The Cooking Angle

Anyone following this blog up to now is probably wondering about the title. Once the short story of my journal to health is told, this blog will focus mostly on cooking and eating really great food. I have pretty much been a lifelong gormet cook (a Chemistry major in college, so a logical outcome in life). In my contemplative stage pre weight loss, I thought that my passion for cooking might have to be a much smaller part of my life. Of course, I was so wrong. The challenge merely changed: find and create really great recipes that are also health promoting and inherently lower in calories.

In my current role as personal trainer and weight management consultant, I have discovered many people surprisingly clueless about what to eat, especially for dinner. Some people just will not plan, shop and cook. They generally don't succeed at the weight management battle. But for those willing to put in the effort, I'm pleased to provide lots of recipes. I will offer many that can be made ahead and frozen for a quick dinner later, I'll also offer quick and easy last minute stuff. I'll tell you what needs to be in your kitchen all the time so you can always produce a worthwhile dinner. One of my current weight management clients said: "It is easy, now, for me to eat sanely. I love having a tasty dinner to look forward to. Other eating plans had lots of plain, plain, food. And I know I couldn't live with that the rest of my life."

So the eating plan is simple: calculate how many calories a day you need to eat to lose one half to one pound a week. Be honest about your activity level when you make the calculation. And please, please, get on an exercise regime that includes weightlifting. A great site to help with your daily calorie calculation is Fitwatch.com. Although they offer a paid option, all the information you need is in their free site, including the calorie count of just about anything. They also give very detailed nutrition information about all the foods listed in their site, which can be very useful. For example, my sister-in law is staying with us for a while post surgery. Her magnesium is low. A quick visit to the site told me I need to feed her dark green veggies, nuts, oatmeal and other whole grains. What could be easier?