File this under the "I never really looked at that" tab. This is one of those things you notice when you start paying more attention to what you eat. This however is a good one rather than an "oh my god i ate what???"
Sauces like ketchup and barbecue sauce has always been portrayed as being sugar laden. I was kinda surprised when I looked at the label. And Mayo is pure fat right?
Ketchup (mine is Food Lion brand, I would think other brands would be similar if not identical) has a serving size of 1 tablespoon (17g). It has only 15 calories per serving! And it has zero fat. It had 4 grams of carbohydrates and yes, all 4 grams are from sugar, but that's only 1% of your RDA.
Barbecue sauce (mine is Bullseye Original, again I think most would be similar) has a 2 tablespoon serving size (36g) and has 50 calories per serving. It also has 0 fat. Now this recipe of barbecue sauce uses molasses, and it is a "sweet" sauce in the Kansas City Style. It contains 13 g carbs (4% of RDA) and 11 g sugar. But two tablespoons is a pretty big dollop, and I probably put about that much (or less) on the grilled chicken I just made, and it's still only 50 Cal.
Mayo on the other hand, by comparison has a 1 tablespoon serving (14g, note slightly smaller than the ketchup serving) and 100 calories per serving and 100 calories from fat. Mayo is evil.. it's like squirting lard in your mouth right? That's what some health books would have you believe but now that I look at the label I'm not so sure. Am I saying Mayo is healthy? No, but out of the 11 grams of fat (17% RDA) only 1.5 of it is saturated fat. It doesn't give the Mono or Poly Unsat levels on this label, but the ingredients are soybean oil and eggs. Soybeans and eggs contain good fat profiles. Should you eat a whole jar? of course not.. but a thin spread on a ham sandwich is not going to kill you. Of course I would still watch out for mayo at places like McDonald's (not that you would eat there on a diet anyway) because if its oozing out the sides when you take a bite its way too much.
The ketchup really blew me away.. only 15 calories? That's the equivalent of a (non-sugar free) stick of gum. So add a little flavor to your meals without being afraid of blowing your diet. It helps somewhat bland food like skinless grilled chicken taste great and still be very low-fat.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Yogurt is good for you right?
My breakfast this morning was a cup of yoplait yogurt that I picked up at the grocery store yesterday. Sale and a coupon made them around 40 cents each. Yogurt is healthy.. calcium, vitamins, good bacteria.. what a healthy way to start your day right?
Well apparently that depends on what you are trying to keep out of your diet. The top of the nutrition facts for my Yoplait Original Strawberry Banana yogurt looked great.. 170 Calories, 1.5 grams of fat, 1 g saturated fat. The bottom of the list, not so much.. 33 grams of carbohydrates and 27 grams of sugar.. holy cow! The cup of yogurt is 6 ounces. Since a pound is 454 grams, that's approximately 28 grams per ounce, or 6 ounces is 170 grams. 16% of the cup of yogurt is sugar. Not quite as healthy as I expected. Another reason why it pays to read the WHOLE label. I looked at calories and fat in the store, but didn't notice the sugar till I got home.
Challenge update: Weighed this morning at 304. 2 pounds of weight loss this week, for 11 pounds total and 3.49% since the challenge started (At 315). The weight loss is coming slower now then when I started at 345 and dropped 30 pounds in 2 months, but that weight was from sitting around doing nothing, and I knew once I found a job some of that would melt right off just from getting around moving again. I'm gonna have to push hard to get below 300 pounds, but if I do it will be the lightest I've weighed in about 10 years. On Biggest Loser they always talk about these limits like hitting a brick wall, and most of it is mental. But these guys have always been above 300, or above 400.. etc.. for years.. and when they finally break through it changes their whole outlook on life. Trust me, I will be celebrating when I hit under 300. The easy part of just cutting calories and losing 5 pounds a week is over. Now the work begins.
And of course my treadmill decided to die on me yesterday, just when I was gonna start walking. Yesterday it was thundering and raining, but today looks good so maybe I'll walk outside.
Well apparently that depends on what you are trying to keep out of your diet. The top of the nutrition facts for my Yoplait Original Strawberry Banana yogurt looked great.. 170 Calories, 1.5 grams of fat, 1 g saturated fat. The bottom of the list, not so much.. 33 grams of carbohydrates and 27 grams of sugar.. holy cow! The cup of yogurt is 6 ounces. Since a pound is 454 grams, that's approximately 28 grams per ounce, or 6 ounces is 170 grams. 16% of the cup of yogurt is sugar. Not quite as healthy as I expected. Another reason why it pays to read the WHOLE label. I looked at calories and fat in the store, but didn't notice the sugar till I got home.
Challenge update: Weighed this morning at 304. 2 pounds of weight loss this week, for 11 pounds total and 3.49% since the challenge started (At 315). The weight loss is coming slower now then when I started at 345 and dropped 30 pounds in 2 months, but that weight was from sitting around doing nothing, and I knew once I found a job some of that would melt right off just from getting around moving again. I'm gonna have to push hard to get below 300 pounds, but if I do it will be the lightest I've weighed in about 10 years. On Biggest Loser they always talk about these limits like hitting a brick wall, and most of it is mental. But these guys have always been above 300, or above 400.. etc.. for years.. and when they finally break through it changes their whole outlook on life. Trust me, I will be celebrating when I hit under 300. The easy part of just cutting calories and losing 5 pounds a week is over. Now the work begins.
And of course my treadmill decided to die on me yesterday, just when I was gonna start walking. Yesterday it was thundering and raining, but today looks good so maybe I'll walk outside.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
TV Graveyard
So this post is not food or weight loss related, but what good is a blog if you can't write about stuff that interests you right?
2009 was a great and horrible year for television. I was hooked by several great new series only to see them canceled. Once again the driveling, drooling masses would rather watch utterly fake "reality" shows, and the 2% of us who want to watch intelligent thought provoking TV get dumped on.
Kings: NBC - 1 season.
This show was an very interesting modern (or near-future) version of a biblical story. The king of a large country (King Silas, who represents King David) makes a young soldier into a national hero, only to try to ruin him once he gets too popular. What was most disappointing about this show was NBC promoted the heck out of it, only to kill it before it even had a chance. The premiere was on a thursday night, the following weeks episode was on friday, then 2 weeks without shows and so on.. they kept jumping it around.. no wonder no one tuned in.
My Own Worst Enemy: NBC - 9 episodes
Christian Slater as a guy who has two distinct personalities in his head that can be switched back and forth. One is a blue collar family guy, the other is a secret agent. How awesome is that? Interesting concept, the two identities learn about each other and start fighting for control. This one got cut off in the middle and just left hanging. Was a neat show, but I guess campy sci fi is not for everyone.
Defying Gravity: ABC - 7 Episodes
This was an awesome show, but it never had a chance. I can't remember what it was up against, but it shared a time-slot with one of the huge shows on another network. Starring Ron Livingston (of Office Space and Band of Brothers) the premise was a long distance space mission where the astronauts would spend something like 14 years on the ship. Right when they find out there is some sort of "creature" on the ship that's controlling everything they pull the plug...... zap... You can watch the full first season (the last 5 episodes that didn't air) on DVD but why bother? It won't resolve anything and it won't continue. Very disappointed.
Trauma: NBC - One season?
I had heard this show was canceled but a new episode came on last night. Here's the blurb about it from tvseriesfinale.com
"This San Francisco-based drama revolves around a group of brave first responders. The ensemble cast features Derek Luke, Cliff Curtis, Anastasia Griffith, Kevin Rankin, Aimee Garcia, Billy Lush, Jamey Sheridan, and Taylor Kinney. The show struggled in the ratings from the start and NBC initially decided not to order any episodes beyond the initial 13 installments. They later changed their minds and ordered more. There’s a slim chance that there will be a second season but ratings will have to rise significantly."
Sounds like this one could finish it's first season and then be finished. It's a pretty good show.. I imagine with all the car crashes and fires it's a pretty expensive show to produce. When I first heard it got canceled I wasn't surprised.
Shows I'm watching now that I hope don't get canceled:
White Collar: USA
This is a cool show about a con man who gets out of prison to help the FBI, uses his tricks to catch other con men and perhaps still run a few cons himself. Tonight is the season finale of season one.. lets hope it comes back.
Flash Forward: ABC
Returning Thursday the 18th after being off for a while, this great show featuring Joseph Fiennes and Courtney B Vance about trying to solve a mystery where the entire planet blackouts and sees the future. Really great "current day" science fiction. Really hope this one sticks around. Great cast, awesome story.
Fringe: Fox
More sci-fi aliens and parallel dimensions, but still a pretty good show. Some episodes are weirder than others but I like it. Just went off for it's mid season break. I expect it to be back, not sure when. The older scatterbrained, but genius "mad scientist" character really makes it.
Justified: FX
This show premires next week and it looks good. Starring Timothy Olyphant (A Man Apart, Gone in Sixty Seconds) as a lawman of some description (US Marshal maybe?) who returns to his small, crime ridden home town for some good old fashioned style justice. I've only seen the commericals on FX while watching "Archer" but it looks like a good show.
Sons Of Anarchy: FX
Don't know when this will be back on but I can't wait. This Motorcycle gang show is awesome, that's all I have to say about that.
It seems like there were more than 3 shows I watched last year that got canceled but I can't remember what they were.
2009 was a great and horrible year for television. I was hooked by several great new series only to see them canceled. Once again the driveling, drooling masses would rather watch utterly fake "reality" shows, and the 2% of us who want to watch intelligent thought provoking TV get dumped on.
Kings: NBC - 1 season.
This show was an very interesting modern (or near-future) version of a biblical story. The king of a large country (King Silas, who represents King David) makes a young soldier into a national hero, only to try to ruin him once he gets too popular. What was most disappointing about this show was NBC promoted the heck out of it, only to kill it before it even had a chance. The premiere was on a thursday night, the following weeks episode was on friday, then 2 weeks without shows and so on.. they kept jumping it around.. no wonder no one tuned in.
My Own Worst Enemy: NBC - 9 episodes
Christian Slater as a guy who has two distinct personalities in his head that can be switched back and forth. One is a blue collar family guy, the other is a secret agent. How awesome is that? Interesting concept, the two identities learn about each other and start fighting for control. This one got cut off in the middle and just left hanging. Was a neat show, but I guess campy sci fi is not for everyone.
Defying Gravity: ABC - 7 Episodes
This was an awesome show, but it never had a chance. I can't remember what it was up against, but it shared a time-slot with one of the huge shows on another network. Starring Ron Livingston (of Office Space and Band of Brothers) the premise was a long distance space mission where the astronauts would spend something like 14 years on the ship. Right when they find out there is some sort of "creature" on the ship that's controlling everything they pull the plug...... zap... You can watch the full first season (the last 5 episodes that didn't air) on DVD but why bother? It won't resolve anything and it won't continue. Very disappointed.
Trauma: NBC - One season?
I had heard this show was canceled but a new episode came on last night. Here's the blurb about it from tvseriesfinale.com
"This San Francisco-based drama revolves around a group of brave first responders. The ensemble cast features Derek Luke, Cliff Curtis, Anastasia Griffith, Kevin Rankin, Aimee Garcia, Billy Lush, Jamey Sheridan, and Taylor Kinney. The show struggled in the ratings from the start and NBC initially decided not to order any episodes beyond the initial 13 installments. They later changed their minds and ordered more. There’s a slim chance that there will be a second season but ratings will have to rise significantly."
Sounds like this one could finish it's first season and then be finished. It's a pretty good show.. I imagine with all the car crashes and fires it's a pretty expensive show to produce. When I first heard it got canceled I wasn't surprised.
Shows I'm watching now that I hope don't get canceled:
White Collar: USA
This is a cool show about a con man who gets out of prison to help the FBI, uses his tricks to catch other con men and perhaps still run a few cons himself. Tonight is the season finale of season one.. lets hope it comes back.
Flash Forward: ABC
Returning Thursday the 18th after being off for a while, this great show featuring Joseph Fiennes and Courtney B Vance about trying to solve a mystery where the entire planet blackouts and sees the future. Really great "current day" science fiction. Really hope this one sticks around. Great cast, awesome story.
Fringe: Fox
More sci-fi aliens and parallel dimensions, but still a pretty good show. Some episodes are weirder than others but I like it. Just went off for it's mid season break. I expect it to be back, not sure when. The older scatterbrained, but genius "mad scientist" character really makes it.
Justified: FX
This show premires next week and it looks good. Starring Timothy Olyphant (A Man Apart, Gone in Sixty Seconds) as a lawman of some description (US Marshal maybe?) who returns to his small, crime ridden home town for some good old fashioned style justice. I've only seen the commericals on FX while watching "Archer" but it looks like a good show.
Sons Of Anarchy: FX
Don't know when this will be back on but I can't wait. This Motorcycle gang show is awesome, that's all I have to say about that.
It seems like there were more than 3 shows I watched last year that got canceled but I can't remember what they were.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Challenge Update
Two weeks into the weigh to win challenge and I've dropped 9 pounds. From 315 to 306. The interesting thing is how it's come off. The first week of the challenge, I didn't eat as well as I should, and was honestly expecting to gain weight. I managed a meager 2 pound drop down to 313. The second week I ate better, and really felt like I was gonna lose this week, but was still shocked when I stepped on the scale this morning to see it read 306. A 7 pound loss. That's the most I've ever lost in one week. Part of my goal for this challenge was to drop under 300 pounds and now I'm almost there. I don't expect another 7 pound loss, but in 2 weeks I could be there.
I want to share a recipe and get some opinions on it. I found this in Food Network magazine, and it's labeled as a "Low Fat Cheesecake" but while it is reduced, I'm not sure I would consider it low.
9 Whole Low Fat Cinnamon Graham Crackers
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 8-ounce packages Neufchatel Cream Cheese (this is the 30% reduced fat cream cheese)
2 8-ounce packages fat free Cream Cheese (I've never seen this)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup reduced fat sour cream
2 large eggs, plus 3 egg whites
2 table spoons all purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon lemon zest
Here's the nutrition facts (says it serves 14, which is a pretty small slice)
229 Calories, 11g fat (7g Sat), 61 mg Cholesterol, 319 mg Sodium, 24g Carbs, 0g Fiber, 11g Protein.
The article says it shaved 289 calories, and 21g fat off the average slice, so that would have been 32g of fat and 518 Calories. The Calorie reduction is major, over 50% less, but 11g of fat is still kinda high, but it is way better then 32. Obviously not something you could eat everyday, but a nice indulgence.
What do you think?
I want to share a recipe and get some opinions on it. I found this in Food Network magazine, and it's labeled as a "Low Fat Cheesecake" but while it is reduced, I'm not sure I would consider it low.
9 Whole Low Fat Cinnamon Graham Crackers
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 8-ounce packages Neufchatel Cream Cheese (this is the 30% reduced fat cream cheese)
2 8-ounce packages fat free Cream Cheese (I've never seen this)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup reduced fat sour cream
2 large eggs, plus 3 egg whites
2 table spoons all purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon lemon zest
Here's the nutrition facts (says it serves 14, which is a pretty small slice)
229 Calories, 11g fat (7g Sat), 61 mg Cholesterol, 319 mg Sodium, 24g Carbs, 0g Fiber, 11g Protein.
The article says it shaved 289 calories, and 21g fat off the average slice, so that would have been 32g of fat and 518 Calories. The Calorie reduction is major, over 50% less, but 11g of fat is still kinda high, but it is way better then 32. Obviously not something you could eat everyday, but a nice indulgence.
What do you think?
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Let the challenge begin!
Today is the first day of my Weigh2Win challenge through my work wellness program. I actually gained a little weight this week, which is disappointing, but it reminds me what I'm working for.
My starting weight for the challenge will be 315 pounds.
Yesterday I had a training session for my Civil War Reenacting group, who portray horse drawn artillery. The commanding officer of the group, Capt. Stanley came up to me and asked "Have you lost a tremendous amount of weight?" So my hard work is starting to pay off!
As I was jogging next to the cannon as it was being pulled by the horses I had to hold my pants up, which are now a little big for me, so 1. I was jogging next to the cannon and 2. my pants were falling down, so I guess that answers the captain's question.
My goal by the end of the 12 week challenge is to be well under 300 pounds. 3 pounds a week would be 36 pounds and bring me down to around 280.
My starting weight for the challenge will be 315 pounds.
Yesterday I had a training session for my Civil War Reenacting group, who portray horse drawn artillery. The commanding officer of the group, Capt. Stanley came up to me and asked "Have you lost a tremendous amount of weight?" So my hard work is starting to pay off!
As I was jogging next to the cannon as it was being pulled by the horses I had to hold my pants up, which are now a little big for me, so 1. I was jogging next to the cannon and 2. my pants were falling down, so I guess that answers the captain's question.
My goal by the end of the 12 week challenge is to be well under 300 pounds. 3 pounds a week would be 36 pounds and bring me down to around 280.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Weigh 2 Win Challenge
Starting next Sunday, Feb 21st I will be starting a 12 week weight loss program through my works wellness program. I get a discount on my health insurance for participating in the wellness program, so it's good for the body and the wallet!
I got a little bit of a surprise this morning when I weighed in this morning at 310 pounds. I had noticed myself losing weight, I looked smaller in the belly and in the face, but I figured I was still hovering around 320. Back in October I was 345, so I've already made a big jump, losing 35 pounds in the last 4 months. Hopefully during this challenge I will dip below 300 pounds, the first time I'll be under 300 in about 10 years.
My overall goal is to weigh 220 pounds, or a loss of 125 pounds. My current BMI is about 45, which is in the "morbidly obese" range.. I think that's a little overkill, but still need to work on getting it down anyway.
According to the NIH BMI Calculator (which only takes into consideration Height and Weight), if I weighed 220, my BMI would be 29.0 which is still (surprisingly) on the high end of "Overweight". I think if my muscle mass, and bone structure were taken into account it wouldn't be that high since I think 220 would be a very healthy weight for me. Especially compared to 340/350.
Watch for weekly updates as I weigh in for the challenge.
I got a little bit of a surprise this morning when I weighed in this morning at 310 pounds. I had noticed myself losing weight, I looked smaller in the belly and in the face, but I figured I was still hovering around 320. Back in October I was 345, so I've already made a big jump, losing 35 pounds in the last 4 months. Hopefully during this challenge I will dip below 300 pounds, the first time I'll be under 300 in about 10 years.
My overall goal is to weigh 220 pounds, or a loss of 125 pounds. My current BMI is about 45, which is in the "morbidly obese" range.. I think that's a little overkill, but still need to work on getting it down anyway.
According to the NIH BMI Calculator (which only takes into consideration Height and Weight), if I weighed 220, my BMI would be 29.0 which is still (surprisingly) on the high end of "Overweight". I think if my muscle mass, and bone structure were taken into account it wouldn't be that high since I think 220 would be a very healthy weight for me. Especially compared to 340/350.
Watch for weekly updates as I weigh in for the challenge.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Low Sugar, High Fat or High Fat, Low Sugar.. or neither?
My father-in-law was recently diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes and my own father was diagnosed about 10 years ago. I know I'm sugar sensitive and at risk of developing diabetes, but for now I've been able to control my sugar through diet and exercise.
My wife had me try some sugar free cookies that her dad liked, since he can't eat much sugar at all without getting sick, low sugar or sugar free is a must for him. The cookies taste great, but I was a little disappointed in the fat levels. Since my sugar is under control, I'd rather eat something low fat but maybe has a little sugar in it, like reduced fat Chips Ahoys, which are very good.
For example, the Murray's Sugar Free Chocolate Chip cookies have a serving size of 3 cookies (32g). A serving is 150 calories which isn't bad, but 20g of carbs (even with 0g sugar) and 9g of fat (14% of DV) and 3.5g sat fat (18%DV).
The reduced fat Chips Ahoys, while they do have 9g of sugar in a 31g serving, they only have 5g of fat (8%DV). Is that enough to make a huge difference? I'm not sure.
The other thing that caught my eye was two boxes of Pop-Tarts I bought lately, one of which happened to be the "Reduced Fat Strawberry". I wanted to try them, but I'm not daft enough to think Reduced Fat Pop Tart = Healthy.
I was shocked with what I saw on the nutrition panel (and of course I didn't look too hard until I got them home).
The second box was chocolate chip cookie dough. Which sounds healthier, strawberries or chocolate chip cookies? Depends on what your looking at.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough:
200 Calories
5g fat (8% DV)
18g sugar
35g Carbs
Reduced Fat Strawberry:
190 Calories (only 10 less).
3g fat
21g sugar
40g Carbs
The low fat ones are higher in total carbs and sugars and don't reduce the calories so I don't think those are even really worth bothering with.
I guess it depends on what your health goals are, but for myself I think I should stick to the non-fat, low-fat even if it means a few more grams of sugar. And carbs are 4 calories per gram, fat is 9 calories per gram, so low fat will be much lower in calories.
What do you think?
My wife had me try some sugar free cookies that her dad liked, since he can't eat much sugar at all without getting sick, low sugar or sugar free is a must for him. The cookies taste great, but I was a little disappointed in the fat levels. Since my sugar is under control, I'd rather eat something low fat but maybe has a little sugar in it, like reduced fat Chips Ahoys, which are very good.
For example, the Murray's Sugar Free Chocolate Chip cookies have a serving size of 3 cookies (32g). A serving is 150 calories which isn't bad, but 20g of carbs (even with 0g sugar) and 9g of fat (14% of DV) and 3.5g sat fat (18%DV).
The reduced fat Chips Ahoys, while they do have 9g of sugar in a 31g serving, they only have 5g of fat (8%DV). Is that enough to make a huge difference? I'm not sure.
The other thing that caught my eye was two boxes of Pop-Tarts I bought lately, one of which happened to be the "Reduced Fat Strawberry". I wanted to try them, but I'm not daft enough to think Reduced Fat Pop Tart = Healthy.
I was shocked with what I saw on the nutrition panel (and of course I didn't look too hard until I got them home).
The second box was chocolate chip cookie dough. Which sounds healthier, strawberries or chocolate chip cookies? Depends on what your looking at.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough:
200 Calories
5g fat (8% DV)
18g sugar
35g Carbs
Reduced Fat Strawberry:
190 Calories (only 10 less).
3g fat
21g sugar
40g Carbs
The low fat ones are higher in total carbs and sugars and don't reduce the calories so I don't think those are even really worth bothering with.
I guess it depends on what your health goals are, but for myself I think I should stick to the non-fat, low-fat even if it means a few more grams of sugar. And carbs are 4 calories per gram, fat is 9 calories per gram, so low fat will be much lower in calories.
What do you think?
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