Home Again!

We are home again after having a great time in Kansas City with my sister Priscilla and her husband Phil. It was wonderful to see their new home, get a private tour of the Nelson Art Museum where Priscilla is a docent, go to a concert at the newly opened Kaufman Concert Hall, and eat the most delicious food at a variety of great little restaurants. We even got to eat free at a Seasons 52 restaurant where the employees were in the process of being trained.

No, I haven't weighed myself and won't for a couple of day to let things simmer down. And yes, I did try to order wisely (it's pretty automatic now). But every bite was worth it, and I'm learning how to deal with all of the ups and downs involved in travel. So thanks again Prill and Phil for a great time. We'll be back!

181.2 Carbs and Fat - Yikes!

My brother in law Phil sent me this article from Men's Health magazine. (http://www.menshealth.com/travel-center/diet-strategies-travel-and-weight-loss?cm_mmc=Twitter-_-MensHealth-_-Content-BestLife-_-TravelingMansEatingPlan.) I am reprinting a portion of it, because it really makes sense about the carbs in our diets and how they work against us as we try to control our weight.


"Rules of the Road

Any man who travels regularly needs a flexible, no-thought eating strategy. So we asked Jeff Volek, Ph.D., R.D., a nutrition researcher at the University of Connecticut, to create an effective diet that allows for indulgence without the need for calorie counting. His solution: a low-carb diet with benefits.

A quick explanation: Every time you eat high-carb foods—bread, pasta, rice, any product made with sugar or flour—the level of insulin in your blood rises. Insulin is a powerful hormone that signals your body to stop burning and start storing fat. How powerful? Volek and his colleagues asked 20 men to follow a strict low-carb diet for 6 weeks. But instead of telling them to downsize their portions, the scientists encouraged the study participants to eat all they wanted. When the results were tallied, the men had still dropped an average of 7 pounds of fat and had significantly lowered their risk of heart disease. "We calculated that 70 percent of the variability in fat loss was explained by the reduction in insulin levels," says Volek. "That's a powerful effect."

Now think about that in reverse. If you're constantly downing carbs, as most Americans do, you'll be in fat-storing mode all day long. And you don't need a study to tell you what that's done to our collective waistline.

So Volek counseled Baier to adopt low-carb eating as his default diet and to make high-carb meals an exception. Try it yourself and you'll limit your number of daily insulin spikes, keeping your body in fat-burning mode most of the time. After all, when it comes to your gut, "most of the time" is what matters."

This explanation of carbs in relation to storing fat will really make me think twice before eating carbs. I'm still hung up on wanting to eat a lot of fruit, but I guess I will have to become very aware of how many carbs a given serving of fruit has and plan well.

176.4. It's Up To Me

The travel weight is coming off, thank goodness, but I have a lot of traveling/being away from home plans this summer. I need to really focus now on how I am going to manage this maintenance lifestyle while I'm away.

Most of my time away will be with family and they are all very supportive of what I'm doing. I'm the problem! Rather than have anyone cook, I'm too quick to suggest that we eat out, and I need to reign that response in. They are all good cooks! I can cook, Jeff can cook, our kids can cook, their partners can cook. Even four year old Julien (in the picture) thinks he can cook.

What is quite amazing to me is how quickly this weight is coming off in spite of the fact that the exercise piece is fleeting during this period of time. (That will be featured in another post once I come up with a good excuse :) ). And what that shows me is the damage that salt and wine can do.

I really am looking forward to these trips to visit our son's family, to visit our daughters, their guys, and pets, and to welcome our granddaughter due sometime in late June! Oh, and to go to the wedding of the daughter of very dear friends! It's all up to me to stay smart and in control of what I eat and drink. If I can lose 80 pounds, I can do this!

174.6 Getting Ready to Get Away

We are getting ready to get away again. This time we are staying fairly close to home rather than heading to Boston or Memphis where are kids are. We are driving up to the Four Corners area where the states of Arizona, Utah, New Mexico and Colorado come together. There are some very interesting Indian ruins to visit including Canyon de Chelly (pronounced Canyon de Shay). We've wanted to do this ever since we moved here about six and a half years ago and are really looking forward to it. I'll be checking out the Indian jewelry, as well as the artifacts in the area. And, we'll be spending some time in Sedona on our way home which is always wonderful.

It feels like we are heading into vacation time with this trip and trips to Arkansas and Boston already planned. I love to go, but I have to keep my wits about me when we travel because of so many food options. Just yesterday Jeff reminded me that we needed to buy a lot of apples so we could take them with us. From experience I've learned, and I guess he has also, that being prepared with good healthy food keeps us both out of the trap of eating too much "impulse" food. I just made that up but it does describe that trip through CVS or a fast food place to help get rid of the hunger pains with unhealthy quick fixes.

This morning on the radio I heard that new research shows that cutting calories is the best way to reduce arthritis pain. Why didn't they just ask me instead of spending $$$$$ on research? I still get a little stiff when I sit too long, but I am in a pain free zone now compared to when I was lugging all of that extra weight around.

184.4 Grand Honey Hits Six Flags!

We're back from Six Flags in St. Louis and the boys loved it, and of course, we had a great time watching them have so much fun. A lot of the time was spent at the water park there because it was REALLY hot, and REALLY humid which we are no longer used to.

Since I am not big on roller coaster type rides and spinning around for dear life, I did a lot of people watching, which was a lot safer and very interesting. I did gain a pound, but with the food choices available, I did okay. I was on a search for fruit in the park and that was not on any menu, and you couldn't take food in.

I think a little of the let down has set in after so much activity and fun with Ted and Lynsey and the boys. Now to get back into the world of healthy eating and exercise! We did have a great time!

What was so cute and fun was that Julien, the 4 year old, started calling me Grand Helper (instead of Grandma) and then he changed that into Grand Honey! So Grand Honey will get back on track and go for her goal!

197.0 Eating Out Just Got Easier

For those of you who read this blog frequently, you have heard me complain about the challenge of eating out. With all of our recent travels, I have been doing a lot of eating out. And, I have finally found ways to enjoy it and not let it set me back too much. The secret isn't a secret at all. It's just good common sense that took me a while to accept and put to use. The basics of staying very aware of each bite, and eating only half of whatever I order are firmly in place for me. But I am also getting smarter about searching for healthy choices on menus that are not designed with the careful eater in mind! A couple of days ago, Jeff and I went to the movie Avatar and then went looking for a place to eat dinner. We ended up at CPK (California Pizza Kitchen as I still call it) and I felt safe with that choice because I knew that they serve wonderful salads there. What I learned is that they also have a delicious salmon option that comes with grilled vegetables. I asked for the ginger sauce on the side and had double veges because I didn't want the noodles that usually come with it. It was perfect.

Why was this so hard for me to incorporate easily into my life? Why did it take me so long to get the hang of it? It was difficult because I fought tooth and nail against not ordering the special items that the restaurant is known for. For example, to not order pizza at CPK was a really big hurdle for me to get over. To not order crab rangoon at a Chinese restaurant is another example of just having to get over it. And what is truly amazing is that I no longer miss those things.

So if you are going to eat out, check out the menu on line if you know ahead of time, and look for the option that is going to make you feel happy rather than guilty. And while you are eating, enjoy every bite by staying aware and eating slowly. And don't be afraid to have a bite of something that has been ordered by someone at your table if it is something you really like, and enjoy that bite. Soon, you'll find that bite is just the right amount. One more thing...if you are uncomfortable about asking for a container to put half in at the beginning of your meal, take your own container, put half in it and enjoy the rest. Out of sight, out of mind is really powerful in this situation.