Eat Out Eat Well

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It’s Time To “Cleanse” Your Cupboards, Your Fridge, And Your Desk Drawer

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What kind of food do you have hanging around?  Are there leftovers from the holidays, a random piece of birthday cake, frozen pigs in blankets you bought for possible guests, a bag of mini chocolate chips in case you decide to bake some cookies.  Do you really need the gigantic box of cereal from Costco or the two extra jars of peanut butter that were on sale?  Do you have some mini candy bars tucked in the corner of your desk?

Hey, we’re all guilty of storing food in preparation for the onslaught of visitors or the next blackout.  The problem is that the extra food is not conducive to managing your weight.  Why?  Because usually if we see it, we eat it.

Take a look in your fridge, your cupboards, and your desk and kitchen drawers.  What’s in there?  Why did you buy it and when? Do you really need it – or does it call your name when you really don’t want to indulge in those extra calories but can’t escape the allure of the food at hand.

Tip of the day:

You might want think about what prompts you to buy extra or large quantities of food that tempts you and that you really don’t need to eat.  Knowing why you buy is key to developing some good shopping habits.  Doing a “cleanse” of cupboards, the fridge, and drawers by getting rid of what tempts you is a good way to prevent hundreds of excess calories from making their way into your mouth. Remember:  See It = Eat It.

Do you fall into any of these food purchasing categories?

  • Bargain shopping: getting the largest amount of food for your money by buying a dozen of what’s on sale or two of the gigantic size at Costco?  Who ends up eating the excess?
  • Getting the most calories for your money and the biggest bang for your buck.  Is it a bargain if it tempts you to eat the excess?
  • Buying special or celebratory food because it’s someone’s birthday, or Thanksgiving, or Easter, or your kid’s team is coming over.  Do you really buy it because of company or because the event has given you an excuse to buy – and indulge – in what you ordinarily wouldn’t?
  • Buying food you’ve always wanted to try and or on the spur of the moment because you happened to see it in the store. Then you get the food home find out that your family really hates it. So you eat it – all of it.
  • What about the product of the moment – which might fall into any number of categories.  It could be trendy, the latest low-fat wonder, or the cake mix your neighbor said was so good.  Maybe it’s good, maybe not – but who ends up eating it?
  • Then there’s the diet foods:  the low or no fat, low or no sugar, fiber rich, reduced calorie bars and cookies you bought in an endless quest for the miracle food that won’t pack on the pounds. Guess what – they still have a whole bunch of calories.
  • The convenience foods – the stuff, probably already prepared and/or processed, frozen, or take-out  — that you grab when you are totally exhausted or exasperated and you want to get the food on the table and not have anyone complain about it. They’re often high calorie and not too nutritious – and come in multi-sized portions.
  • Here’s the big one: the reward foods — the “I’ve had such a tough day” or “I’ve been so good all day” food that almost always packs a whopper of a sugar, fat, and caloric punch.They’re also the foods that, because of the sugar, fat, and salt, keep you coming back for more.

Sometimes there is a time and place for food from any of these categories.  But, if you want to develop healthy weight management habits, think about your current habits and patterns and take action.

This article is part of the 30 day series of blog posts called: 30 Easy Tips for Looser Pants and Excellent Energy.

 

Thanksgiving Eating Worries? You’ve Got Them Covered!

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A Time For Giving Thanks and a Celebration of Abundance

Those of us who are lucky enough to go to or host a Thanksgiving dinner are often faced with a dilemma:  overabundance.  The Thanksgiving meal has become associated with a true groaning table – a table loaded with turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes in multiple formats, cranberry sauce, gravy, green bean casserole, brussel sprouts, and traditional family specialties. For closers there’s apple pie, pecan pie, pumpkin pie, ice cream, cookies, and whatever other desserts Grandma, Aunt Sue, and Mom decide to make or bring.

A Feast and a Caloric Overload

How can you enjoy your traditional Thanksgiving dinner and not feel like a slug for days afterward? The ironic thing is that the usual main dish is really lean poultry (turkey), and the main vegetables and condiments are nutritional powerhouses (sweet potatoes, brussel sprouts, and cranberries).  The traditional dessert is made from a vegetable (pumpkin pie) or nuts (pecan pie) so you wouldn’t think this would be so difficult.

The calories in a traditional Thanksgiving dinner are estimated to range from 2,000 to 4,500, depending on what you put on your plate. Given that people of average size who get moderate activity should eat between 1,600 to 2,400 calories per day, Thanksgiving dinner is quite a hefty meal. Not everyone gains weight over the holidays, but if you do, those pounds rarely come off.

Who Wants to Count Calories on a Holiday?

Most of us don’t want to count calories on a day of celebration. If you deprive yourself of the traditional foods you come to associate with holidays, more often than not you end up paying the piper. That’s when you find yourself standing in front of an open fridge rummaging for leftovers because you feel deprived from the stare down you had with your favorite foods earlier in the day.

Have Your Own Plan of Attack

Create an eating plan of attack before the celebration day. You know you’ll eat a bit more – or maybe a bit more than a bit more – than on a typical day. Mathematically allow for your holiday meal. Remember, calories in – calories out. Compensate by eating a little lighter the days before and after. Add in a long walk.

Don’t starve yourself the day of the grand meal. If you do in an attempt to save up calories for a splurge, you’ll probably be so hungry by the time dinner is ready you’ll end up shoving food into your mouth faster than you can say turkey.

The Key Is Balance, Not Deprivation

Inevitably if you deprive or restrict yourself you eventually end up overeating. The mantra becomes – “it’s just one day.” The problem is the one day extends to leftovers the next day – then the weekend – then to Christmas parties – then to the New Year’s Eve party. It could even extend to Super Bowl Sunday!

Celebrations the day of are fine. Celebrating for weeks on end is not. Plus, you end up hating yourself!

Try some of these:

  • Give yourself permission to not eat something just because it’s tradition.
  • Only eat it if you want it. Eat what you want not what you think you should.
  • Say no to the friend or relative who is pushing the extra piece of pie. You’re the one stepping on the scale or zipping up your jeans the next day – not them.
  • Make some rules for yourself and commit to them.
  • Make a deal (with yourself) that you can eat what you want during dinner. Put the food on your plate and enjoy every last morsel. I’m not even suggesting that you leave some on your plate. But – that’s it. No seconds and no double-decking the plate.
  • Limit the hors d’oeuvres. They really pack in calories. Make eating one or two your rule.
  • Trade hors d’oeuvres for a luscious piece of pie for dessert.
  • Alcohol adds calories (7 calories/gram). Alcohol with mixers adds more calories. Plus, alcohol takes the edge off lots of things – including your ability to stick to your plan.
  • Drink water. It fills you up. Have a diet soda if you want. If you’re going to drink, limit the amount – alternate with water.
  • Control your environment. Don’t hang around the buffet table or stand next to the platter of delicious whatevers. Why are you tempting yourself?
  • Talk to someone. It’s hard to shove food in your mouth when you’re talking.
  • Get rid of leftovers. The best laid plans have been defeated by leftover stuffing.
  • Don’t nibble during clean-up (or preparation for that matter). Broken cookies, pieces of piecrust, and the last spoonfuls of stuffing haven’t magically lost their calories.

If you ignored a lot of this, you ate everything is sight, and your exercise was walking back and forth to the to the buffet table, put on the tourniquet. It was just one day — just don’t let it stretch into days or weeks.

Remember to enjoy the holidays. Be grateful. That’s the point, isn’t it?

I’ll be posting more holiday facts and tips on my blog: www.SocialDieter.com as we enjoy this celebratory season. I invite you to share some of your own.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.