WHOLE FOODS - PORTION CONTORTIONS

Watching your calories?   Lots of people are.  I am.  Did you know that EVERYTHING is low calorie?  (that is, if you make the portion small enough)  Did you know that EVERYTHING is high calorie? (that is, if you make the portion large enough)

Here is a riddle that always trips up people...once.   WHAT WEIGHS MORE, A THOUSAND POUNDS OF BOWLING BALLS or A THOUSAND POUNDS OF FEATHERS?   Here is a similar question:  What has more calorie, 500 calories of CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES or 500 calories of celery?

Have you ever gone to the supermarket and purchased a PINT of Ben and Jerry's Rocky Road Ice Cream or some similar product.  Have you noticed how many portions (servings) the manufacturer claims are within this container.  I don't know about you, but I have always considered one pint of ice cream to be ONE SERVING.  Of course, this is the type of thinking that quickly helps a person expand his/her waistline to 50 inches (and beyond) and causes the scale to tip past 300 pounds as it did for me.

Similarly, just because a type of food is healthy DOES NOT MAKE IT LOW CALORIE.   For example, nuts are a healthy snack food.   How many almonds can you eat at one sitting?   I am sure that I could eat scores and scores of them - and that is the problem.  Just because a food is healthy, does not make it a low calorie option if you overdo the portion.

I remember eight years ago when I initially lost eighty pounds. (you know...before I gained back every single pound and added nine more for 'good luck.')   Back at that time I 'discovered' WHOLE FOODS for the first time.  And once I discovered WHOLE FOODS, it didnt take me long to discover their BULK FOOD section that this store and similar grocery stores have for their customers. In the bulk section one will find granola, figs, dates, raisins, cherries, all kinds of different nuts, chocolate covered raisins, and a whole bunch of delicious real, non-processed, allegedly healthy foods - just not necessarily low calorie.

                  

Each bin is clearly marked with the caloric content (per some ridiculously small portion - often just 28 grams.   Do you know how many POUNDS THERE ARE IN 28 GRAMS?  (ANSWER: 28 GRAMS=.06 POUNDS) There are very few products that are listed at more than 250 calories.  Sounds good, right?  WRONG.   Just because one serving of anything is 'only' 250 calories - does not make it low calorie - especially if that serving is ONLY 1/4 cup, and the consumer unknowingly perhaps consumes three, four or perhaps five servings!

The secret to navigating the bulk foods section is to understand portion control.   In recent weeks I was starting to make the same mistakes that I made eight years ago - I was buying these foods with reckless abandon and trying to trick myself into believing that I was not eating much more than one serving.  DO YOU REALIZE HOW SMALL A CUP IS?  OR A HALF CUP?  OR A QUARTER CUP?  DO YOU KNOW HOW LITTLE 28 GRAMS IS? DO YOU REALIZE HOW LITTLE FOOD IS CONTAINED IN A BAGGIE THAT WEIGHS .06 POUNDS?

I know that I really didn't.   So the question is: What to do?

The answer was simple and I guess one can say that it took me a nearly a decade to figure it out.  Now, when I visit the bulk section at WHOLE FOODS or similar upscale markets that offer a bulk section I might come armed with a measuring cup.  In fact, my measuring device is a rectangular shape and I can read the markings to know what a 1/4 cup, 1/2 cup, 3/4 cup or full cup is.   I pour my purchase into the measuring rectangle first so I know precisely how much of whatever it is that I am buying.

Now, I realize that there are normal human beings out there that are capable of buying large portions of anything and rationing the amount they eat once they are home.  My problem is that I have not cured myself of the urge to overeat.  I still do not have the willpower to resist foods that  are in my home or simply with me on my person. I try to carefully buy what I am going to eat one meal at a time when it comes to these delicious bulk foods. This is the only way I know how to try to control my urge to eat.  YES, I HAVE LOST 90+ POUNDS - but I know myself too well - I am not 'cured' of the problem that brought me to that level of morbid obesity in the first place.

The nice thing is that since all the prices are by the pound - there is no problem with buying 1/4 pound, 1/8 pounds, 1/10 pound or 1/20 of a pound of anything.  This works for me.   I buy real small portions, usually of a bunch of different items... and it still can add up.... but it does not add up to some unknown high number which will derail my calorie control efforts.

For example...today I had breakfast at the Whole Foods prior to my two-hour workout.
I bought TURKISH FIGS, MANGO SLICES, CHERRY VANILA GRANOLA, GINGER CHEWS, and even some CHOCOLATE CHIPS!  Sounds like a feast, yes?   Well, it was not exactly a feast - although the total calories of this potpourri of foods was 995 calories.   But here is the amazingly interesting fact that I am going to share with you today.... Can you guess how much money I spent to buy this 'feast'?   $19.95?    $9.95?   $6.95?   Here is the answer.... I spent $3.20!     And here's how:

.05 lb (22.7 grams) Sun-Dried Turkish Figs (actually only one fig!)  @ $8.99/lb               .45
.05 lb (22.7 grams) Dried Mango Slices                                             @ $14.99/lb                .75
.33 lb (149.5 grams) Cherry Vanilla Granola                                      @ $2.99/lb                .99
.08 lb  (68.1 grams) Ginger Chews (six candies, that's it)                   @5.99/lb                  .48
.04 lb (18.2 grams)  Cacao Chips (a bit more than 2 tablespoons, that's it) @$9.99/lb     .40
SALES TAX                                                                         .13
GRAND TOTAL ------$3.20 (BUT STILL 995 CALORIES!)

.05 lbs sun-dried turkish fig   74 CALORIES
.05 lbs dried mango slices       62 CALORIES
.33 lbs cherry vanilla granola 654 CALORIES
.08 lbs ginger chews (candy)    120 CALORIES
.04 lbs cacao chocolate chips     85 CALORIES
TOTAL CALORIES  995 CALORIES (but it cost only $3.20)

TODAY'S LESSON....WATCH THOSE PORTIONS!

and if you are wondering....28 GRAMS = .06 POUNDS (THAT MY FRIEND, IS NOT A LOT)

another thought:  It would be quite something else if one had to ask a store clerk for .06 pounds (28 grams) of anything.  One could easily make the argument that that would be obnoxious and an unfair way to waste the time of a store clerk.  I think it would be.  I am talking about bulk food operations where it is 'self-serve.'   No one's time is being wasted.  There is no embarrassment factor.  

conclusion: The bulk foods section at the grocery store can be a horrible place for a calorie counter to buy food - OR THE BEST PLACE IN THE WORLD TO BUY FOOD.   

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 WEDNESDAY MENU

breakfast  cherry vanilla granola, semi-sweet cacao chocolates, 
                 dried mango slices, sun dried FIG, chewy ginger               995 calories
lunch        WHOLE FOODS 'BEET' BURGER, sausage (86 grams)
                 ginger harvest mix, raw cacao goji, strawberry vanilla granola,
                 crystallized ginger chunks, red delicious apple                   1211 calories
dinner       wasabi green peas, chewy ginger, toasted coconut almonds,
                 original corn snack                                                                 403 calories
SNACK   KIND BAR ALMOND COCONUT CASHEW CHAI BAR 200 calories
      
TOTAL CALORIES CONSUMED 2809 CALORIES

calories burned

CHICAGO YMCA 125 MINUTES PRECOR EFX ELLIPTICAL MACHINE
                   9.83 MILES ('ONLY')                  1560 CALORIES

WEDNESDAY NET CALORIES  1249 CALORIES

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I did not 'hit' my target of 10 miles today...however,
I still think I had a pretty good workout!  1560 CALORIES!

I HAVE A QUESTION FOR MYSELF...

UH...what happened to the plan of working out seven days per week for thirty minutes per day?

Recently I have been working out for two hours plus each day!   

I would not be doing this if I was not enjoying it... and finding the time is not difficult when one starts at 6:00AM in the morning! (and sometimes earlier!)

It's so unlike me to go overboard... 

yeah...right!