Friday, February 20, 2009
Day 52
Breakfast: Coffee (80), 1 packet Peaches 'n Cream Instant Oatmeal (140), 1 cup Special K w/1/2 cup skim mkilk (150), 2 bites Raspberry Swirl Coffee Cake (120)
Lunch: PB&J (230), 1/2 serving potato chips (70), 2 T Duncan Hines frosting (120)
Dinner: 2 1/2 slices extra cheese pizza (600), Diet Coke
Day 52 Calorie Count: 1510 adn 57:49:12 minutes walking
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Day 51 Drink Away Stubborn Body Fat
"Wu Long Authentic Premium Chinese Slimming Tea" promises to, among lots of other things, burn 2.5x more calories than authentic green teas and reduce the fattening effects of carbohydrates. "In a new study published in the Journal of Medical Investigation, scientists from Japan's University of Tokushima School of Medicine found that people who regularly consumed Wu Long tea experienced twice the calorie burning results of those who drank the same amount of authentic Japanese green tea. And a new study from the scientists at the Suntory Research Center in Osaka, Japan, shows that drinking Wu Long teas fifteen minutes before eating carbs, will blunt the rise in insulin you normally get after eating carbohydrates. If you order this rare tea now, which is not sold in stores, you'll get 60 full servings for $37. But supplies are extremely limited, only a few hundred units remain in stock and those are expected to move quickly. We cannot guarantee this special low price, tomorrow it may be substantially higher, so order now!"
It's just amazing to me that, not only are there products out there making, what I think, are outrageous statements but there are folks, desperate to loss weight, who are swallowing it, sip, after, green tea sip.
There are no ancient Chinese secrets or certified 100% pure South African grade Hoodia that will ever take the place of what you are doing right now. Counting your calories and ramping up your cardiometer daily is what will get you and keep you at the place you desire to be.
Day 51 Calorie Count: 1320 and 45:58:30 minutes of walking.
It's just amazing to me that, not only are there products out there making, what I think, are outrageous statements but there are folks, desperate to loss weight, who are swallowing it, sip, after, green tea sip.
There are no ancient Chinese secrets or certified 100% pure South African grade Hoodia that will ever take the place of what you are doing right now. Counting your calories and ramping up your cardiometer daily is what will get you and keep you at the place you desire to be.
Day 51 Calorie Count: 1320 and 45:58:30 minutes of walking.
Day 50 Weigh In #7
Remember the excitement Charlie Bucket felt when he tore open the wrapper from his Wonka bar and the corner of a golden ticket shimmered from his shaking hand. That's how I felt this morning after I stepped on the scale. 1.6# loss!
I went back and checked last week's loss to make sure I saw it right. 1.6. It works. It's simple. It's about the math.
I have rendered nearly 49 1/2 sticks of butter in 50 days, an average of 1.8 pounds a week. Maybe 1.8 pounds per week doesn't seem like a large chunk of lard when compared to the 15 pound losses a week on "The Biggest Loser" but, you're not isolated on a fat ranch, working out with a personal trainer 24/7 alongside others who are competing against you to lose pounds and win big money.
If you are reading this far and have followed The Plan to lose 20 pounds by reducing your calories by 500 and pumping your body for 45 minutes daily, then you have lost, in the range of, 1.6# a week. If you're losing more, then you're ahead of the The Plan. If you're Weigh In this week wasn't what you predicted, be patient. If you followed The Plan and did everything you know to do, next week will reflect the losses. There is no way around losing weight the right way. It just doesn't work in the long run. Never has, never will. Now, if you are not seeing a 1.6# loss weekly, for reasons only you know, and you're trying to play catch up each week, then you might as well stop reading now.
Day 50 Calorie Count: 1485 and 47:20:15
I went back and checked last week's loss to make sure I saw it right. 1.6. It works. It's simple. It's about the math.
I have rendered nearly 49 1/2 sticks of butter in 50 days, an average of 1.8 pounds a week. Maybe 1.8 pounds per week doesn't seem like a large chunk of lard when compared to the 15 pound losses a week on "The Biggest Loser" but, you're not isolated on a fat ranch, working out with a personal trainer 24/7 alongside others who are competing against you to lose pounds and win big money.
If you are reading this far and have followed The Plan to lose 20 pounds by reducing your calories by 500 and pumping your body for 45 minutes daily, then you have lost, in the range of, 1.6# a week. If you're losing more, then you're ahead of the The Plan. If you're Weigh In this week wasn't what you predicted, be patient. If you followed The Plan and did everything you know to do, next week will reflect the losses. There is no way around losing weight the right way. It just doesn't work in the long run. Never has, never will. Now, if you are not seeing a 1.6# loss weekly, for reasons only you know, and you're trying to play catch up each week, then you might as well stop reading now.
Day 50 Calorie Count: 1485 and 47:20:15
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Day 49
Tomorrow is Weigh In #7 and now is the good time to think about Reward #5. What are you planning for yourself?
Clothes? A digital camera? Tickets to a Broadway show? Mario Batali's new cookbook? What is something you've wanted to buy yourself for some time but never felt like you should splurge on it or that you deserved it? You deserve it. If you've come this far and haven't indulged yourself in a small or big way, then now is your moment. Pickup something for you: a moisturizer, earrings, a new sweeper, whatever gives you that slight lift. You may think it's no big deal to plan a treat and then follow through with it, but it's a tiny symbolic step which will transcend itself into other areas of showing how you care for you. Little things mean the most.
My reward is whiter teeth. Years of drinking coffee, of all strengths and blends have stained havoc on them, and has made me self conscious about my smile. My teeth have bothered me for sometime. But I always thought, "I'm not worth it, that's for celebrities. It will be ungodly expensive. It doesn't really matter." But it does matter. And I have probably eaten in ice cream the cost equivalent of the treatment many times over. So, I picked up the phone, dialed my dentist and was surprised the treatment wasn't nearly as expensive as I thought and she could fit me in right after Weigh In #7. Hello pearly whites.
Clothes? A digital camera? Tickets to a Broadway show? Mario Batali's new cookbook? What is something you've wanted to buy yourself for some time but never felt like you should splurge on it or that you deserved it? You deserve it. If you've come this far and haven't indulged yourself in a small or big way, then now is your moment. Pickup something for you: a moisturizer, earrings, a new sweeper, whatever gives you that slight lift. You may think it's no big deal to plan a treat and then follow through with it, but it's a tiny symbolic step which will transcend itself into other areas of showing how you care for you. Little things mean the most.
My reward is whiter teeth. Years of drinking coffee, of all strengths and blends have stained havoc on them, and has made me self conscious about my smile. My teeth have bothered me for sometime. But I always thought, "I'm not worth it, that's for celebrities. It will be ungodly expensive. It doesn't really matter." But it does matter. And I have probably eaten in ice cream the cost equivalent of the treatment many times over. So, I picked up the phone, dialed my dentist and was surprised the treatment wasn't nearly as expensive as I thought and she could fit me in right after Weigh In #7. Hello pearly whites.
Day 48
"Desire is the key to motivation, but it's the determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal--a commitment to excellence--that will enable you to attain the success you seek."*
Unrelenting. Not letting up or weakening your vigor or pace. Constant, hard, stern. Not softening. I know you desire to lose weight and wanting so badly to finally do it motivates you to follow this plan, or that plan, or any plan but, wanting to lose weight is not enough. It's a start, but it's not enough. Losing weight is work. Not back breaking-lugging-concrete-blocks-in-a-wheel-barrow-up-a-hill kind of work, but mental work, calculating work, rethinking, changing life style, sacrificing kind of work. You must be relentless when approaching your weight loss. Persistent. Tenacious. Single minded. Losing weight doesn't end until it ends and then it really doesn't end, does it? You can't take your eye off the ball. Even after you've dropped eighty sticks of butter, you still must stay committed to the goal. Only then the goal will change, instead of taking off the weight, the goal will be keeping off the weight.
If, after 90 days of walking your butt off, counting the calories in every Altoid and balancing your ledger at each and every meal, you decide to take a break, what will inevitably happen? Slowly, oh so slowly, the weight will creep back on. Don't let up, don't weaken, be tireless in meeting your goal each day, one day at a time. It's simple: eat until you reach 1500 calories and walk for 45 minutes. We're more than half way there.
Day 48 Calorie Count: 1390 (which included 1 slice of Libby's pumpkin pie w/2 blasts of Reddi Whip) and 49:46:15 minutes of walking
*Mario Andretti
If, after 90 days of walking your butt off, counting the calories in every Altoid and balancing your ledger at each and every meal, you decide to take a break, what will inevitably happen? Slowly, oh so slowly, the weight will creep back on. Don't let up, don't weaken, be tireless in meeting your goal each day, one day at a time. It's simple: eat until you reach 1500 calories and walk for 45 minutes. We're more than half way there.
Day 48 Calorie Count: 1390 (which included 1 slice of Libby's pumpkin pie w/2 blasts of Reddi Whip) and 49:46:15 minutes of walking
*Mario Andretti
Day 47
Day 47 Calorie Count: 1420 and 47:38:22 minutes of walking
Breakfast: Coffee (80), 1 packet Quaker Oats Weight Control Oatmeal (160), handful of raspberries (30), 1/4 Eggo Waffle (40) w/1 t. margarine (30)
Lunch: McDonald's Double Hamburger, extra pickle (360), 1/2 serving small fries (125), Diet Coke
Dinner: Healthy Choice General Tso's Chicken (410), 1/2 bagel (105), w 1 t. margarine (30), 4 T. chocolate Cool Whip (50)
Breakfast: Coffee (80), 1 packet Quaker Oats Weight Control Oatmeal (160), handful of raspberries (30), 1/4 Eggo Waffle (40) w/1 t. margarine (30)
Lunch: McDonald's Double Hamburger, extra pickle (360), 1/2 serving small fries (125), Diet Coke
Dinner: Healthy Choice General Tso's Chicken (410), 1/2 bagel (105), w 1 t. margarine (30), 4 T. chocolate Cool Whip (50)
Day 46 Reward #4
Good bye Anne Klein eye wear, I hardly knew ya. $179 is a lot of money to shell out for specs that are only worn to read the newspaper. I wasn't about to plunk down that kind of cash for "readers" but I did snag a wannabe Liebskind style for $19, quite an upgrade from the cheap ones I usually pick up from the Dollar Store. At least I won't look like Granny Clampet when I'm in the grocery aisle, squinting to read labels.
I hope you are following through with your Rewards List, it's a great perk to have something to look forward to and a good diversion while you're "counting". Keep moving.
Day 46 Calorie Count: 1395 and 51:40:12 minutes of walking
I hope you are following through with your Rewards List, it's a great perk to have something to look forward to and a good diversion while you're "counting". Keep moving.
Day 46 Calorie Count: 1395 and 51:40:12 minutes of walking
Day 45
How is your daily exercising coming? You must be seeing results in your body by now, particularly in your arms, legs and rear. I am finally noticing the diminishing span of my thighs and seeing less of a fat roll around my bra, front and back. I still have bulges, BB shot dents and curds and whey, but I'm reaping the rewards.
I've been diligent about walking and have even added some interval running and although, I wholeheartedly enjoy being out there (once I'm out there), I still waffle. Waffling brings me back to that mental Polaroid of me slumped out on the fake leather physician's table, like a mammoth, melting, marshmallow Peep. That'll do it every time.
I picked up an inexpensive AM/FM radio with a spot watch so I don't have to sprint into the kitchen, after my walk, to check the time. It times me to the second.
Day Calorie Count: 1380 and 52:30:02
Breakfast: Coffee (80), 1/2 Panera Cinnamon Crunch bagel (210) with 1 t. margarine (30)
Later: 1/2 dozen McDonald's fries, 1/6 McDonald's Cheeseburger (100 total for both)
I'd rather not even eat those random, obscure bites because it's a pain to Google it, compare it with something similar, divide it and come up with a reasonable value. I'd rather not be bothered and that can be a very effective deterrent to overeating.
Most of the calorie values of the foods I regularly eat are embedded in my brain like newspaper print in Silly Putty. I can call them up instantly. Banana. 90. Hard boiled egg. 90. It's the unusual stuff that makes it tricky. Like homemade carrot cake. You can find a recipe that calls for a 13X9 baking pan, but what if the slice you eat is from 3 cake rounds? And has 3 cups Crisco oil? And yields 10 servings instead of 16?
You're probably thinking "who cares?" You do. If you hadn't raised your sticky hands to sign up for The Plan forty five days ago, I'd say, "go ahead, eat the whole cake, and while you're at it, have some cinnamon ice cream to go with it." But, if you're reading this, then that's not an option for you. You have to count.
Early Dinner: 1/2 turkey club (turkey and bacon 380) on whole wheat (120), 1 T mayo (90), 1 ounce Lay's chips (150 ), Diet Coke
Later: 94% Fat Free Kettle Popcorn (100), 1 ounce Snyder's pretzels (120)
I've been diligent about walking and have even added some interval running and although, I wholeheartedly enjoy being out there (once I'm out there), I still waffle. Waffling brings me back to that mental Polaroid of me slumped out on the fake leather physician's table, like a mammoth, melting, marshmallow Peep. That'll do it every time.
I picked up an inexpensive AM/FM radio with a spot watch so I don't have to sprint into the kitchen, after my walk, to check the time. It times me to the second.
Day Calorie Count: 1380 and 52:30:02
Breakfast: Coffee (80), 1/2 Panera Cinnamon Crunch bagel (210) with 1 t. margarine (30)
Later: 1/2 dozen McDonald's fries, 1/6 McDonald's Cheeseburger (100 total for both)
I'd rather not even eat those random, obscure bites because it's a pain to Google it, compare it with something similar, divide it and come up with a reasonable value. I'd rather not be bothered and that can be a very effective deterrent to overeating.
Most of the calorie values of the foods I regularly eat are embedded in my brain like newspaper print in Silly Putty. I can call them up instantly. Banana. 90. Hard boiled egg. 90. It's the unusual stuff that makes it tricky. Like homemade carrot cake. You can find a recipe that calls for a 13X9 baking pan, but what if the slice you eat is from 3 cake rounds? And has 3 cups Crisco oil? And yields 10 servings instead of 16?
You're probably thinking "who cares?" You do. If you hadn't raised your sticky hands to sign up for The Plan forty five days ago, I'd say, "go ahead, eat the whole cake, and while you're at it, have some cinnamon ice cream to go with it." But, if you're reading this, then that's not an option for you. You have to count.
Early Dinner: 1/2 turkey club (turkey and bacon 380) on whole wheat (120), 1 T mayo (90), 1 ounce Lay's chips (150 ), Diet Coke
Later: 94% Fat Free Kettle Popcorn (100), 1 ounce Snyder's pretzels (120)
Day 44 A Bug's Life
There are ten to one hundred trillion bugs in our gut. They're called micro flora and according to Jeffrey Gordon (Center for Genome Sciences at Washington University), these little boogers lead very busy lives. They, among other things, "help create capillaries that line and nourish the intestines. They produce vitamins, in particular, thiamine, pyroxidine and vitamin K. In addition, they provide enzymes which metabolize cholesterol and bile acid. They also help extract calories from the food we eat and store these calories in fat cell for later use--which gives them, in effect, a role in determining whether our diets will make us fat or thin."
A New York Times Magazine article, "Fat Factors" (Robin Marantz Henig, 8/13/2006), reported that a new wave of research suggests that microorganisms (bacteria, fungi, intestinal microbes) may contribute to obesity. So, it's not the biggie sized meals after all, it's a fat bug.
The article states that it's long been understood in the study of obesity that diet and obesity genes play a major role in the drama of weight gain/loss. No surprise there. About 50 obesity genes discovered since 1994 are identified with regulating the amount of food people consume, when eaters feel full, and how efficiently their fires burn the calories off. Infectobesity is the term that describes the field of research striving to determine if the gazillions of microbes living inside our gut (gut bugs) are actually making or keeping us fact. Gordon adds that it's a long way down the road before these tummy creepy crawler's role in obesity is completely understood.
Interesting but, a bit far fetched for me. The critter theory has the convenient potential to be just another excuse for not taking responsibility. Bugs or no stinkbugs, 20PO are in charge of their own weight loss or gain. I have heard every possible genetic and physiological excuse in the weight watching world from women who insist they can't lose weight. Won't happen. Doesn't matter what they do, how much they starve themselves, they can't shed pounds. Not one iota.
Really? I am wondering if someone who claims they can't lose weight was dropped smack down on a deserted island for three weeks with only a volleyball named Wilson and unlimited Dasani water, would she, when airlifted out, be any lighter? I'd bet money she would've lost at the very least, a few ounces.
Day44 Caorie Count: 1433 and 50+ minutes of walking
A New York Times Magazine article, "Fat Factors" (Robin Marantz Henig, 8/13/2006), reported that a new wave of research suggests that microorganisms (bacteria, fungi, intestinal microbes) may contribute to obesity. So, it's not the biggie sized meals after all, it's a fat bug.
The article states that it's long been understood in the study of obesity that diet and obesity genes play a major role in the drama of weight gain/loss. No surprise there. About 50 obesity genes discovered since 1994 are identified with regulating the amount of food people consume, when eaters feel full, and how efficiently their fires burn the calories off. Infectobesity is the term that describes the field of research striving to determine if the gazillions of microbes living inside our gut (gut bugs) are actually making or keeping us fact. Gordon adds that it's a long way down the road before these tummy creepy crawler's role in obesity is completely understood.
Interesting but, a bit far fetched for me. The critter theory has the convenient potential to be just another excuse for not taking responsibility. Bugs or no stinkbugs, 20PO are in charge of their own weight loss or gain. I have heard every possible genetic and physiological excuse in the weight watching world from women who insist they can't lose weight. Won't happen. Doesn't matter what they do, how much they starve themselves, they can't shed pounds. Not one iota.
Really? I am wondering if someone who claims they can't lose weight was dropped smack down on a deserted island for three weeks with only a volleyball named Wilson and unlimited Dasani water, would she, when airlifted out, be any lighter? I'd bet money she would've lost at the very least, a few ounces.
Day44 Caorie Count: 1433 and 50+ minutes of walking
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Day 43 Weigh In #6
The scale didn't smile at me this week, but it didn't exactly smirk, either. My Job moment. I stared at the measly .4 pound loss, not even 2 sticks of butter. Honestly, I was ever-so-hoping to shed over 8 sticks of butter this Weigh In. After all, I had religiously hiked up the hills each day and counted every calorie I had put in my mouth. I even had to tighten my bra straps this week
Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote, "Never give up, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn."
I'm confident that "the place and time" , (the scale in 7 days from now) will prove her words true. I'm mentally picturing that naked blob hunched over in the doctor's examining room. SHE would give up. SHE would become discouraged. SHE would stick her head inside the kids' pillow cases full of left over Halloween candy and gobble up all the stale Almond Joys, not coming up for air until the last peanut M&M was gone. I am not her, anymore. I'm the girl with the new hair cut, new lipstick and arched eyebrows.
"Effort only fully releases its reward after a person refuses to quit." *
I am not quitting.
Breakfast: Coffee (80), 1 bite of Jimmy Dean link sausage (60), 1 1/4 cup Lucky Charms (140), 1/2 cup skim milk (40)
Snack: Panera Muffie (1/2), (155)
Lunch: 2 slices veggie pizza (390), Diet Coke
Dinner: Green salad w/ 3 T. Paul Newman's Balsamic Vinaigrette (135), 3 ounces chicken, roasted (140), 1/2 buttermilk biscuit (50), 1/2 cup corn w/1 t. margarine (135)
Later: 94% Fat Free Kettle Popcorn (100), 1/2 glass Pepsi (80)
Day 43 Calorie Count: 1505, close to 52 minutes walking
*Napoleon Hill
Day 42 Jeans: The New Religion
Citizens of Humanity, 7 For All Mankind, Blue Cult, True Religion. Sounds like new spiritual movements. They're not, they're jeans, I mean, denim and you don't buy your jeans at department stores anymore, you go to denim emporiums or premium denimtiques. These ain't your Mommy's Levis.
Button Fly 501 Levis and Wranglers are as passe as aviator sunglasses these days. Where's Gloria Vanderbilt and Brooke Shields when you need 'em?
It's been years (yeah, you read that right) since I bought a pair of blue jeans that I've lost touch with the whole denim revolution. The denim scene arrived and I wasn't even aware of it until I popped into one of those holier than hip boutiques to pick up Reward #4. I was overwhelmed. The salesperson spoke a dialect I didn't know existed, denimese, and prattled on about thread, fit, wash. Then, I glanced at a price tag and I had to sit down.
A gaggle of giggling teens entered, armed to buy and I grabbed that opportunity to escape.
So much for "heavily twilled blue cotton cloth", I think I'll get reader glasses instead.
Breakfast: Coffee (80), 2 pieces toast w/2 T. Polaner's Sugar Free Orange Marmalade (160), 1 T. butter spread (90), 1/2 container Lite blueberry yogurt (45)
Snack: Cotton candy (50), 2 slices sm. vegetable pizza (390). 8-10 ounces BLT salad (250), pizza sauce (50)
Dinner: Healthy Choice BBQ Chicken (370)
Day 42 Calorie Count: 1485 and 45+ minutes walking
Button Fly 501 Levis and Wranglers are as passe as aviator sunglasses these days. Where's Gloria Vanderbilt and Brooke Shields when you need 'em?
It's been years (yeah, you read that right) since I bought a pair of blue jeans that I've lost touch with the whole denim revolution. The denim scene arrived and I wasn't even aware of it until I popped into one of those holier than hip boutiques to pick up Reward #4. I was overwhelmed. The salesperson spoke a dialect I didn't know existed, denimese, and prattled on about thread, fit, wash. Then, I glanced at a price tag and I had to sit down.
A gaggle of giggling teens entered, armed to buy and I grabbed that opportunity to escape.
So much for "heavily twilled blue cotton cloth", I think I'll get reader glasses instead.
Breakfast: Coffee (80), 2 pieces toast w/2 T. Polaner's Sugar Free Orange Marmalade (160), 1 T. butter spread (90), 1/2 container Lite blueberry yogurt (45)
Snack: Cotton candy (50), 2 slices sm. vegetable pizza (390). 8-10 ounces BLT salad (250), pizza sauce (50)
Dinner: Healthy Choice BBQ Chicken (370)
Day 42 Calorie Count: 1485 and 45+ minutes walking
Day 41 Water, Water, Everywhere
You're probably thinking, "where does the water thing come in? Not seeing much about drinking water to flush out all the fat." Well, I don't drink a lot of water, certainly not the recommended 64 ounces daily, but I do drink water throughout the day and especially after walking. Generally, I'll drink a Diet Coke along side water at meals.
Breakfast: Coffee (80), 1 packet Quaker Weight Control Oatmeal (160), 2 slices bacon (180)
Lunch: Wendy's Junior Cheeseburger, extra pickle (280), Wendy's small chili (220), 2 saltine crackers (24), Diet Coke.
Later: 20 Dark Chocolate M&M's (1023 calories per cup), I had about 1/16 of a cup (170)
Dinner: Lean Cuisine Sesame Chicken (340)
Day 41 Calorie Count: 1454 and 47 minutes of walking
Breakfast: Coffee (80), 1 packet Quaker Weight Control Oatmeal (160), 2 slices bacon (180)
Lunch: Wendy's Junior Cheeseburger, extra pickle (280), Wendy's small chili (220), 2 saltine crackers (24), Diet Coke.
Later: 20 Dark Chocolate M&M's (1023 calories per cup), I had about 1/16 of a cup (170)
Dinner: Lean Cuisine Sesame Chicken (340)
Day 41 Calorie Count: 1454 and 47 minutes of walking
Day 40 Count Your Drinkable Calories
We're a couple days out from Weigh In #6, when we will be at the halfway marker on the 20/90 Plan. You should be toting around 40 sticks less butter, if you're not already. How accurate is your calorie counting? Are you counting everything? Is it as precise as it can be? A gentle reminder: do not blow off or overlook the "little" things, two handfuls of movie popcorn, confiscated Nestle Crunches from your kids backpacks, Duncan Hines cake batter licked from the beaters, and, liquids, yes, especially liquids, they all add up and over, big time.
Be careful with what you drink, just because you don't chew the calories, doesn't mean they're not there. They're there, in all their unassuming, unobtrusive glory.
You pop out of bed in the morning, and quickly guzzle 16 ounces of Tropicana 100% Pineapple-Orange juice. Easy to do. (260). Next, a cup of coffee with a few splashes of International Delight Hazelnut Creamer (45 calories a splash). No time for breakfast? You grab a Yoplait Nouriche yogurt drink (260). On the drive to work, you hit Starbucks for a Grand Blackberry Green Tea Frappuccino w/cream. Sound so fengshui good for 560 calories. O.K., so where are we at? 1215 calories and you haven't even chewed anything.
You've got to count everything that passes through your lips; Frappuccinos, frappes, smoothies, Slush Puppies, slurpees, McDonald's Triple Thick Strawberry Shakes, Hot Toddies, gloggs, mulled apple cider, hot cocoa, egg nog, Brut champage, Kahlua & Creams, Martinis, Mudslides, non alcoholic grape juice, cranberry juice, Gatorade, Powerade, Monster Energy drinks, Red Bull, Thelmas's Frozen Lemonade, Mike's Hard Lemonade, Limeade, freshly squeezed lemonade, apple juice, Popsicles, Astro Pops, Bomb Pops, Icees, Push Ups, Yoo-Hoo, Brown Cows, Pinot Noir, steamers, lattes, kefir, carob Rice Dream, beer, stout, Long Island Iced Teas, sweet teas, peach teas, Pepsi, Pumpkin Pie International Delight coffee creamers, Grappa, Grand Marnier, Jello shots, protein drinks wine spritzers, wine coolers, Amaretto, Absinthe, skim milk, goat's milk, buttermilk, low fat milk, 2% milk, Slim Fast, carrot juice, Instant Breakfasts, Mountain Dew, veal stock...
Day40 Calorie Count: 1480 and 46 minutes walking
Be careful with what you drink, just because you don't chew the calories, doesn't mean they're not there. They're there, in all their unassuming, unobtrusive glory.
You pop out of bed in the morning, and quickly guzzle 16 ounces of Tropicana 100% Pineapple-Orange juice. Easy to do. (260). Next, a cup of coffee with a few splashes of International Delight Hazelnut Creamer (45 calories a splash). No time for breakfast? You grab a Yoplait Nouriche yogurt drink (260). On the drive to work, you hit Starbucks for a Grand Blackberry Green Tea Frappuccino w/cream. Sound so fengshui good for 560 calories. O.K., so where are we at? 1215 calories and you haven't even chewed anything.
You've got to count everything that passes through your lips; Frappuccinos, frappes, smoothies, Slush Puppies, slurpees, McDonald's Triple Thick Strawberry Shakes, Hot Toddies, gloggs, mulled apple cider, hot cocoa, egg nog, Brut champage, Kahlua & Creams, Martinis, Mudslides, non alcoholic grape juice, cranberry juice, Gatorade, Powerade, Monster Energy drinks, Red Bull, Thelmas's Frozen Lemonade, Mike's Hard Lemonade, Limeade, freshly squeezed lemonade, apple juice, Popsicles, Astro Pops, Bomb Pops, Icees, Push Ups, Yoo-Hoo, Brown Cows, Pinot Noir, steamers, lattes, kefir, carob Rice Dream, beer, stout, Long Island Iced Teas, sweet teas, peach teas, Pepsi, Pumpkin Pie International Delight coffee creamers, Grappa, Grand Marnier, Jello shots, protein drinks wine spritzers, wine coolers, Amaretto, Absinthe, skim milk, goat's milk, buttermilk, low fat milk, 2% milk, Slim Fast, carrot juice, Instant Breakfasts, Mountain Dew, veal stock...
Day40 Calorie Count: 1480 and 46 minutes walking
Monday, February 2, 2009
Day 39 Funky Food Day
There's no egg in egg creams and no cotton in cotton candy. I know because I ate both of those today.
I stopped in a candy and nut shop in my neighborhood that specializes in nostalgic candy: Mary Janes, mini marshmallow ice cream cones, chocolate cigarettes, Fizzie Drink Action tablets and every retro sweet in between including Gold Mine gum and candy buttons (globs of colored dots on adding machine paper).
I was there with my son, big mistake, who spied the cellophane bags of pink cotton candy. A 2 ounce package of dyed sugar batting has 200 calories. I pull off a piece from the fluff mass, maybe an 1/8, and let it dissolve in my mouth (50). It wasn't so much as delicious as it was memory inducing.
Now unto that classic NY beverage, the eggless egg cream, of which the essential components are soda water, Vitamin D milk, and chocolate syrup. Not just any chocolate syrup. Any egg cream aficionado worth his seltzer knows it's not a classic egg cream unless Fox's U Bet chocolate syrup is used.
My son, while watching something on t.v., calls out to ask me what's in an egg cream? Rare teachable moment. I ask him what HE thinks is in it. He shrugs, disinterested, "I dunno know." I seize the moment to educate. I was heading to the grocery store anyway, so while there I thought I'd pick up the three vital ingredients, fully expecting to substitute Hershey's, but to my shock, our Midwest supermarket actually stocked Fox's U Bet. Small world, at least, in the ethnic aisles at the grocers.
I walked my son through each preparation step, from using the appropriate tumbler, to pouring the syrup slowly down the inside of the glass and stirring like mad with a long iced tea spoon, resulting in a drink with an inch of fizzy, white foam on top. As he clanked the spoon inside the glass, I enlightened him with all things egg cream from its legendary, and somewhat disputed origins to pasteurization, soda jerks, the esteemed egg cream guru, Louis Auster, Brooklyn. He sipped it and shrugged, "it's okay, kinda like a Graeter's chocolate soda without ice cream." I started to tell him about other Jewish foods we could explore...blintzes, bialys, hamantaschen. He walked out of the kitchen, totally uninterested, "hey mom, why couldn't we have just added soda water to Nesquik chocolate milk?" What chutzpah.
Day 39 Calorie Count: 1370 (including cotton candy and the egg cream).
I stopped in a candy and nut shop in my neighborhood that specializes in nostalgic candy: Mary Janes, mini marshmallow ice cream cones, chocolate cigarettes, Fizzie Drink Action tablets and every retro sweet in between including Gold Mine gum and candy buttons (globs of colored dots on adding machine paper).
I was there with my son, big mistake, who spied the cellophane bags of pink cotton candy. A 2 ounce package of dyed sugar batting has 200 calories. I pull off a piece from the fluff mass, maybe an 1/8, and let it dissolve in my mouth (50). It wasn't so much as delicious as it was memory inducing.
Now unto that classic NY beverage, the eggless egg cream, of which the essential components are soda water, Vitamin D milk, and chocolate syrup. Not just any chocolate syrup. Any egg cream aficionado worth his seltzer knows it's not a classic egg cream unless Fox's U Bet chocolate syrup is used.
My son, while watching something on t.v., calls out to ask me what's in an egg cream? Rare teachable moment. I ask him what HE thinks is in it. He shrugs, disinterested, "I dunno know." I seize the moment to educate. I was heading to the grocery store anyway, so while there I thought I'd pick up the three vital ingredients, fully expecting to substitute Hershey's, but to my shock, our Midwest supermarket actually stocked Fox's U Bet. Small world, at least, in the ethnic aisles at the grocers.
I walked my son through each preparation step, from using the appropriate tumbler, to pouring the syrup slowly down the inside of the glass and stirring like mad with a long iced tea spoon, resulting in a drink with an inch of fizzy, white foam on top. As he clanked the spoon inside the glass, I enlightened him with all things egg cream from its legendary, and somewhat disputed origins to pasteurization, soda jerks, the esteemed egg cream guru, Louis Auster, Brooklyn. He sipped it and shrugged, "it's okay, kinda like a Graeter's chocolate soda without ice cream." I started to tell him about other Jewish foods we could explore...blintzes, bialys, hamantaschen. He walked out of the kitchen, totally uninterested, "hey mom, why couldn't we have just added soda water to Nesquik chocolate milk?" What chutzpah.
Day 39 Calorie Count: 1370 (including cotton candy and the egg cream).
Day 38
After six weeks on The Plan, I still have that senseless internal dialogue when it comes to walking. I read that a bad habit can be permanently extinguished after thirty days and conversely, a healthy habit will become part of your daily routine if practiced for a month. So, how do I explain why my Dad, after being smoke free from his two pack addiction for over a year, suddenly got up out of his Lazy Boy in the middle of Laugh In, walked to the gas station and calmly lit up a Viceroy? Same reason I grapple with walking every day, even though I have been doing it for thirty seven days and I know it's one of the best things I can do for myself.
If it pays off in the way my pants fit and reminds me each time I look in the mirror and see less-of-a-bloated face, why do I struggle so much? I don't know, I can't begin to figure it out and I don't really care to.
I've read the book--"Seven Habits of Highly Effective People", and am aware of all the programs out there that teach low performers, like me, how to achieve greater productivity, and strategies that help break/develop habits. But the bottom line is: you still have to just do it. Don't waste your time and energy thinking about exercising, just get out and get it done. By the time your waffling brings you back to pulling your shoes on, you could've had fifteen minutes, or more, under your belt.
If it pays off in the way my pants fit and reminds me each time I look in the mirror and see less-of-a-bloated face, why do I struggle so much? I don't know, I can't begin to figure it out and I don't really care to.
I've read the book--"Seven Habits of Highly Effective People", and am aware of all the programs out there that teach low performers, like me, how to achieve greater productivity, and strategies that help break/develop habits. But the bottom line is: you still have to just do it. Don't waste your time and energy thinking about exercising, just get out and get it done. By the time your waffling brings you back to pulling your shoes on, you could've had fifteen minutes, or more, under your belt.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Day 37
I cashed in my third reward, transforming my dingy brown and gray hair (think Adrian from Rocky) into a crown of warm mahogany tones. The best part was the salon was close, right in my neigborhood and I didn't have to take out a second mortgage for cut and color, for seventy bucks (about 15 pints of Graeters), I left there feeling like a million bucks. It's amazing how something that cost so little can make you feel so good.
The desired image of me, living in my head, desperately trying to excape is gaining ground, pound by lost pound. Believe me, there's still many laps to go but I an definitely feel her on my heals.
Day 37 Calorie Count: 1440 and 45 minutes of walking.
The desired image of me, living in my head, desperately trying to excape is gaining ground, pound by lost pound. Believe me, there's still many laps to go but I an definitely feel her on my heals.
Day 37 Calorie Count: 1440 and 45 minutes of walking.
Day 36 Weigh In #5
I dropped exactly 1.6#. Right on the money. I am hoping you are tracking with equal success. If your scale didn't grin at you today, and you have been faithfully following The Plan, then you have nothing to worry about. Think of this Weigh In as your personal Job plateau: you did everything right, you counted every calorie, you walked every day, you trusted that you would lose weight this week, but, for inexplicable reasons you didn't lose or maybe you gained. And the injustice of it all is your friends don't believe you. But you refuse to turn away or fall off The Plan. Good for you. Stay committed.
Why the scale didn't move this week could be attributed to any number of things; water retention, constipation, who knows, but it will correct itself. The scale may register double the amount in loss next week.
True Story: One of my 20PO pals, who has free registered for Weight Watchers a dozen times, had her first weigh in after following the program to the 'point" for the first week. She excitedly handed over her membership card to the scale monitor and got back a big, fat 0. She was devastated and discouraged, not to mention, pissed off. This was her Job moment. She could've taken one of two approaches: thrown in the towel, cursed Jean Nidetch and devoured a small pig or dug in her heels and remained resolute, knowing she did everything she could have. She chose the latter and went back to Weight Watchers the next morning, asking to be weighed again. She had to fork over another coupon but it was worth it. She lost 4.7 pounds. Imagine if she had chosen the first option. Unfortunately, she gained that 4.7 pounds back and has the rest of her coupons stashed in a junk drawer.
We can't question why bad weight loss happens to good people. Blow it off and stay on course. You can be proud that you counted every kernel, slurp and bite, right? You hoofed it everyday and you pushed yourself away from the counter, table or buffet when you hit your magic number, right? But, if you didn't, that's another story...
Day 36 Calorie Count: 1402 and 48 minutes walking
Breakfast: Coffee (80), 1 /2 Lender's bagel w/1 T. Polaner's Sugar Free Marmalade (150), 3 oz scrambled egg (100)
Lunch: 1 ounce pretzels (110)
Lunch/Dinner: Steak soft taco (170), half Baja Chicken Chalupa, no sour cream (160), 6-7 nacho chips (70)
Later: Gala apple (50), other half of chalupa (160), 1 Twix stick (142)
Why the scale didn't move this week could be attributed to any number of things; water retention, constipation, who knows, but it will correct itself. The scale may register double the amount in loss next week.
True Story: One of my 20PO pals, who has free registered for Weight Watchers a dozen times, had her first weigh in after following the program to the 'point" for the first week. She excitedly handed over her membership card to the scale monitor and got back a big, fat 0. She was devastated and discouraged, not to mention, pissed off. This was her Job moment. She could've taken one of two approaches: thrown in the towel, cursed Jean Nidetch and devoured a small pig or dug in her heels and remained resolute, knowing she did everything she could have. She chose the latter and went back to Weight Watchers the next morning, asking to be weighed again. She had to fork over another coupon but it was worth it. She lost 4.7 pounds. Imagine if she had chosen the first option. Unfortunately, she gained that 4.7 pounds back and has the rest of her coupons stashed in a junk drawer.
We can't question why bad weight loss happens to good people. Blow it off and stay on course. You can be proud that you counted every kernel, slurp and bite, right? You hoofed it everyday and you pushed yourself away from the counter, table or buffet when you hit your magic number, right? But, if you didn't, that's another story...
Day 36 Calorie Count: 1402 and 48 minutes walking
Breakfast: Coffee (80), 1 /2 Lender's bagel w/1 T. Polaner's Sugar Free Marmalade (150), 3 oz scrambled egg (100)
Lunch: 1 ounce pretzels (110)
Lunch/Dinner: Steak soft taco (170), half Baja Chicken Chalupa, no sour cream (160), 6-7 nacho chips (70)
Later: Gala apple (50), other half of chalupa (160), 1 Twix stick (142)
Day 35
I tend to visualize negative images of myself for continued motivation. It keeps me focused when I click through memories of my body at its worst. As the horrid images click by like a mental PowerPoint, I see photos when my face was bloated or my black dress pants barely covered my backside. I've even taped embarrassing pictures of myself on the fridge; a photo of me, slumped over a picnic table, eating corn on the cob, a back shot in a bathing suit, photographs so repulsing, they act like appetite suppressants. Or do they?
Now, I want to start visualizing what I will look like, not what I have looked like. Alluring, flattering images are certainly more compelling and appealing. Seeing ourselves as we want to be seen, as you want others to see you. Picture yourself in hip, trendy clothes and start tossing out the stuff you bought in college or on sale, the safe stuff, the stuff that makes you look, and feel, frumpy.
Envision your hair in a new style (lose the scraggly ponytail and the bobby pins). Lose the mousy browns and faded blonds. Conjure images of you, in stylish clothes and with a stylish look. Keep it positive.
The "I'll get around to getting my act together" is over, getting your act together happens now. Grab a Hefty bag and take the first step: hit your closet and pitch all the back up stuff. The baggy pants, dumpy skirts, Dr. Scholl shoes. Be what you have always envisioned yourself to be. It's scary to throw away, what you think are, perfectly good clothes, but if you haven't fit in or worn them in a year, what makes you think, that once you've shed eighty sticks of butter, you'll want to wear them then? Get them out of the house. They clutter up your mental and physical space and bind you to a past that is not a part of you anymore. Start buying clothes that say who YOU really are and aspire to be. Make the image and the appearance one.
Now, I want to start visualizing what I will look like, not what I have looked like. Alluring, flattering images are certainly more compelling and appealing. Seeing ourselves as we want to be seen, as you want others to see you. Picture yourself in hip, trendy clothes and start tossing out the stuff you bought in college or on sale, the safe stuff, the stuff that makes you look, and feel, frumpy.
Envision your hair in a new style (lose the scraggly ponytail and the bobby pins). Lose the mousy browns and faded blonds. Conjure images of you, in stylish clothes and with a stylish look. Keep it positive.
The "I'll get around to getting my act together" is over, getting your act together happens now. Grab a Hefty bag and take the first step: hit your closet and pitch all the back up stuff. The baggy pants, dumpy skirts, Dr. Scholl shoes. Be what you have always envisioned yourself to be. It's scary to throw away, what you think are, perfectly good clothes, but if you haven't fit in or worn them in a year, what makes you think, that once you've shed eighty sticks of butter, you'll want to wear them then? Get them out of the house. They clutter up your mental and physical space and bind you to a past that is not a part of you anymore. Start buying clothes that say who YOU really are and aspire to be. Make the image and the appearance one.
Day 34
Breakfast: Coffee (80), 2 scrambled eggs prepared with 1 T margarine (300), 1 piece toast w/1 T Polaners Sugar Free Marmalade (70)
Lunch: Lean Cuisine Garlic Chicken Pizza (290), 1 cups mini carrots (50)
Dinner: 4 0unce Cheeseburger on a bakery bun (510), 1/2 cup homemade bean chili (110), 2 T cole slaw (75)
Calorie Count: 1475 and 48 minutes walking
Lunch: Lean Cuisine Garlic Chicken Pizza (290), 1 cups mini carrots (50)
Dinner: 4 0unce Cheeseburger on a bakery bun (510), 1/2 cup homemade bean chili (110), 2 T cole slaw (75)
Calorie Count: 1475 and 48 minutes walking
Day 33 You Scream, I Scream, We All Scream...
My hometown boasts the best ice cream made anywhere in the world, Graeters. All the gelato, frozen custard, sorbets, hand cranked, and slow churned ice cream aside, Graeters is without a doubt the best, no cones about it.
In 1870 Louis Graeter immigrated from Germany and started an ice cream store, but this was no ordinary ice cream. He churned out a ethereal concoction using a French Pot process, a method which produces just two gallons at at time, so thick it's hand packed into pints.
In fact, on the Oprah Winfrey show in July 2002, she said, "you haven't had ice cream til you've had Graeters. The butter pecan is Stedman's favorite, and mine, too." The company was then overwhelmed with Internet and phone orders, so much for our town's best kept secret. But when you have an ice cream as irresistible as Graeters, I guess you have to share it with the world (and Oprah's seventy million viewing audience).
I love Graeters and all their signature chip flavors: black raspberry chip, coconut chip, mocha chocolate chip, toffee chip, peanut butter chip, mint chocolate chip with chips the size of Blackwood mulch. That's the result of pouring molten chocolate into the french pot, freezing it into a shell and then hacking it up manually with a blade. Dark bittersweet chips so huge, you have to mine them out.
On this particular morning of Day 33, after I had my usual coffee (80), my aunt dropped by with a Graeters pint of chocolate chip, my favorite and Graeters second best seller. Before lunch, I peeled back the lid, and spooned one luscious bite into my mouth. I had a couple more spoonfuls, holding them on my tongue to savor every every trace of cocoa bean and cream. By noon, the pint was gone (1160).
Eating an entire pint of ice cream isn't new for me. I've done it. A lot. What was new for me was not eating an entire buffet to go with it. Believe me, it's not difficult to eat an entire pint of Graeters. Ask any Cincinnatian.
I had about 250 calories to spend, so dinner was a Smart One and a Diet Coke.
I had splurged on something I love and enjoy. No, I wouldn't do that every week, but I ate it, counted it and moved on and I gave a 100% on my walk (45 minutes).
In 1870 Louis Graeter immigrated from Germany and started an ice cream store, but this was no ordinary ice cream. He churned out a ethereal concoction using a French Pot process, a method which produces just two gallons at at time, so thick it's hand packed into pints.
In fact, on the Oprah Winfrey show in July 2002, she said, "you haven't had ice cream til you've had Graeters. The butter pecan is Stedman's favorite, and mine, too." The company was then overwhelmed with Internet and phone orders, so much for our town's best kept secret. But when you have an ice cream as irresistible as Graeters, I guess you have to share it with the world (and Oprah's seventy million viewing audience).
I love Graeters and all their signature chip flavors: black raspberry chip, coconut chip, mocha chocolate chip, toffee chip, peanut butter chip, mint chocolate chip with chips the size of Blackwood mulch. That's the result of pouring molten chocolate into the french pot, freezing it into a shell and then hacking it up manually with a blade. Dark bittersweet chips so huge, you have to mine them out.
On this particular morning of Day 33, after I had my usual coffee (80), my aunt dropped by with a Graeters pint of chocolate chip, my favorite and Graeters second best seller. Before lunch, I peeled back the lid, and spooned one luscious bite into my mouth. I had a couple more spoonfuls, holding them on my tongue to savor every every trace of cocoa bean and cream. By noon, the pint was gone (1160).
Eating an entire pint of ice cream isn't new for me. I've done it. A lot. What was new for me was not eating an entire buffet to go with it. Believe me, it's not difficult to eat an entire pint of Graeters. Ask any Cincinnatian.
I had about 250 calories to spend, so dinner was a Smart One and a Diet Coke.
I had splurged on something I love and enjoy. No, I wouldn't do that every week, but I ate it, counted it and moved on and I gave a 100% on my walk (45 minutes).
Day 32
Are you planning your reward for Weigh In #5? I've made an appointment for a hair cut and color after the big event.
Are you exercising forty five minutes each day? Are your close friends commenting that your face looks a bit thinner?
It's great to receive positive comments from family and friends, it's like extra rewards when others acknowledge our efforts, propelling us with even firmer resolve, but it's crucial that you plan a small, or not so small reward for yourself each week.
This is the first time in my entire "trying to lose weight" life that I have stuck to a plan longer than seven days. And the reason for that is I don't feel like I am sticking to anything. This is as natural to me as breathing, or eating. Now, the exercise, I admit, is a different story. No doubt once I am out, with my arms flailing, I feel exhilarated but it is more often than not, a challenge squeezing it in. When I begin to waffle, I instantly pull up the image of me slumped over like Snuffelupagus on the table in that dimly lit examining room. That'll do it every time.
Day 32 Calorie Count: 1759 and 48 minutes of walking
Breakfast: Coffee (80), 2 pieces toast (160) w/Sugar Free Orange Marmalade (160),
Later: 10 huge red raspberries (40), a handful of Go Lean Crunch (70), Snicker Fun size bar (72)
Lunch: Half order Pad Thai (400), 3 pieces Flat bread (200), Green salad w/ginger dressing (340)
Later: 3 Ritz crackers w/1 T peanut butter (165), Snickers Fun size bar (72)
Are you exercising forty five minutes each day? Are your close friends commenting that your face looks a bit thinner?
It's great to receive positive comments from family and friends, it's like extra rewards when others acknowledge our efforts, propelling us with even firmer resolve, but it's crucial that you plan a small, or not so small reward for yourself each week.
This is the first time in my entire "trying to lose weight" life that I have stuck to a plan longer than seven days. And the reason for that is I don't feel like I am sticking to anything. This is as natural to me as breathing, or eating. Now, the exercise, I admit, is a different story. No doubt once I am out, with my arms flailing, I feel exhilarated but it is more often than not, a challenge squeezing it in. When I begin to waffle, I instantly pull up the image of me slumped over like Snuffelupagus on the table in that dimly lit examining room. That'll do it every time.
Day 32 Calorie Count: 1759 and 48 minutes of walking
Breakfast: Coffee (80), 2 pieces toast (160) w/Sugar Free Orange Marmalade (160),
Later: 10 huge red raspberries (40), a handful of Go Lean Crunch (70), Snicker Fun size bar (72)
Lunch: Half order Pad Thai (400), 3 pieces Flat bread (200), Green salad w/ginger dressing (340)
Later: 3 Ritz crackers w/1 T peanut butter (165), Snickers Fun size bar (72)
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