Weight Control Support Group

Hummus has a lot of fiber
Good for you!
(wink wink)

What exactly is hummus? I've never heard of it. Wonder if it's available in Canada...

Hummus is a middle eastern dish, made of crushed chick peas, tahini (sesame paste, like peanut butter), garlic and lemon. It's really good with pitas or wheat thins. Last night, I had hummus with shish-kebab chicken. Mmm, I still have leftovers for tonight.

You should be able to find it in Canada. Now, you can get it pre-packaged with small pieces of pita. If not, look for a middle eastern grocery.

Whoops! Sorry, Brenda. I should have known you'd catch me tattling on you! Aren't chick peas high in calories?

I just happened to have a can of chick peas (for chick pea curry)-one serving (1/2 cup or 130 grams) has 120 calories. Only 25 are from fat, but you get 5 grams (20%) of your daily fiber. I'd say the fiber outweighs the fat (no pun intended!).

About the chick peas in hummus:

I'd say the fiber outweighs the fat (no pun intended!).

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But it was a good pun!


HEIDI: Today I had to go to the dry cleaner to pick up laundry. There is a health food store next to it. I ran in to grab some blueberry jam (spreadable fruit). All of a sudden it ocurred to me - do you have a problem with the texture of jam? At health food stores they sell spreadalble fruit, and use grape juice as a sweetener. There are ALL kinds - blueberry, strawberry, peach, orange, raspberry, grape, and I don't remember what else. One tablespoon has 36 calories. A couple of tablespoons on your bagel adds as much calories as cream cheese or butter, but gets you ALL the benefits of fruit - but with a different texture. ???????

I may have to try that. I know that I don't generally like jams and jellys. They are way too sweet for my tastes.

I'd almost always prefer sour or salty over sweet. Mom ALWAYS had desserts around the house when I was growing up, and actually neither my sister nor I really like sweets in general. Don't get me wrong, I like an occasional decadent dessert, but I normally don't get those cravings. Actually, I think that's why I don't like many fruits, even though it is natural sweet. Peaches and even fresh oranges are just sickeningly sweet to me. At least if/when we have a step here that is "cut down on desserts/sweets" it won't be difficult at all for me.

I need to try grapefruit, because I know I can handle the consistency of pulpy fruits. I can eat lemons by themselves. So far this week I've been getting my fruit in with juice (made sure it was 100% real juice) and apple chips. Actually, juice was the only way my mother could get any fruit in me growing up, much to her dismay.

Then how about melons? Growing up we always used to sprinkle salt on a slice of cantelope. And we drenched Honeydew with lemon juice! And if you like lemons, you'll probably like grapefruit. I start every day with it!

...but sounds to me like veges'll be your thing! Nothing wrong with that!

I'd almost always prefer sour or salty over sweet

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Heidi,

How about pickles? Although pickles are high in salt, I remember the nutritionist I saw in high school said that dill pickles were not counted in a diet, because they were so low-cal.

You can find pickled tomatoes, peppers, baby carrots, etc. This may be another route to explore.

Christy

Hi Everyone! After reading all of your posts, I am feeling really motivated to lose this weight! Right now I weigh 205, but I should weigh between 160 and 170. There are days where I just don't feel like exercising or eating healthy...but I know that I will only get worse if I don't do something about it now. I plan on starting the "water thing" tomorrow. No more soda for me!!! I tried the water thing early this spring and lost 15 pounds quite easily. It was hard at first because I craved the sugar in the soda...but before I knew it, I was craving water. It seemed like I couldn't get enough of it...almost like I had cotton mouth all day and night! It was a small price to pay and I'm willing to do it again...FOR GOOD!!
I've also decided that in the evenings while I am watching my Soaps, I will be riding my stationary bike in my living room. I guess it's better than sitting my fat butt on the couch slugging down sodas and munching on junk!
Thank you everyone for the great motivation! I'll have to post a picture too. To everyone who posted a picture...You all are BEAUTIFUL women...I wish you all the very best of luck in your weight loss!
Sincerely,
Michelle

Michelle - the more the merrier! Well, yesterday I think I surpassed the 3 litres water mark. I didn't stop drinking all day. i really need to work on the veggie thing. For the most part I dislike all veggies. I didn't like them growing up and I still don't like them. V8 juice makes me gag! I need to start having more fresh salad, even if I don't add many extra veggies to it, it should be good if I eat the dark green lettuces like romaine or spinach. i will have to work on that!

Michelle, welcome to the "We are all Losers" (as in weight ) group! I'm glad you are joining us. Like Ady said, the more the merrier!

Ady, I so understand with the veggies. I wasn't going to say anything about my veggie thing since I figured you all would think me a freak. I like potatoes, corn, pickles and beets. That's about it. Drove my mother NUTS, and hubby too (and my best friend who was always making me try new veggies in college, much to her dismay when she saw my reaction to some ) They all say I'm way too picky for my own good. So we can work on finding good veggies together, OK? Oh, just wanted to add that I also do like raw spinach leaves for salad, but I HATE lettuce! I actually did like carrots for a while, but the last time I ate them I had a bad allergic reation to them - the throat almost closed up (scared hubby have to death). I'm so difficult.

OK, creative members! Any ideas of what Ady and I can do to add more veggies?

Heidi - friend has allergies to the chemicals that the veggies are sprayed with. Specifically South American veggies. Maybe try some organic carrots as there will be no pesticides.

I am glad I am not the only veggie phobic out there! LOL. I like corn, potatoes, uncooked carrots, lettuce, celery and tomatoes in a sauces (like spaghetti, salsa). Onions are ok when they are fried - but them they are bad for you. Absolutely hate peas, lima beans and asparagus!

Heidi and Adrienne,

How about steaming vegetables? Or is that a texture thing too? Also, pureeing veggies and putting them in casseroles or soups might help. And Adrienne, I seem to remember that tomato sauce is actually better than raw tomatoes, because the processing releases the healthy phytochemicals. How about using salsa in place of ketchup, say on scrambled eggs, or on baked potatoes or rice?

Christy

I'm sure you already eat them, and I already suggested it, but how about PICKLED BEETS? I know - that's not a new vege for you since you already like beets.

Ummm - squash of any kind? It's kind of like potatos. I mean acorn squash, not zucchini. CUt it in half, season it with something (we use a bit of butter and honey, but maybe you'd like it with salt and pepper, or some cajun spices sprinkled on it) and bake it (cut side up) for about 45 minutes or so at 350 degrees - until a fork pokes through it. Like a potato!

How about spaghetti squash? Open it up, scrape out the "spaghetti," steam it a couple of minutes, and season it however you like. It's texture is pretty much like pasta - a bit wetter, maybe.

And how about eggplant? It can be a main meal: try eggplant parmesan. We make eggplant sandwiches (fry eggplant first). We also make strips of eggplant, fry it (using spray-on stuff), use cajun spices or indian curry spices on it, stick it on a plate and serve with a little bit of sour cream. It's not particularly low-cal, but it is a very yummy way to eat a vege and get some calcium and fiber.

If you like beets and potatoes, how about other root vegetables? Parsnip, Turnip (YUM!), rutabega, etc. Just treat them like potatoes. Bake them, steam them, microwave them. I love turnip with soy sauce sprinkled on. Spicy! I love parsnip with a bit o butter (bad girl), salt and pepper. Or whip them!

And have you tried hummus? It's a great way to dip cucumbers, bell peppers - just about anything. And it is an easy, tasty way to eat chick peas, which are chock full of good stuff for you (and as Christy pointed out, LOTS of fiber!).

If you like dark leaves, how about bok choy or chinese cabbage? I love both plain, but stir fry - with anything. Small baby corn (in the foreign section of your supermarket). Water chestnuts. Snow peas. OR BEETS. Why not?

My mom loves kohlrabi (another root type thing). I've never had it and dont' know what it tastes like. She steams it and puts butter and salt on it. ?????

Ok - that's it for the off-the-top-of-the-head stuff.

I'm on cup three of tea today. And about... 1/2 litre of water so far.

OH - breakfast. Normal grapefruit, orange juice, and raisin bran. Added 1/2 cup of blueberries and about 15 raspberries. I THINK i just had 5 fruits!???

It runs in my mind that corn is considered (for dieters, that is) like a carbohydrate. It's starchy. I wouldn't count it as a vegetable, if I were you. I'd try to find another.

So what about potatoes? Do you know? Because then half my suggestions to Heidi are just starches, and not vegetables!

Spoilsports!

Gees, you take away the only good-for-me things that I eat! Actually, though, I was wondering the same thing about the potatoes. I do love potatoes, but I know they are full of starch.

From everything I have learned, no starch counts as a vegetable when on a diet. Starches become sugars. When I was in school, this was illustrated by the science teacher, who suggested that we chew a piece of bread for a long time--to leave it in our mouth. Sure enough, it becomes sweet. Christy could explain the chemical reaction. I'm just going by what I remember reading. I'm not an expert. I believe you need green leafy vegetables, and beets, green beans, celery, carrots, etc., not corn. Of course you need carbohydrates also, but our diets are carbohydrate heavy.

I believe you want to fill up on veggies as much as possible. My daughter was on Weight Watchers after her babies were born, and couldn't finish all the food she had to eat. Example: Two cups of green beans would be approximately 50-75 calories max. Two cups of potatoes, without butter would be several hundred calories. You can eat so much if you eat the right thing. Celery and raw potatoes burn more calories in digestion than they contain. Of course, I like a piece of raw potato occasionally, but I wouldn't want to give up a baked potato (small-100 calories.) It's what you put on a baked potato that really adds the calories. Cut down on fats, sugars and carbohydrates and try lean broiled or baked meats, low fat milk, lots of green, leafy vegetables and beets, carrots, peas, etc., not the veggies high in carbohydrates. You have to treat yourself, however, or you'll get discouraged. Have the frozen yogurt cone, the occasional sherbert, a small dessert or low fat (made with cool whip, instead of Redi-whip) a cup of Jello (100 calories) with cool whip, and a bit of fat or your body will slow its metabolism and you will hit a plateau.

Please correct me if I'm wrong, Christie. I happen to think Richard Simmons is funny, and I watch him on occasion. He really likes the Weight Watcher's diet because it's wholesome. Also, I come from a family full of nurses. So, I'm reasonably sure about these things. (Christy, correct me, please.) I hope I'm not raining on anyone's parade. Oh! I understand that a good amount of popcorn without butter is allowed in most diets. It's something to munch. I'm sure there's a product that tastes buttery to put on top. Be cautious about low cal dressings. Many people think if they use low cal dressings they can eat extra cookies or twice as much, and that nullifies the low cal of the dressing. I hope this is helpful.

Proteins are very filling and stay with you. An occasional hard boiled egg (I think 3 a week is ok) will stay with you much longer than a piece of bread, but each contains approx. 75 calories. Slosh! slosh! You people have me burning calories running to the B.R. I feel guilty if I don't drink water now, and I don't like water!
Give me some of that iced tea, Debbie!

Here's a site that you might check if in doubt:
http://www.ntwrks.com/~mikev/chart1.html