Friend of Julie: Inside My Refrigerator

I have been going through one of those times when I feel frustrated that I'm not losing more weight. It's so easy to focus on wanting to lose weight faster. I remind myself this feeling comes and goes, and that sooner or later it will pass. "Focus on something else." I told myself." I turned my focus to the inside of my refrigerator.

The Refrigerator.

In our sessions with Julie," she reminds us we didn't gain this weight by going straight up on the scale and it won't come off by going straight down; there will be plateaus. Plateaus are a natural part of the process. Julie often asks us "what are you eating?" and from our answers, she helps us identify foods we are eating that are off program or that we're eating incorrectly. I wanted to know if what I'm eating is causing a plateau, so I pulled out my camera (iPhone) and opened my refrigerator for answers.

Inside my refrigerator, there are a handful of condiments on the top shelf. I don't overindulge in any of these items. I say that, but before I move on, I pause and ask myself: How much mayo do I add to my chicken, egg, or tuna salads? Am I eating too much fat? Too much fat can cause a plateau.

Milk, yogurt, mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, tomato juice, broth, maple syrup.

Sometimes feel like I'm living in what I refer to as a "grey zone." I'm in a grey zone when I'm eating things that are on program, but the way I'm eating them is not correct. I suspect these grey zones (or grey areas) cause me to plateau.

That was the last quart of milk I bought. I have moved to the gallon size. I'm drinking hot coffee with frothed my milk at home and saving money (by not going to Dunkin Donuts) and cutting back on the fat from half and half. I recently asked about milk on this blog and Linda remembers Julie saying milk is the only 'free' food. That's good to know; especially since I've had more milk this month than all of last year. Thanks again Linda for your feedback. Half and half is allowed, but I prefer the taste of frothed whole milk.

Someone posted a comment about siggi's yogurt being on sale a few weeks ago and I immediately ran out and bought some. Wow-it's so flavorful! I remember when Julie said she loves siggi's blueberry yogurt - the room full of people nearly exploded at the mention of fruit! Julie smiled and then assured us siggi's yogurt is allowed. My favorite is ginger and peach.

Thanks to the person who responded to my question about yogurt (and cottage cheese) earlier this week:

• Yogurt must be eaten with protein and it should not be eaten more than twice a week.
• Cottage cheese must be eaten with protein.

This is what I enjoy about this blog - I hadn't eaten yogurt since last summer and siggi's was a great place to start. I was really on a roll eating yogurt alone (and loving it) a few times a day) without a protein. I'm glad to now have the facts straight on these two items.

A half empty bottle of maple syrup sits in the back of my refrigerator; it doesn't call my name. I need to give it away because it's been there over a year and I won't be eating that stuff for a long time. It's too expensive to throw out.

The top shelf also has a variety of tomato juices. Really-three bottles of tomato juice? I bought them months ago thinking I would make vodka drinks. This morning I threw out the bottle I opened in December; I only made one Bloody Mary. Tomato juice, like any other veggie we're allowed on this program, needs to be eaten with an equal amount meat. Tomato juice is not an issue for me. Neither is cat food.

Wow - I haven't even moved off the top shelf yet and I see lots of items contributing to my plateau!

Opening my cheese drawer, I see another grey area. Cheese is on program, providing we use it like a condiment. See that big package of Brie? That was the main event for my dinner one night. Yes, I ate the entire package by myself. Yes, I had veggies with the brie, but this was way too much cheese for one meal and I didn't have any protein with the cheese. "Danger, Will Robinson!"

Cheese is a definite grey area for me. Use it as a condiment!

I ate that small triangle of Parmesan cheese over a few days with pepperoni, bite-for-bite. The portions were off - cheese should be treated like a condiment--not in equal portions with meat. Before I started this program, I didn't eat much meat, so I asked about pepperoni in my first class. Yes, pepperoni is allowed, but Julie warned me to be careful because of the level of fats in pepperoni. This was one of my favorite combos during this year, but this should be more of a treat that I have from time to time instead of a lunch standard. This pepperoni-Parmesan combo is a definite way to slow down weight loss and cause a plateau.

My initial thought about the items on the door of my refrigerator was that none of them are problematic. Let's take a closer look. I use butter sparingly. Relish gets added as a condiment to my tuna salad. I use Marie's coleslaw dressing when I make my own coleslaw and I don't over dress it, but here's where I get into trouble with coleslaw: my protein-to-veggie portions are often out of balance. I need resolve this or stop eating coleslaw for a while. If our protein-to-veggie ratios are not balanced, we can plateau and over time lead to weight gain.

Left shelves: butter, relish, Marie's Coleslaw dressing, pickles.
Right shelves: salsa, coffee, water, Sky Vodka.

I always have protein with pickles and I finish the jar within a month of opening it, most of the time. Another aspect of this program is that Julie talks about what's in the foods we eat. One part of this discussion includes an analogy about potato chips, which goes something like this (it is a longer discussion than this):

When we were kids, potato chips used to go soft. Ever wonder why they no longer go soft? Preservatives. Products can be sold as "natural" and "without preservatives" if the preservatives are added to the packaging. After about 30 days of opening a jar, the preservatives they put on the lid begin to break down and leak into the food. 

There is one more grey area in my refrigerator, sitting on the bottom shelf of the door: vodka. Vodka is the only alcohol we're allowed and for a long time, I just didn't drink at all. I'm really not much of a drinker, mainly because of my Irish tendencies to sometimes break out in hives. It's no fun turning red in the face and feeling like I have hot flashes. I found I can enjoy one vodka with lemon on the rocks (sometimes with a splash of seltzer) without having an allergic reaction. A second one, not so much. I really like this drink when it's made with ginger infused vodka. This is where the grey area comes into play: Julie warned us to be careful of infused vodkas. I always assumed her warning referred to fruit infused flavors. Could my ginger infused vodka be one of the reasons I'm at a plateau?

Yes, ginger infused vodka may be contributing to my plateau. If I add up all of my grey areas, I see a lot of reasons why I have been at a plateau for so long. It also helps me understand why there are days when I feel like I've gained weight - I probably have!

I've been working on this piece since I took the photos inside my refrigerator, which was about five weeks ago. That was two weeks after my last session with Julie, which is when I started thinking about going back for another refresh. A refresh after just two weeks? I debated every few days about making the call. I thought a refresh was the answer; Julie could give me a reboot and I'd be on track again.

It just didn't seem right to go back in such a short amount of time. I also did not want to spend another three months at a plateau, or, worse, gaining weight. I decided working through this myself is key to my success; it is key to losing my weight off and key to keeping it off.

Last week, when talking with a friend about my refresh dilemma, I noticed my sentences began with "I'm having a hard time with..." and I knew right then and there that I was close to figuring out where I had gone off course. When I'm on program, I don't use phrases that begin with "I'm having a hard time with.." I had been off-program and didn't even know it.

Julie teaches us how get back on course when we've drifted by asking us "what are you eating?" Through my exploration to answer this question, I also discovered I've been getting "away with" eating foods incorrectly and a few foods not on program, because I have so much weight to lose. Julie warns us that we may get away with things off-program for a while, but it will catch up with us. It has caught up with me.