from pyramid to plate

Last month the USDA unveiled a new way for Americans to look at food, getting rid of the nearly 20-year old food pyramid in favor of the new food plate.

The shift is part of Michelle Obama's fight against childhood obesity, and is meant to help Americans visualize portion sizes in a more accurate way. I get it, the pyramid helps us visualize the scale of the foods in comparison to each other, but doesn't translate that to your actual plate and in recent years I never fail to be shocked at the increasingly large portion sizes we are faced with in restaurants. Our sense of scale is completely off kilter and in my weight loss I've discovered time and time again, that its not always what I eat, but how much of it I eat. I can still indulge, but it matters how big the portion is. When did quantity mean quality?


When I think back to how my parents grew up, and even the stories of my grandmother growing up, one thing is certain, growing up in the South people did not eat low calorie. My great-grandmother baked a pie every day for dessert, and she started cooking dinner in the early afternoon. So what are the big differences? Fresh foods being used over canned/frozen/processed versions. What else? Portion size. Back then, she was using full cream, rich cheeses, homemade butter and more. But nothing was in huge amounts. And guess what, they are petite in their pictures!

But did you know that the USDA has been doing food guides for nearly 100 years? There's a great article in the Huffington Post on it here - where you can see them all.

Most of us are only familiar with the food pyramid, but check out this one from 1916 about food for children.
I think the moral of the story is right, we need to readjust our portion size settings, the plate helps, but I think it could still be even better. It could be more clear on suggested daily portions and caloric intake. There are some cool interactive tools available for free though, so you can track your food intake daily, as well as your physical activity. Check out myplate at http://www.choosemyplate.gov/index.html

weighin in

159.8 today! Yes, this means I've made my 20 lbs goal. Yes this means I've broken another barrier and made it into the 50s - woo hoo! I'm now down 22lbs.

But even more exciting? Just because I've been slack on the blog (thanks to uber busy work) I haven't been slack on the diet/exercise.

Below is a recent picture of me (about 5 lbs ago) and you will already see the big difference in my face, I almost feel like my face is coming back.


How's everyone else doing? More to come soon, I promise!

thunder tea rice

This week a colleague introduced me to something that has eluded me since arriving in Singapore nearly a year ago - Thunder Tea Rice.

While this doesn't sound special, he had described it to me as very healthy, brown rice dish with veggies and green tea on top. Oh, you had me at healthy! Singapore is a haven for foodies and a dieters worst nightmare. But I've never seen this dish in any of the (many!) hawker centres we've tried.

So while out working an event together, he came back with orders of thunder tea rice for the team. It was delicious, not to mention high-fiber, low fat and packed with anti-oxidants.

Thunder Tea Rice has the following:

• Green Tea: Powerful anti-oxidant, helps to lower cholesterol.

• Basil & Mint: Anti-stress, for cooling & calming effect, aids relaxation, relieve colds.

• Fuliksum: Remove body toxins and fluid wastes, strengthen immune system.

• Chinese Parsley & Coriander: Ease digestion & gastric, combat flu & headache.

• Ginger & Ngal: Expel body winds & gas.

• Sesame: Maintain youth & enhance beauty.

• Groundnuts: High in protein, good for stein.

The green sauce is the green tea

defining progress

Over the past month, its no secret that a significant slow-down in my weight loss was both inevitable and disappointing.

Naturally my first couple weeks saw a faster drop than the rest of my journey will produce. However, 2 lbs in three weeks is slower-than usual progress for me (I consider 1 lb a week to be a good pace - after all, I still have over 30 lbs to go) and given that I've been pretty good, it was really starting to bother me.

Luckily, I had the foresight to measure myself at the beginning of the month. So yesterday, in my confused and frustrated state, I took my measurements a week early, just to see....

The reason is I truly feel I'm starting to 'see' a slight difference, even if I haven't dropped a full size yet and the scale is dancing around the same few numbers.

So I pulled out my tape measure and jotted down my measurements. Then I had to call almost everyone I know and share the good news - not really - but almost... In three weeks where I didn't see the scale move much, I've lost 1/2 inch off my waist, 1 inch off my hips and 1/2 inch off my neck (which sort of horrifies yet elates me).

Women today tend to be more barrel-shaped compared to the hour-glass shapes of our mothers and grandmothers. But I think with the right diet and exercise, we can get those figures back. I really think we eat too much, and too much of our food comes out of a box.

I strongly encourage you to measure your progress in more than one way. The scale is not always the best reflection that you are moving forward - especially when you are following an exercise routine.

Here's a reminder on where on the body to measure - and make sure the bust measurement goes over the nipple line.

weighin in

Monday February 21, 2010

171 today. Up half a pound. Oh to be so close, yet so far....

Tom Yum Soup

I know it seems like we're on a Thai kick, but this was just coincidence!

Last night I made fresh Tom Yum soup for dinner. Most people don't know what to order at Thai restaurants, curry is not a diet friendly choice, but Tom Yum soup is light, broth-based and has fresh seafood. It's always my go-to staple because its filling (hot soup!), has lean protein and a great tangy-spicy flavor.

The other day in the supermarket, I found a Tom Yum 'kit' in the fresh herbs section, it was just a baggy with lemongrass, lime, green chilis, kaffir leaves and some unidentified object that I just chopped up and included in the soup! In the US, you might have to go to an Asian supermarket to find the ingredients, but it will be worth it.

It was delicious, light and healthy. The kitchen was so fragrant, we were all excited to try something new, and my husband, whom I do not consider a soup person, loved it!

Homemade Tom Yum Soup!

Tom Yum Goong

4 cups water
1 cup fresh raw shrimp (peeled and deveined)
5 fresh mushrooms
1 sliced tomato
1-2 limes
1 lemon grass
3 kaffir lime leaves
2T fish sauce
5 sprigs cilantro (coriander), chopped
3 red or green thai chilis

• Start boiling the water in a 2 quart pot. Use the back of your cleaver to smash the lemon grass, just to bruise it to release the flavor. Tie the lemon grass into a knot (to make it easier to manage so you don't have to sift around it while eating). Drop the lemon grass in water and let boil for 5 minutes.
• Put the fish sauce and 1 lime's juice into the bottom of the bowls you will serve the soup in. Crush chili pepper and add to the bowl (careful, these chilis are extremely hot, you might want to start with just the littlest amount and work up, also wear gloves).
  
• Remove the stems from the kaffir lime leaves and add the leafy part to the pot. Clean and halve the mushrooms and add them to the pot.
  
• Add tomato slices, wait 1 minute.
• Add the shrimp and turn off the heat. (Shrimp gets too tough very quickly, and will cook even when it is just sitting in the warm broth. I was using very large tiger shrimp, so I let boil for 30 seconds and then turned heat off.)
  
• Scoop the soup into the serving bowls, you will see that the broth becomes cloudy because of the lime juice. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.
• Add more fish sauce, lime juice or peppers if it tastes bland.
  

rebound pounds

Recently, I've noticed a pattern. I lose a pound or two, breaking new ground, and the next day BOOM! I've gained 1-2 pounds.

I'm not celebrating my loss, or doing anything different. It's a little strange, almost like a natural yo-yo my body is doing. It takes a couple days to get those of, and I sort of stall for a day or two, then suddenly I break new ground again.

The first time this happened, I panicked. What had I done wrong the day before to make me gain three pounds? Only to wake up the next day and have lost half, followed by the remainder the following day. Then I broke new ground again.

The second time it happened, I'll admit, I was upset again. I evaluated everything I had done. Questioned salt, water, sweets. It's enough to make you cry with frustration.The third time it happened though, I had been perfect. And then I knew...

While it still annoys me to see those pounds reappear so quickly, I know that if I keep doing the right thing, the drop off again pretty fast. Then I can start moving forward again.

Does this happen to anyone else?