And Now For Something Completely Different....
Well, not completely but perhaps a bit more focused. I've been wondering what--if anything--to do with this blog and I think I've decided.
I've long had a fascination with "health food." When I was a kid, we used to go to a restaurant in Boulder called The Good Earth and I was the weirdo who ordered the carob-flavored frozen yogurt. This was back when yogurt was tart and not as sugary-sweet as it is now.
In high school I became a vegetarian and stayed one for about 10 years. I bought all of the Moosewood cookbooks and devoured them. Amanda and I lived on Humble Vegetable Casserole (see: Enchanted Broccoli Forest) through our college years. It still the quintessential comfort food to me--potatoes, cheese, and pickles. Don't go kidding yourself--it's great and I dare you not to fall in love with it (though I never ever make it with the hard-boiled eggs. Yuck.)
So, over the years I've gained weight. And lost weight. When I made my Weight Watchers goal in 2001, I relied heavily on processed foods including aspartame, sucralose, fat-free this, and reduced-fat that. I looked hot. But I wasn't eating very clean and it has always bothered me.
So, I maintained that loss for about five years. And then, as my diet got cleaner, I got heavier. In eliminating fake sugar and fake food from my diet, I replaced those with real sugar, butter, cheese, and more. While I still keep my portions in check (mostly....) what I'm eating is intrinsically more fattening. I'm not even close to being back at my highest weight, but I'm higher than I want to be.
In the last year to 18 months, there's been a lot more talk in the mainstream media about organics (which I've always purchased as much as possible/affordable), plus eating foods in season, and the local foods (locavore) movement. I've become re-ignited with a passion for clean eating and exploring some of these options. But the challenges are: how to do it and lose weight, too? How to do it affordably?
There are loads of great resources for "green" living and whole foods, whatever your interest. If you want to explore the world of fermented foods, there are sites for you. Artisan cheese? Plenty of sites. Organics? Community Supported Agriculture? Locavores? It's all out there--but none of it addresses weight loss issues. Maybe they assume that everyone who wants to eat clean is skinny? I don't know.
So, together with my friends--Weight Watchers and non alike--I want to use this blog to to explore these topics. No, not everything will be points-friendly. No, not everything will be seasonal or local, or organic. Life is about finding balance and moderation. What would life be without the occasional M&M? The occasional red bell pepper in the spring? Bananas? Coffee?
I welcome your suggestions for questions and topics to address. Let's explore all of these questions together. I suspect more questions will be raised than answered, but what the heck. Bon appetite!
(Oh, and fear not--the occasional rant will be thrown in, too, just for balance.)
I've long had a fascination with "health food." When I was a kid, we used to go to a restaurant in Boulder called The Good Earth and I was the weirdo who ordered the carob-flavored frozen yogurt. This was back when yogurt was tart and not as sugary-sweet as it is now.
In high school I became a vegetarian and stayed one for about 10 years. I bought all of the Moosewood cookbooks and devoured them. Amanda and I lived on Humble Vegetable Casserole (see: Enchanted Broccoli Forest) through our college years. It still the quintessential comfort food to me--potatoes, cheese, and pickles. Don't go kidding yourself--it's great and I dare you not to fall in love with it (though I never ever make it with the hard-boiled eggs. Yuck.)
So, over the years I've gained weight. And lost weight. When I made my Weight Watchers goal in 2001, I relied heavily on processed foods including aspartame, sucralose, fat-free this, and reduced-fat that. I looked hot. But I wasn't eating very clean and it has always bothered me.
So, I maintained that loss for about five years. And then, as my diet got cleaner, I got heavier. In eliminating fake sugar and fake food from my diet, I replaced those with real sugar, butter, cheese, and more. While I still keep my portions in check (mostly....) what I'm eating is intrinsically more fattening. I'm not even close to being back at my highest weight, but I'm higher than I want to be.
In the last year to 18 months, there's been a lot more talk in the mainstream media about organics (which I've always purchased as much as possible/affordable), plus eating foods in season, and the local foods (locavore) movement. I've become re-ignited with a passion for clean eating and exploring some of these options. But the challenges are: how to do it and lose weight, too? How to do it affordably?
There are loads of great resources for "green" living and whole foods, whatever your interest. If you want to explore the world of fermented foods, there are sites for you. Artisan cheese? Plenty of sites. Organics? Community Supported Agriculture? Locavores? It's all out there--but none of it addresses weight loss issues. Maybe they assume that everyone who wants to eat clean is skinny? I don't know.
So, together with my friends--Weight Watchers and non alike--I want to use this blog to to explore these topics. No, not everything will be points-friendly. No, not everything will be seasonal or local, or organic. Life is about finding balance and moderation. What would life be without the occasional M&M? The occasional red bell pepper in the spring? Bananas? Coffee?
I welcome your suggestions for questions and topics to address. Let's explore all of these questions together. I suspect more questions will be raised than answered, but what the heck. Bon appetite!
(Oh, and fear not--the occasional rant will be thrown in, too, just for balance.)
posted by Kay at
5:44 PM
9 Comments:
losing locavores.... sounds interesting! good wishes to you.
Great topic!
It's the one thing that leaves me wondering at WW meetings: discussion of lf or ff foods and artificial foods (and ALL the WW products). It seems like losing weight for skinniness' sake is more the goal than living more healthfully.
Like you, I want to live healthier, eat healthier, AND, hopefully, be at a healthier weight too.
You go!
--urhere
I love this idea! I, too, got to goal eating a bunch of over-processed crap. Now that I'm eating "healthier" my weight loss isn't what I'd like for it to be.
I've been attempting to be greener and I've even blogged about it a little bit. I'll be checking back with you often to see your ideas.
I'm sooo there with you! This will be a great resource.
Thanks, you guys! Urhere, that's always been something that has bugged me about Weight Watchers. Even the Core program, which basically is so healthy, relies far too much on fake food. Granted, you can do either program without, but they must make too much money on the products they sell at meetings and license. I've always known the program, at it's core, was not about health--it's about returning profit to shareholders. Fair enough, I suppose, but some of us want to be healthy, too.
As you already know, there's a good bit of feeling that Core is the Weight Watchers answer to eating cleaner, although fake sugar, fat free pseudo-food and other less than wholesome items are Core.
In one important way, Core does align with this thinking, in that it is so antithetical to "convenience" foods. It takes an effort for most of us to make Core foods convenient, forcing us to think about what we're eating and what goes into our meals.
And don't you think butter ought to be Core in any amount you churn yourself and consume immediately?
Amen.
I also believe dark chocolate should be Core. But they don't listen to me.
Great topic!
I think fritos should be corn - they're ingredients are corn, oil, and salt. It must be a healthy oil, right?
I found a decent wine from a company called Greener Planet. I think it should be Core (because it's SO natural) but, so far, WW isn't listening.
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