Comments on: Retrain Yourself on Food Portion Sizes - Part 2

By: Metroknow

Metroknow — Sun, 11 May 2008 04:57:50 +0000

I must say they really are excellent. It has made a big difference for us - they cook much more evenly in our experience, and maintain their temperature better.

On the results fast idea, I totally agree. I have done that too many times, only to wind up much worse off than I was when I started!

By: Cynthia

Cynthia — Sat, 10 May 2008 16:44:27 +0000

I may have to give in and buy a Le Cruset piece some time. I keep hearing good things about them, but I’m not sure if they really fit my slap dash style of cooking. I married later in life than the norm, that might be why I went with practical, instead of fancy china, LOL! Mostly, I promised my husband-to-be that whatever pattern I picked would contain “man bowls”, LOL! And it does, but it also has the nice smaller bowls that I love!

I also hear you on the starving to get results fast… but don’t do it. I did that years ago, my first try at serious dieting and it was more of a struggle to lose, not less. Losing slower, especially without much exercise, makes it more likely your losses are fat, than muscle mass.

By: Metroknow

Metroknow — Sat, 10 May 2008 03:39:21 +0000

@Cynthia: It’s funny when it comes to sets of dishes - if you marry young, often times this is a gift that is given and I know quite a few folks (myself included) who really didn’t “get it” at the time. I didn’t understand the value of long-lasting, high quality items like stoneware. Now, on the other hand, I seek out the highest quality (though not the most expensive) that I can afford, particularly with cookware. I have a few more “disposable” items like a less expensive set of nonstick pans, but I am a Le Cruset junkie, particularly when they are selling factory seconds at Ross or Tuesday Morning…;) And I love that idea of calorically dense foods not going on the large plate - great rule of thumb.

@Julie: It does seem to generally work for me, but it has been a long time in coming in the sense that it has been a huge uphill battle to get out of the instant gratification mindset - starving yourself yesterday to see results today. It is my biggest mental challenge actually, because I am inclined to really “go for it” and get my calories down to a crazy minimum just to please the scale “god”. But this method seems to work; as long as I keep my head in check, I’m fine.

By: Cynthia

Cynthia — Fri, 09 May 2008 22:48:28 +0000

Julie, I’m an every day weigh person… but I don’t put a lot of stock in the number I see. Yet, I used to get upset by it. Now, though, it’s just a data point! Anyone looking at my weigh page on my blog can easily see that I have major swings up and down. And I keep it public, because those kinds of swings are perfectly normal water weight swings and I want people to see that it IS normal! No one should be worrying over water weight.

It’s week to week and more importantly, the month to month trends that count. Same thing for body fat readings.

By: Julie

Julie — Fri, 09 May 2008 16:37:09 +0000

I really love your tactic of weighing yourself every day, but monitoring your weight loss progress by the month. I too often fall into the trap of letting the number on the scale in the morning affect my whole day.

Thanks!

By: Cynthia

Cynthia — Wed, 07 May 2008 00:31:05 +0000

Three cheers for whole foods! I’m in total agreement!

One thing I’ve been grateful for is the stoneware pattern I chose when I got married. The plates are pretty standard, i.e. large… but that’s OK, I don’t mind seeing some “white space”, whether it’s on my plate, or emphasizing the printed/typed word, LOL! But what I love, is that I’ve got salad plates, tea plates, big bowls for soups, smaller bowls for desserts, ramekins for little servings of intense goodies or dips, etc… I just choose the size that fits! Calorie dense foods don’t go on the larger dishes.

I don’t measure veggies either. As far as I am concerned, the more the better! And if I fill my plate with salad… no biggie! Too many folks don’t get enough veggies… me, I’d rather eat than take a bunch of pills to get my vitamins! I do measure protein, but that’s more to be sure I’m getting enough to support my body through the exercise I do.

By: Metroknow

Metroknow — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 19:15:21 +0000

@Joshua: Thanks for the comment - and yep, you are not the first person to express a distaste for whole milk. In fact I did for many years as well (raised on 2% then a skim convert in my late teens and twenties). I purposely made the choice to “develop” a taste for it, and for me it worked, but I have friends who simply don’t care for it. And I’m good with that. I think we all have to make choices that fit our current circumstances, and if your taste (or health) doesn’t dictate a change, then you should stick with what works for you.

I think in the long run we all choose the path we want to take - and thank goodness we have that choice. I know for me my feeling is as long as the dietary balance ultimately falls in favor of whole foods and such, I will be better off.

By: Joshua

Joshua — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 17:10:38 +0000

I agree that real whole foods are better in the long run, but there is just no way I could handle whole milk. I wouldn’t need any of it, because it is so gross. I really like milk to, so giving it up just isn’t an option for me. I also use parkay butter spray, because I rarely use butter and I extremely rarely eat ice cream. But I have said for a long time that the change from eating whole foods with out loads of industrial preservatives and dyes is a major factor in all the health problems we face today. Not just diabetes, stroke, but also things like autism, down syndrome, depression, etc. Alot of the things we are born with now are probably increased by years of chemical damage to the genes we pass on. If God doesn’t bring this world to an end, we would kill ourselves anyway.

By: Andrew is getting fit

Andrew is getting fit — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 09:00:38 +0000

I think most people who want to get healthier end up going this way. NZ is really nice. I’ve lived here 15 years now and have made it my home.

By: Metroknow

Metroknow — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 21:42:18 +0000

Yeah, it certainly seems that way to me as well. I must confess I just spent the last 1/2 hr (so far) clicking through the links you have listed on your blog, to find other blogs that are similar because I think we’re heading in the same direction. Not sure if I mentioned it before, but when we went to NZ a few years ago it was with the purpose of evaluating whether we could immigrate. . .In the end, it was too far away from family, but we loved it.

And I may have had a curly fry or two as well.