Sam's Club: A Review of Product Buys

I went to Sam's Club last Thursday. Since I'm now in the second month of Nutrisystem, I'm mostly looking at supplementing the rest of my diet with items like fresh fruits and vegetables, skim milk and eggs. Produce items usually vary between visits; for instance, on this last visit, I couldn't find fresh cherries, blackberries or raspberries. On the other hand, they had a large carton of blueberries for $6.98, and I added typically in-stock bargains in economy packages of organic spinach, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, and strawberries. [They also have a good price on kiwi fruit.] A gallon of skim milk costs $2.56, which is better price than I get at Safeway on sale. I  also saw a good price on 90% lean ground beef (under $3/lb), and a 64-oz  jar of jalapeno pepper slices sells for $3.28. My favorite bread item, hands-down, is an economy package of Arnold's Multi-Grain Sandwich thins: 100 calories per roll, 4 grams of protein, 5 grams of fiber (22-5=17 net carbs), no high fructose corn syrup.

Since my Nutrisystem plan calls for 6 small meals a day (and typically you have a Nutrisystem item for 4 of the 6 meals),  I often plan for the other two unbranded meals. A typical example I've done is to combine a couple of ounces of cold-water fish (salmon, tuna, sardines or mackerel) or a couple of tablespoons of natural crunchy peanut or almond butter with a half-serving of whole-grain crackers. Sam's Club has a couple of good bargains on relevant crackers:  Crunchmaster Multi-Grain Crackers sell for $7.16 for a 20-ounce package; this product is particularly notable for containing flaxseed and being gluten-free  and low sodium. For those customers whom are wheat-tolerant, Special K Multi-Grain Crackers sell for $5.87 a 24-ounce package.

Nutrisystem rations me to 6 almonds per serving daily; Sam's Club is carrying a 3-lb. jar of Sunkist Almonds, flavored with sea salt. Unfortunately, Sam's Club is currently not stocking two of my favorite past repeat purchases:  Emerald Cocoa Roast Almonds (38 oz.) and the 2-lb. package of Member's Mark raw/unsalted blended premium nut mix.

I usually drink coffee and iced tea (although I usually try to cut caffeine by mixing in decaffeinated items). One Sam's Club item which caught my eye was a selection of at least 3 different variety packs of flavored Bigelow teas (including regular tea, green tea, and decaffeinated varieties) for $7.86 per 4-box pack.

Other examples of items on my repeat purchase list include: economy packs of Sweet 'N Low packets, jugs of picante sauce/salsa, multi-packs of canned Alaskan pink salmon, sacks of boneless, skinless chicken breasts, 5-lb. sacks of flavored EAS whey protein, the 160-tea bag box of Bigelow Green Tea, a 101-oz container of extra virgin olive oil, multi-can packs of Progresso Light or Healthy Choice soups, twin packs of V-8 vegetable juice, 32-quart mix cartons of Crystal Light, bagged walnuts or almonds, frozen berries, Brita water filter packs, and various vitamins and supplements.

Sam's Club still has a limited selection for dieting or health-conscious consumers. In many cases, items I frequently purchased are no longer carried or in stock e.g., a twin pack of Roman Meal Superseed bread, lavash flat breads, dried black beans, or a multi-pound bag of whole wheat pasta.  [In contrast, I used to shop at BJ's Wholesale Club, and they carried (at least at one point) ground buffalo and ostrich and multi-packs of sardines. It would be nice to see grass-fed meats carried, at least in limited quantities.] I would also like to see a wider variety of lower-calorie, lower-sodium, whole-grain, higher-fiber, lower-carb/lower-sugar and/or lower-fat units or packs of salad dressings, chili (e.g., turkey chili), nut butters, juices, snacks and other assorted grocery items.

Breakfast: Why I Think Marion Nestle is Wrong

Liz Wolegmuth of US News &; World Report published a post Wednesday entitled "What a 'Power' Breakfast Really Looks Like". Her subtitle succinctly defines the theme of the article: "The only sure thing is that there's no one breakfast route to success."

What I found particularly interesting is Ms. Wolegmuth's discussion of New York University nutrition program professor Marion Nestle, whom has written some widely cited popular nonfiction books, in particular What to Eat and Food Politics.

[I have not read these books and will reserve any substantive comment until I have reviewed them. But a brief reading of reader reviews online indicates that Dr. Nestle has rather conventional advice in terms of diet and exercise: eat less; exercise more; and eat more fruits and vegetables. She also is critical of the meat industry (in terms of energy-intensive production and inadequate regulation, e.g., questionable use of antibiotics) and the food industry in general, which has a vested interest in promoting the consumption of high-margin, questionable nutritious foods and drink (e.g., soft drinks and snack foods).

I will avoid any ideological judgments about industry management or value judgments regarding meat producers. I will say that the typical response, e.g., of the fast food industry, is that healthier offerings, e.g., McDonald's Big & Tasty burger, do not sell well. Indeed, there is much to be said about how customers flocked to the nutritionally appalling McGriddle. Still, McDonald's has discovered when it has smartly packaged and marketed more nutritionally virtuous premium salads, it dramatically increased sales with professional women, including talk show host Oprah Winfrey. I am also encouraged by steps to market milk (versus soda) and fruit slices in children's combo meals.]

Dr. Nestle says that she herself is rarely hungry when she gets up, and she doesn't believe it's a good idea for an adult to eat when he or she is not hungry; she will often opt for typical lunch fare around 11AM or so. Ms. Wolegmuth notes at the end of her articles that Dr. Nestle was startled by how many readers have responded emotionally to her simple defense of adults skipping breakfast during her book tour for What to Eat. [It really didn't surprise me that people react emotionally to deeply held beliefs about meals. A few years back I found myself personally attacked in a low-carb forum for advocating a more nutritionally balanced lower-carb lifestyle; this one mother argued that the ketogenic (high-fat) diet (very similar to the Atkins diet) worked for her epileptic child, and what I was doing, by venturing an opinion on diet and nutrition for healthy Americans (without special medical conditions, such as organ disease), was the logical equivalent of practicing medicine without a license.]

I do not like the idea of simply waiting until you're hungry or thirsty to eat or drink. I think that those urges are lagging indicators and inefficient (e.g., if your urine is darkly colored, you most likely have not had enough water or liquids to drink; if the signals were efficient, a person would always be properly hydrated and never have dark urine); I also note that there is often a lag before the brain gets the message that one has eaten enough, and hence one can eat more calories than are necessary for your own lifestyle (again, if the signals were fully efficient, a person would never eat more than he or she needs to eat).

In many cases, people have not eaten for 10 to 12 hours or longer when they get up; this contrasts with maybe a handful of hours between meals in a typical 3-meal day. I do grant that most people are sedentary during the evening and while sleeping, with metabolism not requiring as many calories to burn. Assuming it is important to eat (but to control how much one eats), what do you eat? I go in part to my referenced lower-carb background: protein and fats are essentially dietary components, and vitamins are water- or fat-soluble. Eggs are a wonderful, if not the most perfect food. Probably my favorite self-prepared meal is to scramble an egg, load in some vegetables (e.g., fresh mushroom and jalapeno peppers), cover it with a slice of nonfat cheese, put it in a low-carb, whole-wheat tortilla (e.g., La Tortilla Factory or Tumaro's Low in Carbs), covered with a generous helping of picante sauce. (Sometimes I'll sprinkle on some chia seeds or Garden of Life Super Seed.) I'll also look for a way to supplement my meal with foods containing soluble fiber (a departure from my lower-carb preferences), such as a serving of fresh berries in season. The reason I particularly focus on lower-glycemic/lower-carb foods is that fats promote a feeling of satiety and proteins (and whole-grains) tend to be more absorbed more slowly.

As I read through all the yuppie alternatives to a power breakfast in Wolgemuth's column, I identify most closely with Flickr cofounder Caterina Fake, whom eats eggs, cheese and toast and avoids carb-laden alternatives like pastries or cereal (which she feels dulls mental acuity).

I have not conducted scientific research in the area of nutrition, and I would often give deference to an expert in the field of nutrition, like Professor Nestle, as a matter of academic courtesy. But I think that the old saw about breakfast being the most important meal of the day is more than just an old wives' tale:

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day for everyone. Many studies have found a relationship between eating breakfast and learning ability, attention span, and general well-being. The American Dietetic Association (www.eatright.org) reports that adults who eat breakfast have an easier time losing weight. Children who regularly eat breakfast think faster, clearer, solve problems more easily, and are less likely to be irritable.

Breakfast is important for all ages, not just children. Other studies point to a connection between skipping breakfast with weight gain and memory impairment in young and older adults.

Introductory Post

I don't fit the typical stereotype of a fat person. I've generally exercised for most of my adult life; as a young adult I mostly jogged, swam, and played some pickup football and volleyball. I continued jogging at the University of Houston, often circling the campus late at night, until one day one of a couple of passing cyclists unexpectedly punched my face, swelling my left eye. I eventually transitioned to a mixed weight training/stationary bike riding (or stair climbing) at the campus fitness center; I have also owned stationary bikes at home. After leaving academia, I joined a Bally's Fitness center in the Chicago suburbs in the middle 1990's and have maintained my membership since then (although my frequency of workouts has been affected by long commutes to DC or northern Virginia or out-of-town business trips).

My mom will tell you I was not overweight as a kid; given 6 younger siblings and my dad's limited income (as an enlisted Air Force NCO), I did get enough to eat, but Mom had strict rules about eating between mealtimes and we generally didn't have soda pop or ice cream on a regular basis.

There has been some history of overweight people, especially on my dad's side of the family. So I'm not surprised that maintaining my weight has been a struggle all my adult life. The first real issue was the infamous "freshman 15"; this tendency of college freshman to gain weight is so notorious there are even dedicated websites to the concept. I think in my case it was aggravated by the fact I was doing work-study at the college cafeteria. I then began a lifelong pattern, like most dieters, of yo-yoing. I do recall at one point dropping 75 pounds during undergraduate school. At slightly below average height, I found myself oscillating between 165 to 190 lbs., although by the time I was at Houston, it was a struggle trying to remain near 200 lbs. The time I ballooned to 300 was during a commute and later short-term move to California in the late 1990's (Bally's at the time had no facilities in the San Jose area).

In terms of diet and exercise, I mostly cooked for myself, and to be honest things like chips, baked/packaged goods (e.g., cookies), and ice cream were never really a regular part of my shopping list. How did I manage to gain as much as I have? I have a few hypotheses: (1) portion control; (2) inconsistent exercise (especially with heavy travel and commute schedules); (3) poor dietary choices at work or during travel (e.g., pizza is a well-known staple for IT professionals during business meals: too many carbohydrates); (4) slowing metabolism as a result of aging; and (5) a previously undiagnosed underactive thyroid condition (in fact, my doctor had to raise the dosage of synthroid at least 3 times).

But for those people whom think that all fat people lack self-control and have secret stashes of goodies, etc.: sorry; the real story is more complex. There have been studies out there which control for diet and exercise, and yet one person will lose 10 pounds and the other only a couple. The last time I went to a diner (with my dad), I didn't even finish the food on my plate, not to mention leaving a much-desired baked potato untouched; I do not frequent all-you-care-to-eat buffets, and my last DBA colleague (rail-thin) on a project routinely ate more than me (including his multiple snacks daily). You get to 300 pounds not in one fell swoop, but one pound at a time. And it can occur subtly: for example, you can eat the same amount of food, but if you aren't exercising, the excess your body is not burning converts to fat.

Let us be very clear: Being fat is not a pleasant experience, and we fat people have a number of natural incentives to want to get down to a more normal size. This blog will not intentionally be a strident defender of fat people's rights and the status quo; in fact, I think there are compelling reasons, just in terms of living a full life, to lose a healthy amount of weight. But, based on my own experience, women showed less interest in me the bigger I got, it can be difficult to find and buy affordable clothing, and you can be subjected to humiliating behavior from other people

In terms of dietary approaches, I probably followed the existing predominant paradigm starting in the 1970's: the low-fat approach. Our food can basically be summarized in terms of 3 sources of energy: carbohydrates, fats, and proteins (only the latter two are regarded as "essential") In particular, dietary fats are more calorie-dense. The low-fat advocates argue for a reduction in fat intake and substituting carbohydrates.

I first became aware of the low-carb diet through a project DBA I worked with at a Chicago public sector client in 2002. He mentioned he had lost weight almost effortlessly on the Atkins diet, never being hungry, etc. After my weight peaked around the time I made an unsuccessful job visit to Baltimore in 2003, I diligently followed a somewhat tamer version of a low-carb diet and over the first 6 months or so, I must have lost some 90 pounds. I hit a plateau at the time and eased off the diet. I would eventually regain the entire 90 pounds.

I've been on a renewed diet since changing doctors last November, having consistently weighed in lower at each subsequent office visit. Last month I decided to enroll in the Nutrisystem Diabetic plan (I do not have diabetes, although some relatives on both sides of the family tree developed type 2 diabetes). I will go into more depth in subsequent posts, but I had a positive experience my first month on the plan. I find the packaged items nutritious, and I like the taste and variety. The program does a good job controlling portions, and the online tools to register my daily weight and chronicle what I eat complement my self-discipline.

My intent for this introductory post was to explain how I got to the present. My subsequent posts will focus on my ongoing efforts plus related topics.