Counting Points, and Surviving the Holiday Buffet

Quite recently, I went in for my annual physical. There I was made to step on a scale and was then forced to acknowledge my actual weight and discuss the health ramifications. Now, it wasn't too bad. It's certainly been worse. But it wasn't actually good either. So I signed up for Weight Watchers' online program and have been counting Points ever since. And I've lost 10 pounds, affirming my belief that Weight Watchers still is the safest easiest way to lose weight.

And, this past weekend I think I blew through all of them - all my daily Points, most of my Anytime Points. I almost tapped into my reserve of Activity Points. This past weekend was Halloween weekend, a candy free-for-all that for all practical purposes marks the beginning of the holiday food fest that will continue right up until breakfast on the morning of January 2 when we abandon brunches and return to our sensible morning oatmeal in a state of mild shock.

Thus heralds another cycle of Holiday Party Tips. And, in case anyone thinks this is premature, the Indian Festival of Lights was this past weekend, and Hanukkah is right around the corner, taking place in November this year.

1. Don't Go to a Party Starving - This is tried and true common sense. If you don't eat something before a big holiday party, you will gorge yourself. I'm not talking about a full meal or anything, but you should get a little something in your system right around the time you start getting ready, like an apple or some nuts. Something to fill the void without feeling like a pre-dinner to the actual dinner.
2. Don't Drink Your Calories - Wine, beer, cocktails all pack calories, and empty calories at that. Plus once many of us get a little liqoured up, our inhibitions fall to the wayside, and we tend to graze meaninglessly putting any old thing off the buffet into our belly. So, following this guideline actually accomplishes a couple of things, in addition to helping you dodge a hangover. Many diet gurus recommend the gin and tonic as the party drink of choice for those who wish not to indulge. This is a good choice as it comes in fairly low on the caloric content and doesn't mix well with most foods, forcing you to take a break from the buffet. It's also kind of bitter which makes it difficult to drink quickly, minimizing the number of them you can consume over the course of an evening. If there is only wine at the party, good luck. Wine is the greatest destroyer of good intentions known to mankind, both dietary and otherwise. Whatever you drink, remember to have a glass of water (not soda or juice) between
3. Chose Your Calories Carefully - At a typical holiday party you will be presented with a barrage of foods, many of them specialties that we only eat this time of year. Many of them will also be things pulled from the freezer and reheated prior to guests arriving. I'm talking mini quiches, egg rolls, those questionable meatballs in cream of mushroom soup - these items are not fresh-made. They were created in a warehouse and flash frozen gods know how long ago. Ask yourself what you really want to eat. I stick by the "real food" guideline and usually do OK with things like veggies and dip, shrimp cocktail, and the fruit and cheese platter.
4. Be Honest With Yourself - This piece of advice is about those inevitable food traps - those items that we know we shouldn't eat but seem powerless to resist. Mine is buffalo chicken anything - wings, dip, sliders. I can't help it! I love the hot and tangy pepper sauce and the creamy bleu cheese dressing, and because it is chicken, I can usually convince myself that it's not the worst thing on the buffet. I would be wrong. But, if it's on the table, I know I will partake. I'll dodge every other questionable food choice (including dessert) to indulge a bit here. And that's the trick,. A little honesty about your favorite bad food will allow you to enjoy it without feeling the need to a) give up entirely on your healthy eating plan because of one "slip" and go hog wild, or b) feel like crap because you were faced with temptation and lost. (If it was resistible, it wouldn't be very tempting, now would it.)
5. Keep Track of Things, or Calories In, Calories Out - This is essentially what I am doing with Weight Watchers Online, only I have a Points allowance. You can keep track of your eating and exercise with a number of online tools and apps. My favorite free app is MyFitnessPal. It allows you to track your weight and has a pretty extensive database of foods, exercises, and normal activities (shopping anyone?) to help you stay on top of things. This is especially important if you (like me) enjoy food and end up dancing along the edge of your healthy weight range.

Regardless of what anyone says, the holidays are about eating - sharing meals and special foods with family and friends, showcasing our favorite recipes, baking little treats for our neighbors and coworkers. Take my sensible advice or completely disregard it - just remember to have fun. Enjoy the company around you. And, enjoy the food.

Food From the Dieter's Perspective, Part 2

Mostly I write about what I am eating, how to make it at home, or where to find it in my area. I also spend a lot of time considering the impact of food on our health and our overall sense of well-being. So every once in a while, some of these thoughts end up in the blog.

And today I am thinking about the ramifications of enjoying food. It started last night at a happy hour to send off one of my favorite coworkers to her next job, which should have been a really good time. Then someone took a group shot. And I saw myself. And I was shocked. I have become a pillow, and a very lumpy one at that. One of my friends was generous enough to claim that it was the sweater I was wearing, but this was clearly not the case. (But I love her for saying so anyway.) And it hung over me like a dark cloud of failure. How had this happened?

Many of us women have spent most of our lives dieting in some manner, or at least convincing ourselves that food is just fuel to keep us healthy and active but not to be enjoyed. I know I've spent a good portion of my life since puberty afraid of what would happen if I actually started enjoying food.

And this is not the same as eating for enjoyment. I'm talking about enjoying what you are eating, and what this can lead to. And I eat some highly enjoyable meals. And my worst fears have come true. When I regularly eat food that I enjoy and I consistently take pleasure in my meals, I am 15 pounds heavier and 2 sizes larger than when I chose the more Spartan "food is fuel" outlook.

But I also see things like anxiety, depression, and insomnia subside. My concentration improves, and so does my productivity. I am good with a normal 8 hours of sleep and do not feel the need to nap. The truth is, my slimmer, lighter self comes at a price - my overall sense of well-being. When I diet, I am cranky, and not just because of food deprivation. Mealtime is transformed from an enjoyable sensory and social experience to something to be dreaded, a minefield of bad choices and regrets. And this detracts from my quality of life.

When I was younger, I really did fear that my greatest assets were physical, and that once my beauty faded, so would my perceived value. So, the trade off of security for beauty seemed like a fair one. As I have gotten older, though, my perception of myself has changed, as has what I want my life to look like, to feel like. While in my own residual self-image, I am still 125 pounds (and I am always deeply troubled by reminders that this is  not actually true), I also see the value in a consistent level of comfort, happiness, satisfaction, peace.

And maintaining this peace requires food, and food that I enjoy. I don't think I am alone in this realization. Which is why so many women my age appear to "let ourselves go". It's not just shifting hormones, changing metabolism, or  genetics. I am not lazy or no longer concerned with my appearance. I am just concerned with so many other things as well, and the struggle to maintain a certain weight often seems like so much vanity when compared to my effectiveness at work or how well I am sleeping and getting along with others or the state of my home life.

It's difficult for me to accept my current girth. I was always anxious that enjoyable meals would result in this. But, I do not have those telltale symptoms of pending obesity that I exhibited when I joined Weight Watchers - there's no blood sugar issues or shortness of breath or brain fog and mental fatigue. My joints don't ache or cry out in protest when I engage in physical activity. And most of the time I feel pretty good - as long as I am eating home-cooked meals.

And I think that is an important distinction. What we eat most definitely impacts not only our health, but how we feel, both physically and emotionally. While last night's photo was a shock, I will not take the drastic actions of my younger self. I will continue to enjoy my meals and my dining experiences, just maybe in smaller portions. And I will accept that my long-term sense of well-being does not depend on me being a size 6.

And, in closing, here is the shocking photo from last night. I am on the left, raising my glass in celebration, healthy and happy and completely at ease.

 

So Now I'm Drinking Mud: blk beverage

I often get the feeling that many of our modern ailments are directly related to our modern diet and the mass-production of food. Even whole, non-processed foods like fresh fruits and vegetables lose nutritional value from our modern agri-business farming methods. We are left feeling sluggish so we drink more coffee. We have trouble sleeping so we pop Ambien. We feel under-nourished, even with all we eat, so we eat more. But mostly what is missing is really what is missing - all the nutrients we used to get from the small farming practices of healthy land, seasonal growing, and local food suppliers.

I am one of many in the First World that is seeking the Silver Bullet, the magical missing ingredient from my daily routine that will enable me to feel truly healthy.

I have inherited my mother's thyroid (under-active) and my father's kidneys (polycystic). These two pre-existing conditions impact my metabolism, how my body absorbs and processes the food I eat, and leave me prone to fatigue, both physical and mental, a constant source of frustration for me. The physical fatigue can usually be alleviated with a short nap. The mental fatigue is much trickier. My concentration breaks, I lose focus, my ability to make decisions is impaired, and then nothing works out right.

Over the years, I have tried any number of things to increase the effectiveness of the thyroid medication (there is no medication for the kidneys. Yet.) to clear the brain fog. These have included:

• Coral calcium
• Colloidal silver
• Maca
• HGH
• Bikram yoga
• Energy work
• Regular cleanses
• Liquid oxygen
• Ginseng
• Iron supplements
• D-3 supplements
• B-12 supplements
• Trace minerals

Some of these (like coral calcium) had no noticeable effect. Some of these had no noticeable positive impact but had definite negative impacts. (Maca made my feet swell up a whole size and HGH gave me a lovely lady mustache). Many of these brought immediate improvement that was frustratingly short-lived. (Both liquid oxygen and colloidal silver made me feel great. For the first week. Then, everything went back to its previous state, no matter how much I adjusted the dosage.)

The B-12 has been a bit of a godsend, and I actually do have trouble absorbing this nutrient. When I started taking it in liquid form, my appetite changed, my metabolism shot up, and I dropped two sizes so quickly and effortlessly people thought I might be sick. Then I thought I could eat anything and proceeded to do just that and regained the weight.

My latest find appears to be in the same category as B-12 supplements - something that can provide real and permanent good to counterbalance my hampered endocrine system. It's BLK, the black fulvic acid-spiked water that is gaining a cult-like following. I am among them. 

I first found it about 6 weeks ago on our road trip to Wisconsin. We stopped in Breezewood PA to fuel up before hitting the Turnpike, and there it was at the Sheetz gas station. I was curious, so I grabbed a bottle. I would soon regret not grabbing more. 

I felt an immediate lift when I drank it - not the adrenaline boost you get from coffee, but a kind of clarity of thought that I do not typically experience. I felt alert, calm, refreshed. I spent the rest of the trip actively looking for more. 

When we got back home, I quickly found it at the Whole Foods near my office. And, with a two-bottle-a-day habit, I quickly sold them out. Every week in June.

So what is it about this stuff? Fulvic acid is a close relative of humic acid and is full of trace minerals, most of which occur naturally in topsoil but are missing in the produce grown in greenhouses and through hydroponic means. But just taking a standard trace mineral supplement does not provide the same results, so there is definitely something more. What exactly remains unknown to me. 

Health claims about the stuff tout it as a wonder food. It fosters a healthy pH balance in the body and provides essential nutrients missing from our modern diet, it boosts the immune system to speed healing and prevent disease. Personally, it just makes me feel.......better. Healthier. Well. Unimpaired.

I've been drinking the water almost daily for over a month. On the days when I don't have at least one bottle of the stuff, I feel......different. A little tired, a little cranky, a little slow. My peripheral vision seems fuzzy and decisions are difficult. 

While I have yet to find out what exactly is in  the fulvic trace mineral complex in BLK, I am suspending my "know what you eat" stance. I am beginning to believe the health claims and am quite happily hooked.

To purchase BLK, please note that their website may contain inaccurate information. At least it did for my area. Wegman's does not appear to carry it, but Whole Foods does. For those in Harford County, both Bel Air locations of Klein's / ShopRite also carry it. You can also order it online from Amazon.

Choices

Two news items caught my attention this week, both presenting two very different approaches to weight loss and the obesity health epidemic in the United States. I'll start with what I consider the good news.

Foodista shared a story about Glee's Amber Riley (Mercedes). Lat year she gave up fast food, citing severe stomach pain. She replaced it with healthier food choices and dropped two sizes. If conventional wisdom is correct, that's about 20 pounds. And she looks better for it - not just smaller, but more healthy. And, according to her, that was the point - to get healthy. People Magazine has the full story.

The other story is about a controversial drug that was recently reviewed and re-approved by the FDA after previously being pulled off the market for an array of side effects, including heart problems and birth defects. According to NPR, the FDA reconsidered their previous ruling on Qnexa, stating that, in light of the obesity epidemic, the benefits outweigh the risks. The benefits are an estimated 3-10% loss of body weight. That means of you weigh 200 pounds, Qnexa could help you lose up to 20 pounds. Putting you at 180.

Which is what I weighed when I joined Weight Watchers in 2004. (For the record, I lost 35 pounds in three months using the Points system to keep track of my food and exercise.) As you might guess, I'm not a fan of using a drug when a lifestyle change will result in similar - and possibly permanent - results. Drugs have side-effects. As mentioned above, Qnexa is no exception.

With the re-approval of Qnexa, there are also recommendations for monitoring those taking the drug. These include limiting prescriptions to a 30-day supply and regular check-ups with a doctor. They also include regular pregnancy testing for women of child-bearing age to ensure pregnant women do not put their unborn at risk.

These are all very sensible precautions to have in place for a drug that still has some serious health concerns. But, here's the thing - if we are willing to take such extreme health risks to take a drug to lose weight, why not take the far less risky steps to just alter our eating and exercise habits? As Ms. Riley and many others have proven - it works.

What we weigh and how we feel are directly tied to how we treat our bodies. A steady diet of high-calorie food that contains additional chemicals to establish a consistent flavor that will last through deep freeze, miles of transportation, and a quick turn in the microwave cannot be good for us. If we do not know what's in our food, we do not know what we are putting into our bodies. And, if we feel lousy after we eat, we need to pay attention to that crappy feeling and make some changes. I'm with Ms. Riley. I gave up the crap and never looked back. Obesity has enough associated health risks. Why add to it with a drug that may only result in a 3% weight loss.

What a Modern Scientific Age We Live In

I grew up during the glory days of the US space program. Born just a few years after we landed on the moon and coming of age during the heady heyday of the shuttle program, my childhood was marked by the changes to everyday life brought on by the technological advanced achieved as a result of our drive into space. My youth saw the an increased popularity of such scientific wonders as Tootsie rolls, Tang, and Teflon simply because they were associated with the astronauts. While Tootsie rolls have remained a unique feature in the US candy market, Tang launched a revolution in the beverage industry, giving rise to a whole subcategory of powdered drink mixes and opening the door for everything from Kool-Aid to Crystal Light. But it has been Teflon that has had the greatest impact, starting a chemical revolution and altering our home lives in ways we never could have predicted.

Teflon was trademarked in 1945 by a couple of chemists and was initially used to coat valves and bearings and seals where friction needed to be reduced. NASA used it on their heat shields and space suits, raising the profile of the product and its corporate owner DuPont. Since then, it has been used on a variety of common household items, most notably water-proof fabrics (like Gore-Tex), stain resistant carpeting and non-stick cookware.

The increasing presence of Teflon in our modern lives has had an unexpected consequence that has been making the news in recent weeks. It turns out that prolonged exposure to the chemical components in that non-stick coating result in an impaired immune system that does not respond to viral inoculations. The research that discovered this connection also discovered that these chemicals are now so widespread in our atmosphere that they can be found in the blood of polar bears. So, how does this happen?

For items like carpeting, every time you walk across the carpeted floor, you weaken the fibers and allow tiny particles to become airborne. You breathe them in, and they enter your bloodstream.

For items like non-stick cookware, the chemicals enter our system through our food. Here's something most people don't know - if you let your non-stick pans get too hot, the lining starts to break down, and the chemicals are leeched into the food you're cooking. Even worse is when you use metal utensils or stack your non-stick pans - you are scratching the finish and allowing particles to break off and enter your food.

So how did non-stick pans end up on the market anyway if they present this health risk? Here's another thing most people don't realize - they come with instructions. I am a fan of the stuff. I think there is a place for Teflon in the kitchen - think omelets, crepes, French toast. These are all items that should be cooked over fairly low heat and under close monitoring - perfect for a non-stick pan that will allow your food to slide nicely onto the plate. If you read the instructions on your non-stick cookware, the manufacturer has let you know that your pan should not be used for high-heat cooking. There's a different pan for that - cast iron or anodized aluminum.

Instructions on Wegman's non-stick frying pans

If you use non-stick bakeware, stop. There's little control over how hot it gets once it's in that oven. If you don't want to grease your bakeware, use parchment paper.

Even if you are cooking at home, the best way to stay healthy is to know and understand what's in your kitchen - the ingredients you buy as well as the tools you use.

Diva Deen's Diabetic Decision

I admit, I am not a fan of Paula Deen's style of butter-laden down-home cooking. I have always watched her show from the safety of the high horse of the treadmill, getting a perverse motivation out of watching her take too-big bites of heart-stopping culinary messes to run harder, faster, longer. I am most definitely not her target audience. Yet, even from that comfortable distance, I noticed a change in her.

In December, her program featured clips from previous shows to showcase her favorite holiday recipes. And the differences over the years was remarkable. Just a few years ago, she was a pleasantly plump Southern matron with a sparkle in her eye. As each season's recipe was aired, I watched as she got progressively bigger. But I also noticed heavier makeup as the ruddiness in her cheeks diminished, and that twinkle in her eye dimming. So, I was not surprised by her announcement that she has Type 2 diabetes.

I am surprised by her decision to medicate and to not alter her trademark lifestyle. Type 2 diabetes is directly related to lifestyle and can very often be treated (and eliminated) through some basic lifestyle changes. She has built a reputation and a following on dietary excess, and there's probably a percentage of her fanbase that finds themselves in her same condition. This places her in a prime position to perform a much-needed public service.

Paula Deen is unarguably a kitchen diva. Whether you cringe at her food like I do, or swear by her recipes, she is engaging and entertaining. And trusted. I believe she has something unique to offer in the growing arena of down-home cooking with a healthy make-over. Watching her restore her health through updating her favorite recipes for our obesity-prone era would make for interesting viewing, too.

But, she has chosen to partner with Novo Nordisk and has become a spokesperson for their diabetes medication. Granted, these medications are a godsend for many who are unable to reduce their weight and reverse the damage that has already been done. And maybe Paula Deen falls into this camp. Maybe it will take a decade of lifestyle changes for her to get healthy. Even so, the two approaches are not mutually exclusive.

Diabetes can have some debilitating consequences. My thoughts and prayers are with Paula Deen, her family, and her staff as she starts down the long road of healing. I'll be tuning in to her show - probably a little more often - to see how she's doing. Hopefully she will address her lifestyle. Both her and her fans would benefit.

Know What You're Eating: Italian Soda

I really like the Archer Farms Italian soda at Target. My week-long battle with the flu included several bottles of the Blood Orange variety. One look at the list of ingredients and it appears to be a fairly rational choice. It also gave me the impression that all Italian soda was made this way.

Italian soda from Target

Wow, I know what all the ingredients are

So last night we were doing the weekly shopping at Wegman's. I am still totally parched most of the time as the virus stages its last hurrah, and I decided I needed a beverage for the drive home. In the convenience cooler at the check-out, I found Blood Orange Italian soda and grabbed a bottle.

It tasted quite different. When we got home, I checked the label and found a very different list of ingredients.

Italian soda from Wegman's

WTF????

That's a lot of crap! Why do you need stabilizers in soda? And what is Glycerol Ester of Wood Rosin?

This is one of those ingredients that some clever marketer should have renamed by now. It's also challenging to find any real information as to what it actually is. While Wikipedia lists a high number of beverages that contain it, it only states that it is used as an emulsifier. Which sounds innocuous enough, but why would you need that in soda?

AnswerBag has a listing of what it is made from, albeit very scientifically. Basically, it appears to be pine rosin harvested from the stumps of trees. If this calls to mind such household items as turpentine, it isn't exactly the same. But, according to AnswerBag, it is a common component of things like floor wax. Even if it is a different grade of the stuff, I'm not entirely comfortable with the cross-over of cleaning products into food products. 

I'm also not sure why the Wegman's product needs a stabilizer and the Target product does not. If it's not needed, why add it? And, even if you trust the source, always read those food labels.

Cooking vs Assembling

Today was the last straw. One of the cooking blogs I follow posted a recipe for kumquat pie. The posting included beautiful photos of the finished product, as well as of the kumquats being ever-so-gently rinsed and prepared according to the recipe. And, once these delicate little fruits have been cleaned and pureed? The next step was to dump in a tub of Cool Whip.

Cool Whip??

Why would anyone want to do that to kumquat? or any other food? Why bother procuring, culling, and prepping fresh fruit if you're then going to smother it in that?

It just seemed too bizarre.

Here's the ingredient list and nutrition information from Kraft's website. While it does now indeed contain cream (back when I was a kid it was called "non-dairy whipped topping"), that comes only at the very end. Right after water, hydrogenated oil and two different sweeteners.

So why do people do this? Why take shortcuts like this? If you care enough about food to even bother with a kumquat, why not take the logical next step and just make your own mousse. Or custard or pudding or whatever cream pie base you think goes best with kumquat?

This was especially irritating last month during Holiday Baking Season. When people are making food intended for friends and loved ones. And using things like Cool Whip, canned soup, cake mixes, frozen pie crusts and cookie dough, etc. This is especially inappropriate. If you are preparing what is essentially a gift, it should be your very best effort.

Many people like the idea of making good food for the holidays. Many people like the idea of making their own food at home. Many people think they are saving time by using pre-made ingredients. Making this stuff from scratch is not all that difficult. Plus it tastes better. And you are getting more real food and less nonsense.

Over the coming weeks, I'll be posting information on how to create the basics needed to make real food at home - things like stock, roux, pastry shells and other essential building blocks to create quality meals after a long day at work without loosing your mind and reaching for that can of cream of mushroom.

If there is something in particular you're interested in learning how to prepare, drop me a line at mary@verychefy.com.

Food - image from Wikipedia

Not Food - image from Kraft Foods

Holiday Regret and a Resolution for the New Year

The last three months have been quite the food fest. Starting about the time the Halloween candy first appeared on store shelves, we've been gorging on sugar almost non-stop. Until about three hours after the New Year's Day brunch, it's been a constant feeding frenzy. And now here we sit at the dawn of a new year, Alka Seltzer in hand and pants undone wondering how we ever fit into our clothing anyway.

It's estimated that the average middle-class American puts on an extra 2-5 pounds over the holidays, and that very few of us manage to return to our pre-holiday weight. Some of us do lose some of it, but many of us lose none of it, only to add more the following year. It's no wonder that one of the most popular New Year's Resolutions is to lose weight.

The best way to do this is still to watch what you eat and take a bit of exercise regularly and consistently. Kirstie Ally proved this last year when she dropped an amazing 10 dress sizes during her stint with "Dancing With the Stars". None of us will be that active, or will have the benefit of a nutritionist and a personal trainer. But we can shed the extra baggage if we remember how to eat sensibly. Here are some quick starters that will not only help to restore your waistline, but will also improve your health. And, really, that's the most important reason to slim down.

1. Stop Eating Sugar
This is a no-brainer. Most of the extra weight we put on each year comes from sugar. Cookies and candy and cake and pie and punch and alcohol, etc. etc. All this stuff is like raw energy that most of us will not burn. And, that which is not burned is stored. By January 1, though, sweets have become a regular part of our diet. We've come to expect them and now have a fully developed sweet tooth to contend with.

I'm going to suggest what many a nutirtionist, diet expert, and fitness magazines have already told us. Swap out those sweets with a nice piece of fresh fruit. No, it's not the same. Yes, your body will rebel. Do it anyway. You do not have to go the spartan, low-glycemic route of Atkins. In fact, some of the sweeter fruits make the transition a little easier for me, especially in the beginning. The natural sugar combined with the fiber and nutrients in the fruit will help regulate your blood sugar and get that sweet tooth back in check. I like green grapes, watermelon, and Pink Lady apples.

2. This Includes Soda
I am constantly amazed at how many people drink soda all day, every day. This is a nutritional zero that breaks down both tooth enamel and stomach lining. Plus with a single serving bottle now twice the size it was in our youth, it's a lot of calories. Give it up. Replace it with something else.

3. Do Not Replace It with Diet Soda
Replace it with water. Really, the quickest 10 pounds I ever lost was when I finally ditched the diet soda. How can you tame a sugar craving if you keep consuming things that taste sweet? Also, we are 80% water, which we constantly expel through sweat, urine, tears, etc. Soda does not replace this lost water. Water does.

Which brings me to another dietary curiosity for me - people who do not like the taste of water. I don't remember hearing that before I moved out to Maryland (and many of the people I have heard it from have - with some exception -been overweight themselves). I admit that Baltimore tap water does taste (and smell) a little suspect.

Thank goodness there are so many varieties of bottled water. Usually stocked right near the sodas. Even in the vending machines. If you still don't like the taste, add something to it, like a spritz of lemon juice. Or an herbal tea bag. Or try sparkling water.

Why is this important? Because dehydration makes us tired, and when we are tired, we crave the quick energy of sugar. So we eat more of the wrong stuff. By reaching for a glass of water when you are thirsty, you are giving your body exactly what it is asking for. It will reward you by responding positively. You'll have more energy and will feel that sweet tooth start to abate.

4. While You're At It, Eat More Veggies
As long as you're shopping in the produce section for fresh fruit, you might as well load up that cart with vegetables. Most veggies make a nice side dish and are pretty easy to cook by either steaming or sauteing. Plus adding veggies to your plate leaves less room for the other quick energy item most likely to end up in deep storage (i.e. your ass) - starch. This means pasta, rice, potatoes, and bread. I'm not recommending cutting them out completely. I'm just suggesting that if your plate is already full of lean protein and fresh vegetables, your portion of starch should be pretty small - just enough to give you a couple of nice tastes.

If you fill up on veggies, you'll stay fuller longer. You'll also have a more consistent level of energy. You'll be getting more nutrition from your food rather than from processed nutritional supplements (most of us take them, but note that they're supplements, not replacements). Getting your vitamins from the food you eat means better absorption and improved health.

5. The Vitamin B Exception
If you are not taking a B complex, add it. The B vitamins aid in digestion and metabolizing food into energy, and then helping your body use that energy. Many B vitamins are difficult to absorb in pill form, and many of us shun the foods that are naturally rich in these vitamins. Think liver, kale, Brussel sprouts - and when was the last time you voluntarily ate them?

If your mind just went blank, you probably need a B supplement, preferably a liquid one. Most liquid B supplements are primarily B 12. They will also contain some folic acid and B 6. You should also check to see if your supplement contains niacin or niacinamide. This is important as niacin will cause your entire
body to flush bright red for about 15 minutes after you take it. Niacinamide has the same nutritional value but without the flush.

6. Take a Walk
This is the part where you take a bit of exercise. Get up during lunch and walk for about 30 minutes every day. This is generally regarded to be enough movement to remind your metabolism that you are indeed still alive. It will get your blood moving again at that mid-day point where many of us cubicle drones begin to feel like zombies. The fresh air will clear your head and will help you focus during the afternoon.

If you already exercise regularly, up your game: increase intensity, duration, frequency, all of the above. Try cross-training. My current favorite workout is 5 miles on the bike, 2000 meters of rowing (that's four intervals of 500 meters with a 1-minute recovery between each), and 1.3 miles on the treadmill. This routine provides a couple of breaks to catch my breath. Switching machines keeps things interesting so I remain fully engaged, both physically and mentally.

7. Seek Help If You Need It
If you're one of the many who has been stockpiling the annual holiday weight from one year into the next, you may need some help. I am a huge fan of Weight Watchers mostly because their Points system forces you to eat more fresh produce but also because they make an active effort to screen out crash dieters and potential bulimics. I have turned to them a couple of times when in serious need (that being once you reach a certain weight above and beyond what is considered healthy for your height) and have always succeeded just by following the plan like my life depended on it. When you consider the health consequences of being chronically over-weight, it kinda does. The weekly weigh ins and the food diary keep you honest, and the weekly support meetings keep you motivated.

That's all you need to do to get on the right track. You should begin to feel more like your normal self after the first week. Once you get your energy back and can fit into your clothing again, the next step is up to you.

A Note about Kitchen Organization

This week I took a break from holiday cooking to evaluate the food storage situation in my kitchen. Several weeks of serious food prep (cookies, candies, something for the holiday potluck, plus at least one holiday dinner) will really make all the shortcomings of the kitchen obvious. This is actually a pretty good time of the year for cleaning and reogranizing, and a few years ago I declared the day after Christmas to be Annual Kitchen Reorganization Day.

So, once the fridge had been configured so that all the leftovers fit, I inevitably turned my attention to the pantry.

This is an advanced feat of engineering

I've got a really cool built-in pantry that used to be just a plain old closet. When we remodeled our kitchen, we had some very nice custom-made shelving installed and converted it into food storage. And, like every food storage area, it has its own unique issues that need to be dealt with. The key to an effective pantry is to understand the space you have and then create the solution that makes the best use of the space.

In my case, I've got the aforementioned shelving, but I've also got the circuit breaker box that needs to be accessible. This means there is a very large gap between the top shelf and the next shelf down that needs to be filled with supplemental shelving.

I also have an old house that has settled in a manner that there is a wobble in my kitchen. This means that even though the shelving is perfectly square to the walls in the closet, the closet itself is no longer square to the earth, and everything is just a little off kilter.

So, here was my first attempt to address these two issues when I did this last year:

A partial solution at best

While I gained a little additional storage space with this solution, there's still a lot of chaos and clutter, and we never knew exactly what our inventory of dried beans or rice actually was, so we frequently bought more. Plus the stacked shelves look a bit like the Leaning Tower of Pantry. Did they fall over? No. Did things fall off them regularly? Yes.

Also, look at the storage containers for those dried goods. Clusterfuck does not even begin to describe it. The key to effective storage of dried goods is twofold:

1. A tightly-fitting lid that includes a rubber ring insert. This creates a tight seal that is impenetrable by pests and will preserve your flour and other dried goods better than the containers pictured.
2. A modular solution. Square is a good shape. Square things will fit together nicely and will stay upright even when shifted around.

So take a look at the container on the far left. That's the solution I finally admitted was the only viable choice. I discarded the other containers as their contents had indeed been violated and replaced them with a set of SnapWare that I bought at Target. I like this stuff for several reasons in addition to the shape. These canisters are clear so you can see what's in them. Plus they have the requisite rubber ring in the lid. And they also have a flip top build into the lid for easy access to what's inside (also with a rubber ring built in). My set also came with three measuring cups as an added bonus. I used masking tape and a Sharpie to label them (potato starch and powdered sugar really do look a lot alike).

I also replaced the stacked shelving and repurposed it. See, the issue in my pantry really is how to fill that big gap and still have access to the circuit breaker. My solution was to break up that big open space into smaller sectors. I replaced the tower of stacked shelves with hanging shelves that attach to the built-in shelf to make better use of the sector to the right of the circuit box. I then spread out the stacked shelving to better fill the rest of the space. I found these hanging shelves at Wegmans for a pittance:

The right solution = optimal use of space

So, obviously, I threw away a lot of stuff. If you perform this exercise regularly, anything that didn't get purged the last round should definitely go this time. Tell tale signs that your food is no longer viable are:

• Expansion of canned or jarred goods - jars will typically have a lid that looks like it's popping out while cans will look like they are about to explode
• Dust around boxed or bagged goods - this is a sure sign of infestation and foreign intrusion into your food.
• Expiration dates in the past - if in doubt, check the packaging. Even canned goods have a use by date.

Anything not in a can or jar should be placed in a ZipLoc bag until opened and then transferred to a canister (long-term storage) or RubberMaid container (short-term storage).

I think I've got something workable going in this part of the kitchen. And that's important. Proper food storage means fresher raw ingredients and meals that taste better and have more nutrition, not to mention less waste.


Every pantry really is unique. Look at your space. Measure it. Draw pictures of it. Visualize how it could be. Then go make it happen.