Is It Friday Yet?
The more time passes, the more I see how much blogging everything I eat has been a useful tool to me with weight loss. It is sort of a chicken-egg situation, though: I stopped blogging everything right around the time that I started struggling with bingeing. I have no idea if there is a cause/effect relationship there, or which way around it would be. But today, knowing that I was going to post my eats stopped me from going crazy with snacks this afternoon (which is what I badly wanted to do).
Anyway, here is the damage, with minimal text because I’m a little worn down today.
Yogurt mess with plain nonfat yogurt, frozen berries, 1/2 banana, walnuts, and a little agave nectar
Smoothie with spinach (low), frozen cherries, 1/2 banana, soymilk, and 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
WW English muffin with almond butter, Nutella, and a string cheese
Picture the dates times two. That was my snacky moment.
Dinner was simple and balanced. This might be my favorite easy dinner. I baked the salmon today with a little butter, brown sugar, salt and pepper. I read that in the comments section of someone’s blog recently and it sounded good. I’m sorry, I can’t remember which blog!
Baked salmon, steamed asparagus and carrots, brown rice with Veri Veri Teriyaki
Now I am watching The Biggest Loser and eating this little guy:
It looks huge but it’s a ramekin with a little homemade raspberry crumble.
This is my first season watching the show. In previous years, I had seen clips and been taken aback by the harsh yelling of the trainers and the seemingly flagrant parade of contestants clearly in pain, humiliated, and being made into a national spectacle.
My understanding of the show has changed since learning about my own emotional eating, since I started listening to Jillian’s podcasts, and since, well, actually watching it. But that seems like material for another post 
What are your feelings on The Biggest Loser? Die-hard fan? Never watched it? Feel it is too extreme?
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hey! your meals look amazing, and beautiful photog skills you got there, lady!
biggest loser, hmm i am very mixed about the show. On one hand i think its great what these peole are doing for their health and they are working as a team and learning alot about weight loss in the process, on the other hand, the show is filled with their own advertisements, advertising the biggest loser protein powder and so forth. at times it feels like I am watching an infomercial! BUT great show overall and great topic of course
I will continue to watch
Your food looks simple, perfect, nourishing and awesome. I dont eat salmon anymore but it looks awesome as do the veggies, medjools and your fruit bowl. Cute dish, btw. I am on the hunt for square bowls that are BIG. A 4-5 inch bowl doesnt cut it round here, I need 8 inches. God that sounded pornographic, sorry
Your date snackage seems pretty guilt-free to me
Doesn’t Soy Vay do wonders for brown rice??
Have a great day!
Sarah
I’m glad blogging your food has been helpful… I have to bake salmon the way you did. It sounds good!
I’m not a huge The Biggest Loser fan. I can see that the show can be motivating and that people can really get behind the contestants. But I think that it sets unrealistic expectations for so many people…
I love pairing salmon with sweet flavours, maple syrup is my fave
I started watching the Biggest Loser at the end of the last season through my old roommate. I originally had the same thoughts as you. Some of the challenges are a little cruel, but I think the struggles on there are very real. You don’t have to be 300 lbs to relate.
Susan: Yes! I definitely agree with your statement about being able to relate regardless of weight.
You did a great job with your meals today. I know what you mean about blogging keeping you accountable. It really is a great tool!
I have always been a fan of Biggest Loser, but I am not loving how extreme it’s getting. I know they try to make it “must see tv”, but Jillian’s hard core attitude, die or nothing, and constant screaming in people’s personal space it super annoying to me this season. I guess I feel like that isn’t the way to motivate someone, especially for the long haul.
ah, closer to friday for you than for me! lucky! although your monday comes sooner
loving that yogurt bowl.. all the right stuff! i have not watched TBL before, i have seen clips of it here and there but never sat down to watch it. i think knowing you are oging to post all you eat is a great way to stay in check, that is why i blog! well, and because i like to ramble 
have a GREAT friday lara! xo
I occasionally watch Biggest Loser, but I don’t agree with the structure of the weight loss.
It’s entertaining, and sometimes I even get workout ideas from it, but I disagree with the 6-8 hour workouts, 1200 calories a day bit they throw in there.
I know those people are really heavy, but still. That’s ridiculous. You have to fuel your body for god’s sake.
Lara,
I just posted my own thoughts about the Biggest Loser. Like you, this is my first season watching the show (I actually just started watching this Tuesday) and I have some serious problems with many aspects, but it’s all around entertaining and pretty educational at the same time!
I love your dates as a snack, great choice. I used to do prunes a lot. Dates are so much richer, and so packed full of nutrients. Yum.
Oh, I love your little raspberry crumble. It looks so sweet.
I watch BL from time to time, but having myself lost over half of my body weight, I find the artificial environment to be laughable sometimes. I’m happy when people lose the weight, of course, but I know that many of the lessons I learned during my main weight loss phase are the lessons that help me to stay in a healthy range now. Without having the real life experiences to deal with on a day to day basis, I’m concerned that the contestants don’t have the opportunity to learn those same lessons. Living on the ranch with weight loss and exercise as your main focus is certainly different than working out after a work day, preparing meals on the go, enjoying holidays with family, or even just deciding what to do with the random piece of cake in the office breakroom. It’s much different out in the “real world,” where everyone doesn’t share your focus. I, of course, wish them all well, but I worry about them too.
Enjoy your Friday! It’s almost here!!
I’m a die-hard BL fan. I don’t know.. I guess it’s addictive. And I’m just really routing for those people, because they seem so real. Lovely eats. Glad you were able to stop mindlessly snacking. Blogging my food has never prevented me from eating more than I should. The only time it ever changed my eating is when I felt like snacking for dinner and instead made a meal. I guess that’s a good thing
mm the yogurt mess looks delicious.
i love watching biggest loser with my bf. he loves it too
-muffy
I love The Biggest Loser! It’s one of the three shows I DVR and actually watch! I don’t love the product placement in every episode. I used to be a big fan of Jillian but her whole diet pill thing has made me think differently of her.
Good that your blogging actually helped you prevent a bad situation! That’s really worth the effort then!
Brown suggah sounds yummy on salmon. Really yummy.
Never seen biggest loser. I’ve heard it’s amazing though.
I have watched odd episodes of the Biggest Loser (USA, UK and Australia) as and when I have seen them on Sky but have never watched a whole season. I do enjoy it – and love Jillian! but can see that its very extreme. I hope that people learn enough that they can carry on when they go back to their normal lives.
dinner looks so yummy, i love salmon! and nutella and any nut butter=heavenly combo
ive watched the biggest loser on and off but to be honest its really lost its appeal to me, ive really gone of watching weight loss shows etc, and i think its actually really benefited me in a good way to be interested in other things/shows that arent focused on weight.
enjoy your night hun!
I am so glad I’ve found a fellow Nutella user. I haven’t seen much of this wonderful nut butter on many blogs. So many other great ones, but not much nutella. We should start the trend…
I love the simple baked salmon. It looks so tasty and comforting.
Hope you have a great Friday hun! Take care.
You have the greatest meals! I think blogging is am amazing tool, for so many different reasons, but the accountability it can offer, the support of the other bloggers, and the fun all add up to a winning combination!
I don’t really like the Biggest Loser. I watched the first episode this year, but really was turned off by the yelling. I don’t like people to yell at others, or at me!
That dinner looks delicious, as I’ve been craving salmon myself. Hmmm…
As for the blogging accountability, I think it’s great that it can be used as such a positive tool for you. I seem to have the opposite problem, in that I don’t blog all my meals because then I would have to get out of my comfort zone–precisely the reason I SHOULD. Oy…
I’ve only watched the Biggest Loser a couple times but the ones I’ve watched I’ve enjoyed! Mainly just because I like to get new ideas for workouts!
Dates are so addicting! I always try to only eat one and somehow more make it into my mouth..
This season is also my first time watching the Biggest Loser. Being that I have only watched two episodes I don’t really know if I have formed an opinion on the whole thing yet.
The positive is that the show shares a lot of good healthy living and eating tips, the negative, maybe the extreme focus on weight loss?
But theses are all extreme cases, so maybe it’s justifiable.
I’ll keep you posted as the series continues.
Have a great Friday!
I have never seen BL! I like (or rather, am drawn to) ‘Supersize V Superksinne’- such an odd show, but strangely addictive.
Our protein powder works really well for breakfast cookies by the way
The Biggest Loser is totally my guilty pleasure show. I have seen almost every season, and while I sometimes think it is ridiculous, overall I think it’s a great thing because it shows America that ANYONE can workout. Yeah, these guys do it to the extreme, but if someone who is 450lbs can walk on a treadmill or lift weights, you can too! I actually am digging this season because I like that Bob and Jillian are working together and that they show them bouncing ideas off of each other.
I’m the same way with blogging my food- I eat much better when I post the day’s eats.
I like the overall concept of BL, but it’s definitely too extreme! People crying when they only lose five pounds in one week? That’s too extreme!
I’m the same way when I get really snacky. I stop and think “oh crap, now I have to take a picture of this too…” It helps me keep my grazing in check most times.
I’ve thought about changing my blog format to just interesting/memorable meals but I like the accountability that daily blogging brings.
I don’t buy dates much anymore, I eat them too quickly and stuffed with nut butter the calories add up really fast!
I find blogging or journaling helps most of the time too.. we all have our moments!
I’ve only seen “The Biggest Loser” once or twice, i’m not much of a tv person, but personally I love Jillian… lol! So i think if she can kick their asses into shape, the more power to her!
i love tbl and i’m glad you are finally digging it! i still have to watch the episode from this week though. i am always so behind on my tv!!
I think I”m the only person on the planet that has never watched the Biggest Loser. Seems too extreme from what I’ve heard, but then again, I’ve never watched it.
Dates – so dangerous. We used to buy them in bulk from Costco – so good straight from the freezer…but I couldn’t stop eating them.
Have a good weekend Lara!
Funny that you brought up the Biggest Loser and how harsh you thought it was before! I was just reading an article in the NY TImes about how so many of these shows make a spectacle out of overweight people. I hate when people are humiliated on shows, and yet I feel like the contestants knew what they were signing up for. It’s a double edged sword…I like watching shows like the biggest loser because I enjoy celebrating the joys and successes of people who have lost hope and faith for themselves. At the same time, so many of these shows over-simplify the factors that go into weight loss. The Biggest Loser would be a more complete show if they showed all the genetic research, discussed environmental factors, and things like hormone/body type as well!
I love the BL but on the last episode I heard Bob say…you can do it as long as you stick to your 1,200 calories per day and burn 6,000 calories per day. UM, WHAT? Yes, I get that’s how they lose so much weight…but damn, no wonder they are all so emotional! They’re hungry!!!
oops- i wrote a comment on the previous post for this. Fill me in on this week if you can!? I would love that.
I would LOVE it more if the BL discussed more on obesity and the implications it has- like raising healthcare costs, what the contestants actually have to go through with their co morbidities that are the leading causes of death, etc. – not coat over it like they do – i mean really educate people.
I enjoy your blog!! That nutella/almond butter english muff looks delish!
Enjoy BL.. looks pretty intense this season.
oh lordy your eats today were NOTHING short of perfect in every delicious way possible..
i’m coming over for raspberry crumble..
love loev love love love the biggest loser!
i have the same problem with binging. blogging is a good way to be accountable. and you have a lot of followers. it should give you hope to know so many people are interested in your progress and your daily life!
despite my love for jillian, i have never seen the show. of course you cant go an inch within a gossip mag or trashy entertainment news show without knowing all the deets.
i think i should try nutella now that nuts dont make me gag…well, gag less i guess. whats a hazelnut?
I’ve been loving looking at your food in recent posts. It looks wonderful. I do the same things w/ English Muffins, etc: spreading different toppings on each half
Biggest Loser: not a fan. I love the people and their stories and successes but I just don’t agree w/ the hyper-weight loss they put those poor people through. I would love to know how many of them are actually able to maintain it in the real world. I think the other night I heard that their daily calorie burn goal was 6,000!!! Holy crap!
Mmmm yummy food hun! As for the blogging & eating healthy thing: no tool can make you eat perfect 100% of the time, but having a place you can “prove” your accomplishments and healthy eats does give great motivation and can help inspire you to stay on track.
We don’t get TBL over here! I’d love to watch.