Tag Archives: food

Why it’s Important to be a Foodie While Losing Weight

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“Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day
Fritter and waste the hours in an off-hand way”

-Pink Floyd

We spend so much of our lives on the run: we post our thoughts instantaneously on Facebook, we eat lunch at our desks, and we even buy microwaves on Amazon to avoid going to the store and picking one out. Humans have become machines of efficiency, or so we think. We do these things because we value our time so much and so we will do whatever it takes to be “efficient” so we can cherish that precious free time. And let’s not kid ourselves, that precious free time ends up being lost on hours of looking at cats on Buzzfeed. With this desire for control of our time by being efficient comes a potential decrease in quality of life. And yes, since this is the FFK, I am talking about food.

TvdinnerIn 1953, Swanson (no, not my boy Alex, the Legend) created the first TV Dinner, a compartmentalized food tray chocked full of your essential food groups. Your serving of vegetables, starch, protein, and dessert were all prepared in one fell swoop. No need to use and wash multiple pans and utensils, when you were done, you just threw it all away! When the TV Dinner was a commercial success, some people cried foul and compared it to a chemistry set. In order to preserve these meals, not only would it lose its nutrients, they would have to inject it with partially hydrogenated oils and trans fats. Sure the convenience made the TV Dinner, but at what cost?

We see the same issue with fast food in the 40’s with the first McDonald’s (no relation). Brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald utilizes the classic Henry Ford assembly line production model to build their food at a fasted speed. Thus, fast food was born. And our waistlines have been growing ever since. Just ask the FFK from high school who would go a few miles out of his way to order four double cheeseburgers a day at McDonald’s because it was fast and it was cheap.

Somewhere along the way of my life, I completely lost my appreciation for food. Like I’ve said before on this blog, I was proud of my eating accomplishments. I ate a whole large Pizza Pro pizza in 6th grade because I could. I couldn’t beat anyone at a race, but I could sure as heck beat them at eating something. Until three years ago, I abused food the way other people abuse drugs. I don’t say that to make light of drug abuse, it was truly something I did. I would eat until it hurt, and then kept eating because it made me feel good.

When I took a step back and evaluated my eating, I recognized the need for a balance in my life. I needed to be okay with eating pseudo-boring meals like chicken and veggies or turkey burgers so I could enjoy the meals that mattered like eating out with friends or making dinner at home with my boo. I needed to be more judicious with my food intake. With that selective mindset, Megan and I were on the path to a complete overhaul of our eating. One of those ways is by eating more local and organic foods. (Read about our Orchard Pond farm share here!) My Earth Fare brand ambassadorship has been instrumental in that process.

eatTonight, we bought grass-fed NY strip steaks from the Earth Fare butcher, along with some potatoes for baking. Instead of using charcoal, the easier and quicker way to grill, I used pecan wood chunks that I bought at Academy for almost nothing on Memorial Day. I essentially started a campfire in my Weber and let it burn until the wood transformed into beautiful glowing embers. Then I put on the steaks, that had just a pinch of sea salt and seasoning on the opposite side of grill and opened the top vent. Then I added the baked potatoes wrapped in aluminum foil. The whole process took probably close to an hour, but the finished product…well, the photo speaks for itself. Not to brag, (but I will) it was one of the best steaks I’ve ever had. Maybe it tasted better because of the whole process that it took to get it on the table, but it was worth it.

Tonight was one of those nights where I truly appreciated every bite. You have to appreciate your food so you don’t abuse it. Treat your body well by fueling it right because you are worth it.

 

 

[GIVEAWAY] Earth Fare Deliciousness!

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Hello dear reader!

It’s truly amazing how awesome your body feels when you treat your body like the temple that it is. Like I read today on someone’s post, “treat your body well because you’re the one living in it!” When I look back and think about how I treated my body for so long, it just makes me even more thankful for that bold decision I made on September 18, 2010 to change my life. Almost three years and 130 pounds later, it was still the best decision I have ever made.

So enough about that. Let’s talk about Earth Fare AND MY AWESOME EARTH FARE GIFT TO YOU!

I have always been some sort of a foodie. When I was obese, I dreamed of going on to Man v. Food and showing Adam Richman how to really eat like boss. I was all about going to all you can eat restaurants and getting my money’s worth and then some. I treated like every meal was my last meal. At the rate I was going, it easily could have been.

But that all changed when I began this weight loss journey.

I’ll never forget the first time I walked in to Earth Fare. “What is that smell?” I asked. “It smells…fresh.” Produce. I was smelling produce. The fruits and veggies were like nothing I had smelled before. I mean, I had had fresh vegetables before, but WOW! Then…I saw the meat market. It was beautiful.

I was so happy with Earth Fare, I e-mailed them about my experience and my story. Then, they published it on their page! (You can read it here!)

So a few months ago, I applied for their Earthlete program, their ambassador program that celebrates athletes that are fueled by eating healthy. I’m not gonna lie, I really didn’t think I was going to get it. BUT I DID!!!!! and it has pushed me to get fit in the gym and lose weight in the kitchen.

Which leads us to today.

This weekend, I got an email from Earth Fare that said they had something waiting for me at Earth Fare: COUPONS!!! Now I love a good deal. Like The Wolf always says, “You gotta be a Baller on a budget yo!” (Okay, she doesn’t say it exactly like that…)

CouponSo I am giving away some coupons and some delicious Earth Fare swag!
That’s right! I have a giant stack of these bad boys and I’m ready to give them out to you, dear reader!

What does that include, you asked? (or read, I guess…)
Organic DealWell, for only $5, you get:

Earth Fare Organic Jelly
Earth Fare Organic or Natural Cookies
Earth Fare Organic or Natural Peanut Butter
Earth Fare Organic or Natural Applesauce
Earth Fare Organic or Natural Crackers

That’s a savings of more than $15!!!

All you have to do is:
Like The FFK FB Page and then comment below with your favorite FFK post!!! To be eligible, you have to do both!

There will be five randomly-selected winners. Each winner will get to pick the item of their choice from those five items!
The deadline for this giveaway is Sunday, July 28th at 11:59 p.m.
If you don’t win, no big! I will be happy to give you a coupon for your own 5 dollar Organic Deal!
(Note: if you would like a coupon, you must live in the Tallahassee area but anyone can win the items!)

Plus, I’ll have another giveaway soon. Stay tuned for that! 

This week, starting tomorrow, I’ll highlight each of the items in the deal.

See ya tomorrow!

Sunday Stuff!

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(Not sure what day it is…I need to figure that out.)

Hello everyone!

I’m watching the King of the Hill episode when Bobby has to buy clothes at the fat kid store H. Dumpty’s and I’m having childhood obesity PTSD right now. I’m so glad I’ll never have to shop at a Casual Male or any of those incredibly uncomfortable palaces of stretchable polyester ever again. 

Alright, back to other things and stuff.

Today was a bit of a food challenge but we totally got through it! I forgot how counting points makes such a difference instead of just saying “merh…I’ll just wing it.” I’m also not as tempted to peek on the scale anymore. I don’t have to. I know that if I stay within my points, the rest will follow. This feels amazing. Weight Watchers Points Plus is the bomb!!! (And no, I’m not getting paid to say that.)

So here is the breakdown of the day:

Breakfast
A delicious cookie from my friend Cynthia: 2PP
Maple Ginger Dreaming Cow yogurt: 3 PP
A slice of Ezekiel bread with spray butter: 2 PP

Lunch
We went to lunch at Bandido’s with the always-awesome Julie and Melissa the fantastic!  My eyes were bigger than my stomach so I ordered a breakfast burrito and a bean burrito. I ate the breakfast burrito and was ridiculously stuffed (Mexican food is my kryptonite…or gluttonite). So after I was done, I added it all up in my Weight Watchers app. I didn’t feel guilty, I felt good knowing the points of what I was eating. I felt accountable to myself. Something that I haven’t been in a while. 33 PP

Dinner
After a doing a good chunk of housework, I just made a Smart One since I didn’t have too many points left at that point.
Teryaki Smart One: 6 PP
Cereal: 3 PP
Two peaches: 0 PP
Non-fat French Onion dip with sliced cucumbers: 1 PP

Total for the day
50 PP 

I ended up using 2 PP which is fine. That’s what they’re there for!

Tomorrow’s a new day. Make it awesome. See ya tomorrow.

It Feels Like Day 1 All Over Again…

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Welcome to the beginning of something great.

I woke up this morning with purpose. This was the start of a new chapter of my journey. And I’ve never been so excited.

Welcome to Day 1…again.

Let’s start at the beginning!

Breakfast
A White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Clif Bar that actually tasted like a doughnut! (Or maybe it did because I wanted it to so badly…) 7PP

Snack
3 tbsp of almonds which was perfect for a snack with my straight-black coffee around 10 am  3PP

FishLunch
I had a 8PP Lean Cuisine Parmesean Baked Fish with pasta. It was surprisingly delicious! I also has two servings of Chick-O-Sticks which was 4 PP. For a pre-workout snack, I had a 3 PP serving of peanut butter with celery!

So excitedExercise!!!
I know…I love ridiculously insane in this photo. I think I was just that excited to work out after work! Today, I did 15 minutes on the row machine until my arms starting spelling out words with my veins under my skin. After that, I went over and climbed the Empire State Building on the Stairmaster. No big.
When I got home, I drank all the water and ate two peaches (which were no points!)
9 Activity points!

Dinner
Megan cooked up some delicious rotini with some spaghetti sauce and these awesome chicken sausages from Sam’s Club. Oh yeah, and A LOT of broccoli (also no points!) For dessert, three little Chick-O-Sticks which were just enough sweetness to feel like actual dessert. 15 PP

So today I got to 40 PP today which is 11 under my goal. I’m not really hungry because the fruits and veggies keep me so full! I might have a little something later, but right now I’m good! Awesome first day!

Now…about the weigh-in situation

A lot of you had a lot of opinions and suggestions and I thank you all for commenting!
After thinking it over and talking to Megan (always ask your best friend for advice!) I will officially be weighing in at our Saturday morning Weight Watchers meetings. The more I thought about, the idea of having multiple weigh in’s every week would get incredibly annoying and ridiculous. I have committed to Weight Watchers and this new chapter in my weight loss so I need to give it all over to it which includes weighing in. I’m also going to avoid getting on my scale through out the week. There’s no reason to do that to myself (thanks for helping me realize that Brooke!)

So here is the skinny of it all. Yesterday’s weigh in is my weigh in for the week. I was 237.8 which means I was up 11.4 pounds from the Tuesday before last (yikes…) Saturday is my new weigh in day so expect a weigh in day post this Saturday, the start of a new weight loss week. See ya tomorrow.

Have a question for the FFK? Ask me in the comments below! I have a feeling tomorrow’s post will have a video… 🙂 

 

Weight-Loss Journey Reflections: What You Can Learn From 1,000 Days of Choosing Veggies Over Chicken-Fried Chocolate Pork.

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Friday was a milestone in my life. I have been proud of many things in my life, but I think this is one that I haven’t emphasized enough in my mind as I should.
It’s a well-known fact that most diets crash and burn in a glutinous rage of glory. Until September 2010, I was a part of this statistic. It’s also a well-known fact the overwhelmingly majority of obese children remain obese for the rest of their lives. Until September 2010, I was a part of this statistic as well. On Friday, I celebrated that I have risen above these statistics and have broken out of these sad norms within our culture for 1,000 days. It hasn’t been easy, and I have had my share of setbacks, but at its core, losing weight is inherently easy and possible for every single person.
As you can imagine, I have learned a lot about weight loss and about myself over these past 1,000 days. While most of it has been positive, there are some things that I think we could work on as a society. Here are just a few of those realizations. Enjoy.

Don’t glorify food.

We’ve all done it. Late night when the family is asleep, we turn on the TV and turn it the to dirty channel.
That’s right: Food Network.
We sit and stare at the mounds of sloppy, greasy burger, stacked with gooey cheddar, mounted with piles of bacon and sautéed onions.
It’s lust at first bite.
I am here today to say that food porn is wrong.
When I was obese, I would sit and watch hours and hours of Man vs. Food. Adam Richman was my hero. Getting paid to go across the country and eat as much as possible? I wanted to find a way to be his understudy! You see, for most of my life, I have treated every meal like it was a contest. I wasn’t good at a lot of things, but I was good at eating. I was undefeated in every single Whataburger Milkshake Drinking Contest I ever competed in. I would could go round after round at every All You Can Eat restaurant. I would eat until I was physically ill. That is what shows like Man vs. Food promote, that that kind of eating is okay. The worst part of it was that when I would watch that show, and others like it, I would want to eat something gross like that. Because I thought that that’s what comfort food was. I thought eating that way was my right and something I deserved. (Meanwhile, there were homeless people not knowing where their next meal was coming from…) This was a vicious cycle that I had to break out of and it’s still something that I struggle with daily.
With that realization about the power food shows have over me, I’ve had to reassess how I look at food in my life. Is it fuel? Is it pleasure? What is it? I have realized that at the end of the day, it’s just calories. For my whole life, I have been letting my tongue and tastebuds dictate the success of my weight loss and my overall health. In order to be successful with weight loss, you need to be okay with every meal not being your “last meal” meal. I was most successful with my weight loss  when I ate a sensible breakfast, a frozen meal with veggies for lunch, and a grilled chicken breast with veggies for dinner. Did I always want to eat that? Heck no! But I knew in the grander scheme of things that I wouldn’t remember one boring meal when I had a low number on the scale. I would think, “man, I’m glad I ate well this week!”
You can still be a foodie and lose weight. I’m proof. You just eat less of it. What I have been doing is eating simple meals throughout the week and on the weekend indulge a little or try a new recipe at home. Programs like Weight Watchers fit that kind of thought process into their points system. Obviously you don’t go crazy, you just eat less than what you would eat regularly. Yeah, it’s that simple.
So, I still have a lot more to say about what I have learned over the past 1,000 days, and I’m going to share it with you this week. Each night will be a different lesson so stay tuned.
I want to truly thank you for reading my blog. When I first started blogging about my weight loss, I had my share of reservations. I remember when I tired to lose weight a few years ago, I thought “what if I just posted my weight as a Facebook every day. What if I wrote ‘Nathan weighs ______ pounds.’ Man, that would be weird. That’s terrifying. I’ll never do that!” At the beginning, I didn’t post my weight. But I had so much support from every single one of you, that I eventually did. That speaks volumes to the level of love I have felt and the amount of accountability I have with you. I love you, dear reader. Thank you for making this weight loss journey so special. Here’s to another 1,000 days of weight-loss awesomeness. See ya tomorrow.

Monday on Reset

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You know that blog you read where the writer always says “I’m going to do better, I’m going to do better, I’m going to do better”? Well, that has been me for a while. My weight loss has had its issues over the passed few years, but during that time I have still been able to maintain my within 10 pounds or so. This week, we are back to the basics: simple meals during the week, counting points, and some solid exercise. One thing I’m throwing in to the mix is tapping in more of my foodie side on the weekends. My issue is that I want to make all the delicious things to break from the same ol same ol during the week. So hear we go. Let’s get to it.

FFK FB
SHAMELESS PLUG TIME!
Y U NO LIKE MY FACEBOOK PAGE??? 
I’m trying to get to 1,000 likes! Help a blogger out! 
Click here and like! 
(Also, if I get to 1,000 likes, I’ll stop blabbing about this ridiculous self promotion… well, maybe…)

Breakfast: I had two eggs and a piece of toast. Simpletastic! 5 points

Lunch: I had leftover mac n’ cheese from yesterday’s lunch along with one Hebrew National 94% ff hot dog. 9 points 

Snack: I had some celery sticks with a tablespoon of peanut butter 2 points 

Dinner: I just had a cajun-seasoned chicken breast with some delicious squash (seriously, Becky knows how to grow some serious squash!) 8 points

Nike Plus Run time!
Since it finally cooled off tonight, I went for an awesome run!
So. Many. Hills.
I’m still in love with my Brooks shoes. It’s like wearing pillows on my feet.

Dessert: When I got back from my run, I could feel my blood sugar getting a little low so I had a little pie with a little low fat ice cream. 5 points.

So today I got to 29 points which is awesome. Interested to see how tomorrow’s weigh in goes. See ya tomorrow.

Sunday!

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Hello!

I’m going to keep this short because Mad Men is on in 16 minutes…

Breakfast: Toast, peanut butter and banana. YERM.

Creamy Stovetop

Lunch: Megan and I made some delicious creamy stovetop mac n’ cheese for lunch. I had a small serving first, followed by a smaller serving with a bag of Brussles sprouts. It was fantastic. Meanwhile, in the crockpot, we were slow cooking a soon-to-be-succulent pork loin.

Then, I ran. It was hot. I’ll talk more about my awesome Brooks shoes and incredibly comfortable Balega socks. My body was exhausted in that 96 degree heat, but my shoes and socks felt amazing.

BBQDinner: A few hours, and a pair of never nude cut offs, later we shredded and sauced the loin and let it simmer for a little while longer. It. Was. AMAZING!!!!! I added a little more sauce with hot mustard and then, wait for it, some left over mac n’ cheese from lunch!!!!! All on top of a Martin’s 100 calorie potato roll. Indulgent? Yes. Delicious? Uh-huh. A much better and lighter alternative than eating out? You bet. Skinnytaste is my hero.

So that’s about it for now. I’ll talk about my shoes later this week. I also posted a NSV on my FFK Facebook page. Click here to check it out! (Don’t forget to like my FFKFB page too! I’m trying to get to 1,000 likes!)

Thanks for being awesome, dear reader. You’re my favorite deputy.

See ya tomorrow.

Day 974: Hello!

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The Office is over. One of the best series finales ever. I mean, it was no Seinfeld finale… (said no one ever.)

Happy BT Thursday Yo!

Happy BT Thursday Yo!

Anyway, it has been too flippin’ long. My eating has been up and down like crazy and I have this Dietbet that I sadly mildly care about at this point. I know that sounds bad, but maybe I’m just not cut out for weight losing competitions. I’m way too awesome at self-sabotaging. Need to work on that. Anywho, I ate really well today which just makes you feel better all around. Let’s talk food and stuff!

Breakfast: Waffles with a smidgen of peanut butter 3.5 points.
Lunch: Turkey Tom with avocado instead of mayo 7 points
Snack: Yummy yogurt. 3 points

sonic
This is where things get delicious. Brace yourself…

Screen shot 2013-05-16 at 10.47.32 PMFor dinner, we decided to consult the best website since spacejam.com (yes, this site still exists!) we went to Skinny Taste for some low-cal deliciousness. After arguing for hours on end about what to make (it’s all so delicious!) we decided on Skinny Taste’s amazing chicken cacciatore! We won. It was flippin amazing! So flavorful. So hearty. So low cal. I had two servings which was about 12 points. 

PB2Snack: I FINALLY found PB2 in Tallahassee! I was so excited to try it (if you’ve used it, post your favorite recipe in the comments!) I made a serving and ate it with celery. This is a beginning of a delicious relationship. 1 point for 2 tbsp!

So today I got to 26.5 points which is right where I want to be. Time to keep this going. See ya tomorrow.

 

 

Day 923: Thursday Time

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My bracket might die tonight.

I’m in need of a serious screen detox tonight before I go crazy on a paper tomorrow. I’m taking one class the semester and I’m writing the final paper on childhood obesity initiatives in America. Needless to say a topic that is near and dear to my heart.

So let me just give you a quick rundown of the day:

  • I did really awesome with food today! Got to 33 points! 
  • I did an epic leg workout today with squats (busted my record) and other awesomeness AND THEN I climbed the CN Tower…on the stairmaster. Pretty awesome huh?
  • Suffered from a bit of a food hangover from my splurging. I feel better now. Awesomeness.

That’s about it! Here are the photos of today.

 

(Does my face look like zombies are after me in that photo?)

See ya tomorrow.

BT Thursday Chobani BW SartOne Stairmaster time Omelete Baby!

Day 921: Weigh In Time!

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Why hello everyone!!!!

How do you like the type in the center? Personally, I really like it.

So I have been working out like crazy and I have been tracking my points down to the calorie. It is finally paying off! I lost 1.8 points! I’m finally back in to the 220’s (I mean, 229.8…but still) and I’m making great progress. I am only 18.6 pounds away from reaching my 30 in 90 goal!!!! OH SNAP!

Here’s how the day went down…
Lunch OopsToday had the potential of going horribly wrong, and I think in the past I would have let it become a caloric nightmare. Instead I made it an awesome win! You see, as I was walking out the door this morning, I left all of my prepared food on the kitchen table. I didn’t realize it until I went to grab them out of the back seat of my car. Fail. Sooooooooo I knew that I had to stay focused with my food and not detract too much. I started the day off with a 7 point bagel and reduced fat cream cheese and then I had a snackable size of Froot Loops (I had totally forgotten that it was spelled that way! Weird huh?) Anyway, so that was 3 points.

Screen shot 2013-03-26 at 10.33.31 PM

Lunch: I ended up getting my classic Turkey Tom with avocado spread instead of mayo (it’s the difference of 20-some grams of fat!). Delicious 7 points.

Running Time!: Even though it was flippin cold and the whipping wind, I went for a run out in beautiful Southwood! I wanted to test my 5k time since it had been a while. My time was 29:18 which is awesome! It means I haven’t lost any pace time since the half. One thing I did notice was that my legs are already in sooo much better shape thanks to my leg workouts. I had a lot more endurance, especially when running up massive hills. Squats have made the difference.

EARTH FARE TIME!!!!

DINNEREarth Fare SwagAfter our run, we went to Earth Fare to break in my super awesome discount card! We took advantage of their delicious salad bar. As you can see, I made my plate 50% salad instead of how it usually is. I got a piece of really tender chicken and then a side of sweet potatoes. Their hot/cold bar is such a perfect post-run meal! YERM!
You can also see we got our share of deliciousness! Mostly some of our great staples: peanut butter, eggs, Tillamook cheddar, apples, coffee, etc. but I also got a few pears! They’re so good this time of the year (actually, I have no clue when pears are ripe…) We also got two bottles of kombucha that we drank on the way home. Overall, it was a pretty awesome haul! Can’t for the many other awesome trips to come!

So today I got to about 25 points (give or take). Even if my estimate is a little off, I still have exercise points. Awesomeness!

See ya tomorrow.