melting mama

Monday - August 2, 2010

Yes, I don't do this often.  Frankly, it's most often because I never finish a day's food logging, and it scares the bejeebus out of newbies.  (Due to how much I can eat at times, how boring I may eat at times, my lack of interesting eats and general apathy for food.)

But, I often "check in" on my own with a quick food journal, so here goes:

Weight - 171 lbs. (I've been holding in the 169-172 lb range forever again.)

• Coffee + light soy milk  100-150 calories for the day/total for the milk
• 1.5 Breakstone's Liveactive Cottage Cheese Cups.  (I dumped two in a bowl, thinking I was that hungry.  Um.  Full.) 135 calories
• dr. tabors non-naughty lace nibbles in BBQ  100 calories
• Mixed herb salad greens, fresh mozzarella, balsamic vinegar  200 calories (I will have to check the balls, I don't know how much they are.)
• Creamsicle 100 calories
• Sugarfree Rockstar 10 calories
• Kashi Go Lean Crunch + Light Soy Milk 95 calories + 45 calories = 140 calories
• Thomas Bagel Thin + Butter + SF Blackberry Spread 200

How to pass out!

Eat about 3/4 serving of instant grits.

I thought I would avoid the carbohydrate coma by adding protein and fat, but, it was a big fat fail.  I ate the grits with crumbled bacon bits and light butter at 11am, and had to lay down and was out of it until about 2pm.  

Good times.

Yes, I know better, yes, I have eaten this same food at least 5-10 times before with the same result, but I thought THIS TIME IT WOULD BE DIFFERENT!  THIS TIME!  BACON WOULD MAKE IT ALL BETTER!  HA.  My body says FUCK THE BACON, I WILL SHOW YOU!

Newbies, close your eyes:  Tell me this, I can eat and ENTIRE BLOCK OF RAMEN NOODLES WITH ZERO RAMIFICATIONS?  But, 1/4 cup of GRITS sends me to bed?   I puffy heart love my WLS!

A post filled with good news and a STFU.

 

The Fatty Grim Reaper Comes To Call.

The Final Review of The Fresh Diet.

 
I have already given The Fresh Diet like 1,000 acres of front page real estate on the blog, and I know how much that pisses some of you off, but I really wanted to sum up the experience now that it's completed.  I started out with a negative impression.  I know, you didn't know that, since I wrote 4,5,6 posts about it.

 
 A friend called the 1-800 number to ask some questions about the program, and if it could be tailored more specifically for dietary needs, ie. lower carbs, gluten-free, or "gastric bypass friendly," she was given a pretty obvious brush off and was not impressed with customer service.  

 
 But, after I contacted the company and they offered me a trial, I was intrigued, frankly because "If Carnie is doing it?"   And as you know, many of us are from the original Carnie Club.  ;)  We followed her gastric bypass journey as we had our own. 

They also signed me up for an affiliate program which would give me a fee if you signed up, and I faxed over the paperwork immediately and it disappeared.  <poof>  But, I guess that also gave me a better neutral stance to start with -- you know?  But, updated - days later - I'm all signed up now.

 
 But, then, little food fairies came to my door!

While I was not good about getting my choices done in a timely fashion, I was still sent pretty safe choices for the days I did not pick.  Nearly every entree or snack was pleasing to the eye, delicious and best of all, did not feel like DIET food.  And for someone who has been between 320 and 150 pounds in the last seven years, I know DIET FOOD.

My only real complaint was the one snack I got, that was seriously?  Three. Tortellini.  I'd rather you didn't bother.  Especially since I have broken the cost of this program down into cost per feeding.

 
 ^{I know, I know, I should not complain, but part of the reason I review products/services is for YOU.  I want YOU to know what you are getting.  I got three tortellini.  ;)  To be fair, I did not photograph it.} 

However, damn near all of the food was fabulous, and I would happily eat it for a month or a year if I could. Which brings me to, Why I Won't Be Eating It.  I have brought myself to the "renew now" page on the website two or three times now, but, yikes.  The price is more than prohibitive.  But let me tell you why I WOULD renew if a heartbeat if money wasn't a consideration.

• Having pre-portioned, healthy, calorie controlled food delivered to my house with ZERO work?  REMOVED ALL STRESS ABOUT MY INTAKE, IMMEDIATELY.  What?  I obsess/not obsess over food.  I won't eat until I am too hungry, and then, it's a bagel.  And, then, it's cheese, and so forth. Having the food here - and not having to worry - just made it a non-issue.  Win.  I stopped SNACKING.  WTF?!   Beth never does that?!
• Because, I hate cooking.  I hate preparing.  I hate all of it.  I hate making unhealthy food.  I hate being around it.  Just AAAAAAAACK.  
• If I didn't HAVE TO EAT, I wouldn't.  WLS changed me in that way.  But, give me good food that someone else prepares?  I am good with it.
• I lost weight.  Pretty immediately.  I don't know how much is in relation to 3-4 days of eating real food at 1200 calories instead of my typical 1400-2000 mini-bagel buttery calories, but... I am down.  I will let you know my weight tomorrow after four days of this.

I just cannot justify the cost of feeding myself a diet like THIS in addition to the same cost of my entire grocery bill.  But then again, I CAN.  I really, can.  It WORKED.  But.  ZOINKS.

Math time!

One Mama on The Fresh Diet + Family of six - Per month

$1,394.69 + $1,000.00 = 

$2,394.69 

(Coincidentally, I guess we could quit paying the mortgage.  OR!  I could move out?)

If you have the cash to spare, and the stress to lose, I say, do it.  

If I could do it sans guilt, I would, rightthisverysecond.  

I am not even going to say I might not in the future, because, you really have to know HOW MUCH it just made me relax.  There were no excuses.  There was a  meal, I ate it.  No skipping meals, no delaying meals, no avoiding, and... no real blood sugar issues.

PS.  I even avoided fast food today, knowing I had a SALAD to come home to.  O-o

The Fresh Diet Biogger said this of me:  "She will most likely make you laugh, too! Will Melting Mama become a Fresh Diet evangelist?"   Evangelist?  Yes, let's put it this way:

  

• Product - The Fresh Diet
• Via - The Fresh Diet
• Price - Varies according to plan
• Pros - No stress, portion-control, calorie-control, meals that don't seem like "diet," no mixes, no powders, no "crisps," no EWWYUCK.  Just FOOD.  Beth would lose weight on this plan, would likely see goal eating Real Food.  Yeah, yeah, I know "just do it yourself," yes, but, do you?
• Cons - The price.  And, I imagine portions will seem small to normal eaters.
• Rating - Pouchworthy, ^MM

The Fresh Diet - Day Three - "Mama's gonna cry when it's over."

Product reviews -- for me -- are usually a one time deal, one item, one time, that's it.  I am lucky to get a single sample or a single bar or a single taste of something.  Many companies have BAWKED at an email asking for a single $1 product for review to share on this website.  (That amazes me, but I don't need to go there.) 

I eat something and write about it.  

If I like it --  I tell YOU -- and I buy more.  

If I don't -- I just write about it and move on.  

I don't typically get several chances to try something and many opportunities to find fault.  (And you know how good I am at THAT.)  

The Fresh Diet review is a different type of opportunity -- because I have never done this sort of review before -- and frankly I am going to cry when it ends in a day or two.  

Yes, I am sold.  I will summarize my thoughts at the end of the review period, the pros and cons, but as of right now, I want to renew.  But, <gasp>.  

Disclaimer - You should be aware that this wasn't any sort of paid promotion, I was not paid for this review, while I got the actual food for free, it would not/could not sway my opinion on the product/service. 

Okay, so please, no further shooting of the messenger.

Breakfast -

 

 
  
 
  
 

 

Wednesday January 13, 2010

Weight - Ha. No.  Not weighing.  It pains me.  

Today - 
 

18% More For Your Fat Cells! Calories in commercially prepared foods don't match the labels.

Makes me want to really re-consider bothering to add the calories up each day.  Not that I DO, but when I do, I want it to be relatively accurate!  I am not surprised though -- especially for restaurant foods -- it calories cannot be an exact science or amount without being weighed and tested every. single. time.  

The Accuracy of Stated Energy Contents of Reduced-Energy, Commercially Prepared Foods

The accuracy of stated energy contents of reduced-energy restaurant foods and frozen meals purchased from supermarkets was evaluated. Measured energy values of 29 quick-serve and sit-down restaurant foods averaged 18% more than stated values, and measured energy values of 10 frozen meals purchased from supermarkets averaged 8% more than originally stated. These differences substantially exceeded laboratory measurement error but did not achieve statistical significance due to considerable variability in the degree of underreporting. Some individual restaurant items contained up to 200% of stated values and, in addition, free side dishes increased provided energy to an average of 245% of stated values for the entrees they accompanied. These findings suggest that stated energy contents of reduced-energy meals obtained from restaurants and supermarkets are not consistently accurate, and in this study averaged more than measured values, especially when free side dishes were taken into account. If widespread, this phenomenon could hamper efforts to self-monitor energy intake to control weight, and could also reduce the potential benefit of recent policy initiatives to disseminate information on food energy content at the point of purchase.

A little extra splootch of Mac Sauce here, a smidge of cheese there, it happens.  That's why my suggestion is, OVERESTIMATE or round up.  And if you don't think this matters, because "dieters" shouldn't be eating fast food -- this study was also done on foods like "Lean Cuisine" frozen diet meals, which, also had more calories than indicated.

Fooducate Blog -

If you’re scoffing and thinking that people wanting to lose weight shouldn’t be in a fast food joint to begin with, we’ve got more bad news. The researchers also checked 10 popular frozen meals and found an average 8% discrepancy, again skewing to a lower calorie count than was actually present. Lean Cuisine’s shrimp and angel-hair pasta claims 220 calories, but clocked in at 319 (45% more!).

Let’s have some back-of-an-envelope math fun, shall we?

If a supposedly 2000 calories-a-day diet is actually 18% higher in calories, that means 2360 calories or an extra 360 calories a day consumed. Since every 3500 calories are equivalent a pound to our body weight, approximately every ten days we’d gain one pound of body weight. In one month, we’d be up 3 lbs. In one year, a whopping 36 pounds!

I wish I could blame my recent gain on poor Lean Cuisine math.

The camel is dead.

 

Not only did the camel's back break.  I killed the fucker.

December 28, 2009

 
 
Weight - HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA, you're kidding, right?  Kiss my fat ass.

• Espresso + unsweetened soy x's 2 80
• 1 Fast Fixin' Frozen Omelet (Which, is a review on the way!)  150/11/3/10 
• Three bites Mr's Death By Banana Bread, and subsequent death!  Est. 100
• 6 inch Subway Chicken Salad with veggies, peeled off the top half of bread, frankly because it was doughy and nasty!  (But the nutrition info for the chicken salad is not online. o-O)
• 4 dark chocolate covered espresso beans, 6 coconut jelly beans (in the movies)  Est. 50
• 1 ounce Winter Spiced Nuts 170
• Venti Iced Americano with soy milk 50
• 1/2 english muffin, about 3/4 of a sausage patty, one bite of egg which promptly went out the car window, a la Dunkin' Donuts Egg White + Sausage sandwich Est. 200-250

About 1,050 calories right now.