Man, I’ve really neglected this blog. I’ve been so busy eating copious amounts of delicious home-cooked foods and frantically trying to burn off the extra calories at the gym that I’ve found little appetite for blogging.
My father, who is training to be a chef in France and is here on a brief holiday, has been delighting my mother and I with his cooking for the past week or so. It is so wickedly impossible to be on any kind of diet given the circumstances. As a French expatriate, I must admit I still haven’t quite taken to American garbage cuisine - food drenched in fat, thick with goop, and so-called desserts buried under mountains of cinnamon, not to mention sugar. How could I say no to succulent meticulously-prepared main dishes, delicate authentic French apple tarts, dainty langues de chats, and light, barely-there genoise cakes? Refinement and delicacy are two things American cuisine lacks, two things which I miss above all since I moved West fourteen years ago.
Oh I’ve had quite the delectable holiday season this year. My father gets to practices his skills in my (American) kitchen. And my mom and I get to eat like queens (having a personal chef kicks ass). Everybody wins. (Of course, my grocery bills aren’t quite what I’d call wallet friendly, but I’ll worry about it next month when the credit card bill comes.)
To make sure any unsightly weight gain doesn’t spoil the yummy experience, I add extra time to my cardio session every day. Running/jogging has proved to be THE top way to burn calories the fastest, and it has become my weapon of choice when battling the extra jiggle that’s been starting to settle in my lower belly as a result of my new indulgences.
But as soon as my father leaves on January 7, it’ll be back to the old diet. There’ll be no more decadent desserts or gourmet sauces. No-frills meals it shall once again be. Discipline shall be restored.
For now, however, I am thoroughly relishing the heavenly pleasures of good food.
On the menu tomorrow: boeuf bourguignon and pear/apricot tart. My mouth is already watering…
Indulging in Good Food December 29, 2007
Food Diary #5 – Remove All Temptations From Thine Eyes October 28, 2007
Never EVER watch photos of gourmet food while you are on a diet. It is a precursor of sin.
My dad, who lives in France and is training to be a chef, sent me photos of his work today. Being on a bird diet (I guess I can’t be eating like a bird because I eat meat), I found myself drooling like a dog in front of a juicy steak at the sight of them. By the end of the tastebud-teasing session, I rushed over to the kitchen and helped myself to some Eddy’s churned butter pecan ice cream – the closest I had at home to whatever fancy dessert with an ice cream scoop I saw on one of the pictures.
Now, I’m doubling over in pain because my belly didn’t take too well to the unexpected (and unwelcome) intruder. Sin never comes without punishment. This is what I get for adding an extra 120 calories (not to mention sugars) to my diet for no good reason other than the fact that I couldn’t eat what was on my screen. In less than an hour I should expect to be sitting on the toilet polluting my lungs. Bravo.
I wrote to my father and asked him not to send me pictures of his mouth-watering dishes again, not while I’m just getting started on this diet, not while my weight still hasn’t budged a pound despite of all my earnest efforts. He’s supposed to visit for Christmas, though, and I’m planning to take TWO FULL WEEKS OFF from The Diet in order to fully revel in the pleasures of gourmet French cuisine and let my taste buds celebrate the year’s end.
Until then my eyes are blind to any gourmet food pictures that may come my way.
Food Diary #4 – New Diet Rules October 26, 2007
I finally got groceries this morning so I have PLENTY of fruits and healthy snacks to choose from. I got nuts, trail mixes, and muesli from the bulk food section at Whole Foods. I also bought low-fat string cheese, whole wheat crackers (which turned out to be too sweet for my newly adjusted taste buds), baby carrots, and decaf green tea (doubt I’ll like it, but I’d like to drink something healthy and sugarless other than water).
Some of my new diet rules:
- I will avoid eating out
- The entrées I eat will be homemade and done primarily from scratch
- My portions will be small
- My standard salad dressing will consist of a small amount of olive oil, vinegar, and a pinch of salt and pepper. If I can I will forgo the oil.
- I will stick to the weekly menu I set for myself
- I will never go more than three and a half hours without eating
- I will eat at least 5 times a day
- I will abstain from foods made with white flour (eg., white rice, white bread, pasta, etc.)
- I will choose 100% whole wheat or whole grain breads, crackers, waffles, and pancakes, cereal, etc
- I will try to eat a combination of complex carbs and protein at every meal/snack
- I will avoid eating processed foods
- I will steer clear of foods containing refined sugar (eg., cookies, cakes, soda, etc.)
- I will choose real fruit over fruit juice
- I will drink 6-8 glasses of water a day
- The only sweets I’ll have will be a small amount of 70% dark chocolate
- I will eat breakfast every single day within an hour of getting up
- I will stop eating dairy products made with whole milk, but will choose low-fat or nonfat dairy products instead
- I will stay away from saturated fats and trans fats
- I will have 2-3 servings of fruit a day and at least 3-4 servings of vegetables a day
- I will not consume any artificial sweeteners (eg., diet soda, sugar-free foods etc.)
- Once I lose some weight, I can eat the foods I love (that I know are not so good for me) in small quantities and if possible, in healthier versions (eg., low-fat, low-calories, reduced sugar etc.).
I don’t really want to think of myself as being on a weight loss diet. This is more of a long-term solution than a short-term one. My focus is to eat better so that I will not only lose the excess weight, but be healthier as a whole as well. I will be not be eliminating any food categories like carbs or protein because they are needed. Even fats, as long as they’re good fats (eg., nuts, avocados, and some oils), are needed. Balance is the key here.
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9:45 am – 1 glass of light vanilla soy milk + 2 whole wheat mini toasts
12:45 pm – Chicken breast, zucchini, and brown rice
1 tiny slice of leek tart (the last one I’ll eat because it’s too full of fat)
1 kiwi
3 pm – 2 whole wheat crackers + 1 low-fat string cheese
5 pm – 1 slice of whole wheat bread + peanut butter + half of a banana
7:45 pm – Beef, broccoli, and brown rice + 1 large serving of grated carrots
1 small apple
Food Diary #3 – Where Is The Fruit to Save Me From Myself? October 24, 2007
I was short of one fruit today because I’ve run out of them. I also should have had more vegetables, but I didn’t have any on hand either, other than what I had as cooked leftovers. I’m going grocery shopping this weekend so that I’ll have everything I need. Next week I am officially on diet.
My stomach is starting to get used to the scheduled teeny portions, which is a great sign. Tonight my belly feels smaller than it was earlier, thanks to my early evening workout. I had a major post-dinner sweet craving to which I alas succumbed. This is what happens when I don’t get enough carbs in the previous meal. After the demanding workout I had, I really should have helped myself to more pasta. Fruit has the uncanny ability to fool my sweet cravings, but since I had none left, I was forced to reach for the forbidden chocolate. Actually, because I can’t live without chocolate, I am going to get myself some 70% dark chocolate for next week – a little bit of it each day is supposed to be very good for you.
Before I go to bed tonight I’m going to attempt drinking a glass of warm soy milk. I am hoping it’ll help me fall asleep faster and prevent those middle-of-the-night hunger pangs.
9:00 am – 1 hard-boiled egg + 1 small serving of oatmeal with dash of light vanilla soy milk + 1 small glass of orange juice
11:15 am – 1 small slice of leek tart
1:30 pm – Tilapia fish fillet, cooked cabbage, and brown rice
3:15 pm – 2 whole grain mini-toasts + 1 slice of muenster cheese
5:30 pm – 1 small apple + 1 slice of whole wheat bread and peanut butter
7:00 pm – 1 small serving of whole wheat spaghetti with tomato sauce and a pinch of parmesan cheese + tilapia fish fillet
8:30 pm – 2 squares of white chocolate (bad, I know, but I had an awful craving)
Before bedtime – 1 glass of warm light vanilla soy milk
Food Diary #2 – Carbs = Energy October 23, 2007
Today I ate 7 mini meals. I did not consume anything sweet and only had mild sweet cravings after lunch, which I was able to ignore by drinking water – a real breakthrough for someone with a sweet tooth like mine!
At today’s workout I had a lot less energy than I did yesterday when I consumed a banana/bread/peanut butter (B3) combo as a pre-exercise snack. Evidently half of a light rye whole grain toast isn’t enough carbohydrates to sustain me during a vigorous workout. Carbs = energy. Also, deli meat turned out to be so salty that I ended up being very thirsty before I even started to exercise. Tomorrow I will have my B3 power snack instead a half hour before my workout.
My mom baked a leek tart while I was watching a movie this evening. I should have waited till tomorrow to eat it, but I couldn’t help it. It smelled so good! Tarts are a delicious way to get your daily vegetable servings; however they’re full of fat, so I will not be having any again next week.
This week I am not actually eating any ‘diet’ food yet. I am working on putting together my own diet, which I will hopefully put into practice next week. This week I’m just setting up camp, trying to figure out what works and what doesn’t.
9:00 am - 1 piece of Weetabix cereal + yogurt
11:00 am – 2 whole wheat mini-toasts + a slice of Muenster cheese
1:00 pm – Tilapia fish fillet, cooked cabbage and brown rice
3 pm – 1 slice of whole wheat bread with peanut butter + 1 banana
5:30 pm – Half a light rye whole grain toast + a slice of turkey deli meat + 1 small banana
Workout
7:00 pm – Leftover chicken, lentils, and cabbage/green bean/carrot salad + 1 plum
8:30 pm – A small slice of leek tart
Food Diary #1 – Adding Breakfast October 22, 2007
I’ve made leaps and bounds today when it comes to controlling cravings. I’ve found that some of the food combinations I ate (protein + complex carbs) reduced the cravings significantly. I also noticed that when I went too long without food, as I did between breakfast and lunch, I had a ranevous appetite at lunch as well as a massive post-lunch sweet craving.
Breakfast
1 glass of light soy milk
4 whole grain biscottes with nutella
Snack
1 banana
Lunch
Leftovers from yesterday’s party (in small portions): coconut chicken, a little bit of beef, lentils, fresh tomato salsa, cabbage/green bean/carrot salad
4 squares of coconut white chocolate (very bad, but couldn’t help it!)
Snack
1 slice of whole wheat bread with peanut butter
1 banana
Dinner
Tilapia fish fillet, cooked cabbage and brown rice
1 kiwi
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I’ve already planned tomorrow’s snacks/meals. Five of them are all packed and ready to go for work: breakfast, mid-morning snack, lunch, mid-afternoon snack and late afternoon snack, all spaced by 2 hours. From now on I will be having breakfast, something which I seldom did during the weekdays. Doing so should make me more energetic in the morning, will get my metabolism into gear early on, and will prevent me from having those wild carb cravings after lunch.
