by OneMoreBite | May 7, 2004 | Weight Loss Tips
What’s an Shopper To Do?
Yesterday, I stopped at Zupans to see if they had my favorite shortbread cookies. If you don’t have Zupans nearby, they’re a great store, one of my favorites, but you need to win the lottery to shop there often. It’s expensive. Their deli is fabulous, but you know how most delis have those little white take home goldfish containers? This deli has clear plastic tubs in three sizes: Large, medium and miniscule. I’m not willing to pay $4.50 or more for a miniscule amount of salad or beans, so I take a pass. It’s a shame too, but I could buy the ingredients and make it myself for the price, and I’d need to buy three or four to make a meal. Fat chance.
So, I’m looking and looking and … they didn’t have my cookies! I’m agahst. I’m forced to check the bakery counter for alternatives – it’s actually one of my hobbies (I would have looked anyway). I love to look at pastries like some people peak at porn. It’s so temping, so delicous, but I’ve been burned before. Sometimes those ultra pretty foods taste like cardboard, and when you just spent $20 for a 6″ cake, that’s a disappointment you’re not likely to forget for a very long time.
So, to bring this rambling account to a close, I finally spied a teensy sample size package of Walkers Shortbread in the checkout aisle. Perfect. Just a taste, which is what I wanted anyway, so I bought one. Later at home I looked at the nutrition label, and guess what? This package, containing a whopping 1.4 oz. of two slim 1.5″ by 2″ cookies serves 2. Yup, you get one cookie each. Enjoy!
Ingredients: Wheat flour, butter (31% – cool), sugar, salt. My four favorite food groups! No wonder I love shortbread cookies.
My latest newsletter, Bits-n-Bites for People Who Chew was posted yesterday. Give me your thoughts. Post a comment.
I didn’t eat those cookies just yet. Sometimes I buy food just to keep it around. I’m also still thinking about that two servings nonsense. It puts me in rant mode, which I sort of like
by OneMoreBite | Apr 27, 2004 | Gadgets
Somehow I doubt the idea of making shopping more difficult is going to catch on, but that’s just me. They deserve an “A” for the effort at any rate.
by OneMoreBite | Apr 26, 2004 | Junk Food
One jumbo Snicker’s Bar serves 3! Who knew?
Lunch or snack?
Remember that Seinfeld episode where Elaine uses a knife and fork to eat her Snickers? Now I know why: I recently read the label.
Luckily I just found Mike Master’s blog “Fulltime Vagabond” and he explains the deal with Snickers and dieting.
by OneMoreBite | Apr 25, 2004 | Weight Loss Tips
Everyone gets into the “need result now” mind frame. I’ve been known to decide I’m going to get in better shape and I’m checking for results before 12 hours have passed – LOL. No joke. I review my goals morning and night, and when I do it’s like I’m saying, “Okay, where’s the magic?” “When does the money flow, when does the perfect body appear?” I want it now.
That’s why I think it’s important to make a lifestyle change – that way every waking moment isn’t spent waiting for a result, but rather, the result is a happy by-product, something that simply occurs once you start doing things a little differently. Enjoyable work produces a better income, and enjoyable eating and exercise produces a healthier body and mind.
So, even though you’ve “always been fat” you are no longer that same person. Whenever you start running that pattern in your head, “I’ve always been fat …” stop and say, “Until now. Now, I’m healthier and happier and smarter and prettier, and …” Just start saying nice things to yourself. Do this often enough and you can end the repeating “I’m a fat person” thoughts and change them to “I’m a healthy person,” or whatever is your prefered image.
Many folks who were fat for a large part of their lives have a difficult time seeing themselves differently, so once they lose the weight their unconscious just helps them get back to “who they really are.” You can stop this from happening by doing the above. Change how you perceive yourself (because you have changed) and see what happens.
by OneMoreBite | Apr 19, 2004 | Diet Products
These little beauties come in at a reported 64 calories with 14 grams of sugar/corn syrup and 16 grams of total carbohydrates. Yikes! Low carbers, watch out for these, and anyone interested in reducing their sugar intake as well. Who does that leave? Kids?
Just like Ayds Candies, the idea of popping a treat supposedly to “curb” your appetite is as old as the hills. Obviously you’d curb your appetite – you just ate something. I’d think the Ayds idea was better though. They at least had you also drink something warm – which would fill you up a little more, plus give you a warm, comfy feeling. What good is a sucker?
I love that they suggest having four or five a day. That’s nice – let’s get em hooked on our suckers and then we’ll see just who’s the sucker and who’s the suckeree.
You can have 150 of these bad boys for a mere $168 – that’s a one-month supply at the suggested consumption of five a day. Seems a bit steep for candy, but that’s just me.
by OneMoreBite | Apr 16, 2004 | Food News
Adult Happy Meals
This idea is so flat it’s a joke. If McDonald’s is trying to bring healthy choices to their menus, they obviously don’t have a clue what that means. You can opt to get your kids orange slices instead of French fries, or carrot sticks. Oh, that will go over well. You’ll have kids screaming, mom’s hollering and generally the McDonald’s ambiance might leave something to be desired.
No, like 33-year-old Chuck Horton at a McDonald’s in Garrisonville Va. said, “If I want to eat healthy, I’ll eat at home. “I come to McDonald’s for one reason: the fries. … I think this healthy eating thing has gone too far.” Amen to that.
His “gone too far” comment may be a little pre-mature though. The fast food chains haven’t even begun to haul out their idiot ideas.
I’m anxiously awaiting those new “quick food” places that are sure to spring up. Places that offer whole grain breads, hearty soups (it’s been so long since I’ve had a good hearty soup), steamed vegetables, crisp fresh salads with clean dressings on the side.
There’s a growing movement to get back to good eating called “Slow Food.” Started in Italy in response to the first McDonald’s invading that country, the movement has become a beacon for those opposed to the idea of eating “fast food” as a lifestyle. I like this idea.
The argument is usually, “But I’m too busy to cook,” and that can be true except when you take into consideration the time spent attending to your health since you didn’t bother to feed yourself well. Did you know if you eat better you can actually exercise less and still stay in great shape? Do you still circle the parking lot to find a close space? Do you drive to the store that’s less than 1/4 mile from your home? Do you have a riding lawn mower but less than half an acre of lawn? Do you pile things at the bottom of the stairs rather than take them up to “save a trip?” Do you take short cuts through buildings to save a few steps? All of these things are adding to the problem. Think slow. Take those few extra steps and cook dinner this weekend. You’ll be glad you did.
by OneMoreBite | Apr 13, 2004 | Dumb Things
Loose or Lose: Which is which?
The word “loose” means it is not tight, it is loose. You can loosen a tie, your belt can be too loose.
Lose means to misplace or let go of something. You lose your car keys. You lose weight, you lose your patience with people who can’t get their words straight. The word when associated with weight is LOSE. You lose weight, you don’t loose weight – to loose weight would mean … what? I don’t know. It doesn’t make sense. Using loose instead of lose sounds like Ricky Ricardo saying, “Looo-seeeey, I’m home!”
Every time I see the word “loose” in place of “lose” I go a little more insane, and this isn’t a good thing. This has become a joke in my family so now we say, “I loosed a little weight this week,” and laugh like idiots.
by OneMoreBite | Apr 7, 2004 | Book Reviews
But Liftin is the Queen of all Candy Queens – no one can compete with a woman who once ate powdered sugar from a bowl with her fingers. In recalling her attempts at exorcising the candy demon she writes, “…if I am simply under sugar’s spell, there is some hope that eating enough candy will lead to permanent disgust–the way people say, “I can’t drink tequila. I had a very bad night in Cancun.” If I could just have my last hurrah with candy after candy, I could eliminate them one by one until all hunger for sugar was gone. Then the battle between health and desire would be resolved, not through deprivation but through exhaustion.”
Great plan, but it doesn’t work. I know because I tried it with M&M’s. I thought if I could eat enough to get sick on them, then I’d never want them again so I got a 1-pound bag and got started. About three-quarters through the bag I just could not put another M&M into my mouth, but I wasn’t tired of the candy, I was just tired of chewing, swallowing. I just couldn’t eat any more. The next day, I was happy to find the rest of the bag and finish them off.
Today I practice the art of “making it last.” Planned indulgences are better than spur-of-the-moment decisions. Give yourself permission to eat your favorites, but there is one rule and that is you must do whatever is necessary to draw out the time it takes to eat the food. If it’s cookies, take teensy nibbles around the edges. Pause every so often. Take a breath. Make that little cookie into a 24 bite experience. No matter what it is, if it’s bigger than your thumbnail you can bite it in half (I bite plain M&M’s in half, no joke). When you do this you can truly experience the taste, the texture, the smell and discover what it is you like so much about this food?
In some cases you may find it’s not the food at all but the memory of the food that keeps you tied to it. We get tied to our memories and want to recreate those days. If you slow down and really experience the food it gives you the opportunity to discover what it is about that food that draws you in, that calls to you.
I have a theory that I need a certain number of chews before I feel satisfied with what I’ve eaten. If I’m shoveling the food in, then those chews are not happening, and I’m more likely to keep shoveling. I know a lot of people who eat by taking an enormous bite, one chew, two chew, and swallow. “Whoa there Nellie, slow down.” When you go to the movies are you anxious to “get it over with,” or do you want to enjoy the experience? Why then do you eat as if you just want to hurry up and finish? Experience eating. Enjoy it. Food and eating can be a very enjoyable part of your day – why let that slip away?
Today simply take half sized bites, and linger over them. If you notice you want to hurry up, ask yourself why? Why do I look so forward to eating and then want to rush through it?
“Even though I eat too fast, I deeply and completely accept myself.”
“Even though I don’t really chew when I eat, I deeply and completely accept myself.”
“Even though I don’t want to eat slower, I deeply and completely accept myself.”
“Even though eating more slowly is boring, I deeply and completely accept myself.”
Have fun and learn about yourself. I love being a human being – so complex, so interesting. Get interested in yourself and you’ll never be bored.
by OneMoreBite | Apr 6, 2004 | Weight Loss Tips
Today’s headline is trumpeting the idea that maybe you’re just tired? Perhaps if you got more sleep you wouldn’t crave chips and snacks – right. Next we’ll start seeing a lot of ads for the Lose Weight While You Sleep crap – it never fails.
Obviously if you’re over tired you’ll feel less well, but surprise, I felt sluggish and tired and thought I’d never survive arising an hour earlier which was the only way I’d get some exercise done, and then one day I got up at 5:00 instead of 6:00 AM, and it felt great! What a shock, how could this be? An hour less sleep and I felt better? It’s weird, but it’s true. Was I getting too much rest before? Who knows, but I do know I’m obviously a morning person, so for me getting up an hour earlier has been great. I love it, and I plan to keep doing it.
Have I lost weight? No, but I didn’t think I would. Frankly, it’s what you eat and how much you exercise that will determine your weight, not total hours spent sneezing. Get enough rest – people need anywhere from 4 to 9 hours, with about 7 being average.
The trick with exercise too is when you first get started, it may feel you’re too tired, but surprise! The more you exercise the more energy you get. Push through that first week or so if thinking you’re too tired and you’ll blast out to the other side of mega energy! Try it.
by OneMoreBite | Apr 1, 2004 | Weight Loss Tips
Eating idea: Slow down. Why are you in such a hurry? If you love to eat, and you say you do, why then do you rush through it? Wouldn’t it make more sense to have something you enjoy so much last a little longer? Why not linger over a good meal, really taste it? Savor it?
Too many questions? Drat, that’s another question. It’s hard to stop asking questions once I get started, just like with a bag of cookies. You try one, and oh, that seemed pretty darn good, so you gulp down a few more, and since you aren’t even bothering to chew, just chomp, chomp, swallow, then a few more seems like a good idea. Then you suddenly realize you’ve eaten them all and yet you fell somehow–empty. “I’m just a bottomless pit,” you say. No you aren’t. You’re just eating so fast you aren’t giving your body a chance to realize it’s being fed. If you watch a starving animal, it will gulp the food down as fast as it can because it’s making sure no other animal takes it away from them, but you probably don’t have to do this. Slow it way down. Even if you live a very fast pace, you can slow down your chewing.
Take a bite of food, and let it sit there for a moment. Use all your senses, taste, smell, and decide is the food sweet or salty? Sour or bitter? Pretend you are going to rate the food on a scale of 1 to 10 – you are a food critic – how would you rate it? Is there an aftertaste? How would you ever know if you just gulped it down and ran out the door?
Slow down – make it last – there’s time, really there is. If you have to rush through a meal, ask yourself why? Could you wait a bit and have it later when there’s more time? What if you must eat in the car between appointments? It is possible to take a bite or two, wrap the food up, and leave it for later. You won’t die of starvation if you wait an hour for food.
Stop eating like it’s your last meal, and start treating yourself with some respect. You deserve better – if you were a guest staying in your own house you’d treat yourself better, right? Pretend you are an honored guest and start to treat yourself as if you’re special. Slow way down. Treat yourself to a massage or a new CD. Think leisure this week.
What’s an Shopper To Do? 
