A food memoir of weight loss, family recipes, digital cookbook and nutrition information for family and friends
Are healthy habits worth cultivating? One recent study and a previous similar study suggest healthy habits may help people tack on years of life and sidestep serious illnesses, such as diabetes and cancer. Researchers from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that five low-risk lifestyle habits are critical for a longer life expectancy. The more of […]
Five healthy habits net more healthy years — Malheur County Health Department
Tuesday 3/21
Well, it was a good plan until it wasn’t. No boneless chicken thighs at the store, the bone-in thighs I bought need to be frozen and I refuse to drive around town looking for chicken thighs. Tonight is a night out with the guys so there will be no cooking tonight. Several of us meet monthly to go out for a burger and a beer. This started many years ago when our significant others gathered monthly for bunko (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunco). Rather than sit at home separately we started our own monthly get together. We call this monthly gathering Anti-Bunko.
“The surprising finding is that our relationships and how happy we are in our relationships has a powerful influence on our health,” said Robert Waldinger, director of the study, a psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital and a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. “Taking care of your body is important, but tending to your relationships is a form of self-care too. That, I think, is the revelation.”
Good genes are nice, but joy is better — https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2017/04/over-nearly-80-years-harvard-study-has-been-showing-how-to-live-a-healthy-and-happy-life/
Today’s meals consisted of the following:
Breakfast – Greek Yogurt Pancakes, banana, scoop of full fat Greek yogurt. I try to Eat More Protein at Breakfast but some days are better than others.
Lunch – Semi-Organic Vegan Split Pea Soup, see yesterday’s post Chicken Thigh Week – Monday. I’ve got a whole pot of this stuff. PB&J.
Snack – Apple
Appetizer – green salad, marinated artichoke hearts (at home before going out)
Dinner – Burger, no cheese, no fries and beer.
Did you know more Protein for Older Adults is important?
I guess Anti-Bunko night with burgers and good company is a good thing.
Monday 3/20
A faithful reader of my blogs mentioned a 7 day meal plan would be nice to have. Initially I thought that was a good idea. But when I sat down to create a 7 day meal plan I realized I never know what I’m making to eat until I see what looks good at the store. I probably go grocery shopping 3-4 times a week. I’ve been working from home since 2006. Food shopping gives me an excuse to get out of the house.
I love leftovers. Last night I roasted four chicken thighs with the idea there would be leftovers to toss into a quesadilla or chicken salad, or any of a number of dishes you can make with leftover cooked chicken.
I ate them all (they were small).
Back to the 7 day meal plan. Since I’ve never planned for shopping and making meals for 7 days straight I thought I’d simply document my meals for the week. Hopefully this will help with my Writer’s Block so I can write another chapter of The Future Best Seller. This also provides a glimpse into my current dietary habits (which are far different than the 370 pound me).
Breakfast – Strawberries, banana and full fat Greek yogurt.
Lunch – I made Semi-Organic Vegan Split Pea Soup for lunch but didn’t have it for lunch. Instead I had a baked potato with butter, salt, pepper and a salad topped with marinated artichoke hearts. Yes, I made this one up today with apologies to Martha Rose Shulman. My Garlic Vinaigrette pays homage to Martha’s recipe.
Snack – Peanut butter. Yes, peanut butter.
Dinner – Breaded Chicken Cutlet (thigh, of course), egg fried rice, salad.
I went back to the store that advertised boneless chicken thighs for $2.99/lb. Still no boneless thighs. And no bone-in chicken thighs either. But since I bought some bone-in the other day it’s still Chicken Thigh Week.
The Truth Machine read 169.8 up from 167.4 in just 24 hours. It still amazes me how sensitive I am to what I eat. Yesterday we tried a new breakfast place and I probably ate 3x what I normally eat at the midday break. The uptick in weight was expected given the quantity and salty/fattiness of my bowl which consisted of three eggs, fried potatoes, cheese, and veggies. There was a giant biscuit with butter on the side. I also finished The Boss’ giant biscuit, potatoes and one slice of her bacon. There you go. Do I know how to gain weight or what?
Welcome to Chicken Thigh Week. The local store advertised boneless chicken thighs for $2.99/lb which translated (for me) into time to stock up. But when I got to the store there were no boneless thighs. They sold out. Bone-in chicken thighs were $1.49/lb so I picked up a package with the full intent to de-bone them at home. When I got home I discovered a package of bone-in thighs in the freezer. Now I have over five pounds of chicken thighs. Now we have Chicken Thigh Week!
Tonight a simple roast chicken.
I defrosted what I found in the freezer to use the older package first. Smple oven roasted honey soy chicken. My second surprise was discovering my Honey Soy and/or Maple Marinade recipe is ancient and needs updating. So here’s my latest greatest version of Honey Soy Marinade using pantry and and spice rack items.
Marinate the chicken thighs for two hours minimum. Roast on a rack at 400 degrees F for 35-45 minutes. Don’t worry about overcooking, especially the large pieces. They are chicken thighs.
Nutrition info here https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/172388/nutrients
1. Do not smoke or, if you do, quit.
Functional Longevity: What Use Is Retirement If You Can’t Move and Think? — https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/functional-longevity-in-retirement/
2. Maintain a healthy body weight to avoid diabetes, hypertension,and elevated lipids.
3. Eat a healthy diet with plenty of vegetables, minimize red meat,and drink lots of water.
4. Participate in aerobic exercise for an hour several times a week.
5. Use body weight and functional exercises to maintain muscle mass.
6. Stretch and do functional movement exercises or yoga to maintain flexibility.
7. Develop an anti-stress regimen such as meditation or “forest bathing.”
8. Maintain social connections.
9. Optimize cognition through lifelong reading and learning.
10. Get adequate sleep and practice good oral hygiene.
When people think about retirement the first thing that typically comes to mind is the financial aspect. This list is a reminder to focus on the non-financial aspects of retirement as essential elements of your plans too. I plan on using this list as a personal report card, a regular and routine check up of how I’m doing and what needs improvement. I’ve given myself passing grades for 9/10.
#4 – improvement needed.
The study found that eating fast food is associated with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, a potentially life-threatening condition in which fat builds up in the liver. Researchers discovered that people with obesity or diabetes who consume 20% or more of their daily calories from fast food have severely elevated levels of fat in their liver compared to those who consume less or no fast food. And the general population has moderate increases of liver fat when one-fifth or more of their diet is fast food.
University of Southern California – Health Sciences. “Consumption of fast food linked to liver disease: Risk of liver damage is highest for those with obesity or diabetes.” ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/01/230110103508.htm (accessed January 11, 2023).
Journal Reference – Ani Kardashian, Jennifer L. Dodge, Norah A. Terrault. Quantifying the Negative Impact of Fast-food Consumption on Liver Steatosis Among United States Adults with Diabetes and Obesity. Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, 2023; DOI: 10.1016/j.cgh.2022.11.040
But even with Foods With Low Nutritional Quality remember Braum’s Is the Best American Fast-Food Chain You’ve Never Heard Of.
A year ago this week, I made a stir with my post about five common weight loss myths. Today I had a patient conversation I have had so many times before: Someone was trying to eat healthier and lose weight at the same time. They are not necessarily the same thing.
Don’t Eat More of Anything (Until You Decide What to Eat Less Of) — A Country Doctor Writes:
Saturday morning. Coffee, clean the shower, catch up on news. Later I’ll work for a few hours on my Future Best Seller rewriting and editing my essay on changing habits, food choices and emphasizing what you don’t eat is just as important as what you do eat. Well, The Country Doctor wrote a nice post on this topic.
Thanks Doc.
Once again here’s the chart attributed to the New England Journal of Medicine from my first Holiday post Trouble in Paradise (it’s Weight Gain Season).
Personally I had the best Traditional Weight Gain Season ever. I didn’t gain any weight.
I just hope this isn’t sarcopenia.
Life puts hurdles in front of you: ice cream, home baked cookies, gift packages of divine seasonal sugary treats from well-meaning friends. Even if you work from home the seasonal threats are abundant.
Remember this chart attributed to the New England Journal of Medicine from my first Holiday post Trouble in Paradise (it’s Weight Gain Season)?
Today I introduce you to another Seasonal Threat for weight gain.
Stay the Course
Being housebound is no reason to eat all of the ice cream and home baked cookies in the house.
The fancy gourmet pecans though are OK because they are nuts.
It’s a good thing there’s no beer in the house.
Pizza and other food delivery services will tempt you. Stay strong.
PS. The estimated wind chill is minus 20 degrees F.
This past Holiday season was the roughest in recent memory. I ate everything in sight. I binged on bagels every day for nearly a week. The cookies, cakes, and pies found their way into my mouth. The sheer quantity of food was my downfall. I put on the pounds and topped the scale at 202 pounds. Time to get back to my normal routine. I’m getting back to my usual habit of eating only when hungry. Avoid sweets. Shrink portions.
Journal entry 10 Years Ago
I was searching my journal on a different topic and found something I wrote 10 years ago. Back then despite eating healthy foods I continued to struggle with my weight. It was the Holiday season. I binged. Then I binged some more. Thankfully I’ve learned a lot since then like how diets really work. Source: Dr. Anthony Pearson.
In my last post Trouble in Paradise (it’s Weight Gain Season) I posted this picture of our dessert board on Turkey Day. It’s how I gained three pounds in three days. The cheese and crackers didn’t help. Nor did #10 twice.
Update and Threat Assessment
The Boss came back from a cookie exchange with the neighbors with several dozen dangerous tiny bites.
Threat Level 4 Red.
garyskitchen.net 