I know how you feel. I want the fried chicken, too! And it really really sucks when we go out to breakfast because I need sausage. And bacon!
On the other hand, I don’t have to worry about being hungry and out of points at the end of the day, because I’m one of those freaky people who like celery. I may be the only freaky person who likes celery. And based on the nutrition information, I’d have to eat about forty gazillion tons of celery to get a point*, so when I’m out of points, I just eat celery**.
I wonder if I’ll pass this mutation on to any children.
Which reminds me. I got 3 points left. Gotta use 'em up.
*Well, maybe not. I only calculated for 1, 2 and 3 servings. I don’t think I could manage to fit more than that into my stomach.
I like celery too but after a pound of celery I could eat a supersize quaterpounder with cheese meal the same way I could eat it before that pound of celery. Only if I don’t eat the celery, I don’t feel so sick afterwards.
No, I don’t eat at McD’s anymore, that was just to illustrate a point. Maybe when I get to 210 I’ll treat myself to fast food but probably not McD’s as they don’t cook their beef anymore. They just warm it in the steamer.
disclaimer I use this technique to make fried chicken. It is much healthier than most, but I have not calculated points.*
Soy Flour
Your favorite chicken seasonings (I use plenty of onion and garlic powder, plus whatever else I decide to throw in)
Egg Beaters
Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts (I have taken to cutting them into strips for easier finger food eating)
Canola Oil
Mix the soy flour and your seasonings in a plastic ziplock baggie.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Heat the canola oil in a large pan, until it sizzles when a couple of drops of water are added.
Dip the chicken pieces into the flour, then into the egg beaters, then into the flour again. Drop into the hot oil and let them fry for about 3-4 minutes until golden brown.
Place on a baking tray. When all of the chicken is fried, place in the oven for about 20 minutes for strips, or 35 minutes if you use the whole breast.
I learned this techique from Food TV’s show “Low Carb and Loving It”. Soy flour is a great substitute coating but has a much shorter frying time. This recipe is definitely a family fave here.
I’m completely new at exercise, so bear with me. I’m 5’ 9", 30 YOA, and after weighing in at 195 following a July 4th vacation, I decided that I need to get down to 150 for general health reasons. Having read through the posts here, I’m starting to wonder if I could be going about this in a better way. So, a few questions, if you please:
I’ve been stationary cycling and using free weights, ramping up duration, so that now I’m cycling for 60 minutes per day 5 days per week, broken into 20 minute blocks with ~10 minutes of relatively light weights in between. The whole thing takes about 1.5 hours. According to the display on the bike, I’m making between 80-110 rpm, at a heart rate of ~145-155, at 90 watts of resistance (?), and expending(?) dissipating(?) ~300 kilocalories. Is this enough and how can I tell? Would it be better to do all 60 minutes at once?
I’m trying to limit my food intake to 1300 calories per day during the week and 2200 per day on the weekend. Is this reasonable?
I’ve lost 13.5# in 62 days, or ~1.5# per week. Is this fast/slow and is it sustainable? Also, how often are you supposed to weigh yourself?
Are there any good (science-based) books on exercise?
Would I be better off doing some other kind of exercise?
No, really, we don’t. If you saw me, you’d agree. If I’m still doing it in 10 months, and I haven’t snapped from sublimated food desire and devoured an entire cow or something, or beaten the 700th person who wants to know if I’m a vegetarian because I eat a lot of fish (what?), then we can joke about it.
Oh darlin’ there are plenty of us in your head and you in ours! The people that say that stuff above are either FOS or very, very lucky. There are really very few true foodies that could make those statements and mean it.
Yes, I lost a lot of weight. Yes I do enjoy my exercise a LOT more now than I ever did before in my life. Yes I do enjoy a lot of the healthy food choices and how they make me feel. BUT, if I could eat crappy and have no consequences I sure as heck would! I’m not “grossed out” by unhealthy food at all. Even when I’m out running, I inhale very deeply when I jog past the pizza place and think fondly of the soft crusts inside .
I know that I’m going to blow it every once in a while. I love chocolate too much not to give in. I just have to find a way to make peace with my desires and needs. Because they are not always the same.
Hang in there Obsidian , don’t worry about the perfectionists in the meeting room. Believe me, half the time they may be trying to convince themselves. I love WW’ers and truly feel it is a great support, but you can take what you need and leave the rest there.
IF you get the temperature of the oil right, hardly any of it* will soak into the breading. That’s a big if - most of us over or underheat, or we add too much chicken and once and it reduces the oil’s temperature and it leaves the breading greasy and high fat. But if you use a thermometer, add only a few pieces of chicken at a time and keep that temperature right at 325, then it looks to be about 3.5 points per boneless skinless chicken breast - 3 for the chicken, 0 for the Egg Beaters (I estimated 1 T would stick to each breast) and 0.5 for the soy flour (likewise a 1 T estimate). Most seasonings, like onion and garlic powder, are 0 points. If you were to add sugar (some fried chicken recipes do, so that it browns more deeply) that would add 1 Point for each Tablespoon added to the recipe - to be divided evenly among the servings.
If you want to make it more Southern-y, marinate the chicken pieces in some low-fat buttermilk for 12 hours before breading. Buttermilk is 2 Points per cup, but of course not all of that will end up in the chicken. I’m not sure how much will - I’d have to try it and measure what was left when I took the chicken out for breading.
Oh yeah, I’m trying this sometime this week. Mmmm…fried chicken. Want!
*Really hardly any. Like less than a tablespoon for a batch of half a dozen breasts. Really! Alton proved it! If you’re feeling guilty about using oil, add half a Point to each breast to cover it.
Makes sense to me. I usually calculated 5 points for a whole breast anyway. After working in restaurants for awhile, heating the oil to the correct temperature was always a thing that I would do. It is a nice way to get my two teaspoons of oil too.
I must have been retaining some water before my period or something when I weighed myself at the beginning of the month, because when I checked my scale today I was at 148lbs. :eek: I’m well hydrated and have been eating about five times a day, so I have to figure I was just bloated before.
At this point I haven’t just reached my goal weight, but beaten it into the ground. I’d been aiming for 150lbs, which seemed like a good place to stay, considering that I’m 5’9" and fairly muscular. So, now I guess I’m going to fully shift my focus into maintenance and toning.
I’d forgotten to weigh myself until I randomly remembered a pair of vinyl pants I bought when I was sixteen that I really love but haven’t been able to fit into in years. I went to try them on, to see if I could fit into them now and they were loose. Geez! This has all been the result of a huge lifestyle change in regards to my relationship with food, and I can only hope that I can continue it now that I don’t need to lose any more weight.
I went to do some clothes shopping yesterday, and I sort of confirmed something that I had been suspecting for a while - I am now a really funny shape. I used to just go into some store, buy size 16 or 18 stuff, and be done with it. Now, nothing seems to fit, especially pants. Size 12 (or 14 at some places) fit in the thigh but are so baggy in the waist that everyone can see my undies when I sit down. Size 10 (or sometimes 12) fit in the waist but the thighs look like sausage casings. What the hell?
It was a very frustrating experience, but it confirmed a suspicion I have had for quite some time now - the more weight I lose, the more I am all ass and thunder thighs. Before I was fat, but at least I was fat all over. Proportionate. Now - who knows?
I’m feeling really self concious about this. I finally found one pair of jeans that sort of fit (the waist is a bit loose and the thigh a bit tight, but it was the best I could do!) so I bought them. But now I feel bummed out. I still have about 20 pounds to go - is there any way I can overcome this?
I would try to find the brands that have their clothes cut closer to your shape (often involves lengthy guess-and-test method of trying on clothes). Also, find nice flattering clothing that properly fits your biggest part (e.g. thighs) and then have it tailored anywhere that’s too big (e.g. waist).
Don’t be too hard on yourself. The fashion right now is for an absurdly boy-shaped woman. Between the low rise (meaning larger “waistband” and the tight ass/thighs, it’s seriously worse than it’s been since about 1974 for curvaceous (honestly curvaceous, not “fat”) women to find pants that fit. Tailoring is really the only way to go.
Lee Riders are good for curvy. And still, I have a ton of them from last winter that I have to ebay. I’ll get around to it. Too big for you or I’d send them, Meyer.
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