Super Summer Breakfast, Pineapple & Watermelon

One of our Shabbat guests brought us a perfectly ripe pineapple. I served most of it at the meal, and it was enjoyed by all.  This morning I cut off a bit to have as part of my breakfast.

As proof of its ripeness it was very easy to cut, and I enjoyed eating the "inside" of the peel. I added some watermelon and then sesame paste for protein. 

To be honest, I was very curious about the relative calorie counts and nutritional benefits of those two summer fruits. I knew already that watermelon is surprisingly low in calories, but I knew nothing about pineapples. 

Pineapple, raw

Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy	209 kJ (50 kcal)
Carbohydrates	13.12 g
Sugars	9.85 g
Dietary fiber	1.4 g
Fat	0.12 g
Protein	0.54 g
Vitamins	Quantity%DV†
Thiamine (B1)	7% 0.079 mg
Riboflavin (B2)	3% 0.032 mg
Niacin (B3)	3% 0.5 mg
Pantothenic acid (B5)	4% 0.213 mg
Vitamin B6	9% 0.112 mg
Folate (B9)	5% 18 μg
Choline	1% 5.5 mg
Vitamin C	58% 47.8 mg
Minerals	Quantity%DV†
Calcium	1% 13 mg
Iron	2% 0.29 mg
Magnesium	3% 12 mg
Manganese	44% 0.927 mg
Phosphorus	1% 8 mg
Potassium	2% 109 mg
Sodium	0% 1 mg
Zinc	1% 0.12 mg
Other constituents	Quantity
Water	86.00 g

Watermelon flesh, raw

Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy	127 kJ (30 kcal)
Carbohydrates	7.55 g
Sugars	6.2 g
Dietary fiber	0.4 g
Fat	0.15 g
Protein	0.61 g
Vitamins	Quantity%DV†
Vitamin A equiv. beta-Carotene	4% 28 μg 3% 303 μg
Thiamine (B1)	3% 0.033 mg
Riboflavin (B2)	2% 0.021 mg
Niacin (B3)	1% 0.178 mg
Pantothenic acid (B5)	4% 0.221 mg
Vitamin B6	3% 0.045 mg
Choline	1% 4.1 mg
Vitamin C	10% 8.1 mg
Minerals	Quantity%DV†
Calcium	1% 7 mg
Iron	2% 0.24 mg
Magnesium	3% 10 mg
Manganese	2% 0.038 mg
Phosphorus	2% 11 mg
Potassium	2% 112 mg
Sodium	0% 1 mg
Zinc	1% 0.1 mg
Other constituents	Quantity
Water	91.45 g
Lycopene	4532 μg

While I'm at it I'll add the nutritional information about sesame paste:

Sesame Paste (Sesame Butter Made From Whole Seeds)

Nutrition Facts Serving Size 1 tbsp Amount Per Serving Calories 95   % Daily Values* Total Fat 8.6g 11% Saturated Fat 1.205g 6% Trans Fat - Polyunsaturated Fat 3.77g Monounsaturated Fat 3.248g Cholesterol 0mg 0% Sodium 18mg 1% Total Carbohydrate 3.39g 1% Dietary Fiber 1.5g 5% Sugars 0.08g Protein 2.72g Vitamin D - Calcium 68mg 5% Iron 1.43mg 8% Potassium 66mg 1% Vitamin A 0mcg 0% Vitamin C 0mg 0% * The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

Nu, And How's The Diet Going?

It's certainly no secret that I have been struggling with my weight for a very log time. A number of years ago, I made it a very public diet which you can find by using the search engine of this blog by asking for "public diet," "diet saga," "low carbohydrate" and other labels.

I did manage to rid myself of about fifteen 15 kilo or thirty plus 30+ pounds, most of which has stayed off ever since, but about a third, five kilo found their way back about a year ago. When that unwanted weight had reached three kilo, I went to war, but lost the battle and gained another two kilo. But about six months ago, after the pool closed, I tried a few different tricks, about some of which I have blogged.

Over 12,000 steps is pretty rare for me.
12,000 is now very common.

The first thing I did was to make more time to walk, since the pool had closed. Three months of water exercise hadn't reduced much, except that my body looked and felt better. And even the experts say that walking is better for weight reduction than swimming. I increased my daily steps, as I could see on the pedometer.

The second thing I did to lose weight was to change my breakfast. For years I had been eating a large vegetable omelet, but not that long ago I felt terrible sugar/fruit cravings as soon as I finished it. I took that as a hint. Maybe I need to eat fruit for breakfast, since the omelets and vegetables weren't satisfying my hunger.

Now, for the past few months, I have fruit, fresh ginger and goat yogurt for breakfast. I must admit that there are days when I crave cashews afterwards, so I eat a few. It's clear that I need more protein early in the day in addition to the sugar/fructose.

Another thing I've noticed, and I do weigh myself almost daily on the same scale, is that the fewer restaurant or catered meals I eat, the lower my weight is. It goes up a bit when I've eaten out. And it's lowest when all the food I've eaten has been my own home cooking.

My weight seems to have stabilized close to where it was post-big diet, bli eyin haraa, let's not tempt the "evil eye." I do have days when I eat things I "shouldn't," but there are diet mavins who actually  say that once a week or two it is good to go off the restrictions. It stimulates the metabolism to work harder and burn calories more quickly. Also, it makes the "diet" easier to live with, and that is a major trick/technique. If you adopt a diet you find impossible to live with, you won't be able to stick to it very long.

And how is your diet going?