Local Farmers Markets – Yum!

My wife encouraged this post.  We have become hooked on our local farmers market.  Held in a non-descript parking lot, what it lacks in ambiance it makes up for in quality and quantity.  And there’s nothing better than shopping at the farmers market when you’re eating so many fruits and vegetables, as I am these days.

We love it for the farm fresh eggs and seasonal fruits and vegetables.  Right now, there are all manners of berries and greens available.  Fresh, in-season tomatoes become a meal in themselves.  I just had some of the best green beans in my life.  Later, we’ll buy fresh, gorgeous Washington State apples by the reusable bag full.  If only it lasted longer than May through October!

The only drawback is that our market can be surprisingly expensive for many items.  Part of this is mitigated by timely shopping.  When blueberries are at their peak, a few dollars buys more than you can eat in a week.  My other strategy is to supplement farmers market shopping with a trusted roadside stand.  I am lucky to have a place on the way home from work that is a semi-permanent business in a “big tent” adjacent to the proprietor’s house.  It’s run by a retired gentleman who buys fresh fruits and vegetables as a proxy for his loyal customers.  It’s open more often and is quite a bit cheaper, too.

I’ll bet most of you are familiar with farmers markets and roadside stands.  How do you shop them for the best food, the best deals, and all those other benefits of connecting more closely with those who grow your food?

Pounds Off Profile: Brad Hawpe

While I’m on the “9 Fruits and Vegetables per Day” eating plan, it ony makes sense to feature a guy who has one upped me - literally.  Colorado Rockies outfielder Brad Hawpe is eating ten fruits and vegetables a day.  Not to show off or anything.

Hawpe has also lost 7 pounds, and he’s singing the praises of his new healthy lifestyle to other major leaguers.  (“Judges, I need a ruling: Is Scott Podsednik a major leaguer?  Yes, of the Royals.  Kansas City.  American League.  They used to have George Brett...OK, I’m being told we can refer to Podsednik as a major leaguer...”)

Unfortunately, kiwi and cucumbers don’t seem to work as well as steroids and human growth hormones, as Hawpe has only 5 homers thus far in the rarified air of Denver.  Maybe he’s still suffering from his spring training injury.  (Click through for the headline...I know it’s spring training, but really, Denver Post?) 

Eating Plan Profile: 9 Fruits and Vegetables per Day

“If I had to eat nine fruits and vegetables a day, I would die!”

 – My seven year old son

For years, we’ve heard the advice to eat five fruits and vegetables a day.  Somewhere along the line, that advice changed to “five to nine.”  This plan takes that advice to heart, with the idea that even if you shoot for nine and miss, you’ll end up among the star fruit.  (Rim shot!)

Most diets are a matter of *not* doing something.  Calorie restriction.  Avoiding carbs.  Limiting fat.  No this.  No that.   No nothin’.   The theory of 9 Fruits and Vegetables is the opposite, that the more good food you eat, the less you’ll be hungry for the things that really get you in trouble.

Here again I have decisions to make:

Portions: Careful portion control or eyeballing it?  Since we’re talking about fruit and vegetables, not bon bons, I’m going to go with the eyeballing method.  I’ll count a whole fruit as “one”, about  a half-cup of chopped veggies as “one”, and about a whole cup of leafy greens as “one”.  There’s a little more detail here if you want it, but if ever there were an opportunity to eyeball without much downside, eating fruits and vegetables is it.  And I’m rounding each item to the nearest whole number.  As long as I remember to round down as accurately as I round up, it should all work out.

What to do with juice?  I’ve compromised and have decided that I can count one cup of 100% fruit juice toward my total per day, but only one.  Fruit juice has some nutritional value, but it’s not as helpful as eating whole fruit and it’s an easy way to rack up calories quickly. 

What to do with smoothies?  My wife has been into making *yummy* smoothies lately!  As long as there’s whole fruit in them (before the blender gets going), I allow them to count.

Balance of fruit to vegetables.  The more vegetables, the better.  Vegetables are not calorie dense, which means they fill you up without packing on the pounds.  And, of course, they’re nutritious.  Fruit are largely sugar, even if they’re the “good kind”, and believe it or not, people can get into trouble weight wise by consuming too much fruit.  That being said, I haven’t dictated the ratio of fruit to veggies, on the opinion that even with fruit’s natural sweeteners, they’re better than just about any other handy snack I’d be eating instead.

Colors.   I have no rule about colors, but just want to point out the sensible advice I’ve often heard to vary the colors you eat (example: bananas, blueberries, leafy greens, and tomatoes would be four colors).  It’s nature’s vitamin store.  Fortunately, if you’re eating nine a day, it’s pretty easy to eat several colors without even trying.

Week 27 Recap: Two “Rs” to Explain Weight Gain

This week            +1.9 pounds

Total loss             28 pounds

This week I ate nine fruits and vegetables every day, or close.  Truthfully, getting to nine is difficult.  Still, I ate 8 or 9 five of the days, and no fewer than 6 on any day.  And I got to eat some great treats, like this homemade caprese sandwich.

Unfortunately, my “losing” streak is over.  I’m not worried though.  First, we should know by now a 4.1 pound loss, as I experienced last week, is usually too good to be true and a “correction” is likely.  This is what we statisticians call regression to the mean.  In an example from baseball, Ubaldo Jimenez had an ERA under 1.00 earlier this season, while his career ERA of 3.58 indicated a regression – and higher ERA – was on the way*.  In terms of the P.O.P., I’m losing a little more than one pound a week, so a four pound loss is an outlier, and I’m likely to go back to the average. 

* The Phillies, under new batting coach Greg Gross, applied that regression yesterday, raising Jimenez’ ERA from 2.38 to 2.75 in just three innings!  Gross was my favorite Phillie growing up, and though he only hit 7 home runs in 17 seasons, he ranks 5^th all-time in pinch hits.  And as a native of York, PA (near Lancaster), he probably knows a little about this next topic...

Second, I experienced a little of what the Amish call Rumspringa this week.  Rumspringa is a period when Amish adolescents experience the ways of the world a bit before choosing to commit to their way of life as adults.  For the previous four weeks my eating plans brought me a little closer to the Amish lifestyle, with no eating while reading or watching TV followed by no junk food.  Freed of those limitations this week, I got a bit indulgent myself (but only with food!)  With the first round nearly complete, I’ll be back to the more restrictive eating plans soon for good, and my eating Rumspringa will be over.

This just in...I’m sad to report that my friend Mike’s father passed away this morning after an amazingly valiant 15 year battle with cancer.  Mike’s dad was a great guy, a successful musician and family man whose best years were cut short by a terrible disease.  His participation in an experimental procedure – and outliving his research cohorts by many years – no doubt will help others in the future.  Mike has raised a lot of money for the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation in the past and I’ll be writing them another check in his father’s memory.  Our thoughts are with Mike and his family.

Pounds Off Profile: Darren Clarke

Many years ago, I thought I was going to take up golf as a serious hobby.  At the height of the craziness, I seriously considered converting my small front lawn into a practice putting green, with actual Bermuda grass, or whatever you grow here for greens. 

At that time, I was aware of successful pudgy golfers.  There were two in particular I kept an eye out for as I watched golf telecasts – Tim Herron and Darren Clarke.  I saw Clarke in the British Open last week and he looks great.   Apparently he lost 30 pounds somewhere along the way, but I think he’s also in much better shape. 

The other golfer who has dropped a lot of weight, of course, is John Daly.  Clarke’s best days on the course are behind him, and Daly’s probably as well.  But Daly seems the “catch lightening in a bottle” type, so I’m hoping to profile him...after one last hurrah.

Week 26 Recap: Defeating Vacation Eating

This week:          -4.1 pounds

Total loss:            29.9 pounds

Here’s a little secret about me: I love to work.  Yes, sometimes the hours are long and the down economy has stretched us too thin.  But I like working, I like being useful, I enjoy the constant communication, and I’m lucky to have an interesting job that is a good match for my skill set.

I like vacation, too, but truth be told sometimes heaven on earth for many people just isn’t my cup of tea.  We just returned from a summer trip that culminated in five days in Northern Idaho.  It is stunningly beautiful.  Drop dead gorgeous.  But remote.  Your cell phone goes dead looking for a signal kind of remote.  It’s an area that’s better suited for Bear Grylls (of “Man vs. Wild” fame) than me:

·         No Internet access.

·         Tantalizing BlackBerry coverage – you’re always searching for just the right location or waiting for the perfect breeze.

·         No AM radio – the “search” function returns one station with Dr. Laura Schlessenger, but I’m not counting that!

·         100 miles to the nearest professional sports team (short season class A baseball).

·         The occasional visit by a wild goat.  And, I can tell you from personal experience, wild goats are not potty trained.

Again, this is beautiful country, an outdoorsman’s dream.  And my kids love it, which means a lot to me. It’s just not as up my alley as, say, Chicago.  I tend to feel isolated here.

This woodsy destination is my in-laws’ family compound.  My in-laws are really great, and the extended family is tremendous.  Everybody couldn’t be any nicer.  Five are educators, occupying a special place in my heart.  But the agreement that keeps the house in the (in-laws’) family for generations draws a line between my wife and our children and me, further adding to my sense of isolation.

In the past, I have compensated for the isolation with extra vacation eating. This time around has been different.  Not only have I avoided junk food (though I do miss the S’mores), my wife and I brought bikes up this time and we rode twice along the spectacularly scenic lake.  Hard to explain how nice it was.  I just felt so peaceful on a 10 mile ride through farms and along the shoreline.

As usually happens, our vacation challenged the disciplined eater in all of us.  The road trip explains the frequent eating out mentioned in last week’s post (especially on weigh-in eve last week).  But “No Junk Food” has mitigated the damage.  Apples made for snacks and fresh blueberries have replaced sweet deserts. I’ve survived without ice cream, cake, tortilla chips, potato chips, and French fries...even the M&M’s in the trail mix!

Pounds Off Profile: Emiliano Fruto

Ever hear of Emiliano Fruto?  He was a Mariner reliever in 2006, his only season in the big leagues (well, he and his 5.50 ERA didn’t provide much actual *relief*).  Now he pitches for the Tucson Toros of the independent Golden Baseball League, which is about as low as you can get and still be paid to play baseball in the United States. 

But Fruto hasn’t given up.  His fastball has some more pop this year – 93 MPH this year, up from 90 last year.  This season, he has struck out 31 batters in 19 2/3 innings and was recently named to the GBL all-star team.  Want to guess how he did it? 

Fruto dropped from 255 pounds to 230 during the off season, which he credits with increased energy, ability to move on the field, and generally feeling good.  Fruto’s weight loss method included cutting out soda, eating smaller portions, and running. 

Baseball is a really hard profession.  Emiliano Fruto’s peak came at 22 years old.  It’s doubtful he’ll ever get even a cup of coffee in the big leagues again. But he hasn’t given up, and most of my fellow weight loss bloggers say not giving up is one of the most important things you can do.  Emiliano Fruto is no Mariano Rivera, and he’ll never even be Heath Bell, but maybe we can relate to him just a little bit better than the big stars, follow his sensible weight loss approach, and never give up.

Week 25 Recap: Missed the Eagle Putt

This week:          -0.8 pounds

Total loss:            25.8 pounds

With “The Open Championship”* a few days away, I figured I’d start with a golf analogy.  My first ever birdie came on a super easy hole, a 200-something yard par 4, flat and straight, guarded by bunkers on either side of the green.  Young and (relatively) powerful, I ripped a drive that rolled on the green.  Now, I’m not bragging (I lost quite a few balls that day on the links style course), but I kept this particular drive straight, and was looking at a very makeable eagle putt.  Long story short, I came away with a birdie – a good thing, but kind of a waste of a great/lucky drive.

* For you Americans (like me) who call football “soccer” and spell colour without the “u”, the Brits don’t call it “The British Open.”  So, if you want some golf cred, call it “The Open Championship.”

This week, I avoided junk food – chips, crackers, sweets, and fried foods – and I got a lot of exercise.  By avoiding junk food, I also avoided late night eating for the most part.  This was a good thing.  And I walked, hiked, bowled, and spent hours in the pool with my kids.  I was expecting a large loss.  My drive was on the green, so to speak.

So when I weighed in, I was a little disappointed.  How did I miss the eagle putt?  Lots and lots of eating out.  And not the best choices.  I still lost 0.8 pounds, but it could have been much  better.

“No Junk Food” is going pretty well.  There was a self-conscious moment as I declined a homemade dessert, but surprisingly, I didn’t miss the junk food.  And losing the fries, chips, and ice cream did keep me on a downward trajectory.   Perhaps the greatest lesson was substitution – a side salad for fries*, fresh fruit for dessert, etc.

* I ripped McDonald’s recently for serving more unhealthy McNuggets in America than in England, but in fairness I should note here that they now proactively list substitutions – side salad, apple slices, or yogurt, I believe - for fries in value meals. 

So there you have it, the longest post for basically no change you’ll ever see!  Hopefully, I was building muscle this week with all of the activity and it will pay off down the line in a larger loss.

Eating Plan Profile: No Junk Food

This plan is at once self-explanatory and not.  For the purposes of this approach, “no junk food” means no chips, no crackers, no fried foods, and no sweets.   But, of course, that doesn’t mean all other food is healthy food (I wish!).  Let me explain.

“No Junk Food” means:

No Chips.   No potato chips, tortilla chips, or any other kinds of chips.  I include in this things in the spirit of chips, such as pretzels and other bagged snack foods that could be dipped.  I can’t even watch the show with Erik Estrada. 

No Crackers.  You may not even consider crackers to be junk food.  Eaten in moderation with cheese, they may not be.  But eaten straight out of the box, or a sleeve at a time, they take on a chip-like quality. So they’re out.

No Sweets.  Ice cream, chocolate, candy, pie, cake, pop, and anything else sweet.  Artificial sweeteners are allowed on this plan, though not encouraged.  Natural sweets are okay, such as fruits and fruit juices, although the latter should be at most in moderation.  All sugar added sweets should be avoided.  No Cubs games (“Sweet Lou” Piniella) or Harlem Globetrotters (Sweet Georgia Brown), either.

No Fried Foods.  Satchel Paige says fried foods anger the blood.  That’s good enough for me. 

You may wonder if I’m implying that foods not listed above are healthy.  That’s not what I’m saying.  Partly, limiting to the four categories above differentiates “No Junk Food” from other eating plans in the P.O.P.  For example, banning fast food would have overlapped with “No Restaurants” and banning pizza would have overlapped with “No Whites.”

The thing that really differentiates these four categories is that the above are empty calories.  There’s no nutritional reason for the above.  They are not required as fuel.  They add calories without adding nutrition or energy.  They aren’t needed.  And when you need to lose weight, you can’t afford empty calories.

How Heath Bell Lost 25 Pounds

With the all-star game approaching, this week’s Pounds Off Profile is Heath Bell, the San Diego Padres closer who made his all-star debut last in 2009.  Bell, or “Mr. Bell,” as the Wall Street Journal respectfully refers to him, got as high as 275 pounds before losing 25 pounds.

How did Trevor Hoffman’s replacement lose 25 pounds, while improving his balance on the field and off?  Wii Fit.

Bell bought a Nintento Wii for his kids, but wasn’t happy when he saw his Mii avatar, the animated character that represents you on screen.  In Wii Fit, your Mii is proportionate to your real height and weight, which for most people is humbling, to say the least.  For Bell, it was also motivating.  He worked hard on all the Wii Fit games – skiing, tightrope, and soccer among them – mostly because he couldn’t stand the sight of his Mii character.

Yes, Heath Bell runs and lifts weights, accessing world class facilities and trainers, but he really does credit the Wii Fit with losing weight and improving his balance on the mound.  Whether or not the video game is the reason, Bell is getting results on the mound – an ERA near 2 and a contender for the league lead in saves, all on the most surprising team in the league, the National League leading San Diego Padres.

Week 24 Recap: Don't Eat While Reading This

This Week:          -2.8 pounds

Total Loss:           25.0 pounds

No TV/Reading advances to face 8:00 Curfew in October.  The Hunger Scale is eliminated.

Last week’s post captured the new experience of eating without reading or watching TV to keep me company pretty well.   I’ll add to it few more pleasant surprises.  Sunday, I decided to call my dad while I quietly munched on a chef salad.  It’s always great to talk to him, and sometimes it’s hard to find the time.  Later in the week, I discovered I was less likely to stay up late if the lure of eating wasn’t a part of the equation.  Turns out that late night TV isn’t so compelling without a little something to go with it.  And going to bed earlier meant getting a jump on the next day, a good thing.

One of the things I’ve started to grapple with is what to do after the P.O.P. concludes.  By next March, a “champion” will be crowned.  It’ll likely be one of the more mainstream approaches, such as counting calories or eliminating processed foods.  But just because a plan “wins” doesn’t mean I have to continue it to the exclusion of other P.O.P. plans.  More likely I’m going to want to pour everything I’ve learned during the P.O.P. into a hybrid overall plan that is best for me.  And it won’t be hard for me to think of aspects of “No TV/Reading” that I might want to incorporate into my lifelong healthy lifestyle plan. 

I’ll be back soon with a profile of my new eating plan, “No Junk Food.”

Project America Run

I know many who read health blogs are runners and the rest of you are looking for inspiration.  Well, I have a story for you that has those things in spades.  This Fourth of July weekend, I bring you the story of Mike Ehredt.

Ehredt is a 49 year old Army veteran who is running across America to honor soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Starting in Astoria, OR, Ehredt is planting one U.S. flag every mile until he has honored all fallen soldiers from these two wars.  Currently in Colorado, Mike’s journey will take him to Maine, more than 4,000 miles from his starting point. 

Mike is dating a member of our family, but I’d be bringing you his amazing story anyway.  Born with clubfeet, he still has markings from his time in casts. Later, he became an ultramarathoner, running races of hundreds of miles in extreme conditions. 

Project America Run is a culmination of Ehredt’s experiences, tying together his amazing endurance and his respect for soldiers, which he delivers free of political agenda.  I have to admit I was skeptical when I first read that the project is apolitical, but you see it immediately when you read Ehredt’s blog, a thoughtfully written journal of his experiences alone, with nature, with the people he meets along the way, and with the memories of those he is honoring.  He’ll have much more to write as he covers 30 miles per day across America, all the way from coast to coast.  I hope you’ll be reading.

For more on Mike Ehredt’s cross-country journey, including GPS tracking of his current position, go to www.projectamericarun.com.

One Hill Down, Two to Go!

12 months ago, I bought my bike.

11 months ago, I began riding the trail in my town, but I couldn’t ride the whole thing.

10 months ago, I rode the entire 8 mile, super hilly loop in one hour and six minutes.

8 months ago, I rode the trail in 54 minutes.

This week, I rode the trail in 50 minutes.  Woo hoo.

Now, this is not a fast time.  My fellow weight loss bloggers/cycling enthusiasts could beat my time, I’m sure.  Lisa would smoke me.  Clyde would pass me.  Diana might just do it for real. Lindsay would finish the loop, and repeat it.  But for me, 50 minutes beats 66 minutes, and that’s all I care about.

My real NSV (non-scale victory) is riding one of those giant hills without walking for the first time!  That leaves two.  The second hill, which is straight up for about 75 yards, I hope to do this summer/fall.  The third, which is straight up for about 100 yards followed by 150 yards of significant incline, will have to wait. 

If you’ve been thinking about exercising and were afraid to start, get a bike!  That first ride was liberating, but nothing beats a new personal best!