Saturday, January 31, 2009

What fun!

I was feeling much better as the day went on, so I thought it would be fun to go cross country skiing. First, we made a trip to the local ski mart to get snow pants, a new pair of ski boots for me, and some other apparatus. $400 later, we were off to a local cross country ski resort in New Ipswich, NH.
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It was a great workout, and we had a blast. Here are some photos:

This is me bundled up, as I didn't want a return of my cold!

Poor Darce took a spill, but she didn't break anything (other than her ski poles which I used for the rest of the time), and she got right up and kept going!


It was a beautiful, sunny day, and with all of our gear, we didn't even realize that it was 18 degrees out!



Here is a more upright picture of Darce:




...and one more of me (with above referenced poles)...



I listened to opera on my iPod as I skied through the snowy woods. It was wonderful. I even got to go down some hills (while Darcy watched), and I didn't have any control over my skis. It was exciting and fun. It made me miss downhill skiing.

Next weekend, we are planning on renting a cabin up north, and we are going to go sledding at a nearby ski area with my friend Linda. After that, we are heading into town for fireworks by the mountainside. It should be really nice.

If I'm stuck in New England, I should enjoy all it has to offer!

We are sore, and we are heading out to the hot tub now.

Enjoy your night!

Good start


Look at the cute little 4 lb puppy!!
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I'm down 4 lbs today. 4 down, 76 to go.
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I woke up in the middle of the night with nausea and abdominal pain. I don't know what brought it on. I was up most of the night. I seem to be feeling better now, so that is a good thing.
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I'm going to take it easy and try to have bland foods so that I don't upset the apple cart.
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We are having structural work done on the house, so it's day four of bang, bang, banging. I'm so glad to have the project done since our floor was going to cave in, but it will be nice when it's finished! :)

Friday, January 30, 2009

Starvin like Marvin


(Hey You Guys - - it's Starvin Marvin from South Park!)

Wow, today is like my first day on a diet. I've been hungry between meals and everything. This is a phenomenon for me. I think my appetite grew this past week...either that or it's hormonal...or BOTH!

I can't remember the last time I felt this way. I ate a perfectly normal amount of food. I had a cup of cereal with milk for breakfast, with half a banana, a grapefruit for snack, 3 english muffin pizzas with 3 celery stalks for lunch, 4 celery stalks for snack, 2 lean low fat taco's for dinner, and a sugar free popsicle. All in all, I had 1,124 calories, 26 grams of fat, 67 grams of protein, and 21 grams of fiber. Also, thanks to my well balanced diet, I was well over the recommended daily intake for almost all my vitamins and nutrients. I was at 125% RDI for calcium and 137% for iron, both of which I need to be mindful of.

I'm very pleased with day one's results, and I'm looking forward to weighing in tomorrow morning.

Tonight we went to the movies, and we saw Slumdog Millionaire. I really enjoyed it, and I didn't think I would. I thought it was going to be one of these award movies that was nominated for awards just because it was different, and that may be part of the phenomenon, but I truly enjoyed it, and not because I think it makes me smart to say so. You don't have to be smart at all to like this film! It's perfect for me! :)

I avoided my beloved movie theater popcorn, and I didn't even want any of it when my friends got some. I love the feeling of being on track. I know it's not always going to be easy to pass up, and that is okay, but during the getting back on track phase, there is no room for error. Once I'm cruising along again, then I will have planned meals or snacks that aren't ideal, but it's the reality of a healthy long term eating habit.

I'm still getting better, and I still need more sleep than usual, so I'm going to bed at 9:30 on a Friday night. My stomach is growling (the large diet coke didn't help that), and I'm looking forward to going to bed so that I can wake up and have breakfast! LOL

Sweet dreams.

Multigrain English Muffin Pizzas

This is a picture of my lunch. It was tasty and nutritious!

I've included the very easy recipe and calorie information below, though it's based upon a serving size of 3 muffin halves. I was only able to eat 2 pieces, but I may have a third later if I'm hungry!

Edible Elements:
-4 Multigrain English Muffins
-1/2 cup pasta sauce (low sodium is always good)
-3/4 cup reduced fat mozzarella cheese

Heat oven to 350 degrees, spray pan with Pam cooking spray and separate muffins, covering with sauce and cheese. Bake for 10-15 minutes (depending on your oven) until the cheese is melted and slightly browned.

Serving size: 3 muffin halves
Calories: 323
Fat: 7.5
Fiber: 4.5
Protein: 21

These pizzas are not only easy, fun and yummy!, they are also a good source of fiber, protein and calcium. Served with fresh veggies on the side, these pizzas pack a healthy punch!

Game on!


I feel like I'm at a new starting point. I just went back to my fitday.com weight tracker, and I realized it's been months and months since I lost weight. I think the last time was about four months ago. That's quite a plateau. I know a lot of it was that I was due a plateau and the rest of it was my knee injury, gallbladder surgery, back injury, etc... I've had a never ending list of things come up lately it seems.
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I'm finally getting better from my nasty cold/flu. I have been resting, resting, resting, and staying in the house almost entirely for the past week. I have left the house for a total of about 12 hrs out of the past 168. That's crazy. I have not worked as much as I wanted to, and I have probably logged 70 hrs of television watching, IF NOT MORE.
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That's all well and good...I know that my cold/flu's get me sicker than most. I can't remember a time in the past several years when a bad cold didn't lead to a really bad case of bronchitis, and often pneumonia. Your lungs get weaker each time you get a sickness like that, which makes you more prone to getting it over and over and over again. It's quite a cycle, and I have worked very hard to try to stop the cycle this time around.
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Thankfully, I'm consulting, and I can make my own hours. I've had the luxury of staying home and opting out of going to work (except for one morning), and I've been able to get the rest and sleep that I need. It's very rare that I would have that opportunity, and if I hadn't been unemployed, I have no doubt I would have gotten bronchitis and probably pneumonia again. See - there is good in everything. ;-)
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So I'm finally getting better, and I'm raring to get re-started with my weight loss journey. I've been eating junk all week since I've been sick (lame excuse), and I've weighed myself every day this week, watching the number grow...telling myself that now isn't the time to worry about the number, now is the time to focus on getting well. What a convenient truth. :)
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This morning I found myself up a good 8 lbs. I know my weight fluctuates wildly, and that it could be water weight, or at least some of it, but I also know that my appetite was much bigger than usual this week, as it always is when I'm sick, and I ate whatever I want...thankfully, whatever I want now is quite different than whatever I wanted before, so that is a good thing...
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Because my weight fluctuates so much, I never update fitday when the number goes up, only when it goes down. I don't think it counts because some days I'm up 6 lbs for no reason, and then it's gone the next day. It's a bad habit, and I think my new rule is that if I'm up more than 2 days in a row, I'm updating my weight on fitday. Today, I changed my weight on fitday to my new weight, which is up the 8 lbs. I also updated my goal weight, which is now 35 lbs less than my original goal weight. It's a stretch, but it's my goal, and that's what I'm going to aim for.
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With my newly acquired 8 lbs in tow, and my new goal weight, I'm now about 80 lbs from goal. I know that sounds drastic, and it is a lot, yes indeed. I'm 2/3rds of the way there, however, for my total goal, and I'm giving myself the next year to lose it. I know that the 8 lbs I'm up will be gone relatively soon, so basing my goal on having about 70 lbs to lose, at an average of 1.5 lbs/week, I hope to be at my new goal weight by February, 2010. That will be about 2.5 years since the start of my journey, and a healthy amount of time for it to take to lose 240 lbs.
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I'm starting over in a number of ways. At the beginning of my journey (for months), I measured out all of my portions religiously. I have gotten away from that, because I know what a cup looks like or what 3 oz of chicken looks like. This morning, I measured out a cup of cereal, and I realized that my portion has grown over the months. I was probably at a cup and a half without realizing it. Oddly, when I measured out a cup of milk, I was probably closer to a half a cup of milk in my actual use, so the calories were almost a wash, but I was taking in more carbs than needed, and less calcium.
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I have gotten lazy about the no drinking with or after meals requirement as well. Fluids make the food go through the band quicker, which minimizes the effect. I was very good about not drinking with meals or after meals (for 30-60) minutes for quite some time, but then I just got lazy about it. It didn't seem to matter much, but I know that it does, at least to some extent, so I'm back on track with that too.
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Since I've been out of work, I've fallen out of my water routine as well. I still drink a lot because crystal light and water are pretty much all I drink, but when I was on vacation, I really went off the water band wagon. As of today, I'm back on track.
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For now, because I feel like I need a clean slate, I'm going to forget about all the weight I lost before, and I'm starting fresh with a new number: 80. It's been months since I lost all that weight, and it's anticlimactic to keep adding to it...at least for now. Starting fresh with a new number makes me feel renewed and more enthusiastic about this journey. I don't know why, but it just does, so I'm going with it. I'm excited to weigh myself tomorrow morning to see how much I've lost, from the 80. If I were going with my original numbers, whatever I lost tomorrow would just be re-lost, and that's not satisfying or motivating for me at all.
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80 is the new 200 (and future 240). :)
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I'm still going to take it easy with exercising, since I'm having trouble breathing from my cold, and I don't want to do anything to prevent my cold from ending in peace. I have a feeling that by tomorrow or Sunday at the latest, I will be well enough to go back to the gym. My back is still bothering me, as I keep re injuring it (most recently yesterday rearranging the house), so I will start back with cardio, no weights, and that should be fine. If I'm careful, I should be back to weights within a week.
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I think I will reformat the appearance of this blog to signify this new step in my journey.
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What fun!

Whatever, Martha

This FLN show is quickly becoming one of my favorites. I may have mentioned it before, but the premise is Alexis Stewart and friend Jennifer Koppleman Hutt tearing apart footage of previously aired Martha Stewart shows. Naturally, Martha is the producer, as she is a marketing genius, and the whole thing is hilarious.

Alexis and Jennifer watch footage of Martha's shows, while tearing it apart in a living room set. Sometimes, they try to make the crafts and foods along with Martha, and Jennifer shows how impossible it is to do along side of Martha, while Alexis does her very berry best to be as good as Mommy, but ultimately falls short.

Jennifer is a good little Jewish girl who is devoted to her husband and family, likes people and all is well in her universe. Alexis is the bad witch of the show, often displaying disdain for humankind and superiority (albeit somewhat deserved...she knows a lot more stuff than me...LOL) over all. She has a bit of a potty mouth, but I think that's just because she's trying to seem normal, and she doesn't quite know how.

These two are quite the funny duo, and I couldn't get through an episode of the show this week without having to stop it because I was wheezing and coughing too much. It should come with a warning for those bearing an upper respiratory infection.

This little plug is not only an attempt to bring laughter into your lives if you should take a chance on these two, but also the revelation that I really really like Alexis Stewart. I want to look like her. I have searched the internet for photos that accurately depict the person I see on these shows, but I cannot find any. You will have to tune in to see. I like her hair, her slim but buff and toned form, her clothes (though they are generally too girly for me), her posture, etc... She is 11 years older than me (which makes her 43), but she looks like she is my age or younger. I must start moisturizing.

I don't know if I have what it takes to ever be in as good of shape as she is, but as I start to rethink my ultimate goals for weight loss and what I want to look like, my sites get higher and higher. When I started this journey, I would have been happy landing where I am now. I mean, 160+ lbs less is a huge difference. I wanted to lose another 30 or 40 lbs from where I am now, but now that I have been in this range for quite a while, I want to lose at least 60 more lbs, and maybe more.

I know I will never be as thin as Alexis, but where I once envisioned my end result to be still a bit stocky, I'm thinking it may be fun to aim for thin, yet built. We'll see. I don't think it hurts to dream big. :)

Incidentally, Alexis and I share a birth date, which only goes to fuel my fire to strive to look like her.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Food Frenzy

Every time I have a bad cold I'm sooo very naughty with food. I feel hungrier than ever, and I just want comfort foods. I am still sick, although I do think I'm slowly but surely getting better, and after working a half day yesterday, I came home and collapsed on the couch. I tried to work over and over again, but I was just exhausted.

I have my usual sicky cravings, and I was fixated on movie theater popcorn. I had Darcy drag me out of the house (in my PJ's!), and we went to the movies, and I had my popcorn. I ate too much, and I felt sick all night. I haven't felt that full (or sick) from food...well, I can't remember when, it's been so long.

I want to feel better, and I hate that I don't make the best choices every time I come down with something. I just have a pity party for myself, and I do whatever I want in the moment. Thankfully, I will get better, and I will get back on track. I'm hoping that is soon.

In the mean time, I'm trying not to go overboard too much, and I'm weighing myself daily, watching the damage. I am up a few lbs, and I know I just need to get back on track, and it will be gone.

I've decided to really step up my game when I'm feeling better. I'm going to start planning for it now. Alison and I have both been on a bit of a plateau for some time now, so I am thinking about having some form of a contest to see who can lose more in a certain amount of time. It's silly, but sometimes a renewed focus helps us over the hump. We'll see if she accepts the challenge.

:)

Monday, January 26, 2009

Aaaaachhooooooo!!!



I'm convinced I'm allergic to the northeast. I feel like I'm forever battling allergies, colds, flu, bronchitis, etc... Thankfully, I have this trusty little blog to refer back to, and I'm going to track all of my illnesses since I've been blogging for the past year and a half. Maybe we can get to the bottom of this.

I don't overly mind being sick, but it can be annoying and it always interferes with my weight loss. I'm on the couch all day, my appetite increases, I take in more sodium with all the soup, etc... I need to figure out what I'm doing wrong.

I was laid up on the couch all day Saturday and Sunday. I had a fever off and on, but it seems like it finally broke during the night last night. I'm starting to feel human again. I am still having all the other symptoms, but my head isn't cloudy like it had been, so that is a big plus. I have a ton of work to do, in addition to getting caught up on all the other home/life things that I haven't done since being away.

I had to postpone my appointment with my personal trainer last Friday, and I'm waiting to reschedule when I'm feeling better. I am still having trouble with my back, so I may see a doctor about it, but it seems like it's more nerve issues than anything else, and I think those just have to go away on their own.

To combat the snow and cold weather, today we're going to have a summer BBQ meal: teriyaki flank steak, low fat potato salad, corn and a fresh salad. I can't wait.

Friday, January 23, 2009

Welcome home

Talk about one extreme to another - we came from the beautiful beaches of Florida to the snow crusted north. I can't imagine what we would do without our wonderful friends and neighbors. Our cat would have been so lonely, our pipes would have frozen, and we never would have been able to park in the driveway when we came home last night.

Stephanie and Carolyn were kind enough to visit with Miller and clean up after him (which is no small task) while we were away.

Bruno and Krissy made sure our driveway was plowed after each storm, and they even shoveled the walkway and steps for us, and cleared off Darcy's car and moved it so they could plow!

Jimmy sensed our pipes might freeze in the cold, so he came to our house and checked all the running water. As it turns out, the pipe to the downstairs toilet did freeze, so Jimmy went under the house into the crawl space and checked it out. He decided to run a heater downstairs, facing it toward the frozen pipe, in the hopes that it wouldn't burst. We had the heat on, but it was just THAT cold in NH while we were away.

Jimmy came to check on the pipes and the heater it seems like every day, and the pipes would have burst if it wasn't for his efforts.

I also want to thank Darcy's parents for taking us to and from the airport, and letting me store my car down near them, and making sure it started every few days, clearing the snow off, and even filling the washer fluid!

We are so lucky to have such wonderful people in our lives. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!!

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I don't appear to have gained any weight while I was away, so that was a small miracle. I made good choices most of the time, and I was active, but you never know because I don't trust the way restaurants prepare their food. I'm bloated, but other than that, everything is pretty good! I had a nice grapefruit for breakfast, a nod to my tropical trip, and hopefully Darcy will be back from the grocery store in time for me to make turkey burgers for lunch.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

A beautiful goodbye

For our last night in Florida, we ended up staying at a hotel right on the Hollywood Boardwalk, that runs next to the beach. It was sunset when we arrived, and the sky was layered with pinks and yellows and blues. My camera didn't quite capture that, but the picture is above.

We walked up and down the full length of the boardwalk, which is 2.5 miles each way, and we had dinner at a lovely Argentine Italian restaurant. The day before, we had done tons of walking in Key West, and at one point, I jogged to our hotel and back in flip flops, and it was about a mile and a half round trip from where we were. It didn't bother me at the time, but yesterday it felt like I had shin splints. Ooops. Sometimes I get a little too excited with all the new tricks I can do.

I had a wonderful time, but I'm very ready to go home today. I'm dreading the flight because my cold/allergies have been getting worse the past few days, and I know the flight is going to make it worse. I also realized I have conjunctivitis (ew), so I'm going to see an MD when I get home.

In general, I've been very good about eating healthy while on this trip, but the one thing I allowed myself to go crazy with is salt. I can feel it. I'm bloated, and my body feels like junk. I need to detox and drink lots of water when I get home. I will face the scale tomorrow, and it will be fine. When I got back from Georgia, I was up 9 lbs, and it was gone in one day, so I know not to worry about these things.

I'm looking forward to buying groceries and making my meals again, and hopefully my back will heal soon so that I can go back to lifting weights! I am going to miss the outdoors, but I certainly spent a lot of time outside since I've been here. It's been great being so active with the swimming and walking and playing... :) I hope someday I can live in a climate that is nice out year 'round. I think that would be great for my overall health.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

It really is paradise...

We arrived in Key West last night around 5PM. We rushed to change into our swim suits, and headed over to Ft. Zachary Taylor Beach to swim and watch the sun set. The views were breathtaking, so much that Darcy had tears in her eyes. When we first arrived, the sky was full of pinks and blues and yellows and oranges, and the golden rays of light from the setting sun were streaming through the clouds. We walked along the beach to see the panoramic views of sheer beauty. When the sun was finally setting, we enjoyed the view from the comfort of the light aqua gentle waves as we floated along.

Naturally, we didn't have our camera with us (we are bad about that), but I have found some pictures online of the sunset in Key West at Ft. Zachary Beach, as well as some other pictures of the beach so you get the idea. As usual, they do not begin to capture the natural majesty that we witnessed, but you will certainly get the idea:



It was the most beautiful and spectacular scene I have ever witnessed. I had to lead with that experience, but I skipped over another wonderful occurrence. When we arrived at the Guest House, we checked in and were notified that our room was upgraded from their cheapest queen room which I had booked, to their owner's suite, their most expensive! Um, THANKS! :)

I'm not sure how that happened, but the suite is amazing, and so is the entire guest house. Our suite is about 15 feet away from the heated pool, and we have our own outdoor patio chairs and table set in front of the entrance. When you enter the suite from the pool side, you walk into an elegantly decorated 2 story floor to vaulted ceiling living room with exposed beams and marble tile flooring. The decor is a bit English cottage-esque, and I felt like royalty when I entered. At the other end of the living room, there is a hallway that leads to our own private street front entrance with an outdoor porch, complete with rocking chairs.

Upstairs is the king suite with full bath and large closets, and the bedroom door leads to our own private roof top deck, with another patio set and a spiral staircase that leads us back down to the pool.

UNbelievable. I'm supposed to leave this place tomorrow? Ooooh, that's gonna be a tough one.

When we returned from the ocean, we went into the roman bath which was so nice and soothing for my back, which is still bothering me. Then we went for a swim in the heated pool before getting ready to walk to Duval St downtown.

Every year, Key West gets smaller for me. Our first year here, when I turned 30, Duval St seemed never ending and quite daunting to walk up and down. Last year, I was down 80 lbs, and it was much better, and this year, down another 80 (or so), it seems like everything is two seconds away. The first year we were here, we rented out a private house, which was lovely. We drove into town every time because we wouldn't have dreamed of walking all that way. This year, I booked this guest house for the very purpose of us being able to walk downtown and not have to worry about the hassle of driving and parking, and it occurred to me yesterday, we're exactly the same distance away as we were the first year! LOL

What a nice change and realization.

We had a wonderful evening walk into town, and we had dinner outdoors, while listening to a local artist perform songs we all knew. We walked up and down Duval street and we found an outdoor garden/patio playing Wall-E, so we sat outside and watched that. It was a very cute movie, and such a relaxing night. We walked home, and decided to go in the hot tub again, because why not! After that, I went for another swim, and I floated in the heated pool while staring up at the stars, with the palm trees in view as well.

I can't imagine a more perfect day/night. It seemed to take forever for us to pack and leave Ft. Lauderdale yesterday and to drive down to Key West, but I'm so glad the timing worked out as it did. If we had arrived earlier, we would have gone to the beach during the day, and we would have been downtown for the sunset, and we would have missed the amazing sight we saw. I'm not saying everything happens for a reason, but I am saying that I often find annoying/unfortunate events lead to something great. It's all how you look at it.

Today, I'm utterly bloated. I had too much salt yesterday, and I physically feel like I gained 10 lbs, but I know I didn't. Today, it's lots of water and swimming for me! I found an organic whole foods cafe a few blocks away, so I think we'll take a walk down there for breakfast when Darcy wakes up. It's 71 but windy today, so I think we are going to head downtown to watch the very historic inauguration. On the way down, I heard a few radio stations playing the MLK Dream speech. I don't care what party you support, this is an amazing time, and I am proud.

(Side note, I don't think David Palmer hurt Obama's chances...just sayin'... :) And now 24 has a female president, so I think you know what's next... ;-) )

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Pasta, pasta, pasta!


For some reason, my body was craving carbs, pasta specifically, all day yesterday. I started off breakfast with steak and eggs, which was the special at the restaurant we visited. I had one egg, one piece of toast and a few small bites of the steak. I also had a few bites of Darcy's macaroni and beef, which was pasta dish number one of the day.
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At lunch, I was still really craving carbs (which is very rare for me, and I tend to give into my cravings if they appear to be physical cravings, *not* mental ones because I think my body knows what it wants, and it's very rare that I have an unhealthy physical craving), so I ordered an angel hair pasta dish. It was angel hair pasta in a white wine sauce with red pepper, pine nuts, fresh basil and soft goat cheese. It was a bit spicy, and oh so delicious! The serving size was moderate, and I ate the whole thing (almost)!
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For dinner, we all wanted Italian, and I googled the best italian restaurant in Ft. Lauderdale. I found a place called Cafe Italia, and I read the online reviews which were fantastic. The theme was that it was truly authentic Italian food, which I did not expect to find in South Florida. We were not disappointed!
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I ordered the spaghetti carbonara, and it was truly delectable. By then, I think my body was finally over the carb cravings, so I only had a very small amount, but that's okay. It was reasonably priced, and I didn't mind only having a little bit of it.
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All in all, I had over 1700 calories yesterday which is more than I usually plan for, but I only had 1000 the day before, and I'm still on track for a 1500 average (or less, of course). For breakfast today, I had a fruit cup and a turkey sausage and cheese (light on the cheese) omelet. I ate the fruit first, and then I ate part of the omelet. My breakfast was about 360 calories.
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Today I'm thinking of taking Alison to 5 guys burger and fries, which I blogged about when I was in Atlanta. I am not in the mood for anything unhealthy today, but I really wanted her to check it out. We'll see... Maybe we can just go buy a burger and fries and take a bite of each and throw the rest out. I wouldn't mind that. :)
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We are off to the beach for more fun in the sun! I don't want to leave!!!

Friday, January 16, 2009

So far so good

I'm on day five (ish) of my vacation, and I've been on track with my calories. I've been around 900-1200/day except for one day when I hit 1550. I'm supposed to be at 1500 according to my trainer, but I haven't been working out because my back is still so sore, so I know I need to take it easy. I have been keeping active walking and swimming, so at least I'm not sedentary.

Every night we go out with our friends and they order greasy appetizers. I never eat any of it. If I wanted some and I planned for it, I would, but I just don't want any of it. I'm not around many of these friends very often, since they live in FL, and they are shocked by my resolve. I'm just taking it one meal at a time.

My friends around here all call me skinny which is funny because if you didn't know me when I was larger, you would certainly describe me as chubby at least. But I'll take skinny. I know why they say it, and it's very cute. I can't wait until I actually am thin. That will be amazing.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Rosie or Lea?

No, the picture above is *not* me... it's Lea Delaria, a comic/singer/actor/performer who I apparently resemble. I cannot tell you how many times people have told me I look like her or actually asked me if I WAS her. Most of the times, I tell them no...sometimes, I have a little fun... ;-)

For some reason, this happens to me more when I'm in Florida. I think it's because people in NH have never heard of Lea Delaria. The thing is, I must carry myself like I'm a famous person because people truly think I'm Lea. OR Rosie!:



I think I've blogged about this before, but it is still happening to me. Last night, I met up with some friends at Smarty Pants for trivia night, and the host of the show came up to me in the middle of the show and asked me if I was a famous comedianne. I told him I was both Rosie O'Donnell *AND* Lea Delaria. My friends laughed, but I think he only heard that I said I was Lea Delaria because he then apologized for forgetting my name and looked at me like he was honored to have me there. Also, the other people in the audience started looking at me admirably. Funny!

THEN, we went to another show and a different guy came up to me to tell me how he thought I was Rosie from across the room. He said he was staring at me, wondering how he knew me, and then he realized - I was Rosie! Once he came up to me, he realized I wasn't, and of course told me I'm muuuch prettier (LOL), but yes, twice in one night I got Rosie and Lea...again.

Sometimes strangers stare at me as though they think I'm familiar, and I know that's why. Darcy usually thinks I'm crazy and that people are just rude, but she's starting to come around...

Maybe when I'm done losing the weight, I won't get anymore star sightings...we shall see...

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

NOT cheerios

Yesterday we went to Whole Foods to do our shopping for the week. We didn't get a lot:
-Grass fed hamburg
-Chipotle taco seasoning
-Salad
-Oranges
-Cajun Roast Beef slices
-Grass fed beef hot dogs
-Hot dog rolls
-Pickles
-Salad dressing
-Ketchup
-Pitas
-Frozen Pizza
-Kashi frozen dinner
-Purely O's
-Milk
-Cheese
-Nacho flavored tortilla chips
-Popcorn

Our total was $100.03. Yikes. If I had bought the same items at a non-organic grocery store, It would have been about $40 or less. It is expensive to not poison your body.

Darcy had the Purely O's for breakfast this morning. They are supposed to be like Cheerios. They are NOT. They taste like stale cardboard...possibly worse. Don't get me wrong, I'll eat them. They probably cost $10! ;-) They are whole grain, and they have very few ingredients, and I know what they all are, so that's a good thing, but we must find a happy medium between inexpensive tasty foods that are bad for you and gross expensive foods that are good for you.

If I were more of a rule follower, I would consider starting my own line of organic foods. I know I could find affordable ways to make organic, whole foods delicious...I just can't imagine dealing with all the red tape.

Lovin' it!

It was overcast on and off yesterday. I convinced Darcy to ride the waves with me, and we had an absolute BLAST. The water is so nice here. It wasn't like bath water, but it was perfectly comfortable and refreshing.

The longer we stayed in the water, the more dark clouds that grew overhead. The lifeguard still had the green flag out, so I knew we were safe. All of the sudden, it started POURING. Now, I'm not one to mind getting wet while already wet, but we only had tiny bath towels with us, so we decided to make a run for it when it started pouring.

We got to the car, hopped in, and sped off soaking wet...laughing hysterically... It was just a youthful, fun moment. The rest of the day, we had to sit on plastic bags whenever we drove anywhere because our seats were completely soaked!

I actually had quite a good work out in the water. The waves were rough and strong, and I kept heading against them.

My back has been pretty bad still, but more annoying than anything else. I'm going to try to do some stretches today to loosen it up.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Look what I can do!


I forgot to mention how different flying was. I made a bigger deal of it with my flights last winter and spring, because it was such a big difference, but I hadn't flown since then, and it was even that much more of a difference from before.
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First of all, I used to fly first class, which still wasn't entirely comfortable, but when I started flying coach again this past year, it was still a squeeze. This time, I was able to cross my legs on the plane! ...quite an accomplishment for me... Also, with the seat in front of me reclined, and mine not reclined, I could put my tray all the way down without it cramming into me.
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I realize to many of you, you haven't ever experienced these challenges, so it's probably shocking to hear that I couldn't do these things before. These are not things we phatties tend to brag about, so that's probably why these concepts are most likely new to you. To those of you who have been where I've been, you truly understand what a giant difference this is.
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Since I've been on my plateau for so long, I've started to feel bigger and bigger, because I've gotten used to the weight I've lost, and more and more aware of the weight I have left to lose. I haven't had many NSVs in a while because I haven't done anything new, but being on the plane was definitely a nice change of pace.
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I never would have dreamed that being on a plane would make me feel anything other than big and uncomfortable.

Lovin' it...


Our flight was delayed, just a bit, and they seemed to be flying slower than usual...I was monitoring it, and for most of the flight, we were at 384 mph...towards the end, the pilot finally kicked it up to 424 mph, probably realizing how long it was taking. Are they trying to conserve fuel or something? Anyway, our plane didn't land until 9pm. We picked up our cute little convertible, and headed over to the beautiful oasis where we will be staying this next week.
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The owners are super nice, and the gardens and landscaping breathtaking. I can't imagine who does it, but I'm sure it costs a lot. I'll take and post some pictures later. After the tour of the house, we changed out of our New England attire into shorts and short sleeved shirts and we headed out for a very late dinner.
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It is completely unlike me to eat this late, but we were both very hungry, and we were too excited to go to bed anyway. We got to a nearby outdoor patio restaurant (like the one pictured above) and ordered our food. We didn't end up eating until about 11! I ordered a pork chop (which came with fries and onion rings), and I substituted snow peas for the fries and onion rings. They must give you a LOT of fries and onion rings because the pork chop took up about a quarter of the plate, and the snow peas took up the rest. I swear, it was like an entire 10 oz bag.
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I ate about half of the deliciously seasoned pork chop and more of the snow peas than I anticipated, and I brought the rest home with me. It will make for a yummy lunch today.
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We are surrounded by a river, which leads to the ocean. There are kayaking routes around here, and they say it takes about 2 hrs (if you're used to kayaking) to circle the island we are on. I really want to do it, and I'm hoping my back gets better so I can. Right now, I'm taking 3 advil liquid gels every few hours to dull the pain. I can't imagine kayaking anytime soon, but I'm hoping the warm weather and swimming will help with my back.
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On another note, I think I'm allergic to airplanes. I'm going to look into this, but the last time I flew, I was starting to come down with something, and during my flight, I became exponentially more sick than I originally was, and I had bronchitis, which lead to pneumonia when I got home. Yesterday, I boarded the plane with a slight cold/allergies and I got more and more sick every minute we were in the air. I was horrified to be that sneezing, coughing, nose blowing person on the flight. I hate them! I'm going to look into what is causing this, and I'm seriously considering wearing a mask on the flight home...how cool am I? ;-)
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I had some tea with honey this morning, and I'm hoping the dry, warm weather will dry out my congestion. ...fingers crossed!...
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I'm off to the grocery store. Stay well!

Monday, January 12, 2009

Sunny days, here I come!

We leave for Florida this afternoon. I still need to finish packing, and I'm meeting with a client on my way to the airport, which is completely in the wrong direction. I think Darcy is going to kill me. :) Hey - a girl's gotta eat. ;-)

I appear to be down the few lbs I was up, but I'm going to watch it closely. I hope there is a scale in the vacation home we rented.

Our flight arrives at 8:20 tonight, and then we have to pick up the rental car, etc...I'm assuming we probably will get to our vacation house at around 10ish. Tomorrow AM, I'm planning to go grocery shopping for the week. I've asked the owners if they can recommend an organic/natural foods market nearby. I hope we have a grill at our disposal...I'm sure we will.

We went to Ft. Lauderdale and Key West the same time last year. I did pretty well with the healthy eating and exercise, and I plan to do the same this trip. Last year we stayed in hotels the entire time, so I had to do my best eating out each meal. Having our own kitchen will be a HUGE help.

I should probably finish packing and start to get ready, so I'm signing off for now. I will keep you posted as we go!

Saturday, January 10, 2009

I don't know about this...

I'm up a few lbs...This week, as you know, I was given the advice to average 1500 calories per day (at least) by my personal trainer. I probably should have picked a week to try this out when I was working out. :)

Since I was sick on Wednesday, and God knows I feed my colds, I had a spike in calories that day, and I ended up averaging 1472 calories per day since Monday...and now I'm up a few lbs... I realize that it could be anything with me - my weight fluctuates like crazy, and if I hadn't increased my calories, I wouldn't think anything of it.

I've been on a plateau for months, however, so I'm going to continue trying this. I think I'll give it a month total, because I know it will take time for my body to adjust to the change, although if I continue to gain weight, other than a lb or two, I will have to scale it back. I'm not that open minded.

But if I end up gaining 5 lbs on the front end, and my metabolism is kicked into gear, and then I am able to start losing again, I'll have no complaints. I can handle a small initial gain.

Since I'm going on vacation, I'm sure it will be easy to get in the 1500 calories per day.

I can feel my new muscles growing today. That's always a fun thing for me. I will probably skip weights today, in hopes that my back will heal, but I'm definitely going to do some cardio. That didn't bother my back at all, as I mentioned, at least when I was on the bike. When I switched to the treadmill, I could tell that may start hurting...I was only on each for 10 minutes, so let's see how I do on the bike for a good 30 mins today, alternating 5 low, 5 mid, as prescribed.

My trainer says it's not good to do more than 45 mins of cardio a day, because after 45 minutes, you can start burning muscle. I have no arguments with that. :)

Friday, January 9, 2009

Oh boy

I was pathetic at my work out today. It was my first time working out with my personal trainer, and I had told her how strong I was and that I had been working out for a long time, and there was NO evidence of any of that today at the gym. How embarrassing. :)

First of all, I had to hit the road this AM at 6 to get to Boston for some early morning meetings. It was a very busy morning, and when I left Boston, I had to rush back to NH to get to the gym on time. I didn't have a chance to stop for lunch, and I was already feeling weak, on top of my aching back and general sluggishness from coming down with a cold.

To top it all off, she decided we should work out chest and triceps today, my two weakest areas, natch. For the first exercise, we did one I do in my normal routine, so she kept increasing the weights every set because she could tell it was way too light for me. I was thinking that it wasn't so bad for a sick/injured/hungry person.

...Oh how the mighty fall...

Next we went onto the fly/cross, which I've always been so weak at, and I told her this, but she didn't seem to get the picture. I'm a big girl, and she's seen some of my muscles, so I think she probably thinks I'm deformed at this point. I had to keep it on the lowest setting. Now, in my defense, if I was cheating and doing the exercises quicker, or in the improper form that many people do, I could have done *much* more weight, but doing things the right way is very different my friend. :)

From that, we moved along to assist dips.


...another exercise I've almost always avoided. Hello - I'm too fat to do dips or this mid way push up things - even though I can put the weight on a certain resistance to offset some of my weight, it's not enough! I don't think my trainer has ever worked out with a fat person before (which is very possible because she's very new at this), and I think she was shocked that I had trouble with this exercise.

I've lost a lot of weight, but I still weigh a lot! Not to mention, this exercise uses the triceps and mine aren't built up, so the poor little things are trying to lift over half of my body weight...up and down...up and down...

I got about 25 dips in total, but they were wimpy, and not the full range that they should be. Luckily, I know that my muscles grow and learn fast, so by our next work out, I'll be able to hold my head high again.

Our last exercise wasn't bad, but it kept pulling at my injured back, so my arms were shaky and it was hard to get through. She must have thought I lied about all the working out I do and how strong I am! LOL

Finally, we ended up on cardio. I had told her how much I loathe indoor cardio, and while I do it, I don't like it. To the opposite point of my tales of lifting weights, I think she took that to mean that I don't do any cardio and I'm a complete beginner. With the weights, where she thought I could do more than I could, and with the cardio, she thought I could do less.

She wanted me to do 5 mins of low impact and 5 minutes of mid impact. She was thinking I would start as a 3 on the bike for the first 5 minutes and then move up to a 6 for the next five minutes. I started pedaling away, and I think it must have been obvious that it was nothing to me, because then she jumped me up to a 6 for the low impact and I did 10 for the mid impact.

She said my target heart rate should be 132 while doing cardio, which is lower than I'm usually aiming for. She said at the 132 range, I'm burning fat, but above that, I'm burning sugars, and I want to burn the fat...especially because I'm not eating more than I should...I just need to burn the weight off, not the calories I'm consuming...I think I get it. :)

All in all, it was a very good, informative work out. I had forgotten how much I didn't know. :) It's been so long since I met with a personal trainer (almost 15 years!), and the same amount of time since I trained some other folks at the gym I worked at. I lost a lot of good tips along the way, especially since I took so many years off from working out. I got into bad habits as well, sacrificing form so that I could lift higher amounts of weight, not going slow enough, etc...

I'm really excited about the work we are going to do together. She gave me homework to do between now and our next session, which is the day after we return from Florida. She sheepishly asked me if there was any way I'd be able to work out at all while I'm on vacation. Heck yes! I already found the two closest Planet Fitness locations to my hotels, and I am absolutely planning to exercise while I'm away.

She told me, "You're doing a good job, Kiddo," which was very cute since she's almost young enough to have been my child.

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Good Kitty


I had lunch with my friend Kitty today. It was *so* good to see her. We had a great time catching up. Kitty has been on a weight loss journey for quite sometime, like me, and I have enjoyed keeping track of her progress, and learning from her journey.
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We were talking about Oprah, and her Best Life week of shows this week, and I told her I caught her show on Monday about her weight loss. Oprah talked about how she couldn't believe she was still talking about losing weight. She thought she had it down by now, after all these years!
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Kitty and I both identified with that line of thinking. There have been so many times along the many weight loss journeys I have traveled, when I thought this time, I had it. I had finally overcome my challenges.
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The truth is, just like someone who struggles with alcoholism or nicotene addiction, my weight will be a challenge for me for the rest of my life. While that thought is challenging to embrace, there's also some peace with it. I accept that keeping off the extra lbs is something that I will have to work toward for the rest of my life.
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I know that at any point, I can regain everything I've lost if I'm not very careful. The longer I go with positive eating/healthy living habits, the easier it will be for me to stay on track, but I will always need to stay on track. I cannot take the loss of one lb for granted. Each one was hard to lose, and harder to keep off.
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Like Oprah, I could easily wake up a few years from now, facing the fact that I gained back all my weight, or half my weight. It could happen to any of us who have had to lose weight.
You better settle in, because I'll probably be blogging about this forever. ;-)
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Honestly, if blogging keeps me accountable, I'll never stop. I don't expect you all to keep reading it when you're 74, though, but maybe I'll start giving out prizes to keep you interested. LOL
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Hang in there. There is no easy answer, and the sooner we accept the reality and full weight of the challenges in our lives, the sooner we can confront them and no longer allow them to have control over us.

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Yay, I'm getting younger!



At the beginning of my healthy living journey, I was 30 years old (almost 31) and my Real Age was 40 years old, 9 years older than my actual age. When I checked it about a year ago, I was 31 and my Real Age was 30.8, about 6 months younger than my actual age. Now I'm 32, and my Real Age is 30.2, 2 years younger than my actual age.

It's a fun online test to take, especially as you are making changes to your health. It's a neat way to visualize the changes that are actually happening, and the dynamic effect healthy living has on your health!

Try the test, and let me know how you do! www.realage.com

Ahhh, cold season is back

I'm coming down with something. I'm really trying to fight it off. I have a sore throat, and I'm stuffy and achy and run down. I always get extra hungry when I have a cold, so I'm sure I'll have no trouble hitting the 1,500 calories today!

I'm staying in, getting rest and taking Zicam in hopes that I can get rid of this thing before I leave for Florida.

In the mean time, my back is still not right, and I feel like I'm getting behind with my weight loss this week. Oh well. Life happens, right?! :)

Stay away from germs, everybody!

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Ow

I hurt my back lifting too much weight while I was on vacation. I didn't take a break from working out after that, so it hasn't gotten any better.

This weekend, I was at a house wedding, and the stairs near the front door (inside the house) were wet and slippery from all the ice and snow everyone tracked in. I was going down them quickly, not thinking, and I slipped and fell and landed on my back. The top part of my back which I had injured with the weights slammed down on the stairs, and my lower back on the tiles. Um, ouch.

I was hoping to escape with merely a bruised ego, but that was not to be. It seems to be getting worse each day. I think my chair that I work in is aggravating my back. I sat in this chair for almost 12 hrs yesterday, and I don't think that helped.

Thankfully, I had to reschedule with my personal trainer due to a work conflict, and she couldn't make a later time today, so I won't be working out. In the mean time, I'm thinking of waiting until Friday to meet with her. If my back feels better before then, I can still go to the gym and work out, but if not, I won't have to reschedule again.

Yours,
Grace.

Monday, January 5, 2009

Personal Trainer Update


I met with my personal trainer today to talk about my goals, etc...and we went over some basic work out and nutrition guidelines. She definitely thinks I'm doing the right thing food wise, but she wants me to UP my calories. Yikes. I'm going to try it, although I'm scared. She wants me to consume between 1,500-2,000 calories per day. I won't go near 2,000 but I'm going to try the 1,500.
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She thinks one of the reasons for my plateau could be that I'm not taking in enough calories. I know that's a possibility, but the thought of eating more scares me. I was already uncomfortable being in the 1,000-1,200 range, since I lost the majority of my weight eating between 600-800 calories per day...I know that's not a realistic long term approach though.
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In order to increase my calories, I'm going to have a banana in my cereal every morning, and I'm going to eat more fruit. Sometimes I hold back on eating as much fruit as I want because it's so high in calories. (That makes me sounds like I have an eating disorder!) I will also plan to have some whole grain snacks during the day, which will help increase my fiber intake. I'm certainly not going to add the extra 300-500 calories with junk food.
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A lot of tips she gave me are ones I already know, but I've been on this journey for a long time, so that's not a shock. I told her I would like to lose 60 lbs in about 6 months (or so), and that my goal this year is to sculpt and get as lean as I can without looking gross or small. I don't want to end up looking little...that doesn't work for me. Thin with good muscles, I can go for though.
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Please - I'm still happy to be where I am now, which is about 60 lbs overweight. LOL I know originally my goal was to only lose another 30-40 lbs from where I am now, but now that I have been at this weight for so long, it no longer thrills me. It was quite a change from where I was, but I'm used to it now, and I feel like I want to go farther. I'm not in a rush. I'll get there when I get there, but I put the six month time frame there as a goal. After all, if you aim for nothing, that's what you'll hit, right?
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I meet with her tomorrow for our first work out, and I will let you know how it goes.

In defense of Oprah

Many of you dear readers also read my friend Alison's weight loss blog. In a recent blog, Alison suggested that Oprah's recent weight gain may be a publicity stunt. After all, how could someone with a personal chef and personal trainer possibly put on 40 lbs on accident?

I bought Oprah's most recent issue of O Magazine, and I read her article about how disappointed she is to have put the weight on. She talks about how she wasn't practicing what she preaches, and how she was slightly depressed, and in need of thyroid medication, and too busy to make the time to work out or eat the best meals.

This can happen to anyone. While I find Alison's cynical suggestion amusing, and also believe that people will go to obscene lengths to self promote, I don't think that is the case with Oprah. I understand Alison's disbelief because it seems that Oprah has it so together, but the fact of the matter is: only 2-5% of morbidly obese dieters keep the weight off long term. Those are pretty bad odds!

Once your body has "gone there," it just so easy to return there. It takes much less, and it happens much faster. I was just talking to a friend of mine this weekend who lost 60 lbs a few years ago. She kept it off for a while, but now she has gained almost all of it back. She's completely frustrated because she worked so hard to lose it in the first place.

Losing it, as hard as it seems, is really the easy part. Keeping it off for good is the true challenge. Anyone, and I mean anyone, can lose weight. Most people, apparently, can't keep it off.

It's discouraging to think that way, but there are the 2-5% who do keep it off (not counting the surgically altered folks like myself who have better chances because we are physically changed - but there are still plenty of us who manage to regain the weight too - it just takes a lot more), are doing something right.

I received the Beck Diet Solution book and workbook for Christmas. It was one of the items I had on my Amazon.com wish list. I haven't gotten very far in the book yet, but I've learned one concept so far that really resonates with me:

With dieting and weight loss, you have two muscles you can flex - your giving in muscle and your resistance muscle. (I probably messed up the names...you get the idea) Every time you give in to a temptation, your giving in muscle gets strong, and it gets easier and easier for you to give in more and more to temptations. Every time you resist temptation, your resistance muscle gets stronger, and it's easier and easier for you to resist.

I have found that to be very true for me. I started this journey only eating junk or less than ideal meals if I really, really wanted it. I knew I needed to break the cheating mentality, so that meant I would give myself permission to cheat from time to time, and that wouldn't ruin my diet for me. It worked! It was very rare that I would have something that wasn't ideal, because I was losing and losing, and I just wanted to be as healthy as possible.

With the amount of weight I had to lose, I was going to be losing for a long time before I hit my goal, and slowly I realized I was allowing myself to cheat more and more, especially since I've been on the plateau. Did the extra cheats affect my plateau? Possibly. I'm not sure. There have been weeks where I averaged 800 calories a day, and weeks when I've averaged far more since I've been on the plateau...still, no change.

The point is, I truly want to put healthy foods in my body. I do not want to fuel myself with junk, so unless I feel deprived or I have truly planned ahead to have something off course, I'm going to go back to resisting it, all the time. I'm going to strengthen my resistance muscle, and allow my giving in muscle to wane.

There are a million things we can do to sabotage ourselves. Oprah talked about not putting herself first, and that is a major error most dieters make. When I started this journey, healthy living and weight loss were my absolute top priorities. I rearranged my life to accommodate healthy living. Slowly, my priorities began to shift. I took on a consulting assignment, in addition to my busy full time job and full time schooling. Healthy living remained a priority, but not the top one.

It's a new year, and I'm going to do my best to have healthy living take top priority once again. Healthy living to me is more than just weight loss. It's putting my overall healthy and well being first. I'm going to make working out, losing weight and eating healthy foods a top priority, but I'm also going to make sure I have joy and fulfillment in my life.

Live your best life, right? ;-)

Friday, January 2, 2009

2008 - A year in review


2008 wasn't the best year we've ever had, it's safe to say. It seems that half the people I know lost their jobs (including me and Darcy), the economy is terrible, lots of loved ones passed away, lots of people lost their homes, lots of taxpayer money was spent to aid fiscally irresponsible corporations, Eli Stone was cancelled, Knight Rider was renewed, Americans gained over 6 million lbs, 314 US troops died in Iraq, 6000 Iraqi civilians died, genocide rages on in Darfur, New York's "tough on crime" governor canoodled with ladies of the night, Bush pardoned a bunch of drug dealers as well as a developer guilty of fraud, but overturned the developers pardon when he "learned" that the developers father had donated large sums of money to the Republican party, and Tyra Banks continued to receive a paycheck for her talk show.
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I have much higher hopes for 2009.

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In reflecting on my own year, I would say I've had worse. I lost a lot of weight this past year, and I learned a lot about making long term changes. The list below are my tips for success with long term weight loss. Different things work for different people, so these may not be the tips for you, but they are for me, so here we go:
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1. Fail to plan, plan to fail. That's original! ;-) So maybe I didn't make up the phrase, but it's still a truth for me. Planning is paramount to success in weight loss. Creating a meal plan for the week helps ensure that you will buy the right groceries, make healthy well balanced meals, avoid ordering in or eating out, and ensure you try new healthy dishes regularly. Planning to have healthy foods near you at all times, will also help keep you on track. It's often when we feel our hungriest that we are more likely to stumble. I try to always have healthy snacks in my car, office, and anywhere I spend a lot of time.
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2. Drink up! Get at least 64 oz of water in each day. Water cleanses the system, fills you up, hydrates, and has endless positive attributes. I try to get my water in first thing in the morning, so that I don't forget as the day wears on. Since with the lap band I'm not supposed to drink with meals, so I have to remember to drink other times. By drinking most of my water in the AM, by noon, I usually have my 64 oz in and everything else I drink during the day is extra. Other than rare occasions, I don't drink juice or soda, so water and Crystal Light are it for me.
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3. Work it. When working out, as I've mentioned before, you get out what you put in. I've had days when I'm just going through the motions and I'm not really doing all I can to put in a great work out. Usually, however, I try my best to give my all and find new ways to challenge myself in my work out. This yields much better results. Also, try to work out as frequently as possible. Try not to skip many days, even if you're just getting in 10 minutes of exercise on especially busy days. 10 minutes is better than nothing, and it will keep you on track with your commitment to exercise.
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4. Be careful about what you consume. Just because something is fat free or sugar free, doesn't mean it's good for you. Losing weight does not always equal health. I could be a meth addict and lose a ton of weight, but I wouldn't be healthier than I am today, by any means. The same is true (on a much less drastic level) of eating foods that are bad for you, but may cause you to lose weight. Avoid overly processed foods, avoid protein sources that are pumped full of harmful antibiotics, pay the extra for the grass fed, free range animal protein sources. If you buy food that is better for your body (and the environment), you may be spending more money but you will be more mindful of overeating and wasting. Eat as many whole foods as possible.
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5. Cut out the salt. The average American consumes 7,ooo-8,000 mg of sodium daily. The RDI is 2,300 mg, less if you have existing medical conditions. Avoid processed foods, use reduced sodium salts or salt alternatives, cook with fresh vegetables and herbs that add vibrant flavor to foods. Salt not only causes us to bloat, but it increases blood pressure as well. Those of us who are already overweight do not need additional triggers for heart disease.
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6. Throwing away fattening food is not a waste. If I go to a restaurant and I happen to have something that is less than ideal, I do not take the leftovers home with me. It goes against everything I know about wasting food, but it's okay. If you can split a portion or order a half portion, great, but if you are left with extra food at the end of an unhealthy meal, toss it! If you have fattening food in the house from entertaining, throw it out after. A better use of unhealthy foods is anything other than consuming them.
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7. Cook healthy always. Just because company is coming or it's a holiday, doesn't mean you need to throw caution to the wind. I have not found a single recipe that I cannot make a delicious version of using less fat and sugar. Substitute the fattening ingredients with less fattening ones. You are doing your guests a favor, and you won't be stuck with fattening leftovers that you need to throw away or be tempted to eat.
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8. Bring out the pepper. I don't use much pepper, so when I'm at a restaurant and I'm tempted to overeat when I know I've already had enough, I pepper my food. This stops me from eating it until the server removes it. If pepper won't work for you, there is usually some other condiment you can use to sabotage your plate with, should you require the drastic measures that I have found I've needed from time to time.
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9. Face the music. Daily weigh ins are a must for me. As I've mentioned before, I wouldn't gain 160 lbs back unless I buried my head deep into the sand. By weighing myself daily, I know I will hold myself accountable, and I won't let my weight get out of hand again.
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10. Track your calories. Whether you're tracking your points for weight watchers or your calories on fitday.com, daily tracking is a must. Just like daily weighing, by facing the music of what you have consumed, you are not likely to repeat it the next day. It is also important to ensure you are getting enough calcium, fiber and other daily requirements when you're eating less food than normal.
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11. Embrace the mirror. I spent years avoiding mirrors. This is another trick we super fatties do to allow ourselves to get as big as we do. The few times I did look in the mirror, I would position my head a certain way (there would be no full length mirrors!), so that I didn't look as fat as I really was. Now, I look in mirrors all the time. I check out my imperfections, see where I'm improving, what I need to improve, etc... I have a very realistic view of what I look like right now, and I didn't before. It's not always fun, but it will keep you honest.
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12. Surround yourself with healthy people. Not all of your friends and family are going to be models of health, but by having plenty of healthy people in your life, you will learn from them, their successes, find people to share your common goals with, and hopefully be an inspiration to them as well. If you surround yourself with unhealthy people, you may become complacent about your own healthy journey. After all, misery loves company. Be with people who are hoping for you to succeed, not the opposite.
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13. Never throw the baby out with the bath water. Do not waste a whole day eating unhealthy foods just because you had one "bad" thing. Do not wait until Monday to start a diet, go to the gym, get back on track, etc... That perpetuates a very dangerous line of thinking that tells you unless you are on some kind of wagon, you have free range to sabotage yourself as much as you want. It breeds yoyo dieting and failure. There is no wagon. Just you and your desire to live a healthy and full life. That means sometimes you will eat things that are less than ideal, but that does not mean you are no longer a person living a healthy and full life. If you eat something bad, work out harder. If you skip a work out, eat less. Find a balance and a rhythm, and PLEASE don't climb onto some imaginary wagon that you're only going to fall off of.
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14. Find accountability. For me, it's my blog. I know that if I gain weight or skip my work out, I'm going to have to tell you about it. My blog helps me stay on track. For others, it may be a daily weigh in or a support group. Whatever it is, accountability is key.
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Progress, not perfection.
A year and a half ago, I probably consumed an average of 5,000 calories per day. I never worked out, and I did not give any thought to healthy eating or living. Now, I'm down a ton of weight, I exercise regularly, track my calorie intake, make responsible choices about food, and have an entirely new outlook on healthy living. I still have a journey ahead of me. Many of my tips above are things I have struggled with along the way, and some things I still struggle with. I know what to do, but I don't always do it. I do it, however, most of the time, and that has gotten me this far.
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I need to continue to learn and grow and make myself a priority. I cannot lose sight of my goals, or my past. In 2009, I want to lose the rest of my weight, and I want to sculpt myself into the best shape I have ever been in. I may need to reduce the amount of indiscretions I've had with unhealthy foods, I will need to work out harder, more often and longer than I have been.
I'm learning as I go, and I hope some of what I've learned can help you too, as so many of you have helped me along the way.
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Thanks for joining me on my journey, and I'm looking forward to a healthy and fruitful 2009!