Jess, and how many people fool themselves that they're eating a wholesome meal when they eat a granola bar?

      And sounds like you went and dug up the actual research which I was too lazy to do!

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  11. Sigh...cake...:)

    And yes. You show yourself sitting on your glasses and pass up a colonoscopy post? LOL.

    Have a great weekend.

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    1. You have a great weekend too QD and say hi to Nim!

      And eat some of your evil tater tot casserole for me, eh? Something to consider when I drift off the low carb mania...

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  12. Oops. Dairy based desserts - well, I almost got to the end feeling smug. But then I remember the friend who first passed on to me the idea that some of us eat to ride...but some of us ride to eat. For me, it's the ice cream for sure.

    The weight thing is interesting, and perilous, but there's no getting away from the facts that a) I really don't think much about my appearance - clean is good, neat is ok up to a point, but I have never done heels or make up or most of that other girly stuff; and b) I have felt better, younger, more energetic since I lost some weight. Not a ton - about 30 pounds, about ten years ago - but I would be very sorry to go back. That's probably because I did it all with exercise, and fell in love with my bicycle on the way. But then I did assign myself a low end that I have not passed (and a high end - 5 pounds above the low end - for me, 5 pounds is a pretty easy range to maintain). Looking skinny is not important, but feeling great is an incredible gift.

    So anyway, Crabby, it sounds to me like you are doing a great job of making your own system work for your own self. That's a pretty good thing for your audience to take away, if you ask me.

    DRG

    PS

    Yes! Do the colonoscopy post - I am due for my second one this year (will NOT do it before the Death Ride!!!)& a laugh or two will take the edge off the anticipation!

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    1. Hey thanks so much DRG!!!

      And yeah, like you I'm generally pretty indifferent to appearance issues and girly stuff, have never worn makeup etc, but just FEEL a whole lot better when I'm my "fightin'" weight. And ok hell, I'll admit to a certain superficial desire to attaining muscle definition, something that requires carrying a little less padding no matter how many pushups or pullups I can do. It's my one Vanity Vice.

      Sorry about the 2nd colonoscopy, hope everything's ok? I have a 5 year callback due to them finding and removing a polyp of the creepy precancerous type, which is all the more reason for me to do a PSA type post. Because with all the veggies I eat I never woulda thought they'd find anything, and who wants one of those growing unattended for years and years?

      But good idea to do yours AFTER the ride!

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    2. Uh, no, nothing wrong. I'm a grandma. It's been ten years. But thanks for asking.

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  13. Grain based desserts are #1? Really? I would not have guessed that one.
    I'm currently cycling through Crazy-Town with you. When we've lost the weight we want to lose, we should pull over for a beer or three. :)
    Gaye

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    1. I'm ALL OVER the beers and glad I'm not the only one on the HappyCrazyTrain at the moment Gaye!

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  14. I think that we all find what works best for us so if you need to do what you need to do & get back on track - go for it! You have a sensible approach & know that it takes you back to where you feel best.

    Josie is hilarious - enough said!

    Checked out the new sites - thank you!

    Ummmmmmmmmmmmm - I love my cookies! :)

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    1. I love your cookies vicariously too Jody, and you have what, one a week? If I had that much self restraint I wouldn't need to be counting or tracking anything!

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  15. Everything in life goes up and down. It's normal for you to watch what you eat, reset yourself, get a bit out of control, then have to watch what you eat again to reset yourself. Hills and valleys, over and over, like spring follows winter, over and over.

    As long as the pendulum doesn't swing too far to one side for too long, it's probably fine.

    That list is scary, by the way.

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    1. Hills and valleys, seasons... love those analogies messymimi as they sound much more poetic than "occasional periods of insanity!" :)

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  16. crabby - you made me smile as usual! its great that you write more often now.... and: yes, id like to bring real "international flair" into the comments.... but being half american i guess im not really that exotic!

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    1. Thanks Puja! And while I didn't recall that you were half American, you still get Exotic and Hip cred, at least until I manage to learn to speak German and live in a cosmopolitan European city for a few years.

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  17. I was rooting for the other team, lol!

    We had pizza during the game! Mine was vegan! Not the best pizza, but I wanted to fit in with my guests who were having regular pizzas so I sucked it up for my team, which won, by the way!

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  18. Sometimes we get so much obsessed with the word "diet" that we don't even think anything else. Go for low calorie recipes, fruits, trying only veggies, at times even crave for delicious food. But we couldn't understand that diet doesn't mean to go for fasting or crave for foods, it means working on your body weight to get a healthy and fit body or eating smartly. So next time think of some better options for eating which doesn't spoil your diet plans.

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  19. I got hungry with all the foods you showed. I also do some dieting, but I don't deprive myself to eat what I really want every once in a while.

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