When Light Means Fat.

During a recent trip to Washington state, I picked up some cans of Starbucks™ iced coffees: Iced Coffee Italian Roast and DoubleShot® Light. I was surprised to find that the one labelled "light" was the higher fat choice.

Here's the calorie breakdown:

Iced Coffee, Italian Roast

serving size: 325 ml (11 fl oz)
total calories: 100
total fat: 1 g
calories from fat: 10 (10%)
calories per ml: 0.31

Double Shot®, Light

serving size: 192 ml (6.5 fl oz)
total calories: 70
total fat: 4 g
calories from fat: 35 (50%)
calories per ml: 0.36

Compare to

Double Shot®, Regular

serving size: 192 ml (6.5 fl oz)
total calories: 140
total fat: 6 g
calories from fat: 54 (39%)
calories per ml: 0.73

Home made iced coffee (4 fl oz brewed coffee plus 4 fl oz whole milk)

serving size 340 ml (8 fl oz)
total calories: 120
total fat: 4 g
calories from fat: 35 (29%)
calories per ml: 0.35

Maybe I should just stick to black coffee. Hmm.

Bad food idea.

MLB - We're lovin' it: Minor league team creates donut burger [from ESPN.com]

OK... whoever dreamed up this idea should be slapped:

The ballpark sandwich will include a hamburger topped with sharp cheddar cheese and two slices of bacon -- all between a "bun" of Krispy Kreme Original Glazed donuts.

At about 1,000 calories and 45 grams of fat, this is almost the full day's intake for some people. What the heck were they thinking???

It also reminds me of the Twinkie Weiner Sandwiches (split Twinkie, insert cooked hot dog, add squeeze cheeze, attempt to eat), made infamous by Weird Al Yankovic through the now cult-classic movie UHF. Blech.

Sorry, let me shove something down your throat.

There's something a bit troubling about an ad series which is currently in heavy rotation. The product is an instant blender drink -- the tagline is "Ready. Just in time."

To emphasize how fast they are, the ads show a mother or wife coming to the rescue of a physically or emotionally hurt husband or child. In each case the woman says nothing -- offers no word of comfort, no physical bond -- but instead rushes to the kitchen, opens the freezer and pulls out the product. She deftly chucks it in the blender, whirrs, and presents it to the hurt individual, as the announcer says "Just in time."

What really irks me is how the ads play to the "food equals comfort" cliché.

Unfortunately, this cliché is one of the major psychological hurdles facing those trying to lose weight. Everyone has favourite comfort foods -- usually they have to do with happy memories around a dinner table or similar; they may have been the roast your mother cooked every week or the way your dad made spaghetti on the weekend. In many cases, comfort foods are starchy, fatty or sweet.

This product isn't actually bad for you (most flavours are fat-free and deliver 160 calories for a 400 ml serving size -- the exception is (no surprise here) the pineapple coconut which delivers an extra 30 calories, all from saturated fat) but I object to using a food product as a pacifier.

Canada Gains Weight.

CBC News: Canadians getting dangerously fatter, study says

Well... I guess that was inevitable. The panic-fueling stories from America weren't enough to scare Canadians into losing weight so now Canada gets its own front-page fat study.

Yeah, we get it. OK?

According to most BMI calculators, I am considered obese -- in fact currently, after losing weight, I am just shy of the class 3 level of obesity mentioned in the article.

And yet, I can walk up several flights of stairs without (completely) losing my breath; I fit into a clothing size that is widely available; and I see a lot of people walking around every day who are clearly heavier than me.

I think the problem is that it has become more acceptable to be dangerously overweight. When I was a teen, I could barely fit into the largest size available in most clothing stores -- size 15. Now, most stores include up to size 18 or XL; it's only sizes 20+ or XXL+ which are most often banished to the plus size outlets.

Of course, there's the whole issue of "fat acceptance" -- on the one hand I feel very strongly that overweight and obese people should be free from discrimination, but I start to waver when someone sues the airlines because they can't fit in the seats. It's a thorny issue at the best of times, and not one I care to mull over too closely here.

***

At any rate, since starting to supplement my diet with 5-HTP about two weeks ago, I have been able to cut back on evening snacking (always a danger zone) and get enough sleep that I don't feel like having two carafes of coffee in the mornings. In that time I have also lost 5 lbs. Yay, me!

A Pox Upon the Popcorn Palace

Popcorn, in and of itself is a pretty good snack. Movie theatre popcorn is not.

A cup of plain, air-popped popcorn weighs in at about 30 calories and negligible amounts of fat. A cup of oil-popped popcorn with butter or buttery-topping has about 80 calories -- most of it from artery-clogging bad fats. And of course, there's about 20 cups in one of those tubs.

One of my biggest slides over the past year was my return to eating movie popcorn. Until recently, I worked nights so seeing a movie in the theatre was a rare occurence. In the past year, I went to at least 20 films in the theatre, and I think we bought big tubs of popcorn almost every time.

I shudder to think how many times popcorn stood in for dinner, how many calories -- especially from fat -- that went into my diet, and how much cash went out of our budget (a combo of the large popcorn, a large drink and a candy bar is $11.99 at the theatre chain we frequent most often).

To combat this, I plan to use a combo of pre-planning (eat before the movie!), willpower (have a coffee instead of popcorn!), and avoidance (watch movies at home!). Cinemas, be forewarned: your profits are about to take a hit from this viewer.

***

Read more about the fat content from Kansas State University and at Weightloss.about.com; more about the economics of movie popcorn at Slate: The Popcorn Palace Economy - The thirsty moviegoer fuels the business. By Edward Jay Epstein

Starting Over Again.

It is too easy to drift away from eating healthy. I haven't stepped on the scale in a while but I can assure you, I have gained weight. I started slipping a while ago... buying cookies with coffee; eating crappy fried foods; skipping vegetables. Bah.

Starting this week, though, I will be working a flex time schedule which means my lunches will no longer be a leisurely hour but instead a half-hour. Food-wise this is probably a good thing. It means I will be taking more sandwiches and snack foods (hopefully smart snacks!) that I can eat at coffee breaks as well as lunch time.

I also need to be motivated to fit exercise into my routine. I have no idea how to do this since I really dislike it, on principle. I love the way I feel after I have exercised but I am so seldom active that I seem to forget that feeling, so it doesn't contribute to my motivation.

Coke Zero

A while ago I started hearing about "Coke Zero" and I thought, "What's the difference between that and Diet Coke?" I guessed it might be a re-branding thing but then I discovered that Diet Coke is really sugar-free "New Coke" -- the marketing disaster of the 80s sweetened with aspartame instead of sugar. Coke Zero, on the other hand, is Coca-Cola Classic with aspartame.

The taste is somewhat more caramel than Diet Coke though not as intense as C2. The nice thing is that there was less of an aftertaste with Coke Zero than with Diet Coke. Of course it is still sweetened with aspartame which can be a problem for some people.

I'm comfortable with Diet Coke, but if the company phases it out to replace it with Coke Zero, I can live with that option too.

Mid-morning snack

One of my favourite morning snacks is a mix of dried fruit and nuts. I picked my favourite dried fruits: cranberries, sultana raisins and papaya, and almonds which are packed with nutrition and have lower fat content than some nuts. I mix them in the following amounts:

1 tbsp raisins
1 tbsp cranberries
3 chunks papaya (approx 1/2 oz)
1 tbsp almonds (approx 8 nuts)

Sometimes I substitute extra cranberries or raisins for the papaya. These measurements provide about 200 calories. The dried fruit comes close to a serving size (1/4 cup) and account for about 120-125 calories and the concentrated natural sugars satisfy my sweet tooth. While the almonds account for about 80 calories -- 65% of those from fat -- they also provide calcium, potassium, vitamin E, and a dose of fibre. Some studies also suggest that almonds may help prevent colon cancer.

I pack them in snack-size resealable bags so I can grab one to toss in my lunch bag or in my purse on the way out. Obviously, this is not an "everyday" snack -- and I doubt many diet advocates would recommend this snack -- but it is a nice compromise of tasty versus horribly fattening (e.g. a fruit and nut muffin from the coffee shop which can range from a "low" of 350 calories to a high of over 600 calories!).

Sometimes you can eat more.

A couple of nights ago, I was craving something salty and crunchy. I considered my options -- based on the expectation that a smaller serving of something would be a better choice -- and chose a half serving of Que Pasa unsalted tortilla chips: 130 calories for 15 chips.

Midway through munching I started thinking I really wanted popcorn. We have plain kernels for the air popper, but I have never developed a taste for plain popcorn. We also had some Orville Redenbacher's "Natural flavour" microwaveable popcorn. When I checked the package I realized that half a bag (about 3 cups popped) had 110 calories. The fat grams and carbs were about the same on each; the chips only won on the sodium count because they were unsalted.

Beware of Serving Sizes

On my coffee break, I grabbed what could have been a healthy snack. Instead it was pretty much brunch.

I purchased a "Breakfast in a cup" which consisted of seven layers: yogurt, granola, fruit, yogurt, granola, fruit, banana on top. I would estimate the amounts as 1/2 cup yogurt (whole?), 1/2 cup granola, 1 cup fruit, 1/2 banana. Running the numbers through CalorieKing, I'd estimate I packed away about 562 calories, with 91 g carbs and 18.7 g fat (which makes the "treat" about 30% calories from fat.)

The problem here is that to my eye, the serving didn't look too big. In fact it was at least double what I was craving and probably three or four times what I should have eaten as a midmorning snack. The killer ingredient in fact is the granola -- and it tasted sweet so I used the "average all brands" rating on CalorieKing: 262 calories/29 g carbs/13.7 g fat. The only reason I'm not panicking too much is because there was a lot of fruit -- packed with vitamins, minerals, and anti-oxidants.

Lesson learned. Maybe I will skip food for lunch and go for a walk instead.

Yelling at the TV again

I spend a lot of time "correcting" advertisements. I scoff at their half-truths and outright misdirection. I threaten to write to their head-office or to the network on which they are advertising. Mostly though, I yell at the TV.

Recently, I've been yelling at Jared the Subway shill for trying to sell fresh bread as a healthy thing. Newsflash Jared, fresh baked bread is still bread -- being fresh baked doesn't save me a single calorie, and a six inch sub has plenty of those!

In fact, a 6-inch (2.5 oz) chunk of Subway italian white bread breaks down like this:

200 calories
2.5 g fat (1.5 g saturated)
38 g carbs (including 3 g fiber and 5 g sugar)
340 mg sodium

the bun also counts as a little over two starch exchanges for diabetic diets

Those numbers are comparable to any other bread product. In fact, two slices of Wonder Bread sandwich loaf will save you 60 calories, 10 g of carbs and a half gram of fat -- and none of the fat is saturated; two slices of Healthy Choice Hearty 7-grain bread will save you 40 calories, 2 g of carbs and the same amount of fat as the Wonder bread.

Alternately, choose a slightly smaller hot dog bun at 1.5 oz; you can save as much as 90 calories, though the fat averages 2.3 g and the carbs range from 20-25 g.

It's so easy to drift.

It's really easy to drift back to bad habits. This time, it was a change in my work schedule. Suddenly I had to eat breakfast earlier (much earlier) than I was used to which meant my whole hunger cycle was thrown off. My response was to grab what I could when I felt hungry. More often than not that meant grabbing a muffin or (worse!) apple fritter with mid-morning coffee. Ack. Thankfully, I haven't regained too much, and it only took me a month to figure out that I had strayed.

Fat Free is not Calorie free

It isn't carb free either. In fact, I'm not sure what to think of "Fat Free International Delight Coffee Whitener" other than wonder whether it will clog the drain when I dump the remainder. I had started buying the product because it seemed a nice rich option for my coffee. It is. In fact, it is about twice as rich as light cream.

International Delight - Fat free French Vanilla packs 30 calories into a tablespoon. I usually use two per mug of coffee. In return for 60 added calories per mug I get 0% fat, cholesterol or sodium; but I also get 14 g of carbs, most of which (10 g) is sugar and I get no vitamin A or calcuium.

Compare this to Dairyland Light Cream (6% milk-fat; just a little richer than whole milk but lighter than standard 10% milk-fat creamer (a.k.a "half and half")). Two tablespoons offers only 25 calories and while that includes 2 g of fat, it offers only 1 g of sugar (which is also the full carb count). Throw in 5 mg cholesterol and 30 mg of sodium, but I'll accept that in exchange for vitamin A (2% RDA) and calcium (4% RDA).

I know what's going in my coffee now.

Fighting the Evening Snack Monster.

I wasn't hungry and yet there I sat, stuffing my face with pita bread, hummus, spinach dip, oily artichoke hearts and greasy garlic coil. Damn.

I was watching the election results. We had planned a party. Everyone bailed so we had "extra" food. No sense letting it go to waste right? Ohhhh! So wrong. I probably ingested an extra 500 to 600 calories between 10 and 11 p.m.

The first time I ever tried to lose weight, I only had one rule: no food after 7 p.m. It's one of Oprah's rules -- apparenlty a 7:30 cut-off works for her schedule. I may have to adjust the timing, but I think two hours before bedtime is about right.

All it takes is a toothbrush

If I want to stop eating for the night, I brush my teeth. That's it. The minty flavour brings back a rush of childhood memories of being tucked in for the night and somehow my brain usually turns off the food cravings.

Typical Saturday

Today was probably fairly typical for a weekend. I started with a big brunch: two eggs (fried -- in a nonstick pan -- over easy), grilled tomato, a small serving of hashbrowns, fried onion and mushrooms, and two slices of ham. To drink I had 6 oz of orange juice and two large mugs (12 oz each) of coffee. Since I had a big brunch, lunch was just a slice of toasted bread with "lite"strawberry cream cheese. Dinner was onion soup followed by grilled Basa filet with grilled mixed vegetables and a small slice of garlic toast; more coffee to drink. Later I made oatmeal cookies (some plain, some with chocolate chips) and I had two.

While this is not an ideal day, it is typical for a weekend. I am aware of what I should be eating, but I do let my portions get away from me. It's better when someone plates my food than when I am able to get seconds -- as I did not orginally serve myself the second egg or second slice of ham.

Somewhere to start

My fight actually started last August. Finally disgusted with myself for letting my weight win, I knew I needed to make some changes. Now that I have lost some weight, I can start to look at the numbers on the page. It's not the first time I've tried to lose weight but hopefully this time if I lose it slowly and by changing habits, I can keep it off.

I wasn't happy with my pre-pregnancy weight (about 225lbs.) but once I found out I was pregnant there wasn't much I could do. "I'll lose it after the baby's born," I told myself, "everyone always says they lose weight chasing around a toddler." The problem is, there's a couple of years between baby and toddler and in those years I managed to pack on a lot of weight. At my peak I was over 250 lbs and that's when the alarms went off.

My Top 5 Bad Habits:

1. convenience foods. I tend to snack on easy-to-find foods. If there's a bag of chips handy, I won't likely cut carrot sticks. Eating a meatball sub on-the-go is more appealing than a balanced sit-down meal.
   
2. emotional eating. Boredom and depression are my biggest triggers.
3. baked goods with coffee. Coffee is part of my daily life (and something I'm not giving up) but somehow I came to expect something baked -- giant cookie, oversized muffin, donut -- sometimes for two coffee breaks in a day.
4. giant portions. At some point I got into the clear-your-plate camp though I don't recall being raised that way. The big problem with this is North America's obsession with enormous portions. I am getting better but I still hate to see food wasted and it is hard to leave food on the plate -- especially if I've paid for a restaurant meal.
   
5. grazing. Similar to the convenience habit, I got into the habit of eating bits and pieces for my midday meal. I'd have a handful of peanuts followed by a toasted bagel. Half an hour later, I'd finish whatever my daughter hadn't eaten and then whip up a small omlet. Before I was done I might also have a cookie or two, some chocolate, and some corn chips with sour cream.

So now I am back down to my pre-pregnancy weight. I'm still not happy but I am at least moving in the right direction.