The thing about, though, is you can still make it taste good. It’s just differing proportions of the foods you already love. That’s what keeps me going on it. I can eat healthily, but still satisfy my needs to be both gourmet and gourmand.
On Easter (Egads, do I really have to go back that far for an example?) I made some lovely lamb chops in a red wine and mint jelly reduction glaze, with a baked potato and a nice salad. And it was under 500 calories.
Do you cook them until they’re still a little crispy, or until they’re mush? Do you steam them or boil them? Are they fresh, frozen, or canned? These all make a difference in taste. Green beans from the farmer’s market, steamed for a few minutes, are really good. Mushy, overboiled green beans from a can are totally gross. In that case you need lots of butter to mask the lingering flavor of the inside of the can.
I’m joining youse guys. I’ve been doing Weight Watchers for quite some time (through the At Work program). I finished the 17 week session weighing more than when I started. This last week I’ve been doing 1-2 activity points every day, staying within my points, eating less snack food, my clothes are looser and my size 4 sister asked me if I’ve lost weight because I look thinner. However, according to the scale, I’ve gained 1.2 pounds. WTF? I’ve decided to ignore the scale and go by how my clothes fit.
That sounds unlikely but entirely possible. Added muscle weight, or extra water weight could account for it.
How many roundhouse kicks are in an activity point?
I know I haven’t been posting much, but I’m still here. My weight is hanging steady at about 195 (which as I said before, I’m okay with; the size/weight I am now+tummy tuck, would suit me just fine; I don’t need to be skinny!), but apparently am still losing inches. I put on a pair of jeans this morning that were tight on me a couple of weeks ago (okay, maybe a month ago), and I’ve been hitching them up all day!
If my weight is the same the next time I see my surgeon (next month) as it was the last time I saw him (in July), I’m going to talk to him about when to petition my insurance company to pay for my tummy tuck.
Back in the olden days when I was a vegan for a while…a diet I picked up from some book the name of which I can’t remember…their cooked vegetable topping was unhulled sesame seeds and salt. You can get unhulled sesame seeds at the health food store. brown them in a non-stick skillet until they start to pop like popcorn (except they don’t puff up like popcorn).
Let them cool then put them in a blender or coffee grinder with a bit of salt (I think the recipe was 1 tsp of salt to 1/4 cup of seeds but I could be wrong). Give them a couple of pulses to grind them up and release all that yummy toasted sesame flavor. The end result was this amazing tasty topping that was, to me, way better than butter on vegetables. The beauty of it is/was that it’s relatively low salt, low fat and high in fiber. Try it, I guarantee you’ll like it.
I imagine you could add other spices to the sesame seeds but I never did.
A little bit goes a long way. I used to make up a batch and keep it in a tupperware in the refrigerator. Keeps for a few weeks.
I’ll admit I don’t know much about it, other than looking through the material and comming away with the impression that everything I enjoyed eating was a no, and everything on the Core list was in the category of “stuff I’ll consume if really hungry”. It was just too much a change from my startch-and-sugar diet for me to feel like I could stick to. So I never investigated further. I also need the portion control flex provides, because I haven’t mastered recognizing “satisfied”.
(I just looked an my journals online, and according to WW not a single meal I’ve eaten in the last 4 weeks has been Core.)
sturmhauke, I do steam them, and buy them fresh (spoiled rotten Californian that I am, I don’t think I’ve had frozen/canned veggies in years, and farmers markets run year round). I think it’s more of a lack of variety (as WhyNot said above). I really only eat 4-5 vegetables, and I need to expand that. I should take advantage of the variety I’ve got.
peedin, that can certainly happen, I expect it will happen to me. I tend to build a lot of muscle when I get into shape. When I was younger I had like 15% body fat and my BMI would have been 27 (I’m a woman). I am going by weight now, but after a point, I’m going to go by measurements. (experience tells me this is in about 30 lbs) I could care less if I never hit my goal weight if I can proudly go out in a little bikini.
Funny related story. My Dad, from whom I inherited this build, and a small stroke a couple years ago. He was overweight but not excessively so, especially being almost 60. But, he was very unhealthy. So the doctor told him he needed to lose some weight and get his blood pressure & cholesteral down. My father is never one to do things by halves, so he’s running, he’s lifting, he’s in better shape now than he was 30 years ago. And he weighs more than he did when he started. At the doctor he was weighed by the nurse, who notes the number, and then waits for the doc. Doctor comes in, opens his mouth, gets a look at my Dad and stops dead. “Well,” he says. “Numbers occasionally do lie.”
(My mother, who had to change her diet with him and got roped into working out with him because he wanted company, lost 40 pounds she’d been carrying around since my little sister was born 20 years ago. An extra motivation for me is the reminder that at the wedding I’ll be photographed frequently next to my really fit parents.)
velvetjones, that does sound yum, I will try it, thanks!
I have to tell you that I’m with you on being bored to tears with the same old vegetables. Now that my local grocery store stocks some of the more hard to find items we like to try a new and different veggie about once a week, just to see what it’s like. I’ve recently discovered Kholrabi (I’m not sure I spelled that correctly) which is quite tasty.
Now I’m hungry, wonder what I’ll make for dinner tonight?
I get that. It can definitely be a big change depending on your eating habits. I personally like food - all of it. So eating mostly Core foods isn’t a big deal to me.
And actually getting to stop when you’re satisfied is a learned behavior. Flex helps you learn portion control, which is good.
I did Flex for most of my weight loss, and loved it, I still do. As you all know, I switched to Core several weeks ago and I love it too. I’m eating a lot of the same foods on Cre but many more fruits and veggies.
I also decreased my carbs which helps and increased my dairy foods.
I’m eating a salad every day. It’s delicious. I use any bagged salad mix and add red peppers, purple onions, radishes, cukes, AVOCADOES (YAY) and spritz it with the Wishbone spray dressing. I also use my points for grated parmesan and I top it with grilled chicken.
On all my veggies I use spray butter or olive oil. I earn enough activity points along with the 5 per day that I can still have my little bit of chocolate at night so I don’t feel deprived. I love Core. I was so scared to try it and all for nothing!
An oddly common reaction 
I think the fear of it comes from a couple things.
There’s a list?! People see the word “list” & tune out since a list means you can’t eat anying (except seafood, lean meats like a lot of cuts of steak & ground beef, all fruits & veggie, potatoes, whole grains, dairy…)
The rumors/misconceptions. The funniest one I ever heard was from a leader, who said you couldn’t mix any Core foods together to make a recipe. I wonder what she thought we ate…spoonfuls of ketchup & mustard?
LOL. Gotta love misconception number two. It just goes to show how some people are simply into counting calories and not thinking about what they are consuming.
I love Core. Right now, I am probably the only person in any of the meetings the we go to, that is on the Core plan. Most folks simply look astonished that I could be so successful with it. My reasoning? I cook. A lot. I use my extra points for things not on the list, and adjust and change things when possible.
Since I am the cook of the household here (5 of us, including Jayjay) it makes things much easier for me. It has actually helped me sharpen my cooking skills too. I do batch cooking a couple of times per week, for lunches and dinners. Most everything I will be making for Gettydope will be Core or close to it.
I can’t say that I don’t indulge in other foods, from time to time, but as a good eating guide, Core is simply wonderful.
I don’t find it limiting at all. On the contrary, I have found many wonderful foods that taste great, and are easy to prepare. I have adapted several favorite recipes for use too. That has helped the transition.
On a side note, my mother, who lives with us, and for whom I am a caretaker, was weighed recently. Despite the fact that she is in a wheelchair and sedentary most of the time, she had lost 6 lbs in about 3 months. The reason? Better eating through Core.
I want the List.
Damn, Canadian bacon is on the Core List!
Also buffalo, elk, ostrich and venison. Who says Core is boring food?
True, I’m on the Flex Plan right now, but I plan to try Core for a week at some point.
You know, this may actually be the biggest part. I eat out a lot. Every weekend night, plus at least one weekend breakfast, once a week during the week, twice or more for lunch at work, plus a catered lunch every friday.* Core would make that more complicated, I think.
*I am fortunate to have a very health conscious office with a numerous people with dietary restrictions, so it’s not your usual “crap food” office lunch. We get menus from various local restaurants and we can order whatever we want. Our “office kitchen snacks” tend to be things like a big box of clementines. This week we had edamame.
Yeah, unless you were planning on use ALL of your weekly points to eat out, which I wouldn’t want to do. Eating out on Core CAN be easy, but even before WW I would generally get a sirloin or filet & a baked potato & veggies, so I can still order the same thing now. And that would get boring after awhile if I was eating out all the time.
MMmm…edamame. My office only ever has donuts & bagels. Once in awhile there is an under-ripe fruit tray.
For those of us not lucky enough to find locally grown fresh veggies year round, I just noticed yesterday that Target has some really interesting frozen blends. I like to do frozen vegetables in the winter time especially. They’re paridoxically often “fresher” than fresh, 'cause the freezers are often right there in the fields, and the veggies are frozen when actually ripe, not pre-ripe and then shipped to a storage center and packaged and shipped to distribution and then finally shipped to the stores weeks or even months after being picked. Plus, half the produce I buy fresh goes off before I get to it. I’m getting better at buying only what I can get to, but still, frozen is nice 'cause it will sit more or less indefinitely in my deep freeze until I need it. Still, I do get sick of the same frozen veggies all the time (broccoli, corn, peas, spinach, country mix. Repeat.)
Anyway, Target has some blends that are really different. Last night we had Asparagus Stir Fry (ironically sold in a steam-in-the-bag packaging. Steamed stir-fry? Ick.) with asparagus, mushrooms, cauliflower, carrots, green beans, squash and onions. (It would be awesome with the sesame seasoning mentioned above.) Last night I mixed it into an asparagus risotto (also from Target), and it was divine.
Others:
Edamame Asian Blend: shelled soybeand, sugar snap peas, baby cob corn, red peppers and water chestnuts. (definitely calls for soy sauce or teriyaki)
Americana Blend: green beans, yellow wax beans and Parisian carrots (this I serve with just a teensy bit of butter, chopped parsley and sea salt. It would also be good with dill, I bet, or even tarragon)
Harvest Blend: Broccoli, carrots, onions, baby cob corn, sugar snap peas, mushrooms, water chestnuts and red peppers (this one I plan to roast with crushed rosemary)
Wok Bali: Carrots, sugar snap peas, mung bean sprouts, leeks, mushrooms, water chesnuts and green garlic (I’m not sure what “green garlic” is. Maybe garlic stems? Anyway, soy sauce, teriyaki, ginger or sesame would all go well with this one.)
Anyway, thought some of y’all might want to try them out. They’re much cheaper than anything the Green Giant sells, and they’re something a little different. They’re all sold steam-in-the-bag, so they’re super easy and quick.
Thanks WhyNot I don’t usually buy frozen veggies but those sound like they’d be nice to have on hand and I like the idea that they’re frozen when ripe rather than picked too early, gassed so they’re the right color, then shipped.
Seafood is like that too. I can get frozen seafood that’s native to the Pacific or the North Atlantic down here in FL that’s very fresh tasting because they flash freeze the fish on the boats. In some cases it’s better than what’s behind the meat counter (which often says “previously frozen”).
Last night I had Lake Victoria Perch (fresh not frozen) poached in white wine with tarragon and a little butter. It was delicious. I served it with couscous and saute’ed kohlrabi and fennel. Not bad.
Since I’ve been tracking my intake for 2 whole days now, I am finding that my calories are up around 1800/day which I think is a bit high for any kind of meaningful weight loss. Down around 1500 would be better. 1200 and I feel like I’m being starved to death.
Happy Wednesday everyone.
Well that just sounds delicious! Mmmm…
Trader Joe’s has a good frozen fish section. Being in the midwest, seafood is a huge thing I miss after growing up in the Northeast. They have a good seafood mix that’s bay shrimp, scallops & calamari, great for pasta sauce & stir fry.
Also, when I’ve tracked calories, I tend to eat around 14-1500 per day. I agree, 1200 is just not going to cut it, especially when I’m exercising.
giggle
Okay, I feel the need to share a really silly Milestone I just experienced: I put my sneakers on to go for a walk, and I got my ankle up on top of my knee to tie the laces without grabbing my pants leg and tugging my own leg up! It wasn’t even diffiicult! My legs have thinned out enough (and/or my flexibility improved enough) so that my leg can do its own lifting into place! 
Please, someone tell me you know what I’m talking about and I’m not a total weirdo!