influential weightloss plan

It was the early ’90s at my very first job out of college. I’d been lucky enough to find a friend and mentor in the newsroom who not only understood what it was like to want to prove yourself, but what it was like to prove yourself as a young woman among grizzled old men. OK, so they were only in their late 30s and mid-40s, but when you’re 22 that IS old! My pal had been around sports departments for a long time, in an age when women just weren’t found there, and she was a great help to me.

She also was a bit of the social nerve center of the place. Working for a weekly magazine, we had bankers hours four out of five days a week, pretty sweet deal in the journalism world. So lunch plans usually filtered through her desk and we would all gather there before we left to go eat … until the day she proudly announced she was starting Weight Watchers. (This was the old days, folks. There were no points, no eating out. You weighed it. You ate it. It counted. Period.) For the rest of us that suddenly meant no K.C. Masterpiece. No Steak N Shake. No Tippins. Oh No! But we were friends and we wanted to be supportive and, while sometimes takeout crept onto the lunchroom table, her efforts to lose weight made all of us healthier as we started bringing our lunches. We even discovered a very nice picnic table on a patio in a courtyard behind our office.

So sometimes we ate out. Sometimes we ate in. We almost always ate together. And one person’s healthier habits rubbed off on the rest of us. The same is true at the family table. When you’re talking about school, sports, friends or vacation plans you’re not thinking about what you’re eating. (Translation: When Capt. Kindergarten is listening to us talk about his aunt and uncle’s house in Oklahoma he accidentally takes in vegetables without thinking to pitch a fit! LOL) So healthier habits are formed … more on him in particular next post.

Sitting down together with colleagues allows friendships to be born, networks to be formed, information to be exchanged and sometimes sales to be made. Sitting down together at home allows parents to have regular conversations with their kids, to monitor their behaviors and moods and to put structure and stability into their lives. Plus this perk for those of you with daughters: Research shows that adolescent and teen-aged girls who frequently shared mealtime with their families were less likely to fall into unhealthy habits and possible eating disorders. They also were less likely to show signs of depression or other psychological disorders.

A side-order of good mental health never hurt anybody. The sun’s poking through the clouds today … maybe Capt. Kindergarten and I will eat outside before he goes to school … unless he orders grilled cheese!

Lunchbox tricks my kids love:

Just say no to the sandwich: I offer a wrap or cubed cheeses and rolled deli meat with carrot sticks, cherry tomatoes, sliced raw mushrooms, ranch dip, assorted crackers and a big thermos of chocolate milk. (usually there’s something junky, too, such as a HoHo).

Just say no to the sandwich II: Assorted crackers and breadsticks, peanut butter, apple slices, yogurt, a big thermos of milk and something junky such as Fruit Gushers.

Warm me up, Scotty! Campbell’s hearty soups, Spaghettios or leftovers work well in the Thermos cups. Toss in a “butter sandwich,” as the second-grader calls them, a thermos of milk and something sweet such as a pudding pack or fruit cup and it’s a meal.

Brunch, Baby! I learned this one from a friend and it’s a fun change. A container of cereal, the thermos of milk, a piece of fruit and a cup of yogurt. When they eat what I call a farmer’s breakfast in the morning (eggs, toast, juice, milk, etc.) why not have a surprise in the lunch box?

And for hubby when he brings? Roast beef on multi-grain bread with pepper-jack cheese. Turkey and Swiss on a jalepeno bagel. PB and J on a wheat bagel. Leftovers don’t transport well in a backpack on a motorcycle. We keep his lunches compact and dry. LOL