Perhaps I should have called this blog, musings from a food-aholic... I love food. I love making food. I love eating food. I just don't like the dishes. Oh well, can't have it all....
Unfortunately, a love of food and eating has facilitated weight gain. I used to be very skinny. In high school, I barely weighed 100lbs. But after a blissfully foodie wedding at the age of 30 to the love of my life, we have been blissfully chomping our way through life. When we lived in Baltimore, we ate crab cakes and kung pao chicken from China Chef in Catonsville (which might not still be there...) -- and Vaccaro's. Bill brought me Vaccaro's cannolis and pignoli cookies for our first non-date. We went there for later dates and talked into the night over hazelnut cappucinnos and The Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria -- ridiculously large sundaes made with homemade gelato and topped with deliciousness... I knew he was my man. I made him garlic pizza and he pledged to love me forever.
Now, after 17 years and much culinary delight, I find myself at 166lbs. Which at my height makes me dead center average for my age group, but 25-30lbs overweight according to the BMI charts. I've gone up, but it's hard to get below the 166 threshold. And, of course, it's mostly on my belly (the most dangerous place for fat) and under the arms... I used to not care so much. But osteoarthritis has changed my mind. Each extra pound adds extra pressure on the joints, predisposing natural ones to arthritis and artificial ones to wear out faster. I just got a new hip, and I'm getting another one. I want these to last as long as possible, which means I need to lose about 25-30lbs.
This is not an easy task. I wasn't able to exercise before my first surgery because my hips just hurt all the time and movement didn't help and I had such a pronounced limp that it strained muscles. Since my left hip was replaced, I started exercising again -- at first with exercise dvds with Leslie Sansone, and then to timed outdoor walking, and now I do about a one-mile loop around the neighborhood (which takes about 19 minutes) and a half-hour video between 3-5 days a week. I think things are starting to fit better, but my DH says he can't see any change. How frustrating. But at least I know that an hour of exercise 3-5 days/week is really good for my cardiovascular system (and my whole family has high cholesterol and a history of heart disease), bone density and muscle strength -- so even if I get frustrated with my lack of weight loss progress, I can notice a lower resting pulse and lower blood pressure (just in 5 weeks!).
So I must admit that since I'm exericising enough to stimulate weight loss, and I'm NOT LOSING... then it must be what I'm eating.... or rather the portion sizes. We eat healthy food. Lots of low-fat protein, vegetables and whole grains. We cleaned up our diet as soon as we moved out of the dorm and into our own kitchen. (except for the month-long ice cream binge before surgery...) But I must be eating bigger portions than I should. This is tricky. I must learn to be satisfied with less, to not leave the table with that happy, full feeling, but to learn to eat less. Not easy, esp. since I like food and eating.....
Tonight's successful experiment: New Mexican Frittata
1 8 X 8 pyrex dish
1 large potato, sliced into thin slices and layered on the bottom
a light coating of shredded Mexican cheese (low-fat version)
a layer of posole (cooked hominy)
and 1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
a light coating of shredded mexican cheese
5 roasted Sandia chiles from Hatch, NM
2 yellow squash, sliced
1/2 can red enchilada sauce (actually, for the next time, I'll use a whole can and add it to layers in between)
more shredded cheese
1 medium carton of eggbeaters
1 egg
Layer ingredients as you go. Pour egg mixture over top. Bake for about 1 hour at 300F until golden brown and puffy and a bbq skewer comes clean.
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