Choosing to eliminate certain foods.....

As promised, here is the follow up post to the one about food additives. 

I have decided, for various reasons that I'll get to, to severely reduce the amount of soy that I consume.  I would like to eliminate it all together, but I'm not sure I'm ready for that commitment yet.  How did I come to this decision?  Read on!

My WW leader has mentioned a few times that those that have had cancer (whether in remission or not) should not be eating soy, because it can cause it to come out of remission, and encourage it to grow.  It got me thinking.....that if soy was so bad for those that were diagnosed with cancer, why should "the rest of us" be eating it.  I did some research online about soy and the pros and cons of eating it.  I came to the conclusion that there really wasn't anything good about it.  In my research I learned that the different compounds in soy mimic hormones, specifically estrogen.  I took it all in, and didn't really give it much more thought at the time.

 

One day, a few weeks ago, I was upset having heard from two or three recruiters that I did not get jobs I had interviewed for.  I was alone in the car and had a mini-meltdown...I couldn't stop crying and the only thing that made me feel any better was screaming at the top of my lungs over and over.  Among my rantings while crying, I kept repeating "What's wrong with me....I never used to be like this."  I started thinking and trying to figure out what had changed semi-recently (the last 6 months or so).  Yes, the job thing is stressful, but it seemed to be something more than that (I have been unemployed for about 2.5yrs, and it was fairly recent that this was happening).  I realized, after thinking for a bit, the feelings that I was having lately were irritability, general moodiness, almost no patience, frustration that came on all of a sudden with little prompting, etc......pretty much the symptoms of PMS.  Except it was all the time, not just before my period (which is the only time it used to happen). 

 

I remembered what I had read about soy, and when I got home started looking at the ingredients on the foods I eat, especially those I eat on a daily (or almost-daily) basis.  I found that the oatmeal I have been eating a packet of every single day (some days two packets) for close to 4 months had soy protein as it's main source of protein!  I was buying the name brand (Quaker Weight Control Oatmeal) but had switched to the store brand because it was cheaper.  I found that just about every canned tuna has soy in it (I was eating almost a can a day for the last week or so), and most baked goods contain soy.  

 

I realized that immediately throwing away everything that had soy in it was going to create a HUGE bill at the grocery store, so I decided to eliminate soy from the things I ate every day, like the oatmeal and tuna.  Those that I only eat occasionally (bread, bagels, cake) I decided to not be too concerned about for now.  At some point I will, but it's less important to me right now. 

 

The light mayo that I was using to make my tuna salad has soybean oil as the first ingredient.  I looked for mayo without it, but only found full fat mayo and was not willing to count the points for full fat mayo.  I found it after I had returned from the store (I had gone searching for soy-free versions of stuff I ate daily) and was not going back.  So I decided to try using sour cream instead of mayo (the points are a whole lot less than mayo).  It tasted just as good as with mayo (at least to me).  So, I am now using sour cream in sandwiches (which I don't eat very often) and for making chicken and ham salad.  

 

The other day, I made an egg salad with the sour cream instead of mayo.  It was pretty bland.  I actually put salt and pepper in it (I almost never put salt on food, I just don't like it).  So, I started looking online for mayo recipes, etc...  Well, one link led to another to another, and I ended up finding a recipe for a lo-fat mayo made from greek yogurt.  I made it this afternoon and it was super-simple!  A 6oz container of Chobani plain greek yogurt, a tablespoon of olive oil and a teaspoon of dijon mustard.  The recipe really didn't have any directions, so I mixed the mustard and yogurt together first, then whisked the mixture while I slowly added the oil.  In reading how to make real mayo, it has to be done very slowly - I didn't know if it mattered with the yogurt but did it anyway.  It looked like a thin mayo.  The recipe said it will thicken in 24 hours, so I put it in the fridge and am currently waiting.  We'll see what tomorrow evening brings!

 

The peanut butter I eat everyday also had soybean oil as it's main ingredient (besides peanuts).  I looked at the ones I had at home, and the Peter Pan that I have does not have soybean oil in it.  I promptly threw away the other 3 opened containers of three different peanut butters (I LOVE peanut butter and love variety!).  When I went to the store, I looked and found that Skippy Natural w/Honey does not have soybean oil in it's ingredient list.  I love peanut butter with honey mixed in, and this is the only honey one that does not have soybean oil in it.

 

There are a ton of foods that have soy in them though.  The bread that I love has it, as does the ice cream I love.  Since I don't eat these every day (a loaf of bread lasts me a month or more), I have decided to forgo giving them up right now.  When it's time to replace them, I will look for soy-free versions of them though.

We'll see how my theory holds up next time I'm faced with a situation in which my emotions could take over, but I feel better (at least in my head) not eating as much soy as I was.  I have always been more emotional than other people, but lately it has been an out-of-control feeling, which I don't like at all.

~Chelle

Do we really know how the food we eat affects us?

There are so many additives and such in the food we eat today.  I'm not going to try to delve into and explore all of them, there'd never be enough time (bonus: I wouldn't run out of topics, lol!).  There are two in particular that have affected/influenced the way I have chosen to eat lately.


Aspartame  (NutraSweet)

It's in almost any sugar-free or "diet" food available in the store.  Growing up as an overweight child (with an overweight mother), when we wanted soda, it was diet soda.  Somehow my brother got away with drinking regular soda, though I did not.  I also seemed to prefer the taste of the diet sodas versus regular soda. 

As an adult, I have a few friends that have varying degrees of sensitivity to aspartame.  One can drink an occasional soda, one gets migraines from drinking more than a few sips, the other gets violently ill from drinking as little as a sip of it.  I've always felt bad for them that they had to drink regular soda or no soda, while I enjoyed all the diet soda that I wanted.

About a year and a half ago (or so, I really don't know how long it was), I realized that drinking so much caffeine was not doing me any good (think top-of-your-lungs screaming at other cars on the road).  So, I stopped drinking all caffeinated soda of any kind.  I would occasionally drink caffeine-free diet soda, but it was hard to find in restaurants - I did not buy soda for the house.  One day (after a few months of not drinking any soda) I had a caffeinated diet soda.  I got a headache later that day and assumed it was the caffeine.  So, a few days later, in an effort to figure it out, I had a diet caffeine free soda.....still got a headache.  A few days after that, I had a regular caffeinated soda....NO headache!  It was like a light bulb going off!!!  The aspartame seemed to be causing the headache.

Well.....sooooo much stuff suddenly made sense!  My entire life (from when I can remember back to) I have always gotten headaches very very easily.  There were always other reasons to explain the headaches (hair too tight, loud noises, etc....).  I even had a perpetual headache the entirety of my senior year at college when I got my undergraduate degree.  I literally lived on tylenol (thank god I still have a liver!) 24/7 for close to 8 months (excluding vacations at home).  I had not yet learned about ibuprofen, so tylenol was what I took.  That time, the headaches went away if I was home, so I think it was mostly stress.  They have not returned like that yet. 

Since I realized about a year ago about the aspartame, I have avoided it at all costs and have not had the frequency of headaches that I once had.  It hasn't always been easy to find substitutes for the products I used to enjoy.  If it were not for WW, I would be drinking the full sugar versions of everything.  However, I do not want to count the points for these items, lol.  I researched aspartame and the other artificial sweeteners in an effort to find something that I could live with.  I decided not to try the other, long-time artificial sweeteners (Equal, etc....).  I also read up on Stevia and Splenda.  I came to the conclusion that none of them are all that great for you, BUT each person needs to decide for themselves what they want to do.

The lesser of the evils seems to be Stevia (and Truvia, which is made from Stevia I think).  The only area any of this has really been an issue is flavored beverages.  I love flavored water, but almost all of it is sweetened with aspartame.  I have found a few brands that do not though.  They either use Splenda (which may not be any better, but doesn't give me headaches) or Stevia/Truvia.  Crystal Light Pure and Hansen's (I can find it in Hannaford and some Walmart's) use Stevia/Truvia.  There is also a store-brand of Crystal Light Pure at Walmart that uses Stevia/Truvia.   There may be other, not-well-known brands of them out there, I read the labels on all new ones that I see.  Hannaford sells a store-brand of sparkling water that is sweetened with Splenda.  I love it, and it satisfies the soda craving sometimes, but I try not to buy it too much.  As for soda, there are not many out there that I have found.  Pepsi One is sweetened with Splenda and is 1 calorie per serving.  There is a new soda out called Zevia which I believe is sweetened with Stevia.  I have not tried them yet.  At $5-$6 for a six-pack of them, versus $4 for a 12-pack of Pepsi One, I'm going with the Pepsi.  Plus, the PepsiOne has caffeine.  The only reason I really drink soda is for the caffeine, when I need it.

So, I've been living without aspartame for a year or so (like I said, I don't know exactly when), and it seems to be going good.  I drink a lot more water than I used to, which is not a bad thing.  It certainly helps to get in all the water I'm supposed to drink per WW.

Stay tuned for another post about another food I've decided to reduce/eliminate from my diet. 

Diet....that word has so many connotations to it.  The first one people usually think of is a weight-loss diet.  There are many many others out there.  Diabetic diet, weight-gain diet, etc....  The diet I am talking about is a nutrition diet (that which makes up what we eat).  The definition from Wikipedia is: In nutrition, diet is the sum of food consumed by a person or other organism.  So, this is the one I think of when I say the word "diet".

~Chelle

Why does WW work for me?

I've been asked this question by a few people, mostly in my WW meeting, including my leader.

I once said to her, "when I follow the plan, the weight seems to come off pretty easily."

I've been reading the WW boards lately, and thinking about this very topic.  I think I may have come to some conclusions/insights as to why it seems to work for me, so far at least (I'm not superstitious, but I don't want to jinx anything either, lol).

1.  I eat every single one of my Daily Points Allowance, as well as my Weekly Points Allowance.  If I earned Activity Points - I'd eat every one of those too.  Occasionally I'll have 2-3 of my WPA leftover on a Monday night (I get weighed on Tuesday, and my week begins on Tuesday).   If I don't eat the vast majority of them, I don't lose weight.

There are many people that don't and can't eat all of their Daily and Weekly Points Allowances - according to them, they will not lose (or even gain) if they do.  I think it has more to do with what they are using their points on, rather than the fact that they are eating them. 

2.  I am not a big fan of bread (of any type), so therefore, I do not eat a lot of it.  When I do want bread, I want good bread.  My bread of choice is Arnold Oat Nut bread.  It is 3P+ per slice of bread.  A 16-slice loaf of bread lasts me between two and three weeks.  I have started freezing it in 4-slice packages so that it won't go bad and get moldy.  I also enjoy portuguese muffins, grilled in a pan with 1/2 teaspoon of garlic bread spread.  On the rare occasion I have a hot dog or hamburger, I prefer Martin's Potato Rolls.  I've decided I'm no longer going to eat food that I don't actually like.  It's just not worth the points for it.  Will I eat other breads/rolls if I'm at someone's house.....usually, but in my own home I buy what I prefer.

3.  I eat a lot of protein at meals.  I usually have four or five ounces of protein at every meal.  If I don't, I don't stay satisfied as long.  I love eggs.  I probably eat them 5 or 6 days a week.  My egg of choice is Eggland's Best eggs.  They have more vitamins than regular eggs, and two of them are only 3 P+.  I eat two at a time.  I also have lo-fat maple sausages with them most of the time.  I fry them in 1/3tsp of butter if I'm making fried eggs.  If I do scrambled or an omelette, they are still cooked in 1/3tsp of butter, usually with 1/3cup Jimmy Dean Sausage Crumbles mixed in, instead of the maple sausages. 

4.  I drink/eat a lot of non-fat dairy.  I drink between 4.5 and 6 cups of skim milk every day.  I love it, I always have.  It is 2 P+ per cup, and I'm perfectly ok with using up to 12 of my daily points for milk.  I experimented a little while ago, and unless I have milk with every meal, I do not stay satisfied as long.  Some meals I have 2 cups, others 1.5 cups - it really depends on what I feel like.  I also eat a non-fat Chobani yogurt most nights as part of my snack.  If you never thought you could like Greek yogurt - I urge you to give Chobani a try!  In most stores, it's around $1, and that's not much to try something new.  I never thought I'd like greek yogurt, until a friend urged me to try it.  YUMMMMMMMMMMMMM is all I can say to that!

5.  I don't deprive myself of anything I really want.  I am fortunate, that a bite or two is usually enough to satisfy most cravings.  I can eat one or two really good french fries without inhaling the whole container.  I can take one bite of a candy bar, without eating the rest of it.  I love nuts, and have started having 1/2 - 1 ounce of nuts most nights with my snack.  Satisfaction occurs in the stomach, as well as in the brain, in most cases.  I know I'm in the minority as far as the cravings-thing goes.  I really wish I could explain it better.  When I'm eating the proper portion and types of food, I just don't crave "junky" and overprocessed foods.

6.  Most of my daily and weekly points are used on real, actual food.  Very little of them are used on junk food.  Yes, I do have a piece of cake when it's a birthday, and occasionally will order dessert in a restaurant, but not very often.  I've also noticed that I'm just as satisfied with a half serving of cake/dessert/etc, as I am with a full serving.  I have one ice cream that I absolutely love....it's Breyer's Mint Chocolate Chip.  I don't like other mint chocolate chips - they just never taste right.  Breyer's is all Natural, and there's not artificial green coloring in the mint ice cream.  It's white.  It's the best I've ever tasted!


~Chelle

The last few months.....

Hey everyone!  I sincerely appreciate any of you that are still reading my blog, I know I've failed at blogging daily (or even weekly or monthly, lol!).  Things have been a little crazy lately and I'm trying to get back into blogging on a more regular basis.

Like last time, although I haven't been blogging, I HAVE been continuing to follow the Points Plus plan and working it the best that I can.  To date, I have lost 68.4lbs, that's an average of about 2lbs a week!   I am down below 200lbs!  I have to say, it's an awesome feeling!!! 

I even went away to a Cake Decorating Convention in Charlotte NC this past week and managed to stay on plan and lose 1.8lbs this week.  I pre-planned and brought foods for breakfast and lunch.  I was driving down, so it was a little easier than if I had flown down.  I LOVE LOVE milk, but was not sure if I was going to have a refrigerator to keep it in, so I brought Carnation Instant Breakfast (the premixed one) No Sugar Added.  I bought the chocolate flavor.  It wasn't milk, but it satisfied the milk craving until I got home and was able to drink it again!  I also bought Chobani Greek Yogurt (I had a cooler that I could have kept it in with ice if needed) with me.  Those pretty much comprised my breakfast every day, except for two of the days when we were provided breakfast.  For lunch I brought Thomas' Hearty Bagels (oat and honey), packets of peanut butter (thanks to minimis.biz!!  Love that site!), and Hannaford version of Special K cereal (more protein than Kellogg's brand).  Every night before bed I weighed out two servings of the cereal (4pts total btw), and packed my lunch in my bag.  I grabbed my breakfast stuff out of the refrigerator (yes we got one!) and took off for the day.  Dinner was really the only meal that was up in the air, but I did ok. 

I didn't track what I was eating, but decided to make healthy choices and see how it went.   I even had dessert one night and had bbq pork for dinner!  I love this plan!!  There is no food that is off-limits!!   I also brought tons of the "water sticks" as I call them, to flavor the water and make sure that I drank all of my water each day.  I had soda once or twice because I was exhausted, but did not have very much of it.  I did not pass up anything that I really wanted to eat.  A very dear friend flew in from Holland to drive down with me.  She even brought me a small box of real Belgian chocolates from Belgium!!  I had a few on the trip (and shared with my friends that were there) and have decided that I am having one a day until they are gone.  I love them, and still want them, but it needs to be in moderation.  They are sooooooooooo decadent and delicious!!!!!!!!!!

This week is gonna be tough, lol, I think I ended up eating a little more last week than I am used to, because I have been hungry all week long since I got home.  I have already used all of my weekly points plus allowance and it is only Saturday.  I looked back, and except for the chocolates, all of the points I have been eating are for real food, not junk.  I will continue eating when my body is hungry this week, and if I use more points, then oh well.  I'm ok with whatever happens on Tuesday when I get weighed.

~Chelle