Continuing with my discourse about what I have learned so far on my quest to lose weight and lower my blood pressure, I will review the ten secrets here.
The Ten Secrets of My Weight Loss
1. Knowledge is power-the knowledge to make choices
2. Non-fat sour cream is my friend
3. Non-fat cream cheese is my friend
4. Fiber is filling
5. My palate took about three days to retrain to a low sodium diet
6. My dinner plate is a riot of color compared with what it used to be
7. Almost any recipe can be remodeled to accommodate my diet
8. Exercise accelerates the weight loss and blood pressure lowering process
9. Vinegar wakes up the flavors of food
10. A playful attitude about food and a willingness to experiment have been strong allies
One: Knowledge is power-the knowledge to make choices Foucault was right, knowledge is power. He demonstrated that power is transferred through dialogue according to the knowledge one has. Truth, in a Foucaultian sense is the acceptance by those involved in the discourse of the local truths pertinent to the discourse. Fortunately for me, the scale provides a more positivist measure of my progress.
My growing knowledge of the calorie, sodium, and fat content of foods and my ability to track my consumption gives me the power to make informed choices. I get to enjoy my food because I know that I am not violating my contract with myself to limit my food choices to 1400 calories per day, less than 20% of those calories from fat, and less than 1500 mg of sodium. If I am getting close to my upper limit for one or more of those, I choose to have a grapefruit rather than chocolate frozen yogurt. As much as I like frozen yogurt, I have discovered that I also like ruby red grapefruit and that is almost as satisfying.
I use my diet spreadsheet to keep me informed throughout the day and as a training mechanism so I can learn what foods I can eat and stay within my limits. One of the first things I learned was about serving size. I was surprised to find that a normal serving of meat was about 4 ounces and not 12 or 16 ounces. I had heard that nuts were very healthy but when I tried to incorporate them into my diet, I found that most of them contain about 14 grams of fat per serving so I choose to postpone them until I have reached my target weight. The more I learn, the more powerful and effective I become at making choices.
Two: Non-fat sour cream is my friend I have always liked sour cream, in sauces, on baked potatoes, and as a base for dips and dressings. I have learned to love non-fat sour cream. In fact, regular sour cream doesn’t taste good to me now. Non-fat sour cream is the base for my secret sauce, my seasoned sour cream, and a dip for my low-fat, low-sodium, low-calorie, homemade tortilla chips [Cut corn tortillas into six pieces and bake on a cookie sheet at 350 degrees turning once until crisp. The Mi Casa brand I use of white corn tortillas has only 40 calories per tortilla, six pieces, .33 g fat, and 28.5 mg sodium]. I don’t think I could continue without my non-fat sour cream.
Three: Non-fat cream cheese is my friend My major indulgence is non-fat cream cheese on a low-sodium Ritz cracker with marmalade or blueberry fruit spread. I also like to put cream cheese inside half of a whole wheat pita and slice it into 4 pieces. These non-damaging indulgences are where I turn when I feel like I want something indulgent.
I promised sample menus of what I eat in a typical day to maintain a 1400 calorie diet. Here is the first one.
Sample Daily Diet 1
Breakfast
I started the day by scrambling ½ C Eggbeaters with 1 T sweet onion, 2 chopped mushrooms, and ¼ C snow peas. I put this inside one-half whole wheat pita.
Snack
2 RyVita Crackers, and 4 Flat Earth Peach Mango Crisps
Lunch
Not-so-sloppy Joes and secret sauce in a half whole wheat pita
Snack
½ C fresh pineapple
1 1/3 C Deluxe stir-fry vegetables (microwaved)
4 oz. Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
1 T Secret Sauce
Large salad- Sweet Onion, lettuce mix, grape tomatoes, Ken's Raspberry Walnut Vinaigrette
Dessert
1 C Yarnell Strawberry low-fat frozen yogurt
Late Night indulgence
1/2 WW Pita with 1 oz. Non-fat cream cheese
Here is my recap for yesterday.
| Calories | Protein | Carbohydrates | Sodium | Fat | % Calories from Fat |
| 1275 | 82.55 g | 191.99 g | 1054.47 mg | 25.15 g | 17.75% |
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