Hi - left field

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-16-2007
Hi - left field
20
Mon, 04-16-2007 - 3:08pm

Meaning - this post is coming out of left field! :p

A couple things have "happened" in the last week that have me thinking. First off... I eat like a kid most of the time. I PREFER mac and cheese, pb&J and hamburger helper over exquisitely prepared meals. My favorite meals are either a steak and potatos with dinner rolls or homemade something (anything homemade country style). I will eat salads, Caesar or house but prefer my house to be loaded with cheese, hard boiled eggs and a good dressing. I like certain fast food places (but not all of them). A good chicken breast is hard to come by but slathered in Jack Daniels sauce at TGIFriday's I'll scarf it down!

Now... I read somewhere that Gwyneth Palthrow was asked if she takes her kids to McD's and she said "over my dead body" and then last week a lady came around at work asking if we'd buy a coupon book for Sonic to support her daughter's school something or other and I was like "sure I'll buy one" and my cube mate who has been on a diet for the last year and is doing really good (she's lost 56 pounds I believe, and has another 30 some to go) said "I don't eat that kind of food anymore" and I'm thinking "I'll take her's too!" *rolling my eyes*

So... I got to thinking - those girls that are a size 4 or do appear rather healthy (picturing Jennifer Aniston in my mind) do they just NOT eat things that aren't HEALTHY for them!? Are they all salads and salmon? Do they ever just sit at home and eat a box of mac and cheese? would they ever dream of grabbing a snickers bar midday? would a steak just do them in? is it really realistic to not want or need anything but healthy?

Just wondering! I often say I eat like a child - and to have the kind of body I dream of, I'd have to eat and make food decisions like an adult - so is that really how it works? :p

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iVillage Member
Registered: 08-16-2005
Tue, 04-17-2007 - 6:14am

Everytime I go out to dinner or lunch I always eat half no matter if I am still hungry or not. I always leave with a doggie bag because the portions are HUGE!!! I know I could eat the whole thing, I know I could gorge myself but I don't because the portions are just too large so I take home a doggie bag and I have dinner or lunch for the next day.

It's always a first start.

Try doing fitday for a few days, it's amazing how many calories we consume in one day. It's actually quite disturbing how many empty calories we consume just in our vitamin waters, sodas, etc.

Smile,

Deirdre

Avatar for floridagirl52
iVillage Member
Registered: 10-16-2006
Tue, 04-17-2007 - 7:10am

I've never been more than about 15 lbs. overweight, but as I have aged, it has become harder and harder to keep the weight off.

In the mid-80s, I got turned on to a healthier way of eating. I got a book called "The Good Food Book" by Jane Brody. She also wrote "The Good Food Gourmet." You can buy these used and dirt-cheap on Amazon.com. Both of these are excellent cookbooks that feature low-fat, complex carbs, minimal red meat and many vegetarian meals. Oh, and reduced fat and sugar.

She writes that after you start cutting down on salt, that prepared foods will taste too salty to you, and she's right. I used to be able to eat Lean Cuisine, but it's way too salty for me plus they don't taste right. I used to enjoy a Burger King Whopper now and then, but I can't eat them or any fast food anymore...it tastes funny to me in addition to way too much salt. I also used to drink a lot of Crystal Light and diet soda, but after a while, I converted to sparkling water, then to just plain water. I just don't crave them anymore and it wasn't all that hard. Same with salty food. After you start eating really fresh food, you lose your taste for all that other stuff.

Since you like to cook (I love it) you may also enjoy the magazine "Cooking Light." I subscribed for years, and eventually bought the annual recipe books so my house wouldn't be overflowing with magazines. Anyway, their recipes satisfy the serious cook and are low fat. They are truly delicious. You can visit their website for recipes. What I tell people about eating healthy is that the hardest part is having the ingredients in your house. If you can just get to the store and buy a week's worth of groceries and have them ready to cook, you won't be as tempted to get take-out. I live alone, and have been cooking batches of things and freezing them in individual portions for years (buy those plastic Zip-Loc containers). That and a fresh salad with low fat dressing (I have a killer recipe for a citrus-balsamic dressing, let me know if you want it) that truly tastes wonderful. You really don't miss the fat.

I will confess though, that I eat a small bowl of low-fat frozen yogurt every day.

And the other requirement is exercise. Daily if possible. I have been walking fast for a half hour at least 4 times a week since the mid-80s. It's not so much to burn calories (although it does) but to raise your metabolism. Jane Brody goes into all of this in her Good Food Book.

The other thing to really keep in mind is your heart health. Saturated fat leads to coronary artery disease. It's that simple. Overweight also increases your risk of diabetes and cancer. As you get older, these issues will become more important to you. I know I don't want to be an old lady with all kinds of ailments that could have been avoided with diet and exercise.

Anyway, to sum up: once you start eating more healthy, you really will start losing your fast food craving. Good luck to you!

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-16-2007
Tue, 04-17-2007 - 10:16am

Okay I'm reading all your replies I KNOW you guys are right - I mean really it's just about paying attention to what you eat and not continually putting "bad" stuff in your body! Heck we wouldn't put crummy gas in our car if we wanted it to run good... even still it kills me to think I can't eat Krispie Kremes and Oreos and CHOCOLATE like it's going out of style (you guys probably think I'm a cow! :p ). I really am surprised I'm not ginormous but I really shouldn't be surprised with the bumps and rolls I do have! I love "comfort" food and "sugar" foods! :(

Oh look what I ran across this morning... http://www.celebrity-babies.com/2007/04/leah_reminis_po.html

How fricking funny is that!?!?! :p

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-21-2005
Tue, 04-17-2007 - 10:57am

Oh, boy, the never-ending battle of the bulge.

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-01-2005
Tue, 04-17-2007 - 12:26pm

>>After you start eating really fresh food, you lose your taste for all that other stuff.<<

I totally agree. Once you start, it becomes easier and easier as your body loses its cravings for those foods. Over the years, I have given up red meat (never really liked it, though), soda, refined flours (in favor of whole grain whenever possible), most frozen foods (I agree - they taste funny), etc.

AJ, enjoying life with C.

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-01-2005
Tue, 04-17-2007 - 12:38pm

I'm a coffee drinker, so I totally understand the crankiness if you don't get your caffeine (either from coffee, soda, tea, etc.).

However, if there were one "food" I would eliminate from the planet if I could, it would be soda. Not only because it's empty calories, but because it actually leaches calcium from your bones. Osteoporosis runs in my family because we have small bones, so this is a major concern for me.

Here's an article that explains: http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20061028/food.asp
They specifically mention middle-aged women or older, but further down in the article they cite studies on girls as well.

Also, by the time women are 25 or so, they have built all their bone density for LIFE. It starts to decline at that point, and the only thing you can really do is maintain what you have. It's the #1 reason I gave up soda about 10 years ago -- not to mention because I am severely cavity prone. :)

AJ, enjoying life with C.

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-21-2004
Tue, 04-17-2007 - 1:32pm
I've heard that, too, about the calcium.

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Avatar for cl_shywon
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-20-2003
Tue, 04-17-2007 - 7:12pm

Holy IBS attack!


My colon is sore just from reading all of that crap! I can't eat most of that stuff (or I can, but I regret it a lot later) and I still can't seem to drop weight!


iVillage Member
Registered: 11-21-2005
Wed, 04-18-2007 - 12:21am

LOL Yeah, we won't talk about what happens on the occasions that I overindulge.

Just for the record, this is not what I eat every day. LOL Sure, I have my weeks where I eat a lot of fried stuff. But for the most part, I do try to at least limit my intake of fried foods.



iVillage Member
Registered: 11-21-2005
Wed, 04-18-2007 - 12:25am

And did I mention that I have recently discovered how tasty Chinese crab rangoons are? Oy vey!!! I feel like I live such a tortured existence, liking all foods which are bad for you. Me and my BF talk about this often, how we love all food that's terrible for you.

He told me he'd quit smoking if I quit drinking soda. I said, "No way! you can keep smoking!" Hahaha (He's not a heavy smoker, anyway).



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