Guest post: Consider me Cleansed

May 16, 2014 by scootadoot

I grew up a latchkey kid in the cornfield-laden suburbs of the middle of nowhere, Illinois. I pretty much came and went as I pleased, within reason. I relied upon myself for at least half of my daily meals. The meals that I made consisted of whatever I found in the house, and what I found usually consisted of the white starch food group and the overly sugary food group. When my mom cooked, it was usually a meat, bread, and potatoes sort of presentation. Our milk was 2%, always. We were all a part of the clean plate club, and dessert was never something we missed. This was all well and good. I didn’t know any different, and I liked it. I was an active kid: riding bikes, playing soccer, playing softball, running around the neighborhood…you name it, I was involved. So, activity and ultimately crappy eating were excellent partners. Until. UNTIL I hit puberty.

Puberty was not kind to me nor was it a friend of my “questionable food group” diet. I put on weight overnight, I swear. My thighs grew so quickly that they produced stretch marks. I went from being a fairly thin and athletic girl to a chubby 130 pound 8^th grader sporting a butch haircut. (The haircut has nothing to do with anything, but it was horrific enough to be worthy of mention.) This is where my battle with weight and food and self-image began.

I kept up most of my horrible eating habits right on through college. I added the food group “alcohol,” which might have contributed to making things a bit more than worse. I ate things called “beer nuggets,” and I ate them at 3am. I maxed out around 155 pounds. Just so you know, I’m not all that pretty at 155 pounds. Not gonna lie.

Sometime after college, as a working adult living on my own, I figured out that something had to change. I wasn’t happy. I didn’t feel good. I wasn’t comfortable in my own body. I had an epiphany that I simply couldn’t “have my cake and eat it, too,” AND be any combination of thin /healthy / happy. My metabolism didn’t work that way. My body knew how to turn a calorie into a fat cell faster than I could blink, and I needed to come up with a way to win the battle against the calories and fat cells. I needed a way to win the battle against myself.

It has been a journey of 15 or more years in the making. I have found balance. I still don’t know everything there is to know about food, and I don’t claim to be a health expert. I have learned that no one thing works for everyone. I have only learned what works best for me: overall healthy eating and eating everything in moderation. As easy as that sounds, it isn’t. People who have only known me in my adult life assume that I have always eaten well, taken care of myself, exercised, looked this way, etc. Appearances can be so deceiving! When you go on such a journey, you know that the journey continues. It has detours and breakdowns. It doesn’t end…it just goes on.

So, as much as I’d like to say I have it all figured out and that I never give into cravings for shitty food that are destructive to my body…it just isn’t true. I aim to have more better days than I have bad days. I run (when not injured, which is another story for another day). I go to yoga. I eat mostly well. But, I also falter. I also self-sabotage. I also suffer from body dysmorphia. If I gain 10 pounds or lose 5 pounds, I pretty much feel I always look the same: ok, but not great. That is me. I own it, and I am a work in progress.

Just before Easter, I had found that I was really giving into my cravings more than usual. My one or two bad days of eating turned into “I can just have something bad every day as long as I keep up my exercising…that is ok, right?” Once it starts, it is easier to just go with it. Sugar is addictive. It makes me want more and more and more. I’m seriously an all or nothing sort of eater (I eat all of the cupcake, not just a bite. I eat all of the Easter candy, not just a few pieces. I just can’t help myself, it seems). I adapt by eating the cupcake for lunch, that way the calories are still kept somewhat in check. However, my body can’t be fooled. Do that too many times, and the weight just jumps right back on, of course. I decided it was time to reset my body and get back on track. I didn’t feel good. I was up about 5 pounds. I wanted to gain back the control and the good feelings that good eating bring with it.

Enter: the Suja Juice 3-day cleanse. Just so you know, I am not a proponent of cleanses in general. Most of them involve a ridiculous combination of starvation and explosive “colon-purifying” diarrhea. (I’m just sort of against both of those things at my wise old age of 40. Consider me silly, but that is my stance.) When I came across this particular cleanse, though, I realized it was different. Their 3-day cleanse involves drinking 6 juices a day, for a total of 1200 calories. The juices are designed for different purposes throughout the day. This company does NOT urge you to enforce the rule of “chewing is cheating.” If you are hungry: EAT! If you are more active and require more calories: GET THEM! The only guideline is that you are smart about your choices. They recommend eating raw fruits and vegetables, drinking clear broths, or eating things like a baked sweet potato or an avocado. The idea is to rest and cleanse your digestive tract, and these choices will allow you to stay true to that idea.

My experience with this cleanse was a good one. It is recommended that you set yourself up for the cleanse by reducing sugar intake, eliminating coffee and alcohol, and eating a bit more lightly in the few days leading up to it. Uh huh. Yeah. I totally didn’t do that. I drank coffee. I drank my nightly jumbo sized glass of red wine. I ate as much as I could at an Easter brunch the day before. (Remember when I said that I self-sabotage? Well, here you go.) I knew I was starting the juice cleanse, so I just went crazy beforehand. Consider it the storm before the calm. Sort of backwards, sure, but that is par for the course in my world. Way to go, me!

When I commit to something, though, I commit! I jumped right into that cleanse the next day. I started day one with a juice and a yoga class. I figured it was smart to exercise first thing, prior to my body only having liquid sustenance and being a bit energy deprived. All went well there. I initially thought that I wouldn’t be able to give up my coffee and wine habit, but I did! I think that I was drinking so much throughout the day that I didn’t really crave anything else that was liquid. The first day I did make the mistake of not bringing one of the scheduled juices with me when taking my daughter to a movie. Too much time had lapsed between juices (you are pretty much drinking one every 2 hours), and I found myself VERY hungry. I cheated and ate 3 large bites of my daughter’s soft pretzel. Eh, nobody’s perfect. The rest of the day went well. No other cheats. No other problems.

Now I will say, on day one, I was not used to the juices. I’m not a “juicer” in general, so I didn’t know what to expect. The first juice (Glow) has a bit of an overwhelming celery presence to it, but it wasn’t too bad. I managed it. The second juice (Fuel) is bright orange and has a light sweetish taste of pineapple and orange. For the record, I loved this one. The third juice (Purify) is purple, thanks to the beets in it. My first experience with it was a bit interesting. This one is “earthy” and a bit “dirty” tasting, as in it sort of tastes like dirt. Really. I plugged my nose when drinking it the first go around. Next up was Fiji. It has a lot of apples in it, so I thought it would be amazing. I was wrong. I wasn’t prepared for the STRONG taste of ginger. I drank 2 swigs and called it quits. I drank more water to fill up my belly instead. For dinner there was Green Supreme. It is definitely green, but the taste surprised me. It was very much like apple juice, and I welcomed that immensely! Last for the day was Vanilla Cloud. It is designed sort of as a dessert. It has hints of vanilla, coconut, cinnamon, and nutmeg. I liked it. It is tasty. Other people RAVE about this one, but I have to say that the grit of spices and chunky bits of coconut meat turned me off to it a bit. Just a personal thing, I guess.

Anyway, the rest of the cleanse went surprisingly well. The juices grew on me, and I found myself actually looking forward to them. I didn’t even have to plug my nose at all. In addition, I managed to drink all of my Fiji drink on day 3. I’m not going to lie, I still had to kind of choke that one down, but I did it! I was oddly proud. I found what worked for me was adding in raw carrots and celery throughout the day. I also would throw in a banana or some grapes. When I was craving something warm to eat, I made up some vegetable broth and drank it from a coffee mug. This satiated that need, and it also added a few calories and a feeling of fullness that helped me through the process.

Some things to note:

I really wasn’t hungry, per se. I more missed the process of putting something in my mouth and chewing it. This is where the raw fruits and veggies came in.
I was pretty tired the end of day 1. I even went to bed early.
I was COLD during this process. I am generally cold, so this isn’t a big deal, but I certainly noticed feeling a chill. The warm broth at night helped with this side effect.
My teeth were very sensitive by day 3. Although there are no added sugars in these juices, they do contain a ton of pressed fruits which means there is a lot of natural sugars in them. I have sensitive teeth to begin with, so the sugar did a number on them. I would recommend using a straw!
I took off exercising on day 2, but I did go for a run on day 3. I was sluggish and my legs felt heavy. I still managed it, but I definitely noticed the lack of energy.
I constantly had to pee. I mean it. All day. Middle of the night. All night. When you are drinking that much liquid, I guess it is bound to happen!

How did I feel in the end? Did I lose weight? Did I feel reset? Would I recommend juice cleansing to others? Well, I will tell you. I felt pretty great after it was all said and done. I felt a sense of accomplishment and a sense of peace. I know that might sound a bit weird, but I don’t know how else to phrase it. Weight loss is NOT the ultimate goal of a juice cleanse, but it is often a by-product of it. In my case, I lost a total of 6 pounds. (I lost 3 pounds after the first day. I lost an additional pound after day 2 and after day 3. Oddly enough, after resuming my normal diet on day 4, I still lost an additional pound. I am back to my “happy weight.”) The best part of the entire experience was feeling reset. This cleanse gave me a chance to get away from all the sugar and junk and put me back on the path of “mostly eating well most of the time.” Given all of my positive experiences with it, I would highly recommend trying out the Suja Juice cleanse! I know that I plan on using the 3 day cleanse a few times a year, and I will probably throw in a 1 day cleanse from time to time. They have a lot of wonderful juices that I also intend to use as an occasional meal replacement or as a snack just to get in some extra fruits and veggies. It isn’t a cheap date, but I do like that everything is already thought out, prepared, packaged, and ready for me to ingest.

In the end, as we all know, there are no magic pills / diets / secrets that will turn us into picture perfect models of health and fitness. Every day we have to own our individual journeys and do our best to just keep doing our best. I am proof, though, that you can change your overall course. I’m not perfect, and I obviously still seek out ways to help me stay on track, or get back on track when I falter…but there is satisfaction in small victories and continued overall success. I find joy in sharing my experiences and offering up any tools that have worked for me, just as I embrace gaining similar knowledge from others around me who are also fighting the good fight.

So, have you cleansed? Do you have any tools that you use to battle cravings? What are different ways that you have succeeded in your journey to be healthy?

Megan Ritter is a stay at home mom, blogger and fashionista. She enjoys yoga, running, photography and the laugher of her daughter. Her secret powers include sarcasm and baking without a recipe. It’s quite possible that she was a cat herder in a past life. A Chicago area native, Megan now lives in Haddonfield, NJ with her husband, 4 year old daughter and dog, Batman.

Notes on purchasing Suja Juice: you can find / purchase Suja juice products and the 1, 3, or 5- day cleanse on the Suja website: http://www.sujajuice.com . Please note, when purchasing through their website the shipping costs are very expensive. This is fresh juice that must be shipped on ice overnight. I found and purchased the 3-day cleanse on Amazon.com, and I was able to greatly reduce the shipping expense / cost of the product. The price varies, but you can usually find a good deal here. You can also find many of the Suja juice products (and piece together your own cleanse) at your Whole Foods store.

Diet is a Four Letter Word

May 9, 2014 by bec2point0

So is cult. Hmmm.

Last week, Meri sent me a link to this very interesting post from Triathlete Magazine’s website.

You should give it a read. I’ll wait right here.

*folds nine millionth load of laundry*

So? Did you spend half of that article nodding like a bobblehead? Because I did.

Now, keep in mind, I had just come off on my less-than-30 day stint on Whole30, a diet with a decidedly cultlike following. But Whole30 is certainly not the only diet that meets at least a few of those criteria. In fact, most of the ‘diets’ I’ve been on over the course of my life fall into at least one of those categories, most of them more than one.

Similar to religion, I’ve spent years trying to find the one diet that just fit. Except that I accepted years ago that no one religion fully encompassed my belief system, yet I’ve continued to try on diet after diet, looking for the perfect one.

But no sooner had I adopted a new diet plan, then I would immediately start feeling the chafe of the restrictions and questioning whether the principles of the diet were even based in sound nutritional science at all. What do you mean no fruit? Why is peanut butter forbidden, but almond butter is fine? What do you mean no substitutions, I hate beets! Why does everyone need me to drink the Kool-Aid? WE’RE NOT EVEN ALLOWED TO HAVE KOOL-AID!!

Clearly, the part of the article that really spoke to me, the part that gave me one of those elusive ‘A-HA’ moments, was where the author, Matt Fitzgerald, talks about “agnostic healthy eating.”

Boom. Like a ton of bricks. This made so much sense to me.

I’ve said to more than one friend over the years, and even my doctor, that I keep waiting for the ‘magic plan’ that will finally work. And really, I’m an intelligent adult. Logically, I know that unicorns don’t exist and that the rabbit was really in the hat all along and that any number of diets will help me to lose weight if I’m willing to do the work. Still, there is a part of me that likes to believe that magic exists. And that a magical perfect diet exists.

It doesn’t. When it comes to weight loss, there is no magic. There are no fairy godmothers, waiting around to grant our wishes of instant and lasting weight loss.

Sorry. I know, I’m bummed too. (Let’s hug it out, we’ll get through this together.)

The funny thing is, the fact that a diet that is loaded with high quality food and light on processed food is the best option? This is not news. Anyone I know that has had significant, lasting weight loss, has done so by eating more whole, natural foods and less (or no) chemical laden junk, regardless of what name their diet plan had.

It seems so simple when it’s broken down like this. And really, without even really realizing it, my head was already kind of going to this place. Immediately after giving up my quest for a Whole 30 halfway through day 5, I immediately bopped over to twitter and tweeted the following (in several tweets because I am wordy and 140 characters is not a lot):

So, in the wake of my opting not to finish Whole 30, I needed a new diet plan. Decided to come up with my own and I’ve got it! It is a combo of vegan, clean eating, Paleo, weight watchers, low Carb, and a few others. I’m calling it Eat Food That is Good for You in Reasonable Quantities and Don’t Go Off the Rails When You Occasionally Indulge. The name needs work, admittedly. I took my inspiration from the Michael Pollan quote, “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” Brilliant.

I’m a little sassy on Twitter sometimes.

Look at that. I’m cured! Now that I have had these realizations, the weight will fly off my body like magic!

Oh. No. It won’t. I will still have to do the work. I will still have to make the tough choices, like ‘Cookies for breakfast? No. Not today.’ And I know myself well enough to know that cult-like or not, I do best with some kind of a plan, something with structure. It doesn’t have to be rules, especially if those rules are ‘no ice cream shall ever pass those lips again’, but the support system and the community aspects? Those parts of diets work for me.

Enter Weight Watchers. Surprisingly enough, when I joined, confetti did NOT rain from the sky and I was NOT handed a free toaster for being the member that had signed up the most times. Hard to believe.

While Weight Watchers definitely holds some of the characteristics of a cult-like diet, the one thing it definitely does not do is make any food forbidden. So, while cookies can’t be an everyday thing, and most certainly should never be for breakfast, they are something I can indulge in on occasion.

Weight Watchers is not the answer for everyone. Heck, it may not be the answer for me. But it’s a place where I feel like I can have my agnostic beliefs, where I can do it my way, and still be part of the ‘cult’.

I really wanted to make a commitment, to give this long enough to start to feel ‘normal’, so I prepaid for six months of meetings. I went for my first weigh in on Sunday morning. It was nothing unexpected. The plan hadn’t changed since the last time I joined. The number on the scale was nothing I hadn’t seen there before.

But it isn’t one I care to see again. So, let’s get to work.

*blows an eyelash of my finger*

Just in case.

Whole Lot of Crazy

April 17, 2014 by bec2point0

If you’ve learned anything about me through my blogging in the last year, you’ve probably learned that I am a complete goldfish when it comes to healthy eating. I get distracted by shiny things. And then, before that thing has a chance to take hold, I’m distracted by another shiny thing. Or by ice cream.

It’s a thing. A not-so-great thing. Me and food…well, we’re in what I like to call a relationshit. It’s completely dysfunctional and something definitely needs to change.

Enter Whole 30.

If you don’t know about Whole 30, it’s essentially a SUPER clean, Paleo-esque program for 30 days. It’s something I’ve been contemplating for well over a year, but I’ve always brushed it off as being ‘too hard’. According to the Whole 30 website, this is NOT HARD.

You can find the complete program rules here, but in short:

No sugar or sugar substitutes (meaning no added sugar, real or artificial)
No grains (no, not even quinoa)
No white potatoes (oh French Fries, how I will miss thee)
No legumes (this is the one that I don’t really understand, but I’m rolling with it)
No dairy (I’ve been trying to break up with dairy for over a year. It’s time.)
No carrageenan, MSG or sulfites (hello, reading ALL the labels)
No alcohol (this is actually the only one I’m not remotely worried about)
No ‘paleo-baking’ (essentially taking all compliant ingredients and turning them into cookies)

This is pretty far from where I am right now. Being that right now, I am eating a giant breakfast sandwich and drinking an Extra Extra iced coffee. I’ve been to Dairy Queen so many times in the last week that I think they are going to start calling me by name (curse you, Celebration Cake Blizzard). I leave my house every morning with no lunch bag, no snacks and no plan, which ultimately dissolves into a high-calorie, high fat lunch out.

And if you think my relationship with food has fallen into toxic territory, you should probably know that my pants and I are in the midst of an epic battle. (My pants are losing terribly. It’s tragic.)

So, why not just make some moderate dietary changes? Why so drastic? In truth, I’m not at the point right now where moderation is my friend. While as an overall ‘lifestyle’, I fully support the ideal that you can, and should, be able to eat what you want IN MODERATION, right now a cookie = two cookies = a bag of cookies.

I’m a classic Type A personality. I do best with a set of guidelines and a goal. I’m competitive and results oriented. And I like to WIN. While I don’t necessarily buy in to the ‘this is NOT hard’ mantra behind Whole 30, I get what they are saying. In the grand scheme of life, nothing about this program represents actual hardship. You get to eat. You don’t have to be hungry.

There are plenty of delicious things to eat. Fruits. Veggies. Lean protein. Avocados. NUTS.

And it’s 30 days.

Honestly, the thing I think I am going to struggle with the most is the non-food related regulation that you not weigh yourself or check your measurements at all during the 30 day period. I am a complete slave to my scale. That said, while I am sure weight loss will occur, I’m really doing this as more of a personal challenge, to see if me and food can come to a more peaceable coexistence.

I’d also like my pants to fit, I’M JUST SAYING.

As of today, I’m T-minus-four days. I’m trying to suppress my natural urge to eat EVERYTHING I won’t be able to eat during the program over the next four days. Trying. Failing thus far, but still trying.

Monday, I jump on the Crazy Train. All aboard!

Have you done Whole 30? Do you have tips/tricks/recipes you want to share with Bec? Do you want to join her on the Crazy Train? She loves company!

All-You-Can-Eat Oatmeal

April 10, 2014 by bec2point0

This past weekend, while visiting Meri in NJ and spectating while several of my Scoot chicks and other friends ran the Atlantic City April Fools Half Marathon, there was a lot of eating out while I was in NJ. Which was fabulous (Oh Pop Shop, you own a piece of my heart now)!

But for breakfast, we tended to get down in Meri’s kitchen. There were waffles. There was coffee. And there was oatmeal.

We decided to do an oatmeal buffet on Saturday morning, which in this case meant a really good base (or two) and a whole bunch of toppings.

I think Meri and I have both shared our love of Whipped Banana Oatmeal from Kath Eats before on here. It’s worth talking about again. This recipe reignited my love of oatmeal. It’s hearty and filling and sweet and just darn good.

Mer adding the magic ingredient

So, for our Oatmealstravaganza, this stuff was just a given. It’s the perfect base for whatever toppings you love.

Perfection!

For my contribution, I decided to go with Zucchini Bread Oatmeal from Oh She Glows. This is a vegan recipe, and while we didn’t make it vegan last weekend (we used regular organic milk instead of non-dairy milk), I have and it’s fantastic.

Breakfast Veggies!

The Zucchini Bread oatmeal is a little more strongly flavored (lots of cinnamon and nutmeg), so it doesn’t lend itself as well to some toppings, but we found some that worked quite well.

The All-You-Can-Eat Oatmeal Buffet

Once the oatmeal was done, we grabbed everything but this kitchen sink to throw on top: Caramel Bits, peanut butter chips (my new favorite), almond butter, nutella, fresh fruit.

Oatmeal, chick style

As you can see, we all went for different bases and toppings. And we all went back from seconds. It was a truly a delicious start to our Saturday!

Do you oatmeal? Tell us about your favorite bases and toppings!

Juicy Juice

March 24, 2014 by bec2point0

Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. Heard of it? Seen it? Felt like it?

I watched this documentary by Joe Cross two years ago, and while there is a part of me that would love to tell you that I was so inspired that I went juice crazy, lost all my weight and am currently employed as a bikini model, only one of those things is true.

I went juice crazy. Or maybe just juice unstable?

When I watched this film, it was all the talk, and people were doing juice fasts and cleanses left and right. Three days. Thirty days. Sixty days!

While I had no desire to do any sort of cleanse or fast, I was interested in adding fresh, raw juice into my diet, so I ordered my Breville and starting juicing everything I could get my hands on. And over the past two years, my relationship with my juicer has been very much on-again/off-again, but we’re still deeply in love. If I’m not doing well with all things health, my juicer sits on the counter, collecting dust and silently mocking me. But, as soon as I start actively working on bettering my health, the first thing I do is pull out my Breville.

My baby

Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead wasn’t where juice began, clearly. People have been eating raw and juicing for years. I can actually remember being about ten, and a friend of my aunt’s, who ate a raw diet, make me fresh carrot juice. I loved it! When I first got married, I asked for a juicer, and tried making my own carrot juice. Back then, high powered juice extractors were incredibly expensive, and their lower cost cousins were really not great quality. I think it took me a pound of carrots to make a single cup of juice. It was a short-lived experiment for me at that point.

But the movie, available on Netflix and Hulu, did introduce the idea of juice, and juice fasting, to a much wider audience (I read somewhere that after the film came out, Breville sales doubled). Three years later, juice is still a very popular ‘fad’, super expensive bottled cleanses are still showing up on Groupon, and people are still debating the health benefits of juice (So many vitamins! Too much sugar!) Juice, for some, is the gateway drug into a fully plant-based lifestyle. I’m not going to bore you with facts and figures and numbers and controversy. I know you all know how to Google.

What I can tell you is that adding one or two servings of raw juice to my diet every day makes ME feel incredible. It gives me a boost of energy in the morning far superior to what I get from my usual coffee (I haven’t given up coffee, don’t talk crazy). It helps certain systems of my body keep a much more regular schedule, if you know what I mean, and I’m pretty sure you do since I all but spelled it out right there. After a few weeks, my skin looks better.

Apple Pie in a mason jar…sort of.

And? IT’S DELICIOUS.

With a good quality juicer, you can make a million varieties. If you currently buy bottled ‘fresh’ juice, or find yourself regularly frequenting your local juice bar (if you actually have a local juice bar, I’m super jealous of you), I highly recommend buying a juicer and making your own. Cost wise, it’s going to save you in the long run. And you can put whatever you want in it!

My personal favorite is Pineapple Pear Lemon Ginger, but that’s a pretty high sugar drink, so I save that one for once in a while. Mostly, I stick with Mean Green (kale, cucumber, celery, apple, ginger and lemon), Cucumber Melon (cucumber, cantaloupe and kale) and Apple Pie (Apple Carrot with cinnamon). But I’ve juiced pretty much every fruit and vegetable that has come into my house at least ones (plums = horrible).

Making my Mean Green!

Now, I still have zero desire to do a juice fast or cleanse. If that works for other people, awesome. A few years back, I was diagnosed with eosinophilic esophagitis, and could only have liquids and pureed foods for about six weeks. After that experience, I can tell you I will never voluntarily give up solids. I like food, and chewing, far too much.

But juice in addition to food? I’m all over that.

Do you juice? Want to share your recipes?? Pretty please!

Chick Chat: Set It Off

February 6, 2014 by bec2point0

You know those foods that it just takes one bite to set off a feeding frenzy? Those hair triggers that mark the fine line between a little indulgence and an all expense paid trip to Chow DownTown?

Healthy eating is a struggle for many of us. Whether you’re an all-day snacker, or a late-night fridge raider or a full out junk food junkie, you do the best you can. Then, that one ‘special’ food wanders into the picture and you’re done.

I think a lot of you can relate here, yeah? No? NO? If you don’t have one of these impossible-to-resist foods in you’re life, I envy you.

I asked my fellow chicks if they had a particular food that just did them in, and low and behold, I’m not alone here. Keep reading to hear about the foods that make us go Mmmmmmmmmmmm, and the healthy substitutions we’re trying our best to make.

Bec

Two words. Ice cream.

Two more words (and an ampersand). Ben & Jerry’s.

A personal favorite

My relationship with these boys has been long and torrid. We’ve broken up, many times. But with just a few words, I hook back up with them in a millisecond. “New Flavor” – I’m yours. “Limited Edition” – where do I sign up?

Ice cream is a serious trigger food for me, in the sense that I’m rarely satisfied with a half-cup serving, and can polish off an entire pint without even realizing it. Ice cream on the couch while watching television is mindless eating, in the truest sense of the word. I swear to you, while I can tell you about every flavor nuance and describe to you in vivid detail the level of creaminess, when I’m eating it, it’s as if my brain is completely turned off and then I come to with an empty container in my hand and a vaguely sick feeling in my stomach.

Frozen yogurt isn’t the same, not even when it’s Pinkberry. A small scoop of gelato is nice, too, but it just doesn’t cut it. This, for me, is one of those ‘go big or go home’ foods. I don’t want a similar substitute. I want it all. Or nothing.

Okay, well not NOTHING. I still want something. But I’ve really been trying to break away from ice cream and frozen treats until I can get it together with that behavior. Instead, if I’m craving something sweet in the evening, I make myself a bowl of fruit and a 1/2 cup of Noosa. If you haven’t had Noosa, I highly recommend you run to Target and get some (that’s the only place I know that carries it). Lemon or Tart Cherry are my personal favorites, but the Mango, Blueberry and Raspberry are darn good too.

Noosa is the new ice cream

Noosa is similar to Greek yogurt in thickness, but it’s even creamier and decidedly less tart. YUM. It’s not B&J extravaganza, but it doesn’t leave me feeling bad, and it helps curb my sweet tooth. So Ben? Jerry? You’re going to have to find yourself a new girl. You know… for now.

Mer

You know the old nursery rhyme, “When she was good, She was very, very good, But when she was bad, she was horrid”? That adequately describes me when it comes to the food thing. The times that I’m solid? Tracking my food and being “good” – I’m golden. Nothing can stop me.

And then there are the… other times.

However, I’m learning balance. A few years back the go-to comfort food was ice cream. I thought that because we didn’t have it in the house, I was fine. But no, my husband would go out and get it for me whenever I requested. (Which was a lot.)

Ice cream was not an “every once in awhile” treat, it was a “hey, it’s Monday and I’m bummed” treat. It was a “yay, kiddo slept through the night” treat. And it was too much.

So I cut back to none. That’s right, I had to go cold turkey for a bit. And now I’m able to enjoy ice cream for what it is and be present and mindful when I’m eating it. I don’t want it to be emotional eating. Rather than getting a peanut butter cup sundae, I’ll get a scoop of vanilla and caramel. Or I’ll go with frozen yogurt (which I’m sorry, it’s good but it doesn’t NOT taste as good as ice cream). It’s not perfect and neither am I, but I’m far better about it than I once was.

FRO-YO

Cam

I’m a sugar fiend. White processed sugar mixed with some kind of fat and/or cream is my favorite. Despite my many attempts to give up sweets, I find that eliminating them completely from my diet only makes me want them more. When I break, and I always break, I go hard. So instead of saying no, I say YES… in very small portions. I’ll give up calories at lunch or go without snacking if I know I’m going to want to indulge later (or earlier… cake is totally a breakfast food). I also try to find substitutions that satisfy my need for sweet that are low in calories and high (alright, higher) in nutritional content. And I share! I’ll share with my kids, split with my fella, or my mom, or even snag a taste off my dining partner’s plate. Sometimes all I really want is a bite. I’m a huge supporter of the Bite for a Bite movement.

If I’m craving pie/cake – I’ll have half a banana or a handful of strawberries/blueberries with sugar free vanilla pudding. Sometimes, I’ll crumble up half of a graham cracker or a Nilla wafer and mix it in. It gives the illusion of crust.

If I’m craving ice cream – frozen yogurt fo sho! There’s a Sweet Frog about a mile from my house. I’ll walk there and get the fat-free raspberry/mango sorbet mixed with the cheesecake. And it is divine.

If I’m craving Juice It Up – I stop at this fine establishment if I don’t have time to make my smoothie in the morning. Which happens often. I’m in love with the Evergreen smoothie but it’s a ton of calories. So I ask them to leave out the sherbet and lemonade and use water as a base instead. It’s still fantastic. BTW, Juice It Up will make whatever concoction you want – not just what’s on their menu. Leave out those fake sugars and go all natural!

If I’m craving chocolate – this doesn’t happen often, but if I want chocolate, I’ll usually eat… chocolate. Usually in the salted and/or caramel form. Chocolate isn’t my favorite, so if I’m craving it, I like to make it really special. Sub-par chocolate just isn’t worth the calories.

Brooke

I don’t really limit my diet but there are a few snack food items that I rarely buy because like a potato chip, I can’t eat just one. Or five. Okay, ten. Since we’re all being honest.

I love Oreos but when I open them, I intend to take just two – the serving size – only to look down a few minutes later and realize I’ve eaten a third of the package. One way I avoid this is by not purchasing them, but occasionally the girls will ask for them. Luckily, their favorite flavor is Berry Ice Cream (because they’re pink), and I think those are disgusting.

I have a terrible sweet tooth. My trainer told me I should sit down with one square of dark chocolate and take very small bites. I don’t see that ever happening.

Instead of eating sweets, I try to reach for fruit.

Fruit, anyone?

Vic

I don’t really have one “trigger food” that leads to the unraveling of my diet. I have an entire TRIGGER SHELF.

The Trigger Shelf

This shelf is central in my newsroom and is a catchall for all culinary treats. On any given day, it holds chocolate bars, candy and cookies.

AND IT’S DIRECTLY BEHIND MY DESK.

On Election Day, it’s filled with all types of pizza and soda. After Halloween, it’s filled with leftover chocolate. Post-Christmas, bring on the cookies. In the summer, fresh fruit and veggies often collect here. And then there’s doughnut holes. I can’t say no to doughnut holes.

Last week, there was a tool set made of chocolate. Last month, I recall seeing some cotton candy and other hard candy treats.

And sometimes, there are bags of potato chips. They call to me. It’s hard to resist. And I don’t even LIKE potato chips.

Most days, I manage to ignore the food. I tell myself its stale, has been dropped on the floor, or tastes foul. Believe it or not, that actually works. Sometimes I turn to my own lunch, eating my pre-packed health foods at my desk.

Then on days like today, I eat.

Today’s temptation

I walked back for more tortilla chips at least four times. So yeah, I failed today. I failed badly. Thank goodness there’s always tomorrow.

Jess

My trigger food has been, is, and always will be sweets. Cookies and ice cream, specifically. In fact, I was just in the kitchen foraging for either, but unfortunately we have neither. Or maybe fortunately, since I 100% do not need to eat cookies or ice cream. Or cookies & cream ice cream (mmm).

I’ve yet to come up with a replacement that actually curbs my craving, but when I don’t give in to it, I will grab some kind of sweet fruit to tame my sweet tooth. Those little clementine oranges are great – easy to peel, easy to eat, and cute to boot!

How about you guys? Do you have a food that just sends you careening off the rails? Something you don’t ever have in the house for fear that it will only be there for 10 minutes? Have you found a healthier replacement option?

In It to Lose It

January 3, 2014 by bec2point0

Errrr, win it? Well, be the winner. Or the loser. The biggest loser. Which is the winner of money. And the loser of…some weight.

That made sense, right? No?

Today marks the official start of my company’s ‘biggest loser’ style weight loss competition. This is our second year running it and the person who coordinates all of the health and wellness events for the company (*points to self*) has really amped up the contest this year. Team t-shirts. Lots of prizes. Weekly prizes. Team prizes. And one big mother of a top prize.

$1000

I want it. I really do. But with that much money on the line, I’ve got a lot of competition. 36 people signed up and that is out of a company of just over 100 employees. Which, for the success of the program, I’m thrilled. We’re working to implement health and wellness programs, because unhealthy employees have higher health insurance costs, etc etc. So, if I can get a third of the company the shed some pounds, I’m a ROCK STAR.

But man, I’m scared. Last year’s winner lost 16.9%. At my current weight, that would mean losing 63 pounds. Did I mention this is a 12 week competition? Yeahhhhh.

I mean, really, I don’t think I’m scared of not winning. I’m scared of falling into the same pattern I did last year – stay on track for three weeks, go off track for 7 weeks, get back on track for 2 weeks, lose 3%. That was less fun than it sounds. Oh, it doesn’t sound fun? Yeah, it wasn’t. Even if I don’t win, I’m trying to use these 12 weeks to really kick start me into losing weight, getting exercise and living a healthier lifestyle. And if I also win $1000, that’s cool. (I’m so nonchalant, right?)

I signed up for Weight Watchers online to keep me on track with food. I rejoined my gym to get me moving. I’ve got my husband on board with cutting back on the junk, and my 16 year old daughter asked if she could be my gym buddy. What else do I need?

I’m going to need cheerleaders. Coaches. Volunteers to toss water in my face as I run by. Maybe we can skip that last one. But all kidding aside, I’m asking for help. Which is something I almost never do. But I’m asking. Help a sister out? If you see me on Twitter and I’m tweeting about how I really want to consume mass quantities of gelato, kick my gently in the rear end? Spam me with healthy recipes? Text me at 5:00AM and ask if I’m on my way to the gym? Or outside shoveling, because heyyyyyy New England.

Footnote: Due to the shockingly unshocking Massachusetts weather conditions in winter, we are currently buried in snow. (If you say ‘It’s so pretty!!!’, I might slug you.) So the start of the program actually got moved until Monday.

Chick Chat: Snack Attack!

July 11, 2013 by scootadoot

What’s the best meal of the day? Snack. Boom. Done.

The Scoot a Doot chicks LOVE us some snacks. We try to keep the snackage on the healthy side, and we’re more than willing to share. Okay, maybe not more than willing, but at least willing. At the very least, we share snack ideas with each other… and now we’re going to share them with you! And rest assured, this is nothing but our unbridled opinions. The links below are just for your information. No one sent us free snacks. But, you know, we certainly wouldn’t object to getting free snacks! Would you? (Hint, hint).

Mer

Oh, yay! We are back to my favorite subject: FOOD!

I feel like all the time is snack time at our house. Snacks for everyone! My kids are grazers, they like to eat smaller meals throughout the day rather than full meals. Breakfast can last all morning long and as far as I’m concerned, that’s not a bad thing!

Some favorite afternoon snacks are mixed nuts, trail mix, that sort of thing. Whole wheat sandwich thins with either Justin’s or MaraNatha peanut or almond butters, sliced bananas and cinnamon. Fage or Chobani Greek yogurts are delicious and easy.

Now I’m hungry.

Me too, Mer. Me too.

Jess

I’m not always the healthiest of snackers, so I need easy grab-and-go snacks in order to make the right choices. You can always find some sea salted almonds or cashews in my snack drawer at work, nestled next to a bag of sweet potato Pop Chips. Whole wheat bagels with chunky organic peanut butter and a banana is yummy and filling.

But my absolute favorite healthy snack is Greek yogurt with Nature’s Path pumpkin flax granola. People, this stuff is amazing. I mean really, really delicious. When in doubt, I always fall back on it for breakfast or a snack!

Greek Yogurt and delicious looking granola a la Jess!

Cam

My favorite snack currently is juiced veggies and fruits but since you can’t put that in a basket and ship across the country, a very close second is belVita Breakfast Biscuits.

They’re like graham crackers but come in a couple different varieties, like blueberry and apple cinnamon. They’re not very low in calories but they’re high in fiber, grains, and vitamins. They’re a cookie substitute that satisfies my sweet cravings when I don’t have time to juice or make a smoothie. The package comes with 4 biscuits but it usually only takes 2 to fill me up. And my kids love them too!

Belvita. Not Velveeta.

Vic

I’m a snacker. And I usually crave fritos.

Yes, I know they are bad for me. Yes, I know they have no redeeming qualities. But I love them nonetheless.

Occasionally, I throw caution to the wind and eat them anyway, but I typically snack on fresh fruit (apples, bananas and grapes are my faves) or yogurt (Noosa, Chobani bites or Oikos Greek yogurt.) I also love pretzel thins, raisins, pita chips with hummus, sunflower seeds and nuts – any type of nut, I don’t discriminate.

Vic is never too busy for Noosa!

And to try to stave the cravings, I also drink LOTS of water. I’m hoping it will fill me up so I’m not hungry – read, snacking – but that rarely works as well as I’d hoped.

Brooke

I love snacks! Who doesn’t? I have a lot of awesome crackers and cookies in my house, because I have kids and we don’t completely
deprive them of treats (aka junk food), but I always make sure they have a healthy snack first. And I try to avoid most of the treats by
keeping the pantry and fridge stocked with my favorite healthy stuff.

Flavored almonds and I are totally having a moment right now. I love the wasabi spiced almonds and the vanilla roasted are great if I want something sweet.

Brooke likes sugar AND spice!

Kashi trail mix bars are my “on the go” snack; I always have one in my tote. And some days, my favorite snack is a latte from Starbucks. That totally counts, right?

Of course, I eat lots of fruits and veggies too.

Bec

If I were a dinosaur, I’d be a Snackosauras. Seriously. If I could realistically make my entire diet of snacks, I’d be a happy girl. Don’t get me wrong, I love mealtime, but I LOVE snacktime. And it happens so often, which is even better!

In my unhealthier days, snacks were a box of Cheez-its. Or a pint of Ben and Jerry’s. Yeah, the whole thing. In both cases. These days, I’m working on making snack time part of my healthy diet and making sure my snacks are nutritious, tasty and satisfying.

Like a lot of the chicks, I’m a big fan of Justin’s Almond Butter (the vanilla flavored packet is a go to high calorie snack when I need protein) and Greek yogurt (Noosa and Chobani top my list, but Oikos does in a pinch). Lara Bars, Kind Bars, nuts or seed based snacks (Somersaults… delicious), fruit and veggies, or cheese and whole grain crackers are all in heavy rotation.

But when I’m craving something salty by the handful, it’s all about Boom Chicka Pop. This four ingredient wonder is addictive, so be careful. But at 35 calories a cup, you don’t have to be too careful. Three cups of that in a baggie is the best 100 calorie pack known to man. It’s salty and fresh and just so good.

Chicka chicka yeah yeah! (Name that film).

So, who’s hungry? Me? Yes. You? Probably. And we don’t want to leave our readers hungry! So…..

We’ve decided to share our snacks with you, for real. There’s a link below for a little giveaway. We’ll select two winners and you will receive a box of yummy snacks from either Chick Bec or Chick Brooke. We probably won’t mail you any Greek yogurt, because ewww, but we’ll make up boxes of our faves and send them out to you. Good? Good!

Click the pic to enter!

These are the Chicks’ favorite snacks. What are yours? Tell us all about them!

Ruts and Nuts – What to do when a food rut drives you nuts!

April 11, 2013 by Meridith

I’m the type of person that orders the exact same food at a restaurant. I find something, I stick with it, and if the menu changes before I’m ready to break up with that food, well… let’s just say that there’s some pouting that occurs.

In the same breath, I’m the person that will eat something for six months repeatedly for breakfast (oatmeal!) and one day decide that I need a break. A hiatus can last a month or a year, depending on my mood. And hey, if it were up to me, CHEESE would be considered a daily meal. I’d eat it regularly, or at least until I got bored. (But I don’t think that’s possible.)

I’ll take the cheese buffet, please.

Yes, I’m quite the emotional eater. You can preach to me all that you want that “food to fuel” and rationally, I know that. But I also know that I want what I want, when I want it and that makes meal planning a bit of a challenge.

However, financially, I realize that meal planning is much more – oh, what’s the word? – smart. So rather than leading solely with my gastronomical whims, I try to incorporate those while eating fairly healthy, and following my grocery store’s sales and ads for the week.

Not exactly easy but I’ve gotten a lot better at it than I was a couple of years back. Trust me.

And yet, occasionally, I fall into a food rut. It’s not that I don’t have plenty of recipes, because I do. It’s challenging at the moment because we’ve got Track & Field practice (for Pooks) three times each week. And if we’re not there, we attend a variety of other meetings (PTO, scouts, etc). When we aren’t at one of those places, my husband has to work late.

You get the point. Maybe it’s not so much a “rut” but more just not being in the same place at the same time. But it leads to take-out and late meals. Neither option feels particularly healthy to me.

When I attended the Tinkerbell Half Meetup in January, I was fortunate enough to meet Tara Gidus and bend her ear while running.

Thankfully, she was very open to the idea of keeping in contact (props to runDisney for choosing such an approachable dietician!) When I reached out to her, she offered some great tips to share with you:

Plan ahead! Look at your calendar. If you have meetings after work or your kid’s baseball practice to attend, but don’t want to sacrifice good nutrition and eating at home, we have to make planning a priority. Build your weeknight menu before you go to the grocery store.

Look at your track record. If you know you won’t have more than 10 minutes to get food on the table before you give in to takeout, do what you can to ensure success. Prep veggies on the weekend, incorporate slow cooker meals, make ahead meals like casseroles and chili or veggie soup, and always have quick and easy menu items on hand for last minute prep.

Keep quick meal ideas and ingredients in the house. I always have certain things on hand: spaghetti and marinara sauce, grilled cheese and tomato soup, egg sandwiches or omelettes, rotisserie chicken, minute rice for burrito bowls, frozen vegetables and entrees like Kashi pizzas, Bertolli family dinners, and Amy’s meals. Look at the nutrition facts on packaging to make sure each product is not too high in saturated fat or sodium, but typically these meals will be healthier and less expensive than eating out.

Love these ideas and have already started incorporating them into our active evenings.

Not every evening is going to be a five star dinner but with a bit of preparation and planning, I’m trying my darnedest to make the best of our crazy evenings and enjoy the not-so-crazy ones.

Now if you’ll please excuse me, I’m off to prep tonight’s chicken pot pie!

What do you do for food when the going gets tough (or busy)? Which meal do you find to be the most challenging?

Special thanks to Tara Gidus!

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Tag Archives: healthy eating