Of course I was craving oatmeal today since I missed it yesterday, especially after seeing so many delicious bowls in the contest!!
Today’s bowl was a little of all of my very favorite toppings:
- Banana
- Blueberries
- Flax
- Wheatberries
- Granola Plank
- Almond Butter
<3
It took me a while to eat too. Heaven.
OK, clearly I’m in an oatmeal mood .
This morning I am biking to a nearby bike shop to get a part that the husband says I need. I always bike on sidewalks and only on the street in slow neighborhoods so I have to figure out routes that have sidewalks throughout, which does limit my biking radius somewhat. But I HATE driving beside bikers on busy roads so I don’t want to create the same tension for drivers myself. And it’s not very safe.
This afternoon I’ve got a doctor’s appt ., am running an errand , and then am meeting a blog reader , Jeannie, for dinner!
KERF Contest #2: Boca Giveaway!
My friends at Boca are excited to give away some Boca products to KERF readers! Here’s the scoop 
on the contest:
Write a haiku about your favorite meal. Email it to me by Sunday to KathEats at Gmail dot com. (Here’s a good site on haiku’s if you’re not familiar with the 5/7/5 syllable style: Haiku Lesson .) We’re looking for beautiful words, creative imagery, and off-the-wall poetry.
The husband is going to choose 5 winners to receive TWO coupons a free package of any Boca Product ! I will announce winners on Monday – along with a recap of the entries!
I recently tried the bruschetta burger at BlogHer and will be snagging a coupon for myself to get a box
Happy writing 🙂
hk says
Oy!!! What a bowl 🙂 im the same way about biking next to cars, tense!! Have a great humpday
the husband says
Hints for how to win my vote:
-probably should have something to do with food
-wit, irony, and absurdity
-beautiful wording/imagery
-alliteration and assonance are nice
-zen
Any combination of these things will be great!
Christie says
Kath, I feel the same way about biking on the road but in VA (where I live) it is illegal to bike on the sidewalk! They say it is dangerous to pedestrians. I say, what about the bikers safety?
Justy2003 says
Oooo another contest! Hmmm, this one may take a little more thinking from me…I’m not the most poetic person 😉 And I’ve never tried any Boca products…am I the only one?!
I hate driving next to bikers, too…I’m always afraid I’m gonna run into them!
the husband says
I guess I shoulda posted it like this:
How to win my vote:
Delicious food, suspicious
Mood, in what you wrote
I love haikus
Diane says
Congrats on the bike, be safe!
I have a question for your Kath– I count calories. I wish I didn’t but i practically know the calorie count of everything so I always have a running estimate of my daily calories in my mind. It’s driving me crazy but I think it’s practically impossible for me to stop! Did you face any troubles when you decided to stop fully counting calories? And do you feel that you eat any more or less now that you have stopped counting calories? From looking at your old posts it seems like you eat less now that you’ve stopped counting calories– but you’re the one actually eating so I’m sure you know better than me and I may be completely off!!
P.S. I’m trying to maintain my weight not lose weight
Thanks Kath (and anyone else who has advice 🙂 )!
Allison K. says
It’s illegal to bike on the sidewalk here too…although I don’t think that anyone actually gets cited for it, maybe you do if you run into a pedestrian!
Heather says
Haikus are the best,
Boca burgers are good too.
Off to start writing.
Katy says
I know this question has been asked before (and I’m sure it will be asked again…but I looked through some comments and couldn’t find the discussion) what type of heart rate monitors do people use? I’ve looked through reviews of several of them on amazon.com but was hoping for some additional insight.
Thanks so much!
Kate says
I’m going to start sounding like the annoying bike girl! I just have to take this opportunity to do a little bike ed…
In most places, it’s illegal for bikes to be on the sidewalk (they are, after all, vehicles). Bikes have the legal right to the use of a full lane on the road, and it’s against the law for a car to pass unsafely. Cars are expected to drive behind the cyclist until they can pass with a wide margin. I always ride on the road, and if cars are passing me unsafely I ride in the middle of the lane. I figure that my life is worth 30 seconds (the max time people usually have to wait behind me) of their time.
That said…I totally understand being uncomfortable riding on the road, and I think that as long as the cyclist doesn’t ride too fast and chooses sidewalks that aren’t pedestrian heavy, it’s okay. Mostly, I just look at this all as a big, huge sign that we really, really need BIKE LANES everywhere.
Sorry for the novel. I just can’t keep my mouth shut about bike stuff!
Serena says
I wish there were bike lanes everywhere too! As a runner, I always got annoyed when fast bikers wizzed by on the running/biking trails and I thought I would get clipped. Now that I have a bike (which I’m sort of afraid to ride on the busy streets, but biking on the sidewalks is illegal here too), I’m afraid of the cars. But if I were a pedestrian on the sidewalk, I guess I’d be annoyed at the bikes! Ha.
BethT says
Favorite meal as in breakfast/lunch/dinner, or favorite meal as in favorite food(s)?
caitlin (see bride run) says
my father, who is a semi professional bicyclist, was biking by himself in the everglades when i was about 4. he fell, hit his head on the curb, and laid in the sun for hours before someone happened to drive by and take him to the hospital. he broke his jaw and had to have it wired shut for two months. if he hadn’t been wearing his helmet, he probably would’ve died.
in another instance, my father was hit by a car while bicycling and was also seriously injuried. he was in a wheel chair for several months.
he is a very safe bicyclist, but accidents happen and traveling on a bike is not something to be taken lightly. it’s alright to bike on the shoulder of the road, but make sure you are experienced at handling your bike, always be prepared to shift your weight towards the curb if necessary during a fall, and stay aware!
that being said, i ALWAYS carry my cell phone with me while bicycling. i encourage everyone to do the same!
caitlin (see bride run) says
ps – kath your new picture is super cute!
caitlin (see bride run) says
katy, i use the polar heart rate monitor. i think its the f4 or f6 model (whichever is around $100). it’s great!
Lindsey says
Hi Kath,
I’m at the beginning of my weight loss journey and have a similar goal as you did; I’m 5’4″, 165, and need to lose 30-35 pounds. My question is about hunger.
I assume eating intuitively wouldn’t work because at 165 pounds, I need more than ~1500-1800 calories to maintain my weight, especially if I add an hour of exercise (which I try to do). Therefore, I assume my body would make me feel hungry until I eat ~2400 calories, or whatever is the maintenance amount for my size. I doubt eating a high volume of low-cal foods would fix it, since ultimately your hunger cues probably have to do with the actual amount of calories consumed.
Did this happen to you in the beginning?
Thanks,
Linds
Lindsey says
And I mean, obviously I don’t want to maintain my current weight! Thanks 🙂
Chelsea says
I was going to post the same thing as Kate but she did it for me 🙂
I do understand the fear but now I HATE riding on the sidewalk and won’t do it unless I have to.
As for the contest-I am so un-poetic and can’t do Haikus (well I’ve never tried). This is one contest I won’t be entering 🙁
Chelsea says
Oh and in addition to carrying your cell phone while biking, carry a form of identification and money/atm card.
ray says
the oatmeal looks so good.
it looks like a lot though! how do you get yours to be so voluminous (or is the bowl really small??). I made steel cut oats the other day and it looked like nothing was in the bowl! also, i know you’re not posting calories, but if you don’t mind– how many cals would a bowl like this be?
jimmi says
omg. another contest!
but this one is for the total literaries. you’re right about that bike thing kath- gives me anxiety too!
cheers to more contests! I just love them. i’ll roll the dice again on this one.
Sloan says
Wow, Caitlin! I bike to work a couple times a week…and not in a bicycle friendly city, and your comments definitely spooked me. It’s definitely important to remember how dangerous it can be (just like we should remember how deadly our cars can be). Using the sidewalk definitely makes me feel safer, but look out for cars coming into parking lots and crossing roads…they aren’t expecting to see you there!
Christie says
Lindsey you can reduce your calories by 20% in the begining to reach your goals… I also would recomend moving your body during the day as in non-planned exercise… those calories you burn add up and will help with the weight loss
Carrie H says
Hi, Kath —
Cute oatmeal contest. I missed cause I was out of town, but I am so excited about the haiku contest! Is it one entry per person? (Cause I already have two written … I’ll have to have someone else help me pick the best one!)
Thanks,
Carrie H
Lindsey says
Hi Christie, thanks so much for taking the time to post a tip. I’m definitely adding in all the exercise. I guess my worry is how to get over being hungry? Because if you’re making a calorie deficit in order to lose weight, won’t you necessarily be hungry all the time? I’m assuming your body feels hungry to signal you that there’s a deficit.
So basically, eating intuitively would never work for weight loss, right?
Jenn says
I submitted my Haiku! I can’t wait!
Trina says
I read the little Haiku lesson that you provided the link for…the lesson makes it sound like Haikus are supposed to be very simple and to the point, whereas your contest is asking for words that are more descriptive and beautiful, etc….
Just wanted to make sure I go the right way with this 😉
You guys are a blast!
caitlin (see bride run) says
lindsey – i have to say that listening to your natural cue to “EAT!” would probably not work very well for weight loss, because you have to be a least a little hungry to lose weight. you’re right, by creating a calorie deficit, you will feel hunger. but it shouldn’t be intense hunger, just a mild sense of hunger between meals or when you first wake up. intense hunger often leads to binges. plus, its uncomfortable and its hard to maintain an eating pattern that leds to constant hunger.
i do think that listening to your natural cues CAN be helpful for weight loss, especially if you focus on listening to the little voice that says “enough!” focus on eating slowly so you give yourself an opportunity to realize you are actually full.
so re-think the way you think about intuitive eating… instead of focusing on the hunger cues, focus on the “i’m full” cues. if you do this, you’ll find yourself questioning whether you are actually hungry for a snack at “snack time” and may end up eating less. you’ll also find yourself not finishing off all your meals.
does that help?
caitlin (see bride run) says
lindsey – i have to say that listening to your natural cue to “EAT!” would probably not work very well for weight loss, because you have to be a least a little hungry to lose weight. you’re right, by creating a calorie deficit, you will feel hunger. but it shouldn’t be intense hunger, just a mild sense of hunger between meals or when you first wake up. intense hunger often leads to binges. plus, its uncomfortable and its hard to maintain an eating pattern that leds to constant hunger.
i do think that listening to your natural cues CAN be helpful for weight loss, especially if you focus on listening to the little voice that says “enough!” focus on eating slowly so you give yourself an opportunity to realize you are actually full.
so re-think the way you think about intuitive eating… instead of focusing on the hunger cues, focus on the “i’m full” cues. if you do this, you’ll find yourself questioning whether you are actually hungry for a snack at “snack time” and may end up eating less. you’ll also find yourself not finishing off all your meals.
does that help?
caitlin (see bride run) says
i have no idea why that went thru twice. sorry!
Amy A. says
Trina, hope I can help. It sounds like you are assuming descriptive and beautiful means longer words and more words, but that’s not always so!! And it cannot be so in a haiku – it can only have 3 three lines, and a total of 17 syllables. Choose your beautiful, descriptive words wisely!
Grounded Fitness says
bikers scare the crap out of me. It doesnt help that i live in seattle and people bike everywhere, yet we have no bike lanes. I know i have to legally give them 3 feet, but when they are in the middle of the lane going 25 mph, i can either go into on coming traffic to pass them or put along behind trying really hard not to just lay on the horn.
thanks for being considerate with your riding 😉
hmmm i think i can write a haiku….
www.everygymsnightmare.com
fitnessista says
oooooh i haven’t written a haiku since 3rd grade… this is gonna be a tough one! but i will do anything for a free boca products, so i better start writing 🙂
i like your new pic on the bike kath! very cute!
stacy says
most random question ever i need food experts to inform me:
i made a pb on ww bread sandwich yesterday and left it at work in a tupperware. is there any reason why i couldn’t eat it today? like would it go bad? thanks!!
Justy2003 says
Stacy: Assuming it’s all natural PB it might be a little runny, but that’s it. Eat away!
Katy says
Along with the biking discussion you all might find this article interesting….
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/6420ap_wa_bicyclists_attack.html
Ridiculous huh???
Hil says
Lindsey–It’s absolutely not true that you have to be hungry to lose weight. I’ve lost 15 pounds in the last year without counting calories or ever going hungry. You are assuming that you are currently only eating to satisfy hunger. You may find that your portion sizes go down when you eat intuitively. Many people eat more food than they need because of habit, stress, or skewed ideas of what an appropriate portion is.
This is (in simplified form) what I did: 1. Strive to make your meals nutritious, balanced, and minimally processed. Stay hydrated and eat LOTS of veggies and whole foods. Cut out junk food and caloric drinks. 2. Learn what a portion size is (e.g. 3 oz meat) and start with that as your serving. Eat slowly and mindfully and only go for seconds if you are truly still hungry. 3. Keep a food log and write down absolutely everything that you eat. After you have a few weeks of data, go back and figure out which meals held you the longest. Use those meals as your template during weight loss.
That, plus regular exercise, worked for me. I really do believe that if you employ the correct strategies, you can lose weight without going hungry.
Diane–I don’t think it’s a bad thing to know how many calories you are putting in your body. I know the caloric content of just about everything, but I can’t say that I remember how many calories I ate at my last meal. But even if you automatically remember, the important thing is that you are making your food decisions based on what feels good to your body and not based on a pre-conceived idea of how many calories you “should” be eating.
Jo says
Kath, I left a comment on your last post about cycling but just wanted to share a couple of hints that I was given. I don’t know how well you know London but I cycle to work through the busiest part of it everyday (through Parliament square – that’s the houses of parliament – I time my journeys by Big Ben!) and have to compete with horrid big buses, black cabs and other awful drivers all the time.
I joke that I am lit up like a xmas tree but its true, I am covered in reflective gear and lights and I make my intentions REALLY obvious with dramatic arm signals etc.. The best thing someone said to me though was: when psychologically judging the distance, a driver will leave the same distance between himself and you when he passes you as you leave between yourself and the kerb. So it may seem the best idea to cycle really close to the kerb but actually its the wrong idea. Plus, cycling SLIGHTLY further out forces a car to treat you as a vehicle and therefore he is likely to be more careful (I’m not saying cycle in the middle of the road, but hopefully you get what I mean).
Best of luck and don’t be scared!
Pearl says
Can’t resist chiming in for a moment about biking. Drivers won’t treat bikers with respect and safety until bikers start following laws and claiming their rights. Know the laws in your own state, but do what’s safe! This might mean taking up a whole lane to prevent having a car door opened on you. When bikers ride on the sidewalk, they’re encouraging drivers to continue to not acknowledge the rights of bikers- not to mention, making things unsafe for peds. Of course, I’ve been the driver stuck behind a slightly slower bike, but I just remind my self that the bike has the same rights that I have, and is not damaging the environment, as I am…
Emily says
I totally agree with Jo’s comment above. When in doubt, take the lane. It’s really scary at first, but it is so so much easier for cars to respond appropriately when you’re acting like a car. Use arm signals, and get in the lane you need to be in early – who cares if it slows a car down for 10 or 15 seconds.
I live in Portland, Oregon, which consistently wins “bike friendliest city” in the country, and I can tell you that drivers do eventually learn how to interact with cyclists, it just takes time and exposure. If this is something you’re really passionate about (and you will be, after cycling for a while), check and see if there are any “critical mass” events near you.
Last piece of advice – invest in some high quality LED lights for the front of your bike, and some red blinkies for the back – especially at dusk it can be SO hard to see cyclists out on the road.
Kath says
Diane ,
What exactly is “driving you crazy” about knowing the numbers? It is taking away from your enjoying the food? Making you worry about weight gain? My suggestion would be to tally up each meal in your head instead of each day, and then each meal will get easier, etc. Kind of a gradual weaning. That’s what I did/am doing and it’s working well.
I think if I’m eating less it’s because my lifestyle is so abnormal right now and not necessarily because I’m not counting up each day anymore. And the summer heat. But I still think I’m averaging 1700-1800.
Katy ,
Check the FAQ page – Exercise Question #1.
BethT ,
Favorite meal as in food/recipe/experience.
caitlin ,
Oh my – your poor father.
Lindsey ,
I think you are correct that you will feel a little hungry when losing weight. Sometimes you have to choose not to keep eating even though you want to because you need to be in a calorie deficit. I think hunger is often overrated – it’s like people think these days that if they get hungry they will starve to death or ruin their metabolism for life. Hunger is normal and a good thing – it makes food taste SO GOOD.
I also think that most of us and our stomachs need a certain amount of calories to feel satisfied. For me it’s around 1700-1800 regardless of how much exercise I get. That means if I wanted to keep losing and didn’t exercise, I’d have a very hard time losing weight without feeling hungry. But if I ran say, 10 miles per day, I could eat 2,000 (more than my stomach needs to not feel hungry) and still be way under what I technically need for the day (and running 10 miles per day is unrealistic). So what I’m trying to get at is the best way to lose without feeling hungry is to really up your activity. Whether it’s formal workouts or bursts of walking, the more you move, the more you can eat and still lose. The more you eat, the less you’ll feel hungry. That’s one reason I try to be as active as possible since I am able bodied and have the time. If you are injured or very short on time, you will have to cut back some, but your hunger will hopefully adjust after a week or so of eating less. Hope that all made sense – typing fast!
OH, and I agree with Caitlin’s comments on hunger and cues 🙂
ray ,
That is a small bowl – probably only holds 2 cups? Most normal bowls these days hold 3-4 cups. The oatmeal was around 400 calories for a 1/3 cup portion of dry oats made with 1/3 cup milk/1/3 cup water and the mix-ins I listed.
Trina ,
Short words can be beautiful and creative – or just use 1 5 syllable word for line 1 or 3.
Kath
Sammie says
Yeah another contest, time to put my thinking cap on. Well, after the little guy goes to bed!!
Hil says
Kath–I have a question about something you said. When you say that you should expect hunger during weight loss, what type of hunger are you referring to? Should someone expect to be fairly hungry before a meal? (I would consider that to be part of healthy living even if you are trying to gain weight.) Do you mean that someone might not feel satisfied at the end of a meal? That they might be satisfied at first, but then have to cope with hunger for a few hours before eating next?
Nancy says
I own a bike shop and I hate to tell you but, the bike you bought is too small for you. You will be uncomfortable if you ride that for a long time.
Kath says
Hil,
I guess I meant more inbetween meals and in the evenings. Not so much at meals themselves. While I do claim to have lost all my weight “without feeling hungry” I definitely remember going to bed hungry at times. I think it’s a challenge to figure out what foods can trick your body into being full and being satiating with less calories so you create a deficit. Hope that answers your question? It’s hard because everyone, every meal and everyDAY is different.
Nancy,
It’s a 24″. Do you think I need bigger at 5’2″ with very short legs? I’m not going to be riding it long distances – mostly to the gym and grocery store and for leisurely evening neighborhood rides, so I’m not too worried.
K
Kath
Lauren says
I am addicted to your posts. I think it’s because I’m living vicariously through you because although I do the best I can, I just don’t have access to the variety of foods you do. I’m especially jealous of the kashi crackers.
Elise says
I suggest you know the bike laws in your area and abide by them. I cannot speak for every state in the country, but I know that in most places bikers are legally bound to follow the same laws that exist for motor vehicles — beyond the road/sidewalk issue, this of course includes stopping at all lights and stop signs, signalling turns, etc.
Learn to be comfortable riding on the street, or don’t ride at all. As a pedestrian in a university town with an ever-growing number of bikers, I cannot fully express the frustration I feel when people clip my heels or yell at me to move over because I’m “in their way.” I was taught in childhood that bikes belong on roads — never on sidewalks — and I’ve always used bikes in this way.
Hot Garlic says
WOW, your photo of the oatmeal looks fantastic! Mine always look like nasty, mush no one would ever eat! It is sad, because they taste so good, I just can’t get them to photgraph like that. Cudos!
Hil says
Thanks for the clarification–that makes sense.
am says
fyi north carolina has bikes as the same legal status as vehicles, so it is illegal to ride the bike on the sidewalk. while i understand that it may be frustrating for you as a driver having bikes on the street, it is just as dangerous to have bikes in the area designated for pedestrians.
http://www.ncdot.org/transit/bicycle/laws/laws_bikelaws.html