Monday, August 13, 2012

Reading and Comprehension 101

So I posted last week that it felt like I had stalled a bit (only dropped a pound rather than the three plus I had been losing) so i focused on fat and found that no, overall my fat intake was lower than the recommended daily allowance. So what gives?

I discovered that I have SRS, selective reading syndrome and yes I just made that up, which caused my ability to accurately count calories (from recipes I hadn't customized or created myself) to be off. Not hugely far off, but off none the less.

One of the web sites I have been referencing for recipes has been The Full Plate Diet, they have a great set of starter recipes and that portion of the site (I discovered) is driven by another site called Eating Well (also great). I noticed that although the two sites displayed the exact same recipes, TFPD's format and layout had subtly changed a part that was important. I had been reading this part that said "Servings" and beneath it there would be a number (vertical), but at Eating Well that same listing said (in line) "Carbohydrate Servings XX". I was missing the the word Carbohydrate above the servings listing at TFPD's site. It was there I had just selectively ignored it.

I drilled down on the recipe part because I really felt something was off, I had been adjusting my servings down from what I "thought" was correct because it just seemed like way to much food. It was. There was another part of the recipe that did have the serving size listed correctly but I had been ignoring it. I did all the detective work because I had been reading every box I picked up, going to calorie counting sites to get the data on the foods I was eating and I knew that I was missing something.

So I'm back on track and I've adjusted my recipes to do two things:
  1. Make smaller batches. I was following the recipe verbatim before and they were designed to feed 6+ people sometimes (so I had tons of left overs)
  2. Accurately measure out exactly 2 to 3 servings worth (so I have some left over but not tons)
By making smaller batches I have found I can be very accurate in how many calories I am getting. Breaking it down into a number of servings (rather than a listing of what makes a serving size) I can visually break what I have prepared up into exact portions.

So I dropped two and a half pounds last week because I had begun my sleuthing at the beginning of the week and had adjusted my diet appropriately by mid week. I am happy as a clam, and exercising my noggin when it comes to food prep. If something seems to good to be true or is off, it probably is.

Menu * for today:

Breakfast - Kashi GoLean is the king. 1 cup of Kashi. 1 cup of mixed berries and 1/2 cup of 2% milk. Calories 345, Fiber 7g

Snack - Multi grain Chips and Hummus. 1 oz (about 10 chips) of Food Should Taste Good Multi grain chips and 2 tbs of plain Hummus. Calories 194, Fiber 4g

Lunch - A combo of Mediterranean Roasted Broccoli and Tomato's with a serving of Barilla Whole Grain Penne . Calories 274, Fiber 9g

Snack - Carrot Sticks and Hummus. 1 cup of carrots and 2tbs of Hummus. Calories 110, Fiber 4.8g

Dinner - Pocket Veggie Sandwich - 1 whole Oroweat Pocket Thin (a pita bread) with a serving of Cucumber & Black Eye Pea Salad stuffed inside. Calories 361, Fiber 13g

Total
Calories = 1284
Fiber = 37.8

* I was adding fat grams to my menu listing but now that I know fat was not the culprit and it is obvious that my fat intake is right where it should be to encourage healthy weight loss, I won't be adding it to the mix any longer.

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