The other night, my family and I had a hankering for frozen yogurt. We decided to try the newer local self-serve place, as opposed to our usual spot where you order a specific size, flavors and toppings and they make it up for you. The experience really opened up my eyes to how self-serve food establishments can either make or break an eating plan.
For starters, there are the cups. At our usual place, we can order a mini-size cup (about 4 oz., I think), or a small, medium or large. But at the self-serve, the cup choices are large or huge. There's a sign posted that reads "39 cents per ounce" in big letters, but how many ounces fit into one of those large cups? How am I supposed to approximate my "mini" cup in a gargantuan one? Since I can serve myself as much as I want in as many flavors as I want, it's very difficult to gauge.
Next, of course, comes the frozen yogurt itself. Both places offer low-fat and non-fat in several yummy flavors. They all sound good. But in my full-service place, I would never order all those flavors for risk of sounding piggish (plus it would get mighty expensive). However, at the self-serve, I can put a little of this and a little of that in my trough-like cup without anyone else knowing exactly what's in there. Very private--but the calories can add up quickly.
Finally, there are the toppings. Again, at the full-serve I need to TELL them what I want on top of the yogurt. And I'm certainly not going to ask for peanut-butter chips, almonds, chocolate-covered raisins, fudge grahams and chocolate sauce--yet I wouldn't hesitate to put a bit of each of these on my self-serve cup.
So what do I have in the end? At the full-service spot, I have a yummy snack or dessert with a reasonable calorie count. But at the self-serve, who knows?
Now, of course, I could do my research and find out exactly how much yogurt I need in my cup and exactly how much of which toppings should go on it without breaking my calorie budget. But do I really want to work that hard for my dessert? I don't think so.
Just some food for thought as you face life's temptations.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Which Message Do You Hear?
Flipping through the radio stations this morning, I was both amused and concerned by the conflicting messages that were coming through: an ad for a weight-loss supplement on one station; one for "all-you-can-eat pancakes" at a popular restaurant chain on another; a promotion for a national gym membership on a third. Is this what we need to sort through in order to figure out our course of action regarding our weight? No wonder there are so many overweight people in this country and so much yo-yo dieting going on!
A friend and I recently had a conversation about the new California law requiring restaurant chains to provide on their menus calorie and other nutritional information about the food they serve. We discussed how defeating it feels to find out that the healthy salad you thought you were eating at your local fave restaurant contains 3/4 of a day's worth of fat and calories. Now what? Is this a good thing? What message are we supposed to take away from this? And how will this law change the food restaurants offer?
It can be very difficult to listen to the small, constant voice in your head that tells you what is right. You know that a salad served on a plate the size of an old 78 album, piled high with bleu cheese crumbles, candied pecans and bacon bits and slathered with dressing is going to deliver far more calories and fat than you need in any meal. So use your common sense: if it's way bigger than what you'd serve yourself at home, eat only half (or less) and take the rest home for another meal or another day. More isn't necessarily better. You probably didn't need the nutrition information on the menu to tell you that, but it's a good reminder.
The key is to ignore all the messages except the health-affirming ones you tell yourself or get from other sources. Don't be influenced by the all-you-can-eat ads (obviously) that will only leave you with regrets if you let them win. Use restaurant menu nutrition guides as simply that: guides. That doesn't mean any food is off-limits; you just may want to eat less of it or order it less often. And that gym membership ad? Only join if you believe you'll use it. Otherwise, save your money and go for a brisk walk. Listen to your own messages of health and well-being and you'll be doing a lot less yo-yoing this year.
A friend and I recently had a conversation about the new California law requiring restaurant chains to provide on their menus calorie and other nutritional information about the food they serve. We discussed how defeating it feels to find out that the healthy salad you thought you were eating at your local fave restaurant contains 3/4 of a day's worth of fat and calories. Now what? Is this a good thing? What message are we supposed to take away from this? And how will this law change the food restaurants offer?
It can be very difficult to listen to the small, constant voice in your head that tells you what is right. You know that a salad served on a plate the size of an old 78 album, piled high with bleu cheese crumbles, candied pecans and bacon bits and slathered with dressing is going to deliver far more calories and fat than you need in any meal. So use your common sense: if it's way bigger than what you'd serve yourself at home, eat only half (or less) and take the rest home for another meal or another day. More isn't necessarily better. You probably didn't need the nutrition information on the menu to tell you that, but it's a good reminder.
The key is to ignore all the messages except the health-affirming ones you tell yourself or get from other sources. Don't be influenced by the all-you-can-eat ads (obviously) that will only leave you with regrets if you let them win. Use restaurant menu nutrition guides as simply that: guides. That doesn't mean any food is off-limits; you just may want to eat less of it or order it less often. And that gym membership ad? Only join if you believe you'll use it. Otherwise, save your money and go for a brisk walk. Listen to your own messages of health and well-being and you'll be doing a lot less yo-yoing this year.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
"That" Time of Year
Every January, we get bombarded with talk and ads about New Year's resolutions, and quite a few of them have to do with losing weight. After the debauchery of the holidays, it seems, so many of us feel guilty about starting off the year with extra pounds that we resolve to "go on a diet" and exercise, whatever it takes to drop those pounds. I remember going through those phases myself--although they would usually hit when I was going bathing suit shopping or looking at a photo of myself and not liking at all what I was seeing.
But I realized this month that I don't go through that anxiety anymore. I no longer worry if I'm going to need to go up a size when clothes shopping, and I don't make those guilty resolutions about weight loss, in January or at any other time. It feels great that I set that goal one August or September a few years ago, reached the goal and have kept the weight off for nearly three years now. It feels wonderful NOT to have to keep making that resolution again and again, not to keep feeling guilty over and over, not to have that sense of failure as an ongoing experience.
So what makes me different from the resolution-makers out there? After all, I have no more willpower than the average person. I love food, and I haven't stopped enjoying the foods I love within the boundaries of my eating plan. I sometimes have to push myself out the door to go for a run or to do a class at the gym like everybody else does. But I no longer believe in diets (for myself, anyway), and I see clearly that the only way I can maintain my weight loss and remain healthy is to make exercise and healthy eating an ingrained part of who I am. It's not just something I "go on" for awhile until the weight comes off and then go back to poor habits. It truly is a way of life.
How does one make that leap? A lifetime of weight-loss failure, for one. Finding a system that works, for two. And being as committed to it as you are to anything you hold dear in your life, for three. And whether you do it through Weight Watchers (a great program, by the way), Jenny Craig, NutriSystem, The South Beach Diet, Atkins or whatever other new plan comes down the pike, the trick to remaining successful is to stick fast to your commitment. That doesn't mean never making a mistake or never eating another brownie again. But it does mean making your weight enough of a priority to blow the whistle on yourself when you've overindulged; to take the bull by the horns and not let it get out of control.
Also key is recognizing when you've done a great job. Everyone notices when you lose 30 lbs., but it's a lot harder to keep those 30 lbs. off for a year or longer. Will you stay committed enough to maintain your loss? Will you pat yourself on the back--even reward yourself (a non-food reward, please!)--for this quiet but significant accomplishment? Going the distance has a lot more to do with your actions on some random Tuesday in April than your resolutions on January 1. Stick with it and be healthy and proud!
But I realized this month that I don't go through that anxiety anymore. I no longer worry if I'm going to need to go up a size when clothes shopping, and I don't make those guilty resolutions about weight loss, in January or at any other time. It feels great that I set that goal one August or September a few years ago, reached the goal and have kept the weight off for nearly three years now. It feels wonderful NOT to have to keep making that resolution again and again, not to keep feeling guilty over and over, not to have that sense of failure as an ongoing experience.
So what makes me different from the resolution-makers out there? After all, I have no more willpower than the average person. I love food, and I haven't stopped enjoying the foods I love within the boundaries of my eating plan. I sometimes have to push myself out the door to go for a run or to do a class at the gym like everybody else does. But I no longer believe in diets (for myself, anyway), and I see clearly that the only way I can maintain my weight loss and remain healthy is to make exercise and healthy eating an ingrained part of who I am. It's not just something I "go on" for awhile until the weight comes off and then go back to poor habits. It truly is a way of life.
How does one make that leap? A lifetime of weight-loss failure, for one. Finding a system that works, for two. And being as committed to it as you are to anything you hold dear in your life, for three. And whether you do it through Weight Watchers (a great program, by the way), Jenny Craig, NutriSystem, The South Beach Diet, Atkins or whatever other new plan comes down the pike, the trick to remaining successful is to stick fast to your commitment. That doesn't mean never making a mistake or never eating another brownie again. But it does mean making your weight enough of a priority to blow the whistle on yourself when you've overindulged; to take the bull by the horns and not let it get out of control.
Also key is recognizing when you've done a great job. Everyone notices when you lose 30 lbs., but it's a lot harder to keep those 30 lbs. off for a year or longer. Will you stay committed enough to maintain your loss? Will you pat yourself on the back--even reward yourself (a non-food reward, please!)--for this quiet but significant accomplishment? Going the distance has a lot more to do with your actions on some random Tuesday in April than your resolutions on January 1. Stick with it and be healthy and proud!
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