I've gained three pounds. No, not another three pounds on top of the last I mentioned; it's the same three I keep losing, then putting back on. I know why it happens, and I know what I could do to stop it. I just don't. It's wintertime, I'm house-bound, and I feed my pouty self snacks at night to make up for it. Hurry up, springtime!
If I stayed at this weight, it wouldn't be a big deal; but if I gain three now, then another two or three next week, it's going to matter a lot.
Cliff is up two pounds from last week, although he's really doing well at watching how much he eats. I'm the one having the problem here! We couldn't take our walk for over a week, and that makes some difference.
Now that I'm used to watching for trans-fats on labels, I took the advice from Sparkpeople to heart and started reading ingredients. In an article called "The Loopholes of Labeling", it's explained this way:
"Experts recommend that people avoid trans fats, which are created when
oils are hydrogenated during food processing. But you can't trust a
product's claim of zero trans fats, nor can you trust the nutrition
facts label on this one. Always read the ingredients
This may seem
insignificant, but it does add up. Think about a box of cookies. It
says "zero trans fats" on the front of the box and on the nutrition
facts label, but it lists "partially hydrogenated oils" in the
ingredients list. This food can contain up to 0.5 grams of trans fats
per serving, yet the labeling is legit. Over time, when you consume the
6, 10, or 20 servings of cookies in the box, you'll consume 3, 5, or 10
grams of trans fats." list. If
the words "partially hydrogenated" appear in it at all, then the food
DOES contain trans fats. But thanks to labeling guidelines, any food
that contains 0.5 grams or less of a nutrient can be listed as zero
grams on the nutrition facts label. "
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Friday, January 12, 2007
First entry of 2007
I never worried about trans-fats until after Cliff's surgery. That's when I learned how bad they are for us. Eating them increases the risk of coronary heart disease. While they occur naturally in the milk and body fat of ruminants, most trans-fats we encounter are from good old Crisco, and from all sorts of store-bought baked goods.
Vanilla Wafers are great for folks watching their calories; five or six cookies are 100 calories, something like that. I used to buy the off-brand cookies at Dollar Store, though; and those are loaded with trans-fats. I found out that even most brand-name cookies have the little killers, too. Finally I found Nilla Vanilla Wafers, at $3 a box, had none. I bought those, and kept them as Cliff's private stock.
Imagine my delight the other day when I discovered that Dollar Store's cookies are now trans-fat free, all of them! I can get Cliff three boxes of cookies for the price of one, and I can afford to let the granddaughters eat them too!
Oreos have become trans-fat free in the last few months. Crisco makes a shortening now that's rid of them, although I've had trouble finding it in some stores. It works as well as the ordinary stuff, so I'm patiently awaiting the day when all Crisco is trans-fat free. This isn't a biggie, though; I only use it for pie crust, and pies are a rarity around here. For everything else, I cook and bake with olive oil.
Eating out is getting somewhat safer, too. Even Kentucky Fried Chicken booted trans-fats out, except for their biscuits.
Yes, the world is getting a little more heart-friendly all the time.
Vanilla Wafers are great for folks watching their calories; five or six cookies are 100 calories, something like that. I used to buy the off-brand cookies at Dollar Store, though; and those are loaded with trans-fats. I found out that even most brand-name cookies have the little killers, too. Finally I found Nilla Vanilla Wafers, at $3 a box, had none. I bought those, and kept them as Cliff's private stock.
Imagine my delight the other day when I discovered that Dollar Store's cookies are now trans-fat free, all of them! I can get Cliff three boxes of cookies for the price of one, and I can afford to let the granddaughters eat them too!
Oreos have become trans-fat free in the last few months. Crisco makes a shortening now that's rid of them, although I've had trouble finding it in some stores. It works as well as the ordinary stuff, so I'm patiently awaiting the day when all Crisco is trans-fat free. This isn't a biggie, though; I only use it for pie crust, and pies are a rarity around here. For everything else, I cook and bake with olive oil.
Eating out is getting somewhat safer, too. Even Kentucky Fried Chicken booted trans-fats out, except for their biscuits.
Yes, the world is getting a little more heart-friendly all the time.
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