Monday, January 12, 2009

In time for Spring

As I sit here waiting to leave work (I am waiting on someone to finish their treatment before I can leave), I am thinking about dinner, of course.
It is Monday and I did not prepare as well as I usually do for the coming week. I did make a salad, but it is small and will only work for lunch tomorrow. So what's for dinner? I need something light because I ate a lot for lunch and something fast because I don't expect to be home before 8 and by then I will be hungry.
I am thinking Dr. Praeger's pizza bagels, oh or maybe I will make my own with the 100calorie sandwich thins I have. Yum!
I was also thinking that I would make a chicken soup in the crockpot for the rest of the week, because of this great link from SaraK about low calorie crockpot cooking.(wow, SaraK I think I got it!)
There is no chicken soup there but Z brought it up as a diet food, filling and perfect for this frigid week here on the East Coast.
Speaking of frigid...Do you think cold weather is more conducive to weight loss? I feel like it is. Its as if the air is so cold we are using lots of calories just to keep our vital organs warm. Now I know SaraK will not like this, but think of it as one advantage to winter weather-that and you can hide behind big sweaters!
I found this from some website that proves my point:
Did you actually know that wintertime is the best time to lose weight? Why?

In winter your body has to use much more energy/calories (used synonymously here) in cold weather than it does in warm weather to keep you warm, therefore, a lot more calories are used than in the warmer months. If you start a weight loss program in the colder months, you don’t have to focus as much on exercise to help shed those pounds because the weather is naturally doing it for you. (I am not sure I agree with so completely- I don't think its cold enough here to forgo exercise, maybe on the North Pole ~SK)

Look at hibernating animals do, they use their stored fat during the winter months to take them into the spring.

If only we could store our summer fat and hibernate all winter! We would be skinny just in time for spring!
Stay Warm and if you make a good soup this week, I want to hear about it.
Stay tuned for Tuesday's weigh in...
SK

10 comments:

SaraK said...

Yay for getting the link!

I find that I eat much more in the winter because it's so cold that I just want to stay inside and not move around. I find that I also crave comfort (fatteing) foods. This week is a zoo at work. I brought lunch today and I did OK, except that my Clementines froze the fridge here. But I don't know when I am going to be able to leave and I'm too busy tonight to cook dinner and then I have to come back to work at midnight and be here all night! (We have a special project) So I will probably be noshing all night as I try to stay awake.

And then Wednesday is my birthday and dinner with friends. Wish me luck!

Anonymous said...

Summer is easier for me - heat makes me less hungry (minus the ice cream urges) and there is nowhere to hide ... but gosh, imagine if 'swimsuit season' actually affected us???

SK said...

But still imagine if you ate as much as you do in the winter, in the summer, then you would be twice as nice because you wouldn't have the cold air to force you to burn more calories.
SaraK, if you are reading this while at work all night-my advice is to busy your mouth with drinks like soda or coffee. And if you have to eat, eat something real and substantial to avoid the endless noshing.
Good Luck!

SaraK said...

I was so busy that I couldn't get out of the office, so my boss treated all of us to dinner. So I ordered a K salad from cafe K with grilled tuna. I'm drinking coffee and chewing a lot of gum to keep my mouth busy. Hopefully I will do OK!

zehava said...

I made chicken soup tonight, but it didn't turn out so great. Hopefully it will be better tomorrow! (or maybe I'll skip it tomorrow and eat it on Wednesday night instead.)

I try to limit my trips to the grocery store to twice a week and I plan out exactly what I am having for dinner each night of the week. I find it very helpful...

SK said...

I also try to grocery shop on Sunday and then again on Thurs for Shabbos. But, this week I was just lazy. So dinner last night was mini pizzas and they were yummy and satisfying. So sometimes winging it can work.
SaraK do you want to plan what you are going to eat at your birthday dinner before going? I think that helps so I don't just eat everything in sight, just because its my birthday.

zehava said...

I forgot to comment about this: but for some reason, I have always found it easier to diet in the winter, which I think is the opposite of a lot of people. There is something to say for getting rid of all of your extra layers and emerging from the cocoon as a butterfly in the spring. :)

I think a component of it for me is that its much easier to cook and eat hot yummy foods in the winter. In the winter I can make soups and sautee veggies and in the summer I don't want to be standing over a hot stove so it really limits my dinner options to just salad and that gets pretty boring after a while....

Also, I think people are out and about more in the summer, which entails eating out more. In the winter I stay home and when I'm home its a lot easier for me to control what I'm eating....

SK said...

I agree with Z. In the summer on Sunday the last thing I want to do is cook hot food and stay at home. Unless its a BBQ! I find that I make more of my own when I am cold and its fine to be home in the warm house cooking yummy soups and things.

Rivka said...

Sarah, I do have a great soup recipe for you. I got it form the No Flour, NO sugar diet cookbook. I even got Kevin to eat it and it has CELERY AND ZUcchini in it which are tow foods he"hates"
SO here it is:
Turkey Barley soup(I use ground beef bcause I can't find turkey here in the boondocks)

1lb Ground turkey
1 15oz can diced tomatoes
1/2C chopped celery
1C barley
1 large carrot, chopped
2 medium Zucchini sliced
1 bay leaf
2 TBSP dired parsley
2 chicken bouillon cubes
8C water

Brown Turkey in large pot and drain. Combine all ingredients and simmer covered for 1 1/2 hours.

ENJOY!!

ALL OF MY KiDS LOVE THIS TOO.

Rivka

Rivka said...

please excuse the mispelled words, it has been a long day
rivka