Hunger Control: White People Problems Edition

Hunger, it ain't a game.

Yes, I should have known better. When early last month I found myself getting hungrier than usual, I engaged in some magical thinking: Hungrier? Well, I haven't expended extra calories and my diet is pretty healthy. This must mean my body's metablolism is speeding up and needs more calories to stay the course! 

What it really meant was my body was expressing its unhappiness with losing weight. If the weight starts coming off, it must mean there is a problem with access to the food supply and the body pulls levers and switches to make the regaining of that weight more of a priority. Specifically, that lever is a hormone called Ghrelin, which is released to stimulate hunger. Of course there is a vaccine in development to prevent the release of the hormone, but until then, the scientists basically say, "shut yo mouf!"

(Researchers) agree that even with high levels of ghrelin, you don't have to be at the mercy of your hormones. ''There are a couple of studies suggesting the orbital frontal cortex activity can be modified," he says.

Among those who do it best, he says, are people who are most concerned about maintaining a healthy weight -- who exercise what researchers call dietary restraint.

In another study, Goldstone says, he found that those with high dietary restraint scores had less activity in the orbital frontal cortex. The executive decision-making part of their brains seems to override the reward system activation, he says.

Eventually, ghrelin-blocking drugs may make it easier to pick the salad over the chocolate ice cream, but until then? "The advice not to skip breakfast comes out again with this study," Goldstone says. Other times of the day, eating before you are famished can help, too, he says.

Even the scientists sound a little like morning talk-show guests -- eat breakfast, and eat before you get to hungry. I think all our grandmothers said that, too, but they didn't get published on Web MD.

OK, Dr. G, maybe YOU did.

Looking at the bigger picture, you could say that we do not have an obesity problem or an over-eating problem: we have a hunger problem. Or more accurately, we have a hunger-control problem. I'm not going to rail against the American Food-Industry-Complex here*,  but how to control hunger. Outside of somehow taking out your brain and cutting out your orbital frontal cortex, how best to up your dietary restraint? Especially if one of the major components of the base of the FDA's food pyramid is addicting...

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Thought for Food - Wheat Addictions
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As I discovered when figuring out glycemic indexing, grains in general are  high in the index, while wheat and wheat products has a ridiculously high impact on increasing blood sugar, whole or not. As the talking head says, eating bread is a lot like eating sugar, and causes cravings for more. See what I did there? A full circle: glycemic index, bread equivalent to sugar, a carousel of craving, addiction! It's all connected...

On the unaired 6th season, the cornerboys start pushing wholewheat pumpernickel raisin bagels.

This is all getting a bit jumbled. OK, whether bread is the new crack we'll leave alone. Whatever this bad trip is...how do I get off it?! Internets to the rescue! When you Google "hunger control",you get THREE more times the hits than "boobies" and 1.5x the hits than "butts" (though only about 1/3 the hits of "sex", unsurprisingly). The research staff here at FBIWC is trolling through thousands (ok, hundreds) of hunger-control tips on the Internet and next week we present them to you, from what we feel are the best to the silliest/most dangerous.

*about how it's a monster designed to make us spend us much as possible regardless of the health toll it takes on the population. No, I'm not gonna. 

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Sugar, oh my gawd. Last weekend was trying. I went Wednesday-Saturday evening with no sweets, and Saturday night at a wedding, I topped off 2 glasses of wine and a beer with 2 1/2 pieces of wedding cake. It was delicious, but gave me a headache right on the spot. Then on Sunday, I ate no sugar but the temptations were coming at me fast and furious. In the morning, a few close friends who spent the night thanked us with some quality chocolate from their home town. Betsy promptly opened it and offered it to all, and a lot of cooing about how good it was ensued. Then I took Edie to a baby-naming ceremony, which turned out to be more like a bar mitzvah in the traditional sense: a lot of old people, a good family vibe, and a lot of great food that wrapped up with cake-a-palooza and cookies. Edie had 1.5 pieces and would have had more if I didn't stop her. In the evening, when discussing what to make for dinner, my wife suggested making cookies and apple crisps. Urg! 

Adult drink wine, kids get purple drank.

The afternoon party was a bit of an eye-opener. Unlike the cake I gorged on the night before, the birthday cake looked really well-made, with a glossy chocolate fondant and high-quality decorative touches. Underneath the dark chocolate fondant was milk chocolate butter cream. And there was old-school cinnamon ruggelah. When someone shouted, "Who wants cake?!, " there was a high pitched wail of every 3 year old in the room shouting, "I DO!" all at once. I watched Edie it her cake and I watched every one else eat theirs, too. It was odd being on the outside looking in -- with other foods, everyone is eating variations from the buffet, but with this food, everyone was eating the exact some thing. I offered Edie a ruggelah, but she was not interested and I held it between my fingers, contemplating it. It felt heavy, moist, dense, slightly pliable. Egg wash gave it a glossy coat, and a sprinkling of sugar helped it brown and caramelize. This was the food of my parents, food of my childhood, and I would not eat it. I felt drawn to eat the cake, eat the cookie. I desired it, to taste it, to feel satisfied. Note I just ate a bagel with cream cheese and lox and was in no way hungry, but my desire for these sweets were not about hunger. I realized in the moment it was partially about community and partially about remembering growing up with loving parents. But above those things, it was about quieting the cravings, about eating the sweet stuff so I could focus and feel straight. I did not. I am addicted, and I want to kick it.
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Made tea Monday morning, though without sugar. Sure, it's only 50 cal per pint, BUT that's 350 cal a week! Figure I can shift those calories to the oil of the salad dressing for papa salads. I sweetened the tea to knock the bitter edge off the tea, but this time instead of letting the water come to a boil then steeping the tea, I used a thermometer to bring the water to the recommended 185 degrees (when the water is just starting to bubble) and give the loose tea only 3 1/2 minutes.Weird. There is no bitterness, it's pretty much perfectly brewed, but there is no sweetness. Around the time of my increased hunger, I doubled up on the sugar in the tea, and I didn't realize until drinking the unsweetened batch just how much I enjoyed that little bit of sugar in the morning. Perhaps I liked it too much, like a maintenance dose.-----

Made poppa salad on Monday, too. Green chopped salad with red leaf lettuce, iceberg, cucumber, carrot, radish and scallion. The entire (1,211g) bowl is 220 calories, so....once I get used to what my standard salad bowl's value is, I probably won't need to do the numbers every time I make this kind of salad. Because that would be totally nuts.Made a dressing with 6oz olive oil, 2oz red wine vinegar, 1 tbsp dried basil, 1tbsp dried oregano, 1 tsp onion powder, 2 minced garlic cloves, 1/2 tsp guar gum and salt & pepper. OK, but a little flat. Next batch will do equal parts oil/vinegar, and kick it up a notch with lemon juice and grated parm. A tablespoon is about 100 cal, which is enough for a big bowl o' salad.-----

I imagine back in the day 365 was a huge number, and a dessert for every day seemed like an incredible indulgence....

It just occurred to me that as a kid, my parents would serve dessert after almost every meal, and if it wasn't served, I would insist. They used it as a reward for finishing a meal, and it was also used for nothing -- it became rote. Cookies, cake, brownies, ice cream. THEY didn't have dessert every day as kids -- they were of the generation where it was way too expensive, and when there was a dessert, it was a rare and special occasion. I guess in wanting to give me that feeling that they got from sweets, they denied it to me. Hows that for a head-f@ck.

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Good thing I kept my old belt. I've started to use the 3rd notch in my new belt, which doesn't make much sense if I gained weight last month. Yep -- the belt has stretched. The 3rd notch is almost exactly where the 1st notch was when I bought it. The old belt is still to big for me, but not THAT big. Gotta keep it real, yo.

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WEEKLY AVERAGE: 2297

Huh, lookit that, an average in budget. No sugar this week, and man I felt it. Friday night, just KNOWING sugar was coming over the ekeend, my cravings increased. I was able to fight it, but still.

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MONDAY COUNT: 2300

Poppa salad is a nice break in the vegetable rundown, but gotta make my own Italian dressing. I can do better than the bottle.

AM SNACK: 7:30am, iced green tea, 50 cal

BREAKFAST: 11:30am, fruit smoothie, 375 cal

LUNCH: 1:45pm, sardine & avocado on whole wheat toast, momma salad, pickle, 7oz diet coke, 600 cal

PM SNACK: 5:15pm, apple carrot kale beet parsley cilantro ginger juice, 150 cal

Good but a strong taste. Watered 8oz of juice down with 8oz of water.

DINNER: 8:30pm, grilled chicken breast, curry cous cous, poppa salad with store-bought Italian dressing, 7oz diet sprite, 805 cal

EVENING SNACK: 9:45pm, cheesy poofs, 7oz diet sprite, 320 cal

Diet soda really does take the edge off sugar cravings. Also nice to be able to eat a satisfying, decadent snack that isn't a sugar bomb AND stays within budget.

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TUESDAY COUNT: 2125

Sugar cravings still there, but they are not nearly as bad as they were on Friday and over the weekend. 

AM SNACK: 7:30am, iced green tea, 0 cal

Weirdness. Not what I expected. It's good, but it's not the same thing as my mildly sweetened stuff.

BREAKFAST: 10:15am, steel cut oatmeal, 375 cal

PM SNACK: 1:30pm, momma salad, 100 cal

LUNCH:  3pm, double quarter pounder, 12oz diet coke, 750 cal

PM SNACK: 6:30, poppa salad with homemade dressing, 150 cal

DINNER: 8:15pm. chicken sausage, madras lentils, steamed string beans, 7oz diet sprite, 630 cal
Lentils: they're a "starch", but they're also high in protein. Hmmm.

EVENING SNACK: 9:30pm, beef jerkey, 7oz diet sprite, 120 cal

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WEDNESDAY COUNT: 2365

AM SNACK: 7:45am, iced green tea, 0 cal

I like it. Need to get used to it. Not sweet, but pleasantly no bitterness, just smooth. Just a pure green tea flavor, like a chord. Sugar supplied bass to get over bitterness's treble.

BREAKFAST: 10:15am, fage yogurt with almonds, agave, vanilla, 430 cal

Ugg! What the hell! Way too sweet! This is the same recipe I've been using for a few months, but now that I really haven't eaten sweets in a week, this seems totally different. It's:

• Fage Whole Yogurt: 200g (1 serving), 190 cal
• Agave: 30g (1 serving), 60 cal
• Roasted Salted Almonds: 30g (1 serving), 180 cal
• Shot of home made vanilla extract, less than 5 cal

I started using agave because of the lower glycemic index than honey, and it's a little less sweet than honey, too. The packaging lists a "serving" as 30g,  which all seems reasonable. But now that my taste buds are more attuned to sweet, it just tasted....candied. I originally put sweeteners in yogurt to balance out the tartness, and next week I shall aim to do that again, cutting back the agave by half, regardless of what the packaging calls a serving!

LUNCH: 1:30pm, broiled flounder, chili-flavored quinoa, roasted asparagus, momma salad, 7oz diet coke, 700 cal

PM SNACK: 6pm, apple carrot kale beet parsely cilantro ginger juice, 135 cal

DINNER: 7:30pm, small pork & veg fried rice, shio ramen, water, +/- 800 cal

Nice dinner out at a ramen shop. I guessed the soup was 400-500 cal, nice to see the internets confirm my suspicions.

EVENING SNACK: 10:15pm, cheesy poofs, 7oz diet sprite, 300 cal

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THURSDAY COUNT: 2355

Had a harder time with hunger today, and reviewing how I ate, I see why. High glycemic breakfast cereal in the morning, high glycemic pasta for lunch, a high glycemic pizza in the evening. It was all tempered by a lot of vegetables and a glass of fresh juice, but it was really setting me up. Fortunately, by eating 3/4 of my usual cheesy poofs I was able to stay in budget -- I was going to eat jerky, but was too desirous of carbs, oddly enough.

AM SNACK: 7:45am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 10:15am, kolon bloe with whole milk, 400 cal

Went from a double serving to a triple serving on the cereal to bring the cal count closer to what my other breakfasts are -- this size seems to suit me. Funny, just starting to notice how sweet this cereal is. 

PM SNACK: 1pm, momma salad, 80 cal

Ran out. Poppa salad will have to take me through the rest of the the week!

LUNCH: 1:45pm, whole wheat pasta with homemade sauce and shrimp, roasted Brussel sprouts, 7oz diet coke, 935 cal

Huh. Haven't had pasta in a while. This used to seem like a crazy-small portion, now it seemed a bit much. A serving is 2oz, I had 4oz -- after adjusting from my previous regular portion of 8oz. I think next time will do 3oz as a meal with stuff in and on it, and 2oz as a component of a meal.

PM SNACK: 4:45pm, apple carrot kale beet ginger parsley cilantro juice, 135 cal

DINNER: 7:45pm, 1 Stouffer's French Bread pizza, poppa salad with homemade dressing, 7oz diet sprite,  585 cal

EVENING SNACK: 8:15pm, cheesy poofs, 7oz diet sprite, 225 cal

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FRIDAY COUNT: 2340

Woke up at 6am and could not get back to bed, feeling somewhere between hunger and a sugar craving. Got to bed a little after 11, so felt OK. So much flu going around, gotta watch it.

AM SNACK: 6:30am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 9:15am, fage whole yogurt with agave, almonds and vanilla, 430 cal

Cut the agave in half, tasted great.

PM SNACK: 12:15pm, poppa salad with homemade dressing, 200 cal
Went a bit heavy on the dressing, was good.

LUNCH: 1:30pm, chicken meatballs, madras lentils & roasted broccoli, pickle, 7oz diet coke660 cal

DINNER: 5:30pm, double quarter pounder, 24oz diet coke, 750 cal
Not how I thought I'd finish the week, but just spent a hot, stuffy hour with the whole fam at the pediatrician getting flu biznizz done, and it was raining and we needed something fast and convenient. B wanted fries, so I order the combo, hence the stupidly large soda.

EVENING SNACK: 8pm, cheesy poofs, quart of water, 300 cal
Thought I was gonna do jerky, but dried meat after a burger is gross.

Don't be a (diet) cokehead.

I recently checked out another documentary that proselytizes ideas on healthy diet via Netflix, Hungry for Change. Some of it was standard (eat more fruit and veg), some was easily dismissed as hooey (the detox theory), some was just strange (cilantro can flush the body of mercury?!). The one thing that caught my ear, however, was a short rant about diet sodas....

If I was in the food industry, what am I looking to do? I'm looking to sell you more food, that's what I want to do. How can I do that? I can manipulate the chemical structure oft here food so now it becomes fulfilling, but empty. But gives the impression when they very first ingest it, that it is the most fulfilling thing they ever had. Nothing else does it in your brain quite like a diet cola. That's because there is a deadly combination there of aspartame and caffeine and those two together create a very unique blend of "excitotoxin" that kills off brain cells, but before they die, they have this -oof- excitement like a buzz. So what you find with diet cola addicts is that they'll drink a liter, sometimes 2 liters a day and particularly women, do it as a way to keep their weight down. They don't eat, they just have the next buzz of diet colas.

The talking heads go on about formydahol formation in the brain, migraines, and cancers from aspartame, and dismiss the safety assurances of the FDA as being manipulated by industry -- all the studies used by the FDA in determining the safety of the substance was industry-funded, while independently funded studies showed great dangers and side effects over time. On top of that, the substance is shown to cause carbohydrate cravings. Studies show, according to the talking heads, those who drink diet sodas over time tend to be fatter in a few years.

This is news to me. I never heard the term "excitotoxin" before, but it's a real thing. Most of the scientific sources I tried to read are dense and don't seem to finger aspartame, and if they do speak of food the focus is on glutimates (hello, MSG!). Unsurprisingly, the aspartame industry dismisses excitotoxicity in its product as myth, but Snopes backs them up and a Wikipedia page about aspartame's controversy is rife with conspiracy theory and false science.

He didn't actually drink the pint, he is savoring it in his jowels. 

In my extensive study as a cohort of one, I definitely went through a mess of years where I downed liters and liters of diet coke per day. I may be stupider than I was then, but I'm certainly not riddled with migraines (never had one) or cancers (as of last check up). My dad was a hardcore diet coke addict since it was introduced to replace Tab in the early '80s, and when he died in the mid 2000s he too was cancer-free and migraine-free. I suspect the Hungry For Change movie features "experts" who may be digging into the nutritional field with a lot of new ideas and unexplored angles, but the science just ain't there yet. Yes, I'm going to add some parsley and cilantro to my juicing because it is very green and will add an interesting kick to the flavor of my juice, but not because I think it'll really flush mercury from my system.

Other than the obvious potential of caffiene, it's safe to say that diet cola is not addictive....as a substance. But as a behavior, it fits all too well into the modern conception of what an addiction can be. It gives the brain a reward, but....

In a 2008 study, for instance, women who drank water that was alternately sweetened with sugar and Splenda couldn't tell the difference -- but their brains could. Functional MRI (fMRI) brain scans revealed that even though both drinks lit up the brain's reward system, the sugar did so more completely.

"Your senses tell you there's something sweet that you're tasting, but your brain tells you, 'Actually, it's not as much of a reward as I expected,'" says Martin P. Paulus, MD, a professor of psychiatry at the University of California San Diego, and one of the authors of the study. "The consequence might be that the brain says, 'Well, I'll have more of this.'"

It's of no surprise to me that something like a diet soda or a sweet "sugar-free" candy just doesn't quite do the trick, but it does blunt the cravings. I think I may need to develop a "maintenance" program that will allow me to come down off of sugar once and for all. Plenty of sugar/heroine addicts replace their habits with sugar substitutes/methadone. It's still an addiction, but it's a bit less taxing on the system and more socially acceptable.

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Still a little surprised by the six-pound weight gain last month. I look in the mirror and I don't see a gain, I see a body that's on the way to becoming non-fatty. I've also steeled my resolve to kick the daily sugar fix in the evenings. It's the main source of calories last month that helped me stay high above my budget. Going to up my juicing from 2x a week to maybe 3/4x. Contemplating weighing myself once a week instead of once a month -- maybe that would have headed off a six pound 1 month gain?

Three days without sweets this past week, and Friday night was the worst. Had a hard time focusing, managed to squeak by within calorie budget. Realized I wasn't actually hungry, just having cravings. I think I'm going to approach sugar as I approach alcohol. Almost never consume it at home unless there are guests, and I'll consume it out when I'm with friends and the occasion calls for something special. Hmmmm, I have a wedding to go to Saturday, can I keep that as my only sweets for the whole weekend? Whoever says sugar ain't addicting be crazy.

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WEEKLY AVERAGE: 2355

Nice to see an average close to budget. Too bad it had to be prompted by such a large monthly weight gain. Definitely upped my vegetable consumption and took a stab at reducing sugar. Hopefully it'll get easier.

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MONDAY COUNT: 2680

Felt oddly weak in the mornings weightlifting. Funny enough, my sore left shoulder did not stop me from doing much, but a strained forearm muscle in my right arm stop me from doing some concentration curls.

AM SNACK: 8:45am, iced green tea, 45 cal

BREAKFAST: 11:15am, steel cut oatmeal, 375 cal

PM SNACK: 12:30pm, momma salad, 100 cal

LUNCH: 2:30pm, teriyaki chicken meatballs, curry whole wheat cous cous, roasted asparagus, pickle, 7oz diet coke, 760 cal

Cooked up double the cous cous, but on the plate it looked like too much, and by the time I finished everything, had about half the cous cous left over. Huh.

DINNER: 6:30pm, sausage & peppers hero, house salad, ice cream bar, +/-900 cal

Popped out to the corner slice place for a quiet last meal of 2012. Salad came with 2oz of dressing, used only about 1/4 of that, left behind the bread that came with it. Sandwich was OK, something I never really eat, but nice to change up from the fried breadiness of eggplant.

EVENING SNACK: 9pm, chocolate chips & peanuts, +/- 500 cal

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TUESDAY COUNT: 2245

New Year's Day. Weighed in, surprised to have gained 6 pounds. Happy New Year, bleah. Did avoid an evening snack through force of will...

BREAKFAST: 10:30am, fruit smoothie, 375 cal

PM SNACK: noon, momma salad, 80 cal

Just carrots and cuce, as Edie snatched all the red pepper.

LUNCH: 3:30pm, chicken sausage, cous cous, string beans, 590 cal

DINNER: 5:30pm, cheese tortellini, broccoli, chocolate chip cookies & ice cream, 1 glass wine, +/- 1200 cal

Out at a friend's house for a nice family dinner.

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WEDNESDAY COUNT: 2350

Got hungry a lot during the day, but never too far from a snack or meal. For some reason I was hoping an 8pm burger would have been enough for the day, but got super hungry in the evening. Avoided chocolate for the 1st day in quite a while with a satisfying (but with in budget) bowl of popcorn popped in butter.

AM SNACK: 8:15am, iced green tea, 50 cal

BREAKFAST: 11am, Greek yogurt with agave, almonds and vanilla, 430 cal

LUNCH: 1:30pm, ham on whole wheat with mustard, roasted broccoli, 7oz diet coke, 435 cal

Not particularly hungry, but schedule would have forced me to eat out if I delayed.

PM SNACK: 3:30pm, momma salad, 100 cal

PM SNACK: 5pm, apple/carrot/kale/cucumber/beet/ginger juice, 145 cal

Found myself home and too hungry, this was an easy quick snack before heading out again. Cucumber was a nice taste to crowd out the kale and beet...

DINNER: 8pm, double quarter pounder, 12oz diet coke, 750 cal

EVENING SNACK: 10:45pm, popcorn, 7oz diet sprite, 440 cal

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THURSDAY COUNT: 2145

A rare day that I've come in under budget for real, without any side-bites or nuthin'. Second day of no chocolate. Feel like I'm on a carousel of hunger -- constantly hungry, but when the hunger starts to bother me, I eat something. Worked out in the morning, trip to Costco in the afternoon.

AM SNACK: 7:45am, iced green tea, 50 cal

BREAKFAST: 10:30am, steel cut oatmeal, 375 cal

PM SNACK: 12:30pm, momma salad, 100 cal

LUNCH: 2pm, jerk chicken patty, vegetable patty, 740 cal

PM SNACK: 6:30pm, apple/carrot/kale/cucumber/beet/ginger juice, 150 cal

DINNER: 7:30pm, shrimp, roasted brussel sprouts, madras lentils and brown rice mix, 7oz diet coke, 610 cal

Got some packets of microwaveable lentils at Costco. Not bad, not good, but healthy way to make the grains I regularly cook a little more interesting. Gonna try to make it for real.

EVENING SNACK: 8:30pm, beef jerky, 120 cal

Really need a new snack that satisfies, but isn't just high-calorie sugar n' fat like chocolate & peanuts. Bought a bag of generic jerky at Costco. Despite the brown sugar rub used in it's manufacture, it's actually reasonably real compared to other mass-manufactured jerkys on the market. All the ingredients are recognizable!

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FRIDAY COUNT: 2355

Woke up a bit sore from yesterday's work out. Monday I was a bit draggy and weak, so I hit it a little harder yesterday. Both shoulder and forearm are A-OK.  Made butternut squash soup (surprisingly low cal, though it shouldn't be a surprise...) and Spanish-braised lentils out of the "How to Cook Everything Vegetarian" cookbook. Easy to make, but fneh tasting -- the notes in the book indicate that red lentils are more tender and are used in Indian cooking, while the standard green lentils are what I used. Now determined how to make proper dal, and use it as a proteiny condiment for my regular grain consumption during the week. 

AM SNACK: 8am, iced green tea, 50 cal

BREAKFAST: 10am, heritage Os with whole milk, banana, 385 cal

PM SNACK: noon, momma salad, 100 cal

LUNCH: 2pm, 1 Stouffer's French bread pizza, madras lentils, roasted brocolli, pickle, 7oz diet coke, 670 cal

Two pizzas outta the box are 860 cal. Swapped one out for some healthy leftovers that probably would have gotten trashed anyway.

DINNER: 6:30pm, grilled chicken breast, Spanish lentils, butternut squash soup, 14oz diet sprite, 620 cal

EVENING SNACK: 8:15pm, cheeseits and almond butter, 410 cal

Sugar choco cravings like mad.

EVENING SNACK: 10pm, beef jerky, 120 cal

Uggg. So hungry. Actually, NOT hungry. Just want sugar.

Happy New Year, fatties!

So many things wrong....

213.4--->212.8--->218.2
Well, I guess I shouldn't be surprised -- the last few weeks I've been hungrier, and my calorie intake has regularly been over 3000. I am surprised because my clothes have only fit better over the past month, and my slowly enlarging muscles are starting to become a little visible (to my eye...and to the wifey's, as she insists I mention!). Perhaps muscle growth can account for a little weight gain? Hmm.

I think the #1 thing I can do to continue to lose weight is not to be discouraged, as this is a long-term project, as in life-long. Just because every month doesn't bring in a new number I can brag about doesn't mean I should just go get a bag of cookies and sulk in the corner -- too much is at stake. So for January I resolve to:

1. Be stricter in keeping calorie counts to below 2350.
2. Continue to not count on weekends, but to up the vegetable and fruit consumption throughout.
3. End daily desserts once and for all.

I can't beat myself up too hard because:

1. My body wants to gain weight in winter.
2. Biking will come back in the spring to help.
3. I'm still wearing sizes I haven't been comfortable in since high school.
4. I feel good, aside from weighing myself this morning.

Happy New Year, here is to a lighter, healthier 2013!

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This simple tea bag has enough power to: inspire a bunch of totally unfounded claims that are unchecked by the FDA due to the supplements loophole.

As it turns out, any hype around green tea being some sort of fat-burning miracle drink is pretty much utter silliness. While there might be some sort of fat-burning property to some aspect of the stuff, it would have to be ingested in such large quantities that even supplements equivalent to 8 cups of green tea a day are ineffective. I admit the fat-burning rumor was in the back of my mind when I started my habit, but I'll continue it because of four proven qualities:

1. it tastes good
2. it's low calorie
3. it wakes me up gently
4. it hydrates

So there.

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No one told them that Hipster Yoga and Clown Yoga shared the same studio....and time slot....and teacher...and students.

I had the privilege of spending some time with my dear friend T on Friday evening -- she's a bit of a yoga master, so of course we kicked off the evening with a yoga class (basics because that's how I roll). I haven't practiced yoga in a while but the last time I did I did notice some changes in my body. This time, said changes were more pronounced, with my increased strength making challenging positions....still challenging, but less so. In particular, chaturanga was different. It's basically a push-up position with your arms by your side and your elbows bend so your hands are towards the bottom of your chest. I've found this near impossible to stay in for more than a hot moment, but now I found it possible to linger.

But the next day, my left shoulder is painful and feels pulled. Last week, the NY Times had a piece about how men get more injured from yoga than women due to physiological differences. I brought this up with T over a healthy yogastic dinner, and she scoffed a bit at it. Not because it's not true, but because a) this has been well known for quite a while and b) the author has little science to back his claims but does have a new book to pimp. Still, I take some comfort from the piece as it's not strictly my own lameness that prevents me from moving forward in my yoga practice but my dang wang and huevos!

Regardless, I really enjoyed feeling my body respond in a way markedly different in the past and am tempted to take a more difficult yoga class next month. And if it means more hang time with T, all the better!  

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WEEKLY AVERAGE: 2885

Again, eating more calories on the one hand, feeling more hungry on the other. Still lower than the 3500+ calories I was eating daily, and certainly more veg.

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MONDAY COUNT:3200

Christmas Eve: We ordered in traditional Chinese food and kept it relatively reasonable, but holiday sweets lying around the house made the calorie count explode. Today and tomorrow, I gotta give myself a little slack in the calorie department as long as I'm eating in a way that doesn't make me feel sick and miserable.

AM SNACK: 8am, iced green tea, 50 cal

BREAKFAST: 8:45am, kolon bloe with whole milk, banana, 390 cal

PM SNACK: noon, momma salad, 100 cal

LUNCH: 1:45pm, chicken teriyaki meatballs, whole wheat cous cous, steamed string beans, 7oz diet coke, 860 cal

DINNER: 5:45pm, singapore mei fun, shrimp toast, wonton soup, 7oz diet coke, +/- 800 cal

EVENING SNACK: 7pm, 2 donuts, +/- 500 cal

EVENING SNACK: 9pm, dark chocolate bar, +/- 500 cal

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TUESDAY COUNT: 2785

Lots of off-the-hook eating opportunities today. Sweets got me good, but was able to keep the day relatively on track.

AM SNACK: 7:30am, iced green tea, 50 cal

BREAKFAST: 9:15am, fruit smoothie, 375 cal

AM SNACK: 11am, momma salad, pickle, 110 cal

LUNCH: 1:30pm, spiral ham, various stinky cheese with bread and crackers, chocolate covered graham cracker cookies, apple pie, chocolate cake, +/-1400
Xmas family gathering, I was doing well sticking reasonable amounts of ham and stinky cheeses with reasonable amount of carbs (hello large bricks of mac n' cheee!), until dessert came and I found some chocolate graham crackers hard to resist, and ate enough to feel the ol' tired run-down feeling I'd get from a sugar fest.

DINNER: 9:30pm, shrimp, roasted broccoli, mac n' cheese, +/-850
Didn't get hungry after the afternoon cookie explosion, resisted just settling my hunger with chocolate chips -- didn't eat enough veg today. Didn't really eat the mac n' cheese I made for the family gathering, but made some extra for here, as the kids love it. Did a back of the envelope estimation of the calories....oy, a small side serving, about half what I'd usually consume as a side, is around 600 calories. Had only 4oz of unadorned shrimp and low-cal broc, but damn that little brick of mac is filling.

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WEDNESDAY COUNT: 3105

Glad I had a proper dinner last night, felt good and properly hungry this morning. It was this time exactly last year I started a 2-week period of illness due to my failing digestive system and diet. Unfortunately, got too tempted by some pasta left overs Betsy brought home -- it was a small portion, but after baked potatoes, I was raging. Something tells me baked potatoes might be some sort of trigger food for me.

AM SNACK: 8am, iced green tea, 50 cal

BREAKFAST: 9:15am, kolon bloe with whole milk, 300 cal

AM SNACK: 11:15am, momma salad, 100 cal

LUNCH: 12:45pm, double quarter pounder, 750 cal
They served me a normal coke by accident, one sip and I said, "Eww!" A second sip to confirm what it was, then rather than trade it in, just tossed it -- do I really need diet coke that desperately? Harder was the fries I tossed out, as Edie loved her nuggets and apples and milk, but was not interested in the fries and I had to resist being the human garbage can repository of an extra 230 calories....

PM SNACK: 5:30pm, apple/carrot/beet/kale/ginger juice, 175 cal

DINNER: 6:15pm, broiled flounder, roasted brussels, baked potato, pickle, 7oz diet coke, 930 cal

EVENING SNACK: 8:15pm, gnocchi, rigatoni with sausage, +/-300 cal
Betsy brought home leftovers. I was too hungry to stop.

EVENING SNACK: 9:30pm, dark chocolate chips and peanuts, +/-500 cal

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THURSDAY COUNT: 2590

Good work out in the morning.

AM SNACK: 8:30am, iced green tea, 50 cal

BREAKFAST: 10:30am,steel cut oatmeal, 375 cal

AM SNACK: 12:45pm, momma salad, 100 cal

LUNCH: 3:15pm, chicken sausage, quinoa, string beans, 690 cal

PM SNACK: 4:30pm, popcorn, a few sips of diet coke, +/-175 cal

DINNER: 7pm, chicken jalfrezi with rice, onion bahji, chocolate hazelnut ice cream, water, +/- 900 cal

Didn't finish my dinner, it just wasn't very good. Went light on the rice, skipped naan bread all together. Needed the ice cream just to feel like I had a yummy meal.

EVENING SNACK: 9:30pm, cheesy poofs, +/-300 cal

Tried to avoid an evening snack, but just got hungry. Hopefully my estimations were accurate. At least they feel honest.

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FRIDAY COUNT: 2745

Woke up a little hungry and nicely sore in my upper arms from yesterday's work out, which is great - progress is being made towards that one golden day in the future where I actually do one damn pull up. C & Lil' A came over for breakfast, made a meal I've never counted because it's usual a weekend treat, kind of an eye opener.

AM SNACK: 8:45am, iced green tea, 50 cal

BREAKFAST: 10:30am, 2 waffles, 2 slices bacon, 7oz diet coke,  720 cal

I've only made waffles on the weekends, so I was surprised to find that each single waffle had 280 cal. They taste great, using only real whole unadulterated ingredients, but a stick of butter (800 cal), a cup and half of flour (832 cal), five eggs (450 cal) all add up, even when divided by 9. The recipe only calls for 2oz of sugar (215 cal), so it's not a total horror, but still. I think last time I made waffles, I was hungry and I ate 5. 1,400 cal at one meal, standing by the oven!!

LUNCH: 2:30pm, almond butter and jelly on whole wheat bread, momma salad, 7oz diet coke, 550 cal

Nice that I don't feel too hungry, even this late. Usually I eat two sandwiches, was easy to do one. Also makes me think of the surprising high glycemic index of bread, whole wheat or not.

PM SNACK: 5pm, apple/carrot/kale/beet/ginger juice, 150 cal

Fuel for some yoga-ing.

SNICKLE DINNER: 7:45pm, vegan Cesar salad, lentil soup, water, +/- 500 cal

SNICKLE SNACK: 8:45pm, popcorn, diet coke, +/- 175 cal

EVENING SNACK: 12:30am, slice of streetza, +/- 250 cal

EVENING SNACK: 1:15am, chocolate chips and peanuts, +/- 500 cal