This weekend D.R., Cooper and I went to Rapid City to get out of town, relax (yeah, right!), and do some shopping. I believe that it is encoded in the DNA of men to be a royal pain while women are trying to shop. I get out of town maybe once every two or three months, so it goes without saying that there are things that we will need, and that I would like to enjoy a little window shopping, even if I don't buy anything for myself. Why do men have to rush you along and grouch about every purchase you have? Grr... so much for a relaxing weekend. But I did get some clothes for us all to wear for our family pictures that we're getting on Thursday, of course D.R. didn't care for my choices, but oh well, at least we'll be color coordinated. Maroon and brown.
The diet and exercise has been going pretty well. I was doing the Phase I South Beach Diet for a few days last week, but my kidneys started hurting again, and I had trouble sticking to it. So I have modified the low carb diet and have been doing better. I have been eating lean meat, vegetables, fruit, and one or two whole grain carb servings per day. With the whole grains and fruits, my kidneys have been feeling better, and I have lost about 7 lbs in the last two weeks. I've been working out about 4 or 5 times a week, and I feel pretty good. We did eat at Applebee's, Red Lobster, and Papa John's this weekend, but I decided that could be my 10% of the time that I eat what I want and got right back onto my diet plan today. So, now I have lost almost 60 lbs since Cooper was born, and I am about 50 lbs from my goal weight. Sounds like a lot, but I'm just going to take it a few lbs at a time, and I only have 10 lbs to go to one of my big milestones that I want to hit.
I stayed home with Cooper and tried to get some housework done today, but he dragged stuff out about as fast as I could put it away!! But I miss him so much, and it really bothers me when he's at daycare for several days in a row, because then when I pick him up, he won't look me in the eyes for a couple of hours until we've spent some time together. I just wish that I could stay home with him every day. He's walking all the time now and definitely prefers walking over crawling.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Does food really create pleasure?
A few days ago at work, I was reading an article in a women's magazine (I can't remember which one - Redbook? Family Circle? Good Housekeeping?) that discussed how people who overeat believe that they overeat because they love food, and are getting a lot of pleasure from their food, but in fact the opposite is true; overeaters don't love food enough. People who overeat don't spend enough time enjoying their food like they did when they were little kids - little kids play with their food, explore new tastes and textures, and take their time eating. Instead, they eat too quickly and don't enjoy their food enough, so they end up eating more to try to compensate for the lost pleasure. The author recommended eating more slowly, savoring each bite, and losing yourself in the taste and texture of your food.
I kind of thought this sounded counterintuitive - I overeat because I LOVE food too much and I enjoy eating, right? I didn't really give it much thought again until this morning when I came across this link to an article in Newsweek. They wrote about a study that was done in which obese women were given a chocolate milkshake while they went through an MRI scan. The researchers then looked for stimulation of the pleasure center of the brain and found that it was not being stimulated, even though the women stated that they expected to receive great pleasure from drinking the milkshake. The researchers concluded that obese women, due to a genetic difference, have an interference in their dopamine receptors. Dopamine is the chemical that allows us to feel pleasure, and when the receptors don't work correctly, we don't feel pleasure from things that usually would be pleasurable (like food, sex, etc.). So, obese women don't receive the same pleasure from eating that leaner women do, so they eat more and more to try to compensate for the lack of pleasure from the food. The study even compared this to an addiction - obese people, or people with the gene who had not yet become obese, were not getting the pleasure from food that they anticipated, so they ate more and more in order to try to achieve the "high" or pleasure from food.
What does this mean for me? I think that when I binge on food, I am trying to get more pleasure by eating more, which usually does not happen, and even if it does, an hour later I am so mad at myself and sick to my stomach that it is not worth the momentary pleasure. So why do I keep doing it again and again? Lately, I have been trying to pay more attention when I feel like bingeing, and I don't even really have a craving for anything in particular. I think, "do I want chips? No, that doesn't sound good, how about chocolate, no, maybe nachos?" I don't even really crave something in particular, I just want to shove something in my mouth to make me feel better. I think that if I am legitimately craving a particular food, I should get that food and enjoy it slowly, bite by bite, and if I still feel like bingeing on other foods, I know that I'm not really getting pleasure from what I'm eating and need to find something else to do to distract myself until the craving passes.
I kind of thought this sounded counterintuitive - I overeat because I LOVE food too much and I enjoy eating, right? I didn't really give it much thought again until this morning when I came across this link to an article in Newsweek. They wrote about a study that was done in which obese women were given a chocolate milkshake while they went through an MRI scan. The researchers then looked for stimulation of the pleasure center of the brain and found that it was not being stimulated, even though the women stated that they expected to receive great pleasure from drinking the milkshake. The researchers concluded that obese women, due to a genetic difference, have an interference in their dopamine receptors. Dopamine is the chemical that allows us to feel pleasure, and when the receptors don't work correctly, we don't feel pleasure from things that usually would be pleasurable (like food, sex, etc.). So, obese women don't receive the same pleasure from eating that leaner women do, so they eat more and more to try to compensate for the lack of pleasure from the food. The study even compared this to an addiction - obese people, or people with the gene who had not yet become obese, were not getting the pleasure from food that they anticipated, so they ate more and more in order to try to achieve the "high" or pleasure from food.
What does this mean for me? I think that when I binge on food, I am trying to get more pleasure by eating more, which usually does not happen, and even if it does, an hour later I am so mad at myself and sick to my stomach that it is not worth the momentary pleasure. So why do I keep doing it again and again? Lately, I have been trying to pay more attention when I feel like bingeing, and I don't even really have a craving for anything in particular. I think, "do I want chips? No, that doesn't sound good, how about chocolate, no, maybe nachos?" I don't even really crave something in particular, I just want to shove something in my mouth to make me feel better. I think that if I am legitimately craving a particular food, I should get that food and enjoy it slowly, bite by bite, and if I still feel like bingeing on other foods, I know that I'm not really getting pleasure from what I'm eating and need to find something else to do to distract myself until the craving passes.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Today I stayed home and tried to clean house for awhile. I always seem to do fine cleaning the parts of the house that are not disorganized to begin with, but I haven't been able to get to the 3 bedrooms, which are all totally disgusting to the point where you can't even walk through them. I did get the laundry room all cleaned and organized today, so that was good.
I went to group power early today and ran on the treadmill for 25 minutes first. It is amazing how much my endurance has decreased in just 6 or 7 weeks. Then we did the new group power (a group weightlifting class), which kicked my butt as usual. I am really sore tonight. I had leftover taco salad for lunch today and a steak for supper with sauteed mushrooms and zuchini. It was really good, and I think I am past the carb cravings I had for the first 36 hours of the diet. Last night I had a really bad headache that I'm pretty sure was related to sugar cravings. For this week, I am just going to try to let my body adjust to the new foods, and then next week I am going to try to cut back my portion sizes and decrease the amount of cheese I'm eating (that is my favorite part of this diet!!!).
I found this great website called Weight Loss Wars, and I'm really excited to try it out, if I can find some people to play with me. The idea is to have an online weight loss competition between yourself and whomever you invite to join with you. You can do it in teams, as individuals, or however you want . The nice part about it is that nobody else can see your weight, it just shows a graph of everyone's weight loss without numbers. You can also choose how much you want each person to pay to join - nothing, or as much as you want. Then you can use that money as prize money for the "Biggest Loser" at the end. You can also make the competition as long as you want, start and end whenever, etc. The nice thing is that since it's online, the players can be anywhere in the world and don't all have to be in the same town. I think it would be really motivating, but I'm thinking about possibly starting it in January after the holidays when everybody is thinking about losing weight, and making it 3 or 4 months long. That is if I can find people to join with me. Anyway, I had better get to bed, I have to work in the morning.
I went to group power early today and ran on the treadmill for 25 minutes first. It is amazing how much my endurance has decreased in just 6 or 7 weeks. Then we did the new group power (a group weightlifting class), which kicked my butt as usual. I am really sore tonight. I had leftover taco salad for lunch today and a steak for supper with sauteed mushrooms and zuchini. It was really good, and I think I am past the carb cravings I had for the first 36 hours of the diet. Last night I had a really bad headache that I'm pretty sure was related to sugar cravings. For this week, I am just going to try to let my body adjust to the new foods, and then next week I am going to try to cut back my portion sizes and decrease the amount of cheese I'm eating (that is my favorite part of this diet!!!).
I found this great website called Weight Loss Wars, and I'm really excited to try it out, if I can find some people to play with me. The idea is to have an online weight loss competition between yourself and whomever you invite to join with you. You can do it in teams, as individuals, or however you want . The nice part about it is that nobody else can see your weight, it just shows a graph of everyone's weight loss without numbers. You can also choose how much you want each person to pay to join - nothing, or as much as you want. Then you can use that money as prize money for the "Biggest Loser" at the end. You can also make the competition as long as you want, start and end whenever, etc. The nice thing is that since it's online, the players can be anywhere in the world and don't all have to be in the same town. I think it would be really motivating, but I'm thinking about possibly starting it in January after the holidays when everybody is thinking about losing weight, and making it 3 or 4 months long. That is if I can find people to join with me. Anyway, I had better get to bed, I have to work in the morning.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Where has the time gone?
Wow...I can't believe October is almost half way over, and my little man is about to be a year old. I can't believe how fast the first year of his life has gone (especially compared to how slow the 9 months of pregnancy felt!!!). Things have been very busy in my life, and although I've accomplished quite a bit, I never feel like I have enough time to finish the things I really want to.
After taking a break from the gym for a few weeks, I have rejoined and joined a biggest loser competition there. It is a partner competition, and a girl I work with has joined with me. The prize isn't nearly as exciting as the prizes we had when we participated at the hospital, but I get $5 off my gym membership every month and the prize is ok...a night at the Comfort Inn, a meal cooked by a personal chef, and flowers from flowerland. And no, Dana and I will not be spending the night there together!! If we win, I guess we will have to flip a coin to see who gets the prize. Anyway, it is a six month contest, so it will be a longer-term commitment than the other contests I've joined, which is probably a good thing.
I have also decided that I am going to go on the South Beach diet and stay on Phase 1 until I lose 17 lbs, which will be my first goal weight that I am trying to reach. I have thought about it lately, and I realized that I obsess about everything I eat, I think about food all the time, and if I would just put that obsession towards losing weight, I might actually be successful this time. I am so tired of my weight being in the back (or front!) of my mind 24 hours a day, and I really want to be able to wear cute clothes instead of ginormous jeans and sweatshirts. D.R. and I have decided that if I don't get into school (yes, I am applying once again), then we are going to get married in March or April, and I would really like to be able to look back at my wedding pictures and not be disgusted at how overweight I was.
One goal that I am really set on is to make food ahead of time so that I have something healthy available when the afternoon (morning, and night!) munchies hit me and don't end up blowing my diet because I don't have anything available. Also, after I'm done with phase I, I need to stop thinking about my meal plans as a "diet" and start thinking about it as a way of life. I am excited to be able to add fruit and healthy grains into my diet, so 17 lbs, here I come!!! I am going to share some recipes that fit in with my South Beach plan, and I would love to get more recipes from anyone reading that would expand my meal repertoire!!!
Recipe for the Day....Southwestern Style Frittata
Adapted from South Beach Diet Recipe Book
Ingredients:
cubed ham or cooked chicken breast cubes or strips
eggs
vegetables of your choice ... I use green peppers, mushrooms, and black olives
1/4 cup shredded cheese
salsa
Pam
1. Warm a deep, oven-proof skillet over medium heat, spray with Pam once heated. Pre-heat broiler in oven.
2. Arrange meat and vegetables in bottom of skillet, spacing apart as desired - bottom of skillet may be completely or sparsely covered depending on how much meat and vegetables you use.
3. Pour scrambled eggs over meat and vegetables so they are completely covered (using 6 to 9 eggs depending on the size of your skillet).
4. Cook over medium heat, undisturbed, until eggs are almost set and only slightly runny on top.
5. Sprinkle with shredded cheddar or mozarella cheese and dollop with salsa. Place skillet in oven and broil 3 to 6 minutes, until eggs are set and frittata is puffed up on top.
6. Serve with sour cream and salsa to taste. Will refrigerate for 3 days.
After taking a break from the gym for a few weeks, I have rejoined and joined a biggest loser competition there. It is a partner competition, and a girl I work with has joined with me. The prize isn't nearly as exciting as the prizes we had when we participated at the hospital, but I get $5 off my gym membership every month and the prize is ok...a night at the Comfort Inn, a meal cooked by a personal chef, and flowers from flowerland. And no, Dana and I will not be spending the night there together!! If we win, I guess we will have to flip a coin to see who gets the prize. Anyway, it is a six month contest, so it will be a longer-term commitment than the other contests I've joined, which is probably a good thing.
I have also decided that I am going to go on the South Beach diet and stay on Phase 1 until I lose 17 lbs, which will be my first goal weight that I am trying to reach. I have thought about it lately, and I realized that I obsess about everything I eat, I think about food all the time, and if I would just put that obsession towards losing weight, I might actually be successful this time. I am so tired of my weight being in the back (or front!) of my mind 24 hours a day, and I really want to be able to wear cute clothes instead of ginormous jeans and sweatshirts. D.R. and I have decided that if I don't get into school (yes, I am applying once again), then we are going to get married in March or April, and I would really like to be able to look back at my wedding pictures and not be disgusted at how overweight I was.
One goal that I am really set on is to make food ahead of time so that I have something healthy available when the afternoon (morning, and night!) munchies hit me and don't end up blowing my diet because I don't have anything available. Also, after I'm done with phase I, I need to stop thinking about my meal plans as a "diet" and start thinking about it as a way of life. I am excited to be able to add fruit and healthy grains into my diet, so 17 lbs, here I come!!! I am going to share some recipes that fit in with my South Beach plan, and I would love to get more recipes from anyone reading that would expand my meal repertoire!!!
Recipe for the Day....Southwestern Style Frittata
Adapted from South Beach Diet Recipe Book
Ingredients:
cubed ham or cooked chicken breast cubes or strips
eggs
vegetables of your choice ... I use green peppers, mushrooms, and black olives
1/4 cup shredded cheese
salsa
Pam
1. Warm a deep, oven-proof skillet over medium heat, spray with Pam once heated. Pre-heat broiler in oven.
2. Arrange meat and vegetables in bottom of skillet, spacing apart as desired - bottom of skillet may be completely or sparsely covered depending on how much meat and vegetables you use.
3. Pour scrambled eggs over meat and vegetables so they are completely covered (using 6 to 9 eggs depending on the size of your skillet).
4. Cook over medium heat, undisturbed, until eggs are almost set and only slightly runny on top.
5. Sprinkle with shredded cheddar or mozarella cheese and dollop with salsa. Place skillet in oven and broil 3 to 6 minutes, until eggs are set and frittata is puffed up on top.
6. Serve with sour cream and salsa to taste. Will refrigerate for 3 days.
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