Day 2

We're on to Day 2 and so far, so good folks.  I had a healthy breakfast and lunch yesterday with a decent dinner.  No outside snacking.  Feeling really good about that.  I was STARVING when I went to sleep last night though.  I woke up today not starving.  Go figure.  I  knew it was in my head last night because I was hungry WHILE eating dinner.  Do you ever do that?  You're in the middle of the meal and you just know you're still hungry and you're still going to be hungry when you're done?  How is that possible?  Because your head messes with you, that's how.  For the last 2 months, I would just give in to that voice but not last night.  Last night I decided I would power through.  Mind over matter...I am NOT wasting away.  My stomach is NOT going to start eating itself if I go to bed hungry for one night.  And you know what?  It worked.  I'm having my coffee this morning and am in no rush for breakfast yet.

I'm focusing on food for the next week or 2 and then will figure out how to incorporate my exercise again.  I really miss working out.  (Yes, I just said that.)

Random Thought.  I love Pandora.  My mom got me a little ipod clock/radio thing for Christmas and I hook up my iphone and set it to pandora and rock out to 90's pop.  What I don't understand is how Britney Spears has a greatest hits album???

I'm bringing back an oldie but goodie feature of my blog where I talk about diet, fitness, and general health stuff in the news and give you my take.  I missed doing this for awhile but I have an opinion about everything so there ya go.  With the dawn of the new year and everyone resolving to lose weight, the news and morning shows are abuzz with the fad diet advice.  CNN is no exception.  Check out this little gem at their website - Retro Diet Tips that Work.  As per tradition, my comments are in blue.

The theory here is that people are shying away from gimmicks and embracing the natural food markets and turning to things like grapefruit and rice cakes (rice cakes are natural?) for dieting.  But also, these foods make us feel homey...

"Nostalgic feelings often make people gravitate towards classic diet items," says Susan Albers, a psychologist at the Cleveland Clinic Family Health Center and author of "Eating Mindfully."

"My clients tell me that they eat cabbage soup or low-fat cheese because those are things their mothers used to eat while dieting."

Really?  I know when I think of comfort food, I always rush right to cabbage soup!  

After all, low-fat cottage cheese is a great source of satiating protein; research shows that eating grapefruit can reduce insulin levels, and aid in weight loss; and rice cakes, which are low-cal, give you a lot of bang for your bite. Even baked potatoes -- diet terrorists during the low-carb craze -- can help you lose.

OK...I give you that...these are low cal.  The problem comes with how many you eat and what you put on them.  Rice cakes plain?  When was the last time you ate a plain rice cake?  You don't.  You add peanut butter or something equally fattening (I'm actually a proponent of PB...don't get me wrong) and you eat about a million of them.  Same thing with baked potatoes.  A normal size baked potato, not so bad.  Giant baked potatoes have become the norm and we load them up with butter, cheese and sour cream...not to mention bacon bits.  And there isn't much nutritional value in a potato or a rice cake or even grapefruit.  

"Things like Jell-O, cottage cheese, and cabbage have low calorie density, meaning they have few calories per ounce," Rolls says. "Foods such as air-popped popcorn and rice cakes have high volume, in that they are aerated and trick your mind into thinking you're eating more than you are. Both are effective for weight loss." Some may even have pound-melting superpowers.

"High-calcium foods (yogurt and cottage cheese) and high-fiber foods (like fruit and vegetables) may increase weight loss by either blocking the absorption of other calories or by enhancing metabolic efficiency," says weight control specialist Stephen Gullo, author of "The Thin Commandments Diet."

"We may not understand all the ways this works, but if you're losing weight, does it really matter?"

I love this!  They say there's scientific research backing this up and then go on to say they don't understand how it all works...as if there's a magic weight loss fairy going around looking for people eating these foods and zapping them with their magic wands, making them thinner.  Puh-lease.

I don't demonize any food groups.  Even candy has its place occasionally.  Seriously...sometimes you just need that skittle to maintain your sanity.  I get it.  And I'm not saying these foods don't have a place in your diet but nowhere in this entire article does it say eat protein.  Nowhere...they say get your protein from cottage cheese.  Mmmkay.  I don't like how they act like eating these foods aren't a fad...that going to "retro diet foods" isn't a fad.  Just using a word like "retro" makes it a fad!!!  People...a little common sense.  A balanced diet is the way to go.  For those of us banded...at least for me...I feel fuller on protein and stay fuller longer.  Just sayin'...

OK - Last tidbit...need some help!  I need some new bloggers to follow!  A lot of my old bloggers have stopped blogging altogether so I need some new fodder.  If you're new to me and I'm not following you, please leave a link!  If you know of any good ones out there, let me know.  Thanks!

Alright.  That's all I got for today.  Happy Thursday!