A Blast from the Past: Retro Dieting with Metrecal

I love hanging out on retro recipe blogs and in my travels I've come across a few vintage ads for "Metrecal".   Metrecal was a diet drink marketed in the 1960s through 1977, first as a powder, then as a canned "shake" type beverage.  The Slim Fast of the sixties, I suppose, except for a few differences.  One difference is, Metrecal was a "liquid protein" whereas Slim Fast isn't really all that high in protein.  Wait, I just researched this and now Slim-Fast does make a high protein version, with 20g of protein.  The original Slim - Fast was mostly sugar with milk and fiber that filled you up.

Two, the recommended Metrecal diet daily calorie intake was 900 calories!  And, one was supposed to subsist strictly on Metrecal and not eat anything else.  Or, was that just what people actually did?  It seems to be gently suggested to do that in the ad below, with the disclaimer to "ask your doctor first" of course. 

I suspect the real plan actually was to subsist on 900 calories a day, because Borden came out with a competing product, and it was 900 calories worth of  diet drink in one container.  I guess one was supposed to sip on it all day?  Easier to carry home than 90 cans, right?

This ad I found on Ebay as much as tells us, the container of Ready Diet "supplies a complete 900 calorie daily diet".

I am amazed at the contrast between these concepts and today's mass-media advertised diet plans.


Slim-Fast tells us on their website to eat 3 - 100 calorie snacks, 2 shakes or bars at about 180-200 each, and a 500 calorie dinner.  That's 1160 to 1200 calories per day. That's about the basline for "low calorie" diets.  There is no popular diet telling anyone to eat less than 1200 calories today.

Your total allotment of Weight Watchers points would be between 1400 to 1800 points depending on your starting weight!  And then they allow you to "earn" Activity Points, which means, I walked around the block so I can have a bag of these:

Uh, why?   And then you have the extra "reward yourself" / don't change your habits points that you can spread over a week or some such thing.   So, the base points measure out to about 1100 - 1800 per day based on your weight, but with all those extras added in too - it puts you way over the 900 calories that Metrecal-drinkers in the sixties were adhering to.

I just know, a fat person who has been living a sedentary lifestyle will not lose weight on 1800 calories per day!  I won't lose weight on 1800 calories and I won't lose weight fast enough on 1500.

1200 and under is a necessity for fast weight loss.  And fast weight loss is a necessity for me to stick with this.  I am seeing results, I am happy with what I am doing and I am eating WELL!  We Americans with our national average BMI in the overweight range and our obesity epidemic are just sooooo afraid to admit that we eat too much and that we have become so unwilling to undergo even the smallest of discomforts.   No pain, no gain, remember?  No loss without a cost.  Actually, doing without a bunch of junk food or an overabundance of good food that makes you sick?   Not really pain.  Just common sense.

As I said in my last post, I am raising my calorie intake for the next 2 days to around 800 and we'll see how that feels.  I am doing what works for me!  As they say in the diet ads, "consult your doctor" before doing what I am doing.  Additionally, I am not a nutritionist, physician, nurse or any kind of health professional!  I am keeping this blog to keep myself honest and to share with anyone who might find some of my tips, recipes and 500 calorie diet musings helpful.   I am not advising anyone else only sharing my own journey.

Chicken for breakfast

My sleep schedule has been crazy so I find myself hungrier for protein in the early hours of they day. Yesterday's red cabbage meal had my protein in it. In the evening I ate a breakfast-y toasted oatmeal with toasted coconut and apple sauce.  Delicious, by the way.  Here's the recipe for that:

Toast 1/4 cup oatmeal plus 3 tablespoons flaked unsweetened coconut in a dry pan or in the bottom of your slow cooker.   (75 calories oatmeal, 100 calories coconut)

Add to a half cup (more or less) unsweetened natural applesauce.  Trader Joe's Gravenstein applesauce is a favorite of mine.  (50 cal.)

Sprinkle some cinnamon if you like.  Enjoy.

Toasting the oatmeal adds so much flavor!  I will never add boiling water to oatmeal again.  Oh, and don't use the boxes full of packets of oatmeal!  Get the round container of good old Quaker Oats or a generic brand for best value.  

It was very tasty and satisfying at only 225 calories.  If you have calories to spare, you could always add a little more applesauce.

That was last night's meal.  This morning I had chicken and broccoli with a little lemon and 1 tblsp pecorino romano for less than 300 calories, I believe.  Let's calculate:

3 oz fresh chicken breast, broiled in its own juice   170

6 oz frozen broccoli -- 50
fresh garlic and fresh lemon juice - I don't count the neglible calories in this
1 tablespoon pecorino - 20
1/2 tbsp olive oil - 60

300 exact.  Was delicious.  That 6 ounces of broccoli was a copious amount and there was plenty of chicken on my plate.

I ate half a granny smith apple and 10 grapes as well.  I am upping my calories to about 700 - 800 for the next few days to avoid  crashing and burning.  The other night I had what I think is "carb flu".  Slight chills, headache - luckily it was bedtime anyway, so I slept and got an extra 2 hours sleep.  Lucky me, I can do this.  Felt much better upon waking.  That's why I'm going to add the extra calories.  I don't want to make this un-doable nor do I want to make myself sick.  At 800 calories, I am still very low.  

One symptom I haven't had is excruciating hunger.  I experience a hunger pang when I haven't eaten for a few hours, I drink some tea and it goes away.  And this doesn't always happen!  I think this is because I am eating protein, fresh veg and fruit - high volume, low calorie and the protein is very sating.   I am hoping to shed another 5 to 7 pounds this week. I know from past experience that there usually is a larger loss the first week of any diet.  "Water weight" they say, as if it isn't real progress - but ask yourself, who wants to walk around with 7 excess pounds of water on their bodies?  I don't.  Not a good look.  So anyway, we'll see if I can duplicate the great results I got last week. 

I will keep making good choices and continue to be honest with myself.  The rest will follow.

Day 7 - Easy like Sunday morning

Ok, not really easy, but it hasn't been as hard as my denial kept telling me it would be.  I've been weighing in every day since Monday.  Here's what my weigh-ins look like:

mon	238.0
tues	238.0
wed	234.5
thurs	234.5
fri	234.5
sat	234.0
sun	231.0

Yes, that's right! I am down 7 pounds now. And, like I said, I wouldn't say it was easy, but I haven't the issues that I thought I would. First of all, after about the first 36 hours, I stopped craving my usual intake of junk (I think doing the "before" photos helped with that). So resisting temptation hasn't been an issue this week. Second, I am not forcing myself to eat food I don't enjoy. I have been preparing fresh vegetables, eating fresh fruit, getting my protein in from nuts, mostly, but I did eat a can of wild tuna this week as well. I fixed the kale recipe that I posted and today I am doing a red cabbage and apple recipe from Martha Stewart. It includes bacon; I used turkey bacon, of course. I don't eat very much pork, even at the height of food anarchy, and the turkey bacon is much lower in calories. And calories count. Every little calorie counts when you're doing VLCD (very low calorie dieting). And that brings me to my third point - I am tracking my food, but I am not obsessively tracking every single morsel that touches my lips.  I have years of experience with weight loss, weight maintenance and staying fit.  I know the calorie count and nutritional content of many foods without looking them up.  I know what normal, non-gluttonous portions are supposed to look like.   And I also know that chewing a stick of gum shouldn't have to be subtracted from the 500 calories I am allotting myself for nutrition.   The idea here is to wring the best nutrition out of a very small amount of food, not spend 350 calories eating a chocolate cupcake and then starving the rest of the day.  The cupcake makes a difference, though, and should be counted - well, it shouldn't be eaten in the first place.  But the few calories in a stick of gum or an Altoid do not matter.  That's because I am staying honest with myself.  I am not going to sit down and eat a case of Altoids, so I think I am ok with not writing down each Altoid that I may consume.

So, all in all , it is going great and I remain motivated because of that awesome 7 pound weight loss this week!

Kale for breakfast!

This morning I made the kale recipe below for breakfast. I added the vinegar while it was simmering, used ACV not red wine, less olive oil and added about 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper because I like spice.  You could add one slice of turkey bacon for 35 additional calories but since I'm staying very low this week, I didn't do that.  Approx 1/3 of a 500 calorie day so not bad.  I ate some raw celery with it, I do not count calories for celery, lettuce, onions, cucumbers or cabbage.  I won't count raw carrots either but I will do overdo eating raw carrots because they are a bit higher on the glycemic index.  Perhaps 2 or 3 raw baby carrots per day will be enough.  When I made the kale, it did have some bits of carrot and other veg because the stock I used is from a clear vegetable broth mix (no sodium). 

Bobby Flay Kale Recipe  (from the Food Network website)

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds young kale, stems and leaves coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely sliced
1/2 cup vegetable stock or water
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Directions

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook until soft, but not colored. Raise heat to high, add the stock and kale and toss to combine. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Remove cover and continue to cook, stirring until all the liquid has evaporated. Season with salt and pepper to taste and add vinegar.

Per serving: Calories: 178; Total Fat: 11 grams; Saturated Fat: 1.5 grams; Protein: 6 grams; Total carbohydrates: 18 grams; Sugar: 0 grams Fiber: 3.5 grams; Cholesterol: 0 milligrams; Sodium: 336 milligrams

Link: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/sauteed-kale-recipe/index.html?oc=linkback

 I drank some coffee today and haven't had the rest of my meals yet.  I plan to make some roasted Baby Bella mushrooms with a bit of pecorino romano cheese, sundried tomatoes and spices.  I will post my recipe and let you know how it turns out.  Next time I make kale, I may try some of the kale and beets recipes that I see on that Food Network page.

Day 3 Weigh In - RESULTS!

Well, my day 3 weight was 3.5 pounds less than my day two and day one weight (which was the same both days).  Maybe I'll post a chart and start tracking my food here, but not ready yet to post my actual weight.

So - RESULTS!  See, my fair readers, this is why I am doing it this way.  I have already elminated 3.5 pounds of water and air from my midsection.  And seeing that lower number makes me feel encouraged.  I have a loooong way to go.  I need to have a motivating little jump start so I can get where I need to be!

I felt so elated by the weigh in that I had enough courage to take my "before" pic in bra and panties.  THAT was a big ole let down.  So bad.  So bad.  Yes, I have a long way to go.  But - I've started!  I am three days closer to reaching my goal.

You are what you eat

I was just thinspo - ing on tumblr and came across this well-done illustration by fellow blogger Brandon Loving.  I hope he will not mind my including it in this post. It speaks loudly, particularly about why something like a 500 calorie diet, near-fasting and intermittent fasting are so controversial here in America.  I like the tags he used for the post, including "overfed".

You are what you eat - a minute on the lips, a month on the hips.  Would you rather walk around clothed in a gorgeous sun dress or wearing your gluttony on your sleeve (and pants leg and hips and belly)?

Nothing tastes as good as that empty feeling feels and nothing looks as good as a healthy, well-taken care of body.  Discipline looks great on me and on you, too.

500 Calorie Diet - Day 3

Well, here I am in the middle of day 3 and I finally felt my first hunger pang.  How I am coping?  I fixed myself a large cup of green tea and added a small amount of raw sugar.  It feels great, soothing and nourishing.

See, this is why no one will convince me that short term very-low-calorie diet is a bad thing for those in the "Obese" range of BMI.  Last time I tried to diet, I didn't feel any hunger for WEEKS.  I wasn't doing V.L.C. (very low calorie) then.  It took a long time to feel "empty".  It also took a long time to get any results.  My weight is up so high that if I have to wait two months to lose five pounds, I am going to quit.  I need to see and feel immediate results to stay in this game.

I believe the hunger does not kick right in partly because the digestive system is so overworked it sort of shuts down and thus, I was so loaded with undigested food and gas that it took 60 hours for me to even feel physical hunger.  Mental and emotional hunger?  Sure.  Mouth hunger?  Yes.  The impulse to habitually graze? Had to resist it.  But hunger pains? None until just now.

I remember in my healthier days, I would arrive home from work with a growling stomach, ready for dinner, because I ate the correct number of  calories and didn't sit around snacking all day.  In addition, I was active.  Thus, I would experience hunger every day.

This doesn't happen in obesity world.   The only stomach pains I experience there are the overfull stuffed feeling or some kind of gastric distress.  A little hunger never hurt anyone and nothing tastes as good as that empty feeling feels.  I embrace the hunger and learn to love it because it means I am treating my body properly and it means I am on the road to better health and a sexier silhouette.

Being able to wear all the clothes that I love, some of which I still own - oh, how sweet that is going to be.  Being able to walk in higher heels again!  I know I can.  Right now I am limited to just my wedges and maybe a 2.5 inch regular heel would be manageable.  I have sadly discovered the true reason why all my fat girlhood friends would "hate" on the latest heel styles.   "Oh, those are so UGLY" really meant: "I can't walk in them so therefore, I will save face but pretending to hate your trendy shoes.".  Thank god, I did not have to carry this weight as a teen or a single 20-something.  My heart goes out to all those suffering with this disease, but especially young women who have so many other pressures on them. 

I don't only do this for vanity, though. I do it for health.  I am not young anymore and I've been fairly lucky so far, healthwise.  I do not want to risk my health due to careless eating (the kind way to look at it) or gluttony (the brutal reality way to look at it).  

Back to hunger pains, yes, I feel them and they tell me that my body is functioning and is cleansing itself of these extra pounds.  I am grateful.