This week I'm blogging about Sara Sullivan.
Sara is on a mission to reduce her body weight from 275 pounds to 175 pounds -- that's a weight-loss goal of 100 pounds!
She's made public her weight-loss journey on her website SeeSaraShrink.
There, her November 28, 2009 home-page update celebrates Sara having reached the half-way mark; that means she's lost 50 pounds over the past 6 months.
I'd read about Sara in the Boulder Women's Magazine, where Market to Mouth is featured as a regular column, and where a monthly column on Sara's weight loss progress is also featured.
I contacted Sara to see if she would be interested in one of my grocery shopping-cum cooking-on-a-budget consultations. She agreed to meet me.
About a month ago, we spent an hour or so at Sara's home chatting about her weight loss program, the various support people she's engaged to help her -- such as a fitness coach and a nutritionist -- and the emotional hurdles inherent in changing one's eating habits and patterns.
Sara grew up in the south where fried food is the norm, as is eating lots of seafood and bitter leafy greens. She's very aware of the importance of eliminating fried food from her diet (which she has done), whereas fish, seafood and greens are foods she can continue to enjoy.
We also spent a bit of time in Sara's kitchen, going through her fridge and pantry. It was immediately obvious that Sara keeps plenty of whole, unprocessed foods on hand for preparing simple, nutritious, home-cooked meals for her two, fit and healthy nine-year old twin girls, whom she home-schools, and her husband, who is not a big eater apparently, though when he does eat, he makes healthy choices like extra salad instead of a dessert.
It appeared to me that Sara is in an enviably position for someone wanting to lose weight: she's eliminated the high-fat, southern cooking she grew up on from her diet, and with the help of her support team, she's making healthier food choices for herself and her family, plus she's more physically active as a result of working with a fitness coach.
While we stood in front her open fridge, she prefaced the opening of her bottom crisper, with "okay, you're gonna die when you see this." She opened the draw and it was filled with lots of delicious and expensive cheese. "So this is my weakness," she said. "Cheese, oh, and we love a glass of wine occasionally."
I don't see anything wrong with enjoying cheese and wine -- I mean the French live on it! Though of course it's the amount one consumes that is important to consider when on a weight- loss program.
Once Sara had divulged her food preferences, it was obvious that she is drawn to particular foods. We all gravitate toward some foods and not others, and I tend to think there's wisdom in this. Noting that Sara's preference is for dairy and fish, I asked if she knew her blood type. She said it's AB.
I googled Eat Right For Your Type which is not a weight- loss diet per se, but information about lifestyle choices, including food and exercise programs, specifically for health and wellness for the 4 different blood types.
Apparently the bio-chemistry of blood type AB is best suited to dairy, seafood and green vegetables, with an emphasis on these foods if one is trying to lose weight. I recommended Sara peruse the information about her blood type since it appears her preferences are appropriate for her, bar a few adjustments.
Before we met at the grocery store, I also recommended Sara consider my pre- and in-store tips for shopping and cooking for health and wellness on a budget. Sara said her budget for a shop around Whole Foods for a week's worth of fruit, vegetables, some meat and or fish and any dollar-wise items which would add interest to her meals, was about $120.
With this in mind, one of the tips I emphasized was the value of shopping the periphery of the store for whole, unprocessed foods, such as fresh produce, fish, some dairy, and bulk grains, nuts and pulses.
As you can see in the picture above, Sara met me in fresh produce and that's where we began our shopping excursion around Whole Foods today. This week, I'll post about the items Sara bought, how much she spent, and some simple, delicious meals I proposed she make with the food she bought.
I'd read about Sara in the Boulder Women's Magazine, where Market to Mouth is featured as a regular column, and where a monthly column on Sara's weight loss progress is also featured.
I contacted Sara to see if she would be interested in one of my grocery shopping-cum cooking-on-a-budget consultations. She agreed to meet me.
About a month ago, we spent an hour or so at Sara's home chatting about her weight loss program, the various support people she's engaged to help her -- such as a fitness coach and a nutritionist -- and the emotional hurdles inherent in changing one's eating habits and patterns.
Sara grew up in the south where fried food is the norm, as is eating lots of seafood and bitter leafy greens. She's very aware of the importance of eliminating fried food from her diet (which she has done), whereas fish, seafood and greens are foods she can continue to enjoy.
We also spent a bit of time in Sara's kitchen, going through her fridge and pantry. It was immediately obvious that Sara keeps plenty of whole, unprocessed foods on hand for preparing simple, nutritious, home-cooked meals for her two, fit and healthy nine-year old twin girls, whom she home-schools, and her husband, who is not a big eater apparently, though when he does eat, he makes healthy choices like extra salad instead of a dessert.
It appeared to me that Sara is in an enviably position for someone wanting to lose weight: she's eliminated the high-fat, southern cooking she grew up on from her diet, and with the help of her support team, she's making healthier food choices for herself and her family, plus she's more physically active as a result of working with a fitness coach.
While we stood in front her open fridge, she prefaced the opening of her bottom crisper, with "okay, you're gonna die when you see this." She opened the draw and it was filled with lots of delicious and expensive cheese. "So this is my weakness," she said. "Cheese, oh, and we love a glass of wine occasionally."
I don't see anything wrong with enjoying cheese and wine -- I mean the French live on it! Though of course it's the amount one consumes that is important to consider when on a weight- loss program.
Once Sara had divulged her food preferences, it was obvious that she is drawn to particular foods. We all gravitate toward some foods and not others, and I tend to think there's wisdom in this. Noting that Sara's preference is for dairy and fish, I asked if she knew her blood type. She said it's AB.
I googled Eat Right For Your Type which is not a weight- loss diet per se, but information about lifestyle choices, including food and exercise programs, specifically for health and wellness for the 4 different blood types.
Apparently the bio-chemistry of blood type AB is best suited to dairy, seafood and green vegetables, with an emphasis on these foods if one is trying to lose weight. I recommended Sara peruse the information about her blood type since it appears her preferences are appropriate for her, bar a few adjustments.
Before we met at the grocery store, I also recommended Sara consider my pre- and in-store tips for shopping and cooking for health and wellness on a budget. Sara said her budget for a shop around Whole Foods for a week's worth of fruit, vegetables, some meat and or fish and any dollar-wise items which would add interest to her meals, was about $120.
With this in mind, one of the tips I emphasized was the value of shopping the periphery of the store for whole, unprocessed foods, such as fresh produce, fish, some dairy, and bulk grains, nuts and pulses.
As you can see in the picture above, Sara met me in fresh produce and that's where we began our shopping excursion around Whole Foods today. This week, I'll post about the items Sara bought, how much she spent, and some simple, delicious meals I proposed she make with the food she bought.
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1 comment:
The idea of this blog is really interesting to me since I am just starting a weight loss regiment. I will look up my blood type for some extra information that may help in my quest for a more girlish figure! Keep up the good work Sara!
Susanna
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