Mark still has follow-up doctor visits, 4 since he left the hospital and he has only be home 2 weeks.  He also receives 2 shots every day for a blood clot and will be for 3-6 months (if it goes away).  There are more blood draws, studies and visits to come and some days he is okay with them and some days his is not.  He realizes that it could be so much worse and is grateful that his condition should improve over time.  I wonder what he is really thinking and how he feels about coming so close to not making it.  When we visit doctors, they stare at him and seem almost giddy and shocked that he is sitting in front of them.  One doctor told Mark that this is one of the biggest hurdles anyone can overcome and that later in life when he is faced with a difficult situation, he should remember what he went through, that if he could beat MRSA the way he did, he can do anything.  What powerful words from a doctor, not at all what I would expect, but words that should be said because they are true. 

I don’t know when this ride will end.  I believe that this was life changing for my entire family and even when we get the all clear that this infection has left his body, there will be many scars left behind.  I do know that we have found so much support from our community.  So many people from all over were praying for Mark and helping our family get through this difficult time.  There are still prayers being said and there is still support coming our way and for that we are eternally grateful.  Prayer works – Mark is proof of that!

I hope that more can be done to find more ways to treat and kill MRSA and that doctors and researchers can learn more about this deadly disease.  It doesn’t take it’s time or silently creep into your body.  It is fast, furious and mean and it takes no prisoners.  Listen to your instincts when your child gets sick, if you are wrong – so what,  you could also be right.  I’m so glad I did!

In the beginning, Mark didn’t really seem to be as sick as he was.  He was alert and very much a part of his care.  Mark would ask his nurse about his vital signs every time they came into his room.  In ICU, the patient has their own nurse.  When the nurse is not in your room, they sit right outside looking at you through a window 24 hours a day.  He would also ask the doctors really good questions and was so polite to each and every person that came to see him, which some days could be up to 15 different people. 

As time went by, it became apparent how very sick Mark was and we were reminded frequently by every doctor.  They did not mince words and were very blunt, “Your son is very, very sick…it will get worse before it gets better”.  Over and over again, they would prepare us for the worst and my husband and I would look at each other dumbfounded — could this really be happening? 

Mark had many specialists that were involved in his care.  The MRSA infection was in his blood and he was in septic shock, which is very serious.  In the beginning that was first priority because apparently sepsis is the worst thing that can happen and it was happening.  They didn’t know it was MRSA until the third or fourth day he was in ICU, they knew it was some type of infection in his blood and lungs (pneumonia) but it takes days for infection to grow from a blood culture.  In addition, his right leg and ankle were swelling faster than they could figure out why.  He needed to have an MRI, but was not stable enough to be moved.  His blood pressure was so low and they were pumping him with fluids and drugs to stabilize him…his breathing was getting worse.

After a few days, he was stable enough to go for an MRI which lasted 4 hours!  That is when orthopedics came on board, along with hematology.  Mark now developed a DVT clot in his upper right thigh, which according to doctors is something that happens with MRSA…back to that later.  The ortho doctors suspected that the infection has now entered his bone at the base of his tibia before the ankle joint.  They also saw a pus pocket in his calf and they would need to do surgery right away.  Mark was scared, he knew that they were going to put in a breathing tube and that they were going to leave it in to do another test to check his heart valves (cardiology, more on that later too).  The doctors tried to put him at ease and said taking the tube out when he wakes up wouldn’t be so bad…they didn’t know it wasn’t going to come out for seven days…to be continued.

Later that morning, he texted me at work that he didn’t feel good.  I told him to go to the nurse if your sick, finals were starting that week and I didn’t want him to miss them over a little bug.  He texted again that the nurse was on break.  It was 12:30 p.m. and if I picked him up it would still count as a full day of school, also he was done his tests for the day.   When I arrived at the high school, the power was out and had been for at least two hours.  It was very hot in the school and when I saw my son walking down the hallway he was bundled up with a hoodie and shivering.  Oh boy, I realized he was really sick and was glad that I listened to my instinct.  I had to return to work, so I dropped him off and told him to take his temperature and text me the results.  It was 1o1 degrees and I told him to take some ibuprofen and get some sleep – I would be home in 2 hours. 

The morning of  Tuesday, June 15, Mark was still running a fever and complaining about his left side.  I thought maybe he had a kidney infection because there really isn’t anything on the left to worry about.  I took him to the pediatrician and they listened to his lungs and the doctor said he sounded fine.  Although, the doctor noticed he seemed to be laboring in his breathing so they tested his oxygen and it was 99%.  Almost perfect, the doctor decided that he must have bumped his ribs playing basketball and that the fever was a virus and just a coincidence.  If the pain in side did not feel better by Thursday, come back and they would order a chest x-ray.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010, Mark is still running fevers of up to 103 degrees.  He is not complaining as much about his left side, but has mentioned that his right ankle is hurting.  I notice that it is not swollen and dismiss it as nothing to do with his fever.  I did notice on his left heel a plantar wart that he was overzealous when he dosed it with salicylic acid and it had a blood blister.  I’m thinking of course, this is an abscess and is causing the fever.  I immediately take him back to the doctor to have it checked out.  When we arrive we see a different doctor and he reviews the notes of the day before.  He listens to his chest and says he sounds good, but also notices that he is laboring when he is breathing.  He pokes at the plantar wart and decides that it is definitely not linked to his fever, but he wants to send him for a chest x-ray right away.  The radiology center is right on our way home and we stopped off for the x-ray.  The doctor called while we waited and, as I suspected, it was just fine.  Instructions were to continue with fluids and rest.  That evening fevers are not going below 103 even with ibuprofen and he has excruciating pain in his right ankle.  He ices the ankle and I gave him Benadryl so he can sleep.

Thursday, June 17, 2010, three days of school and finals missed.  Mark is crawling out of his bedroom at 6:30 a.m. in severe pain with a fever of 104 degrees.  We return for a third visit to the pediatrician and see yet another doctor who reviews the previous two doctors notes.  At this point, he is now on crutches that I borrowed from a friend because he can not walk on his ankle which is swollen.  As she is examining him, she notices a rash on his stomach under his skin.  She says not to worry because when she pushes down on the red mark it disappears and that if we notice the red marks getting worse or not disappearing to go to the emergency room.  I proceed to tell her that I’m ready to go now, but she calms me down and says she doesn’t think it is that serious.  She believes all of these symptoms are due to a virus called Fifth Disease and sends us off to get blood work, but we wouldn’t have results until Saturday or Monday.

After the blood work we go home and I get Mark comfortable.  I’m not feeling good about any of this and my gut is telling me that the latest doctor is wrong, but I don’t know what it is…menengitis, encephalitis.  I’m getting scared. Later that afternoon, I stop by the store to pick up some more medicine.  When I return, I take his temperature and it is 105.4 degrees!  We waste no time getting to the emergency room and they take him back right away. 

During this entire time, Mark is alert, aware and doesn’t seem terribly sick — even with the high fever, he is very calm.  As the doctors gather up all of the information from the past few days, they get him hooked up to i.v. and get him fluids and pain medicine.  They take him for x-rays of his chest and ankle.  We were shocked when the doctor returned and told us that Mark had bacterial pneumonia.  He wasn’t even coughing or stuffy, he had a fever and a painful ankle.  They admitted him right away and started to treat him with broad spectrum antibiotics. 

My husband and I are shocked, how could his chest x-ray the day before be clear and now he is that sick?  An orthopedic doctor also comes by and drains the ankle.  The doctor says that the good news is that Mark’s vitals are great and he is alert and sounds great.  We make arrangements and I stay with him at the hospital.  We figure he will be there a day or two and be just fine.  Boy were we wrong.

Morning of Friday, June 18, 2010, doctor sends Mark for a cat scan of his chest and an ultrasound of his legs to look for blood clots.  The cat scan shows the pneumonia and the ultrasound is negative for clots.  We also wait for orthopedic surgeon to see us in case Mark needed surgery to drain his ankle, but we don’t know why his ankle is swollen since the x-ray did not show anything.  As we wait back in the hospital room, the doctor comes back in to speak about Mark’s prognosis.  She informs me that Mark is very sick.  His blood pressure is very low and his lungs do not look good.  She believes that he needs intensive care and that their hospital does not have the pediatric intensive care that he needs.  The doctor has called Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and they are on their way to take us by ambulance back to CHOP and into the PICU. 

We arrive in intensive care and the team at CHOP immediately starts working on Mark.  At this point, he is still very calm and alert — he is even making jokes with the staff.  I still can’t believe I’m here and I am in shock.  How could I end up at CHOP, the very place where my nephew passed away 11 years earlier.  This is a nightmare, am I in the right place…could the worst happen to my baby?  The attending physician and his staff proceed to tell me how sick my son is.  They tell me that he is in septic shock and that his blood pressure is dangerously low because of the blood infection that is running through his body and vital organs.  They do not know what type of infection he has and won’t know for a few days, but that their job is to support his body and keep him alive while they treat him with many different antibiotics.  Over the next few hours, Mark will endure many procedures in order to support his body.  He is also on what they called “pressers”, medicine to help his blood pressure.  At this point, we realize that being on pressers is the top priority and that he is very critical.  They warn us that he may at some point need to be put on a breathing tube without warning.  Also, they tell us that he will probably get worse, before he gets better.  At no time did they tell us that he would get better, they didn’t know if he would.  They did tell us that we would be there for a long time and again, that our son was very, very sick.

It reminds me of when I first joined my weight loss support program back in March 2000.  I had at least fifty pounds to lose and all I could think of was how much weight that is and how I’m never going to get there.  Of course, I did get there and I learned so much on that journey.  But I’ll never forget that night when I joined, as I was sitting there during my orientation all I kept hearing was that little voice in the back of my mind saying ‘you’ll never do it’. 

I have met hundreds of people (maybe even more) over the past nine years wanting to lose weight.   I have sat with them on their first day on the other side giving them their orientation.  All the while I am thinking that they are hearing that little voice just like I did.  It’s so overwhelming sitting there, hearing all this information and reading up on what your ideal weight should be – it’s no wonder so many of those people don’t come back the following week.  If you believe you will fail before you even start, then here is your money back — you’ve already failed.

Of course we all want to lose all the weight in one week (what do you mean I won’t – lol).  Common sense does come along and remind us that we have to work at it; we didn’t gain it overnight so we won’t lose it overnight – yadda, yadda, yadda.  I can recite those words in my sleep. 

All I can tell you is what worked for me.  First, I changed my mind and what I mean by that is, I decided I wasn’t on a diet.  I was never going to diet again. Why should I, I dieted before and always gained the weight back so why would I make the same mistake again.  I went on a live-it and on this live-it every change I made was a change I could live with forever.  I started off by asking myself if this question:  Could I lose just five pounds?  Five sure beats fifty, sounds easy and not so overwhelming.  Soon five pounds becomes ten, fifteen and so on.  Every time I set a new goal — it was always five pounds and no time limit.

Next, I worked on the food.  Could I live without Doritos for the rest of my life? NO WAY!  But, I can limit them to a once in a while treat and only eat the snack size bag (you know an open bag is an empty bag).  Just knowing that I could have the Doritos was enough to keep me going.  If someone told me I could never have my favorite food again for the rest of my life, I would want it more and more.  You know the feeling, when you give up chocolate for lent – all you think about is chocolate. 

I know this all sounds simple and I want to point out that I screwed up so many time I can’t even count.  That’s where that song comes in to play.  You will make mistakes, take a wrong turn and sometimes want to quit.  That is the best part!  When we make mistake, we learn what works and what doesn’t – it’s practice.  We aren’t born knowing how to walk, first we have to crawl. 

Next time you think you can’t do it or you feel so overwhelmed you want to quit before you start, just remember these lyrics or listen to the song (www.mileycyrus.com).  Keep the faith and Live-it!

I can almost see it.
That dream I’m dreaming, but
There’s a voice inside my head saying
You’ll never reach it
Every step I’m takin’
Every move I make
Feels lost with no direction,
My faith is shakin’
But I gotta keep tryin’
Gotta keep my head held high

There’s always gonna be another mountain
I’m always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be an uphill battle
Sometimes I’m gonna have to lose
Ain’t about how fast I get there
Ain’t about what’s waitin’ on the other side
It’s the climb

The light bulb went off one day when I was sitting in my weekly weight loss meeting. I don’t remember what the topic was, but I was frustrated with my husband that week and rose my hand to talk about it with the group. The problem was that I would eat light all day and save up for my evening snack. My evening snack was the highlight of my day. Seriously, all I could think about all day long was my snack. Sometimes it would be fat free pudding with fat free whipped cream or something as simple as popcorn. You would think I was having creme brulee the way I would look forward to this snack (by the way I love creme brulee). The thing is, when I was losing my weight I had three little kids and the baby, at six months old, was still not sleeping through the night. Not to mention, she was like the energizer bunny during the day. My evening snack was not only the satisfaction of eating, but time to myself that I was craving desperately. One night, I had my special snack, but for some reason it wasn’t enough. I kept getting up and going back into the kitchen looking for more, but it was never enough. I guess I had been doing this almost every night and my husband was watching me get up and down looking for another low fat snack. He got so frustrated one night that he yelled out from the couch, “why don’t you just go to bed!”.  After I tell my story and I am waiting for sympathy and ideas from the group, the speaker asks me “so what did you do next?” I was a little surprised, I hadn’t thought about what I did after his remark. I was just so focused on the food.  So I proceed to tell her that I was so irritated with him, I just stormed off and went up to bed. And then she asked me what happened next and that is when the light bulb went off.

I wasn’t hungry! I was tired! The reason nothing satisfied me was because I wasn’t satisfying what my body was really craving — sleep.

We have been programmed our whole lives that food fixes everything. When you were a little kid and you fell off your bike, you probably got a bandage and then a Popsicle with mom following up by saying “this will make it better”. The Popsicle isn’t going to make it stop bleeding, is it?

I realized I was doing this to my kids too. I would decide at ten o’clock in the morning to stop everything because it was snack time, whether they asked for a snack or not.  And they had to have it – it was snack time for goodness sakes.  We can learn a lot from little kids, they know when they are hungry and they will stop what they are doing and ask for a snack.  I was teaching my kids at that early age to eat even when they were not hungry.  I would give them crackers if I was out and they were cranky, knowing that they needed sleep.  They were already starting to go to the pantry looking for snacks when they were bored with playing.  This had to stop and it had to start with me.

The bottom line is that sometimes we go to food when our body really isn’t hungry.  Our body is sending us a signal and we need to learn how to listen to those signals and recognize what our body is really “hungry” for.   This is not an easy task, but we can reprogram our body to recognize and respond to these cues the right way. The first step is to understand that food doesn’t fix everything. For example, if you just had a balanced, satisfying lunch and ten minutes later you are looking for a candy bar in the vending machine– STOP. Think about what is happening around you, did you just get a frustrating call? Maybe you need a time out because you are stressed. Take a quick walk outside or talk to someone who will listen and not judge. Do whatever it is you need to do to help de-stress just remember, food does not fix feelings only hunger.  (By the way, stressed spelled backward is desserts!)

So the next time you are getting up and down looking for that something in the kitchen,
HALT! Ask yourself: Am I
Hungry
Angry
Lonely
Tired?
Only hungry needs food.  Learn to listen to your body and recognize what it really needs and if it is hungry, then please, eat.

I will be posting some of my favorite recipes soon, if you are looking for something in particular or have an idea for me to talk about, please send me a comment.

Remember to Live-It every day and these words of wisdom “If it is to be, it is up to me.”

I can think of so many stories over the years that have something to do with portion sizes.  It seems to be a problem for so many people, myself included.  I keep thinking of one in particular that sticks with me.  I was just starting out on my second round of a weight loss program and was telling a  friend about it.  She also struggled with weight and wanted to lose about twenty pounds, but didn’t want to join the program with me.  She said that she ate healthy food every day and couldn’t understand why she couldn’t lose weight.  In the meantime, I was giving her tips about measuring your food and mentioned that even your cereal needs to be measured and most cereals suggested serving size was 3/4 to 1 cup per serving.  The next day she called me in shock, it seems that she eats very healthy cereal, but the bowl she was using held about 3 cups of cereal and she was filling it up every morning.  Can you imagine, she was eating three servings every morning at one sitting and didn’t even realize it.  What an eye opener that was for both of us.

We live in a super-sized world, everything is bigger and better.  The only problem is our waistlines have gotten bigger, but they are not better.  It doesn’t look or feel good and it certainly is not good for our health.  If you are overwhelmed with where to begin your new lifestyle change, starting with portion size is probably a good place to start.  We can all do one small change.  Start by looking at the nutrtion labels of  your favorite foods and just eat that serving.  One thing you will notice immediately is that some foods are just not worth the serving size.  Cookies for example, some brands have a serving of one or two cookies – why bother.  I’d rather use those calories for something more filling and satisfying, but if you want the cookies that’s fine too - just eat that serving and see what happens.

Now most people do not like to weigh and measure food and I am at the front of that line.  People always ask me if I still measure out my food and I always tell them that I never really went crazy doing that from the start.  What I did was the basics, I would as measure out cereal, pasta and rice.  I always read the nutrition label before I even bought the product.  Some cereals only give you a 1/2 cup per serving and, like I said before, I want to get the most for my calories.  It takes some time in the beginning when you are food shopping, but eventually you will realize what foods are worth it and which ones are not.  The best place to start is with the foods you are already eating.  Of course, you want to weed out some of the junk food, these tips are with the assumption that you generally eat healthy already, just not the right amounts.

Measuring food can be easy without measure cups, there are simple every day items that we can compare and we have our hands.  One cup equals about a large fist or the size of a baseball.  A medium potato equals the size of a computer mouse or light bulb.  A pancake equals the size of a CD, and so does a large bagel.  A serving of meat (3 oz.) equals the size of a deck of cards. 

I believe that one of the reasons we have so much trouble with portion control is because of the environment we live in and guess what, our kids are living in this environment too.  It is important that we teach them to make sensible choices and be aware of the basic guidelines no matter if they are thin or overweight so that they become healthy adults.  I don’t want my children to grow up and have to struggle with their weight the way I did, so it is important that I lead by example, but I try not to go crazy — this is a Live-It.  You can visit www.mypyramid.gov  for more information.

Let’s not forget our favorite beverages.  Remember, calories from your favorite wine or cocktail count and most of the calories come from the stuff we add to the cocktail and not the alcohol itself.  Let’s get back to the wine, a serving of the vino is actually only 3 ounces, but how many of us own a 3 ounce wine glass.  If you’re like me, you might be using a water goblet.  This can be an eye opener for most of us, but that’s just the point.  I want to open your eyes to what you are consuming on all levels.  You can most certainly have your wine, but calories count and you can enjoy your favorite things your Live-It, but in moderation.  Just remember, when you drink – you think your thin – so pay attention

No, I don’t measure all my food, but I do look at my portions and keep myself in check.  I enjoy my favorites, buy don’t overdo it.  Just knowing that I can eat the things I love, but stay thin by not super-sizing makes me happier.  If I slip (and believe me – I do) I take responsibility, forgive myself and move on.  

It’s not what you’ve done, it’s what you do next.  What’s your next step?

Over the years this infatuation has grown to an obsession at times.  Of course there were times in my life when I was just too busy to worry about food and it’s feelings.  Those were the times that I was in control of the relationship.  Unfortunately, there were times when I was weak and I would let food run the show.  The most difficult time was when I was pregnant.  I was so distracted by my excitement of having a baby for the first time, I just let food handle things for me.  Especially lunchtime, it was cheese steaks and hoagies for lunch all the time, and don’t forget the gallons chocolate milk (gotta get that dairy in for the baby).  I would let food convince me me that I “needed” to eat these things.  I even went out one night for a Chinese food feast because someone told me that Chinese food would bring on labor.  What was I thinking?  Before you know it by the end of my pregnancy I was over 210 pounds!  I was 130 when I got pregnant, sure the baby weighed over 10 pounds but the rest was all me and it was all foods fault.  How could I let food do this to me?  But I love food, and I can’t live without it.  As much as I wanted to lose weight I didn’t want to give up the foods I love, there has to be a compromise. 

The relationship with food that people have is different for everyone, but those of you who have struggled with weight know that it is a serious relationship.  It’s not that simple to just give up the foods you love and since we need to eat to actually live, we have to learn how to live together happily.  The main problem most of us have is letting food control our lives.  That is not an easy task, especially when food has been such a major player in your life.  So I convinced “food” that we needed some relationship counseling.  First, I thought about important times in my life and I realized that one of the first things I always remember is the food.  For example, I was looking through old pictures once with my mom and there was a picture of a row of tables covered with lunch meat, rolls, salads, cake, homemade Italian cookies and much more.  I’m staring at this picture and I realize that there are no people in it!  I asked my mom, what is this picture from?  She looked closely to see the name on the cake and could see it was my christening.  This is crazy, then I started thinking some more about events.  I’m sure you can think of some important times, like weddings and vacations.  Food seems to always be the focal point.  I can remember working Saturdays during tax season and every week it we would take turns bringing in a special breakfast.  I haven’t worked there for almost ten years and I can still vividly remember the pastries that one of the assistants brought one day. 

Now we all know that food will always be an important part of our lives.  I can’t imagine having even a small get together without having something to offer my guests.  But, it doesn’t have to take over the party and be the center of attention.  Just recognizing the impact food has is the first step in controlling the situation.  The next step is to remember stop and think about what is happening around you before food takes over.  The best thing you can do before any special occasion or even just sitting down for lunch or dinner is to make sure you are not over hungry.  We’ve all done it, skipped meals because we are going out to dinner for “girls” night.  What ends up happening?  You get there and you barely say hello to everyone, all you can think about is where is the appetizer.  Next thing you know, your pants are busting and you feel guilty that you couldn’t control yourself.  Have a light breakfast and lunch that day, and maybe eat an apple in the car on the way to the party.  Something light just before you arrive will help curb your appetite, but not be too much so that you can still enjoy the food.  I think it is important that you do enjoy the food and also enjoy the company.  Don’t forget why you are there and try to keep your attention on the event as a whole, food is just one part of it.

I know that is sounds easy and I won’t lie and tell you that it is.  What I can tell you is that it takes practice and if you want to change your relationship with food for the better and still enjoy food’s company, it is worth the time and the effort.  I still have my moments ( I can’t look at a butter packet the same way anymore), but I forgive myself, learn from it and move forward.  Don’t fight with food, learn to live with food and you will live happlily ever after.

If you would like to change your lifestyle for life, then I have some great tips for you in this post to help get you started.  I believe that diets don’t work, partly because they have a beginning and an end.  When the diet ends, sometimes people go back to the old way of eating and gain the weight back again (that’s where my thousands of pounds have come from).  I learned after losing almost fifty pounds 9 years ago that the only way to keep it off is to not go on a diet, but change my lifestyle.  Which I am happy to say is the mindset that has helped me keep the weight off this time.  When someone decides to become a vegetarian it is a commitment for a lifetime, it is not something they do for a few months and then go back to the old way.  

Here are some steps that I believe will help you get started:

1. For one week, eat the same way you always do, but keep track of the food.  Write down when you eat, meals you skip and every detail of what and how much you are eating.  If it helps take a picture of your plate at every meal before you eat it.
2. After one week review your food log and pictures.  Are you skipping any meals?  Unfortunately, a lot of people skip meals and don’t understand why they can’t lose weight.  The fact of the matter is, not eating enough is the very reason they can’t lose weight.  Your body needs a certain amount of calories a day just to function properly.  Think of a car, if it has no gas it won’t start.  Food is fuel and without it your body can not run properly.  Next, what does your plate look like?  Are there any fruits or vegetables on it?  Every meal should have a good balance.  Half of your plate should be fruits and vegetables, one quarter should be whole grains and one quarter or less should be lean meat or protein.  Use fats, oils and sweets sparingly, but don’t cut them out completely.  Your body needs good oils.
3. For the second week, eat five to six small meals each day and use the plate guide to help you make good choices.  If you would like a treat once in a while, that is fine. Just remember that everything you eat has a suggested portion size and every calorie counts.  To find out how many calories you should eat each day in order to maintain health, but also lose weight at safe pace, talk to your doctor.  You should always visit your doctor for a check-up before you start any weight-loss and/or exercise plan.  Also, check out www.healthierus.gov/dietaryguidelines where you can find all the information you need to calculate the right amount of calories you need each day to lose or maintain weight.  
4. I also believe a critical part of changing your lifestyle is having positive support.  Seek support from family and friends that will cheer you on and accept that these changes are important to you.  

Stay tuned for more steps to keep going on this new lifestyle.  Remember that every step you take from this day forward is practice for what you will do once the weight is lost.  You can do this!  Motivation is what gets you started.  Habit is what keeps you going.  Make a habit of a healthy lifestyle, don’t diet — live-it!

It is almost cult-like, you just can’t quit not matter how hard you try.  The good news is that this club was disbanded years ago, only no one every told you.  Most of us realize that eating everything on your plate even if you are full is not a good thing to do, but we just can shake that feeling that we are wasting food.  Do you remember what our parents used to say?  “There are children starving…”  Did your parents every send the scraps?  No.

I had a revelation when my son was a toddler (fourteen years ago) and was eating table food.  My husband would fill my son’s plate up with way too much food and expect him to eat all of it.  Of course my son couldn’t eat all that food, his little stomach wasn’t that big.   That is when it hit me, it’s our parents and grandparents fault we are overweight adults.   They forced us to eat more than our little stomachs could hold.  I decided then that I was quitting the clean your plate club and I refused the allow my children to join.  The hard part was convincing my husband, but that is for another day.

In order to quit the club, I had to really understand this history of cleaning your plate.  I think it may have started with the Great Depression.  Back then people didn’t know when their next meal would come, they were lucky to have three meals a day.  It made sense then, but a long time has passed since then and things have changed.  Unfortunately, we are living in a time now where food banks are empty and people are struggling to feed their kids, but common sense tells us that eating everything on our plate is not going to help others. 

So the next step is getting rid of the guilt, we do have a real problem today.  You may have a neighbor who is struggling to buy food right now and not even be aware.  So let’s do something about it, a simple way is maybe for every pound you lose you can donate a food item to your local church or food pantry.  It is a great way to stay motivated to lose weight since you are also losing for a good cause.  Check out with your church or town to find out what items are needed most, even if we are having a hard time making ends meet, we can probably afford a jar of tomato sauce and a box of pasta.

Now let’s get down business with our plate.  I think the easiest thing to do is make less food and don’t serve family style.  I am Italian and, as most of you probably know, Italians always make more food than is needed.  You never know who might show up, you have to be ready.  When I think about it though, very rarely does someone show up on a weeknight for dinner.  So I started making  just enough to fill our plate according to each individual and don’t leave any leftovers on the table to be tempted.  Believe it or not, this simple step works wonders.  Even my husband appreciated it, he always felt he had to eat everything and not have leftovers (don’t ask me why, like I mentioned earlier, that’s is for another post).   The best part is, we could eat everything, not feel guilty and still have dessert (a nice healthy dessert – yes healthy desserts exist). 

There are many other things you can do to quit the club.  For example, use a smaller plate, put your fork down after each bite, make sure you are not over hungry by dinner time (breakfast is very important) and have a good balance of protein, complex carbohydrates (good carbs) and fruits and vegetables.  On a side note, leftovers are not a bad thing, just put them away right away and save them for lunch tomorrow.  If it was sooo good at dinner, it probably would be even better again for lunch tomorrow.

I hope that everyone can quit the “Clean Your Plate Club” and maybe start a new healthy eating club.  If you think of a good name for this club, send me a comment.  I’m glad I don’t belong anymore and I’m hopeful that everyone will learn from my mistakes.  Just remember, it will go to waste or to waist.  Make the right choice.