The skinny on weight and the environment

Over at the Environmental Blog, there's an interesting look at weight loss and its affect on the environment. Simply put, consuming less leads to lower food-related production, which results in less energy used and lower emissions. And if that's not enough, visit the link for a picture of Michelangelo's David that's sure to make you chuckle.

link: Weight, Health, & the Planet

Change of Mindset Yields Change of Pants Size

A funny thing happen on the way to the scale -- I lost about 45 pounds.

It's funny, because I didn't really diet, per se. I didn't head off to the gym each night, and I didn't take the latest and greatest pills. I didn't starve myself and I didn't join weight watchers. I just lost weight.

Around the middle of the summer, I hit the scales at the heaviest I'd ever weighed. I was in a rut at my job, and had little energy to make a change in my life. Luckily, change found me. Maybe I got caught up in politics, but lets just say I was overwhelmed by this phrase I kept hearing, "yes we can!". So I did. Weight loss has tapered recently, but it hasn't gone back up yet, so I'm happy to be in a healthier place and state of mind.

If you're reading this for weight loss tips, here are the things I found helped me to lose weight, but with this disclaimer: Without the change of mindset to want a better life for myself, any attempts at change would probably have been given up on after a week.

1. I started walking more. I mentioned this in an earlier post, but I think it was a critical early effort to raise metabolism. Get off at one subway stop further from your house or job, if it's a possibility. Or just walk anywhere. Walk to the movies, to the park, to the next post office, to the further Starbucks. We all have to walk to get where we're going; my advice is to just walk more.
   
2. We started cooking almost every meal. JC is home with the Pumpkin, and has taken on the duty of head chef. Cooking at home has done three things:
   
   
   
   • We eat healthier. Fewer oils, fewer preservatives, fewer ingredients that sound like they were made in a laboratory.
   • We eat less. Take-out portions are huge, but if, like me, you eat with guppy mentality, "everything is servings per container: 1"
   • We don't have to buy lunches. Lunches are packed when dinner is dished out. This means smaller portions than take out, with the added benefit of massive savings, the amount of which I can't imagine.


3. I rarely drink alcohol anymore. This was mostly a financial decision, but the calories avoided from my nightly beer(s) surely add up. I'll still enjoy a drink with friends, but we almost never drink at home we're really jonesing for it.
4. We eat more fruits and vegetables. I stop in my fruit stand in Elmhurst about twice a week and pick up what's cheap and looks good. I've gotten pineapples for $1, 3 red peppers for $1, and so on. Filling my belly with fruits and vegetables means filling it with less processed ingredients or "bad for you" food.

The recession is hitting everyone hard, but we found ourselves ahead of the curve when we decided for JC to stay home and raise Pumpkin. Who knew we'd be preparing for the storm? We've given up a lot, as I imagine everyone is doing now, but I have to say I really don't miss any of it. Every so often I yearn for a pricey tech gadget, but for the most part I really just stopped "needing" all the things I don't have anymore... including those 45 pounds!

If this is lunch, is there room for dinner?

You may have seen an ad like the one pictured here. There are 5 ads running on 1000 subway cars right now, and they make you stop and think. Of course, I say this as I gobble down some of JC's homemade apple cake... FOCUS, COLUMBIA!
View all 5 calorie education ads.

I've been watching my portion size increase ever so slightly recently, and am having trouble finding time and desire to walk for exercise. I'll hope the mental image of these ads watches over my craving like a guardian angel... like a guardian angel food cake.... ohhh, fluffy goodness -- what? Right... the ads.

The bottom left of the ads say "read 'em before you eat 'em," which refers to the new rules on calorie-posting. From the October 6th press release:

Under the New York City Health Code, chain restaurants are now required to post calorie counts for food items on menus and menu boards. The rule took effect this summer.
[...]
One poster shows an apple raisin muffin that looks harmless but carries a stout 470 calories – nearly a quarter of an adult’s daily allowance. “If you’re eating it as a snack,” said Cathy Nonas, director of the Health Department’s Physical Activity and Nutrition program, “you may want to split it with a friend.”

You've probably seen calorie counts showing up where you least want expect them. I've seen them in Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts, and I guess they'll be showing up everywhere. I did avoid some sweet temptation at Starbucks noticing it was among the worst calorie offenders and went with something slightly less sinful. I don't think that 2,000 (calories) was a number I could make sense of, so this was helpful information for me. Hope it helps anyone else fighting the war at home.

Hmm... no more apple cake left?
*sigh*

Find out more about this program and other NYC health iniatives at the nyc.gov/health site.

Small steps to a smaller you

I saw this ad on Amsterdam and 67th last week and thought I'd take a shot of it. I had only seen it once (June, LES) and thought it was very clever and memorable. The text along his "profiles" reads (from outermost to innermost):

- - - Started getting off bus a few stops early and walking to work - - -
- - - Gradually worked up to walking 30 minutes a day 5X a week - - -
- - - Has co-workers wondering who the new guy is - - -

I seemed to match JC pound-for-pound during her pregnancy weight gain. When March rolled around, she suddenly lost a lot of that weight, and I still looked to be with child. I ballooned up the heaviest I'd ever been and thought -- enough is enough. Time to do something.

The change for me really took:

1. A desire to be more healthy
   It takes a lot of honesty to understand why your dress shirts don't fit so well anymore. I knew I was balooning up, and my life needed change. I started to internalize that change is possible, and that I have the ability (responsibility?) to make it happen.
   
   
2. Cooking at home more often
   It helps to know what's in our food. I think the last time we ordered chinese, there was more oil in the bottom of the tray than I could comprehend. I have to believe that even with the olive oil that we use, there's no way it's near the amounts of fat, butter, oil and god knows what that take-out restaurants use to make the food taste "better".
   
   
3. Eating smaller portions
   This is certainly related to cooking at home, as restaurant portions are usually closer to two meals. I realized recently that I would have made a fine guppy, had that been my lot in life. Eating until it's all gone is a talent of mine. By cooking at home, I'm better about putting smaller portions in front of me, then packing the rest as lunch. This gets the rest of the food out-of-sight, and thus, out-of-mind. There's a great psychological difference in snacking from the food that's resting on the stove versus savagely violating tomorrow's lunch container early.
   
   
4. Snacking less
   This was a hard one for us, and being frugal was the best solution. Post dinner runs to Duane Reade for those decadent Entermann's dark chocolate and pecan Cookies... what was I talking about? Be right back -- NO! Focus! ...right, cookies... Well, it's easier to pass on them when you see it as an unneccesary expense. It took a little while to kill that habit, but we're pretty good now about avoiding snacks. We do have fiber one bars if the crave strikes, which are a much healthier alternative to a package of cookies. I mean a few cookies. Did I say a package?
   
   
5. Looking for opportunities to walk
   This was a little easier for me to incorporate. Two days a week I work 20 blocks away from home, so I've walked home a few times, and I'd like to increase the regularity of that. We'd find ourselves going to the library 12 blocks away, or the supermarket 10 blocks away as having multiple benefits. My fear is that with Winter around the corner, this part of the plan could be seriously impacted. Here's hoping for a dry winter.
   

We've lost a considerable amount of weight in the past month or two, without so much as a gym visit. I know it could bounce back, but I have confidence that the changes we've made are healthy choices, not the results of extreme measures. I also have a guilty meal now and again to remind my body that I'm not in starvation mode. I haven't been overly cranky or tired, and I feel better. Plus, now I'm able to wear clothes on the "too-small" side of my closet. You know, the ones that were too small when I bought them, because I was going to lose weight very soon? Also known as "last year's pants".