...and enough time away from the blog! I'm home again, and though I can't say none the worse for wear, back to my computer. My latest disappointment is Cracker Barrel. They provide no nutritional information. They do tell you the total carbs for some of their low carb selections...but it doesn't take a genius to know that if you eat eggs and bacon or chicken or steak and nothing else, you are likely to stay within your carb allotment. They do have a variety of "diet" foods that can be substituted. But you need to carry a calorie book with you to determine your total ingestion.
Don't these restaurants realize that providing this information will attract the people who want to know what they are eating? It's just not that hard to give people at least a ballpark idea of the calorie content of any dish. Don't forget to write to your representatives and ask for a law to mandate full nutritional disclosure! And go to Bob Evans for breakfast. They tell you what you're eating! M.E.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Friday, June 15, 2007
Betsy on the Road!
So you're taking a road trip? That's what I'm doing at the moment. I packed up my car and headed to the St. Louis area...a mere 9-10-hour drive. The nice thing about traveling is that you get to try new restaurants. On this trip I had the pleasure of eating at a Jimmy John's Gourmet Sub Shop. It seems this restaurant that started near Chicago is spreading across the country, and with good reason. The subs are really good! And joy of joys, they provide complete nutritional info on the web site.
Not only is the information provided for all the menu items, but you can readjust the calculator to add or subtract ingredients. So if you want that BLT sub without the standard mayo, you can find out the calorie to or subtract from the sandwich of your choice. How good is that? Pretty darn good in my book!
So Jimmy John's makes it to my list of restaurants that you should be patronizing! Bon Appetite! M.E.
Not only is the information provided for all the menu items, but you can readjust the calculator to add or subtract ingredients. So if you want that BLT sub without the standard mayo, you can find out the calorie to or subtract from the sandwich of your choice. How good is that? Pretty darn good in my book!
So Jimmy John's makes it to my list of restaurants that you should be patronizing! Bon Appetite! M.E.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Another Good Place to Eat!
To my delight, I have discovered yet another restaurant that provides full nutritional information...Bob Evans. If you visit the Bob Evans Restaurant website, you will find complete information for everything on the menu. All information is printable, so you can take a copy with you, or just determine your meal preferences ahead of time.
If you've been reading this blog, you know my thoughts on full nutritional disclosure. It's very simple really. We need to patronize restaurants that provide this service and boycott those that don't. It is obvious to me that the restaurant chains that don't provide this information are afraid that making it available to the public will stop people from using their restaurants. Quite the opposite is true. If they provide the information, I will patronize. My choices of food are all on my head at that point. But if I don't know the nutrition of what is offered, I refuse to eat there.
On another note, if you haven't invested in an exercise ball, now is the time. They don't cost much...anywhere from 9-20 bucks. Make sure you buy one according to your height. There are quite a few books around that show you how to use it for exercises. But you can also tone your core muscles just by sitting on it. Try using it as a replacement for your computer chair...the very action of staying upright and centered strengthens your core muscles, improves your balance and straightens your posture. It is a good investment. Let me know how you like it! M.E.
If you've been reading this blog, you know my thoughts on full nutritional disclosure. It's very simple really. We need to patronize restaurants that provide this service and boycott those that don't. It is obvious to me that the restaurant chains that don't provide this information are afraid that making it available to the public will stop people from using their restaurants. Quite the opposite is true. If they provide the information, I will patronize. My choices of food are all on my head at that point. But if I don't know the nutrition of what is offered, I refuse to eat there.
On another note, if you haven't invested in an exercise ball, now is the time. They don't cost much...anywhere from 9-20 bucks. Make sure you buy one according to your height. There are quite a few books around that show you how to use it for exercises. But you can also tone your core muscles just by sitting on it. Try using it as a replacement for your computer chair...the very action of staying upright and centered strengthens your core muscles, improves your balance and straightens your posture. It is a good investment. Let me know how you like it! M.E.
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Then again there is the rain and snow...
So what do you do when the death march puts you in danger of lightening strikes or frostbite? You rebound. What? Rebound. Go to your local sporting goods store and buy a sturdy mini trampoline. Mine is about 40 inches in diameter, but some are a little smaller. There is even a brand that folds for convenience. I just lean mine up against the wall when I'm not using it.
How do you use the rebounder? You walk at first. Get on the trampoline and walk. There is no need to bounce, and you can walk as fast or slow as you like. Don't be surprised if you find it feels completely different than walking on a solid surface. Your muscles get an even greater workout because each step goes farther down than the starting horizontal position. It is more like walking in sand. Eight minutes of medium speed rebounding burns the same amount of calories as two miles of walking on solid ground. And you might be surprised that after eight minutes on the rebounder you FEEL like you just walked two miles.
If you're worried that you're not steady enough to keep from falling while you're on the trampoline, there are brands that have a stability bar you can attach, and you can hold on while you are walking. As you become more comfortable with using the rebounder, you can begin to do more complex moves, such as bouncing and twisting. Music is great for rebounding, but it is also easy to watch TV while you're doing your rebounding. Don't be disappointed in yourself if you have to work your way up to eight minutes. But once you get used to eight minutes, you can increase it to 10 or 15. Twenty minutes of rebounding is the calorie-burning equivalent of a five-mile walk.
So what are you waiting for? M.E.
How do you use the rebounder? You walk at first. Get on the trampoline and walk. There is no need to bounce, and you can walk as fast or slow as you like. Don't be surprised if you find it feels completely different than walking on a solid surface. Your muscles get an even greater workout because each step goes farther down than the starting horizontal position. It is more like walking in sand. Eight minutes of medium speed rebounding burns the same amount of calories as two miles of walking on solid ground. And you might be surprised that after eight minutes on the rebounder you FEEL like you just walked two miles.
If you're worried that you're not steady enough to keep from falling while you're on the trampoline, there are brands that have a stability bar you can attach, and you can hold on while you are walking. As you become more comfortable with using the rebounder, you can begin to do more complex moves, such as bouncing and twisting. Music is great for rebounding, but it is also easy to watch TV while you're doing your rebounding. Don't be disappointed in yourself if you have to work your way up to eight minutes. But once you get used to eight minutes, you can increase it to 10 or 15. Twenty minutes of rebounding is the calorie-burning equivalent of a five-mile walk.
So what are you waiting for? M.E.
Monday, June 4, 2007
My Secret Weapon
You may not want to hear this, but exercise is essential to losing weight and keeping it off. I decided that the only way to burn off the calories was to get out and walk. I weighed too much for any other type of exercise. So I got up and got dressed early in the morning. I left home and only got about a quarter mile. I was tired, so I turned around and headed for home. I tried again the next day, but it started to rain and once again, I turned around and headed home.
It occurred to me that I was not mentally prepared to do what was required. I needed to be heading home the entire way, and I needed to have no option other than moving forward. So the next day, I got up and dressed and climbed into my husband's van. I asked him to drop me off on his way to work at a spot about 2 miles from home. He thought I had lost my mind. But really, I was just doing the logical thing. From an intellectual standpoint, I was headed home the whole way. I carried a cell phone for emergencies, but I had no choice but to walk home. There were no cabs or buses. I couldn't turn around if I was tired, or cut it short if it started to rain or if I got cold. I had no choice but to get home by my own locomotion.
I began to call it the death march. It represented death to my fat body. I did it every morning, rain or shine. And when my weight loss started to slow down, I started doing it every evening after dinner as well. I was walking 5 miles a day and losing weight consistently. I walked off over 70 pounds in about 6 months.
You too can do the death march. It is absolutely worth getting up a little early to lose that stubborn weight! M.E.
It occurred to me that I was not mentally prepared to do what was required. I needed to be heading home the entire way, and I needed to have no option other than moving forward. So the next day, I got up and dressed and climbed into my husband's van. I asked him to drop me off on his way to work at a spot about 2 miles from home. He thought I had lost my mind. But really, I was just doing the logical thing. From an intellectual standpoint, I was headed home the whole way. I carried a cell phone for emergencies, but I had no choice but to walk home. There were no cabs or buses. I couldn't turn around if I was tired, or cut it short if it started to rain or if I got cold. I had no choice but to get home by my own locomotion.
I began to call it the death march. It represented death to my fat body. I did it every morning, rain or shine. And when my weight loss started to slow down, I started doing it every evening after dinner as well. I was walking 5 miles a day and losing weight consistently. I walked off over 70 pounds in about 6 months.
You too can do the death march. It is absolutely worth getting up a little early to lose that stubborn weight! M.E.
Saturday, June 2, 2007
It is sad but true...
Repetitive dieting trains your body to gain weight more quickly, to be more efficient at absorbing calories from what you eat, to increase your fat stores and to hold on to the fat you already have stored. All this time, you thought you were doing yourself a favor by dieting when what you were really doing was teaching your body to gain weight faster and better than ever before and to resist each new effort to lose weight. It took me far too many years to realize what I was doing to myself.
I’m not saying you shouldn’t watch what you’re eating. I’m saying you should make intelligent choices designed to promote your health and well being. If you consistently eat intelligently, rather than emotionally, you can live with it over the long term. You won’t be dieting, and that will go a long way toward defeating your weight problems.
I’ve tried almost every diet plan on the planet. In every case, attempting to remain on any of those plans for the long haul was an unattainable goal. Yes, I lost weight, but when I was no longer able to stick with those programs, I regained the lost weight PLUS additional pounds.
In essence, I dieted my way UP the scale.
It took a long time to learn that successful weight loss and long-term maintenance only come from a combination of healthy eating and increased movement. I regularly eat 1200-1500 calories per day. But, if I don’t move, if I don’t get out there and do some deliberate calorie burning, I just don’t lose weight. Years of repetitive extreme dieting have ruined my metabolism. My metabolic rate is so slow that I gain weight on 1500 calories if I’m not extremely careful. I can occasionally take in more calories if I am burning off a lot of calories through aerobic exercise and strength training. In my next post, I’ll tell you what combination worked for me…to the tune of 270 pounds lost! M.E.
I’m not saying you shouldn’t watch what you’re eating. I’m saying you should make intelligent choices designed to promote your health and well being. If you consistently eat intelligently, rather than emotionally, you can live with it over the long term. You won’t be dieting, and that will go a long way toward defeating your weight problems.
I’ve tried almost every diet plan on the planet. In every case, attempting to remain on any of those plans for the long haul was an unattainable goal. Yes, I lost weight, but when I was no longer able to stick with those programs, I regained the lost weight PLUS additional pounds.
In essence, I dieted my way UP the scale.
It took a long time to learn that successful weight loss and long-term maintenance only come from a combination of healthy eating and increased movement. I regularly eat 1200-1500 calories per day. But, if I don’t move, if I don’t get out there and do some deliberate calorie burning, I just don’t lose weight. Years of repetitive extreme dieting have ruined my metabolism. My metabolic rate is so slow that I gain weight on 1500 calories if I’m not extremely careful. I can occasionally take in more calories if I am burning off a lot of calories through aerobic exercise and strength training. In my next post, I’ll tell you what combination worked for me…to the tune of 270 pounds lost! M.E.
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