Official Weight Loss Club Thread

[Oscar's Mom]

I have my coffee in the morning and drink tea the rest of the day! I gave up smoking 16 years ago but refuse to give up my caffiene!!! I tried to give up caffiene when I was diagnosed with Mitral Valve Prolapse in the mid 80's. The headaches were so severe, I just cut down my consumption. I could not do without it all together. Now, I am sure with time and will power, I could have given it up. But now they have proven that coffee does not hurt you, so more power to me....!!! But it is a little at a time...give up a little here and give up a little there...if you cold turkey on it, you will have a hard time sticking to it. That is true for me, anyway! Keep on keeping on girl...you can do it!!!

[Oscar's Mom]

Originally Posted by Tashasmom

I know we always joke about caffeine withdrawals but I seriously never thought it possible to have them. I almost feel pathetic that i've allowed myself to get that addicted to pop. course it shouldn't surprise me I'm addicted to food and cigarettes.

Did you know that Mt. Dew has the most caffiene of any carbonated drink? It is loaded with the stuff!!! No wonder you are having headaches. Get some diet ones and get them really cold. You will want one so bad, diet won't matter after awhile!

[Tashasmom]

Jay and I went out to eat..and we ate chinese..thats not bad for you is it?

[Jaspermom]

Originally Posted by Tashasmom

Jay and I went out to eat..and we ate chinese..thats not bad for you is it?

If you had deep fat fried anything, it's not good for you! It's all in the choices you make! Did you think about what you chose? Were you looking to eat well?

Making the best choices when eating out is always a challenge. There are postings in here about that. Let me go back and find them.

Restaurant food and fast food.

People who can afford to do so are eating out more often than ever before. Restaurants and fast food outlets offer much larger portions than they used to. The amount of home cooked food eaten with family around the dining room table has decreased, but portion size has increased. Food prepared at home offers the easiest way to make healthy choices about fat, sugar, salt, and so forth, but in today's world, convenience often wins out over a home cooked meal.

And more!
Food Portions - How Much Is Enough?

Have you noticed that the size of muffins, candy bars, and soft drinks has grown over the years? How about portions of restaurant foods like pasta dishes, steaks, and french fries? As portion sizes grow, people tend to eat more-often more than they need to stay healthy.

Larger food portions have more calories. Eating more calories than you need may lead to weight gain. Too much weight gain can put you at risk for weight-related diseases like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and some cancers.

Managing your weight calls for more than just choosing a healthful variety of foods like vegetables, fruits, grains (especially whole grains), beans, and low-fat meat, poultry, and dairy products. It also calls for looking at how much and how often you eat. This brochure shows you how to use serving sizes to help you eat just enough for you.

What's the difference between a portion and a serving?

A "portion" is how much food you choose to eat, whether in a restaurant, from a package, or in your own kitchen. A "serving" is a standard amount set by the U.S. Government, or sometimes by others for recipes, cookbooks, or diet plans. There are two commonly used standards for serving sizes:

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Guide Pyramid is a healthy eating plan for people ages 2 and over. It shows the recommended number of servings to eat from each of five food groups every day to meet your nutrition needs, and it defines serving sizes. (For more information, see The Food Guide Pyramid under Additional Reading.)

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Nutrition Facts Label is printed on most packaged foods. It tells you how many calories and how much fat, carbohydrate, sodium, and other nutrients are in one serving of the food. The serving size is based on the amount of food people say they usually eat in one sitting. This size is often different than the serving sizes in the Food Guide Pyramid.

How do I know how big my portions are?

For foods that don't have a Nutrition Facts label, such as ground beef, use a kitchen scale to measure the food in ounces (according to the Food Guide Pyramid, one serving of meat, chicken, turkey, or fish is 2 to 3 ounces).

The portion size that you are used to eating may be equal to two or three standard servings. Take a look at this Nutrition Facts label for cookies. The serving size is two cookies, but if you eat four cookies, you are eating two servings-and double the calories, fat, and other nutrients in a standard serving.

To see how many servings a package contains, check the "servings per container" listed on the Nutrition Facts label. You may be surprised to find that small containers often have more than one serving inside.

Learning to recognize standard serving sizes can help you judge how much you are eating. When cooking for yourself, use measuring cups and spoons to measure your usual food portions and compare them to standard serving sizes from Nutrition Facts labels for a week or so. Put the measured food on a plate before you start eating. This will help you see what one standard serving of a food looks like compared to how much you normally eat.

Another way to keep track of your portions is to use a food diary. Writing down when, what, how much, where, and why you eat can help you be aware of the amount of food you are eating and the times you tend to eat too much. The chart below shows what 1 day of a person's food diary might look like.

After reading the food diary, you can see that this person chose sensible portion sizes for breakfast and lunch-she ate to satisfy her hunger. She had a large chocolate bar in the afternoon for emotional reasons-boredom, not in response to hunger. If you tend to eat when you are not hungry, try doing something else, like taking a break to walk around the block or call a friend, instead of eating.

By 8 p.m., this person was very hungry and ate large portions of higher-fat, higher-calorie foods. If she had made an early evening snack of fruit or pretzels, she might have been less hungry at 8 p.m. and eaten less. She also may have eaten more than she needed because she was at a social event, and was not paying attention to how much she was eating. Through your diary, you can become aware of the times and reasons you eat too much, and try to make different choices in the future.

How can I control portions at home?

You do not need to measure and count everything you eat for the rest of your life - just long enough to recognize standard serving sizes. Try these other ideas to help you control portions at home:

Take a standard serving out of the package and eat it off a plate instead of eating straight out of a large box or bag.

Avoid eating in front of the TV or while busy with other activities. Pay attention to what you are eating and fully enjoy the smell and taste of your foods.

Eat slowly so your brain can get the message that your stomach is full.

Take seconds of vegetables or salads instead of higher-fat, higher-calorie parts of a meal such as meats or desserts.

When cooking in large batches, freeze food that you will not serve right away. This way, you won't be tempted to finish eating the whole batch before the food goes bad. And you'll have ready-made food for another day. Freeze in single-meal-sized containers.

Try to eat three sensible meals at regular times throughout the day. Skipping meals may lead you to eat larger portions of high-calorie, high-fat foods at your next meal or snack. Eat breakfast every day.

Keep snacking to a minimum. Eating many snacks throughout the day may lead to weight gain.

When you do have a treat like chips, cookies, or ice cream, eat only one serving, eat it slowly, and enjoy it!

Is getting more food for your money always a good value? Have you noticed that it only costs a few cents more to get a larger size of fries or soft drink? Getting a larger portion of food for just a little extra money may seem like a good value, but you end up with more food and calories than you need.

Before you buy your next "value combo," be sure you are making the best choice for your health and your wallet. If you are with someone else, share the large-size meal. If you are eating alone, skip the special deal and just order what you need.

How can I control portions when eating out?

Research shows that the more often a person eats out, the more body fat he or she has. Try to prepare more meals at home. Eat out and get take-out foods less often. When you do eat away from home, try these tips to help you control portions:

Share your meal, order a half-portion, or order an appetizer as a main meal.

Take half or more of your meal home. You can even ask for your half-meal to be boxed up before you begin eating so you will not be tempted to eat more than you need.

Stop eating when you begin to feel full. Focus on enjoying the setting and your friends or family for the rest of the meal.

Avoid large beverages, such as "supersize" soft drinks. They have a large number of calories. Order the small size, choose a calorie-free beverage, or drink water with a slice of lemon.

When traveling, bring along nutritious foods that will not spoil such as fresh fruit, small cans of fruit, peanut butter and jelly (spread both thin) sandwiches, whole grain crackers, carrot sticks, air-popped popcorn, and bottled water.

If you stop at a fast food restaurant, choose one that serves salads, or order the small burger with lettuce and tomato.

Have water or nonfat milk with your meal instead of a soft drink. If you want french fries, order the small size.

Remember...

The amount of calories you eat affects your weight and health. In addition to selecting a healthful variety of foods, look at the size of the portions you eat. Choosing nutritious foods and keeping portion sizes sensible may help you reach and stay at a healthy weight.
__________________
Pat...Mom to Muffie & Missy!

[Jaspermom]

If you have a question about a specific thing, just go to the search function OF THE THREAD and put in your item. Here is a picture of how you do that.

[Tashasmom]

I've got alot to learn I can see. I assumed all chinese food was healthy. so i'm not sure if I made good choices or not now. I did do good on the pop yesterday. I had 3 total..and that's good for me. Normally i have glass after glass..I was going to try cold turkey but I felt ill half way through the day. So i've decided to wean myself. I hate doing that cause it sounds pathetic but I don't think I can handle another headache like i had yesterday. It ended up making me sick to my stomache it was so bad. And i'm not a baby when it comes to pain but that was awful. Since I can't go to the store til this week-end I've been trying to do the best that i can with what i have. I know breakfast is the most important meal of the day but i have aboslutely nothing that is even semi good for you. I always cook breakfast so that means bacon, homemade hash browns, homemade pancakes..no wonder i'm fat lol..so what i did is i skipped breakfast BUT ate an early lunch and my choices weren't much better so i chose Ramen noodles.

[kewtee]

Originally Posted by Tashasmom

I've got alot to learn I can see. I assumed all chinese food was healthy. so i'm not sure if I made good choices or not now. I did do good on the pop yesterday. I had 3 total..and that's good for me. Normally i have glass after glass..I was going to try cold turkey but I felt ill half way through the day. So i've decided to wean myself. I hate doing that cause it sounds pathetic but I don't think I can handle another headache like i had yesterday. It ended up making me sick to my stomache it was so bad. And i'm not a baby when it comes to pain but that was awful. Since I can't go to the store til this week-end I've been trying to do the best that i can with what i have. I know breakfast is the most important meal of the day but i have aboslutely nothing that is even semi good for you. I always cook breakfast so that means bacon, homemade hash browns, homemade pancakes..no wonder i'm fat lol..so what i did is i skipped breakfast BUT ate an early lunch and my choices weren't much better so i chose Ramen noodles.

Good job weaning yourself - you are not pathertic, but very strong and it's great that you take care of yourself. You know when I stop drinking coffee, I get the meanest headaches - and just for that I stopped drinking it all together - if it makes me hurt when I don't get it, I am in some form addicted to it (or my body is) and I will not accept that.
So I think weaning is great! And remember what has been said - drink water instead so you get enough fluid
Breakfast is very important! It is your fuel for the rest of the day - never "skip" anything, but find replacement for it.
Eat a bowlful of Oatmeal with lowfat milk (if you HAVE to have sugar, you can have ½ a teaspoon), drink a glass of juice with no added sugar and eat a banana or an apple. Peel some fresh carrots and keep them in a sealed plastic bag, so you can snack on them all through the day
For lunch have two pieces of rye bread with for example bean spread or liver paste/low fat pate on them. Eat an orange or pear on the side
Do grapes or cucumber for snacks bestween lunch and dinner.
For dinner choose lowfat meat, fry it in 1 spoonful oliveoil, choose a mix of vegetables, ie. asparagus, squash, mushrooms, babycorn, cherry tomatoes - chop it all into pieces (1x1 cm or there about) and fry it in 1 spoonful oliveoil.
In the evening you can have a apple or another piece of fruit if you HAVE to have something other than water. Have a 1liter bottle of water with you at all times and drink as much as you like

There - good luck to you my friend

EDIT: If you can get the fruit as ecological/biodynamic that is the best

[Jaspermom]

Veggies are great steamed. Olive oil is very good if you need to sautee anything, but you don't have to use it. You can use a fat free spray instead.

As far as your breakfast choices are concerned, whole grain toast or English muffins are great. Fruit for breakfast is an excellent choice as well, like kewtee said. It is best to eat breakfast if you can. It starts your metabolism for the day. And if you look at the amount of sodium in your Ramen noodles, you will probably freak out.

[woodturningcrea]

Originally Posted by Oscar's Mom

Did you know that Mt. Dew has the most caffiene of any carbonated drink? It is loaded with the stuff!!! No wonder you are having headaches. Get some diet ones and get them really cold. You will want one so bad, diet won't matter after awhile!

Two summers ago when we were on vacation in Maine I discovered that Mountain Dew had caffeine in it. In Canada it does not. Weird eh.

[Jaspermom]

Originally Posted by woodturningcrea

Two summers ago when we were on vacation in Maine I discovered that Mountain Dew had caffeine in it. In Canada it does not. Weird eh.

I wonder why?

[Jaspermom]

So, Club Members, how is it going? Any new results in weight loss? Anyone starting a new exercise program? Any new recipes to share?

Let's hear it!

[JeanieK]

Originally Posted by Tashasmom

I've got alot to learn I can see. I assumed all chinese food was healthy. so i'm not sure if I made good choices or not now. I did do good on the pop yesterday. I had 3 total..and that's good for me. Normally i have glass after glass..I was going to try cold turkey but I felt ill half way through the day. So i've decided to wean myself. I hate doing that cause it sounds pathetic but I don't think I can handle another headache like i had yesterday. It ended up making me sick to my stomache it was so bad. And i'm not a baby when it comes to pain but that was awful. Since I can't go to the store til this week-end I've been trying to do the best that i can with what i have. I know breakfast is the most important meal of the day but i have aboslutely nothing that is even semi good for you. I always cook breakfast so that means bacon, homemade hash browns, homemade pancakes..no wonder i'm fat lol..so what i did is i skipped breakfast BUT ate an early lunch and my choices weren't much better so i chose Ramen noodles.

It takes a little time to get it all figured out, but soon it will be second nature. Breakfast cereal is not bad if you use a sugar substitute and skim milk.

As for the caffine, I'm assuming that you don't drink coffee. If not then diet pop is the way to go. Mt Dew is not only extremely high in caffine, it is also extremely high in sugar.

It's formulated for pot smokers, cause they crave carbohydrates after smoking it.

[Jaspermom]

Originally Posted by JeanieK

It's formulated for pot smokers, cause they crave carbohydrates after smoking it.

OK, Missy, HOW do YOU know this???

[Oscar's Mom]

Originally Posted by Jaspermom

OK, Missy, HOW do YOU know this???

LOL...I read this the other day and quoted it to my son over the weekend after watching a Mt. Dew commercial over the weekend with him in the room. He said "How do you know that momma? Been smoking pot?" Kids say the darndest things...he is 23!

[Jaspermom]

Originally Posted by Oscar's Mom

LOL...I read this the other day and quoted it to my son over the weekend after watching a Mt. Dew commercial over the weekend with him in the room. He said "How do you know that momma? Been smoking pot?" Kids say the darndest things...he is 23!

Smart kid!