August 3, 2011: 156.6

 

 

Weekly Weight

Thank you, God of Heftiness, for allowing me to enjoy an AWESOME, long weekend in Charm City with my friend, Peanut--a weekend of shopping, eating and movie-going (museums got a pass)--AND to log a real, honest-to-goodness loss (especially after last week's gain).  You are the BEST, and I will be leaving a package of Berger cookies at your shrine sometime soon, provided I don't eat them first.

 

Candid Fat Photo

I've been hearing about Berger cookies for years from Peanut, the only person I know who's from Baltimore.  Apparently, they're quite famous--being produced locally, in the city.  They're a simple concoction--basically a doughy, vanilla cookie, slathered . . . heaped, really . . . with about a half-inch of rich, chocolate fudge.  Each one is the fastest 140, or so, calories I can possibly consume.  Yeah, they're good, alright.

 

Interesting Issues

Intuitive eating.  This theory/philosophy is the new kid on the block in the weight loss/weight acceptance world.  The 10 principles reflect logical, healthy approaches to food, but what I find missing (or presumed) is a knowledge of nutrition and the need to pay attention to calories consumed.

Supposedly, if you heed the hunger pangs and the sensation of fullness after eating and get a little exercise, your weight will automatically adjust itself to a pre-determined, genetic range.  As if by magic.

Hmmmm.  Honestly, I require a tad more structure.  And, I like a few guidelines.  But that's just me.

Also, you can rely on your body to tell you that you don't want that Big Mac, but a big ol' bowl of broccoli, instead.  What you have to do is pay close attention to how you "feel" when you're eating--angry, happy, bored, etc.  If you recognize how your emotions affect your food choices, and the amount of food you consume, all will be well.

Basically, I think this is just so much common sense--indeed, what the public has been told for years, i.e., make wise food choices, eat less, consume a healthy variety of food, etc.--but the popularity of the program highlights the fact that Americans, and others around the globe, have developed a complicated relationship with their food.

The intuitive eating program maintains that dieting, as we've come to know it, is destructive, both emotionally and physically.

I wonder why past generations didn't seem to experience these things?  Specifically, I wonder what has, in recent decades, separated us from eating intuitively, as we seem to have been doing up until the 1970's or so.  Is it the worries of modern living?  Or were people just more careful about their weight in the past?  Is is the food industry and their evil ways of making us desire whatever they're selling?  Is is technology?  Is it a combination of everything?

Generally speaking, I think the intuitive eating philosophy is a good thing, but I also think that it lacks some specific information and parameters--the notion of limiting calories if you want to lose weight and the importance of basic nutritional knowledge.  The program seems to take for granted that calorie limitation will occur naturally and that people will, more often than not, opt for vegetables, for example, over a pancake breakfast.  I dunno.  I wonder if I would.   I seem to be always thinking about the caloric and nutritional value of everything I shove in my mouth these days.

I don't always make the best choices, but these things are always a consideration.     

 

Do This, Don't Do That

In last week's post, I lamented the fact that I didn't eat some of that fried chicken Tony brought home.  Pamela-J left a comment that I should have eaten the chicken, if I wanted it.  And, of course, she was right.  She conveyed in her comment, in a round-about way, that it's important not to demonize food--to make it something bad, something not to be enjoyed.  We chatted later on in the week, and I assured her that I could always have fried chicken, and soothed her (because she was worried that she had stated her case for eating whatever one wants too strongly) by confessing to eating another favorite food--a grilled cheese sandwich--that very day!  So, she was happy . . . and so was I.  Yum.  Grilled cheese.  Yum!

And I'm all about enjoying good (and not-so-good-for-you) food.  But, in my case, just not so much of it.  I ate all the special things that the city has to offer, except blue crabs, because, you know, I can get those where I live, any old time.

After I arrived late Saturday morning, Peanut and I went IMMEDIATELY to do some shopping, after which we stopped at a Mexican restaurant, where I had the biggest burrito in the universe.  OBV, burritos are NOT a Baltimore specialty, but we were famished after spending a lot of money, so we wanted something quick.  I'll just say that I did not have to eat again for, like, nine hours!

Later, on Sunday evening, armed with Pam's advice and my own determination to thoroughly enjoy my time in Baltimore, I suffered no qualms about savoring an amazing meal at one of the city's best restaurants--The Helmand.

I've never had Afghan food and presumed it would be somewhat similar to Indian food.  And, it was, but only vaguely.  Where the flavors and spices of Indian food can often be very in your face, so to speak, the tastes at The Helmand were far more nuanced and understated.  Virtually every dish Peanut and I enjoyed was flavorful, savory and light.  OMG, click on the link to have a look at the menu.

I have to say, Baltimore is growing on me.  Who needs NYC when Baltimore has so much to offer?

DO enjoy every, novel eating experience, like I did at The Helmand.  To the very core of my being did I love that food!  DON'T overindulge, though, and be a piggy!

Oink. 

Comments

[Margaret]

Yay for the weight loss in spite of the weekend out! I would love to visit Baltimore and to try Afghan food.

[Pam J.]

I've had Berger's cookies before! I bought them in a store you drive by every time you visit your mother... the Giant in Colesville, near the red elephant (update on that coming to my blog eventually -- new pictures!). But I think I bought them before Giant underwent its transformation from an OK grocery store to a less than OK store.

Back to your weight loss. You're 1/4 there! As you know. And yes, I do love the little balloon ticker in the upper right.

You had many interesting topics in this post, as usual. About past generations and their food consumption: I really, truly believe that if my great-grandmother had seen those Berger's cookies in her local market -- and they only cost a tiny fraction of what they cost today -- she would have bought them. Weekly, daily, whatever. And she would have scarfed them down quickly, as I did. (I thought it was "scorfed" but spell-check says "scarfed.") So I'm convinced that the availability of cheap packaged food is to blame for some of our collective weight gain. Throw poverty into the mix and you got yourself an epidemic of weight gain.

About those 10 principles of intuitive eating. They all make perfect sense, but I'm skeptical, as you seem to be. For people who love food, the "stop" button is impossible to reach in certain settings. Portion sizes in restaurants are ridiculous, for example. If you like to bake and cook (which you and I both do) it's very, very hard to find the "stop" button. Desire wins out over common sense most of the time.

Finally, you wrote: "I seem to be always thinking about the caloric and nutritional value of everything I shove in my mouth these days." I think that's why you're succeeding.

One more thought: I wrote an entire post on the idea of Vegan Until 6. Have you heard of this "principle" of weight loss? Everything you need to know is in those three words. It's the idea of Mark Bittman who wrote "Food Matters." (I can't find the "preview" button so here goes....)

[Pam J.]

In the mid-80s there was an Afghan restaurant in old downtown Bethesda. I went there many times and remember that the waiters were very striking: big, dark, handsome, stern men. Not many smiles. No wonder -- that was the decade where the Soviets tried to beat them down. To be followed of course by a decade of the Taliban sort of succeeding in beating them down, and then OUR decade of trying to beat down the Taliban. Seems foolish, but what do I know? Back to food: I remember the restaurant food as delicious, and just as you describe it -- nuanced, understated, just plain different.

I plan to stop by the Giant tomorrow to see if they have those damn cookies. I don't expect to find them, and will be relieved if I don't find them. But ohboyohboy if I find them I'm buying them.

You've made me aware that I have to do something about my own weight. I'm at the upper end of my shorts-jeans collection and I need to lose about 7-8 lbs to get down to the next level of clothes; 12-15 to get down to a weight that would make me happy. The Vegan til 6 PM "diet" would probably work for me -- it has in the past. I do a variation -- Vegan + Yogurt til 6.