Tag Archives: Serving size

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How can I keep track of how much I am eating?


 Rebogged:from Weight-Control Information Network                                                                                                                                                                                        How can I keep track of how much I am eating?                                                                                                To control your weight, you need to do more than just choose a healthy mix of foods. You should also look at the kinds of food you eat and how much you eat at a time

A food diary can be a good way to keep track of how much you are eating. Write down when, what, how much, where, and why you eat. This action can help you be aware of how much you are eating and the times you tend to eat too much. You can keep a food diary in a notebook, on your cell phone, or on a computer.

Figure 2 shows what 1 day of a person’s food diary might look like. As shown in the diary, this person chose relatively healthy portion sizes for breakfast and lunch. At those meals, she ate to satisfy her hunger. She had a large chocolate bar in the afternoon for an emotional reason. She ate because she was bored, not because she was hungry.

By 8 p.m., this person was very hungry and ate large portions of food that were high in fat and calories. She was at a social event and did not realize she was eating so much. If she had made an early evening snack of fruit and fat-free or low-fat yogurt, she might have been less hungry at 8 p.m. and eaten less. By the end of the day, she had eaten a total of 3,930 calories, which is more than most people need to eat in a day. Repeatedly eating excess calories over time can cause weight gain.

If, like the woman in the food diary, you eat even when you are not hungry, try doing something else instead of eating:

  • Take a break to walk around the block.
  • Read a book or magazine or listen to your favorite music.
  • Try doing something with your hands, like knitting or playing cards or checkers.
  • Try drinking water or herbal tea without sugar or eating a low-fat snack such as an apple if a craving hits you.
  • If you are at work, grab a co-worker on the job and go for a quick walk.
    Figure 2. Example of a Food Diary Thursday
    Time Food Amount Place Hunger/Reason Calories*
    8 a.m. Coffee, black 6 fl. oz. Home Slightly hungry 2
    Banana 1 medium 105
    Low-fat yogurt 1 cup 250
    1 p.m. Turkey and cheese sandwich on whole-wheat bread with mustard, tomato, low-fat cheese, and lettuce 3 oz. turkey, 1 slice low-fat cheddar cheese, 2 slices bread Work Hungry 363
    Potato chips, baked 1 small bag 150
    Water 16 fl. oz. —
    3 p.m. Chocolate bar 1 bar (5 oz.) Work Not hungry/ Bored 760
    8 p.m. Fried potato skins with cheese and bacon 4 each Restaurant/       Out with       friends Very hungry 667
    Chicken Caesar salad 2 cups lettuce, 6 oz. chicken, 6 Tbsp. dressing, 3/4 cup croutons 633
    Breadsticks 2 large sticks 226
    Apple pie with vanilla ice cream 1/8 of a 9-inch pie, 1 cup ice cream 638
    Soft drink 12 fl. oz. 136

    Total Calories = 3,930

    *Estimates are based on the USDA’s online tool that measures diet and physical activity (http://www.choosemyplate.gov).

    A blank version of the diary for you to copy and use is on page 9 of this document’s PDF file.

    Through your diary, you can become aware of the times and reasons you eat less healthy foods or more food than your body needs. This can help as you try to make different choices in the future.

     

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7 Simple Tricks to Prevent Overeating


7 Simple Tricks to Prevent Overeating                                                                                                                                                                        Well I found this on Shine from Yahoo, If you’re still struggling with Portion Control. These 7 simple Tricks can help If you stay consistent and make them a part of your life style.Over time you will start to eat less, stay active and watch those unwanted pounds disappear.                                                                                                                                                                                             A couple of extra bites at dinner. A second cookie nibbled with your afternoon tea.     In the grand scheme of overeating, these tidbits don’t seem like much.
But consider this: “If you consume 100 calories more than you burn every day, you’ll gain 10 pounds by the end of a year,” says Gail Altschuler, M.D., medical director of the Altschuler Clinic, a center for weight loss and wellness in Novato, California.
Sounds demoralizing. But now take that fact and turn it around: 100 calories isn’t a lot of food, after all — and you can use that to your advantage. “You don’t have to make enormous changes to see benefits and get results,” says Altschuler.
With that point in mind, we combed the research to find surprisingly simple ways to eat a little less. “Stack a few of these tips together,” Altschuler says, “and you could really see an impact.”
                                                                                                                                                                  1. Take a Seat Whenever you eat, sit at a table and use cutlery and a plate, rather than eat on the run, standing up, or at your desk. That way, the next time you eat you’ll chow about 30 percent less, according to a recent study.
The study’s author, Patricia Pliner, Ph.D., psychology researcher and professor at the University of Toronto at Mississauga, thinks this occurs because of the way we’ve been trained to perceive and respond to mealtime. Treating food like a meal, even if it’s a snack, tells your brain that you don’t need to eat for a while.
Hana Feeney, R.D., nutritionist at Canyon Ranch in Tucson, Arizona, adds that “if you make a rule not to eat without sitting and using a plate, you’ll eliminate a lot of the mindless calories consumed by picking.”
Plus: The Rules of Snacking                                                                                                                                                                         2. Sip Some Soup Before digging into your entrée, savor a bowl of soup. You’ll likely consume 20 percent fewer calories over the course of the meal (a good tip to remember if you tend to overeat at restaurants).The soup fills and stretches your stomach, “sending signals to your brain that tell you to stop or slow down eating,” Feeney says. To maximize nutrition and minimize calories, choose a vegetable or broth-based soup, such as gazpacho, and skip the cream-based selections.
                                                                                                                                                                    3. Think Simple Variety may be the spice of life, but it can ruin the best intentions when it comes to eating. We consume more calories when we see an array of food, say researchers. To understand how this works, scientists gave subjects m&ms and found that the more colors they mixed in a bowl, the more people ate.
Keep this tip in mind when planning a meal and don’t go overboard with the offerings — if you’re serving rice, for instance, pass on the bread and potatoes. As for buffets, why torture yourself? Steer clear.
Plus: Recipes to Jump-Start Weight Loss
                                                                                                                                                                      4. Downsize Bigger is not always better. Oversize dishes and spoons cause you to overeat — even if you think you’re a good judge of portions. Case in point: Nutrition experts who were given big bowls at an ice cream party devoured 31 percent more than those with smaller bowls.
Ditto on the serving spoons: Those helping themselves with bigger utensils downed 14.5 percent more ice cream than folks with smaller serving spoons (irrespective of bowl size).
“When there’s empty space on the plate, a panic sets in that you’re not going to have enough to eat,” Feeney says — thus the tendency to load up your dish. Cut calories by using salad plates or Grandma’s china (antique plates are typically smaller). And downsize those serving utensils, too.
                                                                                                                                                                  5. Hide It It’s true: When we see food, we eat it. A study of secretaries found that those with chocolate candies in clear containers on their desks ate almost twice as much as they did than when the candies were “hidden” in opaque containers. They also ate less if the candy was placed at least six feet away from their desks. The moral? Don’t mess with temptation. Keep calorie-dense treats covered, tucked away in a cabinet, or out of reach.
When you really want a snack of, say, a cookie, go for broke rather than opt for the low-fat version of the treat. In one study, people who ate snack foods that boasted a reduced fat content consumed as much as 50 percent more calories than when they ate regular versions of the same foods.It appears that those labels function like permission slips, giving us the okay to eat our fill. “Foods low in calories or fat, or low in sugar or carbs, tend to reduce our inhibition,” Feeney says.
                                                                                                                                                                   6. Sniff a Whiff Apparently, peppermint’s powers go beyond freshening your breath. A small study at Wheeling Jesuit University in West Virginia found that people who inhaled peppermint essential oil every two hours ate 23 percent fewer calories during a five-day period.When you’re struck with the urge to visit the vending machine, put this finding to work for you by keeping a small vial of the oil handy; you can also try popping a mint or sipping a strong cup of peppermint tea.
                                                                                                                                                                   7. Be Sneaky Sometimes, perception means more than reality. You can trick yourself into thinking you have more food by serving choices that spread out — like roasted, cubed potatoes or pasta shells with sauce — instead of dense foods, like mashed potatoes or lasagna.
The spread-out dishes look like more but cost less, calorie-wise. Craving chocolate with your fruit? Skip the bar and shave a small piece onto a bowlful. It looks like a bigger portion, so you’re more likely to feel satisfied.                                                                                                                                              Calorie, Canyon Ranch, diet, Dieting, Eating, Fitness, Food, Healthy Ways to Lose Weight, Human nutrition, Loss Weight, Nutrition, Overeating, Physical exercise, Portion Control, Portion control (dieting), Serving size, Snack, Soup, Top Weight loss, Weight, weight loss, Weight Loss Tips, weight tips

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Lose Weight With Medifast


Medifast

Medifast (Photo credit: socialwoodlands)

CHOOSE YOUR PLAN

The Medifast 5 & 1 Plan is the basic plan for weight loss used by most Medifast         clients. Medifast Meals are low-fat and have a low glycemic index. They are safe for clients with type 2 diabetes. Many have been certified gluten-free by the Gluten-Free Certification Organization, with more certifications to follow. In addition, through continual research and careful testing, Medifast has developed special meal plans so that more of our clients can use Medifast products to successfully lose weight and maintain a healthy lifestyle. Medifast         has developed plans for vegetarians, people with diabetes, teens, seniors,nursing mothers, people with gout, and people undergoing bariatric surgery. We also have detailed plan information for those taking anticoagulants and for those who choose to avoid soy.

CHOOSE YOUR SUPPORT SYSTEM

        Studies prove that when it comes to adopting healthy habits, encouragement and         understanding can make a big difference. Medifast helps you achieve long-lasting weight-loss results through the power of clinically proven nutrition, along with the support you need to make lasting changes. Because everyone is different, we offer you four ways to get support for your weight loss, depending on your  personal preference: You can purchase Medifast directly online or through our  Contact Center, and get encouragement and information from         MyMedifast, our online support community. You can choose Take Shape For Life and get a knowledgeable Health Coach who will guide you through the program for free. You can visit a Medifast Weight Control Center for a comprehensive program and personalized         counseling. You can work directly with your physician. Medifast will meet you whenever you’re ready, wherever you are in your weight-loss journey, helping you regain hope, health, and happiness.

ORDER YOUR MEALS

You can order Medifast products online or call  us at (800) 209-0878. Your Medifast Meals will be shipped directly to your door. With over 70 different foods and flavors,         you’ll find plenty of things you’ll like. You can choose specially priced packages or pick your own favorites. Medifast is economical, too. The cost for your Medifast Meals – five of your six daily meals on the Medifast 5 & 1 Plan – is only about $11 a day. And,because you can lose weight so quickly on the Medifast 5 & 1 Plan, you can spend less to lose the same amount of weight compared to other weight-loss plans.Medifast was developed by a physician, and has been recommended by more than 20,000 doctors since 1980. Medifast products are scientifically formulated to be filling and satisfying so you don’t feel hungry. You lose weight quickly – up to 2  to 5 lbs per week. And each Medifast Meal is fortified with vitamins and nutrients,so you lose pounds and inches without losing out on essential nutrition.

EAT HEALTHY AND TRACK YOUR PROGRESS

The Medifast 5 & 1 Plan for weight loss is simple. Each day, you eat six times,once every two to three hours. The plan puts your body in a mild fat-burning state so you lose weight quickly and safely without taking weight-loss drugs or missing out on nutrition. You choose five Medifast Meals (the “5”) and one self-prepared Lean & Green Meal (the “1”), consisting of measured portions of lean protein and non-starchy vegetables. You can make the Lean & Green Meal yourself, or order it in a restaurant. The plan is easy to follow, with no guesswork and no counting of carbohydrates, calories, or points. Medifast Meals are portable and are         either ready to eat right out of the package or mix easily with water. It’s the perfect fast weight-loss plan for those with busy lifestyles. It’s even easy and convenient to chart your progress using the logs on MyMedifast.com, your one-stop online home for weight-loss support, information, and connections with other Medifast clients.

TRANSITION INTO MAINTENANCE

Up to 85% of people who lose weight on diets regain that weight within a year, often with additional pounds. To counteract this trend, Medifast supports you with a new, comprehensive, multi-focal approach to prevent weight regain once you have reached your healthy weight goal. As you transition out of the Medifast 5 & 1 Plan over several weeks, you’ll gradually reintroduce additional healthy foods and increase your calories to meet your body’s individual calorie requirement for weight maintenance. The Maintenance Plan uses sound principles of proper nutrition and portion control to “retrain” your brain and body to be satisfied with appropriate portions of healthy food choices. That way, you can enjoy the benefits of a healthy weight and improved well-being for months, years – or forever!                                                                                                                                                                             Calorie, diet, dieting programs, Eating, Fitness, Food, Health, Human nutrition, Loss Weight, Medifast, Medifast Meal, Nutrition, Portion control (dieting), Serving size, Top weight-loss, Weight, weight loss, weight loss programs, Weight Loss Tips

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Savory Italian Grilled Chicken


Want to make some Yummy BBQ chicken this is what you need,                                                                                                                                                                               6 chicken breasts                                                     1/4 cup olive oil                                                          3 cloves garlic, crushed                                     fresh ground black pepper                                        1/4 cup fresh basil leaf, chopped                        1/4 cup melted butter                                               3 sprigs fresh rosemary                                             1 tablespoon parmesan cheese  Directions:                                                                                                                                                                                    To grill, skin chicken breasts and rub in pepper to taste. Blend basil, olive oil, butter, garlic and parmesan cheese at low-speed

using an electric blender, chopper or processor till smooth. Baste chicken lightly with mixture. Grill over medium coals

basting during cooking time with basil sauce. During this time add the rosemary branches to coals for added smoke flavor.

Do this 2 or 3 times. Grill 10 minutes each side depending on barbecue temperature. Garnish with fresh basil and serve this grilled chicken recipe with rice or Italian pasta   

Nutritional Facts

Calories 403

Calories from Fat 273 (67%)

Amount Per Serving %DV

Total Fat 30.3g 46%

Saturated Fat 10.1g 50%

Monounsaturated Fat 14.2g

Polyunsaturated Fat 4.1g

Trans Fat 0.2g

Cholesterol 113mg 37%

Sodium 159mg 6%

Potassium 336mg 9%

Total Carbohydrate 0.6g 0%

Dietary Fiber 0.1g 0%

Sugars 0.0g

Protein 30.8g 61%

Servings:6

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Mediterranean diet


mediterranean diet in woking

mediterranean diet in woking (Photo credit: Kai Hendry)

The Mediterranean diet Is becoming a popular diet known to be healthy for the body.

The Mediterranean diet plan is high in fruits and vegetables (often as many as nine servings per day). Followers of this diet also consume a low amount of red meat, eating instead a greater portion of fish several times a week. The Mediterranean diet menu also includes eating a small portion of a variety of nuts and healthy fats (like olive oil or canola oil). Red wine is also a part of this diet menu, in moderate amounts. Because grains in this region are usually whole grains, pasta and rice are also a welcome part of this diet.The Mediterranean diet is associated with good heart health and falls within the guidlines of healthy eating, Studies conducted within the U.S. have shown that those who ate according to the Mediterranean diet lowered their risk of both heart disease and obesity-related cancers.

The Mediterranean food pyramid is a slightly differant version of the FDA‘s food pyramid. The bottom level you have you’r whole grains like bread, pasta, followed by vegetables, fruits, beans and nuts. The third level up  is olive oil (or another healthy oil), followed by a cheese and yogurt level, a fish and poultry level, a sweets level and finally, a red meat level at the very top. But red meat should only be eaten a few times per month in very small amounts.

Many  Mediterranean diet recipes can be found online or cookbooks like the (Mediterranean Diet Cookbook), once you get familiar with the basics diet itself, you can create any meal that falls within its guidelines. Such as, grilled salmon with lentils and sautéed asparagus or Italian bean soup with a handful of hazelnuts (and a glass of red wine) make for excellent Mediterranean diet meals check out these links. http://www.kitchenoasis.com, http://www.goodhousekeeping.com, http://www.mediterraneanmeals.com/

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Weight Loss Success: Maritza Rivera Worked Out With A Personal Trainer And Lost 99 Pounds


I love posting success story’s,I believe then can be very Inspiracial giving others the strength they need to push harder knowing that they can succeed Here’s another great success story.                                                                                         Reblogged:Huffington Post

Name: Maritza Rivera Age: 36 Height: 5’3″ Before Weight: 253 pounds
How I Gained It: Weight has always been an issue. Being extremely overweight is not something new to me. All my life, I had serious issues with my weight. I was raised in a Hispanic, low-income family where we didn’t have much, but for some reason everyone in my family struggled with being overweight. We didn’t have the luxuries of eating out, getting fast food or splurging for candy, so I constantly ask myself, “How the heck did we all get so heavy?”

Growing up, I remember being served large portions of rice and beans and being told that I had to finish eating everything on my plate. Although growing up I was very athletic, my weight continued to increase. Around age 13 I knew that my weight could no longer be seen as “baby fat.” I dealt with the teasing and the name calling in stride; I took everything as a joke and I was very rebellious and headstrong. By high school, I weighed 200 pounds and started my first diet. I tried every crash diet available and lots of over-the-counter diet pills that supposedly curb one’s appetite. Yes, they did work, but I was unhealthy, sick for the majority of the time and unhappy. I became anemic. I started having heart palpitations because a lot of the products I was using were loaded with an unhealthy amount of caffeine. I did not have the energy to do anything. All I wanted to do was sleep.

One thing that these crash diets never mention is that once you stop using the product, you quickly gain the weight back, plus some. I did. I had never realized how heavy I really was, and no one really told me that I was gaining weight. Maybe I was just in denial. I enjoyed eating out, I partied a lot and I smoked cigarettes. I had borderline cholesterol problems, high blood pressure and I felt unhappy with myself.
Breaking Point: One day, I just woke up feeling so sluggish and unhappy that I decided enough was enough. First, I stopped smoking cold turkey. Next, I did the hardest thing imaginable for me: I weighed myself. I cried for days when I read the scale; I weighed 253 pounds. After a few days of crying and eating for comfort, I gathered myself together and mentally and emotionally shook myself out of the stupor I was in and decided I was not going to be like the typical person who quits smoking and gains a lot more weight. I was determined to be different!
How I Lost It: In 2009, I set a goal for myself — to lose 40 pounds by the end of year by eating healthy and exercising. I cut from my diet bread, rice, beans and red meat and became very conscious of the nutritional value of the foods I was eating. I decided to join a gym and exercised for 20 minutes, twice a week. I slowly increased my exercise routine to three to four times a week after a few months. I noticed a difference in my appearance and in my stamina. At the gym, I met great people who were very encouraging. By the end of the year, I weighed 204 pounds. My hard work was paying off!

For the next six months, I lost nothing. No matter what I did, what I ate and how much I exercised, I could not lose any more weight. But I didn’t let the fact that I was not losing any more weight deter me. I continued going to the gym religiously and joined cardio classes. I realized that in my goal to lose weight, I was actually enjoying exercising and my body was craving it. My determination to lose weight and get myself into shape was noticed by a personal trainer, Reno “The Body.” One day, he took me aside and spoke to me very honestly about my efforts. He congratulated me on my success but also pointed out that my body needed a change since I had plateaued in my weight-loss mission.

I knew that Reno would not let me get away with any nonsense, but at the same time he was understanding and patient. At first I was somewhat intimidated to have this very nice guy with quite a physique train me, because I felt inadequate. But I knew that if anyone could help me in my mission to lose weight and get into shape, it would be him.
Throughout my training with Reno, I kept thinking to myself, “What the hell did I get myself into?” But after surviving my first session, I realized that Reno was very understanding and patient, encouraging and, when it called for it, a little tough — just what I needed. By the summer of 2011, I was down to 184 pounds. I remember being so proud of myself because it was the first time that I was doing something for myself that made me feel great!
Enjoying the results of my weight loss and how my body was really toning, I decided to increase my training sessions with Reno to twice a week. He makes the training sessions challenging, helping me develop and tone my body, but at the same time really listening to my needs and the “problem areas” that I wanted to focus on. I also started drinking protein powder after my workouts to provide me with the nutrition that my body needs after a hard workout. By November 2011, I lost an additional 13 pounds and I was down to 171 pounds. Now, I can honestly say that I have so much energy and my body is really taking a different shape, one that I never experienced before that I look forward to continuing my experiences with training and in life.

After Weight: 154 pounds 2012-02-27-maritza2.jpg Goal Weight: 145 pounds                                                                                                                                                                           Calorie, diet, Dieting, dieting programs, Eating, Fitness, Health, Human nutrition, Loss Weight, Nutrition, Physical exercise, Portion Control, Serving size, Shopping, Support Groups, Top Weight loss, Weight, weight loss, Weight Loss Tips, weight tips,

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Successful Dieting: How to Break Bad Habits and Form Good Ones


Habits of MindsSuccessful Dieting: How to Break Bad Habits and Form Good Ones,is an article that focuses on the development of habits.Habitual Action begins with a cue, which leads to a routine, which then ends in a reward. Once people (or animals) engage in this loop (cue, routine, reward) repeatedly, the cycle becomes near-automatic. That is, the cue and reward become neurologically entwined, thought processing is significantly reduced and a sense of craving (for the reward) develops.This is a great article for those who tend to turn to food for what ever reason weather it’s stress,or emotion,ect.Here you will learn how to break these habits.To do this, it’s important to understand the cues and rewards that will comprise your new habit. It starts with an eating plan so that you’ll know, for sure, what you’re supposed to eat and when you’re supposed to eat it. When you’re cued to eat but the timing, type or quantity of food doesn’t correspond to your plan, use the cue (desire to eat) as a reminder of why it’s worth it to stick to your plan. To Read this full article visit  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/judith-s-beck-phd/break-habit_b_1322298.html                               Calorie, Diet food, Dieting, dieting programs, Eating, Emotion, Fitness, Food, Health, Human nutrition, Junk food, Loss Weight, Mental Health, Physical exercise, Portion Control, Serving size, Top Weight loss, Weight, Weight Loss Tips, weight tips,

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The Moment I Knew I Had To Lose Weight (SUBMIT YOUR VIDEO)


Reblogged: from Huffington Post                                                                                                                                      At HuffPost, we’re kicking off an exciting new project and we’d love you to participate! It’s called “The Moment I Knew,” and is a user-submitted video series where readers tell the stories of life-changing moments they have experienced. Each section of HuffPost has chosen a different theme — whether it was the moment you knew you wanted to marry your spouse, the moment you knew your marriage was over, the moment you knew you loved college, or the moment you knew you were broken. You can also tell us about any other life-defining moment you’d like to share. The possibilities are endless!

Here on HuffPost Healthy Living, we’ve suggested that you tell us about “The Moment I Knew I Had To Lose Weight.” For many, losing weight is a lifelong struggle, but we find these moments of realization particularly motivating and inspiring for anyone looking to slim down.

It’s really easy to contribute! You can create your video using YouTube or Vimeo and send the link/URL of the video to themomentiknew@huffingtonpost.com. If you create your video using your laptop or mobile phone and have a video file, please attach the file in an email to themomentiknew@huffingtonpost.com.

Your video submission is subject to our User Terms. Please make sure to include your full name with your video submission. Each video should be 30-60 seconds long, and should feature only you, speaking right into the camera telling your story. Please start your story with the words “The moment I knew…”                                                             Calorie, Dieting, dieting programs, Fitness, Health, huffingtonpost, HuffPost, Human nutrition, Loss Weight, Marriage, Moment I Knew, Physical exercise, Portion Control, Portion control (dieting), Serving size, Top Weight loss, Video, Vimeo, Weight, weight loss, Weight Loss Tips, weight tips, YouTube

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Oatmeal Cake!


Reblogged: from Chocolate – Covered Katie                                                                                                                                   To try this yummy Oatmeal Cake recipe, You will need:                                                                                                                    1/2 cup oats (50g),1/4 tsp vanilla extract, sweetener, such as 1 1/2 T maple syrup or 1 to 1 1/2 packs stevia (I omitted, but I’ve cautioned y’all before about my lack of sweet tooth.) 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce (60g) (Or sub banana. it’s awesome this way!) 1/4 cup milk, creamer, juice, or water (I used 60g) 1/8 tsp salt, Handful of chocolate chips (and a few for the top, too!) Optional: unless you like the taste of fat-free baking, add 1-2T oil, vegan butter, or nut butter (If oil, scale the milk back a little. If vegan butter, scale the salt back a little.) Optional: 1/4 to 1/2 tsp cinnamon (If you like cinnamon in chocolate chip cookies)

Preheat oven to 380 degrees. Combine dry ingredients, then mix in wet. Pour into a small baking pan, loaf pan, or 1-cup ramekin (or, for mini boats, two 1/2-cup ramekins). Cook for 20 minutes, or more until it’s firm. Finally, set your oven to “high broil” for 3-5 more minutes (or simply just bake longer, but broiling gives it a nice crust). Don’t forget to spray your ramekins first if you want your cakes to pop out.

Like a warm chocolate-chip cookie! With gooey, melted chocolate in every delicious bite.Listen up, Calorie Counters: I know that many people who read my blog are watching their weight.You will be excited to know that this oatmeal cake is like three times the size of a Larabar for roughly the same amount of calories!.Can breakfast get any cooler than a personal-sized oatmeal cake? Answer: No. Not unless you decided to add chocolate chips.                                                                                                   Nutrition Facts: (based on the Pumpkin Pie Baked Oatmeal) Calories: 180 Fat: 3g Protein: 7g Fiber: 9g (All flavors are pretty similar, nutritionally speaking. I usually add some form of nut butter to my boatmeal, but I’ve calculated the nutritional info without the optional nut butter for those of you who wish to keep it low-cal.)

.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Here are some other Oatmeal Cake Flavors:

Pumpkin Pie ,Cinnamon Bun,Banana Bread,Oatmeal-Raisin ,Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

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Reading: Japanese Women Don’t Get Old or Fat: Secrets of My Mother’s Tokyo Kitchen


Reblogged: from Just Hungry                                                                                Stumbled upon Japanese Women Don’t Get Old or Fat, when I was browsing around Amazon some time ago. When I first read the title, I laughed. It seemed like a quite obvious attempt to cash in on the success of French Women Don’t Get Fat: The Secret of Eating For Pleasure. Also (and this applies to the French Women book too) it makes such a sweeping generalization right there in the title, which borders on the ludicrous. But I was curious about it so I decided to get it for the sake of research. The short review: it’s not as bad as I thought it would be, and may serve as a good introduction to Japanese cooking, though definitely not the best. The diet and weight loss points made in this book could be summed up in a few bullet points:

  • Don’t overeat – observe the hara hachibunme rule (eat until you are 80% full). Hara hachibunme is a common Japanese term: it appears also in a book I reviewed previously, Hungry Planet,, in the Okinawa chapter. (Okinawa has the most longevity of anyplace in the world.) Another term my mother likes to quote to me quite often is hara mo mi no uchi – your stomach is a part of your body. In other words, don’t overeat!
  • Eat a lot of fresh vegetables.
  • Eat a wide variety of foods.
  • Eat more whole grains – eat brown rice rather than polished white rice.
  • Eat fruit for dessert, or small portions if you must have cake etc.

Obviously, it is not necessary to eat Japanese food to accomplish these goals. But I do agree with the point made in this book that traditional Japanese food is inherently healthy. As you probably know if you have been reading this site, I am Japanese but have lived most of my adult life in other countries. So my everyday cooking is a mishmash of various styles. If I could afford to in terms of both time and money though, I would cook and eat Japanese style most of the time.

Traditional Japanese food centers around rice (gohan, which is also a synonym for a meal), with small portions of okazu, savory things that go well with the plain rice. A typical Japanese dinner would have, besides the rice, 1 small bowl of soup (miso or clear), 1 protein dish such as grilled fish, and 2 or 3 other mostly vegetable-based side dishes.

A popular dietary guide in Japan that has been around for decades is to try to eat 30 kinds of food items a day for nutritional well-roundedness. This may sound impossible, but in Japanese cooking it’s not that out of reach.

But then, there are the French, not to mention the Swiss

If you go to France, most women are not overweight. Many, especially in Paris, are in fact skin-and-bones slim. What may be less known is that here in Switzerland too, there aren’t many overweight people – though older women tend to look more sturdy and well-muscled. Whenever I go to the U.S., or for that matter to the U.K. too, I always get a mild shock when I see the number of very overweight people. You simply don’t see many of them here.

Swiss food is a mix of French, German, Italian and native Alpine – featuring loads of butter, cheese, bread and potatoes. Veal is the most popular meat, especially for company (chances are if you are invited to a Swiss home you’re going to get veal in some form). So why aren’t more Swiss people overweight?

The answers I think are the usual: moderation and exercise. Portions here are quite small compared to those in the U.S. The delicious pastries available at Sprüngli are barely bigger than my palm, and their handmade truffe du jour is so rich that one (and yes, they do sell them by the piece) is enough to satisfy any chocolate urge.

Swiss people also exercise a lot. Whenever we’re invited to someone’s house, invariably we go for a walk after dinner to stretch our legs and to see the neighborhood. The house I live in is on a corner, and I always see couples and families walking or biking past on the weekends. And of course a lot of people participate in winter sports as well as hiking and camping in the summer.

What’s the typical after-dinner-party activity in the U.S.? Watch TV, play video games, or just sit around and chat and snack some more?

Societal pressures

Getting back to why Japanese women aren’t overweight: I discussed this with some Japanese people and we all seem to agree that in Japan, there is a lot of societal pressure to stay slim. Young girls often starve themselves so they can be fashionable. Older women are also quite pressured to stay thin. The standard clothes size in Japan is junior size 11, which is about a size 6 in the U.S. Japan is inherently a conformist society, so it’s difficult to ‘stick’ out in any way, including being overweight.

As far as Japanese women not getting old – they do of course. Do they look younger than their Western counterparts? Often yes, but I think that all Asian women tend to look younger than European-Caucasian women. I still get carded in American bars and I’m nowhere near 21 anymore. As far as the various illnesses related to getting older, while the incidences of heart attacks and diabetes may be low, there are other problems such as a high incidence of osteoporosis amongst older women.

So to wrap up, I would recommend this book if you want once with some nice recipes (though without pictures) of some basic Japanese foods, with some diet advice along the way. But don’t buy into the premise that there is some magic aspect to Japanese food. If you overeat it, you’re still going to gain weight! The main lesson to be gleaned from it is hara hachibunme.

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