Well, now what?

 Caffeine can cause your blood pressure to rise and your heart to beat irregularly, but Cliff's heart surgeon said a couple of cups of coffee in the morning wouldn't hurt him... just stop at that.

Cliff likes coffee with every meal, even in this hot weather.  So I bought Folgers decaf to use at all times except in the morning.  I also bought decaf Diet Coke and decaf tea, feeling quite proud of my resourcefulness.

Today I decided to study up on caffeine, and the decaffeination process.  You'll never believe it:  The process used to take the caffeine out of coffee may actually cause decaf coffee to make your bad cholesterol higher, which is, of course, bad for the heart.  Here's one source of this information.  The chemical used is a solvent, which doesn't sound all that great either.  Would you drink nail polish remover?

Wait until I break THIS news to Cliff.  I wish I'd found out about this before his last doctor's appointment; I'd have gotten an expert opinion.  I could call and leave a message for the nurse, and have her call us back... but I doubt it's all that critical.

I'm thinking I'll let him drink his decaf until his appointment in December; then we'll see what the doctor says.

The same chemical is used to decaffeinate tea, too.

Sometimes you can't win for losing.

The American Heart Association

I love the AHA website.  There's a gold mine of information there, and I've learned a lot from it.  I especially like this little online book.

But when I look at their list of foods that carries the heart-healthy check-mark, I scratch my head in confusion.  Does Healthy Choice pay them a kickback or something?  Next time you're at the store, check out the Healthy Choice frozen dinners and entrees.  They're LOADED with sodium!

 

on limiting sodium and cholesterol

Once Cliff started recovering from heart surgery, I made it my job to figure out just how much sodium and cholesterol is considered too much.

For sodium guidelines, click HERE.  And I see HERE that we should strive to keep consumption of cholesterol under 200 milligrams a day.

I do very well with the cholesterol limits, often staying under 150 milligrams, even.

The sodium is harder; I've compromised a bit, because I want to be realistic about it.  Actually, none of the doctors has said a lot about salt to us; perhaps that goes back to their beliefs that nobody is going to follow their guidelines anyhow.  If Cliff had kept going to his cardiac therapy sessions, they had a nutrition class during every session.  But I'm sure I've gotten just as much information browsing the Internet as I'd have gotten at therapy with Cliff.

Anyhow, I like to keep sodium under 2,000 mgs for Cliff, and I believe our average probably is lower.  On days when we eat out, I'm sure it rises.  But on other days here at home, we have much less.

Sodium occurs naturally in some vegetables.  For instance, an average raw tomato has 13 mg (click here).  To me, that doesn't seem a big concern. 

Something that makes me angry is this:  General Mills advertises Cheerios as being "heart-healthy", and even the American Heart Association endorses them; but a small serving has 230 mg of sodium, only 30 grams less than the 31 Fritos I had with my taco salad last night!  Oh, by the way, in hunting up all this information, I learned that Frito-Lay long ago removed  trans-fats from their products.  I hope a few others will follow their lead. 

10 Diet Myths That Won't Die

I found the following on an AOL site, so rather than link to it, I copied and pasted, because I was afraid my non-AOL readers wouldn't be able to follow a link to it:

From downing your weight in water to loading up on grapefruit, there's a long list of tricks and tips that promise to help you drop those extra pounds. But how do you separate diet fact from fiction? Our experts take a look at the most pervasive diet myths and put them to rest -- once and for all.

1. Myth: Calories eaten after 8PM turn to fat.

Fact: This is an urban legend that is no more true than the notion that alligators are roaming the sewers of New York City, says Liz Neporent, trainer and author of 'The Fat-Free Truth.' The fact of the matter is if you eat more calories than your body burns in a day, the excess calories will be stored as fat. Whether you consume them during 'Good Morning America' or 'Letterman' doesn't matter; there is no intrinsic connection between calories and the clock.

2. Myth: To jump-start your diet, you should fast.

Fact: Not so fast! Skipping meals for extended periods of time is actually the best way to sabotage a diet. Though fasting may temporarily help you lose weight, it's predominantly water weight, says Dawn Jackson Blatner, RD, of the Northwestern Memorial Wellness Institute. Fasting is not recommended because not eating for extended periods can cause fatigue and dizziness. Ultimately, fasting usually accomplishes two things, says Blatner. "It makes you hungry and leaves you feeling deprived." Once you become over-hungry, all common sense is lost, and you're bound to make high-calorie, high-fat choices in that state of mind. Furthermore, feeling deprived tends to lead to binging when you do eat again. So, in fact, the more you don't eat, the more likely you are to overeat in the end.

3. Myth: Low-carb (high protein) diets are the most effective route to weight loss.

Fact: Before you ban bread altogether, consider this: Although preliminary research suggests that obese people can lose more weight on a low-carb diet than on a conventional low-fat diet, the benefits appear to be small and may be short-lived, says Neporent. One yearlong study comparing low-carb dieters to low-fat dieters found that low-carbers began regaining the weight they lost after six months. By the end of the year, they were no better off than the low-fat group. What's more, the dropout rate among both groups was extremely high. It really is about the calories and striking a balance between what you consume and what you burn. To do that for the long haul, you have to choose a diet that is sustainable. And permanently cutting out entire food groups (especially ones that include tasty, crusty bread) doesn't qualify.

4. Myth: Eating white foods is bad for you.

Fact: Don't judge a food by its color. Some of the best foods for you are actually white, says Cynthia Sass, RD, spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. The color of a food has nothing to do with its nutritional value and it's not always an indication of how processed the food is either, she says. Think bananas, pears and garlic, all of which pack a nutritional punch and are also naturally white. Instead of focusing on the color of the food, you need to consider what else it delivers in deciding whether to eat it. Find out what nutrients and vitamins it has. And look at the list of ingredients to determine how highly processed it is. Even a processed food, such as cake mix, doesn't have to be a diet wrecker as long as you eat it in moderation.

5. Myth: Drinking lots of water will help you lose weight.

Fact: If your daily drinking habits consist of sweetened teas, juice drinks and sodas, then replacing them with water can result in consuming fewer calories, which can lead to weight loss. But simply upping your water intake will not, unfortunately, help you shed pounds, says Sass. Though drinking water may make your belly temporarily feel fuller, you have to remember that hunger is not simply a function of your stomach -- your body is crying out for nutrients in food, so filling up on water won't satisfy you for long. Of course staying hydrated is important for maintaining your overall energy and body functioning, but contrary to popular belief, drinking it in excess won't boost your metabolism or flush away fat.

6. Myth: When you're on a diet, drinking juice is a no-no.

Fact: Juice gets such a bad rap these days, but the truth is, juice isn't inherently bad for you, provided you're actually drinking juice -- not a juice drink. Juice drinks are loaded with added sugar and preservatives. So check the label to be sure you're only reaching for 100 percent juice. The caveat? Because juice is much more concentrated than fruit, you need much less of it. Limit yourself to 4-ounce servings of juice, Sass says. Of course, whenever possible, you should choose whole fruit over juice, because fruit contains fiber, which fills you up, and is left behind when you extract the juice.

7. Myth: All sugar is bad for you.

Fact: When it comes to the sweet stuff, not all sugar is created equal. Food labels don't distinguish between added sugar and sugar that was naturally in the food to begin with, says Sass. For example, most dieters wouldn't consider eating canned fruit because of the grams of sugar listed on the label. However, if it's packaged in its own juice, then you're just eating the sugar that was already in the fruit. Lots of good-for-you foods naturally have sugar in them, such as low-fat milk, says Sass. Instead of looking at the grams of sugar on the nutrition label, read the ingredient list. Foods containing items like high fructose corn syrup should be kept to a minimum.

8. Myth: Exercising on an empty stomach burns more fat.

Fact: If only it were that easy. The real deal? When you do aerobic exercise, your body is burning fat as well as carbohydrate stores from food you've recently eaten, says Sass. So if you skip your pre-workout meal or snack, you won't have carb stores to burn. But that doesn't mean you'll burn all fat (a physiologically impossibility). Instead, your body starts to burn its own muscle for fuel. And less muscle means lower metabolism -- not the goal of any dieter. Not to mention that exercising on empty means you'll probably be too tired to go all out, which translates into burning fewer calories during your workout than if you had properly fueled up beforehand. Ideally, you should have a meal three or four hours before a workout, or a snack one to two hours before exercising.

9. Myth: Drinking liquid meal replacements will help shrink your stomach.

Fact: No way ... liquid diets are strictly for babies! Any shrinking that happens from a liquid diet is likely to be in your imagination -- not in your stomach, says Blatner. Why? "Your stomach is a muscular organ that will stretch temporarily when you eat, and then return back to its normal size." There is nothing you can do to shrink your stomach, she says. As you diet, over time you may get used to eating less, but that's not because your stomach has actually shrunk.

10. Myth: Eating grapefruit will help you burn fat.

Fact: That eating grapefruits will help you lose weight is one of the most persistent among diet myths -- and just when you think it's gone, it resurfaces and becomes all the rage again every few years. "It's ridiculous," says Neporent. "There is no food that has intrinsic "fat-burning enzymes" that magically melt fat from your body. There was one study that demonstrated the effectiveness of this diet, notes Neporent. However, it was small, isolated, and there is some question as to whether the citrus industry sponsored the research. If you want to eat grapefruit as part of a well-rounded diet, go for it. They're rich in lycopene -- an antioxidant that protects against heart disease and breast cancer, says Keecha Harris, DrPH, RD, and spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. Incorporate it and other lycopene-rich foods such as tomatoes and watermelon into your diet each day, she says.

--Jennifer Fields

Wednesday weigh-in

Cliff is amazed:  He's two pounds lighter than he was last week, weighing in at 222 1/2 pounds.  I'm 146 1/2, a loss of a half-pound.

Why is Cliff so surprised? 

1.  Because we ate at the Mexican place... TWO DAYS STRAIGHT!  But we split a meal, both times.

2.  We had SPAGHETTI (Cliff's favorite food in the whole world) twice.  Ah, but I made the sauce from scratch (no salt except what was in the half-pound of Italian sausage I added) and I controlled portions.  The portions, however, were quite generous.  Cliff's idea is that anything that good has to add pounds.

3.  We ate taco salad last night; Cliff's ideas about that are the same as his attitudes about spaghetti.  Again, I controlled portions, right down to counting the Fritoes (we each got 31).  I used a lower-sodium taco seasoning, and ground turkey instead of beef. 

We're still walking every day, and enjoying life to the fullest.  Cliff goes back to work Monday.  I am so thankful for his health, and I intend to do everything in my power to keep his heart problem-free.  We've been given a gift, and I don't intend to take it lightly.

Chicken Breasts Dijon (yum)

I fixed these for lunch today; of course, there's enough left for another meal AND enough to chop up in some salads.

                               CHICKEN BREASTS DIJON

6 small chicken breast halves (about 3 pounds), skinned and boned.
1/4 cup Dijon-style mustard
1 teaspoon vegetable oil (of course I used olive oil)
2 tablespoons dry white wine
freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons mustard seed

Heat oven to 400.  Remove any excess fat from chicken.  Place chicken,meaty sides up, in rectangular pan, 13X9X2, sprayed with Pam.  Mix mustard, oil and wine; brush over chicken.  Sprinkle with pepper and mustard seed.  Bake uncovered until chicken is done, about 30 minutes. 

I didn't have any mustard seed, so I put 1/2 teaspoon of ground mustard in the oil, wine and mustard mix.  And I simply used ordinary black pepper.

1/6 recipe is a serving:  270 calories, 7 grams fat, 46 grams protein, 120 mg cholesterol, 2 g carbs, 230 mg sodium.

This has Cliff's seal of approval, and he hasn't always liked things Dijon.

Wednesday weight loss report

I'm down one pound, to 147; that's 41 pounds lost since last December.  Cliff is now 224.5, a pound and a half lighter than his last weigh-in, and 52 pounds lighter than before Christmas.  Not bad, coming off vacation, eh?

The doctor didn't want Cliff on his motorcycle for six months after surgery, but he's been going for short spins for three weeks or so.  His sister called yesterday evening and invited us over for a "healthy meal".  She's been making a real effort to cook and eat for good health, lately.

Cliff said, "You want to take the motorcycle?"

I almost said no, then I thought to myself, "If he's going back to work in a few days, he ought to be able to ride his motorcycle, and I shouldn't be afraid to ride with him."

It was nice to have the sense of "back-to-normal" that riding the Gold Wing gave us.

Besides, check out what I found HERE, and scroll down to "when to resume usual activities".  This is put out by the Society for Thoracic Surgeons, and says at three months you are back to normal.  Cliff's brother, Phil, went back to work three months after his heart bypass.

Now I realize that one should give heed to his own doctor, and not what he reads online or hears elsewhere.  But since Cliff is at the point of doing what he feels like anyhow, this article does make me, personally, feel better about it.

I love 'em!

Ritz has come out with a lower-sodium cracker.  I mean, REALLY lower sodium!  Once you start de-salting your diet and have gotten used to it, you'll thank heaven for these babies.

When I put some of my Smuckers non-hydrogenated, natural peanut butter on a Ritz, I'm in heaven.  Of course, you have to limit yourself.  That's the hard part.  I see on their website they also have a no-salt-added variety, but I have yet to find that in my store.

Natural peanut butter simplY has no additives to keep it from seperating, so when it seperates it will have have oil on the top; then you have to stir it.  The simple solution is to keep it in the refrigerator, where it won't seperate at all.  I figured that would make it hard to spread, but it doesn't.

Why avoid hydrogenated foods?  Transfats!  Read this, from the American Heart Association. 

HYDROGENATED FATS

AHA Recommendation

The American Heart Association urges you to read the labels before buying an oil or margarine. We recommend that consumers choose spreads that have liquid vegetable oil as the first ingredient and no more than 2 grams of saturated fat per tablespoon. The fat content of most margarines and spreads is printed on the package or label.

Select liquid and soft tub margarines are low in both saturated fats and trans fats (some are trans-free). These are preferable.

Trans fats result from hydrogenation. They increase total and LDL (bad) cholesterol levels, which increases fatty buildups in arteries and raises the risk of heart attack and stroke.

Right now trans fats are included in the saturated fat category on food labels. As of Jan. 1, 2006, trans fats must be listed separately. Many food manufacturers have already begun labeling their products for trans fats and more are likely to do so.

I have a  feeling that, as people become aware of what foods are bad for them, and read the labels, trans fats will begin disappearing from many processed foods.  I can only hope.

What sort of meals did we have away from home?

Breakfast was always cereal, usually shredded wheat with banana.  Why?  Because it's virtually sodium-free, not to mention it's a whole-grain cereal.  So when breakfast is shredded wheat with skim milk, we're way ahead of the game.  If we have a bit too much salt eating lunch out, it averages out all right for the day.

One meal a day, usually the noon meal, we bought out... and got whatever we wanted.  After all, it's vacation.  The day we were in Silverton, Cliff had a hot roast beef sandwich with potatoes and gravy, and I had a  Reuben sandwich.  One day, our meal out was a Subway Spicy Chicken Terriyaki sub.  Great on the calories, terrible on sodium.

The only meal we ate out Saturday was a medium Pizza Hut pizza, delivered to our motel after a days hard driving and riding.  And yes, we ate the whole thing, dividing it exactly in half.  Sunday we split a 16-ounce steak and each had a sinfully huge baked potato loaded with butter and sour cream, then followed that with a piece of coconut cream pie, also shared between the two of us.

Most evenings in the motel, we enjoyed a huge salad.  It was rather difficult hauling all the makings of salad around Colorado with us, but we pulled it off.

The thing about our eating plan is this:  We can have anything we want to eat... we just can't have it often.  And knowing we don't have to say, "I can NEVER have steak, pie, ice cream or whatever..." makes it easy for us to stay on track most of the time.

 

after our vacation

I'll wait until tomorrow to post our weights:  let's just say the news is good.  We ate fruit as our snacks, all the way across Colorado, along with the 100-Calorie Packages of snacks by Nabisco, which are true life-savers for Cliff.  Most of their salty varieties are higher in sodium than I'd like; but Frito-Lay has brought out 100-calorie packs of lower-sodium Cheetos that aren't bad.  No trans-fat in any of them.  I'm still waiting for someone to get the trans-fat out of vanilla wafers.

We consumed two cantaloupes, pounds of grapes, a half-dozen apples, and probably twenty bananas during our week in Colorado.  I'm especially happy about the bananas, because I just read an article at HeartCenter Online about how potassium somehow balances sodium levels.  We always take along individual fruit cups (in its own juice) and individual cups of applesauce (unsweetened for me, but Cliff likes some sugar in his).  Oh, and we munched on carrot sticks, bell peppers and celery a lot.

One thing I read on HeartCenter that I didn't like:  temperature and humidity have a definate relationship to heart attacks.

Anyway, we're consuming massive amounts of fruit around here, and loving every bite.

Wednesday diet report... on Friday!

My son arrived last Saturday evening, and I've been having a virtual cook-a-thon and bake-fest, trying to make sure he got a taste of his favorite foods while he was here.  He headed back to Georgia this morning.

Cliff and I got somewhat off track with our eating:  he had much more meat than I usually have available for him to eat, and probably considerably more sodium.  I made chocolate chip cookies, and couldn't resist eating one while they were warm, and one more later.  However, Cliff didn't have a single one.  And the morning I made cinnamon rolls, neither of us had so much as a taste.  Well, OK, I had a piece of one somebody left in the pan, but it was only a bite.

The good news is that Cliff and I weigh exactly the same now as we did when Jim arrived.  I'm happy with that.

There'll be no Wednesday diet report next week, because hopefully we'll be on Colorado.  While I may have a laptop along, I won't be taking scales.  I don't foresee any problem with eating properly while we're on vacation.  Breakfast is easy when it consists of cereal, milk and fruit.  Most of our suppers will be a salad.  We'll buy lunch out, but we'll split meals.

At least, that's the plan.