Returning home from Atlanta after Christmas, I faced a dilemma: none of my clothes fitted me. Airport security no doubt would have problems with me flying home sans clothing, so I ended up having to wear my drawstring pajama pants on the flight home. I was uncomfortable from overindulging over the holiday season and needed to make a change.
I've never properly struggled with my weight, but like any other woman I know, I did have body issues. Add that to a love of food and years adding up quickly, I needed to figure out how to drop the excess pounds, without punishing myself. After all, I couldn't deny myself the foods I love or the enjoyment of cooking.
the science of eating.
There are hundreds of diets on the market - Atkins, South Beach, Weight Watchers, the GI diet, etc - purporting to offer a quick and easy way to lose unwanted weight. Each has a theme, whether it be low-carb, low-GI, or low-enjoyment.
But the bottom line is this: to lose weight you have to eat fewer calories than you expend. I found an excellent website called Weight Loss Resources that offered to help you maintain that balance.
Basic principle:
1 pound = 3500 calories.
to lose 1 pound in a week = eat 500 fewer calories each day.
The website (www.weightlossresources.co.uk) is essentially a database, with US and UK foods stored inside of it. Thus, you can track exactly what you eat to make sure you are following the plan correctly.
I admit this has an element of the control-freak to it. But there was a startling simplicity to it too. The themes of South Beach, for example, do not have to be forgotten to use the site. By tracking the calories in food, I was able to make more informed choices about what I was eating - tracking the fiber, protein, carbohydrates and fat in what I chose.
The site offers a 3-day risk free trial, so it's definitely worth checking out, if for no other reason than to see what's in your food. It could be very enlightening. I know it has been for me.
It took me from the end of January to the end of April to lose 20 pounds. Along the way, I could splurge with the knowledge that I simply needed to log what I ate and get back to eating heathily again. A heavy day can be followed by a few lighter ones.
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A passion for food and love of cooking lures me into the kitchen most nights, cooking for myself and my husband. If I'm not there, I'm trying restaurants both new and old. I live in east London with my husband, and I write about culinary and health-related issues surrounding food and create recipes that are seasonal, healthy and delicious (most of the time!).
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Meet the chef - Jennifer Trent Staves
A passion for food and love of cooking lures me into the kitchen most nights, cooking for myself and my husband. If I'm not there, I'm trying restaurants both new and old. I live in east London with my husband, and I write about culinary and health-related issues surrounding food and create recipes that are seasonal, healthy and delicious (most of the time!).
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How it all started...
It all started here on a lazy Saturday morning. Having been out late for drinks with friends, I was lounging on the couch watching Saturday Kitchen with a cup of tea. I had been thinking about starting this blog for awhile now, but a new job was keeping me busy. But with my husband Pete snoozing away and having time to catch my breath, it finally began.
Some background: food has always been a part of my life. I grew up in Atlanta with my parents, brother and lovely cocker spaniel. My dad is an amazing cook, and as we grew up, it was dad, experimenting in the kitchen. A fisherman at heart growing up on the Gulf coast of Florida, he loves all seafood and would cook it most days if only my mom would allow. My mom is also a great cook but prefers the comfort of a recipe book close at hand and doesn't like wavering from the print.
When I moved to New Orleans at 18 to go to college at Tulane, I began my own cultural food awakening. There were spices and flavors I'd had, some I'd recognized, and some I'd never even heard of. When I finally had my own flat, I had my own kitchen, and I played by my rules. I'd want to cook something, but didn't always know how - so a ring home to Dad gave me the instructions needed. Confidence grew, and I found I wanted to come home to cook most nights. I didn't want prepacked food on the shelves or the nearest takeaway.
By the time I moved to London at 22 (I didn't realize it was permanent at the time, but it has turned out to be) I felt awakened. I was willing to take anything on, try new things. Or so I thought. English food culture turned out to be such an enlightening experience. Thai and Indian food were not a part of my food life - but they're intrinsic to my enjoyment of food now.
Vegetables. Oh my god vegetables. It sounds weird but there isn't anything better. I was a vegetarian for about 5 years - and I swear, I didn't eat nearly as many vegetables as I do now. American use of vegetables in my experience consisted mostly of green beans and corn. Although Americans do a great salad too.
But the English have opened up my eyes to the beauty and simplicity of the vegetable. I now load my plate with things I probably would have considered disgusting in my teenage years. Parsnips. Fennel. I can't think of a vegetable I don't like, to be honest. If I come across one, I'll tell you. But the more I eat, the more I like.
Therein lies the rub. I love food and love experimenting but (like everything else in my life) I can get carried away. Take it that bit too far. One year I gained twenty pounds just because of my love of food. (Lack of exercise probably didn't help!) But over the past year, I have come to realise that you can make gorgeous food with amazing flavours - and it can be healthy - but it's not always easy. You have to work at it, have to experiment, which is exciting in and of itself.
I personally think most recipes don't need half of the oil they call for. Tweaking things to make them healther (and often, more flavorful) is exciting and I love it. I can (almost) always eat my own food. There are notable exceptions.
Cue the husband. Tall, lean, stomach capacity the size of North America. He can eat for days and not show a thing. And as I'm generally the cook in the house, it's been a sub-project to find things I can eat that he'll enjoy too. You'll see as we go along. I have several tactics - but my end goal is that we have nearly the same meal on our plates when we sit down. That involves compromises on both sides - but we're both happy after the meal. If either of us isn't - you'll hear about it.
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