From Weight Loss to Real Fitness: Reflections at the Crossroads

I’ve been traveling, meeting the new grandson, attending my 40^th high school class reunion, and taking care of some things that I can’t attend to during the school year. Now I’m back and my blog will change its focus from weight loss to weight maintenance and bodybuilding. I will still concentrate on, and share, my low fat, and low sodium recipes.

Who I am and How I Got Here

I am a 57 year old male and the chair of the computer department at a small rural community college in Arkansas. I live on 60 acres in the heart of the Ouachita Mountains in southwest Arkansas with my wife Sandy, two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, Sheets and Jackson, and several cats. When I stepped on the scales at the fitness center January 3, 2007, I was shocked to find that I weighed 10 pounds more than when I had previously thought I was really fat, 210.25 pounds. More importantly, my blood pressure was 181/118 and this was the lowest of three measurements by three different people. I have never been a dieter but this time I set as my goal to see whether I could lower my blood pressure through diet, weight loss, and exercise.

Initially my target weight was 155 because that would have put me at the pre-1998 Body Mass Index (BMI) normal level and, as I work out regularly, I felt the current BMI was inappropriate to measure of my progress. I have since shifted to using body fat as measured by skin-fold testing to set my goals. On that basis, my first goal was 159 pounds and I am now shooting for an 18% body fat percentage which, by the way, may be accompanied by an actual increase in weight but a drop in body fat (muscle weights more than fat). On May 18 my body fat was 22.4% (I weighed 166 pounds), and on June 19 at a weight of 160.3 pounds, my body fat was 20.9%. My weight reached 155 pounds in early July. My blood pressure is now low normal without medication as well.

My Weight Loss Program

I have never trusted fad diets and felt that as I needed a combination of low calorie, low sodium, and low fat to meet my health goals, I would have to come up with my own program. I consulted the Mayo Clinic weight calculators and they recommended 1400 calories per day for me for weight loss. I decided to try to keep my daily sodium intake under 1500 mg and the percentage of daily calories from fat under 20%. In order to keep track of all this, I devised my own spreadsheet using Excel. I used, and continue to use, the USDA nutrient database. I have since discovered that there are a number of good web sites where you can register for free and keep track of these nutrients online. This program fit my head-on style and allowed me to take complete control over my diet and my health.

Now that I have reached my goal, I have increased my calorie limit from 1400 to 1800. I am actively increasing my daily protein intake from an average of about 70 grams per day, to a body builder’s 160 grams per day.

Exercise Program

I enjoy walking, gardening, and yard work but because of the focused nature of my program, I followed a more structured regimen at the Ouachita Rehabilitation and Fitness Center, working out 3-5 days per week. My workout consisted of a 10 minute warm-up on the treadmill followed by two circuits of strength (weight) training and ending back on the treadmill for 20 minutes followed by a 5 minute cool down. I spent a total of 35 minutes on the treadmill and alternated days of strength training focusing on upper body one day and lower body the next. This workout took about an hour and ten minutes.

After being referred to as “small” twice in one week, I decided that I needed to add some significant muscle. I hadn’t been called small since public school days. The real benefit of muscle is that it is more metabolically active than fat and takes more calories to maintain. With the advice of my exercise physiologist, I have changed my strength training from “strength-endurance” to strength. While the cardio (treadmill) portion stays the same, the strength portion involves three sequential sets of decreasing repetitions (12, 10, and 8) and increasing weight at each machine, while allowing recovery time between rep sets. My workout now takes over an hour and a half. When school starts next month, I will probably have to make some modifications.

The most insidious obstacle I face is my own head and my body image. I continue to struggle with the person in the mirror. Until recently I saw myself as still fat and large, and have had to overcome the cognitive dissonance created by my perception and the perceptions of the outside world. I have been called “small” and “the incredible shrinking man” by acquaintances. I wear size 34 belts and slacks rather than the size 40s I wore for decades, and my shirt size has gone from extra large to medium. If I don’t get in synch with this new reality, my subconscious has the power “solve” the dissonance problem by sabotaging my weight loss. Body building is one way that I can still be substantial while at the same time healthy. Stay tuned.

Supplements

To get my protein consumption up to one gram per pound of body weight, I am spacing chocolate whey protein shakes (23 g protein per scoop) mixed with water, as needed throughout the day. This will feed muscle growth. I have also added 5 g of creatine split between pre and post workout along with amino acids (taurine, arginine, and a few others) and dextrose. The creatine helps increase endurance, muscle fiber size, and decrease recovery time. After a workout, the sugar is needed to replace the glycogen stores in the muscle and the spike in insulin helps transport the nutrients (creatine and glucose) to the muscle fibers. I have a significant protein meal after working out as well, and I haven’t noticed any negative effects on my blood sugar from this diet.

Changes

As I have reached my goal, I will no longer be posting my daily recaps. I do have some great recipes coming up including the best diet blue cheese dressing ever.

Bananas, Dieting, and Blood Pressure

Bananas are one of my favorite snacks on this low sodium, low fat diet. They are full of flavor, as are most fruits; they are portable, come pre-wrapped, and more importantly are loaded with potassium. As one of my original motivations for going on this diet/exercise regime was to lower my blood pressure without medication, this is an important plus. Bananas are also helpful in preventing leg cramps when exercising in warm weather. One medium banana has 105 calories, .39 g fat, 26.95 g carbohydrates, 3.1 g fiber, a single mg of sodium, and 422 mg potassium.

Potassium, a mineral element, works with sodium to regulate blood pressure. People who eat more potassium have lower blood pressure than those who eat less. So, potassium plays an important role, along with weight reduction and exercise, in lowering blood pressure without medication. Foods that have substantial amounts of naturally-occurring potassium are potatoes, spinach, and squashes (cucurbits) like Hubbard, acorn, zucchini, yellow crookneck, and other summer squashes. Fruits, such as melons, bananas, watermelon, oranges and orange juice are also high in potassium. Most of these potassium-rich foods are low in sodium and in calories.

Fortunately these foods are among my favorites and my blood pressure is now stable in the low normal range. Not everyone who has high blood pressure has the type that responds to a sodium restricted diet, but I count myself fortunate that mine does. Eating well with these healthy foods among our choices is not only delicious, but also therapeutic.

Daily Dietary Recap-4/30/2007
Calories	Protein	Carbohydrates	Sodium	Fat	% Calories from Fat
1212	81.62 g	168.84 g	574.25 mg	24.76 g	18.31%

Mail from Readers

Since I safely posted my email address on this blog, I have been getting letters. I thought I would share a couple of them that I have permission to reprint here. If you send me email, I will answer it as I have time. I am not a trained nutritionist, and my only criteria for selecting foods and recipes for my own diet are those of calorie, sodium, and fat reduction. My personal goals are to consume less than 1400 calories, less than 20% of those calories from fat, and less than 1500 mg of sodium. This approach combined with working out for about 70 minutes 3-4 times per week, is working for me as I have lost 33.5 pounds since January 3, 2007, and my blood pressure is down from a dangerously high level to low normal without medication. Your recommended diet may be very different.

From L.

Hello,

I followed a link (I believe from www.epicurious.com's forums) to your blog, which I found interesting. I had a couple of questions if you don't mind. I've never had to diet or exercise, always was thin, but after turning 40 (now 42) I find that it's a little harder to eat what I want and stay in shape (gained a few pounds). So, I was trying to watch what I eat, just started a week ago (and hoping it will last a little while). I love chocolate (i.e. the Cadbury mini eggs!), and a treat is hard to resist or just eat one of. Anyway, I noticed that you were keeping your calories below 1400. For what size person is this recommended? I have been using http://www.nutritiondata.com and it says that my estimated food energy is 1700 calories. And I have trouble keeping it below 2500! Any suggestions?

My Response

Hi L.

I'm happy to respond to your questions. In fact, I'm flattered that anyone would be taking me seriously as I am just a 57 year old man who is obsessed with food and who realized in January of this year that I had better start taking my health seriously. In my typical fashion, I jumped in with both feet and started a four-day-a-week exercise program and put myself on this low-sodium, low-fat, reduced calorie diet. I've learned that as we get older we don't metabolize calories as we once did. It takes fewer calories to maintain our body weight. It sounds to me as though you are an ectomorph in body style (somatotype). Ectomorphs may be inappropriately classified as healthy based on the BMI (see my blog “Body Mass Index (BMI) Lunacy” http://profbush.blogspot.com/2007/03/body-mass-index-bmi-lunacy.html if you haven’t already) because their weight falls in the normal range. As you get older, even ectomorphs tend to add a few pounds without changing their eating habits because of the age-lowered metabolic rate.

I started with a 1500 calorie diet, but lowered it to 1400 after the first week because I went to the Mayo clinic web site http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/calorie-calculator/NU00598 and entered my particulars in their calorie calculator. For my current height, weight, and activity level, I need 1900 calories per day to maintain my present weight (I’m still losing, I have a bit to go before I reach my goal). I then went to their Healthy Weight Pyramid tool http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/weight-loss/NU00595, put in my height, weight, sex, and age and it said for weight loss, I should be consuming 1400 calories. So, that became my new target for caloric intake. I haven’t tried the Nutrition Data calculator, but it is one of my favorite sites for facts on food. I like Monica’s nutrition blog on that site as well.

I like chocolate too but, for me, it is a matter of having the knowledge to make choices. I know that chocolate really is a health food. I even tried adding a teaspoon of cocoa to my morning oatmeal; it wasn’t a good idea. I like dark chocolate. My brother says it is because the only chocolate our mother would allow in the house, was baker’s chocolate. Even though there is a 14 year age difference between us (I’m the baby), he and I both remember climbing up on the kitchen counter to break pieces from the big bar she kept in one of the cabinets. I keep a bag of Dove dark chocolate in the refrigerator and, usually in the evening, if I have calories and fat to spare, I eat one. I don’t have a problem stopping with just one. I know that over-indulgence will show up on my daily recap. In a sense, I am accountable to my blog. I frequently eat low, or non-fat frozen yogurt in vanilla, strawberry, or chocolate. If I have the calories and fat to spare, I enjoy it. If I don’t, a nice ruby red grapefruit works just as well.

Your Cadbury mini eggs have either 190, or 210 calories per serving and 8, or 9 grams of fat http://www.foodfacts.com/public/items_by_category.cfm?results=images&item=1523 depending on what package you buy them in. One serving would be very hard on my diet and if you go over one serving very often, it wouldn’t be too hard to explain those extra calories. The saving grace may be that they are seasonal-only available at Easter, aren’t they? My advice is to consider them in the context of what other foods you are eating during the day and make a conscious decision whether you can skip something else in order to enjoy your mini eggs. For me, it comes down to my weight loss secret number 1, http://profbush.blogspot.com/2007/03/ten-secrets-of-weigh-loss.html and http://profbush.blogspot.com/2007/04/ten-secrets-of-weight-loss-part-2.html “Knowledge is Power-the power to make choices”.

I enjoy remodeling recipes of my favorite food into low-fat, low-calorie, and low-sodium versions. I wonder whether I could make a version of mini eggs-nah, probably not. I appreciate you writing to me (as though I had some real answers). I’m just writing from the truth of my own experience and using the blog to keep myself somewhat accountable.

L. Second Response

Hi Joel,

Wow. Thanks for all the information. I did go to the different links you sited. I guess I would be considered an ectomorph. It says my BMI is 20.3 with the "normal" BMI for an adult woman of my height being 18.5 to 24.9. I remember a letter coming home from school a year or two ago saying my son (who is now 9) had a BMI level showing him overweight. He hasn't ever been and isn't anything near overweight! That letter went in the trash.

The Mayo Clinic website says my caloric intake should be 1550 for sedentary, or 1700 for somewhat active. I still need to add some exercise, but that's going to be tough.

So, chocolate is a health food?! Wonderful! :) Yea, my Cadbury mini eggs will be gone soon - as soon as Easter's over.

My kids (9 and 13) are somewhat picky eaters when it comes to things like vegetables, so I can't rearrange my recipes and cooking too much. I have been changing a few things, whether they eat it or it's just for me. I've been tracking my calories and nutrition information, like I said, on nutritiondata.com from day to day lately, but I kind of like your idea and may see if I can be accountable to a blog for my own benefit.

I don't mind if you use my original email - I don't think there was any personal information in it - if you'll leave my name out. Thanks again for your time and suggestions.

Joel Second Response to L.

Hi L.,

As I looked over my response to you, I saw that I didn't make any really concrete suggestions. I drink a lot of water. It helps to control my appetite. Also, we sometimes confuse thirst for hunger. If I think my appetite is winning, I will eat a high fiber cracker or two (Ry-Krisp, Wasa, RyVita) and drink a lot of water. I keep bottles of Ozarka in the fridge and at work, it helps.

If it’s any consolation, I cook totally different meals for my wife and for myself. I’ve always done all the cooking. I guess it’s because my experience as a chef has always made me faster at it and I always get to eat what I want.

Yes, chocolate is loaded with healthy antioxidants. Now if we could just reduce the fat content. Thanks for letting me use your letter sometime. I won’t identify you other than by initial.

Best, Joel

From D.

Hello Prof Bush,

Spent some time this morning checking out your blog and was very much impressed with the number of posts and all of the work that you've done.

I am going to put a link to your site on my blog.

I might also like,now and then, to use a recipe from your site on my blog. Would you be comfortable with that if the post gave you credit for the recipe and included a link to your site.

Would like you to know that I found your blog to be personally inspiring. I have pretty much got the low sodium thing in hand but am not doing quite what I ought to drop some weight. So starting today I will go back to tracking the calories and bumping up the exercise.

Finally a question. I noticed that your email address resists being copied. I have not put my email address on my blog because I didn't want to open myself to programs that harvest email addresses and create spam. How do you create this email address?

Thanks, D.

My Response to D.

Hi D.,

Nice to hear from you, and thanks for your kind comments. I enjoy your blog and have subscribed to its feed so I can tell when you have posted new material. I very much appreciate the link. I really enjoy your writing and hope you post more frequently. You write well and we seem to be going down the same path.

I would be honored to have you post some of my recipes on your site. I have collected some emails since I recently put my email address on the site and thought I might want to post some of the comments/questions and share them for other people to read. I would never disclose your identity and just identify you with an initial if that's all right with you.

At first the sodium was a little hard for me too, but now it's just a habit and a change in the way I cook. I tackled calories, fat, and sodium all at the same time, and I've been really happy with the results in terms of weight loss and blood pressure reduction. Good luck with your effort.

You can get your own graphic with your email address on it at http://safemail.justlikeed.net/ I've really enjoyed making the blog a little more personal with correspondence. I too was concerned with having my email address harvested by SpamBots until I found this site.

Best regards, Joel

That’s the mail for now, keep those cards and letter coming.

Here is my recap for Sunday and Monday.

Daily Dietary Recap-4/8/2007
Calories	Protein	Carbohydrates	Sodium	Fat	% Calories from Fat
1215.53	75.88 g	201.72 g	885.31 mg	19.02 g	14.08%

Daily Dietary Recap-4/9/2007
Calories	Protein	Carbohydrates	Sodium	Fat	% Calories from Fat
1358.72	66.9 g	266.47 g	661.04 mg	14.4 g	9.43%

Ten Secrets of Weight Loss-Fourth and Final Part

I will finish up the last four things I have learned during my weight loss today.

The Ten Secrets of My Weight Loss
1. Knowledge is power-the knowledge to make choices
2. Non-fat sour cream is my friend
3. Non-fat cream cheese is my friend
4. Fiber is filling
5. My palate took about three days to retrain to a low sodium diet
6. My dinner plate is a riot of color compared with what it used to be
7. Almost any recipe can be remodeled to accommodate my diet
8. Exercise accelerates the weight loss and blood pressure lowering process
9. Vinegar wakes up the flavors of food
10. A playful attitude about food and a willingness to experiment have been strong allies

Seven: Almost any recipe can be remodeled to accommodate my diet I enjoy the challenge of starting with my favorite recipes and foods and making changes to them to reduce the calories, fat, and sodium. I avoid using salt substitutes because they are typically very high in potassium and I prefer a natural taste. While there are health benefits to a diet high in potassium, such as, increased bone strength, suggestions that potassium can help with the elimination of excess sodium in the body and positively affect blood pressure, and the findings that some stroke, inflammatory bowel disease, and asthma patients have low levels of potassium. In the case of the latter, no direct causal relationship has been found. It’s not too hard to get adequate potassium with a good diet of natural foods, including “meats, fish, vegetables (especially potatoes), fruits (especially avocados, dried apricots, and bananas), citrus juices (such as orange juice), dairy products, and whole grains”. The recommended daily intake for adults is 2000 mg. I prefer to get my potassium from the foods I eat.

For added flavor, I increase my use of herbs and spices and find that I lean more toward cumin and red pepper than I ever did before. The reduction of sodium naturally increases the availability of the more naturally-occurring subtle flavors of ingredients. Non-fat versions of familiar dairy products work just fine for most recipes. I generally find that non-fat sour cream has a better texture and flavor than plain non-fat yogurt although I use both.

It is possible to select meat cuts that are both low in fat and in sodium (see my warning on the hidden sodium in supermarket meats). Boneless skinless chicken breasts, extra lean ground beef (96/4), fat-trimmed sirloin steak, and most fish meet the requirements for my diet. Turkey is also good, but many turkey products have been brined or soaked in salt water, so check the labels. Natural pork can also work but the same warning applies to treating or processing so check the sodium content. Most of the unprocessed meats have naturally occurring levels of sodium between 40 and 75 mg per four ounce serving. In recipes calling for ham, Canadian bacon is lower in calories and sodium if used sparingly and combines well to enhance milder flavored foods.

Bread can be a problem because salt is used to limit the action of the yeast in raised breads. I find that some brands of corn tortillas are low in both fat and sodium and whole wheat pita fits the bill as well. I prefer to make my own whole wheat tortillas or chalupas.

Salsas, especially homemade, are great for picking up the flavor of any meal. Generally the milder the salsa, the less sodium is used. Green salsas tend to be lower as well. I have come up with my own special sauces and find that mustard is full of flavor without salt or calories.

Most fruits are full of flavor and combine well with other ingredients in recipes. I also find that I am using more red bell peppers because they are sweeter and more robust in flavor.

Of course the key to weight loss is portion control. I have retrained myself to consider the generally recommended 4 ounce portions normal.

Eight: Exercise accelerates the weight loss and blood pressure lowering I am not going to belabor the point here because the relationship between weight loss and exercise has been covered much better elsewhere, but it’s true. Even small increases in exercise can be very rewarding. I have a stationary exercise bicycle in my study so I can pedal while I watch the morning news on my off days from the fitness center. I like being able to track my conditioning level by measuring my heart rate on the machines when I work out. It takes much more exertion to reach my target cardio training level (140 for me, age-based) so I get direct feedback on my conditioning level. I also watched my blood pressure drop to within normal levels without medication.

Nine: Vinegar wakes up the flavors of food I like vinegar so it’s pretty easy to include it in my recipes and my diet. There are so many wonderful types and flavors available now, from the full flavor of balsamic to the more subtle white wine vinegars, that experimenting with them is fun. I seem to recall that Adele Davis, the prolific nutritionist of the 1950s and 60s advocated keeping a cruet of apple cider vinegar on the table to splash liberally on greens and other foods. I do. She also suggested adding vinegar to the soup pot to release the calcium from soup bones.

Vinegar is the secret to my low sodium, low fat chili. I also use it in my not-so-sloppy Joes, and in my balsamic chicken.

Ten: A playful attitude about food and a willingness to experiment have been strong allies I enjoy food and experimenting with the ways that food can be prepared. Food is my hobby. I especially like growing it as I always have a large organic garden. I like reading cookbooks and recipes. I seldom create a recipe without consulting several different versions on the Internet or in my cookbook collection and choosing the most interesting ingredients and methods from each. I have also had a few flops, but undeterred I press on. My recommendation is that you move fearlessly into the world of low fat, low calorie, and low sodium cooking, and experiment with a sense of humor and discovery.

Here is my recap from yesterday.

Daily Dietary Recap-4/3//2007
Calories	Protein	Carbohydrates	Sodium	Fat	% Calories from Fat
1304	60.26 g	223.09 g	927.88 mg	13.2 g	9.11%

Ten Secrets of Weigh Loss

Now that I’ve lost over thirty pounds, friends, coworkers, and even casual acquaintances are starting to notice and ask questions. Suddenly I am an expert on weight loss and blood pressure reduction without medication because I’ve been there, and I am doing it. Generally they start by saying they would like to lose some weight. I generally say, “OK, so lose it”. They then frequently tell me what their physician said. [Motive] I nod.

Then, they ask me what I’ve been doing. I tell them that I’ve been on a diet of less than 1400 calories per day, less than 20% of my calories from fat, and less than 1500 mg of sodium. I also tell them that I work out at the fitness center 4 days a week for about an hour and ten minutes. They then usually tell me that they: should, used to, haven’t been in a while, were thinking about starting, knew people who did, and so on. [Opportunity]

They usually ask me what I eat, and I tell them that I eat food that I like and make decisions so that I don’t exceed my daily goals. When they ask me exactly what I eat, I give them examples and the URL to my blog. It’s when I tell them about the spreadsheet that they either glaze over or ask me to email it to them. They usually conclude with, “I need somebody to tell me exactly what to eat; I can do that”, as they walk away.

I decided that I need to share my “diet secrets”, and some sample daily menus (I have everything I’ve eaten since January 3, 2997 logged). I’ll start with a preview of the ten things I’ve learned to this point. I'll elaborate on them, and toss in a few sample daily menus later.

The Ten Secrets of My Weight Loss

1. Knowledge is power-the power to make choices
2. Non-fat sour cream is my friend
3. Non-fat cream cheese is my friend
4. Fiber is filling
5. My palate took about three days to retrain to a low sodium diet
6. My dinner plate is a riot of color compared with what it used to be
7. Almost any recipe can be remodeled to accommodate my diet
8. Exercise accelerates the weight loss and blood pressure lowering process
9. Vinegar wakes up the flavors of food
10. A playful attitude about food and a willingness to experiment have been strong allies

That’s it to this point. I’m sure more truths will come along later.

Here’s my recap from yesterday.

Daily Dietary Recap-3/30/2007
Calories	Protein	Carbohydrates	Sodium	Fat	% Calories from Fat
1121	73.56 g	186.72 g	759 mg	15.6 g	12.52%

We Learned to Eat from the Depression

Those of us who are baby boomers were raised by parents who were children of the great depression, or who were influenced by the forced frugality of their parents during this period of extreme deprivation. There are few of us who don’t remember the admonitions of our parents to eat everything set in front of us because, “there are children starving in India”, as though our eating habits could help them. The “clean plate club” was the illusory reward toward which we were prodded. Thus, for us, eating became a moral imperative, not just an activity we did to sustain life and maintain our energy levels. Is it any wonder that eating, food, and the rituals surrounding their preparation, became the sacraments of “good children” and later “good adults”? Is it also any wonder that those of us who aspired to sainthood became fat?

No doubt our parents were afraid that their children were going to starve and were just being good parents. Have we passed this learned fear on to our progeny?

How did people eat during the depression? I looked at my copy of the Gleaner’s cookbook, “Good Things to Eat” published by the Gleaners, a women’s group of the First Christian Church, New Castle, Indiana, published in 1938, from my collection of cookbooks (you see, as a good child, I have my scriptures). From it, it seems that in the largely rural Midwest, people made do with what they had. Almost everyone who was able raised a garden and perhaps a few chickens for eggs. Pork was cheap, but still used sparingly. Chicken was for Sunday dinner or special occasions. Meat protein was expensive and scarce, and carbohydrates were the main fare. Cabbage, when in season, was inexpensive and plentiful. I am going to share a few of these recipes.

Meat Courses

Mock Chicken Dumplings

Ingredients
1 pound pork chops
2 eggs, hard-cooked

Dumplings
1 quart flour
1/2 t baking powder
1 egg
Water to make a stiff dough
Pinch salt

“Put chops on to boil in enough water to cover. Chop eggs fine and add to pork chops when about half done. Next add dumplings, rolled one-fourth inch thick and cut into squares. Add to pork chops and season to taste with salt and pepper, and cook until done.”

This recipe reflects the availability of eggs and the need to stretch the meat with dumplings to provide calories and energy for the family. If chicken had been readily available, there would be no need to make “mock” chicken using pork as a less expensive substitute.

Jellied Veal

1 veal knuckle
2 bay leaves
1 small onion
2 pimientos
3 cloves boiled eggs if desired

“Cook [boil] until meat is tender and remove from broth. There should be about 1 cup of broth. Strain and let cool. Skim grease from top. Grind or cut meat up and add pimientos; add eggs, if used. Combine meat and broth. Heat and pour into pan to jell.”

Sandwich Fillings

Sandwiches were then, as now, convenient and portable. They could be taken to the fields or the workplace, and fill the hungry bellies of the family at home.

Cheese Pimiento Filling

2 eggs
1 pint boiling water
1-1/2 T flour
1 10 cent can pimiento
2 T butter
1 10 cent cream cheese
2 T sugar

“Mix eggs with flour, sugar and butter. Stir in boiling water and set it on flame until it thickens, stirring well. Add pimientos, chopped fine and grated cheese. Use vinegar to taste. Spread on thin slices of buttered bread, using lettuce leaf, if desired.”

Ideal Sandwich

1/2 pound boiled ham
4 tender stalks of celery
3 hard-cooked eggs
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup nut meats

Grind ham and mix with riced eggs, chopped nuts and the chopped celery. Lettuce leaves or thin slice of pickles may be placed between bread.

Sandwich Combinations

Equal parts of finely cut nuts and grated cheese with salad dressing.

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Peanut butter thinned with liquid from strawberry jam.

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Raisins and nutmeats chopped fine and moistened with grape juice.

Salads

Hot German Potato Salad

6 Medium potatoes
1 egg, beaten
2 hard-cooked eggs, chopped
4 T vinegar
4 slices bacon, diced
1-3/4 t salt
1/4 cup minced onion
lettuce

“Cook the potatoes with the skins on until tender, drain. Peel and slice while still hot, then add the hard-cooked eggs. Meanwhile, fry the bacon and onion until delicately browned; strain, reserving the bacon fat. Add the onion and bacon to the potato mixture, then add the bacon fat slowly to the beaten egg, beating meanwhile. Add the vinegar and salt to the egg mixture and pour over the potato mixture. Mix well and heat in a double boiler. Serve on a platter garnished with lettuce. Serves 6. For a hearty group, make twice this recipe.”

Hot Slaw

Head of cabbage
Dressing:
1 egg
1/2 cup cream
1/2 cup sugar
1 T butter
1/2 cup vinegar
1 T flour

“Cut cabbage fine and cook in a small amount of water, salted to taste. When cabbage is tender, drain off water and add dressing made as follows: Beat up egg and add sugar, vinegar, flour, cream and butter and pour over cabbage. Return to fire and cook until dressing thickens.”

Clearly, even among salads, the emphasis was on providing calories for sustenance. These salads may have been the only dish served at some meals.

Vegetables

Au Gratin Potatoes

1 quart potatoes
1 t salt
1 small onion
1/2 t pepper
1/2 can pimiento
1 pint milk
2 T flour
1/2 pound cheese
2 T butter

“Cube potatoes, add onions, cook in salt water until tender. Cut pimiento into fine pieces, add and cook 5 minutes longer. Drain and put into baking dish. Blend flour, butter, salt and pepper smoothly. Add milk and cheese. Cook until it bubbles, then pour over potatoes and bake until a golden brown.”

Cheese Strata (interestingly included in the section on vegetables)

1-1/2 cups finely cut or grated cheese
1 t salt
4 T butter
2 cups milk
4 T flour
thin slices of bread

“Make a white sauce. [The white sauce is the key to many sauces and gravies. It's surprising how many cooks are afraid of this simple starting point, trying such devices as the granular flours like "Wondra ®" to try and avoid lumps. Even this old cookbook recommends adding flour and water in a jar shaking and adding the mixture to the soups and gravies as a thickener. The basic formula is 2:2:1 butter or drippings, to flour to liquid. The secret is to melt the butter or heat the drippings, add the flour all-at-once and blend this roux with the back of a wooden spoon until smooth. Let the mixture stay on the heat a few seconds until it bubbles gently--this cooks the flour and removes any raw uncooked flavor from the flour. Remove from heat. Add the cold liquid all at once and stir continuously with a figure eight motion over a low heat until the sauce just starts to bubble-perfect white sauce or gravy every time.] Place a layer of bread in a buttered baking dish and pour some of the white sauce on it, then a layer of cheese alternately. Finish with white sauce and sprinkle with cheese. Bake 30 minutes in a moderate oven.”

Cabbage Au Gratin

2 cups shredded cabbage
1/2 t salt
1-1/2 cups boiling water
seasoned bread crumbs

Sauce:
3 T flour
1/8 t pepper
3 T flour
1-1/3 cups grated cheese
1-1/3 cups milk
1 cup grated cheese
1/4 t salt

“Cook cabbage in salt water 10 minutes. Alternate layers in baking dish and cover with bread crumbs and cheese. Bake 5 minutes at 475 degrees then lower to 275 degrees and bake for 20 minutes.”

Harvard Beets

6 medium sized beets
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup vinegar
1 T corn starch
1/8 t salt

Cook beets, remove skins and slice. Make a sauce by cooking sugar, corn starch, water and vinegar together for 5 minutes. Add salt. Pour over beets. Let stand a few minutes before serving.

Sweet Potato Balls

2 Lb sweet potatoes
1-1/2 cups brown sugar
15 marshmallows
butter size of egg
Bran flakes

“Boil sweet potatoes in salt water. Drain, mash and cool potatoes. Then make small cakes, place a marshmallow in center. Make into ball, then roll in bran flakes. Place in a pan and add the syrup.
Syrup: Boil sugar and butter to a heavy syrup, cool. Pour over the potato balls. Place in oven until they begin to pop open.”

Desserts

Apple Charlotte

2 cups milk
raisins
1 egg
apples
1 T butter
toasted bread

Put 1 T butter in pudding pan and add a layer of buttered toast then a layer of sliced apples. Sprinkle with sugar and nutmeg and add a layer of raisins. Repeat until dish is full, with toast on top. Beat 1 egg and add 2 cups of milk and pour over above. Bake until apples are tender and serve with cream and sugar.

Persimmon Pudding (a local favorite)

2 boxes persimmons *
1/2 t salt
4 eggs
3 cups sugar
1 t soda
4 cups flour
2 quarts milk
butter size of an egg

*Note: The persimmons described here are the small American ones, not the large Japanese ones and they should be ripe (i.e. soft). A box as described here is about the size of a strawberry box. Japanese persimmons can be used here, but, they should be steamed until soft first. Joel

“Rub the fruit through colander. Take out seeds and any peeling left. Stir sugar into persimmons. Beat eggs light and add to mixture. Then, add 2 cups of flour and about 1 pint of the milk. Stir until there are no lumps, then stir in the remainder of flour and milk. Dissolve soda in small quantity of milk and add to mixture. Cut butter and put on top before putting in oven. When it begins to rise, take from oven and stir down. Do this three or four times during the baking. Do not stir for the last 15 minutes. Bake 1 hour. Top with whipped cream. Serves 12 or more.”

Suet Pudding

1 cup chopped suet
3 cups flour
1 cup molasses
1 pint raisins
1 cup sweet milk
1 t soda

“Mix thoroughly and steam for two hours.” [Suet is the hard fat that surrounds the kidneys and loins in beef. A cup contains 1937 Calories, 3.4 g protein, 213.19 g fat, and no carbohydrate.]

These are a few of the foods that our forbears ate and survived on. They were concerned with maximizing calories, utilizing protein, and filling their children to face an uncertain world. This is the legacy that we learned from our parents. What we do now to change our dietary habits is up to us.

Here is my recap from yesterday.

Daily Dietary Recap-3/10/2007
Calories	Protein	Carbohydrates	Sodium	Fat	% Calories from Fat
1167.9	40.01 g	184.71 g	908.27 mg	22.04 g	16.98%

Assessing the Diet Damage-New Orleans

This afternoon I went to the fitness center after nine days off and my trip to New Orleans for the Innovation conference sponsored by the League for Innovation in the Community College. I was most concerned about the sodium levels of my food as I ate most of my meals out and wondered about its effect on my blood pressure. My last night there, I ate a traditional New Orleans meal of fried seafood, and the day before I feasted at the Harrah’s Casino buffet. I hadn’t been able to track my intake and felt that I must have exceeded my goals for calories and fat. When I weighed today I had been back on track for a day and a half. From January 3, 2007, I had been averaging a loss of about .4 pounds per day on my 1400 calorie diet.

The Moment of Truth

When I left, my cumulative weight loss was 22.5 pounds. Today, it was 23.75. So, despite the excesses of New Orleans, I managed to lose 1 ¼ pounds. This was encouraging, but my loss for the 9 day period had slowed to .14 pounds per day.

Next, I moved to the blood pressure machine and was ecstatic when my blood pressure measured 108/75. Apparently, either the extra salt hadn’t affected me all that much, or I had managed to clear it by drinking lots of water and keeping it under 1500 mg for the day and a half since my return.

My conclusion is that it is possible to spend five days in New Orleans without trashing my diet. I slowed its progress, but, at least I didn’t go backwards.

New Orleans Can Be Unkind to Diets

We left in a caravan Saturday morning about 10 AM and returned from the conference in New Orleans about 10 PM last night (Wednesday). My diet intentions started out well, but degraded as we went along. Tomorrow at the fitness center, I will find out whether/how much damage I did. On the plus side, I did a lot of walking in the hotel from the room to the various forums and workshops, on the Riverwalk, and on the street. I didn’t use the Hilton fitness center because it of the time. We had multiple workshops, roundtables, and forums to attend from 8 AM to 5 PM, including lunch time. Almost every timeslot had several things I would have liked to attend. In the evening we socialized, and that usually meant going to good restaurants.

Saturday-Holding My Own

We finally left at 10 AM after dropping our Cavalier King Charles Spaniel off at the boarding kennel, and I started the day with soy crisps. The group consensus for lunch was Arby’s on the road. This has never been one of my favorites, but I ordered a turkey, bacon, ranch wrap without the bacon and the ranch. It wasn’t too bad and I discarded about 30 % of the wrap. On the road I had 4 Organic Blue Corn Tortilla chips and nothing else. For supper, I had a 4 ounce grilled ground beef patty with steamed vegetables, grilled onions, and crumbled blue cheese. I also snagged two small fried shrimp from Sandy’s shrimp po’ boy and finished the night with two Ry-Krisp crackers.

Sunday-Not Too Bad

The hotel restaurant served EggBeaters so I had a nice frittata with onion, red pepper, and asparagus, and a slide of dry whole-grain toast. For lunch, I went to the room and opened a can of albacore tuna which I had on a slice of whole grain bread. I also had a banana and a 4 oz. Dannon all-natural yogurt. I made a mistake and the tuna was low sodium, 200 mg, instead of the very low sodium (35 mg) I also had with me. Supper was out and I had 6 oz of grilled catfish, a nice medley of zucchini, green beans, mushrooms, and onions. The twice-baked potato just looked too good and I ate it skin and all. Snacks for the day were a half cup of seedless red grapes and 4 Ry-Krisp crackers.

Monday-Sushi Leads to Harrah’s buffet

Monday started well with another frittata and dry toast, but for lunch, we went to the food court on the Riverwalk. I am sucker for sushi, so I had a California roll, and a salmon skin hand roll. I ate the pickled ginger and put unmixed wasabi on the sushi, but avoided the soy sauce. I snacked on a banana and 4 Ry-Krisps. We decided to go to Harrah’s Casino right across the street from the hotel for their buffet and a little slots action. I had about 4 oz of roast beef, 6 oz. of turkey, two cups of mixed veggies. I also tried about 2 oz. of hot and sour soup. Then, I saw the bread pudding. I had two servings of delicious bread pudding (without the sauce).

After eating, Sandy and I each took $10 to the slots. I lost mine quickly, but Sandy was up to $39 when I returned to her machine, and she cashed out at $25 (I never said we were high rollers)-a tidy $5 profit. Take that Harrah’s.

Tuesday-Free Buffets and a Classic New Orleans Meal

I started with Kashi GoLean Crunch and skimmed milk but the free continental breakfast lured me with a cinnamon raisin bagel, 1 oz. Neufchatel cheese, and a cup of fresh fruit. Lunch took me back to the room with good intentions, and I had two servings of very low sodium albacore tuna and a slice of whole grain bread. I yielded to the late afternoon hospitality buffet, and I ate about 1 oz. each smoked cheddar and jalapeno jack cheese. Supper on the last night in town had to be authentic, so we went to a café in the French Quarter and I had salad with balsamic vinaigrette, a small bowl of red beans and rice with sausage, and the fried seafood platter. I ate calamari, oysters, shrimp, and catfish, all fried. I did pass up the potatoes.

Wednesday-On the Road Home

I had GoLean Crunch in the room, checked out and prepared to hit the road, only to learn the group had decided to make a quick stop at the Café du Monde for chicory coffee and beignets (fried square donuts in powered sugar). An order was three beignets and they were delightful. For lunch, the consensus was Italian and we stopped at Johnny Carino’s, somewhere around Lafayette Louisiana where I had half the chicken skilletini (slices of chicken, peppers, onions, and spaghetti). I asked for the sauce on the side and used very little. I ate half for lunch and the rest when we arrived home. I snacked on a couple of Ry-Krisp crackers and a few soy crisps.

Home Again

I am home, back on track, and have had oatmeal, low-fat/low-sodium chili, and extra lean ground beef with veggies today. In retrospect, I didn’t do too badly but I felt somewhat indulgent. Tomorrow I will reckon with the fitness center, the scales, and the blood pressure machine. I’ll let you know.

Three Minutes From a Heart Attack

Until January 3^rd 2007, I was fat, happy, and seriously out if shape. My wife, Sandy had been recovering from a serious horse wreck that limited her ability to walk and left her in a great deal of pain. From the middle of August, 2006, she had been receiving physical therapy three days a week from the wonderful people at the Ouachita Rehabilitation and Fitness Center in Mena, Arkansas where we live. After the first of the year, she was transitioned from a patient to a regular member and I said I would join her at the fitness center.

When I naively walked into the fitness center to become a member myself, I went through the normal registration process. In addition to the normal questions, registration included a weigh-in and blood pressure check. I was shocked to see that I was fifteen pounds heavier than when I previously thought I was really fat. When they took my blood pressure, I was surprised to see a flurry of activity and the summoning of additional people for retesting. I think they were considering whether to rush me to the emergency room. My blood pressure was 181/118 and when I lamely explained that I had always had a “white coat” reaction to having my BP taken, they reluctantly took me to a treadmill where I awkwardly navigated for ten minutes at a slow 1.5 miles per hour. I was assigned a program that involved weight machines for upper and lower body on alternate days and given rudimentary instruction in their use.

This experience was a major wake-up call for me. I decided to see whether my experience as a night chef in a restaurant-the job that paid my way through undergraduate school-and my lifelong love of cooking could be pressed into service for weigh loss and blood pressure reduction. Since 9/11, I was a man on a mission in pursuit of comfort food. Chicken and dumplings, fried catfish, and other southern delights that had been such a comfort were my undoing. I mean, have you ever had fried corn on the cob (with or without batter)?

The photo above on the right shows me last semester winning two awards for our first annual Grit Cookoff (as in the most important thing in the college experience is "grit"-determination, sand, stones). I won two awards for my entries, a testiment to my love of food.

I put myself on a diet of less than 1400 calories, less than 1500 mg of sodium, and less than 20 percent of my daily caloric intake from fat. I started creating low-fat, low-salt recipes. I created a spreadsheet to keep track of my intake (and, to let me know how much I had left for the day). I also started going to the fitness center four days a week. I warm up with ten minutes on the treadmill (yesterday at 3.6 miles per hour), followed by two circuits on the weight machines, and finish with 20 minutes on the treadmill at regular speed and a five minute cool-down.

Yesterday I weighed in and have lost 22.5 pounds. My blood pressure was a respectable 128/80, and I feel great. I still have a ways to go.

I created this blog to share my progress and my recipes.