As careful as I try to be I mess up all the time. Here’s a perfect example. I was planning our meals for the week and decided that we would have black beans and rice, homemade tortilla chips, green beans and fruit. Then I thought to myself, “We haven’t had yellow rice in a long time. I’ll get some at the store.”

I was grocery shopping later that day and walked down the aisle with the Mexican foods. I grabbed two boxes of yellow rice and put them in my cart. I finished shopping, waited in line FOREVER and went home. Two days later I was getting the black beans going and grabbed the boxes of rice. I glanced at the nutrition label and this is what I saw.

I looked at the serving sizes to make sure that enormous sodium amount wasn’t for the entire box. No, that yellow rice really had 820 mg of sodium per serving. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t serve that to my family.

So instead of yellow rice we had a mixture of brown and white rice, which is how I usually make rice for black beans. I’m returning the rice boxes to the store this afternoon.

That experience made me think about how easy it is to assume that a food is healthy to eat but in reality it’s not very good for you. I falsely assumed that yellow rice would be fine but I was wrong. We have been really trying to watch the amount of sodium we eat and 820 mg in one serving of rice wasn’t fine for me or my family.

This isn’t the first time it’s happened to me. Even after I lost my weight I sometimes get lax about checking the nutrition labels and let extra fat, sugar or sodium slip into our diets. You’d think I’d learn!

Have you ever gotten something home and decided, “I’m not eating this!”  Diane

All I could focus on was what food I thought I could never have again.

I had it 100% backwards. Instead of focusing on what I perceived as missing – I should have been focusing on all the things I would gain when I was at a healthier weight. But through 10 years of dieting, I focused on the losses. That’s something that was different for me the last time I tried to lose weight. I focused on all the things I was gaining.

Here’s some things I gained or improved by losing:

Increased self-respect

Control over my choices

Better wardrobe

More energy

Improved health

Self-confidence

Ability to do physical activities I never thought possible – like ride a bike

As you travel your own journey – I wonder if you ever tend to focus on all the things you have given up and lose sight of the wonderful benefits to being healthier and more fit? If you do, I’d encourage you to sit down when you have a minute and make a written list of all the wonderful things you are gaining or want to gain on your journey.

Do you ever focus on the perceived losses or do you keep your eye on the gains?  Diane

The place was definitely “country.” Say that word with a southern accent and you get the picture!

Here’s the kids heading down the path.

Here’s them finishing up picking. I was there, but as usual – behind the camera.

After we were done, we had 4 gallons of blueberries. We were planning on picking five, but we all burned out because of the heat. When we were done picking we paid the lady $25.00 and she offered us some blueberry coffee cake and water. Not wanting to be rude, we went in and had some coffee cake. I had a bite and the kids had small pieces. She cooked it in an 8″ x 8″ pan and had cut the cake into 16 pieces.

Here’s where the “weight loss” part starts. . .

On the way home I told the girls that when you make a small cake like that the “official” serving size usually is 16 pieces. But these days, when “we” cut brownies or coffee cake we only get 9 pieces out of the same size pan! No wonder so many of us struggle with portion control.

I think in the “old fashioned” days people weren’t so inclined to cut huge pieces or eat enormous quantities at one time. It made me think about how much things have changed in just one generation.

It also made me think how we can change things back in one or two generations. I know that’s a long time, but there is hope!

Here’s what four gallons of blueberries looks like spread out on our table. I am going to freeze most of them for use throughout the year. They freeze beautifully and are very healthy for you.

Ever thought about how your parents or grandparents ate? Would they eat huge portions?  Diane

A cheat day gives a “dieter” the chance to eat anything they want to for a whole day or perhaps just one meal. You might save up your cheat calories and have a big restaurant meal or choose a special ice cream treat. Or maybe on that day you choose to just snack on foods you would not normally eat. However you might do it – is it a good idea?

Here are my thoughts:

♦In my mind, a cheat day might mean you are thinking of your eating plan as a temporary diet rather than a lifestyle change. If you are changing your relationship to food forever, then there is no reason to cheat, because you are just living life. Does that mean you can’t have the occasional brownie or piece of pie? No. If you choose to have those desserts once in a while, make it a choice that fits within your lifestyle.

♦If you are someone who struggles with controlling their sugar or processed food cravings, then a cheat day might set you up for failure. Oftentimes, if we crave those foods and then eat them to excess we might find ourselves on a “roll” and have a hard time stopping.

♦If you go all week eating a really clean, healthy diet but all you can think about is your cheat day coming up is that a healthy thing? Would it make you see that cheat day as a reward for good behaviour? It might, and when you do reach your goal you may still see food as a reward, which can hurt your maintenance efforts.

You can probably tell that I’m not a big fan of cheat days, but I’m very interested to hear what you all think.

Is there any benefit to having a cheat day while you are losing weight?  Diane

Here are the highlights of their recommendations. Of particular interest is section D, where they get down to the details of their recommendations.

♦The first two sections encourages us all to eat healthy foods, and offers guidance on how to achieve that goal.

♦The third section begins to address SoFAS. The cute government name for not so cute “foods.” Solid Fats and Added Sugars. The committee actually encourages people to AVOID sugar-sweetened beverages. Not just suggests they limit the amount they drink, but avoid them altogether. That should be interesting for soda manufacturers and lobbyists during the public comment time to come.

♦The report also addresses the reduction of  childhood obesity by trying to prevent the problem from happening in the first place.

I have to admit that I am encouraged by these recommendations. I am not a big government person, but having these guidelines can serve as a starting point and open up a dialogue concerning the sad state of Americans. When 66% of the adults in our country are medically overweight or obese that is a problem. Add to it the number of children who also struggle and there really is a crisis.

What are your initial thoughts? Do you see guidelines such as these making a difference in the lives of ordinary Americans any time soon?  Diane

My reasoning was that I was so big anyway, that there was no way I’d ever be able to lose 150 pounds, so I might as well enjoy all the food I desired. I did feel guilty sometimes after I ate “bad” foods all day long , but the guilt wasn’t enough to stop me from eating those foods. When I was writing this post, part of me wanted to say no food is “bad, because I do believe in moderation. But even within moderation, there are quite a few foods I do not eat.

I think it would be interesting to see if there are foods on your “no” list. Here’s a few things, with my reasons for not eating them, that I don’t eat anymore.

Movie theatre popcorn – Did you know there are between 1000 and 1200 calories, and 60 grams of saturated fat in a large tub of movie popcorn? Not to mention the sodium. I just can’t do it! (Source: WebMd)

Chicken Pot Pie I don’t make – Marie Callendar’s chicken pot pie has 1040 calories and 24 grams of fat. Other brands are similiar, and restaurant pies are too.

Most canned soups – The sodium counts on most of these makes these a no on my list.

Beef and pork – I know there is nothing inherently wrong with these. It all started when I got ecoli food poisoning and was in the hospital for four days. I had eaten a restaurant hamburger that wasn’t completely done. That crossed beef off my list, and pork soon followed.

Soft drinks – I stopped drinking these a long time ago. The calories are high (240 for 20 oz), and most of the diet drinks have artifical sweeteners, which I try to avoid.

My list has changed over the years, but these are the foods currently on my ”bad” list. 

Do you have anything that’s a “no” for you?  Diane

Can you still eat right, exercise and lose weight while you are on vacation or traveling? I give you a resounding YES. If your goal is to lose a bit of weight on a vacation you can. If your goal is to maintain on vacation you can. And if your goal is to kinda hope that you don’t gain any weight while you are gone, you probably will kinda gain some weight!

When we do go on our free family vacations my goal is to maintain my weight, which is usually my goal unless I am losing baby weight. But even while I was losing weight, my goal was to lose weight on vacation and I always did. For me, much of it was mental. In my previous obese life I treated vacations as vacations from everything. From laundry, from meal planning, from schooling and from even trying to eat healthy.

When I was on my own journey to lose weight, I shifted my thinking to only taking a vacation from day to day responsibilities, but NOT taking a vacation from eating right and exercising every day. That shift in thinking worked for me.

Of course, I planned very carefully what I took on vacation and let everyone know that I would be exercising every morning before we went anywhere for the day. But I also knew there would be unexpected occasions that would arise and I tried to be flexible with what came up. If I knew we were going to leave at 9:00 for an outing, I got up at 6:00 so I could exercise, shower and get the kids ready on time. If we were going out to eat, I ate light during the day, knowing that restaurant meals have more calories than I needed.

Flexibility,

Planning and

Firmness

were the three things that helped me lose weight on those past vacations and the words that help me maintain my weight while on vacation these days.

Here are some tips for you when you are going on vacation:

1. Plan, plan, plan – Write out a daily schedule of your anticipated activities and think about what food will be available and what food you can bring with you in a cooler or in your suitcase.

2. Bring your exercise clothes and shoes – I always bring my workout clothes, shoes and my Gym in a Bag when we travel. None of that takes up much room. I wear my tennis shoes if they are too bulky for the suitcase and everything else fits in just fine.

3. It’s okay to be selfish – That sounds bad I know. But it is okay to take 30 minutes out of your entire day to take a quick walk, do an exercise DVD or workout in the hotel gym. It’s okay.

4. Call ahead to restaurants – If you don’t have internet access on the road, call ahead and ask what kind of food they serve. Ask if meals can be altered for special dietary needs. Most restaurants are very accommodating.

What are your thoughts? Can you really lose or maintain on vacation? Ever tried it?  Diane

Some of you have been on this journey for a long time, and others for a shorter time. I think no matter where you are in your journey it is helpful to take a moment and revisit why you are doing all this hard work. And let’s be honest – losing weight is hard work. Good work–yes, but hard at times.

It can be easy to lose sight of why and get caught up in the weigh-ins, the food, the exercise, the highs, the lows. I know I did. I started out losing weight solely to get out of the 300’s and be able to wear clothes I bought in a store and didn’t sew on my machine. I wanted to fit into chairs, quit feeling too big for the room and quit being tired all the time.

Over time though, I sometimes lost sight of some of those reasons and just got discouraged with how long it was taking.

I wanted to ask you if it’s time for you to remember why you started working on your health and fitness. And to help you I’ve put together three questions, and I hope you will share to help others on their journey.

1. One reason I am working on my health and weight is: ______

2. One thing I’d like to do when I get to the weight I want to be is: ______

3. The biggest obstacle that is standing in the way of me reaching my goal is: _____ and I can overcome that obstacle by: _______

I found in my weight loss classes that writing down our goals, objectives and obstacles helps us stay focused and encourages us when we get discouraged.

I hope you will share your answers. So often, what we learn from other people are the very things that help make everything  “click” for us in our minds and in our hearts. There were many things I heard and read during the 10 years I struggled with obesity that motivated me, and even though I didn’t act on the motivation right away, I never forgot what they were. Somewhere in the back of my mind I remembered their success stories, and knew that someday that could be me. Diane

My friend’s husband came home from the grocery store recently, and as they were unloading the groceries she saw a package of cookies. “What are these?” she said. “They were free,” he replied, “A lady gave me a coupon and I used it.”

My friend and I were talking about this phenomena of free food. What is it about “free” that makes some of us accept or eat things we never would imagine eating. It happens to me all the time. I’m at a store, or at a social function and before I know it someone has handed me a sample of junk food, or sent me home with the rest of the dessert. 

Sometimes I get to the car and think, “Why am I holding this when I don’t want it?”  Why didn’t I just say NO one more time. Trust me – I tried but for whatever reason, they were so persistent that it got uncomfortable refusing.

John says that he is tempted by the free sample foods that our local Sam’s club puts out on Friday afternoon. He told me once that he almost feels badly refusing when those nice ladies hold out tempting treats. He sometimes comes home pretty full from sampling the goodies. I don’t have a problem refusing the free food at Sam’s because I am a bit of a germ-a-phobe and don’t like to eat food if I don’t know who made it! (I’m weird.)

Usually I can refuse all food that I don’t want, but sometimes I end up with unwanted food in my house. What do I do then? Honestly, if I don’t want it, don’t need it, and can’t give it away I toss it in the trash. I occasionally feel guilty, but I get over it!

How do you handle free food in stores or from other people?  Diane

I think it’s important to focus on foods you can buy every week at the grocery store, not restaurant meals.  No matter what weight loss program you are following, you were probably initially told to get rid of the “bad” food in your pantry, and replace it with healthy alternatives.  However, once you got to the grocery store you probably couldn’t believe that apples were $1.39 a pound and a little bag of baby carrots costs $1.99.  Those chicken breasts were $1.97 a pound!   You can’t afford that!  Or can you?  Look at this list:

• Cost of 11 ounces of  Potato Chips – $3.21
• 14.5 ounce Oreo cookie package – $2.75 (on sale!)
• 16 oz. Powdered Sugar Donuts – $2.19
• 12 oz. box Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal – $3.39
• 48 oz Canola oil (Kroger brand) – $3.99
• 12 pack can Coke – $3.33 (on sale)
• 1 package Nestle Toll House dough – $2.50 (on sale)
• 1 pound sirloin steak $4.99

Okay, now what’s expensive?  Prepackaged food that has very little nutritional value, or wholesome fruits and vegetables?  Expensive steaks, or chicken breast on sale?  Why is it that when I was overweight I thought nothing of spending $2 – 3 dollars on a bag of chips, but balked at spending the same amount of money on a bag of apples?  Why was it okay to buy the $2.50 one pound bag of M&M’s that I would eat in an afternoon, but refused to spend the same amount of money on fresh veggies?

For me, I didn’t value the fruits and vegetables as much as I did the junk.  The junk was fast, available and made me feel good when I ate it.  The fruit was fruit.  Salad was salad.  It had no pizzazz and I gained no emotional comfort from eating healthy food.  I wanted junk and junk I got.  As I gained more and more weight over the years, I ate less and less healthy foods.  I was careful with the kids diets – they ate good foods, but I didn’t.  I thought I couldn’t afford to buy enough apples and grapes for all of us, so I’d just eat cookies. :)

I used money to justify my bad choices, when in reality I was spending much more than I needed to buy purchasing foods that weren’t healthy.  Do you do the same thing and occasionally try to blame your food purchases on budget restraints? I’d encourage you to look closely at how much you are spending each week on food that doesn’t fill you up, and next time you are at the grocery story, do a little comparing of your own.  

What are your thoughts about the cost of healthy foods?   Diane