Starling Fitness: Daily writings on Fitness, Diet, and Health

These patriotic cookies look tempting and delicious, but they give me pause. We are coming up on Independence Day and the grocery store is full of red, white and blue pastries and candies, tempting us at every turn. If you offered me these cookies, my first instinct is to take one (or maybe two because those stars are so very little). If you asked me if I wanted a normal sugar cookie, I can pretty much say no without any reservations, but the red, white and blue cookies are a definite temptation.

When I think about it, though, how are these cookies different from normal sugar cookies? They AREN’T.

The only reason the patriotic cookies are attractive to me is because they aren’t always available. How often am I offered cookies? Quite often, actually, so I don’t really feel like I’m missing out if I don’t eat one. Patriotic cookies, on the other hand, only come once a year. Even though they taste EXACTLY the same as normal cookies, they seem rare.

This is called Artificial Scarcity. Do not let artificial scarcity screw up your eating!

Do patriotic M&M’s taste any different than normal M&M’s? NO! Just because they are only available this time of the year, doesn’t mean that they are any more delicious. Creating red, white and blue packages of M&M’s (or Easter colors or Halloween colors), doesn’t change the fact that all that sugar and chocolate can derail your goals. They do it as a marketing ploy and, honestly, it works really well on most people. Don’t let it derail you.

Yesterday, Mike and I got our first weekly delivery of veggies from Petersen Family Farms. We signed up for their farm cooperative in January, so we have been eagerly awaiting veggies from them for months. After such a cold winter and spring, they are just now harvesting some for us.

Having a weekly shipment of veggies brought to us lets us try new things and urges us to eat more vegetables. You’d think that going to the grocery store and buying a couple heads of fresh lettuce and beet greens would be incentive enough, but when we picked up this box of produce, it was different. We met the guy who grew them, so it made me want to eat them instead of letting them go to waste.

If you have been having trouble getting more veggies into your diet, try visiting a local farm, farmer’s market or signing up for a farm coop. It won’t provide you with fresh veggies all year long, but during these glorious months of summer, you’ll have great tasting veggies.

• Local Harvest / Farmers Markets / Family Farms / CSA / Organic Food

I have been going to Weight Watchers since 2001. For those of you counting, that’s TEN years. I had some progress at first, but I was in a CONSTANT state of hunger and wanted to binge ALL THE TIME. Last year, for my New Years Resolution, I decided that I was going to go to EVERY Weight Watcher meeting. I was never going to miss one meeting. I also got my willpower going when I decided I didn’t want to be like Lindsay Lohan or Charlie Sheen. I was going to keep my addiction under control.

And I did it. I went to every WW meeting and I followed the program for a year. My progress was minimal at best. I lost approximately ten pounds in that year, which is better than gaining that same amount, but it was a CONSTANT struggle to even have those minimal results.

If you are like me, then you are reading this and thinking, “She really didn’t give the program a chance. If she had done everything correctly, there is NO WAY that she only lost ten pounds. She MUST have cheated. It goes against the laws of thermodynamics to eat that little food and lose that little.”

Let me assure you right now that I followed the program to the letter for a year and saw such paltry results that I KNOW for a FACT that Weight Watchers does not work for me. It did when I first started it in 2001, but something has changed and I can no longer lose weight on that plan.

I had been playing with the concept of low carb for a while. It appealed to me because my lactose and gluten intolerance were severely aggravated by the WW plan. When I followed low carb, they understandably went away. You know what else went away? My constant hunger and desire to binge.

Another thing led me to believe that maybe Weight Watchers isn’t telling me the whole truth. Jennifer Hudson, the WW spokesperson, was quoted at a Vanity Fair party to say:

“I just made sure I stuck to my Weight Watchers…I also took the extra mile to delete the carbs. I didn’t eat any carbs until today. I made sure when I felt the need to eat something crunchy I ate nuts instead and stayed away from the carbs.”

So, here we are in 2011. I’m giving it a year of following the low carb diet just as faithfully as I did WW. I’m going to see if I have any better results on this diet than I did last year.

Quote via Jennifer Hudson: ‘I didn’t eat any carbs until today’ | Jennifer Hudson | Skinny VS Curvy

A LONG time ago (back in 2005), I wrote an entry about Margaret Cho’s “F**K It” Diet. She lost weight by having the audacity of throwing away food. I was so inspired by her willingness to let food go to waste at restaurants without bothering to take the food home in a doggie bag.

Unfortunately, most of the people who read that post skewered her for being wasteful. From comments calling the idea “pathetically privileged” to others screaming for take home boxes, it enraged almost everyone.

This comment from echo begs to differ, however:

For all of you out there who are worried about the waste of food in restaurants let me tell something that may ease your minds (and may gross you out as well). I have worked in restaurants of all sorts, including 5 star and I can guarantee you that Margaret’s leftover prime rib is not going to waste. Whenever a large portion of an entree or app. comes back to the kitchen the bus/wait/dish staff will devour it like a pack of hungry jackals. I’ve seen fights break out over who gets first dibs on leftover steak au poivre. So rest easy people, it’s all good!

The next time you’re at a restaurant and you know you will be tempted to eat more than you should if you take the leftovers home, remember echo’s comment. Your food won’t go to waste. It will be gobbled up in the back of the restaurant.

Weight Watchers started a brand new plan yesterday called PointsPlus. Rather than allow their precious plan information to leak a tad early, they opted to disable their iPhone app completely. For the last two days, I haven’t been able to use my Weight Watchers iPhone app to record my food. Rather than allow me to use the old program they have COMPLETELY disabled my program.

Sorry, Weight Watchers. I really love your meetings and my leader, but your corporate decisions have been so shortsighted that you consistently let me down. What is the matter with you folks at a corporate level? Why aren’t you more like the local leaders and staff?

I revamped my Edibles app on my iPhone and it’s logging my food and exercise just fine, by the way.

Here’s how to do it: How To Use Edibles with Weight Watchers PointsPlus

Update 12-02-10:

I have now downloaded the new app, but it requires me to “update my account” on their website. I’ve checked my address and looked at my status, but the entire website seems to have forgotten who I am and that I’ve been a member for YEARS.

An email to tech support resulted in an automated response with a promise of an answer within 24 hours. I am almost finishing my first week on the PointsPlus program and I’m seriously UNIMPRESSED with how they transitioned my iPhone app and eTools account.

Weight Watchers is launching a new program. In the UK, it’s called ProPoints, but in the States, they are calling it PointsPlus. The old Points system has been completely changed, which will change how you’ll calculate the new points on your Edibles program.

According to Wikipedia, the new PointsPlus formula is as follows:

Where pp is the PointsPlus value, p is the amount of protein, c is the amount of carbohydrates, f is the amount of total fat and b is the amount of fiber, all in grams. This formula is an empirical match to the Weight Watchers calculators and may not be exact; Weight Watchers has not published their actual formula.

This formula is pretty convoluted and very difficult to enter into the Edibles Calculator, so Mike converted it for me. This is how I entered it into my Edibles Calculator:

Even if you’re using the Weight Watchers iPhone app, there may be a few days WEEKS when you won’t be able to track using your phone because the app won’t be available as soon as the program starts.

• Weight Watchers: The new program and your iPhone App

The App may not be available for a day or two after the new program launches. We appreciate your patience during this time. You can use the website for tracking, and everything else you usually do on your phone.

You might just want to try out Edibles to see if it works better than the official Weight Watcher app.

• Edibles – Diet Journal

Update 12-02-10: Due to differences in food labeling in the US vs. the UK, the PointsPlus formula is vastly different than the ProPoints formula. I changed this entry to reflect the proper formula for the United States.

I love Michelle Obama for her style and her grace, but I love her even more for the Let’s Move Campaign. They have great tips for parents:

• Keep fresh fruit in a bowl within your child’s reach to grab as a quick snack: I would add that you need to clarify to your children that it’s okay to eat the fruit, even if you eat the last piece. Assure them that you’ll keep it full for them.
• Take a walk with your family after dinner: Or a bike ride or play a game of basketball. Whatever kind of activity you do together that gets the blood pumping is awesome.
• Plan a menu for the week. Get children involved in planning and cooking: This is essential. Not only does it teach your children about eating healthy, you teach them important life skills. How many college students are out there who don’t know how to cook anything but mac and cheese? Your kid won’t be one of them.
• Turn off the TV during meals and share some family time: This is a great way to teach children how to savor the food they’re eating, but it also gives them time to talk with you. I can’t count the number of times I overate because I didn’t have anyone to talk to about my problems.
• Talk to the principal about organizing a school health team: This is the only tip that seems lame. I don’t want the school getting involved. There were so many times that the five food groups talk at school devolved into a teacher commenting on my weight that I think schools should just mind their own business.

Remember that children look to YOU for their role models. If you are eating healthy and exercising regularly, they’ll want to parrot your actions. The first step toward healthy children is healthy adults.

In January, Sara Rue started on Jenny Craig in the hopes of getting back to her 2005 weight. I talked about it here:

• Starling Fitness » Sara Rue And Jenny Craig

Although I’m sure it didn’t feel quick to her, nine short months have flown by and she is now at goal and looking AWESOME! I haven’t followed Weight Watchers at all during the same time, so I look exactly the same. I am so glad that Jenny Craig worked for her, but at the same time, I’m angry with myself for not doing as well as she has done.

After seeing this advertisement, I seriously thought I should join Jenny Craig. Unfortunately, they don’t have a gluten-free option, so I can’t follow their program. Mike was very pragmatic about it. He told me:

If you want to know what it’s like to lose weight on Jenny Craig, just restrict yourself to eating Lean Cuisines and Smart Ones for every meal.

The thought of doing that made me feel immediately deprived and I realized once again that Weight Watchers is the best plan for me because I can work any food into my program instead of relying on prepackaged meals.

Now, I just need to religiously follow Weight Watchers just as faithfully as Sara followed Jenny Craig and I’ll be able to see the same results as her.

I loved this comic from Johnny Wander.

The thought of exploding fruit is always funny, but you might be a little disappointed if you are expecting armament from this fruit. Flavor grenades are pluots, which are a hybrid of plums and apricots. You can read more about them here:

• Flavor Grenade Pluot
• Pluot – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Here’s a little video about them:

Next time you’re feeling bored with your diet, add some interesting fruit that you’ve never tried before, like a Flavor Grenade, dragon fruit or star fruit. There are so many interesting and healthy foods out there to try out, there is no reason for you to get in a rut with your program. Enjoy the flavors of new foods and you’ll be able to keep on your plan.

Victoria Beckham is fantastically thin. At thirty-six years old, she still rocks the fashions in the smallest of sizes. She is so incredibly thin that you might think that she never steps foot in a fast food restaurant for fear of fat clinging to her body through osmosis. I imagine her eating regime to be something akin to air, mugs of hot water and lemon juice.

That’s why it was so surprising to me to see her at Subway with her family. The photo doesn’t actually show her EATING, but she and David are there enjoying family time at the local sandwich shop. If she DID eat, I would love to know what she ate. Was it the veggie sandwich? Did she skip the huge bun? Was it a salad with only vinegar? Inquiring minds want to know.

I know from experience that it’s possible to eat out every day and still lose weight. There is a healthy option at almost EVERY fast food restaurant in the U.S. if you’re willing to ORDER it. The biggest problem is the tempting food at restaurants can override your best intentions. You need will of steel to order the salad at your favorite restaurant instead of the super fatty burger and shake.

The next time you’re at a restaurant and you’re tempted to order food that doesn’t fit into your program, remember Victoria Beckham and how she keeps her slender figure, even though she goes to fast food restaurants just like you.