Here’s our latest skinny wisdom interview as we seek to learn from those who are on their way to mastering their health.
If you’d like to be considered for an interview, drop me a note and we can chat about specifics.
Katrina McPuddleduck
OVERVIEW
How old are you (and spouse if applicable, plus how long you’ve been married)?
I am 48 years old. My husband is 49. We’ve been married for 23 years.
Do you have kids/family (if so, how old are they)?
We have 2 children. My son is 27, and my daughter is 24. (Both are from my previous marriage)
What area of the country do you live in (and urban or rural)?
I live in the beautiful Pacific NW, just outside the city limits of a quick growing city on the northern end of the Willamette Valley. (Oregon)
What do you do for a living?
I am the store manager of an automotive paint store. I usually work about 9 hours a day.
I moonlight as a photographer, music writer, and a blog writer as well.
What is your current weight and height?
My current weight is 140 pounds. I am 5’ 6”.
FOOD
Describe what you eat in the course of a typical day. Please be specific! How do you eat differently on the weekends or special occasions?
I know it’s completely frowned upon, but I do not eat a typical breakfast at a normal time. I wake up at 5:30 am on weekdays, and immediately drink a glass of water, and make a 20 oz espresso.
I leave for work just after 7 am, and take a second 20 oz espresso with me. Everyone says breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but my body just can’t handle food, especially sweet foods like donuts or pancakes with syrup, until at least 10 am. Even then, I have to be extremely careful. I have to have a small portion, or my energy level drops and I just feel like I want to take a nap. It can be so frustrating, especially when work is extremely busy. I make homemade yogurt (in my Instant Pot) and I bring a cup of vanilla/coconut yogurt, along with a ⅓ of a cup of granola (in my custom made mason jar container), and mix them together as a parfait. It fills me up, and doesn’t make me feel sluggish.
I eat lunch between noon and 3 pm. It varies from day to day, depending on how busy work is. I typically take my lunch around 2 pm, as I cover all my employees lunches before I take my own. I bring a broccoli salad (with raisins, sunflower seeds, bacon bits, and a mayonnaise/agave syrup dressing), or a fruit salad (with mandarin oranges, grapes, pineapple, strawberries, in an organic maple syrup sweetened whipping cream dressing) with me to eat between customers coming in if I am feeling overly hungry. If I decide to wait until I get home to eat lunch, I will eat a cup of leftovers from the previous evening’s dinner. I make a 16 oz plain chai tea to take back to work with me.
I arrive home from work between 5:30 and 6 pm. I generally wait until 6:30 or so to make dinner. I try really hard to make healthy dinners, but my husband is not as “into” the healthier food choices as I am, which can be a challenge. I try to sneak vegetables and power greens into our meals. He likes Italian foods, so I can include a lot more spinach/power greens in there. The only vegetables he likes are green beans, corn, and spinach.
I try to make as much from scratch as possible to avoid processed foods. I will add though, that I had foot surgery 5 months ago, and he had to do all the cooking for nearly 2 months, and he discovered that he enjoys not only making new dishes (like a wonderful mango infused tropical pork sandwich wrap), but getting creative with baking delicious healthier desserts (like ginger/pear muffins, and peach turnovers). I think I am slowly wearing him down. He loves a good challenge, so I’ve dared him to experiment with more dessert items with pure maple syrup as the sweetener vs. the refined sugars.
There are a lot of temptations at work, because we have salesmen that come in on a daily basis and bring donuts, sugar cookies, and chocolate. It is so tough to walk back to our break room and grab my salad, when jelly filled donuts are two feet away from me, yelling at me. I have had to tell them that they need to bring in fruit baskets or veggie trays that we can eat.
What are your food rules, if any?
My main rule is to EAT SLOWER. I have always been an incredibly fast eater. I can eat a huge plate of spaghetti before most people have finished their garlic bread. I don’t give my stomach time to process until after I have finished my whole plate, and then I am overly full. I have made it a point to try to carry on a conversation while I’m eating my dinner to slow me down. I also have tried to make it a point to intentionally chew my mouthful of food at least 10 times and to simply ENJOY what I’m eating.
My other rule is to eat less processed foods, and less sugar.
What food(s) will you not eat, specifically because it will derail your health or weight, and why?
Dessert foods are the hardest for me. My husband is a huge fan of dessert, so one is served most nights, whether it be an ice cream shake or cookies. I have a definite self control problem with dessert!
What is a food you cannot resist? How do you handle this food when you encounter it?
I cannot resist brownies, cheesecake, or lemon meringue pie. If it’s there, I WILL EAT IT until it’s gone. I don’t make these, however, we have a family dinner every Sunday evening, and our guests usually bring an item with them to add to the meal. Inevitably, these items show up on occasion. When they do, I have to make myself busy with something else when dessert time arrives, whether it be, scrolling through Facebook and Instagram, or playing with filters on Snapchat. I have to make sure to send the dessert home with another family member, so it isn’t there to tempt me, because it will!
Do you take any vitamins or supplements?
I have to take an iron supplement for my anemia, and I also take zinc and B12.
How do you emotionally think about food? Is it a large part of your life?
When I am incredibly stressed, I tend to NOT eat. I totally lose my appetite. When my first marriage ended, in a terrible and stressful way, I ended up losing 12 pounds and weighing 98 pounds by the time it was all over. I looked awful!
When I’m sad, eating chocolate chip mint ice cream makes me feel better. When I had to put my doggie to sleep, I ended up eating a half a gallon of ice cream EVERY DAY for a month.
Have you ever gained weight (10 lbs or more), if so what were the circumstances?
When I entered by 40’s, I had to have a full hysterectomy, and then my metabolism started to slow down. My weight started to climb steadily. I weighed 104 pounds for 16 years, and then, it seemed I was suddenly 120, 130, then 140.
Honestly, I inherited my fast metabolism from my dad, but throwing my system into instant menopause really disrupted that.
Did you lose the weight and if so, how did you accomplish this? How long did it take?
I lost 15 pounds a year and a half ago. It took me 3 months to lose the weight. I committed to eating vegetarian and sugar free for the first month, then sugar free for the next two months after that. I bought a second hand treadmill for $50, and dedicated myself to using it 6 times a week for a minimum of 30 minutes.
I created 7 music playlists to help motivate me, and I incorporated free weights into roughly half of my workouts. Each song had a specific purpose, in a specific order… Warm Up song, arms, stomach, legs/thighs, cardio (jogging or running), stomach, legs/thighs, arms, cool down.
I really have to be diligent about my diet and exercise, because I’ve noticed the weight creeps up on me if I don’t. I did end up gaining the weight back when I had foot surgery 6 months ago. I wasn’t able to do much except sit and elevate my foot for 30 minutes out of every hour. I started to work out again at the beginning of this year, and have had quite a struggle getting into the exercising. My foot has limited the amount, and the kind of exercising I can do.
If you had a baby, what was the process like after childbirth to lose any baby weight?
I was 21 when I had my son, and 24 when I had my daughter. My metabolism was so fast, that within a month of each one, I had lost all of my baby weight, plus a little extra… 45 lbs with my first, and 35 lbs with my second. I didn’t have to do anything to lose it. I was extremely fortunate.
How would your friends describe you and your relationship to food?
My friends would describe me and my relationship with food as a love affair. I absolutely adore food. You could say it is almost orgasmic. I love trying new foods, and find new favorites frequently.
My girl friends and I have a weekly ladies night, and we frequently go out to new restaurants or pubs, and try new foods.
FITNESS
Do you exercise or do any physical activity and why?
I have a very physical job. I lift heavy things all day long, along with being on my feet the majority of the day. I do a lot of walking.
When exercising, how often and how consistent are you? Do you take time off?
I try to exercise at home after work on my treadmill. It is so hard for me to be consistent though. I do really well with committing to 3 times a week for about a month, and then it seems that my home life gets busy, and I “conveniently” make excuses for why I can’t do it. Then the habit is gone.
I had to take 3 months off because of my foot surgery at the beginning of October. I gained 15 lbs while I sat on the couch with my foot in a boot, and propped up the majority of the time. I wasn’t allowed to be on my feet for more than 30 minutes every hour.
How do you emotionally think about exercise? Is it a chore, a stress outlet, positive, negative, etc?
Honestly, I really don’t like exercise. I definitely find it to be a chore. I am ALWAYS tired… it doesn’t matter what time of day it is. Once I am on the treadmill, and listening to my strategic playlists, I enjoy it more. It is very much a stress outlet from an extremely bad day at work. Free weight boxing on the treadmill is a beautiful thing when you’re angry!
YOUTH
Growing up, how did you think about food and what if any changed over time?
I always liked food as a child. My mom was all about homesteading, and natural food choices. She used a little bit of sugar in her cooking/baking, but we used honey for the majority of our meals… have you ever had pancakes or french toast with honey instead? It’s not nearly as good, but you get used to it.
Was there a specific event in your childhood, either positive or negative, that you remember even to this day?
We had a HUGE garden every year. I hated having to weed it. My mom canned everything she could get her hands on. She canned homemade spaghetti sauce, mincemeat, cherries, peaches, apple cider, corn, apple sauce, squash, and all things tomatoes. We had hundreds of pounds of wheat in our basement as part of our food storage. My parents were adamant about having at least a 3 month supply of food stashed in our basement. My mom made meals with those rations to create (hopefully) tasty meals with what was down there, but to rotate the food stock as well. I hated the healthy eating, because none of my friends had to, and they got to eat hot dogs, store bought cereals, and candy bars.
What were meals like in your family growing up?
We only ate out at restaurants twice a year. We went to a local pizza place right after we cut down our Christmas tree, and in June, we would go to either Skipper’s or one of the local buffet places. My mom loved cooking and baking, so we always had homemade meals. Breakfast was usually oatmeal with raisins, or cracked wheat cereal with honey, out of the crockpot. I brown bagged school lunches every day. I usually had a peanut butter and honey sandwich (with homemade bread), and a hard boiled egg. She always made bread, and we had homemade rolls to go with dinner. She would have a leaf of lettuce with cottage cheese and fruit on it, a vegetable of some kind, and a main food, which usually included beans or rice. Meat was rarely the main focus of the meal, unless we had meatloaf or hamburgers.
How did your family or those around you influence you about food when you were young?
I think the obsession with sugary foods stemmed from not having them when I was growing up. The first time I ever ate a bowl of Lucky Charms cereal was when I was probably 12… in 1982. My aunt and uncle came to visit from out of state, and stayed in their camper in our backyard for a week. I went outside to play with my cousins, and they were eating this GLORIOUS cereal I had never heard of. (We didn’t own a tv either, so I had no idea!) All of my friends ate at McDonalds, had school lunches, or ate candy routinely. I tried to spend as much time with my friends as possible so that I could eat the forbidden foods, and drink the carbonated sodas.
Who influences or teaches you about food today, if anyone? Or….”I never think about it”?
My mother is my biggest influence. My mother passed away 27 years ago, but at this stage in my life, I find that I am going back through all of her old cookbooks, and recipe boxes and researching healthier meals. I use many of the same recipes she used when I was a child. Not too long ago, I mentioned to my older brother about the healthier foodie habits I am trying to incorporate into our lifestyle, and he commented, “Oh my God, you’re turning into our mother!”. I really enjoy making homemade breads (thank you bread maker!), and making healthy smoothies.
PHILOSOPHY
What would you teach your children (or others) about food for them to have a healthy slender body?
I have always tried to instill the habit of eating healthy foods. My kids were both required to cook one dinner per week… something from scratch, something healthy, and preferably something we hadn’t had before. We had many experimental dinners when they were younger to try and teach them that just because the food is classified as healthy doesn’t mean it can’t taste good. Broccoli and cauliflower are good, but even better with a lovely homemade cheese sauce!
I routinely bring leftovers to work with me for my coworkers to try. I bring my homemade healthy breakfast cookies, and energy bites. Most of my “people” are trying to become healthier as well, I try to be the person to help them with their goals.
What is your best piece of advice to the readers of this blog about how to live a healthy life?
Set goals. Stay committed. Tell others about your goals to help keep you accountable. Better yet, get a friend to do it with you so you can both reap the benefits. Make your goals specific, but reasonable. I have a very busy schedule, and trying to commit to working out 6 evenings a week just isn’t going to happen. I set my goal to exercise a MINIMUM of 3 evenings a week, whether that be power walking my dog, or doing my treadmill workout. If I have extra time on my other evenings, then I’ll work out then. I have a workout calendar that I log my info on. Length of workout, which workout I did, and my fastest heart rate (fitbit). The ultimate goal is to make it a lifetime habit. Focus on one thing for a month, and create the habit. Then add another one and create another habit.
Drink lots of water. I have a pitcher I set on the counter, which I fill up every morning. It holds about 65 oz of water. I have to drink the entire contents of the pitcher every day. If there’s any left by the time I am ready for bed, then I drink it all right then and there. If I have to get up and pee in the middle of the night, then so be it. I have committed to drinking more water!
DO NOT WEIGH YOURSELF EVERY DAY!! This WILL NOT help you! Take it from me, that it seriously damages your level of commitment. Your weight fluctuates from day to day. We all know it, but when we weigh ourselves too frequently, we usually forget this little fact, and want to give up.
You can do it! We’ll all be your cheerleaders!
~Katrina McPuddleduck
www.McPuddleduck.com
Elizabeth Ramsey
I love the advice to eat more slowly! Sometimes this can be so hard to do, especially if you let yourself get too hungry before a meal. But it does take a while for the feeling of “full” to register so very useful tip to help the mind and body get on the same wavelength.