Anyone know how to have your cake and stay slim too?

elpgal

Anne, you simply must stop baking and switch to eating straight chocolate! At least that's the strategy I am employing this year for snacks

9 years ago

catgirl

Veteran

My friend and I were just talking about how our bodies seem to settle at a certain weight and it's nearly impossible to shift even a few pounds. I never seem to go above a certain high weight so at least it's not an endless gain, but shaking it off is so difficult!

9 years ago

rachylou

Veteran

This is one of those pop theories - that there are two kinds of people, those who lose fat by cutting fat and those who lose by cutting carbs. I have no justification for believing this, but I do. Mostly because I can gain or lose 5 lbs in a week by eating or not eating at McDonalds.

Anyways, I bake once or twice a month. I bake smaller cakes to control portion sizes and have taken to using fake butter (but not margarines, if they even make those hydrogenated things anymore). That is, I cut fat. I find cookies a little too hard, so I don't do them very often, and I also find them to provide less bang for buck. Which is to say, one cookie is seriously not enough but you could be getting the same calories as a slice of cake depending. Or if you make them smaller you may end up eating even more.

Ever do a nutrition analysis on your home made baked stuff? It can be fun.

I'll bake with Splenda too, but it's a little like using powdered sugar and interferes with development of the batter. Not everyone approves of the fake stuff (like my mom), so that may not be for you.

9 years ago

anne

Veteran

Very interesting to hear from someone who is actually a baker Rachylou!

And how often do you eat at Mcdonalds, on the weeks that you do eat there? (Only asking out of awed interest; I pretty much never go there because there aren't many GF option)

No - never analysed my home made stuff!

I have to admit I'm one of those "use real butter and no sweeteners" sort of people. Perhaps that's the problem!

9 years ago

Lucy

Veteran

Anne, I cannot bake! No one else in my house likes cakes or muffins, so if I bake I eat them. So I simply don' t do it, unless there is an event where I can take them, and leave them there lol!
Anne are you GF? I was diagnosed coeliac in November, I was thinking of posting for tips from Fabbers. Perhaps I should!

9 years ago

rachylou

Veteran

I had a phase where I ate breakfast there 3, 4 times a week. That sausage was my undoing!

Out of curiosity, what do you bake? The other thing is, since you're doing GF - I didn't realise, probably should have - what looks like a typical slice of bread, for instance, can have more calories. Like 25% more. Gluten in wheat flour holds water and provides an airier crumb - meaning there's less material there and fewer calories. You might want to tinker a bit to try getting an airier crumb.

What do you use to give your baking structure? Xanthan gum is a carb in and of itself, for example.

Also: have to ask what you mean by low-sugar. Do you mean no syrups and the white stuff? Because it's easy to forget baked goods are virtually ALL sugar. And starchy foods (rice, potato) might as well be considered all sugar. Fruit and juice too. And added starches/thickeners - like potato starch...

9 years ago

Helen11

Veteran

My grandmother lost a significant amount of weight in mid-life. When I used to visit her, I was a student living in a student hostel and we would cook and bake together. She told me she would never lick the bowl anymore. I was horrified - such deprivation!
I am not doing much baking lately. I have been much more careful about what I eat after being too relaxed last year. If I do cook, the kids are around and are only too happy to lick the bowl.
Otherwise I try to divide things up and put batches in the freezer where they are less tempting to me.

9 years ago

Jules

Veteran

Muffins with the sugar cut by 1/3 to 1/2 - satisfied the urge to bake and for me, cut the sugar to a certain point where it did not cause me to be triggered to overeat. That's obviously personal though! I liked recipes that had fruit or sweet veggies (like carrot or pumpkin) for this "healthy baking" purpose. You could also do baked oatmeal. If you are interested I can find a link to a "morning glory" muffin recipe that I used to enjoy, with apple, carrot, zucchini, walnuts and spice. I reduced the sugar and never missed it. I used to cut the oil with Apple butter but I no longer believe in replacing fat with carbs!
I personally found that trying to do healthy versions of cake, brownies etc just caused me to eat more because those versions weren't satisfying. However, sometimes knowing I have something really good at home will keep me from eating crappy mass-produced donuts etc at the office. I think a healthier & tasty breakfast or protein cookie recipe is probably possible, but haven't experimented much with those, and they'd still be nutrient-dense, not exactly "light".

9 years ago

carter

Veteran

For a variety of reasons, I don't eat baked goods (and haven't in years). However, I do have issues with other things sometimes, most recently nuts and dried fruit. My husband eats them by the handful throughout the day so I'm constantly mixing up a new batch. Before I realized it, I was having some with my breakfast, grabbing a handful for a snack, sprinkling them on my salad at lunch, and calling them dessert after dinner. Whoa!

Deliberate moderation is not my strong suit. For me, it ends up being a constant state of white-knuckling will-power. However, cold-turkey works very well for me. I gave up nuts and dried fruit Dec 1. After a day or two of stopping myself on the way to the pantry, I no longer have any driving interest in them. At this point, I could easily toss a few on the occassional salad and not think about them otherwise.

All this to say that maybe a brief (30-60 days) hiatus would help you reset your attachment to baked goods:-)

9 years ago

viva

Veteran

The science of baking is so interesting and so foreign to me. Love reading this thread.

I'm currently doing the Whole 30 so have been away from all grains and added sugars, and right now I am not craving either. So perhaps Carter has a good idea about a brief hiatus -- and then perhaps restarting with a Rachy-like more moderate baking schedule.

(I'm eating a lot of nuts, Carter. Almost sick of them.)

9 years ago

Anonymous

I am the only one in my house who does not have a sweet tooth and can go without baked goods for long stretches. My DH and DD, however, are another story so I bake at least once a week. I use butter, sugar, eggs, and do not make substitutions. I do, however, cut back on the sugar and no one has ever noticed. I try to incorporate fruit and nuts and oats and/or flaxseed meal whenever I can to make desserts healthier. When baking with chocolate I use high end dark chocolate. I almost never use a packaged mix, prefering to bake from scratch.

I came up with my own recipe for oatmeal cookies thinking no one else would like them and I can freeze them and make them last a long time and have them just for myself. Who knew they would be a huge hit. I use dried apricots, walnuts, oatmeal, and flaxseed meal with almost no granulated sugar and they get eaten up in no time.

9 years ago

Sara L.

Veteran

My sister bakes a lot because she enjoys the process of baking not just the end result. She brings most of her baked goods to her office for her coworkers to enjoy. She also makes half or even 1/4 recipes sometimes so she only has enough for 1 or 2 portions for her and her husband.

9 years ago

Diana

Veteran

Hah I think about the dishes to wash, flour all over the kitchen, and cleaning the kitchen and I no longer have the desire to bake! ;). But seriously I haven't been baking much at all lately.

I may not be the best person to ask because I don't have a huge sweet tooth. I like sweets but never binge on them. (My undoing is salty things like crisps and crackers!). I also don't like most frosting and never make it, so that cuts a lot of calories (you could make cakes with just glaze, or just plain, instead.) I actually find most recipes (esp American ones) too sweet and routinely cut the sugar. (I do only use real butter and sugar.) I also tend to make smaller batches (or, with something like cookies, make a full batch of dough, portion it into just enough for ONE sheet of cookies, and freeze the remaining portions for later. I make half portions of things like brownies in a loaf pan.

9 years ago

Anonymous

I love baking. Far more so than cooking. I've "had" to stop, end of story. We aren't eating those kinds of things in our house anymore. I do occasionally make a vegan or nutritionally improved version of a bar or cookie type of thing, and still bake oatmeal and other grains for breakfasts, but the rest of it - gone. There is just no place in my diet for sugar, white flour, etc. I miss baking for my family - it used to be a Sunday thing for me, but nutritional information is so accessible now that my conscience overrides any desire I may have make stuff we don't need to be eating. My DD and DH are both nutritionally aware too and support this.

9 years ago

anne

Veteran

True story - I sat down an hour ago to respond to this thread - and then remembered (at 10pm) that I said I'd bake something for school canteen tomorrow! Anyway that's done and cooling down before I wrap it all up individually (and I did eat a few scrapings, but can't eat what I made since it isn't GF)

Okay back to the thread...

elpgal - I do like (dark) chocolate too. And last year was managing to lose weight while still having a few squares a week.

Una - yes I think there's something in that

Lucy - yes I was diagnosed with coeliac disease 2 year ago. Happy to talk about it (also I had a thread about it back then myself asking advice - I'll see if I can link to it.)
Everyone in my house will eat it, so I don't quite have your problem.

RL - in the last 2 weeks I made GF apple cake ( to use up some apples that were a bit bruised and none would eat straight) and cranberry cake (because DH bought me some frozen cranberries and they were way too sour to eat straight. Oh and I made sweet potato pudding because I bought a tray of sweet potatoes for a bargain price.
I probably only managed that much baking because we had a public holiday. I have a couple of Nigella Lawson GF cake recipes I'm keen to try too from her laterst book. I don't cook cookies much, apart from gingerbread at Christmas. Yes I know the deal about the unhealthiness of GF stuff

When I said low sugar I mean't no, (or very little) added stuff. This is when I'm being better behaved! I don't add tomato sauce, drink soft drinks or fruit juice, have sweetened yogurt etc.Don't eat much fruit.

But guilty as charged to eating starchy food, and something I find very hard to avoid, though I have cut down a lot over the last few years. Not bread much (maybe 2-4 slices a week) but yes, rice and potato and oats.

Jules - i know what you mean about liking a higher quality item. I can't eat much of what is on offer at our office (ie not GF) so usually am not too tempted - though can overdue it when they do provide it!

Will respond more later...

9 years ago

texstyle

(website)

Veteran

I love to bake but bread is my thing as I don't really like sweets. It is a process though, so I don't bake every week - and if I really stay away from grocery or other people's baked breads, I limit myself just by not having it available without doing the work. Of course yesterday I baked 3 french loaves so I am not doing without it this week.

9 years ago

crazyone

Veteran

I like baking as well but have become more health conscious as well. I don't believe in making too many substitutions--I'd rather have an extremely tasty sweet than something pretending to be healthy but still results in extra calories. Ways I get around this: if I make cookies, I just bake a few and put the rest of the dough in the freezer (made into cookies)...that way they're not lying around begging to be eaten. The other thing I do is bake when I'm going to someone else's house for a party or potluck or something.

Overall I prefer cooking to baking though--have you thought of transferring your energies to savory foods? You could make savory quiches and frittatas and muffins, bake gluten free lasagnas, etc.

9 years ago

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

I eat cake, biscuits, chocolate, bread, gelato, rice, pasta, potatoes - you name it. I eat all that type of stuff daily - but not all at once. I have a VERY sweet tooth. We do not have a carb-free diet at all. Where is the fun in that! I love to eat, cook and bake. It's a passion, and so is nutrition.

Our weight is very stable because we eat these things in moderation, and eat very nutritious food too. No coffee, alcohol or mammals for me either. But I am not vegan or vegetarian. I don't believe in cutting out food groups. This works for us, but does not work for others.

Anne, you look very fit and healthy. Your diet agrees with you. Don't worry too much about it!

9 years ago

SW Ann

Veteran

Over the years I've found that depriving myself of what I like leads to one thing--overindulgence. I believe all foods can and should be included in our eating unless you just don't like it or it doesn't agree with you (for those with allergies or celiac etc) I dieted in many ways over the years and I would lose weight only to gain it back with "bonus" pounds because I couldn't live with it long term. Many many years ago I lost weight and began walking daily. Eventually I added weight training. And, I bake--all the time. I eat some of what I bake. When I want it. But having it around and knowing I can have it when I want it...well, I'm kind of over it. When I didn't bake and thought it was "bad" or off limits--I craved it all the time. Studies have been done (though I can't quote them) that prove that feeling deprived all the time taxes our willpower and eventually, you will run out of the desire to say "no" and you will probably gorge. If you want to lose weight, design a system that works for you....it doesn't matter if it will work for anyone else.
Good luck!

9 years ago

rachylou

Veteran

Nuts are way too easy to get fat on. A 1/4 c is a serving size. That's just one mouthful! Lol.

I love Nigella Lawson. I don't care that my brother says she's a coke head. I have to check out her latest book for those recipes you mentioned. I can't believe I don't have it yet!

Which reminds me, Nigella likes crumbles. There's something to bake that could be lower in calories, carbs and fats. Also: tarts. A thin crust, a little custard and apples or berries.

I like to make German Lightning cakes. They're really not too bad on the nutritional front.

9 years ago

gradfashionista

(website)

Veteran

Are you baking for yourself or your family?

If you're baking for your family, meringue pie is easy to do GF and low carb (if you like).

If you're baking for yourself, there are a lot of single-serving recipes out there. For instance, I've been on a kick these past few days making single-serving chocolate chip cookies and brownies ("mug cakes"). My chocolate chip cookie takes me 20min to make (5min prep + 15min baking), so the time factor adds an additional constraint.

9 years ago

Lyn D.

Veteran

This is a tricky one if you enjoy baking and sweet foods!
I grew up rarely eating baked goods because of my early diagnosis of Ceoliac and my Mum didn't bake.
I have a good friend who makes GF cake and often gives some to me, so I cut into small portions and freeze so it is not all eaten at once.
Being aware of portion size is also a big help- I try not to rule out anything but stick to smaller amounts.

9 years ago

ClaraT

Veteran

I bake every couple of weeks. Either I invite neighbors or friends over (fruit tart or something that doesn't portion well) or I send plates to them via my kids.
Win-win: we all eat, no one eats too much, and I have a lot of good will on my street.
You do have to get the goods out of your house fast if either you (or your family) could potentially eat, say, a whole pan of brownies

9 years ago

Gaylene

Veteran

My philosophy is the same as Angie's and SW Ann--eat nutritiously 80% of the time and enjoy the extras, in moderation, for the remaining 20%. Exercising willpower over every morsel I eat is exhausting and I'd rather spend my time doing other things instead of fussing about my diet.

My advice is to bake if you enjoy it. Lick the bowl and your fingers. Fill your home with tantalizing odors of butter and cinnamon. Taste your creations judiciously so you have lots to share with family and friends. Enjoy watching them polish off your masterpieces. Think of your baking as something you do for others instead of a self-indulgence.

9 years ago

Anonymous

I love to bake, but just let my DH enjoy big portions while I have just a taste. And we don't eat sweets on a regular basis. Even with calorie reduction, I haven't been able to lose, so I'm upping the exercise. That's all I know to do.

9 years ago

Anonymous

We gave up baking breads and all sweets to the point that I panic if I have to bake something for a meeting. Take your baked goods to a fire station for the firemen or put them in a teachers' lounge. Get them out of the house.
Your body changes starchy food to sugar so eating a bowl of rice is like eating a bowl of sugar and sends blood glucose way high. What has also helped me is a hint from a friend...you only actually taste the first 3 bites, so you can stop after 2 or 3 bites. She lost lots of weight and kept it off for 50 years now by eating slowly and savory get those few bites of sweets but did not diet.

9 years ago

Style Fan

Veteran

I am in awe of people who can bake. Not a skill I acquired. I can cook but I stick to simple meals. I have no idea how I would manage with all those goodies in the house. I would have to eat them up in one seating. I don't buy many if any baked goods. Never think about it.
Willpower is not something I excel at. I serve ice cream for desert when we have guests because I don't like it that much.

9 years ago

Helen11

Veteran

I love what SW Ann said about deprivation and the feeling leading to over indulgence. So true.
I also remember reading a book called 'Weight loss for food lovers' or something like that. The author recommended identifying one's high value food (the one without which life would not be worth living eg chocolate, chips, cheese cake ) and to have a small serve every day for morning tea. And to eat it mindfully and really enjoy it.
Ann, you are slim and very active and fit. Those factors all improve your health.

9 years ago

DonnaF

Veteran

It sounds like you love the process of baking? If you don't want the product in your house after your family has had a portion and you have had a taste, I would follow the suggestions to give the remainder to your local firehouse, neighbors, teachers, or in my case, leave it at my church's coffee hour.

9 years ago

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