Weight on a Plate

A Walk through Prague

2008-10-15T12:56:00.006-04:00

We went into the center of Prague today and had a great time walking around. I knew we were going out for lunch, but we weren't sure where. We ended up at a little dive bar/restaurant serving Mexican food, La Casa Blů for a lovely lunch. I had two chicken tacos, and they were surprisingly tasty and flavorful. I didn't think I would get such yummy Mexican in Prague!

Daily Food Journal (Current weight: 213.2 - weigh-in day is Mondays)
10/15/08
Steps: 12,283 (4.45 miles)
Breakfast:
Yogurt
Lunch:
2 chicken tacos
2 beers
Dinner:
1 bowl Tom Yum soup
Snacks:
Lindt Chocolate with Chili - 2 squares
Comments:
This was a great walking day. We walked from I.P. Pavlova to Staroměstské náměstí, and back to Náměstí Republiky. And, luck me, I also bought some awesome new boots at Bat'a, my favorite Czech shoe store that doesn't exist in the U.S.!

Purpose of this blog

2008-10-14T08:15:00.005-04:00

For myself as well as my readers, I will explain the purpose of this blog.

I am seeking to find a balance of eating well and living well. I would like to lose weight, and will record my weight on this site on a weekly basis. I am not obsessed with weight, but know that I am overweight and I am hoping that keeping this blog will serve as a kind of journal to help ME be aware of what I am eating and how I am living.

I would like to eat whole foods, but am not rich, and live in the real world, too. So I will try to eat as few processed or chemically-ridden food as possible.

I have become nervous about processed foods, and foods that are "lite." I don't know that they really do their jobs. And if they do, I am concerned about the repercussions. We don't really know what the drawbacks are of such processed foods, but I wouldn't be surprised if they were somehow linked to alzheimer's, autism and yes, even obesity. These are my opinions only, perhaps more of a conspiracy theory than anything else.

Regardless, I am here to post my weight, what I eat, recipes I try, my thoughts and feelings. I am an English teacher, and in no way a food-professional.

I am a normal girl who is trying to control her weight, and be healthy, and start a family and be real.

Tom Yum Soup

2008-10-14T08:04:00.009-04:00

Today I made Tom Yum soup. This is a spicy Thai soup and I got the recipe from about.com.

My husband and I have agreed that if we had to eat one type of cuisine for the rest of our lives, it would be Thai food. We LOVE it! We have tried many Thai restaurants, and have a favorite restaurant in NYC - Zabb - and one in Prague - Noi. When I return to the US I plan on taking a Thai cooking course. In the meantime...

This is my first attempt at cooking Thai food. I was browsing my favorite Prague restaurant blog and found a Thai Asian food market. I thought - what a welcome change from heavy Czech food - let's make something! And so here we are.

I though a soup recipe would be very flavorful yet not too fattening. The major calorie holder here would be the coconut milk. The market did not have low-fat coconut milk, and so I am using regular, full fat coconut milk. Anyway, I have been sick, and the weather has been chilly here in Prague, and this seems like a nice remedy for both.

Because of limited supplies (this is Prague, where some ingredients are not as readily available), I used what I believe were freeze-dried Oyster mushrooms - which blew up to huge proportions, as you can see - instead of Shitake, and Kaffir Lime Leaf powder instead of fresh leaves. It was really tasty, but not as tangy as I had hoped, so I kept adding more lime leaf powder...thus, the soup has a greenish tint. I also added some Sriracha, my favorite condiment. This helped and it was a lovely recipe! Next time I will shitake mushrooms, but I will definitely make this recipe again. It was very easy, and very tasty!

Daily Food Journal (Current weight: 213.2 - weigh-in day is Mondays)
10/14/08
Steps: 5137 (1.8 miles)
Breakfast:
Yogurt
Lunch:
1/2 portion of Smazeny Syr (fried cheese - damn (good) Czech food!)
1 beer
Dinner:
1 bowl Tom Yum soup
Snacks:
Lindt Chocolate with Chili - 2 squares
Comments:
Well, fried cheese is not a great lunch, but it wasn't much at least.
Great soup!
Didn't walk too much, but getting over a cold and so basically stayed home, except the walk for lunch.

The way we eat here

2008-10-14T07:28:00.003-04:00

Staying in another country, with my in-laws, I have had to adapt my eating habits to theirs. This is part of my challenge - to retain some semblance of control over my eating habits while not being rude or offending my lovely family (who don't speak English, and my Czech is very limited, so actions definitely speak louder than words!).

Czech food is very "meat and potatoes," though often the potatoes are replaced by knedliky, which are sometimes referred to as "dumplings" but are really just slices of a thick, dense bread (sometimes made from potatoes) that is steamed.
There is not much focus on vegetables in a typical meal... not to say there are none featured, but it's just not the same as what I, as an American, would consider a real show of a vegetable with every meal.

My mother-in-law cooks for us a lot - one meal a day. She and my father-in-law do not eat dinner - they just kind of snack on fruits or sweets or yogurt for the rest of the day. So lunch is the main, large meal of the day. This is great, but I do get hungry for a dinner most days, and need to plan, otherwise I am forced to rely on frozen "Americky brambory" (potatoes wedges) or other frozen food, which my mother-in-law continues to buy, despite me pleading with her to stop.

A typical day of food can look like this:
Breakfast: a roll with spreadable cheese and slices of salami OR a yogurt (& maybe a banana). Take a guess which is the "good" breakfast, and which is the "bad"!

Lunch: meat, chicken or pork in sauce with potatoes or knedliky OR soup

Dinner: salad of tomato, cucumber, bell pepper and cheese (mozzarella, feta or balkan, which is like feta) OR leftovers from lunch OR a frozen pizza.

Snacks: various chocolate, sugar wafers, yogurt, crackers or kolac (Czech cakes - any type of cake, usually including some jam).

Snacking can become a problem... Czechs love their chocolate, and we buy a lot to keep here in the house.

As much as I know I should just cut sweets out of my diet, I truly am determined to enjoy a sweet and still lose weight and remain healthy. Of course, I am of the Weight Watchers school of "portion control" (which I think at this point we all know is probably the key). And... sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.

One of my problems with food is that, despite being a rational and intelligent person, I don't make the connection between eating and weight. They are too separate things in my mind. I tell myself, if I eat this, I will gain weight... but I push that thought to the back of my mind, eat the dangerous item (and possibly many of them), and then am surprised when I have gained weight that week. Stupid, I know. One of the balances I'd like to find is the one in my mind, where I understand cause and effect.

Anyway, finding a balance of continuing to eat Czech food, as well as learning how to cook it - my project as the winter months come and we find ourselves indoors - and still maintaining a healthy eating lifestyle, is a project I am working on.

Let me introduce myself...

2008-10-13T17:25:00.007-04:00

My mother says I am obsessed with food. I think I might be... but is that so wrong?

As the organized, and food-oriented, person in the relationship with my husband, I generally plan the meals.
As someone who has been overweight for many years and who constantly has weight loss on her mind, I try to think in advance, to be prepared, so I don't just eat a bunch of crap.
So... I think about food. A lot.

Am I "obsessing" over food by simply trying to think ahead, to avoid getting stuck eating out of a vending machine? Or is my "obsessing" unhealthy? I am overweight... if I was skinny would my focus on food be seen as such a problem?

A little history on me:
I am 30 years old. I have been married for 7 years. I am from both Indiana and NYC and have a great appreciation for all types of cuisine, fine dining, dives, cooking and food stores. I watch the Food Network. I watch Top Chef. I pick up tips that I use in my kitchen. I read books about food (Ruth Reichl's books rock my world).

I have been overweight for what seems like forever. It probably hasn't been that long, but it seems like it. I am 5'9" and currently weigh 213 lbs. When I got married I was at about 175 and I would like to get down to that again, which seems pretty good to me, despite the fact that a healthy weight range for my height begins at 125 lbs.

Several years ago I went on Weight Watchers and lost 20 lbs. I think Weight Watchers is great. More on them later. Then, I gained about 10 lbs back, and three years ago my father died and I gained 30 lbs. I assume these two events were related. Regardless, Now I need to fix this.

Current Situation
My husband and I want to have a baby. We are going to start trying soon, and I am nervous that my being overweight will negatively affect this process. I guess we will see.

We are currently in Prague, Czech Republic, for an extended stay with his family. We have been here since July, and plan to stay until early February 2009.

This blog will serve as a forum for recording what I eat, what I weigh, what I cook, and we'll see whether I can manage it all, as well as lose weight and still be happy. . . or if it will all fall apart and I'll crumble and blow up like a balloon.

Please, send some feedback, advice, comments and support. I'd love to hear from you!

Daily Food Journal (weigh-in day is Mondays)
10/13/08
Weight:
213.2
Breakfast:
Hoeska (Czech bread roll w/ spreadable cheese & slices of salami)
Lunch:
Reuben Sandwich w/ steak fries
1 beer
Dinner:
Leftover chicken and bell peppers in creamy tomato sauce
Snacks:
Lindt Chocolate with Chili - 2 squares
Comments:
This was not a great day. I haven't had a Reuben in forever, but read that a new restaurant in Prague has good ones, and since I haven't had American food in ages (3 months) I had to go for it. Also, tried to quit smoking today, ended up having 3 cigarettes.