Diet, Cooking, and Exercise: April 2007

Monday, April 30, 2007

Forty Pounds Cumulative Weight Loss since January 3

When I weighed in at the fitness center Saturday, I found that I have lost a total of forty pounds. I am only 1.25 pounds away from my first goal, to become overweight. I should easily reach that goal this week. After that, my next goal is to reach the pre-1998 normal Body Mass Index (BMI) of 27.4. That means a loss of 15 more pounds. I’ve been working out 3-4 times per week so I can attribute some of my weight to muscle and as the BMI is based on a sedentary population, I should look pretty good at that weight.

According to the Mayo Clinic Weight Calculator, at my current activity level, I should need about 2000 calories per day to maintain my new weight. I don’t know what I will do with an additional 600 calories each day. I will still maintain my maximum 1500 mg of sodium to maintain my blood pressure at its current low normal level without medication, and I will still keep the fat calories to less than 20% of my daily total.

Here is my recap for the last two days.

Daily Dietary Recap-4/28/2007
Calories	Protein	Carbohydrates	Sodium	Fat	% Calories from Fat
1088	57.2 g	173.14 g	664.75 mg	17.14 g	14.09%

Daily Dietary Recap-4/29/2007
Calories	Protein	Carbohydrates	Sodium	Fat	% Calories from Fat
1243.67	77.77 g	211.77 g	686.80 mg	20.20 g	14.62%

Saturday, April 28, 2007

Results of the Judging-Aussiejourno’s Weekly Blog Awards

As the first guest judge, and the first judge from the Northern Hemisphere, I completed my judging duties yesterday and am posting the results here. When David McMahon invited me to judge, he said that his criteria were readability, photographs and/or image content, and the x-factor which could be a great headline, witty remark or something else that caught his eye and tickled his brain. I added consistency of theme, relevance, title catchiness, accuracy, and the use of keywords.

It wasn’t easy to visit and rate 53 blogs, especially with so many good ones. In typical teacher fashion, I created a spreadsheet with my criteria across the top and the blog links down the left-hand column and entered my subjective rating from one to ten under each of the criteria for each of the blogs, totaled the numbers, and sorted from highest to lowest. Thus, I gave the appearance of objectivity to a purely subjective endeavor. I had a few ties and had to revisit those blogs in order to break the tie.

I gave higher scores to blogs with current content (posts in the last week) and, after making allowances for blogspeak, I did consider grammar and spelling. When I am visiting blogs, I frequently browse the tags, or labels that the authors have given their own posts in order to quickly see what they are about. So, I gave more credit to blogs with effective tags.

This was an impossible yet rewarding experience for me. It’s impossible to rank the personal thoughts and experiences of others, but taking a stab at it exposed me to the various ways other bloggers choose to present themselves to world and what they value and find interesting in their own lives. I had the feeling when I was doing it and that I was being slightly voyeuristic, and was sitting squarely in the eye of this postmodern phenomenon, the blogosphere.

Here are my rankings.

Honorable Mention

http://www.no-fing-way.blogspot.com/
http://rodentia.blogspot.com/
http://www.ubertramp.com/blogger.htm

Here is my dietary recap from yesterday.

Daily Dietary Recap-4/27/2007
Calories	Protein	Carbohydrates	Sodium	Fat	% Calories from Fat
1333	48.85 g	220.58 g	968 mg	20.27 g	13.69%

Results of the Judging-Aussiejourno’s Weekly Blog Awards

Here are my rankings.

Honorable Mention

http://www.no-fing-way.blogspot.com/
http://rodentia.blogspot.com/
http://www.ubertramp.com/blogger.htm

Here is my dietary recap from yesterday.

Daily Dietary Recap-4/27/2007
Calories	Protein	Carbohydrates	Sodium	Fat	% Calories from Fat
1333	48.85 g	220.58 g	968 mg	20.27 g	13.69%

Friday, April 27, 2007

Lima Bean, Mushroom, and Barley Soup

Pictured are lima beans fresh from the garden before drying. Where I grew up, Indiana, we called the dried ones butter beans. The weather has turned unseasonably chilly and I had a fire in the woodstove last night and again this morning. It wasn’t too cold, but it did take the chill off from the rain. This cool weather has turned my thoughts to soup, always a challenge for a low sodium diet. My lima bean, portabella mushroom, and barley soup is hearty, filling, and low in sodium and fat. It also has a healthy amount of protein and blood-pressure-healthy celery.

Ingredients

2 C Large Dried Lima Beans-soaked overnight, drained
1 Stalk Celery- coarsely chopped
1 C Carrots-sliced
2 cloves Garlic
2 C Onion-chopped
2 C Portobello mushrooms
.5 C Pearled Barley
.5 C Apple cider vinegar

Soak beans overnight, at least 4 hours, drain and rinse, and add 8 cups of water, no salt added non-fat chicken broth, or vegetable broth. Add remaining ingredients and simmer until beans are tender, about two hours. Adjust the liquid level to your preference. My recipe makes about 12 cups. Each 1 cup serving contains 99.3 calories, .12 g fat, 6.52 g protein, 21.58 g carbohydrates, and 21.58 mg sodium. If you choose to add a half teaspoon of salt, it only brings the sodium level up to 111.63 mg.

Here is my recap for yesterday.

Daily Dietary Recap-4/26/2007
Calories	Protein	Carbohydrates	Sodium	Fat	% Calories from Fat
1364.5	68.84 g	220.01 g	964.57 mg	20.81 g	13.71%

Thursday, April 26, 2007

I’ll be the Judge of That

Melbourne-based journalist and internationally-published photographer David McMahon, has named yours truly, ProfBush, the first guest judge for his weekly Aussiejourno's Weekly Blog Awards. The stated purpose of these awards is to, “encourage bloggers from all ‘round the world and…give new bloggers the chance to get their work noticed in an increasingly popular forum, alongside the world's most-visited blogs”. Diet, Cooking, and Exercise has been moving up the ranks of this award and when McMahon asked me to become the first guest judge, I said, “You know what they say, David, about fools rushing in where angels fear to tread. I also feel that I am not qualified, but I have a rule in my life that has served me well. If I am asked to do something that involves, or would require growth and stretching, and I feel fear, I give up the right to say no. So, yes I will do it”.

McMahon, the bestselling author of “Vegemite Vindaloo”, his first novel, said that this is also the first time the award has been judged from the Northern Hemisphere. Submissions close for this week at 12 noon UCT. If you have sites you would like to submit for consideration, please leave the link in a comment to this post.

Here is my recap for yesterday.

Daily Dietary Recap-4/25/2007
Calories	Protein	Carbohydrates	Sodium	Fat	% Calories from Fat
1156.2	75.42 g	184.99 g	472.24 mg	16.26 g	9.24%

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

A New Pair of Jeans

On the way home tonight I stopped to try on blue jeans, my first foray into the haberdashery since January 3, 2007 when I started my diet. I’ve worn a 40 inch waist for years. I was comfortable knowing that I could order Dockers on eBay and count on them fitting. I knew better than to try to wear ones with pleated fronts, my waist and belly were too large and my legs too short. Today at the fitness center, I weighed in and found that I am just one pound from the big Four Oh. I’ve lost 39 pounds since January 3. I am on the third hole in my second belt and my trousers wear like a toga with lots of extra cloth gathered by that belt. It may be premature as I haven’t yet hit a plateau in my weight loss, but it was time.

I picked a likely pair of jeans, waist 38, and headed to the dressing room. When I tried them on I found that they contained too much cloth around the waist as well. I dropped them off with the attendant and picked a smaller size with a 36 inch waist, regular, not relaxed fit. They fit perfectly. This meant that I had lost four inches around the waist, time to revisit the waist-hip ratio. It’s also time for new pictures, but I think I will wait until I hit 40 pounds of weight loss.

Chicken Cacciatore, Low-sodium/fat/calorie, High flavor

This recipe is a winner. I made it last night and couldn’t get over the flavor. I haven’t tried freezing it yet, but I think it would freeze well. I also want to try it with tofu instead of chicken. As is, a one cup serving of the cacciatore has 154.2 calories, 19.42 g protein, 14.01 g carbohydrates, 2.79 g fat, and 61.9 mg sodium.

Chicken Cacciatore (makes 9 cups)

1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into ½“ pieces
1 large bell pepper, cut into coarse pieces
1 large onion cut into pieces
½ pound sliced mushrooms
1 bay leaf
½ t. basil
½ t. oregano
¼ t. thyme
3 cloves garlic, smashed with flat side of large knife
1 can (6 oz.) tomato paste-no salt added
3 cans (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes-no salt added
½ C red wine vinegar

In large skillet sprayed with olive oil pan spray, sauté chicken breast pieces over medium heat until tender (about 10 minutes). Remove chicken and set aside. Sauté peppers and onions until peppers are tender and onions are translucent. Add mushrooms and sauté 1 minute. Add remaining ingredients including chicken and simmer about 15 minutes. Serve over noodles or rice.

Here's my recap from yesterday.

Daily Dietary Recap-4/24/2007
Calories	Protein	Carbohydrates	Sodium	Fat	% Calories from Fat
1361.3	74.7 g	214.95 g	696.85 mg	20.64 g	11.08%

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Dining Out Healthy, and Tostadas Revisited

Dining Out

Saturday I mentioned to my wife that I missed going to the Chinese buffet and had even looked on the Panda Express web site for their nutritional information and how I wished I could come up with something that wouldn’t wreck my diet. All she heard was “going to the Chinese buffet” and started getting dressed. I was trapped. When we arrived she headed for the buffet and the garlic shrimp while I negotiated with the waitress, a former student, for no fat, no added salt, and low calorie options. Schezwan tofu with steamed vegetables and steamed rice seemed to fit the bill. The spicy tofu was delicious and I ate half of it, all the vegetables, and about a cup of steamed white rice. I estimated about 600 mg for sodium and hadn’t anticipated the 14 grams of fat in the tofu as I usually cook with NaySoya Lite tofu with only 7.5 grams of fat for the whole package. My diet was still intact.

Friday, the college board of directors hosted our annual appreciation luncheon. The menu was chicken fettuccine alfredo, roasted potatoes, salad, and orange cake. I brought my own four ounce portion of chicken Cordon Bleu, some steamed vegetables with Brussels sprouts, and my own salad dressing for the salad. While I was a little self-conscious and was tolerated by the faculty and staff members I shared a table with, some of the board members congratulated me on my weight loss and expressed appreciation that I was sticking to my diet.

Tostadas Revisited

Deborah commented and took me to task on my Non-fat Refried Beans and Healthy Tostada post for forgetting, “the salsa, or pico de gallo, or chopped tomatoes”. While I did forget them in the article, I remembered them when I ate them. I did have chopped tomatoes and green salsa. This time it was bottle green taco sauce, but when I have the time, I like to make my own salsa verde. To further elaborate, the timing on the tortillas in the oven should be about 12-15 minutes depending on the degree of browning you like. I left them in the oven at 400 degrees for fifteen minutes and turned them several times.

Salsa Verde

Here is my salsa verde recipe. One year at Christmas I made gift packs of four salsas, this one, my Polynesian Salsa, and two red ones. The gift was a big hit.

Ingredients

10 Tomatillos with husks removed
1 Serrano chili pepper
2 Jalapeno peppers, seeded
½ Onion-chopped
2 T chopped cilantro
3 T lemon juice

The original recipe included olive oil and salt. This recipe doesn’t suffer in the least from their omission.

Blanch the tomatillos and chili peppers for two minutes in boiling water, drain, and puree in the food processor. Drain and add remaining ingredients.

This recipe makes about two cups and contains 11.47 calories, .27 g protein, 1.62 g carbohydrates, .23 g fat, and .47 mg sodium per two tablespoon serving.

Here are my dietary recaps for the last three days.

Daily Dietary Recap-4/23/2007
Calories	Protein	Carbohydrates	Sodium	Fat	% Calories from Fat
1253	58.71 g	162.08 g	1450.75 mg	11.63 g	8.27%

Daily Dietary Recap-4/22/2007
Calories	Protein	Carbohydrates	Sodium	Fat	% Calories from Fat
1187.6	46.14 g	221.76 g	973.5 mg	13.77 g	10.44%

Daily Dietary Recap-4/21/2007
Calories	Protein	Carbohydrates	Sodium	Fat	% Calories from Fat
1105.42	63.14 g	164.83 g	950.53 mg	14.05 g	10.22%

Saturday, April 21, 2007

Non-fat Refried Beans and Healthy Tostada

I decided that I could make my own non-fat refried beans that had no added sodium and tasted just as good as the canned beans. I started with pinto beans this time as it is more traditional and soaked the beans, rinsed them and changed the water, then cooked them (two cups dried) with two quarts of water, ½ cup of apple cider vinegar, 1 t. onion powder, and 1 t. garlic powder for about two hours. I then mashed them and spread about 2 T on a homemade tostado, added non-fat cheddar cheese, non-fat sour cream, chopped onions, and chopped lettuce.

To make the crisp tortillas, I preheated the oven to 400º and sprayed a cookie sheet with olive oil spray and placed corn tortillas (normally low in fat and sodium) in the oven on the sheet and turned them about every five minutes until they were crisp.

Each tostada prepared this way has 83.75 calories, 6 g protein, 16.5 g carbohydrates, .5 g fat, and 110.75 mg sodium.

Here is my recap from yesterday.

Daily Dietary Recap-4/20/2007
Calories	Protein	Carbohydrates	Sodium	Fat	% Calories from Fat
1132.5	85.26 g	169.1 g	975.5 mg	19.92 g	15.74%

Friday, April 20, 2007

Baked Asparagus Frittata with Low-Fat Hollandaise Sauce

Asparagus, a few volunteer onions, and elephant garlic plants are the only things coming up in my garden since I was gone on sabbatical last year. The asparagus is three years old and is surprisingly tender far down the stalk. Asparagus contains more folic acid than any other vegetable and is low in fat, cholesterol, and sodium. It is rich in fiber, potassium, thiamine, vitamins A, C, and B6, and the powerful antioxidant glutathione. The delicate flavor and health benefits of asparagus highly recommend it. It is a nice accompaniment to most meats and fish and in combination with other foods, it has enough flavor to hold up well.

By the way, the effect asparagus has on the urine by creating an odd smell is thought to be due to the breakdown of methyl mercaptan and other sulfurous compounds. Mercaptans are the compounds that give skunks their characteristic odor. That notwithstanding, it makes a great centerpiece vegetable in this baked frittata.

Ingredients (Makes four servings)

1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
½ large onion, thinly sliced
1 small summer squash, chopped
4 oz. sliced mushrooms
1 clove garlic, pressed
1/8 t. red pepper flakes
1 T. chopped fresh basil
¼ C fat-free evaporated milk
1 C Eggbeaters or egg substitute
½ C shredded mozzarella cheese
1 C fresh asparagus, cut into ½ inch pieces, parboiled until crisp-tender about 3 minutes or longer, depending on size

Sauce (Makes 16 1 T servings)

1-1/2 T cornstarch
1/2 t. dry mustard
2/3 cup non-fat milk
2 T Eggbeaters
2-1/2 T. fresh lemon juice
2 t. margarine

Preheat oven to 350°. Spray 10” non-stick skillet with olive oil pan spray and sauté first 7 ingredients until lightly browned. Add basil. In a small bowl, whisk Eggbeaters, cheese, and milk. Add the asparagus to the pan and pour the egg mixture over the vegetables. Bake until set (a knife inserted in the center should come out clean), about 15 minutes, and when done, sprinkle with mozzarella. The frittata should sit for five minutes before cutting.

In the meantime, combine cornstarch and mustard in a small sauce pan, slowly add milk
and Eggbeaters and whisk. Heat gradually over low heat while stirring constantly until the sauce thickens. Add lemon juice and margarine while stirring.

Serve one quarter of the frittata with one tablespoon of the sauce.

Each serving of this recipe contains 140.64 calories, 13.35 g protein, 13.47 g carbohydrates, 3.25 g fat, and 245 mg sodium.

Here is my recap from yesterday and Wednesday.

Daily Dietary Recap-4/18/2007
Calories	Protein	Carbohydrates	Sodium	Fat	% Calories from Fat
1345.04	54.74 g	260.88 g	1319.72 mg	18.01 g	12.05%

Daily Dietary Recap-4/19/2007
Calories	Protein	Carbohydrates	Sodium	Fat	% Calories from Fat
1276.85	86.88 g	195.52 g	1168.62 mg	18.62 g	13.12%

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Healthy Tortilla Chips

Last night I had a hankering for corn chips. I made some healthy chips and enjoyed them with some non-fat sour cream for a special treat. I’ve referred to healthy chips before, but this time I made them a little differently. I used Mi Casa tortilla chips (lower in sodium and fat), and put them in the microwave for thirty seconds until they became puffy. I finished them in the oven under the broiler so they crisped up and lightly browned. They were delicious and had only 40 calories per tortilla, .5 g fat, and 28.5 mg sodium.

Here is my recap from yesterday.

Daily Dietary Recap-4/17/2007
Calories	Protein	Carbohydrates	Sodium	Fat	% Calories from Fat
1353.54	57.5 g	270.75 g	1232.49 mg	16.78 g	11.66%

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Weight Loss and Body Image

I’ve been thinking a great deal about what weight loss means to me in terms of my image of myself. Does loss of weight mean loss of self or power to me? I got used to my pre-diet weight gradually over time and settled in nicely. I am a short man and I wonder whether weight became equated with substance for me. If so, I’d better get busy and work on how I view my new self or I am likely to return to the old fat me. I’ve always been stocky and usually well-muscled but the years and gradually slowing metabolism have added the pounds until my wake-up call in January.

I’ve been looking through photographs from the last few years to see the body I’ve been inhabiting. The first picture is from nine years ago and I seem happy enough, but portly. The next one is horseback riding about the same time and I don’t seem to be built like a cowboy. The last one is from six years ago and while I seem substantial (kind of the blacksmith look) I am extremely broad.

All the males in my family have been short and stocky except for one grandfather. I have always taken after the portly ones. In my 20s I did quite a bit of physical labor and developed a great build as well as a substantial appetite. I didn’t have an ounce of fat and was as strong as an ox. That has always been how I think of myself. I have a small (60 acres) farm and piddle with the occasional feeding of livestock and gardening (thus the bib overalls) but currently there are only dogs and cats to feed.

I think I can come to terms with a more slender, healthier body. The next time I post pictures I will post some that are current so you, and I, can see my progress.

Here is my recap from the last three days.

Daily Dietary Recap-4/14/2007
Calories	Protein	Carbohydrates	Sodium	Fat	% Calories from Fat
1374.19	63.38 g	237.67 g	1106.75 mg	24.03 g	15.74%

Daily Dietary Recap-4/15/2007
Calories	Protein	Carbohydrates	Sodium	Fat	% Calories from Fat
1150	81.59 g	182.97 g	1146.75 mg	16.78 g	11.96%

Daily Dietary Recap-4/16/2007
Calories	Protein	Carbohydrates	Sodium	Fat	% Calories from Fat
1284	58.21g	230.9 g	589.72 mg	19.13 g	12.8%

Friday, April 13, 2007

Don't Miss More Than One Day…

“Don't miss more than one day of exercise.” Yes, that’s what it said, and I was shocked. In a short blurb by Jennifer Gruenemay at Lifescript, in her daily fitness tip, she said that skipping too many days between workouts jeopardizes the health benefits I was after in the first place. Experts say that you are less likely to stay with your routine if you skip more than one day between workouts. My routine has me at the fitness center 3-4 days a week. I typically go Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. If I skip Saturday that leaves two days off. There are times when I have a cold and I stay away out of consideration for the other patrons. Other times I get overwhelmed by work and cut out my workout. When I went to New Orleans for a conference, I missed for eight days.

The second part of her blurb not only gave me hope, it changed my thinking and that’s frequently a good thing. She said, “Working out every day doesn’t necessarily mean you have to train like you’re running a marathon. Alternate hard workouts with easy workouts, like just walking for 30 minutes around the block…” I can do that. I can even sit on the stationary bicycle I walk around on the way to my desk in my home study every day, and pedal gently for a while on off days.

I tend to be a somewhat obsessive, all-or-nothing type person. I think of my workout as ten minutes of fast walking on the treadmill to get my heart rate up, two circuits on the weight machines, and twenty minutes back on the treadmill followed by a five minute cool-down at a slower pace. If what I do is not that, well, it’s not my workout. This one paragraph blurb has me reevaluating my rigid thinking. I can walk for 30 minutes, ride my stationary bicycle while watching the news, or even push a lawnmower around the yard and still be moving toward my goal of heal and fitness. Sometimes you have to hit me over the head.

Today I weighed at the fitness center and my cumulative weight loss is 35.5 pounds. I only have 5 ¾ pounds to go until I reach my first goal, to no longer be obese. I wonder how it will feel to walk around thinking to myself, “I’m just overweight”.

Here’s my recap for yesterday.

Daily Dietary Recap-4/12/2007
Calories	Protein	Carbohydrates	Sodium	Fat	% Calories from Fat
1348.79	64.77 g	216.22 g	1026.42 mg	27.38 g	18.27%

Delicious Peachy Low-Fat, Low-Sodium Salad Dressing

For years I have been looking to replicate a salad dressing I enjoyed when I lived in Laguna Beach, California. It was the house dressing of a sushi house near the beach, and it had a nice light fresh taste with a little hint of fruit and it made an otherwise pedestrian salad the perfect prelude to what was usually a spectacular dinner.

I have also been looking for a salad dressing that I could include in my new low-fat, low-sodium, and low-calorie lifestyle. The problem with most salad dressings is that they can be either low, or non-fat, but not low in sodium. The best I’ve found is Maple Grove Farms of Vermont fat-free poppy seed dressing, but it has 120 mg sodium in two tablespoons. Last night I achieved both goals. In fact, this dressing is even better than the one I remember. All you need to make it is a food processor and the ingredients. I splurged and used 3 tablespoons on my salad last night and it only had 29.36 calories, .17 grams of fat, and 50.31 mg sodium.

Joel’s Salad Dressing Number 1

Ingredients

2 ribs celery
¼ C raw ginger
2/3 C non-fat sour cream
½ C non-fat plain yogurt
1 clove garlic
¼ C rice vinegar
Juice of one lemon
4 green onions (tops and all)
½ red bell pepper
1 peach
¼ t. dry mustard
Onion powder to taste
Fresh ground black pepper to taste
Cayenne pepper to taste

Add all ingredients to food processor and process until smooth. Refrigerate to allow flavors to blend and serve over fresh green salad. This recipe makes two cups and a 2 tablespoon serving has, 20.33 calories, 1.4 g protein, 4.06 g carbohydrates, .11 g fat, and 33.54 mg sodium.

Here is my recap for the last two days.

Daily Dietary Recap-4/11/2007
Calories	Protein	Carbohydrates	Sodium	Fat	% Calories from Fat
1291.04	61.53 g	200.51 g	1279.32 mg	23.51 g	15.55%

Daily Dietary Recap-4/12/2007
Calories	Protein	Carbohydrates	Sodium	Fat	% Calories from Fat
1378.49	64.77 g	216.22 g	1026.42 mg	27.38 g	18.27%

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Blogger's Choice Awards

Today I decided to throw my blog’s hat in the ring for the Blogger’s Choice Awards. I am under no illusions about having any chance of winning in the two categories where my blog fits, Best Health Blog and Best Food Blog, but if I get a few votes and move up in the standings, it might influence a few more people to drop by. You will have to register vote, but when you do, you can nominate other blogs including your own and vote for your favorite blogs in other categories. Use these links to vote for my blog in either the Best Health Blog category, and/or the Best Food Blog category.

Here is my recap for yesterday.

Daily Dietary Recap-4/10/2007
Calories	Protein	Carbohydrates	Sodium	Fat	% Calories from Fat
1383.21	59.23 g	265.82 g	1257.39 mg	16.26 g	10.58%

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Mail from Readers

Since I safely posted my email address on this blog, I have been getting letters. I thought I would share a couple of them that I have permission to reprint here. If you send me email, I will answer it as I have time. I am not a trained nutritionist, and my only criteria for selecting foods and recipes for my own diet are those of calorie, sodium, and fat reduction. My personal goals are to consume less than 1400 calories, less than 20% of those calories from fat, and less than 1500 mg of sodium. This approach combined with working out for about 70 minutes 3-4 times per week, is working for me as I have lost 33.5 pounds since January 3, 2007, and my blood pressure is down from a dangerously high level to low normal without medication. Your recommended diet may be very different.

From L.

Hello,

I followed a link (I believe from www.epicurious.com's forums) to your blog, which I found interesting. I had a couple of questions if you don't mind. I've never had to diet or exercise, always was thin, but after turning 40 (now 42) I find that it's a little harder to eat what I want and stay in shape (gained a few pounds). So, I was trying to watch what I eat, just started a week ago (and hoping it will last a little while). I love chocolate (i.e. the Cadbury mini eggs!), and a treat is hard to resist or just eat one of. Anyway, I noticed that you were keeping your calories below 1400. For what size person is this recommended? I have been using http://www.nutritiondata.com and it says that my estimated food energy is 1700 calories. And I have trouble keeping it below 2500! Any suggestions?

My Response

Hi L.

I'm happy to respond to your questions. In fact, I'm flattered that anyone would be taking me seriously as I am just a 57 year old man who is obsessed with food and who realized in January of this year that I had better start taking my health seriously. In my typical fashion, I jumped in with both feet and started a four-day-a-week exercise program and put myself on this low-sodium, low-fat, reduced calorie diet. I've learned that as we get older we don't metabolize calories as we once did. It takes fewer calories to maintain our body weight. It sounds to me as though you are an ectomorph in body style (somatotype). Ectomorphs may be inappropriately classified as healthy based on the BMI (see my blog “Body Mass Index (BMI) Lunacy” http://profbush.blogspot.com/2007/03/body-mass-index-bmi-lunacy.html if you haven’t already) because their weight falls in the normal range. As you get older, even ectomorphs tend to add a few pounds without changing their eating habits because of the age-lowered metabolic rate.

I started with a 1500 calorie diet, but lowered it to 1400 after the first week because I went to the Mayo clinic web site http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/calorie-calculator/NU00598 and entered my particulars in their calorie calculator. For my current height, weight, and activity level, I need 1900 calories per day to maintain my present weight (I’m still losing, I have a bit to go before I reach my goal). I then went to their Healthy Weight Pyramid tool http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/weight-loss/NU00595, put in my height, weight, sex, and age and it said for weight loss, I should be consuming 1400 calories. So, that became my new target for caloric intake. I haven’t tried the Nutrition Data calculator, but it is one of my favorite sites for facts on food. I like Monica’s nutrition blog on that site as well.

I like chocolate too but, for me, it is a matter of having the knowledge to make choices. I know that chocolate really is a health food. I even tried adding a teaspoon of cocoa to my morning oatmeal; it wasn’t a good idea. I like dark chocolate. My brother says it is because the only chocolate our mother would allow in the house, was baker’s chocolate. Even though there is a 14 year age difference between us (I’m the baby), he and I both remember climbing up on the kitchen counter to break pieces from the big bar she kept in one of the cabinets. I keep a bag of Dove dark chocolate in the refrigerator and, usually in the evening, if I have calories and fat to spare, I eat one. I don’t have a problem stopping with just one. I know that over-indulgence will show up on my daily recap. In a sense, I am accountable to my blog. I frequently eat low, or non-fat frozen yogurt in vanilla, strawberry, or chocolate. If I have the calories and fat to spare, I enjoy it. If I don’t, a nice ruby red grapefruit works just as well.

Your Cadbury mini eggs have either 190, or 210 calories per serving and 8, or 9 grams of fat http://www.foodfacts.com/public/items_by_category.cfm?results=images&item=1523 depending on what package you buy them in. One serving would be very hard on my diet and if you go over one serving very often, it wouldn’t be too hard to explain those extra calories. The saving grace may be that they are seasonal-only available at Easter, aren’t they? My advice is to consider them in the context of what other foods you are eating during the day and make a conscious decision whether you can skip something else in order to enjoy your mini eggs. For me, it comes down to my weight loss secret number 1, http://profbush.blogspot.com/2007/03/ten-secrets-of-weigh-loss.html and http://profbush.blogspot.com/2007/04/ten-secrets-of-weight-loss-part-2.html “Knowledge is Power-the power to make choices”.

I enjoy remodeling recipes of my favorite food into low-fat, low-calorie, and low-sodium versions. I wonder whether I could make a version of mini eggs-nah, probably not. I appreciate you writing to me (as though I had some real answers). I’m just writing from the truth of my own experience and using the blog to keep myself somewhat accountable.

L. Second Response

Hi Joel,

Wow. Thanks for all the information. I did go to the different links you sited. I guess I would be considered an ectomorph. It says my BMI is 20.3 with the "normal" BMI for an adult woman of my height being 18.5 to 24.9. I remember a letter coming home from school a year or two ago saying my son (who is now 9) had a BMI level showing him overweight. He hasn't ever been and isn't anything near overweight! That letter went in the trash.

The Mayo Clinic website says my caloric intake should be 1550 for sedentary, or 1700 for somewhat active. I still need to add some exercise, but that's going to be tough.

So, chocolate is a health food?! Wonderful! :) Yea, my Cadbury mini eggs will be gone soon - as soon as Easter's over.

My kids (9 and 13) are somewhat picky eaters when it comes to things like vegetables, so I can't rearrange my recipes and cooking too much. I have been changing a few things, whether they eat it or it's just for me. I've been tracking my calories and nutrition information, like I said, on nutritiondata.com from day to day lately, but I kind of like your idea and may see if I can be accountable to a blog for my own benefit.

I don't mind if you use my original email - I don't think there was any personal information in it - if you'll leave my name out. Thanks again for your time and suggestions.

Joel Second Response to L.

Hi L.,

As I looked over my response to you, I saw that I didn't make any really concrete suggestions. I drink a lot of water. It helps to control my appetite. Also, we sometimes confuse thirst for hunger. If I think my appetite is winning, I will eat a high fiber cracker or two (Ry-Krisp, Wasa, RyVita) and drink a lot of water. I keep bottles of Ozarka in the fridge and at work, it helps.

If it’s any consolation, I cook totally different meals for my wife and for myself. I’ve always done all the cooking. I guess it’s because my experience as a chef has always made me faster at it and I always get to eat what I want.

Yes, chocolate is loaded with healthy antioxidants. Now if we could just reduce the fat content. Thanks for letting me use your letter sometime. I won’t identify you other than by initial.

Best, Joel

From D.

Hello Prof Bush,

Spent some time this morning checking out your blog and was very much impressed with the number of posts and all of the work that you've done.

I am going to put a link to your site on my blog.

I might also like,now and then, to use a recipe from your site on my blog. Would you be comfortable with that if the post gave you credit for the recipe and included a link to your site.

Would like you to know that I found your blog to be personally inspiring. I have pretty much got the low sodium thing in hand but am not doing quite what I ought to drop some weight. So starting today I will go back to tracking the calories and bumping up the exercise.

Finally a question. I noticed that your email address resists being copied. I have not put my email address on my blog because I didn't want to open myself to programs that harvest email addresses and create spam. How do you create this email address?

Thanks, D.

My Response to D.

Hi D.,

Nice to hear from you, and thanks for your kind comments. I enjoy your blog and have subscribed to its feed so I can tell when you have posted new material. I very much appreciate the link. I really enjoy your writing and hope you post more frequently. You write well and we seem to be going down the same path.

I would be honored to have you post some of my recipes on your site. I have collected some emails since I recently put my email address on the site and thought I might want to post some of the comments/questions and share them for other people to read. I would never disclose your identity and just identify you with an initial if that's all right with you.

At first the sodium was a little hard for me too, but now it's just a habit and a change in the way I cook. I tackled calories, fat, and sodium all at the same time, and I've been really happy with the results in terms of weight loss and blood pressure reduction. Good luck with your effort.

You can get your own graphic with your email address on it at http://safemail.justlikeed.net/ I've really enjoyed making the blog a little more personal with correspondence. I too was concerned with having my email address harvested by SpamBots until I found this site.

Best regards, Joel

That’s the mail for now, keep those cards and letter coming.

Here is my recap for Sunday and Monday.

Daily Dietary Recap-4/8/2007
Calories	Protein	Carbohydrates	Sodium	Fat	% Calories from Fat
1215.53	75.88 g	201.72 g	885.31 mg	19.02 g	14.08%

Daily Dietary Recap-4/9/2007
Calories	Protein	Carbohydrates	Sodium	Fat	% Calories from Fat
1358.72	66.9 g	266.47 g	661.04 mg	14.4 g	9.43%

Sunday, April 8, 2007

Seven Sample Menus for a 1400 Calorie Diet

I’ve been asked by a number of people to tell them what do eat and when. I guess they feel that they can follow directions better than coming up with their own menus. I am presenting here, not sample menus exactly, but what I ate on specific days to meet the requirements of my less than 1400 calorie, less than 20 % of calories from fat, less than 1500 mg sodium, diet.

As you can see, there is quite a lot of food here, so much that sometimes I get tired of chewing. I also believe that eating 4-7 times each day helps keep my metabolism up so I am continuously burning calories. These menus are just a starting point for you and are offered as suggestions of the types of foods you can eat on a low-fat, low-sodium, and calorie limited diet for weight reduction.

I am not a trained nutritionist, and my only criteria for selecting these foods for my own diet are those of calorie, sodium, and fat reduction. My personal goals in addition to the above-mentioned are: 78-158 g protein, 30-38 g fiber, and less than 300 mg cholesterol. Your recommended diet may be very different. I only offer these menus to share what I have eaten on given days and stayed loyal to my diet.

Monday

Breakfast

1.5 C Kashi 7 Whole Grain Puffs, 1/3 C Non-fat milk, ¼ C Dannon All Natural non-fat Plain Yogurt, ¼ C Wild Blueberries

Morning Snack

1 medium banana

Lunch

1 1/2 C Joel’s Chili 3, 1 T non fat sour cream, 1 T apple cider vinegar

Snack

18 White Cheddar Soy Crisps

Dinner

Healthy Choice Chicken Margherita dinner, Salad with 2 C fresh greens, 1/3 C grape tomatoes, 1/8 C sweet onion, and 2 T poppy seed fat free dressing, 2/3 C steamed corn, 4 C (raw) spinach steamed,

4 Asparagus spears steamed

Dessert

1/2 C Yarnell's low-fat chocolate frozen yogurt

Snack

¼ cantaloupe, 1 Ry-Krisp cracker

Calories: 1369, Protein: 65.76, Carbohydrates: 247.11 g, Fiber: 48.79 g, Fat: 20.65 g, Percent calories from fat: 13.58%, Saturated fat: 3.78 g, Cholesterol: 75.63 g, Sodium: 1370.25 mg.

Tuesday

Breakfast

Omelet with ½ C Egg Beaters, 1/8 C Sweet Onion, 3 Mushrooms (chopped), and 1 T Old El Paso Taco sauce-medium

Morning Snack

1 C Kashi 7 whole grain Honey Puffs (dry from box)

Lunch

½ Kangaroo whole wheat pita, ¼ C Extra Lean ground beef patty (96/4), 4 oz. Dannon All Natural strawberry yogurt

Snack

Health Valley Vegetarian chili 1.5 C

Dinner

Salmon taco and pita: 4 oz Wild Salmon-baked, 1 Mi Casa White corn tortilla, juice of 2 Lemon wedges, slaw cabbage, 1 T non-fats sour cream; .25 C, 1 T Old El Paso taco sauce-medium, 2/3 C corn, 4 C (raw) spinach steamed

Dessert

1 C Yarnell strawberry low-fat frozen yogurt

Snack

2 Natural Ry-Krisp crackers, .5 oz non-fat cream cheese .

Calories: 1230, Protein: 105.3, Carbohydrates: 204.44 g, Fiber: 40.97 g, Fat: 15.56 g, Percent calories from fat: 11.39%, Saturated fat: 5.02 g, Cholesterol: 142.5 g, Sodium: 1179.5 mg.

Wednesday

Breakfast

1.5 C Old Fashioned oatmeal, 1 T flax seed meal, .5 oz raisins, 1 T brown sugar

Morning Snack

None

Lunch

½ Kangaroo whole wheat pita, ¼ C Extra Lean ground beef patty (96/4), 4 oz. Dannon All Natural strawberry yogurt

Snack

None

Dinner

3 oz. pork roast, 1 C baked sweet potato, Salad with 2 C fresh greens, 1/3 C grape tomatoes, 1/8 C sweet onion, and 1 T Fat free Vidalia onion dressing, 2 mushrooms-broiled, 2 C yellow summer squash-straightneck

Dessert

none

Snack

¼ cantaloupe, 2 Natural Ry-Krisp crackers

Calories: 1165, Protein: 69.93, Carbohydrates: 192.71 g, Fiber: 41.75 g, Fat: 17.59 g, Percent calories from fat: 13.59%, Saturated fat: 4.57 g, Cholesterol: 121 g, Sodium: 911.97 mg.

Thursday

Breakfast

4 oz. Dannon All Natural Blueberry Yoghurt, Small banana

Morning Snack

Small banana

Lunch

1 C General Tso's Tofu, ½ C brown rice, Roasted vegetables with 1 medium turnip, 1 sweet onion, 1 clove garlic

Snack

None

Dinner

½ Kangaroo whole wheat pita, ¼ C Extra Lean ground beef patty (96/4), 1 tsp mustard-Griffins, Salad with 2 C fresh greens, 1/3 C grape tomatoes, 1/8 C sweet onion, and 2 T poppy seed fat free dressing, 1 ½ C Steamfresh broccoli, carrots, sugar snaps, and water chestnuts

Dessert

1 C Yarnell's Chocolate Frozen yogurt

Snack

2 Natural Ry-Krisp crackers

Calories: 1304, Protein: 60.26, Carbohydrates: 223.09 g, Fiber: 25.75 g, Fat: 13.2 g, Percent calories from fat: 9.11%, Saturated fat: 4.87 g, Cholesterol: 101.41 g, Sodium: 927.88 mg.

Friday

Breakfast

1.5 C Old Fashioned oatmeal, 1 T flax seed meal, .5 oz raisins, 1 T brown sugar

Morning Snack

2 Ry-Krisp sesame crackers

Lunch

1 C raw cauliflower, 1 Wasa Lite Cracker, 1 C Joel’s chili 3, 1 T non-fat sour cream, ½ C brown rice, 1 C Poinsettia fruit salad

Snack

1 Ry-Krisp sesame cracker

Dinner

1 Stuffed chicken breast, ¾ C Steamfresh broccoli mixture, Salad with 2 C fresh greens, 1/3 C grape tomatoes, 1/8 C sweet onion, and 1 T Newman's low-fat sesame ginger dressing

Dessert

none

Snack

Grapefruit-Ruby Red 1 Small

Calories: 1185.3, Protein: 67.18, Carbohydrates: 197.15 g, Fiber: 35.7 g, Fat: 18.78 g, Percent calories from fat: 14.24%, Saturated fat: 3.94 g, Cholesterol: 98.76 g, Sodium: 900.98 mg.

Saturday

Breakfast

1.5 C Old Fashioned oatmeal, 1 T flax seed meal, .5 oz raisins, 1 T brown sugar

Morning Snack

None

Lunch

2 oz. Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast, 1/2 Kangaroo WW Pita, 1 T secret sauce

Snack

Grape tomatoes .30 C

Dinner

3 oz. Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast, ½ C brown Rice, 2/3 C Great Value Deluxe Stir Fry vegetables, Salad with 2 C fresh greens, 1/3 C grape tomatoes, 1/8 C sweet onion, 1 C Poinsettia Fruit Salad

Dessert

1 C Yarnell strawberry low-fat frozen yogurt

Snack

2 Natural Ry-Krisp crackers

Calories: 1194.84, Protein: 59.36, Carbohydrates: 206.86 g, Fiber: 30.41 g, Fat: 17.55 g, Percent calories from fat: 13.22%, Saturated fat: 4.65 g, Cholesterol: 111.25 g, Sodium: 478.16 mg.

Sunday

Breakfast

2 RyVita Cracker, Omelet with ½ C Egg Beaters, 1/8 C sweet Onion, 3 chopped mushrooms,1/4 C snow peas in ½ Kangaroo whole wheat pita

Morning Snack

2 RyVita Crackers, 4 Flat Earth Peach Mango Crisps

Lunch

Not-so-sloppy Joes in ½ Kangaroo whole wheat pita, 1 t. Griffins mustard

Snack

2 RyVita Crackers, ½ C fresh pineapple

Dinner

5oz. Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast, 1 1/3 C Great Value Deluxe Stir Fry vegetables , secret sauce, Salad with 2 C fresh greens, 1/3 C grape tomatoes, 1/8 C sweet onions, 2 t. Ken’s raspberry-walnut vinaigrette dressing

Dessert

1 C Yarnell strawberry low-fat frozen yogurt

Snack

½ Kangaroo whole wheat pita with 1 oz. non-fat cream cheese

Calories: 1381.14, Protein: 101.3, Carbohydrates: 196.35 g, Fiber: 40.29 g, Fat: 20.81 g, Percent calories from fat: 13.56%, Saturated fat: 6.69 g, Cholesterol: 181.25 g, Sodium: 1462 mg.

Here is my recap from yesterday.

Daily Dietary Recap-4/7/2007
Calories	Protein	Carbohydrates	Sodium	Fat	% Calories from Fat
1369.21	65.76 g	247.11 g	1370.25 mg	20.64 g	13.58%

Diet, Cooking, and Exercise

Monday, April 30, 2007

Forty Pounds Cumulative Weight Loss since January 3

Saturday, April 28, 2007

Results of the Judging-Aussiejourno’s Weekly Blog Awards

Results of the Judging-Aussiejourno’s Weekly Blog Awards

Friday, April 27, 2007

Lima Bean, Mushroom, and Barley Soup

Thursday, April 26, 2007

I’ll be the Judge of That

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

A New Pair of Jeans

Chicken Cacciatore, Low-sodium/fat/calorie, High flavor

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Dining Out Healthy, and Tostadas Revisited

Saturday, April 21, 2007

Non-fat Refried Beans and Healthy Tostada

Friday, April 20, 2007

Baked Asparagus Frittata with Low-Fat Hollandaise Sauce

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Healthy Tortilla Chips

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Weight Loss and Body Image

Friday, April 13, 2007

Don't Miss More Than One Day…

Delicious Peachy Low-Fat, Low-Sodium Salad Dressing

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Blogger's Choice Awards

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Mail from Readers

Sunday, April 8, 2007

Seven Sample Menus for a 1400 Calorie Diet

About Me

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