Even powerful women like us need to lose weight sometimes. We diet. We go to maintenance phase. We are working out. But when we go out to eat, we eat things we would never bring in the house: bread, potatoes, dessert – just a bit here and there but here comes the poofy belly again.
Then going back to strict maintenance isn’t enough. It’s time for another diet. Sigh.
When I need to lose weight, I eat lots of fish, tofu and veggies. High fiber, no sugar cereal with fresh ground flax seed, a small amount of fresh fruit and skim milk or light “silk” for breakfast. Fish or tofu with veggies and a small amount of brown rice for lunch. NO carbs for dinner – more fish or tofu with veggies.
I prefer Zero tolerance on sugar. I find it easier to “just say no”. I can get vicarious pleasure from smelling my companion’s desserts. Leading up to this diet, I was sampling desserts and had developed a craving.
Every year that goes by, brings less wiggle room in what I can eat. And dieting takes longer. This time it took a full month for any weight loss to kick in.
Diets are harder for women. Usually, men have a higher percentage of lean muscle mass which makes it easier for most men to lose weight more quickly. Any diet and maintenance of weight must include very regular exercise. I try to get 30 to 60 minutes of aerobic exercise every day and light weight training 2 – 3 times a week.
The issue of how to enjoy eating out without gaining weight came up in a discussion about the new Los Angeles restaurant CRAFT on http://SingularCity.com and inspired this post. It is possible to have a wonderful meal at CRAFT and other great restaurants without gaining weight simply by following my ordering guidelines:
How to Order Well:
Don’t Order List Key Menu Words:
Butter (butter sauce, cooked in butter)
Fried (the only exception is fried tofu)
Pasta
Rice (with the exception of brown rice)
Cream
Bread (includes buns, sandwich bread, croutons and phylo wrappings)
Tortilla
Cheese
White Potato
Sauce (caution for anything with the word sauce – ASK if it is heavy)
Dessert: except for fresh fruit, tell them you don’t need a dusting of sugar
Corn
Go easy on beans
Go easy on salad dressing
Do Choose These Menu Items List:
Fish
Vegetables
Tofu
SMALL portions of white chicken, turkey or pork meat
Brown rice (small portions)
Yam (small portion, no butter, no maple syrup)
Fruit (not canned)
Olive Oil
Beverages:
During the diet phase, I keep alcoholic beverage consumption to once at most twice a week, keeping quantity to reasonable limits.
If you like tonic drinks, use diet tonic.
Drink lots of water.
Just forget about fruit juice, soda and any sugary drinks.
Especially if you are at a fine restaurant, your waiter should be able to assist you if you explain what you want to avoid. Be careful with fish advice. Fish oil is good for you. Don’t let the waiter steer you to a species of fish that is dry.
I have had several jobs in the food & beverage industry and learned how to order out of necessity.
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@Diane. I enjoyed your comments.
I hid alcohol under "Beverages."
I speak about beer quietly because I used to work for Coors and I love those guys and their beers but beer is very high on the glycemic index so I have had to relegate it to a rare special treat and if possible during a day off - not at night. I usually drink wine and sometimes vodka or gin with diet tonic. The important thing is frequency and quantity. If I am dieting I have to keep the frequency down. There are 2 factors, one is that when we drink, our will power declines. The other is simply the obvious sugar content in alcohol.
Tofu is great cooked and cold. It needs to be surrounded by flavorful vegetables as it has little taste of its own. It's a great source of protein at a great price (important in these times). Stir fried in a healthy oil with veggies is a favorite.
On those white foods - if you can get it a yam is a healthy alternative to a white potato. Brown rice is wonderful, makes you feel full and gives you that carb coziness we are all addicted to.
My favorite restaurants are Japanese and Californian. Chinese food gives the illusion of being healthy but it tends to be loaded with sugar. There are many healthy things to order at a Japanese restaurant including sashimi and miso black cod. Skip the tempura!
November 14, 2008 - 7:47pmThis Comment
This is depressing! But it's also heartening.
Like so many others, I used to be able to eat anything and maintain my weight with exercise. I genuinely like salads and veggies, so it was never that difficult. I also had no issues when I'd enjoy French fries, a dessert, or a huge Thanksgiving meal. I informally subscribed to the "everything in moderation, including exercise" diet, and it did well for me.
Perhaps I've been kidding myself that now in midlife I can enjoy the same kind of diet as long as I'm exercising enough. I have that poufy tummy you speak of, and not only do I know it is a risk to my health, I just plain don't like it there. If I have to choose between dessert with the tummy and no dessert with no tummy, it's certain that I'm going to choose the latter.
Your zero tolerance policy on sugar makes sense to me. I believe that "like attracts like," and that if we cut sugar out, we don't crave it. That's been the case for me in the past when I've been successful at cutting it out for a period of time. But I'm less successful on cutting out the "white" foods -- bread, pasta, potatoes and so on. I'm one of those who, if given the choice, would pick carbs over sweets as my comfort food of choice.
You don't mention wine, or alcohol of any kind. Which list is it on? And what's your favorite way to eat tofu?
November 14, 2008 - 9:14amThis Comment