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Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Oreo Meltdown

OMG! I just ate some of those new Fudge Cream Oreos. The post-lunch five were inhaled in under a minute. Guinness should have been there. Five is almost two servings. Okay, okay, I’ll round up to two servings instead of trying to minimize my guilt. I immediately regretted eating them just like I used to after...

eating Chinese food. Other than the occasional junk food meltdown, I eat well. This was not the case during the previous quarter century.
I was a decent runner in high school, posting a 4:55 mile. After graduation I gained 75 pounds and was pre-diabetic. During my wife’s pregnancy I gained more weight than she did. It was so bad that whenever we went shopping, I would ask if she wanted me to bake her a lemon poppy seed cake. Here’s the problem:  I devoured 7/8ths of the cake within several days. It would be my chaser after a portion of General Tso’s Chicken. You know what Chinese portions are like. One order can serve a family of four. Don’t hold the MSG; bring it on.
Many people suffer from the overeating plague, but we can overcome these wretched desires by changing our habits and feeling liberated. Begin by becoming a learned eater. Know what’s going down your neck.

Thankfully the USDA, by replacing the food pyramid with a plate, has made it easier for Americans to understand what should be included in our diets. The plate diagram is easier to follow and includes more food choices than the pyramid. Here is a summary direct from their website (in bold) with some of my embellishments:
Balancing Calories
·     Enjoy your food, but eat lessEating less is hard to do if you are used to eating large portions, so reduce quantities a bit each day
·     Avoid oversized portionsDON’T SUPERSIZE ME! Don’t bend when the cashier says, “you can get a larger portion of fries and a super large soft drink for only 50 cents more.
Foods to Increase
·    Make half your plate fruits and vegetables
·    Make at least half your grains whole grainsThese are high fiber foods. Look at the fiber number on the food label
·    Switch to fate-free or low-fat (1%) milk
Foods to Reduce
·    Compare sodium in foods like soup, bread, and frozen meals – and choose foods with lower numbersA majority of processed foods are high in sodium or sugar.
·    Drink water instead of sugary drinksEven avoid diet drinks. I don’t trust artificial sweeteners
Some of my other tips:

First and foremost, accept the fact that you and I are human and will fall off the healthy wagon because of “feeling down” or when having a good time. Get back on the wagon and move forward.
·    Eat more meals at home and stay away from fast food joints. Make pizza at home instead of ordering out
·    Bake, don’t fry. If using cooking oil, use extra virgin
·    Reduce the amount of frozen prepared meals (TOO MUCH SODIUM)
·    Limit the amount of sugar to less than 10 grams per serving. Read the food label and ditch those Oreos
·    Get your sugars from complex carbohydrates found in fruits and high fiber foods
·    Eat plenty of protein, but reduce the red meats (90% or more lean). The body does not easily absorb the protein found in red meat

Choose My Plate Website:

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