day one

Well, this is it.  I have finally decided to start a blog.  I have been thinking about this for a long while - mostly as an outlet for some of my frustrations as a physician, a mother, a wife, a friend, and a wearer of many other hats. 
Primarily, what I'll be writing about at this point in my life is my journey to lose weight and get healthier along with my husband and one of our best friends.  For those of you who know us, please be discreet in your comments.  We are all really struggling here in a lot of ways.  Addiction to food and the finer things in life is quite difficult.  Some psychologists have postulated that it's even more difficult than overcoming addictions to some drugs.  Unfortunately, you need food to survive - if you're addicted, it's not like you can go "cold turkey"  off of it.
Just eating less and exercising more is not as easy as we would like it to be.  We try, we succeed, we slide, we get frustrated.  We are also all in our late 30s and early 40s battling that inevitable subtle loss of hormones that decreases our metabolism and increases our weight. 
BUT, this is not a blog to complain.  I'm hoping to inspire some other people who are going through the same thing.  I'm going to be posting recipes.  I'm going to be honest about my failures and my wins.  I'm going to vent my frustrations and strut my accomplishments.  In short, this is going to be a snapshot into my life and the lives of those who are having to struggle with me during this journey.

My husband, my friend, and I have all chosen to try Medifast.  We have done this for several reasons.  It is absolutely certain that the most effective way to lose weight is to decrease your caloric intake and to do this while eating 6 small meals a day.  For the three of us, Medifast works well because you really don't have to do much preparation or planning.  Basically, the meals are powdered and you can just mix them up and go.  We are all very busy and this works.  Medifast is high protein, low carb, and low fat.  The carbs that are used are complex and very filling.  Overall, it's a great plan and it seems to be working.  The food's not terrible and it's chock full of vitamins.  We have plenty of energy and are doing well. 

This brings me to a point that I'd like to share.  EVERY SINGLE DAY in my office, I try to discuss weight loss with patients.  Chronic pain, arthritis, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, depression, insomnia, sleep apnea - you name it, and weight loss can help it.  Yet, EVERY SINGLE DAY I hear over and over, "But I don't eat that much."  Let me take this opportunity to say, "Yes you do."  Let me elaborate...  Generally, medicines do not put weight on people - they make us feel more hungry or less sated, but they do not add calories to your diet.   What makes people gain weight is eating more calories than they expend.   Period.  Many people have conditions that decrease their metabolism, but again, there are plenty of people with the same disorders that are able to control their weight problems. 

Eating 6 small meals a day increases our metabolism.  When we eat once or twice a day, our metabolism slows to a standstill.  Combine this with a less than optimal activity level, and we might be gaining weight at calorie levels as low as 1000/day.  Plus, the kind of calories we eat are important.  Are we eating a lot of simple carbohydrates, or protein and fiber?  Given the current state of our society, my guess is simple carbohydrates.  Plus, we eat too much in general.  Most people think they're not eating much because they have gone from "super sized" to just large meals.  They are comparing their meals at home to the meals that they get when they go to a restaurant.  For an average person, a weight loss caloric intake is 1200 calories a day combined with exercise.  If you eat at a restaurant and don't eat off the "light" menu, you will get over that amount of calories in one sitting.   We, as a society, have gotten used to these large portions, and feel very proud of ourselves when we are eating less than that.  Unfortunately, it's just not enough.

A man did a study a while ago on our serving sizes.  He moved into a home that was built in the the 1940s.  He was unable to fit his dishes in the cabinet.  He thought that the people who built the home were crazy for building such small cabinets.  After researching, he found that our dinner plates are about 50% bigger than they were 60 years ago.  The same is true for all of our serving ware.  Consider that the "serving size" of most cereals is 1/2 cup.  Can you imagine how little that looks like in our normal cereal bowls?  This is a problem that extends throughout our society, and it is leading to very unhealthy, unhappy people. 

Since starting on Medifast, I am VERY cognizant of how much I was eating prior to stopping it.  I thought I was trying to do better, but you just can't "try to do better."  Now I eat 5 100 calorie meals a day plus one meal of 4-7 oz of meat and 1.5-3 cups of veggies.  Funny, most of the time I cant finish that food now.  If you want to stop the cycle, you have to do something drastic.  This doesn't mean that you have to do Medifast.  I am because it works for me, but you do have to drastically reduce your calories and change your lifestyle.  I often tell my patients this - low sugar yogurt for breakfast, a cheese stick mid morning, an open faced sandwich or a bowl of progresso light soup for lunch, a handful of nuts or a 100 cal yogurt mid afternoon, a lean and green type meal for dinner, and a cup of popcorn for snack.  Most people aren't ready for this kind of change - and I've heard all the excuses. 

I know a man who ended up undergoing a gastric bypass and is currently doing quite well.  Prior to the bypass, however, he just kept gaining weight no matter what he did.   He would always tell me that he'd cut his calories and was barely eating anything.  A couple of years later, he admitted to me that his idea of "not eating much" was McDonald's every day for dinner.  His general meal consisted of 2 big macs, 2 large fries, a super sized regular coke, and often a milkshake.  His "barely eating anything" was relative.  He used to also have 2 cheeseburgers and a pie with that meal.  What was amazing to me was how much money he was spending!!!   I'm not saying that all people have this drastic of a misconception, but I do believe that a societal misconception about what is a healthy amount to eat exists. 

Another problem with our society and obesity is our overall obsession with food and drink.  When we get together for holidays, special occasions, football games, random parties, etc, the stress is always on the food.  What is going to be prepared?  Who brings what food?  What drinks will be there?  The conversation about the party the next day is always, "So and so really outdid herself on that casserole!"  I really think that we need to try to focus on friends and families again instead of the food that they offer.   We need to start thinking of activities that friends and families can enjoy together without focusing on the food.

For those of you who don't know us, you have to understand that this is close to blasphemy.  My husband and I are known for our parties and meals.  He has an industrial sized smoker, we do a huge crawfish party yearly, we do a huge Halloween party every other year that is insane.  We don't EVER invite people over without cooking enough food for an army.  This is a huge change for us, and I'm sure it is for many others as well.

We're trying, though.  We did a deconstructed Super Bowl party this year.  We asked people to eat before they came over, then put out veggie trays and chips with salsa.  (My husband) also cooked some garlic sausage and put it out, but I stayed away from it).  I made buffalo chicken tenders and a big salad for my husband, my friend, and I prior to other guests arriving so we'd be less tempted to eat anything that they might bring.  This was HUGE for us.  We also didn't (gasp) serve any beer.  Everyone had a great time and we really enjoyed each other's company.  We discussed getting together again for a movie night and doing the same thing.  We'll see what happens.

So, here I am starting the 5th week of Medifast.  The weight loss has slowed down.  That's kind of discouraging, but I feel really good, and I know that I'm still losing inches.  Our friend had a really hard day today.  He weighed himself and hadn't lost any weight - after losing 26 in the first 2 weeks.  It's disappointing when you are having to "deprive" yourself so much and don't see results.  On the other hand, his back pain has improved, his blood pressure and his swelling have also gone down.  I guess instead of looking at this like, "I've deprived myself for a week and had no results," we should probably think more like, "I'm no longer killing myself by eating foods that are bad for me, and even though I didn't lose weight this week, I'm still a step closer to being more healthy."  We need to stop thinking of food as reward, consolation, friend, and start thinking of it as sustenance.

My final point today is that - with this being said - I'm really enjoying the "lean and green" portion of the meal plan.  We figured if we're only going to have "real" food once a day, we'll make it special.  I'll give the recipe for tonight's dinner - Chateaubriand with red wine mushroom reduction, kohlrabi greens and roasted kohlrabi in garlic, salt and pepper.  It looks AMAZING!
Meat - get meat, sprinkle with salt, coarse ground black pepper, and granulated garlic.  Sear on all sides in an iron skillet or something similar.  Deglaze pan with red wine and put mushrooms in.  Place in oven at 200 for about 1 hour (if you like it medium rare). 
Peel the kohlrabi (about 10) and slice into chunks.  Set greens aside.  Chop up 6 cloves of garlic.  Dust with salt and pepper.  Put in a Ziploc bag with 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil (I used garlic infused for more flavor) and shake together.  Place in oven at 450 degrees for 30 minutes.  For extra flavor, put the veggies in the pan that the meat cooked in.
Take the kohlrabi greens and put them in a skillet with fat free chicken broth and a touch of soy sauce.  Saute for several minutes until bright green and still somewhat crunchy. 
YUMMY - the chunked kohlrabi tastes a lot like potatoes, but without the starch! 

Have a good night.  I'll try to keep up with this blog.  I don't mean to offend anyone here.  I'm just offering opinions based on many years talking to and observing people.  I see what works and what doesn't and I hope that I can be of some help to some people out there.  By no means should this site be taken as medical advice, and please talk to your practitioner if you want to lose weight safely.

:-)  Dr. Mindy