Starling Fitness: Daily writings on Fitness, Diet, and Health

Wednesday night, Mike and I had a dinner that we used to eat all the time, but we haven’t had recently. It tasted good and it was only 6 Points. I thought that I would share the recipe with you.

Tuna Mac & Cheese with Broccoli

• Kraft Macaroni and Cheese (you can use whatever brand you wish, but the calculated calories are based on Kraft)
• 4 Tablespoons of butter
• 1/4 Cup of Skim Milk
• 1/2 Bag of frozen broccoli
• 1 Can of tuna packed in water

Directions:

• Bring 6 cups of water to a boil. Add the macaroni and the broccoli to the boiling water.
• Cook until tender, drain water (do not rinse) and return the macaroni and broccoli to the pot.
• Add the butter and stir until melted.
• Add the milk, tuna fish and the cheese packet and stir.
• Divide into five servings and place the extra servings in the freezer.

Serves 5: 6 WW Points per serving: Calories 258; Fat 11.3; Fiber 0.6

Macaroni and Cheese is a highly processed food (that is NOT cheese), so this meal is a rarity for us, but it is very easy to make. You can substitute whatever vegetable you prefer for the broccoli. I suggest separating the servings and freezing the extra right away to prevent over eating. This meal is high in fat, so it’s easy to overdo it. I take the extra servings to work for lunches.

The Hungry Girl daily newsletter usually seems like a commercial to me, but today’s was really good.

• Ask Hungry Girl – Wednesday Newsletter

She answers a couple of questions from readers (like she does every Wednesday). One question asks about what to bring for vegetarian lunches and the other asks about frozen vegetables. I would like to add a couple of ideas for the lunch question:

I would recommend purchasing an insulated lunch bag. I have one and cold things usually stay cold enough until lunch and I can put a frozen blue thing in it to keep things colder. It works really well to keep my veggies and fruits tasting good and fresh. If you don’t have a refrigerator at work, that really helps.

Not having a microwave at work really puts a crimp on things. My favorite lunch usually consists of a serving of veggies and leftovers from last night’s dinner. When we cook healthy dinners, we always make enough servings for a few lunches for me to take to work. Not having a microwave would cripple me.

I would recommend doing a little detective work. I find it highly unlikely that there is no microwave anywhere. The CFO at our office ate his meals in his office every day, but I never saw him go up to the third floor to microwave his food. One day, I found the secret first floor microwave hidden between the huge industrial machinery and the CT room. There might be a microwave lurking in your office that you didn’t even know about.

That doesn’t answer the reader’s question, though. What would I have for lunch if I was a vegetarian and had no access to a microwave. Just like Hungry Girl said, the lack of microwave doesn’t affect my fruits and veggies. I bring two servings of fruit and three servings of veggies to work every day. I eat a fruit and a veggie for my morning snack and the same for my afternoon snack. That leaves one serving of fresh cut vegetables for my lunch. These have been the basis of my day for years now.

Main dishes are harder to come by, however. The reader has already exhausted the PB&J sandwich and hummus route. One good thing that wasn’t mentioned at all are cold rice dishes. Cardamon Rice with pistachios and milk is one and Rice Pudding is another. They are meant to be eaten cold and if you make them yourself, you can make sure that they are healthy and not loaded with sugar like most of the storebought versions.

I usually have Cardamon Rice for breakfast, but it would work perfectly for a vegetarian for lunch. Here is how I make it:

• 1 Cup of cooked rice (make a little extra next time you make rice for dinner)
• 1 Teaspoon of ground Cardamom
• 1/2 Packet of Stevia (or any other sweetener you prefer)
• 12 Pistachios coarsely ground
• 1/2 Cup of milk

The night before, mix these ingredients and place in a Ziploc bowl. Overnight, the rice will absorb some of the milk, so you might want to bring an additional half cup of milk if you prefer things a little runny. This is a filling meal with protein, calcium and carbohydrates. Brown rice will make it even healthier. You eat it cold, so no microwave required.

Here is a great story about a school district that started serving healthy school lunches back in 1995. The administrators and lunch workers suffered through complaining and even a high school petition wanting the unhealthy food back. Now, they seem like they were ahead of the game.

• Alabama News – When it comes to healthy school lunches, Opelika ahead of game

This article mentions that the first year of the change was the hardest. Many of the children started brown bagging it, but the second year, the numbers grew to levels higher than before the change. Now, 90% of the students eat the school lunch.

Best Quote:

“Ms. Payne cautions that it takes time to convince kids to eat a new item — 10 exposures are usually necessary; and it helps if the cafeteria staff can be enlisted to help ‘sell’ the food with a smile.”

Via: CalorieLab Calorie Counter News – Pioneering healthy school lunches — 10 years ago

I contacted Nutrisoda and asked if they would send me some samples of their new beverages to review for Starling Fitness. They were very polite and sent me a sample pack of all the flavors. Mike and I spent the week tasting the new beverages and seeing if they did what they promised.

Sunday: Slender (pink grapefruit + guava) – I started my week out with the beverage that most attracted my attention. It’s the one that promises that it will make me thin. I didn’t know it at the time, but it’s the worst tasting one of the bunch. Mike didn’t like it and I hated it. I didn’t notice any effect on my appetite after consuming it. Shucks…

Monday: Flex (black cherry + apple) – This drink is supposed to lubricate, repair and restore active joints. It tastes like Shasta Cherry Soda. I can’t taste the apple at all. It’s ok and it doesn’t taste mediciney like some cherry-flavored drinks do.

Tuesday: Focus (mango + peach) – This drink is supposed to sharpen your thinking. It’s the best tasting of the bunch. Mike said it tasted like Squirt. I agree. It tastes more like citrus than peach or mango.

Wednesday: Immune (tangerine + lime) – Tastes like lemon-lime. It’s supposed to build your defenses and keep you healthy, but it just tastes like a very expensive 7-Up.

Thursday: Calm (wild berry + citron) – It tasted pretty good. It didn’t help me stay calm. If this drink did what it says it does, I would gladly pay a dollar a can and gulp it down no matter the taste. Unfortunately, I was still the hyperactive girl that everyone knows, except I had a fizzy drink in me.

Friday: Radiant (pomegranate + blackberry) – It tasted nothing like pomegranate juice, but it really didn’t taste like berries either. Just a fizzy fruity drink that was supposed to make my skin look good. I didn’t notice any glowing, however.

Saturday: Energize (mandarin + mint) – Mike is connoisseur of caffeine drinks. I tasted it and didn’t care for the flavor. Mike said as far as caffeine drinks goes, it’s ok. At least it’s not that medicine-like cherry flavor that Red Bull made so popular. As far as promises go, this is the only drink that delivers with 50 mg of caffeine. But remember: Caffeine doesn’t GIVE you energy, it BORROWS energy.

Each can was 8.4 ounces and cost $1 US apiece. They are infused with herbal ingredients that are supposed to provide the benefits listed on each flavor. Each can has this warning in tiny tiny print. I’ll make it bigger for you:

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. As with all dietary supplements, if you are pregnant or nursing, or taking any medication consult your healthcare professional/physician before using airforce products.

My take on that warning: If I’m not supposed to drink it when I’m pregnant, then I don’t think I’ll drink it.

On the whole, they tasted like the flavored carbonated waters that every grocery store has a version of. Even Dasani and Perrier have jumped into the flavored water game. At a little over eight ounces, they are definitely not worth the price.

Via: Popgadget: Personal Tech for Women – Nutrisoda “intelligent” refreshment

Calorie Restriction sounds like such a normal thing in the dieting world. Weight Watchers is a calorie restrictive diet that has its eye on other macro-nutrients like fat and fiber. So, when I read this Wired article about The Calorie Restriction Society, which promotes a restrictive calorie diet in order to extend your life, I thought they might be pretty interesting.

On the surface, this website seems to promote healthy eating. They suggest moving your diet to calorie-spare, nutrient-dense foods, like green, leafy vegetables and fruits. They recommend that you choose your proteins wisely. They avoid unhealthy fats in exchange for Omega-3 fats.

• Calorie Restriction Society – Fewer Calories, More Life

If you look at it any closer, however, the program falls apart. They promote restricting your caloric consumption to 75% of what your body needs. This is not just to lose weight, this is for the rest of your life, even after you’ve reached a low BMI. If there are any doubts about whether this diet is healthy, the list of Cautions and Hazards is enough to tell me that this diet isn’t something that is a feasible lifestyle change.

• Cautions and Hazards of Calorie Restriction

The lists of potential problems are as follows:

• Anemia
• Negative Appearance Changes
• Decreased Bone Mass
• Risk of Choking
• Cold Sensitivity
• Children should not follow this plan
• Loss of Cushioning
• Depression
• Reduced Energy Reserves
• Hunger, Cravings or Food Obsession
• Concerns about Infections
• Decreased Libido
• Menstrual Irregularity
• High Pregnancy Risk Factor
• Loss of Strength
• Decreased Testosterone
• Rapid Weight Loss
• Slower Wound Healing

They continue to say that this is not a comprehensive list of the side-effects of this diet regimen. Do yourself a favor and just pass this one by. There never has been a long-term human study of these theories, so it is an unproven premise. There is no proof that severe caloric restriction will extend your life. There is ample proof that it will make your life miserable, however.

Weight loss is about changing your lifestyle to a more healthy plan, not a less healthy one.

Via: Wired News: Dieters Eat Less to Live Longer

Caffeine is considered a performance enhancement drug. Did you know that? I didn’t until I looked up all the studies that were registered in the American Journal of Physiology over the last few years. It seems that a lot of money is being spent on finding out exactly how much caffeine an athlete can consume, perform well and still be under the tested caffeine limits.

The reason I started looking up all the research registered in the American Journal of Physiology is because it was mentioned in this article about caffeine and performance:

• The London Times – A coffee to go at the gym – Peta Bee

Caffeine can substatially affect the performance of an athlete. Here are some of the most important quotes that I found from the article.

“A response to caffeine is individual and depends on your body size, metabolism and how much you are used to taking.”

“It works in small doses and there are no gains in performance by taking larger doses.”

“Taken in excess, caffeine is known to have unhealthy side- effects. It is addictive and consuming the equivalent of six or more cups of coffee a day has been shown to trigger migraines, irritable bowel syndrome and other gastrointestinal problems.”

I’ve had a lengthy dance with caffeine. I stopped drinking it because my Weight Watcher leader recommended it and was shocked at how much it affected me. Now, I pretty much treat caffeine like a drug. If I have a headache, I take aspirin. If I’m incredibly tired and need to be alert, I drink a caffeinated beverage. It’s very rare. Considering that taking too much caffeine can get athletes kicked out of events, it sounds like something that should be avoided completely.

Via: SportsGeezer – The Caffeinated Workout Really Works

A study says that milk and dairy products help people lose weight and the dairy industry touts it like it’s the truth. Another study says that HCA helps people lose weight and the supplement industry fills shelves and food products with HCA. Another study says that partially hydrogenated oil causes stupidity and I throw away all the Oreos in the house.

What can we believe when there are so many studies out there that are sometimes contradictory? This article explains why over half of all research findings are false.

• PLoS Medicine: Why Most Published Research Findings Are False

If half of all research findings are false what can we believe? Right now, the best bet is to eat fresh foods and save processed foods for treats. It takes years of repeated studies for the scientists to come to a consensus. Until then, we’ll have to trust our instincts just like the cavemen did, except we have much tastier treats to tempt us.

Via: Boing Boing: Journal article: 50%+ of science journal articles have false conclusions

When I was a child, we ate a lot of ground beef. Hamburger Helper, spaghetti, curry stew, and lasagna all had their basis in ground beef. I remember learning how to make these dishes as a child and my parents taught me to carefully drain off the fat into a large tomato can that resided by the side of the stove. I asked what we saved the fat for. I remember my Dad telling me that some people used it to fry food and poor people even used it on their bread instead of butter, but we just throw it away when the can gets full because it’s not healthy. We used Crisco to fry and margarine on our bread.

Little did we know, trans-fat (or hydrogenated oils) were the primary ingredient of our “healthy” replacements. Pork lard is different from the beef lard, of course, but the idea for this New York Times article is the the same. Maybe animal-based fats aren’t nearly as bad for us as those trans-fatty ones we’ve been eating since childhood.

• New York Times – High on the Hog – by Corby Krummer

In my house, our ground beef can is a tiny mushroom can shoved into the back of the refrigerator. It usually molds before we add to it and is thrown away when I go on a cleaning binge. I don’t know what is right when choosing which fats to cook with. Hopefully, they’ll figure it out in our lifetimes.

Via: Male Pattern Fitness – The Lard Is His Savior

It’s nice to hear the inside story about a company whose business is to provide food. Yum! Brands is the company that owns Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, KFC, Long John Silver and A&W. They were owned by PepsiCo until they were sold off in 1997. This is a detailed interview with the minds behind these restaurants that are probably within three miles of your home, waiting to feed you and your family.

• The Economist – Yum! Brands | Fast food’s yummy secret

Best Quotes:

“We are offering salads because that is what people want to see,” says Mr Novak, choosing his verbs carefully. But the salads are not what the industry calls “business builders”: they are there to win over the “veto vote”, offering something to the calorie-conscious eater who might otherwise dissuade a whole family or group from going to a KFC or a Taco Bell.

These companies won’t concentrate on offering healthy food until we are able to make the healthy choices “business builders” instead of “veto vote” preventers.

Nor does there seem much scope for traditional fast-food chains to grow in America by opening new outlets. According to UBS, three-quarters of Americans already live within three miles of a McDonald’s. Two-thirds live within three miles of a Pizza Hut and a Taco Bell and a KFC as well. To expand, then, the chains will have to win business from one another, using new pitches and products.

Be prepared for more advertising and new products on an increasing basis. The only way that these companies will be able to grow their market share is to keep grabbing our attention with flashy commercials. Remember, they usually don’t have nutrition facts for those new items, so make sure you stick with your “veto vote” food until they are able to tell you how many calories are in those shiny new burritos.

You will never go bust by under-estimating the public taste. But you have to do it cheaply, efficiently and on a very large scale.

The longer I eat healthy, the more refined my taste has become. Don’t be scared of becoming a picky eater. We end up eating the best tasting, healthiest food around.

Nutritional Information for Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Long John Silver, A&W, and KFC

Via: CalorieLab Calorie Counter News – Yum! Brands in the Economist

I was at the library picking up some CDs that I had ordered and I saw this book sitting in the highlighted books section. I picked it up and decided to read it to review it for Starling Fitness. I find this diet plan iffy and based on unproven science. The ideas at the beginning of the book, however, are very helpful motivators.

• The Thin Commandments

The Thin Commandments are as follows:

• Strategy is stronger than willpower: He suggests eating every 3-4 hours to prevent the kind of hunger that can spawn a binge. He also recommends keeping a food diary.

• Think historically, not just calorically: This commandment is repeated so many times throughout the book that I don’t know why he didn’t put it first. I don’t know why he didn’t use it as the title of the book. He suggests analyzing your food history and identifying foods and situations that have been involved with bingeing. Then, he says that you are powerless against these foods and should never eat them again. I don’t agree with that premise and I think it’s much better to learn to live with your Vulnerability Foods.

• The problem may be in the food, not in you: This phrase may sound empowering, but what the author is really saying is that you have no control over certain foods. He suggests avoiding the food to desensitize yourself from it with no plan for slowly reintroducing it. I disagree with anything that suggests that I am powerless.

• Structure gives control: He suggests eating a snack with protein and fiber during the 3pm – 5pm hours. Bring your own snacks and not depend on fate to provide for you. Plan ahead so that you won’t get too hungry. These are all good tips. If you are on a different sleep schedule, you will need to find when you’re sleepiest time of the day is and plan a protein/fiber snack during that time of the day.

• Separate mood from food and strategies for preventing mood eating: These are good strategies strikingly similar to the Weight Watchers Tools For Living.

• Take control of your favorite foods: He suggests adopting the phrase, “I don’t begin, I don’t have any problem.” Aside from grammatically awkward, I disagree with this commandment because I refuse to live my life without my favorite foods. You CAN live a healthy life at a healthy weight and enjoy your favorite foods in moderation, no matter what the author of this book says.

• Slips should teach you, not defeat you: The Weight Watcher equivalent to this is, “There are no failures, only feedback.” This is a really good commandment with lots of ideas on how to recover from a binge and how to learn from it.

• Stop feeling deprived: This is also a really good section about changing your mindset from deprivation to concentrating on a healthy life. He suggests substitution, not deprivation. I’ve never found that to work for me, but many of the ideas that he has here are great ways to concentrate on healthier eating habits.

• Treat your calories like dollars: This is a concept that most newbies learn from Weight Watchers in the first week. Is it “Point-Worthy?” is something that I learned to ask myself very quickly. The same is true for calories. If the food is not very filling, but has a lot of calories, you need to make a conscious decision to know whether you feel it’s worth eating. There are a lot of tips in this section about nutrition. Some of them are based on unproven science: the thermogenic effect of food, “magic” foods (like cinnamon, fish, fiber and calcium) help you lose weight and The Dairy Myth. Some of them are good advice: Fill up on fruit, drink water to feel full, exercise your body and your judgment.

• Losing weight is half the job; keeping it off is the other half: Instead of teaching you how to slowly add trigger foods back into your life, he suggests avoiding them forever. There are a few other tips to maintain, which are basically, watch for the inevitable weight gain and go back on the diet.

Worst Quote:

“No matter how intelligent you are, or how secure you feel, you’re no match for the force that is your body’s physiological response to food.”

I don’t believe that to be true. You are not powerless over food. Take back your power and use it to get healthy and strong.

On the whole, this is a relatively good book. The motivational thoughts and the ideas like creating meditation tapes may not be original, but they are helpful. I would follow a sensible eating plan like Eat More, Lose More or Weight Watchers and use this book for a motivational boost.