portions and the like...what's up with THAT?

[Melissa Costabile]

OK, so I was yapping with one of my associates today about portion sizes/control, caloric input vs/energy output & the sociology & history of food consumption overall. Ya see, back when they churned butter, milked cows, walked with water from a well & scrubbed thir own clothes with a washboard, our ancestors were putting out so much more energy than they were eating. Sure the common cold could kill them, but cholesterol and other things that are killing us today due to modern convenience were unheard of. They were more likely to have been killed by polio or being kicked by a horse than they were for what they ate and had a heart attack. Nowadays, we rarely make ANYTHING from scratch per se, everything we want to make from scratch has most of the ingredients premade anyway. What a gyp.

SO what's a girl to do? The smart thing to do is start a food journal. Yes, a journal documenting everything you put in your mouth for the day...sounds scary? Well, the only way we will know HOW we are gaining weight is to make note so it is there, in your face, where you can say "Oh God! I ate that cake at the office birthday party, AND had a large sweet T from McD's??" Yep ya sure did. Those veggies & fruit didn't really mean too much now did they? It's like my Weight Watchers lady in CT told me WAY back: "Girls, we didn't get fat eating vegetables."

Once the scariness of the journal review is over, we can start to focus on weak points, foods we find comforting and why & when during the month (wink wink!) and go from there to control portions. Or find really yummy substitutes! Yes, I know candy is not a greaqt example of this, but I was thinking about how I NEVER eat chocolate except for once a month. Yep. SO I go and get these chocolate flavored twizzlers (they are actually WAY better than they sound!) and Coca Cola flavored gummi cola candy & my craving for those flavors is gone. That probably only happens once or twice a year, so I AM pretty lucky. But it is just as sweet and tangy to eat a granny smith apple as it is to eat a sour patch kid candy (AND your teeth will thank you too!)

OK, sorry, Off the soapbox now. Let's get out there and come up with and maybe share some cool receipes, huh? Whaddaya say guys? Are we all in this together or what? And maybe walk around the block during our 15 min breaks. A lil walking won't kill me! Man, I need some food ideas...

Much love,

M :)

[Leslie]

MEXICAN BEAN SALAD (high protein/hi-fiber/hi-Vit C)
3 cans unsalted corn (0rganic)
3 cans drained black beans (organic)
1 Organic red pepper chopped
1 Organic yellow pepper chopped
1 Organic green pepper chopped
1 Med/ organic red onion chopped
1 12 oz bottle Fat Free Italian dressing
Marinate for 1 hour in fridge.
Serve with LowFat Tostitos Scoops / low fat cheese
Add into scrambled Egg Whites
Add to tossed green salad

MMMMMM Yum Yum!