For your reading entertainment today...here's the latest in uber-fattening foods:

Always wanted pasta on the go? Well now it turns out, in NYC you might just get what you wish for--French noodles...

French pasta in a box











Next up--how about some Cheesecake topped Pancakes? Chalk that one up to the wonderful world of IHOP:

Yummmmy--Cheesecake and pancakes?

And...of course, there's all that buzz about the KFC Double-Down.

Chicken instead of bread? Genius!








 Anyone out there getting a hankering to fall off the diet wagon....????

Finally Burger King takes a foray into the wonderful world of brunch...not that that would ever be on the top of my list. 

Everybody loves brunch. Don't they?

Craving Homemade Custard
Time: 5:00pm
Weight: 150 lbs (same as yesterday, though somehow I managed to skip dinner)
Location: Kitchen

Cravings...most of the time they make no sense, the rest of the time, they derail your diet. 

Recently I have had some pretty strange cravings. Everything from Thanksgiving dinner (that I craved for more than 3 weeks post Thanksgiving) to more recently homemade custard. Today, I finally gave in.

I rustled up my Joy of Cooking book, battered and torn from years of use, and looked up simple vanilla custard. As I remember it, my mom used to make it whenever my sister and I were sick and she was stuck in the house, nursing us back to health. There was something theraputic about the smell of the warm nutmeg and soft vanilla that would fill the house as it cooked in its 'bain marie' (a simple water bath) in the oven--and on a blustery cold day like today--it just sounded good.

I, of course, made some changes due to the whole diet thing--and the new edition of The Joy of Cooking actually has a ton of variations you can make to recipes to make them healthier. I started out by mixing half heavy cream and half non-fat milk--all of it organic--for the milk portion of the recipe (a very similar one here courtesy of evilshenanigans.com--which for the record, I think is an AWESOME name for good food that's bad for you). I also used egg whites (and one egg) for the 'fat' portion rather than whole eggs. 

Amazingly enough, custard is relatively simple to make and it doesn't take a lot of what I like to refer to as 'standing in the kitchen time.' Some really healthy recipes end up taking forever, and ultimately being more of a pain than their worth.

While I was waiting for the custard to cook, I did a little research on cravings and some of the 'scientific' reasons behind them. It turns out that there is a TON of research on food cravings, particularly those that deal with sweet or fattening goods. According to some scientists, the idea that cravings are our bodies way of telling us that we 'need' a certain chemical, nutrient or food, is bunk.  In May of 2005, two scientists, Peter Pressman and Roger Clemens (hes an adjunct professor at my alma mater!)  explained in an article in Scientific American, that most food cravings are in fact simply 'pleasure cravings,' triggered by 'emotion, memory and chemosensory stimuli of food craving,' in other words--we want to eat things that make us feel emotionally good--not necessarily, physically good.

I took this theory and applied to to myself today--and here's what I found--from an emotional standpoint, I have been feeling a bit isolated. I commute almost four hours daily and in those four hours, rarely speak to anyone. Recently my husband has been traveling extensively, so when I am home, its usually just me and the dogs hanging around the house into the wee hours of the morning. The memory of custard--of my mom making it when I was feeling sick--leads me to believe that this particular craving is mainly based in wanting to have company.

Looking back on my day--the most interaction I had was with a clerk at the UPS store while returning some Christmas gifts--and that says something. When we are feeling lonely, or down, or just plain bored, what is it that we're drawn to? Food? Sleep? Alcohol? What kinds of behavior are we replicating unknowingly,  when we could be addressing our issues directly?

At the moment, its an interesting thought. I just put the four 6oz ramekins in the fridge to firm up. We'll see if I eat one of them later tonight as a treat, or, if my loneliness dissipates with some homemade Weight Watchers Cabbage Soup (so good!). 

The question remains, what do you do with this knowledge once you have recognized it?

Location: Ether somewhere
Weight: 150 lbs


Its been quite a few years since the last time I posted...and much has changed in this weighting world...but for a brief moment, I thought I would share a few thoughts on some things I've picked up in the last few years...

First...DailyBeast did a great overview of those diets that ACTUALLY work...

Second...anything you do regularly can make a difference. Take the Taco Bell, drive-through diet for example. LA Times had an entertaining take on it.

Finally....most people have made resolutions to lose weight in 2010--but the truth of it is, according to Calorie-Count's blog (my absolute favorite weight loss/calorie counting site out there)--by Feb 2, almost 95% of those folks, will have fallen off the wagon. That in itself is a pretty sorry statement.

So this year...take a minute...gather your strength, and join me as I struggle through those last 20lbs with you.

Time: 9:08pm
Weight: Unknown--but --eh feeling ok
Location: Gee--big surprise--in front of the television

So I got back on the bandwagon today. Stuck with my "good old fashioned," no white no sugar diet today and feel like I want to eat an entire bag of bagels right about now--instead I am eating a banana and having some fat free milk. It helps--but those bagels are still calling my name

Its been an interesting week which has made it hard, if not near impossible, to stick to my diet.

Lets recap:

My boss got fired. --Big upheaval--basically means putting someone with half as much experience and even less common sense, in charge of a project that was already rapidly heading down scholck alley. That brings my crew down to 3, count them 3, competent, experienced and well versed people running a very high profile shindig for less than minimum wage--combined.

My co-worker quit. --In light of the wonderful hubbub caused by certain people, who will remain nameless, throwing other certain people under a bus--professionally anyway--my co-worker had a fit and decided to--jump ship. Now that brings my crew down to 2. Count them 2 people--with big responsibilities, no time and rapidly waning patience.

Wouldn't you just love to be in my shoes?

I find that when I get stressed out --I really want white things--(white things in my vocabulary being--bagels, tortillas, anything that I am not supposed to eat that I would usually eat if I were not being good)--I think I remember reading somewhere that carbs actually increase your serotonin levels, (read that as "happy" chemicals) and help reduce your stress, but at the same time "refined" carbs are known inflammation foods that actually stress the body out more. So at the same time you are introducing a "feel good" chemical into your body, you are also putting an added stress on your body to process that chemical. Its funny what your body does under stress--especially when its trying to "self comfort." Its like "sabotage time!"

I guess you just can't win!

Time: 10:16am
Location: Living Room Couch--where I have been for 5 days now
Weight: 152.5!!!

Well I guess there are some benefits to being sick. I haven't had much of an appetite for the past 5 days and its paid off. Considering I have been sleeping and sitting on the couch a majority of the days and nights for the past 5 days I am impressed I lost anything at all. (This of course is as measured by the Wal-Mart Special upstairs).

I think this whole vertigo thing has evolved into or from a sinus infection. I just called the MD again and she is going to call in a prescription for Zithromax. Wednesday afternoon I ended up with a massive sinus headache AFTER taking the Antivert she had prescribed on Monday. It didn't make a whole lot of sense to me considering Antivert is actually a decongestant that helps open up your sinuses and ears to help reset your balance. (May have also been a side effect.) I didn't take a pill yesterday because I wanted to see how I would feel. On my way to another MD appt, I felt horrible--the entire world was spinning without me. Thus I decided then and there to actually Obey the Universe as fellow blogger Pinching Out the Pudge hysterically noted in a past post. At that point the Universe was unceremoniously telling me "Stop trying to do everything and GO TO BED!"

Which brings me to my second point today--SLEEP. I love to sleep. It is in fact one of my favorite things. I am a huge proponent of naps. The best thing in the world is to curl up under a down comforter during a lazy afternoon and get a few winks. I love the sound of the heater or the air conditioning as it switches in the middle of the afternoon (why is it that its not nearly as soothing at night?) on and lulls me to sleep. When I am sick, sleep is the one thing I can't get enough of. Recently I have been waking up around 10ish, world still spinning without me, eating, writing and going back to bed around 2. I sleep again until about 6 when I decide its time to get up or I will never sleep through the night, eat again, write some more and go back to bed at 10:30 after talking to my boyfriend who is travelling (AGAIN!). I can tell I am sick when I can sleep soundly throughout the night and still take a nap the next day. My body just craves sleep when I am sick.

I do have to admit though, at times in the past I have used sleep to avoid things. When I used to get really depressed years ago, (I have battled depression my whole life and only recently was able to get it under control through therapy--I am a big proponent of therapy and think everyone should go at least ONCE in their lives), I used to sleep for hours and hours even though my body didn't need it. It seemed to me, that it was the easiest way to deal with pain and shut the world out. I used to retreat to the bedroom to soothe myself and shut down-my theory being, the monsters couldn't get me while I was asleep. It wasn't the healthiest use of sleep but at some point it was a behavior I learned in order to cope. Truth be told, I haven't used sleep that way in years now though, thanks to some much needed support from my boyfriend and my therapist.

I was reading a post earlier from Losing Me on her blog Weight Watchers Eh? about sleep and it got me to to thinking. While I was depressed I naturally gained all this weight that I have been battling to get off. (Please note if you are a young woman suffering from depression, a study came out this week that shows a direct relation between depression and weight gain --not that we needed a study to prove that--but there it is) There have been studies showing that a loss of sleep can cause weight gain becuase it triggers a hunger response. But other studies show that increased sleep lowers your life expectancy.

Which brings up an interesting question... How much sleep is enough sleep? After doing a little digging it turns out that there is no one simple answer. The are however a few basic rules:

1. Your age determines your need for sleep. We all know that babies and toddlers
generally sleep much more than an adult does. As we get older we generally need less
sleep.

2. Your diet can wreak havoc on your sleep habits. Eating high carbohydrate (sugar),
high fat, or high caffine foods right before bed time will destroy your bodies natural
urge to sleep (hence the reason college students order pizza at 4 am!). Studies suggest
that having foods high in calcium before bed(that warm glass of milk perhaps?) help
ease the body into sleep.

3. Listen to your Body (and the Universe): If you are feeling under the weather, and feel
like you truly need the sleep, its probably best not to deprive yourself of what you
need--otherwise the universe will kick you in the kiester and force you to sleep.

Sleep is the most basic way to take care of yourself and by depriving yourself of it you are sabatoging your body and ultimately your weight loss.

Ok--thats enough sermonizing for today.

Time: 10:15am
Location: Kitchen--where else?
Weight: unknown--not worried

So today for the first time, I felt well enough to actually make myself breakfast. It was a miracle in itself.

While I was tooling around in the fridge looking for the bacon (yes that's right I said bacon--2 slices in fact and two eggs!) I came across a familiar white box. Now this little white box has some back story to it.

A very skinny co-worker of mine is getting married in a few months. She is a fitness and food freak --literally--the girl is the size of a toothpick. After months of working across from her, I finally figured out how she stayed so skinny (and forgive me here because I actually think she may have had an eating/workout mental issue)--she eats absolutely nothing but cereal for breakfast and carrot sticks and celery for lunch. I think I saw her eat some fish for dinner one night about a year ago but that is it. Apparently she and her fiance aren't the best cooks in the world so they have a lot of junk food in their apartment. She in particular has a very strong sweet tooth, especially for things like Starbursts and Salt Water Taffy. I am betting that's where most of her caloric intake comes from, but good lord. CARROT STICKS AND CELERY? That can't be healthy every single day? Can it???

Anyway back to the box...as I said before this co-worker of mine has a huge sweet tooth. Around Christmas time the office is a deadly place for a dieter like me to be. There are cookies, chocolate, candy, cake --all brought in by this toothpick of a girl. (Hmm starting to think there is a conspiracy here...) Now a few weeks ago, I came home to a box on my front stoop. My boyfriend ran out and got it and we half heartedly sliced into the packaging. As we did so this gorgeous red box tied with a ribbon peeked out. On the front were the names of my co-worker and her husband-to-be and wrapped neatly inside was a postcard size buttercream cookie from m Edibles Inc.



This is an example of their work--that picturesque little white framed thing on the plate is a cookie!

It was gorgeous, decorated with a thick layer of buttercream icing, it looked like it was inedible, but upon further review, it was absolutely edible. "As if I don't have a hard enough time controlling the bad things that I already have in my house, there is this additional box, to deal with now," I thought. The next morning I was tempted to taste just a corner of the cookie. I took one look at the nutrition facts, so coyly hidden in the top of the box (so that when you open it you don't see the horrifying numbers) and decided that it was better not to taste it at all.

HERE IS THE REASON:

Serving Size: about 1/10 cookie (3 g) --yes that's right 1/10th of a cookie--who in the world eats 1/10th of a cookie!!!! SERIOUSLY
Servings Per Container: about 10 (you have got to be kidding me!)


And here's the kicker folks:

CALORIES: 140
CALORIES FROM FAT: 60

Its a dieters nightmare tied up with a little red bow. How nice. I think the message there was "Hey I am getting married so everyone else --GET FAT--so I look gorgeous!"

Talk about sabotage.

Needless to say--I threw it out this morning.

Time: 2:30pm
Location: Bed
Weight: next to nothing

I tried to go to work today and made it there, spent about half a day tidying up some things and headed on home. This vertigo thing is not going away. Its just not.

My friends at work took one look at me and went--"Woah-go home." So my boss called me a car and I took my gradually thining rear end home.

So far its been a good day--on the eating front.. as long as you count strawberries and oj good. Thats pretty much been my entire caloric intake for today. Truth be told I am just not hungry. Even the MD's words of "eat simple starches." doesn't sound good.

I think I need a nap and then maybe I will feel better again. I really hate using up my vacation days being sick. Its really such a waste!