For those working on maintaining weight

[han-grrl]

I thought, why not start this thread

Anyone else working on maintaining?

I was trying to maintain about 106 lbs, but my weight has dropped to 101 - which seems to have hovered there for the last couple of weeks.

I've been eating a Biggest Loser "style" of diet
which has been working for me, energy wise.

When i ride, i'll eat more, but i admit, i eat far less than the "recommended". I've been researching a lot on this, (which is a whole other discussion, so i will leave it at that).

My biggest challenge, is more the people around me, commenting, or eating out, because i have stomach issues, that i have found are gone now, but if i eat out i will cramp and bloat like crazy.

So back to the above -

maintaining? what are you eating/doing
what do you find challenging?

[NbyNW]

I've occasionally struggled with this problem in the past, and I think it can be complicated, so I hope you are able to figure out what works for you . . .

A few thoughts, from personal experience:

It can be challenging to be in a social situation that involves food that irritates your system. Without knowing what your specific issues are, my advice would be to be very selective about what you eat in those situations. Have a good hearty snack before the gathering so you're not tempted to eat things that you know will cause discomfort later. Nurse your beverage of choice and a small salad/soup/appetizer if you're worried about other people feeling uncomfortable that they're eating and you're not. Don't let yourself feel pressured to eat things that will make you miserable. If someone wonders why you're not eating, it's perfectly ok to say "I don't do so well with X." Enough people have food sensitivities these days and most restaurants are used to adapting their dishes if you can pinpoint what you need, e.g., you might be able to ask them to leave out the cream if you have problems with dairy.

If you are having trouble with specific foods, it would be a good idea to figure out what they are so that you can take steps to avoid them. Sometimes you can re-introduce things into your diet after avoiding them for a while, other things you may want to just avoid. Everyone's different, I think you can google food allergy or food sensitivity to learn more about this.

There could be other "lifestyle" reasons that are making it hard to maintain weight. For example, I had a lot of trouble maintaining weight my first year of grad school. I was eating constantly but sleeping very little, and the whole experience was ludicrously stressful. I was 108 when I started school and dropped 15 pounds over two semesters. I went to my doctor who ordered some tests to see if there were medical reasons for my weight loss. They didn't find anything. Ultimately the solution was to leave that toxic grad school environment and try my luck elsewhere. It took me more than two years to rebuild my physical strength after that experience.

I think if you feel like you have enough energy to get through your rides, you probably don't need to eat more DURING; focus on getting the nutrition you need before and after.

Good luck, let us know how it goes.

[emily_in_nc]

I am maintaining (after losing 15ish lbs on a high-protein, low carb diet about 6 years ago), but fortunately I don't have to work at it too hard -- my lifestyle just seems to keep it there. Running (not long distances), walking, mountain biking, weight workouts, and healthy eating (nearly all home-cooked, rarely eat out) seem to keep me at my goal weight of 102-104 (I am short!) without any additional intervention, calorie counting, or overly restrictive regimes (i.e., I can have a daily glass of wine or beer, small serving of ice cream a couple of times a week, a few chips now and then, dark chocolate, and so forth).

Gaining can happen, and often does on vacation (extra eating out, more drinking...), but not so much that I can't quickly lose the couple of extra lbs. when I return home. DH and I always take active vacations, which helps too.

It's nice that with the diet and exercise, I seem to have re-set my set point at the new level since I've been at this weight for years now. I feel very fortunate not to have the weight struggle in my life as so many (including my mom, for years) do. There are enough worries in life without this, and I empathize with all of those who are dealing with trying to lose. Even though I've never been seriously heavy, I've certainly been chunky and very unhappy about that.

Emily

[shootingstar]

Hmm...my "problem" is truly I have a flexible palate. I honestly believe it is helpful to enjoy travel in different places, and internationally, if your palate is exploratory. And in moments of desperation when cycling for many kms. in rural areas....you may not have much choice. It becomes near survival before one bonks.

I do have to remain aware that I am getting older and hence, my metabolism has changed and I must adjust my eating portions accordingly.

The main type of foods that I'm not overjoyed having is deep fried foods and very sugary food (ie. fudge does not turn me on. I'll taste it but doesn't mean I'm escastic about it. I'll take panfried, grilled seafood, any other preparatory style except for deep-fried.)

The biggest recent change for me in the past 7 months, is cutting down my rice consumption by nearly 50% -after I had a near diabetes 2 diagnosis. At this time, I'm not no.2 diabetic, but now I notice that I don't feel right when I consume lots of rice and then lie around the rest of evening on the couch.

So next time we buy a bag of rice..it will probably take us a year to finish it. Not 3-4 months. But this rice withdrawal is being challenged by my mindless consumption of health bread from our artisan bakery.. So it can be a struggle. This bread is quality since it uses no shortening, butter, egg nor perservatives. But still sometimes I just don't buy bread for the week. Period.

To replace tons of white rice, I'm switching to light dried Asian noodles that don't take much time to cook and aren't as calorie laden as the dried Italian pasta with an egg base. I find brown rice still too heavy in taste to eat on a frequent basis. 'Course wish wild rice was cheaper.

When I first moved to Vancouver 6 years ago, my weight dropped to 93 lbs. It was probably from cycling nearly daily, when I was unemployed at that time. Needed cycling to keep my personal motivation goin' at that time..but obviously it resulted in other stuff.

so weight maintenance for me means paying attention over the years how I must face the reality that my body continues to change and steps that I must take to adjust..instead of just hoping I have good weight maintenance 'genes'. Really, it is not a good to delude myself.

Weight maintenance means also just being grateful..to try. Not to be always perfect, but just to try but to relax.

Which is why I only weight myself...um..once a month or so.

[Crankin]

I think this is a great thread. Last year, when I was sick, I got down to 101 and basically would like to be 105-107. Then, in the spring, my weight went right back to 107. I find it hard to maintain without being stringent. Despite the fact I lead an active lifestyle, always going on active vacations that involve cycling, hiking, etc, I can gain 2-3 lbs. overnight. It seems like I can't eat any kind of Asian food anymore without a 3-5 lb weigh gain. I go out to eat a lot. I stay away from fried foods and other unhealthy stuff. In fact, most people would think my diet is pretty healthy. Oh yeah, and I have to really watch how many glasses of wine I have in a week.
Given the fact I am not going to give up my social life/going out, I end up trying to restrict carbs on the days I don't ride and adding in some weight training. I seem to lose pounds on my rest days, or days when I do yoga or walk. I stopped using sugary energy drinks and use Nuun plus food if it's a long ride. I feel like cycling is making me gain!

[han-grrl]

Thanks Jocelyn

I already plan my outings pretty well, i usually have salad an some kind of protein in a restaurant setting, and my friends are pretty nice about things too...

You see, i had a ruptured ulcer almost a year and a half ago, and since then, i need to watch things

1) when i eat - like if dinner is called for 6 and things take a while, and i am too hungry - i can cramp up...so...i usually just eat something before going and not depend on anyone else for feeding me...

2) fatting foods, even stuff cooked in a little too much butter can be upsetting to my belly

3) over eating...which is a fine balance...i really have to "listen" to when i am satiated, because a bit beyond can have me doubled over in pain.

So its a matter of management, which i am totally used to now. Its on the odd occasion, when "oh this is so good" food moments, when i might have a bite too much, or i didn't know something was cooked in butter then i might have a problem, but its all good...

[Becky]

Interesting topic. I struggle with how to eat enough to keep my weight (and body fat) up when I'm riding a lot, and still make healthy choices. I'm diabetic, and use an insulin pump, so losing weight can actually be a bad thing because I begin to run out of places that are "pinchable" enough to put an infusion set in. (similar to an IV, but in fat, not a vein )


Any suggestions for high-calorie choices that aren't necessarily loaded with bad fats?

[emily_in_nc]

Any suggestions for high-calorie choices that aren't necessarily loaded with bad fats?

Peanut butter or almond butter, yummmmmm We make our own in a Vita-mix. Nuts in general...good fats.

[NbyNW]

Interesting topic. I struggle with how to eat enough to keep my weight (and body fat) up when I'm riding a lot, and still make healthy choices. I'm diabetic, and use an insulin pump, so losing weight can actually be a bad thing because I begin to run out of places that are "pinchable" enough to put an infusion set in. (similar to an IV, but in fat, not a vein )


Any suggestions for high-calorie choices that aren't necessarily loaded with bad fats?

+1 to emily and han-grrl's suggestions, plus organic WHOLE milk yogurt (there are a few good brands out there).

A few more ideas:

Avocados as an addition to any sandwich or guac & chips

Pasta tossed w/ olive oil, parmesan, fresh ground pepper & sea salt. Easy peasy! (google "pasta con cacio e pepe")

I should probably experiment w/ whole wheat pasta but right now good ol' semolina is a guilty pleasure.

Any fish high in omega-3's, like salmon

I'm not sure if my lazy-girl solutions to calories would be compatible with your sugar management needs, but I think they avoid the bad fats:

When I lived in NYC, tasty fresh bagels were always in arms' reach. And so yummy there was no need to pile a lot of fatty unhealthy things on them.

Japanese rice balls -- I get seasoning mixes from the Asian grocery, mix them with sushi rice and squish them into a triangle shape -- voila, portable carbolicious snack.

On days when I bike to work I often have a PB&J on wheat bread (or almond butter with raspberry jam) around 3:30 in the afternoon so I have enough fuel to get me home.

[shootingstar]

Han- Earlier this year, I nearly freaked when his cheffy son (he really is a chef for a living) visited us and bought 1 lb. of butter. He used 1/2 of it for 2 fantastic gourmet 4-course meals that he prepared for us during his visit. It a time that one takes photos of this rare food family gathering-prep.

During these special occasions, I will eat this food. It is food made with love and good intentions. He lives thousands of kms. away. We see him once a year....if that.

When I eat food with too much butter, I get mild diaherra later on. It's not surprising..since my whole diet orientation never included much butter since I was born. I don't consider my body's response a bad thing. It keeps me in check.

Since I have used skim milk for anything in the past 15 years, I now can seriously taste the creaminess of 2% and homogenized milk.

Crankin: Asian restaurant food is often more fattening. If I had it often, I would get plump too. When I eat out in an Asian restaurant, it is safer to choose large soup broth with veggie base and vermicelli, etc. It fills you and if the soup base is not fatty, it's a great alternative. With some little appetizers on side.

However there is a whole suite of home-Asian cooking that is light and nutritious. Some of it not documented in English language recipes books nor served in restaurants often in North America.

I honestly believe my diet and weight control is partially due to using some of my mother's Chinese cooking styles...there are steamed meat dishes, steamed savoury egg dishes, stir-frying with very little oil... A true Chinese food gourmet understands..the delicacy of properly poached....whole chicken..then sliced and served cold with dipping sauces. That's a real contrast to deep fried sweet and sour chicken balls (I've never understood what people find tasty about them).

Anyway, I get excited when I see fresh lotus root, fresh water chestnuts or daikon root at a good price. All of this stuff is "Asian" but add healthy fibre to a dish. One would be hard pressed to believe that wood fungus, like wood ears, is full of calories. It's just textural thing.

I still don't even understand the nutritional benefits of what I eat (like the stuff I just mentioned) since I was a child...but if it's in moderation, probably ok. Strongest evidence would be the health of my father..he is my most powerful evidence of healthy home-cooked Chinese meals...alot less soy sauce, fat, etc. At 79, no respiratory nor cardiovascular problems. Has low blood pressure. I believe he is around 108-110 lbs. at 5'3". Doesn't exercise much, if you want to consider a 15 min. walk daily.

[han-grrl]

Higher calorie "healthy" snacks -

nuts

dried fruit

pretty much any type of "whole grain" crackers, or breads - or

oatmeal (mmm with milk, dates and apple!)

[NbyNW]

I think I grew up eating a very similar diet to what shootingstar described (got me all nostalgic for home!),

*BUT* I do get annoyed when people think that Asian cuisine is the solution to all of their dietary problems. It's probably a better way to eat than most, but there are still a few things to keep an eye on, like the sodium in soy sauce, or my mom's friend who had a stent put in and has been told by her doc to stay off the white rice (she does 1/2 white 1/2 brown b/c she can't stand the flavor of brown rice). I love tofu and soy milk, but some people can't digest it.

Long term benefits? I hope I haven't undone anything because I certainly haven't eaten that well since I grew up and moved out. It's probably an individual thing with many factors. I do have uncles and aunties in Taiwan who worry about keeping their weight down. Could be a problem of recent prosperity against scarce resources when they were growing up. Could be more access to western convenience products from McD's & 7-Eleven, who knows? My mom has struggled with emotional eating and keeping her weight down ever since I was born (it's my fault), and dad has, too, depending on his stress levels and whether or not he makes time for exercise and makes good decisions about what he eats when he's not at home. All this in spite of a lot of home cooking and home-grown vegetables.

Crankin, some of that weight gain you're experiencing after an Asian meal _could_ be from water retention if you're eating anything with lots of sodium. Try reaching for the low-sodium soy sauce or asking the chef to leave out the MSG. I started to get really bad PMS bloating a few years ago, and my doc told me to try cutting my sodium back. It helps, a bit.

[shootingstar]

*BUT* I do get annoyed when people think that Asian cuisine is the solution to all of their dietary problems. It's probably a better way to eat than most, but there are still a few things to keep an eye on, like the sodium in soy sauce, or my mom's friend who had a stent put in and has been told by her doc to stay off the white rice (she does 1/2 white 1/2 brown b/c she can't stand the flavor of brown rice). I love tofu and soy milk, but some people can't digest it.

Long term benefits? I hope I haven't undone anything because I certainly haven't eaten that well since I grew up and moved out. It's probably an individual thing with many factors. I do have uncles and aunties in Taiwan who worry about keeping their weight down. Could be a problem of recent prosperity against scarce resources when they were growing up. Could be more access to western convenience products from McD's & 7-Eleven, who knows? My mom has struggled with emotional eating and keeping her weight down ever since I was born (it's my fault), and dad has, too, depending on his stress levels and whether or not he makes time for exercise and makes good decisions about what he eats when he's not at home. All this in spite of a lot of home cooking and home-grown vegetables.

Crankin, some of that weight gain you're experiencing after an Asian meal _could_ be from water retention if you're eating anything with lots of sodium. Try reaching for the low-sodium soy sauce or asking the chef to leave out the MSG. I started to get really bad PMS bloating a few years ago, and my doc told me to try cutting my sodium back. It helps, a bit.

To highlight what I would and do fall back, are selective Asian styles of food preparation and dishes that are healthy.

And yes, han-grrl, certain types of seaweeds are healthy in moderation. I don't know why alot people freak out over this anyway. If they remember that seaweed is really...underwater/sea vegetables. Eating it is like eating leaves or other varieties, like a fine dark brown vermecelli.

Upon the family doctor's orders, my mother has had to cut back her sodium intake, etc. because she has high blood pressure. So she had to adjust food preparation both for herself and for my father. My father followed suit because he figured it wouldn't hurt him anyway and besides my mother controls the kitchen. (Even though my father was a restaurant cook his whole life before retirement). As you know a traditional Asian diet doesn't use much sugar, so the sugar cutback for both of them was a non-issue. Parents have been eating healthily for over last 15 years. I am grateful they were motivated to change themselves ...instead of their children reminding them.

Same for cutting off meat fat before cooking..mother was doing it already when I was a teenager. At that time I thought she was obsessed. I had very little dessert/pop when growing up. It was reserved for special occasions. Our childhood homemade cake...was making STEAMED chiffon egg cake. Steaming a cake is more traditional Asian style. It's very easy. And uses just eggs, flour and sugar. And you steam the whole batter. It rises. That's how we had strawberry shortcake as children.

So I genuinely credit..a long family history of home Asian cooking that became healthier and healthier over the decades...to a point where my parents barely use any soy sauce in their cooking. Yes, it is STILL a Chinese tasting dish.

I was at my healthiest 20 years ago, when I used to look a Danish dessert and feel ill: ick, how sugary. Now, I have refined my appreciation of gourmet European desserts because my partner is German and has a mother who was a fantastic, gourmet baker.

I have no need to drink homogenized milk..I'm not a lactating mother nor no longer a growing child. I have soy cheese, tofu, etc. Will continue with skim milk. After 2 full cafe au laits, I do get uh..abit of diahrea anyway. Disappointing, since I love cafe au laits. (not cafe lattes which have more coffee...)

[NbyNW]

To highlight what I would and do fall back, are selective Asian styles of food preparation and dishes that are healthy.

. . . .

So I genuinely credit..a long family history of home Asian cooking that became healthier and healthier over the decades...to a point where my parents barely use any soy sauce in their cooking. Yes, it is STILL a Chinese tasting dish.

shootingstar, your illustrations of how Asian cooking can be adapted are excellent.

I feel like I should also clarify some of my earlier comments too, as while I feel you make some valid points, there are those who take it too far.

apologies in advance for going a little off-topic, too.
*warning* *cultural baggage rant about to begin*

I have occasionally encountered non-Asian people in my life who place what I feel is TOO MUCH stock in what, to them, is an exotic cuisine. There is a lot of marketing around the potential benefits of soy and green tea, for example.

I think the idealization of things from other cultures can lead to misperceptions about those cultures as a whole. Those misperceptions in turn lead to messed-up thinking.

Two illustrations:

A few years ago my dear FIL, who has been trying to lose weight, was trying to introduce soy to his diet, I don't know on whose recommendation. I think he tried different kinds of tofu, imitation meat, and soy milk. He found all forms of it unpalatable, even when I made soy milk from scratch, which tastes way better than the branded-stuff-in-a-box that is readily available in your neighborhood grocery. When I suggested that the benefits of soy might not outweigh his displeasure in eating it and the American Soy Growers Association's marketing team might have something to do with why he was putting so much pressure on himself to eat something he didn't like, he said,

"Well what the heck are they eating over there (in Asia) if they're all so d@mn healthy?!!!"

I had to explain to him that Asians, too, struggle with obesity, heart disease, high risk of certain cancers, osteoporosis, Alzheimers, etc. Just at different rates than other populations. Lesser for some things, greater for others. And that a good diet can only protect you so much from smoking like a chimney.

FIL felt better after that. In his mind he had built up some impossible higher standard of health, which I think were really frustrating his weight loss efforts.

Illustration #2 was when an acquaintance asked what I did for Thanksgiving and I related the annual Taiwanese potluck that my Auntie Lin hosts.

"Oh, that sounds SO healthy! How WONderful! Oh, I bet it was all very HEALTH-y!"

I swear this guy was about to enter an orgasmic fit of ecstasy. Was he seriously fetish-izing my Thanksgiving dinner? I mean, there's only so much non-frying of an eggroll before it isn't an eggroll anymore, am I right? And there was a lot of stuff fried in peanut oil. Certainly not an everyday meal, and it probably would not be considered heart-healthy.

That encounter just bugged me. If I enjoyed my dinner, it wasn't because of any potential health benefits. It was because it was lovingly prepared by a wonderful group of family friends who wanted to pull out all the stops on a special evening. And Auntie and Uncle Lin make the best eggrolls.

If there is a misperception out there that Asians have fewer health problems than other populations, then potentially there is less education regarding screening and diagnosis out there for people who are at risk of developing certain medical conditions, and that conditions needing treatment go undiagnosed for longer periods of time. And that people misplace their faith in an exotic diet.

Oh, and how do you explain that occasional octogenarian who smokes a pack a day and eats bacon like it's an essential nutrient?

Good eating habits didn't protect my mother or her mother from breast cancer (Mom is a 20-year survivor, though!); didn't protect my father from Graves' disease; didn't protect his mother from arthritis; didn't prevent my friend Joe from succumbing to leukemia at age 33. I could keep going . . .

I'd just like to see people stop thinking Asians have discovered the fountain of youth or some magical elixir of health. We are as human and vulnerable as everyone else.

*rant over*