Can foods be friends? Definitely. Meet some of my crew...

When last we spoke, I wrote about snacking/grazing foods that get me into hot water.  For example, I’m still slightly horrified by the disturbing number of POINTS packed into a tin of Sabra hummus.  I think I always knew that it tasted too good to be true, but I didn’t realize how deadly it was.  I guess it’s good to know your enemies.

Yet, having all enemies and no friends seems like a sad and lonely way to go through life.  I have friends.  I really do!  And I like to imagine that that they like me just as much as I like them.  Even better, my friends are both fun and upstanding, responsible citizens.  They are a good influence on me, and they make me a better person.

Of course, I’m speaking metaphorically as I am referring to my food friends.  [Parenthetically, I feel the same way about the qualities of my human friends.]

The friends I would like to celebrate are my snack buddies.  So what does it take to become one of my snacking friends?  What lofty criteria must be reached to be able to call yourself my buddy?  How does a snacking food become fabulous in my world?  Here are some basic criteria:

1. You should take a while to eat.  Food works best if it can meet a basic time criteria and create the sensation that I’ve had meaningful eating experience.  If you can be eaten in three bites, you are not a true snacking friend.  Tiresome acquaintance at best.  
2. You should look larger than life.  That is, you should occupy a significant amount of spatial volume and create the illusion that you are a boatload of food.  Of course, you should be an optical illusion of sorts as you should also have a limited number of calories.  In Weight Watchers lingo, these are referred to as Filling Foods.  
3. You should taste good.  I tried to be snacking friends with saw dust, but I never could endorse the taste.  I am ambidextrous when it comes to choosing savory or sweet, so my taste can spread a fairly wide spectrum.  It helps that I’m not a picky eater, as this allows me to be fairly promiscuous in this dimension of choosing my snacking friends.  

This apple seems super friendly!  

So without further adieu, here is my current snacking buddy lineup:

• Apples:  love apples, particularly Fuji apples.  I also appreciate that one apple can be sliced into eights, which in turn can be allocated to two bites each.  That’s 16 bites of food.  And only 2 POINTS.  
• Non-fat Greek yogurt:  he doesn’t taste awesome by himself, but he plays very nicely with other friends.  He also contains lots of protein with relatively few calories, so he stays with me long after he’s consumed (in other words, he has outstanding satiety – an excellent character trait).  I have been known to organize play dates with Greek Yogurt and an apple.  
• Grapes:  I heard a friend call grapes nature’s candy, and I have to say that perfectly sums up this delicacy to me.  I love the taste, and they take a long time to eat as long as I spend time with each grape individually.  Which is good.  Grapes also go nicely with the otherwise slightly boring Greek yogurt.  
• Pop corn:  I’d like to become someone better friends with this guy.  This is another snacking food that takes a lot of time to consume, yet has very little tag-along calories to go with the experience.  My only real issue with pop corn is that I don’t love the smell while they are realizing their metamorphosis from corn to puff.  
• Salsa ‘n vegetables:  Don’t dis the crudités.  They may not be manly, but they are a more than suitable substitution for chips and crackers.  And they have, in most cases, no POINTS.  I love dipping, so through some salsa into the mix, and I’m a happy camper

These are good friends, but I have a sneaking feeling that I’m going to need a few more friends if I am to succeed in reforming my snacking/grazing quandary.  Who are you all hanging out with during snack time?

Cheers,

dk

Bad habit takedown technique: putting a choke hold on Trigger Foods

No, not me, but definitely one way to visualize laying waste to a bad habit

On my last post, I talked about how I wanted to wrestle my grazing habit the way "Stone Cold" Steve Austin would maraud an out-of-shape/pasty opponent.  I wanted to beat this heinous and obnoxious habit once and for all time.  I wanted to beat it with a folding metal chair.

My plan was roughly focused on committing to only using Filling Foods for snacks and to try to limit myself to two 3-4 POINTS values snacks per day.  How did it go?  Great.  I actually did it.  It was funny how limiting myself to foods like fruit, 0-fat yogurt, etc. could limit my mindless eating.  What I particularly liked about last week was that I felt in control, but in a very natural and common sense kind of way.

However, even wrestlers and super heroes have their kryptonite, and it is time for me to recognize mine.

All this got me thinking about the other side of Filling Foods:  trigger foods.  So what exactly is the definition of a Trigger Food?  From the WeightWatchers.com website (the Science Center section) "Eating Triggers" -- WeightWatchers.com :

• Trigger Food:  A trigger food is a specific food that sets off a course of overeating where control is lost and excessive amounts are consumed. The most common trigger foods are sugar/fat combinations (e.g. ice cream, cookies) and fat/salt combination (e.g. nuts, potato chips). Food triggers are fairly uncommon and should not be confused with favorite foods (foods that are highly preferred), comfort foods (foods that are linked to a sense of home and contentment) or food cravings (desire for a food that has not been consumed in a long time). With a true food trigger it is the food, not an emotion or situation, that triggers the out-of-control eating. For example, open the bag of potato chips and it will be gone, regardless of mood, time of day or place.

One of the keys to appreciating the above is recognize that each person has their own Trigger Foods.  What sends one person into a freakish eating frenzy might garner a mere meh from someone else.  I have spent some time thinking about my cat nip foods, and here are some of my key culprits:

• Hummus:  deadly stuff for me even though it is a perfectly honorable food.  Set me up with a tub of this and a box of Reduced Fat Triscuits and watch the crumbs fly.  I can easily run through 12-15 Triscuits and a half a tub of Sabra.  Damage:  9.5 POINTS values for the hummus and 4.5 POINTS values for the Triscuits for a grand total of 14 POINTS values.  Ouch.  Half a day for about 5 minutes of mindless munching.  
• Pretzels:  I started eating Pretzels instead of chips because they seemed the healthier option (i.e., not fried, etc.).  When I go this way, I often use honey mustard as a dipping agent.  Again, my logic here is that it is a healthier way to go.  Typical binge?  16 Rold Gold Twisted Wheat for 4 POINTS values and 4 tbs Honeycup Uniquely Sharp Mustard for another 4 POINTS values.  Total = 8 POINTS values.  Not as bad as the hummus, but still a 400 calorie snack.  
• Reduced calorie ice cream treats:  This is a classic example of completely abusing a product designed to help you.  I almost NEVER have just one Weight Watchers ice cream treat, as I usually opt to go double fisted.  Cost for one Weight Watchers mint cone:  2 POINTS values.  Cost for two?  5 POINTS values.  Beware of rounding!!!  
• Nuts.  It is disturbing how much I like nuts.  All nuts of all types.  Love them love them love them, which is unfortunate given their calorie density.  1/4 cup of almonds is about 5 POINTS values (30 nuts), which makes 1/2 a cup 10 POINTS values and a full cup 20 POINTS values.  Funny how food scales in a curiously linear fashion.  Similarly 14 cashews would be 4 POINTS values and 30 would be 9 POINTS values (!!!!).  The age old problem with nuts is proper portion control.  An open bag of nuts is not a good friend.  

What I find striking about my list is that none of them are massively unhealthy, and most people would say that they are good components to a healthy (or at least not fully unhinged) diet.  Yet in my unsteady hands they do great damage.  

So what should be my plan with my list of Trigger Foods?  For the most part, I should avoid them.  I realize that this may seem a little judgey and draconian.  In my case, I need to realize that I'm a bit of a compulsive eater.  When I get around these foods, I'm not quite myself.  In some cases, I might be able to limit the damage by trying techniques such as pre-portioning the foods:  Trader Joe's sells almonds in small plastic packs.  I can have an (i.e., one) ice cream treat, but I really should have it with my dinner, not idly on the couch watching TV.  However, for the most part, I need to say "no" to some of these foods, not because they are bad foods, but because my brain has a bad interaction with them.  

Just a brief public service announcement:  in no way shape or form am I suggesting that anyone else avoid these foods, and nor am I suggesting that they are bad foods.  It's a Dave thing, not an everyone thing.  

What are your Trigger Foods, and how do you deal with them?  

Cheers,

dk

My newest best laid plan: three steps to vanquishing the dreaded grazing disease

I went back and checked through some of my old postings over the past year, and it seems that I have now publicly confessed to certain eating sins multiple times.  Specifically, I have openly decried my own sad weakness toward semi-unrestrained grazing.  In fact, I wrote exactly such a post last weekend.

Then I flew to London, England (you know, the country that was supposed to beat the USA in this weekend's World Cup action).  How did I fare during this week of travel in my efforts to stave off mindless eating?  Well, I had a largish bowl of ice cream on the airplane to and from my destination.  Further, I found myself breathing in a small container of room service Pringles every single night.  For shame, me!  The irony of it all was that I was a pretty model citizen otherwise, making wise choices at each meal occasion.  Further, I exercised with a fairly high degree of intensity every day except one -- the day I arrived on the red eye.  It's just too easy to wreck the benefit of good choices with a sprinkling a really foolish ones.

Here's where I am coming out on this.  This grazing nonsense has to come to an end.  It's one of my last, major unhelpful habits, and enough is enough.  So rather than continuing to confess to my eating sins, I now choose to use my little blogging pulpit to announce my new resolution to kick this nasty little demon habit.  I am hopeful that I can vanquish it without a full exorcism, so I am going to start with a more utilitarian approach.

First off, I need to answer the age old question (for me, anyway):  what exactly is the difference between a snack and a grazing session?  According to Dictionary.com:

• Snack:  a small portion of food or drink or a light meal, esp. one eaten between regular meals.
• Grazing:  1) to feed on growing grass and pasturage, as do cattle, sheep, etc.  2) to eat small portions of food, as appetizers or the like, in place of a full-sized meal or to snack during the course of the day in place of regular meals.

OK, that's the issue.  A snack is eaten between regular meals while grazing is done in place of regular meals.  Unless you are me and you are also having regular meals.  Said differently, a snack can be thought of as a pre-planned mini-meal designed to fit into a caloric equation (i.e., part of my 32 POINTS).  In my case, grazing would be an endless parade of seemingly innocuous food consumed in addition to my 32 POINTS.  The implications of and distinction between these two words should not be underestimated.

With this little etymological trip complete, I am now prepared to detail my new plan to tackle grazing.

1. Getting a grip via the old POINTS Tracker.  I have been working at Weight Watchers and doing the Weight Watchers program for over 10 years now.  I am the first to admit that I have a hard time tracking my POINTS every single day.  However, I am now thinking about a tip I heard at a Weight Watchers meeting:  track the time of day that is giving you the most difficulty.  So therefore, I am going to start tracking all of my POINTS between meals.  If I do this for two or three weeks, it should go a long way in helping me stop the immediate damage.  
2. Plan on snacking.  Ironic isn't it?  However, I know that I am going to need/want smallish meals between meals.  If I plan them in, that should help me avoid the feeling of deprivation which would then lead to backsliding.  The only condition I am setting for myself is that I pre-plan them and use a pre-determined number of POINTS.  Therefore, I am going to plan on one snack in the afternoon and one after dinner with target POINTS of two to three for each snack.  
3. Restrict snack foods to Filling Foods.  The idea here is that if I am going to have a mini-meal, that means I should be using it with foods that are going to 1) serve a nutritional benefit and 2) actually make me feel full/satisfied.  Practically, this means banning processed foods from my snacking repertoire.  Foods now on the out list include pretzels, hummus, chips, and sadly ice cream treats (no matter how few the POINTS).  

Does this mean I am banishing dessert forever?  No.  It just means that I am not going to use it as a snack.  It means that I am going to eat dessert with meals, not on the couch.  

That's my story/plan and I'm sticking with it.  I will report back on my progress next week.  Wish me luck.  

Cheers,

dk

Habit inventory: summer 2010 mix tape

I just finished the week after Memorial Day, which primarily consisted of three days down in Washington, D.C.  While there, I spent considerable time catching up with my family (I'm from the DC area), socializing, going to work lunches, etc.  Overall, I had a great time, and I definitely do not regret any of the excess calories that were finding their way into my system during sanctioned social events.  That said, I found myself undertaking a number of grievous actions against myself including:

• Wednesday night:  roomservice desert at 11 PM (apple pie a la mode).  Let me just say that there is never a good or justifiable reason for me to do this at this time of night.  Yes, the desert was tasty, but that experience lasted about 12 seconds.  Feeling guilty as I shamefully parked the tray outside my hotel door lasted a good bit longer.  
• Thursday lunch:  went to the restaurant where I worked for a summer in college (the Tombs in Georgetown).  Had a cobb salad, and was HORRIFIED to discover that it came with fried chicken.  Which I ate with a big, fat smile on my face.  Not an awesome choice, but it's good to have a fried fix now and again.  
• Thursday night:  minor mini-bar abuse (Pringles and a Cliff bar).  Again, not necessary or really all that enjoyable. 
• Friday:  repeated acceptance of nuts being offered by the conductor on the Amtrak train back to NY

My meals were actually very restrained and healthy across the board.  Further, I worked out hard throughout the week (other than Friday morning -- my day started too early to allow for the gym).  So this morning I asked myself how I felt about my performance during the week.  My answer to me:  "not bad, but you are kind of flirting with some old demons."

Therefore, I feel like it's time for me to update my personal healthy habit inventory (I did this roughly six months ago).  So here we go.  First the good stuff:

• Working out:  I feel really good about this part of the equation.  I'm pushing myself harder and harder, particularly on cardio workouts.  I am totally feeling the benefit, as I feel my endurance continue to increase.  I'm pretty sure that exercise has been saving my bacon (pardon the pun) vy covering for my slipping on some other habits (see below).  
• Breakfast:  As has been the case for some time now, I rule breakfast.  Just like Jerry McGuire ruled the living room speech, I own breakfast.    
• Lunch:  Good boy David!  Staying pretty good here, even on weekends.  
• Dinner:  Again, not bad even when I'm eating out.  

Said differently, in public situations (the gym, the kitchen when I'm with family, workplace, restaurants), I come across as pretty saintly.  However, in private situations, I have some nasty little habits that I just haven't kicked:

• Sneaking:  ugh.  Just did this with a vengeance last night.  Waited for my DSW to head up for the night, and I pillaged the refrigerator like a Hun with a bad attitude.  
• Grazing:  this one is making me just flat out crazy.  Boredom eating is my Waterloo.  I'm still doing it (witness the ransacking of the mini bar), and I just can't seem to get a grip on this.  
• Accepting gifts from transportation professionals:  nuts on airplanes.  Nuff said.  
• Clean plate club:  at least I'm ordering healthy plates, but I'm still polishing them to unnatural levels of cleanness.  

Of the four nasty habits above, the sneaking, clean plate club and grazing ones are my real issues.  The odd bowl of almonds won't kill me.  I feel like I can get a little focus on clean plate club and find a way to make myself leave just a little bit of food, mostly at dinner time.  However, I have to admit that I just don't have a grazing/sneaking plan.  And I need one.  So I am going to make a plan.

Any and all advice on sneaking and grazing is, as always, welcome.  How are all of you dealing with this?

Cheers,

dk

Summer: sun, warmth and hot dog eating contests

Summer temptation embodied:  the Shake Shack, located right outside my office building

How did this happen so fast.  It seemed like three days ago that the weather was 40F and raining.  Every day.  Now it's Memorial Day Weekend, and the weather could not be any more perfect.  It's summer, and that makes me happy in ways that I could never hope to express.  Everything is fairly perfect except for one nagging concern:  falling off the healthy life wagon.

I know that I'm not alone in the paradox of summer weight gain.  I say paradox because everything about Summer should lend itself to the healthiest of healthy choices.  On it's face, summer brings a life fully lived outdoors, and I hate being inside during the warm months (even writing this blog right now is crimping my sun seeking lifestyle -- and it's only 10 AM).  Summer is about (or should be about) light foods.  Every fruit and vegetable seems to be in their most glorious splendor.  This is the time of farmers' markets and the resplendent produce section of my grocery story (particularly now that a Whole Foods just opened in my town).

I don't have the statistics handy, but I seem to recall hearing that many, many people gain weight during the summer.  I did find one interesting data source from the American Journal of Public Health regarding kids and summer weight gain:

"Dr. Paul von Hippel and his colleagues found that the Weight Gain scenario happens much more often. In fact, the average child gains significantly more weight during the summer than during the school year. This was true for all children, but especially so for overweight children."  Here is the link to a PDF of the original article...  The Effect of School on Overweight in Childhood: Gain in Body Mass Index During the School Year and During Summer Vacation

What is apparently true for kids has historically definitely been true for me:  Summer = weight gain and habit slacking.  The interesting question is why?

Here are the theories that at least explain me:

• Lack of structure:  I'm guessing that this is the big one for many people, and it definitely is for me.  During the school year, I'm on a pretty standard routine with every day seeming to be heavily scheduled and frequently over-busy.  With summer comes a complete change in the daily rhythm, particularly on weekends but even on weekdays.  The kids are out of school, and they are at sleep-away summer camp for a few weeks in July.  There aren't many weekend sports and practically no weekend schlepping.  As they say, idle hands are the devil's instruments.  Not having a pre-programmed game plan results in wandering around the kitchen at odd intervals coupled with mindless grazing.  
• Socializing:  summer lends itself to spending quality time with friends at the beach, in the back yard, etc.  All of the sudden everyone who lives in my neighborhood is outside, happy and social. All of the sudden, al fresco dining is out in complete force throughout New York city.  It's hard not to get swept up into the revelry, only to find myself at the wrong end of about 17 bad nutrition choices.  
• Vacation slothfulness:  a bit cliche, but this is nonetheless a truism for me.    

Now that I look at the list, it looks pretty solvable given a willingness to submit myself to one basic premise:  having a plan.  With that said, here is my Summer action plan:

• Push exercise a little over the edge:  given the extra socializing, I need to plan to increase the calories burned part of the energy deficit equation.  For me that means keeping up with my existing routine of weights and gym-based cardio and adding on the outdoor activities that I love. In my case, that's primarily cycling and secondarily tennis.  
• Staying busy on weekends:  starting with the aforementioned outdoor activities, I plan to add a range of chores, projects and excursions/walks to keep me out of the house as much as humanly possible.  Even reading at the local pool has it's benefits as it is a full three miles from my refrigerator.  
• Staying disciplined during meal time:  just because it's summer does mean that my beloved oatmeal/fruit medley has to hibernate until it gets cold again.  Same goes for my regular lunch.  
• Get my fruit on:  I am lucky in that I am a person who lives for fruit, all fruit, any fruit.  Keeping a big inventory in the home and at the office will help me stay righteous.  
• Look forward to light foods:  summer should be an easy time to make good choices, and will be if I stay on the look out for them when I'm out.  For me, this means lots of fish, grilled vegetables and salads with non-fat dressing.  
• Keep getting weight-in's:  when I'm out of my normal routine, it's more important than ever to man-up and get on the scale on a regular basis so that I have an early intervention system in place should I go off course.  

What are all of you doing to gird yourself during the seductive sunny season?

Cheers,

dk

Stop it! It hurts! Role of pain and suffering in my workouts.

(can never get enough old Far Side's)

I was in yet another deathly painful spinning class this past Sunday morning, and I started to have an existential crisis.  What is with the whole exercise = pain thing?  I am a person who seeks misery?

I was back in the gym this morning, doing my best to put in a good workout on the weights.  While I was going through my routine, I kept hearing loud grunts and whelps from a largely built young dude who was lifting giant quantities of iron.  He is a trainer (and according to his civilian T-shirt, a bodybuilder), who clearly works out a lot harder than I do.  I started wondering if I lifted hard enough as I rarely make grunting or any other variety of animalistic noises.  I started wondering if I should I be upping the workout ante?

This led me to the broader question about exercise:  is it supposed to be a little painful?  Is it really a workout if you aren't a little miserable while you're doing it?

Technically, the easiest way to think about this is by considering the difference between moderate and vigorous intensity exercise.  From an aerobic exercise perspective, the difference is in the heart rate:

• Moderate intensity:  50% to 70% of maximum heart rate (depends on your age) or 89 bpm to 124 bpm for a 43 year old person (which might be kind of my age)
• Vigorous intensity:  70% to 85% of maximum heart rate or 124 bpm to 150 bpm for the same 43 year old person

 Some specific examples of the different types:

• Moderate intensity activities (again, courtesy of CDC):  walking briskly (3 miles per hour or faster, but not race-walking), water aerobics, bicycling slower than 10 miles per hour, tennis (doubles), ballroom dancing, general gardening.  [I will resist the temptation to tease them on their choices.]  
• Vigorous intensity activities:  race walking, jogging, or running, swimming laps, tennis (singles), aerobic dancing, bicycling 10 miles per hour or faster, jumping rope, heavy gardening (continuous digging or hoeing), hiking uphill or with a heavy backpack (no, jet-packs don't count)

The physical fitness guidelines (via 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, which Weight Watchers supports) are:

• 2 1/2 hours of moderate intensity activity per week plus two or more days of muscle strengthening activity OR
• 75 minutes (1 and 1/4 hrs) of vigorous intensity activity per week plus two or more days of muscle strengthening

The same HHS guidelines suggest that doubling this provides event better health benefits.  Yes, they would really like you to get in 300 minutes of moderate activity or 150 minutes of vigorous activity per week.  

Suffice to say, it's not a target you hit by falling out of bed (unless you are a really restless sleeper).  What about me?  I am currently hitting the following:

• Lifting 4X per week (50 minutes per session):  I'm good here.  
• Aerobic:  1 spin class (50 min @ vigorous), 2X45 minutes on stationary bike (fairly vigorous, but maybe could be made more challenging) and 2-3X 30 minutes (on lifting days).  That's about 200 minutes at moderate-to-vigorous intensity.  

Therefore, according to Uncle Sam, I'm hitting the guidelines for "Even Greater Health Benefits".  Go me!  So what's the problem?  

Technically, I have no problem per the above guidelines.  Yet I am wanting more and am feeling obligated to want more.  The reasons for this are twofold:  first, I am hopelessly competitive and the idea of people working harder than me in the gym makes me slightly crazy.  Second, I have come to learn that pushing myself in my workouts allows me to gradually move up to new levels of exercise performance.  This in turn feeds my competitiveness.  It's either a virtuous circle or a doom loop depending on your perspective.  

So for health reasons, there is no real reason for me to push it any more, yet I do for competitive reasons. Is this smart?  I think it works for me because it keeps me engaged and keeps me from getting bored.  Having a new goal is a helpful way for me to stay interested.  Being able to lift a little more weight is rewarding and is a yardstick to measure progress.  Upping my intensity on aerobic workouts has a similar effect.  Also, I've never felt anything but great after a horrifically tough workout.  

This logic doesn't seem that different from someone who runs a lot and is constantly trying to improve their distances and times.  I don't love running, so I seek the equivalent process in the gym.  

In summary, I guess this inner monologue that I've just shared would suggest that I should keep pushing myself a little harder.  If you hear me grunting like an elk in Spring, just ignore me.  I will also do my noble best to not become an irritating no-pain-no-gain person. 

What's the role of pain and suffering in your workouts?  

Cheers,

dk

I've been Go Daddied

Through a horrible combination or GoDaddy, my spam filter, and not paying attention to the irritating URL updating process, I've lost my manmeetsscale.com URL to some thieving creep.  Welcome to the web.

For the time being, I'm reverting back to the old school URL:  www.manmeetsscale.blogspot.com

If you follow me, hopefully your links will be reset automatically.

I will now go privately weep for the loss of my identity.

dk

Competing with the plastic man. I give up!

I was flipping through the May 2nd issue of New York Magazine the other day, and I saw an article that knocked me back.  It was about male mannequins, not a common topic of journalistic investigation.  This article featured a company largely unknown outside of the fashion industry, Rootstein, a British mannequin manufacturer.  This curious company was founded by Adel Rootstein (born in South Africa) who created her first mannequin in 1956 in London.  Rootstein is now the largest, and by their estimation, most prestigious mannequin manufacturer on the planet Earth (and I have absolutely no reason to doubt the veracity of this lofty claim).  

It would not surprise you to know that Rootstein makes male mannequins and has for many years.  What has made a bit of a stir recently has been the launch of a new line of male mannequins apparently named Hommes Nouveau.  What is scary about this new plastic denizen is that he is crazy skinny.  How skinny?  Well, perhaps a brief history of Rootstein mannequin sizes over the years (c/o NY Mag):

(I've been waiting for these sunglasses to come back in style...)

• 1967, 42” chest, 33” waist 
• 1983, 41” chest, 31” waist
• 1994, 38” chest, 28” waist
• 2010, 35” chest, 27” waist (Hommes Nouveau)

Really 27" waist for a guy?  In one interview with the designer from Rootstein, he indicated that they used teenage boys as models for the new series of plastic men (just like they do for women!).  

Well, maybe I've just missed something, and maybe 27" is not as uncommon as I thought.  Let's explore the data!  Fortunately, the CDC's handy NHANES study has distribution data for male waist circumference.  Here are a few fun facts:

• Average adult male waist size 1988-94:  37.5"
• Average adult male waist size 1999-00:  38.9"
• Average adult female waist size 1988-94:  34.9"
• Average adult female waist size 1999-00:  36.3"
• % of adult men in 1999-00 survey with a 27" waist:  about 1%
• % of adult men in 1999-00 survey with a 33" waist (1967 standard):  15%
• % of women ages 20-29 with waist size of 27" or below:  less than 10%

(source:  http://www.nature.com/oby/journal/v11/n10/full/oby2003168a.html)

Should any of this be a concern?  Consider the following additional statistics on the percentage of eating-disorder sufferers who are men (Source: The Prevalence and Correlates of Eating Disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication; The Beauty Myth -- c/o NY Mag): 

• 1990: 10%
• Today: 25%

Could be correlation, but maybe there is some causation here as well.  It's hard to peruse the men's lifestyle magazine rack without seeing an unending display of dudes with six pack abs.  A lot of male fashion seems as geared to skinny jeans these days as it is for women, and certainly this is true as the frilly end of the male fashion spectrum.  There is clearly a disconnect between media perception of the ideal male figure and the reality of the adult male figure, which sadly marches in the other direction.  It's not hard to imagine how this makes life all the more difficult for the average guy dealing with a weight issue (not that the average guy subscribes to GQ, I realize).  

So what about me?  Do I look at emaciated male mannequins and beat myself up?  Truth be told, I don't really pay attention to mannequins other than for very occasional amusement/laughs.  I like nice clothes, but I don't worry about whether I can rock a pair of rock star Iggy Pop skinny jeans (well, maybe regular skinnier jeans).  Yet I do think that I hold myself to an unreasonable standard, and I tend to be too self-critical of my swimsuit self (see early post).  Am I influenced by the media in this way?  I would have to say that I am.  I probably get more of it from what I see in TV/film, and the whole Men's Health cover thing bums me out.  And those damned guys on the Jersey Shore?  We can't all look like The Situation (irony intended).  

Is this good for me?  Obviously not.  One could argue that being self-critical gives me an additional reason to stay on program, but deep down, it has to be self-damaging.  Again, to put it all in context, this is not a huge issue for me, and I don't spend massive amounts of time contemplating it.  Yet, I cannot deny that I do think about it.  Which is really pretty sad given that I have been able to get my waist from a 38" to a 34".  I should be nothing be thrilled.  

While I'm at it, one could fairly point out that I'm a guy in his 40's.  Really, what am I trying to prove?  What's next?  Rogaine and a Porsche?  Well, a Porsche would be nice.  

Self-critically yours,

dk

Why do I have negative thoughts about my weight? Particularly, when doggone it, people like me!

The unsung hero of modern American thought, Stuart Smalley *

Well, I definitely seemed to land on a rich topic with the guilt post.  You all gave me a lot to think about, and as always it's helpful to hear how everyone else is experiencing and managing the same terrain.

First, I'd like to make a PSA/reminder:  when I blog about my own weight loss experiences, I am not doing it as a way of giving instruction or expressing any official Weight Watchers position.  We have people much more qualified to do that:  our meeting leaders.  Rather, as noted in my intro copy on top, I use my blog to share how I personally deal with my own weight-related challenges.  It should go without saying, that my head is not always on straight, and I've got a lot of the same crummy hang-ups shared by so many others.  It's probably a judgement call for me to share my own warts given my role, but it also seems that being honest is a good way to engage in important discussions.  That approach is VERY Weight Watchers.  So for the benefit of full clarity, I have no intention of launching the sale of the Guilt-o-lator on late night TV infomercials.  To be clear, the Guilt-o-lator is a million miles away from ever being a sanctioned Weight Watchers device.

While I'm at it, how about a second PSA.  Please don't ever put your head in the oven because you had a bad week.  It's just not safe.

PSA's aside, all of your comments on dealing with negative emotions made me think more about negative emotions.  Thanks for that (irony intended here).

I spent some more time thinking of how dark thoughts impact me and my efforts to maintain my weight and healthy(er) lifestyle.  They don't happen all the time or even that often.  Most times, I feel good and proud about what I have been able to do in steering my life in a much healthier direction.  Yet, like most of us (I think), I have my own inventory of evil spirits that periodically come to torment my otherwise happy mind:

The freak-out:  This usually starts with the following sequence of events:

1. I spend a week (or two) where I am slacking off on sticking to my food plan, maybe instigated by too much socializing and eating out.  During this time, I am absolutely avoiding the scale.  
2. Typically on a Saturday or Sunday, I will weigh myself thinking/hoping that maybe I really haven't gained any weight even though I logically know that I probably have.  
3. That hideous troll, known as the scale, punches my solar plexus and knocks the wind out of me when it delivers the dreaded digital readout evidencing my massive personal failure.  
4. I completely lose my mind and start pacing and storming thinking the worst possible thoughts about myself.  "I am such an idiot!"  "How did I let this happen?"  "What the h*ll is wrong with me?"  
5. I then quickly move to a series of dramatic resolutions such as "I am so getting my rear on plan this week!"  "Enough is enough!" "I will never let this happen again!" etc.  

What's good about this?  I definitely course correct and regain my focus.  

What's bad about this?  Lots of things.  Why can't I course correct without the step of chewing myself up and out?  It's not like this has never happened before, and it's not as though I wasn't able to dust myself off and get back on track.  Why all the drama? Why all the stress?   

Malaise.  This is usually the feeling prior to the Freakout above.  

1. This usually starts with the non-specific feeling that I am slipping.  Not like a massive swan dive into a swimming pool of Cheetos.  More like little, pernicious choices creeping up on otherwise healthy days.  Maybe a bit of after dinner grazing.  Maybe cutting the workout a little short.  Maybe cleaning my plate to an unnatural level of spotlessness.  
2. I start to get the nagging feeling like my regimen is slipping away.  It's more of a feeling of uneasiness than rampant stress.  Yet it quietly weighs on me.  
3. I might have fleeting thoughts about letting myself slip into even worse habits.  I really would like to start a new diet of gigantic breakfast burritos.  A pint of Ben & Jerry's might be nice.  Maybe I don't have to wake up every morning so early to workout.  It might be nice to sleep in more. 

What's good about this?  When I get this feeling, at least I know something isn't quite right.  I've experienced it enough times to know that I am heading toward something not good.  It's kind of like getting used to know what the river patterns look like right before the water fall.  And I know that I definitely don't want to pack myself into a barrel and take a leap down the Niagara falls of gluttony.  

What's bad about this?  Feeling malaise is a really crummy way to spend quality time in my life.  Why not get better at identifying those nasty little habits before they start accumulating.  More mindfulness in the moment would be much more constructive than relying on the dull and non-specific feeling that I am somehow screwing up.  

Hating the old body.  

OK, this is a tough topic that probably deserves it's own post(s).  Maybe by way of preview, this is the well worn practice of staring in the mirror and looking for imperfections, lumps and other physical examples that I am not a completely perfect profile of healthy life. Yes, men do this too (at least this one does).  I think I do this because I know that I'm indulging some bad habits, and so I look for evidence to confirm the fact that I am screwing up.  When I can get the mirror to confirm my own worst fears (never mind how massively I might be distorting such imperfections in mind), I let myself jump into a little whirlpool of yet more self-abuse.

What's good about this?  Nothing really.  

What's bad about this?  Everything.  I don't think I need to go into the myriad of reasons why negative body image is a really crummy phenomena.  At it's worst, it leads to eating disorders, depression, and a million other bad things.  In a sad example of increasing gender neutrality, negative body image is no longer the exclusive domain of women, but men as well (to be discussed in a future post).  

So what to do with all of these negative emotions?  

First, recognize that they happen.  Negative emotions are a fact of life.  They happen, and I cannot ignore them or pretend they aren't there by saying I'm somehow above them.  If anything, I need to get better at recognizing them more quickly rather than letting them quietly accumulate in my mind like so many dark clouds.  

Second, when they do show up, I need to have the presence of mind to reframe them.  In truth, like many people, I have always been able to use negative emotions (stress, anxiety, anger, righteous indignation, guilt, etc.) to help me achieve goals.  However, I have slowly come to the point of view that nothing good truly comes from relying on negative emotions to move forward and improve.  They work in the short term, but not in the long term (at least not for me).  Therefore, the trick for me is to recognize them, and then perform a little alchemy and turn them into a more positive and optimistic intent.  

An example might go like this.  Old Me:  "I completely screwed up this week, and I'm up five pounds.  I am a lowly person.  I deserve to be pelted with rocks and garbage.  I shall flog myself furiously with a Cat o' nine tails in the form of a spartan healthy meal regimen.  That will show me."  New Me might say:  "Well, that wasn't the smartest way to spend last week.  I know I feel better when I'm eating healthily/moderately and exercising lots.  Therefore if I will start making those better choices, and I can look forward to feeling great."    

It's hard to argue against the point of view that the suffocating blankets of negative emotions can make weight management and healthy life a miserable and sometimes destructive process.  The choice to live in a healthy way is a happy one.  Why not treat it that way.  

One last point on negative emotions.  Even though I know they aren't very helpful and that I'd like to have less of them, dark thoughts will happen.  No point beating myself up when they do.  Because really, that would be a double negative, which is a grammatical no-no.  

In the words of a world's most influential philosopher:  "I deserve good things. I am entitled to my share of happiness. I refuse to beat myself up. I am attractive person. I am fun to be with."  You were right Stuart Smalley!*  

Cheers,

dk

* For those who have no idea who Stuart Smalley is, I'm sorry for the confusing cultural reference.  Please see early 1990's Saturday Night Live starring current US Senator Al Franken.  Sadly, all of the old Stuart Smalley clips have mysteriously vanished from the Internet.  

Of sin, guilt, redemption and what I ate over the weekend (not necessarily in that order)

Context for this weekend:  My wife was out of town enjoying a girl's weekend in DC, so I was left to my own devices (other than the usual shuttling around of my two daughters).  All choices were mine and mine alone (as it should be!).  So from a healthy life perspective, can I be trusted to make decisions for myself?  When I make decisions, can I handle the moral repercussions?

I was thinking about all of this while reading the Sunday NY Times Magazine, which had a fascinating article about people who track everything in their life with analysis.  They go way beyond diet and exercise, including variables such as mood, number of times they pick their nose, etc.  It was a good reminder to use my recently invented Guilt-o-lator which tracks my guilt levels at different points in time.  It's still a prototype model that is available only in Japan (or, more accurately, only available in my imagination).

BTW, for those interested, here is the article referenced above...
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/02/magazine/02self-measurement-t.html?ref=magazine

So what were the results as the weekend progressed?

Friday:  I got home a little bit early so I could see my younger daughter give her presentation on Walt Disney (the nice version, not the guy from the McCarthy hearings).  Afterwards, I was working from home.  So how did it go:

Friday afternoon:  little bit of grazing, but I focused on beef jerky (still loving it) and an apple.

Guilt-o-lator reading:  low

Friday night:  sushi.  Good news:  sashimi.  Not so good news:  spicy tuna.

Guilt-o-lator reading:  lowish (might have been higher, but it's a Friday night and I deserve a break)

Saturday workout:  lifted weights (had a great workout)

Guilt-o-lator reading:  erased any bad feelings about spicy tuna

Saturday breakfast:  Special K, banana, 0 fat Greek yogurt, coffee

Guilt-o-lator reading:  very low (except for the bite I took from my daughter's donut -- but it was only 1 bite)

Saturday lunch:  PB&J (on low cal bread), cottage cheese

Guilt-o-lator reading:  low

Saturday afternoon:  began grazing (couldn't tell you exactly what I ate, but hummus & crackers were in the mix)

Guilt-o-lator reading:  rising

Saturday pre-dinner:  my similarly stranded neighbor (his DSW was at a reunion) came over w/ his four kids for a BBQ.  Started with snacks (cheese, salami, crackers) and beer (Bud Select 55 -- 1 POINTS value per pop/nice!).

Guilt-o-lator reading:  rising faster, definitely in the yellow zone

Saturday dinner:  1/2 pound burger + bun, mayonnaise infused salad stuff, grilled vegetables

Guilt-o-lator reading:  in the red zone

After dinner:  kids up to bed, and I'm by myself.  What to do?  Why not have a glass of wine and the rest of the ice cream they didn't eat?

Guilt-o-lator reading (upon waking up next AM):  critical

Sunday AM exercise:  death-by-spinning (seriously, I wonder how many people actually self-combust on their bike when in their 3rd anaerobic cycle).

Guilt-o-lator reading:  back to the red/yellow zone

Sunday breakfast/lunch:  see Saturday

Guilt-o-lator reading:  edging back to the lower side of yellow

Sunday dinner:  grilled scallops and raw bar

Guilt-o-lator reading:  back to the green zone

Overall, Saturday night was far from a brilliant lifestyle performance, but I sandwiched my sin with some more angelic choices before and after.  I felt fairly well redeemed by the end of the weekend, and I'm fairly sure no permanent damage was done.

Bigger question:  is using the guilt-o-lator a good idea?  Logically, I would say that guilt can be a dangerous weapon in evaluating choices that have already been made.  It seems that I should not be dumping negative, self-flagellating thoughts on myself as a general matter of course.  That said, thinking about how I felt about my choices actually helped me course correct fairly quickly.  For example, at dinner Sunday night I turned down the bread basket.  I suspect that feeling a little bad about the Saturday binge helped fortify my defenses for the next day.

I may keep the guilt-o-lator around a little bit longer, and see if it is helpful or whether it permanently damages my soul and mental health.

What is your take on guilt?  And be honest!

Cheers,

dk