Metabolism, Weight Loss, and Diet

Tomorrow I will start a series that I have been researching on the role metabolism plays in determining how many calories we can take in without gaining weight, and how what we choose to eat and drink can increase our resting metabolic rate (RMR). The RMR determines how many calories we burn just maintaining our body functions. It is the baseline above which we try to move when we exercise, build muscle with weight training, and consume highly thermogenic foods (foods that increase our metabolic rate).

For now, I have a little quiz. Today was my wife’s birthday and I cooked a special meal consisting of grilled bison sirloin steak, baked potatoes with non-fat sour cream, Brussels sprouts, green tea, and okra, onions, tomatoes, apple cider vinegar, and Tabasco sauce.

The Quiz

Which of the foods in my wife’s birthday dinner are thermogenic?

Which of the foods are highly thermogenic?

(The answer tomorrow)

Here is my recap for yesterday.

Daily Dietary Recap-5/26/2007
Calories	Protein	Carbohydrates	Sodium	Fat	% Calories from Fat
1271.36	72.35 g	212.55 g	1179.56 mg	16.76 g	11.86%

Balsamic Turkey Scaloppini with Eggplant

Tonight I made a scaloppini casserole with eggplant based on thinly sliced turkey breast. This recipe is a winner with loads of flavor and is very low in calories, sodium, and fat. I used the pre-sliced low fat (99% fat free) Honeysuckle White turkey breast for scaloppini. This recipe makes 6 servings and has only 210.42 calories, 28.61 g protein, 16.53 g carbohydrates, 2.4 g fat (.91% fat), and 128.67 mg sodium.

Ingredients

1 eggplant-small, cut into slices
1.25 lb. turkey breast sliced 1/4'” thick
1 lemon-juice only
1 sweet onion, chopped
1/3 C flour
Onion powder to taste
Garlic powder to taste
Ground pepper to taste
6 mushrooms-sliced
.25 C Balsamic vinegar
1 Can diced tomatoes-no salt added
1 t. Italian seasoning
½ C Mozzarella cheese-shredded, part-skim

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Marinate the turkey slices in the juice of one lemon for at least 1 hour. Meanwhile, slice and chop the mushrooms and onions. Slice the eggplant to cover the bottom of a casserole dish, brown the eggplant in a large skillet sprayed with olive oil pan spray at medium-low heat until soft and place in an olive oil sprayed casserole dish. Mix the flour, onion powder, garlic powder, and ground pepper, and dredge the turkey slices through the seasoned flour. Spray the skillet you used for the eggplant with olive oil spray, and brown the turkey slices, about 1 minute per side. Place the turkey slices on top of the eggplant. Spray the skillet again and add the onions. Using a wooden spoon, scrape up any bits of turkey and flour while stirring the onions, add the mushrooms and sauté until the onions and mushrooms are soft. Add 1 can of no salt added diced tomatoes, 1 t. Italian seasoning, and ¼ C balsamic vinegar. Increase heat to medium high and reduce slightly until thick and smooth. Pour the balsamic vegetable mixture over the turkey and eggplant and top with ½ cup mozzarella cheese. Place the casserole in the oven until it is heated through and the cheese is melted, about 15 minutes.

Blood Test Results

I got the results of my blood tests today and my low-fat, low-calorie diet, and weight loss is working. My cholesterol was 170, not bad for a 57-year-old formerly fat guy and my blood sugar was normal.

Here is my recap for the last three days.

Daily Dietary Recap-5/18/2007
Calories	Protein	Carbohydrates	Sodium	Fat	% Calories from Fat
1341.64	51.92 g	199.51 g	928.68 mg	15.45 g	10.35%

Daily Dietary Recap-5/19/2007
Calories	Protein	Carbohydrates	Sodium	Fat	% Calories from Fat
1085.29	50.62 g	198.87 g	1077.22 mg	12.13 g	9.63%

Daily Dietary Recap-5/20/2007
Calories	Protein	Carbohydrates	Sodium	Fat	% Calories from Fat
1401.69	79.19 g	283.13 g	1069.08 mg	12.91 g	7.96%

Joel’s Black Bean Confetti Salad

This healthy salad goes well with an outdoor barbecue or a formal dinner. It is served cold and has black beans, multicolored bell peppers, red onions, and yellow corn in fat-free lime vinaigrette. A generous one cup serving has 97.63 calories, 5.86 g protein, 20.19 g carbohydrates, 4.75 g fiber, .32 g fat, and 81.82 mg sodium.

Ingredients

1 cup dried black beans
1 bay leaf
2 cloves garlic, peeled and halved
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
pinch of cayenne pepper
1 medium red onion, diced (I have used half red and half Vidalia onion)
1 large bell pepper’s worth of green, red, and orange peppers, diced
1 cup corn kernels (I undercook frozen corn, chill and add to salad)
4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 lime, juiced
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
White pepper to taste
Cayenne pepper to taste

Rinse and clean the beans in a colander with cold water. Cover the beans with cold water and soak overnight or at least 4 hours. Drain, rinse, and return the beans to a pot with bay leaf, ground black pepper, cumin, coriander, garlic, and cayenne pepper. Add 8 cups of water and bring to a boil, simmer until the beans are tender but not falling apart, about 1-1 1/2 hours.

Drain the beans, remove the garlic and bay leaf, and rinse under cold water until chilled. In a large bowl, add the onion, peppers, and corn, to the black beans. Spray lightly with olive oil spray and toss gently. Add the lime juice and seasonings and mix again. Refrigerate before serving to allow the flavors to blend, at least 30-60 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasonings before serving. This recipe makes six generous one cup servings or 8 three-quarter cup servings.

Here is my recap for yesterday.

Daily Dietary Recap-5/5/2007
Calories	Protein	Carbohydrates	Sodium	Fat	% Calories from Fat
1281.83	90.16 g	166.4 g	939.37 mg	21.92 g	15.39%

Low Sodium Barbecue Sauce

In the middle of a diet, there are times when a hunger strikes that is so deep it can only be satisfied by barbecue. Here is the solution. Commercial barbecue sauce is high in sodium (370 mg for a 2 tablespoon serving) so I came up with a low sodium version that is truly satisfying. A two tablespoons serving contains only 52.89 calories and 43.81 mg sodium. It contains no fat, but has 12.14 g carbohydrates.

Ingredients

1 C catsup-no salt added (some of these have potassium salt added, so if you can’t have added potassium, this may not be for you)
2 T apple cider vinegar
2 T Worcestershire sauce
2 T brown sugar
1 T molasses
1 t. Liquid Smoke
Tabasco Sauce to taste, I used 5 splashes
¼ t. ground black pepper
¼ t. garlic powder

Add all ingredients to a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Simmer for ten minutes while the sauce thickens and become dark and rich, stirring frequently. Recipe makes 9 two tablespoon servings. This recipe doubles well.

Tonight I served it with boneless, skinless chicken breasts roasted in the oven at 400 degrees for 25 minutes with the sauce. This sauce held up very well in the heat of the oven. With a four ounce chicken breast, and the sauce, it contained 192.89 calories, 25 g protein, 12.14 g carbohydrates, 4 g fat, 1.5 g saturated fat, 65 mg cholesterol, and 83.81 mg sodium.

Here is my recap for the last two days.

Daily Dietary Recap-5/3/2007
Calories	Protein	Carbohydrates	Sodium	Fat	% Calories from Fat
1310.17	61.15 g	238.94 g	906.92 mg	21.55 g	14.81%

Daily Dietary Recap-5/4/2007
Calories	Protein	Carbohydrates	Sodium	Fat	% Calories from Fat
1380.6	59.38 g	246.28 g	1144.25 mg	19.05 g	12.41%

Baked Salmon in Dill Sauce on a Bed of Steamed Spinach

Tonight's dinner was a nice salmon filet baked in a mild dill sauce. Preparation was quick and easy and the result was impressive as well as being healthy.

Ingredients

2 filets wild salmon 4 oz. each
12 C raw spinach

Sauce
1/4 C non-fat sour cream
1/2 t. dill
1/2 lemon juiced

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Make the sauce by combining 1/4 C non-fat sour cream, about 1/2 t. dried dill, and the juice of 1/2 lemon. Set this aside in the refrigerator so the flavors can blend while rinsing and drying the salmon filets, about 4 ounces each. Wash about 12 cups of spinach and put them in a microwave safe bowl, covered.

Spray an ovenproof container with olive oil spray and spoon in enough sauce to cover the bottom. Place the salmon filets in the container, spoon more sauce over the filets, and put the container in the oven for fifteen minutes. While the salmon is baking, microwave the spinach on high for three minutes. Placed 1/3 of the cooked spinach, about four cups raw, onto each plate and top it with a salmon filet. Sprinkled each salmon filet with paprika and serve with remaining sauce on the side.

This entree' contains 136 calories, 23 g protein, 8.5 g carbohydrates, 4.17 g fat, and 151.25 mg sodium. As pictured with 2/3 C steamed corn, and two corn tortillas, warmed in the oven, the meal contains 286 calories, 28.08 g protein, 49.04 g carbohydrates, 5.33 g fat, 246.5 mg sodium.

Here is my recap from yesterday.

Daily Dietary Recap-5/2/2007
Calories	Protein	Carbohydrates	Sodium	Fat	% Calories from Fat
1121.5	57.42 g	180.76 g	906.25 mg	16.56 g	11.29%

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%

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%

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%

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%

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%

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%

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%

Baked Sweet Potato, Roasted Squash and Mushrooms

Tonight I had a real hunger for vegetables and really had a nice assortment. I only had a small portion (3 oz.) of meat, roast pork, so I had plenty of room for veggies. I baked a sweet potato in the microwave and, and roasted 2 large mushrooms cut in half and a nice yellow straightneck summer squash. Preparation of the mushrooms was easy as I chose not to use any seasonings at all. I cut the mushrooms in half, and the squash in chunks and put them in an oven proof bowl. I gave them a light once over with olive oil pan spray and put them in the oven at 425°. I stirred them every 7-8 minutes and they were finished in about 15. I loved the earthy taste of the mushrooms and the slightly sweet and soft/crunchiness of the squash. I am grateful to be able to taste these subtle flavors without additional seasoning because I have cleared my taste buds of salt. There is nothing in these vegetables to hurt my diet as they have only 57 calories, 2.44 g protein, 11.68 g carbohydrates, 5.3 g fiber, .74 g fat, and only 7 mg sodium.

Sweet Potatoes

Sometimes when I eat baked sweet potato, I sprinkle it with ButterBuds, cinnamon, and/or nutmeg. Tonight I ate it unadorned and it was delicious. Baking sweet potatoes is a great way to add flavor to a low sodium diet. When I first started, I ate them almost every night. A whole cup of sweet potato baked this way has 180 calories, 6.6 grams of fiber, negligible fat and only 72 mg sodium. The glycemic index of sweet potatoes is lower than any form of white potato, coming in at 77. It is also high in vitamin A, vitamin C, and vitamin B6. According to Wikipedia, “the Center for Science in the Public Interest compared the nutritional value of sweet potatoes to other vegetables. Considering fiber content, complex carbohydrates, protein, vitamins A and C, iron, and calcium, the sweet potato ranked highest in nutritional value. According to these criteria, sweet potatoes earned 184 points, 100 points over the next on the list, the common potato”. Also, 2/3 cups of sweet potatoes contain 100% of the Recommended Daily Allowance for vitamin E without the fat of other sources. It is also very low in sodium.

Here is my recap from yesterday.

Daily Dietary Recap-4/4//2007
Calories	Protein	Carbohydrates	Sodium	Fat	% Calories from Fat
1374.67	77.42 g	232.25 g	1442.67 mg	18.25 g	11.95%

Ten Secrets of Weight Loss-Fourth and Final Part

I will finish up the last four things I have learned during my weight loss today.

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

Seven: Almost any recipe can be remodeled to accommodate my diet I enjoy the challenge of starting with my favorite recipes and foods and making changes to them to reduce the calories, fat, and sodium. I avoid using salt substitutes because they are typically very high in potassium and I prefer a natural taste. While there are health benefits to a diet high in potassium, such as, increased bone strength, suggestions that potassium can help with the elimination of excess sodium in the body and positively affect blood pressure, and the findings that some stroke, inflammatory bowel disease, and asthma patients have low levels of potassium. In the case of the latter, no direct causal relationship has been found. It’s not too hard to get adequate potassium with a good diet of natural foods, including “meats, fish, vegetables (especially potatoes), fruits (especially avocados, dried apricots, and bananas), citrus juices (such as orange juice), dairy products, and whole grains”. The recommended daily intake for adults is 2000 mg. I prefer to get my potassium from the foods I eat.

For added flavor, I increase my use of herbs and spices and find that I lean more toward cumin and red pepper than I ever did before. The reduction of sodium naturally increases the availability of the more naturally-occurring subtle flavors of ingredients. Non-fat versions of familiar dairy products work just fine for most recipes. I generally find that non-fat sour cream has a better texture and flavor than plain non-fat yogurt although I use both.

It is possible to select meat cuts that are both low in fat and in sodium (see my warning on the hidden sodium in supermarket meats). Boneless skinless chicken breasts, extra lean ground beef (96/4), fat-trimmed sirloin steak, and most fish meet the requirements for my diet. Turkey is also good, but many turkey products have been brined or soaked in salt water, so check the labels. Natural pork can also work but the same warning applies to treating or processing so check the sodium content. Most of the unprocessed meats have naturally occurring levels of sodium between 40 and 75 mg per four ounce serving. In recipes calling for ham, Canadian bacon is lower in calories and sodium if used sparingly and combines well to enhance milder flavored foods.

Bread can be a problem because salt is used to limit the action of the yeast in raised breads. I find that some brands of corn tortillas are low in both fat and sodium and whole wheat pita fits the bill as well. I prefer to make my own whole wheat tortillas or chalupas.

Salsas, especially homemade, are great for picking up the flavor of any meal. Generally the milder the salsa, the less sodium is used. Green salsas tend to be lower as well. I have come up with my own special sauces and find that mustard is full of flavor without salt or calories.

Most fruits are full of flavor and combine well with other ingredients in recipes. I also find that I am using more red bell peppers because they are sweeter and more robust in flavor.

Of course the key to weight loss is portion control. I have retrained myself to consider the generally recommended 4 ounce portions normal.

Eight: Exercise accelerates the weight loss and blood pressure lowering I am not going to belabor the point here because the relationship between weight loss and exercise has been covered much better elsewhere, but it’s true. Even small increases in exercise can be very rewarding. I have a stationary exercise bicycle in my study so I can pedal while I watch the morning news on my off days from the fitness center. I like being able to track my conditioning level by measuring my heart rate on the machines when I work out. It takes much more exertion to reach my target cardio training level (140 for me, age-based) so I get direct feedback on my conditioning level. I also watched my blood pressure drop to within normal levels without medication.

Nine: Vinegar wakes up the flavors of food I like vinegar so it’s pretty easy to include it in my recipes and my diet. There are so many wonderful types and flavors available now, from the full flavor of balsamic to the more subtle white wine vinegars, that experimenting with them is fun. I seem to recall that Adele Davis, the prolific nutritionist of the 1950s and 60s advocated keeping a cruet of apple cider vinegar on the table to splash liberally on greens and other foods. I do. She also suggested adding vinegar to the soup pot to release the calcium from soup bones.

Vinegar is the secret to my low sodium, low fat chili. I also use it in my not-so-sloppy Joes, and in my balsamic chicken.

Ten: A playful attitude about food and a willingness to experiment have been strong allies I enjoy food and experimenting with the ways that food can be prepared. Food is my hobby. I especially like growing it as I always have a large organic garden. I like reading cookbooks and recipes. I seldom create a recipe without consulting several different versions on the Internet or in my cookbook collection and choosing the most interesting ingredients and methods from each. I have also had a few flops, but undeterred I press on. My recommendation is that you move fearlessly into the world of low fat, low calorie, and low sodium cooking, and experiment with a sense of humor and discovery.

Here is my recap from yesterday.

Daily Dietary Recap-4/3//2007
Calories	Protein	Carbohydrates	Sodium	Fat	% Calories from Fat
1304	60.26 g	223.09 g	927.88 mg	13.2 g	9.11%