Updated Eating Info

Hey, folks!

No sooner had I written my blog about what I’m eating when I had a conversation with my trainer. On my workout days, we’re focusing on workouts. Guess what we’re dissecting when I’m not in the gym? You got it– what I’m eating.

So, I know quite a bit about myself and my body, as I’m sure most people do. The reason why I gained all of this weight is that I decided not to pay attention to how I was doing things, big and small.

One big part of weight loss and a healthy lifestyle is taking responsibility for what I’m eating. As I mentioned in a recent post, I am counting points in a similar fashion to Weight Watchers, and I gave an example of what that looks like.

What I haven’t explained are two things: 1) how I choose what I’m eating, and 2) how much I’m eating. The first category is in reference to content, the second is portion size.

Living in Hawaii provides me with an amalgam of ethnic foods to choose from, leaning heavily in asian cuisine. As people immigrated to work in the sugar cane and pineapple fields, their cultures and foods also integrated, and a lot of things we “local” folks consider part of our “Hawaiian” lifestyle may actually be Portuguese, Filipino, Chinese, English, Japanese, or even Mexican.

One unique feature of the local food I grew up with in the islands is its adaptation to rationing, especially during World War II. If a food can be stored on a shelf for a long period of time, it would end up in a recipe. That’s why we love spam!

Some of my favorite foods growing up were things like:  portuguese sausage, eggs and rice (you can find this at McDonald’s!); chicken long rice; spam musubi; kim chee fried rice; Zippy’s chili and rice…

What do you think my favorite food of all time is? Yup. Anything that goes with rice. Yummy, white, sticky rice.

Quick Side Note:  Once  in LA, I suggested that I bring white rice to my friend’s Thanksgiving meal. He got offended!

I had a short discussion with Bill about rice. “But I’m eating brown rice now!” I said. To which he said, “The only difference between white rice and brown rice is that brown rice has a brown wrapper around the white rice.” He kept talking, but I kind of tuned out, a little depressed. What it comes down to, though, is that rice is rice is rice, and its effects on your body are the same.

What started the rice conversation actually was a conversation about sugar. I do love chocolate, and I still enjoy some form of it now, but I’m finding that my sugar cravings are kicking in hardcore. So much so that I want to sabotage my progress for the temporary but sweet, cold satisfaction of a Coke ICEE.

And I could, according to the Weight Watchers plan. Just count it, and move on. And though that’s where I’m at today, that’s ultimately not going to assist my body for its future– what I’m calling a state of optimal health.

As Bill correctly guessed, I was infusing my blood stream with a pretty constant amount of sugar throughout the day. I’ve explained this before.

So, my entire system is being shaken up. And given that both of my parents have diabetes, now is really the time for me to do my best to get out of the sugar habit, including eating things that give me a sugar rush, such as simple carbohydrates. My friend, Quoc, also delves a little deeper into this topic here.

The goal is to eventually abstain from all sweeteners, both real and artificial. I have done this for a short period of time in the past, however, I am progressing slowly and steadily so that I can maintain the practice over time.

So, that’s a long way to explain that I am watching what I’m eating. As far as content goes, I’m looking for more sources of lean protein, less sources of simple carbohydrates, and lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. Oh yes, and drinking lots of water, too.

Finally, how do I determine how much to eat?

We all know that in America, typical portion sizes have expanded over time. Congruent with our love of buying products in bulk, we are also consuming more food, in greater quantities than we used to.

This makes judging portion size a bit difficult. In Hawaii, we have a small plate lunch called a “mini,” for example, which is actually a more appropriate serving size. A slice of pizza at my local COSTCO is probably 3 times what I could afford to eat in fat and calories– and their hot dogs have now increased to a full pound of meat!

In general, avoiding convenient foods simplifies my choices, however, my family orders food at least three meals a week, so I do need to manage my portion control.

One trick is to make sure that I am eating a salad. As Bill says, my salad should be served on a regular sized plate, or what I’m calling an “entree sized” salad. The other parts of my meal go on a small plate, like a side salad plate.

If I’m eating meat, I make sure that the portion size fits into the palm of my hand, and isn’t cut thicker than a deck of cards. I always choose a skinless variety of chicken, or the leanest piece of meat possible.

I don’t mind being the embarrasing person at the table ordering this and that on the side, or having something prepared without oil, or removing some of the ingredients in a dish. If I don’t modify my order, then I am cheating myself out of eating well.

And finally, as you already know, I still have dessert. Before this journey, I was eating something sweet at least once a day. Usually I’d have a slice of something yummy at the end of the day. If I had a rough day, I’d get a treat because I deserved it!

Now, if I’m having a rough day, I try to think about what I can do to  prevent it from happening again. And then, I pick up the black 8kg kettlebell and move it around a bit. That’s enough to snap me out of it.

If rocking the bell doesn’t work, then I’ll call, e-mail, text or instant message a friend. Usually I just need to vent, I don’t need to eat!

If all else fails, I may just be tired, irritable, or truly pissed off.  So, I’m not going to add to my misery by falling off plan. But if somehow I do, I’m not going to kill myself either, since in the next moment, there’s always a new choice to be made.

I hope this explains what I’m eating and how I’m eating a little further. Since my diet affects at least 75% of my progress, you may be hearing about it more!

Please feel free to comment here. I always look forward to hearing what you have to say!

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