Progressing Nicely

190.4 this morning.

My goal for last weekend was to hold onto 191, and I surprisingly did!  Surprisingly because Dude and I were going to run both mornings, and didn't end up doing it (and I didn't work out later).  I took an exercise break day on Friday, so I didn't end up working out at all between Thursday and Monday. 

We also had restaurant meals both days of the weekend.  I didn't choose especially healthy stuff at the restaurants, but I did try to be mindful about what I was eating, eating more for taste than volume.  For example, on Sunday, instead of having an entree, I ordered nachos for dinner, which I *love*.  They turned out to be just OK, not great - so it was easy to leave most of them on the plate.  On Saturday I had a meatball sandwich, also a favorite of mine.  I immediately set aside half of the bread, most of the sauce and focused on the meatballs.  Again, they were just OK. Not great. So I didn't have heartache about leaving some on the plate (and half the bread and most of the sauce)

I'm not always successful, but I try to focus on eating great food.  If it's not great (and I have some control), then I'd rather go hungry and wait for something great. I don't have enough calories to waste any on food that doesn't taste good!

On that note, I read a piece in the New York Times yesterday: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/09/dining/the-author-peter-kaminsky-on-how-to-eat-wisely.html?ref=health
This guy is an advocate of eating for flavor, even coining the term Flavor Per Calorie, or FPC. He says to go for foods that provide maximum flavor. They will satisfy you so that you don't need to eat a lot.  This is exactly my philosophy! It seems to be the opposite of Stephan Guyanet's go-for-bland-food advice, but I don't see any conflict. In my mind, highly rewarding food is food that makes you want to eat more, even right after you've had some.  Flavorful, satisfying food is food that fills up your senses and you don't need much to feel satisfied.  Examples are: kalamata olives, avocado, pepperoni, spicy salami, anchovies, dark chocolate.

I also read an article in this week's Newsweek by Gary Taubes about the Obesity Crisis: http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/05/06/why-the-campaign-to-stop-america-s-obesity-crisis-keeps-failing.html
Interesting! This time last year, I was firmly in Taubes' court about insulin. I've evolved a bit as I've read more second-hand research on why we get fat and others have evolved past low carb.  I had forgotten that mainstream science still has years to go to get to where we are on obseity thinking.

Enjoy the reading!