Psychology, Meet Weight Loss

For those of you who don't know, I am a psychology major.  I have enjoyed my time in college learning about gender, the criminal mind, human development, appraisal and measurement systems, relationships, positive thought, counseling techniques, and much, much more.  Psychology is such an interesting field, for me, because there are many areas that can be related back to it and that are involved in the study of psychology, from medicine to sociology to areas of the humanities.

One area in which this can be applied is through understanding addiction and addictive behavior.  When we discuss addiction, in psychology, we talk about how addiction is actually related to an overproduction of chemicals in the brain that make us ''feel good.''  It happens when our brain's ''pleasure centers'' are overloaded, leaving us craving more and more of that extreme ecstasy type of feeling.

People have discussed, jokingly and seriously, for a long time that fatty foods can have an addictive component to them, making it more difficult to give up greasy, cholesterol-filled foods like hamburgers, bacon, and cheesecake!  But, people usually dismiss it as a fat person's excuse for they they're...fat.  Well, some new research conducted on rats -- our fine, furry friends -- shows that those rumors may be true.  Published in the journal of Nature Neuroscience and released on CNN Health last week, some research has shown that fatty foods can cause the same addictive behavior patterns as cocaine and heroine use.  While it hasn't necessarily proven anything, it's an interesting concept to address.

Now, this, in no way, addresses issues of fatty ''bad-for-you'' foods being more affordable than the healthy counterparts (leading to some of an understanding of why obesity is more common in low-income communities), it is something to think about!

Until Next Time...

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-Tyler

IT'S FRIDAY!!!

Hi Everyone,

It's FRIDAY!!!  I'm glad we've all made it here...this week has been good.  I didn't go to the gym today. :-(  BUT, my friends and I did go on a walk to the bank and the grocery store.  We cooked dinner together, we made chicken fajitas and guacamole.  It wasn't necessarily the HEALTHIEST of meals, but it was so good.  I didn't eat too much, just too small fajitas, AND I stopped myself from going back for more.  I was completely full and really wanted to eat another one, but I didn't.

Last night we cheated!  It was kinda bad.  I had a candy bar, but I looked at all of the candy bars in the gas station and got the lowest calorie one: a Milky Way Midnight.  It had 210 calories and helped satisfy my need for chocolate.  And the good thing is, I didn't feel bad about cheating.  That's good.  I also learned something else about myself recently...I cannot have sugar free chocolate things.  I had a sugar free hot chocolate from the coffee shop across from campus and, not to be too gross for you all (but I did promise you all honesty), and it made me miserable.  I have never been so bloated and gassy in my whole life.  It was terrible...so I'll be steering clear of sugar free chocolate items FOREVER.

Well, it's the weekend.  I plan on going to the gym tomorrow to make up for not going to the gym today.  I'll probably take Sunday off from working out, but plan on going on a walk at some point that day.

I'll update tomorrow!

Until Next Time...

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-Tyler

Honey and Lime Fruit Salad

Since I'm not quite sure what to post today, I figured I could share a recipe with all of you.  It's for a really yummy fruit salad with a honey lime dressing on it.  I made this for the first time last semester and realized it's a pretty healthy recipe

• 1/4 cup honey
• 3 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 teaspoon lime zest
• 2 kiwis, sliced
• 2 bananas, sliced
• 2 cups cantaloupe, cubed
• 2 cups strawberries, sliced
• 2 cups blueberries

Mix the honey, lime juice, and lime zest.

Toss all of the fruit with the honey and lime dressing.

Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before eating.

Serve over light whipped cream, yogurt, or by itself!  Serves 6.

Nutrition Facts

Honey & Lime Fruit Salad Serving Size 235 g (1 serving out of 6)

Amount Per Serving

Calories  156 Calories from Fat  6

% Daily Value*

Total Fat  0.7g 1%

Cholesterol  0mg 0%

Sodium  11mg 0%

Total Carbohydrates  40.0g 13%

Dietary Fiber  4.5g 18%

Sugars  30.1g

Protein  1.9g

Vitamin A 37% • Vitamin C 136% Calcium 3% • Iron 4%

More About my Shopping List...

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So, I had a request from one of my lovely readers, Mrs. Sarajane Burroughs Case, to post my grocery list for those of you who may find it helpful when you're out shopping.  I want to make sure that everyone knows, I'm no expert on this topic, but I think these are some good things to keep in the pantry/fridge.  If you have some favorite healthy items, feel free to comment below and let me know what they are!


PRODUCE

• Celery
• Baby carrots
• Avocado
• Grapes
• Bananas
• Apples
• Organic Baby Lettuces
• Organic Baby Spinach
• Kiwi fruit
• Sweet tangerines
• Potatoes

PROTEIN

• Chicken breast
• Ground turkey (use this in place of ground beef in most any recipe)
• Roasted sliced turkey breast
• Firm tofu

GRAINS and PASTA

• Whole grain pasta -- spaghetti, rotini, penne, and alfredo
• Uncle Ben's Whole Grain Wild Rice (available in 90 second microwave package)
• Arnold's Multi-Grain Sandwich Thins
• Multi-grain bread (the sandwich thins don't make the best toast, haha)
• Quacker Instant Oatmeal WEIGHT CONTROL

CANNED GOODS

• Progresso Light Soups -- Chicken Noodle, Chicken and Dumplings, Fiesta Chicken, Beef Stew (these yummy soups have anywhere from 140 to 200 calories for a large can)
• Hormel Cooked Chicken in can (so, some people don't like ''canned chicken'' but once it's drained and rinsed, it makes a great quick-and-easy chicken salad)
• Tomatoes
• Pinto beans
• Black beans
• Chili beans
• Tomato paste
• Mixed vegetables

SNACKS (my favorite category)

• Dried fruit -- apricots, mango, pineapple, banana (dried fruit is very high in calories, so eat in moderation)
• 100 Calories packs -- Oreos, Yogurt-covered pretzels
• Dry roasted cashews
• Dry roasted sunflower seeds
• Fiber One bars
• Carmel Corn rice cakes

FROZEN ITEMS

• Berries -- strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries (buying these items fresh can get very pricey)
• Birdseye Steamables -- corn and green beans (pop in the microwave for 5 to 6 minutes and you have fresh crunchy corn or green beans)
• Del Monte Fruit Chillers
• Chicken tenderloins
• Cool whip Lite
• Slim-a-Bear Ice Cream Sandwiches

DAIRY

• Yogurt
• Skim Milk
• Cheddar Cheese
• Smart Balance Omega 3 butter

BEVERAGES

• Organic pure press apple juice
• Cranberry/grape lite juice
• V8 Fusion Juice
• Flavored sparkling water

OTHER ITEMS

• Smucker's Organic Reduced Fat Peanut Butter
• KRAFT Mayo with Olive Oil
• Light Salad Dressings -- Honey Mustard and House Italian

That's all for now!

Until Next Time...

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-Tyler

Let's Talk About Portion Size...

Let's be honest:  we all eat wayyyyyyyyy too much.  


One of the biggest things I have to work on with this diet is portion control.  I will sit down with a bowl of cereal that is 2 or 3 serving sizes, or I will have two servings of pasta or chicken.  I love bread and I love cheese and could sit down and eat one piece of cheese after another.  Another issue is also listening to my body and KNOWING when I'm full.  Yesterday was good because as I was eating I would put my fork down after each bite, take a drink, and just sit for at least a minute.  I did not make an effort to clear my plate, and I tried my best to eat slowly and wait for my body to tell me when I was full.  It worked really well.  I prepared meals that were based on the food items' serving size and didn't eat too much of that.


So, for the rest of you out there, if you're dieting or not, here are some visual guides for serving size, to help you whenever you're preparing food at home or when you go out to eat.  Hopefully you can picture these items and see how much of the food item you should be eating.  These portion size images come from Food Network's Healthy Month 2010 website and can be found at this link.

One serving of meat is 3 ounces, and is about the size of a deck of cards.

One serving of pasta or rice is 1 cup and is the size of a tennis ball.

(PS:  Whole grain pastas and rice will fill you up faster and are healthier!)

One serving of peanut butter is 2 tablespoons, or about the size of a ping pong ball.

While you can eat a lot more veggies than one serving, the size you should eat to count as at least one serving is 1/2 cup, which is about the size of a baseball.

A baked potato can be a great choice for a meal, when it's not loaded with butter and sour cream.  When are picking a potato, the perfect size is about the size of a computer mouse.

Cheese cubes or fruit can also be a great snack.  The serving size for cheese cubes and fruit is about 6 ounces, which you can visualize as 6 dice.

I hope these tips help you all!  They have really helped me over the past couple of days and I am sure they will be useful in the future!

Until Next Time...

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-Tyler

The Kitchen Purge...

So...with the diet starting tomorrow, I decided it would be good to go through the house and purge the kitchen, fridge, pantry, and my junk food stash of everything that shouldn't be around.  I tried to get rid of sugar, products with high fructose corn syrup, products made with white flour, and anything that was generally high in fat or calories.  We also had some old stuff, expired stuff, and almost empty items that needed to be thrown out, so they're included in this.

That's a lotta junk...

Bye bye Caesar salad dressing, Rainbow Chip frosting, and Pure Cane Sugar.

Nice knowing you cream cheese, full fat sour cream, and Original Pancake and Waffle Syrup (i.e. brown colored high fructose corn syrup).  By the way...whoever left that Michelob Light and Coors Light at the house last semester, they're now in the trash.

Peace out pasta made with white flour; Aunt Jemima, it's been nice knowing you.

So, that's it for now.  Tomorrow morning I have to work at a new student orientation on campus, so I will be doing my first weigh in and updating the blog in the afternoon.  I also plan on starting my workout plan in the afternoon!


Until Next Time...


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-Tyler


PS:  Check out my friend Vicki's weight loss blog:  Losing It With Momma

Grocery Shopping Day...

I went grocery shopping today...do you guys know how freaking expensive groceries are?!?!  It is a little ridiculous.  I think I did a pretty good job.  It was tough though, I really love Moon Pies and did you know that they make MINT Moon Pies?  Those sound so good.  And what about ice cream?  Oh My God I love ice cream.  BUT, I didn't let my temptations get the best of me, and I got a lot of yummy and healthy groceries.  


So, I had said yesterday that I would post my grocery list, well I don't want to bore you with all of that, I mean, you probably don't want to know how many grapes or bags of spring mix I bought; but I'm going to try to highlight some of the cool items that I found and think you should have in your fridge/pantry:

KRAFT Mayo with Olive Oil
1 tablespoon has 45 calories and 4g of fat
compared to 90 calories and 10g of fat in Regular KRAFT Mayo


Now, I don't LOVE mayonnaise, but I do need it for making chicken salad and homemade honey mustard, so I'll keep this in the fridge for those items.

Quaker Instant Oatmeal WEIGHT CONTROL
1 packet has 160 calories and 3g of fat
compared to 200 calories and 2g of fat in Regular Instant Oatmeal


So, it appears that regular may only be a little bit worse for a person than the WEIGHT CONTROL product, BUT the weight control brand contains 7 grams of protein (compared to 4 grams in the regular) and 6 grams of fiber (compared to 3 grams in the regular).  It has one more gram of fat, but less calories and a lot more protein and fiber to help keep hunger at bay.  I love oatmeal and think this will be a healthier option for breakfast than cereal with milk, and it will help to keep me fuller, longer.

KLONDIKE Slim-a-Bear Ice Cream Sandwiches
1 sandwich has 100 calories and 1.5g of fat
compared to 260 calories and 11g of fat in one Klondike Ice Cream Cookie Sandwich


I really love sweets and ice cream is one of my favorite things.  These will be a good treat for myself, like, once a week.  I can't get in the habit of eating them every night before I go to bed.

Arnold's Sandwich Thins -- Multi-Grain
1 sandwich bun has 100 calories and 1g of fat
compared to 200 calories and 3g of fat in 2 slices of Arnold's Multi-Grain bread


I tried these last weekend at a family Christmas party that we had.  I REALLY liked them, they have 100 calories for a thin bun.  They taste great and you can actually have 2 pieces, to make a real sandwich, instead of just one slice of bread for the same amount of calories.


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So, these are just a few of the neat items I found as I begin my weight loss journey.  I hope they taste good, and I will let you know how they are as soon as I try them!


Tomorrow is my last day before the diet begins and I am getting really excited about getting to it!  I know that I can do this and cannot wait for feeling better and how great I will look (even though I think I look pretty fine now, haha).  


The plan is to do my first weigh in on Monday morning and post that for the whole world to see.  I'll probably post my ''Biggest Loser Weigh In Photo" (and believe me, I am NOT looking forward to that) at that time too.  I'll start working on Monday as well and start my new eating plan!  By the end of the month I am going to find a general practice doctor and set up an appointment.  I want to have someone to meet with about once a month to check in and keep my blood pressure/cholesterol/etc. monitored.  I also hope to find a nutritionist/dietician to meet with.  My friend Kevin Williams actually suggested I find a dietician and I did a search of nutritionists/dietitians that accept my insurance in the Shelby area and found on in Kings Mountain.  I'm going to call and check with them to see what my copay would be to set up an appointment there as well.


As I get going I will post weekly goals along with my weekly weigh in and weekly pictures.  I also plan to do a day-by-day journal of what food I have eaten and what exercise I have done.  It is really helpful for me to keep track of that information and it is just easy to do it here on the blog where I am already writing.  It may be a little annoying for you all to read that...but I will try to make if funny and enjoyable!  I'll insert sarcasm and snarky-ness whenever possible!


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Until Next Time...


-Tyler

And the Day Draws Closer...

Well...Monday will be here before we know it!  I can't believe it is almost here!  I'm going grocery shopping tomorrow, my lovely parents always take me shopping before I head back to school and I'll be doing that tomorrow.  I suppose I'll post my grocery list for you all tomorrow...just so I can continue to tell you way too much about myself and this whole weight loss journey, haha.


Tonight we had The Clock of Brevard for dinner.  It is one of my favorite places to eat while at home...but someplace  that I will need to avoid starting Monday.  I mean, the food is great...but it is all great and yummy friend foods.  My favorite thing there is chicken strips with thick cut fries.  So, I won't be having that anytime soon. Haha.